tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76612461230027269132024-03-13T22:43:54.798-04:00Everything's Relative - Researching Your Family HistoryA blog about my genealogy; the fun, the frustrations, tips, tricks and most of all - those "AHA!" moments!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-68291930575497073152022-01-23T20:52:00.004-05:002022-01-23T21:01:51.302-05:00<h1 style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: large;">What happens when you go away for a while?</span></i></h1><div>I doubt there's anyone who reads any longer... and that's okay. Afterall I didn't start the blog all those years ago (2009 I believe) because I needed or wanted people to read. I made a lot of friends, met lots of cool folks and worked on my family stories as much as I could. Then... well, life happens. Five kids, all at home at the time and two of them barely out of diapers... sports... high school activities, college, elementary school 'stuff'. Yeah, my research, writing and everything that goes along with it went by the wayside. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, I'd like to work again on MY stuff and I've forgotten how to use the platform. It appears totally foreign to me... here we go! </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px;" /></a></div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-17692417081651038102012-11-11T13:59:00.001-05:002012-11-12T12:59:24.899-05:00To the Veterans in my family, past and present<span style="background-color: #001327; color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.866666793823242px;">In honor of those in my family who served in our military, in the past and in the present. </span><br />
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My Dad, Donald F. Keener</div>
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United States Marine</div>
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Grandfather Leonard C. Anderson</div>
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Army</div>
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Served during WWI</div>
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Grandfather William P. Bellew</div>
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Army Air Force</div>
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WWII</div>
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Purple Heart Recipient</div>
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Uncle Vernon Lewis Keener</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9jG1e14TXQ/Trv56eH_xOI/AAAAAAAABWA/ChYLvQC3oNE/s1600/Vernon+in+Uniform+-+color+scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #38b63c; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9jG1e14TXQ/Trv56eH_xOI/AAAAAAAABWA/ChYLvQC3oNE/s640/Vernon+in+Uniform+-+color+scan.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(148, 15, 4); padding: 4px;" width="451" /></a></div>
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Uncle Carl W. Poates (born as Carr Anderson)</div>
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For privacy reasons, I will not post photos of living relatives who were, or are currently in the military but I will say..<br />
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Thank you to my brother Dale for his service in the Army, time in Iraq & your continued service</div>
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Thank you Uncle Jack for your long service in the Army and your time in Vietnam</div>
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Thank you to my nephew Greg for your service in the Army and time in Iraq</div>
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Thank you to my nephew Danny for your service in the Marines and time in Afghanistan</div>
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Thank you to my cousin's husband Andy for your service in the Army and time in Iraq</div>
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Thank you to my husband's uncle Johnny for your service in the Army and time in Iraq</div>
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Thank you to my nephew Christopher for your service in the Marines </div>
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Thank you to all military personnel and veterans for your service, past and present! </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-30165009259885602312012-04-15T14:52:00.001-04:002012-04-15T14:52:48.673-04:00He was "lost" in the 1940 CensusThis week the <a href="https://the1940census.com/blog/" target="_blank">1940 U.S. Census Community Project Blog</a> challenges it's Ambassadors to write a post about someone in the 1940s. During my search for information on my family in 1940, I began to realize that while I have tons of information on my family, I took a few shortcuts in my gathering of history on one of them and found that I had lost him in 1940. My story isn't about what I know, but more about what I didn't know, and should have.<br />
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When the 1940 U.S. Census was released, most of us were busy preparing ahead of time - gathering addresses and enumeration districts to be ready for the 'big day'. Myself, I had two families in the front of my mind, my Dad (this would be his first census appearance) and my Grandmother on my Mother's side, who would be making her THIRD appearance in the census. My Grandmother is still living, born in 1917, she turned 94 years old this past November and I planned to call her and get the information I needed and I couldn't wait to show her yet another census with her family listed. <br />
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The day of the release was busy, so I ended up calling her Tuesday morning and we chatted for a while on the phone as I pricked her memory of her early adult years. "Oh 1940, we would have been living on Hoosac Street in Adams" she says. "I remember because we lived way up on top of a hill and there weren't many houses up there on one side of the street." I asked her for the nearest cross street - Summer Avenue was her reply. The family of her husband (Bellew) was also living in Adams, but I didn't ask her for their information just yet, sometimes baby steps are better with Grandma's memory as she can get family members mixed up at times.<br />
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Armed with the information for the Leeming household, I found the ED and quickly started scanning the images looking for her family - funny thing, I wasn't looking for my Bellew family but lo-and-behold the name jumped out at me from the screen and I realized that I had stumbled across them by total accident. Then my questions began - my Grandfather was not in the home with his parents - where on earth was he? I quickly called Grandma again: <br />
"Grandma, where on earth was Granddad in 1940?" <br />
"Well, let me see... his family would have been living on Allen Street" she said<br />
"Yes, I see that because I found them there, but he is not in the house with his parents, only his two brothers were listed there, where was he."<br />
"Oh?" "Well he must have already been in DC, working at the Embassy"<br />
"Wait, WHAT?" <br />
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Okay, so I knew that he had worked in DC at the British Embassy for a period, but I did not know when in his lifetime he had done this - assuming (incorrectly) that it was after WWII, but honestly I never really asked. I knew that my Grandparents met in Adams, married in 1941 in Adams, had their children in Adams in the 1940s; I knew that he had registered for the Army at the start of WWII in Adams, and that he returned there when he was wounded. I also knew that they had at some point lived in DC... but I had made assumptions, incorrect assumptions that is. I quickly realized that I needed to make a better timeline for my Grandfather, a man who I had done much research on and had well documented his military history, but I didn't have any "order" to his life. In 1940 he was lost to me - I hadn't any idea what to think of this. I'm not some disorganized buffoon, I've been doing this for almost 20 years.. yet Granddad was lost in 1940. Yes, I am a disorganized buffoon!<br />
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So I've begun building his life on a timeline (again), and I found that indeed this thought had occurred to me previously and I had started to make one - I obviously needed to fill in some of the blanks and get things straight. I have visited with Grandma this week - again pricking her memory for the details. While I've done this many times before, I find that I always learn a few new things every time. I still have not found the household where my Grandfather was living in 1940, I am sure he is there... somewhere, and I will find him! <br />
