Ice Cream Melons & Foxes: It’s the Mouth Watering Details that Bring an Ancestor to Life
Posted on August 29, 2021 5 Comments
Sometimes we don’t know much about an ancestor so it’s the littlest thing that can add a bit of spice to their life, which is otherwise just a recitation of census records, a wife and children. Context can help fill in the story if we can add what was happening during the time and place they lived. Sometimes we get lucky and we get a slighter better view from a county history or a newspaper article. Such is the case with my 3rd great grandfather Daniel Charles COATS. These tidbits are particularly delightful!
Dan was born about 1816 in probably near New Lisbon, Otsego County New York to Rufus COATS and Zipporah PALMER. The family moved to Allegany County, Pennsylvania by 1820 and then to Gustavus, Trumbull, County Ohio by 1830, before finally settled in Stafford Township, De Kalb County Indiana in 1836.
History of De Kalb County, Indiana :1885 Page 957-58:
So we learn quite a bit of detail about Dan here– Dan was quite large and stout! And he had this sad encounter with a “mad” fox that had hydrophobia, known today as rabies. The fox affectionately named Reynard here, traces back to the 12th century. Reynard was a sly fox whose cunning made him a sympathetic hero. We also learn that Dan and Mary M ALLEN were the first marriage to occur in Wilmington where they were wed 18th of January 1838. Also in this History we learn that the family of Rufus COATS (his father) along with 25 other souls left Trumbull county, Ohio and arrived in Stafford Township the 4 October 1838 and were among the earliest permanent settlers.
I am lucky to have photos of Dan and Mary although of poor quality they are shown colorized here. The photo seems consistent with his description. He looks to be a large man.
And here is his wife Mary M. ALLEN COATS.
The 1840 census for DeKalb County shows first their parents. The fourth name below is Ira ALLEN who just happens to be Mary’s father. The next name is indexed as Rufus CATS,which is actually Dan’s father Rufus COATS followed by Joseph A COATS Rufus’ brother. Lesson: always look for relatives when you can’t find the person you are looking for. These would have been some of the 25 souls traveling together from Ohio as mentioned in the county history above.
And a few pages later we find Dan and Mary COATS just the two of them before the arrival of any children.
Dan and Mary went on to have 5 sons and 3 daughters. The 3 eldest sons served in the Civil War: Charles Noyce, Sylvester G. and Aaron Daniel. Sadly Sylvester G. died the 16th MAY 1863 at Champion Hill Battlefield, Mississippi. We often forget to check what was happening what may have influenced our ancestors lives. Dan’s sister Sarah dies in 1864 and their youngest daughter, Hortense Lilian COATS is born to Mary and Dan the 17th Oct 1864 in Bureau, Bureau County, Illinois. Some time between 1864 and 1870 the family moves to Colfax County, Nebraska where he was a farmer. And it’s here we find the most interesting news story about Dan.
From Mother Earth News we learn the ‘Ice Cream’ Watermelon Citrullus lanatus, was one of a number of “heirloom watermelons in circulation under the name Ice Cream, but the true Ice Cream of the nineteenth century had white seeds and white flesh. The melon was round, with pale green skin, very early to fruit, and well adapted to cool-climate areas of the country. White-seeded Ice Cream is now difficult to obtain, largely replaced by the black-seeded variety with pink flesh.” And we know that our man Daniel COATS grew a watermelon that weighed nearly 50 pounds! This kind of detail is literally mouth watering—ALL PUNS INTENDED! I like to imagine Dan, nearly 60 years old doing everything to grow his watermelon into the biggest in the area. There are no more mentions of Dan in the paper but what a lovely glimpse into his life on the farm.
I was able to locate the farm from the property description in his will. And I learned something else (perhaps forgotten or overlooked) that in addition to his farm in Nebraska he owned land in the “Dakota Territory.” (Another rabbit hole?)
Transcription: “Devise to my wife Mary M COATS my homestead the West Half of South East Quarter of Section 26 Township North 18 Range no 4” In the map excerpt below I have highlighted in red the parcel belonging to Dan COATS. In Blue I have highlighted the parcel of J.L. PADEN husband to Millicent “Millie” Almena COATS PADEN, daughter of Dan and Mary COATS. Millie is my 2nd great grandmother and the eldest daughter of Dan and Mary. Until I plotted this parcel I had not realized how close they lived to one another and that there was a school in between. Every little detail adds more interest to the life of an ancestor. Do not overlook the details—they often hide in plain sight!
Old Dan must have known his days were numbered as he dies the year after he wrote his will on the 23rd of August 1881 at 64 years of age. Remove the stories from the Almanac and the newspaper clipping and Dan’s life loses so much of its character. Never underestimate the smallest of mentions to bring your ancestor to life! In death Dan rests in the Purple Cane Cemetery just down the road to the East of J. L. PADEN’s farm (0n map above) in Dodge County, Nebraska. There’s another lesson—check adjacent counties!!! Our relatives often lived near borders–so if you can’t find a record in one county look in another! In very small letters at the bottom of his grave marker it reads, “Gone but not forgotten.” Each story brings an ancestor back to life.
Photo by Malia Hammerstrom used with permission.
