What's In a Name?

Christopher Columbus Whitmire was born in 1794 to Michael Whitmire, the son of Michael Christopher Whitmire, who was the son of Christopher Widmyer. The name stands out to me!  In all my years of research, I have run across some very interesting names.  Some are lovely names.  Some names were trendy for their time.  Some names are exotically ethnic. Many names come from the Bible and from forefathers. Some names have been downright humorous and left me wondering what the baby's mother was thinking!  Quite a few names appear in the family history of famous men, and I often wonder why the man was so admired by the parents who bestowed his name on their son.  

It appears that Christopher was a common name among the Whitmire family. Michael Christopher is the first one that I know of who chose the name Christopher Columbus for his son. This first Christopher Columbus was an uncle to the Christopher Columbus born in 1794. Perhaps the younger was named for the elder. But the elder, no doubt was named for the famous Portuguese explorer. 

Our ancestors who lived at the birth of this nation admired Christopher Columbus for his role in opening up the newfound continent to the eastern hemisphere. It was after his arrival that "the masses yearning to be free" began to come. Michael Christopher Whitmire was himself an immigrant from Wurtemberg who arrived here before 1762. In choosing the name Christopher Columbus for his son, he honored both his father and the man who found this land that became his new home.

The younger Christopher Columbus Whitmire had sons upon whom he bestowed some thoughtful names:

William Monteith.  Monteith is a name found in Georgia and North Carolina. Many of the first settlers here were Scots-Irish. Indeed, Montieth is a place found in both Scotland and Ireland. As there are no other known Monteiths in Christopher's family, this son may have been named so to represent the ancestry of Christopher's wife Sarah Galloway. 

George Washington. This famous man was very much beloved by his contemporaries and for several more generations. He was admired for his intelligence, for his role in securing American independence, and for his demeanor.  

James Marion. Many men of this time period who bore the name Marion were so named for Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, who outsmarted the British soldiers in the southern colonies during the Revolutionary War. He was another man much admired and honored for contributing to the Colonies' separation from tyrannical England.

Henry Declave. This name stumps me because I cannot find reference to the name anywhere--in the family history or American history. Perhaps a reader of this article will know where it comes from.

Image By Kenneth C. Zirkel - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21434861

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. . . the Mass Immigration through Ellis Island from Italy.

1890-1920

Immigrants from Syria and Italy ventured away from their homeland for similar reasons. The young men saw no opportunity for them in their respective countries. Governments were corrupt, and the economy was very poor. They decided to go to America, where they heard a person could get rich quick. The plan was to make a lot of money and return home. This is why the young men left first. They did not realize when they set out that they would come to love more about this country, particularly freedom. Most immigrants decided to stay in America and sent for their families. Our ancestors entered this country between the years of 1890 and 1910.  These were the peak years of immigration when thousands of immigrants flooded through customs every day. 

After they traveled from their village to a major European port, they boarded a large steamer and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.  The typical sailing season was from late spring to early autumn and lasted from two to three weeks.  Our poor immigrant ancestors traveled as steerage passengers.  This means they were housed in the dark cavities below the deck with as many as 2000 other passengers.  Conditions down there were crowded and stuffy, so they spent as much time as they could on deck in the fresh air.  This is where all passengers wished to be as the ship sailed passed the Statue of Liberty, so that they could get a glimpse of the welcoming lady.

Once the ships were docked, immigration officials boarded and checked the passenger lists.  The customs house was so crowded during these busy years, and the passengers often had to wait on the ship for hours or days before being allowed to board the ferries that would take them to Ellis Island.  The customs process was very frightening for the foreigners.  Each new arrival had to have a medical exam and an interview.  Immigration officials had to make sure the new immigrants would not become a burden on the country's welfare system.  Those who were not deported back to their port of departure were allowed to enter the United States.  Most immigrants ferried over to the tip of Manhattan, where they made their new homes a few blocks away in ethnic sections of the city.

The Arrival of a Great Ocean Steam Ship at New York. Philadelphia: C. H. Graves, c1907. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division[reproduction number LC-USZ62-89871].
Statue of Liberty, New York City. N.Y.C., c1898. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number LC-USZ62-87198]. 
Ellis Island, c1913. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [reproduction number LC-USZ62-40101].

Gone With the Wind

Historical novels give valuable insight into the lives of people who lived in certain times. A good author puts a lot of research into the history of the places and events in which the characters are placed. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is such a novel. Her thorough research provides lesson after lesson into the history of Reconstruction in Georgia--lessons that are not taught in public schools. Setting aside the loathsome characters of the hero and heroine, I recommend this book for anyone desiring a clearer picture of what really went on in the years during and after the War between the States.

Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(novel).

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. . . The Reconstruction of the Southern States

1865-1920
Deckner, Garvin, Madden, Meigs, Moore, Nicholas, Pucket, Reagan, Rowland, Thaden

Much of our family lived during the time of Reconstruction in the South after the War Between the States. Among the various families, there were some very interesting things which occurred.

The Scots-Irish families of Moore, Garvin, and Madden lived in the Upcountry of South Carolina. The men in the family had made a fair contribution and some, the ultimate sacrifice, during the war preceding Reconstruction even though none owned slaves. Their livelihood was in the land, and even though their carefully saved Confederate money was now only good for the wood stove, they probably survived well enough after the war since Union troops did not harass this area on a large scale. Their frustration was felt, however, in the fact that, as former Confederates, they were kept from voting in any of the elections to determine the new political leadership for their district and state.

