Showing posts with label Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Update. Show all posts

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Update from April Post- Carmen Slough has passed away

 Okay, I hope I didn't jinx anything! On April 16, I wrote a blog post about a woman named Carmen Slough- one of the oldest women in the United States- you can read it Here. I just discovered that she passed away on April 27, 11 days later! 


Carmen Blanco Slough

born: 05 April 1914 in Douglas, Arizona

died: 27 April 2024 in Globe, Arizona

        Age 110 years old






Here's her obituary published on Legacy.com: 

Carmen Slough Obituary

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Bulman Miles Funeral Services, Globe on Apr. 28, 2024.
Our beloved mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt, Carmen Slough, died peacefully on April 27th at the age of 110 in her home. Carmen was pre-deceased by her husband Alfred Slough, who died in 1948. Carmen is survived by son Robert (Bob) and his wife Carol, of Apple Valley, California; Bob's children, Jeffry Slough (Rhea), Bellingham WA., and LeAnn Slough of Hawthorn, CA. Carmen leaves great-grandchildren Jerry Slough (Samantha), Bellingham, WA., and Alexis Donnelly (Rylan) of Ferndale, WA. Carmen is also survived by her beloved brother, Antonio (Tony) Blanco, of Phoenix, nieces, nephews, great, and great-greats, her dearly loved, long-time friend and caregiver, Aurora Wallace, and Carmen's little companion dog, Muffy. We will all miss her lovely home, the gathering place of our lifetimes, and we will miss her, our wise, candid matriarch. She has long been the tie that has bound our family together.
Born in Douglas, Arizona to Spanish immigrants in 1914 during the Spanish flu pandemic, Carmen survived many pandemics and epidemics during her lifetime. It is impossible to list the vast array of changes her lifetime has wrought. She lived through two World Wars, having had brothers and friends who served in World War II. She saw Globe evolve from dirt streets and cattle drives down Broad Street to presently, today's electric cars traveling Broad Street. She hand wrote accounting ledgers in her businesses, but then learned to create computerized spreadsheets, have a Facebook page, and use a cell phone.
Carmen was an entrepreneur from an early age with her husband Alfred. Together, they owned and operated "Slough's Market." Later, she and brother Edward co-owned and operated Carm-Ed's Men's and Boy's Clothing store for 47 years.
Carmen was a quintessential pragmatist. After the death of her husband, as a single mom, she raised and college educated her beloved son, who became an Educator and Coach. She believed in hard work, in navigating life's difficulties, and she always did so with her characteristic grace and elegance. Carmen epitomized the term "Iron fist in a velvet glove" and she proved her courage, strength, and stamina in all her challenges and undertakings.
Carmen became iconic in Globe as a local celebrity who was often seen working in her garden, participating in the local Elk's Emblem Club, at community plays and musical events. Carmen was honored at the age of 100 for being the oldest living graduate of Globe High School and was inducted into the GHS Hall of Fame. She is well known for her philanthropy and community involvement.
Carmen valued family; son Bob most of all, daughter in-law Carol, her dear friend Aurora, her extended family, her little dog Muffy, and Globe, the community she cherished. In lieu of a funeral, a Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, June 8, at the Globe Elks Club.
To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Carmen Slough, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.




Tuesday, January 5, 2021

First Post of 2021- Josephine Dabuliewicz Alexinas Jeckering

This morning, I'm listening to a YouTube video- Cozy Coffee Shop Ambiance with Relaxing Jazz Music & Rain Sounds. 


Even though I've written about her before, I wanted to write about my great-grandmother this morning. I was thinking about her the other day. I always thinking about her on Jan 2 of every year. Most people don't memorize their great-grandparents birthdays, but hers is unique because she was born on Jan 2...and died on Jan 2. 



Josephine Mary Dabuliewicz was born in 1906 in Brooklyn, New York. She was the only child of Josef Dabuliewicz (1881-1977) & Stephania Ellert (1878-1913).

I found this picture on Ancestry.com, added by my cousin, Jill. 




The picture above, I found about 6 years ago and absolutely cherish it. It looks to have been taken the same day as the baby picture of Josephine- maybe a christening? 

Here, we can see Baby Josephine again (baby on the left), being held by her father, Josef. Her mother is behind Josef with her hand on his shoulder.

The other baby is Michael Anthony Ruski (1905-1957). Michael's parents- his father (holding him) was John James Ruski (b. 1885) and his wife Mary Ellert (1885-1971). Mary was Stephania's sister. Between the two sisters is their brother Joseph Ellert (1888-1966).  The elderly couple is the parents of Stephania, Mary and Joseph- Stanislaw Ellert (1849-1930) & Pauline Yocavich (1854-1937). 