NOTES
Colfax County Nebraska Atlas Geo A. Ogle & Co., 1917
The Crete Democrat, Crete, NE 14 Oct 1875
“Heirloom Watermelon Varieties” By William Woys Weaver in Mother Earth News October 10, 2013
History of De Kalb County, Indiana : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens : also a condensed history of Indiana, embodying accounts of prehistoric races, aborigines, Winnebago and Black Hawk wars, and a brief review of its civil and political history.Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1885 Page 957-58
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021. All rights Reserved.
Family History Writing: The Intuitive Writer and Researcher
Posted on August 29, 2021 1 Comment
“It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover.” Henri Poincare
Like so many of my blog posts this started with reading another blogger’s post. This is a particularly good one from Natalie Pithers on How to Go From Boring to Brilliant Family History Writing. I highly recommend it, with many great ideas. While reading it I was struck by how I am always wanting to be more systematic or organized in my approach to Genealogy or Family History Writing but seldom even come close to achieving this. Interestingly, I tend not to plan what I am going to write about. I start with an idea—a light bulb—I might write about this—but as I write the focus often changes. As I write and research the writing takes on a life of its own. It’s always been this way for me. I never have trouble getting started, as long as I put no constraints on my journey.
In fact when I was in college I never knew what a paper was going to be about. I tended to think about it before going to sleep and wake up and do what I call a “brain dump.” A brain dump is simply to start writing. I often would have several pages, and I would read them over and then the direction that I needed to go would come into sharper focus. Do you remember in school when the teacher wanted you to write via an outline? I could never do this—and I had to write my outlines after I was done writing! Not the way it is supposed to be done! Not much of the way I do Genealogy and Family History writing is by the rules. And so I want to make all of you who do not manage it any better than I, to have some hope and consolation.
If you happen to know your Myers Briggs Personality Type I am an INFJ. So Intuition is a big part of my personality and how I interact with the world. If you happen to fall into the “NF” category you probably are like me and put intuition and feelings, ahead of organization. I am here to tell you that is perfectly fine and it may just work as well for you, as it does for me. Remember we are the ones that enjoy rabbit holes and gazing into our crystal balls, even when we don’t have the slightest idea where they will lead. We tend to think these ventures into the unknown are educational, whether they lead anywhere important or not.
Several Family History Blogger’s have remarked that the process of writing for a blog enhances their writing and research. I have found this to be very TRUE. Natalie’s recommends “setting a plan to avoid tangents” I just can’t be held to that. I will describe why in a moment. But, I do agree with Natalie’s first point which is to Decide Your Audience. My blog posts however, are actually aimed at two audiences. First, the broader genealogy community that may be looking for inspiration and ideas on how to research or write and the second audience is my family and kin. Since the first audience is broader I tend to focus on process while recounting my particular research. I try to keep my blog posts relatively short and they tend to have this two fold purpose. First to teach a particular aspect of writing or genealogical research and second to do so through my own ancestors or research dilemma. I find this dual approach really works at limiting my scope which is often a major issue with writing Family History Stories.
First point: write in bite size chunks. You can select an ancestor but you don’t have to write the story of their life. You can limit it to an interesting story or two. (see my Tale of two Soldiers though a long piece it has a tight focus) When you write about an ancestor—most people can’t be bothered to scroll through a very long blog post, unless the ancestor happens to be their own. It really has to be interesting for me to keep scrolling. So if I write with the broader audience in mind it’s going to be a sketch and not a oil painting. It does not have to be a masterpiece. This is helpful in two major ways. It take the pressure off and it can be accomplished in a few days or hours. Blog posts can be changed or amended as new information comes to light. It does not have to be finished—to be worthy of sharing.
Second point: write the way that works for you. If you write best having a very clear idea of what you are going to write, your audience and scope—then develop an outline and follow this to the letter, that’s great! But if you are a bit helter-skelter, down the rabbit hole, here, there and everywhere—that’s okay too. Just start writing and collecting your bits and pieces. What’s missing, what is your point? Keep coming back to the point! If you have gathered lots of bits and pieces but it doesn’t add to your story telling then edit it out. You can fill your genealogy binders with EVERYTHING you find—but what your audience craves is a decent story. If you have nothing interesting to write then you need to keep gathering information. If you must use creative license to make your story more interesting that’s good too—as long as you note what is conjecture and what is fact.
Third point: everyone reaches the writing point at different times in the genealogical journey. For me it came after 40 years of on and off research and 40 plus binders of information. Those binders are my journey. If you want others to learn what you have, a good story is the bait. If you find the task of writing impossible or overwhelming it could be that you are simply not ready to write. Lots of people attempt to write from a dispassionate place—I find the writer’s I enjoy most, include themselves in their stories. Tell me how you found your grandfather’s letters—in a trunk in an attic that you weren’t supposed to open. Set the stage with the things you know and how you feel connected to this ancestor or this search. Make me care about them like you do.
Fourth point: the more we write the easier it gets and the better we get. Like everything else in life we get better with practice. So if you are inspired start writing now.
- Keep your scope small.
- Make it personal.
- Write about an event, not a lifetime.
- Pick an ancestor or story that speaks to you.
