A Cajun's Who's Who

Tightly Woven Stories
I'm going to suggest for a moment that just as the fibers of the fabric pictured here are tightly woven together, so are our family stories.  Maybe we're not related by blood.  Maybe we don't share the same last name.  However, sometimes our stories - our family stories - are so tightly woven together, and we don't even realize it.  While studying the stories behind the names that we're researching, we might not find another twig or branch in our tree, but we might find some non-blood relationships that give us some insight to our ancestors and sometimes, even ourselves.

Pearl's Book
If you've read my past stories, then you are  familiar with the beautiful Pearl Williams Pointer.  She is my husband's great grandmother, and I recently became aware of some of her items/heirlooms, and I've borrowed them in order to document them.  I have to admit that I am having a fascinating time doing this.  One of the items that I've been investigating is a copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline.  This particular copy has no publication date in it, and I've been unable to find one for it.  It was published by E.A. Weeks & Company, 521-531 Wabash Ave., Chicago.  As you can see from the photos of it, it's in "O.K." condition.  The broken spine indicates that it's been well-read.  Also, It does have some illustrations in it, but no illustrator is listed.  Inside the cover, the following is written in pencil: "To Miss Pearl Williams From Bertie Fair."  On the facing page, also written in pencil is: "Pearl Williams Collins Iowa. Dec. 1st 1900 Collins Iowa." [Yes, "Collins, Iowa is written twice.] Well, my first question was, "Who is Bertie Fair, and what was her relationship to Pearl?"


Who Was Bertie Fair?
I was able to find and trace Alberta "Bertie" Fair and her family through the U.S. Federal Population Schedule, the Iowa State Census, as well as various databases available on the Story County portion of the iagenweb.org website.  [Please note that this is a very preliminary search of Bertie Fair.]  Here is a quick run-down of the information I found:

• Alberta Fair was born abt. 1878 near Newton, Jasper Co., Iowa to John W. & Emma C. Fair [both born in New York].
• Between 1878 & 1880, the family moved to Laurel, Marshall Co., Iowa.
  
• By 1885, the Fair family had moved to Indian Creek Twp., Story Co., Iowa, and they were still living there in 1895 and 1898.
• Alberta M. Fair married Fredrick Heilman/Heileman 5 Jan 1899 in Story Co., Iowa.
• One of Alberta's silblings was Grace who was abt. 11 years younger than Alberta.
• Alberta Fair Heilman/Heileman died 9 May 1914 and is buried in Center Grove Cemetery Union Township, Story Co., Iowa.

What Was Their Relationship?
Now, this is just a supposition.  I don't have any written message from Pearl [or Bertie, for that matter] that indicates their actual relationship.  That being said, I have been to this area of Story County, Iowa, and I can say that these towns are small farming communities.  To this day, everyone knows, well, everyone.  So, even without the inscription inside of Pearl's copy of Evangeline, I feel that I can say with some certainty that they probably knew each other.  As for their relationship, I'm not sure, and the reason I say this is that Bertie was abt. 9 years older than Pearl, and Bertie was abt. 22 when she gave this book to Pearl [who was abt. 13 yrs old].  I indicated above that one of Bertie's siblings was Grace, who was much closer in age to Pearl.  They were all definitely near each other for most of their lives as Jasper and Marshall counties are adjacent to Story County.  Also, Maxwell is an incorprated town within Indian Creek Township and nearby is Collins, Iowa [where Pearl lived].  Therefore, without a doubt, the families lived near each other.  If accurately recorded, Bertie gave this book to Pearl 1 Dec 1900, which would've been abt. 6 yrs before Pearl married Harvey Pointer in 1906.  Pearl was born in May, so I don't think that this was a birthday gift.  However, it may have been a Christmas gift.  Basically, I don't know what their relationship was exactly, but at the very least, they were acquaintances, and at the very most, close friends.

