Page 341 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

Nebraska. In these censuses Jay is living in Shasta, California in 1900, in Nogales, Santa Cruz, Arizona in 1910, and Baltimore, Maryland in 1930. In this 1930 census, Henrietta (born in Costa Rica) – an anglicised version of Enriqueta – is shown as also living in Baltimore, Maryland. Ada (also born in Costa Rica) is the third member of this household as the daughter of jay and Henrietta.
Not unexpectedly, Jay appears on passenger lists. He is shown as arriving in New Orleans on 13 April 1918 sailing in the ship, Atenas, from Central American Ports. Similarly, he is shown as arriving in Boston on 15 April 1920 sailing in the ship, San Mateo, from Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Seven years later he is recorded as arriving in New Orleans on 15 February 1927 in the ship, Heredia, again coming from Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Enriqueta is shown as arriving in New York from Liverpool on 29 April 1928 on the Toloa. Her estimated birth year is shown as about 1890.
Jay was, in fact, born in Albion, Nebraska, on 24 October 1885. He made a U.S. passport application on 1 April 1918, perhaps when he obtained his job with the United Fruit Company. At this time – in 1918 – his residence was in Santa Cruz, California. Jay is shown as being married to Henrietta which I assume is an anglicised version of Enriqueta. There is no evidence that they had any children.
On the fly cover of his book, there is an author profile which states that Jay was born “in a sod house on the plains of Nebraska. His father was a physician, but the son chose a business career. His education was begun in Illinois, continued in Washington and completed in California. After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 Mr Soothill went to Mexico, where he remained until after the Madero revolution. In 1912 he was employed by the United Fruit Company in Costa Rica as a clerk in a district farm superintendent’s office. He rose in the service and at different times all of the company’s agricultural work on the Caribbean coasts of Panama and Costa Rica has been under his supervision. When he resigned in 1928 he was superintendent of both the exportation and marine departments in Costa Rica.”
337