Seminole, Oklahoma

Grisso Story Continued...

The Oklahoma spring tornadoes did not keep us from arriving in Seminole, Oklahoma on our travels a month ago. Although, it was a bit dicey. I know I would not want to live there. We have tornadoes in our home state, but those in Oklahoma seemed much scarier. We were glued to the weather broadcast on the T.V. for four hours, but we slept safely and enjoyed our short tour of Seminole.

Our first stop was the library where indeed there was a copy of The Grisso Family book. What a shock! It was huge! It has obviously been used often over the years because it is coming apart and not in the best shape. I had to take a picture of it because I never guessed it was such a tome.

I spent a couple of hours reading and copying a few pages to add to what I have. We rode around Seminole looking for Grisso Avenue. It is a lovely boulevard winding itself through the park.

 The next day we went to visit the Grisso Mansion. And yes, William Edward "Doc" Grisso was a second cousin once removed to our grandfather, Bert Grisso. They were both born in Fulton County, Arkansas and descended from Jacob Kittinger Grisso of Virginia.


William Edward "Doc" Grisso was the son of Jacob Grisso (1834-1883). Jacob's father, Madison (1807-1870), was the son of Jacob Kittinger Grisso (1772-1844).

This chart might be clearer.


                                     Jacob Kittinger Grisso

      
George W. Grisso          Madison      ----        brothers
William Madson            Jacob           ----        first cousins
John Martin                    William Edward "Doc" Grisso  ----2nd c.
Bert Roscoe                    Second cousin of "Doc" Grisso once removed from common ancestor Jacob Kittinger Grisso

Mary & siblings             Second cousin 2 times removed

Margie & 1st cousins     Second cousin 3 times removed


George, Madison, and James were the three brothers who settled
in northern Arkansas in the mid 1800 having left their parental home in Virginia. They migrated first to Tennessee and then on to Fulton, County Arkansas.

Now that we have established the relationship, we will learn a little more about the mansion and Doc Grisso.

Stay tuned.

Crossroads

Here I am at that crossroads. You know the one. It is that genealogy crossroads that has signs pointed toward the Wrights, the Tolsdorfs, the Grissos, the Bordens, etc. Recently, I have been consumed with the DeHarts. This worked out well because I could share a journal written by my aunt in 1988. The reason this worked so well was because I could schedule posts while on the road moving from winter residence to summer residence. Once I am settled back down, which way will I go?

Let's talk Grissos today.  This is my mother's father's side of the family. Mother, Mary Louise Grisso Wright. Her father, Bert Roscoe Grisso.


As I have mentioned before, my interest in family history was originally piqued by my Great Grandma Estella Smith. Then, came a special day in about 1972 when her son-in-law, my grandfather, spent an afternoon telling me about his heritage. After that day with Bert Grisso, I wanted to learn more about these ancestors who everyone thought came from Italy. Through my own family research and many others interested in the Grisso name, we have learned that the Grissos did not come from Italy, but some cousins just refuse to let that go. What is true is that three Grisso brothers left Virginia along with their wives, who were all Grubb sisters. They settled for a time in Tennessee, but eventually made their way to northern Arkansas around 1842-1844.  Most of the Grisso brother's siblings stayed in Virginia. (There is much to be written on the Grisso line in the future.)

In the 1970's, one of my dearest Grisso cousins read about a place in Seminole, Oklahoma called The Grisso Mansion. She was always curious about the place. Who were these Grissos? Were they relatives? Are we rich?

Sometime in the past 10 years or so, another aunt passed on to me part of a document written and complied by a couple of Grisso descendants of Mathias Grisso. This was not the whole document just part of it. It took me many long hours to decipher and understand these pages.  It might have been easier if I would have had the whole document.  It might have been much easier if every generation didn't need to name their Grisso sons, George or William. I know this is a common complaint among genealogists. I wish I could trade a George for a Henry or a William for a Charles. What names would you like to trade? Oops, digressing.