- Write with your audience in mind—are you speaking to your kids, grandkids, a room full of genealogists— who are you speaking to?
- Find someone to share your story with who can give “constructive” feedback.
- Edit, edit, edit. Can you say it in fewer word? Cut out the superfluous.
- Add visuals to illustrate or to break up the writing. But don’t clutter your story with too many.
If you are an intuitive researcher or writer consider that a strength, not a weakness. If you find you will never be able to write the stories you want, hire someone to help you. Collaboration can be an excellent alternative to writing on your own.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All RIghts Reserved
Cause of Death: Before Antibiotics and Vaccines
Posted on August 25, 2021 2 Comments
The first smallpox vaccine was developed in 1796. The Egyptians had a practice of applying a poultice of moldy bread to infected wounds, but penicillin as a antibiotic wasn’t developed until 1928. The late 1800’s saw the development of vaccines for cholera, rabies, tetanus, and bubonic plague. More on this timeline of vaccines.
I have a Death Binder which is a collection of all the death certificates for my parents, grand-parents, great grandparents and great-great grandparents. [I also keep copies in the appropriate family binders.] It may seem a bit morbid but my doctor’s find it fascinating. I find it very informative to look at the causes of death and the age at death holistically as well as individually. I have death certificates for all 8 of my great grandparents and 12 of my 16 great-great grandparents. For the remaining 4, I have causes of death for all but 2. One cause of death is from an obituary and one from the Mortality Schedules. I have two additional death causes for 3rd great grandfather’s one from early Sexton’s records in 1845 and the other from family stories. I may have others further back [a future project?]. Sometimes we can surmise the cause of death when a mother died shortly after giving birth or a man who succumbs to wounds during a war. But sometimes we will never know.
What prompted me thinking about this was current conflicts over science, medicine and vaccines. I got to thinking who died the youngest and would have lived, with the help of antibiotics and modern vaccines. The most common cause of death in my tree is Arteriosclerosis or Heart disease including 3 of my 4 grandparents. No antibiotics or vaccines for that yet! There are several cancers, one each of: lung, pancreas, lip and spine. Of my great grandparents only one died of a condition, treatable with antibiotics. Lucy Jane FRANKLIN died of “Terminal pneumonia” but she had more than 10 years of asthma when she died in 1939 at the age of 63. My 2nd great grandfather James Lewis PADEN also died at 63 from Pneumonia in 1903. Today we have several pneumonia vaccines that likely would have saved their lives. The first was developed in 1977. My 2nd great grandfather William Marsh FRANKLIN died of “Senility” with contributory “probably Tuberculosis” which he may have contracted during the Civil War. The first Tuberculosis vaccine was in 1921.
of The saddest and the youngest was my 2nd great grandmother Mary Ann “Polly” (SPARKS) HENAGER who died at 40 of Typhoid Fever according to the Morality census in 1870. Typhus is caused by the salmonella typhi from ingesting contaminated food or water. In the early 1900’s there were tens of thousands of cases with a fatality rate of about 20%. The first typhoid vaccine was developed in 1896, too late for Polly. In this country you seldom hear of it due to improved food and water sanitation, thanks to Science, and government saftey regulations of food and water.
Then we have two who died of Bronchitis: Charles Gustvaus VANSTRUM, 78, died in 1907 and Rachel (SMITH) SHELDON 54, died in 1876. Would modern medicine have helped them? Probably. Then there is my 2nd great grandfather Elmer SHELDON who died at 79 of “Malarial Fever and Malarial Dysentery” in 1898. He surely could have been helped by antimalarial drugs and antibiotics. My 3rd great grandfather died of lip cancer Alexander PADEN at 80 in 1887. Another 3rd great grandfather, John L. MOSER, died just 2 days after his 45th birthday of “Quinsey” AKA Tonsillitis and tragically, his brother Joel MOSER, 50, died just over a week later of “Lung fever” AKA Pneumonia. Both highly treatable with modern antibiotics. This was in 1845 and is as listed in the Cemetery Records of William D. Huntington, Nauvoo Sexton [Hancock CO, IL].
And finally my favorite cause of death belongs to my 2nd great-grandfather John Wesley Williamson MOSIER who died at 89, in 1915. He died of “Old Age.” Not sure there’s a drug or treatment for that!
Of the death records I have, my youngest direct ancestor to die was Mary Ann “Polly (SPARKS) HENAGER at age 40 and the oldest was Johan Solomon LUNDBERG who was 92. Do you have the death certificates or records for your family members? Do you see any patterns? How many of your ancestors may have lived longer if they had received vaccines and antibiotics? Time to dig out the records and see what patterns you might find, and how they may inform your health.
“Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.” Mark Twain
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All RIghts Reserved
Genealogical Research: Is there a Method to the Madness? YES
Posted on August 23, 2021 Leave a Comment
In my just completed series The Case of the Mystery Birth Certificate I started with a mystery and I just kept going down rabbit holes, searching for more puzzle pieces to help solve the mystery. I wrote the posts in real time as I worked so you can somewhat see the process. I decided it might be helpful to really dissect the research to see if it might be helpful to others. I did not use a methodical approach where I wrote a research question and then plotted each resource I would consult, rather I did what I usually do—I followed my nose. [Note: If you haven’t read the four short blog posts you should do that now before I give it away]
At the end if you want to just jump ahead I will tell you the salient points at the BOTTOM of this post. I am going to explain my process but I am also going to lists resources I checked at the end. So here is the rough chronology. My 2nd cousin who owns the diary of our shared great grandmother sends me scans of the diary on August 9th. [I had previously received the first half from him and that part is transcribed.] Over the next few days I skim some of the pages and come across the birth certificate and wonder what it is about. About the same time I happened to be working on researching my great grandmother’s whereabouts and making a chronology of where she lived when. This took me to a conversation with a distant cousin an genealogical friend which led to websites that have San Francisco City Directories. And I was able to locate the MOSIER clan in 1914-1918; not listed in 1919; 1920-1925; missing in 1926; 1927-1929; 1930 not listed etc. So I set my sites on finding Franco Giralamo and he was not listed in any of the years. That’s when I discover the birth certificate was wrong and her father was Giralamo FRANCO by searching for her mother Laura CRAVIOTTO.
In this particular circumstance I was looking for “opportunity.” I run into this a lot especially when working with adoptees or NPE’s (not Parentage Expected). You can’t generally make a child without opportunity, which means proximity. So in order to discover why my great grandmother had the birth certificate of someone completely unrelated in her diary, my first thought was to locate where they may have been together and that led to San Francisco. So back to those City Directories looking for Giralamo FRANCO. I only found him in one in 1920 in San Francisco. Here’s what my timeline looks like:
- 1886 Giralamo FRANCO b. Murialdo, Savona, Italy
- 1907 Angelo CRAVIOTTO immigrates (Laura’s father) from Calice Ligure, Savona, Italy
- 1910 Giralamo FRANCO Immigration (lists Cora DAMICO as sister)
- 1911 Eugene DAMICO City Directory gardener, Corbett Ave SF
- 1911 Carlo FRANCO Immigration (Giralamo brother) lists Giralamo & his address as 204 Alemani Ave SF
- 1913 Laura CRAVIOTTO Immigration
- 1914 Marriage Laura CRAVIOTTO & Giralamo FRANCO in San Francisco living on Corbett Ave SF
- 1915 Draft Registration for Gerlamo FRANCO 27th St & Stanford Heights SF
- 1920 Giralamo FRANCO City Directory, gardener 27th St & Stanford Heights SF
- 1921 Yolanda Rosa FRANCO birth in St Helena, CA
- 1923 Angelo CRAVIOTTO ( Laura’s brother) City Directory gardener, 27 Stanford Heights SF
- 1924 Giuseppe FRANCO (Giralam’s brother) lists Giralomo’s address as Corbett Ave SF
- 1930 Census Giralamo FRANCO St Helena-Calistoga Hwy, St Helena
- 1933 Article lists Giralamo’s address as Dunk’s St, Colma employed at several dairy ranches (his death)
- 1938 & 1939 Saint Helena Star articles mention the FRANCO children involved in 4H in Saint Helena but from San Francisco!
- 1940 Census Laura FRANCO (widow) Dunk’s St, Colma
Please note in the above list only ONE of the records is a census. I cannot find him in the 1910 Census. Note that records of friends and family often give an address for Giralamo. Note that only one listing in 1920 in the City Directories for San Francisco although he was there much of the time. YOU MUST LOOK AT ALL SORTS OF RECORDS TO DETERMINE WHERE SOMEONE LIVED and WHEN. Some of these records will NOT be for the person in question. Also note the patterns. On this map from 1915 you can see that Corbett, Stanford Heights and 27th Ave are at the same spot!
Period MAPS are VERY, VERY IMPORTANT! Always try to find a map as close to the time frame in question as you can. Giralamo FRANCO was killed by a drunk driver at the safety zone of the interurban streetcar at the intersection of San Mateo Ave and San Pedro Rd in Colma. Let’s look at the map.I have highlighted Dunks St. where the FRANCO family lived and the intersection where Giralamo was killed.
My great grandmother Lulu and the FRANCOs did not live in reasonable proximity at any time. That was a dead end. So I was back to square one after a week of research that included interviewing my neighbors, online research, and in person research at my local library. And in the end the answer came about because I was inventing stories that might have made PROXIMITY possible. One was that as a produce vendor Lulu got to know Laura FRANCO but the second one came as I was writing the first. Lulu’s health was not good—what if she came to St. Helena for her health. What if she and Laura were convalescing at the same time. That caused me to revisit the diary and find that they were indeed in St. Helena at the same time. This was consistent with the level of intimacy that having the birth certificate suggests. Now I have thought why didn’t I go directly back to the diary? I think that was a bit of serendipity that allowed for a much more complete story. So the final point is RABBIT HOLES should be welcomed. Even when they don’t inform your current research they generally educate you in other ways—which may become relevant later on in your research.
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH MAXIMS
- Look for OPPORTUNITY & PROXIMITY.
- Look not just for your ANCESTOR but relatives and friends for clues.
- Look far beyond CENSUS to all Records that may have places your ancestor lived and when. Just because you can’t find them in a census or a City Directory it doesn’t mean they weren’t there. My list above proves that.
