1932 :: When Ghosts Walk in Courthouse Shade

Late in the 20th century, I picked up several vintage copies of Frontier Times at a local used bookstore . . . one of those copies was dated January 1932 . . . as it happens . . . in Lynn, Massachusetts, in January of 1932, a baby girl was born . . . her young Mother had been born in Maine, and her Father in Texas . . . that baby girl was my Mom . . . 
 
One of the articles in that 1932 Frontier Times was entitled "When Ghosts Walk in Courthouse Shade" . . . the "Ghosts" story was written by Vivian Richardson and was originally published in the Dallas Morning News in August of 1931 . . . one of the "ghosts" of San Augustine mentioned in that article is Elisha Roberts, who is a 3rd great-grandpa to my Mom . . . Vivian Richardson quoted an old Texan as saying that "I always think of the San Augustine country as the Valley of the Giants." Vivian went on to say that . . .

I think the deeds of the Giants will live on in the shadow of San Augustine's court house as long as there is a patriarch left to recount them. . . . it is on that ground one may almost always, of a likely afternoon, find the old men talking, and there I found them, that hot, singing July day, and listened reverently. . . . Sam Houston . . . and old Elisha Roberts, the last alcalde under the Mexican regime, could sit all day talking and whitling. I used to think they talked about Tennessee, where they knew each other, but I don't know. Maybe they didn't. . . . Almost every Texan who amounted to anything in the early days at one time either lived or stayed for long periods in San Augustine. . . .

This article can also be found in its entirety in the Coleman Democrat-Voice (Coleman, Tex.), Vol. 50, No. 52, Ed. 1 where it was published on Thursday, December 24, 1931 . . .

P.S. . . . it is now after 3 a.m. on the 31st . . . and as I put the finishing touches on this blog post, I sit here waiting for the "super blue moon eclipse" of which it has been written that "this rare celestial event - a blue moon, a supermoon, and a total lunar eclipse - hasn't happened in over 150 years." . . . I will call Mom in a few hours so she can see the eclipse from central Texas . . . seems that even the heavenlies are collaborating to celebrate her 86th birthday!

1936 :: Surprise Birthday Supper for Grandma Nettles

. . . A delightful affair was the surprise birthday supper given Mrs. M.N. Nettles [i.e., Mary Annie "Mollie" Nettles nee West] of the Cole Springs community Saturday night. Grandmother was born in Starkville, Miss., October 24, 1852, which makes her 84 years of age. She is a mere handful, this little grandmother of mine, weighing less than 100 pounds, but she enjoys fairly good health, and is able to be up and about her work most all day long. She keeps house with the help of the daily visit of a granddaughter, Miss Gladys Muston, for her bachelor son, Will. She is blessed with a large family, having six living children, twenty-seven grand-children, and forty great-grandchildren. 

Those visiting in her home Saturday night were:  

• Mrs. Emma Muston, 
• Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Nettles and Carrie Bell, 
• Mrs. Erma Rodgers and children, Charlie, Audrey and Earline, 
• Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounder and children, Forest, Dovie and Arlin Dee, 
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vance, 
• Miss Gladys Muston and 
• Mr. John Taylor. . . . 

Written by Mrs. Robert Vance and published in The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 29, 1936 Page: 3 of 12 

1935 :: Natal Day

On this date in our family history . . . the 18th day of June . . . in the year 1935 . . . which would have been her 53rd birthday . . . Emma Patience Muston nee Nettles was probably remembering with fondness the gathering on the previous Sentimental Sunday which was held in honor of her upcoming "natal day" . . . the report of that birthday celebration is copied below . . . this Emma is the paternal great-grandma of the Keeper of this family history blog (who is being held by Emma in the following heritage collage) . . . 

The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 20, 1935

Cole Springs, June. 17. -- Mr. and Mrs. B. Hickman and children, of Austin, spent the week end with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. F.F. Moore, the occasion being the natal day of Mrs. Emma Muston. Her daughters entertained in her honor Sunday, June 16, at the Muston home.

The date falling upon Father's Day seemed fitting as Mrs. Muston has been both father and mother to her family. She was left a widow by the death of her husband with seven little girls, the youngest a tiny infant. By frugality and perseverance she has reared this family, giving them both school and social advantages. She is one of the fortunate mothers who enjoy the complete devotion of her children as they are constantly planning to make life fuller and sweeter for her. A beautiful cake decorated with fifty three candles, adorned the festal board, which contained an abundance of choice viands.
 
