Pearl Harbor 79th Remembrance

My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, sent his aunt, Dollie Bryan Wylie, these photos
from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. When the bombing occurred,
Dad was a Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class and one of many Naval personnel
building Mobile Naval Hospital #2.

Whit Bryan and Bob Brunner at Pearl Harbor in the 1940s and on
December 7, 1991, at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little
Creek-Fort Story, Norfolk, VA

Memorial to local veterans who served at Pearl Harbor at the
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Norfolk, VA

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is observed every year on December 7th to honor victims of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seventy-nine years ago, aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in what was then Hawaii Territory. Over 2,000 military personnel were killed and more than 1,000 injured. The next day, the United States entered the Second World War.

Remembrance ceremonies are smaller or virtual this year. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial Facebook page has many virtual opportunities to learn more about Pearl Harbor this weekend.

On Monday, December 7th at 12:55 PM EST, take the opportunity to gather virtually at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Facebook page to view the ceremony commemorating the 79th Anniversary of the Attacks on Pearl Harbor. 

More of my Pearl Harbor Remembrance posts can be seen at the links below. 

Friday's Photo: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2012

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day - 2019

Thoughts of Dad on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2014

Remembering Dad and Pearl Harbor: Naval Mobile Hospital # 2

Friday's Photo: Pearl Harbor 

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day - Dad was stationed at the Mobile Naval Hospital #2 in Aiea Heights, Territory of Hawaii

#52ancestors Post Fifty-One: The Second Anniversary of Mobile Hospital No. 2, Pearl Harbor - August 1943 

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

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

© 2020 

Sources 

"Attack on Pearl Harbor."  Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.

Memorial to local veterans. Photograph, ca. 2001. Privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA.

Whit Criswell Bryan. Photograph, ca. 1941. Privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn,

Virginia Beach, VA.

Whit Criswell Bryan and Bob Brunner. Photograph, ca. 1941. Privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA.

Whit Criswell Bryan and Bob Brunner. Photograph, ca. 1991. Privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA.

Friday's Photo: Patrick Quinn from Galway to Australia

Written below the photo:  Pat Quinn and Wife, sons - Tom and Jack - Australia

This photo was shared with me by a distant Quinn cousin while visiting Galway, Ireland in 2016. Patrick was born on January 14, 1867, in Labane, Ardrahan, Galway. His parents were John Quinn and Sarah Burke. It is not known when Patrick left Ireland for Australia or where this photo was taken. 

I have much information about other children and grandchildren of John and Sarah; however, I don't know how they connect to my husband's Quinn family of nearby Caherawoneen, Kinvara, Galway. 

There is definitely a connection. Descendants of both families share stories about family visits and share DNA. My husband's family knew John and Sarah's daughter, Cecelia Quinn Foley, as a cousin. And, her photo was found in my husband's family's photo collection.  

If you are a descendant of either of these Quinn families, please contact me on my Facebook page or send me an email. I have much to share and would love to hear anything that you have to add. 

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

© 2020 

Sources 

National Library of Ireland, "Adrahan/Microfilm 02442/09," Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI  (https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634143#page/3/mode/1up: accessed [date]), record for Patrick Quinn, 14 Jan 1867.

Patrick Quinn and Family. Photograph, date unknown. Privately held by Owen Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] County Galway, Ireland.

 

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - March 8, 1923

My grandparents, Redic E. Bryan and Myrtie Hairston, and my great-grandparent's, Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Criswell, moved to Baylor County in 1905. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was born in Seymour in 1920. He was the youngest of seven children born to Redic and Myrtie. Redic and Myrtie died in the 1920s and my father moved, along with his sisters, to Borger, Texas. 

In April 2019, I visited the Texas State Library and Archives to read Baylor County Banner issues that could not be found online or on microfilm. I photographed articles with information about my father's family who lived in Seymour. While sorting through my family finds, I realized I had photos of articles that might interest others looking for family. I have pictures of numerous articles from 1923 and a few from other years. I will post as time allows. 

Thank you to Matt Gwinn at the Baylor County Banner for giving me permission to post these clippings.  

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

© 2020

Sources

Harrison, O. C. The Baylor County Banner. (Seymour, TX.), Vol. 27*, No. 24. 8 Mar 1923. Print. Accessed 15 April 2019. 

*Note that January and February issues were part of Vol. 28. This and all March and April issues were printed as Vol. 27. In May, it goes back to Vol. 28. 

Friday's Photo: Grover Frye of Louisiana

Grover Frye was found written on the back of this photo -another from the Frye family. A search for Grover points to Andrew "Andy" Grover Frye the son of Alexander Hamilton Frye and Georgia Ellen Gains. According to WWI and WWII draft cards, he was born in Minden in Webster Parish on August 11, 1888. 

