kinexxions

An Ageless Subject - Age - COG 52

2008-07-18T10:35:00.001-04:00

Lisa has posted the Carnival of Genealogy, 52nd Edition over at 100 Years in America. The topic is "Age" and as Lisa says " This is a collection of tales and trivia, stories and statistics. Thanks to these contributions by various family historians, we have a look into the lives of others who stand out from their family tree (and society in general) because of their age." There are some new contributors as well as the "regulars" and a wide variety of tales that have been told. As always, I'm amazed at the quality and variety of the posts contributed to the COG. Check them out! Lisa has done a wonderful job of putting it all together. I for one know that it is not an easy task to come up with a good "lead" for each of the posts. Well done, Lisa!

The next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be a “carousel” edition. Just as carousels have a variety of animal figures so, too, will the next edition of the COG have a variety of topics. All subjects are welcome but please limit yourself to one submission. Submit any article you’d like (genealogy-related of course!) and if you'd like an introduction for it, please write your own. Jasia will be hosting the next edition on the Creative Gene blog but she won't be writing any introductions this time around. The deadline for submissions is August 1.Submit your blog article using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found at the blog carnival index page. Want to know more about the Carnival of Genealogy? See Jasia's Frequently Asked Questions page.

Kudos to footnoteMaven for the Carnival of Genealogy posters.

For numerous reasons, I neglected to post something when the last two "issues" of the COG were published. So, in case you haven't read them yet:

The 50th Carnival of Genealogy : Family Pets was posted by Bill West at West in New England.
Carnival of Genealogy, 51st Edition on the topic of Independent Spirit was posted by Thomas MacEntee at Destination Austin Family.

Another New-Found Cousin

2008-07-17T00:50:00.001-04:00

Well, well, well. Looks like Thomas MacEntee and I are related, something along the line of 8th cousins! Through the Freer family. Our most common ancestor is Hugo Freer Jr and his wife Maria Anna Leroy. See his post on his trip to the New Paltz Cemetery and the comments at the bottom of the post.

Disclaimer: I haven't done any research of my own on my Van Curen, Terwilliger and Freer lines. My information on these families has come from a first cousin, published books and the internet so there is the possibility that it isn't correct ;-)

My Line of Descent:
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Sara Freer & Evert Terwilliger
Jan Terwilliger & Maria Van Wagenen
Elisabet Terwilliger & Jacob Van Keuren
Henry Van Curen & Rebecca [-?-]
Rachel Van Curen & William Alexander
Amanda Alexander & Samuel Bray Wiseman
Charles Wilson Wiseman and Elsie Shuder
Jack Wiseman and Virginia Phend
Becky Wiseman

Thomas descends from Hugo Freer & Marie Haye THREE ways.

Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Hugo Freer & Brejen Terpenning
Sara Freer & Jacob Freer (see below)
Jacob J. Freer & Margaret Ean
Annatje Freer & Christian Freer (see below)
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee

Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Elizabeth Freer & Johannes Van Wegenen
Sara Van Wegenen & Jeremias Freer
Christian Freer & Annatje Freer
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee

Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Hugo Freer & Brejen Terpenning
Hugo Freer & Esther Deyo
Jacob J. Freer & Margaret Ean
Jeremias Freer & Sarah Van Wegenen
Christian Freer & Annatje Freer
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee

I haven't spent much time with this family, other than entering the ancestral information into my database a couple of years ago, so I spent a few hours this evening exploring the web to see what I could find. It turned out to be quite interesting.

Freer-Low Family Site
Hugo Freer
The Freer-Low House on Huguenot Street
The Terwilliger House at Locust Lawn

Huguenot Education in Colonial America - This article discusses the educational opportunities available at that time, specifically mentioning Sara Freer, orphaned in 1698 at the age of 10, and her apprenticeship. This Sara Freer was a daughter of Hugo Freer (Sr) and his second wife Jannetju Wibau.

Wordles Wednesday

2008-07-16T16:30:00.001-04:00

No, that isn't a typo. And no, don't worry, this won't be a feature every Wednesday ;-)

Last week when footnoteMaven passed around the Wordle virus to the genea-blogosphere with her post Let Me Get A Wordle In Edgewise, I didn't have time to play. She did a follow-up with Do Not! I Repeat - DO NOT - Read This Post! With links to other genea-Wordles and some other fun stuff.

In school, and the Navy, I was nearly the last in line for everything (surname Wiseman, right). And have a tendency to be a bit late for meetings and appointments. Not on purpose, though it might seem so. Anyway, as the saying goes "Better Late Than Never" here are my contributions to the genea-Wordle-world. One is for the surnames in my Mom's lines, and the other is for my Dad's lines. The size of the name is dependent upon how many ancestors have been entered in my database with that name. As always, click on the images to see a larger version.

