 westbrook family westbrook family ray wed 8062014 908 the edwin m westbrook house and family   edward m westbrook   18581913 the edwin martin westbrook house was located on the west side of washington avenue between the present day lovelace drug store and the blossman building older citizens get nostalgic recalling when this lovely queen anne cottage was neighbored by the ac gottsche store and the bailey drug store the westbrook family is certainly one of the oldest at ocean springs john westbrook possibly from england married felicite lafontaine the daughter of louis auguste lafontaine and catherine bourgeois the founding family of ocean springs some of john westbrook s progeny were lucian westbrook 18421896 who married cecelia kendall 18481913 the daughter of celestine ryan 18281864 and louis kendall c 18301894 and louise felicite westbrook b circa 1836 who married rene ryan in august 1850 edwin martin westbrook 18581913 who built his home on washington avenue circa 1897 was born at louisiana probably new orleans his relationship to john westbrook and fel icity lafontaine is not presently known to this researcher but they appear to be disputably unrelated information on em westbrook s father is sparse but his name is believed to have been john westbrook his mother caroline mathieu 18301895 a native of louisville kentucky and a midwife at ocean springs was widowed circa 1870 she remarried captain joseph toche b 1848 who was probably born at dauphin island alabama toche s father was a french immigrant caroline s children with john westbrook were louis charles westbrook 18471921 m henrietta alvarez 18611895 william westbrook martha westbrook 18511919 who married leonard fayard 18471923 edwin m westbrook 18581913 henry r westbrook 18601938 who married francis j hadley b 1860 and viola westbrook b 1865 who married john bourgeois her children with joseph toche were adele toche b 1870 and joseph toche jr 18731960   email to ray l bellande from dawna graham westbrook on january 20 2010  louis charles westbrook aug 9 1847 nov 6 1921 this is my husbands great grandfather i have a copy of his death certificate showing john and caroline as his parents there are numerous newspaper articles mentioning his daughters visiting their cousins edwin westbrook family in ocean springs he was married 3 times but all of his children were born to his 2nd wife henrietta alvarez 1861 oct 31 1895 of new orleans as a young man he moved to new orleans he eventually moved to bay st louis and then biloxi six of his 8 children died in early adulthood from tb and one daughter from malaria they are all buried in the biloxi cemetery his only child that lived out a full life was henrietta 1893 1985 henrietta married herman francis kelly 1888 1946 the westbrook descendants of louis were through his daughter theresa 1887 1919 she had 2 illegitimate children margaret 1911 1993 and charles 1913 1974 charles f charlie westbrook raised his family first on elmer st in biloxi and then 1607 porter ave os charlie had 7 sons and 1 daughter so our branch of the westbrook dynasty is strong and expanding caroline and john s 2nd child was william i haven t actually done any research on william and what i ve seen of others work looks to be in error i can only say he existed em westbrook made his livelihood in ocean springs as a barber he was practicing this tonsorial art as early as the age of twentytwo on december 16 1880 westbrook married harriet clark 18571927 a mississippian and native of green county her family arrived in jackson county after the civil war and her sister married john ryan the em westbrook family probably lived in the jerome ryan tract on or near porter avenue before acquiring their washington avenue tract in march 1897 from the widow josephine pferffle 18371904 an 1840 bavarian immigrant her husband rudolph pferffle 18291880 also bavarian was a local house carpenter and building contractor this is corroborated by  the pascagoula democratstar  of june 4 1897   our enterprising alderman westbrook has moved from his porter avenue residence to his new purchase on washington avenue adjoining the post office   by late june he was upgrading his newly acquired washington avenue lot jxco ms land deed bk 18 pp 167168 and  the pascagoula democratstar july 2 1897 p 3 and the jackson county times april 23 1927 p 1  ew davis purchased the westbrook home near porter for 1700 in april 1897 mrs pferrfle built a cottage on bienville avenue in april 1897 the em westbrook tract was located in lot 14 of block 19 culmseig map of 1854 it was lshaped and fronted on three streets the 72 acre lot had a front on washington avenue of fiftyfour feet a front on desoto of two hundred and thirteen feet and on jackson avenue a front of one hundred feet at the time of the march 1897 purchase the westbrook lot was located between the home of mayor thomas w grayson 18251904 and the us post office which was situated on the southwest