A Favorite Photo: 52 Ancestors

One of my favorite photos is of my grandmother's older sister and her husband. I believe it was taken in celebration of their marriage, possibly on their wedding day.

Esstella "Stella" Margaret Crispen was born on October 28, 1899, near Meno, Oklahoma Territory. She was named for her two grandmothers. Her mother, Daisy Myrtle Maddox, was the daughter of Elizabeth Esstella Lake. Her father, Clark Earl Crispen, was the son of Nerinda Margaret Kerr.

Her father, a blacksmith by trade, was not cut out for farming. About 1907 he leased his Oklahoma farm to his brother-in-law and moved his family to Michigan, living first in Van Buren County. The family later moved to Coloma Township and eventually into the town of Benton Harbor.

Template and elements from Botanicals digital kit, ClubScrap, 2015

Henry L Pitcher was raised on a farm in Watervliet Township. How the couple met is not known to me, but most likely it was while the Crispen family was living in the Coloma area. The couple were married at the home of the pastor of the Watervliet First Methodist Church on November 12, 1918.

Henry first worked with his father on the farm. However, after his father died in 1928, he sold the farm, moved to Coloma Township and became a realtor. They had one child, Opal Kathleen Pitcher, born on November 19, 1919.

The couple had health issues which cut their lives far too short. Stella had scarlet fever as a child, which had weakened her heart. Henry struggled with arthritis. The hometown newspaper printed lovely obituaries at their passing.


The News-Palladium
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Thursday, August 28, 1952
Page 21

H. L. Pitcher, Coloma Realty Agent, Succumbs
     Coloma, Aug. 28 -- Henry L. Pitcher, 57, Coloma real estate man, died Wednesday noon at Mercy hospital, where he was admitted the previous day.
     Although Mr. Pitcher had suffered a serious arthritic condition for many years, he had remained cheerful in his work and had many friends in the community. He was a lifelong resident of the Coloma community, having been born on a farm north of Coloma on May [sic] 5, 1895.
     Mr. Pitcher is survived by his wife, Esstella; his mother, Mrs. Lydia Pitcher, who made her home with him and his wife; one daughter, Mrs. Donald Gearing, and a granddaughter, of Coloma. Also surviving are a brother, Jerome Pitcher, and a sister, Mrs. Clark Shimer both of Watervliet.
     Funeral services will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Davidson funeral home, with the Rev. William Goltz of Hartford, former Coloma minister, officiating. Burial will be in the Watervliet City cemetery.

The News-Palladium
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Tuesday, March 15, 1955
Page 13

Mrs. Esstella Pitcher
     Coloma, March 15 -- Mrs. Esstella M Pitcher, 55, died Monday night at Mercy hospital, Benton Harbor, where she had been a patient 12 days. She had been in ill health many years.
     Born Oct. 28, 1899 in Meno Okla., Mrs. Pitcher had lived in the Coloma vicinity since she was eight years old. She was married to Henry Pitcher Nov. 12 1918, in Coloma. He died in August, 1952.
     Mrs Pitcher is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Donald (Opal) Gearing, and a granddaughter, Joyce Kepil, of Coloma, her mother, Mrs. Daisy O'Neil, of Tucson, Ariz., two sisters, Mrs. Fayette Allee, of Tucson, and Mrs. Leonard Scherrer, of Pasadena, Calif., and two nieces living in the west.
     A nephew, Earl Knapp, lives in Benton Harbor.
     Mrs. Pitcher's body is at the Davidson funeral home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Stella Crispen Pitcher and Henry Pitcher are buried together in the Watervliet Cemetery.

A Long Life Well-Lived: 52 Ancestors

Longevity is the prompt for week three of the 52 Ancestors challenge. I'm dusting off an old scrapbook layout for this one. In 2007, this was my response to a scrapbook challenge that asked my thoughts on aging.

Whenever I think of long-lived family members, my great-aunt is the first to come to mind. Effie Arvilla Crispen, born in 1896, was named for two aunts: her maternal great-aunt Effie Lake and paternal aunt Mary Arvilla Crispen. Effie married three times and had two children and two grandchildren, via her son. Her 100th birthday was celebrated in her community. I never lived near Effie and saw her only occasionally and briefly; however, my Grandmother often spoke fondly of her older sister.

No original photos were harmed in the making of the page. All photos were copied so that lumpy embellishments could be included. The text over the bottom right photo is an excerpt from the song referenced in the journal block, which says:

Aunt Effie

Effie Arvilla Crispen Knapp [Tonkin] Scherrer

August 27, 1896 - December 26, 1997 

My great-aunt Effie was the longest-lived member of her family, living to 101. Until the end, she was sassy and stubborn and eccentric. She was a prolific letter writer and just loved to write about her family, her dogs and her home. She was the family’s oral historian, though we are not quite sure how true her stories really are. The country tune, “Don’t Blink” reminds me of her and of the stages of life we each walk through.

