Covering genealogy, family history, historical events and places, and anything else related!

Monday, August 31, 2015

Amanuensis Monday: John Schneider's Letter to His Daughter Margaret

My great-grandparents John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 23 July 1952. Their daughter Margaret (Schneider) Boe (my maternal grandmother) visited them on their anniversary, and not long afterward, on 10 August 1952, John wrote her a letter.


                                        MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA
                                       TRANSIT CAMP No. 11364
                                                   John Schneider, Secretary
                                                                    2024 Russell Boulevard
                                                                      ST. LOUIS 4, MO.

 
                                                             8/10/52.

Dear Margaret : -
              Just a few words. We are getting ready to leave to-morrow morning and I just had to write a few words to you. I doubt if you really know how much we appreciated your visit at our Anniversary; we will ever be grateful to you.
             You might have wondered that when you leave here, you probably do not see me when the train pulls out, or when you pull away from the house; well, I have a confession to make : - my heart hangs so much on you, that I just can't take it to see you go, and I do not want that you see me with a sad face and a tear in my eye. that's the reason I make myself a little scarce; enough said.
              will write you as we go along, our very best wishes to you, John, and the children, and of course, all our love goes with it.
                                                                    Pop & Mother
PS.
Got this clipping from the Royal Neighbor Paper. You are still a member of that, and I thought that maybe you will get to meet some of these people.
                                                                          Pop.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

52 Ancestors: Week 35 "School Days": Florence Kathleen Boe

My maternal grandfather's sister Florence Kathleen Boe graduated from Roosevelt High School in St. Louis, Missouri in 1926.

Roosevelt High School opened on 26 January 1925. It is located at 3240 Hartford Ave., St. Louis, Missouri. Most of the students transferred from McKinley High School, which became a middle school. Some students transferred from Cleveland High School.
  
Roosevelt High School. Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 5. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

The Roosevelt High School yearbook was called Bwana, which was Theodore Roosevelt's Swahili nickname.

 Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, cover. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 64. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

From the Senior Identification Table:

Name: Florence Boe
Basis of Fame: Her winged feet
Chief Occupation: Keeping them still
Ambition: To rival Pavlowa

Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 92. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Florence participated in many activities while in high school. During her first two years of high school, she was a member of the College Club.

Florence was also a member of Girl Athletes of Roosevelt (G.A.R.). G.A.M. may stand for "Girl Athletes of McKinley." Florence was probably one of the students that transferred to Roosevelt High from McKinley High.

Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 160. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Florence was also a member of the Anatole Club (French Club).

Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 192. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 193. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Florence was a dancer, so I was not surprised to see that she performed a dance recital during her junior year. She was a member of the dance club Rhythmic Circle throughout high school.

Florence's high school yearbook also provided some information about William McKinley Intermediate, and stated that although the school was no longer a high school, it still operated in much the same way. It provides some insight into the number and length of the periods of the school day.

Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926, p. 128. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

References
Bosenbecker, Ray. So, Where'd You Go to High School? St. Louis, MO: Virginia Publishing Co, 2004.
Bwana (yearbook, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, Missouri), June 1926. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 
Roosevelt High School (St. Louis) 
Roosevelt High School: History

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Shopping Saturday: Shopping in Gary, Indiana

Vidette-Messenger, 9 August 1929,  page 5

My 2nd-great-grandmother's sister Anna Christina (Borg) Greandahl and her daughter Lillian (Greandahl) Nelson, residents of Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana, went shopping in Gary, Lake County, Indiana on Wednesday, 7 August 1929.

Several other residents of Chesterton also went shopping in Gary that day: Frances Sherman, Mrs. Austin Brooks, and Mrs. Brook's daughter Mrs. William Vaughn.

