Young Woman

It wasn’t easy to pick out a favorite photo. I have so many: my kids at different ages, my wedding photos, reunions, ancestors, and even some of myself as a young child.

I chose the photo of my maternal grandmother, Vesta Christena Wilt, as a young woman – before she was married (probably). Her unruly baby fine wavy hair set in place. A locket on a chain around her neck. Blue eyes looking toward her future.

A photo of a woman of whom I see a bit of myself in the eyes, the same type of hair, and slight smile. A photo I treasure – but my Nana – I treasure her memory even more.

This post was written as part of Week 3 “Favorite Photo” blog prompt of “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” For more information please go to https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

(Digital and original photo in possession of Wendy Littrell.)

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My Nine Instagram Favorites of 2018

I used #2018bestnine to compile a collage of my top nine photos from Instagram for 2018. The top nine are ranked according to how many “hearts” (likes) were given on each picture. In case some of my followers aren’t on that social media platform, I thought I’d also post the compilation here as many of them are genealogy related – as well as my captions for each one.

Beginning at the top row, left to right and working my way down:

1. Lois Evelyn Johnson, born on June 9, 1927, was my mom’s baby sister. She was premature and couldn’t seem to gain weight according to a calendar diary my grandmother kept. Lois Evelyn died on September 30, 1927. She was first buried in a cemetery in Fairborn, Ohio (then Fairfield), but a family lost several members due to a fire and wasn’t able to afford cemetery plots. My grandparents donated their plots and had the baby re-interned at Glen Haven Memorial Gardens outside New Carlisle, Ohio. This is Lois Evelyn’s heart-shaped grave marker. Lying in the family plot are my grandparents, Aunt & Uncle, and my mom. Most of the family together in rest.
2. Genealogy Photo a Day for May 2 is “Happy Face” – a pic of my mom Mary (left) with her older sister Genevieve taken about 1956. Yesterday, May 1, was 9th anniversary of mom’s passing. Today May 2 marks 60 years of my aunt’s passing.
3. Today the Genealogy Photo a Day is Letters. I have boxes & boxes of letters dating back to 1916. This letter was written by my maternal grandmother when my grandparents were stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany in the early 50s.
4. Chariton County Missouri museum has Laura Ingalls Little House on the Prairie info in display case
5. My husband and I were married in the office of our local Justice of the Peace in May 1988. Almost a year later, on the first Saturday of April, we had a church wedding (a reaffirmation). The date happened to fall on April Fools Day!
6. Today the Genealogy Photo a Day theme is “Starts With T”so I chose a photo that depicts Trip of a Lifetime! My mom was thrilled to travel to Israel in the 90s. Here she is riding a camel! I am glad Mom was able to do this.
7. This item hung on my grandparents’ wall in all of their homes for as long as I could remember. I was probably almost a teen when I made it known to my grandmother that I sure would like to have that item. Every time I saw it, I asked my grandmother to wind it for me (it plays music). At some point before my grandmother’s death, she put my name on the back of that plaque. I also think I ended up with it because I was the “baby” (by 14 years) of the grandchildren and most of the other granddaughter’s (there are 5 of us and 3 grandsons) received items like crystal stemware, jewelry, and silver. They bought the item in Garmisch (in Bavaria), and I have the letter written to my mother that detailed their trip to Garmisch and the purchase of that piece!
8. Today’s theme for Genealogy Photo a Day is “Friends” so I chose this pic taken in the fall of 1966 in Seattle. I’m in red in front of my mom & dad. With us is Derald & Marilyn Manning and their 2 children (their daughter took the picture). We were at the top of the Space Needle. Mom & Dad met the Mannings over 10 years earlier when the men were in the US Army Air Corps/US Air Force stationed in Japan. The couples spent many evenings together playing cards, eating dinner, enjoying parties, and being close friends. I know they exchanged Christmas cards for awhile before finally losing touch by the mid 70s due to distance and my parents’ divorce.
9. This is my Great-great-grandmother Melissa Goul. Her daughter Katie was the mother of my maternal grandfather. Melissa had a tragic life. Born in Ohio in Oct 1832, she found herself pregnant with her first cousin’s baby at the age of 18. The cousin (& his wife) moved to Missouri while Melissa’s parents moved her to Indiana. Melissa ended up marrying Franklin Blazer and had 5 more kids. Frank was killed by lightning in 1869 at the age of 33. Melissa then ran the farm by herself. She died on March 7, 1907 but had pre-planned her funeral as she didn’t want to be buried in the winter. Her funeral was held three months later on June 9. According to newspaper accounts, her body was very well preserved, and she looked as if she was just recently deceased at the time of her open casket funeral.

Are you on Instagram? Do you participate in the #genealogyphotoaday challenge?

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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.)

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My Forefathers

In honor of Father’s Day, I created a collage of my male ancestors – just as I did for the The Women Who Came Before Me on Mother’s Day.

Beginning at the top, left to right:
Joseph Napolean Wilt b. 21 Jan 1868 in Henry county, Indiana and d. 9 Jan 1944 in Nabb, Indiana. Great-grandfather
Israel Wilt b. 20 June 1823 in Timberville, Virginia and d. 9 Sep 1919 in Middletown, Indiana. 2nd Great-grandfather
Emanuel Bushong Stern b. 7 Oct 1834 in Montgomery county, Ohio and d. 10 Sep 1911 in Yale, Nebraska. 2nd Great-grandfather
Peter Stern b. 10 Feb 1810 in Washington, Pennsylvania and d. 12 Nov 1887 in Clarksville, Indiana. 3rd Great-grandfather
James Wilson Johnson b. 16 Aug 1829 in Byrd, Ohio and d. 31 Oct 1917 in Anderson, Indiana. 2nd Great-grandfther
James Emory House b. 2 May 1842 in West Lafayette, Ohio and d. 1 Oct 1924 in Coshocton, Ohio. Great-grandfather
William Amore b. 6 Feb 1828 in Albany county, New York and d. 10 Feb 1896 in Franklin, Ohio. 2nd Great-grandfather
George Peter Werts b. Oct 1801 in Virginia and d. 29 July 1866 in Muskingum county, Ohio. 3rd Great-grandfather
John Lafayette Johnson b. 2 Mar 1861 in Rush county, Indiana and d. 28 May 1939 in Greene county, Ohio. Great-grandfather
William Henry Amore b. 10 Mar 1852 in West Lafayette, Ohio and d. 14 Jul 1934 in Coshocton, Ohio. Great-grandfather
Glen Roy Johnson b. 21 Nov 1898 in Anderson, Indiana and d. 18 Jan 1985 in Beavercreek, Ohio. Grandfather
Lloyd William Amore b. 5 Mar 1882 in Lafayette, Ohio and d. 25 Feb 1955 in Coshocton, Ohio. Grandfather
Eugene James Amore b. 4 Apr 1921 in Coshocton, Ohio and d. 3 Dec 2015 in Fanning Springs, Florida. Dad

 

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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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Cousins – Genealogy Photo a Day Challenge

Today’s #GenealogyPhotoaDay theme is “Cousins.” This is my maternal grandmother’s side of the family. The Wilt cousins met in Indiana on April 29, 1977 (where most of them lived) for this photo.

Left to right standing: the caption says “Eva” but I believe it is Dortha Zirkle McDonnell, Helen Zirkle Lynam, Russell Weiss, Glen R Johnson (my maternal grandfather); seated beginning in center moving clockwise: Edith Pierce Taylor, Eva Zirkle Weiss, Freda Pierce Franklin, Nellie Wilt Lilly (my great-aunt), Vesta C Wilt Johnson (my maternal grandmother), and Hurchell McDonnell.

Eva May Zirkle was a first cousin to my grandmother – Vesta C (Wilt) Johnson. Eva was the daughter of Mary Lou Wilt and Dillman Zirkle. She was born May 10, 1904 in Henry county, Indiana; married Russell Weiss on April 27, 1929 and died December 2, 1999. Helen Zirkle was Eva Zirkle’s younger sister. She was born December 20, 1910 in Middletown, Indiana; married Carl Lynam on January 12, 1935, and died January 22, 2004. Freda Elizabeth Pierce was my grandmother’s 1c1r (1st cousin one time removed). She was the daughter of Bertha Hofherr and Kenneth Pierce and granddaughter of Sarah C Wilt and John Hofherr. Freda was born Oct 23, 1918 in Salem, Indiana; married Harley Franklin on Oct 23, 1937, and died on July 16, 2013. Edith Ethel Pierce was Freda’s older sister. She was born on September 7, 1916 in Salem, Indiana; married Henry Arnold Taylor on September 12, 1936, and died February 6, 1994. My grandmother’s sister, Nellie M (Wilt) Lilly was also in town from Olympia, Washington for this event. The man listed as “Hurschul” – I believe was the husband of Dortha Zirkle (sister of Eva and Helen). (I am not positive but I believe the woman standing at the left was really Dortha and not “Eva” as marked.) Dortha was born on June 12, 1891; married Lawrence Pittsford on April 20, 1912. After he died in 1964, Dortha married Hurchell McDonnell on September 2, 1965. Dortha died on January 24, 1979.

The Wilt cousins had a reunion once a year and for many years it was held in Noblesville, Indiana. In the 1980s, the reunion was once held at my grandparents’ Dayton, Ohio apartment building in the party room and pool and once at my brother’s home outside of Dayton, Ohio. At least one other time during the year, my grandparents would travel from Dayton to Indiana to visit Wilt cousins or some of them even came to Dayton. I am thankful that I remember the reunions – even though I wasn’t old enough or appreciative enough to want to listen to stories then!

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The Rest of the Story (31 Days to Better Genealogy – Day 7)

Christmas 1967

For those readers who are a “certain age” – do you remember “Creepy Crawlers?” Prior to Christmas 1967, my neighbors had one of those kits. I loved watching how the liquid stuff that came out of bottle (“PlastiGoop”) and put into molds could create caterpillars, bugs, spiders, and a whole assortment of “creepy crawlers.” I enjoyed it so much and talked about it so Santa Claus – in his infinite wisdom – gifted me with a different type of Thingmaker – Fun Flowers.

The photo above shows me after Christmas using my new toy. I know that it is at least the day after Christmas because there aren’t any remnants of Christmas presents around the tree. I also don’t see anyone else in the picture. On Christmas Day there would have been quite a number of folks at our house making it particularly difficult to get a picture without anyone else there. My dad was taking the photo so he was also the one making sure I used the heating element correctly as I was only six years old. The TV stand next to me is holding the box with other metal molds so I could make several different types of flower petals and leaves. I decorated pencils with all of my flower creations! (Fun fact: I still own the chair as it is part of the dining room set which sits in our front room as well as the hutch cabinet in the upper part of the photo that now sits in our dining area/living room!)

Amy Johnson Crow is hosting an online learning experience called “31 Days to Better Genealogy.” If you haven’t signed up for this, you can do so here. There is also a closed Facebook group that you can request to join after you sign up for the daily newsletter. You will receive a daily email and during the day, Amy posts a live video on the Facebook group. All members of the group are encouraged to work on the tip of the day, report their results, help and encourage each other. Today’s tip was to write about a photo in order to encourage those taking part in the group to list more about their pictures instead of just name, date, and place. Give the photos life so those in the future (our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) will have that information.

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Genealogy Road Trip – Part Three

If you need to catch up on Part One and Part Two, I’ll wait . . .

So now the time had come for the next leg of my journey – my dad’s hometown of Coshocton, Ohio. Coshocton is located in west central Ohio near the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and just under 3 hours from where we were outside of Dayton. Knowing the horrible traffic and road construction of I-71 and I-70 through Columbus, I chose to spend most of the drive via the country. We headed toward Xenia and then north to Columbus on 70 but went around the city eastward. Before reaching Zanesville, we headed north and then east on 16. As we drove through Newark, I pointed out the Longaberger Basket Building to my grandson. He just had to get a picture as we passed by!

I had left my cousin’s house earlier than planned so we arrived at our hotel before noon. Even though the hotel check in was later in the day, they had our room ready for us so we got our luggage and settled in. Then we set out to explore a bit. We headed toward the courthouse square and passed the Presbyterian church where my grandparents – Lloyd Amore and Ella House – were married in 1903.

