52 Ancestors: #7 Ruth Autry and Walter Caswell Brooks

Moving on to my father's side of the family I found a husband-wife February birthday duo.  And it's my own grandparents!

Walter Caswell Brooks

Walter Caswell Brooks was born on the 15th of February 1874 in Pope County, Arkansas. His parents, William Brooks and Rebecca Malinda Cooper, came from Stanly County, North Carolina to farm in Arkansas. They had 7 children, two boys.  Walter was their fifth child.  I don't know as much about my grandfather as I should.  I do know he was a farmer, farming the William Brooks estate in the Holla Bend bottoms near Russellville, Arkansas.  He met my grandmother through his sister, Alta Brooks, who was teaching in Nashville, Arkansas.    He married Ruth Autry on 2 December 1922 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The marriage was performed by Ruth's father, the Reverend Allen Hill Autry.  I have a copy of the service which I will transcribe at some point.

It is interesting to note that Walter was 48 years old when he married.  He must have thought he was going to be a bachelor for life.  I'm sure there were many adjustments to family life, as his first son, Walter Allen Brooks was born less than 2 years later in early 1924.  My father, Robert Autry Brooks, came along five years after that.  Walter was killed in an automobile accident on 30 May 1941 when the car went out of control on a bend coming down Crow Mountain.  My father was only 12 years old.  I can see the resemblance, especially in the eyes.

Ruth Autry

This picture, from around 1916, is how my grandmother must have looked when Walter met her. Wow, what a beauty! Ruth Autry was born 8 February 1892 in Booneville, Logan, Arkansas.  I wrote about her mother, Mary Esther Nifong, here  in week #3.  She attended Ouachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia, graduating in 1911 with a degree in art.  Ruth was an accomplished painter; you can see some of her work in my blogpost here.  I have several of her paintings in my home that were painted during her time at college. She was the first in her family to attend college and returned to Nashville where she taught school.  She even taught her younger brothers, Dan and Paul, before becoming principal of the primary school there.

After her marriage, she was a leader in the Russellville community, organizing a book club and active in the Baptist church.  Her two sons, Walter A and Robert A, were born there.  My father, Robert, tells stories of his mother sewing clothes (I have her Singer treadle machine with her papers still in the drawers), churning butter (I have the churn and the ladle) and cooking.  She was a fabulous cook.  Here is what my father said about the family meals:

She did not consider herself a major cook, but did an excellent job of it.  She also canned a lot because the depression was on, and fruit and other food was available locally.  There was only my brother, 5 years older, and me so we had to help.  I recall canning a bushel of peaches every summer. She also canned pickles and pears and some vegetables and various jams and jellies. These were all canned in glass quart fruit jars, or smaller, and were stored on shelves in the basement. In the winter, half a pig was brought up from the farm and she made sausage and other other things. I remember my brother, Walter Allen, and I having a huge pan of sausage, rolling up elongated portions and squeezing them down in cloth bags that she made from old feed sacks.  We rather liked that because our hands got greasy. Every project took about a week.  We raised and ate lots of chicken which were raised in the back lot.  We chopped the head off on a stump and when it stopped flopping around, dipped it in boiling water and pulled the feathers off.  A messy job! Mother would clean it, burn the little feathers off (I forgot their name!), dress it and fry it. Or if it was a hen, she baked it with dressing.

The other thing I remember is having to help her clean up dishes, especially as a teen ager when she taught school. I whined and complained about it. One day, she ran me out of the kitchen. Then, I felt very guilty! I hope I did better after that! She was very clean and it was harder to achieve that then. She was very religious. Sunday dinner was a major meal and delicious. It was fixed after church. We did nothing else on Sunday, except for the Sunday night services which included a young people's meeting.

These are probably my most discrete memories. After all, food was important during the depression and money was scarce. I have often thought that I have more money now and the food is much more expensive, but I don't eat as well as when I had Mother's home cooking and home made food.

