A Birthday Tribute - Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter

I decided to complete this Saturday Night Genealogy Fun mission from Randy Seaver for both my grandmothers because they both have birthdays this month. 

My father's mother, Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter was born on March 22, 1922 to Ray Everett & Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton. She died on October 31, 2002. 

Not sure of the date on this picture

In 1922, March 22 was a Wednesday. This site is where I found the information. It also tells me that she is an Aries and was born in the year of the Dog in the Chinese zodiac. 

Historical Headlines - From Newspapers.com - Headlines include problems in Ireland, work on a Four-Power Treaty, and the Fatty Arbuckle Trial. 

Hollywood Scandal

Historical happenings for March 22 can be found here and here, including:

• 1765 - Stamp Act is imposed on the American colonies
• 1933 - FDR makes beer and wine with an alcohol content up to 3.2% legal
• 1946 - first U.S. rocket leaves the Earth's atmosphere
• 1965 - the U.S. confirms the use of chemical warfare in Vietnam.
• 1972 the Equal Rights Amendment is approved by Congress (but is never ratified by the required 3/4ths of states). 

This site lists famous birthdays on March 22, including:

• Chico Marx - born in 1887 and died in 1961
• Louis L'Amour - born in 1907 and died in 1988
• Karl Malden - born in 1912 and died in 2009
• Marcel Marceau - born in 1923 and died in 2007
• Stephen Sondheim - born in 1930
• George Benson - born in 1943



With my Dad
Probably about 1941

Christmas was always her favorite
She would be turning 93 this year

Happy 95th Birthday!

This week, Randy Seaver's weekly prompt, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is all about your grandmother's birthday. It seems fitting as my grandmother just turned 95! So here is some information about my Grandmother's birthday. 

First things first, her name is Linona Alice Yates and she is the daughter of Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates. She was born on March 12, 1920. 

In the center, at her 90th Birthday Party

• What day of the week was March 12, 1920 & how did I find out. 
• March 12, 1920 was a Friday. This site also lets me know that that makes her a Pisces and she was born in the year of the monkey (Chinese zodiac). 
• What was a headline event in the news on that date & how did I find out? 
•  This is the site I used to find a headline. 



Copyright, New York Times, 2010

• 
  
• What are five other historical events occurred on this date (month & day) and how did I find out? 
• This site provides a list of historical happenings.
• 1894 - Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time.
• 1912 - Girls Scouts was founded, originally Girl Guides.
• 1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt gave his first Fireside Chat. 
• 1947 - President Truman issues the "Truman Doctrine" to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism. (See headline above) 
• 2010 - Apple began taking orders for the first iPad.

• Who are 5 famous people born on this date and how did I find out?
• This site provides a list of famous people born on this date. We have 1) Andrew Young born in 1932 and 2) Liza Minnelli born in 1948. After that, I'm not thrilled with the choices. So I went to this site and found 3)Jack Kerouac was born in 1922, 4) James Taylor born in 1948, and 5) Carl Hiaasen born in 1953. 

Five Generation Photo Shoot, September 2014

Birthday Matches - Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Randy Seaver issues a weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge. This week it is about birthdays. Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my direct line ancestor with the birthday closest to mine. You can read about John Whiting here. 

The challenge this week is to find out if any of your ancestors or their siblings (your cousins!), were born on your birthdate?   

1)  What is your birth date (not the year, only month and day)?

My birthday is July 18th.    

2)  Review your records, or use your genealogy management program to create a list of persons in your database born on your birthdate.  Are any of them your ancestors or siblings of your ancestor?  Tell us how you figured it out too.

I ran a report using RootsMagic to determine which ancestors, both direct and collateral lines, shared my birthday. There are no direct ancestors with my birthday, but I do share my birthday with a number of cousins. 

I came up with the following:

Eleazer Scott - b. 18 July 1654 - my sixth great-granduncle & my earliest match
Jonathan Gardner - b. 18 July 1669 - my first cousin, 10 times removed
Ephraim Ford - b. 18 July 1693 - my first cousin, 10 times removed
Sarah Whiting - b. 18 July 1703 - my first cousin, 10 times removed, twin 
Mary Whiting - b. 18 July 1703 - my first cousin, 8 times removed, twin
Dorcas Chandler - b. 18 July 1727 - my second cousin, 9 times removed
Michael Foster - b. 18 July 1727 - my second cousin, 7 times removed
Lydia Abbott - b. 18 July 1809 - my third great-grandaunt
John S. Morgan - b. 18 July 1832 - my first cousin, 5 times removed
Rebecca Williamson - b. 18 July 1838 - my first cousin, five times removed & my closest match

3)  List one or more of those born on your birthdate in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook or Google+.  

Closest To My Birthday, John Whiting - 52 Ancestors #4

This week's theme in the 52 Ancestors Challenge is to blog about the ancestor who has his or her birthday closest to your own (month, day). 

Birth Record of John Whiting

John Whiting is my 7th great-grandfather and he was born in 19 July 1665 in Wrentham or Dedham, Massachusetts to Nathaniel and Hannah (Dwight) Whiting and died in 1732 in the same area. He was married twice, first to Mary Billings, daughter of William and Mary ( ? ) Billings, on Christmas Eve in 1688, and second to Sarah (possibly Pond) Holbrook. 

