1912
22 Nov. Marriage between CATHERINE “KITTY” FLANAGAN (age 22) and THOMAS BARRETT (age 29). Tom owns a store at 4841 Easton Ave (at Bayard). He has recently bought a home at 4152 Lexington and moved his mother and three siblings from above the store to the new address. Date of property purchase?
BARRETT FLANAGAN marriage license Tue, Nov 26, 1912 – 12 · St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1913
5 Feb. Catherine’s sister Nellie marries Harry Kralemann
26 Mar. Death sister Nellie Flanagan Kralemann from abortion sepsis
FLANAGAN Nellie obit Thu, Mar 27, 1913 – 9 · St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
18 Apr. Tom and Kitty have two stores.
BARRETT Tom ad, 2 stores Fri, Apr 18, 1913 – Page 13 · The St. Louis Star and Times (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
9 Nov. Birth MARY MARGARET BARRETT
City Directory: Living at 4152 Lexington Av (which would continue to be his mother’s home), St. Louis MO, still operating a grocery store at 4841 Easton Av.
28 Mar. Tom sells his horse “cheap.”
BARRETT Tom Sun, Mar 28, 1915 – Page 49 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1916
Date?? Tom’s brother FRANCIS PETER marries MARY ABIGAIL CURRAN (Ewald Curran’s sister). May be how Ewald makes his first connection with the Barretts. He would have been 12 years old! [First child born in 1917]
16 Mar: Globe-Democrat: 3 stores? Ad for where to buy the Quaker [Oat] Cooker lists:
- T.B. Barrett, Easton and Bayard
- Barrett’s Market, 2501 Arlington
- Barrett’s Market, 5530 Easton
1917-18
World War I, Spanish influenza epidemic
1918
Living at 5900A Cote Brilliante (at Hamilton), above their grocery store (from Tom’s draft registration info) Date Cote Brilliante store opened?
Store still on Easton (per newspaper ad)
1919
1 Apr. Birth THOMAS WILLIAM and ROBERT PATRICK
13 Apr. Twins baptized at Notre Dame de Lourdes Church in Wellston, MO.
14 May. Death of Kitty’s brother Moses Rafael Flanagan from gunshot, in Chicago
10 Sept. Death of Kitty’s 18-year-old sister Loretta Julia Flanagan, from diabetes and pneumonia
1920
Census: still living on Cote Brilliante
6 May. Death father Moses McCarty Flanagan, of brain syndrome
6 Nov. Tom Barrett files for a patent on SKIRMISH, a game he invented.
1922
28 Feb. Tom’s Skirmish game. U.S. patent #1,408,065 granted
18 Jun. Real estate transactions: store and flat building on Easton
Gould’s St. Louis Directory, 1922. Grocery at 1401 Rowan, still living at 5900 Cote Brilliante.
1923
7 Jun. First reference found to store at 1401 Rowan. In same ad, a reference to F.P. Barrett at 5530 Easton (Tom’s brother Frank, in confectionary business).
BARRETT 1401 Rowan West end dealers for Borden’s Recipe Book Thu, Jun 7, 1923 – Page 32 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
Date? Bill Barrett sick with pneumonia for many months. Lung drained, collapsed. Wound kept draining, did not get better till they discovered doctor had left a sponge in incision. (Scar on his back noted on WWII Registration card.)
Date? Closed stores at 4841 Easton and on Cote Brilliante
Date? Opened stores at 4865/67 Easton and at 1401 Rowan, with family living upstairs at 1401a Rowan. (Zillow lists 1401 Rowan as multiple-occupancy, 3,456 sq ft, built 1907.)
BARRETT 1401 Rowan building permit Sat, Mar 9, 1907 – 12 · St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
BARRETT 1401 Rowan, first (?) ad Sun, Aug 8, 1909 – 21 · St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
3 Dec. Death of Kitty’s brother Joe Flanagan, at City Hospital, of pneumonia
FLANAGAN Joseph obit Wed, Dec 5, 1923 – Page 35 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1924
April ad:
BARRETT Thos property on Easton Sat, Apr 12, 1924 – Page 9 · The St. Louis Star and Times (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
24 Jul. Death of Kitty’s brother Thomas Flanagan, at City Hospital, of delirium tremens.
1925
23 Mar. Birth KATHLEEN ELLEN
1926
2 Oct. Death THOMAS PATRICK BARRETT of peritonitis in St. John’s Hospital. To Kitty’s horror, he had chosen the same surgeon for gall bladder removal as had botched Bill’s lung surgery.
Thomas P. Barrett Mon, Oct 4, 1926 – Page 25 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1927
Actual date needed. Work. CATHERINE consolidates two grocery stores to 1401 Rowan, under her name. Continues under her name through 1934. Rents Easton Av property.
Date? Ewald Curran (abt 23) is a clerk at Barrett’s Market. Arranges child care for Kathleen with his mother on Romaine Place.
1929
October. Stock Market crash, Great Depression begins
Date? Kathleen (abt 4) is a flower girl for who? (beautiful photos)
Date? Kitty raised canaries. Made mom hold each canary while she clean cage (or did something to canary?). The soft squishiness terrified Kathleen and she never stopped being afraid of birds out of their cages.
