Lena Josephine Godfrey DeGrasse

 If my family tree has anyone that fits the prompt "legend" I think it would have to be Lena Josephine Godfrey. Perhaps a more appropriate word might be "mystery". We have not learned much about Josephine's early life, with any certainty. Much of the information (speculative or otherwise) about Lena is thanks to my aunt Margie. My cousin Michelle has done her share of sleuthing on this line as well. I'm grateful to anyone who can contribute information, especially about Lena or her husband Wilfred DeGrasse/DeGrace. 

Her birth date was obtained from her death certificate and is believed to be September 13, 1869 in West Virginia. This is somewhat disputed by the 1900 census, in which her birthdate is reported as September 1871 in Virginia. The death certificate also reports her parents as John Godfrey and Mary Grogan. Family lore has it that she was born or lived on a Reservation but was not Native American. 

I know nothing of her childhood but at some point she made her way to Colorado, if Wilfred is to be believed. Wilfred's August 5, 1937 Petition for Naturalization (after Lena's death) reports that they were married in Las Animas, Bent, Colorado on July 19, 1887. There is some believability to this as Wilfred was located in Army service records in Colorado and discharged in October of the same year. 

At some point before their first child was born, they made their way to Chicago. Their first daughter was born in April 1888, Mary Etta. Mary Etta, or Mayme, was followed by 6 more children, William (Wilfert), Leo, Eleanor, Inace (Inez), Fanchon, and Blanche. Only Blanche did not live to adulthood, dying in 1906 at about 3 years old. Lena and Wilfred were also guardians of Lorraine Maypole who was born in 1916.

Our first official records of Lena present a new mystery. Mary Etta's birth certificate lists her as Leweise with the maiden name Wright. The person who wrote this spelled Mary's gender as "femail" so spelling is not reliable. But Wright is nowhere near Godfrey. And we find a baptismal record for her in August of 1889 where her father is listed as John Wright and a blank for her mother. Hmmm... If Mary and John Godfrey are her correct parents, her mother died when she was a year old. While John remarried and lived until she was 18, it's not unheard of for a child to be raised by someone else under these circumstances. perhaps the Wright family were her guardians.

In 1900 the family lived at 456 Washburn according to the 1900 census. They were at 6823 Winchester in 1910. 907 W. 63rd in 1920. In 1930 at 9021 S. Carpenter.

Lena died January 3, 1937 in Chicago at age 67. She is buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park, IL.

I have one photograph of her that was caption "Lena on Green St."

As always, please feel free to contact me with any hints, corrections, stories, etc.!