Looking for more information about training at Chanute Field, Illinois circa 1937

Dear Poppy,
How well I remember you showing us photographs that you had taken during your training at Chanute Field in the 1930s. I believe you stopped there when you drove back from attending my wedding in Annapolis in 1971. Peg found a box of old photographs yesterday, some that we never recall seeing before. They have raised lots of questions about the nature of your training.

Kenneth M. Branchflower at Chanute Field, Illinois circa 1937

There is not much information about the training that went on at Chanute Field between World War I and II. If I remember correctly, you were training as a combat photographer. We believe that you are pictured in each of these photographs. We certainly recognize your very precise script on the lower one.

After Chanute, I believe you went to March Field near Riverside, California. I know that you were released for the training to come home and assist your father on the farm. You appear in the photographs to be in uniform. So was there an enlistment in the fledgling Army Air Corps? Were things so bad in the U. S. Army, that they just let people out? This was the middle of the depression and still six years before Pearl Harbor. Did you have to apply for a hardship discharge?

Growing up, I had the impression that you were drafted during World War II, but I have found a record that shows you enlisted on 13 Sep 1943 in Portland, Oregon. Your enlistment papers mention one year of college as well as 'skilled photographic process occupations' but no previous service. The 1943 Portland City Directory lists you as a Machine Operator working for USAE and residing in Newberg. I believe that USAE is an abbreviation for U. S. Army Engineers.

Wishing we could talk to you about your training. Not much has been written about the technical training that went on between the wars.

Love,
Cecily

Charles Shepard and Mary Clarke Newton Obituaries

Dear Grandparents,
In researching your lives, I have learned to explore all leads and to never be surprised at the direction from which they come. Today while reading the weekly online newsletter from the New England Historical Genealogical Society entitled "The Weekly Genealogist", I found a column by Assistant Editor Valerie Beaudrault. Her article, "Spotlight: Various Resources: Wisconsin, Oregon, and Illinois" mentioned that the Wilsonville Public Library in Clackamas County, Oregon has made their Northwest Heritage Index available on its website. The collection contains more that 16,000 obituaries.

I know that several of you already know where this discussion is going. A quick search of their data base revealed obituaries for Chas. S. Newton in 1912 and Mrs. Newton in 1929. As soon as I found those listings, I contacted the library and after sending the information from the Northwest Heritage Index, I promptly received pdf files of the obituaries. Many thanks to Librarian Greg Martin for his help.


Chas. S. Newton Obituary from the
Canby Irrigator, Canby, Oregon
04 Apr 1912
Page 1, column 2

The image is difficult to read so here is the transcription:
"Chas. S. Newton died at the home of his son, John R. Newton, at 9:40 p m, Wednesday. Mr. Newton has been very low for several weeks and but little hope was held for his recovery. He was born in New York and was 70 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, one son, John R. Newton, and two daughters, Mrs. R. N. Cone, of Springfield, Utah and Mrs. H. H. Hart, of Whit(e)s Plains, New York. The funeral will be held from the home of John R. Newton, Friday April 5th at 10:00 a. m.

Previously, I had found an obituary for Great Grandfather Newton in the General Catalog of Officers and Students for the University of Michigan in 1912. Charles Shepard Newton had been at student at the Ann Arbor campus from 1860-1862.

It is interesting that the Canby notice mentions that the funeral would be held from the home of his son John R. Newton. Since Charles Newton had been an elder in the Presbyterian Church, I had expected that your service would have been held at a church. Perhaps, a church in Canby was not available at the time.

Charles S. Newton's Headstone photo courtesy of Sue Barnett and www.findagrave.com



When I requested the obituary listed for Mrs. Newton, I was crossing my fingers that this referred to Great Grandmother Mary Elizabeth Clarke Newton. The dates seemed to be correct but then Newton is a fairly common surname. I knew I had the right person, when the obituary stated that she had died at the home of her daughter Mrs. Cone of Salem.

Obituary of Mrs. Newton from the Canby Herald, Canby, Oregon
07 Feb 1929, Page 1, Column 2.

Because the image is difficult to read... here is a transcript of the article:

"Former Canby Woman Buried Here Thursday

Mrs. Newton, former resident of Canby, who died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Cone of Salem, was buried at Canby Thursday, and Interment was in Zion cemetery where her husband was buried some time ago. Mr. and Mrs. Newton formerly owned a place that is now the Fir Lane Poultry farm, property of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Thompson. They made a specialty of strawberry production years ago."

 

Wow.... strawberries! Not what I expected from an Oregon farmer. It will take some additional research to determine where the farm was located.

 

Love,

Cecily

 



Happy Birthday Lawrence Bud Satterwhite

Dear Grandparents,
Today is the 110th anniversary of the birth of Lawrence Bud Satterwhite, my son-in-law Chris' maternal great grandfather. He was the second son of William Dempsey and Fannie Bailey Copeland Satterwhite and was born in Rosston, Nevada County Arkansas. Satterwhites had been living in this area of Arkansas for more than fifty years.

Looking at the 1910 and 1920 census for the Satterwhite family, shows a growing family living on a farm in rural Nevada or Hempstead County Arkansas. The family grew to include four sons and two daughters. The enumerator only reported the type of farm as general, but we can imagine that all members of the family spent a good deal of time helping with the chores around the farm.

When he was only twenty, Lawrence married eighteen year old Rosa Maud Hinkson in Conway Arkansas 18 Feb 1924. Their marriage produced five children, three girls and two boys and lasted fifty years until Rosa's death in 1974.

The family made their home in Little Rock, where Lawrence worked as a carpenter or a mechanic.
I imagine they were renting homes as the Little Rock Directories for 1925,  1928. 1929, 1930 list them at different addresses.  Perhaps, they bought the home at 3710 W. 11th Street as they are listed there from 1930 to 1934. The house is listed on Zillow as having been built in 1930, so perhaps they had the house built for their family.

Perhaps Chris' grandmother could explain why her father moved his family to Longview, Texas about 1935. In the Longview Directory, Lawrence is listed as a carpenter joining his brother C. L. (Copeland) in the community.

Lawrence spent the remainder of his life in Longview. Rosa died in 1974, and he married Walterene R. Rodgers.  He died of prostate cancer 20 Mar 1991 at the advanced age of 87.  He is buried at Memory Park Cemetery in Longview with his first wife Rosa.

Photo courtesy of Danny Grizzle and www.findagrave.com

Happy Birthday Lawrence! or did they call you Larry or Bud?

Cecily Cone Kelly

Happy Independence Day

Dear Grandparents,
Today we will be celebrating the 237th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. Traditionally, we observe the date flying the flag, watching parades, family picnics and ending with fireworks. We will be gathering at my daughter Colby's with 3 generations of family and friends. Ed and I have been marinating chicken, making macaroni salad (wish I could talk him into BBQ salad), angel food cake in preparation for this evenings dinner. Before we go, I wanted to take a minute to thank you for all the sacrifices you made in establishing this great nation.

I have been able to identify some of you who served in the Revolutionary War. I'm certain there are others who's records I have not discovered yet (all hints) are appreciated.

Evert Van Eps - Captain of Bateaumen on Lake George, wounded at the Battle of Oriskany, captured by the British at the Battle of Johnstown, NY and taken as a prisoner to Canada. Not released until the Treaty of Paris was signed.  (Ancestor of Grace Colby Werst).

Eleazar Warner - Captain in the Connecticut Line, responded to the Alarm at Lexington, fought at the Battle of White Plains. (Ancestor of Charles Newton Cone).

Asa Pratt - Private in Capt. Aaron Steven's Company part of Colonel Samuel Mott's Brigade. He then served in Capt. Martin Kirtland's Company in Colonel William Douglas' Regiment of the Connecticut Line. (Ancestor of  Charles Newton Cone).

Samuel and Richard Hunnewell - Participated in the Boston Tea Party. Richard then served as a private in Capt. Winthrop Baston's Company. (Ancestor of Grace Colby Werst).

