6–7.  George Levi Galbreath was born in Casco Township, Allegan County, Michigan, on Sunday, August 6, 1893, and died in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, on August 14, 1964. He was buried in Elma Cemetery. Eva Marie Youngblood was born in Berrien Township, Berrien County, Michigan, on Saturday, October 28, 1882, and died in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on December 15, 1939. She was buried in Union Church Cemetery, Berrien Center, Allegan County, Michigan. They were married in _____ on Friday, July 4, 1913. She took the name Eva Marie Galbreath. He is the son of Charles Edward and Aura Belle (Stuller) Galbreath. She is the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Margaret Lydia (Tenbroeck) Youngblood. They had one child:

His second marriage was to Mary Ora Thayer in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, January 29, 1916. She took the name Mary Ora Galbreath. She was born in _____ on Friday, July 15, 1892, and died in Depew, New York, on September 28, 1973. She was called May. They had seven children:

Her second marriage was to Fred Lee Snook. He was born on Tuesday, November 26, 1889, and died in Kalamazoo on February 13, 1980. His Social Security Number was 368-01-6505.

George and Eva (Youngblood) Galbreath, 1913

The marriage licence for George and Eva has not been found. Eva's sister, Emma, who was living with her at the time, said that that they took the train into Indiana and were married in Michigan City (La Porte County). A search of La Porte County marriage license records by the Clerk's office in September, 1999, found nothing; they searched from 1910 thru 1916. Records are available from 1832.

George left South Haven and sought work in Buffalo, New York. His first job was as a piano tuner for the Wood and Brooks Piano Company. He soon met and married May. He apparently never told anyone of his first child back in South Haven. May's father was a lawyer and quite a wealthy land owner. During the First World War, George worked for the Curtis Company; after the war he worked as an automobile mechanic. He was always very adept at fixing things and for a time owned and operated George's Fixit. Next, he bought a garage and did auto repairs but lost this during The Depression. At the same time, May's father lost most of his real estate fortune. George worked for the WPA then the Kaiser Burnett Coal Company. After the Second World War, he worked at the Library Garage with his son, Edwin. He retired at about age 62 from the Simon Brewery.

George loved family gatherings when all of his children would come to visit. He would sit by the window anxiously awaiting the arrival of the last one, then would sit in his chair and read, apparently oblivious to everyone around him. He loved to eat as evidenced by his size and weight. He also enjoyed taking pictures. He was very meticulous and would often spend 15 minutes adjusting his camera while his subject waited impatiently. According to his daughter-in-law, Dorothy, he was "one of the nicest father-in-laws I could ever ask for." With May, he enjoyed birds and animals. She always had a pet cat. May died from a stroke.

Eva (Youngblood) Galbreath, 1936

The following was written by Eva's daughter, Dorothy (Galbreath) Gilbert.

When Eva was first employed outside of her home, she served as a maid for a wealthy family. [The 1900 census of Clyde Township, Allegan County, Michigan, (National Archives film T1052 #257, vol. 1, sheet 4) shows Eva Youngblood, born October, 1882, living with the family of John Robinson as a servant.] She recalled that milk was used to "wax" the floors. When she moved to Grand Rapids and lived with her brother, Jesse, she obtained a job at a hospital, perhaps on the housekeeping staff as she had no nursing training. Later she got a job nearer home working at Hales Department Store in South Haven where she soon became buyer for the china department. This was a stable position by means of which she could support herself nicely including buying a cottage on the beach at Lake Michigan and later an Overland touring car.

Eva, like her brothers, had not had an opportunity to attend high school. However, she was determined that her young sister would have an education. In 1913 she had Emma come to South Haven and live with her in furnished rooms while she worked for Hales and Emma went to high school. One evening they both attended a party given by a Hales employee; George Galbreath was one of the young men also present. He was strongly attracted to Eva even though his age of 19 would seem to make him a more suitable partner for 17-year-old Emma than for Eva at 31. Eva acquired the cottage about this time. George could call on her and Emma there; respectable young women could not receive male visitors in furnished rooms.

On July 4^th, 1913, Emma went on a holiday outing with friends. When she returned to the cottage in the evening, Eva was not there. She came in with George the next day and told Emma that they had taken a train the previous day and were married. Two months later Emma married Eugene Duffy and dropped out of high school. For reasons that are not clear, Eva moved back home with her parents, possibly renting out her cottage. It is also not clear whether George lived with her at the farm or was there only part of the time. According to his sister, Ethel, George was an expert stringer at the Everett Piano company. When George left for Buffalo, it was understood that he would send for Eva when he was settled. Family legend has it that when he got in touch with Eva he was told that a baby was expected and he said in effect, "it is all right if you come, but no baby." The outcome was that George never came back and Eva never went to New York. There is some suggestion that Eva obtained a divorce on the grounds of desertion in 1921. Since no records have yet been located, much of this hearsay account remains unsubstantiated.

