Wordless Wednesday: Aker’s Thirst Parlor
Akers Thirst Parlor
I think the drawing of the knife and gun that were “to be given up before served” really makes the picture!
Wordless Wednesday: Wieder Anniversary
Edwin and Mae (Waage) Wieder at 50th Wedding Anniversary
In honor of my great-grandparents wedding anniversary next Tuesday, April 19th…
Edwin J. Wieder, son of Emanuel J. and Alavesta (Dillinger) Wieder, married Mary Catharine “Mae” Waage, daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore and Lydia S. (Eshbach) Waage, on 19 Apr 1905 at Dr. Waage’s home in Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The couple had 55 years together before Edwin’s death on 22 Jan 1960 at age 79. Mae lived another ten years, dieing on 28 Nov 1970 at age 93.
The photo shows them on the 50th wedding anniversary on 19 Apr 1955. Their anniversary was written up in the Town and Country on 20 Apr 1955.
Friday Finds: Order LDS Films Online (Soon?)
I’ve known that you could order microfilm online from the Church of the Latter Day Saint’s FamilySearch if you lived in Australia for a little while. Now, however, if you live in Utah you can do it, too. And it’ll soon be available to the rest of us in the United States.
“You can sit at home and order microfilms and microfiche from FamilySearch in Salt Lake City. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection and a user ID, which is free.
The films and fiche will be delivered to a Family History Center near you and you will be notified when they arrive. You then must go to the Family History Center and use the microfilm and microfiche readers there to view the materials.”
This makes so much sense to me. I haven’t actually ordered films in recent years because of the inconvenience—having to drive to the nearest Family History Center—over 30 minutes away—to spend mere minutes writing up the order and paying for it. Then driving back down when the microfilm arrived. There are so many other avenues of research I can follow from home that I couldn’t be bothered. Now I’ll be able to conveniently follow-up on research that I’d tabled due to the inconvenience factor. Yay!
Update: This has been available for some time now. I’ve been ordering films from them and having them sent to a local library that is part of the FHL’s program. It’s incredibly convenient and—except for one bobble that was quickly corrected—has been a smooth and reliable process!
Christian Hoover’s Civil War Draft Registration
Years ago I found reference to a Christian Hoover of Gaskill Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania who was drafted along with Augustus Kinter and Samuel T. Hoover during the Civil War.1 I’ve always wondered if this were my ancestor Christian Hoover. Today, I may have found my answer.
Christian’s sons Simon and George Hoover were born in Jefferson County.2,3 It’s extremely likely that his other sons were, too. I found Caroline Hoover and her sons Reuben and Samuel living in Henderson Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania in the 1860 United States Census.4 The head of household is listed as Catharine Hoover.
Catharine Hoover household, 1860 US Census
This places the family in Jefferson County, but adds a mystery. Where is Christian and why is his family living with Catharine Hoover? Who is Catharine Hoover? I’ve yet to answer any of these questions…
But I’m now reasonably sure that the Christian Hoover drafted from Gaskill Township was my ancestor.
Christian Hoover, 1865 Civil War Draft Registration
This image is the draft registration record for Christian Hoover of Gaskill Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.5 It states that he was 44 years old, with gray(?) eyes, brown hair, and fair skin, standing 5′ 11″ tall. This description is a reasonably good match to the one image we have of Christian (see below). I believe the record date was 11 Apr 1865.
Christian L. Hoover (ca 1820—1 Oct 1887)
According to the record, he was born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania and was a farmer. His age and birth in Armstrong County makes him a likely match to the son of Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover, my presumptive ancestors. Since my GGG grandfather’s sons were born in Jefferson County, his family was living in Jefferson County in 1860, and he was likely born in Armstrong County, this record is likely a match to him, as well.6
Later in the list are both Samuel T. Hoover and Augustus Kinter. Samuel T. Hoover was the son of Samuel and Sarah (Thomas) Hoover, brother and sister respectively of Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover. My GGG grandfather named his second son Samuel Thomas Hoover, possibly after this cousin. Augustus Kinter was likely a relative of Samuel T. Hoover’s wife Christianna Kinter.
