How Many Presidents? - Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Thank you to Randy Seaver on Geneamusings for his weekly prompt. 

1)  Which U.S. Presidents have held the office in your lifetime?  Your parents lifetimes?  Your grandparents lifetimes?  How many generations do you need to cover all of them?

2)  A list of the U.S. Presidents is in http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvplist.html to help you out.

President Kennedy

In my lifetime: Pam Carter (1963-???) - Eleven so far
35. John F. Kennedy                                                              
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter

President F. D. Roosevelt

40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack H. Obama
45. Donald J. Trump



My mother and father were both born in 1939 and are still living. - 14 so far
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt                                 
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower

My maternal grandmother, Linona Alice Yates (1920-???) - 18 so far! 
28. T. Woodrow Wilson       

President T. Roosevelt

29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover

My maternal grandfather, Clayton Leonard Blake (1904-1979)
26. Theodore Roosevelt             
27. William H. Taft
28. T. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin G. Coolidge
31. Herbert H. Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33.  Harry S. Truman
34.  Dwight D. Eisenhower
35.  John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter

President Coolidge 

My paternal grandmother, Fern Lyndell Cotton (1920-2002)
30. Calvin G. Coolidge
31. Herbert H. Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt                                              
33.  Harry S. Truman
34.  Dwight D. Eisenhower
35.  John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush

President Wilson

My paternal grandfather, T. Richard Carter (1914-2005)

27. William H. Taft
28. T. Woodrow Wilson    
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin G. Coolidge
31. Herbert H. Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33.  Harry S. Truman
34.  Dwight D. Eisenhower
35.  John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton

President Arthur

43. George W. Bush

I knew three of my great-grandparents, Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates and Annie F. (Gibbs) Cotton. 
Estes Yates (1884-1977)
Eva Hayes (1897-1982)
Annie F. Gibbs (1892-1987)

This would take it back to the 21st president, Chester A. Arthur. 


I have to go back six generations to cover all the presidents. 

President Washington

Direct ancestors living when George Washington took the oath of office were: 
Paternal:
4th great-grandparents: Aaron Abbott Jr. & Sally Abbott
4th great-grandparents: Thomas Capen & Mary Abbott
4th great-grandparents: Dr. Timothy Carter & Frances Freeland
4th great-grandparents: John Williamson & Ann McClure (alive but not living in the United States)
4th great-grandparents: Enoch Spurr & Abigail Wight
5th great-grandparents: Dr. James Freeland & Mehitable Mellen
5th great-grandparents: Edward Abbott & Deborah Stevens
5th great-grandparents: John W. Ellingwood, Jr. & Zerviah Abbott
5th great-grandmother: Elizabeth "Betsey" Clark
5th great-grandmother: Hannah Keene
5th great-grandfather: Joseph Spurr
5th great-grandparents: David Philbrick & Ann "Nancy" Lyford
5th great-grandparents: Thomas Edgecomb & Hannah Prescott
5th great-grandmother: Margaret Flett Green
5th great-grandparents: Joseph Wight & Abigail Ware
6th great-grandfather: Snow Keene
6th great-grandparents: Gibbins Edgecomb & Rhoda Elwell
6th great-grandfather: Joshua Brooks
7th great-grandparents: Patten Simpson & Jane McClure

Maternal:
4th great-grandparents: William Yates & Martha Morgan
4th great-grandfather: Eliakim Emmons
4th great-grandparents: Micajah Blake & Nancy Ripley
4th great-grandparents: Rev. Edward Whittle & Elizabeth Higgins
5th great-grandparents: Josiah Churchill & Lydia Orr
5th great-grandparents: Joshua Ripley & Lydia Bartlett
5th great-grandparents: Samuel Morgan & Judith Dennen
6th great-grandparents: Samuel Dennen & Keziah Bray
6th great-grandmother: Alice (Briggs) Churchill
6th great-grandparents: Diman Perry & Susannah Lincoln
6th great-grandfather: Daniel Messer
6th great-grandfather: Thomas Shepard
6th great-grandparents: William Swan & Lucy Robbins
7th great-grandfather: Josiah Churchill
7th great-grandfather: Joshua Emerson

2X Great-Grandparents Lifespan - Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

I haven't done one of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenges in awhile. I really like this one. 

