Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!

See you in 2013! ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - William Walter Kinnick (1866-1946)

Treasure Chest Thursday
William Walter Kinnick (1866-1946)


This is another of the fine photo images I received from my cousin, Ellen DeVilbiss, on 4 Dec 2012. She has preserved and shared them from her grandmother, my aunt, Lillian Kinnick Ford. There are more photos of this gentleman's family among those she shared, that you will also see in the days ahead.

Info from back of the photo: "William Walter Kinnick b. 15 Mar. 1866 - Buda, Ill d. 17 April 1946 - Livingston, MT This is his last picture, he was 80 and a very handsome man.  Parents: Joseph Kinnick b. 8 Mar 1839 d. 24 Sept 1917 & Rachel Mercer b. 15 May 1839 d. 10 Dec. 1917  Grandparents: Walter Kinnick b. 11 June 1809 d. 28 Feb 1853 & Susan Schwyheart b. 1 May 1809 d. 27 Sept. 1884, Father of Dorothy Kinnick Adams b. 6 Feb. 1919"

I was also in communication with his daughter, Dorothy, and she had sent me copies of some WWII era photos of her siblings, as seen in the web page linked below (scroll to the bottom). I actually talked to her on the telephone a day or two before her death in August 1997. Oh, my! ;-)

William Walter Kinnick was a first cousin to my great-grandfather, Alonzo Palmer Kinnick (that you saw in this space last week). I researched and wrote about his family here, in 1998-99:

The William Walter Kinnick Family Story

Note: There is a link at the beginning of the story to his parents story that I wrote, as well, for those interested. It was a fascinating family! ;-)

The story start in Illinois, includes Iowa, Montana, Mexico, Texas, Montana, Missouri and back to Montana, if you need a little more encouragement to check it out…  ;-)

More to come on this family in weeks to come.


Families are forever!

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - William and Emma (Kinnick) Carper

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

William and Emma (Kinnick) Carper

This is another of the fine photo images I received from my cousin, Ellen DeVilbiss, on 4 Dec 2012. She has preserved and shared them from her grandmother, my aunt, Lillian Kinnick Ford.

Regarding this photo, Ellen wrote for me: "Photo of Emma & William Carper:  Do you think this was a wedding photo?  They are such a dapper young couple here.  Written on the back in light pencil & interrupted by the fact that this was once glued to something is “Mrs. Wm S. Carper Buda Ill.”  In darker pencil and a different handwriting is Aunt Emma and Uncle Will Carper.  This is obviously taken at the height of the mutton sleeve era, between mid 1880’s & mid 1890’s.  They were married in 1894 in my records." My records show Jan 1894. It is likely near their wedding date.

Emma Estelle Kinnick Carper (1866-1935)

William S. (Will) Carper (1867-1975)

They had no children. 

Also among the photo images Ellen sent was also a younger photo of Emma:

With his comment:  "Photo of Emma Kinnick Carper:  I had to look her up in my data as all that is written on this one is “Emma Carper”.  Emma Estelle Kinnick married William S. Carper, so this is Walter Watson’s daughter b. Dec. 9 1866.  She shares my birthday, although I’m much younger (1954)."

Emma was an older sister of my great-grandfather, Alzono Kinnick (1870-1923) .

Families are Forever!  ;-)

My Hometown on Monday - Methodist Ministers listed

My Hometown on Monday

Methodist Ministers listed

The following list was prepared for the Carroll Co, IA, GenWeb Site, August 2003, by County Coordinator at the time, Bill Smith - me.

Star Methodist Church

Coon Rapids, Iowa

Transcriptions from

The Official Membership and Church Record of

The Methodist Church from August 8, 1886 to “present” [mid-1960s]

List of Pastors, page 130, from 1885 to 1963.

