Tuesday, September 25, 2012

My Gallup Branch - Edith


The Gallup family is a huge and well researched family.  There has been a published genealogy on the family since 1896.  My particular branch of the Gallup family comes through my great great grandmother, Edith Gallup. 

Edith Phoebe Gallup was born on 28 Jan 1860 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY.  She was the eldest child of Silas Gallup and Phoebe Ann Montanye in a large family that included 12 children.  Edith’s parents married when Silas was 28 years old and a schoolteacher and married his 15 year old student.  As was custom in the day, Silas and Phoebe rang the school bell to announce the marriage and since no one noticed, they kept it secret. 

Edith became a schoolteacher herself and taught junior grades at the Quaker Street Academy as early as 1878.  She boarded with nearby families.  Her brother, Albert, left New York and headed towards Nebraska to teach there.   After being encouraged by both his brother James and son Albert, Silas packed up his youngest children and headed to Nebraska and arrived in Lyons, NE on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.  By the time they left, Edith had married a widower on 5 May 1886 whose wife had died shortly after the birth of their youngest child, Nellie.  Her death left Orlando Gage with four children all under the age of ten years old.   From what I have heard, Orlando and his wife’s family (Charity Hotaling) cared for the boys as they grew up.  The youngest child, Nellie, lived with her maternal grandmother. 
Edith Gallup as young woman - Perhaps her wedding picture.

Edith and Orlando had their first son on 10 Dec 1888 in Esperance, NY and sadly lost him when he was almost two years old on 12 Oct 1890.  Allen was in a walker and rolling under a kitchen table when he stood up and was killed by a nail that stuck out underneath the table.  My great grandfather, Ora, was their second son and was born in 1892.  Although he never knew his older brother, it was apparent that this horrific event was always on his parent’s minds.  Granddad would get very upset if he saw a toddler anywhere near to walking under a table.

Orlando Gage Family - about 1896 -  This picture was stitched together .  The photo was originally taken with  Edith and the children and Orlando was added in later.  Ora Silas Gage is the oldest child, the twins are Peter Z and Phebe Margaret and the youngest is Alice Irene Gage.
By the time Edith and Orlando had been married 10 years, they had four children of their own.  Granddad Gage was the oldest surviving child and then they had the twins Pete and Phebe, and their youngest, Alice, was born in late March of 1896.  Orlando and Edith had a small farm and Orlando worked for the nearby railroad as a carpenter.  They were respected within their small community and their church, and by the turn of the century they were most likely enjoying their life.  However, in the early spring of 1907, Edith took a fall.  I’ve heard several stories – but evidently she fell down some stairs and severely hurt herself.  She wrote the following letter to her mother in 1907.

Transcription of a letter written by Edith Gallup Gage to her mother, Phebe Montanye Gallup.

October 23, 1907

Dear Mother:
My twins are 13 years old today and a great deal of help to me.  Monday night after school the girls washed a large washing besides getting supper. (I don't pretend to do anything only what I can do sitting down.)  Tuesday morning they rinsed and starch the clothes done, did the morning work even to making beds and mopping and got things ready for dinner.  They baked (2 apple pies) and got to school in time they were up at half past four.  Orlando killed 5 pigs yesterday, 4 for market.  They only dressed 102 lbs. a price.  We kept one, sold them at Esperance and got 9 cents a lbs. They were late pigs, the last of April and only skim milk, so it was not so bad.  He thrashed in the afternoon, earning $ 5 and moved his machine today.  He is digging potatoes for us.  He won't have any nuts to send to send you as the squirrels and friends of ours are taking them when the children are gone.  Orlando is away thrashing and I can't stop them.  I can only teeter backward and forward when I try to walk so I don't try much anymore, the sides, back, and belly burns like fire when I try although the flesh feels ice cold, Orlando says, when you touch it.  I do not feel heat nor cold just comfortable when I lay still that is something to be thankful and I do not worry.  It will be and is all for the best.
       I hope you are better. Here is a slip of a pretty red geranium.  It is near time for the mail so I must quit with love to all.
Edith


