My Player Family Lineage

Several readers of this new blog inquired as to my relationship with US immigrant ancestor William Warner Player mentioned in Madelyn Player's The Legacy of William Warner Player 1793-1994 (Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1993). Available as follows:

Amazon.com - to purchase a copy of the used book:

• The Legacy of William Warner Player, 1793-1993

Order microfilm through your local LDS Family History Center:

• The Legacy of William Warner Player 1793-1993
• Addendum to The Legacy of William Warner Player

World Cat - to locate this book at a library near you:

• The Legacy of William Warner Player 1793-1993

IMAGE: William Warner Player

William Warner Player (1793-1873) m. Zillah Saunders (1788-1867) He was the son of Charles Player and his wife Anne Warner.

• DearMYRTLE's Docu-Challenge: William Warner Player Baptismal Record
• Mormon Overland Travel 1847-1868 - William Warner Player 
• Carol A. Edison's  "Custom Made gravestones in early Salt Lake City: The work of four English stonecarvers" published in Utah Historical Quarterly, Fall 1988, V 56, n 4, p310-330.
• William Warner Player (1793-1873) - Find a Grave Memorial

IMAGE: Charles Warner Player.

Charles Warner Player (1827-1884) m. Betsey Oades (1829-1912)

• Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel 1847-1868 - Charles Warner Player
• Charles Warner Player (1827-1884) - Find A Grave Memorial

IMAGE: Alma Oades Player

Alma Oades Player (1862-1929) m, Mary Elizabeth Wright (1862-1903)

• DearMYRTLE's SOURCES: Who provided the info - Part II (death certificate)
• Alma Oades Player (1862-1929) - Find a Grave Memorial 

IMAGE: Shirley Player circa 1917.

Shirley "Shirl" Player (1888-1942) m. Myrtle Eliza Weiser (1895-1972)

• DearMYRTLE's Treasure Chest Thursday: Shirley Player's photo
• Shirley Player (1888-1942) - Find a Grave Memorial

IMAGE: Glen S. Player, MD, circa 1943.

My father Glen S, Player, MD.

• DearMYRTLE's REPRINT: Summer Olympic Croquet Games
• DearMYRTLE's Glen S. Player, MD - rest in peace dear father-dad
  

Is that a Y or a V ?

When all three of the Shirl and Myrtle (Weiser) Player children gathered at my father's home in June 2007, they poured over this photo, bringing back memories. They hadn't been together in over 17 years, except in twos here and there. As the defacto family historian, I was thrilled to hear stories of their childhood.

IMAGE: Updated signage at Player's Service Station,
623 Union, Seattle, Washington. Circa 1933.
The photo was labeled 15¢ parking.

Aunt Beverly (Player) Muir recalled she had been commissioned by their father to design the new lettering for Player's Service Station. The boys cut the letters out of plywood and all three painted. Using the popular style of the time meant that Y was a bit forced. They all laughed that the result looked more like Plaver's rather than Player's Service Station. Oh, well. The style of the time was art deco, and by golly, their Dad's service station was going to reflect that upscale trend.

IMAGE: Siblings Glen S Player, MD; Beverly (Player) Muir and Jack Player 16 June 2007.
Original photo taken by author at 7933 Overlake Drive West, Medina, WA 98007.

We can see that photography, as well as people, had come a long way in 74 some-odd years.

~ . ~

Though this story wouldn't be complete, if I didn't tell you my father-dad hadn't changed much. See that red tape on his Jazzy electric wheelchair control arm in the photo above? Dad had that baby home not 20 minutes, but what he called me to bring the red electrical tape and some sharp scissors. I quickly retrieved the items from Dad's workshop, only to find he was "customizing" his new mode of transportation. Apparently, there was a battery gauge light that hit his tri-focals at just the wrong angle. Luckily, the tape effectively blocked the offensive light from obscuring his vision.

Yes, all three of the Player children were creative, inventive and highly capable.

Visiting Dad at Work

Imagine my excitement when my Uncle Jack pulled out some old-timey photo albums during a visit back in 2007. I'd never seen this picture of grandma Myrtle and Jack standing near the glass-topped gasoline pumps at Player's Service Station.

IMAGE: Jack Player circa 1928 and his mother Myrtle (Weiser) Player
at 623 Union, Seattle, Washington.

Those old service station pumps literally showed what the customer was buying as he could see it once the gas had been literally pumped up into the glass portion of the pump, before gravity would feed the fuel down the line and into a car's gas tank.

Grampa Shirley's Service Station

My grandfather, Shirley Player was born on 4 Aug 1888 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah and was enumerated in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 US federal census population schedules.

By 1930 he moved his family of a wife and three children to Seattle, King, Washington, and set up a service station at 623 Union. Here is the Polk Directory entry for his residence and his business.

IMAGE: Seattle Washington Polk City Directory, 1930,
digital image (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Sept 2015).