TODAY IN OUR FAMILY ~ It’s my great grandmother, Florence Hunter’s birthday–she would have been 150 years old today

Happy birthday to you Florence Hunter.  You were born 150 years ago today!

You are my maternal great grandmother.  I feel as though I know you from all the research I've done.  I’m blessed to have many pictures of you.

You were born on 7 Aug 1869 in Newport, Campbell, Kentucky to James Gillen Hunter (1832-1894) & Susan Caroline Boggs (1842-1913).

You first married Robert Edward Bowden on 10 Mar 1887, at age 17, in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  You and Robert had two daughters, my grandmother, also named Florence, born 31 Jan 1888 and Edna, born 1 Jan 1890.

You and Robert divorced in 1899 and you next married George Keatley Bell (1870-1952), on 16 Oct 1904.  You were married until your death in 1946.  He died 2 Nov 1952.

I remember my grandma telling me that you ran a boarding house.  In fact, it was at that very place that she met my grandfather, Joseph A. Milne.

One of the earliest photos I have is actually a 4 generation portrait taken sometime around 1907, after the birth of your first grandchild, Dorothy Irene Milne.

Back row-L-R - Florence Hunter and her daughter Florence.  Seated is Florence Hunter's mother, Susan C. Boggs and baby Dorothy Milne, her first grandchild

The next picture is a lovely group picture of you and five of your six sisters.

Here are several more photos I have put together in a video.  

(You can enlarge the video to full screen in the lower right hand corner)

Click twice if the video doesn't begin

You died 4 years before I was born, on 27 May 1946 at Osteopathic Hospital in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri.  You were 76 years, 9 months and 20 days old.  You died after a fall at home that fractured your right femur.

I wish we could have met.  I have SO many questions I need to ask you.  How fun it would be to sit down and chat.  I bet you would have many stories to tell me.  Your daughter, my grandmother, was the original family historian and passed that love along to me.

 

Rest in peace great grandmother.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ Today’s theme is STUDIOS : BACKGROUNDS : GROUPS : HATS–I had so many photos to choose from

WHAT IS SEPIA SATURDAY?
“Launched by Alan Burnett and Kat Mortensen in 2009, Sepia Saturday provides bloggers with an opportunity to share their history through the medium of photographs.  Historical photographs of any age or kind (they don’t have to be sepia) become the launchpad for explorations of family history, local history and social history, in fact or fiction, poetry or prose, words or further images.”

My grandmothers, great grandmothers and aunts, all wore hats.  Some of them were born in the mid to late 1800’s and came of age at the turn of the 20th century.  Hats were all the rage back then.  This trend continued into the 1950's.  The men also wore hats.  In fact, I had so many pictures of my ancestors in hats, it was difficult to choose which ones to use.

My paternal grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould had her photo taken with hats on more than one occasion.  I didn’t know my grandma until she was in her 60’s.  By then it wasn’t fashionable to wear hats.  I wonder if she missed those times?
 
Marie Lindsay Gould, her sister Ellen Lindsay Pickard and their husbands.

Marie Lindsay Gould, my paternal grandmother

Fred Pickard, his wife, my grandaunt Ellen Lindsay, my grandfather, Harry Gould and my grandmother Marie Lindsay Gould

My grandaunt, Ellen Lindsay Pickard

Now to my maternal grandmother and great grandmother.  Florence Hunter Bowden Bell is my great grandmother.  Born in 1869 in Kentucky and died in 1946 in Missouri.  She had two daughters, the oldest, a name sake, Florence Lee Nora Bowden (my grandmother) and Edna Mabel Bowden.
 
Here’s my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne, about 1909, with her little girl Dorothy and her son Robert.  Notice that all of them are wearing hats.

My maternal grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne with her first two children, my Aunt Dorothy (1907-1920) and my Uncle Robert (1909-1969)

Here is my great grandmother, Susan Gillespie Milne Smith (1860-1947) and her daughter, Irene Milne (1893-1989) showing off their hats.

