Blasts from the Past - Tuesday's Tip

I've been on a newspaper binge since revisiting Old Fulton NY Postcards over the weekend while playing with Caroline Pointer's too addictive 48 Hour Genealogy Ephemera Challenge (seriously fun, by the way). One thing led to another and four days later I'm still obsessed with the Binghamton Press of the 1920's, 30's and 40's.

I found an article about the citizenship course my grandfather was taking on the same page as three stories about the repeal of Prohibition. Another article about a cousin's junior high graduation below a story about the Lindbergh kidnapping. Talk about historical context!

The best part, however, has been sharing some of the articles with my senior relatives. I'm blessed that my father, uncle and aunt who were growing up during those days are tech savy. I've emailed them copies of articles and been delighted with their responses. Phone calls, lengthy emails, quick thumbs ups and thank yous have been coming in. They have shared memories - or the lack thereof - sparked by virtual clippings of property transfers, school performances, wedding announcements or church dances. And they're asking for more! It's been a grand way to spark dialog.

So, today's tip - act as a virtual clipping service for your relatives. Don't inundate them - one or two a week is more than enough. You may learn far more than you imagined!

Photo Credit:  Some rights reserved by ancient history

Status updates from the past or how Grandmother beat Zuckerberg to the punch

I've just realized that my grandmother was way, way ahead of her time. Were she living today she'd be one of Facebook's biggest fans. Mark me with a little gobsmacked emoticon. She always seemed pretty Victorian to me. But no...

I was looking for articles about my grandfather for a short biographical sketch. While checking east Tennessee newspapers for baseball stories or clothing ads (found both) I found a clipping about my mother in the Kingsport News announcing her hiring as a science teacher at Rogersville High School. I knew she'd taught there briefly, always maintaining that even that brief stint had been punishment enough for the students.

Ever thorough, I decided to do a quick check to see if there were any other mentions of her. I should have known. She was, after all, from the same family that announced a 12 year old's birthday party in the local paper. Let it be clear that Mother was not sending out monthly press releases of her activities. That honor belonged to her mother, Iva Williams Sawyer.

I found this ...

And then the earth shaking news she spent Christmas at home...

Her students likely went into mourning...

I'm certain she was thrilled to have her bout with mono published...

Then there was this...

She was a jetsetter (prop setter more likely)..

And finally, this...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mother did not return to Rogersville in the fall and vanished from the pages of the Kingsport Times & Times News. I suspect, however, were I to review the Morristown papers she was featured there on a regular basis until she escaped to Washington, DC. Anonymity must have been bliss.

I ought, I'm sure, to be proud that Iva was so forward thinking. Privacy, shmivacy - the social network reigned supreme. Move over Zuckerberg. Iva was there first.



Sources:

Ancestry.com. The Kingsport Times (Kingsport, Tennessee) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.

Original data: The Kingsport Times. Kingsport, TN, USA. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.

Ancestry.com. Kingsport Times News (Kingsport, Tennessee) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Kingsport Times News. Kingsport, Tennessee, United States Of America. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.

Swapping tales

Like many families we assembled a scrapbook for my grandparents Bob and Iva Williams Sawyer's 50th wedding anniversary celebration in 1975. I have posted some photographs and a newspaper clipping from the scrapbook recently and will be posting more.

Bob and Iva Williams Sawyer

Most of the letters and notes included in the book are full of the warm memories, love and congratulations due a couple celebrating such a milestone. But my grandfather's niece by marriage, Connie Haun, included a couple of the stories that we knew so well and always associated with a Sawyer gathering.

The Sawyers and my grandfather, in particular, were a garrulous bunch given to to laughter, teasing and many, many stories. He loved to tell tales on himself, and provided ample fodder over the years for those tales. Those small, silly stories are as much a part of my grandfather as any other trait. They don't come through in the pictures or the dates and facts in my database.

Here are Connie's stories.

One night, years ago, Bob had retired a little early probably due to overexertion and Iva went to bed at her usual time; after a few hours had elapsed, Iva thought she heard Bob talking in his sleep so she punched him and said, "Bob, Bob you are talking in your sleep - just saying everything. He responded with a grunting "no, no" and slept on! Minutes later Iva retorted: "yes, Bob, you are too."

"Whats my name?" she inquired emphatically.

"Mud," replied Bob and turned over!

It's true! To be read on Sept. 27, 1975 by family!!

