Monday, May 30, 2016

Remembering: Tecumseh Spanish-American Memorial, Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Located at Brookside Cemetery, Union Street north of M-50 (Chicago Boulevard), Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan.


In front of this monument are 3 cemetery stones, veterans of the Spanish-American War:

Jacob J. Yakle
Co. M 11 Inf.
Sp. Am. War

John J. Blessing
Co C
31 Mich. Inf.
Sp. Am. War

Fred J. Nobles
Co. C
31 Mich. Inf.
Sp. Am. War

The monument itself appears to be constructed of brick that has been painted.  It has a eagle at the very top. Each side has a brass plate with inscriptions.

On the front (east) is written:

In Memory of All
USWV
1898-1902

On the north side is written:

Dedicated to The
Area Residents
Who Served and Gave
Their Lives

World War II                               Korean War
1941-1945                                  1950-1953

On the back (west side) there is an American Eagle with flags. The inscription reads:

“We here highly resolve
that these dead shall
not have died in vain”
Abraham Lincoln

Edward Brazee        1934
Orville Gove             1931
Jack Hammel          1939
Nelson Hoekstra      1939
James O’Neil           1942
Gale Taylor              1943
Lester Wahl             1938
Donald White           1937
Charles Wilson        1933

Placed by
“Senior Echoes” staff, 1946
to honor alumni who gave their
lives in World War II

South side has a very unusual plate, which was cast in 1913 from metal recovered from the USS Maine, which was sunk in the Havana Harbor in 1898.  The plate holds the likeness of a lady with her arm outstretched, holding a shield that has the engraving of an eagle, itself holding a shield.  Above the eagle is the word Patriotism, below is the word Devotion.  The inscription of the plate reads:

IN MEMORIAM
USS MAINE
Destroyed in Havana Harbor
February 15, 1898
This tablet is cast from metal recovered from the USS Maine.

In the lower right hand corner of the plate is the letter c encircled, followed by CHECK SC, 1913 Cast by Jno. Williams Inc., NY.





This post is part of Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Memorial Day project,  The Honor Roll Project.

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Sunday, May 29, 2016

The FIRST Camping Vaca:: 1973

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I have been camping a long time. Since 1973.  After his stint in the U.S. Navy, back home stateside, we had 2 weeks summer vaca from his job.  His parents had camping equipment.  We had very little money and two kids and a collie dog.  We decided that camping may afford us 2 weeks away, frugal and doable.  So, we borrowed a utility trailer from my dad, the camping gear from his parents, loaded up and we were off!

His parents joined us for some of the time.  It rained. And, rained.  And rained.  It rained about 75 % of the 2 weeks.

The "Tent" was 9 foot by 20 foot.  We called it a "army" tent.  If it was, I really am not sure. It was heavy! It had 4 ridge poles.  Lots of guide wires/ropes.  Lots of stakes.  Lots of work.  Took us 45 minutes to put it up, on a good day.

Cut to 2016, I have a new slide scanner I am testing out this weekend.  The first cube of slides contained 1973 camping photos.  Oh, yea!!  So, here are the first attempts with the new scanner and here we are camping in 1973.  Here is the tent, Carol at the picnic table, Man dumping water from the cooler, his Mom and son # 1.  The yellow things to the far right, are the boys Tonka truck collection.  


We had campfires when the rain was not putting them out.  This shot at night round the campfire.  Son # 2 in his yellow rain coat.  I am in a rain coat too, kinda an olive color. And, of course, Man, never chilly, just in the short sleeved shirt.


For years, I have had a memory of a photo from this vaca of me huddled by a campfire in that green rain coat, fire roaring, with the rain coming down.  I have yet to find a photo just like my memory provides, but, this one is close. I am huddled, hoodie up.  Man's mother has her hair covered with a rain cap.  Man, no jacket, of course.  The other gentleman, must have been a camper we met, do not recognize him.  If you look close you can see the campfire, pretty good one going.  Not sure you can see, but, on my computer with the ability to enlarge the photo a lot, there is rain dripping off of everything, the table, that bench on the right.  (Hey, as a reminder, if you click on the photo, it will open to a larger view, and I think you will see the rain drops on the bench that way!  LOL)  I am amused by my smirk.  I guess I was enjoying, even with the rain?


Our first camping trip.  1973.  Mid Michigan.  Rain.  Rain. And, more rain.  And wonderful memories.

And, I could not wait to go again in 1974.  