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1)  We each have 16 great-great grandparents.  How did their birth and death years vary?  How long were their lifespans?  
2)  For this week, please list your 16 great-great grandparents, their birth year, their death year, and their lifespan in years.  You can do it in plain text, in a table or spreadsheet, or in a graph of some sort.

First, here is my chart of great-great-grandparents: 

Data analysis: 

• Earliest birth year = 1835 vs. Most recent birth year = 1863
• Earliest death year = 1894 vs. Most recent death year = 1949 - Three men outlived their wives and three women outlived their husbands
• Shortest lifespan = 41 years vs. Longest lifespan = 93 years
• Average lifespan for men = 77 years vs. Average lifespan for women = 67 years
• Two great-great-grandmothers died in their early 40s! One great-great-grandfather died in his late 50s! Two great-great-grandparents died in their 60s and two died in their 70s. Four great-great-grandparents died in their 80s and two died in their 90s!

No matter how much time you have to live your dash*, make the most of it! 

*Your dash is the time between your birth & death dates. 

3)  Share your information about your 16 great-great grandparents with us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook or Google+.  If you write your own blog post, please leave a link as a comment to this post.

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

Surname Saturday - Gibbs

George Albert Gibbs was born October 20, 1862 on Prince Edward Island in Canada. According to the 1900 census, he came to the United States in 1884. He is my most recent immigrant ancestor. The next year, he married Nina K. Ellingwood and they had a family. He died on November 26, 1919 in West Paris, Maine. His death record lists his parents as John and Annie and says John was a farmer. The cause of death is listed as crerbral (sic) hemorrhage - and the duration is 5 years! I wish my grandmother was still alive because I know she knew more about his family. I remember her visiting relatives on Prince Edward Island and showing me pictures of their farms. I wasn't old enough to realize that I should pay attention to their names and the place names and now it's too late to ask. 

My Great-Grandmother:

Annie Florilla Gibbs was born in 1892. She was one of three great-grandparents I got to know and the only one on my father's side. On July 21, 1909, Annie married Ray Everett Cotton. He was born in 1888 and died in 1962. She died in 1987. 

Her siblings were:
James Williamson Gibbs 1887-1952
Albert Harris Gibbs 1889-1936
Herbert Freeman Gibbs 1895-1960
Ada Polly Gibbs 1897-1986

Related posts
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/05/wordless-wednesday-nina-k-ellingwoods.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/03/gambling-on-research.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/03/sundays-obituary-annie-gibbs-cotton.html
http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/turn-page.html

Connections Through Song

Sensory memories are very powerful. We associate sights, sounds, smells, and tastes with vivid life experiences. Some people claim there is a song for every situation. Songs connect people through shared experiences. Some songs bring you right back to your childhood. One of those songs for me is "Doggie In the Window" by Patti Page. Grammie Carter had several songs she sang to me over and over and this was one of them. I can still hear her voice and picture her singing to me when I hear this song or a reference to the song - actually anytime someone says the word "doggie." The death of Patti Page has put her songs back in the news so in memory of Patti Page and my grandmother, I present "Doggie In the Window."

How much is that doggie in the window?

The one with the waggely tail

How much is that doggie in the window? 

I do hope that doggie's for sale. 

I must take a trip to California

And leave my poor sweetheart alone

If he has a dog he won't be so lonesome

And the doggie will have a good home.

How much is that doggie in the window?

The one with the waggely tail

How much is that doggie in the window? 

I do hope that doggie's for sale. 

I read in the papers there are robbers

With flashlights that shine in the dark 

My love needs a doggie to protect him

And scare them away with one bark

I don't want a bunny or a kitty

I don't want a a parrot that talks

I don't want a bowl of little fishies

He can't take a goldfish for a walk.

How much is that doggie in the window?

The one with the waggely tail

How much is that doggie in the window? 

I do hope that doggie's for sale. 

And a picture Grammie took of one of her many dogs, Peaches

Fern Lyndell Cotton Carter - b. March 22, 1922 & d. October 31, 2002. 

What songs connect you with a loved one? 

Accentuate the Positive!