Life does pass so quickly and it amazes me how it speeds up each year until the days seem to fly by. It’s my hope to live each day, each year, to the fullest. To focus on what’s important. To age with dignity. To maintain my eccentricity and alertness. In short, to follow in Aunt Effie’s footsteps.

Elizabeth Richards
December, 2007 

In my files is a fuzzy photo of Effie, taken in about 1960, that always makes me smile.

 She was truly one of a kind!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #52 Leona Violet Crispen Cole Allee

As the 52nd and last ancestor featured in 2014, I'm honoring my grandmother, who started me on this journey.

Over 20 years ago, my grandmother and I spent many hours going through her photo collection. If it were not for the photos, I might never have delved into my family history. When we started going through them, I had no idea who all these people were and how they related to me or to each other. I couldn't keep them straight on paper, so I bought my first genealogy program and started putting in names and dates.

The unknown photos captured my imagination, and I soon found myself launching into the research that has now grown my database to nearly 6000 names. Along the way I've identified unknowns, met new cousins and acquired photos for relatives I never knew I had. And I also turned to scrapbooking as a way to present and preserve the photos.

Leona Violet Crispen was born in Van Buren County, Michigan, on October 1, 1909, the youngest of three daughters of Daisy Myrtle Maddox and Clark Earl Crispen. The family later settled in the Lake Michigan resort town of Benton Harbor. Leona was the son her father never had. Instead of sewing, she learned to use his blacksmith forge, work on cars, develop film and print photographs.

Her parents divorced in 1921. I can't begin to image the impact on the young Leona. She must have lost friends and certainly her home life was disrupted. Her father moved to the house across the street, so she was able to move freely between her parents' homes. Because they had a civil and close relationship, she never doubted their love for her and her sisters.

During high school, Leona wrote poetry for the school newspaper and for the yearbook. Her love of writing poetry persisted through her life, as she contributed poetry to church and civic publications. After high school she took a job as a telephone operator.

On March 20, 1928, she eloped to South Bend, Indiana, with Clifford Royal Cole, a young man who worked in a foundry. She soon learned that he was unfaithful and cruel. His actions left their only daughter nearly blind and left Leona unable to have more children.

As the stock market crashed in the fall of 1929, her father lost the portfolio he had inherited from his sister. He was able to keep his house and, Leona, living with her father and her husband, decided to file for divorce. Imagine, for a moment, being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and still choosing to end an abusive marriage. Her strength amazes me.

Leona decided about 1931 to leave the cold of Michigan and move to the warmth of California. Following the famous Route 66, she miscalculated a bit. She ran out of money and gas in the Northern Arizona town of Kingman. With her daughter, she lived under a bridge and in their car while she looked for some way to support them.

Her photography experience was her salvation. The old man who ran the local photography studio wanted to retire, so he hired her and she eventually was able to take over the business. However, she lived day-to-day and struggled through two more bad marriages and divorces during the Depression years. She married Everett Melvin "Jack" Stormer in 1932 and James Robert "Jim Bob" Turner in 1940.

About 1935, Leona had to place her daughter in boarding school at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson. She left Kingman behind and relocated to be near her daughter. World War II found her fixing airplanes and later working at the ration board.

On December 20, 1941, she married Fayette Franklin "Fate" Allee, her daughter's math teacher and, as a family, they built a stable life. After the war she found a secretarial job in the Tucson school district, where she worked until retirement.

Template and elements from Weekend at Home by  Kate Hadfield for Digital Scrapper, 2014

Leona cared for her mother in her final years, as well as helping her sisters care for their father during his decline. She was a nurturing person who also raised a nearly blind daughter and married a nearly blind man. Her kind, loving, fun and generous spirit was an anchor for our family throughout her life.

She was diagnosed with both breast cancer and skin cancer in the final few years of her life. Gardening in the hot Arizona sun for many years was the likely cause of the skin cancer that took her arm in 1997.

We invited family, neighbors and friends to help us celebrate her 90th birthday at her Oklahoma retirement center in October of 1999. She had a blast being the birthday girl.

The cancer took her from us on February 13, 2001. She was buried with her husband and her mother in South Lawn Memorial Park in Tucson.

As Leona's choices shaped her life, they affect her family to this day. Her descendants are an Arizona family because she stopped and stayed in Kingman. Her photographic experience became a life-long passion, leading to the vast collection of photographs, negatives and slides that came to me at her death. It is directly due to her choices that I am a scrapbooker and genealogy buff. And, of course, because of those hobbies, this blog exists.

So ends the series, 52 Ancestors in the 52 weeks of 2014. Please join me at Murder at Mauvaisterre Creek, as I share the story of the murder of Leona's great-grandfather.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #50 Daisy Myrtle Maddox

I don't remember my great-grandmother, Daisy Myrtle Maddox Crispen Hull Votaw O'Neil, who died while I was just a toddler. It was she who passed on the family legends to her daughters, who told them to me. Her wonderful, but unlabelled, collection of old photographs started my journey into the past.