Number	Pastor’s Name	Appointed	Transferred
1	Wm. Douglas	9-12-1885	9-9-1886
2	John Webb	9-9-1886	9-19-1887
3	I. H. Elliot	9-9-1887 (sic)	9-20-1890
4	C. D. Fawcett	9-20-1890	9-21-1891
5	A. C. Rawls	9-21-1891	9-19-1892
6	S. E. Brown	9-19-1892	9-18-1893
7	A. M. Lott	9-18-1893	9-9-1894
8	C. W. Anderson	9-9-1894	9-28-1896
9	Fred T. Stevenson	9-28-1896	9 – 1898
10	George W. Wood	9 – 1898	9-19-1900
11	C. M. Ward	9-9-1900	9-16-1903
12	J. W. Stokebury	9 – 1903	9 – 1905
13	A. T. Jeffery	9 – 1905	9 – 1906
14	A. W. Harned	9 – 1906	9 – 1908
15	John F. Gibson	9 – 1908	9 – 1910
16	H. H. Barton	9 – 1910	9 – 1912
17	Carl Brown	9 – 1912	9 – 1914
18	A. J. Matthews	9 – 1914	9 – 1917
19	H. E. Copeland	9 – 1917	9 – 1919
20	H. G. Hicks	9 – 1919	9 – 1922
21	C. W. Koehler (did not serve Star)	(See History) 9 – 1922	9 – 1925
22	W. Frank Clayburg	9-2-1925	9-24-1933
23	R. J. Arms	9-24-1933	9-20-1935
24	O. E. Cooley	9-20-1935	9-19-1939
25	J. H. Krenmyre	9-19-1939	6-15-1941
26	Eugene Alexander	6-15-1941	6-15-1950
27	J. B. Pooley	6-15-1950	6-15-1953
28	Leo Wolfe	6-15-1953	6 – 1954
29	Cecil C. Latta	6 – 1954	6 – 1958
30	Earl E. Josten	6 – 1958	6 – 1963
31	Mark C. Sullivan	6 - 1963

(sic) = transcribed as recorded, even if possibly incorrect

Generally, the same Methodist Minister served both the town church and the rural Star Church.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Great-Grandfather Lon Kinnick and Percherons

Treasure Chest Thursday

Great-Grandfather Lon Kinnick and Percherons

Great-Grandfather Alonzo (Lon) Kinnick, Coon Rapids, Iowa, and

Prize-winning Percheron

This is another of the photos shared by cousin Ellen DeVilbiss (THANK YOU, again!). It is a postcard, which was not an unusual way to share photos in the early 1900s - this is likely 1910-1920 (he died in 1923, as you will see, if you keep reading).

If you are not familiar with the Percheron breed of horses, Wikipedia has a great article on them.

This was the first I'd heard of his affection for and attachment to this breed of horse. Ellen's note included the following: 

"I do remember Grandma's stories about how much her father loved those horses and how upset he was after his first stroke when he realized they would have to move to town because he couldn't keep them.  Grandma also remembered going with him to the fields and sleeping under the wagon, guarded by the horses while he fixed fences."

Her Grandma was Lillian, Lon and Nettie's youngest daughter. Paul, their oldest son, was my Grandfather. 

I thought I'd check the Coon Rapids Enterprise Archive for mention of Lon Kinnick and Percheron. Unfortunately, only one connecting statement came up, and that was the sale of his horses, by his wife, shortly after he died.

 From the Sale Bill:

17—HEAD OF HORSES—17
1 Team grey geldings 14 years old, wt. 1000; 1 bay mare wt.
1700, age 8; 1 black mare 9 years old, wt. 1600; 1 black registered
Percheron stallion age 6, wt. 1750; 1 grey registered Percheron stallion
age 2, wt. 1500; 1 team grey registered Percheron mares age 6, wt
1600; 1 grey registered Percheron filly coming 2; 1 bay gelding 

coming 4, wt 1300; 1 black mare and 1 sorrel mare coming 3; 1 black
mare, 2 geldings coming 2, 2 weanling colts.

