Saturday, March 31, 2018

Harry Slater Goes to Red Feather Lake

Out and about in Colorado(?): my great grandfather Harry Slater (1888-1956), his daughter and my biological grandmother Alta Slater seated next to him, Harry's brother Pete (front, far left), and Harry's uncle Art Tomlinson (front, far right, his son Jack Tomlinson behind him). Image courtesy of Olive Kennedy
My understanding is that my Colorado Slaters and Tomlinsons liked to go outdoors and explore.  There are numerous photos attesting to this.  They also got the occasional mention in the newspaper for these outings (you know it is small community when some guys spending the weekend at the lake makes first page):
"Niwot News," Daily Times (Longmont, Colorado), 1 Jun 1926, pg. 1, col. 1; digital image, Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection : 31 Mar 2018).



Red Feather Lakes is over 90 miles north of Niwot, so it was quite a trip for the 1920s:

Terrain view of directions from Niwot to Red Feather Lakes (Google Maps).



"Al Torrinson" is possibly Harry's uncle Albert Edson Tomlinson (see below), and George "Atchinson" was likely one of Harry Slater's Niwot neighbors, George Atkinson (b 1855) or George Atkinson (b 1903) (I suspect the younger man).

Harry Slater's uncle Albert Edson Tomlinson (1869-1945), probably taken some time between 1885-1893, since the Genelli photographic studio operated in St. Louis between 1884-1998, and he was out in Boulder, Colorado by 1893. Image courtesy of Olive Kennedy.





© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, March 30, 2018

School Days: Fourth Grade - 1956/57

This week I'm sharing the class picture from my fourth grade at St. Rita's School.* (I'm in the second row, fifth from the left.)

[From my personal collection]


*Sadly, the third grade picture is missing from my collection.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Videos of the Lectures from the 2017 i4gg Conference Are Now Up!

From the i4gg website.  You can click here to see CeCe Moore's keynote speech; all of the lectures are available for purchase at the i4gg site.

If you were an attendee to the 2-day conference you can view the lectures for free.  If you didn't attend you can still view the lectures ($10/lecture, or $99 for all 21 lectures).  Whatever your level of skill in genetic genealogy, you are sure to learn something new from these amazing experts.

I have been looking forward to re-watching Angie Bush's lecture, "Power Tools for the Genetic Genealogist":
There are many tools and resources that can be used to help break-through genealogical brick walls or recent unknown parentage cases. This lecture will focus on the methodologies, testing company tools, 3rd party tools and other techniques used by the professional genealogists at Ancestry ProGenealogists to work through these difficult brick walls.
This was an insightful look at how professionals put together a report which includes DNA results (especially useful for adoptees).  After my failure to get started on GenomeMate last year, I think the information in this lecture will help me process, sort, and organize my ever-accruing DNA cousin matches.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

L.L. Slater & Hamlin's Wizard Oil - 1890

When I found the following paragraph which included a reference to my great great grandfather Lewis Logan Slater the lucky winner of " the silver cake basket" at a free concert on the streets of Severy, Kansas, I just had to find out what was going on. 

[24 Oct 1890, Page 2 - Democratic Messenger at Newspapers.com]


Hamlin's Wizard Oil claimed to be able to cure just about any ailment* and spread the good news around the continent not just through print advertising but alto through its traveling concert tours. Here's a description of a Canadian troupe I found on Linda Knight Seccaspina's blog
Drawn by four white stallions, it served as a mobile performance stage, with a built-in parlour organ and lockers crammed with Hamlin’s medicines. Wizard Oil was emblazoned in gigantic letters across the sides. The troupe consisted of a driver, a lecturer and a male quartet. Hamlin enforced a rigid dress code. Some competitors posed as Indians, Quakers or mysterious healers from distant lands, but Wizard Oil president John Hamlin wanted his wagons and employees to project an image of professionalism. All employees were contractually bound to dress identically in high silk hats, frock coats, gray vests, striped trousers, spats and glossy patent-leather shoes.

[Source: lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com]


Through Google Books and HathiTrust I located a promotional song book printed by the company featuring "humorous and Sentimental Songs as sung throughout the United States by Hamlin's Wizard Oil Concert Troupes." Here's the cover and a couple of pages.




It all must have been as exciting for the residents of small towns throughout North America as the circus coming to town.


*Link to Wizard Oil and cancer cure claims


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Two Helpful Videos from Ohio History About Using "Chronicling America" Newspapers

Today has turned out to be a day for administrative tasks (i.e. my ongoing location cleanup) and for brushing up on search techniques.

I found a few nice videos from the Ohio History YouTube channel with great tips to use while searching content in Chonicling America (or any other newspaper database).


"Historical vocabulary are the words used by people living at the time to describe contemporary people, places and events. Watch this video to learn more about historical vocabulary and why it is important to use it while searching Chronicling America and other digital newspaper resources."




"Watch this video to learn some tips for working with online translation tools in order to access the information contained in foreign-language newspapers on Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov). You may also find this video helpful if you’re working with other foreign-language printed materials."



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Cousin Hunting: Verne Carol Grooms Gilchrist (1935 - 1960)

Today I've been looking at the other children of my maternal third great grandfather William T. Slater (abt 1790-1847) which is what lead me to this fourth cousin* who was only 24 when she died on the 31st of January, 1960--and the cause of her death attracted my attention.

[South Carolina Department of Archives and History; Columbia, South Carolina; Year Range: 1950-1961;
Death County or Certificate Range: Charleston. Ancestry.com]

Next I looked for a newspaper description of the accident:
[The Charleston News and Courier, Tuesday, February 02, 1960 Charleston,
South Carolina Page 8. Newspapers.com]


From these two items we can deduce that Verne Carol was divorced and while her daughter seems to have remained with her, her two sons were described as "of Detroit, Mich."

It's too late in the day for me to go into the matter, but in 1965 her parents brought a wrongful death suit against the estate of the driver Charles Henry Zander, Jr. and there are several newspaper articles regarding that suit. Maybe I'll return to the topic in a later post.


*Here's how we're related:
[Ancestry.com]






© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Sunday Drive: John J. Egan's "Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley"

One of several enterprising men inspired by the huge economic success of John Bavard's 1846 panorama of the Mississippi River, Dr. Montroville Wilson Dickeson hired itinerant artist John J. Egan to turn the sketches of the region made during his extensive amateur archaeological investigations in the early 1840s into a commercially successful product.

The only known survivor of Bavard's five known competitors, the 348 foot long panorama was acquired by the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1952 but at the time didn't have a suitable space to display it. However that changed when the museum expanded its exhibition space and the painting was restored and is currently on display, one panel at a time due to its fragility, in the Sculpture Hall.

[John J. Egan, American (born Ireland), 1810–1882; Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley (scene 20 of 25), c.1850; tempera on lightweight fabric; 90 in. x 348 ft. (228.6 x 10607.1 cm); Saint Louis Art Museum, Eliza McMillan Trust 34:1953]



As you can see in this 1851 poster, Dr. Dickeson used the panorama as a backdrop to his lectures which were touted as "worth alone, double the price of admission."

[Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley! : Now Exhibiting for a Short Time Only … this Gorgeous Panorama, with All the Aboriginal Monuments … Painted by the Eminent Artist I. J. Egan…. Newark, N.J.: Printed at the Mercury Office, ca. 1851. Princeton University - Western Americana Collection: (WA) E78.M75 M65e]

For a much closer look at this "Gorgeous Panorama" here's a very fine analysis by the blog Paleo Porch which includes many details that aren't visible in the youtube video.

This amazing view of the Mississippi River Valley also qualifies as a Fantastic Find.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

George Hartley Did NOT Go To That Meeting

In previous posts I have speculated that Solomon Hartley (1775-1815) had a brother George Hartley who was also a mariner/rigger in the Northern Liberties area of Philadelphia in the early 1800s.  Here is a notice by this George Hartley declaring that he did not attend a meeting at the widow Clothier's ("sign of the Beehive") for raising wages:


The Subscriber,
Hereby gives notice to those Journeymen
Riggers who held a meeting at the widow
Clothier, sign of the Beehive, on the 15th inst.
for the purpose of raising their wages, that will
please to come forward, in a public manner and
clear me of the false report which has gone a-
broad, that I had attended the said meeting and
approved of the proceeding.  In case of neglect-
ing to do this, I shall consider them as the au-
thors of the report, and prosecute them to the
full extent of the law, for using my name to
serve their puposes, and to the injury of my
reputation.
George HartleyMay 22--d3t

