#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 Eight: Oscar Edward Noah #56

Coming up with this post was difficult. The writing prompt for #52ancesters is heirloom. Google defines heirloom as a valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations. I am trying to relate these 52 posts to my Hairston family, but I have no heirlooms. 

My father was orphaned in 1929. Most of his family's belongings were left behind in Seymour, Texas when he and his sisters made their permanent home in Borger, Texas. Whatever heirlooms existed were with Dad's sisters. When his sisters died everything went to my cousin - their caregiver.  

However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines heirloom as something of special value handed down from one generation to another.  So, I do have heirlooms. My cousin gave me a box of photos - the photos that sent me on this fabulous journey to find my Hairston family. 

This photo of Oscar Edward Noah and his family is one of those found in the box. On the back is written, All the bunch including the grandson Hulen Stroman.

The photo was probably taken in 1921 or 1922 as Hulen was born in 1920. Many Hairston cousins have this photo. Cousin Bob, a descendant of Oscar, sent me the following labeled photo. 

According to his obituary, Oscar Edward Noah, son of Joseph Sidney Noah and Permelia Ann Hairston, was born on March 1, 1871, in Marlin, Falls County, Texas.  His parents were married on June 11, 1865, in Hinds County, Mississippi. It is said they left Mississippi, after the war, for Falls County, first stopping in Arkansas, with Oscar's grandfather, John L. Hairston, and other extended family members including his mother's brother (my great-grandfather), Phillip A. Hairston. 

Oscar Edward Noah is #56 on this family chart. Click to enlarge. 

In 1880, I found Oscar at age 9 living with his mother, brother, and extended family in Falls County. His father was kicked by a mule and died from the injuries in 1873. The entire family moved to Erath County in 1883. The next few years were probably very difficult for the family. Oscar's older brother and only sibling, William, died in 1884. The next year, his mother married A. J. Lackey. Mr. Lackey left the household in 1890. Permelia divorced him and took back her previous surname of Noah. 

I don't know where Oscar attended school or college, but by 1892, he was teaching in Erath County for $40 monthly in the Acrey community. This community can no longer be found on maps. It was described in an 1891 issue of The Stephenville Empire as on the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad, nine miles from Stephenville and six miles west from Bluff Dale. 

On August 25, 1895, Oscar married Mamie Allen. During the 1895 - 1896 school year, together they taught all grades and managed the Moccasin Rock school in the Lowell Community (not far from Lingleville). Oscar was 24 years old with 3 years of teaching experience and had just received a first grade certificate good for four years. A first grade certificate is the highest a teacher could earn. This enabled Oscar to teach older students and more difficult subjects. His salary was $56.20 monthly. Mamie was 17 years old and had applied for a second grade certificate, but was given a first grade certificate good for four years. Her salary is unknown. 

Oscar was very active in his community and church. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Democratic Club, the Anti-Baily Club and the Erath County Baptist Association. In all of these activities, he served in some type of leadership capacity. 

Oscar served on juries, was appointed an election officer in 1906, served as an election officer during the statewide prohibition election in 1911, and served as a draft registration officer in 1917. He was on the Board of Trustees for the Lingleville School District and on the School Board for Erath County. 

This was published in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune
in 1939 and found at Newspaperarchive.com. To
read the entire article click here.  

Oscar Edward Noah was a well-educated farmer. In 1902, he served on the executive committee of Erath County's newly organized Farmer's Institute allowing farmers to hear prominent lecturers talk about farming in Texas. In 1935, he was one of 36 farmers in Erath to organize the Dublin Soil Conservation Association. 

Oscar and Mamie had seven children and all are pictured above. 

Oscar died at the age of 86 in 1957. Click here to see his obituary. Mamie died three years later. To see her obituary, click here. Oscar and Mamie are buried in West End Cemetery in Stephenville, Erath County, Texas. 

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

Crooks, Pam. Back to School-1800's Style! - Petticoats & Pistols. 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <http://petticoatsandpistols.com/2008/09/10/back-to-school-1800s-style/>.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

Newspaper Archives, Obituaries & Family History Records. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://newspaperarchive.com/>.

The Portal to Texas History. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://texashistory.unt.edu/>.

