Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a Wand-derful and Magical Halloween!!!

7th Edition of Smile for the Camera - Oh! Baby

The word prompt for the 7th Edition of Smile For The Camera is Oh, Baby! Show us those wonderful family photographs of babies, or those you've collected. Share the ones that are too cute for words, or those only a mother could love. Your favorite of grandma or grandmas' favorite. Grandpa on a bear skin rug or grandpas' little love. Everyone has a baby photo, so let's see it!

Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that is the epitome of Oh, Baby! and bring it to the carnival. Admission is free with every photograph!Your submission may include as many or as few words as you feel are necessary to describe your treasured photograph. Those words may be in the form of an expressive comment, a quote, a journal entry, a poem (your own or a favorite), a scrapbook page, or a heartfelt article. The choice is yours!

Deadline for submission is midnight (PT)10 November, 2008.

Use the handy submission form provided by Blog Carnival.

I Am Mobile Again!

I am mobile again and boy does it feel good! The engine in our car blew up a few months ago and I had been car-less for all that time. I didn't think that I used the car all that much, but I was very used to there being a vehicle when I needed one.

So blogging has been put on the back burner while I have caught up on errands and well yes, just enjoying driving again!

Having got that out of my system, I am back!

I'm Off On The Road To The Answer

I am so grateful to everyone who left a comment on my post about Mary Ann Sistler Ragan and the problem with her date of death and appearance in a census after her death.

I contacted the family and relayed all the suggestions made. They are going to contact the church cemetery to inquire about burial records and when the headstone was erected.

Our plan of attacking this problem will all depend on the information we get from the church.

I will keep you posted on this unusual, but certainly not unique problem.

The Problem With The Census

The picture above perfectly depicts my mood right now! I have a problem and am at a loss of where to go to try and reconcile this mess.

Let me introduce you to The John Wesley Ragan family:

John Wesley Ragan - b. 14 August 1839 and d. 10 April 1915 in Alabama
Mary Jane Sistler Ragan (wife) - b. 17 May 1841 and d. 23 October 1884 in Alabama
The death dates for John and Mary are 99% certain. The dates come from their headstone which is located in Centre, Cherokee County, Alabama at the Providence Baptist Church Cemetery. Their shared headstone is the tallest one in the cemetery, you can’t miss it. I have seen the photo with my very own eyes and these are absolutely the dates inscribed on the headstone.

Their children are:
Martha b. 1862 m. John Graham
Sarah b. 1866 m. Wiley Jackson
Leander b. 1873 m. Mary Frances Wood
Marcus Lafayette b. 1878 m. Frances Formby
Nettie b. 1879 m. John Parker
John Daniel b. 1883 m. Carrie Ann Woodall

Let’s start with the family in the 1880 census -

1880 US CENSUS, ALABAMA, CHEROKEE COUNTY, TOWNSHIP 11 RANGE 9, DISTRICT 27, page 394C (stamped), household #126
RAGAN, Wesley age 40
RAGAN, Mary J. , age 40
RAGAN, Martha, age 17
RAGAN, Sarah E., age 13
RAGAN, Leander, age 8
RAGAN, Marcus, age 6
RAGAN, Nettie, age 1
Everyone born in Alabama

The enumerator was P. J. Chisolm. On page 397A, household #183 Patrick J. Chisolm is found.

Are you with me so far? THEN…..

1900 US CENSUS, ALABAMA, CHEROKEE COUNTY, PRECINCT NO. 8, BALL PLAY, page 100 (stamped), sheet 5A (penned), household #73
RAGAN, Jno W., age 60, married 39 years
RAGAN, Mary J., age 59, married 39 years
RAGAN, Lafayette, age 26
RAGAN, Nettie, age 21
AKINS, Ruthie, age 19
RAGAN, Jas. D., age 19

Daughter Martha (from 1880 census) is on page 99, sheet 4B (penned), household #72, married to John Graham
Son Leander (from 1880 census) is on page 99 (stamped), sheet 4A (penned), household #61
Daughter Sarah E. is off in Texas married to Wiley Jackson
Again, everyone born in Alabama.

The family from 1880 and the family from 1900 are the same family wouldn’t you agree?
Do you see the problem I am having with this yet?

How can Mary Jane be enumerated in the 1900 census when she died in 1884?????

I have gone over and over this. I have blown up the page from the 1900 census and have it taped on the wall right next to my monitor so I see it all the time.

Some possible explanations and the reasons they don't work:

What if John had remarried - First, family says that he never remarried. I have checked what I believe to be all extant marriage records for Cherokee County, Alabama for the years 1884 to 1909 and have negative results. The 1910 census shows him as a 70 year old widower, living with his son Lafayette.

