ROY WARE LITTLER
The Life and Times of
ROY WARE LITTLER
JASON LITTLER ANTONIC
"The simple truth is, not all of us become the men we once hoped we might be. But we are all God's creatures. If there are those among us who thought ill of Mr. Hollom, or spoke ill of him, or failed him in respect of fellowship... then we ask for your forgiveness, Lord.” -
Captain Jack Aubrey, eulogy for Mr Hollom, Master and Commander (O’Brien)
www.proformux.com
PROLOGUE
This little volume is not as much a story a it is an aggregation of as many details about a man’s life as could be gleaned with reasonable effort. An effort heretofore none of his line cared enough to investigate.
Why? Because to the family he left behind, Roy Ware Littler was reputedly nothing more than a philandering drunk bastard seaman who abandoned his wife and never returned. A man, who embittered his wife so much that she had the audacity to tell her children, not that he was estranged, but that was dead and that his goings-forth, his name, even his face were better left unknown. And so it was that Roy Ware Littler became a complete mystery to his family.
The truth is that Roy came from a very good and reputable family on both sides of his lineage through LITTLER and through WARE. The former were well established grain and coal merchants and the latter heroic veterans of the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. Both families were considered pioneers of Champaign County, Ill.
While the record of the details of Roy’s life may not do much to exonerate him from his earned reputation, it most certainly allows us to make a real connection to a man, late in the lineage of Lords called LITTLER whose voices once echoed for ten generations through the halls of Wallerscote Manor, Frodsham, Cheshire.
HISTORY OF THE LITTLER FAMILY
“Littler” from "Little Over” in Cheshire where the place-name derives from Old English
The surname Littler derives from the corruption of Little Over, formerly a small hamlet in Cheshire, England and close by the River Weaver. The adjacent village of Over, and the larger town of Winsford have both expanded over the years and now encompass our former lands.
Today the Littler heritage is kept alive by a street named Littler Lane, on which is to be found Littler House (a Victorian farmhouse) and Littler Grange (a Grade 2 listed Tudor farmhouse). The latter is now a nursery school.
During the 13th Century our family began to spread out from Little Over, with a well-documented branch settling north, at Wallerscote Manor. The old manor was located on the River Weaver, roughly equidistant between the townships of Weaverham and Northwich.
Wallerscote Manor, seat of the Littler family for ten generations, was sold to Hugh Cholmondeley in 1636, although a branch of our family did stay on as tenants into the eighteenth century.
© 2024 Gil Littler, Littler Family Research
SGT. ROY WARE LITTLER
BORN: 26 AUGUST, 1888, CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS USA
DIED: 21 MARCH 1957, KERRVILLE TEXAS, USA
HEIGHT: 5’11” EYES: GREY HAIR: BROWN
BRIEF GENEALOGY
To parents:
John Edward (“J.E.”) Littler (1863-1957) of Urbana, Illinois, USA
and his wife:
Mae (Ware) Littler (1865-1949) of Mahomet, Illinois
was born:
Roy Ware Littler, on 26th of August, 1888 in Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois, USA.
And died:
21 March 1957 in Kerrville, Texas USA
In life, he was the eldest of four siblings:
John Everett Littler (1891 - ?)
Robert James Littler (1895-1970)
Martha Jean (Littler) Black (1898-1986), and Dorothy Virginia Littler (? - ?)
And was married to his wife
Susie Elizabeth (Sneed) Littler (1895-1968)
fathering two children of their own:
Elizabeth Ware (Littler) Antonic (1916-2002), and James Cossitt Littler (1918-1994)
Roy’s marriage to Mayme McGee (1900-1979) of Macon, GA, yielded no progeny.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
1917 - A draft registration card approved in Fergus Falls and dated the 5th of June, 1917 describes Roy as being “tall”, of “medium” build, with “gray” eyes and “brown” hair”.
1919 - The next description comes from an application and approval for a Seaman’s Protection Certificate issued 19 April, 1919 wherein Roy is listed as age 30, being 5’11” with light complexion, brown hair and grey eyes.
1920 - A roster for the U.S. Navy vessel SS Colorado Springs dated 23 Aug 1920, shows Roy Ware listed as crew, having sailed from San Francisco July 12, 1920 to the Orient (Manila, Philippines) and returning back to port. He is listed as 31 years old, 5’8”, 175 pounds with a birth mark on his left ear.
