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!"

Our Cincinnati Union Terminal

Some places on planet earth have the ability to transport the living back through time as they envelope us in waves of sensory memory. With a look, a touch, a reflection of light off of a surface, we physically sense time. Not just seconds or minutes on a clock, but the emotions and heavy presence of life that came before us. The lives that built our present still resonate in the structural echos.

When the Museum Center asked "why" we love this museum, my mind immediately passed over dozens of scenes from more than one lifetime. With the building's construction in 1928-33, I saw my great grandfather, Clyde Daniels. Family tradition has always proudly remembered him as not only a railroad employee, but one that was employed and on-site when the building opened. 

His son Charles followed in his footsteps, working at the terminal, monitoring and maintaining train cars for over 25 years. When the flood waters of 1937 rose steadily, it was Charles that was in the lower levels that night (Black Sunday), witnessing the flood waters come up through the sewer system as the lights began to fail in this part of the city. His call to authorities began mobilization in his area.

"I was a young man of twenty five years of age and was employed by the Cincinnati Union Terminal Company and a First Sergeant of Company C 147th Infantry Ohio National Guard....On Friday night, the water started to back up onto Freeman Avenue near the ball park and around the Union Terminal. All activity stopped at the Mail Building at the Terminal and I was left there to watch the property. I was in the basement of the office and just outside of the door the lid blew off the sewer and water started to bubble up into the street. I called the Master Mechanic and suggested he get some people to start moving the material up stairs. He laughed at me and said I was just being excited. Soon the water got so deep I went upstairs on the first floor. I went to the water fountain for a drink and there was no water. I tried to use the telephone and it was dead. Then the rising water in the basement hit the generators and the lights went out. I then started down the platform toward the Coach Yard. When I reached the end of the platform I could see that the water was several feet deep. So I turned around and went toward the passenger station. I was able to get to the station and stayed there until my time to quit at 7AM. The water by this time had backed up in front of the Terminal and it was necessary for a high bed truck to take us out. I was told not to report to work that night." Charles C. Daniels, Sr. 1985

I saw the many travelers, especially in wartime. My grandfather and his brother would have been among the many men who had to say goodbye to their families as they were called to serve their country. I saw the women in the USO, providing comforts of home to weary soldiers. I saw tearful partings and reunions. It was under these colorful arches of the semi-dome that many said final goodbyes. 

I saw my father Charles Jr. as a boy, following his father around the terminal, getting glimpses of the nooks and crannies rarely seen by the regular visitor. Years later, he applied his profession of photography to the back tracks with his father as the subject, chronicling his retirement. I saw generation after generation of parents teaching their children to talk in the far corner of the front entry as they were given a magical lesson in acoustics.

I saw the fast paced buzz of train travel in the 20th century, and the busy cabbies driving through the circular underbelly to transport new arrivals or drop of the departing passenger. 

Fast forward to the lean years of indecision and trepidation. I saw shoppers and a whole room of suits as my parents took their time, shopping and savoring the palpable remnants of the past. 

I saw rebirth. A new generation of visitors. Some train passengers, the rest time passengers as they were transported through Cincinnati's history. Children exploring and learning at every turn. My brother and I screaming and laughing in the sink hole cave exhibit. Dad taking a picture with a flash, and blinding us all. The train of twinkling lights stretching across the iconic clock each Christmas as a bright and joyful treat coming down the expressway.

I remember ice cream in the soda shop and marveling at the Rookwood tiles inside. I remember weddings, theatre, and flying over the Grand Canyon. I remember walking the plaster statues of WWII, having a bowl of Skyline in the rotunda, and being transfixed with wonder every time I see the massive murals of colorful glass that tell a story all their own: Seriously, EVERY SINGLE TIME. 

Today, we talk about uniqueness, aesthetics, and sense of place as necessary building blocks of a happy and satisfied community. How do we draw them in and make them want to live here or stay here? Give them a unique experience unlike any other, so they say. There is no more unique place in this city than the Museum Center at Union Terminal. Where else can you get a healthy dose of art, culture, history, and architectural wonder? It has no equal in the entire country, let alone in this Queen City. Union Terminal is not just a building, an Art Deco echo, filled with exhibits and theatre, it IS Cincinnati. This temple of time, this holy place, tells OUR story as no other could.

