MY GRANDMOTHER’S JOURNAL ~ Let’s look at some anniversaries–Bert SEAVER & Mary Ada SEIGLE - 1929

I haven’t written any posts highlighting my grandmother’s journal in a long time.  So let’s fix that.
 
Several years ago, in my early blogging days, I wrote about my MILNE surname and my grandmother’s journal.  Here is a link to that post, which gives the background of how I came into possession of this family treasure SURNAME SATURDAY – MILNE

A couple of weeks ago, fellow blogger (I call him the blogging guru), Randy Seaver wrote a post about his ancestor Bertram Seaver.  WOW!  I said to myself.  That’s the Seaver that links Randy & me.  Not by blood, but by marriage.  So we are shirttail cousins. Here’s a link to Randy’s post.
Seavers in the News -- Gertrude (Smith) Seaver Run Over By a Traction Car in 1908

That’s a very sad story about the death of Bertram Seaver’s first wife, Gertrude.  Bertram remarried 10 years later to Bessie Cahill on 15 Jun 1918.  They divorced in 1928.

Where Bertram enters my family is with his 3rd marriage to Mary Ada Seigle.  Mary is my 1st cousin twice removed.  She had become a widow when her first husband Edward Donnelly died at the age of 44 in 1926.

Mary SEIGLE Donnelly married Bertram H. Seaver on 20 Apr 1929.  At least according to my grandmother’s journal.  I have yet to locate the marriage record, but I’m still looking.

Here’s the page from my grandmother's journal.

As you can see there are other couples on this page.  More family anniversaries.

Mary & Bertram were enumerated in the 1930 census in Loveland, Clermont, Ohio.  The record indicates they are married, giving some evidence that my grandmother’s record may be correct.  Also in the household were Mary’s parents, Jacob & Myra and Bertram’s daughter Juanita.

And remember to check those neighbors.  Living at the same address is Mary's brother, Arthur and his family.

1930 census - Loveland, Clermont, Ohio

Sadly, at the age of 56, Mary died suddenly at her home.This left Bertram widowed for a second time.  He died in 1942 at age 67.

If you are related to any of the people mentioned in this post, or you have corrections or additions to it, please contact me.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY ~ Massaging Cream ~ From my grandmother’s journal

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY

My grandmother, Florence BOWDEN  MILNE left us a spiral bound notebook,  which I refer to has her journal.  The entire notebook is written in her hand and was begun about the time of her marriage to my grandfather, Joseph, in 1906.  In it she left a treasure trove of family information and wonderful clues to life back in the early 1900's.

Not only did she leave names & birth dates for many of our ancestors, but she left various types of recipes.  Some for cooking, some for making items that we can now purchase at a store.  This is one of those items.

MASSAGING CREAM


Transcription - Rub yolks of two eggs with 1/4 lb. of strained honey & 2 oz. of ground bitter almonds.  Then add slowly an oz. of almond oil & 1/2 dram each of attar of cloves and attar of bergramot, this is for use in massaging lower arms

What are attar of cloves and attar of bergamot?

I conducted a search on the internet and learned that “attar” is a noun that means perfume or essential oil obtained from flowers or petals.
 
Ok, we know what the attar of cloves are then.  But, how about bergamot?
 
From dictionary.com I found the following word origin for bergamot:

Noun

1. a small citrus tree, Citrus aurantium bergamia, having fruit with a rind that yields a fragrant essential oil.

2. Also called essence of bergamot. the oil or essence itself.

3. any of various plants of the mint family, as Monarda fistulosa, yielding an oil resembling essence of bergamot.

4. a variety of pear.
 

I’ve learned something new today.  Have you?  I had never before heard of bergamot.

Do you have “recipes” such as this, shared by an ancestor?  I’d love to hear about them.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY - How to Make Shampoo
FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY - How to Keep Hair Curled Back in 1906

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - BIRTH & DEATH DATES FROM MY GRANDMOTHER'S JOURNAL - JULY

What does Amanuensis mean anyway?

To put it simply, it means a “person employed to write what another dictates or copy what has been written by another.”

As many of you know from reading previous posts on my blog, my maternal grandmother left a spiral notebook, which I call her journal.  In it she left recipes, a list of 183 family members and their birth dates and some death dates, a list of anniversaries and other various lists or things that were important to her.  It’s a treasure that I cherish.

Today I’m going to be transcribing her list of names & dates from July.

For the previous posts transcribing January through June, please click on these links.