After her husband died, Ruth went back to work as a teacher.  My father describes her as one of the smartest people he ever knew.  She could think quickly and was an analytic thinker.  He also says, "This made her very stubborn, since she was seldom wrong."  I think that's how my kids would describe me!

By the time I knew my grandmother, she was suffering from Parkinson's Disease.  She had a helper at the house, Miss Maggie, whom I loved.  But Nanya, as we called her, was a bit daunting.  She didn't like that I was left-handed and would try to get me to color with my right hand.  I did love her big house which you can see in my post here.  It had great hiding places and  a secret passageway to a play room that I remember. The magnolia trees in the neighborhood were amazing.  

As Nanya deteriorated, she needed more care and moved to a nursing home in Quanah Texas where Walter Allen lived with his family.  My last visit was with her there. She could still sing the French anthem, La Marseilles.  I remember answering the phone on Christmas morning 1975 when my uncle called to say she had passed.  My father cried harder than I have ever seen him.  She was buried in Russellville Arkansas during that break from my freshman year at college.  I am grateful that my father and my great-aunt Esther have written so much about her.  I feel I know a lot about her as I walk through my house and see her beautiful paintings.  These two pictures are from when she graduated high school and when she taught elementary school.  I love the subtle smile and the luxurious hair.

          

52 Ancestors: #6 Alvah Palmer and a legacy of more February birthdays

After last week's post on the Nortons, it didn't occur to me that I could find another father/son combination born in the same month. But Alvah and Hiram Palmer celebrate their birthdays only one week apart.  In addition, Hiram's birthday falls on February 16, which is also W.W. and Clint Norton's birthday!  That means February 16 is probably the most important single date in our family's history!  I can't believe the coincidence that we would have three grandfathers in our direct line born on the same date.

Let's start with Alvah Palmer, my husband's 3rd great-grandfather .  He was born on 9 February 1796 in Shelburne, Vermont.  We have records of both his birth and his 1816 marriage in Vermont.

The story is that he took his honeymoon trip with new bride, Harriet Hurd, to the wilds of western New York. They were probably escaping the infamous "Summer That Never Was" where frost was killing the crops as late as June.  They settled in the beautiful valley along the Genesee River near a place called Portageville.  Alvah built a sawmill at the Middle Falls in what is now Letchworth State Park.   He also built a cabin there where the Glenn Iris Inn now stands.  The following story has been told through the generations. This is a version from page 181 of A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemmison, first published in 1824. (book is available on Google Books).

In November, 1822, Capt. Stephen Rolph and Mr. Alva Palmer drove a deer into Genesee river, a short distance above the middle falls, where the banks were so steep and the current so impetuous, that it could not regain the shore, and consequently was precipitated over the falls, one hundred and ten feet, into the gulph below. The hunters ran along the bank below the falls, to watch the fate of the animal, expecting it would be dashed in pieces. But to their great astonishment it came up alive, and by swimming across a small eddy, reached the bank almost under the falls; and as it stood in that situation, Capt. Rolph, who was on the top of the bank, shot it. This being done, the next thing to be considered was, how to get their prize. The rock being perpendicular, upwards of one hundred feet, would not admit of their climbing down to it, and there was no way, apparently, for them to get at it, short of going down the river two miles, to the lower falls, and then by creeping between the water and the precipice, they might possibly reach their game. This process would be too tedious. At length Mr. Palmer proposed to Capt. Rolph and Mr. Heman Merwin, who had joined them, that if they would make a windlas and fasten it to a couple of saplings that stood near, and then procure some ropes, he would be let down and get the deer. The apparatus was prepared; the rope was tied round Palmer's body, and he was let down. On arriving at the bottom he unloosed himself, fastened the rope round the deer, which they drew up, and then threw down the rope, in which he fastened himself, and was drawn up, without having sustained any injury. From the top to the bottom of the rock, where he was let down, was exactly one hundred and twenty feet.

Alvah sold his sawmill in the 1820s but continued to live in New York. He died in Hume, Allegany, New York on 30 May 1860. The mortality census lists his age as 66 which would mean he was actually born in 1794. There is some evidence for that year but more research is needed. There are records of land transactions and other dealings in the area.  We are lucky that Alvah is a popular subject for genealogy research due to his importance as an early settler of the Genesee Valley. He also had 8 children who lived to adulthood so his descendants are numerous!

Alvah's 4th son and 7th child, Hiram Palmer, was born somewhere in this area of upstate western New York. It is usually listed as Wyoming County, and assumed to be Middle Falls, near Portageville.  The day of course was February 16; the year 1832.   Hiram married Philena Lydia Palmiter on 17 September 1853 in Portageville. I have plenty of work to do on Hiram and his life. He had 3 sons; the first was born in Michigan in 1856. I have no idea what they were doing that far west. But he must have returned to be near his father as his second son, our ancestor Walter Truman Palmer, was born in Hume New York.

Eventually, the family migrated to Pennsylvania, as both Hiram and Philena died and are buried in Shinglehouse, Potter, Pennsylvania. Hiram lived to be 90 years old, passing on 26 September 1922. Longevity seems to be a family trait as his grandson, Nelson Pattison Palmer, also lived into his 90s.  I am excited to find out more about this family and happy that we get to spend so much time in this beautiful area of New York at the family cottage on Silver Lake. 

I can't leave this line without pointing out another amazing coincidence. Alvah's mother is Chloe Chittenden and he named a daughter Chloe. This Chloe was born in 1830 on . . .  16 February. The name Chloe is also important to me because of my beautiful granddaughter, Chloe Rose Cox. Her name has meaning in so many ways. But to me it means love.

                           

News Flash:

I learned from our first cousin, Eric Wetjen, that the February 16 birthdays have continued to another generation.  His son, Tyler Alan Wetjen, was born on that date and is celebrating his 4th birthday today!

Tyler is the 4th great-grandson of Alvah Palmer.  We're so glad that this handsome young man has continued the tradition!

52 Ancestors: #5 Four Generations (Almost) of February Nortons

While it was hard to find January birthdays in our family tree, February is another story.  This week we have three of four generations born within a day of each other!

It all started with

William Wellington Norton

William Wellington Norton was born 16 February 1881 in Elmira, New York.  He is the paternal grandfather of my husband, Phil.  He taught in schools in New York before moving west.  I found record of him both at the University of Nebraska (1898) and thence to Minneapolis where he attended the University of Minnesota.  While there he directed a Chatutauqua Orchestra and Band that traveled throughout the midwest.  This picture is taken from a flyer, dated 1909, I found in the University of Iowa archives,  It says that he directed the University of Minnesota Glee Club for three seasons.  Praise is recorded from Kansas to South Dakota.  He certainly got around!

While in Minnesota, he must have met his wife, Jennie Belle Lewis, whom he married in 1915. I have blogged both about the wedding here and Jennie Belle here.  According to his obituary in the Phi Kappa Psi journals, he moved to Flint in 1921, teaching and conducting until his retirement in 1948.  During the summer months he taught music at the national music camp at Interlochen, Michigan.

After Jennie Belle Lewis' death in 1944, W.W. remarried and moved to California around 1948.  He died in Stockton CA on 24 October 1960.  Here is a later in life photo of Dr William Wellington Norton.

While residing in Flint, William and Jennie Belle had five children.  The youngest of these, Clinton Edward Norton, was born on his father's 42nd birthday, February 16, 1923!  Clint is my husband's father and inherited Daddo's (their nickname for William) musical talents. I love this photo of Clint.  I think he must be 8 to 10 years old.

World War II broke out while Clint was still a young man and he served in the Air Corps of the US Army (there was no Air Force at that time).  It was during his service that his mother passed and he flew a plane up to Flint to attend the funeral.  Here's another great photo of Clint. Don't you love a man in uniform?