John Dye - Served as a Captain in the New Jersey Militia. (Ancestor of Hazel Allen Cone).

Elisha Hopkins - Served in Mansfield, Connecticut Militia. (Ancestor of Charles Newton Cone).

David Huguenin - Served in the 7th Regiment of the Albany County (NY) Militia. (Ancestor of Grace Colby Werst).

Michael Biery -Drummer in Capt. George Knappenbuger's Company, 2nd Battalion, Northampton County, Pennsylvania Militia. (Ancestor of Cecil Oscar Werst).

Uriah Stephens - Served in Cook's Regiment of the Pennsylvania Militia. (Ancestor of Helen Brown Newton Cone).

Salmon Champion - Served in the Connecticut Line (ancestor of Helen Brown Newton Cone).

Magdalena Domain Schlechty - As a widow provided monetary support for the cause. (Ancestor of Cecil Oscar Werst).

We salute your sacrifices and hope to learn more about your lives.

Love,
Cecily



Dear Grandparents,

This is the first anniversary of my mother's birth since she joined you. We are planning a celebration of her life with family at Fort Rosecrans in September and I want to be able to tell the story of her life. This is the first in a series of stories that I hope will do her justice.

Betty's story really begins in the summer of 1923 when Grace Colby, an Oregon Agricultural College sophomore, decided to spend the summer at her sister Madge's in Pendleton, Oregon rather that go home and face the unwanted attention of her step-mother. Living across the street, with his older brother Clem and wife, was a young carpenter by the name of Cecil Werst. The two started dating, and by August 8, 1924 they had gone to Spokane, Washington to be married and make their home.

Grace Colby as a coed at Oregon Agricultural College, later Oregon State University
circa 1923

 

It was the Roaring 20s, and Cecil and Grace were flush with the optimism of the age. He had been promoted to manager at the Royal Silk Hosiery Company. They were saving to buy a house and investing in America. They welcomed their first child, Betty Lorraine, June 23, 1926. Cecil doted on his daughter and took her to the famed Spokane Merry-go-Round, and parks.

A very dapper Cecil Oscar Werst holding baby Betty at their home in Spokane, Washington 1926.

Betty Lorraine Werst

In October 1927, Grace had just discovered that she was pregnant with her second child when Cecil, complaining of a tooth ache, went to a dentist for the extraction. An infection set in and in those days before penicillin there wasn't much to stop it. Cecil was dead in less than a week and the young family was shattered. There was no life insurance. Grace had only their savings and investments upon which to rely.

She hung on to their rented home in Spokane, and traveled to her sister's home in Pendelton, in March 1928 where she gave birth to their second daughter, Helen Louise, on the 10th. Grace returned to Spokane with her daughters where she realized that she would have to find a job and soon as she was depleting her savings rapidly. She applied everywhere and finally wrote several letters to one of the company's where she and Cecil had invested their money. They agreed to hire her as a secretary at the Company's office in Seattle.

She packed up and took Betty to stay with her Aunt and Uncle in Pendleton while she took baby Helen with her to Seattle. Having already lost her father, Betty was surely disoriented to now be without her Mother also. Her Aunt Madge loved her niece but Aunt Madge was deaf. She had learned to read lips but it was a very silent household for the two year old. Twice she was put on a bus, in the care of the driver and sent to visit the rest of the family in Seattle. What a long ride that must have been for a toddler.

This situation continued until Dec 1931, when Grace's stepmother died, and her father invited her to bring her daughters home to Newberg to keep house for him. It had been more than 30 years since a child had brought her happy noise and confusion to the Colby household. I'm certain it was quite an adjustment for the already 73 year old William Wallace Colby. The adage that his granddaughter's remembered best was, "Children should be seen and not heard."

W. W. Colby with Rhode Island Red chickens at Pine Lawn Farm circa 1932

Betty and her sister Helen, always referred to their new home as 'the farm'. It became the most important location in their lives and the property remains in the family to this day.

Betty and Grampa Colby at the farm circa 1935

Missing you today Mom!
Love,
Cecily

Happy Birthday Maria Taylor Dye

Dear Grandmother Dye,
Today we celebrate the 206th anniversary of your birth.  The reminder of your birthday, has me looking again for information on your family. I believe your parents were Richard Taylor and Freedom Carpenter. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 census records list your birth place as New York. The 1880 census however says you were born in Canada. Your father Richard Taylor is listed in Ludlow, Washington County Ohio, in the 1820 census. The enumeration on August 7, 1820 lists 2 'Free White Persons, females 10 to 15 which would include you.

Image from www.ancestry.com

You were one of a household of 12, including 2 males and one female over 25, and 7 children under the age of 16. Most family researchers report that your family arrived in Washington County in 1818, so I imagine that the cabin in which you lived was crowded indeed.

Ludlow township was adjacent to Lawrence Township the area that was settled by the Dye clan as early as 1800.  We don't know how you came to meet Amos Dye, the youngest son of John Dye, Sr., but on September 12, 1826 you were united in a marriage that would last 50 years.

Your long marriage produced at least 11 children including my 2nd great-grandfather Amos Dye, Jr. You were already 40 when he was born. It was quite an accomplishment in the 19th century to have 11 children survive to adulthood.

In the 1860 census, your family is listed as living in the 3rd Ward of Marietta and Amos' profession is listed as tobacco packer. That sounds like a laboring position, which might have been difficult for a man who was already over 60. The next column lists the 'value of Real Estate' and 40,000 is entered, followed by 1500 for "value of Personal Estate'. Today, that seems like a lot of property for a tobacco packer.

Image from www.ancestry.com

I found an article in the Commercial Gazette published in Marietta, Ohio on April 1, 1883 that states, "Mrs. Maria Dye, relict of the late Amos Dye, died in this city this morning aged seventy eight years." You had been widowed for nearly seven years.

My husband and I visited Marietta last summer and took a photograph of your and Amos' headstones standing side by side in the Oak Grove Cemetery. It was early in the morning and the light was not good and the grass quite wet and slippery, The obscured engraving on the headstones reminds me that I have much left to discover about your family.

Headstones of Amos and Maria Taylor Dye









Love,

Your third great granddaughter,

Cecily Cone Kelly

 

P.S. for family members Amos and Maria Taylor Dye's son Amos Dye, Jr. married Martha Jane McCowan, their daughter Ida Mae Dye married Chester Bynon Allen, their daughter Hazel Bynon Allen married Charles Newton Cone. 

Betty Lorraine Werst Cone RIP

Dear Grandparents,
Just to let you know that you are being reunited with my mother Betty Lorraine Werst Cone today. She left us this afternoon after a long struggle. We are grateful that her passing was calm and peaceful. She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sister, nieces and nephews as well as friends.

She is surround by her children in this photo taken in October 2012

.

 

I've been thinking about how many of you she will be wanting to see. Her husband, Charles Newton "Chuck" Cone, Jr. who died in 1992 will probably be first on the list.

Betty and Chuck pictured at son Rusty's wedding to Patty Gorman June 28,1979.

She was very close to her mother Grace Colby Werst Branchflower who left us in 1973.

I fervently hope that she will be reunited with her father Cecil Oscar Werst who died before she was two when he was only 27. She was the apple of his eye and I'm sure it must have seemed very cruel to have been parted from him so early.

After his death, Betty was sent to live with her Aunt Madge Colby Massey and her husband Hal in Pendleton, Oregon. She lived there until she was reunited with her mother and sister Helen and they went to live with her maternal grandfather on Pinelawn Farm in Newberg, Oregon. William Wallace Colby died in 1936.

W. W. Colby with Grace, Betty and Helen at Pinelawn Farm circa 1935.

My sister Leslie, husband Ed and I were able to be with Mom when she died. We were able to tell her we love her and ease her passing.  In looking back a few hours later, I am wishing that I had time to mention a list of you grandparents that I really want her to contact and find some way to send back the answers to some of my brickwalls.

I know you will welcome Mom with open arms. I do wish you would find some way to drop me a few clues.... just asking...

Love,
Cecily