Daisy was born on February 16, 1878, in Morgan County, Illinois. Her parents, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Estella Lake and Joseph Allen "Al" Maddox joined a wagon train within the next couple of years and relocated in Kansas, where three more girls and one boy joined the family. Lizzie was a milliner and trained Daisy in the art of making hats.

In 1893, when Daisy was 15, the last Oklahoma land run enticed her father, who was successful in claiming 160 acres of land not far from Enid, Oklahoma Territory. The family moved into a soddie, a sod house, cut into a hillside, while waiting for Al to build a permanent house.

Daisy was tasked with watching the younger children when her parents went to visit family or to take care of business. One day a rattlesnake hid under a chest of drawers. The children were terrified and poor Daisy had to find a way to kill the snake. I believe she used a shovel after sliding the dresser away. I can't imagine being that brave as a teenager.

Daisy had dark eyes, long black hair and an olive complexion, indicators of her Native American heritage. The blacksmith Clark Earl Crispen who lived a few miles away was enamored of her looks. The 32-year-old Clark wooed the 17-year-old and married her on October 2, 1895, in Enid. Daisy's father had died about six months before and it may be that she was looking for an escape from her mother's home.

Daisy was a farm girl and soon found herself tending the home, working the farm and teaching her city-slicker husband the many things he didn't know about farming. At one point she grew frustrated and walked home to her mother's house. Lizzie told her that she had to lie in the bed she had made and sent her right back home to Clark.

Clark and Daisy had two daughters born on the farm, near Meno: Effie and Esstella. Eventually, Clark decided that farming was not what he wanted to do. He leased his farm to Daisy's brother, Archie, and the family joined his mother in the Lake Michigan resort area near Benton Harbor, Michigan. Clark went to work at one of the many manufacturing facilities in the area. A third daughter, Leona, was born to Daisy and Clark in Van Buren County, Michigan, before the family settled in Benton Harbor.

Template and elements from Oopsie Daisy, ClubScrap

Daisy grew tired of Clark's tendency to put people ahead of financial security for the family. She divorced him in 1921, after the two older girls were married. Over the years, she worked as a milliner and a photographer, as well as making quilts for her family.

In 1922, she married David Antisdel Hull, divorcing him a few years later. She married Argus Joshua Votaw in 1936, and was widowed in 1943. By that time her eldest daughter had moved to California and her youngest to Arizona. She spent time visiting them and finally settled in Arizona with Leona.

In 1945, she advertised:

If you are healthy, white Christian gentleman, alone, unencumbered, not more than 60, looking for a good cook, write Star-Citizen Box 82

Was that a veiled singles ad? A construction boss some 45 miles away responded. The two of them engaged in a romance fueled by letters and bus trips. There was a small problem: he was still married. After his divorce was final, Daisy married Meredith Lewis O'Neil on September 20, 1947, in Lordsburg, New Mexico.

One of the puzzles in my research is who this man really was. He walked away from Daisy after being married only a few months. The family didn't know if he met with foul play or left of his own free will. I only recently learned that he died in 1961 in the Arizona state mental hospital and is buried in a pauper's grave in Mesa. His death certificate shows he had dementia and give no useful information about his past. I can't trace him before 1940 and suspect he had an assumed name. I also wonder if he wandered away due to dementia.

Daisy spent the rest of her life living alone in a small guest house on her daughter's property. She died on December 2, 1957, in Tucson, and was buried at South Lawn Memorial Park. She left behind several quilts, hundreds of photos, a bundle of letters and a handful of old family stories.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #47 Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen Tookey

One of my favorite heritage photos is my great-great-grandmother sitting on a camel in Lincoln Park in Chicago around the turn of the last century. Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen Tookey was quite a character and taking a camel ride was yet another measure of her adventurous spirit.

Quick drop page from Sorrento, ClubScrap

Every story that I've ever heard from this branch of the family has been riddled with untruths. Many of the census records are suspect, as are the death records.

The 1850 census shows Nerinda, age 8, living with the blacksmith William T Kerr and his family in Toby Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. Mary Williams was the first wife of William Kerr, though the 1850 census is very unclear about the family structure. An 1852 deed confirms Mary as the name of William's wife. DNA testing has confirmed my match to others descended from that couple, though not with a scientific match (yet).

Nerinda's death record shows a birthdate of April 2, but a different year. Based on her age of 8 in 1850, I believe 1842 is the best estimate of her birth year. On February 22, 1858, Nerinda signed a deed to sell land with her husband, Jacob Crispen. That would have made her just shy of her sixteen birthday, yet a married woman.

In 1860, Jacob and Narinda Chrissman (misspelled) were living on a Porter Township farm worth $850. They had a one-year-old son named William H. Meanwhile, oil had been discovered just north of the area, in Venango County. Jacob abandoned farming to work in the oil fields. He became a torpedo shooter, a man who fired oil wells using nitroglycerine.

