As I identify people who are related to me, I try to determine who are the parents of a person who became a relative through marriage. One such person is John M. Stoutenburg who was born in New York in 1833. In 1850, John is living with his parents in the Town of Hurley, New York. By 1860, John is head of his own household in Hurley and is married to "Lany".
According to the 1860 Census, "Lany" was born in New York. However, the 1870 Census records her place of birth as Ohio and she is identified as Lena. John and Lena are also found in Hurley in 1880. The 1880 Census indicates that John's parents were born in New York and that Lena's father was born in Ohio, as was she, and that her mother was born in New York.
According to John's obituary, he married Lena Hull in 1856 Although I learned of her maiden name through John Stoutenburg's obituary, I had no idea who her parents were. The first clue was in her obituary. Her parents were not identified other than they were native of New York and that her mother died when she was five years old, about 1843 or 1844.
Lena's obituary stated that she was born December 30, 1838 in Ohio and that her parents returned to New York with her when she was about two years old. It also claimed she was brought up by her grandfather, Conrad Elmendorf. Further, the obituary indicated that she spent the early part of her life in Olive Branch, New York.
The first US census that listed all members of a household was taken in 1850. Since Lena would be about 12 years old in 1850, I assumed that she would be living in Ulster County with her grandfather who allegedly raised her. I did find Conrad J. Elmendorf, age 68, residing in the Town of Olive along with his 71-year-old wife, Sally. The household consisted of just the two. The next household in the enumeration was that of Elias Elmendorf and his family. Elias is 42 years old and appears to be a close relative of Conrad Elmendorf. However, Lena was not enumerated in that household either.
Next I looked for any male with the surname Hull living in Ulster County who was born in New York about 1810 plus or minus 2 years. I found a 38-year-old Samuel Hull living in the Town of Hurley. The family consisted of 27-year-old Mary, his wife, and six children ranging in age from 3 to 19 years. The oldest four children could not be the children of Mary Hull as she was only eight when the eldest of the four was born and 15 when the youngest of the four was born. So it would appear that Mary Hull was not Samuel Hull's first wife.
Since Conrad Elmendorf was the name of Lena's grandfather, I found it significant that there was a 17-year-old male, Coenradt, included in the household. Further the family included a 12-year-old girl, Hellen. Lena was often a shortened version of Helena or Magdalena. But according to the census record, Hellen was born in New York.
I then found Samuel Hull and his family living in Olive, Ulster County in the 1855 New York State Census. The three older children in the 1850 Census were not included in the household but Hellen was. She appears as the eldest child in the family. Her name is recorded as Helena, age 16 born in Ohio. Both Helena and Samuel had resided in the community for 15 years.
In 1856, Lena Hull and John Stoutenburg were married. I found the couple in Hurley, Ulster County, New York in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 US Census. In 1900, Lena and John were living in Sioux Valley Township in Union County, South Dakota. Based on her obituaries and the various censuses in which I found Lena and John, she was born in Ohio.
Given the information from the 1850 and 1855 censuses of the Samuel Hull household, I believe that Samuel Hull is Lena's father and that her birth name was Helena Hull. The next step was to identify her mother's given name. I did come across a couple of family trees that included a Mary Elmendorf who was born in 1811 in Kingston, Ulster County, died in 1843 in Hurley and was married to Samuel Bostick Hull. The trees indicate that she was baptized in 1811 at the Shokan Reformed Church in Olive.
Lena and her parents moved to Ulster County from Ohio about 1840. I found a Samuel Hull in the 1840 Census in Olive. The household consisted of two adults, Samuel as head, a male between 20 and 29 (1811-1820), a female between 20 and 29, presumably Mary Elmendorf Hull. There were 4 children; a male between 5 and 9 (1831-1835), a female between 5 and 9 and two females under 5 (1836-1840). The age ranges of the children correspond to Conraedt (about 1833), Catherine (about 1831), Matilda (about 1835) and Helena (1838).
In 1850, John Hull was 8-years-old and a member of the Samuel Hull household. Mary Hull could have been his mother as she was about 19 when John was born. But, in the 1855 Census, Mary Hull resided in the community for 9 years whereas 12-year-old John Hull resided in the community 12 years, meaning he was born between 1841 and 1842. Since Lena's mother died between 1843 and 1844 when Lena was five, John Hull's mother and Lena's mother was one and the same person. Samuel Hull married his second wife a year or so after his first wife's death.
Lena's obituary says that she was raised by her maternal grandfather, Conrad Elmendorf. That details outlined about does not provide any evidence that Lena Hull was living with her grandfather.
Locating a copy of the Arthur Kelly book of baptisms at the Shokan church is the next step to connect Mary Elmendorf to both Samuel Hull and Conrad Elmendorf.
Showing posts with label Stoutenburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stoutenburg. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Jumping to Conclusions
I came across some photos of gravestones in the Swanburg Cemetery in Timothy Township, Minnesota on the Find A Grave website. One photo in particular caught my attention because it was the gravestone of my great aunt and great uncle.
On the opposite side of the marker are the names of others supposedly buried at the site.
SandiMH created the entry at Find A Grave. He/she assumed that the people on the other side of the monument were the children of Edward and Eleanor Houston Stoutenburg because of the text on their side of the monument. It reads STOUTENBURG; Mother Eleanor D and Father Edward B II.
Only two of their children are named on the opposite side of the marker. Leola J. is their daughter. She predeceased each of her husbands. Edward B. III is obviously their son but June A. is their daughter-in-law.
Lace K. is their nephew. He is Lace Kendall Stoutenburg. Carole J. is his wife.
SandiMH made the mistake of assuming. It is important not to assume something on face value without looking at all of the evidence.
There is a companion marker at a cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California with my father and his sister's names. At the same site are the markers for their parents and another sister. This sister shares a companion marker with her husband. At first glance one might assume that my father and his other sister did not marry.
Wrong!
My father and my aunt both did marry. Neither are buried at the site. My father's cremains are in a columbarium at the National Cemetery in Riverside and my aunt's ashes were scattered in her garden in Coloma, California. The marker is called a cenotaph marker.
At the time that we decided to create the cenotaph marker, my cousin wanted some place that would mark her mother's existence. We didn't know if our sister would give up our dad's ashes for burial with those of our mother, so we decided to create a cenotaph marker with his sister at the site of their parents' gravesite.
A lawsuit later, we were able to place our dad's ashes along with those of our mother's in a vault at the national cemetery in Riverside.
On the opposite side of the marker are the names of others supposedly buried at the site.
SandiMH created the entry at Find A Grave. He/she assumed that the people on the other side of the monument were the children of Edward and Eleanor Houston Stoutenburg because of the text on their side of the monument. It reads STOUTENBURG; Mother Eleanor D and Father Edward B II.
Only two of their children are named on the opposite side of the marker. Leola J. is their daughter. She predeceased each of her husbands. Edward B. III is obviously their son but June A. is their daughter-in-law.
Lace K. is their nephew. He is Lace Kendall Stoutenburg. Carole J. is his wife.
SandiMH made the mistake of assuming. It is important not to assume something on face value without looking at all of the evidence.
There is a companion marker at a cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California with my father and his sister's names. At the same site are the markers for their parents and another sister. This sister shares a companion marker with her husband. At first glance one might assume that my father and his other sister did not marry.
Wrong!
My father and my aunt both did marry. Neither are buried at the site. My father's cremains are in a columbarium at the National Cemetery in Riverside and my aunt's ashes were scattered in her garden in Coloma, California. The marker is called a cenotaph marker.
At the time that we decided to create the cenotaph marker, my cousin wanted some place that would mark her mother's existence. We didn't know if our sister would give up our dad's ashes for burial with those of our mother, so we decided to create a cenotaph marker with his sister at the site of their parents' gravesite.
A lawsuit later, we were able to place our dad's ashes along with those of our mother's in a vault at the national cemetery in Riverside.
So the moral of the story is don't accept everything that you see on face value. Look beyond.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Mom
Some time ago, I posted a transcription of a journal that my great aunt wrote a few years before she died. After reading it, I learned things about my great aunt that I never expected. Today, I came across a newspaper article from 1941 that mentioned several of my relatives, including my mother and my great aunt.
Probably like most of us, it was hard to think of my parents as once having been children, let alone young adults. This newspaper article, like Aunt Eleanor's journal, revealed a glimpse of her and my mother when they both were young. My mom was only 18 and Aunt Eleanor was 36.
On July 17 and 18 in 1941 in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, my mother played the role of a riverboat sweetheart in a musical called "A Hillbilly Wedding." It's hard to think of your mother as a sweetheart, let alone a riverboat sweetheart. The names of some of the other characters were quite amusing as well as revealing that a sense of humor has been with us for a long, long, long ... time.
I was actually glad that my mother didn't perform the roles of Pucklewortz, Judge Itchiebritches, Ura Pumpkinhead, Ima Goosepimple, Lizzie Zilch, or Misery. Ima Goosepimple hit a bit too close to home.
When my husband and I were trying to agree on a boy's name and a girl's name after I learned that I was pregnant with out first child. We were so far apart in agreeing on the name for our daughter should we have one. I got crazy and suggested that we name our daughter, Ida, Inn, Dee or Rea. Since my married name is Kline, we both laughed and finally were able to agree on a more suitable name for our daughter.
The article would seem to imply that the musical was brief as there were "specialty acts" that followed. One such act was the Peterson quartet. My mother had cousins named Peterson, but in Minnesota, Peterson was like Smith.
Another act was square dancers. One of the couples was Clarence Peterson and Eleanor Stoutenburg. My great aunt had been a widow a bit over a year when this article was printed. Aunt Eleanor never remarried after her husband's death. Her journal gave no indication that she was a square dancer, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that she was still enjoying life.
Probably like most of us, it was hard to think of my parents as once having been children, let alone young adults. This newspaper article, like Aunt Eleanor's journal, revealed a glimpse of her and my mother when they both were young. My mom was only 18 and Aunt Eleanor was 36.
On July 17 and 18 in 1941 in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, my mother played the role of a riverboat sweetheart in a musical called "A Hillbilly Wedding." It's hard to think of your mother as a sweetheart, let alone a riverboat sweetheart. The names of some of the other characters were quite amusing as well as revealing that a sense of humor has been with us for a long, long, long ... time.