-------------------------------
We, the Subscribers
Journeymen Riggers, do in this public man-
ner declare that neither George Hartley,
nor Martin Brown, were at the meeing held at
the widow Clothier's on the 15th inst. neither
has any of us said that they were.  We therefore
clear them of the false report that has gone a-
broad.
Joseph Wills,
Solomon Hartly,
George Ekhart,
John Mirkil,
Simon Johnson***,
Joseph Brown, x his mark.
Daniel Mark
Asa B. Bramble,
John Cristi,
Peter Walters,
F. F. Schluck,
Peter Fox, x his mark.
James Chembers,
George Carr,
John Walker, x his mark.
Frederick Keller [or Ketler?]
May 22--d3dt

"We, the Subscribers," Philadelphia Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), May 25, 1809, page 4, col. 3; digital image, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com : 24 March 2018).

More names for the Solomon Hartley FAN club!




***Simon Johnson was known to be Solomon Hartley's brother-in-law: Solomon Hartley married Mary Gwinnup, and Simon Johnson married Elizabeth Gwinnup, Mary's sister.  Simon Johnson's son, Joseph A. Kelting, was my grandfather George W. Hartley's (1805-1880) first cousin.  Joseph Kelting was active in the Mormon church for many years.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, March 23, 2018

School Days: Second Grade - 1954/55

Another year, more school portraits of me and my classmates. (Mine is located in the third row, second from the right, on the first page.)*




Here's what St. Rita's School looked like at that time and you can see a current view here, courtesy of Google Maps. (The second story was added while I during my time there.)

[All from my personal collection]


Googling St. Rita's I found a very brief history of the school and learned it had been open only a year before I began my education there.

And, as Mother lightly penciled in, I was seven years old.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Limited Time Free Webinar: Catherine B. Wiest Desmarais presents "From Baltimore to Burlington: Hazen P. Day's Neighbors Bring Him Home"



I've been going through my 4th great grandfather Solomon Hartley's neighbors and associates in Philadelphia for years now, trying to see if I can find any more hints about his ancestry:

Solomon Joseph Hartley
Update on Solomon Joseph Hartley;
Update on the Update
Brick Wall part 1;
Brick Wall part 2;
Some Notes on People living along Coates' in Philadelphia circa 1810)

Plus, today I submit a summary of people living at the same address as Solomon Hartley in the Philadelphia directories (1807-1814):

1807
Emlen's Court
Barber John M (1768-1828?) bricklayer Emlen's court
Hartly Solomon, rigger Emlen's court
Parker Phoebe widow Emlen's court

1808
Emlen's Court
Barber John M. bricklayer Emlen's court
Hartley Solomon, rigger Emlen's court
Miller Michael, shoemaker Emlen's court
Wiley (?) Richard (1765-1842), ship joiner Emlen's court
 (note: "Wildey Richard, shipjoiner, Emlin's court" in 1809 city directory: http://www.archive.org/stream/philadelphiadire1809phil#page/312/mode/2up)

1810
43 Coates'
Hartley Soloman, rigger 43 Coates'
Stackhouse H. [Hastings?] (1781-1840)hatter 43 Coates' alley

1811
43 Coates'
Anderson John, rigger, near 43 Coates'
Hartley Solomon, rigger, 43 Coates'

1813
49 Browne/Brown
Fisher, Jacob (1777-1850) 49 Brown
Hartley Solomon 49 Browne
Shaffer John, tanner back 49 Browne

1814
49 Browne/Brown
Fisher George, drover 49 Browne
Fisher Jacob, carpenter 49 Browne
(note by 1830 Philadelphia city directory has him as "Fisher Jacob, house carp 50 Browne")
Hartley Solomon, mariner 49 Browne
Shaffer John, tanner back 49 Browne

I feel confident that he at least knew these people listed at the same address.  What relation or association they had with Solomon is as yet unknown, but they are leads.

