The Ghost & Mrs. Muir - Crochet Goodness

One of my favorite movies is The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.  Today is a rainy and cold day and a perfect day to snuggle up with some yarn in my hand and work on an afghan and watch a nice classic black and white movie.

While watching, I remembered that this movie has some crochet goodness in it.  The widowed Mrs. Muir has a lady that lives with her, Martha, and helps her with the house and her daughter, Anna (play the super cute Natalie Wood). 

In a few places during the movie, Martha covers Mrs. Muir up with a crochet blanket - they are 2 different granny square blankets - one made of many smaller granny squares and one made of just one large granny.  They are both super lovely.

 

I love the beauty of this black and white film but I wish there were still shots of these scenes in color so I could see what color these crochet afghans were in real life - don't you know they are beautiful?

This just goes to show that a classic granny square blanket NEVER goes out of style.

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 4 - Invite to Dinner

This week's prompt is "Invite to Dinner"

I am loving this challenge.  There are so many ancestors that I would love to invite to dinner, because I have about a million and one questions that I want to ask them.  It was really hard to narrow it down to one but I decided that one that I would really love to sit down and have dinner with is. . .

Sarah Marcilla Harrison Odom (Nov 1861 - 18 May 1941)

I had the HARDEST time finding information on her.  I am still trying to find out information on her, although I am not sure I will.  It has taken me 3 years of research to find out a little more about her.

She is my maternal 2nd great grandmother.

 

(click to enlarge) 

 I have been seeking information on her for over 3 years.  Since my mom was only a baby when Sarah died, she never knew her and only heard a few stories from her mother.  

My mother did know that Sarah was in a mental institution for a large part of her life but she thought she was in a hospital in Florida.  However, I found out from the 1940 census that she was actually at Bryce Hospital for the Insane (as it was called at the time) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

She was listed as 79 years old, listed as an inmate and her education was listed as none (not surprising for a farm woman born in 1861) 

 (click to enlarge) 

For the longest time, I didn't know her maiden name and therefore I was STUCK.  I did contact the Alabama Center for Health Statistics to obtain a copy of her death certificate and after a few weeks, I finally received it.  Sadly, though, no information was on it about her parents.  I didn't really expect it but I was hoping it would be there.

(click to enlarge) 

I turned to google in desperation and still no information about her...only information about Bryce Hospital

Occassionally, I would google again and try again to find out about her.  I at least wanted her maiden name, thinking that once I obtained that, I could find out more about her.

About 2 months ago, I tried once more and got a hit of sorts, it was an OLD message board post from some genealogy website and it was a woman who said she was seeking information on Jefferson Davis Odom (Sarah's husband).

She posted it about 8 years ago and she said if you have info, please email me at xxx.  I thought...geez, this was 8 years ago and I don't know if this woman has this email address still or if she has any info bout Sarah but what did I have to lose by trying so I emailed her and a couple of days later, she emailed me back!!  I was so thrilled.  She had gotten some info about her, she knew her maiden name and her parent's names - what a joy!!  I was so happy!!!!

She had a few questions for me about the Odom family too - she was missing a few holes and I was too and together we were able to help each other out a lot.  I am not exactly sure how we are related (some kind of cousin) but my great grandfather (Lester Dell Odom, Sarah's son) and her grandmother (Sarah's daughter) were brother and sister.  How cool is that?

So NOW I finally know a little more about Sarah, including the fact that her marriage to my 2-times great grandfather was her 2nd marriage.

After talking to various family members, here is what I know about why Sarah was at Bryce hospital.

Apparently her husband, Jefferson Davis Odom, was know to be a womanizer and not an especially nice man.  Around 1909, he took his 3 sons with him out to Oklahoma, leaving Sarah alone with a handicapped daughter.  I did find their 3 boys on the 1910 Census in Oklahoma, but he was no longer there and had moved Florida, leaving 3 young boys under the age of 18 there in OK all alone.

Sarah had no means of support and was struggling to take care of herself and her handicapped daughter.  It was hard times. Very hard.  I can't imagine how they survived without any help.

Sometime before 1913, Lester Dell moved back to Alabama and he married my great grandmother, Clementa (aka: Minnie; aka: Mitt).

One night, many years later, Lester Dell and Clementa were sleeping over at Sarah's house and Clementa heard a noise, when she opened her eyes, Sarah was standing over her with a butcher knife, she screamed (of course) and woke up Lester Dell who fought Sarah off.  She was then committed to the Hospital for the Insane (I am not sure if she was committed to one in FL and then later transferred to AL, the trail isn't clear)...She spent the rest of her days in Bryce Hospital for the Insane.