For more information, including how you can help support this American treasure in trouble, visit the Museum Center website. or @CincyMuseum on Twitter

FGS Day 1 - Officially

It's finally, officially here: FGS 2013! As the official kick-off got underway, we were treated to an opening session by Cyndi Ingle Howells of Cyndi's List. She was speaking of today's challenges and necessities for online presence success, all while reminiscing about the early days of online efforts. So, just to be clear, no music or flashing images....as Cyndi put it, "background music on websites is SO 1998 - just don't do it!" It was clear to everyone that things have changed dramatically since Cyndi pioneered her staple of the genealogy field....and we were again amazed at the changes ahead. As Societies, it is imperative that we follow her advice to impact more lives, survive, and maximize engagement. Great lessons from an amazing online pioneer - we thank her for her many years of hard work!

Since today was a focus on societies, the issues followed an administrative pattern. The thing is, we all need to adopt this broader mindset. We should all become outward thinkers....adopting, or at least thinking about issues that influence the big picture. While most have missions in place, that staple should be maintained by the healthy habit of evaluating what we are doing to follow said missions. Much of the session content I attended today revolved around publishing and social media. Ironically, both are inevitably intertwined. While publishing would appear to be a different medium, it too is evolving into virtual/online formats. With that transition to an electronic venue, the publications then become easier to promote within the new social media tools that we all must master. So....the more we learn about social media and the quicker we utilize it within the many functions of our society, the greater the overall impact of our society! Which also translates to: we, as a society live to see another day! Yes, that is the message being spread....societies are struggling, but those who can adapt are actually growing and thriving!

Some other tips I picked up from the sessions I attended today (not every session I attended):

First of all: If you see this paparazzi pointing at you...run! She has an itchy and lightning trigger finger!

Cyndi Ingle Howells: 

(Website creation) Don't forget to let people know where you are! There may be many counties with an identical name - just different states.

Red print on websites makes for specific visual challenges - don't do it!

Provide unique content that also changes to keep people coming back to your site.

Tina Lyons: 

Consistent naming/branding along all social media platforms is a must for every society! 

Learn about various social media tools on a personal level FIRST before using it for your society.

Make sure you use the society e-mail address to set up accounts....not someone's personal account that cannot be accessed by any other administrators.

Try not to bore or confuse your audience/visitors.

Rachel Popma:

Mine other organizations for great authors...especially professional/trade organizations.

Make submission guidelines and author agreements visible for potential authors.

Self esteem issues prevent many from writing....you may need to cultivate or encourage a lot to get a submission.

George Morgan:

Partner with local libraries for programming/project partnerships.

Learn your library catalog FULLY or you will miss something in the collection! If you need a librarian to teach your group how to navigate the catalog properly - DO IT!

Utilize Special Interest Groups to diversify your programming and outreach..

The daily activities were capped off by a lovely event hosted by Find My Past: Social at the Botanical Gardens!

Despite the long lines and weary, hungry attendees, the event was a fun way to meet up with colleagues and friends. The gardens are beautiful and the music was a fun addition to the festive food and drink. Here are a few photos from the event.

Wow, OK, I think I'm done for today - exhibit hall opens tomorrow!! See everyone in the morning!!

C

Ancestor 'Selfies'....Got Any?

With our society's evolving technology saturation and its new fascination with 'Selfies', it got me to thinking about how our ancestors might have responded to these cultural developments....and....did they exhibit some of the same traits in their own primitive ways?

The term 'Selfie' is relatively new and bandied about frequently by the younger set. But, did you know that the term is rather restrictive? According to several un-official, pop sources, selfies are only selfies when you take a pic of yourself with a small camera or smartphone for the purpose of sharing via social media. Apparently, some have cautioned that group shots are NOT selfies (I disagree) and that the optimal version of a selfie involves a mirror with eyes looking anywhere but right at the camera: Many have declared that this is the new doomsday sign of a narcissistic society that doesn't have a clue about real social issues.