In early January, Edith’s health was taking its toll and she contracted pneumonia and she died on 8 January, 1908.  Her death record says that she died of lobar pneumonia with a contributing factor of chronic myelitis which she had four 7 months.  She had had the pneumonia for only four days before she died.  Orlando did his best to take care of his wife and was able to make the arrangements for her funeral and then he too took to his bed with lobar pneumonia and died just eight days after his wife.    While Edith never wanted to come west, her children gathered their belongings together and boarded a train for Nebraska to live with their maternal grandmother.  In just eight days, Granddad Gage and his siblings had lost both of their parents and now their home and now traveled to Lyons, NE to start a new life.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Nicholas Walker & Laura Mayfield Johnson


My mother gathered a lot of the early Johnson information that we have.  She sat down at a table with my grandfather many years ago and asked him about his family.  My grandfather didn’t really believe that he had that impressive of a family.  He had heard that he was related to President Andrew Johnson – but didn’t really know how.  See blog about Andrew Johnson (http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2012/01/am-i-related-to-andrew-johnson.html ) Other than that, there wasn’t anything all that surprising or unusual, at least on the surface.

Laura Mayfield Johnson was the sixth child of eleven.  She was born in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA on 1 Dec 1865 during a turbulent time.  Her parents had left Tennessee in late 1861 to escape the Civil War.  They went to Jasper Co., IA where her father’s brother lived and then traveled to Shelby Co., IA.  There Laura and her remaining siblings were born and it was there she married Nicholas Walker. At one point another Johnson researcher and I joked that it would be funny if the Nicholas Walker that Laura Mayfield Johnson married was her cousin.  According to the marriage records posted online at the Shelby Co., IA genealogy website at http://iagenweb.org/shelby/marriage/br-ik.htm - they were cousins.  Nicholas was the son of Martha Johnson and Granville or Green Walker and Martha was the younger sister of Washington Abraham Johnson, Laura’s father. 

Nicholas is a mystery to me.  During the Civil War, Green Walker fought with his father in law (Moses) and brother in law (Nicholas) blowing up bridges for the 13th TN Calvary.  However, after the Civil War, the Walker family seems to disappear.  Only Nicholas appears again in a marriage record in 1886 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA.  I’ve never been able to discover what happened to his parents or his siblings, nor do I know how he ended up in Iowa.  I’m sure he must have followed family members – but Hampton, Carter Co., TN is a long way away from Shelby Co., IA.  I talked to one their grandchildren and they were unaware that Nicholas and Laura were 1st cousins.  So…as more records become available, I hope to discover more about the Walkers and what happened between the close of the Civil War and 1886 when Nicholas marries Laura Mayfield Johnson.  The family ended up moving to South Dakota and Nicholas and Laura and both died in Tulare, Spink Co., ND and are buried at Garfield Cemetery, Tulare, Spink Co., ND.

Descendants of Nicholas W. Walker


Generation No. 1

1.  NICHOLAS W.2 WALKER  (GRENVILLE C.1) was born 10 Jan 1855 in Hampton, Carter Co., TN, and died 21 Apr 1938 in Tulare, Spink Co., SD.  He married LAURA MAYFIELD JOHNSON 11 Aug 1886 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA, daughter of WASHINGTON JOHNSON and MARY SMITH.  She was born 01 Dec 1865 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA, and died 07 Nov 1927 in Tulare, Spink Co., SD.

Burial: 24 Apr 1938, Garfield Cemetery, Spink Co., SD
Census 1: 1860, 2nd Division, Carter Co., TN, Pg. 87, #588
Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4
Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Census 4: 1930, Dist. 20, Garfield Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 1A, #9

More About LAURA MAYFIELD JOHNSON:
Burial: Nov 1927, Garfield Cemetery, Spink Co., SD
Census 1: 1880, Douglas, Shelby Co., IA, Pg 135A, #131
Census 2: 1870, Jackson Twp., Hardin Co., IA, pg 29, #1
Census 3: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4
Census 4: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
     
Children of NICHOLAS WALKER and LAURA JOHNSON are:
               i.   MAHLAN WILLIARD3 WALKER, b. 12 Jul 1887, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 13 Feb 1957, Yakima, Yakima Co., WA; m. (1) ELLA MAY PRICE; b. Jul 1896, SD; d. 1972; m. (2) GRACE PRICE; b. Feb 1889, SD; d. 1918; m. (3) BLANCHE M., Abt. 1908; b. Abt. 1888, IA.

