Lesson Learned. Always Check for Additional Pages

I've been working on a timeline in Excel about my maternal great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog.

While doing some research for this timeline, I took another look at a document I shared in a previous post back in 2013. It's a U.S. Consular Registration Application from 1917 for Frederick.¹ I was looking at it on Ancestry and clicked on the little arrow on the right side and there was a second page to this application! Not only that, it turns out that there was a third and fourth page too! I had only downloaded the first page to my computer years ago. Now these additional pages have been downloaded to my computer as well.

This second page contains some interesting information.

Information gleaned from this second page:

Name of witness: J. C. Terry

Address of witness: Curitiba, Parana

Date: 29 August 1917

Identifying documents: Previous registration

Name of person to notify in the event of death or disability: Rollin W. Webster

Address of person to notify in the event of death or disability: Chicago, Illinois

Additional data: I own land at Ironton, Missouri

Addresses supplied by Frederick for investigation:

Dr. F. S. Webster

Clinton, Missouri

Rollin W. Webster

525 E. 37th Street

Chicago, Illinois

Rollin W. Webster and Dr. F. S. Webster were Frederick's brothers. F. S. stands for Frank Summers. He was also a dentist. A very interesting bit of information on this page is that Frederick stated he owned land in Ironton, Missouri. Wow! I wonder if I can find some land records about his property.

Here's the third page of Frederick's application.

This is an affidavit in which the applicant had to explain the reason for their "protracted foreign residence" etc.

Information gleaned from this third page:

Date Frederick ceased to reside in the United States: On or about 20 October 1911

Places Frederick lived temporarily since that date: Various places in Brazil

When Frederick arrived in Curitiba, Brazil: About 1915

Reasons for such residence: Frederick said, "I have built up a profitable practice in dentistry which I cannot abandon to return to the United States to start in anew at this time and I expect to return at such time as I retire from practice."

Since establishing a residence abroad Frederick made how many visits to the USA: None

Frederick stated he never was naturalized, took an oath of allegiance, or voted as a foreign citizen or subject.

Frederick maintained the following ties to family, business, and property with the United States: "8 tracts of land near Ironton, Missouri on which I pay taxes. Also have two brothers and a sister living in the United States."

Did Frederick pay the American Income Tax?: Frederick said he did not and said, "My income is below legal minimum."

When did Frederick intend to return to the United States permanently?: Frederick answered within four years or when "I retire from practice."

Frederick last registered at the American Consular Office: At Santos, Brazil in about 1915.

There's so much information on this page. It's great to know the reason Frederick stayed abroad. It looks like he was doing pretty well with his dental practice. On the second page of this application he mentioned he owned land at Ironton, Missouri. On this third page he gave more specific information about that land. He said he owned eight tracts of land near Ironton. He also said he paid taxes on that land. These bits of information could lead to further research in land records and tax records, right? 

Frederick also mentioned he had two brothers and a sister living in the United States. His two brothers were those mentioned on the second page. Frederick had three sisters, but only one living at the time of this application. The surviving sister was Lura Elizabeth Webster. The two sisters who had already passed away were Mary Alice Webster and Lillian Dell Webster.

Frederick said he intended to return to the United States permanently within four years or when he retired. I don't know that that ever happened. He moved and traveled so much. I'd have to do more research to find out if he established a permanent residence in the USA at some point after this application. Frederick ultimately passed away in Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil on 21 July 1946 and is buried in the Araca Cemetery in Sao Paulo.

Frederick stated that he had registered at the American Consular Office at Santos, Brazil around 1915, which is true. He also registered at the American Consular Office in Mexico City, Mexico in 1923.

The fourth page of Frederick's application is titled "Opinion of Officer Taking Affidavit" and contains a paragraph written by the officer. I won't include that here in this blog post.

The information within this U.S. Consular Registration Application is fascinating. I'm so glad I clicked those little arrows to see if there were additional pages in Frederick's application!

Now I need to go back to the other U.S. Consular Registration Applications for Frederick to see if I missed any additional pages in those.

