Where I Come From

Grandma's Hands

2012-02-14T22:07:00.000-06:00

photo taken by: Robin Inge

Jan 28, 2012

To most this is just a photo of a bunch of hands.

To me this is a photo of Love, Life and Family.

When you look at your hands; what do you see?

For most they see just a hand.

But for me I see the love that has held me when I was sad,

Strenght that has held our family together,

Determination to live,

Support when we were down,

Comfort when we were sick.

These hands have fed a family,

Held a friend in pain,

Hugged a child,

Worked to support a family,

been scrapped, bruised and broken.

But what these hands have never done,

IS GIVEN UP!

This photo is very special to me as it is a photo of my mother's, my grandmother's, mine and my granddaughter's.

Jaycee was born

October 25, 2011

1 lb 10.8 oz

Most thought she wouldn't make it, but through determination and sheer will she has thrived and proven everyone wrong against all odds.

Canning~"A Lost Art"

2011-07-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

I can remember when my great-grandma Evans would send me out to pick greenbeans, cuccumbers or tomatoes from her garden and then spend all day canning for the winter. She would gather her jars and boil them and then place whatever item she was working on and then I remember her pulling out the hot lids to seal the jars with a pair of tonges. She would never let me get to close for fear the lid on the pressure cooker would: "Explode" she would say. Being the curious one that I was, I would always get as close as possible so that I could see all the activites in the kitchen.

Grandma Evans passed away when I was only nine years old and I never got to learn the "Art of Canning". I never got the chance to have her teach me because Cancer took over and she was not able to teach me.

Even though I never learned, I have never forgotten and have always wanted to learn. Today, there are only a hand full of women that I know who still practice the "Art of Canning". In this busy world we live in with computers, ipods and video games who has the time or the want to. For most, the thought is just too time consuming and why would we need too with all the stuff we need at the local supermarket just around every corner....

Recently, I have realized that we have lost our communication skills with others unless it is through FACEBOOK, TEXT MESSAGING or EMAILS. I for one thing that the ways of the "OLD TIMES" might not be such a bad thing. The memories I have from watching my grandma in the kitchen, going out and helping pick dinner from the garden and spending time helping her snap the peas or pick the tomatoes for her to can are the best memories I have.

Thanks to Canning Across America for reminding me of these memories and keeping the "Art of Canning" alive for future genrations to come.

...and the story continues.~Happy Blogiversary

2011-02-13T22:41:00.000-06:00

WOW! Can not believe that it has been two years since I created "Where I Come From." Since then, I have broken down walls and discovered new stories, family members, places travelled, and met a lot of wonderful friends. The road at times is long and frustrating when you run into those brick walls and it seems information just is not there. But out of the blue when you least expect it, a hint or clue will appear and the bricks come tumbling down.

Thank you to my wonderful friend Jasia over at Creative Gene, for giving me the courage and inspiration to start this journey. It has truly been a wonderful experience.

Here is a look at the beginning of: "Where I Come From."

Happy Birthday Alma and Mable Clark~Sentimental Sunday

2010-12-26T16:34:00.000-06:00

Alma Elizabeth Clark (Evans)

26 Dec 1903~08 Sept 1978

Mable Clark (Short)

26 Dec 1892 ~ 21 Nov 1984

Happy Birthday Grandma and Aunt Mable

Merry Christmas~Happy Birthday Lane

2010-12-25T08:29:00.000-06:00

Lane Jeremiah Wirth

25 Dec 2002

Lane was not schedule to arrive until the Tuesday after Christmas. My bags were packed and after we had Christmas with my grandmother and dad, we were to head to Wichita Falls, TX to have Christmas with my son's other grandparents and Aunt.

My sister came in with the phone and told me that Misti was on the phone, so I said hello. She proceeds to tell me that Lane had already come. Oh, I was so upset, because she didn't wait for me. This was her only child that I had not witnessed the birth of.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MERRY CHRISTMAS

First Christmas~ Sentimental Sunday

2010-12-18T23:53:00.009-06:00

These are just a few photos of "First Christmas" that I happend to find and wanted to share with you in remembering Christmas and our family.....

Memories to Tresure

by: Joanna Fuchs

May the days until Christmas be full of sweet pleasure,

and your holidays create joys of memories to treasure...

These are my memories that I treasure....

Robin Lynn Campbell

Christmas 1954

Bells, TX

In the photo is her mother Lydia Mae Campbell

Michael Ryan Cordell

Christmas 1992

Sherman, TX

Jami Theresa Nicole Inge

Christmas 1993

McKinney, TX

Dustin Jacob Inge
Christmas 1996
Ft. Worth, TX

Included in this photo are Dustin's sibilings:

Paul Inge (holding Dustin), Jami Inge and Michael Cordell
The kids had went to Ft. Worth to spend the weekend with their Granny Cissy because she was putting up her 101 Dalmation Tree for the very first time. She had even bought special pj's for the older kids so they would match.

Destiny Elizabeth Trammel

Christmas 1997

Melissa, TX

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL....

Advent Calendar~Stockings

2010-12-17T21:57:00.009-06:00

My Christmas Stocking

photo by: Robin Inge

In participation with the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories .

I wanted to share my favorite Christmas Stocking.

The above photo is of my a stocking that was given to me 'bout 1975, by Angie Butler. At the time, my father was dating her and everyone loved her. This particular Christmas, Angie spent many hours making Christmas stockings for my sister and I. She said one day while riding on the ambulance she was finishing up one of our stockings and I don't remember what she said happened, but the sequences went everywhere. She told us her and her partner ahd to spend an hour cleaning them up.

The weekend she came up to give us our stockings, we spent it making Christmas Cookie Ornaments. I remember making Charlie Brown and Snoopy and candy canes and Christmas Tree's and Christmas Bells. We had them for several years until moisture got to them and ruined them.

My little sister has a stocking almost like it.

They have been hung every Christmas since.

That was the same Christmas Angie made Kristi and I our very own "Raggady Ann & Andy". I have always cherished both and still have them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS YA'LL

First Photo with Santa~Wordless Wednsday

2010-12-14T23:30:00.002-06:00

Blog Caroling~ "Little Drummer Boy"

2010-12-14T21:13:00.000-06:00

"The Little Drummer Boy"

Words and Music by:

Kathrine K Davis

The song was actually transcribed from an original Czech Carol in 1941.

Since the orginal came out, many have rewrittend and recorded the song.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum

I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum

I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,

On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum

The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum

Me and my drum.

Ever since I was a little girl "Little Drummer Boy" has always been my favorite Christmas Carol. So in the sprit of Christmas, I am posting this to join in the Footnote Maven and the other blogging caroler's. After I became a mom, my oldest became a drummer when he was in 5th grade. I can remember thinking to myself... "He don't have a music bone in his body". Well, I was very happy when he proved me wrong. Michael was awesome at the drums. Now when I hear this song, it makes me think of him.

Recipe for Life

2010-12-12T09:41:00.001-06:00

A little recipe I'd like to share for Life:

1 c. good thoughts

1 c kind deeds

1 c consideration for others

3 c forgiveness

2 c faults, well beaten

Directions: Mix thoroughly and add tears of joy, sorrow and sympathy for others. Fold in four cups of prayer and faith to lighten other ingredients and raise the texture to great heights of Christian living. After pouring all this into your family life bake well with the heat of human kindness. Serve with a smile!

From "Our Family to Yours"

Have a Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Best Friends

2010-11-30T21:13:00.001-06:00

In participation with the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am submitting the following article: "Best Friends".

Often times we overlook some of the important little things in our families such as "Our Pets". If you have ever owned one, you know! You know that they become intertwined with your family and your daily lives just as your mom, dad, siblings or any other member of your family. The following is how my son's dog became a member of the "Inge Family".

"BEST FRIENDS"

For several months, Ronnie had been planting seed's into the mind of my youngest son that he needed a Beagle. The reasoning behind this to him was simple.... Hunting! Ronnie would tell Dustin about a Beagle he once owned named Sarg and what a great "Rabbit Dog" he was and all the many wonderful hours they spent hunting rabbits. So, needless to say the story begins...

Dustin began looking everywhere for a Beagle.

One afternoon I received a phone call at work from my son telling me he found a Beagle in the newspaper for $50. He also informed me that all he wanted for his birthday was money. I told him we would talk about it when I came home to change clothes for school.

When I got home from work, Dustin was impatiently waiting for me on the porch and ready to pounce on me about the find in the paper. He had already called the dog's owner to inquire about price and to ask him how long he would hold one because his Birthday was in 2 weeks and he would have the money. Lucky for me the man told him he would hold one. I told Dustin I would have to think about it because we didn't have a fenced yard and off to my night class I went. When I arrived back around 9:30 that night, I came home to fencing laying on my porch so that I would trip over it.

"The fence he found out behind our house in the wooded area"

So, then I had to find another reason to throw him off track. Therefore, I decided to tell him I didn't have the money for the pet deposit. I would have to think about it. The next day after school Dustin called and told me he had called the "LANDLORD" and talked to him and they made a deal where he could pay the deposit out since he was working mowing lawns each week. What the heck do you say to that?

So, I told him I would talk to Ronnie and see what he said. After talking to Ronnie he told me to hold off since he was out of town working and couldn't be there to help us put up a proper fence. I passed the word along and needless to say Dustin was heart broken.

That weekend we had all planned a suprise pool party for Dustin's birthday and all his cousins and both of his grandmother's came to the party. While the kids played the grandmother's and I stayed inside and talked. One grandmother mentioned the puppy and asked me why Ronnie said no. I told her he wasn't here to build a fence and he wanted to wait. As they talked she mentions how hard Dustin had been working in school and that he deserved the dog. So she had me call to see if the dog was still available. We are in luck, there are still two puppies left. About that time, Dustin comes in and the man down the street has decided to give him a dog kennel... with a dog house included.

"This is the Dog House and Kennel"

So off down the street Dustin's grandma sends all the kids to bring the kennel and dog house home. They come back in a few minutes and Dustin said now the man wants to sell it for $60. I go to say no and off they go again, this time with grandma on their side. We all know how this is gonna turn out right?

You guessed it, when they arrive back at the house, grandma and Dustin have the kennel and dog house in the back of her truck and off we all go to see the puppies. Before leaving we explain that we will decide if the puppies are ok to bring one home. (now you all know he is gonna bring one home)

We drive all the way up into Oklahoma to see the puppy and instantly everyone falls in love. Dustin and Raegan are both ewwing and awwing over the puppies. Dustin decides on the fattest one of the bunch and tells the man: "How much do you want for that one?" The man tells Dustin he heard that he had worked very hard for that puppy and he was going to make him a deal. He disappears into the barn and in a few minutes comes back out and gives the pup a shot. He informs Dustin that he just gave him his first puppy shots and he needs to give him two more rounds. He then informs Dustin that he was having a special today and he was going to take $20.00 off the asking price and he could have him for $30.00.

Dustin and his new pup

Dustin and his grandmother worked the next day to put together his dog pen and fix it up for the pup. They also decided to name him "Copper"

What an awesome grandma...

Dustin working on the cage.

"Copper" (6 weeks old)

Since that day, Copper and Dustin have created a bond that will never be broken and they have become the "BEST of FRIENDS"

"Nana's Sugar Cookies" ~ Treasure Chest Thursday

2010-11-24T23:59:00.002-06:00

My dad's favorite cookie has always been "Sugar Cookies". For several years, I had made one special recipe out of one of my grandmother's cook books for him each Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each time I made it, the cookies were as hard as rocks. However, each time I made them he ate ever single one and never complained. Finally, Nana discovered this recipe and it was instantly a hit. Each time she would make them, she'd have to make sure my youngest son was not around, because he would eat them off the plate faster than she could scoop them off the cookie sheet. Once she got them cooked, she'd have to make sure she put the first batch aside for my dad and then make another batch for Dustin. This at times could be a very difficult task. However, each and every cookie was always enjoyed.

Thanksgiving is a time for Sharing,

a time for family,

a time for giving thanks.....

Let's remember what is important in our lives and this Thanksgiving while we are around our families, take time time to get those special memories told. Write down grandma's pie recipe, or moms dressing recipe, or that secret ingredient we are missing. While everyone is gathered around the table eating or in the kitchen cooking, jot down notes of memories that are shared from Holidays' past so that you may perserve them for future generations to enjoy.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love Robin

Wordless Wednesday~ Lyndol Ray Evans

2010-11-23T23:59:00.001-06:00

Tombstone Tuesday~

2010-11-22T23:59:00.001-06:00

Cora Etta Evans

28 Oct 1900 ~ 10 April 1981

Daughter of William Henry Clark and Amanda Elizabeth Dougan-Clark

Married to: George Cletus Evans on 28 Nov 1920 in Fannin Co., Texas

Children: Lyndol Ray Evans, Jimmy Lynn Evans, Clinton Ray Evans

Burial Place: Indian Creek Cemetery @ Delba, TX

Miss you Aunt Cora

Treasure Chest Thursday~ In Honor of Veteran's Day

2010-11-10T23:59:00.002-06:00

These are just a few of my family members who have served in the military.

Lyndol Evans-Army

Donnie Ray Cordell-Father

Robert John Campbell-Grandfather

John Ray Bardin

Raymond Francis Cordell-Grandfather

Jesse Faleris-Cousin

William Faleris

Treasure Chest Thursday~Happy Birthday Dustin

2010-09-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

My Treasure Chest today is filled with the memories of my youngest son's birth and all the memories he has provided me the last 14 years of his life. Today is his 14th Birthday and I wanted to share a little of those with friends and family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Dustin

DUSTIN JACOB INGE

born: 9 Sept 1996

Place: Wilson Jones Hospital,

Sherman, TX

Time: 6:32 am

Weight: 8 13.2 lbs

Length: 21.5 in

I was so glad when this day finally came! For most of the time I carried you, you sat on my kidney or pussed up against my rib cage. Every night when I finally decided to go to bed, you decided to wake up. You were causing problems before you ever got here and your still full of spunk now.

photo by: Chris Franka aka "Papa Chris

April 15, 1998

Place: CHISOLHM PARK, HURST, TX

This was taken at Destiny's First Birthday! We had such a great time that day with the two of you. Ever since the two of you were born, you've been connected at the hip.

photo by: Chris Franka aka "Papa Chris

Fall of 1997

Place: Sammy's BBQ, Ft. Worth, TX

This was a regular hangout for the family when Papa and Granny lived in Ft. Worth. I laughed one day when we were there and Uncle Larry informed all the kids that "Alligators" lived in the creek just below the deck on the patio and were waiting for little children to fall over so they could get fed. After that, no one ever climbed on the railing, but you always got ALMOST to the railing and would try to look over to see if there were really "ALLIGATORS" down there. It wasn't until you were much older that you realized that was just a big joke.

Oh, and LOVED THIS SMILE!

photo by: Chris Franko aka "Papa Chris"

April 15, 1998

Chisolm Trail Park, Hurst TX

"Destiny's First Birthday Party"!

photo by: Chris Franko aka "Papa Chris"

abt 1999

McKinney, TX

"First Fish"

This is probably one of my favorite photos!

Dustin's grandma had taken him fishing and while she was helping the other kids, he couldn't wait to get his hook in the water and figure out what was going to happen. All he knew was everyone else was doing it.

Dustin took his pole, without any bait on the hook and tossed it in the water. Before Granny Cissy knew it, you were screaming and jumping up and down and when she looked over at you, you had caught your first fish all by your self!

As you can tell, your pretty proud of it too!

2009-2010

Barwise Junior High

7th Grade

"HOW TIME FLIES"

Sentimental Sunday

2010-09-05T08:52:00.002-05:00

Grace Evans-Thompson

Born: 15 September 1907, Dessert, Collin, TX

Died: 27 May 2001, Sherman, Grayson, TX

Buried: Leonard Cemetery, Leonard, Fannin, TX

Married to: Marion Ray Thompson

5 Oct. 1924

Aunt Gracie was a "tot"! Being the youngest of of seven children and the "ONLY" girl, she learned how to take care of herself. Even as a little girl, I remember watching her give my great-grandfather fit's all the time.

photo property of: Robin Inge

Date: 5 Jun 1947, Leonard, Fannin, Texas, USA

This photo is of Aunt Gracie and her brothers at their Mother Anthaline Beasley-Evans' Funeral at Leonard Cemetery in Leonard.

