A Wonderful Family History Christmas Gift

NOTE: This is a repost from January 2014.

On December 25, 2013, I received a very special Christmas gift. This wonderful gift was given to me by my daughter and son-in-law.



Inside this frame is a map showing the route one of my Webster ancestors took when he left the United States sometime in the early 1900s, and the route that branch of the Webster family took as they returned to the United States in 1952.

My regular readers may already know which of my Webster ancestors left the United States in the early 1900s and which Webster ancestors returned in 1952. But, for those who may be unfamiliar with this story, I'll give you a quick recap.

My great-grandfather, Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster, who I affectionately refer to as "The Traveling Dentist" in my blog, was born in Coolville, Athens, Ohio on February 14, 1864. He became a dentist and was awarded a Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma on April 2, 1896. I have that amazing document and shared it in my blog. If you'd like to see it, click HERE. At some point during his life, Watson changed his name to Frederick. So, when you see the diploma, that's why the name "Fred E. Webster" is on his diploma.

Apparently, my great-grandfather, Frederick, liked to travel. And during those travels, he practiced dentistry. He even practiced dentistry from his Dental Boat at Natchez, Mississippi, and at Lake Charles, Louisiana. Later, Frederick traveled to Mexico and married a beautiful girl named Esther Matus Villatoro. She was my great-grandmother. They moved to Brazil, and that's where four of their five children were born. Their first child was born in Mexico. Esther and Frederick passed away in Brazil.



My grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, was one of their children who was born in Brazil. He later married a beautiful Portuguese woman named Sarah Vasques Madeira. They were the parents of my mom, who was also born in Brazil. Tragically, Sarah passed away suddenly when my mom was only four years old. My grandfather, Debs, remarried a lovely woman named Willis Quillin. They had a son together and then adopted another boy.

In 1950 and 1951, the family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, in 1952, the family emigrated from Brazil to the United States. So, there we have it! This branch of the Webster family came back to the United States.

I've written several blog posts about my "Traveling Dentist" great-grandfather, Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster. There's a landing page called "The Traveling Dentist" at the top of my blog dedicated to him. If you'd like to check it out, click HERE.

I've also written about the immigration story of my grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, and his family. They arrived in the United States in the summer of 1952. The ship docked in New York, the family bought a car and some camping equipment, and they set off on a cross-country adventure. The family bought postcards and took pictures along their way toward California, which was their final destination. I also have a landing page dedicated to their story at the top of my blog. It's called "The Debs Webster Family Immigration Story." If you'd like to check it out, click HERE.



The photo below is a close-up of this map. My daughter hand-stitched the route onto the map. Isn't it awesome?! I love it!



This hand-stitched map is such a thoughtful gift. And it is truly a family history treasure. Thank you my dear, sweet daughter and son-in-law for this amazing Christmas gift.

UPDATE: This wonderful gift hangs on a wall in our home and has proven to be a great family history discussion starter. I love it!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

A Special Family History Christmas Gift

On December 25, 2013, I received a very special Christmas gift. This wonderful gift was given to me by my daughter and son-in-law.



Inside this frame is a map showing the possible route one of my Webster ancestors took when he left the United States sometime in the early 1900s, and the route that branch of the Webster family took as they returned to the United States in 1952.

My regular readers may already know which of my Webster ancestors left the United States in the early 1900s and which Webster ancestors returned in 1952. But, for those who may be unfamiliar with this story, I'll give you a quick recap.

My great-grandfather, Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster, who I affectionately refer to as "The Traveling Dentist" in my blog, was born in Coolville, Athens, Ohio on February 14, 1864. He became a dentist and was awarded a Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma on April 2, 1896. I have that amazing document and shared it in my blog. If you'd like to see it, click HERE. At some point during his life, Watson changed his name to Frederick. So, when you see the diploma, that's why the name "Fred E. Webster" is on his diploma.

Apparently, my great-grandfather, Frederick, liked to travel. And during those travels, he practiced dentistry. He even practiced dentistry from his Dental Boat at Natchez, Mississippi, and at Lake Charles, Louisiana. Later, Frederick traveled to Mexico and married a beautiful girl named Esther Matus Villatoro. She was my great-grandmother. They moved to Brazil, and that's where four of their five children were born. Their first child was born in Mexico. Esther and Frederick passed away in Brazil.



My grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, was one of their children who was born in Brazil. He later married a beautiful Portuguese woman named Sarah Vasques Madeira. They were the parents of my mom, who was also born in Brazil. Tragically, Sarah passed away suddenly when my mom was only four years old. My grandfather, Debs, remarried a lovely woman named Willis Quillin. They had a son together and then adopted another boy.

In 1950 and 1951, the family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, in 1952, the family emigrated from Brazil to the United States. So, there we have it! This branch of the Webster family came back to the United States.

I've written several blog posts about my "Traveling Dentist" great-grandfather, Watson Emory (Frederick) Webster. There's a landing page called "The Traveling Dentist" at the top of my blog dedicated to him. If you'd like to check it out, click HERE.

I've also written about the immigration story of my grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, and his family. They arrived in the United States in the summer of 1952. The ship docked in New York, the family bought a car and some camping equipment, and they set off on a cross-country adventure. The family bought postcards and took pictures along their way toward California, which was their final destination. I also have a landing page dedicated to their story at the top of my blog. It's called "The Debs Webster Family Immigration Story." If you'd like to check it out, click HERE.



The photo below is a close-up of this map. My daughter hand-stitched the route onto the map. Isn't it awesome?! I love it!



This hand-stitched map is such a thoughtful gift. And it is truly a family history treasure. Thank you my dear, sweet daughter and son-in-law for this amazing Christmas gift.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2012 - 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Those Places Thursday ~ A New House In A New Country

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

About seven to nine months after my Grandpa Debs and his family arrived in Glendora, California, they bought a new house.  It turned out that their Sponsor, Mr. West, was a home developer.  Debs and his wife Willis bought a home in one of Mr. West's housing tracts in Pomona, California.
 


GoogleMaps

Debs and his family moved into their new house in early 1953.  The house was brand new.  Grandpa kept this photo postcard of their new house.






I really don't know the particulars regarding this photo postcard that was sent to my grandparents.  And I don't know who Ernie Kearns and Bill Tillman were.  An interesting thing about this photo is that it looks like it was taken after my grandparents moved in.  Upon closer examination of this photo I noticed two little boys sitting on the front lawn.  They're my two uncles.




This house wasn't very large.  It was a 1,008 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 1 bath home.   I found the home listed on Trulia.com.



Within the walls of this modest 1,008 sq. ft. home lived six people - Grandpa and Grandma Webster, Helena Quillin (Grandma Willis' mother), my mom, who was fourteen at the time, and my two uncles.  Remember, there were only 2 bedrooms.  I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma Webster got the master bedroom.  So, who got the second bedroom?  My mom thinks she may have shared it with her Grandma Helena.  I guess my two uncles must have slept in the living room.

My Grandpa Debs was a very generous and kind man.  He helped his relatives a great deal.  A year or two after my Grandpa and his family immigrated to the United States, other family members emigrated from Brazil as well.  These were my Grandma Willis' relatives.  Where did they stay?  At this very house.  My mom remembers that at one time there were eleven people living in this modest little home.  I really can't imagine eleven people living in this 2 bedroom, 1 bath home!  I'm not sure how long they stayed at my grandparents' home.  Probably long enough to get themselves established in the United States.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Sepia Saturday 159 ~ A Trip to Sunset Beach

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Today's Sepia Saturday photo prompt (at end of post) provides the perfect opportunity to share two photos from my Grandpa Debs Webster's 1952 photo album.  I would describe this album as a photographic travelogue about his family's emigration from Brazil to the United States.

The previous installment of the Debs Webster Family Immigration Story showed that Debs and his family had safely arrived in Glendora, California.  This is the city where their Sponsor, Mr. West and his family lived.  Mr. West kindly allowed Debs and his family to live in a house on his property.

It turns out that Mr. West also owned a beach house.  It was located on Sunset Beach, which is in Huntington Beach, California.  The two photos below show this beach house during an outing which included both the West and Webster families.

 




I asked my mom about these photos.  She couldn't remember exactly when this outing took place.  But, since the next photo in my Grandpa Debs' 1952 photo album shows the family at Thanksgiving, I think it's safe to assume they went sometime before school started for the kids.

The Webster family arrived in Glendora in August of 1952 and my mom started school that fall, so perhaps they had a little beach getaway sometime in August or on Labor Day weekend.  No matter when the trip occurred, it must have been so fun!

For those unfamiliar with Southern California, this map shows where both Glendora and Huntington Beach are located.

Googlemaps.com

Below is a photo from Wikimedia Commons showing Sunset Beach in 2009.

Sunset Beach 2009
Wikimedia Commons
Photographer - Regular Daddy

If you'd like to take a virtual trip to the beach, be sure to check out what the other Sepia Saturday participants have written by clicking HERE.


 


Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2013

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: California ~ A New Home

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

It's been a few weeks since the last installment of my Grandpa Debs Webster's Immigration Story.  In that post, I shared my uncle's memories of traveling across the country in a crowded unairconditioned car in the middle of summer.  I also shared some photos of an interesting early air conditioning system that some people were lucky enough to have on their cars.

During this long trip, Grandpa Debs Webster and his family had many exciting experiences and visited some very interesting places as they immigrated to the United States from Brazil.  It was really quite an adventure!

But it was probably a bit sad as well.  They had to say goodbye to the only home most members of the family had ever known.   That must have been very difficult.  But, they said their goodbyes and looked forward to whatever adventures awaited them.

As it turned out, these adventures included:  a port of call in Trinidad on their voyage to America, arriving in New York City in July, and staying in an unairconditioned upper floor hotel room, buying a car and camping equipment in New York in preparation for their cross-country trip to California, and foraging for watercress to add to their picnic meals. 

After about a month's travel time by ship and automobile, Grandpa Webster and his family finally arrived at their destination in Glendora, California.

When my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family emigrated from Brazil to the United States, they had a Sponsor named Mr. West.  He and his family lived in Glendora, California along Historic Route 66.  Mr. West graciously let my Grandparents and their family live in a house on his property.

The photos below are some of the last ones in my Grandpa Debs' 1952 Photo Album.  I'm so glad he put this album together which photographically documented their immigration trip.

See the house behind the shed?  (The shed is the building in the foreground next to the huge tree.)  That house is where my Grandparents' family lived until they bought a house of their own.

I think this photo is especially fun because it shows my uncles learning the All-American sport of Baseball.

  
See the car parked next to the shed in the photo below?  That's the 1951 Chevrolet Sedan Grandpa Debs bought in New York before their cross-country trek to California.

  
After arriving in California, it was time for the Webster family to see the sites in their new home state.  Here they are visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  My two uncles are the little boys in the photo and my Grandma Willis is to the left of them.

 

I hope you've enjoyed reading the Debs Webster Family Immigration Story as much as I've enjoyed sharing it.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2013

Ancestor Landing Page ~ Debs Webster Family Immigration Story

I really enjoyed reading Caroline Pointer's blog post Blogging Genealogy: How to get visitors to read more.   She had some great suggestions for the genealogy blogger.  One of those suggestions was to create an Ancestor Landing Page for an ancestor or family that we write about often.

I've been writing a series of posts about the immigration story of my Grandpa Webster and his family, who emigrated from Brazil to the United States in 1952. Below is a photo of their family taken on June 10, 1952 before they left Brazil.
 


So, I decided to create an Ancestor Landing Page for their story - Debs Webster Family Immigration Story.

And, I'll probably create an Ancestor Landing Page for my Great-Grandpa Frederick Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist" in the future.  I'm fascinated by his life and many travels.

Thanks Caroline Pointer for your awesome suggestion about Ancestor Landing Pages!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2013

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: California or Bust!

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

On July 7, 1952, my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family boarded the S. S. Brazil in Santos, Brazil on their way to a new life in the United States.  When they arrived in New York, they bought a car and traveled across the United States to their final destination in Southern California.

Here is the car Grandpa Debs purchased in New York.  It’s a 1951 Chevrolet Sedan.  My mom just recently showed me this awesome photo of the car with my uncles standing in front of it.  The car is parked in front of their new house in Pomona, California.  The lumber on top of the Chevy indicates to me that my Grandpa was working on some kind of project.  He was a very handy guy and always liked to have projects to work on.

1951 Chevrolet Sedan
Click to Enlarge

My uncle (the boy on the left in the photo above) wrote an email to me about his memories of their immigration to the United States and subsequent road trip from New York to California. As you read what he said, please keep in mind that they were traveling during the summer.  Here's a little snippet from his email:

"The trip was long—made longer by the heat!  We rolled down the windows and tried to be cooled by the wind as it passed through the car.  Unfortunately, the air was usually hot and we got little relief from it.  At the time, some people had a device that hooked on to the top of a window on their cars which they filled with a quantity of ice or dry ice (I really don’t know which).  This served as a scooping device that would chill the hot air from outside and circulate it inside.  This served as air conditioning in those days.  We had no such device!  Evenings were more comfortable, except that I found the concept of sleeping outdoors to be uncivilized.  After all, people were meant to sleep inside, or so I thought!  As I grew up I learned to enjoy camping out until being in Korea in the Infantry cured me of it forever!  Typically Pop would find a wide shoulder on the side of the highway where we could pull over and set up for the night."

I was intrigued by my uncle’s description of the cooling devices attached to car windows.  I had never heard of such a thing.  I did a little research on the internet to see if I could find anything about these cooling devices.  And, to my surprise, I found not only information about them, but photos too.

Wikipedia referred to this device as a car cooler.  The website stated , “A car cooler is an automobile window-mounted evaporative air cooler, sometimes referred to as a swamp cooler.  It is an early type of automobile "air conditioner."

If you’d like to read more about this fascinating early air conditioner for cars, just click HERE.

Below are photos of these car coolers from Wikimedia Commons.

Car Cooler on 1950 Chevy
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Doug Coldwell
Click to Enlarge

Thermador Car Cooler
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Doug Coldwell
Click to Enlarge



Car Cooler Front View
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Doug Coldwell
Click to Enlarge

As “cool” as these early air conditioners look, I’m so happy for the modern air conditioning systems we enjoy today!

The next installment of my Grandpa Debs and his family’s immigration story will find them arriving at their sponsor’s home in Glendora, California.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Thanksgiving in San Diego ~ 1952

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.


This is the last photo in my Grandpa Debs Webster’s 1952 photo album, which holds the photos documenting their immigration from Brazil to the United States.  I suppose you could call this photo album a "photo travelogue" of their immigration story.  Ya, it’s pretty cool that Grandpa put this together!

Thankfully, my Grandpa Debs wrote something around the edges of this photo to tell us a bit about it.  At the top he wrote, "Thanksgiving 1952."  And at the bottom he wrote, "San Diego  Casa do Jay" which means Jay’s House in Portuguese.  Jay was related to Grandma Willis by marriage.  He was an in-law to one of Willis' sisters.

Grandpa Debs and his family arrived in the United States on July 7, 1952.  So, this would be their very first Thanksgiving in America.

I can't say for sure if this was my Grandpa Debs' first Thanksgiving in America though, as he was the son of my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandpa Frederick Webster.  For all I know, Frederick and his family happened to be in America during Thanksgiving at some time.

Thanksgiving in San Diego, California - 1952

Click to Enlarge

I don't know the names of everyone in this photo, so I’ll just tell you who the people are that I do know.  Grandpa Debs is standing.  In front of him is my uncle.  Then, left to right is Grandma Willis, Helena Rohwedder Quillen, my uncle, and my mom shielding her eyes from the sun.

I’m sure my Grandpa and his family had a lot to be thankful for on that Thanksgiving Day in 1952, as our family does 60 years later in 2012.

Little Pilgrim

ClipartPal.com

And now I’d like to wish all of you, my wonderful readers, a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with fun, family, and delicious food!

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Arizona and Nevada

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

My Grandpa Debs and his family are on the road again.  My uncle remembers that they visited Grand Canyon National Park on their way to California.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any photographs or postcards from their visit there.    But, there are postcards from Las Vegas, Nevada in Grandpa Debs' Scrapbook.  These postcards were between the postcards from Utah and California.  Whether this means Debs and his family actually stopped in Las Vegas on their way to California, I don’t know.

But, it would be a logical place to stop for food and fuel along their way to California, so I’m going to assume they did stop there.  With that in mind though, I’m not sure if they visited The Grand Canyon before they visited Las Vegas, or if it was the other way around.

If they visited the Grand Canyon first, here's a map showing their possible route from Manti, Utah to the Grand Canyon. 

Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

The following photos are from the National Parks Service.  They are stunning views of the Grand Canyon.



Grand Canyon Mather Point
NPS - Public Domain Photo
Click to Enlarge



Grand Canyon Mather Point
NPS - Public Domain Photo
Click to Enlarge



Grand Canyon Mather Point
NPS - Public Domain Photo
Click to Enlarge

If Debs and his family visited the Grand Canyon before stopping in Las Vegas, here is a possible route from there to Las Vegas, Nevada.




Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

And here are those Las Vegas vintage postcards from Grandpa Debs’ Scrapbook.












Debs Webster and his family are getting SO close to their new home now, although I’m sure they didn’t look like that poor fellow in the last postcard.  The next stop on their road trip is California, the place they would call home for the rest of their lives.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Utah ~ Manti

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

My Grandpa Debs Webster and his family had a lovely respite from their road trip as they spent time with extended family, enjoying balloons, teeter-totters, and watermelon.

But, it’s time to pile back into their crowded, non-air conditioned car and hit the road again.  Where to now?  It's time to head south toward Manti, Utah.

For those who don’t know just where Manti, Utah is, here’s a map showing it’s location.

Manti, Utah
Googlemaps.com
Click to Enlarge

While Grandpa Debs and his family were in Manti, they visited the LDS Manti Utah Temple.

Manti Utah Temple
Photo from lds.org
Click to Enlarge

And I’m so glad Grandpa took photos of their visit there.

And now, here are the photos of the Manti Utah Temple from Grandpa Debs Webster’s 1952 Photo Album ~

The beautiful Manti Utah Temple.



Manti Utah Temple - 1952
Click to Enlarge

Looks like my Grandpa took a photo of a lovely flower bed.  Too bad it’s not in color.  It must have been so pretty!

Manti Utah Temple Grounds - 1952
Click to Enlarge

A view from the temple grounds.

View from Manti Utah Temple - 1952
Click to Enlarge

A group photo of the Webster family.

Webster Family at the
Manti Utah Temple - 1952
Click to Enlarge

Close-up of the Webster Family from the previous photo. Left to right: my two uncles and my mom, Helena Quillin, Willis Quillin Webster.

Webster Family at the
Manti Utah Temple 1952
Click to Enlarge

As I look at this photo of these immigrants from Brazil, I can't help but wonder what they thought as they traveled across the U.S.A.  It's important to remember that they didn't speak English. The only person in this family who could speak English was my Grandpa Debs, the person taking this photo.  This whole trip must have been quite an adventure for them, including this stop at the Manti Utah Temple.

Amazingly, almost exactly 50 years after my Grandpa Debs took his photos of the Manti Utah Temple, I stood on the same ground he did and also took photos of this magnificent temple.  Our family was on vacation in Utah at the time and on July 25, 2002 we stopped there for a visit.

Here’s a sampling of the photos I took.

I found this lovely Youtube video of the Manti Utah Temple, so if you’d like to see more photos of this beautiful temple, just press play -

I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip to the Manti Utah Temple.  The next stop for Debs Webster and his family is The Grand Canyon.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Those Places Thursday–Webster Family Road Trip: Utah ~ Balloons, Teeter-Totters, and Watermelon

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

It looks like my Grandpa Debs and his family had a great time visiting with some extended family in Utah.

A photo through the front window ~

I wonder why my Grandpa decided to take this photo through the front window of the house.  Was it a candid shot?  Was he outside, saw the group at the window, and just decided to take their picture?  If so, what was everyone looking at outside?  Or was it a planned shot?  Did he ask them all to come to the window so he could go outside and take their photo through it?

Pictured are my Grandma Willis Webster, my mom, my two uncles and two girls from the family they were visiting.   Looks like the kids were having a fun time with balloons!



Willis Webster, My Mom, and My Uncles
with Extended Family in Utah - 1952
Click to Enlarge

Teeter-totter time ~

Is this a park or a backyard?  Whatever it is, it looks like fun!  My uncle is the little boy on the end of the teeter-totter.



My Uncle (far left) with
Extended Family in Utah - 1952
Click to Enlarge

My mom is the girl on the teeter-totter in the photo below.  Is it just me, or are those some rustic-looking teeter-totters?  And there’s Great-Grandma Helena serenely sitting in the background.




Webster Family with Extended
Family in Utah - 1952
Click to Enlarge

Yummy watermelon ~

The two little boys are my uncles and the girl on the far right is my mom.  Great watermelon-eating technique guys!  Way to keep from getting messy! 




Webster Kids (far right) with
Extended Family in Utah - 1952
Click to Enlarge

Thanks for joining my Grandpa Debs Webster and his family for some summertime fun in Utah!  Next stop is Manti, Utah.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012