Love is the Foundation

On October 15, 1916 a letter was written from Miss Vesta Wilt to Mr Johnson that read:

It has now been six months since I have known you. Am beginning to love you. Is mine returned? I think not. But nevertheless I’m thinking of proposing your hand in marrige. Am telling you as you may think seriously on the matter. Yours as B/4

Two months and nine days later on December 24, 1916 the two wed in Anderson, Indiana. Their marriage was a foundation built on love that lasted beyond their deaths in 1984 and 1985. It lasted due to their commitment not only to each other but to their family, their faith, and to their journey through the military into civilian life. Their legacy has been three out of four children who lived to adulthood who in turn gave life to the couple’s eight grandchildren. In turn that has brought life to 16 great-grandchildren. The great-great-grandchildren presently number 23. And the babies and young children considered great-great-great-grandchildren number 8. The union that the foundation of love of Miss Vesta Wilt and Mr Glen R Johnson have produced a total of 53 descendants.

Vesta and Glen are my maternal grandparents and a couple that all of us who grew up knowing them remember them with fondness, respect, and love.

This post was written from the blog prompt “Foundations” as part of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. For more information on this series please see: https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/ 

Read Full Post »

Johnson Reunion Beginning

MINUTES OF THE
JOHNSON AND SHIVELY REUNION
Organization Aug 16 – 1915

Johnson and Shively reunion organized Aug 16, 1915 at the home of J.L. Johnson 99 Indiana Ave. Anderson, Indiana. Several relatives and minds were invited to this home in honor of J.W. Johnson. “J.L. Johnson’s father”. It being his birthday. He being the oldest of the Johnson family now living.
A great number of relatives responded from all over the state and a general good time was enjoyed by all.
At the noon hour a sumptious dinner was served. This being one of the most important events of the day was enjoyed by both young and old to the fullest extent.
Before departing for their several homes it was decided that we meet yearly and the following officers were duly elected
         President          J Milton Johnson, Lapel, Ind.
         Secretary          Frank Shively, Anderson
A motion was made and 2nded to meet the next August at Riverside Park, Anderson, Indiana.
Business being concluded all departed for their homes thinking it a day well spent.
(Notations in margin: Glen Johnson Aug. 15 – 1915)

Thanks to collaboration with some of my distant Johnson cousins as well as the “key” that was on the back of this photo, I have the names of several of those who attended the first Johnson reunion held at the home of my maternal great-grandparents, John Lafayette and Katie J. (Blazer) Johnson, in Anderson, Indiana on August 16, 1915. The couple are the 2nd and 3rd from the right seated in the front row. My grandfather, Glen Roy Johnson, is next to them on the end. Their 4-year-old foster daughter, Eva, is the girl with the bow in her hair seated in front of Katie (2nd from right on the lawn). The older gentleman (seated bent over) in the center of the front row is my great-great-grandfather James Wilson Johnson.

(News articles from Anderson, Indiana newspaper)

Johnson-Shively (misspelled in the news article above) denotes the Johnson family and the descendants of Mary “Polly” Johnson who was the sister of my 2nd great-grandfather James Wilson Johnson. Polly married Ulery Shively.

Minutes from all of the reunions (1915-1941) are written in a notebook that my grandfather had kept. Enclosed in it were letters giving reasons about not attending an upcoming reunion. In the back of the book were several pages of names with addresses which has helped me place them within the Johnson family. There were also notations in the margins about who had died, who had married, and the babies born. I feel very blessed that I am able to consult this treasure trove of information when I need.

(Week 1 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.)

(Photograph of reunion in possession of Wendy Littrell)

Read Full Post »

Surname Saturday – Mullis

My most recent common ancestor with the surname of Mullis would be my great-great-grandmother, Amanda Eveline Mullis. She was born in North Carolina about 1833 to John Mullis and Darlett Stanley. She was the seventh of their eight children who included: Reuben, Nancy, Lucinda, Sophia, Dollie, Thomas, and Margaret. She was the last child born in North Carolina for shortly after her birth the family traveled from their home in Wilkes county, North Carolina to Rush county, Indiana.

Amanda was about 19 when she married my great-great-grandfather James Wilson Johnson in Rush county on December 26, 1852. Soon the family was blessed with children: Martha Emily, Clara (who died at 7 months), John Lafayette (my great-grandfather), Florella (who died at six weeks), Olive Belle, and an infant who died soon after birth on February 11, 1868. Almost six weeks later, Amanda died and was buried in the Little Blue River Cemetery in Rush county.

Although Amanda is my direct ancestor, she was not the only Mullis who married a Johnson. Her sister Dollie married James’ brother, John J. Johnson, on March 4, 1848 in Rush county. Dollie was eight years older than Amanda. She and John had five children: Ann Marie, Elizabeth Ellen, Mary Jane, Rosa Alice, and John Marshall.

Dollie and Amanda’s parents John and Darlett Mullis lived in Rush county for the remainder of their lives. John died in June 1863 at the age of 73 and Darlett died six years later at the age of 82. The couple are buried in Center Church Cemetery in Rush county.

John Mullis was the son of George Mullis and Margaret Polly Owens, born in North Carolina. There were 12 chidren in the family.

The name has also been spelled Mulles. I don’t have an origin for the Mullis family nor do I have information on George Mullis’ parents. For now, this is as far as I’ve been able to go on that line.

(Digital image of marriage record: Ancestry.com. Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
Gravestone: photographer Virginia Nuta, digital photo used by permission.)

Read Full Post »

Funeral Friday – James Wilson Johnson

James Wilson Johnson – my maternal great-great-grandfather – died at the age of 88 years 2 months and 15 days being born in Brown county, Ohio on August 16, 1829 and dying on October 31, 1917 in Anderson, Indiana. He had outlived two wives: my great-great-grandmother Amanda Eveline Mullis and his second wife Margaret Gordon as well as two infant daughters – Clara and Florella.

His short obituary appeared in the October 31, 1917 edition of the Indianapolis News on page 21. A short obituary for a man who lived a long life with many descendants and other family members at the time of his death.

The following day, the Anderson Herald ran a more in-depth obituary on page 4 that reported:

JAS. W. JOHNSON, AGE 88, IS DEAD
Grocer and Postmaster Fourteen Years at Johnson’s Crossing, Near Anderson.
Oldest Member of Large Family
James W. Johnson, age 88, died at 3 a.m. Wednesday at the home of his son, J.L. Johnson, 99 Indiana avenue, North Anderson. The funeral will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at the J.L. Johnson residence with Rev. H.R. McCune conducting the service. The body will be taken to the Blue River church cemetery, five miles south of Knightstown.
Mr. Johnson is survived by five children – James B. Johnson, of Tipton; O.L. Johnson, of Dublin; J.L. Johnson, North Anderson; Mrs. Ollie B. Tyler and Mrs. Martha E. Whittiker, of Battle Creek, Mich,; seventeen grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
Mr. Johnson was born in Brown county, Ohio, and came to Rush county, Indiana at the age of three and spent his youth there. He married Eveline Mulless and located in Madison county about thirty years ago.
For fourteen years he was a grocer and also postmaster at Johnson’s Crossing, five miles west of Anderson.
Mr. Johnson suffered from dropsy since last January, but he came from Battle Creek, Mich,; to Anderson last summer to attend the Johnson reunion, of which he was the oldest member present. The reunion was held on his birthday for the past few years and last year he was presented with a gold headed cane.

There was an inconsistency between the two as the short death notice mentioned five sons and two daughters while the lengthy obituary correctly mentioned a total of five children – three sons and two daughters.

James Wilson Johnson’s funeral took place tat the home of my great-grandfather, John Lafayette Johnson, in North Anderson and not at a funeral home. He was buried in the Little Blue River Cemetery. Presently, his stone has not been found although he is probably right next to his first wife, Amanda.

Read Full Post »

First Post-Mortem Photo

As a young teen, home alone while Mom and my grandparents were on a day trip to Urbana, Ohio to viist cousins, I took the opportunity to peruse the photo albums. Either that same evening or another day, as I was talking to Mom about photos, she brought out a medium sized box full of photos. (Side note: I wish we had labeled the photos then when Mom’s memory was better and my grandparents were still living.) 

I began taking out pictures one by one. Who was in the photos? I really don’t remember. I do know that several of them were face down. I picked one up and turned it over and immediately hollered at Mom. It was someone in an open casket. What was this madness?! Mom chuckled – obviously this was nothieg new to her. I hadn’t been educated in the “why” of post-mortem photos.

It seemed as if I ran across a ton of post-mortem photos – in reality, probably not very many. I don’t know what happened to that box of photos. In probability, I probably have them all now – but they were broken out in to smaller boxes. And the post-mortem photos? I have 3 of them (there were several copies). I can’t remember all these years later who it was in that first photo but it was either my great-grandfather John Lafayette Johnson, my great-grandmother Katie J (Blazer) Johnson, or my mom’s baby sister Lois Evelyn Johnson.

I won’t post those photos – for many reasons. If my kids want to see them, I’ll dig them out, but I won’t make them public for anyone’s morbid curiousity. I will post photos of when they were living (except my baby aunt as I don’t have any).

John & Katie Johnson
about 1929 in Anderson, Indiana

This is Week 1 post of “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. The prompt for this post was “First.” To participate, please go to: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

(Top image courtesty of Creative Commons. Original & digital Image of John & Katie Johnson in possession of Wendy Littrell – address for private use.)

Read Full Post »

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!

 

Read Full Post »

A Photo Comparison (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 2)

I have a difficult time picking just one photo of an ancestor or relative that is my  favorite. Many of what I consider in the top five include my maternal grandmother, Vesta Christena (Wilt) Johnson. I called her Nana because I believe it was my brother – the oldest of the grandchildren – who gave her that title.

As a child, many people would always comment on my blue eyes and ask me where I got them. My dad and siblings all were blessed with blue eyes so I would say that I got my blue eyes from my dad. There were also others who would tell me that I looked like Nana. I just couldn’t see it. I was a pre-teen or teen, and my grandmother was 63 years older than me. How could anyone tell?

However, in the last ten years or so, as I’ve shared photos of Nana online, many have repeated those assertions – that I did resemble her. Since I am much older now, I do see it. And then back in December, my cousin posted a picture that I had never seen before. It was of my grandparents with my uncle (my cousin’s father) when he was a baby. I cropped the photo to show just my grandmother and compared it to a photo of me about the same age. Well, what do you, my readers think?

This is a post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for Week 2. For more information or to sign up to participate (all free!!), check out Amy Johnson Crow’s post: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Read Full Post »

Fresh Start with Old Material (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 1)

When I started working on my family history, information on the web was lacking. In fact, aside from the beginnings of Ancestry.com, Rootsweb, and the old LDS FamilySearch.org, the main website was Cyndi’s List. Cyndi Ingle was a one woman show back in 2001, and she still is. Except today, Cyndi’s List is much bigger.

Fortunately, back then a good friend let me borrow her family tree software in order to begin. All the beginning genealogy articles I found online or in a few magazines suggested to start with yourself. That is exactly what I did. Now, almost twenty years later, I am using the latest version of Family Tree Maker (FTM). The database assigns a reference number to each person, and my number is 1. Number 2 is my dad. I really have no idea what the computations are for numbers in FTM. My mother shows up as Reference number 7359!

My descendants include four children and eight grandchildren! My ancestors include my two parents and four grandparents.

• Paternal: Lloyd William Amore and Ella Maria House
• Maternal: Glen Roy Johnson and Vesta Christena Wilt

As I go further back into my family history, not only do the generations become compounded but I am at brick walls on others. I have listed the number of known and documented ancestors after the relationship.

Great-Grandparents – 8

• Paternal: William Henry Amore and Mary Angeline Werts; James Emory House and Frances Virginia Ogan
• Maternal: John Lafayette Johnson and Katie J Blazer; Joseph Napolean Wilt and Martha Jane Stern

Great-Great-Grandparents (AKA 2x great-grandparents) – 14 out of 16

• Paternal: William Amore and Charlotte Reed; William Washington Werts and Louisa Bookless; Florus Allen House and Julia Ann Lewis; BRICKWALL on Frances Ogan’s biological parents.
• Maternal: James Wilson Johnson and Amanda Eveline Mullis; Franklin Blazer and Melissa Goul; Isreal Isaac Wilt and Christena Nash; Emanuel Bushong Stern and Nancy Caylor.

3x Great-Grandparents – 25 out of 32

• Paternal: BRICKWALL on William Amore’s parents; Zachariah Reed and BRICKWALL on Charlotte Reed’s mother; George Peter Werts and Margaret Catherine Maple; David Bookless and Mary Cartmell; Allen House and Editha Bigelow; Abel Lewis Jr and Nancy (Ann) Johnston.
• Maternal: Jacob Johnson and Ann Shields; John Mullis and Darlett Stanley; John Blazer and Mary Ann Nelson; John Goul and Martha McManaway (or alternate spellings); John Wilt and Phebe Hottinger; Alexander Nash and Elsy Minesinger; Peter Stern and Margaret Bushong; Abraham Caylor and Susannah Miller.