In this picture: Left to right: Ervin, Clarence, Ray, Gracie, Lawrance, Archie Evans

My favorite memories are of visiting Aunt Gracie's house in Leonard out on 5035, renamed "Raggedy Ann Ln, for her 90th birthday. Her Daughter Anthaline, had gotten a bunch of signatures for neigbors and took it to the City for approval. Until her death, a big Raggedy Ann sign stood on the corner. Aunt Gracie's Signature Doll that everyone from all over came to see and buy were her Raggedy Ann Dolls.

photo by: Robin Inge

Home of Marion and Grace Evans Thompson

I couldn't get any closer to the house, because the gate is locked and someone else is living there now. But this is the house that Aunt Gracie lived in up until abt. August 1996. To the far left is her craft room.

photo taken by: Robin Inge

Created by: Grace Evans Thompson

photo taken by: Robin Inge

Created by: Grace Evans Thompson

Before Aunt Gracie passed away, I was priveledge to be given two very special afagans that she had made and I had always played with as a child. Each of these afagan's where created when I was a little girl and are apart of the past that reminds me of "Where I Came From". I can still remember seeing them on the back of the chair in the living room or drapped across her bed.

Aunt Gracie had a gift for "creating"....

Even has her health began to fail and her hands hurt from Artheritis, she still found comfort in sewing and creating. After I was grown and pregnant with my first son, I received my first sewing lesson from Aunt Gracie and she and I would spend hours playing and creating. Those are very special memories and times I was able to share before she left and I will always remember all the love that she shared with me through her gift of sewing and dolls.

"In Loving Memory...Billy D. Hudgins

2010-08-22T22:37:00.000-05:00

"In Loving Memory"

Billy D. Hudgins

9 March 1930 ~ 21 August 2010

Married to Martha M. on 6 August 1948

Services are being held on Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11 am in Rendon, TX. Burial will be at Rose Hill Cemetery in Ft. Worth, Tarrant, TX.

Sentimental Sunday: Happy Anniversary

2010-08-14T03:15:00.000-05:00

photo taken: shortly after they married

property of: Robin R. Inge

Alma Elizabeth Clark-Evans

Clarence Evans

14 August 1922

Desert, Collin, TX

Eighty-eight years ago, in front of the preacher's house in Desert, Tx my great-grandfather took Alma Elizabeth Clark to be his wife. I'm told that, they pulled up to the house in a horse drawn buggie and he came outside and married them on the spot. The preacher took a picture and to this day, no one knows where it is.

My grandfather told me many a time that his father had told him and his brother's that if they would wait till they turned twenty-one, he would give them each $1,000 on their wedding day as a wedding gift. Well, Papa said no problem, and he did just that. Let's face it, in 1922 that kind of money went a long way.... "Bread $.05, Milk $.25, a Movie $.025".

My great-grandmother stayed at home and took care of the home while my great-grandfather delivered "ICE" back when they had real "ICE BOXES". I still have his "Ice pick and Ice Tongs" that he used to deliver to his customers. Later we worked for the lumber yard. After he sold the farm in Bells, he began delivering newspapers for the "Herald Democrate" newspaper. I can rememember helping role the papers and load them up in papa's "GREEN" Nova and delivering papers after school. I think the most memerable thing about delivering the papers, where the old "Wooden Bridges" that he had to cross and it always terrified me to cross. I would lay down in the front floor board until he told me crossed. I was always afraid we would fall into the creek, but thankfully we never did.

I remember my great-grandparents always sitting down on Saturday Evenings and watching the Hee-Haw Show and Lawrence Welk and dinner was always served at the table and we all sat down as a family. On Sunday mornings, we would always go to church and afterwards my grandmother would always come home and fix Sunday Lunch. You could bet on a few extra people showing up afterwards for lunch. No matter who showed up for dinner or how many, my great-grandmother always managed to have enough for everyone and no matter what it was, it was always a hit.

My great-grandmother passed away on Sept. 8, 1978 after loosing her battle to cancer. However, no matter how much she hurt, or how bad she felt, she always managed to keep a smile on her face. Papa, always told her he loved her and he was always pickin' at her and teasing her. Even after 56 years, you could always see the love they shared between them.

My great-grandfather lived another twenty years after my grandmother passed, but not a day went by that he didn't think of her. I alway knew that they loved each other and as a little girl I always dreamed of finding the love like what they shared.

photo taken for their 50th Wedding Anniversary

property of: Robin R. Inge

My great-grand parents taught me the meaning of love, family and life....

To Alma Elizabeth and Clarence Evans

"Love is Patient"

Thanks for teaching me...

Happy Anniversary

Love your Great-Granddaughter

Robin

Sentimental Sunday~In Loving Memory ~ Lawrence R Huyck~

2010-05-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

Lawrence Raymond Huyck

Born: 15 June 1932, St. Ignace, Mackinac, Michigan

Died: 1 May 1994, St. Ignace, Mackinac, Michigan

Burial: Lakeside Cemetary, St. Ignace, Mackinac, Michigan

I did not have the priveledge of meeting Uncle Lawrence before he left this place, Joan (or Joni as he called her) and his family very much.

I spoke with my "Aunt Joan" regarding "Uncle Lawrence" and she told me that they meet at a place in St. Ignace called " Danny's Bar". She told me that they dated for 4 yrs before she left for Detroit. She returned some 11 years later and they again dated for another 3 yrs, before getting married on 28 December 1977 in St. Ignace. I asked "Aunt Joan" about something funny she remembered about "Uncle Lawrence" and she said that everyday when she would return home, he would say "Everyone back up, Joni is about to take her girdle off".

"Aunt Joan" ended our conversation by telling me that "Uncle Lawrence" was a "TREASURE!"

Happy Birthday Aunt Joan

2010-03-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

JOAN CAROL FALERIS (CORWIN-HUYCK)

Born: 20 March 1944, Detroit, Wayne, MI

Parents: James Faleris and Helen Marjorie Baker (Faleris)

The photo is a picture of Aunt Joan with her father at their home in Detroit MI, in 1944

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT JOAN"

"Saying Good Bye to Mama "

2010-03-17T08:28:00.001-05:00

Generations Connection.... "Tracing Your Family Through Boy Scouts"

2010-03-10T19:49:00.002-06:00

For the past three years, I have been hard at work locating those ancestors that had been here before me and left their mark on the world. However, some of the information about them is a little sketchie and while only general information about birth, death, marriage and possibly where they lived (only known through census records) can be located; it is the little things in their lives that I am more interested it.
What did they do? What where their likes/dislikes? How did they meet their "sweetheart"? Did they play sports? What made them who they were?

My son Dustin, is in the Boy Scouts and recently while helping in with some projects discovered a wonderful new "TOOL", for those of us searching for our ancestors and collecting stories from those who still bless our presents.

Scouting Family Tree

Being a part of Boy Scouts is an experience of a life time. Being able to preserve the legacy and history of each Scout is a treasure for the future generations. Being able to document your scouting family history is something to be proud of.

Get our kids involved and let's teach them that their "OWN" history is something to be proud of. Get them involved by researching their "Scouting Lineage". Help them find out what generation scout they might be. Find out if any Aunts, Uncles, Grandfathers or even cousins were in the scouts and what rank or position they served. Try and find out if they earned any special medals or awards. Make sure they properly document the information for future generations and teach them to document their own information as well.

"Shared Values, Strong Ties, Great Memories"

Celebrating 100 Years~Generations Connection

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY: "Grandma's Kitchen"

2010-03-03T23:55:00.002-06:00

Old, unused, useless, dust collector...

Gone, the days of grandma in the kitchen,

Cooking from sun up, till sun down;

Gone are the sounds of Papa calling for dinner;

Gone are the days of that sweet smell coming from her kitchen....

Once upon a time, this ordinary looking gadget, had it's place in my great-grandma's kitchen.

Grandma would grind her meat for whatever dish she happened to be preparing,

"A dash of this, a pinch of that", she would tell me as she taught me the basics of cooking.

Every word she spoke, every pinch of salt, every dash of nutmeg did I burn into my memory.

Gone are the days of "Red Beans" (Pinto Beans for the city folk), cooking, with me hoovering over the pot.

But the memories of my great-grandmother in the kitchen have never left my thoughts.

Grandma Evans, was the best cook I know. There wasn't anything she couldn't make....

...well maybe just one thing, (Meat Loaf). But everything else always came out just right.

I'm sure the angels in heaven are eatting in style tonight,

because grandma is cooking them up a feast, fit for the king.

So unbutton your wings, loosen that halo, cuz grandma's

got chocolate cake for desert.

As a little girl, my best memories of my great-grandmother are of her in the kitchen. Not a day went by that she didn't make a meal truly fit for a king. No matter how many people showed up unexpected, no matter what she had on for dinner, she always managed to have plenty.

This meat grinder belonged to:

Alma Elizabeth Clark-Evans

26 Dec 1903 - 8 Sept 1978

I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

Thanks for all the memories...

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Samuel Evans and Family

2010-03-02T23:55:00.006-06:00

Follow Friday: Roots'n'Leaves

2010-02-25T19:42:00.000-06:00

Roots'n'Leaves

Joan Hill

Ashland, Oregan

Recently, I had the pleasure of stopping by Roots'n'Leaves and absolutely "Falling In Love" with one of her stories. Before I even realized it I had been swept away to some place and felt as though I had been sitting beside her all along.

Her post titled: "Sentimental Sunday: A Love Story at Burger King" is truly a love story that we don't hear about or see anymore. To know that this "Love" still exsist after all these years, after all "BLING" is gone is truly a gift. While reading her story, I could honestly see the couple as if they were standing if front of me. When I reached the end, I so wanted it to continue and to know what happened next.

Please stop by and read Joan's post about a "Love Story at Burger King" and while your there stroll around and read some of her other stories. I promise you wont be disappointed.

"Life is not measured by the number of breath's we take, but instead;

by the number of moments that take our breath away"

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY: "The Love of My Life"

2010-02-25T07:02:00.002-06:00

Galveston, TX

February 2010

In June of 2007 I happened to cross paths with a "Cowboy" by the name of Ronnie Walker. In talking to him one could quickly tell he was unlike any other you would ever met. For his age, he was far beyond his years. Yet, I approached with caution because of past heartbreaks.

It didn't take long for Ronnie to steal my heart.

Ronnie is truly unlike any man I have ever met. On the outside he is tough, hard, and rough. However, on the inside there is a softer side that most never see. His heart is the size of Texas when it comes to children. While most are telling them to "quiet down", he welcomes the sound of their laughter and play.

When he is not on the road working, his daily routine begins at the "coffee shop" for the daily business meeting. Thats "Cowboy talk" for "Bullshittin'" with the old cowboys and farmers.

Ronnie don't do or say what everyone else does. He does what he wants and there are only two things you can do..... "Love him", or "NOT." It is the small things in life that he does that most seem to over look and never worry about. I would never admit it to him, but he is usually right on "Most" things.

He don't wine and dine with dimonds and fancy stuff, but I have more "MEMORIES" in three years, than most have in a "Life Time."

This man most call "WALKER" has walked into my life without so much as a warning and stole my heart. I do not remember what life was like without him, but I know that I never want to know another day without him in it.

"Thank you babe, for being there"

I love you with all my heart

"Your Girl"

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY : Amanda Elizabeth Dougan (Clark)

2010-02-23T23:55:00.000-06:00

Tombstone Tuesday: Abigail Smith (Bardin-Burleson)

2010-02-22T23:51:00.000-06:00

ABIGAIL SMITH (BARDIN-BURLESON)

Born: 20 Nov 1828 in Lawrence Co., Alabama

Died 25 June 1893 in Valley Springs, Llano Co., Texas

Abigail was the daughter of Abner Smith (1781-1872) from Warren Co., North Carolina and Sarah Rebecca Jackson (1785- ) of Tennessee. At the age of 17 Abigail married Jesse James Bardin (1824-1869) of Pike Co., Alabama on 17 April 1845 in Lagrange, Llano Co., TX and had seven children. After Jesse passed away in 1869, Abigail met Cummings Burleson and later married on 2 Nov 1876 in Lee Co., TX.

In 1882 Abigail and Cummings opened their home in Valley Springs TX to the First Primative Baptist Church in the area.

All photos were orginally provided to me by Donna Chapman, Photo of Abigails Cabin was provided by Greg.

Madness Monday: "Who Are You"

2010-02-21T22:15:00.000-06:00

This photo is the reason I started my search for who I am so many years ago. While visiting my great-grandfather, he told me to go through his old photos in the drawer in the bedroom and take what I wanted. As a little girl, I had always admired this photo and wanted to know who these people are.

As I sat in the middle of the living room floor going through photos and asking who people were I once again decided to ask who these people were. As my grandfather told me, I wrote on the back of the photo. (I was young and didn't know better at the time). The lady on the front row is Amanda Elizabeth Dougan Clark, daughter of Joseph and Nancy Dougan aka my gg grandmother. I had always planned on naming my little girl after her, but it never worked out that way since I had both boys.

"Grannie Clark's" brother's and sisters

That title was written by my grandmother, Amanda's granddaughter. The handwritting on the left written in a totally different direction is that of mine as my grandfather began to tell me who people were. There are two other handwrittings, that which is in green ink, and then the blue ink which is circled. I have decided that these are actually not Clark Siblings, but instead Goodman siblings. Amanda's mother Nancy became a widow during the Civil War when her husband died in Arkansas due to diesease. She later remarried a man by the name of Marcus Goodman and they had several children together. I have figured out a few of them, but I can not make out the green writting to the right of what says "Bill Clark". I do not know who the elderly man in the front is either. I also want to know who wrote: "My Mom Susan". I can not find a Susan on the goodman tree and don't know who she is. Their identification has alluded me all these years.

Who are you? How old is this photo? Where was this picture taken?

No one knows, but one day I will figure it all out....

Sentimental Sunday: We Meet Again

2010-02-20T23:50:00.002-06:00

Kristi, Kathyrn and ME

10 October 2007

Sheppard Airforce Base Air show

Wichita Falls, Texas

To most people a photo with their mom is not that big of a deal.

However, to me it is!

You see, up until this particular week, I had not seen my mom in 33 years. You heard me correctly. When I was a little girl, her and my father divorced when I was 4. I had not spoken to or seen her since.

In Feb. of 2007 I had just moved to Wichita Falls and happened to be at lunch and my grandmother called. She informed me that my dad had brought us a letter from our cousin Rene. In the letter it told my father that she was looking for Robin and Krisit and if she didn't have the right person, to please forgive her. If so, then she was hopping to contact us and if he didn't want to give us the letter she would understand. Well, obviously he gave us the letter.

At first I was in shock and didn't know what to say, think or feel.

When I went home that night, I sat down and wrote her a letter back and it wasn't very nice. It stayed in the door of my car for months. In late March, early April, I sat down to write another letter. The next morning I gave it to my ex-mother in law and asked her to mail it for me. Sometime in mid April I received a phone call shortly after I got home from Rene(my cousin). We talked for a while that night and hung up. The next night, we talked again and I also received a call from my mom. I knew instantly who it was without her even telling me.

In October of 2007, they all came to Texas to visit. When I first saw her I was actually numb. I was not sure how to feel or what to say. I think for the first few days I actually walked around like a zombie. I can't say that the visit was perfect and had a totally happy ending. It didn't! However, I can say that at the end of the visit I no longer had questions or regret. It has taken the last 3 years for us to become friends. However, I have not regrets nor hard feelings. I can honestly say that when I leave this world that I am ok with it and no matter what I wont't leave wondering.....

