Week 35: Disaster

Peggy and Joe c. 1936-1937

In late 1936, before my mom Peggy and her brother Joe were old enough to go to school, the Williams family experienced a disaster one cold winter day.  The farm was located near Osceola, Indiana, on the county line between St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties.  Earlier in the afternoon my grandma and grandpa had worked together spreading chicken manure on their fields. Grandma Irene slowly drove the pickup truck while Grandpa Lester stood in the bed, shoveling out chicken manure.  Five-year old Peggy and four-year old Joe stood on the running boards so they could watch instead of being alone in the house.  When the job was done and everyone was hungry, the family went inside so Grandma could start cooking some dinner.  The water pump on the enclosed back porch had frozen. When Grandpa saw that  he decided to try to thaw it using a gas torch.  That turned out to be a very, very bad idea.  

1930s era farm truck

A similar pump

The walls of the back porch had been insulated with layers of old newspaper which quickly caught fire from the heat of the gas torch.  Grandpa yelled, "Irene, the house is on fire!  Get the kids out!"

Grandma, flustered, hurried from the kitchen with the frying pan holding their dinner and set it outside.  Next she ran for the kids, bundled them up, and led them across the yard to a fence near the barn and told them to put their hands on the fence and not to take them off.  My mom can remember holding on to the fence, crying, and jumping up and down as she and her brother watched the house go up in flames.  Grandma ran into the house several times to get armloads of clothes before the fire made that impossible.

No fire department ever came to help.  Since the farm was situated on the county line, neither St. Joseph nor Elkhart County fire crews claimed responsibility to help.  Grandpa and neighbors did what they could with buckets of water, but they were no match for the flames.  The house was a total loss. 

Grandma's sister Clara and her husband Fred gave Lester, Irene, Peggy, and Joe a temporary place to stay in South Bend while the family decided what to do next.  The decision was to fix up an empty chicken coop on the farm by putting sheet rock on the walls and a covering on the floor.  A wood stove was installed to keep the coop warm and the four Williamses moved into the chicken coop.  Mom doesn't remember how long they lived there but I found a picture labeled "Taken at the Olive Street house in 1937".  The weather looks warm so it was probably the summer after the fire on the farm.  The house fire disaster and life in the chicken coop were in the past.  No one was injured, but bad memories of the fire never left their minds.  

 

Week 34: Newest Discovery

 

                                                   

Stephen Norris

7 Jan 1782 - 11 May 1843

Stephen Norris, one of my 4x great-grandfathers, was born in Warwick, Orange County, New York to Shadrach Norris and his wife Sally McClain Norris.  Until recently I never realized that I had an ancestor who had fought in the War of 1812.  In fact, I don't remember ever reading much more than a paragraph or two about the conflict in any of my history classes so naturally I had to Google it to refresh my memory:

According to the National Archives Research Guide for the War of 1812:

The War of 1812 (1812-15) was fought between the United States and Great Britain, primarily over the impressment of American sailors by the British Navy, as well as disagreements over trade, western expansion, and Native American policy. The war ended inconclusively after three years of fighting. On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, officially ending the war.

Stephen served as a sergeant under Captain Abraham Brundage's Riflemen in the New York state militia.  I found a pay stub for three months of his service:

I don't know if the three months were the extent of his service or if this is just one pay stub that survived.  I found that $100 in 1812 was equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,298.43 in today's dollars, making that $25.84 worth $616.79 today. 

I'm glad he was paid since back home he had left his wife Mary Clay Norris in charge of 6-year old William, 4-year old Nathaniel, 3-year old Allen, and infant Henry.  Once his service ended and Stephen was reunited with Mary, the family started to expand.  James was born in 1814; Susannah in 1816; John in 1818; Albert in 1822; Luther (my 3x gg) in 1824; and Stephen Jr. in 1826.  

