52 Ancestors - UNEXPECTED: The Caricature

I never expected to be contacted about family treasure hidden away in an attic for 70 years, but that is what happened. In the early days of Covid-19, before the stay-at-home order, I received an email from someone identified as “Green.” An email with the subject “Secret attic” contained only these photos, no words:

How did someone get a copy of my mother’s college application and my grandfather’s receipt for purchases from J. P. Hockman, a businessman in Shenandoah, Virginia? And where was this “secret attic”?

A flurry of emails let me know that Ms. Green is the current owner of my grandparents’ home they built in Portsmouth back in 1950. During the installation of new insulation in the attic, she spied a little door at the far end of the attic over the front bedroom. Inside she found boxes and boxes of STUFF. My family's STUFF.

I have already written about some of the finds

• Wish You Were Here
• Granddaddy Bought a Car
• Lot 8 Section T
• Art I
• Davis Radios and Service
• Fred’s Chicago Adventure
• In His Own Write 

But probably my favorite find is this caricature.

When my sister and I opened the 10" x 13" manila envelope and saw this picture, we knew immediately it was of our mother. That big smile. Those dimples. Those prominent eyes. Even that hairstyle. Usually her hair was parted on the side, but in a few photos her hair was parted in the middle.

Mary Eleanor Davis and unknown admirer 1947

Mary Eleanor Davis

The writing on the drawing provides as many answers as it provokes questions. At the bottom is Momma’s nickname “Duny” in the same brush and style as what appears to be the artist’s signature. Unfortunately, I cannot make out the letters. None of my guesses have succeeded in producing a successful search for more information.

The caricature is dated 11 July 1947, so that would have been the summer between my mother’s freshman and sophomore year at Shenandoah College and Conservatory. She was 18.

In the upper left corner written in pen is “Cavalier Beach Club Virginia Beach,” making me think maybe the drawing was done there. The Cavalier hosted dances throughout the summer featuring big bands like Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Xavier Cugat, Guy Lombardo, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. Maybe the artist was there as well.

Then there is the puzzling message: Congratulations, Boyd R*. What was she being congratulated for? And who was Boyd? More importantly, what was his last name? Rockway? Rockman? Rackway? Rackman? Apparently, none of these. The closest potential match is “Boyd Richman” or “Boyd Rickman” but that second letter is definitely not an “i.”

Thinking perhaps I had misread the first name, I tried “Bryl” but no luck with that either.

I give up. For now, I am content to enjoy this playful rendering of my mother’s best features.  

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

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: They Were First

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

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo prompt depicting SPORT in the foreground and BUILDING in the background is well-matched with this photo from 1924.

from Velma Davis's scrapbook 1924
Field Day activities at Harrisonburg Teachers College

This was how James Madison University (GO DUKES!) looked when my grandaunt Velma Davis was a student. Beyond the open field was Rockingham Memorial Hospital.

Fourteen years before then, though, the campus was simply two buildings and a lot of acreage. Yet the Normal School offered a full campus life beyond the classroom. Clubs and athletics were popular. Tennis, in particular, had so much interest that two clubs were formed: Racquet Club and Pinquet Club.

 

Racquet Club 1912
from School Ma'am yearbook Ancestry

Pinquet Tennis Club 1911
from School Ma'am yearbook Ancestry

The rivalry between the two clubs began with the school’s first tennis tournament held in 1910. It was a doubles match in which Willye White and Amelia Brooke of Pinquet defeated Frances Mackey and Eva Massey of Racquet. The prize was a silver loving cup which the winning club kept until the next year.

1910 - Frances Mackey, Eva Massey, Willye White, Amelia Brooke
from Madison College: The First Fifty Years 1908-1958
by Raymond C. Dingledine, Jr.

These women are not in my family tree, but the little bits of information about them available online indicate they were talented, smart, and serious women.

from School Ma'am 1911 Ancestry

AMELIA H. BROOKE

(7 May 1889 – 20 Feb 1980)

Member of the first graduating class, 1911

Amelia’s mother was the matron (aka “Dorm Mother”) on campus. Mrs. Brooke and Amelia also took care of any student who became ill.

