Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Other Newcombs of South Dakota

JACOB SMITH > JAMES SMITH > JOHN R SMITH > OLLIE BEATRICE SMITH m Robert Kingsbury Newcomb

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You can read a little bit about John Smith, who went to California after living in Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, here. The Newcombs in this story shouldn't be mixed up with the Newcombs that married into the Munson family elsewhere in this blog. If there is a connection, it goes way, way, back and I'm not dealing with it!

Olive Beatrice "Ollie" Smith was born 26 Mar 1876 in Nebraska. Several of her siblings settled in South Dakota and did not go on to California with their parents. Ollie met and married Robert Kingsbury Newcomb and married him on 06 Nov 1897 in South Dakota. The couple settled in Ramona, Lake County, South Dakota. Robert had several jobs during their marriage, but in about 1915, he started to experiment with breeding and incubation of chicks. He studied and perfected his methods and in 1929, opened the Sunshine State Hatcheries first state-of-the-art location in Madison.

Before long, he had several locations throughout the state, which were operated by his four sons: Bob, Chuck, Parker, and Lyle. I don't know what became of the hatcheries, but a news item from 1962 indicated that Lyle's son, Lyle Ralph, had declared bankruptcy and was no longer in the hatchery business. Farming operations and technology kept improving and with the loss of three of the sons by the mid-1950s, my guess is that the effort slowly fizzled out. I'd be interested to know what the end of the story was.

Madison location of the Sunshine State Hatcheries

Ollie died 07 Sep 1949 in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. Robert died 14 Dec 1955.

Ollie and Robert had eight children:

1. Mable born 28 Oct 1898 and died 03 Jan 1899 in South Dakota.

2. Robert "Bob" Kingsbury Newcomb Jr. was born 30 Oct 1899 in Lake County. He died on 08 Apr 1952. Terrible floods swept through parts of South Dakota that week. Bob was trying to keep flood waters out of the basement of his Lake Kampeska home when he succumbed to a heart attack. He was listed as the first victim of the floods that year. During the war, he was regional director of the Civil Aeronautics Association for seven states. He operated the hatcheries at Flandreau, Sioux Falls, Arlington, Salem, Bryant and Huron at various points. He was also the founder and operator of the South Dakota Turkey Breeder's Association. He left his wife and two sons.

3. Lyle Smith Newcomb was born 27 Nov 1901 in Ramona, Lake County. He operated the hatcheries

Lyle Smith Newcomb

in Huron and Madison and died after a lingering illness 23 Sep 1950 in Madison. He left four children and his wife Vera.

4. Parker William Newcomb was born on 27 May 1903 in Lake County. He married Myrtle Dahl, who had a child from a previous marriage. They had four children together. He died 17 Aug 1957 in Lake County. During World War II, he served as a Lt Colonel in the US Army and served a full career in the South Dakota National Guard. He is also listed as having worked in the hatcheries.

5. Emma Mary Newcomb was born 21 Nov 1905 in Hamlin, South Dakota according to her birth index record. She married Fred John Kaske, who served in World War II. They moved to Ventura, California. Emma died 29 Nov 2001. They had two children.

6. Charles B. "Chuck" Newcomb was born on 13 Sep 1907 in Hamlin. He married Camilla Euphame Steensland on 08 Jun 1934 on her parents' farm. They lived in Arlington until 1939 when they moved the family to Sioux Falls to work in the hatchery business. The couple had six children. Chuck died in April of 1986, but Camilla lived to be 100 years old and died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 05 Aug 2013.

Camilla Steensland

7. Florence Faye Newcomb was born 24 Apr 1909 in Lake County. She and her husband Lewis Arthur "Arthur" Larson had two children. She died 02 Mar 1991 in Durham, North Carolina. Arthur died 27 Mar 1993 in Durham. I'll be writing separately about them.