The high collar and small bowtie indicate that the photo was probably taken in the early 1900s. I did not find a marriage record but according to information found on the 1910 United States Census, Andrew Grover Frye and Minnie M. Tullus had been married for one year. They were found living in Claiborne, Bienville, Ouachita, Morehouse, and Bastrop Parishes in Louisiana. 

Andrew Grover Frye died at age 72 and is buried in Pine Grove South Cemetery in Bastrop Parish. His obituary can be seen below. 

Obituary for Andy Grover GROVER FRYE (Aged 72) Thu, May 14, 1959 – Page 5 · The Monroe News-Star (Monroe, Louisiana) · Newspapers.com

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

© 2020 

Sources 

"Andy Grover Frye." The Monroe News-Star 67, no.114 (1959): 5. 

Family photographs from the Frye Family collection. Accessed June 6, 2016 and June 3, 2019. Used with permission.

Louisiana, Claiborne Parish. 1900 U. S. Census, population schedule. Database with images. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com : 2020. 

Louisiana, Claiborne Parish. 1910U. S. Census, population schedule. Database with images. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com : 2020. 

Louisiana, Bienville Parish. 1920 U. S. Census, population schedule. Database with images. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com : 2020. 

Louisiana, Ouatchita Parish. 1930 U. S. Census, population schedule. Database with images. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com : 2020. 

Louisiana, Morehouse Parish. 1940 U. S. Census, population schedule. Database with images. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com : 2020. 

Was your Giddens a Merchant?

Good things come to those who blog/share! This good luck token was
received by Lillian C. Gauer at my great-grandfather's store in
St. Louis, Missouri. The penny is dated 1947. Her granddaughter
shared the photos and sent me the token after finding my blog post
about Charles Giddens' store in St. Louis. 

Was it common to find people with the surname Giddens owning or working in stores? I ask this question as when I research the Giddens family, I frequently find merchant listed as an occupation. In my Giddens family, Mitchell Giddens, my 3rd great-grandfather, made and sold shoes. My 2nd  great-grandfather, George Giddens, has been found owning stores in three North Carolina counties and, my great-grandfather, Charles Giddens sold men's clothing and shoes in his stores in Virginia, New Jersey, and Missouri. Cousins and other extended family members were also merchants.

George Lullen Giddens, my 2nd great-grandfather, wrote this receipt on
December 28, 1884. At this time, he may have owned a store in
Duplin County or Sampson County in North Carolina. 

Occupations are not found recorded on the United States Census until 1850. A look at heads of households named Giddens on the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 United States Census population schedules answered my question. There were only three merchants with the name Giddens in 1850 and six in 1860. Of the thirteen Giddens merchants found in 1870, at least five were connected to my North Carolina Giddens family. 

Friday's Photo: A Quinn Cousin Identified

I posted about this photo twice in May of 2013. It is one of those unlabeled photos that my father-in-law (William Quinn #3) knew was one of his cousins, but he wasn't sure which cousin. Due to dates and location, I thought it could be Francis Meehan, one of his first cousins from the Murray family. 

I was wrong. A newly found Quinn cousin identified him as John "Jackie" O'Brien son of Nora Quinn and John O'Brien Sr. The cousin remembered the photo as it hung for years on her Aunt Nora's wall. 

This cousin was born in 1932 and knows so much about the Quinn family living in NYC. If I had found her 20 years earlier, I wouldn't have had to do so much research to find family. 

John "Jack" O'Brien Jr. was my father-in-law's second cousin. Honor "Nora" Quinn was the daughter of Andrew Quinn and Margaret Flannagan of Caheravoneen, Kinvara, County Galway. Andrew Quinn was the brother of William Quinn (#1) who also lived in Carheravoneen. 

This wonderful cousin also talked about Nora's sisters, Bridget "Delia" Quinn and Mary Quinn Sarsfield both of who lived in New York. The list below shows the names of Andrew Quinn and Margaret Flanagan's children as found at the Galway Family History Center.   

         

Mary Quinn was born on October 19, 1884.

James Quinn was born on November 11, 1885.

Bridget Quinn was born on January 04, 1887.

Patrick Quinn was born on February 08, 1888. He married Mary Conroy in New Quay Church on February 28, 1927.

John Quinn was born on February 13, 1889.

Honor Quinn was born on February 17, 1890. 

Margaret Quinn was born about October 12, 1891. She married Mortimer Ryder on February 23, 1933, in Kinvara.

Catherine Quinn was born on May 09, 1893. 

Michael Quinn was born on June 29, 1894.

