Posts
Tombstone Tuesday - Quivey
Today I chose this tombstone. It is of my great great great grandparents. They are at rest, in the Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell, Iowa.
I am happy to say this picture was taken by me in 2008 on a visit there with my sisters and niece. It is a lovely cemetery.
Interesting - before my trip from Oregon I contacted the cemetery. They confirmed for me Linus and Anna were buried there, along with some other relatives as well. I let them know the exact date we would be there for a visit. They said they would put some flag stakes by the graves so we could find them easily. When we drove into the cemetery there were some workers. I asked my sister to stop, which she did. Before I could get any words out of my mouth the guy said "looking for Quivey"? I could not believe it. He said to follow him, which we did and he showed us exactly where the Quivey's were buried - in two locations. How cool is that?
93 Year Old Sharp Memory
Friday, July 23, 2010
This week I had the priviledge of visiting with one of my father in law's cousins, Helina. She is 93 years old and as sharp as a whip although she says her memory is failing. She also has an incredible sense of humor to go along with it. What a delight. I can't wait to get back over there and visit her again.
I will be reporting some of the stories she told me that are fascinating. Also I left with her a questionare to "jog" her memory. She called me a day or two later and thanked me for asking her those questions! Within the next week or so I will retrieve her interview questions and share them with you.
So look for "A Four Poster Bed On A Sod Floor" and "Twin Brothers - Do Not Marry Our Sister!"
I can't wait to share them with you. They are just so cool.
I will be reporting some of the stories she told me that are fascinating. Also I left with her a questionare to "jog" her memory. She called me a day or two later and thanked me for asking her those questions! Within the next week or so I will retrieve her interview questions and share them with you.
So look for "A Four Poster Bed On A Sod Floor" and "Twin Brothers - Do Not Marry Our Sister!"
I can't wait to share them with you. They are just so cool.
Friends from Olin, Iowa
Sunday, July 18, 2010
If any of you stopping by have relatives from the town of Olin, Iowa, you just might want to read this. This is a poem written by my Great Grandfather, John Wesley Lyon. He lived out most of his life there. He considered himself a poet and there are several I will share with you later. Other items he was written are "Life in Olin", "Letter to my Children" and his own "Obituary". He was an intersting character to say the least.
See if there is anyone you may recognize in the following poem.
Olin Friends
By John Wesley Lyon
We lost the Olin Recorder,
Mr. Hansen found it;
And when we got it back again,
He put it’s name around it.
But Mr. Hansen could not make it,
He could not its’ pages fill;
It was only printed on one side,
Something like a sale bill.
So Mr. Hospers took it over,
And business is his creed;
So business men send in your add,
For that is one thing he will need.
And if you want to write an article,
And your time is not all invested;
Mr. Hospers will try and write it,
And others will be interested.
Westfahl buys your produce,
And he buys it on the square;
And he pays you more for eggs and cream
Than you can get anywhere.
Westfahl buys your chickens,
And he also sells you feed;
He also has the oyster shells,
Or anything else you need.
Dayton sells the jewelry,
And glasses on the side;
And he has the best silverware,
Ever you have tried.
Guy Thompson fixes the telephones,
And he surely knows his stuff;
And when he works all day,
That ought to be enough.
The operators are now planning
And working out a scheme;
So that the monthly payday
Will not be so far between.
Fred said he would like to pay
The operators at least one a week;
But when he came to look,
The bank had sprung a leak.
Stingley repairs your shoes,
And they look so nice and neat;
It looks almost a shame
To put them on your feet.
Dave Curtright, he’s a workman,
And don’t you think he aint;
You ought to see him hang the paper
And how he slings the paint.
Macomber runs the drugstore,
And Jerry was his clerk;
He had been the business so long
He understood the work.
Macomber sells all kinds of drugs,
Everything down to salts;
And if taken according to directions,
You sure will have to waltz.
Frank Fall says “I have not much to worry me,
And my troubles would be few;
If it wasn’t for that ornery
And ever good for nothing J. W.
