Treasure Chest Thursday : Cancelled Check

This interesting bit of ephemera is the cancelled check my paternal grandmother, Ruth (HALEY) LeMASTER, wrote to the Baird Funeral Home on November 16, 1971 in the amount of $ 1608.00.  Whether this was a payment or a payment in full for the cost of the funeral of my grandfather, Ord, I've yet to determine.


It is an interesting piece to me because it contains not only an example of her handwriting and signature, but sheds some historical light into costs associated with funerals some 40 years ago.  Had I not already know the name of the funeral home, this check provides that information as well.  The funeral home is still in existence, and on my next visit to Portland I will add researching the costs associated with the funeral to me list of things to check into.




Treasure Chest Thursday – create a post with the main focus being a family treasure, an heirloom or even an every-day item important to your family. A special thanks to Leslie Ann Ballou of Lost Family Treasures for suggesting Treasure Chest Thursday as a daily blogging theme!

First Christian Church : Alexandria, Indiana (1831-1981)

First Christian Church, Alexandria, Indiana Sesquicentennial program

While at the Alexandria-Monroe Township Historical Society recently, I was able to use my Flip-Pal scanner to scan some photographs and information from the sesquicentennial program of the First Christian Church in Alexandria, Indiana.  I attended this church growing up and remember this program and time period in the church's history.


I was excited to be able to find pictures of the church choir during this time frame, because my maternal grandmother, Bonnie Wright, was a member.

First Christian Church choir, 1981

First Christian Church choir, 1981 [from program]

Choir Members

Row 1 (Left to Right) - Joyce White, Betty Parks, Karla Hall, Jeanne Beck, Deborah Gosnell, Anne Nelson, Pianist.

Row 2 - Virginia Wachenschwanz, Director; Barbara Miller, Jayne Dyer, Carolyn Hall, Margaret Gosnell, Dennis Kirkpatrick, Janice Armstrong, Organist.

Row 3 - Bonnie Wright, Shirley Colvill, Jesse McMahan, Judy Welcome, Betty Hampton.

Row 4 - Tom Colvill, Dave Dyer, Robert Miller, Dennis Sizelove, Larry Hobbs, Paul Tanner, Jack Wachenschwanz.

Happy 5th Blogiversary to TJLGenes

Well, it's hard to believe that it has been five years since my first post on the TJLGenes blog.  Much has transpired since I started out on this journey, and I've enjoyed sharing my research and making new friends in the Geneablogging community.


In my first post, I noted that I began my research by building upon the research of my father.  Now that he has retired, he has been getting back into research mode - preparing a book based on the Civil War service of his ancestors based on our combined research, and recently donated a copy to the local historical society.  My parents have been my most dedicated readers, checking on the blog after morning coffee, offering suggestions and submitting story ideas for future posts.


I've enjoyed sharing research with family members and meeting new ones along the way.  Thank you to all who have encouraged me with positive comments or shared photos and family information.


I hope that I can continue to add new content and research to this blog, and look forward to what the next 5 years have in store.