My photo
We all have a story to tell. Some speak louder than others. Listen closely to hear the stories of our ancestors echoing under our footsteps. They are the authors. We are the keepers.

Search This Blog

Monday, November 30, 2009

Quick Thought: Nine Generations, Average Maternal Age - 18.6



I was surprised to have recently found the grave of my 5th great grandmother. She is buried in Texas where I live. So I did some math. That is 185 years, 9 generations of Texans. When you take the average of all the mothers' ages at the time of the next generation's birth, the average age is 18.6 - that is pretty interesting...


Caroline E. Felker b. 12 Oct 1824                 Age at child's birth: 17
Texana C. (Felker) Clark b. 7 Feb 1842        Age at child's birth: 20
Willie M. (Clark) Blanton Brown b. 1862     Age at child's birth: 18/20
Ora Alberta (Blanton) Perkins b. 1880/2       Age at child's birth: 20/18
Ola Mae (Perkins) Hogan b. 10 Sept 1900    Age at child's birth: 15 (yes, this is correct)
Generation Male
Generation Male
Living Female                                                Age at 1st child's birth: 22
Living




Saturday, November 28, 2009

SNGF: Famous Look-Alikes



Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has posted his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Mission. This is a FUN one! Thanks, Randy, my self confidence just got a mega-boost! Katherine Heigl? Seriously?



.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Herstoryan's Hearth: Thanksgiving Dinner, Good Housekeeping (1904)




Excerpt from: "A New Thanksgiving Dinner."Good Housekeeping, A Monthly Magazine Conducted in the Interests of the Higher Life of the Household July-December 1904: 589. Print. 


A New Thanksgiving Dinner
When a housekeeper succeeds in making a Thanksgiving dinner which suits the old traditions and at the same time provides new and dainty dishes, she has achieved a triumph. Even the time-honored menu may be improved upon with some ingenuity. To suggest such a dinner, the following menu is given with all the necessary recipes, new ones and good, gathered from housekeepers far and wide: 
Fruit soup
Roast turkey
Mashed sweet potato
White potato croquettes
Baked squash     Spinach, Swiss style
Apple and cranberry jelly
Oyster souffle     Rolls
Celery
Surprise salad     Olive sandwhiches
Indian pudding with cream
Marshmallow mold
Mince pie     Lemon pie
Cheese
Lemon milk sherbet     Nut cookies
Coffee

[each recipe follows in the book]



Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Wordless Wednesday: Elderkin Siblings with their Children (c 1910)




Elderkin Siblings with their Children, location unknown. Photograph. c 1910. Privately held by Herstoryan, Houston, Texas. 2009 


Left to Right:
*Walker Elderkin (1855-)
*Ida Lois Elderkin Warren (1856-1836)
Murray H. Warren Jr (1885-1938)
Lois Warren Judson (1892-1955)
*Minnie B. Elderkin Stone Carr (1863-)
Robert E. Stone
Blanch Warren (1881-bef 1936)
Herbert Clayton Patchen (1889-)
*Flora Elderkin Patchen (1861-)
Charlie Whitehill (son of *Rhoda Elderkin Whitehill)

*Siblings, children of Dyer White and Lois (King) Elderkin of Spartansburg, Crawford County, PA.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tombstone Tuesday - Caroline E. Felker (1824-1896)






Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, digital image (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 20 November 2009), photograph, “gravestone for Caroline E. Felker (1824-1896), Memorial No. 16226774, Records of the Bear Creek Tabernacle Cemetery, near Linden, Cass County, Texas;” photograph © SparkleDirt. 


Caroline is my 5th great grandmother. She married Reuben Felker. Their daughter Texana married William Thomas Clark. Later in life Texana hand wrote letters to the Governor of Texas asking for assistence and asking him not to forget Texas's Confederate widows. Her heartfelt and agonizing letters can be found in her Texas Confederate Widow's Pension Application File No. 21261 [Mrs. T. C. Clark]  at the Texas State Library and Archives Commision. Her husband's application number is 00704 [William Thomas Clark].


Monday, November 23, 2009

From the Shoebox: Minutes of the Salem Missionary Baptist Association: Part One





Minutes of the Fifty-Sixth Annual Session of the Salem Missionary Baptist Association held with the Cross Roads Baptist Church Six Miles Northeast of Hughes Springs, Texas. October 2, 3, and 4, 1919." Booklet. Atlanta, Texas: The Citizen Journal Press. 1919 


This booklet is part of a collection of family artifacts handed down to me after my grandparents passed away. It is filled with names of people living in the area surrounding Hughes Springs in 1919. It is my hope someone will find their ancestor's name in my transcription. There are 20 pages in the booklet. This post shows pages one and two. 


