Happy New Year – 2015

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Don Taylor

Happy New Year!  

I hope your holidays have been a lovely and joyous as mine and that your New Year be safe and prosperous. In ending my 2014 year I thought I’d update everyone on what I anticipate for the new year. The big news for the new year is my new domain.

DTAYLORGENEALOGY.COM


I’ve decided to add a more professional look to my
genealogical efforts.  To help that look,
I have gotten an internet domain name: 
dtaylorgenealogy.com

The first thing you may notice is that when you go to this
blog via a bookmark, or direct entry, to dtaylorgenealogy.blogspot.com you will
find that you are directed to blog.dtaylorgenealogy.com.  I am still using Blogspot to host my blog but
have made an entry in my domain to direct blog.dtaylorgenealogy.com to the
Blogspot site.
I also added a Google Sites website for “D Taylor Genealogy”
and have directed www.dtaylorgenealogy.com
to the Google site. It is still under construction but I plan to use it as a
location to show the kinds of things that I can and will provide as
genealogical services.

Next, I created an email account through Go Daddy.  I am still having trouble with it.  I am receiving email through them okay but
can’t seem to send email from Apple Mail or Outlook. I can send from the web
interface fine though.  I’ll see if I can
fix it soon.  In any event, you can send
mail to me via “don (at) dtaylorgenealogy.com” and I’ll receive it.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES


Over the past few weeks I’ve received a lot of things to
work on.  On the Brown/Montran
Research I’ve received a letter and some eMail’s from my Uncle Russ that will
help put some additional information regarding my great grandmother, Ida Mae
Barber, and her husband Harvey Knight.  I
also received over 800 photos of various relatives from a cousin.  It will take some time for me to categorize
those photos and incorporate them into my research.

On my Madonna Montran
research, I have dozens of additional bookings that I know of and will continue
bi-monthly posts regarding her vaudeville life.

Joyner Library
Clock Tower – Joyner Library
East Carolina University
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons 

On the Howell/Hobbs
research, I recently received a book through inter-library loan from the J. Y. Joyner Library about Martin County History. It is a two
volume set and has dozens of references in it regarding the Howells including
the Armstrong, Bryan, Hobbs, Howell, Johnson, Long, and Price families that
lived in Martin County.  I’m looking
forward to researching them. I am so grateful for the interlibrary loan system.


On the Darling/Huber
research I have several areas of research that I’m going to pursue.

Finally, on the DNA research front,
I’ve encountered another person for whom I have a DNA match on my paternal
side.  Unfortunately this individual only
has the surnames for 9 of his 16 2nd great grandparents named and
only 10 of his 32 3rd great grandparents.  Family Tree DNA is suggesting that he and I are
related as 2-4th cousins so we are likely to need to go back to the
3rd greats to find a common ancestor. We will see.

PROJECTS

One minor project I’m doing is posting poetry written by my grandfather, Dick Brown, to my facebook wall. I typically find an appropriate graphic to accompany it and post it as public.

On my projects for friends, I have six different ones.  I use these
projects to help hone my skills by exploring other people’s family histories.  I try to give each of these projects a day’s
work every 6 to 8 weeks. The projects I am working on include
the following:

Adair,  Burlison,  Kirks*,  Pettus,  Rode,  and Smith.
I will be replacing my “Web Pages” tab on the blog with a
page that speaks about these projects and moving “Web Pages” to the www site. 

PRESENTATIONS

I have recently updated my “Getting to Know You”
presentation.  I don’t currently have a
good way to display the presentation.  The last time I gave the presentation, I
copied it to a thumb drive, and connected the thumb drive to someone else’s
computer that was connected to a large screen TV.  It worked fine for the venue I was at, but probably
won’t work well elsewhere.  I will
probably need to get a projector and a way to connect it to my iPad to better show
it to groups.

