Last Of His Generation

Posted on June 14, 2023June 15, 2023 by FHadmin

McCracken Family (Photo: Rennett’s Studio; copyright now owned by L. Thomson)

Although others were born after him, my dad was the last of his generation to stand.

He was one of eleven kids in the McCracken family. He outlived all his siblings and their spouses. He also outlived mom, her siblings, and her brother’s spouse.

As a middle aged man, Dad would have told you that would never happen. It never crossed his mind that he would live longer than Mom – let alone live to be in his nineties and be the last of his generation.. He knew the history of McCracken men dying young. After all, his dad had died at 67, his grandfather at 53, his Uncle Doc at 58, and two other uncles before they turned 70. Likewise, his great uncles on the McCracken side had all died by the time they were 66.

He also knew that Mom had several ancestors that lived to be close to one hundred. So, how did it happen that he lived so long?

Build Muscle

When Dad was growing up, he was relatively thin. However, when WWII broke out and his older brothers went to into the service, he took over running the farm. Around that time, he made a conscious decision to eat more and gain both weight and muscle.

Hard Work

His technique was simple. Just do whatever needed to be done. He used that philosophy throughout his life. Whatever needed done, he did. No job was impossible no matter how difficult or how much physical strength, mental strength, or shear determination was required.

He had learned from his father that “I can’t” was not an option. So, he took that as he could do anything – no matter what it was. Nothing was outside the scope of what he considered doable. He helped people with anything and everything. He worked on cars, motorcycles, farm equipment, state highway vehicles, and even a big rig. He wired the house and did plumbing. He baled hay and could do basically anything around the farm.

Strength

Over the years, he gained amazing strength. As he aged, he may have lost some of his strength, but he still was far stronger than many in the prime of their life. One example was a loader attachment for the tractor that he had somehow placed in the barn. It took several men to remove it. Everyone was scratching their head as to how he managed to get it in there.

He also walked many miles during his life both when working for the state and around the farm. After he was age 80, he walked home from the other side of the creek *twice* in one day when the tractor had issues. And, he didn’t take the easy route of walking to the road and walking over the bridge and down to the house. Nope. He went the direct route through the creek, up the bluff and through the pasture with all of its rugged terrain.

Nine Lives

At one point, I started writing a story titled “The man with Nine Lives.” This is a good description of Dad. No matter what life threw at him, he stepped up to the challenge.

Polio

The first major scare came when he was in grammar school. One year he was very sick and missed a lot of school. He missed so much that his parents wanted to hold him back a year. However, the teacher informed them that he knew all of the material despite being absent so many days. He said that during this time the adults whispered about him a lot. He is not sure, but he believes that they thought he had polio. He did have one leg that was shorter than the other, which could have come from a bout with polio.

Run Over By A Tractor

The second major scare came when he was a teenage. I am not sure exactly how it happened, but a tractor ran over him right across his back. His mom was frantic and he proclaimed that he was fine and that the tractor hadn’t actually run over him. His mother told him to take off his jacket. She showed him the tire mark that went across it. He proceeded to go back to work.

In The Eye

Another scary incident happened when a stick hit him in the eye and was stuck there. Dewey drove him to the doctor. Don was with them telling Dewey to slow down and Dad was telling him to drive faster. If you knew Dewey, you would know how funny this is as he was never known to drive fast. Anyway, Dad came away from the incident with 20-20 vision.

10 Staples

The last incident I will mention happened when he was about 80 years old. He cleared out brush and tree limbs from the yard. He took them down to the pasture. While he was clearing them off the wagon, something happened. It isn’t clear if he lost his balance, stepped off the wagon, or exactly what occurred. Anyway, he woke up lying on the ground. He proceeded to go back to work only to find blood dripping off his head.

Now, he never was good with blood, but he somehow willed himself back onto the tractor and made it back to the house. He wrapped a towel around his head and waited for my sister to come home. When she arrived, he told her that she might want to look at his head when she finished putting away the groceries. Well, that turned into ten staples along the back side of his head and a night in the hospital for observation.

