Edward Joseph Harmon and Kate Nellie Arthur

 Edward Joseph Harmon and Kate Nellie Arthur are my great-grandparents, through their youngest son, Fred.  They had both passed on by the time I was born but my mother remembers them well and has shared many stories with me.

Edward Joseph Harmon was born 9 January 1883 in either Morrison or Round Grove, Whiteside Co, Illinois to Walter and Fannie (Arnold) Harmon, the first of five children.   When he was perhaps a year or so old, Walter and Fannie left Illinois and homesteaded in Clark Co, Dakota Territory.   He was raised on a farm in or around the community of Clark.  



Kate Arthur Harmon,
date unknown

 

Kate Nellie Arthur was born 5 Nov 1889 on a homestead near Trent, Moody Co, South Dakota, just three days after South Dakota achieved statehood.  Her parents were Homer Eugene Arthur and Amanda Savilla Myers;  she was the fifth of six children.  Her parents later left Moody Co. and traveled north to Clark Co. where Homer obtained more farmland.

Ed and Kate were married 30 November 1910 about six miles east of Clark, presumably at one of their homes.  They lived in Clark Co. or neighboring Codington Co. their entire married life with the exception of a short stint in Santa Cruz, California in the late 1930s.  They had three sons:  Kenneth, Harry and Fred, my grandfather.  Seven grandchildren would follow in later years.



Obituary for Edward Joseph Harmon
found in Fred Harmon's personal papers,
newspaper unknown, but likely a Clark
or Codington County, SD newspaper



Ed suffered a stroke and for several years was cared for by Kate in their home, but eventually he had to be moved to a nursing home.  He died 31 Jan 1960 in Watertown, Codington Co, South Dakota.  Kate lived to the age of 84 and died 21 Sept 1974 in Clark, Clark Co, South Dakota.  They are laid to rest in Lorinda Cemetery, Graceland Township, Codington Co, South Dakota.

I remember my grandfather talking about his parents often.  His father was strict and expected hard work from his sons.  I speculate that the sense of humor my grandfather had came from his father.  I think my mother and I both have some of it and I can see those same things coming out in my oldest daughter.  We often refer to it as the "Harmon sense of humor."  His mother, Kate, was the family historian and photographer.  My grandfather was given a family history record for Christmas 1955 that we still have today.  In it, Kate painstakingly laid out her son's pedigree, listing birth, marriage and death dates and locations, all the way through his great-grandparents.  Without her information to get me started, it would have been a much slower process to gather the data I have today. 

We have copies of many of the wonderful photos that Kate took over the years.  Apparently she liked to catch you unawares and take your picture, often times by coming around the corner of the house and taking the photo.  Some of her grandchildren later termed this "shooting from the hip" as she'd hold that camera against her hip, look down through the view finder, and capture the image.   One of the other memories my mother shared with me was Kate's love of books.  Mom remembers she had stacks of books upstairs in her house. 

My grandfather, Fred, had a terrible sweet tooth and he and his mother would make homemade ice cream.  They would eat the whole container just the two of them.  Apparently my grandfather used to crack jokes that we "gotta get ready for the 4th" [of July] in imitation of his mother.  Now I always remember him as a sort of "bah humbug" about 4th of July but as a child his parents would have a celebration that required some big preparations.  I understand one of those was hand cranked ice cream so his sweet tooth was established early in life.

I'd like to think that my love of books, family history, and photos comes from Kate.  I was born just a few short months after her death, but she knew that my mom, her youngest grandchild, was going to have her first baby.  My research would be nothing without the wonderful documentation Kate left behind.

Regrouping

I've been away....literally and figuratively. I have taken a break from posting for some "me time" in an effort to figure out what I wanted to accomplish with this blog. It was also a time to reflect on how best to manage my precious genealogy time. I'm a mom of two busy girls, a wife, a full-time employee, a chief bottle washer (thank goodness for all that my dear husband is the chief cook), laundress, etc. You get the picture. There are only so many hours in my day to accomplish things and something had to give.

