Sorting Saturday - New Furniture Should Be A Joy

I put off buying new filing cabinets and bookshelves for my office/work room for about 2 years.  I thought I kept postponing the purchases because I couldn’t decide what types of file cabinets I wanted, how many, or where to place them.  Also, I didn’t know how many bookcases I needed and where I wanted to put them.

NOW I know why I was procrastinating.  I was going to have to sort through about 20 feet of books, 4 feet of magazines, 8 feet of notebooks, and 15 feet of files mostly, but not all, in file folders.

Wedding Wednesday - POE, 1900 Bell County, TX

I just found three marriage records on familysearch.org.  No images yet, but these records have now been indexed.  What a great resource.  It’s amazing how much new information is available every month.

A major brick wall was what happened to Zollicoffer Poe and his wife, who I believe to be Lola Mont Swinney.  I don’t have proof yet of this marriage.  However, Lola is listed as married in the 1900 census.  Two children of Zollie and Lola were Harmon Lamar and Minnie Poe.

These are the marriage records I found.  All were in Bell County, Texas in 1900.

Mrs. Lola M. Poe married J. O. Jones on 23 Dec 1900

          Film 0981038;  Index M75204-2

H L Poe married Clara Wedel on 20 May 1900

          Film 0981038;  index M75204-2

Minnie Poe married Y B Mayfield on 30 Aug 1900

          Film 0981038;  index M75204-2

This is a start for me.  Now I just need to write for a copy of the records, or go to my nearest FHC and order the correct film 

Those Places Thursday - The Avocado Tree

No, this isn’t a traditional place that many people may think of.  However, this tree has a special place in my memory.

Right now it’s Really HOT in Arizona and I was thinking about how I dealt with summer heat as a child.  I grew up in Southern California.  We didn’t have any air conditioning.  We opened the windows and drapes in the morning.  As soon as it began to get hot (9-10 AM) we closed the windows and drapes to keep out the heat.  Then about 4 PM we opened up the house again and let the breezes blow through the house.  The windows stayed open all night.

So what does an avocado tree have to do with heat?  Well, we had four avocado trees in our backyard.  The trees were large and produced great Haas avocados.  The second largest tree had a large branch, perhaps12 inches in diameter, which attached to the trunk about 30 inches off of the ground.  It grew in a slightly upwards direction.  I would sit on the branch with my legs stretched along the branch and with my back against the trunk.  And I read, and read, and read.  For hours I read.

It was shady; the breezes blew through the huge leaves.  I escaped the heat, reality (for an hour or two), and, incidentally, also my two younger brothers and sisters.  A great memory for one of “Those Places.

4th of July - Yankee Doodle Dandy

Around this time of year I look for the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Do you watch it also?  There must be many of us who do, since I can usually find it on television at least twice around the first week of July.  For those of you who don’t know about this movie, it stars James Cagney as George M Cohan, the songwriter, actor, dancer and producer. 

I don’t consider myself especially patriotic, and yet I get chills, goose bumps, or whatever you want to call it, when I watch it, particularly the last 30-40 minutes.  The songs aren’t what many of us consider as patriotic, and they aren’t played regularly at patriotic functions, or even at other times of the year. 

The songs that particularly move me are Over There, You’re a Grand Old Flag, and I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Over There was published in 1917 and was an inspiration to those who joined the military.  The lyrics include an encouragement to enlist and to make your mother proud.  I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy is a light-hearted comment on being born on July 4^th.  But I think You’re a Grand Old Flag is my favorite song.  I love the images expressed in “Forever in peace may you wave” and “You’re the emblem of the land I love.”  As I said earlier, I don’t consider myself especially patriotic, but I often get tears in my eyes when I hear these lyrics.

If you haven’t watched this movie, I hope you will try it.  Also, I think we each need to write about what moves us or what causes strong emotions.  These stories, even if they are short, allow our descendants to know more about us than just the facts of dates and locations. 

Happy Independence Day, Citizens of the United States of America!  Wherever you are.

Mystery Monday - Charles Y Trice Marriages

Charles Yancy Trice was married two times, according to his obituaries.  The mystery is where and when was he married?  Was he married to two women at the same time?  Did he get a divorce?

My grandmother was the daughter of Charles and his second wife Luna (Lena) Estelle Drake.  C Y, by which he was often known, supposedly married Luna about 1891.  They had three children, three girls.  Ruth was born in 1892 in Bourbon County, Kansas, and died in 1901 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. 

My grandmother Katherine knew her half-brother and half-sister.  Harriet and Odon were born in 1885 and 1886 respectively, so they were much older than my grandmother and her sister. 

The real mystery:  According to a headstone in Belle Vista Cemetery, in El Dorado, Kansas, Parlee (include various spellings) died in 1893.  There is also a death notice in the courthouse in Butler County, stating that she died in 1893.  However, Ruth daughter of Luna (second wife) and C. Y., was born about 1892 according to 1900 census records and obituary for Ruth. 

So, did Paralee and Charles get a divorce?  Were they ever married?  Or did Charles Y. Trice really marry Luna?  Just one of the numerous mysteries I need to solve.

Surname Saturday - Raymond V Poe (1920-2006)

Raymond Verne Poe was my father.  My mother was the second of his three wives.  The last visit I had with him was probably about 1951.  He is a mystery to me.  

The POE line as I know it:

Raymond Verne Poe (1920 Reno, NV – 2006 Oakland, CA)

Thurman Allen Poe (1888 Sherman, TX – 1979 Sparks, NV)

Zollicoffer C Poe (1853 MS – 1923 OK)

William Green (or Greenberry) Poe (1818 NC – 1877 MS)

William was probably in the confederate army during the Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression).  He was probably married twice:  to Manerva or Minerva [last name unknown] (probably 1816 to 1859) and to Elizabeth (perhaps Sturdivant) (probably 1834-1923).  I am looking for documentation for this information.  I have looked at census records

Zollicoffer could be spelled Zollie Coffer Poe, Zolliecoffer Poe, etc. I believe I found him in the 1860 MS census, the 1870 Marshall County, Mississippi census and the 1920 Grady County, Oklahoma census.  I have been unable to find him in the 1880, 1900 or 1910 census.  I don’t have a death record for him.  I also don’t have a marriage record although I believe he married Lola Mont Swinney.  I have no photographs of him.  He also may have been married for a brief time to a woman named Mary.

Thurman Allen Poe is less of a mystery.  Thurman and his wife Olga Engdahl lived in Reno or Sparks, Nevada and are mentioned numerous times in the local newspapers.  They probably had 5 children but one son died at age 7 or so.  Olga’s story will be presented at another time but she was born in Sweden.  Again I have no photographs of him or any documentation.  The information was found through census records and online newspapers. 

I would like to have contact with some of the children of Ray’s sisters.  Perhaps they have memories of their grandparents they would be willing to share with me.

I am also trying to establish a relationship with some of the children of Ray and his third wife.  Because Ray was married when he died, I am hoping that family documents and records would be in the possession of one of these people and that they would be willing to share information.

SCGS Jamboree Plus 10

Ten days ago I attended my second Jamboree in Burbank.  For four days (because I attended the writing seminar on Thursday) I listened to amazing speakers and learned so much.  It’s going to take me weeks to process all of the new ideas and techniques.  There are many new techniques and suggestions to help break down those “brick walls”.  I also bought some DVDs and recordings of some sessions that I was unable to attend (a conflict with another great session), so hearing and watching those are going to take at least 15 hours of time.

I appreciate the time the speakers put in before they arrived in Burbank, with all of the effort getting their presentations ready.  The speakers were also available before and after presentations to answer questions.  However, this event would never have occurred if it wasn’t for Leo Myers and Paula Hinkel for cochairing this event and the army of great volunteers who worked for hundreds of hours to make Jamboree possible.  So, Thank you.    

I was so busy attending sessions that I only spent a few hours in the Vendor Hall.  But, oh, what hours!!! There was SOOO… much energy in there.  There was a huge variety, I believe over 70, different exhibitors.  And there were more genealogy books, new and used, than I could probably read in the next 10 years.  It was great.

Jamboree is usually held in June.  I hope to see you at the 2012 Jamboree.  Of course, hopefully we’ll have met through the blogs and we’ll just be seeing each other for the first time.

Again, thank you SCGS members and friends for all of your efforts in providing this great opportunity for the genealogy community.