I was the surprise in our family, a baby that came when my siblings were in the end of middle school and early high school. My father was also the youngest son of 11 children in his family, and as a result in timing and circumstances, many of the members of my family were gone either before I was born or when I was very young. As a result I had very little or no memory of any of my grandparents. When I would ask questions about any of them and was met with the answer of "I don't know," my intrigue and my frustration would increase. I believe that is what led me into genealogy. Well- that and my intense curiosity and love of detective work coupled with the success of snooping around long enough in our home until I found some old family photos that amazed me.
Since there was such an age difference, it was more like being a single child, or else my brother would wish on his part, considering the ways I came up with to do my best to disrupt his dates that I was either forced or invited on, I never knew which. Either way, I never grew up with a gaggle of family around me, so these days are extra blessings for me.
Today I met a new cousin of mine. By new cousin, she is technically my second cousin on my father's side of the family. She found me one day because of this blog when she entered the name of our Great-Grandfather, Israel McDaniel into a search engine and my blog came up. I was so surprised to hear that was how she found me, but also so thrilled. atoday we met for breakfast at the local Cracker Barrel. She happened to be in town for a family reunion on the other side of the family.
We could have sat there for hours, and I wished we had the time to do so. After exchanging emails for the past few months, this morning felt like a homecoming. Funny how that happens! We have already discussed meeting again, and I am looking forward to meeting the rest of the family.
I met another cousin about a month ago on my mother's side. She had found me while doing some research on the Raley line on Ancestry and my tree came up, beginning a year of emails back and forth as we worked to find some answers for her and to connect the dots. She lives out west and came to Evansville on a research jaunt with her sister on the way to Kentucky for further research on the family. We met at Willard Library and enjoyed the time together, as we looked for information that helped to break through some walls in her line. My health prevented us from spending more time together, but even a few hours was a treasure.
Just late last night I was writing this Raley cousin an email about our recent trip and checking in on her. After I emailed it I opened my messages only to find that she had been doing the very same in turn, and had just sent me an email about her research trip in Kentucky and included a series of photos of the church and the church cemetery that I am dreaming of touring soon.
To believe that as a little girl I was the one who lined up all my dolls on the couch with long back stories about all of them to now where I have family from Florida to Arizona to Texas and points beyond. Isn't genealogy great!!!
Showing posts with label McDaniel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McDaniel. Show all posts
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Railroading: A Way of Life
Indiana is often called the "Crossroads of America". Given that, it seems only appropriate that so many men in my family served for the railroad on both sides of my line.
One of my father's favorite stories to tell is the day he left from the train depot in Evansville to go to the front during World War II. As the train left the station it needed to slow a little further down the street, where his father, a crossing watchman was working. My father came to the window and addressed his father who was not known for open emotion. My grandfather saluted him in response before the train gained speed and headed west. What a moment that must have been.
Last year, our family learned that the spot where my grandfather's stand stood for years was being demolished due to new interchanges on a Highway through the city. I contacted our mayor's office who in turn contacted the railroad and the demolition company and we gained permission to take one of the metal poles that the stand had been built upon as a momento both of that special day but also because of the tie it held for my father to his father, who had died many years ago. Mr. Tucker had the opportunity for a promotion that meant the family would move to Mascoutah, Illinois, but due to the pleas of his children who did not want to move, he turned down the promotion.
My father grew up at what he calls the L & NY in Evansville, a series of section houses actually placed between the tracks at the railroad company. According to the 1930 United States Federal Census for Pigeon Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana conducted on April 15 there were 18 households living between those railroad tracks with a total of 68 men, women, and children. I can only imagine how those section houses must have rocked every time a train came through.
My father's grandfather, John Rankin Tucker, once worked as a section worker near his home in Maunie, Illinois My father's maternal great-grandfather, Israel McDaniel, worked for the railroad in both Maunie, White County, Illinois and later in Evansville, Indiana. A cousin speaks of coming over on the train to visit Israel. His favorite activity was to put a record on his player for their listening pleasure. Israel and his wife Clyde Bell McDonald still had two sons living at home while he worked in Evansville- Roy and Harry. He would leave a list of tasks for them to do in Maunie and as he left the depot in Maunie Israel would immediately be calling down the street for his sons about these same tasks if they were not completed.