Also, I’ve been thinking
about putting together a networking presentation that describes how to use social
networking to improve your genealogical research.  I have a lot of the material and many ideas about
how to approach it.  I just need to put the
presentation together.  I know I can get
some offers to present that type of material.

* Note: I am a contributor for the Kirks tree, not the owner/manager
of that tree.
————Disclaimer ————-

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100 Years Ago – Ida Mae Barber Knight – (1873-1953)

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Don Taylor

23 December 1914 – Ida Mae Barber Knight

Ida Mae Barber Knight

One hundred years ago Ida Mae Barber (Montran) (Fisher) (Holdsworth) Knight was living with her husband, Harvey Watson Knight, in their new home on Lawndale Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. At the time it was 628 Lawndale[1]. In 1923, Ida’s daughter Madonna (Donna), registered a song “Beautiful Mother of Mine” and indicted her home address as 1456 Lawndale. At first I thought this was very confusing, that Harvey and Ida would move eight blocks away on the same street. Then, when I looked at their neighbors, I saw that many of the neighbors also moved the eight blocks with them[2]. That made me realize that the street was renumbered sometime between Feb 1920 (Census Date which said 628 Lawndale) and Feb 1923 (Donna’s song registration which said 1456 Lawndale.)

The Knight household in 1914 consisted of Ida and her husband Harvey. Ida’s daughter from a previous marriage(?), Madonna (aka Donna), was in California working in the movies and working as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty. Ida’s father, Franklin, had died previously. Harvey’s parents are believed to still be in Chatham, Kent, Ontario, Canada. (There is no evidence that I have found that puts them anywhere else.) Ida’s Mother, Sarah H Blackhurst (Barber) had been living at 1419 Clay Avenue in 1910 with Ida, Madonna, and “Boarder” Harvey Knight. According to the 1920 Census, Sarah was living in Manhattan with Madonna who was on the road in a Vaudeville act. So in 1914, it is possible that Sarah was living eight miles away from Ida on Clay Ave or possibly living with Ida and Harvey on Lawndale. Ida’s sister, Eva Louisa Barber Goff, was probably living with her husband and daughter, about three and a half miles away on 15th Street.

Harvey Watson Knight’s
WWI Draft Registration
Thanks to Ancestry.Com and the
National Archives and Records Administration.

It doesn’t appear that the 40-year-old Ida worked outside of the home and is presumed to have been a housewife. Her husband, Harvey, was an engineer. In 1914 he probably worked for Ireland Matthews at Beard & Chatfield Aves., which is about 1 mile away. (He was working there in 1917 for certain – See WWI Draft Registration.) Today, that site is the location of the Roberto Clemente Academy a Pre-K to 5th grade which was built in 2001[3].

Of course the international news of the day was about the war in Europe. On this date, 23 December 1914, was the beginning of the now famous “Christmas Truce.” A German soldier, Karl Aldag, reported that both sides had been heard singing hymns in the trenches. German troops coming into the lines bring Christmas trees. Some men begin to place them on the parapets of the fire trenches. Local truce on the front of 23rd Brigade.[4]

Nationally, the country was still talking about the Boston Braves. A newspaper article in the New York Tribune on December 20th described how mid-season trades made by Boston Braves manager George Stallings helped the team move from last place to first place. According to Wikipedia, the 1914 Braves are the only team to have been in last place on the 4th of July and go on to win the pennant. The Braves continued on to be the first team to sweep the modern World Series. In 1953 the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee.

Detroit Front.jpg
“Detroit Front” by W. G. MacFarlane – Postcard.
W.G. MacFarlane, Publisher, Buffalo, N.Y. Toronto.
Scanned Postcard, dated 1914.
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The Detroit Tigers finished 4th in the American League in 1914; however, their famous outfielder, Tyrus Raymond “Ty” Cobb, took the batting title with a .368 season. Movie goers were anticipating the release of Mary Pickford’s “Cinderella” The Campus Martius Park was opened. See Photo on right.