Earl Hart says you need not worry,
Although it seems so awful funny;
The depression will soon be past,
And we will all have lots of money.
His wife she listened, then she said,
“Earl I know your always right;
But I have worked here two months,
And theres not a payday yet in sight.
Houstman works for Uncle Sam,
And his ability is unsurpassed;
And you had ought to see his clerks,
If anyone should ask.
Save up for old age,
I thought it meant for me;
But when the boom was busted,
I began to see.
Hart sells hardware and groceries,
He sells them on the square;
And the milk and meat,
You will always find them there.
If you call for Dr. White,
And he tells you what you need;
Take his medicine according to directions,
And he will have you on full feed.
Now Reva White, his wife,
We could not do without her;
She looks after those in need,
All around about her.
Vernon moved his auto shop,
He moved it on the street;
And when you get your work done,
It looks so nice and neat.
Vernon went to Chicago,
To learn the auto trade;
And by his skill and practice,
Can fix any car that’s made.
Frank and Payson run a shop
On the east side of the street;
And when you buy your groceries,
You can also buy your meat.
Frank he works so hard
And he has his books to keep;
And when he goes to bed,
He can hardly go to sleep.
Miles, he keeps his books,
Although he never trusted;
And if the bank had been the same,
It never would have busted.
Yet the bank went busted,
But it did not all leak out;
And when the receivers turned the key;
They will get the rest no doubt.
If Mayor Carter sees anyone
Comitt a minor crime
He calls them in to court
And imposes on them a fine.
And Marshall Freeman watches
And if they can not give the bail
He takes them by the collar
And throws them in the jail.
He fed them bread and water
Until they were almost dead
But times got so hard
He had to cut out the bread.
But if the bank has busted
And had not left a cent
The receivers would of turned the key
And away they would of went.
Mason does the plumbing
Everything up to date
And Fluton runs the hardware
And you never find him late.
Taylor sells the Buick,
Just the car you need;
He also sells the Chevy,
That has got it skinned for speed.
He also carries a line of repairs,
And he always has enough;
He also has a gang of workman,
That surely know their stuff.
William Peck runs a restaurant,
On the west side of the street;
And when you go there,
You can get something good to eat.
We have three stations,
That sell oil and gasoline;
But the competition on all three
Is so very, very keen.
Mr. Cole is our lawyer,
And he does our legal work;
And if he has a case in court,
Will never duty shirk.
We have three good barbers on the street,
And they want their cash right down;
And we also have a lady barber,
In the northeast part of town.
John Gordon has farming tools,
And would sell them if he could;
But the farmers have no money
And their paper is no good.
We finally got our school house,
By a long continued fight;
And sometimes it was hard to tell,
Who was in the right.
Lawsons sell dry goods by the yard,
And sells the groceries by the pound;
And he gets the news on the radio,
Almost the world around.
Swartzell handles groceries,
And dry goods on the side;
He also has a line of shoes,
The best you ever tried.
And if you trade with Nellie,
And she tells you what’s the price;
You had better not try to Jew her,
For she will charge you twice.
If there is a nice young lady
Coming at the door;
And Nellie waits on her,
Then Robert he is sore.
Mr. Swartzell says it’s easy
To figure the gain and the loss;
But it’s sometimes hard to tell
Who is the boss.
Richell Miller says
Everything’s on the bum;
But according to the laws of nature,
Good times are sure to come.
Jurgenson has the highest job,
He elevates the grain;
And when he gets a supply on hand,
He loads it on the train.
And now in writing this poem
I hope I have not lost a friend
And wishing you many kind wishes
I bring it to an end.
John Wesley Lyon
Born September 23, 1860
Died December 20, 1883 in Jones County, Olin, Iowa
See if there is anyone you may recognize in the following poem.
Olin Friends
By John Wesley Lyon
We lost the Olin Recorder,
Mr. Hansen found it;
And when we got it back again,
He put it’s name around it.
But Mr. Hansen could not make it,
He could not its’ pages fill;
It was only printed on one side,
Something like a sale bill.
So Mr. Hospers took it over,
And business is his creed;
So business men send in your add,
For that is one thing he will need.
And if you want to write an article,
And your time is not all invested;
Mr. Hospers will try and write it,
And others will be interested.
Westfahl buys your produce,
And he buys it on the square;
And he pays you more for eggs and cream
Than you can get anywhere.
Westfahl buys your chickens,
And he also sells you feed;
He also has the oyster shells,
Or anything else you need.
Dayton sells the jewelry,
And glasses on the side;
And he has the best silverware,
Ever you have tried.
Guy Thompson fixes the telephones,
And he surely knows his stuff;
And when he works all day,
That ought to be enough.
The operators are now planning
And working out a scheme;
So that the monthly payday
Will not be so far between.
Fred said he would like to pay
The operators at least one a week;
But when he came to look,
The bank had sprung a leak.
Stingley repairs your shoes,
And they look so nice and neat;
It looks almost a shame
To put them on your feet.
Dave Curtright, he’s a workman,
And don’t you think he aint;
You ought to see him hang the paper
And how he slings the paint.
Macomber runs the drugstore,
And Jerry was his clerk;
He had been the business so long
He understood the work.
Macomber sells all kinds of drugs,
Everything down to salts;
And if taken according to directions,
You sure will have to waltz.
Frank Fall says “I have not much to worry me,
And my troubles would be few;
If it wasn’t for that ornery
And ever good for nothing J. W.
Earl Hart says you need not worry,
Although it seems so awful funny;
The depression will soon be past,
And we will all have lots of money.
His wife she listened, then she said,
“Earl I know your always right;
But I have worked here two months,
And theres not a payday yet in sight.
Houstman works for Uncle Sam,
And his ability is unsurpassed;
And you had ought to see his clerks,
If anyone should ask.
Save up for old age,
I thought it meant for me;
But when the boom was busted,
I began to see.
Hart sells hardware and groceries,
He sells them on the square;
And the milk and meat,
You will always find them there.
If you call for Dr. White,
And he tells you what you need;
Take his medicine according to directions,
And he will have you on full feed.
Now Reva White, his wife,
We could not do without her;
She looks after those in need,
All around about her.
Vernon moved his auto shop,
He moved it on the street;
And when you get your work done,
It looks so nice and neat.
Vernon went to Chicago,
To learn the auto trade;
And by his skill and practice,
Can fix any car that’s made.
Frank and Payson run a shop
On the east side of the street;
And when you buy your groceries,
You can also buy your meat.
Frank he works so hard
And he has his books to keep;
And when he goes to bed,
He can hardly go to sleep.
Miles, he keeps his books,
Although he never trusted;
And if the bank had been the same,
It never would have busted.
Yet the bank went busted,
But it did not all leak out;
And when the receivers turned the key;
They will get the rest no doubt.
If Mayor Carter sees anyone
Comitt a minor crime
He calls them in to court
And imposes on them a fine.
And Marshall Freeman watches
And if they can not give the bail
He takes them by the collar
And throws them in the jail.
He fed them bread and water
Until they were almost dead
But times got so hard
He had to cut out the bread.
But if the bank has busted
And had not left a cent
The receivers would of turned the key
And away they would of went.
Mason does the plumbing
Everything up to date
And Fluton runs the hardware
And you never find him late.
Taylor sells the Buick,
Just the car you need;
He also sells the Chevy,
That has got it skinned for speed.
He also carries a line of repairs,
And he always has enough;
He also has a gang of workman,
That surely know their stuff.
William Peck runs a restaurant,
On the west side of the street;
And when you go there,
You can get something good to eat.
We have three stations,
That sell oil and gasoline;
But the competition on all three
Is so very, very keen.
Mr. Cole is our lawyer,
And he does our legal work;
And if he has a case in court,
Will never duty shirk.
We have three good barbers on the street,
And they want their cash right down;
And we also have a lady barber,
In the northeast part of town.
John Gordon has farming tools,
And would sell them if he could;
But the farmers have no money
And their paper is no good.
We finally got our school house,
By a long continued fight;
And sometimes it was hard to tell,
Who was in the right.
