Helen Hunter Follansbee ~ 52 Ancestors #51

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow.

In a roundabout way, I'm writing about a second great-aunt of mine, Helen Rainey Hunter (1886-1939).

My great-grandfather, Percy Earle Hunter, was the second of ten children of James Hunter and Mary Freeland. Mary died in March 1902 and James died in October 1902, and his obituary reports that since his wife's death, "he has never been the same man he was before."

When their parents died, Percy took responsibility for many of his younger siblings, the youngest of whom were 10 (Curtis Carr Hunter), 14 (Mary Lois Hunter), and 16 (Helen Rainey Hunter). (I still need to look to see if there are official guardianship records.)

Therefore when Percy's sister Helen Rainey Hunter got married in 1909, it was "Mr. and Mrs. Percy E. Hunter" who announced the marriage of their sister.

"Marriage Announcement," The Pittsburgh Press, 15 October 1909; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/141365338 : accessed 22 December 2018), p. 24, col. 3.

William and Helen (Hunter) Follansbee lived in Pittsburgh their entire lives and had three children: William U. Follansbee III (b. 1912), and twins, Lois Hunter Follansbee and Mary Freeland Follansbee (b. 1915). Although two of these children married (William and Mary), there were no grandchildren.

Helen and her children attended my grandparents' 1931 wedding, signing the guest list and appearing in the group photo.

I believe she is behind and between my grandmother and her father in the 1931 wedding photo. This would be just before her 45th birthday. Her older brother, Percy, is 58 in this photo. Grandmother was 24.

Helen (Hunter) Copeland, Helen (Hunter) Follansbee, Percy Earle Hunter

The only other record I could find was Helen's death certificate, which reported that she died at age 53 of colon cancer. ["Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1966," Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5164 : accessed 22 December 2018), certificate file no. 76326, record for Helen Hunter Follansbee, d. 24 September 1939.]

If any Hunter family members have any memories or photos of this Follansbee family, please let me know in the comments.

Winter and Ice Skating ~ 52 Ancestors #49

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Winter.

These are my parents in January 1964 (if the "Jan 64" date was close to when the photo was taken). My dad, Charlie Pyle, loved to ice skate and we all learned how to skate soon after learning to walk.

Looks like it was cold enough for the pond in Dedham (Massachusetts) to freeze well enough for skating early that winter!

The 1787 Will of Elias Lyman ~ 52 Ancestors #47

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Thankful.

I am thankful that I am currently participating in the ProGen Study Groups.

My most recent assignment was to transcribe a will or deed. I chose a New Hampshire ancestor whom I have not researched very much and transcribed his will. I am thankful that I have had this learning experience because it has (1) shown me the importance of transcribing every word of an old handwritten document and (2) helped me clarify the number of children of the writer of this will.

My 5th great-grandfather, Elias Lyman, was born in Enfield, Grafton County, New Hampshire, on 14 April 1754. [1] He married Ruth Griswold on 30 January 1776 in Enfield. [2] The only other sources I have for him are authored works: a 1935 Griswold family genealogy [3] and an 1872 Lyman family genealogy. [4]

Two of the children of Elias and Ruth were found in New Hampshire vital records:
Ruth Lyman (b. 7 January 1777 in Enfield)
Elias Lyman (b. 5 or 6 July 1778 in Lebanon)

Then there is Lucinda Lyman (born about 1784), my 4th great-grandmother, who married Thomas G. Wells, and two other children mentioned in the published genealogies: Lucy Lyman and Harry Lyman. The Lyman genealogy also included Roswell Lyman, but doesn't specifically list him as a child of Elias and Ruth. (And since the Griswold genealogy based its information on this family from the Lyman genealogy, it doesn't include Roswell Lyman.) Both genealogies included Tryphena, born 10 August 1810.

However, the will, written and proved in 1787, means that Elias Lyman died 23 years before Tryphena Lyman was born and therefore couldn't have been her father.