*  If you want to see our camping rigs, the full history via photos, you are invited to one of my other blogs/web sites, Reflections Goes RVing. This page has the images.

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Saturday, May 28, 2016

Mystery Ship, Aground Somewhere in the Outer Banks, North Carolina :: But WHERE? WHEN? SOLVED!

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

(Less than ONE hour after publishing this post and sharing it on FB, two Facebook friends had found the answer.  One happens to be a distant Lashbrook cousin of Mans.  The other is just a great virtual friend.  I have said it frequently, it takes a village.  And, the village rocked it this time.  Thank you both.  For the rest of my great readers:

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LST-292

~~~~~~~~~~

Cleaning, reviewing, sorting, scanning, questioning, researching, start again and again. Such is my life as a family researcher.  I learn something each time, I find new hints, I find stuff in files and in piles that I remember, but, never fully dealt with.  Yes, it is fun.  For me.

Recent find/review/question/research/frustration:

This little book of photos, from my grandmother Florence.  It measures about 4 inches by 4 inches.  (A quick Uncle Google search failed to present information on this name, or at least information that made sense to me at the time of the search.)


Inside the photos are of what appears to be a ship wreck.  Now, anyone who knows anything about the Outer Banks is well aware that there have been shipwrecks.  LOTS of shipwrecks.

Some of these photos scanned and cleaned up better than others.  I have no idea who this gentleman is.


I have no idea who this lady is either.


This one is horribly out of focus:


I find this photo interesting, as they captured a plane passing nearby:


This one, is very out of focus as well.


In this photo, my grandmother is wearing the peddle pushers.  Her clothing is darker in color than what the other 3 ladies are wearing. You can see numbers on the hull, 292. Note the open bay doors and the ramp.  I presume (??GULP??) this is some kind of a transport ship?


This is the last photo in the group, appears to be the last taken, it is the  last in the "book". As far as I know, that is the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  My grandmother, Florence is the person in the middle of the back seat.


If you can help me figure out what the name of this ship is, and when it ran aground, please give me a yell.




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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Brain Storm Fizzled Out

Copyright 2010, err 2016 CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Now and then, I stop, I review old files and folders and usually find some little jewel. Today, I found this post I wrote in 2010, and never published.  Nope, I do not remember why I did not publish.  Just happened.  So, here it is, some six years later.  I have not worked on this name confusion in some time. So, for the most part, what I wrote six years ago stands, and so the confusion continues.

On September 18, 2010 I chatted a bit about a brain storm idea I had when ordering Social Security SS5 Application forms.

Well, it sorta fizzled.  Sorta.

Here is a bit of the back story.  Man's great-grandmother, Charlotte Louise Gehrke, born, well, see, that is the problem, she could be a Gruneman (Grunman) or a Grunbaum, or as I dubbed her, Charlotte Louise Gruendemann-Grunbaum. 

Why the confusion over one name??  This family is Lutheran, and I love Lutheran church records, well, for the most part I do, one EXCEPTION is when it comes to her name!  What follows is exactly what I have written about Charlotte in her text file on my data base:

"Her maiden name is given as Gruendemann and Grunbaum in church records of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pigeon/Linkville, Huron County, Michigan. On April 5, 1912 her children Carl (Charles) and Paul were confirmed, the pastor entered her maiden name as Grunbaum. On the 7th of April 1912, just two days later, Charlotte's sons John and Frank were confirmed by the same pastor. He gave Charlotte's maiden name as Grunbaum in John's record and as Gruendemann in Frank's record. The records appear on the same page of the record book. On April 12, 1914 the same pastor (August Deichmann) confirmed Charlotte's daughter, Julia and recorded Charlotte's maiden name as Gruendemann. The Lihue Lutheran Church of Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii records for the baptisms and confirmations and deaths of Charlotte's children all show her maiden name as Grunbaum."

Here is the confirmation record image for sons John and Frank:


 SEE, who wouldn't be confused??  She (that she would be me) asks while her head spins yet again.  It should be noted that the pastors of the church in Lihue and in Michigan were German, could read, write and speak it.  One allows, of course, for dialect differences.

Charlotte only spoke German according to her granddaughter (Man's mother).  Charlotte lived in their home for a number of years, Millie had strong memories of Charlotte. 

So, last summer when I was ordering some SS5 forms, I realized I had never ordered SS5s for several of Charlotte's children.  What if??  Be still my heart!  What did those forms reveal about Charlotte's maiden name??  I decide to order one for her eldest son and her eldest daughter.  Charlotte had 12 children, 10 of whom I am certain, number 11, I have my suspicions, and number 12 is a total mystery. Of her 10 known children, only 4 survived long enough to have applied for a Social Security number, and one of those is questionable.  The eldest 2 children were my best bet.

So, out came the credit $$ and I ordered those SS5s.  The first to arrive was for the eldest daughter, the one I was stumped on.  The eldest son's application took weeks.  It took so long, I actually called the Social Security Adminstration and asked after it.

The application finally arrived, and it gave her maiden name as Gruneman.  The eldest daughter pretty much wrote down the same thing, it is very hard to read, but, looks like Grunman to me.

At least they both used the basic same name, Grun(e)man. 

So, what is all this Grunbaum stuff in the other church records??  And, Gruendemann??

Fizzle - - - I don't know why I am feeling so let down about this.  I guess it would have been even more discouraging if one had written Grun(e)man and the other had written Grunbaum.  GROAN

Fizzle - - -



* Again, as I frequently do while I am writing a post, I did some more research, this time turning to my son (he is fluent in German) and daughter-in-law (she is German) for a rough translation of the two names.
Grun = Green   baum = tree    Greentree

Gruende = gruenden = establish/found   mann = man     Foundman?  Establisedman?  OK, that one obviously did not translate real well. 

OK, I can almost leap from green tree to green man, but that established/found man thingy has me totally confused.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

RIP Tommy, He Really Lived the Dash!

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

One of our sweet daughter-in-laws lost her father late last week.  Man and I had only met Tommy a few times, briefly.  We never got to know Tommy very well.

There are many types of grief and sadness.  Today, I feel sadness that I did not get to know this quiet gentle man better.  I know I have missed a great opportunity to learn from him.

He lived that dash, you know, the dash between the date of birth and the date of death.

He excelled at his academic years, partaking of many activities offered by his college.  He served his country well. He raised two gorgeous spectacular daughters.  His step children appeared to have adored him.  His funeral was very well attended.  The church was packed.

Yes, Tommy really lived the dash.  RIP Tommy, RIP.




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Better Not Ride That Bike on the Sidewalk Young Man

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

From the May 16, 1896 issue of the Michigan Messenger published at Adrian, Lenawee County, Michigan.



"The new bicycle ordinance goes into effect tomorrow, May 15 and wheelman must keep off the sidewalks after 6:45 standard time in the mornings.  They can also use the walks after 10 o'clock at night but must carry a bell and a light."





*Graphic courtesy of Clipartheaven.com
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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

"Over"?? And - - Review!

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I have been processing images downloaded from Ancestry dot com.  I still have about 100 or so Virginia vitals to process.  Trouble is, as I work, I process two, which leads me to go look for more, and I end up with 5 more.  It's wonderful to be so blessed.

The other morning, I decided to work on the Darden clan.  I started processing this document:


As I was processing the facts and the image to add to my data base I noticed the large number 036 and the (over), in red.  Yes, I was reviewing as I processed.  Do I have the information off of each line?  No? Well input it silly girl.  Yes. Is it correct?  Next line - - review, review.

That 036 and (over) stopped me in my tracks.  What I did next was to go back to Ancestry and find the document again.  After just about a minute, there it was.

Here is a screen capture from Ancestry.  If you look to the right side of the image, near the top, you will see a small white arrow in a black circle, if you click on that arrow, you will go forward to the next image.  If you look down at the bottom left, you will see an icon for the "filmstrip".


I hover and opened the film strip.  Note the current image is highlighted (for lack of a better description) in the film strip.


I was interested in the next image, wondering, is that THE (over) image??  Boy, it sure looks likes it might be, it is nothing like the rest of the images in that film strip, and why isn't it?  


Yes, I opened that image to full screen, and yes, I was pleasantly surprised with the results, more information on the cause of death of Mrs. Darden:


When you study documents, do you ever wonder, is there more, a second page? Documents such as death certificates do not usually have a second page, but, if they do, it is worth the effort to have a look.  The thing is, you have to review those images carefully, the hint that there may be more information on page 2 is not always easily evident.

Pays to look at the (over) and review, review, review!  (And, that is why I figure I will never finish my research, and, I am so happy, who wants to be done anyway??)




