52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 19: Food and Drink

 I missed a week of posting for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. I was out of town making memories at my son's college graduation. Today I was on Facebook telling a family story to my cousin's daughter, and I knew it was the perfect story for Week 19. The prompt for the week was 'Food and Drink'.

These photos are of a cake that my Aunt Evelyn and my mom made from scratch — their first ever! Evelyn had just turned 18 and my mom was not quite 21. They were so proud of the cake that they took pictures! But just as they were ready to enjoy it, there was a knock at the door. Some relatives had come to visit. Evelyn and Margaret did NOT want to share that cake! So they quickly hid it behind the sofa! I'm not sure how long the relatives stayed, but the cake was forgotten. When Evelyn and Margaret remembered the cake, it was a few days later. I was told it was as hard as a rock. So no one knows if it tasted good....but it was pretty!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 20: Textile

It's Week 20 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. The prompt for this week is ‘Textile'. This is an easy one for me. I immediately thought of a dishtowel I have in my collection, handed down to me from my grandmother.

This dishtowel was hand-woven by her mother, Mara Miller Janco. Mara died at a young age, when my grandmother was only 11 years old. It is the only thing I have from that great-grandmother. If there were photos of her, they have been long lost.

I do not know if Mara made this towel after she came to the United States in 1911, or if she made it while she was still in Europe. She'd been in the U.S. less than 2 years when she died. It seems likely she made it while still in Europe and brought it along to her new home.

I also do not know what my grandmother meant by 'hand-woven'. Did Mara use a loom to weave the cloth? Or did she literally do the entire thing by hand. I don't know enough about weaving to speculate, but it seems likely to me that she used a loom. Either way, I am lucky to have this artifact and grateful to my Grandmother for choosing me to keep this legacy.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 18: Social

It's Week 18 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. The prompt for this week is ‘Social'.

 One thing that has always amazed me when reading old newspapers is what was considered newsworthy. Not just engagements and weddings, but showers and house warmings. Not just births, but also christenings and parties afterwards. Here is an example from a 1934 newspaper.

Shirk reunion and birhtday party 03 Apr 1934, Tue The Pomona Progress Bulletin (Pomona, California) Newspapers.com

 I'm not only surprised by the fact that these events are considered newswothry by the entire community. I'm also surprised by the amount of detail included. As in this article, often everyone in attendance is listed, along with the place of residence. It isn't unusual to see a listing of who traveled furthest to get to a family reunion. In shower announcements, the food served and the decorations are reported in detail. Wedding announce not only give detailed descriptions of the bride's outfit, but also the attendants. 

Forrest-Westfall Wedding 25 Jun 1954, Fri The Edwardsville Intelligencer (Edwardsville, Illinois) Newspapers.com

Look at the detail in this one wedding announcement. The outfits, the flowers the decorations, and the names of the guests. This was the 1950s version of Facebook!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 17: Document

It's Week 17 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. The prompt for this week is ‘Document'. I decided to blog about a document that I found with my grandmother’s important papers—a petition for naturalization filled out by her youngest brother.

One thing that my family and I find interesting about this petition is the explanation for the name change. The little brother was born ‘Adam’ but used the name Albert or Al once he settled in the U.S. His explanation?
“Adam does not appeal to my sense of hearing.”

I don’t know if Albert ever filed this petition, or if he ever naturalized. This petition is not complete. I found a copy of his Declaration of Intention. It was completed and stamped in the Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago. The date is January 23, 1925. Albert would have been about 19 years old at the time.

Even though the petition is not complete, it does contain some valuable information. Once section lists places and dates of residence in the U.S. since his arrival.

The last residence listed is Richmond, Illinois from Jan 1926 to ‘present’. This tells me that Albert filled out the petition sometime after Jan 1926. He apparently intended to file the petition in the Circuit Court of Woodstock in McHenry County, Illinois. Now I have some hints to guide me in my search for Albert’s naturalization.

Albert died of tuberculosis on April 3, 1936 at a sanatorium in Ottawa, Illinois.