Lesson learned. Always check for additional pages.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

---

1 “U.S., Consular Registration Applications, 1916-1925,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2020), Frederick Emory Webster.^↩

Dr. F. E. Webster, The Painless Dentist

Today I did a search for my maternal great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, on the Chronicling America website. My regular readers may remember that I refer to Watson as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. At some point in his life Watson changed his name to Frederick Emory Webster.

One of the search results on the Chronicling America website was this article on the front page of The Brinkley Argus newspaper.¹

The article reads:

Coming this Month.

Dr. F. E. Webster, the painless Dentist, now in Mexico will return to Brinkley during the month of October. Patrons and friends requested to wait his coming.

Announcement of exact date of coming, will be made later.

Dr. F. E. Webster

The Painless Dentist.

This article was dated October 12, 1906 and said that Frederick would be arriving that month. I wonder when he arrived. I'd like to see if there are any newspaper articles stating that he did arrive. I could then add this to my timeline for his life.

The article states that Frederick was in Mexico during this time period. I know he was in Mexico as early as 1904 according to a record that I have yet to share here on my blog.

Frederick called himself "The Painless Dentist" in this article. What did dentists typically use in the early 1900s for pain control during dental procedures?

I love finding information about my ancestors in newspapers. Researching in newspapers can provide such interesting glimpses into their lives. And newspapers can provide clues for future research. For instance, is there a border crossing document associated with Frederick's return to the United States in October of 1906? How many times did Frederick travel back and forth between Mexico and the United States to do dental work? I found one border crossing document from Mexico to the United States for Frederick that was dated 2 August 1926. It states his occupation as a dentist but doesn't say why he was traveling to the United States.

What interesting information have you found about your ancestors in newspapers?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

---

1 The Brinkley Argus. (Brinkley, Ark.), 12 Oct. 1906. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. ^↩

David Debs Webster ~ My Newly-Discovered Granduncle

Isn't this a darling baby? I believe this is my newly-discovered granduncle, David Debs Webster.

A sweet 3rd cousin of mine recently emailed a scanned copy of a photo postcard to me with this baby's picture on it along with some writing. I'm so thrilled that she found this while she was looking through some photos, and then sent it to me along with some other pictures. She's so thoughtful and kind!

Here's what the writing says on this postcard:

(Stamped): Argenta, Arkansas 

3-23-6 

Dear Sister: This is my youngest boy. His name is David Debs Webster. Born Sept 12 - 1905.  

Write, Lovingly 

Ur bro. 

Fred E. Webster

This postcard definitely interested me because Fred E. Webster is the name of my maternal great-grandfather. His name at birth was Watson Emory Webster, but he changed his name to Frederick Emory Webster later in life. You may know him here on my blog as "The Traveling Dentist."

So, is David Debs Webster one of my great-grandfather's children? The middle name of Debs is an interesting clue. My maternal grandfather was named Debs Warren Webster. He was one of the children of Frederick Emory Webster and Esther Matus Villatoro.

Fred is addressing his sister in this postcard. My 3rd cousin is a descendant of one of Frederick's sisters.

My 3rd cousin also sent me a scanned image of the address side of this postcard. It was addressed to Mrs. P. A. Hammett in Marysville, Kansas. One of Frederick's sisters was married to Paul Anderson Hammett and they lived in Kansas for a number of years.

These clues indicate to me that yes, the Fred E. Webster who wrote on this postcard, is my great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster. I know that he was in Arkansas at least a couple of times in his life.

Now that I'm almost positive that David Debs Webster is a son of my great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster, the question is who is David's mother?

I've been doing research to try and answer that question. I don't have definitive answers yet, but I have several clues that are leading me in one direction. I hope to find documents to prove my theory.

In any event, this is an exciting discovery. Another leaf for our family tree!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Fred E. Webster, Jeweler ~ Ad in an 1890's Newspaper

Watson Emory Webster was my maternal great-grandfather. He's also known as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. During his life he lived in and traveled to many different places. He practiced dentistry in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. During part of the late 1800's he lived in the state of Kansas.

At some point in his life he changed his name from Watson Emory Webster to Frederick Emory Webster. 

While doing research in the Newspapers.com website, I searched for Fred E. Webster. Among the many search results was several very interesting advertisements.