Also in 1914 Detroit the “inter urban” cars of the Detroit, Almont, Northern R. R., which linked Detroit with Almont, about 50 miles to the north began service.

First interurban cars on the Detroit, Almont and Northern Railroad, Almont, Michigan, July 1, 1914..jpg

Endnotes
[1] 1920 Census, Ancestry.com, 1920; Detroit Ward 20, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T625_812; Page: 19B; Enumeration
District: 613; Image:. Harvey Knight

[2] 1930
Census, Ancestry.com, Year: 1930; Census Place:
Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: 1061; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0716;
Image: 77.0; FHL microfilm: 2340796.
[3] See
it to believe it Detroit Public Schools https://detroitk12.org/schools/clemente/
.
[4] “The
Christmas Truce of 1914” – https://www.1914-1918.net/truce.htm

————Disclaimer ————-

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Y-DNA Projects – 16 December 2014

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Don Taylor

Where I am at with my Y-DNA Projects, 16 December 2014

My Wife’s Y-DNA – Ancestry
My wife’s brother tested his Y-DNA with Ancestry.Com. Because they have quit supporting Y-DNA and because I haven’t done a transfer of the Ancestry results to Family Tree DNA, there are no new results. I’ve thought about transferring his results to Family Tree DNA however, it costs $58.00 and I’m feeling broke this month. Maybe next year. Also, I’m disillusioned by my Y-DNA results (see below), so maybe not next year either. We’ll see.

Family Tree DNA 

Join the Genealogy Revolution.
Search for your surname in the largest DNA database of its kind!

My Surname

Begins with
Equals
Contains
Ends with
Sounds like
My closest hit to my DNA (89% likelihood a common ancestor in 8 generations) still hasn’t answered. So, I emailed him again last month. Still no answer. No new matches either. Sigh….

My Friend T-Roy
I’ve been helping a friend, T-Roy, with his genealogy. In particular, his paternal side is lost. We know precious little regarding his grandfather and nothing before that. Because of the many disappointments I have had with Y-DNA testing, I am reluctant to recommend that path any longer. Maybe an atDNA test will provide results. There is such a large base if atDNA test subjects.

Conclusion
I’ve decided to break my blogs regarding DNA testing into two groups threads. This one regarding Y-DNA and another thread regarding atDNA. That way I can track and report statuses on each of the project areas better.

————Disclaimer ————-

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Donna in Eau Claire, WI, at the Grand Theater – Feb 12, 1920

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Don Taylor

I didn’t know that Donna and the “Chin Chin” company were in Minneapolis on February 1st until I read the newspapers announcing “Chin Chin” was coming to the Grand Theatre. That bit of information will provide keys to finding further newspaper articles.

“Chin Chin” ad
Feb 1, 1920
Eau Claire Leader via
Newspapers.com
Advertising for “Chin Chin” began unusually early for the Eau Claire showing on Feb 1st. I found it unusual that the initial ad for the show specifically featured Roy Binder and not his co-star Walter Wills. On another page of the Feb 1st paper, there was a photo of the two that duo with a caption stating that “the company is now playing in Minneapolis to crowded houses.” Unfortunately the photo is particularly blotchy.

There was another of those unusual ads on February 4th that featured Roy Binder, and not Walter Wills. Finally, on February 5th a regular ad shows in “Eau Claire Reader.” Those ads continued on the 6th and 7th. Also on the 7th ran a nice little article which stated:

“CHIN CHIN” HERE 12TH.

“Chin Chin” has a name of magic – Music that is sorcery – bears and little furry things that open their mouths amazingly, and wave their ears when you aren’t expecting it; coolies, little nifty Chinese maids, mandarins, tiny children, clowns and bareback riders (with the really, truly, big white circus horse ambling gently and flatly around the ring), toys that wigwag their little arms, a great stir of fun, a dainty little maid, a Japanese doll woman, and Aladdin – the figure looms high in all child’s minds, be they three or thirty – and Chin Hop Lo, with his partner in mischief, Chin Hop Hi, the slaves of the lamp. All this and so much more that no one could ever tell you about.