I was actually glad that my mother didn't perform the roles of Pucklewortz, Judge Itchiebritches, Ura Pumpkinhead, Ima Goosepimple, Lizzie Zilch, or Misery. Ima Goosepimple hit a bit too close to home.
When my husband and I were trying to agree on a boy's name and a girl's name after I learned that I was pregnant with out first child. We were so far apart in agreeing on the name for our daughter should we have one. I got crazy and suggested that we name our daughter, Ida, Inn, Dee or Rea. Since my married name is Kline, we both laughed and finally were able to agree on a more suitable name for our daughter.
The article would seem to imply that the musical was brief as there were "specialty acts" that followed. One such act was the Peterson quartet. My mother had cousins named Peterson, but in Minnesota, Peterson was like Smith.
Another act was square dancers. One of the couples was Clarence Peterson and Eleanor Stoutenburg. My great aunt had been a widow a bit over a year when this article was printed. Aunt Eleanor never remarried after her husband's death. Her journal gave no indication that she was a square dancer, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that she was still enjoying life.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Elusive Larry Stoutenburgh
Larry wasn't a name the I had seen in documents that I viewed over the years of researching my family history. I was surprised since most people who are called Larry have a formal name of Lawrence or Laurence.
I did, however, find the name Larry in the various US Censuses but it wasn't until 1870 that total number of Larry's enumerated in the census was in excess of one thousand. The number was over 4,000 in 1900 and in 1910. By 1930, the number of Larrys in the census was a little over 11,000. But it wasn't until 1940 that almost 70,000 Larrys were enumerated in that census.
So the next step was to look for Lawrence Stoutenburgh. I already had in my tree a Lawrence N. Stoutenburg and his son, Lawrence N. Stoutenburg, Jr. There were some trees that I saw that linked a Lawrence Napoleon Stoutenburg to Edward H. Stoutenburg and his wife, Margaret Montfore. But nothing seemed to match.
After looking at newspaper articles, census images and city directories, I was able to figure out who Larry Stoutenburgh, the billiard player was. Larry is the son of Lawrence Michael Stoutenburgh and Winifred Hennigan. Larry was Lawrence Michael Stoutenburgh, Jr. His father, Lawrence Michael Stoutenburgh, was the son of Edward H. Stoutenburgh and Margaret Montfore.
On January 25, 1912, Larry married Jennie M. Brown in Hudson Falls, NY. The affidavit recorded with the license to marry, names his father, mother and the place in which he was born. I found the World War I draft registration card for Lawrence Micheal (sic) Stoutenburgh. He was married and living in Erie County, New York.
The marriage apparently did not endure as he was married Mae Alameda George by 1940 when they were enumerated in Manhattan. Jennie Brown still called herself Jennie Stoutenburgh in the 1920 census while he claims to be single when he is enumerated in White Plains, New York in 1920.
At this time, I have not found a 1930 Census record of Larry, Mae Alameda George, or Jennie Brown.
I did, however, find the name Larry in the various US Censuses but it wasn't until 1870 that total number of Larry's enumerated in the census was in excess of one thousand. The number was over 4,000 in 1900 and in 1910. By 1930, the number of Larrys in the census was a little over 11,000. But it wasn't until 1940 that almost 70,000 Larrys were enumerated in that census.
So the next step was to look for Lawrence Stoutenburgh. I already had in my tree a Lawrence N. Stoutenburg and his son, Lawrence N. Stoutenburg, Jr. There were some trees that I saw that linked a Lawrence Napoleon Stoutenburg to Edward H. Stoutenburg and his wife, Margaret Montfore. But nothing seemed to match.
After looking at newspaper articles, census images and city directories, I was able to figure out who Larry Stoutenburgh, the billiard player was. Larry is the son of Lawrence Michael Stoutenburgh and Winifred Hennigan. Larry was Lawrence Michael Stoutenburgh, Jr. His father, Lawrence Michael Stoutenburgh, was the son of Edward H. Stoutenburgh and Margaret Montfore.
On January 25, 1912, Larry married Jennie M. Brown in Hudson Falls, NY. The affidavit recorded with the license to marry, names his father, mother and the place in which he was born. I found the World War I draft registration card for Lawrence Micheal (sic) Stoutenburgh. He was married and living in Erie County, New York.
The marriage apparently did not endure as he was married Mae Alameda George by 1940 when they were enumerated in Manhattan. Jennie Brown still called herself Jennie Stoutenburgh in the 1920 census while he claims to be single when he is enumerated in White Plains, New York in 1920.
At this time, I have not found a 1930 Census record of Larry, Mae Alameda George, or Jennie Brown.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Who is Country Music Historian Robert Ray Gardiner Junior?
Canada Gen Web has a Cemetery Project in which volunteers take photographs of gravestones at cemeteries throughout the provinces and territories. Luke Stoutenburg and his wife, Elizabeth Case, settled in Upper Canada in the early 1800s. Upper Canada, also later called Canada West, is today's Province of Ontario. Their son and my ancestor settled in Grey County, Ontario.
I had some idea that many of my family members were buried in the Thornbury-Clarksburg Union Cemetery. My assumption was clearly true because as I viewed the gravestone images at this website, I found photos of the gravestones of many members of the Peter Stoutenburg and Caroline Ashton family and their descendants.
One photo intrigued me. It is the photo of the gravestone of Robert Ray Gardiner, Jr. His father is Robert Ray Gardiner who was born in 1913. His mother is Wilda Olive Simmons who was born in 1914. The only date on the Robert Junior's gravestone is June 24, 1935. This could be construed as the date on which Robert Junior died.
Based on the dates when each of his parents were born, it would seem that Robert Junior died as an infant. However, the other text on the gravestone implies that date on the gravestone is not the date of his death. It appears to be the date of his birth.
The text on the gravestone reads:
GARDINER
Robert Ray
June 24, 1935
County Music Historian
Keep it country
Loving son of Ray & Wilda
Praise the Lord
I saw the light
It's unlikely that a son who died in infancy was a country music historian. I tried to find out more about this person on Google but did find any additional information.
Maybe I'll find something later.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Aunt Eleanor's Journal, February 5, 1982
It looks like a may have missed one of my great aunt's entries in her journal.
Feb. 5, 1982 in the afternoon
Shall write a few more lines. Ron was here and had his lunch and I my breakfast. It is a new little plan we have that on Fridays he comes to keep me company on his lunch break. That is nice of him. Rather cold out To go on with my little tale, life must go on. I had four little ones to care for and in a way it was a blessing, it gave me something to strive for. The W.P.A. gave me a settlement and a monthly check. Not much but enough that I bought two acres from the church and had enough left over to get the material for the house. The neighbors pitched in and moved our little shack up on the land so I could be there and cook for them when they worked. They cleared off a space for the house and they dug for the basement, layed the foundation. Then there was a lull when they got their fall work done. The lumber for the house was all delivered so we had piles of lumber all around. It was such a beautiful fall and no one gave a thot to bad weather. The little shack didn’t even have a door in it just a screen door and I had a rug hanging over it to keep the night chill out. Came Nov. 10th and we had a cool misty day but it still wasn’t cold. Early in the morning of Nov. 11 I woke up and could feel it was getting mighty chilly. I looked out and it was snowing and blowing my rug was almost blown off the screen door, the wood pile was covered with snow and the fire was out in the heater. Cold! scary! what to do? First I got a hammer and nails and tacked the rung unto the screen door and then shoveled the snow out that had blown in to the kitchen part. Built a fire in the kitchen stove and heater, put an extra blanket on the door and prepared breakfast. Edward and Leola went out to bring in some more wood but the snow had covered our wood supply so thoroughly they couldn’t get it. I made myself some mittens our of a pr. of heavy wool socks and made another pr to put outside them form an old denim overall and went out in that blizzard and dug out wood and carried in into the shack till we had enough to keep the fires going. Then I had to get water and that was quite a task as I had to get it from the pump at my neighbors that was Raymond & Helen place across the highway I waded thru the snow drifts, making my own trail and each time I went it had blown in till there was no sign of my trail, I made abut six or seven trips and I was truly exhausted but by nightfall I had my brood snug and warm with water enough to extinguish a fire should it start. I will never forget that day. I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving for strength and ability to do what had to be done. It was two days before anyone could get up to see if we were O.K. And it was my brother-in-law Oscar Peterson who came. We had no phone so no one could call to see it we were all right. This was the never to be forgotten Armistis Day blizzard of 1940. Many people lost their lives in that storm.
Needless to say that put an end to all the building for that year. Oscar saw to it that a real door replace the blanket and rug covered screen door. We spent the winter in that little shack, snug and warm even tho the water pail would often have ice on it in the morning in that little kitchen.
On March 28 that spring we had another big blizzard but we were better prepared for that one.
The house building was at a standstill all the next summer till fall then the neighbors came and the building began. Oscar was very faithful and many of my other neighbors helped. Pastor Mastid put many hours of work on that house. They had it all closed in with the windows and all before winter set it but it wasn’t finished inside so rather than spending another winter in the shack we went down to Grandma Stoutenburgs and stayed till spring. We moved back to the shack around the 1st of April. Edward was confirmed that month. The day before his confirmation Max got sick and I had to stay at home with him. He had a high fever and couldn’t keep anything down that he would eat. The next day I got a terrific earache, it got bad that Raymond who lived right across the highway thot I’d better get into see the Dr. and he took us {Max and me} in to the Hosp. InPine River Pine River
We had quite a struggle getting enough wood to keep the old barrel stove going. First Edward and I worked at it, we managed it for one winter than after he graduated from high school he went to Mpls. to work the next year it was Leola and I who tried it, we stuck at it till after Christmas then I decided it was a little too much and I got an oil burner. Life was easier then. It isn’t easy to go out in the woods find and old dead tree, cut it down saw it into lengths short enough that we could drag it to the house then saw it up into stove length pieces chop in half and carry it into the house and also plot it up for the cook stove. Whew! That was work.
It was about this time that I started to go deer hunting in the fall. That was really a fun time of the year. To walk in the woods in the fall all by yourself somehow draws you closer to your creator. He seems very close then. And all nature speaks of Him.
