I have so many other branches of my family to explore, looking for the earliest matriarchs that are listed in Ancestry on my trees.
I continue to chase the ones from my father's mother's (5)Ada Swasey Rogers) family first. Then there are my father's father's - oh my. They go back a LOT further!
We left the various branches of the Swasey's and Bowers, ending up with 9) Joseph Swasey who married 9) Mary Bowers. in 1744 Their son was 8) Jerathmel Bowers Swasey; b. 10 May 1752
in
Somerset, Bristol, Massachusetts; d.
4 Feb 1826
in
Somerset, Bristol, Massachusetts.
8) Jerathmel Swasey married 8) Sarah Hellon Swasey; b.
23 February 1757,
D.
25 December 1836
in
Somerset, Bristol County, Massachusetts. I have no information on her parents. Last year I posted information about 8) Jerathmel HERE.
There are no tree branches for the rest of the Swasey's wives until I get to my grandmother's own grandfather, 7) George T. Granger (1806 - ?). His grandfather 9) Samuel Granger (1701-1739) married 9) Martha Marston (b,
23 Jan 1694
in
Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, d.
19 Mar 1753
in
Andover, Essex, Massachusetts).
Taking 9) Samuel Granger's line first, his father, 10) John Granger (1654-1723) has a birth listed, but no mother. His father is quite possibly 11) Lancelott Granger who lived in Andover MA when his son was born, and nothing else is recorded about him that Ancestry has found (yet.)
But 10) John Granger's wife 10) Martha Poor Granger (1654-1723) has another long branch or two to follow.
Her father 11) Daniel Poor Jr. (1623-1689) was a barber who has a biography including when he immigrated to the American colonies of Massachusetts from Marborough, England. And 10) Martha Poor Granger's mother was 11) Mary Farnham Poor (1628-1713) who had been born in Rochester, England.
Her mother was 12) Alice Farnham Martin
Showing posts with label Ada Swasey Rogers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ada Swasey Rogers. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
Two more matriarchs from 16th Century
Yesterday I shared information about the Thomas Sylvesters of Shelter Island.
But to get back to my matriarchal persuits...
11) Gissell Brinley Sylvester's parents were 12) Thomas Reeves Brinley, (born 1591 in Exeter, Devon, England died 15 Oct 1661 in Datchett, Buckinghamshire, England) and 12) Anna Wase (b. 1606 in Petworth, Sussex, England, d. 13 Jun 1687 in Datchet, Buckinghamshire, England).
12) Thomas Reeves Brinley is well documented as the "Auditor General of the Revenues of King Charles I and II." He left England during the English Civil War by Cromwell, and returned to his post for King Charles II but died a year later.
12) Anna Wase had 8 children, and also went with her husband when the revolution of Cromwell made Royalists unpopular, and lived into her 80s probably back in her home of Datchet.
Her parents were 13) William Wase (b. May 1580 in Petworth, Sussex, England, d. 19 September 1642 in Datchet, Buckinghamshire, England) and 13) Ann Cole (b. 1582 as recorded in St. Leonard, Heston, London, Middlesex, England, death unknown.) Apparently she married 13) William Wase when she was 16 in Petworth, Sussex, England. There is no other information on her at Ancestry at this time. But she is one of the earliest matriarchs that I'll be mentioning today.
12) Thomas Reeves Brinley's mother was 13) Joanne Reeves (his middle name from her) (b. 1567 in Exeter, Devon, England, Death in (?) Exeter, Devon, England.)
Exeter has a wonderful history, dating from Roman times and before...and I can't begin to explore all that is in this town. The map above would have been how it looked during Joanne Reeves lifetime.
Looking
back to the Sylvesters of Shelter Island, I just want to show their
connection to my family. Their daughter 10) Ann Sylvester married 10)
Capt. Jonathan Bowers in 1695.
Ancestry has lots of confusing listings for poor 10) Ann Sylvester Bowers, with different birth places, dates, different marriage places and dates, and different death places and dates. Wherever she may be buried, may she rest in peace.
Their daughter, 9) Mary Bowers married 9) Joseph Swasey, my grandmother's great great something grandparent. (Grandmother was Ada Swasey Rogers.)
But to get back to my matriarchal persuits...
11) Gissell Brinley Sylvester's parents were 12) Thomas Reeves Brinley, (born 1591 in Exeter, Devon, England died 15 Oct 1661 in Datchett, Buckinghamshire, England) and 12) Anna Wase (b. 1606 in Petworth, Sussex, England, d. 13 Jun 1687 in Datchet, Buckinghamshire, England).
