Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

1940 Census Indexing Fun

Are you tired of doing the same old thing? Are you wondering what you can do to add a little fun and excitement in your life? Well, I’ve got the answer for you! It’s the latest and greatest pastime of the season! What am I talking about? Indexing the 1940 Census, that’s what! You haven’t tried it yet?? You didn’t know about it? Oh, have I got the website for you! Check it out here - The 1940 Census. It will help you get started on all the fun!

You say you're already an Indexer and/or Arbitrator, but didn't know where to get help and instructions? You say you need some help to sharpen your 1940 Census indexing and arbitrating skills? You say you’d like to take part in a webinar or watch some training videos? Well, I can help you out with this too! Just click on the links below to start sharpening your skills.

Well, that’s all there is to it! Have a great time helping out with this very important project. And thank you!!

Disclaimer: As part of the1940census.com ambassador program this blog post enters me into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card.

Thanks for reading!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Sentimental Sunday - A Tribute to My Dad

On April 29, 2009 my father, Jan Albert Iverson, passed away. On this third anniversary of his passing, I would like to pay tribute to his memory. He patiently endured his battle with cancer, but it ultimately won in the end. But because of the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I know my family and I will see him again some day. Until then dad, we love and miss you!

Jan Iverson's Findagrave Memorial:

Jan Albert Iverson

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Treasure Chest Thursday–Grandpa’s Briefcase

Following the death of my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, in 1994, my mom inherited this briefcase shown in the photo. To my surprise, the briefcase was full of photographs, letters, and other treasured items of genealogical interest. From looking through this briefcase, I found that our Webster family had a direct-line U.S. Civil War ancestor, something I hadn’t known, or even thought of, before especially since my grandfather was born in Brazil. I’d say that this briefcase was one of the catalysts to beginning my family history journey.

Do you have your own treasure-laden briefcase, cardboard box, file drawer, etc. waiting to be discovered? Check with your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc....You never know what genealogy gold you may find!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© Copyright Jana Last 2012

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)–Rollin Waterman Webster

This is Rollin Waterman Webster, a brother of my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandpa Frederick Emory Webster. More on Rollin in a future post….(Don't ya love how "dapper" he looks?)

Thanks for reading!

Monday, April 23, 2012

1940 Census Finds – Carl and Hilda Gillberg

I wanted to find my paternal great-grandparents, Carl Albert and Hilda Maria Gillberg in the 1940 census. Carl and Hilda were the parents of my grandmother, Ingrid Anna Gillberg. Well, I am happy to say that I was able to find Carl and Hilda in the 1940 census! Here’s the process I went through to find them:

I knew they were in Los Angeles, California in 1930. Here they are in the 1930 census.¹

You may remember from my previous post Wedding Wednesday - Arthur Harry Iverson and Ingrid Anna Gillberg, that Arthur and Ingrid were married at the home of Ingrid’s parents in Ely, Nevada in 1931. So I did a search in the 1940 census for Nevada (yep, that state is now searchable), in case they were still there in 1940. No luck! Okay, now what?

I looked more closely at what information I had for Carl and Hilda and what else I could find on them from Ancestry.com and voila! Here were clues I could use! Carl and Hilda both immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden. They both had Declarations of Intention from 1939 and those papers had an address on them! Hurray! I also found a U.S. Naturalization Record Index Record for Hilda from 1942 and that had an address on it as well! The addresses from the 1939 and 1942 documents were different. Well, now I had something to go on! So, it’s off to SteveMorse.org I went in hopes of finding them in the 1940 census!

I didn’t find them in the first couple of Enumeration Districts I tried. (Operator error – apparently I hadn’t entered the correct cross streets…silly me.) I decided to keep on looking and after entering the correct cross streets…Eureka!…Here they were at the address they listed in their Declaration of Intention documents in 1939! Persistence paid off! So, here are my great-grandparents, Carl and Hilda, in the 1940 Census.²

Because the above image of the 1940 census is so small, I decided to split it in half. Hopefully this makes it easier to read.

It’s really amazing what the 1940 census can tell us about the kinds of lives our ancestors were living at that time. It was kind of sad to see that my Great-Grandpa Carl was working as a vegetable peddler from a private truck. Of course, this was during the Great Depression. The census states that Carl was engaged in Public Emergency Work, and was seeking employment at the time. In Sweden he worked as a tinsmith, according to a passenger list and subsequently he worked as a baker and laborer here in the U.S. according to several census records and my own Grandmother Ingrid's personal history. I really appreciate the sacrifices my ancestors made to come here to the U.S.!

Thanks for reading!

