Friday's Photo: Another photo from Grand Bayou Church, Bienville Parish, Louisiana

This photo comes from the collection of Mary Virginia Martin Smith. The "alm" seen in the caption indicates the photo belonged to her mother, Anna Laura Martin. Anna Laura Martin and her sisters Emma Alice and Mary Virgie are identified in the photo. 

The photo is said to be from about 1914. The man at the piano is the same one in a previously posted photo dated 1911 and seen at this link - #52ancestors Post Twenty-Nine: A Choir in Bienville Parish

I have enlarged portions of the photo; however, the details are not very clear. Mary Smith photographed photos belonging to various family members between 1973 and 1993. These scans were made from printed photos before 2004. 

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

© 2024 

A Grand Bayou Sunday School Group, photograph, ca. 1914; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

A Chapter of my Grandmother's Story was Shared by the New York Daily News

My grandmother’s photos were featured in an article about the 100th Anniversary of the Webster Apartments for single women in the November 20, 2023, issue of the New York Daily News. 

The Webster Apartments were established in 1923 largely due to Charles Webster of the Macy family, who, after his death in 1916, left the bulk of his money to benefit the city’s single women. He directed that money go specifically to the creation of apartments to improve the living conditions for single, working women in Manhattan.  The 14-story building between 9th and 10th Avenues was a short walk from Macy's department store at Herald Square. 

Many women who lived at the Webster worked at Macy’s, but not all. My grandmother, Edith Giddens, lived at the Webster from about 1929 to 1931. While living at the Webster, my grandmother worked at the New York Public Library as a clerk and held a similar position at the Museum of Natural History. She used to talk about it as if it were an exclusive club. She had photos with friends on the rooftop and talked about the radio room and the room to meet beaus. Three of her photos appeared in the online version of the article and two in the paper version. 

This article wasn't just a happy coincidence. I wrote about Grandma living at the Webster in two 2015 blog posts and one post in 2016. If I hadn't shared Grandma's stories, Ellen Moynihan, the New York Daily News reporter, would not have known to contact me for the photos and family information.

Good things can happen when you share your family stories. You don't have to write a blog. You can share on Facebook or Instagram, on a website such as US Genweb, or on a public family tree. 

I personally didn't benefit from sharing my photos and family information. However, my mother and her sister loved seeing their mother in the news. And my grandmother's great-grandchildren saw the article as well. Maybe Grandma's story will be passed down to a few more generations. 

This rooftop photo of Grandma was featured in the online version of the New York Daily News article. This new-found article, Century-Old Women’s Residence The Webster Apartments Sold for $52.5 Million, shows the rooftop a few years after Grandma's photo was taken, as well as a more recent photo. 

My blog posts about Grandma living at The Webster can be seen at the links below. 

Friday's Photo: Grandma Lived at The Webster in NYC

Friday's Photo: Grandma's Friend, Cleo Hauser

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

I know that the article at the top of this post is much too small to read. I have a subscription to the New York Daily News. If you want to read the full article, contact me on my Facebook page or via email, and I will share it with you. 

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

© 2024 

Ellen Moynihan, "Young, Unmarried in Need of Housing," New York Daily News, 20 November 2023, print, pages 16-17.  Used with permission. 

Friday's Photo: Taken on a Bridge Near Seymour, Texas

Millard Ray Latta (center) and DeRay Bryan (leaning on the bridge). The young woman behind 
Millard Ray might be DeRay's sister Marie. DeRay and Marie were my father's sisters.

Joe Noah, second - cousin to my father and his siblings. 

I posted the photo below this morning, along with some excerpts from the 1918 Baylor County Banner issues. The photo was labeled "Millard, Deray, Joe."

After publishing the post, I found the three more photos above and determined that they were probably taken on the same day.  These photos were probably taken sometime before the middle of 1918. Joe and Millard Ray were both teachers in Baylor County during the 1917-1918 school year. 

The bridge is not named, but described as a bridge over the Brazos and a bridge near Seymour. 

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

© 2024 

Baylor County Photos, photographs, before 1918; scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of Carla Noah Stutsman, TX, 2014.

Family Notes From The Baylor County Banner, Baylor County, Texas - 1918

This photo is labeled "Millard Ray, Deray, Joe." DeRay Bryan was my father's sister. Millard Ray Latta was her first cousin on her father's side. Joe Noah was her second cousin from her mother's side. Millard Ray, born in Erath County, was known to have lived with the Bryans and taught school in Baylor County. Joe was also born in Erath County and taught school in Baylor County. 

Extracts in this post were found in Baylor County Banner issues on a microfilm reel labeled "Baylor County Banner Mar 01 1917 thru Dec 19, 1918." 

