52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 11: Lucky

Copyright 2018, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

This post as part of my participation in Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 version of the 52 Ancestors meme. This weeks prompt is, "Lucky".  The prompt reads:

Do you have an ancestor who was lucky at something? Lucky to be alive? Lucky at cards? Lucky in love? Maybe you have an ancestor with a name that reminds you of luck or fortune. There's always "luck of the Irish." Maybe you have a story of how luck played a role in finding an ancestor.

Luck surely plays an important part in family research. Actually, I believe it is more that the ancestors want to be found and are not in a mood to play you along and string out the search any longer.  Here are several such lucky days in my family research.

There is the ZZ Trumbo cemetery visit.  It was a week big on drama. And, how Man drove within 50 feet of the burial spot.  I would have parked out front and never pulled way back in to the spot he chose to park the truck.  If memory serves, I was not kind to him, asking him, why in the world he parked wayyyyyy back there. Who knew??  The lucky one, this time, Man.

Searching for Hezekiah provided a photo and a long lovely ride in the country side finding the cemetery.  As usual when Man and I parked the vehicle, we separated, he took one side of the cemetery, I took the other.  I believe this find was mine.  The story is here.

The search for Mariah and Joseph Remley and her sister Susie Blanton was similar.  Man and I first visited in the days of walkie talkies.  He took off in one direction, I in another.  I remember no-see-em bites and that he found the burial spot, alas, NO headstone for Mariah or Joseph.  We do have a photo from our first visit in 2002, and we revisited in April 2016.  I wrote about the 2016 visit here. 

Despite all that "luck" I still get shivers when I think of the search for Man's ancestor Charles Clifford and his new bride, Plutheria (Phoebe) Clifford Clifford.  Yep, as far as I know, she was born a Clifford and married a Clifford.

I was looking for the Cliffords in the 1851 Canadian census.  You can read all about it in my post, One Memory, My Best Genealogy Day, Well, One of the Best.  

Lucky me, the lucky researcher.  Lucky!

* #52ancestors

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Spelling Don't Count, I Love Accents in Writing

Copyright 2018, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

1880 U.S. Census, 45th District, Bulloch County, Georgia.

May I draw your attention to Hesachier, errr, Hezekiah.

Now, try speaking the name Hezekiah only add a southern drawl.  Yea, that's it!

We will note that you can find this 14 year old's grandfather on the same census, same county, and his name is recorded as Hesachiah Bowen.

(Now the story on me, it only took me 6 months to figure this out.  Ya, really!)




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You Called Me "a Damned Rogue and a Tory"?

Copyright 2017, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

The family research continues, as does the consolidation projects.  Today, I found copies from a transcription type compiled records book titled, "Tattnall County, Georgia Loose Papers, 1801 - 1845, Volume One".  The work was abstracted by Sabina J. Murray and Compiled by the Huxford Genealogical Society.  I copied these pages a long while ago. (As in several years ago, maybe as far back as 2008.  Yea, really!!)

Here are a few entries from this work, all having to do with one Steven/Stephen Bowen.

     "April Term 1816- [Indictment]  The Grand Jury indicted Daniel Highsmith, yeoman, for assulating Steven Bowen at the house of James Handcock on 9 October 1815.

(True Bill)      Alex M. Allen, Atto. Genl.

The defendant, being an old man, is sentenced to pay a fine of $15., costs of prosecution, and then be discharged."

(Note - - I am having trouble with this last line, in view of all the following, subsequent entries.)

     "5 August 1816 -[Petition]  Stephen Bowen says he is not ready to come to trial this term with Daniel Highsmith for want of evidence which he has used all lawful means to obtain.

Wm. Johnson, J.P."

     "9 April 1817 - [Affidavit] Stephen Bowen says Daniel Highsmith abused and ill-treated him without any attempt on the part of Bowen.  Bowen admits he did make use of some harsh expressions such as that Highsmith was not a man of truth, but was provoked to it by a shower of abuse on the part of the defendant.

Jas. Perry, Clk.

A. M. Allen, Pltff. Atto."

"9 April 1817 - [Affadivit]  Personally appeared Daniel Highsmith, the defendant in an indictment, the State vs Highsmith, who being sworn saith that Stephen Bowen, the prosecutor, did on the 9 October 1815 make use of the most opprobrious epithets calling this deponent "a damned Rogue and a Tory", standing in a threatening attitude which caused this deponent in the heat of passion after (having warned the prosecutor not to repeat the same again) which he did to make a slight assault on the prosecution by striking the prosecutor with the arm and not the fist of the deponent, which was alone induced by the provoking language of the prosecutor used to this defendant.

John T. Sharpe, J. P."

"9 April 1817 - [Affidavit]  Arthur Boyd says on 10 October 1815 he came to the house of James Handcock and while Daniel Highsmith was lying on the floor of the house and Stephen Bowen was standing over him abusing Highsmith by calling him a Rogue or Tory, Highsmith warned Bowen not to repeat the names again, if he did he would strike him. Bowen repeated the names.  Highsmith arose and struck or shoved Bowen with his arm.  Arthur Boyd believes the assault would not have been made if the prosecutor had not used such language and persisted in the same.

John T. Sharpe, J. P."

"9 April 1817 -[Affidavit]  James Handcock says Daniel Highsmith was abusing Stephen Bowen at Handcock's house on 10 October 1815.  Handcock was afraid Daniel Highsmith would attack Bowen so he took him by the arm and led him away.  Highsmith threatened Bowen and James Handcock believes if it had not been for his intervention Highsmith would have attacked him.

James Perry, Clerk"

OK, now.  Seems Daniel took a bit unkindly to be called a "damned Rogue and a Tory". Imagine that?

