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The Ghosts of Christmases Past

12/24/2013

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One of the things I love most about Christmas time is the chance to drag out all the holiday heirlooms. My house is stuffed full of the old and worn loved items of my ancestors and now I get to kick it up even more! 

A few of my favorites: Ornaments & Stockings
I've had this lovely white porceline bell since I was 3 (that's 40 years for those counting!) It even has "Jodi 1973" inscribed on the back - apparently I was a very talented 3 year old :) It's also the only ornament I don't let my kids hang on the tree.
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Stockings are quite special because, in our family, they are home made (mostly.) I'll remember not to hang my stocking next to my husband's next year - the difference in white is a little too obvious. My grandmother Holly made my stocking. I don't remember a Christmas without it. I made my husband's and both my daughter's as well. My mother made my son's. I also made stockings for my nephews...and anyone else who will let me! I love love love the care that goes into making a unique, individualized heirloom. These are very welcome ghosts indeed.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


Copyright (c) 2013, Family at Your Fingertips, Jodi Bash
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Delving into our Great-Great Grandparents, Happy Birthday Dr. Hubbard!

12/10/2013

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PictureSeth Hubbard (circa 1880)
My great-great grandparents are the first line of true unknowns when it comes to my ancestors.

I knew my grandparents very well. I'd heard them talk of their parents and even of my mom and dad tell stories of their grandparents - so the great- grandparent line holds at least a fuzzy memory for me. 

My great-great GPs also account for the first real fan out in the family tree - both literally and figuratively. My bother, mom, dad and grandparents were from 3 states total. My great- great grandparents' pivotal moments of marriage, birth, and death covered 13 states! My history is blown wide open with this generation.

And because it's his birthday, I'm going to spend time introducing you to Seth Hubbard. He was my paternal grandfather's maternal grandfather - makes the head hurt doesn't it?

Seth was born on December 10, 1854 in Iowa City, Iowa to Cyrus and Eliza Hubbard who had moved to Iowa from Ohio. In the mid-1850's Iowa had only recently left its bloody indian past behind and saw the first white settlement in Black Hawk Purchase in 1833. When Seth was born the railroad fervor was in full swing and two universities were being founded in Iowa. It was a frontier life. 


He was the 3rd of 8 children. The Hubbard family appeared in the 1850 federal census in OH and the 1856 IA state census, Cyrus was a farmer. In 1860, the Hubbards still lived in Iowa city with 3 more children. I am unable to find Seth in 1870. It's so frustrating when someone just seems to disappear into thin air. Mother Eliza and the six siblings were still in Iowa City, but Seth wasn't with them - even though he would have only been about 16. Cyrus was not living with the family either. He was found in Sioux City, Iowa as a "general laborer." Divorce? Desertion? Making an extra buck? So far, the documents don't tell that side of the story. Sadly, Cyrus would die in 1871.

Seth resurfaced in 1880. He was a student, 25 years old, in the city of Vinton, Benton county, Iowa. Interestingly the only educational facility I found there was the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School (originally opened as the Iowa School for the Blind in 1852.) A school that Laura Ingall's sister Mary attended coincidentally. I don't know if Seth was attending this school. I have no record of him being vision impaired. And there may have been other schools nearby. But, a very interesting development. And a great example of why we should dive into the history of the places our ancestors lived.

The next big installment of Seth's life was marriage. On October 1, 1884 in Rock Falls, Iowa, Seth married Rose Lester. He was 30, she was 25. We don't have to wait long to find the newly weds in a census together. The Iowa state census of 1885 (love the state censuses!) show that Seth, Rose and Seth's younger sister Helen lived together. Seth, at least for the time being, was following in his father's footsteps as a farmer. His sister was a teacher. Rose was pregnant during the census. And their one child Carrie Lunetta Hubbard was born on July 14, 1885 in Hampton, Iowa. Carrie would of course become my great-grandmother! 
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Seth & Rose on their wedding day, 1884.
As usual, 1890 is blank to us. But thankfully Seth was not done with his education. In 1896, at the age of 42, he matriculated from Cotner University in Lincoln, Nebraska from the Medical Department. According to the directory of deceased physicians (I had no idea it even existed!) Seth was licensed in Nebraska in1898 and in Kansas in 1901. The 1900 census still listed the small family in Lancaster county, NE; Dr. Hubbard, wife Rose and daughter Carrie, aged 14. As a side note, I've wondered if Carrie really was an only child. It's possible that between 1885 and 1900 Seth and Rose had more children that either didn't survive or left home young.

Dr. and Mrs. Hubbard were still living in Lancaster in 1910. They had now been married 25 years. Daughter Carrie had married my dashing great-grandfather Floyd Allan Bash Sr. the year before in 1909, so Seth and Rose were empty nesters now. 

On August 30, 1911 Seth Hubbard passed away in Lincoln, NE. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Lincoln with wife Rose. She would outlive him 27 years!

I feel like I've grown a little closer to my great-great grandfather after this writing. For one thing I wouldn't be here if he hadn't had that one daughter! Odd to think about. Happy Birthday Dr. Seth Hubbard! 

Copyright (c) 2013, Family at Your Fingertips, Jodi Bash
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Sibling Saturday: she's happier than she looks

12/7/2013

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This is truly one of my favorite sibling photos. The little girl is Annie Anderson, my great grandmother. In my notes the boy was identified as her older brother George. However, George was about 8 years older than Annie so that seems unlikely. Maybe it was David who was only 2 years older than she? Annie was born in 1882; if she's 5 in this photo the year was about 1887. In 10 years both her parents would be dead. Annie, one of the younger of her parents 16 children, lived with a local Doctor and was well cared for until she met and married my great grandfather, John Guthrie, in 1900.

What's striking about this photo is that both children look a little sad, maybe even scared. These are not at all the emotions I see on my great grandmother's face in more recent photos. She almost always had a big smile on her face. Annie had 11 happy children of her own, a long life and marriage, and a lot of smiles. Old photos often look more somber than the reality - of course NO one could hold a smile as long as it took a camera to take the picture!

Maybe she just hadn't had her nap that day ;)
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Copyright (c) 2013, Family at Your Fingertips, Jodi Bash
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Tombstone Tuesday and the Importance of Grandparents

12/3/2013

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Today Ila Marion Lovelady Borchardt would have been 104. She wasn't related to me. She was the grandmother of my first husband, a great-grandmother to my children, and a woman I never knew. The one thing I can say with certainty about her is that she was loved. She was likely loved by a lot of people, but it's her grandchildren that stick out in my mind. This woman meant the world to both of them. I had grandparents of my own that walked on water so I didn't miss out on that emotion. And from what I understand many people can relate to that. Grandparent love is almost universal. 

When my son was playing a solo music piece for big grade he was understandably nervous. Other players and parents were lined up waiting their turn. One mom had advice for the kids I'll never forget. She said "When you go in and sit down, think of your grandparents there with you. It will almost always calm you down." Now I don't know how much scientific evidence there is behind the "calming grandparent" philosophy, but my son said it worked. And I'm not ashamed to say I've used it a time or two as well with great success. 

These parents of our parents can love us without the stress of raising us; they can support us without expressing fear that we're going to fail; with new found patience they can teach us things they couldn't their own children; they can even scold our parents! They are unconditional. They are amazing. 

If you still have one alive, take time to tell a grandparent how much you love and appreciate them.



Copyright (c) 2013, Family at Your Fingertips, Jodi Bash

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    I'm Jodi. Lover of genealogy, graveyards, and stuff that's old.

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