These were recorded on my web pages almost twenty years ago. Those web pages have not been updated since about 2012 but can still be found at my Rootsweb Freepages site. However, Ancestry, who now owns Rootsweb, is retiring the pages in 2024, and when returned, they will be static (I will not be able to make changes). In case the pages get lost, I am adding the content to this blog.

I recorded only a small amount of information from the issues dated 19 September to 5 December for 1918. Most of what you see below involves my family. This is a project I want to revisit as, with the war and flu epidemic, there was much going on in 1918. 

Two previous blog posts show a little more of 1918. Read Get Your Flu Shot! to see how the flu tragically affected this small community in such a short period. 

Two letters from Europe during WWI were found in November 1918 issues. Monday's News: WWI and Family Letters reveal letters written by Joe Noah to fellow Baylor County teacher Millard Ray Latta.

September 19, 1918

Mr. S. H. Post and children left last week in their car for Corpus Christie where they will spend the winter for the benefit of the children’s health.  They have been getting better the past winter or so, since they have been to the northwest, and Mr. Post is anxious to keep them on the road to being entirely well again.  The work at the county clerk’s office will be in the hands of Mr. Judson Post, assisted by Mr. R. E. Bryan a deputy whenever the work of the office piles up.  Mr. Bryan accompanied the party to Corpus.  He says he left them well pleased.  Mr. Post will work with an abstract firm there. 

September 26, 1918 

Mr. S. H. Post resigned  by wire.  L. O. Wharton was appointed to fill the unexpired term.  

October 3, 1918

A liberal reward will be paid to the finder of a $50 Liberty Bond which I lost on the street on Tuesday afternoon.  I need the bond badly.  R. E. Bryan 

October 17, 1918

For Rent:  100 acres of land to sow wheat on.  R. E. Bryan 

October 31, 1918

From the subscribers:  Mr. Al McFarland of Richland says they are putting in 200 acres of wheat, most of it already up. Mr. R. E. Bryan is also going long on wheat.

Nov. 21, 1918

A letter from France to Millard Ray Latta from J. O. Noah was published in this issue.

Nov. 28, 1918

A letter from England to Millard Latta from Joseph O. Noah was published in this issue.

Mr. F. W. Thompson of the star route says he and his family have so far gotten by the war, the drouth, and the flu and are hoping that fortune has changed. 

Dec. 5, 1918

News that Frank Watts was wounded in the war 

Note that there are no 1918 Baylor County Banner issues at the free Portal for Texas History.  You can view most Baylor County Banner issues for the year 1918 with a subscription at NewspaperArchive by Storied. 

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

© 2024 

"Millard Ray, Deray, Joe," photograph, before 1918; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Carla Noah Stutsman, TX, 2014.

The Baylor County Banner issues from the year 1918, microfilm images, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 1918. Microfilm titled "Baylor County Banner Mar 01 1917 thru Dec 19, 1918" accessed from the privately held collection of D.B. Quinn, VA.

Friday's Photo: A School Photo in Bienville Parish, Louisiana

This photo was found in the collection of Mary Virginia Martin Smith. Anna Laura Martin, the girl under the teacher with the square collar and flowers, was her mother. 

It appears that there are 44 students and only one teacher in this photo. Ages look as if they range from age 4 or 5 to high school. Based on the ages of Emma Alice Martin and Vance Woodard, I estimate that the year was around 1911 or 1912. 

Vance Woodard was born in 1906 and was the son of John M. Woodard and Carrie Lou Murph. Anna Laura Martin, born in 1902, and Emma Alice Martin, born in 1904, were the daughters of Thomas J. Martin Jr. and Mary Anna Sledge. 

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

© 2024 

Ringgold School Photo, photograph, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

YouDee20012001,"Marler Pate Corley McCoy Family Tree," private tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/973847/family/familyview? fpid=-626224692&fpid=-626224692&usePUBJs=true: accessed 24 April 2021). 

Friday's Photo: A Watermelon Party

I received this from another Giddens researcher. I was not able to find the source of the original newspaper. I have other photos of Henry B. Giddens and Lewis D. Giddens on this blog. Henry and Lewis were first cousins to my 2nd great-grandfather, George L. Giddens. 

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

© 2024

Watermelon party with Gidden brothers, photograph, 1907; scanned image, original clipping from the privately-held collection of Kathryn Ryan, NC, 2022.

A Church Meeting Held at Liberty Chapel, Bienville Parish, Louisiana - April 11, 1875

The following description of the Liberty Chapel was found on a paper titled "Brief Statement of the History of the Grand Bayou Church. It appears to have been written by Marguerite Cook Clark. She sent this to E. Ragan Pruitt in 1982. He passed this on to me in 2003.