My maternal great grandmother, Susan Gillespie Milne Smith

My grandaunt, Irene Milne, daughter of Susan Gillespie Milne

In times past newspapers would take pictures of people walking in downtown areas and publish them.  I don’t know how many of you have photos like these?  If you do, please share.

Here’s my great grandmother, Florence Hunter Bowden Milne Bell, mentioned above and her daughter, my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne standing downtown together.  And a separate one of my great grandmother, in foreground.  I don’t know if these were taken in Detroit (that’s the most likely place), but they could have been elsewhere.

My grandmother, Florence Milne with her mother (my great grandmother) Florence

My great grandmother Florence Hunter Bowden Bell

I’ve covered groups and hats.  Let’s post one of my favorite photos of my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne sitting in a studio in a rocking chair.  Her Aunt, Grace Hunter married Charles Henry Fenner.  He and his brothers, Nicholas & William Fenner owned a couple of photo studios in Ohio.  Many of the pictures I have from my family have the Fenner studio name on them.  I feel very fortunate to have had a photography studio connected with my family.

My grandmother, Florence Bowden

Let’s not leave the men out of this story.  They wore hats too.  Here are both my grandfathers and my Dad sporting their hats. And lastly, my great grandfather William Val Gould (1859-1924), always debonair.

My maternal grandfather, Joseph A. Milne - circa early 1950's

My paternal grandfather, Harry W. Gould - circa 1912

My Dad, Harry Norman Gould in front of the house I was brought home to when I was born 16814 Winston, Detroit, MI

My paternal great grandfather, William V. Gould circa 1920

I had to stop here or I could go on all day with this particular theme.  Thanks for enjoying these memories with me.

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Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Brick Walls Post #2 - Robert L. Bowden 1863-1906

BOWDEN is my maternal grandmother’s maiden name.  I have not yet been able to locate the parents or any siblings of her father Robert Lee Bowden.  This mystery has been going on for well over ten years.  Here is what I have and what I’ve done so far.  I welcome your input.

A BRIEF BIO OF ROBERT LEE BOWDEN

Born 8 Feb 1863 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier, West Virginia.  Married Florence HUNTER on 10 Mar 1887 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  Two children born to this couple: Florence Lee Nora Bowden (my grandmother) born 31 Jan 1888 in Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky and Edna “Denny” Mabel Bowden born 1 Jan 1890 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  This couple divorced on 17 Jul 1899.  The divorce was filed in Kenton County, Kentucky.  Robert worked for the railroad in every record I have about him.  He possibly remarried to a lady named Bertie Kearney in 1900.  Robert died on 8 Oct 1906 in McKees Rocks, Allegheny, Pennsylvania at age 43.

Robert’s signature from his 1887 marriage record

Here is what I know about Robert’s life so far:

(Click on any image to enlarge it)




I know that Robert and Florence divorced in 1899.  I have that record and a record of her trying to get him to pay child support.

Here are a few records from the divorce, filed in Kenton County Circuit Court, Kentucky and granted on 17 Jul 1899.


My grandmother, Florence, who is Robert’s older daughter, left me a lot of genealogical information on our family.  She had his death date listed as Oct 1906.  Since I have found her information to rarely be incorrect, and this was her own father, I looked for death records based on that date.

Here is the page from her journal with him listed as the second person.  I have redacted this list for anyone who may still be living.
 

My brother, John and I believe we have found a record of a second marriage for Robert L. Bowden, shortly after the divorce from Florence was final.

MARRIAGE RECORD - R. L. BOWDEN TO B. C. KEARNEY ON 31 MAR 1900 IN HUNTINGTON, CABELL, WEST VIRGINIA

We do find Robert living with a woman named Bertie and her son, who’s last name is Kearney in the 1900 census.  He is a railroad brakeman, which is consistent with what we know about Robert’s occupation.  The record states they have been married only 4 months, which is consistent with the marriage record and Robert is said to have been born in February, which is also what we have on record.  The only thing different is the year of his birth being listed as 1865 instead of 1863.  But, we all know those years vary from record to record, especially in the census.  The other variant is the state of birth being Kentucky, when my grandmother stated it was West Virginia.  I have checked both the Kentucky and West Virginia birth records and not found anything....yet.

