Samuel Jarvis Langin[1877-1968] was a great uncle of my mother's-- Marjorie Langin Leeak.
[Based on the memories of Samuel
Jarvis Langin's grand daughter Doris.]
According to family lore Samuel Jarvis Langin [commonly
referred to as “Jarvis”] was a young boy of three or four when he
came with his parents to the United States in the late 1870's. JJ
Langin and Anna Ramsey Langin were reported to have "walked over
the border and into the United States."
After growing up in
Riverdale, Michigan Jarvis went to Mellen, Wisconsin-- possibly for a
job in the lumbering industry. During his time in Mellon Jarvis
became head of the Mellen Volunteer Fire Department. Mellen
Wisconsin is described as being "situated on the historic Bad
River, in the scenic Chequamegon National Forest and next to the
wooded hills of the Penokee Mountain Range. Noted for its variety of
outdoor activities, Mellen boasts an abundance of pristine lakes,
miles of rambling streams, and a wooded paradise."
These were the days when when candles were put on
Christmas trees. As the story goes Lawrence, Jarvis' son, lit the
candles and set the house on fire. Needless to say, it made an
interesting story that the child of the head of the Volunteer Fire
Department started a fire. It was said that, "Uncle Lawrence
didn't want to talk about it much" later in life.
It's not clear how long the family lived in Mellin , but
Jarvis' daughter Agnes May and son Lawrence were born there in 1903
and 1905. From Mellen, the family moved to Duluth, Minnesota, and
Jarvis took a job as custodian at the Woodmen Hall on 21th Ave. West
and lst Street-- also referred to as the Odd Fellows Hall. He worked
at the Woodmen Hall until he took the job at the Duluth Labor Temple
in downtown Duluth, and he and his second wife, Ethel, lived above
the building. He was buried in the Odd Fellows section of the Mt.
Hope cemetery in San Diego, CA. [Its not clear where he's actually buried since the markers are VERY close together here.]
Jarvis moved to California when he retired in 1955 or '56
at the age of 79. When Jarvis went to apply for Social Security he
learned that he was not a U.S. Citizen. Not being a citizen was a
total surprise to Jarvis and his daughter Agnes Langin Dyson. Jarvis
never knew he wasn't a citizen until he applied for Social Security.
He worked all his life and retired some time in his late seventies.
He was a good citizen-- he thought. He went to school here, worked
here all his life, kept up with politics and the labor unions and
VOTED faithfully. He married a woman from the U.S. and then another
after his first wife died at a young age. When it was discovered that
he was not a citizen, he wrote back to Madison, Wisconsin, to get the
marriage records which made him eligible to apply for citizenship. He
ultimately became a citizen in 1961.