8. Doris R Newcomb was born 08 Oct 1916 in Lake County. She married Gordon Norbraten on 07 Sep 1938 in Hutchinson, South Dakota. They had one daughter. Gordon died 07 Aug 1975 in Miami-Dade County, Florida and Doris died 16 Aug 1995 in Lee County, Florida.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Remembering Janis Michaelsen Pedersen Ladnier

Janis Ladnier

JACOB SMITH > WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH > EDWIN SMITH > VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > JANIS PEDERSEN

Janis was born on 12 Aug 1929 in Nashua, Chickasaw County, Iowa to Theodore Michaelsen and Verlie Smith. At the time, her parents lived over the butcher shop in a small apartment.

This is a bit of a convoluted tale, but follow along. I mentioned that my grandmother Verlie's first marriage was stricken with violence and poverty. Their children were placed in the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage in Waverly during the depression. Family members from both sides moved to place the kids in the family, but it did take some time. Janis recalled that they were there for over two years. She also said, "They wanted me to be placed because they felt I was becoming institutionalized - I liked it too much there."

The oldest child, Harold, was first sent to Verlie's brother Claude and his wife Lucille. It wasn't a good match at all and he ended up being adopted by Verlie's sister Evelyn and her husband Marvin. The "baby," Judy Lou, was adopted outside of the family to a Lutheran couple. While she would maintain contact with her siblings in her lifetime, she did not seem to maintain any contact with her biological parents.

Janis and Dixie ended up being adopted by Ted's sister and brother-in-law Axel and Dagmar (Michaelsen) Pedersen. According to Janis, they had wanted to adopt only Dixie because Janis was by now too old, but further discussions led to her going with her sister. Janis and Dixie were raised in Hurley, Mississippi.

LeVerne Ladnier

The girls would be raised there in a loving home, but the family in Iowa did not see them frequently. She settled in down in Mississippi and was active in 4H. In 1946, she was the high scoring participant in the 4-H contingent at the South Mississippi Livestock Show in Hattiesburg.

She married Leverne Jacob Ladnier and they would have three children. They resided in Moss Point. Laverne was a World War II veteran who served as a Radarman 2nd Class aboard the USS Latimer. After his service he worked in the shipyards in Moss Point starting as an electronics technician and moving into engineering. He also repaired small electronics on the side.

Janis completed her Registered Nursing degree at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. She worked for

the Jackson County Hospital for four years. She also worked in the offices of Drs McDonough and Minkler. She was vice president and president of the Mental Health Association of Jackson County in the 1980s.

Janis was deeply involved in her community. She was a member of the Granley Danish Society and

A Young Janis

was a volunteer for the American Red Cross Blood Bank and Our Daily Bread. She taught expectant parents class at Singing River Hospital and also was active with helping at Singing River Mental Health Association. She taught Sunday School at the Christ Lutheran Church in Pascagoula for many years. She was also a Youth Court volunteer for four years. She recalled that her house was often the site of post-athletics gatherings and was a member of the Moss Point High School Band Parents Association. She was a former Boys Scout assistant den leader, president of a local crafts club, and was past president of an extension homemakers organization.

I had memories of Janis and Dixie's visits when I was a kid, but then I left home at 17 and didn't return for 35 years. I picked up the phone when I started this family genealogy project and talked to Janis. We spent the next two years talking on the phone, exchanging letters, and photos, and having a great time together. Her storytelling was excellent, as was her memory. She had been struggling with some health issues following a car accident a few years ago, but was still living on her own. She liked to reminisce and was proud of the fact that she and Harold had somehow managed to look out for the younger kids and each other during those troubling times at the beginning of their lives. I found one story particularly sweet:

"Buying each other gifts was difficult, because we had nothing. One day, Harold found an old cedar chest with a leg missing. He made a spindle leg and attached it and gave it to me for Christmas." Janis recalled also that their aunt Margaret would sometimes give them money. Janis saved hers up so she could buy a gift for her siblings, "I bought a scented soap bar for Harold, Judy, and Dixie at a cost of five center per bar that Christmas."

In 2015, her son Chris died suddenly. The heart seemed to go out of her after that. The family in Iowa got a call that Janis had a fall in her home and had died after surgery on 25 Feb 2016 in Jackson, Mississippi.

