Happy 100th Birthday Grandma Cappy!

Today would have been my grandmother’s 100^th birthday.  Capitola Ester Friddle was born to David Carl Friddle and Sophie Vestelle Dollar on December 17^th, 1911 up on Grouse Flats, Wallowa Co., OR.  She was delivered by her uncle, Albert Friddles, who was the local midwife in a cabin.  At the time of her birth, her parents were 22 and 17 years old and already the parents of a 2 year old boy. 

Capitola's high school graduation picture.

Grandma Cappy was not an easy person.  She was a loving mother and grandmother but didn’t have what one might call the most developed maternal instincts.  Grandma grew up in serious times and therefore was not someone all that frivolous about anything.  My mother used to say that “work” was her God.    When something bothered her – she worked, when she was happy – she worked, when she was challenged by something – she worked.  Playing hooky was not part of Grandma’s makeup.  My nieces and nephews have both enjoyed “fun” grandmothers who did fun activities with them and actually were great fun to be around.  My grandmother grew up during the depression and her parents had little money for most of her childhood.  They learned to work to survive and make do with what they had.  This isn’t to say that I didn’t love my grandmother – I did.  As a child, I found her interesting to talk to and always tried to please her.  I’m sure I drove a lot of people nuts with my constant questioning, but my grandmother was patient and encouraged my intellect.  She died the day I went to college in 1985.  Her health had been failing for some time – but I know that her last thoughts were of her family because they were always the most important and driving force in her life.

When Grandma Cappy was a little girl living on the old homestead on Grouse Flats, she went to a one room school with all of the other children in the area.  She and her brothers always thought of the old home place with a lot of fondness….certainly a lot more fondness than their mother.  They moved to Pomeroy in the early 1920’s so Grandma’s brother, Jack could go to high school.  After Jack graduated from high school, they moved to Lewiston.  Grandma became the first class to go through Lewiston High School in their new building.  It is the same building that her daughters went to and my siblings and myself…as well as one of her great granddaughters.  We are all graduates of LHS.  Cappy went to college at the Lewiston Normal School and got a degree teaching.  At that point she met her boyfriend and later first husband, Richard Tannahill.  They eloped in Vancouver, WA on Dec 28, 1938.  Cappy’s mother, brothers and sister –in-law were present.  They married far away from Lewiston so they could keep her marriage secret and she could finish teaching the year. 

They waited four years for their first daughter and when my mother was born in 1941, my grandmother decided that would be the last child.  After all, her husband was off hunting and it was her brother who took her to the hospital to have the baby.  If Richard couldn’t for the birth…then there wasn’t going to be any more babies.  It must have been hard work to maintain a big home, take care of two babies and help her parents especially in the early 1940’s when her brothers were off fighting in two fronts in World War II.  Cappy and her brothers were very close and it had to tear Grandma up to know her beloved brother were in harm’s way.  Jack was her buddy…he probably knew her best because they were so close in age.  Claude was a beloved baby brother who she helped raise.  Claude used to tell me that Cappy swatted his backside more often than his mother. 

Richard died in 1947 as the result of a hunting accident.  She married Gwen Shearer about a year later.  At this point, Cappy ran a lumber lot at her home and was a sharp businesswoman.  Mom said that she could calculate lumber quicker than anyone she knew.  In 1956, Gwen Shearer’s mill burned down in Orofino, ID and they were in the process of building a new mill in Elk City, ID.  This took a serious financial toll…and Grandma decided to go back to school and get recertified to teach.  Cappy did what was necessary and started substitute teaching by 1959.  By the next year, she was teaching at Elk City’s grade school.  Grandma loved teaching and was very good at it.  She was tough but fair and from all accounts, her students loved her.  Grandma also adored animals and for most of her life, she had a pet as part of it.  When Grandma was teaching, her dog came to school with her.  She would spend most of the day on Grandma’s purse and the kids knew to stay away. 

Cleaning up after opening presents - Abt 1974

Grandma got her dream house in 1972 with a huge kitchen and a huge living room.  The fireplace was a masterpiece of rock that she and Grandpa Gwen had chosen.  All of her grandchildren have vivid memories of some of the best Christmas’s that a child could experience.  Most of the time, we would decorate the Christmas tree when we got up there.  Cappy would have put up the nativity set that my mother painted for her.  What was so wonderful about Christmas at Grandma’s house was the snow.  We would play on our sleds and the toboggan that they gave us for hours.  Only coming in for brief times to change socks and mittens and maybe eat something then we would go back out and play.  There wasn’t just a few inches of snow out there…but rather feet.  Many times Grandpa Gwen and Dad would come out and drag us up from the bottom of the hill with the snowmobiles, great memories and great fun.