- Create a timeline.
- Consult multiple sources for the same record. They are indexed differently and search engines are different. You may be able to find a record at one source and not another.
- Period MAPS are VERY, VERY IMPORTANT! Always try to find a map as close to the time frame in question as you can.
- Finally trust your OWN process. Follow your hunches, venture down rabbit holes. You never know where they might lead.
RESOURCES USED
- Census
- City Directories for San Francisco
- Ships Passenger Lists
- Draft Registration Cards
- Rumsey Historical Map Collection
- Newspapers.com
- My Heritage
- Ancestry
- FamilySearch
- Google (targeted searches)
- Local paper archives via Local Library
- Marriage Records
- Birth Records
- Social Security Death Records
- FindAGrave
- In person Local Histories and references at Saint Helena Library
- My great grandmother’s diary
- My neighbors
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All RIghts Reserved
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate: Mystery solved!
Posted on August 23, 2021 2 Comments
I have to say this story has me digging into families that I never heard of and are of no relation to me, however I am richer for it. It also has me day-dreaming and inventing stories of how Lulu MOSIER and Yolanda Rosa FRANCO parent’s paths may have crossed. And there is one thing that keeps coming back to me. There’s got to be a connection through farming or gardening. And then I remember a box of peaches. I had transcribed this part of Lulu’s diary back in 2017, so I went looking for the peaches and found it.
1914 “Thu July 23 Bought box peaches and spent day canning. Got letter from Eilene saying Dewey was sick in City Hospital in Minneapolis. Anxious and apprehensive time.”
So here is Lulu less than a year after she arrived in San Francisco and she is buying produce from her favorite seller Laura FRANCO. Laura arrived in San Francisco last year just like Lulu. Laura and her husband Giralamo were married on Valentine’s day earlier in the year and she still has the glow of new love. It lightens Lulu’s heart to talk to her even though she speaks no Italian and Laura’s English is poor. They chat and smile. Lulu is worried about her son Dewey in Minneapolis and she is struggling to make ends meet at home and her husband continues to be abusive. This is a brief respite from her day and she is grateful to Laura.
“A few days later she visits Laura again. Tuesday July 28 Bought nox tomatoes for 60 cents and made 17 qt chili sauce. ” Laura’s father has a produce company at 895 McAllister St called “A. Craviotto Company.” Note that it is owned by A Craviotto and B Vernazzo.
In 1915 we find That Giralamo’s draft card has him working as a farmer for G Gernazzo which I believe is Vernazzo at 27th Street and Stanford Heights. This is also listed as Giralamo and Laura’s address.
All the above—nice try Kelly but it’s not TRUE . So I looked at Lulu’s Diary again. Lulu was ill frequently—so I got to thinking—lots of folks came to St. Helena for health reasons. I went to the parts of the diary that are yet to be transcribed and there it was. At this point in the diary she is summarizing the last few months.
“In November 1921 I went to St Helena to nurse in a sanitarium for a few weeks.” Remember this all started with a Birth Certificate. My neighbor told me, at this time, most births were at home in St. Helena, so likely there was a complication and Laura Franco was hospitalized and gave birth to her daughter Yolanda Rosa at the hospital in St Helena. There she met my great grandmother Mary “Lulu” (PADEN) MOSIER while they were both convalescing. Perhaps they were even roommates. This birth certificate was filled out in error as the name should have been Yolanda Rose Franco, and not Giralamo. That is why the bottom was never completed. And this incorrect one perhaps was given to Lulu and she kept it in her diary to remind her of Laura and Yolanda and her time in St. Helena.
I spoke with my neighbor about my discovery and she thinks they both might have been at the St. Helena Sanitarium rather than at St. Gothards.
My neighbor was born in 1924 and she said her birth certificate was wrong as well. When she and her sister went to the County Clerk’s office her birth certificate could not be found and they wrote to Sacramento, which did find the birth certificate but she had been give the wrong last name! Although her father’s name was correct her name was wrong. She said that old Dr O’Connor had a “drinking problem!” And so perhaps that explains Yolanda’s birth certificate as well—Maybe a trip to the court house can confirm that!
Just to tidy up loose ends I will let you know that Giralamo Franco met an unfortunate end in 1933 when he and a 70 year old woman were struck by a drunk driver in the safety zone of a streetcar in Colma, CA. He died and is buried at the Italian Cemetery in Colma.
Laura and two children are in the 1940 census in Colma. Laura’s obituary mentions Yolanda and family in St. Helena. Apparently the children continued to visit St. Helena as they are mentioned in local newspaper articles for 4H in 1938 and 1939. Laura died in 1950.
In the process of trying to solve this mystery I dug into early histories of San Francisco and St. Helena. Explored families from Italy and births in the remote village of Murialdo. I have gained more stories from my neighbors and I think we all feel a bit closer after sharing this journey. Never underestimate where those rabbit holes lead. And now it is time for me to return to transcribing Lulu’s diary. I am sure she will be the source of future blog posts.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate: Part Three
Posted on August 21, 2021 Leave a Comment
I am doing my best to put this behind me but it just won’t let go. Some rabbit holes are like that—you would swear you were chasing just one rabbit and before you know it they seem to be multiplying. Note Please read the earlier parts or this won’t make much sense. I know you are thinking that my talking about rabbits multiplying is strictly metaphor but its not.