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Have you found your family or are you waiting for a searchable index? If so, I would like to say that indexing is a fun and worthwhile activity for all of us. The more of us who help out, the more quickly it will be done! I began a few days after the release, and it's fun to watch your accuracy numbers, and talk with others who are doing the same on the project's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/1940USCensus" target="_blank">facebook</a> page. Visit the <a href="https://the1940census.com/" target="_blank">The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project</a> for information on how to get started. You might just help someone else who has found that their family was lost in 1940.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-style: initial !important; border-top-width: 0px !important;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Participation disclosure: As part of the1940census.com ambassador program, this blog post enters me into a drawing for a visa gift card.</span>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-56339852516765971612012-04-11T23:11:00.001-04:002012-04-11T23:11:29.991-04:00The First Step - Admit You Have a ProblemObviously by now, if you're a regular reader of genealogy blogs or even watch the news, you're already aware that the 1940 US Census was released on April 2nd. For the seasoned researcher, this was like a gift that we've waited 10 years to see and for some it came with disappointment, while others were cheering and squealing with excitement at their desks that day. My personal search of the census came with a bit of disappointment as a famed family "secret" was well kept when the enumerator came to the house - but that story is for another post. <br />
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On the day of the release, after doing my initial search and then walking away from my computer disgusted, I returned and started reading up on what other bloggers and friends were finding. Someone posted a link to <a href="https://the1940census.com/blog">The 1940 Census Community Project Blog</a> where news about the release was being shared. I read posts about the 1940s people, news and culture, indexing the census and how to search it - soon I was recharged by the excitement and went back to looking at the census. In the days following the release they have posted information on famous people in the census and where to find them, as well as contests for indexers to participate in. I suggest you visit the blog, subscribe and share the content - its a great read and will keep you up to date on all things "1940 US Census". <br />
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Now for my first step - admitting I have a problem.. As I looked through pages and pages of different districts in different states, I became enthralled by the names and places and soon I was signing up to do some indexing - something I had never considered before thinking surely I didn't have time for it. Seriously? I can barely squeeze out a blog post these days. At heart I am a data entry geek, love entering data & always have, so this was actually right up my alley - maybe a little too much<br />
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"My name is Cindy and I'm addicted to indexing census data." I cannot stop, every waking moment my computer calls to me. That little whisper in the back of my mind asking "wonder what states are available now?" I began working on Colorado & Kansas - states that I had no family in, but then Virginia came up and soon Maryland and Massachusetts. While I really try to work on the batches that they have labeled "Highest Priority", it's difficult not to grab a batch from a state that you're interested in now and then. If you like this sort of work I highly recommend it and even if you don't, won't it be great when the entire census is on line <u>and</u> indexed? All genealogists should take part in this project. Our "community" always helps the other researcher from time to time - certainly we can all take a little time and help index the census. After all, every one of us will benefit from it and even if you can only spare an hour a day, it's time well spent.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-style: initial !important; border-top-width: 0px !important;" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: #f8f6f2; color: #333333; font-family: SortsMillGoudyRegular, georgia, 'times new roman', serif; line-height: 25px;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">As part of the1940census.com ambassador program this blog post enters me into a drawing for an ipad</span></i></span>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-76440546973125652962012-02-11T11:17:00.003-05:002012-02-11T11:21:19.156-05:00Happy Birthday Grandma Keener Feb 11, 1924<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rxhp_4O_Lyo/TzaN5bldRII/AAAAAAAABWs/rd380GETVHs/s1600/1947_Edna+and+Jerry+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rxhp_4O_Lyo/TzaN5bldRII/AAAAAAAABWs/rd380GETVHs/s640/1947_Edna+and+Jerry+1.jpg" width="376" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna Reba Keener 11 Feb 1924 - 17 Jan 1995<br />
Her son Jerry Keener 14 Jul 1942 - 22 Mar1983<br />
photo taken in late 1940s </td></tr>
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My Grandma Edna Keener was a strong woman. Her mother died when she was only 9, the oldest of 8 children. Having her own first child at 14, raising three sons along with the many siblings in the home - it must've been a very difficult life for her. As an adult, she worked in some kind of electrical assembly job for most of her life and took care of her husband who was almost 30 years her senior.<br />
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Grandma lived nearby when I was young, I recall sunny days on her back porch, in the garden, playing in the yard that seemed so enormous to me. Her kitchen was giant and it seemed she always had something cooking (we were probably there for meals most of the time). Her dining room walls were covered with collected plates and was rarely used, except to pass through to the front of the house. As a child I didn't notice, but whenever I smell old books, or a damp basement - you know that smell? I remember her home smelled just that way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1lRnRA9-Uk8/TzaQaTBcRjI/AAAAAAAABW8/wA7ds-oNtd4/s1600/grandma+and+who.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1lRnRA9-Uk8/TzaQaTBcRjI/AAAAAAAABW8/wA7ds-oNtd4/s400/grandma+and+who.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna Keener and her sister Virginia Anderson<br />
photo taken in early 1980s</td></tr>
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Grandma moved away when I was in my early teens and I only saw her once or twice when I was an adult, Too bad that I didn't realize the things that were slipping away at the time - the things that now I would love to talk to her about, her memories, her family, her life.<br />
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I am told that I resemble her, tell stories the way she did, and often make facial expressions that were just like hers. Strange how you do those things when you really didn't "know" a person, or spend any time with them to pick up habits such as these.<br />
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The last time I saw her, she was on her deathbed. Only a few weeks before she passed away. Oh, the things I wish I had asked! Grandma died on January 17 1995. She was 70 years old. Today would be her 88th birthday.</div>
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Happy Birthday Grandma, you're always in my heart!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-28740313327336090212012-01-04T09:49:00.000-05:002012-01-04T09:53:03.979-05:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McVeVWcKMb8/TwRmkEG7iTI/AAAAAAAABWk/foglQUrdmZQ/s1600/jerry+1947+color+scan+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McVeVWcKMb8/TwRmkEG7iTI/AAAAAAAABWk/foglQUrdmZQ/s640/jerry+1947+color+scan+cropped.jpg" width="446" /></a></div>
