I originally wrote this for Week 1: Family Lore. Shortly after posting, I went through some draft posts I had written weeks ago and realized that the story about my great x3 grandparents, Robert Nelson and Elizabeth Joseph, was a much better fit for that prompt. So I deleted the original Week 1 post, replaced it with Robert and Elizabeth’s story, and repurposed this story for Week 9: Changing Names.
(formerly John Warkentin)
When I was a kid, sometimes I’d hear talk about one of my mother’s first cousins, John Warkentin (1942-2003). The family referred to him as “Hollywood Jack”. The family lore was that he had always dreamed of moving to Hollywood and becoming a star. My mother said that when Jack was still a teenager, he left home for California and changed his name.
When I was a kid, the stories left me with the impression that Hollywood Jack was never heard from again. When I was older, I learned that John had remained in contact with his family, they knew his whereabouts, and knew his new name.
John’s Petition for Naturalization filed with the U.S. District Court in Central California shows that he landed in the United States on July 13, 1961, shortly after he turned 19. The Petition showed that John was living in Los Angeles, half a block from Santa Monica Boulevard. That area is now part of West Hollywood, which separated from Los Angeles and incorporated as a city in 1984. John was granted U.S. citizenship on November 21, 1969. He married for the first time one month later.
What I was surprised to discover was that in the United States – at least at the time John moved there – you can apply for a legal change of name in your Petition for Naturalization. (However, they did not change your ancestor’s name at Ellis Island!!) In his Petition, John asked for his name to be changed to “Schuylor Barry McGene”. It seems he also went by “Skyler”, which is how he was named in his brother Frank’s obituary. I have no idea why John chose that name, but I would love to know the story behind it. (For ease of reference, I will continue to refer to him as John.)
Another fascinating aspect of John’s Petition are the affiants who were witnesses to John’s Petition. What caught my eye is that one affiant, Luthor Lindstrom, lived near John, on North Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood, while the other affiant was named Chase Sweetser. Chase lived about 25 kilometers away from John, in Redondo Beach. It should be no surprise that one affiant lived in John’s neighbourhood; it is a complete mystery to me how John knew Chase.
I spent a very brief amount of time trying to find out more about the affiants to see if this coincidence might be something other than happenstance. I also did do in hope of learning more about John. Always remember to research the FAN (“Friends, Associates, and Neighbours”) club! While I know John married twice and had children with both wives, I know nothing about what he did for work or how he otherwise spent his life.
I have not find anything on Luthor Lindstrom.
However, I found a newspaper article from 1988 about the address Chase Sweetser provided. The house at that address was built in the American Colonial Revival style by Chase Sweetser Sr. Since this person died in 1947, I assumed that he must be the father of the Chase Sweetser who swore the affidavit in support of John’s Petition. Further research confirmed that suspicion.
Chase Sr. apparently made his fortune as a “grocer”, provisioning ships in the nearby harbour. Chase Sr. also built his fortune through shares he owned in Coca-Cola as one of its early investors; he was also on its board of directors. The article said that his son Chase Jr. had been the president of the local Coca-Cola bottler.
The house went up for sale in the 1980s, after Chase Jr. died. It was newsworthy because it was listed on the National Register in 1985. The article noted that despite being on the National Register, there were no restrictions on tearing the house down and redeveloping the property. The house was listed for US$1.275 million (US$3.14 million in 2024 dollars).
Other articles I found show that the house was never torn down and still stands. Rather, the property sold a number of times (first in 1989 at well below the asking price) and currently serves as the offices of a wealth management firm. The firm’s website even provides a photo and brief history of the house.
My next thought was to research how Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood got its name. On top of that idea, my wife suggested that maybe Chase Sweetser was John’s landlord and Sweetzer Avenue was named as such because the Sweetsers owned property there. It turns out that Sweetzer Avenue is likely named after Edward Healey Sweetser. While my search was brief, I found no connection between Chase Sweetser and Edward Healey Sweetser. However, there still remains the possibility that Chase Sweetser was John’s landlord.
Another possibility is that John worked for Chase; however, I have not yet found any information as to what John might have done for a living in Los Angeles. Other than his marriages, the only other thing I know about John is that he died in July 2003 – in La Cañada Flintridge, California. Born in Canada, died in La Cañada!
I have a couple other theories about John (and his FANs) to research, but as of yet they’re speculative. While sites like Ancestry and FamilySearch do not include living persons, some of the records available there do identify living people, which provide some clues for research. As well, bits and pieces I’ve gathered through Google and other search engines have given me a few bits of additional details about John. However, given that they involve living persons, I will simply leave it at that.
Needless to say, in trying to answer a few questions about the family lore, I am left with many more than I started with!
Addendum
For the brief period of time this was live someone posted a comment asking about John’s choice of new name. In the time since I posted this and took it down, I asked my mother what she knew. Bear in mind John’s mother – my mom’s aunt – passed away when my mother was two months old and she never had much contact with her Warkentin relations.
Most of what my mother knows came from a mutual aunt of John and my mother’s. My mother said that when John first left home, he went to live with this aunt. Their aunt had a son who is also named John, so that’s when they started using “Jack”. Since Jack spoke so often of going to Hollywood, they started calling him Hollywood Jack.
My mom says that John wanted to be an actor and thought Schuylor Barry McGene would be a great name for an actor. He also wanted to make a break from his father, with whom he did not get along. My mom says John remained in contact with their aunt for about a year after he moved to California. After a period of no contact, my mother’s aunt contacted the Red Cross to help track him. About a year or two later John called the aunt. Apparently she was quite shocked when she learned about the name change. My mom tells me that sometime well afterwards John came back to Canada to visit his aunt, at least once, but he otherwise remained in California.
A Deck of Ancestors 