MINUTES
- OF THE -
FIFTY-SIXTH ANNUAL SESSION
- OF THE -
SALEM MISSIONARY BAPTIST
ASSOCIATION
HELD WITH THE
CROSS ROADS BAPTIST CHURCH
Six miles Northeast of Hughes Springs, Texas
OCTOBER 2, 3, AND 4, 1919
____________________
OFFICERS
Moderator - J. A. CARAWAY, Daingerfield, Texas
Clerk - H. F. PERSER, Avinger, Texas
Treasurer - G. K. WILLIAMS, Hughes Springs, Texas
____________________
The next meeting of this body will be with the Oak Ridge Baptist Church, at Marietta, Texas, on the J. & N. W. R. R., beginning on Thursday before the first Sunday in October, 1920. 
- 1 -
 Cross Roads Church, October 2. 1919.
     The 56th annual session of the Salem Missionary Baptist Association convened with Cross Roads Baptist church at 11:00 o'clock. Moderator and Clerk both present.
     House called to order by singing "How Firm a Foundation," and prayer by Bro. J. H. Smith. Song, "Revive Us Again," and again prayer by Bro. G. K. Williams. Song, "What a Friend."
     Bros. A.R. Anderson and M. M. Sheets appointees to preach the Introductory Sermon. Both being absent, Bro. J. A. Caraway was appointed to preach the Introductory Sermon. Text, Theme of Missions.
     After listening to a very intersting and soul stirring sermon motion prevailed to adjourn one and one-half hours for dinner.
     Benediction by Bros. A. J. Finley.
____________________
Afternoon Session
     House called to order by Moderator. Song, "Take the Name of Jesus With You." Scripture lesson 2nd chapter Phil. and prayer by Bros. James A. Shaddix, after which the


- 2 -


Association was now declared ready for business.
     Called for the letters from the different churches and appointment of Bros. J. A. Caraway, C. C. Smith and W. A. S. Jenkins to read same. After reading the letters we find the following delegates entitled to seat to aid and assist in the work of the Association.
     Hughes Springs Church - Rev. A. C. Wood, Rev. James A. Shaddix, Rev. John A. Shaddix, Rev. G. K. Williams, Bros. W. A. Calloway, C. C. Smith, F. N. Brian, Mrs. F. N. Brian, Mrs. Maggie Shaddix.
     Union Hill Church - Bros. H. H. Perser, Horace Boon, O. L. Cates, Sisters Bertha Duck, Mabel Williams, Lizzie Whittington and Licena Perser.
     Cross Roads Church - Revs. M. H. Finley, J. A. Abernathy and J. S. Caldwell, Bros. H. P. Mason and J. F. Joyner.
     Floyd Hill Church - Bros. J. A. Fitts, Aaron Fitts, J. E. McKibben, Sisters Lelia Daniels, Geraldine Daniels and Minnie Wesbrooks.
     Friendship Church - Bros. Fletcher Jones, M. B. Watson, M. F. Naron, Sisters Mae Jones and Ina Gibson.
     Daingerfield Church - Rev J. A. Caraway, W. A. S. Jenkins, J. H. Smith, J. F. Moon, J. L. Truitt, Sisters D. J. Jenkins, A. S. Kilpatrick, W. A. Traylor and Bro. C. F. Bolin.
     Dalton Church - Bros. W. J. Hicks, J. H. Smith, W. C. Pounds, J. R. Waters and W. J. Jarrett.
     Cornett Church - Bros. T. C. Lyster, W. T. Blankenship, G. F. Lee, E. C. Rodgers and L. L. Lee.
     Avinger Church - H. F. Perser, and wife, W. B. Duncan and wife, J. M. Pierce, Arthur Pierce, and Sister W. H. Griffith.
     Bethel Church - Bros. S. L. Fuller, W. Castner, J. A. Penny, Sisters Willie Penny, Lula Sheffield and Esther Penny.
     Bear Creek Church - T. C. Glover and wife, C. D. Davis, R. M. Miller, C. E. Clark and W. E. Hill and wife.
     Pleasant Grove Church (at Lassater) - Bros. C. M. Chambers, J. P. Davis, Velmer Antle, V. H. Dodd, C. J. Simmons, C. L. Henderson.
     Prewitt's Lake Church - Bros. L. H. Foster, L. S. Biddie, Will Hill and A. R. Anderson.
     Flat Creek Church - Bros. J. H. Davenport, C. M. Doss, W. D. Tindol, L. A. Myers and R. L. Jordan.