Shipman, Cindy. "Re: O. E. Noah." Message to Diana Bryan Quinn. 2002. Email. 

Turnbo, Charlie. The Churches of School Hill School Hill, Texas. TexasEscapes.com., 2002. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/School-Hill-Churches-Texas.htm>

The Stephenville Empire. (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, August 30, 1895 - Page: 3 of 4 . The Portal to Texas History. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth857641/m1/3/zoom/?q=mamie%20allen&resolution=4&lat=3733&lon=3134>.

Stephenville Empire-Tribune. (Stephenville, Tex.), READING THIS ARTICLE SAVED FARMER BUYING SEED CORN. 1939 February 24, page 9.  Newspaperarchives.com. Web. 25 Feb. 2018. <https://newspaperarchive.com/stephenville-empire-tribune-feb-24-1939-p-9/>.

Friday's Photo: Another look at a Cemetery Photo

Carla, my third cousin 1x removed, wrote the following about this photo. 

I cannot tell for sure by any means, but the lady on the right sure looks like Mamie Allen Noah to me. O.E. And Mamie's oldest daughter, Gladys, had a daughter, Lucile Stroman, who was 6'1". If that's them, this pic would not have been taken at Phillip's funeral, since Lucile was born in 1923. You know the clothing of the period much better than I; could this picture have been taken circa 1940-ish? The funny thing is, I have a pair of Grandma Mamie's shoes, and they look just about identical to the ones the lady on the right is wearing. I'm sure they were quite common, so that could be coincidental.

DeRay Bryan (sitting)
Unknown Woman (standing)
Photo dated abt. 1936

I posted this cemetery photo in 2012 and assumed it was probably taken in Seymour, Texas where my Dad's family lived before the 1930s; the photos belonged to my aunts. However, there is no tower in a cemetery in Seymour. And, Carla is correct, the clothing styles appear to be 1940-ish. On the right is a photo of my Aunt, DeRay Bryan, dated abt. 1936. Her hat, coat, and shoes match the style of the taller woman in the cemetery photo. A browse through photos on a Google search showed similar styles in both the 1930s and 1940s. 

Mamie Allen Noah lived in Erath County. She was the wife of Oscar Edward Noah, my grandmother's first cousin. I hope Carla is correct and this is Mamie and Lucile. We need to compare photos of both women. 

AND, there are other questions. 

Is this cemetery in or near Erath County, Baylor County, or neither? 

Would Mamie have traveled a long distance to attend a funeral? 

Who took this photo? If it was one of the Bryan sisters, then it would probably have been a family funeral. 

Could it have been Buster Bryan's funeral in 1940? That would put the cemetery in Seymour. 

Does anyone recognize this bell tower? 

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.

Monday's News: WWI and Family Letters

This poster and the two at the bottom of this post are recruiting posters found at the North Carolina Digital Collections and provided courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.

A few months ago, I researched the Baylor County Banner, a newspaper in Baylor County Texas, for news of WWI casualties for their local museum. I learned much about The Great War, known today as World War I. 

The United States entered the war on April 6, 1917; joining the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan) who were at war with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey).   United States troops in the war were only in actual combat for just over seven months and there were over 50,000 causalities. Half of the U.S. soldiers who died in Europe, died as a result of the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. 

The information that I found about the WWI casualties is being posted for Memorial Day on the Facebook Group, Baylor County Museum. You may need to join the group to see it. 

Oscar Edward Noah and Mamie Lou Allen Noah Family
Joseph "Joe" Noah is standing on the far left. 

Below are two family letters that were written in Europe during WWI and found in the Baylor County Banner. The letters were sent to Millard Ray Latta from Joseph O. Noah. Both Millard Ray and Joseph were born in Erath County and just prior to the war, they were living in Baylor County where both were teachers.  Millard Ray was my grandfather's niece; the daughter of Hollen Bryan and Alzono "Lon" Latta.  Joseph "Joe" Noah was the son of Oscar Edward Noah, first cousin to my grandmother, Myrtie Hairston Bryan. 

Dear Millard Ray,

          Though I have had no word from you as yet I will write again.  We are now in France and I must say the place is worth seeing.  All is different from the United States. In parts of the country it is very rough and hilly.  Here we see little stone houses surrounded by patches of garden sticking in all positions about the hills.  All the patches are set off by stone walls and are so well kept that the country resembles a big lawn or garden as one might see in a park or home. 

