Only a Few Bones by John Philip Colletta is a true story of two tragedies that happened to the author's ancestors: a mysterious fire that killed five people, including his great-grandfather, and just a few months later, the wreck of a paddle boat. The fire is a mystery that can never be solved and yet the author takes us on a fascinating journey through the possibilities, starting with a fragment of memory and traveling through sources and records to reach a possible conclusion. And all the while telling the story in a "can't put this book down" style. It is also an excellent example of using all the records a family historian comes across to build a life story of a family. Even though it reads like a novel, it is a true story and there are 82 pages of notes that show his meticulous research. It is a great inspiration to those who have a great family story to tell but are not sure how to tell it. Highly recommended.
Foto Friday
My sister and I are going through mom's photo albums - about 30 or so of them - and I want to share some on Foto Friday. The photos in the albums we're working on now were taken in the 1970s and 80s. Photos in the 70s were taken when we lived on mom's old home place in Loup County.
Mom loved it when her kids and grandkids came to visit so what better way to start what I hope will be a weekly feature than with a photo them (as of April 24, 1977). Of course we are missing Melisa, (1973-74). Anyway. Here they are: Kendall, Cami, Amy, Lori, Travis, Yvonne, Tara, Jerold, Debra, Joy.
Christmas in March!
I am the recipient of an Act of Genealogical Kindness! "Dexter's Girl" read my blog and decided to help me out with some research. The deal was that she would do the research and I would act like it is Christmas when I receive the information from her. So Merry Christmas to me! I truly appreciate her help ESPECIALLY because she did this with her little ones in tow. Now that's a dedicated family tree climber!
One of the many things she discovered is the following, a mention of the death of Enos Newcomb: "An aged gentleman, the father of Mr. Newcomb, who resided near town, died very suddenly on Saturday afternoon, from heart failure. Funeral services were held Tuesday at the school-house north-east of Manchester." ~Manchester Press, Friday, April 17, 1891 (issue 1036), page 3 column 4 . I got the paper copies in the mail yesterday. THANK YOU!
The Mr. Newcomb mentioned is Enos' son, Edwin M. Newcomb, (1861-1944). He and his wife are buried in Mead Cemetery and DG kindly sent photos of their tombstones. The cemetery and a school house are on the same road, in the area where I think Edwin and probably his father lived. Was it the school house where his funeral was held? Was he buried in Manchester as the death register says, or in the Mead Cemetery? Answers always bring more questions. Isn't solving mysteries part of the appeal of researching family history?!?
Thank you DG!!! And Merry Christmas!
One of the many things she discovered is the following, a mention of the death of Enos Newcomb: "An aged gentleman, the father of Mr. Newcomb, who resided near town, died very suddenly on Saturday afternoon, from heart failure. Funeral services were held Tuesday at the school-house north-east of Manchester." ~Manchester Press, Friday, April 17, 1891 (issue 1036), page 3 column 4 . I got the paper copies in the mail yesterday. THANK YOU!
The Mr. Newcomb mentioned is Enos' son, Edwin M. Newcomb, (1861-1944). He and his wife are buried in Mead Cemetery and DG kindly sent photos of their tombstones. The cemetery and a school house are on the same road, in the area where I think Edwin and probably his father lived. Was it the school house where his funeral was held? Was he buried in Manchester as the death register says, or in the Mead Cemetery? Answers always bring more questions. Isn't solving mysteries part of the appeal of researching family history?!?
Thank you DG!!! And Merry Christmas!
What I'm reading
Just finished A Slave No More by David W. Blight. Excellent book. Two slaves wrote manuscripts about their experiences in slavery and their escapes. Both manuscripts are included. The author also follows their lives and those of their descendants to complete their stories.
I recall reading Uncle Tom's Cabin when I was in high school and for the first time realizing that the life of slaves was not as I had thought, not what I had absorbed from the books and conversations I had contact with as a child. Slaves were not singing because they were happy. Masters were never benevolent. The first hand description of one of these men in Blight's book who as a boy in his late teens was taken to the whipping house for running away is too painful to contemplate. The resilience of these human beings to overcome the pain and suffering inflicted by their fellow human beings is beyond remarkable. I have no words to describe my sorrow at their treatment and my admiration for their courage.
It is coincidental that I read this during Black History Month. I have also enjoyed these books: Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball, The Hairstons, A Family in Black and White by Henry Wiencek, and the first book I read related to African American genealogy, Somerset Homecoming by Dorothy Redman. I would like to re-read it but apparently our library got rid of it. I would recommend all of these books.