Surname Saturday: Dougan

2010-02-19T23:30:00.006-06:00

DOUGAN

(note: the following information came from the Ancestory.com surname informaton and family facts)

Scottish and Irish: variant spelling of Dugan.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

Dugan Name Meaning and History

The motto, Virtve et Valore ("By Virtue and Valor") is derived from Old English rather than from the Irish translation of Ó Dubhagáin, meaning "dark" or "black." The motto is derived from the Old English word dūgan (preterite-present: dēag ‘it is useful’, dugon ‘they are useful’, dohte ‘it was useful’). Other definitions include "to avail, to be of use, to serve"; Ðonne his ellea deah ("when his valour avails"); "to be fit or strong".

Other variations include: Dugan, Duggan, O'Duggan, Douggan, Deugan and Dewgan

My link to the Dougan name come from my ggg grandfather Joseph Dougan on my father's side of the family though his mother.

Follow Friday: Ginisology

2010-02-18T22:25:00.000-06:00

Meet Gini

Owner of: Ginisology

Not to long ago, Gini posted a comment to my blog and so I went over and started reading her stories. Before I knew it I had spent about 2 hours reading through all her stories. Gini is a very good story teller and does a wonderful job preserving her family history and writing about others.... Meet Dr. Bill. Since our initial post between each other's blogs, we have spent hours talking and sharing memories. Gini don't give her self enough credit and I think she does a fantastic job, so stop on over and spend some time reading about Gini's family, family traditions and before long you will be hooked too.

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY: Alma & Gracie's Pitchers

2010-02-17T23:59:00.000-06:00

Both of these pitchers belonged to very special women in my life...

The larger of the two belonged to Alma Elizabeth Clark(Evans) aka my great-grandmother.

the smaller pitcher belong to Grace Evans (Thompson) aka "Aunt Gracie" my great aunt.

Both of these women were very important in my life.

When I was a little girl, I don't remember a day that the larger pitcher wasn't filled with "Sweet Tea". Let me tell you, it was my favorite thing in the world to drink and she never went without. I've used it several times, because it just brings back such sweet memories. Every sunday after church that was the first thing she would make for me when we got home from church. Several years ago, my grandmother gave me the pitcher and it sits a top a shelf above my fridge so family and friends can admire it, but it is always safe from harm. The smaller of the two belonged to my great aunt Gracie. Gracie is the baby sister of my great-grandmothers husband Clarence Evans. First let me say that Gracie was the youngest of 7 and the ONLY girl. She was full of spunk and meaness. She was always pickin' at my grandpa and he at her. I don't remember a time when they were together or even on the phone talking to each other that they weren't arguing.

Both of these women were big parts of my life. My great-grandmother taught me to cook, when to and not to pick vegetables from the garden. (See earlier post on here for story), trust God, be a good mother, and LOVE. The love that her and my grandfather shared was something you don't see everyday. My great aunt taught me to sew, joke, play games on people and laugh. She too also taught me how to cook. Both women taught me how to crochett. When I was a little girl, my great-grandmother taught me how to start it or "single chain" as they call it. When I would get bored, I would sit and chain till I got tired and then rip it out and start all over. One day when I was pregnant with my oldest son, my great aunt asked me if I wanted to learn how to make something with it instead of ripping it out. So she showed me how to make a blanket. So, I began making a baby quilt for my first child. The night that I finally finished it, our electricity had gone out due to the weather. So my grandmother got some old oil lanterns and I finished it like they would have in the old days. It was kind neat to me to do it like that. The funny part of this story is when I finished it, it fit a full size bed. LOL! My great aunt gave me the small pitcher when I moved into my first apartment after my divorce. Shortly after that, she passed away.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but instead by the number of moments that take our breath away"

Wordless Wednesday: Grandma's Lilac Tree

2010-02-16T23:59:00.000-06:00

WINTER 2010 GENEABLOGGER GAMES MEDAL STANDINGS

2010-02-15T23:59:00.009-06:00

So here are the standing for team "Where I Come From" after 3 days of competion....

Can they move ahead? Will they faulter? No one knows.... we still have several days of competition and the hardest events for team "Where I Come From" are still ahead. Organization, Backup files, and Citations. Can they do it? Only time will tell....

So far these are the Medal Standing for "Where I Come From"

Saturday, February 13, 2010:

Competed in Event #4: Expand Your Knowledge
1-Task B: Created a Time Line for Abigal Bardin
1-Task E: Created a surname Visualization using Word It Out
1-Task C: Created a Memorial Page for Alama Elizabeth Clark (Evans) My Great-Grandmother

Competed in Event #5: Write, Write, Write:
1-Task D: Write a brief Biographical sketch on one of your ancestors. (I wrote about Joseph Dougan)

Medal Total: 1 Gold & 1 Bronze

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Competed in:   Event #5: Write, Write, Write!
1-Task B: Participate in a genealogy/family history blog carnical. (GYR Carnival for March 2010:    Forgotten Cemetaries, my submission is on Beaver Creek Cemetary in Wichita County Texas)
1-Task D: Write a brief Biographical sketch on one of your ancestors. (I wrote about My Great-Grandfathers and his Farm)

Competed in: Event #6 Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness
2-Task A: Comment on a New to ME Genealogy Blog (Glenview Public Library, Hellenic Genealogy Geek,)
3-Task G: Use Follow Feature on a Blogger-based genealogy blog to follow one or more: (Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, GYR of South Alameda County,)
1-Task D: Assist another researching with a request or lookup. (I helped my boss locate her Grandfather's burial site. He was buried at the National Cemetary in Houston)
1-Task F: Join a genealogical, historical, heritage or lineage society. (Joined the North Texas Genealogical Association. (in progress invitation to luncheon on Saturday with DAR, have not counted yet)

Daily Medal Total: 2 Silver and 1 Platinum

Monday, February 15, 2010

Competed in: Event #6 Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness
1-Task C: Invited Deborah A., from "The Sum of All My Research to GeneaBloggers.
1-Task A: Commented on a "NEW TO ME" Blog The Sum of All My Research
1-Task G: Use the follow me feature on a blogger-based genealogy blog, The Sum of All my Research

Competed in: Event #4 Expand Your Knowledge
1- Task A: Use Google Maps and embed into your blog. (I actually did this twice. The second time I noticed someone placed a photo of a house at street level on GeneaBloggers. Didn't know it did that. So I went back and played a little more and then posted an update with several street level photos of the old family farm.)

Competed in Event #5: Write, Write, Write!
1-Task F: Participate in a 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy Challenge(Used Google Earth and posted my findings)
4-Task C: Prepare Several post in draft mode and pre-publish (I drafted two post for Wordless Wednesday to publish tomorrow night at 11:59pm and then I drafted 1 post for Tombstone Tuesday to publish tonight at 11:59pm and then finally the updated post I did for the Google Map event, I drafted it to post later this evening around 5pm.

Daily Medal Total: 1Bronze, 1Gold and 1 Platinum

Overall 3 Day Total: 2 Gold, 2 Bronze, 2 Silver and 2 Platinum

Well, overall we are looking good, but need to work harder on the other 3 Competitions to get ahead of the game. Stay tuned for updates, now back to GeneaBloggers for more news.

Submission #7: More Google Maps

2010-02-15T17:00:00.001-06:00

So This morning I posted some maps that showed the location of my great-grandfather's old farm. Little did I know that you could see street view. (Thanks Cyndi for posting your photo on FB, otherwise I would have never know to look) So, here are the street views of the farm NOW!

View Larger Map

This is the view of the barn and the fence line as you come in from Sherman, TX

As you drive up to the house this is the view you will see. On the other side of the short wooden fence, is where the garden was and went all the way back to the fence where it blocked the cattle in... (unless some little redheaded, 4 year old let them out). Wonder who that was? Bet she got into lots of trouble....

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

This is the way the old house looks now. Orginally it was white and had a small porch off the ground and had a few steps leading up to the porch. Where the car is now, there use to be a carport that had a small tool room on it. To the left of the drive was is where the garden once stood. Just behind the house was the wheeping willow and the mimosa tree and my swing. You can't see it, but just behind the house is the creek. I remember my grandmother running out of the house one day with a hoe while I was swinging and it looked like she was coming straight for me. At the age of 4-5, seeing a old lady runing toward you wish a how is a little fighting. Well, after all the tears and screaming was over, I discovered she was after a "Cotton Mouth" just under the seat next to me.

So with this, I have completed my 7th submission for the Winter 2010 GeneaBlogger Games and Challenge #7 for 52 Weeks To Better Genealogy hosted by: Amy Coffin.

Submission #6: 818 W. Bells Blvd, Bells, Texas

2010-02-15T10:07:00.001-06:00

Event #4: Expand Your Knowledge

One of the task is to use Google Maps to map out an ancestral location and to create a map and embed it in your blog. I did just that and more. I expanded my research ability by remembering events and information given during a conversation that help led me to the information I was searching for.

Ok, Remember this barn from an earlier post....

Last year on Mothers Day, my son and I had all the rain we could handle for one week. So he suggested that we get out and go take pictures. I told him we couldn't due to the rain and he replied: "So, you can still take pictures." So, we got dressed, got my equipment and out the door we went with no plan of action in hand. We ended up in Bells, TX in front of this barn where I grew up and have such fond memories. I sat in the car as the rain came down and attempted to take a few shots from the car with my son's window down. I happened to notice a local police officer drive by and he slowed down and put his break lights on as he passed me. I then noticed that he was turning around. I decided that he was probably coming back to check me out. So, I did the smart thing and pulled into the driveway and decided to go knock on the door.

The lady of the house opened the door and with a grin I began explaning to her why I was there. With a grin returned she offered to allow my son and I to enter her home and see how they had changed the house up. Her and her husband were most gracious to allow me into her home, being a complete stranger. The began telling me about buying the home and it being to small as their family grew and the remodeling they undertook some for more space, some because time and the prior owners had not been kind to the old house.

The remodeling was beautiful and they had done a wonderful job. The front enterance and the back bedroom were still in tact and pretty much left alone other than a fresh coat of paint and new carpet and some new wiring. We talked about how it looked before and the spot where a garden once grew. They told me that when they moved in, there was a post sticking up and they tore it down. They never new why it was there, only that grass would never grow. The spot they mentioned was where the grapevine once stood.

This photo is of where the garden once grew I mentioned in yesterday's "Sentimental Sunday" post. The bare spots that you see in the middle are where the grapevine once stood. The tree line that you see to the left is where I use to stand to feed the cattle okra (LOL).

Well, yesterday I played around with google map, trying to locate the actual spot. However, I was unsuccessful. I then began trying to locate someone who might know the actual address. I called my grandmother since the farm belonged to her parents and she couldn't remember the address. In my search I remember dog kennels being in the back yard where my swing once stood and a beautiful German Sheppard following me in the house. They told me they raised German Sheppards.... (LIGHT COMES ON). I googled "German Sheppard Kennel's in Bells, Texas". BINGO! I hit gold! I emailed the owner of the website and told them I was not a stalker and if I had the wrong individual to PLEASE forgive my silly intrusion. Laster that afternoon I received an email from the couple of the website telling me I had gotten the right people and I was more than welcome to come back and visit. They have also graciously offered to allow me to take some of the barnwood to create a frame for my photo.

(Note: Don't wait till your elders are to old to start asking questions. Often times they loose preception of time and/or specific information that is important to your research. ASK! ASK! ASK! Each time you are with a group of elder family members get them talking about family events from the past. It's best to take notes of who is in the group and record the conversation so you will not miss specific details.)
So here is the maps for the location of this barn:
Address: 818 W. Bells, Blvd, Bells TX

View Larger Map

The map above is stree view

View Larger Map

This map is the satalite view

View Larger Map
This last view is the terrain view of the area.

Madness Monday: The search for Joseph Dougan

2010-02-15T07:04:00.000-06:00

So for the past year, I have been searching for information on My ggg grandfather Joseph Dougan. The only information that I have been able to come up with is that he served for the Union in the Civil War for the state of Indiana. Through an online contact, I have been able to acquire his marriage license and the pension papers his wife Nancy Cron Dougan received after his death. He and Nancy had one daughter, Amanda Elizabeth Dougan (my gg grandmother). So, I will show you the information I have and see if you can come up with anything....

Marriage License

Joseph Dougan

Nancy Elizabeth Cron

12 April 1860

Spencer Co., Indiana

by: John F. Thomas, Jr.

The marriage license states that the filed for the license on 9 April 1860. The license was filed on the 13th day of April 1860. However, at the bottom where the Clerk signs it the date is Jan. 31, 1865

Why is this document signed 5 years later?

Source Citation: Title: Spencer County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1850 - 1920 Inclusive Vol, Original Record Located: County Clerk's Office Roc; Book: 4;Page: 338.

Declaration for Widow's Army Penison (Page 1)

Document Dated: 31 Jan 1865

This document states that Nancy and her daughter(of Joseph) are residents of Rockport, Spencer, Indiana. It also states on this particular page, that Joseph enlisted on 4th Day of January 1864, in Rockport, Indiana as a Private in Company F, Commanded by Capt. James A Pine in the 28th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers, 1st Calvery and while in service died in the hospital of disease at Pine Bluff, Arkansas on the 3rd of October of 1865. (think this is a mistake on the year). This document also verifies that they were married on the 12th of April 1860 in Spencer Co., Indiana. It goes on to talk about their only daughter Amanda Elizabeth Dougan and that she was born 22 March 1862.

Declaration of Widow's Army Pension (Page 2)

On the second page of this document it shows that a Jonas Shaffer and a James R. Johnson of Rockport, Indiana as witness on behalf of Nancy and swore to the information given.

Question: How can Joseph have died on 3 Oct 1865 and the document be dated 31 Jan 1865.

I contacted my cousin who provided these papers to me and she stated that Nancy filed for the pension on 7 Feb 1865. The Surgeon General Office Record & Pension Burea says he died on 3 October 1864 in the Post Hospital at Pine Bluff, Ark of Chronic Dysentery.

This part of the document also states that Joseph died on 3 October 1865, but in Little Rock, Ark of disease.

On Ancestory.com, I located the following information:

U.S. Civil War Soldier Records & Profiles

Name: Joseph Dugan

[Joseph Dougan]

Residence: Rockport

Enlistment Date: 1 Nov 1864

Rank at enlistment: Private

State Served: Indiana

Survived the War?: No

Service Record: Enlisted in Company A, Indiana 1st Cavalry Regiment on 11 Jan 1864.

Mustered out on 03 Oct 1864 at Pine Bluff, AR.

Sources: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana

Source Information:

Historical Data Systems, comp.. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. Original data: Data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA from the following list of works.

Copyright 1997-2009
Historical Data Systems, Inc.
PO Box 35
Duxbury, MA 02331

The last bit of information also comes from Ancestory.com and states the following:

US Civil War Soldiers 1861-1865

Name: Joseph Dougan

Side: Union

Regiment State/Origin: Indiana

Regiment Name: 1 Indiana Cavalry

Regiment Name Expanded: 1st Regiment, Indiana Cavalry

Company: F,A

Rank In: Private

Rank In Expanded: Private

Rank Out: Private

Rank Out Expanded: Private

Film Number: M540 roll 20

Source Information:

National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online , acquired 2007.

So, my questions are:
1. What year did Joseph Dougan died? 1864 or 1865
2. Who are his parents?
3. Where is Joseph buried? so far, my search has come up empty handed

Jospeh's wife Nancy later remarried of Marcus Layfette Goodman in Rockport, Indiana on the 15th of Jan 1868. Nancy and Marcus had 7 children and eventually moved to Oklahoma. Nancy and Marcus are buried at Bristow Cemetary in Bristow, Creek, Oklahoma.

Nancy Elizabeth Cron (Dougan-Goodman)

28 Jan 1844 in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA

24 May 1921 in Bristow, Creek, Oklahoma, USA

Sentimental Sunday

2010-02-14T09:06:00.001-06:00

EVANS FARM

Since today is Valentines and the 1st Anniversary of "Where I Come From", I wanted to give you a look into one of my fondest memories growing up.

