Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Ancestors of Joan Eleanor Hersey

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Ancestors of Joan Eleanor Hersey

Generation No. 2

      2. Willard Everett Hersey³, born June 12, 1912 in Oakland, Alameda County, Ca ^4,⁵; died August 27, 1967 in Oakland, California ^6,⁷. He was the son of 4. Ezra Harrison Hersey and 5. Elizabeth Hunt. He married 3. Margaret Doris Mulligan in Fresno County, Ca ^8,^8,⁹.

      3. Margaret Doris Mulligan⁹, born October 19, 1914 in Fresno County, Ca ¹⁰. She was the daughter of 6. Thomas John Mulligan and 7. Edith Hays.

Notes for Willard Everett Hersey:
Willard was a godly and quiet man who won the affection and respect of everyone who knew him, most of all his four daughters. He was skilled with his hands, and worked in many jobs where those skills were in demand. For many years he was an employee of Peerless Pumps, a division of Food Machinery Corporation. He did electrical repairs on pumps all over the arid, irrigated San Joaquin Valley and was a favorite of many of the local farmers, often bringing home a gift of fruit, wine, nuts, or vegetables from a grateful rancher.
When he was forty-two years old he was diagnosed with Parkinsonism. Over several years his health deteriorated and, in spite of a variety of treatments and surgeries, some of them experimental, he became unable to work or drive. In early 1967, while in the hospital awaiting a third brain surgery, he was diagnosed with metastatised melanoma. Within four months he died, with little suffering. We all, including him, considered the melanoma his "ticket Home". Without it he faced a bleak future of invalidism. As one of his friends, John Staley (who had survived a year in an iron lung with polio, during which time Willard visited him regularly), said to him on his last visit: "Well, Will, looks like you're going to get to Glory before any of us!" And he did.

Notes for Margaret Doris Mulligan:
From Marge's autobiography:
      Born on October 19, 1914 in Fresno, California to Thomas and Edith (Hays) Mulligan, the eighth of twelve children. My father was from Banbridge, Ireland and came to the States at age sixteen. Mother was born in Iowa--was about four when she travelled to a small farm in Easton, a suburb of Fresno; they made the trip by train in 1883 or 1884. My parents met in Easton when Mother was fifteen and Dad was twenty-four. When they married they bought the farm land on the west side of Fresno where I grew up. They lived for a while in a small house, but later began building a larger house for their growing family (adding on to it when needed). Fresno was the center of the growing raisin industry, so we grew Thompson seedless grapes; also some fruit and olive trees and a hay crop.
      Dad had his own "work crew"--his family! Children were out in the field even before they could work, and after that whenever possible. After our days were done, we climbed trees, swam, explored, and got into mischief, of course! Mother enjoyed field work. The older girls did most of the cooking and housework, and they, too, helped with the farming. Dad supplemented our in come with his team of horses, digging out canals when they were dry and doing jobs for builders in town, levelling lots, etc.. It was fascinating to watch him handle his team on steep slopes, or when they were stuck in mud; he was a real pro!
      Mother kept us entertained with Bible quizzes and memorizing scripture verses while we worked in the vineyard. She also told us Bible stories each night--lined up on the stairs, in our beds, or sometimes out under the stars.
      My schooling, which I thoroughly enjoyed, began at Teilman Elementary School. In the first grade I had so much fun I didn't learn very much. Two spinster teachers took me home in their "tin lizzy" after school one day, explaining to my mother that I needed help with reading. Mother did such a good job of it that I'm a "book-aholic" to this day!
      In the ninth grade I went nine miles by bus to Central Union High; that was a great year. From
the tenth through the twelfth, Dad felt it would be better that I go with other siblings to Fresno Technical. We were three miles from town and worked after school and Saturday so our social lives were limited.
      When the United States went through the Depression, there were long breadlines and much
suffering. It was a poor time to graduate from high school and hope for an office position. Our family was doing well enough financially that Dad encouraged me to go to college, but I had my mind set on being a secretary--and in those days one didn't go to college for that. I didn't have much self-confidence, and had even less after walking into a few places and asking for a job! So I went to the new Junior College, held in the same building as the high school I'd attended, continuing to take refresher courses and improving my shorthand, particularly. I was not paid for the jobs that I did "for experience"; I remember working for a newspaper office for two weeks, and for an attorney for a month. The latter gave me a wonderful letter of recommendation--but no job offer. And I worked at the ranch (home) half of each day.
      My friendship with Willard, my future husband, began during those years. I met him through my sister Elsie's husband, Art Gattey. Art and Willard had grown up in the same church in Oakland and were good friends. Willard's father, Ezra Hersey, had just died after a long illness, probably Parkinsons disease. There was little income in his family, and what there was Willard supplied--for himself as well as his mother and sister. We had a long courtship, seemingly going nowhere. We didn't discuss marriage and I understood why.
      I had taken a civil service exam, not getting very high scores, and not thinking much would come of it. It was probably 1935 when I got the telegram from Washington, D.C.: "Would you consider coming to Washington for a three-month job, with possibility of a longer appointment - and could we hear from you immediately?". Would I ever! The folks loaned me enough to pay bus fare and enough to live on a short while. I had never lived away from home, and this was a scary adventure. The trip took five days with no overnight stops; I ate sparingly, with the thought of all that money to pay back! I lost ten pounds on the trip and should have been sent to the dry cleaners when I arrived! And--you guessed it--my suitcase didn't arrive for two days! I went to the nearest YWCA, slept overnight (that felt wonderful) and found a boardinghouse they suggested. I could tell it was going to be very temporary!
      The first Sunday at the church I planned to attend, two Christian girls invited me to live with them. The Christians put out the welcome mat for me, though it was but a small group holding meetings in a "storefront". A Scotch brother with a lovely voice led the singing. I felt right at home.
      Willard wasn't too happy about my move, and said so by letter. We got more serious and
down-to-earth about the future, and I planned to return as soon as I dared. My job was with the Agriculture Department, and they were helping farmers survive the Depression through the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.