Sunday, November 22, 2009

Poem: Col. Elderkin and the Battle of the Frogs


Mr. West of the blog West in New England challenged us to "find a poem by a local poet, famous or obscure, from the region one of your ancestors lived in" and post it on our blogs. He points out that "In the mid-to-late 19th century every region of America boasted of one or more poets whose works reflected local history and folklore."

He'll publish all the submitted links on Thanksgiving Day on his blog under Great American Local Poem Genealogy Challenge.

I LOVE this challenge because it shows another resource available to help us paint pictures of our ancestors' lives. It's the details between the dates that make them come alive in our hearts and in our minds. Thank you, Mr. West, for sharing your passion, your ideas, and your time to bring this together!

The poem I chose depicts a battle in which my 6th great grandfather, Jedediah Elderkin, was a main component. He was a Colonel during the American Revolution and signed the Connecticut Ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He was also a prominent lawyer and businessman in the little town of Windham, Connecticut. To this day residents know his name. The poem explains why...

The following poem was found within the pages of: Payne, Brigham. "The Bull-Frog Fight." The Story of Bacchus, and Centennial Souvenir. Hartford, CT: A. F. Brooks, 1876. 84-91. Print.

[ The verses following were published in the " Boston Museum" in 1851, and it is supposedly written by a native of Windham.]

THE BULL-FROG FIGHT;
A BALLAD OF THE OLDEN TIME.
A direful story must I tell,
Should I at length relate
What once a luckless town befell
In " wooden nutmeg " state.
'Twas in the days of old King George,
The Dutchman, who did reign
O'er England, and her colonies,
And islands in the main.
The Frenchmen, in those troublous times,
With Indian tribes did strive
To shoot, and scalp, and tomahawk,
And burn our sires alive.
And many a village was burned down,
And many a shot and scar
To our forefathers oft was given
In the French and Indian War.
But the direst fray in all that war
To shake King George's crown,
Was when the BULL-FROGS marched by night
Against old Windham town.
These bull-frogs lived a mile away,
Beyond the eastern hill,
Within a rich and slimy pond
That feeds an ancient mill.
And there, at night, their concerts loud
Rolled up from stump and bog,
As bass and treble swelled the throat
Of bull and heifer frog.
But " on a time " the greedy sun
Had drunk their lakelet dry ;
The reckless mill had drained it out,
With grinding corn and rye.
And they but met an angry glare,
When they reproached the sun ;
Their bitter tears moved not a mill
Nor broke its heart of stone.
The drinking sun and mill had drained
A domain wide and rich
And dissipation, not their own
Brought the frogs to a narrow ditch.
Nature a living owed to them
'Twas very plain and yet
They watched in vain for clouds to come,
And liquidate the debt.
They often gasped and prayed for rain,
And she did oft refuse,
And each dark eve conviction brought
That she grudged them their dews.
At length, one night, when human kind
In sleep had settled down,
They had Shetucket rolling on,
Beyond old Windham town.
The murmur of that rushing stream,
Borne on the western wind,
Filled them with frenzy, and they left
Their native pond behind.
They sallied forth, a mighty host,
They swarmed upon the hill
Beneath whose front the village lay,
In slumbers deep and still.
And now Shetucket's gurgling roar
Came freshly from the wood,
And maddened them with strong desire
To leap into the flood.
They piped, and screamed, and bellowed forth,
In accents loud and deep,
Their frantic joy, and like the ghost
Of Banquo, " murdered sleep."
The villagers whose rest was slain
By this advancing crew,
Awaked from horrid dreams, in fear
That they'd be murdered too.
For ne'er did angry foemen raise
So loud and fierce a din
Nor Scotch, nor Dutch, nor mad Malay,
Nor ancient Philistine.
The frightful sounds were now like yells
From painted savage grim,
And now more terrible than that
Like Cromwell's battle hymn.
Then forth the people rushed, to hear
Those noises rend the air ;
And some resolved to meet the foe,
Some, refuge sought in prayer.
Some thought the judgment day at hand ;
But their fears were banished quite,
By a funny black, who 'clared 'twas strange
That that day should come in the night.
And soon were gathered on the green,
Old Windham's valiant sons,
Some armed with pitchforks, rakes, or scythes,
And some with rusty guns.
And there, in hurried council met,
They trembled and stood still,
To listen to the cruel foe
Who thundered from the hill.
The fiendish jargon that so loud
From throats discordant rung,
They doubted not conveyed fierce threats
In French or Indian tongue.
But how their warmest blood was chilled,
To hear -the foe demand
The lives of their best citizens
Much noted in the land.
How quaked their very souls with dread,
As, mid the grievous din,
The foe, remorseless, bellowed forth
The name of " ELDERKIN."
Their very hearts within them died,
When, as the host drew nigher,
They heard resound, in guttural notes,
The name of " COLONEL DYER "
But fiery Mars inspired a few,
Who stalwart were in frame,
To meet the enemy in fight,
His insolence to tame.
They girded on their armor strong,
They charged their guns with lead ;
Their friends gave them the parting word,
And mourned o'er them as dead.
And then this gallant company
Marched boldly up the hill,
Resolved to quell the raging foe
His fevered blood to spill.
They reached the spot from whence was heard
The fearful hue and cry,
And, though no murderous foe was seen,
They let their powder fly.
Ensconced behind a granite wall,
They poured a leaden rain
From blunderbuss and rusty gun,
At random o'er the plain.
But strange to tell, the stupid foe,
Returned no answering fire ;
They only bellowed louder still
The name of Colonel Dyer !
And when another volley spoke,
And cut through thick and thin,
They bawled more loudly than before
The name of Elderkin !
The courage of the Windham men
Now rose exceeding high,
And so they blazed away till dawn
Lit up the eastern sky.
The enemy dared not assail
This valiant band at all,
But screamed and groaned and shouted still,
Behind the granite wall.
"Pe-ung," "pe-ung," "go-row," "go-row,
"Chug," "chug," "peep," "peep," and "tretet"
"Cease firing, boys," the Captain said,
"The dogs desire a treaty."
Our heroes rested on their arms,
Till morning's light revealed,
The bodies of the prostrate frogs
Stretched out upon the field.
But when they saw their waste of shot
And fright had been in vain,
Some made a solemn vow that they
Would ne'er bear arms again.
And they all returned with wiser heads
To the heart of Windham town ;
While the remnant of the
frogs went home,
And soon the rains came down.
And at this day when evening shades
Envelope brakes and bogs,
The tenants of that pond rehearse
The battle of the frogs.
And to this day, each Windhamite
Unto his little son
Relates how on a summer's night,
The BULL-FROG FIGHT was won.
This tale is true, and years far hence
It must be current still,
For bull-frogs two are pictured on
Each current Windham bill.*