1910 US CENSUS, ALABAMA, CHEROKEE COUNTY, COLMA, PRECINCT 1, page 98, sheet 10B (penned), household #175
RAGAN, Fayet, age 35
RAGAN, Imo F., age 21
RAGAN, Edron M., age 3
RAGAN, Willis H., age 10/12
RAGAN, John W., age 70, widowed

The 1900 census clearly states that the marriage is the first for both John and Mary and that they have been married for 39 years. The family produced a marriage record for me verifying that they were married in January 1862. The census also says that Mary had 7 children, 6 of whom are still living. This also is correct. There was a child born between Sarah in 1866 and Leander in 1873 who died as an infant.

The family has no explanation for this other than "that census taker just made up the information"

HELLO??? There is no way that the enumerator "made up" that information. Every last bit of it is correct. Someone in that household gave him that information.

If we were only talking about a years difference from when she died to when the census was taken, I could probably let this whole thing go and move on with my life. HOWEVER....we are talking about 16 YEARS difference.

OK what if the date on the headstone was wrong? Maybe, but 16 years in error? Mary died before John so I am going on the assumption that the stone was put up when she died and John's name added to it later when he died in 1915. Maybe they meant to carve 1894 instead of 1884. But this still does not help my case. She is clearly living in 1900...or is she?

OK one last theory and this is really a stretch - maybe she really did die in 1884. Maybe when the census taker came around in 1900 the family gave the exact correct information to the enumerator, pretending she was alive. But why would they want to do this? If she really died in 1884 why would they lie and say she was living in 1900? What would they have to gain from this?

I have to shoot this theory out of the game also. The Ragan family lived in the same area for well over 50 years. Census enumerators were usually a local person. A local person would have known about the Ragan family who lived in the area for over 50 years. A local person would have known that Mary died in 1884. Maybe. The name of the enumerator who went to the Ragan house in 1900 was John F. Brown. He was a 19 years old student who attended school for 6 months. He was living with his uncle James Webb and his family in the town of Center in Cherokee County. Center is the county seat. The census was enumerated in June 1900 so it is very plausible that John F. Brown took the job as summer employment. Living in the county seat probably made it easier for him to get the job.

I must be missing something, but I'll be damned if I know what it is.

The Educated Graveyard Rabbit

Terry Thornton is the mastermind of The Association of Graveyard Rabbits . It is a group of individuals who are interested in promoting the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from a study of burial customs, burying grounds, and tombstones. As a group we pledge to promote the study of cemeteries, promote the preservation of cemeteries, and promote the transcription of genealogical/historical information written in cemeteries.

I was stunned when asked to participate in this invitation only project. I can only try to live up to the expectations. A requirement of belonging to this association is that one must have a blog devoted solely to this endeavour. So I am announcing the birth of The Educated Graveyard Rabbit.

While most of the Graveyard Rabbit websites you come across are specific to certain geographical locations, The Educated Graveyard Rabbit will take you to different cemeteries located across the United States.

59th Edition COG - Politics and Our Ancestors

The 59th Edition COG - Politics and Our Ancestors

The next edition of the COG will be published on Election Day in the U.S. (November 4). So it's the perfect time to research and reflect on what we know (or can find out) about our family members' involvement with the election process. Did one of your ancestors run for office? Who was President when your immigrant ancestors first set foot on American shores? Do you have any suffragettes in your family tree?

The Deadline For Submissions Is November 1, 2008.

The Bones of Edward Boone - Fact or Fiction

The 58th Edition Carnival of Genealogy has been posted over at Jasia's Creative Gene . The theme for this carnival was to write a story about or involving one of our ancestors and the story could be true or purely fiction. My submission, "Believe it or Not" , was a story about my 5th great grandfather Richard Thomas and how he found the bones of Edward Boone (brother of the famous Daniel) and re-interred them in his church cemetery.

Now that the Carnival has been posted, I am to reveal whether My story is fact or fiction. I am pleased to tell you that it is absolutely true!

In a newspaper article - "Circumstances Surrounding The Death And Burial Of Edward Boone, Brother Of Famed Frontier Explorer", by Edna Talbott Whitley, The Kentuckian-Citizen, December 12, 1958 - it tells us of over 30 men who went with Daniel Boone the day after his brother's death to bury his body on the site he was killed. Several of these men gave depositions to attest to this fact and can be found in the Draper Manuscripts.