It also seems that Daniel and Stephen Bowen are in-laws.  Or, in this case, out-laws??  I am still figuring it out, but, Daniel is either a brother-in-law or heaven forbid, a father-in-law.  See Stephen Bowen married Rachel Highsmith, reported to be a daughter of one Daniel.  

I am still building the families, but, there are a number of Daniels.  Two, maybe three, father, son, grandson.

I have no idea if James Handcock is kin, I don't think so.  

Of course, in this time frame, it gets pretty interesting and frankly, difficult to research. Sometimes these little snippets prove or disprove family trees I see floating around, even my own!  LOL

Believe me, this was not the only tuff between Bowen clan members I found in this book. There is the case of Bani Boyd, or Banish/Baniah Boyd, with  wife, or maybe a companion, by the name of Nancy Bird (daughter of Andrew) who was a bit underage when Bani reportedly "stole" her.  That case was dated 1816.  And, the fact that I do have a Bani Boyd who married a Nancy Bowen in 1811. Nancy Bowen would have been about 18 years of age in 1811, give or take.  And, he married another lady in 1821.

And, there is Mary Ann Bowen who in 1832 states she was "violently assaulted and roughly handled by Wade W. Coleman" and attempted to rape her.  I have not even tried to figure out who her parents were - - yet - - I will.

And, there is one named Daniel Highsmith who married a Millie in 1816, and even though he has tried to be a good husband, "Millie has beat his daughter and done other malicious acts.  He wants a divorce."

As I review the pages I have from this book I keep finding more and more "tifts" that involve Bowen and Highsmith clan members.  

Oh, yea, these pages are packed with rogues, rape, beatings, divorce and a accusation of being a "damned Tory" now and then.

*  In case you wondered, as did I:

Opprobrious
adjective
1.  conveying or expressing opprobrium, as language or a speaker:
opprobrious invectives.
2. outrageously disgraceful or shameful:
opprobrious conduct.

Yea, that!

** And, if you are curious about Tories - - there is a LONG article at Wikipedia about Loyalists during the American Revolution.

*** Photo courtesy of Pixabay and WilliamCho

**** Image chosen because I could not locate something appropriate using the search term Tory or Rogue.  Just sayin - -

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Heading North, The Ancestors, The Brick Wall:: Keep Them Wheels a Rolling - Winter 2015-2016

Copyright 2016, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I know, my blogging subjects have been jumping all around, this, that, here, there.  Ya just never know if it is current or 3 years old stuff.  I don't know what to tell ya.  Cept, grin, laugh and try to have fun!

We have left the Tampa area and are hop, skipping up the east coast.  Mid April we will be in Rockingham County Virginia for genie fun and a spot of business.  Until then, we drive, we stop, we dodge storms, and do it again.

I find so far, the route has taken us close to ancestral grounds and a couple of cemeteries I have visited before.  But, when in the area, I like to visit the cemeteries again.  Pay my respects.

First stop heading north was near Brunswick Georgia which was just a shy 20 miles from Darien where my great grandparents, Joseph E. Bowen and his bride, Minnie Maude Remley Bowen reportedly are buried in the St. Andrews Cemetery.  I believe in my heart they are, but, there are no headstones, the church records were a bit vague.  They are shown as interred here in the work by Jeannette Austin, "30,638 Burials in Georgia".  I have asked her about this, her reading was from years ago, she stated she would not have recorded the burials without some evidence of same at the time she did the recording.  Sadly, the evidence has since disappeared. The thing is, Minnie's sister, Susan is buried there. Susan Remley Blanton and Marion Blanton, her husband and her daughter, also Marion.  It is my feeling that Joseph E. and Minnie Maud are buried there in the same plot. We know from the church that there is one grave site outlined in stone coping, but otherwise unmarked.

I have written many times here on Reflections about this clan.  You can search the blog from the search box available in the top left corner.

When we arrived at the cemetery the biting flies were active, storm troopers, dive bombing.  I snapped off a few photos and ran for Jolly.  Love the wisteria off to the side.

Our next stop heading north ended up being Walterboro, Colleton County, South Carolina.

Minnie Maud Remley Bowen was born in Walterboro.  In previous research here, I paid a visit to the Sandy Dam United Methodist Church and Cemetery.  I found Remleys buried there and Grants.  Minnie Maud Remley Bowen's mother was Mariah "Maria" Malvirna Grant.  Mariah's parents were Jefferson Grant and his wife Rachel (and other spellings, of course) Hargraves, or Hargroves or ??

The Remley and the Grant clan are what I call my true brick walls. Records in the courthouse prior to 1865 just do not exist.  Yes, that little issue of the War Between the States.  And, yes, the courthouse was burned.  And, believe me, there is NOTHING like walking into the courthouse and seeing the earliest records dated 1865, embellished in gold numbers on the outside of the record books. And, yes, it literally took my breath away.

Anyway - - It has been some years since I reviewed and researched the Grants and the Remley clans here in Colleton.  What with new record sets showing up on line, I might give it another shot.  I would not be surprised to find little, perhaps, nothing more.

As you can see the azaleas are stunning this week.

The Grant and Remley plots I found are buried along the "left" side of the church (if you are facing the church).

The markers are old, worn, small and some are quite hard to read.  I feel they are kin, someday, I hope to figure it all out.

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Sunday's Stories, 52 Ancestor Weeks, Week # 21, Rev. Samuel Bowen

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

This is week 21 of my participation Amy Johnson Crow's, once a week challenge to blog about one ancestor a week, tell their story, biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on that one ancestor. More about the challenge can be found at her Blog, No Story Too Small.

Rev. Samuel Bowen was born Jul 16, 1659 at Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts to Obadiah Bowen and his wife, Mary (believed to be Mary Clifton).

He married Elizabeth Wood Wheaton on May 26, 1684 at Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts.  Elizabeth was the widow of Samuel Wheaton (a cousin of Samuel Bowen).

