Christmas Memories

If you are ever in Chattanooga, Tn during the holidays stop in Rock City Gardens and enjoy the Christmas lights. This link will take you to their web site for a look at some of the lights. http://www.seerockcity.com/pages/Enchanted-Garden-of-Lights/ This is one of the things our family enjoys doing each year during the holidays. If you don't mind the crowds it is fun before Christmas. They have local Chorus groups there to sing, they have crafts and pictures with Santa.

Our family hates crowds so we enjoy Rock City after Christmas Day, we went last night. We like to continue the fun of the holidays after Christmas Day. I even enjoy watching a good Christmas movie after Christmas Day. There is more time to just enjoy! I still want to watch the Polar Express!

We leave our tree up until New Years, it's sad to me to take it down too soon.
Happy New Year to everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

There is a wonderful story that goes with this picture which I'll share later.

Tombstone Tuesday

This is the tombstone for my Great Great Grandfather Kimbal Edgemon and wife Kizziar Edgemon. They are buried at the Edgemon Cemetery in Ten Mile, Tn. At the foot of Kimbal's grave there was another stone marking the fact that he was in the Civil War.

They were the parents of my Great Grandmother Lettie Edgemon Wilson.

Like to Fish?

My Aunt Bonnie's husband, Charles loved to fish and looks like he was pretty good at it. At least on this day he was.

Wordless Wednesday

This is my Grandmother's sister and her husband, Lydia and Arnold Cantrell. They are standing in my Grandmother's yard. I really like this picture, it looks so peaceful. I think the tree they are standing next to is the apple tree I remember picking apples from as a kid.

Tombstone Tuesday Eugene Kelly

Eugene Douglas Kelly was my Dad's older brother. Eugene was born June 28,1920 and died March 22,1945. He is buried in the Luxembourg American (ABMC) Cemetery which is the same Cemetery where General George S. Patton is buried.
I found my Uncle's tombstone at Find a Grave I added a picture of the family that was taken the last time the whole family was together. Eugene was almost 25 years old when he was killed. Eugene never married. None of his nieces or nephews ever knew him. A life cut short but not forgotten.
I thought that the Army had got his name spelled wrong on his tombstone but a cousin and I found some papers with his hand writing where He spelled his name Kelly. Don't know why because all of the other family spelled it Kelley.

Polar Bear Frozen Custard Shop

Some pictures just deserve another look! I posted this Interesting Photo and Thomas left some information then after he did some research (Thanks so much) came back with a couple of links for me to check out. There was a Polar Bear Frozen Custard shop in Washington D.C. which it is possible this is where the picture was taken since my Grandmother had a brother who lived in D.C.

I did a little research and found to my surprise that there was a Polar Bear Frozen Custard Shop in Nashville, Tn which closed in the early 1940's. This site will give you some history of the Polar Bear Frozen Custard Shop in Nashville, Tn.

http://www.sitemason.com/files/hOVD7a/edgehill6_web.pdf

I found several pictures of the Polar Bears now at this next site.

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/outoftown/tennessee/nashville/polarbears/index.htm

I haven't found any pictures of the Polar Bear Frozen Custard shop in Nashville but one of the links Thomas left was a picture of the shop in Wichita,Kansas. This shop was a little different than the picture I have.

http://www.wichitaphotos.org/graphics/wschm_D2NE-101.1.1PolarBear.jpg

I don't know any of the men in the picture. I think it is fun to research these old pictures it gives you a glimpse into what the world was like when our parents and grandparents were young.

Washington D.C. Vacation

This is my Grandmother and her sister's son. I'm guessing that the sister, her husband and the son and his family went to Washington D.C. to visit my Grandmother's brother who lived in D.C. or maybe just the nephew and his family took my Grandmother to D.C.


I'm guessing this as the date is August 1957 before my time.


Look at the shoes my Grandmother is wearing. My feet would kill me if I walked around on vacation in heels!

The next two pictures are my Grandmother, with nephew, wife and daughter.

Interesting Photo

An interesting little photo in with the photos I received from my Aunt. I don't know who took this photo or where it was taken.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this?

Wordless Wednesday - Geraldine Brumley

Geraldine Brumley Sexton McHone Doyle died August 15,1985.

I'm not sure which husband this is.

