Los Angeles Ladies Quartet 1917

Los Angeles Evening Express, March 14, 1917, courtesy of https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ 

The way I read this, the woman at the top (or in the back) is Mrs Gertrude Bailey. On the left is Mrs Hallie Swartz and on the right is Mrs Carl Johnson. And the woman in the middle is Mrs Merlin McKee, or Belle. I've written about my search for a photo of Belle before. It took me just over a year after that post to find this. I'm still hoping to find more. 

Hallie sang first soporano, Gertrude second soprano, Belle first alto and Mrs Carl Johnson second alto. Their performances were usually at Social Clubs or sometimes Church functions. Some of their scheduled events as reported in the Los Angeles Herald for the first part of 1917 were as follows:

• January 30 - the Women's Wednesday Morning Club
• February 9 - the Liberty Club
• February 21 - at the Huntington in Pasadena
• March 7 - the Gamut Club
• March 14 - the Gamut Club

It's difficult to learn more about the women, especially Mrs Carl Johnson, without more information. I do find in Los Angeles city directories that Hallie and Belle were both music teachers. Belle is the half-sister of my Second Great Grandmother, Lena (Jorgenson) Roscoe. Learning more about these women is a little project of mine. If you know anything about them or the "Los Angeles Ladies Quartet", I'd love to hear from you. 

My Search for a Photo of Belle

I spent a lot of time last year searching for a photograph I thought would be easy to find. Spoiler alert - I was not successful. The more attempts I make to find a photo and fail, the more challenged I am to find one.

My Great Grandmother, Lena (Jorgenson) Roscoe had a sister who was very musically inclined and a performer on a small scale. “Belle”, was born Merlin Isabelle Jorgenson in 1871 in Will County, Illinois. Using details mentioned in her obituary I've searched the country for her photo.

She attended Valparaiso University (at that time the Northern Indiana Normal School) about 1892, but I was told they didn't have yearbooks until 1911. I emailed the college and they were able to confirm she was listed in the 1893 catalog as a student in the Music Department. She taught school in her home town of Peotone and was "greatly beloved for many years." ¹ City Directories for 1895 & 1902 show her living in Joliet a short distance from Peotone. By 1900, she moved to Chicago and I'm not sure if she was still teaching in Peotone then. In 1904 she moved to Rock Springs, Wyoming where "she became director of music and public speaking of the city schools. She also taught in Menominee, Michigan". ² I haven't been able to locate any yearbooks for those schools at that time, but I have found her name in the newspapers in Rock Springs, Wyoming from 1904 through 1906.

Newspaper clippings in social columns from Peotone in 1907 state she is in Chicago, studying music at the Columbia College of Music.  In 1910, her occupation was Musician, "on the road". I think this is when, according to her obituary, she was travelling with a Chautauqua around the midwest. More about the Chautauqua in a minute. 

Her obituary states she was married in 1915, but it was actually in 1911. I've found this announcement of her engagement in the Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug. 4, 1911 ³ which was shared in her hometown paper. Last year at the Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield I searched the Chicago Daily Tribune, but found nothing about the wedding. The papers were too faded to see very well. Her obituary states that they were married by B. Fay Mills, more about him in a minute. By November 3, 1911 the Peotone Vedette had a mention that Mrs McKee "recently became the bride of Earl McKee". ⁴  They were expected "to make their home in Fort Worth, Texas." It appears they didn't live in Texas for long.



In "Music News", a trade publication out of Chicago ⁵ this paragraph about the Del Mar Ladies' Quartet was in a column of news from Los Angeles in July, 1913. By November of that same year, the name of the group was changed to the "Los Angeles Ladies Quartet" and there are two different members, Hulda Besch and and Mrs Laura Johnson Sondea in place of Miss Ethel Verda Ellmore and Miss Ruby Dale. ⁶  I found out that Miss Ellmore was killed in a car accident in early November. The name "Del Mar" Ladies Quartet lead me down a long path of the wrong group of women who sang with the travelling Chautauqua during the years 1917-1920. I found several advertisements in newspapers, some WITH a photo but the women weren't named individually. I contacted the New York Chautauqua Institution who sent me to the University of Iowa's Redpath Chautauqua Collection. They have info on the travelling Chautauquas and I found the same photo from the ads of the Del Mar Ladies Quartet with the names of those women. None of them were the same women named in the Music News notices. I'm still wondering if there is some connection between the Los Angeles group named Del Mar Ladies Quartet and the Chautauqua group.

The California Digital Newspapers online have the Los Angeles Herald where I found several mentions of the Los Angeles Ladies Quartet (with various spellings). From 1913 to 1917 they held performances in LA, often associated with the Fellowship of Los Angeles. The Fellowship was located in Blanchard Hall and just by chance I found that Mr B. Fay Mills was "permanent minister" there in 1906. B Fay Mills was the minister who married Belle and Earl in 1911 in Illinois (or at least I think it was Illinois, but I haven't found a marriage record).  B Fay Mills was a nationally known revivalist, social reformer and advocate of free religion. The connection between Belle and B Fay Mills seems like a strong one. An interesting thing to note is that in California Voter Registrations, Belle is usually registered as a Socialist. Her sister, Bertha, was married to Jacob O. Bentall who ran for Governor of Minnesota in 1916 as a Socialist, but was arrested and spent some time in Leavenworth, Kansas for violating the espionage act. But I digress.