Dorothy was born at the Dye farm where Eva lived with her parents. Eva continued to work for Hales and kept her cottage for several years. In 1920 Eva and her parents and daughter moved east from South Haven to 68th Street, half way to Bangor, in the Jericho school district where Dorothy started in the third grade at the age of seven.

In 1924 the family of four moved to Kalamazoo where Eva had found work in the trimmings department of the J. R. Jones department store. At first, they all lived with her brother, Harry, and his new wife, Frances, on South Westnedge Avenue. Then Harry and Eva jointly bought "the Fisher Place" on Cork Street in Milwood. Eva worked at Jones's, Harry worked at the bakery, Frances worked in a paper mill, Frank farmed, took care of the cow and chickens, Maggie and the other women shared the household chores. Eva's parents had the downstairs bedroom, Eva and Dorothy shared the bedroom at the top of the stairs, Harry and Frances had the west bedroom.

All lived together until Frances and Harry started a family. The five acres was then divided into two 2.5-acre parcels and Eva built a bungalow in the orchard at a cost of less than $1000. She moved into it with her parents and daughter.

Eva, now in her forties, had no lack of suitors. She was an intelligent, thoughtful woman and favorite with her family. She liked playing cards and other games; when a new game came on the market, she would buy it and play it with anyone who was interested. She grew flowers, did various crafts, cooked, sewed, and enjoyed children. Since she was unable to get her little sister to finish high school, she was doubtless glad to have a daughter who graduated from college, although not as a teacher as she had hoped.

In 1928 Eva married Fred Snook, a garage mechanic, and moved with her parents and daughter into 1234 East Cork Street with the Snooks: Fred, his daughter, Lillian, and his son, Ralph. Fred and Eva are remembered for the Boston terriers they raised and sold.

This was not a happy move for the Youngbloods. "Grandpa Youngblood" was no longer the man of the house, there was nothing for him to do. He died in 1930. Dorothy graduated from high school in June of 1931 and entered college in September. This was the time of The Depression, and Eva, now working in the fabrics department of the prestigious Gilmore's Department Store, was the only wage-earner for the family. Dorothy temporarily dropped out of school and got a WPA job as a nursery school dietician. Fred was unemployed but was able to get a good deal of auto repair work in his own garage behind the house. As soon as she was able, Eva resumed paying Dorothy's college tuition, even through her marriage in June of 1936; Dorothy graduated in 1937. Eva gave Dorothy and Truman her equity in the bungalow as a wedding present.

In the meantime, Maggie Youngblood's eyesight deteriorated until she could not even see well enough to do the dishes. Since Eva and Fred were both working, and Dorothy was married and living in the "little house", it was necessary to hire a companion to stay with Maggie during the day. This was unsatisfactory, and finally "Grandma" went to live with Dorothy and her husband and baby. She lived long enough to hold her great grandson, Walter, in the rocking chair; Walter was five months old when she died.

Eva had developed an interest in china because of her work at Hales department store. She had purchased several items that appealed to her, some for herself some for gifts. She had just started to collect pitchers when she left the Hales store.

After Dorothy married, Eva and Fred were finally living by themselves. They bought a new Ford and took a trip to the Mount Rushmore Memorial in South Dakota. This was a very memorable occasion for them and they enjoyed showing their pictures and relating their experiences.

Eva and Fred spent many happy hours, days, weeks, fishing and camping. They rented lake cottages every summer, finally bought their own cottage at Pine Lake and had their own motor boats. There were usually many friends and neighbors sharing the fun; Dorothy was always glad to go fishing with them.

For years, Eva suffered from varicose veins, a condition that plagued many members of the Youngblood family. It was aggravated by her job as a salesperson requiring her to be on her feet all day. A varicose ulcer developed in her ankle. Conservative treatments failed, so it was finally necessary to have a ligation of the saphenous veins at the groin. Eva ultimately died in Bronson Hospital from thrombophlebitis just over a year after the death of her mother.

Fred always liked sharing his interests: show the children how it works and then let them do it. He seemed to enjoy letting his stepdaughter drive his new car and use his new motorboat. He was patient showing her how to shoot his guns and how to use his fishing tackle. Fred went on to outlive a third wife and marry a fourth one, living into his 80s.

• Dorothy Galbreath Gilbert
• Edward Galbreath
• Eugene Galbreath
• Family interviews and family Bible records
• Social Security Death Records