Rest in Peace, dear cousin Paulette Harris

Pictured above at left is Ruby "Paulette" and at right Ruth "Pauleen" Harris. The twin girls were born 10 June 1948 to my mother's sister Edna "Pearl" (Flanders) and her husband George Harris in Stafford, Stafford, Kansas. 

L to R: Pauleen and Paulette Harris

I was able to get acquainted with my cousins as a child (1947-1959), just to the age of 12 as my twin brother and I visited our mother and step-father monthly at the home in Stafford, KS of our maternal grandparents, Milo and Nannie (Becker) Flanders. Our monthly visits ended, however, when we reached the age of 12, so my contact with my cousins ended at that time also. It's unfortunate that we became "disconnected" as we grew to adulthood.

Ruth Pauleen Harris

My cousin Pauleen passed away 24 Oct, 2014 in Topeka, KS. As her estate was settled, I received her vast photo collection with the agreement that I would scan, share and preserve the old family photos. I gratefully upheld my part of the agreement as I scanned the photos, saved them to CDs, uploaded and filed them on Dropbox, sharing the 1,500 photos with cousins, sisters, and nieces this past summer. 

I received word on Wednesday, January 6, of the passing of (Ruby) "Paulette", who was named after my mother, Ruby Flanders. 

I didn't know Paulette well throughout my adult life, but our mutual cousin Nancy shares this with me: "Paulette was sweet, caring, and complicated. She embroidered. She had been dealt a difficult hand in life but she did the best she could with what she was given. She loved to play card games, do puzzles, and play board games. She watched soap operas and loved all her extended family, siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, niece and nephews. God sent us a special gift in Paulette!"

Early in her childhood, Paulette was stricken with measles, the case which was accompanied by a very high fever that left Paulette with epilepsy and mental and physical limitations. She was blessed throughout her adult life to be cared for by her devoted and loving twin sister Pauleen. 

Pauleen (1948-2014), standing, and
Paulette (1948-2016) Harris

Rest in Peace, dear cousin Paulette. You will be missed, as you are dearly loved by your family. 

Let me share some of the treasured photos of Pauleen and Paulette from their own valued collection.

Pauleen and Paulette Harris (left to right)

George Harris is proud of his children (left to right)
Sheryll Lou, Pauleen, Paulette, and Duane, as he poses
with them in front of our grandparents'
(Milo and Nannie Flanders) home in Stafford, KS

Pauleen and Paulette Harris (left to right)
pictured above and below

Paulette and Pauleen Harris on vacation in Virginia,
the home state of their father, George Harris

Paulette and Pauleen in the front yard of the
home in Stafford, KS

Left to right: Sheryll Lou Harris, Duane
Harris, twins Pauleen and Paulette Harris,
twins Dennis and Becky Margheim
and cousin Rita Diane Flanders,
(seated on the porch) at the home of my
paternal grandparents, John and Mollie
(Koleber) Margheim at
114 E. 6th St, Hoisington, Barton, Kansas.

An insignificant connection, but it still amazes me

This Fall I was honored to be allowed to scan a photo collection that was retrieved from my cousin Pauleen Harris's house upon her passing. The photos had been passed down to her from her parents, so included both sides of her family. Pauleen's mother Pearl Flanders Harris was an older sister of my mother, Ruby Flanders Margheim Craine. I scanned the collection of 1,500 photos, saved them to a CD, filed them online in a Dropbox folder for sharing and am storing the originals in archival photos boxes. 

Among the treasured old photos was the one at the top of this post. My cousin Pauleen's brother Duane Harris has told us this photo always remained at the bedside of his father, my Uncle George Harris. So we believe it to be that of George's father Henry Harris (1857-1928 Virginia). As I prepared the family photos for the CD, I also did some research on the family so I could provide reports to my cousins as well. George Harris's mother was Mary Britt (b. 1890 Botetourt, VA). I discovered that Henry Harris had a first wife, namely Rebecca Damewood (b. 1848 Botetourt, VA). 