Gary was the fifth largest city in Indiana by 1930. It was only about 17 miles away from Chesterton.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Friend of Friends Friday: Slaves of Jesse J. Everett

Nashville Union and American, 16 January 1858, page 3

Negroes For Sale 

By virtue of a decree of the County Court of Davidson County, rendered at the November term 1857, in the case of Milley Everett, and others, ex parte, I will offer for sale at the court-house in Nashville, on Saturday 16th of January, 1858, the following negroes, viz: Mary and infant childMary's age 22 years; Betty, 3 years; Calvin, 6 years; Linda, 11 years; Rose, 8 years; Adelaide, 7 years; Andrew, 14 years; Dick, 51 years. Said negroes belong to the estate of Jesse J. Everett, dec'd, and are sold for the purpose of paying the debts of said estate.
     TERMS made known on day of sale.
      Any of the above Negroes can be purchased privately, previous to the sale, by calling upon the undersigned.
                                                                              J. J. EVERETT,
jan 6 dtd                                                                  Commissioner.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Thriller Thursday: Charles Ward Arrested for Murdering George Gee

Nashville Union and Dispatch, 14 December 1866, page 3

In February 1865, George Gee, his brother Charles Gee, and their cousin L. J. Gee were transporting whiskey from Sumner County, Tennessee to Davidson County, Tennessee. They were using three teams of four mules to transport the whiskey. When they reached the border between Sumner County and Davidson County, Charles Ward and another men began firing at the Gees, and they killed George Gee. They forced Charles and L. J. Gee to knock in the heads of the whiskey barrels. They emptied the wagons, stripped off the men's clothes, and stole the mules.

Charles Ward then got a job working at Williams' saw mills. On 28 July 1866, he married Sarah C. Cummings from Vaughn's Gap. On 10 December 1866, while Charles Ward was killing hogs, he was arrested by William Mayo of the night police and one of Joseph Cheatham's independent detectives. The officers brought Ward to Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee, and L. J. Gee identified Ward. He was then brought to the Nashville county jail to be held until the next sitting of the Gallatin court.

Some of my ancestors lived in Vaughn's Gap, although as far as I know none were living there until 1871. William Mayo of the night police was probably my relative. My Mayo ancestors moved to Tennessee from Virginia in the 1840s, and some of their other relatives also settled there. However, I have not yet determined what my relationship to him is.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

National Dog Day

August 26 is National Dog Day, so I thought it was an appropriate time to feature some of the family dogs.

My childhood dog was a Scottish Terrier named Silky.

Silky and me

My mother and Silky

My brother got a Border Terrier and named her Fresh. She ended up becoming the family dog.

 Fresh and my cat Sunshine

After Fresh died, my parents adopted a dog named Sweetie.

Sweetie, my father, and my cat Velvet as a kitten

When my mother was a child, she had a spitz named Skippy.


There is a dog in a photo of members of the Schneider and Gersbacher families. I do not know who it belonged to.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Founders' Day, the Birthday of the National Park Service

On 25 August 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act that established the National Park Service. Every year on August 25, the National Park Service celebrates Founders Day.

My parents have visited some of the national parks, including Yellowstone National Park and Yosemite National Park.

I took this picture at one of the newest national parks, the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park 

Some places where my ancestors spent time are now national historical parks. My 5th-great-grandfather Stephen Mayo and his brother Benjamin camped at Valley Forge during the revolutionary War. My 5th-great-grandmother Hannah Hardgrave and her parents, my 6th-great-grandparents Francis Hardgrave and Sarah Greer, passed through the Cumberland Gap when they traveled from Wilkes County, North Carolina to Kentucky.

Valley Forge National Historical Park. Photo from the National Park Service.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Photo from the National Park Service.

Chellberg Farm is now part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. My 2nd-great-grandmother's brother Alfred Borg married Emily Kjellberg, and they lived at Chellberg Farm.

1885 brick house on Chellberg Farm. Photo by Chris Light at en.wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Photo from the National Park Service.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Amanuensis Monday: Amanda Tarkington's Confederate Widows Pension Claim: William Tillett's Statement

The statement that William Tillett gave in support of my 3rd-great-grandmother Amanda (Russell) Tarkington's Confederate Widows Pension is transcribed below.