*See bills of all denominations on the Windham (Conn.) Bank.


Kreativ Blogger Award


Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am deeply touched that my blog has received a Kreativ Blogger award from the following blogs:


I cannot tell you how much being a part of this genea-blogging community means to me. They say birds of a feather flock together - well, I've found my flock! You are all awesome and I look forward to following y'all each and every day!


The rules of this award state that you have to post seven things about yourself and then pass the award on to seven other blogs. I've decided to share seven things from my "25 Random Things About Me" post on facebook. 

  1. Everyone calls me an "old soul" - I love genealogy, maps, history, and antique cookbooks. I can also knit, quilt, sew clothes, crochet, and bake bread from scratch - basically anything that you would think your great great grandmother would do.
  2. When I get grumpy my husband knows to feed me - chocolate and mexican food work best!
  3. My minivan IS my dream car!
  4. I try to plan my vacations around where my ancestors are buried! ;)
  5. Apparently I have a certain scream reserved just for cockroaches - the kids always crack up laughing when this happens. I'm not scared of cockroaches - the scream just comes out!
  6. Things I have wanted to be in my life: a veterinarian of exotic animals, a molecular biologist, an interior designer, an orthopedic surgeon, a novelist, a pediatric physical therapist,  a history teacher, and a founder of a school for special needs children and adults. Now I want to be an Archivist!
  7. I love people who march to the beat of their own drum. Be yourself it makes everything more interesting. 
Here are the seven blogs to which I would like to pass this award:

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Surname Saturday: B is for BLANTON



I am a descendant of the 1836 Republic of Texas Blantons of Red River County. 


John Blanton - David Blanton - John Martin Blanton - Isaac Washington Blanton - Ora Alberta Blanton Perkins - Ola Mae Perkins Hogan - Horace Vaughn xxxxx - Living xxxxx - Me


There are several wonderful family historians out there who have researched the Blanton family. One to whom I am most grateful is Debbie Blanton McCoy of Blanton Family Roots. She has done extensive research on my line in particular (cuz we're cousins - it's her line too). I wish to honor her research appropriately and desire only to add my own experiences with this post. Please visit her wonderful website for more information on the family.
__________________________________________________________________


When I think of the Blantons, one image comes to my mind every time - the headstone of my 3rd great grandfather, Isaac Washington Blanton deep in the rural woods of East Texas, south of Linden.  It has been twelve years since I first encountered that stone, and the circumstances surrounding its discovery guaranteed that I would never forget it. 


That time, the reason for the trip to East Texas was a sad one. It had been five years since my grandparents had passed. The time had come to pack up the rest of the house and get it ready to sell. For one week it was just my father and I. It was a very special time, though the task at hand weighed heavy on our hearts. My father is the type of man that carries the weight of the world on his shoulders but never allows it to tumble down around those he loves. We laughed. We took walks. We reminisced. We visited family that knew more about me through secondary conversation than first hand. One of those people was Effie Dollard. 


     Effie was my great grandmother's sister. She was a small, cuddly woman with a high, sweet voice and the brightest sparkle in both her eyes. Born in 1907 she was still sharp as a tack. Not only that but she was a talker AND she loved talking about her family! Her parents were Ora Alberta Blanton who married Sidney Lee Perkins. If you have been following my posts you know that Janine from Landailyn Research and Restoration recently restored a photo of this family in her online tutorial, "Restoring a Partial Fade" on Tipsquirrel.com. Effie was born the year after the photo was taken. 
     The photo shows the family in front of their farmhouse in the Sardis Community of Cass county. The farm originally belonged to Ora's mother Willie M. (Clark) Blanton Brown. Effie's father, Sidney, settled at Willie's farm and worked as a sharecropper growing cotton. Willie had two daughters and when it came time to ask Ora to marry him he cleverly referred to the sharecropping tradition of taking half. "That's the way he asked to marry her," Effie said. Sidney Lee ended up owning 400 acres of land adjacent to Willie's and bought Willie's farm after she died. Effie said that Sidney's land was located between Lake o' the Pines and Lone Star, Texas. 
     Willie was born 05 Apr 1863 to William Thomas and Texana C. (Felker) Clark. She married Isaac Washington Blanton. Their first child, Oscar, died at the age of 17 months on 23 Jul 1881. They had three more known children: Ora Alberta (1880/2), Eddie (1884), and Minnie Pearl (1886). Effie said Eddie was "mentally retarded" and lived with his mother until her death afterwhich his sister Ora took over his care. Willie's husband, Isaac, passed away at the age of 31 on 27 Mar 1887 leaving Willie a widowed young mother of a 5 yr old, a developmentally disabled 3 yr old, and an infant. Understandably, she remarried (a man whose last name was Brown) and had at least one more child: Carlton W. Brown "Carl" (1905). Effie referred to him as "Uncle Bud." The 1910 Federal Census shows that Willie was again a widow with a young child. Carl was only 5. This time she remained a widow and worked the farm that she herself owned. Effie called her, "Nanny." Both she and my great grandmother, Ola Mae Perkins Hogan, loved her very, very much and kept her memory alive their entire lives. I wouldn't hesitate to say that Willie was an extremely remarkable woman. She passed away from cancer of the womb on 15 Jan 1936. She is buried next to Isaac and their baby in the Old Bear Creek Settlement Cemetery also known as the Old Bear Creek Tabernacle, south of Linden in Cass county, Texas. Effie said that her son Ed is also buried next to them in an unmarked grave. 


With Effie's notes scribbled on a yellow legal pad it was this cemetery that my father and I ventured out to find. Equipped only with a xeroxed map, a huge cell phone, and an old diesel pickup truck we turned off the highway and faded into the tangle of backwoods dirt roads. We had been at the courthouse in Linden all day and dusk was approaching. As every genealogist knows there's just something inside that overtakes all common sense when you get that close to finding a grave; we had to go. After awhile we realized that the map we had was not drawn to scale and that our destination was nowhere in sight. The cell phone had lost signal a long time ago. Each turn took us deeper into the unknown and we prayed, "Now would not be a good time to have car trouble." Then, there it was - the old tabernacle. Having asked around we had heard stories of trespassers, vandals, and bonfires gone wrong. Every image swirled in my head as we slowed down. I had never seen a cemetery of that size so old, broken, and overgrown. It was DEAD silent. The stones were beautiful. Their stories hibernated behind the neglected seclusion. The only thing left separating us was a broken gate and the sinking sun. My father shifted the truck into reverse and my heart sank. I knew we couldn't stay. One of our headlights had gone out the night before and it was a race back to the ironic safety of the highway. 


