Old Letters

In a recent blog post, Denise Levenick commented on Finding Clues and Connections in Old Family Letters.

Letters are hard to come by anymore what with email, Facebook, Skype, WeChat and all the other instant communication programs that I hardly ever or never use. They are great for finding out what is going on right now or seeing pictures of grandkids and others. But no one really puts a lot of thought into sending news and rarely are they saved like letters and cards used to be.

I commented on some letters a friend of mine has that were written by his mother just before and after World War II broke out. They were very illuminating impressions about how the family felt at a time when war was imminent.

I also wrote about cards people sent years ago for special occasions. Again, it’s rare to receive these in this age of right-now messaging.

Denise makes a point about information that may be contained in old letters – personal information about family members or events that you will never find in a database. Not only are these important in constructing a family history, they give us very good insight to the people themselves – how they lived, how they thought, what kinds of personalities they had, etc.

I have copies of cards and letters written to and by my mother – she did most of the correspondence in our family. I have some written by me to parents and grandparents, and which were later returned to me by relatives, which are kind of funny now. They are all unique memorabilia.

My aunt used to write many letters to family members when she was researching the family history. I have found many interesting stories in them. She also collected copies of letters that had been saved by others. She sent me copies of those. Not all of them are easy to read, being copies of copies, but it is still very interesting to see the actual handwriting of my ancestors and hear the stories of their day-to-day lives.

Here are transcriptions of two of them:

The first was written by my maternal grandmother’s sister, Rebecca (McDaniel) Slemp to her brother, James, and his wife, not long after ‘Becca had moved to Missouri from Virginia. Becca was, of course, a daughter of Asa McDaniel one of whose letters appears below. James and his family came west to Oklahoma in 1896 as I described in my June 7^th post about the McDaniel Family Goes West. I do not have a copy of the original letter. The transcription was done by my aunt, so I cannot confirm the exact spelling. But it is interesting to hear Aunt Becca talk about her family as well as learn about other members of our family.

Tarkio, Mo

Nov. the 17, 1889

Mr. and Misses James McDaniel

Dear Bro, sister and family.

I will try to answer your kind and most welcome letter I rec'd some time ago but have delayed some time ans. it. Well, Jim you had aught to see my big boy, he weighed 9 lbs. the day he was a week old. He was born the Oct 30th. He is a good baby, he lays in bed all day, I took him up this morning and washed and put his clothes on him and put him back to bed and he lay till noon with his fist in his mouth and it is 6 o'clock and he hasn't waked up yet. I have been up ever since last Sunday doing my work. George and R. L. carried the wood and water in the house so I don't get out much. I went to the stable today to see the hogs, one is so fat it can't walk at all, it is a last spring shot e. I guess we will kill him for Thanksgiving Day. Jennie says she is going to make R. L. set a dinner for her and Annie, so I told her we would kill that hog. It will weigh over 150 lbs. now. It just lays and eats all the time.

Jennie was here today, they are well as common. Lillie is cutting teeth. Annie's is tolerably well. Lonnie burn his face on the jaw and Annie had her teeth all pulled out yesterday a week ago, 28 I believe and one now one has come since. Matthew's of Tarkio pulled them, charged 10 dollars and will put the now ones in, in the spring, he will only charge 15 more dollars. He wont charge anything for pulling if he replaces the teeth but that makes them 25 dollars a set. Oh! I forgot to tell you our boy's name is Edgar Earnest. Ask John if that ain't a good stout name. We had Dr. A. L. Gray from Tarkio. It was half past 11 Wednesday night when he got here and half past 4 Thursday morning when he got ready to leave and when he started, he had no team. He had hired a livery team and buggy and they had got loose and went back to Tarkio. So he waited till daylight and George took him home. George had the fun of going over after Annie, and R. L. after Mrs. Rhoads. R. L. went after the Dr. So we laughed at George about having a party. The young folks have parties out here. Has the boys got lots of chestnuts? There is plenty of hazel nuts out here. Tell Willy to come out and see Edgar and eat apples and be sure to bring his pockets full of chestnuts for I've not seen one since I've been here.

R. E. Slemp

(Becca)

Note:

George = George McDaniel, Rebecca's brother

Edgar Earnest = Rebecca’s first child

R. L. = Richard Landon Slemp, Rebecca's husband

Jennie = Virginia (McDaniel) Slemp, Rebecca's sister

Annie = Elizabeth Ann (McDaniel) Slemp, Rebecca's sister who lived Oklahoma City

Lillie = 3rd child of Jennie

Lonnie = son of Annie

Rebecca Elaine (McDaniel) Slemp (1873-1986) taken in 1949

The second was written on November 1, 1896 by my great-grandfather, Asa McDaniel, and sent to his daughter, Molly Davis who was still living in Virginia. The letter is very informative about Asa’s family who had moved to Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma in the 1880s and 1890s as well as things in general around the farming community.

Page one of letter written by Asa McDaniel to Molly Davis on 4 November 1896

Cleveland Co

Norman, O. T.

November the 4 1896

C. C. and Molly Davis

I receved your letter the 2 was glad to hear from you and hear you was wel it found me Tollerable wel I have a mity bad Cold and sourer Throat but feel better To day I have bean Down hear nearly 3 weeks at John's tha are Tollerable wel at this time thar was a mity hard Rain and storm hear the 25th and then turned verry Cold about as Cold as it ever gets in this Country and has give Nearly evry boddy awful bad Colds. Olie and Michels baby has bean bad of but is a heap better to Day Jim has Rented him a farm and moved to it Michel has got him a Place but haint moved yet thar Plunder that tha had to frait haint got hear yet or hadent yesterday Jim lives in 4 ½ mils of Norman Carna is hear wel and harty ways 140 lbs I think me and Carna wil go to Kate Bundyes some time this winter if I Ceam wel and it Dont get two cold and bad I got a letter from Kate Last week tha was all wel but Leroy he had let his team Runof and Broke one of his Ribs but had got nearly wel when she Roat George Mc and Jinna Slemp and famlyes was all wel a short time ago I heard from Matty the other day tha was wel I haint heard from Anne and Beckie sence I left thar but I suppose tha are all wel or I would hear from them I was sorry to hear Davis was Porly hope he is Better by this time give him my Best respects and all other enquiring friend with a few exeseptions thar is the finest wheat in this Country that I ever saw at this time of the year and thar is a quantile sowed a heap of the farmers has sowed 100 acres Ed Miller has sowed 120 acres Dick Slemp has over 200 Anne about 100 wheat is worth 40 cts per bushel Corn l7cts hogs is worth $260 cts per hundred flour 240 cts per hundred Coffy 18 to 20 cts per Pound shuger 21 lbs to the Dollr all other goods is very Cheap I think I will go back to Yukon in a few days I saw John Morgan at the sitty yesterday Rite sune

Asa McDaniel

Note:

CC = Claiborne Columbus Davis, Molly’s husband

Molly = Mary Saphronia (Molly) (McDaniel) Davis

John = Asa’s second son

Olie and Michel = unknown relationship

Jim = Asa’s oldest son

Carna = Sarah Carnelia, Asa’s youngest daughter

Kate Bundy = Eliza Katherine (McDaniel) Bundy, Asa’s fourth child

Leroy = Henry Leroy Bundy, Kate’s husband

George Mc. = George McDaniel, Asa’s youngest son and 10^th child

Jinna Slemp = Virginia (McDaniel) Slemp, Asa’s oldest child

Matty = Martha Alwilda Jane (McDaniel) Miller, Asa’s second youngest daughter and my grandmother

Anne = Elizabeth Ann (McDaniel) Slemp, Asa’s fifth child

Beckie = Rebecca Eliane (McDaniel) Slemp,  Asa’s third youngest daughter

Davis = unknown relationship

Ed Miller = Matty’s husband and my grandfather

Dick Slemp = Richard Landon Slemp, Rebecca’s husband

John Morgan = unknown relationship

Asa McDaniel with two granddaughters taken about 1896

This is the second of three of Asa’s letters I have copies of, written in 1895, 1896 and 1897, all to his daughter, Molly. There is also one from Molly to her father written in 1894 and confirms that Asa moved to Missouri that year. My Aunt Doris acquired them from Molly’s daughter, who was also involved in family history research. All the letters describe the health and activities of McDaniel family members.