*  Please refer to my "Disclaim THAT! Beholden to - -"  page.  I was not asked to review Ancestry, I pay my fees, they do not give me special deals.  Etc.  Etc.  Etc.

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Friday, May 13, 2016

And The Heir Is - -

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Earlier today, I posted on Facebook.  I was a bit excited.  Can you tell??

I have to stop now, and go have lunch and stuff.

And, I really hesitate to be happy and go dancing and all, cause when I came on to FB just now there were several messages requiring prayers for friends and their families. The prayers will be continuous.

Now, forgive me, while I scream:

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!

A brick wall just got smashed. I do love probate cases.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!

Just two little names stuck together.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!

Shazam!

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!

EEEEEYOWWWIIEEEE!!

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!

And here is the back story, as short a version as I can make it.

I have been researching and hunting down Man's great-great-grandmother and her parents for years.  Probably 20 years, but, who is counting?

Laura Jane Oakley, whose name has been found recorded as Laura and Jane and Laura J.  She was married as Jane Oakley to William Lashbrook in  1850.


I have searched for a long time to find something that would prove pretty much without a doubt that Laura Jane Oakley was the daughter of one Abrahm or Abraham Oakley and his wife Susan Titrington Oakley.  Laura Jane was not enumerated with the Oakley family in 1850.  She was married.

I found this obituary for Abraham.  You will note, it does not mention Laura Jane Lashbrook.  By the way, that is McHenry County Illinois, not New York.

Obituary found in the Beldin Scrap Book, as reported in the McHenry County Illinois Records, Daughters of the American Revolution, Rockford Chapter, Rockford, Illinois:
     "Oakley
     Died in Lawler Feb. 21 1886 Abraham Oakley aged 83 yrs.  Father Oakley was born in Pittstown N.Y. Jan. 1, 1803, in which town he spent his young days.  Afterward he moved to Washington Co. N.Y. and on June 1, 1823 he married Susan Titrington who survives him.  From Washington Co. he removed to Wayne Co. N.Y. after which he emigrated to McHenry Co N.Y. where he continued to reside 28 yrs when he moved to Lawler Iowa to spend the remainder of his days with his children Mrs. J. M. Califf and John R.   Father Oakley leaves three sons and five daus. His oldest Mrs. Demmon residing in Texas, two sons Geo. W. and S. B. residing in Ill.   The rest of them residents of Iowa.  This aged couple lived together 63 years."

For the record, Laura, enumerated as Jane, is found with her son George B. Lashbrook living with her in the 1880 census of West Mitchell, Mitchell County, Iowa.  So, she was one of "The rest of them residents of Iowa."  (I will leave the discussion of how many children Abram had to another day, some say 7, some say 8.)

Susan Titrington Oakley died just weeks after her husband, again, we gain no information on her children, it is a lovely obituary tho:

Susan's death notice and obituary appeared in the March 9, 1886 issue of the Tribune, published in New Hampton, Chickasaw County, Iowa:
     "Mrs. Abraham Oakley died at her residence in Lawler at 7 o'clock yesterday morning.   Aged about 80 years.   Want of space will not allow full details."

     "We are pained to learn, through our Lawler letter, of the death of Mrs. Abraham Oakley, mother of our friend John Oakly.   The old lady was a sufferer from asthma for many years, but was otherwise in good health and quite active for one so old until the death of her husband, which took place a couple of weeks ago, when she began to fail and continued to grow worse until her death.  Thus the faithful partners in life are now companions in the grave.  From youth to old age they worked side be [sic] side, rearing a large family and acquiring a competence which supplied them with the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.  Let us hope that to-day they are companions in that new and better life which is promised us, from sin and sorrow free.  We sympathize with the family who, in so short a time, were summoned to say farewell to father and mother - - the two best friends that any of us know on this earth."
   
During a research trip to Iowa, I failed to turn up anything that helped my search.  It was not for a lack of trying. Days spent in Des Moines, accessing many data bases and rolls of microfilm.

When Laura died her obituary did not state her parent's names.  Laura's obituary can be found in the March 16, 1893 issue of the Mitchell County Press. It reads:
     "Mrs. Laura Oakley Lashbrook was born at Arkada, New York March 23, 1830 and died at Osage, Iowa, March 13, 1893.  She went to Illinois with her father's family when she was a girl, seven years old, and lived there until after marriage.  In 1851 she was united in marriage to William Lashbrook.  For some years her home was in Wisconsin. Since 1863 her home has been in Iowa, a part of the time at Waverly, but most of the time at Mitchell.
     She was the mother of five children, Wallace, George, Mrs. Cummings and Mrs. S.E. Grettenburg, one dying in infancy.  For some years she has been an invalid and for a year or more nearly helpless.
