Tuesday's Tip - Internet Archive - Digital Library

One of my favorite resources for genealogical research is old county history books.  I have been amazed at the amount of personal family history I have discovered in books written in the early 1900's about Ohio and Illinois. My ancestors were early settlers in both states and to my delight I have found entire biographical paragraphs written about my relatives. The Internet Archive Digital Library is a valuable site for anyone who is looking for these types of history books and the fact that there is no charge for it's use makes it even better!    I have had to rely a great deal on the resources that are available to me online, so I am always thankful to discover new websites like this one. 

Another site you might wish to check out if you are interested in Army records is The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center.  You can search for Army information, watch videos and more.

Let me know if you make any new discoveries!

Military Monday - NCR Norris Men in the Service

The above article appeared in the monthly magazine that was published by The National Cash Register Company in Dayton.  It states:  "World Wars I and II - Top picture shows L.V. Norris, of Polishing-Plating Department, as a Corporal in World War I.  Above left: Pfc. Edgar M. Norris, son of L.V. Norris, enlisted in the Air Force in February, 1944 and is now a gunnery instructor of B-29's at Clovis, N.M. Right: Corp. Donald L. Norris, another son, is somewhere in Germany with a medical detachment.  He has been overseas since September, 1944 and has seen many of the father's old camping grounds.  The boys are brothers of Jeanne Norris, Telephone Exchange."

I have written previously about NCR and it's importance to my family and to my hometown.  Each month NCR distributed a magazine that detailed not only the business news, but also information about the employees and their families. I am lucky enough to have several of those books and newsletters in my collection.   I have always loved this particular article, which discusses my grandfather, two of my uncles, and my aunt who all worked at NCR along with both of my parents.  

Sentimental Sunday - Grandma at the Grocery Store

Today I was searching through my family history folders when I spied this photograph of my grandmother, Imogene Huffman Shoemaker.   She is pictured standing in the produce department of the little grocery store in Sabina, Ohio where she worked.   She was only 43 years old when my grandfather passed away suddenly of a heart attack and was overnight a single mother without an income.   I remember being told that her parents wanted her to move in with them so they could take care of her and my aunt, who at that time was just a little girl.  My father was just out of high school and soon would be married and entering the service.  My grandma was determined that she would take care of herself so she declined my great grandparents offer of a home and she got herself a job working in the grocery store.  By the time I was born, she had been employed there for many years and  I can well remember driving to Sabina on a couple of occasions when she would still be at work and we would stop in and surprise her.  At Easter, she would sometimes bring me decorations that had been hanging up in the store and she never failed to bring my brothers and me a chocolate bunny or fruit cream eggs as a special surprise.   So, today, I am feeling a little sentimental about this photograph and the memory makes me so proud of all my grandparents and very grateful for the legacy of integrity and determination they gave me.

Shopping Saturday - May, 1940

It's May 10, 1940.  The minimum wage is .30 per hour and the average yearly salary is $1900.00

Winston Churchill has just succeeded Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister of the UK,  Adolph Hitler has just announced the beginning of a fight that would "decide the fate of the German nation for the next 1000 years", James M.Cox, publisher of the Dayton Daily News is visiting his friend and former running mate, Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House.  It also happens to be only 2 days before Mother's Day and you still have to purchase a gift for your mom.  Opening the Dayton Daily News, looking beyond the frightening stories of the war in Europe, you find numerous advertisements for the merchants in the Dayton area.  At Elder's Bargain Basement (one of the stores that will become the Elder-Beerman Department Store) you can buy spring coats for $8.00 and sheer print dresses for only $3.99.  A chenille bedspread is selling for $2.98, while at the Finke Furniture Company on East Fifth St. a complete 11 piece bedroom can be purchased for $59. with $2.50 down and $1.00 a week.

If you want to update your kitchen with a gas range that has "completely everything" you can drive down Fifth Street to the Home Equipment Co. and buy this one for $69.95 with no down payment and $1.00 per week.  So many choices! What do you think she will want?

As I carefully turned the pages of the newspaper for May 10, 1940, I found it interesting to note that the advertisers on the sports page included not only quite a few men's clothing stores but also numerous liquor distillers like the Bardstown Distillery and Rittenhouse Bourbon, while on the society pages furriers and soap companies, like Palmolive ruled the space. 