1942 - Roy’s sister, Martha (Littler) Black completed a draft registration card on Roy’s behalf. On the reverse, she described him as a white male with a bearing of five feet and eleven inches tall (5’11”) weighing one hundred and eighty (180) pounds, with grey eyes and brown hair.
EARLY LIFE
Sergeant Roy Ware Littler was born on the 26th of August, 1888 in Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois, USA. Some inconsistent records list his date of birth as 27 August, but most documents confirm the 26 August Date. His memorial headstone for example, provided for him by the U.S. Military, confirms 26 August 1888 as his date of birth.
Roy was the firstborn child of his parents, John Edward (“J.E.”) Littler (1863-1957), reputedly of Urbana, Illinois, and his wife Mae (Ware) Littler (1865-1949) of Mahomet, Illinois. J.E. and Mae were married in Urbana on 17 Nov 1887 by the Reverend S.T. Gleason.
Roy’s father, John Edward, worked as a grain merchant, growing his business to the point where he eventually built and operated a grist mill.
He and his brothers Frank Harvey Littler and Willis B. (“Willie”) Littler under the company name “J.E. Littler & Bros”. They ran daily ads in the local papers for two promoting the Sale of Flour, Feed, & Coal
In 1892, Littler sold the J.E. Littler & Bros company to one W. H. Paisley, who immediately assumed operation. The mercantile building on Neil Street in Urbana still stands to this day.
28 June 1888 - the Gazette reported the Littler family occupying a residence at 508 West White Street, Champaign, Illinois. This is likely the family address where Roy Ware was born on 26 August 1888, however, only a month or so later, on 08 October 1988 the Champaign Daily Gazette reports them at a different address in the following article:
“Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Littler were returning from church to their home on West Clark Street Sunday night, when their buggy was run into by a spring wagon which was being driven at a rapid rate. All of the occupants were thrown out, but none were seriously injured.”
Thankfully, no harm came to baby Roy. He was not to emerge from his early days entirely unscathed however, due to an accident of 28 Feb, 1890 happening when Roy was just under 2 years old. The article in the Gazette reads as follows:
“J.E. Littler’s little son had one of his fingers mangled on Thursday. He was playing with a clothes-wringer, and the finger was caught in the cogwheels.”
There are no further anecdotes available from Roy’s life other than the family decided to rent out the house at 508 West White Street in January 1891, before the birth of his younger brother John Everett Littler in August 1891.
EARLY LIFE (CONT’D)
In 1889, J.E. Littler purchased a sizable multi-tenant lake-shore investment property from realtor I.S. Mahan in the Cheltenham borough of Chicago.
After he sold the coal and grain business to W.H. Paisley, John Edward moved his family from Urbana to Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, to manage his investment property as a boarding house for up to 30 boarders. John marketed the property in the local paper as a premiere lodging choice “only ten blocks away” from the upcoming 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
10 Mar, 1894, at age 14, Roy goes to Urbana to spend a month with his widowed grandmother, Sarah Matilda (Busey) Littler.
Sadly, John’s proud investment at Cheltenham turned to ashes with a tragic fire. The Champaign County News reported on 06 Oct 1894 that:
“ - Word was received here last week that J.E. Littler’s house and contents at Cheltenham had burned. By later reports we learn that the upper two stories burned, leaving the first floor and basement. Mrs. Littler is Capt. J.C. Ware’s daughter, and he left on Saturday to render any assistance he could.”
It appears that the family stayed in Cheltenham through the 1895 birth of Roy’s younger brother, Robert James Littler.
Despite all the activity in Chicago, John still kept up his ties in Champaign, even going so far as relaunching his coal mercantile in a new building advertising:
“Plenty of good screened lump coal at J.E. Littler’s 411 North Neil Street.”
In 1898, Roy’s younger sister, Martha Jean (Littler) Black, was born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill. By 1900, that year's U.S. Census gives us a snapshot of the Littler family of Chicago, Ward 33. The census has their address as 437 73rd Street, Hyde Park Township, Chicago, Illinois. Living together at that residence at the time were:
• John Edward Littler (Age 36)
• Mae (née Ware) Littler (35)
• Roy Ware Littler (11/12)
• John Everett “Everett” Littler (8)
• Robert James Littler (4)
• Martha Jean (née Littler) Black (1)
411 Neil Street would be Roy’s home until he returned to Champaign to attend Urbana (aka Thornburn) High School.
EDUCATION
Not much is known or proven about Roy’s primary education, but we do have public anecdotes of him attending Thornburn High School located at 101 North McCullough Street, Champaign, Illinois.
