THE CHILD OF ANTHONY CARUSO AND MARY MASSA, NAMED CHARLES AS BOTH OF HIS GRANDFATHERS. CHARLES MOTHER DIED WHEN HE WAS AN INFANT. THERE WERE 2 STORIES. ONE WAS THAT SHE DIED AT CHILD BIRTH, THE OTHER IS THAT SHE AND CHARLES 1 WERE IN A ROOM WITH THE DOOR CLOSED AND A GUN SHOT WENT OFF, WHEN THE DOOR WAS OPENED MARY MASSA WAS DEAD. I HAVE NO DATES TO BACK UP EITHER STORY AS OF YET.. ANTHONY MET AND MARRIED HELEN RICHNOW, HELEN REFUSED TO RAISE ANOTHER WOMANS CHILD AND CHARLES WAS SENT TO LIVE WITH ANTHONY'S SISTER LAURA MARIE CARUSO DELPAPA (WHOM HE WOULD REFER TO AS HIS MOTHER)AND HER FIRST HUSBAND. THE 1910 CENSUS SHOWS HIM AT AGE SEVEN LIVING IN GALVESTON WITH LAURA AND HER SECOND HUSBAND GROVER HEUMAN AND THEN LATER IN 1920 HE IS DOCUMENTED AT AGE 17 TO BE LIVING IN GALVESTON WITH GRANDPARENTS CHARLES AND MARY.

CHARLES WAS MARRIED TWICE. HE HAS A DAUGHTER BY HIS FIRST MARRIAGE WHICH ENDED IN DIVORCE. HE MARRIED RUTH ISABELLE MAYBIN AND HAD SIX CHILDREN; 4 GIRLS AND 2 BOYS. ONE OF THE SONS DIED WITH COMPLICATIONS OF MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY AND THE OTHER SON DROWNED. (MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ALSO TOOK THE LIFE OF ONE OF CHARLES NEPHEWS)

JULY 17,1954 HE, HIS WIFE RUTH AND HER STEPMOTHER ALONG WITH TWO OF HIS CHILDREN WERE OUT IN A BOAT FISHING. A SQUALL CAME UP. CHARLES TRIED TO GET THE BOAT TO A SAFE AREA. A NEARBY BOAT TRIED TO THROW THEM A ROPE BUT IT WAS TOO SHORT AND HE COULD NOT GET TO IT, RUTH'S STEP MOTHER APPARENTLY WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK AND WHEN SHE STOOD UP THE BOAT CAPSIZED. RUTHS STEPMOTHER HAD DIED PRIOR TO GOING INTO THE WATER SO HER BODY WAS FLOATING. RUTH INSTRUCTED HER YOUNG DAUGHTER TO HOLD ON TO HER GRANDMOTHER AS SHE TRIED TO GET TO HER SON TO HELP HIM. CHARLES WAS TRYING TO GET TO HIS WIFE AND SON BUT ALL THREE DROWN. THE DAUGHTER HELD ON TO HER GRANDMOTHER UNTIL SHE WAS RESCUED BY THE COAST GUARD. THE YOUNGER SURVIVING CHILDREN WERE RAISED BY THEIR SISTER CHARLYNE WHO HAD JUST MARRIED MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.

CHARLENE CARUSO HARRISON REMEMBERS;
CHARLES 2 HAD A ROUGH LIFE. AFTER HIS MOTHER DIED WHEN HE WAS AN INFANT, HE WAS RAISED BY HIS FATHER'S SISTER, LAURA. WHEN HE BECAME A TEENAGER HE LIVED WITH CHARLES 1 AND WIFE IN GALVESTON.
AT THE AGE OF 17, HE WAS IN A FIGHT ON THE STAIRS OF A HIGH RISE HOUSE IN GALVESTON AND WAS KNOCKED DOWN THEM, BREAKING HIS NECK. HE WOULDN'T GO TO THE DOCTOR SO IT CAUSED HIM TO HAVE A STIFF NECK THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
HE MARRIED A WOMAN NAMED LOUISE AND HAD A GIRL NAME OPAL. I DON'T KNOW WHY NOR WHEN THEY DIVORCED. HE MET MY MOTHER RUTH MAYBIN, AGE 14 WHEN HE WAS 28. THEY MARRIED IN SEPTEMBER 1929.
HE STARTED BAKING AT 18 YEARS OF AGE AT DIFFERENT COMPANIES; ONE OF THEM WAS MINNIE MAX'S. HE OPENED HIS OWN BAKERY ABOUT 1940, BUT DIDN'T MAKE A GO OF IT. HE WAS A GREAT BAKER. HE COULD JUST FEEL HIS MIXTURE AND TELL WHAT HE NEEDED TO ADD. WE ALWAYS KNEW WHEN DADDY CAME HOME FROM WORK BECAUSE HE ALWAYS HAD THAT SWEET FLOURY SMELL ABOUT HIM.
ONE DAY WHEN I WAS ABOUT 14, I WAS BAKING COOKIES AND DADDY CAME THROUGH THE KITCHEN AND TOOK ONE OF MY COOKIES HE THREW IT IN THE AIR AND LET IT HIT THE FLOOR, IT DIDN'T BREAK! HE GOT ANOTHER ONE AND WITH HIS CROOKED GRIN, I LOVED, WENT OUT THE DOOR EATING MY COOKIE. I'VE NEVER FIGURED OUT WHAT IT MEANT IF ANYTHING.

