Sunday, December 22, 2013

Blog Caroling ~ Sing We Noel


Not much brings me out of my blogging hibernation, but I cannot resist the chance to sing the music of Christmas with friends. Footnote Maven has again invited us to share our favorite carol. I was challenged this year to find the one I most wanted to share, a traditional French carol that opened every Candlelight Concert at Staples High School when I was growing up. This year was the 73rd concert, and for the 73rd time the high school choirs entered the darkened theater carrying candles and singing Sing We Noel. I wish I could have been there. 

This is not the popular Noel Nouvelet (another favorite) that begins "Sing we now of Christmas", but a choral anthem arranged by H. B. Gaul in the early 20th c. It is more solemn and deliberate, a song that brings quiet to the noisy days of preparation. And it does, of course, remind me of the Christmases when I was young, celebrating first as a wide-eyed child and later as a proud choir member. Christmases before Santa and I became fast friends and co-conspirators. 

I was startled at how out of favor Gaul's arrangement is. Google delivered little more than posts by former Staples choristers mourning the lack of YouTube videos or readily found lyrics. YouTube is flooded with cheery versions of Noel Nouvelet. I was finally able to find references using Bing (a new experience for me since I am not actively researching right now) and to hear a lovely version on Spotify (you must have Spotify installed and an account to listen). Eventually (50 or 60 versions in) I did find a video of a Deland High School (FL) choir performing my chosen Sing We Noel. They are good, but not quite as good as the anthem of my memory. 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Moses and Sarah, bought and sold by Joseph Duncan ~ A Friend of Friends Friday

I recently spent a couple days at the library in Jonesborough, TN reviewing some of their microfilm records. I was startled to find two bills of sale recorded at the same November 1810 Session that involved a Joseph Duncan buying and selling two slaves. Duncan (either the Joseph born in 1751 or his son, Joseph, born 1788) purchased a man, Moses, and and woman, Sarah, in November 1809 and sold them two months later to Elias Bowman. The Duncans were closely associated with the Allison family, though I do not have Frank Allison listed in my database. Joseph the younger was married to Polly Allison, a daughter of Robert Allison.  

It is not a surprise the Duncans owned slaves. They appear in census records as slave holders. But they also signed a petition around the same time as these sales asking the State Legislature to abolish or reform the slave laws. Here they appear more as slave traders. 



November Sessions 1810

A Bill of Sale from Joseph Duncan to Elias Bowman for a Negro man named Moses and a Negro woman named Sarah, dated the 22d day of January 1810  Acknowledged in open court by Joseph Duncan & recorded            50  





November Sessions 1810

A Bill of Sale from Frank Allison to Joseph Duncan for two negroes a man named Moses and a woman named Sarah, dated 23 day of November 1809  Acknowledged in open court by Frank Allison & recorded          


Sources
      Washington, Tennessee, Quarterly Court Minute Books Minute Feb 1809-Jan 1826: 90, Joseph Duncan Bill of Sale, 22 Jan 1810; Washington County Library Roll No. 130_Washington. 

      Washington, Tennessee, Quarterly Court Minute Books Minute Feb 1809-Jan 1826: 93, Frank Allison Bill of Sale, 23 Nov 1809; Washington County Library Roll No. 130_Washington. 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Henry's Store ~ Wordless Wednesday


Once again I am digging into the photographs from Grandma Bonnel's photo album. This photo is captioned "Henry Whitaker's store at Lancaster, __".  Whitaker was Eva Bonnel's father-in-law. He purchased the store in 1882. The photo was damaged and faded, making it a challenge to date. Whitaker died in1902 so I believe the photograph is late 19th century. 

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with the Nolichucky River

Randy Seaver is one of the few geneafolks who can get me back to blogging, if only briefly. His SNGF posts are always entertaining, but this one, using the extraordinary interactive Streamer map from the U.S. Department of the Interior, is irresistible for Nolichucky Roots.