To recap Yolanda Rosa FRANCO’s birth certificate was found in my great grandmother’s diary and I am sill looking for why. Yolanda was born in Saint Helena but as it turns out her father spelled various ways Giralamo FRANCO was born in a very small village in Italy called Murialdo, Savona, Italy. And as it turns out so was my neighbor’s mother Guiseppine (Josephine) Serafina FRANCO. Well both Giralamo and Guiseppine were born to a father named Giovanni Battista FRANCO but not the same Giovanni Battista FRANCO. Are you confused yet? Well I got so confused I had to create a spreadsheet to keep them all straight.
So in the end I found that there were not one, not two, not three not four, but five Giovanni FRANCO‘s living in Murilado, Italy in 1877-1902 and plotting out the births of their children and the spouses shows these are separate individuals. Four of the five were named Giovanni Battista FRANCO!!! Geremia Patrizio Pacifico FRANCO (later known as Giralamo) is Yolanda’s father and we know this because his date of birth is recorded in the parish records for Murialdo but also on his draft card where his name is Gerolamo FRANCO born also 26 Mar 1886 in Murialdo. Then we have Guiseppine FRANCO born in 1900. On a tree on FamilySearch it shows “our” Giovanni Battista FRANCO (wife ODELLA) as the son of Carlo FRANCO bc 1830 and Vittoria SECCO bc 1837. Whether Giralamo and Guiseppine were first cousins, second cousins or some other I am not sure but it seems likely they were related. And it may be this connection that lured Giralamo from San Francisco to Saint Helena. In the connection category we also have Giralamo’s wife was Maria Rosa Severina ODELLA and that my neighbor’s father’s sponsor was Carlo ODELLA.
A closer look at the ship’s passenger list shows the Geremia FRANCO arrived on the ship Ancoda 12 April 1910. It shows he was born in Murialdo, his father was Giovanni and that he was headed to San Francisco.
It shows the person above him as Eugenia DAMICO who has listed his brother in San Francisco as his contact. It states ditto for Geremia but that is probably an error. However when we look up Eugene DAMICO in the 1911 San Francisco City Directory we find him listed as a gardener residing at Corbett Ave. I cannot find Giralamo in any City Directories except 1920.
However when Gerolomo FRANCO married on Valentine’s Day 1914 to Laura CRAVIOTTO both are listed as living on Corbett Av in San Francisco. His occupation “gardener.”
You may wonder why I am trying to track all of Giramalo’s movements. I am trying to find an intersection between Giramalo and my great grandmother Lulu MOSIER. In 1915 Gerolamo FRANCO’s draft card lists his address as 27th Street & Stanford Heights in San Francisco where he is a “farmer.” In 1920 the only San Francisco City Directory in which I have located him he is listed as a Gardener.
Here is a map of the area from 1911 which shows Corbett Ave. which actually winds around Twin Peaks. You can see 27th Street where it meets Stanford Heights. [I am awaiting permission to post a photo of the farm area]
So we have Girolamo in 1920 in San Francisco and then in December of 1921 his daughter Yolanda Rosa is born in St. Helena. And the family is still there in 1930. Strangely Girolamo is listed as living in San Francisco in 1924 when he is listed on his brother Guiesppe FRANCO’s Draft card as living on Corbett Road. Did Giralamo travel back and forth between the Lyman farm in St. Helena and the Farm near Corbett Ave in San. Francisco? Or was his brother mistaken?
Several things I have learned so far that are good for all genealogists. Checking multiple sources brings a much broader view of information. Records do not always agree. I have used Ancestry, Family Search and My Heritage for this work as well as specific Google searches. Check every possible permutation of spellings and pay attention to others listed on records. Although I have tried very hard to place Lulu and Girolomo in proximity to each other to date that remains elusive. I have not made the connection between them, however I have made a connection with my neighbors. I also have not “yet” located a obituary for Yolanda Rosa (FRANCO) JOHNSON that may list her children. Lots more rabbits to follow…
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved
Family Heirlooms: Dog Tags
Posted on August 20, 2021 1 Comment
Maybe you are lucky enough to have some dog tags from a family member or even yourself. For those that wore them close to their heart imagine the stories they could tell. Dog Tags or Military Identification Tags have a long history which is well chronicled here. A soldier wore identification tags so, in the unfortunate circumstance that they were injured or killed, they would be identifiable. The following collection of dog tags were all issued to my grandfather Milo Dean MOSIER.
My grandfather was not career military and yet this collection tells his story quite well. I have written about his WWI service in my earlier post “The Inherited Object Revisited.” The simple aluminum disk marked Milo D. Mosier was issued for his time as an Army Medic during WWI where he served in France.
The rounded rectangular tags on the same aged nylon cord are from his service in the US Army in WWII where he served stateside as a Private at the 60th Base & Air Squadron at Stockton Air Field, California from October 16, 1942 to March 18, 1943. It is not exactly clear to me why he only served for 5 months.