Ancestry.com’s Civil War databases are available for free from Thursday, April 7th through Thursday, April 14th to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Wordless Wednesday: Wedding Photo
Russ and Mildred Greulich, 1937
A wedding photo taken on 12 Jun 1937 in front of the Grace Lutheran Church in Norristown. It includes (L to R): Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bobb, Edwin J. and Mary Catharine “Mae” (Waage) Wieder (parents of the bride), Gertrude Wieder (bride’s sister), Mildred (Wieder) Greulich, Russell Greulich, Lillian Witmer (Snyder) Greulich (groom’s mother), Helen Wieder (bride’s sister), Elmer Greulich (groom’s father), and ??.
Lizzie Bobb was a first cousin to Lydia (Eschbach) Waage, Mary Catharine (Waage) Wieder’s mother. She was, I believe, a daughter of Abraham H. and Margaretha Rebecca (Moyer) Bobb. There was a significant age gap between Lydia and Lizzie, placing Lizzie’s age closer to Mary Catharine’s. Lizzie can be found in many of the family photos.
Wordless Wednesday: E.J. Wieder Family
Emanuel Wieder Family ca 1905
A family portrait of the Emanuel John and Alavesta (Dillinger) Wieder family. (L to R) John William Wieder, Emanuel John Wieder, Cora Anna (Wieder) Trumbore, Alavesta Esther (Dillinger) Wieder, and Edwin Joshua Wieder.
Photo courtesy of John William Wieder Jr., son of John William and Katharine Jane (Greulich) Wieder, and grandson of Emanuel and Alavesta (Dillinger) Wieder.
Wordless Wednesday: 3 Generations
Here’s a photo of 3 generations: Clyde Hoover, his son-in-law, grand-daughter-in-law, and great grand-daughter Kris Hocker (yeah, that’s me!), circa 1971.
Clyde Hoover and great-grandaughter Kris Hocker
Triangle Factory Fire: Identifying and Remembering the Victims
Almost 100 years ago on March 25th, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floor of a factory in the Asch building in New York City. Within 18 minutes 146 people were dead. Many threw themselves out of the ninth floor windows to escape the flames. Six of the victims were too badly burned to be identified.1
Survivors recounted horrific stories of their escape from the building. They found locked exit doors that blocked their escape.2 A fire escape that bent under the weight of everyone trying to flee. Firefighter’s ladders were several stories too short and the water from their hoses didn’t reach the top floor.
The Triangle Waist Company was like many other sweatshops of the time. The workers worked excessively long hours in poor and dangerous conditions for low wages. The were young, mostly immigrants—very often women. Workers were often sourced by sub-contractors, who paid the workers and took a cut of the profit. Owners sometimes didn’t know who were working for them, or even how many people were working for them at any given time.
This system made it difficult to identify the victims. No newspaper or city agency at the time had a complete list of the victims’ names. Many of the names on the existing lists were found to be misspelled, belonged to survivors of the fire or even people who’d never worked at the factory.3
Now, thanks to the hard work of research Michael Hirsch all 146 victims have been identified. Mr. Hirsch, a co-producer for the upcoming documentary “Triangle: Remembering the Fire,” consulted approximately 32 newspapers from the time period, including both mainstream and ethnic papers. He, then, matched his discoveries against census records, New York vital records, records kept by unions and relief agencies, and spoke with descendants. He was able to identify the last six victims as:
- Josephine Cammarata (age 17), possibly a cousin of Concetta Prestifilippo
- Dora Evans (age 18)
- Max Florin (age 23)
- Maria (Tortorelli?) Lauletti (age 33), her younger sister Isabella Tortorelli also died
- Concetta Prestifilippo (age 22), possibly a cousin of Josephine Cammarata
- Fannie Rosen (age 21), changed her name from Faiga Reznik
Many of the techniques used by Hirsch can aid in family research—compiling and comparing information from a variety of sources in an attempt to positively identify an individual. What fascinates me about this story is the wider benefit that family historians can create with their research. An acknowledgment and some sense of closure as we learn about the tragedies that befall our family members. The descendants and relatives of these six victims will now have the public acknowledgment of the loss their families suffered that terrible March afternoon in 1911.
You can learn more about the Triangle Factory Fire at the Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire website or the website for the HBO documentary Triangle: Remembering the Fire.
What tragedies have you found in your family research? How did you learn of them and what follow-up research did you do on the event?
A Photographic Clue
Going through the family photos, I came across another photo labeled as Jessie.