And, More . . .

Many other incidents occurred over the years. A wagon rolled over his ankle, he caught his foot in a corn picker, he caught his jacket in an auger, and many more. Yet, each time he seemed to come out of the situation not only without significant harm, but also stronger than ever.

In The Hospital In Street Clothes And A Baseball Cap

Modern Medicine

Modern medicine came into play only a few times in his life. One year Dewey had pneumonia and Dad was doing chores for both himself and Dewey. The problem came when he got pneumonia, too. He ended up in the hospital for a week.

Then 2013 arrived. That year Dad spent plenty of time in the hospital. He had a septuple bypass, surgery for colon cancer, and a procedure on his carotid artery. The doctors said that they couldn’t do the surgery for the cancer without him having the bypass surgery as he wouldn’t live through it. They also told him that doing the heart surgery without the colon surgery was a waste of time. Basically, he needed to do both if he wanted a chance to live and have a reasonable quality of life.

He considered it carefully, and finally decided to do both surgeries. The heart surgery was lengthy and the recovery was difficult. Then, after he did rehab, he went back for the colon surgery, which was much easier on him. The carotid surgery was later in the year and was far more straight forward that the first two.

After that, he said, “No more surgeries.” Well, that lasted until cataracts on his eyes got so bad that he couldn’t read, which he loved to do. So, he had surgery to remove the cataracts. Doctors were amazed as his vision after the surgery was 20/20 and he was over 90. He did need reading glasses, but otherwise had perfect vision.

New Attitude

After his surgeries in 2013, Dad was asked why he was happy. He responded, “I’m 85 and I’m alive!” After he lived through those surgeries, he seemed to feel like he was invincible. Doctors even told him that overall he was healthier than they were and that he just might live to be 100. I think he set that as a goal. Although he didn’t make it, modern medicine gave him nine more years.

The photograph shows him on Father’s Day in 2022 just over two weeks before he passed. He was looking great right up until about a week later. We knew it was time when he suddenly could no longer stand. Yet, he still tried to get out of bed. As always, he had things to do.

When You Are Related To Everyone East Of The Frisco

Posted on June 8, 2023June 9, 2023 by FHadmin

The Joke

Dad always joked that Mom was related to everyone east of the Frisco Railroad. She wasn’t actually related to everyone. It just seemed that way. They probably aren’t even my most populous family, but with so many of them concentrated in one area it felt that way. Back when I started taking photos for for Find-A-Grave, I started by taking photos of relative’s graves. However, Clarksburg Cemetery (east of the Frisco) changed that. My sister and I kept discussing each grave and so many of them were related that I gave up figuring out who was related and who wasn’t. I just started photographing all the graves as it was quicker that way.

Mom’s Paternal Side

Pellett

The Pellett family arrived in southeast Kansas before Henry, my great-grandfather was born in 1871. However, it wasn’t just Seth and his wife Aseneth Crawford that immigrated to the area. Seth’s parents and six of his siblings lived part or all of their adult lives in the area. Seth, alone fathered eleven grandchildren for his parents, Abel John and Eunity Harrison. Combining this with those of his siblings, Abel John and Eunity had many grandchildren (and great-grandchildren) in the area (plus others in Ohio and Illinois).

It is definitely a good thing that Abel John’s 10 siblings, Eunity’s 14 siblings, and Aseneth’s (Seth’s wife) 9 siblings didn’t also locate in southeast Kansas. And, it may explain, in part, why the family left Ohio. After all, who do you marry if everyone is a first cousin?

Conner & Portwood

Around the same time that the Pellett family arrived in the area east of the Frisco, the Conner and Portwood families also arrived. Again, multiple generations of the families moved to the area. Several of Thomas and Martha (Whitworth) Conner’s eleven children settled in the area with their parents. Meanwhile, only Simpson Portwood, his son Woodson, and Woodson’s family moved to the area with the rest of his children remaining primarily in Illinois.