Years ago, Bob and Bill Carver drove over to Cincinnati to attend a ball game.

The next week when the "gang" got together to swap tales, Blair Reams inquired about the trip with the following question before the whole group.

"Bill did you have a good time on your recent trip?"

Bill Carver replied, 

",Yes, I got to say un-huh," when we got back to Bean Station."

Note:  Bob and Iva's 50th wedding anniversary was 1 October 1975 but the family celebrated on Saturday night, 27 September 1975.

Amanuensis Monday: Twenty-Five Years A Priest

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This article is from the Morning Star and Catholic Messenger (New Orleans), Sunday, Sept. 8th, 1878 issue, and was found through the Chronicling America project of the Library of Congress.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS A PRIEST.

_______

St. Louis Watchman

On the 22nd August, Rev. W. V. Meredith, C. SS. R., celebrated the silver jubilee of his priestly ordination. Father Meredith is pastor of St. Alphonsus' church in St. Louis, and superior of the religious community attached thereto, positions he has occupied uninterruptedly almost since the advent of the Redemptorists into St. Louis. The occasion was one of joy to the large congregation worshiping in the Rock Church, and was the subject of a special celebration by the members of the Holy Family of which he is spiritual director. The latter presented with a neat and feeling address.

Father Meredith is an American by birth, and, we believe, a convert to our holy faith. During the whole course of his ministry he has been a faithful and devoted priest, and an honored member of the Redemptorist order. Personally he is the most affable and most considerate of men, a kind father to his community, a wise counsellor to his people and a devoted friend to the poor. He is a man with whom it is impossible to be in antagonism long. He sways the minds of men by mildness, or subdues them by a bluff honesty in which there is no element of hauteur or anger. There is not a more popular clergyman in the whole city than Father Meredith.

It is principally to the community over which he presides, that his worth is made manifest in all its fullness. Religious communities, not being subject to the control of bishops, are dependent for guidance upon those within their own bodies to whom God has granted the rare gift of administrative wisdom and foresight. Young religious priests need constant curbing. Fed for years on the highly-seasoned and rich pabulum of the tyrocinium, they come to to the work of the ministry with the fiery spirit of untamed zeal. They are "sons of thunder" and like the "Son of Thunder" among the apostles,are liable to rush headlong where wisdom bids them pick their steps. The Jesuits have an admirable method of disciplining their recruits, and, as a result, one of them seldom raises an issue which the whole order throughout the world is not ready to sustain. Young priests, with more courage than prudence, are, among them, taught now and then to pluck a few feathers from the wings of their zeal and insert them in the tail of their discretion. The Redemptorist Fathers of this city are a most excellent body of priests - holy, zealous, laborious and kind. They have made some slight mistakes since they came to this city, but they are mistakes of well-meant endeavor, and will soon be forgotten. One thing we do not hesitate to assert, had Father Meredith's advice been taken in those matters those blunders had never been committed. A religious community is not a thing of a day or a year, but of centuries. The tree planted by Father Meredith and his companions on Grand Avenue will continue to grow and bring forth fruit long after its planters shall have gone to their account. In this light the vains of a life like that we now honor in  the person of Father Meredith is beyond computation. If planted in the soil of obedience, and be watered with the sweat of holy zeal, and the blood of generous sacrifice and mortification, it will grow to be a vast tree and under its sheltering branches generations yet unborn will sit be refreshed. Father Meredith is comparatively a young man, and, if God spares his health, capable of further and great labors in the vineyard of the Master. That his health may be thus spared, and his usefulness prolonged is the prayer of the thousands who know and revere him.

Notes:

Father William Vincent Meredith is my husband's 3x great-uncle, Margaret Meredith Palmer's younger half-brother Willie. He did not live long, unfortunately, but died six years later during a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans.

St. Alphonsus Rock Church is one of the most well known parishes in St. Louis. Built originally to minister to a German immigrant population it now ministers to a primarily African American community. Its liturgies are filled with references to and expressions of African American tradition. The church itself, an outstandingly beautiful structure, was heavily damaged by fire in 2007.

I have to admit to real curiosity about Father Meredith's publicist (a Jesuit, perchance?) and the "slight mistakes" made by the Redemptorists in St. Louis.

Source: 

"Twenty-Five Years a Priest," The morning star and Catholic messenger (New Orleans [La.]), September 08, 1878, Chronicling America online archive (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86086284/1878-09-08/ed-1/seq-3/ : accessed 18 September 2010), Page 3. 

Church Record Sunday: The Morning Star & Catholic Messenger (New Orleans)

Though technically not a church record, this Catholic newspaper published in New Orleans from 1868 to 1881 includes a great deal of information of interest to genealogists, especially those researching family members who were priests or nuns. Catering to the English speaking population in New Orleans it covered a broad range of topics including Irish news and history, news items from around the country relating to Catholic religious orders, priests or nuns and local topics of interest.


The first issue included a rather lurid and improving story, a directory of Catholic parishes and staff in the New Orleans, information on several regional Catholic colleges, news relating to Reconstruction, advertisements from New Orleans merchants, obituaries of Catholic religious from around the country as well as prominent New Orleans Catholic laity, a report on a recent yellow fever epidemic and the following news item:

Frozen in the Confessional

The Rev. Father B. Sn_____ock, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, has lately suffered the amputation of a finger, which had been frozen while the Rev. Father was sitting in the confessional!

The newspaper is part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America Project. Issues are available from 1868-1879. I first searched it looking for information on two family members, a priest and a nun, who were working in New Orleans after the Civil War. I found multiple references to the priest, including considerable information about him from St. Louis, MO where he worked for 10 years. 




Source: The Morning star and Catholic messenger. (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, February 09, 1868, Morning, page 1.

They voted. Did you?

One of my favorite source documents is a copy of an election poll for the House of Burgesses held at the Lancaster County (VA) Court House on July 18, 1758. Included in the list of voters for the winning candidates (William Ball & Charles Carter) are many ancestors and relations. A generation later their children fought for independence. 

On August 7, 1826 my husband's 4th great-grandfather William A. Clark(e), who emigrated to the United States shortly after its independence, voted at the court house in Springfield, Illinois. 

My great great-grandfather Archibald Sawyer(s) was a registered voter in Jefferson County, Tennessee on July 19, 1865. He had moved his family further into the mountains to try and escape the violence of the Civil War. It is not clear that he actually voted. 

But this morning I did.  

Amanuensis Monday: Day Nursery Opens

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is an excerpt from the "Connie's Corner - Odds and Ends", Morristown (TN) Gazette and Mail, April 4, 1946.  The column was written by Connie Haun, who was married to my first cousin, once removed.

Coming in like a breath of sunshine on Thursday were Betty Jo Bales and her three guests from Mary Baldwin, who were down to spend a grand week-end at Chucky Bend. They had reached Morristown on that early morning train that comes in from the east with the break of dawn, but to look at them you would never have known that any in the foursome had ever lost a wink of sleep.

__________

Mrs. L. W. Vandergriff is filling a much-needed want in Morristown by the opening of a day nursery where busy or working mothers may find a safe place to leave their children while they carry on necessary duties. Mrs. Vandergriff has actual experience in this work, since she was with a big nursery in Chicago, while her husband was in college there. She has fitted rooms in her new home on West Main street where the children may be happy and carefree as they play or occupy themselves in useful and interesting games. In this time of limited household help, such a nursery will prove a boon to busy mothers.

Amanuensis Monday: Birthday Dance

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is another news clipping found in the papers of Iva Williams Sawyer (1900-1993).  The clipping is undated, but since Janis Sawyer was born 23 Dec. 1930, it would have appeared in late 1942 or early 1943 in a Morristown, TN newspaper.

BIRTHDAY DANCE
            ______

Miss Janis Sawyer entertained with a dance Wednesday evening from eight, until eleven, at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sawyer on East First North Street. Twenty young guests enjoyed the affair, which marked the twelfth birthday of Miss Sawyer.

The home was beautifully decorated in keeping with the Yuletide season. Dancing and contests, in which Betty Lee Taylor, Betty Waldren, Graham Vance and Hugh Nistrom were presented with prizes, provided the evening's entertainment.

During the evening, Mrs. Sawyer, assisted by Miss Joan Sawyer, served a delicious dessert course, consisting of punch, ice cream and cookies.

Amanuensis Monday: Phil Sawyer Obituary

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This undated news clipping was part of the papers of my great-aunts Selma Sawyer and Mary Kathryn McKenzie.  It was likely published in Marion County, TN on 10 April 1931.  Their brother, James Phillip Sawyer was born 26 Aug 1901 in Warrensburg and died on 9 April 1931 in Marion County, TN. An aside, Phil is most likely the baseball player pictured in my Summer Frolics posting.

