A. Louis and family moved to the Detroit, Michigan area by 1911. The city directories from 1914, 1915, and 1916 indicate that Arthur L. Iverson was a draftsman at Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in Detroit, while residing in suburb of Royal Oak.
A. Louis and Myrle had two more children: Arthur Louis Iverson II, born 25 February 1920, and Eugene Iverson, born 21 March 1923.
A. Louis and Myrle had two more children: Arthur Louis Iverson II, born 25 February 1920, and Eugene Iverson, born 21 March 1923.
A. Louis Iverson as an adult. Scanned from personal family records.
Myrle Devellin Iverson as an adult. Scanned from personal family records.
Audrey Helen Iverson. Scanned from personal family records.
Class photo from Oakridge School, Royal Oak, Michigan. Caption reads: Class at the Oakridge School, 1919-1924. Left to right: Mr. Grabo (teacher), first boy (unknown), second boy (Lee Barnhard Finkbeiner), first girl (Adeline Haupt), second girl (unknown), third boy (Stewart Metherall), third - sixth girls (unknown), seventh girl (Dorothy Dawes, first with gathered neck tie), eighth - tenth girls (unknown), eleventh girl (Audrey Iverson, pianist). Photo courtesy of David Penney. Source
Dolores Valesca Iverson in 1942. Scanned from personal family records.
Father A. Louis Iverson with sons Arthur Louis Iverson II (left) and Eugene Iverson (right). Scanned from personal family records.
A. Louis Iverson World War I draft registration.
Berenice was apparently active and respected within her high school debate team and I my mother (her niece) said she was later employed as a news reporter in Royal Oak.
Berenice Iverson in the Detroit Free Press, April 8th, 1928. I believe her name is mis-spelled in the newspaper.
In the following years Arthur Louis and daughter Audrey were quite active musically. Per the 1924 and 1926 city directories, Audrey was registered as a music teacher. A. Louis performed and recorded on piano, as well as wrote numerous compositions that were registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
- Anarchy. Poem by John McCrae. Music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 21 July 1919.
- Evangeline. Tone poem. Two pianos. A. L. Iverson. (C) 10 October 1919
- The Ninety-First Psalm. Intro and prologue. Words arranged by Thomas Addision. Music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 20 June 1919.
- Rip Van Winkle. Opera in three acts. From the novel by Washington Iriving. Words and music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 4 June 1919.
- The Scarlet Letter. Opera. From the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Book and music by Arthur Louis Iverson. (C) 26 June 1934.
- Slumber Songs. Contralto. Words by John McCrae. Music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 28 July 1919.
WJR radio in Detroit produced an hour-long radio broadcast explaining the music for "The Scarlet Letter" opera and demonstrating portions of it on piano. I have a copy of this program on vinyl record and will upload it in the future.
A. Louis also wrote additional works for which I cannot find copyright entries. These include "Shadows" for piano (dedicated to Thomas M. Wheat, who appears in The Michigan Technic directory as a consulting engineer); "Lament" for tenor or baritone vocal backed by chamber orchestra; and "The One-Hundredth Pslam" for soprano vocal backed by piano. Live recordings of "Shadows" and "Lament" were produced in the 1950s or 1960s, and are a real treat to hear. I do not know who performed these recordings, as A. Louis was no longer alive at that time.
- Anarchy. Poem by John McCrae. Music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 21 July 1919.
- Evangeline. Tone poem. Two pianos. A. L. Iverson. (C) 10 October 1919
- The Ninety-First Psalm. Intro and prologue. Words arranged by Thomas Addision. Music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 20 June 1919.
- Rip Van Winkle. Opera in three acts. From the novel by Washington Iriving. Words and music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 4 June 1919.
- The Scarlet Letter. Opera. From the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Book and music by Arthur Louis Iverson. (C) 26 June 1934.
- Slumber Songs. Contralto. Words by John McCrae. Music by A. L. Iverson. (C) 28 July 1919.
WJR radio in Detroit produced an hour-long radio broadcast explaining the music for "The Scarlet Letter" opera and demonstrating portions of it on piano. I have a copy of this program on vinyl record and will upload it in the future.
