Where Were They: The Children's Blizzard, 12 Jan 1888

I am currently reading The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin. If you have not read this, and are interested in American history or events in the plains states, you should really pick it up. Honestly, I'm only about half way through, but it made me stop to think: where were my family members on this day?

I had two major lines living in Nebraska at this time. Oscar F. Brown and family represent my paternal side, residing in Colfax County. Farther north were the family of Eilert Heerten, farming in Keya Paha County.  Eilert was the first of my mother's Heerten line to immigrate from Germany. Both of these groups would have seen this historic storm, and both would have certainly told stories of it later in life.


This is the comment published on the inside cover of the book, and when I first picked it up, this is what nearly forced me to purchase it and immediately sit down with a cup of coffee to devour this text:

"In three minutes, the front subtracted eighteen degrees from the air's temperature. Then evening gathered in, and temperatures kept dropping the northwest gale. By morning on Friday, January 13, 1888, more than a hundred children lay dead on the Dakota-Nebraska prairie..."

Wow.

The problem with this storm, from what I've been able to decipher so far, was the timing. The morning of January 12 was unusually warm and sunny, so many of the children went off to school, most walking, in lighter clothing, not worried too much about good coats, boots and other typical winter gear. When the storm started to approach, teachers frantically sent their students home, and many were lost in this fast moving weather. When I say they were "lost", I mean that literally. They got lost in the blinding snow and wind, could not find their way to shelter of any kind, and died from exposure. It's a sad tale, tragic. And it begs the question: where were they?

Always curious to know more about the daily lives of my ancestors, and facing the reality that this could possibly explain young deaths in my tree, I begin my journey.

Eilert Heerten immigrated to the United States on the vessel "New York". Family legend and his obituary tell us that he was a stowaway. Three brothers came over together, but they only had enough funds for two, so the other brothers sneakily got Eilert on the ship and managed to keep him hidden for the duration of this voyage. I have no idea if this is really true or not, or even if it was feasible, but it makes for an interesting story.

When Eilert arrived, he originally settled in Mason County, Illinois, and this is where he met and married Amke Dirks Rademacher, also immigrated from Germany. Between 1875 and 1887, though possibly earlier, he had moved the family onto a farm in Keya Paha county, along the northern edge of the Nebraska border with South Dakota.

The young couple had seven children:

John, born 1875, Illinois
Dick, born 1878, Illinois
Annie, 1880, location unknown
Herman, 1884, location unknown
Frank, 1887, Nebraska
Edward, 1890, Nebraska
Bessie, 1896, Nebraska

The storm hit 12 Jan 1888, so all but Edward and Bessie would have been alive for this event. Thankfully, none of the family members have corresponding death dates. No matter what they were doing that day, they all survived. *whew*

Headstone of Eilert & Anna Heerten.
Springview, Nebraska

Enter the Brown family. I know them best, so I'm fairly confident I'm not going to find anything here, either.

Oscar F. Brown, veteran of the Civil War, homesteaded in Colfax County, Nebraska. There he married Frances Elizabeth Lawrence, originally from Ohio. Together, they lived in Nebraska until his death in 1906. After he passed, Frances followed her oldest son to Orting, Washington, where she resided for many years, finally living with daughter Carrie in nearby Tolt.

All of their children were born in Nebraska:

William, born 1876
Elizabeth (Bessie), born 1878
Sarah Alice, born 1880. Died February 1881.
Mortimer, born 1882
Carrie, born 1886
Warren, born 1892

William & Bessie Brown.
Richland, Nebraska.
Image: Private holdings of author.

The only child to die young was Sarah Alice, and she was not quite a year old at that time. Again, no one in the family appears to have suffered too greatly during this event. All but Warren would have lived through it.

Another of my Nebraska lines is the family of Charlotte "Lottie" Lee, whose memoirs I have transcribed and posted on this site. She certainly would have been affected, also, and because I have spent so much time on her recently, here is her family situation.

Cyrus Homer Lee and Mary Josephine Lawrence (sister to Frances, wife of Oscar, above) married 13 Aug 1872 in Columbus, Nebraska. Both transplants from Ohio, they ended up in Nebraska for very different reasons, and based on Lottie's memories of her parents, they lived a happy and fulfilling life; devoted to their religion. During the winter of 1888, they were on their land near Silver Creek in Merrick County, not too far from the Brown family in Colfax County. Cyrus ran the local store and served as post master for a time.

