Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1914, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Rupert was married to Miss Ula McNeill on November 12th, 1914.” Rupert was the youngest of four children born to Tom and Ella Moses between 1879 and 1889. Their children were Thomas William “Pitt” Moses (b. 1879), Mary “Mamie” Titcomb Moses (1881), Lillian Ella Moses (1886) and “Rupert” Moses (1889).
Pitt followed his Uncle Frank Moses and moved to Trenton, New Jersey, to work at a gas plant in 1900. Three years later, he married Stella Martin of Trenton. Moses’ youngest son, Rupert, entered the theatre manufacturing business and remained close to his father. The girls married and became homemakers; Lillian married George Salzman in 1910 and Mamie married William Hanover in 1911. Last, but not least, Rupert married Ula McNeill of Ames, Iowa in 1914.
Because Rupert and his father worked together, the two families would occasionally share the same home, sharing everything from food to scarlet fever over the years. Although his eldest son Pitt lived far away in Trenton, New Jersey, Moses passed along fatherly advice across the miles in the form of letters. Moses’ mourned the great distance he lived from his adult children and their families. In 1914, however, there were no longer little children running up to his attic studio, or young adults to regale with tales of his trips. His homecomings were much quieter. By his fifties, Moses recognized that he had lost many precious moments with his family over the years while he was travelling.
During his extended absences, Moses desperately missed his family, and many times reached out to convey his dislike of these separations. The children’s absences during the holidays accentuated his loneliness. At the close of 1914, Moses wrote, “Another Christmas without Pitt and family or Lillian. Would like to have the children and grandchildren every Christmas. We have a big house to entertain them, and I feel sure they all like to come to the old house, at least once a year.”
His words, “At least once a year,” lingered in my mind. Regret. Success does not matter if you miss so much. I think back to Moses’ many diary entries that placed him far away from the family at holidays. Now he was finally home for one and the children were gone.
By 1917, Moses wrote, “Pitt came out for a short visit and for the first time in twenty years, we had only the four children at home for a dinner. They were not allowed to mention their families. We sat each in their accustomed place. We all enjoyed it immensely. It carried us back many years when we were all much younger. I wish we could do it every year.” That same year, Moses wrote, “Stella and the girls arrived on December 22nd. Pitt came out on the 24th. We certainly had some family this Christmas – 17 at the table and two in the kitchen, and we had a fine dinner. I had Eugene Hall come to the house and pose us and he got one good negative. Had to use a flash as the light was very poor. I have wanted this for a good many years, and I am pleased to get it, even if it is not as good as a gallery picture.” In the end, we are often left with pictures and memories, and hopefully enough happiness to make us feel confident in our life choices.
To be continued…