Samuel and Elizabeth had 8 children, some born at Rehoboth, Massachusetts.  Some traditions state that several of their children were born in New Jersey after their move there.

Samuel moved his family to Chanzey Precinct, Salem (now Cumberland) County, New Jersey.  The date of that move is reported as any time from 1687 up to 1703.  Just about every published family history I have checked has different dates for this move to New Jersey.  My direct ancestor, Clifton, son of Samuel and Elizabeth is reported to have been born in Bristol County, Rhode Island on Feb 12, 1700 (per James N. Arnold, compiler, "Vital record of Rhode Island: 1636-1850, Volume 6, Bristol County" (Springfield, Massachusetts: Springfield City Library, 1894).  It would seem to me that the move to New Jersey would have taken place after Clifton's birth.

There is so much conflicting information and conclusion out and about in research land it is quite befuddling.  

Some examples from my notes on Samuel:

The Cumberland Patriot, published by the Cumberland County Historical Society, in the Summer 1981 issue tells of the Baptists moving to New Jersey.  "In 1687 and 1690 there were two migrations from Swansea, Massachusetts under the leadership of Rev. Timothy Brooks, a Seventh Day Baptist minister. The Welch Bowen's and  Barrett's were in this company.  The Swansea Company built a log meeting house a short distance west of the crossroads at Bowentown...In 1710 the Bowentown Baptists...united with the Cohansey Baptist Church."

In her work "350 Years of American Ancestors, Thirty-Eight Families, 1630-1989" by Mary Coates Martin, 1989 she tells of Samuel's move: "Reverend Samuel Bowen came to West (South) Jersey with the Rev. Timothy Brook's company and established the Cohansey Baptist Church as early as 1702. This settlement came to be known as Bowentown."

In a letter dated Sept. 11, 1962 to Mrs. Dempsey M. Stanley and provided to compiler by Patricia Orr in 1994 from Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society it is noted:  "The Shiloh Seventh Day Baptist Church did celebrate its 200th anniversary in 1937.  A mimeographed history was prepared at that time....The early history for this volume was written...John H. Bonham...Mr. Bonham states that Samuel Bowen ...had 8 children...removed to  Bowentown with the Timothy Brooks' Company...Mr. Bonham mentions a booklet printed in 1927 entitled "Timothy Brooks and His Descendants" by Robert Peacock Brooks."

Shirley Bowen Elders states in her book "My Bowen, Barton, Harris, Scott, Hendon, Cranford Family Connections", 1994:" Sometime between Feb 12, 1700/01", (that being the birth of Clifton) "and Dec 30, 1703, very probably in 1702, Samuel Bowen, his wife, their children, and Elizabeth's two sons, Jonathan and Noah Wheaton, moved from Rhode Island to New Jersey with his sister, Hannah, and her husband, the Rev. Timothy Brooks...."  Note that Dec. 30, 1703 is the date of a deed conveying a tract of land from Rev. Timothy Brooks to Samuel Bowen.

At any rate, Samuel and his family moved to New Jersey, where they practiced their Baptist religion. According to William B. Saxbe, Jr., CG, FASG, in his 2011 work "Richard Bowen, (1594-1675) of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and His Descendants, Volume 1 - Generations 1 - 3....", published by the Rhode Island Genealogical Society in 2011; on page 269, Saxbe tells us, "Samuel assumed the leadership of the Sabbatarian [Baptist] church at Bowentown after Timothy Brooks moved to the Cohansey congregation, and was the "colleague for many years of the first pastor, Jonathan Davis Sr. [of the nearby Shiloh Baptist Church].

Below:  Photo taken from "The New Jersey Genesis", Volume 12, Number 3, April 1970, states original photograph was taken by the "Editor", in 1929.  He writes:  "Plastered, brick house at the northwest corner of the crossroads in Bowentown, Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey.  The high part was built by Jonathan Bowen, Esq., about 1760. His grandfather, Samuel Bowen, from Rhode Island, died on this farm in January 1728/9.  It is believed that a part of his house is incorporated in this building.

Samuel died on or about  the 21st of January 1728. Per, "Salem County, New Jersey, Genealogical Data, Records Pertaining to Persons Residing in Salem County Prior to 1800", compiled by H. Stanley Craig, Samuel Bowen, of Cohansey, will dated 1/21/1728-29, probated, 3/4/1728-29.  Children named were John, Dan, Elijah, Clefton, Mary Persey and Elizabeth Fogg.  See Liber 3, page 25.  I obtained a copy of this will, the copy is very poor, many black areas, which appear to be tape used to repair the original pages, now photocopy black, which obscure the text of the will and accompanying papers.

The will of Samuel Bowen of Cohansey in the County of Salemstates: "Desires a Christian  burial".  Leaves gifts to sons John, Dan, Elijah, Cleffton, Elisabeth Fogg, Mary Persy (that is how this compiler sees her married name spelled).

An inventory of Samuel's estate was done on January 21, 1728 by Job Shephard and Timothy Brooks and submitted to the court on March 4, 1728.

There is a memorial for Samuel at Find A Grave which indicates he was laid to rest at the Cohansey Baptist Church Cemetery, Roadstown, Cumberland County, New Jersey.

Wish list for Samuel Bowen:  A better copy of his will, verification of burial at Choansey Baptist Church Cemetery, photo of any headstone (requested at Find A Grave today).

* Additional source data can be obtained by contacting me, see the right hand column for a yahoo email address.

** 52 Ancestors Weeks Button courtesy of Amy Johnson Crow,

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It Was a Double Cousin Kinda Day

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I stopped near Atlanta where we had the distinct pleasure of spending today with two of my Bowen cousins.  All three of us are descendants of Hezekiah Bowen and his wife Fereby (Fitz)Patrick, who I wrote about the other day.

