I picked up Mom's 1981 calendar a few days ago to see what was happening that year. As we know, February can be awfully cold.
Monday, February 2, 1981
7 degrees below at 7:45 a.m. cold stock water froze & heating element burnt - tried to put a washer on waterer - broke it- I went
to Hardward Store at 5:30 to get T so could keep water facet from
freezing. Cattle short of water today.
Tuesday, February 3, 1981
4 degrees below @ 7:15 got stock waterer fixed in am. Went to Scranton for lunch & I got my hair set. Vern played pool. Home about 3:30 p.m. Read and watched TV rest of day.
Wednesday, February 4, 1981
2 degrees below @ 7:00 a.m. warmed up to 15 degree -raw - sun shining - got title & registration for car. Went to see Mom alittle. Vern got an adjustment. I went to Wed. Club in p.m. at Carol Coles- stopped at Ray & Linda Sabus on way home.
Stopped at Pauline Caddens.
Thursday, February 5, 1981
17 degrees at 7 a.m. windy - cleaned deep freezer. snow squalls off & on all day. Took gizzards to Linda Sabus - Vern went to town in p.m. I read & cut out dress & jacket for Pauline Cadden.
Friday, February 6, 1981
6 degrees @ 7 o'clock - took splitter down to Ray Sabus in a.m. & split up some wood _ I went to Jeff for meat in p.m. -Vern spent p.m. at the lounge- took splitter to Dale after lunch.
Saturday, February 7, 1981
24 degrees @ 7:30 a.m. cloudy-high winds dirt blowing. I baked raspberry pie- cleaned house- sewed a little. Getting colder all day. Kids came about 5:30.
...................................................................................................
The reason I chose this February week of 1981 was because I like to look back at calendars that are approximate the current year's calendar. This week of February was 35 years ago. I thought comparing temperatures might be interesting to those in the 2017 cold winter.
So what is significant enough to give this Mondays With Mary the subtitle of Raspberry Pie.
I love Raspberry Pie. Black Raspberry Pie to be exact. So I am reading along in Mom's calendar and read that she made a raspberry pie. I am immediately upset. She should not make raspberry pie without me there to eat it. What kind of mother is she? I calm down and read the next nine words. Then the ones that
made me ashamed of myself. Kids came about 5:30.
I guess she made the pie for me.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Another Way to Review
I am still thinking about ways to make the Vorhies Family more real to readers. Below is a descendant chart of the children and grandchildren of John McLaughlin Vorhies and Ginevra Margaret Withrow Vorhies. They are my great-great grandparents. My great grandmother is their oldest child and she is the mother of my own grandmother. The chart shows three generations only. I have underlined the family members that are shown in the family portrait in my last post. Vorhies Review . However, I failed to underline Ginevra as I should have. If anyone is aware of information that will make this chart more complete or if there is a mistake, please let me know.
Friday, January 20, 2017
Vorhies Review
This family portrait which was taken around 1912 is very special. It shows so many of my our ancestors. I am sorry that it is not a little clearer. In order to enlarge it and not compete with the right side panel, I have moved it to the bottom of the page.
Seated in the center of the portrait is Sarah Jane Withrow, mother of Ginevra Withrow Vorhies who is seated to her left. Notice that Ginevra is a fairly large woman. The family group further to her left (the viewers right) is the family of LeRoy Vorhies, youngest brother of Great-Grandma Estella Smith. My last post was about LeRoy. He is almost cut off on the right side of the photo. I tried to place him between side panel interruptions. LeRoy and wife Lulu had three children: Fern, b. 1905, Verl, b. 1906 and Harold b. 1911 and seated on his father's lap.
Estella is standing in the back row with her father, John Mac to her left and husband, Hiram Smith, to her right.
On the opposite side of the portrait are Eugene, Carrie, Lester, and Viola. Look carefully, Carrie is holding the baby, Viola, born in 1912. (This is how I guessed the year of the portrait). Lester is sitting on his father's, Eugene, lap.
The children in the middle are: Nina, Merroll, Ardea, and Neva. Nina is my grandmother and the others are her siblings. Two of Estella's children were yet to be born.
There is another couple in the portrait who are unknown to me. I wonder if they are Carrie's parents. I think I see a resemblance.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
LeRoy Vorhies (brother of my great grandmother, Estella)
As previously explained Ginevra and John Mac Vorhies moved to Greene County, Iowa in 1876 as a young married couple. Ginevra gave birth to their first child, Estella, in March after the family arrived in February. The following year on 8 October 1877, they added to their family with a son, Eugene H. Vorhies. Their youngest child, LeRoy, was born in 1879.
I never knew Uncle Roy as I did my great grandmother, Estella, and her brother, Uncle Gene. Uncle Roy died the year before I was born. However, growing up I heard a few stories. Before research, I knew that Uncle Roy inherited the original Greene County land purchased by Joseph Withrow and then had sold to his son-in-law John Mac Vorhies. Upon the death of John Mac Vorhies in 1939, each of his three children inherited a farm. ( I grew up on the one we called The Sixty that was left to Estella). I knew this information from the stories my mother told me. However, I plan to do some land ownership records research and see exactly how this original family land evolved.
