27 July 2012

Blueberry Pie -Family Recipe Friday



Blueberry season is winding down here in Michigan.  I bought 40 pounds this year.  I shared a few, froze about 2/3 of them, baked a pie, and ate a lot of them.  There is nothing like fresh blueberries in your Cheerios.

I am more of a cream pie lover, but when blueberry season rolls around I am all for fresh blueberry pie.  The recipe I use is from Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook.  My cookbook is so well loved that I can't find the copyright page.  I received it as a bridal shower gift in 1981.


Blueberry Pie
Prepare pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie.  Combine 4 cups fresh blueberries with 3/4 to 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg, and dash salt.  Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry.  Fill. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lemon juice; dot with 1 tablespoon butter.  Adjust top crust, cutting slits for escape of steam.  Seal.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  Serve warm.

Notes:  I make my own pie crust, usually.  I like a firmer filling so I add 2 teaspoons cornstarch with the flour.  I add the cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

25 July 2012

Images of America: Manistee County

Source:  McRae, Shannon, Images of America Manistee County, Arcadia Publishing, 2006.


Last month, I wrote about my excitement in finding my grandmother pictured in the Marquette Images of America book.  Would I be so lucky in the Manistee County one? 

My Manistee County  ancestry goes back to the early days of Manistee, Michigan.  My Great Grandfather, Johann August Fredrick, immigrated to Manistee in the early 1870's.  His work centered around the logging and sawmill industry.  The first chapter of this book has pictures of that work.  Is my great grandfather in it?  Not that I know.  I only have pictures of him as an older man, so I wouldn't recognize him if he was.

Logging on the Manistee River

In addition to the Fredrick family, I have Graf family who came around 1900 to Brethren, Michigan.  An unconfirmed family story is that Valentine Graf brought his family by wagon train, from Indiana, with a group of German Baptist Brethren members to settle in Brethren.  This is something I would like to explore further.  One of the pictures in the book is of members of this church before 1901.  Is Valentine Graf in this picture?  Again I don't know. 


Early picture of Brethren Michigan, which was almost named Lone Pine for the single pine visible in this picture.



Brethren Historical Association maintains a little museum that I have visited.  I need to visit again.  I would like to learn more about the early days of Brethren and the role the German Baptist Brethren played. 

The Manistee County Images of America book has given me new avenues to explore.  Their pictures are a wonderful, historical representation of the early days of Manistee County.  A time when my mother's grandparents settled there.  I have so much more to explore now thanks to this book.

23 July 2012

Adda L. Glover was a Member of The Temperance Union

How many times as genealogists do we find surprising things about our ancestors while researching?  I found one such surprise in the Muskegon Chronicle, Muskegon, Michigan newspapers.  My 2x great grandmother, Adda L. (Dyer) Glover, aka Mrs. S. S. Glover, was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U) in Muskegon, Michigan.

According to the W.C.T.U. website it was "organized by women who were concerned about the destructive power of alcohol and the problems it was causing their families and society."  Members chose to abstain from drinking all alcohol.  The W.C.T.U. was founded in 1873 and organized nationally in 1874.  They met in churches for prayer and marched to local saloons to ask the owners to close their establishment. 

The first mention I found of Adda's membership was on page 3; column 2 of the April 11, 1881 edition of the Muskegon Chronicle.  It stated, "Mrs. S.S. Glover and Rev. M.W. Fairfield will address the temperance meeting at the opera house, Sunday, April 17th.

The next article found showed that not only was Adda L. Glover a member of the W.C.T.U., she was an officer.  This article dated June 30, 1881, page 4; column 3 reported: "Officers Elected-At its last meeting the W.C.T.U. elected the following officers:  President-Mrs. M.W. Fairfield  1st, Vice President-Mrs. Reed, 2d Vice Prest-Mrs. S.S. Glover, Financial Secretary and Treasurer-Mrs. J.H. Selkirk, Rec. Sec-Mrs. Swan, Cor. Sec.-Mrs. Neff."


Another article from the August 24 1882 Muskegon Chronicle, found on page 2; column 3 in the Personal Pointers section, states that, "Mrs. S.S. Glover, Mrs. J.H. Selkirk, and Mrs. Eldred, left this morning to attend the W.C.T.U. convention at Whitehall."


These articles show that my second great grandmother, Adda L. Dyer Glover was an active member of the Temperance Union.  Were these the only articles I found?  No!  I found one about a July 4th incident.  I will be sharing more in future posts.

19 July 2012

Garage Sale Linens: Treasure Chest Thursday


Garage sale season is in full swing right now.  I have had a number of garage sales over the years.  The last garage sale I had, my mom sent a couple of boxes of things over for us to add to our sale.  I was unpacking the one box and at the bottom were vintage tablecloths.  I thought they were beautiful.  I called my mom and asked her about the tablecloths.  She said they were hers and most of them had been wedding presents.  I was like "Wow, I have to keep these".  There are family heirlooms and over 50 years old.  They were in excellent condition. 