12) Thomas Reeves Brinley is well documented as the "Auditor General of the Revenues of King Charles I and II." He left England during the English Civil War by Cromwell, and returned to his post for King Charles II but died a year later.
12) Anna Wase had 8 children, and also went with her husband when the revolution of Cromwell made Royalists unpopular, and lived into her 80s probably back in her home of Datchet.
Her parents were 13) William Wase (b. May 1580 in Petworth, Sussex, England, d. 19 September 1642 in Datchet, Buckinghamshire, England) and 13) Ann Cole (b. 1582 as recorded in St. Leonard, Heston, London, Middlesex, England, death unknown.) Apparently she married 13) William Wase when she was 16 in Petworth, Sussex, England. There is no other information on her at Ancestry at this time. But she is one of the earliest matriarchs that I'll be mentioning today.
12) Thomas Reeves Brinley's mother was 13) Joanne Reeves (his middle name from her) (b. 1567 in Exeter, Devon, England, Death in (?) Exeter, Devon, England.)
 |
| An illustration of Exeter in 1563, entitled Civitas Exoniae (vulgo Excester) urbs primaria in comitatu Devoniae |
Exeter has a wonderful history, dating from Roman times and before...and I can't begin to explore all that is in this town. The map above would have been how it looked during Joanne Reeves lifetime.
| Exeter Cathedral, completed 1400 |
Ancestry has lots of confusing listings for poor 10) Ann Sylvester Bowers, with different birth places, dates, different marriage places and dates, and different death places and dates. Wherever she may be buried, may she rest in peace.
Their daughter, 9) Mary Bowers married 9) Joseph Swasey, my grandmother's great great something grandparent. (Grandmother was Ada Swasey Rogers.)
Sunday, March 15, 2015
The Sylvesters of Shelter Island
I may have many ancestors of whom I'm totally oblivious. And these are some of them.
I'll post more about their decendents and ancestors tomorrow. They are part of my family tree of my gandmother, Ada Swasey Rogers.
First, what is Shelter Island? Where? New York State. (I have done enough research that I'll leave the details at the end of the post rather than interrupt the flow of Matriarchal commenting.) There was also a movie by this name, which I know nothing about. If you wish to read all about the Sylvesters settling of Shelter Island, I'll copy from Wikipedia at the end of this post.*
On Ancestry 11) Capt. Nathaniel Sylvester is listed as being born in 1610 in London City, Middlesex, England and dying on 13 Jun 1680 in Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, Suffolk County, New York. In the Wikipedia quotation below, his birth was in Rotterdam, where he later did business in shipping.
Since my focus for Women's History Month is my ancestresses, let's look at his wife, who was 11) Grisell Brinley Sylvester (born 16 Jan 1635 in Datchet, Buckinghamshire, England and died 13 Jun 1687 at Sylvester Island, Suffolk, New York)
Where Grissell Brinley Sylvester was born:
When Grissell was 17, she married Captain Sylvester, in 1652 on Shelter Island, NY.
Tomorrow I'll follow my matriarchal path back to see who Grissell's parents and grandparents were.
* Quote from Wikipedia on Shelter Island
I'll post more about their decendents and ancestors tomorrow. They are part of my family tree of my gandmother, Ada Swasey Rogers.
First, what is Shelter Island? Where? New York State. (I have done enough research that I'll leave the details at the end of the post rather than interrupt the flow of Matriarchal commenting.) There was also a movie by this name, which I know nothing about. If you wish to read all about the Sylvesters settling of Shelter Island, I'll copy from Wikipedia at the end of this post.*
 |
| Shelter Island at eastern end of Long Island |
On Ancestry 11) Capt. Nathaniel Sylvester is listed as being born in 1610 in London City, Middlesex, England and dying on 13 Jun 1680 in Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, Suffolk County, New York. In the Wikipedia quotation below, his birth was in Rotterdam, where he later did business in shipping.
Since my focus for Women's History Month is my ancestresses, let's look at his wife, who was 11) Grisell Brinley Sylvester (born 16 Jan 1635 in Datchet, Buckinghamshire, England and died 13 Jun 1687 at Sylvester Island, Suffolk, New York)
 |
| signature of Grissell Brinley Sylvester |
 | |
| St Mary the Virgin, Datchet |
 |
| Datchet Mead and Datchet Ferry in 1686 with Windsor Castle in the background |
Datchet (Buckinghamshire, England) is a village on the River Thames, England. which developed because of its close proximity to Windsor and the ferry service which connected it to the main London road across the River Thames.
 |
| Dachet Village center |
Tomorrow I'll follow my matriarchal path back to see who Grissell's parents and grandparents were.