corner of washington and desoto the large davis brothers mercantile store was south of mayor grayson it can be determined with a high degree of certitude from sanborn insurance maps of 1893 and 1898 that the em westbrook edifice was erected in the period between these years  em westbrook house  west side of washington avenue between government and desoto the original queen anne structure with crossgabled roof had a three bay porch featuring turned posts brackets and a highly ornamented balustrade a projecting gabled bay on the north side of the cottage was accentuated by imbricated shingles and ornate barge board in the gable the windows were shuttered the westbrook s exquisitely landscaped front yard featured a fountain with a small muse like statuette the westbrook cottage had a living area of 1325 squarefeet the front gallery had an area of 120 squarefeet and the south side porch consisted of 150 squarefeet of operative space em and arthur e westbrook barbershop  situated on the west side of washington avenue south of desoto note the ac gottsche store which is now the blossman gas company building  barbershop in 1894 em westbrook also erected a barbershop about ten feet northeast of his house it was a onestory woodframed building of 225 square feet at this business establishment mr westbrook was also the agent for the peerless steam laundry of mobile and handled cigars and chewing tobacco his son arthur joined him as a barber about 1898 in september 1929 the westbrook barbershop was moved to line up with the other structures on washington avenue its timbers were generally found to be in good condition the iron fence which graced the westbrook cottage was also relocated at this time  the jackson county times september 14 1929 p 2  the em westbrooks reared a large family at ocean springs their children were edmund james westbrook 18811943 henry charles westbrook 18831883 arthur efferis westbrook 18841945 william joseph westbrook 18861913 george lamar westbrook 18881935 frederick louis westbrook 18891963 alonzo sheldon westbrook 18921919 harry ferdinand westbrook 18941933 hattie adele westbrook 18981919 and albert sidney westbrook 19001980 the westbrook boys grew up when the l n railroad was an important and prestigious employer at ocean springs it was only natural that they would seek livelihoods in the rail transportation industry only arthur e westbrook followed the tonsorial trade of his father a biographical sketch of the lives of the westbrook men who pursued careers with the l n railroad follows  edmund   edwin   j westbrook  18811943 began his career as a telegraph operator with the l n at ocean springs he met and married adele m krebs 18831966 of pascagoula she was the daughter of alfred e krebs 18471898 and hanna herminia ellison 18521938 her brotherinlaw was willie p ramsay 18701963 of vancleave and latimer who served as sheriff of jackson county from 19041908 in january 1903 the young couple married at our lady of victories roman catholic church at pascagoula they initially resided at ocean springs with mrs gh tardy 18401917 the ej westbrooks had a daughter ione westbrook 19051990 she worked as a clerk in the jackson county chancery court the westbrook family later relocated to pascagoula where they resided at 410 jackson avenue adjacent to the jacksongeorge regional public library building ej westbrook and his family were interred in the krebs family plot at the greenwood cemetery in pascagoula  arthur efferis westbrook   18841945 and spouse on washington avenue near old fort bayou circa 1924 courtesy of jk lemon 19141998  arthur e westbrook  18841945 was born march 14 1884 at ocean springs he followed his father s vocation and became a barber em westbrook had established the business in 1879 arthur started as apprentice barber with his father circa 1898 upon edward m westbrook s demise in 1913 he became sole proprietor of what was the best barber shop in the city it was characterized by cleanliness and high sanitary practices in addition to his barbering arthur e westbrook was the local agent for  the timespicayune  of new orleans and the ideal steam laundry of pascagoula ocean springs1915 p 29 on october 16 1907 arthur e westbrook married louise a ernst 18811962 of new orleans she was the daughter of felix ernst jr 18531906 and josephine faessel 18581915 louise called lula was reared on 3rd street in the crescent city where her father was a merchant she had a brother andrew ernst 18791900 1900 orleans parish louisiana federal census t623 574 p 27b ed 112 lula and arthur e westbrook were the parents of two children marion westbrook 19091926 married burke poe and andrew westbrook 19151986 arthur e westbrook was a good story teller and preserved and passed on many anecdotal tales told to him by his father and others who frequented the westbrook barbershop on washington avenue near desoto arthur expired on february 21 1945 louise ernst westbrook lived