Here is that 1900 census record.

 




























My big AH HA! moment came when the Pennsylvania death records 1906-1944 were released last year on Ancestry.  One night I just decided to check these records for Robert.  Why?  I don’t really know, as I had no record of him ever being in Pennsylvania.   
NOTE:  You never know where you will find the record you need.

There it was!!!!  A death record for Robert L. Bowden on 8 Oct 1906 in McKees Rocks, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.  A railroad man who died suddenly of heart disease.  Of course no parents names are listed.



Thanks to the assistance of a researcher on the Allegheny County, PA Facebook group, I also found out there was a newspaper article about his death.  Can you believe it?

And, I saw that the death certificate was signed by a Coroner, so I sent for the Coroner’s record, which gave me no new information.  All the Coroner did was look over the body to rule out signs of foul play.  See my post about my analysis of the Coroner’s report here http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/06/coroners-case-file-robert-l-bowden.html

WHAT I STILL NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MY GREAT GRANDFATHER ROBERT LEE BOWDEN

• A birth record to verify when and where he was born (although due to the Civil War, this may not be available)
• Who his parents were?
• Who his siblings, if any, were?
• Any court records I may have missed regarding the guardianship of his daughters
• Information from the cemetery that could contain details I don’t have.  I have left two messages and will try calling again.

Please note:  There is a Robert L. Bowden of about the correct age in the 1870 census.  He is the son of Elias & Sarah Bowden and living in Hardy Township, Isle of Wight, Virginia.  I have followed this lead and this IS NOT my Robert.

Do you see anything I have missed?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Post #1 - John C. Gould

FACEBOOK - How it can be very useful in your research 

If you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me!

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SIBLING SATURDAY–THE HUNTER SISTERS

MEET THE HUNTER SISTERS

Back row – left to right – Grace Hunter 1874-1946, Daisy Dean Hunter 1876-1948, Ada Emily Hunter 1865-1949.

Front row – left to right – Estelle “Stella” M. Hunter 1867-1947, Florence Hunter 1860-1946 (my great grandmother) and Myra Hunter 1859-1938. 

There were also two brothers in the family, Clyde Hunter 1861-1901, and Raphael Hunter, 1871-1952.  Another sister, Lenorah Hunter 1863-1892 is not in the picture as we believe the photo was taken after her death.

These women are the children of James Gillen HUNTER 1832-1884 and Susan Caroline BOGGS 1842-1913.  This couple married in Lawrence County, Ohio on 29 Aug 1859.  The first five children were born in Lawrence County, Ohio.  The other four were born in Kentucky.  James Hunter was a Carpenter.  Sadly, he died in 1884, at the age of 52.  That left 8 of the 9 Hunter children still at home from ages 23 down to 8 years.  It certainly cannot have been easy for Susan with all those children to care for.  She didn’t remarry for 13 years.  

Marriage record for James G. Hunter & Susan C. Boggs

THE ORIGIN OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

I obtained this lovely 8 x 10 photograph from my cousin, Rick, in Michigan.  When I went back for a visit in 2007 he brought a box down from the attic that contained some items from our grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne.  Rick said he didn’t know who any of the women in the photograph were.  However, I immediately recognized our great grandmother, Florence Hunter, front row, center.  And, I also recognized two of her sisters, Ada & Myra, from other pictures I have.  Eventually I was able to correctly identify the other 3 sisters, Daisy, Stella & Grace. 

GREAT STORY ABOUT ASKING COUSINS FOR PHOTOS

Another cousin from this side of the family lives here in California.  We were talking on the phone and I mentioned that I had this particular picture of the Hunter sisters, one of which is her great grandmother.  She said “I have a photo of the six sisters also.”  She emailed her photo and I emailed her mine.  There were the sisters at the same sitting, only seated in a different order.  I’d love to show you the other photo here, but I haven’t asked permission.