Thornburn High School, Urbana, Illinois https://digital.library.illinois.edu/
One census record indicates that Roy only had 1 year of High School education, but a contradicting article containing many other proven facts indicates he graduated from Thornburn in 1909.
The Champaign Daily News, on Wed, May 11, 1910, cited that he attended the “Urbana School” in the Champaign area. This was corroborated by the fact that historical data collected by alumni shows that Urbana High School was only informally called “Thornburn” owing to the fact that the land the school sat upon was donated in 1896 by one John Thornburn.
Effectively, Urbana High School and Thornburn were the same entity. The article does not confirm how many years he attended. During that period at Urbana:
“It took three years to complete the required courses in order to receive a diploma, but many students stayed only two years and received a certificate of attendance.”
https://www.urbanaclassof62.com/history_of_urbana_high_school.htm
The 1915 wedding announcement between Roy and wife Susie Elizabeth Sneed cites that he attended university for two years at Urbana. It did not specify which school or which course of study. Based on his known timeline of military service, it is unlikely that Roy attended university on a fulltime basis in pursuit of a college degree.
YOUNG ADULTHOOD AND MILITARY SERVICE
According to a Champaign Daily News article of 06 April 1906, Roy Ware sat for the entrance exam that same year to gain appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
While the exam results are unknown, we do know that the Champaign Daily News, on Wed, May 11, 1910, cited that on April 20, 1910, at age 27, Roy was honorably discharged after serving 4 years in the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps.
The next day after discharge, 21 April 1910, Roy married his first wife, Yolande (Morchet) Littler of France. (opposite)
Yolande (Age 24) and Roy (age 22) are listed in the 1910 Census as a married couple boarding with the John and Rose Gorman family of 31 Railroad Avenue, San Francisco in Contra Costa County. Yolande was a private care nurse and listed as having immigrated to the U.S. in 1906 from her home country of France.
The Champaign Daily News - 11 May 1910 - Page 7
YOUNG ADULTHOOD AND MILITARY SERVICE
On 17 Aug 1910, Roy re-enlisted in the Navy as a U.S. Naval Hospital in Vallejo, California, hospital steward. He eventually earned the rank of Sergeant.
The 1910 U.S. Census, taken on 18 May 1910 lists Roy Ware Littler and Yolande Littler, married, childless, and boarding with the John and Rose Gorman family of 31 Railroad Avenue.
However, the 09 Jan 1911 edition of the Champaign Daily news documents as follows:
U.S. Naval Hospital, Mare Island, Vallejo, California
This is the first mention in print that Yolande Littler has a son. Was this son hers from a prior relationship, or was it Roy’s? If we use the median gestation period of thirty-eight (38) weeks as a baseline, counting from the date of their marriage on 10 April 1910 forward leads us to January 12, 1911. This places Yolande in Champaign around the expected time of birth.
The article states, however, that she traveled with her son, proving he was already born. With only one day lapsing between Roy’s honorable discharge and the wedding, it does imply that their wedding plans were rushed.
If the baby is Roy’s and they knew they were pregnant before marriage - the rushed wedding, childbirth, and subsequent long-distance travel to Champaign from San Francisco with a female companion starts to make sense.
If the child were hers from a prior relationship in California, she would not have needed to travel to Champaign and we should expect to see the child listed in the 1910 U.S. Census. The fact that Yolande traveled with Miss Browntree as her companion and not Roy, also lends credence to her needing assistance traveling with a newborn vs alone.
ROY CONTRACTS TUBERCULOSIS
After this, the public record regarding the lives of Roy Ware and Yolande Littler is fairly quiet.
On 09 Feb 1911, Roy wrote to the San Francisco Examiner to offer an opinion on current affairs:
While the content of his opinion isn’t especially revealing, we can “hear” his voice through how he turned a phrase.
Then, in 1912, after two years of apprenticing at the Naval Hospital, things took a sharp turn for the worse for Roy as he fell sick with Tuberculosis Pneumonia. The Solano-Napa News Chronicle of Vallejo, California, reported on Thursday, 08 Feb 1912, that Roy’s superiors ordered him to leave the hospital and convalesce at “Los Animas” (sic), Fort Lyon, CO.
Wright, Surgeon Baron Lisle (1908) “The Story of the Navy's TB Sanitarium”, A Sojourn in Colorado - Las Animas Colo., Vol 4. Issue 44. 2016. Communications Directorate Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
According to Surgeon Barton Lisle Wright, USN in 1908:
“…of all men in the Navy and Marine Corps. Those diagnosed with the disease would continue to be hospitalized at Fort Lyon. Fort Lyon continued to serve as the destination for the Navy’s tuberculosis patients until 1921.”
AS ROY CONVALESCES, YOLANDE VISITS PARIS
The U.S. Register of Patients at Naval Hospitals (Vol. 4: 1907-1917) corroborates the following facts about Roy that he:
• enlisted from Chicago as of 17 August 1910
• accrued 5 years and 6 months total service
• served at Mare Island Naval Hospital until he was
• admitted to Las Animas on 11 Feb 1912, being
• diagnosed with Tuberculosis Pneumonia and not
• discharged until 08 February 1913, having
• convalesced a total of 363 sick days
The Solano-Napa News Chronicle of Vallejo, California, reported the following on 15 Feb 1912 (page 8)
Only four days after Roy is ordered to convalesce at Las Animas, Yolande secures tickets back to France to visit her mother and leaves San Francisco, heading eastward.
The newspaper anecdotes do not mention her traveling this time with “her son” as the Champaign Daily Sun did.
Records at Ellis Island show Yolande’s return through immigration on 20 May 1912 and the official manifest lists her primary residence as Las Animas, Colorado.
The official passenger record (below) from Ellis Island has Yolande returning through New York, arriving on 20 May 1912.
YOLANDE’S TRIP TO FRANCE AND
BACK
The snippet below from the ship’s manifest shows on line 27 of plate 0305 for passenger ID 100909100043, Yolande Littler, that she is from Mare Island, California and was traveling to visit “Mr. Morchet, 36 Rue Brilliat Savarin, Paris, France.
Here is a modern-day look at the property Yolande Littler visited in 1912.
36 Rue Brilliat Savarin, Paris, France 75013
The New York Times reported on May 21, 1912, that “Mrs. Roy Littler” arrived from Le Havre, France, alone and from New York. Her vessel was a fine ocean liner in its first year of service, the SS Rochambeau. All details are corroborated by Ellis Island records.
YOLANDE FADES INTO HISTORY
After her arrival back in America, there has not been any record of Yolande Littler, her son, or any divorce decree between her and Roy. That is not to say that none exist, but simply that none have been found. It would be reasonable to suggest that there was some form of at least written correspondence between Yolande and Roy while he was convalescing.
Some news anecdotes indicate that Roy may have moved back to Danville, Illinois, and worked as a machinist for the C. & E. I. railroad from 1913 to 1914 but was injured. Although he improved from his alleged injuries, he reported no change in the working conditions. Roy made trips to Champaign to visit with his parents.
We do not know whether or not he was discharged from military service on account of his year-long illness. The trail basically goes cold on Roy until 30 April 1915 with the wedding announcement between him and our family matron Susie Elizabeth Sneed of La Grange, Tennessee. The entire affair is described on the page opposite.
The article cites what might be the cause of the lack of information on Roy, owing to his transience with work. Up to this point, we knew that Roy was stationed at Mare Island, California, but news of Dallas, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; and Memphis, Tennessee, are new to the record. In March of 1915, Susie attended a class in domestic science at the State Normal School in Memphis. This is most likely how and when she met Roy.
ROY MARRIES NENNIE
Although we cannot find a divorce decree between Yolande and Roy, we do know, through The Commercial Appeal newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, that on or about 01 May 1915, a marriage license was issued to Roy and Susie.
The wedding announcement of Roy’s first marriage to Yolande stated that they intended to move to Chicago, which never really materialized for the young couple. Two brief mentions of 10 May 20 May 1915 in the Champaign Gazette place Susie and Roy as residents of Chicago, Illinois.
Their time in Chicago would prove to be short-lived. By 03 May 1917, as per the Champaign Daily News, the couple were living in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where Roy became employed as a hospital Steward. We learn a bit more about the friendship between the Hamiltons and Littler families, but we also learn a rare fact, namely that Susie’s mother (for whom we have yet to establish an identity) was living in Chicago at the time.