 Here is the copy of the whole page; Sale Bill, upper right corner:

While I was in the archive, I did save the front page story announcing Lon's death, a few days earlier; left hand column - several death notices across the front page - interesting, wide age spreads...

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Fall 1939 Kinnick Family on Farm

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

Fall 1939 Kinnick Family on Farm

I think this photo was taken at my parents' farm; they are on the left, Mom holding me, a few months old. Next, is my cousin Karen, a year old, held by her mother, Ida Marie. Her husband, Leo (my uncle) was taking the photo!
From the right, are my maternal grandmother, Dorothy; her sisters-in-law, Lillian (Kinnick) Ford (white hat) and Edna (Pierce) Kinnick (widow of Robert); and Paul Kinnick, my maternal grandfather. In the far back, center, is Delbert Ford, holding his son, Dennis. The gentleman in white, center, is Everette Brideson, husband of Gertrude, to the right in the photo. Paul, Robert, Gertrude and Lillian are siblings. Their other sister, Lucile (Kinnick) Herron was not there.
The four youngsters in front, are, from left, John Brideson, Jeannette Brideson, Roberta Ford, and Edward (Buzzy) Kinnick. Leo, Eileen, and Buzzy were the children of Paul and Dorothy.


Families are Forever!  ;-) 

My Hometown on Monday - Computer usage in 1962

My Hometown on Monday

Computer usage in 1962

I am always interested in news articles from past years to be reminded of how computers came into our lives, and how they were used in different years. This showed up in my hometown The Coon Rapids (Iowa) Enterprise in the 50 Years Ago column of November 22, 1962 [29 Nov 2012 issue]:

"The Star Charolais Farms of Coon Rapids are keeping records on their Charolais herd the modern way. They recently enrolled their cow herd on IBM machines through Performance Registry International which is headquartered at Denver. PRI is an international association of cattlemen
representing all beef breeds. The Star Charolais Farms will have the weights of their cattle calculated and analyzed through IBM and this information will serve as a management guide to them in their breeding program. They are one of the first farms in this area to use IBM computing machines to improve their beef herd."

What early computer use stories do you like to share?  ;-)


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Social Saturday - Wedding #124: Bill and Nancy

Social Saturday:

Wedding #124: Bill and Nancy

August 7, 1959 7:30 p.m.

Another neat email received with an image attached. Nancy and I were married, as above, by Rev. Earl E. Josten, in Coon Rapids, Iowa. 

The email was from his daughter, Ann. She said: "I'm finally getting around to writing about my dad's life before his 17 years as a music teacher in Iowa schools which were before his 30 years in the ministry and beyond."

As we exchanged information, I reminded her that he had married us, all those years ago. She responded with:

"Your wedding recorded by my mom in Dad's Pastoral Record of Weddings: (above image)

Yup, you two were wedding #124 of Dad's. It's good to know your marriage has lasted; he'd be pleased."

 

Our 'special memory' is that the wedding was at 7:30 p.m. - EVERYONE said "No one gets married on the half-hour!" Of course, we said, "Oh, Yes! We do!" And, we did. For us, it was a practical matter. We were a farm family, and most of the guests were farmers. The chores needed to be done. Also, we wanted to get left for our reserved out-of-town motel for the night, while the night was still young. Wedding, reception, leave... that was our main interest. It worked out really good, it seems!  ;-)

 

 

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - 2nd Great Grandparents Tombstone in Denmark

Treasure Chest Thursday

2nd Great Grandparents Tombstone in Denmark

From Bente Poulsen, our cousin in Denmark: "It is the tomb stone of Jensine Nielsen's parents in Hvorup paris church cemetery - family grave."

My mother - Eileen Kinnick Smith (1918-1999)
My grandmother - Dorothy Sorensen Kinnick (1887-1982)
My great-grandmother - Jensine Nielsen Sorensen (1852-1906)


How neat! Thanks!