William H. Moore, a small child during the war, later owned a mercantile store in the town of Seneca. During Reconstruction, he did quite well. He had a beautiful white house built a few blocks away from the store on the edge of town, and his three lovely daughters, Mary, Nannie, and Willie Fay, took music lessons, helped out in the store, and went to college. They later became school teachers. Like so many folks from the Upcountry, Will’s son, Luther, found his opportunity in east Texas, where he raised his family. In 1920 and at the age of 25, Nannie was caught up in a whirlwind romance with a man twenty years her senior. Their marriage ended six years later with his death.

In the neighboring state of Georgia, the Meigs, Reagan, and Pucket families found themselves in a worse situation. The Union troops were not at all easy on the folks in Georgia. They went through towns, such as Rome and Newnan, destroying bridges and railroads, thus isolating them from the rest of civilization. They burned homes and cotton bales leaving many homeless and penniless. They ransacked the farms of everything edible and any valuables that could be sold later, leaving the families to starve. Newly freed African field hands left the farms as there was no more work or food and congregated about the Union soldiers, who were garrisoned in the towns imposing Martial Law. Since newly found freedom for former slaves included exemption from the usual law enforcement, they often engaged in lawless behavior.

The Pucket family farmed around the town of Newnan and had owned a few slaves prior to the war. It is suspected that Rebecca (Pucket) Rowland was given a female slave at the time of her marriage, who became a house maid and continued to stay with the widowed Rebecca during and after the war.

Nancy Reagan and her daughter, Rachel Meigs were also widowed before the war. They lived together in Rome raising Rachel’s son, William, and her younger siblings. They stayed in Rome during the rebuilding of that town and were taken care of by Rachel’s brother James, who remained unmarried throughout his life. Both mother and daughter were deeply religious, and at Rachel’s death it was recorded that she saw Jesus and remarked how He had come too soon.

Rachel’s son, William, had moved to Newnan and found a bride shortly before the war. He was the publisher and editor of a small newspaper called The Southern Literary Companion which, no doubt, conveyed anti-Union sentiments. Reconstruction found him a veteran of the war and struggling to survive with his wife and five small children. His newspaper shop was most likely destroyed.

Meanwhile, two Germans moved to Atlanta as soon as the war was over. Frederick Deckner and his family seemed to be doing quite well in Wisconsin, but at the war’s end they packed up for Atlanta. Interestingly, his two oldest sons, William and Charles were Union veterans. Frederick must have seen the vision of opportunity like so many carpetbaggers of the day looking for cheap land on which to establish themselves and their businesses. Unfortunately this land was confiscated from the prior owners and sold cheaply. At that time the only buyers came from the northern states as the Southerners had no money. In this way, Reconstruction of the South could be facilitated with thousands of Yankees moving in.

Herman Thaden,  the other German and recent immigrant, also found himself in Atlanta, and he soon hooked up with the Deckner family. Not only did he marry one of Frederick’s many daughters, Pauline, he also established himself in the community, alongside her brother, Charles, as a horticulturist. In addition to their farm acreages north of Atlanta, Herman owned greenhouses in which he grew flowers to be sold from his florist shop, and the Deckners raised vegetables, which were sold in the family's truck farming business. Both Herman and Charles belonged to the Horticulture Society and often gave speeches regarding farming and gardening.

About 1875, William Meigs moved his family up to the newly rebuilt Atlanta, where he found employment with another printer. His last child, Mattie Love, was born here. Tragically, he was killed in his mid-40s by a moving train as he was crossing the tracks on foot in the rail yard. Mattie was just four years old.

Mattie, the daughter of a Rebel soldier, grew into a lovely young woman and married Charles, the son of the well-to-do Herman Thaden and grandson of a carpetbagger. Charles worked for his father in his box factory and had four children with Mattie, the second of whom was stillborn. Like her father, Mattie’s life was sadly cut short in 1915 when she was hit by a car on a rainy night as she was walking home from a church meeting. She was only 37 years old.

For some years after the turn of the century, Herman dabbled in inventions. He patented some that were useful for farming, and he also patented certain devices to aid in vertical flight, which was still in its experimental stage. At the same time he investigated Eastern Mysticism, being unhappy with his Lutheran upbringing. He looked forward to visits from the Hindu guru, who gave speeches regarding this religion. And interestingly, just prior to the World War, he found himself under an over-zealous investigation for traitorous behavior due to alleged anti-American statements. It is suspected that nothing ever came of this investigation.

Shortly after Mattie’s death, the bereaved Charles Thaden moved to Jacksonville, Florida, taking his teenage son, also named Herman, with him. His two young daughters remained in Atlanta with relatives. Charles remarried and Herman became a night watchman. At this time, the Jacksonville fathers were making efforts in their own town’s reconstruction by inviting immigrants, who were streaming into Ellis Island, to consider making Jacksonville their new home.

By 1920, there was a sizable colony of Syrian merchants in Jacksonville operating business of all sorts. It was the young Herman Thaden’s job to walk his beat throughout the night, shining his flashlight into the store windows and rattling the front doors to make sure they were locked. Perhaps this is how he met his future wife, Angelina Nicholas, a young Syrian American girl.

Image from https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241/.

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. . . La Miseria

1790-1910
Chité, Motta, Rapisarda, Romeo

There are three villages in which our Italian ancestors lived, all located on the island of Sicily. Belpasso and Nicolosi are a few miles apart and nestled on the southern slope of Mount Etna. Aci Sant’ Antonio lies to the east of the volcano. The families of Romeo, Rapisarda, and Motta lived in Belpasso. In the neighboring village of Nicolosi lived the Chité family. Another family by the name of Motta resided in Aci Sant’ Antonio.

