Photo Stories

    William Beley was born on June 15, 1879 in Austria-Hungary along with his wife, Dora who was born on November 29, 1882. William's parents were not very successful. They tried to provide for him, but raising William with six other children was very hard. William married Dora in 1898 and in 1899, Dora gave birth to Walker Beley. William tried to support his newly founded family. But because he was starting from nothing, it was very hard. He finally got a job working for the newspaper company. That job did not suffice. He was looked down upon because of his class. William got into a fight with another worker when they called him some nasty names and got himself fired. Without a job, William and Dora, who was pregnant with their second child, had no other choice but to immigrate to the Land of the Free and find hope in America. They did so in the spring of 1903. Right as their boat docked, William was offered a job as a news editor for the newspaper. He made enough money to support his family and even had enough free time to play with Walker. He was even able to help Dora take care of their baby son, Glen. The family was very well built on hard work and determination. They loved each other and cared for each other. Dora even felt that she was able to take care of another child and gave birth to a girl named Leolie in December of 1906. In 1907, William Beley made a humongous step in his life, to become an official American citizen. The family’s first family picture was taken at this time, the day he became a citizen. But in the months that followed, only grief came. Dora passed away after falling ill. William struggled greatly to take care of his two boys and their newborn. He finally made a heart wrenching decision to give the baby up for adoption. Oh, how this journey had taken a U-turn for the worst. The boys now spent most of their time at an all boys school, catching up on their studies until they moved out to support families of their own. And William grew up, old and alone till he died in August on the thirteenth of 1958.