52 Ancestors #5: The Last Cup of Tea

It is remarkably sad how life changes all plans. Yes, I know, I'm behind on this prompt (as usual), but I never expected to have to write this post. The week we left for RootsTech was atrocious. Our flight was canceled twice before we finally got a keeper, due to, "officially", the winter from hell. Coming home was no picnic either due to another sudden snow storm between the airport and our house! The week before we left, my Aunt Janet went into the hospital with a still unknown affliction. Things were not looking so great, but while we were in Utah, she came out of the illness for just a few days before slipping back further upon our return. She passed away on Valentine's Day.

For me, this prompt has always had parameters. I only profile ancestors who have passed. Which is why I never anticipated covering someone so fresh in my memory banks. However, this has proven to be enlightening in a different way.

When thinking about Aunt Janet, I came to the realization that I didn't really know her very well. She is the first "Aunt" that I have lost out of the five total I had. I have lost great aunts before, but in some cases, I felt closer to them than to some of my Aunts, with a capital A. I also don't feel too bad about that....we moved away when I was a young adult....and some relationships are just naturally stronger than others. And yet, there is always that pang of regret when you realize you let another memory keeper slip through your fingers.

There is also the guilt of realizing that you let the opinion of others filter your view of someone. I knew her through others. Yes, I grew up around her, visited her house often, and talked with her a little. But our family events were SO crowded and hectic, it was rare if anyone got one on one attention. Therefore, traveling through these life events (birthdays, Holidays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals), always gliding near each other, but not directly into the other's sphere, you lose that sense of personal memory. I remember my father talking to her on the phone, and other people talking about her, but I never really formed my own opinion....until now.

Death has a way of cutting through the crap. People suddenly remember the person more fondly than they might have a week earlier. Relationship struggles seem to fade away as we focus on the essence of the person. So what essence do I remember?

I remember a family hierarchy that I will not go in to....but I will say that my Dad and Aunt Janet were the two oldest siblings, and sometimes in the same dog house according to Dear Grandmama (who is still with us at 93!) And yet...despite those family challenges, I do know that Family was the most important thing to Janet. Even when it took a saint to still call them family, she never gave up on them and continued to swim through the muck of family complexities - with a smile on her face. My branch was not so strong...we moved away...still connected to the family, but not nearly as firmly planted. I admire her for that commitment and dedication.

In fact, our moving away did provide a direct memory I have of her that spoke to her character. We moved away, not only because of family strife, but because of devastating financial problems. As a younger person, I was delighted that the problems allowed us to move to Kentucky, but that is another story :-) Our move here was not smooth. It took years of struggling, trying to make ends meet, and finally giving up, pulling up stakes to join the other side of my family who had a house for us to rent. I do remember that time after time, Janet was the one who always helped my Dad financially throughout the whole struggle, and I know he has been forever grateful for that unpopular act among the rest of the family. I'm not criticizing the other members of the family, but I will say, families sometimes exist through webs that resemble politics. What others may have viewed as a political strategy, we only saw as help that was desperately needed.

Something else I knew about Janet, but also heard through another....she was one of my Grandfather's favorite children. It was not widely known nor ever shoved in the faces of the other kids, but I had heard this before, and I witnessed an affection between them when others weren't looking. Sometimes, I had overheard doubting about this fact, but I think many misunderstood this favoritism. Grandpa only had one sister, but she died when she was a toddler. When Grandpa told me about little Garnet, he described her death and said "I sure did love that little girl." (Imagine that statement coming from a gruff, seasoned soldier.) With the similarity in name, and Janet being his first little girl, I think he was finally able to resolve the missing affections he had had to let go of so many years before Janet's birth. Plus, Janet was born during WWII, and with Grandpa away, fighting during her early years, any family member was doubly precious during those difficult years. They had a double-fold bond that was unique and quite precious.

