Appreciation for Hometown Newspapers

Just wanted to take a minute to share something I received in my email today . . . it talks about today's final issue of a small town newspaper [i.e., the Journal Tribune] . . . and is from a library in Biddeford, Maine . . . where I have spent many pleasurable hours looking for tidbits about the lives of Mom's New England kith 'n kin while digging thru their newspaper archives . . . both onsite and online . . .

Which prompted me to write a little about how much I enjoy and appreciate both the current Rockdale Reporter as well as the archives of . . .

• The Rockdale Messenger [est. 1873] 
• The Rockdale Reporter [est. 1893]  
• The Rockdale Reporter & Messenger 

For more than a century, the Reporter family has memorialized countless tidbits about our kith 'n kin, e.g., there was . . .

• the tragic death of Mom's paternal great-grandma in 1899 
• the surprise birthday party for Dad's maternal grandma in 1936 
• the write-up about the marriage of our Mom and Dad in 1950 

And the numerous reports thru the years from the little communities of Bethlehem and Cole Springs and Tanglewood give us a delightful snapshot of their day-to-day lives . . . which we would not have if not for the Reporter, so . . .

To all of the Reporter family . . . both past and present . . . I will quote from the McArthur Library blogpost . . . 

"Thank you for being a part of my story." 

P.S. . . . and just as an additional FYI . . . some of the HERNDON ancestors of the COOKE family were / are near neighbors [both in life and in death] of some of Dad's kith 'n kin who came to Texas from Alabama and Mississippi . . . to wind up living and dying, and resting for eternity, in a little country cemetery in Tanglewood . . . 

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!

Sentimental Sunday :: Mother's Day

Our Adorable Mom!

ca. 1951

Sentimental Sunday :: Easter Sunday at Goldfish Pond

On Easter Sunday in the year 1931, our Grandma Elizabeth was at Goldfish Pond with her baby boy . . . a baby girl would join the family the following January . . . that baby girl grew up to be our Mom . . . 

On that long ago Sunday, Elizabeth captured the above snapshot of one of the goldfish, saying that it was "partly out of the pond after a piece of popcorn" . . . this Goldfish Pond was apparently a favorite place for an outing for this little family . . . a few years later the following snapshot was taken . . . 

This is our Mom and her brother, sitting on the edge of Goldfish Pond . . . this would have been mid-1930s . . . mayhaps on another Easter Sunday . . . 

More than three hundred years before the above images were captured on film, that little body of water was known by another name . . . Ingalls Pond . . . 

Near this pond was the home of Edmund Ingalls, one of the founders of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts . . . this pond can be seen on the following map . . . towards the right . . . and in the bottom third of the image . . . 

Map of Lynn and Saugus : settled in 1629

On an unspecified day in the month of March in the year 1648 . . . Edmund Ingalls would meet a watery death when the horse he was riding fell through a faulty bridge while crossing the Saugus River on a journey to Boston from his home near Ingalls Pond . . . this Boston Street crossing can be seen in the bottom third of the above map . . . to the far left . . . 


This Edmund Ingalls is said to be the 5th great-grandpa of President James Garfield . . . he is the 7th great-grandpa of American author, Laura Ingalls Wilder . . . and as a result of on-going research regarding the ancestors of our Mom, just this past week this same Edmund Ingalls was revealed to be the 10th great-grandpa of the Mom of the Keeper of this family history blog . . .

The genealogy and history of the Ingalls family in America

Other blogposts regarding the same Edmund Ingalls . . . 

• Barbara Johnson from Wisconsin
• Cow Hampshire
• Historians out & About
• My Maine Ancestry
• Nutfield Genealogy
• Omah's Corner

1921 :: Death of Capt. D.H. Snyder, Early Day Cowman

On this date in our extended family history . . . the 15th day of September . . . in the year 1921 . . . the Dallas Morning News published a lengthy obituary for Capt. D.H. Snyder . . . this Capt. Snyder is kin by marriage to Eunice Margaret Amelia Vontress Coffee nee Allen . . . who is a 1st cousin four times removed (on Mom's side) to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . and one of his daughters, Mamie, was married to Edward Jefferson Olive, who is my 4th cousin three times removed (on Dad's side) . . . 