My grandmother Cappy’s favorite flower was the poinsettia.  Every year she bought one for her mother, mother-in-law, herself and for her daughters.  Whenever I see poinsettia’s I think of her and my mother.  Mom loved them because of their color but also because of her mother.  As I put up the nativity set that my mother so lovingly painted for her mother – I place a large poinsettia behind.  You might say that this is a tribute to both women.  I never look at it without thinking of them.  So Grandma – wherever you are – Happy 100^th birthday.  We love you and miss you!

Chink in a Brick Wall - John Lyons

When you start looking at ancestors who lived in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s there are some special challenges involved.  One of these ancestors for me is John N. Lyons.  He was born in 1790 in Ireland and is probably the latest immigrant ancestor that I know of in my family.  His granddaughter, Nancy Ann Marie Lyons is my great great grandmother is and is the mother of Shirlie Louisa Pope.

I suspect that John arrived either before 1800 or shortly thereafter.  I haven’t as yet found out a listing on a ship with he or is family’s names.  However, I need to look at what I have found this year.  I live in Lewiston, ID and have no large genealogical library nearby nor do I have much time to do research during the day as I work a full time job.  So, I am very dependent on online resources – especially for famlies who lived across the country.  Thanks to some new databases that have been publisshed online – I have made some definite progress this past year.

John Lyons was married to Mary French on 4 Sep 1817 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA – I initially got their names from their son’s death record (John Nathan Lyons)  who would have been my 4^th great grandfather.  With as common a name as John, it is easy to confuse him with others in the same region.  Ancestry published the New Hampshire Death & Burial Records Index this past year, and I was able to find John Lyons mentioned as well as the names of his parents – Timothy and Honora.  As yet, I haven’t located his wife, Mary, but I hope to tackle her again soon.

I have also made progress using Family Search which is located at www.familysearch.org and is run by the LDS church.  Using their database of Massachusetts marriage records, I was able to piece together information on John and Mary’s children.  I am only descended from John Nathan Lyons – but I always like to get information on the sbilings.  You never know when you can locate a descendant and maybe get a little more information.

If you are a paid subscriber of Ancestry.com – pay attention to the new databases that are announced and spend the time every few months to hit some of these brick walls.  You never know when you will make a breakthrough.  Don’t forget to check www.familysearch .org as well.  My advice is to start a broad search and then narrow your parameters.  I look at John Lyons and see him as a success…for the past year I have created several chinks in that brick wall.  Here is the info that I have on him!

John N. Lyons b. 1790 Ireland d. 11 Dec 1880 Manchester, NH m. Mary W. French b. abt 1790 MA d. bef 1860

•  Sarah Ann Lyons b. 8 Aug 1818 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA d. 3 Nov 1910 Billerica, Middlesex Co., MA m. George C. Leonard 14 Sept 1843 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
•  John Nathan Lyons b. 23 Apr 1820 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA d. 7 Apr 1911 Bath, Grafton Co., NH m. Mary Elizabeth Reed  21 Dec 1845, Fairlee, Orange Co., VT m.  Elizabeth Snow 23 Mar 1893 Manchester, NH
•  Charles E. Lyons b. Mar 1831 Oxford, NH d. aft 1900 m. Wate Holmes 22 Nov 1855 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
• James D. Farnsworth Lyons b. 1834 Oxford, NY d. 15 Mar 1887 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA m. Harriet M. Getchell  bef 1866
•  Myra L. Lyons b. 1836 Oxford, NH d. 8 Aug 1895 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA m. Edward Evertt Lothrop 4 Jan 1857 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
• Mary E. Lyons b. abt 1840 Oxford, NH

What I know - What I think I know? - Pt 1

Sometimes it is difficult to fill in the narrative in genealogy research.  There is a difference in what you know and what you think you know.  For example, I know the birth and death dates of my great grandmother, her parents, her marriages and her children.  I know where she lived in 10 year increments from the census…but what do I really know about her.

Shirlie with her first husband, Charles White.