Tombstone Tuesday

Geraldine Brumley Sexton was the half sister of my husband's grandfather George Paul Brumley. Geraldine was born November 19,1887 and died August 15,1985. Geraldine's grave is interesting she is buried next to her first husband, Edward M. Sexton. The first husband died in 1941 she remarried at some point to Wesley McHone.

Wesley McHone is on the other side of Geraldine with an interesting marker. Wesley McHone we learn from the marker worked as a flagman for Southern Railroad for 39 years. In the center of the marker is a picture of Wesley McHone and around the picture it says My Last Run.

At the bottom of the marker is says erected by beloved wife Geraldine. They are buried at the Hooker Cemetery in Hooker,Ga.


She was married a third time to Ed Doyle.There are several Doyle's buried at the Hooker Cemetery but we did not find Ed Doyle.

My Mistake!

Just in case someone really does read this blog, I just want to let everyone know I do know what day of the week it is. Tombstone Tuesday was to be posted tomorrow but I hit publish too soon and now we have Tombstone Tuesday on Monday!
Maybe the rest of the day will be better!

Treasure Chest Thursday - Concord, Mass

Sometimes the Treasure Chest is not one item but memories that we create as we go through life. When my husband and I first married we lived in Massachusetts. One thing we really enjoyed while there in Massachusetts was Volkswalks or Volksmarchs. My husband had spent several years in Germany before we married and was familiar with the walks from there. We went on one Volkswalk in Concord, Mass in October 1986, above are some pictures we took on the walk. We walked through Concord and got a wonderful tour of the area. We have pictures of the grave of Louisa M. Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson buried at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, you can read more at Find A Grave.

I hope that since VW is coming to Chattanooga they will start Volkswalks here.

Wordless Wednesday

This barn is seen from the Chattanooga Valley Cemetery. I really need to go get a picture with the leaves turning. Lookout Mountain is in the background. The Chattanooga Valley area is beautiful. The house my Dad grew up in is in Chattanooga Valley, it's on a hill and the view is unbelievable. You look across a field to a view of Lookout Mountain. I just took it for granted when I was a child and visited my Grandmother. How I wish I could just go out and spend the day there and enjoy the view.

Tombstone Tuesday Hiram and Nancy Kelley

Making Genealogy Fun - Christan Ziegler's Handkerchiefs

I have written about my Great Aunt Christan Ziegler before, she was my Grandfather Ziegler's sister. I many great memories of Aunt Christan and my Great Grandmother Ziegler coming for the holidays and for Sunday afternoon visits.

I have two scrapbook pages about Aunt Christan. I was able to use two of the handkerchiefs she got as gifts during her many years as a school teacher on the second page.

Treasure Chest Thursday

This is my first Treasure Chest Thursday and this is almost a treasure chest.
The trunk belonged to my Grandmother, I'm not sure how long she had it.
I can remember seeing the trunk in her house. I can also remember setting with
her going through the pictures. There were a few pictures in the trunk when I
got it.


The trunk has been painted and I'm not sure that I like the way it looks but I don't
want to do any damage to it by removing the paint.

Wordless Wednesday - Fall 2008

These pictures are from November 2008, they are from Raccoon Mountain which is just outside of Chattanooga, Tn. I can't wait for the leaves to change!

Tombstone Tuesday - Moses and Nancy Long

Tombstone and obituaries for my Great Great Grandparents Moses and Nancy Burke Long.

Tom Newby

I have two more pictures of Tom Newby (brother of my Great Grandfater, David Newby). The picture with the background has the photo studio name, H.A. McCallister 1819 Market St.

St. Louis, Mo. This adds even more questions to the story of Tom Newby, did he live in St. Louis at one time, or did he just stop and have his picture made while traveling through. I don't know where or when the other picture was made.

Making Genealogy Fun

This is a scrapbook page I did of my Grandmother (Mama Kelley), the quilt blocks are of a quilt she made. The quilt was made sometime in the early 1950's. I'm not sure when the picture of her was taken.

I love combining my love of Genealogy and scrapbooking by doing pages of ancestors. I'm sure there are MANY who could create a better page. My pages aren't that good but it is fun. We all need something fun we enjoy doing.

Another Umbrella Rock Picture

Another Umbrella Rock picture taken in the late 1940's. I think this is my Dad's cousin from Dayton, Ohio.