Amelia never married. She worked for the government first in the Department of the Interior, then US Treasury, and finally with the IRS where she retired.

Activities

President Pinquet Tennis Club

Captain Basketball Team

Charter member of the Lanier Literary Society and the first President

Chairman of Social Committee for YWCA

Business manager for the yearbook

from School Ma'am 1912 Ancestry 

WILLYE O. WHITE

(23 Jul 1895 – 22 Feb 1944)

Willye studied to become a kindergarten teacher, but it appears she never worked. Her mother ran a boarding house in Boykins, Southampton County, VA. Maybe Willye helped her. Willye married sometime around 1925 but was left a widow when her husband died from injuries in an explosion while engineering a train. In 1940, she married Hinton Smith, a boarder in Willye’s mother’s boarding house.

Activities

Basketball team

Pinquet Tennis Club

Glee Club

Lee Literary Society

FRANCES I. MACKEY

from School Ma'am 1913 Ancestry 

(19 Sep 1893 – 8 Nov 1981)

From at least 1915-1922 Frances was on the faculty of the Harrisonburg Teachers College teaching Manual Arts. She left to pursue further education. In 1933, she married Thurston Huffman and continued teaching, probably in Rockbridge County, Virginia.

Activities

Tip Top Basketball Team 1910

Captain of the Sophomore Basketball Team in 1911, Junior team in 1912

Vice-President Racquet Tennis Club 1912

Executive Committee German Club 1911 (dance society, not foreign language)

Secretary of the Lanier Literary Society in the Third Term

Glee Club

Vice-President of the Art Club 1913

Art Editor for the yearbook 1913

EVA D. MASSEY

from School Ma'am 1912 Ancestry

(13 Oct 1892 – 31 Aug 1970)

Eva was a lifelong educator in the public-school system in Clarke County, Virginia. She never married.

Activities

Associate Editor for the yearbook 1910

Secretary and Treasurer of the Racquet Tennis Club 1910

Charter Member of the Lanier Society, Secretary 1911

Secretary YWCA

These four were among the first students, the ones who shaped the traditions at my alma mater. The two literary societies these women helped start, Lee and Lanier, enhanced their education by presenting programs of biographical studies, debates, essays, readings, and special music. While the literary societies were abandoned long ago, the colors selected by the two societies gave us our school colors: GOLD from Lee’s gray and gold, and PURPLE from Lanier’s violet and white (the violet became purple because it was an easier color to obtain in pennants, sports uniforms, etc.).

My alma mater has come a long way from its simple beginnings as a 2-building campus. That empty field beside the hospital? See it today.

Rockingham Memorial Hospital grew and remodeled many times
but notice the original portico remained.
Instead of a field, there is Burruss Hall (academic building), parking lot,
AND a street!
JMU purchased the hospital building when RMH moved to its new site.

Be a good sport and see what other bloggers have come up with at Sepia Saturday.

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - HANDED DOWN: Two Bibles

From the time I became interested in my mother’s family history, I heard there was a family Bible SOMEWHERE. No one seemed to know who had it. Maybe it was written in German. If so, then that would be from my 3X great-grandfather Fielding Jollett and his wife Mary Ann Armentrout. She was among the first generation born in the Shenandoah Valley to German immigrants. I began to imagine all the questions that could be answered if only I could find that Bible. However, none of the Jollett descendants seemed to know anything about it. I began to think maybe a Jollett Bible just did not exist. 

Many years later, my cousin Glenn passed away. As his widow Fran went through some of his things, she decided to return family memorabilia. Glenn had been in possession of 2 old Bibles. Fran sent them to my aunt. When I asked to borrow them, she said I could just have them. Woohoo!

Davis Bibles
Mitchell Davis's Bible on the left
Walter Davis's Bible on the right

It turns out they are not written in German at all. And they are not from the Jollett side of the family. They are Davis Bibles.