All of the men in each generation were farmers. They were known as agricoli, contadini, or campanuoli. None had land of their own, but rather worked the large land holdings owned by the feudal lords. The women, industriosi, stayed at home and took care of the house and children. No one went to school past age eight years of age, but headed to the fields to work alongside their parents.

The times in which these families lived were very hard. They lived in what today’s society would call very poor conditions. They had little food and not much variety. Their home and furnishings were very humble and scanty. They faced diseases and pestilences and, most frightening of all, earthquakes and eruptions from Mount Etna.

This era of the family history came to an end when, in the late 1800s, the sons convinced their parents there was no future in their villages for the young people. The only option, as they saw it, was to sail to America to become wealthy. Then they would return to their village as rich men. Little did they know they would find more in America to treasure besides a pocket full of money and life devoid of poverty.

Image from http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/sicilia/bronzetti-eugenio-fotografo.html.

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. . . the Early Days of the Mormon Church

Church, Lewis, Younger

There are members of our families, who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its early days. Those who chose to be baptized are not our direct ancestors but are related very closely.

David and Ann (Beason) Lewis raised their family in Guilford County, North Carolina, during the last half of the eighteenth century. At some point the family moved to Pendleton District, Anderson County, South Carolina. Elizabeth, one of their thirteen children and also our direct ancestor, married Micajah Alexander. After rearing eleven children of her own, she died in 1840 in neighboring Pickens County.

About 1810, Elizabeth bid farewell to her six little nieces and nephews, when her brother, Neriah, moved his young family out to Simpson County, Kentucky. The children were all under the age of ten at the time. Little did Elizabeth know that three of those children would one day become part of one of the most controversial religions in America. Neriah and his wife, Mary, had five more children, two of whom also joined the Church.

A similar situation occurred in our ancestral family known by the name of Church. Thomas and Betsy (Collett) Church produced eight children between 1790 and 1813 in Burke County, North Carolina. Eventually the family moved out to Williamson County, Tennessee. One of the children was Charles Church, who was also our direct ancestor. He married Nancy Younger, and they eventually settled out in Cedar County, Missouri, sometime after 1850.

Charles’ oldest brother, Abraham, was newly married when the Church family moved to Tennessee. He chose to settle in Hickman County, where his nine children were born. Five of those children were later baptized into the Church.

Nancy Younger, mentioned above, was one of thirteen children. She and her siblings were all born in Chatham County, North Carolina, and the family eventually moved out to Williamson County, Tennessee. One of her older brothers, James Newton Younger, is our direct ancestor. He married Rachel Murphy and lived in Maury County, Tennessee, before moving to Cedar County, Missouri. Nancy’s and James’ sister, Mary, married John Mayberry and the two of them joined with the Latter-day Saints.

A few years after the Church was organized, missionaries went out into the field to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Tennessee was a dangerous place for missionaries in those days; nevertheless, Haden Wells Church seems to be the first of Charles Church’s nephews, to join the Church. 

Benjamin Lewis was the first of Elizabeth Lewis’ nephews to be baptized in Kentucky. Both had siblings who joined the Church at later dates. Benjamin Lewis and his brothers, Tarlton and David, moved to Caldwell County, Missouri, to be with the body of Saints. The brothers were at Haun’s Mill the afternoon it was attacked by an angry mob. Tarlton took a ball in his shoulder which was lodged there the rest of his life. He and his wife buried Benjamin next to the well. David was unharmed.

The Lewises, Churches, and Mayberrys eventually joined the main body of Saints at Nauvoo and helped to build the temple. They were driven out with the rest of the Saints in 1846 by more angry mobs and endured the hard winter season at Winter Quarters, across the river in Iowa. Some members of these families joined with the Mormon Battalion, and some went out to Salt Lake City with Brigham Young and the first company, arriving on July 24, 1847. Other family members came out west in later companies.

Once in Salt Lake, they were called upon to settle in various parts of the territory. They served as bishops and missionaries and helped in building more temples. These members of our family were very instrumental in establishing the Saints in their new home in the mountains.

Image from https://www.thorntongallery.com/p/45-Nauvoo-Illinois-mid-1840s-Open-Print.aspx

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. . . America's Westward Expansion to Illinois

1763-1893

Day, Hudson, Rhoads, Van Meter, Watkins, Williams

This segment of the family history begins with Jacob and Alsey (Van Meter) Rhoads. Jacob, the son of a Revolutionary War soldier, originated in Pennsylvania. Alsey, possibly a nickname for Alcinda, came from Virginia and was of Dutch descent. The Rhoads and Van Meter families migrated, with Daniel Boone, to the area of Grayson and Hardin Counties, Kentucky. Here, Jacob and Alsey were married in 1785 and raised their family. One of their sons, Josiah, married Susannah Watkins, who was from Maryland. After Alsey died in 1828, most of the Rhoads family moved to Macoupin and Jersey Counties, Illinois.

In nearby Greene County, Illinois, David and Elizabeth (Williams) Hudson and their children had settled. One of David’s sons, Merritt, served in the Mexican War. He died in the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico in 1847 leaving a young family. A nephew, David Hudson, went out west to California with the Forty-Niners in search of gold. After three years, he returned. David’s daughter, Martha, married Ira Day, a pioneer from Vermont. All of their children were born in Illinois.


Josiah Rhoads’ son, James, married Sarah Parker in Illinois and all of their children were born there. James’ son, Isaac, married Lydia Day, the daughter of Ira and Martha Day. All of their children were born in Illinois, one of whom was Lillie, who later settled in Oklahoma after her husband made the Great Land Run in 1893.

Image from https://nmwa.org/blog/2009/12/10/whats-going-on-in-this-picture/

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. . . America's Westward Expansion to Ohio

from Maryland and Virginia, 1803 - 1860

Hahn, Harless, Johnson, McNeely, Park, Tingley, Weisleder

The Hahn and Weisleder families migrated from Baltimore County, Maryland, to Columbiana County, Ohio. These people were still very much in touch with their German roots. It is said the Hahn immigrants came from Wurttemberg, Germany, during the Palatinate immigration. They most likely landed at the port of Baltimore, in the early 1700s because just prior to their move west, we find the family in Manchester, Maryland, in the late 1700s. Many children were born here and christened in German Lutheran and Reformed churches. All were born under German-spelled names. They most likely belonged to a tight-knit German colony. Some of the family may have spent some time in Frederick County, Maryland, and perhaps a short time in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, before migrating to Columbiana County, Ohio, in the early 1800s, where many Germans settled from Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Our direct ancestor, Adam Hahn, came to Columbiana County from Baltimore County in 1801, as soon as the land was opened up to settlement, and bought a section directly from the government; his brothers followed. Adam and his son, Andrew, set up a saw mill on Yellow Creek, and it was known as Hahn’s Mill for several years.

Adam and his brothers were quite prolific, and intermarried among the other pioneer families in the area. Andrew married in 1809 to Maria Magdalena  Weisleder, later known as Mary. The Weisleders were former neighbors in Baltimore County. Weisleder translated means Whiteleather, and some descendants later became known by that name. Still attending German Lutheran and Reformed congregations, the new generation of parents continued naming their children with German-spelled names. A German-language family Bible was acquired sometime after 1819 by Andrew Hahn (born Andreas), and all family entries were written in German. It is likely these German American inhabitants of Columbiana County were still speaking German.

Mary’s father, Andreas Weisleder, was a native of the town of Stiege, now within the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. He was drafted into the army, and became one of the many thousands of Hessian soldiers sent to assist England in its war with the American Colonies. Finding himself a prisoner of war in Virginia, he determined none of his options were very good so he escaped and then deserted. Mingling in among the many sympathetic German settlers in the region, he made his way up to Manchester, Maryland, where he married Anna Maria Zentzin, of Swiss heritage. After having several children, they moved to Columbiana County in 1807 and purchased land from Adam Hahn.

When the War of 1812 broke out, a local militia was formed, and Andrew’s brothers, John and Adam, and a few of their cousins joined up. Andrew’s son, Samuel, a direct progenitor, moved on to Darke County, Ohio, on the western side of the state, in the late 1830s. Samuel’s cousin, also named Samuel Hahn, settled out there, as well. The Weisleders remained in Columbiana County and were very instrumental in its growth and progress. Our Samuel finding himself widowed with five children married Nancy Harless, herself a young widow, and from another prolific family, who had migrated over to Darke County from Virginia. 

The Harless family began along New River in Virginia with the arrival of the German immigrant, Johann Philip Harless, in the mid 1700s. His progeny quickly grew with the births of many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, in spite of the common childhood illnesses and Indian massacres. The area became known as the German New River Settlement and is said to be the first of its kind west of the Alleghenies.

As the settlement grew, young men found it necessary to move west. Some  Harlesses went to Tennessee and Kentucky; others went to Ohio. Among those were two brothers, Elias and Paul Harless, who arrived in Miami County, Ohio, in the mid 1820s. They later settled a little further west in Darke County. Distant  Harless cousins, also originating from the New River Settlement migrated to Miami and neighboring Preble Counties.

Our direct ancestor, Nancy Harless, was born in Giles County in 1822. In 1844 she married Samuel Hahn in Darke County. Although no records have been found mentioning her name prior to 1844, it is strongly believed she is the daughter of Paul Harless, based on extensive research of all Harlesses in Darke and Miami Counties.

The story of our Harlesses and their settlement in Ohio is a short one. The decade of 1820 saw Nancy’s birth in Virginia, the Harless family’s migration to Ohio, the death of Paul’s first wife, which would have been Nancy’s mother, and Paul’s remarriage. Then, Paul passed away sometime before 1840, while only in his forties. His older children were married; the younger children and Paul’s widow were divided up and lived among several family members. Nancy most likely lived with her uncle, Elias. When she was nineteen years old, she gave birth to a daughter, Delilah. This name occurred quite often in the Harless family. No record has yet been found of a marriage to Delilah's father, but when her little one was three years old she married the widower, Samuel Hahn.

In the early 1840s the Hahns were off again to a new frontier. Samuel Hahn and his new bride and their children moved on to the newly opened lands in northwestern Missouri, along with his parents and his brother's family. Many of the Harlesses  
remained in the Darke County area, some moving just over the state line into Indiana. 

The rest of our Ohio bound ancestors appear on the pedigree chart of lela Tingley. Clela’s grandparents, Jared I. Tingley and Sarah Ann McNeely, finally settled about 1860 in Williams County, on the western side of Ohio, after moving back and forth from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, to Iowa, to Williams County, to Illinois, and back to Williams County. Jared probably ties into the line of Palmer Tingley, of which much has been written.

Clela’s other set of grandparents, Oliver Johnson and Mary Jane Park, were married in Crawford County, Ohio, in 1860. Both were born on the east side of the state in Stark County. Oliver’s father was a native of Ohio and his mother was born in Pennsylvania. Mary Jane’s parents both came from Virginia, possibly Hampshire County. In his old age, Mary’s father, Amos, ended up in Williams County with her and some of his other children.