The years after 1860 are very much a mystery.  Three more children were born: Mary, Clark and Laura, the youngest, born about 1864. For some reason, possibly the job, Jacob and Nerinda separated. My ancestor, Clark, was apprenticed to a blacksmith. How Margaret and the girls survived is not known, except that their lives were difficult. Brother William was never mentioned, so must have died young. Jacob filed for divorce in 1867, but Nerinda failed to respond. She then filed in 1874, using the name Margaret Crispen. The divorce was kept a secret from later generations, with the family claiming instead that Jacob had died young.

Margaret married Thomas Seymour "Charlie" Tookey about 1882. The couple made their home in Chicago, as did the Crispen children. She shaved years off her age in each census, likely because her husband was some ten years younger than she was. In their later years, Margaret and Charlie moved to the area of Benton Harbor, Berrien County, Michigan.
 
She was able to enjoy her four grandchildren until her death on March 1, 1923. Margaret was buried in the Crystal Springs Cemetery in Benton Harbor.
 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #25 Why Did Clark Earl Crispen Read Humor Magazines?

My great-grandfather had adolescent reading preferences, according to my grandmother. She said Clark Earl Crispen always read comic books. As I researched the family, I learned that the Judge magazine he's reading in a photo from the 1930's is neither a comic book nor targeted to adolescents.

The answer to why he read Judge and similar political-humor magazines is found in family relationships. I'll answer the question next week, so stay tuned.

Quick drop page from Gratitude digital kit, Club Scrap

Clark Earl Crispen is an ancestor that I wish I had known. His love for family, others and pets came before money or security. He was always willing to try new experiences. My grandmother adored her beloved father.

Clark, born March 5, 1863, was the third child of Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen [Tookey] and Jacob Crispen. He was born in or near Oil City, Pennsylvania, in the era of big oil in that area. Jacob was a torpedo shooter, a man who fired oil wells using nitroglycerine. For some reason, possibly the job, Jacob and Nerinda separated and later divorced.

Nerinda took the children and apprenticed Clark to a blacksmith. Where Clark spent those years is a mystery. By 1885, Clark was living in Chicago and helping to build that city. The construction of the 1893 Columbian Exposition was one of the projects he claimed to have worked on.

Though he was no farmer, he decided that he would run for a homestead in the last Oklahoma land run: the opening of the Cherokee Strip in September, 1893. Clark made his way to southern Kansas to start the run. He claims that he overslept and wasn't ready when the starter gun sounded at noon. Even with a late start, he tried to find land, but was not successful. As he started back to Kansas, he stopped and shared the evening meal with a family. The man told Clark that he would tell him where to find some land if Clark would pay.

Having nothing to lose, Clark fell for the con. He soon found the land and he staked his claim. But when he went to the land office to file for the claim, he discovered it was a piece of military bounty land and wasn't open for homesteading. Clark refused to give up. He corresponded with the owner, who lived in another state. They were able to work out a deal and Clark paid for the land, which was hilly and hard to farm, due to runoff from adjacent farms.

Living a mile or so down the road was the young and beautiful Daisy Myrtle Maddox. Clark was fair complected with red hair and blue eyes. He was enthralled with Daisy's olive complexion, black hair and dark eyes: the marks of her Native American heritage. The 32-year-old Clark wooed the 17-year-old and married her on October 2, 1895, in Enid, Oklahoma Territory.

Daisy was a farm girl and soon found herself tending the home, working the farm and teaching her city-slicker husband the many things he didn't know about farming. Clark and Daisy had two daughters born on the farm, near Meno: Effie and Esstella. Eventually, Clark decided that farming was not what he wanted to do.

He leased his farm to his brother-in-law, Archie Maddox, and joined his mother in the Lake Michigan resort area near Benton Harbor, Michigan. He went to work at one of the many manufacturing facilities in the area. A third daughter, Leona, was born to Daisy and Clark in Van Buren County, Michigan.

Daisy grew tired of Clark's tendency to put people ahead of financial security for the family. She divorced him in 1921, after the two older girls were married. Clark never remarried, but dedicated the rest of his life to being a good father and grandfather. He inherited his sister Mary's healthy stock portfolio in 1927, but the stock was soon made worthless by the crash of 1929.

Clark was bed-ridden at the end of his life. His daughters took turns caring for him until his passing on February 7, 1940. Clark was buried in Crystal Springs Cemetery in Benton Harbor. His daughters sold his Oklahoma farm outside the family, though for many years they received small checks from the mineral rights they retained.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #17 Mary Arvilla Crispen Infield

If I could go back in time and visit any one ancestral family, it would be the Crispen family. Tracing them has been challenging, as it seems they never formed a family unit during census years. My grandmother's Aunt Mary has not been found in a census with any other family member. However, she had a pivotal role in selecting a hometown for other family members.

Quick drop page from Random Doorways kit, ClubScrap, January, 2013

Mary Arvilla Crispen was born in Pennsylvania on November 20, to Jacob Crispen and Nerinda Margaret Kerr. Her birth year is probably 1861, though it is documented as 1862 in many records. With a younger brother born in March, 1863, the later year is impossible. Her birth likely was in Clarion County or Venango County.

