Posts Tagged Howes Genealogy
#52Ancestors: Week 9 – Sarah Vina Howes – Last Chance at Love
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on March 6, 2015
This is week nine of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of u
s blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Two blocks from Sarah Howes’ house lives a middle aged man, Ira Bridges, recently widowed. How long did she know him before they got married? Were they attracted to each other from afar and waiting for the day they could be together? Or, did they marry for convenience?
Sarah V. Howes is my paternal great grandfather’s sister. She opted for the single life until she entered into a marriage at the age of 53. Born in 1855 in Warrick County, Indiana, she died in Farmersburg, IN at the age of 60. Married in 1908, two years later she is widowed, and on her own.
Sarah may have waited for marriage because she was busy raising her younger siblings. Her mother, Lusina Hedges dies at the age of 39, her father, Lewis Charles House/Howes four years later. Sarah had six younger siblings that need care. Her youngest sister is just four years old at the time of her mother’s death.
The family moves off the farm to Evansville, IN. Her brothers are miners, she herself is a seamstress. The siblings marry, but not Sarah. Every few years, she moves to various rooming houses in her neighborhood. Houses come and went in Evansville, the houses she lived in no longer are no longer standing.
Ira Levi Bridges is a few years older than Sarah. Born in Kentucky, his family moves to Newburgh, IN. A growing coal mining and port community. Ira’s first wife is Nancy Jane Buston. Their union produces four sons. Ira works in the coal mine like so many others at the time.
Nancy Buston Bridges, age 62, dies on April 18, 1908. Eight months later on December 23, 1908, in Warrick County, Ira marries Sarah Howes. Such a quick marriage after the death of his first wife.
The new couple move out of the city to Farmersburg where Ira operates a mine. Four years after their marriage, Ira dies of liver disease in 1912. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, in Evansville, IN.
Sarah remains in Farmersburg where she passes away. She shares her gravestone with her parents in Union Cemetery, Newburgh, IN.
With just a few facts one could create a story of torrid love affair or an ordinary union of two people. It would be interesting to know why Sarah waited to marry, but alas, the story has been lost to time.
Grandma Olive’s Recipe Box – Dutch Coleslaw
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy Blog, Olive's Recipe Box on February 4, 2015
My aunts and my mother were divvying up my grandmother, Olive Roll Howes (1910-1996), belongings after she was moved to a nursing home in 1990’s. I think my mother ended up with the bulk of the paper files in several boxes. I was amazed at the number of boxes my mother brought home. My grandmother lived in a senior citizen apartment. The square footage was small, probably around 500 sq. feet.
My mother was sorting through the boxes at our house and there was no time to do it at grandmother’s place. As I watched my mother, I was exclaiming, “Where did Grandma find the space to put all the “stuff” in her tiny apartment? “ Being curious person genealogists can be, I started reading the letters, slips of paper, piles of statements, and et cetera in amazement.
There were cancelled checks from the 1950’s. Garnishment receipts for child support payments from an Uncle. 1952 military training records for the same uncle while he was training in Florida. A letter from her great uncle regarding burial plots, an envelope with a torn out page from the phone book. The page contain surnames of possible relatives she was trying to track down in Kentucky or Indiana. Genealogy is genetic. I still treasure those items today.
Dutch Coleslaw Recipe
It is amazing what she kept. At the time, I managed to snag a few items and placed them in my room. Lucky that I did. My mother threw out a lot of the boxes during one of her cleaning sprees. I do not want to take a gander what treasure trove was thrown out. A couple of boxes did end up at my sister’s house. I went through and grabbed what I could when I found the boxes in the attic.
In among the paper files were recipes Olive collected. Some came from her friends that I remember from my childhood. Others were copied from newspapers in her own handwriting to index cards. The cards provide a lovely example of her handwriting. Compared to mine, Olive’s penmanship remained flowing and fluid even in her older years. The handwriting is similar to my own mother’s. Seeing the writing reminds of her and brings a tear to my eyes. My own mother passed away 12 years ago.
I am posting the Dutch Coleslaw recipe today, because it is a play on words. The word “coleslaw” is derived from the Dutch word “koolsla.” So why call it Dutch coleslaw? Even though I have Dutch settlers who arrived in the 17th century, this is not a family recipe handed down through time. Because this recipe lists mayonnaise as an ingredient, which was was invented in the 1800’s.
Dutch Coleslaw
Shred cabbage for 1 quart, plus 2 stalks of celery and 2 carrotsSoak in salt water in refrigerator for 1 hour. Press out water.
Dressing – 1/4 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 c of sugar, add salt to taste
[add dressing to shredded cabbage and mix]
Let stand in refrigerator – several hours to blend flavors
#52Ancestors: Week 5 – Plowing Through Snow or Cornfields
Posted by Caroll in 52 Ancestors on February 1, 2015
This is week five of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
This week’s theme is Plowing Through. Whether it is plowing through snow, not likely here in the Pacific Northwest. The last snow I saw was two inches back around Thanksgiving. Or, plowing through online databases trying to find records about your ancestors. I chose to post a couple of family photos of shoveling snow and those turning up the earth.
Plowing through Snow
My grandfather Hugh A. Howes (1902-1961) is shoveling snow in front of the family home on Bennett street in Dearborn, MI. The date listed on the back in on the back says. This is most likely the first winter back in Michigan. The family owned the house in the mid-1940’s. My great Uncle Borden (Bob) Baumgartel and his wife Doris lived in the house for a period when my grandparents moved to Florida around 1945.
My grandparents along with my mother only stayed a couple of years in Florida and returned to Michigan. By this time, Hugh’s oldest sons were either married or serving in the military and would not have been home to shovel the snow.
Hugh A. Howes shoveling snow in 1949
The photograph shows that there are not many houses on the street. These tracts were once farmland and the west side of Dearborn was growing quickly. The photo graph below is a screen capture of Google Maps (2011), showing a view of Bennett street. The house was sold about 1957. With all their children out of the house, they moved into a apartment.
Google Map view of Bennett street
Turn up the earth of with a plow
Below are photos of two great uncles on the Pittman side of the family. Hugh Pittman (right photo) is using a hand plow to turn over the dirt in the cornfields. The photos were taken in the early 1940’s. The Pittman family was living on Park street in Central City, Kentucky, per the 1940 Census.
Left photo – Clarence Pittman ||| Right – Hugh Pittman and Hugh O. Howes (young boy)
Clarence and Hugh Pittman, though in there mid-30’s, were still living with their father, John T. Pittman, subject of the 2014 series of 52 Ancestors – No. 9. Their brother, Finis, and their sister Tena and her husband were also living on the farm. The family suffered economic hardship during the 1930’s Great Depression.
Genealogy Do-Over, Shiny Objects, Serendipity, Finding a Distant Cousin
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy Do-Over on January 17, 2015
This post is part of the Genealogy Do-Over project created by Thomas MacEntee.
I participated in APG’s virtual Professional Management Conference on January 8th & 9th. While watching the streaming video, I was also tweeting using #apgen during the sessions. I got distracted over a bright shiny object on my feed. Which is a no-no on the Do-Over project.
Brenda from Journey to the Past tweeted a photo of her brightly colored file folders on her computer. She mentioned a software program called Folder Maker. I was intrigued because I wanted to color code my folder names to make it easy to find on my laptop. Let’s face it, as our eyes get older, the fine print is harder to read. I also do not care do make my font jumbo size where it takes up too much room on the screen.
Folder Colors by Folder Maker
The photo tweeted by Brenda is of her genealogical files. Naturally being curious, I checked the file names for any familiar surnames. Lo and behold, there was. One of the folders was labeled “House.” My second great grandfather transition to spelling the last names as “Howes” sometime in the mid 1850’s. I tweeted to Brenda asking if her “House” line came from Barnstable, MA.
She replied, her line descended from Hannah House and John Lothrop. Now that’s serendipity. As I am descended from Hannah’s brother, Samuel House and Elizabeth Hammond. That makes us distant cousins. Yes, looks like social media can help you find family.
Brenda referenced @DearMyrtle for the Folder Maker tip. DearMyrtle tweeted it came from @geneabloggers, Thomas MacEntee. The very same person who has inspired thousands to re-do their genealogy research.
Off to organize my files and create my research log.
#52Ancestors – No. 32 – Roswell Edward House
This post is number 32 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Land records can provide clues to learn more about our ancestors. The can provide dots to find missing family members listed on a deed, or shared plot lines between family members and even identify the girl next door who became the wife. Land records can help us discover how our families lived and even their daily activities.
I viewed the 1880 land records for my second great uncle, Roswell House. Roswell is the son of Selah House, my third great grandfather. Selah’s is mentioned #52ncestors – No. 20. From the censuses, I know that Roswell was a farmer. However, not all his land was in one spot.
Roswell had 100 acres split into three separate lots in Campbell Township, Warrick Co, Indiana. I outlined Roswell’s lots in red to show on the map. The two circled areas are 40 acres each, the rectangle area is 20 acres. The map below does not have a scale to determine distance. As you can see, he land is spaced far apart. As a farmer in 1880 he had to travel some distance to reach his property. All he had were horse drawn carriages to use to travel between lots.
He could have leased some land out to another farmer easing his burden. According to the 1880 Census, two of his 10 children are working on the farm. The oldest, Emory, could be managing one of the lots. Managing three distanced lots would be akin to today’s project management skills.
Roswell House was born in 1836 in Ohio and lived most of his life in Warrick County. He died in 1888. He married late and when he passed away at 64, there were three children, ages 16 and under, living at home. The youngest was eight years old.
Three lots belonging to Roswell House.
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