Dallas Morning News 
September 15, 1921 

Capt. D.H. Snyder Early Day Cowman. Children Gather from Various Towns to Attend Father's Funeral. Special to The News. 
Fort Worth, Texas. Sept. 13. 

Sons and daughters of Capt. Dudley H. Snyder, Nestor of Texas cowmen who died yesterday at his home in Georgetown, gathered here today from their West Texas homes to make the pilgrimage to their father's funeral. The party includes Mrs. C.C. Kirkpatrick of San Angelo and Mrs. C.M. Armstrong of Lubbock, Fred Snyder of Lubbock, D.H. Snyder Jr. and Marcus Snyder of Colorado City. All the sons are prominent cattle men. D.H. Snyder Jr. is a member of the executive committee of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers' Association.

Captain Snyder was born in Mississippi Sept. 5, 1833. Early in 1854 Captain Snyder came to Texas by way of Ozark, Ark., and Mansfield, La., and made his first stop at Round Rock in Williamson County, where he visited with his grandfather, Dr. Thomas Hale. Following his farming experience he engaged in cedar hauling from Bastrop County to Williamson and Travis Counties.

Early Trading Days. -- In 1855 and 1856 he made several trips to Missouri, where he purchased wagons and loaded them with apples and other delicacies, which he brought to Texas and sold. After making a few trips to Missouri Captain Snyder walked to San Antonio, where he invested his earnings in a small herd of Spanish ponies. These he drove to Missouri, where he traded them for draft horses which he brought back to Texas. His reputation as a safe man gained him a proposition from Terrell Jackson for the delivery of beef cattle to the Confederate Army and during 1865 and 1866 he drove thousands of cattle across the Southern States for provisioning Confederate soldiers.

Cattle Stolen by Indians. -- One of the interesting experiences of Captain Snyder in cattle driving was in 1869 with a herd of 140 head en route to Abilene, Kan., which was captured by the Indians. The loss eventually was paid by the Government. During the panic of 1873 a herd of his cattle were wintered in Cheyenne, Wyo., where he obtained money at 36 per cent per annum. Captain Snyder was a Methodist and one of the staunch supporters [of] Georgetown. On Sept. 20, 1905, Captain Snyder lost his sight and since that time has resided quietly at his home. 

1685 :: Birth of John Kimball

On this date in our family history . . . the 7th day of February . . . in the year 1685 . . . according to the History of the Kimball Family . . . John Kimball is born . . . 





This John Kimball is a 7th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog, as follows . . .


JOHN KIMBALL 1685-1763
&1705 ELIZABETH CHAPMAN
|
MEHITABLE KIMBALL †1797/
&1744 TIMOTHY BARKER 1720-1752
|
ASA BARKER 1748-1822
&1767 LUCY PORTER 1751-1822
|
JONATHAN BARKER 1785-1860
&ca 1805 MAHITABLE PORTER FARNUM 1785-1811
|
TIMOTHY BARKER 1809-1870/
&1831 JERUSHA LAKIN HOBBS 1810-/1870
|
JERUSHA MARILLA BARKER 1841-1899
&1857 ATWOOD FRANK SMITH 1837-1907
|
THOMAS WARREN ALONZO SMITH 1866-1920
&1894 EVA MAY BRACKETT 1874-1936
|
ELIZABETH MARILLA SMITH 1912-1932
&1929 ROBERT E HENRY 1905-1976
|
Keeper's Mom [living]
&1950 FORREST LEE POUNDERS 1927-1996
|
Keeper

2014 :: In memory of Bill Dessens

As of today, there is a new member of the Heavenly Western Swing dance band . . . he was known here on earth as Bill Dessens . . . and was a member of The River Road Boys . . . although my Mom had known him for years, I was privileged to meet Mr. Dessens for the first and only time just two years ago . . . on the 10th day of June . . . at the 2012 Rockdale Homecoming . . . as a member of the 1947 graduating class of Rockdale High School, Bill was in town for his 65th class reunion . . .



Click to enlarge

Photo of Bill and Vickie by Lucile Estell


Back in March of 2011 I purchased a packet of old letters in an online auction . . . my interest was piqued because the description said they were sent to Rockdale . . . which made them desirable (to me) as vintage items which could be scanned for use in digital scrapbook projects . . . the oldest letter is dated 1874 . . . which just happens to be the year of the birth of Rockdale . . .

No names were mentioned in the auction, so I did not know until the letters arrived in my mailbox what a treasure they were for one of Rockdale's early families (the Dessens) . . . I established contact with Bill Dessens, and we exchanged multiple emails regarding the letters . . . I sent scanned images of all of the letters to him . . . and was finally able to hand-deliver the originals to Bill on the 10th day of June in 2012 . . . 

Bill Dessens and Vickie Everhart

and a package of old letters

Gemini generated watercolor of

photo originally taken by

Dr. Lucile Estell in 2012

Some of the letters were written in French . . . and Bill was hoping to find someone who could and would translate them for him . . . do not know if he was ever able to do that . . . he wanted to pay me . . . I declined the offer . . . but did say I would be delighted to receive a CD of their music . . . he graciously gave me two . . . they are a treasure . . . as was he . . .


R.I.P. Bill Dessens . . .

1763 :: Death of John Kimball

On this date in our family history . . . the 10th day of May . . . in the year 1763 . . . according to the History of the Kimball Family . . . John Kimball dies in Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts . . . it is unknown at this time where his remains were laid to rest . . .




This John Kimball is a 7th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog, as follows . . .


JOHN KIMBALL 1685-1763
&1705 ELIZABETH CHAPMAN
|
MEHITABLE KIMBALL †1797/
&1744 TIMOTHY BARKER 1720-1752
|
ASA BARKER 1748-1822
&1767 LUCY PORTER 1751-1822
|
JONATHAN BARKER 1785-1860
&ca 1805 MAHITABLE PORTER FARNUM 1785-1811
|
TIMOTHY BARKER 1809-1870/
&1831 JERUSHA LAKIN HOBBS 1810-/1870
|
JERUSHA MARILLA BARKER 1841-1899
&1857 ATWOOD FRANK SMITH 1837-1907
|
THOMAS WARREN ALONZO SMITH 1866-1920
&1894 EVA MAY BRACKETT 1874-1936
|
ELIZABETH MARILLA SMITH 1912-1932
&1929 ROBERT E HENRY 1905-1976
|
Keeper's Mom [living]
&1950 FORREST LEE POUNDERS 1927-1996
|
Keeper

1948 :: Family Reunion in Rockdale

Sixty-five years ago today . . . on the 3rd day of October . . . in the year 1948 . . . a family gathering is being held at the Hamilton home on Cameron Avenue in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas . . . the photo in the collage was taken that day . . . the handwritten list on the back of a copy of that photo gives the family names . . . the people in said photo include the surviving children and daughters-in-law of William Paschal Henry and his wife, Josephine Wingfield Henry nee Davis . . . 

Rockdale Reporter, October 7, 1948 -- A family reunion of the Henry's was enjoyed by many in the home of Mrs. J.D. Hamilton Sunday. Dinner, which was furnished by all, was served buffet style.


Those attending from Rockdale were: Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Henry, Roberta [Mom of the Keeper of this family history blog] and Oscar, Mrs. Will Henry, Mr. and Mrs. G.R. Henry and Weldon Lee, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Backhaus, Ruth and Doris Ann, Mr. and Mrs. S.C. Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Vesper Christian and Donna, Mr. and Mrs. Milford Henry and Dale, Mrs. Howard Avrett and Darwin, Mr. and Mrs. Graham Kyle, Graham Jr. and Linda Sue, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Towery, Bohn, Dana and Sandra, Robert Phillips, Mrs. J.D. Hamilton and Laura.


Out of town guests were: Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Henry, Waco; Mrs. Velma Henry Smith, Waco; Mrs. Ida Halyard, Crockett; Georgia Faye Henry, Freeport; R.B. (Sonny) Rosenkrans, Freeport; Delores Sharp, Palestine; Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Reynolds, Palestine; Mrs. T.A. Newton, Palestine; Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Newton Jr. and Shirley, Palestine; Mrs. W.C. Newton and Luckey, Palestine; Mr. and Mrs Alton Peebles, Mary Jane and Martha Lou, Lexington; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Weldon Kyle, Nanette and Douglas, Houston; Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Fergeson, Houston; Delbert Kyle, Huntsville; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ceasar, Virginia Hope and Harry Douglas, Thorndale.

Sentimental Sunday :: Grandparents Day

This was originally published in August of 2009 . . . for another one of those nights of genealogy fun with Randy . . . I thought it appropriate to recycle it for use on a Sentimental Sunday . . . in memory of my grandparents . . .

This week (August 2009), for Randy's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, he is asking, "How many ancestors did you 'meet'?" His short and sweet instructions are to . . .

• Write down which of your ancestors that you have met in person (yes, even if you were too young to remember them).
• Tell us their names, where they lived, and their relationship to you in a blog post, or in comments to this post, or in comments on Facebook.

I was born and raised in Texas . . . and plan to live here 'til I die . . . and I am blessed to have been touched by hands . . . that touched the hands . . . of those who came before . . .

My Mom was born in Massachusetts, but was living in Texas with her paternal grandparents before 1940 . . . and she now lives just one block away from the land owned by those grandparents . . . Mom was only 3 days old when her mother, Elizabeth, died . . . Elizabeth's father had died in 1920 . . . and her mother, Eva, would survive her daughter by only 4 years.

• Mom's father, Robert E. Henry, was born in Milam County, Texas in 1905 . . . and died in San Patricio County, Texas in 1976 . . . he joined the Navy in 1927 . . . and then took up residence in Massachusetts until after WWII . . . when he finally returned to Texas, bringing his 2nd wife and their three daughters with him . . . his father died shortly thereafter, and before I was born.
  • Robert's mother, Berta Mary Henry nee Sharp, was born in Houston County, Texas in 1873 . . . and I was born on her birthday just four years before she died in 1955 in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas.

My Dad, Forrest Lee Pounders, was born in San Benito, Cameron County, Texas in 1927 . . . and died in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas in 1996 . . . he spent time in Japan and Korea while in the Army, but lived his entire life in Texas.

• His father, Jacob Edmund Forrest Pounders, was born 1902 in Caldwell County, Texas . . . and died in Rockdale, Texas in 1957 . . . both of Pa Jake's parents were dead before I was born.
• His mother, Ima Lois Pounders nee Muston, was born in Lee County, Texas in 1906 . . . she lived next door to my parents my entire childhood, and until her death in 1999 . . . her father died when she was a child.
  • Her mother, Emma Patience Muston nee Nettles, was born in Lee County, Texas in 1882 . . . and died in Rockdale, Texas in 1964.

So, that makes seven (7) for me -- 2 parents plus 2 grandpas plus 1 grandma plus 2 great-grandmas.

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 . . .

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, Mom

 

Sentimental Sunday :: Mommy and Me

Sixty years ago today . . . on Mother's Day in the year 1951 . . . the beautiful young woman in this bricolage was about three months pregnant with the little one shown in the photos . . . the rose in the background is a 1932 antique rose called the Fairy Rose . . . the year of origin of that rose is the same year this young Mother was born in Essex County, Massachusetts . . . she was living in Texas (the home state of her Father, and his Mother and maternal Grandpa before him) by the time she started school, and has been here since . . . the Keeper of this family history blog is the little one in the photos . . . she is the first of four lucky children who are privileged to call this lovely woman Mom . . . Happy Mother's Day, Mom . . . luv you bunches . . . and thank you . . . for everything! . . .

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 . . .

1899 :: Maine Death of Betsey Hutchins

On this date in our family history . . . the 14th day of January . . . in the year 1899 . . . Betsey T. Smith Hutchins nee Flood dies at home in Kennebunkport, Maine . . . this Betsey is the mother of Atwood F. Smith (1837-1907) who is father of . . . Thomas Warren Alonzo Smith (1866-1920) who is father of . . . Elizabeth Marilla Henry nee Smith (1912-1932) who is the mother of my beautiful Mom . . .

Biddeford Daily Journal. Biddeford, Maine. Monday Evening, January 16, 1899. Mrs. Betsy T. (Smith) Hutchins, who for many years resided in this city and was well known here and for the last few years has resided in Kennebunkport, having married Edward S. Hutchins of that place, died Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock, after a brief sickness lasting only a few hours. An attack of the grip was followed by heart failure. Her age was 82 years and five months. She was a member and prominent worker in the Foss street Methodist church in which she had many friends. She was also a former member of Evangeline lodge of Rebekahs. She leaves a husband, Edward S. Hutchins of Kennebunkport, three children, Atwood F. Smith and Josiah H. Smith, both of this city, and Sylvanus S. Smith of Concord, N.H., one sister, Mrs. Add Chadbourne of Saco, and four grandchildren. The funeral will be held at the residence in Kennebunkport on Tuesday afternoon at 1 o'clock. The burial will be at the Greenwood cemetery at the convenience of the family.

---

Biddeford Weekly Journal - Jan 20, 1899. Kennebunkport. . . . Mrs Betsey, widow of the late Edward Hutchins, died last Saturday afternoon at an advanced age. Joseph Fairfield and wife have made their home with her for a few years. Mrs. Fairfield was a step daughter of Mrs. Hutchins, but was absent at the time of her death: being with a sick daughter. Mrs. Hutchins will be much missed in the Methodist society. 

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

Sentimental Sunday :: Happy 35th Pam & Mike

On this date in our family history . . . the 5th day of December in the year 1975 . . . my youngest sister, Pam, marries the love of her life, Mike . . . and in that same year . . . I married my Bennie in February . . . and we moved to Flint, Michigan . . . and I hated it there . . . and we came back to Texas . . . and my middle sister, Rebecca, gave birth to her 2nd son, Monty, in June . . . and we threw a surprise party for Mom & Dad's 25th anniversary in October . . . and then another wedding in December . . . 1975 wound up being a rather busy sewing year for my Mom . . . she made my blue velvet wedding dress as well as the dresses for my two sisters (my attendants) . . . and then she made our dresses for this December wedding, and her dress, as well as all sorts of table coverings, etc. for the receptions . . .


In the photo . . . Bennie (1948-2010) & Vickie . . . Robert (my brother) . . . my Dad, Forrest Lee (1927-1996) . . . Pam & Mike . . . my Mom, Roberta (1932-2023) . . . Rebecca holding Monty . . . Dennis (1953-1990) holding Trent . . .

SNGF :: Photo Effects

Randy's challenge for SNGF this week is to have fun playing with the free photo effects provided by anymaking.com . . .

The subject of this wanted poster is a blossom on a Fairy Rose bush . . . which is an antique rose (1932) that my Mom planted at my father's grave in the Hugh Wilson Cemetery in Tanglewood, Lee County, Texas . . . these tiny roses are a pleasure to view . . . and they are perfect for drying for use in tearbottles . . .






This is the same photo . . . given the jigsaw puzzle treatment . . .









And this is the jigsaw puzzle image . . . once again given the wanted poster treatment . . .
This was fun, Randy . . . thanks for sharing!

Treasure Chest Thursday :: Precious Memories

As I travel on life's pathway . . . know not what the years may hold . . . as I ponder, hope grows fonder . . . precious memories flood my soul . . .

Most of the images in this collage arrived in my rural mailbox on this date . . . the 7th day of October 2010 . . . my favorite Longfellow verse on the front of a greeting card . . . the two heartfelt handwritten messages on the inside of the card . . . and the photo of my dear Hubbie and his Riley-dog . . .

The sender of this treasure? . . . my precious Mom . . . she always knows just the right thing to say and do . . . she picks the best greeting cards . . . and the photo . . . it is cropped from a larger image showing an assortment of my kith 'n kin at a family gathering at my sister's place in the Hill Country of Texas . . . it was Thanksgiving two years ago . . . that's when I met my first-born grand-nephew for the very first time . . . one of my other nieces was pregnant at the time . . . that grand-nephew would arrive the following January . . . we had all been at the Idle Spur just a little over a year before . . . in October of 2007 . . . for the wedding of the now pregnant niece . . .


Precious mem'ries, how they linger
How they ever flood my soul
In the stillness of the midnight
Precious, sacred scenes unfold.


Bennie Everhart
20 March 1948 ~ 07 April 2010
I sure miss you . . .
life will never be the same with you not here . . .



Precious mem'ries, unseen angels
Sent from somewhere to my soul
How they linger, ever near me
And the sacred past unfold.

J.B.F. Wright (1923)


P.S. . . . FYI . . . the lined notepaper on the scrapbook page is from a ca. 19th century journal containing a collection of lyrics and poems, apparently thought worthy of recording by my great-grandpa . . . mayhaps I inherited that fondness for collecting my favorite word arrangements from him . . .