Creativity: William Scott Pyle Jr ~ 52 Ancestors #22

Obituary, 17 February 1938, New York Times, p. 21, col. 6

W. Scott Pyle, Artist and Paint Originator
American Who Experimented With Plant Colors in Europe Is Dead at The Hague

   W. Scott Pyle, American artist, died in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Sunday [February 13, 1938] after an operation, according to word received here yesterday. He had gone abroad in June, taking some of his paintings with him for exhibitions in Switzerland and The Hague.
   Mr. Pyle left Princeton in his sophomore year to study painting, first under William Chase, then at the Academy of Munich and with Frank Brangwyn. He had exhibited at the academy shows in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Washington and also in the art museums of Detroit and Toledo.
   Until the last few years he was living in Europe, where he took a leading part in lengthy experiments with paints made from plant colors, which were finally manufactured by the Goetheanum in Switzerland.
   His clubs included the Princeton, University and Racquet and Tennis.
  Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Mietra [sic: should be Maria] Waller Pyle; a daughter, Joan; his mother, Mrs. William Scott Pyle, and a sister, Mrs. Albert Spalding.

William Scott Pyle, Jr. was born on June 22, 1888, in Monmouth, New Jersey, to William Scott Pyle (photo here) and Mary Ann Vanderhoef. He was their third child. The oldest, James Vanderhoef Pyle, died in 1887 of Diphtheria.

His older sister, Mary Vanderhoef Pyle, married famed violinist Albert Spalding. Because their father had died by the time they wed in July 1919, William Junior gave his sister away.

He was the first cousin of my grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle, making him my first cousin twice removed.

Nickname: Townsend Toby Lowell ~ 52 Ancestors #21

My grandfather was born Lowell Townsend Copeland on December 21, 1900, to Lowell Copeland and Ethel May Greeley. This is his Cook County, Illinois, birth certificate.

He was called Townsend, to differentiate himself from his father. He is Townsend in census records, on the back of photographs, and in school yearbooks.

In this labeled photograph, Grandfather was 2 years, 9 months old. His nurse / nanny was Elvira and he was very fond of her. This was likely taken at his home or his maternal grandfather's home in Winnetka, Illinois.

For Aunt Ruth [Ruth Lyman Wells, 1862-1943]
Townsend and his Elvira
Sept 1902

Taking Care of Business: Martin Adsit ~ 52 Ancestors #20

My second great grandfather, James Monroe Adsit, was born in Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, and was in Chicago, Illinois by 1838, becoming one of its earliest bankers. I previously shared his photograph and I share it again here.

James Monroe Adsit (1809-1894)

His younger brother, Martin Noah Adsit, also born in Spencertown, was in Hornellsville, Steuben County, New York by 1826 (according to obituaries) with his uncle Ira Davenport (brother of my third great-grandmother, Fanny (Davenport) (Adsit) Davis). He remained in Hornellsville until his death in December 1903, just shy of his 91st birthday.

Hornellsville is about 300 miles west of Spencertown.

I found great information about this third great uncle in New York newspapers.

Preserve: Mary Lois Hunter ~ 52 Ancestors #19

This week's theme is Preserve. I have so many items that have been saved and handed down to me as the family historian, so it was hard (but fun) to choose one item to share.

My second great-grandparents, James Hunter and Mary (Freeland) Hunter, had ten children. Their ninth child (my great great aunt) died at age 22.

Pennsylvania, U..S., Death Certificates, 1906-1970, courtesy Ancestry.com

Her death certificate reports that she died on April 14, 1911, at Allegheny General Hospital, of "General Peritonitis following operation for appendicitis & floating kidney." Interestingly, her oldest brother, H.L. Hunter, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was the informant. Her parents both died in 1902.

What is the preserved item here? I have a copy of her original will, written about three weeks before her death.

Love and Marriage: Henry and Sarah, 1858 ~ 52 Ancestors #18

Maine Marriages, 1771-1907, FamilySearch

My second great-grandparents, Henry C. Copeland and Sarah Lowell, both of Calais, Maine, were married on Wednesday, December 15, 1858. They submitted their intention to marry with the city clerk on December 9. (By the way, the City Clerk's name is Samuel Lambe; it took some creativity to confirm that signature.)

Calais, Washington County, Maine, is one of the northernmost locations in my family tree. It is 330 miles from Boston, a long way to travel in the mid-19th century.