The tablecloths got me thinking about what else my mom had that might be family heirlooms.  The next time I was at my mom's I asked her if she had anything that belonged to her ancestor's.  She showed me a vase and told me it had been in my Grandma Bell's family for years.  She wasn't sure who had originally owned the vase, but said it came from Ireland.  My grandmother, Sarah Lilla Watt Glover Bell, was the daughter of David Watt.  His family was from Scotland.  Sarah's mother, Catherine McGee, was from Ireland.  Was it her mother's, Sarah Jackson McGee?  Or possible her grandmother's (Unknown McGee or Elisa (?) Jackson)?  I will never know who owned it originally, but I am happy I talked to my mom.  I would have never known about the vase if I hadn't asked.

Have you asked your family about family heirlooms?  It is a good idea to do it sooner rather than later.

17 July 2012

Who Taught You To Cook?


The Fredrick Boys Do the Grilling!


The annual Fredrick's Family Reunion was held this past Saturday in Brethren, Michigan.  There is always too much good food.  The Fredrick's family has a lot of good cooks.  Very rarely do you see chips and salsa there.  There are hot and cold dishes made from scratch.  There is Aunt Lola's spaghetti, Cheryl's ranger cookies, Mom's fruit plate, and when Aunt Kate was living-noodles.  Boy did I love her homemade noodles.

It got me thinking about who taught everyone to cook.  My Grandma Fredricks was an excellent cook and she passed that on to her daughters who must have passed it on to their family.  I know that I learned to cook from my mother. 
I took an interest in cooking early in life.  It started out simple with scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches.  By the time I was in Junior High I was making box pizzas, homemade cookies and brownies.  I had a 7th grade Home Economics class with Mrs. Brobst and one day she brought a bunch of fruit and other ingredients into class.  Our assignment was to create a dish with the ingredients.(Food Network must have copied this for their Chopped program)  I decided to make a fruit salad with a mayonnaise type dressing.  I cut the fruit up quite nice and tossed it with the dressing.  I put a lettuce leaf on the plate and fruit salad on top.  I garnished it with coconut.  When everyone was done we had to describe our dish.  Then we voted on who we thought did the best job and I won!  I think I was hooked on cooking from that point on.

McCalls Great American Recipe Card Collection

I would scour magazines for recipes to try.  I loved to try new recipes.  I ordered a Betty Crocker Cookbook set.  I ordered a McCall's Great American box of recipes.  Two packets came every month.  I completed the set.  I would make dinner one night a week.  This was all in high school.

In the summer, during high school and college, I worked at the Harbor Beach Resort Association as a waitress.  They served the most delicious meals and desserts.  I would copy recipes every chance I had.  Then, I would make them at home.

Moi, as a Home Economics Teacher, 1982

Eventually, I went to college.  I thought I wanted to be a Medical Technologist.  I hated the classes for that.  One night in the dorm room, I thought about changing my major.  I asked myself, "What do you like to do?"  I made a list of all the things I enjoyed doing.  I liked reading, cooking, sewing, working with children, and being organized.  From these thoughts I decided to be a Home Economics teacher.  I loved my classes.  One class that I especially enjoyed was a five credit Food Preparation class.  We had a 2-3 hour lab every week and all we did was cook.  I learned to cook everything you can imagine from appetizers to soup to variety meats (tongue, anyone?) to candy, cakes, pies, and more, all from scratch.  Did I say I loved it?

Travis and Kirk at our Christmas Tree Trimming Party

A few of my most memorable cooking experiences included our wedding rehearsal dinner, my children's birthdays, tree trimming parties, Thanksgiving dinners, Easter dinners, and Kirsten and Travis' graduation parties.  One of the guests couldn't believe that I had made everything myself at Travis' party.  I finally said "I use to be a Home Economics teacher".  She taps the lady next to her and says, "She use to be a Home Economics teacher, that explains it."

Kirsten, age 20 months, helping mom make bread.


How would my daughter and son answer Who Taught You to Cook?  They would say me.  From an early age I would pull a chair up to the counter and let Kirsten and Travis help.  I enjoyed that time with them.  Both of my children are good cooks today.  Kirsten loves to bake.  Travis made us delicious quesadillas when we visited him in Florida, recently.

In a fast food nation, I think we have lost the art of cooking.  I hope we eventually swing back to family dinner times and home made goodies.  I enjoyed learning to cook and teaching others, whether it was a classroom full of high-schoolers or my own children.  Who taught you to cook?

13 July 2012

Posen Research Website: Follow Friday


The first time I heard the word Posen was when I asked my mother where her grandfather, Johann August Fredrick, came from.  She said the only thing she knew was Posen, Prussia.  Well, it is a start and better than just Prussia.  Was Posen the town he came from as a few of my cousins believed or was it the Province?  If it was the Province, then I had my work cut out for me.

It wasn't until I was contacted by a 'cousin', Michael, who lives in Germany and is a Fredrick, (or Fredrich as it was known in Prussia) that I knew for certain.  It was the province.  More specifically, the Bromberg area of Posen.  Once that was discovered I went looking for information.