When my parents divorced, my dad, sister and I moved in with my great-grandparents. They had a small farm located in Bells, TX. The farm was located on HWY 82 in Bells,TX. However, since they have built a new HWY82, they have now changed it to HWY 56. The farm is can be located by looking for the Lion's Club sign at the start of the fence line, it will be on the right side as you heading east.

See the green grass in front of the fence line? my grea-granmother Alma had okra right there. I remeber many times going out with her to pick vegitables for dinner. Often times if the okra had gotten to large, she would tell me to throw it over to the cows. I would ask her why we were feeding it to the cows and she would tell me that it was to tough for us to eat.

One afternoon, I was apparently bored. Everyone was laying down taking a nap or dotting over little sister. So I went out to play and be quiet so she could sleep. I decided to go and play with the cows. I had been picking okra as my grandmother did and non of the wanted to come to the fence at that particular moment. So I did what every little 5 year old would do and go to them. LOL! Well, my plan worked! They loved the okra and came to me. Only problem was, they followed me right out the fence. I at the time didn't see any problem with it. However, I got bored and ran to play somewhere else and left them to fend for themselves.

The phone rang and it was our neighbor, he was calling my grandfather to tell him his cattle was out. Papa only thought it was our nasty bull who found his way out, Oh, No! It was all of them. I don't remember the exact head count, but I can tell you it was a bunch. My Papa and my dad went out and with the help from our neighbor and his 3 sons and a couple others, they managed to round them all back up. As they brought them in, I was told to hold the fence. LOL! So I would stand in front of the gate and hollar "Shew Cow, Shew! There was one particular that didn't like me saying that to her and she came at me, so up the tree I went. She got out again..... OOPS! I could hear my Papa hollarin' for me, but I decided that up in the tree was the best place for me.

Later that afternoon, after all the men had rounded up the cattle they ALL came lookin' for me and asked me if I knew how they got out. I simply told them I had been feeding them okra and they walked through the fence. As you can imagine that didn't go over well. So off the the wheeping willow tree I was sent to locate an apporpriate switch. I had to make yet again, several trips as I would always come back with the smallest, finest, and tinyest branch I could find. Each time, Papa would send me back for a bigger one.

I get it now Papa!

1st Anniversary

2010-02-14T07:02:00.001-06:00

Well, we made it! It's our 1st Anniversary!

For those of you who are just now stopping by, let me tell you how this all happened.

This time last year I was working on my family tree and had discovered research "outside the box" of Ancestory.com. Up until that point, that was the only place I knew to look for records and other documents and information. I was curious about a town called Delba, TX where my grandmother was born, so I did what every "smart" person would do, I googled it. I had already been blogging at this time, but only had one personal blog. Somehow, I typed the right combination of words in and I found Creative Gene. As I read through the blog I was amazed at all the stuff that was out there in our computer world. I then started reading more blogs and before the evening was over, "Where I Come From" was created.

One of the blogs talked about the fact that our younger generations were not interested in paper chasing and dead people. We needed to find someway to get them involved and interested in what we were doing. The most logical way was through computers. In our computerized world, everyone uses a computer. So, I did it! Now "Where I Come From" can be a lasting memory for my children and future grandchildren to see where they came from too.

Submission #5: Alma Elizabeth Clark

2010-02-13T17:22:00.002-06:00

Alma Elizabeth Clark

Event #5 Expand Your Knowledge

One of the task is to create a Memorial Page on Footnote's Create A Page or the Facebook Application I Remember. So I did!

(Note: FB application would not work for me. So I loaded it through Footnote's website first. Then I uploaded it to FB.)

Within this page, I have been able to load photos, stories and information for other's to see and create yet another page for my genealogical history for others to view. For me sharing a piece of the past is exciting and I hope to be able to help other's in their search for their links to my family. I have also learned yet another source of information for my searches that may help with those dreaded "BRICK WALLS".

Event Submission #4: Biography of Joseph Dougan

2010-02-13T15:11:00.001-06:00

Winter 2010 GeneBloggers Event #5 Write, Write, Write ask that we write a brief biographical sketch on one of our ancestors. This is my biographic submission for this event.

Joseph Dougan

Born: abt 1840 somewhere in Indiana

Died: 3 October 1864, Pine Bluff, Arkansa

Married: Nancy Cron

12 April 1860

Spencer Co., Indiana

Records obtained show that Joseph and Nancy were married in Spencer Co., Indiana in 1860. They had only one child: Amanda Elizabeth Dougan (Clark). Josephs wife Nancy is the daughter of Jon and Cron of Sumner Co., Tennessee and Maria Catherine Johnson of Tennesse. Both of her parents are buried somewhere in Spencer Co, Indiana.

One year to the date after Joseph and Nancy married the American Civil War began. Records obtained show that Joseph enlisted on 14 Jan 1864 as a Private for the Union. He served for the State of Indiana in Company A of the Indiana 1st Calvery, 28th Regiment. He mustered out on 3 October 1864 in Pine Bluff Arkansa. He died there in the hospital of diesease during the war. At this time, I have not been able to locate a place of burial. I am assuming that he is buried somewhere in PineBluff, Arkansas. Nancy received a war pension after Josephs death.

Joseph's wife Nancy later remarried to Marcus Layfette Goodman on 15 January 1868 in Rockport, Spencer, Indiana and had 7 children together. The couple migrated from Indiana, to Kansas and finally ended up in Oklahoma. Nancy and Marcus are both buried at the Bristow Creek Cemetary in Bristow, Creek, Oklahoma.

At this time, no information is known about Joseph's parents or whether he had any sibilings. Documents in posession at this time are copies of the marriage license between he and Nancy and a copy of the pension papers that Nancy received after his death.

Their daughter Amanda Elizabeth was born on 22 March 1862 in Spencer Co.,Indiana. She married William Henry Clark of Indiana in 1878 in Labette Co., Kansas. The couple moved from Kansas to Texas and finally settled in Fannin County. They had a total of 13 children together. Their daughter Alma Elizabeth Clark-Evans is my great-grandmother on my father's side.

My grandmother tells of a story where "Grandpa Clark" as he was so called, had obtained a recipe from local traveling medicine shows for an ointment to cure cancer. My grandmother still has the actual recipe he wrote down in her possession. She said she can remember "Grandpa Clark" using the ointment and cutting cancer off of various members of town when she was a little girl, including "Grannie Clark".

Photo given to me by my great-grandfather Clarence Evans

Place of photo unknown

The woman on the front row is Amanda Clark, daughter of Joseph and Nancy Dougan. The men standing next to heron the left is her husband William Henry. The others so the photo states are her sibilings. It was not until recent that I relized they are not Clarks, they are Goodmans. We do not know who the man is on the front. It seems as if the photo had been cut at the bottom per the had writting on the back. (see next photo)

On the back of this photo there are actually 4 different handwrittings.

The title "Grannie Clark's brother's and sisters and then that in the lower right corner that says "Grandpa's Brother is that of my Grandmother (Granddaughter of Amanda). The handwritting in the left corner that starts with "Grandpa Clark(Evans crossed out) is that of mine when I was about 15 when I first obtained this photo. (I didn't know any better at the time) . Then there is the handwritting that use the green ink and I am unsure who it belongs to or even what it says. The handwritting that has everything circled is also unknown as to whom it belongs to. However, if I could figure out who Susan is, I could narrow down the handwritting to her daughter. But at this time, I don't know who Susan is.

Event Submission #3: Forgotten Cemeteries Submission for the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal

2010-02-13T13:29:00.001-06:00

Well once again I am rapidily working on my events for the Winter 2010 Geneblogger Games.

Event #5 Write, Write, Write! One of the task is to in one of the genealogy or family history related blog carnivals. So my submission went in for the March 2010 Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal, Forgotten Cemeteries. This topic was given to Graveyard Rabbit by Tina Michael Ruse of Campo Santo-holy ground, The Graveyard Rabbit of Alta California. Submissions are due by: February 25, 2010. You can view the sumbitted article at Graveyard Rabbits of Wichita County Texas.

Last year I kept hearing about "Beaver Creek Cemetary which is located outside of Electra, Texas just off of HWY 25. The Cemetary is very secluded and grown up. One might not even notice it when driving by as Cattails cover the fence line near the enterance and the headstones are set back up on a hill. Most people have told me NOT to visit during the warmer months as the cemetary is home to many large rattlesnakes. If your not from Texas and don't know about them, they are nothign to mess with.

On 19 May 2009 my youngest son and daughter ventured out with me to see what Beaver Creek Cemetary was all about. That particular day was cloudy, wet and cool, so no rattlesnakes happend to appear that day. However, we did come upon a couple of our little Graveyard Rabbits lerking about. As I was walking in the tall grass, I almost stepped on one of the little guys.

The condition of this cemetary broke my heart. Headstones that have fallen over are thrown in a pile near the fence and we have no idea where they belong. The grass is grown up to where you can hardly see some of the small markers. Then there are even markers that have tree's grown up around them where it makes it almost impossible for the NON-Graveyard Rabbit to view.

After visiting the cemetary, I placed a call to one of the local Funeral Homes in Wichita Falls, TX and spoke to a very polite lady on the other end of the phone. I told her my crazy story and why I was looking for the information and within a few days she called me back with the name of the caretaker for the Cemetary and his phone number. At this time, I have not been able to reach him.

Submission #2-My Family - Word clouds - WordItOut

2010-02-13T12:47:00.002-06:00

My Family - Word clouds - WordItOut

Well, I am rappidly working through my events and completing as many of the task as possible on Day 1. Here is my second submission for the Winter 2010 GeneaBlogger Games. This event is #4 Epand You Knowledge. The Task is to complete a surname visualization using Wordle or Word It Out. I have choosen Word It Out for this competiton. I already have a surname visualition posted in my sidebar from Wordle and didn't think that it would be fair to use that one since it was created at the beginning of Where I Come From.

Surname Partial Listing:
Baker
Bardin
Beasley
Campbell
Clark
Cordell
Dougan(Dugan)
Evans
Faleris(Faleri-Greek Lineage)
Hall
Inge
Keng
Maness
Scopis (Sgoupakou-Greek Lineage)
Walker
Williams

Submission #1- Time Line for the Life of Abigail Smith Bardin-Burleson

2010-02-13T12:25:00.003-06:00

Here is my entry for my first competition in the Winter 2010 GeneaBlogger Games, one of my events requires me to create and publish a timeline through TimeToast. I was not able to embed the timeline into my post, but have included a link to the timeline. Just click on the title to take you to the time line.

This submission is for Event #4: Expand Your Knowledge. The taks is to create a timeline for a specific ancestor and then publish it on your blog.

One of the most interesting facts about Abigail is that her and her second husband Cummings Burleson opened their home in 1882 to hold services. Abigail and Cummings are credit for the creation of the First Primitaive Baptist Church in Llano Co., TX.

WINTER 2010 GENEABLOGGER GAMES

2010-02-13T01:44:00.000-06:00

GENEABLOGGERS is hosting:

WINTER 2010 GENEABLOGGER GAMES

Opening Ceremonies: Saturday, February 13, 2010

Closing Ceremonies: Saturday, February 28, 2010

EVENT LINE UP:

1. Go Back and Cite Your Sources (Participating)

2. Back up You Data (Participating)

3. Organize your Research (Participating)

4. Expand You Knowledge (Participating)

5. Write, Write, Write (Participating)

6. Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness (Participating)

I have choosen my first event (GO BACK AND CITE YOUR SOURCES) because while I have a lot of information, I don't have all of it cited properly or even cited at all. So, I need to spend some time making sure that I have everything documented properly. I plan to organize my documents by types and then going from there to cite properly. I need to go check out "How to Cite Sources by John Wiley before I get started and make some notes to see how each type of source is correctly documented.

Second I choose (BACK UP YOUR DATA) because sadily to say: " I HAVE NO INFORMATION BACKED UP"! So If there were to be a fire, flood or some other random act of Mother Nature (like maybe the roof cave in due to the weight of the snow) I would loose EVERYTHING! That would not be a good thing. Recently I added a new antivirus software to my computer and it comes with secure online data storage for backing up files. So the first thing I plan to do is create a back up and store it at the online site. The next thing I will do is back up all my photos to CD's and place them in a fireproof safe at my moms house. I will also back them up on my flashdrive and my external drive. Recently my mom's computer obtained a virus and she may have lost all her family research documents and photos if the computer guy can't extract the files. (NOT GOOD)! My next chore is to get all my photos scanned in and organized for safe keeping. For the last three years all photos have been digital, but I have some that are not and trust me I will cry if I loose them, because some of the photos are 100+ years old.

Now for the (ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH)! This one is going to be a challenge, but I know I can do it. While I have spend the last three solid years doing major research and taking notes; I have not organized them into any sort of logical system. I have nots on notebook papers, napkins, tablets and you name it. So I need to get a comprehensive list of what I have and go from there. I plan on starting a spreadsheet or database that will tell me exactly what documents I have and what I still need for each individual.

Now (EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE)... this one is going to be good. Last Christmas, I actually started venturing outside of the box. Up until Christmas 2008, I had only researched that information which I could find within the walls of the Ancestory.com site. If it wasn't there, then I didn't have it or know it exsisted. While talking to my grandmother one day I realized I didn't know where she was born. So, I asked the simple question: "Grandma, Where were you born?" She replied: "Delba, TX". Yeah, that was my reaction too. I had no clue where it was. So when I asked she informed me it was close to Sherman, TX, but it no longer exsisted because it was leveled by a tornado. So I began researching the town and sure enough a massive tornado had destoryed everything in its path and Delba was no more. The only thing that stands there now is a little cemetary. Since that day, I have discovered other sources of information and learned to think outside of the "Ancestory.com Box". So this challenge will be fun.

Now for the WRITE, WRITE, WRITE catagory! I have been so wrapped up in school work, I have lost touch with my blog. So this one will help get me jump started to get something going. I plan on completeing at least 3 of the 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy Challenge for this one.

Lastly, we have the Reach Out & Perform Genealoical Acts of Kindness. WOW! What an easy one this is. Everyday, someone in the Genealogical World, others are helping perfect strangers to find some long, lost dead realitive and never thinking twice about the time spend searching. This one will be a fun too. I plan on doing some searching for headstone markers for Find-a-Grave and I alo want to reknew my offer to look up obituaries here in Wichita Falls.

So, grab your morning coffee, slippers, blanket and snuggle up and get ready for the fun and excitement of the Winter 2010 Geneablogger Games!

Robert John Campbell

2010-01-16T19:07:00.000-06:00

Robert "Bob" John Campbell

Born: 24 February 1931 in New York

Died: 14 November 1993 in Gainsville, Cooke, Texas

This is my grandfather Robert John Campbell, better known to family and friends as "BOB". He was born somewhere in New York on the 24th day of February in 1931. The only thing that I know about his parents is that his mother's name was "Hattie" and I am unsure if this was a given name or a nickname.
Grandpa worked for several years for Olin Mills Studios and then later for KXII Channel 12 News in Sherman, TX. He later moved to Gainsville, TX after his divorce from Lydia Mae Evans-Cordell (my grandmother) and worked at SmokeHouse II and then for a local used car lot. "Grandpa Bob" was what I always called him. My grandmother tells me that he loved the fireplace and even during the summers when it reached 100+ here in Texas he would turn the ac down as low as it would go so that he could start the fireplace. My grandfather was the reason "RED BEER" was popular.... well maybe no, but sure was close and he loved those "DALLAS COWBOYS". I remember many Thanksgivings playing outside with my sister and hearing the adults yelling inside and wondering what in the world was going on. It was not until my adult years, that I learned exactly what they were yelling about.

My grandfather married Lydia Mae Evans on the 6th of February 1951 and later divorced on the 16th of October in 1975 in Sherman, Texas. They had a daughter on the 9th of April in 1954 by the name of Robin Lynn Campbell who now calls home in upstate New York. After his divorce from Lydia he married Della Rose Fetta, but unsure of the date or where.

