Philomene Camilla Dooley Walker – two of two

My Great-Great Grandmother 

Camilla’s family lived in Patoutville in Iberia Parish of Louisiana in 1900. When the census enumerator visited their household in Patoutville, which is between Lydia and Jeanerette, the following information was given: Camilla was forty-three years old; and she and William had been married for twenty-eight years, confirming that she was fifteen when she married. Someone told the census enumerator that she had given birth to at least eleven children but only nine survived. They lived on a farm, which was mortgaged, with five of their children. William was still a farmer as was his son Charles, and son Willard was a farmhand. Widney, Mary and Enoch attended school.^[1]1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 28, Patoutville, p. 15-A,  dwelling 285, family 285, William Walkers … Continue reading

At this same time, the three oldest daughters were married. Daughter Luvinia and her husband Gustave Bourgeois lived nearby with their four children.^[2]1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 28, Patoutville, p. 15-A,  dwelling 286, family 286, Gustave Bourgeois household; … Continue reading Laura was married to David Carrow, lived in Jeanerette and was pregnant with her first child.^[3]1900 U.S. census, Iberia, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 38, Jeanerette, p.10, dwelling 195, family 196, David Carrow household; National Archives and Records … Continue reading Eleanor was married to Peter Moriarty, and had two children, Mary Birdie and Earl William.^[4]1900 U.S. census, Iberia, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 38, Jeanerette, p.11, dwelling 202, family 209, Peter Moriarty household; National Archives and Records … Continue reading They lived near Laura and David in Jeanerette. 

Eleanora Moriarty’s children called Camilla “Momo” and they adored her. Eleanora would go to her mother when she was sick. Eleanora went to her mother’s house when it was time for the birth of her fourth child. “Leroy Joseph Moriarty was born May 24, 1904.”^[5]Mary Birdie Moriarty Dartez, Memories, Memories, Days of Long Ago  28 Jan 1983), p. 1-2. 

Sadly, in 1907 daughters Eleanora and Melanie (May) Ewing died within six weeks of each other. Melanie had been named after her grandmother, Melanie Toups. Eleanora died during childbirth complicated by the mumps and left four children behind. When May died, she was pregnant, about eighteen and had typhoid fever. This was a “terrible blow” to Camilla.^[6]Dartez, Memories, Memories, Days of Long Ago, p. 3, 5.

In 1910, the family was in Jeanerette at 141 Church Street and William was working on a farm. Widney and Enoch lived with them. Widney was a lineman for a telephone company and Enoch was a salesman at a dry goods store. Camilla’s daughter Luvinia was a widow and lived with them with seven children.^[7]1910 U.S. census, Iberia, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 24, Jeanerette, p. 7B, dwelling 123, family 123, William Walker household; National Archives and Records … Continue reading

After forty-one years of marriage, William died 22 September 1913 in Jeanerette from cancer of the stomach at the age of sixty-two. After many years working on farms, he had been working as a bridge tender.^[8]Jeanerette, Louisiana, Certificate of Death, File No. 3570, William Walker, 22 September 1913; Louisiana State Board of Health.

In the fall of 1914 Eleanor’s daughter Birdie stayed with Camilla for several months. Camilla was living with her son Enoch who was single at the time.^[9]Dartez, Memories, Memories, Days of Long Ago, p. 12. 

Where was Camilla living in 1920? Surely, she was staying busy by helping her children with their families. She was probably moving from house to house and staying with different ones for a period of time. By 1930, she lived at 1103 Main Street in Orange, Texas, with her daughter Luvinia and two of Luvinia’s adult children, Walker and Myrtle. Walker was twenty-seven and single and was a salesman at a retail dry goods store. Myrtle was twenty-four and single and worked for the Southwestern Telephone Company.^[10]1930 U.S. census, Orange, Texas, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 181-4, City of Orange, p. 1B, dwelling 15, family 18, G. Bourgeois household; National Archives and … Continue reading 

The house is no longer at 1103 Main Street in Orange, Texas. It is now a vacant lot.

Emily Claire Provost Broussard Dobbs, my mother and daughter of Velma Carrow Provost and great-granddaughter of Camilla’s, remembered Walker Bourgeois visiting Velma when he was in Port Arthur, Texas, to sell her coffee.^[11]Telephone call between Emily Provost Broussard Dobbs (Port Arthur, Texas) and daughter Sindi Broussard Terrien (Seekonk, Massachusetts), 12 May 2015.

A visit to Laura who was living in Lafayette in March 1930 may have been the last time Camilla saw her daughter.^[12]“Personals,” The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, Louisiana, 7 March 1930, page 9, col. 3; image copy, newspapers.com … Continue reading Laura died of a heart attack 2 May 1930.^[13]Lafayette Parish, file no. 572, Registered No. 6425, Certificate of Death, (2 May 1930), Mrs. David Carrow, Louisiana State Board of Health. At that point, all of Camilla’s daughters had died leaving her with only her sons and grandchildren.