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal - January

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal – February

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal – March

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal – April

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal – May

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal - June

Here is the page from her journal.  This journal was begun when my grandmother, Florence L. Bowden, married my grandfather, Joseph A. Milne, in 1906.  She was just 18 years old at the time.  This journal is very old and falling apart.  I have digitized all the pages and have the original stored in a safe, archival box.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Here is my transcription of this page, with some annotations.  I have indicated the family connection in brackets, even thought it’s not part of the document.  I thought you’d like to know who these people are to me.  And, for any cousins out there reading this, maybe you’ll find it helpful.

I’ve added whatever photos I have of the family members named in this list. (See below)

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  I REDACT THE BIRTH DATES & FULL NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO I’M AWARE OF, THAT ARE STILL LIVING, FOR THEIR PROTECTION.  THIS MONTH I DON’T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANY STILL LIVING.


I have placed an asterisk * next to the names I have not yet connected to our family.
    
July

* Jean Frances LENNEBACK  July 5 ‘24  
James G. VERNEY, Jr.  July 9, '94 Died Jan 12 ‘57  [1st cousin twice removed]
 * Post  July 15 ‘11 
Died Nov. 12 ‘47  Susan M. SMITH  July 18 ‘60  [maternal great grandmother] 
* Bert SEARLS   July 18  died aged 64 Jan 3, ‘50 
* Henry PLATZ July 20   died Nov ‘69
 James B. VERNEY 1854  July 27   Oct. 3, ‘34 [husband of great grandaunt]
*  Jean MOFFET  July 16  Oct 28, ‘76 
* Barbara DOWORTH  July 21  ‘16
Junior Diebel   July 26, ‘28 
Aunt Ada’s grson William KING [possibly 2nd cousin once removed] 
*  Marion RIGGS July 10  ‘19 
Lawrence? Diebel  July 5

There is a date of July 26 between the name Marion Riggs and the scratched out name of Lawrence Diebel.  I cannot be sure which name that date belongs with.

That’s a total of 11 (13 if you count the two that are lined out) names.  I am very fortunate to have this kind of list from my grandmother.

SIX of the names are still waiting for me to find their connections.  I have them in my Legacy database as unlinked individuals. I do not include the name that just says “Post,” among the unidentified.  I don’t have that name in my database at this time, unlinked or otherwise.

In the lists from the other 11 months of the year, there are also names that aren’t yet connected.  I keep looking from time to time and link them as I identify them.

Again this month, the photos I have consist of only one person.  My maternal great grandmother, Susan Anne Gillespie Milne Smith.  I do have several of her.
 
   
Left – photo of Susan at age 16, circa 1876 (according to back of photo)  On the right is a picture of Susan with her infant daughter, Irene and her son, Joseph.  This picture of her with her children would have been late 1893-1894. Sadly, Susan and her husband Andrew had lost a son at birth in 1886 and a young daughter at age 2 in 1887.  Then Andrew died in Dec 1892 of consumption.  Little Irene, shown in the picture, was born in June 1893.  She never met her father.
 
      

The headshot on the left was cropped from a group photo from about 1911-1912.  The photo on the right is from 1934 and in it are L-R – my maternal great grandmother Florence Hunter Milne Bell, my grandmother (author of this journal from which I post) Florence Bowden Milne, and on the right is Susan Gillespie Milne Smith, my other maternal great grandmother.

Please contact me if you recognize any of the names with asterisks or if you are related to any of these family members.  I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FAMILY "RECIPE" FRIDAY - HOW TO KEEP HAIR CURLED BACK IN 1906

My grandmother, Florence BOWDEN MILNE left us a spiral bound notebook, which I refer to has her journal.  The entire notebook is written in her hand and was begun about the time of her marriage to my grandfather, Joseph, in 1906.  In it she left a treasure chest of family information and wonderful clues to life back in the early 1900's.

  

                                                               

 
 
 
  
 

On the left, my Grandmother at age 18 - when she began her notebook and on the right when she was about 60 years old.

 

A recipe doesn't necessarily have to be something that is for cooking.  With that in mind I will be sharing various types of recipes, both for cooking and for other things from my grandmother's journal.  These items range from recipes for shampoo to how to keep hair curled (featured today), to curling fluids for your hair,  cures for blackheads or acne, chocolate fudge and how to tell if your wood-burning stove is the correct temperature.  You'll see them all here as the weeks continue.  So, please come back often.