In 1820 between the births of John and Albert the family migrated from western New York to Holmes County, Ohio.  Twenty-three years later Stephen passed away in Holmes County when he was sixty-one years old.  He and Mary, who died two years later, are buried in the Elliot Cemetery in Millersburg, Holmes County.  

 

Week 33: Strength

 

                                                                              Lydia 

A portrait of my 2x great-grandmother has hung on my walls for the last 48 years, moving with me from Phoenix to Alhambra to Seattle to Birmingham to Morrison to Littleton to Pueblo to Sandy to Tempe to Auburn to Thousand Oaks to Southlake and, finally, to Denton.  It never feels like I'm officially settled in a home until Lydia and her husband Aaron David Rakestraw are on the wall in their matching oval frames.  I never knew much about her until I did a deep dive this week and realized that the difficult choices she had to make took strength and probably a lot of tears.

                               That's Lydia on the right, currently hanging in my guest room.

Lydia Caroline Moore was born 5 Jul 1841 in Brown County, Ohio.  By May 1850 the Census found her living with her grandparents next door to her parent's home in Boon Township, Madison County, Indiana.  It's confusing why 9-year old Lydia was counted there and recorded as  living with their grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth Moore.  Next door were Lydia's parents Robert Moore and Jane Still Moore, along with 12-year old Elizabeth, 9-year old Sarah (probably Lydia's twin), 7-year old Margaret, and infant William.  Out of all five children, only Lydia's sister Elizabeth had attended school in the past year.  Grandmother Elizabeth, and parents Robert and Jane weren't able to read or write.

Lydia married Aaron Rakestraw on 15 Feb 1860 in Warren County, Indiana when she was 18 years old and he was 31.  Somehow the couple wasn't counted in the Census that year.  But by the 1870 enumeration Lydia and Aaron had moved to St. Joseph County and had grown their family:

Henry Lincoln Rakestraw  b. 1861–d. before 1870

Levi Albert Rakestraw  b.1863

Angeline Augusta Rakestraw  b. 1865

Oscar Isaiah Rakestraw  b. 1867

Barbara Aldora Rakestraw  b.1869

Julia A. Rakestraw  b. 1870-d. before 1880

In 1875 the County Indexed Land Ownership Map of Liberty Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana showed that Aaron Rakestraw owned 129 acres of land near the northeast corner of the township.  Familiar names on the farms around them are Fryar, Magnus, Whortan, and Geyer. Aaron's sisters all married men with those surnames.  

In 1873 daughter Margaret Melinda was born, followed by daughter Martha Jane (my great-grandmother) in 1876.  That same year 47-year old Aaron died, leaving Lydia with children aged 13, 11, 9, 7, 3, and an infant.  Julia may have died before her father.

What choices did an uneducated, widowed woman with six children have in 1876?  Lydia's own parents had moved from Indiana to Iowa so they weren't around to take her and the children in. Lydia had to be strong enough to make the difficult choice to parcel out most of the children to others who had the means to take care of them.  It must have been heartbreaking to see the family split up but Lydia needed to make sure her children were safe and fed.

By the 1880 Census:

17-year old Levi was working as a farm laborer in nearby Green Township.

14-year old Angeline was working as servant for the Ruple family.

12-year old Oscar was living with the Souder family.  His relationship to Head was "none".

10-year old Barbara was living with her aunt Margaret Rakestraw Fryar.

Margaret Malinda has never shown up in later records so she must have died before 1880.

38-year old Lydia and 4-year old Martha Jane were living in LaPorte County, Indiana.  Lydia was listed on the Census as "housekeeper" for John S. Tyler, a 54-year old farmer.  Martha Jane was listed as "boarder".  It's confusing because on the form Tyler was checked as "married" but there was no wife listed.  Lydia was checked as "widowed".  Was the check mark for Tyler a mistake?  Probably.

