Tuesday, April 29, 2014

5 Years Ago Today

Five years ago today, on April 29, 2009, my father, Jan Albert Iverson, passed away.

In August of 2007, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He hadn't smoked during his life. The cancer was a result of years of acid reflux problems.


On September 9, 2007, we traveled up to Oakland, California where my dad would have surgery to remove the cancerous tumor the next day.

We took this family photo the day before his surgery in Oakland. One of my sisters-in-law couldn't be with us. From left to right: my husband Brent, myself, my brother, my dad, my mom, my brother and his wife.




My dad's surgery took around 10-12 hours. The surgeon removed the cancerous tumor which was in the lower part of my dad's esophagus. After the surgery, my dad had radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He also had a feeding tube inserted in his stomach. During my dad's struggle with cancer and the complications associated with it, he lost about 100 pounds. He also seemed to age 20 years. A once active, vibrant man had become so frail. But, my dad was an inspiring example of enduring to the end. He patiently and bravely faced the trials he was going through.

These two pictures were taken only six months after my dad's surgery. We were celebrating his 72nd birthday.





This photo was taken on September of 2008, one year after my dad's surgery. He was hugging one of our sons.



I took a photography class in the fall of 2008 at a local junior college. As part of an assignment, I took this photo of my dad and mom. This was also taken in September of 2008. How much my dad's appearance had changed in just one year!



My dad became weaker and weaker over time. I stubbornly refused to believe that he he was going to die. I thought he would regain his strength when he was going to physical therapy. But, he was wasting away before our eyes.

I took a beginning Photoshop class in early 2009 at the same junior college I had taken the photography class. My dad passed away near the end of the semester. This was my final assignment for that class. It's titled "Broken Heart." I know it could have been much better, but I was just learning Photoshop at the time.


Broken Heart

Because my dad was a Korean War veteran, he was buried with military honors.







We all miss my dad very much. But we know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will be able to see and be with my dad again. Our family can be together for eternity. What comfort the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. This life is not the end. We can see and be with our loved ones again. That knowledge is what helps with the grief and sadness of missing our family members when they pass away.

To end this post, I'll leave you with a few pictures of my dad from happier times before his cancer diagnosis.


This was taken in March of 2006 at a local restaurant. We were celebrating my dad's 70th birthday.



Here's a photo of my dad goofing around with his one of his brothers. My dad is the one sitting in the chair.



These next three are photos of my dad with some of his grandchildren when they were little kids.







My dad loved his family and we love him.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Monday, April 28, 2014

52 Ancestors: #17 ~ Happy 100th Birthday Grandpa Debs! We Miss You!

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

Yesterday my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, would have turned 100 years old. In August of this year it will be 20 years since he passed away. I've written about him a lot on my blog in the past. Specifically, about his family's immigration story. Today, I'm going to share a little about him personally.


Debs Warren Webster

Debs Warren Webster was born on 27 April 1914 in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil to his parents Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster and Esther Matus Villatoro. Debs was the third of five children born to Frederick and Esther.

You may have noticed that I referred to Debs' father as Frederick instead of Watson. That's because Watson changed his name to Frederick at some point in his life. My regular readers may also recognize his name because he is known as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog.

Yes, Debs' father traveled a great deal during his life. And that meant that Debs did too. I really don't know how Debs attended school when he was young. But, he was very smart and spoke three languages – Spanish, Portuguese, and English. He also became a dentist in two different countries – Brazil and the United States.

Debs met his first wife,
Sarah Vasques Madeira, in Brazil. They fell in love and were married on 4 April 1936 in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.


Sarah Vasques Madeira and Debs Warren Webster
Sarah Vasques Madeira and Debs Warren Webster

They were so very happy. Their happiness increased with the birth of their first and only child, a daughter (my mom).

Tragically, only six years after Debs and Sarah were married, Sarah passed away. She died on 15 July 1942 in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. My mom was only four years old at the time of her mom's death.

Debs was left a widower with a small child. He hadn't completed his college degree yet. He was working and going to dental school. How was he going to take care of his little daughter? Thankfully, family members helped him. My mom was taken care of by a couple of her mom's sisters, Isabel and Lucia, and then by her father's Aunt Crecenciana.

Debs found happiness again when he met and married Willis Quillin. They were married on 16 March 1944 in Dobrada, Sao Paulo, Brazil.


Willis Quillin Webster
Willis Quillin Webster


They had one child together, a son. They also adopted a little boy in Brazil. Now they were a family of five – my mom, from Debs' first marriage, and two sons.

