My Great Grandparents Visited the St. Louis World's Fair - 1904

St. Louis celebrated the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase by hosting an international exposition* which was officially opened by President Theodore Roosevelt on April 30, 1904.**

[1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition poster showing area covered by the purchase-image found at Porter Briggs.com]

Before it closed on December 1st, nearly 19.7 million people visited the site, including my great grandparents Lewis Logan Slater and Rufina Ellen Tomlinson accompanied by their 14-year old daughter Opal. 

[13 Oct 1904, 8 - Democratic Messenger at Newspapers.com]

Since the railroad line goes right through Severy I'm sure they traveled to St. Louis by train.

[Kansas railroad map - Kansas Memory. Kansas Historical Society]

The Exposition fairgrounds sprawled over 1,270 acres:

[Panoramic aerial view of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair) held in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. View was probably made from a tethered balloon at the Aeronautic Concourse in the northwest corner of the fairgrounds, looking roughly southwest. Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]

[Ground Plan Of The Louisiana Purchase Exposition St. Louis, Mo. 1904. Buxton & Skinner Stationery Co. Publishers, Fourth & Olive St. St. Louis, Mo. Copyright, 1904 By Parker Eng. Co. Source: Davis Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

This daily program for the Exposition dates from a few days before the Slaters arrived, but it gives us an idea of the kind of event to be seen by visitors.

[An Official Daily Program from the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition for Saturday, October 8th

found at the National Park Service-Gateway Arch site.]

[Order of the day from an Official Daily Program from the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition for Saturday, October 8th

found at the National Park Service-Gateway Arch site.]

I wonder if they brought home one of these?***

[Souvenir book of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, © 2017 The Wolfsonian—Florida International University]

*Here's a French poster:

[Poster for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, painted by artist Alphonse Mucha.

Wikimedia Commons]

**And a bust of President Roosevelt sculpted in butter was a featured exhibit.

[Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print]

***You can see the rest of the pages of this book here.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Today in History: Homestead Act - May 20, 1862

The first thing I see every day when I go online is "Today in History" from the Library of Congress. It reminds me of how various events influenced my ancestors and the Homestead Act was crucial to the settling of the West, including Alaska--80 million acres were claimed through 1900, 160 acres at a time.

["New Settlers on the Prairie." East Custer County, Nebraska, by Solomon D. Butcher, 1887.

Nebraska State Historical Society, (Digital ID, e.g., nbhips 12036)]

[Source: Library of Congress]

It's not an accident that the law, passage of which had been blocked for 20 years by a coalition of Northern businessmen and Southern slaveholders, didn't become law until 1862 when Southern interests were no longer represented in Congress.

[Source: Library of Congress]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Obituary for My 2nd Great Grandfather, James Monroe Hartley (1846-1904)

James Monroe Hartley, in an undated portrait (Courtesy of HermitInTheValley (Ancestry user)).

Grandson of Solomon Hartley (1775-1815), son of George W. Hartley (1805-1880) and Rebecca Paul (1806-1901), husband of Mary Jane Tibbetts (1852-1940), and father to Mary Catherine Hartley, Delia Anna Hartley, John Charles Hartley, George Henry Hartley (my great grandfather), Maud Lillian Hartley, Joseph "Joey" Hartley, and Paul James Hartley.

San Diego Evening Tribune (from GenealogyBank) 

23 Jul 1904, page 4 

J. M. Hartley Dead 

James M. Hartley, formerly a well known real estate and insurance agent and for many years a resident of this city died at his home early this morning.  He was a prominent member of the Grand Army and his funeral, which will be held tomorrow afternoon, will be under the auspices of his old comrades.  Mr. Hartley is survived by three sons and three daughters, all of whom reside in this city.  Mrs. John Hartley, a daughter-in-law of the deceased is a daughter of J. M. Dodge.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: William Freeman - Surry County, North Carolina - 1802

I haven't found any information about my paternal 4X great grandfather William Freeman before 1753 when someone of that name appears in colonial records as a resident of Chowan County, North Carolina. There is some reason to believe that he may have been of Scots-Irish descent and could have been an immigrant. Although there have been claims that he was a veteran of the Revolutionary War I don't find any convincing evidence to support them.

