Uncle Bill Springall

Uncle William Earl Springall was born 11 January 1923 in Salt Lake City.  He was born to William Arthur Springall and Mina Geneve Brandley.  At a very young age, his father would pass away.  William Arthur passed away from illness in December of 1953, just before Bill's third birthday.  The birth certificate indicates the cause of death as toxaemia as the result of pneumonia.  His father had worker as a Federal Air Inspector for D & R. G. Railroad.
His mother Mina Geneve must have been devastated financially as well as emotionally.  She had four children ranging in age from two and 13.  I know she was babysitting, because that is how she met my grandfather.
Uncle Bill's mother remarried 31 May 1927, so less than two years after her first husband passed away.  I know the family stayed in Salt lake City for a time.  Their first baby, C.J., who lived just a few hours, was born and buried in Salt Lake City.  However the next birth in this family, that of my mother, Ileen and her twin sister Charlene in 1928 was in Idaho Falls, Idaho.  Grandfather Wright took a position with the sugar factory in Idaho Falls.  They were provided a factory house in which to live, which they purchased over time.  Grandfather Charles was the foreman over the boiler.  My mother commented an how black he would get from working in the coal.  Bill and his older brother both took turns sleeping in the shed behind the house.  The house was not large enough to accommodate everyone.  He would have attended Lincoln School, and and the Lincoln ward.  Both the church and the school were across the street form where they lived.
Bill was always the closest sibling to my mother and her sisters, Charlene and rose Marie who was born a year later in 1930.  He shared association with his three younger sisters, being only six years older than my mother and her twin.
He married Josephine May Kelly in 1948, and they settled in Idaho Falls.  They had five children: Eric, Virginia,, Rebecca, Earl and Janet.  He eventually moved his family to Las Vegas where he worked in the gaming industry.  Josephine passed away in 1987.  Uncle Bill passed away in 2003.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Josephine

Charlene, Bill, Rose Marie, Ileen

Aunt Helen Alein Springall

Aunt Helen was my mother's oldest sister on the Springall side.  She was born 19 March 1912 in Salt Lake City the first child of the union of William Arthur Springall and Mina Geneve Brandley.  They had been married 6 July 1911.  To this union would be born three more siblings.  Robert William was born in 1914, Marion Ruth in 1916 and William Earl in 1923.  Tragedy would strike this family when the children were quite young.  William Arthur would pass away 20 December 1925 due to toxaemia (toxins in the blood) as a result of pneumonia.  At his death Helen was 13, Robert 11, Marion 9 and William 2.

Mina Geneve would remarry in a few years.  She was babysitting for Charles James Wright, whose first marriage ended in divorce.  The were married 31 May 1927.
 
Shortly after this marriage, Charles and Geneve would relocate to Idaho where Charles would work at the sugar beat factory in Lincoln, Idaho falls.  They lived in a factory home, which was small.  Consequently a shed out back was used as a sleeping area for the boys.
Helen married Floyd Frank Troxler 8 July 1933 in Utah.  In 1940 they lived in Salt Lake City and had two children, Gloria and Jannett, according to the 1940 census.  However the picture I have shows three children with a brother much younger.

Aunt Helen's children

Helen passed away 18 October 1988 and was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Uncle Robert William Springall

I previously wrote a story my mom told about Uncle Robert Springall.  I now notice that his son has posted many things on Facebook which help me understand my uncle I don't remember ever meeting, he passed away when I was four.  There were many pictures and a death certificate posted on Family Search.  These materials were contributed by Steven Booras to Family Search.

The story my mother told took place in the late 1930s, shortly after the opening of the Bay Bridge.  At this time Bob had a problem with alcohol.  However he married Nelda Johnston in 1940, not too much later.  He had at least two children with her I note from the pictures.  There is a family picture with his wife and two children.  He also took employment in Napa.  My mother indicates he often came home to work in the sugar beet run at the factory in Lincoln.  This marriage must have ended in divorce, as Nelda remarries in 1950.  I imagine alcohol problems continued to haunt Robert.

Chicken Ranch in Napa, CA

family picture, Robert's wife is in center back row with Robert to the right.  The children on either side of Grandmother Johnston would be Robert's birth children

Napa Ranch

Robert William Springall

Robert with oldest son

Although Robert passed away in the Solano County Hospital in California, his body was shipped by train to Idaho and he was buried in Ammon.

The death certificate confirms what my mother said that Robert died young due to complications from alcohol.   The certificate indicates the cause of death as chronic glomerulonephritis.  This is a kidney disease in which the glomeruli are damaged.  The glomeruli are what filter your blood and remove excess fluids.  When they are damaged it can cause kidney failure..

Robert's wife's headstone

Robert William Springall