On June 7, 1913 Stephania passes away. Originally, it was told that she died in the Great Dayton Flood but the dates don't match. I was told by a family member that she had strep. She was only 35 years old. 

Stephania is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. (The spelling of her last name is different than other sources of the name).

By the 1920 U.S. Census, Josephine was living with the Alexinas family in Dayton. I don't know all of the circumstances with Joseph and his daughter, but Josephine did end up taking the Alexinas name. Her adoptive parents were John J. Alexinas (1874-1955) & Mary Kushinski (1879-1973). They already had one son- George Francis Alexinas (1904-1952). George never married. 



Josef, Josephine's father, by 1920 was living in Bedford, Ohio- re-married to Honorata Cieslak (1891-1977). Josef and Honorata had 6 children together- Mary (1914-1941), Helen (b. 1917), Walter Alexander (1918-1995), Stanley (b. 1921), Joseph John (1925-2012) and Adella Mary (b. 1930). They raised their children in Winchendon, Massachusetts. 

Josephine married my great-grandfather Gerard Jeckering (1900-1967) about 1924. 




Josephine married my great-grandfather Gerhard Jeckering (1900-1967) on July 29, 1924 at 8 o'clock in the morning.

How sweet is their wedding portrait?!



Gerhard was one of five children to Joseph Herman Jeckering (1870-1931) & Rose Horn (1872-1933). He was a tool maker, like many of his other family members.

 I am really fortunate to have this picture (above) of him at work. 

 


Around 1936/37, the couple purchased a home at 2334 Newport Ave in Dayton, Ohio. 

You can read more about the history of this house in another I wrote here.






Josephine and Gerhard raised 6 children together- Paul George (1924-1954), Richard Cletus (1926-2017), Rita Irene (1928-2015), Rosemary Emma (1930-2012), Joann Ethel (b. 1934) and Joseph John (b. 1939). 



Gerhard and Josephine were married roughly 41 years and lived in this home until Josephine passed away in 1965. She was only 59 years old and died of acute leukemia. Gerhard followed two years later in 1967. 


Josephine and Gerhard are buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.








Thursday, October 1, 2020

Who was W.L. Mendenhall (1873-1933)?

(Update at Bottom)

While researching the California Birth Index for the surname Mendenhall, I came upon some prison records for an W.L. Mendenhall 




He looks like a very sad man! From the card, you can read that his name was W.L. Mendenhall (or John Turner in Illinois??)- was imprisoned in the San Quentin State Prison for arson commited in San Joaquin. He's 44 and a laborer. He's also missing his left hand. The date he entered the prison- 26 Apr 1918. 








I wanted to know more about him and mainly, to find out how I'm related to this Mendenhall.  

First stop- Newspapers. I was able to find one news article about the arson committed to put him in jail-- 



Stockton Daily Evening Record
25 Apr 1918




From the article, W.L. broke into San Quentin and set the prison afire and then confessed to the crime. He was a sick man...suffering from TB and had lost his left hand in a saw mill accident 28 years earlier! From the card above, it looks like W.L. doesn't stay in San Quentin, but dies in Mendocino on 25 Nov 1933. The only evidence I have of this death is stated on the card...not sure how accurate that may or may not be.

Now, to find out how I'm related....

Things I know:

Name: W.L. Mendenhall
Born: abt 1874 in Illinois

I was able to find his full name from his World War I Draft Registration Card he had done while at San Quentin in 1918- Wilbur Lee Mendenhall, born 17 Aug 1873





It also states that his nearest relative is a Mrs. W.F. Adams at 3010 Locust St. in St. Joseph, Missouri. 

Before researching this Mrs. Adams, I wanted to look at the 1880 U.S. Census Record. Since Wilbur was born in 1873, the 1880 census would be the first one he would be listed on. I did find a Wilbur Mendenhall, born abt 1873 in Illinois living in Belle Plain, Illinois but this is a completely different Wilbur...one that is already in my tree. This Wilbur died in 1912 in Iowa so they couldn't have been the same person. 

I tried to look in the newspapers around 1890 for a saw mill accident that took a man's life, but it was just too little information. I have no idea where he was living at the time or what mill he was working at. I know he was jailed in Omaha Nebraska in 1914 (per prison card above), but I couldn't find any information on that jail time. 


