52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 21 – Military

Yes, I do know that week 21 was last week, so I am late, which is not that uncommon for me. I had thought that I would probably skip this theme because most of my family did not serve in the military and I had already written about many who did. However, yesterday I saw that Ancestry had added a new database to their collection, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, so I decided to look up some family names in that collection and write about them today.

I started with Albertson in Linn County, Oregon. There was my father, Lester Albertson and his first cousin Earle Albertson, both listed as Halsey, Linn County, Oregon as their residence place. My father's registration was on 16 Oct 1940. I checked the historical background for this database as given by Ancestry:

“The U.S. officially entered World War II on 8 December 1941 following an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. About a year before, in October 1940, President Roosevelt had signed into law the first peacetime selective service draft in U.S. history because of rising world conflicts. Multiple registrations held between November 1940 and October 1946 signed up more than 50 million American men aged 18–45 for the draft.”

Although this states the registrations began in November, apparently Linn County started soon after the law was passed.

Next I looked at my Falk cousins who lived in Linn County. There were 10 of them listed, except Gerald was my uncle, not cousin. The first 5 were registered on the same day as my father, 16 Oct 1940. The next 2 were registered on 1 Jul 1941, still before war had been declared. They both were born in 1920, so were age 21 before that date. The next 3 were on or a few days after their 18^th birthday. They were registered near the end or after the end of World War II. Here is a listing as found on Ancestry.

Name	Birthdate	Registration Date
Charles Donald Falk	08 Nov 1913	16 Oct 1940
Leslie Edgar Falk	03 Jun 1915	16 Oct 1940
Russell Charles Falk	05 Apr 1915	16 Oct 1940
Omar Ellsworth Falk	27 Aug 1916	16 Oct 1940
Rawley Lincoln Falk	12 Feb 1918	16 Oct 1940
Everett Henry Falk	21 Jun 1920	01 Jul 1941
Lyman Lyle Falk	15 Feb 1920	01 Jul 1941
Louis Raymond Falk	12 Apr 1926	12 Apr 1944
Gerald Keith Falk	01 Aug 1927	08 Aug 1945
Delmer Orvilee Falk	13 Mar 1929	13 Mar 1947

I checked one more place. Were any of my relatives in Sherman County, Kansas registered?  The answer is yes. An Albertson cousin, Wilfred Glen Albertson, and a Smalley cousin, Lauren Bobby Smalley, were both registered on that first date, 16 Oct 1940.  For these 2, Ancestry provided a link to Fold 3, where I could see a copy of the actual registration. So here are those 2 registrations. 

So, what did I learn from this? Often it pays to check the research databases to see if any of the new records will include your family members.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 20 – Another Language

The records for my Falk ancestors that I have found before they came to the United States are written in German.

The ones I have found were in Posen Province of Prussia, which is now in Poland. But they attended the Evangelische or protestant church and spoke German. Most of these records are quite difficult for me to read.

Here are some examples:

The birth record for my gt-grandmother: Anna Luise Boehm, from the church at Nakel.

The death record for my 2^nd gt-grandfather: Michael Boehm from the church at Nakel.

And I am hoping this is the birth record for my gt-grandfather, Ludwig/Carl Ludwig Falk, from the church at Wirsitz.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 19 – Mother's Day

I skipped week 18, but here is week 19 – Mother's Day.

All the females in my family tree have this one thing in common. They were all mothers. Also they were all grandmothers. I like this photo shared with me by my cousin, Robert Bond, of my 2^nd gt-grandmother, Huldah (Hayes) Bond, showing her with 5 of her grandchildren. It was taken about 1901 and I believe the grandchildren were, beginning at the left corner and going clockwise around her: Lela Bond, daughter of Charles; Lawrence Bond, son of Melvin; Leland Bond, son of Harvey; Guy Bond, son of Melvin and Bessie Bond, daughter of Charles.