A. Louis also wrote additional works for which I cannot find copyright entries. These include "Shadows" for piano (dedicated to Thomas M. Wheat, who appears in The Michigan Technic directory as a consulting engineer); "Lament" for tenor or baritone vocal backed by chamber orchestra; and "The One-Hundredth Pslam" for soprano vocal backed by piano. Live recordings of "Shadows" and "Lament" were produced in the 1950s or 1960s, and are a real treat to hear. I do not know who performed these recordings, as A. Louis was no longer alive at that time.
From the United States Copyright Office I obtained the handwritten sheet music for "Evangeline," and entered it note-by-note into music notation software, a project which took about 40 hours. The result can be heard here:
Several years ago I was also contacted by the choral director at Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan, who had found this site and was seeking a descendent of Arthur Louis Iverson, because the entire handwritten opera for "The Scarlet Letter"-- over 600 pages-- had been stored at Interlochen and was at risk of being disposed of, as it had not been formally added to their library. Being contacted was one of the most exciting things that had ever happened for me, for which I remain exceedingly grateful, as I had been seeking this very opera for years, and had believed it was held at Interlochen, but had been unable to find it in a search. I am currently in the process of notating this opera so that the world can "hear" it performed for the first time ever. This work will take several years. Included in the box was also an opera and original libretto for the Biblical story "Esther." Over time I will be uploading all of these treasures to the website. We can marvel at the neatness of notation from the samples below:
In addition to Arthur Louis' drawings and music, I also have two of his handwritten unpublished novels, and am eager to type them for all to read.
A. Louis and Audrey were also featured as pianists broadcast on Detroit radio stations. Newspaper announcements of these broadcasts cover a wide listening area.
Although such performances might indicate a close bond between A. Louis and Audrey, the family story says that the two did not get along for a period of time and would in fact cross to walk on opposite sides of the street if they encountered each other outside the home.
Another of A. Louis' undertakings were pen-and-ink drawings. It is uncertain whether these were completed as part of his career, as a side business, or for personal fulfillment.
Undated pen-and-ink drawings by A. Louis Iverson. Scanned from personal family records.
The Iverson house at 2916 Rochester Road, compared to Arthur Louis' drawing of the same.
Pen-and-ink drawing of the San Giovanni Cathedral in Lucca, Italy, dated 1921. Scanned from personal family records.
"Pencil Points" was a national architecture magazine issued monthly from 1920-1995 (though its name changed to "Progressive Architecture" in 1945). I hesitate to categorize this as just a magazine, because each edition was around 100 pages long and filled with rather technical articles pertinent to the profession. I was able to look through a copy at the University of Michigan Library archives and found that the Cathedral pen-and-ink drawing was featured in the November 1930 edition.
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In the January 1931 "Pencil Points" Arthur Louis is included in the photo of Albert Kahn & Associates. The employee names are not included in order, but I recognize him from his features and pose.
My family is also in possession of a wonderful printing block made by Arthur Louis. It prints a Christmas card with the family name and an image of the Three Wise Men and Star of Bethlehem that he drew, surrounded by a beautifully intricate border. The image is recessed rather than raised like a stamp. I read that this may have been created by covering the magnesium metal sheet with wax, drawing the image with a tool, and then covering the exposed areas with acid to etch away the metal! On the back of the wood, in pencil, is written: "Arthur L. Iverson, c/o Howard Crane, architect - 542 Griswold Street." I need to further check the city directories to confirm when A. Louis worked with Crane. In 2021 I took this block to an artisan who uses authentic letterpress machines, and had Christmas card prints made:
From my memory of what I found in city directories and census records, I believe that A. Louis continued work as a successful draftsman at Smith, Hinchmann, & Grylls in Detroit. The firm designed notable buildings including the J. L. Hudson department store and Meadowbrook Hall. I am no longer subscribed to any genealogy services to verify his place of employment in later years. I need to re-check the the 1930s census for the name of his employer, because my mother (his granddaughter) firmly believes A. Louis also worked on designing the Fox Theater (main architect: C. Howard Crane), which was built in 1928. This association is certainly a strong possibility, since Crane had also been a draftsman at S/H/G before developing his own practice-- and the writing on the back of the Christmas print block confirms that A. Louis worked in Crane's office! Regardless, we have the wonderfully grand program book and the two ticket stubs from his attendance at the opening night of the Fox, September 21st, 1928!