Nolichucky River in East Tennessee

My mother's family lived along the Nolichucky River in East Tennessee for more than 200 years so  they did not follow the river downstream to live other spots. But they certainly traveled on it. My great-grandmother ran the Conway Ferry (near the west edge of this map) as a girl. My Hampton and Mulkey ancestors settled along the river or up Limestone Creek in the 1780s and certainly used the river to travel through the area.

I used the "trace downstream" feature to see where the Nolichucky flows. The map shows it flowing into the French Broad River, the Tennessee River and then to the Mississippi.

Nolichucky River traced downstream to mouth of the Mississippi River.

Many Conway and Killian cousins migrated from Greene and Cocke Counties to Arkansas and Missouri in the early 19th century. It is easy to see a water migration path for those who moved to Arkansas. A little less easy to see a path for the Missouri settlers though they may have landed at the boot heel and moved inland from there. However...

The establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933 and the subsequent dam building changed the waterways of Tennessee to such a degree that this map does not fairly represent the waterways my ancestors or cousins would have traveled. The Tennessee River was notoriously challenging to navigate due to the rapids, shoals and hostile Chickamaugans controlling its banks. Many of the family members leaving East Tennessee for points west went by land through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. From there some may have used the Cumberland River to travel west. More research needed, but in the meantime I am having a wonderful time exploring the Nolichucky and Tennessee watersheds.



Sunday, July 7, 2013

Stanley & Mary in Wyoming

I love this photograph of my husband's grandparents. It was new to both of us when we saw it in Grandma Bonnel's album. Mary Whitaker moved to Wyoming after high school and taught school on the Wind River Indian Reservation outside Lander. She met Stanley Clark there. This photo from the early 1920s was most likely taken in Fremont County, either at the school or at one of the Clark family homes. There were lots of them. Stanley's mother called her children The Wild Bunch. 

That grin of Stanley's was perpetual. If you see a bit of mischief there, that was perpetual, as well.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Blackwell, Oklahoma ~ Wordless Wednesday


Another photo from Grandma Bonnel's album. It appears near the front of the album opposite photos of her children (who as far as I know never lived in Oklahoma). One of her brothers did move to Oklahoma, so perhaps he sent this home or they went visiting. 

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Whitaker Boys ~ Sibling Saturday

Frank, John, Artie, Joe, Harry and Lyman Whitaker
(Top row) Frank, John, Artie (Front row) Joe, Harry, Lyman

I have heard my husband speak of a photograph of his Whitaker great-grandfather and brothers that he saw as a child; one that reminded him of the James Gang. Definitely a child's perspective. Not a whiff of a rumor of outlaw behavior in this crew of merchants, farmers and bankers. Still, his eyes lit up when he saw this photo again in Grandma Bonnel's photo album, some 50 years after first seeing it. 

The boys are the sons (there were daughters, too) of Henry L. Whitaker and Harriet Merriam. The cardboard frame is stamped "M. W. Rudolph, ATCHISON, KANSAS" and the names are handwritten on the frame. Artie (Arthur S. Whitaker or Stephen A. Whitaker), standing at the right, was the youngest brother, born in 1876. Lyman, seated in front on the right, was the eldest brother, born in 1858. I estimate the date of the photograph to be in the very late 19th or first decade of the 20th century. 

Friday, June 28, 2013

The Great-Greats: Grandma who?

Harriet (or Irene) Merriam Whitaker. 1837 - 1910

The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph is believed to be of Grandma Bonnel's mother-in-law. It is captioned "Irene Whitaker (Joe's mother). This caption, however, conflicts will all other known information about the wife of Henry L. Whitaker including the marriage license, grave marker and all census references. She is consistently referred to as Harriet or Harriet E. Merriam. I do not know who wrote the caption, but have to assume it was not Grandma Bonnel, who would have presumably known her mother-in-law well enough to be clear on her name. Perhaps Irene was a nickname? Or perhaps whoever wrote the captions was simply wrong. While the Bonnel family captions have been consistently accurate when compared to other sources, there are errors in at least two of the Whitaker family captions. Given that Eva Bonnel Whitaker had separated from or divorced her husband, whoever wrote the captions may have had less familiarity with the Whitaker side of the family.