However, by 1784 he had become a resident of Surry County where his name appears in the 1790 and 1800 U.S. Censuses. And that's where he was living when he made his will on March 25, 1802.

[North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:SQWX-D191-9?cc=1867501&wc=32L2-K6X%3A170003101%2C170786401]

In the name of God Amen. I William Freeman of the County of
Surry and State of North Carolina being weak in body but
of perfect mind and memory Thanks be to God for the same but
calling to mind the mortallity for all men once to die do make and
ordain this my last will and testament that is to say
  First of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of
god who gave it and my body to the earth to be buried in a decent
Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors nothing
doubting that at the General Resurection I shall receive the same
again by the Power of God; and as touching such worldly Estate 
wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life I give demise
and dispose of the ame in the following manner and form.
   Item the 1st, And first and first I give to be beloved son
Josiah Freeman my negro boy named Hardy.
And 2ndly I give to my daughter Kiddy Mitchel a negro girl
named Chloe
   3rd I also give unto my son William Freeman one negro girl names Crease
   4th I give to my well beloved wife Sarah one mare saddle and bridle
and two cows and calves two basons and one dish and six plates and
likewise her peacible liveing on the plantation during her life time or
widowhood: Also I give her one negro man name Primas and one

                                                                                             wench

[North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:SQWX-D191-9?cc=1867501&wc=32L2-K6X%3A170003101%2C170786401]

wench named Ruth during the same (and after that the said
mare and negroes to go to my son Tyre I also give her one
feather bed and furniture
   5th I also leave to my daughter Polly one mare named Pol
and twenty dollars in cash.
   6th I also give to my daughter Penelope Hains one negro girl
named Milly.
   7th I also give to my son Tyre all my lands and plantation
where I now live: A also give and bequeath him my still and
all the necessary utentials to her belonging, I also give him
one negro boy name Will and one horse called Sumpter also I give
him all my stock of hogs and Sheep and one feather bed and 
              & all necessary household furniture
furniture ^ and plantation tools and one cow and calfe 
   Then all the property or remaining part of my Estate I leave
to be equally divided between Noah, John, Richard and David
   And I do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannul all and 
every other formes Testament wills legacies bequests and Executors
by me in any wise ^before^ named, willed, or bequeathed ratifying and
confirming this and no other to be my Last will and testament
   I do constitute and appoint my worthy friends James Howard
and Nathan Haynes Executors to this my last will and testament.
   In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal 
this twenty-fifth day of March in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and two.
Signed sealed and delivered in presents of us}  William Freeman {seal}
Edward Smith
Lydia Smith
Jonathan Allen

                                                                                    State of 

[North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:SQWX-D191-9?cc=1867501&wc=32L2-K6X%3A170003101%2C170786401]

State of North Carolina Surry County, May Session AD 1802

Edward Smith and Lydia Smith two of the subscribing witnesses

to the foregoing last will and testament of William Freeman, made

oath that they saw the said Freeman sign publish and declare 

the same to be his last will and testament that he was of sound

and disposing mind and memory and at the same time they

saw Jonathan Allen sign the same as a witness thereto which

was ordered to be recorded.    Recorded according by Jo Willliams CC

There are more probate records for William Freeman's estate which I'll post about next week.

Here's how I'm related to him:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Paul Hartley, Long-Time Civic Leader, Dies

Paul James Hartley with his mother Mary Jane (Tibbetts) Hartley.  Courtesy of HermitInTheValley (Ancestry user).

My great grandfather George Henry Hartley's youngest sibling was Paul James Hartley (1894-1969):

San Diego Union (GenealogyBank)
page 20
21 Nov 1969 

PAUL HARTLEY, LONG-TIME CIVIC LEADER, DIES 

Paul J. Hartley, a prominent civic leader and former city councilman, died yesterday at his home, 955 Harbor View Drive.  He was 75. 

