San Diego History: America's Exposition - The Ford Bowl, 1935

For some reason (which doesn't seem quite like the good idea it was at the time) I decided to re-organize my house just ahead of my departure for France.* 

This photograph surfaced while I was sorting through some old files. I don't know how it came into my possession but I'm fascinated by this official photo of the the outdoor amphitheater originally built by the Ford Motor Company for the 1934-35 Exposition and is now known as the Starlight Bowl.**

[Photograph by John Sirigo, Official Photographer; from my personal collection]

And in the background the building just visible on the left side of the photo is a bit of the 1917 Naval Hospital.

The Bowl garners a mention in this video presented by Channel 7/39's Ken Kramer:

*And everything will be "shipshape" when I leave here tomorrow evening for Marseilles via London Heathrow.
**The years haven't been kind to the structure which hasn't seen a performance in many years. There's a dedicated non-profit group who hope to rescue it.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

The Top Ten First Names in My Tree - 19th and 20th Centuries

I was somewhat surprised at the frequency of Dorothy.  I wonder why?  Maybe the popularity of Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz books and movie was an influence.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: Richmond Worden (1758 - 1837) Soldier with the Green Mountain Boys, Vermont

Richmond Worden*, my fifth great grandfather, served in the Vermont Militia under Seth Warner during the American Revolution.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Richmond volunteered at several different times, serving in militias in Massachusetts and Vermont as this 1834 Massachusetts document describes:

[NARA M804. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. Fold3.com]

But the index card shown at the top of the page only credits him with his service as a Green Mountain Boy.


You can read more about my ancestor's military history here.

Here's how I'm descended from Richard Worden.

[Ancestry.com]

*Note the three different ways his surname was spelled in records.






© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Maybe I'm Missing Something? Legacy 9 and Hashtags

One of my many 3rd cousin twice removed, Elsie Mae Harnden (my Tibbetts side).  This is the only way I can figure to show all the hashtags pertaining to one person.  Print Screen, then edit in Paint 3D.  This seems awfully time consuming.  It doesn't even let you copy/paste, since the hashtags only appear when the mouse hovers over the # symbol.

I was hoping the Chronology view might provide some way to display the hashtags, but to no avail.

If you choose just one tag/hashtag, you can print out a list of people sharing that tag (in this case a list of people on my tree so far who, like Elsie, were golfers).  But I want to do the opposite--print out one person with all their hashtags.  Surely I shouldn't have to do "prt sc sysq" (print screen) every time?

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Flagstone for New Room

During the Easter break in 1955 we made a quick trip to Prescott, Arizona, to pick up flagstone for around the new front door. We only spent one night away from home and didn't take the trailer--Mother and I slept in the truck and Dad had a sleeping bag on the ground.* According to Dad's notes we brought back 3800 pounds of stone.

This photo, taken two years later, shows the stone in place.

[All from my personal collection]

*The notes say we spent the night in Blythe--all I remember is that is was cold.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Some Notes on Mrs. Henrietta Dunn Tibbetts

"Neighborhood News - Viola, "The Post and Record (Rochester, MN), 22 Oct 1909, page 6, col 2; Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub (http://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/lccn/sn90060314/1909-10-22/ed-1/seq-6 : accessed 25 Sep 2018).

Oh, I had such plans for a post today and ended up spinning my wheels on a cousin's wife's maiden name--my 4th great uncle Martin Luther Tibbetts, 1833-1916, married Edwin Dunn's widow, Henrietta.  What I know about Henrietta:
born: 23 Feb 1840 Columbia County, New York
died: 26 Apr 1923 likely Watertown, Jefferson, New York

She married Edwin Dunn (1834-1901) in about 1855, possibly in Brooklyn, New York. They had one known child, Clara Viola, who died in 1861 at 5 years old.

Edwin was a Civil War veteran and they both were involved in Minnesota politics in the latter part of the 19th century.

She married M. L. Tibbetts in 1909, and after he died in 1916 she reverted back to the last name Dunn.

Two separate records (NY State 1905 Census and 1920 Federal Census) show her living with the Charles Fairchild and Adeline (Mitchell) Fairchild household.  The first was in 1905 in Richfield, Otsego, NY (she was listed as a widowed boarder), and in 1920 in Watertown, Jefferson, NY as a widowed aunt to Charles (or possibly Adeline).