I was very happy to see a similar FAN-type approach in a webinar presented this week by Catherine B. Wiest Desmarais, "From Baltimore to Burlington: Hazen P. Day's Neighbors Bring Him Home:"
A Maryland resident claimed an 1816 Vermont birth to Vermont-born parents, but no known record provides his specific birthplace or his parents' or siblings' names. Studying his ties to his neighbors and those associates who shared close geographic, vocational, political and religious proximity brings a Maryland man home to his Vermont family. Learn how the presenter analyzed, correlated, and  assembled common and lesser-known records to build a persuasive case.


Board for Certification of Genealogists
Runs 1 hour 11 minutes
Free to non-subscribers through March 27, 2018







© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Another Male Slater Behaving Badly in Kansas: Pete Slater - "The arrest was a surprise."

In November of 1911 twenty-five year old Pete Slater fell afoul of the strict alcohol laws in Kansas.

[2 Nov 1911, Page 2 - Democratic Messenger at Newspapers.com]

[18 Jan 1912, Page 1 - The Eureka Herald and Greenwood County Republican at Newspapers.com]


Further research reveals that his partner in crime "Tice" was Civil War veteran Mathias A. Costin (1836-1922) who's buried in Severy's Twin Groves Cemetery. You will note in the last item of this newspaper cutting, he's the one who paid the $100 fine.

[25 Jan 1912, Page 4 - The Severyite at Newspapers.com]


P.S. Peter Slater is my great uncle.


You can read about the Kansas version of Prohibition here.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Book Shelf: "North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History" by Helen F. Leary


One of my mom's AncestryDNA Migrations is "Eastern North Carolina Settlers".  I have a ton to learn about this state and the history of its early settlers.  I hope that will help me get through some brick walls on both sides of Mom's ancestry.

A few weeks ago I linked to Mary Hill's very informative webinar on overcoming record loss in genealogical research.  She highly recommended "North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History" by Helen F. Leary as a great source.  I immediately ordered a copy (not cheap: $55 at Amazon) and am waiting for it to arrive.  It was supposed to arrive by yesterday but Amazon did notify me that it was indeed late.

I'm a bit peeved since I am excited to start using it and wanted to do a legitimate book shelf post on it.  Hopefully it comes tomorrow!

By the time this map was done in 1755 I already had a huge portion of my ancestors running around in these areas, particularly Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. "A Map of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland with part of New Jersey etc.," paper, Printed for R. Baldwin in pater Noster Row, 1755; digital image, North Carolina Maps (http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ncmaps/id/123 : 20 Mar 2018).



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Monday Is for Mothers: Mercy Ann Darling Webb Walsh's Obituary - 1915

We have my great great grandmother's 1915 obituary thanks to research done by Findagrave's member Gayle Neuhaus, a resident of Winnetoon, Nebraska. Gayle added a transcription of it to Mercy's memorial, adding her source so I was able to locate a scan of the original* from The Creighton Liberal:

[Source: Digital Archives of the Creighton Public Library]

                  Obituary**
   Mrs. Mercy Ann Walsh was born on
the eleventh day of May 1835 at
Harvard, Courtland County, N y
and died Oct. 29, 1915 at Creighton
Nebr being 80 year 5 months and 18
days old
   In 1858 she was married to Abner
Webb of Jones county, Ia. Soon after
their marriage they moved 
to Collen County Texas
where was born to them a son
J.D. Webb who resides in Winnetoon.
When the country was in the throes of
war in the sixties her husband re-
sponded to the call of the South and
laid down his life upon the altar of 
his country.
   In 1864 Miss Webb married Joshua
B Walsh in McKenny Collen county
Texas from which place they moved
to Iowa in 1866. To this union four
children were born all of whom are
still living. Two sons F B. and J
S Walsh reside at Boulder, Colo.
Mrs Kitty May Pierce of Idaho and
Mrs Dr. Hazen of Creighton, Nebr.
During her entire life she has been
very healthy; and knowing she had
lived beyond her allotted time here
on earth she came to Creighton to
spend her last days with her daugh-
ter and also that she might at her
death be buried in the Millerboro
churchyard by the side of her hus
band  Mr Walsh served thorought
the Mexican was for which a pension
was received by his wife. He also 
fought under Gen. Jackson against
the Indians of Florida.
   For forty years Mrs. Walsh was a
member of the Church of God and
was very faithful in and to her reli-
gious beliefs. The funeral services
were held Sunday Oct. 31st at the 
home of Mrs. Hazen, Rev. Joseph
Stanford pastor Methodist Church
officiating  Internment was at Miller-
boro  Six of her grand sons, Claude,
Elmer, and Waymond Hazen;
Herbert Fred and John Webb, acted 
as pall bearers  Thus laid at rest 
a soul that feared God
                --------------
       CARD OF THANKS
   We sincerely desire to thank all our
friends and neighbors for their help
and expressions of sympathy. In the
sorror that has come to us in the
loss of our mother and grandmother.
   Dr. and Mrs. Hazen and family.
   Jess and Nora Webb and family.

This is very exciting because, although bits and pieces of Mercy's life with her first husband have come down to us, this is the closest we've gotten to the story she would have told about herself and her son (and my great grandfather) Jess Webb was one of the sources of the information printed here. Here's a portrait of Mercy that belonged to him:

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy. The handwriting is probably that of my grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater.]


Especially interesting is the statement that Mercy and Abner Webb moved to Texas shortly after their 1858 marriage.*** Abner's maternal grandfather Jesse Sill died in November of the previous year, leaving him a bequest of $300; could it have been the expectation of this money that encouraged the couple to relocate? If so, I'm afraid they were to be disappointed because at the time of Jesse Sill's death the country was experiencing a severe economic "panic" and his diminished estate wasn't settled for a very long time.

We've never been able to locate Mercy in the 1860 U.S. Census although we know that Abner was employed as a carpenter by attorney Fred L. Gates**** in Collin County on June 7, 1860 (less than six weeks before his son was born). Several sources has claimed that son Jesse David Webb was born in Galveston but not this obituary.

Although there's no record of Abner's military service (on either side*****) here it's stated clearly that his sympathies were with the Confederacy.

Thanks again Gayle, for finding this and posting it where I could find it.


*Looking at the obituary as printed, it's clear that whoever set the type wasn't particularly skilled and/or didn't proofread it carefully.
**Several corrections are in order: Mercy Darling was born in Harford in Cortland County, NY; McKinney is in Collin County, Texas.
***There's a transcription of a Jones County Marriage Book which lists the date of their marriage as November 6, 1856. Because it's not the original, that date could be an error.
****Gates later rose to the rank of a Captain in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry (Fitzhugh's). Two other regiments included men from McKinney: 6th/15th (Consolidated) Regiment, Texas Volunteers; and 6th Regiment, Texas Cavalry (Wharton, Stone's).
*****I've even seen some claims that Abner served with Sherman on his march through Georgia.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Sunday Drive: Okefenokee Swamp - 2008

During our two-week trip to South Carolina and Georgia in 2008, Bonnie and I took a guided boat tour of part of the vast Okefenokee Swamp on a day that promised rain.* 


Undaunted, our boat set out across the tannin-stained water.




Our ultimate goal was an open patch of water called a "prairie" filled with water lillies. (Do you see the alligator in the first picture?)





Okefenokee is most commonly translated as "land of trembling earth" and Bonnie tested that for herself while I stayed in the boat.



At that point the clouds darkened and as we headed back the heavens opened.

[All photos from my personal collection]

Our boat had a canopy but since the rain came at us sideways we were soaked by the time we arrived back at the dock. However it wasn't cold and we dried off pretty quickly.



*Which shouldn't have been a surprise, considering that most of the water in the Okefenokee comes from the sky. Actually it's a bog, not a swamp, and the water is very pure. Our guide explained that in the days of sailing ships water from the Okefenokee was preferred because it stayed fresh much longer. 


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I'm a whopping less-than-1-percent Irish/Scotland/Wales (my dad has 2 percent and my mom has 7 percent, so I don't think it is just noise).  Thanks to my husband's contribution my son has 4 percent.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, March 16, 2018

School Days: First Grade - 1953/54

Here's my first grade class at St. Rita's, many of whom were in kindergarten with me the previous year. This was the first year we wore uniforms and had a nun for a teacher.


[From my personal collection]



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Free Limited Time Webinar: "The Case of the Broken Link: Decoding the URL" by Cyndi Ingle



This happens a lot to me--I find something great on the internet and then the URL changes, or has changed before I can even look at it!  Sometimes I can figure out where it has been moved.  Thankfully Cyndi Ingle (from Cyndi's List!) demonstrates some strategies around this common problem in "The Case of the Broken Link: Decoding the URL":
Web site addresses appear to be long, complicated, and mysterious. Navigating through the web leads you from link to link, web page to web page, site to site, and server to server all in a matter of a few clicks. How can you sort out separate web sites? How can you track down a new URL for a broken link or a broken bookmark? What happens when your source citation for a web site contains a URL  that suddenly disappears? We will break down this technical topic to help you easily hunt down the URL you need.

1 hour 33 minutes
Free to non-subscribers through March 21, 2018


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

J.E. Slater Pulled His Revolver Out...

Mild mannered school teacher or gun-toting troublemaker? It appears that James Everett Slater (1869-1914), my maternal 2nd great uncle, was both (though probably not at the same time).

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]


Actually, at the time of the 1901 newspaper article below, J.E. may not have been teaching school.

[The Eureka Herald and Greenwood County Republican
Eureka, Kansas; 21 Feb 1901. Source: Newspapers.com]


Although we know he was hired to teach in several neighboring towns beginning as early as 1895, in the 1900 U.S. Census his job was listed at "Hotel Keeper." Further research shows that J.E. took over the management of Severy's Clifton Hotel in May of 1900.

[18 May 1900, Page 1 - The Severyite at Newspapers.com]


That career change didn't last and by November of 1901 the same newspaper reported that J.E. had taken a bookkeeping job at P. Ludvickson & Co.

[27 Sep 1901, Page 1 - The Severyite at Newspapers.com]


However next year J.E. was back in front of the blackboard--in Severy this time.

[12 Jun 1902, 1 - The Severyite at Newspapers.com]


His obituary notes that he spent the last ten years of his life as a principal of several schools.

[7 Jan 1915, 1 - Democratic Messenger at Newspapers.com]






© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Relative Race: Season 3


Image from the Relative Race FB page.


I watched BYUTV's Relative Race: Season 1 a while back (it's like the Amazing Race crossed with the FamilySearch collection). They are already on their 3rd season!
A 90 minute season premiere kicks off from Washington D.C. as four teams embark on the journey of a lifetime to complete challenges, find family, and win $50,000. The teams uncover a new twist in travel plans, discover unexpected family connections, and a first place victory is rewarded with a mysterious gold coin.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Monday Is for Mothers: Princess Niobrara McLain (1884 - 1975)

The woman with this splendid name is related to me through her 1908 marriage to Roscoe Conklin McCulley, one of my maternal second cousins, three times removed.* Her descendants have shared quite a few pictures of Princess taken throughout her life, and yes, that really was her name.

[Picture attached to an Ancestry.com family tree by nancyphipps180]


When I first started writing this post I thought that her romantic name was taken from a contemporary novel or poem but a search turned up the fact that the local river of her Oklahoma birth county, Keya Paha, is called Niobrara.**

[Princess McLain, School Teacher taught in a one room sod schoolhouse, about 1904.
Photo attached to Ancestry.com family tree by bower1939.]


Princess married Roscoe McCulley in 1908 and the couple had three children: a son Darwin and daughters Margery and Orrien Jane.

[Princess McCulley & children; Darwin, Margery & Jane about 1917.
Photo attached to Ancestry.com family tree by bower1939. ]


[Princess & Daughters, Margery & Jane--August 1956.
Photo attached to Ancestry.com family tree by bower1939.]


[Princess McLain McCulley--1950's, Ainsworth, NE.
Photo attached to Ancestry.com family tree by bower1939.]


After a long life together Roscoe and Princess N. died within a year of each other and are buried in Ainsworth Cemetery in Brown County, Nebraska.

[Findagrave 18242877, Photo by Harv 47030477]



*Roscoe was the son of Celina Worden and our common ancestors are Lyman Worden and Elizabeth Brown.
**Seventy-six miles of the Niobrara have been designated a National Scenic River.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.