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John Jerry Keener b. 1942 d. 1983</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-12011431680371679312011-12-08T23:51:00.000-05:002011-12-08T23:51:12.950-05:00Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Dec 8, Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-SYiUALoI/AAAAAAAABS4/UUDzhsTXwlE/s1600/DSCN5022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-SYiUALoI/AAAAAAAABS4/UUDzhsTXwlE/s320/DSCN5022.jpg" width="320" /></a>Nothing makes me happier than giving tins of Christmas cookies to friends and neighbors. Having four girls in the family, there's always a helper around when it's time to spend a day baking cookies, sprinkling the sugar, placing the little decors around or taste testing. Neither of my Grandmothers were big on making Christmas cookies. I have my paternal grandmother's cookbooks - most recipes are for dinner meals and how to cook on a budget. But, my Mom? She was all about making Christmas cookies and decorating them with little intricate decorations. </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;">While I don't have any photos of them unfortunately, some I can clearly remember. Mostly she made cookie cutter cookies - carefully assembling holly leaves with green icing and little red balls, wreaths with silver balls and little red bows, She also made angels and I think her favorites were the stained glass cookies. Mom also made miniature pecan tarts that were absolutely wonderful. Itty-bitty crusts filled with yummy sticky goodness! One of my favorite cookies that she made was her cranberry cookies which were always a staple this time of year.</div><br />
With my own children we've made many different things over the years. Our favorites are Russian Tea Cakes, and little decorated spritz butter cookies made from a cookie press (pictured above) - how did I ever live without that? While they're not an intricate cookie-cutter cookie, they're yummy, easy to decorate, easy to make and come in large batches so you can make multiple designs in one batch. We also enjoy making fudge, mint bark candy, little minty snowmen (pictured here), peanut butter buck-eyes, peanut butter cookies, and lots of different breads (banana, cranberry and pumpkin). We make lots and lots of this stuff and then pack up tins or plates to share with neighbors, friends, teachers, bus drivers and the milk man. <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pe3fBkFI/AAAAAAAABSw/HTyuzyhwHSU/s1600/S6300536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pe3fBkFI/AAAAAAAABSw/HTyuzyhwHSU/s640/S6300536.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pk512A7I/AAAAAAAABS0/R9rXD4VYip8/s1600/S6300538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pk512A7I/AAAAAAAABS0/R9rXD4VYip8/s400/S6300538.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm sure that all of these holiday goodies will be remembered by my own kids, but most of all the memories of cold days spent in the kitchen together making them. </div><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-42518446988858949262011-12-06T10:04:00.000-05:002012-01-20T08:35:01.241-05:00Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories Dec 4th Christmas CardsChristmas cards are wonderful things. I love finding a pile of them in my mailbox during the early weeks of December. Sadly, it's too often that this is the only time we hear from some distant relatives and friends. We hang ours on a pantry door in the kitchen, enjoying them through the month and adding to them everytime we get another greeting in the mail. In my parents home we did a similar thing, there was a louvered door in their kitchen and the cards easily slipped through it, overlapping each other and filling the door throughout the season.<br />
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Now that I have my own family, I do send cards every year to close friends and family. My Mom always sent cards - when I was old enough to help I seem to remember hundreds of them - possibly I just didn't want to help and the task seemed endless :) My own family now sends about 30-40 cards a year.<br />
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What do you do with them when Christmas is over? I'm sure that there are some who pack them away every year and others who simply keep any photos sent and drop the cards in the trash. Thankfully, my great-grandmother Margaret McCann Bellew kept some very special Christmas greetings sent from her husband John Bellew while they were apart - she in England with two children and her husband here in the US with another of their sons, building their new life. <br />
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While these cards are not what we see today in typical Christmas design, they are beautiful and contained hand-written notes of Christmas greetings from her husband and a son that went ahead with him to the US. <br />
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I was unable to scan these cards - they are not made of paper, but rather the fronts are some type of plastic material that is very fragile at this point, so I photographed them some time ago, and they have been put away for safe keeping. The embroidered one in the back appears to have more of a Christmas design and the greeting inside is as follows:<br />
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From Your Loving Husband and Son Willie<br />
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To Wife and Children<br />
25th Dec 1923<br />
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When she finally joined her husband in the US, Margaret had the terrible misfortune of leaving one of her sons (John) in England. This must have torn at her heart for her entire life. When he was older, he sent Christmas greetings from England to his parents:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPpLbVycwnI/AAAAAAAABSY/etmLWQwS8_k/s1600/christmas_back+angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPpLbVycwnI/AAAAAAAABSY/etmLWQwS8_k/s640/christmas_back+angel.jpg" width="376" /></a></div>
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After seeing these cards in Margaret's things, I knew that she loved them and I will hang onto them and preserve them as best I can for future generations. <br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-87406041329998487112011-12-05T13:24:00.001-05:002011-12-05T13:30:47.351-05:00Advent Calendar - December 3, Tree OrnamentsSo my dates are a bit off and I'm a few days behind, but I wanted to share this post from last year. <br />
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Christmas is a magical time - excitement, anticipation and many enjoyed festivities go along with the season, making it a wonderful time to share with family. Nothing gets that excitement started like decorating the house and putting up the tree. I remember as a child growing up, after the Thanksgiving turkey was put to leftovers and the pumpkin pie was gone, it was time to decorate for Christmas! <br />
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The tree trimming was my primarily Mom's job, but we all enjoyed looking through the ornaments, straightening the branches of our tree and helping to hang them all. In our family every child got a new ornament every year. My parents carefully put our names and the year on the ornament somewhere. In those earlier years our tree didn't really have a "theme" but was more of what I would call a children's tree. After all, Christmas was all about the children. There were a few sets of glass ornaments that my parents had purchased over the years and we always hung those as well. Over time, there were less and less of them, as various ones got broken. I have two or three such ornaments from those glass bobbles that belonged to my parents when they first started their lives together. These are among my most cherished ornaments and I put them on my tree every year.<br />
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<div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPj9OPgWxnI/AAAAAAAABR8/OCpRD2COtCc/s1600/DSCN4971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPj9OPgWxnI/AAAAAAAABR8/OCpRD2COtCc/s400/DSCN4971.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPj25tclNRI/AAAAAAAABR0/C4LgaKiCaiQ/s1600/DSCN4977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPj25tclNRI/AAAAAAAABR0/C4LgaKiCaiQ/s400/DSCN4977.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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On the first Christmas after moving from my parents home Mom pulled all of my ornaments from her boxes and gave them to me - giving me a collection of ornaments to start decorating my own tree. <br />
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This Santa is plastic, covered with thin felt and is from 1974 and the Pooh below is from 1978. My children give me a hard time about these every year - "Here Mom, it's that old Santa" <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When my paternal Grandmother passed away in 1995 I received very few of her Christmas decorations. But among them was this ornament which I have carefully put on my tree every year ever since. I haven't any idea where she got it and I had never seen anything like it but it too is one of my most cherished. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPj-F9Rs7JI/AAAAAAAABSA/1lXr9nHvWzU/s1600/DSCN4955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TPj-F9Rs7JI/AAAAAAAABSA/1lXr9nHvWzU/s640/DSCN4955.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Every year my ornaments get a little older and every year we add new ornaments to our tree for each of our children. My Mom still gives me (and my kids) a new ornament every year. When they grow up I hope that they enjoy taking them out every year, remembering the times we had trimming our tree and adding to their collections for their own children, keeping the family tradition alive. </div></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-16991038795540822022011-11-24T13:11:00.001-05:002011-11-24T22:03:18.222-05:00It's my Blog's Birthday & Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family, friends and readers! Thanks for following me! <br />