According to some in the Johnson side of the family, Shirlie Louisa Pope was considered to be a bit slow.  There is no story of any kind like this on the Pope branch.  So, I have to look a bit closer at what I really know about Shirlie.  She married a Charles White in 1903 when she was 22 and had two children with him until he died after fighting a prairie fire in 1907.  She married Ulpian Johnson two years later in 1909 and together they had 5 children, 4 who survived to adulthood.  She died in 1927 as the result of pneumonia.

So…I know that Shirlie was born in Burke, Caledonia Co., VT – she was in Dunn Co., ND in 1910 and in 1925.  The family wasn’t counted in the 1920 census – Dad thinks this was the case because they were living down on the Missouri River breaks.  They had to move when a damn was put in and the area flooded.   I’ve never located her in the 1900 census although I am sure she was probably in North Dakota at the time and she was born too late for the 1880 census…and to the eternal horror of any genealogist the 1890 census was destroyed.   Despite the gaps, I have a pretty good understanding of where she lived and when – so I am confident in the facts of her life.

The stories that I have heard of her intelligence don’t quite mesh with what I know about her life.  I don’t think I can take too seriously one side of the family who said that she was slow and the other side who was angry to lose a beloved member so young.  Shirlie’s sister, Verna, was quite angry at Shirlie’s husband, Ulpian aka George at not getting a doctor to her sooner.  I’m not sure in 1927, that would even have helped as there wasn’t much medicine available to help her.  I doubt the stories about her intelligence.  Her husband, Ulpian, pretty much fell apart after her death and Aunt Nan and my grandfather, Frank, quit school and got jobs to support the family.  Ulpian had been injured as a young man in either a farming or rail accident.  I’ve been told both stories.  To the day he died, Ulpian, was unable to talk about Shirlie without crying, so his children didn’t talk about their mother.  I find this to be a tragic circumstance.  It is one thing to have lose your mother so young but to not be able to talk about her to your father had to be an extra hard blow.  The family stories are what keep a loved one alive long after they have gone.

This is where I get to to what I think I know!  I believe that Shirlie was intellectually much smarter than she was given credit for with her husband’s family.  From the stories that I have heard – my impression is that she was the strong one in the family and the one who kept “things” together.  She was so beloved by my grandfather that he named his oldest daughter after her.  I think she was somewhat unfairly labeled by Ulpian’s brother and sister in-law as being slow.  Shirlie’s father was a very vibrant and seemingly intelligent man.  It might be said that her older two sons with her first husband weren’t too intelligent.  Mary, Shirlie’s oldest daughter with Ulpian, was handicapped and was never quite right.  So, it might be said that she was either mentally slow or it was a result of her handicap.  While Shirlie was alive, her children were in school and getting an education.  After her death, they left school to go to work and support the family.  Their father didn’t have the strength to maintain the family unit without his wife…so the question to me is why was Shirlie labeled as slow by Ulpian’s family.  As far as I can see, the label was unfair and I think untrue.  

Edward Pennington & Pennington Gap

Edward “Neddy” Pennington is the third oldest son of Micajah Pennington and his wife Rachel Jones.  He was born on 29 Dec 1769 in Wilkes Co., NC – probably near modern day Ashe Co., NC.  He lived to be 90 years old and was the longest lived of all of his siblings

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Micajah Pennington and Rachel Jones had ten children born from 1761 to 1782.  Edward Pennington was the fourth son and fifth child in his family.    One of the first things that we see a legal listing for Edward Pennington was a Bastardy Bond.  When an unmarried woman was found to be pregnant, she was brought to court and questioned and was supposed to produce the name of the father.  The father would then be required to post bond to essentially pay for the raising of the child so the county wouldn’t have to take care of the expense.  Edward Pennington was required to post such a bond in the case of Agnes Little and their child Ann Little Pennington.  The child was born in 1792 and died in 1796.  Edward married not too long after the child’s birth and was supposedly being taken care of by Micajah and Rachel when the child died.  Edward married Martha “Patsy” Flanary around 1793 in Wilkes Co., NC and by 1802, they had moved to Lee Co., VA. 

Edward and his wife had four children by the time they moved to Lee Co., VA.   The process of moving a family to another location circa 1802 boggles the imagination.  The oldest child would have been around 7 (b. 1794) and the youngest was probably a baby (b. 1801).  Imagine trying to make the move in the first place and then having to build a home of some sort to house a growing family…because not too long after the move, they had another child.