We don’t yet know precisely when Roy and Susie moved to Fergus Falls, but we do know that their first child, Elizabeth Ware Littler, our mother and paternal grandmother, was born in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, on 12 Mar 1916. Working backward 38 weeks would place them getting pregnant sometime between 17 June and 27 June 1915.
On 06 April 1917 the United States declared war with Germany and entered World War 1. On 18 May 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Selective Service act requiring all men aged 21-45 to register for military service.
The 1917 U.S. World War 1 Draft Registration card (opposite) for Roy Ware Littler, dated 05 June 1917, lists himself as 29 years old, married, with a wife and child, and a home address of 1949 E 72nd Street, Chicago, Illinois.
On the same card, however, it states that his present occupation is as a steward at State Hospital in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Roy cites his naval career, which totaled 6 years. This would include 4 years from his first enlistment plus the additional two years from his second enlistment at Mare Island.
On the card he claims exemption from the draft owing to “Physical Disability and Line of Duty”. (again, opposite)
1949 E 72nd Street, Chicago, Illinois.
A fairly unsubstantiated record from the U.S. Veteran’s Gravesite database shows that Roy enlisted from 24 Sept 1917 to 25 Mar 1918.
We can confirm, however, that on 27 August 1918, Roy was assigned to the crew of a new military vessel, and on 03 November 1918, that same vessel, the U.S. Naval supply ship “West Cajoot,” was launched.
On 01 May 1919, the West Cajoot became the first vessel allocated to the Los Angeles Pacific Navigation Company. According to Wikipedia:
“On May 16, 1919, she left Los Angeles loaded full for the Orient with a general cargo consisting, among other things, of steel rails, automobile supplies, roofing paper, and old newspapers. After touching off at Honolulu on May 26, she arrived in Manila on July 1., then proceeded to Hong Kong arriving there on August 17 and finally returned to San Francisco on September 11, 1919.”
The “West Cajoot” (1929-1928), later the SS Golden Bear (1928-1937)
On 19 April 1919, Roy applied for a U.S. Seaman’s Protection certificate, which was used essentially as an international ID used when traveling in foreign countries. U.S. Passports were less common until they became mandatory in 1941.
It was during this tumultuous period of Roy’s reenlistment that Susie gave birth to their second child, a son, James Cossitt Littler, who was born on 08 November 1918 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. This puts his conception around roughly 07 to 22 February 1918. The details of the marriage breakdown between Roy and Susie are unknown. Betti (Littler) Antonic related that she never really knew her father and had no stories to tell. It was implied to her by her mother that Roy was a philanderer who abandoned them.
MARRIAGE TO LOUISE CONNELLY
Adding further intrigue to the history of Roy Ware Littler comes an anecdote out of New York State, The Herald Statesman - 10 Dec 1917, which may or may not be attributable to our Roy but another man of the same name. That being said, there are some details in the anecdote that raise an eyebrow or two of suspicion.
Some of the more interesting facts in this record are as follows:
• The rank for Roy Ware Littler is correct as “Sergeant”
• His residence is listed as Columbia War Hospital, which aligns with Roy’s former service in the hospital corps
• Why was he in New York? If he did, in fact re-enlist on 24 Sept 1917, then he could have been there under orders. This could explain his initial separation from Susie.
• No-one from Roy’s family attended the private home ceremony other than a few of his Navy buddies.
• Reference to Sergeant Littler having charge over a sanitarium. This aligns with Roy's improving resume in hospital administration.
• “Saturday afternoon last” places the wedding 08 Dec 1917
On 17 December 1917, The Herald Statesman of Younkers, New York, had this to report:
BLUNDERS, BOARDING, AND BIGAMY - OH, MY!
If the Roy Ware Littler who married Laura Louise Connelly in New York on 08 Dec 1917 is our Roy Littler, then would make our Roy a bigamist, and an adulterer being undivorced from Susie. With their forthcoming son James Cossitt Littler conceived around mid-February 1918 and born 08 Nov 1918, Roy would potentially have had a lot of explaining to do.
In 1919, Roy likely sailed with orders to Japan on the West Cajoot. According to Wikipedia:
“West Cajoot departed on her next voyage on November 24, 1919, sailing from San Francisco with a variety of cargo including 1,275 bales of cotton bound for Japan. She arrived in Yokohama on December 25, 1919.”
