Jessie's Kids: Cary Home's First Residents & Roy Hanthorn's Peace Plan from Heaven

 

Jessie's First Kids Circa 1930: Roy Hanthorn far right, standing above all the others and surrounded by his siblings.

By Diana Vice 

Roy Hanthorn became one of Jessie’s first kids.  A Daughter of the American Revolution, Jessie Levering Cary was known for her good works in the community, so to honor his late wife, Frank Cary donated $45,000 in 1929 to establish the Jessie Levering Cary Home to help underprivileged and abused kids. The facility has been operating since November 30, 1930, and the residents are lovingly referred to as “Jessie’s Kids.”  

Franklin & Jessie Cary

A photo captured an image of some of the home’s first residents in front of the building shortly after it was built.  Identified in the picture are Roy Hanthorn and his younger siblings, Zilda, Dorothy, Cleo, Bill, Ed, and Bob, who had been transferred to Cary Home from the St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum. Roy’s sad facial expression, an obvious sign that he was unhappy with his circumstances, was due to years of bitter hardship and abuse for most of his life. Roy’s story began like many other children who lived with alcoholic fathers within the poor side of town.

After working for several years at a steel mill in Attica, Indiana, Charles Hanthorn moved his family to 247 Walnut Street, Lafayette, Indiana, in 1916 after landing a job with the New York Central Railroad.  He and his wife, Mary, had four children then: Roy (4), Zilda (3), Dorothy (1) and a newborn, Violet. Situated on nearly every corner throughout the Wabash Avenue Neighborhood were taverns where many descendants of Irish immigrants found temporary solace from the drudgeries of life, and like his own father, Charles became a mean drunk.  

Dorothy, Cleo, Roy, & Zilda Hanthorn

One night in May of 1917, Charles became intoxicated, and the police were called.  Officer E. C. Smith, who was assigned to the First Ward, had experience fighting with many drunken men during his tenure as a police officer, but Charles Hanthorn caused quite a ruckus when he rushed Officer Smith with a fixed bayonet that was attached to a loaded Springfield rifle. A fierce struggle ensued causing Smith to lose his club. The officer resorted to the use of his fists and was able to subdue Hanthorn, who was charged with intoxication.

Within a few years, five additional children were born to Charles and Mary: Cleo in 1918, Bill in 1921, Ed in 1923, Bob in 1924, and Joseph, who passed away from malnutrition in 1925 at five months old. Violet also died from malnutrition before reaching one year of age.  Mary had her hands full, and Roy did his best to carry the extra burden for his family. He dropped out of Tippecanoe Grade School before the Sixth grade and worked odd jobs to help make ends meet.

Charles Hanthorn

Back: L to R: Cleo, Dorothy, Roy
Front: L to R: Bob, Ed, Bill

Life took another brutal turn during the summer of 1926 after Roy was beaten by his father when he was fourteen years old. He ran away from home and became the subject of a public search. A headline from the newspaper read, “Police Asked to Search for Boy; Roy Hanthorn, 14, Missing from Home—Bare-Footed and Hatless; Bicycle Goes Also.”  According to the news report it wasn’t the first time that Roy had run away from home, and it stated that the child was suffering with nerves and was emotionally distressed.  Roy was found by authorities a couple of weeks later in Attica, living with a relative, Lon Phillips. The pair had been engaged in digging mussels along the river.   

Roy Hanthorn at Tippecanoe Grade School
 

Roy’s return home would be short-lived. His father was arraigned in the city court for intoxication; however, the six-month prison sentence he received was suspended because of his family. This would not last; however, because Charles once again became intoxicated, assaulted family members, and attempted to burn down the house with everyone in it. Judge Raymond Robertson revoked the suspension, and Charles was sent to prison to serve his six-month sentence. Mary was unable to support seven children, so she divorced her husband and placed her children in the St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum.

The Exchange Club hosted an event for orphans on August 9, 1927, called the “Sunshine Special.” Two hundred orphans from the Children’s Home and St. Joseph’s Orphanage were treated to an automobile parade ride through town, starting at Tenth and Ferry Streets and leading to the Columbian Park where they enjoyed free rides, ice cream cones, cracker jacks, “all-day suckers,” pop, bananas, and sandwiches. Roy’s sisters, Dorothy and Zilda, received an extra treat that day as they won prizes for their participation in games hosted by the Y.M.C.A.

The Hanthorn children were moved to the Cary Home for Children when it opened in 1930. Roy was the first to age out of the system and secured a job as a farmhand in Benton County, Indiana, near Oxford. He and his mother retrieved several of the children to live with them on the farm, including Dorothy, 16, Cleo, 12, and William, 10. Zilda and Ed had been sent to foster homes. Dorothy eventually went to live with a childless couple, Mr. and Mrs. F. Paul Grau, Jr., who lived nearby in Dunn, Indiana. The couple treated Dorothy like their daughter. During this time, she met her future husband, Ray Handley, a local schoolteacher.