 
At the time that I found this record I remember thinking that I had never heard the name Damewood. I had a hard time remembering it the first few times I was entering the information into my database. It was just so unfamiliar to me. 

Today I finally had time to reply to a message that had come into my email through the Message link from Ancestry.com. It was in reference to a William Hiram Follette and the sender was notifying me that I had an incorrect County name on his profile at Ancestry.com. As I was "poking around" among the family members related to this William Follett and his wife Minnie Etta Cozad, I noticed the Damewood name! And fortunately I remembered how it was attached to my Harris research from 2 months ago. The reason I have the Follett name in my database and in my Tree at Ancestry.com is that they are connected to my son, whom I adopted in infancy. Interesting! I'm seeing the Damewood name connected to my mother's sister's husband as well as my adopted son's family line. 

I did a bit more research and found these connections that I've represented in this homemade chart.

Starting at the bottom left we can see my adopted son Matthew Klein, son of me and my first husband, Billy D. Klein. My mother is Ruby Flanders and her sister E. Pearl Flanders was married to George Harris. George's parents were Henry Harris and Mary Britt, but Henry was first married to Rebecca Damewood. We can see that Rebecca's grandparents were James Damewood and Catherine Huffman. James and Catherine also had a daughter Eleanor who married John Moomaw. Eleanor and John had a son Phil, who married Sarah Gilbert and they had a daughter Alice Moomaw, wife of Jonathan E Follett. 

On the chart you can see that Jonathan Follett's grandparents were Jonathan Follett III and Catherine VanDyke. If you follow the descendancy down the far right side of the chart, you can see their 5th great grandson is my (adopted) son Matthew C. Klein. 

You might say "So what?" It may be an insignificant connection, but I find it amazing. When we research family lines, our minds tend to stick to a particular line. If you've actively researched your ancestors, you'll know what I mean. We get narrowly focused on a certainly line and don't expect to see names that belong in other family lines, especially if those families aren't associated with each other in real life. My Harris cousins through my mother's family have never met and don't know my son. My son doesn't know anyone in my mother's Flanders family either. My son is not "related" directly to my mother's family, or the families of her in-laws. But I still find it amazing that I can establish this meandering connection between my Uncle George Harris and my son! This is what keeps the research fun for me. The slang expression comes to my mind: "Whoda thunk it?" 

It Suddenly Came to Me

Ethel Stevenson Becker holds me and my twin brother Dennis in the summer, 1948.

Ethel Stevenson Becker holds my cousins, twins Paulette and Pauleen Harris,
summer 1948

As I opened my blog to write this story, I didn't know the identity of the woman seated in the chair in these pictures. The photo at the top, showing me (Becky Margheim) and my twin brother Dennis Margheim was part of a collection I inherited from my parents. But I was unsure if it had belonged to my dad's family, or my mother's.

I recently received a digital copy of the second photo that was part of a collection belonging to my mother's brother. I couldn't believe my good fortune, for I now knew that the woman in the chair was connected in some way to my mother's family. 

As I started this post I was going to comment that I wondered who she was and hoped that someday that question would be answered. And within a minute of opening this blog, the answer came to me, using the clue that this small photo of the woman holding infants on her lap came from a Roi-Tan cigar box that almost exclusively held photos of my grandmother's oldest brother, Joseph Frederick "Fred" and Ethel (Stevenson) Becker. My cousin Nancy has possession of these photos on loan from another cousin Debbi, as she scans them to share with more of our family. She shared this digital picture with me since she knew I had the photo at the top, showing the same lady in the same dress, same chair, same yard. 

As I reviewed other photos that I own of my grandaunt, I came to the conclusion that she's the lady holding the twins. The two sets of twins are grandchildren of her sister-in-law, Nannie (Becker) Flanders. Dennis and I were born November 1947. Paulette and Pauleen were born June 1948. So I think the picture was taken in the Summer/Fall of 1948. Aunt Ethel was born 31 Jan 1891 and died 1 Oct 1949. So she'd have been 57 years old in the pictures. I'm going to believe that Aunt Ethel prompted me about her identity. 