Nine years later on 27 May 1889 47-year old Lydia married 65-year old John Tyler. You might think that the marriage would have ended when John died but it was Lydia who preceded him. Lydia was just 53 years old when she died on 12 Feb 1895.  She was buried in Porter Rea Cemetery, now located within Potato Creek State Park in North Liberty, Indiana, next to Aaron and his parents.

I was happy to have found Lydia's grave on 25 Sep 2021 during a trip back to Indiana.  Aaron's grave wasn't marked but there was a base for a headstone next to Lydia's that I suspect is where he was buried. 

I don't know if this article in the South Bend Tribune dated 28 Aug 1874 is about Lydia but I suspect it is since it was published in the "North Liberty News" section of the newspaper.  I wonder what the assault and battery was all about?!?  Was this another example of her strength??

Week 32: Reunion

 

Scott Family Reunion 

taken at the home of Joseph and Martha Scott  

I was thrilled five years ago when I received an email from a relative I'd never met.  After taking a DNA test, Ancestry.com identified Brenda as being a 4th-6th cousin of mine so I wrote to her, letting her know my lineage in the Scotts.  She asked if I had a copy of a long-ago Scott family reunion photo--which I didn't--so she sent along not only the above picture but also one that had numbers that identified some of the reunion attendees and a poem that was published about the gathering.  What a lovely gesture!  

According to Brenda, the picture was taken at the home of her great-grandparents, Joseph and Martha Scott.  Joseph was a younger brother of my 2x great-grandfather, Samuel Scott.  Brenda wasn't sure what year the photo had been taken, but she suspected it was around 1915.  I used several clues to narrow down the year it may have been taken. 

1.  The poem mentions: 

"And little Joe who farms for Pa

With Gusta his young wife

Just sailed around mongst older folks

They had their time of life"

Brenda knew that Joseph and Gusta married on 25 Dec 1912 so that gave a starting point since the poem inferred that Joseph and Gusta were still young or even recently married.

2.  The poem was published in the Warsaw, Indiana newspaper in 1915.  Maybe it was the same year or soon after the reunion?

3.  The poem mentioned the time of year:

 "Twas on the 28th of March

And cool and crisp the air 

When friends went out to Joseph Scott's 

And met each other there."

4.  My GrandDad A.C. Scott (#14) looks to be in his early to mid-teens in the picture.  He was born on 10 May 1899.  If the picture was taken on 28 Mar 1913-1915, he'd be either nearly 14, nearly 15, or nearly 16.  To me, he looks to be about 16.  

5.  My grand-uncle Frank Scott (#13) was born 24 Sep 1904.  In the picture he looks like an early adolescent, making 1915 seem much more likely than 1913 or 1914.

Based on those clues, my best guess as to when it was taken is 28 Mar 1915.

#20  William Oldfield Scott, my great-grandfather

#19  Mary Dubbs Scott, my great-grandmother

#14  A. C. Scott, my grandfather, son of William and Mary

#13 William Franklin Scott, my grand-uncle, son of William and Mary

#8 Joseph Scott, reunion host & my 2x great-granduncle

#7 Martha Mickey Scott, Joseph's wife

Joseph Scott (#8) would pass away in 1918, three years after this picture was taken.  He was a Civil War veteran.  His wife Martha (#7) would live until 1926.

My 2x great-grandfather Samuel Scott (one of Joseph's oldest brothers) had died in 1910, a few years before this picture was taken.  His son, William Oldfield Scott, was Joseph's nephew.

I love the patriotic bunting.  This would have been during World War I so that may have been why the porch was decorated this way.  It's interesting to see how every woman is dressed in either a white dress or white blouse and nearly all the men have neckties on.  I wonder about the scarf that Martha Scott was wearing.  She's the only woman wearing anything like it.  Did it or the pin holding it have significance?  I love the enormous hair bows on some of the little girls and the two boys decked out in sailor suits.  In every picture I've ever seen of Mary Dubbs Scott she's facing to the side instead of looking at the camera.  Great-grandma, why did you always do that?