A Hot Craze for Cold Days

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

It was too cold to go out.  There was nothing to do.  Some form of amusement was sorely needed as the city was almost entirely destitute of leisure entertainment.  What did the people of Ahnapee want to do?  Roller skate!

No skating rink?  No problem.  John McDonald would build one.  It was March, 1885.  Building could commence--just as soon as the frost was out of the ground.

Roller skating was a hot craze, sweeping the nation.  A medical journal described the interest to be spreading like influenza.  It said:  “.…the vibrating brain-cells of the enthusiastic roller-skater communicate their rhythmical pulsations to the previously insensitive spectator. Whatever the mechanism, there is certainly at present a morbidly exaggerated passion for, and indulgence in, roller-skating.”

Roller skates were first patented in 1760.  With improvements made around 1863, four-wheeled skates had springy carriages which allowed the skater to turn by leaning in the desired direction.   

John McDonald decided his roller skating hall would be 50’ by 115’ on a stone foundation.  Anton Leiberg was awarded the contract for the Third Street building.  Expected cost was in the neighborhood of $3,000 (estimated to be about $74,000 in today’s dollars).

The entrance end featured a ticket office, hat and cloak room, and a sitting room.  The gallery accommodated from 150 to 200 spectators.  On either side of the ground floor there were seats provided for onlookers and skaters in need of a rest.  A break in the railings on one side allowed skaters to leave the floor.  The rink was large enough to hold 80 sets of dancers at one time so there would be room for everybody.  A band stand sat in the middle of the skating floor.  Opposite the entrance was an exit—in case of a stampede.  The maple wood skating floor was 44’ by 100’, with corners laid to allow skaters to follow the grain of the wood making skating much easier than it otherwise would be, according to an Ahnapee Record news article.

Building progressed nicely except for a temporary concern.  It was feared that siding ordered from a Manistee, Michigan company might not arrive on time.  It did; the building was completed on time.    

McDonald hired a brass band from Sturgeon Bay.  He extended a cordial invitation to the public.  Everyone was welcome! On opening day, July 3, 1885, a flag—a gift of appreciation from Ahnapee citizens--was raised on a staff on the building.   

Opening night attracted a large crowd.  About 100 skaters took to the floor.  There was just one problem.  The band hired to furnish the music for the event that evening was unprepared to play anything but round dances.  They needed free-style dance music.  So, McDonald quickly found ex-Mayor Perry and Mr. C.G. Boalt.  They rescued the night by taking to the band stand, providing excellent music until the party broke up at midnight.    

After the grand opening, the hall was open daily for roller skating.  In the morning from 9 to 11 a.m. and afternoons from 1 to 6 p.m., admission was free; skates were 15 cents.  Ladies enjoyed free nights, except Wednesday and Saturday which were band nights.  On band nights, admission was 25 cents for guys; 15 cents for ladies.  Children skated free on Saturday afternoons and paid 10 cents for skates.   Prices were adjusted as needed.        

Deemed to be one of the finest and largest skating rinks in Northeastern Wisconsin--if not the state—the rink was a success.   Like all good proprietors, McDonald needed to keep the experience fresh and new.  He bought a polo set.  Polo was a new name for what was previously called “shinny” (a game like street hockey).  Customers may have felt shinny was a more fitting name as the game frequently resulted in skinned shins.  In addition to regular open skating, grand masquerades and skating carnivals were planned for important celebrations like Washington’s birthday in February.

When the city council levied a license fee of one hundred dollars on the hall, John McDonald considered the amount exorbitant.  He immediately closed the skating rink doors when his first license expired.  This created a state of, as then President Grover Cleveland would describe, “innocuous desuetude”—complete inactivity.  The Record newspaper opined that, instead, “the council should tender him (John McDonald) a vote of thanks” for bringing some means of amusement to the city.  The common council met and voted unanimously to reduce the fee to twenty-five dollars.  Mr. McDonald renewed the license and made plans for a grand reopening. 

The city once again had a roller skating rink to entertain the rabid roller skaters of Ahnapee.

Ahnepee Dramatic Troupe

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Long before The Lion King, Wicked, and Miss Saigon came to Northeast Wisconsin stages, the Ahnepee Dramatic Troupe brought way off Broadway theatrical performances to Algoma and Kewaunee.

In 1870, a group of local young people formed a dramatic club to perform at the Ahnepee Opera House on the corner of Washington Avenue and Madison Street.  In Kewaunee, they performed at the Bohemian Hall, the meeting place where local Czechs held athletic competitions and dramatic plays.    

Farce and Comedy were the favored genres of the Ahnepee Dramatic Troupe.  In fact, the more buffoonery, the more improbable the plot could be, and the more exaggerated the characters were, the better.

On the programme for their first show were The Secret or Hole in the Wall,  That Wonderful Baby, and A Barber Shop in an Uproar.  According to a local newspaper, the dramatic club association performed “in a manner that reflects credit upon the industry as well as the good taste and ingenuity of its members”.

One of their most highly touted performances was a play called The Toodles.    Written in 1848, the story is about Timothy Toodle, a lovable, easy-going guy with a wacky wife.  She has a penchant for buying useless junk.  Shopping at auctions, she purchases foolish things for which she believes she will find a use.  For instance, she buys a doorplate with the name Thompson on it.  She says if they ever have a daughter who marries a man named Thompson who spells his name with a ‘p’, the doorplate will come in handy.  Her husband, Timothy Toodle, wants to end the wasteful spending so he attends an auction and brings home a coffin, in case his wife dies before him.   