Wordless Wednesday - Knapp Lake

2008-07-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

Knapp Lake, Noble County, Indiana. Infrared Photograph.

Summer of 1985. Digitized 2008.

Live Long And Prosper...

2008-07-14T23:40:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm not sure about the prosper part, but based upon the longevity of my Ancestors, and barring any unforeseen accidents, I think I can expect to live a few more years ;-)

Of the 8626 relatives entered in my databases, 305 of them are Ancestors. I must admit that some of them haven't been "proven" sufficiently, yet. However, of those 305, a little more than half, 160, have birth and death dates (some don't have full dates, just years). Of those 160 Ancestors, the Average Lifespan is 71 years.

The following statistics for Age at Death are based on those 160 Ancestors for whom I have birth and death information.

Under 30 = 2 (1%)
30-39 = 3 (2%)
40-49 = 9 (5.5%)
50-59 = 18 (11%)
60-69 = 29 (18%)
70-79 = 52 (32.5%)
80-89 = 40 (25%)
90-99 = 8 (5%)

As you can see, there are no centenarians amongst my Ancestors although several come close.

Great-Grandmother: Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder - - 99y 30d (03 Dec 1854 - 02 Jan 1954)
Grandfather: Rolland Victor Phend - - 97y 11m 30d (19 Jun 1893 - 18 Jun 1991)
5th Great-Grandmother: Margaret (Ellis) Sisley - - 96y 2m (13 Dec 1773 - 13 Feb 1870)

The Amazing Alexanders

This line on my Dad's side of the family had a father and son who both lived into their 93rd year. I don't have a date of birth, or even a year, for my 4th Great-Grandfather William Alexander but I suspect he was in his late 20s or early 30s when he was killed on August 27, 1777 on the 2nd day of battle at "Landing Head of Elk" in Maryland. He was serving as a 1st Lieutenant of the 7th Battalion of the Maryland Regulars. I've often wondered whether William ever saw his youngest son or if he knew of his birth. I would like to think that he did since the battle in which he was killed was fought in Cecil County where his son William Washington Alexander was born on February 17, 1777.

While his father may have died young, William Washington Alexander was long-lived, dying at Marysville, Ohio on February 16, 1871 at the age of 93 years 11 months and 30 days. William Washington's first child, also named William (of course!), didn't live quite as long as his father but did spend 93 years 4 months and 18 days on this earth! William was born November 20, 1805 in Erie County, Pennsylvania and died April 7, 1899 in Kosciusko County, Indiana. William had 13 children by 3 wives, his last child was born in 1868 when William was 63 years old. So he gets the award for being the oldest ancestor who fathered a child. He also gets the award for being the ancestor who fathered the most children (three) after the age of 60!

When William was not quite 60 years old, his 10th child Amanda Mineva was born on September 25, 1860. Amanda was my great-grandmother. She passed away on June 2, 1950 at the age of 89 years 8 months and 8 days. Amanda's husband, Samuel Bray Wiseman, was 88 years 5 months and 24 days old when he passed away. Samuel's parents lived fairly long lives: his father was 79 when he died and his mother was 84. That longevity didn't get passed down to Sam and Amanda's children though. My grandfather Charles Wiseman died at age 56, his brother Smith died at 70, sister Goldie was 83 when she died, and little Ray was taken away by diphtheria when he was only 7 years old.

The Phenomenal Phends

And in Mom's lines there was also a father and son combination that lived into their 90s. Her father, Rolland Victor Phend died the day before his 98th birthday, and his father, Henry Phend, was 92 years 8 months and 3 days old when he passed away. His wife, Susie Yarian, was 84 when she died. Mom's mother, Hazlette Brubaker, was 82 when she died; her parents died when in their mid-70s.

Some Old Mothers
There is no easy way to find out how old a woman was when she gave birth to her last child other than looking at each person in the database. A quick look in the database for my mother's family turned up 10 Ancestors who gave birth after the age of 40. I was amazed, especially given the time period in which they lived. Although I didn't check my Dad's database, I'm pretty sure there are a couple women there that could be included as well. Following are a few words about several of these "over 40" child bearers.

Oldest when married. Susanna Kübli (1785-1856), 3rd Great-Grandmother, was 39 years old when she married Johannes B'hend (aka John Phend) in Switzerland. Five years later, at age 44, she gave birth to her only known child, Jacob Phend. She lived to be 71 years old.

Youngest when married. Sophia Hazlett (1794-1864), 4th Great-Grandmother, was 16 when she married James Dunfee. She would give birth to at least 10 children in the next 29 years, the last child was born when she was 45 years old.