Next, I decided to look up this Mrs. W.F. Adams who turns out to be Amanda Melvin Adams ('nee Palmer), daughter of Samuel C. Palmer (1824-1894) & Sarah Jane Lashley (1824-1869). She was married to William Freemont Adams (1864-1942). 
When Wilbur listed Amanda as his nearest relative in 1918, she was living in Saint Joseph, Missouri with her husband. This was April. Amanda died in Nov of the same year. 

Because they were close in age, her being 3 years older, I assumed she might be an older sister or maybe a cousin...
I've searched many family trees and tried several different paths on her family tree but I just can't find the Mendenhall connection! Which is annoying, to say the least.

Below is a picture of Amanda- 

From Ancestry.com





I'm going to keep searching, but I'm going to leave this here in case someone can help! :) 





UPDATE:

After posting the above information, I got some feedback from some people on the Genealogy Squad (Facebook). I am embarrassed to say that I didn't think to check her siblings. Ugg...it happens though. Anyway, Amanda's sister Rebecca Elizabeth Palmer married James T. Mendenhall on 19 Aug 1873 in Adair County, Missouri. (Marriage record on Ancestry.com). Now, there's a few things about this....

1. Rebecca & James were much older than Amanda and her relative Wilbur Mendenhall. 
Rebecca (born 1853), James (born 1847), Amanda (born 1870) & Wilbur (born 1873). It wasn't uncommon in those days to have multiple children and have them span 20 years like Rebecca & Amanda.

2. Rebecca & James married 2 days before Wilbur was born. This makes me wonder if he could be their child and Amanda is Wilbur's aunt. This could be plausible but there is something bugging me about this- Evidence shows that Rebecca and James married 2 days after his birth and they married in Adair County, Missouri. Evidence also shows Wilbur being born in Illinois. Either one of these records is mistaken (more than  likely, it would be Wilbur's birth) or they are not his parents. 

3. I thought it plausable that Wilbur could be James' brother but they are 26 years apart in age and I find this super unlikely. Also, I still can't find much about James anyways, so even though I have a possible brother or father, I still can't trace back the linage, which is SUPER frustrating. 

Sunday, May 17, 2020

My Search for Ruth Eileen Mendenhall

*Update towards end-- 5/28/20

Happy Sunday!

Since 2014, I have been researching my great-aunt Ruth Eileen Mendenhall. She is a mystery and it's taken years and years to dig up what I have been able to find about her. 

So, this post is sort of a compilation of all of those previous posts I have already written, dating back to 2014. 



~In June 2014, this is what I knew of Ruth:

Ruth Eileen Mendenhall
born: 16 Jan 1927 in Dayton, Ohio
died: Unknown (rumored- California), age- unknown

Parents: Earl Dwight Mendenhall (1894-1972) & 
             Edna Grace Miles (1894-1934)

Siblings: Harold Earl Mendenhall (1916-1989) (my grandfather)
         Robert Eugene Mendenhall (1919-1993)

So, back then, the rumor in the family was that Ruth was 14 when the family disowned her. My mother always said that she thought she had gotten pregnant and kicked out of the house. Her family supposedly trashed all of her possessions and pictures of her. One picture was found- it had fallen behind a dresser. 


Ruth in her 3rd grade picture, 1935 at Shiloh Springs School in Dayton Ohio. 
Ruth is the girl in the middle row, 4th one from the left.
Look at that mischievous face!! 
(Shiloh Springs School- 5816 North Main Street in Dayton Ohio. It was demolished in Aug 2012)




In the 70's, after Ruth's parents had passed, her brothers tried looking for her. They hired a private investigator who found her living in California, married to a doctor. She didn't want any contact so that was that.


Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Update of Ruth Eileen Mendenhall


On June 23, 2014, I wrote a blog post about my great-aunt Ruth Mendenhall. You can read that post by Here, but for the short-version, all I really knew about her was that she was disowned around the age of 14 because of a pregnancy. There were rumors of her ending up in California, married to a doctor and she didn't want anything to do with the family.

It was hard to find anything on Ruth, but I finally found her in Dec 2016. Again, here is the original blog post that you can read  Here, but for the shorter version, I found that she died on 08 Mar 2002 in Scottsdale, Arizona. She had been married to a man named Jack V. Breckenridge (1921-2011), a veteran. There appeared to be no children in the picture.