December 28, 1870 newspaper ad for Ahnepee Dramatic Troupe

Theatre goers were told to “Look Out For Fun” in one newspaper advertisement for these shows.  Doors opened at 6:30 p.m. at the hall.  For the admission of 25 to 50 cents, (children half price) they could expect to see a programme such as this:  First, The Toodles after which the entire company would appear in The Maypole Dance, concluding with Funny Thomas.  The ads promised “Dancing after performance, as usual”.   After one holiday show, a Christmas gift was presented to each child under age 12 and a prize was awarded to the Handsomest Lady (Mrs. C. L. Fellows) and the Homeliest Man (Mark McCormick).  Sometimes the show included sleight of hand magic tricks.


Often the troupe manager, Andy McDonald, would appear as one of his favorite characters in an Irish comedy called Barney, the Baron.  First performed in New York in 1850 under the title Fortune’s Whims, in this play, Barney O’Toole, a poor Irish tinker--an itinerant traveler who roams Ireland--becomes a baron when he wins a German castle in a lottery.

The Troupe’s success surpassed their wildest expectations.  The hall was often crowded and it was reported that roars of laughter were conclusive evidence that their “equals had never before been seen…” in the area.    

There was a dark, not-so-funny side to their comic theatre.  Among the plays performed was what they described as an irresistible Ethiopian and Egyptian farce called The Virginia Mummy.   This play, written in 1835, remained popular into the second half of the century and came late to Ahnepee theatre in 1870, after the Civil War.  In the play, a scientist named Dr. Galen bans Captain Rifle, a soldier, from courting Galen’s young ward, Lucy.  When Rifle sees a newspaper ad that Galen has posted for a mummy, the soldier hires a black hotel waiter named Ginger Blue to be dressed as a mummy decoy.  Rifle pretends to be the mummy’s Egyptian owner so they can get into Dr. Galen's house so Rifle can court Lucy, the ward.  While Rifle and Lucy are offstage together, Ginger Blue is center stage with his masks and disguises.  He is left to rely on his wiles to figure a way out, jumping in and out of a box throughout the play.  By making the mummy a white man in blackface who is left to finagle his way out of the situation, the author created a farcical, under the thumb Jim Crow character.  This wasn’t the only such play the Troupe performed.   Especially degrading to black women, Oh! Hush!, written in 1833, featured the blackface wench.  Male actors played black women in drag.      

Essentially, many of these plays were comments on social hierarchy presented wryly as comedy.  Perhaps after all this time, some things haven’t truly changed in theater.     

The Wings of The OWL

Wednesday, February 12, 2014



George W. Wing was the “father” of the Kewaunee County Historical Society. He wrote stories endlessly and documented all aspects of life from the earliest pioneer days of Wolf River (Ahnepee, Ahnapee, later Algoma) and Kewaunee, Wisconsin.  From “how Ahnepee got its name” to politics to the Indian lore of the Winnebagoes, G. W. Wing wrote about it. His stories also included those of his own family’s history in a newsletter he called The OWL (Our Wing Lineage).




George W. Wing (standing) and his mother Mary Elliott Wing with his son, George D. Wing
Seated is George W. Elliott (Mary's father)

 G. W. Wing was the son of a prominent Kewaunee attorney, Rufus Wing, and Mary (Elliott) Wing. Rufus and Mary Wing came to Wolf River in 1858 from Chilton, Wisconsin.

Having had experience at age 16 starting the Ahnapee Record newspaper with Charles W. Borgman in 1873, G. W. Wing set up a small printing press in the upper story of his Kewaunee home for his 12 year-old son, George Dikeman Wing.  They called the room The Owlery. There, George W. (who was affectionately called Col. Wing based on his role as division colonel in the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War) and his son wrote The OWL as a family newsletter. “We ‘hoot’ monthly for fifty cents a year” advertised young editor George D. Wing in Vol. 1, No. 1., September, 1899.

“The OWL, Vol 1. October , 1899  No. 2

…published and edited by George Dikeman Wing, Kewaunee, Wisconsin.  The publisher is a boy 12 years of age…He has a small press and a stock of type in his playroom in his father’s residence, and is compositor and editor and publisher of The OWL, which is notably well written and presents a creditable typographical appearance.  In this connection, we might as well confess that ‘the Colonel’ comes in occasionally and sweeps out the office and wipes the dust off the press, just to keep his hand in.”

Initially G. W. and George D. interviewed all of their local relatives for the paper. Their articles shared tales of overland journeys from New York to the wilds of Wisconsin territory; firsthand accounts of Civil War experiences and Revolutionary War diaries; photos and drawings; and, of course, the begets and begots of each collateral family back to the arrivals of their ancestors to the colonies.

The paper included newsy updates about new births and who visited whom sent in by family members.  These tidbits were chronicled in columns called “Kith and Kin” and “Winglets”. “Our Household Department” featured favorite recipes submitted by the ladies of Algoma and Kewaunee. The newsletter caught on. It really caught on.

Soon this newsletter was being subscribed to by the likes of the New York Public Library. Within a year, The OWL was publishing extensive ancestor pedigrees mailed in from Wing relatives living far and wide and others researched by G.W. and George D.  By October, 1900, The OWL was hooting monthly for a dollar a year.

