Not Just Horsin’ Around

The topic for the 78th Carnival of Genealogy is: Pony Pictures.  I spent a lot of time watching the other neighborhood kids get their pictures taken on ponies instead of having mine taken.  I remember each summer a man would come walking through the neighborhood with the animal and coming on up the driveway wherever he saw kids playing.  One of my friends had three siblings so to save money, the parents put 2 kids at a time on the pony.  Running home, I found my parents working in the yard.  Breathless, I exclaimed that I wanted my picture taken on a pony.  When it was pointed out that it costs money for the picture, my hopes were dashed.  We just didn’t spend money on useless things.  Besides, what I really wanted to do was to ride on it – not just sit there.

I was 17 when I actually got to ride my first horse.  I went with my sister’s family to a relative’s (on her husband’s side) country house in Paris, Texas.  She had several horses and some ponies.  The first time I got on the pony, it promptly ran at a lower limb and knocked me off.  Fall off – get back on.  After riding around for awhile on that animal, I got up the nerve to try to ride a horse.  Wow – it was harder than it looked!  I sure didn’t get my riding skills from ancestors who had rode horses before me.

My maternal great-grandfather, John “Lafe” Johnson, had horses.  I don’t have a picture of him riding them. (*UPDATED 8/13)  *He also had several work mules.  The photograph below is one with him and 2 of the mules. (This large picture hangs on my hallway wall.)

Gr-Grandpa Johnson with 2 large mules

My grandmother’s Uncle Dan (Stern) had horses – he used them to pull the wagon.

When my kids were young, we took them to Scarborough Faire Rennaisance Festival in Waxahachie, Tex.  There were elephant and camel rides so the oldest three got to ride VERY LARGE animals!  No horses for them – that would just be kid stuff compared to a camel & elephant!

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And They Were Great!

I’m a day late, but thought I’d participate in Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun over at Genea-Musings.  This topic was to post informaton about our 16 great-great-grandparents.

 

1. William Amore b. February 6, 1828 in Albany, N.Y.  d. February 9, 1896 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  On the 1880 Census, he listed that his father was born in England and his mother was born in New York.  Nationality - probably English.

2. Charlotte Reed Imons b. August 4, 1828 in Ohio d. October 9, 1862 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Nationality – unknown

3. William Washington Werts b. December 25, 1829 in Muskingum County, Ohio d. April 7, 1857 in Ohio.  William’s 2nd g-grandfather was born in Baden and the history documented about the Werts family suggests most of them originated in the German area.  Nationality – German

4. Louisa Bookless b. April 13, 1834 in Muskingum County, Ohio d. July 26, 1912 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Nationality – probably English

5. Florus Allen House b. January 5, 1813 in New York d. June 25, 1891 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Nationality – English

6. Julia Ann Lewis b. December 24, 1815 in Ohio d. October 6, 1899 in Coshocton County, Ohio.  Nationality – Unknown

7. Evan Ogan - He was the Foster father of my g-grandmother, Frances Virginia Ogan.  It is unknown if he was directly related to her.

8. Susannah Fritter – She was the Foster mother of my g-grandmother, Frances Virginia Ogan.  It is unknown if Susannah was directly related to her.

9. James Wilson Johnson b. August 16, 1829 in Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio d. October 17, 1917 in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. Based on family lore – nationality is English.

10. Amanda Evaline Mullis b. 1833 in North Carolina d. March 21, 1868 in Rush County, Indiana.  Nationality – Scottish

11. Franklin Blazer b. June 2, 1836 probably in Indiana d. August 25, 1869 in Madison County, Indiana. Nationality – English & German

12. Malissa Goul b. Oct. 1832 in Champaign County, Ohio d. March 7, 1907 in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. Nationality – German
13. Israel Isaac Wilt b. September 9, 1827 in Rockingham County, Virginia d. September 11, 1919 in Henry County, Indiana. Nationality – German

14. Christena Nash b. abt. 1837 in Pennsylvania d. August 18, 1876 in Henry County, Indiana. Nationality – Unknown

15. Emanual Bushong Stern b. October 7, 1834 in Montgomery County, Ohio d. September 10, 1911 in Nebraska. Nationality – German

16. Nancy Caylor b. May 10, 1840 in Wayne County, Indiana d. December 21, 1900 in Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana. Nationality – German

Out of my 16 great-great-grandparents, 2 of them are Unknown – the biological parents of Frances Virginia Ogan.  It is highly doubtful that I will ever find out who they are since she was either farmed out or dropped on a doorstep as a small child.  Four of them are of English descent.  One is of English and German descent.  Three are of Unknown descent.  One is of Scottish descent and the remaining 5 are of German descent.