PHIL SAWYER DIES OF WRECK INJURIES

Whitwell Coach, former Baseball Pitcher, Fatally Hurt in Head-On Crash.

Phil Sawyer, 28-year-old coach of the Whitwell High school athletic teams, died early yesterday morning from injuries sustained Wednesday afternoon in a head-on auto collision near Whitwell. When first treated at Erlanger hospital his injuries were thought to be not fatal, but shock and loss of blood caused his death.

The body was prepared for burial by Chapman's and sent to Pikeville, where it was viewed by hundreds of Whitwell and Pikeville citizens and students of the Whitwell school, where he was very popular and where Mrs. Sawyer taught.

Charles Seward, 43, of Hixson pike, driver of the car that struck Sawyer's machine, remains in a serious condition. Newell sanitarium attaches said his condition showed some improvement, but that he was still in a critical condition. He sustained a broken hip, fractured jawbone, severe lacerations and four teeth were knocked out.

The Sawyer and Seward autos collided head-on about three and one-half miles north of Whitwell. Seward was alone, but Mrs. Sawyer sat beside her husband. She was only slightly injured.

Sawyer was well known in baseball circles. He played professionally for several years, making good records with clubs in the Applachian and the South Atlantic leagues, both of which now are disbanded. Sawyer pitched for Greeneville (Tenn.) in the Appalachian league, and aided that team in winning a pennant. He pitched for Knoxville when that town was in the Sally league.  He was a right-hander of amazing speed and control and while with Knoxville had many chances to try out for major league teams. However, his interest in professional baseball declined and he began a coaching career.

He took over the Whitwell position more than a year ago and the teams coached by him made good records. He was a young man of retiring disposition, modest to an extreme degree and insistent that credit for any of his many achievements be given those who "gave me a break."

The body will be sent from Pikeville this morning to Greeneville, Tenn., his former home, where funeral services will be held Sunday.

He is survived by his wife; parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Sawyer, of Greeneville; three brothers, Robert, of Morristown; Conway and Winston, of Warrensburg, Tenn; five sisters, Mrs. L. H. Luttrell, of Greeneville; Mrs. Herbert Haun, of Mohawk, Tenn.; Misses Selma, Emma and Mary Catherine Sawyer, of Warrensburg.

Amanuensis Monday: Glendale, TN Social News 1991

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is another in a series of transcriptions of East Tennessee social news column clippings found in the papers of my grandmother and great-aunts.  This column appeared in 1991 according to a handwritten note in the margin, which corresponds with my memory of one of the events mentioned, a surprise party for Mary Kathryn McKenzie's 85th birthday.  It may have been published in the Greeneville Sun (Greene County, TN) in early July.  It appeared on page 9.  Though a relatively recent column, it reads as though it were written decades earlier.  Glendale is located in western Washington County not far from the Greene County line.  The article mentions locations in Cocke County (Centerview School), Greene County (Warrensburg), Washington County (Telford) and Lawrence County south of Nashville (Lawrenceburg and Ethridge).  Mrs. Davis was my 2nd cousin, once removed, and related to many of those named in the column.

Glendale
Mrs. H. B. Davis

On Sunday, June 23, friends and relatives from all over gathered at Centerview School to honor Jane and Blaine Dawson on their 50th wedding anniversary. A large crowd gathered and wished them many more happy years together. A very nice reception of many delicious goodies and refreshments was enjoyed by everyone.

Among relatives from out-of-town were Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt Dawson from Ohio; Donald Dawson from Seattle, Washington; Mr. and Mrs. Tom Dawson from Sarasota, Florida; Ronald and Betty Dawson, and Jay and Libby from Johnson City; Jess Sherian and Tiana, Missy and Ronnie from Morristown; and Dr. and Mrs. Russel Zwingman, David and Teresa from Saginaw, Michigan.

June Sawyer and her mother, Rose Reese, spent several days in Doug and Vickie Taylor in Telford last week. While there they did some shopping and sight-seeing in the nearby towns.