Oliver Johnson spent some time serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. One Johnson researcher says he received some land for his service. After the war, he moved his young family to the southeastern corner of Michigan, where his third child, Carrie, was born. While she was still a baby, her mother died. Shortly after, Oliver is found in Williams County with a second wife. Together they had four children, but only one grew to adulthood. Oliver died in 1902, succumbing to Tuberculosis.

Carrie’s older sisters married and moved to the northwest in the early 1900s for the logging industry. Carrie married in 1888 to Jared T. Tingley, one of twelve children. Immediately they homesteaded in Colorado. Two of Jared’s brothers lived in Colorado, as well. Oring moved his family out to Denver so his ill wife could benefit from the dry air. Warren, a Union veteran, wound up a miner in Creede.

Image from http://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion

Grandfather's Flying Machine

"Old German Near Atlanta Is Builder of Machine
Has Made Short Flight
He Has Guarded the Machine Jealously and Has Been Working On It Ever Since the Wright Boys Flew Kites in Dayton.
Reported from Telegraph Bureau, Kimball House.
Atlanta, Oct. 25.
A made-in-Georgia airship, the darling of its inventor's heart and the fruit of ten years' hard work, is to be one of the most novel exhibits at the Great Southern Automobile show in Atlanta from November 8 to 15. It has made but a short flight so far, but its maker believes it will pass the clouds when a larger motor is put in.
H. Thaden, an aged German truck farmer, just outside of Atlanta, has been working on his airship since the days when the Wright boys were flying kites in the Dayton suburbs, and getting laughed at for their foolishness. But he did not follow the usual lines. His airship looks more like a boxcar than an aeroplane, its propellers fill both sides of the big structure, and the driver's seat throws the center of gravity so low Mr. Thaden is positive his craft can never turn over.
The old man has kept his queer ship hidden jealously for several years, but now that it is completed he is willing to show it to the public. He will be in personal charge of the exhibit and explain the workings of his ship to the interested visitors."
The article goes on to say John Philip Sousa's band and practically every automobile dealer in Georgia and the southern territory will at the auto show. They were proud to say they would have on display the first new models from all the factories several months in advance of the exhibits in New York and Chicago.--Macon [Georgia] Telegraph, 26 Oct 1913, p. 6.

Herman Thaden patented his airship in 1910. He was so very interested in aeronautics. He read the Aeronautics magazine and wrote a letter to the editor in 1911. As I read his letter, all his thoughts and concepts went right over my head. Such a technical letter. I marvel at his command of the English language. I admire him for his genius. I wish I had a photograph of his flying machine. There is supposed to be one in the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. Perhaps one day I will find it.

Burial in Arlington National Cemetery

The funeral of Henry B. Thaden, long-time resident of the District, will be held from his home, 2317 M street at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. The burial will be in Arlington cemetery. He was seventy-two years of age, and a veteran of the civil war. His widow, Mrs. Marie Thaden, survives him.--Evening Star [Washington, D.C.] 6 Jun 1910.

Singing in the Choir

This is a picture of Peck Memorial Presbyterian Chapel, the church to which Charles B. Thaden and his wife, Lydia, went each Sunday. They were married at this church in 1908.

"Last night at Peck Memorial Chapel Miss Lydia Dalton Hodgson, daughter of Mrs. John E. Hodgson, was married to Charles Thaden by the Rev. James M. Henry, pastor of the church. The bride entered with her brother, Mr. John W. Hodgson, who gave her in marriage. Her dainty dress was of soft white French lawn, trimmed in valenciennes lace. She carried a shower bouquet of bride roses and lilies of the valley, and her tulle veil was fastened with lilies of the valley. Mrs. Grace Schlosser, as matron of honor, wore white swiss and carried Golden Gate roses. The four brides maids wore dainty dresses of white organdie and carried bridesmaid roses. They were Miss Vannie Fauth, Miss Doris Denham and the Misses May and Irene Yost. The ushers were Mr. W. Shipley, Mr. Arthur Payne, Mr. W. Beckwith and Mr. William Cartwright. Lucien Thaden was best man for his brother. Mr. George H. Ward, organist of the church, rendered several selections and two wedding marches. The chapel was prettily decorated with palms and daisies by the members of the church. Mr. and Mrs. Thaden left soon afterward for Atlanta, Ga., where they will be the guests of Mr. and Mrs. H. Thaden, who are to give a reception in their honor next Thursday night."

Interestingly, the best man and and bridesmaid Doris Denham later became husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. H. Thaden in Atlanta were Charles' uncle and aunt.

Lydia sang soprano in the small church choir. There were three other sopranos, two altos, two basses, and a tenor. They were accompanied by organ. One year they gave a special evening Christmas song service and sang "Sing, Oh Heavens," "Behold I Bring You Tidings," and "Holy Night."

The Peck Chapel was located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and M Street. It was founded in 1886 as a mission outreach church in Georgetown, which provided vocational education for minorities and disadvantaged youth.  The church was sold to another organization in 1938 and was finally demolished in 1951.  The above photo shows an image of the church photoshopped into a current image to show its location. https://georgetownmetropolitan.com/2015/12/09/now-and-a-long-time-ago-pennsylvania-and-m-st/.

The Depletion of Frank De Mayo's Wealth

Undated article, and no place: "Gnawed at Dice Riches"
Pay-off Fees and Lawyers Cut into De Mayo's Money.
The $230,000 Accumulated in 1917 Went to Varied "Takers," Ex-bootlegger Tells Bankruptcy Referee.

