Mame Towey's Passport

Ancestry.com has U.S. passport applications dated from 1795 to 1925 including this one submitted by our own Mame Towey! This is what it says:
I, Yonovera Towey, a native and loyal citizen of the United States, hereby apply to the Department of State, at Washington, for a passport. I solemnly swear that I was born at Providence in the state of Rhode Island on the 5th day of October 1878 and that my father, Patrick Towey was born in Ireland and that he emigrated to the United States from the port of Queenstown (Ireland) on or about October 1859; that he resided 42 years, uninterruptedly in the United States from 1880 to 1921 at St. Paul, Minnesota; and that I am domiciled in the United States, my permanent residence being at Chicago in the State of Illinois where I follow the occupation commercial traveller. I am about to go abroad temporarily; and I intend to return to the United States within 2 months with the purpose of residing and performing the duties of citizenship therein; and I desire a passport for use in visiting the countries hereinafter named for the following purpose: pleasure; France, Belgium, Holland, England. I intend to leave the United States from the port of New York sailing on board the S.S. Rochambeau on July 23rd, 1921. An oath of allegiance is signed 30 June 1921.
The reverse has a description and the picture above:
Age: 42 years, Stature: 5' 4", Forehead: high; Eyes: hazel; Nose: ordinary; Mouth: large; Chin: round; Hair: brown; Complexion: medium; Face: oval
The passport is to be sent to 334 Fourth Ave., c/o H.W. Gossard Co., New York City.
There is also a letter from Mame's sister, Dorothy Towey Titus, attesting to Mame's birth in Rhode Island.

Yonovera revealed

I received quite a few responses to my last post about Mame, and so, with a few new clues, I started digging around and discovered quite a bit! The biggest tidbit came from the 1955 San Francisco City Directory which lists Phillip and Yonovera Garnett, the president and secretary-treasurer of Foundation Garment Inc., living at 1000 Mason St., Apt. 403 in San Francisco. This building is the Brocklebank Apartments and is located across the street from the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Finally I had a name to search for in the California Death Index! I found the death record and then had the all-important birthdate and location. The records came tumbling! I haven't found any record with the name Mame, but apparently that is the name she went by, so that's how I will call her. This is a summary of what I've found so far:
Mary Agnes Towey was born 5 Oct 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island to Patrick H. and Margaret (Henery) Towey, who were both born in Ireland. She was their oldest child and had 3 younger sisters, Margaret, Dorothy (called Birdie) and Annie. The family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota around 1881 and lived at 2377 Ellis St. In 1898, the St. Paul City Directory lists Mame's occupation as a clerk with the Northern Shade Cloth Co. and she continues to work there at least until 1905. In the 1909 St. Paul directory we find her family still, but Mame is not listed. In 1910, Mame and her sister Dorothy are living in Seattle, Washington at 1729 Boylston Ave., and Mame is an apartment house manager. Her name is written as Yono V and this is the first instance I have found of her use of the name Yonovera. All records from this time on are for Yonovera Towey, and later, Yonovera Garnett.
On the 4th of September 1921, we find Mame returning to New York from Glasgow, Scotland on the ship "Columbia". Her address is the Hotel McAlpin which was located at 1300 Broadway in New York City. The McAlpin was an oppulent 1,500 room hotel which opened in 1912, and at that time was the largest hotel in the world. On the 9th of September 1922, Mame is on the ship "Carmania", returning to New York from London. Her residence is 276 5th Ave., New York City.
In 1935, Mame is living in San Francisco when she files for a patent for her design of a Girdle and Brassiere. The US patent # is 2036510, and it was issued April 7, 1936. I have copies of the documents which include drawings, descriptions and Mame's signature. On September 8, 1936 Mame is issued a Canadian patent for the same Girdle and Brassiere. It is Canadian patent #360383. Yonovera Towey is the inventor, and H.W. Gossard Co. is listed as the owner.
Sometime between 1944 and 1950 Mame marries Phillip J. Garnett. (The 1944 San Francisco City directory lists Phillip living at 68 Presidio Ave., and Mame living at 1000 Mason St., but both in the Foundation Garments business.) On January 3, 1951 Yonovera Garnett arrives in San Francisco from Honolulu, Hawaii. I couldn't find any other passengers on the ship with names I recognized.
Phillip died in 1956. Mame died in San Francisco on May 24, 1964.
I have compiled the e-mails that I received about Mame from Martha Golden, Mary Cannon, Fr. Paul, my mother and grandmother on Ancestry.com in the "stories" section on Mame's page.