A Sad Story. At age 24, Johanna Whitcomb (1674-1717) married Peter Joslin. They are my 8th Great-Grandparents. She would have 9 children but died from complications of childbirth at the age of 43. Peter would marry twice more but had no more children. He passed away in his 93rd year. Johanna was Peter's second wife. His first wife, Sarah Howe died July 18, 1692 along with their four children during an Indian attack on their farm in Lancaster, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

But, the Joslin men picked them well. Peter and Johanna's son John Joslin (1710-1789) married Lucy Wilder (1715- ?) when she was 17 years old. She would have 14 children in 24 years, giving birth to the last one at age 43. It is not known when Lucy died. John and Lucy's son Joseph Joslin (1743-1829) was married in 1763 to 22 year old Sarah Tarbell (1741-1810). She would give birth to 12 children in a 20 year period the last one being born when she was 45 years old. Sarah died in her 68th year. Joseph was 86 years old when he died.

Note: Written for the 52nd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. I hope you've enjoyed this little journey through my family files.

Smile for the Camera, 3rd Edition

2008-07-14T13:25:00.003-04:00

footnoteMaven has posted the 3rd edition Smile for the Camera whose topic this time is "Celebrate Home" over at Shades of the Departed. Interesting stories and pictures were contributed which capture the essence of "Home." I'm sure you'll enjoy them, I know I did.

And, the topic for the next edition of Smile for the Camera is "My Favorite Photograph": "Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that is your favorite family photo or that photograph you've collected and wouldn't give up for a King's ransom."

Read more about the topic and find out how you can participate (scroll to the bottom of this post) where you will also find links to the two previous carnivals.

Oh boy, this one is going to be a challenge for me... I don't know how I'm going to pick "just one" favorite!

Images courtesy of footnoteMaven.

Must be Something in the Air

2008-07-13T13:10:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Jasia, who recently found a first cousin she didn't know she had and is Dancin' 10 Feet Off the Ground...

Like the title of the post says, must be something in the air. Months can often go by between "contacts" and then they seem to come in bunches. In the past week I've been contacted by three distant (very distant) cousins (or potential cousins), two new ones and one that I have worked with previously.

A week ago I received an email from someone who had found my website and the obituaries on the Joslin family posted there. She was married to a descendant of Joseph Joslin and is looking for more information on her former husband's family for her son's genealogy. She asked for "everything" that I have on the family! Including documents, photographs, etc. I responded to her giving a brief line of descent back to our common ancestor and explaining that I don't have much on that particular family. Her son's ancestor, Joseph Joslin is a brother to Lysander Price Joslin, my 3rd great grandfather. Our common ancestors would be James and Abigail Goodrich Joslin, my 4th great grandparents. So, I think her son would be my 4th cousin once removed. While writing this post I received another email from her asking for information on "all Joslin and other clan related to my son." I really, really don't think she wants "everything" I have on all the Joslin and related families in my database! It would be a bit overwhelming to say the least. So, I have to figure out what to send her and that will take some time. It would be much easier if I had my research in an online database, but that's on my "to do" list as well. I've given her a link to this blog so she will probably see this post so I don't want to say anything that will put her off, but how do you respond to someone who asks for "everything" you have on a family and related lines?????

On Thursday, I heard from longtime Yarian family research "partner" Carl Bennett. He saw my entries on Find A Grave for Susie Yarian Phend and Henry Phend and wanted me to link Susie to her parents, Eli Yarian and Lovina Berlin Yarian, which I did. In February 2007 I wrote about Carl's work with Find A Grave. Carl has been busy! He now has 4,658 memorials and 697 photos posted on the site. Quite impressive, especially since I found their input process to be somewhat tedious. To date I've added a whopping two memorials and 11 photos. I have a lot of gravestone pictures that I intend to add but they all need to be resized to a smaller file size. Sigh. Don't know when that will ever get done! I really like what Carl has done with the Yarian family on Find A Grave. It is a tremendous resource for Yarian researchers. Thank you, Carl!

The next day, another email came. This one from a descendant of Rosanna Wise Hale through Rosanna's granddaughter Rena Elizabeth Grunden Detweiler, whom the correspondent found in this post. She has provided some leads to additional info on her grandparents and will be checking her files to see if she has anything on Rosanna. I've got my fingers crossed.

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-10T15:10:00.001-04:00

Home. I've been contemplating just what that means ever since fM announced the topic of "Celebrate Home" for the upcoming edition of Smile For The Camera. I lived in three different houses while growing up in the rural communities of North Webster and the Barbee Lakes. And while I consider that area to be my "hometown" because that is where I grew up, none of those houses hold any special meaning for me. However I do have fond memories of those locations and some of the events (birthday parties, holidays, family gatherings, etc) held there. And of the people who lived there, family and neighbors.

After graduation from high school, I bounced back and forth between living at "home" and living in apartments in Fort Wayne. I lost track of how many times I moved during that time. Then, after three years, it was off to join the Navy, with numerous duty stations during my 9+ years of service. And, in the nearly 30 years since my discharge from the Navy, I've only lived in six different places. Several hold a place in my heart, again, not so much for the buildings themselves but rather for the memories they recall. Two of the places I've especially enjoyed living in are shown below.

