I found my parents in the 1950 Census. Since you almost certainly can’t read the item posted below, I shall transcribe the highlighted section.
The address is 13 Maple Street, Binghamton, NY. It’s not a farm, and it’s not on three or more acres; far from it. The Census enumerator, indicating 171 1/2 Prospect Street, seemed to suggest that 15 and 13 Maple Street were on Prospect. Given the number of times I was at 13, I know this to be inaccurate.
Yates, Edward. Head of household. He was initially listed as white, but ultimately, like everyone else, he was listed as Negro. Male. 47 years old, although initially listed as 48. Everyone in the house was born in the state of New York. Never married. Ed worked 48 hours the previous week as a truck driver at an express trucking company. In the picture, he is obscured by his sister Gert’s hat.
Yates, Adenia H. Sister. Female. 42. Never married. Worked 35 hours as a stitcher for a textile manufacturing company.
Williams, Gertrude. Sister. Female. 52. Separated. Was not working outside the home, though she had worked in previous years as a maid.
Green, Leslie. Nephew (actually nephew-in-law). 23. Male. Married. Worked 40 hours as a cleaner at a house cleaning and remodeling company.
Green, Gertrude. Niece. 22. Married. Worked 33 hours as a shipping clerk at a textile manufacturing company.
Recorded
I knew my parents lived with her mother, uncle, and aunt after their marriage on March 12, 1950. There was a wedding announcement in the local newspaper that I had come across earlier. Yet, seeing them in the Census had a special significance.
As I mentioned in a previous post, my parents had difficulty finding a place to live in Binghamton. More than one landlord thought they were an interracial couple. Ultimately, they moved into 5 Gaines Street, about six blocks away. Gert, Ed, Deana, their brother Ernie (far left in pic), and perhaps other relatives owned that property. Ernie had married Charlotte (far right) and lived in the area with his wife and four children (Fran and Raymond are in the front).
Given how much my father bristled at living in a house owned by his in-laws, I can only imagine what he felt living WITH them as a newlywed.
I suppose I should identify the others in the photo. The other guy in the back was McKinley Green, my dad’s stepfather. The woman in front of Mac and Les is Agatha (Walker) Green, my dad’s mom. And the other guy, behind Deana and Charlotte, is… a Walker, one of Agatha’s brothers, Stanley E. or Samuel E.
Oh, and the venue was the tiny living room of 13 Maple Street.
Today would have been my parents’ 73rd wedding anniversary. Because they married in a year ending with a zero, it’s always easy for me to remember. They had 50 years together until dad died in 2000; mom died in 2011.
