McKinley Green Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Baby sister: biker babe

“farmer Green”

I always wondered how my baby sister, Marcia, became a biker babe in her 20s. She has forgotten more about motorcycles than I ever knew. Oddly, it seemed to have been instigated by our grandfather, McKinley Green.

He was the one who taught her about cars, including, and I only recently learned this, that he took her for driving lessons out on Airport Road near Binghamton, NY. She may or may not have had a driver’s permit, and she mightn’t have even been old enough for one. Almost certainly, my parents had no idea.

In retrospect, my two sisters and I all thought we each had a special relationship with Pop. And we all probably did. Even though he lived only a dozen and a half steps away, Pop’s apartment was an oasis from our dwelling, and he was fun.

For instance, Marcia spent more time planting items in the garden. He dubbed her “farmer Green,” I guess because she was wearing overalls. (Why don’t I remember this?)

My time with him involved watching boxing and other sports on his television and playing cards, mostly gin rummy. We all remember seeing Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and smelling his vile Fatima cigarettes.

By comparison, my mom’s mom, Gert Williams, was the antithesis of fun, always trying to fill our heads with fear. But as the youngest, she saw through her nonsense.

One of these days, I’ll have to have a face-to-face with Marcia, not just the weekly Zoom chats. Happy birthday, baby sister.

McKinley Green, of his generation

The Les/Mac relationship was…complicated

A high school classmate forwarded me a Facebook post of a guy named Roy Sova:

“How the world has changed. Talking with a co-worker at WBNG-TV in Binghamton [NY], we got on the subject of McKinley Green, or ‘Mac,’ as everybody called him.” Channel 12 was WNBF-TV, the CBS affiliate, when I was growing up.

As my classmate well knew, Mac was my paternal grandfather. Well, technically, my step-grandfather. This is a fact my sisters and I learned pretty early on. I don’t recall HOW we were told, let alone WHY, but it was out there.

My father’s biological dad was the infamous Raymond Cone, who died in 1947, before I was born, and who I couldn’t name until 2019. Clarence Williams, my mom’s dad, was not in my life and seldom in my mother’s, though I attended his 1958 funeral; I was five.

So, Mac was my only REAL grandfather, taking me to Triplets minor league baseball games, especially when my father was working nights at IBM for about six years in the 1960s. Here’s something I wrote back in 2005.

An interesting perspective

Roy Sova posted: “Mac was in his mid-70s when I knew him, which would have been around the early 1970s. [That tracks; he was likely born in 1896.] He was the maintenance guy at the TV station, and although his eyesight was failing, he was on our bowling team. [And according to Roy, Mac was a better bowler than he was.] The TV station told him he had a job there as long as he wanted it.” [I had heard that elsewhere.]

“His father was born in Maryland in 1848 and had been a slave”. [This I cannot verify; I thought his father was born in 1862, though in Maryland, but maybe I discovered the wrong John Green.]

“Mac was very old school. He always called me Mr Sova. One day, I asked him to please call me Roy. He was about 50 years older than me. As he continued to call me Mr Sova, I again asked him to call me Roy, or I was going to start calling him Mr Green. I’ll never forget his response.

“This is paraphrased, but pretty much what he said. ‘If you call me Mr Green, it will hurt me. I was brought up to call my betters Mister.’ I never felt I was Mac’s better, and after that, barely his equal. But from that day forward, I was Mr. Sova, and he was Mac.” Roy notes that he was probably a news reporter and a weekend news anchor.

When I first read it, it weirded me out a bit. But it did track consistently with who Mac was.

An unexplored line

I never spent much time talking to Mac, whom we called Pop, about his birth family. I’d met his brothers a handful of times. My father’s relationship with Mac was… complicated. Still, Mac adopted (the term they used) him in September 1944, about 3 weeks before my dad turned 18. (Dad’s mom/Pop’s wife since 1931 was still his mom.)

Roy Sova: “Yes, your dad’s relationship with Mac was a little strained. Mac was content to live as in the past, your dad wanted change. I interviewed [Les] several times about his work with the Urban League. [Actually, the Interracial Center that eventually became the Urban League at 45 Carroll Street.] Mac was a great guy. Liked and respected by everyone at the radio and TV stations. “

I may talk with Roy Sova again — someone who knew Les and Mac separately, which is fascinating to me.

My veteran ancestors

Three great-great-grandfathers fought in the Civil War

I decided to catalogue my veteran ancestors. I’ve mentioned some, but not all, and I’ve likely missed several.

A few years ago, I noted a piece from the Equal Justice Initiative: “Military service sparked dreams of racial equality for generations of African Americans.” It was seen as ‘proof’ of their worthiness to be included in the American dream… No one was more at risk of experiencing violence and targeted racial terror than black veterans who had proven their valor and courage as soldiers during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Because of their military service, black veterans were seen as a particular threat to Jim Crow and racial subordination.”

Civil War

James Archer, my mother (Trudy Williams Green)’s mother (Gertrude Yates Williams)’s mother (Lillian Bell Archer)’s father. Served in the 26th New York Colored Regiment. I’ve known about him for decades, as he was buried in Binghamton, NY, near my grandmother’s house.

William Bell, my mother’s mother’s mother’s mother (Harriet Bell Archer)’s brother. Served in the 26th New York Colored Regiment with James Archer.

Henry Bell, my mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s brother. Served in the Massachusetts 54th Colored Regiment. In the 1865 New York State Census, although they were all at war, William, Henry, and James were listed as living together in Binghamton, NY, with William and Henry’s recently widowed father, Edward Bell, their sisters Harriet Archer (married to James) and Francelia Bell, two of James and Harriet’s sons, Morgan and James, and William’s son, Martin.

