The first residence of Jake and Elsie Caraway

On 13 Jul 2023, I was doing family history research on Jake Caraway’s life timeline. I was tracking where he lived and when, as well as where he worked and when. I found the home address in Oakland of where Jake and Elsie first lived when they got married (and where they brought home their first child, Ann). The address was 2240 Hopkins Street in Oakland.

In doing some online sleuthing, I happened to find an old photo from 1940 on the Oakland Public Library online archive and the caption showed that Hopkins Street later became MacArthur Boulevard.

I then searched Google Earth to find what the current address looks like and found that an historic apartment building still stands there. 

Then I went back to the 1940 photo and discovered that the very apartment building is in the old photo! So the photo shows EXACTLY what the neighborhood looked like when Jake and Elsie lived there!

Another fun discovery...When I looked closely at the texture of the building, the vent grates, and the banding along the bottom of the building, it realized it was the background in the photos we have of Jake holding Ann when she was a baby as well as the ones of the two of them when Ann was a toddler. It's fun tidbits like these that make family history research come alive for me.

How Jake Caraway Got His Name

Photo of Jake and Frank taken about 1898
Jake was probably 1 year old and Frank was around 3 years old.

The following account was told to Ann Caraway Boucher by Frances Amy "Frank" Caraway Stacy:

"When Jake was a baby, he was frail, thin and homely. Everyone was concerned that he might not survive, but a fine elderly gentleman named Mr. Norwood was living with us at the time as Father was away, and would come and do the necessaries [chores] everyday. He felt deeply about Mama and we little ones, and we called him 'Uncle Norkie'. Well, he would hold the new baby and try his best to comfort him, calling him 'My little Jake,' and the name just stuck to him forever. When Jake was quite a lad, he added his middle name 'Homer' himself."