However he did not stay out of service for long, on 12 June 1943 he enlisted in the US Navy for a period of 2 years as a Chief Electrician’s Mate with the 107th Naval Construction Battalion aka the CB’s or Sea Bees. This service is represented by the two tags on the upper left. Here is a code to the tags
- [Last Name] Mosier
- [First Name] [Middle Initial] Milo Dean
- [Serial No.] [Religion Code] 378-37-78 (no religious code)
- [Month and Year of Tetanus] T 8/4/45
- [Blood Type] A
- [Naval Branch] USNR
During this service he was stationed in the Pacific on Tinian Island which is famous for being the island from which the “Enola Gay” departed with its atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima. And 3 days later “Bockscar was originally headed with its bomb for Kokura but the smoke was so heavy it hit the secondary target of Nagasaki. An excerpt from a letter Milo wrote to my grandmother Carrie dated 16 May 1945 (a couple of months before the atomic bombs) ” I suppose you read in the paper about the air raids on Japan. We know many of the crews . We like to watch the Big Ships come home after a heavy mission.”
My father also served in WWII but in the Marine Corps and he spent some time on Tinian and was lucky enough to meet up with his dad, Milo. Sadly I do not have his dog tags, but I do have this photo of them together.
My father ended up being among the first US troops to reach Nagasaki after the bomb….so many stories buried here. The final set of tags I am not sure of they are the ones on the bottom left. I suspect these are something to do with his post war civilian service at Mare Island where he was an Electrician on Nuclear submarines. I am guessing the “A” was for his blood type and the “P” for Protestant. (I had not known his blood type before this deeper dive!) If someone recognizes these drop me a line. Each time I explore a family heirloom it draws me a little deeper into the story. What stories are hiding in your own family treasures. If you have any dog tags feel free to share in the comments.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate: Part Two
Posted on August 18, 2021 4 Comments
Please read the original post first, here. This makes my head spin and it is beyond belief. This is why we stumble down rabbit holes and sometimes end up in a truly Alice in Wonderland experience. This is an unbelievable outcome and I still do not have the answer to my original question, but where it has led me is worth recounting.
Last night after posting the story I got to thinking about where to go for more information on Yolanda Rosa FRANCO. What I left out of the last post is that I happen to live in St. Helena and my across the street neighbor was born in the same year as Yolanda, so I decided to ask her and her sister if they remembered Yolanda. Yolanda would have lived here from 1921 to at least 1930 so they may have gone to school together. Neither of the sisters remembered Yolanda or the family. When I mentioned that they lived next to the BATTUELO’s on the Highway between St. Helena and Calistoga we honed in on where they lived and why they probably didn’t go to school together, thus didn’t remember Yolanda. Those living north of Bale Lane went to school in Calistoga. My neighbor’s father worked on the Lyman Farm which was across from the Old Bale Mill. The farm extended all the way to the Napa River and I would guess included what is now Battuelo Family Vineyards plus the land to the West all the way to Highway 29. She said that this was a very large farm growing all sorts of produce all year around. There was a railroad adjacent so produce could be easily loaded and shipped. My guess is that Yolanda Rosa FRANCO’s father, Giralamo, worked on this farm as he is listed on the 1930 census as a laborer on a farm.
But here is where it got more interesting. My neighbor’s mother’s maiden name was FRANCO!!! So the younger of the sister’s asks me, “do you know where Giralamo FRANCO was born?” No but I will do some more research. So I do a search on Family Search for Giralamo’s parents: Giovanni FRANCO and Rosa ODELLA. That yielded the Marriage certificate for Giralamo that I had already found, but also the birth records of 3 other sons born to Giovanni FRANCO and Rosa ODELLA. And where were they born? In the same tiny village as my neighbor’s mother Giuspina FRANCO, namely Murialdo, Savona, Liguria, Italy. The brothers were Giralamo born in 1886, Carl Lorenzo 1888, Luigi 1892 and Pietro in 1894!
So let me recap. My great grandmother Mary Lulu PADEN MOSIER wrote a diary in which she kept a birth certificate for a Yolanda Rosa Giralamo (which I discovered is really supposed to Yolanda Rosa FRANCO). I have no clue as to why she has this birth certificate for a child born in St. Helena when she lived in San Francisco. My search led me to her parents Marriage certificate and the correct name and then the 1830 census in St. Helena. And then to a conversation with my 99 and 97 year old neighbors. Which in turn led to their mother a FRANCO who came from the same village in Murialdo, Savona, Liguria, Italy, which currently has about 800 residents (in the extended area). My neighbor said that many of the sons of families from Murialdo immigrated to the Napa Valley, many to work on the Lyman Farm.
The immigration sponsor of my neighbor’s father (immigrated in 1911) was an ODELLA who was likely the same ODELLA family as Rosa ODELLA wife of Giovanni FRANCO, Grandparents of Yolanda Rosa FRANCO whose birth certificate is in my great grandmother’s diary. Also please note on the above map the hamlet of Odelle from which I would guess the ODELLA family takes its name. So what a very small world it is indeed! So this little rabbit hole has led me to my neighbors and a connection I could never in a million years would think possible. So thank’s Lulu for providing me this very interesting diversion. Why she had Yolanda’s birth certificate? I still don’t know but the new found connection, to my neighbors of 30+ years, I am enjoying immensely.