Their children include:

Charlotte, born 1873
Lawrence, born 1874
Bertha, born 1877
Florence, born 1879
Mortimer, born 1881
Lucy, born 1882
Elmer, born 1884
Roy, born 1886

Out of the group, Roy was the only child not born in Nebraska, he is a native son of Colorado. He grew only to be 15 years of age, but died in a drowning accident. Mortimer also died young, passing in July of 1881 at only 4 months. It would appear that the Lee's did well during the storm, also, and did not lose any immediate family.

Lottie does indicate that she and her siblings attended school regularly, as that was important to her parents. So I wonder how they managed to avoid getting trapped in the weather that day? Did Mary have a "sixth sense" as some stories describe in the book; feeling that the morning's warmth was too good to be true, and kept her children home?  Did their teacher shelter the children in the school, rather than send them home when the weather turned?

I suppose we'll never know, but it is certainly interesting to profile my ancestors with a historic event. I think I feel a series coming on...

I would love to hear where your folks were on 12 Jan 1888. Please feel free to comment, or share on your own blog. Just be sure to leave me a link!

Treasure Chest Thursday: William W. Brown in Photos

Just a quick interruption of Lottie's memoirs to give you this.

William Warner Brown, pictured here with younger sister, Bessie. He was known, at least during his adult life, as "Billie", but we refer to him as "W.W.".

Born in Colfax County, Nebraska, oldest child of Oscar F. Brown and Frances E. Lawrence. He lived to the ripe old age of 62 years (1876-1938). As a young man, he was married once in Nebraska to Nora Della Bingham. We don't know what happened to that relationship, but they did have one daughter; Marie Frances Brown. This marriage took place in 1904 in Fullerton, Nance County, Nebraska.

1907 finds him marrying young Emma Anderson in Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington. Her family were already residents of Orting.


By the time of the 1910 US Census, they were located in Orting, Pierce County, Washington. Oral history tells us he, "bought a ticket for as far west as he could afford". So, we know he made this journey sometime between Apr 1905 when his first daughter was born and 1907. They remained in Orting, with the exception of a brief stint in the Tenino area of Thurston County, Washington. There they lost their eldest son, Percy, to a automobile / train accident. He was only 19 years of age. (You can read about that incident on a previous post.)  The family consisted of eight children: Percy, Harley, Dorothy, Hazel, William, Margorie, Robert and Donald.

Wedding photo for W.W. and Emma Anderson

W.W. was well known around town. He was a member of fraternal organizations, including the I.O.O.F., and found himself in many roles throughout his life in the community: owner/operator of the livery stable, he drove the "school bus" which was a large covered wagon with his horse team, "Dick and Shep" leading the way, a member of city council, road supervisor for the county, deputy sheriff, school director, member of the first fire department and ran the farm during its first years of inception at the nearby Orting Soldiers Home & Cemetery, a veteran's home, which is still operating today.

William and Emma are both buried in the Orting Cemetery, outside of town, as well as several other family members, both on the Brown and Anderson side. His mother, Frances or "Frankie", is buried across the street as the widow of a veteran, at the Orting Soldiers Home Cemetery. 

Funeral Card Friday: Sarah Alice Brown

For years, we have known that Oscar F. Brown of Colfax County, Nebraska was buried alongside an infant daughter. Until recently, however, we did not know who she was. This funeral card, found in the collection from the Carlyle Family of Washington State, identifies that daughter. 

"Died.

On the 18th of February, 1881, at 11 o'clock a.m., Sarah Alice, daughter of F.E. and O.F. Brown, aged seven months and five days."

The card was printed with a poem, and was signed Mrs. S.E. Lawrence. This is Sarah's grandmother, who lived in the area at the time. Her name was Sarah (Evans) Lawrence, wife of John Horatio Lawrence, and mother to Frances Elizabeth (Lawrence) Brown, wife of Oscar. After raising her children in Ohio, Sarah moved to the Colfax County area to live near her daughter, and eventually moved into her son's home in Denver, Colorado, where she died. Sarah and her husband John were separated in Ohio, reunited in Nebraska, and separated again, living in two residences on either side of the county. John died in Nebraska.

Oscar and Sarah were left in unmarked graves for many years. Descendants put a headstone on the site for Oscar within the last decade, but Sarah remains unknown. I have no doubt that her grave will be appropriately remembered before too long, now that we know who she was. Mystery solved.