Like his father, Clint was well educated (a Norton tradition!) choosing the University of Rochester.  I find it interesting that he returned to the New York area.  Clint's grandfather, Asahel Wellington Norton, has a degree from the University of Rochester.  Clint also used his schooling to find a wife as he met Doris Jennie Palmer at Rochester.  They married in 1951.  Clint's work as an administrator of performing arts centers took them all over, including stops in Fredonia, New York, Akron, Ohio and Austin TX.  He died in Austin on 9 February 2008, just a week shy of his 85th birthday.

The next generation of Nortons just missed having a February birthday by less than 24 hours.  Clint's youngest son, Christopher Scott Norton, was born on January 31st.  I guess my brother-in-law, Chris, just couldn't wait for the new month.  He did inherit the family musical talents and also attended the University of Rochester, studying at the Eastman School of Music. Like his father, he, too, found a bride at the university.  Chris and Leslie Boggs Norton married in 1983 and have two beautiful daughters. Chris is a professor of music and the director of percussion studies at Belmont University in Nashville TN. He has traveled even more extensively than his grandfather, W.W., both performing and directing. See if you spot the family resemblance.

After (barely) skipping a generation, another February Norton appeared.  Phillip Robert Norton, my son and William's great-grandson, was born on February 19 - a

three days after William's and Clint's birthdays (Thanks, Phillip, for correcting me). Though he does not get paid for his musical talents, we enjoy his spontaneous lyrics and his skill on Rock Band!  Phil graduated from National Louis University with a degree in information systems. He works as a systems analyst and is the best big brother that four younger sisters could want.  I think the Norton look continues with him.

Happy Birthday to all these amazing Norton Men!

52 Ancestors: #4 Rosel Belnap

In addition to writing about an ancestor born during the month of my blog post, I have also decided to rotate among the 4 lines of my children's grandparents: Norton, Palmer, Brooks and Hammon.  So this week we finally turn to my mother's side of the family, our Hammon predecessors.  That seemed like a good idea until I started combing the files for a January birthday.  It wasn't a popular month for some reason!

Finally I came upon Rosel Belnap, my 3rd great grandfather.  In order to make that understandable:

Rosel Belnap

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Gilbert Belnap

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Martha Jane Belnap - Levi Byram Hammon

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Daniel Glenn Hammon

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Jean Hammon Brooks

(my mother)

Rosel was born 4 January 1789 in Cayuga County, New York. His was a large family.  He appears to have been the 6th child of possibly 15 children. He married Jane Richmond, also of New York most likely prior to 1804. According to a copy of the family bible made in 1898, Rosel moved to Ontario, Canada in 1805.  This is an interesting parallel to one of Phil's ancestors,  the Pattisons. This area of New York and southern Canada was very interwoven and boundaries weren't firmly established until the late 1830's.  

Rosel appears in many census and tax records with a variety of spellings: Rosewell, Roswel, Belknop, Belknap, etc.  Spelling was obviously not important at that time. There is a family story that Rosel served in the War of 1812, but that seems unlikely as he is listed in a census in Hamilton Township, Ontario that same year. According to (undocumented) sources on the internet, Rosel's occupation was horse racing, particularly driving or carriage racing of trotter horses.  He died on 2 December 1832, apparently from an accident sustained during a race.  Sadly, his wife died three months later, leaving their large family of 8 children orphaned.

My 2nd ggf , Gilbert Belnap, was only 11 when his father died, but he did name his first born son, Gilbert Rosel Belnap.  I hadn't realized that Gilbert (the father) was born in Canada.  Gilbert made his way back to the states and eventually joined the LDS (Mormon) church.  Gilbert died in Utah in 1899, 67 years after losing his father. It amazes me how far this man traveled from his birthplace.  There are many Belnap descendants who have formed the Belnap Family Organization where you can learn more about their history.

Addendum:  Jessi asked a great question and I did find some information, mostly about our ancestor Gilbert Belnap.  After the children were orphaned, they were most likely farmed out to different relatives and even strangers.  Gilbert had already been indentured to learn the trade of wheelwright and wagon maker. The man he was apprenticed to was a heavy drinker and hard master.  They moved around, ending up in New York, where Gilbert learned that he no longer was bound by U.S. law as an apprentice.  After leaving his master, he returned to Canada seeking his siblings.  He learned that an elder brother had spent the inheritance and that the family was dispersed.  Gilbert took the youngest brother, Thomas (then 5 years old) back to the states.  He moved around extensively but did provide for this brother.  He reunited with his maternal grandparents in Pennsylvania and kept in touch with his siblings.  Of course, he eventually made his way west.  It will be interesting to learn the stories of the other children of Rosel and Jane.

52 Ancestors: #3 Mary Esther Nifong

Mary Esther Nifong

My great-grandmother was born in Booneville, Logan, Arkansas on January 28, 1868.  She was called "Mamaw" by her grandchildren and Mama by her children.  Mary was a strong woman who kept a large family in food, shelter and clothing on a meager pastor's salary.  I am lucky that her daughter, Esther Rebecca Autry, wrote a brief biography of her called "And Mama Stayed Home".  My father, Robert Autry Brooks, also has written about her and I will include some of their information here.

As you can see from the dates, Mary was born soon after the Civil War. She was the fourth child and only daughter.  Her family farmed in Booneville and that's where she had a happy childhood.  She walked two miles to school, finishing the twelfth grade and wining several medals including spelling and deportment. Mary's mother, Rebecca Jane Spangler (Nifong), was her example in strictness and taught Mary to be a good seamstress, even having her rip out anything that didn't seem right.  Mary was devoted to her mother all her life and took care of her in her last days at the homestead in Booneville.

Mary was teaching school in the summer of 1888 when she heard of a young preacher named, Allen Hill Autry.  At the time he was travelling the country selling organs to pay his way through school.  When she refused to meet him, "Al" went looking for her. After introductions and some family dinners, he even managed to sell her father an organ.  Mary wrote to him and they were married three years later on 29 April 1891.  They first settled in Booneville where Allen taught half-time at the Baptist church (and half-time at the church in Magazine, Arkansas).

Seven children were born to them, with six living to adulthood.  Their oldest child, Ruth, is my grandmother. The next child, Allen Harvey, died in infancy.  Then came Esther (my middle name is for this wonderful lady), Mary, John, Paul and Daniel.  Allen Hill was a noted pastor, evangelist and lecturer for 40 years in Arkansas.  The family moved almost constantly, even in and out of the same home in Booneville.  I counted 11 Arkansas moves in Esther's biography, including Booneville, Springdale, Magazine, Nashville and finally settling in Little Rock in 1918.

Mary kept a big garden and a chicken coop. They took in boarders during World War II.  She nursed both her mother and her husband in their final years.  This is what Esther says of her:

We remember her as tall and slender, rather stately in her bearing, with a lovely complexion, gray eyes and the prettiest dark brown hair, kept long - and usually in a knot or roll on top her head.  She was known among her many friends as a person of Intelligence, Humor, and keen wit.  She had both musical and artistic ability.

I loved this picture of Allen and Mary - it shows such companionship and joy.

Allen Hill Autry died in 1932.  Mary lived another 23 years as a doting mother and grandmother.  She is the only grandparent that my father remembers.  She died in Little Rock, 26 March 1955, the year my father graduated from Harvard Medical School.  Here is what he has to say about her:

Mamaw was of German background with no sense of humor. She took care of 6 children on limited income.  Her philosophy was: Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do without.  One time, there was something to do that no one would do:  so she said:  We will just sit here and do nothing and be nothing! She was very loving, but very strict and organized.  Everything she did was done with an object of saving time or money or work. She would do anything for her children or her husband,Grand-dad Autry, but expected all of them to obey her.   

The last time I saw her, I was leaving Little Rock to go with friends back to Boston and we stopped for me to tell her good bye.  Without any smile she said:  Robert, we are proud of you.  Nothing anyone has ever told me meant as much as that did. I did not see her again

Here is a picture of her with my uncle Walter, his mother Ruth and Mary's mother Rebecca. Rebecca died in 1927 so I think this was taken around 1926.  Mary is in the middle. This is an amazing picture of 3 strong women who worked hard caring for their families (and one very cute little boy!).  I wish I had known them but am glad for this chance to learn more.