GEO B. GUILD, President                                                               HON. FRANK DIBRELL
  FRANK A. MOSES, Special Examiner                                                 ATT'Y GEN. CHAS. T. CATES
      W. H. COLEY                                                                           JOHN P. HICKMAN, Secretary


                                                          HEADQUARTERS
                                           Tennessee Board of Pension Examiners
                                                BOARD MEETS SECOND TUESDAYS IN JANUARY, 
                                                                                APRIL, JULY AND OCTOBER
                                                       Nashville, Tenn. ______________  190____
       _____________No.__________________________
                                     (Must give number when writing)

State of Tennessee  }                  Personally appeared before
Davidson County      }                 me William M Tillett whom I
know to be a man of truth and integrity of character who after being sworm to me makes the following additional statement in the case of Mrs Amanda Tarkington the widow of Joseph Tarkington decd she being an applicant for a state pension as follows. I was present at the marriage of Amanda Russell and Joseph Tarkington they were married at the old Russell place on the Harding pike in Davidson County Tenn on the 12th day of June 1850 by Esquire Porch a justice of the peace. I have known them as man and wife up to the death of Joseph Tarkington in 1903 and that they were living together at that time as man & wife ____

I also remember distinctly the time in 1863 when Joseph Tarkington came home from the army on sick leave with asthma & pneumonia, he remained sick for a long time, I know the fact that he never was able to rejoin his command on account of his continued sickness which lasted till the war closed and for a long time afterwards, in truth he never was a well man again and suffered till he died in 1903 with this complaint. I know these facts because I saw him frequently during the time I speak of and that he never was fit for military service after he came home  –  I have no interest further than to see justice done in the application of Mrs Tarkington in her case

witness                                                                                         his
Mrs Julia Johnson                                                                W .M.  x   Tillett
                                                                                                    mark
Subscribed and sworn
before me this 2nd day Jan 1909
                                    Aris Brown
                                       Notary Public

Statement of William Tillett. Tennessee Confederate pension application 2079, Widow's Indigent Pension. Amanda Tarkington, widow of Joseph Tarkington. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Statement of William Tillett. Tennessee Confederate pension application 2079, Widow's Indigent Pension. Amanda Tarkington, widow of Joseph Tarkington. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Note: William Tillett was wrong about the date of Joseph Tarkington and Amanda Russell's marriage. They married on 12 June 1849, not 12 June 1850.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday's Obituary: Mary E. "Mollie" (Dyer) Hughes

Nashville American, 13 August 1902, page 7

From the August 13, 1902 issue of the Nashville American:

HUGHES Tuesday morning, at 7:45 o'clock, Aug. 12, 1902, at her residence, 318 Peabody street, Mollie Dyer Hughes, wife of Walter J. and mother of Miss Lady and Barney Rood Hughes.
   Funeral from residence as above Thursday morning, Aug. 14, 1902, at 8:30 o'clock. Services at St. Patrick's Church at 9 o'clock, with requiem high mass.
   Interment at Mt. Olivet.
   Carriages from Wiles & Karsch.
                                                 ________________________________

Mary E. "Mollie" Dyer Hughes was the oldest child of my 3rd-great-grandparents Mary and Michael Dyer. Census records give three different birthplaces for her: Missouri, Kentucky, and Louisiana. She was enumerated with her parents in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1860 United States Census when she was a baby (age 1/12 according to the census), so she was probably born in St. Louis, Missouri. On 11 February 1882, she married Walter J. Hughes in Davidson County, Tennessee. Their daughter Helen M. "Lady" Hughes was born in December 1882, and their son Barney Rood Hughes was born on 25 October 1889. Mollie died of uterine cancer on 12 August 1902 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

52 Ancestors: Week 34 "Non-Population": Davidson Binkley

My 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley was enumerated in the 1860 United States Census, agricultural schedule.  He was listed as D. Binkley, but I know I found the right person because I also located him in the population schedule.

1860 United States Census, Township 9 Range 2E, Williamson County, Illinois, population schedule, page 830. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

Davidson's farm was in Township 9, Range 2, Williamson County, Illinois (post office: Marion).