As a result, I've determined that Twitter just isn't for me - I can't figure out all the abbreviations and I wasn't gleaning anything really meaningful that I couldn't get from reading my favorite blog posts. I've continued with Facebook which I primarily use for my personal friends though I do have "friends" that are new (to me) relatives and researchers working on common lines. I don't use it as extensively as other genealogists do and probably won't. I'm ok with that. I've also determined I just can't possibly read any more blogs. I love to read the escapades of another's mysterious ancestor, but time is precious. I do continue to scan the new blogs that Geneabloggers puts out each week in the hope that someone will be researching my lines. I continue to gather my genealogy news in that fashion. And I will continue to read (via Google Reader) those blogs of the few kind folks who follow my random ramblings. I will also remain somewhat active on GenWise. They've had a few missteps, dramas, and some outright plagiarism (that was later corrected and properly attributed to Randy Seaver) that have left a bad taste in my mouth. My time is precious and I don't need to deal with that kind of drama - if I wanted to I'd watch daytime soaps. I was hoping (and still am) that more educational opportunities would come from GenWise rather than "tell me everything you know about XYZ". I realize that everyone starts new and makes mistakes. Heaven knows I've had my share. However, I am going to pick and choose how I participate. I hope my time won't be wasted there.

I recall reading a post (and please forgive me for not remembering where it was) about a fellow geneablogger also frustrated with all the social media opportunities and the lack of time to do them all. After reading that, it truly verbalized the exact feelings I had been going through. Since cloning isn't an option, I have to manage time the best I can.

Since my last post nearly a month ago, I have been very busy checking off some "to-do" items. A few "family history" things that I have done include:
1. Taking a family vacation to my mother-in-law's in coastal North Carolina.
2. Requested my grandfather Lee McNeill's Navy records.
3. Requested and received land record information from Whiteside Co., Illinois on my 3rd great-grandfather, Porter Joseph Harmon, and his father, Walter Harmon. They had land warrants to get the land so now I have to figure out how they acquired the land warrants.
4. Hired a wonderful professional researcher to look into some McNeill records for me at the North Carolina State Archives.
5. Requested and received some Patriot applications from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
6. Requested and received a death certificate for my 2nd great-grandfather, Homer Arthur, from Santa Cruz Co, California.
7. Requested an obituary on Catherine Ellen Struble Myers, my 3rd great-grandmother. The South Dakota Archives were unable to locate an obit but did send a WPA transcription of the cemetery she was buried in.
8. Started researching a new genealogy software. I'm using FTM 2005 and also have trees posted on Ancestry.com for each grandparent. I'd like to have one tree where I can combine all data, have the ability to prepare various reports, and the ability to attach various media files to the individuals. I'm leaning towards RootsMagic 4, but am also curious about the new FTM 2010. Any recommendations?

I hope in some future posts to discuss the findings, or lack thereof, in the 8 items posted above.

This list doesn't include things like school shopping for the soon-to-be kindergartener in our home, assisting with our church's Vacation Bible School program, swimming lessons, and the list goes on. It's no wonder I'm tired.

My surnames being researched

Before I continue on with Lee's story, I feel compelled to give a brief description of the other surnames that I am researching. Though Lee's family was the impetus to get me started, I have since branched out to pursue my other grandparent's families as well. The list includes the following:



HARMON from Clark Co, South Dakota (1880s to 1960s); Whiteside Co, Illinois (1840s to 1880s); Berkshire Co, Massachusetts (? to 1840s). Lines related to the Harmons include ZIMMER, HEATH, and ARMSTRONG.



ARTHUR from Clark Co. and Moody Co., South Dakota (1870s to 1950s or so); Rice Co, Minnesota (1850s-1920s); Ashtabula Co. and Trumbull Co., Ohio (1840s-1850s); and New London Co, Connecticut (? to 1830s). Lines related to the Arthurs include BROWN (Ashtabula Co, Ohio), MYERS, STRUBLE (from Union Co, Pennsylvania) and COCHRAN (also originating from Union Co, Pennsylvania).



HIBY/HOIBY from Clark Co., South Dakota (1880s to present); Dane Co, Wisconsin (1860s to 1900s), and Norway. Also related is NELSON of Norwegian descent.



HANSON from Clark Co., South Dakota (1880s to 1960s); Winneshiek Co. and Buena Vista Co., Iowa, and Houston Co., Minnesota (1850s to 1880s); and Kongsvinger, Norway prior to 1850. ANDERSON is another related surname.



SCOTT from Johnson Co, Kansas; Furnas Co, Nebraska; Nodaway Co, Missouri, Davis Co, Iowa and Hendricks Co, Indiana; Associated surnames include PITTS, JONES, SHERER/SCHERER, and the mysterious SWIFT. There is great speculation and family lore indicating that a Scott was originally a Swift. It's a puzzle I'm still working on.



GREATHOUSE from Wright and Webster Co, Missouri (1860s-?) Greathouse branches also are in St. Clair county; Kentucky and Virginia (1790s-1830s). Associated surnames include JOHNSON, COX from Randolph Co, North Carolina (they were Quakers), and ALGOOD/ALLGOOD.