Days passed in to years. Edward went into the service. Leola graduated almost. But then decided to do otherwise. Caused me several uneasy nights and then she got married, after some time my first grandchild came to brighten our days, that was Jan. 13, 1951, that spring, Herb was drafted into the Army and in June that year I moved to Mpls. so I could take care of Carole so Leola could work. Dianne went toNew York New York
After Christmas that year Bertha’s daughters Maribelle and Patsy came and stayed with us and shortly after they came George {Maribelles husband} came. They stayed there with Dianne and Max. Leola, Carol and I went toNew York City
When we came back home George, Maribelle and Patsy moved away.
On April 27, 1952 Terry Jean joined our gang. Edward also had returned so we were kind of bulging at the seams in that upstairs apt. But we went merrily along. Leola went back to work after Terry was born but had to quit because of her health. Dianne got a job and so did Edward. Summer passed, fall came and Dianne and Max went to school. Seems that Carol and Terry were sick a good part of that winter. I got a job working nites at a place on the North side I don’t even know what the name was. Any way time passed on and another spring came. Dianne Graduated and Herb came home fromJapan Coon Rapids Montana St. and Max came to live with me. He was going to school at South High. This was 1953 and on Oct. 31 that year my first Grandson was born. Edward Barnum the 4th He was a premature baby and had to stay in the hosp. for quite some time. Such a little mite he was but he grew up to be a handsome man, so he did.
The next summer Dianne was married but that marriage didn’t work out and Dianne came home. Leola had moved back into Mpls. and on Oct. 30, 1954 they welcomed Steven Mark into their brood. And on Dec. 21, my Patti Wats was born. To Dianne How my family is growing.
This little story is drawing to a close. Not much more to report but I will leave the rest till another time
Feb. 5, 1982 in the afternoon
Shall write a few more lines. Ron was here and had his lunch and I my breakfast. It is a new little plan we have that on Fridays he comes to keep me company on his lunch break. That is nice of him. Rather cold out To go on with my little tale, life must go on. I had four little ones to care for and in a way it was a blessing, it gave me something to strive for. The W.P.A. gave me a settlement and a monthly check. Not much but enough that I bought two acres from the church and had enough left over to get the material for the house. The neighbors pitched in and moved our little shack up on the land so I could be there and cook for them when they worked. They cleared off a space for the house and they dug for the basement, layed the foundation. Then there was a lull when they got their fall work done. The lumber for the house was all delivered so we had piles of lumber all around. It was such a beautiful fall and no one gave a thot to bad weather. The little shack didn’t even have a door in it just a screen door and I had a rug hanging over it to keep the night chill out. Came Nov. 10th and we had a cool misty day but it still wasn’t cold. Early in the morning of Nov. 11 I woke up and could feel it was getting mighty chilly. I looked out and it was snowing and blowing my rug was almost blown off the screen door, the wood pile was covered with snow and the fire was out in the heater. Cold! scary! what to do? First I got a hammer and nails and tacked the rung unto the screen door and then shoveled the snow out that had blown in to the kitchen part. Built a fire in the kitchen stove and heater, put an extra blanket on the door and prepared breakfast. Edward and Leola went out to bring in some more wood but the snow had covered our wood supply so thoroughly they couldn’t get it. I made myself some mittens our of a pr. of heavy wool socks and made another pr to put outside them form an old denim overall and went out in that blizzard and dug out wood and carried in into the shack till we had enough to keep the fires going. Then I had to get water and that was quite a task as I had to get it from the pump at my neighbors that was Raymond & Helen place across the highway I waded thru the snow drifts, making my own trail and each time I went it had blown in till there was no sign of my trail, I made abut six or seven trips and I was truly exhausted but by nightfall I had my brood snug and warm with water enough to extinguish a fire should it start. I will never forget that day. I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving for strength and ability to do what had to be done. It was two days before anyone could get up to see if we were O.K. And it was my brother-in-law Oscar Peterson who came. We had no phone so no one could call to see it we were all right. This was the never to be forgotten Armistis Day blizzard of 1940. Many people lost their lives in that storm.
Needless to say that put an end to all the building for that year. Oscar saw to it that a real door replace the blanket and rug covered screen door. We spent the winter in that little shack, snug and warm even tho the water pail would often have ice on it in the morning in that little kitchen.
On March 28 that spring we had another big blizzard but we were better prepared for that one.
The house building was at a standstill all the next summer till fall then the neighbors came and the building began. Oscar was very faithful and many of my other neighbors helped. Pastor Mastid put many hours of work on that house. They had it all closed in with the windows and all before winter set it but it wasn’t finished inside so rather than spending another winter in the shack we went down to Grandma Stoutenburgs and stayed till spring. We moved back to the shack around the 1st of April. Edward was confirmed that month. The day before his confirmation Max got sick and I had to stay at home with him. He had a high fever and couldn’t keep anything down that he would eat. The next day I got a terrific earache, it got bad that Raymond who lived right across the highway thot I’d better get into see the Dr. and he took us {Max and me} in to the Hosp. In
We had quite a struggle getting enough wood to keep the old barrel stove going. First Edward and I worked at it, we managed it for one winter than after he graduated from high school he went to Mpls. to work the next year it was Leola and I who tried it, we stuck at it till after Christmas then I decided it was a little too much and I got an oil burner. Life was easier then. It isn’t easy to go out in the woods find and old dead tree, cut it down saw it into lengths short enough that we could drag it to the house then saw it up into stove length pieces chop in half and carry it into the house and also plot it up for the cook stove. Whew! That was work.
It was about this time that I started to go deer hunting in the fall. That was really a fun time of the year. To walk in the woods in the fall all by yourself somehow draws you closer to your creator. He seems very close then. And all nature speaks of Him.
Days passed in to years. Edward went into the service. Leola graduated almost. But then decided to do otherwise. Caused me several uneasy nights and then she got married, after some time my first grandchild came to brighten our days, that was Jan. 13, 1951, that spring, Herb was drafted into the Army and in June that year I moved to Mpls. so I could take care of Carole so Leola could work. Dianne went to
After Christmas that year Bertha’s daughters Maribelle and Patsy came and stayed with us and shortly after they came George {Maribelles husband} came. They stayed there with Dianne and Max. Leola, Carol and I went to
When we came back home George, Maribelle and Patsy moved away.
On April 27, 1952 Terry Jean joined our gang. Edward also had returned so we were kind of bulging at the seams in that upstairs apt. But we went merrily along. Leola went back to work after Terry was born but had to quit because of her health. Dianne got a job and so did Edward. Summer passed, fall came and Dianne and Max went to school. Seems that Carol and Terry were sick a good part of that winter. I got a job working nites at a place on the North side I don’t even know what the name was. Any way time passed on and another spring came. Dianne Graduated and Herb came home from
The next summer Dianne was married but that marriage didn’t work out and Dianne came home. Leola had moved back into Mpls. and on Oct. 30, 1954 they welcomed Steven Mark into their brood. And on Dec. 21, my Patti Wats was born. To Dianne How my family is growing.
This little story is drawing to a close. Not much more to report but I will leave the rest till another time
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tropico, California and the Emily Craig Murder
Awhile back I was doing some research to find out more information concerning Mary Griffith Stoutenburg's son, Walter Stoutenburg Rawlings when I came across his whereabouts in 1920. He was living in California and was married to Edna.
From the census image, I could determine that Edna was born in California between 1892 and 1893. Her father was born in Illinois; her mother, in California. As she would be 17 in 1910, I assumed that she would be single and living in California. Getting no where, I gave up looking and moved onto other persons of interest.
By chance, last week I found a record of the marriage in 1914 in Los Angeles County of Walter S. Rawlings and Edna Craig that included the identification of the parents of both parties. I learned that Edna's mother was Emily Hunter and her father was J. Craig. Since Edna was born in California about 1892 and was married at and living in Los Angeles County, I decided to look for her in the Census of 1900 and of 1910.
I felt that I had a the best chance of finding the given name of her father by searching for her in the 1900 Census as she was only 7 then. I found an Edna Craig who was born in June 1892 living at 743 Castelar Street in Los Angeles. (Castelar Street is now Hill Street.)
The head of household was 36-year-old John Snyder whose wife was 28-year-old Emily. They had been married 7 years. I assumed that this Emily was either divorced from J. Craig or that J. Craig was deceased. Later I learned that I was both correct and incorrect.
There were some things in this record that struck me as odd. First, the three children, of which Edna was the youngest, were recorded as lodgers and not the step or adopted children of John Snyder. His wife, Emily, was recorded as having no children and no children living in 1900. For whatever reasons, sometimes stillborns or infants dying shortly after birth are discounted. My initial inclination was she had no children of this marriage and that fact was what is recorded.
Finally, I was curious about Mrs. Snyder's parents' birth locations. They matched those of the children. I found it particularly odd that Emily's mother was born in California. If Emily Hunter was born about 1871, then her mother would have been born about 1850 or earlier. There were not very many woman of Northern European ancestry who were born in California before 1850. Until 1848, California was a Spanish terrritory.
I entered the information I found in the 1900 Census to my family tree, but added a note about my concerns. The next step, was to find Edna Craig in the 1910 Census. I found her living as a student at the Girl's Collegiate School on Adams Boulevard near Hoover Street. Either she or the school administration did not know where her father was born except that he was born in the United States.
She was the only student enumerated at this address. The others were employees of the school. Combine this with the oddities I noted in the 1900 Census, I began to wonder who Mrs. Emily Snyder really was. At this time, I don't know who she is, but I do know that she was not Edna Craig's mother because Emily (Hunter) Craig was murdered in 1894 by her estranged husband, John Craig.
My assumption, based on the 1900 Census, that Emily was either a widow or divorced was correct. Emily Hunter divorced John Craig shortly before he killed her. Two years after her own death, she became a widow when John Craig was hung at Folsom Prison in Northern California for murdering her and her parents.
The various newspaper accounts of the murder say that she was murdered at the Hunter Ranch in Tropico, California. She had taken her three children there to live with her brother, George. John Craig wounded his brother-in-law, killed his wife then looked for his children. A servant had managed to get the children safely out of the house and into hiding.
John Craig then went the home of his mother and father-in-law on Buena Vista Street in a suburb of Los Angeles and shot them dead. He unsuccessfully tried to kill himself.
A 1908 map of Tropico provided me with the names of the streets in the town, some of which sounded familiar. I compared the streets on the 1908 map with Google maps and was able to determine where the former town of Tropico was.