Mary's parents separated by her 5th birthday. Family legend tells us that life was hard for the children, but exactly where Mary went and how she grew up is unknown.

She married Harry Newton Infield of Mercer County after the 1880 census. Harry and Mary were trained as pharmacy workers. Mary held a pharmacy assistant certificate from Pennsylvania, while Harry applied for a pharmacist license in Illinois. I suspect they met through their work. Mary had Kerr relatives who owned a pharmacy in Clarion County, but I can't find a census record to show that she lived near or trained with that family.

Mary and Harry were living in Chicago when her father, Jacob Crispen, died in 1885. She declined to administer the estate, but returned to Mercer County to obtain her pharmacy assistant certificate in October, 1887. Harry failed to obtain his license in Illinois in 1885, likely contributing to their return to Pennsylvania.

The 1900 census is the first census where Mary has been found. She was living in Chicago and listed as widowed, having borne one child, with none living. Harry didn't die until 1902, but his whereabouts in 1900 are unknown. The couple had certainly separated. Harry Infield died in Chicago in 1902, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Sandy Lake Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

I wonder if the death of a child pushed the couple apart, as so often happens. No family legends have reached me about this child.

After the death of her younger sister in 1900 and the death of Harry in 1902, Mary grew concerned about her mother living in the unhealthy city of Chicago and decided to move her to a healthier environment. Mary had been working steadily at a variety of occupations. One of her bosses had pointed out that she would not achieve financial security working for a wage. He got her started investing and she had been growing a healthy stock portfolio. 

After exploring options, Mary bought a house at 861 McGuigan Street in the then-popular Lake Michigan resort community of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Mary's mother, Margaret, and stepfather moved to the home, where they lived until Margaret's death in 1923. Mary, who had remained in Chicago, then kicked out her stepfather and moved herself into the home.

Mary's younger brother, Clark, relocated his family to the Benton Harbor area by 1909. Finally the remaining family came together in the same community, rebuilding their family as a Michigan family. My grandmother and mother were both born in that area. Descendants of Clark still live near Benton Harbor, thanks to Mary's decision.

Mary died on June 10, 1927, in Benton Harbor. She is buried in Crystal Springs Cemetery, Benton Harbor, Berrien County, Michigan.

Mary's stock portfolio was left to Clark at her death, but it was wiped out in the crash of 1929. I have in my possession just a few cherished mementos that have been passed down from Aunt Mary, a woman with a special place in our family history.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #8 Harry Francis Kahn

Harry Francis Kahn was my grandmother's first cousin, but was not close to the family due to his mother's untimely death. He was born in Chicago to Laura Crispen McQuiston Kahn and Louis Kahn on August 5, 1893. Among the keepsakes that I inherited are two photographs of Harry. In one photo he poses alone. In the other, he is with his maternal grandmother, Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen Tookey.

Digital template and elements from ClubScrap

Laura, Harry's mother, died in March, 1900, before his seventh birthday. Louis married Minnie Hanson and had another son, Stanley. Minnie died in 1915 and Louis in 1933.

Harry worked for the City of Chicago water works, as an engineer. His draft registration in 1917 tells us that he was working as a "stationary oiler" at the Central Park pumping station. In 1942 he lists his place of employment as the Thomas Jefferson station. He was 65 inches tall and had red hair, just like his Crispen cousins.
 
Harry married Modesta Bertha Heide in Chicago on March 27, 1916, and to their union were born two daughters: Grace Beverly Kahn, in 1918, and Bettie Lucile Kahn, in 1919. A 5-year-old daughter named Jan or Jane is also with the couple in 1920, but I can find no proof that she was their child.

After divorcing between 1920 and 1930, Harry married Helen ____ before the 1940 census. Harry Francis Kahn died in Toledo, Ohio, on May 30, 1971.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 36, Ancestor Photos

So many heritage photos show our ancestors with serious faces. That was the norm -- the expected. My great-great-grandmother (and her eldest daughter) preferred to have fun with the camera. This photo of Nerinda with a cluster of unusual props has always been one of my favorite photos. I wish there were a story or note on the back of the photo, but there's only the name written on the front.

This photo also reminds me of an early genealogical mistake that I hope you won't make. This was one of a dozen or more photos in a heritage photo album that belonged to my great-grandfather. I tore the album apart looking for names and dates on the backs of the photos. I destroyed a beautiful album that was from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Today I would work slowly and carefully, realizing that the album was as precious as the photos. Fortunately I did keep all the unlabelled and unknown photos together, so I do know they belonged to my great-grandfather.

So a word to the wise: cherish not only your heritage photos, but also the heritage albums they're in.

ClubScrap digital kits: A Study in Red, Artifacts

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 21, Ancestor Tales of Hardship

The experiences of one generation affect the lives of the next. This understanding of family systems was one of the factors that pulled me into genealogy. I wanted to understand the forces that formed my parents. Both had suffered hardships in their lives, as had their parents. My maternal grandmother's story was the one that most touched me and affects me to this day.

