Saturday, October 15, 2016

Sepia Saturday: High Flying

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.



This month Sepia Saturday is all about travel to and fro. Since I’ve touched on trains and automobiles, let’s move on to airplanes. The planes in my photos were probably not used for pleasurable travel, however.
 
Unknown school children on a class trip https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Melly, is that our precious Scarlett kneeling in the front row?
This photo seems to be of a class trip to somewhere, but where and why are a mystery. My grandaunt Violetta Davis Ryan taught only in the Shenandoah Valley where the airport was just small and unimpressive, hardly a field trip destination. Perhaps the class was led by my grandaunt Velma Davis Woodring who taught in the American school in Japan and later Korea.  The greater mystery, though, is what Scarlett O’Hara is doing with this class. Oh, fiddle dee dee. I’ll think about that tomorrow.

My granduncle Ray Rucker was a sailor assigned to the USS Colorado in the early 1920s. The ship carried Corsair sea planes for scouting and reconnaissance.

Ray Rucker's photo of seaplane on USS Colorado 1920s https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

Ray Rucker's photo of seaplane on USS Colorado 1920s https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

Sailor walking on biplane wing USS Colorado 1920s https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Sailor walking on the wings of the float plane














The following two photos of bomber planes are just small professionally produced photo cards. Each one is about 1.5” x 2”. They were among the photos that Ray saved from his days in the Navy.

Souvenir photos belonging to Ray Rucker 1920s https://jollettetc.blogspot.com


Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride to Sepia Saturday.

Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Sepia Saturday: Fords, Plymouths, and Buicks Oh My!

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.



This month Sepia Saturday is all about travel to and fro. Some time ago I was reading the divorce case of my 2X great aunt Sallie Jollett Clift in which she told the judge she had found her husband’s love letters from his mistresses hidden in her stable. Stable? Who has a stable? But it was 1914, after all, so maybe cars were not yet common. Maybe she still relied on a horse and wagon.

I don’t know when my great-grandparents first owned a car, but my great-grandfather Walter Davis was certainly proud of this one.

Walter Davis and car Shenandoah, VA before 1934 https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Walter Davis before 1934
Shenandoah, VA
Orvin Davis and Mary Eleanor Davis 1929 Shenandoah, VA  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

My best guess - based on the winged hood ornament - is that his car was a Ford. He died in 1934, so the car predates that year, it’s safe to say.


Velma and Violetta Shenandoah, VA 1928 https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Velma Davis Woodring and Violetta Davis 1928
in front of their parents' house Shenandoah, VA
In 1928 SOMEBODY owned this car. It was probably Walter. The car was always in front of the house when pictures were taken. The car looks much like the 1928 Plymouth Model Q.

Lucille Davis with Orvin Jr. and cousins Shenandoah, VA https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
My grandmother on the right






Orvin Jr. at Davis home Shenandoah, VA https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Orvin Jr. 1928

Orvin Jr. about 1928 Shenandoah, VA  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
1928 Rumble Seat  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Violetta and Velma and others in the rumble seat 1928
As fun as that rumble seat looks, points for LUXURY go to the Breeden brothers in what appears to be a Buick, judging by those torpedo-esque bumpers.

Wes Breeden, Decatur Breeden, Leota Sullivan, Minnie Breeden, Elta Sullivan, Floral Sullivan
Breeden Brothers and Sullivan Sisters
(my grandfather's cousins) Shenandoah, VA 
While the entire car is not visible, this one driven by my grandmother around 1920-25 takes the prize for those lovely side lamps. Not much of a windshield though.

Lucille Rucker Davis at the wheel  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
My grandmother
Lucille Rucker Davis
1920-1925 probably
Hop in the touring car and let’s go visit Sepia Saturday.

Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Military Monday: Busting Myths About Richard Gaines

Military Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers for bloggers to post their images, stories and records of their ancestors’ service in various branches of the military.

Sooo, you think your ancestor was on that boat with George Washington breaking through the ice of the Delaware River. Or you heard stories that your ancestor was with George Washington at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered.
 
Letter 1911 about Revolutionary War service of Richard Gaines https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Letter dated 1911 inquiring about service of Richard Gaines
Fold3.com







     Please inform me if the records of your office contain anything with regard to the Revolutionary services of RICHARD GAINES and MICHAEL CLORE (sometimes spelled GLORE).
     Family tradition states that Richard Gaines, born 1752, died 1837, was with General Washington at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. He belonged to Captain Pearson’s company at one time, though he served more than one enlistment. He was also with Washington when he broke the ice and crossed the Delaware River, surprised the British at Trenton and captured a thousand Hessians. Was also at Egg Harbor. He was buried at Poplar Springs, S.C., having removed there from Virginia, with his father, after the war.

Such are the stories passed along to descendants of Richard Gaines (1752-1837), the man who married the somehow-related-to-me Frances Jolly of Culpeper County, Virginia.