Eastbrique Tower on Fruitridge Avenue, Terre Haute, Indiana. I lived here 1979-1982. I don't know when the house was built but it was quite old. The owner was remodeling it and turning it into apartments. I lived in a little efficiency apartment located in the left corner, first floor. I was devastated when I returned to Terre Haute in 1985 to discover the house had been torn down and the lot turned into a paved parking area for a neighboring restaurant. Inclusion of my shadow was on purpose; I wanted to be in the picture, but the house was really the subject. Copyright © 1982/2008 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Knapp Lake. Noble County, Indiana. The little house in the upper right is where my mother lived for fifteen years. I lived there with her for about two years. The front yard would flood in the spring or during heavy rains, but luckily the house itself didn't. Neighbors were in close proximity but it didn't matter, living on the waterfront was wonderful. It was a small lake, so no big powerboats were allowed, just fishing boats and pontoons. Infrared Photograph. Copyright © 1985/2008 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Wordless Wednesday - Parade of Lights

2008-07-09T14:48:00.002-04:00

Shriner's Parade of Lights. Three Rivers Festival, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

July 1985. Digitized 2008.

Sparkling Light for the Fourth

2008-07-04T03:50:00.003-04:00

July 4th 1981. Digitized 2008.

Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Wordless Wednesday - Not Your Normal Portrait

2008-07-02T00:57:00.001-04:00

Carrie and Tami. Summer of '81. Digitized 2008.
Copyright © 1981/2008 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Robert Quillen - An Independent Spirit

2008-07-01T22:20:00.002-04:00

One of the most interesting men that I never met, and who just happens to be related to me (first cousin three times removed!), is Robert Quillen. And, in my opinion, as a free-thinker he meets the qualifications as an "Independent Spirit" which is the topic for the upcoming Carnival of Genealogy. Have any of my readers ever heard of him?

A contemporary of Will Rogers, Robert became known as "the Sage of Fountain Inn" and was nationally known as a paragrapher, humorist writer, newspaper columnist, and newspaper editor during the first half of the 20th century.

Born as Verni Robert Quillen on March 25, 1887 near Syracuse in Hamilton County, Kansas (near the Colorado border) he was the son of James Downey "J. D." and Mandella Joslin Quillen. His mother was the sister of my 2nd great-grandmother, Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower, and they were two of the fifteen children of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin.

Robert's father was born in Missouri, his mother in Indiana. They married in Barton County, Kansas then moved to Syracuse in western Kansas, where J. D. published the weekly Syracuse Independent. In a few years the family moved back again to eastern Kansas, to the small town of Overbrook, where J. D. began publishing the Overbrook Citizen. Here Robert learned the printing trade, setting type and running the presses.

Early in 1904 J.D. decided to move his family to Washington state. But that March, just before his 17th birthday, Robert enlisted in the army, (without the consent of his parents and swearing he was twenty-one) as William Stewart. It was reportedly an attempt to heal a broken heart. In actuality it was probably rebellion against the sternness of his father. Robert was assigned to the 13th Cavalry Regiment and sent to the Philippine Islands. In June 1905, after deciding that military life was not his cup of tea and with some help from his father, Robert was discharged from active duty.

After his release from the Army, Robert traveled for a time, and ended up in Fountain Inn, Greenville County, South Carolina. He had some experience as a printer, gained from working with his father, so he launched the "Fountain Inn Journal" but that enterprise didn't last long. He met and fell in love with Donnie Cox, an "older" southern girl, five years his senior. As can be imagined, her family didn't approve of the young westerner but Donnie was in love with Robert too. Robert moved to Americus, Georgia taking a job as a print shop foreman. Robert pursued his romantic interest in Donnie and when her father finally relented to her wishes, they were married September 2, 1906, reportedly in Atlanta. They lived for a short time at Americus and then Ashburn, Georgia before joining his parents and siblings in Anacortes, Skagit County, Washington where his father was publisher of "The Citizen".

The Quillen family moved closer to Seattle where Robert and his father established the "Port Orchard Independent". In December of 1910, Robert and Donnie returned to Fountain Inn, South Carolina. The following February, Robert published the first issue of the "Fountain Inn Tribune" which he would continue to publish until his death. His parents and sisters joined Robert in Fountain Inn. A brother, LeRoy, had died in 1917. His father died in Fountain Inn on June 6, 1919. His mother passed away February 7, 1943 at the home of her daughter, Della Lucille Quillen Agnew, in Hartsville Township, Darlington County, South Carolina.