1 Year: 1930; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 145; Page: 8A; Lines 22 and 23; Enumeration District: 332; Image: 800.0; FHL microfilm: 2339880. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. ^↩
2 Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_411; Page: 9A; Lines 18 and 19; Enumeration District: 60-895. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.^↩

Talented Tuesday - My Great-Grandpa Was An Inventor?

Yep, it turns out that my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandpa, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, was also an inventor!

My uncle (Frederick's grandson) alerted me to this fact. He did a search on Google.com for Frederick Emory Webster and found a patent that was awarded to Frederick in 1899. Frederick invented improvements to a Dental Handpiece. Thank you to my uncle for passing this interesting information on to me!

Frederick Emory Webster’s Patent

Patent number: 636476
Filing date: Apr 28, 1889
Issue date: Nov 7, 1899

If you’d like to view the patent on Google.com, here's link -
Frederick Emory Webster Patent

My uncle also told me that Frederick had another talent besides being a dentist, optician, photographer, and inventor. This is what my uncle wrote to me about Frederick, “My dad (your grandfather) also told me that he could write with both hands simultaneously and would do it to show off.” Kind of a quirky talent, but interesting information nonetheless.

For my previous blog posts about my “Traveling Dentist” Great-Grandpa Frederick Emory Webster, just click on the links below:
The Traveling Dentist - Part 1 The Traveling Dentist - Part 2 The Traveling Dentist - Part 3 The Traveling Dentist - Part 4

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Friday, April 20, 2012

Are We There Yet…Are We…Are We…Huh?

Unfortunately the answer to the question above is no (sigh). But we are making great progress! What am I talking about? Why, Indexing the 1940 Census, of course.

Last week a former student from my family history class asked me when we would be able to search the 1940 Census (and no, he did not ask in a whiny little kid voice like in my blog post title). I, of course, couldn’t give him a definitive answer. It all depends on when the indexing gets finished. (Insert shameless 1940 Census Indexing plug here). I did mention some ways he could search for the people he was looking for in the meantime. There’s the awesome website SteveMorse.org (thank you Steve Morse!). But to use this website we need to have an idea of where our ancestors were in 1940. So my student could check the 1930 Census (maybe his ancestors still lived at the same address in 1940?), and he could also look at WW2 Draft Registration Cards for the address listed there. Maybe his ancestors lived at that address in 1940. Another idea is to look through old photos too. I lucked out and was able to find my dad with his parents and siblings in the 1940 Census because I have an old photo with the address of their first house on it.

If you’d like to check out my blog post about this find, here’s the link:

I Found Clark Gable's Mechanic in the 1940 Census!

There are probably lots of other useful resources out there to help us find our ancestors in the 1940 Census while we wait for it to be searchable.

Would anyone like to share their success stories and how they were able to find their ancestors in the 1940 Census? If so, please leave a comment. If you've already blogged about your successes please leave a link to your blog.

Okay, here comes the Indexing Plug—If you haven’t signed up yet to help us index, please sign up. We need you. Besides, it’s fun and rewarding too! And it’s a great way to give back.

Oh, and a big Thank You to all you indexers and arbitrators out there!! Keep up the great work! You guys are awesome!

The FamilySearch Blog has an update on our progress as of April 20, 2012. Here's the link:

1940 Census Indexing Report

If you want to see the state-by-state progress of the 1940 Census Indexing Project, here's a link:

1940 US Census State-by-State Indexing Progress

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thriller Thursday - Sleepwalking Can Be Dangerous

Charles L. Crippen Article in the Newark Daily Advocate, Newark , Ohio

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Newark Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) 13 December 1889 "Jumped to Death" [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.

Original data: Newark Daily Advocate. Newark, OH, USA. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.

Charles L. Crippen, the unfortunate sleepwalker who plunged to his death on 12 December 1889, was my 1st cousin 3 times removed. He was born in Ohio on 25 September 1869. Charles’ parents were Lawrence C. Crippen and Lucy Mae Waterman, both from Ohio. I first discovered the cause of Charles’ untimely death when I found a newspaper article attached to his Find A Grave Memorial. I did a bit more digging and found another newspaper article (above) about poor Charles. What a tragic death! Also, I just can’t imagine how terrible Charles’ dad must have felt since he was the one to wake Charles in the first place.

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wedding Wednesday–Arthur Harry Iverson and Ingrid Anna Gillberg

These are my paternal grandparents on their wedding day – Arthur Harry Iverson and Ingrid Anna Gillberg. Ingrid’s parents emigrated from Sweden sometime between 1907 and 1911. Ingrid was born in the United States. Arthur and Ingrid were married at the home of Ingrid’s parents in Ely, White Pine, Nevada on 27 June 1931. I was reading through the transcript of my Grandma Ingrid’s vocal history, and she said that one of the Christmas traditions she and her family had when she was growing up was to decorate the ceilings with paper from corner to corner. It looks like the family did the same thing on this festive occasion of Arthur and Ingrid’s marriage.

P.S. You may remember Arthur from my previous blog posts titled I Found Clark Gable's Mechanic in the 1940 Census! and Tombstone Tuesday - Arthur Harry Iverson.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tombstone Tuesday–Arthur Harry Iverson

This is the tombstone of Arthur Harry Iverson, my grandfather (aka Clark Gable’s mechanic from a previous post titled I Found Clark Gable's Mechanic in the 1940 Census!). Arthur is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, Los Angeles, California. My husband took this photo of Arthur's tombstone when my husband and I were on a trip to Southern California back in 2007.

I love this picture of Arthur playing his mandolin. Arthur must have come from a musical family. His older brothers played guitars and violins and also made the instruments as well.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Monday, April 16, 2012

Military Monday - A Brazilian Officer

Mathias Rodrigues Vasques

This is my 2nd great-grandfather, Mathias Rodrigues Vasques. He was born about 1834 at Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and passed away there in 1890.

I find it interesting that the hat sitting on the chair resembles a U.S. Civil War era hat. It must have been the style of the day globally? I don't know. Any military buffs out there want to comment on this photo? I assume he is an officer because of this picture from the Wikimedia Commons website below.

The description that accompanies this picture is in Portuguese as follows:

"Oficial e soldado do Imperio do Brasil, uniformes da Guerra do Paraguai. Desenhos de Hendrik Jacobus Vinkhuijzen publicados pela primeira vez em 1867."

I used Google Translate to find out what this says. Here's the translation:

"Officer and soldier of the Empire of Brazil, Paraguay War uniforms. Hendrik Jacobus Vinkhuijzen drawings first published in 1867."

Now I need to find out if there are any military records from Brazil that I can research to add to what I already know about Mathias.

Thanks for reading!

Friday, April 13, 2012

I Found Clark Gable’s Mechanic in the 1940 Census!

There he is on line 64 with his family—Arthur Iverson, my grandfather! According to my grandmother Ingrid Gilberg Iverson, Arthur’s wife, when Clark Gable brought his car to the garage where my grandfather worked, Clark preferred Arthur to be the one to work on his car. Sometimes Clark would even stay and watch my grandfather work on his car. I also heard that Clark Gable seemed to be a very nice, genuine person.

Of course, I'm not claiming that my grandfather was the only mechanic Clark Gable used to work on his cars. But it is really cool to hear that my grandfather was one of his mechanics. And one that he preferred at the garage where Grandpa Arthur worked.

In the 1940 Census, Arthur is listed with his wife Ingrid and their three children. I've blurred the name and information for the youngest child on this census for privacy reasons. Jan, the middle child is my father. Arthur and his family lived at 6058 N. Bellingham Avenue in North Hollywood at the time of this census.

Here’s a picture of their house.

It’s so awesome that I had this picture of my dad’s first house and that it had the actual address listed too. Because I had the address of the house, I was able to locate my dad in the 1940 census. I used the website Stevemorse.org to find the correct enumeration district I needed so I could locate my dad and his family in the census. Thank you Steve Morse!

It’s especially neat to see this census because just two years after it was taken, my grandfather, Arthur Iverson, passed away. To see him in a census with his family is really cool.

Here’s a picture of my grandfather, Arthur Harry Iverson.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Source:

Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_375; Page: 5B; Line 64; Enumeration District: 60-41. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Wordless Wednesday - A Picture from the Photo Boat

This is a picture of Cynthia Maria Waterman, taken on the Photo Boat belonging to her son, Frederick Emory Webster. You remember him don't you? He is my great-grandfather, the "traveling dentist" you met in my previous posts. Cynthia was born on May 21, 1836 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio and died on September 22, 1895 in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas. Her parents were Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk.

If you'd like to see a photo of Frederick Webster's Photo Boat, check out my post linked here -

The Traveling Dentist

Thanks for reading!

The Traveling Dentist - Part 4

As you read in my last post about my "traveling dentist" great-grandfather, Frederick Webster, he and his wife Esther were in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico for the birth of their first child, Carlota. For some reason they decided to relocate to Brazil. The rest of their children were born in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Staying true to his "traveling ways" Frederick, as well as his wife, Esther, traveled from Mexico to the United States and from Brazil to the United States while their children were very young.