Imagine being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and an abusive marriage.

Leona Violet Crispen was born in 1909, the youngest, by far, of three daughters. She was the son her father never had. Instead of sewing, she learned to use his blacksmith forge, work on cars, develop film and print photographs.

Her parents divorced in 1921. I can't begin to image the impact on the young Leona. She must have lost friends and certainly her home life was disrupted. Her father moved to the house across the street, so she was able to move freely between her parents' homes. Because they had a civil and close relationship, she never doubted their love for her and her sisters.

After high school she became a telephone operator and married a young man who worked in a foundry. She soon learned that he was unfaithful and cruel. His actions left their only daughter nearly blind and left Leona unable to have more children.

As the stock market crashed in the fall of 1929, her father lost the portfolio he had inherited from his sister. He was able to keep his house and, Leona, living with her father and her husband, decided to file for divorce. Imagine, for a moment, being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and still choosing to end an abusive marriage. Her strength amazes me.

Leona decided about 1931 to leave the cold midwest and move to the warmth of California. Following the famous Route 66, she miscalculated a bit. She ran out of money and gas in the Northern Arizona town of Kingman. With her daughter, she lived under a bridge and in their car while she looked for some way to support them.

Her photography experience was her salvation. The old man who ran the local photography studio wanted to retire, so he hired her and she eventually was able to take over the business. However, she lived day-to-day and struggled through two more bad marriages and divorces during the Depression years.

About 1935, Leona had to place her daughter in boarding school at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson. She left Kingman behind and relocated to be near her daughter. World War II found her fixing airplanes and later working at the ration board. In late 1941, she married her daughter's math teacher and, as a family, they built a stable life. After the war she found a secretarial job in the Tucson school district, where she worked until retirement.

As her choices shaped her life, they affect her family to this day. Her descendants are an Arizona family because she stopped and stayed in Kingman. Her photographic experience became a life-long passion, leading to the vast collection of photographs, negatives and slides that came to me at her death. It is directly due to her choices that I am a scrapbooker and genealogy buff. And, of course, because of those hobbies, this blog exists.

A challenge in 2008 asked that we create a layout about a role model. I chose Leona due to her strength in adversity.

Haberdashery paper kit from ClubScrap

 

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 10, Genealogy Road Trips

Taking a genealogy road trip is something I love to do to advance family research -- step 3 of my plan for scrapping my family history. I can step out of my day-to-day work life, and that is a blessing in itself. Sharing time with friends and relatives is a bonus.

Scrapping a Road Trip

I've only scrapped one road trip. Honestly, I have to admit it doesn't fit with my current scrapping philosophy. My thinking now is to scrap only what will matter to my grandchildren. Since I started sorting through my own Grandmother's memorabilia, I've found that her vacation photos, while pretty, don't mean anything to me. Photos of places I've never been, or can't identify, just go into the trash.

My philosophy doesn't apply to digital pages that are not printed. Although digital files form their own sort of clutter, at least the kids won't have to decide whether or not to throw away an album. So I do create "throw-away" digital pages for use on my screen-saver, desktop or yearly printed calendar.

For the 2002 road trip that has been partially scrapped, I wrote the journaling for each day right after the trip. I picked a color scheme for the album, created a number tag for each day and chose which memorabilia would go on each page. I also had pictures that were taken with family members with whom we met along the way. I included maps that indicate locations of interest. The album is a hodgepodge of stickers, postcards, photos, maps and just plain stuff. Here's day 12, a day when I met with a cousin and also ordered a marker for my grandmother's grave at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.


Why Even Take a Road Trip?

My previous post was written in reaction to some garbage genealogy I found online. I believe that road trips are an important step to help us get beyond the simplicity and the errors of online resources and into the meat of our ancestors' lives. Today I'll introduce you to Jacob Crispen, a man who never existed, according to Ancestry, but was found during a road trip.

"I Won't Raise Jacob's Brats"

Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen [ Tookey] was left a widow by her husband, Jacob Crispen. She sent their three small children to Jacob's brother, who turned them away, saying "I will not raise Jacob's brats". These hurtful words have been passed down through the generations, along with this family story.

This family is nowhere to be found in the census. Using family records and stories, I acquired death certificates for the three children and for their mother. The youngest, Laura Crispen [McQuiston Kahn], had been born about 1867, according to her death certificate. Assuming 2 years between children, it appeared Jacob had died between 1866 and 1869. Clark Crispen, my great-grandfather, claimed to have been born in Oil City, Venango County, PA, in 1863. Nerinda had grown up in Clarion County, PA, and she had remarried about 1882. Mary Crispen [Infield] had lived in Pittsburgh in 1890.

I had established a timeframe and a geographical area to search for Jacob. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania civil records are almost non-existant before 1900. One resource then available via the LDS library was a probate index for Venango County, PA. The only Jacob Crispen in the index had died in 1885, too late to be the right Jacob.