Almost a year after Debs married Willis, he received his dental diploma. Debs received his diploma on 13 February 1945 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.



Debs Warren Webster Graduation Picture
Debs Warren Webster

In the early 1950s, Debs and his family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They decided to move to the United States. In July of 1952, they boarded the ocean liner S.S. Brazil and sailed to a new country and a new life. They took this family photo on 10 June 1952, about a month before they left Brazil.

Webster Family Before Leaving for the United States in 1952

Debs thought he was going to be able to practice dentistry in the United States. But he later found out that he wasn't allowed to practice here because he hadn't graduated from a United States college. So, Debs went back to school and eventually became a dentist here in the United States. What an accomplishment! And how difficult this must have been for him and his family.

Debs was a very hard worker and was also very kind and generous. Over the years he opened his home to family members who also immigrated to the United States from Brazil. They were welcome to stay at his home until they were able to get on their feet and become acclimated to their new country.

Debs didn't like his first name and legally changed it after arriving in the United States. He then went by Warren Debs Webster. He passed away on 15 August 1994 in Petaluma, Sonoma, California at 80 years of age. He is buried at Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, Contra Costa, California.


Debs Warren Webster Grave Marker

I began researching our family history after my Grandpa Debs passed away. When my mom and I were going through some of my grandpa's personal belongings, we found a photo of his great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster, who was a Civil War veteran. I had never seen that photo before and had no idea who Ebenezer was or that we had any ancestry connected with the Civil War.

I don't remember my grandfather talking about his childhood or his family history. I think he had a difficult childhood and didn't want to talk about it. It must have been painful for him. His mother died when he was a boy and three of his four siblings didn't survive to adulthood. I wish I had started my family history research before my Grandpa Debs had passed away. There are so many questions I wish I could ask him now.

My Grandpa Debs was a wonderful and loving grandpa. We miss him.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Friday, April 25, 2014

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for April 25, 2014

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My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. Fun Civil War Quick Tip by Cindy Freed, author of Cindy Freed's Genealogy Circle
  2. Using Excel in Genealogy by Jen Baldwin, author of Ancestral Breezes
  3. Saving a Slice of Family History by Maureen Taylor, author of Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective
  4. Attaching Historical Records to Entire Families in FamilySearch Family Tree - Part 1 AND Attaching Historical Records to Entire Families in FamilySearch Family Tree - Part 2: A Significant Problem by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
  5. From JPEG to TIFF - Tuesday's Tip by Nancy, author of My Ancestors and Me
  6. Everything in one place by Michele Simmons Lewis, author of Ancestoring
  7. Google adds back in time to Street View by James Tanner, author of Genealogy's Star
  8. So…What Did I Get In The Mail? by Cheryl Palmer, author of Heritage Happens
  9. Alone, but Not Forgotten by Michelle G. Taggart, author of A Southern Sleuth
  10. I Thought I ‘d Have More Time! by Valerie Hughes, author of Genealogy With Valerie
  11. Tuesday's Tip: Vital Records Aren’t Always Accurate by Yvonne Demoskoff, author of Yvonne's Genealogy Blog
  12. 45 Reasons to Research Immigration Records by Kenneth R. Marks, author of THE ANCESTOR HUNT
  13. Google Maps Street View Delivers a Taste of Time Travel by Lisa Louise Cooke, author of Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems
  14. Sometimes the Best Find Comes When You Least Expect it! by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, author of The Olive Tree Genealogy
  15. War Rationing -- When The Greatest Generation Went "All In" by John D. Tew, author of Filiopietism Prism
  16. Treasure Chest Thursday~From Cedar Chest to FB Success! by Cheri Hudson Passey, author of Carolina Girl Genealogy
  17. 10 Genealogy Things I Do With My Smart Phone by Diane Boumenot, author of One Rhode Island Family
  18. The Naturalization Puzzle by Sheri Fenley, author of THE EDUCATED GENEALOGIST
  19. Researching Your Ancestors in Latin America—Part 2 by Deborah S. Gurtler for FamilySearch Blog

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

My AncestryDNA Results Are In ~ Some Surprises

I received my AncestryDNA test results the other day. They arrived a lot earlier than I was expecting, which was awesome. And, they revealed a couple of surprises too.

AncestryDNA  Test Results

The AncestryDNA test results provide some very interesting and helpful tools and charts. Here's my Ethnicity Estimate Chart.