Recently, I decided to try and find more on Ruth. I decided to focus on her husband and his family. Jacks middle name is Victor and he had 3 siblings- Janet Louise (1918-2007), James Harold (1925-2011) and Richard A. (1928-2016). I did find living relatives for all of these siblings and messaged them on Facebook, hoping to find some answers- maybe some of them knew about Ruth, but this was on May 13 and nobody has responded (Can't say I blame them, they don't know me). I also found a picture of Jack--




 Recently, Newspapers.com had a "free" weekend and I decided to research Ruth in the papers, see if anything came up. My thought was, maybe she didn't leave Ohio for California...let's search that. AND I found more!

I found a couple of newspaper articles about a Ruth, same age, same address as her parents. They were dated September, 1945-- she would have been 19 years old. She had broken her parole. When she was 19, she had been arrested for forgery and, since breaking her parole, she was being sent to  jail for 1-20 years!

Here are the articles:







With the name, age, and address all matching, I just don't see how this COULDN'T be my great-aunt Ruth. This would make sense...for even though she wasn't 14 at the time, she was still a young woman who was sent to prison. After finding this information, I talked to my Aunt Nancy who confirmed it- she remembers her mother talking about when she was younger about Ruth being in prison. Apparently, my mother didn't know about this. :)

So...NOW, the next step is getting Ruth's prison records to see how much time she served...all out of pure curiosity! Wish me luck!




Saturday, August 18, 2018

Update on Anita M. Seaver (52 Ancestors, Week 50)



On May 8, 2015, I wrote a blog post about my grand aunt as part of my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project. You can view this blog post Here.

Originally, I thought that Anita only had 2 children- 2 daughters, Tina and Monte. This is what I was told by my mother and then from what I read in newspapers. However, this summer, I found a different newspaper article states that Anita had 2 other children whom I’d never even heard of.


Here’s the article:  (I have highlighted the area of the 2 other children discovered)



Nevada State Journal- Reno, NV, 14 Apr 1957

TWO PERSONS KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH

Three Others injured; Little Girl in Critical Condition

Two person were killed and an eight-year-old girl critically injured early yesterday morning in a head-on collision near the northern approach to Lakeview Hill about four miles north of Carson City on Highway 395.
Dead are Mrs. Anita Mae Montgomery, 34, of Steamboat, who was driving a northbound auto, and Ronald Frank Malespin, 22, of Carson City, driver of the Southbound car.

State Highway patrol officers said Malespin’s car was in the wrong lane at the time of the impact. Others riding with Mrs. Montgomery were her husband, Clifford M., a Reno machinery company employee, and their two children, Tina, 8, and Montie Marie, 2.
Officers said the mishap occurred at about 2:00 a.m. and that both cars were mangled almost beyond identification.

Child Badly Hurt

The 8-year-old Montgomery girl was reported in critical condition at Carson Tahoe hospital following emergency surgery. Her sister suffered only minor cuts and bruises. The father sustained head injuries.
Reno Township Coroner William Beemer, who investigated the deaths, said the accident occurred just north of the Washoe county line. He said Mrs. Montgomery was killed instantly and that Malespin died en route to the hospital.

No Skid Marks

Investigating officers theorized the accident could have possibly been caused by a blowout on Malespin’s station wagon, but no skid marks were found in either traffic lane.

Cutting torches were used on the Montgomery auto before her body could be removed from the wreckage.

Cooperating in the investigation were the Nevada Highway patrol, Carson City Police and Washoe and Ormsby county sheriff’s office.

Funeral services for Mrs. Montgomery are pending at the Capital City Mortuary. She was born in Atlanta, Ind., June 5, 1922. Survivors include her mother, Mrs. Myron French, of Carson City and two children by a previous marriage, Patricia and Robert Quist of Rock Island, Illinois. Mrs. Montgomery had lived in Steamboat for several months.

Services for Malespin also are pending at the mortuary. He is survived by his widow, Myra, of Carson City.

The deaths were the 25th and 26th reported on Nevada highway this year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After researching these two names, I discovered Anita’s son, Robert had 3 children. I found one of his grand-daughter’s on Facebook and was able to connect with her mother, Robert’s middle daughter. (I am leaving out names out of respect for living relatives and their privacy). I was actually able to talk to her on the phone, which most people I contact online, it’s very short and only through email or messenger.

After talking to my cousin, I discovered that Anita married Eugene Robert Quist and the two of them had 3 children-

1. Patricia (b. 1942)
2. Robert Eugene (1944-2015)
3. Tina Elizabeth (1948-1957) (passed away in the same accident as her mother)

When Anita remarried Clifford Montgomery (b. 1922), she and Clifford had a daughter, Monte Marie Montgomery (b. 1955). Anita abandoned Patricia and Robert, left them with their father Eugene and took her two youngest daughters and moved to Nevada. I suppose on a different level, it was a good thing that she left Robert and Patricia because they could have been killed in the accident that killed their mother and sister.

Before this, I also didn’t know whatever happened to Monte, Anita’s youngest daughter. She survived the car accident, at the age of 2, along with her father. I think my cousin said she lives in Washington (I can’t quite remember). Robert and Monte would write letters to each other and they stay connected with one another, which I think is just wonderful.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

A New Addition to our Family Tree


Hi Everyone,

This week I am playing catch-up since I haven't made a post since Jan 18. I have been quite busy taking care of our 5 year old son Jack and our newest addition- Chloe Michele! Chloe was born on Dec 29- right on schedule and she is quite a doll! 






So, right now, I'm catching up on posting all the celebrities on the We're Related App-- it'll take some time- I've already done all the research and whatnot, just need to post it. 


Have a good weekend everyone!

Friday, December 2, 2016

Ruth Eileen Mendenhall, born 1927

Good Morning, Happy Friday!

I know I did a blog post about my great aunt one time, but for whatever reason, I am having trouble locating it...either way, more information has been found and I would love to share it!

Backstory:

Ruth was my grandfather's younger sister. She was born on 16 Jan 1926 in Dayton, Ohio to Earl Dwight Mendenhall (1894-1972) and Edna Grace Niles (1894-1934). The story in my family is that she was kicked out of the house at the age of 14, it is assumed because she was pregnant. My great-grandparents destroyed all photos of her and basically erased her from the family. One photo was found behind a dresser at one point in time, a school picture of Ruth and her third grade class in 1935.

                                     ~Ruth is in the middle row, directly in the middle~

Apparently, the family tried to locate Ruth later in life by hiring a private investigator. I assume this was taken place after her parents had passed. She was discovered living in California, married to a doctor. And, she didn't want to be found, so that was the end. I don't know how much of this is true or not.

For years, this is all the information I had for Ruth. I craved more because her story facsinated me! I wanted to know if she really had a child at 14/15 years old, if she had really married a doctor or if she had any other children.

THEN, on September 23, of this year, I decided to try digging more, since it had been a couple of years and I found her!

Ruth Eileen Breckenridge ('nee Mendenhall)
b. 16 Jan 1926 in Dayton, Ohio
d. 08 Mar 2002 in Scottsdale, AZ

Ruth was married to Jack V. Breckenridge (1921-2011), a veteran. They are buried together in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Section A7, Row B, Site 32. I tried to find a newspaper article, an obituary, SOMETHING on their family, but it appears they never had children. I couldn't find a child born around 1941 either.

One interesting fact, that I had to laugh at, was that she was born in Dayton, Ohio (so was I) and then she died in Arizona. I have no idea how long she lived in Arizona, but I great up there, about 2 hrs North of Scottsdale.

If ANYONE out there reading this knows ANYTHING about Ruth or her husband Jack, PLEASE contact me either through this blog or my email- Carriesmith11411@yahoo.com.


Monday, September 28, 2015

EJ Mendenhall Update


On May 26, 2014, I wrote a blog post- my 3rd week of 52 Ancestors- on EJ Mendenhall- my 6th Cousin, 5x Removed. You can read it Here.

After researching EJ, I was excited to discover that he died and was buried in Prescott, Arizona. This was cool because, even though I live in Fort Collins, Colorado now, I grew up in Prescott. 

This last week, my family and I vacation to Arizona, our first time there in two years. While we were there, we stayed in Prescott, but visited many places- Jerome, Grand Canyon, Florence, Phoenix, and of course- the cemetery where EJ was buried- Arizona Pioneers' Home Cemetery. 

I was so excited to visit EJ's resting place, but after finding it, I was disappointed to find that he had no gravemarker. I took a couple of pictures: 

There were two separate place of burial- on the side of the mountain were the older ones where EJ was buried (a lot with no gravestones, no flowers, ground VERY unkempt) and then one that was for newer burials (VERY nice looking). I understand that EJ was probably very poor when he died and both his death certificate and the Pioneers' Home said he had no family- so that's probably why he had no gravestone, but just the fact that the grounds are so poorly maintained...makes me sad.


This is the view from the top of the cemetery- very pretty :) 


EJ Mendenhall- Row K, Grave 11




This is my son in the middle of the cemetery- browsing while my husband and I were looking for EJ's gravesite.



This is where he was buried- a bunch of rocks are in the spot of a gravestone.