It was about 1920 that Robert's writing started getting noticed by prominent publishers and several articles were accepted by the Saturday Evening Post and the Baltimore Evening Sun. His special pages and editorials ran in those publications for several years. In 1922, Robert's wife, Donnie, passed away. By the end of the year he was married again, to Marcelle Babb. No children were born to either marriage, but Robert and Donnie had adopted a daughter, Louise, who became the inspiration for his columns "Letters from a Bald-Headed Dad to His Red-Headed Daughter" that were published in book form in 1933.

In addition to being a writer, editor, and publisher, Robert was also a humanitarian. It was said that if a child in the county woke up Christmas morning with an empty stocking, it was because he didn't know about it.

He was a bit of an eccentric, not only in his writings, but in his actions. Twice he sold his newspaper, only to buy it back again both times. In 1925, he erected a statue to Eve on the lawn of his home, which horrified the townspeople. It was simply an obelisk with the inscription "In Memory of Eve, the First Woman" and carved beneath was an apple with a twig and one leaf. In an editorial in his newspaper, he said: "Eve was a distant relative of mine, on my mother's side. The family has always been proud of her. She was the first lady of the land and the reigning beauty of her time."

Robert Quillen made his living as a commentator on American society. His columns covered virtually every aspect of life in America in the early-to-mid 1900s. Many of his columns were thinly veiled descriptions of the local citizens. One Fountain Inn man warned a new preacher, "Don't get mad at anything Mr. Quillen says. We're used to him and just overlook his queerness."

His opinions were not always widely accepted, in fact, they were often controversial, but his work was published in more than 300 newspapers in the United States and Canada when he died at the age of 61 on December 9, 1948 at Hendersonville, North Carolina. His syndicated features included "Aunt Het" and "Willie Willis," both humorous cartoons, as well as editorials, "Quillen's Quips" and other articles.

He once wrote his own obituary and printed it in the Fountain Inn Tribune, the weekly newspaper he published. He described the service and the last rites at the cemetery. Then he wrote, "When the last clod had fallen, workmen covered the grave with a granite slab bearing the inscription, 'Submitted to the Publisher by Robert Quillen'." The Greenville News added "There will be no copyright. The original work could hardly be reproduced."

A depiction of "Aunt Het", Robert Quillen, Robert with his adopted daughter Louise. Pictures on display in his study in Fountain Inn. Photo taken by Becky Wiseman on March 12, 2004.

The infamous statue "In Memory of Eve, The First Woman." Photo taken by Becky Wiseman on March 12, 2004.

Sadly, there isn't much to be found on the Internet about Robert Quillen. This article was compiled from numerous newspaper clippings about him that I received from the Greenville County Library, Greenville, South Carolina as well as an article in The South Carolina Historical Magazine (Vol 102 No 2, April 2001 pages 110-134 "The Wit and Wisdom of Robert Quillen, 1887-1948" by Marvin L. Cann). After receiving a copy of that article in September 2002 I was able to contact Mr. Cann. Most of the resources and photographs he used in the article were housed at the University of South Carolina. I contacted them and obtained several pictures of Robert and his family. However, I can't post them here since I don't have their permission to do so.

A recent search of the 'net brought up a new book published last year, "The Voice of Small-Town America : Selected Writings of Robert Quillen, 1920–1948" edited by John Hammond Moore. An article on Wikipedia appears to be excerpts from the Moore book.

A few of Robert's one-liners:

Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion.
As we grow older, our bodies get shorter and our anecdotes longer.
Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance.
Great art is never produced for its own sake. It is too difficult to be worth the effort.
If we wish to make a new world we have the material ready. The first one, too, was made out of chaos.
There are glimpses of heaven to us in every act, or thought, or word, that raises us above ourselves.

California Dreaming

2008-06-28T00:10:00.001-04:00

As most everyone in the genealogy community is most likely aware, the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree got underway Friday at Burbank, California. And I'm wishing I was there!

In addition to the standard fare of hour-long sessions by a myriad of presenters, there will be a Genealogy Blogger Summit Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon. The panel will consist of Stephen Danko, Shelly Talalay Dardashti, Dick Eastman, George G. Morgan, Randy Seaver and Megan Smolenyak. It will be moderated by Leland Meitzler. I'm sure they all (except George) will be blogging about the Summit as well as the Jamboree itself. George no longer has a blog but he does guest posts on Dick Eastman's Online newsletter about once a week.

Several other genea-bloggers are also attending the Jamboree and have indicated that they will be posting periodically about their experiences. Those that I am aware of are:

Craig Manson - GeneaBlogie
Elizabeth - Little Bytes of Life
Janet Hovorka - The Chart Chick

Anyone else? Since I can't be there, I am looking forward to reading about their experiences.

From a different perspective

2008-06-27T23:20:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I noticed a hummingbird flitting through the lilies. I grabbed my camera in the hopes of capturing it enjoying the nectar but by the time I got to the window it was gone. Perhaps it will come back tomorrow and I'll be a little quicker. Since I had the camera at the window, I played around a bit with the zoom capabilities and got these shots. I like how the out-of-focus grass enhances the color of the lilies. I'm still amazed by how many blooms are on each plant and am really enjoying them. When we lived at our previous home, the flowers were in beds on the side and at the back of the house and we had to actually go outside to look at them. It's much nicer with them right outside the front window, especially with the high temperatures and high humidity we've been having lately.

So what does this have to do with family history research? Not anything, really, but seen from a different perspective, these views of the lilies are quite different from those taken two days ago. Sometimes (quite often), when I'm stuck with a research problem, it helps if I look at the problem from a different angle. Reviewing the information already found could help in rediscovering information previously overlooked. Talking with someone else and getting their input can also be helpful. Since they aren't emotionally attached to the problem they can take a step back and possibly offer new insight or recommend other areas of research. Regardless whether the problem is resolved or not, it almost always helps to take another look, from a different perspective.

Lovely Lilies - Another Joy of Summer

2008-06-25T19:41:00.008-04:00

The skies brightened for a little while this morning after the rain. Long enough to grab a few shots of the lilies starting to bloom in my little garden just outside the front door. I've never seen so many blooms on these plants before. As always, click on the image to see a larger version.

Wordless Wednesday - One of the Joys of Summer!

2008-06-25T12:15:00.000-04:00

August 1998. Digitized 2008.

Upcoming Phend Family Reunions

2008-06-22T19:30:00.001-04:00

Two "Phend" family reunions are scheduled for this year. The first one will be held on Saturday, July 5th in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was actually considering attending that reunion this year but other family matters have postponed that journey. Contact me for further information.

Why a reunion in Colorado? Well, Samuel, the third child of Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend, moved to Elbert County, Colorado in October 1907 along with his wife Mary Ann, their six living children, and several neighboring families. Their reunion is known as the "PALM" Reunion, which gets it's name from the families that married into the Phend family. Samuel PHEND married Mary Ann LAUDEMAN; their daughter Lillie Catherine married John Edward AKERS; and their daughter Dora Agnes married Frank John MANUWAL. When I was putting together the book "The Phend Family" a "few" years ago I made a trip west and met several of Sam and Mary's descendants and they were instrumental in providing photographs and information on that branch of the family.

The other Phend Family Reunion will be held on Saturday, August 2nd at the Family Life Center of the Troy Presbyterian Church a few miles north of Larwill, Indiana on old U.S. 30 (now Lincolnway). The carry-in potluck dinner will begin at noon. For additional information, please contact me!

This photo was probably taken about 1890: back row, left to right: John Ernest, Sophia (Phend) Ernest, Samuel Phend, his wife Mary (Laudeman) Phend, Jacob J Phend, his wife Louisa (Grimm) Phend.front row, left to right: John Phend, his wife Mary (Rarrick) Phend, Jacob Phend, his wife Louisa (Fisher) Phend, Christian Phend, his wife Mary (McConnell) Phend. Seated in front of his parents is Henry Phend.

Previous posts that may be of interest:

Information on Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend and their family part One and part Two
A brief history of the Phend-Fisher Family Reunions can be found in The first Saturday in August
A record of events and of the people who attended the Phend-Fisher Family Reunions was kept in a ledger. Images and transcriptions of the ledger were presented in a series of posts covering the years 1897, and 1909 through 1943.
Links to additional posts on the Phend Family and the Fisher Family

Today was Grandpa's Birthday

2008-06-19T23:15:00.001-04:00

Today was Grandpa Vic's birthday. And yesterday was the anniversary of his death. Born 115 years ago, in 1893, grandpa died in 1991, the day before his 98th birthday. It's hard to believe that it has been 17 years. Taken in 1983, during his 90th birthday celebration, this is the only picture I've come across, so far, of just us.

In many (most) of the pictures of grandpa he has his arms crossed. He always wore a long-sleeved shirt, even in the summer. He seldom laughed out loud. He was a quiet man. At family gatherings he didn't say much, but he was there, watching, and enjoying himself. I think he liked the chaos that occurred when we all got together. And, even after 17 years, his presence is still missed.

You can read more about Grandpa (Rolland Victor "Vic" Phend) in his biography posted a year ago and about his candy making, which was posted last December.

Wordless Wednesday - Country Roads

2008-06-18T10:25:00.002-04:00

Southern Indiana 1980. Infrared Photo digitized 2008.

Genea-Blogger featured...Congratulations, Miriam!

2008-06-17T22:25:00.003-04:00

Miriam Robbins Midkiff of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors is featured in a post at Inside Google Book Search! The post, which includes a two-minute video, tells how Miriam uses Google Book Search to "help illuminate her understanding of her own ancestors" highlighting, among other finds, Alice Teddy, the world-famous roller-skating bear.

The video is very nice. Well done, Miriam!

Too bad they didn't include a link to her blog. . . [image above is a print-screen from the video]

Buster, Rover, and Bootsie

2008-06-14T19:30:00.002-04:00

Late summer 1949 - Becky, Dad, Shep, and Doug.

1988 - Buster and one of my nieces.

1988 - Rover and Bootsie

1988 - Bootsie on top of her doghouse.

August 1992 - Bootsie

Growing up, the only pets we ever had were dogs. For whatever reason, Mom didn't like cats, so dogs it was! We went through quite a few of them. They tended to disappear though. Some got run over by cars, others were shot by irate neighbors or hunters. So we learned to enjoy them while they were around but almost never got "attached" to them. Of course, we were saddened when they were gone but another dog was there to replace them almost immediately. The two that I remember most during my high school days are Lady and Missy. Lady was a dachshund and Missy was a mixed breed. After I left home and while in the Navy I didn't have any pets. It wasn't until much later in my life that dogs became family members.

About 1981, my sister got Buster. I think he was a mix of poodle and some kind of terrier. Not tiny, but he was a small dog. He was also a fierce protector of my nieces. When my sister moved to Florida in the fall of 1988 she left Buster with one of her neighbors. Due to unforeseen circumstances my nieces came to live with my mother and me. They immediately asked if they could get Buster back. We checked with the neighbor and she agreed to let us have Buster and that is how he came to live with us. By the time he passed away five years later, he was blind and could hardly walk. We came home one day and found him dead.

In the previous year, 1987, my mother and I had purchased a vacant, old, run-down farmhouse. It was a fixer-upper but the price was right and it came with two acres of land. Almost immediately, we got dogs. They were drifters, just passing through, or dropped off by motorists. They didn't stay long though. We decided to get our own dog hoping it would stay around for a while and keep the strays away. Thus, Rover, a German Shepherd was given to us by a co-worker. He was only a couple of months old and kind of a klutz. He never did grow out of the awkwardness. About this time we also took in my brother's dog, Bootsie. She was about two years old and was a mix of Springer Spaniel and black Labrador. Though older than Rover, Bootsie was still kind of a klutz too. She had spent much of her day-time life in a cage. So she really didn't like to be confined.

So now we had three dogs! And wonder of wonders, they all got along pretty well together. Buster stayed inside most of the time while Bootsie and Rover were outside dogs. We kept Bootsie and Rover on chains most of the time. We'd let one of them loose at a time so they could run but if they were both loose at the same time, they'd sometimes be gone for days. They loved to run. Rover was the plodder and Bootsie was the graceful dame. She loved to sit on top of her doghouse. She could jump on top of it with the greatest of ease. All Rover could do was get his front paws on top.

One summer Bootsie was diagnosed with heartworm and we had to keep her and Rover separated while she underwent the treatment. Bootsie was moved down to the barn and Rover was kept up by the house. It was just awful, like a couple of kids crying constantly. Night time was the worst though, they sounded like wolves howling. It was funny and sad all at once.

We decided to put in a fenced area so the dogs wouldn't have to be chained. Great idea, right? A five-foot high fence was installed around a large area, 30x60 feet and their dog houses moved inside. We should have known it wouldn't work. We kept seeing Bootsie outside the fence when no one had let her out. One day I happened to see how she did it. Amazing really. She'd get a running start and jump, getting her front paws just over the top of the fence, then using her back paws and the wire fence push and claw her way over the top to freedom. So we sometimes just let her go but when we needed to keep her in the dog run with Rover we'd chain her up inside. If she wanted to get away from him all she had to do was jump on top of the dog house!

Rover made it through about three years. He liked to chase vehicles and one day got too close to a tractor pulling a plow. He made his way back to the house where we found him, still breathing but not long for this world. I stayed by his side until he passed away. Bootsie came up a couple times, sniffed and walked away. It was like she knew. We buried him out back behind the barn, where a few years later Buster joined him.

After Rover died, Bootsie pretty much stayed around the property so we took down the fence and just let her run loose. She also started spending the nights in the house. Bootsie had done a great job of killing the ground hogs and other vermin and liked to bring "trophies" home to us. One time I saw her across the field dragging something along. It was almost as big as she was and she was having one heck of a time pulling it across the field. She finally gets it up to the back steps and just plops down, exhausted. Really gross. The head and part of the carcass of a calf. We contacted our farmer-neighbor not quite knowing what to think. He laughed when we told him what Bootsie had done and then told us not to worry. For whatever reason the calf had been killed and the carcass had been dumped on the field along with manure for fertilizer. The remains of the calf were buried after Bootsie finished wallowing in it. The smell was horrific. And Bootsie got a bath.

