CLEANING OUT AN ATTIC ~ What did I find?

 

What happens when we clean out those closets, drawers and attics?

If we are genealogists, we may come across some family artifacts.  Perhaps we stored them and forgot, or maybe a spouse or other family member put them away?  Whatever the case may be, finding long lost or unknown treasures sure makes me do the happy dance.

As I wrote recently, my husband, Ron and I just made a big move from California to Montana.  In doing so, we were cleaning out the attic (and oh my what a job that was). 

Ron comes across an old suitcase that he says is very heavy.  He hollers down to me (I’m at the bottom of the attic stairs) “what in the world do you have in this old suitcase?”  He carefully hands it down to me.  He’s correct, it’s quite heavy.  I don’t recognize the suitcase at all.  It was one that would be from the 1950s or  1960s. 

Here's an example of the old suitcase, only it was green instead of blue.

Drum role………………………….

I opened the suitcase and found items belonging to Ron’s Mom, her mother and very likely her German grandparents. Ron must have placed this in the attic and forgot about it these past many years. 

My regret is not taking photos of it as I opened it.  I was so much into packing mode that I just moved the items to another suitcase and moved on.  But, here is a list of some of the items I found:

·       Both of the military flags that were presented at Ron’s mother’s military funeral in 1993 and his father’s military funeral in 1966.  These should have been and will now be put in a proper frame and placed in our new home.

·       A small King James Bible that belonged to Ron’s maternal grandmother, Freada Doller Fink (1895-1981).  In it are notes written by Freada about births, deaths and other notable moments in the family.

·       Another King James Bible that was presented to my husband, Ron by his parents in Dec 1956.  Inside this Bible is the record of Ron’s baptism at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in San Diego, California.

·       An Evangelical Hymnal copyrighted 1919.

·       Last but very much not least, a small booklet, entirely in German.  

 

Enchiridion

Der

Kleine Katechismus

fur die gemeinen

Bfarrherren und Brediger

Durch

Dr. Martin Luther

St. Louis, Mo

Lutherrifder Concorbia = Berlang

Translated with the help of Google to say the following

the small catechism

for the common people

Bfarrherren and Brediger

through

Dr. Martin Luther

St. Louis, Mo.

lutherifcher concordia = overlay

There is no copyright on the German booklet and it is in poor condition. 

Did it belong to Freada Doller Fink’s parents?  They were both born in Germany. They immigrated to the U.S. in 1890, a few years prior to Freada’s birth.

Here is a photo of the Bibles and the hymnal.

Please stay tuned as I will be sharing the notes made by Ron’s grandmother Freada in the small Bible.

What other family treasures did I find during “the great packing?” You’ll find out in future posts.

If you’ve found treasures/family artifacts during a move or perhaps a cleaning out, I’d love to hear about them.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2023   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK - A letter to Cora from her fiancé Thomas Hall – 30 Jan 1877

Please click on this image to enlarge it,
if you wish to see Thomas' letters close up

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  Cora is my husband, Ron's, paternal great grandmother. I will give a link to all posts at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

It’s such a pleasure to find letters written by our ancestors.  Not only do we get to see their handwriting, but we also get a glance into their feelings, perspective and life.

Today I’m sharing a letter written to Cora E. Brown from her soon to be husband, Thomas C. Hall.  The letter is dated 30 Jan 1877 and we know they were married just 6 days later, on 5 Feb 1877. 

I have transcribed the letter and share that here with you.  I don’t absolutely know what the word “Poksie” at the top of the first page means.  Since the couple were in New York, could it have meant Poughkeepsie?

A search on Google maps reveals Poughkeepsie to be 116 miles south of Saratoga Springs, New York, where the couple were married. 

Thomas’ occupation on many of the records I have is Baggage Handler or Baggage Agent for a railroad company.  I expect that job took him away from home on a regular basis.

If you’d like to read about Thomas & Cora’s marriage click here CORA’S SCRAPBOOK–Her wedding cake & marriage to Thomas C. Hall–1877, New York.

Thomas shares some very strong feelings for Cora in his words. At the end of the letter, he bids farewell to her (as a correspondent), knowing they will soon be living together as man and wife.

Without further ramblings from me, here is Thomas’ sweet letter to Cora.

Poksie

Jany 30^th 77

My own,

 Your dear and most welcome letter reached me yesterday morning, and again one today.  Now I am satisfied, but I was not when the postman came around Monday morn and left no letter for me.  I was exceeding worried, but it seems he knew I was expecting a letter and retained it for a while for the purpose of teasing me.  You may just bet your last sixpence I was pleased to get it and to receive the assurance I was soon to get another added feast to my enjoyment.