The Southern Pacific Railroad was on the west side of the the town. The Amtrak and Metro-Link trains both have a stop here, the Glendale Station. The north-south street names are mostly unchanged. They include San Fernando Road, Central Avenue, Brand Boulevard and Glendale Avenue. Los Angeles Avenue on the 1908 map was not a contiguous street. It terminated at Cypress Street and resumed a few blocks away at Tropico Avenue. Today the northern portion is Los Angeles Street and the southern extension is Gardena Avenue.
Many of the east-west street names are changed with Tropico Avenue the most significant. You will find it on Google maps under is current name, Los Feliz Road. Cypress, Laurel and EulaliaCerritos Avenue. Two streets north of Tropico (Los Feliz) whose names were changed are Wilkinson Court and Victor Court. They are now called Fernando Court and Palmer Avenue, respectively.
According to A History of California and An Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, Volume 1 by James Miller Guinn (Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1915), Tropico was laid out as a town in 1887. Page 441 reads, "The San Pedro & Salt Lake road passes along the borders of the town, affording easy access to the city (Los Angeles)." This was a railroad that connected Salt Lake City to San Pedro at Los Angeles Harbor.
The land around the town was divided in to lots for fruit raising of which the primary crop is strawberries. The Los Angeles, Tropico & Glendale Trolley was completed about 1905 providing a 20-minute ride to Los Angeles. I'm sure that many Angelenos would love to have only a 20-minute commute nowadays.
The town was incorporated in 1911. Tropico was annexed to Glendale in 1918. Over time most indication of its existence disappeared.
Sources:
Look for the James Guinn book at Google Books
An aside:
Glendale is a city north of the downtown Los Angeles near Griffith Park. The University of California Santa Barbara Library has a photo of a building in Tropico, California. It is a lone building with what looks like tumbleweeds or other desert plants in the landscape. The photo was taken in 1978 by John S. Kiewit. The library subject is:
Tropico (Calif.)
Buildings-California
Glendale (Calif.)
The building in the photo does not look like anything I have seen in Glendale. The vegetation looks more like desert than the vegetation of the very urban city of Glendale. I found a website that has several photos of buildings near the old mine site. Click on the photo on the right to see the gallery of photos. The photo at UCSB is very similar.
From the census image, I could determine that Edna was born in California between 1892 and 1893. Her father was born in Illinois; her mother, in California. As she would be 17 in 1910, I assumed that she would be single and living in California. Getting no where, I gave up looking and moved onto other persons of interest.
By chance, last week I found a record of the marriage in 1914 in Los Angeles County of Walter S. Rawlings and Edna Craig that included the identification of the parents of both parties. I learned that Edna's mother was Emily Hunter and her father was J. Craig. Since Edna was born in California about 1892 and was married at and living in Los Angeles County, I decided to look for her in the Census of 1900 and of 1910.
I felt that I had a the best chance of finding the given name of her father by searching for her in the 1900 Census as she was only 7 then. I found an Edna Craig who was born in June 1892 living at 743 Castelar Street in Los Angeles. (Castelar Street is now Hill Street.)
The head of household was 36-year-old John Snyder whose wife was 28-year-old Emily. They had been married 7 years. I assumed that this Emily was either divorced from J. Craig or that J. Craig was deceased. Later I learned that I was both correct and incorrect.
There were some things in this record that struck me as odd. First, the three children, of which Edna was the youngest, were recorded as lodgers and not the step or adopted children of John Snyder. His wife, Emily, was recorded as having no children and no children living in 1900. For whatever reasons, sometimes stillborns or infants dying shortly after birth are discounted. My initial inclination was she had no children of this marriage and that fact was what is recorded.
Finally, I was curious about Mrs. Snyder's parents' birth locations. They matched those of the children. I found it particularly odd that Emily's mother was born in California. If Emily Hunter was born about 1871, then her mother would have been born about 1850 or earlier. There were not very many woman of Northern European ancestry who were born in California before 1850. Until 1848, California was a Spanish terrritory.
I entered the information I found in the 1900 Census to my family tree, but added a note about my concerns. The next step, was to find Edna Craig in the 1910 Census. I found her living as a student at the Girl's Collegiate School on Adams Boulevard near Hoover Street. Either she or the school administration did not know where her father was born except that he was born in the United States.
She was the only student enumerated at this address. The others were employees of the school. Combine this with the oddities I noted in the 1900 Census, I began to wonder who Mrs. Emily Snyder really was. At this time, I don't know who she is, but I do know that she was not Edna Craig's mother because Emily (Hunter) Craig was murdered in 1894 by her estranged husband, John Craig.
My assumption, based on the 1900 Census, that Emily was either a widow or divorced was correct. Emily Hunter divorced John Craig shortly before he killed her. Two years after her own death, she became a widow when John Craig was hung at Folsom Prison in Northern California for murdering her and her parents.
The various newspaper accounts of the murder say that she was murdered at the Hunter Ranch in Tropico, California. She had taken her three children there to live with her brother, George. John Craig wounded his brother-in-law, killed his wife then looked for his children. A servant had managed to get the children safely out of the house and into hiding.
John Craig then went the home of his mother and father-in-law on Buena Vista Street in a suburb of Los Angeles and shot them dead. He unsuccessfully tried to kill himself.
Tropico, California
Having lived in Southern California for thirty-seven years, I had never heard of Tropico, California. At first only I found information about an abandoned mine, Tropico Mine in Kern County. But then I learned of a section of Glendale, California called Tropico.A 1908 map of Tropico provided me with the names of the streets in the town, some of which sounded familiar. I compared the streets on the 1908 map with Google maps and was able to determine where the former town of Tropico was.
The Southern Pacific Railroad was on the west side of the the town. The Amtrak and Metro-Link trains both have a stop here, the Glendale Station. The north-south street names are mostly unchanged. They include San Fernando Road, Central Avenue, Brand Boulevard and Glendale Avenue. Los Angeles Avenue on the 1908 map was not a contiguous street. It terminated at Cypress Street and resumed a few blocks away at Tropico Avenue. Today the northern portion is Los Angeles Street and the southern extension is Gardena Avenue.
Many of the east-west street names are changed with Tropico Avenue the most significant. You will find it on Google maps under is current name, Los Feliz Road. Cypress, Laurel and EulaliaCerritos Avenue. Two streets north of Tropico (Los Feliz) whose names were changed are Wilkinson Court and Victor Court. They are now called Fernando Court and Palmer Avenue, respectively.
According to A History of California and An Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, Volume 1 by James Miller Guinn (Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1915), Tropico was laid out as a town in 1887. Page 441 reads, "The San Pedro & Salt Lake road passes along the borders of the town, affording easy access to the city (Los Angeles)." This was a railroad that connected Salt Lake City to San Pedro at Los Angeles Harbor.
The land around the town was divided in to lots for fruit raising of which the primary crop is strawberries. The Los Angeles, Tropico & Glendale Trolley was completed about 1905 providing a 20-minute ride to Los Angeles. I'm sure that many Angelenos would love to have only a 20-minute commute nowadays.
The town was incorporated in 1911. Tropico was annexed to Glendale in 1918. Over time most indication of its existence disappeared.
Sources:
Look for the James Guinn book at Google Books
An aside:
Glendale is a city north of the downtown Los Angeles near Griffith Park. The University of California Santa Barbara Library has a photo of a building in Tropico, California. It is a lone building with what looks like tumbleweeds or other desert plants in the landscape. The photo was taken in 1978 by John S. Kiewit. The library subject is:
Tropico (Calif.)
Buildings-California
Glendale (Calif.)
The building in the photo does not look like anything I have seen in Glendale. The vegetation looks more like desert than the vegetation of the very urban city of Glendale. I found a website that has several photos of buildings near the old mine site. Click on the photo on the right to see the gallery of photos. The photo at UCSB is very similar.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 26, 1982
Grandpa Stoutenburg dies...
Jan. 26, 1982
Here I am again. Ready to add a paragraph or two.
That house we moved into had been occupied by a couple of bachelors and the left it in a very dirty condition I scrubbed and cleaned like I had never done before but finally got it so we could live in it. The pump on that place didn’t work so we had to haul our water from the neighbors or from a creek that ran thru there it was about ¼ of a mile from the house. Edward and Leola were big enough and it was their job to take an 8 gal. cream can on the little wagon or a sled and fill it up with water at that creek then putt it up to the house for washing. They had to make several trips every wash day. Quite a job for 2 little ones age 10 and 6. Daddy hauled our drinking and cooking water from the neighbors place. One day when I had wash it was very icy we had had a sleet storm so the trees and bushes were coated with ice and it was very bad day but I had to wash so Edward and Leola were busy hauling the water. Dianne was supposed to stay by the house. I checked to see where she was and no Dianne. This was just 2 weeks after our little blonde boy named Max joined our family. So I had to leave him in the house and run out to find Dianne. There was such a noise from all the ice covered woods it sounded like a child crying. I was running and calling, but never got close. It wasn’t much fun. I was worried sick about her and also Max left in the house by himself. I was about ready to give up but I prayed to be led to her, then I heard talking and turned around to retrace my steps and saw Edward and Leola pulling the sled and there was my little runaway. She had found her way to the creek where they were. All was well. My hair must have turned a bit whiter that day. I did get the washing done and I had to hang it all up stairs because of the weather. The day that Max was born all the Drs. were out on other cases so we had no Dr. and my sister Grace who had delivered dozens of babies came and took care of us. I think I must have worried her because I got pretty sick and Daddy also got scared and when it was over he came and knelt by my bed and wept and thanked me for another son. Max was so blond, all the others had darker hair so I used to cover his head with the blanket so I wouldn’t see his white hair, with his read face it looked all the whiter. When he lost the redness it was O.K. He had blond curly hair and the longest dark eye lashes. A beautiful little boy he was. We let him have his blond curls until he was about eighteen months old then we dressed up in a little dress put a ribbon in his hair and took his picture. After that we cut his hair and he was a boy again. Some of the people thot it was a shame to cut his hair off.
Shortly after Max was born we moved again because the people who owned the house we were renting wanted it. This time we moved down on Grandpa Stoutenburgs farm. We built a little house down there close to their house. Edward and Leola were going to school in Pine River
We got a dog that looked some like Sally and named her Tippy Tin she had puppies and one of them was all white with a black ear and no tail we named him Shag. He just grew up with Max and truly became his shadow. We had to get rid of Tippy Tin because she started running with other dogs that were chasing some neighbors sheep in fact they had killed one, so those dogs had to be done away with.