I often wonder, was she insane?  She could have been after what she had to endure her hard life.  Did she perhaps have Dementia/Alzheimer's?  I mean, they really didn't understand that back in 1930 when she as committed.

I would love to sit down to dinner with her and hear about her childhood.
I would like to ear about her marraiges and her husbands - what were they like, how did they treat her?
What did she do after her husband took her sons off to Oklahoma, how did she survive?
Did she know what she was doing when she pulled a knife on her son and daughter-in-law?
How was she treated in the hospital?
What was it like in the hospital?
Did people come visit her there?

My research uncovered a letter that the doctor wrote to her middle son (her oldest son, my great grandfather had passed by then), informing them that she was ill.  She died 2 1/2 months later.  It is presumed she was buried on the grounds of the hospital, although I do not know for sure since I cannot find a record of her burial (but I do have the funeral home info so maybe I will have to see if I can find some info that way).  It was very common to bury inmates (as they were called) on the grounds at the hospital and sadly, most are not marked and some were even built over when a new highway came though.  I'm still working on trying to find out where she was buried exactly.

 

 (click to enlarge) 

So...in conclusion, I bet she could tell you a LOT of stories - wouldn't she be so fascinating to invite to dinner, sit down and engage in a conversation?

Funny Friday - Revenge for the Hunted

Sky Scarf - 2018

About 5 years ago, I wanted to start a Sky Scarf but I only got a couple of months into the year and then life took over and it went into  hibernation and never came out.

Each year since, I have thought about it again but never started it, knowing that I didn't have time to fully dedicate to a year-long project.

But ... crazy me has decided to give it a go this year.

Here are my color choices and how I will use them.

 

The yellow (Knit Picks Safflower), will be used to separate the months so I will know where one month ends and the next one starts.  This is my own little personal touch to the idea of the Sky Scarf. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 3 - Longevity

This week's prompt is "Longevity".  That could mean many things but I decided that it would represent the oldest generation in my tree - the one that goes back as far as I have found (so far)

That belongs to my 19th great grandfather...

 

Reginald Wentworth or, as written in Domesday Book, Rynold de Wynterwade, who was living at the time of the Norman Conquest, A.D. 1066. As at that time there were no actual surnames, he was simply Reginald of Wentworth.

In other words, he was the possessor in Saxon times of the lordship of Wentworth, in the Wapentake of Strafford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Yorkshire consists of three division, known as the North,East, and West Ridings. Each Riding is subdivided into a number of Wapentakes or Hundreds, and it was in one of the latter that the lordship or manor of Wentworth was situated. Wentworth is in the parish of Wath-upon-Dearn, about nine miles from Sheffield, and thirteen from Doncaster.

 (Excerpt from Doomesday Book)

The fact that he is described in Domesday Book as the lord of Wentworth, sufficiently attests his position as one of the principal men of his neighborhood, even at this early period. nothing, however, is known of his family, except that he was succeeded by his son, Henry Wentworth.

 

He was born about 1030 in Normandie, Orne, Basse-Normandie, France and died about 1066 in Strattford, Yorkshire England.

Funny Friday

This comic reminded me of H.R. Pufnstuff

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 2 - Favorite Photo

#52Ancestors

This week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge if "Favorite Photo" - that is a tough one!! Because I love all the photos I have of my family and ancestors. 

I guess if I HAVE to pick a favorite I guess I might say this one:

All of my life, I have heard about Dr. Truesdall but that was all I knew.  My grandma used to say her great grandfather was a doctor that and his last name was Truesdall and he came down to Alabama on a horse and buggy from way over "there" - which she thought meant he came from England.

Well..she had part of the story right.  Luckily through Ancestry.com, I was able to connect with a long distant relative that I had never met before, named Garnet Walden.  He had a lot of information on the Segars family and he sent this picture to me.  I'm not sure if he has the original photo or a copy but I was SO THRILLED to get this photo and get some information about "the doctor"

As it turns out...His name was Jeremiah Sidney Truesdall, MD (the tall man with his hand on his hip).  Most documents refer to him as J. Sidney Truesdalle so it seems he went by the first name of Sidney (his father was also Jeremiah Sidney Trusdall so perhaps that is why he went by his middle name).

He was born in New York City, New York on 16 Jan 1836 and he is my 3rd great grandfather (maternal side). 