In 1651 the island [was sold] to a group of Barbados sugar merchants for 1,600 pounds of sugar. Nathaniel Sylvester (1610–1680), one of the merchants, was the island’s first white settler. He was among a number of English merchants who had lived and worked in Rotterdam (where he was born) before going to Barbados. His connections there and with the Netherlands helped him establish a far-flung trading enterprise. On March 23, 1652, he made the purchase official by agreement with Youghco (called Pogatticut), the sachem of the Manhanset tribe. The other owners, Sylvester’s brother Constant, and Thomas Middleton, never came to Long Island. In 1673 Nathaniel Sylvester claimed ownership of Shelter Island, Fishers Island, and other parts of Long Island.[3] By that time the Manhansett had declined in number and power.[4]
In 1652 Sylvester constructed a house on the island for his 17-year-old bride, Grissel (also spelled Grizzel)[4] Brinley from London. Her mother was Anna (Wase) Brinley and her father Thomas Brinley had been an auditor in the court of King Charles I. With the Revolution he had lost his position; Grissel had gone to the colony with her older sister Anne, who had married William Coddington, the governor of the Rhode Island colony.[4] Archeological research in the 21st century has revealed there may have been two early house complexes. The Sylvesters had eleven surviving children. The more elaborate manor house, which survives today, was built in 1733 by a Sylvester grandson [see photos above.]
The Sylvester estate was developed as a large provisioning plantation. It raised food crops, as well as livestock for slaughter, sending casks of preserved meats and other supplies to Barbados. Labor was provided by a multicultural force of American Indians, enslaved Africans and English indentured servants. Sylvester and his associates were part of the Triangle Trade between the American colonies (including the Caribbean), Africa and England. His descendants continued to use slaves on the plantation into the 19th century. An estimated 200 blacks are buried at the Negro Burying Ground on the North Peninsula.[4]
The Sylvesters gave shelter to many persecuted Quakers. Sylvester Manor stands today, just off New York State Route 114, and is controlled by Sylvester descendants. All but about 24 acres of the original thousands of acres have gone into other hands.[4]
Following the death in 1680 of Nathaniel Sylvester, Shelter Island was divided between his two sons, Giles and Nathaniel II. In 1695, William Nicoll, a resident of Islip, bought from Giles the area now called Mashomack Nature Preserve. Three years later, in 1698, another newcomer, George Havens, bought 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) from Nathaniel II. This parcel comprises what today is the Center; it stretched south to South Ferry and west to West Neck Creek. Over time these estates and parcels were split and divided by marriage and purchase, so that by the early 18th century, 20 families lived on Shelter Island. By order of the Provincial Government, the Town of Shelter Island was established in 1730.Note: Most of the photos are from public domain Ancestry collections, or Wikipedia.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Digging into Ancestry for more matriarchs
I'm glad to not be an archeologist, who would literally get dirt under her fingernails. At least my digging is all digital and I'm glad to spend hours doing it. The actual records are often available and very interesting, showing much more than the Ancestry highlight often.
We've been looking at my grandmother's line Ada Swasey Rogers, with a lot of her ancestors from New England. Are there any more that go back 12 or 13 generations?
Remember 10)Ammi Ayers and her husband 10) Samuel Swasey? Their son, 9) Joseph Swasey married 9) Mary Bowers. Let's go up to the top the branches of her family tree today.
At the top there's 13) Iwerner Minster, (b. 1570 in First (Manby), Lincolnshire, England, d. 1659 in Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire, England.) Iwerner is my eldest matriarch for today.
She married 13) Thomas Bowers in 1590 in First, Lincoln, England. The name of a town may have been First, or that could have come through the Ancestry records somehow. Since both Thomas and Iwerner have First before the towns, in different counties in England, I'm thinking it's how someone noted that these are our first ancestors. I'm sorry, I can't figure everything out today.
So I could look for Manby, Lincolnshire. And then Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire. These are not the same county again, and I can't persue it unfortunately. I'm glad someone left records of their births and marriage and deaths.
13) Iwerner and Thomas Bowers had a son, 12) George Bowers, in 1590 in Manly, Lincolnshire, Eng. And Iwerner died in 1659 in Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire, England as well. She is the first of my matriarchs that I've shared in this series who didn't even come to America.
12) George Bowers first married 12) Barbarie (Barbara) Smyth (b.1596 in Braithwell, Yorkshire, England, d. 25 Mar 1644 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts) They married in Braithwell, Eng. in 1614. I did try to find information about Braithwell...
Well, apparently all the fun people moved away from Braithwell. There must have been some good farming at any rate.
