Sentimental Sunday

 

My mother Mary Eleanor Davis Slade died on 3 October 2005.

Momma
6 Jan 1929 - 3 Oct 2005

Jack Coleman, husband of my great-grandmother’s sister Emma Jollett, died 4 October 1947.

1929 - Mary Frances Jollett Davis,
Jack Coleman, Emma Coleman

Lucretia Jollett, sister of my 2X great-grandfather James Franklin Jollett, married Thomas Shiflett 8 October 1871.

 

My grandmother Lucille Rucker (Davis) was born 9 October 1904.

Lucille in the stroller
Big sister Rosalind

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday - Hikers

Thelma and Velma

My grandaunt Velma Davis and her friend Thelma Hockman on a hike up the Massanutten Mountain near Harrisonburg, Virginia in October 1924. She documented the trip in her college scrapbook. Read the story HERE.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - STEPS: Cousin Elmyra

I am always drawn to the photos of my first generation Irish-American relatives. This one of my granny Julia Walsh Slade with her cousins sitting on the steps is a favorite.

Grace Christian, Julia Walsh, Elmyra Christian
probably around 1917-1919

Apparently it was taken during one of many trips my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh made to visit family. The Sheehan sisters emigrated from County Limerick, Ireland in the late 1880s and settled in New York City. When my great-grandmother was widowed, she left her sisters to join her in-laws in Portsmouth, Virginia. Mary Theresa remained close to her sisters through letters and visits.

Julia and Elmyra
Elmhurst (Queens), NY

Elmyra and Julia with Elmyra's brother
probably Raymond
I would love to know what was torn out!

I don’t know why, but Elmyra has always intrigued me. Something about that face. I searched Ancestry, FamilySearch, and 3 newspaper subscriptions, and I found a few tidbits.

from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle 8 Oct 1913

Elmyra was a good student named in the honor roll list for PS #13 in October 1913.

 

from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle 19 May 1919

In May 1919, she performed in a piano recital in the Pouch Mansion on Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn.

 

Pouch Mansion 

In 1930, Elmyra’s engagement to Godfrey Stamm appeared in the newspaper.

from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle 29 Jun 1930

I wondered if they ever married because the 1940 census shows Elmyra as SINGLE, living with her parents. Likewise, Godfrey was living with his mother and was enumerated as SINGLE. However, his World War II enlistment records of 1942 state he was divorced with dependents. Since neither Godfrey nor Elmyra shows any children with them in the 1940 census, the dependent was likely Godfrey’s mother. In 1942 Elmyra married Edward T. Zarek and they had 2 children.

The last two mentions of Elmira in the newspaper are in the funeral notice for her husband Edward Zarek 

from the Daily News New York, NY 9 Mar 1978

and her own obituary in 1996.

from The Journal News
White Plains, NY
31 Mar 1996

I gasped at the last statement in which the family requested memorial donations for the Dominican Convent in Blauvelt, NY. That is where Elmyra’s cousin – and thus my granny’s cousin as well – Sadie Byrnes had been a member.

This photo of my granny with Sadie might have been taken during that same trip from Virginia to visit the aunts and cousins in New York.

Julia and Sadie

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

On This Day - Breeden and Clift

Decatur and Vic

Decatur Bainbridge Breeden died on this day 27 Sep 1952. He was husband of Victoria Jollett, my great-grandmother’s sister.

Raymond Clift
(wonder what he did with all
those pens in his pocket)

On this day in 1900, Raymond Clift was born. He was the son of my great-grandmother’s sister Sallie Jollett Clift.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday - Lucian Boyd

Lucian Boyd was the son of William Preston Boyd (aka William Henry Jollett) and Hattie.

Lucian Boyd seated left front
photo courtesy Patty Kennedy

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - FUN AND GAMES: So Much for Crowd-Sourcing

Crowd-sourcing has become an important way for family historians to solve big and small mysteries. Since I enjoyed some success in the “Remember Shenandoah Back When” group on Facebook when I asked for help in determining to which street a lot number in a property tax bill referred, I decided to give the members a crack at naming some men in a photo.

Men playing croquet Shenandoah, Virginia 1930s probably
#2 is Orvin Davis, my grandfather
#4 is Millard Davis, his older brother

I know only two of these five men playing croquet. The second man is my grandfather Orvin Davis. The fourth is his brother Millard. I used to think the fifth man was Decatur Breeden, husband of their aunt Victoria Jollett Breeden, but it occurred to me that Decatur was at least 20 years older than they were. This man certainly was not that much older; in fact, he looks younger.

I posted the photo in the group with the information I had. Here are the responses:

Susan: No. 5 looks like Shorty Lam.

Kay: That had the store near the Moose Lodge? Super tall?

Bennie: #5 Howard “Shorty” Good – maybe. Shorty Good had the store near the Moose Lodge. He must have been close to 7 ft tall.

The short thread tickled my funny bone though. Two possibilities, both named Shorty? For the tallest man in the county to be called “Shorty” is just so silly that I can’t help laughing. There was no conclusion to the story. After that, my post just garnered a bunch of “LIKE”s.

Census records on Ancestry confirm that Howard Good was indeed a grocery merchant. He even looks like a grocer in that bowtie.

Unfortunately, there is not much family history about Shorty Good on Ancestry. However, my copy of Shenandoah - A History of Our Town and Its People has two photos for comparison.

from Shenandoah: A History
Shorty Good behind the counter

from Shenandoah: A History
Shorty standing in the back

What do you think?

Now to figure out who the other two men playing croquet were.

 Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

On This Day - Leanna

My great-grandmother’s sister Leanna Alice Jollett Knight died 20 Sep 1936.

Leanna A Knight
Born
Mar 14, 1867
Died
Sept 20, 1936

 Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.