MITCHELL DAVIS BIBLE

Mitchell and Martha Davis's Bible

 This is clearly the older of the two Bibles. The publication information on a torn page indicates the Bible was printed in 1846. Perhaps the Bible was a wedding gift for my 2X great-grandparents Mitchell Davis and Martha Ann Willson who settled in Beldor, Rockingham County, Virginia following their marriage in 1846.

The condition is best described as POOR. Pages are crumpled and stained with mildew. 

But here is a sweet find: a dried flower. 

Dried flower in the Davis Bible
Was it a wedding keepsake?

I wonder if it could be a flower Martha carried or wore in what appears to be a wedding portrait (IF indeed this is Mitchell and Martha – identities are not confirmed).

Is this Mitchell and Martha?

Family Bibles are usually good sources for women seeking to join a lineage society like Daughters of the American Revolution because they confirm family relationships and dates. This Bible did not have the “built-in” pages to record births, marriages, and deaths, so someone sewed loose-leaf paper into the binding.

 

Old threads and loose leaf paper

The important dates all relate to Mitchell and Martha’s children, their births, their marriages, and their deaths. When I saw the page listing the deaths of members of the Davis family, I thought, “YES – my ticket to DAR” because there they were: 2 entries for Leonard Davis, who were Mitchell’s father and grandfather. Surely this would help prove my lineage to Revolutionary War soldier Leonard Davis of Albemarle County. Or so I thought.

 

Deaths in the Mitchell Davis Bible
include Leonard Sr and Jr,
Leonard Jr's wife Frances,
Mitchell and Martha

Unfortunately, the Davis Bible did not secure my membership. The DAR genealogist pointed out that even though the pages are old and the handwriting looks of the time, there is nothing to say that one Leonard was Mitchell’s father, or that one Leonard was father of the other Leonard. I would have to find something else to connect the genealogical dots.

Still I find this Bible fascinating. Written on the inside covers are notes one does not typically associate with a Bible. There are no references to favorite books, chapters, verses. Instead there are mathematical calculations and lists. Mitchell was a carpenter by trade. Was he estimating the costs of a building project, creating a bill perhaps? Did he have no scrap paper?

Chimney, Floors, Roof, Doors, Windows,
Mantle, Stairway

Math calculation:
26 times 2 is 52
52 divided by 3 is 17 1/3

WALTER DAVIS BIBLE

Walter Davis Bible
printed before 1890

This Bible displays features of a high-quality publication. The cover is ornate tooled leather. A colorful map and gallery of illustrations of Biblical stories are printed on slick paper. The all-important fill-in-the-blank family records are included. There is even a page for family members to sign their names to the Temperance Pledge. (What does it say that no one signed?)

 

Otherwise the condition is equally poor, and the back cover is missing.

I know this Bible belonged to my great-grandparents Walter Davis and Mary Frances Jollett because the dates begin with them. Their children are included. 

Mary Frances also added pertinent dates about her parents, one grandfather, brothers and sisters, all neatly penned on loose leaf paper stapled onto the Temperance Pledge.

Mary Frances included her parents' dates of birth
and death; her grandfather's date of death,
dates of death for her father and siblings

Scraps of paper found in the Bible

The Walter Davis Bible, like that of his parents, includes some odd bits of ephemera: slice of cardboard with the name and address of one of Walter’s sisters, a scrap of paper containing incomplete addresses and phone numbers with mathematical calculations on the back. It appears someone was figuring out how old someone was at death – I recognize the dates. There is a transcription of births and deaths of the Davis children; apparently someone wanted a copy but failed to take it with them. Loose-leaf papers were inserted with “new information” as someone married or died.

While the Bibles do not answer all my questions, it is gratifying to be able to insert an exact date of birth or death in place of a broad estimate of “before 1830,” “circa 1800,” “after 1880,” and so on and so on. What I appreciate most about this Bible is that this is where Mary Frances saved the newspaper clippings of her sister’s obituaries.

