The Women Who Came Before Me

In honor of Mother’s Day, I created a collage of all of the women who are my direct ancestors. After I was finished, I marveled that I had so many photos to use!

Beginning at the top, left to right:
Margaret Bushong b. 24 Jan 1814 in Ohio and d. 1 Jun 1888 in Hamilton county, Indiana. 3rd great-grandmother
Mary Angeline Werts b. 15 Feb 1855 in Coshocton county, Ohio and d. 5 Dec 1941 in Roscoe, Coshocton county, Ohio. Great-grandmother
Frances Virginia Ogan b. 29 Nov 1846 in Guernsey county, Ohio and d. 18 Feb 1915 in Coshocton, Ohio. Great-grandmother
Margaret Catherine Maple b. 22 Dec 1808 in Coshocton, Ohio and d. 13 May 1851 in Muskingum county, Ohio. 3rd great-grandmother
Nancy Caylor b. 10 May 1840 in Indiana and d. 21 Dec 1900 in Noblesville, Indiana. Great-Great-grandmother
Melissa Goul b. 17 Oct 1832 in Champaign county, Ohio and d. 7 Mar 1907 in Madison county, Indiana. Great-Great-grandmother
Ella Maria House b. 22 Jun 1882 in Coshocton county, Ohio and d. 3 Jul 1946 in Coshocton, Ohio. Grandmother
Louisa Bookless b. 13 Apr 1834 in Muskingum county, Ohio and d. 26 Jul 1912 in Coshocton, Ohio. Great-Great-grandmother
Martha Jane Stern b. 9 Feb 1872 in Clarksville, Indiana and d. 6 Nov 1956 in Leaburg, Oregon. Great-grandmother
Katie J Blazer b. 27 Sep 1864 in Madison county, Indiana and d. 20 May 1930 in Fairfield (now Fairborn), Ohio. Great-grandmother
Vesta Christena Wilt b. 7 May 1898 in Noblesville, Indiana and d. 19 Jan 1984 in Dayton, Ohio. Grandmother
Mary Helen Johnson b. 21 Sep 1921 in Anderson, Indiana and d. 1 May 2009 in Beavercreek, Ohio. Mother
Me!

 

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Labor Day in Photos

According to Wikipedia, Labor Day became an official holiday in 1887 to celebrate the “American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.”

As a child, Labor Day meant that school was right around the corner, as was Halloween, sweater weather, and hot chocolate. It was a day for one last cookout of the summer; one last day in the pool before the weather turned; one last bike ride in shorts and T-shirt; and one last night of children running through the backyards catching lightning bugs. As an adult, the holiday has meant a three day weekend and a day to sleep in.

Today, I am honoring the holiday with photos of ancestors at work or their places of business.

This is the store my maternal grandmother’s stepfather ran in Anderson, Indiana.

My maternal grandfather, Glen R. Johnson, in uniform. One of the many pictures I have during his career in the U.S. Air Force.

My dad and two others in front of the place he worked when he was stationed in Japan (mid-1950s)

My mom, Mary (Johnson) Amore, at her desk at the Greene County (Ohio) Senior Center – mid 1990s

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

(Labor Day image courtesty of Gifs.cc – Free Labor Day Clipart)

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July 4th – On this Day

Born:

1. Susannah Stern: 1823 Carroll county, Ohio

 

Died:

1. Hamilton L Goul: 1902 in Coffeyville, Kansas
2. Eugene Pidgeon: 1922 in Sebring, Ohio

 

Married:

1. Henry Alexander Goul and Mathilda Kaziah Bates: 1894 in Boise, Idaho
2. John Lafayette Johnson and Katie J Blazer: 1883 in Anderson, Indiana
3. Martha Ann Blazer and John Noonan: 1887 in Anderson, Indiana
4. Hiram W Jennings and Sarah Wilden: 1888 in Coshocton, Ohio

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Revolutionary Ancestors

As our nation celebrates its 237th birthday with annual Independence Day celebrations, I wanted to also remember those in my family’s past who participated in the Cause.

William Arbuckle, born March 3, 1752 in Balcony Falls, Rockbridge county, Virginia to James Arbuckle and Margaret Thompson, served under General Andrew Lewis at Point Pleasant, Virginia (now West Virginia). He died on March 21, 1836 in Mason, Virginia (now WV) and is buried in the Craig-Douglas Burying Ground at Grimm’s Landing. 5th Great-Grandfather

Eli Bigelow, born May 29, 1756 in Colchester, Connecticut to Amasa Bigelow and Jemima Strong. He served in Capt. Champion’s Company. He died on March 22, 1836 in Chatham, Connecticut. 4th Great-Grandfather

John ‘Jacob’ Bushong, born February 18, 1754 to John Bushong and Elizabeth Sprinckel in York, Pennsylvania, served as a Private and artificer under Capt. Francis Cowherd and was discharged January 17, 1782. He died on August 16, 1830 and is buried in Grandview Cemetery, Carrollton, Ohio. 5th Great-Grandfather

John Bushong, born August 30, 1732 in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania to John and Barbara Bushong, served as a Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion in York county, Pennsylvania under Capt. Godfrey Frey. He died December  18, 1808 in Shenandoah county, Virginia. 6th Great-Grandfather

Adam Goul, born about 1761 in Germany to Frederick Goul and an unknown mother, served as a teamster in the Revolutionary War. He died on October 12, 1845 in Mechanicsburg, Ohio and is buried in Treacles Creek Cemetery in Champaign county, Ohio. 4th Great-Grandfather

Lazarus House, born April 14, 1748 in Glastonbury, Connecticut to William House and Hannah Hollister, served August and September 1776 in the 6th Company 6th Regiment of the Connecticut Militia. He died after 1817 and is thought to be buried in Glastonbury, Connecticut. 4th Great-Grandfather

Jacob Roudebush, born in 1752 in Berwick, Pennsylvania to Hans H Raudenbusch and Anna Maria Becker, may have served under Capt. John Sharp in the York County Militia Company (presently unproven). He died in Washington, Ohio in 1837 and is buried at the family farm in Carroll county, Ohio. 5th Great-Grandfather

Phillip Peter Werts (Wertz), born June 14, 1737 probably in Europe to William Wertz and Anna Catherina (maiden name unknown), served in the Continental Line during the Revolutionary War. He died in Loudon county, Virginia on May 22, 1798 and is buried in New Jerusalem Cemetery in Loudon county. 5th Great-Grandfather

I am so very glad that these men helped fight for our freedoms and am honored to be one of their many descendants!

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Image is Public Domain)

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Between Thanksgiving and Christmas

As Thansgiving 2012 ends and the Advent season is a week away, I thought I’d reflect on what transpires in between. First up is Black Friday. While many get excited when this arrives – even plan routes, stores, and means of “attack” – I have only braved the early (early!) crowds once. Yes, that means one, uno, singular.

Yesterday, I shopped but not at some inhumane time! I did some online shopping very late on Thanksgiving and went to three “bargain” stores mid-afternoon Friday.

Second, the annual Christmas movie watching. Our family began by watching “Miracle on 34th Street” and “White Christmas” on Thanksgiving. Friday we watched “Polar Express.” There will be more viewing opportunities to come as we settle in to watch “Prancer,” the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen & especially “It’s a Wonderful Life!” Is the original “Die Hard” considered a Christmas movie!?

My birthday always falls after Thanksgiving – so that means a pizza dinner.

This year the annual Ohio State vs. Michigan football game falls after Thanksgiving. My family has a long history with the Buckeyes and being from Ohio, I will be cheering for the boys in red.

Next Sunday – December 2 – will be the first Sunday of Advent. Our church Christmas Tree will be decorated and traditional Advent hymns will be sung. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, our home Christmas tree will be set up. When my children were little, they all decorated it while we took pictures. As they’ve grown up, the decorating has fallen to grandkids and which ever kids are here. It always is magical to watch the ornaments being selected and locating just the right spot for it amongst the branches of our artificial tree. Then it’s my job to pick out the garland. We’ve had tinsel, strand garland of gold or silver, pearl strands wound around the tree, and ribbon. Normally, an angel rests on top of the tree or a star. The year I used a giant red velvet bow was not looked upon fondly so I won’t do that again! By Christmas Eve the tree is ready for Santa’s visit.

As I reflect upon our family’s activities and traditions, I wonder what my grandparents and great-grandparents experiences were. I’m pretty sure at the heart of the holidays was family – just as it is for mine.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

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Ghosts, Goblins, and Baby Movie Star!

In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d take you on a photo tour through many years of “dressing up” for the holiday.  Disclaimer: some of the following photos of me were not taken at Halloween – they were taken at times I just felt called to dress up (my children may either get a kick out of these or be horribly embarrassed)!

I was three – not quite four – when I was a “Chipmunk” for Halloween. I can remember that Mom and Dad drove me over to my grandparents’ house to Trick or Treat. They “hid” while I went up to the door. Somehow I still think that my Nana and Grandad knew who I was!