Frank De Mayo, the former "bootleg king," who used to boast that "everybody had a price," was on the grill today before the referee in bankruptcy, harking back to his prosperous bootlegging days to explain the fading of a dice fortune, estimated by him at $230,000 at one time.

De Mayo has been trying to explain to Henry A. Bundschu, referee, and the trustee of his estate, that he is broke; that his small fortune, which reached a peak in 1917 of a quarter million, is now gone.

Bundschu is trying to trace the disposition of De Mayo's estate and gather up any missing assets to satisfy his creditors. De Mayo filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy July 12, stating he had only $1,000 left of his own to meet debts and judgments of more than $300,000.

The former booze runner, Bundschu learned today, would have most persons believe his fortune was spent in "fixing" public officials, paying off fines and compensating lawyers for getting him out of trouble in the prohibition era.

Testimony by De Mayo before  Bundschu discloses he had $250,000 in 1917 when he was 27 years old, realized by dice games and other gambling in pool halls he operated between 1907 and 1917.

In 1928, when he became involved with federal authorities over his illicit booze traffic, his fortune began to dwindle, he told Bundschu. He testified he paid the late Frank Walsh and other lawyers a $50,000 retainer fee for an unsuccessful effort to "wiggle" him out of the clutches of Uncle Sam.

During the Prohibition era, De Mayo told Bundsch, he spent much money in "fixing" public officials, and used his last $100,000 in "trying to keep out of jail." He finally received a federal penitentiary sentence and served it.

De Mayo has told the federal bankruptcy court he gave Mrs. Bessie De Mayo, his wife, large amounts on many occasions when he "was in the money."

In 1931, after his release from prison, he went in the oil business, forming the De Mayo Oil company, and bought up leases on 3,400 acres of oil land in Eastern Texas with his wife's money, he has stated. He paid $85,000 for the lease options out of one-third of the oil profits in eight years, according to his statements to Bundschu.

Mrs. De Mayo owns the oil company, which, he says, he manages for her. The late Casimir J. Welch, East Fifteenth street Democratic leader, was a partner for a time in the De Mayo Oil company, according to De Mayo. Records show Mrs. De Mayo in 1931 invested $56,000 in the Muskogee Natural Gas company and later sold her interests for $70,000.

De Mayo even capitalized on liquor investments after repeal of the eighteenth amendment, he says. In 1933, he sold warehouse receipts he had obtained on legal whisky at a profit of $5,000, which now, he told his interrogator, is gone. He also said he made a profit on $5,000 on Dominion of Canada bonds in 1933, and in 1934 he lost $40,000 in an Edgerton, Mo., distillery failure.

Then, in 1933 and 1935, he invested some of his wife's earnings in two cabinet manufacturing concerns, realizing a profit for her, he related, of about $22,000. He stated his wife's present income is $25,000 a year from the Texas oil leases.

[$230,000 in 1935 is equivalent to $4,000,000 in 2016. $25,000 in 1935 is equivalent to $438,000. The image of Frank De Mayo comes from nationalcrimesyndicate.com.]

Halloween 1906

I came across an article about Lucien Hayo Thaden and a Halloween party he attended in 1906. When reading this article, I was struck by how Halloween parties have come through a vast evolution. Here is the article:

"A Halloween party was given by Miss Irene C. Boyne at her home at 204 H street northwest. Games were played and vocal selections, accompanied by Miss Boyne on the piano, were rendered by Miss Edna Kaiser of New York city, Miss Bessie Hurt of this city and Mr. J. H. Brotbeck of Chattanooga, Tenn. Mr. William W. Norris gave several solos on the piano. Dancing then followed, after which supper was served in the dining room, which was very artistically decorated with autumn leaves and jack o'lanterns. Those present were Mrs. I. B. Boyne, Mrs. A. H. Anadale, Misses Frances Moyer, Edna Kaiser, Virginia Raines, Irene C. Boyne, Bessie Hart and Lillie V. McCullum; Messrs. William W. Norris, Lucien H. Thaden and Michael Holleran, and Edmund E. Hellerstadt, J. H. Brotbeck and Wells H. Hall of Chattanooga, Tenn."-- Evening Star [Washington, D.C.], 4 Nov 1906.

What a lovely little gathering. I learned a few things about Halloween parties of yesteryear from the Firelands History Website blog (https://firelands.wordpress.com/tag/halloween-1906).

“Halloween at the beginning of the 20^th Century was as much about romantic love as it was about ghosts and goblins . . . .

. . . [M]ost young men and women . . . would attend parties hosted by the young women in their homes. The women would treat their guests to a meal and the young people would entertain themselves with dancing and games. As with most social events of the day, activities at Halloween parties were a way for young men and women to flirt and gauge the suitability of potential romantic partners while under the watchful gaze of their parents.

The games especially were a great way to get acquainted. Some are familiar today, like bobbing for apples. A variation of that game popular at the time was called Snap Apple, where boys and girls would attempt to bite an apple suspended from the ceiling by a string. The first to succeed would be the first to marry. Another game involved the host hiding a dime, a ring and a thimble in mashed potatoes or a similar food. The guest who found the ring in his portion would be destined to marry soon, the one with the thimble would spend his or her life alone, and the lucky one to get the dime would have good fortune.”

I also learned through the Heritage Square blog (https://heritagesquarephx.org/news/halloween-hullabaloo/) that it was common at these parties to have “bubbling pots of candy that would be poured over a plate of nuts, then cooled, broken into smaller pieces and eaten.” We call this peanut brittle today. They also ate candied and carameled apples.