Longfellow and His Evangeline
I next decided to read Evangeline in order to see what Pearl saw when she read it.  However, I did  some background research on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Evangeline before I actually read it [which turned out to be a good idea because I hadn't read 19th century poetry in a while...]  Very briefly, the story of Evangeline is a fictional story based on an historical event.  It's a story about two young betrothed Acadians, who "lost" each other in the expulsion of the Acadians out of Acadia [now Nova Scotia] in eastern Canada.  Evangeline searches her whole life for Gabriel [her betrothed] all over America.  She eventually is an elderly nurse who is nursing this older man, who turns out to be her beloved Gabriel.  Tragically, he dies in her arms.  Pretty dramatic, huh?  It may be.  However, America in 1847 loved it.  It was widely read and used often in schools for reading and memorization.  In other words, it was ingrained in America's students for decades.  Also, it served as a resurgence for Acadians everywhere, for by then, many had forgotten their history.  This served as a reminder of where they had come from and who they were.  The book was printed many times including in the late 19th century, when Pearl was born and growing up.  Evangeline was so popular with Acadians and their descendants that it has been immortalized in many ways and in many places.  To name only a few:  there is the Evangeline sculpture in Gran Pre National Historic Site in Nova Scotia; "Gabriel's" house in Lafayette, Lousiana; "Emmeline's" grave in St. Martin, Louisiana; the parish of Evangeline in Louisiana; and the Evangeline Thoroughfare in Lafayette, Louisiana.  In fact, in some places, you'd be hard pressed to convince some that the character Evangeline is fictional.

Who Were the Acadians?
This seemingly innocuous question led me to quite a bit of history.  The Acadians were French colonists from the western part of France who had started settling in what is now Nova Scotia in Canada in the 1600's.  Almost from the beginning it was a war torn area between the French and the British over this part of North America.  The Acadians remained neutral, but in the end were told to swear allegiance to the British Crown and take up arms against their fellow countrymen, which they did not do.  In 1755, they were expelled from their lands, and they were spread out all over the place.  Some were shipped back to France, some relocated in the American colonies, and some took refuge in Quebec.  

Acadians, Cajuns, Creoles, and French Canadians: Who's Who?
This Acadian history got me to thinking about a Cajun I know.  A Cajun that has a couple of lines that are French-Canadian.  [Interestingly, all the rest of her lines are of French descent, a.k.a. Creole].  When I previously researched some of her main lines, I found that most had been researched thoroughly all the way back to the 1500's in France.  [I'm not jealous.  Really...]   So, after reading this Acadian history, I was curious to see if her 2 French-Canadian lines were Acadian, as well.  The first line, Guillory, came from Blois, France, and settled in Montreal, Quebec in 1664.  They moved from there to Massacre Island [now Dauphin Island], Alabama ca 1707.  After the Peace of Paris in 1763, Great Britain gained control of land east of the Mississppi River, and the Guillory's migrated to Fort Opelousas, Louisiana.  Her other line, the Deshotels/Desautels also came from the western part of France and settled in Montreal, Quebec sometime before 1631, and they moved to Point Coupee, Louisiana sometime before the expulsion in 1755.   Before I go on, let me define some terms.  Now, an Acadian descendant is a descendant of a person who lived in what was once known as Acadia [now Nova Scotia].   A French-Canadian descendant is one who descends from French colonists that settled in Canada.  A Creole refers to those who descend from French and Spanish colonists who were born on the North American continent.  The term Cajun is a derivative [or slang] of Acadian, so by definition, it would mean the same thing as Acadian.  However, in researching these terms, I found that the meaning of Cajun has morphed into meaning those who are born and raised in 22 of the southern counties in Louisiana.  To prove this [not scientifically, though], I asked the Cajun that I know, "What do call yourself?"  She replied, "I'm a Cajun."  Specifically, what happened, is the cultures of the Creoles and the French-Canadians [who settled in the southern areas of Louisiana] were "absorbed" by the Acadian culture forming what is now known as a "Cajun" culture.  [About as clear as mud, I know, but the good thing is that the mudbugs, or crawfish, are found in the mud...]  Seriously, there are some similarities in her French Canadian migrations and that of the migration [that was forced] of the Acadians.  Also, Montreal is located near what was known as Acadia.  I would imagine that there was some identification between the two entities because of the proximity of each other in Canada and in France.  [Again, this is just my supposition.]