Another thing that all the women on my family tree have in common is that they are all daughters. But for some of them I have been unable to establish who they are the daughter of. On my website, www.joanneskelton.com, I have a menu item named “special people.” In that category is a section called “earliest ancestors.” In that long list are a number of women without any identified parents.

Last year I discovered that even if I had recorded parents for an ancestor, maybe I did not have good documentation for that connection. One of my Bond cousins was attempting to join the DAR through an ancestor of Huldah's mother and the documentation was not enough to connect Huldah to her parents.

Why did I believe that Huldah was the daughter of Seth Hayes and Lydia Jewett?

• I had a published family history, Little Otter to Lost River, about Huldah's mother-in-law's family and on page 69 it stated “Solomon Bond...was married to Huldah Hayes,...daughter of Seth and Lydia Jewett Hayes...”
• I had a booklet compiled for the Bond family reunion in 1963 which stated they were her parents.
• The Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims, Supplement to Volume I, Volume V, stated on page 45, “BOND, Solomon, ….m Huldah Hayes, dau of Seth and Lydia Jewell Hayes.”
• I had a photocopy of a family history of the Hayes family which stated Huldah was the daughter of Seth and Lydia.
• I had a copy of the Geauga County Ohio marriage record for Seth and Lydia.

But the DAR wanted better documentation showing Huldah was their daughter.

What were the obstacles for finding this?

• Her parents were Methodist so it was unlikely that church records documenting her birth could be found.
• Huldah was married in 1842, so she never appeared by name in the household of her parents on a census.
• The marriage record from 1842 in Iowa did not name parents.
• Huldah was born in Ohio in 1827, which was about 30 years before Ohio even enacted a law for birth registration.
• Although an abstract for early wills in Linn County Oregon where Seth died showed an heir as Huldah Boyd, a probable misreading for the name Bond, the original will record seems to have been lost.

What did I do? I made a trip to the Linn County Courthouse and requested a search for any probate records for Seth Hayes. I was so thankful when they telephoned me and said that a file had been found and I could have it emailed to me for just $3.00. Of course I paid it gratefully. When it arrived I was so glad to find that Huldah was among the heirs and did receive money from her father's estate. I shared this for the DAR application and now my cousin is a member.

I am confident that Huldah was the daughter of Seth and Lydia.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 17 – Cemetery

Sorry but I missed week 15 and 16, may get back to them later, but decided it was better to go ahead and do 17 and go on from there. This photo is of a local cemetery. None of my ancestors are buried there, but I do have a 2^nd gt-grandaunt, Mary Ann (England) Dillard, and a 1^st cousin 3 times removed, Eliza Jane (England) Lebow, in that cemetery.

I feel fortunate that I have been able to visit many of the burial places of my ancestors. My parents and grandparents are all buried close enough to where I live (Lane County, Oregon) that I can visit their graves each Memorial Day, as well as one set of 2^nd gt-grandparents.

Through the years I have been able to visit all the graves on the following list, except 3 (2 gt-grandparents in Wisconsin and 2^nd gt-grandmother in Steven County Kansas.) I posted photos of four of the cemeteries  on May 29 and 30 in 2017 (Alford, Rest Haven, Creswell and Oak Creek)

Here is a chart of 4 generations with their names (women's maiden names), locations (Cemetery, County and State) and my relationship to them.

Name	Cemetery	County	State	Relationship
Lester O. Albertson	Alford	Linn	Oregon	father
Wilma A. Falk	Alford	Linn	Oregon	mother
Oran J. Albertson	Rest Haven	Lane	Oregon	grandfather
Lucie R. Smalley	Rest Haven	Lane	Oregon	grandmother
Julius A. Falk	Alford	Linn	Oregon	grandfather
Florence E. Bond	Alford	Linn	Oregon	grandmother
Nathan E. Albertson	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandfather
Mary M. Hockett	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandmother
Lafayette P. Smalley	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandfather
Rosa E. Shipman	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandmother
Ludwig Falk	Avoca	Iowa	Wisconsin	gt-grandfather
Anna L. Boehm	Avoca	Iowa	Wisconsin	gt-grandmother
John H. Bond	Oak Creek	Douglas	Oregon	gt-grandfather
Mary A. O'Neal	Oak Creek	Douglas	Oregon	gt-grandmother
Rebecca D. Hartley	Bethel	Stevens	Kansas	2nd gt-grandmother
John W. Smalley	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas	2nd gt-grandfather
Rachel A. Hemphill	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas	2nd gt-grandmother
Joshua R. Shipman	Edson	Sherman	Kansas	2nd gt-grandfather
Lucy J. Chase	Edson	Sherman	Kansas	2nd gt-grandmother
Solomon Bond	Halsey Pioneer	Linn	Oregon	2nd gt-grandfather
Huldah Hayes	Halsey Pioneer	Linn	Oregon	2nd gt-grandmother
C. P. O'Neal	Creswell	Lane	Oregon	2nd gt-grandfather
Margaret J. England	Creswell	Lane	Oregon	2nd gt-grandmother

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 14 – Priscilla (Hayes) Windom Hill

The theme for this week is “Maiden Aunt” I did not find a maiden aunt within my closer generations, so decided to write about an “aunt” who escaped marriage, was married, was divorced and then remarried during her 35 years of life in the mid -1800s.

My 2^nd gt-grandaunt Priscilla was the daughter of Seth and Lydia (Jewett) Hayes. She was the youngest of 8 children and was the only one born in Indiana as her older siblings were born in Ohio. She was born 5 Feb 1837. Apparently the family was not in Indiana for long as by 1840 the family was listed on the census in Jefferson County Iowa.

By 1850 her 5 oldest siblings were all married. But when her parents decided to go to Oregon in 1853 all the family went together on a wagon train where Nelson Davis was Captain. Nelson's wife was a sister to 2 of Priscilla's brothers-in-law. So it really was a family affair.

In the Year Book of 1968 for the Jewett Family of America, a granddaughter of Priscilla's sister Louisa related a story she had heard about 16 year old Priscilla on that journey. When some friendly Indians visited where the wagon train was camped, they had spread out blankets and it seems that Priscilla picked one up and put it around her shoulders and danced around. It was then they discovered their Indian custom was that it meant she would be married to that Indian. Apparently it took a fair amount of persuading to get the Indians to leave and they continued to follow the train for several days. But Priscilla did not have to marry the Indian and she arrived safely in Oregon. But there was sadness on that trip, for one of Priscilla's sisters delivered a baby girl while they were traveling in the Blue Mountains and then died when they were going over Mt. Hood.

I wonder if Priscilla was excited when her 22 year old sister Sybil was married to Benjamin Windom in the fall of 1853. It was in the spring of 1854 when Priscilla, at age 17, married Benjamin's brother, Drury Douglas Windom. By the time of the 1860 census Priscilla and Douglas and their 3 children (Alanson, James Henry and Polly Anna) were living with her unmarried brother, Ebenezer, in the Peoria Precinct of Linn County, Oregon. In about 5 more years, 3 more children were born to this family: Emily, Jesse and Carrie.

But things must have gone wrong somehow, because Priscilla filed for divorce and 31 Oct 1868 the Circuit Court in Linn County granted her a divorce with custody of the children. The next door neighbor in 1860, George M. Hill, was now a widower and he and Priscilla were married on the 14^th of Nov 1868. So when the 1870 census was taken it included George and Priscilla; George's 3 daughters ages 12 – 17; Priscilla's 6 children ages 5 – 15; and their 1 year old daughter Sarah.

It was about a year and a half later. 2 Mar 1872, when Priscilla died at age 35. Her infant daughter Lydia died almost a month later on 29 Mar 1872.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 13 – The Old Homestead

The theme for this week is “The Old Homestead.” It was during the Civil War, in May of 1862 when the United States Congress passed the Homestead Act. I believe that 6 of my ancestors chose to use that legislation and gain “free” land: 2 in Oregon, 3 in Kansas and 1 in Nebraska.