Given the extent to which this project must have occupied the time of young student George D., his father took on more and more of the work of family correspondence. There was an ever-growing interest by Wing relatives and much research to be done.

Then G.W. Wing visited the homestead of the earliest Wing ancestors in Sandwich, Massachusetts. There he met distant Wing cousins and saw the original home of the family founders in America. The idea for a family reunion and creation of a Wing Family Association (WFA) was proposed in The OWL in 1901.

A reunion was held and papers of incorporation for the Wing Family of America were filed.  The founder of the WFA, its first president, was George W. Wing.  By March, 1902, The OWL had become “A Genealogical Quarterly Magazine” and a real deal at a dollar a year or 25 cents for a single issue, still published by George D. Wing in Kewaunee.  The OWL continued to be published quarterly through June 1934. Eventually its publication was moved to Massachusetts. It became an annual issue in 1936 and, except for a few instances, has been printed yearly as The OWL to this day. The reunions are still held, nearly every year.  The home of The OWL stands in Kewaunee today.

George W. Wing, who was an attorney by age 21 and County Judge by 1885, died April 12, 1924 in Kewaunee. The OWL didn’t let the story of G. W. Wing’s impact go unrecognized. Many articles honored the man who started it all with his idea for a family newsletter.   

What would George W. Wing say (or write) if he could have known that what he began as a little writing project for his son would result in creation of one of the oldest family history associations in America?  The WFA will celebrate its 112th anniversary this year and The OWL newsletters have become one of the family’s most treasured heirlooms.

For more information about the WFA organization and the impact of George W. Wing, see Wing Family of America.

Shirley VerBruggen blogs about family history.  This article was written for her "Remember When" column in the Kewaunee County Times newspaper.    

A Long-lived Love Story

Friday, February 7, 2014

Few couples are married for 67 years.  Fewer still can survive war and the harsh realities of pioneer life for all those years.  For one special Kewaunee County couple, Irving and Sarah Hall Elliott, this marriage milestone seems to have been destiny.

At the age of three, Sarah Hall came to Wisconsin from New York.  The family arrived at Wolf River on the schooner “Erie” at sundown on April 22, 1855.  The area was still very wild at that time and her father set out to build the little town, along with his brother Abe Hall, who had started a saw mill.  The Hall family also had a store, a boarding house, and a blacksmith shop.

 

Irving Elliott and his father, brothers, and sisters arrived in Kewaunee County soon after the Halls.  Following a stint as a printer’s devil, (a newspaper apprentice) at the Kewaunee Enterprise office, and after working at the Appleton Crescent, at 15 years old, Irving enlisted in August, 1862, and entered the 32^nd Wisconsin Infantry for the Civil War.  He was the youngest boy in the company ranks.

 

Meanwhile, Sarah taught school in Ahnapee and worked for the family at the Hall’s store and mill.

 

Away at battle, Irving was planning ahead for his future life.  He wrote to his father, George W. Elliott, from Memphis, Tennessee in May of 1863.  “Father,…I want you to let me know what I can get a good village lot for as I want one, and you pick it out and take my allotment money and pay for it so that if I get home, I shall have a little to show for my labors, and when I pay for these I shall want to get lumber.  I can make preparations for building a home…”  After his discharge in June of 1865, Irving returned to Ahnapee, so thin and gaunt that he was barely recognizable.

When recovered, he set out to make a life and start a family.  Irving was among the first members of the local masonic lodge.  He was a catcher on the town’s first baseball team.  When he found his bride-to-be, Sarah Hall was 19;  Irving was 24.  Irving did what had to be done to make her his wife.  As the story goes, the wedding didn’t happen until, as Irving later recalled, “in the dead of winter, with about four feet of snow on the ground,” he was forced to make his way to Carlton town to get the minister to perform the ceremony.  On February 4, 1871, Irving and Sarah were married at her father’s house, which later became the Algoma hospital.  Just nine months later, they would be lucky to survive when most the area north of the woods of Ahnapee burned in the Peshtigo fire and heavy smoke blanketed the area.

Irving’s family built the house that he had planned for.  It is a large two story white house on 2^nd  Street  in Algoma that is still standing today.

A printer all his life, Irving published the Algoma Record newspaper from 1908 to 1918.  This was the period in which the first linotype was installed in the newspaper office.  The technology revolutionized local newspaper publishing at the time.

Sarah, with Irving at her side, raised their children:  Nellie, Ella Isabel, Mae, De Wayne (died in infancy), and Frank.

Each year, Irving appeared at the Memorial Day program in Algoma dressed in costume for “The World’s All Right” Legion play, holding an age-tattered flag.  He and Sarah had an active social life with their children, extended family, and many friends. 

They both lived to an advanced age.  With a bowed back and failing hearing, Irving still enjoyed life, especially strong tobacco.  Having shared a long and fruitful married life, Sarah preceded him in death.  She died in 1938 at age 86; Irving died three years later, in December, 1941.  He was 95 years old and the oldest Civil War vet of Kewaunee County at the time of his death. 

The picture of the couple appeared in the February 5, 1937 issue of the Algoma Record Herald newspaper in an article celebrating Irving and Sarah’s 66^th wedding anniversary.    

Ah-ne-pee's Own Senator Stebbins

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I wrote this article for "The County Times" newspaper. 