National Genealogical Society, Conference in the States, 2003, Pittsburgh

When NGS 2003 was announced, I saw my opportunity to learn about Pennsylvania research and then use what I'd learned. Cousin Lorna and I registered for NGS and planned our second road trip. From her home in northern Illinois, we researched in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including attending the conference.

Venango County Courthouse

When we arrived in Venango County, I headed straight for the probate records in the courthouse. I planned to start my trip by eliminating this source. Opening the docket, I was stunned to see Mary Infield, Clark Crispen and Laura McQuiston listed as heirs. My reality suddenly shifted as the old family story now was revealed as a cover-up.

My next stop was the prothonotary office to look for a divorce, but I had no luck. Though I found little else for the Crispen family on the trip, the time was well worth it. I found Jacob in a city directory and in a cemetery index, though his grave is unmarked. I later received a copy of the full probate file from the historical society, which houses the old files. The file told me the city where each child lived in 1885, as well as the first names of the women's husbands.

Knowing that Jacob Crispen was alive for the 1870 and 1880 census, I redoubled my efforts fo find the family in the census records. As online census indexing improved over the next few years, I continued to probe. The only trace found was Laura in 1880. I found a possible Jacob, but it seemed unlikely.

Pennsylvania Road Trip, September, 2011

Another cousin, Laurel, wanted to go on a Pennsylvania road trip. We live about 3 hours apart, so we decided to travel together to research our Kerr family, as well as the associated families. We started planning six months before we left. That planning included knowing who, what, when, where and why. The better we planned, the more fruitful our trip would be.

I have to give kudos and a shout out to Laurel, a creative and dogged researcher. I was frustrated with searching for Jacob and Nerinda Kerr Crispen, so Laurel decided to give it a try. She found Jacob and Narinda Chrisman in Clarion County in 1860, with a child named William. This looked highly possible to me. I researched the family, finding probable parents James and Ellen, and a brother, John, all with burials under the name of Crispen. But could I prove this was the right family?

Clarion County Courthouse

When we arrived in Clarion County, I started with probate records. Though James Crispen's probate was interesting, I learned nothing new. Land records were next. I noted every sale and purchase under the Crispen name. There was one sale by John and Jacob Crispen et ux. The deed cemented the family as I had hypothesized. The land had been purchased by James shortly before his death. It was sold by Jacob and Nerinda M Crispen and John and Mary Crispen. [Note: The deed is signed John Crispen Jr. That is because there was an older John Crispen in the area, and does not mean his father was named John.]

Back to Venango County

I learned long ago that research trips are circular. From courthouse to library to cemetery to historical society, then back to the courthouse it goes. This trip included 5 counties in 5 days: we visited 3 courthouses, 3 historical societies, 5 libraries and 11 cemeteries.

When we arrived at the Venango County courthouse, I returned to the prothonotary office to resume my search for a divorce. I especially hoped to read the file to learn more about the previously unknown son, William Crispen. One of the clerks suggested that the court appearance dockets might be of help. She brought the heavy old books out from the vault two at a time and I looked through each index. I found two entries for Crispen divorce filings: in 1867, Jacob filed against Nerinda M[argaret], and, in 1874, Margaret filed against Jacob. Unfortunately, both underlying files are missing from the courthouse.

Without these two road trips, it would have been far more difficult to find and prove Jacob's family. I have new research pathways and the hope of connecting with cousins descended from John Crispen. I hope one of those cousins will have a picture of Jacob to fill that particular gap in my collection.

Preparing for a Research Trip

I've developed a checklist for planning a road trip and, earlier this year, prepared for a two-day trip. Interestingly, I was planning for a Thursday-Friday trip and was tempted to not document hours of operation for other days. I had to cancel the original travel plans and now am grateful I took full notes. I will need to verify the hours of each repository just before I venture out, as hours are often reduced in these days of budget constraints. I also print a map for each location on my list.

I hope my checklist gives you some ideas about preparing for your own road trip to your ancestor's area.

Happy hunting!

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Preparing to Go to a Courthouse

County Name YADKIN, NC

Formation Date 28 Dec 1850

Parent Counties Surry

Child Counties None

County Seat Yadkinville 27055

Courthouse burned in years none

Records	Years	Public	Fee	Who	Address	Hours	Phone
Birth	From 1913		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Death	From 1913		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Marriage	From 1850		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Burial
Divorce	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Probate	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Court	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Deeds	From 1850		.25 to 2.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225

Genealogical Society location and hours

• see below

Historical Society location and hours

• Yadkin County Historical Society, 216 North Van Buren Street, Yadkinville, (336)-679-2702

Library location, holdings and hours:

• The Charles H. Stone Memorial Library, Danbury Public Library and Yadkin County Public Library have large Genealogy/History rooms that are available to the public.
  YCPL 233 East Main Street (336) 679-8792 Mon, Thu 8:30A-6:30P; Tue, Wed, Fri 8:30A-5:30P; Sat 9:00A- 12:00P
  The Paul Price Davis History & Genealogy Room at the Yadkin County Public Library houses census records, cemetery records, marriage records, family histories, will and deed abstracts, Civil War and Revolutionary War rosters. The Yadkin Ripple, the local newspaper, is on microfilm from 1893 to 1988. Paper copies of the newspaper are available from 1989 to the current issue. A microfilm reader/printer is available.