until 1962 jk lemon 19141998  leroy westbrook   1908pre1980 fl westbrook jr collection  william j westbrook  18861913 was killed in a railroad accident at grand bay alabama on february 23 1913 while attempting to catch the caboose of a freight train young westbrook lost his footing and fell beneath the rolling wheels of a freight car he was the l n station agent at the time of his demise wj westbrook probably had three children born in alabama wj westbrook jr leroy westbrook b 1908 pre 1980 and lillian westbrook b 1911 the two younger children lived at ocean springs with their grandmother hattie westbrook in 1920 in the settlement of mrs harriet westbrook s estate jackson county chancery court cause no 4920april 1927 her sons arthur and fred l westbrook were appointed administrators by the court by this time wj westbrook s wife had remarried and was known as mrs mamie e fields she resided with her minor children at 56 south conception street mobile alabama mrs fields children as well alonzo westbrook jr were inheritors in their grandmother s estate and were compensated through jackson county chancery court cause no 5004    george l westbrook   18881935 gl westbrook with van cleave reid 18991972 and audrey reid 19001914 image made at 528 jackson avenue circa 1908  george l westbrook  18881935 became associated with the l n railroad circa 1905 he was a telegraph operator and ticket agent at the ocean springs depot circa 1909 gl westbrook married sarah sallie van cleave 18761934 the widow of dunklin felix reid 1872circa 1906 mrs reid was the daughter of robert a van cleave 18401908 and elizabeth r sheppard 18421912 she had two children van cleave reid 18991972 and audrey e reid 19001914 on december 15 1934 george l westbrook married ina towle baker 18811947 at gulfport she was the daughter of of james towle a scotsman and an irish lady named da ily ina t westbrook previously resided at wausau wisconsin she had two sons frederick otis baker and william john baker from her first marriage to fw baker mrs westbrook was president of the ocean springs demonstration club and a recognized landscape authority she died on september 23 1947 her remains were interred at memphis gl westbrook was found dead at his home with acute indigestion on july 26 1935 mrs ina westbrook was in milwaukee visiting relatives at the time  frederick l westbrook sr  18891963   and frederick l westbrook jr  19192001 fl westbrook jr collection  frederick l westbrook sr  18891963 was the day operator for the l n railroad at the biloxi station in 1913 he later worked for the us postal service as a mail carrier westbrook married seraphine tucei 18821977 of biloxi in june 1916 they had one son frederick l westbrook jr 19192001 and resided at 709 church street in ocean springs  709 church street  lr east elevation and west elevation fl westbrook jr collection in june 1915 rural route 2 a new rural postal route was announced by the ocean springs post office there were one hundredfifty families on the circuit with the number soon expected by postmaster mcclure to increase to two hundred in july 1915 twentynine people applied for the rural route 2 position at testing sites in biloxi and pascagoula locals from vancleave and ocean springs who took this postal exam were charles h mr bransford 18681947 the former postmaster john b bransford george t rehage 18781937 ralph m spaulding 18761959 fred lewis 18621933  fred l westbrook  18891963 tim regan billy mitchell john wadlow and paul bertuccini b 1893   the ocean springs news june 17 1915 p 1 july 1 1915 p 1 and july 29 1915 p 1  fred l westbrook sr won the position scoring 871 on the postal examination his appointment as a carrier on rfd no 2 was announced publicly in early february 1916 fred started the job in late january in the fall of 1917  the jackson county times  announced that fl westbrook route 2 carrier increased his daily delivery schedule to six days each week prior to this he delivered only three days per week  the ocean springs news february 3 1916 p 1 and the jackson county times october 20 1917  fred l westbrook sr retired from the us postal service on in early december 1959 after 43 years and ten months of service as a rural mail carrier he related that he traveled over 30000 miles each year his longest route was about 95 miles it began in ocean springs went to east beach fontainebleau vancleave and thirtyfive miles further this route was split in 1952 but still required seventy miles of driving because of the increased population in rural areas   the daily herald december 2 1959 p 2   fred l westbrook sr was very active at the st alphonsus catholic church where he served as president of the holy name society and on the building committee he was a member of the order of the alhambra knights of columbus third and fourth degree and sacred heart league after mr westbrook s demise the local knights of columbus chapter which was commenced by his son