The children attending were:

• Mrs. Emma Rodgers and children, Audrey, Charlie and Eleane, and
• Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounder and children,
• Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Jones and baby, of Pleasant Hill,
• Mr. and Mrs. Dean Quinney and children,
• Mr. and Mrs. Bernice Taylor and family, of Lexington, and
• Miss Gladys Muston.

Mr. and Mrs. Ben Beynolds of Houston were unable to attend.

Mrs. Muston's mother, Mrs. M.A. Nettles, a brother, J.A. Nettles, wife and daughter, Carrie Belle of Lexington, and Mr. John Taylor were the other guests who attended.

Sentimental Sunday :: In Memory of Grandma Phebe

Phebe Ann Morse Tripp nee Merrill

1852 :: Birth of Grandma Mollie

Happy Birthday, Mollie

Sentimental Saturday :: The 10th day of October

Sixty-five years ago today . . . on an autumn's Tuesday . . . which was the 10th* day of October in the year 1950 . . . Miss Roberta Mae Henry became the bride of Mr. Forrest Lee Pounders in a small ceremony held in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas . . . exactly one year and one month later, I came along as the first of their four children . . . the following photos were taken near the beginning of their journey together . . . 

The Rockdale Reporter

Thursday, October 19, 1950

Roberta Mae Henry

Becomes Bride of

Forrest L. Pounders

A marriage of interest to a wide circle of friends here is that of Miss Roberta Mae Henry and Forrest Lee Pounders, both of Rockdale. The ceremony took place Tuesday, October 10, at 6:45 o'clock in the evening at the First Methodist church in Freeport, with the Rev. Houser reading the double ring service.

The bride chose for her wedding a suit of royal blue gabardine with which she wore gray accessories. In keeping with tradition she also wore something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Attending the couple were Miss Georgia Faye Henry and Robert Henry, cousin and brother of the bride.

Immediately following the ceremony the couple left for Galveston where they spent a brief honeymoon and later went to Houston to visit with relatives of the groom.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. Robert E. Henry of Sinton. She has made her home here with her grandparents, Mrs. Edgar Henry, and the late Mr. Henry. She graduated from Rockdale High School in 1949 and during her high school career she was popular and took part in all activities of the school. Since finishiing she has been employed in the local office of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.

The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounders. After finishing from Rockdale High School in 1945 he entered the U.S. Army where he remained for some time, seeing service in Japan. He is employed at the Fred Pounders Service Station.

Mr. and Mrs. Pounders will continue to make their home in Rockdale.

*P.S. . . that 10th day of October in 1950 was also the 23rd anniversary of the birth day of my Dad . . . he would have been 88 today . . . 

Sentimental Sunday :: Dear Home Faces

Mrs. Silence J. Soule penned the following words . . . I have observed that old people live much in the past. As I grow older I find myself turning oftener to the days in the old home. I hear the patter and the prattle of childish feet and voice ; light step of youth and maid; sober footfall and serious word of man and matron; the slowing step and failing voice of age. All, all are gone! I alone am left of . . .



The dear home faces whereupon
The fitful firelight paled and shone.
Henceforward, listen as I will,
The voices of that hearth are still.
How strange it seems with so much gone
Of life and love to still live on.

These few lines of poetry were adapted by cousin Silence from
Snow-Bound
by
John Greenleaf Whittier


The version linked here is dedicated as follows . . .

To the Memory of the household it describes :







On this date in our family history . . . the 3rd day of November . . . in the year 1816 . . . Mahala Lee Roberts is born in Washington Parish, Louisiana . . . she is the 7th of nine children known to have been born to Elisha Roberts and Patsy Gill . . .


By 1830, Mahala is living in San Augustine County, Texas with her parents and siblings . . . in 1833 her father signs his name to a document establishing the town of San Augustine . . . in 1836 Mahala marries John M. Sharp in San Augustine County . . . and at least two children will be born to them . . . Samuel Houston Sharp and Margaret Sharp . . . John Sharp is presumed to have died before 1846 . . .


In 1851, Mahala marries Joshua James Hall in San Augustine County . . . and they have at least two children . . . Roberta Hall and Toby Hall . . .


On Mahala's 53rd birthday . . . the 3rd day of November . . . in the year 1869 . . . Mahala's granddaughter, Margaret Elizabeth Sharp, is born in Liberty County, Texas . . . another two years later . . . on the 3rd day of November . . . in the year 1871 . . . another granddaughter, Ida Mae Sharp, is born in Houston County, Texas . . . Mahala would live to share another thirteen birthdays with these two granddaughters before her death in June of 1885 . . . 

