#52ancestors Post Twenty-Eight: Meet Me in Virginia Beach

The writing prompt this week for #52ancestors is travel. I thought I would share a postcard from my hometown, Virginia Beach, VA, where tourists travel each summer to spend time at the beach. 

This postcard depicts The Surf, Virginia Beach, Va. and was published by the Souvenir Post Card, Co. This company published postcards from 1905 to 1914. I love seeing the ropes in the water. We no longer see that in Virginia Beach. 

The hotel pictured is the Princess Anne Hotel. It opened in 1890 near the community of Seatack, not far from where I currently work. In 1907, the hotel was destroyed by fire.  

The postcard was sent on April 23, 1906, to Miss Bessie Allison of 2004 West Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia. It appears to have been sent by Dave J. Taylor. The only message, "Meet me there," is on the front of the card.

A search for Bessie Allison indicated that her full name was Elizabeth Price Allison.  She was born in 1880 in Kentucky and was working as a clerk at an insurance firm, in Richmond, Virginia, by 1904. She can be found in census records from 1880 to 1940. In 1940, she was unmarried, lived on West Grace Street in Richmond with her sister, and continued to work as a clerk at a life insurance company. 

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

© 2018

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

"Postcard Publishers, Printers, and Distributors of Note." MetroPostcard List of Postcard Publishers S P3. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.metropostcard.com/publisherss3.html>.

"PRINCESS ANNE HOTEL BURNS; Lives of Chambermaid and Steward Lost -- Manager Attempts Suicide." PRINCESS ANNE HOTEL BURNS. 11 June 1907. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9405E4DA133EE033A25752C1A9609C946697D6CF>.

"The Princess Anne Hotel, Virginia Beach, Va : Norfolk & Virginia Beach Railroad Company. [from Old Catalog] : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive." Internet Archive. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <https://archive.org/details/princessannehote00norf>.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Forks of Elkhorn, Franklin, Kentucky; Roll: 414; Family History Film: 1254414; Page: 215D; Enumeration District: 073; Image: 0294

Year: 1900; Census Place: Tuckahoe, Henrico, Virginia; Roll: 1713; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0034; FHL microfilm: 1241713

Year: 1910; Census Place: Richmond Clay Ward, Richmond (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: T624_1644; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0073; FHL microfilm: 1375657

Year: 1920; Census Place: Richmond Lee Ward, Richmond (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: T625_1910; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 85; Image: 640

Year: 1930; Census Place: Richmond, Richmond (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: 2476; Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 0022; Image: 599.0; FHL microfilm: 2342210

Year: 1940; Census Place: Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia; Roll: T627_4324; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 118-157

#52ancestors Post Twenty-Seven: Independence Day

This unused postcard, from my personal collection, was one of
many in the National Song Series published about 1910.  

Known as the Fourth of July or Independence Day, this day has been celebrated as the birth of American independence since 1776 when, during the American Revolution, the delegates of the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. 

I now know of three of my ancestors who served as patriots in the American Revolution.

• Ralph Regan, my 4th great-grandfather, was in the N. C. Militia and was known to have fought as a lieutenant in the Battle at Moores Creek Bridge. 

• John Giddens, another 4th great-grandfather, served in the N.C. Minutemen. He received land grants in Duplin and Wayne Counties. 

• Benjamin Reed (aka Read), also a 4th great-grandfather, enlisted in Massachusetts on April 21, 1775 to serve as a minute man in the Lexington Alarm. He fought continuously until discharged on November 29, 1777. 

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

© 2018

Sources

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

July 4th — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts. (n.d.). History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. Retrieved July 4, 2013, from http://www.history.com/topics/july-4th

Moss, B. G. (1992). Roster of the Patriots in the battle of Moores Creek Bridge. Blacksburg, S.C.: Scotia-Hibernia Press.

Office of the State Comptroller, Military Papers - Revolutionary War Army Accounts, State Archives of North Carolina, Volume V, Page 40, Folio 3.


Reed, John Ludovicus. Reed genealogy: descendants of William Reade, of Weymouth, Mass., from 1635-1902.  Internet Archive. Web. 27 Apr. 2018. <https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed>.

#52ancestors Post Twenty-Six: Black Sheep, Family Secrets, and Respect

The writing prompt for post twenty-six of #52ancestors is Black Sheep. I struggled with this one. What makes an ancestor a black sheep? Is it something they did? Or, did they just march to a different drummer?

Many of our ancestors did things they later regretted.  Those deeds are not always things they would want to be disclosed. Secrets are found in many families. Are we obligated to reveal all of those secrets?  

I will not label an ancestor a black sheep so I am going to pass on this post and respect what may have been my ancestors' wishes. 

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

© 2018

Sources

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

#52ancestors Post Twenty-Five: Same Name - William Joseph Quinn

William Joseph Quinn (#2) and Susan Murray Quinn with some of their grandchildren.
The sad baby on William's knee is my husband, William Joseph Quinn (#4).

I wrote in a previous post, William Joseph Quinn - Six Generations, the name William Joseph Quinn has been used for six generations, over a period of 166 years, and on three continents. The 25th writing prompt for #52ancestors is same name. In my family tree, this same name has been used more than any other. 

I have much family history to share regarding the Quinn family.  My family history webpages have been on Rootsweb Freepages since at least 2001 and the Quinn pages had several thousand views - more than any of my other families. 

Unfortunately, my web pages along with all other Rootsweb pages have been removed due to security problems. It is unknown if or when the pages will be restored. As I have time, I will add the family history pages, along with much-needed updates, to this blog. 

Today, I have added information about the family of William Quinn (#1) and Bridget Brannelly. You can see this as a tab above or by clicking 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

© 2018

Sources

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