I knew that Uncle Roy had lived in Colorado. I knew that his wife was not mentally well and in an institution. (this sort of frightened me as a kid) ( I also mentioned her in the Rosemary Kennedy post) I knew Uncle Roy had lived across the road from my parents after he moved back to Iowa in 1940.
Many members of the family called it Uncle Roy's Place, but it was always Miller's Place to me. The Miller family lived there while I was growing up. They were very special like a wonderful aunt and uncle.
So, I knew I needed to write about LeRoy Vorhies to complete the story of Ginevra and John Mac's three children. I found numerous articles about visits to Iowa in the Jefferson Advantage Preservation site, I had a few old photos from my mom and grandmother's photo album. I have also come across an old picture postcard from about 1910-1913 sent from Yoder, Colorado where he lived.
Then, I had the opportunity to interview my mother's last living sibling in the summer of 2015. He lives in another state so it is rare when I have a chance to pick his brain. And he has a great brain, full of family knowledge.
Some of the things I did not know but learned in conversation:
1. Uncle Roy was an inventor. I have found several articles written about this and will write about this separately another time.
2. When he moved back to the home place in 1940, he raised sheep. I had seen pictures of a large herd of sheep in my grandmother's photo album that had absolutely no meaning to me. Bill remembers that he had 149 head of sheep. He doesn't know why he remembers that number, but it is very clear to him. Roy experimented by feeding , but I know I have cousins who will find sheep farming in the family surprising. I mean sheep farming long ago.
3. I did not know that while Uncle Roy lived across the road from my parents, his niece and family lived with him. This is my grandmother, Nina, and her family that still lived at home. I guess all but my mother.
So, as a little review for those who get lost in the generations. Estella Vorhies Smith, our direct line ancestor, had two brothers, Eugene and LeRoy. Both had descendants. I knew a few. I will research the rest.
I hope your New Year is going well.
Thanks for reading.
I never knew Uncle Roy as I did my great grandmother, Estella, and her brother, Uncle Gene. Uncle Roy died the year before I was born. However, growing up I heard a few stories. Before research, I knew that Uncle Roy inherited the original Greene County land purchased by Joseph Withrow and then had sold to his son-in-law John Mac Vorhies. Upon the death of John Mac Vorhies in 1939, each of his three children inherited a farm. ( I grew up on the one we called The Sixty that was left to Estella). I knew this information from the stories my mother told me. However, I plan to do some land ownership records research and see exactly how this original family land evolved.
I knew that Uncle Roy had lived in Colorado. I knew that his wife was not mentally well and in an institution. (this sort of frightened me as a kid) ( I also mentioned her in the Rosemary Kennedy post) I knew Uncle Roy had lived across the road from my parents after he moved back to Iowa in 1940.
Many members of the family called it Uncle Roy's Place, but it was always Miller's Place to me. The Miller family lived there while I was growing up. They were very special like a wonderful aunt and uncle.
So, I knew I needed to write about LeRoy Vorhies to complete the story of Ginevra and John Mac's three children. I found numerous articles about visits to Iowa in the Jefferson Advantage Preservation site, I had a few old photos from my mom and grandmother's photo album. I have also come across an old picture postcard from about 1910-1913 sent from Yoder, Colorado where he lived.
 |
| Postcard is addressed to Leroy's brother, Eugene, and his bride, Carrie, sending congratulations on their marriage which took place in December 1909. The card is dated February 8, 1910 and apparently accompanied a wedding present. |
Then, I had the opportunity to interview my mother's last living sibling in the summer of 2015. He lives in another state so it is rare when I have a chance to pick his brain. And he has a great brain, full of family knowledge.
Some of the things I did not know but learned in conversation:
1. Uncle Roy was an inventor. I have found several articles written about this and will write about this separately another time.
2. When he moved back to the home place in 1940, he raised sheep. I had seen pictures of a large herd of sheep in my grandmother's photo album that had absolutely no meaning to me. Bill remembers that he had 149 head of sheep. He doesn't know why he remembers that number, but it is very clear to him. Roy experimented by feeding , but I know I have cousins who will find sheep farming in the family surprising. I mean sheep farming long ago.
3. I did not know that while Uncle Roy lived across the road from my parents, his niece and family lived with him. This is my grandmother, Nina, and her family that still lived at home. I guess all but my mother.
So, as a little review for those who get lost in the generations. Estella Vorhies Smith, our direct line ancestor, had two brothers, Eugene and LeRoy. Both had descendants. I knew a few. I will research the rest.
I hope your New Year is going well.
Thanks for reading.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy 117th Anniversary
My first review for 2017 is that of the marriage of my great grandparents. Estella Vorhies married Hiram Smith on January 1, 1900. (117 years ago) Their newspaper wedding article was featured in the post of March 22, 2015. I hope you enjoy reading it again. Just click on the highlighted text.
The next review post will on the two brothers of Estella Vorhies Smith, Eugene and LeRoy.
The next review post will on the two brothers of Estella Vorhies Smith, Eugene and LeRoy.
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