I usually blog about the adventures I encounter while researching my own genealogy, but for a long time, I have wanted to explore the ancestry of my wife. My entire family migrated west and stopped in Tennesee. Hers kept going.
A few years ago, Michelle’s father, Dave, gave her a box that included items that had belonged to his grandmother, Iva Griffith McElroy (1900-1973). Exploring its contents was near the top of my list for 2015.
Because I love old photographs, I especially had my eye on several envelopes of negatives among the photographs, newspaper clippings, letters and other family papers in the box.
We were snowed in this weekend, so I had time to scan the negatives and upload them to this Flickr gallery.
My wife’s paternal grandparents, the couple 5th and 6th from left
The photographs were taken during the 1940s and early 1950s. Although I cannot identify everyone, I recognize my wife’s grandparents, Rose Lethie Hash Williams (1923-1989), and Johnny Lee Williams (1925-2006) in several of them.
Photo of boys at camp likly taken by Iva McElroy Hash
I assume Iva took many of the photographs because her name appears on the envelopes containing the negatives. The pictures suggest she had considerable talent as a photographer.
Iva and Alvin
Iva’s first husband, Michelle’s great-grandfather, was Alvin Allen Hash (1894-1957). He was born Oct. 23, 1894, in Oregon, where his family had lived for many years.
As a young man, Alvin enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War I. His military service began June 5, 1917, and continued until his discharge Aug. 10, 1920. He then returned to Oregon.
While Alvin was growing up in Oregon, Iva was born June 27, 1900, in Cambridge, Furnas County, Nebraska. She was the daughter of Charles Wesley Griffith (1846-1908) and Lethia Minerva Arbaugh Griffith (1866-1932).
Charles died in March 1908 in Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska, when Iva was 7. Soon after his death, Lethia moved the family to Oregon. The 1910 census shows Iva living with her mother and siblings in West Roseburg, Douglas County, where she began her life in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1908, she married Lee R. Richards, but in July 1915 she filed for divorce against Richards alleging that he had “committed a felony and was now a figitive from justice.”1
Written on the back of the photograph is “Lethie Griffith’s Blacksmith Shop, 1905, Arco, Idaho”
“In a Portland Hospital,” by L.M. Griffith
Lethia also wrote poetry. A handwritten note appears on a page removed from “Gems of Poesy by Present Day Authors,” published in 1901. You can see Michelle’s grandmother Rose later wrote on the note “my grandmother wrote this.”
| In a Portland Hospital Mrs. L. M. Griffith In a Portland hospital, where I stayed, I visited a ward where an old mother lay; Her form was thin, her cheeks were pale, In her eyes were tears she could not veil. I went near her bed and she took my hand; She said, “I’ve a son somewhere in this land; Will you take a message to him for me? For tonight I will enter eternity.” I bent my head low that I might hear The message she whispered in my ear; “Tell my darling, my little boy, Once my earthly pride and joy, To come back home, and reform his ways, And leave the harlot’s wiles and lays. And now among strangers must I die! And send, by a stranger, my last goodbye To the child of my heart whom I’ve cherished long, And prayed might be saved from the paths of wrong. I’m growing weak. Goodbye,” she said, And the poor soul lay on her pillow dead! No more the yearning for small hand-clasp And childish voice; peace has come at last! |
The Capital Journal, September 25, 1922, 1.
Lethie married Joseph Tyson on November 10, 1921 then filed for divorce 10 months later. She changed her name back to Griffith.
Lethia died Oct. 31, 1932, at age 66 in Clackamas County, Oregon. She was buried there in Oregon City the Mountain View Cemetery.
Alvin and Iva Marry
Alvin and Iva met in Oregon shortly after his return from the Navy. They married Aug. 25, 1920, in Salem, Marion County. After their marriage, Alvin and Iva lived in several places where employment was available, including Pasco, Washington, Marion County, Oregon City and Portland.
They had four children between 1921 and 1927: John Alvin Hash (1921-2012); George Albert Hash (1922-2019); Rose Hash (1923-1989); and William Wesley “Bill” Hash (1927-2025).
