The Engle Family Postcard Adventure

Engle Family Postcards
from Ann in Ireland

It all started on November 11, 2013 – this wonderful, amazing, and exciting Engle Family Postcard Adventure. This incredible adventure is about postcards, dating from the early 1900s, that somehow ended up almost halfway around the world from where they originated. And about how these priceless postcards ended up back in America, and in the hands of a thankful relative of those who originally wrote and received these postcards. That thankful relative is me. This extraordinary adventure has also given me a new friend in Ireland named Ann. We have kept in touch since this adventure began.

The Engle Family Postcard Adventure Begins

On Monday, November 11th, I received an email from WikiTree that contained a private message from a very nice woman named Ann. She lives in Ireland and told me that she had purchased three vintage postcards from a second-hand market in Galway, Ireland. The postcards were addressed to Richard Engle and Mrs. S. A. Engle. Ann did an online search for these names and found my family tree on the WikiTree website. She saw that Richard and Sarah Engle were in my family tree and subsequently left me a message.

Ann wanted to know if any of the Engle's relations would be interested in receiving these postcards, and if so, she was willing to send them for free. She also said there were still many more Engle family postcards at the second-hand market where she had purchased these three postcards in Galway, Ireland.

To say I was thrilled upon receiving this email would be an understatement! This was simply amazing! Mrs. S. A. Engle, the addressee of these postcards, was my 2nd great-grandaunt. Her full name was Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle. She was married to Richard Engle. I have done a lot of research on this family over the years. Sarah was born on March 15, 1836 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio and passed away on December 5, 1939 in South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. She was 103 years old at the time of her death. Her husband, Richard Engle, served in the Civil War.

Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle

Anyway, back to the postcards...I sent a reply to Ann informing her that I am, in fact, related to this Engle family. I asked her if she could scan the postcards and send the images in an email, which she did. It was so exciting to see the images of these postcards! I checked the names and addresses on the postcards, and was able to confirm that they were addressed to my Sarah (Waterman) Engle and her husband Richard.

I definitely wanted these postcards and offered to pay Ann for them. She insisted on sending them to me free of charge. How kind she is! I also asked her if she could give me the contact information for the seller of the Engle postcards at the second-hand market in Galway, Ireland, so I could see about buying the rest of the postcards. Ann gave me the information and I was able to contact him. His name is Thomas.

In the meantime, and before I even contacted Thomas about purchasing more of the Engle family postcards, Ann went back to Galway and purchased 16 of the remaining Engle family postcards from Thomas at the second-hand market. I hadn't asked her to do this. She is just that kind and thoughtful! And she again said she didn't want any money for the postcards. She would send them to me free of charge. She told me to just think of them as a Christmas gift from Ireland. Ann is just so sweet!

On December 16, 2013, I received a package from Ann. Not only did she send me these amazing Engle family postcards that she purchased, which are over 100 years old, she also sent me a lovely letter, a Christmas card to my husband and me, and this beautiful Christmas ornament for our tree!

Christmas Ornament from Ann in Ireland

On November 20, 2013, I contacted Thomas, the seller of the Engle family postcards in Galway, Ireland and inquired about the remaining Engle family postcards. We were able to purchase 45 more of these precious postcards from him.

On December 20, 2013, I received the 45 Engle family postcards we purchased from Thomas.

I have put all of the Engle family postcards in a binder with acid-free photo pages to protect them.

Engle Family Postcards

I will be sharing these special Engle family postcards here on my blog.

I sent my new friend, Ann in Ireland, a thank-you gift before Christmas. I would also like to publicly thank her for purchasing 18 of these amazing postcards, finding me by doing an online search, contacting me, and sending me these priceless Engle family postcards. I am overwhelmed by Ann's kindness. And I can't thank her enough for all she has done.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #1 ~ Mathias Rodrigues Vasques

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

Mathias Rodrigues Vasques

Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small, has issued the following challenge:

"...have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor. Not only should this get me blogging more, but also to take a deeper look at some of the people in my family tree."

I've decided to give this challenge a try…gulp! I already try to publish about two blog posts in this genealogy blog per week, which includes my weekly Fab Finds post. And I also try to publish one blog post per week in my other blogs, Jana's Photo Journal, and Grandpa's Postcards.

But, this challenge seems like a great way to make sure I write about lots of different ancestors in my genealogy blog, instead of focusing too much on just a few.

So, here we go!

The first ancestor I'm writing about for this challenge is my maternal 2nd great-grandfather, Mathias Rodrigues Vasques. I wrote a blog post about him a very short time after I started this blog, which was in April of 2012.

Mathias was born about 1824 in Rio Grande, Rio Grand du Sul, Brazil to his parents Raimundo Rodrigues Vasques and Maria Joaquina Velho.

Mathias and his wife, Margarida De Farias Correa, were the parents of thirteen children. I don't have definitive marriage information for Mathias and Margarida. That's something I need to work on.

Here are their children:

1. Margarida Vasques (7 February 1854 – ?)
2. Maria Do Carmo Vasques (14 April 1855 – ?)
3. Margarida Vasques (21 June 1856 – ?)
4. Rosalia Rodrigues Vasques (4 September 1857 – 24 April 1930) [My great-grandmother]
5. Othilia Vasques (27 November 1859 – ?)
6. Mathias Vasques (31 December 1860 – ?)
7. Raimundo Vasques (28 September 1863 – ?)
8. Joao Vasques (25 August 1865 – ?)
9. Thereza Vasques (Christened 22 December 1867 – ?)
10. Maria Francisca Vasques (9 Jan 1870 – ?)
11. Maria Francisca Vasques (17 June 1871 – ?)
12. Cazimira Vasques (22 July 1874 – ?)
13. Miguel Vasques (15 May 1877 – ?)

As you can see, I have a lot of research to do in order to replace those question marks with dates of death.

I love this picture of Mathias! It's so interesting. It appears that he was in the Brazilian military at some point during his life. Check out his hat on the chair. Doesn't it resemble a U. S. Civil War hat? It's interesting that the military hat styles of that time period were similar in both the United States and Brazil.

I found this picture (below) on the Wikimedia Commons website. It shows an officer (left) and a soldier (right) from the Brazilian Empire's Army, circa 1867. It's interesting to compare this picture with the picture of Mathias in his uniform.


Mathias passed away in 1890 in Rio Grande, Rio Grand du Sul, Brazil. Information for the date and place of death for Mathias was taken from a hand-written pedigree chart written by my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster. I will need to do some research to verify this information.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Favorite Family Recipes ~ Grandpa C's Peanut Clusters

This peanut cluster recipe was given to my daughter many years ago by one of her teachers at church. They are yummy and super easy to make.



There are only four ingredients – butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a 16-ounce jar of roasted peanuts.



First, pour all of the different chips into a microwave safe bowl.



Mix the chips together.



Then, microwave the chips for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir.



Repeat this process until…



…the chips look smooth and well combined.



Add the peanuts to the chip mixture.



Stir together.



Then, drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Leave on wax paper until the clusters harden. Enjoy!



Grandpa C’s Peanut Clusters

Ingredients

1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 11-ounce package butterscotch chips
1 10-ounce package peanut butter chips
1 16-ounce Jar dry roasted peanuts

Directions

Put chips in a microwave safe bowl. Mix evenly. Microwave at 30 sec. intervals until melted. Put nuts in. Stir and drop by spoonfuls on wax paper.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2012 - 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

Happy New Year! ~ 2014

Wishing all of my wonderful readers a very Happy New Year!

Jana

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