I have bad news for some of the Gaines descendants who have been enjoying the trickle-down glory of having a hero in the family who fought alongside George Washington. The facts just don’t support it. Just ask Richard himself.

It’s easy to see how family lore gets confused and exaggerated over time. Even documents that spell out the truth can be misinterpreted by those reading them. It doesn’t help matters when several men share the same name. The DAR website includes five Virginia patriots named Richard Gaines. That does not mean they were the only men with this name. It means women of today have joined the DAR by tracing their lineage to only these five.

Three of the Richards served in their local militia. The other two, who were about 25 years older than the young soldiers, provided material aid and supplies.

The Richard who was married to Frances was a private in the Culpeper County Minutemen. He was born in Culpeper County in 1752 and died in Laurens County, South Carolina 9 November 1837. Two wives were listed: Elizabeth Flint and Frances Jolly. The majority of DAR members tracing lineage to this Richard Gaines do so through James, a son by Frances Jolly.

I then checked Fold3 to see if there is a record of service, pension applications, and so forth. And yes, there is. There are records also for the Richard Gaines who spent his entire life in Albemarle County, Virginia as well as the Richard Gaines from Charlotte County who migrated to Kentucky. Service records for Sergeant Richard Gaines are available too, but this rank does not match any of the Richard Gaines listed with the DAR.

And that is where the family stories lose a little of that glamour and excitement surrounding an ancestor rubbing elbows with ol’ George.

Richard Gaines service recorded in pension application 1832 https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
from Richard Gaines' pension application of 1832
Fold3.com 
In his application for a pension, Richard described his own service:
…. That he enlisted in the army of the United States in the year 1774 or 1775 with Capt. John Jamison and served in the first Continental Regiment of the Virginia line under the following named officers, viz: Col. Laurence Taliaferro, Major Alexander Spotswood, Capt. John Jamison, Lieut. Gabriel Long and Ensign David Jamison. That he was discharged and left the service on the [ blank ] day of [ blank ] 1776 or 77, that he resided at the time he entered the service in Culpepper County in the State of Virginia. That he enlisted for two years, and was at the siege of Little York Norfolk.

As it turns out, his application was rejected for failure to actually PROVE service for six months. Furthermore, the rejection was based on not serving in an “embodied corps.”

Besides service records and pension applications, my Richard’s file at Fold3 contains letters of inquiry to the Pension Board and War Department. In 1853, James Gaines, son of Richard and Frances, appealed to the Pension Board on behalf of his surviving siblings claiming their father did not receive all that he was due from service in the Revolutionary War. He claimed his father had been a sergeant in his company but did not report it with his original application for a pension in 1832 because according to the Act of 7 June 1832, he was not required to report all the details of his service.

Response to James Gaines about Richard Gaines' service as sergeant in Revolutionary War
Response to James Gaines
Fold3.com
The reply from the Pension Department was essentially, “Nope. Sorry.” While they granted that Richard Gaines certainly knew his own service and that his children might have also been aware of it, he never claimed to have been a sergeant. Furthermore, the pension payments for the only Richard Gaines who had been a sergeant had gone to the one who served through 1781. James’s father himself said he served only two years. Available records just did not match the claims; therefore, the appeal was rejected.

That did not stop the family from believing it though. On Richard’s tombstone is etched his entire war career which unfortunately is most likely a mélange of service performed by at least 2 if not 3 men named Richard Gaines.

Tombstone of Richard Gaines Laurens Co, SC https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Tombstone of Richard Gaines
Findagrave.com
courtesy of MJ


Richard Gaines
Married
Miss Francis Jolly
Soldier in
Revolutionary War
Sergeant in
Col Holt Richeson’s Co
In 5th VA Reg with
Gen Washington at
Surrender of Cornwallis
At Yorktown, VA  Also at
Battle of Trenton, NJ
And at Egg Harbor
And Other Battles
Minute Man with Captain
John Jamison Col Lawrence
Taliferro’s Reg at Siege of
Norfolk, VA 1775



Richard’s own words did not include serving under Col. Holt Richerson or being at the Battle of Egg Harbor which took place in 1778, long after Richard supposedly completed his duty. The Richard who advanced to Sergeant served under Richerson, that’s a fact. But if we can trust MY Richard Gaines’ own memory, he served only two years. Had he been in Trenton or Yorktown, those would have been far more worthy of mention than the Siege of Norfolk.

Possibly the wording was provided by Richard’s great-grandson “L. P. Gaines,” author of one of the letters that spelled out the family story that Richard had served with George Washington. Was he trying to set the record straight, the record as he knew it, that is?

It is clear the tombstone was not commissioned at the time of Richard’s death, judging by the genealogy on the back.
 
Back of tombstone of Richard Gaines Laurens Co, SC https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Back of Tombstone
Findagrave.com
courtesy of MJ
Genealogy
Richard Gaines 1686 – 1755
Father of
Henry Gaines 1731 -1837
Richard Gaines 1752 – 1837
James Gaines 1791 – 1866
Reuben Gaines 1815 – 1899
L. P. Gaines 1845 –
Jim Gaines 1878 –
Reuben Gaines 1911 – 

While the abbreviated genealogy is mostly correct, the family trees created on Find A Grave through links to parents and siblings are a complete mess. For example, in the list of siblings is Francis Gaines whose link goes to a memorial in which his parents are named Hierome Gaines and Margaret Taliaferro. My Richard was son of Henry Gaines and Mariah Woods.

The trees at Ancestry are not much better. Several link pension records to this Richard and Frances Gaines that actually belong to the Richard Gaines who lived his entire life in Albemarle County, Virginia. Now if you’re looking for a claim to fame, THAT Richard had it: he was employed by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.

Sources:
Compiled Service Record of Gaines, Richard (Sgt, Third and Seventh Regiment, VA) digital images, Ancestry.com’s Fold3 (http://www.fold3.com: downloaded 25 September 2016); imaged from Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, National Archives microfilm publication M881 [roll number 0971].

Record of Gaines, Richard (Pvt., John Jamison’s Co., 1st Continental Regt, VA) pension application 3866; digital images, Ancestry.com’s Fold3 (http://www.fold3.com: downloaded 25 September 2016); imaged from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives microfilm publication M804 [roll number 1041].

Record of Gaines, Richard (Pvt., Landon Jones’ Co, Albemarle Co., VA Militia) pension application 8546; digital images, Ancestry.com’s Fold3 (http://www.fold3.com: downloaded 25 September 2016); imaged from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives microfilm publication M804 [roll number 1041].

Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Family History Month

It’s October and you know what that means: Family History Month. I’m a sucker for a theme and a meme, so when I read about the Genealogy Photo a Day challenge, I did not hesitate to join in. I am usually not very active on Instagram and Twitter, but I will be this month.

Find me on Twitter @Wendymath
Find me on Instagram Wendymath27

If you want to join in on the fun, here are the themes.



Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Sepia Saturday: Life and Death on the Train

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.




This month Sepia Saturday is all about travel to and fro. 

Unknown woman at Grove Hill, VA https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
Unknown woman
Grove Hill, Page Co, VA
train station
I wonder who this unidentified woman at the Grove Hill train station was and where she was going. Maybe just a few miles away to Shenandoah or Luray? Maybe further along the route to Harrisonburg, Staunton, or Roanoke? Or maybe she had a big trip planned to Washington DC or even New York.

No doubt she was a passenger on the Norfolk & Western Railroad that ran through the Shenandoah Valley. The railroad was big business in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for the little town of Shenandoah, Virginia, where so many of my ancestors lived. Over 30 members of my family were employed at one time or another by the railroad. They were conductors, engineers, brakemen, firemen, car repairmen, signal men, clerks, and railroad storekeepers.

Joseph Rucker and others N & W Railroad Shenandoah, VA https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
My great-grandfather Joseph Rucker
4th from left














If citizens of Shenandoah didn’t work for the railroad, they were neighbors to someone who did. The N&W fostered a tight community. So it must have been a sad time for everyone when one of their own was hurt on the job. No doubt friends and neighbors rallied around my family when a son/husband/brother/father confronted the worst day of his life on the job.

Hiram Oscar Eppard (2nd great uncle)

Newspaper article Hiram Oscar Eppard  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
11 Sep 1894 Alexandria Gazette
Oscar Eppard, aged 24 years, of Shenandoah was killed by a fall from the new Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge over Gwynn Falls, Baltimore, yesterday.

John W. B. Jollett (1st cousin 3X removed)

Newspaper article John B. Jollett  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
6 Aug 1897 Harrisonburg Rockingham Register
At an early hour last Thursday morning a freight wreck occurred on the Norfolk & Western Railroad near Ingham Station, about twelve miles south of Luray. The train was going north, and becoming uncoupled, without the knowledge of the engineer, the rear part ran into the forward cars as the engineer slowed up for the station. Some half dozen cars were demolished and a man named Turley, said to be a brother of Mr. George F. Turley, train dispatcher of Shenandoah, Page County, who was riding on the train, was killed. Mr. John W. B. Jollett, of the same place, was injured, as was also another man whose name has not been learned. The wreck delayed the running of trains for several hours.


Clement Willard Escue (stepson of 1st cousin 2X removed)
Newspaper article Clement Escue  https://jollettetc.blogspot.com
1935 Bluefield Daily Telegraph
C. W. Escue, Injured
Virginian Engineer,
Passes at Oak Hill
C. W. Escue, 36, Virginian Railway engineer, who was burned severely in a head-on collision between two freight trains at Wriston, W. Va., on February 24, died in an Oak Hill hospital Friday afternoon, it was learned yesterday.
Mr. Escue was one of the ten men injured when the two freight trains collided. It is understood that all other members of the crew injured are recovering satisfactorily.
Mr. Escue was a former Princeton resident. He moved to Page about three years ago.


Hop aboard the Sepia Saturday train to see the sights my blogging friends have shared.

Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.