Wisdom Wednesday - Pinching Pennies Until They Squeal

During this time of financial turmoil, I think we need to remember one of my Grandmother Severs’ sayings.  She used to say, “I pinch pennies until they squeal.” 

Since she was born in 1903, she lived through the depression, with two young daughters.  My Grandfather broke his back in 1928 and lived with back pain for decades.  Grandma had also lived through a difficult childhood when her father died when she was 12.  (She said she only had 1 dress for her entire senior year in high school.)

So, when I feel that I have things hard, or when I have to make financial decisions about what I can buy when, I remember Grandma.  She had such a positive attitude and thought that saving was a game.  She always took advantage of coupons.  If there was a buy one get one free, she bought one and shared with a neighbor.  With magazine subscriptions, she would subscribe only if she got a good price.  If a new subscription price was better than what she could get, she had my mother get the magazine for one year. 

And, Grandma Severs wrote.  She wrote lots of little things.  And we found her poems, prose and short stories on the backs of receipts and used envelopes and on scraps of paper.  But when she died she didn’t owe anyone anything.  Yes, she was frugal.  And she pinched pennies until they squealed.

Mystery Monday - Lamar, MO - Thorpe's Tantalizing Tidbits

Tantalizing Tidbits was written during WWII by my Great Aunt Helen Thorpe, with the assistance of her husband Frank Thorpe.  They wrote a newsletter and sent it to all of the military personnel from their area to keep them informed about the happenings in Lamar, Missouri.  As I understand it, this included births, marriages, deaths, people moving, etc. 

Frank C Thorpe and Helen Trice Thorpe have no descendants.  I would really like to have a copy of the Tidbits.  I have been asking for a few years.  I don’t even know how many pages this would include or for what years it was written.  I just remember that my Grandmother Katherine Trice Severs, Helen’s sister, talked about this.  Unfortunately, even though Grandmother kept lots of papers, she never kept these.  And, after Helen died, while we received some family papers, none of them included a copy of the Tantalizing Tidbits. 

These may be invaluable to someone interested in writing a history of Lamar, which is in Barton County as well as those of us who had family living there during the early 1940s.

Tuesday's Tip - Local Libraries & FHCs

I believe one of the least used resources for genealogy research is the local library.  No, it may not have books, microfilms, or documents that will help you.  However, most of them have computers. 

Yes, I know.  We have computers at home.  But did you know that most of them have subscriptions to ancestry.com?  And it’s FREE!! For use in the library.   Some libraries even have subscriptions to obituaries, footnote and other sites.  And don't forget Heritage Quest.

Also, don’t forget the local Family History Centers.  Because they are staffed by volunteers, the hours vary.  These FHCs often have ancestry.com as well as other subscription sites.   Some of them have 5 or 6 different sites.  You can use the computers for free and check out the options.  Then, either continue to use this valuable resource, or decide to pay for one or two so that you can stay at home.  But this is a great way to learn about more and different online resources.  

Surname Saturday - PLEASE! List Surnames on Blog

This is a twist to Surname Saturday.  I have looked at a lot of blogs.  Many of them mention ancestors in a posting.  Unfortunately, I am unable to find a list, ANYPLACE on the blog, of the surnames the blogger is researching.  This is frustrating to me.  Yes, I'll still read the blogs; they're interesting.  BUT, I'd love to know the names of other ancestors.  Perhaps we're cousins and just don't know it. 

So, my request is that if your blog talks about ancestors, please, someplace on the blog, list the surnames related to you.  I'd love it and you may find a lot more readers who can help you. 

Thrifty Thursday - Office Supply Sales

No, it's not Thursday but I'm posting this early for any of you who follow my blog. 

Many of you may not have school age children and so you forgot that school supplies go on sale in July and August.  I just read the Sunday ads.  Well, there are pens, pencils (mechanical which are great for repositories), and notebooks (binders) of all sizes.  Erasers of all types, some at 10 for $0.39, are great for those errors I make.  Copy/printing paper at one store is $1.99 for 400 sheets.  At my favorite office supply store, with my loyalty card and a rebate, I can buy 10 reams of paper, each 500 sheets, for an end cost of $9.99.  That's $1 for 500 sheets of printer paper.  (I think I'll find space in the bottom of a closet.) 

So, look at your local office supply store, pharmacy/drug store, discount store, and even large grocery stores for some incredible sales.  And stock up on what you know you can use. 

Surname Saturday - Lola Mont Swinney Poe Jones Sanders

With lots of help from the new familysearch.org and some help from ancestry.com, I have been able to follow Lola through her various name changes.  At least I think these records all pertain to the same woman.

Lola was born in Tishomingo County, Mississippi in 1861 and died in Parmer County, Texas in 1952. 

In the 1870 census Lola Swinney was living with her mother and 3 siblings. They are living with Mary’s parents in Mississippi and she is listed as 9 years old.

In the 1900 census Lola Poe and her daughter Minnie are living in Bell County, Texas.  Lola is listed as sister and living with Amos McDonald.   (Amos is actually her half-brother born after Mary remarried.)  This census record states that Lola was born in April 1861 in Mississippi.  The fact that Lola married a Poe is reinforced in the death certificate of Minnie D Mayfield.  Minnie died in 1959 and the certificate available on familysearch.org states that her father was Z.C. Poe and her mother was Lola M Swinney.

On familysearch.org the Texas Marriages, 1837-1973 file lists Mrs. Lola M Poe marrying J.O. Jones on 23 Dec 1900 in Bell County, Texas.  No image is available but the film number is 981038.  In the 1910 census Lola M Jones and John C Jones are living as husband and wife in Jones County, Texas.  The record states that they have been married for 10 years and it is a second marriage for each.  She is listed as being 48 and was born in Mississippi.

I was unable to find Lola in the 1920 census.  Back to familysearch.org and I put in Lola Mont in the search box.  The first listing was a Lola Mont Sanders in Texas Deaths, and parents were M Sweeny and no one was listed as mother.  It showed that she died in 1952 in Parmer County, Texas. 

I then checked the 1930 census records for a Lola Sanders.  Lola is living with W E Sanders in Jones County, Texas.  The census shows she is 65 and was born in Mississippi.  I don’t know who W E Sanders is and I have not found a marriage record for Lola and W E.  I also haven’t found a death record for W E.

If any one has information about Lola or know that I've made some errors, I would definitely appreciate a note.  Thank you.

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.