#52 Ancestors: Estelle Conner Riddle Casey: A Life Shaped by Challenges

When I think of an ancestor who overcame challenges, I can’t help but remember my husband’s grandmother, Estelle (Conner/Connor) Riddle Casey, a woman I had the privilege of knowing for years. Many of our grandparents who lived through the Great Depression endured hardships, but as Grandma once told me, “Honey, we didn’t know what the Great Depression was. We were already so poor that it didn’t affect us. It was normal to us, and we didn’t know when it ended either.”

Born in 1929 in a humble one-room house in Oklahoma, Estelle's early years were marked by constant movement and uncertainty. As a genealogist, I’ve traced her through census records, first finding her as a baby living in her uncle Clark Norman’s home in Brownwood, Texas, in 1930, alongside her parents. By 1940, she was living with her father in Amarillo, her mother no longer in the picture. These dry records only hint at the challenges that shaped her early life, stories she shared with me over the years.

Estelle often spoke about her parents, Joe and Flora, and the deep love they shared despite their struggles. She laughed while recalling how her father would send the kids outside to play, insisting they stay out until he called them back in. It wasn’t until years later that she realized why he wanted that alone time with Flora.

Family lore added another layer to the story: her sister, Aunt Mattie, claimed Flora’s family disowned her for marrying Joe because he was Native American. However, I’ve always doubted the tale. Flora’s father, Thomas, had to give permission for his 17-year-old daughter to marry 29-year-old Joe, which he did. Later DNA testing further cast doubt, as several of Estelle’s descendants show no Native American DNA. Still, untangling fact from family myth remains part of my genealogical journey.

The most heart-wrenching challenge of Estelle’s childhood came in 1940, when she lost both her mother, Flora, and her baby sister, Geneva, to childbirth complications. At just 11 years old, Estelle carried this pain with her for the rest of her life. Her father, overwhelmed with grief and unable to provide for his family, made the difficult decision to place Estelle and her siblings in Tipton Children’s Home.

After Joe remarried a woman named Bernice, life grew even more unstable. Joe fled with his children in the night, possibly even changing their surname from “Conner” to “Connor” to avoid detection. City directories trace the family’s movements, showing them in Phoenix in 1947 and Modesto by 1956. Each address tells a story of survival and the search for stability.

Through it all, Estelle became the backbone of her family, cooking and cleaning for her siblings while sacrificing her own education. She often chuckled about moments of levity, like the time she carried ice home with coins stored in her underwear, a small escape from the heavy burdens of her youth.

Her marriage to Samuel C. Riddle in 1945 brought nine children but ended in divorce by 1968. Yet Estelle’s spirit remained unbroken. She found love again with Jack Casey, a World War II and Korean War veteran. Their relationship was both colorful and enduring—so much so that when his drinking and gambling became too much, she relegated him to living in a shed. Even then, their devotion to one another lasted until his death.

In her later years, Estelle often reflected on those lean times. "You never know when you might need to feed someone," she’d say, recalling how her parents never turned away a hungry soul during the Great Depression. Her own life mirrored that same generosity.

One of her proudest accomplishments was visiting the forgotten graves of her mother and sister and organizing proper markers for them. It was as if providing them this dignity helped her heal from the loss she endured as a child.

Her story, like pages from The Grapes of Wrath, was filled with poverty, loss, and resilience. She worked tirelessly as a cannery worker in Modesto, saving every penny not just for her own security but to help her family. She had learned early that stability could vanish in an instant, as it had when her mother died, and her father struggled to keep the family together.

Estelle’s later years revealed a woman transformed from a frightened orphan into a fierce matriarch. She never hesitated to speak her mind, and while she’d give you a piece of it if you made poor choices, she would never turn you away. Her home was always open, and a hot meal was ready for anyone in need.

She passed away on August 21, 2016, at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy of love, perseverance, and generosity. Estelle’s life was not just about surviving but about thriving in the face of hardship, maintaining dignity, and helping others along the way.

As a genealogist, I’m grateful for the time I spent with her, listening to her stories and learning about the woman behind the records. Estelle’s life reminds us that our ancestors were more than names on census pages. They were resilient, complex individuals who faced their challenges with courage and grace.

Sources:

1. 1930 U.S. census, Brown County, Texas, population schedule, Brownwood, enumeration district (ED) 0002, sheet 7B, dwelling [number not visible], family [number not visible], Clark Norman household; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655583 : accessed 27 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2342036.
2. 1940 U.S. census, Potter County, Texas, population schedule, Amarillo, ED 188-2, sheet 15B, E Joe Conner household; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655582 : accessed 27 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 4123.
3. Maricopa County, Arizona, Marriage Records, 1865-1972, Estelle Conner-Samuel C. Riddle (14 April 1945); digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655574 : accessed 27 January 2025).
4. Polk's Phoenix City Directory (Phoenix: R.L. Polk & Co.), 1947, p. [not given], Estell Riddle entry; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655590 : accessed 27 January 2025).
5. Polk's Phoenix City Directory (Phoenix: R.L. Polk & Co.), 1948, p. [not given], Estelle Riddle entry; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655587 : accessed 27 January 2025).
6. 1950 U.S. census, Maricopa County, Arizona, population schedule, Phoenix, ED 15-206, sheet 14, Estella Riddle household; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655575 : accessed 27 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm.
7. Polk's Modesto City Directory (Modesto: R.L. Polk & Co.), 1956, p. [not given], Estelle Riddle entry; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655581 : accessed 27 January 2025).
8. California Department of Health Services, "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655573 : accessed 27 January 2025), entry for Estelle Conner and Samuel C. Riddle (May 1968); citing Center for Health Statistics, Sacramento.
9. "Estelle Casey," obituary, U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/30655583 : accessed 27 January 2025), citing Jones and Lewis Funeral Home, Lower Lake, California.
10. Find A Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 January 2025), memorial 172896470, Estelle L Casey (1929-2016), Lakewood Memorial Park, Hughson, Stanislaus County, California.
11. "Joe Conner," obituary, Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona), 24 December 1976, digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/117888974 : accessed 27 January 2025).
12. The Amarillo Globe-Times (Amarillo, Texas), 28 May 1940, p. [not given], col. [not given]; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/29515042 : accessed 27 January 2025).
13. The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona), 10 November 1965, p. [not given], col. [not given]; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/119481273 : accessed 27 January 2025).