I'll leave the social implications to the experts and challenge the rest of you to look through your family collections for "ancestral" or "vintage" selfies. I will post a few from my own collection, but here are some thoughts about what characteristics might qualify a vintage photo as a 'selfie':

• Photo should usually be about one person in order to compare to the narcissistic nature of today's selfies. Despite our ancestors' lack of smart phone with large mirror in a bathroom, they still loved snapping shots of themselves. How did they manage? Usually a primitive photo booth, or portable camera. I will allow a couple or few people in the shot to qualify since our ancestors loved seeing how many friends they could cram into the photo booth.
• Photo should have at least a slight narcissistic feel to the image. Either a facial expression trying to be seductive, or a purely unabashed look that says "Yes, here I am, aren't I adorable!!" Could be achieved through general snapshot, photo booth or even studio scenario. Studio shots are only accepted if the photo screams narcissism...I will have an example below....I also think the old Glamour Shots fit into this category, but not quite ready to bring those out with the rest of the ancestor "gems".
• Photo should have a spontaneous feel to it. I know studio portraits are OK if they fit the narcissistic bill above, but non-studio pics should always have a sense of fun, play and zero planning. Sometimes these may try to capture an event the person has just participated in or a new place they have visited. Just think about the many ways we take out the phone to snap a moment. Anything that resembles our snapping habit should be able to fit the ancestral selfie definition.
• And as a special category - don't forget the elusive "drunk" selfie. While we see many of those today, those were not as prevalent in previous generations. Oh, they do exist, but nothing like the frequency of the current drunk trend.

For further reading, her is another take on "Vintage Selfies"....and below, some ancestral 'selfies' from my personal collection:

Great-Grandma Ruth.....ummmm....boudoir photo in her skivvies = seductive 'selfie'

Hey, Baby....I just killed a moose in the Klondike...How Ya like me now?!

What rhymes with 'Drunk'? Oh yeah...'Skunk'! (Very drunk, according to reports)

Taken at Coney Island in Cincinnati: Beyersdoerfer/Fliehmann Family
Just FYI: the top photo in this series is the same gentleman that holds the skunk above.
Apparently, he was a lifelong fan of 'selfies'.

Grandma Freida: The saintly, demur 'selfie'

Also Freida, with Grandpa Roy: One of my all-time favorites.

Could also be another "drunk" 'selfie', but knowing these two, I kinda doubt it.

Sure were having a lot of fun though....hmmmm

Got any 'selfies' to share? Btw, in my opinion, 'selfies' can also exist in paintings and the silhouette portraits of pre-photography days!
Happy hunting!!
C

Serendipity Strikes Again!

Despite the many years of genealogy research under my belt, it did not take long before I quickly dubbed serendipity as my full partner in crime. There are just too many instances of important discoveries that seem to randomly fall into our laps from the oddest places - too many to ignore the Big 'S' and its importance. Years ago, I purchased a small, rectangular gold frame at an estate auction that seemingly housed a calendar print glued to a piece of cardboard. I was happy with the purchase, since all I wanted was the beautiful frame, but once I got it home, I discovered a gorgeous panoramic photograph of an unnamed church congregation from roughly the 1930s or 40s hidden behind the front print.

I really only had a few clues to go on when trying to figure out which church this group was sitting in front of: purchased in central Kentucky, "Lafayette Studios, Lexington Kentucky" embossed in the lower right corner, and a building cornerstone that read "Christian Church, 1894". Based on the size of the congregation, the location of Lafayette Studios and even the type of house sitting next to it, I arrogantly assumed this was a Lexington Christian Church. While I never conducted full scale research on the photo, it was always something I looked for when driving downtown. When leaving work, I would sometimes just take some extra side roads to view a different brick church that might fit the architectural mold. Over the years, it was definitely a church whose outer details were very committed to my memory.

Earlier this week, I was conducting some research for a patron, and was only having marginal success finding their family. Since church records and histories can have additional snippets of local history, I took a chance and picked up this book about the First Disciples-Christian Church in Georgetown Kentucky by Ann Bevins, 1981. I looked through the book and wasn't really having any luck, but when I went to put it back, it fell a bit out of my hands and onto the book shelf with the back cover flipping open as it came to rest. Since I hadn't looked at my panoramic shot in a year or two, I was having what I thought was an extreme deja vu moment - but apparently, my brain was pulling out this memory, and I was suddenly reminded about the photo and missing church. This is what met my eyes:

In an instant the mystery was completely solved. I had not only found my group and building in question, but also a full history of the congregation. Since I have lived in Georgetown for the past 10 years, the mere fact that this Church was in my town completely shocked me.....but then I read enough to realize that this beautiful building, built in 1894 and photographed here in 1939, had tragically burnt in 1947. The current structure was built in 1955, and did not resemble the 19th century brick in any way. So, Serendipity solves another mystery. I did not happen to have family members in Scott County in the 1930s, so for those of you who might be wondering about the identity of the peeps featured, here is a partial list as printed in the back of the book. I will confess that the 1939 image made me think of the 1940 census.....matching a name to a face in 1940 would be quite a treat! I think I'll wait until the index is finished to tackle that one!
C

Pinteresting Family History

As social networking fads go, I am usually a late bloomer. I wait until the hype has died down, and until I know it is a product that is going to stick around long enough for me to add it to my list of e-habits. When the hype about Pinterest started reaching a fever pitch, from first glance, I was unamused. I'm not getting married, I just re-decorated my new house, and I jumped off the crafty barge years ago.....so what would I use this for? I knew I was making a pre-judgement about it, and with the buzz, I decided to give it a shot. And sooooooo, I was hooked immediately. Here's why:

To my core, I am a hugely visual person. I have always loved photography and beautiful images - and collected them at an early age in the form of cuttings or souvenirs. Pinterest appealed to this nature since it is simply virtual scrapbooking. I collected images from around the internet into little albums of my subject choice - called "boards" in Pinterest. Once I started boards for the things I love, books, libraries, tea, gardening, history, etc., I found it to be a relaxing and visually stimulating game. And just FYI - this is supposed to be fun, not serious - so let's not over think this people! In short order, I was abandoning "Words With Friends" to see what neat outfits my friends had pinned, or what art work I could add to the mix. Sometimes, I even pinned photos from my blogs. Which is how an idea started to grow.

When I was a teenager, I made a real scrapbook. I can go back to that scrapbook today and view the images with a sense of nostalgia and happy or sad memories. Pinterest does the same thing. I can look at my boards and get a real sense of the things I love or enjoy. In essence, they are representations of me - in such colorful and vibrant expressions! As I looked at them and had some fun, I suddenly wished I had the same visual essence about my ancestors. After all, they loved scrapbooking too. Only a few still exist, but we have examples of the same thing in tangible form. If they could make the same visual choices, what would they pin? What would we learn about them?

Since I could not go back and ask them to pin things.....I started thinking about what images reminded me of them. Once I made a few boards in honor of a few grandparents that have passed, I soon discovered this had the potential to be a useful, teachable and shareable tool for family history. We are always searching for ways to draw in the interest of younger people, to share their heritage in engaging ways. This is a unique and fun way to do so. Let me show you a few boards, followed by what and why I pinned, plus what I learned through the pinning. I quickly discovered that the more I pinned, the more memories were coming to me, in flashes of color. Stories were being remembered, and I was happily remembering my loved ones in ways I had not done so in a long time.

Boards created: Grandpa Charles, Grandpa Roy, Grandma Freida, Great Grandma Nellie
Description for each: What I remember, and what reminds me of him/her.

Subject 1:
Grandpa Charles

What I pinned:
Cigars - I can remember him smoking these when I was little, but he stopped when I was about 10.
Benji - He and Grandma took us kids to see this Movie and then they bought a dog that looked just like Benji - and named him as such!
Military images - WWII, D-Day
France - He and the family were stationed there during the Korean War.
Delta Queen - He and Grandma took so many trips on this famous boat, I could not count them.
Trains - Both real and model. Grandpa worked for the Railroad for years - at Union Terminal (another pin) - plus he collected and showed model trains (sometimes all of us grandkids helped him with his model train shows).
Nickel - When it was his turn to baby sit, he would try to bribe us kids with a nickel to "be good"!