          In other parts of the country was level and great vineyards and orchards are found – though here the patches are small, but close together.

          At present we are billeted in a barn loft above a flock of sheep.  We can look down the stairs and see the sheep gazing up at us.  Our quarters are reached by means of a ladder leading to a window.  Just across a narrow street is a big stone church, and all about us are the homes and shops of the people living in the villages.  All the buildings look alike – shops and residences are under the same roof.  All are of stone or tile and all are covered with some hundred years growth of moss.  In fact moss seems to be part of the French house just as much as paint is in Texas.  One can easily see that the houses are built to last for many generations and become permanent features of the land scape just like the hills.

          French forests are very beautiful the trees being very straight and tall and of types new to me.  Many large bodies of trees are planted in rows as regular as an orchard and the trees are hundred of years old.  Everywhere we see narrow, but finely built gravel roads running through the trees.

          Yesterday was Sunday and I visited an old French Chateau which was built in the 13th century.  There were pictures of nearly all the kings of Europe all hand painted.  There was a wood carving of the beheading of John the Baptist so old that it was worm eaten.  There was an old chapel built in the 13th century but torn down now. 

Inclosed {sic}some leaves from trees in the park about the chateau.  The place is now the home of a French nobleman. 

          We hear now that the war is over about and I hope it is.  I now hope to get back by spring, but can’t be sure.

          I am feeling fine and in good spirits and am getting all I need to eat, but I would be glad to come home at anytime.

          I must close for this time.

                   As ever yours,

                      Joe Noah

P. S. I am at last assigned to a company so you ought to try to get a letter to me. 

                                             Baylor County Banner - November 21, 1918

Millard Ray Latta

                                         

My Dear Friend

          I have not been in the same place long enough to get a letter from anyone since I left the States but I will keep up my end of the line anyway.

          You will note where we are by the character of the paper, etc, about though we are not allowed to state the city where we are stationed.  We traveled all night last night in the smallest R.R. carriage I ever expect to ride in.  We are now in a rest camp, but may move anytime and we will be at our destination, France next.

          Our last month has surely seen some movement. We were at College Station a month ago.  It hardly seems possible that we are so far from home.

          I was very glad to leave the boat.  There is too much of  that ocean to suit me.  The hard soil is a fine substance to walk on and it is where I belong.  I can afford to scratch some of it out of my eyes, as in Baylor, so long as it don’t roll around like the ocean waves.  Also I am now acquainted with  a new scent, a “boaty scent,” I can’t describe it for you, but it is somewhat like spoiled tar.  It makes one happy by it’s absence.

          In spite of a bit of seasickness the last day in the water, I feel fine now, and have no complaint to offer.  We are as well treated as anyone could ask.  However, I find nothing to compare with the U. S.  One food is good and substantial and I like it, but when I get back to old Texas, I will soon forget it, you can bet. 

          War talk here is almost too favorable to take at face value, but I am sure it won’t be long until the thing will clear up.  Maybe I will see you again before you are 23 years old and maybe a lot sooner.  I think it will be no longer at least, - if I am fortunate to get back at all, and I feel sure I will be.

          The country here is very pretty though we can’t see much of it. The houses are all red brick peaks and are all square corners and peaks.   Stores and houses of the best class are right over the sidewalk.  Curious carts, one horse wagons, and bycicles {sic} roll by.  Nothing looks like America. Even the trees seem to be heavy with age and a different kind to ours. 

          We have some time off and I must stir around and wash a lot, also see what I can find. 

          Let me hear from you at earliest possible time, with all news. 

                             As ever yours,

                          Pr’vt. Joseph O. Noah

                             63 Radio Causals

          American Expeditionary Forces

P. S. Find inclosed {sic} sample of English Candy. I paid for two small pieces with two copper coins that were bigger than the candy.  You will understand when you taste as to why I gave it nearly all to an English sailor.  The cigarette wrapper will perhaps help the flavor.       

                                               Baylor County Banner -November 28, 1918 

           Courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

               Courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

Diana

© 2012, copyright Diana Quinn