Peter, Christina, and May Bonnington and Jessie (Alexander) Bonnington
Comparing it to the previous one, it certainly looks like the same woman (see woman on right). This photo is labeled: “Taken a week past Sunday when up. That is Roy [or Rog] next door sitting on Crissie’s knee” and also “Peter Chrissie May Jessie & a little boy that always with May.”
I believe that this refers to Peter and Christina (Law) Bonnington. Peter, a son of Peter Purvis and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Bonnington, was born 2 Oct 1873 in Whitburn, Linlithgow, Scotland, and died 22 Aug 1956 in Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. He married on 2 Dec 1914 Christina Isabella Graham Law, daughter of David and Isabella (Garvies) Law, both deceased by 1914. Christina was born in 1886 and died 25 Jan 1939.
Jessie was Jessie Hunter Crawford (Alexander) Bonnington, wife of Robert Bonnington, Peter’s brother. Robert was born 20 May 1881 in Bathgate, Linlithgow, Scotland and died 1 May 1939 in Canongate and Portobello, Midlothian, Scotland. The couple married 8 Jun 1910 at the Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. Jessie, daughter of James and Jessie (Blackwood) Alexander, was born ca 1881/2 and died 18 Dec 1958 at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.
I haven’t ordered the birth record, so I don’t know who May belongs to, but I believe her to be Jessie May Bonnington, born 1911 in Canongate, possibly the daughter of Robert and Jessie (Alexander) Bonnington.
I believe the photo was likely taken about 1914 or so, possibly at Robert and Jessie’s home.
A Photographic Mystery
I have a few photos that likely belonged to my paternal great-grandmother Isabella Aitken (Smith) Hocker or her mother Eliza Craig (Bonnington) Smith. Most of them are not labeled, but even the ones that are don’t actually tell me enough to identify the people in them. And, of course, everyone who might know has long since passed away.
For instance. The following photo was labeled “Davie, Aunt Jessie & my Willie.” There was no date or location indicated.
Davie, Aunt Jessie & my Willie
I have no idea who the people in the photo are. When my great-aunt Betty Jean refers to “Aunt Jessie,” I believe she’s referring to Jessie, wife of Lou Orr of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I’ve never been clear on just who they were besides friends of my great-grandmother. I’ve never heard of “Davie.” And “my Willie” could refer to several men.
My great-grandfather was named William Hocker, but neither of the men in the photo is him. Isabella’s father was named William Smith, but he died in 1905 and I have reason to believe this photo was taken in 1914. Isabella also had a brother and a son named William. Her son was not born until 1918 and I don’t know for certain what happened to William Smith Jr. after 1900. He would have been 22 years-old in 1914. Family lore says he enlisted in the Army in World War I under the assumed name “John Norwood” and remained in France after the war.
The mystery deepened a little when I saw this photo.
Davie or Willie in 1914
This photo is labeled “age 17 years, 28th May 1914” in ink, then as “Uncle Alex” in pencil in a different handwriting. It was taken by “Jas. C. Stevenson” of Bowhill Studio in Cardenden according to the label on the front. The photo was taken in Scotland. The young man does not look like other photos I’ve seen of Isabella’s Uncle Alex, who would have been 39 years old in 1914.
However, it looks a lot like the young man in the previous photo—who I presume to be Davie. So, if I can assume (dangerous, I know) that the photos were taken at the same time and location, then the previous photo was taken in Scotland in 1914. Isabella’s Aunt Margaret (Bonnington) married David Simpson in 1890. If they had a son named David, he might have been the correct age to be this young man. Even if this is true, however, it doesn’t tell me who “Aunt Jessie” or “my Willie” were.
Do either of these photos look familiar? If you can help solve the mystery, please drop me a note. The curiosity is killing me!
UPDATE: I couldn’t stand it. I went to Scotland’s People and searched for children of David and Margaret (Bonnington) Simpson. Their son William Bonnington Simpson was born 28 May 1897 and turned 17 in 1914. So, “Davie” is likely David Simpson, while “my Willie” is David and Margaret’s son William. The handwriting likely belongs to Margaret (Bonnington) Simpson—the “my” to distinguish the boy from her sister Eliza’s son William.
I still don’t know who “Aunt Jessie” is, so if you’re related to the Simpson family and know the answer, please contact me.
UPDATE: “Aunt Jessie” is most likely Jessie Hunter Crawford (Alexander) Bonnington, wife of Robert Bonnington, Margaret (Bonnington) Simpson’s brother.