Wordless Wednesday - Ida's Baby

The back of this picture says Ida's Baby. My hope is that one of Ida's descendants will find these pictures and the little information I have will help them in their genealogy research! Or maybe they will have information on the Newby family to share with us.

Ida Thurman Davis

Working on Genealogy is some what like working a GIANT puzzle with missing pieces and maybe a few pieces that belong with another puzzle. Where do you start! You keep looking through the pieces over and over til something looks like it goes together. Lately my Genealogy research has been at the looking at pieces over and over stage. In June I received a True Treasure, Newby family pictures. I've been scanning them and studying them to figure out who they all are. Some have names and I know the names but other names I don't know, are they family or friends, still other pictures have no name at all.

I've been going back over old information my Aunt gave me years ago. She had a list of names with dates of death. I didn't know who they were and she told me (I'm glad I got to ask her this, she died in Jan. 07) they were her Grandfather Newby's brothers and sisters. Don't know where she got the information. There was no notation of where they lived when they died. I went back to Census records and websites I had looked at before.

Finally Monday morning with just a few minutes to work, things started to come together! One sister was Bettie Thurman and she died Sept. 25, 1906 since I didn't know anything about this sister I decided to start with the Obituary Database from the Chattanooga Library. Well there were quite a few Thurman names, I didn't find Bettie but just happened on a name that rang bells. Ida Thurman Davis, I've found pictures of a Davis family and another of two little girls named Nettie and Clara Davis and another of a baby which says Ida's baby on back. The Database also had her husband's name, Minor Davis.

My next step was to go to the Census records for 1910. BINGO! Minor and Ida and children Nettie and Clara Davis were living in Hamilton County, Tn. There was also a Stella Thurman, age 10, living with them. Stella would have only been 6 when her mother, Bettie Thurman, died.

The 1920 Census again shows the Davis family living in Hamilton County, Tn. children Nettie, Clara and Delores but no Stella. Taking a chance that Stella would still be single at 20 years old, I checked for Stella Thurman. Stella was living with Robert and Ethel Miller and Stella is a sister-in-law.

At this point I went backwards, to the 1900 Census and found a Bettie and John Thurman living in Polk County, Tn with children Ida, Ethel, Harry,Thomas and Stella.

I checked the Hamilton County Clerk Anytime Online Services for marriage records for Bettie and John Thurman and found that they married in Hamilton County Feb. 3, 1888. This information hopefully will help since this places the Newby family in Hamilton County or at least near in 1888. We are pretty sure that Bettie, Mattie, David and Tom's father died in 1889, we just don't know where.

I also found that Ida and Minor Davis married in Hamilton County, Tn Dec. 16, 1905 less that a year before her mother died. Ida would have been 15. Ida died in 1947. I plan to get the obituary for Ida Thurman Davis maybe there will be more information there.

Now I am wondering if the picture of Tom Newby with a lady and two girls could be Bettie Thurman and her two of her daughters. I've never found any record that Tom Newby ever married.
Still looking at the pieces!!

Family?

Last time there was the question did Tom Newby have a wife and children. I'm not sure. This does look like the same man in fact I believe it to be. If you zoom in on both pictures you will see that the man in both pictures is missing the first joint on his middle finger on the left hand. There are no names on the back. I have found no record of him having a wife and children only this picture.

Leaving Denver

Leaving Denver!

I believe the lady on the left to be Mattie Newby Burdick, Tom Newby (her brother). They are the brother and sister of my Great Grandfater David Newby. I don't know who the other lady is. Wife?? On his death certificate he is listed as single and on the Census he is single. Did he have a wife and children?

Wordless Wednesday - from Montana

Picture post card from Thomas Newby in Roundup, Montana to his mother in Georgia.

Davis Family??

The back of this picture says Nettie Davis and Clara Davis.

The two oldest girls in this picture could be the two little Davis girls in the above picture. Or at least I think they look similar and they have the same last name.

The back of the Davis family picture says Mr. and Mrs. Davis and family and in the address area it says Mrs. l.a. Newby. I know that my Great Great Grandmother was Lydia A. Newby. If only I knew who the Davis family was.

Now if only I can figure out if this family was related to the Newby family or just friends.