The 1920 census taken 08 Jan 2020, lists Susie (Sneed) Littler (now going by “Elizabeth Littler”) listed as living with her son James as a boarded housekeeper in the house of Mr & Mrs. John C. Neely Jr. of 4929 Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois instead of with either her husband Roy or even her mother (possibly deceased?). Betti Ware Littler (4) is not listed as living with her mother Susie (Elizabeth) at the Neely’s house.
4929 Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
This house is on the same block and nearly shares a back alleyway with a house that would eventually be lived in by heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who lived at:
4944 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, Illinois
No record exists for Roy in the Jan 1920 census as he didn’t return home from Asia until Feb 1920. The 1920 census lists Laura Littler as having returned to her maiden name “Connelly” and still living with her parents in Westchester County, NY.
According to Wikipedia:
“On January 12, 1920, West Cajoot arrived in Shanghai, stopped in Manila on January 22, and touched off in Hong Kong on January 27 before returning. West Cajoot left Hong Kong on February 4 and arrived in Honolulu on February 23, 1920.”
The 11 Sept 1920 San Francisco Bulletin, informs us that Roy has taken yet another wife, one Maysel Burns, 26, of Soquel, California, whom he married in San Francisco. Roy cites his residence as “Manila” stretching the truth from his military visit there.
Keep in mind that by the time Roy weds Maysel Burns no divorce decrees have surfaced in our research by 1921 for Yolande Morchet, Susie Sneed, OR Laura Connelly.
Roy and Maysel would stay together after his enlistment for the next 5-6 years.
A CAREER CHANGE
Then in 1921, an address pops up for Roy Ware Littler living at 1327 Leavenworth St, San Francisco County, California, USA
Various articles between 1921 and 1925 show Roy trying out a few non-military careers outside of hospital work
The Santa Cruz Evening News reported on 06 Feb 1925 that Roy Ware, of San Francisco, purchased a popular restaurant in the Santa Cruz area. (opposite)
1327 Leavenworth St, San Francisco County, California, USA
A SERIES OF FOLLIES IN SOQUEL, SANTA CRUZ
Roy then moved to Maysel’s hometown of Soquel in Santa Cruz, California, and played the restaurateur for a while. Apparently, Roy was not fated to stay at the restaurant game.
It is not clear yet how or even if he exited that business, but what is known is that he did made a shift to Real Estate, joining up with the Soquel Realty company and working up in the ranks there over time. The Santa Cruz Evening News quotes Roy in the 12 Nov 1925 edition.
The 1926 voter registry for Santa Cruz County lists Roy Ware Littler as a Republican, a Realtor, and a resident of Soquel.
Notwithstanding abdicating three marriages and the fatherhood of two, possibly three, children, everything seemed to be moving along on the up and up for Roy. At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface. No news was good news, right?
According to the Santa Cruz Evening News, on 17 June 1926,
things weren’t going so well for Roy at home:
By 21 July 1926, their marriage was over based on Maysel’s “extreme cruelty”.
AS LIFE GOES ON,
ROY WEDS MAYME MCGEE
From 1926 to 1931, almost nothing was printed about Roy other than regular advertisements for his realty business, and we can assume that he simply busied himself with his career as a realtor.
By the 1930 U.S. Census, James and Betti(e) Littler are listed as living at the Chicago Home for the Friendless with their mother, Susie.
On 16 June 1932, the Macon Evening News out of Macon, Georgia published an announcement (opposite)citing that Roy W. Littler of San Francisco, married Mamie McGee in a private home ceremony conducted by a clergyman.
After the wedding, Mamie moved to San Francisco with Roy Littler likely quite unaware that his marriage to Susie Elizabeth Sneed had not been dissolved by divorce.
At some point, at latest by 1934, Roy left the real estate profession in Soquel and he and Mamie moved to San Lorenzo, where they purchased a home. The Sept 5, 1934 Santa Cruz Sentinel stated the following:
A FLORIDA REUNION
Page 3 of the May 15, 1937 edition of the Macon News reports that Roy and Mamie met up with Roy’s parents, Mr. & Mrs J.E. Littler, on their drive north through Macon, GA returning from their winter home in Sarasota, FL.