1930
Census. Catherine listed as proprietor, grocery store
Census. EWALD CURRAN, living with parents on Romaine, working as a “press feeder”
Actual date needed. Kitty converts back of store to commercial space (5875 Ridge) and rents it to Maizey Braun, who sells notions (1930) and operates a confectionery (1931, 1932)
1931
3 May. (Sunday). KATHLEEN is severely burned (date from photo). Theory: she was in second grade. Had skipped kindergarten and was put right into first grade; started 2nd grade over in Sept 1931.
12 Sept. ELLEN GIBBONS BARRETT (Tom’s mother) dies.
Obituary for ELLEN BARRETT En Sun, Sep 13, 1931 – Page 57 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1932-1934
Actual date/year needed. MARY pictured with LESTER (and KATHLEEN) at Castlewood. When/where were they married?
1935
Catherine leases store to Chas. I. Winthur, whose name appears in City Directory through 1939.
Ewald listed in City Directory as a pressman at Con P Curran Printing
Confectionery still in operation, but name change to “Marie Brown.” (Mom said it was always the same woman. No record in 1933-34, but reappears as Marie Brown 1935-1938. Maybe she just anglicized her name.)
18 Oct. Divorce. MARY from LESTER HOHMANN (notice in STL Star & Times)
HOHMANN Mary divorce Fri, Oct 18, 1935 – Page 27 · The St. Louis Star and Times (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1936
Feb ? Marriage. CATHERINE BARRETT and EWALD CURRAN at St. Barbara’s Record needed. Mom’s data says Feb, 1936.
Actual date/year needed. Cath and Ewald buy club house in Castlewood (assumed to be after marriage; Kathleen’s photos on horseback there look like she’s about 11). Mary was spending a lot of time out there at the Bobolinks club on East Hill Dr, so KM & Ewald thought the girls needed more supervision and they wanted to join the fun.)
5 Nov. Ewald’s father dies after a long illness
CURRAN Florance Obit Fri, Nov 6, 1936 – 1 · St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1937
2 Jul. Marriage MARY and C. Arthur Backlund at (I believe) St. Barbara’s. His address 5873 Wabada. Per License notice in Post-Dispatch and STL Star & Times). Ewald is in the wedding.
HOHMANN Mary and other husband marriage Fri, Jul 2, 1937 – Page 31 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
Actual date/year needed. Separation. Catherine gives Ewald the boot for some reason
1938
Jun. KATHLEEN (age 13) graduates from 8th grade at St. Barbara’s. Ewald gives her a camera and Catherine lets him come home.
Sept. KATHLEEN starts high school at Blewett, but quickly transfers to Alphonsus Rock. She is elected class president, but finds out it’s because she has cute older brothers.
1939
Catherine and Ewald open the All Inn Tavern & Restaurant at 5875 Ridge (where the confectionery was). Catherine listed as the proprietor in City Directory. Mary works as a waitress there. Referred to as “the tavern.”
Sept. Marriage. Mary and Lester Hohmann (for the second time). They reunite after meeting at Franklin Hohmann’s wake in April. Record needed
Oct 31. Notice of MARY’s divorce from Backlund published
HOHMANN Mary’s divorce from Backlund Tue, Oct 31, 1939 – Page 29 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
1940
Birth. GEORGE HOHMANN to Mary and Lester, 4251 Penrose (4-family flat owned by Catherine Curran. Kitty later negotiated a trade with the Corcoran family [siblings Irene, RoseB. (d. 1952, age 44), and Mike], who sold their house on 5835 Ridge at Laurel for an apartment here.).
City Directory. Catherine resumes proprietorship of store under name BARRETT BROTHERS, handing operation over to BILL and BOB.
Census. Bill and Bob listed as “retail grocers.” Oct 16. Bob’s selective service card indicates partnership w/ brother in grocery business.
Census. Ewald continuing work as a printer.
Census. Lester salesman for a packing house
Addendum from Kathleen Price, 8.19.05:
Well, I got out the old 1940 City Directory. He evidently moved from the 4841 Easton & Bayard address and bought the stores at 4865 and 4867 Easton. I recognized the name of the liquor store at 4865 Easton: LePage Edw. Liquor and Tohtz Butcher Supply at 4867 Easton. These stores were across the street from the home of Gene and Ann McKenna where we visited often. Ann’s mother lived with them and her name was Fahey who was some relative of my father. Too bad we didn’t ask more questions then… While looking up the Barretts, I found that Uncle Francis had a confectionery at 5310 St. Louis Ave and lived at 2519 Semple Avenue.
From <http://www.madinpursuit.com/Family/Barrett/BarrettThos02.htm>
1941
Draft Card. Bob is working at Carter Carburetor defense plant, after deciding he could not run the store with Bill.
City Directory. Catherine closes the tavern and Maurice Scissors rents the space to sell beer.
Dec. World War II begins
1942
1 May. Death BOB BARRETT, in airplane crash over Utah
Jun. KATHLEEN graduates Alphonsus Rock High School.
Jul. Birth of BARBARA ANN HOHMANN to Mary and Lester
Summer. KATHLEEN meets Walter Price for the first time at a bar in Castlewood.
City Directory. Thomas W “Bill” Barrett takes over ownership of Barrett Bros. Market.
City Directory. Ewald takes over tavern again to sell beer (that lasts about 3 years).
Date, year? Catherine rents out basement for parties. (Long bar, nickel and penny slot machines, player piano [defunct when the War made parts impossible to get]).
1943
Kathleen goes blonde. (This detail noted to help date photos.)
1945
World War II ends
1946
City Directory lists tavern now as “AG grocery store” — it became a storeroom for Barrett’s Market.