On Wednesday of last week several cousins gathered at the home of Mary Katherine McKensie (sic) in Warrensburg for an all day “get-together” for lots of “gab” and a sumptuous meal at noontime prepared by Mary Katherine and Susie, her helper. Those enjoying the day together were Shirley Sawyer, Ruby Holdway, Margaret Davis, Zora Moss, Hazel and Erma Jean Moore, Gertrude Denton, Rehle (sic) Holt, Flavia Sawyer from Morristown, and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Bryan from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, June 29, Ronnie and Barbara Davis, Suella Nease, Irene Hux, and I left for Lawrenceburg to be the guests of Tom and Mary Benson on their “Rainbow Farm” in Ethridge for their fourth annual “Blackberry Picking Frolic Fiesta.” They have 12 acres of 12-foot rows of the nicest tame blackberries for the picking.

Each year Tom and Mary invite 500 of their friends to bring their buckets and be their guests. At noon, a huge table laden with traditional picnic fare is spread with an array of cold ice drinks and blackberry cobbler with ice cream. The day is set aside for fun and visiting, while a corn mill is grinding meal and whole wheat flour for guests to take a bag home with them if they wish.

Besides the blackberries Tom raises tobacco, corn and has many fruit trees and grapes. We came home with nice buckets of blackberries to make jelly and blackberry cobbler pies and happy with our enjoyable weekend.

On June 9, Kandi Henderson, daughter or (sic) Rebecca White, celebrated her 11th birthday at the home of Terry and Rebecca White. Those helping her celebrate were Ina Runyan; Betty White, Jeff Thornton; Brandi Holt; Shirley Brihn; Kay, Dusty and Kriss Shoemaker; Goldie and Michelle Forner; Roger, Doris and Jeremy Thornton; Debbie Sutton; and Michael Paul Runyan; and Shawn Inman.

Geneva Smith spent Tuesday night with her mother, Selma Wisecarver.

Visiting Hazel Philips and her mother recently were Mr. and Mrs. Sanford Calfee, Evadine Knight, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert T. Rines, Pat Livingston, Shelvie Gibson, and daughters.

Mr. and Mrs. Vodra Moore and Tim and dinner with Hazel and Erma Jean Moore one night last week.

Mary Katherine McKensie (sic) was surprised with a birthday party by her relatives at her home in Warrensburg on Sunday, June 23. Her birthday was June 22.

Pat and L.E. Livingston will celebrate their wedding anniversary on July 15.

Birthday greetings to Leigh Ann Samples on July 5 and also my great niece Brittany Sawyer; Alta Palmer, July 16; Nannie Dockery, July 19; Tommy Dawson, July 9; and Fred Davis, July 13.

Visiting Hazel Phillips and her mother Bea on Saturday were Gladys Thomas and Evadine Knight and Sherrie Samples.

Happy wedding anniversary to Rev. Roy Van Miller and Sherrie July 6. I hope you have many more.

Mr. and Mrs. Clay Fox have been visiting their son’s family, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Fox and family, in South Carolina.

Amanuensis Monday: Morristown TN Social News, 1946, Part 3

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is the final part of a transcription of selections from the “Society News and Personal Notes” column from the Morristown (TN) Gazette and Mail, Friday, May 24, 1946, page 3.  I have not transcribed the Daily Calendar, announcements of Evangelistic Services, Community Club meeting, Singing Convention meeting, the schedule for commencement at Morristown College and an announcement of Summer School that were listed in the column. 

MR. AND MRS. MAURICE ROBERTSON ENTERTAIN

     Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Robertson of the Springvale road entertained with a birthday dinner on Sunday honoring their little son Billy, Mrs. T. E. Robertson, and Robereson (sic) Mathes.  Covers were laid for the hosts, honorees, T. E. Robertson, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Carson of Talbott, Mr. and Mrs. Hearl Robertson, Mrs. Ellis Goan and son Walter Johnson, Wayyne (sic) Johnson and Frank Robertson of Weatherford, Tex.  During the afternoon, many family photographs were taken.  Hearl Robertson, one of the guests has just received his discharge from the service.

Amanuensis Monday: Morristown TN Social News, 1946, Part 2

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is part two (of three) of a transcription of selections from the “Society News and Personal Notes” column from the Morristown (TN) Gazette and Mail, Friday, May 24, 1946, page 3.  I have not transcribed the Daily Calendar, announcements of Evangelistic Services, Community Club meeting, Singing Convention meeting, the schedule for commencement at Morristown College and an announcement of Summer School that were listed in the column. 

HINORED (sic) BY CLASS AND FACULTY

-----

Miss Mary Hickey, who will retire this year after serving for many years as teacher of the first grade in Rose School, was honored with a beautifully planned luncheon, on Thursday at one o’clock given by the staff of Rose at Mrs. Hayter’s, West Main.