As much as I love reading the news articles in these old papers, I almost enjoy looking at the advertisements even more.   The Rike-Kumler Company (now Macy's), Thal's, The Metropolitan, Zapoleon, Inc,  Muir's Cut Rate Drugs, and so many more are  now long gone but are a part of our city's rich history.  I try to buy these old newspaper whenever I find one that is affordable. What a wonderful way to see "the way it was" and the products from which our ancestors had to choose!

Family Recipe Friday - Mom's Sloppy Joe's

For today's Family Recipe Friday post, I am sharing my mom's recipes for Sloppy Joes.  I will always remember my mom cooking supper in the kitchen, waiting for the hour when my dad would walk through the door.  I was lucky enough to grow up in a house where we were able to sit down at the dinner table together just about every night.  To this day, whenever my brothers and I need some comfort food these sloppy joes are what we ask for!

*Please note: June Cleaver had nothing on my mom! She always looked this great when she was cooking dinner!

Mom's Sloppy Joes

2 lbs. Hamburger

2 cans Chicken Gumbo Soup

Onion

2 T.  Catsup

1 T. Mustard

1. Brown Hamburger

2. Add soup, onion, catsup, mustard, and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Family Recipe Friday - Cherry Delight

For my first Family Recipe Friday I am sharing the recipe for "Cherry Delight".  This is a treat that my Aunt Joyce made for us on Christmas and Thanksgiving when I was growing up and it makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  Not only is it delicious, but it looks elegant as well.

Cherry Delight
1 1/2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 Stick of Butter
1 8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 c. plus 2 T. Confectionary Sugar
1 Box Dream Whip
1 Can Cherry Pie Filling

Pour melted butter over crumbs.
Line pan with crumbs
Whip Dream Whip, then add cream cheese and sugar and beat until smooth.  Spread this mixture over the crumbs.  Top with Cherries.

                           My Aunt Joyce in a photograph from a newspaper article about her
                           favorite recipes.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Elizabeth Taylor

Today we lost a Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor.  When I was growing up, it was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who graced the covers of the Hollywood fan magazines. While I am too young to actually remember the Debbie (Reynolds)/Eddie (Fisher)/ Elizabeth triangle, I have vivid memories of Elizabeth and Richard Burton's relationship and subsequent marriages and divorces.  As a child, I wasn't aware of her early career as a child star or even what a great actress she was, but to me she seemed larger than life. Her life seemed to be filled with the greatest of great joys and the deepest of sorrows. There was no even ground in her world.  She wasn't exactly a role model for me since I certainly didn't want to be a many times married woman, but I did envy her talent,  elegance and her loyalty to her friends.  She worked tirelessly for her charities, especially those associated with the care of victims of AIDS, the disease that had taken so many of those she loved.  Whether you liked her or loathed her, she was a lady you simply had to watch and I can hardly imagine a world without her.

 So, today in honor of Elizabeth Taylor,  for Treasure Chest Thursday, I am sharing two items that are very special to me..  The first is the photograph above, which  is a reprint of a vintage fan magazine portrait of Elizabeth.  Several years ago, I mailed this photograph to Elizabeth and asked if she would be willing to sign it to me.  As you can see, she most graciously (and to my great surprise) did so.   The next item is the doll which recreates Elizabeth in her wedding gown from the film Father of the Bride".  It is an accurate depiction of Elizabeth, even down to her "lavender-colored" eyes. 

Thanks to her hundreds of on-screen performances, Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky will never be forgotten, but I am awfully glad that I was here when it was really happening.

Miss Taylor, you will be missed.

One Lovely Blog Award

I was honored to be presented the One Lovely Blog Award by both Betty Huber Tartas of Betty's Boneyard Genealogy Blog and Tammy of Genealogy Simple and Fun.  Along with the award comes the following responsibilities:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and    their blog link.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I have chosen the following 15 blogs: I enjoy all of these!
Ancesters Gotta Eat

Ancesters Within

Where I Come From

Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog

The Wandering Vine

Stardust 'n' Roots

Wandering Shades

The Sum of All My Research

The Hunt for Henrietta

Stone Gardens

Reflections from the Fence

Random Relatives

Past Voices - Letters Home

Of Trolls and Lemons

My genealogy blog

My Family Research Adventures

Thriller Thursday - The Tragic Story of Grace Emert

Just when I thought I had uncovered all of the family events that could shock me, I stumbled upon the death of my second cousin, once removed, Grace Emert. 

One evening this week, I discovered that while I had done quite a bit of research on my great great grandfather, Henry Mathias Routsong, I had neglected to look into the life of his sister, Catharine Routsong Emert.  Knowing from the book, "From Rauenzahner to Routson, A Family on the Move" and from United States Census records, that Catharine and her family had lived here in Montgomery County,  I decided to go to Familysearch.org to run a search on Ohio Death Certificates. I have found that death certificates can provide a wealth of family information and it was from that database that I discovered Catharine's date of death in Miamisburg, Ohio on 26 June, 1919.  I also discovered death records belonging to many of her family members, including her son, David Edward Emert, his wife, Charlotte,  and their daughter, Grace.   Like most people with limited time, I was locating documents and hitting "print" over and over without much regard to exactly what appeared on the paper, thinking that I would go through later and enter the information into my family tree.  That is, until I read the vital statistics on the death of Grace Emert.

Upon reading the opening information, I discovered that she was only 34 at the time of her death. Surprised by that fact, my eyes quickly moved over to the column containing the cause of death and I was stunned by what I read. "Compound skull fracture" came first.  My thoughts were that maybe it was some kind of accident until I read the next line.  "Severed jugular vein and carotid artery" was written next.  I think I had to read it several times before it sunk in.  I may have actually actually said "What?" out loud.  Farther down on the certificate, next to the question "Accident, suicide, or homicide?"  was written, "Homicide  1/6/1936". 
The document then listed that she was killed in her home. 
The information only got worse as  the final shock came on one of the last lines of the column where is stated she was "beat and cut by her brother."   Her brother?  How could that happen and who was her brother? 

At that time, I didn't have any of the names of her family members other than those of her parents. I went back to my original search of certificates to locate any other "Emerts" who may have had Edward Emert and Charlotte Myers listed as parents.  It didn't take very long to find "Raymond ".   Although there was no death certificate available to view, there was information about his date of death, which was 6 January, 1936, the same day as his murdered sister.  That was too much of a coincidence not to have been a piece of this tragic puzzle. Could it have been a murder/suicide and what could inspire that kind of rage? I had to find more information.

I started with a quick email to the librarian here at the Dayton Montgomery Public Library.  I requested any information she might be able to find in the Dayton Daily News on 7 January, 1936 regarding the crime.  Since I am impatient and I haven't received any response from her yet, I decided to head back to Ancestry.com for a short term membership again so I could access newspaper records from other cities in and around Ohio.  Within 5 minutes of searching, I had my answers and they were not only shocking, but very sad.

The first article I found appeared in the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal on 7 January, 1936.  The headline read "Woman Found Dead on Farm"; "Throat Slashed, Head Battered, Brother's Body Sought".   The short story went on to describe how Grace's battered body had been found in the living room of her own home.  The neighbors had been attracted to the farm when they saw the barn in flames.  The article went on to say that Grace had lived in the home with her brother, Raymond, who was 29 years old.  The sheriff stated that the ashes of the barn would be "sifted".   After reading this article, it seemed as though I was on the right track regarding the murder/suicide, but it still didn't explain why her own brother would kill her.

The second article I located told me a little more.  On the same date in the New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, the headline read "Woman and Man Found Dead on Farm in Ohio"; "Woman slashed to death, Brother of Victim Burned to Death"; "Murder-Suicide is Theory Given".  This article went on to explain that the charred body of Raymond Emert had been found in the still smouldering barn.  He had hanged himself from a rafter in the barn, after killing his dog and setting the blaze.  The story gave more specific details regarding Grace's death, explaining that her head injuries were caused by a "heavy file" and her neck wounds were created with a razor.  The final paragraph expressed the theory of Coroner H.W. Harris that Raymond had "suddenly become demented" and had killed his sister and then committed suicide.  A third article which appeared in the Hamilton (Ohio) Daily News Journal also on 7 January, 1936  restated the above information, but also added that when Grace was found her clothes were torn and the room where her body was found was in disorder.  The story concludes with a statement from the coroner that Raymond had been "weak minded" and "had acted strangely for several days." 

