The Milk Man

Alfred Ray's milk truck, 1912.

I have started to help my Mom go through old photos that my Dad had inherited from his father (my Gumpy). Among the photos were quite a few that belonged to my Nana (Betty Jeanne Reynolds, Gumpy's second wife). Over the next few posts I will capture some of her own rich family history using these photos.

The photo above shows a milk truck driven by Alfred Ray, a Swiss immigrant to Indianapolis who was described in his obituary as my Nana's grandfather.

Indianapolis Star, 16 Sep 1928.

Alfred Ray was born in Vallers-Berguin, Switzerland on 31 March 1882. According to Alfred's passport application, he became a naturalized US citizen on 12 March 1915 in Indianapolis. Alfred and Laura E. Ray, my Nana's grandmother, traveled to visit Alfred's mother in 1921. The passport application contains a small photo of them together.

Source: Ancestry, US Passport Applications. Alfred and Laura Ray.

Alfred Ray and Laura Kelley were married on 22 April 1909 in Indianapolis. This was her second marriage. Laura's maiden name was Laura Ethel Weaver, and I will have much more on her in the next post.

Alfred and Laura returned from their European trip on the S.S. Olympic, arriving in New York on 20 September 1921. The ship departed from Southampton, England on 14 September 1921. Their trip made it into the Indianapolis Star, as seen in the clipping below from 12 June 1921.

Indianapolis Star, 12 Jun 1921.