The History of a House - Part 1

Song - Our House by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

 

My son Jon & his girlfriend Jacque have just bought a house in Salinas where they both work.  Their first project is to renovate the bathroom.  When the carpenter began the demo, they discovered this note on the drywall.

 

 Stating: Alice Michael Moser lived here 30 years, Before her a Japanese family lived here were later interned. Mark & Ellen Morris? lived here between 1-88 & 4-89, Stephan? Lorse? bo't the house in Apr 1989.

Being a genealogist this really perked my interest.  I began with the interned Japanese family - Family #13145.

Kikuo Richard Endo and his wife Lily Misue Minami were both born in California.  Kikuo was born in 1908 in Castroville and Lily in Oakland.  The 1920 Census states that they are living with another family in Salinas and that the fathers are partners owning a shop. In 1930 Kikuo is living with his father Tokutaro, a brother and sister in a nearby labor camp and his father Tokutaro is a labor foreman at a farm.

In the mid-1930’s Agricultural workers began to unionize (mostly Filipino’s) and some of the Labor Camps were destroyed in retaliation.

Kiduo graduated from UC Berkeley as a pharmacist and in 1933 he married Lily. His brother Frank also attended UC Berkeley. 

                              

 1934 - 1940 -  Kikuo and Lily have three boys - Nori, Tokio & Kimio.

1939 Kikuo owns two pharmacies – 107 Lake and 104 E. Market both in Salinas.

1940 Census – The family is living on Archer St. in Salinas.  The Home Value is listed as $6,000 and is the most expensive house on Archer.

5 Jul 1942 – Family #13145 was interned in Poston, Arizona at a Japanese Internment Camp.  The children were between 2-10 years. 

 

Nori

Tokio

 

Kimio
 

23 Jun 1943 – The family was released from camp and they moved to Minneapolis, MN then to Riverdale, MD.  Possibly they had family to stay with and I do not know what happened to their home or businesses. 

In 1987 Kikuo died in Hyattsville, Maryland and Lily died in 2003 in Yorba Linda, California. (Possibly living with one of her children)

My next post will be about Alice Michael Moser!  Just wait until you hear her story.

"I'm thinking about writing the story 

of our house somewhere to surprise an owner in the future!"

- JCB