fred was named the fred l westbrook sr council no 5654 their building is located at 621 washington avenue a lonzo s westbrook  18921918 was employed by the l n railroad at biloxi when he died from tuberculosis at the young age of twentysix years he was the cashier at the freight depot alonzo westbrook was probably named for alonzo d sheldon 18321904 a native of new york who was the railroad agent at ocean springs in 1880 in 1914 as westbrook was residing at mobile where he was a cashier for the l n he married margarite van cleave 18951977 at vicksburg on march 19 1914 she was a native of yazoo city and the daughter of mr and mrs thomas m van cleave margarite v westbrook was also the niece of mrs george l westbrook the brother of ra van cleave 18401908 mr tm van cleave was on the police force and a justice of the peace at vicksburg  the ocean springs news march 28 1914 p 1  alonzo s westbrook jr 19152002 was born on march 4 1915 at ocean springs after his father s demise in march 1918 mrs westbrook relocated to jackson mississippi and reared her son there he was valedictorian of jackson central high school and graduated from the university of mississippi law school in 1939 alonzo s westbrook jr practiced law at jackson until he was employed by the civil service at kafb at biloxi in 1967 mr westbrook expired at biloxi on january 12 2002  harry westbrook   18931933 fl westbrook jr collection  harry f westbrook  18931933 joined the l n railroad at biloxi circa 1921 as a telegraph operator after returning from ww i having served in the european theater with the 29th infantry division he had been employed as a moulder in a shipyard harry westbrook also worked at several coast cities during his tenure with the railroad he was an athlete and excelled at baseball in 1920 harry westbrook played catcher for the biloxi nine he was the hero of a game at biloxi on august 29 1920 when he cracked a double in the bottom of the ninth and drove in two runs which beat the new orleans lookouts westbrook managed the 1928 ocean springs team which won the gulf coast league championship harry westbrook married lorraine whitfield of gulfport on december 20 1924 they had a daughter betty w hampton b 1925 harry f westbrook passed on april 26 1933 at the va hospital in outwood kentucky after a long illness which may have been related to his military career  albert westbrook   19001980 fl westbrook jr collection  albert s westbrook  19001980 joined the l n railroad in 1917 although his career took him to biloxi chief clerk pascagoula and bay st louis he always resided at ocean springs commuting daily to his post by rail in august 1931 albert was transferred to biloxi as freight agent as his position in ocean springs as freight agent was eliminated he retired from the l n in 1963  the daily herald august 11 1931 p2  in 1923 albert westbrook married lucille theresa tonnelier 19011973 of biloxi they had a daughter margie w edwards 19272008 who married bruce edwards 19252003 resided at ocean springs margie expired at ocean springs on january 17 2008 margie and bruce had three children jeanne edwards m bobbie lewis jan edwards m mr roberts and bruce edwards jr her corporal remains were interred in crestlawn memorial park on us highway 90 in ocean springs  the sun herald march 24 2003 p a6 and january 20 2008 p a12  like his father albert westbrook was involved in local politics he was elected mayor of ocean springs in 1943 and acted in this civic capacity until 1950 mr westbrook was also elected alderman of ward one several times he served his constituents faithfully during his years in that office which were 19311932 19391940 and 19691973 albert westbrook passed on october 8 1980 his remains were interred at the biloxi city cemetery  hattie westbrook  lr hattie westbrook and friend on washington avenue circa 1918 l n depot on left and commercial hotel on right fl westbrook jr collection  hattie westbrook  18981919 the only girl died on august 23 1919 from tuberculosis she had attended one year of college at the industrial institute college at columbus mississippi anecdotal history relates that miss westbrook rode her bicycle to the country school north of fort bayou where she taught edwin m westbrook also dealt in real estate the progress of july 23 1904 described him as our popular real estate agent on august 27 1904 he advertised on page four in  the progress  as  em westbrook dealer in real estate general real estate business transacted houses and lots sold rented or leased and a list your property with me your patronage is solicited the jackson county land roll for 1906 indicates that em westbrook owned four houses in the iberville drive area north of the l n tracks one of these the century 21k realty office which was erected in 1904 is extant today at 1201 washington avenue edwin m westbrook was active in the social and political scene at ocean springs he was a member of the ocean springs fire