The Bowers had one or two children in England, then their next children were born in Connecticut or Massachusetts. Their son 11) Benanuell Bowers was born in 1627 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, and died on 28 May 1698 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
11) Benanuell Bowers married 11) Elizabeth Marie Dunster (1632-1692) and we'll follow her ancestors tomorrow.
Their son 10) Jonathan Bowers (1673- 1750) was born in the American colonies, and he and his wife 10) Ann Sylvester (1669-1745) had a daughter, (9) Mary Bowers (1719-) who married 9) Joseph Swasey, (1714-1801) as mentioned above.
We've been looking at my grandmother's line Ada Swasey Rogers, with a lot of her ancestors from New England. Are there any more that go back 12 or 13 generations?
Remember 10)Ammi Ayers and her husband 10) Samuel Swasey? Their son, 9) Joseph Swasey married 9) Mary Bowers. Let's go up to the top the branches of her family tree today.
At the top there's 13) Iwerner Minster, (b. 1570 in First (Manby), Lincolnshire, England, d. 1659 in Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire, England.) Iwerner is my eldest matriarch for today.
She married 13) Thomas Bowers in 1590 in First, Lincoln, England. The name of a town may have been First, or that could have come through the Ancestry records somehow. Since both Thomas and Iwerner have First before the towns, in different counties in England, I'm thinking it's how someone noted that these are our first ancestors. I'm sorry, I can't figure everything out today.
So I could look for Manby, Lincolnshire. And then Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire. These are not the same county again, and I can't persue it unfortunately. I'm glad someone left records of their births and marriage and deaths.
13) Iwerner and Thomas Bowers had a son, 12) George Bowers, in 1590 in Manly, Lincolnshire, Eng. And Iwerner died in 1659 in Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire, England as well. She is the first of my matriarchs that I've shared in this series who didn't even come to America.
12) George Bowers first married 12) Barbarie (Barbara) Smyth (b.1596 in Braithwell, Yorkshire, England, d. 25 Mar 1644 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts) They married in Braithwell, Eng. in 1614. I did try to find information about Braithwell...
"Braithwell Facts
Interesting and historical facts about Braithwell.
Sorry, there are no facts about Braithwell."
Well, apparently all the fun people moved away from Braithwell. There must have been some good farming at any rate.
The Bowers had one or two children in England, then their next children were born in Connecticut or Massachusetts. Their son 11) Benanuell Bowers was born in 1627 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, and died on 28 May 1698 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
11) Benanuell Bowers married 11) Elizabeth Marie Dunster (1632-1692) and we'll follow her ancestors tomorrow.
Their son 10) Jonathan Bowers (1673- 1750) was born in the American colonies, and he and his wife 10) Ann Sylvester (1669-1745) had a daughter, (9) Mary Bowers (1719-) who married 9) Joseph Swasey, (1714-1801) as mentioned above.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
My Fore-mothers from England
In
honor of March being Women's History Month, I am going to find the first
women ancestors in each of my lines that I have any knowledge
of...though one only goes back as far as great-grandparents. The other
grandparents have given me a lot of ancestors to consider.
But who were the eldest grandmothers?
The Swasey line came down to my father's mother, Ada Swasey Rogers, from New England, and here I will share some of the Fore-mothers who immigrated to the American colonies.
In order to keep track of generations, I'll just review that I consider myself generation 3 (with children and grandchildren being the 2nd and 1st generations)
So my parents are 4), my grandmother Ada Swasey Rogers is 5), her parent 6 etc. Let's go back to the first settlers.
12) Mary Jiggles (or Jeggles) married 12) Joseph (Immigrant) Swasey (the eldest of the family who came to the American colonies)
12) Mary Jiggles Swasey was born in 1631 in Suffolk, England and died in 1709 in Salem, Essex County, Massacusetts.
Is she the Swasey family matriarch?
12) Mary Jiggles and 12) Joseph Swasey's son, (11) Joseph II, married a woman named 11) Elizabeth Lambert. Her mother was 12) Preserved Gaskoyne, who was born in 1638-9, in Salem MA, and married in Salem, MA to 12) John Lambert.
12) Preserved Gaskoyne Lambert had a mother named 13) Sarah Parker Gaskoyne (Gaskill) who lived from 1605-1691. However I highly doubt that she was born in Salem, MA, because it wasn't setttled until 1626 by English.
So now the earliest fore-mother is 13) Sarah Parker Gaskoyne (Gaskill)...who did live until 1691 in Salem, MA.
So still on my Swasey tree branches, go down a few generations, to the son of 11) Joseph II Swasey and 11) Elizabeth Lambert. This would be 10) Samuel Swasey who married 10) Ammi Ayers, 1687-1783. Her line goes back now, with her mother 11) Amy Cowell Sherburn Faber Ayers (1655-1736) who married 3 times before giving birth to 10) Ammi Ayers. And they lived in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. Of course it was before these were official counties or states.