THE STORY ABOUT THE TWO PHOTOS MADE IT INTO MAUREEN TAYLORS PHOTO DETECTIVE POSTING ON 1 DEC 2008.

Now this was exciting!  I read Maureen’s columns all the time and she is always asking for people to submit photos to her for dating and identifying.  She’s the author of several books about identifying photos (which I have in my library) and I love to read her articles.  When I submitted this photo and said I wanted to narrow down the date, she accepted it and wrote the following article.  I hadn’t been doing genealogy for very long, maybe 5 years, and this was exciting to me.  There was my family in an online article.  

Here is a link to that posting: http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/photodetectiveblog/default,month,2008-12.aspx   
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO TO THIS LINK TO VIEW MAUREEN'S ENTRIES.  YOU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT PHOTO DATING BY READING HER MATERIAL.

HERE IS THE ENTRY FROM THAT WEB PAGE.

 

Since all of this occurred I have learned so much about the Hunter sisters and their families.  All the girls (except Lenorah) went on to marry and four of the six had children.  Of the two brothers, Clyde died in 1901 at the age of 40.  I never located any marriage records for him and in the 1900 census he is living with his sister, Myra, and her family, as a single man.  

The other brother, Ralph, married twice and had two children.  He first married Helena Hill and they divorced.  Next he married Lucy Della Siler.  

Of the four sisters who did have children, they had 12 between them.  I’ve had plenty of descendants to follow up on and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about this family.

A couple more pictures of the ladies in this family:

Florence, Myra & Ada Hunter circa 1910

Four generations

In the picture above are, standing left to right, Florence Hunter Bowden Bell (my great grandmother), Florence Bowden Milne, (my grandmother) and seated is the mother of all the HUNTER children Susan Caroline Boggs Hunter with Dorothy Milne, her great granddaughter in her lap - 1907    

Here is a quick listing of the family:

James Gillen Hunter married Susan Caroline Boggs on 29 Aug 1859 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  Here are all the children born to that union.

1.  Myra Hunter married Jacob Seigle 6 Oct 1880, probably in Ohio
     Children: Grace 1882-1882, Mary Ada 1883-1939, Arthur George 1889-1936
2.  Clyde Hunter 1861-1901
3.  Lenorah Hunter 1863-1892
4.  Ada Emily Hunter married William James King 26 Nov 1884 in Lawrence Co., OH
    Children: Charles Louis 1886-1961, Joseph Edward 1889-1974, William Albert 1891 – ?  Grace Leona 1896-1990, Unknown child born bet 1900-1910, Edith Lucille 1900-1976
5.  Estella “Stella” M. Hunter married 1st Leon R. Leigh 28 May 1893 in Cook Co., Illinois, married 2nd William J. Ferguson 27 Aug 1901 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, married 3rd Albert Frederick Pfeiffer 18 Dec 1913 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
    Children: Albert Herman Pfeiffer 1910-1979
6.  Florence Hunter married 1st Robert Lee Bowden 10 Mar 1887 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  They divorced in 17 Jul 1899.  She then married George Keatley Bell on 16 Oct 1904.
   Children: Florence Lenora Bowden 1888-1986, Edna Mabel Bowden 1890-1932
7.  Raphael Hunter married 1st Helena Hill 25 Jun 1901, they divorced.  Married 2nd Lucy Della Siler 15 Apr 1916 in Jackson, Madison, Tennessee
    Children: Joseph Jackson 1913-1938, Helen Marian 1917-1994
8.  Grace Hunter married 1st Charles Henry Fenner on 16 May 1891 in Belmont Co., Ohio.  He died and she later married John A. Jenkins.  She had no children.
9.  Daisy Dean Hunter married George A. Skinner bet 1900-1910.  She had no children.

There is my Mother’s mother’s family.  If you are related to or researching anyone listed here or anyone descended from these families, please contact me.  There is still a lot I don’t know about them and I would love to exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl  

Copyright © 2014 Diane Gould Hall