But, the primary source document for Edward Boone’s reburial in the Rockbridge Graveyard is a manuscript taken by 19th Century historian Lyman Draper. In an interview, held about 1851 in Columbia, Missouri, William T. Wilson, native of Bourbon County, Kentucky and son of Capt. Henry Wilson [my 5th great grandfather], describes the event to Draper.
Wilson, according to Draper, was "long familiar" with the Boone Creek area. Wilson was in a position to know about Elder Thomas reburying Edward Boone. Wilson's brother, Lewis Wilson, married Elder Richard Thomas’s daughter, Sarah A. Thomas. This makes William T. Wilson either a primary source (eye witness to the event) or a very credible secondary source.

[Lewis Wilson and Sarah Anderson Thomas are my 4th great grandparents]
In the interview, Wilson draws a plat locating the Rockbridge Baptist Church in relation to Boone Creek and describes what happened:






"Millersburg, Ky is some 8 miles below the mouth of Boone’s Creek – a half mile yet higher up the creek to the spring where Edward Boone was buried. The Upper Blue Licks are about 15 miles from Boone’s Lick & the Lower Blue Licks about 20 miles distant. About 1827, the bones of Edward Boone became exposed to view where they were buried, in the road, by the washing of water, near the bank of the creek & close to the spring, & the Rev. Richard Thomas had them removed and reinterred a mile off in the Rockbridge Baptist Church Yard."

The Problem With Polka

Well, it seems that I will have to go on living without having learned how to Polka. The engine blew up in our car today and I won't being going anywhere for quite awhile. Oh Poo.

However, I have a back-up plan.

I will tell you all about what I learned about Polish Folk Music, Dance and Costumes. Really, you are going to like this much better than watching me dance!

ABOUT THE POLKA

According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the polka originated in Bohemia around 1830 as a round-dance, and became popular throughout Europe and in America in the course of the 19th century. The name "polka" is derived from Czech words for "field" or "half;" in other interpretations the name relates to the Czech term for a Polish girl, "polska," in reference to the krakowiak dance-songs which the Bohemians adopted for their polkas. It is interesting to note that the word "Polka" means "Polish woman" in Polish.

The polka was originally a Czech peasant dance, developed in Eastern Bohemia. The dance was first introduced into the ballrooms of Prague in 1835. The name of the dance (pulka) is Czech for "half-step", referring to the rapid shift from one foot to the other. Of all the dances originating in the nineteenth-century, the only one that has survived is the polka. For years to come, the polka will remain popular, with its variance in style from robust to smooth short, glide steps and ever happy music. One of the most popular versions of the polka is the "heel and toe and away we go" due to its ease to execute.

COSTUMES

THE MUSIC

I was told by a reliable source that the albums below represent Polka Music at its best.

1. Stan Wolowic and The Polka Chips

2. POLKA DISCO - And I thought I had seen everything.

3. DEEP POLKA - Dance Music from the Midwest - Nope, now I have seen everything

4. POLKAS TO REMEMBER - VOLUME 10 - Judging my the album cover Volumes 1 - 9 must have been best sellers as well.

POLKA DANCING MEMBERSHIPS

And now, the best part of all this is that you can become an official, card-carrying, Polka dancing member of not 1 but 2 different LEGITIMATE organizations!

United States Polka Association - http://www.uspapolkas.com/

International Polka Association - http://www.internationalpolka.com/index.html

footnoteMaven Wants to Know More About Me

Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings started a lovely game of tag. The footnoteMaven has tagged me to play along.

***10 Years Ago I........
Was just turning 40
Was 10 pounds lighter
Was still working at a paying job
Wasn't having as much fun as I am having now!


***5 Things on Today's To-Do List......

1. Write in Blog
2. Write report for DAR board meeting on Friday
3. Remember dentist appointment tomorrow
4. Make myself go to grocery store
5. Think about cleaning out garage


***5 Snacks I Enjoy........

1. Pie
2. Pie
3. Pie
4. Pie
5. Pie

***5 Places I Have Lived......

1. Burbank, California
2. San Antonio, Texas
3. Ft. Bragg, North Carolina
4. Nice, France
5. Stockton, California


***5 Jobs I Have Had.....

1. Dancer-ercise Instructor at a women's gym
2. Cleaned Office Buildings at Night
3. Sales Clerk in the Hosiery Department
4. Waitress
5. Domestic Goddess

***5 Blogs I tag to play.....

1. Brenda Dougall Merriman
2. Mark Tucker at ThinkGenealogy
3. Colleen at Orations of OMcHodoy
4. Kathy Brady-Blake at Kathy's Genealogy Blog
5. T. K. at Before My Time

Polka Progress

So, me and my bright ideas are in deep once again. Donna over at What's Past is Prologue announced that October is Polish-American Heritage month. She then issued a challenge to complete at least item on her list of ways to celebrate being Polish. Having Polish blood running through your veins was not a requirement.

Being the kind of girl I am, I of course wanted to participate (What? Have a party without me?). Thinking that I would pick the easiest thing on the list, I decided I would learn how to Polka. Some of the other choices were to learn Polish, read a historical novel about Poland, etc and I just didn't think that I would have time for those tasks.

I thought to myself, how hard can this be? I'll just locate a Polish Polka instructor in the yellow pages and take a lesson and show the film at eleven. Well, let me tell you something I'll bet you did not know. There are no Polish Polka instructors listed in the yellow pages for all of Northern California. None - Zip - Nada- Zero . I did however find a few authentic Polish Polka Bands. Can you believe that no amount of money in the world would entice them to teach me the Polka? Obviously I sounded just like a crazed blonde who knows she only has 14 more days to learn how to Polka!

Man oh Man, what was I thinking?

Back to the West Coast

I have been sharing with you my research of my SIL’s (sister-in-law) family. The education I have received from this research is priceless. All of her ancestors are German Jewish in origin coming from Bavaria or Hesse Darmstadt. Most all arriving in the United States between 1840 and 1850. I have taken you to Portland, Oregon and New York City with my research and today San Francisco, California.

SIL’s 2nd great grandfather is David Nathan Walter. From the information on his U. S. Passport application, David Nathan Walter was born 24 August 1837 in Rickendorf, Bavaria, Germany. He came to the United States in April 1848 to San Francisco via New York City. He was naturalized on 1 November 1860 in the U.S. Circuit Court, Northern District of California.

David married Hannah Smith of Albany, New York and they had 6 children:
Jacob Smith Walter
Edgar Walter
Adele Walter
Clarence R. Walter
Herbert D. Walter
Rosie Walter

David Walter went into business with his 2 brothers and formed the D. N. & E. Walter & Co. I found this entry in the 1867 Pacific Coast Business Directory:
D. N. Walter
Location: 303 & 305 California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Occupation: D. N. & E. Walter, carpet importers

By 1880 the company moved to 98 O’Farrell Street as shown in the advertisement in the Pacific Furniture Trade Magazine.

Business was good for the Walter family. Here is a photo of the Walter home at the north east corner of Sacramento Street and Van Ness, San Francisco, California about 1887.

(Photo of the Walter home courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley)

I located David Walter‘s obituary in “The San Francisco Call”, Sunday, March 4th, 1900, Page 23

D.N. WALTER, WELL-KNOWN MERCHANT PASSES AWAY Prominent Citizen Dies at His Van Ness Avenue Residence, Surrounded by His Family.
David N. Walter, a well-known business man, president of the D. N. &E. Walter & Co. (Incorporated), wholesale dealers in carpets and upholstery at 523 Market street, died last night at his residence, 1700 Van Ness Avenue.
David N. Walter has for many years been a prominent member of commercial circles of this city and a well known-figure in many societies. He was known as
a charitable and public-spirited citizen, always devoted to the best interests of the community.
Deceased leaves a widow, two sons, Clarence R. and Herbert D., and two daughters,
Mrs. Moses Heller and Mrs. Abe Mertief.
The Interment will be at Home of Peace Cemetery on Monday morning. Deceased was a native of Germany, 62 years of age. The entire family was present at his bedside when he passed away.

Monday's Child is Fair of Face

The footnoteMaven has come up with a fun little exercise in the Genea-Blogger world: What Day of the Week were You Born? She uses the nursery rhyme "Monday's Child" and asks if we agree with the attribute described for each day of the week.

I was born on a Monday, the day after Easter. A whopping 10 pounds 5 ounces. (I, of course, blossomed into the petite flower that I am today) This photo was taken when I was 1 week old!

But "Fair of Face"? I don't think so!

Practicing What I Preach

I received a comment today to a post I made back in August. The comment was made by some one who did not care to leave their name. I wish they would have so I can thank them for calling me on the carpet. I profess to be educated and need to show my work reflecting that. Here is the comment left and my corrected article.

Anonymous said...
Usually when you document your sources, you use footnotes to show exactly where each piece of information came from. You give a Works Cited list, but don't show the actual source for each bit of information.




MICHAEL DELANEY and the WINTERBOTTOM SISTERS - LILLIE and ABIGAIL

Michael Delaney is the eldest child of my 3rd great grandparents Daniel Derondo Delaney and Ellen Collins. Daniel and Ellen were born in Ireland. Daniel in County Kerry[1] and Ellen in County Cork[2]. They were married 3 December 1849 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Buttevant County Cork, Ireland[3]. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Delaney’s arrived at the Port of New York on 8 January 1851 aboard the “Elizabeth Bentley”[4]. By September of that year they had made their way North to Lockport, Niagara County where Michael was born 3 September 1851[5].
Daniel was a stone mason but upon arrival in America, he found himself a contractor to the railroads. Daniel had a team of men that graded the land where the new tracks were going to be laid[6]. He must have been a hard worker and good at his job. The New York Central Railroad line from Lockport, south west along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio and south west even more to St. Louis Missouri, lines up neatly with the Delaney family’s migration westward.
In 1862 the Delaney’s are in Sedalia, Pettis County, Missouri where Daniel enlists in the Union Army[7]. In 1867 the Delaney’s are in Lawrence, Kansas where Daniel once again takes up contract work for the railroad, this time for the Central Branch Missouri Pacific Railroad[8].
The family migrated north to Waterville, Marshall County, Kansas where we find Michael Delaney is now 19 years old[9]. Michael worked alongside his father in railroad construction until the line was completed in Waterville in 1879[10]. Daniel and Ellen decided to move south to Elk County, Kansas. Michael and a younger brother George, elected to stay in Marshall County. George went north about 35 miles to the town of Axtell[11].
In 1879 Michael purchased a mercantile store from J. E. Peters. He owned and operated this store until he sold it in 1907[12].
On 29 April 1880[13] in Waterville Township, Michael married local school teacher Lillie Winterbottom, the daughter of Daniel and Matilda Winterbottom[14]. Michael and Lillian had three sons: Frederick George Delaney born 1 April 1881[15], Daniel Derondo Delaney born 27 August 1886[16] and Carl Andrew Delaney born 7 August 1888[17].All three boys moved to Taloga, Dewey County, Oklahoma and all three worked as bankers for the 1st National Bank[18]. A first cousin to their mother, J. W. Thompson, was the president of the 1st National Bank and of Citizens National Bank[19]. In 1917, all three boys registered for the draft during World War I. All three were shipped overseas to serve their country. Only two of them returned. Daniel Derondo Delaney was killed in action in February of 1918. His widow Maud and son Roger Delaney survived him. Daniel was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville[20]. Frederick came back to his job as a banker and married Daisy Hbare[21]. They relocated to Ventura, California and had three children: Fred George Delaney[22], Mary A. Delaney[23] and Lillian Patricia Delaney[24]. Frederick died in Ventura, California 7 April 1965[25] and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville[26]. Carl married Ethel Florence Mc Elhaney[27] and moved to Paradise, Butte County, California where they had one son Carl Roderick Delaney[28]. Carl died 29 August 1976[29] in Paradise and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville[30].Lillian died on 31 May 1893[31] and Michael remarried to her sister Abigail Winterbottom on 25 June 1895[32]. Michael was an active member of the community, as the following list will confirm:*Appointed Postmaster of Waterville 1888 - 1893 and again 1897-1913[33]*Elected as Mayor of Waterville and served two terms[34]*President of the Waterville School Board for seventeen years[35]*Chairman of the Waterville Township Central Republican Committee for twenty years during which time he also served as a delegate to district and state republican conventions.[36]*Vice president of Citizens State Bank[37]*Served as treasurer for the Riverside Cemetery Association[38]*Served as treasurer for Sutton Lodge No. 85[39]*Served as a member of the City Council of Waterville[40]*Supreme Treasurer of the Triple Tie Benefit Association for fourteen years[41]*A member of The Independent Order of Odd Fellows[42]*A member of The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons for 55 years[43]*First President of Waterville Telephone Company[44]*Member of the Modern Woodmen of America[45]*Organized the construction of the new City Hall in Waterville[46]*Member of the Methodist Episcopal Church[47]
Michael died 1 May 1938[48] in Waterville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery[49].