Funeral arrangements are pending at Lewis Colonial Mortuary.
Hartley was one of San Diego's leading insurance underwriters for more than 30 years.  He was the Third District representative on the City Council from 1941 to 1947. 

SAN DIEGO NATIVE 

Hartley was born in San Diego in 1894.  His parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. James M. Hartley, migrated here from Iowa in 1883 and were among the first settlers in the North Park area. 

In 1910, Paul's older brother, the late J. C. Hartley, and a business partner opened the first subdivision in the area and are now recognized as the founders of North Park.
Paul Hartley played a prominent role in the early development of Mission Bay as chairman of the first citizens committee for bay development. 

CRASH KILLED SON 

One of Hartley's sons, the late William Hartley, also was a city councilman.  He was killed in an air crash midway through his first term of office in 1961. 

Hartley was highly active in yachting circles for 25 years until recently and his 32-foot sloop, Wings***, was one of the most common sights in and around the harbor. 

Survivors include his widow, Yolande: three sons, Capt. Paul J. Hartley Jr., USN, commanding officer of the high speed transport Dubuque on patrol in the Western Pacific, Kenneth H. and Donald J.: one sister, Mrs. Maud MacDougall, and 12 grandchildren, all of San Diego.

 A little bit more information on him in his memorial services:

San Diego Union (GenealogyBank)
22 Nov 1969
page 15 

Paul J. Hartley Services Today 

Memorial services for Paul J. Hartley, 75, former city councilman and semi-retired insurance and real estate executive who helped encourage the growth of North Park and other areas here, will be at 1 p.m. today in All Souls' Episcopal Church. 

Hartley, a member of a pioneer San Diego family, died Thursday at his home, 955 Harbor View Drive.  Although he had suffered a heart attack in July, he continued to take part in his family's insurance and real estate business. 

A leader in many civic, community and historical organizations, Hartley on the day of his death attended a reunion of members of the East End Gang, comprising former pupils of early San Diego schools. 

SAN DIEGO NATIVE 

Son of the late Mr. and Mrs. James M. Hartley, who moved here from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1883, Hartley was born in his parents' home at the corner of what is now 30th Street and University Avenue.  He attended school in a building near the site of the present Alice Birney Elementary School.  He was graduated from San Diego High School. 

Hartley's father established the family insurance business, specializing in fire underwriting because fires were a continuous menace to the early settlers of the North Park district, then semi-rural and without sufficient water to fight such outbreaks.
Paul Hartley's older brother, the late J. C. Hartley, joined the late W. J. Stevens in 1910 to open the first subdivision in a 40-acre tract between Ray and 32nd streets and University and Myrtle avenues, which James M. Hartley had developed as a lemon grove in 1892. 

FORMER COUNCILMAN 

Hartley served as Third District councilman in 1941-1947.  One of San Diego's leading insurance underwriters for 30 years, he was a past president of the San Diego Association of Life Underwriters. 

Hartley was widely known as a civilian sailor, although he served in the Army in World War I.  HI 32-foot sloop, Wings, was a familiar site in the harbor and at San Diego Yacht Club, of which he was a member.  He was host to many distinguished visitors from this country on sailing excursions.  He was active in yachting a quarter of a century. 

Hartley in 1950 was named chairman of the Citizens Committee for Mission Bay, pushing passage of a $2 million bond issue for bay development.  In 1964, he was named  winner of the third annual community leader award of the North Park Business Club, of which he was a founder. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

A founder and past president of the North Park Lions Club, Hartley also was active in All Souls' Church, San Diego Post 201 of the American Legion, San Diego Historical Society, the Boys' Club and other community organizations. 

Cremation and private inurnment are planned. 

The family suggested memorial contributions to All Souls' Episcopal Church or the American Cancer Society, of which Hartley served as special gifts division chairman.  Lewis Colonial Mortuary has charge of the arrangements. 