Section of 1787 will of Elias Lyman in which he lists his children

He referred to his beloved sons: Elias Roswell and Henry (with no punctuation between the names) and Elias inserted before and above Roswell. He referred to his beloved daughters, Ruth, Lucy, Lucinda (with punctuation). However, using the will and continuing with researching from the hints from the genealogies, I am surmising that he had six children: Ruth, Elias, Roswell, Lucy, Henry, and Lucinda, but I still need to explore each of these families to confirm the birth order.

Samuel Sewall Greeley: Always Bearded ~ 52 Ancestors #45

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and last week's writing prompt was Bearded.

A quick glance and I can see that I have a few bearded ancestors. Following are the photos I have of my second great-grandfather, Samuel Sewall Greeley. It appears that he had a beard throughout his entire life.

He was born in Boston in 1824. This is a photograph of a photograph. He has quite a few descendants so hopefully the original is with another descendant.

He came to Chicago in 1853 and married his first wife in 1855. After her death in 1864, he returned to Massachusetts to marry a cousin in 1866.

Great-Grandmother was a Golfer ~ 52 Ancestors #41

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Sports.

I have previously written about the athletes in my dad's family at Sports Center Saturday ~ Dad and golf and about his mother at Libby Was a Tennis Player.

One of my brothers mentioned to me that Libby's mother, Mary Bowman (Ashby) Adsit (1863-1956) was a very good golfer as a young woman. I had never heard this story, which goes to show that genealogists should interview everyone, even younger relatives, who might know something about the family.

My great-grandmother is found only as Mrs. Adsit or Mrs. C. C. Adsit in the nine or ten newspaper articles in which she is mentioned as playing in or winning golf tournaments.

According to this September 1898 Chicago Tribune article, the first women's golf tournament "in the west" was held at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Mrs. Adsit placed 19th. At the time, she was about 35 years old and had a six-year-old son and a 15-month-old daughter (my grandmother).

     "Women's Golf Tourney," The Chicago Tribune, 8 September 1898, p. 8, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/349853896/ : accessed 11 October 2018).

Mrs. Adsit's home club, the Onwentsia Club, was formally organized at its present location in 1895, hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1899, and hosted the U.S. Open in 1906. (See History - Onwentsia Club.)

My Grandparents' 1931 Wedding ~ 52 Ancestors #40

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Ten.

I have published 446 blog posts since April 2011 and I decided to go back to see what my tenth blog post was.

It turns out that this was one of my favorites, so I am repeating it here, slightly edited:

A Small 1931 Family Wedding

My mother's parents were married on September 5, 1931, in Princeton, New Jersey. I have a few items from this wedding. The announcement:

Helen and Toby (Lowell's nickname) had originally planned to marry in October 1931, but my grandfather's mother was ill and not expected to live long, so they moved the wedding back to September 5. The groom's mother, my great-grandmother Ethel May (Greeley) Copeland, died on October 3, 1931, in Princeton.

A Farm in Queens New York ~ 52 Ancestors #39

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is On the Farm.

Yes we all have plenty of farmers in our family trees. It's kind of fun to think about places where farmers were plentiful in the 19th century, but where I don't think we find farms now, like Jamaica, Queens County, New York.

My third great-grandfather, Thomas Cutler Whitman, was born in Nova Scotia in 1803 and immigrated with several members of his family to New York in 1857.

The 1860 U.S. census shows that he was a farmer. He is on the top line of this census image that includes his wife, Diana, and several children (and future son-in-law, William Bruce at the bottom).

1860 U.S. census, Queens County, New York, population schedule, Jamaica, p. 127, dwelling 873, family 964, Thomas C. Whitman; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 January 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 845.

Value of real estate is blank, but value of personal estate is $1,000.

The fun part comes from finding that farmer on the non-population agricultural census schedule and seeing what he produced.

Deaf Ancestor Mary Emma Rose ~ 52 Ancestors #38

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Unusual Source. In fact, Amy introduced the idea of this source in another blog post from last week: Researching Deaf Ancestors.