Every flag in the community was at half-mast on June 15, 1901, when the largest funeral ever seen in Kewaunee County was attended by 3,000 mourners.  People, including the governor, came from all over Wisconsin, to say good-bye to “Old Steb”.  Who was this man and why did all those people come to honor him? 

De Wayne Stebbins was a unique character and a pioneer citizen of Wisconsin and Kewaunee County.  It was said that he believed hypocrisy, sham, and flattery were cardinal sins.  He lived his life in an exemplary way that earned him the respect demonstrated at his funeral. 

Stebbins was descended from a long line of Puritans, his ancestor Rowland Stebbins having come to America in 1634.  De Wayne was born in Clinton, New York, and came with his family to territorial Wisconsin in 1835 as an infant. 

At 16, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, graduated, and served for a time in the Navy.  Around 1856, he came to Wolf River, now Algoma, at barely 21 years old.  Soon after, he took an adventure to mine for gold in California, traveling by way of the Isthmus of Panama.  Gold mining didn’t pan out for him and he returned to Wolf River, or Ah-ne-pee.  He, himself, is credited with renaming the village Ah-ne-pee, which later became Ahnapee, and then Algoma.

The War Between the States broke out and Stebbins expected to be called up as a naval officer, but when the call didn’t come, he enlisted.  On the night before he departed with Company K, the 21^st Wisconsin Infantry, on September 5, 1862, he married the young widow Frances Elliott Newel, the daughter of early pioneer settler George W. Elliott.

When Stebbins reached Louisville, Kentucky, the order came to transfer him to the Navy as an officer in Porter's western flotilla.  He served on the Clara Dolson, steamer Mound City, steam ship Carondelet of the Mississippi squadron, Portsmouth, and was second in command under Farragut on the double-turreted monitor Kickapoo.  Among the notable events of his Civil War experience was the time he most likely saved the life of General Ulysses S. Grant.

On a dark, foggy night in April, 1863, the Mound City ran the gauntlet past the batteries at Vickburg.  Proceeding on the river, they participated in several attacks.  After running the batteries, Stebbins helped to transfer General Grant's army across the river.  De Wayne Stebbins shared a personal account of that night and his experience with General Grant, who later became our 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant.  The story of the siege of Vicksburg was later written in a May 26, 1955 article in the Algoma "Record-Herald" newspaper.  It read:

            "In the dark and mist from the river, a lookout challenged two approaching figures.  Stebbins, the deck officer, ordered his men to prepare to fire on the boat in the belief that Confederate spies might be floating downstream in a canoe or on a log.  While Stebbins delayed his command to make certain he did not kill his own men, a voice came from the darkness:  'General Grant desires to see Admiral Porter.'  A moment later the Union hero stepped aboard, saved from the fate of General Stonewall Jackson, Confederate leader who was accidentally slain by his own men.  Had circumstances been reversed there is no telling how American history would have been altered, so vital were each of these men to success of his own cause."

On that foggy night, De Wayne Stebbins’ direct orders to his men to prepare but hold their fire upon Grant's unidentified vessel is attributed to saving the general's life.

After the war, De Wayne Stebbins came home to Ah-ne-pee and became a real estate dealer, a government harbor inspector, a banker, publisher of the Ahnapee Record newspaper from 1884-1897, a legislator and a Wisconsin state senator.  He served continuously on the Kewaunee County Board for 27 years.   

When he arrived in Madison as a senator, he chaired the Committee on Charitable Institutions.  His Wisconsin legislative colleagues called him “PaPa Stebbins” because, although he was described as “stern”, he served both in a mentor role and friend with a “heart of warmest texture”.  It was said that De Wayne Stebbins could always be depended on to stand with measures beneficial to the people.  At home, he was master of the Masonic lodge for a dozen years and belonged to the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) and several other local organizations.

His death was a shock and came unexpectedly.  He and his wife had returned just two days before from a trip to San Francisco where he represented the state to present a gift for the battleship Wisconsin.  Late in the evening on June 12, 1901, he experienced severe chest pains and died around midnight with his wife--his partner of nearly 40 years--beside him.

De Wayne Stebbins was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Algoma near many of his extended family and beloved friends and constituents.  At the funeral for the man whom everyone said had a simple straightforward style and modesty that earned him recognition, Governor LaFollette summed up Stebbins' contribution best.  He said De Wayne Stebbins “won his place in Wisconsin history because he thought and thought right”.    

       

A Pioneer Businesswoman

I rewrote this article about my ancestor's sister, Mollie McDonald, for "The County Times", the newspaper of Kewaunee County. 

If I had lived in the mid-1800's, I would have wanted to be like Mollie.   

Mary Jane, "Mollie", was born about 1840.  Early in 1856, she came with her mother Jane, sister Lizzie, and brothers, John and Michael (my great-great grandfather), to Ahnapee, now Algoma.

Her mother, who kept a strict boarding house in town, might have been a mentor for Molly.  Mollie became a successful pioneer businesswoman.

When the Northwestern Telegraph Company extended its line from Two Rivers to Sturgeon Bay beginning in late August, 1872, and the line was installed just before Christmas, Mollie McDonald became the first telegraph operator at Ahnapee.  In the telegraph office, Mollie opened a news depot.  She sold periodicals, books, stationery and confections.  From the office, she also ran a circulating library and agency for Singer and Remington sewing machines.