Edward & Martha were the parents of the following children:

• ·         Phoebe b. 9/26/1794 m. William Parsons
• ·         Thomas  b. 7/5/1794 m. Mourning Jones
• ·         David b. 3/11/1799 m. Virginia Stamper
• ·         Elizabeth b. 1/19/1801 m. George Smyth
• ·         John Dees b. 10/5/1802 m. Rachel Zion
• ·         Rebecca b. 7/12/1805 m. John Parsons
• ·         Susan b. 3/20/1808 m. Abraham Chrisman
• ·         Elijah b. 3/10/1810 m. Sarah Jones
• ·         Levi b. 10/10/1812 m. Elizabeth Zion
• ·         Martha b. 7/6/1815 m. Isaac Russell
• ·         Mary b. 11/11/1817 m. Mitchell Cecil

When you start to look at this family and their descendants – it can get very complicated.  Phoebe and Rebecca married brothers – Thomas and Elijah married sisters.  Elijah married the niece of John’s wife…and within a few generations Parsons, Smythe, Russell, and Zions are so tangled up that it seems that they are all related somehow.  Many of these families stayed in the area and I would imagine if you talked to someone who was from Pennington Gap, Lee Co., VA and their families had been there for a few generations…I’m sure they have a connection to Neddy Pennington and his eleven children.  Edward and his family made enough a stamp on the region that the largest community in Lee Co., VA is called Pennington Gap – named for Edward Pennington, one of its earliest settlers!

Born in North Dakota

North Dakota seems to be going through a boom time right now.  It is one of the few places in the country where jobs are plentiful enough to meet the demand.  There are some lovely parts of the state – I thought the Washburn area is quite pretty,  but in general the land is pretty flat and the weather can be horrible…although the same could be said for some parts of Idaho, where I live. Here in Idaho, I have met a lot of people who were born in North Dakota but their families left and came west…including my father.

Dad was born in Dickinson, ND in the summer of 1940.  Since Dad was my grandmother’s first child, he was born in the hospital.  Dad thought it was quite funny to find out that the hospital was located on Johnson Ave…since that is last name they must have named it after him right?  Anyway, I’ve often heard that on the day Dad was born, there was a hail storm that killed the horse attached to the wagon in front of the hospital.  That might have sounded somewhat unbelievable, but when we were back there about 15 years ago, we got caught in a hail storm with the hail that was bigger than golf balls.  It did a lot of damage to both our motor home and that of my aunt and uncle’s.  Sitting in that motor home with the hail pounding on the roof was probably the noisiest storm, I’ve ever experienced.

After Dad was born, he was taken to Dunn Center where my grandparents lived.  This was a tiny house that housed both of my grandparents, my great grandfather and my grandfather’s sister, Mary.  By the time they moved in 1943, there were three babies in the house.  Times were still pretty hard.  The Depression hit the region quite hard.  This area of North Dakota had hard winters and hard winters…life was not easy.  There weren’t many jobs available and my grandfather made what money he could as a handyman.  They had a little money coming in from my great grandfather’s social security that helped but money was very tight.  I think that this was true for many families in North Dakota in the 1930’s and 40’s. Jobs were scarce and it was a hard place to support your family.  It is probably why I know so many people who were born in North Dakota.  So…about 71 years ago – this is what it looked like where my Dad lived and here is a photo with his grandfather. 

House in North Dakota where my grandparents lived.

Ulpian standing, Frank sitting holding Gene (Dad)

52 Years Ago Today

Mom always told me that she wasn’t sure if it wouldn’t have been easier if she and Dad had taken the money spent for the wedding and eloped.  I’m sure it felt like nothing went right from one crisis to the next.   My parents were married 52 years ago on December 12, 1959.  Mom and Dad met in May, were engaged by October and married in December.  Although Mom and Dad shared 46 happy years together before Mom’s death in 2005…their wedding did not roll along smoothly.

Group photo of the Wedding party.

I’m sure as her wedding day dawned, Mom was unhappy that neither one of her uncles would be able to attend.  Jack was in retail and the Christmas season was impossible for him to leave and travel the long distance to Idaho for the wedding and Claude had to work.  As it turned out, her step father, Gwen was unable to be there either.  He owned a mill at Elk City, ID and he was notified that morning that someone had tragically been killed in a logging accident and that he was needed in Elk City.  So within a few hours of her wedding, she had no family member there to give her away.  My father’s uncle, Don Gage was pressed into service to fulfill the obligation.  He was only 8 years older than my father’s 19…so he was young for the job.