So, What's In A Name?
Well, in this case, Evangeline is a name of a book of poetry by H.W. Longfellow given by one friend and neighbor to another - from Bertie to Pearl.  This book tells the tale of a dark spot in history where the Acadians were expelled from their lands in Canada.  Some of the resulting Acadian migrations were similar to the migrations of two of the lines of a Cajun I know leading  them all to Louisiana.  These Cajun descendants who settled in what is now Ville Platte, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana where the Cajun I know is from. 


...a Cajun who became my neighbor because of a hurricane...

...a Cajun neighbor who became my friend.

Caroline


Sources:
1. U.S. Federal Population Schedule [accessed 
    by Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest]
2. IAGenWeb.org databases for Story County
3. Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History 
4. 1755-The History and the Stories
5. Acadian GenWeb
6. Cajun Country History
7. Evangeline Parish, Louisiana USGenWeb
8. Maine Historical Society Website: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
9. Wikipedia: Acadia
10. Wikipedia: Evangeline
11. Google Map of Montreal 
12. Google Map of Nova Scotia 
13. Google Map of Southern Louisiana

Wordless Wednesday: Out Of This World

Wordless Wednesday: Out Of This World







Caroline

What's In A Name?: Dad and His Little Girl

For this week's "What's In A Name?"  I thought I'd introduce you to my dad, Joseph Kent Marshall, Jr.  As I've mentioned before, I came a little later in my parent's lives, and one might say I was a little spoiled [I wouldn't, but...].  Anyway, I remember when I was young [probably abt. 6 yrs old], my mom bought me this t-shirt.  It was pinkish with red trim, and on the front in glittery cursive rainbow letters it read, "Daddy's Little Girl" [and I was].  I absolutely had to wear that shirt every day,  and my mom indulged me through that phase.  I'm really glad she did, because even to this day, it's a vivid memory of mine of my dad.  He used to call me his "little buddy," and I used to follow my dad around everywhere always asking, "Watch ya' doin'?"  Now that I'm a parent, I can say that I'm pretty sure he became tired of that question, but he never acted like it.  I was right there when he built the deck in our backyard [remember Runaway Bunny?].  I was there when he built a parakeet aviary in our backyard [a story for another time].  I was there when he built his remote controlled airplanes and flew them.  I was there when he worked in the yard [although I quickly learned to not follow him around the yard because then I had to pick up all the debris...].  I literally followed him around everywhere, and he took me everywhere with him.



My dad passed away five years ago from kidney cancer, and I really do miss him.  For my dad's funeral, my siblings and I  were asked by my parent's priest [and family friend] to write down what we learned from our dad so that he could include our words in his eulogy.  Each of us wrote essentially the same thing [except that it took me more words to get my point across...go figure].  Here is a portion of what I wrote about my dad:


"I learned so much from my father.  I remember when I was very young, my dad asked me to do something, and I replied, 'I can't.'  He promptly told me that I should never use the word 'can't' because it's a bad word, and if I ever used it again that I'd been in 'trouble.'  He told me that I can do anything that I set my mind to, and he certainly lived his life by that philosophy.  Dad also taught me how to fish, how to hunt, how to clean birds, how to ride a bike, and how to roll my "r's" to speak Spanish.  He even helped me to memorize the 23rd Psalm..."

I've included here some pictures of my dad's life.  In the last set in the top right hand corner is a picture of my dad holding me with my mom.  We were in West Texas on our Big Bend trip.  It's kind of hard to find pictures of me and my dad because I came later in their lives and because dad was always the one taking the pictures. Also, in this last set of pictures, I included one of him and his camera in Italy in the top left hand corner, and below that is one of him in Acapulco, Mexico.  The one in the bottom right hand corner is from when my parents went on a cruise to the VIrgin Islands, and the one in the middle was taken right before he became real sick.











So, what's in a name?  Well, family stories, of course.  For me, behind the name father or dad is a loving, caring, adventurous man who taught me I can do anything.


Happy Father's Day, Dad!
I love and miss you. 


Caroline

Wordless Wednesday: Unexpected Beauty

Unexpected Grapevines at Ft. Bend County Museum [Texas]...