These are wonderful pieces of the family’s history to have, even if they are not originals. I go back and look at some of the correspondence every once in a while, like today, and always learn something new or get another idea of where to search.

Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy in several family history society journals. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated

What was life like for Violet?

I have a new challenge. I am looking for information that will tell me what life was like for Violet Walker, my wife’s half-aunt. Sometimes we get chasing family lines so much we forget about the individuals – to paraphrase, we don’t see the trees because of the forest. I thought it was time to try to focus on people, one at a time. That might tell me more about family dynamics.

Half-aunt is a strange term. It just means that she was a half-sister to my mother-in-law. That’s where Violet’s life took its first divergence from the main line family.

We know when and where Violet was born and died as we have the documentation: born 25 December 1905 (Christmas Day) at 81 Oran Street, Glasgow; died 22 September 1982 at Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride, Glasgow, her usual residence being 47 Closeburn Street, Glasgow.

Violet was illegitimate. We don’t know who her father was or whether she ever found out. That’s an important part of her story that we would like to discover more about. She never married nor had children, so she was the end of a line. That removes an important source of data – bloodline. Her mother, Lizzie (Elizabeth), was a domestic servant at the time of Violet’s birth.

Her birth place, 81 Oran Street, was the same residence shown on her mother’s marriage record which occurred three years later. 81 Oran Street is also given as the place of death for one of Violet’s aunts, aged 11, in 1906. So it is possible that was also the residence of her maternal grandparents, John and Sarah Walker, and that Lizzie lived at home until her marriage. Violet appears on the 1911 Scotland census, living with her grandparents on Fernie Street which intersects Oran Street.

 

Part of ordnance map showing Oran and Fernie Streets in Glasgow, published 1899

The story is that, following, the marriage of Lizzie Walker to Alexander Cooper, Violet was left with her grandparents to be raised. More information is being sought about that state of affairs.

We are aware that she was a dancer. Rumour has it that she was an exotic dancer. Her death record says her occupation was “Dancer (retired)” which gives us something to go on.

We have only one photo of Violet, taken in 1928, brought by my mother-in-law when she immigrated to Canada in 1930. Perhaps other family members have others which we will check.

 

Violet Walker, standing, with a friend, about 1928

As I was writing this short blog piece I found out that I had more information about Violet and her family but just had not put the pieces together. Again, it’s the problem with seeing only the forest sometimes. I will begin digging into more records in my files to see what else I can put together, not just for Violet but for her mother, half-siblings and grandparents as well.

I think the search for more about the life of Violet Walker will prove interesting but also challenging. It’s just another step in assembling the stories of our ancestors. It is important and valuable to know how people lived not just when.

Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy in several family history society journals. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated

Finding a Lost Cousin

In putting together information for my post last week I went back to try to find some information on a cousin that I had lost. Actually she was not “lost” but I just had not spent much time looking for her. There is always someone else, or some other branch, closer in terms of a personal connection, that seems to take my attention and energy, so I lose track of other people I want to learn about or forget to keep the search going for them.

That was true for Thomasin/Tamzine Julia Jane Short, a 1^st cousin, 4X removed. She was the daughter of a 3^rd great-grand-aunt and granddaughter of my 4^th great-grandparents. As it turned out she was also the last in her line.

I went back to my mainstay databases, Ancestry and Find My Past to see if I had missed anything in previous searches or whether new information had been added that might help.

Firstly, her mother was Thomasin Shepheard, daughter of John and Jane Treby Shepheard. That’s how she was identified on her 1807 baptism record in Cornwood, Devon. She married John Short in St. Andrew, Plymouth in 1839, as Thomasine Shepheard, although she made her mark on the register indicating she could not read or write. She died in 1841, in Plymouth, shortly after giving birth to her daughter. Both her death certificate and burial record show her as Thomasin. She was buried back home in Cornwood on 6 June 1841.