The last time the Los Angeles Ladies Quartet appear in the newspapers was 1917, and according to her obituary it was 1918 when her husband suffered from an illness which left him an invalid. I wonder if it was polio, but have not found any more information on that. He was a court reporter for the Superior Court of Los Angeles for several years.

So with nothing more from the online newspapers, my search turned to LA City Directories. Belle is listed as a teacher/music teacher from 1922 to 1934. This was where I found her listed with the Los Angeles Coaching School. The LA Public Library was not able to find any information on the teachers of the school and didn't have any yearbooks. I also tried the Music Department of the UCLA library with no luck. 

Los Angeles Coaching School was not an ordinary high school. It was a private tutoring school where Intensive preparation was given in small groups or individually. Some of the more famous students of the school were Will Rogers Jr and the sons of Edgar Rice Burroughs, both mentioned in Belle's obituary.

One more interesting item I found through a search on Google Books was quite a surprise. She obtained copyright on a "scenerio" called "You Supply the Girl", in 1935. ⁷ I'm not sure if this is a song or a play or exactly what. I'd like to get a copy of that, but if I understand the government copyright website correctly, it would cost $200. I wish that didn't matter, but it does.

The informant on Belle's death certificate was her nephew, Carleton Bentall. From what I've seen, Carleton had one daughter Carol Ann who married Alan Steidley. This is something I need to pursue. I've contacted local libraries, posted requests in facebook groups, I occasionally check Dead Fred and other old photo sites.  Someday I hope to find a photograph of Merlin Belle McKee. One of her as a member of the Los Angeles Ladies Quartet would be great. ANY photo would be wonderful to have. I'm still working on it.

---

1 Peotone (Illinois) Vedette, Thursday, August 13, 1942, pg 1 ^↩
2 Ibid.^↩
3 Chicago Daily Tribune, August 4, 1911, pg 6^↩
4 Peotone (Illinois) Vedette, November 3, 1911^↩
5 "Music News", by Watt, Charles E., Vol 5, No. 27, Chicago, July 4, 1913, pg 5, digital images, Internet Archive^↩
6 "Music News", by Watt, Charles E., Vol 5, No. 48, Chicago, November 28, 1913, pg 30, digital images, Internet Archive^↩
7 "Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. {B} Group 2. Pamphlets, Etc." New Series, Vol 32, No. 9 1935, digital image, Library of Congress, Copyright Office ^↩

Talented Tuesday - Belle Jorgenson McKee

The first indication I had that Belle Jorgenson had some talent was when I was searching the Peotone Vedette for her father Ole's obituary.  Belle was my Great-Great Grandmother Lena's sister.  Several little mentions in the Society column hinted at her musical abilities.

"Miss Belle Jorgenson has resumed the study of music in Chicago.  She is taking vocal music under Signor Maraschalki."  Peotone Vedette, Oct. 18, 1907"

"Miss Belle Jorgenson will continue her study of music and will reside at 5406 Drexel Boul." Peotone Vedette, 1907"

Belle was about 11 years younger than her oldest sister Lena.  At least going by the 1880 census when she was 9.  She was born October 16, 1871 in Will County, Illinois.  That date came from a copy I received from a "privately published booklet" titled "Necrology of Peotone, Will County, Illinois Residents, Relatives and Friends" by William R. Conrad 1879-1966.  In 1900 her age is 29 but from that census on, she doesn't seem to age normally.  In 1910 she gave her age as 29.  Again.  In 1920 her age is 35 and in 1930 she is 50 (actually 59).  In 1940 she concedes the truth and gives her age as 69.  It's interesting that in her obituary there is no mention of either her birth date or her age.

She not only went to college, but graduated from 2 different colleges, Valparaiso University, which was known then as Northern Indiana Normal School, and Columbia College of Music.  Both schools sent me her class listings that are wonderful to have, but I struck out getting a yearbook photo from either school.  Her photo is on my bucket list.

In 1900 "North Town" Chicago, she was living with Carl Judson and his wife Hannah who was another of Belle's sisters.  She was teaching, possibly at her home town school in Peotone, if the commute was practical then.

In 1910 Chicago, she lived with Jacob Bentall and his wife Bertha, the youngest sister in the family. They lived on Drexel Avenue and Belle's occupation is "musician, on the road". This may be about the time she was with the Chautauqua as mentioned in her obit.  (I've been searching for some advertisements for that.)   Also living in the household was a lodger named Earl McKee, a 27-year-old Stenographer in a law office.  The Columbia College archivist sent this engagement announcement along with the class listing for Belle.  It's such an awesome surprise when someone goes the extra mile!   It was just in the last month I received this and I've sent to IRAD for a copy of her marriage record that they will hopefully have. 

Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug. 4, 1911, pg 6

As her obituary mentions (though the year of their marriage is wrong), Earl & Belle spent two years in Fort Worth, Texas then moved to Los Angeles, living on Elmwood Avenue by 1920.   Earl is the Head of household, a court reporter.  From her obituary I know that by this time he was an invalid from an illness, I wonder if it was polio.  Belle is a musician working on her own.  This is the first time she uses the name "Merlin".  Her sister Bertha and Bertha's son Carlton are living with them.

In 1930 her occupation is a teacher at a private school, maybe with students like Will Rogers, Jr. and the sons of Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I'd like to find out more about her time as "teacher of foreign consel, Bolivia and Equador" as mentioned in her obit.  By 1940, it looks like they were both retired.

Earl and Belle never had children.  Earl died in 1951 at age 67 and is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles in an unmarked grave.  He had a short death notice and a funeral notice in the Los Angeles Times.  His family included a sister, Mrs. Eltha Orr, and a brother Paul both of Los Angeles,  Robert E. McKee of El Monte, William P. McKee of Santa Rosa, Cal., and Francis W. McKee of Springfield, O.  

August 7, 1942 Belle died from a stroke in Los Angeles at the age of 71.  Her obituary doesn't mention being survived by her husband.  She was buried in her hometown of Peotone.  This is her very interesting obituary from the Peotone Vedette, August 13, 1942:

"MRS. EARL MCKEE JOINS SILENT THRONG

Mrs. Belle Jorgenson McKee passed away in Los Angeles on August 7, after an illness of five days.  She suffered a stroke on August second.  With her at the time of her passing was her nephew Carleton Bentall and Mrs. Bentall.

Mrs. McKee was born in Will township and at an early age came to Peotone with her family.  Her education was obtained in the Peotone Public School and Valparaiso University.  Very early in life she became a member of the Presbyterian church of Peotone, a faithful member of its Sunday school and was for many years a member of its choir.  She was the possessor of a wonderful singing voice.  She became a member of the teaching staff of the Peotone public school, successful and greatly beloved for many years.  Later with Mrs. Ella Elliot she went to Rock Springs, Wyoming where she became director of music and public speaking of the city schools.  She also taught in Menominee, Michigan.  In 1906 she was graduated from the music and public speaking department of the Columbia College of Music of Chicago.  Following this she was the leading singer and reader of a Women's quartette in Chautauqua work and travelled over the middle west.

She was married in 1915 to Mr. Earl Edward McKee.  The ceremony was performed by the late B. Fay Mills.  Following their marriage they removed to Ft. Worth, Texas where Mr. McKee was a court reporter in Circuit courts. After two years they removed to Los Angeles where they have lived ever since.  Mr. McKee filled some of the most important posts in the Los Angeles courts.  He has been an invalid since 1918.  Following Mr. McKee's illness, Mrs. McKee became a coach to numbers of prominent members of the Movie industry, among them Will Rogers Jr., and sons of Edgar Rice Burroughs.  She was a teacher of foreign consul, Bolivia and Equador, in Los Angeles.  Mrs. McKee has made a host of friends in Los Angeles and a service was held there on Sunday afternoon preceding the starting of the journey to the old home at Peotone.

Her father, mother, one brother, Andrew, and one sister, Mrs. C. A. Judson, Chicago, preceded her in death.  Surviving relatives are Mrs. Wm. Roscoe of Nebraska, Mr. P. C. Jorgenson, Ledyard, Iowa, Mrs. Bertha Bentall of Chicago, and Mr. W. R. Jorgenson, of Peotone, and one cousin, Mrs. Anna Loucks, Chicago.

Brief services took place in Fredde's Chapel after the arrival of Mrs. McKee's remains at seven o'clock Wednesday evening.  Mrs. Robert Wright sang "Going Home" with Mrs. D. V. Knowlton as accompanist.  Rev. Vaubel delivered a short address.  About forty persons were present.  Among those from out of town were the following:  The pall bearers were Henry Budda, James Kruger, E. P. Cowing, Earl, Carol and Howard Judson. Carl Judson Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Carl Judson Jr., Mrs. Hobart Passell and daughter, Harriet, Earl Judson, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Judson, Mrs. Anna Loucks, Mrs. Wm. Berry and two children, Mrs. M. Bensen, Mrs. Margaret Wahls, Mrs. Katie Potter, and Miss Gertrude Schrier, all of Chicago; Mrs. Anna Schaedler, Wilmette.  Interment was made at the close of the day in Peotone cemetery.

There is no death; The leaves may fall 

 Flowers may fade and pass away - 

 The only wait through wintry hours 

 The warm sweet breath of May 

 The voice of birdlike melody 

 That we will miss and mourn 

 Now mingles with the Angels choir 

 In everlasting song."