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate
Posted on August 17, 2021 7 Comments
Some mysteries send us down circuitous rabbit holes. Here are the basic outlines of this one. My great grandmother’s Diary had this birth certificate among its pages. I haven’t the slightest idea who this is or why this birth certificate would be kept by her.
My great grandmother Mary “Lulu” PADEN MOSIER ANDERSON was born in 1867 in Illinois and died 28 OCT 1930 in San Francisco, CA. She lived from 1913-1930 in San Francisco. She had eight children that survived childhood and not a one had a daughter that could have been this child (by adoption). My great grandmother was of Scottish & German extraction. This child is Italian. Why did she have this Birth Certificate in her diary? What is the connection?
St. Helena is about 65 miles north of San Francisco and there is no known connection. And this was the easy part. Doing a search for Yolanda Rose Giralamo brings up nothing in the CA State Birth Index. Nor can I find her on the 1930 or 1940 census. I also searched for her father Franco Giralamo. And I can only find one mention of a “Franco Giralamo” or anything close to it. That is in the 1929 City Directory for San Francisco a Franco Giralamo a laborer lives ar 25 Montana St. Okay the only clue is this birth certificate so let’s have a closer look. The birth occurred at St Gothard Hospital in St. Helena, CA. St Gothard’s began its life as a private home in 1907, then became St Gothard’s Inn in 1911. July 11 1921 it opened as St Gothard’s Hospital and less than 5 months later it would be the birthplace of Yolanda. It stayed a hospital until 1938 when it returned as St. Gothard’s Inn.
Several things I note on this birth certificate even though this birth occurred at a hospital the bottom is not filled out. The mother Laura is listed as the mother of 4 children all living….this suggests a marriage in about 1910-1915. So not finding anything for Franco Giralamo I searched for Laura Craviotto. BINGO! Laura CRAVIOTTO and Girolomo FRANCO were married on Valentine’s Day [14 Feb] 1914 in San Francisco, CA, both born in Italy he 26 and she 24. His name was Girolomo FRANCO not Franco Giralamo!!!
So perhaps that was a discarded Birth Certificate because it was improperly filled out??? Once I knew Yolanda’s father’s “real” name it was easier to find him. They appear on the 1830 census for St. Helena, California living along the Calistoga-St Helena Highway. By this time we see that Girolomo and Lora have 5 children. That he immigrated in 1910 and she in 1913. Unfortunately Girolomo dies the 23rd of April 1933. Laura as a widow is listed in Colma, San Mateo County in the 1940 census. She dies 21 September 1950. Moral of this search: Search on any parameter you have and do not overlook the possibility that the surname and given name have been switched.
But how is Yolanda Rose FRANCO connected to my great grandmother? I am not sure I will ever know the answer to that but here is a guess. The FRANCOs and the MOSERs lived in very different neighborhoods. The FRANCO’s near Little Italy and the MOSERs in the Panhandle. However it may be that Lulu’s husband Frank MOSER and Girolomo FRANCO met as laborers and somehow the families were acquainted. It is a mystery waiting for more clues. Yolanda Carmen FRANCO JOHNSON died 10 July in 1984 in Alameda, CA. Meanwhile maybe a member of the family will someday find this post in a web search and get a bit more detail than the would have had otherwise…..onward to more rabbit holes!
Kelly Wheaton Copyright 2021 All RIghts Reserved.
The Well-loved Family Heirloom
Posted on August 15, 2021 5 Comments
Paul Chiddicks recently asked if we have a favorite Family Heirloom. I have too many to have a favorite but this one is certainly a well used one. It belonged to my great grandfather Justus Warren SHELDON who at the time of his acquisition of the cane, lived in Eaton Rapids, Eaton county, Michigan. He lived in Eaton Rapids between 1895-1919 and was mayor there in 1899 and again in 1904.
I do not have a photo of Justus with this cane but it was clearly his as the name plaque on it shows. It reads J.W. Sheldon Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Not only was the cane used by Justus, my mother, his grand daughter, used this during a broken ankle episode and later in her life. Who knows but it may be used by me someday.
One of my favorite photos of Justus is with my great grandmother Lois Eurette Hall while they were visiting an Ostrich farm in California. Although he looks a bit stuffy in this photo he was adored by my mother and was quite the doting grandfather.
While researching the dates of Justus tenure as mayor I found a bit of interesting detail on the house that he built in Eaton Rapids. According to the Revitalization of the Eaton Rapids Home Tour his house at 221 State Street was built in 1901. “The buildings hardwood floors and white oak woodwork which are present throughout were cut from timber taken off the Sheldon family farm which was located where the present VFW is.” I cannot know for certain but I suspect this cane may be of similar origin.
A photo of the house today shows the house not much changed in its 120 years. I am guessing the cane and the house are of similar vintage—thus the well loved Heirloom—leads to a well loved house!
More of the house in a future post….I have 21 photos inside and out! A preview:
Copyright Kelly Wheaton 2021 All RIghts Reserved
Wheaton Wood 