Families are Forever! ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Walter Watson and Mary Estella Kinnick

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

Walter Watson and Mary Estella (Symonds/Simmons) Kinnick

My second great-grandparents

I am nearly speechless, if not wordless. This is the first time that I have seen a photo of this second great-grandmother. I've seen several of him, but this is the first of her, that I know of.

Walter Watson Kinnick (1840-1919)
Mary Estella (Symonds/Simmons) Kinnick (1843-1909)

THANK YOU, cousin Ellen DeVilbiss, again, for sharing this scan, especially as you are in the process of moving. She sent 11 scans, today, that I'll be sharing as we move forward. This one couldn't wait!


Families are Forever! ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - 1936 Woman's Basketball Team

Treasure Chest Thursday

1936 Woman's Basketball Team

Coon Rapids, Iowa

One more classic photo, including my mother, #8, twice, with many of her closest friends. One caution, for those who click to enlarge the photo: The caption has the names reversed on #5 & #8. Note that #8 is Eileen Kinnick, in both the full group and in the seniors photo. #5 is Erna Lund, who lived just down the road from Eileen in the diaries.

Remember, in these days, in Iowa Girls Basketball, they played three on three, in half courts, not full court. Defense on one end and Offense on the other! The opponent the reverse, obviously, I hope!

Also, not that the gymnasium was just built in 1934. It was just torn down a few weeks ago, in 2012.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Eileen and three boys

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

Eileen and three boys

Wow! Where did this one come from... That must be Kelton (Kinnick cousin) on the left. He is too big to be our brother number three, Tom. Brother Jim is about 4, perhaps, which would make me about 9, so this is summer 1948 - Tom was born in May, 1948... she is pretty slim...  Kelt was born in Jul 1945, so three??

Love to see the buildings in the background, as well, on the farm! My oh my! Love new discoveries!


Families are Forever!  ;-)

One More "Day of Listening" story...

One More "Day of Listening" story...

Thanks to Randy Seaver for recommending this really neat story...

http://myancestorsname.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-ancestors-told-elders-listened-we.html

Families are Forever!  ;-)

This is the "National Day of Listening"

This is the "National Day of Listening"

If you missed my post on Monday, check it out here.

Today, I also enjoyed seeing Biff Barnes write about it here.

Each has great links to follow for more information!  

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Thanksgiving Day 1941

Treasure Chest Thursday

Thanksgiving Day 1941

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Cousins!

Upper left, cousin Dennis Ford, six months older

Upper right, Bill Smith, 2 years, 5 months - love that car!

Lower left, Dennis and Billie!

Lower right, cousin Karen Kinnick in white; neighbor girl

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Thanksgiving 2003 in Branson

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

Thanksgiving 2003 in Branson

We'll be back together this year, in Austin!  ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

National Day of Listening - Friday, 23 Nov 2012 upcoming

National Day of Listening - Friday, 23 Nov 2012 upcoming


I recently published this lens about the upcoming National Day of Listening, 23 Nov 2012.


Now, I've become aware of a neat Genealogy Community Blog Carnival on the same subject. Click on this link for more detailed information on participating.

Story Corp's National Day of Listening theme for 2012 is Thank a Veteran, and I encourage you to use that theme, if it is available to you. I fully support oral history projects, and this is a good one. [A while back, my grandson interviewed me for his family history boy scout project - that was really fun!] I did several oral history interviews, a few years ago, when I was working an Oral History Project in the Kansas Flint Hills!


My personal emphasis for the 2012 Holiday Season, is to talk to your aunts and uncles.

Here is a summary of that request:

Talk to aunts and uncles this holiday season about their family stories

I frequently write of learning and sharing the stories of my and your family history and genealogy. This year, as we approach the holiday season of family gathering, I want to encourage each of us to reach out to some additional key persons to better gather, record, understand and share these family stories: aunts and uncles (including great aunts and uncles, of course).

These are the siblings, brothers and sisters, of your parents and grandparents, and their spouses. I have mentioned this before when I discussed "Follow the Women" in talking about sources of family information. Most of us are fortunate enough to have heard stories from our parents and/or grandparents of the 'old days.' Aunts and uncles were there in the times of those stories, too, but they were a little older or a little younger, and you will get a different slant on those same stories. Have you found that to be true? I sure have. And, you'll get some stories your parents and grandparents may not choose to tell you - or 'just forgot!" Give it a try this holiday season. Talk to them one-on-one, as well. You may get more and better stories.

An added benefit you may also discover, by talking to an aunt or an uncle, especially ones you don't see too often, may be that you discover they love family history and genealogy, as well, and become an outstanding continuing source of new information for you. They may not realize you have an interest, especially if you are, in fact, relatively new to it yourself. Much of my paternal side information had already been compiled by my Dad's sister, my aunt. Since that surname was SMITH, I was especially appreciative of the work she and her sister had done. There was plenty left for me to work on, but I'll be eternally grateful for her outstanding groundwork!

I hope you will come back and leave me a comment, here, on Facebook, or at one of my blog sites, with the new stories you find this year at your holiday family gatherings!  ;-)


Families are Forever!  ;-)

My Hometown on Monday - Dwight Williams to open locker in Coon Rapids

My Hometown on Monday
Dwight Williams to open locker in Coon Rapids


October 22, 1937 - 75 Years Ago - 1 Nov 2012 CRE, p. 4:

Dwight Williams, local ice man, has leased the east room of the Speiker building and is remodeling it to install refrigerated lockers. Electricity will be used to create below-zero freezing temperatures in which meats or other food stuff can be kept for an indefinite period. This locker system has been installed in many cities and towns in the state and is proving highly satisfactorily according to Mr. Williams who says it will be some weeks before he will have it ready for operation.


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Leo and Ida Marie (Bell) Kinnick married

Treasure Chest Thursday

Leo and Ida Marie (Bell) Kinnick married

[Another post from my 'CRE Enterprise archives' series]

October 22, 1937 - 75 Years Ago - 1 Nov 2012 CRE, p. 4:
******
Miss Ida Marie Bell and Leo M. Kinnick exchanged nuptial vows in a very quiet single ring
ceremony at the Methodist Parsonage here at 3:00 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. O.E. Cooley, who
performed the ceremony, Mrs. Cooley, Wayne and Rosalee were the only witnesses besides their attendants, Miss Eileen Kinnick, sister of the bride groom, and LeVerne Smith. The bride wore a smart one piece blue silk crepe cut very plainly with a swing skirt and a Peter-Pan collar. Tiny buttons of self material extended from the neckline to the bottom of the dress in front, and a band of Krimer fur edged the bottom of the skirt and collar. Her accessories were gray. Miss Kinnick wore a one piece blue silk modernistic print and brown accessories. Both men wore dark suits. Both young people graduated with the Coon Rapids Class of 1935. Mrs. Kinnick the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Bell, has taught in the rural schools here the past two years, northeast of town and at Oak Hill. Mr. Kinnick, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kinnick, graduated last year from the Capital City Commercial College in Des Moines and since that time he has been engaged in farming on his father’s farm northwest of Coon Rapids, where the young couple are at home.
******
If you would like to see the original page, including advertising, here is the copy from the archives:

http://coonrapids.advantage-preservation.com/document/coon-rapids-enterprise-1937-10-22-page-4

[click to view large image]

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Another Nebraska Smith Photo

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Another Nebraska Smith Photo

About a month ago, I shared a photo of the 1954 Smith family gathering at our Iowa family farm when Smith cousins from Nebraska were visiting there. Our visitors were a son and his wive and grandchildren of my great-uncle, John Joseph Smith.

I included other photos shared with me by his great-grandchildren, Laurel Brunken and his sister, Candace "Candy" Brunken Breed. The following photo recently came to me, from Candy, via Laurel. THANK YOU for sharing!  ;-)

This is 1962 portrait of John Joseph's two sons and their wives:

From left: Laura Alice (Price) and her husband, Lee Arnold Smith with Esther (Swanson) and her husband, Lyman Smith.