Cemeteries of interest	Location	Hours	Phone
Swaims Baptist Church	See map Keziah Caroline Swaim Chappel Birth:      Dec. 27, 1824 Death:    Nov. 29, 1869 Married to Moses Chappell April 7, 1851

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 6, Family Heirlooms

Never ask a scrapbooker the family heirloom for which she is most thankful! You know what the answer will be -- the old photos.

I do have an abundance of heirlooms. Among them are mementos from the Columbian Exposition of Chicago in 1893, costume jewelry from the 1800s and a Navajo rug from my grandmother's early days in Arizona. Each of these things are just that -- things. They do not represent my ancestors. I value my ancestors, rather than the things they owned. There are two heirlooms that are special to me because they remind me of the spirit of my ancestors.

A Lone Star Quilt

My great-grandmother, Daisy Myrtle Maddox, was a gifted quilter who left behind several beautiful handmade quilts. My brother and I each have one. Mine is a lone star quilt in shades of soft green that often adorned my parent's bed when I was a child. It is old and fragile and today I keep it packed away. The lone star is also special to me because it is a difficult design to execute well. Just the thought of it reminds me of Daisy's love of her family and the thousands of stitches with which she showed her caring throughout the 80 years of her life.

Three Images

The second heirloom I cherish is actually a trio that I scrapbooked several years ago. The focus is a small pin made between 1893 and 1904. It is similar to the common button pins made today, but it is mounted in a pretty spiral frame. The image on the pin is a photograph of my great-grandfather, Clark Earl Crispen. The same photograph is also on a cabinet card taken in Chicago by 1893, the year he went west. The third part of the trio is a 1904 photograph of Daisy wearing the pin as a brooch at her neck. Both of these photos are in my collection. They are precious to me because the objects form an infinite loop of connectivity between my great-grandparents, who later divorced, yet were always friendly.

Club Scrap Ivory Elegance paper kit, images scanned and stitched

How Was I So Lucky?

I was blessed with so many of the family heirlooms by chance. My grandmother's immediate family was small. My great-grandfather's mother and childless sister both left photo collections with Clark at their deaths, as he was the last survivor of his generation. Their collections and Clark's then passed to my grandmother, his youngest daughter, as she was caring for him at his death. Daisy's collection also fell to her, as she also cared for Daisy. My grandmother's only child predeceased her, leaving only my brother and myself. We have divided many heirlooms, but he wants scans of most photos, rather than the originals. I've spent many hours sorting, scanning, and discarding duplicates.

The Start of My Genealogy

If it were not for the photos, I might never have delved into my family history. When my grandmother and I started going through them in the early 1990s, I had no idea who all these people were and how they related to me or to each other. I couldn't keep them straight on paper, so I bought my first genealogy program and started putting in names and dates. The unknown photos captured my imagination, and I soon found myself launching into the research that has now grown my database to over 5000 names. Along the way I've identified unknowns, met new cousins and acquired photos for relatives I never knew I had. And I also turned to scrapbooking as a way to present and preserve the photos.

I'm very thankful indeed for the old family photos.

Scrapping A Memento

Some mementos are too thick or large for a scrapbook layout. They can be photographed or scanned and the image placed into a layout. Other keepsakes are small enough to use on a layout. This pin is flat enough to fit inside a foam core board.

The board has to be cut down to about 11 x 11 so it fits into a 12 x 12 album. The card stock also needs to be trimmed to make it just a little smaller. Trim the page by small increments until it fits. I cut the hole for the pin with a circle guide and cutter, then trimmed the edges with a strip of brown paper, slit to fan out at the front and back. A piece of the same brown is on the back of the hole. The pin is covered with a piece of a transparency, trimmed with the brown journaling circle to hold it all together. All journaling was computer-generated, using the RGB codes provided with the paper kit.

Using Scanned Photos

The photos were resized and reprinted from scanned images, so that they could be matched in size and shape. This is one of the many uses of the photos that you scan: making them larger or smaller to fit your design. These photos were cut to shape with an oval guide. Don't cut your original photos, as one day you might regret it. Rather, reprint the photos and trim with abandon.

Another Foam Core Layout

This layout was a hit when shared online. I took the letter off my high school letter sweater and traced it on foam core board. After making sure it fit, I added card stock, also with the letter cut out. The letter fits down in the core, but the pins ride above it a bit, making a bulky layout. Watch your bulky items to keep them from damaging important photos on the opposite page.

The scary thing to me is that this is almost a heritage layout, as high school kids today have never seen a letter sweater, except in their parent's closet.

Club Scrap Musical Interlude paper kit