It is noted that Roy and his “wife” Mamie were also in Florida in 1937 and on their way back to California. What were they doing in Florida, one wonders…?
Well… page 25 of the Sunday May 16, edition of the 1937 Tampa Tribune notes that (obviously some days earlier) a lawsuit was filed in Circuit Court.
“Roy W. Littler v. Elizabeth Sneed Littler”
8 July 1937, Hillsborough Florida, a divorce decree was filed and recorded in Guide 94, Volume 4742 between Elizabeth Sneed Littler and her former husband Roy W. Littler.
The Thursday July 8 1937 issue of the Tampa Bay Tribune also records a record of decree between Roy and “Elizabeth”.
PAPERWORK PROBLEMS
How awkward those months in 1937 Macon must have been for Roy, having to explain to the McGee family, the Reverend, the Monsee Family, and his father J.E. Littler that the 1932 wedding between he and Mamie was not valid.
Although they performed the ceremony and lived as married from 1932, the marriage of Roy and Mamie would not be official/legal until July 1937.
The Dec 4, 1937 of the Salinas California morning post announced the “intentions to wed” of Roy Ware Littler of San Francisco aged 49 and “Mayme” McGee of Macon Georgia.
Page 7 of the December 8, 1937 edition of the Salinas Morning Post announced the “solemnization” of the marriage between Miss Mayme McGee of Macon and Mr. Roy Ware Littler of San Francisco.
AT HOME IN LOS GATOS, CA
The city directory of Los Gatos in 1938 posts that Roy and Mayme lived at 71 Central Avenue in Los Gatos, CA.
The 1940 Census, Roy and his wife “Mayme” are listed at the same address.
The house belonging to Roy and Mayme is long gone having been replaced by this home built in 2002.
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2165209,-121.9763241
By 1945 we see adverts in the Santa Cruz area papers listing homes for sale by Jacoby & Hall with Roy W. Littler as the listing agent.
By May 1945 Roy joined the M.C. Hall Agency as head of their their Ben Lomond location and was soon after promoted to manage their upcoming Felton, CA branch office.
AS ROY’S CAREER GROWS,
HIS MOTHER PASSES
In June of 1945, M.C. Hall bought out his partner in the firm Jacoby & Hall, merging the two firms in to the single company “M.C. Hall”.
On June 5, 1946 Roy took an oath to become a notary public.
On September 18, 1949, Roy’s mother Mae Ware passed away The Ludington, MI Daily News - 1 Oct 1949 - Page 3 posted the following obituary.
MAYME LEAVES ROY FOR ANOTHER
MAN
Performing a quick scan of the 1950 census, one would expect to find Mamie/Mayme Littler living with her husband Roy in Los Gatos, California - however it finds him living instead in El Cajon with one “Martha Littler” of Ohio, his wife!
As late as 1943 Mayme Littler is reported living a prominent public life as 1st VP of the Ladies Auxiliary, serving also in theWomen’s Ambulance Corps. July 1943 she is elected as president of the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary.
Curiously, in Aug 3,1945 The Los Gatos Newspaper cites that Mayme travels across country back home to Georgia, to stay 9 weeks with her family. Is it possible she planned to separate from Roy?
Los Gatos Times/Saratoga Observer noted on page 8, July 26, 1946 that Mayme was calling herself “Mrs. Mayme Littler Daniel” and left Roy in Los Gatos to return to her roots in Georgia.
MAYME REMARRIES
On 26 March, 1949 in Phenix City, Alabama, Mayme Littler married one Dewey Daniel and the two were officially wed. A divorce decree between Mayme and Roy has yet to be located. (will add as appendix, if found)
Returning then to the 1950 Census, it now seems to make sense why Mayme is not listed.
His address of 988 Main Street, #102, El Cajon, CA is listed in the census as a trailer community and still is to this day. (opposite)
The Trailer Community in El Cajon
With only a first name “Martha Littler, born in 1906, Ohio” it is unclear how to proceed with identifying her, validating the marriage, etc. More work needs to be done to figure out these details. (will add as appendix, if found)
According to the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, on September 29, 1953, Roy filed for retirement.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel - on 11 May 1954 - Page 3, noted that Roy took seriously ill. The address listed in it today is a defunct listing, likely renamed.
ROY’S FATHER PASSES AND A MYSTERY REVEALED!
