Franklin Ferrell 1939

Arvid Ferrell Father	Jerry Ferrell	Anna Craig Mother
	Bertha Caudill Spouse

Franklin Ferrell
Name	Franklin  Jerry  Ferrell
Gender	Male
Family Search:	LKJ4-JBY
Find-a-Grave:	98448039
Validated ?	Yes - Well Sourced
Birth and Death Information
Born	20 May 1939
	Middletown, OH
	United States of America
Deceased	11 Feb 2002
	Maineville, OH
Family Relationships
Father	Arvid Ferrell
Mother	Anna Craig
Spouse	Bertha Caudill
Marriage Date	3 Oct 1964
Children	David Ferrell Brett Ferrell
Siblings	Elliott Ferrell Naomi Ferrell Craig Ferrell Marilyn Faye Ferrell William Ferrell Lawrence Ferrell Garry Ferrell Eva Gay Ferrell
Service and Honorary (DAR/SAR)
Revolutionary
War of 1812
Civil War
Spanish American
Korea
Vietnam
Gulf War
Sources and References
BC:     DC:     MC:     Obit:     Will:
Birth Certificate	1939 Jerry Ferrell Birth Certificate]
Death Certificate	2002 Jerry Ferrell Death Cert
Marriage Certificate	Ferrell Caudill Marriage Cert]
Obituary	Jerry Ferrell 2002 Obituary
Will/Estate
1950 Census	1950 Census
1940 Census	1940 Census
1930 Census
1920 Census
1910 Census
1900 Census
1890 Census
1880 Census
1870 Census
1860 Census
1850 Census
1840 Census
Children below:	\/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/

David Ferrell
Brett Ferrell

This one is dad, so it's very well documented. I did reach out to my aunt Faye for some details here and there.

But, he was born 20 May 1939, to Arvid Ferrell and Anna Craig in Middletown, OH. This places his birth right at the end of the Great Depression (1929-1939)[3], and just before World War II (1939-1945)[4]... so, a fairly interesting time, although he didn't really experience either event because he was so young. He lived in Middletown (generally, often in Lemon Township) or Monroe his entire life, aside from a very brief time near Orlando when I was a kid - but my brother and I were sick all the time, and the last couple of years in Maineville near Kings Island Amusement Park. He died of a heart attach 15 Feb 1982, and is buried in the W. H. Caudill Cemetery in Farler, KY.

Family

Jerry was the next to last of Anna's 9 kids, with sister Eva Gaye (born on leap day in 1944) being the baby, and he had 3 surviving older brothers Elliott, Craig, and Larry, and 2 older sisters Irene and Faye, and two older brothers who died young, Billy and Garry. Ironically Jerry's father passed when he was eight, mirroring me (Brett) losing my mother at 12, but I don't recall him ever mentioning it in that context and I never really internalized how young he was.

From talking to my aunt Fay, she indicated that Garry had, basically, a failure to thrive - at least the best they knew (died at 5 months), but grandma didn't think he ever could get enough nourishment. Billy, she said, kind of choked on ice cream, or at least had some sort of reaction, and just stopped breathing (died at 1.5 years).

There were significant age differences between Jerry and his siblings, so he seemed closest to Larry (3 years older) and Eva Gay (5 years younger), the rest were 8, 10, 10 13 years older, so those gaps were hard to overcome to be 'close'. Pop never told me about living on the farm in Gratis, so I assume he didn't remember it well, since he would've only been between 3 and maybe 5, he probably had no memory of it in fact.

I (Brett) always wondered why, with some of his siblings in town, we weren't closer with them. Mom (Bert) took us "down home" to her family a lot, sometimes more than I would've wanted, and we saw mom's sister (Jean) and her husband often, and we saw Pop's sister Irene pretty often, but we seldom saw his brother Elliott and family, who were also in town. Much later when I inquired, Pop let me know that Bert and Freda were somewhat at odds. Apparently mom felt she had been taken advantage of by Freda showing up and dropping her kids off, and running errands for long periods while making her babysit, and she'd had enough of it. That's all I really know, except that mom had a temper, and I can imagine the message was not delivered with excessive tact.