Carol and Connie:

Carol and Luree:

What a special day.  I am exhausted and exhilarated.

Thank you both, over and over again.




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Sunday's Stories, 52 Ancestor Weeks, Week # 9, The Remleys and Grants, Part 1

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

This is week 9 of my participation Amy Johnson Crow's, once a week challenge to blog about one ancestor a week, tell their story, biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on that one ancestor. More about the challenge can be found at her Blog, No Story Too Small.

Today I am going to talk about my great-grandmother, Minnie Maude Remley.

Some of the facts:  Minnie Maude Remley was born about 1875 in Walterboro, Colleton County, South Carolina, even her death certificate does not show her birth date, just giving her age as 71 years.

Minnie died November 26, 1948 at Richmond Cedar Works, Norfolk County, Virginia.  Her death certificate states the remains were sent to Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia.  We believe she is buried with her sister's family at the St. Andrews Cemetery, Darien, McIntosh County, Georgia.  There is no headstone, but, Jeannette Austin, compiler of the work, "30,638 Burials in Georgia" listed Minnie and her husband, Joseph E.Bowen as having been buried in that cemetery.

I know very little more than the bare facts about Minnie.  No stories were passed down and I have discovered nothing more than she was a mother, wife, lived, died.

Minnie's obituary was located in the Wednesday, November 27, 1946 issue of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Virginia:
     "Mrs. Minnie Maude Bowen, 71, died at her residence, Richmond Cedar Works, Norfolk County, yesterday at 3 a.m. after an illness of five years.
     A native of Walterboro, S.C., she lived in this section 21 years and was a member of Oak Grove Methodist Church.
     She is survived by her husband, Joseph E. Bowen; a son, H. E. Bowen, of Norfolk County, a grandchild, and several sisters and brothers.
     The body was removed to the Francis A. Gay Funeral Home, South Norfolk, and will be forwarded this afternoon to the Gibson and Hart Funeral Home, Brunswick, Ga., where services will be held Friday afternoon.  Interment will be in the family plot at Brunswick."

I cannot even be 100% sure that the photo I have of her, which was so graciously shared by a Remley cousin, is actually Minnie.  We believe it is, however - -

I do have her family bible, here is where she recorded the births of her children. Only Hayden lived to marry and have a son of his own.  It should be noted that the handwriting on the three pages of records is the same.  I have no idea, however, if it is actually her handwriting.  I have nothing else of hers to compare it to.  The bible is the only thing that I do have that was hers.

Wish list for Minnie:

Verification that the photo I have, is in reality, Minnie.

Additional records, church, newspaper, civil, land, anything.




* Additional source data can be obtained by contacting me, see the right hand column for a yahoo email address.

** 52 Ancestors Weeks Button courtesy of Amy Johnson Crow.

*** I use many resources to research, FamilySearch.org is a free site.  Ancestry.com is a pay site for which I pay, no discounts, etc.  None of these sites have asked me to review them, or use them.  See my Disclaimers page for further details.

Oldest Stone, Graveyard Rabbit January 2011

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

The topic for the January 2011 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival is: How long have they been there?  The challenge reads:

"This topic was submitted by the Association. Post a photograph of the oldest tombstone in your family collection, your local cemetery, or one you just happened to bump into in your Rabbit travels. That would be the oldest burial date!"

My oldest burial date is 1710, Obadiah Bowen, buried in the Obadiah Bowen Family Cemetery, Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island.
 
Although I have never personally visited the cemetery, I do have a photo of the cemetery and his stone taken in 2004 by another researcher and cousin, Pat Gallahorn.  Thanks Pat for these photos.
 

 

 
During online research, I found the following information, at the Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries site :
 
"Also known as: Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Warren #14

School House Road and Market Street
Cemetery notes and/or description:
80 burials with inscriptions from 1697 to 1897

This is located behind a vacant commercial building on the SE corner of School House Roand and Market Street. A manuscript from Rhode Island Historical Society reads "There is a deed on record in Town Clerk's office at Warren, under date of Dec. 1783, from Nathaniel Bowen to his son James Bowen describing the farm on which this burial lot is located and which states that it was laid out by "my grandfather, Obadiah Bowen." [1627-1710]. Between 1992 visit and 2000 this cemetery was cleared, grass was planted and stones repaired. It is now one of the nicest family cemeteries in the state.

This cemetery was originally in Swansea, Massachusetts and now is in Warren, Rhode Island."
 
Obadiah Bowen has a memorial at Find A Grave, with a fantastic photo of the stone, submitted by Kevin Rankin.
 
My connection to Obadiah is a direct paternal line:

Donald Eugene Bowen I
Hayden Eugene Bowen
Joseph Eugene Bowen
Hezekiah Bowen
Hezekiah Bowen
Mark Bowen
Clifton Bowen, Jr.
Clifton Bowen, Sr.
Rev. Samuel Bowen
Obadiah Bowen

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - My Southern Drawl Ah-ha Moment

1) Think of any number of genealogy events or moments that make you have a genealogy happy dance, an ah-ha moment, or a genea-gasm (tsk tsk Randy, getting a tad bit risque there!  LOL).

2) Tell us about them in a blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook.

Lets chat about an ah-ha moment I had in my first year of research, newbie, green and eager to learn.

I was doing lots of census work, but, of course. I was working diligently on my Bowen ancestry, had worked back to my first and second great-grandfathers, both named Hezekiah Bowen. So, I am looking for 2 Hezekiah Bowens. Actually, I am looking for three Hezekiahs, because there was a grandson named Hezekiah too. OK, we are all confused, lets just say, I was knee deep in Hezekiah Bowens.  Thing was, at the time of the search, I had no idea I was gonna end up with three Hezekiahs, and of course, that is important to understand my Ah-Ha moment.