In July of 1939 Grandpa Stoutenburg died. We lost a much loved friend and the children all missed a loving Grandpa. He was so good to his grandchildren and they all loved him dearly. Life wasn’t quite the same. Daddy had to kind of run two households it wasn’t easy. Kendall was in a C.C.C camp so it was only Grandma June and Joyce. The summer passed and another winter arrived. Wood had to be furnished for the two houses and Grandpas house was big it took a lot of wood to keep it warm. So Daddy was kept busy working on the W.P.A. and keeping up with the other work too.
We had a different Pastor by this time. Pastor Mastid had come when Pastor Dehaan was called to a different church. And Pastor Mastid got Daddy to go to Adult confirmation class so ones a week they met and finally the date was set when Daddy was to be baptized and taken in as a member of Faith Lutheran. Just 2 weeks before that date on April 16, 1940 he was killed by a truck loaded with gravel that was standing still and just as Daddy walked by it and stepped back into the road behind it the driver backed the truck up and run over him. Of course that driver didn’t see him and it was entirely accidental. My only comfort was the fact that he had been taking confirmation lessons and Pastor Mastid told me he was saved. He had been going to church with me for a long time so I know we will meet again. But I was left along with my 4 children. To be continued.
To be continued...
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 17, 1982
My grandmother becomes a widow in this next entry. And as a reminder, the text within braces {} is information that I added for clarity.
Jan. 17, 1982
Again evening is here and I can’t think of anything interesting to do so I’ll go on with my tale. Can’t imagine any one getting a bang out of reading this, but perhaps a similar evening will come into some ones life when they are alone and wondering what to do to pass the time, then they can read this and maybe think “Oh! That’s what I can do. Write a story of my life: Then go a head and do it. Now to go on with this little story.
We were one happy family of three with sister Leola making it four. We stayed at this house till the 1st of Nov. 1928. Ned {from now on I’ll call him Daddy} He was so proud to be a Daddy. He had to be on the road all the time from Mon. to Fri. Nite or Sat. sometimes, so week ends were really looked forward to. One week end he couldn’t make it so he called to let us know he had to go out to a place in western S. Dak. When he was away I never bothered with fixing potatoes so I was rather amused when I went into the kitchen and found Leola peeling potatoes. I said “what are you peeling potatoes for? Daddy wont be home till next week end. She said “I know but I’m not going to wait another week for potatoes. Guess potatoes are a desired food on most peoples menu. We had a phonegraph with a big horn we put on the floor beside Edward and turned on the music, he would lay there and listen to the music for a long time. Mother came to see us that summer and sewed some outfits for Edward and a dress for me. Leola started to take up beauty culture in the fall so I was alone with Edward during the day. I never mentioned this but Leola became a widow in 1926 and when she came to stay with us she left her family “Kendall June and Joyce” with Grandpa and Grandma Stoutenburg. She planned to get work as a Beauty Operator and then have the children with her but that was never to be.
We went down to Martell to see Grandma and Bernice that summer and Leola was along. She hadn’t been there since she was five yrs. old so it was quite a thrill for her. She noticed Grandma’s spinning wheel that was standing in a corner in one of the rooms upstairs and she went downstairs and asked Grandma if she could have that when Grandma was gone. I had many times wanted it too but never thot I could ask for it. Grandma’s face lit up and she smiled so sweetly and said “yes you can have it. But that too was never to be.
In Nov. we moved for the 6th time back to the apt of 24th and 1st ave So. We bought a very nice Majestic radio and we spent a lot of time listening to that radio. It was presidential election that fall 1928 and Hoover Hoover Regina Sask. Minneapolis so she could finish her course at the Beauty School Regina Regina
We lived in the house till May 31st then we made move number 8 to another apt. Spike didn’t come with us. In the new place there was a fenced in yard where Edward could play, and there is where we got acquainted with Joe and Esther Hudon. We used to play cards and have each other for dinners and go to shows etc and that made life a little more worthwhile. Esther and I have corresponded and we have visited each other ever since.
While we were there Bernice came to see us in Sept. Grandma had passed away shortly after I arrived in Regina Minneapolis Beauty School
To be continued...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 13, 1982
The following journal entry tells of her time in Minneapolis about 1923 or so.
Jan. 13, 1982
Here I sit twiddling my thumbs nothing to do. What better time to sit down and write in here. We have had some record breaking cold the past few days, not just here in Minnesota but all thru the central and eastern part of our nation and in Europe too. Hard winter so far in 1982.
Well to go back to the past. I stayed at Grandmothers for about a month then I went back to Minneapolis to look for work. Times were hard, work was or I should say jobs were scarce. I stayed that the Lutheran Hospice there I met a girl named Leona who had a sister named Violet. Violet and I were both looking for work. I finally got a job with the Savage Co putting addresses on catalogs. It only lasted 2 weeks and there I was again pounding the side walk, wearing out my shoes, broke, and rather hungry. Violet and I had taken a room in an apartment building on Hennepin Ave. near the Public Library that was on 11th St. at that time. I had to write to my Mother for money to pay the rent and when that was used up Violet and I had still no jobs. I wrote again and when Mother sent me some more money she said “if you don’t find work come home” I didn’t want to do that so we tramped the streets some more. One day Violet and I had a nickel between us. We bought a banana and split it that was our food for that day. We met some young men who worked in a bakery and one evening we stopped in at the bakery and they gave us some rolls. I guess it must have been a matter of a month or so that things were bad. Violets sister Leona helped us a couple of times. One evening when we were walking to our room we were talking about where we would go to sign up for work the next day, some young lads were walking right behind us and overheard what we were saying. One of them asked me if I wanted work. He said he knew of a job opening I wasn’t too impressed but he insisted. His sister worked at this place and she was quiting. He gave me the address and got a note from his sister for me to give to the boss of this place, saying she knew me. The next day I went there and I was hired. That was the “Minneapolis Pleating and Button Co. Our problems were solved. Funny but the Lord must have put those young men behind us that evening to hear us talking about our troubles and they were ready to give the help we needed. The one who spoke to me was Jim Toohy and his brother who was along was Bill. I got to know their sister too. Very nice family. This was the middle of April. I had eaten so very little for most of a month that the second day I was at work I fainted away and I was sent home. Violet and I stopped in at a little restaurant close to where we lived and asked the owner if we could charge a meal ticket till payday he was very kind and we finally got meals twice a day. From then on things improved. Violet got a job in the kitchen in a Hospital. I enjoyed my work at the Button factory. There is where I got acquainted with Helen Church and many others. We used to go swimming, skating, tobogganing, dancing, hiking and to the movies. In Aug. that next summer Ned returned from the Marine Service and we started seeing each other than he went to Swanburg and we corresponded. We made plans to get married on my birthday but gave that up because of financial circumstances, and he went to Butterfield in southern Minnesota{thats where the Stoutenburgs came from} there he spent most of the winter with relatives there. In the spring he came back to Minneapolis and got a job at the Minneapolis Rubber Co., On June 13, 1925 we were married in a Lutheran parsonage at 912 21stave. So. and we lived with Joe and Mable Castle for a few months. I had been boarding with them for several months, Violet had married and so I gave up living in a room and eating out and went to live with the Castles. Thats how it happened we moved in with them. It didn’t last long because Mabel was left with all the work, while I worked away from home. Mabel’s brother Bill Denson was married to Florence who worked at the Button Factory and they wanted Ned and me to rent an apartment with them and seeing we both worked the same hours and all, we thot that would be better and our 1st move was made. We got an apt. on 4th ave. right on the street car line and the noise of those streetcars all nite long left something to be desired so in a few weeks we made move number 2 to an apartment on 24th and Emerson Ave So. We managed to live there thru the winter, but in the spring Bill and Florence decide to move to a farm in Cedar Minn.and Ned and I finally moved into an apartment by ourselves on 24thand 1st ave. So. that was move number 3. While there we bought a living room set and our own dishes, pots and pans, always before that we had used what belonged to others. We lived in this place for quite a while. Helen and Orville got married and they rented the apartment next to ours. We had many happy times while there. Ned changed jobs at this time. He got in with the Firestone Co. and traveled all over the states of Wis. no. and so Dak. and Minnesota. It wasn’t long till he wanted me to quit my job so I would be at home when he came in and also I could go along on some of the trips. I quit and I did go along on many of the trips. I enjoyed that. Things were going great and in Aug. of 1927, Helen and Orville Ned and I made move no. 4 to a house near the Veterans Hosp. We didn’t stay there too long tho. For some reason or the other we decided we wanted to be closer to down town. I was pregnant and I felt pretty sick most of the time. Helen had increased her family by 2 Audrey and Donald she worked and I took care of the little ones during the day. It got too hard for me so Helens folks took Audrey and I took care of Donald.
Helen’s folks kept Audrey and raised her. At this time, Bertha came to stay with us and go to school. She went to Roosevelt. Well we made the move (move no. 4) to a nice home on 3437th and 39thave So. and that’s where we lived until May when we made move no. 5 and then we lived by ourselves. Edward was born at 3437. We didn’t move far only into the next block and it was in May. As soon as school was out Bertha went home but Leola was with us. She came down to be with me when Edward was born. We had waited 2 years and 9 months for this baby and he truly was so very much wanted. And prayed for. To be continued.
Helen’s folks kept Audrey and raised her. At this time, Bertha came to stay with us and go to school. She went to Roosevelt. Well we made the move (move no. 4) to a nice home on 3437th and 39thave So. and that’s where we lived until May when we made move no. 5 and then we lived by ourselves. Edward was born at 3437. We didn’t move far only into the next block and it was in May. As soon as school was out Bertha went home but Leola was with us. She came down to be with me when Edward was born. We had waited 2 years and 9 months for this baby and he truly was so very much wanted. And prayed for. To be continued.
To be continued...
Monday, August 1, 2011
Aunt Eleanor's Journal, December 25, 1981
Aunt Eleanor wrote the first entry in her journal just after Thanksgiving 1981. She wrote her next entry on the night of December 25, 1981. As I read her journal, she seemed to write in it after she had visited her family.
When I transcribed her journal, I typed what I saw. In some cases, Aunt Eleanor added comments within a pair of parenthesis. Occasionally I added comments to clarify things. These comments are included within a pair of braces {}.