I am:  31.75% German
            25.5% English
             6.25% Scottish
           36.5% Unknown (although I believe it to be a combination of English, German, Scottish and French)

Interesting facts: William Amore was the only one of my 2nd great-grandparents who was the 1st generation American.

Most of my 2nd great-grandparents were born and/or died in Indiana or Ohio.

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Why I’d Like to Meet Maureen Taylor

Just hearing her name causes some in the genealogy, photography and history circles to say “oooh!”  Maureen Taylor, aka the Photo Detective, has appeared on The Today Show and RootsTV. She’s a photo curator and an expert in photo preservation and identification.

How many of us “regular” folks have come across a photographic mystery while exploring attics, basements, and other areas our family has kept photos?

While I was in Ohio, I came across a group of photographs that can only be described as big.  These are remarkable enlargements for the time.  One is poster size and is a photo of my grandfather and his family.  I’m interested to find out if this enlargement was made in more recent history as my grandfather looked to be about 10 – making the date of the photo about 1908.  Included in this stack were photos that actually looked more like charcoal drawings.  Are these really originals or photos of drawings?  They are on thick stock.

Needless to say, these photographs are much too large for me to scan. I will have to actually take a digital photo of them in order to post them.  For the age of these pictures – they are in pretty good shape. 

I’d love to pull out these pictures and see Maureen’s expression.  Would she be as excited as I was to see them?  What type of storage should I place these precious heirlooms in so that they will survive?  What can she tell me about the history of these enlargements?

I guess for now I’ll have to keep reading the Photo Detective Blog, her articles in genealogy magazines, her books, and wondering if someday I’ll be as lucky as some of my geneablogger friends who actually got to meet and talk with her at the Southern California Jamboree!

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Who Are You, Malissa?

Malissa Goul was born in 1832 in Champaign County, Ohio.  She was the granddaughter of the immigrant, Adam Goul, born in Germany, and his wife, Elizabeth Lutz, born in Pennsylvania.  Malissa’s father, John, was Adam and Elizabeth’s oldest son.  Her mother was Martha McManaway.  And she was my maternal 2nd great-grandmother. 

This woman intrigued me especially when I found out that her oldest son, James Oakland Goul (called “Oaki” or “Okie”) had the same last name as she did.  Was her first husband also a “Goul”?  Was he born after the husband died and she gave him her maiden name?  What was the story?

My mother told me that the family story was that she had him out of wedlock.  Delving into family history, I realized that wasn’t as uncommon as I thought.  I’ve found many couples who were married shortly before a child was born or after a child was born and sometimes not at all. 

The photos I have of Malissa and her son were some of the first “old” pictures I acquired.  Her funeral book was the first memorial record I was given.  So I’ve attempted to learn all I can about this woman who became the mother of my maternal grandfather’s mom (Katie Blazer Johnson).

The biggest question I wanted answered was who was Okie’s father?  I found an entry in the Madison County, Indiana Marriage record transcripts for Okie.  He was married on February 1, 1900 to Eliza Jones.  Okie listed his age at the next birthday as 43 and his father’s name as James M. Goul.  Okay – I had a name.  But who was this man?  Was he a distant relative?  I had much more to research. 

 In the 1850 Census of Union Township, Champaign County, Ohio, I found the John and Martha Goul household.  Included in the household were their children – Eveline, Mary Ann, Malissa, Ruth, William J., John W. – and two boarders – Thomas Dillons, age 28, a laborer born in Ohio and James Goul, age 28, a grocer born in Virginia.