******************************************************
Written for a family reunion in 1982:
Marge's Mulligan Family Memories
...Dad, bouncing us on his foot to "ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross to see an old lady..."
...Dad, bringing in new baby David--all five pounds plus of him. A few of us were surprised! [Marge, at 14, was also a little miffed that her older sisters hadn't even told her that her mother was expecting. Her mother's loose clothing never disclosed the pregnancy.]
...David, running to greet us with the day's news, having already read the paper. Jim called him "Scoop".
...Don, sitting in the chicken coop with mother hen and chicks, imitating the sounds.
...Don, the day he fell out of the barn window, because we didn't watch him. How guilty I felt each time he cried with that sand bag tied to his leg for traction. Then there was the day he copied us throwing clods into the ditch--only his was too big for him and he just rolled down with it, right into the water; he was rescued by Bill.
...Early memories of aunts and uncles, possibly grandparents: the house on Divisadero, sitting on the steep steps just as you came in the front door. Aunt Lizzie's funeral - and my first thoughts of death. Aunt Hannah, who loved little kids and sneaked us goodies. Uncle David who used to fill a big bread sack with day-old bread for the Mulligan gang; I loved to go get it--usually got a hug, too.
...Jim, half asleep, crying as he came down the stairs, cheeks all swollen with the mumps--upset because he couldn't go fishing with Dad and his brothers.
...Uncle Hugh, and all his peculiarities. I think with nostalgia of the well where he kept butter in a cut-out to keep it cool.
...the apricot cutting and drying; the day Dad caught the run-away team out on the road, the old windmills at nearby homes.
...Martha, and the huge doll Miss Gordon gave her - how I envied her! Martha and I becoming pals. Going to Roeding Park one Sunday afternoon, running through the sprinklers, getting our fancy new hair ribbons all wet!
...Mother, head buried in a book, trying to concentrate while the gang joked and laughed around her; the noise level could get staggering. She had some trouble controlling us, and Dad quite often came home late after scraping jobs downtown. One day she was trying to get some of us to stack wood and the clowning got out of hand. Don sent a piece of wood spiraling up, only it came down and hit her glasses. Boy, was she mad!
...the Reo, "air-conditioned" with canvas side curtains; hot bricks at your feet, laprobes, etc. Some memory of playing in the old "go-to-meeting wagon" in the eucalyptus grove. Also, I recall learning a smattering of Spanish from Mexican grape-pickers out there.
...Sunday School Treats - candy in mesh bags, large red apples, oranges; learning our "pieces".
...Kearney Park Sunday School Picnics; exploring the buildings, sampling all the cakes, etc., and of course, the ball games!
...Derrill, allowed to come out to the ranch; getting too boisterous for his mom and needing to spread his energy around a bit; he must have been about sixteen, was just beginning to drive. He loved to tickle us girls - can still hear his laugh!
...Phil, the perfectionist. White, starchy shirts, monopolizing the bathroom; his long-legged fast walk; the year he took Elsie and me to Yellowstone with him; the roadster running-board that we put the camp stove on and cooked mush for him.