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

© 2020 

Sources 

John "Jackie" O'Brien. Photograph, ca. 1937. Privately held by D. B. Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

O'Mahony, Teresa. Teresa to Diana, 2002. Letter privately held by D. B. Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia.  

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - March 1, 1923

My grandparents, Redic E. Bryan and Myrtie Hairston, and my great-grandparent's, Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Criswell, moved to Baylor County in 1905. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was born in Seymour in 1920. He was the youngest of seven children born to Redic and Myrtie. Redic and Myrtie died in the 1920s and my father moved, along with his sisters, to Borger, Texas. 

In April 2019, I visited the Texas State Library and Archives to read Baylor County Banner issues that could not be found online or on microfilm. I photographed articles with information about my father's family who lived in Seymour. While sorting through my family finds, I realized I had photos of articles that might interest others looking for family. I have pictures of numerous articles from 1923 and a few from other years. I will post as time allows. 

Thank you to Matt Gwinn at the Baylor County Banner for giving me permission to post these clippings.  

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

© 2020

Sources

Harrison, O. C. The Baylor County Banner. (Seymour, TX.), Vol. 27*, No. 23. 1 Mar 1923. Print. Accessed 15 April 2019. 

*Note that January and February issues were part of Vol. 28. This and all March and April issues were printed as Vol. 27. In May, it goes back to Vol. 28. 

Friday's Photo: Joseph Thomas "Tom" Page and his wife, Dora Davis Page

 Joseph Thomas "Tom" Page and his wife, Dora Davis Page

Dora Davis Page was the sister of my great-grandmother, Bertha Davis Hawkins. Her mother was Olive Caroline Davis, the daughter of Seth H. Davis and Margaret "Peggy" Jones. Her father is not known. Dora was born in Edmonson County, Kentucky where she married Joseph Thomas Page at age 13. Tom Page was born in Hart County. During their marriage, Tom and Dora lived in Edmonson, Barren, and Hardin Counties. 

Obituary for Joseph Thomas Page (Aged 80) Tue, May 9, 1939 – Page 17 · The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) · Newspapers.com  

 

Obituary for Dora A. Page Mon, Jun 9, 1975 – 8 · The Reporter-Times (Martinsville, Indiana) · Newspapers.com

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

© 2020 

Sources 

Tom and Dora Page. Photograph, ca. 1926. Privately held by E. M. Bryan [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

"Deaths." The Courier-Journal 169, no.25,696 (1939): 17. Newspapers.com.

"Mrs. Dora Page dies Sunday in local hospital." The Reporter-Times, no.136 (1975): 8. Newspapers.com.

George Lullen Giddens, a Merchant from North Carolina

According to his Confederate service record, George Lullen Giddens was tall (6'1/2"), earned his living as a merchant, and was born in Wayne County, North Carolina. 

George was born on September 12, 1840.  His parents were Mitchell Giddens and Letisha Britt. The 1840 census places the Mitchell Giddens family as living in the Buck Swamp District of Wayne County. Mitchell was a shoemaker and the son of John Giddens and his wife, Sally. Letisha was the daughter of William C. Britt and Patience Bell. 

In 1850, the Giddens family was living in Duplin County and it was reported that on December 18, 1852, Mitchell Giddens, father of George, died. His burial place is currently unknown. George had siblings John William, Sarah Jane, James Thomas, Patience Elizabeth, Henry Clay, David Crockett, Mary Susan, Bryant Rustus (also seen as Rustus Westly), and Sophia Alice. 

Friday's Photo: Unlabeled Photos from Marguerite Cook Clark's Bienville Parish Collection

These unlabeled photos are from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Only a small amount of her photos have not been identified and, due to the condition, these might be the most difficult.

I know from experience that the only way to identify these very old photos is to find someone that has the same or similar photos. That means sending them to family and posting them on the Internet; a website, a blog, and/or Facebook. Tonight, they will be posted on my blog and several Facebook groups in hopes of finding someone who might have a match. 

Due to the poor condition of these photos, I enhanced and colorized them at My Heritage in order to see more detail.  

Take a look - do you have similar photos at home? 

Could this be your family? This photo was only a little faded, but I really like the colorization. 

The photo above appears to be a young girl and someone older, maybe her mother? The young girl's face colorized nicely and shows details. The colorization of the older girl/woman did not give the details needed. 

This woman's photo (above) appears to have been taken in Weatherford, Texas. Maybe in the 1890s. The photo on the right is the colorized photo and doesn't help in this case. 

The woman above has a slightly misshapen mouth possibly due to marks on the photo. The woman below is very hard to see but does anyone have a card like this behind the photo?

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

© 2020 

Sources 

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.