So....about the cup of tea....
This past Christmas, I had an odd but fun moment with Aunt Janet. As I related earlier, Christmas is usually a chaotic day with pockets of family members roaming around and snatching any empty seat available. As my family had arrived early, we took up residence at the kitchen table - full of sweet goodies. Just as everyone was finishing up their breakfast, Janet came over to take the seat next to mine. We all continued to nibble even though we were stuffed. You know that feeling when everyone has just consumed a large meal, and we all finally slow down, enjoying the digestion stupor? I can remember that feeling, and was sitting there at the head of the table, with my Mom on one side of me, and Aunt Janet on the other side. I suddenly realized a cup of tea would be marvelous at that moment. So I hopped up, announced I was going to hunt down some mugs and make a cup of tea. My Mother expressed interest, and then Aunt Janet seconded, and said "Oh yes, I'll have one too!"

It took a little while to get everything together and heat them all in the microwave, but I finally got everyone's tea ready and to the table in front of them. We were passing around the sugar, and with spoon in hand, I asked Janet if she wanted any sugar. She said, "yes, and heap the spoon!"....so I heaped the spoon full of sugar....and she said "and another"....and I put in another....and she said "and another"....and my eyes got wide as she made me put in four heaping spoonfuls of sugar into that tiny mug. I asked, "are you sure?" And she laughed, and said "Oh yes, I like a little tea with my sugar!" Of course we all laughed, and then just sat there, drinking our delightful cups of tea, nibbling on some breakfast sweets, and just chatting some girl talk. Even at that moment, I reflected on how intimate that scene was....it was probably the most intimate moment we ever had....it was a wonderful memory, and I'm glad we all had time to make one last memory together on Christmas Day.

As for the particulars about Aunt Janet's life, I will leave much to the obituary link at the end of this post. I would also like to relate that she suffered from MS for many years and was one of the strongest women I knew. She was also a wonderful florist in Cincinnati for over 30 years. I can remember being one of the only girls at HS graduation with a bouquet of roses handed to them after the ceremony, which remains a special memory! Every time I walk into a flower shop, the sights and smells take me back to her flower shop on Cheviot: All About Flowers. Definitely a personal memory unfiltered by others. There are also several kids, grandkids, and former exchange students who could tell you many more great stories about this loving lady.

Janet Louise Daniels Millard: 1942-2014

I know she leaves a gap in the family that cannot be filled: Goodbye Aunt Janet, until we meet again...and give Grandpa a big kiss for me!

Sorry folks, I know this was a long one, but for me, writing is part of the healing process.

52 Ancestors #4: Roy Watts

Happy Birthday to ancestor #4! When February 2nd rolls around, everyone wishes Roy a Happy Birthday, even though he passed in 2006. Roy Edmund Watts was my Grandfather, affectionately knows as "Pappa". He was born in 1915 in far western Tennessee or Kentucky. His parents were: James Thomas Watts (1891-1953) and Florence Warren (1898-1923). The ambiguity behind his birthplace is due to his many years in an orphanage as a youth. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1923, and since his father was slightly handicapped, the children were placed in an orphanage in Louisville. I wrote a little more about this problem with an earlier post: Hunting Wabbits...AKA Warrens. Anyway....Roy was married to Freida Laverne Beyersdoerfer and passed away in 2006 in Paris, KY. His obituary reads:

Roy Edmund Watts, 91, of Paris, formerly of Falmouth, died Tuesday at Bourbon Community Hospital, Paris. He was a dairy farmer, a former Pendleton County magistrate and a member of First Christian Church, Paris. He worked at Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. during World War II, was a former member of the Cincinnati Milk Sales Board and donated land that became part of Kincaid Lake State Park in Pendleton County. His wife, Freida Beyersdorefer Watts, died in 1997.

Since I already know much about him, I will relate one of his stories below:
"I was run over once by a wagon. I was about 5 or 6; in the mountains of Eastern [Western] Tennessee where we lived near my father's family. Well, it was our turn to go to town for groceries. Everything was grown right there on the farm and canned, so we didn't go for much, just large quantities of a few things to last for awhile; such as coffee, flour, and sugar - bought in big sacks.