P.S. I got a lovely email from a cousin who knew Mamaw well as a child.  She used to have Sunday dinner with her and still enjoys the taste of KFC (original) because it reminds her of Mamaw's fried chicken.  Now I know why I love it so much too!

52 Ancestors: #2 Ward Kendall Palmer

I am continuing with my theme of January birthdays but this week's ancestor is a bit harder for me.  I don't have a lot of information on him so I will share what I have.  I'm also sad I couldn't find  a picture of him. But he did make the press on several occasions in Fredonia New York!

Ward Kendall Palmer

Born on 26 January 1912, Kendall or Ken was the younger brother of Phil's grandfather, Nelson Palmer. Thus he is Phil's "grand" or great- uncle.  According to his niece Dianne Palmer Wetjen, he was a high spirited guy who could tell stories and play the piano while singing a tune.  He had a small pug terrier named Boots who would howl and jump around while Ken was playing. He was married twice, both woman named Mary.

Ken lived with his first wife, Mary Chamberlin, in Dunkirk and Batavia New York.  He served as Vice President at the Bank of Fredonia and then at Liberty Bank and Trust in the late 50s and early 60s.  He was active in the community as there are articles about his involvement in school and civic affairs.  In May of 1961, he was elected president of the Chatauqua County Bankers Association.

Some time after Mary Chamberlain Palmer died of a brain tumor, Kendall met another Mary while visiting his sister and brother-in-law, Marguerite and Paul Mohney, in Florida. He later moved to Florida where he died 10 June 1989 in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County.

It is fascinating for me to realize how long the "Florida connection" has been going on with the Palmer family. I guess our Marco Island home is just another link in the chain.

Some of my goals for Great-Uncle Kendall is to find him in the 1940 census. I'd  like to know where he went to school, when he moved to Florida, and when his marriages took place.  There is also an adopted daughter, Bonnie, to find.  So many mysteries - all of which could have been solved if I had asked the right questions at the right time!

52 Ancestors: #1 Jennie Belle Lewis

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow who blogs at No Story To Small, I am accepting the challenge to blog about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks!  Yep, that means one per week.  I thought I might try to write about people during their birthday month.  January proved to be a challenge.  It seems we don't have that many January birthdays!   But here's a very special one:

Jennie Belle Lewis

Jennie Belle is Phil's paternal grandmother (which means she is his father's mother). She was born in Groton, South Dakota on 16 January 1891.  By the time she was 9, she was living with her parents in Devil's Lake, North Dakota.  Her mother, Carrie Scarvell, was born in Michigan and her father, Edward Merton Lewis, was born in Wisconsin.  So she was a real Midwestern girl.

At some point she moved to Minnesota (I think there were Scarvell relatives there - I need to check that out) where she met and married William Wellington Norton. This was in 1915 (see my earlier post about finding their marriage license).  She spent much of the rest of her life in Flint, Michigan where William taught and served as the orchestra's conductor.

She died on the 24th of September in 1944.  Her son, Clint, was serving in the Army Air Corps at the time and was given leave to fly a plane home to her funeral.  It's fitting that Clint was a military man because Jennie Belle's ancestors served in the Revolutionary War.

There are many things I hope to learn about Jennie Belle and her life. She was an only child and must have led an interesting life in some very out of the way places!  I guess I need to take a road trip to the Dakotas (and Michigan)

Addendum: Doris Norton, Jennie Belle's daughter-in-law, sent more information.  She describes Jennie Belle as "brilliant" with a degree in Latin.  In addition to her degree, she excelled as a cook, was a fine pianist and a witty conversationalist.  She accompanied a choir that her husband, W.W. Norton, conducted.  But the best tribute to her Jennie Belle is that she was kind and died much too young.  Thanks for giving us even more insight into this dynamic woman who was the mother of 5 children (I can so relate to her!).