When Grampa file his Declaration of Intention for Naturalization (No. 1914) to the US government, he had 7 years from December 16, 1920 to complete the application. The application shows a lot of information. It states he crossed the border from Canada to the US on June 10, 1919. I search on Ancestry.ca through all the June 1919 border crossings at Buffalo and could not find his name. (Side thought: perhaps because he went by train, those records are somewhere else.)
The time between Grampa’s discharge from the US Army and his marriage to Gramma Gallson in 1922 is a mystery. Maybe this the time he spent in Pennsylvania or in Paterson/Belmar, NJ.
On his marriage record, he records his address as RFD #1, Pateson (likely s/b Paterson), New Jersey. All I can find on the internet to define “RFD” is Rural Free Delivery which existed in New Jersey around that time in the farming communities. I found an online book (1918-1919) that mentions R.F.D. mailing addresses (Look here page 236). No. 1 seems to have been near Belmar, NJ, which had a primary school and a church, and the soil was good for crops consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables.
March 7, 1922, Grampa and Gramma were married in the Manhattan Municipal Building. In January 1923, Aunt Jean was born in Waterville, Maine. And by July 1923, they were living in Collinsville, Connecticut, (state starts with a C, and there’s only California and Connecticut that have a Collinsville) as what is written at the top of this picture of Grampa holding Aunt Jean.
By November 1924, the Gallsons were living in Zolfo Springs, Florida, as that is when Grampa’s application for Naturalization was approved and the government needed $1.00 to complete the process.
In January 1925, Mom (Joan) was born in Wauchula, Florida, which is only about 5 miles from Zolfo Springs, where Uncle Phil was born in March 1926.
A year later, Grampa finally sent in his $1.00 to the government hoping to get his citizenship settled.
And on April 6, 1927, they acknowledged receipt, warning that the Declaration of Intention was due to expire in December.
I have no other information about whether Grampa ever received his naturalization papers, but I’m making the assumption that his application expired while he was dealing with family matters. Those family matters must have been exhibiting themselves as Gramma Gallson mental health likely was deteriorating.
I found the Gallsons in the 1928 and the 1929 city directories of Endicott, New York, at 200 North Street (tanner) and 206 North Street (shwkr) respectively. There is a North Road in Binghamton, NY, very close to Endicott. Binghamton had (and still has) a very large State hospital. North Road is right beside the hospital. I originally thought they moved here to be close to the hospital, whether Gramma needed outpatient treatment, or if perhaps she had been hospitalized and Grampa needed to be close. The city directories are Endicott and there is a North Street there. And its likely just my own wishful thinking that Grampa tried to get Gramma help.
Here is the building at this address now (March 2022).
On July 31, 1929, the Gallson family, recorded here as Lutherans, were on the move again, over the border to Canada. I can only assume that Grampa’s application for naturalization expired and he knew he had to leave. In fact, the location of where they were going is very specific:
Farm Lot #15, Concession B, Township of Widdifield, Dist. of Nipissing, North Bay, Ont.
And this was the beginning of their Canadian life. Again, my wishful thinking, that Grampa made the decision to bring the family back to Canada where a complete change might bring some relief to Gramma’s mental illness. On the border crossing, he lists his occupation as Farming.
What happened to Gramma is under the Florence menu item at the top. But suffice it to say, within 5 months Gramma was gone from the family.
Another reason why the family needed to leave the US for Canada could have been health care costs. I can’t find proof, but I’m wondering if Gramma’s health care would have been covered in Canada because she was a British subject or because Grampa was a Canadian Army veteran.