52 Ancestors - TRAGEDY: A Charmed Life

Sometimes I think I live a charmed life. I have had no personal experience with REAL tragedy. Yes, my parents and grandparents died from cancer, but that was not “tragic.” No close family has died in a fire or been a victim of a mass murder spree. I had no family in the World Trade Center in 2001. No plane crash victims either.

However, many years ago, distant relatives experienced unspeakable tragedies.

The Roberts Kids  - The toddler children of my great-grandmother’s niece were hit by a train.

Mary Alice – The daughter of my 2X great-grandfather’s great-nephew was born healthy, but infantile paralysis left her mentally and physically disabled.

Death by Fire - Several distant aunts and cousins lost children due to fire.

Real McCoy – What is more tragic than the murder of a grandmother by her own grandson?

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.

Sentimental Sunday: Two Steppes

This week is sentimental for the Steppe family. My grandfather’s dear cousin Vessie Jollette Steppe was born August 21, 1904.

Her son Andrew Jollette “Jolly” Steppe died on 15 August 1973.

Gilbert Steppe, Jolly, and Vessie

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday - Sisters

In the Elk Run Cemetery in Rockingham County, Virginia, stand 2 tombstones belonging to sisters who never knew the other.

They were daughters of my great-grandfather Walter Davis’s brother Josiah Davis and his wife Elizabeth Frances Powell.

Mary F. Davis lived just one day shy of her first birthday having been born on June 8, 1886 and died on June 7, 1887.

At her back is her sister Cora V. Davis who was born June 20, 1891 and died a couple weeks after her birthday on July 12, 1892.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

On This Day: Uncle Renza

"Uncle Renza," my mother Mary Eleanor Davis,
her father Orvin Davis
mid 1930s

Lorenza Rydell McKinley Davis, younger brother of my great-grandfather Walter Davis, died 11 August 1947.

He married Chelie Ann Shiflett in 1892. They had 6 children. 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday: Josy and Kenneth

Walter and Mary Frances Jollett Davis buried 3 children. Josy and Kenneth are in Coverstone Cemetery in Shenandoah, Virginia. I do not know where their first child was buried, nor do I know the cause of death. Kenneth was born jaundiced. 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - FAVORITE NAME: Hail to the Red, White and Blue

Decades following the birth of the United States, names honoring our heroes and places became popular. That is why we see so many boys named Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and even Fayette for Lafayette.

from wikimedia commons

Several women in my family carry patriotic names too. One is America Mallory. On November 14, 1833 she became the second of three wives of Leland Frazier, brother of my 3X great-grandmother Nancy Frazier Shiflett.

America and Leland had several children together but one daughter always stands out because of her patriotic name: Columbia. I can’t help thinking the choice was intentional for its patriotic associations. From the 18^th century, “Columbia” has been used to personify the United States, often as a patriotic figure draped with a flag.

At the time of the American Revolution “Columbia” was a poetic name for the “colonies in the New World,” a nod to Christopher Columbus. Following independence, the name Columbia was assigned to many towns and institutions. Kings College in New York City was renamed Columbia College, now Columbia University. The area that became the seat of our national government became the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania, Missouri, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, and Connecticut all have a town or county named Columbia. South Carolina named its capitol city Columbia. Savannah, Georgia boasts a square called Columbia.

1890s political cartoon in which 
Columbia reaches out to the oppressed Cuba
(wikimedia commons)

In modern times the name has been applied widely from Columbia Records and Columbia Broadcasting System to the Apollo 11 command module and a space shuttle.

America and Columbia – those are two grand names that need to make a come-back.

World War 1 rercruitment poster
Uncle Sam isn't the only one
who wants you!
(wikimedia commons)

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: Josy

Josy Davis was born on August 1, 1901.

Josy Davis
1901-1903

She was the fourth child and first daughter of my great-grandparents Walter and Mary Frances Jollett Davis.

Millard, Orvin, Josy Davis
1902

She was also the second of their children to die very young.

This picture of my grandfather and Josy was always on the fireplace mantle in my grandparents’ home.

Josy and Orvin

 Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.