Family legend also says that A. Louis declined a job working in/for Soviet Russia where Detroit-based architect Albert Kahn had a Moscow office, leading to his unemployment. I would like to investigate this possibility further!
The family resided at 2916 Rochester Road in Royal Oak, near Devillin Avenue-- a street named for the family of Myrle's mother Sara Jane Devellin, who lived next door with second husband Alexander Porteus. My mother believes that Sara Jana had moved back to Pennsylvania for a period of time after her daughter's marriage, and then moved closer a while later. In 1926 daughter Dolores is listed in the city directory as a student. In 1930 Dolores and Audrey are stenographers, while daughter Berenice is a "society editor" at the Royal Oak Tribune newspaper. In 1933 Dolores' place of employment was with Charles Delbridge, a lawyer in Detroit.
At this point the Iverson family history becomes rather sad yet again.
A. Louis committed suicide on 1 September 1933. His death certificate states that the cause of death was strychnine poisoning, and that he had been out of work since 1931; presumably there were few new buildings or need for architects during the Great Depression. My grandfather (A. Louis' son) believed that his father thought he had cancer, but I have not been able to verify this. Alas, a death notice for his daughter (below) indicates that he'd lost his architecture job (likely due to The Great Depression, and his refusal to move to Moscow) and was unable to find a publisher for his symphony. A. Louis was buried at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak.
The family resided at 2916 Rochester Road in Royal Oak, near Devillin Avenue-- a street named for the family of Myrle's mother Sara Jane Devellin, who lived next door with second husband Alexander Porteus. My mother believes that Sara Jana had moved back to Pennsylvania for a period of time after her daughter's marriage, and then moved closer a while later. In 1926 daughter Dolores is listed in the city directory as a student. In 1930 Dolores and Audrey are stenographers, while daughter Berenice is a "society editor" at the Royal Oak Tribune newspaper. In 1933 Dolores' place of employment was with Charles Delbridge, a lawyer in Detroit.
At this point the Iverson family history becomes rather sad yet again.
A. Louis committed suicide on 1 September 1933. His death certificate states that the cause of death was strychnine poisoning, and that he had been out of work since 1931; presumably there were few new buildings or need for architects during the Great Depression. My grandfather (A. Louis' son) believed that his father thought he had cancer, but I have not been able to verify this. Alas, a death notice for his daughter (below) indicates that he'd lost his architecture job (likely due to The Great Depression, and his refusal to move to Moscow) and was unable to find a publisher for his symphony. A. Louis was buried at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak.
Death certificate for A. Louis Iverson, 1933.
A. Louis and Myrle's son Eugene had some sort of accidental head injury-- I am unsure of the specific nature or date of the injury-- and he was sent to live at the Michigan Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic in Lapeer around November 1933.
Daughter Audrey worked as a secretary at the Detroit Creamery Office and lived at 22 Pingree Avenue in Detroit according to an early 1930s city directory. It seems that she moved back home after A. Louis' death: she committed suicide at the family home with carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage on 8 December 1935. Audrey was also buried at Oakview Cemetery.
The family tragedies continued. Eugene, who was living in an institution, acquired tuberculosis and died at the institution on 11 May 1939, form pulmonary tuberculosis. He was age 16. The death certificate states that he was buried in Royal Oak, presumably in the family plot at Oakview, though I found no gravestone for him there. Myrle's mother Sara Jane also died within this time period.
Death certificate for Eugene Iverson, 1939.
The family carried on, with Dolores working as a stenographer and/or office secretary at Mesiner & Meisner in Detroit. I have found an archived case from this law office in which Dolores is noted as a notary public.
Berenice married Lawson Eugene Parker and they moved to Florida where Lawson worked as managing editor for the Fort Lauderdale Daily News. Later they lived at 35 Knollwood Drive in Rockledge. Lawson had a son Joseph (born ~1935) from a previous marriage. During the 1976 presidential election, Berenice is quoted in the Florida Today paper (Brevard Country) as saying of the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick scandal: "I'm kind of fed up with all this probing that's been going all around" (22 February 1976, page 8A). According to my mother (Berenice's neice), Berenice became a Christian Scientist and died of a potentially treatable condition on 05 June 1985. I have yet to obtain the death certificate to shed more light on this situation. (The digital death record lists her middle name as Irmine rather than Hermione.)
