| Life Story
|
Charles H. McGee was the son of Patrick McGee, TKWM’s first non-Kay family member superintendent. Charles worked briefly at the mill along with his father, sister Anna and brothers Alex, Frank, and William.
Charles Henry McGee, born in July 1878 in Connecticut to Patrick and Honora McGee, was part of a family of 12 children. His father Patrick McGee was an experienced textile worker and moved the family frequently for better job opportunities at woolen mills. They lived in the New England area, then the Midwest, and moved to Oregon by 1887.
In 1895, Marion County census data recorded 16-year-old Charles as a mill employee, described as 5’4” tall, weighing 130 pounds, with a light complexion. From 1896-1899, Charles lived and worked in Albany, developing a reputation for being drunk and disorderly at times. His father, Patrick, publicly disavowed responsibility for his son’s actions and debts.
By 1900, Charles moved to the Brownsville Woolen Mill, where he met and married Della Moore on 15 July 1900. They had two children: Justin, born in December 1898, and Meredith, born in 1902. Despite their marriage, there is no evidence that Charles and Della cohabitated for an extended period. Della raised their children in her parents’ household in Brownsville until she moved to Portland in 1920. She remarried Lon T. Hodges on 5 July 1929.
After working at the Brownsville Mill, Charles returned to Salem and lived with his parents according to 1907-1909 city directories. Subsequent records of Charels are sparse, with hints of his residence in Arizona in his father’s 1920 will and his brother Frank’s 1931 obituary. No further records could be identified. |
| Census Records |
1880 Charles H. McGee. Age: 1. Birth Date: abt 1879 in Connecticut. Home in 1880: Sprague, New London, Connecticut. Single, son to HOH. Additional household members: Patrick F. McGee age 40 (father), Honora McGee age 30 (mother), Mary McGee age 14 (sister), Maggie McGee age 13 (sister), Isabella McGee age 11 (sister), Ann McGee age 9 (sister), John J. McGee age 2 (brother), Louisa McGee age 9 months (sister).
1895 Marion County Census
Charles McGee. Age: 16. Birth Year: abt 1879. Birth Place: Connecticut. Residence: Salem, Marion, Oregon. Religion: Catholic. Occupation: Mill Employee. Additional household members: P.S. McGee, Nora McGee, Isabell, Louise, Willie, Frank, Alexander, and Olive.
1900 Charley McGee. Age: 21. Birth Date: July 1878 in Connecticut. Home in 1900: North Brownsville, Linn, Oregon. Single, son to HOH. Occupation: Laborer in Woolen Mill. Additional household members: Nora McGee age 50 (mother), Louise McGee age 21 (sister), William McGee age 19 (brother), Francis E. McGee age 17 (brother), Alexander McGee age 12 (brother), Grace O. McGee age 10 (sister). |
| Digital Newspapers
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Oregon Statesman 28 Jan 1896, p. 2 – Responsible for Own Debts
Albany Democrat 15 July 1898, p. 1 – City Jail, Third Offence
State Rights Democrat (Albany, OR)15 July 1898, p. 1 – Attacked Dr. Trimble, City Jail
Oregonian 24 May 1899, p. 6 – Drunken Spree, Stabbing
Oregonian 28 May 1899, p. 6 – Jail Break
Albany Democrat, 20 July 1900, p. 3 – Marriage Announcement
Oregonian 27 Sep 1901, p. 7 – Arrested in Portland
Oregonian 2 Oct 1901, p. 7 – Sentenced to Jail |
