Christmas Greeting

Mr. Clarence Stuber
Spencerville, Ohio
R.R. # 5


New Corydon, Ind.
Dec. 24, 1920


Dear Uncle; 


I am looking for old Santa tonight.  I expect I will see aunt Vera tomorrow wish I could see you too.  We are all well hope you are the same.  I wish you a Merry Xmas.


Your little neice,


Mildred Miller


---
This postcard postmarked December 24, 1920, was sent to my paternal great-uncle Clarence STUBER, by his niece, Mildred MILLER.  Mildred was the daughter of Galen and Mary (HALEY) MILLER.  Clarence was married to Mary's sister, Vera.

Ancestor Approved Award

Sunday I was notified by Susan at Long Lost Relatives.net that my blog was being recognized with the Ancestor Approved award.

The award comes with the following requests:

1. List ten (10) that you have learned about your ancestors that surprised, humbled or enlightened you.

2. Pass the award to ten (10) other genealogy bloggers.

What things I have learned about my ancestors:

1. Some ancestors created volumes of newspaper accounts, court records and other vital records, while others seemed to disappear into thin air.

2. There is a fair amount of inter-connectedness among my family lines.  It seems the farther back I trace, I see the different family lines ending up in the same locales.

3. Almost anything can be found in the paper, especially stories of divorces and other scandals.  Back then, apparently libel laws weren't as stringent - but the accounts make for more colorful reading.

4. Faith in God was vital to my ancestors. I've discovered fair number of ministers, elders and Sunday School teachers from a variety of Protestant denominations in my family.


5. The economic, political and social conditions that cause people to switch careers or move across the country today are some of the same ones that caused my ancestors to do the same.  Understanding what was happening in historical perspective can explain some of the decisions they made.


6. Many of my ancestors were willing to fight for what they believed in, whether it be in the military or in politics.  


7. Most of my ancestors were here before the American Revolution, but documenting their journeys after they arrived has proven to be the most interesting.


8. The stories that the present generation remembers about the past generation are important and need to be preserved, even if they are biased or colored by their perspective.


9. Not all of my ancestors were saints, and the sinners weren't as bad as I'd imagined.


10. My ancestors didn't always get along with the other members of their family, but neither do I, so I needn't be so quick to judge.


I am going to pass the award on to the following bloggers :


Donna's Genealogy Blog - Donna Moughty


Renee's Genealogy Blog - Renee Zamora


Roots and Rambles - Marian Pierre-Louis


A Geek Girl Does Genealogy - The Geek Girl


John Brown Kin - Alice Mecoy


Leaf, Stem, Branch and Root - Kevin Thompson


Penny's Genes - Penny


Reflections from the Fence - Carol 


She Finds Graves - Kellie Walton


The Canty Quest - Debbie Golding


These blogs are ones that I follow daily through my Google Reader.  If you're not already following them, I would strongly urge you to check them out.

1897 Directory : Portland, Indiana

My dad has been "downsizing" a bit here recently and has been giving me family history items and other ephemera that I'm in the process of scanning, extracting and posting to the blog.  Using my new Flip-Pal scanner, I'm posting here some family I've found in the 1897 Directory of Portland, Indiana.  Dad's copy is the 1982 reprint, and it is still available for purchase for $5.00 (a steal!) from the Jay County Historical Society.

As I went through the directory, I scanned pages that contained surnames of interest in my research.

The Arthur E. Graves listed here with wife Carrie is the only one that is known to be family, but I've included the others in case someone else knows them.  Arthur was married to Carrie Mae HALEY, daughter of George W. and Mary Jane (SHERRICK) HALEY.  Carrie was my great-grandaunt.  She and Arthur were married in 1895 in Jay County.

There were several HALEY families listed in the directory, but the only one I know for sure is my family is Ora HALEY, listed as being of school age, living at 289 Robert Huey.  She is the sister of Carrie GRAVES (above), and living in the same household.  There were multiple HALEY families in Portland, and I've yet to sort them all out.

The Mary J. KIMBLE listed here is my paternal 2nd-great grandmother, Mary Jane (SHERRICK) HALEY KIMBLE, who was widowed and remarried in May of 1897 to Robert KIMBLE.  Why Robert is not listed in this directory, I'm not sure.  I do not know if the other KIMBLEs listed are of his family.  

Notice that Mary KIMBLE, Ora HALEY and Arthur & Carrie GRAVES were all living together at 289 Robert Huey.  Today, this street does not exist.  According to the street cross reference, Robert Huey was Meridian extended, from Votaw to North Corporate line.  Today this is all part of Meridian street.

I've yet to identify which PETRY family that Stella belongs with; another avenue of research.

The J.W. Wehrly listed here was John William WEHRLY, son of William P. and Olive Jane (SMITH) WEHRLY.  John was my paternal great-granduncle.  Later in the directory, the surname is spelled alternatively as Wherley.

Source: A City and Business Directory of the City of Portland, Indiana (1897) (Defiance, Ohio, USA: The Hubbard Company, 1982 (reprint))