Grandma Donna’s Chili Rice

Donna Darling Collection – Part 4

Treasure Chest Thursday

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.My grandmother, Donna, was a good cook. My mom says that Donna didn’t let her into the kitchen much and Donna never taught my mother how to cook. Consequently, I am sad to say, my mom is one of the worst cooks I’ve ever known.  She cooked a turkey once and didn’t remove the giblets bag before cooking.

However, Donna was a good cook and generally cooked “comfort food.” I remember eating a lot of “hot dish” as a kid. Even if it wasn’t in a casserole bowl, the meat, vegetables, and starch were all cooked together into a single dish – Things like chicken & dumplings, Hungarian goulash, and, of course, chili-rice. No recipes were passed down that I know of.  However, the recently found Donna Darling collection had one handwritten recipe for her chili rice.

I forgot that she used tomato juice often when cooking. She cooked rice and elbow macaroni in a mix of tomatoes and tomato juice often. I hadn’t heard of the “Mexene chili powder” used in this recipe until I looked it up and found that it is a brand name and is still available.

I think it is interesting that her recipe calls for a tablespoon of fat. They must have had really lean hamburger in those days. Anyway here is Donna’s recipe:

Grandma Donna’s Chili Rice

  • Handwritten Recipe of Donna's Chili Rice

    Recipe – Grandma Donna’s Chili-Rice

    2# Hamburger

  • 1 Tablespoon fat
  • ¾ cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup        “        onions
  • 1 cup        “        gr peppers
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • ¾ cup rice
  • Mexene chili powder
  • 1 can tomato juice
  • Kidney beans

No directions were with the note, but I think it is just a put it all together and cook until the rice is eatable. I guess use the Mexene Chili Powder to your personal taste.

Anyway, I’m going to have to make up some of Grandma Donna’s Chili Rice and see if taste memories kick in.

Please, if you makes some, I’d love to see a picture of your finished product and your comments about it.

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Frederick W. Blanchard – Orphan, Widower, & Plasterer

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Frederick W. Blanchard had one of the most difficult lives I have ever researched — Orphaned young, possibly left standing at the altar, a widower by the age of 19, and dead by automobile accident when he was only 51. Thanks to Digital Maine, I pieced together parts of his life that I might never have been able to decipher before, particularly the death of his mother and brother in other towns and places. Digital Maine is one of the best resources available online for researchers of Maine ancestors and is among my favorite websites.  Try it if you haven’t done so before.

Blanchard 2017 Project

List of Grandparents

  • Grand Parent: Edward Everett Blanchard (1900-1971)
  • 1st Great: Frederick W. Blanchard (1866-1917)
  • 2nd Great: Albion Blanchard (1834-1868)
  • 3rd Great: Cyrus Blanchard (c. 1791-?)

Ancestor #8 – Frederick W. Blanchard (1866-1917)

Frederick W. Blanchard was born in Cumberland, Cumberland County, Maine, on 16 February 1866, the third child of Albion and Mary S. (Washburn) Blanchard. His older brother, Charles A. F. Blanchard was born on 1 January 1858 and his older sister, Sarah, was born on 4 November 1861.

1868 – A Very Bad Year and a Rough Childhood.

It is not clear what occurred to the family, be it fire or disease, but on 7 September 1868, Sarah died at the age of six.  Two days later he died at the age of 34.

Cover - Cumberland Pauper Book

Cover – Cumberland Pauper Book

Mary, Charles, and Frederick were destitute without Albion. Where the town paid Albion for his support, now the Town of Cumberland supported Albion’s widow and his two living children. Two-year-old Frederick went to live with his uncle, Charles H. W. Blanchard and the Overseer of the Poor of the Town of Cumberland paid for his board until 1875 (Age 9).

His brother Charles also went to Uncle Charles’ in 1868 but wasn’t there during the 1870 Census. In 1872, he was at D. Pittee’s where he worked for board.  In the fall of 1872, he left Pittee’s and joined his mother in Saco, Maine.  In 1873, Charles went to live with William M. & Samuel Merrill, again to work for board. Charles died on 16 February 1887 at the age of 29.

Mary was on the Cumberland pauper rolls from 1868 until 1873. The Cumberland Overseers of the Poor paid $64.31 for the board of Mary Blanchard at David Libby’s. In 1871, she was at the Yarmouth Almshouse. From January until mid-April she lived at A. M. Libby’s in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine when she “left for parts unknown.” In 1872 she located to Saco, York County, Maine where her son, Charles, joined her. Mary died on 2 May 1873 in Saco, Maine.