Could this James Goul – a grocer – and 10 years older than Malissa have been the father of her oldest son?  I believe he was.  And furthermore, I believe he is also the James Goul who married Hannah Harbert, daughter of Thomas Harbert III and Elizabeth Huston; sister of Josiah Harbert who married Malissa’s oldest sister, Martha Jane Goul.  James had married Hannah before Malissa became pregnant with Okie, and he and Hannah had already had one son, William Andrew.  Soon after Malissa became pregnant, the family moved to Madison County, Indiana, and James and Hannah moved away from Champaign County, Ohio to Missouri.  I don’t believe father and son ever had a parent-child relationship. 

I’ll never know if Malissa pined for James or if it was just an affair of convenience.  She didn’t have her mother to confide in as Martha died in December 1855. 

Further digging has led me to believe that Okie’s father, James, was the grandson of Adam and Elizabeth Goul – the first cousin of Malissa and nephew of her father, John.  In Adam’s will, written December 4, 1843 (2 years before his death), he named his surviving wife (Elizabeth), children (Mary – eldest daughter; John – eldest son; Christian – second son; Henry – son), and grandchildren (Mary, Andrew and James). 

Malissa had her child, Okie, and by 1859 married Franklin Blazer.  The couple went on to have two sons, John Franklin and Wesley, and three daughters, Martha, Katie and Rachel.  Unfortunately, the couple did not have a long and happy marriage.  Franklin died in August 1869 leaving Malissa to raise 6 young children alone.  She never remarried.

Malissa died on March 7, 1907 in Pendleton, Madison County, Indiana.  Her funeral was held at the Clayte Sells Chapel and burial was in Fall Creek Cemetery. 

I hope Malissa rests in peace for she had a very hard life.

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Wilt Cousins

In the late 1950′s through the early 1980′s, my grandmother’s paternal side gathered together each fall for the annual Wilt Reunion.  I knew names of these relatives but not really who they were or how they fit into the family.  As a young child (and then a young teen), I felt somehow on the “outside” of this family for I saw them once a year. 

Sometimes my grandmother’s first cousins would travel from Indiana to Ohio to visit her and sometimes my mom and I would accompany my grandparents to Indiana to visit them.  That was the extent of my interaction with my Wilt Cousins and extended family.

Going through the photographs my grandfather took to document the Wilt side of the family, has enabled me to actually put names to faces.  Even though there are an awful lot of pictures that don’t have labels, my grandfather was very good at labeling reunion pictures.

Ina (Wilt) Wisehart Family

First Row Left to Right: Ward’s son, dau-in-law, Richard Wisehart’s son, Ward Wisehart’s daughter (nurse)

2nd Row L-R: Ward’s son, Mrs. Ward Wisehart, Ward (Ina’s son), Ina (Wilt) Wisehart, Richard Wisehart, Richard’s wife

The above was how the photo was labeled by my grandfather.  I’ve since found the names of these folks.  In the 1st Row: (I think this is) John E. Wisehart, his wife, Wava June Wicker, Ricky Joe Wisehart, the nurse is either Nancy or Janet Wisehart.  In the 2nd Row: not sure of the other son’s name, Ruth West Wisehart, Ward Wisehart, Ina Wilt Wisehart, Richard Wisehart, and Norma Gilmore Wisehart. 

Ina Wilt Wisehart is the daughter of Charles and Margaret (Fadely) Wilt.  Charles is the youngest brother of my grandmother’s father, Joseph N. Wilt, which would make Ina and my grandmother, Vesta, first cousins. 

Ina was the oldest child of Charles and Margaret.  She was born on November 2, 1896 (2 years older than my grandmother) probably in Henry County, Indiana.  She married George Wisehart on December 12, 1914 in Henry County.  (Their marriage record was found in Book 1, Vol. 4 of the Index to Henry County Marriage Records on page 392.)  The couple had 4 children: Ward (married Ruth Louise West), Mary Margaret (married Fred Borror), Linda Lee (married Joseph Daffron), and John Richard (married Norma Gilmore).  George died on May 13, 1959 and Ina died on November 23, 1967.

Mary and Fred Borror along with their ten year old daughter, Mary Lou, all perished in a car accident on May 29, 1952 (source: Freda Pierce, cousin to Mary Wisehart Borror).

Linda Lee (Wisehart) Daffron died at the age of 58 at a hospital in Richmond, Indiana. 

Ward Wisehart passed away on February 26, 2000.  John Richard Wisehart is the last surviving child of Ina and George Wisehart. 

I’ve often wondered why the Wilt Reunions ended?  Did life get too busy for people to gather together?  After all the “first cousins” died, did their children decide it was too much trouble?  Were there a smattering of family gatherings that only included the immediate families of the first cousins? 

The last Wilt Reunion I attended was in September 1983.  It was held in Dayton at my brother’s home, and I was 6 1/2 months pregnant with my second child.  It would be the last time I saw many of my Wilt relations.

When you gather with family – be it immediate or extended – for a reunion, holiday, birthday, or even funeral – and photos are taken, please make sure to document the event and those in the picture.  That includes listing how each of the people in the photo is related.  Are they all first cousins?  Who is their common ancestor?  Are there in-laws in the picture?   Make sure to list who they belong with.  Are there non-related god-parents or close friends in the photo?  Make sure they are listed out and whose friends they are or why they were considered important enough to be part of the picture.  Write an account of the day especially the five W’s: Who, What, When, Where and Why.  How was the weather?  Did you have to travel?  How? What type of travel experiences did you have?  What activities did you or family members engage in?  What type of stories were told and by whom?  Is there a recording of this event?

Then keep your documentation, photos and recording (DVD) together or list on the documentation (as well as the DVD and photos) where all the necessary elements are.  Someday when your descendents see the photos, the DVD or read your account, they will feel as if they were there and there might not be as many questions as we have about our ancestors’ activities.

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Texas Snow!

When the subject for the 64th Edition of Carnival of Genealogy was announced, I wondered what I could submit.  Somewhere in my files and books are many pictures of winter activities and snow – with some included below.  Since I’ve lived in Texas for the better part of (almost) 30 years, I haven’t seen as much snow as I did when I grew up in southwestern Ohio.  So when we have snow in north Texas, it makes news – big news! 

Local stations interrupt most of the morning and daily television programs to report on the weather – with the same scene of people sliding on ice on the highways and the same scene (over and over!) of people sliding on bridges.  I often wonder – how many times can you report the same story every ten minutes.  Nothing has changed! 

Not only do schools shut down when the roads have a hint of ice, but businesses, churches, and government offices.  People rush the grocery as if they will be holed up for weeks (maybe a couple days!).  And unless you live way out in the country, there’s usually a 7-11 within a block or two.

We never know how to dress in the winter time.  Case in point – the picture at left was taken on New Year’s Day 2005!  My daughter was wearing shorts because the temperature was in the 70s!

This picture was taken on February 2, 2007.  At least the snow was “pretty” instead of just wet and yucky!  Unfortunately, this was one of those days when it was non-stop news reports.

The following pictures were taken in the 60s in Ohio.  This is the front of the house I grew up in and ice coated trees.  Usually, from January – March this was the norm!   Winter time and cold weather normally meant heavy winter coats, mittens or gloves, a hat and a scarf.  Until I was in 6th grade, girls weren’t allowed to wear pants to school so in winter time, I wore winter “leggings” in order to keep my legs warm.  I also had heavy snow boots that went on over my shoes.  In 2nd grade, I had a pair of red knee high boots.  These were “fashion” boots – not snow boots yet I somehow convinced myself that I didn’t need snowboots over these.  The cold seeped in and so did the wet! 

Children in my neighborhood never seemed to mind the cold weather.  We were outside all of the time building snowmen, snow forts, making snow angels, and throwing snowballs at one another.  A neighbor of mine used to go to his grandmother’s house nearby that had a really nice hill on the property.  We’d have 4-5 kids on a big sled and ride down that hill – only to have to carry the sled back up to do it again!  When I was about 7, my parents got me a snow disk.  We didn’t have any “hills” in our yard except for the pool embankment into the yard.  Even so, I spent a good number of hours just riding that thing down three feet of “hill”.

In January 1978 a Blizzard hit the midwest.  I woke up one morning not too long after we’d just started back to classes after the Christmas break and realized that I’d overslept!  Mom told me there were no classes and no one was driving anywhere.  I looked outside and all I saw was a wall of white.  We were out of school for almost a week due to the blizzard.  Since we had used more than our allotment of snow days, school didn’t end until June 20 something that year!  Then the school board decided we should start in August instead of the normal “after Labor Day” – putting our summer vacation less than we’d ever had before.  That is one thing I don’t miss about the midwest – all the snow!

So in honor of the (lack of) real winter weather here in North Texas, I took several of my February 2007 Texas snow pictures and created a digital scrapbook page.

(Digital page and elements designed by Wendy Littrell.  Original slides or digital images in possession of Wendy Littrell (Address for private use).

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Wordless Wednesday – Spirit of Christmas Past

Our basement decorated for Christmas, mid 1960s
Photographed by Gene Amore
Digital scan in possession of Wendy Littrell (Address for private use).

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Who Are You (Tell Me – Who Are You)?

 

Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
‘Cause I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
written by Pete Townshend

I posted this picture on August 22, 2008 for Freaky Friday – 3rd Edition.  It is a picture of my grandfather (older child) and another unknown child.  I believe my grandfather was probably about 10 when this picture was taken and I am led to believe (due to the clothing) that the unknown child is a boy about 4-6 years old.  My grandfather didn’t have any younger brothers.  His foster sister was 12 years younger than my grandfather so it couldn’t possibly be her – dressed in pants.

So I ask – who are you little boy?  Could you possibly be a relative?

Possibilities include: Floyd Tyler b. June 13, 1906.  He was my grandfather’s first cousin, son of his paternal aunt, Olive Belle (Johnson) Tyler.  That would mean (since my grandfather was born in Nov. 1898) that Floyd would have been 8 years younger than my grandfather.  I haven’t determined if Floyd was born in Indiana but I do know he spent most of his life in and around Calhoun County, Michigan and was buried there.  However, some of his older siblings were born in Howard County, Indiana.

Could this child be Earl Goul, born June 15, 1904 and six years younger than my grandfather?  Earl was the second cousin of his as his grandfather, John Wesley Goul, was brother to my grandfather’s grandmother, Malissa Goul.  Earl was born in Delaware County, Indiana but spent time and died in Madison County, Indiana (where my grandfather was born and raised).

A very good possibility – looking at the following photos – is that this child is my grandfather’s half-uncle’s son, Guy Leston Johnson.  However, I would have to be off on the ages of both boys  as Guy was 10 years younger than my grandfather.  Here are the photos – the black and white was the earlier of the two photos.

 

 Whomever he is, this unknown little boy will continue to be a mystery to me until I determine his name and relationship.  Have you seen him before?  Perhaps in that stack of photos your great-grandparents left you?  Or in a framed photo hanging on a friend’s wall? 

This is why it is very important to not only label photographs – but to list the relationship of those in the photo.  Even if I had a name – would I be able to connect the dots back to my grandfather? 

This post was written for the 9th Edition Smile for the Camera – Who Are You.

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Digital Christmas – 2007

Miriam, at AnceStories, posted her first digital scrapbook page recently after reading Jasia’s post about a new Christmas Around the World digital scrapbook kit at her Creative Genealogy blog.  Not wanting to be left out of the fun, I’m posting this digital scrapbook page I made after Christmas last year.  I designed the paper and elements myself (since I also do “commercial” projects, I don’t want to have to buy licenses to use others’ kits!).  Since I do not own Photoshop and use Microsoft Digital Imaging, I had a pretty steep learning curve due to the lack of “instructions” on how to create digital elements on the web. 

Below is another digital scrapbook page I made to show off my grandson with the Christmas tree.  I didn’t add a whole lot to it as I wanted it to be very simple.

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Wordless Wednesday – Tennessee Rest Stop

“Official” Isaac Hayes, Tina Turner, Booker T & the MG’s Rest Stop westbound on I-40 in Madison County, Tennessee.

Photographed November 22, 2008.  Digital photo owned by Wendy Littrell (address for private use).

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