I found a U.S. Army Register of Enlistments that shows that he enlisted in the Army on 23 Jul 1848.  His age is listed as 16 but he apparently fibbed on that a bit because he was only 13! .  He was 5' 10" (which isn't all that tall by today's standards but from looking at all the other men on the list - his height was the same or slightly taller than the others).  It has his occupation listed but I can't quite make it out - it sort of looks like Musician but I just don't know.  He enlisted in Milwaukee, WI and it was to serve in the Mexican-American War.  What do you think the occupation says?

I found a U.S. Naval Enlistment Redezvous that states that at the age of 28, he enlisted in the Navy.  He enlisted September 1864 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This listed details about him.  At the time his occupation was listed as "Mariner" so I am assuming he became a doctor during the Civil War or perhaps he did both jobs or perhaps he became a doctor after the Civil War.  That part I do not know.

I love the details listed on this form too.  It states he had blue eyes, brown hair was fair completed.   - which shows you how short all the others in the photo must be - haha - now I know where we get it from!

From my research, I found that he served in Georgia during the Civil War, at this time, he met and fell in love with a Southern Belle, Georgia A. Seagars.  She is the lady in the middle, with her hands folded and is my 3rd great-grandmother.  She was blind but it isn't known for sure if she was blind from birth or became blind later in life.

After the Civil War, he returned to the North but he wanted to be with Georgia, so he hitched up his horse and buggy (see my grandma had some of the info right) and he rode all the way down to Georgia to get her. They married and moved to Alabama and raised a family there and this is where the photo is believe to have been taken - on their farm in Geneva Alabama.  It is a romantic story. 💕

The others in the photo are their children from left to right..Cornelia (Nealy), Frances (Fannie) - my 2nd great grandmother, Crandall (with the bow tie), Georgia, Katie and then J. Sidney.  There was another son, Hiram but he had some trouble with the law and served time in prison for embezzlement of postal funds (he was a US Postmaster).

So this may be my favorite photo (even though I love them all) because once I got it, I finally knew what Dr. Truesdall , MD looked like along with the rest of his family (I already had a photo of Fannie - my 2nd great grandmother).  I got to know a lot more about this family after receiving the photo.

Wouldn't it have been great to be able to sit around the fire and listen to him tell stories?

Funny Friday - Popeye Style

W.I.P. Wednesday - Yorkie Cross Stitch

Well...it may not look like much but I have made some progress on my cross stitch project.

I am trying just to look at a small section at a time because if I look at the entire chart, it can be overwhelming.

It may not look like I have made a lot of progress, but compared to last week...I have.  You can't tell but there are currently about 4 different colors in there.  I told you there was a lot of shades of brown!

Instant Pot - Moo Goo Gai Pan

I was looking for something interesting to make in my Instant Pot - first use of 2018 and came across this Pressure Cooker Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe on Pinterest.

I modified it a little bit (as I tend to do) to suit my tastes and such.

Instant Pot Moo Goo Gai Pan
Printable Recipe - Click Here 

Ingredients

• 1 lb skinless, boneless, chicken breast, cut into small/medium pieces
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce (can use regular but I prefer low sodium)
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp. (2 cloves) garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup snow peas
• 8 oz bamboo shoots (canned)
• 8 oz water chestnuts (canned)  

Instructions

1. Peel and thinly slice the carrot. Set aside
   
   

   

   
   
2.  Cut the chicken breast into small/medium pieces
   
   

   
3. Wash your hands and place the knife in the sink or dishwasher to be washed (always do this after handling poultry).  Turn on the saute/browning function in your Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker and add 1 tbsp oil to coat the bottom of the inner pot, use the 'adjust' button to turn it to the medium saute heat. Add the chicken and saute for 1 minute (just to lightly brown).
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
4. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock to the chicken (reserve the rest).  Lock the lid, turn the steam release vent to 'sealing' and using the manual setting, adjust it to cook for 1 minute at High Pressure. Yes, only 1 minute - trust me.
   
   

   

   
   
   
5. When the minute is up, allow the pressure to natually release (about 7 minutes), then you can carefully release the rest of the pressure before opening.
   
   
6. Add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce and remaining chicken broth., set to saute again and cook for 1 minute.
    
7. Add the mushrooms, carrots, sliced water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and snow peas and cook on saute setting for an additional  3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
   

   

   
   It is ready and it only took 12 minutes!  You can serve over rice if desired but personally, I skip the rice to cut down the carbohydrates.
   