Roy eventually moved back to Lafayette where he met his wife, Lorraine Egan, at a mutual friend’s house, Tom and Jenny Bishop. The couple were married on September 18, 1936, and continued to provide care for Roy’s mother and brothers for the next few years while growing their own family. Lorraine was a devout Christian who worked hard all her life helping others and raising her children to love God.  Roy, Jr., was born first, and then came Dorothy, both in the 1930s. Mary Anne, Barbara, Daniel, and Paul were born in the 1940s.  Roy also forgave his father and helped take care of him and his mother, who lived separately in the same neighborhood near their son.

Mary Anne, Roy, Jr., Dorothy

Mary Anne (Hanthorn) Morrison recalled her life growing up on Smith Street and spoke fondly of her dad.

“Walking a mile or two with my dad pulling our little red wagon to the grocery store is a special memory,” she said. “I got to ride there and walk back once the groceries were loaded. Life was good. After we unloaded at home, I would follow Daddy to the Wabash River behind Shamrock Park, him with his bamboo pole and me with visions of crawdads, throwing rocks in the river and finding night crawlers for bait. My dad never met a stranger, so much time was spent visiting along the way.

Lorraine & Roy Hanthorn

“Our weekly allowance gave us the opportunity to either go to the double feature western or to the wrestling match on Saturday night. Most times, I would spend mine at the movie and when Saturday came, I would put on my best face and my dad would always say, ‘Come on, Bootsie! But next week you’d better save your money.”

 Roy had worked as a machinist at Alcoa where he injured his back, which forced him out of the job.  Workmen’s Compensation protections were not favorable for the worker in those days. After some recovery, he was able to find work with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This was a government program that employed millions of jobseekers, mostly men who were not formally educated, to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. Roy was part of the construction crew that helped build some of the infrastructure at Purdue’s airport. Life was difficult for Roy’s growing family.

Roy & Bill Hanthorn

Haunted by a tormented childhood, Roy would sometimes engage in raucous drinking with his brothers; however, after much encouragement from his wife, he began drinking less and praying more.  Roy had adopted his wife’s Catholic faith and attended St. Ann’s Church on Wabash Avenue with his family. The church provided a janitorial job for Roy, which was within walking distance of his home, a blessing since the family did not have a car. 

Cathy was born in 1951, and Patsy arrived on July 6, 1954. Roy never forgot his extended family or the harsh life they endured together. He invited all of his siblings to a family reunion in August of 1954, and when some of them didn’t show up, he wrote a poignant letter, sharing some of his feelings.

“I thought I’d write you a letter letting you know how the family reunion turned out. This was not just a family reunion. It was a peace plan from Heaven, intended for each of us…A handsaw really saws a board in two, but it is the power of your hand that gives the saw its strength. So Jesus uses us as tools, much like the handsaw, so this peace plan from Heaven was given to us through God, a chain of love between us, that I am sure no man would dare to break. You could even tell by the results that Jesus was present. This family reunion started on August 6^th, and it will never end in the hearts of those who were there. Anyone who wants to join this family reunion can do so by coming here at any time. We hope to see you soon, if only for a short visit. Maybe next year we can have a strong chain of love with all seven links in it…May God bless your family. ‘Till we meet again, I will remain, Roy Hanthorn”

L to R: Barb, Roy, Jr. Daniel, Dorothy, Paul, Mary Anne

That day would never come. By this time, Roy’s health was in sharp decline. What doctors said was arthritis turned out to be metastatic cancer.  Prior to his untimely death, Mary Anne, who was 13 years-old at the time, recalled some of her father’s final words.

 “Look, Bootsie! Do you see the beautiful angel at the foot of the bed?” Mary Anne looked bewildered, so Roy continued, “She has a beautiful voice. Don’t you hear it?”  Roy took his final breath on December 13, 1954, at the age of 42, in the presence of his family and one beautiful angel.  With that, sixteen-year-old Roy Hanthorn, Jr., became the man of the family.

 

Author’s Note: I never had the privilege of knowing my grandfather, Roy Ellsworth Hanthorn. I knew him through my mother, Mary Anne Hanthorn, who sadly passed away in 2021.  My grandfather was an overcomer who had suffered agonizing physical and mental abuse.  One of the first truths that I learned during my CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) training was that children love their parents no matter how badly they were abused. I found this to be true.  It’s hard to understand, but Roy loved his parents and took care of them both until the end. Until I have walked a mile in their shoes, I am not qualified to judge them. Charles died in 1953 at the Wabash Valley Sanitarium where he was being treated for dementia-related delirium. Grace Hanthorn died a year before her son in 1953.

From the Hanthorn Family Photo Album:

Roy Hanthorn

Charles & Carrie Hanthorn

Grace Hanthorn with Roy, Sr. (1912)

Bill Hanthorn

Dorothy Hanthorn Handley

Mary Anne with Roy, Jr.

Roy, Sr., Cleo, Zilda, Dorothy & Cleo

Charles Hanthorn

Charles Hanthorn

Zilda, Dorothy, Cleo, Bill, Ed, & Bob

Tom & Jenny Bishop introduced Roy to Lorraine

Cleo Hanthorn

Cleo Hanthorn

Roy Hanthorn, Sr.

Roy Hanthorn, Sr.

Grace Hanthorn with children

Mary Anne Hanthorn, angel to the far left

Mary Anne Hanthorn