All of my finals are finished and I am now headed home with my friend Shung Li who is spending Christmas with my family. My family is  a bit crazy and I haven’t seen them in a year besides my one sister for Thanksgiving, it will be interesting for both me and Shung Li. I also need to prepare for my Lithuania study abroad trip. Because I am studying abroad, I have to take 7 300-level history classes by the end of my senior year along with Statistics and Arts. On top of that I was planning to do an honors project that would have been 6 credits as well plus decrease my work to 10 hours a week. Then I realized I cannot do this, therefore I think I am going to not do the senior project. It will be too much, but we’ll see.

I semi-finished the biographies of Harry Flowers and Rachel Flowers for two of my classes. I might post them. Who knows? Over the course of the research, I always am thinking in the back of my head, what if Rachel Flowers is not Rachel Flowers. It is always a possibility for throughout my research there has been more than one Rachel Flowers.

Rachel Flowers #1: This Rachel was found in a news article.

I found this article a while ago, but dismissed it. Her middle name started was Helen and did not start with a W. Now, that I am looking at it…its an 11 hour train ride what do you expect…I think this is the Rachel Flowers being studied. First, the street address, North Frazier Street.

When Rachel H. Flowers (this is going to get confusing) threw a party to celebrate her sisters’ marriages she resided at 632 North Frazier, despite the fact it states it was at the home of Rodman Smith. According to the 1930 Census, R.H. Flowers was listed as a border at the home.

This Rachel W. Flowers was also listed as either a school teacher or a concert artist. Given that her name was first and her ties to the teaching community, my bet is that she was actually the school teacher.

Conclusion: This was probably just a typo.

Rachel Flowers #2: Rachel Flowers in the Census

Well this Rachel was my most painful finding throughout the entire research. Up to this point of my research, I had been waiting days, months years, maybe that an exaggeration. I had been waiting a long time for the release of the 1940 Census. Once April came around, I did not even wait for the names to be index. After unknown hours, I found a Rachel Flowers. Now, there were certain expectations for this Rachel. She could not have been over 33 years old, single, born in Florida, and residing in Philadelphia. Who did I find? A Rachel Flowers who was a 65 year old widow from North Carolina. The only credential she met was living in Philly.

The most puzzling thing about this Rachel was that the location and who she was living with made sense. This Rachel was living with R.H. Flowers’ mother on a street reference in many articles.

Conclusion: It could be a lot of typos, but how much is too much before you rule that this is another Rachel?

Rachel Flowers #3: Another Philly Rachel

This Rachel H. Flowers was only 20 years old and single listed in the 1940 Census. She was too young and listed as the daughter of William and Lala? Hite with a sister Rosetta Hite. She is the only person in the household to have the last name Flowers difference from her mother, father, and sister. This is strange.

Conclusion: None, I have no idea.

Rachel over the years:

1916-1918:

1916-1918

1941 (standing on the left looking directly down)

1941

1942( Okay there are a group of three ladies to the left of the only male in the picture, she is in the middle)

Stay posted.

Christina