William Henry Tomes, Sr. Pt. 2 (1888-1964)
- Robert Tomes
- Jan 11, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 28, 2021
William Henry and his new bride, Annie Catherine Kahley, would remember 1910 as their wedding year, but they would also remember it as the year they survived the close fly by of Halley's Comet. The comet was not an unknown cosmic body, but a well documented heavenly appearance that has been observed and recorded as early as 240BC. However, the 1910 advent of the comet was propagated as a possible earth extinction event. Scientists figured that the tail of the comet would come so close to earth's atmosphere that it's alien gases would perforate the stratosphere and contaminate the earth with poisonous and deadly fumes. This pronouncement of doom led to the "panicked buying of gas masks and quack "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas" by the public. One source even says that The comet was also fertile ground for hoaxes. One that reached major newspapers claimed that the Sacred Followers, a supposed Oklahoma religious group, attempted to sacrifice a virgin to ward off the impending disaster, but were stopped by the police." (Wikipedia: Halley's Comet-Accessed 1/4/2021)
Although the tail of Halley's Comet would enter earth's orbit simultaneously on May 19, 1910, there was no apocalyptic ending of the earth. William and Annie had survived the great comet Halley and with their marriage in Nov. of 1910, they would make a bold statement to themselves and cantankerous family members that they would survive any ridicule, shame, or taboo label they could obnoxiously spread.
William had a quiet resolution about him that some people of his time may have considered a weakness, but it really takes a man of character, fortitude, and grace to not only raise another man's child, but then to call that child one of your own. William would go on to raise Julia as his own and she would have the last name of Tomes until she was married to Charles Sindle in 1923 at the age of 16. Since most adoption records are sealed, I have not been able to locate any information about William officially adopting Julia, however, this is a considerable possibility. Perhaps with further research I will discover further actions toward adoption.
William and Annie would live with Annie's mother and step-father at a house at 634 E King Street. They would reside there until after William and Annie's first child together, Evelyn Marie Anna Tomes, was born on 09/29/1911. Evelyn, later known as "Eva," was born at the E. King St. home and according to the York Moravian Church records was baptized at "The home of her grandparents" on 10/15/1911 by the Moravian pastor, Rev. S. C. Albright. This area of E. King St. was previously known as "Low St.," because of it's low lying marshy fields and willow trees that supplied the wood strips for the local "Gypsies and Germans" to make their baskets. The area is also known as "Bullfrog Alley" and the following two articles give a glimpse of this history:
I will be examining more of our family ties to these York gypsies in a later post entitled: "Zigeunerleben - The Gypsy Life."
William and Annie would soon move to their first humble apartment at 26 Local Avenue, which was right around the corner from E. King St. and close to Annie's mother and stepfather.
William would continue to provide for his young family and was working for R.C. Boeckel & Co, a candy factory located on W. College Ave. in York, PA, when news came that in March of 1911, fifty boxes of candy eggs had been seized by federal and local agents in Boston,
MA. These boxes, which had been shipped there from the R.C. Boeckel Candy factory, were seized because the local "pure food marshals" suspected that there was a "foreign or dangerous" substance on the candy eggs. I explore more of this event in my upcoming blog: "R.C. Boeckel & Co - Pure Food Cases."
Although William was concerned about the case and what it would do for the future of the factory, he continued to go with the flow and resumed his baseball activities with the company teams. I am not sure who named the baseball teams from the R.C. Boeckel & Co., but the team which was organized from there in 1912 was called, "The Milk Malto Dainties." R.C. Boeckel & Co., was one of the earliest candy factories to produce the "Milk Maltos."
Today these milk maltos would be the early equivalent of what we know today as "Whoppers - The Malted Milk Balls." Quite frankly, I never liked malted milk balls and always gave them away when I got some in my Easter basket when I was a kid. I guess in the end, to William and his teammates, they were more concerned with having fun and playing the game instead of the disparagingly comments they received for being called "The Dainties."
In April of 1913 we see R. C. Boeckel and Co. reorganize and raise the expectation of their baseball team since they invested in and built their own baseball diamond between the W. College Ave. and Penn St. bridges. (Today the area would be near the walking trail along the Codorus creek.) The candy factory team would go semi-pro and at this point William bows out of the baseball scene to focus on his family.
In June of 1913 William would attend the Billet's family birthday party for their six year old daughter, Ida Mary Billet. Ida's father, Harry Billet, listed himself as a professional baseball player on Ida's birth certificate and perhaps William played baseball with him before he turned pro. Harry "Yappy" Billet would play professional baseball for teams in York, PA but also in New England. Yappy Billet was part of the "Penn Park Nine" who were quite a decent team.
In late October / early November 1913, William would hear of P C Wiest's debilitating sickness and ultimate death. P.C. Wiest was a candy maker originally from Dover, PA that started his bigger business in York,PA selling candies. This business would
expand and eventually split into a candy factory and a fully stocked grocery. Later on, his sons would eventually own "Wiest's" department store in downtown York.
I believe William, his father Edward, and younger brother Gerald most likely attended the funeral of P.C. Wiest and subsequent burial in Prospect Hill Cemetery. Their attendance would be a sign of respect and appreciation for the opportunities and success that the Tomes family was able to obtain by helping to manage the candy business that P.C. Wiest started.
By 1914, York, PA was starting to become a moderate sized city instead of just a town by the banks of the "ole Codorus creek." From about the time William was born in 1888 to 1914, York doubled in size from approximately 20,000 people to 42,000 people. (www.population.us/pa/york - accessed 1/7/2021)
William and Annie would help contribute to the population surge with the birth of their second daughter, (third child overall - See William Tomes Pt.1 for details) Frances "Elouise" Tomes, born on 08/09/1914 and the birth of their third daughter, (fourth child overall) Mary Emma Tomes born on 08/22/1916. William's family was growing and I'm sure he was working hard to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.
The records from the Bethany Moravian Church list Frances Elouise Tomes as being baptized on 09/06/1914 at the home of her parents, William and Annie Tomes. The record also shows a side note that states, "father is a Catholic."
Although York was bursting with a population surge, the neighborhoods in which people lived were still very tight knitted. Neighbors knew neighbors and they trusted one another to look after their homes and sometimes their children when needed. Unfortunately, the trust that was given to one individual to look after one of William's daughter, Evelyn, was grossly betrayed by a man named Cleve Bosh (name was probably Cleveland Bosh or Bush). For some unknown reason, Cleve was left in charge of watching over at least Evelyn and perhaps Julia as well. Unfortunately, Cleve took advantage of the situation and ended up abusing Evelyn, she was only three years old. Below is the article about Cleve Bosh's arrest:
We really don't know all the details of what type of abuse this was, however, for the paper to mention a "serious charge" and that Cleve is "unmarried," we can make some assumptions. However, I have not been able to find any more details or results of the hearing. Perhaps at a later time, I will be able to examine the court documents to further clarify the
charges, hearing, and subsequent verdict of this alleged crime. Whatever the end result, William and Annie would be shocked and devastated to know that they trusted someone whom they shouldn't have trusted.
To be continued in my next blog, "William Henry Tomes, Sr. Pt.3"
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