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</div>This photo was taken on Thanksgiving 1957 - look at those mashed potatoes! Getting ready for the feast are: left Pauline Keener Harrington & Joe Harrington, at the back Leonard C. Anderson, on the right are an unknown female and Russell Keener<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy 3rd Birthday to my blog! I am so thankful to all the folks who have followed me, contacted me and become my friends. The genealogy blogging community is a wonderful group to be a part of. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MqOM1VNvCyI/Ts6ERldg4FI/AAAAAAAABWQ/ID6qH8GstwA/s1600/cartoon_birthday_cake_with_a_3_candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MqOM1VNvCyI/Ts6ERldg4FI/AAAAAAAABWQ/ID6qH8GstwA/s1600/cartoon_birthday_cake_with_a_3_candle.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px! important; border-left-width: 0px! important; border-right-width: 0px! important; border-top-width: 0px! important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-26208346570855906502011-11-10T11:44:00.000-05:002011-11-10T11:44:16.224-05:00To the Veterans in my family - past and presentIn honor of those in my family who served in our military, in the past and in the present. <br />
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</div><div align="center">My Dad, Donald F. Keener</div><div align="center">United States Marine</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HFDol5uQN3k/Trv5TrlHNrI/AAAAAAAABV4/Sqr432nAS0Y/s1600/Dad%2527s+Marine+Photo+1957+color+photo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HFDol5uQN3k/Trv5TrlHNrI/AAAAAAAABV4/Sqr432nAS0Y/s640/Dad%2527s+Marine+Photo+1957+color+photo+2.jpg" width="457" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Grandfather Leonard C. Anderson</div><div style="text-align: center;">Army </div><div style="text-align: center;">Served during WWI</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DsPVX3n8fIY/TrvwKjO8NYI/AAAAAAAABVo/IS0ZTeEvP-A/s1600/Media0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DsPVX3n8fIY/TrvwKjO8NYI/AAAAAAAABVo/IS0ZTeEvP-A/s400/Media0006.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<div align="center">Grandfather William P. Bellew</div><div align="center">Army Air Force</div><div align="center">WWII</div><div align="center">Purple Heart Recipient</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BpOHMPsqLJU/Trvw7N8XmBI/AAAAAAAABVw/GPc8PllcRSQ/s1600/Wm+Bellew+in+Uniform.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BpOHMPsqLJU/Trvw7N8XmBI/AAAAAAAABVw/GPc8PllcRSQ/s640/Wm+Bellew+in+Uniform.JPG" width="444" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Uncle Vernon Lewis Keener</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9jG1e14TXQ/Trv56eH_xOI/AAAAAAAABWA/ChYLvQC3oNE/s1600/Vernon+in+Uniform+-+color+scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9jG1e14TXQ/Trv56eH_xOI/AAAAAAAABWA/ChYLvQC3oNE/s640/Vernon+in+Uniform+-+color+scan.jpg" width="451" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
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<div align="center">Uncle Carl W. Poates (born as Carr Anderson)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dLamw2xuAWA/Trv8FqNHTZI/AAAAAAAABWI/eWgOXbFGuB4/s1600/Carl+A+Poates+-+color+scan+-cropped_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dLamw2xuAWA/Trv8FqNHTZI/AAAAAAAABWI/eWgOXbFGuB4/s640/Carl+A+Poates+-+color+scan+-cropped_2.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div align="left">For privacy reasons, I will not post photos of living relatives who were, or are currently in the military but I will say..</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Thank you Uncle Jack for your long service in the Army and your time in Vietnam</div><div align="left">Thank you to my nephew Greg for your service in the Army and time in Iraq</div><div align="left">Thank you to my nephew Danny for your service in the Marines and time in Afghanistan </div><div align="left">Thank you to my cousin's husband Andy for your service in the Army and time in Iraq</div><div align="left">Thank you to my husband's uncle Johnny for your service in the Army and time in Iraq</div><div align="left">Thank you to my nephew Christopher for your service in the Marines (just completed basic)</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Thank you to all military personnel and veterans for your service, past and present! </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-50722103659542481132011-10-26T14:32:00.000-04:002011-10-26T14:32:58.993-04:00Throwing in the towel? Nah, just needed a bit of breathing space!This poor, neglected blog!<br />
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I have actually been doing research - in my "spare" time (that is, during the wee hours of the morning). Between the 4 kids at home and one off to college this year, I have been one busy Momma! So yeah, I've been digging up info but haven't had the time or the drive to write. I've also been teaching adult education for a few months, something I've always wanted to do. The class topic? Genealogy of course! This has been a wonderful outlet for me and helped me meet some fantastic people right here in my own town who enjoy this wonderful hobby. I am hopeful that we will continue to share, meet and help each other with our research. <br />
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In the meantime, I would really like to revisit my blog and actually start writing again, that is if I can find that spark to share that seems to have left me after my father died. <br />
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So, if you used to read regularly or if you've just started following, please come back and read again. I have so missed this! <br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-13449378529464503532011-04-11T13:34:00.001-04:002011-04-11T14:59:16.094-04:00Military Monday - Comparing WWII JournalsResearching my Grandfather's WWII history has been a very rewarding endeavor for me. Looking for the records, finding his discharge paperwork, obtaining his medals, reviewing hometown newspapers for information - all of these things were very worth while. Lucky for me, he kept a bit of a journal during his time in the Army Air Force and noted the dates he flew on missions, what the target was, the flying altitude, and other details about the weather and enemy fighters encountered etc. This gave me more of the story behind his time in England, but didn't offer up many details in the way of actual "stories" of his missions. <br />
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I was contacted by another researcher last fall for more information on his missions. It seems our two Granddads had fought together. He was interested in the journal, to enable him to order mission reports for specific dates. I provided the information I could and one entry intrigued me (below) and I asked that if he did get mission reports would he mind sharing information with me on this particular mission. <br />
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<blockquote>June 25th, 1944 - 16th mission<br />
Target - X <br />
300-500 feet<br />
light flak<br />
2 FW 190S Fighters<br />
9 hours </blockquote>About a week ago I received an email from the other researcher. Seems he's been doing his homework and reaching out to others in the same squadron. Luckily, a family member of another serviceman in the same squadron had yet another journal - with an entry for the same date... <br />