Unknowns

All of these images are somehow connected to Nebraska... they are part of the Carlyle Collection, handed down through one branch of my family, originating with Carrie (Brown) Carlyle, born in Colfax County, Nebraska, died in Washington State. Husband of Adam Carlyle. 

If any of these look familiar, please contact me! 

February Goals

Deciding to document my genealogical goals on this blog is no small deal. This means I have to actually commit! Argh! Scary!

Ok, really. Here they are.

1. Blog more. There were many reasons I began this project, but the two that are most important to me were to improve my writing skills and to maintain a routine examination of my own research projects. During the past several months my blogging has been inconsistent at best, especially in terms of frequency. My goal for February is to blog about something twice a week. I have started a list of possible topics, and of course, I am open to suggestions. If there is something you are interested in learning more about, let me know. 
2. Create two new pages for both of my TTTP sites: Summit County, Colorado and Colfax County, Nebraska.  I have very much enjoyed the Trails to the Past project that began this past fall for me. Certainly it has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal more about both areas of the country. It has also forced me to be creative when it comes to finding new resources. My local library has been wonderful for the Summit County page, but being distant from Nebraska requires that I work harder to find new information for that area. Because of this, I do feel that the Nebraska page has suffered some, so to define my goal even further, I will create the Colfax County pages first. 
3. Girl Scout Project. This particular venture has truly given me a chance to go back to the basics in my own work and reevaluate some of the technical sides of the process that I have developed bad habits for or taken short cuts with. So, I'm grateful for it. February's meeting topic is yet to be determined, so I will need to develop my lesson for the girls for the month, prepare examples, and provide them with their homework. 
4. Continue the Social Media campaign.  My current efforts with creating an online presence and developing a reputation in the genealogical community appears to be making an impact. So, that focus will continue until my "audience" has grown and I feel confident that the name of "Ancestral Journeys" is out there, and known. Of course, this may take years. I think I can handle that.
5. Continue to develop standardized forms/information for Ancestral Breezes.  The necessary communication tools for new clients should be in place before I take on clients, yes?  I've been working on this as I am able, and have developed two to three very solid documents, all with the objective of providing the client with information.  February should see two to three more, including a tracking log (time and research), standardized invoice form, copyright information, and a release for publication purposes (so I can use other people's families to write about). 
6. Historical Document Preservation. Being the proud owner of a rather extensive library of photographs, letters, newspapers, certificates and other documents is a task I will gladly accept. It does, however, come with some responsibility. There is quite a bit more to digitally preserve in my collection, and they deserve some quality time with me. I now have the tools necessary to do this, and do it right, so there are no more excuses. My goal is to scan and save at least 200 new items this month. Storage is a whole different beast. Maybe next month... 

Six is a good number, right? 

Guess I'll be checking back around 1 March 2012 to see how I did.... and sadly, I don't think this counts as one of this week's blog posts, since it's not technically February yet. 

My Education

Over the past year, my focus has been on expanding my research abilities, gaining experience in web page design and upkeep and teaching. Using the resources available to me, I have managed to learn quite a bit about all three of those goals, and the learning continues.

Lesson One: It is not easy to maintain a website in which the goal is to continually add more information and new sources with new ideas - all for free. How I would love someone to pay me just $1 per hour for the work that goes into the Summit County, Colorado and Colfax County, Nebraska Trails to the Past sites! It is truly difficult, and Colfax County is the more frustrating of the two. Since I am not in Nebraska, and have no access to Nebraska's libraries or countless resources, I am dependent on my own library system to supply me with information, the already existing websites that I do not want to copy, and my wallet - which is pretty much empty.  An ever expanding level of respect is being developed in me for all those that came before, especially those site administrators at Rootsweb who really started the county-by-county genealogy website concept.

Lesson Two: Social networking is a must. Let's face it: Twitter is not going anywhere (to quote my dear brother), and I either have to play or get off the 'net.  You can follow me on Twitter... @ancestryjourney, Facebook and Google +.

Lesson Three: Teaching girls about genealogical records when some don't even know what a phone book is has been a bit more challenging than originally anticipated. Keep your fingers crossed; on Thursday we will be talking about maps. Hopefully I am more successful there than I was with the phone book idea. I hope no one pulls out a GPS on me...

