Where the Ancestors Lived

I was visiting my parents over New Years, and was lucky enough to tour around Coronado with my dad to look at some of the places where my Great-Great Grandparents and Great Aunts lived, as well as where my Grandmother Nadine Tilley Robinson lived -- all on Coronado.

Here is the house where his aunt, Lou Goodale Bigelow lived with her parents. Is was originally in another part of town and was moved to Soledad Street, lock, stock and barrel. 

In 1936 our dad, Patrick Crowley, lived with his mother Nadine and Aunt Kathleen in the Mission Apartments. He remembers a cupboard with drawers, and the bottom drawer has a mattress it in which served as his bed. We went in search of the apartments, designed by Architect Irving Gill. As we approach the building, discussing Mr. Gill, a fellow ambled up behind us and introduced himself as the owner of the building - for the past 46 years. A long conversation ensued, where dad and Mr. Sweet shared a lot of information on Irving Gill and his one-time associate William Hebbard. There a few remaining Gill buildings on Coronado, 4 of them residential.  Mr. Sweet also waxed poetic about his famous hamburgers at his restaurant, Danny's Bar & Grill on Orange Avenue.  We'll have to make it over there sometime.

At the end of the day, the jewel in the Crown, the Monterey Apartments where Grandmother Nadine lived while married to Carl Ince in the early 1960s.  Grandmother was a great hostess to her three granddaughters and we loved her 3rd story apartment with its large deck and high ceilings.  The place looks just as it did when we last saw it in the mid 1960s.

A great morning spent steeped in memories, especially for dad. He's been a part of Coronado since 1936 when, as a 4 year old lad, he was brought there by his grandparents to live with his mother.  For my sisters and me, seeing the Monterey apartments again, where so much fun happened, is a true delight.

Oscar Henry Tilley

Oscar Tilley, 1907, 2 years before his wedding to Ada Bigelow

Tilley Girls Redux

Ah, what a new computer and photo program can do. Photo on top was published here using old program. On bottom, photo edited with iphoto on my new mac. Sharper, it pops out of dullness. Looks as though I will be going back and re-editing most of my photos here. All in good time.

Dean Raine

Nadine Tilley was married for a time to Dean Raine. Picture on left is taken at Auntie Lou's studio. The arch is scene often in her portraits. I'll post details on Nadine and Dean's marriage when I get them from dad.

Discoveries

I found an interesting item on eBay for sale: a LG Bigelow photograph going for $1,500 taken at her studio @ 1915. I have any inquiry into the seller to see what information he has on it. Click on the link to see the photo, as I couldn't copy it from the eBay site. His description reads:

Lou Adelaide (Goodale) Bigelow: 1884-1947: one of the finest women studio photographers of the first half of the 20th century, preferred northern exposure, as did painters of the past, to capture the inner glow and intensity of her subjects through light and shadow. Daughter of Lyman Bigelow, well known photographer himself, Lou learned the profession early in life, In 1913 the Bigelows were invited by Roland Reed to take over his studio in Coronado CA. Thanks to the proximity of the Hotel del Coronado, the "rich and famous" winter guests flocked to her studio from 1913 through the 1940's. You can find more of her work in museums in New York.

I also found this photo from the San Diego Historical Society. The description reads, "Margot Rocle with her two sons James (left) and Antoine. 
Photograph by Lou Goodale Bigelow (c.1930)." These two finds were the result of someone leaving a comment on this blog, saying he is from Ronan, Montana, and he knows of the photographer LG Bigelow. LGB was, he said, well known for the photos of the 1912 fire in Ronan which destroyed most of the town.

Welcome, Followers!

Imagine my surprise, this site now has four followers! If you wish to contact my sisters and me, you may leave comments at the comment section of the posts, or e-mail me at tara.rinaldi@yahoo.com.

If you have scanned photos in a jpg format that you would like to contribute to the site, we'd love to have them. I recently suffered the demise of my computer, so I'll have to ask Shannon to send me digital copies of the photos we had scanned this summer. You'd think I'd never heard of a back-up system. Well, I have. I'm just incredibly lazy.

We would love to hear from any and all family, so don't be shy!

Kathleen Tilley Newman

Kathleen Tilley Newman: our grandmother's red-headed and fun-loving sister. I remember our great aunt well, and her husband Charles Newman. They lived down the street from us when we were very young, in San Diego. They had a marvelous old spanish revival style home that was filled with exotic oriental carpets, marbled mirrors, treasures from around the world. Charles was popular with the kids - he knew how to make us feel special and to engage us in the conversation. He was artistic and creative, and Kathleen was sophisticated and laughed a great deal.