Berenice married Lawson Eugene Parker and they moved to Florida where Lawson worked as managing editor for the Fort Lauderdale Daily News. Later they lived at 35 Knollwood Drive in Rockledge. Lawson had a son Joseph (born ~1935) from a previous marriage. During the 1976 presidential election, Berenice is quoted in the Florida Today paper (Brevard Country) as saying of the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick scandal: "I'm kind of fed up with all this probing that's been going all around" (22 February 1976, page 8A). According to my mother (Berenice's neice), Berenice became a Christian Scientist and died of a potentially treatable condition on 05 June 1985. I have yet to obtain the death certificate to shed more light on this situation. (The digital death record lists her middle name as Irmine rather than Hermione.)
Obituary for Berenice in Florida Today newspaper, 8 June 1985.
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In September 1985, Berenice's estate was awarded in probate court to Edward L. Stahley. I am not sure of any relation.
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The digitized 1940 census presented some difficulty in finding the family due to mis-transcription of their names. However, it reveals some interesting information. Myrle had completed school through 8th grade, while the children still living with her at the time—Dolores and Arthur Jr.-- had both completed four years of high school. Dolores was a legal secretary, as we knew, working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, and earning $1,100. Arthur Jr. worked in heat treatment at the National Twist Drill & Tool Company, working 44 hours a week, 10 weeks a year, and earning $240. "National Drill," as it was known, had a facility in Detroit and opened a second operation in Rochester in 1941. They were well-known for manufacturing cutting tools used in the automobile manufacturing industry and by the Navy. My mom is certain that Arthur worked at the Rochester facility for a period of time, but is not sure about the Detroit facility.
1940 census record.
Dolores did not marry and continued to live with her mother. Myrle was skilled at painting pottery and china, primarily with floral patterns. I am lucky to have some of these treasures today. She was involved with a group called the Oakridge Woman's Club. She died on 11 December 1964, from hospital-acquired pneumonia following a stroke.
Dolores died on 24 April 1978, also of a stroke. I have not yet obtained the death certificates for Myrle and Dolores. They are buried at the family plot at Oakview Cemetery.
A Detroit Free Press spread on 24 November 1981 lists "Iverson, Dolores V" of Royal Oak as being among the many citizens for whom the IRS holds an unclaimed tax refund check.
A Detroit Free Press spread on 24 November 1981 lists "Iverson, Dolores V" of Royal Oak as being among the many citizens for whom the IRS holds an unclaimed tax refund check.
The only member of this Tesli-Iverson lineage to have children was Arthur Louis Iverson II. He married Anne Marie De Genova, born 19 November 1924 in Struthers, Ohio. She and her brother had moved to the Detroit area for work. Arthur Junior worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant as a radio technician on B-24 Liberators during World War II. He also worked as an engineer at WDIV channel 4 when the television station opened in 1947 until his retirement in 1987. This was the first television station in Michigan and the sixth in the United States. At the time the station's call letters were WWJ, reflecting WWJ 950 AM radio; both of these stations were owned by The Detroit News. Arthur was also a ham radio operator, call number W8TMS. I recently searched for more information about his ham operation, and found that he had renewed his license as of April 2006, through 10 more years. The site hamcall.net now has a notice reading: "HamCall regrets to inform that W8TMS (Arthur L. Iverson) has been reported as a silent key. Our condolences to family and friends." Source Arthur also had a private pilot’s license and worked on antique cars. In his later years he developed dementia, but lived a full life until his death on 18 July 2013. He is buried with the other Iverson family members at Oakview.
Arthur Iverson in a flight suit. Scanned from personal family records.
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Arthur Iverson is pictured at right, pretending to use the telephone. This picture was taken around 1975 in the WWJ-TV mobile studio, and was sent to me by Arthur's friend Chuck who had found this website, for which I am grateful.
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Arthur and Anne had three children, all of whom are alive with families today. I am one of Arthur and Anne’s grandchildren and have taken interest in researching the Tesli - Iverson lineage. I am interested in finding other Tesli or Iverson relatives, and descendents of their friends, and in discovering the missing pieces that still remain in this story! Please contact me at [email protected].