1936 :: Texas Centennial

Seventy-five years ago today . . . on this date in Texas history . . . the 2nd day of March . . . in the year 1936 . . . celebrations are being held across the state in honor of the 100th anniversary of Texas Independence.


My Mom . . . the daughter of a long line of Texans on her father's side, and an even longer line of Mainers on her mother's side . . . was four years old . . . and living in Massachusetts with her widowed father and maternal grandma . . . her paternal grandparents were living in Runnels County, Texas . . . she had no living great-grandparents . . . Mom would take up permanent residence in Texas sometime before 1940.


My father . . . whose ancestors had started arriving in Texas ca. 1860 . . . was an eight-year-old living in Lee County, Texas . . . with his parents and one sister and a brand-new baby brother . . . his widowed maternal grandma and his paternal grandparents were living in the same area, as well as one great-grandma . . . a great-grandpa was living in Coke County, Texas at the time . . .

• Texas Independence Day
• Texas Semicentennial
• Texas Centennial

FYI . . . the background image is a free blogger template . . . the Centennial banner is scanned from a 1936 Centennial newsletter in my private collection . . . the postage stamps were issued in 1936 (Centennial) and 1945 (statehood) . . . the postcard caption for the lighted night scene says . . . The lagoon and fountain at night, Texas Centennial Exposition, Dallas . . . the back of the same card says . . . The Lagoon and Fountain at Night, all artificially built, with its ever-changing colors and reflections, shows what can be accomplished by mere man with just a little effort. . . . the card was printed by the Dallas Post Card Co., Dallas, Texas . . .

1911 New Year's Day 2011

100-year-old 1911 Calendar Postcard from private collection of benotforgot . . . and you are welcome to save a copy of this for your own personal use . . . 
 
One hundred years ago today . . . on the 1st day of January . . . in the year 1911 . . . I wonder . . . were our ancestors recalling the events of the year 1910 . . . and at the same time wondering what the coming year would bring in their lives . . . three of my grandparents were born during the first decade of the 20th century (one grandma would not be born until 1912) . . . all eight of my great-grandparents were alive at that time . . . but only six of my sixteen 2nd great-grandparents are known to have still been living as of the 1st of January in 1911 . . . 


One hundred years later . . . on the 1st day of January . . . in the year 2011 . . . I am so very blessed and thankful for my family (L-U-V y'all) . . . for my health (and that's a big one) . . . for a warm roof over my head . . . for dear friends who actually know what it means to walk the talk . . . for a God who loves me and has collected all my tears in a bottle (and there have been a lot of them since the 7th day of April) . . . 



On a lighter note . . . I am also thankful for my constant companion and foot-warmer, Riley (Bennie's poodle) . . . and for the new toys I received for Christmas . . . one being a new Canon EOS Rebel D-SLR camera (Bennie always enjoyed giving me tech gadgets for gifts . . . so this was a gift to myself, a long-needed upgrade from our original vintage Canon AE-1) . . . but the best gift (mostly because of the thoughtfulness and love behind it) I received (besides time spent with family) was the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner my family surprised me with . . . we do what I will refer to as (because our Mom was born in Massachusetts) a Yankee Swap . . . so there are not supposed to be any exchanges of gifts between individuals . . . my baby sister (who was the instigator on this little project) told me the surpise gift was to show appreciation for all the work I've done on gathering and sharing our family history . . . [note to self . . . be careful about entering those contests on facebook . . . some family members actually read that stuff!!!] . . . sooo . . . 



Most of the following items have been on my mental to-do list for a while . . . but only because Jasia has challenged us to commit to some genealogy goals in 2011 for her 101st Carnival of Genealogy . . . (and with the qualifier used by my 2nd great-grand-uncle almost 150 years ago . . . whether God will permit me to live, to keep the records of another year, is more than poor mortal man can know, but trusting in His mercy I shall enter upon the trials of another year, with hopes of future success & prosperity through His goodness & favor.) . . . I am stating to whoever is listening that . . . the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise . . . 


I plan to keep on keeping on . . . with the daily postings at The Journal and On This Date . . . and an occasional family-related quote at And I Quote . . . and getting together some new posts here at benotforgot.com . . . and continuing to transfer info from an expired rockdale.myfamily.com to Rockdale - My Hometown . . . and figuring out how to stay organized once I actually get organized (i.e., putting photos, books, files back where they belong instead of in convenient stacks and piles around my computer area) . . . and consistently paying attention to the reminders to do backups . . . and to learn to use the new toys (camera and portable scanner)!!! . . . and to use that camera when visiting cemeteries and photographing grave markers and then posting them on findagrave (with appropriate genealogical info) . . . and to use that portable scanner when I do onsite research at various libraries and research centers in Texas, as well as on visits to family members throughout Texas . . . AND . . . to research and shop for a new desktop computer (had a power surge that may have killed the old desktop . . . awaiting a final diagnosis from the nephew-in-law / IT guy) . . . and then purchase and install Family Tree Maker 2011 and learn to use it (having some issues with FTM 2010) . . . whew . . . I'm exhausted already . . . 

• I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. ~ Gilda Radner
• Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in this life. ~ Jean Paul Richter
• Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~ Theodor Seuss Geisel, attributed

Advent Calendar :: Vintage Christmas Postcard

The vintage Christmas penny postcard highlighted in this collage was sent / given to my paternal grandpa -- Master Jake Pounders, Beaumont, Texas -- by his Uncle Ed. 

In the collage, you can see both the front and the back of the card, as well as a photo of my Pa Jake (1902-1957) when he was yet a little boy. I need to do a little research on this postcard. I do not know why little Jake would have been in Beaumont. 

The condition of this Made in Germany postcard is very delicate. Divided-back postcards were first printed in Germany in 1905. During World War I, the industry suffered greatly, and many of the printing plants were never re-built after the war. U.S. Publishers tried to fill the void in the postcard market. To conserve ink -- beginning about 1915 -- publishers left a white border around the edge -- until the 1930's. These postcards will usually have a designated stamp box that reads something like -- Place one cent stamp here.







I found this image online in a free clipart collection while looking for info on when the above postcard might have been printed. I do not know what the back of this card looks like, but I do see similarities between this card and the one in the collage.


This blogpost originally written for the 2009 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories . . . freshened up a bit and reposted for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories

Festival of Postcards :: Locomotion

I accept your invitation with genuine delight,- If you cannot reach the station I'll find the way all right; I've named above the train I'll take and time that it is due, Don't think of me as "Company," but as really one of you. . . . Train arrives at . . . Over the . . . This is an unused "locomotion" postcard from my private collection . . . Publisher G. E. Prince, Buffalo, N.Y. . . . the clock shows the train will be arriving at 8:26 . . .


'Tis quite a while since last we met. But we must bide as Fate disposes. Until we meet, lest you forget. I'm sending you this card of roses. . . . from . . . Mary Haine, Warren, Ohio, August 24th, 1912 . . . to . . . Mrs. James Dunlap, W. Farmington, Trumbull Co., Ohio . . . 8-23-12. My dear Friend: I was so sorry not to see you last week when I was in F. Had hoped you would be able to be at the grounds. Would like to have stayed all night so I could have come up and seen you. Was only there between trains and Mother and I went to the Cemetery. Do hope you will be able to get to Warren this fall. Sincerely Mary H. . . . This postcard from my private collection (no known relation) was published by F.A. Owen Co., Dansville, N.Y. and features a penny stamp . . .


These postcard collages were prepared for the 9th Festival of Postcards . . . hosted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault . . .

On this date . . . the 16th day of March

FYI . . . each link opens in a new window

On this date in our family history . . . the 16th day of March . . . in the year 1559 . . . Sir Anthony St. Leger dies . . . and on the same date . . . in the year 1583 . . . Daniel Horsmanden is baptized in England . . . and on the same date . . . in the year 1655 . . . Nathaniel Merrill dies in Essex County, Massachusetts . . . each of these gentlemen is currently believed to be a great-grandpa of the Keeper of this family history blog . . . and each of them individually was featured in a separate blogpost on the 16th day of March . . . in the year 2008 . . . the day this blog went live . . . most of the blogposts from the first year consisted of excerpts from various publications available for viewing online at Google Books . . . which were posted on the anniversaries of a variety of significant dates in the lives of our kith 'n kin . . .

• Almost exactly one year later . . . on the 10th day of March . . . in the year 2009 . . . They Were There for Each Other was compiled and posted as my very first entry for footnoteMaven's Smile for the Camera . . .
  
• A few days later . . . on the 13th day of March 2009 . . . Ripples in the Pool of Life became my Tribute to Women for my first entry in Jasia's Carnival of Genealogy . . .
  
• After almost one year of blogging here at benotforgot . . . on the 14th day of March 2009 . . . I decided to set up another blog . . . benotforgot-calendar.blogspot.com . . . where I began posting a daily listing of all of the births (deceased only) and deaths and wedding anniversaries of all of the people hanging out in my family tree . . .
  
• On the 16th day of March 2009 . . . the 1st blogiversary of benotforgot . . . I blogged about my first year of blogging . . .
  
• On the 18th day of March 2009 . . . a very young version of my Uncle Bob . . . running on the beach in Lynn, Massachusetts . . . was highlighted in my very first Wordless Wednesday post . . .
  
• On the 24th day of March 2009 . . . Texas wildflowers in a country cemetery were featured in my very first Tombstone Tuesday post . . .
  
• On the 18th day of April 2009 . . . I ventured into the world of Randy Seaver's weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with a quickly composed poem entitled Begotten & Never Forgotten . . . as it turns out, Randy is a distant cousin . . . Randy's 8th great-grandparents, Aquila Chase and Anne Wheeler, are also my 10th great-grandparents . . . and they are the 7th great-grandparents of the poet, e.e. Cummings . . . and the 6th great-grandparents of 1st Lady, Mrs. Grover (Frances) Cleveland . . .
  
• On the 24th day of April 2009 . . . I posted my first entry for Marie Reed's Postcard Friendship Friday . . .
  
• And then on the 20th day of May 2009 I composed an entry for the very first Postcard Festival . . . hosted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault at her Canadian Family blog . . .
  
• On the 5th day of November 2009 . . . the premier issue of Shades the Magazine hit the digital stands . . . artfully conceived and compiled by the infamous footnoteMaven . . . and included was my very first Captured Moments column . . .
  
• On the 16th day of January . . . in the year 2010 . . . another benotforgot blog went live . . . benotforgot-journal.blogspot.com . . . highlighting the daily entries from a 150 year old journal that talks for almost seven years about an assortment of the kith 'n kin from our family tree . . .
  
• On the 17th day of January 2010 . . . I made my first Sentimetal Sunday post . . . about Missing My Dad . . .
  
• On the 22nd day of February 2010 . . . I was humbled and honored when notified that benotforgot had made the final cut for Family Tree Magazine's Top 40 Genealogy Blogs . . .
  
• On the 12th day of March 2010 . . . I submitted my entry for the very first Carnival of African American Genealogy . . . and . . .
  
• Also on the 12th day of March 2010 . . . I drove to Austin and my Mom and our cousin, Grace, and myself spent several hours with the real live original of the Journal (referenced on the 16th of January) at the Center for American History . . . and then we sat outdoors under the trees at Central Market . . . and we dined on apricot chicken salad sandwiches with a pile of fresh fruit on the side . . . and we drank peach mint tea . . . and we people-watched . . . and listened to the birds . . . and we chatted . . . and I made the comment that, "If I didn't have all these ancestors, I wouldn't have anything to blog about." . . . and Mom quipped right back with, "If you didn't have all these ancestors, you wouldn't be here!" . . . cute, Mom!!!

Soooo . . . that's a blog in March of 2008 . . . and another blog in March of 2009 . . . and yet another blog in January of 2010 . . . wonder what else I can blog about?

2011 update . . . FYI . . . I did indeed find something else to blog about . . . started a photo-a-day blog in January of this year . . . with the first post appearing on the 7th day of January 2011 . . .

Oh yeah . . . I'm also now blogging about the history of the small town near Austin, Texas where I grew up . . . and where assorted kith 'n kin have resided since before Rockdale actually became Rockdale in 1874 . . .

See also . . . Blogging since 1999 . . .

PFF :: LTC Claudie Muston

MUSTON, Lt. Col. Claudie (Retired) of Georgetown. Age 63. Died 20th February 1981 (Friday). Services held (Sunday) in the Davis Funeral Home in Georgetown. Burial in Oakhill Cemetery in Lampasas. He was born 2nd June 1917 and retired from the U.S. Air Force. Survivors: Wife, Mrs. Ima Muston of Georgetown; foster son, James S. Choung of Houston; two daughters, Mrs. I.J. Wilkerson of Georgetown, Mrs. Gwenn Allen of Richardson; five brothers, F.O. Muston, L.D., I.G., F.A. and Ammon Muston, all of Rockdale; seven grandchildren.

 

The above collage was created by selecting a background image, plus the image of the back of the postcard, plus the image of the front of the postcard, and then using the collage feature in Picasa to create a single new image. The text was also added in Picasa.
 


The above postcard collage was originally posted for the 26th of June 2009 edition of Postcard Friendship Friday which was hosted weekly by Marie Reed.

1885 :: Death of Milton Antony M.D.

On this date in our extended family history . . . the 25th day of January . . . in the year 1885 . . . Dr. Milton Antony dies in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas.


Dr. Antony is my 1st cousin five times removed . . . and he is also the husband of the older sister of my 2nd great-grandma, Josephine Wingfield Henry nee Davis (1842-1899) . . . he is buried in the Old City Cemetery, which is just out of sight at the bottom edge of this postcard.


Dr. Milton Antony, Jr. was a Confederate Surgeon in Brazoria County, Texas during the years of the war between the states . . . then relocated to Milam County, Texas where he was the third Postmaster in Rockdale, serving 06 June 1876 to 26 April 1877 . . . which was one month after the entire wooden portion of Rockdale burned . . . he was a practicing physician in both Cameron and Rockdale . . . a Henry family reunion write-up in a 1931 edition of The Rockdale Reporter states that . . .

On Oct. 3, 1876, the Henrys [my 2nd great-grandparents] arrived in Rockdale to visit a sister and family of the Mrs. Henry's, it being Dr. and Mrs. M. F. Anthony, who at that time had the post office and drug store combined on the corner where the Wolf Hotel now stands.