After reading some postings about what genealogy bloggers had not accomplished in the past year, an Australian geneablogger, Geniaus, issued the following challenge: Respond to the following prompts to document the year's accomplishments. Since I didn't set any genealogy goals for last year, I have nothing to lament. I am intrigued to see what I accomplished. The original post includes more than I've included here because not everything applies to me. Here are my positive accomplishments to accentuate! 

1. An elusive ancestor I found was:
• My great-great-grandmother, Lizzie Philbrick - My great-great-grandfather was married three times and figuring out the identity of the mother of my great-grandfather was challenging until I found a record of his marriage with his parents listed on the reverse. Now I know who Grammie Philbrick was! 
2. A precious family photo I found was:
• I'm taking some liberties with this, my precious photos were taken by my Grandmother Carter. She loved flowers and I love these pictures of she took of the flowers around her house. 
3. An ancestor's grave I found was:
• The grave of Cyrus Buck with an unusual epitaph referring to Deism.
4. An important vital record I found was:
• A Revolutionary War pension file that detailed the service of my 5th great-grandfather, Dominicus Smith, including the fact that he was with George Washington when he crossed the Delaware. 
5. A newly found family member who shared: 
• Bill West - a cousin and fellow geneablogger is responsible for inspiring me to start my blog and he's been one of my biggest supporters. I am so grateful! 
• Also a big thank you to Chris Dunham of Maine Genealogy Network for his help with several challenges this year. 
6. A geneasurprise I received was:
• Being included in Heather Wilkinson Rojo's blog post on Follow Friday. Heather and I have several ancestor connections and I love her blog Nutfield Genealogy. 
7. My 2012 blog post that I was particularly proud of was:
• Actually two posts about strong female influences in my life. 
• My two great-aunts
• My Grandmother Blake
8. My 2012 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was:
• The most hits have been on this post about St. George's Day. I wrote it because it's also my mom's birthday and her ancestry is very British so it seemed fitting. 
• The most shared was this post titled When Your Family Tree Doesn't Fork.
9. A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was:
• I have to say Facebook because I connect with cousins, enjoy pages by genealogical, historical, and family associations and get updates when new content is published on some of my favorite blogs and web sites. It is also the greatest source of readers according to my Blogger stats. 
10. I taught a friend how to:
• I'm going to modify this one too, I taught my students to appreciate family history and the joy of tracking down ancestors. 
11. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was:
• The Devil of Great Island - I have ancestors who lived nearby and interacted with some of the principle players in this story. 
12. Another positive I would like to share is:
• A big thank you to the genealogists who share their stories, tips, techniques, and research with others. I have learned so much from you. 

Wordless Wednesday - Grammie's Flowers

Missing you - Fern Lyndell Cotton Carter - March 22, 1922-October 31, 2002

Shopping Saturday - Mammoth Mart & Grammie

The Geneabloggers daily prompt of Shopping Saturday got me thinking about my earliest shopping experiences. When I was born, we lived on the same farm as my dad's parents. There were two houses with the barn dooryard between the two. I was the first grandchild and my grandmother spoiled me rotten. She took me everywhere with her. One of her favorite places to shop was the Mammoth Mart in Rumford (Maine). We would go in her VW bug and my favorite place to ride was in the well above the motor in the very back - no car seat rules then. How did we survive without car seats, bike helmets, riding in the back of pickup trucks or on the top of a loaded hay trailer? Grammie had a big checkbook with bubblegum pink checks - the kind with the stub on the left side for recording the check information instead of a separate check register. It was impressive to my child's eyes. My sister was more fascinated by the color and once questioned Grammie at the checkout, "Are those the ones that bounce?" Oops! Be careful what jokes you make around little kids because who knows when they will come back and repeat your words. I doubt my grandmother ever actually bounced a check but her joking comment was remembered and my sister had a knack for just saying the first thing that popped into her head (and she was only about 3). So this post is in honor of my grandmother, Lyndell (Cotton) Carter, Mammoth Mart, and old VW Beetles. Thanks for the memories!

Not the store in Rumford but it looks very simiar

1960 model - I can't remember the color or year of Grammies's but this must be close

Fern Lyndell Cotton Carter - I miss you every day! 

