Statistically Speaking

Posted on November 18, 2024 by FHadmin

Family history is about facts and stories. However, it is also interesting to look at it from a statistical perspective. Statistics about a family can include number of direct ancestors, size of family tree, immigration years, longevity, causes of death, military service branches, occupations, political leanings, religious beliefs, and more. This article takes a look at a few set of statistics using both numerical and visual methods.

Family Tree Size

The chart shows the size of my official trees compared to the size of the same tree on Ancestry.com. It might seem odd that they are different sizes. Many people synchronize their trees on ancestry.com with their local tree. However, I have chosen not to do that. In part, I use the tree on ancestry when researching people or entire family lines (e.g. Lemuel McCracken’s ancestry). In that case, I have added many people to my tree online that I haven’t yet attached to the family or where I have created a temporary attachment that allows me to do additional searching. (And, yes, I make notes on them that they are not confirmed relationships.)

You will notice that in the case of Rod’s family that the online tree is actually smaller. This comes from data that we learned in places other than ancestry.com. In the case of my family, much of the information I had from other sources was already in my tree before I did an initial upload.

You will also notice a huge difference in the size of Rod’s family tree and my family tree. The primary reason, besides the fact that I have been researching my family tree for a longer period of time, is that three of his family lines immigrated to the United States in the mid-1850s while most of my family lines immigrated prior to that time. See the Immigration section for more details.

Military

The chart shows the relatives in our families that served in the Revolutionary War by surname with the surnames grouped by color into the various family lines. It demonstrates that the Klinefelter family line had the most participants followed by the Ellis family line. See Soldiers and Fireworks for more charts about military service.

Immigration

McCracken-Pellett

The chart shows the earliest year that I can confirm each family line was in the United States. In some cases, it is when the family immigrated to the United States. However, often it is the earliest record for someone in that family line. For example, if I show someone was born in the United States in 1780 and I have no records that show the specific date that the family came to the country (or Colonies), it would be included in the 1751-1800 range.

Of the families identified back as far as my 5th great grandparents, a vast majority of them were in the United States prior to 1800. Five of those identified never immigrated to the United States. It is very likely that with additional research that some of the families where I do not know a firm immigration date will be found to have been in the country at an earlier time period than their current category.

The forty that are yet to be determined are in that category either because I hit a brick wall in research or more likely simply because I haven’t had time to research those families in depth. I suspect that they will split with a smaller percentage having early arrival dates and the larger percentage never having immigrated.

Immigration

Thomson – Helm

The Thomson-Helm chart looks very different than the McCracken-Pellett chart. You will notice that the number of families with known dates in the United States or Colonies is much smaller. This is because three of Rod’s four main family lines did not immigrated to the United States until the mid-1800s.

Of the 103 family lines that are not yet determined, a vast majority are expected to fall into the category of “Never Immigrated.” With additional research many of these can be verified. However, a portion of them are from Eastern Europe likely in or near Poland and Ukraine. These family lines may be impossible to trace with any accuracy.

Name Infographic

Helm

Phillip & Mary, their children, grandchildren, and the spouses

This image shows the prevalence of given names in Phillip and Mary Helm’s family. I created it for a post about the confusion around the Helm family due to so many people having the same or similar names. This type of graphic does not include the numerical values. Instead, it demonstrates the values using the size of the text. Clearly, the variations of the name Wilhelm/Wilhelmena are the most common name in the family. The actual numbers aren’t always important when looking at trends or prevalence of certain pieces of data. This type of chart can also be useful in looking at locations of birth/death, causes of death, or any other piece of data or characteristic with repetitive values.

The blog Helm Confusion further discusses information about this graphic.

Age at Time of Death

Pellett

The chart shows the age of death of members of the Pellett family. My mom is the person in the center semi-circle. This provides a visual that shows not only age of death of ancestors, but also trends (or lack there of) by generation and by family line.

One thing that is obvious from this chart is that the further back the generation the younger people tended to die on average. That said, you will see examples of people living longer back many generations. So, the fact that the average lifespan today is greater than it was generations ago seems to be based a lot on eradicating and minimizing childhood diseases and the availability of more advanced medical assistance rather than any changes that make humans naturally live longer.