     She made her home with her daughter and every possible attention was paid her. Although so great an invalid and a sufferer, no one thought that the end was so near.  It came suddenly and almost without warning.  She dropped into a quiet sleep and time passed peacefully away.
     She was a member of the Methodist Church at Mitchell, but had not been able to attend services of late.  Her trust was in her Savior. She was a true woman in all the relation of life and is sincerely mourned by those who knew her intimately.
     The funeral services were conducted by Rev. W.W. Gist on Wednesday afternoon."

And, once more, we will leave the number of her children mentioned in her obituary for a future discussion.  The infant has yet to be found.

Years ago I was able to visit with Lashbrook descendants who graciously allowed me to scan Laura's bible.  On the page with marriages, it said her maiden name was Laura J. Oakley.  No parents named.

Until today, I had just about given up all hope that I would ever find "proof", written proof, that Laura J. Oakley Lashbrook was the daughter of Abraham/Abram and Susan Oakley.

I was snooping around at that Ancestry place and found a tree with Abram's name in it.  I looked, looked hard, and I looked at those sources and notes and such.

BAM!

There it was, the image that shows Jane Lashbrook as the heir of Abram.  I won't show you all of it due to fair use, etc.  But, here is the good stuff.  Jane Lashbrook, the heir.


From there I went to the Iowa, Wills and Probate Records, 1758-1997 data base at Ancestry dot com and found the will of Abram.  You will note that only one child is named, John R.


And, the happy dance continued, even if the will was a bit of a disappointment.

All I have to say, is I am forever thankful to one A J. Kucker  for declining his nomination as executor of Abram's will. What a stroke of luck!




* Someday I'll share with you how it came that I stumbled across this family tree over at Ancestry dot com.  Yep, there is a story there as well.  A story of luck and possibly, eating my words.

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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Step Forward, Step Sideways, One Clue At A Time

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Back in August of 2010, I wrote about being frazzled.  And, Glenn L. Frazee.  Now and then, I revisit those ancestors that I am researching.  Especially those that I feel the story has loose ends and may be unfinished.  As new data bases and information comes forth, I look again, reviewing, searching, turning over small stones.

In 2010, I wrote:

"Even better, when I got around to chasing down a marriage for Glenn and Helen, I found it in Starke County, Indiana.  The marriage took place on 23 March 1936, Glenn names his parents as Roy Frazee, deceased and his mother is named as Ethel Stanford."

And, here is why review is important.  Looking at the marriage for Starke County in 1936, I realized the record is for a Helen Bennett, not Burnett.  OOOOPS.  Big ooops.  Thanks to Find A Grave, I also discovered this Helen and her Glenn (born 1914) were buried in the City of Mesa Cemetery, Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona.

And, thanks to Find A Grave, I found the Glenn LeRoy Frazee, born 1903, and married to Helen Burnett as well, buried in the Washington Park East Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.  And, yes, there is a photo of the headstonel.

I have never found any index that has led me to a marriage record for Glenn LeRoy and Helen Burnett.  Yes, I am still looking.  Of course.  I note with a wry sense of humor, that the person that manages Glenn's memorial did not note a marriage record to Helen.  But, the prior marriage to Letty Lashbrooke is noted.  Obviously the manager of his memorial did a bit of research and did not find, or did not record, a marriage to Helen.

In my rash of clicking and surfing around looking for anything Frazee, I did find the web site of the Genealogical Society of Marion County.  And, I found several Frazee members had entries in the cemetery section of their web site.  Helen Burnett Frazee was listed, as was Glenn's mother, Martha.  I was happy to find a place that showed the connection between them all.  I have so few. The connections are there, and each tidbit of that information would benefit from more.  Just more, of anything, any hint, just more!

I have a few more ideas of snooping I would like to do, but, they are not online.  And, I suspect that Glenn and Helen's marriage may be a "secret" one.  It's just a feeling. A feeling that is gnawing at me.


And, in my snooping this last week, I have a question about the marriage of Glenn's parents, Ludlow Burt (or Bert) Frazee and his second wife, Martha Luide Frazee.  I have Martha's maiden name recorded as Linde. But, I cannot find a marriage on any index no matter which spelling.  YET.

And, since I am reviewing and wondering - - who is Martha anyway - - and where did she come from?

I am not sure if I made a sideways or forward step this last week.  I just know I was stepping all over the internet. And, I did discover a few new things to ponder.

One clue at a time.  



* Original source of the question mark image has been lost over time.  Our apologies to the creator.

