Ethel Neate
Ethel (Neate) Slinkey, looking pretty sultry in the 1910s. - 2017-09-12
Born: May 3, 1886 in San Francisco, California.
Married: November 28, 1906 to Milton Otto Slinkey at St. Stephen's Protestant Church (Fulton between Webster and Fillmore Streets), San Francisco, California.
Died: June 15, 1952 in San Francisco, California (66 years old)
My great-grandmother was the first child of Luffman Neate and Martha Kate "Ruth" (Willway) Neate. Her death certificate lists her birth as 3 May 1886 in San Francisco, California, which is probably close to right. Her parents were married the previous October.
Her father was a teamster, and Art Markstrom told me some stories that had been passed down of Luffman drinking away his earnings on paydays. Ethel was apparently sent off to find him South of Market on those days because he would get maudlin and give money to urchins or throw coins about on the street.
She met my great-grandfather, Milton Slinkey, in a refugee camp after both families were burned out of their homes because of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. They were married that November.
Ethel had a number of miscarriages before finally having my grandfather, Eugene Slinkey in 1913. (He was, under the circumstances, as the only child, celebrated and pretty spoiled.)
She was close to her sister, Iris, and was godmother to Iris' first child, Doris. They would travel together with their husbands and shared ownership of a vacation cabin in Bolinas, California (although there was some strife about the use and eventual sale of the place).
Milton, Ethel, and Eugene lived in Oakland for a number of years before returning to San Francisco to care for Milton's sister, Lilian Slinkey. After Lilian's death, the family moved with Milton's uncle, John Dern, to 264 16th Avenue.
Ethel died of stomach cancer at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco on June 15, 1952, and is buried at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.
I think she could tell some interesting stories. In early photos of her there's a very sophisticated and knowing look in her eyes, as if she has a secret or two.