My grandfather had problems with his heart and in November of 1993 shortly before my oldest son's first birthday, he suffered from a massive heartattack. Recently, I have learned that my grandfather served in the Korean War. I do know that he served for several years in the Airforce, but that is about as much as I know at this time. He and my grandmother divorced when I was very young.

My grandfather is buried at the Sacred Heart Cemetary in Muenster, Cooke, Texas.

Love ya Grandpa Bob

"Happy 101 Award"

2010-01-10T16:45:00.000-06:00

WOW! What an honor! My friend Gini over at ~ Ginisology ~ awarded me with this wonderful "Happy 101 Award". I am so excited, what a way to start of 2010.

So, now my part of this: List 10 things that make me happy. So here they are:

1. Being a Mom
2. Watching the Sunrise or set with Ronnie out at the land. Nothing is more relaxing
3. Scrapbooking all my wonderful memories
4. My sisters.. in small doses. LOL
5. Being an Aunt to 2 nephews and 4 nieces
6. My friends in the Genealogy world... they are truly wonderful.
7. Remembering my great-grandparents and all the fun I had with them.
8. Photography, I get lost behind my lens
9. Riding Horses, there is nothing more that makes me feel so powerful and so free. Seeing the world whileriding is a whole new experience and every time I ride I see something new.
10. Being able to make a friend smile when they are having a not so wonderful day...

I have learned that, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away" In this very busy world we live, we often times forget to take those moments and enjoy our time with family, friends and just being by ourself and reflecting on our life. Each day, we need to remember those little things that our loved ones do for us that often go unnoticed. When the day is done and the lights are dimmed and all is quiet it will be those little moments when we are alone that we will remember and mean the most.

With that said, now it is my honor to award the following Blogs with the "Happy 101 Award": (*NOTE: it is not easy picking 10. Everyone that I come in contact with gives me another piece of information I didn't know or an idea I didn't think of)

1. Creative Gene ~ the very first Genealogy blog that I read and why I started this whole journey....

2. Footnote Maven ~ by Footnote Maven
3. The Olive Tree Genealogy ~ by Lorine
4. Tennessee Memories ~ by Judith
5. Who Will Tell Their Story ~by Julie
6. Genealogy Traces ~ by Judith
7.  Greta's Genealogy Blog ~ by Greta
8.  CandaGenealogy ~ by MDR
9.  Family Matters ~ by
10. Little Bytes of Life ~ by Elizabeth

Start your New Year by Backing up your data

2010-01-03T12:17:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! Have you ever lost your all your research? Has your computer crashed? Have you ever thought about what would happen if it did? Well, the answer for me to these questions is NO! I had not until I started reading about it on everyone's blogs and post. Now I am terrified that I would lose all of my research. I have spent hours upon hours researching my ancestors and following the trail till it ends. I can not imagine what would happen if I lost all of that. Yes I do! I would lay down in my floor and cry and throw a big fit like a 2 year old child. I'm not kidding! So, lets start off the new year right by backing up are research and data so we dont have any 2010 melt downs. Thanks to GeneaBloggers, they are even making it easier by giving away four fee copies of Handy Backup by Novosoft LLC (value $39 US)!

Oh by the way, as with any contest there are always rules and legal stuff. So stop on over and read all that at GeneaBloggers too. Don't forget to make sure that your blog is on the genealogy blog roll over there. And tell them that Robin over at Where I Come From sent you.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-25T07:33:00.000-06:00

Just Stopped By

2009-11-25T07:30:00.002-06:00

Well, the last few months have gone by fast and furious and I have had no time to stop in. In April I turned 40 and for some odd reason, I decided it was time for me to go back to school. So in June I did just that. My classes have kept me very busy as I am taking 12 hours a semester, which happens to be considered full time. WOW! Next week is my last week until January, so I will be updating my blogs and stoping by to say hi. So check in with me and have a cup of coffee!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

In Honor of THANKSGIVING, I am posting a Wordless Wednesday photo of someone that Thanksgiving always reminds me of. At this time on the day before she would be up baking pies from scratch and when she was done with her pie's she would take the left over dough and make me little pie crust twist and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on them. So to my Great-Grandmother Alma Clark.... I love you and wish you could be here to enjoy Thanksgiving! Even though you are not here to share it with us, know that you are still Loved and Missed by all!

AMANDA ELIZABETH DUGAN CLARK-Updated

2009-08-14T18:43:00.000-05:00

BORN: 22 March 1862

"Somewhere in Indiana"

DIED: 5 May 1949,

Sherman, Grayson, Texas

Parents:

Joseph Dugan

Born: 1840 in Indiana

Died: 3 Oct 1864 in Little Rock, Arkansas

Nancy Elizabeth Cron

28 Jan 1849, Nashville, TN

24 May 1921, Bristow, OK

Married to: William Henry Clark in 1878 in Kansas

Children born to this union:

1. Henry L., 1880 - ?
2. Emma Elnora, 1881-1978
3. Alice Mae, 1883-1978
4. Sylvester, 1883-1897
5. William "Willie" Augusta, 1887-1974
6. Charlie L., 1889-1970
7. Mable, 1891-1987
8. Ida Isbelle, 1894-1982
9. Wilburn Cisney, 1895-1917
10. Ira E., 1898-1981
11. Cora Etta, 1900-1981
12. Alma Elizabeth, 1903-1978
13. Baby Boy Clark, 1906-1906

For years, I have understood that my Great-Grandmother was adopted, but recently I learned that I somehow had misunderstood. It was another grandmother instead. I recently was able to locate information regarding Amanda and her parents. Her father was Joseph Dugan who was born in 1840 somewhere in Indiana. He served in the Civil War uner the Command of Captin J. Pine in F. Company in the 28th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteer Calvery. During the Civil War he died in Arkansas on 3 October 1864 of disease as so many others had. Amanda was the only child that Joseph and Nancy had. Amanda's mother Nancy was born 28 Jan 1849 in Nashville Tennesse. After the loss of her husband she remarried Marcus L. Goodman and together they had 8 children.
Information collected from Census Records shows that Amanda and her family have lived in Fannin County,, Grayson County and Collin County, Texas along with Indiana, Kansas and Missouri.

Amanda, along with her husband and several children are buried at West Shady Grove Cemetary, behind the little country church in Collin County, TX. When Amanda passed away she was living at 424 W. Cherry St., in Sherman, TX with her daughter Cora.

Friendly Bloggers Award

2009-05-13T00:32:00.002-05:00

First I want to say THANK YOU to Gini over at Ginisology for honoring me with this award. Let me say that I have really enjoyed the group of friends that I have found doing this and have been able to "open my eyes" to new ways of searching for information and facts due to the Genealogy Blogging World I discovered earlier this year.

Now for passing the torch: My 7 Nominee's are.....

1. Creative Gene because "they are the one's that got me started"
2. Shades of the Departed
3. Judith over at Tennessee Memories
4. 100 Years in America
5. Graveyard Rabbit
6. Alana over at A Twig in My Tree
7. Terri over at The Ties That Bind

PS. This is not an easy task to decide who get's this award.

Down on the Farm

2009-05-10T20:02:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl my great-grandparents lived on a farm in Bells, TX

When my parents divorced my dad moved us into their home. My father was a fireman and he worked 24 hr shifts and then off 48 hr's. I had a little sister who was just an infant and not even a year old. Life on the farm was wonderful. Every morning I would help my grandfather feed the cattle and the other critters on the farm.

This weekend I had the pleasure of revisiting the "Old Farm". This is the "Original" barn that once housed the hay and critters from the elements of the East Texas weather and storms. It is also the "Core" of my existence. Every wonderful memory I have starts here and the person I am today is because of this place. Funny, now it seems so small and yet at that time in my life it was bigger than life. Being able to see it again brough wonderful memories flooding back. This is the place where I once let all my granfather's cows out and I got my first "whoopin" that I can honestly remember. At one time, a wheeping willow stood in our back yard. I honestly believe that my grandfather killed it using it on me at various times in life.... (never did I say I didn't deserve them).

Even though the exterior and interior of the house has been changed, the memories of my childhood still remain. I stopped to ask the current owners if I could take a few pictures and explained to them why. They gracioiusly offered to allow me into their home so that I could see what they had done to the inside. "Today we are so wrapped up in our lives we dont stop and take time to remember." Yet these two wonderful people let a complete stranger into their home and shared a little bit of life with me and for that hour they allowed gave me great pleasure. Even though the walls have been knocked down and rooms moved and remodeled, I still remember life as it once existed. This is the house that I learned to cook in! This is the house where I learned how to pray! This is the house where I learned the meaning of Family! This is the house that I learned what love is!
Even though it is only a bunch of grass and a few bare spots now. Once this large section of the yard to the right of the house was my great-grandmother's garden. Up against the fence stretched two rows of Grapevines, followed by rows of corn, raddishes, beets, potatoes, cuccumbers, tomatos, onions, squash, mustard greens, green beans, peas, okra and the last row was CABBAGE! Yet, another butt whoopin' I remeber getting. Every day, my grandmother and I would go out and help her pick veggies for dinner or lunch that day. One particular day, I decided I would go out and pick the cabbage for dinner that night. Only thing was, I picked two whole rows of it. Needless to say, that was not what she wanted. So my job was to return each and every head back to it's home before PaPa returned home in order for me not to be in trouble. I didn't get it done in time needless to say....

The owner and I shared stories about the farm and how it once was. While telling them about the garden he asked where it stood. They told me that when they moved in the grapevines still stood and they were able to get grapes for a couple years. However, a storm blew in one day and destroyed the vines. They removed the post and wire that streched the length of the yard and the bare spot where the post once stood still remains.

While the house has changed in appearance, the love and memories still remain. The garden is gone but the barn still stands.

"MANESS FAMILY LIFE ON THE RED RIVER"