Lawsons sell dry goods by the yard,
And sells the groceries by the pound;
And he gets the news on the radio,
Almost the world around.
Swartzell handles groceries,
And dry goods on the side;
He also has a line of shoes,
The best you ever tried.
And if you trade with Nellie,
And she tells you what’s the price;
You had better not try to Jew her,
For she will charge you twice.
If there is a nice young lady
Coming at the door;
And Nellie waits on her,
Then Robert he is sore.
Mr. Swartzell says it’s easy
To figure the gain and the loss;
But it’s sometimes hard to tell
Who is the boss.
Richell Miller says
Everything’s on the bum;
But according to the laws of nature,
Good times are sure to come.
Jurgenson has the highest job,
He elevates the grain;
And when he gets a supply on hand,
He loads it on the train.
And now in writing this poem
I hope I have not lost a friend
And wishing you many kind wishes
I bring it to an end.
John Wesley Lyon
Born September 23, 1860
Died December 20, 1883 in Jones County, Olin, Iowa
I Write Like.........
Sentimental Sunday - Grandpa's Junk Yard
Saturday, July 17, 2010
My Grandpa was cool. He owned and ran a pretty popular junk yard. It was full of old cars that did not run, old and I mean really old farm machinery, sheep that meandered in the rows and many other items. He would sell parts to machinery and parts to cars. People would stop by quite often. After all it was right off of a main highway.I can remember my Grandma standing by the kitchen sink pealing potatoes, snapping beans or shucking corn from the fields. There was a window above the sink to look out of. Sometimes a truck would pull in with a trailer full of metal. She would shake her head and say "oh my, he went and bought more junk". That used to make me laugh.
This place of course was in Ruthven, Iowa. When the cousins would stop by, us kids would go out to the rows of cars and hop from one car to the other on the roofs of the cars. Sometimes there were twenty in a row! Funny thing - I never remember any of us getting hurt. The cars as I remember were pretty close together so we could do this easily. It was thrilling! My Grandpa would never complain when we did this. We could have really done some damage to the cars, but he did not care!
What a neat Grandpa.
Stuart Donald Davis
Born April 18, 1902, Grinnell, Iowa
Death March 18, 1993, Ruthven, Iowa
Buried Crown Hill Cemetery
Surname Saturday - 23
This is my first Surname Saturday post.
I thought is would be a good thing to list all the surnames I am researching. When I started making the list there were one after the other and on and on and on. Then, I decided the list would be too long so instead, I'm listing 23. These are all surnames where there are at least 10 people in my tree with that surname. If some of you are also researching any of these names perhaps we are cousins! Feel free to contact me.
Bliss
Brewster
Brickley
Davis
Evans
Fahl
Grange
Hanson
Hendee
House
Ireland
Johnson
Knight
Lyon
Macwithey
Merritt
Needham
Nelson
Quivey
Smith
Spikerman
Switzer
Tallman
A Reader Survey - Favorite Genealogy Websites
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings put out a new survey.
This week the question is:
Genealogists today use websites all the time for their research. Rank the following websites in the order of their importance to you in your research: Here are mine.
Ancestry - very very useful to me.
Google Reader - I use this all the time.
USGenweb - The county areas are very useful and I have found good information there.
MyHeritage - this is my main genealogy database. I like the smart matches and maps.
Family Search - Very helpful.
Findagrave - I love Find a Grave. It is fantastic. The members on there are great too.
Rootsweb - Helpful for forums and such
Worldvitalrecords Although I have a paid subscriptin, I do not use this as often as I could. Have been able to dig up some newspaper articles of relatives otherwise unable to find.
Others I enjoy:
Genealogywise and the help and support you get there.
Footnote - Although I am signed up, I do not have a paid subscription. Have taken advantage of the Civil War and Revolutionary War Free blocks of time they gave recently. That was really neat.
This week the question is:
Genealogists today use websites all the time for their research. Rank the following websites in the order of their importance to you in your research: Here are mine.
Ancestry - very very useful to me.
Google Reader - I use this all the time.
USGenweb - The county areas are very useful and I have found good information there.
MyHeritage - this is my main genealogy database. I like the smart matches and maps.
Family Search - Very helpful.
Findagrave - I love Find a Grave. It is fantastic. The members on there are great too.
Rootsweb - Helpful for forums and such
Worldvitalrecords Although I have a paid subscriptin, I do not use this as often as I could. Have been able to dig up some newspaper articles of relatives otherwise unable to find.
Others I enjoy:
Genealogywise and the help and support you get there.
Footnote - Although I am signed up, I do not have a paid subscription. Have taken advantage of the Civil War and Revolutionary War Free blocks of time they gave recently. That was really neat.
Treasure Chest Thursday - Grandma's Clock
This clock is special. It was my Grandma Lyon's clock. When we used to stay at Grandma and Grandpa Lyon's house for a few days, I fell alseep at night looking at this clock. This is when my Grandparents lived in Mitchell, South Dakota. They later moved to Florida.
After my Grandparents had both passed away, my mom asked if there was anything of Grandma's that I would like to have and imediately I requested the clock. When we received it, it did not work. My handy husband got it working so now it sits in the foyer of our home.
A true treasure to me.
Wordless Wednesday - The Crusaders
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
This flyer is two fold of importance to me. It is of My Dad, Melvin Lyon, when he was 12 years old and Willis Lyon, my Grandpa. This is neat!
Tombstone Tuesday - Hell + man = Hellman
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
I know - when you go to a cemetery you should bring a tool, right? Well I was so excited and shocked that my husband actually wanted to go with me (first time) to the cemetery to find his Gr Grandparents gravestones. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Portland, Oregon and the weather was nice. Not too hot.
After stopping at the cemetery office where the nice young man showed me the exact row and how many gravestones in to find the gravestones for Karl Ludvig Hellman and his wife Fanny we actually had a terrible time finding the gravestone. We quickly realized some are buried together so you need to count two stones. In other words graves. Then Mike, my husband said "there it is"! All you could see was the word "Hell". How weird. It was amazing he actually saw it. It was an unusual gravestone. Oh dear I did not have a tool. So craftily I thought of the ice scraper in my car. The hard shovel part of it might work to get away the dirt and grass covering the man. Mike worked diligently and excitedly to uncover the "man", thus the name Hellman appeared. It looked like maybe a family member got some cement and carved Hellman in it. It was really narrow and about 2 feet wide.
Mike was really excited. I thought - it does not even say his first name! That did not matter to Mike. He thought the stone was really primitive and cool. There was no separate headstone for Karl's wife Fanny. But there was room right next to him where hers should be. I went back to the office to verify the headstone was Karl's (it was) and if they would have any record of Fanny's headstone. They said no.
So here you go!
Karl Ludvig Hellman - Born January 23, 1875 in St. Karins, Finland, Died February 5, 1927 in Portland, Oregon.
Fanny Amanda (Saren) Hellman - Born September 18, 1875 in Finland, Died March 13, 1919 in Portland, Oregon. Both buried in the Rose City Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.
It was really neat that Mike went with me. Now he will probably go with me to see his other Gr Grandparents gravestones, in Vancouver, Washington. I also requested from the office any other records they had to be mailed to me. They said I should receive it within a week. They needed to open the vault. Cool!
Follow Friday - The right thing at the right time.
Friday, July 9, 2010
This week I decided to sign up for Evernote. Since I have read that a lot of people use it, I signed up to see what it is all about.
To me it seems like it will be okay. So far I have just been playing around with it. It is nice that I can get the information from any computer I am at.
Then - this week I received the Family Tree Magazine. In it there is a complete article on using Evernote!
So the botton line is I must be doing the "right thing at the right time".
I would like to hear from some of you who use Evernote and how you are using it for your genealogy researching.
To me it seems like it will be okay. So far I have just been playing around with it. It is nice that I can get the information from any computer I am at.
Then - this week I received the Family Tree Magazine. In it there is a complete article on using Evernote!
So the botton line is I must be doing the "right thing at the right time".