Here is a passenger list dated October 19, 1911.¹ On lines two and three are listed Carlota and her mother Esther. They were sailing from Veracruz, Mexico. Unfortunately there is no destination listed, although we know it is somewhere in the United States. For Esther, in the column "Nationality (Country of which citizen or subject)" Mexico is listed, but is crossed out and the initials U.S. were written in instead. Because Esther married a U.S. Citizen between the years 1855-1922, she automatically became a U.S. Citizen. Perhaps that's why her citizenship was corrected.

I found Esther and her children in two more passenger lists, both in the year 1913. Here she is listed with her two children, Carlota - age 1, and Edna - age 3 months.² They sailed from Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil on January 29, 1913 and arrived at the Port of New York sometime in February 1913. Interestingly, the passenger list states that Esther was born in El Paso, Texas. And under "Address in the United States," Chiapas, Arriaga, Mexico is listed. Perhaps those were accidentally reversed and she was heading to El Paso, Texas. Frederick did have ties to El Paso, Texas as evidenced by his passport application of 1907. Another interesting, and possibly confusing, item is the statement that Esther's husband was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was really born in Coolville, Athens, Ohio. But, in 1913, Frederick's brother, Rollin, and father, Ebenezer, were living in Chicago, Illinois. Perhaps there was a little confusion there on Esther's part.

And here is Esther again with her two children, this time sailing from Veracruz, Mexico on May 8, 1913 heading to the Port of New York.³

This time an address in the United States was listed for Esther and her children - 30 Columbia Place, Brooklyn, New York. I looked up that address on Google Maps and this is what I found.

30 Columbia Place, Brooklyn, New York
Courtesy of Google Maps

The interesting thing about the Brooklyn, New York address is that Frederick was on a passenger list for a ship sailing from Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil on September 8, 1913 and the address in the United States listed for him was Brooklyn, New York.⁴ This ship sailed on September 8, 1913 and arrived at New York on September 28, 1913. That was a 20 day voyage! Just imagine Esther, a young mom, traveling by herself on a ship for 20 days with her baby in 1911 and then again in 1913, this time with her two small children?! And in the year 1913 she made this voyage two separate times! Wow!

The next time I see Frederick traveling is in 1921, after Esther's death in 1919. In the following passenger list Fred is sailing with his children Carlota, Edna, and Debs (my grandfather).⁵ Carlota was listed separately on another page.⁶ They were sailing from Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil to the Port of New York again. Another address was listed in the United States. This time it was 44 Beekman Street, New York City. I didn't know that my great-grandfather had any ties to New York, but it appears he did!

Frederick apparently wasn't done traveling! Here he is in Arkansas this time. This is a photo of Frederick Webster with his children - Carlota (in the dental chair), Edna Lillie (in the checked dress), and Debs (my grandfather). This is in Brinkley, Arkansas between January and April, 1922. Seeing Carlota in the dental chair reminds me of myself as a young girl sitting in the dental chair of Debs, my grandfather. Debs followed in his father's footsteps and became a dentist too!

I love this picture of Frederick Webster with his bike in front of his Dental Office. If you look closely you can see the sign behind him reads, "F. E. Webster, Dentista Norte Americano." Unfortunately, I don't know when or where this photo was taken. The three children in the doorway may very well be Fred's children, Carlota, Edna, and Debs.

This last photo is of Frederick with his daughters, Carlota (far left), and Edna (far right), and his son Debs (my grandpa). The photo was taken in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico on April 3, 1923.

I also found evidence that Frederick traveled to Louisiana in 1922 and 1926. Yes, great-grandpa Webster, you definitely were a "traveling dentist!" Frederick passed away on July 21, 1946 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

I know this was a very long post. Thanks for letting me share with you the story of my "traveling dentist" great-grandfather Frederick Webster!

Thanks for reading!

1 Year: 1911; ; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: T715_1763; Line: 3; ; Page Number: 180. Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩
2 Year: 1913; ; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: T715_2016; Line: 1; ; Page Number: 142. Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩
3 Year: 1913; ; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: T715_2079; Line: 1; ; Page Number: 19. Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩
4 Year: 1913; ; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: T715_2187; Line: 1; ; Page Number: 122. Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩
5 Year: 1921; ; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: T715_3062; Line: 3; ; Page Number: 77. Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩
6 Year: 1921; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 3062; Line: 1; Page Number: 79. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩

Monday, April 9, 2012

The Traveling Dentist - Part 3

So, just where was my "traveling dentist" great-grandfather, Frederick Webster, all those years from 1902-1946? I have made a timeline for him and it shows that Frederick was a prolific traveler!