[1] . Daniel D. Delaney (Pvt. , Co. E, 7th Reg., Missouri Calvary, Civil War), Invalid Pension File No. 202.017, Civil War and Later Pension Files, Department of Veteran Affairs, Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington DC
[2] Parish Register, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland
[3] Ibid
[4] “The Famine Immigrants, Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York 1846-1851“, Glazier, Ira A., Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland 1985, pp. 493-494 [5] “The Waterville Telegraph”, Waterville, Marshall County, Kansas, Thursday, May 5, 1938, Section A, p. 12, Obituary for Michael Delaney
[6] Pension file of Daniel Delaney
[7] Ibid
[8] Obituary of Michael Delaney
[9] 1870 U.S. Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, Barrett Post Office, page 28 (penned), Daniel Delaney household #209, dwelling #213
[10] . “Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons”, Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1912, pp. 502-503
[11] Ibid
[12] . “A History of Marshall County, Kansas - It‘s People, Industries and Institutions”, Forter, Emma, B F. Bowen and Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1917, pp. 201-202, 368-369, 415
[13] Ibid
[14] “A Pictorial and Family History of Waterville, Kansas”, Bicentennial Committee of 1796, pp. 247-249
[15] . “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918“, digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Fred George Delaney, serial no., 21, order no. 587, Draft Board 7
[16] “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918“, digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Daniel Derondo Delaney. Serial no. 45, order no. 7652
[17] . “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918“, digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Carl Andrew Delaney, serial no. 1223, order no. 15, Draft Board 31
[18] 1910 U.S. Census, Oklahoma, Dewey County, Taloga, page 367 (stamped), sheet 15A (penned), Fred G. Delaney household & dwelling #81
[19] “An Affair With The Past, From the Otoes to the Astronauts”, Guise, Byron and Eulalia, Marysville, Kansas, 1987
[20] Delaney Family Headstone Photos, Riverview Cemetery, Waterville Township, Marshall County, Kansas, photos in possession of author
[21] . “The Ventura County Star”, Ventura, California, 8 April 1967, Obituary of Frederick Delaney
[22] 1930 U.S. Census, California, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, Assembly District 37, Block 497, page 107 (stamped), sheet 13A (penned), 809 Highlands Avenue, Fred G. Delaney household & dwelling #223
[23] Ibid
[24] California Birth Index, online database ancestry.com
[25] Obituary of Frederick Delaney
[26] Delaney Family headstone photos
[27] “The Paradise Post”, Paradise, Butte County, California, 3 September 1976, Obituary of Carl Delaney
[28] California Death Index, online database ancestry.com
[29] Obituary of Carl Delaney
[30] Delaney Family headstone photos
[31] “The Waterville Telegraph”, Waterville, Marshall County, Kansas, Friday, June 9, 1893, p. 3, Obituary for Lillie W. Delaney
[32] Obituary of Michael Delaney
[33] Ibid
[34] Ibid
[35] Ibid
[36] “A History of Marshall County, Kansas”
[37] Ibid
[38] Ibid
[39] Ibid
[40] Obituary of Michael Delaney
[41] “A History of Marshall County, Kansas”
[42] Obituary of Michael Delaney
[43] Ibid
[44] Ibid
[45] “A History of Marshall County, Kansas”
[46] Ibid
[47] Obituary of Michael Delaney
[48] Ibid
[49] Delaney Family headstone photos

Other Sources Used:

1930 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 7B (penned), Michael Delaney household #230, dwelling #224
1920 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 10B (penned), Michael Delaney household #153, dwelling #1491880 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 10B, Michael Delaney household #110, dwelling #107
1885 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, pg. 10, line 21, Michael Delaney household
1900 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 245 (stamped), sheet 4A (penned), Michael Delaney household #96, dwelling #99
1895 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 17, line 1, Michael Delaney household
1910 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 11B (penned), Michael Delaney household #138, dwelling #137
1905 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 9, line 1, Michael Delaney household
1915 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 2, line 18, Michael Delaney household

Believe It Or Not

The 58th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy asks Bloggers to write a story about or involving one of our ancestors. The story may be fact or fiction. You the reader, must decide if you believe my story or not.



The Bones of the Brother of Daniel Boone


The date is 6 October 1780, Daniel Boone and his brother Edward were returning from a hunting and salt making trip in the Blue Licks when they stopped at a creek to let their horses cool and graze. Daniel decided to go off and hunt while Edward stayed with the horses.

As Edward sat alone beneath a buckeye tree, a group of Shawnee warriors sneaked up shot him. Hearing the shots, Daniel looked back in horror and saw the Indians standing over Edward’s dead body. Spotting Daniel off in the distance, the Indians released their dog. Daniel brought down the animal with a shot from his rifle and managed to escape back to Boone Station.

Edward’s daughter, Sarah Boone Hunter, in a letter to Lyman Draper, said, "My father was killed 40 miles from the Station. He was stabbed in 7 places; his fingers were horribly cut with the Indian’s knife. He was scalped and part of his clothing were taken off. I think his coat and pantaloons."

Daniel and a group of men from Boone Station arrived at the creek the next morning. Finding Edward’s body horrible mutilated, they buried him near the bank of the creek where he fell. The creek, from that time on, became known as "Boone Creek" in honor of Edward.

Forty-seven years later, in 1827, water at Boone Creek washed up some of Edward’s bones. Elder Richard Thomas, pastor of the nearby Rockbridge Baptist Church, collected the remains and had them re-interred approximately 1 mile away in his church graveyard.


RICHARD THOMAS III

Richard Thomas III is my 5th great grandfather. I am very proud of this particular ancestor of mine. Richard served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Captain Lytle's Company in Colonel William Taylor's North Carolina Regiment. He was discharged in June, 1778, at Valley Forge, after having served General George Washington himself. Richard's brother, General Philemon Thomas, was the commanding general who took Baton Rouge in the War of 1812.