Camilla attended the wedding of her granddaughter Velma Carrow to Emile Provost 21 July 1930. On their way to Lafayette to get married, they stopped by Luvinia’s house in Orange to pick up Camilla. She had said she would attend if they provided her transportation to and from the wedding. When Emile was driving Camilla back to Luvinia’s they stopped for gasoline. While waiting for the gasoline to be pumped, Emile stretched out his arm and touched Velma. Camilla, who was sitting in the back seat, then told Emile it was all right for him to place his arm around Velma since they were now married.^[14]Telephone call between Emily Provost Broussard Dobbs (Port Arthur, Texas) and daughter Sindi Broussard Terrien (Seekonk, Massachusetts), 12 May 2015.

Sometime before 1935 Camilla returned to Jeanerette to live with her son Charley and his family. The next few years would be especially hard on her. Her youngest child Enoch, who had been living in Beaumont, Texas, died 13 July 1936.^[15]“Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982,” Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2272/images/40394_b062112-01401?pId=22188044: viewed 8 November 2021); Texas, … Continue reading He had heart problems. Eight months later, Luvinia died 5 March 1937 from bronchial pneumonia. She had been sick for several months.^[16]“Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982,” Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2272/images/40394_b062126-00241?pId=22916296 : viewed 14 November 2021); Texas, … Continue reading Her brother William Dooley died 11 December 1937 in Jeanerette. He was seventy-nine years old.^[17]”Louisiana Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F39Z-F6G : viewed 14 November 2021); William Dooley, 11 Dec 1937, … Continue reading Then her son John Henry, who had also lived in Beaumont, died 10 March 1938 from lung cancer.^[18]“Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982,” Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2272/images/40394_b062144-01724?pId=22252317 : viewed 8 November 2021); Texas, … Continue reading Five years later, son Willard died in Jeanerette 24 February 1943.^[19]”Louisiana Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSY1-MXY : viewed 14 November 2021); Willard A Walker, 24 Feb … Continue reading

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren kept Camilla busy. Laura Ann Provost, daughter of Velma Provost, remembered seeing her great-grandmother when they visited at great Uncle Charley’s in Jeanerette. She remembered bringing tobacco to Camilla when they visited. Laura Ann also thought that she may have chewed tobacco. Since Camilla was in her eighties when Laura Ann visited, she was always afraid that Camilla would die while she was in the room with her.^[20]Telephone call between Laura Ann Provost (Katy, Texas) and niece Sindi Broussard Terrien (Seekonk, Massachusetts), 17 May 2015.

Granddaughter Billie Carrow Provost named her first daughter after her grandmother—Gwen Camilla Provost. Gwen remembered Camilla as being funny and everyone liked being around her. She clearly remembered Camilla chewing tobacco because she would see Camilla spit it out and think with disgust “I just kissed her with that stuff in her mouth.”^[21]Conversation between Emily Claire Provost Broussard Dobbs (Port Arthur, Texas), Gwen Provost Carona (Beaumont, Texas) and Sindi Broussard Terrien (Seekonk, Massachusetts), 6 June 2015.

Camilla visited Velma in Port Arthur. Emily Claire remembered a time when her great-grandmother sat next to her stirring a bowl of fresh cookie dough while Emily Claire was sick in bed. She also remembered visiting at her great Uncle Charley’s in Jeanerette and seeing her great-grandmother in bed.^[22]Telephone call between Emily Provost Broussard Dobbs (Port Arthur, Texas) and daughter Sindi Broussard Terrien (Seekonk, Massachusetts), 12 May 2015.

When Camilla was eighty-three years old, she was still living with her son Charley, his wife and three of his five children. They lived at 565 Minvielle in Jeanerette.^[23]1940 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 23-18, Jeanerette, p. 28B, dwelling 481, Charles W. Walker household; National Archives and Records … Continue reading

Widney and his son and daughter-in-law were on their way from Shreveport, Louisiana, to visit Camilla in Jeanerette as her health was in serious condition. The car blew a tire and rolled several times. Widney died in the accident.^[24]“Shreveport Man Killed, 2 Injured in Crash at Aloha: Whitney L. Walker, 63, Dies as Car Overturns,” Weekly Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana), 3 January 1948, p. 2, col. 2.; … Continue reading Camilla died a few days later on 5 January 1948 at age ninety, just shy of ninety-one. She outlived ten of her eleven children. Difficult to imagine. She had been living at 423 Minvielle Boulevard in Jeanerette with her son Charley Walker, the only surviving child. There was an obituary for Camilla, but I have not been able to find the clipping among my mother’s things. If you have a copy of it, please contact me. I could share it here for others to see.

Next I will share a conversation that Gwen Provost Carona had with her uncle Marcus Carrow. I found the typewritten document among my mother’s things and Joe Carona gave me permission to share it with you. Come back next week and enjoy what Marcus had to say about his mother Laura and his grandmother Camilla as well as other family members. If you have a story to share about Laura or Camilla, please contact me. The following weeks will have stories of Melanie Toups (Camilla’s mother) and other ancestors. I was quite surprised at what I found about Melanie Toups.