It was just me and my dad in the big wagon with the two mules hooked up to the front. Diner was on the right side - she was a mare mule and meaner than a snake. I didn't like her. She looked like part zebra. On the left was Fox. He was a bear mule and black as midnight. But he was a good old fella, and my favorite.

On the way home, I was standing just behind the horses, behind the wagon gate. It was about as tall as my chest. Well, we hit a big rock or something and I flew out of that wagon and landed under it as it moved and the wheel ran right over my chest. My dad thought I was gone because he saw it happen and thought for sure I was dead. Well, all it did was break my ribs. To get me home, he stopped at a neighbor's house and borrowed a feather bed mattress and laid it in the back of the wagon, to let me lie on it all the way home."

We all miss him, but I have lots of stories and great memories of this wonderful man....here is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us together....both napping, after he had come in from the dairy and fell asleep playing with his brand new grand-daughter. Note the strong family resemblance (bald heads). I confess to always being one of his favorites - it must have been a result of this early bonding moment. :-)

52 Ancestors #3: Mary Anne Hill

Get ready for another family myth-busting ride! For my third installment of this series, I have chosen  to feature my Great Great Grandmother, Mary Anne Hill Daniels. I had not intended for Mary to be such a problem child for this post. In fact, I thought she would be a breeze....and then I had an "out-of-research" experience. You know that feeling, when you've been researching a line, and can recite the facts you've gathered with your eyes closed and at the drop of a hat - and suddenly your own litany has a snag. You can actually see from outside the research realm and catch something you had not caught before....that is a prime example of why this series has proven to be such a great prompt! And why we should practice this kind of "review" from time to time - beyond 2014.

Mary Anne Hill has a wonderful story and family heirloom associated with her narrative. One that has been told time and again about a clock and an Ohio Yankee girl serving up breakfast to a group of Confederate Soldiers during the raiding parties of General John Hunt Morgan. That is...until today...I do believe, after this post, I will be changing the story just a tad....

What I know about Mary Anne Hill:
Name: Mary Anne Hill Daniels
Born: January 30th, 1842, 43, or 44 (various documents list January, but different years) in Radcliff, Vinton County Ohio
Died: 1934, Gallia County Ohio
Married: Madison Daniels, October 29th, 1865, Gallia County Ohio
Parents: Richard Hill of North Carolina & Sarah Oiler of Virginia or Pennsylvania (conflicting records)
Children: John, Minerva, Margaret, George, Jesse, William, Eva, Arizona, Arthur, Clyde

My Grandfather, Charles (mentioned in #2), had a small anecdote about his memory of Mary:
"I don't remember much about Grandma Mary since I was very little, but I do remember she was a very independent woman. She lived on the farm with Uncle Jess and Aunt Min (brother & sister), and I can remember a time when she took a couple of big bowls of beans outside to snap or something, and I went out to ask her if I could help, and she said "No". I pressed her further and asked again to help. She flapped her hands at me and said "No, no, shoo, you kids get out of here!" I guess she just wanted to do it herself." (Charles Daniels Sr., 2002)

What I THOUGHT I knew about Mary - The Mystery of the Clock:
We have a story in the family that centers on a mantel clock that was handed down through the Daniels male line. This mantel clock was said to have come from the farm that Madison & Mary had made their home on for decades. The family legend states that this clock was on the mantel during the time when General John Hunt Morgan was making headway into Ohio during the Civil War. Just before their capture, Morgan's men spread out along the areas near the river, separating into small foraging groups, taking what they needed. As a raiding party in enemy territory, any farm chosen for such ransacking would have been in danger of further harm without capitulation. According to the details of this story, Grandma Mary voluntarily invited the invading men inside and fixed them a big breakfast, which left them full, satisfied, and grateful enough to leave the Daniels household largely in-tact. We also made the assumption that Grandma Mary did this because her husband was a Union soldier, and might have been even more afraid of repercussions. Cool story....but...

