Carnival of Genealogy #100: My Family and a Murderess

This is written for the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy entitled "There's One in Every Family".   My take on this theme is that every family has a sensational story, one that has morphed over time into something juicier than it probably was. It is my heartfelt sentiment that the story I present here absolutely does not happen to every family!

My Family and a Murderess.  That sounds just like a title for a fictional murder mystery.  Alas, this story is very true.  For anyone that lives outside of the state of North Carolina and perhaps more so out of the western North Carolina mountains, you've probably never heard of Frankie Silver, known as one of the few women in the state to be hung for murder.  I know I hadn't.

As I began my Mitchell County, North Carolina research, I tried to gain a general overview of the area, the people, the work they did, and what brought them there.  I don't even recall when I first heard about the story of Charlie and Frankie (Stewart) Silver, but I remember seeing snippets of information here and there alluding to the notorious crime.  Out of morbid curiosity, I searched the internet for information and read some books only to discover a sad story from the 1830s, and much to my surprise, with connections to my own ancestors.

THE MURDER

On a cold December day in 1831, a nineteen year old Charlie Silver was murdered by his wife, eighteen year old Frances "Frankie" Stewart Silver. Charlie was hacked to death with an ax and dismembered in their cabin in the mountains of what was then Burke County, North Carolina (now Mitchell County).  The story goes that Charlie had gone out hunting though Frankie may have suspected drinking and carousing.  He came home, perhaps drunk, an altercation ensued, and the result was the death of Charlie.  The facts are not all clear, but Frankie may have been protecting herself and their toddler from Charlie's violent behavior.  Or perhaps Frankie had just had enough and in a fit of rage attacked her husband.  Apparently aware of the violence she had committed and for the need to dispose of his remains, she cut up his body and burned it in their fireplace.

In any case, it was not disputed that Frankie bundled up her daughter and went to her in-laws home the next day asking for the whereabouts of her husband.  They hadn't seen him for a few days, since he had left on his hunting trip.  Apparently she then went to her parent's home.  The Silvers and other neighbors became worried when Charlie didn't return and a manhunt began.  Perhaps Frankie's story began to unravel then but suspicions were definitely aroused.  His remains were not immediately found, but an oily residue in her fireplace and the fact that a weeks worth of firewood was gone were strong suspicions for something amiss.  The very clean floorboards were lifted up in their small cabin and blood stains were found on the ground beneath. 

THE ARREST

There are a variety of things that cause great speculation even all these 179 years later. It was said that Charlie had a tendency towards alcohol, towards abusing his wife, and towards messing around with other women. There was speculation that Frankie may have acted in self-defense, or to protect their baby, while Charlie was on a drunk. Alas, no one knows what ever happened that night to cause her to ax him to death.

About a week after the murder, Frankie, her mother and her brother were arrested and taken to the jail in Morganton, Burke Co, North Carolina.  An inquest followed and her mother and brother were later released for lack of evidence, but Frankie was held over for trial.  She had a young lawyer who may not have fully explained her rights or what was likely to happen to her.  Since court met infrequently (usually quarterly), she was in jail for some time and quite a distance from her family.

THE TRIAL

A jury of Frankie's peers, all men, was gathered and the evidence presented.  Because of the laws at the time, a defendant was not allowed to testify on his or her behalf.  The conviction came swiftly with the jury never hearing from Frankie. Death by hanging was to be Frankie's fate.  At some point while awaiting execution, Frankie stated that she acted in self-defense.  Seven of the twelve jurors then came forward to petition to overturn the conviction.  An appeal was made to the state's Supreme Court.  Friends and neighbors of the Stewart family came forward on her behalf.  During the time leading up to her hanging, her family helped her to break out of jail.  She was found wearing a man's hat and coat walking behind an uncle's wagon when officials caught up with them.  But all these efforts were to no avail.

