Q - San Quentin

 

I can't lay claim to this winner - My stepdaughter asked me to do her family tree and I found her long-lost grandfather. 

He was a Canadian Nationalist who was originally from Ontario. From the 1921 Canadian Census, he was 16 years old. 

In Nov 1921 he came to the USA via the Port of Huron. 

In the 1930 US Census, Max was listed as living in San Francisco and working as a clerk typist in the wholesale industry. He was 25 years old at the time. Unfortunately, he got involved with a bad crowd and was arrested and charged with forgery. Prison records show that he used the aliases, Howard Harris Johnson and Ernest Zottola. 

It's worth noting that many known mobsters had the last name Zottola. 

It's unclear why Max chose to use such a notorious name; perhaps he wasn't very smart. 

Max married this unsuspecting young lady in Los Angeles in 1954, at the age of 36, under the name of Howard Johnson Harris  In June 1955, they had their only child, a daughter. However, the wife eventually found out about Max's lies and filed for divorce. She then moved to San Francisco to raise their daughter. 

It seems that Max didn't learn from his past mistakes and continued to deceive and cheat. My stepdaughter informed me that there was always a lot of secrecy surrounding her mother's family. When I asked her how she felt about it, she simply requested a framed photo of her grandfather. I would feel the same way too!  It is an interesting piece of family history that does not reflect on her or anybody else. 

I must admit, I was a little envious of the intriguing family history, especially the fact that Max had been in San Quentin.