"Halloween parties had live entertainment – in the form of parlor games, fortune telling (likely with someone dressed up as a gypsy or witch to play the part), and readings. The parlor games involved many that would supposedly foretell a young person’s marital future, including pouring molten lead from a spoon into a pan of cold water, and the ensuing 'fanciful' shape would reveal the kind of husband a young lady would later marry."

Lucien was 20 years old at the time. Perhaps this was a reunion of high school friends or maybe a collection of young people who lived in the neighborhood. I notice none of his brothers attended so this was definitely Lucien's circle of friends. 

The postcard image came from http://tracystoys.blogspot.com/2013/10/antique-halloween-postcard-apple-bobbing.html.

Henry Thaden Class of 1909

Henry Bernard Thaden graduated from the Linthicum Institute housed in this building in 1909. I located a newspaper article reporting on the commencement exercises in the Washington Post dated 27 May 1909. Henry was 16 years old.

"Boy Students Give Plays.
Commencement Feature at Linthicum Institute.
Medals and Cash in Gold Awarded Winners of Prizes for Highest Standing in Studies.

Commencement exercises marking the close of the thirty-fourth school year of the Linthicum Institute in Georgetown were held at the school on O street before a large audience of relatives and friends of the hundred or more students of the institution. High honor was paid to the name of Edward Magruder Linthicum, formerly a prominent business man of Washington, who in his will left $75,000 for the erection of the school where poor boys might obtain a free education after working hours.

Boys of all ages who are on the rolls took part in the interesting program last evening, of which the principal numbers were three one-act plays. . . . The sketches were done well by the boys, and kept the audience in laughter for more than an hour and a half. [There were several piano numbers by an alumna.] Rev. J. T. Marshall, pastor of the West Presbyterian Church, offered prayer.

At the close of the program prizes for work during the year were presented by . . . a member of the board of trustees. He complimented the students on what they had accomplished in the year, and told of the close contest for the various medals. [H. B. Thaden was not among the prize winners, but he was listed with others receiving 'special mention.']

After the exercises had been concluded the visitors were taken through the school building and shown the clever work of the students in the several classrooms. . . ."

Henry's parents and three older brothers were likely in attendance at this graduation program. They were probably quite interested in looking at Henry's classroom and desk where he sat with his school work. The school was located about 15 blocks northwest of their home at 2317 M Street NW. It appears there was probably a street car line going right down O Street in front of the school.

From The Chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751-1878 by Richard Plummer Jackson, published in Washington, D.C. by R. O. Polkinhorn in 1878 on pages 238-244.:
Edward Magruder Linthicum grew up poor, but through hard work, he attained success and retired in comfort. An extract of his will reveals that he believed ". . . knowledge and piety constitute the only assurance of happiness and healthful progress to the human race. . ." He gave $50,000 [not $75,000 as the 1909 article stated] to his friends to become his trustees and establish and maintain "a free school for the education and instruction of indigent white boys and youths of Georgetown in useful learning, and in the spirit and practice of Christian virtue . . ." The trustees worked with the Georgetown city school system in building a large school house opposite St. John's Church between High and Market Streets. It was agreed "to set apart, free from rent, a room on the ground floor of the main front" of the building for the Linthicum Institute. The school was opened 1 Oct 1875 in the Curtis School Building. Night school classes were held for working boys from 7:00 to 9:00 every evening, except Saturday and Sunday, in penmanship, bookkeeping, drawing, arithmetic, geometry, chemistry, and physics. Two other schools operated separately in this same building.

The building no longer exists, but it was located across O Street from St. John's Episcopal Church, and next to the Hyde School; both of these buildings are still standing. According to a 1890 map of Georgetown, Potomac Street lay between Market and High Streets, which were mentioned in the above article. A close comparison of this map and a current map shows that High Street is now Wisconsin Avenue NW; Market Street is now 33rd Street NW; and today's O Street NW was once called First Street. The Curtis School Building more accurately sat at the northeast corner of Potomac and O Streets. The Hyde School playground now occupies the spot.

Image of Curtis School Building from The Georgetown Metropolitan, "Survey of Historic School Buildings in Georgetown, 9 Nov 2009, accessed 21 Nov 2018,
https://georgetownmetropolitan.com/2009/11/09/survey-of-historic-school-buildings-in-georgetown-hyde-school/.

Managing the North Sea

Guest Post by Elizabeth Thaden Stewart

One of the biggest obstacles presented to the Fresians living in Dornum in the seventeenth century was the North Sea. Both friend and foe, the North Sea presented many opportunities for the Fresians to prosper, but it also proved to be a mighty force to be reckoned with. On the one hand, the North Sea made seafaring possible, an opportunity that the Fresians took advantage of. In fact, the Fresians were the chief seafarers of the day before the Vikings began using the seas. The North Sea also made the land quite fertile for farming and raising livestock. However, living on the water’s edge also brought plenty of trouble. Over the years, the North Sea crept above the land due to the melting ice from the north and south poles. This combined with the gradual sinking of the earth draws a pretty clear picture of the problem the Fresians were presented with. The North Sea was overtaking their land. It was necessary for them to claim it back to preserve their lives.

Conquering the sea and recovering their land was no easy feat. The Fresians had to build mounds on which they could construct their homes and other buildings to keep them safe from the rising waters. They also constructed dikes, which are long barriers that prevent flooding. The Fresians also turned to the windmill (pun intended J), which they used to pump water out of the lowlands back into the sea. The historic Blockwindmühle, constructed in 1626, still stands today as a fully functioning mill. (It was restored in 2010.) 