I found my 2nd great grandfather, as Hesachiah Bowen (as indexed at Ancestry.com) on the 1880 U.S. Census, living in Lockhart, Bulloch County, Georgia.

I found my great-grandfather, as Hezikiah Bowen on the 1880 U.S. Census, living in District 50, Emanuel County, Georgia

And, I found the third Hezekiah indexed and written as Hesachier Bowen on the 1880 U.S. Census living in Club House, Bulloch, Georgia.  This is the Hezekiah I did not know I was gonna find.

So, what is my ah- moment? Well, it took me 6 months to figure out that Hesachier was Hezekiah (I told you I was GREEN!!!). Gotta say, it bugged the beejeebees outta me!  Just what kind of name is Hesachier anyway??

When did I finally GET it?? In the middle of the night, came to me in a dream I guess, as I sat up in bed and said to Carol, “Carol, say that name Hesachier with a southern drawl”.  This entire family was from Georgia, and there is little doubt they would have had a decent southern drawl.  So, I did just that, out loud and lo and behold, I was able to fake a southern drawl and was able to go from Hesachier to Hezekiah.

Ah-Ha!

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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90th Carnival of Genealogy--Third Annual iGene Awards

Its time for The Third Annual iGene Awards, The Best of The Best!

It's Academy awards time... time for the Academy of Genealogy and Family History, aka AGFH, to honor their best blog posts of 2009 in the following 5 categories:

Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009. Tell us which you liked best and why.

Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?

Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?

Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?

Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in 2009?

The rest of the challenge reads in part: Start digging back into your archives and choose which of your blog posts deserve to be recognized for outstanding achievement. There is no nomination process. You just need to announce your winning blog posts for the 5 categories mentioned above in an article on your blog and submit it to the Carnival of Genealogy.

I have only been blogging since April of 2009, not even a full year and I found this COG to be a REAL challenge. I spent several hours of delightful review of my past posts. I have posts about RVing and Genealogy, but for this challenge I will only consider posts that have to do with family research.

And the awards go to - - -

Best Picture: The Trumbo Foundry. Winner because of the new horizons I visited before this blog was posted. I learned so much and I got permission to use this photo in my blog and my family history. It is a photo that shows history and “a sign of the times”, and it is my grandfather! And, the place is a place I know!

Honorary Mention (not in the challenge, but I gotta go there):  The Darden sibs. Deserves mention because of the strong emotions this photo gets from me every time I see it, it tugs at my heart in so many different ways.  This is a family that loves deep and have no qualms of sharing that love.

Best Screen Play: They Worked Hard, Bowen version.   The movie will have drama (hurricanes and fire), and characters (my grandmother and the other locals of the Outer Banks, you just HAVE to be a character to live there year round and that is a compliment!).  Actors to play the parts, to be determined (which is my cop out way of saying - I have no clue - I don’t follow movies, or actors much these days.)

Honorary mention: The Series, My Best Vacations, by the entire clan.  Gosh I had fun with this. Would  not be a serious heart tugging movie, nor would it be akin to the movie RV, just some great family fare.  My three favorite summer vacations, by Son # 1 and family.   My three favorite summer vacations, by Son # 2 and finacee’.  And, My three favorite summer vacations, by Man and Moi. 

Best Documentary: Ancestor Military Battles, Solomon B. Eley, my award winner, partly because of the emotional attachment I feel to this ancestor, but also because of the documents I have found, documents of a different kind, that surrender document is among my most exciting genie-finds.

Honorary mention: Citizenship vs love, deserving of mention because it discusses a part of citizenship that is not commonly known or understood.

Another Honorary mention:  Richard Bowen, my Thanksgiving ancestor.  Discoveries while researching this direct lineage ancestor gave me a new appreciation of Thanksgiving, and keep on giving.

Best Biography: Pat Lombardini, my Orphan.  There are other biographies I have done that I love, but this one, beyond a doubt, was a heart string tugger. 

Best Comedy: The Switch.   Winner, because it is one of our favorite family funny stories. It may not be that funny to my readers, but since I am the judge and jury here, it wins!

Honorary mentions: Don’t trust your brother, brothers are special, aren’t they?  They even provide a humorous family story now and then.  And, I had the photos to prove it!

Another Honorary mention goes to:  Did he or did he not drink the hydraulic fluid?  Who can explain why something tickles your black humor fancy?  I can't, but I did giggle a lot over this newspaper find.

Well, there they are, my iGene Awards.  Congratulations to the winners and the honorary mentions too.

* Thank you to Creative Gene for sponsoring this carnival and to footnoteMaven for the poster.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Anniversary Observances, Bowen and Dews

On December 23, 1923 at South Mlls, Camden County, North Carolina, Hayden Eugene Bowen (1895 - 1966) and Florence Ruth Dews (1904 - 1996)  were married.

Hayden and Florence, photo dated 1918.

Photo I believe was taken on the porch of the

boarding house run by Florence's mother, Lorena.

* Hayden and Florence were my grandparents.

** Photo shows serious water damage, I am happy it survived the hurricanes.

*** I wrote about Hayden here.  His memorial at Find A Grave is here.

**** I have written about Florence several times, including They Worked Hard for the Family, Bowen style and Memory triggers - -snap goes the flea, and on her birthday, here.  Her memorial at Find A Grave is here.

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Advent Calendar, The Christmas Tree

GeneaBloggers has a Advent Calendar event this year, 24 days of family history related subjects to challenge the researcher. The prompt/challenge for December 1st is:

Did you have a real tree or was it artificial? How big was the tree? Who decorated the tree? What types of Christmas trees did your ancestors have?

For the most part, our families had real trees, that is until Man and I married. First few trees were real till I discovered that I broke out in mini-hives from the pricks of the needles of the trees and Son # 1 was diagnosed with some icky allergies. Thus began the beginning of artificial trees for Man and I.