Caroline

Family Stories: Swimsuit Edition

74th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy

Swimsuit Edition! Why should Sports Illustrated have all the fun? This is your chance to show off the bathing beauties in your family. Pull out the old photos of Grandma Moses in her seaside bloomers, Auntie Mae in her pin-up girl suit from the 1940s or 50s, cousin Paula in her psychedelic bikini from the 1970s, or even yourself in your Speedo! Let's have some fun here! Memorial Weekend is behind us and that means the start of the summer sun, sand, and lakeside season so let's get in the mood with summer fun photos. What? You don't have any swimsuit photos you dare to share? No problem! Tell us your best family beach stories instead! The deadline for submissions is June 15th. This edition of the COG will be hosted at Creative Gene.



And here is my Swimsuit Edition Family Story:


Our Ride Home From Big Bend in West Texas
My dad was famous in our family for taking the "road less traveled" when vacationing.  One time on the way home from a big trip in Big Bend in West Texas, my dad impulsively decided to take a "small" detour to a small motel located on the Guadalupe River called River Inn [which is still there today].  I must have been about 5 years old, or so, and as I've mentioned before, I was [and still am] the "Bonus Child" in our family.  My siblings refer to me as "the accident," but my mom always called me the their "Bonus Child," and I, for obvious reasons, prefer the latter term.  Now, my siblings always liked to give me a hard time because I was the "spoiled baby" of the family, and on this little side-trip that my dad had taken was no exception.  One of my older sisters, Terri was forever getting me into trouble and, of course, I never got her into trouble.  At this inn, there is a slide that is carved out of rock and cement.  It's not a very big one, but to someone who's 5 years old and doesn't know how to swim, it can look a little scary.  My sister Terri, though, was there for "moral" support.  I was just minding my own business, and doing my own thing...





Then, Terri decided that I wasn't having any "fun," and that I needed to go down the slide in search of the "fun" like everyone else.  She said, "Watch.  See.  Everyone's doing it, and you can, too.  It's not scary.  You're going to have so much fun."  She really was very persuasive.  I mean, she could sell ice to an Eskimo, and he'd be very satisfied with his purchase.  She went on to point out each family member as they went down the slide...









After seeing everyone go down the slide, I decided that, yes, I could do this.  After all, everyone else was doing it, and they were just fine.  However, I still had some reservations.  So, I agreed to go down the slide with my big brother, Joe.  Surely, it would be fun just like Terri had said it would be...



O.K., so it wasn't all that I had hoped for, and nothing like what my sister had promised it to be.  However, like any good, persistent, and successful salesman, Terri had not given up on my quest for "fun".  So, she sat me down, and proceeded to convince me that I needed to go down by myself in order to find my "fun".  She told me everything would be fine because I was wearing a life preserver.  So, like the loyal and trusting "customer", I bought her theory again...







I have to say at this point, I was not happy with my sister, but just between you, me, and the gatepost, it was fun, as my big smile indicates.  Below is a picture that I found of my family that was taken about four years before I hit the scene.  I'm not sure of the location, but if I had to guess [which I do], I'd say it was Canyon Lake, which is north of San Antonio.  My dad is probably taking the picture.  In the picture is my mom, my siblings, my Aunt Carole, and my cousins.  As you can see, they are smiling, but there seems to be something missing in their lives.  They just don't look as happy as they could be.  It's probably because they didn't have anybody to torture until...I came along!





Caroline

Bits & Pieces of Puckerbrush

Thanks, Les!

Les over at Bits and Pieces has also awarded me the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence, and as my thank you, I have designed Les a "manly" thank you.  Thank you so much Les for your kind words.  It means a lot to me because your blog is so well-written, and the design of your blog is so very pleasing to the reader's eyes!

[For more information on the "Puckerbrush Award" please read my previous post "My Many Thanks".]

Caroline

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty In Pink

Wordless Wednesday

My Many Thanks...

What An Honor!
This past weekend, two of my fellow genealogy bloggers - Greta at "Greta's Genealogy Bog" and Cindy from "Everything's Relative" awarded me with the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence! I am completely humbled and honored by their decision to nominate me, for I gain inspiration from their writing as well.  Thank you so very much!  For fun, I also designed "thank you's" for each of you.  I hope you like them!