D. Binkley. 1860 United States Census, Township 9 Range 2, Williamson County, Illinois, agricultural schedule, pages 49-50. Ancestry.com. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Schedule 4 - Productions of Agriculture 

Acres of land, improved: 20
Acres of land, unimproved: none
Cash value of farm: $200
Value of farming implements and machinery: $100

Live stock, June 1, 1860

Horses: 2
Asses and mules: none
Milch cows: 1
Working oxen: none
Other cattle: 4
Sheep: none
Swine: 7
Value of live stock: $350

Produce during the year ending June 1, 1860
Wheat: none
Rye: none
Indian corn: 120 bushels
Oats: none
Rice: none
Tobacco: none
Ginned cotton: none
Wool: none
Peas and beans: 5 bushels
Irish potatoes: 18 bushels
Sweet potatoes: 20 bushels
Barley: none
Buckwheat: none
Value of orchard products: none
Wine: none
Value of produce of market gardens: none
Butter: 100 pounds
Cheese: none
Hay: none
Clover seed: none
Grass seeds: none
Hops: none
Hemp, dew rotted: none
Hemp, water rotted: none
Other prepared hemp: none
Flax: none
Flaxseed: none
Silk cocoons: none
Maple sugar: none
Cane sugar: none
Molasses: 20 gallons, made from sorghum
Beeswax: none
Honey: none
Value of homemade manufactures: $5
Value of animals slaughtered: $40

Davidson had improved all of his property. He grew Indian corn, peas and beans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sorghum (which he used to make molasses). He made butter with the milk that he obtained from his milch cow.

A farmer could grow 5 top 10 acres of corn by hand, or 20 acres of corn with a horse and plow (Historic Farming: Corn). Davidson had two horses; he probably used at least one of them to plow his cornfields.

Irish potatoes do well in early spring and late fall, when the weather is cool at night (Easy Gardening: Irish Potatoes). Sweet potatoes do well in hot weather (How to Grow Sweet Potatoes). The climate in southern Illinois is between humid continental and humid subtropical (Southern Illinois). Davidson may have grown the two types of potato at different times.

Sorghum is grown in the summer months (Meet David Smith's Grain Sorghum). When sorghum molasses was produced, women were the skimmers. and the men brought in the sorghum cane. The skimming was done in a long pan over a fire (Fain's Sorghum Molasses/Sorghum Syrup). Davidson's wife, my 3rd-great-grandmother Angeline (Mayo) Binkley, may have skimmed the sorghum molasses on the family's farm. The whole family typically helped in the production of sorghum (Sorghum FAQs). In 1860, Davidson and Angeline only had two children: William, age 4, and Malvina (my 2nd-great-grandmother), age 1. They may have had help from their neighbors; some of their neighbors had also produced sorghum molasses, and sorghum making had been a community event (Fain's Sorghum Molasses/Sorghum Syrup).

Friday, August 21, 2015

American Bar Association Founding - Anniversary

In April 1878, a committee of three lawyers was organized. It consisted of Richard D. Hubbard, Governor of Connecticut; Simeon E. Baldwin; and William Hamersley. They prepared a circular and planned a meeting. Seventy-five lawyers then met in Saratoga Springs, New York on 21 August 1878, and the American Bar Association was founded. The ABA has played an important role in the development of the legal profession.

My great-grandfather John Schneider was a lawyer. He graduated from City College of Law and Finance in 1921. He was a member of the Bar Association.



John's brother Rudolph Schneider was also a lawyer. He graduated from City College of Law and Finance in 1917. He was a member of the St. Louis and Missouri State Bar Associations.

Stevens, Walter Barlow. Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State): One Hundred Years in the Union, 1820-1921. Volume V. St. Louis, MO: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1921. Pages 726, 729. Available from Archive.org.

My mother, like her grandfather and great-uncle, is also a lawyer.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Those Places Thursday: Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

My mother moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey as a teenager and attended high school there. My father moved to Ridgewood the summer after he graduated from high school. Shortly after he had moved to Ridgewood, he went away to college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. More than 600 miles away from their mutual town of residence, my parents found each other!
 
Elliott Hall, one of the dormitories,  is the oldest building on campus. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Front and southern side of Elliott Hall, Miami University. 16 August 2010. By Nyttend (Own work) [Public domain]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Alumni Hall used to be the Alumni Memorial Library. The Department of Architecture is now located in this building.


Alumni Hall, Miami University. Environmental Protection Agency Photo [Public domain]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

My father appears in this photo from the 1963 school yearbook Recensio. He was a member of the accounting honor society Beta Alpha Psi.