Here is his passport application issued April 1907.¹ It states that his permanent residence was El Paso, Texas, that his occupation was a dentist, that he left the United States on January 19, 1907 and that he was residing at Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. The application also states that his purpose for the passport was for traveling in South America and that he intended to return to the United States within eighteen months.

I don't know all the places in Mexico where Frederick traveled, but I do know that he traveled to Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico at some point because that is where he met his future wife, my great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro.

Esther Matus Villatoro

Unfortunately, I don't have Frederick and Esther's marriage certificate yet, but I'm going to assume they married (notice her wedding ring in the picture). Esther was born in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico on September 18, 1893. Esther was the daughter of Nicanor Matus and Raymunda Villatoro Vasques. Nicanor Matus was from Oaxaca, Mexico and Raymunda was from Chiapas, Mexico. Frederick and Esther had five children:

Carlota Adelia Webster - born January 11, 1910 in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico
Edna Lilie Webster - born September, 1912 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and died before 1923
Debs Warren Webster (my grandfather) - born April 27, 1914 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil and died August 15, 1994 in Petaluma, Sonoma, California
Eugene Rollin Webster - born December 4, 1915 in Santos, Sao Paulo Brazil, and died before 1923
Alice Webster - born 1918 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and died before 1923

Unfortunately, Esther Matus Villatoro Webster died on November 2, 1919 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to Esther's death record she died of Tuberculosis. And three of her children died before 1923. Only Carlota and my grandfather, Debs, survived to adulthood. My grandfather, Debs, didn't talk a lot about his growing up years. I think it must have been very painful for him to talk about his childhood because of the death of his mother and three of his siblings.

I have some priceless pictures of Fred, Esther and their family. Here are a few of them:

Esther with one of her children

Fred, Esther and one of their children

Fred, Esther, Carlota and Edna Lilie Webster

I just LOVE this picture of Fred and Esther with two of their children. Esther's hat is so pretty!

Fred, Esther and their children traveled between the United States and Mexico and Brazil. I found several Passenger Lists listing this family and their travels.

More on that in an upcoming blog! See you then!

Thanks for reading!

1 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Emergency Passport Applications (Issued Abroad), 1877-1907; Collection Number: ARC Identifier 1187503 / MLR Number A1 515; NARA Series: M1834; Roll #: 21; ; Volume #: 35. Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.^↩

Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Traveling Dentist - Part 2

The release of the 1940 Census has been a very exciting event for us genealogists. I've done a bit of searching and indexing already. In fact, I already found my dad, 4 years old at the time, living with his parents and siblings in the 1940 Census. So cool! But that's another story. I knew I wouldn't be able to look in the 1940 census for my "traveling dentist" great-grandpa, Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster. Well, I now know exactly where he was in 1940. I found this picture of him standing in the doorway of a house in Xiririca, Sao Paulo, Brazil. This picture is dated December 29, 1940. Frederick passed away six years later on July 21, 1946 in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

So, where was Frederick Webster between 1902, where we last documented him at Lake Charles, Louisiana on his Dental and Photo Boats, and 1946 in Brazil, where he passed away?

More details on Fred's life in my next blog. See you then!

P.S. If you haven't yet volunteered to help index the 1940 Census, please do so...we really need you!

Thanks for reading!

Friday, April 6, 2012

The Traveling Dentist - Part 1

Allow me to introduce you to my great-grandfather, Watson Emory Webster, aka Frederick Emory Webster. He was born in Coolville, Athens County, Ohio in 1864. He was the son of Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman. His siblings were Mary Alice Webster, Lura Elizabeth Webster, Frank Summers Webster, Lillian Dell Webster, and Rollin Waterman Webster.

Watson changed his name to Frederick sometime during his lifetime, so that's what we'll call him from this point on.

I never knew Frederick, but my mom remembers him as being a good grandpa to her in Brazil. Brazil you ask? Well yes, Frederick was, after all, our family's "traveling dentist."

In this old photo we see Frederick's Dental Boat docked next to his Optical Boat at Natchez, Mississippi. Oh ya, I didn't yet mention that he apparently expanded his profession from Dentist to include Optician as well.

I love how in this photo we see Frederick's sign on the Optical Boat that reads "Eyes Tested Free."

And did I mention that Frederick also was a Photographer? Yes, that's his Photo Boat docked next to his Dental Boat. This time he's at Lake Charles, Louisiana, circa 1890-1902.

More about Frederick Webster's life in my next blog post. See you then!

Thanks for reading!