   

    

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 1

#52Ancestors Challenge

 I am going to try to give this another shot.  I tried before but got too busy to keep it up...I may get busy again but hey, worth a try, right?  Recently, I discovered that there is actually a weekly challenge that I found on AmyJohnsonCrow.com and she will send a daily prompt that may help me stay on tract. 

This week's prompt is "Start"

I'm going to start out 2018's 52 Weeks of Geneology with Ezekiel Slaughter because I have done a lot of research on him and he a fascinating person to me.

Ezekiel Slaughter is my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather (5 times Great Grandfather)

 (not a photo of him - haha)

Ezekiel Slaughter was born 5 Jun 1727 in Halifax, Virginia, USA.  He was the son of John Reuben Slaughter (1685-1730) and Sarah Butler (1705-1781). (Source: North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000)

He served as a Private in the Revolutionary War from 1776-1778 in Captain Thomas Thweatt’s Compay of the 14^th Virginia Regiment. (Source: US Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Virginia, 14^th Regiment (Folders 316-326)

 (click on photo to enlarge)

  (click on photo to enlarge)

1749 – When he was 22, he married Sarah Yiuelle Butler, his first cousin and daughter of John Butler (1700-1756) and Barsheba Yiuelle (1700-1756) in Virginia. (Source: US and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900)

He had 11 Children:

1. Mary Slaughter Worsham (1748-????)
2. Johnathan (John) Slaughter (1750-1805) – also a Revolutionary War Soldier
3. Sarah (Sallie) Slaughter Robbarts (1751-1819)
4.  Elizabeth (Betty) Slaughter Jones (1753-1792)
5. Judith (Judea) Slaughter Gill (1754-1792)
6. Samuel Slaughter (1758-1820) – also a Revolutionary War Soldier (my 4-times great grandfather)
7. Nancy Ann Slaughter Stillwell (1760-1818)
8. Susannah (Susan) Slaughter Hawkins (1763-1837)
9. Martha (Patty) Slaughter Gill (1764-????)
10. Reuben Slaughter (1766-1793)
11. Lucinda (Lucy) Slaughter Lloyd (1769-1839)

1752 – He was granted 400 acres in Cumberland County, Virginia.  He also had land in King William County, Virginia according to the will of his half-brother, Williams Harrison. (Source:  Genealogies of Virginia Families From Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Volume 1, p288) 

1765 - He served as a vestryman, In Antrim Parish,VA  (Source: Tylers’s Quarterly Magazine, Volume 9, 1927).

1767 - He served as a Justice of the Peace (Source: Justices of Peace of colonial Virginia 1757-1778, Bulletin VA State Library)

1767 – Commissioned from the Governor and appointed Captain of the Militia of his company (Source: court of Pleas, page 242 – Oct 1764-1767)

1776 – 14 Feb 1778 Revolutionary War Service in the 14^th Virginia Regiment (Source: Virginia State Library) under Captain Thomas Thweatt.  The regiment fought in the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle ofGermantown, the Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston.  The first 3 battles, he fought under the command of General George Washington.

 Battle of Brandywine

 Battle of Germantown (sorry hard to see)

Battle of Monmouth

1788 – Left Halifax County, VA and went to Greene County, GA

20 Aug 1792 - He died in Green County, Georgia at the age of 65

What a fascinating life he had.  I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and meet him.

Funny Friday

It has been a while since I have done one of these so I thought it was high time to post one.

Yorkie Cross Stitch - Beginning

I didn't post a photo yesterday because...well as I said, I haven't made much progress but I wanted to document that I had actually begun the project so thought I would post a photo after all.

As you can see, I use a lovely magnifier that looks kind of like this to help me see better (it even has a handy dandy light - really helps).  I believe I purchased it at Michael's Arts & Crafts and used a 40% off coupon (love my 40% off coupons)

So here is my progress so far (photo taken through the magnifier)

 

So you can see that I have started - so far, I have worked on it 2 mornings (about 15 - 30 min each morning) before work - something I rarely do since I generally save crafting time for the evening as a wind-down but I was just ready to get started and this was the time I had available so I started.

Doesn't look like much so far, huh?  I still need to buy many of the colors of floss (I only have a few skeins of floss) so once I buy those (which hopefully will be today), then I will be able to add a few more colors - it will take a while before it finally starts looking like something but I am just glad I started.

Note:  I did a rough estimate and based on the size of the cross stitch pattern grid - there are roughly 24,000 stitches in this pattern - I told you it was huge.

Stay tuned!