Monday Is for Mothers: Frances L Turner (1827 - 1851)

When my third great aunt Francis Turner married my third great uncle Benjamin Blanton Freeman in 1844 the couple weren't the first members of their respective families to be joined together. Her older sister Elizabeth "Lizzie" and his older brother Henry Hill "H.H." had gotten married four years earlier and were to become my great great grandparents through their daughter Nancy Elizabeth, known as Nanny.

[Ancestry.com. Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: County Marriage Records, 1828–1978. The Georgia Archives, Morrow, Georgia.]

Francis only appears in one Federal Census record (in 1850) and she'd already had three children in the six years of her marriage.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: Subdivision 65, Newton, Georgia; Roll: M432_79; Page: 514A; Image: 440. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Another son was born in December, 1850, and it's believed that Francis died around that time but no date is known for certain.

A few days ago Christine and I was discussing how quickly the names of parents can be forgotten and the 1925 Texas death certificate of her son Josephus (J.C.) is an example of that, although his information is more complete than some. His father's name is recognizable while his mother's given name is correct, but her maiden name is listed as "Tonnel". The informant is listed as "Hosp Chart" so perhaps J.C. was the source?

[Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Austin, Texas, USA.]

The parental information for his brother Richard Turner Freeman's death certificate two years later is complete and correct, undoubtedly due to the source of information being his cousin (and my great grandmother) Nanny Freeman (Mrs. James Chappell Warren).

[Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Austin, Texas, USA.]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Tyninghame, East Lothian, Scotland - 2013

Shortly after my arrival in France Bonnie and I flew off to Edinburgh for the start of our 17-day visit to the United Kingdom. Carolyn and Peter, our kind hosts in Scotland, welcomed us to their home, the Grade B listed, early 19th century Dovecot, a farm building on the estate of Tyninghame House. 

[Road on the estate]

It was springtime and the flowers were in glorious bloom. Having checked on typical Scottish weather (a warm May day there equals a cold winter's day in San Diego) I came prepared but fortunately it was comparatively temperate and I never had to break out those silk long johns.

[The Dovecot]

[Blooming fruit tree in front of The Dovecot]

[View of the pasture from The Dovecot's front yard]

[Contented cows in the estate pasture

All photos from my personal collection]

We had a wonderful time in Scotland. Peter and Carolyn not only ferried us around, they also served us some traditional Scottish food. (Neeps and tatties anyone? And we realized that haggis tastes pretty good!)


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Mrs. Mary (Hartley) Read Dies

Mary Hartley Read (1872-1957) was my great grandfather George H. Hartley's oldest sister.  Picture courtesy of HermitInTheValley (Ancestry).

As I've been going through my tree and correcting names/places/dates, I have noticed the fair number of cousins/uncles/aunts who didn't leave descendants (at least as far as I know).  Sometimes their lives seemed more interesting since they were not as consumed with child-rearing, but after a few generations these same people can get forgotten because they don't have direct descendants.  I plan on making a tag in Legacy to mark these people to get a better handle on some of what they did.

My 2nd great aunt Mary Hartley Read was a teacher and according to family story she reputedly taught in the Montessori style early on.

San Diego Union
23 Sep 1957
page 6
from GenealogyBank 

Mrs. Mary Read Dies; Resident Here 75 Years 

Mrs. Mary Hartley Read, 83, a resident here 75 years and a teacher in San Diego County schools for 20 years, died Saturday.  She lived at 2931 B St. 

Mrs. Read, a widow, was a member of the First Christian Church, the Historical Society of San Diego, the YWCA and the Women's Auxiliary of the Spanish American War Veterans. 

A daughter of a pioneer North Park family, Mrs. Read was a graduate of the old state Normal School in Los Angeles.  She is survived by a brother, Paul J. Hartley, and a sister, Mrs. Maud Hartley MacDougall, both of San Diego. 

Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Lewis Colonial Mortuary, followed by cremation.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Memento Mori: Oak Mound Cemetery - Healdsburg, California

Early Oregon pioneers Benjamin R. and Maria (Evans) Biddle, a pair of my paternal three-times great grandparents, are buried in this shaded plot. One of their sons (Edwin Webber Biddle 1849-1928), his wife Delora and their son Chester Edwin Biddle are also buried there.

[Courtesy of Nick Juran]

This photograph was taken by a friend who lives in Northern California and kindly volunteered to visit their graves and take some photos.

My direct ancestor, their daughter Matilda Biddle Porter (1846-1928) is buried in Corvallis, Oregon.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Old News, But New To Me: Play the Oregon Trail Game Online

The other night Tessa Keogh presented "Researching Your Oregon Ancestors" at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, and at the end she mentioned that the 1990*** video game "The Oregon Trail" is available to play at Internet Archive. 

My 4th great grandfather B. R. Biddle successfully brought his family over the trail to Corvallis in 1852.

***The original game was first developed in 1971!

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: Pete Slater Writes Home - March 31, 1919 (Part IV)

In this last installment of the letter written by my great uncle Pete Slater he detailed his experience in the advance troops of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive* which ended on the day the armistice was signed and "the big show was over."

[29 May 1919, Page 8 - The Severyite at Newspapers.com]

*Here's a good source of information including some photographs of the offensive.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Identifying a Trailer: 1 + 1 = Halsco

Nearly three years ago I wrote about the Curreys' first trailer but didn't recognize the brand.

Then yesterday I posted another later picture of the trailer taken up close and it was clear who the manufacturer was.

And of course that reminded me this blog recently featured pictures of several vintage trailers including a Halsco Land Yacht. So now we have a clue about what the interior of Travel Trailer #1 looked like.

[All photos from my personal collection]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.