11) Amy Cowell's mother was 12) Agnes Harvey Cowell, born in 1620 in New Hampton, England, and died in Dec, 1681 in Cambridge, Suffolk, Massachusetts, according to several Ancestry Family trees. But her will is available, written also in the year of her death in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where her children were born.
So today I've explored some of the elder women of the Swasey family who first came to America.
13) Sarah Parker Gaskoyne (Gaskill) 1605-1691, or 13 generations before my grandchildren.
12) Agnes Harvey Cowell, 1620-1681, 12 generations ago.
I'm pretty certain that both these women came to America from England.
But who were the eldest grandmothers?
The Swasey line came down to my father's mother, Ada Swasey Rogers, from New England, and here I will share some of the Fore-mothers who immigrated to the American colonies.
In order to keep track of generations, I'll just review that I consider myself generation 3 (with children and grandchildren being the 2nd and 1st generations)
So my parents are 4), my grandmother Ada Swasey Rogers is 5), her parent 6 etc. Let's go back to the first settlers.
12) Mary Jiggles (or Jeggles) married 12) Joseph (Immigrant) Swasey (the eldest of the family who came to the American colonies)
12) Mary Jiggles Swasey was born in 1631 in Suffolk, England and died in 1709 in Salem, Essex County, Massacusetts.
Is she the Swasey family matriarch?
12) Mary Jiggles and 12) Joseph Swasey's son, (11) Joseph II, married a woman named 11) Elizabeth Lambert. Her mother was 12) Preserved Gaskoyne, who was born in 1638-9, in Salem MA, and married in Salem, MA to 12) John Lambert.
12) Preserved Gaskoyne Lambert had a mother named 13) Sarah Parker Gaskoyne (Gaskill) who lived from 1605-1691. However I highly doubt that she was born in Salem, MA, because it wasn't setttled until 1626 by English.
 |
| Sarah Parker 1605-1691 |
So now the earliest fore-mother is 13) Sarah Parker Gaskoyne (Gaskill)...who did live until 1691 in Salem, MA.
So still on my Swasey tree branches, go down a few generations, to the son of 11) Joseph II Swasey and 11) Elizabeth Lambert. This would be 10) Samuel Swasey who married 10) Ammi Ayers, 1687-1783. Her line goes back now, with her mother 11) Amy Cowell Sherburn Faber Ayers (1655-1736) who married 3 times before giving birth to 10) Ammi Ayers. And they lived in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. Of course it was before these were official counties or states.
11) Amy Cowell's mother was 12) Agnes Harvey Cowell, born in 1620 in New Hampton, England, and died in Dec, 1681 in Cambridge, Suffolk, Massachusetts, according to several Ancestry Family trees. But her will is available, written also in the year of her death in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where her children were born.
So today I've explored some of the elder women of the Swasey family who first came to America.
13) Sarah Parker Gaskoyne (Gaskill) 1605-1691, or 13 generations before my grandchildren.
12) Agnes Harvey Cowell, 1620-1681, 12 generations ago.
I'm pretty certain that both these women came to America from England.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Happy Birthday Gummy
My grandmother, Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers, was born on this day in 1886, 129 years ago. She lived until 1964. She was quite a lady...and all her grandchildren remember her fondly. She spent some time with her great grand children who also lived in Houston where she lived the last 24 years of her life.
She gave birth to 6 children, all except the youngest born in Galveston, TX, where she grew up herself. But she was born in San Marcos, TX. Her youngest son was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
I wrote about her life in a lot of detail last year for her birthday HERE.
I've been showing some still photos taken from some home movies including my grandmother.
Considering these photos were taken about 1943-46, she didn't look much different to me the last 20 years of her life (but then again, I was much shorter than she was when these were taken!)
The summer of 1949 my parents, my grandparents, my Uncle Chauncey, and my cousins Claudette and Sandra and my sister and myself drove all the way from Houston to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in two Studebakers. One had a board built across the back seat for us children to play on, or lie down for naps. That's 5 adults and 4 children.
Poppy wanted to see some of the places the Rogers family came from, including some Civil War sites...so the trip was a bit convoluted. We also went through the Smokey Mountains to see some of the Tennessee sites where the Rogers had originally settled. The cars over-heated several times in the mountains. We stayed in small little motels, sometimes each room a tiny little cottage. There are still some of those little stone buildings standing, but not in business any more.
We also wanted to visit Principia, the school in St. Louis for Christian Scientist children. It must have impressed my parents, because we moved there to attend that school the next summer. I met my cousins, Pat and Chris for the first time in Wisconsin, but don't remember many details. I was only 7 that summer.
Strength and humor are the words that best describe my grandmother, as I remember her.
She gave birth to 6 children, all except the youngest born in Galveston, TX, where she grew up herself. But she was born in San Marcos, TX. Her youngest son was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
I wrote about her life in a lot of detail last year for her birthday HERE.
I've been showing some still photos taken from some home movies including my grandmother.
Considering these photos were taken about 1943-46, she didn't look much different to me the last 20 years of her life (but then again, I was much shorter than she was when these were taken!)
The summer of 1949 my parents, my grandparents, my Uncle Chauncey, and my cousins Claudette and Sandra and my sister and myself drove all the way from Houston to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in two Studebakers. One had a board built across the back seat for us children to play on, or lie down for naps. That's 5 adults and 4 children.
Poppy wanted to see some of the places the Rogers family came from, including some Civil War sites...so the trip was a bit convoluted. We also went through the Smokey Mountains to see some of the Tennessee sites where the Rogers had originally settled. The cars over-heated several times in the mountains. We stayed in small little motels, sometimes each room a tiny little cottage. There are still some of those little stone buildings standing, but not in business any more.
We also wanted to visit Principia, the school in St. Louis for Christian Scientist children. It must have impressed my parents, because we moved there to attend that school the next summer. I met my cousins, Pat and Chris for the first time in Wisconsin, but don't remember many details. I was only 7 that summer.
Strength and humor are the words that best describe my grandmother, as I remember her.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Home movies - part 6
In honor of Valentine's Day this Saturday, I share some folks who loved each other. First my grandparents, Ada and George Rogers, Sr, who were married for 55 years.
My parents, Mataley and George Rogers, Jr. were married 49 years.
Many times I wished that they had divorced since the tension was so awful when growing up in their house...but when I'd become an adult and moved out, and after my Dad died in 1985, I saw that under all their faults, they did love each other.
This Valentine's post of old photos is being shared on Sepia Saturday. Come over there to see some other interesting "sepia or otherwise" posts maybe related to this theme.
 |
| Ada Rogers, 1947 Houston TX |
 |
| George Rogers Sr, 1947 Houston TX |
 |
| George Rogers Jr and Barbara Rogers, Nov. 9, 1945 Dallas TX |
 |
| Mataley Rogers, Dec 25, 1947 Houston TX |
Many times I wished that they had divorced since the tension was so awful when growing up in their house...but when I'd become an adult and moved out, and after my Dad died in 1985, I saw that under all their faults, they did love each other.
This Valentine's post of old photos is being shared on Sepia Saturday. Come over there to see some other interesting "sepia or otherwise" posts maybe related to this theme.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Home movies/transformed again
My dad started taking home movies in the 40s, with a spring wound Keystone projector. It took 16 mm rolls of film, but when the roll was finished you'd take it out and insert it again and run it through the camera again, getting two 8-mm runs. Always doing the switch in a closet so the film didn't get exposed, of course.
We had mainly black and white photos, but there are some surprising ones in color.
My dear son, Russ, took the originals and had Walmart's genius people put them into a DVD and then showed them to all my offspring at my 70th birthday. It was probably pretty boring, especially with the strange sound background the Walmart guys had added.
So last night I pulled out the video, which hadn't been of any interest for years, and decided it would be nice to transform it into some stills so I could share them (and archive them) here.
Ever try to take pictures of a TV show? Right...the black bar of death crossed most of the attempts, even when the shot was paused.
No, I didn't want to copy into a video format either. I may try that sometime, but not yet.
Anyway, out of my attempts, and from the first 12 clips, I did get some good shots, though the originals were a bit fuzzy. I don't know if this was original resolution, or not having a good TV screen. And I've since reduced the resolution so I can post them here easily. Ever notice how long it takes to post 2m photos here?
So I'll give you first a series of clips of my grandparents.
Ada Swasey Rogers and my grandfather George Elmore Rogers, taken in about 1945. She was around 59 and he was 68 at that time.
Location is their home in Houston, Texas, which they might have just
moved to, as 3 years previously (when I was born) they had lived in San
Antonio, TX.
My parents and myself were visiting from Dallas, TX.
Their sons Chauncey and George (my father) were having a good time playing with various cameras, and included catching each other telling stories. Since the camera wound down after about a minute, they were short stories! More next time!
We had mainly black and white photos, but there are some surprising ones in color.
My dear son, Russ, took the originals and had Walmart's genius people put them into a DVD and then showed them to all my offspring at my 70th birthday. It was probably pretty boring, especially with the strange sound background the Walmart guys had added.
