Back to School - Who Was In Gt-grandmother Rosa's Class?

I enjoyed looking at this picture from my father's collection. Gt-grandmother Rosa (Shipman) Smalley was the teacher and I recognized my grandmother, Lucie Smalley, as one of the students. However, someone, I don't remember who, provided names for all those in this photo.

back row: Jay Shipman, Ralph Smalley, Edd Wilson, Rosa Smalley, Ellery Wilson, May Wilson, Cecile Sigman

middle row: Bill Kipps, Arthur Sigman, Frank Sigman, Lucie Smalley, Mart Shipman, Bessie Kipps

front row: Celia Smalley, Clayton Shipman, Gertie Kipps, Lillie Wilson, Lake Smalley

I don't know the date this photo was taken, but can give a guess by knowing when each of the Smalley children was born: Ralph - 1884, Lucie - 1886, Lake - 1890, Celia - 1892. From yesterday's post we know Rosa had a certificate to teach at least from 1894 to 1899. If Celia started school at 6, it would be 1898. But since her mother was the teacher, maybe they let her start at age 5 which would date the photo as 1897. So I think probably 1897 or 1898 is the correct date.

Back to School - Gt-grandmother Rosa Was a School Teacher

My cousin Bob Smalley shared these documents with me over 20 years ago. It's fun to see the "grades" my gt-grandmother Rosa (Shipman) Smalley received when she took the teacher examinations to get her certificate in Sherman County Kansas. There is one issued in 1894, one in 1895 and another in 1897. The third grade certificate lasted 1 year, the second grade ones lasted 2 years.

Ancestor Birthday - Mary Magdalene Hockett - 1855 - 1901

My gt-grandmother, Mary Magdalene Hockett was born 4 Sep 1855 in Lee County, Iowa, the daughter of Francis and Rebecca (Hartley) Hockett. Mary was the 10th child out of 11. It was a Quaker family and her parents were married in Indiana and came with a number of other Quakers, including many family members, to Henry County Iowa in the late 1830's. They moved to neighboring Lee County a few years before she was born. It was 1863 when they moved farther north to Hardin County Iowa and it was there she met Nathan Elias Albertson who was also from a Quaker family.

It was just a little over a month after her 15th birthday, 8 Oct 1870, when she and Nathan were married. I think she looked very young in their wedding photo. I have always wondered why they chose to be married by a justice of the peace rather than the traditional Quaker way. Maybe her parents didn't approve. It was her older brother Thomas who gave testimony about her age.

They apparently made amends with their Quaker congregation because they are listed there with some of their children in 1891 and granted a certificate to the meeting in Sherman County, Kansas.

It was about 1875 when this photo was taken with Mary, Nathan, and their 2 oldest children, Lenah and Calvin. Two more children were born, Arthur and Oran (my grandfather) before they moved to Kansas when Nathan applied for a homestead in Sherman County and moved onto 160 acres in March 1887. It must have been interesting for Mary to live the life of a homesteader.

I expect she missed her daughter when she was married in 1891, a few days after her 20th birthday. Maybe Mary missed her even more when her youngest child, Ernest, was born in 1893.

It has always made me a little sad to realize that Mary died when she was just 45 years old, 10 Jul 1901.

Treasured Memories From the Past - Joanne Had a Cat

Since Joanne Albertson lived on a farm, there always seemed to be lots of cats around. It looks like she didn't want to let this one get away.

Do you have any photos of the family with their pets that you could share?

Ancestor Birthday - September - Margaret Jane England 1833 - 1897

Margaret Jane England was my 2nd gt-grandmother. The family Bible of her brother John gives just  the month of her birth, so I have chosen to post her page today.

I have posted a rather complete summary of her life on my website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/p13.htm#i318

Therefore I won't write anymore, but post some photos of their family which include her.

First is her wedding photo to Commodore Perry O'Neal from 1858

Second is a photo with their daughter Mary Ann, who was born in 1858.

 

Third is a photo with the whole family, including sons John, Edward and George.

Some More Falk Family Pictures of Children

A couple of weeks ago I posted some Falk Family Pictures of Children from the Salem relatives. These are some from the Halsey - Harrisburg group, Linn County, Oregon. 

This photo on the right has my mother, Wilma Falk the daughter of Julius Falk, in the back. In the front is her sister Lois Falk and Delma Falk, one of the granddaughters of Charles Falk, an older brother to Julius. Delma was a 1st cousin once removed to Wilma and Lois, although they were very close in age. This photo was from around 1920.

This photo below was also from around 1920. This is Elsie and May Powell. These were great-granddaughters of Charles, so they were 1st cousins twice removed to Wilma and Lois. Again they were close in age.

Ancestor Unbirthday - Abt 1815 - Ludwig Falk

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Yesterday I posted about my German gt-grandmother and today is her husband, Ludwig Falk, my German gt-grandfather. Most of what I wrote about her after their marriage would apply to him also. So what do I want to write today?

When was Ludwig born? I am not sure about the date which has been published in some of the on-line family trees, 5 Jul 1815. It could be correct, but I haven't seen the original source to be able to evaluate it. Where was he born? There are some entries in the on-line trees, but they don't seem reasonable to me.

I believe that Ludwig was married for the first time 2 Apr 1839 at the evangelical church at Grabau, Kries Wirsitz, Posen Province, Prussia (now a part of Poland.) Grabau was located about 30 kilometers west of Nakel where he married Anna Louise. His first wife was Marianna Kuss, the widow of Stephen Vinski. Their first child, Rosalie, was baptized at Grabau in 1840. I haven't yet found the record for August, said to be born in 1842. Wilhelmine was born in 1845 at Bielawer Kolonia and baptized at Nakel. Henriette was born in 1849 at the same location and both she and her mother died soon after that because Ludwig remarried in 1850.

When Ludwig was married at Nakel, his place of residence was again listed as Bielawer Kolonia. His occupation was kolonist. Wikipedia defines that as Colonist, person who migrates to a colony , a settlement in another country, militaryly managed by his homeland. I believe this means that Ludwig or his family were Germans who moved to Poland when it was partitioned to Prussia. A recent map of the area shows the village of Bielawy located about 3 kilometers west of Naklo nad Notecia (the Polish name for Nakel).

Research in a different country is difficult, so I am glad that Ludwig and his family immigrated to the United States in 1858, and it was there my grandfather was born in 1880.