Hey There, Delilah!

"Hey there Delilah here's to you
This one's for you"

Oh, it's what you do to me...squealing and jumping up and down, and getting all misty. OK, that's not part of the song. But we've all imagined a moment of discovery that gives us chills and reveals a piece of history previously lost. I had this moment a couple of months ago....in a dusty old basement...pulling back the sheet and staring into the face of an ancestor I had never met...neither physically nor photographically. So, without further ado, I have the honor of revealing the photo of a long lost ancestor: Delilah Estle Daniels!

Delilah Estle Daniels

The discovery was made when I encountered a pile of very large photographs, all framed in different ways, covered by sheets. Three of the images were children - and images I had seen before, only smaller: My grandfather, Charles, as a baby, and his infant siblings who had died before the age of 4 - Richard & Garnet.

But then I saw her. She was staring up at me, right in the eye....rather knowing...and piercing. I knew I had never seen her before. In all the scanned photo albums I had poured over for decades, she was new. She was unknown, but she was obviously important if she had been kept secure all these years.

Below her portrait was an older gentleman. Again, no one that I knew. Followed by another, much younger gentleman. This man's identity I was pretty certain of as I had seen several of him as an old man. His big clues of giveaway: he was sporting the same beard and hairline in his old age as he was in this picture: Madison Daniels.

Madison Daniels

All three images were chalk portraits. You know the kind, large beautiful images that are a tad softer around the edges, bearing a chalk-like appearance. These images are usually created as enlargements of smaller images, but I had never seen the smaller originals.

I searched in vain for a label of identification....their frames were all different....and freshly sealed with paper tape. After identifying the young man as Madison, one of my Aunts declared the older woman had to be his wife, Mary. Keep in mind that all three portraits were very similar in construct. Madison's paper looked a bit more yellow, but if these were created around the same time, the age difference was possibly a big clue that the woman was not his wife. But at this point, that is just conjecture. Funny thing about Madison's portrait - even though I knew who he was, I thought, "Wow, a pic of John Hunt Morgan!" With the family story about John Hunt Morgan and the family clock, it was just an internal ancestral joke....you know, the kind no one would understand if you said it out-loud. The similarity in hair and beard with JHM is pretty cool.

I had seen so many images of Madison's wife, Mary Hill, that I knew immediately this was NOT Mary. This declaration fell on deaf ears....and so I had no choice but to go in for dissection. Dissecting the frame is a hard call in cases such as these, but I was also not the owner of these portraits, and only had a few hours in their presence. Since there was a good chance I would never see them again, and since I had my really good camera with me (Thank God) I took a more drastic measure.

In order to get a clear image of the older couple, the glass had to come off. I was not in an area of good lighting and had to use flash. I dug into the man's frame, took him out, but found no label. Cue sound of heart breaking. Funny note about his photo. There was a piece of masking tape on the glass, exactly like the pieces attached to the glass of the three children's portraits. Each of those pieces of tape had my grandfather's handwriting, identifying each child: Charles, Garnet, Richard. He had clearly meant to write on the label of the gentleman's portrait, but failed to do so. Does this mean he knew him and just forgot that step after freshly securing the back? Possibly.

Then I dug into the woman's frame. Cue the ancestral angels singing: There was writing on the back of her portrait!!! Her name was truncated due to a possible family nickname: "Lila Estel Daniels, wife of John Daniels. Their children: James, Madison, John, Abraham, Silas, Janie." That brought on the squeals and happy dances. I could not believe I was looking into the face of a woman I had long known by name.

I first learned of Delilah Estle Daniels from the pages of the family Bible record given to my father years ago by Aunt Mattie Townsend. I wrote about this Bible record previously, and it became a wonderful piece of proof during my DAR application process. In fact, I submitted a copy which will forever be in the DAR application records. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1804, the daughter of Silas and Sarah Estle. This means she was the granddaughter of my Patriot, Daniel Estle! So many feels!

I also have a couple of other artifacts related to Delilah: Her obituary, handwritten by someone in the family. And a signed verse from Church in 1841. I'm assuming the later has to do with the membership process, but it is signed by Delilah and has been a special piece of our heritage for several years.