(Note: This photo is well damaged and needs some TLC to be upgraded, but I had to inlcude it in this entry)
All of those who have read the entries of the journal by my maternal great-grandfather, John James Raley, may not know that most of that was written while he was away from his family working at one his positions for the railroad. John becamed trained in telegraphy as a young man at a drugstore in Ohio County, Kentucky after attempting farming. At one point John also ran a "hotal and bar room" in Ohio County, but he always returned to the railroad. The train companies he worked for included The Southern Express Compnay, the CO & SW Railroad Company, the Ohio Valley Railroad Company, and the Newport News & Mississippi Railroad Company. In the course of his job he and/or his family moved more than 20 times throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Southern Indiana. At one time John moved his wife, Caroline, and their 3 young sons they had at the time into a rented room in Warrick County, Indiana while he went to work in Rilpey, Tennessee. How she was able to do that I do not know! Later, one of their sons followed his father into the same career.
The railroad has played an important role in the lives of my ancestors, both professionally but also in the ways that their families lived. Many memories are still shared around the dinner table at special events about these days. I am grateful for the ties that bind us all, just as the trains themselves bind us throughout the country, especially in its hey dey.
This entry was written in conjunction with The Blogger's Almanac available through FamilyCurator.com.
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| L & N Railroad Company (courtesy of Willard Library) |
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| Dad at spot of his father's stand |
My father grew up at what he calls the L & NY in Evansville, a series of section houses actually placed between the tracks at the railroad company. According to the 1930 United States Federal Census for Pigeon Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana conducted on April 15 there were 18 households living between those railroad tracks with a total of 68 men, women, and children. I can only imagine how those section houses must have rocked every time a train came through.
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| Israel McDaniel as Watchman |
My father's grandfather, John Rankin Tucker, once worked as a section worker near his home in Maunie, Illinois My father's maternal great-grandfather, Israel McDaniel, worked for the railroad in both Maunie, White County, Illinois and later in Evansville, Indiana. A cousin speaks of coming over on the train to visit Israel. His favorite activity was to put a record on his player for their listening pleasure. Israel and his wife Clyde Bell McDonald still had two sons living at home while he worked in Evansville- Roy and Harry. He would leave a list of tasks for them to do in Maunie and as he left the depot in Maunie Israel would immediately be calling down the street for his sons about these same tasks if they were not completed.
(Note: This photo is well damaged and needs some TLC to be upgraded, but I had to inlcude it in this entry)
All of those who have read the entries of the journal by my maternal great-grandfather, John James Raley, may not know that most of that was written while he was away from his family working at one his positions for the railroad. John becamed trained in telegraphy as a young man at a drugstore in Ohio County, Kentucky after attempting farming. At one point John also ran a "hotal and bar room" in Ohio County, but he always returned to the railroad. The train companies he worked for included The Southern Express Compnay, the CO & SW Railroad Company, the Ohio Valley Railroad Company, and the Newport News & Mississippi Railroad Company. In the course of his job he and/or his family moved more than 20 times throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Southern Indiana. At one time John moved his wife, Caroline, and their 3 young sons they had at the time into a rented room in Warrick County, Indiana while he went to work in Rilpey, Tennessee. How she was able to do that I do not know! Later, one of their sons followed his father into the same career.
The railroad has played an important role in the lives of my ancestors, both professionally but also in the ways that their families lived. Many memories are still shared around the dinner table at special events about these days. I am grateful for the ties that bind us all, just as the trains themselves bind us throughout the country, especially in its hey dey.
This entry was written in conjunction with The Blogger's Almanac available through FamilyCurator.com.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The Women In My Life & My Questions
I have been giving the women in my life much thought this month since it has been Women's History Month, and feel very honored to be a descendent of every one of them. Each had their strengths and their moments of sorrow, their triumphs and their stories that they would rather not be passed on to their children's children, yet each shared passions and laughter, and joys and reflections that I only can guess at years later.
I wish I had the opportunity to sit down with each and every one of them to bask in their beauty and to ask a million questions about their lives.
I would ask my grandmother Flora Maude McDaniel about all the children she lost at such young ages and how she was ever able to survive those losses. I would ask her about the baby who died in her arms as she proudly snuggled him in his blankets in the wagon on the way to visit relatives, only to find that he was gone to the angels by the time they had arrived to show him off. Or how do you ever possibly survive the grief of watching your youngest daughter die after burns survived from parching corn. One moment is joyful, the next is tragic. And yet, I have photos of her full of life and laughter. I could learn from her.
I would ask my grandmother Jettie Weaver Raley to share with me all of the wisdom she gathered in her quest to learn about our family history. She was the first family scrapbooker, my creative mentor, and the cook I wish I could be. I would ask for some tips and pointers, and guidance in all matters spiritual.
I would ask my great-grandmother Julia Schnacke to teach me some German that she so famously saved to speak in front of my mother and the other cousins whenever she did not want them to know what she was saying. I would ask for her recipe to her home-made brew that she and my great-grandfather, Conrad drank every day since it seemed to help them to live a full life. I would ask her about any special stories she could share about our ancestors, my mysterious people.
I would definitely want to meet and talk with my great great grandmother, Caroline Susan Martin, and her mother, Susannah Young/Jung, my namesakes. One born on a farm in Warrick County, Indiana, and the other born in Germany in 1838. There is very little I know about either one of them, except that Caroline was a very good singer, and that she was willing to go against the will of her father to marry the man she loved. Her father eventually gave in and allowed her to be married in the parlor of his home instead of at the farm of her sister, and I really admire that love that persisted through 5 boys and 1 daughter and appeared to be very happy. I would like to know the secrets of that happy marriage, the traits of a firm, determined woman.
I would like to meet the woman I know as Martha Ann Cozart, a woman by name that has always been fascinating. My paternal great great great grandmother. She married a man after he had served in the Civil War, gave birth to 9 children, and lost her husband too soon, with young children still in the house. She remarried, and eventually lived with her oldest daughter in Lockport, New York, due to a debilitating illness that changed her life and the lives of those who cared for her. I would love to sit down with her and ask her about her first husband, one of my great brick walls, a man who just came onto the scene out of outer space. Martha came from quite a family, and I would love to hear all about this infamous Cozart clan, and hear about her viewpoints, and also to hear what she would have to say about her children.
Another woman I would really like to talk to is my great great grandmother, Deborah Ann Cannan. She died when her son was only 2 months old. He was raised by a good woman that he always called Mom, but he never forgot who his biological mother was. I would like to know how she felt to be such a new mother, to be a new wife, how it felt to be in love, about her parents, and a million other questions.
I would also like to talk to my great great grandmother Fridolina Eastleigh who was raised in Germany in the middle 1800s. She and her husband were so determined that their first son, Richard would not be born in the religious environment of the day that they crossed the border so that he would be born in Switzerland. What an adventure! I would ask: When did you go to Switzerland? Why did you decide to do this? Were there any problems? What was it like? And I would want to know all about the process of crossing the ocean with a small baby, since they had my great grandfather in New York less than 2 years later. So much I would like to ask her.
Just a few of the women in my life, traversing through my veins, and women I admire. There are more to be certain- each with their own stories to tell, and I wish that I had a day to spend with each and every one of them. Women of virtue, of strength, of faith, of determination. What lessons to learn from them, and what lessons to pass on to my daughter, and the women to come.
Spend a day with the women in your life. You might be surprised about what they have to say.
I wish I had the opportunity to sit down with each and every one of them to bask in their beauty and to ask a million questions about their lives.