The Kewaunee Enterprise newspaper reported on May 20, 1873:
 

"One of the neatest and best arranged little business places we have visited in a long time is the circulating library and news depot of Miss Mollie McDonald, telegraph operator at Ahnapee.  Miss McDonald has an excellent selection of books and periodicals, and her establishment should be well patronized."

The Ahnapee Record newspaper ran this ad continually for Mollie's news depot from June, 1873 into July, 1874:

 

“MISS MOLLIE McDONALD NEWS DEPOT.  KEEPS A CONSTANT supply of all the leading periodicals of the day.  Also Stationary and Confections.  Agency for the Singer Sewing Machine.  South Water street, Ahnapee, Wis.”

Based on numerous articles in the newspapers, Molly had a very good reputation in the community.  When election returns were due in November, 1873, one paper reported:

"Ahnapee was the first town on the Northwestern telegraph line to report election returns to Milwaukee.  We are endebted to the telegraph operator, Miss Mollie McDonald, for late election returns."

The community was encouraged to shop at her establishment.  In January, 1874, an article read:

"Miss Mollie McDonald has recently added quite a number of new books to her circulating library.  This institution should be well patronized."

And, another reported:

"The News Depot of Miss McDonald, at the telegraph office, is a great convenience to our community, and deserves liberal patronage.  The circulating library contains many volumes of standard authors, besides miscellaneous works upon science, theology and law, and interesting novels."

In May, 1875, the telegraph company promoted Mollie.  She assumed charge of the telegraph office in Manitowoc on May 26, 1875.  Her brother Michael took over the Ahnapee telegraph office.  Upon the announcement, the Ahnapee Record newspaper reported:

"...While the departure of this estimable lady from our midst will be regretted by all, it is a gratification to know that her talents as an operator are appreciated..."

Sadly, in August of 1876, Mollie became very ill.  She had to give up her telegraph job.  Her sister, Mrs. William (Elizabeth "Lizzie") Nelson, went to Manitowoc to care for her.  Ultimately, Mollie moved to Chicago where her other sisters, Mrs. Kingsley (Catherine "Katie") Olmstead and Mrs. John (Margaret "Maggie") Kley, and brother Andrew lived.  Mollie died in Chicago on September 23, 1876 of consumption (tuberculosis).

The announcement, although not unexpected, was a blow to her relatives and friends.  The death notice described her as "an estimable lady, possessed of rare mental powers, an untiring energy, which disease and sickness could scarcely diminish, and a grace of disposition that gained and held for her many firm friends.  Among those who best knew her, and whose hands during her last hours, supplied the tender ministrations prompted by love, her loss will be the most keenly felt, while by all who enjoyed her acquaintance the tidings of her death will be received with profound sorrow and regret." 

For a woman of her time, Mollie had made a significant impact in her community.  At her death, she was only 36 years old.

Shirley VerBruggen is a descendant of a Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Pioneer Family.  Her ancestors made Kewaunee County their home.  She enjoys family history research and blogs about genealogy at http://shirley-familytimes.blogspot.com.

 

Friday, November 22, 2013

I Remember November 22, 1963

I was in first grade in 1963.  I remember the day President Kennedy was killed like it was yesterday.

 

1st Grade Me

 

First grade was the first time I had attended school of any kind as I did not go to kindergarten.  I was a shy, quiet, and sheltered child. 

 

On Friday, November 22, 1963 in the afternoon, there was a knock on the door of our classroom at Webster Elementary School in Perry, Iowa.  Our teacher, Mrs. Lindell, went to the door and left the room.  Moments later, she came back.  She was crying.

 

Mrs. Lindell was a very sweet lady.  Something had made her cry and that disturbed me.   

        

Mrs. Lindell

Shortly after this, a bell rang.  We were dismissed, bundled up in our winter jackets, and sent home for the remainder of the day.  I walked home two blocks west and two and a half blocks south to our house. 

That afternoon, my mom and brother Jimmy sat at the kitchen table and explained to me what had happened.  Our president, John F. Kennedy, was dead.

Sadness overwhelmed us.  I think our nation was in shock.  I remember a long period of shared grief as everyone watched the news unfold on television.  It was truly a dark period for our country.

More than 30 years later, on a trip to Dallas, Texas, my husband and I took our children to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in what was once the Texas School Book Depository building.  I stood at the window from which our president had been shot.  It made me sad.  My husband said it was eerie.

In 2000, when my husband, son, and I went on vacation to Washington, DC for the July 4th celebration, our first stop was Arlington Cemetery.  It was a very solemn and moving experience as we stood before the eternal flame at the burial place of President Kennedy, Jacqueline, baby Patrick and their daughter, Arabella.

After 50 years, America still mourns the death of President Kennedy.  We, who were alive on that day, will never forget how it touched our lives.

The Generations of My Family

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I’m often asked how many generations and how far back I’ve traced my family ancestry.  One branch of my family tree has deep roots in England.   

