52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Restaurants

 
Week 16: Restaurants. What was your favorite local restaurant as a child? Where was it located, and what was your favorite meal? Did you know the staff personally? What is your favorite restaurant now?

 
My favorite restaurant from as far back as I can remember was McDonald's.  My daddy would take me there.  I would stand in the middle of the bench truck seat, sidle up to him, slip my little arm around his neck and pronounce, "My froat [throat] is thirsty!"  Meaning:  I want to go to McDonald's.  It was a rite of passage when I graduated from a hamburger to a Quarter Pounder when I was 9 or 10 years old.  To this day, I eat too much McDonald's.  Their french fries are the best!

However, other than Daddy taking me to McDonald's occasionally for lunch, we never ate out except when on vacation.  My mother worked every day, all day, drove over 30 minutes home, and cooked supper every night.  I don't even recall eating out while growing up - even on those annual North Carolina vacations - though I know we had to eat.  But at home, eating out just wasn't done.  Which may go a long way in explaining why I do not like to cook and eat out a LOT. 

I don't actually go to many restaurants now and sit down to eat a meal.  Mostly, I pick up food and bring it home to eat in front of the TV.  However, when we do go out, invariably it is to the local Mexican restaurant, Pacho's.  They are by far the best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to, and every friend or family member we've ever taken there agrees.  I have one friend who comes over occasionally to scrapbook, and Pacho's is the ONLY place she wants to eat lunch when she's here!  I used to know all the staff by name; however, we don't go as much anymore and there has been turnover.  One of the managers there is wonderful and always has time for a hug and chat when we visit. 

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants. You do not have to be a blogger to participate. If you do not have a genealogy blog, write down your memories on your computer, or simply record them on paper and keep them with your files.

Wordless Wednesday: 18 years of wedded bliss

April 24, 1993

 

1997

 

2002

2007

 

2010

 

Tombstone Tuesday: Linnie Schwalls Perdue

Linnie Schwalls Perdue

second child and daughter of George W. Schwalls and Lincelia Claxton Schwalls

Wife of John J Perdue

She was my great grand aunt.

DOB Feb 17, 1869

DOD Aug 18, 1917

laid to rest at

Minton Chapel Advent Christian Church

Kite (Tom), Johnson County, Georgia

Amanuensis Monday: Solomon Page and Elizabeth Scoggins Marriage License

 

"S Page & E Scoggins

Georgia, Washington County.  To any minister of the gospel Judge Justice of an Inferior Court or Justice of the Peace you are hereby authorized to join Solomon Page and Elizabeth Scoggins in the holy State of Matrimony according to the constitution and laws of the State and for so doing this shall be your sufficient License having made my hand and seal this 14th day of July 1839.      
                                                                                                            S A Currigan CCO

Georgia Washington County. I do certify that Solomon Page and Elizabeth Scoggins were duly joined in matrimony by me this 14th July 1839                                            
                                                                                                          R Whitefield, JP"

Solomon Page and Elizabeth Scoggins Page were my great-great-grandparents.  They were the parents of Rebecca Page Tapley, my great-grandmother.

Sunday's Obituary: Lola Tapley Dawson

Lola Tapley Dawson was the daughter of Franklin Morgan Tapley and Laney Minton Tapley.  Her father and my grandfather were brothers; thus we were first cousins, 1x removed.

Lola passed away May 9, 1964.

This obituary is an example of how much joining GenealogyBank.com has helped me in my research.  I could not find where Lola was buried.  I did not know that after her first husband had died, she had remarried.  Even if I had known, I did not know her new last name.  However when searching on GenealogyBank, I am able to include key words in a search; thus, by including "Tapley" as a key word, I was able to find Lola's obituary... which told me her new last name was Dawson.  Of course, finding her obituary told me where she was buried.  And knowing her last name pointed me to another article about Lola.

It seems that Lola had some difficult times in her life.  After being married to her first husband, Virgil Powell, for 38 years, he passed away in 1950.  Only eight years later, in 1958, her only child, Virgil Willard Powell, died from a heart attack at the VERY young age of 42.

Lola and her first husband, Virgil Powell.  

In 1959, she was involved in what had to have been a terrifying auto accident:


I hope the remainder of her years were less trying for her.











Can anyone give me an idea of when this photo was taken??

Add ons, Re-dos, and What I dos

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about my Civil War ancestors.  I spent about two hours writing this post and about a day later, I realized that I left out my Ranney ancestor who served.  Was it a Freudian slip perhaps?  My Ranney ancestor fought on the Union side so I would be admitting to the world that I'm part Yankee!  ;) 

RANNEY
  Comfort Ranney
Born February 7, 1838, Comfort was the only son produced from the marriage of Luther Boardman Ranney and Sarah Maria Carter Ranney.  He was my great-great-grandfather.

