CELEBRATION OF LIFE
M. Elaine Soens
Margaret Elaine was born June 26, 1935 to Margaret Marie (Ford) Ebright and Howard Ebright in Pittsburgh. She always went by “Elaine.” Gramma was known as “Peg.”
Margaret Marie (Ford) Ebright holds infant Elaine, born June 26, 1935, and Elaine at three.
Elaine at 9 months (1936)
Margaret Elaine Ebright, circa 1937
Elaine at 6 years old (1941)
Toddler Elaine would soon be joined by sister Flora. As youngsters, Flora insisted on being with Elaine whenever she could. During summers at camp, Elaine said the counselors had her visit Flora’s tent to comfort her. They fussed over toys, marking an “F” or “E” to show possession. Elaine confessed she’d easily turn that “F” into an “E” with a flourish of a pen. They remained life-long friends, with Mom being very protective of her little sister. I was often called “Flora” growing up. Flora was named for her grandmother, Howard’s mother, Flora Alice (Heller) Ebright. - KS
Elaine at Kennywood Park, 1948
13 years old
Elaine was friend Curt’s date for the 1950 prom. Gown was made by Grandma Peg (an expert seamstress).
Elaine and Peezer (Walter) Nelson. She wrote that he “stood in for Ted at sorority dances.” Peg made the gown. Photo is dated February 1952.
509 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh
Elaine’s family home junior high and beyond. Grandma Peg rented out the top two floors for many years. It was a grand house with stained glass windows and high ceilings. It was one of five “sister” homes on the block. The house is long gone, replaced by an apartment building.
Top row, right: Mom was proud to be a cheerleader at Peabody H.S. (1952)
Yearbook 1953, Peabody High School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated with the winter class of January 1953, so she’d be able to marry Ted in April 1953 before he headed off for training in the Army.
Elaine’s high school graduation photo from 1953
Jan. 1953: Ted finally accompanies Elaine to a prom. They would be married a few months later.
Links: Next: Ted Colton Soens | Young Married Life | Elaine’s Adult Life | Ted’s Adult Life | Family Expands | Travelers | Family Home | Elaine’s Obituary | Ted’s Obituary | Conclusion
Some details about Elaine’s parents are below, of family interest.
Mom’s father, Howard EDWARD Ebright
“As the Pubs are only open about an hour or two a day, I was hurrying to get my share of the beer.” Howard Ebright in Austrialia WWII (left). Photo to right is dated May 8, 1932. He enlisted in the Merchant Marines, serving in the Pacific theatre. Peg and he divorced after he came home. He later married Peg’s best friend, Myrtle. (They all remained friends.) Papa was a (mostly failed) businessman and worked at a factory in later life.
Ebright is an Americanized version of the German name Elbrecht.
Grandma Peg met Papa Howard when he and his father were boarding at one of her family’s rental properties. Papa was raised Amish (Elaine said he was “motor Amish”) in S. Altoona, PA and was accompanied by his father, a farmer, to Pittsburgh so he could finish his high school education. He was an only child, having lost an older sister, Nora, before he was born. See note below. (Undated photo.)
Mom’s mother, Margaret “Peg” Marie (Ford) EBRIGHT
Peg at 7 months old, 1913
Peg, circa 1934
Peg’s father, William Ford, was a superintendent of the trolley system in Pittsburgh. She was an only child. She was petite, with light auburn hair (when young) and cornflower blue eyes. Grandma Peg worked as a secretary, wound bandages as a volunteer during WWII, and was a landlady.
Peg’s mother was Charlotte Graham (Lincoln) Ford. (I think the Graham refers to her mother’s maiden name.) Elaine remembered her auburn hair was so thick that pins couldn’t control it. We’re not sure where Charlotte’s family hailed from, but there is a long history of Lincolns in Pennsylvania. SO….Charlotte is Lincoln Herbst de Cortina’s great-great-great-grandmother on his maternal side.
Ford siblings: William, Mary and John Ford are to the left of photo. Standing in the middle is Dennis Howard, William Ford’s uncle. Women to the right are cousins, the McLaughlins. William is Peg’s father.
Jan. 1931: Peg’s high school graduation yearbook
Elaine send me this email in 2017 to correct my understanding of her family history:
Howard's mother was Flora Alice Heller. Her beloved sister was Nora. She named her daughter Nora after the sister. Nora died of pneumonia or consumption the winter of 1909 to 1910 while studying concert piano in Philly. Very sad! She gave birth to my father, Howard Edward Ebright, on December 16th of 1910. The story is that she did not know that she was pregnant until just before the birth. She had been in a terrible depression. My grandmother's mother was a Warren. Her great aunt was Emily Warren*. She probably met my grandfather at the church they attended. He was very conservative and as a young boy was Amish. I do know that grandmother Ebright was six feet tall. At least two inches taller than my grandfather, Howard Milton Ebright, who would live to his nineties. Grandmother Ebright died in 1935 of stomach cancer not long before I was born. Talk to you soon about the confusion you have to have after reading this confusing note. Love, Mom
—Mom considered naming me Nora after the two Noras, her great-aunt and aunt. —KS
*Emily Warren Roebling (1843 – 1903) was an engineer known for her contributions over a period of more than 10 years to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband, the primary engineer on the project, became disabled. We are also related to General Gouverneur K. Warren, known as the “Savior of Little Round Top” at Gettysburg. There is a statue of him at the battle site. His is an interesting history, having been charged by General Philip Sheridan that Warren was negligent in his duties during the Battle of Five Forks (April 1, 1865). Warren fought the charges and was exonerated 14 years after the war, but at great personal and professional cost.