ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Betty Eleanor Bright, only 15 yrs old, dies in car accident

Betty Eleanor Bright was born on New Year’s Day 1919 in Latrobe, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania.  Her parents are John W. Bright (1882-1967) and Nellie Dallas (1883-1971).  She had one sibling, an older brother named William E. Bright.

Three young people were killed in this car accident.  Betty, age 15,  a 23 year old named Clarence Greeawalt and Howard Foster, age 21.
 

Here is the news article about the accident

Pittsburgh Post Gazette - 22 Jun 1934, page 17

Here is my transcription of the article

Front page, Section 2, column 5
GIRL, TWO YOUTHS KILLED IN CRASH
Titusville Party Wiped Out on Speed Ride
Special to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
OIL CITY, Pa - June 21 - Warning against excessive speed on Venango county highways came from Coroner J. Irwin Zerbe and state police today, following fatal injury to three Titusville young people early today on Titusville-Oil City road, near McKinney Memorial spring.
The dead are Clarence Greenawalt, 23, near Titusville, who died before reaching Oil City Hospital; Betty Bright, 15, Titusville sophomore, and Howard Foster, 21, who died seven hours after the accident happened of a fractured skull.  Greenawalt's neck was broken.
The automobile driven by George W. Hinske of Oil City, en route toward Oil City, had almost come to a stop when the Titusville car, traveling 60 miles an hour or faster, bore down upon him and his wife.  He pulled partly off the highway.
The Foster car hit it a terrific side blow, pushing the radiator against the engine.  Mr. and Mrs. Hinske escaped with bruises.

How sad for the families of these three young people.
 
Betty was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery.  You may visit her memorial here #25967355.

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this post or have a comment or correction, please contact me.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ The 1718 marriage of my husband’s 6th great grandparents–Capt. Gershom Wheelock & Abigail Flagg

Today I’m posting the marriage record of my husband’s 6th great grandparents, Capt. Gershom Wheelock and Abigail Flagg.

According to the record I located they married on 1 Jan 1718 in Worchester, Colonial Massachusetts.  No image is available online.

 

Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850
Name:     Gershom Wheelock
Gender: Male
Spouse: Abigail Flagg
Marriage Date: 1 Jan 1718
City:     Worchester
County: Worchester
Source: Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0864090

Reference is made to this marriage in Worcester Marriages, page 338.

 

Here is how my husband, Ron, descends from Gershom & Abigail.

 
What early marriages have you recorded in your family?  Where were they located?

If you are related to the Wheelock or Flagg families, I’d love to hear from you.  If you have further information to add to this story, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Marriage of Samuel Morse & Elizabeth Jasper - 1602 with mention of Ralph Wheelock

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FOLLOW UP FRIDAY ~ Speaking of divorces…what is the earliest one I have on record?

William Walker Frampton - from page 104 of The Frampton Family by J. S. Wrightnour, published about 1916

A week ago on Wedding Wednesday I wrote a post about how many divorces I had found in my tree on my Legacy database.  These are divorces for whom I have actual records and/or dates.  You can read that post here Wedding Wednesday with a Twist - How many divorces have I recorded?

That got me to wondering.  What was the earliest divorce date?  Are most of the 83 divorces I have in my tree, more recent?  Or do they go back before 1900?  If so, how far back?

I again, used the handy and quick Search feature in my Legacy database. Search>Find>Detailed Search and select your search criteria.

In this case I wanted the marriage, marriage status date AND a second condition also.

What I found was a list of 10 individuals (5 couples). 
The earliest recorded, documented divorce I have in my file is for my 1st cousin 5 times removed and the first of his 3 wives.

William Walker Frampton married Mary E. Miller on 21 Apr 1850 in Adams Co., Illinois.  He filed for divorce on 27 Nov 1865, in the State of Kansas, County of Johnson.
 
Reason for the divorce SHE ELOPED WITH ANOTHER MAN!

Here is the transcription of that record.

The State of Kansas, County of Johnson
William W. Frampton, being duly sworn on his oath, ___ that he has commenced a suit in the Dist. Ct. for Johnson County, State of Kansas against Mary E. Frampton, to obtain a divorce from her, and that she eloped with one Thos. C. Johnson; and that she is not a resident of the State of Kansas at this time: affiant further states that he does not know where she now resides.  Further he saith not. 

Sworn before me this 27th day of M. a no 1865 – AB Mynick, Clerk by B. P. Noteman DC


I don’t know about you, but sometimes I say WOW! when I reviewing records for my ancestors.

