Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Pauleen's Crazy Month of May Pandemic Meme, Part II

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

(This is a continuation of my June 9th post.  Since I don't have any 4th of July memories to share, I decided to finally finish these prompts.)

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  Check out Pauleen Cass's blog post, Crazy Month of May 2020: Pandemic Experiences.

(2)  Let's do the last 11 of the prompts.

(3) Tell us about your own pandemic experience in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook. Be sure to leave a link to your work as a comment to this post and also on Pauleen's post.

Here's mine:

(11) What have you found to be strangest change to your life?

I find the strangest part for me is changing my entire personal reaction style with people.  I am a hugger.  Can't do that anymore.  If I'm out walking my dog without a mask and a neighbor comes up to me... I should have remembered to have a mask with me.  Also, I tend to smile at people I encounter along the way, and I'm having a hard time remembering they cannot see my facial expression!

(12) Have you found the changes and experience stressful/anxious/worrying?

What is stressful and worrying to me is the possibility of my catching the virus through someone else's selfishness in not wearing a mask.  Or touching the wrong thing.  I live alone and have no family closer than 2 states away.  If I get sick, there is no one for me to call on to help me. I worry about my mom catching it... I certainly couldn't have her come up to take care of me.  My BFF is high risk... I have the same worry there.  

(13) How have the closures affected your local community?

Prices are higher for both gas and food.  Several business are still not open and those that are have to slash their occupancy levels. I know that is very hard on small business and the unemployed.  However, I do not agree with opening up the city/county/state/country so soon.  No amount of money is worth a life or a loved one's life.  

(14)  Have in-person meetings been replaced with virtual meetings via Zoom, Skype, etc.?

I have personally not used Zoom or Skype during this pandemic.  I talk on the phone to family and friends.  Or text.  I just found out that my book club is going to start back on July 13 using Zoom.  I have avoided downloading and using it so far, but it looks like it's in my near future, like it or not. 

(15) Do you enjoy the virtual meeting format?

No, which is why I have avoided using it thus far.

(16) Are you working from home instead of in your usual place of work?

Unfortunately not.  Our Clerk of Court ordered us all to return to full time status on June 1st.  I personally believe that was way too soon and continues to be.  We are not 6 feet apart from our co-workers, and I do not know who those co-workers are around after work and on weekends.  Even though a mask is required to enter the courthouse, some seem to have worked their way down to beneath the chin by the time they reach our end of the hall.  They finally put plexiglass in front of us, but the people try to look around it or stand where there is a gap in order to converse with us.  

(17) Have your habits changed over the past month(s)?

My sleeping habits are way out of whack.  I do not shop as much.  I added a TV service so now I'm watching way too much TV, in my opinion.  I have been out to eat a couple of times, but not nearly as often as I used to.  

(18) Have you had to cancel travel plans for pleasure or family?

My mother was unable to make her annual Mother's Day visit.  I did go to Atlanta for my birthday in June, but I stayed with my friends who don't go out much either and we were really careful.  Only time will tell how this will affect my annual trip to Georgia in September.

(19) Do you think you'll be able to travel in 2020?

As I said, I hope to make a trip to Augusta in September.  I usually go at Christmas also.  It's all up in the air at this point.

(20) Have you/others been wearing masks when out and about in your area?

I always wear a mask when I go grocery shopping, to work, or a medical appointment.  Other people were not too good about it until the governor of North Carolina made it mandatory again last weekend.  Now I see everyone out shopping is wearing one which is a good feeling.  

(21) Will you change your lifestyle after this experience?

I'm sure I will.  Less eating out and shopping.  I believe mask wearing will be around for a long while.  (They have become a fashion statement, and now I spend a good deal of money on different ones!  LOL)

Side note:  I have been fortunate thus far to have someone close to me who cut my hair and groomed my dog.  Now that has ended so I will have to venture out to my hair stylist in short order.  I have had a couple of pedicures, but the salon did everything to make me feel safe.  This biggest thing I miss at this point?  My tattoo parlor!  I know, it's crazy, but I get a tattoo every year for my birthday, and I was unable to this year.  I really missed that tradition.  

Amanuensis Monday: George Hubbard's Will

George Hubbard was my 9th great-grandfather.  While his will had already been transcribed, I still wished to include it here on my blog.

The transcription I am presenting is from "1000 years of Hubbard History, 866-1895," Edward Warren Day, Harlan Page Hubbard, New York, 1895 as shared by Craig Hubbard on RootsWeb.com:  Descendants of George Hubbard (1601-1685) of Middletown, CT and Related Lines," as updated February 18, 2013 and accessed by myself on February 23, 2013.

His will is published in "Early Connecticut Probate Records, Vol 1, Hartford District, p. 325, Charles W. Manwaring, Hartford, CT, 19902.  His original will is on file in the Hall of Records at Hartford, Connecticut, in a box labeled "Wills - H, 1647 to 1750," and bears a date of May 22, 1681.

HUBBARD, George, Middletown.  He died 16 March, 1684/5.  Invt. £243-10-00. Taken 13 May, 1685, by Hiles Hamlin, Nathaniel White, William Warde.  Legatees: the Widow, son Joseph age 42 years, Daniel 41, Samuel 37, Nathaniel 33, Richard 30, Mary (the wife of Thomas Ranny) 44, Elizabeth (the wife of Thomas Wetmore) 25 years of age.  Will dated 02 May 1681.

I, George Hubbard of Middletown, bieng about 80 years of age, yet in comfortable health of bodie and having the use of my understanding as formerly, do make this my last Will & Testament:

Imprimis:  I give to my Eldest son Joseph HUBBARD, besids what I have formerly given him, one Acre of my meadow At a place called pasen chauge on the East sid of the Great River, to ly on the North sid the Cricke which Runs through my Land.  It.  I give to my son Danill HUBBARD, besids what I gave him formaly, two Acres of Swompe at the west end of my Long meadow swompe Next the bogie meadow.  It.  I give to my son Samuel, besides what I formerly gave him, the on halfe of my halfe mile Lott on the East sid the grat River, divided by the List in 1673.  It.  I give to my son Nathaniel HUBBARD my peice of bogie meadow, being about on acre & quartre, Lying Next Mr. Giles Hamlins meadow; more over I give to my sayd son the one halfe of my Leaven acre Lott at the South End of the towne; I give allso to my sayd son the on Halfe of my Great Lott at the Long Swanp, as allso the on halfe of my great Lott in the westermost Rang of Lotts.  It.  I give to my daughter Elizabeth HUBBARD All the Rest of my Land on the East sid the Great River, besides what is formerly Desposed of, both which is Layd out & which is Lotted for by the List of Estate in the yeare 1673, only my half mille Lott excepted; It. I give to my daughter Mary Rany fourty shillings out of my Estate, but on further consideration insstead of that fourty shillings I give my sayd daughter the on halfe of my halfe Mille Lott on the East sid the Great River, devied by the List in 1673.  It. I give to my son Richard HUBBARD my hous I now Dwell in & my barne and all other building, with my home  Lott they stand on; as also my Long meadow Land & the Rest of my Long meadow swampe besids that which I have given to my son Danill, hee allowing my son Daniel a Lamas higway to goe to the Swampe I give him if need Require; more over I give to my sayd son the other halfe of the Leaven Acre Lott at the south end of the towne, as allso the other halfe of my Great Lott at the Long Swampe, & Likewise the other halfe of my geat Lott in the Westermost Rang of Lotts.  Moreover it is my meaning herein, and my will is, that my sayd son Richard shall be my sole Executor, Injoyning him to provid Comfortable for his mother During her widlow hood, And to pay all my Just Debts for my Desent Buriall; move over I give to my Loving wife Elizabeth HUBBARD all my household Goods During her Natural Live, and after he Deseas my will is that my household Goods be equally Divided between Nathaniel And Richard & Elizabeth, Except the Great Kettle, which I will to my son.  And farther it is my will that my Loving wife shall have the South end of my hous To Dwell in by her self if shee see cause, & rome in the seler for nesesary use During her widow hood.  More over on farther Consideration my will is that my wife Shall have falfe my hom Lott & halfe my orchard during ther widow hud, and also on Cowe, And soe to provid for her selfe, & that my son Richard shall pay her three pownds pr year of Corent pay of the Country During her natural Life.

