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Thank you for visiting my blog!

This blog is used to share information I find about the families I am researching. To see these family names click on the "My Families" tab. Please feel free to make comments, corrections, and ask questions here or on my Facebook page or go to the "About Me" tab to send an e-mail.

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My posts can be accessed by the date posted from the column on the right. Blog posts containing specific surnames can be found by clicking on the names in the left column.

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Friday, December 30, 2016

Friday's Photo: Josie Bryan Cook and William B. Trott Saved Our Family History

Josie Sarah Catherine Bryan Cook - 1856 to 1941
William Bryan Trott - 1905 to 1985

Josie Bryan Cook saved numerous family documents, letters, and photos related to my Bryan family in a scrapbook. William Bryan Trott, her grandson, took care of the scrapbook and shared as well. Newspaper clippings, photos, and especially family letters told the story of my family and others in Bienville Parish, Louisiana during the 1800s. 

William Trott passed away in 1985 and the location of the scrapbook is unknown. However, copies of scrapbook items are found in library vertical files, other researchers' collections, and in the Wimberly Family History compiled by Vera Meek Wimberly. 

Vera Wimberly only published 300 copies of the book and I was lucky to find one on eBay. Many bits of history, letters, and newspaper clippings from Josie's scrapbook are found in the book. The book is now available at FamilySearch.org. To view a digital version of this item click here.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the Frye Family collection. Accessed June 6, 2016. Used with permission.

Wimberly, Vera. Wimberly Family History: Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana, 1837. Houston, Tex.: D. Armstrong, 1979. Print. 

Friday, December 23, 2016

Friday's Photo:1944 in the Pacific

Whit Criswell Bryan - Chief Pharmacist's Mate - December 1944

In December 1944, 24 year old, Whit Criswell Bryan, was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Adams in the Pacific. Here are some of his photos and information found in his service record about his time on board the ship. 


U.S.S. Adams - Destroyer Mine Layer



U.S.S. Adams - March 27, 1944 - Okinawa - Suicide Plane Damage

Commander D.N. Clay - Receiving the Bronze Star 1944

Sick Bay - U. S. S. Adams 1945

Wednesday, December 21st would have been Dad's 96th birthday. I would have loved to have known more and I know that he would have had some stories. 


I have one story about this ship that he would have been surprised to hear. In 2001, shortly after Dad's passing, I met his second cousin, Nadine Thompson Waugh, in Stephenville, Texas. She told me that her husband served on the U. S. S. Adams during WWII along with a Bryan who was related to some Stephenville Bryans. At the time, I knew little about his military service and even less about his family. It wasn't until a few years later that I realized Dad had probably talked to Nadine's husband while on the ship. However, although Dad knew that his Bryan family once lived in Stephenville, I am sure that he did not know he had Thompson cousins in Stephenville and did not know Nadine Thompson Waugh. 


If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 


Diana
© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Friday, December 9, 2016

Friday's Photos: Officers at Naval Mobile Hospital Number 2 - Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii 1941 - 1942

Written on the back - Officers - Mobile Hospital #2 - 1942 P.H.T.H.

Written on the back - Officers Mobile Hospital #2 PHTH
Dec. 7th   1941 - 1942

My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, had these photos. He was stationed at the Mobile Naval Hospital from December 1. 1941 until sometime in 1943. He isn't in the photos as he was not an officer. There are no names of the back of either photo. However, if you click here, you will see a few officer's names mentioned in an article about building the Mobile Hospital in 1941. 


If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana
© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

75 Years Ago Today

Whit Criswell Bryan - Photo taken when stationed in the Territory of Hawaii. 


Whit Criswell Bryan witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor from the Naval Mobile Hospital #2. The below citation was found in his military records. 

The Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet, takes pleasure in commending U.S. Naval Mobile Hospital Unit Number Two for service as set forth in the following citation: 

"For meritorious achievement and distinguished service subsequent to the Japanese air attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the time of the attack and afterwards, this unit displayed conspicuous devotion in the line of duty. Its ability to cope with this disaster was responsible for the successful care of all casualties and the saving of many lives. The professional skill displayed and distinguished service rendered by this Hospital Unit were in keeping with the highest traditions of the naval service. 


                                                   /s/ C. W. Nimitz
                                                   Admiral, U. S. Navy



If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana
© 2016 

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Friday's Photo: Pearl Harbor Survivors, Whit Bryan and Bob Brunner - 1991

Bob Brunner and Whit Bryan at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Norfolk, VA
December 7, 1991. 

This is a photo of my father, Whit Criswell Bryan and fellow Pearl Harbor
 Survivor, Bob Brunner, following a memorial service for the 50th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Dad and Bob were both assigned to the Mobile Hospital #2 at Pearl Harbor only two weeks before the attack on December 7, 1941. 

Dad died in 2001 and Bob in 2013. There will be few survivors at next week's services to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

To read more about Dad and Bob in Pearl Harbor check out Pearl  HarborRemembrance Day 2011.


Dad's and Bob Brunner's names were
added to the monument pictured
below in 2001. 
Visit these links to learn more about Dad's time in Pearl Harbor. 





If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds.


Diana

© 2016

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

"Pearl Harbor survivors to hold remembrance ceremony at JEB Little Creek-Fort Story" WTKR.com. 30 November 2016. Web. 2 Dec. 2016. <http://wtkr.com/2016/11/30/pearl-harbor-survivors-to-hold-remembrance-ceremony-at-jeb-little-creek-fort-story/>.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Friday's Photo: Seymour, Texas 1911



As I pulled this framed photo off of the wall of the antique store, my daughter was wondering why I was buying a random picture of school children. She didn't ask as I am sure that nothing I do surprises her.  

The picture was labeled Seymour Tex 1911. My father's family lived in Seymour, Texas in 1911. He wasn't born until 1920, but two of his sisters would have attended the school. I recognized one of the teachers, Mrs. Pistole - Dad's 2nd grade teacher. I had seen her in later yearbook photos. 
My favorite of several
possible matches to
the Bryan sisters

After scanning the photo, I struggled to find my aunts. I have many pictures of both Aunt Marie Bryan and Aunt DeRay Bryan and there were several with some likenesses, but nothing definitive. Yes, I even tried facial recognition software. 

I purchased this photo when visiting Austin, Texas earlier this month. It was on a mat in a frame. I had to remove the frame and mat to pack it. On the back of the photo, was the name Eunice Ellis. On the back of the mat were flyers depicting line drawings of famous silent film stars. I am guessing that this photo had been in that frame for a very long time. 

I found the identical photo in Salt Pork to Sirloin, The History of Baylor County from 1878 to 1930 compiled by the Baylor County Historical Society in 1972. However, the photo in the book was not complete as the right portion appeared to have been torn just after the two teachers. The teachers were identified as Mrs. O. McDaniel and Mrs. S. W. Pistol. 

I wonder how long it took to take this photo. The faces on these children are just priceless.





 






If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 


Diana

© 2016

Sources

Baylor County Historical Society. Salt pork to Sirloin: the History of Baylor County from 1878 to 1930. Seymour, Texas. Banner Publishing Company, 1972. Print.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving at the Aviation Free Gunnery School - 1942


Both the names Aviation Free Gunnery School and Naval Air Gunners School were
 found in his scrapbook. The Aviation Free Gunnery School
may have been a part of the Naval Air Gunners School. 



All items seen in this post were found in Uncle Charlie's scrapbook - "Snaps and Scraps, My Life in the Navy"




On September 9, 1942, at age 49, my great-uncle, Charles William Giddens, left from New York City for the U. S. Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia. He arrived September 11th for training in Platoon #51 to become a Chief Specialist G (Gunnery Instructor). Less than a month later, he left Norfolk for his duty station, the Naval Air Gunners School in Hollywood, Florida. 


Mom said her Uncle Charlie was a sharpshooter. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army's Rainbow Division when he was injured in Sergy, France during WWI in 1918. In 1942 he was a supervisor for the local gas company, was married to Louise Uhde Giddens, and owned a home at 263 Irvingtion Avenue in South Orange, New Jersey. Mom said he tried to rejoin the Army during WWII, but was too old; however, the Navy needed him. At the Gunnery school, he was said to teach new sailors to shoot. 

In 1942, Charlie celebrated his first Thanksgiving in at the gunnery school. Here is the menu. 


Names on the menu:
Charles C. Gold, W. L. Guthrie,
J. R. Fitzpatrick, L. F. Beotte

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 


Diana
© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

Friday, November 18, 2016

Friday's Photo: Marguerite Cook Clark




 

This is a beautiful picture of Marguerite Cook Clark. I will guess that it was taken in the late 1920s or early 1930s in Louisiana. 

Marguerite was researching her family history as early as the 1950s. I have copies of many letters she wrote to other Bryan family researchers. including one to my father. She saved many photos, documents, and letters related to her family in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. 

Marguerite and I both descend from Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan who settled in Northwest Louisiana in 1838. 

Marguerite would have loved the computer. Email is so much faster than the USPS and think of what she would have done with Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. 

Thank you to Marguerite's youngest daughter for finding me and telling me about her mother's files. AND, thank you to her oldest daughter for allowing me to invade her home and spend days at her dining room table reading files and looking at photos. 


If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 


Diana
© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014 and November 8,9,10, 2016. Used with permission.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

My Grandfather Won This Election in 1912

Election Results found in the Bryan Family Bible

My grandfather, Redic E. Bryan, ran for and won the position of Tax Assessor of Baylor County, Texas in 1912. The above election results were found in the Bryan Family Bible. The date for this election is August 12, 1912. However, the actual election results were reported in the November 15, 1912 issue of the Baylor County Banner. Was the above clipping a report of a primary? 

This card was found in the Bryan Family Bible
This was Redic Bryan's second term as Tax Assessor as he also ran and won the office of Tax Assessor in 1910. 
He believed in rotation of office and did not run after his second term.  Click on this link to see the biography published in the Banner during the 1910 election.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Quinn, Diana. "Baylor County Banner 1912." The Baylor County Banner Nov. 15, 1912. 22 Jan. 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.   http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bryanquinn/BaylorCountyBanner1912.htm

Friday, November 4, 2016

Friday's Photo: This Photo was Edited in the 1930s

Edith Giddens - About 1930

This is a beautiful portrait of my grandmother, Edith Giddens Davis. I assumed it was taken as a portrait. However, when I asked Mom about it, she told me that it was made from the photo below taken when Grandma lived at the Webster in NYC


My grandmother, Edith Giddens, and her friend, Cleo Hauser, on the roof of the Webster.
To learn more about Cleo, click here.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 


Diana

© 2016 Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

Friday, October 28, 2016

Friday's Photo: The Last Wieland Family Photos


DeRay Bryan, Unknown Man, Unknown Woman, Chris Wieland - Taken between 1930 and 1935

These are the last Wieland family photos that I will post. All of the Wieland family photos I have belonged to my Aunt DeRay Bryan. The Wieland's were not family. Dad said Chris Wieland was DeRay's boyfriend. 

I have a lot of photos of Chris Wieland posted here, photos from his funeral posted here, and a portrait of his parents posted here

There is nothing written on the back of the above photo, but I remember clearly Dad telling me that the couple in the middle was Chris Wieland's parents. That would be Frank and Mary Wieland. However, when enlarging the photo and comparing it to Chris Wieland's parents in the below photo that was taken about the same time, I can say that I don't believe it is the same couple.


Son Leonard, Mary & Frank  Wieland, Daughter Gertrude with son Johnny Chambers Jr.. Son Sylvester( Wes) Wieland. 20-Mar-1933 Oakland, CA.


Guy Wieland - Found at
NewspaperARCHIVE.com 
I have looked at the Wieland brothers' draft cards and all those I found appear to be of medium build except Guy Edward Wieland. Guy was described as tall and slender on his WWI draft registration and 6 feet tall on his WWII draft registration. Guy is the eldest Wieland brother, born five years before Chris Wieland. 

I believe that Guy and his wife are the most likely candidates, but need input from family. The photo of Guy on the left was published in a newspaper in 1960. Click here to see the article about his retirement. 

The photo below is the last Wieland photo to be posted - Aunt DeRay and Chris Wieland, taken on the same day as the photo at the top of this page. 



If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2016

Sources

Baker, B. "Christopher B Wiland - Facts." Ancestry.com. Web. 21 Aug. 2016. <http://person.ancestry.com/tree/19875147/person/29557305504/facts>.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Mark Laws. Used with permission. 

"Wieland Nears Retirement Day." Miami Daily News Record, February 18, 1960, Page 7. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016. <http://newspaperarchive.com/us/oklahoma/miami/miami-daily-news-record/1960/02-18/page-7>.