Richard Thomas was born 19 October 1758 in Orange County, North Carolina to Richard Thomas II and Frances Hawkins. On 19 November 1794, Richard married Elizabeth Bowles, the daughter of Jesse Bowles and Hannah Perkins.

Richard wrote an article for the "Western Citizen" on 30 April 1825 at the height of the controversy between the Old and New Court of Appeals.


Some Reflections of Affairs on the Present State of Government
by an Old Soldier of the Revolutionary War of 1776

I served four campaigns in that war, am now in the 66th year of my age and have nothing to fear on my own account - yet my sympathies are engaged for my children, my brethren, and my country. Every energy of my mind runs out in desire that minorities and majorities shall possess equal rights, that no power shall rest in the hands of a majority to trample on the rights of any. That power lodged anywhere to trample the rights of others is tyranny. I have conscientiously expressed my belief as to where the master spirits of the store are endeavoring to bring us in the following sheets: To establish Tyranny among us and destroy our present Republican Government and believing that there are thousands now led astray, who are honest and firm republicans in heart I entreat you for your own sakes, and that of your children, reflect before it is too late. With the warmest feelings and sincere wishes for the prosperity of my country I remain a sincere friend to equal liberty and rights.

--Richard Thomas

Fact or Fiction?

For the 58th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy the powers that be have come up with a great idea. Bloggers will write a story (with the Halloween theme in mind) about or including one of their ancestors. The twist? The story can be real or it can be complete fiction. Readers will need to guess if the story is true or not.

The Deadline For Eerie Tales Submissions Is October 15, 2008. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form

The Titanic Connection

So my sister-in-law has these great ancestors and in my last post I shared a little about the Aaron Meier branch. Here's a little something more about this branch.



Aaron Meier had a son, Abraham. Abraham Meier married Wilhelmina Eising. Wilhelmina's mother is Augusta Caroline Blun. Augusta has a sister Rosalie Ida Blun. Are you with me here? Rosalie Ida Blun is SIL's 2nd great grand aunt and here the story begins.

Rosalie Ida Blun was born 6 February 1849 in Worms, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany to Nathan and Wilhelmine Blun. The next year, 1850, the Blun family packed their things and moved t0 New York City.

Rosalie Ida marries in 1871 to Isidor Strauss. Isidor and his brother Nathan had a business importing crockery. They decided to expand their business by opening departments inside of existing stores. In 1874, they took over the basement of Macy's in New York City. In 1884, the brothers became partners in Macy's and by 1894 they owned Macy's! ( Department Store ownership runs in SIL's family. ) I think the best thing Macy's ever did is the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

OK, OK back to the story.....

Rosalie Ida and Isidor were both immigrants to the United States who believed in and prospered from the "American Dream". They gave financially and physically of themselves to endless charities. One that was very near and dear to them was The Educational Alliance of New York - an organization that instructed Jewish immigrants in the need to be responsible citizens. The alliance taught vocational training as well as American history, geography and the English language. They were members of the best circles of Jewish Society in New York City.

Early in April 1912 Isidor, his wife Ida and their daughter Beatrice had travelled to Europe. For their return (Beatrice was absent) they boarded the Titanic at Southampton, England on April 10, 1912. Four days later the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

During the sinking, Titanic's officers pleaded with the 63 year old Ida to board a lifeboat and escape the disaster, but she repeatedly refused to leave her husband. Instead, she placed her maid in a lifeboat, taking her fur coat off and handing it to the maid while saying, "I won't need this anymore".

When last seen by witnesses, they were standing on deck, holding each other in a tight embrace. Their funeral drew some 6,000 mourners at Carnegie Hall.

The couple had been married for 41 years at the time of the disaster. They raised six children together, and were almost inseparable. On the rare occasion that they were apart, they wrote each other every day. They even celebrated their birthdays on the same day -February 6th.
Having shared the same birthday, it is only fitting that they left the world on the same day.

If At First You Don't Succeed, Look What Trying Will Do!

I spent the entire weekend working on my sister-in-law's family history. What a ride it has been! Today I will tell you about one branch of this interesting family tree.

Her 2nd great grandfather is Aaron Meier. Aaron was born 22 May 1831 in Ellerstadt, Bavaria. Aaron immigrated in 1855 to Downieville, California where 2 of his brothers (Julius and Emanuel) had settled before him. He soon moved north to a plot of land in Wilsonville, Oregon and he began selling merchandise from a pack in the rural areas south of Portland.