Norway
When I transcribed her journal, I typed what I saw. In some cases, Aunt Eleanor added comments within a pair of parenthesis. Occasionally I added comments to clarify things. These comments are included within a pair of braces {}.
Christmas Day nite Dec. 25, 1981
I will write a few more lines in here tonite. I was at Diannes last evening, joining her family on Christmas eve, and today I was with Edward and June at Pamela’s. All of them except Eddie and Jan were there.
I’m thinking of the many Christmas’ in the past when Santa was such a hero. How we waited fro Christmas to come and what fun we would have visiting with the neighbors, it was one big dinner after the other. We would always gather round the piano or organ and sign our hearts out also had skating and sliding parties and sleigh rides. The horses were always decked out with sleigh bells and as they trotted merrily along the bells would ring out so cheerfully. Santa was very real till I was seven years old when I found out he was a hoax but it didn’t stop us from hanging out stockings and as long as I was at home Santa always left something in them. My father and Mother made very sure tho that we knew what Christmas really was, and there was a truly sacred atmosphere there which seems to be missing in so many homes today.
Another event that thrilled us no end was the Christmas program at the little school house. Well it was all so much fun and life was so carefree and gay but years passed and in 1917 we lost out dear Father. He died of anemia on June 28. It seemed that life could hardly go on but of course it did but never quite the same.
That summer Mother, Mrs. Peterson {Nora’s Mother} and Uncle Theodore {my cousin Isadora’s father} decided it was time that we girls should take confirmation lessons so every Thursday Leola, Nora, Isadora and I would ride into Pine River with the mail man and meet with the school principle and go over our lesson. We were good students because in just a couple of months we were all confirmed. It was during the Time we were riding with the mail man that we first saw two young men who used to come out to their mail box to get the mail. We girls were quite smitten and all four of us rather claimed them. Nothing came of it tho and the next summer I went to Wisconson to help in my uncle Louis Hemness’ general store. That summer on the 4th of July I went to my first dance and from then on I was dance goofy. Dancing and singing were my great pastimes. It was also at that time that I got letters from Nora, Isadora and Leola telling me that they had met those boys who always met the mail man and I would get reports of all the fun they were having at parties. I wrote back that they had better not think they could have the one named Neddy cause I was going to have him. Well I didn’t really get him until 1925 that was seven years later. I stayed at my Grandmother’s later on in the summer of 1918 and worked at a little store in Martell until just before Thanksgiving Day, then I went home and came down the flu. I gave it to every member of the family but I was hit the hardest. I really was sick and it took me longer to recover. To be continued.
Jan. 2, 1982
This is a good time to reminisce so I’ll add a few more paragraphs. It was while was staying with my grandmother that I learned a few things about her. She was such a sweet devout person. She grew up in After Grandmother grew up she became a dress maker. She had lots of pictures of ladies she had sewed for and I used to love to sit and look at them. My what fancy dresses they had on.
Well to go back to the fall of 1918, after I recovered from the flu – by the way it was the flu that caused Grandfathers death that fall so I never got to see him again. From Thanksgiving time till Feb. 28 it seems we did nothing but go to parties and dances and it was then that I met Ned and we sure had lots of fun. He made a bet with his brother Max that we would get married before he did. But he lost out on that because on the 28th of Feb. I went to Fergus Falls
I was 2½ years in Fergus taking up nursing. I didn’t finish the course because I couldn’t get along with the head nurse and her second in charge nurse. So I went to Mpls. Worked down there as a nurse maid for a year then went back home and loafed for a couple of months. In Oct. I went into Pine River Martell Wis. Ellsworth Wis. St. Paul
It is now 12:25 PM. Saturday or Sunday now. And I have to be ready to go to church in the morning by 9:15. So again we will leave this writing till another time.
To be continued...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Hats and White Gloves
Today I was working on my family history, specifically on the Bogardus branch. I was looking for supporting information for a particular Bogardus on Ancestry.com when I came across a photo connected to a posted family tree. The people identified in the photo were Luella Bogardus and her sister Goldie.
Looking at that photo reminded me of photos that I have of my mother and her female relatives that were taken in the 1950s. In that photo, Goldie and Luella both were wearing white hats and white gloves. So based on the rules that my mother told me regarding proper dress, I believe the photo was taken between Memorial Day and Labor Day sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s.
I grew up with my mother reminding of rules regarding how a proper young lady presented herself. As it turns out my generation rebelled against those rules. But even as women of my age were overtly rebelling, my mother continued to remind me of the rules.
The rules included:
My mother's aunt had possession of the spinning wheel that had belonged to her sister, my mother's mother. My mother told me that her Aunt Eleanor was deciding which of her sister's granddaughters to give it. As my grandmother's eldest granddaughter, my mother was hoping that her aunt would give me that spinning wheel. Aunt Eleanor was coming for a visit so my husband and I made the trip to visit my parents when Aunt Eleanor was there. My mother reminded me how traditional her aunt was.
I came to my mother's house wearing designer jeans, high heeled shoes and a silk blouse. She was mortified and was convinced that I had blown any chance of getting her mother's spinning wheel. Later when I asked my mother what happend regarding the spinning wheel, she told my that her aunt had donated it to a museum.
As much as I would have liked to have something of my grandmother's, her spinning wheel in a museum was a much better place for it.
Looking at that photo reminded me of photos that I have of my mother and her female relatives that were taken in the 1950s. In that photo, Goldie and Luella both were wearing white hats and white gloves. So based on the rules that my mother told me regarding proper dress, I believe the photo was taken between Memorial Day and Labor Day sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s.
I grew up with my mother reminding of rules regarding how a proper young lady presented herself. As it turns out my generation rebelled against those rules. But even as women of my age were overtly rebelling, my mother continued to remind me of the rules.
The rules included:
- Only wear white shoes and accessories after Memorial Day and not after Labor Day.
- Ladies wear a hat when going out in public.
- Do not wear sparkling jewelry with the exception of an engagement and/or wedding ring until 5 PM or later.
- Married women with long hair always wear their hair in an updo when in public.
My mother's aunt had possession of the spinning wheel that had belonged to her sister, my mother's mother. My mother told me that her Aunt Eleanor was deciding which of her sister's granddaughters to give it. As my grandmother's eldest granddaughter, my mother was hoping that her aunt would give me that spinning wheel. Aunt Eleanor was coming for a visit so my husband and I made the trip to visit my parents when Aunt Eleanor was there. My mother reminded me how traditional her aunt was.
I came to my mother's house wearing designer jeans, high heeled shoes and a silk blouse. She was mortified and was convinced that I had blown any chance of getting her mother's spinning wheel. Later when I asked my mother what happend regarding the spinning wheel, she told my that her aunt had donated it to a museum.
As much as I would have liked to have something of my grandmother's, her spinning wheel in a museum was a much better place for it.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tulips in Dutch New York
I am finalizing the annual newsletter for the Stoutenburgh-Teller Family Association and was asked to include a picture of the Equitable Life building at 120 Broadway in New York City. This is the site of Pieter Stoutenburg's alleged tulip garden. Pieter (1613-1698/99), according to family legend, is supposed to have brought tulip bulbs with him to New Amsterdam and was the first to plant a tulip garden.
It is not clear when Pieter arrived in New Amsterdam but he certainly was there in 1649 when his marriage banns were posted. Most of the information concerning the time of his arrival is hearsay. I have not found a document that provides a clue as to when he arrived in New Netherland. Some relatives claim that he arrived with Director-General Willem Kieft in March 1638. And, again I can find no supporting documentation.
Tulips are an Asian plant that were introduced to the Netherlands in 1571. The bulbs were very expensive as the supply of bulbs was not large. Only the very wealthy could afford the bulbs. A virus had attacked some bulbs producing a multicolored bloom. The bulbs of these flowers were highly desired by the rich. By 1634, the price of a single bulb was out of the reach of all but the very, very rich. Tulipmania swept the Netherlands between 1634 and 1638 when the bubble burst. In the succeeding years, the price continued to drop.
Many of the people who settled in New Netherland were refugees without great means. And those who were not fleeing religious persecution also came to the New World with very little means. The Dutch West Indies Company, a trading company, depended on these people to cultivate a trading resource in the New World. I really did not expect to see tulips in North America before 1638 because of the prohibitive cost but tulips appear to be in New Amsterdam by 1640.
Once the cost of tulip bulbs cratered, I naturally assumed that I would find some reference to the bulbs appearing in New Netherland. It does not seem plausible to me that Pieter Stoutenburg introduced tulips to Dutch New York when the colony was established by a huge trading company. Adriaen van der Donck settled in New Netherland in 1641 for a few years before he was sent back to the Netherlands for a period of time. While Adriaen was in Europe, he wrote about New Netherland. This account was published after 1644 and includes passages that describe the gardens of New Amsterdam. These gardens include among other plants tulips.
I don't believe that Pieter Stoutenburg was the only resident of New Amsterdam who was growing tulips. But ironicially the tulip associated with the Dutch and the Netherlands is not a native plant. However, the tulip is viewed by much of the world as Dutch. The Netherlands imports tulip bulbs throughout the world with the United States as the largest buyer. The winter of 1945 was a famine year for the Dutch. The allies had cut off supplies to the Germans occupying the Netherlands. The German military stole all of the food sources leaving nothing for the citizens. The enterprising Dutch used the tulip bulbs as a food source.
The Dutch princess, Juliana, and her children were sent during WWII to Ottawa, Canada for safekeeping along with some tulip bulbs. Ottawa has to this day a tulip festival to commemorate Juliana's stay.
It is not clear when Pieter arrived in New Amsterdam but he certainly was there in 1649 when his marriage banns were posted. Most of the information concerning the time of his arrival is hearsay. I have not found a document that provides a clue as to when he arrived in New Netherland. Some relatives claim that he arrived with Director-General Willem Kieft in March 1638. And, again I can find no supporting documentation.
Tulips are an Asian plant that were introduced to the Netherlands in 1571. The bulbs were very expensive as the supply of bulbs was not large. Only the very wealthy could afford the bulbs. A virus had attacked some bulbs producing a multicolored bloom. The bulbs of these flowers were highly desired by the rich. By 1634, the price of a single bulb was out of the reach of all but the very, very rich. Tulipmania swept the Netherlands between 1634 and 1638 when the bubble burst. In the succeeding years, the price continued to drop.