I recall reading Uncle Tom's Cabin when I was in high school and for the first time realizing that the life of slaves was not as I had thought, not what I had absorbed from the books and conversations I had contact with as a child. Slaves were not singing because they were happy. Masters were never benevolent. The first hand description of one of these men in Blight's book who as a boy in his late teens was taken to the whipping house for running away is too painful to contemplate. The resilience of these human beings to overcome the pain and suffering inflicted by their fellow human beings is beyond remarkable. I have no words to describe my sorrow at their treatment and my admiration for their courage.
It is coincidental that I read this during Black History Month. I have also enjoyed these books: Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball, The Hairstons, A Family in Black and White by Henry Wiencek, and the first book I read related to African American genealogy, Somerset Homecoming by Dorothy Redman. I would like to re-read it but apparently our library got rid of it. I would recommend all of these books.
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun
When I created a calendar as Randy Seaver suggested, I decided I had to post, even a day late. Several birthdays of note happened in January, including my paternal grandmother, Della May (West) Patch Russell, who was born 131 years ago. And with all the research I've done on Luther Kallam this past year, including applying for D.A.R. membership because of his military service, you'd think I would have noticed that 3 January was the 250 anniversary of his birth! Another January birthday was Betsey (Kallam) Newcomb, daughter of Luther and mother of Enos Newcomb, who was born on 30 January. Here's his story that I have so far...
On 30 June 1815, Enos Newcomb was born to John and Betsey (Kallam) Newcomb, in Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. He was 12 years old when his father died. It doesn't appear that his mother remarried, although I haven't done an exhaustive search for this. He was a farmer. He was 30 years old on 12 Feb 1845 when he married Susan Ann Westervelt in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. They had seven children, Edgar Enos, Rachel Ann "Minnie", Salina Madaline, Elida May, John, Susan Emily and Edwin Marlin. John and Susan died in childhood. I am descended from Elida May, who married Henry Hunter Russell 22 Oct 1872 in Manchester, Delaware, Iowa.
On 2 April 1863, Susan Newcomb died. She was 40 years old. On 14 March 1866 Enos married Margaret (Hutton) Creedy or McCredie. They had one son, Charles Leon Newcomb who lived from 14 Dec 1866 to 20 May 1878.
In 1888 it appears they moved to Kansas. I spent quite a bit of time looking for a death record for him in Kansas, but then just last summer I checked the USGenWeb, Iowa, Delaware County site and saw a listing for Enos "Newsome" on the Death Register Index. I sent an email and received an email reply that this Enos died in Greeley, Delaware County, Iowa. The record says he died 11 April 1891 at 2 p.m. of heart failure of 20 minutes duration, apparently a sudden heart attack. The date of birth matched so I am fairly confident this is my ancestor. It also says he was a 25 year resident of the state of Iowa. Did the plans in Kansas fall through? Had he moved back to Iowa from Kansas already? Was he back in the state visiting family when he died? I hope to follow up some day with newspaper research to find out more. I also hope to receive an image or paper copy of this record so I can double check the spelling of the last name to see if it was transcribed wrong.
I don't have a photograph of Enos although it is very likely one or several were taken.
His wife, Susan, is an end-of-line ancestor and is one I want to focus on this year, trying to find out more about her and to discover who her parents were.
Newspaper source: Manchester Press, Manchester, Delaware, Iowa, 8 Jun 1888, page unknown, column 2
On 30 June 1815, Enos Newcomb was born to John and Betsey (Kallam) Newcomb, in Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. He was 12 years old when his father died. It doesn't appear that his mother remarried, although I haven't done an exhaustive search for this. He was a farmer. He was 30 years old on 12 Feb 1845 when he married Susan Ann Westervelt in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. They had seven children, Edgar Enos, Rachel Ann "Minnie", Salina Madaline, Elida May, John, Susan Emily and Edwin Marlin. John and Susan died in childhood. I am descended from Elida May, who married Henry Hunter Russell 22 Oct 1872 in Manchester, Delaware, Iowa.
On 2 April 1863, Susan Newcomb died. She was 40 years old. On 14 March 1866 Enos married Margaret (Hutton) Creedy or McCredie. They had one son, Charles Leon Newcomb who lived from 14 Dec 1866 to 20 May 1878.
In 1888 it appears they moved to Kansas. I spent quite a bit of time looking for a death record for him in Kansas, but then just last summer I checked the USGenWeb, Iowa, Delaware County site and saw a listing for Enos "Newsome" on the Death Register Index. I sent an email and received an email reply that this Enos died in Greeley, Delaware County, Iowa. The record says he died 11 April 1891 at 2 p.m. of heart failure of 20 minutes duration, apparently a sudden heart attack. The date of birth matched so I am fairly confident this is my ancestor. It also says he was a 25 year resident of the state of Iowa. Did the plans in Kansas fall through? Had he moved back to Iowa from Kansas already? Was he back in the state visiting family when he died? I hope to follow up some day with newspaper research to find out more. I also hope to receive an image or paper copy of this record so I can double check the spelling of the last name to see if it was transcribed wrong.
I don't have a photograph of Enos although it is very likely one or several were taken.
His wife, Susan, is an end-of-line ancestor and is one I want to focus on this year, trying to find out more about her and to discover who her parents were.
Newspaper source: Manchester Press, Manchester, Delaware, Iowa, 8 Jun 1888, page unknown, column 2
What I've been working on...
Wish I had taken a picture of the stack of genealogy-related papers I decided to tackle this past weekend. It was at least a foot high and leaning dangerously. I whittled it down to a manageable 3 inches. I also cleaned out two totes full of family history stuff and filed it all, well, most of it. Feels more manageable now. So I haven't been researching, but getting things organized and knowing where things are is priceless. If only I had a dollar for every time I said to myself...Oh, I forgot I had that... or some variation thereof, I'd be able to buy, well, another file cabinet!
I hope to dive into another research project soon, the kind of diving-in that involves long periods of time without looking at the clock, my husband standing at the top of the stairs, asking if I'm going to feed him any time soon or have I abandoned him, my eyes squinting through the sandy feeling of tiredness to see just one more census image, just one more! But which ancestor will it be? I'm waiting to see which one speaks to me, which one presents the most intriguing mystery to be solved, which end-of-line ancestor finally wants to be found.
I hope to dive into another research project soon, the kind of diving-in that involves long periods of time without looking at the clock, my husband standing at the top of the stairs, asking if I'm going to feed him any time soon or have I abandoned him, my eyes squinting through the sandy feeling of tiredness to see just one more census image, just one more! But which ancestor will it be? I'm waiting to see which one speaks to me, which one presents the most intriguing mystery to be solved, which end-of-line ancestor finally wants to be found.
2010 Goals
After the "failures" of last year :) I think I'd better build some success into my goals for 2010.
1. Join D.A.R. Fairly safe to add to the list because the process has already been started. I met with a member of the local chapter of D.A.R. in December and she has all the information needed, I think, for her to do her part of the paperwork involved. I hope to be able to join as a descendant of Luther Kallam (who else!).
2. Compile and publish a PDF document about Luther Kallam and perhaps post it on Scribd.
3. Search for the parents of John Jones, Susan Ann Westervelt Newcomb and Luther Kallam.
4. Scan all Russell family archive documents, and post their stories here.
5. Begin a project of photographing all the tombstones in a cemetery and post pictures on findagrave.com.
6. A repeat from last year...scan and properly file all old family photos.
7. File all family history related papers currently residing in various totes and file boxes.
8. Make family memories with my children and grandchildren!
1. Join D.A.R. Fairly safe to add to the list because the process has already been started. I met with a member of the local chapter of D.A.R. in December and she has all the information needed, I think, for her to do her part of the paperwork involved. I hope to be able to join as a descendant of Luther Kallam (who else!).
2. Compile and publish a PDF document about Luther Kallam and perhaps post it on Scribd.
3. Search for the parents of John Jones, Susan Ann Westervelt Newcomb and Luther Kallam.
4. Scan all Russell family archive documents, and post their stories here.
5. Begin a project of photographing all the tombstones in a cemetery and post pictures on findagrave.com.
6. A repeat from last year...scan and properly file all old family photos.
7. File all family history related papers currently residing in various totes and file boxes.
8. Make family memories with my children and grandchildren!
Goals 2009 - How did I do?
1. Blog once a week.
Failed. Blogged 29 times so far in 2009.
2. Finish re-filing of Family History files; the Russell and Jones sides of the family tree are done, now to do Ferguson; then Mayfield and Hollowell.
Are we ever finished with filing our family history papers? Just when I thought I had the Russell and Jones papers filed, I'm questioning my system and may redo. Need to get this settled before I file the other families. In other words, failed.
3. Put all old family pictures in one place, scan each of them and file in a safe place.
Failed. Didn't touch pictures this year.
4. Find John Jones' parents.
This is getting to be a broken record...failed! Didn't even work on it. Got too consumed with the life and times of Luther Kallam.
5. Discover where in Wales the Davis and Jones families came from and when.
Failed.
6. Travel to Leavenworth and take photo of John Jones' grave.
SUCCEEDED!!!
One out of six! Oh well!
Failed. Blogged 29 times so far in 2009.
2. Finish re-filing of Family History files; the Russell and Jones sides of the family tree are done, now to do Ferguson; then Mayfield and Hollowell.
Are we ever finished with filing our family history papers? Just when I thought I had the Russell and Jones papers filed, I'm questioning my system and may redo. Need to get this settled before I file the other families. In other words, failed.