In the chart, the ones that died very young often are women who died in childbirth. When all the charts are completed (Okay, created. With genealogy, nothing is ever complete), this chart will have a companion chart that shows cause of death when known. This will give a bit of insight into the correlation between age of death and cause of death.

It is also interesting to look at the age of death compared to location, time period, and cause of death. One of my observations, which is not proven, is that early settlers in cities often lived longer than their descendants who moved westward.

I have a section on the website for Statistics. The Earliest Ancestor sections have data in them. However, most other sections are blank right now. Expect this section of the website to start to take shape in 2025.

DNA

Lemuel & Louisiana

Descendants of Lemuel and Louisiana

This chart is focused specifically on DNA matches related to my research of Lemuel L. and Louisiana (Matteer) McCracken. The first three entries show that 95 total descendants of Lemuel and/or Louisiana have taken DNA tests with one of the companies that members of our closer family have tested. A considerable majority of them are descendants of the children that they had together. However, it is possible that additional descendants have tested with other companies or simply do not match as third cousins and beyond are not guaranteed to match.

McCracken DNA Matches

The 80 DNA matches who have been identified as descendants of James & Rachel (Kelly) McCracken show why this couple appears to be Lemuel’s maternal grandparents or great-grandparents (Y-DNA indicates Peppard is likely our paternal line). It does include descendants of a couple of people that are not proven by records to be their grandchildren, but where DNA and available data indicate that it is very likely that they are members of this family.

Peppard DNA Matches

Similarly, the 119 matches to descendants of Johnathan and Elizabeth (Gilmore) Peppard indicate why they are believed to be Lemuel’s grandparents. In this case, there are another 18 matches that are in the Bailey family. However, this specific Bailey family has a Y-DNA match to the Peppard family along with many autosomal matches to the Peppard family. Thus, it is believed that this specific Bailey family descends from the Peppard family despite a different paper trail.

The graphic also shows a group of matches through Louisiana to the Matteer family. We do have a paper trail on Louisiana back to her parents. However, the DNA matches help prove in her family line.

Additionally, several hundred DNA matches to Louisiana have been identified that are believed to fit into several earlier generations of her family. This information will be shared when it is finalized.

I have worked more on Lemuel’s ancestors since I have been working to identify his parents. In his case, an additional 1200 matches have been identified that are believed to most likely be related to Lemuel. However, it is possible that some of them are not actually connected the way they appear.

One Gravestone, Three Ancestor Lines

Posted on September 11, 2024 by FHadmin

It is one thing to be related to almost everybody in the cemetery. It is another thing to be related to three of your mom’s four grandparents’ family lines through one person in that cemetery.

When you visit Lola’s grave at Clarksburg Cemetery, you are visiting with someone who ties my Carson, Pellett, and Ashby families together. And, yes, you are going to need a picture of the family tree for this one. Thus, a simplified family tree and explanation is provided at the end of the article.

Lola Mary Carson

Lola Mary Carson was the daughter of John Henry Carson. John was the son of William Henry Carson, who was the son of Henry Carson and Rebecca Fowler. Henry and Rebecca were the parents of my great-great grandmother Louisa Madeline Carson, who married George Andrew Thomas. They were ancestors in my mom’s maternal family line.

Lola grew up south/southeast of Fort Scott. In 1901, she was attending the Diamond School. At the same time, Lloyd Ashby, also attended Diamond School. Lloyd was the son of Grant and Elizabeth Ashby, who were my great-great grandparents.

Martha Marsh (top) with her siblings Otto, Gilbert, and Bertha

Lola’s life seemed to be full of friends and good times. However, she experienced sad occasions as well. On two occasions, Lola was called upon to be a pallbearer, which I found unusual as typically men are called upon for that duty. One time was for a nine-year-old girl and another time was for one of her friends. The young girl was Martha Marsh, whose older sister Bertha later married Henry Pellett Jr., brother of my grandfather Clifford Claney Pellett.

Rufus Ezra Pellett

Fortunately, the good times outweighed the sad times. There were numerous parties in the community. Some were family celebrations and others were gatherings of young people for no reason other than to have a party.

Courtship

It is unknown when Rufus Pellett first met Lola. However, they had both grew up in Drywood Township south of Fort Scott. In September of 1916, they were both at a party hosted by Ruth Jamison. The prior month it had been reported that Rufus was working at the brick plant at Oskaloosa, Missouri, which was several miles south of Garland. He may have been making a daily journey to work. However, he may have just been home for the party.

It is not known if he continued to work at Oskaloosa; however, he was also at Ruth Jamison’s party the following March. In late May, 62 of Lola and her sisters Gladys and Pearl’s friends surprised the Carson sisters with a party. Rufus was again among the young men in attendance. In late June, their paths crossed again at a party at the Lauber home and at another in the first half of July.

The first indicator in the news that they were a couple is when they spent time with Lola’s sister Bessie and her husband Walter Hurt. Only days later in early August 1917, Lola and Rufus married, bringing together the Carson and Pellett families.

Early Married Life

Initially, they lived on Seth Pellett’s farm, which was also known as the Will Carter Farm. The following year Rufus was granted a license for explosives. Apparently, the World War had prompted the approval of more licenses. It seemed that there were many small mining operations and likely Rufus was trying to take advantage of that opportunity. Oddly, Williams Hardware Company of Hiattville was also issued a license at the same time. I really wonder why a hardware store needed an explosive license.

Not sure if the explosives business didn’t work out or not, but later Rufus was described as a farmer. The following April, Rufus rented the O.O. Barker farm west of Garland. That year Rufus had two major milestones as he got a new binder and he turned 21-years-old. The birthday was, of course, another reason for a celebration.

A Near Disaster

Later that year, disaster nearly struck when Rufus opened an umbrella while driving a buggy. The horse was spooked and took off at a full run. At the bottom of the hill, the horse fell, overturning the buggy and throwing Rufus, Lola, their baby Nola, and Clarence Johnson to the ground. Rufus had a badly bruised back, but miraculously no one else was injured.

Rufus and Lola spent the following year living near Richards, Missouri before moving back to Ezra’s farm in 1921. I can’t imagine moving around every year with little kids. Granted, families did not have as much “stuff” in their houses. However, farmers had to move all their equipment and any livestock that they owned.

In 1922, Rufus and C. A. Hahn advertised that they were quitting farming and having a sale. Eleven horses, eight cattle, corn, fodder, timothy hay, and all farm implements were included in the sale. However, three years later Rufus was farming and he appeared to continue farming for the next several years.

Moving To Town

Rufus and Lola stayed on the farm until 1931 when they moved to Fort Scott where he worked for a time for the city water department. According to the Footprints of Bourbon County, the family moved to Waterloo, Iowa in 1942, where Rufus worked at a plant that did defense work in support of World War II. After the war, they moved back to Bourbon County. This seems to contradict city records showing Rufus in Fort Scott during at least a portion of that period.

After The War

The book also stated that they purchased Lola’s grandparent’s property, which is better known as the Catt property. It contained a rock home that her Grandfather Catt had built in the 1860s. The exact date of the acquisition needs to be researched. It was sometime after March 1, 1946 as Rufus and Lola were living in Pawnee Township on that date.

In June of that year, the family had another close call with disaster. As, Lola was cooking on the kitchen stove, she saw a flash of light and was knocked to the floor. A lightning bolt had entered the home creating a four-foot-wide hole. It had also damaged the upstairs floor before continuing to the kitchen where it put a hole through the center of a chair. Lola and Rufus’ son and his wife were also in the home. Luckily, the lightning missed directly hitting any of the occupants.

Lola and Rufus’ son had been born in 1923. He was their only son and last child, following their daughters Nola Marie and Mary Lillie. Their children were doubly related to me. Their relationship to me goes as follows: Rufus was the son of Ezra Mitchell Pellett and Lillie Pearl Carver. Ezra was the son of Seth M. Pellett and Aseneth E. Crawford, who were my great-great grandparents. And, Lola was related to me through Henry Carson and Rebecca Fowler as previously described.

In late 1966, about 9 months shy of his and Lola’s 50^th Anniversary, Rufus died.

William (Lloyd) Ashby

The year after Rufus died, William (Lloyd) Ashby, came to Kansas for a visit. Lloyd was a widower. He had married Emma Witt in 1915. They had both lived southeast of Fort Scott near Garland while growing up and then moved away. He had moved with his parents to an area south of Holly, Colorado, which might as well be called No Man’s Land as it is just dirt, rock, and sun. Emma, on the other hand, had moved to Hooker, Oklahoma, which was about as desolate. After they married, they had lived near Garland and he had been a clerk at the G.W. Million & Son store until they moved to California in 1919.

That visit resulted in a marriage between Lloyd and Lola. Grandma Pellett told the story of how they came to marry. During Lloyd’s visit, someone (maybe her, we are not sure on that detail) took Lloyd around to all the widow’s homes to visit. As the story goes, he stayed the longest at his old schoolmate Lola’s home. They married in Atascadero, CA just over a year after Rufus died. Lloyd was 75 and Lola was almost 71 at the time of their marriage.

Lola outlived Lloyd. He is buried at Atascadero, California. Lola returned to Kansas and is buried at Clarksburg Cemetery.

Lloyd was the son of Grant and Elizabeth Ashby. Their daughter Sarah Ellen “Sadie Ella” or simply “Ella” was my great-grandmother.

Coming Full Circle

To complete the connection, Grant and Elizabeth Ashby’s granddaughter, my grandmother Dessie May (Thomas) Pellett, was also the granddaughter of Louisa Madeline Carson and George Andrew Thomas (g-grand of Henry Carson and Martha Fowler) married Clifford Claney Pellett grandson of Seth and Asenith Pellett. My mom’s Conner family is the only one without a connection to that one gravestone!

The Connections Explained

The following chart shows the connections of these three people to me. Each family line is represented by a color group. The shades of each color are to help visualize the family line of key people in the article vs. my ancestors in those families. The male of the family is shown without the spouse due to space limitations except where critical to show the connection between families.

To read the chart:

The center line shows common ancestors between myself and the key people in the article.
The key people in the article are the top person in each column above the center line.
Ancestors of the people in the article are read from top to bottom.
My ancestors connecting to these families are shown underneath the center line.
Ancestors are read from bottom to top.
Key marriages are shown with a light yellow background.

Family Secrets

Posted on September 2, 2024September 2, 2024 by FHadmin

I find that many of the stories that I write are about family secrets or at a minimum – things that were taboo or just weren’t talked about in the family even if the intent wasn’t to keep them a secret. I find them very intriguing because as Paul Harvey would say they tell us “the rest of the story.”

Setting the Stage

Each family seems to have their own slant on what is or was acceptable to discuss and what is or was considered hush, hush. Many of the secrets in a family have to do with maintaining the family’s reputation. No doubt some of this changed over time as certain things became more acceptable to occur and/or more acceptable to discuss. However, even today there are things that families don’t discuss.

This article touches on some of the many secrets in the families that I research. Some of the stories have been written in detail, others will be written, and others I will avoid writing as they aren’t my story to tell.

If you think anything mentioned herein wouldn’t happen in your family, you are most likely incorrect. All families have secrets and things that aren’t discussed

Health

I found that some of the families didn’t want to discuss health issues in the family – no matter what kind of issue existed. It was many years before we knew the whole story about my husband’s father’s death. It was only after we got our hands on a copy of his autopsy that we learned what had occurred back in 1968. And, thankfully, they had written a very thorough report.

Mental Health

Mental health seemed to be more sensitive than physical health. My Grandfather Pellett, for instance, fell, injured his leg, got gangrene, and was hospitalized at the VA hospital for years. And, if you asked the family, that is the story that they would tell. However, they left out the part that he had what we would call PTSD from his time serving in World War I in France. That, it appears, is the primary reason that he was hospitalized for so many years. Read more . . .

In a similar vein, my husband’s grandfather’s first wife Lulu was in and out of the hospital for mental reasons. This occurred after her children were born and may very well have been related to post-partum depression, although I do not know exactly what her issue was. Never knew about it until I found multiple newspaper articles that mentioned it. I had assumed she was just at the state hospital because of her tuberculosis since they often placed patients with it in state facilities.

Reproductive Health

Women’s health issues were among the hush, hush topics across all the families I have researched. Miscarriages, hysterectomies, and the like were not to be discussed, especially in front of men or children.

I asked a member of the older generation once about why her parents had a 10-year gap between two of their children. I knew they had lost one child, but wondered if there were others or if something else had occurred. Well, that was the last time she communicated with me on any subject. Clearly, it was something she wasn’t going to talk about and did not like that I had asked.

So, little was the discussion about such things that Mom didn’t even tell Dad that she had a prescription for birth control pills. I assume the doctor gave it to her because he was greatly concerned with her having more children. Anyway, we found it after she had passed. She had never filled it, but she also had never thrown it away. She probably didn’t want anyone to see it in the trash. Of course, she was embarrassed by bra and girdle commercials when she was dating. So, . . .

Births, Adoptions, & More

The short first pregnancy seemed to be something that was often hidden. I have found this hidden so often that people in the last 50 years seem to think it is a recent phenomena. It clearly has existed over the generations. For instance, my mother-in-law’s oldest full sister was the result of a short pregnancy as was my great-aunt Lydia. In some cases, it is difficult to detect as they easily changed dates to make it seem as if everything was proper. Read more . . .

Adoptions were also sensitive and my husband experienced being told not to mention that a family member was adopted. Of course, people were also led to believe his cousin was actually his uncle as his grandparents raised their daughter’s child.

Similarly, my Grandma Pellett was so petrified of what people would think about her daughters having a child outside marriage that she had a fit when her daughter Ruby wrote on a postcard that she was bringing Babe home. Babe was a cat that she was getting, but Grandma Pellett was petrified that the mailman would read the postcard and think her daughter had had a baby. And, she had an even bigger fit when her granddaughter had a child too soon after her marriage.

On the other hand, in my dad’s family, it was perfectly acceptable to talk about my cousin Heather being adopted. However, when one of my cousins became pregnant outside marriage, she still felt the need to hide the pregnancy and give the child up for adoption. Meanwhile, my more distant cousins tried to convince me and others of a pregnancy outside marriage that would make us related to President John Adams. Read more . . .

First Spouses

Numerous first spouses were never mentioned or only minimally. In some cases, it almost seemed like a secret, but I suspect it just wasn’t part of the conversation. Lemuel McCracken and Louisiana (Matteer) Badgley McCracken are two examples. However, it seems that their entire lives were one big secret. Read more . . .

In other cases, I think it was a secret for whatever reason. One situation was Herman Kutzner and his first wife Ernstine. They had two daughters and then divorced. My mother-in-law never had the opportunity to meet her two half-aunts although her mother knew her half-sisters. Read more . . .

William Johnson Peelle’s possible first wife and child, is another example of a hidden story. If this story is accurate as it appears to be, it clearly was hidden. However, my aunts seemed to overhear something and created a new story. It wasn’t accurate as they clearly only heard piece parts of the story. Read more . . .

David Ellis was Lucy Ann (Storms) Ellis’ only husband, but he was treated a lot like a previous husband. Other than grandsons and great-grandsons named David, he is simply not mentioned in any documents or obituaries after the family left Indiana. A record exists for a David Ellis that died during the Civil War, but it is not clear that this is the same David Ellis. And, if it was, it would seem that the family would mention him as most families viewed those who served with great respect. What happened to him is at least a mystery and possibly a family secret.

Maintaining A Reputation

Marriage Secrets

Elizabeth Ashby’s name was always shown as Ashby and it was always thought that her maiden name either wasn’t known or an error was made and her married surname had been listed. With research, I learned that both her maiden and married surnames were Ashby. Recently, I discovered a letter where a relative explained to my aunt that her maiden name was also Ashby, but that her and her husband Grant were not related. I am sure that is what she had been told and fully believed. However, they were half-first cousins.

It was not a secret that Johann Phillip Helm married Maria Katherina about a month after she arrived in the country. However, the circumstances that led to that quick marriage appear to be a bit of a secret. Read more . . .

Secret Babies

I found two siblings that are descendants of my great-grandparents. They didn’t know they were related to us. They always believed their paper genealogy. I never knew about this connection and I am still working to find out exactly how we connect.

Run-ins With The Law

Great-grandpa William Johnson Peelle spent a night in the calaboose, per his own admission. However, it was written in his journals. My grandparents kept them in a desk that he had made. My dad and his siblings were not allowed to even touch the desk. Dad always figured this is one of the facts that his mom did not want her kids to know.

When Warren Jury was upset because the girl he had his eye on turned him down. He took matters into his own hands. It was all over the news, but the women in the family never spoke of the incident. Read more . . .

Arthur Callaway deciding to shoot Jake Helm made the newspaper and a court case ensued. Yet, the story as told doesn’t seem to add up. The story seemed to be swept under the rug even though my mother-in-law was present. In this case, it wasn’t family doing the shooting. Well, not exactly. Arthur was a cousin of Jake’s daughter Rosa’s husband.

Just Pure Tragedy

No one spoke out loud about Rebecca Jury and her tragic life. If it were not for newspapers and records, the family would never have known what was behind those whispers between Grandma McCracken and her sister Lydia Peelle. Read more . . .

More Secrets

There are more secrets that I have uncovered. Some that I will write about one day and some that I think are best left alone. Yet, I doubt that I am done uncovering secrets. Matter of fact, I am currently researching a genetic tie to a Bailey family. Before anyone gets excited – They are NOT related at least in any close way and likely not at all to the Baileys of Bourbon County. It appears that connection occurred during or before the Civil War and they tie into our Peppard ancestry. I hope to have more to share on that soon.

Woman Image by: Willgard Krause from Pixabay;

The Tragedy of The First Wives Club

Posted on August 20, 2024August 20, 2024 by FHadmin

It seems it would be much easier to be the first wife. You are typically younger, you can set expectations, you don’t have to mother children that are your husbands (i.ie. avoid the “You are not my mother!”), and you don’t have the image of an earlier wife to get in the way of your relationship. However, in the past, being in the First Wives’ Club often meant that tragedy would strike.

Members of the Club

The Tragedy

Died at age 26. Lulu died of tuberculosis. Even before she died, she was away from the family multiple times as she struggled with mental health. Jake was over 50 when he remarried to Minnie Louisa Carolina Kutzner♥, who was nearly twenty years his junior. They had three children. This tragedy allowed for the birth of my mother-in-law with Jake’s second wife.

Sarah Ellen “Sadie Ella” (Ashby) Thomas ♥

Married

James William “Will” Thomas

May 30, 1902

Fort Scott, Kansas

Children

Dessie May, Delbert Roy, Oren Glenn, Leland/Leonard William, Verda Leola, Theo Melvin “Bud”

The Tragedy

Died at age 34, Sadie Ella died from childbirth complicated by hemorrhaging and myocarditis. She lost three children at the time of birth or shortly after, including a son that died two days before she did. Will did not remarry until their children were grown. He did not have any children with his second wife, Belle (Tremain) Woodard.

Della M. (Conner) Pellett ♥

Married

This is a collection of images of cars various families have owned going back into the 1960s and earlier. Not nearly all the cars that were owned are included mainly because many were not photographed. Some cars have interesting stories. For others, I know very little. If you can identify the make and model of any of the cars that aren’t identified, have corrections to the make/model of any cars, or have additional stories about them, please contact me.

Car on Fire

Inez L. Pellett’s car with Elma (Pellett) McCracken, Inez Pellett, and Ruby Pellett

This Chevy was Aunt Inez Pellett’s first car. I remember riding in it and climbing into the backseat as it was a two-door. At some point, Inez decided to get another car, probably to have four doors. So, she negotiated a deal to sell it to Roy Mosley (his wife was the famous Mrs. Mosley, who taught at Hiattville).

Before the transaction had been completed, Dad was doing some work on the car. I am not sure what happened, but there was a fire and the fire department was called. They talked to Dad about what happened and never bothered to ask who owned the car. So, it was reported in the newspaper that Dad’s car had a fire.

When Roy Mosley found out, he called Dad. He offered to let Dad borrow the car he was buying until Dad could get his fixed. Little did he know that he was offering Dad the very car that had a fire.

Family Reunion

Portions of the McCracken family gathered for a family reunion in 1953 at Lincoln Park in Pittsburg, Kansas. Anyone able to name all the people in the photo?

Multiple of their cars can be seen. Not sure where the rest of the cars are hiding.

Thomson Cars

These are old cars at Hebert and Blanche (Klinefelter) Thomson’s farm.

Car Models

Dee (McCracken) Burnam and Ruthe (McCracken) McCarty posing on Dad’s car sometime in the 1950s.

Thomas-Pellett Auto

This was found among my photos from Mom’s family. I assume this is from the Thomas family, but it is possible that it is from the Pellett family.

White Walls

Max and Betty Barton are standing by their “get-away” car when they married. Max’s 1956 Buick had great white walls. And, if you look close you can see the word “married” written on the side of the car. While living at Dave Workman’s farm, which was about a mile from our house, Their kids, Mitzi and Tony, learned to drive in that very car. The year was 1970/71 and the kids were at the ripe old ages of 8/9 and 11/12. According to Mitzi, they learned to drive over the rocks, cactus and rattlesnakes in the drought ridden pasture. Max always planned to fully restore the car, but that never happened. However, Tony’s family still owns the car and perhaps one day they will restore it to its original beauty. (Mitzi [Barton] Hutcherson contributed to this story.)

Suicide Door

Verda (Thomas) Eastwood is standing beside a car with an open suicide door.

1953 Chevy

Rambler

Desoto

1925 Chevy

This is Herbert and Blanche (Klinefelter) Thomson and their family. The photo was taken in 1928 and as you can see their 1925 Chevy was just as much a part of the photo as the family. It really makes you wonder why the photographer didn’t just focus on the family or have the family stand closer to the car.

This was likely taken near Stettler, Alberta, Canada, as the family traveled there in the summer of 1928.

1930 Plymouth

Joe and Nellie (Peelle) McCracken had a 1930 Plymouth when WWII started. This photo would be three or so years earlier. I am assuming that is the car in this photo. If anyone knows differently, please let me know.

The entire family did not often all ride in the car at one time, but it did happen. Of course, I should say, “In or on the car.” As I understand it, Don and Dad rode on the front fenders. Meanwhile, Dewey and Howard rode on the running boards. That left only eight people to squeeze inside, assuming they had no extras.

Another Car Prop

Inez Pellett and I assume her nephew Glen Pellett pose with a car in the 1950s. The front grill looks a bit like it might eat you for lunch.

Wittmer Car

This car is believed to have belonged to the Wittmer family in Rod’s Klinefelter line.

Bumper Test

Great Uncle Dewey C. “Doc” McCracken, his great-nephew Larry Linke, and his nephew Roger McCracken test out the bumper of a car.

Thomson’s Ner-A-Car

Advertizing agency for Ner-A-Car (I don’t know), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When Judge S. Klinefelter was living in Florida, he sent his grandsons (Alexander, Arthur, Alfred, George, & Reid Thomson) a Ner-A-Car, which is an early motorcycle. The ad describes it as a a two-wheeler and also an auto.

The photograph above shows George Ackermann taking a spin on the Thomson’s Ner-A-Car when Herbert & Blanche were in Stettler, Alberta, Canada.

Dean Thomson came into possession of the family’s Ner-A-Car. In the early 1980’s, he sold it. He told me that he regretted not keeping it.

Car On The Field

Looks like this car is almost on the pitcher’s mound. That adds a bit more excitement when you have to play around a car. Here I thought it was bad enough that they had to try to avoid rocks, cacti, and cow pies when playing cow pasture baseball.

Wedding Day

Attendants at Marvin and Edna (Lobmeyer) Pellett’s wedding in 1948.

Sears Car

This car is thought to be a Sears car approximately 1911 or earlier. The family is thought to be related to the Wittmer family in Rod’s Klinefelter line.

Shift, Dad, Shift

I think that is Don McCracken’s Dodge behind his sons Vance and Sky. The interesting thing about this car isn’t the car itself. Instead, it is Don, the absent-minded professor, and his driving habits. Before the boys were as old as shown in the picture, they learned to remind their dad to shift.

One Ball Team, One Car

Dad is carrying the bats and it looks like the entire team is going to pile into that old convertible (or topless).

Uncle Pat?

I seem to recall Dad saying that this is Uncle Passco “Pat” Peelle with his car. Anyone know for sure?

A Lonesome Car

This car with its white walls is sitting all alone. It is from the Thomas-Pellett collection.