More About MAHLAN WILLIARD WALKER:
Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 1A, #7
Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4
Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Census 4: 1930, Dist 36., Redfield, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 28A, #723 - Listed as Inmate

More About ELLA MAY PRICE:
Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 1A, #7
Census 2: 1900, Dist. 305, Garfield, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 4A, #63
Census 3: 1930, Dist.44, Tulare, Three Rivers, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 3B, # 65

More About BLANCHE M.:
Census: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

              ii.   ALBERT LEE WALKER, b. 08 Nov 1888, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 30 Dec 1967, Huron, Beadle Co., SD; m. LULA BESSIE PRICE, 04 Nov 1913, Redfield, Spink Co., SD; b. 03 Mar 1894, Tulare, Spink Co., SD; d. 09 Oct 1997, Huron, Beadle Co., SD.

More About ALBERT LEE WALKER:
Burial: 02 Jan 1968, Riverside Cemetery, Huron, Beadle Co., SD
Census 1: 1930, Dist. 8, Clear Lake, Duel Co., SD, Pg. 4B, #93
Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4
Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Social Security Number: 503-38-9030, Issued SD

More About LULA BESSIE PRICE:
Burial: 11 Oct 1997, Riverside Cemetery, Huron, Beadle Co., SD
Census 1: 1930, Dist. 8, Clear Lake, Duel Co., SD, Pg. 4B, #93
Census 2: 1900, Dist. 305, Garfield, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 4A, #63
Social Security Number: 503-42-3302, Issued SD

             iii.   MYRTLE NOLA WALKER, b. 06 Jan 1891, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Feb 1978, Paramount, Los Angeles, CA; m. BERNARD CHRISTIAN HAGMANN, 21 May 1911, SD; b. 02 Oct 1890, SD; d. 26 Sep 1959, Long Beach, Los Angeles, CA.

More About MYRTLE NOLA WALKER:
Burial: Feb 1978, Westminster, Orange Co., CA
Census 1: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

More About BERNARD CHRISTIAN HAGMANN:
Burial: Sep 1959, Westminster, Orange Co., CA

             iv.   FRANCIS ALVIN WALKER, b. 08 Dec 1892, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 09 Aug 1965, Branson, Taney Co., MO; m. ELIZABETH C. SWANSON, 05 May 1919, Beadle Co., SD; b. Abt. 1892, SD.

More About FRANCIS ALVIN WALKER:
Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200
Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4
Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

More About ELIZABETH C. SWANSON:
Census: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200

              v.   OLLIE JOHNSON WALKER, b. 03 Sep 1895, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Oct 1978, Sioux City, Dakota Co., IA; m. MABEL HATCH.

More About OLLIE JOHNSON WALKER:
Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200
Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4
Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Social Security Number: 479-01-8467, Issued IA

             vi.   RUSSELL MARION WALKER, b. 28 Aug 1897, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Sep 1978, Lakeport, Lake Co., CA; m. (1) FAE WILSON; m. (2) BELLE HANNA, 1944; d. 1954.

More About RUSSELL MARION WALKER:
Burial: Sep 1978, Westminster, Orange Co., CA
Census 1: 1930, Dist. 20, Garfield Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 1A, #9
Census 2: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

            vii.   CORNELIA ELEANOR WALKER, b. 09 Sep 1900, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Feb 1987, Denison, Crawford Co., IA; m. NELS JENSEN, 05 Jul 1928, Spink Co., SD; b. 03 Feb 1900; d. 19 Sep 1997, Harlan, Shelby Co., IA.

More About CORNELIA ELEANOR WALKER:
Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200
Census 2: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Social Security Number: 485-40-1083   IA

            viii.   VELMA MAE WALKER, b. 11 Feb 1904, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 02 Feb 2000, Orange Co., CA.

More About VELMA MAE WALKER:
Burial: Feb 2000, Westminster Memorial Park, Orange Co., CA
Census 1: 1930, Dist. 20, Garfield Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 1A, #9
Census 2: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

             ix.   ELMER LEON WALKER, b. 20 Apr 1907, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Oct 1973, Long Beach, Los Angeles Co., CA; m. DOROTHY STEVENSON, 02 Nov 1935, Spink Co., SD.

More About ELMER LEON WALKER:
Died 2: 1973, Long Beach, CA
Census: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95
Social Security Number: 572-18-6291
SSN issued: California

              x.   LYLE BERNARD WALKER, b. Jan 1910, Huron Co., SD; d. Abt. 1994, Palm Springs, CA; m. (1) ADA RUE, 1935; m. (2) VELMA TIMPE, 1955.