For a while we thought we were going to have to have Bootsie put to sleep. She was having trouble walking and climbing the stairs. She slept upstairs in my room at night. In a visit to the vet we found out she had hip problems. He thought he could fix her up without surgery, which was a relief. I don't remember how many shots she had but he gave her something that was normally only used on horses, but it fixed her up and she was better than ever after the treatments.

When we sold the farmhouse in the fall of 1997 and moved to a subdivision near Columbia City we took Bootsie with us. She was fine with the move but because we were living in a more settled area, dogs were not supposed to run loose. She had to be kept on a leash or chained up while outside. And, of course, she didn't like that. She also didn't like loud noises, like thunderstorms and fireworks. The week of the Fourth of July the following year about did her in. She'd climb up on my lap, mind you she was a fairly large dog, and just lay there and shake. There really wasn't anything I could do to help her. Mom suggested giving her a sleeping pill thinking it might relax her. I called the vet and he said half a pill wouldn't hurt her, so with half a sleeping pill every night that week she endured that Fourth of July.

Another year went by and it was getting harder and harder to get Bootsie to go outside. She'd go on the leash if we told her we were going for a walk but she barked constantly when chained up. During the day, while I was at work, she spent most of her time in the garage. She wasn't eating much either and she started snapping at passersby. So it was in June of 1999 that I took Bootsie to the vet one last time. I couldn't bear to see her put under so just left her with the vet. As she was walking away she stopped and turned and looked at me with those soulful eyes. She knew. I was fine until then. And then the tears came, as they are now, while writing this, nine years later. I was supposed to go in to work that day, but didn't. I just drove around, crying. All day long.

Every once in a while Mom and I would talk about getting another dog, but we never did. The house has been sold, and now, living in an apartment just isn't conducive to pet ownership. I was never into birds or cats or fish. Someday, maybe I'll have another dog...

This post was written for the 50th Carnival of Genealogy whose topic is "Family Pets!"

Flag Day! (and some other stuff)

2008-06-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

Most likely this picture, from my grandmother's files, was taken on the Fourth of July rather than Flag Day, but I thought it was appropriate for today.

My mother is the little girl on the left and she looks to be about 2 years old, so I'm guessing it was taken about 1930. Patty and Phyllis are Mom's sisters. Gene and Mary are their cousins. Grandma Bill was their grandmother.

Scanning Update: In the last 10 days I've scanned another 710 images for a total of 1680 over the past two months. I don't scan every day but when I do, I usually spend 3-4 hours at a time scanning. And it has been averaging about 25 scans per hour. Of course, that's not including the time spent in sorting and organizing them prior to scanning. LOL. Slow going and no light at the end of the tunnel yet.

Full Feed vs. Partial Feed? This topic comes up periodically in the blogosphere, this time it was brought up by genea-blogger Tim Agazio. When I first started blogging I set my blog for full feeds. Then it came to my attention that my content was being scraped so I switched to partial feeds. I'm not blogging to make money. I want people to read what I write (and hopefully they find it interesting) but I'd also like for them to visit my blog (to leave comments and check out some of the links to other blogs and websites). The thing with feeds is that they don't retain any formatting in the post and sometimes pictures throw off the continuity or "flow" of the post but I guess that is what they are supposed to do - present the posts in a simplified text format for easier reading. So, with that said, I've switched back to full feeds, at least for now.

Bah Humbug!

2008-06-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

Didn't get no scanning, no organizing, no genealogy done today. It was a day of running errands. Left the apartment at 9 a.m. and just got home 45 minutes ago. It wasn't what you'd call "fun" stuff either. And to add "insult to injury" the price of gasoline jumped 20 cents a gallon sometime between 1 and 2 p.m.

Depending on the station, it is now between $4.17 and $4.20 a gallon here in my area of northern Indiana. You're not going to convince me there isn't some kind of conspiracy or price fixing going on when EVERY station in town raises the price within an hours time! Wanta take bets it will be $5 a gallon by labor day, if not sooner? Ridiculous.

Wouldn't be so bad if it was just the cost of driving, but this affects the cost of everything else that we buy too. Apparently even things that aren't directly dependent upon gasoline - my health insurance premium went up $24 a month last month and apartment rent will go up $25 a month starting next month. Ah well, such is life. Much better than the alternative. Take a deep breath and relax…Actually, I consider myself to be very lucky. I'm not flooded out like the people in southern Indiana and haven't been struck by a tornado or been adversely affected by any other recent natural disaster. I have good health. I have family and friends to depend upon. And I have air conditioning to help me "chill" out!

Wordless Wednesday - Icelandic Sunset

2008-06-11T20:27:00.003-04:00

Near Keflavik, Iceland. Summer of 1973.

I just couldn't resist...

2008-06-10T11:45:00.001-04:00

The last Iris bloom.

And a promise of things to come. Lovely Lillies.