I didn't think I had any deaf ancestors; I'm still pretty sure that none of my direct ancestors were deaf. However, I explored the Ancestry database she mentioned, U.S. Special Census on Deaf Family Marriages and Hearing Relatives, 1888-1895, and I found a fourth great aunt. All I knew of this 4th great aunt was from her gravestone: Mary Rose Mitchell Totten, 1808-1897, which I photographed when visiting Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan, New Jersey, in 2013.

Mary Emma Rose was the daughter of Joseph Rose and Frances Stanton. From the few records that I previously had on this family, I only knew of six children of Joseph Rose and Frances Stanton and I had complete birth and death dates for only my direct ancestor, Joseph Stanton Rose, whose detailed obituary I transcribed at Joseph Rose (1809-1877). He is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan, New Jersey, and was the reason I visited the cemetery. Finding GGGG Aunt Mary's gravestone was by chance.

This survey of deaf individuals collected a lot of family information and WOW: I now know that Joseph and Frances had ten children with four dying very young. This is a wonderful example of researching collateral relatives to obtain more information. Not only does the survey include all of Mary's siblings, but their full names and birth dates. No specific death dates are listed, but several siblings died young and those are mentioned. Mary Emma signed the last page.

AncestryDNA Updates Ethnicity Results

As reported today by AncestryDNA, they have made a significant update to their ethnicity results, providing more precise results across Asia and Europe. Users will see changes to their ethnicity percentages and new regions (as some of their regions have been redefined).

My AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates, which haven't shown an update for me in five years, still reflect 100% European, but have been refined.

Ancestry reports that as they've gotten more data (i.e. 16,000 reference samples where previously they had 3,000), they have improved their ability to distinguish between regions, especially for regions which are closely related and have similar genetic makeup such as Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Northwestern Europe (well, that's just about all my ethnic makeup right there). This is their explanation as to why I now show no Scandinavian DNA.

My original results (April 2012) looked like the following:

About a year and a half later (October 2013), they looked like this:

By last spring, they referred to "Low Confidence Regions" instead of "Trace Regions." The percentages hadn't changed:

As of today, my ethnicity estimate is still just about all European, just rearranged:

Reverend Joseph Sewall, 1688-1769 ~ 52 Ancestors #36

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and last week's writing prompt was Work.

I explored my tree for unusual occupations, and found a somewhat famous minister in my ancestry.

Son of Justice Samuel Sewall of Boston, Joseph Sewall, my 6th great-grandfather, was the fourth minister of Old South Church in Boston, serving from 1713 until his death in 1769. [Church website and Wikipedia]

Old South Church is one of the older religious communities in the United States. It was organized by Congregationalist dissenters from Boston's First Church and was known as the Third Church (to distinguish it from the First and Second Congregational Churches in the city). The Third Church's congregation met first in their Cedar Meeting House (1670), then at the Old South Meeting House (1729) at the corner of Washington and Milk Streets in Boston.

The following image, in the public domain, is a John Smibert (1688-1751) oil on canvas painting done about 1735 of the Reverend Joseph Sewall. Photo credit: Yale University Art Gallery.

Son of Justice Samuel Sewall and his wife, Hannah Hull, Joseph was born at Boston on August 15, 1688, and baptized at the Old South Church on August 19, 1688. He was his parents' eighth child and sixth son. He attended Harvard College, graduating in 1707 and completing his second degree in 1710.

He was elected as associate minister of Old South in 1712 and ordained in September of 1713. About six weeks later, he married Elizabeth Walley, daughter of Hon. John Walley and Sarah Blossom. (Justice John Walley was an associate of Joseph's father, Samuel, for many years.) He and Elizabeth had two children; only one survived infancy: Samuel, born in 1715.

He was offered the presidency of Harvard College, which he declined (he wanted to remain in Boston), but did serve as a fellow of the college from 1728 to 1765.

He served as minister at Old South for 56 years, from 1713 until his death in 1769.  He baptized so many children that when I perform a search for his name in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register at AmericanAncestors.org, there are thousands of results.