So far I have done some work on the Fairchild's ancestries, but no luck on Henrietta's maiden name yet.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Ashtabula Lyle Thomas (1857 - 1937)

Courtesy of VickieHill56 here are three more pictures of Ashtabula, first as a young girl:

[Ashtabula Lyle Thomas - Probably taken in the mid 1870's.

from the collection of VickieHill56]

And after her marriage:

[Ashtabula Lyle Thomas - from the collection of VickieHill56]

Finally, as an old woman, probably in the 1930s:

[Ashtabula Lyle Thomas - in front of her house in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio -from the collection of VickieHill56]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Vera on Tricycle with Cat - 1928

Another photo of Vera Aretta Thomas, one of my maternal fourth cousins, once removed, that was shared by VickieHill56 to her Ancestry.com family tree. 

["Vera on tricycle with cat about 1928" from the collection of VickieHill56]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Oliver W. Tibbetts and His Violin

A rare Gaurneri violin (image from an NPR article about the violins, from Matthew Tolzmann)

I came across an interesting tidbit about one of my 1st cousin 4x removed, Oliver Whitfield Tibbetts (1853-1941).  Six years ago I had added a note for him, informed by Tibbetts family historian May (Tibbetts) Jarvis or Dick Dunlop:

Amateur violinist: According to Dunlop/Jarvis, one of his daughters remembered him owning seven Guarnerius violins, made about 1715.

While looking for Oliver's obituary today I found some information similar to this:

NewspaperArchive.com
La Crosse Tribune And Leader Press (La Crosse, Wisconsin)
Sunday, January 15, 1939
page 14, col 4.
[excerpted from a longer article 

Dakota's oldest pioneer today is Oliver W. Tibbetts.  He was born in Linn county, Ia. Dec. 28, 1853, coming here with his parents when a small lad.  He was married to Miss Alice Wilson, daughter of J. G. and Sarah (Brown) Wilson, who passed away several years ago.  Their oldest daughter, Ethel, now married, lives in Iowa.  Their other two children, Mrs. William Stanton and George, live in this vicinity.  Two grandchilden, Mrs. Harry Aiken and Jerry Tibbetts, reside in La Crosse, Wis. 

Mr. Tibbetts enjoys good health and is active despite his advanced age.  He has always manifested an interest in the welfare of the community.

Mr. Tibbetts' hobby is his violin, and nothing gives him more pleasure.  One of his most prized possessions is a Guarnerius, one of seven instruments made by Joseph Guarnerius in Cremonia, Italy.  The one in the possession of Mr. Tibbetts was made in 1715.  Mr. Tibbetts says that the whereabouts of only five of them are known.  One is in a British museum in London, one is owned by a Miss Astor of New York, another by a Corby family in Milwaukee and the other by the king of Italy.  The former owner of the Tibbetts violin claimed it had been in his family for more than 100 years.

I suspect the Joseph Guarnerius mentioned was probably Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri (1666-1740).  According to Wikipedia:

Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, better known as Giuseppe filius Andrea Guarneri (25 November 1666–c. 1739/1740) was a violin maker from the prominent Guarneri family of luthiers who lived in Cremona, Italy.

There seem to be many more way than seven Guarneri violins.  Depending on the condition you can get them for 100's or 1,000's of dollars (from a quick look at eBay).

I share Oliver's grandparents and 4 great grandparents.  His father Jeremiah Tibbetts was a younger brother of my 3rd great grandfather Henry Charles Tibbetts.(1826-1902).

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Pauline, Bernice & Kenneth Brown - About 1909

I love this studio portrait of Hattie Pauline (1903-1981), Lillian Bernice (1905-2004) and William Kenneth Brown (1907-1979) who are some of my maternal third cousins, three times removed.* They were born in LaGrange County, Indiana and appear to have lived in that state their whole lives.

["Top to Bottom: Pauline, Bernice, Kenneth Brown about 1908-1910." 

Added to her Ancestry.com family tree by elynn7.]

*As you can see we're related through the Worden line.

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Marc's Updated Ethnicity Estimate at AncestryDNA

My son's updated ethnicity estimate at AncestryDNA.

My son Marc's updated ethnicity estimate changed a bit.  It seems accurated based on the paper trail.

Updated Estimate

Germanic Europe 31%
Refined from:
Europe West 34%

Norway 27%
Refined from:
Scandinavia 18%

Ireland and Scotland 13%
Increased by 9%

Baltic States 12%
Refined from:
Europe East 25%

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe 11%
Decreased by 3%

Eastern Europe and Russia 6%
Refined from:
Europe East 25%


Migrations
Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana Settlers
Western Norway
Hordaland & Rogaland


No Longer in Estimate
Iberian Peninsula 2%
Finland/Northwest Russia 1%
Europe South less than 1%
Asia South less than 1%




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: George Henry Thomas (1887 - 1970) Soldier

George Henry Thomas is the oldest son of Ashtabula (Lyle) and Seth P. Thomas, which makes him one of my third cousins, twice removed. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 2, 1918, as a private.* He rose rapidly to private, first class in early December, was named a corporal several weeks later, raised to a sergeant in January, 1919, ending as a sergeant 1st class in March and being honorably discharged on April 2, 1919. I haven't been able to learn if he was ever sent to Europe.

[George H. Thomas in suit, tie & jacket, undated; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree.]

[Registration State: Ohio; Registration County: Gallia; Roll: 1832199. Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.]

[Ancestry.com. Ohio Soldiers in WWI, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: The Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, 1917-18. Columbus, OH, USA: The F.J. Heer Printing Co., 1926.]

[George H. Thomas in uniform; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree.]

[George H. Thomas & friends in uniform; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree.]

[George H. Thomas (top left) with Barracks buddies; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree. ]

[George H. Thomas (front center) with WWI buddies, packed and ready to go; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree. ]

*It appears that he joined a regiment of engineers but I haven't been able to find out more about his service.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Steve's Updated Ethnicity Estimate at AncestryDNA

My husband's updated AncestryDNA.

My husband Steve's updated AncestryDNA estimate seems to correspond to his known ancestry (his mom was born in Germany, his father was a half Polish and part Irish/English/German).

Updated Estimate

Eastern Europe and Russia: 34%
Refined from:
Europe East 50%

Germanic Europe: 31%
Refined from:
Europe West 33%

Baltic States: 18%
Refined from:
Europe East 50%

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe: 9%
Increased by 3%

Ireland and Scotland: 2%
Decreased by 1%

Finland: 2%
Decreased by 2%

Norway: 2%
Refined from:
Scandinavia 3%

Sweden: 2%
Refined from:
Scandinavia 3%


Migrations
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland & Lithuania
Lithuania


No Longer in Estimate
Nigeria (less than 1 percent)



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Sarah Talcott (1735 - 1809)

Sarah was only ten when her father John Talcott died in 1745. She and Obediah Willcox married in Hebron, Hartford County (now Tolland County), Connecticut* in February of 1749/50 when she was only thirteen.

[Title: Mack Genealogy : The Descendants of John Mack of Lyme, Connecticut.

Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:

Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.]

The couple had 13 children, the last six of them, including my ancestor Lydia Wilcox (Porter), were born after the family removed to Surry in Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Sarah and Obediah are my fifth great grandparents.

[Ancestry.com]

Sarah died a year before her husband and they are buried next to each other in the Surry Village Cemetery.

[Photo added to findagrave.com memorial of Sarah Willcox #63426137 by Cheshire #47921031]

*This link from the Hebron Historical Society shows a map of Hebron in 1744 with the homesites of early residents marked, including those of Talcot[t] and Wilcox.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Mary Elizabeth Thomas - "Sis & Beauty" - 1919

Here's another picture of this maternal fourth cousin, once removed, that was taken on her grandparents' farm in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio. 

[Photo posted on her Ancestry.com family tree by VickieHill56

(who doesn't appear on my DNA match list).]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

My Updated DNA Results Summary at AncestryDNA

My updated AncestryDNA results.

My updated AncestryDNA ethnicity admixture results weren't very dramatic, although I think that it better reflected my Norwegian great grandparents.

The estimate with the information on what it was updated from:

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe: 41%
Decreased by 30%


Norway: 39%
Refined from: Scandinavia 17%


Ireland and Scotland: 12%
Increased by 12%


Sweden: 8%
Refined from: Scandinavia 17%


Migrations
Western Norway
Hordaland & Rogaland
Ohio River Valley, Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Settlers
Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana Settlers


No Longer in Estimate
Europe West 9%
Europe East less than 1%
Caucasus less than 1%




This update features:
16,000 reference samples (13,000 more)
380 possible regions (17 additional)

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Seth & Ashtabula (Lyle) Thomas at Home

Another great family photo shared on Ancestry.com by VickieHill56, this one shows Seth and Ashtabula with two of their children, Jason Milton Thomas (1889-1981) and Faye Elizabeth Thomas (1894-1954).

[Left to right: Son Jason with horses, Seth, daughter Faye, and Ashtabula - about 1920. Cheshire, Gallia, Ohio, USA]

Jason and Fay never married and after their parents' died we find them living together on the farm in Cheshire according to the 1940 U.S. Census.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

AncestryDNA Finally Updates Ethnicity Estimates for My Dad

My dad's updated results

AncestryDNA continues to dial in my father's ethnicity estimate, and now it is closer than ever to what his paper trail indicates (half Scandinavian, and part English/Scottish/Irish and German).  It is probably more accurate because they have increased their reference samples from about 3,000 to 16,000 (13,000 more).


The estimate with the information on what it was updated from:

Norway: 64%
Refined from: Scandinavia 33%

Migrations
Western Norway
Hordaland & Rogaland

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe: 16%
Decreased by 46%

Ireland and Scotland: 14%
Increased by 12%

Sweden: 6%
Refined from: Scandinavia 33%



No Longer in Estimate
Europe West 2%
Native American

This update features:

16,000 reference samples (13,000 more)
380 possible regions (17 additional)


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Vera Aretta Thomas (1925 - 2013) Nurse

Vera, another granddaughter of Ashtabula Lyle and Seth P. Thomas,* studied nursing at Holzer Hospital in 1944. According to her obituary on findagrave.com, she worked at Holzer Medical Center for most of her life.

[Vera Holzer Hospital School of Nursing -1944; photo attached to her Ancestry.com family tree by VickieHill56]

[Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Cadet Nurse Corps Files, compiled 1943–1948, documenting the period 1942–1948. MLR Number UD-WW 10; ARC ID: 5605027. 350 boxes. Records of the Public Health Service, 1794–1990, Record Group 90. National Archives at Washington, D.C.]

*I've already posted about her sister Mary Elizabeth Thomas and their cousin George Wesley Thomas on this blog--all of them are my fourth cousins, once removed.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

The Importance of Ephemera

My 2nd cousin 3x removed cousin Besse Pearl (Greene) Modesitt's funeral card, thanks to Ancestry user robpower11.

I found this gem while I was straightening up my Tibbetts relations.  There was little information available online for Besse Greene, daughter of Samantha Eva Tibbetts.  I couldn't find her obituary in the three newspaper databases I subscribe to, and her death date was only available as 1969 (FindAGrave). 

But thanks to another Ancestry user I was able to fill in her death date and place.

I share George Tibbetts, Mary Burnight, John Hill Messinger, and Mary Martha Miller with Besse Pearl (Greene) Modesitt.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Adella "Della" E. Webb Earnshaw - 1864 - 1958

While my branch of the Webbs moved from Pennsylvania to Iowa and then Texas* there were some who chose to go no farther west than Ohio. Della Webb Earnshaw, one of my maternal second cousins, three times removed, may have made Ohio her home but that doesn't mean she didn't travel out of the state (and country) during her long life. This photo is from her 1923 passport.

[Found on an Ancestry.com public tree belonging to lisaraines2003_1]

Della married Joseph "Joe" Henry Earnshaw in 1887.

[12 Oct 1887, Page 4 - The Summit County Beacon at Newspapers.com]

In 1901 Joe's passport application included his wife Della.

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

Original data: Selected Passports. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

We know they landed in Liverpool June of 1901 (since the application is dated May 31st). They had traveled in style as "Saloon" or first class passengers. I haven't found a record of their return home.

[Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Series BT26, 1,472 pieces. Data imaged from the National Archives, London, England.]

Della and Joe's only child, Elizabeth Webb Earnshaw, was born in 1902 and the family traveled abroad several times.

Here's their return from England in 1906 aboard the S.S. Carmania:

[Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897

Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867.]

[Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Various maritime reference sources.]

For their 1916 trip, the Earnshaws returned home just over a month after the beginning of World War I via Quebec, Canada, on the S.S. Laurentic** as we can see from this border crossing document:

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85. Washington, D.C.:

National Archives and Records Administration. ]

[GG Archives]

And here's the record of their return from London in 1923 on the S.S. Minnewaska.

[Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897.Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Various maritime reference sources.]

I've run of out time this evening to continue with the rest of the trips Della took but I promise I'll cover them in a later post.

Here's how Della and I are related:

[Ancestry.com]

*My great great grandfather Abner Webb who died there in about 1861.
**On January 25, 1917, the Laurentic, taken over by the British Navy to serve as a merchant cruiser, was sunk when it hit two German mines off the North Irish coast.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.