"Liberty Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South, Bienville Parish was located some 6 or 7 miles SE of Ringgold on what was the Reddick Bryan place, near the Bryan cemetery was the founder of Methodism in this area.  As early as Oct. 1845 they were having Camp Meetings. Elizabeth S. Bryan reported there were only 4 tents, but they had a fine time. That had a good many hearers, and there were 13 who joined the church."

Along with this description, Ragan sent me a copy of this information about the Liberty Chapel and its members. However, when I visited Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter, Palma, I saw the actual document and scanned it along with the back of the document, which contained some notes and a few more names.

I have identified the individuals named in this document below. At least thirty-one of those named are connected to my Bryan/Regan family. There may be errors, and I would appreciate any corrections or additional information about the persons listed.

Mrs. Mary Manning 

May have been the mother of Mildred Manning Prothro Bryan, wife of Tillmon C. Bryan. In 1870, Mary Manning was living with the Tillmon C. Bryan family. 

Mrs. Eliza S. Bryan 

Born Elizabeth S. Regan in 1798, she was the daughter of Joseph and Dorothea Regan of Robeson County, NC. In 1875, she was the widow of Reddick Bryan.

Mrs. Sarah Bryan

"Absent" was written next to her name. Could this be Sarah Lawson Bryan, widow of Miles Bryan, who died in 1863? Miles is thought to be closely related to Reddick Bryan.

Mr. John Regan and Mrs. John Regan

"Moved" was found next to their names. John Regan was the son of Elizabeth Regan and her first husband, Joseph Regan. He married Martha Davis. All surviving children of John Regan and Martha Davis were on this list.  Three of the Regan's four sons were killed during the Civil War.

Mr. James Bryan

James Bryan, first son of Reddick Bryan and his first wife. James Bryan married Alice Mary Wimberly.

Mrs. A. M. Bryan

Alice Mary Bryan, daughter of William Wimberly and wife of James Bryan.

Mr. Kenneth Wardsworth and Ann Wardsworth

"Died" is written next to "Kenneth Wardsworth." No other information can be found about Kenneth or Ann Wardsworth. 

Mrs. Amanda Watts

Catharine Amanda Bryan, sometimes called "Manda."  She was the daughter of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan and the widow of James C. Watts.

Mr. T. C. Bryan and Wife

Tillman C. Bryan, son of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan, was married to  Mildred Manning Prothro Bryan.

Mrs. Sarah M. Bryan 

Sarah Margaret Wimberly was married to Joseph B. Bryan. She was the daughter of William Wimberly.

Mrs. Laura F. Martin 

Laura Frances Bryan, the first child of Joseph B. Bryan and Sarah Margaret Wimberly. She was married to Thomas Jefferson Martin.

No Research Goals for 2024, But Making Adjustments to my Research Routine

I never make annual research goals. I always keep a running list of larger projects I want to complete. The list is limited to five. These projects are not my brick walls but may be one of many projects needed to help knock down a wall. 

My current list includes completing timelines for five Bryan ancestors, completing an application to the Virginia Mayflower Society, and documenting and writing about the eight known children of my 4th great-grandfather, John Giddens - I only have one left to document. As one project is completed, another is added. 

I also have a list of smaller projects, often blog or newsletter articles. This gives me some variety. 

Although I have no specific goals for 2024, I do want to add two changes to my research routine. Both are ideas I found on other blogs. 

I have started the 30 x 30 challenge from Janine Adams at Organize Your Family
History. This is 30 minutes of genealogy for 30 days. Janine uses her 30 minutes to research but suggests that the time can be adapted to meet individual needs. I am going to use that time to organize my digital files. This is day three. I've already made quite a lot of progress and found several fantastic items that I had forgotten about.  

At A Family Tapestry, Jacqi Stevens wrote "12 for '24," explaining how she chose 12 ancestors to research each year - one each month. I will adapt this to coincide with my current large project list and choose ancestors that may help me complete these projects. My January ancestor choice is Huldah Pratt, wife to Benjamin Reed, a Revolutionary War Patriot and possible descendant of Francis Cooke, a Mayflower passenger. 

I am looking forward to these new additions to my routine. Thank you for reading my blog! Happy New Year!

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 

© 2024

Megan Brady, “Old Genealogy Family History Photographs and Documents 1,” Canva (https://www.canva.com/photos/MAEJn53KCas-old-genealogy-family-history-photographs-and-documents-1/ : accessed 3 January 2024).