The 1880 Census finds young 14-year-old Frederick still living with his Aunt and Uncle Miranda and Charles Blanchard. However, the Cumberland Pauper Book is no longer showing Frederick as a recipient of support.

1885 – Another Bad Year

Marriage Record – Date and Place of Marriage are blank.

1885 started out wonderful. On 21 Jan 1885, Frederick filed an intent to marry (took out a marriage license) Ida V. Libby.  It doesn’t appear that they ever actually married; the license was never returned. We may never know why they didn’t marry.  However, five months later, on 21 June 1885, he married Laura C. A. Jensen.  Five and a half months later, on 8 Dec 1885, Laura died of consumption.

1886 – A new life with a new wife.

Not to be kept down for long, 12 months later, on 14 December 1886, Frederick married Minnie M Bodge. Frederick and Minnie would have eleven children; all were born in Maine.

Children: Sex Birth Death
Gracie C Blanchard F Jan 1890
Harry F Blanchard M 03 Jan 1892 26 May 1969
Charles A Blanchard M Oct 1897
Edward Everett Blanchard M 1900 1971
Lizzie M Blanchard F 1902 07 Sep 1902
Sadie B Blanchard F 21 Feb 1903 18 Apr 1920
Willis H Blanchard M Bet. 1 Jan-15 Apr 1907
Alanson S Blanchard M 1911
Unknown 1 Blanchard* ? Bef. 1900 Bef. 1900
Unknown 2 Blanchard* ? Bef. 1900 Bef. 1900
Unknown 3 Blanchard* ? Bef. 1900 Bef. 1900

*The 1900 Census indicates that Minnie had six children, three of whom were still living. The three living would be Gracie, Henry, and Charles A. The other three are unknown.

Frederick’s occupation reveals itself in the 1894 Portland City Directory which shows him as a plasterer at 466 Portland. He would be a plasterer in the Census records and the City Directories his entire adult life.

In 1895 and 1896, Frederick is listed as a plasterer at 30 Chestnut in Woodfords. I have looked and can’t seem to find a 30 Chestnut in Woodfords (Deering). There is a Chestnut in Portland and one in South Portland, but I’m not finding on in Woodfords (Deering).  Maybe a street had its name changed.

The 1900 Census reports Frederick and Minnie living on Front Street in South Portland. He lived in several other locations in South Portland including 131 Stanford.[i]

Death

Marker – Fred W & Minnie M Blanchard
Photo by Ben G.

Frederick W. Blanchard died in Maine General Hospital from injuries resulting from an automobile accident at age 51 years, 4 months, 29 days.

He is buried in Forest City Cemetery in South Portland.

His wife, Minnie, died 31 years later, on 10 Feb 1948. She was buried with Frederick at Forest City Cemetery.

Frederick was born in Cumberland; he lived in Woodfords (Deering, now Portland), Portland, and South Portland all within 15 miles.

Sources:

1870 Census (Ancestry)

  • Charles H. Blanchard – Cumberland, Cumberland, Maine, Page 8, Line 33.

1880 Census (Ancestry

  • Charles H Blanchard – Cumberland, Cumberland, Maine – District 29, Page 6, Line 32

1900 Census (Ancestry)

  • Frederick Blanchard – South Portland, Cumberland, Maine – District 79, Line 43.

1910 Census (Ancestry)

  • Frederic W. Blanchard – South Portland, Cumberland, Maine – Ward 2, District 103, Sheet 2B, Line 80, Family 42. 131 Sanford Street.

Cumberland Pauper Book – Digital Maine

  • Town of Cumberland, Maine, Cumberland Pauper Book – [Results of Blanchard search.] https://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=1001&context=prince_memorial_library_books.

Deed – Private

  • Don’s Private Files: Deed – Minnie Blanchard, Executrix, sold property on Free Street – 1918.pdf.
Ref: Blanchard, Frederick W

Find a Grave – Find a Grave

  • Fred [Frederick] W Blanchard (1865 – 1917) – Find A Grave Memorial #142749158. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi? page=gr&GRid=142749158&ref=acom.

Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921 – Family Search

Maine, Death Records, 1617-1922 – Ancestry

  • Fred [Frederick] W Blanchard (1866-1917). https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/MaineDeathRe/1138416/ printer-friendly?ssrc=pt&tid=10416014&pid=220072758160&usePUB=true.

Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1922 – Ancestry

  • Frederick W Blanchard & Ida V Libby.1885

U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 – Ancestry

  • Portland, Maine – 1894 – Page 239.
  • Portland, Maine – 1895 – Pages 239 & 240.
  • Portland, Maine – 1896 – Page 249.
  • Portland, Maine – 1897 – Page 746.
  • Portland, Maine – 1899 – Page 265.
  • Portland, Maine – 1902 – Pages 352 & 353.
  • Portland, Maine – 1903 – Page 353.
  • Portland, Maine – 1904 – Pages 352 & 353.
  • Portland, Maine – 1908 – Page 305.
  • Portland, Maine – 1909 – Pages 300 & 301.
  • Portland, Maine – 1912 – Page 317.
  • Portland, Maine – 1913 – Pages 308 & 309.
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Glennis Paternity Project / Roy L Huber?

Glennis Paternity Project

By Don Taylor

Image of DNALast fall I began a project to look more closely at the possibilities of figuring out who my half-sister Glennis’ biological father might be. Her closest match was a predicted second cousin, Mike. Mike had a nice, full tree.  If Mike and Glennis were 2nd cousins, they would share great grandparents.  I took each of Mike’s eight great-grandparents and followed their descendants to see if any of them might have been at the right place at the right time to have fathered Glennis.

See the following articles:

Only the Hemsworth-Morgan Branch yielded any potential candidates.

GEDMatch

This month I looked at the closest paternal matches that Glennis has on GEDMatch. The closest match to Glennis was J.C.  I contacted the person managing J.C.’s kit, and he provided information for me to see his tree.

I knew I was getting close when I saw that Mike’s ancestors and J.C.’s ancestors both included the surnames Odell and Morgan and both in West Virginia. I researched J.C.’s ancestors back one more generation and found that J.C.’s 3rd great-grandparents were the same as Mikes. Four of the 3rd greats were the same. What occurred is that a brother and a sister married a sister and a brother.  That makes their children double first cousins. Double first cousins should share about double the genetic material in common than regular first-cousins. As I understand things, that should push the expected common ancestor back one generation.

So, the good news is that following J.C.’s line back has convinced me that Jacob M and Elizabeth (Smith) Morgan and Joshua and Susannah (Davis) Odell are common ancestors to both Mike and J.C. Likewise, I’m confident that Glennis is descended from them as well. The bad news is that because of the double first cousin status, I am not sure which of Nathan and Belinda (Odell) Morgan’s eleven children’s descendants are the likely ancestors. It could be any of them.

I had followed one of Nathan & Belinda’s children, Mary D, and discovered two potential candidates to be Glennis’ biological father. Now, absent any new DNA Matches, I will need to follow the other ten children’s descendants looking for potential candidates.

Roy L. Huber (1932-1999)

(Potential Candidate (from the Hemsworth-Morgan Branch) analysis.)

Roy L. Huber was born on 31 August 1932 in Marietta, Washington County, Ohio (although his death record indicates he was born in Michigan).[i] He was the youngest of two (known) children of John Clifford Huber and Naomi M. Stewart. (The great-grandson of Mary D. Morgan and the 2nd great-grandson of Nathan and Belinda (Odell) Morgan.)

The 1940 Census indicates that the Huber family lived in Dearborn, Wayne County, Michigan in 1930 but had moved out to Milford township by 1940, about 35 miles away.[ii]

Emblem of the Michigan Air National GuardHis whereabouts in early 1953 are unknown, but I presume he was in Michigan. (When Glennis was conceived.) In 1956 and 1957, 2nd Lt. Roy L. Huber was serving with the Michigan Air National Guard. He was still in Michigan in 1990 when he appears to have invented an “auxiliary vehicle deck” for pickup trucks.[iii], [iv], [v]

He appears to have started “snowbirding” to Florida in the 1990s as he seems to have had addresses in both locations during that time.  He died in North Palm Beach, Florida, on 6 November 1999.[vi], [vii]

I have not found an obituary for him.  Nor have I found any evidence that he ever married or had children.  He is still a possible candidate.

If you are a close relative of Roy L. Huber, I would love to hear from you through the contact form below.

