BIRTH: Also shown as Born Jersey Shore, , , Pennsylvannia.
James was a bit of a rogue, a wild horse chaser He left his two girls in the care of what ever religious school would take them which accounted for the girls better than customary education
James and his girls were on a train in Lassen Co., CA when Mt Lassen erupted in 1917 The girls were left in the care of a Doctor in Lassen Co
James discovered gold near Lake Amadee in Eastern Lassen Co.,; the first recorded discovery in the area He later worked as a logger in Lassen and Plumas Co
He married the Sister-in-law of his daughter Bertha, Ellen Cleland-Turner Ellen's daughter from a prior marriage, Georgetta Turner, later married William's son, William Otis Swan, in his second marriage
It was known among the women of the family that James had raped Georgetta Turner while in the logging camp Bertha Cleland shared this info only with her daughters This information was confirmed in a conversation between Dorothy and her daughter Pam in 2002
Family members at the Cleland Family Reunion July 27, 2002 remember going to James funeral, and given the ages of siblings at the time they believe that it occurred about 8 years earlier than noted here, about 1933-34 Thelma Cleland was a small child at the time
James was born in a covered wagon on the road to Texas from TEnnesee
Bertha multiple Church sponsored schools, and also a college for girls at Lodi, CA She graduated from Loma Linda Nurses College, Loma Linda, CA
Bertha kept a small swatch of fabric that had been part of her Mother's dress The swatch was given to Michael John Cleland about 1985, blue with white speckled design, along with 4-5 gold coins from her parents
From California Death Index ...
Name: CUDDEBACK, ALICE
Sex: FEMALE
Birth Date: 24 Mar 1896
Birthplace: HAWAII
Death Date: 21 Oct 1959
Death Place: PLACERGIVEN_NAMES: Also shown as Elizabeth
BIRTH: Also shown as Born Abt 1896