In sending me the photo, Laurel said: "This photo was always in a frame around our house when I was growing up. I thought you might enjoy it since Esther and Lyman are in it." Lyman and Esther were our 1954 visitors. 

By the way, Lee Arnold and Lyman had one sister, Beulah.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Follow Friday - Explore Stats, not my usual thing

Follow Friday - Explore Stats, not my usual thing


I don't normally spend much time on stats of my writings on the web. However, I've had an usual series of events recently, in my Squidoo.com writing platform, that has given me an opportunity to take a second look.

My lens (viewpoint webpage) "Explore Your Family History" was given the top honor of the Platform (founded by Marketing Guru Seth Godin) as "Lens of the Day" (LOTD) - running as number one on the site for 24 hours… on October 25; really neat. It got (and I'm using October 31 stats) 911 visits - with 298 Likes, to date.

Within the body of the lens, I included a Poll Question: "How far back in your family do you already know some family stories?"

Here are the results, to date:

4.2% - I really don't know any
4.2% - I've never really thought about it before
56.6% - Great-grandparents and before
27.7% - Grandparents
5.4% - Parents
1.8% - My own only

Total votes - 166

I personally answered each of the couple of hundred comments left on the lens. While some were from folks that have done family history extensively, on their own or with other family members, there were many, many with the comments like: I want to do this, but don't know how; Never seem to find the time; Wish I knew where to get started, etc.

For them, I created a follow-up lens: "7 Step Guide to Family History Study".


I request your comments on two areas: 1) Do you have thoughts on the stats? Do they seem normal and reasonable to you? Are there areas of concern, if this were your lens?

2) Your reaction to the two lenses, themselves.

P.S. These were created for a NON-family history and genealogy audience, generally, by the way. There are only a dozen or so in the audience who also write specifically on family history among their writing. So, in a way, I am 'reaching out' to new folks in the area - unlike my readers here on this blog.

Thanks for comments - here, on Facebook, Google+, or on your own blog.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Bridesons depart for California

Treasure Chest Thursday - Bridesons depart for California
[Another post  from my 'CRE Enterprise archives' series]

Following up on posts from Oct 18 and Oct 25:

Following are excerpts from the 3 Dec 1948 and 10 Dec 1948 'Bayard News' sections for The Coon Rapids Enterprise (from the Archives) related to the departure of the Everette and Gertrude (Kinnick) Brideson family (including children John and Jeanette) from the Bayard, Iowa, community to Sacramento, California. [As I have noted earlier, these are my maternal great aunt and uncle - she is a sister of my maternal grandfather, Paul Kinnick. They remained close to us over the years, visiting from time to time - I continue Facebook connections with several of their grandchildren even today.]

From Page 9, 3 Dec 1948:

Bridesons Honored
Mr. and Mrs. Everett Brideson, John and Jeanette have been honored at a series of dinners and luncheons for the past week in farewell to them before they leave for their new home in Sacramento, California.

From Page 8, 10 Dec 1948:

Mr. Brideson Honored
The Sunday school of the Methodist church gave a farewell pot-luck dinner in the church basement Thursday evening honoring Everett Brideson, the superintendent of the Sunday school for the past 12 years. Mrs. Brideson shared the honors as she has been Sunday school teacher for the past 25 years.
Jack Schauf, the new superintendent, presented Mr. Brideson with a gift from the group. Edwin Adamson gave the farewell address.

*****



There are several other related stories on the two referenced pages. I'm sharing a photo image of the pdf files from the archives for each page, below. You can click on the image to see an enlarged version. You may also find the advertisements of local  businesses on the pages interesting. Of course, if you are from the area, you will also recognize other stories about your neighbors and friends on these pages.

I hope you will share your comments about what your see and read here and on Facebook and Google+

Families ( and Friends) are Forever!  ;-)