What I have realized about the story:
1. This story may not be about Mary at all!
2. Mantel clock age IS correct to validate the story - 1830s Chauncey Boardman "Groaner" Clock made in Connecticut.
3. Time frame of Morgan's men traveling through southern Ohio, just prior to capture: 1863
4. Military service date of Madison Daniels: Sept. 1864 through June 1865
5. Marriage date of Madison and Mary: October 29th, 1865
6. Handwritten notes of repair dates on the back of the clock do confirm it was in the hands of the Daniels side of the family after the War.

So...If the clock was on their mantel, and Mary served them breakfast...
1. Was she living with Madison BEFORE marriage? Highly unlikely for a small community in 1863.
2. If they were living together, Madison would have been home - he had not yet entered the army - which removes the "fear" factor in relation to a Confederates finding out about this being a Union soldier family.
3. My father added an element to the story - that someone was hiding under a bridge in the area while Morgan's men were raiding - where, when, & why?
4. Both sets of parents were alive and living on farms in the area.
5. The Daniels side of the family was from Pennsylvania.
6. The Hill side was from Virginia & North Carolina.
7. Was breakfast served by Grandmother Delila Daniels, a northern woman who may have had another son in the war at the time? (Need to research the rest of the men militarily)
8. Was breakfast served by Grandmother Sarah Hill, or by Mary, still living in her parents' household - could this have been a sympathetic southern family....serving up a little treason for breakfast?
9. The entire story is false?
10. Either way, the troop movements and clock age do coincide to the family farms in the area (after some local research).

Which means....
This story, while still a valid piece of family narrative, should be related in the future with the above considerations. Plus, this just means I have more work to do! I would love to find out more about the farms in the area, the military service of the families, etc. I don't think it's possible to prove the story, but eliminating certain possibilities can be achieved with additional work.

Ah, Grandma Mary - my newest enigma!

52 Ancestors #2: Richard Daniels

This post is for the little Uncle who never made it to a census. Richard M. Daniels was born on September 3rd, 1913 in Columbus Ohio. He died on April 7th, 1918 in Columbus Ohio...smack dab between the census cycle. According to the back of this photo, he had light hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. He was the second child born to Clyde and Ruth (Schilling) Daniels, and therefore, my Grandfather's brother. Besides this picture, and his death certificate, I don't have much knowledge about this little fellow. Although, I will write more about his Mom and Dad later. One thing I do have concerning little Richard, is the following story my Grandfather, Charles Daniels, related to me in 2002 about his brother's death:

"Besides my Brother Horace, I had another Brother Richard, and a sister Garnet. Both of them died at a young age and are buried with my Mom up in Columbus. I was the oldest and next came Richard. He was such a sweet little boy.When he was about five, he got real bad sick and the doctors didn't know what was wrong. He was sick for quite awhile and finally the doctor sent for doctors and professors from Ohio State University to help figure out what was wrong with him. But even them with all their tests could not find out what was wrong. He kept getting sicker and sicker and I remember that two ladies came from the Church and prayed for little Richard. They said 'Lord, if this little boy can't get better and get well, please take him home.' It was only about an hour after they prayed over him that he died. As a little boy this made a big impression on me and I can still see it like it was yesterday."

As a post script to his story, I am including a copy of Richard's death certificate below. The doctor listed pneumonia as the cause of death, and that he had the illness for over two months! He was not quite 5 years old, about four and a half - which was interesting to me. The doctor gave a clear cause of death with a notation that read "No Other Cause". I don't know how common that type of notation would have been. At first I thought maybe Grandpa's memory was a little off, but that notation makes me think he was remembering pretty spot on. He got Richard's age correctly, and the long illness.....

Here is something that might help fill in the blanks - some conjecture - as it turns out, Richard's little sister Garnet had passed away the year before, at the age of one and a half....almost exactly a year earlier....of "lung and cerebral complications following the measles." In the years following the death of the two children, Ruth was naturally known to have not taken this double tragedy well - no one would have. She joined a spiritualist church in an attempt to talk to her dead children. My guess is that the lingering, lung related, illness of her second child, so close to the death of her daughter, sent a panicked stricken Mother to the jugular of the local doctor. If he could not make the child any better, and as Richard continued to decline, I would bet there was some pressure to get extra help in the treatment, perhaps explaining Grandpa's memory about the University doctors and professors. It is heartbreaking that nothing could save this sweet little boy. Perhaps next week I will post about Garnet's death. The double grief caused a ripple effect in the family.