Here are other photos that I have of Aunt Ethel and Uncle Fred Becker.

Thank you, Aunt Ethel, for prompting me about your identity. I'm happy to know that, even though I don't remember you, that you held me and Dennis on your lap. That helps me feel closer to you. You knew who I was, you held me, and I think you were happy in doing so. 

Today is my husband's birthday. But I'm the one who received the gift!

What is the rest of the story in this cousins photo

In the photo above are me and my twin brother and my cousins, two of whom are also twins. The tallest boy in the back is our cousin Duane and at far left is his younger sister Sheryll, standing besides their sisters, twins Pauleen and Paulette. Standing at right are my twin brother Dennis and me. Seated in front is another cousin Rita. Rita's dad, Mervin Flanders, my mother Ruby Flanders and the other cousins mother, Pearl Flanders Harris, were all siblings in the Milo and Nannie Flanders family. If I was just looking at faces in the photos, I'd smile, say "How cute" and go on to the next picture in the album. But as I looked at this picture, I recognized it as being taken while we were all standing on the front porch of my grandparents' house in Hoisington, Kansas. 

I can verify that with the photo above of me and Dennis as we played with our dad's violin in the front yard of his parents' house, when we lived there with them in 1949-52. You can see the same mail box on the front of the house in each photo as well as the grating under the porch, that I know was painted dark green. 

Now let me tell you why I find it significant that my cousins on my mother's side of the family are standing with me and my brother on the porch of my father's parents' house. My mother and father were divorced in 1949. Since my father had custody of me and my brother, we lived with him and his parents in Hoisington, KS from 1949 until he remarried in 1951, and built a new home where we moved back to Great Bend Kansas in 1952. It's my thought that the picture was taken in the Fall or Winter of 1951, based on the fact that we all have coats on and Dennis and I would have been 4 years old. Paulette and Pauleen would have been 3-1/2 years old and Rita would have been 2-1/2 years old. I think that looks accurate, or close. 

I cannot fathom any occasion when members of my mother's family would have visited us at the home of my father's family at that time. But there's the proof that they did. 

It's good, as we enjoy looking at the old family photographs, that we take the time to really look at the whole picture. I wish our family photos could tell us the rest of the story! 

A history lesson from a family photo

I recently came into possession of a collection of family photographs upon the death of my first cousin Ruth Pauleen Harris. It was the responsibility of her niece Edna to settle her Estate. Edna engaged the help of another cousin Nancy to decide what to do with an extensive collection of photographs and family memorabilia. I told Nancy I would be happy to offer my time and energies to scan the photos and archive them, and distribute any that should go to other family members. Upon that offer I received a collection of 1,405 photographs, numerous funeral cards and school souvenirs.

I chose the photo at the top of this post to feature today as it was the first to catch my attention as I started my scanning adventure. At the bottom left of the group photo it says "Hop Pickers Silverton, OR". The handwritten caption says "From Harry Bradley. This is where I was a hop-picking this year. That is me by that girl that is a smiling near that hop house." The front of the post card shows that it was sent to Mrs. Nannie Flanders in Great Bend, Kansas. It's dated 9 Jan 1907. Pretty cool, huh? I've identified Harry Bradley in the photo below.

My hometown is Great Bend, Kansas and until I started researching my family's history 16 years ago, I had no idea that my maternal grandparents, Milo and Nannie (Becker) Flanders ever lived in Great Bend. Oh the things we don't know as we're growing up. 

My first task upon discovering this photo was to look at my genealogy database to determine who Harry Bradley was. This chart below shows his relationship to me, and to Nannie Flanders, to whom he sent the postcard. 

Harry Bradley sent this postcard from Oregon to his cousin Nannie in Great Bend, KS. 