The table was centered with a low arrangement of bright spring flowers and a delicious turkey menu was served to the honoree and the following teachers:  Misses Katty Gray, Edith Reese, Margaret Woods, Gladys Templin, Mary Nance, Reine Hale, Mesdames Lois Bales and Willie Kate Riggs.

On Wednesday afternoon, the mothers and pupils of he first grade at Rose tendered a picnic honoring Miss Hickey at the home of Mrs. Wilbur Noe in Lyn-Mar Hill.  Little Donna Noe is a member of this class.  The beautiful home and lawn provided an ideal setting for the congenial group.  Before adjournment, Miss Hickey was presented with a lovely gift as a tribute from her devoted pupils.

Amanuensis Monday: Morristown TN Social News, 1946, Part 1

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is part one (of three) of a transcription of selections from the “Society News and Personal Notes” column from the Morristown (TN) Gazette and Mail, Friday, May 24, 1946, page 3.  I have not transcribed announcements of the Daily Calendar, Evangelistic Services, Community Club meeting, Singing Convention meeting, the schedule for commencement at Morristown College and an announcement of Summer School that were listed in the column. 

– Society News and Person Notes –

Telephone 173

Note: News items for this column  should be telephoned in by 9:30 a. m. to insure publication same day.  All communications mailed in should be addressed “Social Editor,” Gazette and Mail, and signed.

----------

     Sgt. L. E. Bacon received his discharge at Fort Bragg, N. C., recently, after twenty-five and a half months’ service with the U. S. Army Signal Corps.

     Mrs. Jack White of Whitesburg was a visitor in Morristown yesterday.

     Miss Stella Smith was the guest of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bless Smith of White Pine, Wednesday.

     Mrs. James Bunch has received word that her husband, Sgt. James T. Bunch, Jr., has arrived in the states after spending seventeen months in India.  Mrs. Bunch and little daughter, Brenda Sue have resided with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rich, during the absence of Sgt. Bunch.

     Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Marsh of Marshall, N. C., were visitors in this city Wednesday.

     Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cooper, Mrs. Kyle Everhart and daughters Betty Jean and Margaret Ann of Mohawk were visitors in Morristown Thursday.

     Mrs. and Mrs. Keith Burgner and Miss Helen Anderson returned Wednesday evening from Newark, Ohio were they were delightfully entertained for the past week as the guests of Dr. and Mrs. W. H. Bennett, formerly of Morristown.

     Mrs. Roy Range of Detroit, Mich., formerly of this city, is the guest of friends and relatives in Morristown.

     Friends of Guy Garrett will be interested to learn that he is much improved following an illness of several weeks.

     Misses Hermina Dickerson and Jennie Lea Helton will attend the graduation exercises at Sullins College in Bristol this week.  While there they will be the guest of Miss Jane Fagg who is a member of the graduating class.

     Lt. and Mrs. W. H. Garrett and little daughter, Tina of Albupuerque (sic), N. M., remain the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Garrett.

     Mrs. R. W. Johnson and son,

     Mrs. C. C. Cross, Mrs. L. W.

     Mrs. Robert Doggett and daughter, Jane of Nashville will arrive Sunday by motor to spend several days with her mother, Mrs. B. C. Weesner, before leaving for Lynchburg where they will be joined by Miss Roberta Doggett, student at Ranlolph-Macon (sic).  The three will continue to Washington City, touring the valley of Virginia en route.

     Mr. and Mrs. Everett Bowers and Mr. and Mrs. Herman Lovegrove enjoyed a delightful outing in the Smoky Mountain park near Gatlinburg on Sunday.

     Johnny were visitors in Knoxville yesterday.

     Nabers and Miss Mayme Williams composed a motor party to Greeneville and Tusculum yesterday.

-----------

Note:  The final two entries appear to be continuations of previous entries that were cut off.  

Amanuensis Monday: Engagement Announced

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

I couldn't resist this bit of fluff.  This engagement announcement for my grandparents was in a box of assorted papers taken from a great-aunt's house in the mid 1990s.   I hadn't looked at it in years, but my son's approaching wedding sent me looking to see how earlier generations celebrated marriages.  It does reinforce my belief that my grandmother and I grew up on different planets - completely different planets.  I must have looked like a Martian to her.

The announcement most likely appeared in a Johnson City, Tennessee newspaper during late summer or early fall in 1925.  Bob and Iva were married October 1, 1925 in Portland, Oregon.