Daniel Williams, my mother’s father (Clarence Williams)’s father (Charles Williams)’s father. Served in Company F of the 43rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment. I discovered him trying (and failing) to find my Irish ancestors.

Samuel Patterson, my father (Leslie Green)’s mother (Agatha Walker Green)’s mother (Mary Eugenia Patterson Walker)’s father. Served in the 5th Regiment, Massachusetts Calvary (Colored). I have three great-great-grandfathers who fought in that great Civil War, “testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”

World War I

McKinley Green, my father’s stepfather. Served from October 1917 to February 1919 in the 368th Infantry. Stationed in Argonne and elsewhere. Discharged from Fort Mead, MD. McKinley and his wife/my grandmother Agatha, lived upstairs from my birth family at 5 Gaines Street in Binghamton.

World War II

Edward Yates, my mother’s mother’s brother. Served as “Branch Immaterial – Warrant Officers, USA.” Since my mother’s grandmother, Lillian Archer, reportedly “drove off” my mother’s father, Clarence Williams, Ed was my mother’s primary male role model. I remember seeing his photo at my grandmother’s house; the family was so proud.

Leslie Green, my father. “At the end of February 2010, I gave a presentation for the Underground Railroad conference about Black Soldiers in Post-WWII Germany,” which I wrote about here.

I’m pleased all the men here escaped the wars alive.

*Preserving a Legacy: Caring for Your Ancestor’s Military Uniform

Sunday Stealing — Complete the Thought

McKinley Green

**“Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley recounts the crumbling legacy of a once-proud king.**

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. “A blogger named Elisha shared 10 things about herself. By turning her revelations into prompts, we hope to learn more about you.”

Complete the Thought

1. I wish someone would …

Stop being a purblind Nero, a Herod, a Heliogabalus, an Ozymandias.

2. When I order Chinese food …

I like to order a variety of different items so that I can enjoy them over several days. Hmm. It’s been a while.

3. I know it’s not everyone’s favorite activity, but I actually enjoy …

Handwashing dishes. I like the soapy water. It reminds me of my childhood when I used to wash the dishes. One thing they did at my elementary school was to check your fingernails to ensure they were clean. My fingernails were never clean because I was a kid who played in the dirt unless I had just recently washed dishes.

5. A major pet peeve of mine is …

This happened on Thursday: my wife was driving, stopped at a red light. The light turned green, so she started moving when a bicycle from the sidewalk coming from her left suddenly pulled right in front of her. If she hadn’t had rapid reflexes, she could have easily pancaked him. In general, bicycles and, especially, these motorized vehicles often show a lack of respect for the rules of the road. It’s scary for other people, but it’s, frankly, dangerous for them as well.

Pop

6. I remember when my grandfather …

McKinley Green took me hunting one time when I was about seven years old. I fired his rifle and I landed on my butt. Mostly, I remember watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, boxing, and Wide World of Sports with him, as well as playing gin rummy.

7. I am not fazed at all by …

No, I am hard-pressed to answer this question. I engage in a variety of activities, including donating blood, speaking publicly, and writing this blog. Am I unfazed by doing these things? I don’t think so.

8. Long car rides …

Since I’m not driving, I’m usually the navigator. Between those times when we have to change roads, I read a lot of newspapers and magazines that have accumulated.

9. I don’t understand the fuss over …

Answering this question would involve me being aware of things that I don’t care about. If there’s a music, television program, or fashion trend that I’m not familiar with, and other people think it’s terrific, then good for them. It doesn’t have any real effect on me. This is a corollary to Arthur’s Law.

10. When I’m home alone …

I spent the first hour playing a CD and probably writing a blog post. With the second CD, I need to change positions, so I’ll empty the dishwasher, reload it, and maybe vacuum. With the third CD, I would sort my mail, pay my bills, and read the newspapers. The length of CDs can range anywhere from 35 to 75 minutes, so this is an approximate agenda.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week!

DNA Day is April 25

Your DNA Guide

According to Your DNA Guide and other sources, today is DNA Day. Their resident storyteller developed a framework for writing about 300 words. I’ll have a go at it with a previously shared tale.

The beginning of your story: What was your DNA question, or what were things like before your DNA discovery?

My sisters and I have known since we were children that the man we knew as our paternal grandfather, McKinley Green, was not the biological father of our dad, Leslie H. Green (1926-2000). I don’t think my father knew we knew.

We learned this info from our mom, Trudy, and HER mother, Gertrude Williams. Grandma Williams referred to vague details about a minister in Pennsylvania.

The middle of your story: What happened, or what did you learn? What did you think or feel about it? Then what happened?

In 2018, I took my first genealogy tests. When I looked at my DNA matches, I discovered ten people were second cousins. The Yates, Walker, and Williams folks I recognized.

But who were the other four people? Three of them had trees, and two common people were on each, Carl Lorenzo Cone (b. 1915) and Raymond Cornelius Cone (b. circa 1888). But who was Raymond, and how did he meet my future grandmother, Agatha Walker (1902-1964)?

I wrote about this on my blog. On December 26, 2019, my dear friend Melanie discovered an article from January 1927 in a newspaper in my hometown of Binghamton, NY. The Reverend Raymond Cone was acquitted of impregnating Agatha and being the father of Les!

And then…

The end of your story: Where do things stand now? Why does this story matter to you?

By 1918, Raymond Cone’s first wife and father had both died, and he had a certificate to be a preacher. I followed his trek that brought him to Binghamton in the fall of 1925, departing two years later.

I have learned more about him than people I’ve known in person. He died of an apparent heart attack at his church in New York City in December 1947 before he turned 60. My Grandma Green also died of a heart attack at 62. That’s sobering medical news for me.

#mydnastory