On March 11, 1957, Roy’s father John Edward (J.E.) Littler died at age 93. The Ludington Daily News - 12 Mar 1957 - Page 3 posted the following obituary.
J.E. Littler’s (1863-1957) grave is located at Mount Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum in Urbana, Champaign County, IL, USA; Plot BB-05-04; Memorial ID 235706966.
J.E. is buried with other of the Littler family including his wife, Mae Ware Littler (1865-1949). Mae is buried at the same plot with memorial ID of 235707618. Mae was 84 years old when she died.
In 1957, James Cossitt Littler, son of Roy Littler and Susan Elizabeth Sneed, was living with his wife Donna Marie Johnson, whom he married 20 June 1942, in Kerrville, Texas. The 1950 census lists that they had a child born in January 1950 named James Cossitt Littler Junior, but no further information is known. No graves for any Littler born in 1950 can be found.
A cursory online skip-trace actually revealed that it was very possible James Cossitt Littler Jr. (1950- present) was still alive in 2024 and aged 74. Possibly going by “John” and may living in the Houston area near his son, Chip.
After a few inquiries with Judith Terzic (Antonic) and Chip Littler, we come to find out (with much relief, that JCL Junior IS none other than Chip Littler himself!
ROY’S LAST DAYS AND PASSING
James “Chip” Cossitt Littler Jr. (b. 1950), adopted son of James and Donna, recalls that his father James was told all his life by his grandmother, Susan Elizabeth Litter (nee Sneed), that Roy was dead.
Then in 1957, Chip’s father James received a call from Roy explaining that he was in Kerrville, was dying, and that he wanted to meet him. They met in Kerrville that March for the first time and Roy died a few days later.
On the 21st of March, only 10 days after his own father J.E.’s death, Roy Ware Littler passed away in Kerrville, Texas. The cause of death was carcinoma of the prostate gland and bladder with metastasis to the left lung.
The Obituary March 24, 1957 in the Kerrville times corroborates that he left El Cajon to spend his last six months in Kerrville before dying in the veteran’s hospital there. His surviving spouse is listed only as Mrs. Roy W. Littler of Ohio, indicating that it was not Mayme McGee (Daniel) but his last wife Martha who survived him as his spouse.
It is assumed that the veteran’s hospital helped the family file for a military headstone on Roy’s behalf since no family names are indicated on the application form.
Roy’s final buried resting place is Kerrville National Cemetery, Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas, USA; Plot 2A-13; Memorial ID 3060066
APPENDIX 1 - KNOWN WIVES OF ROY WARE LITTLER
APPENDIX 2 - UPDATE ON “MARTHA”
After some extended research, there is a record (#39719557) for a marriage between Roy and one Martha Kolkmeyer in the Carson City, Nevada, U.S., Marriage Index, 1855-1985, date 16 Oct 1943.
This means that Mayme and Roy would have split up before that date. We have yet to locate records for the divorce between Mayme and Roy.
APPENDIX 3 - USA ANCESTRY OF ROY LITTLER
1. Samuel Littler (1655-1727)
2. ..John Minshall Littler (1708-1748)
3. ….John Ross Littler (1739-1819)
4. ……John Littler (1769-1856)
5. ……..Samuel H. Littler (1811-1880)
6. ……….John Edward (J.E. Littler) (1863-1957)
7. …………Roy Ware Littler (1888-1857)
8. …………..Elizabeth Ware Littler (1916-2002)
8.1.1. …….James Paul Antonic (1943 - )
8.1.1.1.……Glenn Phillip Antonic (a)(1963? - )
8.1.2. …….Judith Ware Terzic (Antonic) (1946 - )
8.1.2.1.…….Dusan Alexander (Alex) Terzic (1980 - )
8.1.2.2.…….Elizabeth Alexandra Olivera Smith (Terzic)(1982 - )
8.1.2.3.……..Branko George (B.G.) Terzic (1985 - )
8.1.3. …….Jeffrey George Antonic (1953 - )
8.1.3.1. Jason Littler Antonic (1975 - )
8.1.3.2.……Tomas Christopher Antonic (1995 - )
8.2. ………James Cossitt Littler (1918-1994)
8.2.1. …….James Cossitt (Chip) Littler (a) (1950 - )
8.2.1.1.….John Littler (1989 - )
8.2.1.2.…..Luke Littler (1989 - )
8.2.1.3.…..Mark Cossitt Littler (1989 - )