GEORGE X HUBBARD, senior

Upon farhter Consideration I see cause to give the whole eleven acres of Land over the two Sticks brooke by the fulling mill to my Son Nathaniel. 

GEORGE X HUBBARD, senior

Signed in the presents of us:

Sar. Samuel X Ward
John Hall senior
Ebenezer HUBBARD

I Request my Loving brethern Robert Warner & Deacon John Hall to be the over seers to the performance of my will.  27 February, 1683/4.

Court Record, Page 112 -- 3d September, 1685: Will Proven.

At George's death, his inventory showed him worth £243, 10s, and possessed of a dwelling-house and home lot worth £50, "2 1/3 acres of long meadow" worth £18, 10s, "3 acres of meadow (at Pessenchaug) on the east side of the Great River" worth £9, a tract at Long Hill of 226 acres, another "parcell west from the towne" of 300 acres, one "parcell on the east side of the Great River" of 464 acres, and the "one-halfe Lott" of 30 acres, a total of over one thousand acres.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Time Machine

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) Determine which event in your ancestral history that you would love to be a witness to via a Time Machine.  Assume that you could observe the event, but not participate in it.

(2) Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

When I saw this mission today, several things went through my mind.  I could choose the birth of ancestor that I do not know who their parents were to help me fill in some blanks.  Or even the birth of my great-grandmother, who was adopted - hopefully, to find out information about her birth parents.  Or I could pick a historical event like the Civil War, World War II, or the Great Depression.  All of those events sounded too traumatizing to me.  

But then I finally hit on it!   I would like to go back to the 1850's when my great-grandfather George W Schwalls came to this country from Germany.  Allegedly illegally.  Now I think stowaway on ships stories are like Indian princesses... completely made up.  However, in George's case, there is NO record of him on any ship from Europe during the time he supposedly arrived in this country; there's no record of him ever becoming an American citizen, though he did fight in the Civil War; and there is no record of him until he just appeared in Johnson County, Georgia in the late 1850's.  He seemed to be very closed mouthed about his origins, also.  Nothing passed down through the family, no records indicating exactly where he was born, nothing.  Nada.  Zip.   

There are rumors.  That he and two others from his family (The story is that two of them were brothers and the third was cousin.) got into some trouble and had to flee to America.  That they stowed away on a ship out of La Havre, France.  That after arriving in the United States, they got jobs working on the Great Lakes.  That two of them migrated down to Georgia and the third went to California.  I do know that there was a George Michael Schwall who was older than my George who lived in Jefferson County, Georgia, next door to Johnson County where my George lived.  (The story also goes that one of the men added an S on the end of his name  to be differentiated from the others.)

So I would like to go back to listen and observe and perhaps find out the town my great-grandfather was from, why he migrated to the States, and who his parents were.  That would be a dream come true!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Father's Work History

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) Sunday, June 21, 2020, is Father's Day.  Let's celebrate by writing a blog post about your father or another significant male ancestor (such as a grandfather).

(2)  What was your father's occupation?  What jobs did he have throughout his life? Do you know his work history?

(3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

My father, Gilbert Earl Tapley, never graduated from high school.  I believe he only had a 7th grade education.  His father died when Daddy was only 7 years old, so I am sure when he was old 'enough', he had to help support his mother, sister and himself.  

I do not know a whole lot about my father's work history.  He held a lot of different jobs over the years cause he never stayed anywhere very long.  Let's just say he was not a people person and did not take orders well.  I know he farmed when he was young.  Eventually, he became a carpenter.  What I do have is a resume someone typed up for him in the mid-1960's.  According to it:

1954-1955     Carpenter

1956-1962     Ran service station and grocery store, plus his own bulldozer and dump truck business

1963               Truck Driver; operation of dump truck and bulldozer

1963-1964     Mechanic; overhauling tractors

1964              Mechanic; overhauling Chrysler marine engines

(Now I know why he loved machinery and had to own so much of it when I was a child!  I can remember many, many cars, tractors, backhoe, motor home, and boats, just to name a few.)

Edit:  I spoke with my mother today and she was able to add that during World War II, my father worked at the shipyards in Jacksonville, Florida.  Then when his older brother, John Russell, returned from the war, he joined him in carpentry work.  Daddy actually got his official apprenticeship qualification as a journeyman.  He worked with his brother, building houses, until, it appears, the mid-1950's.    

I know that by the time I was born in 1967, he worked for the City of Augusta, Georgia.   He had two heart attacks in quick succession and was advised by his doctor to decrease his stress level (translation:  get a new job) or he would not live very long.  

So when I was 4 years old, we moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where my father went back into construction.  But it was short-lived.  He quit and became a stay-at-home father until I was 18 years old and went off to college.  

He then worked for the Emanuel County (Georgia) Sheriff's office, part-time, for a few years, transporting prisoners.  Once my parents moved back to Augusta in about 1998, he didn't work again.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (on a Tuesday night!) - Pauleen's Crazy Month of May Pandemic Meme, Part I

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday  Tuesday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  Check out Pauleen Cass's blog post, Crazy Month of May 2020: Pandemic Experiences.

(2)  Let's do the first 10 of the prompts and save the last 11 for next week.

(3) Tell us about your own pandemic experience in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook. Be sure to leave a link to your work as a comment to this post and also on Pauleen's post.

Here's mine:

(I completely forgot to write this on Saturday, thus this blog is having its genealogy fun on this Tuesday night!  It'll probably be the same next week since I'll be out of town this weekend!  Enjoy!)

(1)  What are you most grateful for during this Covid-19 crisis?

I have several things I am most grateful for:  My mother stayed healthy.  I stayed healthy.  That I was able to work part-time for two months and still be paid!  Cell phones and Internet so we could all stay in touch during this time.

(2)  What have you missed most during the full or partial lock-down?

Not a whole lot.  I'm a homebody so I have enjoyed this time.  However, I did miss going to my book club at the library.  I missed going out and eating Mexican food occasionally.  Most of all, I  had to miss my mother's annual Mother's Day visit.  

(3)  Has your hobby sustained you during this time?

Definitely!  Working on my genealogy is the vast majority of what I did.  I used my extra time at home to sort my family tree pictures and documents on my computer and in Ancestry.com.  I'm still not quite finished with that project, but I am close!  I also went through many Hints on Ancestry.com.  I tried to touch base with cousins and made contact with several!  I made a few new cousin "friends" on Facebook.  My hobby pretty much consumed my time during the pandemic.  

Alas, I only scrapbooked once.  

 (4)  What changes have you seen in your life over May 2020?

I'm cooking more.  I'm snacking more.  I've gained weight.  My days and nights have gotten mixed up so I'm up late and sleep late.  I'm tired and sleepy all the time.   My stress level is higher, and I'm more depressed.  

(5)  Have you been exercising more or less?

If it's possible, less.  I've been spending large amounts of time in front of my computer.  My only exercise has been housecleaning and walking the dog.

(6)  Has the refrigerator been your friend or foe?

A little of both.  

(7)  Have you been participating in virtual gatherings with friends or family?

No, but a lot of phone calls.... almost daily to my mother, several calls with my aunt in Phoenix, and several calls to various cousins.  I had one friend that we kept trying to get together on Skype but our schedules never aligned.  

(8)  Have you taken up new hobbies during the lockdown?

No new hobbies.  I don't have enough time to keep up with the two I have!

(9)  Are you cooking or gardening more?

Definitely cooking more.  Every time I go to a drive thru, they get my order wrong, so it's really not worth going.  Plus the prices have gone up!  

I did my annual pulling of the weeds and trimming the shrub in my backyard.  I put out weed killer and also my hummingbird feeders.  The HOA planted some shrubs and plants in my front flower bed so I have been diligently watering them when it doesn't rain.  

(10)  Have you shopped more or less?  Online or offline?

Definitely more online shopping than usual.  SEVERAL Amazon orders.  Chewy.com usual order.  At least three Lane Bryant orders (They were having great sales!!).  

I have done my usual once-a-month Walmart run each month.  Visited the grocery store a couple of times in between.  I have been to Dollar Tree, Lowe's, Big Lots, and Costco a couple of times.  Always careful to wear my mask and keep my distance from people.  Especially since a lot of people no longer wear masks.  Once the state started easing restrictions, it seemed that Lowe's and Walmart gave up having customers wear masks and keeping a lower number of people in the store at one time.  Or providing hand sanitizer.  

Questions 11 to 21 next week!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Maternal Grandfather's Matrilineal Line

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) What was your mother's father's full name?

(2)  What is your mother's father's matrilineal line? That is, his mother's mother's mother's... back to the most distant female ancestor in that line.  Provide her ahnentafel number (relative to you), her birth and death years, and places.

(3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

(1)  My maternal grandfather was #6, Charles Morgan Tapley (1907-1973).

(2)  Charles's mother was #13, Mattie Schwalls (1877-1912). Mattie was born in Georgia, married Lusion Keman Tapley in 1903 in Johnson County, Georgia, and died in Johnson County, Georgia.  

Mattie's mother was #27, Lincelia "Celia" E. Claxton (1839-1882).  Lincelia was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  She married George W Schwalls Sr in 1866 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  She died in Georgia.

Lincelia Claxton's mother was #55,  Lincelia "Lincely" Bush (1806-1872).  Lincelia was born in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina.  She married Zachariah William Claxton in 1823 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina.  She died in Johnson County, Georgia.

Lincelia Bush's mother was #111, Mary Frances Miller (1785-1857).  Mary was born in South Carolina.  She married John Bibby Bush in 1800 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  She died in Edgefield County, South Carolina.

Mary Frances's mother was #223, Martha Martin (1762-1864).  Martha was born in Abbeville, Abbeville, South Carolina.  She married Jacob Miller, date and location unknown.  She died in South Carolina.

Other than the migration to the south, these ladies tended to stay  where they were born.  

I actually was able to find Martha Martin thanks to this blog post and Ancestry.com.  So I was able to take the family back one generation!  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (Week 19): Service

Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is hosting a blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Since I need a swift kick in the you-know-what to get me blogging more regularly again, I thought I'd jump in.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  I'm probably going to be always behind on this exercise so don't go by the date and week I'm writing about and take it as accurate.  

On this journey of researching my family history, I'm constantly surprised by how many relatives there actually are, the diversity of what they did for a living, and the uncovering of a very interesting (or sad) tale about a cousin or other relative I never met.  Now I know that some people are going to think I have no right to write about someone I have never met just because I am related to them.  And there is some truth to that.  However, I do not write about anyone to judge or to elicit a thrill in my readers.  I write to share the history of my family.  Careers, how many children they had, how many times they were married, their cause of death, if they were murdered, or if they murdered someone... all of that adds to the tapestry that is my family.  Here I'm going to share another story about a relative that I never had the opportunity to meet.

In the email that Amy Johnson Crow sent out about this week's theme, she put some suggestions out there for this topic of Service.  Most people would probably think of military service first.  But then she mentioned service station owners... and the following came to me.

On December 20, 1970, Joe Milton Fletcher, age 59, a gasoline service station attendant, was robbed and murdered for $73 while at work at the station.  He was murdered simply for money and so he couldn't identify who killed him.  His killer's story reads like the stories we read today about criminals, their crimes, and whether they should be paroled. 

William Joseph 'Junior' Pierce was born in Emanuel County, Georgia in 1931.  He was described as a coward who would not hurt anyone who looked him in the eye.  His parents divorced when he was 14, he quit the 10th grade at age 17, joined the Army, but his mother got him out on a hardship discharge within three months, his wife divorced him, and then ended up working at a furniture factory in Swainsboro.  In 1959, Pierce was sentenced to 3-5 years for burglary.  He served 32 months in a public works camp.  After being free only a few weeks, he was arrested again for burglarizing and torching a Canoochee store.  He got 10-20 years in state prison.

While serving his time, he was convicted of other burglaries, and that, along with an attempted prison break, got him 43-56 years.  But in May 1970, Pierce was paroled even though a prison psychologist said he was a possible psychopath who might be a danger to himself or others.

Pierce was arrested less than a year later - on March 13, 1971 - originally for seven murders in south Georgia and South Carolina.  By June, two more murders indictments had been added.  His victims were:

- June 27, 1970:  Ann Goodwin, 19, North Augusta, South Carolina was shot and and killed while babysitting

- July 1970: Virginia Main, 20, Gastonia, North Carolina

- August 1970: James Sires, 40, Beaufort, South Carolina

- December 13, 1970: Margaret "Peggy" Cuttino, age 13, of Sumter, South Carolina disappeared.  When her body was found on December 26, she had been struck on the head and strangled.

- December 20, 1970: Joe M. Fletcher, 59, a Vidalia, Georgia service station attendant who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery.  Joe was married to my 4th cousin, 1x, Dorothy Phillips.  

- December 22, 1970:  Kathy Jo Anderson, 17, disappeared from her Lexington, South Carolina home and her body was discovered February 17, 1971.

- January 12, 1971:  Mrs. Lacy Thigpen, 51, of Treutlen County, Georgia, who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery of a rural grocery store near Soperton

- January 22, 1971:  Helen H Wilcox, age 32, who disappeared from her husband's small country store near Hazlehurst, Georgia.  Pierce himself led the Jeff Davis County Sheriff to Mrs. Wilcox's body after his arrest.

- January 28, 1971:  Vivian Miles, age 60, Appling County, Georgia grocer who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery of her rural store.  Her 5 year old granddaughter was severely beaten but survived. 

Then (1971)

Now (after serving more than 48 years)

In all he confessed to all 9 murders, though he later denied them.  He was given life sentences in seven of the slayings, including Joe Fletcher's. 

Believe it or not, I found that Junior Pierce is still alive and serving his life sentences at Georgia Diagnostic Class Prison in Jackson.  He is now 88 years old. 

Four of his nine victims worked in small country stores or service stations.  Like the convenience stores of today, those stores are dangerous because of either their rural location or the late hours they are open. 

A dangerous person was paroled and then committed murder.  Junior Pierce killed nine people before he was caught.  Nine families destroyed.  The families will never get over the pain of their loved one being murdered. 

A felon was able to get a gun to go on a shooting spree. 

History repeats itself. 

Sources:

* "State Parolee Accused in Seven Murder Cases," Marietta Journal, Marietta, Georgia, May 5, 1971.

 * "Accused killer may await trial until October," The Augusta Chronicle, Tuesday, May 11, 1971.

* "Pierce trial postponed following judge's death," The Augusta Chronicle, September 20, 1971.

* "Cold-Blooded Killer," by Joseph McNamara, Daily News, New York, New York, Sunday, October 3, 1999, page 54.

* "Serial Murderer, now 88, Still in Prison," Jeff David Ledger, Hazlehurst, Georgia, October 23, 2019, online, https://www.jdledger.com/2019/10/23/serial-murderer-now-88-still-in-prison/