Comfort enlisted April 2, 1862 at age 24 as a Private with Company D, 61st Ohio Infantry Regiment.  I do not have a copy of Comfort's Civil War file, so there is another item on the to do list!  I do have a history of the regiment, and they fought in the following battles:  2nd Battle of Bull Run, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg before being sent south and taking part in the assault on Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta Campaign, Kennesaw Mountain, and the action at Resaca, Georgia.  The unit also started out with General Sherman on his march to the sea until they marched up to North Carolina where they were consolidated with the 82nd Ohio on March 31, 1865.

Site of the battle. Photos taken 2009.

I have been unable to locate any record of a pension application made by Comfort. 

In looking further at the book "The Drake Family of Washington County, Georgia" by Charles Edward Francis Drake, I learned more information about my Drake family's service during the Civil War and research I wish to do to add to my sources.  I will write more (and re-do what I shared earlier) on what I find at a later date.

I wanted to share that I have found three "new" cousins in recent months.  A cousin on my Page side (my great grandmother's, Rebecca Page Tapley, side) found me online and contacted me.  She led me to another Page cousin who has done extensive research on the family.  I am very excited about that because I know almost nothing about the Pages, and honestly, I was a little intimidated to start researching them because of the common surname.  My cousin provided lots of information to me, and I am looking forward to assimilating it into my family tree.

My latest cousin that I have found is on my grandmother Nealie Drake Tapley's side of the family.  Barbara's grandmother and my grandmother Nealie were sisters.  I actually looked her up online and wrote her a letter.  Turns out she only lives on the other side of Atlanta from me.  She called me yesterday, and we really enjoyed talking.  Now I HAVE to get me a Flip Pal so I can go visit her and scan some photos.

I have also connected with a cousin who, while I always knew she was out there somewhere, I had never been in contact with her.  Her grandfather and my father were brothers.  We have hit it off.  She lives way up in New Hampshire, so Skype is my new best friend.  I have learned a lot about that part of the Tapley family.  The best part is we laugh so much.  What a blessing to come out of my genealogy work.    

And what have I been doing lately, genealogy-wise?  Besides trying to stay caught up on my e-mail and blog reading (a never-ending battle), I have a couple of large Family Tree Maker projects going.  First of all, I am trying to link media, such as photos and documents, to each of my ancestors or family members in FTM.  (Thanks, DearMYRTLE!)  In addition to linking them, I am also adding or correcting source citations for said media and all other facts for each person.  I started with myself and am working my way up.  I have made it all the way to my paternal grandfather.  This is a huge job that I am doing in small chunks.

My other project in FTM is to correct burial place citations so that I can print custom reports for each cemetery I wish to visit.  In this way, I can grab the list and go when I know I am going to a particular cemetery (another great idea from DearMYRTLE), and I will know whose headstones to look for.  Another huge project that I am doing a little at a time.  I did manage to print off two cemetery reports today.  In one cemetery of mostly Drakes, I have 60 graves to find and photograph!  I had better plan a couple of days for that trip!

I have attended a few great webinars recently and have tons of notes I want to follow up on from those.  Plus notes from blog postings I have read.  Plus... and plus....  you get the idea.  Lots to do and not enough time to do it all.

I am headed to NGS in Charleston, South Carolina next month.  Also, I am attending Megan Smolenyak's first seminar in Georgia in June.  (Visit her website here.)  She will be doing an all day seminar in Homerville, Georgia (that's WAY down in south Georgia) for the Huxford Genealogical Society.  I am fortunate that my sister does not live far from Homerville and she does genealogy, too!  We've planned to make a weekend of it. 

So a lot going on.  I'd love to hear what you're working on!  Please drop me a comment and share.

Grandma's Diary, Part 14

(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 Otho's wife.
          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 boyfriend.

Sun., April 9:  "Alice & I went to S.S.  Folks went down to park to eat with Livengoods.  H., Joe, Caroline & I went to Barton Flats."

Mon., April 10:  "We washed.  Dad sawed wood.  H. came over about 11 & helped.  Alice & I took Verda to town in H. car.  Alice, H. & I went to Trowbridges for ice cream in eve.  H. stayed all nite."

Tues., Apr. 11:  "Dad & H. sawed wood all day.  Mama, Alice & I went to Berdo.  Went to the show.  Got our Easter hats.  H. went with H. Wallen & Joe Fox to Barton Flats for couple nights."

Wed., April 12:  "Viella cut Alice's & my hair.  Clara waved our hair.  Livengoods came up for dinner.  H. came down from the mountains to get some groceries.  Dad worked on conservation work."

Thurs., April 13:  "We washed.  Dad worked on the conservation work.  Herman came about 5:30 pm.  He brot a jig-saw puzzle & I put it together."

Fri., April 14:  "Herman & Alice went to Lake Arrowhead.  H. came down from the mountains. H. & I made some ice cream in afternoon.  Herman stayed all night.  H. & I went to Yucaipa for awhile."

Yucaipa from Flag Hill, 1930s (Courtesy, Yucaipa Valley Historical Society)

  Sat., April 15:  "Herman went home about 7:30 am.  I finished another crazy quilt block.  H. came over & we went to Joe's.  Took Joe to town with us.  We saw Clara a little while."