Presbyterian Church (left) and Chapel (right)

We walked around the square while we were there. The Coal Miner’s Memorial is dedicated to all those men who worked in the mines and those who lost their lives. It was very important for me to see as not only did some of my dad’s cousins work in the coal mines but so did my grandpa Lloyd Amore. The Bicentennial Time Capsule is special to me because a letter was placed in it from my Great-Uncle, Rev. Isaiah H (“Zade”) Amore. The front page of the November 21, 1976 edition of the Coshocton Tribune reports: In his letter he states that Coshocton has been good to him and has taught him how much people need one another. Rev. Amore strikes a humorous note in his letter, as he often did in the sermons that made his ministry so successful, when he concludes with “I have had my share of weddings and funerals.” Uncle Zade had just celebrated his 100th birthday and due to health reasons, he was unable to be present at the ceremony that day. I am thrilled that in the fall of 2076 someone will open that time capsule and read his letter! The Coshocton County War Memorial is a part of other memorial markers in front of the courthouse. (Photo of the square below.)

Bob Evans restaurant was right next door to our hotel, so we went there for a late lunch. My grandson was excited that they had double chocolate hotcakes on the menu (wait a minute, I thought we were there for lunch?)!

After lunch, we headed just around the corner from our hotel to Historic Roscoe Village. I wanted to do a quick check on things just in case we weren’t able to do the tour later in the week. Many years ago, my dad sent me some photos from his last visit to Coshocton. On the back of one, he wrote “Coshocton General Store, some of my brothers and sisters were born upstairs.” That picture has been posted here on the blog quite awhile ago. When we walked in the store, I told the lady at the counter that my grandparents had lived in the upstairs room in the early 1900s and some of my dad’s siblings were born there. She was very excited and told me there were antiques for sale in the upstairs room so I could go up the steps and stand in that same room. After we came back down, we did a bit of shopping and my grandson bought a ball cap before leaving. I stood across the street and took photos of the store. However, and this made me feel sad later – the photo my dad had sent to me and labeled the General Store was not, in fact, correct. I did take a picture of the correct building later – even though I never went in and upstairs – mainly because I was still under the impression that it was the General Store where my grandparents’ home had been.

In the photos above, you will see the picture my dad sent to me, then the one I took of the General Store, and finally of the Roscoe Village Suites – the correct building. (I am not sure why I didn’t look at the picture on the blog before deciding I had the right building – let that be a lesson learned.) I can take comfort knowing that my grandparents and great-grandparents probably did shop at the General Store even though I now know that they didn’t live there.

I captured more photos while on our walk down Whitewoman Street through Historic Roscoe Village. After we left, we went up the hill in Roscoe and passed the home I believed to be where my great-grandparents, William H and Mary Angelina (Werts) Amore lived. Up from their house was the Roscoe Cemetery. I drove through but didn’t see their graves. It would be the next day when I would spend more time at the cemeteries in the area.

Our late dinner was spent at McDonalds – grandson’s choice. Then we went back to the hotel to just rest and relax. The next day – Tuesday – was going to be one filled with tons of walking up and down hills.

Next – meeting new cousins and visiting ancestral graves.

 

 

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Genealogy Road Trip – Part Two

This is a continuation of Part One so please go to that if you haven’t read it yet.

July 9 – I woke early in order to go to Glen Haven Memorial Gardens in New Carlisle, Ohio. I wanted to visit the graves of my mom, maternal grandparents, uncle and aunts. Before I did anything, I posted birthday greetings for my son on Facebook. As I looked at my list, I decided to go visit my dad’s grave one more time. The ground had been put back, and it appeared as if it hadn’t even been touched. The sun was out and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. I spent time talking to Dad before saying goodbye and heading east on Route 40 (National Road) toward Glen Haven.

I was a bit disappointed that my grandfather, Glen R Johnson, did not have a flag placed at his grave but many others did. Since he is buried in the Veteran’s section, I would think there would be a high probability that his would not be overlooked. Only my mother’s grave had flowers as my sister and I make sure we order a silk arrangement every spring. It was a shame that the others did not have flowers. (Photo above: upper left clockwise – “J” – the Johnson plot, my uncle and aunt Glen R Johnson and Mary Van Tuyl Johnson, my mother Mary H Johnson Amore, my grandparents Glen R Johnson and Vesta Wilt Johnson, my aunt Lois Evelyn Johnson, and the four gravestones.) I spent quite a bit of time there talking to Mom and my grandparents. Then I took my leave and headed toward Fairborn in Greene County close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. My grandparents raised their family in what used to be Fairfield until the town merged with neighbor Osborn to become present day Fairborn. I wanted to take a picture of the home where my mom spent her youth. Unfortunately, not only was the street torn up and barriers marked “No Thru Traffic” were in place (which I disregarded!) but the trees in the front yard of the house made it impossible to take a good photograph. With a police vehicle at one end of the street and too many cars in the driveway, I didn’t think it would be proper to stop the car, get out and try to get a good camera shot so I just turned around and left. This – below – is what the home looked like many years ago.

After returning from my morning journey, my cousin and I hit the local supermarket. I wanted to purchase items that can only be found in the Dayton area – Mikesell’s potato chips, Esther Price candy, and also some Buckeye candy. Think I bought enough chips? (As of today, we’ve eaten all but two bags!)

After our grocery run, my grandson and I bid goodbye to my cousin and went over to her mother’s (my first cousin) for the remainder of our Dayton visit. I enjoy our conversations. She and her late husband had been very sweet to me when I was a child, and I was flower girl for their wedding. The food she fixed for our supper was delicious.

July 10 – my grandson and I left before 10 a.m. to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force just off of Springfield Street in Dayton. The museum is very special to me as the Caquot Balloon hanging in the Early Years Gallery is similar to the balloon my grandfather worked with in the Signal Corps during WWI. He and several other balloonists and those of the Royal Air Force helped to locate the balloon for display in the museum. He had also donated some artifacts. Another family history fact: when the museum moved from the Base located off of Broad Street in Fairborn to its present day location, my dad was in charge of the logistics of moving all of the equipment/aircraft/etc. Fun fact: I’ve visited the museum more since I moved away from Ohio than I ever did as a kid!

Following our full day at the Air Force museum, we traveled back toward my hometown and stopped one last time at Ritter’s for frozen custard before heading over to my other cousin’s house for a visit. The evening back at our hostess’ home was spent catching up on laundry and more conversation. We tried to cram in as much as we could in our chat. For all too soon, it would be time to hit the road in the morning for the next leg of our trip – one I was very much looking forward to be headed!

Next – my dad’s hometown!

(All photos – digital scans and originals in possession of Wendy Littrell, address for private use.)

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Travel Tuesday – Summer 2016 Road Trip

Readers may notice that there has been a lull in recent blog posts. This is in part to several things but the most important was a road trip I took in the early part of July. The main purpose for my trip was to fulfill my dad’s wishes to have his ashes interred beside his second wife, Dottie, at Royal Oak Memorial Gardens in Brookville, Ohio – just outside of Dayton.

Once my time in the Dayton area was complete, my 15 year old grandson and I traveled further northeast to my dad’s hometown. I hadn’t visited Coshocton, Ohio since I was a child so it was a joy to be able to see it as an adult especially after extensive genealogical research on the paternal side of my family. After spending a week in Coshocton, I headed west toward home with a three day stop in Anderson, Indiana – my mom’s hometown as well as her dad’s.

Following our twelve day vacation, we began our journey home – stopping in Springfield, Illinois to visit President Lincoln’s home and his tomb.

It was a welcome break for me and even though he wasn’t too thrilled with spending seven hours at the library on one day and two hours another, my grandson enjoyed some perks.

There will be more blog posts to come with details of the what, who, where, why, and how! It was a trip filled with many blessings!

(Digital Photo: Monarch Butterfly Garden at Falls Park, Pendleton, Indiana; 16 July 2016; photographer: Wendy Littrell; copyright 2016. No unauthorized use of photo. Original digital photo in possession of Wendy Littrell – Address for private use.)

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