John served as a a selectman in 1708, 1707, 1711, 1712, 1713, 1714, and 1715. His will names his wife Sarah, sons Nathaniel, John, and Eliphalet, daughters Mary Mann, Jerusha Slack, Jemima Wight, Zabiah Ware, Hannah Fisher, and Phebe Whiting and a grandson, Lewis Sweeting. 

He came from a family of millers, including his father and several brothers. In fact, Whiting descendants ran a mill in the area until 1823 when Hezekiah Whiting sold the right to Jabez Chickering (Whiting Genealogy). 

 



Children of John & Mary (Billings) Whiting:

1. Nathaniel b. 2 Feb 1691
2. Mary b. 14 Oct 1692
3. John b. 16 Jan 1695
4. Jerusha b. 2 Nov 1697
5. Jemima b. 5 Dec 1699
6. Zabiah b. 29 Dec 1701
7. Eliphalet b. 16 Sep 1705
8. Hannah b. 13 Feb 1707
9. Abigail b. 2 Oct 1708
10. Phebe b. 18 Jun 1710

My line: 
John Whiting
Jemima Whiting - 5th child of John & Mary (Billings) Whiting
Joseph Wight
Abigail Wight
Roxanna Spurr
Mary Frances Stanley
Edward Mellen Carter 
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather

Whiting Genealogy

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Mother's Birthdate

Randy Seaver's weekly challenge is to use your mother's birthday and find out what day of the week it was when she was born, 5 historical events that happened on that day, and five famous people born on that day. 

My mother was born on April 23rd and it was a Sunday. 

Historic events on April 23rd: 

• In 1939, Boston Red Sox great, Ted Williams hit his first home run. 
• In 1951, Babe Didrikson-Zaharias won the LPGA Richmond Women's Golf Open.
• In 1962, the first U.S. satellite to reach the moon was launched.
• In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for killing Bobby Kennedy. 
• In 1985, New Coke debuts

Also born on April 23rd: 

• 1564 - William Shakespeare
• 1791 - James Buchanan, 15th president of the U.S. 
• 1813 - Stephen Douglas, Illinois senator famous for his debates with Abraham Lincoln. 
• 1928 - Shirley Temple Black, child actress and U.S. ambassador
• 1936 - Roy Orbison, singer/songwriter

Happy 86th Birthday!

Mary Jane (Abbott) Capen was my 2X great-grandmother. Her daughter with whom she lived, Fannie Carter, was my great-grandmother and my grandfather, Richard Carter was one of her seven grandchildren (brother to Rebecca mentioned in the article). Fannie's husband was killed when he was struck by a car in 1923 and raised her 5 children, E. Augustus, Rebecca, Richard, Stanley, and Paul on the Carter family farm in Middle Intervale, Bethel. This newspaper article describing Mary Jane's birthday celebration is full of genealogy information as it lists the names of her parents, her children who lived to adulthood along with some important dates in the family timeline.
Lewiston Evening Journal - Jan 10, 1933

86 YEAR OLD E. BETHEL WOMAN ACTIVE IN THE HOME

EAST BETHEL, Jan 10 - At the age of 86, Mrs. Mary Jane Capen is in very good health and is able to do considerable work in the home. She quietly observed her 86th birthday Friday, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Fannie Carter at Middle Intervale, with whom she now lives. She received gifts from her seven children and cards from her many friends. 

Mrs. Capen was born in Bethel, the daughter of John and Sarah Akley Abbott. Seventy years ago, she was married to Edward Capen, who died in 1912. To this couple were born seven children, two sons who died when young; a son, Charles, who died in 1930, and four daughters, Mrs. Laura Roberts of China, Miss Minnie Capen, Miss Alice Capen of Bethel, and Mrs. Fannie Carter. 

Mrs. Capen has seven grandchildren, one of whom is Rebecca Carter, a student at Bates College. She also has two great-grandchildren. Mrs. Capen attends the Methodist church at Bethel. 

Genealogy Fun

The mission, according to Randy Seaver, at Genea-Musings is to find out several things about the date one's father was born and share online. Now, he titled his post Saturday Night Genealogy Fun but I'm a little behind due to limited internet access at the camp so mine will be Sunday Afternoon Genealogy Fun.

1)  What day of the week was your Father born? Tell us how you found out.

April 27, 1939 was a Thursday. My father was born in Berlin, N.H. but lived in Bethel, Maine.

Where I found the day of the week

2) What has happened in recorded history on your Father's birth date (day and month)? Tell us how you found out, and list five events.
1805 - U.S. Marines attack the shores of Tripoli   

1865 - The steamboat, "Sultana", explodes on the Mississippi River, killing up to 1, 547. Many of those onboard were Union POWs on their way home

1937 - The U.S. Social Security system makes its first benefit payment

1967 - Boxer Rocky Marciano retires as undefeated champion

1994 - Richard Nixon is buried

Where I found what happened on this day

3)  What famous people have been born on your Father's birth date?  Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.

1791 - Samuel Morse - Inventor of the telegraph

1822 - Ulysses S. Grant - Civil War general and U.S. President

1922 - Jack Klugman - actor

1948 - Frank William Abignale, Jr. - con artist turned security consultant, played by Matt Damon in the film, Catch Me If You Can

1951 - Ace Frehley - of the rock band, KISS

Where I found famous birthdays

4)  Put your responses in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook.