On the Rails: Minneapolis to San Francisco: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 3
Posted on September 12, 2021 Leave a Comment
1913 Wed Oct 1 Wed Mrs Haley and Nellie came up in the evening. We had a pleasant time.
Oct 2 Thurs Mooved into the New Flat at 1109 E. 17 st. A beautiful sunny day Frank Hoffman [Eilene’s husband] moved us in his auto-truck. Dewey went down to Haleys and got some pickles and preserves Mrs. Haley so kindly gave us. It was so difficult to sort our stuff, that and it took us so long to move, we didn’t get started on our long journey to San Francisco. Well good Bye to our old home at 1027 st. N.E.
Oct 3 Friday Helped unpack in new flat. Made Lolitas new gingham dress. Jessie and Dewey rented an old oil stove and we cooked a square meal and did some ironing. Went down town and bought a new suit case and some stockings. Jessie and Dewey put us up a fine lunch and after supper we all went down to the Union Depot at Minneapolis to catch the 8 oclock train. Missed our train and took the one at 11:15. Emma Hollis and children were at the depot with a fine lunch for us. Leo and Eilene arrived on the run after we had boarded our train. Tearful and heart wrenching goodby and we were off.
Soon after starting and we soon found out is was the Union Depot in St. Paul. It burned up completely We were held up there about 45 min.
Oct 4 Sat Woke up in car speeding southward through Iowa. Along in the A.M it began to rain and the car leaked all over. We happened to have a dry place and were very glad when we arrived at Omaha.
Boarded a train at 4:30 for Frisco. Couldn’t get a berth there but was very fortunate to get one at [Schuyler] Neb in time to turn in. Slept rather cold but better than the night before when we occupied seats.
Oct 5 Sun Woke up in morning in Berth 13 after good nights rest. Breakfasted and wrote some postcards and mailed them at Cheyenne. The road west is a steady climb to Buford [7851] feet above sea level. Then Sherman where they get the gravel for the road bed. The road gets more hilly and rocky as we proceed the scattered pine trees unusually small. We passed the “lonsome pine” top of trunk bare but still boasting green branches bravely. The rocks are mostly red granite not a bit like the gray limestone of Minnesota.
Then we came to Laramine. The mountains in the distance look quite like the pictures of them one sees everywhere. Frank just came in from the smoker to say I must put down “Mosiers Here” so he gets into the record but dont know how long he’ll stay. The most notable thing we were able to see from the car windows was a girl clad in bright scarlet that waved as we passed. We are now speeding westward over the Wyoming prairies with nothing much to see but a lonely ranch here and there mostly the latter.
It is now 3 o’clock. At 10 min to 4 we ran into a light snow which turned into a blizzard in 10 min more. Through the flying flakes we could discern a large board sign painted with white letters W A T C H T H E C R O P S G R O W. Ground is already white. 1 hr later we left the storm behind and sailed into the sunshine but it soon clouded over again, although at sunset the sun went down behind the hills in the most approved fashion. I thought many times Leo and I sang the song, “Now the sun is in the west” and of course the foolish ineffectual tears would flow. My boys and my girls God help me but its hard to say good bye. Its Sun eve and I suppose you are all at church and I know praying for me as I shall do for you. We have had our supper and are waiting for the porter to make up the births for another rock a by night on the old U.P. [Union Pacific] good night.
Oct. 6 Mon Bitter cold and snow greeted us upon awakening this morning a few mi out of Ogden, Utah and a heavy pelting of hard snow was our farewell from that little town under the big bluff. We soon left the snow behind and came upon the wide far reaching flat that was once part of Salt Lake. Next appeared the lake itself along the low northern banks of which we hurled awhile and then the train took us right out on to it! I thought our steamboat ride in Minnetonka the 4th which seemed rather tame in comparison. High mountainous bluffs surround its irregular shore and every few minutes one is surprised with a startling feature. At first the iridescent mud colored expanse flat as a pancake. Then just lake. Then the island of red rock then more lake. On our right where the water lapped the shore it appeared of a bright red color surrounded by a few inches of white salt. A little further on the water appeared of a beautiful sea green and “Every little water had its night cap on.”
So very, very early in the morning. A pretty sight with the purple mountains to the N.E. and a mud peat in the distant North. Not long after we ran into the Great American Desert which is a great stretch of sand bordered by mountains. Later we passed the line into Nevada. It seems to be quite the same in general appearance.
At 3:15 we stopped at a little town named Carlin in Nev. for 15 min. We ran out – mailed a letter to J&D and bought 10¢ worth of sugar 25¢ peaches & 5¢ celery. In Cheyenne on Sunday we bought a Sunday paper 5¢ a bottle of wild cherry phosphate 50¢ a fruit 15¢ buns 10¢ bread 15 and a pie 10¢
Later in the day we passed through Battle Mountain Nev. Here we saw quite a number of Mexicans and their little village of huts. We passed through Reno and the snow sheds after dark.
Tue. Oct 7 Getting into Gods Country again. Human looking habitations. Christian looking fields and meadows trees and shrubs. Stopped in Sacramento 15 min.
Ran up town and bought “for 10¢” some delicious grapes. Passed through Stockton where Allie lived so long and on through agriculture lands to Oakland. Here we left the train that had carried us so far in safety and took the boat for the Ferry Building across the bay.
We soon landed but no Allie could we see so the lady we became acquainted with on the way Miss Eunice Summer showed us to a Hotel, the Winchester, where we passed a very pleasant and restful night.
Wed Oct 8 Cool with slight sprinkle of rain. Felt weak and languid. Went out and breakfasted in a funny little basement restaurant where we ate on a bare table out of crockery ½ in thick, a substantial breakfast of pork sausages fried, hot coffee, bread & butter and cereal all for 15¢. Later when we returned to the Hotel I ran into Allie in the corridor. May be I wasn’t glad to see him. He had engaged rooms at 1712½ Fell Street for us and we went right up after he had seen the gas people. At – present- I am waiting for them to return from hunting commissary and work. Soon I’ll be settled down to housekeeping in earnest.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All RIghts Reserved.
Listen to Your Ancestors: What Story do they want you to Write?
Posted on September 11, 2021 5 Comments
When I was thinking about my great grandmother’s diary, A Soprano’s Aria: Lulu’s Diary, I really struggled with the title. And if you read my piece Writing Stories: Writing Begins With a Title you will know that the title sets the stage for the story you will tell. It really got me to reflect on what story Lulu would want me to write. I could have chosen a title “The Diary of an Abused Woman” or “Abused,” but that would have emphasized her victim hood. I am sure she would not have wanted that. I thought about what she cared about most and what got her through the rough times? Family, faith, friends, literature? And then I heard her voice in the pages. She was a soprano who loved music and the title materialized. She may have thought it too lofty, but it speaks of her specifically and metaphorically.
I never met Lulu in life. It is a bittersweet journey having to learn who she is, through her writing. And although she suffered greatly, she was a strong woman who eventually grasps her power, and finds her voice. It is Lulu’s story, but it is also the story of countless woman at the turn of the 20th century, even as it is today. She lived through the suffrage movement and gained the right to vote. She lived through massive changes in how women were treated and how they saw themselves.
Although Lulu may have wanted this painful part of her past destroyed when she died, I know she would appreciate the inspiration it can be for others. She would likely cringe at the parts about the abuse she endured, but she would want us to know about her joys and the history she was a part of.
When we write stories about our ancestors we can keep some points in mind.
- Listen, honor their voices
- Think about your subjects as REAL, breathing people that are responsible for your being alive
- Dig deeper into the circumstances, find out the why, not just the hows and whens
- If they are a close ancestor we may have things in common, how can that inform what we know about them?
- Whenever we write, we become a part of the story, how can we keep “their” story the primary focus? We may be the narrator, how can we stay out of their way
- Illuminate, but do not exploit
- We all need heroes, and we need to show ordinary people can be our heroes too
So if you are writing a story be mindful of whose story it is. I cannot emphasize that enough. Listen to Your Ancestors! What Story do they want you to Write?
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
American Women’s League & Good Bye Minneapolis! A Soprano’s Aria: Chapter 2
Posted on September 10, 2021 Leave a Comment
“Edward Gardner Lewis established the American Woman’s League as a subscription gathering organization. Lewis’ plan was for women to qualify for memberships by selling $52 in magazine subscriptions. The fees that would otherwise have been paid to individuals would be paid to the American Woman’s League. The League would use these funds to provide benefits that the women wanted…education, a foundation for social organizations within their communities and security for their old age…among other things.” Arguably these women’s organizations were foundational in the women’s suffrage movement. Lulu’s early involvement cannot be overlooked in her future development.
INSIDE the Front Cover of the Diary
Diary Quote reads: “Revenue – The dream of a waking man. It differs, however, in many respects from dreaming. In exaggerated form it is of rare occurrence and when it exceeds absence of need or abstraction from what is passing around it is abnormal and unhealthy.“
1913 Sep 2 Friday Morning dawned bright and fair in Col. Hgts. [Columbia Heights] Cool enough for winter coats. Our cosmos won’t bloom but the sweet alyssum and nasturtiums and dahlias are doing splendid. In the afternoon Mrs Schreveder and I saw baby Ruth Went to the Bijou to see the “Battle of Gettesburg.” It was a moving picture in 5 reels. Romance and patriotism, love and devotion, fidelity to duty, heroic bravery and a cruel wars inexorable toll of human lives were enacted before us with wonderful cleanness and realism. Lincoln’s speech at the dedication of the monument was beautifully shown, his sad countenance moving with feeling the placid shawl over his shoulders and the crowd standing about in the old fashioned garb made it seem very real, and left a lasting impression of the unspeakable horrors of war.
Sep 25 Thu “Cut out my house gown and worked on it some. Went down town with Frank Mo.[Mosier] and Leo to see about the house. Decided to accept the $1100.00 offered by the Co for a quit claim deed for the house we have lived in these unhappy years. Glad to be rid of it but sorry to leave the older children.
Went to the Bijou theater on Washington Ave to see the moovies. Mrs Vincent gave me the ticket and so it cost me nothing. It was the Bishops Daughter in 4 reels. Saw Mrs Cornelius on the Street Car coming home. Effie is in high school also.
Fri Sep 26 Baked 14 loaves of Rye bread and sewed some on my house gown. The weather turned out warm and sunny. Grateful change. Mrs Taylor stopped in a few min yesterday and said Harrises were going to move out of the heights also. Well they may all go before I should worry. I wonder if San Fran will be much of an improvement on old Minneapolis Minnesota.
The time is nearing for us to go if we start Oct 1. I have so much sewing to do that it staggers one. Jessie went to see the dentist about her teeth and came home feeling better. Maybe now she can be of some assistance to me in getting ready to go. It is now midnight and I must retire to get what sleep and rest I may for another days labor.“
BACKGROUND
Between 1890 the year after Lulu and Frank marry and 1903 together they have 8 children in 13 years: Albert “Allie” Edgar 1890, Leo Dewey 1892, Jessie Ellen 1893, Audry “Eileen” 1895, Orland “Dewey“, 1897, Milo Dean 1899, Lolita Genevive 1901 and finally Millie Catherine in 1903.The the first 6 born in Nebraska, the 7th in Colorado and the last Millie in Madison, South Dakota. Sadly, Millie, named after her grandmothers: Millie Almena COATES PADEN and Catherine STEWART MOSIER. Sadly she died at 4 days old. By 1908 the family has moved to Columbia Heights, Minneapolis, where Frank is listed in 1908 as a laborer, a clerk for T M Robert S Supply in 1909 and a Tireman for Hennepin Brewing Company in 1912. It appears Frank changed jobs quite frequently a trend that he is destined to continue.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
A Soprano’s Aria: Lulu’s Diary
Posted on September 10, 2021 8 Comments
Introduction: Chapter 1
“When encountering very unusual and difficult family information in your research, what do you choose to publish?” Ross Williams Vita Brevis
1918 “Wed Mar 6 – I received another letter from Frank imploring me to return to him. He is going to church and is sorry he didn’t take the stand earlier. Says God has forgiven him and asks mine etc. All this threw me into a nervous outbreak in which I recited in minute detail old bygone acts of cruelty, indifference and neglect on his hand till Jessie begged me to forget it and when I said I was going to write she persuaded me not to. My head began to ache and think as I could I could find no way out. Every door of happiness seems locked to me. Even here in the quiet country I find no peace for his letters calling me his dear wife seek me out. It sounds too hollow and empty he was never my dear husband for any length of time and there never was a time in our married life when his wishes wants and desires didn’t come first. I took off his ring and hope I’ll never wear it again. I’m cautious in my statements because I know my weak will and I’ve been dominated by him so long that I can scarcely call myself an individual, but no matter what comes I do not want to be his wife any more and never will of my own free will and accord.“
BACKGROUND
Mary “Lulu” PADEN was born at a time when most women had few choices. She was born of tough Scottish and German stock the 16th of November 1867, the first child to Civil War Veteran, James Lewis PADEN and his wife Millicent Almena COATS. She was joined by a dozen siblings including a set of twins, and no doubt she had a hand in helping to raise them. At the age of twenty-one she married Franklin Stewart MOISER, also of Scottish and German ancestry. A good scrutiny of the marriage license gives a valuable clue. Lulu and Frank were married by J. J. Barge, a County Judge in Fremont, Dodge county, Nebraska. None of the witnesses are family members. My guess is they did not approve.
Lulu’s diary begins in Minneapolis in 1910 with her Correspondence Record, a listing of letters written and received. She starts recording events and thoughts in September of 1913. She seldom if ever uses apostrophes. There are many misspellings and sometimes indecipherable words or passages. As she begins writing it is mostly the mundanities of life, interspersed with historic events. A far cry from where we are five years later, as the passage above illustrates. We are an audience Lulu could not have imagined as we mark her growth as a woman and as a writer. Her voice is compelling in its ordinariness, and its candor. Explanations or insertions appear in [brackets].
1913
Monday Sep 1 Labor Day first-day of State fair at Hamline [University] also childrens day. Lolita and Milo went.
Sep 2 Frank went to work for Dr S Stove Company. Children start to school at Col Hgts [Columbia Heights] and East High
Sep 3 Remained at home doing house work and sewing
Sep 4 baked bread
Sep 5 Did a big wash (very hot)
Sep 6 Attended the State Fair. Jessie finished her weeks worth with ?Nasted? at the fair grounds. F.S. [Frank Stewart] came out in evening and escorted us home. Weather perfect. [Louis] Disbrow made 5 mi in 45 in auto races
Sep 7 Sunday and resting and killing time. Dull work. Jessie brought Lolita home from Whitneys from her week end visit
Sep 9 Cool and windy. Baked bread and cake. Ruth and baby called. Della sent white skirt home
This sharing of Lulu’s Diary would not be possible without my second cousin, Dale Mead’s willingness to scan and share our mutual great grandmother’s diary. The diary was to be destroyed upon Lulu’s death, but her daughter, my great aunt Jessie, thought better of it— My cousin Malia Hammerstrom has helped greatly with transcription. And my cousin Nancy Young has also lent a hand. The background research is my own. The words belong to Lulu, but tell a universal story. I will post in installments. Please follow my blog to receive them.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All RIghts Reserved.
NAME CHANGERS
Posted on September 7, 2021 Leave a Comment
This is a blog post with examples of name changes from the simple to the dramatic. Let’s begin with the simple.
SIMPLE SPELLING CHANGES
Simple name changes often begin with a simple spelling error. There is usually nothing nefarious about them. The person speaks their name and it is recorded as the person heard it. This happened with my grandfather when he joined the Marine Corps. LUNDBERG became LUNDBURG and that’s the way he spelled it evermore. In the 1910 census it is spelled with an “e” and when he married in 1913 with an “e” and in 1918 recorded on US Marine Corps muster rolls with a “u” and on the 1920 census and all subsequent documents it is spelled with a “u.”
We are hung up about spelling. Let us remember in earlier centuries people were not at all concerned with it. The same name might be spelled 3, 4 or even 5 different ways in the same document! The idea was to get the point across—no worries about spelling names many different ways.
GERMAN NAME CHANGES
My German ancestors excelled in the art of simplification especially upon reaching American shores in the 1700’s. Or later even adding or exchanging letters. Some examples:
RIEMENSBERGER> REMSBURG> RAMSBURG sometimes RAMSBURGH
LEYE> LAYE> LOY
LIESER> LUSER
HENNINGER> HENEGER> HENAGER
MOSER> MOSIER
SCANDINAVIAN NAME CHANGES
This one take the cake! My 3rd great grandfather was born Gustaf Bengtsson 11th of August 1801 in Hakarp, Jönköping, Sweden following patronymic protocol he was the son of Bengt Jonsson. But when he married he had taken the name Gustaf WARNSTRÖM.
His son my 2nd great grandfather was baptised Carl Gustaf WÄRNSTRÖM 18th of August 1829 Fässberg, Västra Götaland, Sweden. When Carl immigrated to America on the 9th of August 1854 he was listed on the NY passenger list as Carl WENNERSTRUM. A year later, 19th of May 1855, he is married in Chicago as Carl Gust. WERNSTROM to my 2nd great grandmother, Elizabeth Olson.
By the time they settled in Minnesota 2 years later in 1857 the name becomes Charles VANSTRUM. Incidentally this is the name that he continued to be known by, as well as his descendants.
But not to leave well enough alone, in 1898 he returns on a visit to Sweden and he is registered as Karl WENNERSTRÖM. So here is the full listing of the progression of this name:
- Gustaf BENGTSSON 1801
- Gustaf WARNSTRÖM 1821
- Carl Gustaf WÄRNSTRÖM 1829
- Carl WENNERSTRUM 1854
- Carl Gustaf WERNSTROM 1855
- Charles VANSTRUM 1857
- Karl WENNERSTRÖM 1898
7 different names in less than 100 years!
DRAMATIC NAME CHANGES
My most confounding, difficult name change was that of my 2nd great mother Elizabeth OLSON. Her marriage entry to Carl VANSTRUM is shown above. My aunt and I searched for her in vain for nearly 40 years! We had her birthplace in Norway and the birthdates for her and her sister Sigrid. Letters to many, many archives in Norway. Ingen, nada, nilch, nothing! Then with some help from a Norwegian Research Facebook Group voilá Elizabeth OLSON was discovered to be none other than Asloûg Eliffesdotter. Apparently the lazy archivist in Norway couldn’t be bothered when the names did not match, Asloûg was there all the time! Never give up.
Her father was Eliv or Eliff OLSSON. So when she Americanized her name to Elizabeth she was taking something quite similar to her father’s name. Eliff OLSSON = Elizabeth OLSON. Not so random after all.
Name changes, happen. They happen for many reasons. It is unlikely that a name change took place on entry to a country. The ships passenger lists and immigration records at least in 20th C records are usually a match. Name changes most likely happen as people adapt to their new environment. The bottom line is keep an open mind. Take advantage of Soundex type tools that allow matches on similar sounding names. And please don’t insist they can’t be your relatives because they spelled their names differently.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved.
FAMILY HISTORY WRITING Assignment #1: Pick a Heirloom
Posted on September 6, 2021 8 Comments
This is a very focused writing assignment but be forewarned it can lead to more than you expect. You will need to pick an item. It can be something of your own or something passed down through the family.
INGREDIENTS:
- an item to write about (more on picking an item below)
- an interest in the item
- something you “want” to tell the story of, or are willing to find out more about
- a camera or phone
- a medium for writing
THE PROCESS
- Wander around your house looking at objects
- Jot down possibilities
- Decide whether this is something you would like to tell your heirs or friends about
- If you don’t know much about the object are you willing to do some research?
- Pick something that matters to you! It can be a ticket stub, a piece of jewelry, a photograph, a medal, a coin, a watch, a painting, a vase, a document, a sculpture, or a toy. (Avoid collections for now.) Just pick one object!
- Take one or more photographs of the selected item
- Think of someone, your audience, to direct your writing toward
- Choose a Title. This is the MOST IMPORTANT STEP! Get this right and the rest will follow.
- If it isn’t evident from the photograph—describe the object and what it is
- Who owned the object before you? Where did they get it? Who manufactured it? Is it valuable?
- Tell me what it means to you. Tell me a story about where this object has traveled. Why does this object matter.
CHOOSING THE TITLE
I can not over stress how very important this is. The title determines the direction you will go with your writing. Whether it will be worthy of keeping or be destined for the circular file. You will be the judge and you are your own worst friend. So let us say you have selected a baseball that was caught by your father at the 1962 World series game between the NY Yankees and the San Francisco Giants (I am making this up). So brainstorm possible titles.
- Dad’s Baseball
- Broken Glass
- Broken Glass: Dad’s prized baseball
- The Giants Lost: The day Dad caught the ball
- 1962 World Series: It’s only a Baseball
- Home Run: The 1962 World Series
The way you title the story will determine the story you tell. Every object has many stories—setting the Title sets the stage.
THE BODY
It does not matter whether you have two paragraphs or several pages. Just get as much detail as you can down. If you simply cannot bring yourself to write, speak your answers into your phone and let it do the typing. If the object belonged to a relative before you, consider including their photo and something of interest about them. PLEASE DO NOT TELL THEIR LIFE STORY. The objective is to learn to write about something, make it interesting enough that upon reading your story the item will not be discarded. MAKE PEOPLE CARE. Once you have some writing and a photo or two, if you haven’t already, type into a word processing program or blog post. Play around with the order of your descriptions. Do you want to lead with the object itself, or do you tell the story of how it came to you. Do you tell the circumstances or its history first or last. These are editorial decisions for you the writer to make. The key is to get the information down then play with the sentences or thoughts.
Possible opening sentences for our baseball story:
- The shattered glass was the least of it. I had “borrowed” my dad’s prize baseball and “accidently” sent it through Mrs. Wilson’s front window.
- Dad loved his beloved SF Giants. During baseball season no matter where he was he listened to them on the radio.
- The mantel above the fireplace held my Dad’s prize possession, a baseball from the 1962 World’s Series.
- “I hate you,” yelled my little sister as she grabbed the baseball out of my hand.
- The only thing my Dad and I had in common was baseball.
The title is the hook but you can set it will a strong opening line. Good stories often start with a dilemma, some tension or a mystery. A good story has emotion. It can be happy, sad, mad or glad—a good story makes you feel. It isn’t the heirloom that matters—it is the story or emotion it evokes in us.
EDITING
Once you have your story set down and have played with the ordering of your thoughts and sentences. Many beginning writers try to edit BEFORE they even get the story to paper. Write with reckless abandon. Wait until editing to be RUTHLESS. How many words can you eliminate and still get your point across? What is superfluous and unnecessary for the story you have written. If you take it out will the story flow better—can you use it for its own story? Tighten up your writing. Get rid of those qualifiers “I think, I believe, she may, etc.” Speak with authority. “I could see the fumes escaping his ears as he walked into my room.” “Dad’s enthusiasm was infectious.” “I could not even utter, ‘I am sorry.'” Yes you are telling a story about an object—but your story is telling me more.
FINISHING
No piece of writing is ever done. But it helps to give it an end. If you completed this assignment and have written something about an Heirloom, print it out and if the heirloom is stored put it with the object. If it is displayed put the story with your estate papers. If you only write one story, or many this is a gift. An object with a story or provenance is worth ten times an object without it.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All RIghts Reserved
The Bluette Diner: What you may be Missing if you aren’t Colorizing your Black & White Photos
Posted on September 5, 2021 14 Comments
A poll asked the question “Which do you Prefer Black and White photographs or color? Asking a photographer such a question is really asking for trouble. I love black and white art photographers, to name a few: Dorothea Lange, Henri Cartier Bresson, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogene Cunningham, William Garnett, Annie Liebovitz, and Margaret Bourke-White. It’s not whether I like Black & White Better. For genealogy and forensic purposes Color makes a huge difference. And of course most of our early family photos, if we are lucky enough to have any, are in Black and White. If you haven’t tried colorizing your photos let me share some examples to inspire you to give it a try.
Let’s start with the Bluette Diner which my grandparents, Helen Mildred (SHELDON) and Roy Sidney LUNDBURG designed and owned in the late 1930’s in Oakland, Alameda County, CA. Here is a photo of the diner that has been colorized.
And here is the original:
Please note all the detail that comes to life with colorization. There’s a chocolate cake on the counter, Mily bottles and Fruit. It brings you right back to the era when a colorization is well done. This one had some help with the colors, since my grandmother had written details of the reverse. Thank you grandma!
“The shop is all blue & white & chromium. Front of counter is white leather with metal strip. The back bar is all satin aluminum blued on the wood.”
And it isn’t just places that benefit from colorizing. Here is Helen in front of the Bluette.
This is a photo of Helen’s two daughters Dorothy and Jane and a pony in Black & White about 1933:
See what a difference colorizing makes. Here are 3 different artist interpretations.
The first one the artist included some snow falling! If you use one of the FREE Facebook Colorizing groups you do not get to chose the artist. You will note each one uses different colors and brings out different details. Note the boots in the middle photo.
Here is another comparison this of Helen Mildred Sheldon
So where can you get this done? You can purchase software and learn to do it yourself. You can upload to one of the FREE Facebook groups, You can use MyHeritage’s restoration and colorizing tools or you can hire an artist that specializes in restorations. There are quite a few listed on Etsy.com
I can’t finish this post without rounding out a bit more background on the Bluette. My grandmother Helen Mildred SHELDON graduated from Michigan Agricultural College with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics 18 June 1912. So she was perfectly equipped to make a go of a Diner.
18 June 1912
The Bluette business card.
And a clipping from the Oakland Tribune 16th of August 1936:
And one last photo of Roy S. LUNDBURG standing at the entrance and likely my aunt Dorothy in the shadow. Yet to be colorized.
If you haven’t tried colorizing please give it a try. You may be surprised on the richness it adds to your photos and stories. Feel free to post before and after photos in the comments.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All RIghts Reserved.
Writing Stories: Writing Begins With a Title
Posted on September 5, 2021 1 Comment
“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” Virginia Woolf
For many beginning writers or future writers the two hardest things are “what to write about” and “how to get started.” Choosing a title helps me focus my writing and defines the parameters. Occasionally I may refine a title after I am finished writing, however, most of the time it is the first bit of writing I do, (including this piece). Especially when writing family stories (or blog posts) the title is designed to attract your audience, but it should also help you define what it is you are going to be writing about.
Let’s talk about how to kill your writing vs. killer titles. If you title your piece The life of Daniel Charles Coats you have already lost most of your audience and you have set yourself up for failure. First, most people, and most especially your family could care less about your genealogy of Daniel Charles Coats. Second, the story of someone’s life is huge in scope. Your goal in setting the title is to make Daniel interesting. A story is NOT a recitation of facts. It is NOT Dan was born here, married to so-n-so and died and is buried thus. There’s a lot of Genealogy writing that goes this way—and is destined to kill the subject because the audience will never read it.
My piece about Dan Coats is based on a newspaper article and a county history story. It is titled Ice Cream Melons & Foxes: It’s the Mouth Watering Details that Bring an Ancestor to Life. Remember your goal is to resurrect the dead and bring their lives into focus, NOT to bore your audience to death with a recitation of facts. So, what interesting things did you find when researching your ancestor? Did she live to be a hundred? What history would she have witnessed? Did he marry 6 times? Do you have a letter or heirloom that belonged to her? Do you know where he lived? Can you research the house or farm? Is there a newspaper clipping, or story about your ancestor? These can all be the subject of an interesting story. Remember your story can be short. You can tell a story in 17 syllables like Haiku poetry does.
For your first piece of writing make the focus very tight. Heirlooms are a great place to start. Tell the story of what it is and who had it. How you acquired it and what its significance is to you. I am going to suggest that you put yourself in the story. Why? Because it tends to make stories more personal and interesting. If you always keep your subject at arms length your stories will lack passion. Engage with your ancestors so when others read about them they will care too. Read the above quote by Virginia Woolf, again.
In my story: The Challenge: Tokyo Rose the story was about how my husband’s remark “Well you know your Dad was a bit of a storyteller” led to my investigation into my Dad’s claim that he had testified in the trial of Tokyo Rose. It is not a history of my father or of Iva Toguri D’ Aquino, although details of both are included. Setting the title can narrow your scope, engage the audience and make the objective easier to achieve. My goal is to get you writing stories about your ancestors. Do not just think about what you might write someday, what can you get started on today.
MY PROCESS
- I write the title first!
- Most of the time, I write electronically, that is I do not write on paper before typing out my story
- I do use a pencil to take notes
- I keep a list of ideas or titles
- I often have 2-5 stories/blog posts started at the same time
- I have no set time frame
- I often take photos to supplement my stories
- Long pieces can be broken into parts or converted to a full fledged story or page
- If you have enough stories about an individual or family they can be put together as chapters in a book
Some ideas by topic to inspire you from my blog:
THE WHY OF WRITING
REFORMED GENEALOGISTS: Turning Trees into Stories. My most popular blog post
Confessions of a Rabbit Hole Genealogist: The Defense of Inspired Genealogy
On What We Leave Behind: Writing
PROCESS
Organizing Your Genealogy: How I Do It
Things Aren’t Always What They Appear to Be: Context Matters and the Case of the Missing Record
Genealogical Research: Is there a Method to the Madness? YES
The Bluette Diner: What you may be Missing if you aren’t Colorizing your Black & White Photos
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate
HEIRLOOMS
Knotted Strands: The Misattributed Heirloom
The Well loved Family Heirloom
The Inherited Object Revisited
STORIES
A Trip Down Memory Lane: One way to access the stories of our past
Cause of Death: Before Antibiotics and Vaccines
The Places You Go, the People You Meet
A Tale of Two Soldiers: My Two Civil War Soldiers
LEGENDS, LIES & LIBERTIES: Family Stories in Perspective
EXPLORING A FAMILY LEGEND: The SHELDONS and the Underground Railroad in Michigan
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All RIghts Reserved.
A Feral Family Tree: A Genetics Guessing Game
Posted on September 3, 2021 Leave a Comment
If you are neither interested in cats or genetics—you might want to skip this one. I couldn’t help myself.
BACKGROUND: I have been a tad bit busy the past week in an unexpected adventure. I live in a semi rural area that over the past few years was adopted by a few feral cats. About 2 years ago my daughter, who used to be involved in animal rescue, helped trap & catch a momma cat and her litter of seven. Our combined families adopted all seven! But Momma had an earlier litter that went mostly missing. There was one named “Cakes” who was Black and White spotted, but we have not seen in a long while (never caught so un-fixed). Momma also has been missing although she IS fixed. Momma Kitty was a Calico.
Then a month or so ago 3 young adults began showing up and making the rounds. Not sure if they were from the earlier litter, but could be. Well before you could blink an eye one had a litter in a neighbor’s shed. So with help from The Ripple Effect Animal Project we set out to trap these cats. Now less than a week later, we have trapped the 3 young adults, trapped a bonus 2 month old kitten (daughter of one of the 3) and captured all 4 of the new Momma cat’s offspring. So what does that have to do with genetics? It turns out more than you think.
Well I couldn’t help but reflect on the sum total of these cats (12 total) and what they show about genetics. This is not scientific but it is informative. So to start we have 3 adult cats for which I do not have photos. One was a male orange long hair classic tabby, one a female long haired calico and one a male short haired Gray with white feet. There are basically two colorations that create all the different cat colors we see. Basically Red and Black. (white being the absence of pigmentation). Who knew? More on cat color genetics here.
FIRST GENERATION:
The two Tom’s had no names and were not in our close vicinity though we saw them on walks. Unfortunately they were both the victims of the adjacent Highway. The middle one the Calico was called “Momma Kitty” She had 2 litters we know of but the first litter I am uncertain of how many offspring she had. Most disappeared—whether to coyotes or what not we do not know or perhaps the 3 recent cats are part of that original litter. Cakes pictured at the top we know was her offspring, so potentially the first litter may have looked like this. (I believe there was also a calico).
SECOND GENERATION: First Litter
SECOND GENERATION: Second Litter
The next litter she had 7 kittens as follows: 2 Female Gray shorthairs with white markings, 1 female long haired calico, 1 female shorthair white with gray spots (not pictured), 1 orange male long haired classic tabby, 2 Black and white male shorthairs. So we know the likely father of the male orange tabby is likely the orange tom. In fact in nearly has to be because of the needed color and that long hair is recessive so both Mom and Dad need a long haired allele. In fact about 81 percent of orange cats are male. And the grays are likely from the gray Tom—the black and white, gray and white and calico are likely coming from Mom’s patterning (as a calico she has all 3 colors), so she can express any of these colors in her offspring.
Fast forward two years and we have 3 young cats roaming the area. One gray with white stockings (just like the Gray Tom), one white with tabby markings and one black and white. We are not sure where they came from precisely but they may be the missing youngsters from first litter.
“Ashley” 
“Roger”
THIRD GENERATION
Ashley + Roger =
Savvy 
Roger
Savvy + Roger=
And hopefully this is the end of our mini-feral cat family tree! The kittens are being socialized and will be put up for adoption once they are fixed. The 3 young cats: Roger, Savvy and Ashley and 8 week Smoky have been spayed and neutered. The first three have been released back into the neighborhood. Smoky was young enough and she is very friendly, so is being socialized and will be adopted. The moral is to Trap, Neuter and Release! (TNR). If you remove all the cats more ferals will take their place. If you do nothing you will have dozens of cats in short order. If you can capture feral kittens they can be socialized in the first 4-8 weeks. After that it becomes increasingly more difficult.
It’s all genetics— each one is a unique expression! I promise next post will be back to human genealogy.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 . All RIghts Reserved.
The Challenge: Tokyo Rose
Posted on August 29, 2021 9 Comments
“We live history forward, in the chaos of onrushing events, without a clear guide, but we judge history backward, smugly armed with the knowledge of what did happen and uninterested in what might have happened.” Robert Kagan
The genesis of this story began many years ago after my dad had died. He had been interviewed about WWII for the Camp Tarawa Project and I was reading the transcript when I came upon this question and answer which took me by surprise:
Q: You briefly told us you were actually involved in the trial of Tokyo Rose whose real name was—?
A: “Iva Toguri D’ Aquino. She married a Portuguese national. And the whole trial could have been thrown out because at any moment that she chose to claim it, she could have been a Portuguese national. She didn’t have to serve. She served 5 years of a 10 year sentence.“
I was relaying this story to my husband and he said, “Well you know your Dad was a bit of a storyteller.” Well if you know me, you know all I need is a challenge like that to spring into action! To my knowledge my Dad NEVER made up a story out of whole cloth. So with laptop in hand I went looking for proof that my Dad was indeed telling the TRUTH. It only took me about 15 minutes to find what I needed straight from the FBI via the National Archives.
If you are unfamiliar with Tokyo Rose please click on her name for more information. (Or check out the book “The Hunt for Tokyo Rose by Russell Warren Howe“). What was important to me was proving my father’s honor. However of even more import was knowing that as a young Marine, returned from fighting in the Pacific he would stand up for what was RIGHT even at a time when this was unpopular.
A bit more from the interview:
Q: Why were you called to her trial?
A: “Because Bob Speed was an attorney, defense attorney, was a very good friend and he asked if I would talk to the defense attorney and I said, ‘sure’ and suddenly I was thrust into the biggest federal criminal case that had ever happened in California, at least, maybe the whole nation.“
Q: And you only met her?
A: “Just because I was a witness on her behalf and she was present at the trial.“
Q: “You didn’t know her before the trial?“
A: “No. But I learned a lot about her afterwards and I had a letter from her, thanking me for all the things that I did that made life a little easier there.“
Here is the note he received from Iva Toguri D’ Aquino:
Q: Why was she convicted?
A: Oh, the whole story of the United States and finding a scapegoat, later on. You know, all the European spokespersons thought to be useful in lowering the morale of American troops and so forth or allied troops. Same show. This gal was very popular but only with the troops that were being entertained. If something different happened and we were losing the show, take advantage of people who were concerned about who their girlfriend back home was seeing regularly or whatever, you see. But the opportunity to do anything with Japan never occurred. If you knew this person, you’d know that it didn’t matter.
Q: And there were like 18 counts against her?
“18 counts. 17 of them she beat, but she didn’t beat this last one which is technical as hell because everybody in the world knew these troops had been moved in this 90 day period it had no significance at all, It’s just a technical crime that she couldn’t dodge because she did mention the movements of these troops she could have gone down and gotten anybody’s newspaper either here or in Japan and read all about it, separate from the operations but she did reveal the movements of the troops.
It’s a bad mark on the discussion of America though, this whole Tokyo Rose thing. The fact that the United States Government disenfranchised all Japanese, every single one of them had a legitimate, valid suit, the Supreme Court, right off, U.S. Government loses time after time after time. These people had their land, their stores and what not just whipped away and never paid for until recently when they came across [reparations] maybe $20,000 to make up for whatever. “
I share my father’s feelings about the treatment of Iva and Japanese American’s as a whole during WWII. Time and time again in our fear and lust for vengeance we harm innocent citizens of our country. Such is the sad case of Iva Toguri D’ Aquino, known in this country as Tokyo Rose. In the 1970’s public pressure uncovered testimony of the prisoners of war who worked with Iva, and corroborated her testimony. The most damaging prosecution witnesses against her were re-questioned, and some admitted they had been pressured to fabricate their testimony.
“After a recent investigation another newspaper conceded in an editorial that ‘the proceedings were marred by bribery, government obstruction, unscrupulous journalism, missing evidence (lost tapes and transcripts), mistaken identity, witness intimidation violations of constitutional Safeguards and racism.” Linda Witt San Francisco Examiner 1 Apr 1976 p 24
As much as I want to think this is in the distant past, it could easily have been written today, about any number of people, groups, or events. We are all called to speak out against racism, intolerance and injustice. We can all learn the lessons from the past. Sometimes the lessons are closer than we know…
Iva Toguri D’ Aquino was pardoned by President Gerald Ford on his last day in office on January 19, 1977. In early in 2006, shortly before she died, she was given the Edward J. Herlihy Citizenship Award by the World War II Veterans Committee.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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