********************

Miss Williams' Engagement to Mr. Sawyer Announced.

The engagement and approaching marriage of Miss Iva Williams to Mr. Robert Sawyer, of Portland, Oregon, was announced Friday at a brilliant party given by Miss Mary McLeod.

A profusion of early autumn flowers were effectively employed in decoration. Dahlias, vari-hued asters, marigolds, golden-rod and roses were artistically arranged in baskets and placed throughout the spacious reception suite.

The early afternoon hours were spent in the playing of bridge. Five progressions were made, at the end of which Mrs. Paul Shamhart was awarded a handsome pair of silk hose for holding top score. Miss Anita Haun was given a dainty silver vanity for consolation. Miss Margaret Hutchens, a popular bride-elect, was presented with beautiful candles.

At the close of the afternoon the hostess, assisted by Mrs. E. L. McLeod and Mrs. Argil Williams, served a delicious course, consisting of chicken salad, sandwiches, potato chips, pickles, iced tea, mints, nuts and pineapple ice. Each table was covered with handsome luncheon cloths, and bud vases, filled with Columbia roses, were used for table decorations.

Immediately following the serving of the ice course, Master Argil Williams, clad in white, appeared carrying a large paper bag. Approaching the hostess he announced that he was about to let the cat out of the sack. The cat was released and caught by Miss McLeod. In a bow of ribbon, tied around the cat's neck, the following verse was discovered:

You may have suspected what this note contains,

And now you are ready for the news that it brings.

For Iva and Bob, in a far-away state,

Wedding bells ring at an early date.

The first of October's the chosen time,

The place - Portland, Oregon - thus ends my rhyme.

Those present on this occasion were: Misses Iva Williams, Margaret Hutchens, Nelle Hannah, Louise Hannah, Mildred Crouch, Viola Mathes, Anita Haun, Ada Evans, Edith Lyle, Della Spencer, Cora Mae Crockett, Mary McLeod, Mrs. C. R. Smathers, Mrs. J. Hubert Johnson, Mrs. Cleveland B. Coe, Mrs. Paul Shamhart, Mrs. J. O. Susong, Mrs. Maynard Sample, Mrs. Earl Doss, Mrs. Argil Williams, Mrs. Minnie Bearden of Chattanoga, Mrs. R. J. Williams and Mrs. E. L. McLeod.

********************

Amanuensis Monday: R. J. Williams Obituary

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

An undated, clipped newspaper obituary of R. J. Williams was found in Iva Williams Sawyer's papers in 1993.  R. J., or Reese Jackson, was Iva's father.  He died July 28, 1940. The obituary most likely appeared in a Johnson City, Tennessee newspaper July 29th or 30th, 1940.

********************
Deaths

R.J. Williams

Funeral services for R. J. Williams, 78, one of Johnson City's pioneer residents, who died at 9:10 p. m., Sunday at his home, 415 West Maple street, will be conducted at 4 p. m., today in Central Baptist church in charge of the pastor, Dr. William R. Rigell, assisted by the Rev. E. A. Cox of Elizabethton.  Burial will be in Oak Hill cemetery.

Active pallbearers:  G. W. Conner, Bernie Britton, R. H. Burkhart, C. W. Dickey, D. C. Long, J. J. Herren, Bryan Meredith and H. C. Hoss.

Honorary pallbearers: H. B. Miller, J. A. Daniels, J. W. Johnson, J. L. Gilbert, S. A. Brown, J. A. Allison, J. B. Holcombe, D. E. Miller, E. S. McCorkle, M. S. Akers, Alex Masengill, J. K. Poteat, J. Lee Taylor, John W. Sanders, W. M. Belton, R. H. Hickey, Hubert Shipley, F. M. McNees, B. D. Akard, Roy M. Clark, E. L. McCloud, R. E. Harmon, Clyde Walker, Hugh Webb, C. L. DeBord and members of the Baracca class.

Honorary pallbearers are reqeusted to be at the church at 3:30 p. m.

Mr. Williams, who had lived in Johnson City for 56 years, suffered a paralytic stroke last Wednesday.

Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Flora Williams of Johnson City; two sons, Argil Williams of Erwin and Guy Williams of Glendale, Calif., a daughter, Mrs. Robert Sawyer of Morristown; a sister, Mrs. O. L. James of Abingdon; a brother, G. M. Williams of Comers Rock, Va.; two half-brothers, Charles S. Williams of Johnson City and Robert Williams of Columbus, Ohio; two half-sisters, Mrs. Robert Lusk of Johnson City and Mrs. Minnie James of Virginia; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Treasure Chest Thursday: What they kept

Tim O'Brien used the contents of his characters' pockets to illuminate their lives in his haunting novel, The Things They Carried.  My family has gone far beyond pockets.  There are boxes and crates filled with scribbled Bible verses, shopping lists, decades of utility bills, photos of anonymous children taught by maiden great-aunts, and notebooks piled in my basement, guest room and office/living room.  But just as I'm ready to set a match to it, I catch a glimpse, a small illumination of what they held dear.

My grandfather died many years before I was born.  I've heard stories, seen pictures.  And I have his papers - small notebooks where he recorded a family record, his soldiers book from the Hungarian Army, and other important documents.  As I looked through them a newspaper clipping fell out, then another, and another.  Five clippings in all – undated but from 1937 to 1940 - tracing a lawsuit involving parishioners at St. Michael's Greek Catholic Church in Binghamton, NY.[i]  The church split when my father was a boy.  Lawsuits were filed and dragged on for more than 4 years.  I heard about it growing up and knew it was important from his child’s perspective.  Even so, I was surprised my grandfather clipped and kept those articles.

St. Michael's was founded in 1904 by Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants.  They were Greek Catholic, Uniate Christians in communion with the Roman Catholic Church but with a different liturgy and significantly different traditions - including married clergy.  There was already pressure from the Vatican on immigrant churches in America to become more “Roman”, so when St. Michael's was incorporated in 1905 its "charter members … expressly signified they wished to be independent" of Rome.  They had their new sanctuary dedicated by a Uniate bishop, used the traditional Greek Catholic liturgy, but refused in 1907 to turn control of their property over to the Uniate bishop as required by Rome. ^[ii]

In 1936 the congregation (several thousand strong) split after the church Board of Trustees, refusing to accept a celibate priest appointed by the Uniate bishop, appointed their own married priest.  Parishioners Mary Drozda, Michael Andrejko, Jr. and William Biscko filed a lawsuit on behalf of many others to force the trustees to accept the Bishop’s appointee.  Motions were filed claiming the Trustees gained control in an illegal election, to force the protesting parishioners to pay their church tithes, over which priest would have use of the residency.  Tensions were high and New York Supreme Court Justice Riley Heath “complimented members of both factions as ‘doing well to keep the situation well in hand’”.[iii]

Ultimately, after the New York Court of Appeals refused to review a 1940 lower court decision, the Trustees won and St. Michael’s was declared independent of the Roman Catholic Church, with corporate ownership of the property and the right to appoint its own priests.  It was a huge victory in my family and to my grandfather who tucked those clippings away.  Thirty years later I would still hear an occasional reference to someone having been on one side of the case or the other. 

What was it that so moved them, made this so significant?  Faith certainly played a part.  The social role of the church?  In the villages they came from it was literally the core, the center of the community.  That was as true in Binghamton.  Did victory itself have special resonance to these newly minted Americans?  Probably all that and more.

In the end, both sides fought for tradition (can you hear Tevye singing in Fiddler on the Roof?) and inched toward the American mainstream.  The protesting group worshipped at a Lithuanian Roman Catholic church, a step toward a melting-pot America.  Those who fought for the traditional clergy could never have done so under Austro-Hungarian rule (and assuredly not within the Roman Catholic Church).  Only in America…

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[i] At least one article was likely published in the Binghamton Press.  The third article refers to a statement given to The Binghamton Press.  The article headlines (in chronological order) are: “Church Suit Writ Denied by Justice: Heath Refuses to Sign Order Preventing Trustees of St. Michael’s From Using Funds in Litigation”; “Old Church Laws Cited as Lawsuit Continues”; “Greek Church Trustees Win Court Action: St. Michael’s Can Regulate Its Own Affairs, Says Referee”; “St. Michael’s Church Stays Independent: Not Affiliated With Roman Catholic Church, Court Rules”; and “Decision Ends St. Michael’s 4-Year Strife: Independent Group Wins in Appeals Court Denial of Review”.

[ii] Quote is from fourth article, headlined “St. Michael’s Church Stays Independent”.

[iii] Quote is from first article, headlined “Church Suit Writ  Denied By Justice”.