My grandparents are Helen Winifred Tooley Tracy (and Roland Martin Tracy);

daughter of Frances Louise McDonald Phillips Tooley (and Dr. James William Tooley);

daughter of Ella Louise Elliott Mc Donald (and Michael Mc Donald);

daughter of George Washington Elliott (and Juliana Crofoot Elliott);

son of Elizabeth "Betsy" Benjamin Elliott (and Chester Elliott);

daughter of Jesse Benjamin (and Rachel Bunn Benjamin);

son of Abial Benjamin (and Judath Ford Benjamin);

son of Joseph Benjamin, Jr. (and Elizabeth Cooke Benjamin);

son of Joseph Benjamin (and Sarah Clarke Benjamin);

son of Abigail Eddye Benjamin (and John Benjamin)*;

daughter of Mary Fosten Eddye (and Rev. William Eddye)**;

daughter of Elizabeth Ellen Munn Fosten (and John Fosten);

daughter of Stephen Munn and Bridget Saxby Munn of Cranbrook, Kent, England. Stephen was born in 1514 and Bridget in 1516.

* The earliest (known to me) to come to the new world were John Benjamin (born 1598 in Healthfield, Sussex, England) and his wife Abigail Eddye Benjamin (born October 6, 1600/01 in Cranbook, Kent, England). They married about 1619 and came from England by way of the ship Lyon, arriving, according to Governor Winthrop's diary, on September 16, 1632. They made their home in Watertown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts where his library of some 27 books was the marvel of the colony.  They were considered both scholarly and refined. He became a freeman November 6, 1632. John held the office of constable of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



** Abigail was the daughter of Rev. William Eddye and Mary Fosten Eddye. Rev. Eddye had been educated at Trinity College in Cambridge, England and served as vicar at St. Dunstan, Cranbrook, England from 1589 until 1616.

St. Dunstan Church, Cranbook, England

 

Trinity College at the University of Cambridge

 

Genealogy 101+: Using the 1940 Census

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Genealogy 101+ series starts at this link.

Long before biblical times, humans kept records of people's names.  These early "genealogies" bring to mind the 'begats' in "Matthew" in the New Testament and the treasured entries of births, marriages and deaths found in family bibles owned by my ancestors.  Whether they were for lineage purposes, for government use, or kept for other reasons, records of who lived where and when have served as valuable resources throughout history and continue to be invaluable for genealogists today. 

The United States census records are among my favorite sources of information for family history research.  The U.S. Federal Census began in 1790 and, for the first time, in the 1850 census, each free person's name was listed and his or her age as of June 1st of that year was recorded.  With the release of the most recently available census information allowed by law, the 1940 census, researchers now have a treasure trove of information available to them.

Initially, at the time the 1940 census was released, the data was only searchable if you knew the city your ancestor lived in and area or street they lived on.  The data is now available to search by a person's name at this link (free for a limited time).  This access will make it much, much easier for the novice genealogist to have success in locating the records. 

Questions in the 1940 census included those you would expect:  name, age, gender, and race, education, and place of birth.  But the 1940 census also asks many new questions.  The following details about the 1940 census are from the National Archives website. 



1940 Blank Census Page

The instructions ask the enumerator to enter an [a circled x] after the name of the person furnishing the information about the family; whether the person worked for the CCC, WPA, or NYA the week of March 24-30, 1940; and income for the 12 months ending December 31, 1939. (The 1940 also has a supplemental schedule for two names on each page. The supplemental schedule asks the place of birth of the person's father and mother; the person's usual occupation, not just what they were doing the week of March 24-30, 1940; and for all women who are or have been married, has this woman been married more than once and age at first marriage.)
 
The complete list of the questions follows:

Location:

• Street, avenue, road, etc.
• House number (in cities and towns).

Household Data:

• Number of household in order of visitation.
• Home owned (O) or rented (R).
• Value of home, if owned, or monthly rental, if rented.
• Does this household live on a farm? (Yes or No).

Name:

• Name of each person whose usual place of residence on April 1, 1940, was in this household. Be sure to include:
  • Persons temporarily absent from household. Write "Ab" after names of such persons.
  • Children under 1 year of age. Write "Infant" if child has not been given a first name.
  • Enter X after name of person furnishing information.

Relation:

• Relationship of this person to the head of the household, as wife, daughter, father, mother-in-law, grandson, lodger, lodger's wife, servant, hired hand, etc...

Personal Description:

• Sex - Male (M), Female (F).
• Color or race.
• Age at last birthday.
• Marital status - Single (S), Married (M), Widowed (Wd), Divorced (D).

Education:

• Attended school or college any time since March 1, 1940? (Yes or No)
• Highest grade of school completed.

Place of Birth:

• If born in the United States, give State, Territory, or possession. If foreign born, give country in which birthplace was situated on January 1, 1937. Distinguish Canada-French from Canada-English and Irish Free State (Eire) from Northern Ireland.

Citizenship:

• Citizenship of the foreign born.

Residence, April 1, 1935:
IN WHAT PLACE DID THIS PERSON LIVE ON April 1, 1935? For a person who, on April 1, 1935, was living in the same house as at present, enter in Col. 17 "Same house," and for one living in a different house but in the same city or town, enter "Same place," leaving Cols. 18, 19, and 20 blank, in both instances. For a person who lived in a different place, enter city or town, county, and State, as directed in the Instructions. (Enter actual place of residence, which may differ from mail address.)

• City, town, or village having 2,500 or more inhabitants. Enter "R" for all other places.
• County.
• State (or Territory or foreign country).
• On a farm? (Yes or No).

Persons 14 Years Old and Over - Employment Status:

• Was this person AT WORK for pay or profit in private or nonemergency Gov't. work during week of March 24-30? (Yes or No).
• If not, was he at work on, or assigned to, public EMERGENCY WORK (WPA, NYA, CCC, etc.) during week of March 24-30? (Yes or No).

