Week 23 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge’s theme is “Wedding”. I was torn between writing about my maternal grandparents, Edward and Vera Leyh, or paternal grandparents, Leonard and Ruth Few. I decided to write about my paternal grandparents, Leonard Few and Ruth Jenkins. I intend to use my maternal grandparents for the theme “Heirloom” in my next post.
Leonard Few was born August 22, 1920, in Sharon Center, Ohio to Frederick Few and Sarah Anna Collett (who I wrote about for the week 22 post). Fred and Sarah were both from England and had four boys and one girl. My grandpa, Leonard, was their second child. By the 1930 census, Leonard’s parents had packed up, left Sharon Center, and moved to Ravenna, Ohio. Leonard’s dad, Fred, purchased a farm that is still in the family today.
Ruth was born on November 30, 1923, to Thomas Jenkins and Clotilda Huber. Thomas was from England and Clotilda from Canada. They had two children, a girl and a boy. My grandma, Ruth, was their first child. In the 1930 census, the Jenkins’ were listed as living on Bettes Avenue in Akron, OH, which is the home my grandparents lived in for much of their married life. The house was in our family until 2013.
Leonard married Ruth Jenkins on August 22, 1944. I was told they met because Ruth’s father, Thomas, worked for Leonard’s dad, Fred, on his farm but I could not find any proof of this information. They were married at St. Martha’s Catholic Church on Tallmadge Ave., by Father Farr. At the time of their marriage, Ruth was listed as being a secretary and Leonard’s job was listed as U.S. Army. Leonard joined the military on October 12, 1942. Leonard was discharged from the service on October 27, 1945. Ruth was a secretary for the majority of her working life and Leonard worked at one of the rubber factories in Akron.
Leonard and Ruth had two boys, one of which is my dad, Gary and my uncle, Terry. Gary was born in 1949, their eldest child. Leonard and Ruth lived in Akron, Stow, and Florida. They were snow birds for a long time. Leonard and Ruth would leave for Florida around Halloween and would be back in Akron by Mother’s day. Leonard was a Mason, a member of the Yusef Kahan Grotto in Tallmadge, loved fishing, watching sports of all kinds, and camping. Ruth loved reading, playing bingo, casinos, camping, and crocheting. At one point she told me that she had read over one million pages. She counted pages instead of books.
Leonard died about a month and a half after I graduated high school on July 17, 1994. He came to my graduation and graduation party, which was the last time I saw him alive. He is buried in Crownhill Cemetery. Ruth moved to Florida permanently in the early 2000s. Ruth was diagnosed with cancer two different times over her years down there. She became gravely ill in 2011 and was brought home to Ohio. Ruth was told she would probably not live more than 8 weeks but she proved everyone wrong and lived for another 2 ½ years. I didn’t have much of a relationship with her for a long time, but we got to mend our relationship and spend many days together over the 2 ½ years she lived after returning to Akron. She died August 28, 2013, ten days after my birthday and is now buried beside her husband.
Once Ruth passed, her family gave me bags and bags full of yarn because, like her, I have a love of crocheting. It is what I found in those bags that I truly cherish and the reason I chose to write about her and Leonard’s wedding. I don’t know much about the wedding itself. I have never seen pictures. I don’t know who was in it but buried deep in the bag of yarn was a surprise I never expected to find. Ruth kept her yarn in a cedar chest and I’m guessing that is how this item came to be among the yarn. In the bottom of one of the bags there was a heavy item, way too heavy to be yarn, so I pulled this foreign object out of the bag and found the top to Leonard and Ruth’s wedding cake. I was so happy, I couldn’t believe my luck. It is now in my curio cabinet with my collection of snow globes where I can keep it safe. I will cherish it forever, as I do the yarn, that I am using to create new things that will always remind me of her.
Exposing My Family Roots 