Mom and dad started dating while she was staying, as I understand it, with cousins (the KILBURNS I think - Follow-Up:VERIFY) after her junior year in high school. My aunt Faye tells me she thinks mom and dad met at the tennis courts. I guess the Kilburn boys were regular partners with Pop, and the girls tagged along some, and introductions were made. Apparently they dated "some" that summer, but eventually Bert when back home because my uncle Ed tells me that that fall Pop approached him to ask about mailing an engagement ring with a wedding offer to her.

It's a pretty funny story, and I can see it happening because dad was quite an introvert. Supposedly Ed told him, no, that's not how you ask a woman to marry you, you need to drive down there and give it to her in person. I guess that's what he did, but I would be fascinated to know the details. After all, it's a 5 hour drive ONE WAY, and there were no hotels really, so was he planning to stay the night?? So interesting. But, she said yes, and they were married in October.

Note that this is right after his mom had passed, he'd stayed home to take care of her, she was diabetic and had had a leg amputated earlier in the year, and by mid August she had passed away, and Pop was a newly unattached 25 year old looking to figure out what the next stage of his life, home, and family held for him.

Education

Pop was a 1957 graduate of the Middletown high school, and was sharp as a tack. He had a good vocabulary, and strong math skills for someone with "only" a high school education. In fact when Brett first encountered algebra it didn't make any sense, and Jerry tirelessly tutored him through it until it started to make sense. He wasn't as militant about us going to college as mom was, but always stressed the importance of education, and how it would be key to getting a good job for us.

Occupation

Mom and dad both worked at Kroger, but Pop started at Reedy's, then Marsh, before moving to Kroger. Pop was a dairy stock clerk most of his career, and taught me many things about how long to expect products to last. He worked shifts his whole life, and was not the most senior person most of his career, so he didn't always get the comfortable day shift, and often worked weekends for time and half or double time (and holidays) to make a little extra. I think he liked working in the dairy because it was fairly solitary work, but something that you could do well and see the result at the end of the day. He was adamant about rotating your inventory and keep your shelves 'faced' and looking good, and to this day when I shop I try to leave the shelves faced (labels out, aligned/straight, and no gaps) because of him.

But, late in life they encouraged him to work a register. I'm actually not sure why, and I know he was reluctant, but it came with the opportunity for better hours. One thing about working in the dairy was he didn't interact with people a lot, but he did love to talk to people. Anyone, really, and I used to chide him for telling the cable or phone representatives about the trials of his day, or the bank teller. "They don't care", I would say. There was something generational there, but also part of it was, although he was introverted, he really wanted and needed that interaction. The same was true stocking shelves, and he would get to know, and have short conversations (as short as one could be with Pop) with his regular customers, and once he settled in on a register I think he really enjoyed this aspect. His "regulars" would wait in his line to have the chance to chat with him, and although I'm sure it annoyed the managers that this slowed his line down, I think this is part of the charm of having folks at the register.

Jerry also did a short stint at NCR, which I think he said was in Middletown somewhere at the time, and I think he said we ran a drill press. At some point he was laid off, and I think he told me at one point that they'd called him back, but he was at Kroger then and didn't like the idea of getting laid off and called back repeatedly so he just stayed with Kroger. He also told me a story about getting a shard of metal stuck in his eye while working there, which sounded pretty grim.

Other

Not a lot of extra notes here, after Bert died Jerry pretty much just worked to provide for his boys. He did go on a couple of dates many years later, but his heart wasn't in it, and I think he frankly found it to be more trouble than it was worth. His health was mixed, he had to have his mitral valve replaced in, I think it was his early 50's, and that was hard on him - it was super painful to recover from, and he got the mechanical version and the noise it made was a bit disconcerting. Later he had real issues with numbness and cracking of his fingertips, and terrible fingernails. He always attributed this from working in the coolers at Kroger and opening boxes every day, but I now believe this was undiagnosed diabetes. He eventually succumbed to a massive heartache/stroke in bed at 62.