3. Put all old family pictures in one place, scan each of them and file in a safe place.
Failed. Didn't touch pictures this year.
4. Find John Jones' parents.
This is getting to be a broken record...failed! Didn't even work on it. Got too consumed with the life and times of Luther Kallam.
5. Discover where in Wales the Davis and Jones families came from and when.
Failed.
6. Travel to Leavenworth and take photo of John Jones' grave.
SUCCEEDED!!!
One out of six! Oh well!
Christmas Birthdays
Browsing through my Legacy Family Tree files I find the following Christmas birthdays:
cousin Merritt turns 13 today
December 25 birthdays include:
Mary Ann Ferguson Dalrymple, great grand-aunt of my Ferguson siblings. She was born 25 Dec 1855 in Gage County, Nebraska.
Nina Louise Pirnie, daughter of George and Agnes Pirnie, our 3rd cousin. She was born 25 Dec 1935 and lived one month and one day, dying 26 Jan 1936. (Jones/Worth)
Edna Swift, born 25 Dec 1886, in Wayland, Illinois, 1st cousin twice removed. (Jones/Worth)
Russell Worth, born 25 Dec 1913, Almeria, Nebraska, 1st cousin once removed. (Jones/Worth)
And those who passed away on Christmas day:
Rosetta Ferguson Shephardson, 2003, Hemet, California (Ferguson)
George West, 1824, Pickaway County, Ohio (Russell)
cousin Merritt turns 13 today
December 25 birthdays include:
Mary Ann Ferguson Dalrymple, great grand-aunt of my Ferguson siblings. She was born 25 Dec 1855 in Gage County, Nebraska.
Nina Louise Pirnie, daughter of George and Agnes Pirnie, our 3rd cousin. She was born 25 Dec 1935 and lived one month and one day, dying 26 Jan 1936. (Jones/Worth)
Edna Swift, born 25 Dec 1886, in Wayland, Illinois, 1st cousin twice removed. (Jones/Worth)
Russell Worth, born 25 Dec 1913, Almeria, Nebraska, 1st cousin once removed. (Jones/Worth)
And those who passed away on Christmas day:
Rosetta Ferguson Shephardson, 2003, Hemet, California (Ferguson)
George West, 1824, Pickaway County, Ohio (Russell)
Almeria, Nebraska
The Grand Island Independent had an article last week in their Silver Salute section on the town of Almeria, Nebraska. Almeria is 10 miles west of Taylor on Highway 91. Some of the names mentioned in the article include Bill and Hilma Strong, Strohl, Rusho, Haythorne, Beals, Nelson, Hyde and many others.
I remember stopping at the Almeria store a few times. I remember skating at the roller rink on the west side of town. We had some school skating parties there where all the area schools were invited. One time I even got up the courage to ask a boy to skate with me...don't ask his name because I don't remember! We went around once and then he tried to impress his friends by seeing if he could scare me by going faster and faster. He didn't scare me and I didn't fall! I especially remember my shock at seeing my dad, who, as a boy, was doing a man's work when he should have been learning to have fun, strap the skates on to his second best Sunday shoes, and take off around the rink like it was the most natural thing in the world. Bless his heart, that was one of the only times I saw dad have fun and probably the first time I realized he had a life before I came along. I was probably 9 or 10.
The Almeria Cemetery is the final resting place of three generations of our ancestors. Frank and Lizzie (Worth) Jones, George and Flora (Swift) Worth, and John and Ann (Dugdale) Worth. Also Uncle Ed Worth and Uncle Will Jones. It is a small and well maintained cemetery south of the highway about a mile.
This was a great article and a pleasure to read. I always appreciate it when Kevin Brown writes about the history of Loup County.
I remember stopping at the Almeria store a few times. I remember skating at the roller rink on the west side of town. We had some school skating parties there where all the area schools were invited. One time I even got up the courage to ask a boy to skate with me...don't ask his name because I don't remember! We went around once and then he tried to impress his friends by seeing if he could scare me by going faster and faster. He didn't scare me and I didn't fall! I especially remember my shock at seeing my dad, who, as a boy, was doing a man's work when he should have been learning to have fun, strap the skates on to his second best Sunday shoes, and take off around the rink like it was the most natural thing in the world. Bless his heart, that was one of the only times I saw dad have fun and probably the first time I realized he had a life before I came along. I was probably 9 or 10.
The Almeria Cemetery is the final resting place of three generations of our ancestors. Frank and Lizzie (Worth) Jones, George and Flora (Swift) Worth, and John and Ann (Dugdale) Worth. Also Uncle Ed Worth and Uncle Will Jones. It is a small and well maintained cemetery south of the highway about a mile.
This was a great article and a pleasure to read. I always appreciate it when Kevin Brown writes about the history of Loup County.