We did return before the trip's end and we did find our family. Here is a list of ancestors buried at the Old Bear Creek Settlement Cemetery:


Isaac Washington Blanton
Willie M. (Clark) Blanton Brown
William Thomas Clark
Texana C. (Felker) Clark
Caroline E. Felker
Reuben Felker
Plus several aunts, uncles, siblings, children, and cousins 




Headstone: Isaac Washington Blanton, 1856-1887. Old Bear Creek Settlement Cemetery/Old Bear Creek Tabernacle, South of Linden, Cass County, Texas. Photograph by Herstoryan. Houston, Texas. 1997


  • Cass County, Texas. Birth Records: Book 34, p 241, (Parents) Willie M B Clark - Isic Blanton, (Child) Minnie Pearl Blanton; County Clerk's Office, Cass County Courthouse, Linden, Texas. 
  • Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 2, Cass, Texas; Roll  2306; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 11; Image: 211.0. [Eddie Brown]
  • Headstone: Willie M. Brown, 1867-1935. Old Bear Creek Settlement Cemetery/Old Bear Creek Tabernacle, South of Linden, Cass County, Texas. The actual gravestone (viewed by Herstoryan, 1997) reads "At Rest Willie M. Brown 1867-1935."
  • Headstone: Ora A. Perkins, 1880-1963. Hughes Springs Cemetery, Hughes Springs, Cass County, Texas. The actual gravestone (viewed by Herstoryan, 1997) reads "Perkins - Sidney Lee 1870-1957, Ora A. 1880-1963."
  • Headstone: Isaac Washington Blanton, 1856-1887. Old Bear Creek Settlement Cemetery/Old Bear Creek Tabernacle, South of Linden, Cass County, Texas. Photograph by Herstoryan. Houston, Texas. 1997 The actual gravestone reads "Isaac W Blanton Born Jan. 1856 Died Mar. 27, 1887 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord."
  • Effie Perkins Dollard. Personal Interview (1997) Lake o' the Pines, Marion County, Texas.
  • Mrs. Willie Brown, death certificate (1935), Cass County Courthouse, Linden, Texas. [Dates differ from those on headstone. Headstone was purchased by descendants years after her death. Death certificate is closer to original event hence deemed more accurate.]


Thursday, November 19, 2009

Herstoryan's Hearth: The American Frugal Housewife (1841)



Excepts from: Mrs. Child. The American Frugal Housewife, Dedicated To Those Who Are Not Afraid Of Economy. New York: Samuel S. & William Wood, 1841. Print. I love this book and highly recommend it for further reading. 


APPLE WATER. This is given as sustenance when the stomach is too weak to bear broth, &c. It may be made thus,  - Pour boiling water on roasted apples; let them stand three hours, then strain and sweeten lightly: - Or it may be made thus, - Peel and slice tart apples, add some sugar and lemon-peel; then pour some boiling water over the whole, and let it stand covered by the fire, more than an hour.  p 32


CURING HAM. The old-fashioned way for curing hams is to rub them with salt very thoroughly, and let them lay twenty-four hours. To each ham allow two ounces of salt-petre, one quart of common salt and one quart of molasses. First baste them with molasses; next rub in the salt-petre; and, last of all, the common salt. They must be carefull turned and rubbed every day for six weeks; then hang them in a chimney, or smoke-house, four weeks. They should be well covered up in paper bags, and put in a chest, or barrel, with layers of ashes, or charcoal, between. p 41


INDIAN CAKE. Indian cake, or bannock, is sweet and cheap food. One quart of sifted meal, two great spoonfuls of molasses, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, a bit of shortening half as big as a hen's egg, stirred together; make it pretty moist with scadling water, put it into a well greased pan, smooth over the surface with a spoon, and bake it brown on both sides, before a quick fire. A little stewed pumpkin, scalded with the meal, improves the cake. Bannock split and dipped in butter makes very nice toast. p 75


Rise early, Eat simple food. Take plenty of exercise. Never fear a little fatigue. p 87




Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wordless Wednesday: My Rocking Chairs (c1920)




Inside the home of Murray Heller and Ida Lois (Elderkin) Warren, most likely the home at 424 NE 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK. c 1920. Photograph. Privately held by Herstoryan, current owner of the two rocking chairs pictured.  Houston, Texas. 2009 


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tombstone Tuesday - M. H. Warren (1854-1925)






Headstone: Murray Heller Warren, 1854-1925. Lot 2172 Grave 12, Mountain View Cemetery, Altadena, Los Angeles County, California. Photograph. Privately held by Herstoryan. Houston, Texas. 2009


[sigh] I would love to see a current photo of this headstone...