One of the websites that I found helpful with my Posen the Province research was the  Posen-Official website of the Posen-L mailing list.  It was so much more than a mailing list.  It had information from the Prussian Province of Posen, which is also known as Posen, Germany; Posen, Prussia; Province of Posen; Poznan, Poland and a few other names.

A few of the highlights of this website included:
  • Search Area
  • Master Index-list of topics available on website
  • Brickwalls-help for those pesky Posen ancestors or documents
  • Surnames-browse surnames and see others who recorded them
  • Places-church, court, military, and police districts are found here
  • Tools-help with finding Posen communities
  • Resource-area for more information and help
  • Subscribe-where you can subscribe to the mailing list.
I have barely touched the surface of this website.  Every time I go to it I get wrapped up in the information there.  I even got sidetracked when I went to capture the url for this blog post. 

Unfortunately, in 2022, I can no longer find the website. Do any of my readers know what happened to it? I refer you to the Family Search wiki for now.

11 July 2012

Jack G. Tyson Born: Hattie's Bible

Source:  Glover, Hattie L. "Fenn", family data. In The Holy Bible: with Revised New Testament. Chicago: GW Borland & Co., 1882. Original owned in June 2010 by Brenda Leyndyke, [address for private use], Battle Creek, Michigan.


"DEAR MOM SON BORN TONIGHT 6 PM 9 LBS 5 OZ ROSIE DOING FINE TELL GRANDMOTHER, CLAUDE EDYTH LOVE=JACK"


The above telegraph was sent to Mrs. Leonard McKie announcing the birth of a son.  It was found in Hattie Fenn's Bible.  The following tells who is mentioned in the telegraph:

Mrs. Leonard McKie-Adeline E. Glover Tyson McKie, the daughter of Frank H. and Hattie (Fenn) Glover.

Son Born-Jack G. Tyson, son of John 'Jack' Glover Tyson and Rosalene M. (Richardson) Tyson.

Rosie-Rosalene M. (Richardson) Tyson

Grandmother-Hattie (Fenn) Glover of Hattie's Bible fame.

Claude- Claude R. Glover, son of Frank H. and Hattie (Fenn) Glover

Edyth-Edythe Sarasin (Booker) Glover, wife of Claude R. Glover

Jack-John 'Jack' Glover Tyson

09 July 2012

Mary E. Potts Affidavit in S.S. Glover Jr's Pension File-Military Monday

Source:  Glover, Jr., Samuel Stillman; Pension File No. 28715, Civil War Pension File, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration), p15 .

State of Michigan
County of Jackson

     In the Matter of Claim for Pension of Adda L Widow
of Samuel S. Glover Jr Deceased personally appeared before me, a
Notary Public circuit court commissioner in and for the County and State aforesaid,
Mary E. Potts aged 57 years, and who
being duly sworn, declares in relation to said claim that She Knew Adda L
Glover from the age of x nine years until She was
married to Samuel S Glover Jr from the age of  x twenty years
until He was married to Adda L Glover
and have known them both every Since
and know that neither of them was
ever married until they married each
other on Aug 1st 1857 and after that time they have lived together as man and
Wife until he died and that neither
Had ever been Divorced and that she
has not remarried since the Death of
her Late husband.  Death x 
   Deponent further says that she was present
   at the wedding of Adda L. Dyer to
   Samuel S Glover Jr on the date aforesaid.

                                                                            Stamped U. S. Pension Office June 22 1904

The above affidavit was found on page 15 of my 2x great grandfather, Samuel Stillman Glover, Jr. civil was pension file.  The person providing the information, Mary E. Potts, is the sister to Adda L. Glover.  Their maiden name was Dyer.  Mary was nine years younger than her sister. 

Samuel's pension file provided other documentation about their marriage.  This wasn't the first I knew their marriage date, but it provides additional documentation for it.  It tells that Mary knew Samuel from when he was twenty.  Samuel was twenty-one when he and Adda married.  In addition, I learned that Mary was at their wedding.

Samuel's pension file has been a wealth of information.  In addition to his service records, it has provided me with personal family information.  Information I have not been able to find elsewhere, yet.
 

05 July 2012

Where in the World is Daisy Graf?

United States Census Data for Daisy Graf Fredricks

FACT
DATE
PLACE OF RESIDENCE
ENUMERATION DISTRICT/PAGE ID./DWELLING
Birth
1892
Plevna, Howard, Indiana, United States

Census
1900
Liberty Township, Howard, Indiana, United States
68/3/49
Census
1910
Dickson Township, Manistee, Michigan, United States
32/3B/64
Census
1920
Dickson Township, Manistee, Michigan, United States
61/4A/Line 40
Census
1930
Dickson Township, Manistee, Michigan, United States
51-7/2B/42
Census
1940
Dickson Township, Manistee, Michigan, United States
21-7/2A/Line 30
Death
1978
Manistee, Manistee, Michigan, United States

03 July 2012

Raymond Paul Graf: Tombstone Tuesday

RAYMOND P. GRAF
JANUARY 1, 1915
AUGUST 22, 1971

Burial:  Brethren Cemetery, Brethren, Manistee, Michigan, United States