The image is of a young woman in what appears to my untrained eye Civil War era clothing. 

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Great-Greats: Henry Lyman Whitaker

Henry L. Whitaker, 1838 - 1902

The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph is of a very young Henry Lyman Whitaker, Grandma Bonnel's father-in-law. On the back, in addition to a handwritten caption identifying him, is a fading stamp reading "A. R. TREAT, Photographer, ATCHISON, KANSAS, ____ Street". I cannot make out the street name.

I am quite taken with Grandpa Henry's curls and expressive eyes, traits I see in his descendents today.

Monday, June 24, 2013

The Great-Greats: Mary Catherine Shouse Bonnel

Mollie Bonnel (Mary Catherine Shouse), 1841-1903
The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph of Eva Bonnel's mother is in need of digital restoration. Sorely in need of digital restoration! Fortunately her face is clear, but the background needs to be cleaned up and the fingerprints removed. She appears to be in her late thirties or forties, which would date the image to the late 1870s or 1880s. The caption on the back of the portrait gives her name as Mollie Bonnel, which is the first time I have seen her referred to by a nickname. 

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Taking Aim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/5375080029/sizes/l/in/photolist-9bYG2B-7XoPqC-7Xp4TU-do5ipn-7XkQcR-7XkApa-ehuxB1-eFFxkG-aixZQC-edyV5e-edyUYv-edyUhK-edEzZY-edEz8Q-edEzjL-edEAjj-edEyY7-7JwXQA-c4mj7q-aBQ6cR-9oxmyX-7XpgAo-9c2Lv3-7XkGtB-7XkkZH-7Xkndc-do5qN7-do5irT-7XoBX9-7XoBY3-7Xj44X-7ZkQV9-7ZqxiL-cyk9VC-cyka9N-7XkApt-9Pvt3K-8adCox-8ahEUa-edEyPU-cyf2Wf-dNLGuD-8ajU4p-8kvoBZ-9S8uN5-9bKiDM-9wE6Dg-bEMVHp-e8a4Gd/
From the Library of Congress
I have been on Geneablogger auto-pilot for many, many months. Years, even.

But the lovely sharing of her grandmother's photo album by my husband's aunt last month, inspired me to at least pay it forward and share the family photos she let me copy. Grandma Bonnel's photo album is slowly going public. Simple posts. Not much research involved, but it has gotten me back into devoting some time to family history. And doing some very light blog reading. I miss having the time to devote an hour, often more, to reading and examining what other Geneabloggers are producing.

Those posts I have read provoked deep, deep thoughts while editing and shooting Grandma Bonnel's photos into the world. Contemplating my navel, as my father calls it. James Tanner had me in a bit of a snit with his post Time Constraints. Frankly, I agree with most of his points. But Tanner, who seems to operate as a blogger provocateur, did prompt a defensive reaction with his call to action,
"Let's jointly craft museum quality research rather than throw-away, disposable research that will have to be redone in the future by someone else (like me)."
Whatever I am doing here, it ain't museum quality research. I don't have as much constrained time, nor am I as disciplined, as he. And I regret that. That knowledge prompts my educational wish-list (another contemplating my navel blog post). Much of which falls by the wayside when those darling living folks I am related to worm their way back into my consciousness.

An aside to ward off howls from my kin. I adore my family and am blessed to be closely connected to many of them. They are not in any way burdensome. But my brain has a limited capacity. When I am enjoying them, I am not researching, scanning or producing anything worth preserving. Beyond memories.

Saturday I read a post by one of my Hungarian researcher blogger buddies, Zen & the Art of Genealogical Maintenance. Magda took a hard look at her own work and came to three conclusions.
"1 ) Less is more
 2 ) Don't be a genealogical hoarder
 3) Keep it simple."
I'll never be a minimalist anything. But her second and third conclusions resonated with me. And reminded me of why I began blogging and why I returned. I love research. I've done some pretty good bits over the years and am proud of them. But my genealogical mission is not research.