So last night I pulled out the video, which hadn't been of any interest for years, and decided it would be nice to transform it into some stills so I could share them (and archive them) here.
Ever try to take pictures of a TV show? Right...the black bar of death crossed most of the attempts, even when the shot was paused.
No, I didn't want to copy into a video format either. I may try that sometime, but not yet.
Anyway, out of my attempts, and from the first 12 clips, I did get some good shots, though the originals were a bit fuzzy. I don't know if this was original resolution, or not having a good TV screen. And I've since reduced the resolution so I can post them here easily. Ever notice how long it takes to post 2m photos here?
So I'll give you first a series of clips of my grandparents.
My parents and myself were visiting from Dallas, TX.
Their sons Chauncey and George (my father) were having a good time playing with various cameras, and included catching each other telling stories. Since the camera wound down after about a minute, they were short stories! More next time!
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers
- Birth: Feb 23, 1886 in San Marcos, Hays, Texas, USA
- Death: DEC 2 1964 in Houston, Texas
- My paternal grandmother. A woman of strength, leadership, wisdom and healing. She was a second generation Christian Science Practitioner. She raised 4 sons to adulthood, after losing her first son and then her only daughter as children.
I first posted about her last year HERE.
She lived through the no-name tragic hurricane of Galveston in 1900 just five years before she got married. Her husband was a bit of a card and made her look overly serious when they were socializing, at least from a granddaughter's (mine) point of view.
I don't know what reason her birth was so far from her family home in Galveston since San Marcos is about 200 miles away, and I know of no relatives there. Her mother Zulieka Phillips Swasey had lost her own mother when she was a young girl, and been raised by two living aunts, Lizzie and Lucy, though both were living in Galveston as far as I know. Ada did spend her youth in Galveston, so probably didn't spend much time in San Marcos.
- Ada Phillips Sawesy says on this photo of herself: "This picture was taken when I was very sick, but later was healed in C.S. (Christian Science) 1888."
This may have been taken at the same time as the following, done by the same studio in Galveston.
When she was 14, the 1900 Census was taken on June 7 in Galveston, and she is listed as part of a household which was headed by her Great Uncle Chauncey Sweet. She and her sister and her parents are listed with their ages. I've mentioned before how that terrible storm killed about 6000 people in September that year.
But wait a minute! The 1900 Census taken on June 12 shows her living with her parents and sister in their own home. So this whole family got counted twice, and interestingly enough, these were different wards in Galveston.
Galveston was not at all a sleepy little vacation spot at that time. It was a boom town, with shipping coming through bringing southeast Texas goods from all over the world, and exporting many crops, including cotton. The train service had also begun in the last few years, thus linking the rest of the west to this port.
Her wedding on June 6, 1905 was written with detail in the society column of the Galveston Times. The couple spent their honeymoon in Denver. She was 19, and her husband George E. Rogers, Sr. was 27. Mrs. McCall and Mrs. King of Houston attended, aunts of the bride, according to the society write-up. I haven't figured out exactly who they were, but will be looking for them on her tree.
The first 5 of their children were born in the house my grandfather built, and the youngest was born after they moved to Fort Worth.
1909 July, Elmore age 3, Alexander age 9 months. (NOTE: this same photo has been labeled differently in another source, calling the baby James, and the boy in the background as George, in Fort Worth.)
We called her Gummy. She probably had lost some of her teeth by the time my oldest cousin was beginning to talk and gave her that name. I never really noticed, but she did wear dentures many years later.
Gummy and my father, George Junior or Juney as it was said with the Texas accent.
After about 10-13 years they moved from Fort Worth to San Antonio, where my father and mother went to the same high school. After they married they moved to Dallas where I was born, and about that time Gummy and Poppy moved to Houston, where they lived the rest of their lives.
I admired Gummy and had a correspondence which was limited mainly by my own youth. She had a sensible connection in my life, though I can see how my mother would be at odds with her at times. Early on, according to the photo albums at least, my mother was embraced by the Rogers family even before she and my father became "romantically involved." This could only be the romance that religion offered my mother, since Gummy was a Christian Science practitioner, and my mother was very interested in learning about it. Or perhaps it was being around all the young men in my father's family.
But back to Gummy, I moved back to Texas as a young married woman, and visited her after having my first son. I enjoyed her politics, which were not the same as mine. She had lost her husband the year I graduated from high school, and I had not been close to him so didn't feel that made any difference in my life. Of course it made a big difference in her life. But as a twenty something mother, I wasn't at all aware of end-of-life considerations.
I was glad to have contact with her at the end of her life.
