52 Ancestors in 2018 - Week 39: On The Farm

 I’ve missed a couple of weeks, but I’m back with Week 39. I’ll catch up on the others as soon as I can.
This week the magic phrase is ‘On The Farm’. I have a lot of famers in my ancestry — a lot! So rather than choosing one, I’m going to give a quick synopsis of the farming background I have.

 I have farmer’s in virtually every branch of my ancestry. I created this color-coded chart to give me a quick visual on my farming background and where the farms were located. 

 The white backgrounds are ancestors who either weren’t farmers, or I’ve not yet determined their careers. For the most part, the female ancestors are blank. In general, their occupations have been listed as ‘housewife’, however, if they were married to a farmer and lived on a farm, I’m pretty sure it would be safe to label them as ‘farmers’, too!
More recent generations, my parents and grandparents, have chosen occupations other than farming,

My mother’s paternal ancestor’s were from Italy, indicated by purple. My maternal great-grandfather did not farm once he came to the United States, but I have no doubt that he at least helped his parents with farming while he was still in Italy! Both he and his wife grew up in a very small village in Tuscany, and their parents and grandparents were all farmers!
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My mother’s paternal grandfather was also a farmer. He lived in central Illinois when he first came to the U.S. and may have farmed there. I’ve not found evidence of this, but I do know he owned a farm in Michigan, indicated by pink. Here is a picture of him on his farm, probably during the Great Depression.

 My dad’s side of the family were also farmers. My paternal grandfather farmed with his father as a young man, but moved on to other things as industry moved into the area. However as you move back, you can see that almost all of his ancestors were farmers, with farms very close in proximity. The red, yellow, and green all indicate farms in Fosterburg Township of Madison County, Illinois. The turquoise indicates a farm in the next county, Macoupin, that abuts to Fosterburg, so it was just a few miles away. Below is a plat map of Fosterburg Township illustrating just how closely located they were. 

 The red indicates farms owned by my dad’s paternal grandfather and his brother. The yellow and green are farms owned by his maternal ancestors. And the blue? Well that came as quite a surprise to me. It turns out that those farms were owned by farmers who are probably part of my sister-in-law’s ancestry! It just shows that you never know who you will connect with!

To learn more about my 52 Ancestors in 2018 project, read my introductory blog post.

52 Ancestors in 2018 - Week 36: Work

 We celebrated Labor Day here in the U.S. this week and, appropriately, our word of the week is ‘work’. So I thought I’d share a photo of my grandfather in his place of work. ​

To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what this photo is, but to me it has always looked like a photo of Grandpa with his co-workers. It appears he is being presented an object, possibly a watch or other award. The women appear to be dressed in a style you would expect in the 40s. My grandfather died in 1948, so the 40s make sense if he is being presented an award for longevity.

I don’t know much about my grandfather’s place of work, as he died before I was born. I’ve been told he was a cap maker who cut the sections for baseball caps. I’ve also been told he died on the job, suffering a heart attack at work. A little research has confirmed some of that story. The 1930 census does confirm that William was a cloth cutter at a cap factory, but the 1940 census states that he was a can cutter at a can factory. I have to wonder if that is an error, because his obituary states that he was a member of United Cap, Hat And Millinery Workers Local 17. And my grandmother described to me many years ago how the sections of the caps were cut and pieced together!

But the death certificate also calls into question some details regarding his death. The cause of death was Chronic Cornary Sclerosis, Chronic Myocarditis — heart issues! But he was pronounced dead at the hospital. It’s possible he died at work, but was not pronounced until he reached the hospital. He could also have been brought in alive but died while there. But the details are close enough to satidfy my curiousity.

The death certificate also named his place of work; Adjustable Cap Mfg. Co. I decided to see if I could learn more about this company. I was able to learn that the company relocated from New York City to St. Louis in 1934. Here are a couple of articles I found about the relocation.

The company either had multiple locations in the city or moved more, or perhaps the offices were at a different location than the factory; the locations are within a few blocks of each other. Here are city directory listings from the 1940s. An interesting fact that I learned is that the cap company was officially named Adjustable Engineer’s Cap Corporation. and they manufactured engineers caps. Perhaps from the same pattern as a baseball cap?

 

I also learned that the company was in existance as late as 1971. A want ad appeared in the paper in of that year seeking experienced cap makers.

 

To learn more about my 52 Ancestors in 2018 project, read my introductory blog post.

52 Ancestors in 2018 - Week 3: Longevity

longevity
noun   lon·gev·i·ty   \  län-ˈje-və-tē ,  lȯn- \
: long continuance : permanence, durability

“Longevity.” Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longevity. Accessed 3 Aug. 2018.

'Longevity' is the word for week 3! A marriage that lasts fifty years certainly meets the definition of longevity. As I was looking for couples in my database, I came across several that celebrated a golden anniversary, and even one or two that lasted 60+ years! Today I am sharing a bit about one of those couples.

 I came across this invitation to the fiftieth anniversary of Verne and Velda (Anthony) Hixon when looking through a box of artifacts that had belonged to Verne's sister, Lucile. I knew that is something that I wanted to share.

This motivated me to do a little more research. I hoped to find a wedding announcement for this couple in a  newspaper from Michigan City, Indiana, where Verne lived his entire life. Unfortunately I could find none online. If I really decide I need it I can either request a search from the local library for a fee, or add it to my list of things to explore if and when I get to Michigan City again.

When I couldn’t find quick access to an online newspaper, I took a closer look at what I already knew, and lo and behold, I’d missed a very important detail — Verne’s obituary states that he and Velda were married in South Haven, MICHIGAN!! Though I’d recorded this in my database, it had slipped past me somehow, because I’d assumed that they’d always lived in Michigan City!

That started me on a search for South Haven newspapers, and I was fortunate to find that these newspapers are available online at NewspaperArchive.com, which I can access from home with my library card! I not only found references to the marriage very quickly — an article about a pre-nuptial shower for Velda, and an article about the newly-weds setting up house in Detroit — but I found enough to convince me that the South Haven newspapers will be a treasure trove of information when I am ready to continue my research on the Hixon family! ​I'd say that's a win!

Below is a photo of Verne and Velda celebrating the longevity of their marriage and a copy of the invitation to the Golden Anniversary celebration for Verne and Velda. 

Verne and Velda (Anthony) Hixon
50th anniversary celebration
Michigan City, IN - 6 Oct 1985
photo from the collection of Lucile Hixon Striebel
digitized by KM Kolk

 

Invitation to 50th Anniversary celebration
for Verne and Velda Hixon
from the collection of Lucile Hixon Striebel
digitized by KM Kolk 2015

 

To learn more about my 52 Ancestors in 2018 project, read my introductory blog post.