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Surname Saturday: A is for AMYX



A few weeks back I posted the ABC's for my Surname Saturday inspiration - an alphabetical list of Surnames that I tend to neglect so that I could focus on one a week. I had initially wanted to post about the Amyx family a few weeks ago, but I found myself putting it off because I wasn't sure I knew much about them. Unlike some lines that I know as well as my own children, details from the Amyx line just don't stick. I feel like I'm about to study for a test and have all the notes, but have missed all the classes! So it's time to dive in and see just what information I have been stuffing into the Amyx file over the years. *Note: anything enclosed in (parentheses) is not verified.


Relationship Verified: First, I absolutely know that I am connected to this family. Two years ago the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution approved my application that connects to this line. The DAR application required that every date, location, and relationship be documented. My patriot, George Taylor's son Mark Taylor married Peggy Amyx. I have a copy of the Minister Return of Rev. Edward Mitchell from the courthouse of Botetourt County, Virginia. 

  • Botetourt County, Virginia. Marriage Licenses and Returns, Taylor-Amyx, 1808; Office of Clerk of Circuit Court, Fincastle, Virginia. 

Margaret "Peggy" Amyx was born in 1782 to Samuel and (Eleanor Hairston) Amyx. She married Mark Taylor at the age of 26 sometime within the year of 1808. A list of marriages performed by the minister within the year called a Minister's Return, was filed with the Botetourt County Court on 01 Dec 1808. Mark had inherited land from his father's estate in 1801 so he brought his bride home to Short Hill Plantation on top of Short Hill Mountain in Rockbridge County, Virginia. There they were blessed with eight children. A tragedy struck in 1824 when Mark was "felled on by a tree" according to his obituary printed in the Lexington Newspaper. Sometime in the years following, Peggy headed west with her daughter Nancy and Nancy's huband Lindsey Hogue. It is possible that other members of the family accompanied them but research still needs to be done to verify this. They settled near Xenia in Greene County, Ohio. Peggy died a widow 15 Mar 1850 and is buried in Section A Lot 9 Grave 10 (updated 24 Mar 2010) of Woodland Cemetery, Xenia, OH. The U. S. Federal Census Mortality Schedule lists her cause of death as "old age" which is amusing because she was only 68 according to her headstone.

  • Ancestry.com. U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. A portion of this collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Ohio, 1850-1880. T1159, rolls 14-15, 29-30, and 102-104. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. "Margaret Taylor: Prairie, Holmes, Ohio, Roll T1159_14 Line 3."
  • Woodland Cemetery Office (Xenia, Ohio), undated plat, Citing Margaret Taylor, Plot A to the left of Lindsey and Helen Hogue. The actual plat was viewed by Herstoryan, 2007. The actual gravestone was not found so an order to probe the ground was issued. An image of the actual gravestone was found at www.findagrave.com in the same cemetery taken 2009. See citation below. Location verified by phone to Woodland Cemetery, 24 Mar 2010 as follows: Section A, Lot 9, Grave 10. 
  • "Library of Virginia Online Catalog (LVA Catalog)," database, The Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/: accessed 14 Nov 2009), System No. 001139957 entry for Intelligencer (Lexington, VA) Saturday 01 May 1824, "Died-At his residence on the head of Cedar Creek, in Rockbridge County, Mr. Mark Taylor, aged about 40 years a native of Rockbridge County leaving a wife and eight children. No date. (p 3 c 4)" From the marriage and obituary citations compiled by Bernard J. Henley from Virginia newspapers on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Film 190. 
  • Rockbridge County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Book 2, pp 228-231, Will of George Taylor, wd 08 Sept 1795 / wp 02 Jun 1801; Rockbridge Circuit Court, 25th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Lexington, VA.
  • Rockbridge County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Book 6, pp 5-6, Estate of Mark Taylor Inventory and Appraisment, 31 Oct 1825; Rockbridge Circuit Court, 25th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Lexington, VA.
  • Rockbridge County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Book 8 pp 445-446, Mark Taylor's Estate Settlement, 31 Dec 1830; Rockbridge Circuit Court, 25th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Lexington, VA.
  • Rockbridge County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Book 10, pp 306-307, Margaret Taylor's Assignment of Dower, 04 May 1846; Rockbridge Circuit Court, 25th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Lexington, VA.
  • Woodland Cemetery Office (Xenia, Ohio), undated plat, Citing Lindsey and Nancy Hogue, Section C Lot 3. The actual gravestone (viewed by Herstoryan, 2007) reads "Father Lindsey Hogue Born 07 Dec 1807 Died 10 Nov 1865, Mother Nancy Hogue Born 14 Jan 1815 Died 12 Mar 1873."

Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, digital image (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 09 November 2009), photograph, “gravestone for Margaret "Peggy" Amyx Taylor (1782-1850), Memorial No. 38583580, Records of the Woodland Cemetery, Xenia, Ohio;” photograph © John L. Poling.


Samuel Amyx, father of Margaret "Peggy" Amyx, was born (ante 1761) according to NSDAR Application #764909 A833 and #755397 A749. His date of death occured between the date of his Will and when it was presented to the court of Botetourt County, Virginia: wd 05 May 1818 / wp Jan 1819.  The Heritage book of Botetourt county lists his birth date as (1745). He was married (c. 1780 to Eleanor Hairston). She is listed as deceased in Samuel's Will written 05 May 1818 - "...it is my will that at my decease that there shall be a tombstone fixed at the head of your mother's grave..." Samuel Amyx was granted 395 acres of land on 07 Feb 1806 in Botetourt County as recorded in the book Annals of Southwest Virginia 1769-1800. He served in the American Revolution as a Private in Captain Pawlings Co. of Militia in the 16th District of Botetourt Co. VA. 

  • NSDAR Application #764909 A833 and #755397 A749; Office of the Registrar General, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, DC. 
  • Botetourt County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Book C p 158, Original in Will Box 9 Folder A , Will of Samuel Amyx, wd 05 May 1818 / wp Jan 1819; Office of Clerk of Circuit Court, Fincastle, Virginia.
  • Botetourt County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Box 9 Folder A , Estate of Samuel Amyx Appraisement, March 1819; Office of Clerk of Circuit Court, Fincastle, Virginia.
  • Atkinson, Esther Noel. "Amyx Family." In Botetourt County, Virginia Heritage Book, 1770-2000. Botetourt Heritage Book Committe, compiler. Summersville, WV: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 2001. 
  • Summers, Lewis Preston,. Annals of Southwest Virginia, 1769-1800, "First Surveys of Land in Botetourt County, Virginia." Abingdon, Va.: L.P. Summers, 1929. p 485
  • Stoner, Robert Douthat. "Personnel of Botetourt County Companies as Districted." A Seed-Bed of the Republic. Roanoke, Virginia: Roanoke Historical Society, 1962. p 125. Print.
  • Kegley, F. B. . Kegley's Virginia Frontier. Roanoke, Virginia: Southwest Virginia Historical Society, 1938. p 522. Print.
Matthew Amacks, father of Samuel Amyx, was born in 1715. [Atkinson] Some researchers believe him to be of German or Black Dutch origin. [Kegley, West] He settled on Welshman's Run in 1764 in Botetourt County, Virginia. [Kegley] His Will describes him as a yeoman and farmer of said county. He owned horses, sheep, hogs, and cattle which he divided between his sons Matthew and Samuel in his Will. Two more children are proven by his Will: oldest son James; and daughter, wife of James Smith. He is listed repeatedly in the Court Order Books of Botetourt County. He died in 1779 and his Will was presented in court  on 10 Apr 1779. (wife Mary)

  • Atkinson, Esther Noel. "Amyx Family." In Botetourt County, Virginia Heritage Book, 1770-2000. Botetourt Heritage Book Committe, compiler. Summersville, WV: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 2001.
  • Botetourt County, Virginia. Will Records: Will Book A, p 109, Will of M. Ammachs (listed therein as Matthew Emacks), wd 09 Mar 1776 / wp 10 Apr 1779; Office of Clerk of Circuit Court, Fincastle, Virginia.  
  • Kegley, F. B. . Kegley's Virginia Frontier. Roanoke, Virginia: Southwest Virginia Historical Society, 1938. Print.
  • West, Gloria Rice. The Roy E. and Gloria Rice West Family Heritage (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/e/s/Gloria-Rice-West-OK/index.html: accessed 14 Nov 2009), "Matthew Amyx (b.1715-d.1779)." Also published by West in Amyx and Allied Ancestors. 1995. Print