Here is the published notice for the divorce.  DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?  “The petition will stand for hearing at the next term of said District Court to be held in March, A.D. 1866.”

Why is the date of March 1866 important?  Well…..because according to marriage records, William Frampton married Martha Ann Thomas Johnson (wife of the man his wife ran off with) on 10 Dec 1865 in Johnson, Kansas.  This would have been 13 days after the divorce notice was published, but BEFORE the court had the final hearing the following March.
 
Kansas, County Marriage Records, 1811-1911, page 6 Film No. 001572005.
Name:    Wm W Frampton
Gender:    Male
Marriage Date:    10 Dec 1865
Marriage Place:    Johnson, Kansas, USA
Spouse:    Martha Ann Johnson
Film Number:    001572005

Marriage record - William W. Frampton to Martha Ann Johnson - 10 Dec 1865  

So, did they marry before his divorce was finalized?  I haven’t found any further records regarding the divorce from Mary, so I don’t know.

POST SCRIPT:  Martha Thomas Johnson Frampton was adjudged insane and sent to an asylum in Topeka, Kansas, according to this newspaper article in The Olathe Mirror on 2 Sep 1886.  She died just 6 months later on 8 Mar 1887.  As we know, people were admitted to asylums for reasons such as mental issues, but also for illnesses.

Published in The Olathe Mirror 2 Sep 1886, page 2

William went on to marry one more time, to Ella Eckman 4 Apr 1888.  She was 25 years younger than him.  She filed for his Civil War Pension upon his death in 1912.  This was William's longest marriage - 24 years.

Kansas, County Marriage Records, 1811-1911

Name:    Ella Eckman
Gender:    Female
Age:    33
Birth Date:    abt 1855
Marriage Date:    4 Apr 1888
Marriage Place:    Douglas, Kansas, USA
Spouse:    William W Trampton
Film Number:    001547790

Marriage record - William W. Frampton to Ella Eckman - 4 Apr 1888

William Walker Frampton certainly had no trouble attracting women.  He was never unmarried for very long.

Do you have ancestors who married multiple times?  I’d love to hear about them.

If you are connected to any of the ancestors mentioned in this post, or have any additional information about them, please contact me.
 
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
TOMBSTONE TUESDAY–Civil War Soldier Headstones (William W. Frampton mentioned here)
FRIDAY FINDS - Newspaper article - David Frampton, Rebel Prisoner - Dec 1861

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

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

WEDDING WEDNESDAY with a TWIST ~ How many divorces have I recorded?

Instead of my usual Wedding Wednesday post, I thought I would shake it up a bit.

 

I record marriage details in my Legacy program.  These can include the following:

• Date of marriage
• Place of marriage
• Witnesses to marriage
• Married by – name of Pastor, Priest or Justice of the Peace who performed the ceremony
• Where they went for their honeymoon
• Status of the marriage – Divorced, husband or wife deceased, Common law etc.
• Date & detail of the divorce

Out of curiosity I wondered how many couples I have in my database who are listed as divorced?

I’ve never thought to review this statistic before.

I used Search>Find>Detailed Search and filled in the boxes as follows

With the click of a mouse the list was created.

My Legacy database contains 6287 individuals.  Of those there are 2424 that are married. 

 

HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD YOU GUESS ARE ON THE LIST?  

I had no idea.  And certainly, I am not privy to the status on all the marriages I’ve recorded.

 

There were 166 people on the list – making for 83 divorced couples.  Taking the number of individuals I have as married and dividing it into 166 people that are divorced, I get a total percentage of divorces of .0684.

Is that a lot or not too many?  Again, I have no idea.

I know my Dad divorced twice, my Mom once. My 3 lifelong friends all have divorced parents.

 

I think it’s much more common today, but it certainly wasn’t unheard of during our grandparents & great grandparent’s times.  As evidenced by my report.

Have you ever run this report for your own tree?  If so, I’d love to hear about it.  I know all you Legacy users out there can create the report and I expect the other programs have something similar.

 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

COUSINS ~ Such a wonderful resource–What I learned about Mary Emily King (1921-2019) in one afternoon

Cousins!  We can have an unlimited number of them.  We all know that they are special members of any family.  Whether you grew up with them or you have met them along your life’s journey, they can be a source of joy.

I received a phone call a few days ago from a cousin I’ve met through my genealogy research.  She just happens to live within an hour of me.  She is a maternal 3rd cousin.  Our common ancestors are James Gillen Hunter and Susan Caroline Boggs.