I would like to hear from some of you who use Evernote and how you are using it for your genealogy researching.
Treasure Chest Thursday - Sarongs and cats!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
This is a picture I treasure. It is of me and my three sisters when we lived oversea's in Bandung Indonesia! We lived there for two years out of our young lives. Although we did not regularly wear sarongs, it was fun to dress up in the native costume from time to time.
The cats - well - let me tell you. We had a female cat and noticed she went missing for a few days. One of us walked by a dresser in one of the bedrooms and heard "meaow". There our cat was - with four little kittens in a dresser drawer! At night time - the cat would bring her kittens one by one up onto one of my sisters bed. I thought it was gross and they looked like tiny rats. What a weird experience.
When we were young like in this picture - we would say "let's stand in stair steps"! We were all from 15 - 18 months apart so when we were in "stair steps" we would also be oldest to youngest. Today we are pretty much the same height so no more "stair steps" for us!
From time to time I will be telling stories and things that us kids did when we were little, as teens and the more recent adults years.
One thing in this world that I treasure is my wonderful sisters.
Standing from oldest to youngest. Nancy, Mary, Susan and Sandy
Tombstone Tuesday - Quivey
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
For Tombstone Tuesday this week I decided to do another missing headstone. This is at the Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell, Iowa.
Here is the resting place of my Gr Gr Grandparents Amy (Drake) and David H Quivey. As you can see, Amy's headstone is on the left and the one on the right is just the base for David H Quivey with the headstone missing. I checked with the cemetery and yes - this is where David is buried. He died of typhoid fever at the age of 29, leaving Amy with five children. Amy never did remarry.
I've also included a marriage certificate for them.
David H Quivey B 1850 in New York, M September 2, 1873 in Montezuma, Iowa D August 1, 1880 in Grinnell, Poweshiek County, Iowa at the age of 29.
Amy (Drake) Quivey B January 16, 1849 in Barry Woodford, County, Illinois D March 13, 1900 in Grinnell, Poweshiek County, Iowa at the age of 51.
I have wondered for some time what their life was like.
Follow Friday - A Must See Must Do
Friday, July 2, 2010
As you already know from previous posts from other bloggers, the Footnote Revoluntionary War records is free for just a week beginning yesterday.
Yesterday I headed over there and was fascinated with the information they had there. The Act of Congress of 1938 allowed for family to get a pension from their patriot.
Only thing - the family member - wife, patriot himself, or children had to prove when the patriot served in the Revolutionary War and under whom he served. That wsa a little difficult because 50 to 60 years later you had to come up with this information.
So I just checked out a name. The information found in these records is amazing. In one instance a lady said the patriot was her brother. When she was just 9 years of age she remembered someone coming to their house, taking her brother outside, talking for awhile, then her brother left with the man, never to return until the following summer.
Another did not know who the patriot served under, however, his two brothers who also served in the same unit, had already received pension dollars. They were able to link them and finally get some pension out of that.
Anyway - the stories in there are amazing. There is a filmstrip at the bottom and you can advance to the next page easily. Give it a try. You will be amazed at what you see here. Hurry, there are only a few days left for the free documents.
Yesterday I headed over there and was fascinated with the information they had there. The Act of Congress of 1938 allowed for family to get a pension from their patriot.
Only thing - the family member - wife, patriot himself, or children had to prove when the patriot served in the Revolutionary War and under whom he served. That wsa a little difficult because 50 to 60 years later you had to come up with this information.
So I just checked out a name. The information found in these records is amazing. In one instance a lady said the patriot was her brother. When she was just 9 years of age she remembered someone coming to their house, taking her brother outside, talking for awhile, then her brother left with the man, never to return until the following summer.
Another did not know who the patriot served under, however, his two brothers who also served in the same unit, had already received pension dollars. They were able to link them and finally get some pension out of that.
Anyway - the stories in there are amazing. There is a filmstrip at the bottom and you can advance to the next page easily. Give it a try. You will be amazed at what you see here. Hurry, there are only a few days left for the free documents.
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