Many of the people who settled in New Netherland were refugees without great means. And those who were not fleeing religious persecution also came to the New World with very little means. The Dutch West Indies Company, a trading company, depended on these people to cultivate a trading resource in the New World. I really did not expect to see tulips in North America before 1638 because of the prohibitive cost but tulips appear to be in New Amsterdam by 1640.
Once the cost of tulip bulbs cratered, I naturally assumed that I would find some reference to the bulbs appearing in New Netherland. It does not seem plausible to me that Pieter Stoutenburg introduced tulips to Dutch New York when the colony was established by a huge trading company. Adriaen van der Donck settled in New Netherland in 1641 for a few years before he was sent back to the Netherlands for a period of time. While Adriaen was in Europe, he wrote about New Netherland. This account was published after 1644 and includes passages that describe the gardens of New Amsterdam. These gardens include among other plants tulips.
I don't believe that Pieter Stoutenburg was the only resident of New Amsterdam who was growing tulips. But ironicially the tulip associated with the Dutch and the Netherlands is not a native plant. However, the tulip is viewed by much of the world as Dutch. The Netherlands imports tulip bulbs throughout the world with the United States as the largest buyer. The winter of 1945 was a famine year for the Dutch. The allies had cut off supplies to the Germans occupying the Netherlands. The German military stole all of the food sources leaving nothing for the citizens. The enterprising Dutch used the tulip bulbs as a food source.
The Dutch princess, Juliana, and her children were sent during WWII to Ottawa, Canada for safekeeping along with some tulip bulbs. Ottawa has to this day a tulip festival to commemorate Juliana's stay.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Who is Pieter Van Stoutenburgh?
I came across a USGenWeb Website for Monmouth County, New Jersey that posted information about an ancestor of mine. It appears to be a response to a query about a John Stoutenberg (sic) and his possible wife, Jane Schenck.
As I read the information that was included in the response, I was awestruck of the number of facts cited that were simply not true.
The information was taken from a book, "Monmouth Families," written by Ann P. Miles and was published in 1980. It can be found on page 203 of Volume II.
The STOUTENBERG (sic) family were early 1700 residents of Colts Neck, here is then a very small portion of the family who have long disappeared from the area.
1-PIETER VAN STOUTENBURGH (sic) b.c.1613 in HOLLAND d. 3/9/1699 @ 86 in N.Y. City (He came to U.S. in 1638. He was N.Y. City's first Treasurer. He also introduced Tulips to this country, lived at the corner of Broadway & Wall Streets) md. 7/25/1649 ALFGY (sic) VAN TIENHOVEN dau. of CORNELIUS & MARIE VANDAMIN
My Comment: The records do not indicate that Pieter Stoutenburg was the first treasurer of the New York City. He was appointed treasurer of the City of New York for a few years but long after the British took over the Dutch colony.
At this time, I have not found any indication that Pieter introduced tulips to the New World. He may have had a tulip garden, but even that fact I have not been able to confirm.
I have not seen a transcription the documents at the time of Pieter’s life in which his name is written as Van Stoutenburgh. The Dutch spelling has no “h.” I rarely saw his name written with the preposition “van.” I believe that he came from the area of Utrecht Province in which the town/village of Stoutenburg is situate.
I have never seen Aefje van Tienhoven’s name recorded as Alfgy. I have no idea where this information is found. Also, her parents were not Cornelius and Marie Van Damin. Who ever came up with this has confused several facts.
Aefje was the sister of Cornelis van Tienhoven, a very powerful man in New Amsterdam. Cornelis married Rachel Vigne whose step-father was Jan Jansen Damen. Aefje and Cornelis were children of Luycas van Tienhoven and his wife Jannetje.
ISSUE:
2-ENGELTJE bp. 8/20/1651 d.y.
3-ENGELTJE bp. 1/5/1653 md. 2/18/1671 WILLIAM WALDRON b.1647 son of BAREN RESOLVED
4-Child b. 12/13/1654
5-JANNETJE bp. 8/30/1656, md. ALBERTUS RINGO b. 1620 in Holland son of PHILLIP JANZSEN RINGO & GERTJE CORNELIS
6-WYNTJE bp. 5/8/1658 d.y.
7-LUCAS bp. 1/10/1660
8-WYNTJE bp. 10/15/1662 bur. 7/11/1734 md. 1st GERRET CORN, VAN EYEEN md. 2nd 5/25/1693 EVERT BYVANKS
9-ISAAC b. 9/23/1668 d. 9/21/1711 N.Y. md. 7/21/1690 NIELTJE BOGART
10-TOBIAS bp. 1/18/1660 N.Y. City d. 1715 N.Y. City md. 7/2/1684 ANNEKEN VAN ROLLEGOM bp. 7/15/1665 d. 1744 dau. of JAN JOOSTEN VAN ROLLEGOM from Holland
Comment: Engeltje Stoutenburg married Willem Waldron. Their banns were published On Feb. 18, 1671. I assume that the entry in the Reformed Dutch Church marriage book in New York was the date on which the 1st bann was published. If that were the case, then Engeltje and Willem were married about 3 weeks later as banns have traditionally been published for 3 Sundays.
Willem Waldron was the son of Resolved (Resolveert) Waldron and his first wife Rebecca. After her death, Resolved married Tanneke Nagel. Resolved and Tanneke had a son who was named as tradition would dictate for her father, whose given name is Barent. For some reason, Resolved and Tanneke’s son Barent Waldron has been confused with his father Resolved Waldron and grandfather Barent Nagel, both of whom I have seen in stories given the title, Baron.
I really don’t where this author has found the names of the people as I have not seen some of the names above spelled in that manner. For example, Gertje is not a spelling of her name that I have seen or would expect to have seen based on the records of the time that I have examined. Albertus Ringo’s mother was Geertje.
There are variations in how Wyntje Stoutenburg’s husband’s name was recorded then, but I have not seen a record in which his named is written Gerret Corn. Van Eyeen. I have seen his name recorded as Gerrit Cornelisen Van Westeen, Van Echtsveen and Van Exveen. Corn. is an abbreviation for Cornelis but also for the patronyms Cornelisz, Cornelisen or Corneliszen.
Isaac married Neeltje Uittenbogart or Uyttenbogart.
Do not believe the family trees, old books and family lore if you want a true picture of who your ancestor's are.
As I read the information that was included in the response, I was awestruck of the number of facts cited that were simply not true.
The information was taken from a book, "Monmouth Families," written by Ann P. Miles and was published in 1980. It can be found on page 203 of Volume II.
The STOUTENBERG (sic) family were early 1700 residents of Colts Neck, here is then a very small portion of the family who have long disappeared from the area.
1-PIETER VAN STOUTENBURGH (sic) b.c.1613 in HOLLAND d. 3/9/1699 @ 86 in N.Y. City (He came to U.S. in 1638. He was N.Y. City's first Treasurer. He also introduced Tulips to this country, lived at the corner of Broadway & Wall Streets) md. 7/25/1649 ALFGY (sic) VAN TIENHOVEN dau. of CORNELIUS & MARIE VANDAMIN
My Comment: The records do not indicate that Pieter Stoutenburg was the first treasurer of the New York City. He was appointed treasurer of the City of New York for a few years but long after the British took over the Dutch colony.
At this time, I have not found any indication that Pieter introduced tulips to the New World. He may have had a tulip garden, but even that fact I have not been able to confirm.
I have not seen a transcription the documents at the time of Pieter’s life in which his name is written as Van Stoutenburgh. The Dutch spelling has no “h.” I rarely saw his name written with the preposition “van.” I believe that he came from the area of Utrecht Province in which the town/village of Stoutenburg is situate.
I have never seen Aefje van Tienhoven’s name recorded as Alfgy. I have no idea where this information is found. Also, her parents were not Cornelius and Marie Van Damin. Who ever came up with this has confused several facts.
Aefje was the sister of Cornelis van Tienhoven, a very powerful man in New Amsterdam. Cornelis married Rachel Vigne whose step-father was Jan Jansen Damen. Aefje and Cornelis were children of Luycas van Tienhoven and his wife Jannetje.
ISSUE:
2-ENGELTJE bp. 8/20/1651 d.y.
3-ENGELTJE bp. 1/5/1653 md. 2/18/1671 WILLIAM WALDRON b.1647 son of BAREN RESOLVED
4-Child b. 12/13/1654
5-JANNETJE bp. 8/30/1656, md. ALBERTUS RINGO b. 1620 in Holland son of PHILLIP JANZSEN RINGO & GERTJE CORNELIS
6-WYNTJE bp. 5/8/1658 d.y.
7-LUCAS bp. 1/10/1660
8-WYNTJE bp. 10/15/1662 bur. 7/11/1734 md. 1st GERRET CORN, VAN EYEEN md. 2nd 5/25/1693 EVERT BYVANKS
9-ISAAC b. 9/23/1668 d. 9/21/1711 N.Y. md. 7/21/1690 NIELTJE BOGART
10-TOBIAS bp. 1/18/1660 N.Y. City d. 1715 N.Y. City md. 7/2/1684 ANNEKEN VAN ROLLEGOM bp. 7/15/1665 d. 1744 dau. of JAN JOOSTEN VAN ROLLEGOM from Holland
Comment: Engeltje Stoutenburg married Willem Waldron. Their banns were published On Feb. 18, 1671. I assume that the entry in the Reformed Dutch Church marriage book in New York was the date on which the 1st bann was published. If that were the case, then Engeltje and Willem were married about 3 weeks later as banns have traditionally been published for 3 Sundays.
Willem Waldron was the son of Resolved (Resolveert) Waldron and his first wife Rebecca. After her death, Resolved married Tanneke Nagel. Resolved and Tanneke had a son who was named as tradition would dictate for her father, whose given name is Barent. For some reason, Resolved and Tanneke’s son Barent Waldron has been confused with his father Resolved Waldron and grandfather Barent Nagel, both of whom I have seen in stories given the title, Baron.
I really don’t where this author has found the names of the people as I have not seen some of the names above spelled in that manner. For example, Gertje is not a spelling of her name that I have seen or would expect to have seen based on the records of the time that I have examined. Albertus Ringo’s mother was Geertje.