THE HANGING

It was a warm July day in 1833 when the hanging occurred.  Legend has it that her father stood in the assembled crowd and yelled up to Frankie as she stood on the gallows.  His supposed words:  "Die with it in you, Frankie."  A lot could be read into that statement and it has probably morphed into more than what ever really occurred that day.  What appears to be fact is her father was there to take her remains home to a final resting place.  Due to the rugged mountain conditions and the summer temperatures, it was a slow trip home.  As a result, she is supposedly buried in an unmarked location on the road outside Morganton.  A memorial has been erected in her memory near where she is believed to have been buried.

MY FAMILY'S CONNECTIONS

So what does this all mean to me?  First, I should begin by saying that at the present time I have not found any direct genealogical connection to either Charlie or Frankie.  However, my ancestors were neighbors of both the Silver and Stewart families.  As I was reading Perry Deane Young's book, The Untold Story of Frankie Silver, I discovered that some of the members of the inquest, a prosecution witness, and petitioners to the governor were my ancestors. 

My fourth great-grandfather, Isaac Grindstaff, appears as a witness for the defense.  According to Young, Isaac later identifies himself as a member of the inquest jury.  It should be noted that there was more than one Isaac Grindstaff in this area, but for this time frame, my ancestor seems to be the likely Isaac.

My fourth great-grandfather, Thomas Howell, served as a witness to the grand jury and later as a witness for the prosecution.  Thomas was a blacksmith and apparently made Charlie Silver's shoe buckles which were identified amongst the burned remains.

My fourth great-grandfather, Hector McNeill, as well as a John McNeill, a Dim McNeill and a Malcolm McNeill all signed an undated petition to Governor Montfort Stokes requesting he pardon the prisoner.  The document states that many of those signers were neighbors of the defendant and knew her to be of good character.

My third great-grandfather, Archibald McNeill, was the son of Hector and son-in-law of Thomas Howell.  Archibald's second marriage was to Sarah Ann Sparks Silver.  Sarah was the widow of Reuben Silver, brother to the murdered Charlie.  According to Cabins in the Laurel by Muriel Earley Sheppard, Arch built a cabin backed up to the same chimney where Frankie committed her crime.  Sheppard writes the original cabin was gone but the chimney and fireplace were in strong condition.  She goes on to state that Arch's wife (Sarah) found one of Charlie's "shoeheel irons jammed into the stones of the fireplace."  The said victim was Sarah's former brother-in-law and were made by Arch's former father-in-law. 

Oh what a tangled web.  And such a sad, sad story.  This month marks the 179th year since this crime occurred.  The truth behind the murder may never be known and speculation still runs rampant.  I hope the victims, for I believe Charlie and Frankie were both victims, rest in peace.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

I know that I have not done justice to the story of Frankie Stewart Silver.  Any errors in the above information are mine.  For further information, please consider reading the following books or visiting these websites.

The Untold Story of Frankie Silver by Perry Deane Young.
Wikipedia's page on Frankie Stewart Silver
Charlie's memorial at Find A Grave
Frankie's memorial at Find A Grave
A summary from the North Carolina Museum of History.
For a fictional account, I recommend The Ballad of Frankie Silver by Sharyn McCrumb
The Burke County Visitor's center has an article
The Frankie Foundation which produced a play describing these tragic events
Cabins in the Laurel by Muriel Earley Sheppard

A Checkered Past, A Better Future

This is written for the 87th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

I have a checkered past with New Year's Resolutions and by checkered I mostly mean unsuccessful. I always think of something I'd like to commit to during the new year and then my busiest work season of the year begins and lasts until April. By the time that slows down, I've long since forgotten my commitments made on January 1!

Therefore, I have been carefully examining what I can resolve to do in 2010 that is actually attainable. I have decided to list some 2010 resolutions as well as some resolutions for the new decade. Hopefully ten years from now I can look back at what I wanted to do in the upcoming decade and feel that I've attained those goals and then some.