She informed me that her Aunt, Mary Emily King, had recently passed away.  She knows that I like to try and stay informed about family events, births, marriages, deaths etc.

Yesterday I sat down at my computer to take a look at my Legacy database and see what I had entered for Mary Emily King, my 2nd cousin once removed.

I had her as the daughter of Joseph Edward King & Maria Rhoda Downing.  Having been the 5th child born to that couple. 

I had a birth date of “about 1920 in Indiana.”  That was the extent of my knowledge of Mary Emily King.

WHAT DID I LEARN IN JUST A SHORT TIME (ABOUT TWO HOURS) THIS MORNING?

• First I did a Google search to see if I could find an obituary for Mary Emily.  Most or many obituaries are published online now and a simple Google search of the name + obituary will bring results.  Sometimes I add the year also, depending on how common the name is
• The obituary was a great source of information and confirmed what my cousin had told me.  Mary Emily died 4 Apr 2019.  The obituary gave her exact date of birth & place, the names of her parents, who she married & when, names of her family both living and deceased, her military service, other information about her life and her place of burial.  Doesn’t get much better than that.
• 
  
• OH!!  Did I mention there was a lovely photo of Mary Emily included with the obituary.

Screenshot from her obituary

• The next place I looked for information was FindAGrave.  Even though Mary Emily recently passed away, you can, many times, find a memorial has already been created.
• Sure enough there it was.  You can visit her memorial here #198091880.
• Her memorial had links to memorials for her parents, her husband and one sibling.
• I returned to Ancestry to add her husband’s name to my tree.
• From there I was able to find more information about him, including family photos AND his birth & death certificates.  THAT WAS A BONUS I WAS NOT EXPECTING.
• Interestingly, I cannot locate a marriage record for this couple.  I’ve tried specific and general searches on both Ancestry & Family Search.  Both Mary Emily’s and her husband, Harold’s obituaries give the same date and place of the marriage.  For now, that will have to do as evidence.  However, I will need more solid evidence and will continue to search.
• By learning that Mary Emily & her husband had a daughter named Maria, I was able to locate her obituary (she just died last year).  This included all sorts of vital information about her, including exact birth date, marriages, children's names etc.

NOTE:  I have searched high and low for a marriage record for Mary Emily King & Harold Hanna.  According to both of their obituaries, they were married 12 Aug 1972 in Danville, Illinois.  HOWEVER, how is it they have a daughter born in 1947?  Could this daughter be from another marriage or relationship for either Mary Emily or Harold?

 

For now, I’ll finish this post and move on to the next boat load of information I have received from another cousin (whom I met online via FB groups and then discovered and confirmed via DNA, she is my paternal 3rd cousin!)

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

How I Save Cousin Contact Info Using Evernote

Cousins, Cousins and More Cousins

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ This week’s theme is SWIMWEAR

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.”

I’ve pretty much grown up around the water.  From my earliest years I remember the cottage that my paternal grandparents, Harry & Marie Gould, had at Lake Huron.  Click on this link to read about the cottage My Grandparents Enjoying their Lake Huron cottage in Michigan.

From Michigan we moved to Pompano Beach, Florida and were always a short drive from the beach.  Then in 1965 we moved to San Diego, California – more beaches.

I can locate photos of lake and beach time and swimwear from my paternal side of the family.  However, other than a couple of pictures of my Uncle Bob, none from my maternal side.
 
So, where are all of the pictures of me and my brother in our swimwear?  Good question.  Maybe I better dig through those boxes under the stairs.
 
Today, I’ll share these photos with you.
 
Here’s my Dad, Harry Norman Gould on the beach at an unknown location, with his father Harry Whipple Gould – circa 1930.

Here are my Dad, his first wife Elaine and both of my paternal grandparents, Harry & Marie Gould, with others at Lake Huron circa 1933-1935.

Next is a photo of my Dad with his mother Marie, on the beach in Florida.  My Dad worked as a lifeguard in the early 1960’s.

And, here’s the only swimwear photo I can find from my Mom’s side of the family.

My Uncle, Robert Andrew Milne, who served in World War II as a Medic.  Here is in on the beach (he's on the left) in an unknown location, during his service.  I don’t know who his friend is.

And, finally, there had to be at least one of me.  So here are Ron and I on a vacation cruise in 1993.  We were at Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica.  Ron’s always a good sport and the photographer asked him to wear the hat.

What photos do you have of your ancestors enjoying the beach or a lake?  What kind of swimwear did they have on?

OTHER SEPIA SATURDAY POSTS THAT YOU MAY ENJOY – Click here

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION