Ancestral Histories

Josephine Elizabeth Connell (Aunt Jose) 

Josephine Elizabeth Connell was born to a young single Irish mother on October 30^th, 1897 in Chicago, Illinois. Due to her mother’s age and poverty, she put her in an orphanage. Josephine was adopted by the Connell family. They used to be known by the O’Connell family but changed their name to Connell when entering the states at Ellis Island due to Irish persecution and prejudice. They lived in a little apartment building that was 600 square feet on south side of Chicago while she grew up.

Education was always important to Josephine. She attended catholic school and graduated with honors at the top of her class. She was always known for her beautiful penmanship, even up until the day she died.

Education was important to her- Beautiful penmanship. After high school graduation, she met John Draper- my great grandma’s brother- and they were married after a few months of courting.

She had an accident when she was first married that made it impossible for her to bare children, but throughout her life she was a mother figure to many of her nieces and nephews.

Aunt Jose’s sister in law was institutionalized and her children were placed in an orphanage by their father who was an alcoholic and unable to manage his children. Every weekend Aunt Jose would drive to the Meriville Orphanage and sneak all of her nieces out for small increments of time in order to see them. She would buy them ice cream and hot chocolate. Eventually their mother got better and brought the kids home. She helped raise her nieces when their mother relapsed.

Her husband John had a grocery store in Chicago where she did the books and they were very successful. After many years of successful business, they sold everything and moved down to Coral Gables, Florida at age 50. There they opened another store and became a produce whole sale business. It ran for another 10 years and they were incredibly successful.  

Aunt Jose’s hair and makeup were always perfect and she dressed to the nines. She acted as if she was going somewhere special every day. In her mind, every day was a special day. One funny fact about her was that she could eat more than any man that ever sat at the table with her. One time at the table, she ate almost all the food before anyone else sat down. She still ate like a lady, but she could eat the amount of a man.

Josephine died at the age of 99 on August 25^th, 1997 just a few months she of her 100^th birthday. Throughout her life she touched the lives of many and her legacy lives on still today.

Interviewed Lisa Ann Patterson- Josephine’s great-niece

  

Hazel Leone Mead Atterberry (Granny)

Hazel was born on September 24^th, 1912 in Salt Lake City to Enoch Roland Mead and Sarah Anderson. She was blessed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. After a few years, her family moved to Rye, Colorado where they lived in the mountains for many years.

Hazel had quite an amazing life. She loved to write songs and poetry and was well known throughout Southeastern Colorado for her charity and kind heart. She frequently donated baked goods to hungry people, gave piano lessons for free, was a part of numerous service organizations, and was never afraid to take in a homeless person. She loved song writing and poetry and was never one to be idle.

She served a 2 year mission in the western states but served her entire time in Pueblo, Colorado because of the Depression. In 1931, she met a man named Leonard Royce Atterberry at a dance she attended while still serving. Still being a missionary, she was unable to date Leonard. After she was released, they dated for one month and were married the 30^th of July 1931. She had only been released for a month when she married him. Their marriage was somewhat scandalous however because Leonard was only 19 years old and you needed to be 21 to obtain a marriage license at the time. They ran away to Canyon City, Colorado were they were married and lived there for about a year before moving to Pueblo.

In 1942, Hazel began working in Manitou Springs, Colorado. One night at the end of her shift, she realized she didn’t have any money to take the bus home. A man and his wife approached her and said they would give her a ride. They took her out to the prairie where they intended to rape her. She was prompted by the spirit to pick up a large stick and threaten them. She said she would kill them if they touched her so they fled and left her there. As soon as they left however, the stick disintegrated.

In 1949, after having three children, Leonard decided he didn’t want to be married anymore because he wanted freedom so he left Hazel and the kids. Within a few weeks he came back to try and take the kids from her. She fought back by hitting him in the head with a piece of petrified wood. He fled, but planned to have her committed as well as putting the kids in an orphanage. That night, Hazel had a dream that she needed to go to Salt Lake City to a fountain where a man would come to her. The next day she took the kids and left on a bus first thing in the morning with no money and nothing but the clothes on their backs. When they got there she went to the fountain and waited. A man approached her within the hour and told her he had had a dream that he needed to help her and her children. He gave her work and a place to stay. They moved into a hotel and she worked as a baker for many years. She also welded air planes during World War II and went on to do many great and miraculous things throughout the remainder of her life. She ended up suffering from a brain injury that gave her dementia twelve years prior to her death on May 5^th, 2009. Hazel truly was a miraculous woman and every aspect of her life testifies of the Savior Jesus Christ.

Interviewed Leone Hatch- Hazel’s daughter