For 2010, I resolve to do the following:

1. Continue to improve the sourcing in my database. During 2009, I combined four trees (one for each of my grandparents) into one new database using RootsMagic 4. I have been very slowly working my way through proper source citations for the many census, birth, marriage and death facts, among others, that I have in my tree of over 1,900 people. This is a massive undertaking but one I am very committed to keeping.

2. Complete and submit an application for the Illinois Prairie Pioneer Certificate for my Harmon lineage. My ancestors, Walter and Azubah (Hyde) Harmon, came to Whiteside Co, Illinois in the 1840s, along with three of their adult children and families. Based upon the time frame of their settlement, I am eligible for the middle level for settlers that came between 1819 to 1850.

3. Help my mother and grandmother sort the boxes of old photos, get them into an archival safe albums, label the individuals, location and approximate era. I have been asking for this for several years to no avail. This is a project that would have to be done over several months time, on a once-a-week basis. It would allow time to assemble the photos and for my grandmother to remember who the individuals are in each one.

4. To continue with my "mini bio" blog posts on each of my ancestors in my ahnentafel report. I have been doing this on my paternal grandfather's line by writing about each married couple, listing their children, subsequent spouses, and other known information. I know this is worth doing because I've had three people contact me within the last six weeks due to those posts.

5. To write in a daily journal so that my descendants will have something about me and my daily life in my own handwriting. I found a simple 8.5 x 11 inch day planner-type calendar that has a week spread over two pages. There are about 3 inches available per day with the weekend combined. I intend to write a few sentences daily (or at least I hope daily) about what is happening in our lives including things that my children are doing, saying, playing with or learning. I already have it on my nightstand with a pen so that when I set my alarm clock, I will be reminded to make some notes about the day.

For the upcoming decade, I resolve to do the following:

1. Make a trip to Mitchell Co, North Carolina. This is the birthplace of my paternal grandfather, Lee McNeill, and several generations of his family. I could probably spend a month there and never answer all my family history questions, but I do intend to give it a go. This may be a trip that could be in the works for 2010, but that hasn't been determined yet.

2. To continue to work on determining the ancestry of Hector McNeill, my fourth great-grandfather. I have previously described some of that research here and here.

3. To pursue membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. I have a couple of options that I described here.

4. To make a trip to Boston to visit the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. I think this goal is very attainable but costly. My husband has some dear friends that live in the Boston area and we'd love to visit with them. The bigger problem is what to do with my husband and children while I spend a day or two at the NEHGS library!

5. To really dig into my husband's maternal line, which includes some Polish research that I find rather intimidating. Also related to these lines, I need to correspond with a couple of cousins to have them document what family history they know. I hope to accomplish this portion in 2010.

6. To continuing transcribing the 200 or so pages of the Civil War pension file of Archibald H. McNeill. I have gone through the first 15 to 20 or so, but the handwriting on some of the pages is so atrocious, not to mention the spelling. My ancestor suffered from "new money" fever. It took me a while to determine he had pneumonia fever and not perhaps a desire to go to the gold fields of California!

I think these goals are realistic but also challenging. I have such a busy life that it will take a while for me to accomplish what I want, but I really intend to be diligent about these. Wish me luck!

COG 86: A Baby for Christmas or Maybe Not

This post was written for Part 1 of the 86th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

My sister is the only person I know that has two Baby's First Christmas ornaments.........from different years!

She is one of those unfortunate souls that has a birthday very near Christmas. Back in the era of our births, technology had not advanced to the state that ultrasounds were available. Therefore, determining a baby's due date still relied upon the little chart that the OB/GYNs carry around in their pockets that gives a due date exactly 40 weeks after a date the mother provides. Of course, this also relies upon all the moons and planets be in perfect alignment, that the tea leaves are read correctly, that the Republicans control one branch of government and the Democrats have the other.....well you get the idea.

Because of my father's construction-related work, we moved a lot when I was a young child. In fact, I lived in five states by the age of four. Therefore, we had to uproot ourselves and our little travel trailer every few months for the next jobsite. My mother had seen a doctor early in the spring that year and didn't have exact dates but was fairly certain of a time range when the baby should arrive, which she thought should be early to mid-December. After we spent the first part of her pregnancy in Hawaii, we came back to Idaho and stayed there (I believe) through the rest of her pregnancy. When we got to Idaho, she found a general practice physician in a neighboring small town who also did obstetrics. She never really cared for this doctor and has grumbled about him for over three decades.

My mother reached a stage where she couldn't pick me up any longer and I'm sure the loss of her lap was a great inconvenience to me. Thanksgiving came and went, as well as early and mid-December. According to my mother, she was just miserable, very big, and spent a great deal of her time lying on the couch. At one of the regularly scheduled physician visits, my mother expressed her concern that the baby still hadn't arrived. This was also the years before inducing labor was really prevalant. At that point my mother's true loathing for this doctor became evident as his reply was "The apple will fall from the tree when it's ready." My mother had thoughts of where he could put his apple!

So Christmas arrived and still no baby. The day after and still no baby. Finally two days after Christmas my mother began to think she was in labor and around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, my mother delivered my baby sister at a whopping 9 lbs, 15 oz! My mother is 5 feet 2 inches tall and she delivered essentially a 10 pound baby that probably should have come via cesarean section. The baby was obviously in very cramped quarters because even the nurse remarked about the v-shaped birthmark on my sister's forehead and how it was likely caused, at least in part, by pressing on my mother's pelvic bone.

My only memories of the new baby were in the car ride home, which was before the era of carseats. My mother rode in the passenger seat holding my sister, while I stood on the floor behind the front seats peering over my mother's shoulder at the baby. The only other memory was probably from within that first month when my mother had me sit on our couch holding the baby in my lap so she could take a picture. I remember the baby being VERY heavy. Looking back at the photos, my mom had propped the baby on a couple of small pillows so her head was upright and I wasn't having to support her, but still to this day I can remember that feeling of heaviness in my lap.

Because her birthday was always over Christmas vacation, she never really had birthday parties with friends. My mother, having a January birthday herself, always made sure that my sister got separate birthday presents from Christmas gifts and that they were all wrapped in birthday paper. We never celebrate her birthday on Christmas and we never use leftover Christmas desserts either. It seems she usually had a birthday cake or her favorite apple pie. But there are lots of birthday photos over the years with the occasional twinkle of Christmas lights in the background. My sister is quick to point out that Christmas and her birthday are two separate events. I think there may have been a hapless boyfriend or two over the years that learned the hard way by trying to combine the two into one gift-giving opportunity!

So to Aunt DeDe, as my girls call her, I wish you a wonderful and very Happy Birthday! I promise to use birthday paper for your present but I may have to sneak a non-red or green Christmas bow on there.

Dear Genea-Santa

This post is written for Part 2 of the 86th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

Dear Genea-Santa,

I'm going to cut right to the chase because if you are as far behind on your Christmas preparations as I am you don't have time for a flowery beginning.

I have made every effort to be a good genea-girl this year. Just in the last 10 months alone, I discovered all these wonderful genealogy blogs and even got the courage to start one of my very own. I discovered that my old software wasn't cutting it and that using online trees (while good for sharing with unknown cousins) wasn't great either so I ventured into RootsMagic 4. I combined my four online trees (one for each of my grandparents) into one tree on RM4 and have slowly and methodically been updating and correcting all my sources. While not done yet, I have made great strides in having accurate and complete sources. I have contributed in three previous Carnival of Genealogy events and have had fun writing the stories for each. The stories likely would not have been documented otherwise. I have also been writing about my own childhood Christmas memories by contributing to the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories. Again it's something I probably never would have done without the organization of Thomas and Jasia.

So if you believe I have been a good genea-girl this year, I would greatly appreciate any of the following:

1. Proof that my Walter Harmon b. 1798 in Berkshire Co, Massachusetts is really the son of Isaac Harmon b. 1774 and Mary "Polly" Rawson. I really think that he is but could use a little nudge in the direction of hard proof besides a birth notation in Tyringham, Berkshire Co, Massachusetts of a Walter born to these parents. Is this the same guy as my Walter? I know Walter and his family traveled to Whiteside Co, Illinois and homesteaded adjacent to a Hiram Harmon. I know that Hiram Harmon was an associate of Guy Ray who married a Harmon girl and then another Harmon after the first one died. Can you help me prove that these four Harmons are siblings as I suspect?

2. Proof that Azubah Hyde (who married Walter in #1 above) is the daughter of John Hyde 2nd and Azubah Wheeler. I know that she was born about 1799 in Berkshire County and that the New Marlborough city clerk didn't record her birth so I'm hoping you can help me with some other proof. I mean why else would you name a child Azubah if Azubah Wheeler Hyde wasn't your mother, much like Azubah Wheeler Hyde was likely named after her own mother Azubah, wife of Zenas Wheeler? This one tiny little piece of information could lead to a possible Mayflower connection.

3. Parents of Thomas L. Arthur b. 6 Feb 1825 in New London, Connecticut. I have multiple documents that state either a location or a date, but no parents, and no luck searching in the Barbour Collection at Ancestry.com. I read a "vanity book" entry that said he'd been on his own since the age of 12. I know that by 1850 he was in Trumbull Co, Ohio and then moved onto Northfield, Rice Co, Minnesota where he lived the remainder of his days.

4. I'd greatly appreciate a copy of my grandpa Lee's military records. I've attempted before to find them, but according to NPRC, they can't find him based upon the information I provided. I'm a little frustrated and discouraged.

5. And if none of these are to your liking, I would just welcome the gift of a few hours now and then and a few extra dollars so that I can work on these problems myself.

So dearest Genea-Santa, my best wishes to you and a heartfelt thanks for any hints you can give about my above requests. My family, especially my two little girls, wish you safe travels this Christmas Eve. We will be watching your progress on the NORAD site and there will be cookies and milk waiting for you when you arrive.

With much love,
Tracy

COG 85: Orphans and Orphans

This article is written for the 85th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Greta's Genealogy Bog.

It all started with seven names written on a piece of paper:

Zerlinda Jane Pitts born 11 Mar 1854 (Bert's mother)
Joseph Anderson Pitts born 26 Feb 1855
Ruth Ann Pitts born 12 Mar 1856
James Marion Pitts born 5 Apr 1857
Nathan Rich born 29 Apr 1861
Dora Clark born 10 Jan 1865
Nora B Yisley born 5 Jun 1872

Who are they? And better yet, how do they relate to me?

My paternal grandmother gave me this piece of paper along with many others related to her family's history shortly after my marriage a dozen years ago. When we talked about this particular paper, she told me she thought Zerlinda Jane Pitts was her grandmother on her father's side (her father was Bert which I already knew). She assumed the other three Pitts' were siblings but Nathan, Dora and Nora were a mystery.

I knew that Zerlinda Jane typically went by Jennie (wouldn't you if your name was Zerlinda?) based upon the census records after she married Conrad Coons Scott. I can't list the countless searches I did of online census records looking for a Jennie Pitts. Then I switched to Zerlinda and still nothing. I continued searching on Joseph, Ruth, and finally James. That gave me on hit: a James Pitts in the 1860 census in Oskaloosa, Jefferson, Kansas. James was 3, Cylinda was age 6, and Medina was 27. I already knew that my grandma's family had ties to Jefferson and Johnson counties in Kansas so this was a very likely possibility. And I could also see how Zerlinda could be butchered by a census taker into Cylinda. But where was Ruth and Joseph and what about a father?

As time went on, I managed to piece together the pieces of a sad, sad tale. Medina Scherer (alternately spelled Sherer or Shearer) married Absalom Stroud Pitts on the 10th of July 1853 in Lee County, Iowa. They had four children, as listed above: Zerlinda, Joseph, Ruth and James. Tragedy struck the young Pitts family not once, not twice, but three times in a short two-year period. Joseph died in April 1856, Absalom in August 1857 and Ruth in September 1857 just three short weeks later.

How Medina ended up with her two remaining children in Jefferson Co, Kansas from Lee Co, Iowa is not known, but it's safe to say the next few years were very eventful for her and her two young children. The 1860 census that I referred to above was taken on the 26 July 1860. According to another researcher Medina married James Rich on 29 July 1860 in Oskaloosa. James Rich can be found in the Mission Creek, Waubaunsee, Kansas census taken 24 July 1860 with Medina age 30, Jane age 6 and Wm age 3. Did James list Medina and the children before they had actually moved in and he got their names and ages wrong? Or were Medina and the children already living there prior to the marriage? I tend to think the first one is more likely as Medina is listed on her own in Oskaloosa days before the marriage and that an overzealous James listed household members that had yet to move in. Medina and James had one son, Nathan Samuel Rich born 29 April 1861, before tragedy struck yet again. James died in 1861 as a result of injuries sustained while digging a well supposedly near the Kansas State Capital grounds.

Medina married yet a third time to Samuel Hamilton Clark on 7 Mar 1865. They had one daughter, Dora, born 10 Jan 1865. From what I understand those dates are correct meaning that their daughter Dora was born nearly two months prior to their marriage. I don't know what happened to Samuel but likely by 1869, Medina and children were living in Nodaway Co, Missouri. One researcher shared the tidbit that Medina left Samuel and noted their divorce was finalized 30 Nov 1870.

Medina married for a final time to widower David Yeisley in December 1870 in Nodaway Co, Missouri. Medina and David had two children: Nora B in 1872 and Walter in 1875. Medina and David are buried at Swinford Cemetery, Nodaway Co, Missouri. A descendant provided their headstone photo on Find A Grave.

So where did my great-great-grandmother, Zerlinda Jane "Jennie" Pitts, go in all this shuffle? On 8 Aug 1869 at the age of 15, Jennie married Conrad Coons Scott in Nodaway Co, Missouri. By this time, she had lost two full-blood siblings, her father Absalom, her first step-father James Rich, and it appears her mother Medina was already on the outs with Jennie's second step-father Samuel Clark. It should also be noted that James Pitts, Nathan Rich, Dora Clark, as well as Nora and Walter Yeisley all went on to live fairly long lives, married and had children. But Jennie was the oldest of all the children and she saw it all unravel.

When I first began researching Conrad and Jennie, I always wondered why she married at age 15 to someone who was nine years her senior. After researching her mother's life, I finally found some answers. Even though Jennie wasn't a true orphan in that she didn't lose BOTH biological parents, there was clearly enough instability in her early years that hope for a good and stable marriage must have pushed her to it at such a young age. She had better luck than her mother. Jennie and Conrad were married for 35 years until his death in 1904 in Desoto, Johnson, Kansas. She passed away two years later in Loring, Wyandotte, Kansas. They had six children of which at least three lived to adulthood.



With thanks to researchers Dave W. and Mel C. for sharing some of the above information with me.

COG 83: Tone Deaf in a Family of Musicians

This article is written for the 83rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. The topic is musical instruments. Do you play a musical instrument or did one of your family members? What instrument did you or they play? If no one in the family played an instrument, tell what is your favorite instrument or band and what is your least favorite one. Hosted By Janet Iles who authors the blog, Janet the Researcher.

I'd like to think that I got all the good genes and none of the bad.

And then reality sinks in.......

The one thing I've always wanted was to be able to sing....and carry a tune while doing it. As it is, I should really only sing while driving or perhaps in the shower. But most especially I should be only singing while alone so as not to offend anyone else's delicate ears. The irony of this situation is that I am descended from many fine folks with musical talents. Apparently that gift did NOT get passed on to me.

