Grandma's Diary, Parts 51 & 52

(To read prior entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:

The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.

Alice is her sister.

Kenneth is her brother.

Her parents.

H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.
Kenneth's wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

Sunday, December 24:  "We went to L.A., ate dinner at Hazels.  We went to Redlands to take Alice.  Got in a terrible fog comming home.  Mrs. Williams gave me a fern."

Monday, December 25, Christmas:  "Mama & Dad ate at Hessers.  Hazel & I ate at his folks.  Hazel left for L.A. about 3.  I went to Hessers."

 Tuesday, December 26:  "Dad worked on the C.W.A.  Mama & I had a big washing.  We tried to clean house.  Went to Yucaipa in the evening."

Wednesday, December 27:  "We did a big ironing.  I read all afternoon.  Dad plowed."

Thursday, December 28:  "Mama & I went to town.  Had dinner at Livingoods.  Took Mrs. Harmon to town.  Got our interest.  Went to Hesser's but they weren't home."

Friday, December 29:  "Dad worked on the C.W.A.  I walked to Shultzs & mailed Hazel & Alice a letter.  Mama made me a print dress."

Saturday, December 30:  "Dad worked again, until noon as it rained.  Dad & I went to Yucaipa.  Read all evening."

Sunday, December 31:  "It is still raining.  Mr. Cooper called.  Kinghams came up & re-rented the house.  Read most of the day."

This concludes my grandmother's 1933 diary.  Thank you for sticking with me as I recorded her thoughts over that year of her life.  She did make entries in 1934, but only sporadically after the first couple of months of the year.  I will continue to share her writings during 2012.

Grandma's Diary, Parts 49 and 50

(To read prior entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:

The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.

Alice is her sister.

Kenneth is her brother.

Her parents.

H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.
Kenneth's wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

Sunday, December 10:  "Hazel froze us some ice cream.  Cathearts were here to dinner.  Livengoods visited in the afternoon.  Hazel & I went to town in the eve."

Monday, December 11:  "I went to school.  Hazel came after me at noon.  I helped him pick up walnuts in the afternoon.  We went to town."

Tuesday, December 12:  "I went to school.  Hazel & Joe brot me home after school.  Hazel stayed with Joe all night."

Wednesday, December 13:  "I went to school.  Hazel went to L.A.  Mama went with me to town.  (Mistake)  It rained to hard to go."

Thursday, December 14:  "I went to school.  Mama & Hazel went to town.  We made some pop corn in the evening."

Friday, December 15:  "I stayed home.  In the evening H. & I went up & visited Plumlees.  Dad got stuck in the mud as he started to go over to Petes.  Couldn't get it out."

Saturday, December 16:  "Dad & Hazel got the car out.  Hazel, Mama & I started for Alices.  Met Viella & pushed her to Berdo.  Went to Gertrudes to a dance in the eve."

Sunday, December 17:  "We made holly wreathes.  Started for L.A. about 10 'clock.  Went by way of Bouquet Canyon.  Left Hazel there & got home about six.  Alice came home with us."

 Monday, December 18:  "I went to school.  Alice & Mama came after me.  We went to Berdo.  Dad plowed at home."

Tuesday, December 19:  "I went to school.  Mama & Alice came after me & we went to the show.  Saw Marie Dressler in Christopher Bean.  Went to Berdo."

Wednesday, December 20:  "I went to school.  Mama & Alice came after me.  Visited Norah & Aunt Kate."

Thursday, December 21:  "Dad worked on the C.W.A.  We sewed. In the afternoon we quilted or rather tied a comforter for Alice."

Friday, December 22:  "Dad worked on the C.W.A.  Alice, Mama & I went to Berdo.  Saw Kinghams have to move the first on acct. of  _______.  Saw Norah in the afternoon."

Saturday, December 23:  "Dad worked on the C.W.A.  We finished tying Alice's comforter.  Finished up sewing for Alice."

And from child Liz:  

December 21, 1974:  "I went Xmas carolling to old people."  

December 23, 1974:  "My Aunt went in the hospitl."  (I have no recollection which aunt this was.)

Grandma's Diary, Part 48

(To read prior entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:

The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.

Alice is her sister.

Kenneth is her brother.

Her parents.

H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.
Kenneth's wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

Sunday, December 3:  "We had an early dinner & Alice & Herman left for home about 1, o'clock.  I went over to Yucaipa & got some cough drops."

Monday, December 4:  "Hazel's birthday, he is 22.  I went to school and registered for C.W.A. work**."

Tuesday, December 5:  "I went to school.  Dad has to go register at Yucaipa today.  Mama & I went to Mrs. Trowbridges & she gave me a skirt."

Wednesday, December 6:  "I went to school.  Kids went on their treasure hunt today.  Dad went to work on the CWA project."

Thursday, December 7:  "I went to school.  I took Mama over to Laura's & dad to work before school.  Dad I went after Mama in the eve."

Friday, December 8:  "I went to school.  My cold went to my left eye.  Dorthy Pate & her boy friend came over & took me for a ride."

Saturday, December 9:  "Mama worked on my dress & finished a skirt for me.  I met Hazel on the way to Yucaipa about 6 pm."


** "The Civil Works Administration was established by the New Deal during the Great Depression to create manual labor jobs for millions of unemployed. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter."  "President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the CWA on November 8, 1933.

The CWA was a project created under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The CWA created construction jobs, mainly improving or constructing buildings and bridges. It ended on March 31, 1934, after spending $200 million a month and giving jobs to 4 million people."

- Civil Works Administration. (2011, December 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:57, December 10, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Civil_Works_Administration&oldid=464495868

A Freebie from My Memories!