I feel incredibly grateful that we had the time we had together. She was quite a woman. I miss her still.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Remembering Opal Fay Perrin Hansen

Opal

A little bit about my maternal grandmother who I loved incredibly and was so fortunate to have for over 50 years of my life (this blog is dedicated almost entirely to my paternal antecedents).

Carl Leslie (C.L. or Les) and Carrie Fay (Cory) Perrin's third child, Opal Fay Perrin, was born February 21, 1923 at their home next to the famous Little Brown Church in Bradford Township, Chickasaw County, Iowa. In 1925, the family moved to the "Perrin homeplace" where she grew up just outside of New Hartford, Iowa.

She was active in high school—president of the high school in senior year, vice president of the senior class, managing editor of yearbook, an editor of school newspaper and in band all through high school--playing several instruments including clarinet and violin. One of her cousins so enjoyed classical music, he would have her play her entire repertoire on the violin just for him as he sat on a log by the wood pile. In return, he would do her wood chopping chores.

She was valedictorian of the New Hartford class of 1940 and worked as assistant postmaster at the New Hartford post office. She married a young man from Cedar Falls, Russell Hansen, September 14, 1941. They loved to tell the story about their meeting at a local skating rink when Opal caught the eye of her future husband after he fell over the feet of her sister Alice. They were married exactly one year later at the Little Brown Church. With the help of Opal's dad, a building contractor, they built a little house for $600 in a farm field north of Cedar Falls. Russ continued driving for his parent's trucking business, The Blue Line Transfer, and Opal made collections for the family business on foot, walking for miles with their baby daughter on her hip for the grand sum of $5 a week.

Opal at about 16

Russ went into the Army in the summer of 1943 and worked as an MP, attaining the rank of Sergeant. His little family joined him in Denver, Colorado for most of his enlistment. After the war, they returned to their little house in Cedar Falls and built on to it before the arrival of their second daughter in 1947. Russ spent the next four years at Iowa State Teachers College. His first teaching job also included the title of school principal and for the next few years he taught in Iowa schools and an inner city school in Milwaukee while spending almost every summer in Colorado working on his Masters and later his PhD (Ed.) Opal was there, as she always was, to support him. She typed and retyped his dissertation on an old, clunky typewriter until it was perfect.

Through all their many moves, Opal's skills, especially at the sewing machine, made every rental home inviting and comfortable and a hub of activity for their frequent guests. In 1956, they returned to Cedar Falls and built a home on a woodsy bluff in Cedar Heights. Russ taught at the Price Lab School for a short time and then the State College of Iowa but by then, his passion had become square dance calling. He and Opal were founders of the Haylofters Square Dance Club in Cedar Falls and Russ became a frequently-requested caller at square dance events not only in Iowa but throughout the country. Opal acted as his business manager and also ensured they were both looking good in their handmade square dance regalia. They eventually made the decision to make it their full-time business.

After leaving the University, they bought a farm in Bremer County, remodeled the huge old farm house then sold it and built one of the first passive solar homes in Iowa next to their old farm property. Next, they traded in their house for a Greyhound bus that they outfitted to keep them living in comfort as they traveled from one square dance gig to the next throughout the Western US. They finally retired in Mt Pleasant, Iowa for a few years in the 1990s before becoming year-round residents of Arizona.

Opal had been wheelchair-bound for a time and they eventually moved in with their youngest

Opal HS Graduation

daughter who lived nearby.

Opal was the epitome of the perfect 1940s/1950s housewife, managing all facets of daily living in the city or on the farm, from tending a big garden and orchard to managing business affairs and entertaining large groups of people. She was Martha Stewart before there was a Martha Stewart, except she never gave herself the credit Martha gives herself.

Opal was also a fine artist, creating beautiful art work of many types. Somehow, she managed to do it all without ever having learned to drive. Had she been born in a different generation, Opal might have been a clothing designer. When she was five, her dad cut down the legs of a piano stool so she could reach the treadle on the sewing machine. From then on, she designed and cut patterns from newspapers for sewing everything from dresses to winter coats to men's suits--she even designed and made fashionable uniforms from salvaged World War II parachute material for an entire girl's basketball team.

Despite her physical challenges later in life, she had a quick, intelligent mind and a wonderful laugh. She continued to play cards with the family and, as always, she rarely lost a game. She taught her children and grandchildren the spirit of friendly competitiveness. After 69 years of marriage, Opal passed away in Arizona on April 3, 2012. She left her husband, two daughters, three granddaughters, one grandson, and three great grandchildren.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Cooper Family Stories

This page features the stories related to the descendants of Amos Cooper and Hannah Lloyd.

AMOS COOPER & HANNAH LLOYD

Meet the Coopers: Amos & Hannah Lloyd Cooper
Mystery Muddle: The Legend of James Fennimore Cooper

JOHN L COOPER

John L Cooper's Kids

  Civil War in Stephenson County

  ALFRED JAMES COOPER
  Alfred James Cooper, A Restless Guy
LINA COOPER
Trailblazing Women: Angie Debo, Historian Pt 1
  Trailblazing Women: Angie Debo, Historian Pt 2
  ALFRED D COOPER
  Together Forever: Alta & Elva Cooper

AARON WASHINGTON COOPER
Aaron W Cooper & His Neighbors

HANNAH H COOPER
Hannah H Cooper, Crazy as a Hawk

WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER

On the Road....Stephenson County, Illinois and Grant County, Wisconsin
William Lloyd Cooper & Elizabeth Beams
   Mystery Muddle: Truth, Legend, or Something In Between

  ANN COOPER
  Susanna Gourley Thompson: Rock Grove's Oldest Resident
LORENA THOMPSON
Peter Smull: Samuel Smull of South Dakota
The USC Trojans: Willis Smull's Children
OMAR HAZZARD THOMPSON
Scandal Sheet: The End of the Frank & Grace Noble Marriage
ALMEDA HANNAH THOMPSON
Trailblazing Women: The First Woman Methodist Minister in Oregon

HANNAH COOPER
Hannah Cooper of Spring Grove
Levi Bolender and Sarah Haas
  Jacob Marean and Mary Bolender

  JAMES COOPER
James Cooper, Livery Man

  MARY JANE COOPER
  Peter Smull Family: Sgt Johnathan Smull

ELIZA COOPER
The Hennich Family & the Burwell Tornado of 1905

  ELIZABETH BEAMS COOPER
The Boyds of Plainfield
Roy Boyd, Plainfield Merchant
Miss Hazel Boyd, Woman of Substance
Frank Ross Boyd, Merchant of Horton
  Civil War in Stephenson County

CHALKELY JARED COOPER

Susanna Gourley Thompson, Rock Grove's Oldest Resident

ROBERT T COOPER
  Capt Robert T Cooper
  Civil War in Stephenson County
The Neverending Job: Robert Thompson Cooper, Again

MARY ELLEN COOPER
Walton Ward Fisher, DVM, Seward, Nebraska

  BARTON GOURLEY COOPER
  Civil War in Stephenson County
  CLAUDIUS MILTON COOPER
  Ma, The Rawleigh Man is at the Door: Claudius Cooper
  THEODORE LLOYD COOPER
  Willow Creek, Montana - Part 1 Theodore Lloyd Cooper
  FRANK OSCAR COOPER
  Willow Creek, Montana - Part 2 Frank Oscar Cooper

  JOSEPH L COOPER
Joseph L Cooper: Spanish War Soldier
JESSIE COOPER
  The Miracle Braves of 1914: Leslie Mann
JENNIE COOPER
  Jennie Cooper Conklin

MARGARET ANN COOPER
  More Coopery: George Emrick and Family
ALICE EMRICK
Alice Emrick, Grocer

  SUSAN LOVICA COOPER
  Case Solved: Susan L Cooper

CHALKLEY JARED "JAY" COOPER
Civil War in Stephenson County

FRANKLIN COOPER

WILLIAM CLAYTON COOPER
William Clayton Cooper of South Dakota

Smull Family Stories

Peter Smull, was one of three brothers of German descent who settled in Centre County, Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Peter, a stone mason like brothers Henry and Jacob, eventually moved to Stephenson County, Illinois in the 1850s.

I believe I've confirmed these brothers were all children of Johan Peter Schmoll and Juliana Sarah Mueller.

FROM THE REST OF THE LINE

JESSE SMULL

Brothers Smull: Jesse Smull
Jesse Smull: Henry Bergey Smull
Jesse Smull Family: James Bergey Smull
Jesse Smull Family: John Francis Smull, DDS
James Bergey Smull Family: Judson Gray Smull, Jr.
James Bergey Smull Family: Jesse McGarvey Smull

WAGNER FAMILY

The Waggoner's of Centre County: William Wagner

William Joseph "Bill" Wagner, Professional Baseball Player

THE "OTHER" SMULL FAMILY

There is also a family of Smulls descended from Andrew Smull (1765-1818) who are often mixed in with "our" Smulls. While they followed a similar trajectory in pioneering, they are not from the same direct lineage. Still, some of them keep cropping up - and not in a good way.

The OTHER Smull Family, Pt 1 (Madam Della)
The OTHER Smull Family, Pt 2 (Robber Roy Smull)

Miller Family Stories

The Millers, as far back as I can find, start with William Miller and his bride Loraine Fountaine:

WILLIAM MILLER & LORAINE FOUNTAINE

GEORGE MILLER & MARY ANN LEROY

Christina Cappoens: A Woman of Wealth
Roots of Slavery: Christina Cappoens of New Amsterdam
Simeon LeRoy dit Audy
CHARLES E MILLER
Private Charles E Miller, 40th Iowa Infantry Regiment, Company K
IRA MILLER
The Prolific David Owens: Daughter Lucy Jane "Lizzie" Owens
Mystery Solved: Hattie Stella Miller, A Little Bit of Unconventional
Remembering Florence Miller
He Looked Down Upon Me and Laughed
Cappoens/LeRoy Line: Leo Linsey
Ancestry DNA & Mystery Solving
MILO VOLNEY MILLER
Sideroad: Lyman Dixon Bordwell Family

EDRICK MILLER

MILO VOLNEY MILLER

The Original Milo Volney Miller: Mr Successful
Patience Meeker's Surviving Child: Almira Miller
ALMIRA MILLER
Vernard, Oh, Vernard, What Have You Done?
Ernest Fee, Law Man
ADELIA "DELIA" MILLER
Lampman Family Tragedy

MARY JANE MILLER

ELIZABETH MILLER

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Smith Family Stories

This is sorted by the children of Jacob Smith and Mary Catherine "Cathie" Randolph

Jacob Smith Line: Mary Catherine Randolph, Sarah Jane Smith Doole, and Isaac Smith

JAMES SMITH

JACOB SMITH
Jacob Smith: Setting the Record Straight
Personal Interviews: When an Interview Flops
The Edge of Madness: Unraveling the Mystery of Bertha McKinney, Part 1
The Edge of Madness: Unraveling the Mystery of Bertha McKinney, Part 2
Robert Smith & Flora Hinmon
Bit and Pieces and the Custer Connection
ALEXANDER SMITH
Little House on the Prairie: Saskatchewan Edition
JOHN RICHARD SMITH
Alfred Smith
  Raid at Cabanatuan: Japanese Prisoner of War Spencer Clinto Goodbla, WWII
The Double Tragedy of the Alfred Smith Family of South Dakota
Harriet Smith
  Losing the Trail: Harriet Smith
Ollie Smith
The Other Newcombs of South Dakota
Florence Newcomb & L Arthur Larson: The Perfect Match
Nancy Smith
Bad, Bad Henry Burton
WILLIAM LAWRENCE SMITH
Pioneering Nebraska & the Twister of 1933: Agnes Smith Callander
Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody, and The Keeley Cure: Agnes Watson Smith Bowers
Sundance, Wyoming & the Bowers Family

JOHN R SMITH

The Other John R Smith

ISAAC SMITH

Jacob Smith Line: Mary Catherine Randolph, Sarah Jane Smith Doole, and Isaac Smith

WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH

Clan William: Mary Ann Munson & William Custer Smith, Pt 1

Clan William: Mary Ann Munson & William Custer Smith, Pt 2

Clan William: Mary Ann Munson & William Custer Smith, Pt 3

The Family Farm of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson
Connecting the Story: More on the William Custer Smith Farm
Mystery Muddle: Who is Alice Simmons?
Smith/Munson Side: Minor Discoveries
The Gossip Mill - Coming 10/14/17

WALTER SMITH
Smith Family: Capt (Ret) Grant Joseph Walker

William Custer Smith Family: Walter Smith
Capt Grant & Mrs Mary Jane Scoles Walker
How My Dog Got Her Name: Frankie Smith

MARY MADORA "DORA" SMITH
B F Lichty & Sons, Waterloo

HARLAND SMITH
William Custer Smith: Harland Smith
Going Beyond the Details: The Nashua Reporter
Walter Kermit Spurgeon Gets Robbed
William Lowell Smith
The Magoons: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

EVA ELVIRA SMITH
William Custer Smith Family: Eva Elvira Smith

ELLA MAE SMITH
All Aboard! The Railroad Men of the Wabash Railroad
The Long Road to Moberly, Missouri
A Sad Turn in the Tale of the Cunningham Family
Trail Blazing Women: Gertrude Bouque Nichols

A. Dorsey Bouque Moves to Indiana

It Must Have Been in the Blood: Cunningham Railroad Men

EDWIN SMITH
Edwin Smith Family

Mystery Muddle: The Many Marriages of Marie/Mary Adaline Smith
Johnathan Smull Family: Katie Smull
The Cappoens/LeRoy Line: Leo Linsey
Edwin Smith Family: Vivian Catherine Smith
Edwin Smith Family: Evelyn Joyce Smith
WWII Brought Home: Harry F Bradshaw, USN
Zola Bebee, Grandma's Best Friend
Remembering Janis Michaelsen Pedersen Ladnier
Dixie Lee Michaelsen Pedersen Pedersen
Remembering Harold James Ripley
Leland Barr and World War II
Madge Smith Scoles

REV PARKER SMITH
William Custer Smith Family: Rev Parker Smith
The Gossip Mill

MIRT SMITH
William Custer Smith Family: Mirt Smith

JOHN SMITH - He died at age 2.

CATHERINE SMITH

Eureka! A Big Find

ELIZABETH SMITH - Believed to have died young. No mention is made of her in sister Sarah's obit.

SARAH JANE SMITH
Jacob Smith Line: Mary Catherine Randolph, Sarah Jane Smith Doole, and Isaac Smith
Hang Down Your Head, Frank Doole

The Monteith's married three ways into the Smith family early on. They are pretty interesting!

THE MONTEITH FAMILY STORIES

Andrew Monteith Family of Wigtownshire, Scotland
William Boyd Monteith
Beloved Mary Welch Monteith Meets a Tragic End
The Great Chicago Fire & the Alexander McCullochs
Edward Boyd Monteith: Father of the Smith Wives
George Monteith of North Dakota
Jane Monteith, Nurse & Her Husbands
Race to the Finish: Fred C Monteith & Martin Rector
Sideroad: The Preston Family
Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Quackery

THE LICHTY FAMILY STORIES

The Lichty Family of Somerset County, Pennsylvania had many of its members pioneer in Black Hawk County. Most of them became exemplary citizens, leaders, captains of industry, lawyers, doctors, and highly successful farmers. Many held crucial roles in the development of the city of Waterloo.

Sideroad: Gabriel Bickley Lichty, MD, Abortionist

Sideroad: Lewis Lichty, Servant of the People