Award Background
As Cindy explained, "This award was started by Terry Thornton at the Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi blog. In his post about the award he writes:"


"In honor of our absent friend, Janice Brown, whose delightful blog Cow Hampshire continues to inspire through all her archived articles, is my attempt to recognize a few writers and their blogs ---those I consider the best in the blogging world and whose work has influenced me the most. Janice told us all about the word "puckerbrush" in an article she posted August 27, 2007, at Cow Hampshire Blog. "


Janice's definition of the puckerbrush is as follows: "On any land allowed to go fallow and left untended, a wild assortment of wild plants grow – in some areas, this wild growth results in such a thicket of plants that it is almost impossible to push your way through the growth."


Terry stated further: "So it is with the growth of blogs --- so many that it is impossible to read them all. But in the puckerbrush eventually a few plants/trees become dominant and influence all who view them through the thick surrounding puckerbrush.And it is those outstanding blogs whose influence spreads beyond just the surrounding rabble of puckerbrush that I'm honoring."


Terry's challenge: "Henceforth these awards will be called the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence. All blog authors are hereby challenged to name the ten blogs which have influenced their writing the most and list them as a tribute to Janice --- the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Awards for Excellence.

Paying It Forward
I am always astounded at everyone's blog posts.  It's fun to see other people's thoughts, feelings, creativity, research, photography, and art - not to mention the jokes.  Each person's passion is evident in each post, and everytime I read a new one, I learn something new.  Maybe a new research technique, or a new photo editing technique that I try to absorb then try to infuse my own passion and thoughts into the technique in hopes of creating something new to share.  There are too many blogs to list each and every one that I read and learn from, but please know that I learn a little something from everyone.  My job in being given this award is to select ten that have influenced my work.  Technically, though, I guess it would be twenty in this case, but I'm cheating a little in order to get my "thank you's" out in a timely manner!  Please visit [if you haven't already] the following blogs, for they are wonderfully and creatively instructive and some are just plain funny:

• Janine at Janinealogy [I have to add that she's my "cyber sister" & possibly a very distant cousin]
• TCasteel at Tangled Trees [Because of some swashbuckling adventures of a certain pirate, we are probable distant cousins, too!]
• Denise Olson at Family Matters [For bringing genealogy technology to those of us who aren't so "techie".]
• footnoteMaven [Her abilities, research, and creativity leave me speechless. O.K., not speechless, but you get the idea...]
• Randy Seavers at Genea-Musings [A special "thank you" for you below.]
• Vickie Everhart at BeNotForgot [Her designs stop me in my tracks, and make me drool with envy!]
• Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers [I'd be lost, and still wondering how to do all this without his blog.]
• Harold's Daughter at A Couple of Bubbles Off Center [She shares my deep desire to bring our ancestors alive.]
• Amy at We Tree [Her research abilities are astounding, and her humor & sarcasm are hilarious - probably because it's like mine!]
• Chris at The Genealogue [His irreverent genealogy news through humor is, well, humorous!]

A special thank you goes to Randy at Genea-Musings for listing my last post about "Time and Mercy" in his Top 25 of the week.  It means a lot to me, so I made you a "Thank You" design, too.  Please go visit Randy's list of Top 25.  You won't regret it!



Caroline

Does Time Reveal Mercy?

Wading Through the Photos and Heirlooms
I am defintely not going to say that going through the photos and heirlooms [my husband's family's genealogy jackpot cache] that I discovered at my father-in-laws' house is a chore.  On the contrary, it is absolutely awesome to uncover, to wonder, to research, and to document these rare treasures; for each one has a story behind it.  After all, someone or several "someones" thought so highly about the items that some of them have been kept for over 100 years.  Unfortunately, though, no perfect and detailed journal exists that can reveal their stories...just a vague memory here and a distant fragment of family lore there.  What do we do with these wonderful items that, while they are inanimate, are just brimming with stories to tell, if only they could talk!  I mean, could you imagine what these item's witnessed?   Not only that, but none of the vast family trees can compare [in my opinion] with touching - really touching - our family's history.  Holding it where our ancestor's hands were holding it.    It's one of our tangible connections with our past.  So, I ask again, what do we do when we don't know the story, or it's incomplete and/or vague?  Well, I have some items that have given me mixed signals, and in trying to determine the provenance of one item, I'm pretty sure I have uncovered the identities of two people that I found all alone in a Victorian era photograph album.  You see, sometimes it's not the story behind the name, but sometimes the story may lead you to the name...

The Ladies' Pocketwatch

I have to admit that my eyes like "pretty things".  They are naturally trained to find the "bling", but I am not [by any stretch of the imagination] an expert [not an even an amateur] on antique pocketwatches.  That being said, I was able to find some information to help me with my analysis.   This beautiful ladies' Elgin pocketwatch came in a small white envelope with 2 lines of writing on the envelope.  The first line reads, "Pearl May" and the second line reads, "Dad's Watch".  Not exactly specific, but better than a blank envelope.  Unless, of course, the information is incorrect, or it doesn't pertain to this particular pocketwatch.  As you can tell from the photographs, the pocketwatch has engravings on both sides with the front having a type of floral design around the edge and a blank shield and the back mirroring the front but instead of a shield, it has a bird in flight.  Also, the front "lid" of the casing is broken off, the glass is gone, and it does not run.  The outside of the envelope details a quote of the work that needs to be done to it.

So, Whose Pocketwatch Is This?

Well, that's a good question.  It is thought by my husband's family that the handwriting is from my husband's paternal grandfather, Forest Pointer. Forest's father was Harvey Lewis Pointer, and he was Pearl May's husband.  [Remember, the beautiful lady?]  Harve and Pearl married in 1906.  This is pretty cut and dry, right?  That's what I thought, but how do we know if the writing on the envelope refers to this watch?  How do we know if the identification of the pocketwatch by Forest is correct?  The answer is...we don't.

Identifying the Pocketwatch

I needed to identify the pocketwatch in order to document it correctly.  So, I crossed my fingers and googled "Elgin antique pocketwatches."  I was ever so lucky and I found a site that is "everything to do with Eligin antique pocketwatches" including a database of serial numbers and manufacturer descriptions at http://elginpocketwatches.org/.  [Yup, it was that easy.]  It took me step-by-step in identifying this pocketwatch including correcting me on the placement of the serial number [The number on the inside of the casing is the serial number for the casing.  The timepiece's serial number is located on the inside near the gears.  Just in case you were wondering.]  This is its "official" manufacturer description:

• This "style" was manufactured between 1899-1903;
• There were 3000 manufactured in a "run" and there were 45 runs;

• 15 jewels are located in it.
• It's a pendant model & pendant set.
• Designed for a hunter's case [meaning second hand is 90 degrees to the pendant];
• Has a 3/4 plate
• Has nickel damaskeening [a shiny silver color with patterns and designs that change when watch is moved (on timepiece not casing);
• Beats 5 beats/second;
• This particular timepiece was made about 1903, but probably selling several years after the date of manufacture;
• This particular style was manufactured in low-volumes, 3000/run [compared to a high volume of 10,000-20,000 per run]

Remember the stamping on the casing?  There were some more on the inside casing in the back where you access the actual timepiece's gears and whatnot.  [Yes, that's my technical term. ;)]  Using the same above process, I found information here about the casing's manufacturer.  [Back then, the casing & the timepiece were manufactured separately.]  It's stamped "Keystone Watch Case J.Boss, 14K, Guaranteed 25 years."  I discovered it was a 14k gold-filled case designed by J. Boss.  Boss was the man who received the patent for the gold filled process.  Wow, huh?  Who knew there was so much information that could be determined by a serial number on a pocketwatch? [And who would've guessed I'd be looking for it?]

