Another family goes to California

The pull to go west has popped up several times on both sides of our family tree, from my early Californian residents, my own journey to LA, to my wife's Freyling side of the family. Back in March 2012 I hinted at how her 2nd-great-grandmother Carrie Rech Freyling moved with her daughters from Evansville, Indiana to Los Angeles, but I never returned to their story.

1940 US Census. Los Angeles, CA.

1942 US City Directory, Los Angeles

Sometime after 1935, Carrie Freyling and her daughters Marie Elizabeth, Kathryn Susan and Emma Carolyn moved to Los Angeles. It looks like Kathryn may have moved west first, she appears in a Los Angeles City Directory in 1932, and by 1936, sister Emma Carolyn was living with her. They appear in the 1940 US Census, as shown above, living at 1243 4th Avenue, not too far from Downtown LA. Marie appears working as a secretary, while Kathryn and Emma Carolyn were working as stenographers. They were living at the same address in the 1942 City Directory.

The Freylings also appear in the 1940 California Voter Registrations database. The 1950 California Voter Registrations database included their mother Carrie with daughters Marie and Emma Carolyn. All were registered as Democrats.

1940 California Voter Registrations

Emma Carolyn Freyling remained in Los Angeles, living and working on the Westside of LA in Westwood and later in Santa Monica. In the 1958 Los Angeles City Directory, she appears as an office secretary working for the Veterans Administration and living at 2930 Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. It is kind of amazing that 48 years later my wife and I moved our family to Santa Monica and we weren't too far away from this address. This former trailer park is now has an upscale development under construction called Millennium Santa Monica. Emma Carolyn died on 27 June 1975.

Marie Elizabeth Freyling later moved to San Francisco. She died there on 15 April 1985. Her sister Kathryn Susan Freyling also moved to San Francisco, after marrying husband William H. Murphree in Los Angeles in 1949. Kathryn Susan Freyling died on 12 July 1985.

Unfortunately I have not run across news articles that might shed some light on why they chose to move from Indiana for California. I may have some more information on this later in the summer.