DADDY AND POPPA (CHARLES 1) WOULD SPEAK ITALIAN SOMETIMES. I LOVED TO HEAR THEM TALK. DADDY SAID HE WOULD TEACH ME TO SPEAK ITALIAN BUT HE NEVER GOT TO.
MY MOTHER SAID SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS GETTING A RICH ITALIAN AND SHE WOULD LAUGH AND SAY SHE GOT FOOLED, ALL SHE GOT WAS A GOOD LOOKING GUY AND SIX KIDS!
WHEN MY FATHER, CHARLES 2 MARRIED MY MOTHER, I DON'T THINK HE KNEW WHAT A GENEROUS AND LOVING PERSON HE WAS GETTING. MOTHER HAD A VERY SOFT HEART, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE DOWN. SHE HAD PEN PALS EVEYWHERE.
I REMEMBER ONE CHRISTMAS, SHE CAME TO US CHILDREN AND ASKED US IF WE WOULD BE WILLING TO GIVE UP A LITTLE OF OUR CHRISTMAS (WHICH WASN'T MUCH TO START WITH ON DADDY'S $55 A WEEK) TO HELP ANOTHER FAMILY IN ANOTHER STATE TO HAVE A LITTLE CHRISTMAS. OF COURSE WE DID. BUT YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS. WHEN HER CHILDREN WERE STILL SMALL SHE TOOK A NURISNG COURSE THROUGH THE MAIL FROM CHICAGO SCHOOL OF NURSING AND RECIEVED HER VOCATIONAL NURSING LICENSE. SHE NEVER ACTUALLY WORKED BUT IT SURE HELPED TO KNOW WHEN WE GOT SICK THAT WE HAD A NURSE FOR A MOTHER.
WHEN MY OLDEST SISTER GRADUATED, SHE AND MOTHER TOOK A NIGHT COURSE TO LEARN TYPING AND SHORT HAND. SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO BE PREPARED INCASE SHE NEEDED TO SUPPORT HER FAMILY.
MOTHER DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD CHILDHOOD. SHE WAS FORCED TO RAISE HER TWO LITTLE BROTHERS BECAUSE OF A DIVORCE WHEN SHE HERSELF WAS ONLY 6. STEPMOTHERS WERE MEAN TO THEM AND THEIR OWN MOTHER DIDN'T WANT THEM.
WHEN DADDY CAME AROUND WHEN SHE WAS 14 I GUESS SHE WANTED OUT. I'M SURE THINGS WERE HARD AND SOMETIMES BAD BETWEEN DADDY AND HER, BUT SHE STUCK WITH HER MARRIAGE.

SHE WAS A GREAT LOVING, CARING PERSON AND IF YOU WOULD HAVE EVER KNOWN HER I KNOW YOU WOULD HEARTILY AGREE. DADDY WAS ALSO A VERY GOOD FATHER AND THEY ARE BOTH GREATLY MISSED SINCE WE LOST THEM AS WELL AS MY YOUNGER BROTHER IN THE BOATING ACCIDENT THAT DAY IN JULY OF 1954.

I TRY TO KEEP THESE MEMORIES ALIVE BY TELLING THEIR 8 GRANDCHILDREN, 11 GREAT GRANDCHILDREN AND 4 GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILDREN ABOUT THEIR GRANDPARENTS"

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