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<blockquote>Ate at midnite, took off at 4 am for S.W. France with 10 parachute bundles of supplies. Dropped them from 300 ft. in a valley between mountains to the French marquis. We were so low, we could see the grateful smiles on their faces as they waved to us. The group was attacked by one FW-190, but P-47's chased him away. Bombardier (Moe) had a close call by flak. Flew as crew in 138 - new ship with only two previous missions on her.</blockquote>I was so relieved to read that "target X" in my Grandfather's journal was actually a location for a supply drop and not one of their usual missions. He wasn't looking down at terrified people, but other soldiers who were happy to see them. All the official documents in the world can't offer up this kind of information - the actual experience of the individual. <br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-15669296961603243182011-01-26T07:52:00.003-05:002011-02-03T15:38:52.445-05:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TUAYnXB5BwI/AAAAAAAABVE/IL9TM5pVDvg/s1600/grandma+edna+at+school+in+frederick+-+1946+sepia-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TUAYnXB5BwI/AAAAAAAABVE/IL9TM5pVDvg/s640/grandma+edna+at+school+in+frederick+-+1946+sepia-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center">Edna Keener b. 1924 d. 1995</div><div align="center">Taken on the steps of a school in Frederick Maryland 1946</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-83077596762764893202011-01-18T13:27:00.000-05:002011-01-18T13:27:37.108-05:00Tombstone Tuesday - And a Mystery - George J. Keener revisitedI posted this tombstone previously in June of 2009. At the time, I couldn't figure out why the wife was listed - as she was no longer his wife (although I could find no record of her death, so I haven't a clue the circumstances). <br />
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I recently obtained an abstract of his obituary and it left me with even more questions. So I started at the beginning of his life again and tried to map out what I know about the family. I am still left with the same questions and cannot seem to solve the mystery of his headstone and his obituary nor find any deaths or burials for his three wives...<br />
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George J. Keener was born 26 May 1852 (date according to his death certificate is 1853), to Samuel B. and Mary Johnston Keener of Taylor County WV. On 12 Apr 1868 he married Tryphenny S M Thomas in Taylor County WV. In the 1870 census the couple is found living with his parents, along with their new daughter Mary. I cannot find any further records of this wife in the county or surrounding area. It is assumed that she died prior to 1872... <br />
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On 23 Apr 1872 we find another marriage record for George J. Keener and Letis A. Poling. This union resulted in the following children: Amos, Nella, Virginia, Isaac, Selena, James, Rachel and Ray. All of these children were born between 1873 and 1887. In the 1880 census, Mary (the daughter from his first marriage) was listed in the household of her Grandparents Samuel and Mary. <br />
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In the 1900 census we find George J Keener at the age of 48 with yet another wife, Nora age 27, (aka Honora, Hanolla, Hanna). Two of the children of the previous marriage are listed in the home (James and Rachel) and he and Nora have another 4 children: William, Samuel, Harry and Clarence. Another son, Robert would be born later in the year. <br />
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In case you've lost track, thats a total of 14 children born to this man and his three wives. <br />
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So where is the confusion or the "mystery?..... here<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TTXUwCFP_RI/AAAAAAAABU8/KgYUE0015-o/s1600/GeorgeJ%252CCurrentCem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TTXUwCFP_RI/AAAAAAAABU8/KgYUE0015-o/s640/GeorgeJ%252CCurrentCem.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TTXV6gOpI4I/AAAAAAAABVA/hkaO2lPx7ns/s1600/Death+Cert+-+George+Keener.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="558" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TTXV6gOpI4I/AAAAAAAABVA/hkaO2lPx7ns/s640/Death+Cert+-+George+Keener.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br />
First problem with the headstone is the year of death. It appears that it says 1925, but his death certificate issued by the state of WV clearly states March 1, 1926. The bigger problem with this headstone is that Lettie Keener is noted as his wife when his last wife was Nora (note the certificate states he is a widow so Nora clearly died prior to him) - this would be yet another death certificate that I cannot find. It is possible that only the children from the marriage to Lettie were involved in his "arrangements", which would also explain the obituary - which left out all of the children born to Nora, listing only his first daughter Mary and the children born to Letting who were still living. <br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">G. J. Keener Passes Away. The Grafton Sentinel. Grafton, WV. March 2, 1926.</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Abstract--Geo. J. Keener, s/o Mrs. and Mrs. Samuel B. Keener, died yesterday at the home of his daughter Mrs. H. McWilliams, 720 Pearl Street. Inflamation of the stomach was the cause of death. The deceased was 72 years, 10 months and 2 days old, and had been a resident of Taylor county practically all of his life. He has been in ill health for nine months. He is survived by five daughters, Mrs. David Mowder, Wheeling; Mrs. Irvin F. Kinter, Fairmont; Mrs. Claude Griffith, Mrs. Logan Trader, amd Mrs. H. McWilliams, all of Grafton; two sons, James B. Keener of Fairmont, and A. S. Keener of Grafton, one sister, Mrs. Margaret Utterback of Brownsville, Pa. Funeral services were held in the home of Mrs. H. McWilliams. Interment was in the Philippi cemetery.</span></em><br />
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This obituary raises yet another question about the interment - George was buried at the Current Cemetery in Taylor County, not at the Philippi Cemetery which is in Barbour County (this would be the county that Lettie's family was from). <br />
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So, please weigh in - why are there no death records for any of his wives? Can anyone find them? I have searched the WV Culture site thoroughly, all counties, all dates.. I cannot find anything that fits. Where are his wives buried? And something I may never know - why did Lettie's children not list the others in the obituary and why did they put her name on his headstone? <br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-52598145479412046092011-01-14T10:34:00.001-05:002011-01-15T09:13:14.784-05:00Extended Family Friday - The KeenersAs this post is written, I have been busy weeding through much information that I have received from another found cousin in my Keener line of the family. First, I must tell you that I met this cousin in a chat hosted by the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/Ancestorville">Ancestorville Genealogy</a> Facebook page. If you don't join the chats being held there, you could certainly be missing out! They have state-focused chats and chances are, if your family has a large presence in a certain state, you may find someone with common research interests. Such is the case with me and cousin Nancy who I "met" on a recent WV chat. <br />
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She has shared much with me already - especially photographs. She's been researching this family for years and is glad to share her knowledge with me - someone who has not done much on the collateral lines. Thanks so much Nancy! <br />
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Today I highlight her Great Grandfather, my 1st cousin 5x removed; Lewis S. Keener.<br />
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Lewis was born in 1841 to Thomas Ullery Keener (aka Ullery Keener; Ulrich Keener) and his wife Sarah Ann Kisner, in Fetterman, a town in now Taylor County WV. Lewis enlisted as a soldier for the Confederacy on May 13, 1861 and fought for Company A, 25th Infantry Regiment of Virginia and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on July 9, 1864. He married Catherine B. Jackson on December 8, 1864, in Abermarle County VA and the couple was listed in the 1880 census for Whitehall, Abermarle, Virginia. Lewis and his wife had 7 children: James, John, Thomas, Catherine, Mary, Susan and Andrew. I had not even realized that a very large part of the Keener family had gone to this part of Virginia and a nearby town called Crozet - assuming (incorrectly of course) that they all remained in Taylor County because I was so focused on my direct line that I've not bothered to see where all the other brothers had wandered off to. <br />
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Nancy shared the photo below with me, of Lewis and his brother James Alfred Keener and their wives. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TTBYysfra1I/AAAAAAAABU4/BkYWEdnV0X8/s1600/Lewis+S+and+James+Alfred+Keener+and+wives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TTBYysfra1I/AAAAAAAABU4/BkYWEdnV0X8/s640/Lewis+S+and+James+Alfred+Keener+and+wives.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo privately held</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Yet again, it pays to be a part of the larger genealogy community on the web. Without reaching out to others, making connections and joining groups or chats, we cannot corroborate or share our research fully with others. <br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-73186589753047248462011-01-12T12:59:00.000-05:002011-01-12T12:59:10.414-05:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TS3rhotKCmI/AAAAAAAABU0/EDKSiTm6qeA/s1600/sally+jerry+pauline+joe+and+vernon+Jerry+and+blackie+the+dog+1955-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TS3rhotKCmI/AAAAAAAABU0/EDKSiTm6qeA/s640/sally+jerry+pauline+joe+and+vernon+Jerry+and+blackie+the+dog+1955-1.jpg" width="612" /></a></div><div align="center">Standing: Pauline Keener Harrington b. 1 Jun 1926; d. 26 Jun 1980</div><div align="center">Joe Harrington (husband of Pauline)</div><div align="center">Vernon Lewis Keener b. 29 Sep 1930; d. 12 Jun 1997</div><div align="center">girl: Sally Watkins b. 14 apr 1947; d. 15 Feb 2001</div><div align="center">Blackie the dog</div><div align="center">John Jerry Keener b. 14 Jul 1942; d. 22 Mar 1983</div><br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-75242912606690508382011-01-09T19:39:00.000-05:002011-01-09T19:39:55.429-05:00Sunday's Obituary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TSpPzzI90wI/AAAAAAAABUo/ziCR0281S6U/s1600/Nora+Hott+Shanholtz+Roles+obituary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TSpPzzI90wI/AAAAAAAABUo/ziCR0281S6U/s640/Nora+Hott+Shanholtz+Roles+obituary.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Born Nora Jemima Elizabeth Hott, on Sept. 5th 1873 in Hampshire County WV, she was the daughter of Mary M. Henderson and Samuel William Hott. <br />
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On October 31, 1891 she married Benjamin Lee Shanholtz (NO doubt a distant cousin but who's counting?) and had three children; Mandel, Charles, and a daughter named Ida. I am unaware of what became of this marriage, but do know that she married another man, Raymond Franklin Roles prior to 1909. From this marriage she had three children; Archer, Edward and a daughter, Virgil. <br />
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In 1910 she was living with her husband Raymond and their children in Aquia, Stafford, Virginia. In 1920 the family was in Providence, Fairfax, Virginia. In 1930 Nora was living in Washington DC with her sons Edward Roles & Charles Shanholtz and her widowed sister, Sally Anderson. <br />
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This is the only photograph that my family has of Nora. She is standing in the photo below. Seated is her sister Sally (my Great Grandmother) and an unidentified child in Sally's lap. The date of this photo is unknown. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TSpQg3x38oI/AAAAAAAABUs/VctdG-vTeEo/s1600/gma+anderson+-repaired.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TSpQg3x38oI/AAAAAAAABUs/VctdG-vTeEo/s640/gma+anderson+-repaired.JPG" width="416" /></a></div> <br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-40818627181296962792011-01-04T09:36:00.000-05:002011-01-04T09:36:34.645-05:00Tombstone TuesdayAnother stone from the <a href="http://genealogybycindy.blogspot.com/2010/11/tombstone-tuesday-cemetery-in-woods.html">Cemetery In the Woods</a> that I visited this past October. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TSMvNjxGVuI/AAAAAAAABUg/j439zCWGm9k/s1600/DSCN4492-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TSMvNjxGVuI/AAAAAAAABUg/j439zCWGm9k/s640/DSCN4492-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Susanna J. Keener</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Daughter of Abraham Smith Keener and Elizabeth Hume</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Susanna would be my 1st cousin 4x removed. </div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-12654491423385864092010-12-21T09:49:00.001-05:002010-12-21T09:51:20.554-05:00One Year Later<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TRC8-DxdPBI/AAAAAAAABUE/TQSet1jPmBI/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TRC8-DxdPBI/AAAAAAAABUE/TQSet1jPmBI/s640/001.jpg" width="515" /></a></div>For the past two weeks or so I have been contemplating what I would write today, on the one year anniversary of my Dad's death. I have been busying myself with trying to not dwell on it, but it's always there in the back of my mind "the day is coming, the day is coming". While I felt that I really needed to make a tribute, a heartfelt documentation of my feelings, the words just weren't coming. <br />
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There are many reasons why this day is so difficult. Christmas is just a few days away, a time of celebration and new life. Yet, today I just don't feel it. I keep going back to that morning last year and trying to understand why the weather didn't cooperate, why I didn't try harder, why he didn't hold on. I couldn't be there with him. Knowing my Dad, he probably wanted it just that way. <br />
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Today I re post a portion of what I wrote on the first Father's Day I spent without him. Good memories and a lifetime filled with love. <br />
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This week has seemed particularly hard for me, our "first" Father's Day without my father is upon us and Monday will be the six-month anniversary of his death. I've been very emotional during the last few days, and the slightest thing brings him to mind.. today it was strawberries, so fragrant and reminiscent of summer... as a child my parents would take us to a local orchard to pick them, I think more ended up in our tummies than in our basket, it's a vivid memory of Dad and caused me to break down right in the produce section of our store. While I started the day a bit weepy, this brought me truly to tears and I barely got through checking out. <br />
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Tonight I got to thinking about other memories of him and trying to recall things of my childhood that stood out in my mind. While I of course don't remember much before the age of five or so, I have a few very clear memories of what seem to be very early years.<br />
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When I was about four or five I can clearly remember going to a local school carnival while we were visiting family in Massachusetts. While I don't actually recall much about the actual carnival, I do remember Dad leading me through some tall bushes to get in. The school was next door to my grandparents home, the bushes were probably just on the property line, but it felt like an adventure in my youngster mind. Dad would spend $100 on a carnival game to win me a $2 stuffed animal, by the time I was in my teens I had hundreds of them filling my room. I still have a few, I wish I still had them all. <br />
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Another early memory of Dad was the building where he worked. My Dad was a Maintenance Manager for a large builder. We lived in a planned community, made up of several mini communities, all of which had their own maintenance department and swimming pool. My Dad worked in an office at the bottom of a high-rise building in our neighborhood. Whenever I was at the office with him I would sneak off and get a ride in the elevator. Problem was that I didn't know how to return to his floor - I must have been pretty young at this point. I would get off the elevator, take in the sights from that floor and then begin to cry and yell for him. I can still hear his voice coming from the upcoming elevator "I'm coming Cindy". He must have had to stop on every floor until he found me.<br />
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I could never mention memories of Dad and not mention the music. My Dad was a wonderful musician. He loved country music and could play any instrument that had strings, the harmonica and the piano or keyboard. He had a studio of sorts in our basement where he recorded and on the weekends family and friends would get together and play music, sing and dance together till they couldn't sing anymore... us kids would usually be long sleeping by then, but I can still remember falling to sleep to the sounds of electric guitars, tambourines, and that drum machine that my brother and I loved to play with. When Dad was playing I would stand by, waiting for his instruction on which song to pull out of his book next. He had a black 3-ring binder full of song lyrics... no music, just the lyrics. He could play any song but didn't read music. The sounds of his picking still course through my mind on occasion, and I find myself humming a tune that I've not heard for 20 years. <br />