In case the chart above is difficult to read, this is the percentage breakdown for my Ethnicity Estimate Chart:

North Africa – 5%
Native American – 10%
Scandinavia – 34%
Europe West – 20%
Great Britain – 9%
Ireland – 8%
Iberian Peninsula – 7%

I didn't include the Trace Regions. According to AncestryDNA, they may or may not actually be part of my ancestry.

A Really Cool Feature

This is what happened when I clicked on Scandinavia. A bar graph shows up and on the right side of the screen some interesting information about Scandinavia appears. I've blurred the map because of copyright issues. You can also see that they've included a bar graph that  shows how my average ethnicity percentage compares with a typical native Scandinavian.

This is a screen shot of the top portion of the page. As I scrolled down the page, additional information such as genetic diversity and population history can be found. You can see portions of those sections in the next two screenshots.







No Surprises

I'm not surprised by the Native American result. Last year I took the Family Finder (autosomal) DNA test with FamilyTreeDNA. I shared those results here on my blog. It was quite exciting to see these results because they showed that I have Native American ancestry, specifically Mayan ancestry. This verified something that my mom's stepmother had told her a long time ago. She said my mom had Mayan ancestry, and she was right. My maternal great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro, was born in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico. The Mayan people inhabited parts of Chiapas and other areas, so this could explain the Native American result.


Esther Matus Villatoro
Esther Matus Villatoro

I'm not at all surprised by the Scandinavian result. My father, Jan Albert Iverson, was Swedish and Norwegian. His maternal grandparents, Carl Albert Gillberg and Hilda Maria Carlsson, emigrated from Sweden to the United States in the early 1900's and his paternal great-grandfather, Iver Iverson, emigrated from Norway to the United States shortly before the U.S. Civil War.


Jan Albert Iverson
Jan Albert Iverson
Carl Albert Gillberg and Hilda Maria (Carlsson) Gillberg
Carl Albert Gillberg and
Hilda Maria (Carlsson) Gillber
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The Family Finder DNA test I took last year didn't include Scandinavia in my results. But, it did include North Africa. My maternal grandmother, Sarah Vasques Madeira, was Portuguese. Some of her ancestors came from the Azores and the Island of Madeira. I'm wondering if this accounts for the North Africa ethnicity result. The Island of Madeira is quite close to Morocco, which is in North Africa.


Sarah Vasques Madeira
Sarah Vasques Madeira 

The Great Britain and Iberian Peninsula results also don't surprise me. My Webster and Waterman ancestors are originally from England. And the Iberian Peninsula includes Spain and Portugal. As I already mentioned, my maternal grandmother, Sarah Vasques Madeira, was Portuguese. So, this could account for the Iberian Peninsula result.

Surprises

The ethnicity results that surprised me were the Ireland and Europe West results. They did not show up in my Family Finder DNA test results.  And I don't have know of anyone in my family tree from Ireland or the countries represented in the Europe West region.

Matches

The Member Matches feature of the AncestryDNA test is really awesome. I have lots of matches. At the top of the list is my 1st cousin one time removed. She and I had already been in touch with each other. There are some great features included in the Member Matches including lists of shared surnames, a map showing birth locations that appear in both your family tree and your potential cousin's family tree, and even a shared ancestor hint feature.

Conclusion

I'm really glad that I took the AncestryDNA test in addition to the FamilyTreeDNA tests I've taken. I also took the mtDNAPlus test with Family Tree DNA. But, I haven't shared those results on my blog yet.

I love the Member Matches feature on AncestryDNA. I have a long list of matches to look through. And hopefully, I will be able to make new cousin connections soon.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Monday, April 21, 2014

52 Ancestors: #16 ~ Beautiful Eunice

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

Eunice Amelia Paulk

This is Eunice Amelia Paulk. She's my 1st cousin 4 times removed. Our common ancestor was her grandfather and my 4th great-grandfather, Reverend Cyrus Paulk, Sr.

My 3rd cousin, Norma, emailed this amazing photo to me. Wasn't Eunice a beauty?

Eunice, who also went by Una, was born in 1842 in Ohio. She was the third of seven children born to Ferdinando Paulk and Amelia Lindsay Humphrey.

In 1860, she was 19 years old and was living with her parents and siblings in Washington, Lee, Iowa. And her occupation was listed as a "teacher in common school."1

She was still living in Washington, Iowa in 1870.2 However, she wasn't living with her parents then. She was 28 years old and was living with William and Laura Davis. I don't know of any family connection with the Davis family, so Eunice may have just been boarding with them. She was still teaching school at the time.

Eunice moved to California sometime after the 1870 census was taken. Each of her six siblings also moved to California.

On 2 March 1876, Eunice married Franklin Lafayette Johnson in San Joaquin, California. They had one child, a daughter, named Mary Grace Johnson.3

By the time the 1900 U.S. census was taken, Eunice was a widow. A nephew, John Ferdinando Paulk, Jr., and a niece, Mary Amelia Paulk, both children of Eunice's brother, John Ferdinando Paulk, Sr. were living with Eunice and her daughter Mary Grace in 1900.4


By 1910, Eunice had moved to Pasadena.5 Two of her nieces, Amelia (Amy) E. O'Neil and Mary A. Paulk, were living with her.

Eunice passed away on 20 February 1913 in San Joaquin, California.6

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved


1 Year: 1860; Census Place: Washington, Lee, Iowa; Roll: M653_330; Page: 652; Image: 660; Family History Library Film: 803330. Line 23.
2 ] Year: 1870; Census Place: Washington, Lee, Iowa; Roll: M593_404; Page: 450B; Image: 527; Family History Library Film: 545903. Line 38.
3 Ancestry.com. California, Select Marriages, 1850-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014. Original data: California, Marriages, 1850-1945. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
4 ] Year: 1900; Census Place: Dent, San Joaquin, California; Roll: 108; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0100; FHL microfilm: 1240108. Line 58.
5 Year: 1910; Census Place: Pasadena Ward 6, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_86; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0311; FHL microfilm: 1374099. Line 44.
46 Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.Original data: California Department of Health and Welfare. California Vital Records-Vitalsearch (www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com). The Vitalsearch Company Worldwide, Inc., Pleasanton, California.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Because of Him ~ Happy Easter!

On this beautiful Easter morning, I'd like to wish each of you a very Happy Easter. And I'd like to share this special video with you today. It's called "Because of Him." I hope you'll take a few moments to watch it.


May each of us remember the many blessings we've been given because of Him.

Happy Easter!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Friday, April 18, 2014

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for April 18, 2014


My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. Of Genealogy and UFOs. (It’s Not What You Think) by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small
  2. Central City's Masonic Cemetery AND Twitter Coaching Available in 2014 by Jen Baldwin, author of Ancestral Breezes
  3. Google Drive to the Rescue! by Deb Ruth, author of Adventures in Genealogy
  4. I’m Lonely for My Missing Ancestors by mulberrygrrl, author of We're All Relative
  5. Levy Brothers by Debi Austen, author of Who Knew?
  6. Access the Civil War Collection by Trevor for Fold3 Blog
  7. A celebration of siblings by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  8. Genea-Musings is 8 Years Old Today by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
  9. Tuesday's Tip ~Tax Day Came For Our Ancestors Too! by Cheri Hudson Passey, author of Carolina Girl Genealogy
  10. Win Ancestry.com Subscription, DNA Test, and Research Package by Ancestry Insider, author of The Ancestry Insider
  11. DNA Hints - Providing More Clarity To My DNA Results by Anna Swayne for Ancestry.com Blog
  12. Post Conference Review -- RootsTech 2014 AND Beginning your search for your Swedish Roots with Rötter by James Tanner, author of Genealogy's Star
  13. Using Footnotes with Blogger by Tony Proctor, author of Parallax View
  14. Did You Turn the Page? by Kimberly Powell for About.com Genealogy
  15. Researching Your Ancestors in Latin America—Part 1 by Deborah S. Gurtler for FamilySearch Blog
  16. Tuesday's Tip/Digital Newspaper Search by Ellie, author of Ellie's Ancestors
  17. Keeping my genealogy database in tip top shape by Michele Simmons Lewis, author of Ancestoring
  18. Tips and Tricks: Writing a Good Reason Statement for Changing a Record by Sally Benedict for FamilySearch Blog
  19. Connected Cousins is Launching! by Gwen Eads, author of Eads and Allied Families

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Monday, April 14, 2014

52 Ancestors: #15 ~ Rollin Waterman Webster – Such a Dapper Young Fellow

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

Rollin Waterman Webster - Age 25 circa 1895

I love this picture of my maternal great-granduncle, Rollin Waterman Webster. Wasn't he dapper? I love his high starched collar and bowler hat. This photo was taken when Rollin was 25 years old, which would have been around 1895.

Rollin was a brother of my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster. My regular readers may already know that I affectionately refer to my great-grandfather, Watson, as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog.

Rollin and Frederick had another brother named Frank. This photo shows the three of them together. It was taken around 1884. On the back of the photo, my grandfather, Debs Webster, son of Watson (Frederick) and nephew of Rollin and Frank, wrote the following:


Webster Brothers

From Left To Right

Rollin  13 years                   Frank  18 years                   Emory (Fred)  20 years

Webster Brothers - Rollin, Frank, Watson (Fred) Webster circa 1884

Rollin was born on 21 October 1870 in Blairstown, Benton, Iowa to his parents Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman. He was the youngest of six children born to Ebenezer and Cynthia.

Unlike his brothers, Frederick and Frank, Rollin did not become a dentist. Instead, he spent years working for the railroad. But, that is a topic for a future post.

Rollin married twice. His first wife was named Cecelia A. Jennings. She was from Ireland. They were married on 1 June 1901 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. They were the parents of four children. Sadly, she passed away on 7 May 1915.

Cecelia had a younger sister named Ellen who also emigrated from Ireland. And this is who Rollin married after Cecelia passed away. Rollin and Ellen were married on 26 June 1916 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. They didn't have any children.

Rollin spent most of his life living in Chicago. He passed away on 9 October 1962 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. He was just shy of his 92nd birthday. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

I will share more about Rollin's life in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Friday, April 11, 2014

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for April 11, 2014


My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
  1. “Paying It Forward”: The Importance of Sharing the Slave History from your Family Trees Part Two AND Airing Your Dirty Laundry!! by Valerie, author of Genealogy With Valerie
  2. All Aboard! by Debi Austen, author of Who Knew?
  3. 2014: Most bang for DNA bucks AND Copyright, terms of use and Flipboard by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
  4. How to Save and Print Images from Chronicling America by Miriam J. Robbins, author of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
  5. Data Mining and Screen Scraping – Right or Wrong? by Roberta Estes, author of DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
  6. Truth Revealed About African-American Undertaker Buried in Fairview Cemetery AND A Surprise Waiting Deep in Fairview Cemetery by Robin Foster, author of Saving Stories
  7. Heritage Scrapbooking: Sneak Peak by Devon Lee, author of A Patient Genealogist
  8. A Pressing Engagement by Sheri Fenley, author of THE EDUCATED GENEALOGIST
  9. 4 Bonus Postcards – Sepia Saturday by Kristin Cleage Williams, author of Finding Eliza
  10. Typhoid Falls on the Eggleston Home by Cynthia Mulcahy, author of We're All Relative
  11. 3 Writing Lessons from a New Genealogy Blogger by Lynn Palermo, author of The Armchair Genealogist
  12. More Ways to Use Evernote to Create Virtual Genealogy Binders by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, author of The Olive Tree Genealogy
  13. More Ohio Newspapers Added to Chronicling America! by Ohio Historical Society Collections Blog
  14. I’ve Moved…to www.LisaLisson.com by Lisa Lisson, author of Are You My Cousin?
  15. Genealogical Information Gleaned From Photographs by Lisa Lisson, author of Lisa Lisson
  16. Really? A Month? Yeah A Month! BUT....

"National Siblings Day" Blog Posts
  1. National Siblings Day by Beth Gatlin, author of So Many Ancestors!
  2. Really? There’s a National Siblings Day?! by Patricia Desmond Biallas, author of GeneaJourneys
  3. National Siblings Day by Sally Knudsen, author of Sally Searches
  4. National Siblings Day by Emily Kowalski Schroeder, author of The Spiraling Chains: Kowalski – Bellan Family Trees
  5. "National Siblings Day" -? Okay - here's mine! by Celia Lewis, author of TWIGS and TREES

The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, author of No Story Too Small -

New Blog Discoveries

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog
Grandpa's Postcards
Jana's Photo Journal

Thanks for reading!

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Happy National Siblings Day!

Today is National Siblings Day. I saw something about it on Facebook and went to GeneaBloggers and sure enough, Thomas MacEntee, author of the GeneaBloggers website noted that today is in fact, National Siblings Day. He kindly included a link about it on his website. If you'd like to learn more about National Siblings Day, click HERE.

Patricia Biallas, author of the GeneaJourneys blog, wrote a blog post about National Siblings Day in which she shared several precious photos of herself and her siblings.

That inspired me to do the same thing here on my blog. So, I'll share a couple of photos of my brothers and myself.

This first photo was taken in Redwood City, California. I was probably about four or five years old.



I'm not sure where this photo was taken, but I think we were at a party.



I'm so grateful for my two brothers and I love them both very much.

Happy Siblings Day everyone!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Monday, April 7, 2014

52 Ancestors: #14 ~ Lura Elizabeth Webster - Daughter of a Civil War Veteran

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small. 

Lura Elizabeth Webster
Lura Elizabeth Webster

This is Lura Elizabeth Webster.  She was one of the sisters of my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. Lura is also a direct ancestor of my sweet 3rd cousin Norma. Norma inherited the photo albums of our common direct ancestors, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman. I've shared pictures of these photo albums here on my blog. If you'd like to see them, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Lura Elizabeth Webster was born on October 4, 1862 in Winnebago, Winnebago, Illinois.  She was the second of six children born to Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster, who was a Civil War veteran, and his wife Cynthia Maria Waterman.

Lura married Paul Anderson Hammett on September 15, 1880 in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas.1 This is a picture of Paul.


Paul Anderson Hammett
Paul Anderson Hammett

Lura and Paul were the parents of seven children:

  1. Mabel Hammett (1881-1881)
  2. Claude Elmer Hammett (1882-1885)
  3. Edgar Allen Hammett (1884-1982)
  4. Olive Dell Hammett (1889-1962)
  5. Merlin Joy Hammett (1891-1965)
  6. Hazel Marie Hammett (1893-1941)
  7. Sidney Raymond Hammett (1900-1974)

Sadly, the two oldest children didn't survive to adulthood. Lura and Paul and their surviving children lived in Kansas for many years. They were living in Elm Creek, Marshall, Kansas in 1900.2

By 1910, Lura and Paul and their children had moved from Kansas to California. They are listed in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census living in Long Beach, California.3

Lura's husband, Paul, passed away on March 14, 1918 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California at 62 years of age. Lura and Paul had been married for 37 years at the time of his death. It appears that Lura, along with some of her children, then moved back to Kansas after Paul's death.

On February 1, 1919, Lura married James Perry Burket in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas.4
  James happened to be the widower of Lura's sister, Lillian Dell Webster, who had passed away on August 28, 1914.  James Perry Burket passed away on March 28, 1919, only one month after he and Lura were married.

Lura was listed in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census living in Manhattan, Riley, Kansas.5 She moved back to California sometime after the 1920 census was taken.

On July 8, 1922 Lura married a widower named Jonathan James Serry in Los Angeles, California.6  I found them in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census living in Alhambra, Los Angeles, California.7 After twelve years of marriage, Jonathan passed away. He died on July 11, 1934 in Los Angeles, California.

Lura married again after the death of her husband, Jonathan Serry. Lura's fourth husband was William D. Colborn. Unfortunately, I don't have William and Lura's marriage date. By the time the 1940 U.S. Federal Census was taken, Lura was listed as a widow.8


Lura passed away on January 12, 1946 at 83 years of age in Alhambra, Los Angeles, California. She is buried next to her first husband, Paul Hammett, at the Marysville Cemetery in Marysville, Marshall County, Kansas.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved




1 Marriage Record for Lura and Paul
"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12118-39871-26?cc=1325221 : accessed 07 Apr 2014), Kansas > Marshall > ED 60 Elm Creek & Walnut Townships > image 12 of 27; citing NARA microfilm publication T623. Line 51.
"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11711-149601-19?cc=1727033 : accessed 06 Apr 2014), California > Los Angeles > Long Beach Ward 1 > 0037 > image 39 of 58; citing NARA microfilm publication T624. Line 5.
Marriage Record for Lura and James
"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12869-8389-52?cc=1488411 : accessed 06 Apr 2014), Kansas > Riley > Manhattan Ward 3 > 0127 > image 5 of 52; citing NARA microfilm publication T625. Line 43.
Marriage Record for Lura and Jonathan. "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8NM-XPW : accessed 08 May 2013), John J Serry and Lura E Burket, 1922.
"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-159393-347881-80?cc=1810731 : accessed 06 Apr 2014), California > Los Angeles > Alhambra > 1399 > image 3 of 23; citing NARA microfilm publication T626. Line 41.
8 "United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-27794-6530-92?cc=2000219 : accessed 06 Apr 2014), California > Los Angeles > San Gabriel Judicial Township, Alhambra, Tract 476 > 19-664 San Gabriel Judicial Township, Alhambra City (Tract 476 - part) bounded by (N) Alhambra Rd; (E) Hidalgo Av; (S) Main; (W) Garfield Av > image 12 of 36; citing NARA digital publication of T627. Line 71.

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