This is one of those times that I just created my own “look” and it wasn’t Halloween!  I call this being a “movie star” because of the hat and sunglasses!  I am not sure why I was pretending it was very sunny, yet still had a rain umbrella!!

Scary witch, anyone? I can’t believe I had on a “dress” type costume because it was usually pretty chilly at the end of October in Ohio.  There were many times that Mom and I argued over whether I should wear a coat to trick or treat – I did not like that my costume would be covered up!

I am “Little Red Riding Hood”!  This was taken just before I turned six. School age kids would not only “beg” for treats but they would carry UNICEF boxes to collect money.  I did the same thing when I was in elementary school. The money was taken back to school after “beggar’s night”.  Do you remember doing that?

 

This was my attempt at dressing up as an “Old Lady” for Halloween – complete with my mom’s wig, an old ’50s style skirt, and a stick I made into a cane!  What strikes me as insanely amusing is that I sure didn’t look “old” (I was almost ten) – in fact now I am the age I was trying to “look” back then and I don’t think I’m even pulling it off now!

Somewhere I have another photo that shows me with my hair all tied up in a scarf, rock star make up on my face (in the style of KISS), with a pair of purple tights under shorts!  And that wasn’t for Halloween – that was just me being me – at about fifteen!

Even as an adult, the thrill of wearing a costume for Halloween has not left me.  I’ve dressed up as a witch, a fortune-teller, a pregnant gypsy (I was pregnant with my youngest child at the time!), a hippie, and a “madam”.

As the years have gone by, I’ve watched my four children get excited at Halloween and talk about what costume they will be wearing for weeks before “Trick or Treat” night.

    

Now I get to see the three grandsons all dressed up!  (Picture on far right was taken by my daughter: Teresa Sumner)

Image of Jack-o-lantern Pumpkins by Petr Kratochvil

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A New Type of Christmas Ghost

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

This picture (to the left) was taken in 1954; location – Japan when my parents were stationed at Tachikawa with the Air Force.  My impression has always been – what a sad tree!  I believe this was the only type of tree that would work as a “Christmas” tree – short of buying an artificial tree from the Base/Post Exchange. I hadn’t been born yet but my sister and brother were the children who had “visions of sugarplums” for that year’s Christmas.

This picture (to the right) was taken about 1968 when I was a little over 7 years old; location – the house I grew up in east of Dayton, Ohio.  I obviously have some teeth missing!  Those pants were not purple – from what I remember – but blue. This is the artificial tree we used – it was only a year or two old because I remember having live trees when I was very small.  Mom used this artificial tree at least until the time I was 18 years old and then I think she gave it to my cousin. This tree is set at the corner of the living room and formal dining room. From what I remember, this was the same location it was set year after year. During my childhood, Christmas dinners were always at our house. Those who attended included my maternal grandparents, my sister, her husband, and two kids, my brother and his wife (and later their son), and sometimes my brother-in-law’s parents.

This photo (to the left) was taken in 1991 either before we left or after we returned from Christmas Eve services at our church. This is one of the very few pictures I have of our family by the Christmas tree. Boy, my husband and I look so young!  Our youngest was a few months shy of two years old and our oldest was a month away from 10 years old.  Our second daughter had just turned eight and our son was six and a half.  Over the years, our tree has moved “around” the living room.  We had it in this location for a few years and for the last 10+ years it has been in the opposite corner.  Our Christmas tradition since this photo was taken has rarely changed. There were some years that we went looking at Christmas lights after church. We’ve always had a meal of “finger food” late in the evening – I’ve made sausage balls, cheese and crackers, stuffed shells, deli meat sandwiches, fresh vegetables and dip, and more. The last couple of years we have had Wing Stop chicken wings and tamales from our local tamale factory. The first year we decided on wings, the restaurant was open until 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve so we picked up the order as soon as church was over. Last year it closed early, so I had to go pick up the wings and fries and try to keep them warm the rest of the day. The french fries did not fair very well – so I don’t think we’ll do that this year. On Christmas Day we’ve had the traditional dinner – turkey (and sometimes ham), dressing, mashed potatoes, homemade giblet gravy (and turkey gravy from a jar for those who won’t eat the other kind), green bean casserole, Christmas cauliflower, scalloped corn, and pies.  There were years that I started making cookies in the middle of December and other times, I just don’t bother!  I’ve made homemade chex mix for gifts to friends and family. The last two years one of our daughter’s has had us to her home for the Christmas dinner. Our oldest daughter hasn’t been able to be with us for Christmas in over seven years. For the last 5 years, we’ve enjoyed being with all four grandsons.