 

If you haven't checked out the My Memories Store, Blog, or Facebook page, then you are missing out!  The company gives out FREEBIES almost daily on Facebook, plus they have a large FREEBIE section in their store.  In addition, their software is great and so easy to use.  This is a software for any scrapper - you build layouts just like you do when paper scrapping... only digitally.  There's not the huge learning curve like with Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop. 

If you are interested in the My Memories Suite V3 (the latest version just released!!) software, here's a coupon for you!  You can get $10.00 off your purchase with the coupon code:

STMMMS80144.

 

  I would also like to share a link to some awesome FREE quick pages.  These quick pages work in My Memories Suite, of course, but in any other program as well!

DOWNLOAD HERE

 Here's what I did with the freebie in literally less than 15 minutes!

 

Enjoy!!!

The Hypothetical Ancestor Trade-Off

Amy Coffin of the We Tree Genealogy Blog wrote a blog post recently about "The Hypothetical Ancestor Trade-Off."  You can read that post and the one that sparked it here.  I decided to participate, and I ask you, dear readers, as Amy asked hers:

"Do you have an ancestor who is a challenge to research?  Would you like to hand him or her off to another genealogist for a couple of weeks and let someone else worry about it?

Tell us which one and why."

Boy!  Would I?!  I am sure any of you who has read this blog for any length of time can easily guess who I would trade off.  No question. 

My great-great-grandfather, George W. Schwalls.  He is a mystery wrapped in an enigma.  Or however that saying goes.

That is George, front row, 3rd from left.

He, like Amy's ancestor, seems to have landed on this earth, in the United States, in Johnson County, Georgia, with no parents or back story of any kind.  I have hit brick wall after brick wall while researching this man, and I have no idea where to go from here.

While George indicated at different times that he was born in Germany (Once he stated Bavaria.), I can find no record of a naturalization for him.  Therefore, I do not know exactly when he came to this country.  He was born January 1, 1837 and by 1862, he was serving in the Confederate Army.  Where he was at any point in between is anyone's guess. 

To research someone's ancestry in their home country of Germany, it is imperative to know what village or town or city they were from.  I cannot find that information for George.  Nowhere, not on the census nor his Civil War Pension File nor obituaries for his children nor anywhere that I can find, does he or anyone else list the town in Germany where he was born.

I've searched ship passenger lists for him.  The couple of George Schwall(s) I found did not seem to match.  The family legend is that he slipped into this country under a false name.  That may be true since I find no record of him anywhere.

There was a George Michael Schwall living in the next county over that I feel sure was related to him somehow.  Probably a cousin.  I've tried to research Michael's ancestry to find a link.  No luck so far there either.

So I am stuck.  Please, won't someone take his file for a couple of weeks?!  If someone else can figure it out, more power to them. 

Now it's your turn.  Who's file would you like to trade to another genealogist in the hypothetical ancestor trade-off?

(Thanks, Amy and her readers, for coming up with this blog topic.)

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Dear Genea-Santa Letter

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

 It's Saturday Night - take some time from the Christmas shopping frenzy - and have a little Genealogy Fun!!

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented dreams:

1) Write your Genea-Santa letter. Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy? What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list? They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue your ancestral quest.

2) Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook status or Google Stream post.

Here's mine:

Dear Genea-Santa,

I tried to be a good girl this year, but my genealogy did take a hit.  Not as many blog posts as I would have liked, but I did attend two genealogy conferences.  I also was more diligent in adding source citations to my Family Tree Maker file, and helped any and all cousins who contacted me in any way I could.  So hopefully, I still deserve a couple of holiday surprises.

All I want for Christmas this year:

(1)  An IPad or other tablet computer would so much lighter and more compact than my laptop to take with me on genealogy-related trips.

(2)  To learn the ancestry of my great-great-grandfather, George W. Schwalls. 

Thank you,Genea-Santa!

Grandma's Diary, Parts 46 and 47

(To read prior entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:

The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.

Alice is her sister.

Kenneth is her brother.

Her parents.

H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.
Kenneth's wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

Sunday, November 19:  "Mama finished up Alice's dress.  Alice got mad & they went home about 4 o'clock.  Mama & I went for a ride to Redlands."

Monday, November 20:  "I went to school.  Mama cleaned the bedroom.  Viella was here to dinner.  Dad worked at Trowbridges."

Tuesday, November 21:  "I went to school.  Dad worked at Trowbridges."

Wednesday, November 22:  "I went to school.  I walked up to Clara's & she waved my hair.  I got two big blisters on my heals."

Thursday, November 23:  "I went to school.  My heals are pretty sore.  Dad worked in the afternoon at Trowbridges."

Friday, November 24:  "I went to school.  Plumlee's were over for a min. to asked me to a party."

Saturday, November 25:  "Mama & I sewed.  Elsie & Jimmy brought Hazel up, he got here about midnight."

Sunday, November 26:  "Hazel & I went on a picnic.  Livengoods were here for dinner.  Hazel & I went to Yucaipa in the eve."

Monday, November 27:  "Mama, Clara & I took Hazel to Pomona.  Mama & I had dinner at Livengoods.  It rained today."

Tuesday, November 28:  "I went to school.  It was today instead of yesterday that we took H. to Pomona."

Wednesday, November 29:  "I went to school.  Was to Luciles for dinner.  Busy getting ready for tomorrow's dinner."

Thursday, November 30 - Thanksgiving:  "Uncle Jont's, Othos' & Herman's were here for dinner.  Herman, Alice & I went to Jim Perry's wedding.  There was snow on the ground this morning."

Friday, December 1:  "Has warmed up quite a bit.  Laura was here to dinner.  Mama, Alice & Herman & I went to the show in San Berdo. at the Temple."

Saturday, December 2:  "We went to San Berdo.  Herman & Alice got a studio couch.  The family went over to Hessers in the eve.  I stayed home by myself."