company no 1 and officiated as the grand marshall of the 1893 firemen s day parade mr westbrook served his fellow citizens as alderman of ward four in the years of 18951898 after em westbrook s death in september 1913 arthur westbrook became the proprietor of the barbershop which was now adjacent to the new ac gottshe grocery store arthur e westbrook 18841945 married louise anna ernst 18811962 of new orleans in october 1907 they had two children marion w poe 19091962 and andrew westbrook 19151962 marion had met her husband burke poe in the late 1920s when he had come to town to pave washington avenue and other thoroughfares the poes resided at ponchatoula louisiana in 1962 andrew westbrook was a captain in the us army and served in italy during ww ii he later resided at glen burnie maryland arthur westbrook was a great story teller and passed on to his generation many anecdotal tales that he had learned in his father s barbershop as a child and as a hair dresser he helped preserve much of our local history through these oral recitations westbrook retired from barbering in 1943 due to health reasons after mrs harriet c westbrook died on april 16 1927 her estate was settled by commissioner fred taylor in a forced heirship suit jackson county chancery court cause no 5004 in february 1928 arthur westbrook paid 18400 to the court for the westbrook property 2 on february 23 1928 he conveyed an undivided 16th interest in these properties to his brothers fred harry edmund george and albert 3 the westbrook brothers in turn conveyed the small barbershop tract 19 feet by 200 feet to arthur e westbrook in march 19284 the em westbrook home was rented intermittently through the years minnie mason who worked at the ocean springs high school cafeteria rented the house in the early 1940 in december 1945 the westbrook heirs mrs arthur e westbrook mrs harry f westbrook adele k westbrook fred l westbrook albert s westbrook ione westbrook and ina b westbrook sold the house and property on washington avenue to roland lovelace 18891967 for 35005 lovelace bought the adjacent bailey building now lovelace drug store tract from beryl bailey parker wood 18961986 in may 1948 for 5000 it is believed that roland lovelace had the em westbrook home demolished in 1946 the old westbrook barbershop was sold by mrs arthur e westbrook to tone and eleanor herman in may 19556 tone herman conveyed the structure to eula quave noyes for 6000 on august 3 19597 mrs noyes operated a flower shop here for several years blossman gas inc acquired the tract circa 1965 the corporation had previously purchased the old ac gottsche store from a lynd gottsche 19021974 in november 19628 the gottsche building circa 1913 was refurbished and redesigned by architects slaughter smith of pascagoula the corporal remains of em westbrook and harriet clark westbrook were both interred in the bellande cemetery on dewey avenue at ocean springs the old westbrook barbershop collapsed when it was being moved to another area of the blossman property thus terminating the em westbrook family history in the heart of old ocean springs a sincere thanks to margie w edwards darlene j krohn jk lemon mary bess welch and alonzo s westbrook jr for their assistance with this historical essay references   1 jackson county land deed book 18 pp 167168 2 book 61 pp 227229 3 book 61 pp 231233 4 book 61 pp 250251 5 book 91 p 515 6 book 148 p 481 7 book 190 pp 348350 8 book 232 p 382  the daily herald   ocean springs   august 11 1931 the daily herald    westbrook ends long career as rural mailman   december 2 1959 p 2 the daily herald    margarite v westbrook   may 2 1977 p a2 the jackson county times    alonzo s westbrook obit   march 30 1918 p 4 the jackson county times    miss hattie westbrook passed away saturday   august 30 1919 p 5 the jackson county times    local news interest   august 14 1920 the jackson county times    local news interest   september 4 1920 the jackson county times    mrs em westbrook   april 23 1927 p 1 the jackson county times    local news interest   september 14 1929 the jackson county times    local and personal   june 9 1934 the jackson county times    local and personal   december 15 1934 the jackson county times    george l westbrook obit   august 3 1935 the mississippi press    no place on horse for tag says oldster new deputy   circa 1961 the pascagoula democratstar    ocean springs locals   april 2 1897 the pascagoula democratstar     ocean springs locals   april 16 1897 the pascagoula democratstar     ocean springs locals   may 28 1897 the pascagoula democratstar   ocean springs locals   june 4 1897 the pascagoula democratstar   ocean springs locals   july 2 1897 the ocean springs news    westbrookvan cleave   march 28 1914 p 1 the sun herald   bruce edwards sr   march 24 2003 the sun herald   edwards had love for critters of all kind   march 24 2003 the sun herald   margie westbrook edwards   january 20 2008 682 views  