Only three of his father's 14 children outlived him, and Joseph outlived all his siblings. He died at Boston on June 27, 1769 and two days later, was buried at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston. See his FindAGrave memorial, where there is a brief biography, though no gravestone photo. An obituary in the Boston Post-Boy reports that "Scarce any one ever passed through life with a more unblemished character, or performed its various duties with more universal esteem."

Sources include:
Hamilton Andrews Hill, "The Rev. Joseph Sewall: His Youth and Early Manhood," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 46 (1896): 3-10; digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 11 September 2018).

Obituary, Joseph Sewall, Boston Post-Boy, 3 July 1769, issue 393, p. 2; digital image, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 11 September 2018).

"Old South Church," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_South_Church : accessed 11 September 2018).

"Old South Meeting House," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_South_Meeting_House : accessed 11 September 2018).

~~~~~~~

My descent from Reverend Joseph Sewall is as follows. His third great-grandson, Samuel Sewall Greeley, married his fourth great-granddaughter, Eliza May Wells.

Joseph Sewall

|

Samuel Sewall

|

Dorothy Sewall

|

Louisa May (sister of Elizabeth Sewall May)

|

Samuel Sewall Greeley (married Eliza May Wells)

|

Ethel May Greeley

|

Lowell Townsend Copeland
|
my mother

|

me

Second line:

Joseph Sewall

|

Samuel Sewall

|

Dorothy Sewall

|

Elizabeth Sewall May (sister of Louisa May)

|

Elizabeth Sewall Willis

|

Eliza May Wells (married Samuel Sewall Greeley)

|

Ethel May Greeley, see above

Samuel Sewall Greeley and Eliza May Wells were first cousins once removed.

Ogontz School Yearbook 1926 ~ 52 Ancestors #35

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and last week's writing prompt was Back to School.

Yes, I have found family members in school yearbooks, but also, I own one of a small number of yearbooks created upon the 1926 graduation of my grandmother from Ogontz School, Rydal, Pennsylvania. The school, an all-girls finishing school, no longer exists; it is now the campus of Penn State, Abington.

Yes, that's a latch on the right.

James Pyle in the Non-Population Schedule ~ 52 Ancestors #34

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Non-Population.

Non-population to a genealogist suggests the various non-population census schedules that were created as part of the census enumeration every ten years between 1850 and 1880. These include agricultural, industrial, and manufacturing schedules which provide additional information about those who are enumerated in them. Digital images of these indexed schedules are available at Ancestry.

Since I have been sharing information about my soap-making ancestor, James Pyle, here is the 1880 U.S. census non-population industry schedule for the 28 soap makers of New York City.

1880 U.S. census, New York County, New York, non-population schedule, Manufactures,
p. 307 [stamped], p. 239 [penned], line 2, Jas. Pyle; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 28 November 2015); citing Archive Collection number I12, roll 88.

And a closeup showing Jas. Pyle on line 2:

Since this is difficult to read, I have transcribed the headings and James Pyle's entry below.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday ~ Pyle Pearline Soap Box

I recently shared a story about the legend of how James Pyle became convinced to advertise his soap powder. (It was not accurate: he had been advertising products in newspapers for years.)

If you search online newspaper websites for Pyle Pearline, you will find many advertisements for his soap product in the late 1800s throughout the U.S.

If you search images for Pyle Pearline, you will find many images of the advertising cards that have survived. Not only that, but you can also find old boxes that once held the powdered soap. One of my brothers gave me one a few years ago.

Note that this was James Pyle's Pearline but "made only by" Procter & Gamble.

Legend of James Pyle and Horace Greeley ~ 52 Ancestors #33

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Family Legend.

I thought I'd revisit my second great grandfather's invention of powdered soap (known as Pyle's Pearline Soap) and an anecdote that was repeated in several obituaries for him upon his death in 1900.

James Pyle (1823-1900) was my second great grandfather and by 1870, he was enumerated as "Manufacturer of Soap" in the 1870 U.S. census. I shared his history at Occupations of My Ancestors ~ James Pyle.) There are many records: census, city directories and others, that relate his success in manufacturing and selling what became known as Pyle's Pearline Soap.

According to the legend, James Pyle learned about the value of advertising when he became acquainted with Horace Greeley, founder in 1841 of the New-York Daily Tribune:

Mr. Greeley had sought to secure his "ad" for some time. Finally he is reported to have said in substance: "Here is the rate card. Use whatever space you wish for one year. If at the end of that time you find that it has paid to advertise, you may pay for whatever spare you have used. If it hasn't paid, you need not pay." The space was duly paid for. ["Death of James Pyle," The New York Times, 21 January 1900, p. 3, col. 2.]

I thought I'd explore advertisements for his soap (and earlier products) at Newspapers.com, which includes many New York City newspapers in its digitized collections. I searched for Pyle Soap and wondered if this was the first advertisement in the New-York Daily Tribune?

Advertisement for Pyle's O. K. Soap, New-York Daily Tribune, 23 November 1861, p. 1, col. 6 (bottom of the right column); image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/85340859/ : accessed 20 August 2018).

However, the legend of the agreement with Horace Greeley may not be true.

Grandmother: The Youngest Sister ~ 52 Ancestors #32

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Youngest.

My grandmother, Helen Lysle Hunter, was the youngest of five sisters. I have many photos and old negatives from this family for which I am grateful.

I have shared family photos in the past but I couldn't resist sharing a couple more here.

Grandmother was born on 1 February 1907, in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (now the North Side of Pittsburgh), so it's pretty easy to date these photographs to the summer of 1907.

Mary Hunter (b. 1903), Helen (b. 1907) held by Caroline (b. 1900), Marion (b. 1899)

I don't know why two-year-old Margaret is not in this photo, but she is being held by her sister Mary in the following photo, which was taken on a different day: the girls' clothes are different and it looks like baby Helen has just a little bit more hair.

From the back: Marion (b. 1899), Caroline (b. 1900), Mary (b. 1903), Margaret (b. 1905), Marguerite (b. 1876), and baby Helen (b. 1907)

I'm pretty sure these photos were taken at the Hunter home on Perrysville Avenue. See photos of the home at The Old Homestead.

Sarah (Lowell) Copeland Photos About 1910 ~ 52 Ancestors #31

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Oldest.

My second great-grandmother, Sarah Lowell, was born 30 December 1833, in Calais, Maine, and spent just about her entire life there. She married Henry Clay Copeland in 1858 and had two sons and one daughter. I shared a brief biography of her at Matrilineal Monday ~ Sarah Lowell.

I have two photographs of her that I think were taken on the same day.

Her son, Lowell Copeland, wrote the captions on the back, noting that he believed his mother was between 75 and 80 years old, dating these photos to between 1908 and 1913. I love that he dated his caption 2/27/30 and of course, that it's in his handwriting.

Aunt Mary Fights Standard Oil ~ 52 Ancestors #30

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Colorful.

I have written about my mother's colorful Aunt Mary before (at Bald Mary) and about the five Hunter sisters several times. Earlier this year, I wrote about Mary's younger sister, Margaret, for the Maiden Aunt theme.

This story starts with the purchase of a small farm in 1943, and comes to life with the rising demand for oil, gasoline, and natural gas in the early 1950s.

On July 5, 1943, for $18,500, sisters Mary H. Gerken and Margaret L. Hunter purchased a 41-acre farm in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, which included buildings, chicken coops, and farm machinery and equipment.^[1] The farm was on Middle Road and McCullough Road (now known as McCully Road) in Allison Park, north of Pittsburgh. They lived with their mother in a home about a mile south on Middle Road (see a photo at 1940 US Census - Great-Grandmother Hunter) and employed a farmer to work on their farm. Unfortunately, if I ever visited the farm with my grandmother and great aunt Margie in the 1970s, I don't remember it, but my cousins who grew up in Pittsburgh have wonderful memories of it. (See the Maiden Aunt post link above.)