I have photos of some of our trees, with presents piled around the trunk. One year I cross stitched uncounted decorations, which I still have and use. Several years I had a tree in every room of the house, YES, even the powder rooms, some rooms had more than one, each tree decorated specifically for the room it resided in.

I have photos of the twins helping gramma and grampa decorate our tree.

I even found a photo of my grandmother and her sister, Rena in front of a Christmas tree.

But, I think my most favorite and humorous story about a Christmas tree is about my mother and the tree that was, well, a bit bare, her Charlee Brown tree. I don’t remember the year, I don’t remember how old I was, but, I do remember the story. My mother did an outstanding job of decorating the home for the holidays. We lived in an older home, had some great character, oak built in book cases between the front room and the large dining room. She would put the tree in one of the corners of the front room next to those book cases. I have photos of it in both corners. The tree was real of course, and usually fairly tall.

One year the tree she chose so carefully, when brought in and carefully mounted in its tree stand (maybe a bucket of sand??), well, it was, dare we say it, “thin”. I am gonna guess it was a white pine type, but, I am not sure. Anyway, it had “holes” that made the tree, sadly “ugly”. My mother, the creative one, decided she could fix this little situation, and she did! She went out somewhere, cut some pine limbs, brought them home and nailed them to the tree, filing the “thin” spots. The way I remember it, she even had to tie this tree to the book cases. (Of course, that could be another year’s story, morphed into one as time eases on.)

Now, Mom would have pulled off her little creative tree trimming, except that a holiday guest who was quite well versed in tree attributes noted that there was no way this tree was au-natural. He commented that he had never seen a tree of this type with SOOOOO many limbs! Mom had been caught with her branches nailed!

This might be the Charlee Brown tree, my brother and I and lots of presents.
 

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Thanksgiving, A New Appreciation Gained by Family Research

Thanksgiving is a great holiday, good food and a day to reflect on our blessings.  Man and I and our family always celebrated, ate ourselves into the "over stuffed" condition and yes, we were thankful for what we had.

THEN, I started family research.  I was working on my Bowen lineage just before Thanksgiving one year when I discovered that my ninth great grandfather, Richard Bowen had a little chat in 1653 with none other than Captain Myles Standish.

Captain Myles Standish is commonly believed to have been quite involved in the first "Thanksgiving" dinner in 1621.  I will let you Google away and read all that the internet has to offer on Standish and the first dinner, most likely in reality, a Harvest Dinner. 

(Image of Myles Standish to the right was found at Wikipedia and is in the pubic domain in the United States.)

Now after your research and reading more than you probably wanted to know, lets get back to my interest/connection, Richard Bowen.  Source:  "The Mayflower Descendant: A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History, Volume XVII", 1915, Published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, Boston. This work can be found at GoogleBooks.  Here is the first paragraph, transcribed:

"Town of Rehoboth And The Purchasers
p. 112 Prence Govr.
Whereas the towne of Rehoboth the 28th of June 1653 Did Depute and Authorise Stephen Paine Richard Bowin Thomas Cooper and William Sabin as theire Deligates to treat and Conclude with Capt: Myles Standish Capt: Thomas Willett and Josias Winslow Concerning such lands and all other matters as are in Difference betwixt the towne of Rehoboth and the aforsaid Captaine Myles Standish Capt: Thomas Willett Josias Winslow and the rest; that are enterested in the said lands."

(Try this link, for the full octane version.)

There he is my 9th great grandfather, Richard Bowin, errr, Bowen, (remember, spelling don't count).  And he actually knew Myles Standish. 

Gotta say, once I saw this recorded document linking my Richard and Myles, I never could think about Thanksgiving in quite the same way.  Guess you could say I reacted just like a little kid, excited and running around doing a genie happy dance, snickering away, whispering to myself, "How cool is this??"   Amazing how a personal connection to history and our ancestors can enhance your view of historical events and celebrations.  Talk about "living history"!

Richard Bowen, my 9th great grandfather was born about 1590 reportedly in Wales, died in 1674 at Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, and is reportedly buried at the Newman Cemetery, now in Providence Rhode Island.

Happy Thanksgiving to Man, my entire family, and to my RVing, Blogging and Research friends. 

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My Three Favorite Veterans

Man

Veteran of Vietnam Era

Arthur Norman Stevens, Jr.

1919-1979

World War II Veteran

Donald Eugene Bowen, I

1926-1991

World War II Veteran

And a special thank you to ALL of our Veterans, for all they have given or will give. God Bless You All.

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Ancestor Birthday Celebrations, Florence Ruth Dews Bowen

Florence Ruth Dews was born November 7, 1904 in Kempsville, Princess Anne County, Virginia to William Henry Dews and Lorena Estelle Eley Norsworthy Dews.  (Both William and Lorena had been previously married and were widowed.)

Florence married Hayden Eugene Bowen on December 23, 1923 at South Mills, Camden County, North Carolina.  Florence worked for many years at Rice's Department Store in Norfolk, Virginia and eventually, Hayden and Florence opened their own little clothing store. First they opened Bowen's Sportswear in Great Bridge, Virginia and later opened Nags Head Sportswear in Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina.  Florence and the Nags Head Sportswear Store were the subject of  They Worked Hard for the Family, Bowen style.

Florence lived her life as an independent woman in a time that the norm was the housewife who was more interested in clean floors and wax build-up. She loved fashion and worked in retail sales most of her life. She had a "career" before it was fashionable or necessary for a woman to do so. When she was first married she had to keep that fact a secrete from her employer so that she could continue to work. She only revealed her marriage when she found herself pregnant and was forced to tell both her family and her employer.

Florence was also the subject of a post titled, Memory triggers - -snap goes the flea.

Florence died on January 8, 1996 in Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina and is buried at Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery, Norfolk, Virginia with her mother and several siblings.  Her Find A Grave memorial is here.