I would ask my grandmother Flora Maude McDaniel about all the children she lost at such young ages and how she was ever able to survive those losses. I would ask her about the baby who died in her arms as she proudly snuggled him in his blankets in the wagon on the way to visit relatives, only to find that he was gone to the angels by the time they had arrived to show him off. Or how do you ever possibly survive the grief of watching your youngest daughter die after burns survived from parching corn. One moment is joyful, the next is tragic. And yet, I have photos of her full of life and laughter. I could learn from her.
I would ask my grandmother Jettie Weaver Raley to share with me all of the wisdom she gathered in her quest to learn about our family history. She was the first family scrapbooker, my creative mentor, and the cook I wish I could be. I would ask for some tips and pointers, and guidance in all matters spiritual.
I would ask my great-grandmother Julia Schnacke to teach me some German that she so famously saved to speak in front of my mother and the other cousins whenever she did not want them to know what she was saying. I would ask for her recipe to her home-made brew that she and my great-grandfather, Conrad drank every day since it seemed to help them to live a full life. I would ask her about any special stories she could share about our ancestors, my mysterious people.
I would definitely want to meet and talk with my great great grandmother, Caroline Susan Martin, and her mother, Susannah Young/Jung, my namesakes. One born on a farm in Warrick County, Indiana, and the other born in Germany in 1838. There is very little I know about either one of them, except that Caroline was a very good singer, and that she was willing to go against the will of her father to marry the man she loved. Her father eventually gave in and allowed her to be married in the parlor of his home instead of at the farm of her sister, and I really admire that love that persisted through 5 boys and 1 daughter and appeared to be very happy. I would like to know the secrets of that happy marriage, the traits of a firm, determined woman.
I would like to meet the woman I know as Martha Ann Cozart, a woman by name that has always been fascinating. My paternal great great great grandmother. She married a man after he had served in the Civil War, gave birth to 9 children, and lost her husband too soon, with young children still in the house. She remarried, and eventually lived with her oldest daughter in Lockport, New York, due to a debilitating illness that changed her life and the lives of those who cared for her. I would love to sit down with her and ask her about her first husband, one of my great brick walls, a man who just came onto the scene out of outer space. Martha came from quite a family, and I would love to hear all about this infamous Cozart clan, and hear about her viewpoints, and also to hear what she would have to say about her children.
Another woman I would really like to talk to is my great great grandmother, Deborah Ann Cannan. She died when her son was only 2 months old. He was raised by a good woman that he always called Mom, but he never forgot who his biological mother was. I would like to know how she felt to be such a new mother, to be a new wife, how it felt to be in love, about her parents, and a million other questions.
I would also like to talk to my great great grandmother Fridolina Eastleigh who was raised in Germany in the middle 1800s. She and her husband were so determined that their first son, Richard would not be born in the religious environment of the day that they crossed the border so that he would be born in Switzerland. What an adventure! I would ask: When did you go to Switzerland? Why did you decide to do this? Were there any problems? What was it like? And I would want to know all about the process of crossing the ocean with a small baby, since they had my great grandfather in New York less than 2 years later. So much I would like to ask her.
Just a few of the women in my life, traversing through my veins, and women I admire. There are more to be certain- each with their own stories to tell, and I wish that I had a day to spend with each and every one of them. Women of virtue, of strength, of faith, of determination. What lessons to learn from them, and what lessons to pass on to my daughter, and the women to come.
Spend a day with the women in your life. You might be surprised about what they have to say.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wordless Wednesday- January 20, 2010
My great- uncle Harry McDANIEL sitting in the front seat, and great aunt Juanita McDANIEL, both of White County, Illinois, children of Israel McDANIEL and Clyde Bell McDONALD.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tombstone Tuesday
McDanielIsrael Montezella
1869 - 1941 1908 - 1927
Father Daughter
Israel McDaniel is my Great Grandfather and was a railroad man. His daughter was known as Maunzell in most records. She appareently had a disability and spent part of her life in an unnamed facility in Dixon, Illinois.
They are buried in a cemetery in White County, Illinois.
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