Alice Jaques

Birth: She was born in 1914 in California.  

Family Information: Daughter of Albert and Rachel Jaques.

Sister of Eleanor, Rachel Mary, Albert Jr., Frank, Chester and Ida Jaques.;

Description:  

Pre-Colony History: The family came from California to the colony in October 1921. Her father had been paying on their membership for several years, so they were paid in full when they arrived.  

Home in Colony: The family lived in the main colony at Newllano for at least two years, as there are several mentions of the family at the Montessori school, in theater productions, helping out at the hotel, etc.

They later lived at the colony Rice Ranch. 

Job in Colony: In April of 1922 she was part of a group of students including Vinita Thurman, Maxine Gaddis, Margaret Kapotsy and Laura Synoground who were shelling peanuts at the store.

She also worked in the cafeteria -- shelling peanuts, setting tables, getting dinner together and washing dishes -- along with Albert Kapotsy, John Dougherty, Beulah Gaddis, Ruby Synoground, Laura Merrill, Laura Synoground, Margaret Seelye, Emma Kapotsy, Vinita Thurman, Nellie Kemp, Margaret Kapotsy, Rachel Jaques and Dora Cryer.

Other Info:  

Post-Colony History: The family left for unknown reasons sometime before 1926, moving first to Kinder then to the Senator Odom Pecan Farm at some point before her father and brother's death.

According to family sources, her mother was asked to leave the farm following Albert's death, so she and her five surviving  children drove across the United States in either a Model A or Model T Ford, over questionable roads and alone. On the trip, Rachel supported her family by working as a housekeeper and seamstress.

She married John DePalma in 1935 at Los Angeles, California. In 1940 the couple were living in California with their four children while her husband worked as a peddler / truck driver for a fruit and vegetable retailer.  

Death: She died in 1998 in California and was buried in the Masonic Memorial Gardens.  

Sources: Family Information: Photos and information by Deborah Lovel Bryner (All Rights Reserved: Published here with permission); California County Birth, Marriage and Death Records; US Census: 1920, 1940; "Vernon Parish Democrat": October 6, 1921; "Llano Colonist": April 22, 1922; FindAGrave.com