We are blessed to have access to a portrait of our Mahala . . . as well as photos of some of her grandchildren . . . the little one in the collage is a four-year-old version of the Keeper of this family history blog . . . in the arms of her great-grandma, Berta Mary . . . Mahala was grandma to Berta Mary . . . and is a 3rd great-grandma to the four-year-old in the photo . . .





A hundred-year-old photograph stares out from a frame.
And if you look real close you'll see our eyes are just the same.
I never met them face-to-face but I still know them well
From the stories my dear grandma would tell.





They're my Guardian Angels and I know they can see,
Every step I take they're watching over me.
I might not know where I'm going but I'm sure where I come from.
They're my Guardian Angels and I'm their special one.

A hundred-year-old photograph stares out from a frame.
And if you look real close you'll see our eyes are just the same.

This blogpost containing poetry as well as song lyrics was researched and prepared specifically for The Fifth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge over at cousin Bill's blog which is known as . . . West in New England . . .

Wordless Wednesday :: 1684 Birth of John Farnum

John Farnum

1906 :: Birth of Ima

1748 :: Asa Barker

On this date in our family history . . . the 10th day of December . . . in the year 1748 . . . a baby boy is born in the household of Timothy Barker (1720-1752) and Mehitable Kimball (1720-1777) . . . he is given the name of Asa . . . and he is a 5th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . this birth is recorded in the Vital Records of Andover, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Google eBook) as published by the Topsfield Historical Society in the year 1912 . . . 

Sentimental Sunday :: Memories of New England

One year ago, in October of 2011, my youngest sister and I loaded up our about-to-be-80-year-old Mom and made a road trip from central Texas to the coast of Maine for an extended stay in a beach house at Old Orchard Beach . . . and afternoons spent gathering seaglass on Peaks Island . . . and mornings spent walking the paths of the Victorian garden cemetery overlooking the Saco River where Mom's young mother was laid to rest in 1932 . . . some of the photographic memories of those days have been preserved on the pages of a book created via MyCanvas at ancestry.com . . . a digital photo album entitled Memories of New England highlights the pages of that leather-bound book, which was presented to Mom for her 80th birthday earlier in 2012 . . . 

 

Our adorable Mom was born near Boston, Massachusetts . . . but spent most of her growing-up years with her paternal grandparents in central Texas . . . her Father had left the dry dusty farmfields of West Texas in 1927 to join the Navy . . . and wound up spending time along the coast of Maine with one of his shipmates . . . where both of them met their future wives . . .

Mom's parents, Robert and Elizabeth (aka Bob and Betty), were married in July of 1929 . . . their first child (a boy) was born in May of 1930 in Lynn, Massachusetts . . . followed by Mom in January of 1932 . . . and then 19-year old Elizabeth died three days later . . .

Mom never visited her Mother's grave until October of 1977 . . . which was the first time we made the trek to New England from Texas . . . we went back again in 1981 . . . and then in 1998 . . . 2011 was our fourth trip . . . and we are already making plans for trip #5! . . . in the meantime . . .

Mom was talking just this morning about wanting to print copies of her photos of that trip, and share them with family members . . . she doesn't know it yet, but with this post, I am doing the sharing for her (sorry, Mom!) . . . remember that ALL of the photos in the following albums were taken by Mom with her digital camera . . .

TO MAINE AND BACK THRU MOM'S EYES . . . this album contains images captured by Mom along the road . . .

• MAINE
  
  
  • Dunstan Cemetery . . . at Scarborough in Cumberland County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal 2nd great-grandparents, William Thurston Merrill (1816-1898) and Olive Jane (Goodwin) Merrill (1821-1895), are buried here . . . along with numerous other kinfolk . . .
  • Eastern Cemetery . . . at Gorham in Cumberland County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal great-grandma, Phoebe Ann (Merrill) Morse Tripp (1848-1927), is buried here . . .
  • Greenwood Cemetery . . . at Biddeford in York County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal great-grandparents, Atwood Frank Smith (1837-1907) and Jerusha Marilla (Barker) Smith (1841-1899), are buried here . . .
  • Hills Beach . . . at Biddeford Pool in York County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal grandparents, Thomas Warren Alonzo Smith (1866-1920) and Eva May (Brackett) Smith (1874-1936), owned and operated a florist business in Biddeford in the early part of the 20th century . . . as part of that business, T.W.A. Smith did landscaping at Biddeford Pool . . .
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery . . . at Saco in York County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal grandparents, Thomas Warren Alonzo Smith and Eva May (Brackett) Smith are buried here, along with their children, including Mom's Mother . . .
  • Nubble Lighthouse . . . near the entrance to the York River in York County, Maine . . . aka Cape Neddick Light Station . . .
  • Old Orchard Beach . . . in York County, Maine . . .
  • Peaks Island . . . in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine . . . we have photos of Mom's maternal family members at events on this Island from the early part of the 20th century . . . and Mom's 9th great-grandpa, Michael Mitton, once owned Peaks Island . . .
• MASSACHUSETTS . . . this album contains images of the house where Mom was born . . . and the beach where she played as a child . . .
• NEW HAMPSHIRE . . . Mom's parents honeymooned at Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire . . . where her Mother also spent time as a child . . .

1646 :: Birth of Sarah Merrill nee Clough

 

On this date in our family history . . . the 28th day of June . . . in the year 1646 . . . a baby girl is born to John and Jane Clough in Massachusetts . . . this baby girl is given the name of Sarah . . . and would grow up to marry Daniel Merrill . . . this Sarah is a 9th great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . FYI . . . clicking on the above image will take you to the full page in the book, The Genealogy of the descendants of John Clough of Salisbury, Massachusetts . . . where that entire book can be read online . . . or downloaded to your preferred reading device . . .

1930 :: Uncle Bob is born

 

Robert E. Henry, Jr.
born 21st May 1930
16A Parrott Street
Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts
died 21st December 1997
Veteran's Administration Hospital
Temple, Bell County, Texas





This is our Uncle Bob, my Mom's only brother . . . he never married or had children of his own . . . but I have childhood memories of him being at our house for holidays . . . and bringing extra-special gifts . . . the page image in the above collage is from his baby book . . . the handwriting is that of his young Mother, Elizabeth Marilla Henry nee Smith (1912-1932) . . . and that is her holding him in the lower left corner . . .

Happy Birthday, Sercey

These little ones being held by their fathers are first cousins . . . on the left is my Dad, Forrest Lee Pounders (1927-1996), son of Ima (1906-1999) & Jake (1902-1957) Pounders . . . on the right is Sercey Quinney, son of Shorty (1907-2002) & Dean Quinney (1901-1987) . . . Ima and Shorty were two of seven daughters born to Charlie & Emma (Nettles) Muston . . . Sercey is celebrating his 84th birthday today . . .


Happy Birthday, Sercey!

Happy Birthday, Mom

 

Happy Birthday, Emily Rebecca

Twenty-something years ago . . . on this date . . . the 24th day of January . . . the 2nd of my three beautiful nieces was born . . . Happy Birthday, Em! . . . Luv ya bunches . . . Auntie Vickie . . . 

Click > HERE < to pick up your very own copy of the vintage forget-me-not image used above -- and it's FREE -- from Vintage Scrapbooking!

Happy Birthday, Jaime Lyn

Happy Birthday, Monty

 

Sentimental Sunday :: Happy Heavenly Birthday, Bennie

1819 :: Birth of James Madison Hall

On this date in our extended family history . . . the 22nd day of February . . . in the year 1819 . . . James Madison Hall is born in Baltimore, Maryland . . . my known connections to this James Madison Hall include . . .

1. he is my uncle by way of his 1859 marriage to my 2nd great-grand-aunt, Margaret A. Hall Stewart nee Sharp (1840-ca. 1878) . . . and . . .
   
2. he is my step-uncle because he is the stepson of my 3rd great-grandma, Mahala Lee Sharp Hall nee Roberts (1816-1885) . . .
   
3. which makes him the step-brother of my 2nd great-grandpa, Samuel Houston Sharp (ca. 1839 - ca. 1885) . . .
   
4. who is the brother of Hall's wife, Margaret (mentioned in #1 above) . . .
   

This Uncle James . . . who wound up in Texas by the age of sixteen (1835) . . . and began his involvement with my family at least as early as 1851 . . . which was when his father married my widowed 3rd great-grandma . . . was thoughtful enough to give me seven years worth of material for a blog about life in Texas during the years of the war between the states . . . because he kept a daily Journal during the years 1860-1866 . . . and in those daily ramblings of his he made frequent mention of an assortment of my kith 'n kin . . . soooo . . . with this time period (2011-2015) being the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War . . . I began transcribing this Journal on the 150th anniversary of the day he penned his first entry in that 19th century ledger . . . and, almost one year ago, I told about my first encounter with the original of that Journal in this blogpost . . .

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Tombstone photo shared by sjmj at findagrave.com . . . word collage prepared at wordle.net . . . free background image from Daisy Gray Design . . . James Madison Hall photo from Aldrich book on The History of Houston County, Texas . . .