My mission is examining, culling and then sharing the thousands of photographs, letters, documents and earlier research that I have inherited. I have made no attempt to truly research each family. I have had hundreds of families handed down to me. Others will have to do that. I am sharing the research I have been given, after validating it as best I can using online resources. I am scanning and sharing photographs and documents that do not appear to be available elsewhere. That's it. Someone else will have to take the material and turn it into genealogical art. I hope they do. I just want to get it out "there".

Ready. Aim. Fire.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

The Great-Greats: Charles F. Bonnel


Charles F. Bonnel, 1833 - 1919

The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph of her father, Charles Bonnel, is undated, but appears to have been taken fairly late in his long life. It is the clearest of the photographs and in the best condition. A treasure! 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

High School Class ~ Almost Wordless Wednesday

Mary Whitaker's high school class.
Whitaker is standing in the front row on the right.















Grandma Bonnel's photo album includes this picture of her daughter's high school graduating class. Mary Whitaker was born in 1901. The family story is that she graduated high school at 16 and moved to Wyoming to teach on the Wind River Indian Reservation. That would date this photograph at about 1917. The clothing seems winterish, so I doubt this was an actual May or June graduation photograph, but the caption on the back does indicate it is her graduating class. I have not confirmed her graduation date, nor the name of her high school near Effingham, KS, but by 1920 she was enumerated in Fremont County, WY as a 19 year old teacher in a rural school. 

Sources

Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994. The album was examined and photographed May 24, 2013 and permission was given to publish photographs.  

1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Wyoming, Fremont, Election District 8, enumeration district (ED) 57, p. 5B, dwelling 103, family 114, Mary Whiteaker; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jun 2013); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 2026.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Bonnel Family ~ Tombstone Tuesday

Last summer I visited the rural Noffsinger Cemetery (as in cows across the dirt road) in Atchison County, KS where my husband's Bonnel great-great grandparents are buried. Their grave is marked with a modern stone that obviously replaced the early 20th c. stone or stones. Next to the modern stone are four old and mostly illegible stones that are likely marking the graves of the four children whose names are engraved on the side of the modern Bonnel grave marker.

Bonnel graves in Noffsinger Cemetery near Effingham, Atchison, KS.

BONNEL
Charles F. Bonnel
1833 - 1919
His Wife
Mary C. Shouse
1841 - 1903

William F.
1866 - 1866
Margaret C.
1863 - 1872
Thomas B.
1880 - 1880
Myrtle E.
1886 - 1893
Children of C.F. & M.C. Bonnel

Friday, June 14, 2013

Eva Bonnel Whitaker ~ Funeral Card Friday


Grandma Bonnel's funeral card was slipped into her album after her death. She had moved to Benkelman from Atchison County, KS to be cared for by her daughter.


Sources


Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994.
The album was examined and photographed May 24, 2013 and permission was given to publish photographs.  

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

One More Bonnel Sibling - Wordless Wednesday

The last photograph of Grandma Bonnel's sisters and brothers is of her younger sister Katie and husband John W. Henry. 

Sources


Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994.
The album was examined and photographed May 24, 2013 and permission was given to publish photographs.  

Friday, June 7, 2013

Big (brother) Ben Bonnel

My apologies. I couldn't resist a little alliteration. Grandma Bonnel's photo album included two superb photographs of her eldest brother Ben and his family. Benjamin Edward Bonnel (1862-1926) was the second of Charles and Mollie Bonnel's 16 children. He was born in Platte County, MO, but the family moved soon after his birth to Atchison County, KS. He married Mary Catherine Best in 1885 and had eight children.

This first photo appears to have been taken while Ben and his wife Kate were traveling. Ben is holding an umbrella, Kate is seated in a cart hitched to an elegant looking goat. Both are garbed in summer dress. I am guessing the photograph was taken in the early 20th c., before the first World War. I have no idea where they might be. Any suggestions?
Ben Bonnel, oldest son of Charles Bonnel, and wife, Kate.

The second photo is a four generation portrait of Kate Best Bonnel, her daughter, Grace, mother Malinda Bricker Best and an unidentified granddaughter. The photograph had to have been taken before Malinda Best's death in 1917. 

Ben Bonnel's family. (clockwise from top left) Daughter Grace, wife Kate, wife's mother, granddaughter

Sources


Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994.
The album was examined and photographed May 24, 2013 and permission was given to publish photographs.  

Sheffield Ingalls, History of Atchison County, Kansas (Lawrence, KS: Standard Publishing Company, 1916), 380. Biographical sketch of Aaron S. Best.






Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Clingan School, Atchison County, KS - Wordless Wednesday


No one is identified in this undated photograph labeled Clinghan School. A Google search points out an historical Clingan School southeast of Effingham, and near to the Bonnel's home. The young dark haired woman sitting the the middle may be Eva Bonnel. 

Is this Eva?
 She certainly bears a strong resemblance to this portrait of Eva Bonnel Whitaker.
Joe Whitaker and Eva Bonnel Whitaker

Sources
Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994.


Monday, June 3, 2013

The Bonnel Siblings

These two undated photographs of seven Bonnel brothers and sisters are from Grandma Bonnel's (Eva Whitaker) photo album. The names are written on the back of both photographs (blessings be on she who wrote those captions). Henry died in 1951, so the photos were most likely taken in the late 1940s or 1950 and most likely at the Atchison County, KS home of one of the siblings. Laura and Josie had moved to Southern California and must have been home visiting. Looking at the clothing they are wearing it is possible the occasion was the funeral of Kate Henry's husband, John, who is reported to have died in September, 1946.

Henry Bonnel, Eva Whitaker, Kate Henry, Laura Butler, Ida Beech, Josie Pittman and John Bonnel

Eva Whitaker, Josie Pittman, Henry Bonnel, Ida Beech, John Bonnel, Laura Butler and Kate Henry
One more Bonnel sister was still alive at the time, the eldest, Mary Ettie Bonnel Freeland. She died in 1952 and is buried in Kingman County, KS.

Sources
Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

The Bonnel Homeplace

Bonnel Family, undated

This tintype is one of the images in Grandma Bonnel's Photo Album. It is labeled "Bonnel Family" and is presumably the parents, and some of the brothers and sisters of Eva Bonnel Whitaker. The family moved to Kansas from Platte County, Missouri around the time of the Civil War, settling near Effingham in Atchison County.

In the 1900 census Charles and Mary Catherine (Mollie) Bonnel had their four youngest surviving children living at home, Charles (aged 22), John (aged 20), Henry (aged 18) and Laura (aged 16). The same children are the only ones shown in the household in the 1895 Kansas State Census. The 1900 Census states that Mary C. Bonnel bore 16 children, 12 of whom survived. My research indicates there were eight surviving daughters and four surviving sons. The four who died as children and are buried with their parents at Noffsinger Cemetery in Atchison County.

Though undated, I believe the photo was taken about 1894 at the family home. Only one young girl appears in the tintype. Their youngest daughter Myrtle died in 1893, so I am assuming Laura, born about 1884, is the girl and that the picture was taken after Myrtle's death. By 1895 their oldest son and seven older daughters were all married, leaving only the four children named in the 1895 census at home. The older girls in the picture are probably daughters Josie (born about 1874) and Kate (born in 1876) who married in late 1894 or 1895.

Sources
Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994.

"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMT9-Z3X : accessed 31 May 2013), Mary ? Bonnel in entry for C F Bonnel, 1900.

Blue Skyways, Kansas GenWeb, "1895 Census Atchison County," database, The KSGenWeb Project (http://www.skyways.org/genweb/ : accessed 30 May 2013), Bonnell, C. household 164; citing Center Township census, page 22. 

