Author Archives: Jodi

Ruth Smith, a little more than a simple farmer’s daughter

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Ruth Smith, 1908 Seneca High School

Ruth Smith, 1908 Seneca High School

Kansas was a good place to be a farmer, at least for the Smith family. Ruth (pictured here in the 1908 freshman class photo of Seneca High School) was the daughter of William Smith and Mary Amos. My assessment of a “good place” comes from the fact that I’ve never seen a farmer with such a consistent supply of servants – usually that’s what the kids were for! Here’s a little background.

William, originally from New Hampshire, married Mary Amos (from Ohio) in 1885 in Nemaha, Kansas – same county as Seneca. They had 4 children – not nearly enough to run a farm on. Frank the oldest was born in 1887, Amos in 1888, Ruth in 1893, and Agnes in 1895. Every census year, with the exception of 1910, a servant lived with the Smith family. Here’s the breakdown:

  • 1895, 16 year old Lena Haug from Germany
  • 1900, Barney Burdick, also from Germany
  • 1905, 20 year old Josephine Bockman of German
  • 1910, none – I think Mary was getting tired of the pretty young ones ;)
  • 1920, 75 year old black man named Bob Mason (Mary did the hiring that year)
  • 1925, 16 year old Rosa was listed as the housekeeper

Quite a list for a simple farmer! But back to Ruth. Ruth Amos Smith lived at home through 1915. Before 1920 she married Clinton W. Kanaga and they had one child at the time of that census in Kansas city, Issouri. By 1930 they had 2 more children and lived in Witchita, Kansas. Clinton was in advertising for the music retail industry apparently. 1940 saw the Kanaga family back in Kansas City. It also mentions on this census that Ruth had 4 years of college – another sign that her father was a successful farmer.

According to the SSDI, Ruth died in May of 1988 and Clinton in 1977. While I didn’t find an obituary for either of them, there is a lengthy obituary for their son, Clinton Jr. who passed away in 2006. What an active and colorful life he led, I wonder if he got that from his mom?

Viola Bennel or Bennet or Bennett? Ahh, handwriting…

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Viola Bennett, 1908 Seneca, KS

Viola Bennett, 1908 Seneca, KS

I think this is Viola Bennett. Viola was a freshman at Seneca High School in Kansas in 1908. She is identified in this class photo as #2 and as you can tell the name written by #2 appears to be Viola Bennel. However, as you can probably guess, I found no evidence of a Viola Bennel anywhere near Seneca, Nemaha county, Kansas in 1908. I could however find a Viola Bennett.

Whoever wrote this list of names was rather lax with the crossing of the t’s.

The list of names

The list of names

If you look at some of the other names,  #1 Ruth Smith for example, the t is barely crossed.  #5, Floyd Carpenter, almost looks like Carpenlir. You get the picture. So, when I found a Viola Bennett, born in 1894 in Kansas, living in Nemaha county from 1905 to 1920, I was fairly confident this was our girl. An important point to remember, you never know how much information an anonymous writer of information has.

Here’s what I can tell you about Viola Bennett – her parents were William Bennett (1863-1910) and Theresia Grollmes (1870-1954). Viola was the oldest of about 6 or 7 children. Her parents married in Nebraska, but the family lived in Kansas all her life. Between 1920-1925 she married John Edgar Sparling and they settled in Oneida, Kansas. They had at least one child, possibly more. Viola died relatively early in 1958, just a few years after her mother.

Here’s to hoping we’ve got the right Viola!

“Sig”, could this man have been my grandfather?

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Here are more photos of a young gentleman from my grandmother’s high school memory book. His name is Seignor Jernigan. All I really know about his from her book is that he gave her a Kodak for her graduation gift, there are quite a few photos of him (more than any other young man), and based on local newspaper clippings, they visited quite often ;) He wasn’t in her class, he was two years older. These photos were taken in 1930. And it looks an awful lot like a courtship if you ask me.

But it wasn’t meant to be. While they have some lovely photos together and clearly did a lot of visiting – couldn’t get away with anything that a small town Texas newspaper wouldn’t talk about in 1930 – they were bound for different paths. My grandmother, as valedictorian of her class, had multiple scholarship offers to college and eventually graduated from the University of Texas. Seignor completed high school but went into ranching and farming and WWII from there. Holly would marry my grandfather in 1934 and lived in Houston, Texas most of their married life. Seignor married Johnnie and would spend his adult live in Mills county – the same small town where these pictures were taken. It appears Seignor died in 1987 in Lampassas, Texas; his wife Johnnie about 8 years later.

It’s always odd to think about what might have been. But even stranger to consider who I might have been if my grandmother and/or Seignor has choosen a different path. My grandfather, Howard, was such a large and positive presence in my life that I can’t even fathom it. But in 1930, none of that mattered.

Roy Clarke, at 15 he already looks like a future accountant

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Roy Clarke, Manierre School, 1910

Roy Clarke, Manierre School, 1910

Lest you think I’ve been focusing too heavily on the young ladies, here’s a male student from the Manierre school. Like his classmate, he was about 15 in this photo (born January 9, 1896) and lived in Ward 22. Roy Clarke was actually Leroy Rudolf Clarke, and yes he would grow up to be a bookkeeper (among other things).

Roy never married and had no children so I doubt there are any descendants searching for him, but he deserves a little history nonetheless. Roy was the son of John H. Clarke and Louise Dahnke. Born in Illinois, he had one older brother Harry. I don’t know if Harry ever married. In 1900 and 1910 the family lived in Ward 22 of Chicago where dad John was a teamster. In 1900 his aunt Alta also lived with them.

By 1920, Roy was working as a bookkeeper, still living with his parents, as was his brother. Both dad and brother were chauffeurs. 1930, in Ward 39 now, Roy was keeping books, Harry had moved on, but grandma Dahnke (maternal grandmother) lived with the family. She would die in 1935 and is buried in Montrose Cemetery in Chicago.

1940, maybe because of the depression, who knows, Roy was no long a bookkeeper but doing “odd jobs, house cleaning”. Even on his WWII draft reg card he listed his profession as “odd jobs”. This could not have been very fulfilling for the no-longer-so-young 44 year old Roy. He was still at home and unmarried.

According to the Social Security Death Index, Roy died in Peoria, IL in October of 1975. His brother had died about 10 years earlier in 1964.

Evelyn Klumpp: following the lure of California like many, but missing in 1900

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Evelyn Klumpp, 1910 Chicago (age 16)

Evelyn Klumpp, 1910 Chicago (age 16)

Evelyn Klumpp doesn’t look too happy in this 1910 Manierre school picture from 1910 Chicago. That’s right, we’re back to Ward 22 if you’ve followed any of the other Manierre school posts. But Evelyn wasn’t so easy to find. One, although Klumpp seems like a very unique name, the number of misspellings have made her harder to track down (Klemp, Klump, etc.). Two, her parents may have just divorced or her mother died before this photo – hard to know so her world was a bit topsy-turvey.

Here’s what I know: The year this photo was taken, 1910, Evelyn lived with her uncles (her father’s brothers) Albert, Edward, and Gustav Klumpp (spelled Klemp) in Ward 22 of Chicago. They are her uncles despite the fact that she’s listed as a sister rather than a niece on the census. According to her birth record, she was born to William and Mamie Klumpp on January 15, 1894 in Cook County, Illinois. You’ll find William with his brothers, sisters and parents in 1870 and 1880 in Cook county with all the same names and near same birth years listed as the 1910 census. A marriage record has William Klumpp marring Mary O’Brien in 1886.

BUT, we never see Evelyn in a census record with her parents – they seem utterly lost in 1900. The rest of her family (at least on her father’s side) is in – you guessed it – Ward 22 of Chicago. Grandpa Christopher, now a widow lives with son Edward. Christopher would die 2 years later. Uncle Albert and Gustav live together as well. Gustav would die in an Insane Hopstial in 1945, Albert died in 1932. All, including some sisters, are buried in Rose Hill cemetery in Cook co.

Now, based on father William’s parents (Christopher and Caroline Klumpp) we know that William died in Seneca, Ohio of all places in 1923 – he is listed as divorced on the death record. He is also in Seneca in 1920, and thank goodness he was living with daughter Evelyn. She and husband Milo Long married in 1912 (Klumpp/O’Brien are parents) in Indiana. That was just 2 years after this photo, Evelyn would have been 18. At some point, they moved to Ohio and cared for her father before his death. When and where mom went/died is unknown.

Evelyn and Milo with one son William continued to live in Seneca, Ohio at least through 1940. But at some point moved to California. Evelyn Long died on March 27, 1972 in Los Angeles. I’d love to solve the mystery of the location of the family in 1900!

Wanda Johnson #3, hopefully more than the lonely divorcee she presents on paper

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Wanda Johnson in 1908, age 17

Wanda Johnson in 1908, age 17

Wanda Johnson is identified by #3 on the Seneca High School photo from Seneca, Kansas. (Whole photo originally posted here.) Her bow is magnificent isn’t it? Wanda was from a larger family, and one I wish I had the time to delve into more. She was born about 1890/91 in Kansas to Irvin Johnson (1856, CA) and Ellen Burger (1854, Canada). Her parents married in Ontario but the children were born in Kansas. Irvin was a farmer naturally. Wanda was the 6th of 7 children as well as I can tell.

In 1908, when this photo was taken, Wanda was 17 or 18. In 1910 she lived in Seneca with her parents. Her older sister Effie and husband and small child lived in a nearby town, Richmond, with older brother Claude. Claude was a widower at 26 with a baby (Claude Jr.).  See what I mean? So much more I’d love to research. But back to Wanda.

She married Elmer Britt sometime before 1915 when the couple appeared in the 1915 KS census. In 1920 they lived in Seneca, Kansas and Elmer was a barber. But, by 1930 they had made a move to Los Angeles, California. Older sister Effie (now Stevens) and family were also living in CA, near Los Angeles. I’m not sure who followed whom. Elmer was working as a salesman for building materials. The couple had no children and that may have been the reason that by 1940 they were divorced.

Wanda was a single border in LA working in a clerical position for the board of education – at age 49 it may have been her first job. And unfortunately her sister, Effie, would die in LA a few years later in 1944. I hope Wanda wasn’t as lonely as she appeared on paper (or even in this photo). While I’m not totally sure this is her, a Wanda Britt born 10/29/1890 died in Arizona in April of 1978.

Mildred Ash and a gravestone mystery

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Mildred Ash, 1931, Plymouth, Michigan

Mildred Ash, 1931, Plymouth, Michigan

UPDATE: Family has updated us that Mildred passed away on November 2, 2013. She was 99 years old!

This is Mildred M. Ash, she’s about 17 in this photo of the Plymouth, Michigan High School class of 1931. Born on February 23, 1914, her parents were William Ash and Hulda Esch. William and Hulda had 4 children, Lucile (1912), Mildred (1914), Ethel (1920), and Edward (1923). It would appear that Lucile and Mildred never married or had children – or if they did the documentary evidence eludes me. Ethel and Edward did, however, have families. I’m hoping that there will be some nieces and nephews out there excited to receive this photo.

A little more background, William and Hulda lived in Wayne county, Michigan all their married lives. William was a farmer who lived until 1964 and Hulda didn’t die until 1983 – she was almost 100. The whole family (with the exception of Lucile whose burial location I haven’t identified) appear to be buried in Riverside Cemetery in Wayne County. The odd thing about Mildred’s grave is that it only has her birthday on it, February 23, 1914. There’s room for a death date but it’s blank. Could she still be alive? Her mother did live to be almost 100! Maybe she was the last of the siblings to pass away with no one to fulfill her burial wish of being buried with the family. I do wonder about these graves that seem to leave us hanging.

Allene Spurlock, the beauty of Barboursville Jr. High in 1940

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Allene Spurlock, 1940, age 14

Allene Spurlock, 1940, age 14

I mean, this girl is just so pretty. She really must have been the “beautiful” one in the class. Her name was Allene Spurlock. While there were several possibilities of who she might be in Cabell county, West Virginia, I’m very certain it is the young woman below.

Allene was born on February 1, 1926 to Harry and Alice Spurlock. In both the 1930 and 1940 census Allene, her parents and her younger sister Virginia/Hope lived in Guyandot, Cabell, West Viriginia. Her father worked as a pipe fitter in the steam railroad repair shops. Based on census records her parents and grandparents were all from West Virginia. And Allene would be there for a good long while too.

On December 26, 1945, at the age of 19 she married Jack E. Jones in Cabell county. The couple lived in Cabell all their life. Allene passed away in April of 2010. From her obituary in The Hearld-Dispatch:

“Allene Spurlock Jones…was a lifelong resident of Cabell County. For 35 years she worked for several drugstores in Huntington, retiring from Budget Pharmacy in 1989. She was an active member of Faith United Methodist Church for 50 years.”*

Her husband preceded her in death. If the photo of her on Ancestry is the same woman 60-70 years from the date this one was take, the similarity is still amazing. What a smile!

*”Allene Spurlock Jones.” Herald-Dispatch (Huntington) April 2, 2010. Page 2. Print.

Professor A. C. MacDonald, a Canadian in Poughkeepsie and some “Aliens” in the house

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Prof. A. C. MacDonald, 1888 Eastman Business College

Prof. A. C. MacDonald, 1888 Eastman Business College

I don’t believe Mr. MacDonald has any direct descendants looking for him, although I hope I’m wrong. A colleague of Mr. Christie and Mr. Gaines from the 1888 Eastman Business College photo, Professor A. C. MacDonald was Alexander MacDonald of Canada. He was born about 1855 and although his exact date of entry to the United States isn’t known to me, he was definitely here by 1886. That’s when he married his wife Elizabeth D. MacDonald. They had one child, named after mom, born in 1888.

Professor MacDonald and family show up in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, New York in the 1892 NY census (unlike Mr. Christie), the 1900 census and the 1910 census. MacDonald was a life long teacher apparently. I can’t confirm his location in 1880 – he may have still been in canada. And no record of any of the 3 family members seems to extend past 1910 – even the daughter. But my research hasn’t been deep.

Interestingly in 1900 there were 2 foreigners living with the family. A Jorge Juan Soroa, an 18 year old male from Cuba whose parents were Spanish; and N. Tamaoki, a 19 year old male from Japan. Were these foreign students attending his school? Much like exchange students of today – although they weren’t exchanged per se since the younger Elizabeth (12 at the time) was still at home. Mr. Soroa traveled to the US several times after that based on an “Alien Arrivals by Airplane” list and other documents.

Let’s hope the younger Elizabeth didn’t disappear after 1910. Maybe she’s living in Spain or Japan!

Professor S. N. Christie – hanging on by a census record in Poughkeepsie

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Professor S. N. Christie, 1888 Eastman Business College

Professor S. N. Christie, 1888 Eastman Business College

I like a lot of solid evidence, any historian does, so this makes me nervous. Prof. S. N. Christie, of the 1888 Eastman Business College, pictured here, is probably the man I will describe below. His identity hinges on one census record that describes the man in my hypothesis. He is also the only man that comes up – there were not a plethora of S. N. Christies in Poughkeepsie. So, assuming my hypothesis is right, this is likely your guy.

S. N. is Samuel N. Christie. Born in 1849 in Maine – although his birthplace appears as PA once and NY once, other than than ME it is! The census record I’m placing all my hope on is the 1880 Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, New York federal census. This is the closest federal census to the date of the class photo and unfortunately the 1892 NY census records don’t extend to Dutchess county. In 1880 Mr. Christie is about 30 living with his wife Rosella and two small children Mabel and Frederick. And here’s the real hinge, he’s listed as a teacher. Ok, good possibility!

Unfortunately “Professor” Christie had a change of heart at some point and became an insurance salesman. EVERY OTHER document he appears in have his occupation listed as Insurance agent or salesman – son Harvey went into the biz too. Samuel died in 1923 in Connecticut, as did much of his family, daughter Mabel, son-in-law Henry, wife Rosella, probably his son’s but I couldn’t confirm that.

So there it is, my weak argument – I’m hopeful a family member can shed light on him and confirm the identity.