One of my favorite photos of Florence, my grandmother, in May of 1970 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, holding Son #1.

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Memory triggers - -snap goes the flea.

Funny how our minds work, something happens during the day, many times something very minor, and BAM, our memory banks are flooded. Happened here this AM.

My activity was the killing of one very small, almost minuscular bug. I mean, he was just a wisp. And, then he was no more. Sorry bug, but you are NOT welcome in my kitchen!

My next thought was of my grandmother Bowen and how she killed fleas. I could actually see her in my mind’s eye digging fleas off the family cat and taking her nail, to well, snap that nasty flea in two. She was relentless and she never flinched. Actually, I believe she took some delight in breaking them in half! She would chase those fleas around on the cat’s body, never giving up the chase till she got them and snap, you had to hear the snap, she informed me, or they would not be dead, as fleas are notoriously tough.

Then, my thought processes wandered around to how she lived in a different time, well before the Orkin man, eh?? I wondered, did they even have flea powder available from the local veterinarian?? Hmmm, something else to google sometime, the development of flea powder.

Anyway, in my little trip down memory lane, I guess I figured, if they did not have the flea powder or the Orkin man, then gramma B’s method of flea control was all she knew. May have been all she knew, but, she did it well! Snap!

I still don’t know why my mind jumped from my little wisp of a dead bug to gramma B’s snapping of fleas.

I am not even sure why I wrote this blog. Snapping fleas, ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Memory triggers, strange things, eh??

*Next memory trigger: Aunt Geneva who hated thistles with a passion, and she passed that hatred on to me. And believe me, they are harder to kill than those fleas ever were.
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How many ancestors did you "meet" ?

Well Randy Seaver is at it again, challenge time for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.

Here is your challenge for tonight (or whenever you read this):

1) Write down which of your ancestors that you have met in person (yes, even if you were too young to remember them).

2) Tell us their names, where they lived, and their relationship to you......

While compiling the list, I realized I had written blogs about most of these people, see links. Cept for Ida’s, hers is, well, maybe, sorta about her.

I have color coded the relationships, Blue for Father's lineage, Red for Mother's lineage.

Father: Donald Eugene Bowen, born Virginia, lived many years in Michigan, died in South Carolina.

Donald’s Father (my grandfather): Hayden Eugene Bowen, born Georgia, lived most of his live around Norfolk Virginia where he died.

Hayden’s Father (my great-grandfather): Joseph Eugene Bowen, born Georgia, lived many years in both Georgia and Virginia, died Georgia. I could have met him, we were both alive at the same time, with just a month or so overlap, I seriously doubt I ever met him. So, I won’t count him.

Donald’s Mother (my grandmother): Florence Ruth Dews Bowen, born Virginia, lived in Virginia and North Carolina, died in North Carolina.

Florence’s Mother (my great-grandmother): Lorena Estelle Eley Norsworthy Dews Harlow Lenahan Collins (ya still with me here???), born, lived and died in Virginia.

Mother’s Father (my grandfather): Leonard Homan Trumbo, born, lived and died in Virginia.

Mother’s Mother (my grandmother): Minnie Agnes Halterman Trumbo, lived most of her life in Virginia, moved to Florida where she died.

Minnie’s Father (my great-grandfather): David Halterman, born West Virginia, lived and died in Virginia

Minnie’s Mother (my great-grandmother): Ida Matilda Whitmer Halterman, born West Virginia, died Ohio.

How many of my ancestors did I meet, 8. Cannot count Joseph. I have written about 7 of these ancestors on my blog since April. Sorta, cause of Ida’s entry.

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Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Genealogy Scavenger Hunt!

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings comes up with some interesting challenges. Tonight it is a scavenger hunt.

Randy's challenge is in 2 parts:

1) Is there someone on your list of 16-great-great-grandparents that you don't have a census record for, and for which one should be available?

2) Tell us about it in your blog........While you're at it, give us a source citation for your census finding too

Ok Randy, this sounded good, as I have not done any significant research in well over a month. I did not participate in the 16 great greats, but, the assignment gave me a great excuse to stop everything else I was doing and RESEARCH!!!

So, I start looking at the list of the great greats, and what research chore I might have indicated on their individual to do list. Maybe I can delete some to do items from the data base, hmmm, that is always a very good thing!

Hezekiah Bowen, 1834-1908, to do list shows I am curious about some Emanuel County Georgia Land records. Hmmmm, lets skip that for the moment.

Martha Sikes, no to do items.

William H. Remley, to do list says, find maps for enumeration areas of Colleton County South Carolina. I want to see if I can figure out where in the county he lived. I love maps. But, lets skip that for the moment too.

Mariah Grant, no to do items.

Edward Dews, 1830 census and some more land records from Princess Anne County Virginia this time. I decide I am not ready to tackle the 1830 with all those tick marks, gonna skip the land records.

Martha Dews (his wife, maiden name unknown), no to do items. Ditto for Solomon Benjamin Eley, Sarah Anne Darden, Zachariah Z. Trumbo or Catherine (Kate) Dove.

Peter Preston Holsinger, Rockingham County Virginia. Oh, yea, here is some census work that needs doing. 1860, oooohhh, realize he is still enumerated in his father’s household, so get to take that off the to do list. Also need the 1900 census. This is when the bottom fell out, so to speak. Had NO trouble locating Peter, but, did have a bucket load of trouble trying to print from Ancestry. I still don’t know if it is my computer or Ancestry. My frustration level jumped through the roof and I decided that the dogs needed grooming more than I needed to deal with Ancestry, my computer and my printer or this challenge. So, I went and groomed. One dog looks a lot better, but I can guarantee, he was not happy with Ancestry, the computer or printer either!

