Sunday's Obituary

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. 

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.

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.

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.

 

Spotlight Sunday - Richard Cleveland Anderson

This week I want to spotlight a member of our family that I know very little about.

Richard Cleveland Anderson was born on October 24, 1933 in Washington DC. He was the son of May Kidwell and Leonard Cleveland Anderson. After his birth his mother became very ill with an infection and died on November 9th. Richard's father was left with 8 children to care for. While I'm sure it was a very difficult decision, Richard would need to be cared for elsewhere. From what I understand, Richard went to live with his Grandmother Bertie Kidwell. I was told this by May's brother when I met him a several years ago. Bertie and one of her other daughters Marie would raise him.

We have no photographs of Richard, nor are we aware if he ever kept in touch with his siblings. One thing we have found is a book from his funeral, which my Grandmother (his half sister) had in her possessions. She would have been 9 when he was born. Grandma apparently made arrangements for Richard to be buried in the Anderson family plot at the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean, Virginia. Richard has no headstone. He died on September 8, 1975 at the age of 41.

I am aware of one marriage, to a woman named Elsie Belle - her maiden name is not known, nor their date of marriage. It is not known if the couple had any children.

Spotlight Sunday - Grace Emma Horsman Souder

Yes I do realize that it's "Black Sheep Sunday" in the genea-blogging world today, but I'm trying to find a new way to get more people in my file noted on my blog. One idea I've seen others do is to highlight a specific ancestor on their birthday. Rather than doing just a birthday spot every day, I thought I'd pick one ancestor who's birthday falls in the week (or month) and do a short write up about that person - whatever I may know to date. This will help me get more family member information posted to my blog and help me find holes in my research when there are not a lot of facts available for any given family.

Today, it's Grace Emma Horsman Souder, a second great aunt on my father's side.

Much of information I have on Grace has been passed to me from a cousin who is a descendant of hers. The photo posted here is the only one I have of her.

Grace Ellen Horsman was born Oct 20 1887 in Fairfax County Virginia; she was the daughter of James Thomas Horsman and Emma Katherine Dawson. She lived in Fairfax for all of her young life and married Alpheus Dorsey Souder on December 15, 1908 in the "Old Church" in Vienna, Fairfax County Virginia. The couple had two children, Alpheus Wesley Souder born in 1921 and Everett William Souder born in 1925. They spent some time living in Washington DC and in Prince George's County Maryland. Grace's husband died in 1950 at the age of 68 in Prince George's County; Grace died May 7, 1966 at the age of 78. I am unaware of where she died, she is buried in the Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington DC with other Souder family members.

Spotlight Sunday - John William Bellew

Yes I do realize that it's "Black Sheep Sunday" in the genea-blogging world today, but I'm struggling along here with my research and trying to find a new passion for writing to my blog. One idea I've seen others do is to highlight a specific ancestor on their birthday. Rather than doing just a birthday spot, I thought I'd pick one ancestor who's birthday falls in the week and do a short write up about that person's life. Today, it's John William Bellew, my Great Grandfather.

John W. Bellew was born on 27 Sept 1889 in Preston, Lancashire England. He was the son of Patrick Bellew and Elizabeth Hall. John had six siblings; James (died at childbirth), William, James, Frances, Mary and Isabella.

John served in the British Army Royal Field Artillery from 1909 to 1913. He married Margaret McCann in the St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Preston on 1 July, 1915. John was a cotton weaver at a local mill prior to entering the British Army and later he was a hotel barman.

John and Margaret lived in Preston and had three children there - Hugh born 1916, William Patrick born 26 Nov 1917, and John born in 1919. Margaret's sister Catherine came to the US with her husband James Aspin in late 1919 or early 1920. John and Margaret later decided to join them in the US.

In 1923 John came to the US, joining his McCann sister-in-law and her husband in Rhode Island, where he worked in the mills in Central Falls. Margaret did not join him until almost a full 3 years later in 1926. Unfortunately she was forced to leave one of their children behind in England, their son John was too ill to travel at the time and never joined them in the US.

John and his family later relocated to the small town of Adams, Massachusetts, again to find work in the textile mills that had attracted them to Rhode Island. The family remained in Adams until the 1950s when they relocated to Maryland after John suffered a stroke.

John died in Bethesda Maryland on 15 Dec 1958. He was buried at the Gate of Heaven cemetery. The photo below is the only known existing photo of him. This is a picture taken at my Grandparents' wedding, the bride with her father, Joe Leeming (right) and John Bellew, the new father-in-law (left).