Friday, May 31, 2013

Mary and Harry Whitaker, Childhood Photos

Grandma Bonnel's photo album includes several photographs of her young children, Harry Allen Whitaker (born 21 Nov 1893) and Mary Irene Whitaker (born 23 May 1901). The first photo is of Harry as a young boy, still with ringlets, posed with his youngest maternal aunt, Laura Bonnel (b. 1884).
Laura Bonnel and Harry Whitaker, c. 1896
Next is a baby picture of Mary, taken in late 1901 or early 1902. She, her brother and Aunt Laura have those big Bonnel eyes. Photos of Laura in old age look so like Mary that we were more than a little confused telling them apart.
Mary Irene Whitaker, c. 1901
Finally Mary posed with Harry about 1903.
Mary and Harry Whitaker, c. 1903
There are no other childhood photos of the two in the album. The next photo of Mary is at her high school graduation. 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Joe & Eva Whitaker of Atchison & Jefferson Counties, KS

The first pictures in my husband's great-grandmother's photo album are of his great-grandmother and her husband.



Joe Whitaker was born 22 Dec. 1866 in Atchison County, KS. He died 25 June 1948 in Nortonville, Jefferson, KS and was buried in Nortonville Cemetery, Nortonville, Jefferson, KS. He was one of nine children born to Henry Lyman Whitaker and Harriet Merriam. 



Eva Bonnel was born 12 Feb. 1869 in Center, Atchison, KS to Charles Frederick Bonnel and Mary Catherine (Mollie) Shouse. She was one of sixteen children. Eva died 27 Feb. 1963 in Benkelman, Dundy, NE and was buried in Benkelman Cemetery, Benkelman, Dundy, NE. 

Joe & Eva Whitaker, undated.

Eva and Joe were married 24 Dec. 1888 in Atchison County, KS. They had two surviving children. Harry Allen Whitaker was born 21 Nov. 1893 in Pardee, Atchison County, KS. Mary Irene Whitaker was born 23 May 1901 in Effingham, Atchison, KS. The couple separated and may have divorced once their children were grown. Though no mention has been made in the family of a legal divorce, Eva was listed in the 1920 census as divorced. Joe has not been found, but their children had moved out and were living independently. In both the 1930 and 1940 census Joe and Eva were listed as widowed and enumerated in separate households in the small town of Nortonville. Both lived on Main Street. 

Eva Whitaker, "Grandma Bonnel"  c. 1960. 

Joe Whitaker with his eldest great-grandchild  in 1943.


Sources

Whitaker, Eva Bonnel. Bonnel Photo Album. c. 1885 - 1960. Privately held by granddaughter of E. B. Whitaker, McCook, NE. 1994. 


"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MF6F-ZML : accessed 29 May 2013), Eva Whitaker, 1920.

"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X7QH-91R : accessed 29 May 2013), Eva Whittaker, 1930.

"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X7QH-9PZ : accessed 29 May 2013), Joe Whittaker, 1930.

"United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VRKC-LP5 : accessed 28 May 2013), Eva Whitaker, Nortonville, Norton Township, Jefferson, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 44-9, sheet 4A, family 85, NARA digital publication T627, roll 1236.


"United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VRKC-B6T : accessed 28 May 2013), Joseph Whitaker, Nortonville, Norton Township, Jefferson, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 44-9, sheet 6B, family 151, NARA digital publication T627, roll 1236.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Westward Ho!

I am temporarily changing directions at Nolichucky Roots. Or expanding my compass. This blog is named for the East Tennessee river my mother's family lived by for generations. I have also written about the Carpatho-Rusyn roots of my father's family and the Tidewater roots of my mother-in-law.

My father-in-law's family has been neglected. Certainly not in research! They have been a fascinating bunch to trace. While the other three lines have strong ties to particular geographic areas, his lines are distinguished by few ties to any location. Over the 19th & 20th centuries they moved. And moved. And moved. I call his family the Westward Roots, for the only constant has been the direction of their migrations. 

Other family members have, however, done good research, and with little new or original to share, and no photographs to illustrate the stories, I set them aside. No more. My husband's aunt recently showed me her grandmother, Eva Bonnel Whitaker's (12 Feb. 1869 -  27 Feb. 1963) photo album. 

Grandma Bonnel's photo album

Eva had photographs of her parents and grandparents, of family businesses, her children, brothers and sisters. I shall be sharing them here with her granddaughter's permission. It is a thrill to be able to do so, and a whole new world. We shall be in Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.