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Monday, May 2, 2016

Closing a Family Home, Our Version

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

The last almost 3 weeks we were in the Shenandoah Valley.  We were assisting in the closing of a family home.  It involved getting INTO the house, which alone was a chore. All our RV friends should appreciate and laugh with us when we tell you to get the garage door unlocked we used a 751 key.  The front door screen was latched and the only other way in was to get that garage door unlocked.  We discovered we did not have the key.  In a moment of some brilliance Man decided to try every key on our own personal key rings, not just the ones we had to access the house.  Imagine our surprise and happy dance when the lock opened.  Once in the garage, we faced spider webs and dirt that took a couple of days to sweep out.

The house had been locked up for about 12 years.  Heat off, water off, electric on, no fans, no air conditioning, nothing.  All drapes pulled.  Yes, that is the perfect recipe for icky stuff to grow, and we were faced with white mold and dirt on every single surface and object, furniture and knick knacks.  It looked like this:


And, this:


The floors were covered with a film as well.  Eventually they would be swept and then damp mopped with hot water, white vinegar and a small amount of isopropyl alcohol.  The least amount of water that could be used, was, as we were dealing with oak hard wood floors and in the kitchen area, linoleum.

The next few photos are of furniture and items found in the house, some we sold, some we would eventually decide to take home.  

The brass bed is heavy, and never tarnished in over 30 years.  I have NO idea how that is possible.


First order of the event was to get the water turned on in the house, the well, the pump, the hot water heater, the accumulator thingy.  With 12 years of being turned off, we opted to call a plumber, if something blew and started spewing water all over, the plumber would already be there.  All went quite well till the pump had run for 30 minutes.  Then, well, you know.  Bam!  And, gone.  40 year old pump was not going to pump one more drip of water. Next day, the pump was replaced.  Dang those things are not cheap.

This wash basin table/dresser has no water stains, not even the towel "rack".



With some water and a huge supply of disinfectant wipes and latex gloves, the mold and dirt eradication began in earnest.  We cleaned and cleaned.  And, we tossed out stuff,  flower arrangements that were over 20 years old were gone.  Ewww, the dust.

A very unusual china cabinet.


At the end of a week we had a well pump, a cleaner house, less mold and scum and a realtor, a realtor that had a great handyman to do the outside chores that we had no time, nor energy, nor skills for.  He power washed the front porch, the approach to the garage, much of the wood on the front of the house, the "barn", roof and all.  He painted the concrete on the front porch, tore down or cleaned out the pine needle filled gutters, put up new gutters on most of the back of the house, painted the metal roof on the barn, painted the doors and other wooden stuff on the barn and on the back of the house, and cut down and disposed of 4 HUGE bushes, 2 at the front porch of the house and 2 at the entrance to the barn.  What he accomplished in a few days we could not have managed to do in weeks.

The dining table chairs were covered in needlepoint done by the ancestor.


This is the same piece as in the photo with all the mold at the top of this post:


This is what we call the Winfield Armoire.  It is quite old, we know some of the history of it, who owned it before our immediate family did.  We need to revisit this with other family members, but, we feel it is over 100 years old. We believe it is yellow pine, it is actually built in 3 pieces, the top, the chest/storage area in the middle, which is actually two chests built and then joined at the middle and the bottom which has the 2 drawers.


There were 5 "hope" chests, here is one that was custom made for the family ancestor, cedar through and through:


This one is quite old we believe, just look at the lovely corners:


This is a church pew, from a small Mennonite church that was originally on family land nearby.  And, yes, there is a "hymnal" holder on the back.


Ceramic cats painted by the ancestor:


This plate was unusual in shape, a small serving platter.  Origins need to be researched some more.


Another piece of ceramic, this is "Pink Lady", or a version of:


There were many fabric pieces, this crocheted large sized quilt is crocheted in thread, not 4-ply yarn.


A crazy quilt underneath.  The quilt on the top appears to be old and possibly, hand stitched.


A Bible, a bottle that just appealed to me and a coffee grinder (brass handle on drawer is not original in my opinion.)


Eventually we decided to rent a small U-haul truck which I drove home and Man towed Tana.  It took us two days.

The truck has been unloaded and Man and I are taking a few days off, we have not moved back into the stickbuilt house because, frankly, we were just too tired.

It has been quite the adventure.  I also have other little genie goodies, like lots and lots of greeting cards, letters, photos.

Yes, indeed, quite the adventure.




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