By the time he was 26, Aaron Meier rented a 35 X 50 foot space and began selling dry goods at 137 Front Street in Portland in 1857. His father died in 1864 and Aaron went back to Germany to collect his inheritance. While he was there, he met and married a local girl - Jeannette Hirsch. When he returned to Portland, he found that his partner in the business had become involved in some trouble and the business had been sold out.

So Aaron took his inheritance and open another store, a dry goods establishment located on Front Street between Yamhill and Taylor. On one of his trips to San Francisco to purchase stock for the store, he met Emil and Sigmund Frank. He brought them up to Portland to work as clerks in his store. In 1873, Emil Frank became a partner of Aaron Meier and the signs were changed to Meier & Frank.

In 1882 a fire destroyed the establishment and Aaron lost everything. Aaron Meier refused to give up. They somehow rebuilt the store, making it bigger and better than ever before.

By 1885, they had moved to a new building on Taylor Street, between First and Second Streets. That year Emil Frank's younger brother Sigmund, who was working for the store, married Meier’s only daughter, Fannie.

Aaron and Jeannette had 2 other children - Abraham Meier (my sister-in-law's great grandfather) and Julius Meier.

Aaron Meier unexpectedly died at age 58 on August 18, 1889, while eating breakfast.

In 1900 Abraham took the helm of the business. Abe’s younger brother Julius became the store manager and actually guided the store’s growth. Julius Meier had a great deal of influence in civic and political circles and was elected Governor of Oregon in 1930 as an independent—the first Jewish Governor of the state.

The Meier and Frank building is still standing in Portland.

1873

1898

1909

1932

I have had such a blast pouring over society pages of the Portland newspaper of the time. On ancestry.com, we were delighted to see passport applications (some even had photos) as well as ship passenger lists. Over at genealogybank.com I found an abundance of newspaper articles and obituaries on the Meier family. At heritagequest.com, it seemed that every book about the history of Portland, Oregon has some mention of her Meier family.

I am getting a quick education in American and German Jewish Genealogy. I am also becoming a quick study of the history of Portland, Oregon.

Here's a hint about the next installment of my sister-in-law's family - a member of her family went down with the Titanic!

Genealogical Happenings at the California State Archives

Family History Day at the California State Archives

1020 "O" Street at the corner of 10th Street

Sacramento, California

Saturday, October 11th 2008

8:30 AM until 4:00 PM

***FREE ADMISSION***

***Tour the Archives and learn about the historical documents held there

***Attend classes in the Preservation Lab to see how to preserve your family papers

***More than 25 classes through out the day - a few of the offerings are:

California Homestead Records

"Cussin Cousins" - An open forum for Frustrated Genealogists

Using Legacy Software

Resources and a Case Study - Using the Archives

NUCMC - National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections

I have attended this event at the State Archives for the past 3 years and each time it has been different. This year promises to be even bigger and better than last year. I am really interested in the presentation to be given in their Preservation Lab as well as the open forum for Frustrated Genealogists! I'll be there, what about you?

Do You See A Ghost?

The photo below was taken about 1896 in Franklin Township, Des Moines County, Iowa. The woman holding the baby in the center is my 2nd great grandmother Laura Cordelia Robinson Berry. The couple on the left are my 3rd great grandparents William Campbell Berry I and Mary Ping Berry. The couple on the right are Addison Lincoln Berry and his wife Eleanor Griffith Berry. At the very left is part of an image of a what appears to be a small boy and his dog. Is he really there?

Get To Know Your Fellow Genea-Bloggers

Well Terry Thornton has outdone himself. "The "Getting To Know You" challenge has been met by 40 Genea-bloggers with 42 blogs. You can meet these wonderful people over at Terry's place: Hill Country of Monroe County.

You’ll find the list divided into three posts at:

Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi: Part 1. ROUNDUP at HILL COUNTY: Getting to Know You: Overture, Act 1, Scenes 1 - 15

Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi: Part 1. ROUNDUP at HILL COUNTY: Getting to Know You: Overture, Act 2, Scenes 16 - 30

Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi: Part 1. ROUNDUP at HILL COUNTY: Getting to Know You: Overture, Act 1, Scenes 31 - 42; Finale and Reprise.

I am so proud to call all of these people my Genea-friends. They truly are the Brightest, the Breeziest and the most Beautiful!

Who Wants to Polka With Me?

Donna Pointkouski over at What's Past Is Prologue is celebrating Polish-American Heritage month by hosting a festival of Polish Heritage and has issued a challenge to complete one or more of the tasks on her list. Not Polish you say? Well neither am I but I plan to participate anyway. On the list is : Learn how to Polka!

OK so I have 30 days to find a Polish Polka instructor, learn the dance and write all about it. What? I am sure that this is do-able. Now where did I put the yellow pages...