Although I will agree that my research skills have grown in 2011, I do have to say that I really wish archives offices, courthouses, cemeteries and LDS Family History Centers all came equipped with babysitters. Two year old's do not like walking around cemeteries so Mommy can take pictures of anything with words on it. Two year old's do not like waiting for a volunteer to make copies of ten select pages from a record file, one page at a time. (Bless her heart, she was so patient with us!)  Other researchers do not necessarily think its cute when said two year old starts "reading" aloud from her Elmo book in the middle of a very quiet room. At one point this year, I said to my father that his granddaughter had, "probably been to more cemeteries than you have." Over Thanksgiving, we made a list, and sure enough, she has.

We were at the library today (thankfully there for her this time - not me! Gotta' love story time!) and my now nearly three year old daughter pulled a book off the shelf while we were in "Mommy's section." The book was entitled Famous Last Words, compiled by Ray Robinson. It was just so appropriate for me, I had to check it out.  Maybe I should let her pick the books out every week!

(For more on the Trails to the Past organization, or to access my two sites, please visit us at: http://trailstothepast.org/.  Volunteers are needed around the country!)

New Material!

Is there anything more exciting to a genealogist than a box full of photos, letters, newspapers and other random family items passed down? I do not think so.

I got exactly that this Thanksgiving weekend. Two full boxes. So full, in fact, that the giver (my Dad) wasn't even really sure what was in them. Original certificates, tax records, Civil War era letters, copies of land patents, and so much more. Early Christmas for me!

The next few weeks I'm sure most of my personal time will be spent devouring this information; sorting, scanning, photographing, and posting about what I find. At some point in the near future, I will allow it to be absorbed by my current collection, and it will fill in missing details in time lines of family members.

Here is a small sampling... I have just begun to digitize, and have a lot of work to do still. All of these are excerpts taken from some of the newspapers.

The Infant

For years now, we have known that Oscar Fitzallen Brown (1832 - 1906) was buried with an infant either immediately adjacent to or near his grave. What we didn't know was her identity.

Thankfully, I have recently acquired a collection of family artificats and photographs from a 2nd cousin, the descendant of Oscar's daughter, Carrie. Carrie kept quite a few things, including letters, her teaching certificates, even some of her report cards from school. The collection has been passed through the generations, and made its way to me as the "family historian". I am grateful to that line of the family for preserving these documents, as they really are priceless.

This brings me to the infant. Included in all these binders and Ziplock bags was a small card, one that solved a family puzzle and provided many answers. All on just a 2 x 4 piece of cardstock. It was the funeral card for Sarah Alice, youngest daughter of Oscar and Frances Brown.

Please note the card was printed by Mrs. S.E. Lawrence, who was Frankie's mother. At the time of Sarah's death, she lived near the Brown family, and seperated from her husband, John Horatio Lawrence. Although they both lived in Nebraska at the end of their lives, they spent the last few years apart.

The card is a small item, but one treasured by this member of the family, as it gives quite a bit of information in a very small space. It tells us that Carrie valued the life of her youngest sister, that Sarah Lawrence was close not only physically, but emotionally, to the family, and it portrays some of Sarah's reputed talent with the written word. She was either well read enough to be aware of it, or wrote it herself.

I prefer to think it is the latter.

Unknown's

Genealogy is full of unknown's. That's why most of us get hooked, after all, is trying to puzzle out the answers. We recently received a "new" (to us) photo of my great-great grandfather and great-great grandmother, Oscar and Frances Brown. They are pictured with several children, and we are 99% sure they are not the Brown children.

How do I know?

First, their eldest son, William Warner, had very distinctive hair (see color tin type below as well as adult photo). It was wavy and he wore it long most of his life.  There is no male child in this picture that fits William. Every other childhood picture we have of William displays his wavy hair - it was unique for the time to have longer hair on your son, and I'm sure Oscar and Frankie showed it off; I would have.

Second, there are too many children photographed.  Oscar and Frankie had six children:
William Warner, born 1876
Elizabeth Bessie, born 1878
Mortimer Jay, born 1882
Carrie Louise, born 1886
Warren Lawrence, born 1892
Sarah Alice, who died in infancy.

There are eight children photographed here. It is possible that these are their grandchildren, the family of Carrie Lousie, however, that would have required Carrie and her husband, Adam Carlyle, to make the trip back to Nebraska from Orting, Washington, before 1906 when Oscar died. The other option, of course, is that it is a collection of grandchildren, and this is the one I think to be most likely. We do not have many photos of the grandchildren generation as children - though we have quite a few as adults.  Again, this means that those I know best, William's children, would not be pictured, as they lived in Washington. 

The photos below are both William Warner... a reproduction color tin type and a portrait as an adult. Please note the distinctive hair.