Michelle’s grandmother Rose was born in Marion, Oregon.
Census and other records show Alvin, Iva and their children living together throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Family papers indicate that Alvin and Iva operated rental cottages from about 1949 to 1951. I suspect that many of the negatives in the box date from this period and depict their children, friends and guests at the cottages.
After nearly 30 years of marriage, Alvin and Iva divorced Sept. 6, 1950, in Multnomah County. The divorce record shows that Iva was living in Portland. All four of their children had reached adulthood by then.
Iva’s Second Chapter
Following the divorce, Iva supported herself through a variety of jobs.
A letter dated March 8, 1954, from the Rockway Apartments documents that she had managed the property since June 1, 1951. The letter describes her as dependable and honest and notes that she was capable of overseeing the building independently when necessary.⁷
Letter of recommendation for Iva Hash
| 1410 N.E. Schuyler Street Portland 12, Oregon March 3, 1954 To Whom It May Concern: This is to inform you that Mrs. Iva Hash has worked for me as manager of the Rockway Apartments since June 1, 1951, and I have always found her to be absolutely honest, reliable and conscientious in her work. Her wide experience in many different fields of business, as well as her many years of service with a railroad company, has given her the experience to handle any emergency which may arise in a position of trust and responsibility. She has the ability to work both fast and well, and I was able to leave her in charge of the apartments for weeks at a time while I was in another state on business without ever having to worry about whether everything would be properly taken care of or not. For these reasons and many others, I can recommend her highly to anyone who wishes to employ an honest, capable, efficient and experienced Christian woman who is a credit to her county and community. George W. Black Rockaway Restaurant |
Other family papers show that Iva worked as a railroad dormitory manager, a house mother at a children’s home and a cook at the Rainbow Inn in Lebanon, Oregon.
Alvin remained in Oregon for the rest of his life. He died March 31, 1957, in Tillamook at age 62. He was buried April 5, 1957, at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.
Joseph Lynn McElroy
Middle, possibly Joseph Lynn McElroy
According to family accounts, Iva met Joseph Lynn McElroy (1891-1972) at a crusade led by evangelist Billy Graham (1918-2018).
The McElroy Family, Joseph Lynn McElroy far left
Joseph was the widower of Ruby Emily Crist McElroy (1856-1952), who had died at age 57 of metastatic cervical cancer on July 27, 1952.
Iva and Joseph married March 14, 1958, in Boise, Idaho.
Family accounts describe Joseph as a successful engineer who worked on large buildings in Portland and contributed to the construction of Bonneville Dam and McNary Dam on the Columbia River.
According to stories passed down through the family, Joseph lost an early business because of an unscrupulous partner. The business failure, combined with the death of a young son, reportedly left him deeply depressed. He eventually developed a serious drinking problem.
Note handwritten by my wife’s grandmother Rose.
Joseph later recalled that God spoke to him one night and told him he would become a missionary. According to the family account, he never drank again and devoted the remainder of his life to sharing the gospel.
Iva’s Christian faith was also central to her life.
Clippings Iva saved about her sons’ ministries
All three of Iva’s sons — John, George and Bill — entered the ministry. After Iva and Joseph married, they also spent a period of their lives serving as missionaries in Jamaica.
The Oregon Daily Journal, February 08, 1972, 24.
Joseph died Feb. 6, 1972, leaving behind a large family.
Iva, right, with her sister
Iva McElroy near the end of her life
Iva died Dec. 26, 1973, following a battle with cancer. She was buried beside Joseph at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City.
John Hash and Bible Pathway Ministries
Iva and Alvin’s oldest son, John, went on to establish a Bible-study ministry that eventually reached people throughout the world.
He remained founder and president of Bible Pathway Ministries until his death Feb. 5, 2012, at age 90. His devotional publications continue to be used by churches, missionaries and individual readers around the world.
Four generations: my wife, Michelle, with her mother, her paternal grandmother and great-grandmother.
For more of my genealogy research, visit rscottwilliams.info.
- The Capital Journal, July 13, 1915, 2. ↩︎
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