That is the Wolf Hotel on the right corner of the Rockdale postcard. The Wolf sat on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main and Milam. According to a history of Rockdale published in 1936, a two-story stone and brick bank building was erected in 1875, which later became the Wolf Hotel, and then, ca. 1935, the American Legion Hall. An 1885 map of Rockdale does show a bank at that location, and on the corner across the street is a post office in the Mundine House.


A year before Josephine arrived in Rockdale to visit her sister, Margaret, the following item appeared in the 12 November 1875 issue of the Galveston Weekly News . . .

There are street fights occurring (in Rockdale) almost every day and the officers of the law seem to enjoy it, taking their fines, never giving offenders the least word of warning or lecture. Nothing better could be expected when they license women of ill fame for ten dollars a month and receive half of the fines and their compensation. The most disgusting of it is, when they choose, these officers step beyond their authority and utterly disregard the law at pleasure. Every day or two some very interesting scenes occur in the pettifoggeries of Rockdale.

And just a year before that 1875 report, the same paper, in the 09 November 1874 issue, described the brand new city of Rockdale as being . . .

delightfully located in a thriving section of the county. . . . there are two or three banks, fifty or sixty merchants, and plenty of saloons, and has generally all the appearances of a railroad town. . . . While all is new and in some degree crude, there are some fine stone and brick buildings. . . . Where a population of eighteen hundred now thrive, was ten months ago the home of the deer, and the pleasure ground of the black bear.

For more information about Dr. Antony and his family, see . . .

• Dr. Milton Antony, Jr.
• Dr. Milton Antony, Sr., his father
• Judge Edwin Le Roy Antony, his son
• Antony Roots & Branches, his ancestors & assorted kith 'n kin

P.S. The handwritten paper in the background of the collage is a document from 1864, signed by Milton Antony, M.D. and three other doctors -- requesting the Confederate army to excuse the only druggist in Brazoria County, Texas from being conscripted into the army . . .

Advent Calendar :: Other Celebrations

On this date in our extended family history . . . the 15th day of December . . . in the year 1863 . . . Josephine Martha Hall is born in Houston County, Texas. Little Josephine is the 3rd child, and 2nd daughter, born to James Madison Hall (1819-1866) and his wife, Margaret Annot Sharp (1840-ca.1878). Margaret is the sister of Samuel Houston Sharp (ca.1839-1885), who is a 2nd great-grandpa of the Keeper of this blog about our family history.

Tuesday December 15th 1863. Today Sam and the boys finished the floor in the mill forebay and let down the gates to catch a head of water. The little woman was taken sick and at 11½ o'clock a.m. was delivered of a female child. She may truthfully be said to be a woman of ready conception and easy delivery. there were present Mrs. Bird, Mother [i.e., Mahala Lee Sharp Hall nee Roberts], Nellie [i.e., Mary Alexandrien Sharp nee Lemaire] and myself, assisted by Rachael a negro woman. I sent for Dr. Murchison, who came but as usual too late to be of any service in his profession, he remained for dinner and then left for home. Weather cloudy with occasional showers of rain and a hard rain at night. . . . Thursday December 17th 1863. . . . The little woman is doing very well after her confinement. Mother is still here attending to the new responsibility, whom we have this day named Josephine Martha Hall. . . .

The above information about little Josephine's birth is from entries in an 1860-1866 daily Journal kept by her father, J.M. Hall. Regarding the Christmas immediately following the birth of his 2nd daughter, Hall penned the following words :-

Friday December 25th 1863. Today being Christmas all order of business was suspended and we all went in for a regular jollification. I had with me to partake of our Christmas dinner Father [i.e., Col. Joshua James Hall], Mother, Capt. Peacock, Mrs. Bird, Mr. Leaverton, and sundry others besides the home folks. the egg nogg flowed freely and all went off as merry as a marriage bell. To close the scene at night the negroes had a ball in the yard by moon light. they touched the light fantastic ? and were as happy as happy could be. . . .

Even with all the sorrow that hangs,
and will forever hang, over so many households;
even while war still rages;
even while there are serious questions yet to be settled -
ought it not to be, and is it not,
a merry Christmas?
Harper's Weekly, December 26, 1863





I'm dreaming of a White Christmas . . .


This divided back card was made in Germany, and bears a one-cent postage stamp. The card is in the private collection of the Keeper of this family history blog, and sends wishes to the recipient for a Happy New Year in 1915. This collage incorporates further expressions of celebration -- Merry Christmas -- Happy Anniversary -- Birthday Wishes -- which also ties it into the theme for today's entry for the Advent Calendar and the COG (see below). And in keeping with the white theme for the Festival of Postcards, even the recipient's surname -- Frost -- calls to mind the (non)color of white!

Postmark :: Youngstown, Ohio December 31 1030 pm 1914

Addressed to :: Mrs. Wm. Frost, 168 Wooster Ave. Akron, Ohio.

Message :: 12-31-1914. Dear Sister: A Happy New Year to you all. And many choice blessings is the sincere wish of your Sister Yours at hand this a.m. "Emma"

This post incorporates two Season of Christmas collages with supporting information, and was prepared for the following 2009 community events in the geneablogging world :-

• The current topic for Thomas' Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories as well as the 86th edition of a Carnival of Genealogy (hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene) is Other Holiday Happenings, e.g., birthdays that occur during the season of Christmas (see below). Other events in my family tree during the month of December, including birthdates and death dates of deceased family members, and anniversaries of an assortment of our kith 'n kin, are posted > HERE < on a daily basis.
• The topic for the 6th edition of Evelyn Yvonne Theriault's Festival of Postcards is White, which I have illustrated by using a mostly white postcard from the year 1914 (see above).

Longfellow and Cleeves and Peaks Island

This post about Longfellow and Cleeves and Peaks Island is reposted here today for Bill West's Great American Local Poem Genealogy Challenge. Click > HERE < to find links to each of the blogs that participated in this challenge.

The story behind the 1987 movie, The Whales of August, was based on the memories of the author, David Berry . . . regarding time spent at the family cottage on Peaks Island . . . 

The water-themed postcards on this collage are images of Peaks Island . . . which is the most populated of the multiple islands that dot the surface of the waters of Casco Bay . . . clockwise from the upper left, the captions on these postcards are as follows --

• S.S. Merryconeac landing at Pier, Peaks Island, Me.
• General view of water front, Peak's Island, Maine
• The Steamboat Landing, Peaks Island
• On the float, Peaks Island, Me.

Based on the few words scribbled on the back of some old family photos, it seems apparent that my New England maternal kinfolk spent time on Peaks Island at least through the 1920s . . . the sepia-toned image in the lower right corner is a photo of my maternal grandma . . . the words on the back simply say, "Elizabeth and Beauty, Peaks Island, June 25, 1925."

Another photo from the same collection, dated the same day, is the black and white image towards the left which is simply inscribed with the date and the words . . . "5th Me." . . . when I first saw those words, I had no idea what they meant, or what the building in the photo was . . . but after a bit of detective work, I found that this is a photo of what is now known as the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum on Peaks Island . . . Elizabeth's maternal grandpa, Peter Brackett (1838-1927), had enlisted in Co. B of the Fifth Maine infantry in 1861 . . . 

Regarding Peaks Island itself, A history of Peaks Island and its people . . . by Nathan Goold (1897) says that --

The history of Peaks Island commences almost with the settlement of Portland, and perhaps before. . . . George Cleeve and Richard Tucker settled Portland in 1633 and built themselves a log house near the spot where the poet Longfellow was born in 1807. . . . In 1637, by a commission from Sir Fernando Gorges, for letting and settling of lands and the islands, Cleeve leased Pond (Peaks) Island to Michael Mitton for sixty years, and stated that the name should be Michael's Island for Mitton, who had married his daughter, Elizabeth Cleeve. . . .

George Cleeve is a 9th great-grandpa of our Elizabeth (1912-1932) . . . and his daughter, Elizabeth, and son-in-law, Michael Mitton, are our Elizabeth's 8th great-grandparents . . .





At a meeting held in Portland on Monday evening, February 27, 1882, the Maine Historical Society celebrated the seventh-fifth birthday of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . . . it was the desire of the members that Mr. Longfellow himself might honor the Society by his presence on that occasion . . . but he was prevented by illness from attending . . . and he died less than a month later . . . 

The following is excerpted from a tribute read by James Phinney Baxter on that evening . . . I quote it here because it waxes poetic about the sea (water) as well as about our great-grandpa Cleeves --

. . . Dear Master let me take thy hand a space,
And lead thee gently wheresoe'er I may;
With the salt sea's cool breath upon thy face,
And in thine ears the music of the spray,
Which rapt in days agone thy sould away,
Where hung full low the golden fruit of truth,
Within the reach of thy aspiring youth.
Thou knowest well the place: here built George Cleeves
Almost two centuries before thy birth;
Here was his cornfield; here his lowly eaves
Sheltered the swallows, and around his hearth
The red men crouched, -- poor souls of little worth:
Thou with clear vision seest them, I know,
As they were in the flesh long years ago.

Surely the shrewd, persistent pioneer
Built better than he knew: he thought to build
A shelter for himself, his kith and gear;
But felled the trees, and grubbed and ploughed and tilled,
That in the course of time might be fulfilled
A wondrous purpose, being no less than this,
That here a poet might be born to bliss.

Ah! could he but have tracked adown the dim
Long, weary path of years, and stood to-day
with thee and me, how would the eyes of him
Have flashed with pride and joy to hear men say,
Here Cleeves built the first house in Casco Bay;
Here, too, was our Longfellow's place of birth,
And sooth, God sent his singers upon earth. . . .

Here will I bid thee, Master, fond good-by,
Wishing thee soul-health and full many a day
Of blissful living, ere thou mayest try
The scope of other joys. And now I may
This wreath from Deering's Woods, O Master! I lay
Upon thy brow. God speed thee while the sun
Shines on the faithful work which thou hast done!

It has been said that Longfellow used words to paint visions of the New England coast and its waters . . . a talent which is well illustrated in an unpublished passage of blank verse from his journal dated the 18th August 1847 --

O faithful, indefatigable tides,
That evermore upon God's errands go,
Now sea-ward, bearing tidings of the land,
Now land-ward, bearing tidings of the sea,
And filling every frith and estuary.
Each arm of the great sea, each little creek
Each thread and filament of water-courses,
Full with your ministration of delight!
Under the rafters of this wooden bridge
I see you come and go; sometimes in haste
To reach your journey's end, which being done
With feet unrested ye return again,
But recommence the never-ending task,
Patient, with whatever burdens ye may bear,
And fretted only by impending rocks.

Another Longfellow poem -- A Gleam of Sunshine -- simply states that . . .

This is the place. Stand still, my steed,
Let me review the scene,
And summon from the shadowy Past
The forms that once have been.
The Past and Present here unite
Beneath Time's flowing tide,
Like footprints hidden by a brook,
But seen on either side. . . .

P.S. To my ancestors and loved ones . . . see you on the other side . . .

P.P.S. Longfellow is my 5th cousin 6 times removed, i.e., my 10th great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Burbage) Wiswall (abt.1610 - aft.1664), is his 4th great-grandmother. My 10th great-grandfather, Thomas Wiswall (bef.1601 - 1683), is his 4th great-grandfather.

The above postcard collage . . . featuring postcards with a water theme . . . was originally prepared in August of 2009 for the 4th edition of Evelyn Yvonne Theriault's Festival of Postcards . . . 

Festival of Postcards :: Texas Horned Toad

It was a snowy winter's day in February of 1975, and this family history blogger and her husband of less than a month were traipsing around the Oklahoma land that had been in his family since the turn of the century. As we entered the deserted farm house that had once been occupied by his grandparents, we could make out what turned out to be an old decaying trunk sitting in a cob-webbed corner of the dusty room. Although the trunk appeared to be full of ordinary trash, this geneaholic could not resist sifting through each individual piece of paper to see what treasures might be hiding there. And I did indeed find a few, including the postcard featured in this collage. The "Texas horned toad" is actually a lizard, and since 1993 it bears the distinction of being the official Texas State Reptile. The horned lizard is even featured on a special Texas license plate from which the proceeds go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to benefit the conservation of wildlife diversity and to protect native, non-game species such as the Horned Lizard. When my sisters and I were young (1950s) one of the delights of a lazy summer day -- besides eating ice-cold watermelon, or even colder homemade vanilla ice-cream -- was to line our little red wagon with sand from the garden spot. This became a little village on wheels for the baby horned toads we would find during the day -- complete with horned toad beds made from little matchboxes. This postcard of "A Texas horned toad smoking a cigarette" is postmarked 1942 and mailed in California, and it is addressed to "grandma" aka "Miss Caroline Everhart" in Hobart, Oklahoma. The names signed on the back of the card are believed to include her son, Fred Everhart (1892-1972) and his son, Gene (b. 1925), and another of her grandsons, Lee Womack (b. 1914). In 1942, "Miss Caroline" is actually an 81-year-old widow whose maiden name is Caroline Hildenbrand. This Caroline is the paternal great-grandma of the husband of the Keeper of this geneablog. Caroline was born 20 January 1861 in Tecumseh, Kansas, the 1st-born daughter of German immigrants, Jacob J. Hildenbrand (1825-1904) and Johanna Dorothy Kohler (1832-1911). Caroline married Jacob Eberhard in 1880, and survived him by 30+ years, dying in January of 1954. One of her ten children was Jacob Peter Everhart (1887-1975), who once occupied the farmhouse pictured in the collage.

The above postcard collage -- with a quadruped theme -- was posted for the 20th October 2009 edition of A Festival of Postcards (5th edition) which is hosted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault who lives near Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1789 :: Birth of Milton Antony

On this date in our family history . . . the 7th day of August . . . in the year 1789 . . . another baby boy is born to my 5th great-grand-parents, James and Nancy Ann (Tate) Anthony . . . given the name of Milton, this baby is believed to be the 9th of eleven known children in this family, the 6th of which is my 4th great-grandma, Nancy Tate (Anthony) Davis (1783-1871) . . . besides being a younger brother of great-grandma Nancy, this Milton is also the father-in-law of my 2nd great-grand-aunt Margaret Frances (Davis) Ant(h)ony (1833-1912), who is buried beside her husband, Dr. Milton Ant(h)ony, Jr. (1824-1885), in the Old City Cemetery in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas (my hometown) . . . regarding this Milton, the following is from the History of the Medical College of Georgia . . .

Despite a limited early education, Dr. Milton Antony began to study medicine at age 16 as an apprentice. He took a course in Philadelphia but could not afford to continue and never received a diploma. He began his practice in rural Georgia, and soon built up a large practice. After seven years, he moved to New Orleans for a short while and returned to Augusta in 1819. He became very active professionally and determined to improve the quality of his profession in Georgia. He was a member of the Medical Society of Georgia and with his urging, the Medical Board of Georgia was established which regulated the practice of medicine. In 1828, Dr. Antony, along with three other physicians, founded an academy of medicine to prepare students for further medical studies, soon expanded to become the Medical College of Georgia. He shepherded the building of a permanent home for the new school, which resulted in an impressive Greek Revival building. In 1836, he and his colleague, Dr. Joseph Adams Eve, began the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal to report the medical advances and practices of the South. Besides Dr. Antony's contributions to the profession itself, he was also a fine surgeon, and reported on his bold surgery to remove a portion of a diseased lung by partially removing the fifth and sixth ribs. Dr. Antony enjoyed an excellent reputation both in and outside the state. As the yellow fever epidemic swept through Augusta in 1839, Dr. Antony became one of its victims. He was buried on the grounds of the original Medical College of Georgia building.

Meanwhile, back here in Texas, there is an article about one of Uncle Milton's grandsons available at The Portal to Texas History, which mentions the following . . .

. . . The elder Antony was an eminent member of his profession, being for years editor of the Southern Medical Journal of Augusta and dean of the faculty of the Georgia Medical Journal of Augusta, of which he was one of the founders. He died in 1839, of yellow fever, making his life the last offering to a profession which he had long adorned. He left a scholarship to each of his sons in the institution with which he was connected, six of whom availed themselves of the privilege and became regular practicing physicians. . . .

Lewis Publishing Company, publisher.. History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties : containing a concise history of the state, with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named counties, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families. Chicago. The Portal to Texas History. http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/. Accessed August 7, 2009.

The above postcard collage -- highlighting a postcard showing the Medical College of Georgia -- was originally posted for the 7th of August 2009 edition of Postcard Friendship Friday which was hosted weekly by Marie Reed.








P.S. Click on this image (originally uploaded at flicker.com by National Register) to read more about the Old Medical College.

Festival of Postcards :: Old Orchard Beach

This blogpost was prepared as an entry for the 3rd edition of A Festival of Postcards which was hosted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault. The theme for this edition was Signs, for which we were asked to, "Publish one or more postcards that show actual signs (e.g. road, advertising, storefronts) OR interpret the theme in whatever way you want (e.g. signs of the times)."

My Mom has photos (from the early 1920s) of her mother, Elizabeth Marilla Henry nee Smith (1912-1932), enjoying outings at Old Orchard Beach, and Mom and I spent some time walking that beach ourselves, so I chose to use a postcard from my collection that relates to those family trips. The postcard is captioned, Old Orchard St. and Amusement Center, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and is featured in the following collage. It was purchased during a trip my Mom and I made to Maine, the home of Mom's maternal ancestors. It was printed by Tichnor Bros., Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, and is postmarked 1959 from Montreal, Canada. The postage stamp in the upper right corner is one the stamps from the actual postcard. Among the SIGNS on the storefronts facing Old Orchard Street in this image are . . . Hotel White-Hall . . . Bus Station / Boston & Maine . . . a diner advertising Coca Cola & Hamburgers & Frankfurts & Ice Cream . . . and in the far right background is visible the Casino sitting out over the water at the end of the Pier.




John Greenleaf Whittier said that, "They seek for happier shores in vain, who leave the summer isles of Maine." 

While Old Orchard Beach is not one of the many "isles" of Maine's Casco Bay, it has long been considered an isle of escape for more than two century's worth of vacationers. It is said that many Canadians come down for summer vacations, and that it is common to hear conversations in French.

Old Orchard Beach has been promoted as a tourist destination since 1631, when its first settler established a Garden By the Sea. In 1829 the first Public House opened, and in 1837 tourists paid $1.50 each to stay at a local farm. Railroad service between Boston and Portland opened in 1842. Over the years Old Orchard developed into a major resort. Airplanes took off from the beach and auto races were held on the sand. Most of the large hotels were destroyed in the fire of 1907.

From Old Orchard Beach by Daniel E. Blaney . . .

From 1631 to the present, Old Orchard Beach has had a singularly rich history among New England's summer communities. Old Orchard was originally a small seacoast farming community nestled on the shore of Saco Bay. When the railroad came in 1873, the coast exploded into one of the grandest Victorian settings in Maine. It boasted famour religious camp meetings, transatlantic flights, big bands, big fires, harness racing, and automobile racing on the beach. The Kennedy family, Bette Davis, Fred Allen, Rosa and Carmen Ponsell, Pierre Trudeau, and Charles Lindbergh all rejuvenated themselves in this community. Old Orchard Beach is still a vacation mecca, and residents and visitors alike will find enjoyment and education within these pages. . . . The pier was built in 1898. On March 17 of that year, actual construction commenced. The original twin pavilion was short-lived. The grand opening was on July 2. On December 4, the end of the pier was swept away during a northeast gale, only 156 days after opening. The ballroom, at the end, featured every well-known East Coast band. The big band era ended in the 1960s with the advent of rock and roll and record hops. Louis Armstrong was among the last big bands to play on the pier. . . .

Main Street in Rockdale

Old Rockdale postcard . . .
Main St. north from I & G. N. Depot, Rockdale, Texas

The postcard in the collage has been reproduced in multiple Rockdale publications . . . location / ownership / existence of original unknown . . .
According to a newspaper clipping from the files of my cousin, Peggy, a Henry family reunion was held at the old Hamilton homeplace in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas sometime in 1931. That yellowed and crumbling piece of paper recorded the following about the arrival of my 2nd great-grandpa, William Paschal Henry (1836-1912), and his family in the brand-new town of Rockdale, Milam County, Texas . . .

On Oct. 3, 1876, the Henrys arrived in Rockdale to visit a sister and family of Mrs. Henry's, it being Dr. and Mrs. M. F. Anthony, who at that time had the post office and drug store combined on the corner where the Wolf Hotel now stands.

That is the Hotel Wolf in the lower right corner of the above collage, with an arrow pointing to the same building on the old Rockdale postcard. The Hotel had gone out of business before 1935 when Rockdale's American Legion post purchased the building.

During World War II the building's second story was lopped off and its Main Street front was shortened and remodeled. A stage was added and the hall became the place to be for dances and music for almost 20 years. Rockdale Reporter, 06 Aug 1998

When I was in high school (the 60's), we frequently spent a portion of our weekend hours attending teen dances -- with real live bands! -- in the un-airconditioned bottom-half of this building. My parents were regular fixtures as chaperones at these events.


Directly across the street was McVoy's Grocery Store where my parents shopped weekly. Every Friday, my widowed Grandma, who never learned to drive, had her grocery list ready for Mom or Dad to take with them to McVoy's. There was a large wooden magazine rack near the front door where I would sit and read comic books while Mom checked out. Mr. Galbreath kept the produce stocked and freshly washed, and would give us pieces of fresh sugar cane to chew on. The meat market at McVoy's was where Mom bought steak cutlets for making her infamous chicken-fried steak with cream gravy which NONE of us have ever been able to replicate.


I was back on Main Street just this past weekend while in Rockdale for the 75th Annual Rockdale Homecoming as well as my Mom's 60th RHS Class Reunion, where I was flattered to be told by numerous people (who had known Mom since the 40s) that, "You look just like your Mom!"


At the Homecoming gathering, one lady said to me, "Aren't you the one who found the snake in the bedroom when you were babysitting Delaine?" That was also during high school in the 60s! I was babysitting for the local pharmacist in his home. The baby and I were sitting in the rocker / recliner in her nursery when I saw a snake come crawling in the room! I got out of the room with Delaine and shut the door (which wasn't much of a barrier since it had such a gap at the bottom) and called my trusty Dad at our home (no cell phones in those days). Dad was there immediately, but it took him a while to find and kill the poisonous copperhead -- it had crawled up into the coils under the rocker / recliner!


Before I left town, we (me & Mom & my sister) visited the Dan Kubiak exhibit at the I&GN Depot, and I also took a few photos of Joy Graham's Bit of History building on Cameron Avenue.


The journey back home to Main Street was nostalgic, while somehow filled with the sweet assurance that at Home we are not forgotten. These people knew me as a child. They knew my grandparents. And in some cases, their parents and grandparents knew my ancestors. And many of the families of Rockdale have somehow managed to climb into my family tree!






This 19th of June 2009 blogpost was prepared for Evelyn Yvonne Theriault's June edition of the Festival of Postcards . . . and was also submitted for Postcard Friendship Friday which was formerly hosted by Marie Reed.

1930 on Lynn Blvd.

The above collage includes an actual postcard showing a birds-eye view of Lynn Shore Drive, Lynn, Mass. The comment about the outing in the new carriage is an actual entry in the baby book of Robert E. Henry, Jr. (1930-1997) -- aka Uncle Bob. And the snapshot of the carriage on the upper right is clipped from one of the family photos on Lynn Beach. I chose the green premade template for the background as representative of Uncle Bob's birthstone -- the emerald -- for the month of May.


If you look at the snapshot of Uncle Bob in the lower left corner of the collage, you will notice what appears to be a monument of some sort directly behind his head. Then if you peer closely at the two postcards, you will be able to make out what might be the same monument situated just around the upper curve on Lynn Blvd. or Lynn Shore Dr. Does anybody know what that monument is? Or exactly where on Lynn Shore Drive that might be?






The above postcard is another version of the postcard used in the above collage. I am assuming that this is the original photo from which the postcard used in the collage was created.