As for the other gentleman, I'm seriously thinking this may be Madison's father, John Daniels. With the similarities in photo production, his hair style and clothing, the odds are in his favor. I cannot be completely sure, but I also know that it would fit into the overall story of how these pictures would have been obtained. From what I have heard, the family went down to the family farm, in Porter Ohio, after the last inhabitant passed away (probably Uncle Jess - died 1964.) They took home items that were left in the old farmhouse. Since they came away with Delilah, and Madison, it makes sense that John came along as well. With grandpa about to place a name on the masking tape, I'm assuming he knew the identity. Uggghh, if only he would have written on the tape!! But regardless, we are overjoyed to have a few ancestors returned to the family collective.

John Daniels?

Since I do not want to be the only person with the photo - I am placing a copy of Delilah's photograph on Findagrave for family members to find her and download a copy. I will place John there as well, with a note, asking if anyone has the original smaller version out there. If someone else in the family has the smaller version labeled, we could get confirmation!

**Note that her name is spelled "Delila" on her tombstone. In every other written document - the Bible, her Church token, and her obituary - there is an 'h' at the end of her name.

Welcome home, grandma Delilah! "Girl, you look so pretty!"

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!

The Homeward Bound Bible

A.K.A. Family Bibles in Crisis....

About a year ago my Aunt contacted me concerning a recent trip she had made to Columbus Ohio. She had been visiting with a cousin of ours from my Grandfather's side of the family. This was one of those "many times removed" types of cousins as they were from one of my Great Grandfather's siblings' branches - you know, one that makes you cross your eyes when you try to figure out the relational designation. Despite the relatively distant nature, this cousin had remained close to my Grandfather over the years, and therefore somewhat close to our family. While visiting with this cousin, they informed her that the Family Bible in their possession needed to find a new home as their closer family members did not express any interest in maintaining this family gem. So, Aunt Becky was glad to take it, knowing she had a family history nut (niece) in our branch, or as they like to call me, keeper of the family stuff.

To make the transfer of this newly acquired hot family contraband, we chose an inconspicuous place, where no one would suspect transfer of valuable family heirlooms: The Graeter's Ice Cream parlor on Colerain Ave! It was quite the scene, as all of us were very excited about the ice cream, and yet I was trying not to get excited about the Bible until everyone was finished with the creamy sugary goodness on their hands. There was another reason I was excited.....

I had been told that this was Madison Daniels' Bible. He happened to be my Great Great Grandfather and Civil War Veteran from Gallia County Ohio. Under normal circumstances, this would excite any history buff, but this Bible had been "missing" from the family ranks for years. In fact, my Father had been given the Family entries or pages from a similar Family Bible, also from the Madison Daniels branch, many years ago. You can see this previous post to read the pages given to us from another side branch as represented by Great Aunt Mattie Daniels Townsend.

The pages passed to my father consisted of 4 pages of Family entries - beginning with Madison's parents -  plus the title pages and publication information from a large Bible - published in 1879. When I was about to receive "Madison's" Bible at Graeter's, I was intrigued, thinking it impossible for this to be the Bible that the loose pages came from. I was thinking it might have been a smaller personal Bible that came from Madison later in life as I had seen that occur with both sets of my Grandparents.

To my surprise, the Bible brought to me that night in Graeter's was the correct size to be the missing Bible. Appropriately, it was missing its Family record pages and its publication pages - this had to be it! To confirm this theory, there was one hand written entry in a leftover blank page at the front that read "Madison Daniels & Family, May 1st, 1879, compliments of N.B. Sisson." To have that entry with the date of receipt that matched the date of publication meant a slam dunk......

......and then I started reviewing the entries from the family pages. While the publication pages fit perfectly within the binding, the family pages seemed shorter and of a different paper consistency. I also noticed that the family entries only covered Madison's family, from his parents, grandparents and siblings. Since Madison had been married for over ten years by the time he had received the Bible, it was odd that the entries did not include his new family unit. I finally came to the conclusion that the four Bible pages that detailed the family history of one side of the family, had come from an entirely different and still "missing" Bible.

The pages outlining family members' births, deaths, and marriages included events as early as 1804 and concluded with the death of one of the ten children born to John and Delilah Daniels in 1845. There were no entries near the 1879 date of the full Bible I received. Sadly, this tells me that there is still a "missing", and perhaps "lost" Family Bible that had been owned by John and Delilah (Estle) Daniels.