It's All Relative

I was absent from blogging for about a month - from mid-May to mid-June. I was, however, heavily involved in research. I had a group of students who wanted to find out about their families and I was helping them rather than doing my own research and writing. I have done this with students before but this time I tried to give emphasis to the story aspect of family history.

Some of my observations:

• Nothing warms my heart more than to see a student whip out his cell phone and call grandma to find out information and observe an extended meaningful conversation between them. This is an approved use of a cell phone in my class!
• In today's mobile society, families are often spread out and don't have (or take) the time to talk about their lives and pass on family stories. I'm certain many of my students have not had more than a superficial conversation with their grandparents. It makes me sad because I know a lot of stories from my grandparents' lives. 
• Everyone can find information and stories. It was great to see students who thought there was nothing interesting in their family, find something special. Even ordinary people have interesting stories. The internet makes it easy to find information if you have some basic information on ancestors who lived in the early 20th century. Almost everyone can get that information on at least one branch of their family. 

Some things my students found out

• My father was raised as a Mormon
• There were two Pillsbury families: "One brother founded the baking company and I'm descended from the other one"
• There's a historic house in Topsham that belonged to one of my ancestors
• My (how ever many) times great-grandfather designed the logo for Humpty Dumpty potato chips
• My mother's ancestor and my father's ancestor both fought for the Union at the same battle in the Civil War in different regiments and from different states.
• My Civil War ancestor survived one of the bloodiest battles of the war and then got a land grant in Maine where he broke his back in a fall while building his home. 
• Hey, I'm related to Ms. Carter! 

They discovered accused witches, artists, inventors, politicians and writers. Their origins were very diverse: Canada, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland and more that I can't remember. 

Wordless Wednesday - The Family Tree

This tree is in a field behind the house my where my grandparents lived in Bethel. My grandmother seems to have had an affinity for this tree because it is prominently featured in many of her photos. I have dubbed it "the family tree." 

New England Frugality

When I was eight, my mom's parents, Clayton & Peggy Blake, were working at the Balsams in New Hampshire. My dad's parents went with us for a visit. At that time the resort was selling off it's trail-riding horses and my Carter grandparents, Dick & Lyndell, got a great deal on a pony for $50. Now Patches wasn't some wimpy little Shetland pony. He was really the size of a small horse and sturdily built. They bought him for their grandkids. At that time, it was me, my sister, Lorna age 6, and cousins Becky age 5, and John age 4. Being the oldest, I got to ride alone first. He came with a halter and bridle but no saddle so into the shed went Grampa and he came out with a strange looking saddle. It was not English and not Western (no horn) and had a big oval cut out of the center. He needed to repair the girth and stirrup straps but otherwise it was in good shape.

The Balsams Resort

The saddle belonged to his grandfather, Augustus M. Carter, who used it in the Civil War. That's right, I learned to ride on a family heirloom. Or in my grandfather's mind, why buy a saddle when there was a perfectly good one in the shed that wasn't being used? No thought was given to sentimentality or the value of the saddle as a family heirloom. I've never seen another saddle like that and had a bit of skepticism about it being used in the Civil War. However, when I was at the NH Historical Society Museum in Concord  this weekend, I saw the exact same saddle design in a Civil War exhibit. It wasn't in as good shape as the one I learned to ride on - it was missing all the padding and leather on the seat but it was definitely the same design with the large oval opening in the center.

Civil War saddle - NH Historical Society Museum

Now this might seem very uncomfortable but as it happens, the opposite is true. The oval makes you sit correctly in the saddle and you actually feel less discomfort after riding all day. I know because I switched over to riding my uncle's horse in my teens with a regular western saddle. It had lots of padding but still wasn't as comfortable as the saddle with the opening. I'm not sure where our Civil War era saddle is today. The last time I saw it was in my grandparents' shed. It might still be there. I think I should try to track it down this summer. I'm quite certain Augustus would appreciate that it was used and not kept as an heirloom. Why pay for another saddle when you can use the one just hanging in the shed?

I have some great memories of riding that pony and I will write about them in another post because otherwise this one would be too long.

T. Richard "Dick" Carter & F. Lyndell Cotton
Clayton Blake & Linona "Peggy" Yates