Collection of obituaries

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

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Woman at the Window

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

There is nothing remarkable about this week’s Sepia Saturday prompt featuring a woman near a window. Yet surprisingly it tricked me into noticing in how many photos my grandaunt Lillie Killeen was positioned near a window.

Lillie at work 1942

Lillie at Aunt Helen's house 1966

Lillie visiting on Tangier Island 1973

I have written about Lillie several times HERE and HERE. Today I want to share two funny stories about her.

The Potted Plant

While her sister Helen Killeen Parker was away, Lillie looked after the things at the house. She faithfully watered the flowers and plants, even the ones inside. However, one of the healthiest-looking potted plants was actually made of SILK. (We’ve all been fooled like that, right? Right??)

Oven Bags

In my early married life, the Reynolds Oven Roasting Bags were all the rage. Everyone was thrilled to be able to roast a chicken or turkey in one. Turkey came out juicy. A pot roast was perfect and the vegetables were not mushy. When her friends touted the benefits of cooking in a bag, Lillie wanted to get on board. So she got a plastic bag, added a nice roast, and popped it in the oven. Only it wasn’t a legitimate roasting bag, just a regular ol’ plastic bag. The results were exactly as you’d expect.

Now I don’t mean to sound like I’m laughing at her. Well, ok, yes, I am. It’s a funny story. However, I do not mean to imply she was stupid. I think she was a victim of her age and changing technology much like people of my generation struggle to adjust to the world of computers and social media. Keeping pace is often a challenge.

Young Lillie

When I look back at Lillie, I do not see a silly old woman tripped up by technology. I see the caregiver. Lillie was the first of 9 children born to Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh, 6 with John Joseph Killeen and 3 with John Fleming Walsh. She was probably always charged with taking care of SOMEBODY.

Lillie with Mae's baby John 1917

She doted on her sister Mae’s children.

She traveled from Virginia to New York to help a cousin who had just given birth.

Lillie in New York 1917

Lillie in New York 1920
Even the doors have windows

Whenever her sister Helen entertained, Lillie was right there at her side making sure everyone was served and taken care of. My sister is just like that. “Lillie Jr” rattles around in the kitchen preparing food and filling glasses for everyone, rarely taking time to join in the fun herself. I have to tell my sister, “OK, Lillie, you can sit down now.”

 

Lillie 1977 at Helen's house

The window on the world is open at Sepia Saturday.

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - WEDDING: The Honor of Your Presence or Presents

My grandaunt Helen Killeen must have had a lovely wedding. The invitation was embossed, not merely printed, on cream-colored card.

 

3 Nov 1927 Thursday morning wedding
Helen Martha Killeen and Herbert Webb Parker

For someone who saved a gazillion pictures of herself and friends at the beach and on camping trips, I am puzzled by the total absence of even one single wedding photo. With no photo of the actual ceremony or reception, I must wonder if Aunt Helen wore a wedding gown or a nice suit, if she carried a bouquet or wore a corsage, if she had a number of bridesmaids or just one witness. Judging by the formality of the invitation and the list of gifts in her wedding gift book, it must have been a beautiful event with many guests.

 

The wedding gift book lists 65 gifts and guests

Some of Helen's wedding crystal
Pattern: Rose by Fry Glass

I have enjoyed researching the names of the guests in search of family connections and stories worth telling. But what I love best, though, is the list of gifts she received. Bedspreads and dresser scarves. Silver. Glassware. Those were the days. I doubt anyone asks for silver these days. Likely no one requests pickle forks, oyster forks, lettuce forks, preserve spoons or tomato servers, no matter what they are made of.

Helen and Herbert received lots of glassware: 3 dozen sherbet glasses, 18 goblets, 18 ice tea glasses, a couple sandwich plates, a couple mayonnaise bowls, some cut glass pickle dishes and sugar bowls, and any number of colored glass bowls. I was the lucky recipient of her water pitcher and matching sherbets, goblets, and ice tea glasses – not all 72 pieces though. I wonder if she exchanged some of the gifts. Who needs 36 sherbet glasses?

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

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.