Followup

  1. Research the other ten children of Nathan and Belinda (Odell) Morgan and determine if any are potential biological fathers for Glennis.
Children: Sex Birth Death
Elizabeth Morgan F Bet. 1852-1854
West Virginia
Eli H Morgan M Abt. 1855
West Virginia
Mary D Morgan

(Completed already)

F 14 Jan 1858
Pleasants, WV
25 Apr 1939
Williamstown, WV
Isiah S Morgan M Bet. 1859-1861
West Virginia
Francis Marion Morgan M 1840 1922
Sanford Morgan M 1843
Jacob Ellison Morgan M 1850
John Wesley Morgan M
Asceneth Morgan F
Jane Morgan F
Sarah Morgan F

2. Research Roy L Huber’s brother and see if he remains a candidate.


Endnotes

[i] United States Public Records, 1970-2009, Family Search, Roy L Huber – 31 Aug 1932. Accessed 4 July 2016.
[ii] 1940 Census, Family Search, John Huber – Milford Township, Oakland, Michigan – Line 18. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4P9-DQP.
[iii] 1998-06- – Page 17 – Letters – Airplane Noise – Roy L Huber. See File: 1998-06-26 – The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Florida) · Page 17 Letters – Airplane Noise – Roy L Huber.pdf., Palm Beach Post, The, West Palm Beach, Florida (newspapers.com
[iv] 1957-05-07 – Page 1 & 2 – Roy L Huber [Last Sentence]. 2nd Lt. Roy L. Huber represented the Michigan Air National Guard at an exhibition of aerial firepower and tactical maneuvers at Eglin Air Force Base, FL ., Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek, Michigan.
[v] “United States Patent,” The United States Patent and Trademark Office, US Patent 4962709 – Roy L. Huber – Auxiliary Vehicle Deck.
[vi] United States Public Records, 1970-2009, Family Search, Roy L Huber – 31 Aug 1932. Accessed 4 July 2016.
[vii] United States Social Security Death Index, Family Search, Roy L Huber (1932-1999). https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JPTY-P62.
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My Wife’s Closest Famous Relatives

 “We’re Related” – Part 4

Famous Friday
Howell-Darling 2017
by Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.So, my wife says to me, “I thought you were going to look at my family also in “We’re Related.” I had mentioned in my first article, “We’re Related – My Possible Relatives – First Look,” that I was looking forward to seeing how well the app did looking at her family.

Switching user trees in “We’re Related” is cumbersome. You need to add another tree, identify yourself in that tree, then remove your old tree from being used.  Also, the app uses your name from somewhere and not the tree and person you are saying you are. In any event, the app uses my photo instead of my wife’s even though it uses her name in some places and my name in other locations. It is frustrating, but nothing you can’t think your way around. It just tells me that the app was intended only for one person and one tree.

I researched my wife’s tree before and learned Patrick Swayze was my wife’s ninth cousin.  I also read that John Cameron Swayze (Timex – takes a licking and keeps on ticking) was related to Patrick, so must be related to my wife also but I didn’t trace the relationship. I figured one or both of them would show up in “We’re Related.” I was wrong. Neither of them are in the first potential cousins suggested. “We’re Related suggested the following relationships:

  • Michelle Obama       8th Cousin, 2x Removed      8 Generations to the common ancestor
  • Elon Musk                 8th Cousin, 2x Removed      8          “
  • Miley Cyrus               7th Cousin, 1x Removed       7          “
  • Britney Spears          8th Cousin, 2x Removed      8          “
  • Johnny Depp            7th Cousin, 3x Removed       7          “
  • Christina Aguilera   8th Cousin, 2x Removed      8          “

“We’re Related” extends family trees to a common ancestor, I figured the shorter the line, the more likely it would be that I could confirm a relationship. Miley Cyrus and Johnny Depp were the closest famous people suggested by the app with only seven generations before the common ancestor. Of individuals with eight individuals before the common ancestor, I thought she’s like the idea that Michelle Obama was related, so I selected her from the “eights.”

Miley Ray Cyrus

Photo of Miley Cyrus at Jimmy Fallon

Miley Cyrus – 7th Cousin 1x Removed?

Born Destiny Hope Cyrus in 1992, Miley Cyrus is a singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her role as Penny in the animated movie “Bolt,” where she not only starred but was nominated for a Golden Globe award for the original song, “I Thought I Lost You.”  She and my wife are supposedly 7th cousins, 1x removed. The relationship follows the Howell/Hobbs line:

 

I have looked carefully at Mary Hobbs, Annie Long, Martha Bryan, and Cherry Price’s lives and written about them (as noted above). I agree that Cherry Price’s mother appears to be Mary Brown. I suspect Hardy Brown is Mary Brown’s father, but I haven’t confirmed that yet. I have no knowledge of William Brown nor a clue regarding Hardy Brown’s parents. My wife’s relationship with Miley Cyrus is very possible.

Johnny Depp

Photo of Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp – 7th Cousin 3x Removed?

John Christopher Depp, II, is a famous actor, producer, and musician. He is best known for his roles in “Edward Scissorhands,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” He was born in 1963 in Kentucky. He and my wife are supposedly 7th cousins, 3x removed. The relationship follows the Howell/Pankey line:

I have looked carefully at Howell/Pankey line through Thomas A. Pankey, and I agree that Thomas’s father was likely Samuel Pankey. I have no knowledge of Stephen Pankey being Thomas Pankey’s father nor have I seen anything suggesting the Panetier surname. My wife’s relationship with Johnny Depp is possible.

 

Michelle Obama

Official Photo of Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama – 8th Cousin 2x Removed

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born in Chicago, IL, in 1964 and married Barack Obama in 1992. She campaigned for her husband in 2008 and became First Lady of the United States with his inauguration on January 20, 2009. Michelle and my wife are supposedly 8th cousins, 2x removed. The relationship follows the Darling line exclusively on my wife’s side.

This is the first “We’re Related” suggested famous person relationship wherein their suggestion of a common ancestor is an ancestor known to me and one with I agree. I have confirmed that Dennis Darling (1640-1717) had at least ten children. One was my wife’s ancestor Benjamin; one was Michelle’s supposed ancestor, John. Although I don’t have their names, I am fairly sure that John had at least 13 children, one of whom could easily have been Martha Darling. I suspect that the genealogical research for the famous people, like Michelle Obama, is pretty solid, so I’m am fairly confident that the relationship of Michelle Obama being my wife’s 8th cousin twice removed, is very probable.

Friends

“We’re Related” has not suggested any of our friends are related to my wife yet.

Relationships to Famous People

I have expanded my chart, Relationships to Famous People and have moved it to a Google Spreadsheet.

Conclusion

“We’re Related” is a fun little app to look at possibilities.  It pleases me to think that Michelle Obama and my wife are related. But more importantly, “We’re Related” helps me think about key relationships in my tree and has the potential of providing clues into further research. Ancestry has clearly improved its algorithms and appears to use feedback from researchers so that matches aren’t presented that are unlikely or impossible.

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Cambridge Elementary School – 1957

My Life
Those Places Thursday
By Don Taylor

I attended Cambridge Elementary School for about half of my second-grade school year.

1928 photo of the Cambridge State Hospital.

My mom worked at the Cambridge State Hospital in 1957. Photo c. 1928 courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

We moved to Cambridge during the summer of 1957. My mother had gotten a job at the Cambridge State Hospital. We lived several miles outside of town in a place almost ideal for a seven-year-old boy.  It was an old farmhouse, about a quarter of a mile off the road. There was fallow farmland surrounding the house and woods, with a creek, behind the house, maybe an eighth of a mile away. I would go down to the creek and play with the turtles and other critters I found there. We had an electric pump for water indoors, an eight-party telephone line where our ring was two longs, a short, and a long, and an outhouse. An old hand pump was still there for a backup, but we didn’t use it much. We did keep a jug of water to prime it just in case.  We had yellow-jackets in the attic; luckily, they didn’t seem to come into the house too much.

I didn’t have any friends to play with there.  I remember there were a couple of kids who lived in a farmhouse about a mile or so away. So, Cambridge was a place where I learned to play by myself. My mom went to work to bring home a paycheck, and my grandmother did the housekeeping.

Photo of Cambridge Elementary School

Cambridge Elementary School – Photo Credit: Cambridge Isanti Schools

After a summer of being mostly along, I was excited to meet other kids at Cambridge Elementary School. I remember walking a couple hundred feet to the farm parameter road then down to the school bus stop at the paved highway. The school was an old brick building.  I recall it had a huge school-yard for kids to play in.  While there, we were playing tag and some kid tagged me too hard; I fell, hitting my shoulder and breaking my collarbone. The collarbone didn’t heal properly and was growing wrong. As I recall, they said in another few weeks the bone would grow out of the skin. Anyway, a month or so after the initial break I went into the hospital, had the bone rebroken and then set surgically. I think I spent most of my time at Cambridge Elementary in a sling.

That fall, my grandmother, Donna, was sitting in the outhouse when a snake came crawling out from down below.  She freaked out totally.  The yellow-jackets in the attic were bad, but snakes in the outhouse were just too much (even if it was only a garter snake). My mother got a job at Anoka State Hospital, and we moved to Anoka. Thanks to a journal found in the Donna Darling Collection, I learned that we were definitely in Cambridge by June 1957, so I know we spent the entire summer of ’57 there. I also learned that the house rent was $35/month.

 

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