There are variations in how Wyntje Stoutenburg’s husband’s name was recorded then, but I have not seen a record in which his named is written Gerret Corn. Van Eyeen. I have seen his name recorded as Gerrit Cornelisen Van Westeen, Van Echtsveen and Van Exveen. Corn. is an abbreviation for Cornelis but also for the patronyms Cornelisz, Cornelisen or Corneliszen.
Isaac married Neeltje Uittenbogart or Uyttenbogart.
Do not believe the family trees, old books and family lore if you want a true picture of who your ancestor's are.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Part 3: Why Did James and Susan Stoutenburg Move Back to New York?
I cannot definitively say why James and Susan moved back to New York with their infant son, Frank, sometime between the time the family was enumerated in July 1860 and when their next child was born in January 1861.
Iowa is a plains state. It is very flat and has very few trees. The farther west one moves from the Mississippi River, the fewer the trees. The lack of trees and the flatness of the prairie drove some Scandinavian immigrants to return to Europe. But the prairie fires more likely drove those Scandinavian immigrants as well as settlers from the eastern part of the United States to go back home.
New Yorkers pushed westward settling in western New York and then Ohio. Many of those who successfully settled in Iowa had lived in other places. Thus, as these people pushed westward the plains of Iowa was not a great surprise or disappointment.
James and Susan Stoutenburg seem to have come directly from New York to Iowa. I can only speculate on how they felt upon arriving in this part of Iowa. I was back in Minnesota last weekend with my sister from Nevada. As I was driving from Minneapolis to St. Cloud, I told my sister what this state needs is some mountains. I wonder if Susan told her husband that Iowa needs some trees? Was the flatness of the terrain and lack of trees the factor that drove James and Susan back to New York?
Or could their decision to go back to New York, have anything to do with the talk of succession and the probable impending war?
I probably will never know why Susan and James went back to New York.
Iowa is a plains state. It is very flat and has very few trees. The farther west one moves from the Mississippi River, the fewer the trees. The lack of trees and the flatness of the prairie drove some Scandinavian immigrants to return to Europe. But the prairie fires more likely drove those Scandinavian immigrants as well as settlers from the eastern part of the United States to go back home.
New Yorkers pushed westward settling in western New York and then Ohio. Many of those who successfully settled in Iowa had lived in other places. Thus, as these people pushed westward the plains of Iowa was not a great surprise or disappointment.
James and Susan Stoutenburg seem to have come directly from New York to Iowa. I can only speculate on how they felt upon arriving in this part of Iowa. I was back in Minnesota last weekend with my sister from Nevada. As I was driving from Minneapolis to St. Cloud, I told my sister what this state needs is some mountains. I wonder if Susan told her husband that Iowa needs some trees? Was the flatness of the terrain and lack of trees the factor that drove James and Susan back to New York?
Or could their decision to go back to New York, have anything to do with the talk of succession and the probable impending war?
I probably will never know why Susan and James went back to New York.
Part 2: 1855/56 Why Moved to Durant or Wilton, Iowa?
In my last blog entry, I ended with two questions. Why did James and Susan (Stoutenburg) move to Muscatine County, Iowa? and Why did they return to New York sometime between July 10, 1860 (when the family was enumerated in Iowa) and January 21, 1861 (when their second son was born)? Although I cannot give a definitive answer to either question, I can provide some insight to the conditions of that time period.
In the late 1840s railroads were being built throughout the eastern states. In the early 1850s many of these railroads were being consolidated thus offering service over longer continuous routes. By 1853 the Hudson River and Lake Erie were connected by railway. In that same year a Pennsylvanian railway was connected to the New York line near Lake Erie. By 1856, travelers from Pennsylvania and from the Hudson River could travel to Iowa. The line followed the southern shore of Lake Erie across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois touching on the southern tip of Lake Michigan and then on to the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Rock River. This terminated at the Illinois/Iowa state line near Rock Island, Illinois and across the Mississippi River from Davenport, Iowa. On April 22, 1856, the first passenger train crossed the Mississippi from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa. The trip between New York City and Davenport, Iowa now took only 60 hours.
Work was being begun on railroads west of the Mississippi River in the early 1850s. Thomas C. Durant was interested in building a rail route between Davenport and Council Bluffs, Iowa to connect the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In September, 1853, ground was broken for the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad (M & M RR).
During this same period, Wilton and Durant were being surveyed and laid out. Durant, a town about 20 miles west of Davenport in Farmington Township, Cedar County, was laid out in 1854 by Benjamin Brayton of the Rock Island Railway. Wilton Township and the town of Wilton in Muscatine County were laid out in 1853 and platted in September 1954 by Franklin Butterfield, Joseph A. Greene and George C. Stone.
Durant and Wilton were located on the M&M RR route that was completed in August 1854 with the first passenger train leaving Davenport on August 22, 1854.
Ebenezer Cook and George Sargent, bankers in Davenport, held a large interest in the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad and in the town of Durant. To support a train stop, the town built a comfortable train depot. In 1855, an offshoot of the railroad was built between the town of Muscatine, on the Mississippi River, and Wilton. Wilton did not have a depot, simply a shed roof building. The brakeman was not permitted to announce the town of Wilton at the junction. Instead the junction was called the Muscatine or Wilton Junction. Misters Greene and Stone, bankers in Muscatine, had an interest in Wilton and held considerable stock in M&M RR. In the end, the town of Wilton, prevailed.
Durant is said to be situate in one of the richest farming areas of Iowa. The first settlers came from New Haven, Connecticut, but settlers from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Maine and Connecticut soon followed. Originally called Brayton it was renamed Durant after Thomas C. Durant.
Many of the railroad stakeholders were land agents. The stakeholders and the railroads actively advertised in Europe, Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New England. The winter of 1858 was mild and 1859 yielded good crops in Iowa. The first shipment of pork from Iowa made it to the Atlantic seaboard. Business activity in Davenport was growing at a good rate by 1859.
James and Susan Stoutenburg were married in New York State in 1853 and were living in Iowa by 1859 when their son, Frank, was born. They did not appear in the 1856 Iowa State Census. With travel to Iowa by train from New York established in 1856 and the advertisements placed in New York towns and cities, it would seem that James and Susan Stoutenburg were attracted to Iowa.
The question then becomes "Why did they go back to New York?"
Sources:
The Annals of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Iowa City, IA: Jerome & Duncan, Printers, 1863.
The History of Cedar County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878.
Clarence Ray Aurner. "A Topical History of Cedar County, Iowa. Vol. I. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1910.
David A. Pfeiffer. "Bridging the Mississippi: The Railroads and Steamboats Clash at the Rock Island Bridge. " Prologue Magazine 36.2 (2004): Web. 21 Apr. 2010.
Henry V. Poor. History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. Vol. 1. New York: John H. Schultz & Co., 1860.
Irving Berdine Richman. History of Muscatine County Iowa from the Earliest Settlements to the Present Time. Vol. I. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1911.
In the late 1840s railroads were being built throughout the eastern states. In the early 1850s many of these railroads were being consolidated thus offering service over longer continuous routes. By 1853 the Hudson River and Lake Erie were connected by railway. In that same year a Pennsylvanian railway was connected to the New York line near Lake Erie. By 1856, travelers from Pennsylvania and from the Hudson River could travel to Iowa. The line followed the southern shore of Lake Erie across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois touching on the southern tip of Lake Michigan and then on to the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Rock River. This terminated at the Illinois/Iowa state line near Rock Island, Illinois and across the Mississippi River from Davenport, Iowa. On April 22, 1856, the first passenger train crossed the Mississippi from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa. The trip between New York City and Davenport, Iowa now took only 60 hours.
Work was being begun on railroads west of the Mississippi River in the early 1850s. Thomas C. Durant was interested in building a rail route between Davenport and Council Bluffs, Iowa to connect the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In September, 1853, ground was broken for the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad (M & M RR).
During this same period, Wilton and Durant were being surveyed and laid out. Durant, a town about 20 miles west of Davenport in Farmington Township, Cedar County, was laid out in 1854 by Benjamin Brayton of the Rock Island Railway. Wilton Township and the town of Wilton in Muscatine County were laid out in 1853 and platted in September 1954 by Franklin Butterfield, Joseph A. Greene and George C. Stone.
Durant and Wilton were located on the M&M RR route that was completed in August 1854 with the first passenger train leaving Davenport on August 22, 1854.
Ebenezer Cook and George Sargent, bankers in Davenport, held a large interest in the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad and in the town of Durant. To support a train stop, the town built a comfortable train depot. In 1855, an offshoot of the railroad was built between the town of Muscatine, on the Mississippi River, and Wilton. Wilton did not have a depot, simply a shed roof building. The brakeman was not permitted to announce the town of Wilton at the junction. Instead the junction was called the Muscatine or Wilton Junction. Misters Greene and Stone, bankers in Muscatine, had an interest in Wilton and held considerable stock in M&M RR. In the end, the town of Wilton, prevailed.
Durant is said to be situate in one of the richest farming areas of Iowa. The first settlers came from New Haven, Connecticut, but settlers from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Maine and Connecticut soon followed. Originally called Brayton it was renamed Durant after Thomas C. Durant.
Many of the railroad stakeholders were land agents. The stakeholders and the railroads actively advertised in Europe, Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New England. The winter of 1858 was mild and 1859 yielded good crops in Iowa. The first shipment of pork from Iowa made it to the Atlantic seaboard. Business activity in Davenport was growing at a good rate by 1859.
James and Susan Stoutenburg were married in New York State in 1853 and were living in Iowa by 1859 when their son, Frank, was born. They did not appear in the 1856 Iowa State Census. With travel to Iowa by train from New York established in 1856 and the advertisements placed in New York towns and cities, it would seem that James and Susan Stoutenburg were attracted to Iowa.
The question then becomes "Why did they go back to New York?"
Sources:
The Annals of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Iowa City, IA: Jerome & Duncan, Printers, 1863.
The History of Cedar County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878.
Clarence Ray Aurner. "A Topical History of Cedar County, Iowa. Vol. I. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1910.
David A. Pfeiffer. "Bridging the Mississippi: The Railroads and Steamboats Clash at the Rock Island Bridge. " Prologue Magazine 36.2 (2004): Web. 21 Apr. 2010.
Henry V. Poor. History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. Vol. 1. New York: John H. Schultz & Co., 1860.
Irving Berdine Richman. History of Muscatine County Iowa from the Earliest Settlements to the Present Time. Vol. I. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1911.
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