So who were my “Homesteaders”? I'll begin with those from Oregon. My 2^nd gt-grandfather, Commodore Perry O'Neal, received a patent dated 30 Jun 1891 for 164.53 acres located adjacent to land he had purchased in 1870. This was about 4 miles west of the town of Creswell in Lane County, Oregon. His son-in-law John Howard Bond, my gt-grandfather, received his patent about a year earlier, 28 May 1890, for 160 acres located about 2 miles northwest of Commodore Perry's land. John sold his land in 1893 and moved across the Cascade Mountains to Gilliam County Oregon where he stayed about 10 years before moving back to the Willamette Valley. Commodore Perry stayed on his land until his death in 1919. He had deeded his land to his 3 sons about 2 months before he died.

In Kansas, my gt-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, received his patent 28 Sep 1893 for 160 acres in McPherson township, Sherman County Kansas. As I noted in a blog post about his homesteading last year, 9 Sep 2017, it was located about 10 miles southwest of the County Seat, Goodland Kansas.¹ Before the 1900 census he had moved to another township in the County, Washington Township, about 2 ½ miles west of the town of Edson Kansas.

Nathan's future daughter-in-law's (Lucie Rachel Smalley) grandfather, my 2^nd gt-grandfather, Joshua Rodney Shipman had a homestead also in Washington Township. His patent was dated 23 Sep 1893 for 159.28 acres, located about 2 ½ miles southwest of the town of Edson.

Lucie's other grandfather, another of my 2^nd gt-grandfathers, John Wilson Smalley received his patent 29 Apr 1893 for 160 acres in Itasca Township, Sherman County, Kansas. This was a mile east of Goodland and so was about 5 miles west of where Nathan lived in Washington Township.

It was one of my 3^rd gt-grandmothers who received the patent to a homestead in Nebraska, Lucy Irene Chase (the mother-in-law to Joshua Rodney Shipman.) Lucy's husband Timothy had originally filed for the homestead, but died in 1877 before it was finalized. She received the patent for 80 acres 30 Jun 1879 as his widow. This land was in Atlanta Township, Saline County Nebraska.

Knowing that some who filed for homesteads did not complete the process, I was glad to discover that at least 6 of my ancestors did the required work and were issued patents. Maybe I should also be thankful to the U.S. Congress for passing such a law so my family had the opportunity to be landowners.

1The blog post about Nathan Elias Albertson's homestead is at:

https://joannesgenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/02/great-grandfatheralbertson-had.html

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 12 – Misfortune

The theme for this week is misfortune. It was in March in 1932 when a misfortune came to my mother's family. She had graduated from high school, but was dating my father and her home was still with her family: her parents, Julius and Florence (Bond) Falk and her siblings Lois, Erma, Violet and Gerald Falk.

This clipping from the Eugene Register Guard of 11 Mar 1932 describes what happened.

I found another clipping and learned that it was Violet who had discovered the fire about 4 o'clock when she went upstairs to rest, as she was not feeling well. Julius was gone at the time. This clipping stated that arrangements were underway to replace the house, which had been built 19 years before.

Another clipping was a Card of Thanks from the family to the community: “We wish to thank those who were so kind and thoughtful during the loss of our house. Words cannot express our gratitude to everyone who helped in removing the contents during the fire, and we wish to especially thank all who had contributed to our home since. Julius Falk and family.” 

I have a letter that my mother wrote to my father about 2 weeks after the fire, on 24 Mar 1932, where she stated: “My Dad said that he offered the O. E. [Oregon Electric Railroad] man $125 for the house and they wanted to know if he couldn't give $150 for it. He'll hear from them next week about it I guess.” I had always been told that they moved an Oregon Electric Railroad house from the Cartney siding as the Railroad no longer needed an employee to live there. The siding was a little less than a mile from their home. 

I wish I had asked my mother more about it before she died. She did tell me that she was sorry that many of her keepsakes had been stored in the attic and had been destroyed so she couldn't show them to me.

I wonder if some of my cousins did find out from their parents more about the fire.