I have been on the trail of that completed volume of The Grisso Family book for many years. I have come close to finding it a few times. I exchanged emails with one of the authors who said there were no more good copies. I exchanged emails with a very gifted Grisso genealogist who had the book on C.D. Unfortunately, I did not receive the C.D. due to his untimely death. Somewhere through the years, I have learned that copies of this book exist in several libraries where Grissos have lived. There is a copy in Salt Lake City as well as libraries in Virginia, Ohio, Arkansas, and Seminole, Oklahoma.

Now, Seminole, Oklahoma is where the Grisso Mansion is located.  AND there is a copy of The Grisso Family in the local library. This definitely has to be a stop on our summer migration route. It really isn't too far out of the way.

Special Days

Have you ever noticed some days are just more special than others?  This is how I feel about June 1. This was the day one of my dedicated blog followers was born.

Happy Birthday, Scott. 

Memorial Day 2016

I just finished re-reading the post I made for Memorial Day 2015.  Personally, I think it is worth the re-read. I had done some research, learned a few things I didn't know about Memorial Day and related the differences between the Memorial Days of my childhood to the Memorial Day of today.

Memorial Day 2015 (Either link will take you there.)

So, here is Memorial Day again, but with a few changes. For one, on Saturday, we will attend the interment of the ashes of my aunt who passed away last fall. Her three children will be arriving from Oregon, California, and Nevada. I am honored to be able to attend and looking forward to visiting with my cousins whom I rarely see.

This is also be the first Memorial Day that our family will be putting flowers on the grave of my husband's mother.  She had a very consistent ritual of obtaining live flower plants from a nursery,
planting them in containers, taking them to the cemetery to adorn several graves, and most specifically that of her husband who has been gone since 1960.  After a week or so, we would gather those containers and repot them in containers for her to enjoy the rest of the summer. Another of life's rituals is gone.  This year we adorn her grave and remember a life which was full for 97.5 years.

Blast from the Past

I love to read my weekly hometown newspaper. After having lived away for most of 40 years, I am not so familiar with the current news or the newsmakers.  However, I love the A Glance at the Past section. There I sometimes find my name for getting a perfect spelling paper in sixth grade, visiting relatives with my parents for Sunday dinner or participating in the annual piano recital.

Recently, I found the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there we are. Four generations. Famous.

 

Wrights on Wednesday

I found this picture in my mom's photo album. According to the note, the picture was taken in Sept. 1984 at a Wright Reunion. The location is my parent's farm because I recognize the background.

I am sorry to say I only know my dad in this picture and assume the others are his cousins. Several of them are probably the fathers of my second cousins.

I hope my Wright cousins will supply the names of these relatives.

Left to right:
1. Adam Wright
2. Marlin Henson
3.
4.
5.  Vern Wright
6.  Merle Wright
7.  Donnie Henson

 

Should I go?

Today I finish the story of my aunt and uncle's genealogy trip from Oregon to West Virginia.  This was all about the DeHart family and the quest to find the area where my Great Grandmother Emma Susan DeHart Borden was born, the DeHart homestead and the DeHart cemetery.

I remember when my aunt and uncle took this trip to Union, West Virginia.  It was 1988 and we had just moved into a new house in Springfield, Illinois.  They stopped to see us and share their adventure. Was I interested? No. Not in the least.  I was in the middle of settling into a new home, boxes to unpack, cleaning to be done. I pretended to listen to some story about tromping through weeds and finding grave stones that had been buried over time. Ho-Hum.

Fast forward 28 years.

I have just finished transcribing the journal my aunt wrote on that quest to find the original DeHart homestead and cemetery.  I am so glad she included some photos and especially excited about this map I found.

Now don't you think I could find it and retrace her steps. 

 Later this summer, we are headed to within a couple hours ( maybe three or four) drive of this mountain.  Do I dare suggest to my husband that we retrace this adventure?