If neither at work nor assigned to public emergency work. ("No" in Cols. 21 and 22).

• Was this person SEEKING WORK? (Yes or No).
• If not seeking work, did he HAVE A JOB, business, etc.? (Yes or No).
  
  For persons answering "No" to question 21, 22, 23 and 24.
• Indicate whether engaged in home housework (H), in school (S), unable to work (U), or other (Ot).
  
  If at private or nonemergency Govt. work. "Yes" in col. 21.
• Number of hours worked during week of March 24-30, 1940.If seeking work or assigned to public emergency work. ("Yes" in Col. 22 or 23).
• Duration of unemployment up to March 30, 1940 - in weeks.

Occupation, Industry and Class of Worker:
For a person at work, assigned to public emergency work, or with a job ("Yes" in Col. 21, 22, or 24), enter present occupation, industry, and class of worker. For a person seeking work ("Yes" in Col. 23): a) if he has previous work experience, enter last occupation, industry, and class of worker; or b) if he does not have previous work experience, enter "New worker" in Col. 28, and leave Cols. 29 and 30 blank.

• Occupation: Trade, profession, or particular kind of work, as frame spinner, salesman, laborer, rivet heater, music teacher.
• Industry: Industry or business, as cotton mill, retail grocery, farm, shipyard, public school.
• Class of Worker.
• Number of weeks worked in 1939 (Equivalent full-time weeks).

Income in 1939 (12 months ended December 31, 1939):

• Amount of money wages or salary received (including commissions).
• Did this person receive income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary? (Yes or No).
• Number of Farm Schedule.

Supplementary Questions 35-50:

For persons enumerated on lines 14 and 29 [about a 5% sample of the population]

• Name.

For Persons of All Ages:
Place of Birth of Father and Mother
If born in the United States, give State, Territory, or possession. If foreign born, give country in which birthplace was situated on January 1, 1937. Distinguish: Canada-French from Canada-English and Irish Free State from Northern Ireland.

• Father.
• Mother.

Mother Tongue (or Native Language):

• Language spoken in home in earliest childhood.

Veterans:
Is this person a veteran of the United States military forces; or the wife, widow, or under-18-year-old child of a veteran?

• If so, enter "Yes."
• If child, is veteran-father dead? (Yes or No)
• War or military service.

Social Security:

• Does this person have a Federal Social Security Number? (Yes or No)
• Were deductions for Federal Old-Age Insurance or Railroad Retirement made from this person's wages or salary in 1939? (Yes or No)
• If so, were deductions made from (1) all, (2) one-half or more, (3) part, but less than half, of wages or salary?

Usual Occupation, Industry, and Class of Worker:
Enter that occupation which the person regards as his usual occupation and at which he is physically able to work. If the person is unable to determine this, enter that occupation at which he has worked longest during the past 10 years and at which he is physically able to work. Enter also usual industry and usual class of worker. For a person without previous work experience, enter "None" in column 45 and leave columns 46 and 47 blank.

• Usual occupation.
• Usual industry.
• Usual class of worker.

For all women who are or have been married:

• Has this woman been married more than once? (Yes or No)
• Age at first marriage.
• Number of children ever born (do not include stillbirths).

Having this extensive and detailed information provides more than a glimpse of your ancestor's life.  It's equivalent to many hours of personal interviews!  It will give you so many clues to help you in your search for earlier information about your family.   

For those who are searching for their family history and have followed the suggestions listed in my prior postings, the 1940 census (and then sequential earlier censuses) is clearly the place to go next for more information about who their ancestors were.  Don't forget to observe clues on the pages about who lived with or near them.

For help in understanding census entries, read more at the linked websites or consult with the Brown County Library Family History Center, the UWGB Area History Research Center, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library, or numerous books and websites on the topic. 

Old Echoes From a Family Reunion by Jane Carpenter

Friday, April 27, 2012

Around the festive board, old faces missed

Replace themselves with new ones: likeness-kissed—

The sweetness of a certain curve of cheek;

The tone of voice when one is heard to speak;

The grave regard of granite-colored eyes

Repeat the portraits on the wall;

Surprise the senses with a spurt of memory

That answers every questing enquiry,

As potent as the scent of a pressed rose!

How does a child reflect an aunt’s repose,

Who never knew her mentor, long at rest,

But read her yellowed diary, frightened lest

The pages crumble in her smooth young hand?

A boy who knew not his ancestral land

Still bears the stamp of mountains and fjords;

The music’s in his bones—the primal chords.

All that we have become, we owe the old

Who went before—their warmth would pierce the cold

Of this year’s end and gray December day,

Where past has more than present words to say.

Kewaunee County History

Monday, April 2, 2012

A shout out to author and historian Ginnie Johnson who recently posted a blog about the 160th anniversary of Kewaunee County and my ancestors De Wayne Stebbins, Jane Lovel, and George Wing.  Ginnie is an incredible wealth of knowledge about all things Kewaunee County.  Click on this link to check out her blog!

Genealogy 101+: Interview Your Elders

Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Genealogy 101+ series starts at this link. 

Having defined your genealogy question and brainstormed what you already know, it's time to take the next step in research.  Ask your elders. 

