Cousin Donald Nielsen Worked at The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park

This guy is my 1st cousin 2x removed, which is a fairly close relative. Donald's mother was Nora (Webb) Nielsen, sister to my great grandmother Anna Delilah (Webb) Slater.

Donald's obituary (published in The Canon City Daily Record on Nov. 25, 2011 and at Legacy.com)

Donald Dean Nielsen, 84, passed on November 24, 2011, in the comfort of his home with his family by his side 

Don's life was filled with many successes. His experiences, knowledge & wisdom came from a life well lived. Don's life partner & wife of 51 years Rosella T. Nielsen preceded him in death in 2002. They owned & operated the Sky Valley Motel for 26 years, where they raised & nurtured their family. In his retirement years, Don worked full time as the Senior Incline Operator at the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, CO. Don excelled in his professional trade as a Heavy & Highway Superintendent building & engineering many of Colorado's highways & bridges. His skills and talents led him to be a part of building the infamous NORAD in Colo. Springs, CO. 

He proudly served his country as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", stationed in Germany during the Korean War. Prior to his military service, Don was a Singer Sewing Machine Rep & Repair man in the South Dakota/Nebraska area. 

Don was born on May 22, 1927, in Verdigre, Nebraska. He believed in honest hard work, loved a good cigar and a good running truck. He loved prospecting and would trek for miles, deep into the Colorado mountains. 

Don was a dedicated father. Family life was a priority for him. 

We, his children, honor his life and strive to live our lives ever grateful & mindful of his...[list of family members] 

A sincere thank you to all our dear family, friends & Fremont Regional Hospice who assisted in this last year of our father's life. We are eternally grateful. 

Daddy, you are forever cherished. Thanks for being our Dad! Rest in peace & comfort, our beloved father. 

Funeral will be held in his home church, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 801 Sheridan Ave, Canon City, CO. Visitation 10:00 till 11:00 a.m., prior to Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Pastor Robert Kippley officiating. Interment will follow at Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City. Reception will follow interment at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

Sounds like a great guy!

Some videos (I had them directly on this page, but then I got a weird error message and here are the links):
Royal Gorge Bridge

Colorado Experience (PBS): NORAD

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

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.

To the Cousin Who Contacted Me A While Back About Tibbetts and the Mayflower....

From the Simpsons Wiki.

Respond to this post if you see this.

I'm bad enough at keeping up with my email.  Now I realize that I can't figure out all the ways someone can contact me via Google+.

A cousin (or husband of a Tibbetts cousin) contacted me via Google+ about a month (?) ago about just discovering a Tibbetts connection and now I can't find that message to save my life.  I do want to see what I can do to help answer your question, and take a look at the newspaper you mentioned!  I believe the person made a comment somewhere if not a message.

Stupid Google+ lol



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Cousin Connections: Mary Lucia Lull (1915 - 2003)

Once again the internet has sent me in a direction I wasn't intending to go. But how could I resist when this photo of a 2nd cousin, twice removed,* showed up as an Ancestry.com hint?

[From the Ancestry.com tree of CabotLeeSweeney]

[Date: Sunday, January 1, 1939   Paper: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, Nebraska)   Page: 2  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

"Kiss the Boys Good-by" was a big hit on Broadway in 1939 and Helen Claire continued in the role while Cousin Lucia took the show on the road. Here's an interview with her soon after she was chosen.

[Man About Manhattan, Associated Press. Date: Thursday, January 5, 1939

Paper: Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois) Page: 4. This entire product and/or portions thereof are

copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com]

From this clipping from the Columbus (Georgia) Daily Enquirer written a year and a half later, we learn some of the cities where Lucia's tour took her.

[Date: Sunday, July 27, 1941   Paper: Columbus Daily Enquirer (Columbus, Georgia)   Page: 16  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

*We are both descendants of Timney P. Watts (1803-1863), who is Lucia's maternal great grandmother and my paternal third great grandmother. My direct link is through Jesse T. S. Warren, Timney's only child with her first husband Jesse Warren, Jr., while Littleberry Bostick Phillips, Timney's youngest son is Lucia's ancestor.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Nora and Jennie Worden, 1st Cousins, Pose For a Portrait

First cousins Nora and Jennie Worden, likely in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa.  Note the rosy cheeks that were added in.  They appeared to be on a wood plank floor, and a painted countryside scene in the back.  From my personal collection, courtesy of Olive Kennedy.

My 2nd great grandmother, Elnora "Nora" May Worden (1867-1928), was born in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa, and died in Ewing Township, Holt County, Nebraska.  She posed with her cousin Mariah Jane "Jennie" Worden (1870-1900), who was her first cousin.  I'm assuming that Nora was sitting because she was older than Jennie.

This image was taken from a marathon scanning party back with Slater relations in 2011, and in my excitement to just finally put a face to a name I failed to note the specific details, like the size, and condition of the photograph.  I need another look at the original to determine what type it is (perhaps a tintype).

I also failed to note the details of this photograph. The occasion that prompted this photo is unknown, even the time of year is not obvious to me, although as two daughters of Iowa farmers I am assuming they were dressing up.  Their everyday wear was probably considerably more practical.  Since Jennie was born in 1870, I think that this picture was taken at least a few years after 1880, since she looks older than 10.

They wore ribbons in their hair. Nora had bangs, but the rest of her hair is of undetermined length.  Jennie's hair appears to be pulled back (part of it peeks from behind).  They both wore earrings.

Both have collars that appear to me to be separate from the dresses.  Nora's looks lacy; it is harder to determine the fabrication of Jennie's.  They each wear a brooch at the front of the collar, backed by ribbon.

They both appear to be wearing rings.  Assuming this image is the correct orientation (not mirror image), then Nora has a ring on her right ring finger, while Jennie has a ring on her left ring finger.  I'm going to have to research what the ring fingers meant back then.  Nora married in 1884 (at age 17), Jennie in 1891 (at age 21).  IF this image is indeed reversed, then this picture was likely taken Dec 1884 or after, as Nora would have a ring on her wedding finger.

Each girl showed her unique fashion sense in this picture.  An historical fashion expert of this period could probably pinpoint the approximate date of this photo based on the fashion alone, but alas I am not such an expert.

Jennie's dress appeared to have an all-over print, and had extensive pleating at the cuffs, overskirt, and underskirt.  The boots look practical, not polished.

As a fashion magazine aficionado I wonder which, if any, Nora and her cohort looked at for their clothing styles.  I was surprised that by the 1880's there were already quite a few women's magazines, which included fashion, available.

Not exactly the same, but this Godey's Lady's Book from 1880 has an all-over print and the pleating is similar to Jennie's outfit.

I originally thought of the fabric Nora was wearing was tartan, but on reconsideration I think it was termed plaid, which makes more sense.

Fashion plaid in 1880 (Godey's Lady's Book).

A description of the above outfits:

According to the following article, the following women's magazines might have been available to the Worden girls as sources for fashion:  McCall's, The Delineator (later Butterick's), Ladies Home Journal (1883 and after), Woman's Home Companion, and Good Housekeeping (1885 and after).

A quick look through historical newspapers of the time and place reveal a number of these magazines were indeed available in the Anamosa/Cedar Rapids area.  I don't know if the girls made their own clothes or had a dressmaker make them, or if they purchased them.

The Wyoming Journal, Wyoming, Iowa, April 28, 1871, page 4.
Available free through Digital Archives of the Jones County Genealogical Society.

The Anamosa Journal, Anamosa, Iowa, December 1, 1887, page 3.
Available free through Digital Archives of the Jones County Genealogical Society.

The Wyoming Journal, Wyoming, Iowa, December 6, 1888, page 1.
Available free through Digital Archives of the Jones County Genealogical Society.

If the girls made their own clothes, they would have access to the paper patterns published by Ellen Louise Curtis Demorest's pattern and fashion magazines (later became Butterick's).  There is a full version of one of these magazines from 1865 available at the Internet Archive:

Some fashion details to note back in 1865.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.