With the waters of the sea better managed through the construction of mounds, dikes, and windmills, the Fresians were able to retain their lifestyle of farming, trading, and breeding horses.

http://www.fhana.com/the-fresian-horse/friesian-history

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/The-Netherlands.html 

Photo by http://wunderkammertales.blogspot.com/2015/01/i-have-sailed-over-rungholt-town-today.html

Adolphus and Lucretia

Adolphus Lutz was born in North Carolina and was the grandson of John and Sallie Frye Lutz. By the time Dolph was of marrying age, the Lutz family lived in Missouri. There he married Missouri-born Lucretia Boydston. I am curious about their given names.

According to Behind the Name, Adolphus is the Latinized form of the Germanic Adolf. Dolph's ancestry was indeed German, but why did his parents use the Latin version? It was most popular in 1893 when it ranked 330 in popularity. Dolph was 40 years old at this time.

Likewise, the name Lucretia is ancient Roman in origin. It was most popular in America in 1882 when it ranked at 205; Lucretia was 19 years old.

So both of these individuals were born before their names were trendy. Perhaps their parents helped to set the trend. Research has found that during the time these two were born, Americans were fascinated by ancient Rome. Classical style and philosophy seeped into their culture, and therefore their naming traditions.

Historically, Lucretia was a legendary ancient Roman woman whose tragic fate set in motion a revolution that removed the Roman monarchy sometime in the 500s BC and replaced it with a republic. Lucretia was ever after honored for her sacrifice.

As for Dolph, perhaps his parents wished to bestow a name reminiscent of his German culture. Adolf means noble wolf and was borne by several Swedish kings. Latinizing the name brought it to current cultural standards.

It will be interesting to notice how many other names in the family history were influenced by Roman Classical interest.

John and Sallie Frye Lutz, mentioned at the top of this post, are my husband's 3rd great grandparents.

Learning More from the OSBs

I found an interesting naming pattern among the Ostfriesen people in the 1600s and early 1700s.  For instance, Gerd Jacobs Thaden was the son of Jacob Meints Thaden, who was the son of Meint Jacobs Thaden, who was the son of Jacob Ulfers.  At this point, the surname is not used.  So when surnames came in use, a child's middle name was always the first name of that child's father.  This was also true of daughters.  All of Meint Jacobs sons and daughters had the middle name of Meints.  Some of the names, when used as middle names will have an s added on at the end.  This is an indication of possession.  That is, Gerd was Jacob's son and Jacob was Meint's son, and so on.  If the father's name ended in an e, such as Folke or Thade, then an n was added to it when it became a child's middle name--Folken or Thaden.

The OSB took me only so far back in time, to the 1600s.  I suppose this must be about the time when the Lutheran church there in Dornum was organized.  So I suspect that Thade was the name of an ancestral father of Jacob Ulfers.  Perhaps Ulfer's name was Ulfer Thaden.  Then his father's first name would be Thade.  But at this point, we are getting back to people who probably didn't even keep records.

All of this sparks my curiosity in the history and culture of Ostriesland.  Where did these people come from, and how did they live?  What kinds of things did they eat and how was it prepared?  What natural resources did they use for their survival?  How did the ocean influence their lives?

Time to study now.

The Cornicello

                                                               

The cornicello is also known as the Devil's Horn and predates Christianity by thousands of years. These twisted red coral, gold, or silver amulets are often worn as necklaces to ward off curses like the Evil Eye.  The curse of the Evil Eye is cast upon a person when someone else has coveted one of their possessions.  Every culture in the Mediterranean seems to have some version of the Evil Eye and their own way to ward off the curses it causes.  

Picture from http://www.consiglioskitchenware.com/cornicello-italian-horn-charm-keychain-medium

Passport Application of Joe Romeo

This is the passport application of Joe Romeo.  After he served in the World War, he planned a trip to visit his parents in Belpasso.  He came back to America with a bride!

The Ortssippenbuch of Dornum

"The Ortssippenbuch (OSB) is a book of the compiled records from a parish and sometimes from other local sources that organize people and their events into family groups. Each family group is usually assigned a number within this book and that family number leads to other family numbers so that you can connect numerous family generations together. Dates are given for births/baptisms, marriages and deaths and burials. It lists all the children that are born in this village and also if parents have come from elsewhere as well as other useful information. You might even find a reference if your ancestor immigrated to another country."--https://familysearch.org/blog/en/ortssippenbuch-shortcut-german-family-history-research/.

Not every region in Germany has them. Many of the towns in the region of Ostfriesland have OSBs, local kinship books, and more are being added all the time.  We are very fortunate that the OSB for Dornum was published in 2012.  This two-volume set cost me a pretty penny, but it has been worth it.  

Brothers Herman and Bernard Thaden emigrated from Dornum to the US in the 1860s. In the OSB, I have found them listed with their siblings and parents. This OSB lists quite a few Thaden families going back several generations.  It is a goldmine of information.  Above is a picture of a typical page within an OSB.

Of course it is written in German, and I have to have the Google translator open while reading the entries.  The symbols are intriguing.  An asterisk (*) appears before a birth date like it's the day the child burst forth into the world.  A tilda (~) appears before a christening date.  It looks like baptismal water.  An infinity symbol (∞) appears before a marriage date.  That's kinda cool since some people belive in eternal marriage.  The Christian cross (†) appears before a death date.  That's logical.  And an open box symbol appears before a burial date.  It looks like a coffin.

I have learned that most christenings took place in the family residence with three or four witnesses.  Emergency christenings took place when a baby had but little time to live.  And the infant mortality rate was really high.   

I really love the OSBs.  They are a valuable genalogical tool.