Mary Genevieve Staley was born in Maryland, but the Staley’s lived in Montreal, Canada. Grandpa Staley was born on Wolfe Island, located in Lake Ontario, near Kingston, Ontario, at the entrance to the St. Laurence River. It is the largest of the Thousand Islands. The Staley’s can trace their first recorded history on Wolfe Island to my great-great grandfather Martin Staley, who was married to Catherine Johanna Lambert in St. Andrew’s Presbyterian (Presbyterian??) Church in Kingston on December 12, 1825.
Martin was actually born in the United States (probably the Mohawk River Valley, sandwiched between the Catskills and the Adirondacks in upper New York) to Jacob and Maria. He was the grandson to Marten Stahle (let’s see, that would be my great-great-great-great grandfather, a United Empire Loyalist.
The Loyalists were folks who had settled in the 13 colonies but remained committed to the Crown. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population in the Colonies (about 250,000 people) were opposed to the Revolution. Many feared chaos would result from democracy. As one person put it, “Better to be ruled by one tyrant 3,000 miles away than 3,000 tyrants 1 mile away.” After the Brits lost, these folks were hounded by the patriots. About 50,000 migrated to the British North American Colonies of Quebec and Nova Scotia. Apparently, Great-great-great-great Grandpa Martin was among them.
Grandpa Staley was a building contractor who made and lost more than one fortune. Mom had many fond memories of her years at The Thousand Islands. Her home there, which Grandpa built (?), was an impressive structure on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. A painting of it adorned our walls at Grand Avenue and now on Suzi's walls, and the house still stands, today. Those were golden days for the Staley’s. Grandpa was Commodore of the local yacht club. Their yacht was the Merry “G”, after Mom. Life was good.
An accomplished typist, she entered a competition in Maryland and won the state trophy for speed and accuracy on an old manual Royal typewriter. Later, she acquired an electric one, but didn't like it because she had a habit of resting her fingers on the keys while composing ... which inevitably led to a bunch of unwanted letters being added to her text. She was also expert in shorthand, keeping her "notes to self" in that cryptic hand. Including her checkbook, so Dad couldn't decipher on what she was spending.
Circumstance brought them to Los Angeles, too, however. Who knows why? Perhaps it was the lure of all that construction happening in the West. Indeed, they build a new home in Cheviot Hills, near the junction of the San Diego and Santa Monica Freeways. It was at that house that the reception was held for Mom and Dad at their wedding.
Mom attended Woodbury Business College and later graduated from UCLA, a relatively rare thing for a woman to do in those days. Later, she joined the L.A. Chamber of Commerce as Trade Commissioner, where her focus was on the garment industry. She was credited as being the first person to introduce California fashions to the East Coast. She was flying high, a bright career ahead of her.
Until Dad happened.
The policy at the Chamber was that no woman could be married. Apparently this was a rule during the Depression to ensure no family had two jobs when others had none. Well, Mom had a grand wedding with everyone invited, got pregnant and made no bones about it. Her boss still kept calling her “Miss Staley”, despite her wedding ring, her growing belly and the open secret that her name now was “Fitzharris”. After she gave birth to Suzi, other women came out of the closet and admitted they were married, and the policy collapsed. We’ve come a long way, baby.
While in San Rafael, she was passionate about gardening, and exhibited her flowers at the Marin Art and Garden Center. Once, she noticed some of her plants were missing in the area next to the driveway. She tracked the thieves down to a show connected with the Renaissance Faire on Mount Tam, touting them as "Stolen From The Queen's Gardens". She continued her publicity efforts for anyone who needed her support: The Garden Club and Marin Catholic High School among them.
In the 1970's, Dutch Elm Disease became a blight throughout the state. We were very proud of the elms in front of our home. They were once featured in Sunset Magazine as the best examples of elms in Northern California. The only solution was to cut diseased trees down. Our trees were flagged for cutting.
Mom took up the cause and thoroughly researched the disease and possible treatments. She met with a Berkeley professor who proposed an injection treatment. She visited the Capitol and presented her findings in the Legislature. She accumulated the largest library in the state on Dutch Elm Disease. Officials would consult with HER on the subject. She was able to save all but one tree, although others have been cut down since. Only two or three remain.
Mom was a strong proponent of the Power Of Positive Thinking. She read every book on the subject, from Norman Vincent Peale to Cyber Cybernetics and everything in between. Again, her collection of books on self motivation was larger than the San Francisco Library's. She would speed read through all her books, staying up late at night reading while the rest of us were asleep. To her, sleep was a waste of time; she could do that when she was dead (although many of us doubt she is asleep yet).
Mom died on April 18, 1986. She was a victim of colon cancer. Sadly, she ignored her symptoms for many months before she went in for diagnosis and treatment. Typically, she was more concerned about looking after Dad, who was in advanced stages of Parkinson's Disease. Ironically, she was afraid there would be no one to look after him while she was convalescing.
She was honored by the Marin Chapter of the American Association of University Women for her many contributions. And by her children, who swear she looks after us from above.
Genevieve Staley -- Engagement Photo - late 1930's. They were engaged for five years so they could get enough money to get married after the Depression.
L to R are: Sarah A. (McManus) Staley, Austin A. Staley, ???-Don't know who the tall young woman is-possibly a younger sister of Sarah???, Leonard M. Staley (Genevieve's father), Agnes Staley, Archibald Staley, Evelyn Staley. Photo taken in 1887
Dave Fitzharris (2000)
Mom
Mary Genevieve Staley was born in Maryland, but the Staley’s lived in Montreal, Canada. Grandpa Staley was born on Wolfe Island, located in Lake Ontario, near Kingston, Ontario, at the entrance to the St. Laurence River. It is the largest of the Thousand Islands. The Staley’s can trace their first recorded history on Wolfe Island to my great-great grandfather Martin Staley, who was married to Catherine Johanna Lambert in St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
(Presbyterian??) Church in Kingston on December 12, 1825.