If you are fortunate to have elderly relatives, don't miss an opportunity to learn about your family's history from them.  There are good ways and bad ways to approach this.  I've done both.  Learn from my experiences.

To avoid what you should not do, here are 10 TO DO when you interview an elderly relative.

1)  Ask if they are interested and willing to help you with your genealogy research.  Why?  Some parents and elders don't want to talk about their family history.  Some are very eager to do so.  You'll know how they feel if you simply ask.  And, if they agree to be interviewed, respect if they choose not to answer a question during the interview.  Don't push.

2)  Schedule a convenient time when preferably more than one elder can meet with you.  It's also a good idea to have someone take notes for you so you can conduct a comfortable, uninterrupted conversation.  The second elder person may also be able to confirm or refute what you are being told.

3)  Suggest that they bring any old photographs or documents they have to the interview.  It's amazing how a photo can help people recall information.  Bring old photos you have that you need identified.

4)  Make the session of a reasonable duration.  Consider the health and well-being of the elder.  For some an hour will just get them warmed up; for others, 15 minutes might be taxing.  Don't over do it.  Schedule a second session if they are willing rather than a marathon single interview.

5)  Start by introducing your purpose for studying your family history.  Tell them your genealogy question.  Review your brainstormed list of facts and ask them to affirm them or clarify what you might have wrong.  This is a good way to get "warmed up."

6)  Recording--video and voice--are optimal and will be treasured years from now, but doing so could inhibit your elderly subjects.  Ask if they are comfortable with this BEFORE you set up a recording device.

7)  Come with a list of the questions you want to ask related to your research objective.  To get inspired, search websites for "family history interview questions."  While you want your questions answered, what you should really aim to achieve is LISTENING to what they have to tell you.  Allow them to share other things they want to say.  Sometimes that turns out to be as interesting or more interesting than what you think you want to ask about. 

8)  Be prepared to record information during the interview on two basic genealogy tools:

*First is the family group sheet.   This single page lists one family--a husband and wife and their children.  Dates of birth, marriage, and death for all family members can ultimately be included when they become known.  Having plenty of copies of this form can give you structure to keep information straight when taking notes. 
   
*The second is the family tree diagram.  It can be a simple T starting with you and branching off to include your parents, then their parents, and so on.  This will help you keep the relationships straight.  Ultimately you may use any fancy tree.  A simple one works beautifully to get started. 

9)  Ask if your relative knows if anyone in the family has compiled any family history already.  Written family histories are a fabulous place to start and many, many families have already had someone do some genealogy work. 

10)  Thank your relative.  Doing family history research is very rewarding and satisfying and they have given you a precious gift of their time and knowledge.

If you are not fortunate enough to have a parent, aunt or uncle, or grandparent still living, all is not lost.  This same interview process could apply.  Did your deceased elders have good friends or longtime neighbors who are still living or friends who attended the same church for a long period of time?  These are all great alternatives to relatives.  Don't discount them as interview possibilities!

This interview process will certainly yield you several pieces of information that will set you on the way to solving your family history puzzle.

Go to the next blog in this series here.

Genealogy 101+: What Do You Know?

Thursday, March 15, 2012

This blog series is my effort to share my genealogy research experience with novice researchers who wish to study their family's history.  The series begins at this link.

If you read the first blog entry you learned that, in my experience, you will have the most success with your genealogy if you focus your interest to a single question when you begin.  What exactly do you want to know?  If your answer is that you want to make a great big family tree that includes all of your tens of thousands of ancestors, you're getting way ahead of yourself.  And, names and dates without knowing something about them is really pretty worthless.  Refocus!  Why are you studying your family's history?

As an example, I'll use a question that I wanted to know something about when I started.  Why does our family live in Wisconsin?  By this I mean, how did it come to pass that my ancestors moved here and stayed in this state rather than Missouri, Illinois, or Texas?

When I began my family history study about 25 years ago, the oldest known (known to me) ancestors had all lived in Wisconsin for as long as I knew and we still did.  Why did they live here?  Who came here first and why did they stay?

I was ready to begin my search.  Now I could start with myself and identify what I know.  This would hopefully give me some clues to answering the question.

Here's what I knew.

1) I would be focusing on my father's side of the family because I knew that my mother came to America in the 1950s and my other relatives were already living here then.
 
2) My earliest ancestors I knew about were my great-grandfathers.  One was a veterinarian who lived with my great-grandmother in Green Bay and he had a sister who lived in Fond du Lac.  It was believed he was Irish.  I remembered my great-grandmother and "Auntie".    

3)  The other great grandfather had lived in Wausaukee.  I knew he was Irish.

4) None of them were still living.
 
5) I had some old unidentified photos I found in a box in the basement that included pictures of these great-grandparents and some idea of the time period in which they lived.

Essentially, that is all I knew then.  But, I was fortunate because it was probably more than some people know about their family.

What could I do with this knowledge toward answering my genealogy question?  Using this information and the pictures, I could ask my relatives what they know about these ancestors.  I could start by asking my parents, aunts and uncles, and any other older relatives.  The trick to good success is in how you approach this next step. 

But before you do that, your "assignment" is to brainstorm what you already know to be true relative to your question.  Just write it all down.  You don't have to use any special forms or software programs to do this.

Next post I'll give you great tips to make the most of those interviews of your relatives to guarantee that you won't put them in a dazed, glassy-eyed stupor.  Go to the next post here.