52 Ancestors #1: Aunt Rose

My first post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge belongs to my Great Great Aunt Rose Beyersdoerfer Pangburn. I never met Aunt Rose, but she holds a special place in my heart, which I will get to in a moment. For now, here is her profile:



Name: Rose A. Beyersdoerfer
Born: August 16, 1888
Died: ?
Father: John Beyersdoerfer Sr.
Mother: Emma Fleeman (Fliehmann)
Spouse: Emery Pangburn (1885-1976) - Married in 1914
Lived: Foster, Bracken County, Kentucky

What I know about Aunt Rose: I know she was the sibling of a pretty large family - about 7 siblings. She was the oldest daughter, but not the oldest child. The oldest child in the family was my Great Grandfather, John Jr. I know she was born in Bracken County and settled there with her husband Emery. I know she had at least two children: Elma and Virginia. I recently found out that her husband worked for the railroad and that she was listed as a homemaker.

What I don't know about Aunt Rose: Quite a lot. I was surprised to learn that I never recorded her death date. Nor am I quite sure where she is buried. I suspect she is buried in Lenoxburg Cemetery with many of her family members, but this gives me another person to look for when I head up there next time. She needs a good search just focused on her....many sibling lines get neglected too many times among my branches.

Anecdotes related to Aunt Rose:
The photo seen above is one of a tiny pair developed from a booth - an ancient selfie. The other side of the pair is this photo here with Aunt Rose in the back, with her younger sister Celia (called Ceely by family) in the lower right hand side, and a friend, Velma Morford (Mofford) on the left. According to family lore (My Great Grandmother Nellie Cox Beyersdoerfer), Velma was a dear family friend who was favored by the sisters to marry my Great Grandfather John Jr. - Therefore, Nellie couldn't stand her! Nellie got her man, but never forgot about Velma's favored place in the family - she even cut her photo out of a group shot one time - oooh, ancestor drama!!

The reason I feel a little drawn to Aunt Rose is this photo of her as a very young woman. It is probably my very favorite photo in the collection. The original is no bigger than a postage stamp, but I have enlarged it many times and have one such copy hanging in my office at KHS. The time frame is near to the sinking of the Titanic, and with the size of that hat, and the name Rose, I couldn't help thinking she looked as glamorous as the famous Rose of the movie Titanic. Even though she was a humble farmer's daughter, she certainly knew how to glam it up! I wish I knew what color the hat was as I'm sure it would rival any derby hat today!
Sure wish I could have known Aunt Rose, but I'm looking forward to learning more about her as my research grows.

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a blogging prompt for each week of 2014 and created by Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small.

52 Ancestors Challenge....Deep Breath

This is just a quick intro to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge posted by Amy Johnson Crow on her her site No Story Too Small. As you can guess, this challenge is daring us to be faithful to blogging our ancestors, one at a time for each week of 2014. It is not meant to be too daunting - you needn't blog their entire life story - just a post about them in general: a story, photograph, biography, or research problem.

After thinking about this one, I am going to attempt to increase the challenge level: Due to the amazing family collection I was blessed with, I am going to try and pick out 52 ancestral individuals who are represented tangibly, either with a photograph or ephemera that represents them visually. That way, I will be sharing something new that I have not shared before (for the most part), which should not only make for an interesting post, but should entertain the family with little before seen gems.

If possible, I would also like to present them almost as wanted criminal profiles. The image should be present, followed by what I know about them, what I have researched, and what areas of research I lack. I am hoping this level of ancestry honesty will kick me in the pants as to the amount of gaps I have in my research. BTW, each post in this challenge will be labeled for easy following.

Be sure to monitor Amy's blog to catch up on the most entertaining and interesting posts that come out of this challenge. So far, she has over 150 participants signed up! This should make for a VERY entertaining 2014!