The two families intermarried. Hugh Portwood married Emma Conner. Then he married Emma’s sister Margaret Conner after Emma died. Willis Conner (brother to Emma and Margaret) married Mary I. Portwood (Hugh’s sister).

Della Conner, one of eight children of Willis and Mary (Portwood) Conner married Henry Pellett, connecting two large families that resided within relatively close proximity to one another.

Mom’s Maternal Side

Thomas

When they moved to the area sometime between 1873 and 1877, George and Louisa (Carson) Thomas didn’t bring their parents and siblings. Still, George was one of thirteen siblings and their children had well over fifty first cousins just on his side.

George and Louisa had four children and they all remained in the local area.

Ashby

George Thomas’ son James WIlliam “Will” married Sadie (Ella) Ashby, daughter of Grant and Lizzie Ashby. Ella gave birth to 9 children before she died in childbirth.

Ella’s family was both large and complicated. She was one of twelve children, but her parents were first cousins.

Grant and Lizzie moved to southeast Kansas sometime between 1895 and 1897. Being the oldest, Ella married and stayed behind when the family moved on westward. However, the connection to this family remained strong and Ella’s siblings and their descendants remained in the conversation of my Mom’s generation.

The talk

What probably made this family seem so huge was simply the talk. My grandmother, my mom, her siblings, and others in the family would talk about all these people without explanation. The conversation was so intertwined that no one could de-tangle it no matter how hard we tried. We often speculated that they couldn’t even follow the conversation. But in good news, they loved every minute of it and were dedicated to keeping every piece of information on all of these people, including their friends and other connections. I will be going through all those newspaper clippings and other items for years trying to figure out who east of the Frisco really is related to me!

Graveyards of the Revolution

Posted on June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 by FHadmin

Revolutionary Soldiers are buried in various cemeteries and graveyards with some near battle grounds and others near lands where they moved after America gained its independence from England. When traveling in Pennsylvania, we visited two graveyards that, although not dedicated to Revolutionary War soldiers, contained the remains of numerous men who fought for independence. They are very different graveyards. Yet, both are intriguing.

Newtown Presbyterian Church Graveyard

The Church

The reason for our visit to the Newtown Presbyterian Church in Newtown, Pennsylvania was that it was the location where Rod’s 6th-great grandparents Stephen Stackhouse and Amy Van Dyke got married in 1784. It was built in 1769 to replace the original church. It has been remodeled since and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The church secured its place in history in 1776, when George Washington decided to use it as military facility during the Revolutionary War. It was used as a hospital, jail, and POW camp.

To read more about Historic Newtown Presbyterian Church . . . Click here.

The Graveyard

Behind the church lay a graveyard that was worthy of attention. It was sparse in spots as many of the stones had given away to nature and time. Fortunately, many had not been destroyed, but simply could not stand where originally place. Instead, many gravestones lined the back of the church and the fence row.

Despite the sparse nature of the graveyard, the American flag could be seen gracing various stones throughout. What was really intriguing was the British flags, which were scattered throughout. Sometimes they were very close to graves with American flags. Research shows that 28 U.S. flags fly over the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers and 8 British flags fly over the graves of soldiers of the French and Indian Wars, which pre-dated America’s independence.

To our knowledge, we do not have any relatives buried in the graveyard. However, I found that a young child with the last name of Buckman was buried there in 1760. I have ties to this family in Bucks County. However, my particular line belonged to the Quaker faith and would likely have buried their family members in the Quaker cemetery.

We spent less time in the graveyard that we wanted as light rain was coming down. We do plan to go back one day as both of us felt at home in Newtown and we both have long ago relatives that lived around that area. Matter of fact, Rod had relatives that lived right across the street from the church. But, that is a story for a different day.