My next research was on the subject of "Hop Pickers", as I'd never heard of them before. From this web site on Hops History in Oregon I learned that there were hundreds of hop farms in the Willamette Valley. The first hops grown on the Pacific Coast were grown in Oregon. Of the pickers themselves, this site tell us "Urbanites and rural laborers, married and unmarried, young and old, men and women alike enjoyed decent wages, additional income, and a retreat from the city."  

It was interesting to learn that I had a cousin who worked in Silverton, Oregon as a Hops Picker in 1907. And what I found just as interesting was that he cared enough about his cousin in Great Bend, Kansas to send her a picture postcard of himself and his co-workers at that time. That is significant to me, as most of us don't follow that practice today. It's unfortunate that as cousins we don't often stay in touch and share our lives with our family. I'm grateful that Harry Bradley stayed in touch with his cousin Nannie. I'm equally as grateful to be in touch with my cousins Nancy, Edna and Edna's father, Duane, who have so generously shared this family photo collection with me.

Closing in on my Great Grandparents

Ruby Flanders, pictured above as a 17 year old, is my mother. As you can see she's the daughter of Milo and Nannie (Becker) Flanders and has three brothers, Cleo, Albert and Mervin, and two sisters, Ethel and Pearl.

My Aunt Pearl had a daughter who passed away last year at the age of 66. She was unmarried, so this year her niece has spent considerable time cleaning out her house in preparation of selling it and settling her Estate. As my cousin came upon family photos, she consulted with another cousin, the daughter of my Uncle Albert, who suggested that I might be available and willing to scan those family photos. I jumped at the chance to view, preserve, and archive these precious family heirlooms.  

Last weekend I received this 21 lb box full of photos to scan.

I'll be writing several posts about the photos I've found but today I want to write about one that features perhaps an "ancestor" who reaches the farthest back in time.

On this chart above I'm "Mary Rebecca Margheim", shown at bottom right. My great grandparents are Lewis Clarence Flanders and Sarah Jane McMillan. I have a photo of each of my great grandparents, EXCEPT Lewis and Sarah Jane Flanders. I'm hopeful that someday I'll discover that picture. 

Today as I was scanning, editing, and captioning pictures I found this one of "Villa, Mildred and Aunt Rena Flanders".

It's particularly wonderful because a short letter was written on the back, to my grandmother Nannie Flanders.

It reads: "My dear Nannie, Only had the one picture of the girls taken that day, so will send you one of the girls and myself. Wanted True to have his taken with us but he wouldn't. Received your welcome letter and will answer in a few days. It is cool and fine here now. Nearly time for the mail man so will send this and write later. Lovingly yours, Rena. Love to all."

I could not recall a Rena in my Flanders relatives, so I went to my RootsMagic database to find a Flanders family with members Villa, Mildred and Rena. I literally jumped in my chair when I saw this family unit:

There they are. Lorena "Rena" Colby Flanders, wife of Truman "True", and mother of Villa and Mildred. As you can see in the pedigree chart above, Truman was a brother of my great-grandfather Lewis C. Flanders.

While I still don't have a picture of Lewis or Sarah Jane Flanders, I'm getting closer with this postcard picture of Lewis's sister-in-law "Rena". 

A search on Findagrave.com shows me the headstones of Rena and True Flanders too. 

I'm so happy to have this photo of Rena, Villa and Mildred Flanders. It's too bad "True" wouldn't get his picture taken at the same time, but I'm blessed with what I do have. And I feel like I'm successfully closing in on the possibility of eventually securing a picture of my great-grandparents, Lewis and Sarah Jane! As we cousins work together, we may all be blessed with this discovery.

Tombstone Tuesday: Harris Headstone

This week I posted on my personal blog about the miracle of being found by a cousin I was not acquainted with. Her grandparents, with whom she was not well acquainted, are buried in the cemetery at Stafford, Stafford, Kansas. Through another wonderful online resource, I found a photo of their headstone, pictured above, at Find A Grave.

This post is a tribute to my Aunt Edna "Pearl" Flanders Harris (1916-1980) and Uncle George W. Harris (1918-1994).