More About LYLE BERNARD WALKER:
Census: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95



Saturday, September 22, 2012

Forest Fire & Smoke


This morning when I woke up, I could spell the scent of smoke.   It is no wonder that the smell had become so pervasive.  There are three fires within 150 miles of Lewiston.  These three fires have already burned over 110,000 acres and will probably burn much more before the season is over.   I have read in our local paper that think this fire season will probably surpass 1996 as one of the worst fire years ever.  Forest Fires in Idaho is something we live with.  Just like others deal with earthquakes along the Andreas Fault, hurricanes in Miami or New Orleans, extreme snow amounts in Buffalo or tornados in the Midwest.  In 1960, my parents were in the middle of one of these fire seasons.
Up on Highway 12 towards the Lolo Pass - two weeks ago.

Taken this morning near Warner Ave in Lewiston, ID.  Normally, you can see hills  and the
downtown from this point.  Visibility is so bad and it looks like a blanket of smoke is hovering everywhere.

During the first year of my parent’s marriage, they lived in Elk City, Idaho.  At the time, there was no electricity in town or phone service.  My parents had electricity because they got from the lumber mill across the road from where they lived.  My grandfather owned the mill and my father worked there unloading logs with the wagoner.  My Dad told me that it was a late summer day in 1960, when he arrived home after working a full shift and was called in to relieve the fire line on the Whiskey Creek fire.  Dad might have been young…but he had already worked a full shift in his job when he was called in to help relieve the fire line.  So, he road in the back of a truck for a few hours and then proceeded to put numerous hours in on the fire line. It wasn’t too much longer when my grandfather stopped by the trailer and told my mother that she better get into the car and evacuate from Elk City.  At the time, Mom was 18 and several months pregnant with my sister.  So Mom got the car gassed up and started to head towards Lewiston. 

Meanwhile, Dad was still working on the fire line with some short breaks for rest and some food.  As Dad said, the food wasn’t so great…but it did fill a gap.  It was hard work trying to clear the snags and create back burns to try and stop the fire.  Dad didn’t know at this point that Elk City was being evacuated and Mom was heading to Lewiston.

Mom often told me that that drive was one of the scariest trips she ever took.  The fire, by that point, had stretched to a lot of acreage.  She was traveling down Highway 12 between Kamiah and Orofino, ID and could see the fire across the Clearwater River.  The Clearwater River is a main tributary to the Snake River, here in Idaho and is not a small creek…it is probably about 80 feet across.  As Mom was traveling down the road in the car, the fire leapt the river to the other side right in front of her.  I’m sure the wind had blown the flames over.  I don’t think it started a fire on the other side of the river…and she didn’t stay to find out.  She made it to Lewiston, ID with no further problems…but was very shaky from the experience.

Dad worked several weeks off and on through that summer and fall during the fire season working the fire lines.  It is dangerous work where the men work long hours under harsh conditions.  Most of the land they are trying to protect has steep terrain and plenty of fuel to keep the fires burning.  So, here we are today – over 50 years later and experiencing yet another bad fire season.  We had a wet spring and dry summer which creates perfect conditions for fires to erupt with lots of dry grasses and low humidity.  Most of these fires are created during lightning storms.  Sixty percent of Idaho’s territory is federal land and much of this acreage is considered wilderness and so there are a lot of constraints on how to fight the fires.  In addition, much of these forests have been decimated by the Pine Tree Beetle and therefore the timber is dead.  So…these fires may not be out and will continue to burn until the snow flies.  We have already lost at least two firefighters that I know of this season.  I pray that those that are fighting these fires and trying to protect homes can remain safe as possible.  Because they are someone’s brothers, sons, grandsons, husbands or friends and their loved one’s are waiting for them to come home!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

North Dakota Changes


A few weeks ago – Dad and I traveled back in the footsteps of his parents.  In 1939, the newly married couple left Idaho and traveled across Montana to Dunn Center, North Dakota.  The trip wasn’t an easy one.   Even today, it is a long trip.  I estimate that it takes about 12 hours to get through Montana.  By the time Dad and I got a motel for the night at Glendive, MT, we had traveled 725 miles and about 14 hours.  The next day, we continued on to Dunn Center to see what had happened since we last visited.