Martin was actually born in the United States (probably the Mohawk River Valley, sandwiched between the Catskills and the Adirondacks in upper New York) to Jacob and Maria. He was the grandson to Marten Stahle (let’s see, that would be my great-great-great-great grandfather, a United Empire Loyalist.
The Loyalists were folks who had settled in the 13 colonies but remained committed to the Crown. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population in the Colonies (about 250,000 people) were opposed to the Revolution. Many feared chaos would result from democracy. As one person put it, “Better to be ruled by one tyrant 3,000 miles away than 3,000 tyrants 1 mile away.” After the Brits lost, these folks were hounded by the patriots. About 50,000 migrated to the British North American Colonies of Quebec and Nova Scotia. Apparently, Great-great-great-great Grandpa Martin was among them.
Grandpa Staley was a building contractor who made and lost more than one fortune. Mom had many fond memories of her years at The Thousand Islands. Her home there, which Grandpa built (?), was an impressive structure on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. A painting of it adorned our walls at Grand Avenue and now on Suzi's walls, and the house still stands, today. Those were golden days for the Staley’s. Grandpa was Commodore of the local yacht club. Their yacht was the Merry “G”, after Mom. Life was good.
An accomplished typist, she entered a competition in Maryland and won the state trophy for speed and accuracy on an old manual Royal typewriter. Later, she acquired an electric one, but didn't like it because she had a habit of resting her fingers on the keys while composing ... which inevitably led to a bunch of unwanted letters being added to her text. She was also expert in shorthand, keeping her "notes to self" in that cryptic hand. Including her checkbook, so Dad couldn't decipher on what she was spending.
Circumstance brought them to Los Angeles, too, however. Who knows why? Perhaps it was the lure of all that construction happening in the West. Indeed, they build a new home in Cheviot Hills, near the junction of the San Diego and Santa Monica Freeways. It was at that house that the reception was held for Mom and Dad at their wedding.
Mom attended Woodbury Business College and later graduated from UCLA, a relatively rare thing for a woman to do in those days. Later, she joined the L.A. Chamber of Commerce as Trade Commissioner, where her focus was on the garment industry. She was credited as being the first person to introduce California fashions to the East Coast. She was flying high, a bright career ahead of her.
Until Dad happened.
The policy at the Chamber was that no woman could be married. Apparently this was a rule during the Depression to ensure no family had two jobs when others had none. Well, Mom had a grand wedding with everyone invited, got pregnant and made no bones about it. Her boss still kept calling her “Miss Staley”, despite her wedding ring, her growing belly and the open secret that her name now was “Fitzharris”. After she gave birth to Suzi, other women came out of the closet and admitted they were married, and the policy collapsed. We’ve come a long way, baby.
While in San Rafael, she was passionate about gardening, and exhibited her flowers at the Marin Art and Garden Center. Once, she noticed some of her plants were missing in the area next to the driveway. She tracked the thieves down to a show connected with the Renaissance Faire on Mount Tam, touting them as "Stolen From The Queen's Gardens". She continued her publicity efforts for anyone who needed her support: The Garden Club and Marin Catholic High School among them.
In the 1970's, Dutch Elm Disease became a blight throughout the state. We were very proud of the elms in front of our home. They were once featured in Sunset Magazine as the best examples of elms in Northern California. The only solution was to cut diseased trees down. Our trees were flagged for cutting.
Mom took up the cause and thoroughly researched the disease and possible treatments. She met with a Berkeley professor who proposed an injection treatment. She visited the Capitol and presented her findings in the Legislature. She accumulated the largest library in the state on Dutch Elm Disease. Officials would consult with HER on the subject. She was able to save all but one tree, although others have been cut down since. Only two or three remain.
Mom was a strong proponent of the Power Of Positive Thinking. She read every book on the subject, from Norman Vincent Peale to Cyber Cybernetics and everything in between. Again, her collection of books on self motivation was larger than the San Francisco Library's. She would speed read through all her books, staying up late at night reading while the rest of us were asleep. To her, sleep was a waste of time; she could do that when she was dead (although many of us doubt she is asleep yet).
Mom died on April 18, 1986. She was a victim of colon cancer. Sadly, she ignored her symptoms for many months before she went in for diagnosis and treatment. Typically, she was more concerned about looking after Dad, who was in advanced stages of Parkinson's Disease. Ironically, she was afraid there would be no one to look after him while she was convalescing.
She was honored by the Marin Chapter of the American Association of University Women for her many contributions. And by her children, who swear she looks after us from above.
I love you, Mom.
Suzi Fitzharris (Chelini) (2000)
Cletus James and Mary Genevieve Gertrude Staley Fitzharris -- October 7, 1939
Suzi Fitzharris (Chelini) (2000)
Genevieve Staley -- 1920s
Suzi Fitzharris (Chelini) (2000)
Genevieve Staley -- Engagement Photo - late 1930's. They were engaged for five years so they could get enough money to get married after the Depression.
Suzi Fitzharris (Chelini) (2000)
Genevieve Staley -- First woman Trade Commissioner for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce -- late 1930s
Suzi Fitzharris (Chelini) (2000)
L to R are: Sarah A. (McManus) Staley, Austin A. Staley, ???-Don't know who the tall young woman is-possibly a younger sister of Sarah???, Leonard M. Staley (Genevieve's father), Agnes Staley, Archibald Staley, Evelyn Staley. Photo taken in 1887