Two Lots Apart

Of all my ancestors the person who, as an adult, lived closest to her childhood home was my mother, Audrey Meinzen Doyle. 

Section of Furnace Street, Mineral Ridge, Ohio.  Courtesy of Google Maps.

She grew up in the house labeled Meinzen Residence, at right.  After she was married she lived in the house labeled Doyle Residence.  Their homes were just two lots apart.

The lots in Mineral Ridge vary in size and because I don't know the lot sizes I can't say the distance in feet or yards between these two homes.  But what I can tell you is that if I stood on our front porch I could see my grandmother's house.  And if we were both on our front porches at the same time we could wave to each other.  (The trees in the lot between our houses weren't there when I was a child.)

After my parents married they lived in Niles, Ohio, for a few years.  I don't know how or why they decided to buy a house in Mineral Ridge, as opposed to other nearby small communities, or why they ended up with a house two lots away from Mom's parent's home.  My father had no childhood home to return to in Pennsylvania and perhaps my parents were both comfortable in the Ridge.  It was certainly a safe, quiet community.

As far as my memory tells me, my mom and grandmother were not close so this situation could have sparked some challenges, hurt feelings, etc., but somehow they worked it out and peace reigned between our homes.  Being so close to my only grandmother was great for me as a child, and when my mom's sisters came to visit, my cousins were conveniently close, too.

My parents lived in this house the rest of their lives except for my mom's last few years when the stairs became too much for her and she needed more care.

This post was written for Amy Johnson Crow's 2020 version of 52 Ancestors.  The post topic was "Close to Home."

--Nancy.

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