By any accounts, Dunn Center, ND looks like a place that time had forgot.  It seems like we know a lot of people who were either born in North Dakota or whose families came from North Dakota.  I can see why – it is flat, hot in the summer and prone to harsh storms and cold and snowy in the winter time.  I remember hearing stories about people who had to tie a rope between their house and barn to find their way.  However, if you travel to North Dakota today…you will find something different. 

As we left Dickinson heading north we noticed immediately some significant changes.  The traffic was a whole lot heavier and the two lane highway heading north was now being made into a four lane highway.  Between Dickinson and Killdeer – there were a plethora of changes including new housing, new buildings, storage areas and new oil wells.   What had been shrinking communities before, looked to thriving and growing.  We stopped at the Dunn Center cemetery to take photographs of the gravestones and noticed two oil wells across the road from the cemetery.  



After we had finished, we headed into town.  As we turned off the highway and headed into town, the dirt road that had been there previously had recently been paved and widened considerably.  



The trailer court that had been like ghost town before from the Garrison Damn era had been revitalized and looked to be thriving.  Beside was a new building with extensive outbuildings as well that was labeled Marathon Oil.  The town that everyone had forgotten had seemed to become a boomtown. 


The house that Dad had spent his first few years living in…was still occupied.  In its former life, it had been a chicken coop that my grandfather had remodeled into a home.  It still wasn’t anything to look at, but from what I have heard, any place to live is a good one.  The whole town had a different look to it – as if prosperity was ready to revisit this little town on the North Dakota prairie.

Dad and I continued on to Washburn, ND to visit with our cousins.  Along the way, we probably saw over a 100 oil tankers and numerous oil wells.  We had heard stories before we arrived in North Dakota of people renting land to trailers with no utilities for $1000 a month.  I thought they were exaggerating – until we were told that there were places that were charging $ 3,000 a month. 

North Dakota is an energy rich environment.  They have coal and oil and booming economy.  Unlike the rest of the country, their economy is thriving.  I suppose it is their turn.  I once read that North Dakota was the only state that had gone down in population since 1920; this is no longer the case.  Even though North Dakota seems to be experiencing some growing pains – I hope they can take advantage of their good fortune for a long long time!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Middle of the Night Alarm

As Dad and I were making the drive home from Omaha on Sunday, we took a shortcut to cut off some miles between Cheyenne and Casper, Wyoming.  We took a state highway that connected us to Casper while skipping Cheyenne entirely.  As the night deepened, Dad and I noticed the almost constant flow of trains.  I haven't seen that many trains for along time.  We counted at least 15 separate trains.  I can tell you that it caused us to find a hotel nearer the Interstate...and far away from the constant horns of the trains.

I was reminded of a story that Mom used to tell.  Back in 1965, my Dad's parents moved down to the Portland, OR area.  They eventually bought a house in Canema - which is near Oregon City.  They told my parents that they would love the location.  It was quiet and somewhat secluded.  I'm not sure they were right on either level.  Anyway, Mom and Dad began the trek to Oregon which is at least a six hour trip.  As I wasn't born quite yet, they had three young children to deal with.  One of whom made a habit of throwing his shoes out the window.  They made the obligatory stop at Multnomah Falls to ooh and aah over the site of the water crashing down to the pool below.  After corralling my siblings, Mom and Dad got back in the car for the last push into Portland.  Back then you had to go up 82nd Street which turned into McLaughlin Blvd - I always remembered the site of the B-25 Bomber that was held up in air with a gas station below.  Eventually, my parents got to Canema to my grandparents new home.  It was somewhat secluded - meaning that it was off the road about 100 yards from 99E.  It was actually very quiet...except at night.

I'm sure Mom and Dad bedded down my siblings in sleeping bags on the floor, while my parents took residence in the spare bedroom.  Soon they were blissfully sleeping and enjoying their rest from the journey of  the previous day.  However, at about 3 am - they were awakened with the blast from the train horn as it barreled down the tracks almost right outside the window.

A trip to the Zoo on the first trip to Portland - about 1965
When Mom and Dad came into the kitchen the next morning, my grandmother asked them if they slept well -  they said "Yeah...until about 3 am!"  My grandmother didn't really understand until they mentioned the train.  She then commented that she never really heard it.  I guess you certainly do get used to sounds in the night that are familiar...I sleep next to the furnace room and think nothing of the noise and my father hears the grandfather clock chiming every hour and doesn't really notice it.  However, I must admit that I am not sure a train running down the tracks next to my bedroom window would be something that I would get used to!