2009-05-05T23:11:00.003-05:00

Orginal Story published in the Ryan Leader in Oklahoma. Unsure of date

Written by: Monroe J. Maness

Dad and Mom, James H. and Beartha Maness, were married at the courthouse in Waurika, OK on Septemember 15, 1931. The lived in the house with Grandma and Grandpa Maness (John and Lucy Maness) for about 6 months. At that time Grandpa and the family lived fifteen miles east of Ryan, OK. After six months Dad and Mom moved into a tent in the yard. Mom wanted to give birth to Francis in the tent but the grandparents would not allow this; Francis was born in the house. The tent blew away in a storm shortly after.
They built a one room shack in the yard when Francis Maness was just short of two years old. I (Monroe) was born in the new shack about a month after it was built. M. C. Maness was born in the same shack two years later. Dad and Mom were renting property from "Uncle" Joe Bounds and engaged in farming. When M.C. was three months old (Jan of 1937) Dad and Mom moved into "Grandpa" Jim Gardner's place down on Mudcreek. Grandpa and Grandma maness leased a farm nearby from Jim Fardner's brother Joe. We lived about one mile from our grandparents and Uncle Steve Maness lived in a little shack between us and our grandparents. This house is where my memory starts.
I remember the log house in which we lived. It was nice and had a wide hallway that ran through the middle from one end to the other. There was a big dog that wouldn't let people in the yard until Dad or Mom said it was okay. Tjhere was a dug well that had to be drawn dry because a snake or bird or something fell in it and drowned. I remember Dad plowing with a team of horses in the field next to the house. Juniour Maness (my cousin) was bit on the foot by a snake. We lived in a log house one year (according to Mom), then we moved into a small house NE of Ryan and Dad and Mom worked for a Mr. Houser. I dont' remember much about this place. Mom said it was a one room shck, and we lived there one year. I do not remember going to Waurika (nine miles) by horse and wagon; on all day trip.
The next place we lived, and where my sister Susie Fern was born in 1939, was always referred to as "the Corner". It was on the corner of a major dirt road and a side road about four miles east of Ryan and one-half mile east of the "Brown Chapel Store". Dad farmed and worked for the county road department and anything else he could get. We were right in the middle of the depression (a word I never heard until later in life). Times were hard but I never had a moment of insecurity; I thought that Dad and Mom had everything undercontrol. My Uncle Lonnie (Mom's Brother) came and helped with the farming while Dad was away working. When we harvested our first bail of cotton (then, I was too little to work) Dad let us boys ride to town to the cotton gin and bought us an ice cream cone. I think it was my first, anyway I surely did think it was neat that you could eat the ice cream and the container.
Reality set in when the bank foreclosed on the farm. Trucks came and hauled away all the horses and cows except three that had been given to my mom for milk by my grandpa Capehart. Mom was upset and crying but Dad did his best to comfort her and I figured that all would work out alright. Dad borrowed my Unle Steve Maness' team and wagon and moved the family one mile southwest onto Tobe Fullers Place. We lived on the Fuller place for tow years and according to Mom it was tough times. Frankly I did not know. I thought it was great. I went to the pond and caught crayfish with my big brother, went swimming in ponds,l and had a good time.
In 1941, Dad took a job on a cattle ranch owned by a doctyor Wade for six months. We lived in a nice house. I think Mom worried about Dad wrestling livestock and apparently the pay was not too good. The rance was out on the prairie and therefore there was no wood. I remember picking up "cow chips" (dried manure) to fuel the stove. We walked about a quarter mile from the road to catch the school bus. We walked along a fence line so that we could dash under the fence if any of the bulls were too close. I dont' know what the plan was if there were bulls on both sides of the fence. IT was my first year in school and WW II was under way. I was almost seven when I started school because you had to be six by the fifteenth of Septemember in order to begin first grade.
The next two years back at the Tobe Fuller Place were very eventful. I thought the world was wonderful; I had a big brother, two little brothers, dozens of cousins and a beautiful little sister. What more could one want? I thought the family was just perfect. Then my little sister died of pneumonia. What a tragedy! I can still see her laid out in a little coffin in the hallway. To this day I try to avoid funeral. One thing I am sure of is that my dad was partial to his daughter, but it seemed quite alright to me because I wa partical to my little sister as well.
Then my youngerst brother Bill DOn caught pneumonia and had an abscessed lung to complicate things. It was my first introduction to fear. The poor little guy came home from the hospital wiht a drainage tube in his side (they cut away a rib to make room for the tube). Someone said: "Well at least he won't ever have to go into the army," but I could not thing of anything positive about the situation. He did later serve in the army and raised a wondrful family and grew old and gray like the rest of us.
My brother M. C. had ear trouble. I don't know what it was but he was frequantly in sever pain. He took a hard working thing in stride and did verly little complaining. I always admired him, he was like Dad. He was a hard-working and kind-hearted fellow. He was killed on the job in an auto accident in Californina in 1961. I have always felt guilty that I didn't spend more time with him since we lived only eight miles apart.
There was, however, an up-side to these two years. In the early summer of 1943 (I know it was 1943 because that is the year my Uncle Jewel Caphart got married). Uncle Bert showed up at our house and wanted me to spend the summer helping him bail hay. I was eight years old and ready to take on a realy job, besided I had spent time with the Capehard before and I was anxious to have my teenage uncles continue with my education. We rode back to Grandpa Capehart's by horseback (about eleven miles) arriving late that night. We got up early the next morning and started work. My job in the beginning was to keep the horses powering the old team bailer by moving around in a constant steady circle. Later I learned how to run the buck rake and do other things as well. I had a wonderful time and was paid something as well ( I don't recall how much pay). Uncle Jewel got married that summer to the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She also became on of my most favorite people. When I returned home that fall I was older, bigger, wiser, and in command of a great vocabulary (which motivated Mom to take immediate punitive measures).
In the fall of 1943 we moved to MudCreek (Claypool) about two miles from Grandpa and Grandma Maness onto the Burneet Ranch. Dad share cropped for Blackie Burnett, and worked away some, and sold firewood and fence post which he cut off of the rance giving Blackie half. Dad had bought a 1929 Dodge Truck from one of my uncles. He delivered wood to the Mudcreek store owned by Mr. Flether who dressed and looked like and old cowboy. I mentioned that to Dad and he said: "Well that's what he was till he got old." I waited for more of the story but that 's all Dad had to say. Later, I don't know why, Mr. Flethcer told me Dad was a "good hand" (cowboy), that he had rode with Dad, and that they drove cattle up the Chisolm Trail. I made mental not to ask Dad about this but I never did. I loved living at Claypool. We had relatives all around the country within walking distance. My grandpa and Grandma Capehart lived only three miles away. Then there were the Daltons a couple miles away(Uncle Charlie Dalton). Uncle Charlie and Aunt Tennie (Dad's Sister) had girls and Goldie became like my little sister. We were very close for many years. Although she now lives far away, we still are close. A lot of things happened at Claypool. My brother Weldon was born there. My Uncle Lonnie Capehart was killed in action on Novemeber 22, 1946 (two days after my 12th birthday) . I know that he had originally landed in France, but he was killed in Germany and that' about all I know.
Grandpa Maness (John Nie Pinkney Maness) died June 13, 1946 from a heart attach. At first I was guilt ridden because some of my cousins and I had been wrestling with him that afternoon. I thought it might have been our fault. I quickly decided that it was alright even if it was our fault, because he loved to wrestle with us so much. We would catch him in the corn bin or cotton seed bin in the barn and "attack" him; he would even throw us about like rag dolls. The seeds made an excellent cushion for wrestling and no one was ever hurt-except for grandpa.
My dad came down with pneumonia and I was saddened and scared beyond belief. I could not imagine life without dad and his mortality had never occurred to me before. After hearing hushed discussions of how serious his illness was, I went quietly to my room, laid on the bed and cried uncontrollably for a long time. Then I prayed as never before nor perhaps since. Dad lived and I was convinced that there was a God in heaven.
There was lighter times at Claypool also. I fired Dad's long-barreled shotgun there for the first time. Mom and Dad were in the field and I was at home. A chicken hawk landed on a post at the corral and I figured he was eyeballing the chickens. I grabbed the shotgun and fired at him. I haven't the foggiest idea as to whether I came close. All I know is that after I got up with what I thought might be a broken shoulder, he was gone. It occured to me then that this may not have been a good idea, and that Dad could probably tell that the gun had been fired. My solution was to clean the gun. I took the gun apart-every nut, screw, bolt and pin; cleaned and oiled it and got it all back together. I did not have the strength to depress the spring enought to get the hammer back in. I sweated bullets until dad came in then I made my confession. He put the hamer in and said, "You might need some advice before you use that shotgun again." I did receive "advice" on using the gun and hunted ducks and geese with some success. I spent many hours laying in waiting for that chicken hawk as well, but I never got him.
While duck hunting, I ran across a drilling crew setting up a wildcat rig (oil rig). These guys throught it pretty funny to see a kid hunting with a shotgun longer than he was tall. During the ribbing they were giving me, one of the crew wanted to throw his hard hat in the air for me to shoot. It was during the war and shells were hard to come by and in my mind too expensive to horse around with. He offered me a dollar bill though, which offset my argument. That hat went into the air and I shot a hole in it, at the same time severed that band. He got pretty upset then and I became a little frightened, but the boss made him calm down and also made him pay me a dollar.
There was another death while we lived in Claypool which rather starteled me. " Irishman Jack" was a Civil War veteran (no one knew which side and no one cared). No one knew his full name or where he came from. He was old as the hills and healthy as a horse-it never occurred to me that his heart might give out one day. He lived on the rance in a rather nice little house about two miles south of us. You could hear him calling his hounds ever morning-he had lungs like a bull elephant. He rode to town with Grandpa Maness ever few weeks to replenish his supply of wine I think. He would show up in any field and chop weeks for a while then wanter off. I used to see him on my hunting and trapping excursions and he would give me a tip now and then. Mostly he never said much. He came to our house one time-when dad was sick and mom said: "Well come on in Jack". "No", Jack replied. " I never came to bother-heard the bredwinner was sick-brought you this." He handed my Mom a twenty dollar bill and walked away before Mom could recover enough to say thank you. Twenty dollar back then was more than a week's wages. Ten hours a day got you three dollars. This act makes me view my "generous" donations in a different light today.
Because we had a truck we were much more mobile and it allowed us to visit family more often. I enjoyed the familes very much. While dad was sick Uncle O. K. Maness and Uncle Jewel Capehart alternated nights staying up all night with Dad and taking care of the family needs.
1945 was a good year.The war was over and cotton was high priced (about thirty-six cents a pound I think) and we had a very good cotton crop. There was only twenty acres of cotton though, so that fall we moved three miles south of Grady onto "Grandpa" Reeds place. I think there were roughly fifty acres of farmland, good bottom land by the river in the forks of two creeks.
Grady had a store, a blacksmith shop that also sold gasoline, a post office, and a school up to the eight grade. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier ran the school. She taught grades one through four and he taught grades five through eight. They both also ran a ranch and I worked for them frequently. Theyhad a major influence on my life in several ways. I had not done well in school to this point; in fact, I really thought I was a little dumb. I had to do the first grade twice and kind of lost interest after that. Under the tutoring and care of the Fraziers I learned very quickly to read, after which I developed a real interes in school and learning. The Fraziers also ran a very active sports program which included basketball, softball, and track. We were able to participate in 4-H Club activites such as the county fair. I completed eights grade with one girl and three other boys. The girl, Barbara Werthington, was great at sports and played on our ball teams. We went to Comanchee for the regional basketball tournament, and they all agreed to permit a girl to play on our team until it looked like we might win; they then decided that we had to remove her from the team and substitute a seventh grade boy. I thought that was unfair.
My world really expanded at Grady. So many things happened there that I can never cover half of them. My brother David was born at Grady. Francis and I bought a car-a 1939 Oldsmobile straight 8-and added girls to our life. We bought three saddle horses which we used more than the car. IT was about twenty miles either up or down the Red River to the bridge, so we frequently rode horses across the river to the skating rink and other "girl chasing places" at Spanish Fort.
Dad finally bought a battery powered radio and the family became connected to the world. There was news every day, the Grand Old Opry on Saturday nights as well as The Long Ranger, Amos and Andy, The Green Hornet and a host of other programs to hold our interest. Then, Uncle Jewel Capehart showed up one day and announced that Mr. Frazier had bought a "TV". "What's a TV?" I asked. "It's like a radio, only you can see the people talking," he answered. I let it drop there because this is the same uncle that introduced me to "snipe hunting." I was totally amazed later to find out that it was really true.
REA (Rual Electric Association) started wiring the county for electricity although they did not connect our house. Grandpa Capehart had purched a tractor for farming and being a progressive fellow he wanted electricity. However, Grandma did not. She said: "Not in my house! Somebody is going to get killed with that stuff." In the end, Grandpa prevailed and the electricity went in. My grandma, bless her sould, stepped gingerly around the extension cords for a long time as if they were rattle snakes. Now with computers and fascimile machines, I am beginning to understand Grandma's feelings.
In 1949, we moved North of Grady onto Olba Goldsmith's place where my baby brother Clyde (Shorty) was born. I think Mom and Dad had a child each time they moved. Maybe they should have considered moving less frequently. We lived there about one year and I still attended school at Grady. While plowing one Saturday for Olba, I came across a young prairie dog right out in the middle of the field. I managed to catch him and put him in the glove compartment of the car. Francis took the car to town at noon while I kept on plowing and giggling at the thought ofhis reaction when he opned the glove compartment. LAter I learned that a girl, who was sitting in the car with him in Ryan, opened it and Francis, girl, and prairie dog went in every direction up and down the streets in Ryan. I would sure love to have a video of that operation.
Incidentally, the car was nice to have at times, but most of our travel and much of our work was done on horseback. All the time we lived around Grady we traveled west about twenty miled to Uncle Steve's, north ten miles to Grandpa and Grandma Maness, east eight miles to Grandpa and Grandma Capehart's and file or six miles across the Red River to Spanish Fort. Mom worried about the river crossings because of quicksand and high water. We didn't worry about anything.
In 1950 Mom and Dad bought ninety acres of land three miles east of Orr in Love County (about twenty miles east of Grady). The property didn't have a house so they moved into a small house about one mile away on property owned by Uncle Bert Capehart. He lived in Wichita Falls, TX at the time. I did not make the move though. Mr. Frazier convinced Mom and Dad that I should stay at Grady until I finished school. So I moved into my own little house next to theirs on school property (both houses had been built for teachers). I slept and bathed in my house and ate meals with the Fraziers. I worked on weekends and in the evenings sometimes for Mr. Frazier. He paid me fifty cents per hour-a man's wage. It was a very plesant stay, mostly school and work. I graduated in the Spring of '51 from the eight grade and moved to Orr with my family.
My first year at Ringling-there was no high school at Orr-was spent mostly on sports and social activities, so I ended up with terrible grades. I graduated from junior hight, definitely without honors. I entered my sophomore year with a different outlook on school. At the end of the semester, I had excellent grades. There had been no sports and very few social activites. We were having a difficult time financially. Dad was working in Fort Worth, TX during the winter to try to keep the farming operation afloat. He was staying with our minister who was attending Bible College in Fort Worth.
Starting in the Spring pf 1953 I went to Fort Worth and stayed wiht Dad and the minister whild attending school at Paschal High School. "Brother Raymond" (the minster) took me to school to enroll, one options was "PE" or "ROTC." I knew I did not care for PE so I took ROTC. After we left the office I asked Brother Raymond: "What is ROTC?" I attended school from 7:30 am until 3:00PM. I then jogged eleven blocks to work at an ice cream plant from 3:00 to 11:30. I took the city buss to school; it cost only five cents and was cheaper than driving and easier than fighting for a parking space. Because of the bus schedules, however, I had to get up at 6:00 am. I wanted the summer break to come so badly that it almost bacame an obsession. I dreamed of being able to sleep late in the morning. Spring did finally arrive. Dad went back home to farm and Brother Raymond graduated from Bible College. It was assumed that I would go back with dad, but I was making seventy-five cents an hour and had other ideas. After a long discussion, Dad and Brother Raymond moved me into the world's smalles house in a nice neighborhood across from the seminary. The rent was cheaper there than were we had been living. The little house had a bedroom in back, kitchenette in the middle and a living room in front. It was probably ten by twenty feet. There was a very small shower and a stool in the bedroom but no hot water, and so I quickly showered after work before catching the midnight bus home. The house had been built on the very back of the lot by my landlady and her late husband. They lived there while they were building their home on the front of the lot. The little house served my needs quite well.
One day, during my first week at work after school had let out, I stopped in front of the Coca Cola Bottling Company to watch through the big plate glass window. I was fascinated by the bottles going down the line, being filled and capped. Two gentlemen were standing at the front door nearby. One of them motioned for me to come in. "Do you want a job kid?" he asked. "No, I work at the Foremost Icecream Plant," I replied. Then I had a brilliant idea. I asked about the hours; they were 7:00 until 2:00 depending on how fast you could go. So I took the job as helper on a delivery route(back to getting up very early). After a few weeks on the job, the driver tyold me that he would not be in the following Monday. So, Monday I took the truck and made the route. On Wednesday, the boss caught up with me before I left the plant and wanted to know about the driver. I really thought it quiet natural that if the driver didn't show up for work, I should go ahead and get the job done. In short, the driver never showed up again and I delivered Coca Cola by myslef until school started, and enjoyed it. It never occurred to me until years later that there probably should have been a raise there.
By the time school started in the Fall of 1953, my world was becoming less plesant. I felt isolated. I had no recreation time at all to speak of, my grades were not at all satisfactory, and I had no friends or relatives. The cease-fire had been declared in Korea. The final straw was when the plant had cut back in labor. The boss was very nice when he laid me off but htere was much going through my head. I missed most of what he had said.
He handed me a handwritten note to a friend of his who managed a Cotton Factory thinking that I should hurry before the office workers had left for the day. I did not hurry. Instead, I walked along pondering my situation wondering what would happen if I did not get the job. It was too far from school to walk and I'd have to drive. It was not in the best part of town; what if they didn't pay enought? What if...? I found myself standing in front of the Marine Corps recruiting office looking at a sign that said something about finishing school as you serve in the corps. I raised my right hand on November 18, 1953 and took an oath to defend the Consitution against all enemies. I went to boot camp and then to Korea. For a country boy who had never been out of the Red River region, being on the other side of the world in Korea was big change and it widened my perspective a great deal.

John Ray Bardin 1909-1958 (Update)

2009-05-04T09:22:00.003-05:00

Photo: of Wreckage in "The New Mexican"

Dated: Thursday, 21 August 1958

On Friday, May 1, 2009 I received this article in the mail from Judy Klinger of the Santa Fe, NM Public Library regarding my search for information on the Death of John Ray Bardin.

Article dated: 14 August 1958, "The New Mexican" newspaper:

Three persons were killed today in the flaming crash of two cars on Highway 66 in southern Santa Fe County. The collision occurred one mile east of Baron about mid-morning.

The first word to State Police headquarters identified two of the victims as the drivers, Edward William Mussell, and John Ray Bardin, 50. A third person riding with Bardin was considered possibly to be a hitchhiker.

State Police Officers S. E. Lindsey and Tim Pince said it appeared that one car may have been passing and overturned in the passing lane, with the second car crashing into the vehicle. Both cars burned. The victims were pinned in the wreckage.

John Ray Bardin 1909-1958

2009-04-16T22:42:00.005-05:00

JOHN RAY "JOHNNY" BARDIN

4 May 1909 ~ 14 August 1958

Recently I began researching the Bardin side of the family tree. Over the weekend I met John Ray and have been consumed with finding out what happened to him. I know that John was born in Johnston County, OK in 1909 and to John Pink Bardin and Jettie Viola Dudley Bardin. John was 4th of 12 children.

inscription reads:

CPL 662 PORT CO TO (POSSIBLY TC)

World War II

On 15 April 1942 John enlisted in the Army and served in World War II. His enlistement Record states that he was a resident of Okmulgee County at the time and enlisted in Tulsa, Ok. He was single and had only a grammer school education. John Ray died in Santa Fe County, New Mexico but is buried in Henryetta, Okmulgee Co, Oklahoma at West Lawn Cemetary. I have searched for what the CPL 662 Port Co was or did or served and have found nothing on it at this time. John died young and would like to know why?

Under Contruction

2009-03-26T13:17:00.001-05:00

Please excuse the delay in posting as I make changes to the website. I will return on sunday afternoon with regular scheduled postings.... Thanks for your patients

GRAVEYARD RABBIT OF WICHITA COUNTY TEXAS

2009-03-18T10:10:00.004-05:00

I would have never thought you'd catch me in a graveyard other than at a funeral. However, since doing genealogy research for my ancestor's I've discovered that there is a very calming peace about a cemetary. My youngest son Dustin has spent the last two days helping me locate family members for people on Find A Grave. While doing this research I decided to create this site for people to find their familes here in the Wichita County Area. We just started, but stop by and see us. If anyone needs information from this way let us know...

SPRING BREAK

2009-03-16T09:50:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

Well it's beautiful here in Wichita Falls, TX this morning. Right now, the sun is up and it's about 46 degrees. We are expecting it to be almost 80. We've had a house full of family this weekend and spent the weekend just hanging out and playing. Everyone had a blast. Will be out for a few days. See ya soon!

BAKER FAMILY

2009-03-10T19:27:00.006-05:00

John Wesley Baker

16 July 1896 - 12 Feb 1968

CANADA

IRENE VIENA WEATHERALL

18 FEB 1897 - 28 JAN 1951

CANADA

I dont know much about John and Irene. All that I know is they married in 1915 probably somewhere in Canada as all their children were born in Canada. To the union eight children were born:

John Clarence Baker................... 1 Sept 1916, St Vincent, Ontario, Canada

Wesley Nelson Baker.................. 18 Sept 1919, St Vincent, Ontario, Canada

George Wesley Baker.................25 Nov 1921, Canada

Doris Ida Baker...........................2 Jan 1924

Helen Marjory Baker..................26 Jan 1926, Canada

Mazi Ina Baker............................ 26 Feb 1929

Joan Gwendolyn Baker.............. 4 Oct 1935, Canada

" when love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece"

Part 4: My Family Quilt- My Mothers Side (Continued...)

2009-03-10T19:26:00.001-05:00

HELEN MARJORIE BAKER FALERIS

born: 26 Jan 1926, St Vincent, Ontario, Canada

died: 07 June, 1998, St. Ignance, Michigan

written by: Rene Corwin Young

A Childhood Memory Come True.... (Part 2)

2009-03-09T21:39:00.007-05:00

photo provided by: Rene Corwin Young

March 2009

St. Ignace, MI

When I first started my story I told you about a Childhood Memory that my cousin helped me relive when she came to Texas in October of 2007. This story and the photos are of the memory. While the photos are recent, they took me back to 1974....

I have not been able to get a specific date, but I think the date was sometime in 1974 when my mom took my sister and I to St. Ignace MI to visit her parents. My memories of the trip are nothing but pleasant other than the fact that my YIYI had passed away prior to us arriving.

While there I discovered SNOW for the very first time. My memory was of me playing outside and something started to falling and I asked what it was. I was told that Grama responded by telling me it was Snow and i began to run around the lilac tree singing...: It's Snowing, It's Snowing". I was told later by my cousin that everyone stood in the door laughing and smiling at my enjoyment. The picture of the tree above is the very tree that I have such a wonderful memory of and it's covered in snow.

The other memory I have is of something that reminded me of a bridge tower. However, I never could exactly find out what that was. Until April of 2007. When I first spoke to my cousin I mentioned the memory and she instantly told me it was the Mackinac Bridge This is a photo of almost my exact memory. Rene spent several months trying to get the perfect shot of the memory I had described to her and this is as close as it gets. I remember being a little closer, probably almost directly under it as I woke from the back seat and looked up. But this photo is perfect.

Thanks Rene for the memories!

THANK YOU

2009-03-04T16:06:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to the person from Greece who has been helping my cousin transcribe my Grandparents documents that are in Greek. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to help us. All these years we only knew them as Frank and Jennie Faleris and now hopefully we will be able to continue our journey!

Joseph Dugan & Nancy Elizabeth Cron

2009-03-04T12:29:00.003-06:00

JOSEPH DUGAN

NANCY ELIZABETH CRON

12 APRIL 1860

SPENCER COUNTY, INDIANA

For year's I have search for my Great-Great Grandmother Amanda's parents. Until recently I have had no luck in finding any information. Recently Debbie A. wrote to me with information regarding her parents. She has since sent me marriage Certificates for both Amanda's Father and Step-father. The license attached is that of her parents: Joseph A. Dugan and Nancy Elizabeth Cron.

Not much is known about Joseph Dugan. The only information we have to date is that he served during the Civil War. He was a private in Company F, commanded by Captain J. Pine, in the 28th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteer Calvary and died during the war of disease on 3 October 1864 in Little Rock, ARK. Joseph was born abt 1840, somewhere in Indiana. I do not know where Joseph is buried at this time.

Mystery Solved

2009-03-03T00:03:00.003-06:00

I am so very excited about the information I received today. While on my journey searching for "Where I Came From", I have met a few bumps in the road. On my father's side, I could not locate my great-great grandmother's parents. Yesterday, I received an email from Ancestory.com and someone else had her in their tree and sent me the information I was looking for. So now my journey on that side may continue. I will post more to this story in the near future when I am through with "My Family Quilt: My Mother's Side.

STAY TUNED!

Childhood Memories

2009-03-02T23:30:00.003-06:00

As a child I remembered meeting my Cousin Robin Rene' Cordell, for the first time in 1974,( I thought it was so cool to meet someone who was named after me) she was from Texas and had come to visit us the family, after the death of our Great Grama Jennie Faleris (YIYI) we called her.

This was the end of September, and our winters were never the same; one year we could get them in August and the next year they would come after Christmas. This year though they came while Robin was visiting. Our Grama had a Lilac tree in the middle of our front yard and when it started to snow Robin went outside and began running around the lilac tree yelling it's snowing Mama. I remember all the adults laughing, watching this beautiful little girl having so much joy in watching the snow fall.

That was the last time I seen or heard about Robin for many years. not knowing what she looked like, how she had grown, she was still in the hearts of her Grandparents Helen and James Faleris. I remember there was a picture of Robin she was about 7 months old that hung on the wall in our living room, for as long as I can remember. Robin and her sister Kristi were never far from the daily thoughts of Grama and Papa. There were years that there was a birthday cake made on the day of Robin and Kristi's birthday, when asked why were were having cake with candles we were told because it was a special day.

May times though out the years Grama would say I wish I could see my little angels one more time before I die. In 1995 is when I began my quest in finding Robin and Kristi. In June of 1998 I made a promise to Grama that I would find Robin and Kristi and told her how sorry I was that I was unable to do so while she was still alive. But in 2007 I fulfilled my promise and was able to tell Robin and Kristi that they were so very loved my Grama and Papa, and there was not a day that went by that They did not think of them. I want this to be my way to share with Robin and the world the love that they had in their hearts for her. The picture of the Lilac are from that same tree that Robin ran around when she was of the age of 5 or 6. Picture taken may years later, but that tree is still standing and every year since I found Robin and Kristi I go and take pictures of the Lilac tree and I send one in a email to Robin. So her childhood memories will go on.

Robin I hope that you know Childhood Dreams do come true, and I am so happy to have you in my life.

Part 3: My Family Quilt (Contiuned)

2009-03-01T11:10:00.003-06:00

James and Helen Faleris

21 June 1943

Canada

written by: Rene Corwin Young

This story is a continuance of the orginal post: "My Family Quilt". In Feb of 2007 Rene's dream and promise to Helen Faleris just before she died was fullfilled. When our Grama Helen got sick, one of her last request to Rene was to find my sister and I. She wanted to see us before she died. Unfortunately, grama was unable to have that wish. Before Rene's visit to Texas in October of 2007, she created a Scrapbook of the Faleris Family for me as a gift. In "My Family Quilt, "My Mother's Side", the story she wrote is that which I am sharing with you.

In 1942 Papa met Grama (Helen Baker) while she was working in a resturant. From the stories I remember he was trying to make his girlfriend jealous. After they broke up Papa went back to the resturant and courted Grama and they m arried 21 June 1943. Papa either had a job in the states or got a job in the states hauling coal for a company in Detroit, MI. Papa decided to make a move to Detroit where they would raise their family, as they found out that Grama was pregnant with her first child Joan. In July when Grma tried to cross into the states she was refused entrane because of the war that was going on at the time. In November 1943 Grama was allowed to move to the states with her husband, but was not allowed to become a US Citizen.

Detroit, MI is where they made their home until about 1957. When they moved to St. Ignace, MI Papa got a job ofer from his brother-in-law to help run his resturant(The Belle Isle). Grama and Papa had three children by this time, Joan, George and Kathy which all had been born in Detorit, MI. I remember being told "YiYi" (papas mother) had a home in detroit as well.

My Family Quilt: My Mothers Side Continued...

2009-02-26T14:55:00.005-06:00

In the last post I told you about my grandfather James Faleris and in a previous post I told you about his mother Jennie Scopis from Sparta Greece. Not much is known about Frank and Jennie's voyage from Greece to the America's. Other than the information already posted this is all the information I have about my grandfathers parents....

Frank K Faleris born abt 1883, Sparta Greece, Died: 17 Feb 1957, Detroit, Wayne Michigan
Jennie Scopis born abt 1885, Sparta Greece, Died: 22 Sept 1974, St. Ignace, MacKinac, Michigan
Date of Marriage Unknown. All that is known about Frank is that he was a Canday Maker. I have no information about his family in Greece.

Children:
George Faleris:..................abt 1902, Greece
Pauline Faleris:.................abt 1903, Mepois, Greece
Tessea Faleris:..................abt 1904, Mepois, Greece
Harry Andrew Faleris:.....31 Jan 1907, Greece - 10 July 1981, St. Ignace, MacKinac, MI
Helen Faleris:....................9 June 1908, Baltimore, MD - 10 Jan 1996, Riverside, California
Mary Faleris:....................14 Sept 1909, Baltimore, MD- May 11985, El Dorado Springs, Cedar, MS
Thomas Faleris:...............7 July 1915, Hamilton, ,Ontario, Candada - 15 april 1993, Scranton, Lackawanna, PA Charles Faleris:................5 May 1917, Owen Sound, , Ontario, Canada-7 Nov 1990, Detroit, Wayne, MI
William Faleris:................10 Aug 1918, Greece- 10 Oct 1990, Ferndale, , MI
James Faleris:..................24 Sept 1919, Canada-4 March 1989 St Ignace, MacKinac, MI
Bessie Faleris:..................26 July 1921, Colbourge, Ontarios Canada-

My Family Quilt- My Mothers Side

2009-02-23T23:57:00.007-06:00

My cousin Rene Corwin Young wrote the following story for me while creating a Scrapbook of the Faleris Family before her Journey to Texas to meet my sister and I in October of 2007.

James Faleris

Born: 24 September 1919, Canada

Died: 04 March 1989, St. Ignace, MI

This is the story that Rene remembers as being told to her as a child growing up in the Faleris Family about our "Grandpa".

"Papa was born in Canada. Although the family orginated from Greece, they travelled many times in and out of Greece, to Canada and the US. They resided in several States in the US, before settling in Ontario, Canada. When Papa Jim was 9 yrs old he was diagnosed with Spinal Meningitis and was pronounced dead. The story was when PAPA awoke he was in the morgue. There had been a law passed, that it was mandatory to embalm persons before burying them. Rene said that she remembers being told by Papa that when he was young he worked as a volunteer for the Search & Resue Department for the Canadian Mounty, between the ages of 17-20. He had a passion for riding horses. Rene states, "This could be a childs imagination as I am the only one who remembers this story. Papas Father FRANK FALERIS was a candy maker in Greece and Canada. Rene said she could not find out what kind of candy Frank made. Papa's mother "YIYI" (greek for Grandma), was a house wife and a mother of 12 children.

(...to be continued)

My Family Quilt

2009-02-23T23:28:00.003-06:00

My family quilt was started

generations in the past.

Designed with love,

its pattern's rich

in values that will last.

Each person sews another square of memories that endure,

While challenges add strength

that makes our family life secure.

And stitching it together

threads of closeness,

warmth, and caring

Make it cozy and more comforting

with each year of sharing.

My Genealogy Quest is the reason I started scrapbooking in 2007. It has been the hardest challenge of all for me to accomplish. However, recently I began to confront my challenge and have enjoyed what I have began to create. I recently ran across this poem and decided it would be the beginning of my book. So, for the next few months I will begin to quilt my family tree for those I love the most and hope that one day when I'm gone they will look at what I've created and know that it was created with love and with the hope that they will cherish and continue the quilt for their children to come....

With all my love,

Robin

KREATIVE BLOGGER AWARD FOR WHERE I COME FROM

2009-02-20T21:24:00.003-06:00

WOW! I cant believe I got my very first AWARD. My award was given to me by Judith over at TENNESSEE MEMORIES if you have not had a chance to visit her, stop by and say hi. Now comes the job of Nominating some other wonderful bloggers....

My first award has to go to Creative Gene because if it had not been for me stumbling onto this blog, I would have never created my own. My second award goes to 100 Years in America by Lisa. This was the second reason I started my geneology blog. I found her through Creative Gene. And even though this person nominated me for this award, I have to return it to them as I love Tennesee Memories... my great-grandmothers family was from Tennessee and visiting this blog sent me back to a place that I just loved. I have never visited, but thought the photos and stories I felt as if I had always lived there. I stopped by and the first story I read was: " Dairy Farm in Maryville at the Foot of the Smokies... this story really brought back memories of when I was a little girl growning up on a little farm in Bell's Tx and the worst but whoopin' I ever got... "I forgot to close the gate and let all my great-grandpa's cows out". Even now, when I open a cattle gate, I go back to that day. Even though at that time, I thought I would die... I can actually laugh now. I wish my grandpa was here to see me now working with the cows... I love you GRANDPA for all that you taught me and all that you gave me. I never forgot! And the other blog that inspired me was.... Shades of the Departed at first, I didn't understand the title, until I began reading. I have been hooked on the stories and the photos. So to everyone who inspired me... THANK YOU!

Now for the instructions:

Instructions are as follows:

1. Copy the award to your site.

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.

3. Nominate other bloggers.4. Link to those sites on your blog.

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.

The Old Yellow Shirt

2009-02-19T10:23:00.002-06:00

I just received this in an email and had to share... thought it was a wonderful idea to do with our daughters, mothers, nieces, grandmothers.....

The baggy yellow shirt had long sleeves, four extra-large pockets trimmed in black thread, and snaps up the front. It was faded from years of wear, but still in decent shape. I found it in 1963 when I was home from college on Christmas break, rummaging through bags of clothes Mom intended to give away.
You're not taking that old thing, are you?" Mom said when she saw me packing the yellow shirt. "I wore that when I was pregnant with your brother in 1954!" "It's just the thing to wear over my clothes during art class, Mom. Thanks!" I slipped it into my suitcase before she could object. The yellow shirt became a part of my college wardrobe. I loved it. After graduation, I wore the shirt the day I moved into my new apartment and on Saturday mornings when I cleaned.
The next year, I married. When I became pregnant, I wore the yellow shirt during big-belly days. I missed Mom and the rest of my family, since we were in Colorado and they were in Illinois. But that shirt helped. I smiled, remembering that Mother had worn it when she was pregnant, 15 years earlier.
That Christmas, mindful of the warm feelings the shirt had given me, I patched one elbow, wrapped it in holiday paper and sent it to Mom. When Mom wrote to thank me for her "real" gifts, she said the yellow shirt was lovely. She never mentioned it again.
The next year, my husband, daughter, and I stopped at Mom and Dad's to pick up some furniture. Days later, when we uncrated the kitchen table, I noticed something yellow taped to its bottom. The shirt!
And so the pattern was set. On our next visit home, I secretly placed the shirt under Mom and Dad's mattress. I don't know how long it took for her to find it, but almost two years passed before I discovered it under the base of our living-room floor lamp. The yellow shirt was just what I needed now while refinishing furniture. The walnut stains added character.
In 1975, my husband and I divorced. With my three children, I prepared to move back to Illinois. As I packed, a deep depression overtook me. I wondered if I could make it on my own. I wondered if I would find a job. Unpacking in our new home, I knew I had to get the shirt back to Mother. The next time I visited her, I tucked it in her bottom dresser drawer.
Meanwhile, I found a good job at a radio station. A year later, I discovered the yellow shirt hidden in a rag bag in my cleaning closet. Something new had been added. Embroidered in bright green across the breast pocket were the works "I BELONG TO PAT." Not to be outdone, I got out my own embroidery materials and added an apostrophe and seven more letters. Now the shirt proudly proclaimed, "I BELONG TO PAT'S MOTHER."
But I didn't stop there. I zigzagged all the frayed seams, then had a friend mail the shirt in a fancy box to Mom from Arlington, VA. We enclosed an official-looking letter from "The Institute for the Destitute," announcing that she was the recipient of an award for good deeds. I would have given anything to see Mom's face when she opened the box.
But, of course, she never mentioned it. Two years later, in 1978, I remarried. The day of our wedding, Harold and I put our car in a friend's garage to avoid practical jokers. After the wedding, while my husband drove us to our honeymoon suite, I reached for a pillow in the car to rest my head. It felt lumpy. I unzipped the case and found, wrapped in wedding paper, the yellow shirt. The shirt was Mother's final gift. She had known for three months that she had terminal Lou Gehrig's disease. Mother died the following year at age 57.
I was tempted to send the yellow shirt with her to her grave, but I'm glad I didn't because it is a vivid reminder of the love-filled game she and I played for 16 years. Besides, my older daughter is in college now, majoring in art. And every art student needs a baggy yellow shirt with big pockets.

....Secret to Marriage...