Hour or so later, I returned to the torture chamber of Ancestry and census. Next on my list of 16 great greats was Mary A. Kessler, nothing indicated, ditto for Daniel Halterman and his bride Barbara Delawder, so I skipped on to Sellestine Whitmer.

I needed just about all census reports for Sellestine. In 1860 he is still enumerated with his father. I discovered I did not have the 1860, so, mucked around, figured out a substandard method of printing and filled in the blanks and eliminated another to do item. (The bonus of looking for Sellestine in 1860 is that I got his father’s report, but, I also found on the same page data for Philip Delawder, including 2 additional children not on the data base, correction of birth year on another of his children, birth year and place for his wife.) I hunted down the 1870 census for Sellestine, no surprises there, and again made a substandard printout of the report for my files.

At this point, it is late, I am tired, I am short of temper with printer, computer and Ancestry and the rest of this challenge will have to wait. I still need to locate for Sellestine the 1880, 1900 and 1910 census reports.

That leaves great great number 16, Sarah Bayse, but she has no to do items attached to her.

Yes, Randy, I source. But, I am going to skip this portion of the challenge for now. My views on sourcing may make the purists cringe. I have talked about sourcing* a few times already on my blog, and I know I will again in the future, so stay tuned.

Evening was not quite “Fun”, but it was interesting, and I did find 3 census reports, deleted several to do items from the data base and added some goodies to Philip Delawder’s family, even tho he is not a great great.

Now, I have to find a way to ask Man to have a lookie see at the computer set up and see if the difficulties are on my end.

* See Sourcing? anyone really sourcing?
Sourcing? anyone really sourcing? Post Script
Exact Science - - You’re Kidding, Right??

They Worked Hard for the Family, Bowen style

If you read yesterday's blog you will know I wrote about the Trumbo Foundry and the copyright situation surrounding the photo of it. What with that little problem, I had decided I would pass on this Carnival, but then, I remembered my grandmother Bowen and the store! I wrote this blog and stored it for a few days, then received permission to use the Trumbo Foundry photos. I could not wait to write and publish the Trumbo Foundry Blog. However, since I had already prepared this blog, I am going to publish it.

So, as a reminder, here is the assignment, in part:

"The professions of our ancestors are almost as interesting as the people themselves. Some of our ancestors worked very hard; they took in laundry, worked the land, raised many children, or went to school and became professionals. Photographs of them working are called occupational photographs and are rather hard to find."

Florence Bowen was the owner of Nags Head Sportswear, Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina. Florence had worked in women's clothing for years, starting before her marriage in 1923. She worked for Rice's in Norfolk, Virginia, where she was a buyer. She and Hayden, her husband, had owned Bowens Sportswear in Great Bridge, Virginia.

Here is Florence inside Nags Head Sportswear.

If you live along the Atlantic, and on the Outer Banks specifically, you live with the threat of hurricanes. Florence lived and worked there before and after the Ash Wednesday Storm. This storm hit March 7, 1962. David Stick wrote and published the work, "The Ash Wednesday Storm", 1987. The book is filled with photos and stories of this storm which caused more than $234 million dollars of damage. On page 42 of this work, David wrote about Florence and her store:

"Florence Bowen sat by a window, looking out at her Sportswear Shop, engulfed by a flood. Then, suddenly, she saw smoke coming out of the shop, and for something like three hours all they could do was sit there and watch as the Nags Head Sportswear Shop, looking like an oasis in a salt-water sea, slowly burned down to the water's edge."

She worked at the Galleon in Nags Head for many years after the loss of Nags Head Sportswear. Customers would drive from Norfolk to Nags Head (about 80 miles one way) to have Florence assist them in their wardrobe picks each year. Many said, no one could "dress" them the way Florence did.

Florence worked hard, and lost much. She never rebuilt or opened another store.

*I have photos of the Great Bridge store with Hayden and Florence standing out in front, several more photos of the Nags Head Sportwear Shop (inside and out), a business advertisement for the Nags Head Store, and an advertisement for the Rice Department Store in Norfolk.
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Letter from Dad, in rememberance

Happy Birthday Dad, it would have been number 83. WOW.

My Dad was, well, interesting! He was, eccentric, professed to fully believe in the phrase, "He Who Dies With the Most Toys, Wins". Goodness he even had a plaque on his desk stating same.

He taught me ethics and manners, he was a child of the South, those things were important.

Dad wrote letters now and then, I have a few, very few, I think they told us a lot about him. He did not write and say, I'll be along for a visit next month, no, he wrote letters like this one, addressed to Man, Brother, Brother's Wife, and Moi, 1985. I have changed the names out to the above monikers.

"Moi, Man, Brother, Brother's Wife:
Now have the MOONEY running real good. This has caused money to run real bad. Is there no happy medium?
To Moi.: I believe you have missed a calling. How much does the camping club pay you?
To Man: Keep shirt on. Non compis mentis. (Don't let the Bastards get you down.)
To Brother's Wife: Are you certain you know what the hell you are doing?
To Brother: Whoever is responsible for the computer program that graphics the best wishes has a winner. Is there a program available for the I.B.M.? If so I would like to get one.
To the diligent parents: Emulate me. Avenge Yourself. Live long enough to be a problem to your children.
To the children: Remember that old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill.
I expect to try and bust out of town for a short visit to Michigan sometime in July. Having difficulty finding adequate co-pilot that conforms to other parameters. The plane trims better with the right chair properly balanced.
Connie quit. Except for 2 days per month. She is in love. You may have deduced. I am typing this. Bought a new program named TYPEWRITER. And to make things worse I don't really know how to make PFS WRITE percolate yet. Oh well.
Do not want Michigan co-pilot. Red neck controllers do not understand them because they talk funny on the radio.
See ya all in the spring.
Love,
Dad"

Dad and the Mooney:



Dad's memorial at Find A Grave is here.

Happy Birthday Dad, I miss getting those letters.