Recensio, Miami University, 1963. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Recensio, Miami University, 1963. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

My parents are Miami Mergers (Miami alumni married to each other). The official description is "When two hearts beat as one and both attended Miami, it's a Miami Merger." There are special Miami Merger Valentines that are sent out.

Some people confuse Miami University with the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Mail has been sent to the wrong school, and once a student was actually sent to the wrong school! This mix-up happened at the time that my parents were attending Miami University.

Wilmington News-Journal (Wilmington, Ohio), 21 September 1960, page 1

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Ratification of Nineteenth Amendment

When the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on 18 August 1920, women in the United States gained the right to vote. The Amendment states:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote. National Archives and Records Administration

I have found the names of some of my female ancestors and collateral relatives on voter registration lists. My maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe's name appears on the 1948 Los Angeles, California voter registration list, underneath the name of her husband, my grandfather John Boe. My grandparents did not state their political affiliation.

Index to Register of Voters, Los Angeles City Precinct No. 208, Los Angeles County, California, 1948. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

The name of my maternal grandfather John Boe's half-sister Lillian Ruth (Boe) Casperson appears on more than one of the 1936 San Francisco, California voter registration lists. She is listed at one address on the list dated 26 March 1936, and at another address on the list dated 24 September 1936. Her husband Elmar Casperson's name is listed next to hers on both lists (once below hers and once above hers). Apparently the Caspersons moved between 26 March 1936 and 24 September 1936. They were registered Democrats.
Index to Register, City and County of San Francisco, To and Including March 26, 1936. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

Index to Register, City and County of San Francisco, To and Including September 24, 1936. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

The name of my first cousin twice removed Laura Ingeborg (Olsen) Withrow appears on the 1950 voter registration list for Palos Verdes Estates, Los Angeles County, California. Her husband Frank M. Withrow's name appears on the list above hers. They were registered Republicans.

Index to Register of Voters, Palos Verdes Estates City Precinct No. 2, Los Angeles County, California, 1950. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Black Cat Appreciation Day

August 17 is Black Cat Appreciation Day.  The day was established to help make people aware that black cats make great pets. Unfortunately, black cats are less likely to be adopted.

Pets are an important part of the family, and my family includes black cats. Jewel, the oldest of my current cats, has been with me since December 2010. I am not sure how old she is, but since she is on a special diet due to kidney insufficiency, she must be a senior cat. She is a very sweet cat, and I am very glad that I adopted her.


My parents also have a black cat, Inky.


I had a Bombay, Ember, who was born on 15 July 1994. I adopted her when she was a little more than 4 1/2 months old. She passed away on 6 July 2009.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Sunday's Obituary: Anna Christina (Borg) Greandahl

Vidette-Messenger, 29 February 1944, page 1

From the February 29, 1944 issue of the Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Indiana):

Pioneer of County Dies

CHESTERTON, Ind. Mrs. Anna C. Greandahl, 83, a pioneer resident of Porter County died Sunday at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Carl Nelson.

She was born at Baileytown north of here on Aug. 25, 1860. All her life has been spent in north Porter County.

Surviving besides the daughter Mrs. Lillian Nelson are a granddaughter; two brothers, Gus and Daniel Borg, and three sisters, Mrs. Mary Dahlquist, Mrs. Minnie Olson and Mrs. Malinda Lawrence, all of Chesterton.

Memorial services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Carl Nelson residence and at 2 p.m. at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Rev. Cecil Johnson officiating. Burial will be in Chesterton cemetery.
                                       ________________________________

Anna was the oldest sister of my 2nd-great-grandmother Mary/Marie Louise Borg. Their parents, John (Johannes) and Johanna Carolina (Samuelson) Borg, emigrated from Sweden in the 1850s. Anna married John Lewis Greandahl, a Swedish immigrant, on 28 April 1894. Her only child, Lillian V. Greandahl, was born on 8 February 1896. John Lewis Greandahl died in 1930.