Subject 2:
Grandpa Roy

Cows - He was a dairy farmer in Kentucky.
Tobacco - Grew lots on the same farm.
Tractors and field images.
Old Westerns - Zane Grey Books or TV Westerns, or anything "out west" - he loved all of these!
Fireflies - He was always around when we were catching them, either on the front porch with a glass of iced tea (See Freida's pin board), or reminding us the next morning to "let those bugs go or they'll die in that jar!"
Virginia Beach - I remember him lifting me up in the air whenever a wave would hit us - I was only five, but I remember this vividly.
Amtrak - I remember the train ride from Cincinnati to Washington D.C. when I was 9 - He and I were seat buddies behind my Mom and Grandma Freida.
Border Collies - He always had these dogs on the farm - and I dearly loved each one!

Subject 3:
Grandma Freida

Iced Tea - She was making this ALL the time - and we LOVED it!
Corn on the cob - from picking it, to peeling it, to cooking it, to eating it....wonderful memories.
Books and the Bible - She was a big reader of the Bible and books in general.
Iron Skillets - For cornbread, of course.
Garter snake - She was talented at going after those things with a hoe! Got them every time!
Canning jars - She canned when I was young, and then moved to freezing when I was older, but either meant a lot of growing, picking and blanching.
Flowers, fruit - Had a large orchard, plus various flowers around the house.

Subject 4:
Great Grandma Nellie

Gone with the Wind Lamps, Moon & Star Glassware - She was a huge antique collector!
Kittens - Always hiding around her porch.
Cotton aprons - Always had one on when I visited.
Sugar cookies!
Hollyhocks and Hollyhock Dolls - She taught me how to make these.
Old school bus in the back, used for storage - but full of bumble bees in the summer!
Letters - She wrote letters all the time.
Family Tree - She was the gatherer of family history and photographs and let me play among them at a young age - letting me ask loads of questions. She was the one who inspired me to research the family and pass on our legacy.

After all of this, I realized that the more I looked at the images I pinned, the more they were drawing even more memories out of my psyche. I also drew some conclusions about the people I remembered. Grandma Freida was such a minimalist, and as I tried to go back through her house in memory, I was having a hard time picking out things she liked - because I do not have one memory of her buying something just because she liked it. She was always buying things for others and living life centered on what happened outside the house on the farm. This is in contrast to Grandpa Charles, who loved collecting things and taking enjoyment in frivolous novelties - two very different ways of life!

Oh! And don't forget, the beauty of Pinterest, is that the memories are not just yours. You can open up your boards to other family members to invite them to post their favorite images about the loved ones.....you will soon learn that though we have some similar memories, many of us have very different ones, which adds a dimension to the life that was. This is a great way to get families talking about memories. As they post an image, remind them to try and give a caption that explains what this image conjures for them. This can be done anytime of the year, or just after a loved one dies as a celebration, or just before a family reunion! The possibilities are endless - but the fun and lessons learned are far reaching!

A last note about copyright. There is some current stink swirling around about copyright and Pinterest. I will post a link to an article about it - but some people are upset that it pulls in images for sharing with thousands of people without proper credit given. My take on this - as long as you are pinning an image from the direct url source, the image becomes a visual url - clicking on it should take me to the original source. I cannot steal the low-rez image and reproduce for profit, I am sharing visual links with friends - which happens in multiple ways all over the internet. Some places, like Flickr, are starting to block their image content from being pinned - which is ridiculous since they are freely sharing the images with the world already by posting to Flickr - with the understanding that I am only visually enjoying them, not stealing them nor re-using them in an abusive way - I hope the rest of the world does not take this drastic and silly stance. I have purposely visited some of my favorite blogs to pin images knowing people will track back to the blog and give my favorite authors some more, and well deserved traffic. I also pin a few desired products complete with pricing - this is the evolving nature of social media - as long as we use this correctly (and pin from the original source), people are getting credit. But then, hey Pinterest - why not pull in the citation info with an image to include as a caption? Just a thought!

Article from PCWorld: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/250700/what_you_should_know_about_pinterest_and_copyright.html

Positively Splendid Article about proper Pinterest Etiquette:
http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2012/02/guide-to-proper-pintiquette-pinterest.html

At the moment, Pinterest is invite only, so if anyone needs an invite, just shoot me an e-mail. If you want to follow my boards as the memories evolve - I am Pastology on Pinterest.
Happy pinning!
C

Sepia Saturday - Sleeping Beauty

I know I'm a day late this week for Sepia Saturday, but when I saw the theme earlier in the week, I knew right away which photo I was going to pull out of the collection. She is labeled in our tin-type album as Mary Allender. With that name attached, I'm pretty sure I know where she fits into the family tree - and would like to assure everyone, that she is NOT a memento mori. About 20 years ago, a distant cousin of ours, Ron Woods, renovated the "Mary Allender Log Home" in Pendleton County Kentucky. I have put the title of the home in quotations to point out its connection to the little sleeping girl.

Ron named this house after his grandmother Mary Allender Carnes who was born and raised right there in the house on Hickory Grove Rd. She was born in 1882, the granddaughter of the original builder, James Jackson Allender. However, for those of us who are cousins from a different line, the "Mary Allender" name also fits our ancestry. James Jackson Allender was married to Mary Stout Allender - both making their home and establishing our ancestry in this beautiful dwelling. This original couple built the log home in 1856, although, poor James only got to enjoy it for about 11 years before he died of smallpox.

James Jackson Allender

The little sleeping Mary is one photo among many others in what I call "The Allender Album". According to a notation in the front, this album belonged to Mary Stout Allender. It is filled with photos of her children and grandchildren. Judging by the age of the photo, and when little Mary was born, chances are pretty good that this is Mary Allender Carnes who grew up with her father Benjamin Allender in the log home. After just a glance at the Allender lines from James and Mary, I'm not seeing any Allender girls named Mary within this time frame: except for Mary Allender Carnes.

As a side note, I've not visited the homestead for quite some time, and have not visited with cousin Ron since he opened the finished log home back in the early 90s. If you are still around cuz, shoot me an e-mail. I have a duplicate tin-type of this photo and if you too think this is your grandmother, we'd love for you to have the original duplicate. I also hear you have a stash of photos - we need to get together for a photo scan fest of our own! I'll be at the Wool Fest in a couple of weekends in case you run across this post!

Tobacco Time

My parents have a beautiful view off of their deck in Scott County Kentucky. It overlooks several rolling hills of active fields and each year a different crop is planted. Over the years, we have watched the growth of soy beans, corn, hay, etc. But this year, for the first time, the farm owners decided to plant tobacco. Despite the controversy surrounding this staple of Kentucky farming, we enjoyed watching the different stages of development as the days of summer ticked by. At this point, the growth has slowed way down due to a lack of substantial rain in this part of the county. The plants appear to be stunted, and have started to bloom out way before the normal time. As my mother and I commented on its stunted growth and development, we realized that the farming traditions and experiences we had while growing up had indirectly taught us much about the tobacco growing process. Even though we were never farmers, we grew up visiting or living some of our lives on Kentucky farms. This meant helping to plant it, watching the little plants grow, watching the blooms appear at the top, watching the spray, followed by the turn of yellow leaves which marked the end of the summer season. As we looked at the leaves in her neighboring farm, we knew we were remembering loved ones in our past.

L-R: John, William (Bill) & Lawrence Beyersdoerfer

As it turns out, we also have several other tobacco farmers in our family tree. The family branches we were remembering came from the northern Kentucky region, on my Mother's side. Despite the steep rolling hills that presented severe challenges to farming anything, the farmers in this area embraced the tobacco crop. Within the Pendleton and Bracken Counties, we had family members in the Fliehmann(Fleeman), Beyersdoerfer, Cox and Watts branches that grew tobacco along with other crops. Ironically, we have several photographs from family or neighbor tobacco farmers posing with their crops proudly. Once my father married into the Watts family - a city boy from Cincinnati - his shutterbug tendencies went wild. The result was a wonderful treasure trove of photographs from the late 1960s - 70s that continues to enhance our family story. Regardless of which generation was being photographed, these farmers were very proud of their crops.

Of course, tobacco was not the only crop that provided sustainable income for these Kentucky farmers. With the German branches of our family near Foster Kentucky, their additional crops came in the forms of corn and grapevines. Bringing their Bavarian traditions to Kentucky in the mid-nineteenth centuries meant growing grapes and producing wine to sell in Covington. For our families in the Pendleton County area who were more from English/Irish ancestry, corn and dairy farming were their staples of choice. I hope to post more about the choices these farmers made as our family history collection has much to offer....but for now, tis the season of tobacco.....and despite any ill feelings toward this crop, for many it was just a way to survive. A way of life that is quickly fading.  

Aerial Photography & Rural Cemeteries

We all know the unsurpassed usefulness of Google Earth for scrutinizing unfamiliar topography (including historical images), but back in 2002, our family needed older rural images to help in cemetery research. Several cousins from around the country and Canada got together to stage a cemetery intervention or attempted rescue in Bracken County Kentucky. After years of debating and combining genealogical research, a few of the cousins had found remnants of our Brandenburg/Hughbanks family cemetery at the top of a very steep hill near Foster. Due to the remote area of the cemetery, and the unfriendly stance of the current landowner, some of our research involved aerial photography.

Before I give a small report about the Brandenburg Cemetery, let me explore the use of aerial photography for cemetery research. At present, most states have quadrant coverage of current aerial photographs available for free online. Many of these sites are linked to current topographical maps and other studies posted by statewide government agencies. As a general rule, most of these maps and aerial photographs are fairly recent - usually within 10-15 years old depending on the agency posting the information.

However, when many of the older rural cemeteries were begun, they were done so during a time when the areas were much more agrarian. In most cases the land had been cleared for farming and well maintained in that manner for generations. It has only been within the past 30+/- years that these former fields have been abandoned, allowing the regrowth to obscure former markers. Having driven many backroads, I can tell you that a small stand of large clumped trees near a field or in the middle of a field is a strong indication of either a cemetery or sink hole. Sometimes the only clue to go on is the types of trees in the clump to hint at the purpose, until, hopefully, walking closer to the site can offer a view of fence or stone remnants. But what about the cemeteries we can't see from the road, or are not accessible even though we've heard about the possibility of its existence from the locals?

1965 aerial view of Foster and the Kennon Road area prior to the AA Highway construction.

This is when we turned to the older aerial photos available through local state storehouses. In this case we went to the Geology Library (now the Science Library) at the University of Kentucky to peruse through the older photos taken in the 1960s (some counties have photos as far back as the 1930s). In the Northern Kentucky area, farming was still the main occupation on these steep yet rounded hills. Therefore, the aerial photos from this timeframe gave us just enough visual information to see former households, assent routes, and in this case, former topography indicators prior to a state highway construction. These photos are original and in paper form just sitting in giant drawers. The staff had scanning equipment available to scan and send the photos to yourself at no charge.

For our case, they made all the difference. Due to the construction of the AA Highway, the original road had been cut in two, leaving the gradual incline cut off in one direction, and very far away in the other direction. About 20 years after the production of the 1960s photos, someone had purchased the gradual incline side, built a new house and assent in the form of a driveway, but would not allow their new driveway to be used as the egress to the cemetery. In essence, the cemetery had been cut off from any plausible access route. We all hiked straight up a dangerous quarter mile incline to get to the cemetery of our ancestors. Kentucky law states that landowners have to allow family to visit cemeteries, but any law surrounding how they allow access is vague, and since the driveway was new, they basically said, "no - find another way up there". Ironically, when we were up there, they called the local judge to try to have us arrested for trespassing, and the judge was allowed to use the driveway for access. Good times. BTW, the judge could not touch us as he informed the landowner of the law. He was just up there making sure we were family and not troublemakers.

The cemetery was also registered that day by the Kentucky Historical Society as a pioneer cemetery since at least one person buried there was born in the state prior to 1800 (James Hughbanks). We had a great time, even inviting a local preacher to conduct a small re-dedication ceremony, but the cemetery itself was beyond our means to save. The landowner had also parked a 1950s rusted out Chevy in the middle of our cemetery and refused to move it....which meant some of the stones could still be underneath. We found some of the main stones, but many were missing - some were "rediscovered" locally at a hunting club who had used them as stepping stones! We did the best we could....cleaned out brush, placed wooden markers there for later replacement, but funding was never found to properly restore this pioneer site. There is a Findagrave entry with photos of all the stones we found.

The moral of the story is: older aerial photos can be wonderful tools for not only locating cemeteries, but homesteads, access routes, tributaries and other distinguishable markers that could not be seen under current levels of brush. Thanks to cousin Katheryn Maddox Haddad for getting the cousins started on this adventure - we at least got it cleaned up a bit and documented for future generations!

CD