Because of the increased demand for oil products in the following decade, new pipelines were being constructed across the country. In 1952, Tuscarora Oil Co., of Harrisburg, a subsidiary of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, planned on laying a 360-mile long pipeline from Linden, New Jersey, to Midland, Pennsylvania, on the Ohio River, downriver from Pittsburgh and almost due west of the farm.

On Wednesday, May 7, 1952, the Tuscarora Oil Company reached the sisters' farm on Middle Road, and attempted to install the pipeline across their farm. The sisters fought the oil company by initially barricading access to their property with their jeep, tractor, and car and refusing to move. An attorney for the oil company claimed that a bond posted in federal court allowed them to place the pipeline on the land by right of eminent domain. On May 9, a federal judge permitted the work to continue.

Aunt Mary was quoted in The Pittsburgh Press as saying: "We’re fighting for the rights of the small land and home owner against a greedy corporation. I’ve watched their shameless exploitation, intimidation and deceit too long."^[2]

The following photograph was also included in that issue of The Pittsburgh Press.

It is primarily Aunt Mary (Mrs. Gerken) who is quoted in the newspapers, explaining that they were fighting for the rights of small landowners, though it's "Miss Hunter" (Aunt Margie) who is quoted as saying: "We believe in private ownership and big business. Squeezing out the small farmer leads to Communism. The small farmer has always been considered the backbone of the country."^[2]

Cousin Albert Spalding, Violinist ~ 52 Ancestors #29

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Music.

My second great uncle William Scott Pyle (1856-1906) had two sons and one daughter, Mary Vanderhoef Pyle, born in 1886, who married Albert Goodwill Spalding, a famous American violinist.

Courtesy Wikipedia

Albert Goodwill Spalding was born 15 August 1888 in Chicago, Illinois to James Walter Spalding and Marie (Boardman) Spalding, a contralto and pianist. (His father and his uncle, Albert Spalding, founded the sporting goods company.)

After studying violin in New York and Italy, he made his debut in Paris in 1905 when he was 17. His American debut was made in Carnegie Hall on November 8, 1908. Newspaper headlines of the day raved about his abilities.

He put his performing on hold so he could serve in World War I, and on 19 June 1919, he married my grandfather Pyle's first cousin, Mary Vanderhoef Pyle.

The Internet Archive has recordings (digitized from 78 rpm records) of his playing which is truly a wonderful use of the Internet. From 1934, you can hear Albert Spalding play Chopin's Waltz in B Minor and Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, both violin solos with piano accompaniment. You can also search for Albert Spalding and select media type "Audio" to find additional recordings.

Copeland Father and Son Travel to Maine in 1904 ~ 52 Ancestors #28

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Travel.

I've been enjoying scanning photographs from my aunt's collection. Both my aunt and my mother have photographs from their father's trip to visit his paternal grandparents in Calais, Maine, from Winnetka, Illinois, in 1904, a trip of over 1,200-miles!

This was a trip "back home" to see Henry Clay Copeland (1832-1912) and his wife Sarah (Lowell) Copeland (1833-1916). I can't tell from my collection of photos if my great-grandmother, Ethel, or grandfather's 18-month-old sister, Betty, went on this trip; there don't appear to be any family group photos.

What a trip this must have been for not-quite-four-year-old Lowell Townsend Copeland! At this age, my grandfather was known as Townsend, but his nickname of Towgie or Towg is noted on the back of some of the photos.

Lowell Copeland and his son L. Townsend Copeland in Calais, Maine

The back of another copy of this photograph reads: "Taken Oct 1904 in New Brunswick - beautiful drive - L.C. [Lowell Copeland] and Towgie [Lowell Townsend Copeland]."

From the back: St. Stephen / Towg - New Brunswick, Jul 1904

St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, is across the St. Croix River from Calais. The date on the back of this photo suggests that they were in Calais by July of 1904.

Samuel Greeley Supported Independence ~ 52 Ancestors #27