Thomasin Julia Jane was baptized on 6 June 1841, the same day as her mother’s burial, in Cornwood. I do not have her birth certificate so cannot confirm that is the name she was formally given.

 

1841 baptism record for Thomasin Julia Jane Short in Cornwood Parish, Devon; image used courtesy of Plymouth & West Devon Record Office

She appeared on the 1841 England census with her father as Thamsin Short. On the 1851 England census she was living with her aunt, Jane (Shepheard) Pinhey, in Buckland Tout Saints, Devon as Tamsin Short. I thought the spelling of her name might just represent how it was pronounced rather than the exact spelling. On the 1861 England census I found an individual I think is her, Tamsin Short, age 19, working as a servant and living in St. Andrew, Plymouth.

In my search this week, I finally found a marriage record for Tamzine Julia Jane Short. She married Charles Grape Watson, a private in the Royal Artillery, in St. Andrew, Plymouth, in 1869. I’m not sure when the record was added to the Find My Past database but Devon BMD information has been expanded over the past few years. Anyway, there can be no doubt this is my cousin, with her full name, shown and her father named as John Short.

 

1869 marriage record for Charles Grape Watson and Tamzine Julia Jane Short in St. Andrew, Plymouth Parish, Devon; image used courtesy of Plymouth & West Devon Record Office

Now I thought I had it made. I should be able to find Thomasin/Tamzin/Tamsin/Tamzine without much trouble since she had a husband with what I thought was a unique name. While Charles was a common forename and Watson was probably not a rare surname, how many men with a second name of Grape could there be?

In spite of being married in 1869, they were not to be found on the 1871 census. There was a child named Charles Grape Watson born in 1877 and I did find Charles G. Watson on the 1881 England census but his wife was Eliza who had been born in a totally different region of England. I figured this had to be the right Charles, but where was Tamzin?

I then looked for military records, since Charles had been a soldier according to the marriage entry. And there on Ancestry was his service record in the Royal Artillery, but just as Charles Watson, no Grape. Unfortunately it did not list a next of kin but did list his birth place (1857, Ely Parish, Cambridgeshire), occupation (driver), postings, discharge date (1880) and intended place of residence (Woolwich). It also indicated he had spent 19 years at Home and two years in East India. Curiously the record did not mention he had been married but at least now I had several other references I could use to look for the family. The 1881 census with wife Eliza seemed to be correct as the family was in Woolwich, the man was a pensioner and he had been born in Ely Parish.

Once again, where was Tamsin? Did they divorce? Had she died? A search of FreeBMD resulted in nothing for her, under either the names Watson or Short, between 1869 and 1881, the outside dates I had from the marriage and the Woolwich census. But a search back on Find My Past for Tamzin Watson found a death in Bengal, India in 1870.

Ah ha! This had to be her! The website even had a copy of the burial entry which showed her husband as “Driver Watson” who was with the Royal Artillery. That date also fit with his service record, as he had been “invalided to England for Change” in 1872 and probably been out of the country for the previous two years shown as being in East India. That fit exactly with his marriage in Devon in 1869.

 

1870 death record for Tamzin Jane Watson, in Kamptee, India; retrieved from Find My Past website 9 August 2016

Tamzin Jane Watson died 15 September 1870, in Kamptee, Bengal, India, of “Effusion of the brain.” (Definition: a collection of fluid trapped between the surface of the brain and the outer lining of the brain…) When I looked back at her mother’s death certificate it said, “Tubercular disease of the Lungs and an effusion of water in the Pericardium.” While the causes of death were not the same, how curious it was to see the same word used relating to water.

This was one of those star-crossed families, with a mother and an only child dying so young and ending a family line that started with so much promise.

All the pieces seemed to come together for this family this week. Whether they were there online all along or had been added since I last looked, I don’t know. The main result was that I finally found this lost cousin. [Note to self: always check back on databases because you never know what you might have missed or what might have been added.]

Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy in several family history society journals. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated