I try to salvage every letter and diary from family as you never know what family history may be in them. So, when the topic of letters and diaries came up, I went to a container of letters that I had, looked for old paper, and pulled out a few until I found one of interest. The letter I chose was written January 2, 1942, less than one month after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Inez Linda Pellett holding me when I was a baby. I inherited the corner stand in the background and I still have it today.
The Author and Recipient
The letter was between two teenage girls. Nola Marie Ashby (pictured above) wrote the letter to my aunt Inez Linda Pellett (Yes, I was named after her). Nola was the daughter of Inez’s grandmother Sarah Ellen Ashby’s youngest brother Lester “Pete” Ashby. However, Nola was only a year and a half older than Inez. And, Pete was actually younger than Inez’s mother Dessie May (Thomas) Pellett, who was his niece.
Inez and Nola knew each other mostly through letters as Inez lived in Fort Scott, Bourbon, Kansas and Nola lived Compton, Los Angeles, California.
The Letter
Much of the four-page letter was what you would expect between two teenage girls in 1942. Nola asked questions about school, 4-H, and the weather. She told about being excited to finally have a bedroom to herself now that her older sister was married. And, like almost every letter of that era that I have read, multiple reminders to write back.
War News
What was a bit different than most letters between girl cousins is that Nola wrote about the effects of the war on her life. She wrote: “What did you do on New Year’s Eve? I went to the midnight show. They didn’t want people on the pike.” I assume by pike she meant turnpike or a major road. This is consistent with newspaper reports where they encouraged people to celebrate in small groups in people’s homes.
Nola continued, “The Japs sure are getting close to us. We are right on the coast, surrounded by munition and airplane factories. I am getting the hot seat. I think I’ll come back there where it’s safe. Ha ha. I have been in bed during every air raid signal we’ve had so far. Or if I’m not in bed, I get there darn quick(sic).”
However, she observed that “[a]t first the war changed all our lives(sic) and they would hardly let us on the street, but now everything is going on pretty much as usual.”
So, within a month, the rules had already relaxed. However, the rules, air raid practices, and blackout practices would continue throughout the war.
Source: The Los Angeles Times January 2, 1942 via newspapers.com
Snow
The other very interesting thing that Nola mentioned in her letter was that it had snowed in Los Angeles on New Year’s Day for the first time in many years. Compton was a bit south and it didn’t seem that they had gotten snow. However, some areas of the city had. From my own cousins that live about half-way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, I know what excitement snow brings in Southern California.
So, remember to write! Your letter might someday tell history as it is happening.
I was astonished when I saw a newspaper article from the early 1800s about Rod’s 5th great grandmother, Ann (McGinley) Stetler, having breast cancer. The surprise wasn’t that she had breast cancer, but that it was mentioned in the newspaper.
Source: Newsbank – Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, April 21, 1820
Why the Surprise?
My surprise came from the fact that my Grandma McCracken would never talk about breast cancer in any group. She might quietly talk about it with a friend or sibling. However, she would never speak of it in mixed company or when younger folks were around. And, neither of my grandmothers would have included it in an obituary. If they mentioned the cause of death, they would have simply said that the person died of cancer. Saying “breast” was considered too risqué or too personal.
The Situation
Ann McGinley was born in 1784 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of John and Margaret (Hurrie) McGinley. Ann grew up in Philadelphia, where her father was a blacksmith. Her maternal grandfather, who had died before her birth, was the famous ringer of the Liberty Bell. During her childhood, her mother’s sister’s husband Joseph Fry worked at the State House (Independence Hall), taking over after her grandfather died. Since the Fry family lived in the State House, Ann would have gone to the famous building to visit her Aunt Martha’s family.
Ann married Christian Stetler and they lived near Trappe, Montgomery, Pennsylvania. Ann and Christian became the parents to at least eight children over a span of about fifteen years before their life took a turn.
Cancer
Ann developed breast cancer and went to Philadelphia for treatment. It is unknown exactly what all treatments were sought, but she ultimately underwent a double mastectomy. This also surprised me as I was unaware that they could do that surgery in the early 1800s. I found that they had been removing tumors for a very long time and had even attempted mastectomies for multiple centuries. However, the process prior to the 1800s was very painful with a very high mortality rate.
In the first half of the 1800s, the mortality rate from the surgery dropped to 10%. The cancer generally reoccurred, but in some cases could buy the patient more years of life. Unfortunately, Ann did not get several years. She was still healing from the surgery when the cancer came back.
Fortunately, the detection, treatment, and surgical techniques for breast cancer has improved greatly over the past 200 years. If Ann were living today and developed the same disease, she would have had a much greater chance of a positive outcome.
It was said that she had suffered greatly for the last six months of her life. She died in Philadelphia April 13, 1820. Despite being admitted in December 1819 to what is now called Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church, which her maternal grandfather had been an early member and sexton, Ann was buried in the Augustus Lutheran Church Graveyard in Trappe, Montgomery, Pennsylvania.
Sadly, only eleven months later Christian joined Ann in the hereafter, leaving eight orphan children. The family’s property was apparently sold and the children were dispersed. This led their son John McGinley Stetler, who was only four when his mother died to write the book (booklet) “A Poor Orphan Boy.”
Grinda Josephine (Hanson) Van Allen had a life full of challenges, including becoming a step-mother to six, including teenagers, when she was only fifteen, losing her husband when she was 29, and almost losing her young daughter at the same time. These were only a few of the challenges in Grinda’s life.
The Early Years
Grinda Josephine (Hanson) Van Allen was born February 4, 1885 in Richwood, Wisconsin. She was the daughter of Magnus Hans Hanson, who was born in Wisconsin, and Mary Inga Anderson, who immigrated to the United States from Sweden. She was the fifth of ten children to be born to Magnus and Mary.
When Grinda was only two, her baby brother John died when only a month old. She was young enough that she wasn’t likely affected by his death. However, when Grinda was thirteen, she lost her older brother Martin (Norman) when he drowned while bathing in the river near Port Andrew, Wisconsin. Her oldest brother Elmer Lewis witnessed the drowning, making it all the more sad. This had to have been a very significant event in her young life.
The Marriage
Just two years later, at age fifteen, Grinda married John (Warren) Van Allen in Richland, Wisconsin who was a widower twenty-five and a half years her senior with six children. His wife had died the prior year and he was clearly in need of a wife. His oldest daughter was only nine and running a household would be a bit much at that age.
What attracted Grinda to a much older man with sons as old as she was is unknown. However, it must have been very challenging to take over running a household and deal with step-children, especially boys her age and older.
On the Move, Again, And Again
The following March, Warren, Grinda, and his children pulled up stakes and left for Minnesota. It was in Sleepy Eye in Brown County, Minnesota that John Warren, their first child together, was born on October 18, 1902.
The family’s stay in Minnesota did not last long, as their next child Jessie Wilma was born in Iowa on September 19, 1904. That was followed by another move to near Fremont, Nebraska, where their third child was born October 3, 1906.
Thus, in the first five and a half years of their marriage, they moved at least three times . . . and to three different states. What took them on this specific journey has yet to be discovered. However, the first move may have been made in conjunction with moves by a couple of Grinda’s siblings.
John Warren, Grinda, and their 3 oldest children. Likely taken in Dodge County, Nebraska
Life In Nebraska
The family settled into life in Nebraska, where Warren quickly became known for the fruits and vegetables that he grew. He had a reputation for excellence in his gardens and fields when he lived in Wisconsin, which he renewed in his latest home.
In 1911, he advertised for a farm with 160 acres and a home with enough room for his growing family, which implies yet another move. He may have needed more land or simply needed a bigger house as May would bring their fifth child. Three months after her latest child was born, Grinda was suffering with appendicitis. It is hard to imagine having a house full of kids including a newborn and being seriously ill.
John Warren’s Accident
Over the next couple of years, Warren and Grinda’s last two children were born. All appeared to be going well until they received word of Warren’s son Clarence at the end of May. He had died after a short illness. The nature of which is unknown.
Then on July 15, 1914, Grinda and Warren’s life took a turn for the worse. On that day, Warren was riding on his cultivator working in the corn field, when the seat broke. Warren received internal injuries in his fall from the cultivator. Despite an operation and expectations of improvement, Warren’s condition never seemed to improve.
Vivian Vera’s Accident
Over a month later, Warren was still ill when Warren and Grinda’s five-year-old daughter Vivian Vera was badly burned. On August 26, Vivian was playing in the kitchen with one or more of her sisters while Grinda was working in another room.
As they were playing, the oil stored on the shelf above the cookstove fell over and spilled onto the cookstove that had a fire burning in it. Standing in front of the stove, the flames from the hot oil encased the young girl’s clothing.
Grinda heard the ruckus and came running. She saw flames and smoke filled the air and grabbed Vivian. She wrapped her jacket around her daughter to smother the flames while she used her hand to beat out any flames that escaped.
After the flames on her daughter were out, Grinda turned her attention to the fire in general. However, by then the fire had mostly died out.
Despite Grinda’s efforts, young Vivian received serious burns. Vivian’s burns were the worst on her arm and shoulder. Additionally, her hair was greatly damaged. The newspaper described the burns as “ugly” and requiring the attention of a physician.
Death of Her Husband
Five days after Vivian’s accident, Warren succumbed to his injuries. With Vivian injured and being nursed back to health, the service for Warren was not held at the home as was customary. Instead, the service was held at the Bader Undertaking Parlor or the Seventh Day Adventist Church (accounts vary).
In the 8 years they had lived in the area, Warren had become quite well known. He was an expert fruit and vegetable grower, belonged to Modern Woodmen of America, and had even run for Nebraska state treasure on the Socialist ticket. He was so well known that his death was noted in various newspapers across the state.
The newspaper didn’t mention any of his children with his first wife in Warren’s obituary. Most were living in North Dakota and there is no mention of them coming to the funeral. It leaves the impression that perhaps the relationship with them had become strained. However, Floyd, the youngest who lived with Warren and Grinda at least until 1910, did come to help settle his dad’s estate.
The only relatives of Warren that attended were one of his half-siblings and his step-father, who traveled from Wisconsin for his funeral. In Grinda’s family, only one sister-in-law and a brother made the trip. It is not believed that they had any close relatives in the Fremont area.
Life Without a Husband
So, Grinda was a 29-year-old widow. She was the step-mother to seven adults, who ranged from nineteen to thirty-one years of age. Additionally, Grinda had four step-grandchildren that she may not even have known about. In any case, Warren’s children with his first wife were hundreds of miles away and not there to help Grinda.
Grinda had seven children to feed. They ranged in age from less than a year to almost twelve with four children under age five.
She must have had a pile of medical bills and it is unknown what crops were able to be harvests. However, knowing midwestern farm spirit, it is likely that the local families helped the family. In addition, the Modern Woodmen of America provided $3000 to the family and Grinda collected an insurance policy.
Grinda (Hanson) Van Allen an Children
Another Death Before Moving On
Only a few months after Warren died, Grinda’s mother died. She was only 61-years-old. It is unlikely that Grinda made the journey to Wisconsin for her mother’s service. It would have been both expensive and challenging to make the trip with her children.
The following month Grinda purchased a house in College View (Lincoln), Nebraska. It was unclear what made her choose this area other than it was a city and provided more opportunities for work for a woman than a smaller farming community.
Grinda and the kids began life in a bigger town. I don’t know if Grinda went to work right away after the move. However, by 1920, she was doing domestic work in private homes. It is unclear how she would have managed to work with young children that weren’t school age. By 1920, however, all the children were attending school. At that point, her oldest daughter Jessie would have been old enough to watch the younger children.
The children seemed to adjust, joining school, sports, and other activities. Some of them joined the local garden club. Clearly, they had gotten their father’s green thumb as multiple of them won awards.
The kids also had their share of diseases, which no doubt added more stress and challenges to Grinda’s life as a single mother. For instance, Josephine and Jessie had scarlet fever in December 1916. They missed two weeks of school and surely someone had to look after them during their illness. Similarly, John and Josephine both had influenza during the great flu epidemic. And, a couple of them also had the mumps.
Who Needs Trouble
By June 1919, John Warren Jr. was plenty old enough to help support the family. I am sure the family could have used some extra cash. An older man likely played on that need when he got John involved in a scheme with several other boys and young men to steal various items. The man enticed them by promising to buy the stolen items from them. It wasn’t worth it as John was sent to the State Industrial School for his part in the crimes despite testifying against the man who instigated the entire operation.
Death of a Sister
In the summer of 1921, Grinda received more bad news. Her sister Anna and Anna’s husband had both drowned near their home while bathing in the Wisconsin River. Anna had been enjoying herself when she was caught in the current. She called out for help. Her husband attempted to swim to her, but he sunk under the surface of the water for some unknown reason. Anna went under a short time later.
Their five-year-old adopted daughter and Grinda’s father, who was nearly 70 years of age, were unfortunate witnesses to the incident. Neither could do anything to remedy the situation beyond calling for help. Many people came to help. Unfortunately, it was a recovery operation rather than a rescue.
Grinda received word of their deaths and made a trip to Wisconsin to attend the funeral.
More Accidents
Donna
In 1922 disaster struck again when Donna, Rod’s grandmother, was struck by a car that was “going at a lively rate of speed.” Donna was drug 25 to 30 feet and the skid marks were said to have been at least 50 feet. Donna saved herself from worse harm by grasping tightly onto the front axle of the car.
Kenneth “Kenny”
In 1926 it was Grinda’s youngest child Kenneth’s turn to get hurt. This accident occurred while he was playing football. The injury left him with a broken left elbow and required the attention of multiple physicians.
Kenny Again
In 1929, Kenny went to work for the Smith Baking Company. He wasn’t on the job long before he lost three fingers and part of his palm. A major court case ensued that lasted several years and included a fight over whether he was 15 or 16. And, if he was 15, whether the company knew or should have known his age. Click here to read all the details.
Grinda, Herself
In 1931, Grinda was injured when the car she was a passenger in was hit from behind as the car slowed to turn into a farm driveway. All five people in the car were injured, some critically. Grinda was on the lucky side as she received lacerations to her hands and face as well as a chest injury.
In The End
Grinda died in 1966. She had certainly been through a lot. Despite all the drama, trauma, and challenges in her life, she had managed to live to be 81 years of age. She outlived all of her step-children except Floyd, the youngest. Grinda also outlived seven of her nine siblings.
What happened between 1905 and 1910 that caused Delarma Lawrence McCracken to suddenly report his age as several years older?
The Early Years
Delarma Lawrence McCracken was born to Lemuel Lawrence McCracken, my great-great grandfather, and Sarah Dufer, Lemuel’s first wife, in Lee County, Iowa. Lemuel and Sarah had married September 23, 1854. Prior to their marriage, Lemuel was living in Montrose Township, which lies adjacent to Jefferson Township, along its southern border. In the 1856 Iowa Census, they are listed as living in Jefferson Township, where Sarah’s family lived.
Although a record of Sarah’s death has not been found, it appears that she died sometime between Delarma’s birth April 30, 1858 and the end of the year. Lemuel married my great-great grandmother Louisiana Matteer on January 17, 1859. Both of them inherited children with their marriage. In the 1860 census, Delarma, who later mostly used the name Lawrence, Louisiana’s two children from her first marriage, and their first son are all living in the household.
By 1870, Lemuel and Louisiana still resided in Lee County, but had moved west to Van Buren Township. However, only the children they had together lived in their household. Although, Delarma was only 12, he was living with Robert and Diana Kennedy. They do not appear to have any relationship to the family. They also had two other young people living in their household.
Delarma had no occupation listed nor did the record indicate that he had been attending school. Thus, it is unclear why he lived with the family. However, multiple of Lemuel and Louisiana’s children lived elsewhere after Louisiana died. So, perhaps he did the same.
In 1873, Lemuel and Louisiana and their younger children moved to Sherman Township near Farlington, Kansas. Delarma appears not to have made the journey with them, although he was only 15 years old. At least, he has not been found in any records in Kansas or Missouri where they lived over the coming years. Thus, he was left in Iowa to make a life of his own.
Marriage
It is unclear what Delarma did over the next few years. He is not found in the 1880 census. Perhaps a coincidence, however, Lemuel and Louisiana’s two oldest sons together are also missing in the 1880 census.
The next record of Delarma was in May 1881 when he married Nancy Judy in Franklin Township, Lee County, Iowa. The next year they had a set of twins, Sarah and Mary, although only Mary survived childhood. They were the first of eight children to be born before the turn of the century.
Delarma and Nancy spent many years living in Denmark Township, which is along the northeast border of Lee County. To support the family, Delarma worked as a laborer, farmer, and mason.
Sudden Change
From the time Delarma was young until 1905, his birthdate was always recorded as approximately 1858 with the 1900 census specifically stating April 1858. However, starting in the 1910 census, his birthdate is consistently recorded as approximately 1853.
The following chart shows Delarma Lawrence McCracken’s reported age and/or birth year in various records throughout his life. The highlighted cells show information directly given in the record and the other data is the calculated age or birth year based on what is in the record. Variations in age or birth year are typical in records, especially ones dating back into the 1800s. However, in this case, there is an abrupt shift.
Delarma Lawrence McCracken’s age and birth year per records over time. Notes: The record under marriage in 1930 indicates that the record said that he was 27 when he married, not that he was 27 at the time of the record. Additionally, the date 88.10.23 means that the record said that he was 88 years, 10 months, and 23 days old.
So, the question in my mind is, “Why did Delarma suddenly get 5 years older?”
Why the Change?
What happened around 1905 that caused Delarma or his wife Nancy to report his age as several years older? She was older than him by several years, but that didn’t suddenly change. Perhaps she had a mid-life crisis and insisted he had to be closer to her age. But, in that case, it seems she would have more likely made herself younger instead of him older. And, it definitely wasn’t his mid-life crisis that spawned him to be older.
I checked the records and the newspapers for something that might have happened to him or the family. The only thing I found that happened around that time was that in 1910 he was elected constable for Denmark Township in Lee County, Iowa. However, nobody would have cared if he was 52 or 57. So, that doesn’t seem like a likely reason for a change.
I also considered military service as a reason to change his age as often men changed their age so that they could serve or to avoid service. I did find military records where he is listed at various ages. However, I did not find a date for each entry. Thus, it is impossible to tell if he had changed his age or not. Additionally, no big push for men in the military existed in that interval. Even if it did, it wouldn’t have lasted for the remainder of his life.
The only thing I can think of is if they found a birth record where the year appeared to be 1853 instead of 1858. But, even so, why change at this point? And, wouldn’t he wonder what happened to the missing 5 years? It just doesn’t make sense.
So, what else could have caused the sudden shift? What am I overlooking?
Was the first known Passco/Pasco Peelle really named Isaac? Where did the name Passco come from? And, why did it stick being a family name for generations?
The Early Days
Robert (b. 1709) and his wife Elizabeth (Edgerton) Peelle, my 5th great grandparents, were Quakers. They married in 1728, likely in Nansemond County, Virginia. Following the tradition of previous generations, they perpetuated the name Robert by giving that name to their first son. Then, in 1733, they had another son, who would become my 4th great grandfather.
The debate is about the name they gave him at birth. Although all the records that I have found except one indicate his name is Passco, his father’s first will lists his name as Isaac. Within the month, the will was modified with several changes. In the new will, he is listed as Passco. Some people assume that the first will indicates that Isaac is his “real” name and that it was changed in the updated will to his nickname or preferred name. However, I wonder if Isaac was simply an error that was corrected in the second version of the will.
Taking A look at the Records
Birth
The Quaker records list his name with his birth date showing it as Passco/Pasco with a birthdate of 29th day, 7th month of 1733. This translates to July 29, 1733 based on the way Quakers dated their records. This is an original handwritten record. However, it was made years after his birth, having been recorded in The Register of Births and Deaths of the People Called Quakers belonging to Rich Square Monthly Meeting in North Carolina County of Northampton likely in the 1760s soon after the Rich Square meeting house was built.
Marriage
Although Passco is believed to have married Tabitha Dunigan/Dunagan around 1755, no record of their marriage has been found. It is unclear where they married, but given the family’s history being in the Society of Friends before and after that date, they likely married at a Quaker Meeting House. Tabitha stated at some point that she didn’t know how old she was because the meeting house burnt. If they married where she lived, it is possible that their marriage record burnt as well.
Business
The earliest recorded record for Passco was in 1759. December 18th of that year, he signed a petition for the formation of Hertford County, North Carolina. He used the name Passco. Thus, either he had either been named Passco at birth or had used the name so much that he used it in his business transactions. That said, in those early years before and after the birth of our country, a person could use any name they wanted as there was no official legal name for a person.
In 1780/1781, he used the same name when signing petitions to the General Assembly of North Carolina requesting new commissioners.
Land
Passco became the owner of property in Dobbs County, North Carolina in an area which later became Wayne County. He was granted 640 acres adjoining William Newsome on the east side of Basses Swamp. He received a subsequent grant for additional land adjoining that property. Both were issued to “Passco Peelle” (or a form of that name).
Tax Lists & Censuses
Additionally, the 1786 and 1788 tax lists, give his name as Passcow. We pronounce Passco as “pass” “co.” However, in those days, they very well may have pronounced it “pass” “cow.” Thus, the name may have been recorded the way it sounded. Then in 1790 and 1800, the census records list his name as Pasco.
One Last Record
Finally, when his daughter Anna married Thomas Parker at the Piney Grove Monthly Meeting in Marlboro, South Carolina in 1803, his name was recorded as Passco Peelle.
The Wills
Given his business records show the name as some form of Passco, it seems reasonable to take a look at the document that gave his name as Isaac. It clearly isn’t just a misunderstanding of what is written in the will as the handwriting, although not perfect throughout the will, perfectly states the name as “Isaac.”
Robert Peelle IV’s original will showing the name Isaac
The second will written only twenty days later is essentially the same with Isaac changed to Passco, the spelling of Peele changed to Peelle, and at least one item being added to the will.
Revised will of Robert Peelle IV showing the name Passco. Note that in this era two “s'”s together were written in cursive in a way that looks much live a curvie “f.”
Neither name appears to be a family name prior to this point. However, both names show up in the family tree after this point with Passco/Pasco being common among Passco’s descendants.
In his own will, his name is written “Pascho Peelle.” There is no reference to the name Isaac. Additionally, he had followed the family tradition of naming his first son Robert. However, Robert had died as a child. His only two living sons at the time of his death were John and William.
My Conclusion
It is possible that an early Quaker record exists that lists Passco’s name as Isaac. In absence of such a record, I conclude it is very likely that Passco was his given name at birth and not a nickname. In either case, the real question is “Where did the name Passco come from?”
Where Did The Name come from?
John Pasco was an immigrant to Virginia in the early days before the Revolutionary war.
A Pasco Curle lived in Elizabeth City as early as 1699.
Pascal/Pascow/Pasco Herbert also lived in Elizabeth City. At first look, he appears to have connections to the Curle family.
Did one of these people inspire the naming of Passco Peelle?
Cancer