TODAYS FEATURED “RECIPE”

TO KEEP HAIR CURLED

Please enlarge the picture above, by double clicking on it,  if you want to see it more clearly

 

This “recipe” or formula calls for Gum Arabic, Bichloride of Mercury and Sal Ammoniac.  

• Exactly what are those items?  They certainly aren’t common to me.  
• Are they even still around today?  Let’s find out by taking a look online.

 

“GUM ARABIC also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Senegalia senegal and Vachellia seyal. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees throughout the Sahel from Senegal to Somalia, although it has been historically cultivated in Arabia and West Asia.

Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides. It was historically the source of the sugars arabinose and ribose, both of which were first discovered and isolated from it, and are named after it.

Gum arabic is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer. It is edible and has E number E414. Gum arabic is a key ingredient in traditional lithography and is used in printing, paint production, glue, cosmetics and various industrial applications, including viscosity control in inks and in textile industries, although less expensive materials compete with it for many of these roles.

While gum arabic is now produced mostly throughout the African Sahel, it is still harvested and used in the Middle East. For example, Arab populations use the natural gum to make a chilled, sweetened, and flavored gelato-like dessert.”

You can find this description of Gum Arabic with much more information about it at GUM ARABIC on wikipedia.

 

BICHLORIDE OF “MERCURY or Mercury(II) chloride or mercuric chloride (archaically, corrosive sublimate) is the chemical compound of mercury and chlorine with the formula HgCl₂. This white crystalline solid is a laboratory reagent and a molecular compound. Once used as a treatment for syphilis, it is no longer used for medicinal purposes because of mercury toxicity and the availability of superior treatments.”

You can find this description of Gum Arabic with much more information about it at BICHLORIDE OF MERCURY on wikipedia.

 

“SAL AMMONIAC is a rare mineral composed of ammonium chloride, NH₄Cl. It forms colorless to white to yellow-brown crystals in the isometric-hexoctahedral class. It has very poor cleavage and a brittle to conchoidal fracture. It is quite soft, with a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2, and has a low specific gravity of 1.5. It is water-soluble. Sal ammoniac is also the archaic name for the chemical compound ammonium chloride. The Romans called the ammonium chloride deposits they collected from near the Temple of Jupiter Amun (Greek Ἄμμων Ammon) in ancient Libya 'sal ammoniacus' (salt of Amun) because of proximity to the nearby temple.^[4] Salts of ammonia have been known from very early times; thus the term Hammoniacus sal appears in the writings of Pliny,^[5] although it is not known whether the term is identical with the more modern sal-ammoniac.^[6] In any case, this salt ultimately gave ammonia and ammonium compounds their name.

It typically forms as encrustations formed by sublimation around volcanic vents. It is found around volcanic fumaroles, guano deposits and burning coal seams. Associated minerals include sodium alum, native sulfur and other fumarole minerals. Notable occurrences include Tajikistan; Mt. Vesuvius, Italy; and Parícutin, Michoacan, Mexico.”
You can find this description of Gum Arabic with much more information about it at SAL AMMONIAC on wikipedia.
 

Many of the items used in my grandmother's recipes aren't even available to us any more.  But, what fun it is to look at them.

 

Have we ever thought of our ancestor's lives without all of our modern conveniences?  Even something as common as shampoo had to be made by hand. And we can use curling irons and hair spray today to keep our hair curled.

 

Can you find any old recipes from your family?
 
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl 


 
Copyright © 2013 Diane Gould Hall

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY - HOW TO MAKE SHAMPOO

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY

My grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne left us a spiral bound notebook, which I refer to has her journal.  The entire notebook is written in her hand.  In it she left a treasure chest of family information and wonderful clues to life back in the early 1900's. 

My Grandmother at age 18 - when she began her notebook

A recipe doesn't necessarily have to be something that is for cooking.  With that in mind I will be sharing various types of recipes, both for cooking and for other things from my grandmother's journal.  These items range from recipes for shampoo (featured today), to curling fluids for your hair to cures for blackheads or acne, chocolate fudge and how to tell if your wood-burning stove is the correct temperature.  You'll see them all here as the weeks continue.  So, please come back often.

TODAY'S FEATURED RECIPE

SHAMPOO

How to make shampoo
Please enlarge the picture above if you want to see it more clearly

Many of the items used in my grandmother's recipes aren't even available to us any more.  But, what fun it is to look at them.

Have we ever thought of our ancestor's lives without all of our modern conveniences?  Even something as common as shampoo had to be made by hand.

Can you find any old recipes from your family?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl 

Copyright ©  2013   Diane Gould Hall