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Since my Mom didn't drive when I was young, Dad was the only driver in our family - another of my earliest memories is visiting the local gas station and always getting a Moon Pie and a Yoohoo drink (when Yoohoo was still in a little glass bottle, not a juice box). Yes, I sat on the front seat of our big gold Pontiac with it's huge doors and vinyl interior... I loved that car and Dad loved Moon Pies. When Mom had to go to the grocery store we would sit in the parking lot and wait for what seemed like hours - after some time he would begin mumbling "come on Barbara" about every 10 minutes. <br />
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Once when I was about 8 Dad was helping me fly a kite behind our house. The wind was great that day and the kite kept going up and up and up.... I had no idea that the string would come right off it's spool at the end and the kite would actually fly away... I also had no idea that my Dad could run that fast. Yes, he caught it. My Dad was my hero. <br />
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We had a few ponds in that neighborhood, they were right behind our house and in the winter Dad would always be the one to go check the ice to make sure it was safe for all of us kids. <br />
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Being very knowledgeable in building, plumbing and all things in construction, Dad was a great builder of forts. This was especially true when he and Mom purchased a new washer and dryer.. who knew that a couple of cardboard boxes could be assembled together to look like a castle and last for months in our basement? My Dad could build anything and fix anything, and he did all his life. <br />
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I remember weekends at a campground, being a free spirit in the woods, playing and having a great time... and long hours at the causeway fishing into the wee hours of the morning just because we could (and he couldn't help it :-) Later there would be a boat and long sunny days on the water, and a stop at a local country store for a souvenir, some candy and a soda. I had a wonderful childhood. We spent most all summer weekends at that spot, which is where my Dad loved to be and where he and my Mom eventually bought a home. <br />
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My Dad taught me how to shoot. Yes, guns; .22, .357, rifles, handguns.. you name it, he showed me how to shoot it. While I've not even held a weapon in years, I began shooting at about the age of 10 and absolutely loved it. <br />
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When I was about 13 years old I tried to pierce my ears - yes, all by myself. I thought Dad would pass out when I walked down the stairs with a needle in my earlobe, asking him if he could push it through the rest of the way - I just couldn't get a good grip. Dad patiently led me to the powder room, helped me hold ice on and finished piercing it, then he did the other one. I think of him every time I fiddle with my earrings. <br />
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In my late teens Dad took me to buy my first car (a pickup truck), took me to my first football game (Redskins). 19 years ago on Father's Day I told my Dad that I was expecting his first Grandchild. Last year I didn't make it down to see him on Father's Day, although something told me that I really should. Now, a year later I'm left with a bit of guilt over that, but his memory and his love surround me everyday and the memories of my childhood will always remain with me. My Dad was a great person. He was always fair and caring, liked to have fun, and certainly a pushover when it came to his kids and his grandchildren. <br />
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During the last 15 years my memories of Dad include fishing, trips on the boat and the adventures at his home on the Bay. My gosh how he loved that place. He would take that boat out and fish all day and not catch one thing... he didn't even care and would go out and do it all again the next day if he could find a willing passenger. We would sit on the wall in front of their place until the wee hours of the morning, talking, fishing and just enjoying each others' company. One night after all had gone inside, he and I were there together at about 2am. Nothing much was biting and we were just enjoying the night when it started to rain. After a few moments and drip drops I turned to him and said "Dad, it's raining", to which he said "It's just a passing shower"... and there we sat, in the middle of the night in the rain.. just for the fish. <br />
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When I was a young adult, every year Dad and I went together to the local mall for a Cinnabon, Mocha Latte and Christmas shopping. It was a day to find gifts for my Mom. Dad absolutely loved Christmas and loved giving gifts, but he hated shopping... the Cinnabons made it all worth while. In the car we would listen to Charlotte Church belt out a wonderful Christmas tune and we really enjoyed our day together. Silent Night is a song that I can hardly listen to now, bringing me almost to the point of sobbing. Looking back, I imagine that Christmas was a lot of work for Mom, since I'm sure that Dad didn't do any of it without the Cinnabons. I do know that on Christmas Eve the two of them would make drinks and close themselves in their bedroom, only emerging when a supply was needed or to get drink refills. They would wrap presents together until the early morning hours. Christmas at our house was magical. <br />
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My Mom wrote a Christmas tribute to him a few days ago that I will post here: <br />
Christmas will never lose its glow and excitement for me… I know I’ll get that same warm feeling each time I see the decorations in the stores, the tug on my heart at the grand children’s excitement of visiting Santa, or unwrapping all the familiar and much cherished decorations that we collected in our forty some years together. <br />
The many Christmas Eves wrapping presents, having a drink and listing to Christmas Carols, we loved those moments together. This year listening to Christmas carols, well it’s hard... they always did make me melancholy and weepy. All these memories I have of past Christmases shared with family and friends. <br />
Christmas will never lose its glow and excitement for me…but this year it comes with a deep loneliness because your not here to share it with us.<br />
Merry Christmas Don, I love you and miss you.<br />
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This won't be our first Christmas without Dad, but somehow it certainly feels like it. I love you and miss you much Daddy, you're always in my heart. <br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-73318062999075021242010-12-20T13:44:00.001-05:002010-12-20T13:48:22.216-05:00Military Monday - Home on LeaveToday, in honor of my Dad who we lost one year ago tomorrow, I post this photo of him for Military Monday. <br />
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This picture was taken in May of 1957 while he was home on leave from the Marines. He is standing in the drug store where his mother worked. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQ-j2gIIGlI/AAAAAAAABUA/PAOO_-NdOIM/s1600/Dad+in+the+drugstore+where+Grandma+worked+1957+-+color+scan-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="636" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQ-j2gIIGlI/AAAAAAAABUA/PAOO_-NdOIM/s640/Dad+in+the+drugstore+where+Grandma+worked+1957+-+color+scan-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald F. Keener b. 08/26/1938 d. 12/21/2009</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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Miss you every day Daddy! <br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-17595293266814396662010-12-15T07:00:00.001-05:002010-12-15T07:00:04.144-05:00Wordless Wednesday - Christmas 1958<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQg2T0_SYsI/AAAAAAAABT4/bKMc733Yrdo/s1600/chucky+bobby+and+kathy+anderson-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQg2T0_SYsI/AAAAAAAABT4/bKMc733Yrdo/s640/chucky+bobby+and+kathy+anderson-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-47833091072505434812010-12-09T11:09:00.000-05:002010-12-09T11:09:37.417-05:00Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Dec 9 - Grab Bag<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Today's post in the Calendar of Christmas Memories is the author's choice. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD4iBgNMVI/AAAAAAAABTQ/d9UxFTf1dak/s1600/Christmas+1967+Paula+Vernon+Jr+Loretta+Patricia+-+color+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD4iBgNMVI/AAAAAAAABTQ/d9UxFTf1dak/s400/Christmas+1967+Paula+Vernon+Jr+Loretta+Patricia+-+color+crop.jpg" width="400" /></a>I've missed a few days of posting in this series so I'd like to go back a visit those (and possibly re-visit others). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On Dec 1 we were tasked with writing about the Christmas Tree. While I don't recall my grandparents trees directly, I have found several photos of my paternal grandmother's (Edna Keener) home during Christmas and the tree was different in every one, so obviously real. In my home growing up we had a fake tree from the time I was very young. Now I have to talk about the tinsel - we "hung" the tinsel - using a few strands on every branch. Yes, it was a very tedious process, but the tree was not covered with it and it was beautiful. So I ask, is tinsel meant to be tossed "at" or carefully placed so it hangs gently on the branches, appearing to be ice?</div><br />