Life on the move

Mom wanted the best for her kids, and to live where it was warmer. In my story I talk about getting hit by a car, at which point she basically threatened dad with divorce if he didn't find a safer place for her kids to grow up (we'd also been struggling a bit with local bullies). But this was also after she'd convinced him to move to Florida for a time.

When Bert and Jerry were in Florida, I was super small. There are a couple of pictures, and I'm walking around, so I must have been 2 or 3, and Dave was maybe in kindergarten. Aunt Fay tells me that they stayed with them for a short bit before finding work and getting an apartment, and apparently we spent a fair amount of time at the beach and things, but I guess the salt water was giving us ear infections and various things, and they were always having to pick one of us up at school/day care because we were sick, and it just wasn't tenable.

Timeline

Previous Addresses

I see no evidence of Arvid and Anna's Family in Middletown before 1928 (I have not found a 1927 Directory). We know that Elliott was born in Menifee County, KY, in 1925, so this makes sense (and his birth certificate says they lived in Sudith, but no City Directory exists for Menifee). Interestingly we see they live in 3 different addresses on Fleming street (2 before Jerry is born), as well as Ellwood and Elmsere in Middletown. Anna moves to Elmsmere with Arvid by 1944 and stays there until her death in 1964. Jerry shows up as working at Reedy's by 1958 (19 years old, and Larry has been there sine 1953), but has moved to the Marsh Foodliner by 1960, the last year a City Directory is available online. The image to the left shows the former path of Fleming Road in relation to the paper plant that Arivd worked at, and the other address on Elsmere and Ellwood in comparison.

As you can see from the below, the family lived at three addresses on Fleming Road. That portion of Fleming no longer exists, having been consumed by the construction of Reinartz Boulevard, a major thoroughfare today, that runs along much of the same ground. These houses in the 1,900 block were near the Gardner paper box company where Arivd worked. The other addresses, on Ellwood and Elsmere, are a couple miles east of the plant. The 1900 Block started at about Grimes to Charles Street right at the plant (ED 9-63 in 1950, but 1930 EDs 9-35, 9-36, 9-37). To the left you can see a closer view of the Elmsere and Ellwood addresses.

The 1930 Census entry for Arvid and Anna has been elusive, it appears the odd 1900 block houses (north side) should be in district 36, but I can't seem to find them or their neighbors (and neither did Family Search). Deeds for properties owned are below.

3311 Ravine Place
Maineville, Warren, OH, 45039
~2000-2002
Last home, a new condo development.

868 Trails End Drive
Monroe, OH 45069
~1983-2000
Moved here after Bert's death, and stayed through Brett's college. David and Brett coaxed him into 'downsizing' to a condo shortly before his death.

6090 Serena Way
Middletown, OH 45044
~1977-1983
Bert and Jerry moved here after Brett was hit by a car - Bert insisted Granada neighborhood wasn't safe. 6090 Serena way was our Bert's dream home, and she and Jerry installed the pool and considered putting in a lighted tennis court (that was the big family activity for the family! Interestingly, the deed shows that this was transeferred to Bert and Jerry from the Kroger Company! We're still trying to figure out how and why, and what that all means, but maybe they "relocated" her, as part of one of her promotions? Not sure yet.

510 Grenada Ave
Middletown, OH 45044
~1973-1977
Bert and Jerry lived here while the kids were in elementary school. There were some rough kids around that would bully the boys, and eventually Brett was struck by a car.

843 Foster St
Franklin, OH 45005
1964-1969
Bert and Jerry lived her for a couple of years, but moved shortly after Brett was born for more room.

701 Elsmere St
Middletown, OH 45042
~1944-1964
One of Anna and Arvid's homes. The Middletown City Directory for '43 is missing, but by 1944 it puts them at Elsmere, where they stay until Anna's death in 1964.