Now this isn't to say that I haven't had some musical training. There was a year of piano lessons using the Suzuki method when I was in about the third grade and then there were the four years of clarinet in the school band (grades six through nine). By the time I finished ninth grade and was ready to transfer to the high school (I went to a three year high school), I decided that band was just not for me. I had no desire to march around the football field at halftime or be in the pep band for basketball games. The musical compositions were becoming more difficult and I was not keeping up to that skill level. And frankly I was having a hard time determining when I was sharp or flat. I knew if I was wildly off key but when it came to fine tuning I simply couldn't tell if I was off key. And so ended my not-so-illustrious musical career.

If I consider all the musical talent in my family, I'm almost embarassed by my own lack of skill. My maternal grandmother grew up in a small town in eastern South Dakota, so there were a lot of long cold winters with little activity. To counteract that they would have a house party of sorts. My great-grandparents each came from a family of 7 siblings, so there were many aunts and uncles on both the Hanson and Hiby sides who would gather with their instruments on a Saturday night and play to the wee hours. As a result, my grandma can play the piano by ear but she never really learned to read music. Her brother can play accordian and piano by ear. He still lives in this rural area of South Dakota and plays for a lot of senior citizen groups. I think he owns at least three pianos and nine different accordians.

If they weren't making music, they were listening to it usually by means of the Grand Ole Opry on the radio on Saturday nights. My grandma also remembers her dad driving the family into town one evening and parking on the street next to an auditorium or dance hall. It must have been summertime because the door to the building was opened and out poured the live music of Lawrence Welk. She even remembers catching a glimpse of him. As a child, I remember having to watch reruns of old Lawrence Welk shows which I found to be incredibly boring. The only thing I really enjoyed were the bubbles and the ladies' pretty dresses. Funny what you remember........

And obviously musical talent does run in my grandma's Hiby line (originally spelled Hoiby), because we are related to Lee Hoiby, famous American composer best known for his work on "Summer and Smoke" by Tennessee Williams. Another famous work he is well known for is Shakespeare's "The Tempest". While the Hoiby/Hiby line is Norwegian, Lee Hoiby's mother's line was Danish and apparently very musically talented.

On my paternal grandfather's side, the McNeills were known to have some musical talent. I previously have written about my great-grandfather, Charles McNeill, and his ability to make his own fiddles. I have long known of his talent and it never ceases to amaze me. I recently caught the tail end of a PBS program on the Queen Family of Jackson Co, North Carolina, which is southwest of Mitchell and Yancey counties where my McNeills are from. The Queen Family has a similar Scots-Irish background and are all very musically talented. I can only envision that perhaps my own McNeills, including my great-grandpa Charlie, may have had this type of talent for the old mountain songs and bluegrass.

Even my husband comes from some musical background, including his own stint in the high school band playing saxophone. His father used to sing in a barbershop quarter. His maternal grandfather, Chester Kosinski, played the trumpet in an orchestra and in the 1930 U.S. Census in Bloomfield, Essex Co, New Jersey he listed his occupation as an orchestra musician.

Alas, it appears that even with all this talent coming before me I am destined to sing off-key. But it hasn't deterred my own love of music.

Did I also mention I have two left feet?

Summertime in good ol' South Dakota

This post is for the 76th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy: The Good Old Summertime.


My mother's family has strong ties to South Dakota. My mother was born in Watertown, Codington Co. My grandparents were born in Clark and Codington counties. Three of my four great-grandparents were born in South Dakota. In fact, most of their parents (my great, great-grandparents) came to Dakota Territory in the 1880s from places such as Rice Co., Minnesota, Dane Co., Wisconsin, Whiteside Co., Illinois and Houston Co., Minnesota.

My family took very few vacations when I was a child. I guess you could say we did a lot of "staycations" long before that even became a word. Who knew we were trend setters? However, there is one vacation I distinctly remember from the summer of 1981 when my mom, sister, and I joined my grandparents to drive for two (very long) days across two (very long) states to get to eastern South Dakota to visit our extended family. Bear in mind, I was six years old and we probably hadn't been on the road 50 miles before the infamous "Are we there yet?" began.

