Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 21:26:29 -1000 From: "Roger Angell" To: "Noel Thompson" ====================ROGER ANGELL WRITES:============== (My grandfather wrote the following document shortly after his wife died and later sent it to his children. I'm thrilled to have it, and, in fact, once started writing my own biography with my children in mind. I wish my own parents had written autobiographies. In mine, I'm able to express my likes, dislikes, good and bad experiences, what I've learned, what I value, my employment history, adventures in hobbies, etc., which my kids might not otherwise know or remember after I'm gone. Thus I would advise any parent or grandparent nearing retirement to make a priority of composing an autobiography and adding it to things that shouldn't be lost or overlooked.) (Above by Roger Angell, Year 2000) (This is a messed up extract from a Word Perfect file; I seem unable to open such things any longer; will have to find and install the converter someday.) =================================== The Angells by T. U. Angell I was born in 1884 in a small coast town of Burnham, Somerset England, it was a pretty town facing the sea with lovely beaches and pretty countryside, it was the end of the Somerset & Dorset railroad. My mother Emily Winter was one of twelve children[.] as far as I was told the Winter family were all born there. My father Joseph Thomas Naler Angell was born in Wells some distance from Burnham where the old Wells Cathedral is,[.] there were three [other children] in the family two brothers Alfred [Alfred Charles], Bill [William T.] and a daughter Lizzie [Elizabeth Ann]. The [grand]father [George Thomas Angell, Jr.] was a tailor[;] he died before I was born. I was about two years old when my Mother's Mother [Harriet Gorch] died, Mother's father [John Winter] died when I was twelve years old. Just after I was born my father went to America as engineer of the S.S. Atlas of the Atlas Line[,] an American line running between N.Y. and the West Indies. In 1888 Mother & I [and] also my uncle Alf[,] sailed on the S.S. Alaska for N.Y. we landed in the great blizzard of 1888, we were met by dad & uncle Bill who had arrived in N.Y. some time before with his sister [Lizzie] & Mother. We all lived somewhere up near Central Park, Dad left the steamship Co. & went with the Elevated railroad. A couple of years later his two brothers & Mother went west to Grays Harbor where they done some building speculating but due to storms & bad weather gave it up & returned to N.Y. city. [Father's] Mother Angell [Elizabeth Ann Naylor] died & was buried in Grays harbor. My Mother[,] Dad & I moved up to 17th Street, I was five then & started to school, we could look up from our house and see them start to build St. John [the] Devine Cathedral. I had a brother born at this time but he only lived a few months, then we moved up to 161 Street to what is known as Washington Heights[.] it was all country then. My brother Randall was born there. I was 12 years old then. We moved several time always going farther up towards Fort George part of the city. About 1900 we moved to Rochelle Park N.J. where the folks bought a home. Dad then became engineer with J.P. Morgan Co.[,] Wall St. by this time I was in the building game, etc. Some time previous or when I was about 12 years old Mother & I visited England, then in 1910 I visited England alone. Dad also went back alone to see his folks. On Nov. 25, 1908 I met Mother [Catherine McCutcheon] & we were married in Rochelle Park N.J. we bought the old stone house on Rochelle Ave & Essex Street with property along the Saddle River. The Good Housekeeping Magazine had quite an article on the old house saying that Geo. Washington visited there. Here David & Willard were born. The Angell family had a lot in building St. Peters church. My dad made the bronze or copper cross on top and I made the altar from a century old oak bed donated by Mrs. Snyder & Mrs. Ackerman (I visited the old town this past year 1957, the church is the same & so is the old home. Mrs. Evey who bought the house from us is still there. Roger inserted this.) I started with the Gregg Co in 1920 and in 1924 was sent to Hawaii by them to manage there business in the Territory, when War II broke out I went with the Ordinance Army, then returned and we moved to Kula Maui. We later on moved to Santa Rosa. Mother [Catherine] passed away April 30/57 buried in Honolulu. My Dad passed way 1926 } both buried in Hackensack My Mother " " 1945 } N.J. Mother's brother is the last of the old McCutcheon family. Andrew still lives in Middletown N.J. Randall's first wife died & he married again and [is] now living at Point Pleasant N.J. Just before [world] war one we moved from the old stone house into a new one we built just above the old house. It was then I was called in by the Navy dept as inspector with the bureau of yards & docks. = = = = = = = = = = =END OF THE LETTER = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Rogers NOTES: This family history was mailed January 9, 1969 from Thomas Angell, Santa Rosa, CA to Mr. & Mrs. Willard Angell, Honolulu, HI. It was apparently written in 1957 following the death of his wife Catherine. [Editorial additions are enclosed in brackets.] Edited by Roger Angell in the year 2000