The Eau Claire Leader has another article which ran on the 8th. This advertising article includes a photo of two of the cast members either dancing or in some kind of embrace. I can’t tell from the blotchy scan if it is Donna in the photo or not. I think it is, but I can’t tell for sure. There were only four women in the show that were ever highlighted so the photo certainly has a one in four chance of being Donna. The same photo ran again on the 12th, this time the image available is somewhat better. As I look at the photo more and more I think it is probably Irene McKay and not Donna. Hopefully, we will find a clearer version of this photo somewhere.

Finally, in the February 11th paper we learn why the focus on Roy Binder. That article headlines with:

MAIN INTEREST LOCALLY IN “CHIN CHIN” IS BINDER
Eau Claire Boy and Walter Wills Constitute Principal Feature of Musical Comedy.

It looks like the show was a hit. A post show review says, “Donna Montran, stately goddess of the lamp, carried off honors for her singing, particularly of ‘Violet.’”

In another post show article where is mention that the Kiwanis were expecting the Tom Brown Saxophone Sextette to play at their meeting but the band couldn’t because much of the “Chin Chin” company had to go to Chippewa Falls to find hotel lodging. The show played at Janesville the next night, so having some of the company needing to stay in Chippewa Falls must have been due to inadequate facilities in Eau Claire.

The Grand Opera House

Grand Opera House, Eau Claire, WI
Photo Courtesy: Eau Claire 

The Grand Opera House was once the cultural center of Eau Claire. In the early 1870’s, a woefully inadequate, even by 1870 standards, Music Hall was built. In the early 1880’s the editor of the “Free Press” newspaper ran a series of articles and editorials promoting the building of an Opera House. In 1883, the Grand Opera House was built on Barstow, between Main and River (today Graham) Streets.

In 1897 the Grand Opera House hosted its first motion picture, casting its “magic shadows upon a sheet.”

The Julius Cahn Report for 1913-1914 states that the Grand Opera House had a 32 x 32 foot stage and a capacity of just over 1200, 508 on the floor, 382 in the balcony, 300 in the gallery and 12 boxes.

After World War I, the theatre began a slow decline. “Chin Chin” played in 1920 early in the theatre’s decline. In 1923, the theatre “closed for the summer;” by 1930 it was closed for good. The building was demolished in 1938.

A number of sources indicate that the old Opera House was haunted and the hauntings have continued on in the replacement building. According to Haunted Places, the “old Opera House site is home to a spirit who moves chairs and closes doors.“

According to Haunted Chippewa Valley[i], says the building that replaced it still says Opera House on the outside and in the front there is a plaque with a picture and information about the former site and theatre.

Further Research

Visit the site of the Grand Opera House and get a photo of the plaque and information about the theatre.
Find information regarding “Chin Chin” playing in Minneapolis.

Endnotes


[i] Bell, Devon. 2013. Haunted Chippewa
Valley.

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My First “Job” – Trapper

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Don Taylor

I was recently catching up on some videos I have long wanted
to watch.  One of them was the Friday Keynote speech as
the 2014 Roots Tech conference.  In the speech, Judy G. Russell, JD, CGSM , CGLSM ,
spoke about many of the day-to-day things that we don’t know about our
ancestors. She reminded us that unless our ancestors proactively left stories about their lives, any such information is lost in three
generations.  She also reminded us that
our stories will be important for our great-grand children and later
generations and that those stories will be lost unless we pass them on, in an
intentional and accurate way, to future generations. A day or two later I was speaking with my
wife and told her a story of my youth that I hadn’t told her before and
probably haven’t thought of in decades. 
I then realized it was the kind of story that future generations might
like to know about.  It is a story that
I’m certain neither of my sons know about, let alone my grandchildren or my
great-grandchildren.

Fridley House abt 1958
From personal photo archives.
When I was nine or ten years old, we lived in Fridley,
Minnesota, in a tiny little house on Northeast 2nd Street. The house
was a 480 square foot, one bedroom house that still stands today. It did have a
large closet in the bedroom. That closet acted as my bedroom. There was just enough space for a single bed and a small dresser.  The actual bedroom is where my mom and
grandmother slept.  I had to walk through
it to get to my “bedroom.”

My mom was a “single mom” and the sole support for
herself, my grandmother, and me. Needless to say, a woman working in 1959-60
America didn’t earn much. We certainly
had enough food, were warm in the winter, and the times were good, but there
just wasn’t much money.  Certainly, not
enough for me to have an allowance or a way to buy Christmas presents or
birthday gifts for either of them.

Gopher Mounds
Photo Courtesy: Minnesota
Wild Animal Management

Across the street from us was an empty lot, beyond that was
Main Street.  As a developing suburb,
Fridley had a problem with gophers.  Although Minnesota is nicknamed the “Gopher
State,” gophers are not particularly loved and are destructive
varmints. It is the mounds that pocket gophers create that are the biggest
problem.  They are typically much larger
than molehills and destroy lawns.  Also,
in fields where cutting machines try to manage growth, which was done in
Fridley to reduce fire threats, the cutters would hit mounds and be damaged or
at least dulled. As such, the City of
Fridley put a bounty on gophers.  Bring
the right hind foot of a gopher to City Hall, about a mile away, and they would
pay 15 cents per foot.

In those days there was nothing build west of Main Street
all the way to the railroad tracks. The area was several blocks wide and many
blocks long of nothing but scrub grasses and sand burrs, which we called “Fridley Strawberries.” To earn money I took up trapping gophers. At first, I
trapped across the street and a few neighbor’s yards and just a few traps. Then I expanded to the
large field across Main Street and used my earnings to purchase more and more traps. To trap a pocket gopher, first you find a fresh mound. Then use a probe to find
the tunnel near that fresh mound and dig out the area to access those tunnels; there
are two tunnels at each mound.  Then, you place
the traps into the tunnels one in each each direction so that when the gopher crosses
over the trap and presses the pressure plate when they come along that tunnel. Stake the
trap so it won’t move if you get a poor hit or if a dog or raccoon tries to take away your catch.  Cover the mound back so it
is dark again. Come back the next day, or
two at the most, and pull out the dead critter. Sometimes, you’d even get two, one in each
trap in each of the tunnels.
Gopher Trap
Courtesy: Garden
Web Forum

At my peak of trapping I had about 35 traps and during the
summer I spent many hours tending my them, gathering the feet, and about once
a week going to City Hall to collect my bounty. 

One summer the man who counted gopher feet and paid the
bounty went on vacation.  While he was gone,
a woman was supposed to count the feet and pay the bounty.  I don’t think she like being tasked with the
job and apparently she didn’t know the right hind foot from the left front foot.
One of the other kid trappers figured out that she didn’t know the difference
and would pay for each foot brought to her. So instead of getting 15 cents per
gopher, you could get 60 cent’s per gopher. 
It didn’t take long for all the kids trapping to learn of it. Kids were
stealing other kids traps, raiding traps for the bounty and doing all kinds of
things to exploit the poor woman’s lack of knowledge.  Today, I feel guilty about exploiting her and the
bounty system.  I know it was wrong, but
at the time, I felt everyone was doing it so it was okay.  I know better now.
In relating this story to my wife, I recognized that
trapping gophers was the first work I did where someone other than a family
member paid me. It dawned on me that is the definition of a job and
I then realized trapping was my first job.
The following year, I got my first (of many) paper route and
gave up trapping. 
We lived in the Fridley house longer than anywhere else when
I was growing up – about 2-1/2 years. 
All of third grade, all of fourth grade, and about half of fifth grade.
The next house we lived in was in Spring Lake Park. Another one bedroom. My
bedroom was an unheated “breezeway” but that is another story….

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