Week 27: The Great Outdoors

 

Charles Albert Casto

20 Dec 1886 - 5 Sep 1951

I thought of Great-granduncle Charles for two reasons when I considered the topic for this week's blog.  First, his height was extraordinary for most branches of my family.  Standing here next to his sisters, his tall thin frame resembled a tree.  When Charles registered for the draft in World War II he stood 6 feet, 5 ½ inches tall and weighed just 190 pounds.  I'll have more to say about the second reason a little later.  

Charles was born in Rensselaer, Indiana, the fifth child of Jerome Casto (1854-1900) and Addrean Ann Hilton Casto (1852-1915).  His older siblings were Dennis Reason (b. 1876), William Howard (b. 1879), Minnie Lee (b. 1881), and Martha Matilda (b. 1884).  Benjamin Harrison (b. 1890) was the sixth child in the family. 

In the June 1900 Census Charles' age was recorded as 12 years old.  In order for that to be true, he would have been born in 1887 instead of 1886.  On the other hand, his draft registrations for both world wars, his death certificate, his headstone, and both obituaries I've seen list his birthdate as 20 Dec 1886. 

As a boy, Charles lived on his family's farm.  In the 1910 U.S. Census he still lived at home with his parents and worked as a farm laborer.  His age was stated as 22 but with a Dec of 1886 birthdate he should have been 23 in April of that year.  If the enumerator questioned either his mother or his father on the 1900 and 1910 Census records, they were off by one year each time. 

On 30 Jun 1914 when he was 27 Charles married Emma Albine Dressen in Clay County, Mississippi.  That made me curious.  How did an Indiana farmer meet and marry a Mississippi girl?  I'm still looking for a clue to that mystery.  Charles and Emma had one daughter--or did they?  Rose Marie was born on 20 Apr 1929 in St. Joseph County, Indiana.  Interestingly, the 1920 Census showed that Charles and Emma had a 4-year old daughter named Dortha, which would give her a 1915 or 1916 birth year..  This census was the only place that Dortha ever appeared.  

I haven't found many details about Charles and Emma's life together.  I do know they worshipped in the St. James Lutheran Church and that their daughter Rose gave them four grandchildren.

As I read Charles' obituary I found references to his personality and interests:

 Although leading a rather secluded life while devoting himself to his family and nearby neighbors, Mr. Casto nevertheless formed many friendships.  He was a genial man whose engaging personality endeared him to all. 

He was devoted to the out-of-doors and enjoyed the field and stream.  His character was such as to earn him the profound respect of everyone.  He passing brings sorrow to many. 

It made me happy to know that Great-granduncle Charles loved the outdoors so much.  He was a perfect match for this posting.

Week 26: Slow

Donald Duane Scott

10 Jun 1927 - 30 Sep 2014

My dad moved slowly.  He never seemed to be in a rush.  He moved deliberately and took his time, whether he was walking or eating or talking.  He considered his words before he spoke and spoke quietly so, as a consequence, when he did speak it was something worth hearing. 

Dad was born as Donald Duane Scott in Milford, Indiana at 1:40 a.m. on 10 Jun 1927, the third of four sons born to A.C. and Eva Mae Bird Scott.  His brother Cleon "Jr" was 5 years old and his brother Forrest "Bud" was 3 years old when their new little brother joined the household.  Like most births at the time, Dad was born at home.  It was a Scott tradition to give each son a nickname and the one chosen for Donald was "Pat".  That nickname lasted for most of his life.

In 1930 when Dad was 3 years old the fourth Scott boy was born.  His new brother was named Franklin A. Scott but was forever known as "Skip" in the family.  What started as a happy family life at one time began to unravel and by 1932 Dad's parents had separated.  During the next two years Eva struggled with working and raising the boys as a single mother.  In 1934 she was granted a divorce.  Eva struggled again with being single until she told the boys in 1935 about her plans to marry a man named Ed Phillips.  Dad told me that he could remember worrying about learning to spell what he figured would be his new last name.  But he didn't need to worry. When Eva married her new husband she gave up custody of her four sons to start a new life and a new family as Eva Mae Phillips.  

Meanwhile, Dad and his brothers were left in the care of their grandfather W.O. Scott and a young housekeeper named Hazel DesVoignes while their dad worked out of state.  The Scott boys saw their mom occasionally but never got to know the man she married very well.  Dad's only real memory of Ed Phillips was that of him driving the boys home after a visitation with their mom.  As he drove, Ed would spit tobacco out the car window.  Instead of driving the boys all the way to their home Ed would stop a few blocks away and let them out before driving away.

Meanwhile, life with the housekeeper changed when she became Dad's stepmother in 1937.  Dad never spoke much about Hazel but I always suspected that she wasn't an ideal stepmother. Hazel was only 24 when she married a man who traveled for work, leaving her to care for four boys ages 15, 14, 10, and 7.  Maybe she would have become a good mother eventually but in 1940 Hazel died suddenly of a subdural hemorrhage. Dad told me that he was the one to make the long distance phone call to his father on the road to tell him about Hazel's death.

The next mother figure that came into Dad's life was a local farm wife who stayed with the boys during the week, cooking and cleaning and mothering them.  Dad spoke fondly of the two years that she cared for them.

Another tragedy came in 1942 when Dad's mom Eva died from pneumonia contracted after a surgery for ovarian cancer.  That same year Dad got a second step-mother.  Irene Shumaker was a 37-year old teacher.  She wasn't a warm, fuzzy person but she brought stability and order into the Scott family.

When I consider the series of events that happened to Dad between the ages of 7 and 15 I'm amazed that he wasn't scarred for life.  Instead, he became a stable, loving, normal, interesting man and father.  He never spoke a mean word about his mother and never talked disparagingly about either of his step-mothers.  He was a popular student at Milford High School, serving on the student council for three years (president of the council his junior year); running track for four; playing tuba in the band for three; acting in two class plays; and serving as the class secretary and yearbook sports editor in his senior year.  Dad chose to tell us about the positive things in his childhood and didn't dwell on the difficult losses he had.  Instead, he concentrated on creating a happy and stable home for his three children and I'm forever grateful to him for that gift.

Jr, Bud, Pat, Skip

Dad in his soap box derby car

senior picture

Dad with me at 18 months

Dad in June 2014

Week 25: Fast

It wasn't very long ago that I learned what little there is to know about a cousin of mine, Donald Paul Scott.  Donald was my 1st cousin 1x removed and until I stumbled on his name in an Ancestry.com hint I never knew that he had even existed.  His 109 days on earth passed quickly so I'd like to give him recognition by recording what I have found.

Donald was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 20 Sep 1934 to Angnes Sheridan Scott and William Franklin Scott, my grandaunt and granduncle.  Aunt Agnes was a native of Scotland and Uncle Frank was the brother of my paternal granddad Angus Cleon Scott.  We didn't get to see them often since their family lived in the Philadelphia area so that may be why I never heard the story of Donald Paul's short life.

When Donald was born he had one older sister, Mary, who was seventeen months old.  His younger sister Suzanne was born when he would have been nearly 7 and his baby sister Kathleen when he was 12.  Because of Mary's very young age when Donald was born she had no personal memory of him when I spoke with her in 2020 and Aunt Agnes passed away in 2000, long before I could have asked her about him.

Donald's cause of death was shown as Cerebro Spinal Meningitis, a bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.  The physician who signed the death certificate stated that he attended the patient from 21 Dec 1934 until 7 Jan 1935 when death occurred.  Donald was ill for just 17 days.  The number 18 is written twice so that may have been how the days were counted.  There's a stamp across the cause of death section that says CONTAGIOUS. An autopsy was performed and a test of Donald's spinal fluid confirmed the cause of death as spinal meningitis.  

How did Donald contract meningitis?  According to an article on the website of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio:

Meningitis is caused by germs – either bacteria or viruses. A child catches the germs by breathing in the mist or touching the drainage (mucus or saliva) from an infected person. Once the germs enter the child’s nose or throat, they can spread quickly through the bloodstream to the meninges.

The website also explains that bacterial meningitis is serious and life-threatening but that viral meningitis is less serious and will usually go away on its own.  Donald's doctors in 1934 didn't have the vaccines that are available today that could have prevented his death.  Meningitis is more common in infants and young children than in adults, so I wonder if his sister Mary was also exposed but didn't develop the disease.  How and where was Donald exposed to the bacteria?  I'll never know the answers.

What I do know is that Donald would have been a cherished member of the Scott family. 

Week 24: Last One Standing

When I was in my teens I remember meeting a very old and wrinkled lady named Mel Baker.  I wasn't quite sure back then how she was related to our family but several times my mom or dad went to a nursing home to pick up Mel and bring her to our house for a family gathering or holiday.  It wasn't until recently when I started filling in blank spots on my Scott/Dubbs family tree that it dawned on me who Sarah Melvina Scott Baker was and how she and I were related.  

Our common ancestors were my 3x great-grandparents Caleb Scott (1799-1867) and his second wife, Mary Ivins Scott (1810-1872).  Two of Caleb and Mary's sons were Samuel and Isaac. 

Samuel was my 2x great-grandfather.  Isaac was Mel's father.  That made my relationship with Mel to be that of 1st cousins, 3 generations removed.  No wonder she had seemed so old to me.

Mel was born on 23 Sep 1879 in Kosciusko County, Indiana, the youngest child of Isaac Scott and Sarah H. Johnson.  Isaac had been a member of the 30th Indiana Infantry during the Civil War.  The Civil War! I wish I had known that fact about Mel's dad because it might have made quite an impression on me to know she was just a generation removed from a veteran of the conflict I was learning about in school.  

Mel married Frank Elmer Baker on 18 Dec 1901.  She and Frank never had children so when Frank passed away in 1931 Mel was a widow at 52 years of age.  Her sister Carrie died a few years later in 1936 and her brother Earl followed in 1959.  Mel's mother had died years before in 1901 and her father in 1913.

Mel was the last one standing in her family.  I wish so much that I had been interested in family history back then so I could have talked to her about her family and her life.  I can only imagine the stories she might have told me.  What a lost opportunity.

Mel lived to be 96 years old.  She died on 8 Oct 1975 at the Haven Hubbard Home in New Carlisle, Indiana.  She lies in the Highland Cemetery located in South Bend, Indiana.  Rest in peace, cousin.

Week 23: So Many Descendants

McKibbin headstone in Eldridge Cemetery

Middlebury, Elkhart, Indiana

This line of many begins with my 4x great-grandparents Thomas McKibbin and Jane Irvine of County Down, Ireland.  Thomas was born sometime in 1766 and Jane in 1777.   Their marriage most likely took place in County Down also because their first nine children were born in Ireland.  

In 1812 the McKibbin family emigrated to the United States, settling first in Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  During their years in Pennsylvania three more children were born and one of their sons who had been born in Ireland died at just nine years old.

From there, the McKibbins migrated west to Ohio for a few years and finally settled in Elkhart County, Indiana.

This is where the ancestor math comes in.

Ten of the twelve McKibbin children lived to adulthood, married, and started their own families. Each of them in turn had large families: 

Total known grandchildren    83     

Eighty-three grandchildren?  Now that's a lot of names--let alone birthdays--to remember!