The only picture of our family with my mom was taken at my sister’s home in 1999. Our kids ranged from almost 10 to almost 17. That year we had Christmas dinner at my sister’s home and my contribution was my Christmas cauliflower and something else! See the red plaid skirt that I’m wearing? I wore this at almost every Christmas from 1978 until just a few years ago!

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Although this photo was taken in 2008, this could be a photo from today. The Christmas tree is in the same spot – although our present tree is a new artificial tree – and I haven’t added any garland to it. This year I will use strands of beads as garland. Our Christmas this year will begin on Christmas Eve when we attend our Worship Celebration at our church of over 20 years. Then we’ll come back home and eat our “finger food” dinner, culminating in the reading of “The Night Before Christmas” (a tradition since the children were all small) and the Biblical Christmas story. We’ll set our presents out under the tree after the grandkids go to bed and then later, Santa will arrive. He’ll find a cold glass of egg nog in the fridge in case he’s thirsty and a couple of cookies with a note to him on the kitchen table. This year Christmas falls on a Sunday – the first one in six years – so our morning will be very early! I have always had a family breakfast before presents are opened and this year, I think I will have a crock pot breakfast casserole that has cooked through the night. After we eat, it will be time to dig into gifts and take pictures. At 10:30 we’ll be at our church, celebrating the real reason for Christmas. Then it will be home to finish cooking the dinner. Hopefully, I’ll get the turkey in the oven before we leave. One of our grandson’s might not be with us that day – perhaps late in the evening. The kids will be playing with new toys, probably have new movies playing on the TV, and the aroma of delicious food cooking.

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS YET TO COME

In the future, I hope that we can still enjoy our grandchildren – and further into the future – our great-grandchildren – and our children and families at Christmas. Wherever we are, we’ll still decorate a Christmas tree – big or small. Some of our traditions may continue and some will be replaced with new traditions. We’ll still have some of our tree ornaments – especially the really nice handmade ones that the kids and grandkids have made. Pictures will still be snapped and food will still be eaten. I may prepare a traditional Christmas dinner, yet I see myself changing it in my golden years – especially if there are only my husband and I sharing the holiday together. No matter the year, we’ll always remember the joy of Christmas’s past and the true reason we celebrate the season!

Merry Christmas!

(written for the 113th Carnival of Genealogy: A Charles Dickens Christmas)

all photos – digital and print – held by Wendy Littrell

 

 

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Scenes of Christmas

  Our Christmas tree all lit up and decorated.  Santa had already arrived but everyone was still sleeping – except for my husband and me.  We  had gotten up early to make breakfast (me) and take our son to work (my husband) by 6 a.m.  The poinsettia just to the left of the lower part of the tree was given to us (along with a second one) by our daughter and son-in-law. 

Our grandson didn’t wake up until almost 7 a.m.!  Then we woke the rest of the household so we could eat the pumpkin bread I baked before unwrapping our gifts.

Our grandson was quite excited to receive two video games from his Mom! 

There were sundry other gifts – games, DVDs, clothes, toys, books, household articles.

My mother-in-law gifted myself and my two daughters with hand-embroidered tea-towels with the days of the week on them.  My youngest daughter was excited to receive one of her first “grown-up” type of household presents.  My other daughter who was with us never expected to receive any other “hand-made” items from her grandmother (who had been ill for awhile – doing much better now!) and was overwhelmed by the gift. 

After our son got home from work, we opened a second set of gifts that my daughter and son-in-law had brought with them as well as my son’s gifts to him and his to us. 

I tried desperately to stay on schedule with the meal.  Unfortunately, I had never cooked all the dishes on the menu at one time so I was a little off my game.  Fortunately, most of the disruptions occured due to phone calls from relatives and grandsons eager to show Nana their toys or to give kisses.

Dinner was so good that we ate way too much!  Son-in-law sacked out on one sofa while the kids watched movies or played video games.  I finally talked everyone into eating at least one piece of pie a few hours after dinner.

By 9 p.m. I was so wiped out from being on my feet most of the day and all the cooking and excitement that I was falling asleep trying to read a new book (Stephen King) my husband got for me.  I had to turn in and slept amazingly well! 

Our family had a wonderful – little warm – Christmas.  Nothing compared to footnoteMaven’s in Washington State – who endured record snowfalls, power outages, and traveling white-knuckled to her daughter’s house for Christmas and then spending part of Christmas evening at their favorite Chinese restaurant that was open!  For her Christmas story please go here.

Happy New Year!

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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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