Martha Jeffs Moore Remembers Her Grandfather, Henry Jeffs

An undated and unsigned note from Gramma Moore. I found it among things my mother had saved for me.

Jill,
This may interest you.

Henry Jeffs is your Great, Great Grandfather. His son—Charles Frederick—my Dad.

Henry was a very stern man, as your Aunt Averil very well knew. The slamming of doors was one of his pet annoyances. And my Father’s too—but he was not the strict type. If he told you not to do—whatever—he expected you to obey and you just did. But, Henry would punish Charlie, Averil and Isabella for the slightest infraction, usually by a half-hour or so sitting in a chair until told they could get up. Averil, the to end of her her days cringed whenever anyone slammed a door.

They (Charlie & Averil & Isabella) lived with the grandparents after their mother died and it was really hard. Perhaps the kids needed discipline and maybe it was good, because finally when Mama meet my Dad, the 3 kids acted as though the lid came off and Averil and Charlie really ran wild. Who would think they would turn out to be tops in their field.

Averil—an excellent teacher
Charlie—an admiral
Isabella—2 years old when their mother died, was more normal.

Averil, Charlie and Isabella

By "normal" perhaps Gramma meant that Isabella was a housewife. Averil had no children. From my interactions with her as a child, I imagine she would have been a great teacher—patient and good at engaging people's curiosity. Charlie (Charles Richardson) joined the Navy as an apprentice seaman and rose to become captain of a battleship and then Land Commissioner in the US govenment in Germany after the Second World War. He retired with a promotion to Rear Admiral.

"Mama" is Adelia Seaman Weeks Jeffs DeBaun, whom we called Gramma Jeffs.