Since I was only six there are a few things I vaguely remember and others I don't recall at all. When I asked my mom last week for photos from that trip seeing them triggered some memories and brought up some wonderful stories. I remember seeing the old drilling rigs slowly pumping from the interstate in Wyoming. I remember my grandparents pointing out the antelope, which I thought for sure they called "cantaloupe". I was very confused about what the orangy colored fruit was doing in the middle of nowhere and what the big deal was about the "deer" out there. I vaguely remember stopping in the heat for a photo op at Independence Rock in Wyoming. Notice my protective arm around my younger sister.

Our first major stop was in the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. My grandpa Fred had a brother, Harry, and nephew and their families living in nearby Rapid City. Since we lived a couple of states apart and they didn't see each other often, I'm sure there was a visit though I don't recall it. I do however recall the pictures we took at Mount Rushmore. I also recall that my grandpa lost his lens cap to his camera over the edge at the viewing area. It also seems like we stayed in a campground in the Black Hills that had an evening program that was Native American dancing. It was quite impressive to see the feathered costumes, headdresses and fast moving feet of the performers.

Here I am in all my ruffled glory with my little sister and the four Presidents. I was 6 and she was about 3 1/2.

So our final destination was Clark County, South Dakota, specifically in the tiny town of Naples at my great-grandparents house. My grandma's parents, Helmer and Bernice (Hanson) Hiby, were in their mid-80s and late 70s, respectively, at this time. I had only had occasion to see them a couple of times and was really too young to remember any of them. I remember they had a beautiful old farmhouse with a big lawn and barn behind. There was a big enclosed porch on the front of the house at the front door that held lots of wonderful treasures, but everyone came in through the back door right into the kitchen. My great-grandma Bernice liked to sew and quilt. She had made a beautiful green quilt top that my mom loved and took notice of a few years prior to this trip. Mom asked if she could have it to quilt and she had it done by the time we took this vacation. We took several photos of the quilt hanging on the clothesline out behind the house. Here is one of me with my great-grandma Bernice and the beautiful quilt that holds a special place in our family.




My grandpa Fred's parents, Edward and Kate (Arthur) Harmon, had both passed on in 1960 and 1974, respectively. Their three sons, Ken, Harry of Rapid City, and my grandpa Fred, all lived elsewhere by this time and there wasn't really any family left living there. However, Edward and Kate's house in Henry, Codington Co., South Dakota was still there (and is still today) right on a corner of the little town. Here my sister and I are standing on the west side of the house. The upstairs window is a bedroom and the downstairs I believe is the living room. An enclosed porch with a door facing north can be seen on the left side of the photo. My mom recalls visiting this house as a child and staying in a makeshift bed on the upstairs landing. There my great-grandma Kate had a beautiful square (now antique) table with glass ball feet that was covered with books. My mom now has that beautiful table in her living room. Not only was my great-grandma a lover of books like me, but she was the family historian before there truly was such a thing in our family. Her handwritten notes gave me a start on our Harmon, Arthur, Struble and Myers lines.

In the yard of the Harmon house in Henry stands a wonderful tree with this interesting split trunk. Mom also captured us in front of the tree. Next door to the old house was a playground with an old metal slide and a wonderful merry-go-round that were reminiscent of the ones on my own school playground. After we took photos of the house, I remember playing on the merry-go-round and my grandpa Fred helping make it go faster.

This trip we took holds more significance than just the simple memories of a six-year old. This would be the last time my mom, sister or I would see my great-grandparents. Bernice passed away the following March 1982 and Helmer in June 1982. The next time my mom, sister and I went back to visit was with my grandma in 1995. My grandpa Fred had passed away two years earlier. Much has changed since then, but fond memories of this trip and the sweet childhood pictures my mother took of us as such little girls will always be a special treasure.

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