4x Great-Grandparents – 42 out of 64

• Paternal: BRICKWALL on Zachariah Reed’s parents; George Peter Werts and Susanna Huff; William B Maple and Mary Fuller; (thought to be but not proven) William Bookless and Ann Pearson; John Cartmell and mother of Mary Cartmell NOT PROVEN; Lazarus House and Rebecca Risley; Eli Bigelow and Anna Freeman; Abel Lewis and Elizabeth Jones; James Johnston and Catherine See.
• Maternal: BRICKWALL on Jacob Johnson’s parents; William Shields and Mary (maiden name is unknown); George Mullis (Sr) and Margaret “Polly” Owens; Thomas Stanley Sr and Sarah Mason; Philip Blazer and Elizabeth Kingsley; John Griffith Nelson and Mary Dickenson Arbuckle; Adam Goul and Elizabeth Lutz; BRICKWALL for parents of Martha McManaway; Peter Wilt and BRICKWALL for John Wilt’s mother; John Hottinger and Mary Orebaugh; Joshua Nash and Abigail (maiden name is unknown); Joseph Minesinger and Christeana (maiden name is unknown); Christian Stern and Susanna Roudebush; John Bushong and Anna Stover; Johannes Caylor (Kohler) and Sarah Salome Kinsey; Joseph H Miller and Catherine Botafield.

Now, 17 years after I began this family history journey, where do I start in order to break down those brick walls? I start with myself once again and go through each person’s documentation, ephemera, and stories in order to pick out as much information as I can. I also check into each person’s FAN club (family, associates and neighbors) – cluster research – for even more evidence.

(Photos above (left to right top to bottom) – First collage: Glen & Vesta (Wilt) Johnson; Lloyd & Ella (House) Amore; William Henry & Mary (Werts) Amore; John & Katie (Blazer) Johnson. Second collage: Peter & Margaret (Bushong) Stern; Joseph & Martha (Stern) Wilt and family; Emanuel & Nancy (Caylor) Stern; George Peter & Margaret Catherine (Maple) Werts. Third collage: James Wilson Johnson; William Amore; Melissa (Goul) Blazer; Isreal Wilt.)

This is the first post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for Week 1. For more information or to sign up to participate (all free!!), check out Amy Johnson Crow’s post: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Read Full Post »

Siblings – Genealogy Photo a Day Challenge

If you are on Instagram, you can follow genealogyphoto to participate in the Genealogy Photo a Day challenge (#genealogyphotoaday). My genealogy Facebook friend, Susan Peterson, also has her’s posted on Facebook. Recently, she posted a list of daily themes. Since I don’t have instagram anymore on my phone (due to storage space), I thought I would post the photos here on the blog.

Today’s theme is “Siblings” – so I will start with my dad’s side. The photo above is my paternal grandparents – Lloyd and Ella (House) Amore – with all seven of their living children (the youngest daughter was stillborn). Left to right standing: Norman, Gail, Bervil, Paul, Eugene (my dad); seated: Gertrude, Lloyd, Ella, and Marie. Even though my grandparents died before I was born, I was fortunate to know all of my paternal aunts and uncles.

 

This photo was taken in 1939 and is of my maternal grandparents, Glen and Vesta (Wilt) Johnson, and their three surviving children. Left to right: Glen Roy Jr, Genevieve, Vesta, Mary (my mom), and Glen Roy Sr. My mother had a baby sister, Lois Evelyn, who was born premature and died at about 6 weeks of age. My Aunt Genevieve died three years before I was born yet through the stories of my grandparents, my mom, and my cousins, I feel that I do know her.

Tomorrow’s theme: Cousins

Read Full Post »

Genealogy Road Trip – Part Nine

Our last full day in Anderson was filled with emotion and fun. If you have read this blog for awhile, then you might remember my post – Independent From Birth – about my maternal grandfather’s foster sister, Eva – specifically the following paragrah:

She and her husband split up and divorced, and when Eva was in her early 40s, she discovered that she was pregnant.  The specter of what lay ahead of her would surely be weighing on her mind: an older mother, a single mother, a mother of a grown son, a woman who had limited income.  Any number of reasons would have aided her in her decision to give up her daughter – just as she had been given up.  It was only many years later before Eva died, that she would be reunited with her grown daughter.