Graveyard

American & British Flags

Gravestones Along The Church

Old Pine Presbyterian Church Graveyard

The Church

Our first visit to Old Pine was a drive-by visit in 2007 to see the Church of the Patriots and graveyard where several of Rod’s ancestors are buried. Our second visit was in 2018 for the 250th Anniversary of the church. We were invited to join the celebration as Rod’s 7th-great grandfather William Hurrie/Hurry, who was the sexton of the church, keeper of the State House, and ringer of the Liberty Bell was an early member of the church and in buried in the graveyard.

Buried along with WIlliam and other family members were his two son-in-laws John McGinley, Rod’s 6th-great-grandfather, and Joseph Fry. Both men served in the war effort and Joseph Fry succeeded William as keeper of the State House.

William and his son-in-laws were among the many men of Old Pine who supported and fought for America. Approximately 500 men who fought for our country are associated with Old Pine Church and/or Graveyard.

Old Pine was used, not by the American militia, but by the British during the occupation of Philadelphia. The British gutted it, made it into a hospital, and even bedded their horses in the lower level of the church.

To read more about the history of Old Pine Church . . . Click here.

The Graveyard

The graveyard at Old Pine is anything, but sparse. Matter of fact, bodies are buried up to six people deep (and maybe more). They basically buried people head to toe, shoulder to shoulder. And, some places it doesn’t appear that there is that much space between where the bodies are said to have been buried.

In the early 1900s, the sexton of the church was instrumental in finding William Hurrie’s gravestone. His name was spelled “Hurry” on the stone and at the time only the “ry” was showing as the stone had sunk. When the sexton investigated, he found that it belonged to William Hurrie and some others in his family. Prior to that it was believed by historians and the church that William was buried in the graveyard, but the exact location was unknown.

William Hurrie/Hurry Markers

The Family Plot

The family plot lies just to the east of the brick sidewalk just beyond the southeast (back left) corner of the church.

This find was of great historical significance since William Hurrie is believed to have been the person who rang the Liberty Bell to call people to the State House to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence after it had been signed. The determination that he was the ringer of the Liberty Bell is told in family tradition as well as by the park rangers when visiting the Liberty Bell and other historical locations.

Some controversy still exists because William was not the keeper of the State House until early the following year. However, it was known that Andrew McNair, the keeper of the State House, was absent one day in that pay period and historians have determined that he happened to be absent on the historical day (July 8, 1776) that the Declaration of Independence was publicly read. Thus, they have credited William with ringing the bell that day much to the displeasure of the McNair family. To read more about what I have discovered about William Hurrie and the Liberty Bell . . . Click here.

Missing Johnson Children

Posted on May 27, 2023June 1, 2023 by FHadmin

The Johnsons & The Smiths

When I found out that my great-great grandmother Martha (Johnson) Peelle’s parents were William Johnson and Rachel Smith, I figured that I would never know anything about their family lines given their common names. The only way it could have been more common was if her mother had been named Mary.

Anyway, it turned out that with lots of research and some luck that I have been able to find William’s parents, including finding part of his mother’s line back to 1650. And, I have been able to trace the Smith family back to 1710. I am still researching, but I believe even more details will be found on these families. What I didn’t expect was to encounter a brick wall with regards to finding Martha’s siblings.

The Family

William and Rachel married in 1824 in Wayne County, Indiana. They appeared to start a family immediately, with their family quickly expanding. By 1830, they had two sons (one was 5-9 and one was < 5) and a daughter (<5). However, in 1839, it came to a sudden halt when Rachel died. She was only 34 years old.

Two years later, William died, leaving their children without parents.

The Children

Since all of this took place before 1850, no census records exist to show the names of William and Rachel’s children. Additionally, no will has been found. However, according to Martha’s obituary, there were eight children in the family, with Martha being the oldest daughter.

I didn’t initially know who any of Martha’s siblings were or what had happened to them. Over time, I uncovered two of them, But the other five remain a mystery.

Lydia

Lydia D. Johnson was was born in 1836 and was only two and a half when her mother died. She was raised by her father’s sister Anne (Johnson) Lykens and her husband Jonas in the Randolph County/Wayne County area in Indiana.

Marriages

On December 23, 1852, Lydia married Joshua F. Harris in Randolph County, Indiana, which was adjacent to Wayne County. Just under three years later Joshua died. They had no children.

The next year, Lydia married Joshua’s older brother James A. Harris, who had also lost his first spouse. They made their home in Cass County, Iowa. James’ son from his first marriage lived with them as did their adopted (not sure if this was formal or informal) daughter Matilda. In one census a boy Edward Bradley was also listed in the household. His connection to them is not known.

Source: The Fort Scott Tribune and The Fort Scott Monitor, March 29, 1912

The Research

Lydia’s connection was discovered through photographs with her and her husband’s names on them, research into those names, and a note that was posted online. That note written by Sarah (Johnson) Campbell, who was the daughter of Anne(Johnson) Lykens and whose husband John Campbell was a first cousin to Lydia’s husband. It appears that Lydia had asked about her parents and grandparents. Interestingly, the note contains a reference to her sister Martha.

Later a business card for her husband’s business was found among my grandma’s postcards and calling cards.

Since Lydia had no biological children, her trail ends.

The Civil War Veteran

Eleazer Johnson, named after his Grandfather Smith, was Martha’s older brother and William and Sarah (Smith) Johnson’s first child. He was born nine months and eight days after his parents married and a mere 16 months prior to Martha’s birth.

Ail, as he was apparently called, is found living with the Youtsey family in Jackson County, Indiana in 1850. By 1860, he was living in Warren County, Illinois with the Holeman family. No ties have been found to these families except that Mrs. Holeman is said to have been born in Wayne County, Indiana. Ail most likely was visiting or traveled to wherever he could get work.

Military Service

In 1861, Ail enlisted in the Union Army. He mustered in on April 10, 1862. He served in Company A of the 63rd Illinois Infantry. However, his service only lasted a few months and he was discharged on October 12 of the same year for disability due to disease of the throat. He later became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for Civil War veterans.

Marriage

It wasn’t until 1875 that at age 50 Ail married Elizabeth (Bennett) Walker, a recent widow. If he married prior to this date, I have not found a record of such event. They settled into life in Cass County, Iowa. Elizabeth died in 1897 and Ail died five years later. He is not known to have had any children.

The Research

Finding Eleazer hinged on the photograph shown, which was found amongst my grandmother’s photos. The only clues to his identity were the words “Ail” and “Civil War Veteran” which were written on the back. It also stated the names of the young boys, which helped to date the photo and to identify that it was associated with the Peelle family (Martha’s husband was Passco Peelle). Read Mystery Man to learn more about how I uncovered Eleazer as Martha’s older brother.

The Other Children

Looking for the children in this family has been quite the challenge. All the significant events that are known occurred before 1850 when records were quite sparse. Additionally, the names Johnson and Smith in an area where both families, who had relatively large families, had settled is challenging at best. In addition, I do not know the exact ages, gender, or any names for the missing children. I do not even know if they were living when their parents died. So, in all, very few clues.

What Has Been Done

I have done a lot of research looking in the 1850 census for children and young adults born between 1827 and 1839 with the name Johnson that appear out of place (e.g. living with a family with a different name or where they simply don’t appear to be a child of the head of the household). I have looked at marriage records for the area for Johnsons. I, also, have scanned DNA matches for obvious connections.

Many people have been ruled out. However, many other options exist when I expand the scope of the search. Unfortunately, with common names that type of search becomes unwieldy.

I do have a few candidate children. However, not nearly enough and no proof for any of them.

Juliette Johnson

In 1850, Juliette was 16 and was living in the Benjamin and Martha Hutchins household. Martha was the sister of William Johnson. By 1860, she had married Daniel Miller and they had a daughter. They are living at WIlliamsburg, Indiana, which is a small town William Johnson’s father had founded. However, after 1860 records on them just seem to disappear.

Juliette could very well be Martha’s sister. However, not enough information has been found on Juliette to determine if she is in fact one of William and Rachel’s daughters or not.

Future Searching

I really need to go to Wayne County and Randolph County in Indiana to do some local research. It seems that local research is most likely to provide key information. For instance, if probate records can be found that are not online, they could provide information on the children. Likewise, there might be additional cemetery records.

Additionally, I need to do a more thorough DNA analysis. Descendants of Martha’s siblings, if any exist, would be at best 3rd cousins. Most would likely be 4th-6th cousins and it is possible that the descendants have no knowledge of their Johnson line. None of this makes for an easy discovery.

Beards of Days Gone Bye

Posted on May 19, 2023May 19, 2023 by FHadmin

Beards are something that come into style and then go out of style. Some men can grow them and some can’t. Neither my dad nor any of my uncles had beards. Of course, some of them may have been influenced by my Grandpa Mc. He believed that having a beard meant that you were too lazy to shave. And, lazy wasn’t something that was allowed in his household.

Despite his view, his grandfather, had a beard, as did several other ancestors. Here is a brief look at some ancestors/family members of old and their beards.

Make sure you scroll to the end to see all the photos.

Neat And Trim

Joseph Gazzan Klinefelter

Joseph Klinefelter was born in 1842. The first photo is in his Civil War uniform and the latter is near 1900. He appears to have kept his beard trim both as a soldier and as an older gentleman.

Joseph Lewis Ellis

Joseph, shown with his wife Cynthia, appears to have a well groomed beard. He was born around 1835. This photo may have been taken in Illinois, a stop on their way from Indiana to Kansas.

Michael Ackerman

Micheal’s beard seems somewhat neat and trim. It is hard to tell 100% given the photograph. He was born in Germany in 1832.

Wild and Woolley

Lemuel Lawrence McCracken

Lemuel was born in 1831 and this photograph was taken after he married his third wife in 1881. Based on information about a photographer in his area, I believe it was likely taken in Sedan, KS in the 1890s. Dad always said that you could tell he had red hair even in a black and white photograph. However, his beard seems to be mostly absent of color leaning toward gray or white. Oddly, his hair and mustache have not grayed.

Arthur Reid Thomson & John Ronald

Both men have beards and they are lengthy. However, Arthur Reid Thomson’s white beard takes the cake for the most hair hanging from a face. It is wild, woolly, and long!

Hugh Portwood

Hugh’s beard was woolly and a bit rough around the edges. Such was life on the frontier for a man who was born in 1845 and moved to an area of Kansas where Indian Territory was just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Long and Lanky

John Charles Jury

John was born in 1836 in Canada. According to this photograph, which appears to have been taken sometime after he moved to the United States. John sported a quite lengthy beard. His height is unknown. However, he appears to be lanky and his beard matches his body.

George Thomas

George was born in 1854 on the Missouri frontier. His beard was also lengthy. He was thin and tall making a good match for his beard.

John McGinley Stetler

John’s beard was quite long and shapely. However, I don’t know anything about his stature. However, his face is thin and long making it reasonable to assume his beard matched his body.

And The Crazy Ones!

Henry Thomas

The photograph shows Henry and his wife Elizabeth Brown Donaldson. Henry was born in 1814 and died in 1892. Based on the type of photo, I would guess that it was taken sometimes in the 1880s. Henry’s beard is so huge that it seems fake. It is completely out of place given it is as large as his head. His head and beard combined form an hour glass shape. He seems like he is a person who should have shaved or at least shortened his beard to match his facial shape and size.

Salathiel Chadwick

Salathiel is shown with his wife Catherine. He was born in 1806, supposedly in Ohio, which had only become a state three years earlier. I am not sure if his beard is as wild as his hair, but it definitely was interesting.

Lorenzo Dow Pellett

Lorenzo was born in 1818. He seems to have a combo beard between neat and trim and wild and woolly. It might be the most unique beard of many I have seen.