2009-02-17T22:45:00.007-06:00

While visiting ROCKIN' R Retreat Blog, I happened onto a cute little scrapbook blog and had to post to my personal daily blog and had just had to share with you here..

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.
He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,' she said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.' The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness. 'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?''Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

A Prayer.......
Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man;
Love to forgive him;
And Patience for his moods;
Because Lord, if I pray for Strength,
I'll beat him to death,
because I don't know how to crochet.

When I first starting reading this post on the other blog, I have to say it brought tears to my eyes. But those quickly turned to laughter. I have so enjoyed this story, I felt it was worth sharing here. Please feel free to copy and share with others....

Gone but not Forgotten....

2009-02-17T20:48:00.005-06:00

photo taken: 7 June 1947

Leonard , TX

EVANS BROTHERS
Left to Right: Ray, Clarence, Lawrence, Ernest, Irvan and Archie.
This photo was taken the day they buried their mother Anthaline Beasley Evans.

Remember my first post to this blog..."Two Peas In A Pod", well they are second and third from the left. If you didn't get to read... here is part of what these boys use to do...

..." one day when their mom and dad were gone to the store, their "Grandpa" loaded all the "furry critters aka cats" up in the horse buggy with all the "Evans Boys" in the back along side. As they were going to town, Grandpa had the boys deposit a cat at each house along the way. On their way back, they came across a woman who had received one of their furry deposits and she politely handed it back to them and never said a word. Supposidley, there Grandpa never told on all the mischievious things the boys got into while "Ma and Pa" were in town."

This is probably one of the only photos with all the "Evans Boys" at one time. The only person missing in this photo is the "Baby" of the group... Grace Evans... their one and only sister. Can you imagine growin' up with 6 older brothers. And let me tell you, these men were not small by any means.

I remember my "Papa" and "Aunt Gracie" always pickin' on each other and arguing over who was right or wrong. Most of the time "Aunt Gracie" would get her way.

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS...

2009-02-17T17:57:00.012-06:00

Jennie Scopis

1885-1974

when i was 5 my mom took me to visit my grandparents in MI. Unfortunately my "YIYI" passed away shortly before I arrive. When I arrived, my grandmother gave me a picture of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. I remember it being metal of some sort and very heavy. It was only about a 3x5. On the back it had something written about Mary and Jesus. I cherished it until my ex-husband destroyed it. Listed below is the information I know about her and my Great-Grandfather Frank. I do not have a photo of him.

This is YiYi, she was born 1885 in Sparta, Greece and she passed away on 22 Septemeber 1974, in St. Ignace MI. She married Frank K. Faleris and together they had 11 children. George, Pauline, Tessea andHarry were all born in Greece. Pauline and Tessea where born in Mepois, Greece. The exact location of the others is known. Helen was born in Baltimore Maryland, and the rest were born in Canada. Their son William was born in Greece in 1919.

This is the Border Crossing Canada to US 1895-1956 document which I located on ancestory.com. It states that Frank and his Family arrived 24 May 1923. Port of Arrival is Deroit and also states he was 43 at the time and a "Candy Maker" This would put Franks year of birth at abt 1880.

However, I have also located a Detroit Border crossing & Passender & Crew List 1905-1957.

(see below)

The information on this document states he arrived on 6 Nov 1938 and he was 55 years old at the time. That would put his year of birth abt 1883. It says something about 1906, but the image is not clear enough for me to tell what it is saying. I dont know if 1906 was when they arrived in Canada or not. If anyone knows about these documents I would love to know what the difference is and would love to know where I can find Frank and Jennie's parents information in Greece.

Below is another document that I located and said it was the manifest document. It is front and back. If you can help me locate their parents or any other information please let me know where to start.

Alma Elizabeth Clark Evans

2009-02-15T19:38:00.006-06:00

Alma Elizabeth Clark

Dec 26, 1903 - Sept 8, 1978

aka My Great Grandma

My great-grandmother is the daughter of William Henry Clark born 17 Nov 1854 in Indiana and Amanda Elizabeth Dugan Clark born March 1862 in Indiana. My grandmother is one of 14 children.

My great-grandmother was a wonderful cook, and was always prepared when company showed. No matter who many people seemed to show up unannounced, she always found a way to feed them all, and not one person ever left hungry. My favorite memories of her are from "Thanksgiving" and "Christmas" when I would wake up in the morning and run to great everyone who had arrived. Her and my grandmother Lydia Mae Clark Campbell would be in the kitchen preparing our feast. I also loved when she would cook Pinto Beans aka (RedBeans here in the south) becasue she had a special coffee cup that hung by the crockpot that was specifically for my tasting pleasure. I always got the first cup! For my birthday's she would always make me "Chocolate Cake" and that was the best part of the day.

When I was little, we lived on a small farm in Bells, Texas and there was a creek out behind the barn. We had problems with Rattlesnakes and Copperheads where we lived due to the creek. I remember swinging in my swing hanging in the Wheeping Willow tree in the back yard and Grandma racing out towards me screaming with a garden hoe in her hand. For a small child, that is pretty frightening. Actually, she had an eagle eye for those darn pest and apparently there was one wrapped around my swing. It was nothing for her to be in the garden and see her just wack a snake and continue her chores.

Grandma always kept me out of trouble. No matter what mess I got into, all I had to do is go to her. We had a garden out on the side of the house by the drive way and had lots of vegitables growing, everything from corn, greenbeans, potatoes, and cabbage. Usually for dinner of something we would go out and pick tomatoes, or onions or cuccumbers or something. So one day me being the little helper I was thought I would go pick cabbage for dinner. Only thing was, I picked all of it.... two rows worth. Grandma shook her head and told me to go replant before grandpa got home. Well, needless to say, I wasn't done when he drove up.

One of my other favorite memories was when we would go out to the garden and as she picked okra for dinner or whatever meal she was serving, she would thought the tough ones over to the cattle. I loved picking them and feeding to them. It also, ended up getting me into trouble. I wanted to feed them okra one day and they were not near the fence, so I opened the gate to go in and feed. Being a small child.... I forgot to shut the gate. Needless to say that whipping willow tree my swing was in.... we got to know each other pretty well.

Evans Twins: Like two Peas in a Pod

2009-02-15T08:16:00.009-06:00

Clarence Evans

August 1, 1909 - April 6, 1997

Lawrence Evans

August 1, 1909 - February 23, 1998

Identical twins, Clarence, left and Lawrence Evans standing look quite dapper in their attire.

Original Photo given to me by my Great-Grandfather

Orginal Post: by Pat Welch, Lifestyle Editor for the Sherman Democrate in August 1991 for their 90th Birthday Celebration.

Sherman - The Evans twins, Clarence and Larence, are like "Two Peas in a Pod". It's hard to tell one from the other even after 90 years

The twins have a zest for life and live every minute to the fullest. They were born Aug. 1, 1901, in Leonard, sons of George Washington and Anthaline Evans. They grew up on a 200-acre farm and farm life was all the two ever knew until they were grown and married.

The twins agree that farm life is a little tough and they've had their share of hard work. So have their other four brothers and sister, Gracie, who Lawrence said was "Spoiled Rotten" by her six older brothers.

They remember picking cotton at a very young age with cotton sacks their mother made from feed sacks, slopping the hogs, milking cows,, cutting wood, shelling corn, plowing and planting the fields. They agree that children today dont know what hard work is.

But along wtih hard work, there was a lot of fun growing up. For entertainment, Clarence laughed and said the game was usually wrestling or just plain fighting in the big old barn out back. He said on rainy days they would scoot off to the barn, form a ring (called the bull dog ring) and have a good time. Lawrence said the barn was their favorite spot away from the parents, playing, fighting, dreaming of far away places and things to do.

Their parents were strict. Church was the center of most everything they did. Their dad was superintendent of Sunday school at the Baptist Chruch and they were there everytime the door opened. Being strict Baptist, they were not allowed to dance or play cards. Like a lot of small communites, church servies were shared with different denominations, and they went to the Methodist Church on Sunday Evenings.

Strict or not, boys will be boys, and the Evans twins were certainly not without their pranks. They recalled when their parents would go to town they were on their own with only grandpa to watch over them. Grandfather lived with them for 17 years and never once told on them for their frivolous acts.

More than once when their parents were away they would meet peddlers passing by and sell chicken and eggs and pocket a few cents for "going to town." Grandpa kept his mouth shut even when their parents wondered wht had happened to the chickens.

Like all farms, they had their share of cats. One day on the way to town, their grandpa loaded the buggy with the little furry creatures and the boys dropped off a cat here and there. They both really got a kick out of telling about depositing a cat at the home of a woman as they went to town and on their way back, the woman was standing in the road with the cat and handed the cat back to them without saying a word.

When they were teenagers and older the twins said they were never out of a job. They were taught how to work and were always willing to put out a good hard days work for others. "Work never hurt anyone, and we are proff of that saying," they said.

Good lookers, the twins caught the eyes of a few young ladies in the area... but they had their sights on two. Lawrence favored Lela Mae Simms and Clarence fell for Alma Elizabeth Clark.

Lawrence laughed, looking at Lela as he told of their wedding day, Aug. 16, 1919. She was 16 and he was 18 years old. Her dad was out hunting so they eloped in his buggy to the preacher's house. They were afraid to drive down the road so they drove down the corn rows in the field. The preacher married them on the run and watched her dad drive right past them as they were picking over the tall corn.

Her father may have objected, but it was a marriage that weathered time and the couple will be celebrating their 72nd Anniversary this month.

Clarence and Alma slipped away in his horse drawn buggy on Aug. 14, 1922, drove up to the same preacher's house and were married as they were seated in the buggy. Clarence said the preacher cam out with his Bible and married them and they took time for him to make a picture of them with his box camera. They were married 64 years when Alma died in September 1978.

Clarence worked for Southern Ice Company in Sherman delivering to nerly every house in town. He worked for Lingo-Leeper Lumber Company and Foxworth-Galbreath Lumber Company where he was yard forman retiring at the age of 62.

Lawrence farmed most of his life and retired from Plano School System.

Bothy have a mischievous look and infectious smile and agreed that life has been good to them. Their advice to others is live every day to the fullest. Do what you want to do.

Lawrence resides in Van Alstyne where he is a member of the First Baptist Church and Clarence in Sherman and is a member of Grayson Bible Baptist Church.

Clarence has a daughter, Lyda Mae Campbell, who resides in Sherman. he has two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Lawerence has five children, Virgil of Anna, Ophelia Graves of Van Alstyne, Von Ray of Mt. Pleasant, Ann Margaret Wilder of Dallas, and Theda Marie Briggs of Denison. He has 18 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

They have two surviving siblings, their sister, Gracie Thomas, 85, of Leonard, and Earnest, 96 of San Antonio.

Clarence and LAwerence will be honored with a party from 2 until 4 pm Sunday at Shady Oaks Nursing Home in Sherman where Lawrence is recouperating from hip surgery. He hopes to be in his own home in Van Alstyne shortly.

Their Children will host the even that is open to friends and relatives.

A Childhood Memory Come True....

2009-02-14T22:52:00.001-06:00

In 1974, my mom took my little sister Kristi and I on a trip from TEXAS to MICHIGAN to see our Grandparents for the very first time. I have no memory of the the plan ride there or back. The two memories that I remember most are of the "mackinaw bridge" and "SNOW".

I remember riding in the back of a car and something woke me up. I asked my mom .."ARE WE THERE"? And she told me not yet, but as I looked up, I saw one of the towers on the bridge almost as it is in the picture attached but almost from underneath and lots of bright lights. For years I had this memory stuck in my head and as I got older I thought it had just been a dream. I never knew the name of the bridge or where it was, I just knew we were driving and it was a bridge.

Upon the first conversation with my cousin in 2007, I mentioned this dream while talking about her memory of our visit to St. Ignace. The moment I mentioned my memory she knew exactly what I was talking about. The next day she started sending me pictures of the bridge that she had taken over the years and then started going to take more just for me. Trying to get the perfect shot of my memory. If you look, you will see two towers supporting the bridge. My memory is of one of those look almost straight up and it was dark, other than all the lights which light the bridge.

My Second memorie is "SNOW"... my very first memory of ever seeing it. While visiting my family in St. Ignace MI, I happend to be playing in the backyard of my grandmothers and all at once, something was falling out of the sky. I don't remember anything else, other than my grandmother saying, it's "SNOW" and running around saying...."It's Snowing, It's Snowing". My mom and Cousin later told me thought our conversations that was exactly what I did. She said they all stood in the doorway watching me run around my grandmother's lilac tree.

It's funny now, becasue Lilac has always been my favorite flower and frangrance. Never knowing that my childhood memory that meant so much was held around a lilac tree.

The Beginning....

2009-02-14T22:01:00.000-06:00

Well, for many years I have been interested in my family history and wanted to know where my roots started and how I got here. However, I never actually knew just how to start. While in a Family Law Class in College... my professor assigned us our Final Exam the first day of class. The assignment was to create a FAMILY TREE. I signed on to Ancestory.com and from there started with me and the family I knew of. I didnt find a lot of information by the end of the year, but had some.

Until last year, had put the family research on the back burner and not thought much about it. Here and there would think it would be nice to put all the pictures I had in an album, but never did. The I moved to Wichita Falls in 2007. One afternoon while on lunch break I called my grandmother to talk to her while waiting in line at McDonalds to place my lunch order. While talking with her, she informed me that my father had received a letter from (what I thought she said was my mother...whom I had not spoke to in 33 years). However, what she said was from my cousin. She stated who she was and who she was looking for and apologized if she had the wrong person. She understood if this was the correct person that if he chose not to give my sister and I the letter. However, my father had taken the letter to my grandmother and gave it to my sister and read it to me.

It took me two months to actually write and send her a letter in response. My first attemt sat in the door of my car till October of 2007. However, the second letter was written and I had my ex-mother-in law send it for me. I knew if I didn't have her do it, I never would. It was about 3 weeks later and I received a phone call while cooking dinner one evening and it was my Cousin from MI. We talked for ever it seemed. The following night after I had spoke to Rene (my cousin), I received a phone call from another unknown number... the caller id said it was from Michigan. I had a knot in my stomach and knew instantly it was my MOTHER. 33 years of emotions came flooding over me and not sure what to do or say I answered the phone. On the other end of the phone was a very distanct "YANKEE" accent and the words "ROBIN" do you know who this is? My reply was "YES"? And she asked me who and I told her my mom. Even thought it had been 33 years since I had spoke to her and I was now 38, I remembered the voice as if it were yesterday when I had heard it. That was on April 12th, 2007. We only spoke for a few seconds and she said her phone was dying and she would call me tomorrow. I knew in my heart that was not the truth. She like I was over whelmed with emotion and didn't truly know how to handle the moment. I hung up the phone and instantly called Rene back telling her I had just spoke to "My Mother".

I did not know weather or not I would ever here from her again. However, for just a moment my wish had come true and I had found my mom. The story behind our journey is long and not always so pleasant. However, for just a moment I had turned back into a little girl. My first actually conversation with my mom other than hello, was on Friday, April 13th while sitting in the "kamikaze" at the carnaval about to do something I shouldn't be doing she called. I couldn't answer the phone as the ride had put my body upside down about 20 feet or so in the air. "Couldn't actually answer screaming in here ear... HELP" I figured when I didn't answer she would think I didn't want to talk. However, once I got down and was able to walk, I manage to sit down and call her. We talked for a short time and I explained what I was doing and would call her when we got home.

For the next several months Rene, My Mom and I talked every night. Rene and I spent the time reliving my childhood memories that I had decided where dreams. However, in reality they did exsist. My mom and I spent the time getting to know each other and catch up on life. In OCTOBER of 2007 my cousin brought her family and my mom to TEXAS. At about 2am on October 19th my Family called and said they were in Wichita Falls and LOST. I woke from falling asleep on the couch waiting and told them I would be right there. For the first time in 33 years I was about to meet my mother all over again. And also for the first time, she was about to meet her grandchildren.

Thus begins my journey......