Switching Gears

I put the pocketwatch aside [much to my chagrin because I really like the bling...].  Amongst all the photographs, there were 2 in particular that caught my eye.  Why?  Maybe because they were the only 2 studio photographs that were in this beautiful Victorian era celluloid photo album [the album is a story for another time].  Not only were these 2 photographs alone, but they were anonymous as well.  There were no names to be found on or around them.  Let me correct that.  Their names weren't on there, but they did have a studio "stamp" on the front.  It reads "C.W. Bonham, Gering Nebraska".  [Gering is located in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.]  Now, it's thought by the family that the photo album came from the "Haley" side of the family, which would be my husband's paternal grandmother's family.  If this is correct, then the owner of this very lovely album would've been Lovina Emaline Haley [wife of Daniel Haley and my husband's 2nd great-grandmother who owned the 125-yr old autograph album.]  So, it's thought that the photographs are of the Haley persuasion.  [Not exactly definitive because throughout the generations, people could've changed these photographs around.]  I looked on both sides of the family looking for members who had lived in Nebraska.  There were 2 distinct family members that had lived in Nebraska - both from the "Haley" side. [Yes!]  The first was Emaline's younger brother James Madison Richmond.  I found him and his family living in Dawes County, Nebraska [located in the northwestern area of the state] in 1910 and his age is 47.  The other family member living in Nebraska was Frank Edward Haley the adopted son of Daniel and Lovina Haley.  In 1900, he was single and living in Gabe Rock Pct., Nebraska.  In 1910, it's listed that he'd been married to a woman for 5 yrs by the name of Mercy, and they were living in Rose Pct., Scotts Bluff County, NE.  Between 1910 and 1920, they moved back to Iowa [where Frank Edward was born and where he was raised by Daniel and Lovina].  Now, this puts Edward [the name Frank Edward went by] and his wife Mercy very much near Gering, NE, where these photographs were taken.  I looked up on a Scotts Bluff County map from 1907 on http://www.historicmapworks.com/ and learned that Rose Pct [where they lived in 1910] was near Gering, NE [in fact one district away].  This leads me to believe that these two people in these photographs are Frank Edward and Mercy (Slingbaum) Haley [Mercy is pictured above, and Edward I introduced you to here. ].  Not definitive, I know, but still a strong likelihood.  [Also, please note: I tried looking up information on the photography studio in Gering Nebraska, but was unable to find anything.]

Taking A Closer Look

If you take a closer look at the photograph of who I believe is Mercy Slingbaum Haley, you'll notice that she's wearing a...pendant pocketwatch.  I didn't notice this at first even though I had looked at this photograph several times.  I took a look at it under my magnifying glass, and then I could almost see the design on the pocketwatch.  It looked quite similar to the pocketwatch that I had been examining and documenting, but the pocketwatch is supposed to be from my husband's paternal grandfather line [Pointer], and Mercy is from his paternal grandmother line [Haley].  Of course, this might not be Mercy in this photograph, but no other familial lines [paternal or maternal], that I've been able to find, lived in or near Gering, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.  The closest other candidate is Lovina's younger brother James Madison Richmond who lived in Dawes County, Nebraska, so he's a possibility, but due to proximity, I think Edward and Mercy Haley are the better candidates.  I decided to try some digital enhancing of the pocketwatch to see if I could make out the design on the pocketwatch.  [Now,  I have no clue how to properly do this.  In fact, I am below an amateur when it comes to this, but I thought I'd at least try and "fiddle" with it!] Here is what I came up with:

Did Time Discover Mercy?

So, nothing really definitive, but I think the enhancements lend a little credence to my theory that this might be the same pocketwatch.  If it's not, it's one very similar.  Edward and Mercy were married in 1905 and this pocketwatch, remember, was manufactured in 1903, but probably sold several years after that.  However, Harve and Pearl were married in 1906, so the timing is right for this pocketwatch to have been a gift of some kind like a wedding gift, etc. for either woman.  One thing of note is that Edward Haley was raised in Jasper County, Iowa, moved to Nebraska and married there, and he and Mercy moved back to Jasper County, Iowa.  In addition Harve and Pearl Pointer lived in Story County, Iowa.  These are adjoining counties and maybe two similar pocketwatches were purchased at the same place.  However, the only problem is, at that time, Edward was living in Nebraska, but he could have gone home.   Maybe they [Mercy and Pearl] just had similar pendant pocketwatches.  Of course, this particular pocketwatch's "runs" were considered low volume - not high volume.  Basically, I don't know.  What I do know, though, is that I probably wouldn't have spent so much time examining an adopted son's life as much if I hadn't noticed the similarities in pocketwatches.  So, in this respect, time did truly help me find Mercy!

Caroline

[Note: All census information accessed through Heritage Quest Online and Ancestry.com]

Wordless Wednesday

"Never Build Anything Bigger Than What You Need"