While we're on the subject of Grandma.. why did she hang paper bells around? The large one in this photo appears to be more of a wedding decoration. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD3j4J2gbI/AAAAAAAABS8/AGEknsGp2U4/s1600/Christmas+1969+-+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="568" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD3j4J2gbI/AAAAAAAABS8/AGEknsGp2U4/s640/Christmas+1969+-+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Obviously Grandma was pretty popular - receiving MANY Christmas cards which she hung all around the fireplace (top photo) and even on the windows (photo above). </div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD9id__PsI/AAAAAAAABTU/odFZs5gmnXI/s1600/S6305615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD9id__PsI/AAAAAAAABTU/odFZs5gmnXI/s320/S6305615.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD4ILmgNYI/AAAAAAAABTE/HjFhH2CgwkU/s1600/DSCN5028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD4ILmgNYI/AAAAAAAABTE/HjFhH2CgwkU/s400/DSCN5028.jpg" width="300" /></a>I have traditionally had only one tree in my home, my parents only had one tree in their home. My sister-in-law had 4 trees in her home last year - each a different theme, in different areas of the house and some even a different color (one was white for instance). This year, since my 'little' children are a bit bigger and much better about fiddling around with the Christmas tree, I decided that I wanted to put another in my home's foyer with some other decorations. Not having the budget to purchase a 10' narrow tree, I opted to buy a 5' and decorate it with simple red and gold, much like the decorations I have on my mantle. This added a bit more holiday to that area of the house whereas most is in the family room and kitchen area. </div></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD32u2_jFI/AAAAAAAABTA/GINgB7JCfdI/s1600/DSCN5027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TQD32u2_jFI/AAAAAAAABTA/GINgB7JCfdI/s320/DSCN5027.jpg" width="240" /></a>One day this week we wrote about ornaments. Today while reading blog posts of other writers I came across many stories of Christmases past and I also thought of some old friends, which brought to mind an ornament that I received from a co-worker and his wife many years ago. Ornaments are odd things in the way they make you recall - for some reason, you really never forget that person, even if you don't see them for 15 years. So to Sheri and Anthony - while you many not have realized it at the time, you were an inspiration to me back then in the way that you lived your lives, and even now when I read your blog. Thanks for sharing with me and being the people you are! Have a Blessed Holiday! </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/SUAgaVNHt-I/AAAAAAAAAUo/RCZ3LBLbbjE/s1600/S6305617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-22188333421130062472010-12-08T09:19:00.000-05:002010-12-08T09:19:17.023-05:00Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Dec 8 - Christmas Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-SYiUALoI/AAAAAAAABS4/UUDzhsTXwlE/s1600/DSCN5022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-SYiUALoI/AAAAAAAABS4/UUDzhsTXwlE/s320/DSCN5022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Nothing makes me happier than giving tins of Christmas cookies to friends and neighbors. Having four girls in the family, there's always a helper around when it's time to spend a day baking cookies, sprinkling the sugar, placing the little decors around or taste testing. Neither of my Grandmothers were big on making Christmas cookies. I have my paternal grandmother's cookbooks - most recipes are for dinner meals and how to cook on a budget. But, my Mom? She was all about making Christmas cookies and decorating them with little intricate decorations. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">While I don't have any photos of them unfortunately, some I can clearly remember. Mostly she made cookie cutter cookies - carefully assembling holly leaves with green icing and little red balls, wreaths with silver balls and little red bows, She also made angels and I think her favorites were the stained glass cookies. Mom also made miniature pecan tarts that were absolutely wonderful. Itty-bitty crusts filled with yummy sticky goodness! One of my favorite cookies that she made was her cranberry cookies which were always a staple this time of year.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">With my own children we've made many different things over the years. Our favorites are Russian Tea Cakes, and little decorated spritz butter cookies made from a cookie press (pictured above) - how did I ever live without that? While they're not an intricate cookie-cutter cookie, they're yummy, easy to decorate, easy to make and come in large batches so you can make multiple designs in one batch. We also enjoy making fudge, mint bark candy, little minty snowmen (pictured here), peanut butter buck-eyes, peanut butter cookies, and lots of different breads (banana, cranberry and pumpkin). We make lots and lots of this stuff and then pack up tins or plates to share with neighbors, friends, teachers, bus drivers and the milk man. <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pe3fBkFI/AAAAAAAABSw/HTyuzyhwHSU/s1600/S6300536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pe3fBkFI/AAAAAAAABSw/HTyuzyhwHSU/s640/S6300536.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pk512A7I/AAAAAAAABS0/R9rXD4VYip8/s1600/S6300538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP-Pk512A7I/AAAAAAAABS0/R9rXD4VYip8/s400/S6300538.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
I'm sure that all of these holiday goodies will be remembered by my own kids, but most of all the memories of cold days spent in the kitchen together making them. <a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7661246123002726913.post-90288537478702164552010-12-07T21:17:00.000-05:002010-12-07T21:17:34.651-05:00Tombstone Tuesday - The Trees Are WinningLast week I posted about a visit to Grafton, Taylor, West Virginia. While there I visited the cemetery of my ancestors, the <a href="http://genealogybycindy.blogspot.com/2010/11/tombstone-tuesday-cemetery-in-woods.html">Keener Cemetery</a>. <br />
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I noted that it was located in the woods and while it's very serene and a beautiful place, it's also evident that the trees are taking over and many of the headstones are damaged and almost illegible at this point. <br />
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These two stones (one in the foreground and the other on the opposite side of the tree) belong to my 4th Great Grandparents, George and Margaret (Miller) Keener. Obviously buried side-by-side, the tree has grown up between them and in time has broken both of their stones off. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP7najAU3sI/AAAAAAAABSk/_zF-5gzaK7M/s1600/DSCN4491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP7najAU3sI/AAAAAAAABSk/_zF-5gzaK7M/s640/DSCN4491.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP7nqiRDnLI/AAAAAAAABSo/ZNdQrspbdpQ/s1600/DSCN4490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP7nqiRDnLI/AAAAAAAABSo/ZNdQrspbdpQ/s640/DSCN4490.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Miller Keener b. 1792, d. 18 Apr 1860</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP7n4zuS_mI/AAAAAAAABSs/lzXEgzP9Bpw/s1600/DSCN4493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1v07ZuILnIg/TP7n4zuS_mI/AAAAAAAABSs/lzXEgzP9Bpw/s640/DSCN4493.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Keener b. 1772, d. 22 May 1863</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/385/28ABC1C96F6B3F3956EFF5EB25B98A72.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02235026202257819623noreply@blogger.com0