Farm... address in doubt

Camden/Gratis, OH 45042
~1941-1943
One of Anna and Arvid's homes, Fay says that about the time of the war (World War II, so 1939-1941, she wasn't sure exactly, but Middletown City Directory says they were here in 1942) the family moved to a farm outside of Middletown in Gratis for about 2.5 years. She says it was about 7 acres of farmland, but wasn't enough to make s living off so Arvid still worked "in town". She also said that Elliott had just graduated, so that would make it about 1941 or '42. The 1940 Middletown City Directory puts them at Fleming, but by '42 they're here.

1914 Fleming Road
Middletown, Oh, 45044
1939-1940
The City Directory shows them in 1914 Fleming in 1935, the third house on this street, and they are still here in the 1940 directory. Then they're in Camden/Gratis on the farm by 1942, but back in town on Elsmere by 1944.

Pictures

• Pictures of 'Franklin' Jerry Ferrell 1939
• 

  2002 Jerry

• 

  2001 with David on a tour of the near west

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  l2000 Jerry with siblings

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  2000 Condo at 3311 Ravine Place

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  2000 Condo at 3311 Ravine Place

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  1980 Jerry Serena Way

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  1980 Jerry

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  1992 at Brett and Catherine's wedding with sons

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  1981 The last Christmas

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  1981 Dave on the football team as a Freshman?

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  1981 The last Thanksgiving... I'm guessing she was truly thankful for this meal, but dreaded what it meant

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  1980 Brett Jerry Serena

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  1979 Bert Jerry Serena

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  1977 Mom's "Business" photoshoot

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  1975 Jerry and Brett

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  1968 Mom, Dad, and Dave in Franklin

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  1967 And and his siblings

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  1967 Jerry and David

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  Jerry and David

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  1966 Dad and his Bonneville

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  1966 Jerry Bert David

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  1965 Corting mom, Pop - at the Kilburn's house??

• 
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  1964 Bert Wedding

• 

  Glenn Parsons walks Bert down the aisle

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  Jerry and Bert's wedding

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  ~1962 dating Jerry and Bert and Pop's Bonneville

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  1957 Middletown Diploma

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  Reedy's grocery matchbox

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  A Young Jerry circa 1946

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  Fleming near Gardner Box/Paper Plant

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  701 Elsmere and 808 Ellwood

Documents and Sources

For Documents and sources for Jerry (my father), I have his birth and death certificates, obituary, and the 1940 and 1950 Censuses (the only available since his birth in 1939) and first hand knowledge of his parents and siblings, so this one is complete. Grandpa Arvid and Anna both passed before my (Brett's) birth (born 1969, and he passed in 1947 and her in 1964), so I didn't know them, but I knew all of my aunts and uncles reasonably well. So, my parents are a lead-pipe-cinch, fully documented.

1939 Jerry Ferrell Birth Certificate	2002 Jerry Ferrell Death Certificate	1939 Jerry Ferrell Birth Certificate Name Correction
2002 Jerry Ferrell Middletown Obituary	2002 Jerry Ferrell Dayton Obit	1956 Jerry Ferrell Yearbook Pictures
1957 Jerry Ferrell Yearbook Pictures	1957 Jerry Ferrell Middletown High School Diploma
1950 Census Record Page 1 Link to Origal	1950 Census Record Page 2	1940 Census Record Link to Original
Bert and Jerry Marriage License	Bert and Jerry Marriage License	Bert and Jerry Marriage Bond
Jerry Ferrell Bertha Ferrell Headstone	1960 Middletown City Directory Arvid Jerry Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1959 Middletown City Directory Anna Ferrell 701 Elsmere
1958 Middletown City Directory Anna Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1957 Middletown City Directory Anna Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1956 Middletown City Directory Anna Ferrell 701 Elsmere
1955 Middletown City Directory Anna Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1953 Middletown City Directory Anna Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1951 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 701 Elsmere
1949 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1949 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1945 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 701 Elsmere
1944 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 701 Elsmere	1942 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell Camden Farm	1940 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 1914 Fleming
1939 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 1914 Fleming	1937 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 1914 Fleming	1935 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 808 Ellwood
1933 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 808 Ellwood	1930 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 1919 Fleming	1928 Middletown City Directory Arvid Ferrell 1920 Fleming