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Independence.

My 4th and 5th great grandfathers, both named Samuel Greeley, served in the Revolutionary War from Nottingham West (now Hudson), New Hampshire.

Samuel Greeley (1752-1798), who was "suddenly killed by the fall of a tree," was known as Samuel Greeley Jr to distinguish him from his father, Samuel Greeley Sr (1721-1802).

The History of Hudson, N.H. by Kimball Webster (Manchester, N.H.: Granite State Publishing Co., 1913) is a great resource for the history of this community and includes transcriptions of many old town records in addition to sketches for Samuel Greeley and other men of its early history. (A digitized copy of the book can be found at Google Books and at FamilySearch Books.) This book is considered a DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) source for the service of Samuel Greeley Sr, probably because it notes (on page 252) that the old military records of Nottingham West were lost or destroyed. Much of the following information is from this book, as well as from vital records sources in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Samuel Greeley Sr (DAR Patriot #A047894), responded to the Lexington Alarm on April 19, 1775, leading sixty-two men from Nottingham West, New Hampshire, to Lexington, Massachusetts. On their way, they were met by a courier who informed them that the British had retreated, so the men returned home. Many went on to fight in the Revolution, though not Samuel Greeley Sr, probably due to his age; he was in his 50s. It also appears that Samuel Greeley Jr didn't fight, but he did pledge his support for the Patriot cause. Both Samuel Greeleys are found to have signed the "Revolutionary War Association Test" which men were required to sign if they were supporting the Patriot cause:

WE, the Subscribers, do hereby solemnly engage, and promise, that we will, to the utmost of our Power, at the Risque of our Lives and Fortunes, with ARMS, oppose the Hostile Proceedings of the British Fleets, and Armies, against the United American COLONIES.

Samuel Greeley Sr was born on 10 May 1721 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts, the oldest child of Samuel Greeley and Rachel Robenson. He moved, with his parents and younger siblings, from Haverhill to Nottingham West, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, in 1740.

Divorce in the Family ~ 52 Ancestors #26

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Black Sheep.

Not that divorce makes a person a black sheep of the family (if that were so, this branch might have a dozen or more black sheep), but this great uncle of mine married and divorced twice and it made the papers.

James McAlpin Pyle was born in 1884 in New York as the oldest of six children of James Tolman Pyle and Frances Adelaide McAlpin. (They gave all six of their children the middle name McAlpin.) He married Miss Anita Merle-Smith on April 29, 1912.

The following wedding announcement was in the April 30, 1912, issue of The New York Times:

(Mourning in the bridegroom's family referred to the death of his father, James Tolman Pyle less than two months prior.)

James and Anita lived in New Jersey and were enumerated in the 1915 New Jersey State Census and the 1920 U.S. Federal Census with their two daughters, Sara, born September 10, 1913 (in 1915 and 1920), and Anne, born September 28, 1915 (in 1920).

~~~~~~~~~

However, the November 23, 1929, Central New Jersey Home News reported that Mrs. Anita Merle-Smith Pyle had requested a divorce from her husband, James McAlpin Pyle of Norodon [sic: Noroton], Connecticut, on the grounds of desertion. He had apparently deserted his family on September 6, 1927.

(Interestingly, James was found twice in the 1930 U.S. census, once listed with his wife and daughters in Bedminster, New Jersey, and also listed with his sister and brother-in-law in Noroton, Connecticut.)

Charles Williston McAlpin (Another Charles) ~ 52 Ancestors #25

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Same Name.

There are several men by the name of Charles in my father's family. My father was a Charles, as was his father. I shared photos of them as children at Photos for Father's Day.

My father's mother was Elizabeth (known as Libby), and I have written about her many times. Libby's father and brother were both named Charles. Here is a photo of her father.

All of these men were known at times as Charlie, specifically spelled with the "ie" ending.

So who was Charley?