Not an Uncommon Occurrence:

Sadly, this is not a unique story. There are many Family Bibles in precarious or discarded states. Just think about how many of these Bibles are for sale within antique stores or online. With all of the many family heirlooms passed down, it seems as though the Family Bible does not rank among the most valuable of items when viewing things in comparison. Why would this trend take hold within families? I have a couple of theories.

First: The size of many of these Bibles is just not practical. The large, Victorian style Bibles were meant to be a focal point somewhere in the house. They were not only central displays of a family's connection to religion and Church membership (many were presented as gifts to members on a special occasion, or from a local Church neighbor/friend.), but they also became a place to openly preserve precious pieces of family ephemera. (The Bible I received at Graeter's that night also included locks of hair and little sentimental paper tidbits from Madison, his children and even his parents) Our 20th/21st century families have changed considerably. This tradition of prominently displaying a giant Bible full of precious family mementos has faded to almost non-existence. Plus, the rate of family ephemera production has increased a thousand fold - which requires we file or box things away - too numerous for the pages of a Bible.

Second: While many of us are still faithful Church goers, or dedicated to a religious walk, many of us are not. The family unit has continued some traditions, and discarded others. As the faith of America has declined over the years, so too has our value of those family heirlooms that reflect or represent the deep faithful history of our ancestors. For many who have decided that religion is not something they want to incorporate into their own lives, they can sometimes fall into the trap of losing respect for those things that held religious importance in the lives of their ancestors.

This is a trend that I think has become a great tragedy. Despite any current personal believe system or perceived "evolution" from the pitfalls of religious belief, these belief systems were highly important to our ancestors and should be valued as a part of their existence. I am very opposed to religiously censoring our ancestors or historical figures. Despite what we may think today, we must include their religious beliefs in our Family Histories, or we cannot truly understand the motivation behind many life decisions that shaped their history.

Then there is the combination of both theories into the biggest reason behind the Family Bibles in crisis: APATHY. The darned things are so big and cumbersome, almost impossible to store or easily pass on to future descendants. Which has meant an influx of donations to local historical societies or archives. While the intent behind such a donation is admirable, just think about what happens when those institutions try to store these precious, but giant, family heirlooms. Despite the overall impressions, institutions are strapped for space as well. You think it's hard to find a space in your house for your Family Bible - try housing hundreds of them. To compensate for this storage issue, many institutions are removing the family specific pages/entries and storing those in files, only to destroy or give back the Bible itself due to space crunches. (Of course there are exceptions if the Bible itself is a historically significant one based on publication specifics or dispersal of information throughout)

Solution to this problem? Please reconsider the value of the Family Bible - yes, the awkward giant one. These giant reminders of a giant faith are getting older and older with each decade that passes. Some are even getting ready to pass into the 200 year age range. So, how does one keep it and preserve it properly? Easy peasy, just get one half cubic foot archival storage box, wrap the Bible in acid free/archival tissue paper and place it in the box, spine side down. The box can then be stored standing up or lying down in a part of the house that has even temperatures - no attics or basements. In the grand scheme of household storage and our thousands of chotchkies we always seem to make room for, please make a little room for a priceless family heirloom that will someday speak volumes about the religious freedom enjoyed by Americans - both early and later generations.

BTW, this post does not just apply to Family Bibles. Any religious artifact handed down in the family should be revered and properly stored for future generations - even if it only plays the role of a multi-generational conversation starter! Don't forget - the printed book is fading as we download more and more titles. Just think about the impact on younger generations 30 years from now when you go to the closet and pull out a GIANT printed Bible! History hooks at work!
Vaya con Dios, folks!
C

Missing Civil War Letters

Due to the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, anything and everything pertaining to this historical period will be more active on everyone's radar. Hopefully, this collective genealogical/historical radar can help find a lost family artifact. Let me preface by saying that the chances of finding copies of these letters are extremely low, as I will explain below. However, hopefully this post will be tagged and hover out there in the interwebs to be discovered someday by someone who can help.....even if it is years later, just finding copies of them would be an amazing thing for our family.

The letters were apparently from my 3rd Great Grandfather, Madison Daniels, to his wife Mary Ann (Hill) Daniels back in Porter Ohio (Gallia County). However, there were several Daniels brothers who were also possibly writing back and forth at the time and perhaps their response letters exist somewhere out there as well (among their descendants?). The four brothers that fought during the war were:

John Quincy Adams Daniels - 56th Ohio Infantry - taken prisoner at Vicksburg and remained there until the end of the War.

Madison Daniels - 173rd Ohio Infantry (1864-1865)

Abraham/Abram Daniels - 173rd Ohio Infantry (1864-1865)

Silas Daniels - 179th Ohio Infantry (1864-1865)

Madison supposedly wrote about the upcoming election and favoring Lincoln, among other details of his unit's being stationed in Nashville. I would also imagine that their brother's prisoner status in Vicksburg could have been a subject included.....but unfortunately, I have never read them.

The reason these letters are in the category of 'needle in a haystack' is because they were reportedly lost in a fire somewhere around the mid-1980s. I was still a kid at the time, and so I don't remember a lot about the loss. They were in the possession of my Grandfather Charles Daniels of Cincinnati Ohio. I'm not sure how long he had these letters (possibly since the 1960s), but at some point he loaned

Daniels Brothers
L-R Charles & Horace

 them to his brother Horace Daniels....of undetermined locale. I can remember that Horace travelled A LOT. When the family talked about him, they mentioned Hawaii, Texas, his children in California, etc. and that was all in relation to recent places of residence. Apparently it was while living in Hawaii that these letters were lost in an apartment fire.

So....do I think the fire report was inaccurate? Not really - although word of mouth reports can be wrong. My hope is that somewhere out there they were photocopied and passed out to other family members, perhaps in the California area. If they were misplaced after a fire, and ended up in a museum somewhere, stranger things have happened. I have not lost hope that somewhere in all of my Grandfather's things, he may have taken photocopies of them to file away - even though he said he did not have a chance to copy them. My inkling of doubt for his memory in this area exists due to his obsession with photocopying. Even back when photocopying was not an easy task, he was copying everything! Later, after the loss of these letters, he even bought his own desktop copier machine. Grandfather's files are another matter entirely, and hopefully someday, we will be able to sift through everything for that happy surprise - copies of these letters! But in the meantime, we're hoping these soldier names might stick with folks as they conduct research this year, and for the next 5 years to come. Particularly in the western part of the country where the letters were last seen and where Horace's descendants may still reside. We would love to connect with them anyway as that branch of the family tree has always been a bit hazy for us.

BTW, on a side note, I ran across a couple of cool Civil War sites for Ohio:

Fight for the Colors: The Ohio Battle Flag Collection (Ohio Historical Society

http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/exhibits/fftc/index.aspx

Ohio in the Civiil War

http://www.ohiocivilwar.com/

Daniels Family Bible Records

Another task off the old to-do list: Posting the Daniels Family Bible Records. These had been posted on the old site, but are now being transferred here to rest in limbo until a more permanent online repository can be created. Special thanks to Aunt Mattie Daniels Townsend for passing these treasures on to my father years ago. Enjoy: Most of the records are from the Pennsylvania and Ohio regions. I will post the transcription below each image.

John Daniels son of John and Experience Daniels was born in state of Pennsylvania August twenty second Eighteen hundred and four.
Delilah Daniels daughter of Silas and Sarah Estle was born in the county of Green and the state of Pennsylvania May eight Eighteen hundred and four.
Eliza Anne Daniels daughter of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Washington county Pennsylvania December twenty second Eighteen hundred and twenty four.
Abram Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels as born in Fayette county Pennsylvania October ninth Eighteen hundred and twenty six.
Isaac Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Green county Pennsylvania September eight Eighteen hundred and twenty eight.
Isaac Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels departed this life September tenth Eighteen hundred and twenty eight.
Nancy Jane Daniels departed this life January the thirty first one thousand eight hundred and forty five aged eight years and four months and four days.

Silas Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Fayette county Pennsylvania November twentieth eighteen hundred and twenty nine.
Mary Daniels daughter of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Fayette county Pennsylvania January fifth Eighteen hundred and thirty two.
James Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Fayette county Pennsylvania February thirteenth Eighteen hundred and thirty four.
Nancy Jane Daniels daughter of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Jefferson county Ohio September twenty fourth Eighteen hundred and thirty six.
Madison Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Jefferson county Ohio December eighth Eighteen hundred and thirty eight.

Harriett Daniels daughter of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Jefferson county Ohio March fifth eighteen hundred and forty one.
John Q. A. Daniels son of John and Delilah Daniels was born in Gallia county Ohio September the twenty fifth one thousand eight hundred and forty three.

John Daniels was joined in marriage to Delilah Estle March seventh eighteen hundred and twenty four.

Aunt Maggie and the Dying Nun

As I was rummaging through an old genealogy folder, I came across a small Daniels family stash that I had neglected to move into their respective surname files several years ago. The file consisted of the original family Bible records which I have available on the main site, as well as hand written family odds and ends. Mainly items completed by the school age children of my great great grandparents household (Madison and Mary Daniels of Gallia County Ohio).

In time I may feature a few more of these charming little odds and ends, but today, Maggie's full page of writing caught my attention. One side of the page is crammed full of a poem about a dying woman named Clare. When I tried to Google a phrase or two, I had a few entries pop up from a popular song called "The Dying Nun". According to a few of these publications, not much is known about this popular parlor song. One source listed the earliest record of this song as 1928, but the earliest I can find from web postings is 1907. Another curious note about this song is the variation of lyrics. Most of the later copies from the 1940s and 50s have replaced a few lines entirely.

The lines as written by Aunt Maggie Daniels are as follows:

Let the air blow in upon me
Let me see the midnight sky,
Stand back, sister, from around me
Oh, it is so hard to die.

Raise my pillow up oh Martha
Sister Martha, you are kind
Come and stand close here beside me
E'er I leave you all behind

Hold my hand, so cold and frozen,
Once it was so soft and white,
And the ring that fell down from it
Clasped my finger round so tight

Little ring they thought so motherless
That they let me keep it there
Only one plain golden circle
With a braid of Douglas's hair.

Oh, my father, Oh my mother
Will you not forgive the past
When you hear some stranger tell you
How your stray lamb died at last.

And of all who used to love me
Who will weep when I am dead?
Sister Martha, sister Martha
Keep the death watch by my bed.

Sister Martha, sister Martha
You are kinder than the rest,
Raise my head and let me lean it
While I live upon my breast.

I was thinking of some music
I had heard long, long ago
O, how sweet the nuns are singing
In the chapel soft and low.

But a strain of music stealing
Drowns my holy midnight dream
Hark! I hear that wild waltz pealing
As I float away to him.

I am coming Douglas, Douglas
Where you are I'll soon be there.
Oh! I come at last my dearest
Death gives back your little Clare.

Sister Martha, are you near me,
Has the moon gone down so soon?
O, the cell seems cold as winter
Though I know that it is June.

Sister, your white bed lying
Dreaming in the June moonlight.
Though your dreams there comes no message
Clare dies alone tonight.


Ironically, the lyrics aren't full of references to nuns, which makes the origins of this song all the more intriguing. Obviously, little Clare is dying and longs to be reunited with Douglas.....and she is a lamb that has strayed. Was she placed in a nunnery after her fall with dearest Douglas? Conjecture only as we may never know the origins of this song. I did happen to search for a dying nun Clare, but all I could come up with was a Saint Clare from the 12th century who was named the patron saint of the Television in 1958. Why was she named the patron saint of the Television? Because as she lay dying and too ill to attend mass, she was able to see it happening on the wall of her room, apparently the first flat screen!


As to the year of this piece, Maggie's copy would appear to be older than the copies placed online. On the flip side of the paper, Maggie has written a poem that lists the Presidents of the United States. According to Maggie, the current President was Rutherford B. Hayes who was President from 1877-1881. Maggie Daniels was born in 1870 and even if the year was 1881, she was only in the range of 10 or eleven years old. Quite a heavy verse for a 10 year old, but then, children did seem much more mature in the past generations. For those of you who are curious, Maggie grew up to marry George Wagner, had three children and died in 1955 at the age of 85.

One thing I learned about dear Aunt Maggie, she had lovely penmanship!
C
4/11/2010