Malinda was actually the only one of her siblings who was still living in Chesterton. Daniel was living in San Francisco, California, and the others were living in Chicago, Illinois. Four brothers and a sister predeceased her.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

52 Ancestors: Week 33 "Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent": Hugh Winters

My 4th-great-grandfather Hugh Winters was enumerated (as "Winter, Huge") on the list of blind inhabitants in the 1880 United States Census Defective, Dependent and Delinquent schedule.
1880 United States Census, Brooklyn,  Kings County, New York, Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes schedule, Blind Inhabitants, page 586. Ancestry.com. U.S. Federal Census - 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 
 
Although many additional questions are asked on this schedule, the only ones that were answered were the number and line taken from the population schedule, name, and residence. Based on what I know about Hugh Winters, I will consider what the answers may have been to the unanswered questions.

Is he (or she) self-supporting or partly so?

In the 1880 United States Census, Hugh Winters was enumerated in the household of James and Mary Feenan (son and mother). His occupation was "Laboring." He appears to have been at least partly self-supporting.

1880 United States Census, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, population schedule, enumeration district 4, page 61C. Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Age at which blindness occurred

In 1866, Hugh stated that he drove a coal wagon for the Scranton Coal Co. His blindness must have occurred after he made this statement, since no one would hire a blind person to drive a coal wagon.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 November 1866

Form of blindness
Supposed cause of blindness

There are many reasons that Hugh could have been blind. Some possible explanations are:

Accident - Perhaps Hugh lost his sight in an accident.

Cataracts - According to "Leading Causes of Blindness" (NIH MedlinePlus, Summer 2008) and "Causes of Blindness and Visual Impairment" (World Health Organization), cataracts are the leading cause of visual impairment in the world. Hugh was born about 1810, so he would have been about 70 years old in 1880. At his age, he may have had cataracts.

Diabetic retinopathy - According to "Facts About Diabetic Eye Disease" (National Eye Institute), diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in adults, and is the most common diabetic eye disease. "Leading Causes of Blindness" states that it is the most common cause of blindness in adults in the United States. Perhaps Hugh was diabetic and the blood vessels in his retina were damaged.

Glaucoma - According to "Glaucoma Facts and Stats" (Glaucoma Research Foundation), older people have a higher risk of glaucoma, and glaucoma can also cause blindness.

Macular degeneration - According to the American Optometric Association, age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in adults over 50 years of age. Hugh may have experienced macular degeneration. If he did, he may not have been able to see objects clearly, and may have experienced partial blindness,

Trachoma - Hugh may have contracted trachoma, a bacterial infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. Trachoma is more likely to spread in areas with poor sanitation ("Hygiene-Related Diseases: Trachoma," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) "The Condition of Brooklyn's Streets and Houses" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 9 May 1885) reports on the poor sanitary conditions in Brooklyn in the 1880s.

Without more information, it is unclear which of these, if any, was the cause of Hugh's blindness.

Is the person totally blind?
Is the person semi-blind?

On 25 December 1881, Hugh was admitted to the Kings County Alms House. His admission record indicated that he could read, but not could write. His 1880 U.S. census enumeration had indicated that he could not read or write. No mention of blindness was made on the admission record; his cause of admission was a sore leg. He seems to have been able to work in 1880 in spite of being blind. Perhaps he was semi-blind and could read a little. However, if he could see enough to read, he was not supposed to have been listed on the Defective, Dependent and Delinquent schedule. Perhaps he had been able to read before going blind, so he said he could read. Or perhaps his blindness had been temporary, not permanent.

Admission record, Hugh Winters, Kings County Alms House, 25 December 1881. New York State Archives, Albany, New York. New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1875-1921; Series: A1978; Reel: A1978:46; Record Number: 5828. Available from Ancestry.com. New York, Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1830-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Has this person ever been an inmate of an institution for the blind? If yes, give name of such institution.

On the above admission record, when asked if he had been an inmate of any other charitable institution, Hugh stated that he had been in the Kings County Hospital for two months. He did not mention any institutions for the blind, so the answer to this question appears to have been "No."

Date of his or her discharge

Not applicable.

Is this person also insane?
Is he (or she) also idiotic?
Is he (or she) also a deaf-mute?

Hugh did not appear on the list of Deaf-Mutes, Insane, or Idiots, so the answer to these questions appears to have been "No."