My mother and her mother-in-law, with whom she had a love-hate relationship. Two strong women, but my mother learned a lot from Gummy. She was the same age as the daughter that the Rogers family lost as a child. My mother also became enamored with Christian Science which she studied and practiced the rest of her life in almost religious addiction. I believe she also learned many homemaking skills from Gummy..
A very proud moment for my grandmother, being the second reader (of 2 who lead each Sunday service) for the Christian Science Church in Houston.
Ada Rogers on right and her sister Stella Swasey Winslow on left.
My grandmother lived to see my first son as a 6-months old baby. I drove from Corpus Christi and visited her home and we shared Thanksgiving dinner together, and that night she became ill. I was worried, but had no way to help her, and the baby also demanded my attention. I also was quite naive' with my own Christian Science up-bringing, so that I knew very little about medical problems and normal treatment for indigestion or anything that most people take for granted. She continued to moan constantly, but would only take help through prayer and a "practical nurse," who wasn't hired for several days to only give her comfort, no medical care.
As my grandmother declined with an unknown illness, I had to move away from her home and stay with cousins after a night or two without sleep. I drove back to Corpus Christi again, after going to her house and saying goodbye, for what I hoped was just the end of our visit. But I had to return with my husband a short time later for her funeral. She wasn't the first person I loved that died, but it was the first time I went to a viewing. That was a big mistake, because that body in the coffin didn't have much resemblance to the lively strong woman I loved.
I thought long and hard about whether to include this last chapter of her life here. But her difficulty letting go of life seemed as much a part of our relationship as our enjoyment of sharing talk about cooking, plants, children and current events. I remember how much she didn't like Kennedy, who had died just the year before close to Thanksgiving. I don't remember what she thought of LBJ, but at least he was a Texan.
Gummy had 4 granddaughters around, myself and my sister, and my older two cousins who had lost their father and then their mother remarried. So Claudette and Sandra virtually lived at my grandparents during some of that time. After my father and mother moved to St. Louis, there was correspondence, and sharing of photographs, and some rare visits. I had 4 other cousins who lived in Wisconsin, and have recently made contact with a couple of them, thanks to this new ancestry interest.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Ancestor Birthdays in February
William Sanford Rogers
Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers
Eugenia Almetta Whitty Booth
William Sanford Rogers (Known as W. Sam by his son, my grandfather, George Elmore Rogers, Sr.)
born on 2.9.1850 Huntsville, TX
m. Bette Bass on 12.14.1876, Willis Tx
d. 1879 Huntsville TX.
You might notice how young he was when he died. His wife died within a year of him, so my grandfather was raised (with his little sister) by W. Sam's sister, Alice Luella Rogers Ross and her husband, John Elmore Ross, who just happened to have also been born on February 22.1850, died-1.14.1918.
(NOTE: Further research shows it is not true that Bette Bass Rogers died then)
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A woman who was a strong leader in our family. My father's mom: Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers was born Feb 23, 1886 San Marcos, TX,
m. 6.6.1905 George Elmore Rogers, Galveston, TX
d. Dec. 1964, Houston, TX
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| Ada Rogers as one of two Christian Science Readers for Sunday services in a Houston Texas church. (In the background is Mary Beth Rogers who is honored below) |
My grandmother was a Christian Science Practioner for as long as I knew her, which meant she helped sick people without use of medical attention, only with prayer. It wasn't quite the same as laying on of hands, as there was little drama involved, but the purpose was to use the same powers that Jesus did to have healings.
She raised my father in the religion and he remained a devout Christian Scientist all his life, though he seldom attended Sunday services (at least when I lived with him).
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| Ada and husband George Rogers |
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| Christmas dinner 1938. Front row, l to r, Mataley (my mother) Donna V, Ada; back row, brothers: George (Junie, my father), Alex, Chauncey, James and Pop (George Sr) taken at the Rogers home, 400 E. Myrtle, San Antonio, TX |
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| sisters Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers and Stella Zuleka Swasey Winslow (b. 1887) |
See an older post on my blog about Ada and George Rogers, and a very old photo here.
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Eugenia Almetta Whitty Booth b. 2.24.1852 Marshall TX. She married 7.20.1869 (his second m.) Richard R. Booth. They were the maternal grandparents of my grandmother, Mozelle Booth Miller Webb Munhall. I love that I can trace a maternal lineage this far, and actually a bit further.
This is the home 17 year old Mrs. Booth moved into when she married a widower. Richard had one son who was 3 at the time of the marriage. They had 3 more children, including Eugenia Almeta Booth Miller, my great grandmother. I've already talked about her on this blog earlier here.
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| Booth family home, 1855 Hillsboro, Texas |
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