***History: WINGS is believed to be the oldest PC in exhistance. She was built in San Diego, for Mr. Ed Depew (a builder). In fact, George Kettenburg Jr. agreed to build the boat in trade for a piece of land on Point Loma, that the Kettenburg family still owns. She was sold to Mr. George Jessop (of the Jessop Jewelry family) at a later date. Eventually sold to Mr. Paul Hartley Sr. in 1946. Upon his death, his extended family continued to enjoy the yacht. The Hartley family donated the vessel to the San Diego Maritime Museum in the 80's, when she was beginning to show her age. The museum was unable to fund a restoration, and rather than scuttle her, the museum board elected to give the boat to Richard S. "Rish" Pavelec. A member of the SDYC and active PC fleet member, Rish developed a plan to raise funds to restore the vessel and give her back to the museum. After almost 3 years of planning, work began. Koehler Kraft (of San Diego) was responsible for the restoration with Rish acting as project coordinator. The vessel was completed in early 2003 and has been sailing on San Diego Bay ever since. Soon, the rig will be removed and the hull will be put on display to be sailed only for special museum occasions.  (Source: http://www.kettenburgboats.com/pc.htm)


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: 1939 England and Wales Register

If your family tree includes people living in 20th century England or Wales* you already know that census records in the U.K. are generally released 100 years after they were collected, so the most recent enumerations currently available are from 1911. (And I just discovered that their 1931 census was destroyed during World War II and no count was done in 1941 so, in any case, there's a 30 year gap in what will eventually be made public.)

However, after Britain declared war on Nazi Germany on September 3, 1939, the government created a register of its citizens "with the purpose of producing National Identity Cards, the register later came to be multi-functional, first as an aid in the use of ration books and later helping officials record the movement of the civilian population over the following decades and from 1948, as the basis for the National Health Service Register."**

If you're looking for more information about someone who was alive at that time the Register is an excellent database to search in--for instance, everyone's birth date is listed.*** Here's a page taken at random (people on the list who might be still alive have their information blacked out):

[Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018. Original data:

Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of TNA, London England. 1939 Register (Series RG101),

The National Archives, Kew, London, England.]

Although the lists covered the persons in each house on September 29, 1939, further information has been added in cases where the original details needed correction which include the married names of women who had been single on that date.

I've been having great fun adding this information to all the relatives of my British-born friend Margaret who asked me to help her with her family tree. Using the Register we were able to locate her maternal grandmother whose whereabouts she hadn't known before.


*But not from Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
**Quoted from the Historical Context of the 1939 England and Wales Register on Ancestry.com
***This is important because most of the available birth information for the U.K. is found in indexes which only give the quarter the birth took place.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Joey Hartley (lived 1883)

A linen postcard image of the Johnson Saum mortuary building (abt 60 years after Joey's death).  From ebay seller outweststv.

I have no pictures of my great grandfather George Henry Hartley's little brother Joey, as he died at 3 months old, but there are two sources I find for him:

San Diego Leaves & Saplings
Vol. 3, No. 3, Summer 1975
page 104
from Johnson Saum Mortuary records
1883
Hartley, Joey
d 5 Jun 3 months, b San Diego, --, bu City cem

A more personal mention comes from George and Joey's sister Maud Hartley:

from : Remembered Incidents in the Lives of the James Monroe Hartley Family, 1882-1940
Written by Maud Hartley MacDougall in 1950 (courtesy of Sarah Bennett and HermitInTheValley) 

On their return to San Diego, they bought a house on 19th and J, and it was here that
little Joey, the sixth child was born. He lived only three months. We all came through
the measles and whooping cough safely, but the littlest one. Mary told me that the little
thing took convultions, and mother [Mary Jane Tibbetts] sent her for the Doctor. I can see her yet, a little girl
of ten, running all the long blocks down the hillside to 9th and F St. and the Doctor
driving back with her, but too late to save the baby. They took him the long dusty road
to the cemetery, in a rig called a Hack, drawn by two horses, two of my Aunts holding
the tiny casket on their knees, and the parents sitting opposite, facing them. It was
surely heart breaking for them and mother always missed her baby. She often spoke of
him especially on his birthday, so I grew up seeming to know him and have wondered
sometimes, what he would have been like had he lived.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.