I'd like to share one of them today. It's from the Alliance Signal (Stockton, Kansas) dated 14 September 1893, Page 3.

Here's a transcription of the advertisement ~

FRED E. WEBSTER

JEWELER

20 to 60 per

cent discount on

all goods in my

line, for the

next ten days.

☞ Located in Raynolds' Drug Store.

What a great find! But, I wondered if this Fred E. Webster was my great-grandpa Frederick E. Webster. Through further research, I found that yes, the Fred in the ad was my great-grandpa Frederick E. Webster. An article in a newspaper referred to a Fred as the son of E. P. C. Webster. My great-grandpa Fred was the son of E. P. C. Webster. So that was an encouraging piece of evidence. Another article spoke of Frederick's sister-in-law coming to visit and referred to him as Fred E. Webster. There were other articles as well that provided evidence that this Fred E. Webster is my great-grandpa Frederick E. Webster.

Speaking of Frederick's father, E. P. C. Webster, I found a lot of interesting articles about him and his life in the newspapers. It would seem that the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to Fred and his father, E. P. C. I just assumed that E. P. C. was a farmer living a quiet life on the land, but I was wrong. I'll share more about my discoveries regarding E. P. C. in future posts.

Now back to today's advertisement about Fred as a jeweler. Isn't it fascinating? I knew great-grandpa Frederick had been a dentist and an inventor, but I didn't know he had also been a jeweler at some point during his life. This was an intriguing discovery.

I'm so excited to have found this ad about my great-grandfather, Frederick E. Webster. I've also found other interesting ads and articles, which I will be sharing in future posts.

Using newspapers in our family history research is so rewarding. They can provide a unique glimpse into the lives of our ancestors.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2019 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Frederico Moyer Webster ~ A Newly-Discovered Great-Uncle

Because we were holding an estate sale before putting my parents' house on the market, our family went through their belongings, deciding what to keep and what to sell. Of course, we kept family history items and heirlooms. I am in possession of lots of photos and slides that belonged to my parents, as well as my maternal grandparents, Debs and Willis Webster, who passed away many years ago. My mom inherited many of their photos. And now they've come into my possession, for which I'm grateful.

I have started scanning these precious inherited photos. One of the photos in my grandparents' collection is the photo of this young man.

Thankfully, someone wrote the name of this young man on the back of the photo.

The writing on the back of the photo says:

Frederico Moyer Webster

Mexico

This photo of Frederico is familiar to me. I had seen it some time ago. I looked in my Grandpa Debs Webster's briefcase, and found that it contained a photocopy of both the front and back of this photo. That's where I had seen it before. Now I have the original photo. Yay!

I didn't know who Frederico was or if he was connected to our Webster family. So, I did some research and found out we are definitely connected. I searched on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. I found Frederico's marriage registration record¹ that listed Frederico's father's name as E. E. Webster, and his mother's name as Emilia Garabito. I wondered if E. E. Webster could possibly be F. E. Webster, my maternal great-grandfather (Frederick Emory Webster). The record also listed E. E. Webster's age as 59. The age didn't exactly fit my great-grandfather, but it was only a few years off.

After doing more research, I found documents that proved E. E. Webster, Frederico's father, was in fact, my great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster, a.k.a. The Traveling Dentist. One document,² the baptism record for Maria del Carmen Webster (another child of Frederick's, and sister of Frederico Moyer Webster), listed my great-grandfather Frederick's parents, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Waterman. That clinched it!

Another piece of evidence came from a document that listed Federico Emory Webster and Emilia Garavito as the grandparents of Federico Moyer Webster's child on the birth registration.³ I also found the birth registration record⁴ for Federico Moyer Webster, naming Federico Webster as his father. In this birth record, my great-grandfather Frederick's nationality is listed as American, and his profession is listed as dentist.

So, it turns out that my great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster, a.k.a. The Traveling Dentist, had another child that we were not aware of before. In a previous blog post, I shared the news of a newly-discovered relative who was another child of Frederick Emory Webster.

I'm so glad the mystery of who Frederico Moyer Webster was has been solved. I'll share more about him in a future post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2018 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

---

1 "México, Michoacán, Registro Civil, 1859-1940", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QG34-2HFC : 13 March 2018), Federico Moyer Webster and Maria Jesús Gindo, 1926. Image 107-108 of 687. Page 95 and 96. Accessed 24 June 2018.^↩

2 ]"México, Jalisco, registros parroquiales, 1590-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-GT3M-Q8?cc=1874591&wc=3J6T-4WL%3A171935001%2C198876101%2C199237101 : 16 February 2017), Guadalajara > San Juan de Dios > Bautismos de hijos naturales 1897-1913 > image 334 of 599; Page 190. Maria del Carmen Webster. parroquias Católicas, Jalisco (Catholic Church parishes, Jalisco). Accessed 25 June 2018.^↩

3 "México, Michoacán, Registro Civil, 1859-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G5DV-8Z9?cc=1916243&wc=MDP2-JNG%3A205626701%2C206172801 : 13 March 2018), Uruapan > Nacimientos 1927-1928 > image 70 of 694; Page 56. Sara Webster Guido. Direccion del Registro Civil y Notarias (Civil Registry State Archives), Michoacán. Accessed 24 June 2018.^↩

4 "México, Jalisco, Registro Civil, 1857-2000," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPJT-78V?cc=1918187&wc=MGDY-FM6%3A206555501%2C218622101 : 13 March 2018), Guadalajara > Nacimientos, defunciones 1908-1909 > image 530 of 864; Federico Webster. No. 2188. Page 269. Archivo del Registro Civil (Civil Registry State Archives), Jalisco. Accessed 25 June 2018.^↩

A New and Exciting Cousin Connection

I have very exciting news to share with you. A few months ago, I was contacted by a gentleman because he saw my genealogy blog while doing an internet search. It turns out that this gentleman is a cousin. This new cousin connection is quite a happy surprise for our family.

This isn't a distant cousin connection. This is a close cousin connection. You'll see what I mean as you read further in this post.

This cousin's name is Marco and he lives in Brazil. Marco left a comment on my personal blog's Facebook page.

Here's a little bit of background so you know how Marco fits in my family tree.

My regular readers will probably recognize the name of my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster. I refer to him as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. Watson changed his name to Frederick sometime during his life. Throughout the rest of this post, I'll refer to him as Frederick.

Frederick and his second wife, Esther Matus Villatoro, who I descend from, had five children:

1. Carlota Adelia Webster
2. Edna Lillie Webster
3. Debs Warren Webster (my grandfather)
4. Eugene Rollin Webster
5. Alice Webster

Carlota and Debs were the only children to survive to adulthood.

With this background in mind, I'll explain what happened when Marco contacted me. He told me that his mother was a daughter of my great-grandfather, Frederick. I wondered if he was mistaken. As I mentioned, only two of Frederick and Esther's children survived to adulthood, my grandfather and his sister Carlota. In 1955, my grandfather traveled to Mexico to visit his sister Carlota and her family. And Marco wasn't one of Carlota's children.

Well, through a series of emails in which Marco and I shared photos, documents, and information, it turns out that his mother is in fact a daughter of my great-grandfather, Frederick! It appears that late in life Frederick did have another child. And that child is Marco's mother.

This means that my mother has a newly-discovered aunt (Marco's mother) and I have a newly-discovered great-aunt. And Marco is my mom's newly-discovered 1st cousin and my 1st cousin once removed. See? This cousin connection is a very close cousin connection.

The photo at the top of this post was sent to me by Marco. It's a picture of my great-grandfather Frederick holding Marco's mother (right) and a young boy (left). I wondered if this little boy was Frederick's child too, but Marco told me he was not Frederick's son.

My mom and I are so excited about this new cousin connection. And we're so happy that Marco found my genealogy blog and contacted me.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 
© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

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

52 Ancestors: #5 ~ The F. E. Webster Dental and Photo Boats

Among the many photos that my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster, owned was this fascinating picture of the F. E. Webster Dental and Photo Boats.



This photo is on some kind of thick cardboard paper. As you can see, someone wrote on it. The writing on the top is in Portuguese. According to my mom, who speaks Portuguese, the basic translation is as follows –

"A  French family built this. With imitation steam, but a horse makes the wheel in the back move in order to navigate the boat."

Well, that's interesting! It sounds like the third boat in this photo, the larger one on the far left with people standing on the top deck, is an imitation steam paddlewheel boat that was actually drawn by a horse on the shore. Although, I can't imagine that only one horse would have pulled this boat.

I'm glad whoever wrote on this photo decided to include the location and dates. It looks like these boats were docked at Lake Charles, Louisiana. And it's dated 1896 – 1902.

F. E. Webster was my maternal great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster, also known as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. My regular readers have likely heard of him before. He was born on 14 February 1864 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio. He was the third of six children born to Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman. If you read last week's 52 Ancestors post, you may remember Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's photo album that I shared here on my blog.

Frederick was actually named Watson Emory Webster at birth, but later changed his name to Frederick Emory Webster. I've written a post theorizing about why he changed his name. You can read about that HERE.

Frederick graduated from the Western Dental College on April 2, 1896. Frederick's Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma was found inside a metal tube tucked inside one of my grandfather Debs Webster's suitcases. I shared this exciting find on my blog. If you'd like to take a look at this amazing document, click HERE.

Frederick was also an inventor! Yep! That's right! He received a patent and everything. He made improvements to a dental handpiece. I shared a copy of his patent here on my blog too. If you'd like to see it, click HERE.

Frederick was an interesting person. He certainly traveled quite a bit during his life. That's why I refer to him as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. He married my great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro, in Mexico.  This is a picture of Frederick and Esther with their two oldest children, Carlota and Edna.

Sometime after the birth of their first child, Carlota, who was born in 1910, Frederick and Esther and their daughter moved to Brazil. Frederick and Esther continued to travel after moving to Brazil, including trips to the United States and Mexico.

I've been able to trace many of Frederick and Esther's travels through documents and photos.

I'm grateful that the photo of Frederick's dental and photo boats included information about where and when they were docked.

I thought it would be interesting to crop and enlarge Frederick's dental and photo boats so we could get a closer view of them.

In this close-up of the F. E. Webster Dental Boat, I think I found Frederick. See those three men standing there under the dental boat sign? I think Frederick is the one on the far left. I don't know who all of the women and children are in this photo.



And here we have the F. E. Webster Photo Boat. I think it's awesome that Frederick was also a photographer.



Of course I have some questions.

• How long did Frederick have his dental and photo boats?
• How did he acquire them?
• Where did he travel in these boats?
• Did he have a large clientele for his dental practice and photography studio?
• Did he advertise his floating dental practice and photo studio?
• Did the dental boat rock at all while dental work was being done? (Scary thought, right?) 
• Who took the photo of these dental and photo boats?

I'm very grateful to my grandfather, Debs Webster, for keeping this photo, as well as all of the other family photos he kept for his descendants to enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Thanks for Traveling Frederick! ~ An Emergency U.S. Passport Application from 1907

This is part of a series of posts in which I share the documents relating to the travels of Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster and his family.

In my previous "Thanks for Traveling Frederick!" post, I mentioned a passport application filled out by my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist." So, here it is! Frederick's passport application dated April 17, 1907.¹ He actually filled this out while he was in Mexico. The source citation states that this was an Emergency Passport Application (Issued Abroad). Hmmm. Interesting.



So, what information is contained in this passport application?

1. Frederick E. Webster stated he was a native and loyal citizen of the United States.
2. Frederick applied to the Consul at Guaymas, Mexico for a passport for himself. (Guaymas is located in the southwestern part of the Mexican state of Sonora. Why was Frederick there?)
3. Frederick was born in Athens, Ohio. (His birthplace is Coolville, Athens, Ohio.)
4. Frederick was born on February 14, 1870. (That's weird. His actual birthdate is February 14, 1864. So, why did he say he was born in 1870?)
5. Frederick stated that his father was a native born citizen of the United States.
6. Frederick stated that his permanent residence in the United States was El Paso, Texas. (Hmm. Why was he living in El Paso, Texas?)
7. Frederick's occupation was listed as a dentist. (No surprise here.)
8. Frederick stated that he left the United States on January 19, 1907.
9. He also stated that he was temporarily living in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.
10. Frederick stated that he intended to return to the United States within eighteen months.
11. Frederick stated that he desired the passport for the purpose of traveling in South America. (This is an interesting tidbit of information. Frederick eventually ended up living in Brazil and passed away there in 1946. My grandfather Debs, who was Frederick's son, and my mother were born in Brazil.)
12. Hurray! Frederick's signature is on the document.
13. Hurray again! We get a description of the applicant (Frederick).
14. Description of Frederick E. Webster
1. Age: 37 years old
2. Stature: 5 feet 5 inches tall
3. Forehead: Very high (bald)
4. Eyes: Blue
5. Nose: Medium
6. Mouth: Large
7. Chin: Medium
8. Hair: Brown
9. Complexion: Light
10. Face: Full
15. Identifying Witness for Frederick Webster – R. M. Black from Little Rock, Arkansas (Hmm. I wonder how Frederick knew this man. Did Frederick ever travel or live in Little Rock, Arkansas? Actually, I know Frederick was in Clarendon, Arkansas in 1899. And that's not too far from Little Rock. Frederick was awarded a patent in 1899. In this patent it states that Frederick was from Clarendon, Arkansas. If you'd like to see this patent, I shared it in a blog post. You can read about it by clicking HERE. It's pretty cool. And yes, it has to do with dentistry. And there are sketches of his invention included too.)

As you can see, this emergency passport application contains a wealth of interesting information. I sure am glad my great-grandpa Frederick traveled as much as he did. Doing so has created a great paper trail for me to follow. Thanks for traveling Frederick!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

---

1 Source Citation: 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. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.^↩

Thanks for Traveling Frederick! ~ Esther Travels Again

This is part of a series of posts in which I share the documents relating to the travels of Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster and his family.

Esther (Matus Villatoro) Webster

This is my maternal great-grandmother, Esther Matus Villatoro. She was married to my "Traveling Dentist" great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster.

The last time I shared a travel-related document about Esther with you, she was traveling with her one-year-old daughter, Carlota. They were listed on a passenger list dated October 19, 1911.

The passenger list¹ I'm sharing with you today is dated late January - February of 1913. As of this date, Esther was the mother of two young daughters, Carlota and Edna. And these two daughters were Esther's traveling companions on the S.S. Voltaire sailing from Santos, Brazil to the Port of New York.



Here's a cropped portion of the passenger list.



What information can we glean from this passenger list?

1. Esther, Carlota, and Edna sailed on the S.S. Voltaire
2. Port of departure – Santos, Brazil
3. Date of departure – January 29, 1913
4. Port of arrival – New York, United States
5. Date of arrival – February, 1913
6. Esther's age – 19
7. Esther's sex – Female
8. Esther's marital status – Married
9. Esther's place and date of birth – El Paso, Texas in 1893 (This is incorrect. She was born in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico. At the end of this line under the column heading "Address In United States" the correct place of birth is listed for Esther. Perhaps there was some miscommunication here. I also see another bit of incorrect information listed on this line. See the words "Husband born in Chicago, Ill." in parentheses? That is also incorrect. Frederick was born in Coolville, Athens, Ohio.)
10. Under the column heading "Address In United States," El Paso, Texas is listed in parentheses. I'm wondering if that's where they were headed to meet their husband and father, Frederick Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist."
11. Carlota's age – 1
12. Carlota's sex – Female
13. Carlota's marital status – Single
14. Carlota's place and date of birth – It looks like US is crossed out and the correct place and date of birth are in the next column listed as Arriaga, Mexico in 1911. Also notice that in parentheses it says "Daughter of USC." I think it's safe to assume that USC stands for U.S. Citizen, not University of Southern California. Haha!
15. Edna's age – 3 months
16. Edna's sex – Female
17. Edna's marital status – Single
18. Edna's place and date of birth – Again, the correct information is listed in the next column over. She wasn't born in Mexico like her sister Carlota. Edna was born in Santos, Brazil in 1912.

As you can see from looking at the information in this document, it contained some errors. If I had only relied on this one document in my research, I would have recorded inaccurate information in my family tree. It's really important to find all the documents we can when researching our ancestors so that we can make sure the information we have for our ancestors is as accurate as possible.

It's interesting that El Paso, Texas is listed on this passenger list. I think it's quite possible that Frederick was, in fact, in El Paso, Texas and that Esther, Carlota, and Edna were meeting him there. In a passport application for Frederick dated April 17, 1907, he stated that his permanent residence at that time was El Paso, Texas. Perhaps he had ties there and returned in 1913.

I find it amazing that Esther, as a young mother, was traveling alone with two very young children. She must have had her hands full on that ship all by herself. And if she was continuing on to El Paso, Texas, she still had about 2,000 miles yet to travel with her two young daughters.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

---

1 Source Citation: Year: 1913; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 2016; Line: 1; Page Number: 142. Source Information: Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.^↩

Thanks for Traveling Frederick! – It's Esther's Turn to Travel

This is part of a series of posts in which I share the documents relating to the travels of Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster and his family.

The Webster Family
L to R - Frederick, Carlota, Edna, Esther

I wonder if Esther (Matus Villatoro) Webster, would have traveled as much as she did during her life if her husband, Frederick, a.k.a "The Traveling Dentist," hadn't traveled as much as he did. I've decided to include the travels of Frederick's wife and children as part of this series of posts called "Thanks for Traveling Frederick!"

Today I'm sharing a passenger list¹ from October 19, 1911 showing Esther and her daughter Carlota traveling alone. Where was Frederick? Was he already in the United States? Were Esther and Carlota traveling to meet him? I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. I wonder how Esther felt traveling by herself with a one year old child.



According to this passenger list, Esther and Carlota sailed on the S.S. Morro Castle. I found a picture of this ship. I think it's fascinating to see what this ship looked like.

S.S. Morro Castle ~ Wikimedia Commons
No Copyright

What can we glean from the passenger list (above)?

1. Esther and Carlota sailed on the S.S. Morro Castle
2. Port of Departure – Veracruz, Mexico
3. Date of Departure – October 19, 1911
4. On line 2 we see Carlota Webster listed.  She was Frederick and Esther's oldest child.
5. Carlota's Age was 1
6. Carlota's Nationality – United States citizen
7. On line 3 we see Esther Webster listed.
8. Esther's age was 20
9. Esther was married
10. Esther's Nationality – United States citizen
11. Esther's Race – Mexican

I think it's interesting that Esther's nationality (Country of which citizen or subject) was first listed as Mexico.  Then that was crossed out and U.S. was written over Mexico.  Also, in the column of Race for Esther, Mexican was crossed out and U.S. was written in.

Was Esther's nationality (Country of which citizen or subject) changed from Mexico to U.S. because she automatically became a U.S. citizen when she married Frederick Webster in 1910? I found the following information helpful regarding Esther and her citizenship status.

In the article Seven Keys to Understanding Naturalization Records at Ancestry.com,² the following is stated:

'"Derivative" citizenship was granted to wives and minor children of naturalized men. From 1790 to 1922, wives of naturalized men automatically became citizens. This also meant that an alien woman who married a U.S. citizen automatically became a citizen.'

In a separate article, I found the following regarding marriage and citizenship of alien women. Marian L. Smith stated in her article "Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married . . ." Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940 at Archives.gov:³

"In other cases, the immigrant woman suddenly became a citizen when she and her U.S. citizen fiance were declared "man and wife." In this case her proof of citizenship was a combination of two documents: the marriage certificate and her husband's birth record or naturalization certificate. If such an alien woman also had minor alien children, they, too, derived U.S. citizenship from the marriage. As minors, they instantly derived citizenship from the "naturalization-by-marriage" of their mother. If the marriage took place abroad, the new wife and her children could enter the United States for the first time as citizens."

This wasn't the only time I found Esther on a passenger list. I'll be sharing more documents from Esther's travels in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

---

1 Source Citation: Year: 1911; ; Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: T715_1763; Line: 3; ; Page Number: 180. Source Information: Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. ^↩
2 "Seven Keys to Understanding Naturalization Records." Ancestry.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2013.^↩
3 Smith, Marian L. "Prologue: Selected Articles." Prologue: Selected Articles. National Archives, Summer 1998. Web. 20 Aug. 2013.^↩