A subsequent article in the same newspaper stated that Raymond had locked all the doors to the house and had used gasoline to ignite the fire in the barn.  

Could Raymond have been a victim of some type of mental illness?  The coroner's statement that he was "weak minded" and "had acted strangely" seems to lead in that direction, but it's obviously something that we will never know.  According to the 1930 United States Census, Grace and Raymond were living with their parents, Edward and Charlotte, on the farm on Benner Road in Miamisburg, Ohio.   Grace was 27 years of age, Raymond  was 25 and their sisters Dorothy and Florence were 18 and 11 years old respectively.   Interestingly enough, even though both Grace and Raymond were well into their adult years, neither one is married and although Raymond is listed as being a "farm-hand", Grace is not listed as having a profession.

So far, this is the only other documentation I have found on the lives of these siblings.  We may never know what caused Raymond to slip into the madness that caused him to take the life of his sister and to end his own, but at least now I know the story behind the lines on her death certificate.

My next planned step is to visit and photograph Grace's final resting place at Hillgrove Cemetery in Miamisburg and to pay my respects to my second cousin, once removed; The woman  I didn't know existed until the night I decided to do "just a little research."

Black Sheep Sunday - The Hanging of Felix Munshower

When I began my journey through my family history about 7 years ago, the only thing I knew about my great great grandmother Norris was written in the family Bible.  "Alice Norris died in 1888".  For a long time, I didn't know anything more.  Since I had so many other names to work with in different branches of my family tree, the Norris side languished for a while until I finally "buckled down" and got my "Google" on!

Starting with census records, (always a great place to start!) I found my great grandfather, Harry,  living with his family in Frederick County, Maryland.  It was here that I discovered not only his sister, Effa, but also his brother, Vincent, about whom I have written previously.  I then began to do some newspaper searching.  Luckily for me there are many Frederick County, Maryland newspapers available on various genealogical websites.  On one of these sites, I found Effa's obituary and for the first time I discovered my great great grandmother's maiden name, "Munshower".  But, finding which Munshower family Alice belonged to was more of a challenge.  Seeking the help of the Emmitsburg Historical Society, we determined that she was most probably Sarah Alice Munshower, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Munshower of Emmitsburg.

Once again, the search was on, only this time the results I discovered included a murder and a family tragedy.

According to the 1870 United States Census, Jacob and Elizabeth "Munshour" were living in Emmitsburg, Maryland with their 6 children.  Alice was 12, her younger brother, Felix was 10.  But, ten years later, in 1880, I found Felix is listed as a "prisoner" in the Frederick County jail.

This required further research.

Now I was searching on the name "Felix Munshower" specifically and I discovered a wealth of information about his crime. According to all accounts, he had murdered his own cousin, James Wetzel, apparently only for his money.  The best account of the murder came from the Emmitsburg Historical Society and was written by Michael Hillman. In his story, Michael tells of how the murder occured on 5 August, 1879 when Felix followed his cousin into the woods, shot him in the back of the head, stole his money purse, and buried his body in the woods. The investigation into the murder eventually led the sheriff to examine bootprints found in the woods next to the body and the heels of Felix' boots were a perfect match.  After his first trial ended in a mistrial because some of the jurors left deliberation to get haircuts, Felix was declared guilty of murder at 11:10 am on Wednesday, 28 January, 1880.  On 4 January, 1881, it was announced by the judge, "The sentence of the court is that you be taken in charge by the sheriff of Frederick County, and conveyed to the jail of Frederick County until such time as the Governer of Maryland shall appoint for your execution, and there and then be hanged by your neck until you are dead, and may God have mercy on your soul."

There were several appeals and delays of the sentencing, but on November 11, 1881, Felix Munshower was hanged for the murder of James Wetzel.

Tragically, on 16 January, 1881, Elizabeth Munshower, the mother of Felix and my 3rd great grandmother, died after suffering a heart attack at the home of her daughter, Amy.  Surely, the stress of the trial had weighed heavily upon her.  She did not live to see her son executed. Her daughter, my great great grandmother, Alice, lived only 7 years longer.  I don't know to what her death was attributed, but I wonder how much the actions and the death of her closest sibling affected her health.

It is amazing where one shred of information can lead you. One name in a census lead me to one of the family "Black Sheep".  I wonder where my journey will take me next?