I have also written a series of articles concerning the Clues to the Mystery of Clara (Eva’s biological mother). All of the research stemmed from a comment I received on my genealogy web site many, many years ago from a woman telling me she was Eva’s biological daughter. Ever since Lynn and I began communicating way back then, she’s given me what little information she was told. I’ve used that and gone on to find documents and news articles to help her find out more about her biological family. When I knew that I was definitely going to be in Anderson, I made sure Lynn knew our schedule in order for us to finally meet face to face. Little did I know that she had a surprise of her own for me!

When Lynn and her husband pulled in to the motel parking lot to pick us up, I could hardly contain my excitement! As soon as we could, we hugged and laughed. It was as if we had known each other forever. Originally, we had planned to get a pizza and go to one of the parks, but the pizza place wasn’t going to be open for awhile. That’s when she told me that Eva’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter were also going to be with us for the day! I had never met them. The granddaughter (Lynn’s niece) had plenty of questions about Eva as well. We met up with them and they followed us to Culvers for an early lunch. Immediately, we all began pouring over the information about Eva and Clara as well as my grandparents (Eva’s foster parents).

That’s when I told my cousin and her mother that they were about to have their mind blown. We did share a family connection via the foster parent to child connection. BUT – further back – one of Clara’s direct ancestors was the brother of my direct ancestor – on my grandmother’s side. There was a blood connection! It was so thrilling to provide this information that it was hard to eat!

Soon, lunch was over, and we drove over to Mounds State Park and grabbed a picnic table to sit and enjoy the cool day. There was plenty of conversation. Lynn recounted to us how she finally found Eva and was able to talk with her. Her niece recounted meeting Lynn and also talked about her dad – Lynn’s older half-brother. While we were engaged in family history talk, Lynn’s husband and my grandson went to explore the Great Mound. The sky was beginning to turn and threaten rain. Lynn’s niece and sister-in-law had to leave. We took some nice photos before we parted ways.

Left to right: Wendy, Lynn (seated), cousin “B” and her mom “J”

Lynn, her husband and I drove through Anderson and happened to pass a cemetery. I saw the sign that said “West Maplewood” and then both my grandson and I exclaimed “There it is!” It was the gravestone that had been so elusive to us the last two days! I didn’t realize that West Maplewood Cemetery was off another road than East Maplewood – no wonder I could never find it. So Lynn’s husband pulled in to the cemetery. We all got out and set about exploring.

The photo above shows the very tall grave marker in the Hawkins family plot. At the upper right is the stone for Coleman Hawkins and below that is for his wife (and my great-great-grandfather’s sister) Elizabeth Blazer Hawkins. For more on their story, please read Mingling of Families and Murder.

This collage above shows the stones in the Hawkins family plot. Then from bottom left across and then up to top right: Ida E Hawkins (b. 1873 d. 1898); Silas Hawkins (b. 1870 d. 1901); Rufus Hawkins (b. 1866 d. 1896); stone hard to read;  and George G Hawkins (b. 1860 d. 1885).

In another section of West Maplewood, I found my great-great-grandfather’s (Frank Blazer) and Elizabeth’s other sister, Mary Jane Blazer Webb. She was next to her husband, Marian Webb, and sons: Rufus V Webb and Wilson S Webb. There were several interesting gravestones we saw as we explored the cemetery. From there we went to Frisch’s to eat. Once again, I had the Swiss Miss! We topped off our day at Shadyside Memorial Park in Anderson. Here is a photo I have of my grandfather, Glen R Johnson, as a young boy with sheep at Shadyside in the early 1900s.

The Terraced Gardens at the park were beautiful. There is also a memorial dedicated to all veterans from Madison county.

Below are photos of the Veterans Memorial.

We had spent quite a bit of time at the park when it started to sprinkle. The day was growing late and Lynn and her husband had another couple of hours on the road to get back to their home. Reluctantly, we piled back in to their vehicle so they could drop my grandson and me off at our motel. We said our good-byes, and they left for home. It was time to start packing up to leave the next morning and finish our journey home.

Next: Finding Lincoln

The previous installments of our genealogy road trip can be found here:  Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven and Part Eight.

If you would like to read more about Lynn’s biological maternal grandmother, please go to: Clara – the News Article, Who Is Clara Badger?, and  Update and Summary.

(All photos copyright Wendy Littrell, address for private use)

 

Read Full Post »