Children of Willard Hersey and Margaret Mulligan are:

	1	i.		Joan Eleanor Hersey, born in Oakland, Alameda County, Ca; married Robert Lawrence Olsson in San Leandro, Ca.
		ii.		Doris Ruth Hersey, married William King in Bogota', Colombia, South America; born ¹¹.

Notes for Doris Ruth Hersey:
Dori grew up in Fresno, California. She attended one year of nursing school at San Jose City Hospital School of Nursing and then worked on the mission field in Peru and Colombia, South America. She and Bill met while on a short term mission in Lima, Peru. They were married in Bogota, Colombia, South America.

Notes for William King:
Bill grew up in the Seattle, Washington, area, and was a friend of Steve Mathews long before they became brothers-in-law. He did missionary work after graduating from high school; he met Dori on a missions trip in Peru. After they returned to the States he worked at various businesses, finally establishing his own business as an import expeditor in the Portland area.

iii.

Lois Marilyn Hersey¹¹ ¹¹, married Stephen Roy Mathews; born ¹¹.

Notes for Lois Marilyn Hersey:
Lois grew up in Fresno, California. She graduated from Clovis Union High School in 1960 and San Jose Hospital School of Nursing in 1963. She worked as a registered nurse at Children's Hospital in Oakland, Ca. for a few years. She then attended Emmaus Bible School in Oak Park, Illinois. She later worked as a nurse in Gresham, Oregon, for several years. After retiring she volunteered as a counselor at the local crisis pregnancy center.

Notes for Stephen Roy Mathews:
Steve graduated from Highline High School in Seattle, WA in 1963. He attended Clark College in Vancouver, WA. until 1970, then attended Emmaus Bible School in Oak Park, Illinois from 1963 to 1965. He works as a mechanic on refrigeration, cars, and trucks.

iv.

Donna Lee Hersey, married Robert Burke; born ¹¹.

Notes for Donna Lee Hersey:
Donna, the youngest of "the Hersey girls", spent her childhood in Fresno. She moved, with her parents, to Ben Lomond, California, where she attended San Lorenzo Valley High School. Later, after the three of them moved up to the Bay Area, she graduated from high school in Pleasant Hill. She worked as a secretary for various businesses before marrying Bob. They met while working as summer staffers at Koinonia Christian Conference Center. After their marriage they lived in Waco, Texas, where Bob graduated from Baylor University. They live in Brookings, SD, where Bob has worked at South Dakota State University in various teaching and administrative capacities. For several years they were foster parents, eventually adopting two of their babies (it runs in the family!)
Donna is busy being a mother of preschoolers, participating actively in various church activities, and entertaining college students in their home.

Notes for Robert Burke:
Bob has a doctorate in clinical psychology from Baylor University. He has taught psychology classes and held various administrative positions at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.

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