As Mom walked down the aisle with her stand-in escort, Mom told me that Dad was so white that he almost faded into the background of his white suit.  She used to smile and tell me that you shouldn’t put the bridegroom in white especially if they are nervous…she wasn’t real sure if a tan would have helped.  I know that as she walked down the aisle there were a lot of things she wasn’t very happy about.  Money was tight and so her mother insisted on making my mother’s wedding dress.  Despite the happy occasion, Mom never liked that dress.  However, I know that my father thought she was beautiful.

When Mom reached the end of her walk down the aisle, the wedding mass started.  As the priest began to bless the couple near the end with a sprinkle of holy water, Mom got a face full of water unintentionally.  As she tried to blink the water out of her face, the priest presented the happy couple.  Since Dad had forgotten to lift her veil, she hurriedly lifted it out of the way. As she walked back down the aisle with Dad – she felt a sudden tug on her dress.  The ring bearer had gotten tired and decided to take a ride down the aisle on Mom’s dress train.

The flower girl, Krista and Phil - the ring bearer who took a ride on Mom's train!

Mom and Dad honeymooned at a friend’s cabin near Wolf Lodge.  I think two of Dad’s sisters also honeymooned there.  Since all three marriages were long and relatively happy – there must have been something special about the cabin.  Mom used to tell me that despite their rocky beginning – Mom felt that she had a wonderful marriage to a wonderful man.  I know that Dad felt the same way about my mother. 

Mom & Dad cutting their cake.

The 48’ Chevy

Do you remember the car you drove in high school?  Was it an old family car that had seen better days ?  Mom’s car was an old family car but it was still in great shape.  It had its own bittersweet history!

The car was ordered in early November of 1947.  Mom’s father, Richard ordered the car from the dealer knowing that they wouldn’t get the car for several months.  My grandmother noted in the diary that it was ordered.  A few days later there was simply an entry that said “My Darling Richard…”  Mom’s father had been killed in a hunting accident and my poor grandmother had to deal with her own broken heart at his loss but those of her two little girls who were only 6 and 7.  By the time March had arrived, Grandma took possession of the new car.  Grandma noted in her diary the excitement of the girls over the new car.  I’m sure it had to tug at her heart – knowing that this was one of the last things that her husband had done before his death was order the new family car. 

When my mother entered high school and needed a car, the 48 Chevy became her transportation.  With vocal and piano lessons, school activities, and other outings – it certainly got heavily used.  Mom used to tell me that they would try to squeeze as many teenagers in the car as they could for $1 night at the drive in movie theater.  The numbers usually reached double figures – which certainly boggles the mind.  That car even had a place in my parents courtship.  It was having some problems and Mom’s step father had the neighbor mechanic look at it and supposedly fix it.  Mom and Dad were driving to Moscow for a date, and the car broke down.  Dad got out and used a little chicken wire and fixed the car.  When they arrived in Moscow, they drove by the parts store and Dad got the part and fixed it.  When Grandpa Gwen asked Mom a few days later how the car was running…she said that it was running fine now…Gene had fixed it.  When Grandpa asked Dad what was wrong with it – Dad told him what he had done.  Grandpa was irritated that the mechanic had had it for a week and couldn't figure it out and a 19 year old young man had taken care of it first time he saw the problem.

A few years later, the old 48 Chevy was sitting up at Elk City with a pile of snow on its top.  It was out in the weather and wasn’t being used.  I’m sure we can all picture a semi-abandoned car in the driveway covered in snow.  One morning after a particularly brutal cold snap, Grandpa Gwen was out trying to get the Chrysler started so Grandma could go to work (she taught at the local school) and was having no success.  He then tried to get is truck started – it too didn’t want to start.  Grandpa had heaters on both rigs and they were both parked under the car port.  It must have been frustrating to have to be out in that cold trying to get those rigs started with no success.  Grandpa looked over at the old Chevy and went over and swiped the worst of the snow off the top.  He opened the door, stuck in the key and twisted it with no thought that it would actually work.  That old car started right up, much to his surprise.  For the rest of that long winter, the other car and truck spent the majority of its time sitting unused while the old Chevy kept on starting and transporting them wherever they needed to go.  Unfortunately, near the end of that winter it went off the road and was totaled.  Mom always wished she could have kept that car.  There was a sentimentality that was attached to it for multiple reasons.  Not only was it the last car her father had bought but it played a big part in her high school years and courtship with my father.  I guess you could say it had a happy life…for a car!