Oh my poor patient long suffering darling.  I can scarcely realize you are so soon to be mine. 

This in all probability is my last letter to Cora Brown and I would again assure you of the depth and devotion of my love for you.

It seems impossible for one to love more, and I would have you to fully realize and understand that my whole life shall be devoted to the pleasant task of adding to your happiness.

I find it will be impossible for me to come on the early train Sat night but if I were you I would not wait for me.  You had better go to bed, don’t you think so?  I will get white gloves and wear white neck tie – I like you wish the affair was over but it will soon be, and then you may love and be gay to your hearts content, and to love and obey I think is your intent.

When I woke this morning my first thought was only one week from today and then I shall have the task of rousing Cora from her slumbers by my side and I was happy in the thought.    

And now as a correspondent of Miss Cora Brown I would say farewell farewell forever.

Remember me with love to all

Your own affect

(almost husband)

Tom

Do you have letters to or from any of your ancestors?  If so, I’d love to hear about them. 

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 2 – Thomas C. Hall & Cora E. Brown marriage announcement, 1877

FRIDAY FINDS~Obituary of my husband's great grandfather Thomas C. Hall, Civil War veteran (1845-1897)

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

JEREMIAH HALL house built 1727 in Wrentham, Colonial Massachusetts

Jeremiah Hall home built in 1727
Located at 588 Franklin St. in Wrentham, Massachusetts

I’m always happy when I am contacted by someone who has read my blog posts and either wants to share information or has questions.  Afterall, it’s really why we write our blogs. 

In this case a woman named Jody contacted me and said she lived in a house built by my husband’s 5^th great grandfather, Capt. Jeremiah Hall (1697 – 1789)

Here is what she said and she attached a photo of the house.

 “Hi Diane - I stumbled across your ancestry blog and wanted to reach out. My family recently moved into the house Jeremiah Hall built in Wrentham, MA and it is such a stunning home with lots of rich history. I would love to connect and share info”.

Of course I emailed her right away and said I’d love to have anything she is willing to share, and would be willing to share whatever I have that would be helpful to her. How do I even thank her for this kind gesture?

BACKGROUND

This house was built in 1727.  The new owner, Jody, doesn’t know the family history, but has some documents that might tell us more about the origin of this home.

Jody sent me this information: “According to deeds pertaining to 588 Franklin St., Wrentham, Massachusetts, Benjamin Hall was a husbandman (Farmer) and one of the first selectmen of Wrentham in 1713. Benjamin married Sarah, and their son Jeremiah was born May 23, 1697. He was a Miller. Benjamin deeded land to Jeremiah in 1721. Benjamin died in Aug 1726.  The house was built in 1727.”

Here is the plaque that hangs by the front door of the house

That information matches the family history I have as to Jeremiah Hall being the son of Benjamin Hall and Sarah Fisher.

I have 5 Benjamin Halls in my database, all from Massachusetts and all from the 17^th & 18^th century.  I believe I have them sorted out as to who is connected to whom.

Additionally, I have 7 Jeremiah Halls in my database.  Again,  all from Massachusetts in the 17^th & 18^th century.

When I first began researching my husband, Ron’s family, I had quite a time figuring out who was who.

Here is the descendancy from the original Hall immigrant, Edward (7^th great grandfather) down to my husband.

 Edward HALL (abt 1611-1670) m Esther THAYER (abt 1619-abt 1674)

Benjamin Hall, Sr. (1668-1726) m Sarah FISHER (1668-1751)

Capt. Jeremiah Hall (1697-1789) m Dorothy HILL (1698-1753)

Jesse Hall (1734-1808) m Achsah CLARK (1735-1808)

Cornelius Clark Hall (1776-1815) m Elizabeth CONICK (1783-1859)

Rev. George Hall (1804-1878) m Almira ROSETTE (1806-1858)

Thomas C. Hall (1845-1897) m Cora BROWN (1854-1933)

Charles Schuyler Hall (1878-1953) m Daisy BRIGHT (1882-1953)

Gordon C. Hall (1917-1966) m Dorothy FINK (1913-1993)

My husband Ron

Next week I will share photos of the inside of this lovely colonial home.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

HAPPY DANCE WEDNESDAY ~ Church records for Thomas C. Hall, his wife Cora & their son Charles

 

What treasures can I share today?

 
How about church records recently received from a church in New York?
 
I called Bethesda Episcopal Church in Saratoga Springs, New York, last month.  I was interested to see if they still held any records from 1877-1900. 
 
I was specifically looking for records for my husband’s great grandfather and his wife, Thomas C. Hall, Cora E. Brown Hall and their son Charles S. Hall.

 
While we can find some records online, we all know, many are still not available.  Some are indexed, but even viewing an index or transcription is not the same as looking at the actual record.  There could be any number of errors on an index or transcription.
 
I did my happy dance this morning when I received an email from the church with 4 records attached!!!
 
Images of actual church record pages from church registers of Baptism, Marriage, Confirmation and Burial.
 
Here they are: Please click on any image to enlarge it.

MARRIAGE OF THOMAS C. HALL & CORA EMMA BROWN

on 5 Feb 1877

BAPTISM OF CHARLES SCHUYLER HALL 

16 Jun 1878

CONFIRMATION OF CHARLES SCHUYLER HALL 

28 Apr 1892

BURIAL OF THOMAS CORNELIUS HALL 

13 Jan 1897

I already had a marriage date & and the marriage certificate for Thomas & Cora.  You can read all about that find here:
CORA’S SCRAPBOOK–Her wedding cake & marriage to Thomas C. Hall–1877, New York
 
But, this image of the church record for their marriage was new to me and gives one more piece of evidence to this fact.
 
What I didn’t have was the other 3 documents – the Baptism and Confirmation for Charles S. Hall and the Burial record for Thomas. Those will now be added to my Legacy database and sourced and added to my Ancestry tree as well.
 
What records have you recently received that made you do a happy dance? I’d love to hear about them.
 
Have you considered calling or emailing a church, funeral home or cemetery to obtain records or information?  This is not my first time doing so and I have found it to be very rewarding.
 
TIP: Keep a record of any calls or emails.  Whether you use your genealogy program for this (I use Legacy), or a spreadsheet, notepad or some other method.  It’s important to keep the date and make note of what you said, who you spoke with, who you emailed etc.
 
When or if I receive information as I did in this case, I not only send an email of thanks, I write a thank you note and many times include a gift card.

 
If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS~Obituary of my husband's great grandfather Thomas C. Hall, Civil War veteran (1845-1897)

How excited was I when I was looking on a website for one piece of information, and came across something else?

I was on the Fulton History website (over 51 million old newspapers are scanned and available on this free site) trying to locate information about my husband’s 2^nd great grandfather.  I came up empty on him.

Then I thought, why not see if there is anything for my husband’s great grandfather, Thomas C. Hall.

BINGO!!!!!

HIS OBITUARY!

This is a record I have looked for in the past, but never located.  Perhaps I never looked on this website or maybe it wasn’t yet available.  Either way, I have it now and here it is.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

Obituary published in the Albany Evening Journal, 20 Jan 1897, page 6

This particular obituary is a bonanza of genealogical information.

Here is my transcription.  The words I had difficulty reading are indicated with an underline.

Thomas Cornelius Hall whose sudden illness from apoplexy was reported yesterday, succumbed to the stroke ten hours later.  Mr. Hall never rallied. He was born in Elisabeth, N.J. and was 52 years of age. His father was the Rev. George Hall, a Congregational divine, whose parents were among the first settlers of Keene, N.H. Mr. Hall went to Saratoga in 1870 and has since resided there. He married Miss Cora E. Brown February 5, 1877, and is survived by her and one son, Charles S. Hall. He also leaves two sisters, Mrs. A. A. Smith of Irvington, Iowa and Miss Emma Griffing of Hampton, Miss. Mr. Hall was a veteran of the late war having served with Company C One Hundred and Second New York Volunteers. When he entered the service he was not old enough to enlist. Mr. Hall was employed by W.H. Granger as baggage express messenger. He was at the time connected with the _____Journal. He was a communicant of Bethesda Episcopal church and a member of it's choir.

Most of the information in this obituary are things I already knew about Thomas’ family.  However, this can be added as yet another source.  And, there were things I didn’t know such as which company he worked for and his church affiliation and singing in the church choir. 

I have sent the church an email asking what records they might have pertaining to Thomas & Cora Hall.

Obituaries are such incredible sources of information for us as family historians.  I’m saddened to think of future genealogists, as the tradition of families having obituaries published is fading from our society.

What obituaries have you located that have given you treasures of information.  I’d love to hear about them.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE ~ Cora E. Hall widow of Thomas C. Hall ~ What gems does it contain?

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 2 – Thomas C. Hall & Cora E. Brown marriage announcement, 1877

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION