On This Day - October 15th

On This Day...

1645 - Birth: Samuel Partridge, Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut

1651 - Birth: Mary Cooper, Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts

1700 - Alternate Birth: Hezekiah Day, Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts

1700 - Birth: Hezekiah Day, Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts

1708 - Birth: James Olmstead, Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut

1730 - Marriage: John Day and Hannah Robbins, Attleboro, Bristol, Massachusetts

1732 - Death: Phebe Pearson, Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts

1855 - Birth: Sophie Beaudreau, Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin

1859 - Birth: Mary Theisen, Saint Nicholas, Stearns County, Minnesota

1864 - Birth: Mary C East, Cape Sandy, Crawford County, Indiana

1869 - Birth: Matthew Theisen, Minnesota

1873 - Issue Date: Theodore Keppers, MN

1883 - Death: Leonora Higginbotham, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana

1886 - Death: John Craig Blythe, Gibson County, Indiana

1889 - Birth: Roy Galland, Minnesota

1890 - Birth: William Edward Boyett,

1921 - Birth: Florene Burch, Louisiana

1925 - Birth: Patsy McMurry, Louisiana

1977 - Death: Alma A. Lommel, Saint Joseph, Minnesota

1977 - Death: Alma A. Hengel, Stearns County, Minnesota

1987 - Death: Alexander John Napier, Yucca Valley, San Bernardino, California, United States

1994 - Death: Edward Adam Keppers, Green Bay, Brown, Wisconsin

2004 - Death: Joanne Clara Conrad, Richmond, Stearns, Minnesota, United States of America

1700 - Where was Hezekiah Day born? Despite Day being one of my main lines, once we get back that far I don't always have enough information.  Fortunately, the family is pretty well documented, being an early colonial family.  I just have to find a reliable source for this one.


This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2013 by Daniel G. Dillman

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday...

Alta, Robert and Althea Dillman on the Day farm at Sheffield, SD.  Ca. 1941, scanned from original negative.

 
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2013 by Daniel G. Dillman

On This Day - April 24th

On This Day...

1197 - Death: Rhys ap Gruffudd, Saint David's, Pembrokeshire, Wales

1737 - Death: John Copeland, Isle of Wight County, Virginia

1818 - Birth: Catherine Sandel, Lehigh  County, Pennsylvania

1822 - Birth: William Peters, Lawrence, Mississippi

1836 - Birth: Nancy Drucilla Crane, Madison, Tennessee

1865 - Death: Nicholas Lommel,

1870 - Birth: Lula Gertrude Williams, Louisiana

1872 - Birth: Sarah Alice Edoline Vernon, Indiana

1879 - Birth: James Riley Smith, Winn Parish, Louisiana

1926 - Birth: Phoebe Miles, Perry County, Indiana

1927 - Death: Mary Ellen Steichen, Pearl Lake, Stearns County, Minnesota

1927 - Birth: Mary Ellen Steichen, Pearl Lake, Stearns County, Minnesota

1985 - Death: Rose Mary Lommel, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Um, yeah, 1197.  See, there's this theory that my Day line connects back to Welsh aristocracy.  Being royalty, it's documented pretty far back.  At one point, I entered that whole line.  Later, I decided the evidence for the link was not strong enough to keep in my tree, so I removed it.  Except I apparently missed at least Rhys ap Gruffudd above.

Make sure you have strong enough evidence before you include people in your tree.  Make a separate speculative tree if you want to keep the data pending research to firm up the sources, but don't toss it all in your main tree.


This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2013 by Daniel G. Dillman

Wordless Wednesday - Ida May (Thurston) Day

Ida May (Thurston) Day 1909.

Wordless Wednesday – a great way to share your old family photos! Create a post with the main focus being a photograph or image. Some posters also include attribute information as to the source of the image (date, location, owner, etc.). Wordless Wednesday is one of the longest running “memes” in the blogosphere and is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Disaster!

Week 10: Disasters. Did you experience any natural disasters in your lifetime? Tell us about them. If not, then discuss these events that happened to parents, grandparents or others in your family.

I'm happy to say I've never had what I'd call  disaster happen to me or my family.  Living in Minnesota, we have always had interesting weather, and spent time in the basement waiting out tornadoes, but nothing ever came too close.  I do remember a time when I was young that a tornado did hit a mobile home park (why do they always target those?) but that was on the far side of town.

My paternal grandmother Alta May (Day) Dillman wrote and photographed about a tornado that went through their farm at Sheffield, Beadle County, South Dakota on 20 Aug 1934.

Dillman Cottage after Aug 1934 tornado.  Wreckage is from another structure.

Clyde W. Day's barn destroyed by tornado on 20 Aug 1934.

Fortunately, no one in either of the houses on the farm was hurt.  The barn was replaced the following year.

Fearless Females - Marriage Records

March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.

Alas, marriage records are documents I do not yet have for my grandparents or great-grandparents.  Even marriage photos are scarce.  I do have this one of my paternal grandparents:

Estel Elmer Dillman and Alta May Day, married 02 Feb 1931 in Beadle County, South Dakota.

Estel and Alta were married in Beadle County, South Dakota, probably in Huron.  Alta lived with her father at Sheffield, a few miles away, and after they were wed, the couple built a small house on the south end of the Clyde W. Day farm at Sheffield.   They lived in that house until WWII when Estel re-enlisted in the Navy, and Alta moved back in with her father.  The little house was torn down to re-use the materials.

The picture was hand colored by my grandmother.  She did that with a number of portraits, more of which I will be sharing in future posts.

Wordless Wednesday - Clyde W. Day & Alta May Day

Clyde W. Day and Alta May Day circa 1917

Wordless Wednesday – a great way to share your old family photos! Create a post with the main focus being a photograph or image. Some posters also include attribute information as to the source of the image (date, location, owner, etc.). Wordless Wednesday is one of the longest running “memes” in the blogosphere and is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Tombstone Tuesday - Captain John Day

Capt. John Day b. 03 Feb 1774, d. 08 Oct 1827

John Day is my 4-greats grandfather.  He is the husband of Lydia Austin featured in my Tombstone Tuesday of two weeks ago.  John was a prominent early settler of Sheffield, Lorain County, Ohio, and is buried there in the Day Cemetery beside his wife Lydia (Austin) Day.  He was born in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts to William Day and Rhoda (Hubbell) Day.  He married Lydia on 09 Sep 1794 in Sheffield, Lorain County, Ohio.  They had 12 children, and I am descended through his son James Day.

I first found mention of John Day in this book:

"A genealogical register of the descendants in the male line of Robert Day of Hartford, Conn., who died in the year 1648 : with a supplement giving descendants of Captain John Day, number 194, who moved to Sheffield, Ohio, in 1816" by Day, George E in "Oberlin, O., Press of the News Printing Company" (Repository: University of Wisconsin - Madison)
Day, George Edward. A Genealogical Register of the Descendants in the Male Line of Robert Day of Hartford, Conn., Who Died in the Year 1648 with a Supplement Giving Descendants of Captain John Day, Number 194, Who Moved to Sheffield, Ohio, in 1816. Northampton: J. & L. Metcalf, 1848. Print.

 My paternal grandmother had a copy of the book, but it was given to the Public Library in Yankton, Yankton County, South Dakota upon her death as I was not present to claim it.  I have since discovered that the book is available through Google Books, and I am working on getting a copy printed.

Another book mentions John Day as well:

"A Standard History of Lorain County, Ohio, Volume I" by George Frederick Wright in "THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY "
An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Civic and Social Development.
A Chronicle of the People, with Family Lineage and Memoirs.

I am also working on obtaining a copy of this book, as it mentions a couple of John's descendants as well.  This book mentions that John Day and partner(s) were engaged in ship building at Sheffield, but he was known as a ship captain before coming there to live.

Tombstone Tuesday – To participate in Tombstone Tuesday simply create a post which includes an image of a gravestone of one or more ancestors and it may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor. This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers. 

Tombstone Tuesday - Lydia (Austin) Day

Lydia Austin Day (b. 22 May 1775, d. 09 Oct 1854)

LYDIA

Wife of

Capt. John Day

DIED

Oct. 9, 1854

in her 80th year

Lydia (Austin) Day was my 4-greats-grandmother.  She was born in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and was married to Captain John Day (also of Sheffield) on 09 Sep 1794.  They moved to Lorain County Ohio and settled at Sheffield, where Capt. John Day built ships.  The Day family were prominent early settlers of the Sheffield, Lorain County, Ohio area.  Both Lydia and her husband John are buried there in the Day Cemetery.  The photo above is courtesy of Joyce at Find A Grave.

Wordless Wednesday - Celia C. (Day) Durand

Celia C. (Day) Durand (b. 19 Nov 1845, d. ?)

Wordless Wednesday – a great way to share your old family photos! Create a post with the main focus being a photograph or image. Some posters also include attribute information as to the source of the image (date, location, owner, etc.). Wordless Wednesday is one of the longest running “memes” in the blogosphere and is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Thankful Thursday - Alta May (Day) Dillman

Alta May (Day) Dillman (1910-1982)

This Thursday (as most days) I am thankful for my paternal grandmother, Alta May Day.  Without her, it is unlikely you would be reading this; Grandma was the one most responsible for feeding and encouraging my interest in family history as I grew up.  Born 12 Feb 1910 in Sheffield, Beadle County, South Dakota, she grew up on a farm with long days of hard work.  But along with the hard work, she and her father liked to play with cameras.  She became quite a shutterbug, which has had much influence on me in more than one way.  I seem to have inherited the photography gene from her, and spent almost 6 years in the US Navy as a Photographer's Mate.

Grandma got me started in family history, as I mentioned.  I don't remember the circumstances of it, perhaps it was a simple inquiry, perhaps it was for a school assignment.  In any case, Grandma Dillman was the one who had the family history information.  Her Day family is large and well documented, and she was in possession of a book by George Day detailing the lineage back to the first Day immigrants in 1634.  I'm sure reading this book had contributed to her interest in family history.  In any case, as I grew up and became more interested, she shared her information with me, and we discussed what she had done to look for more data.  This was in pre-internet days, of course, so most research was time-consuming and expensive.  Her information and insight gave me a solid foundation on which to further research the lines.

Another, more subtle influence is that she saved all of her pictures and put them in albums.  Late in her life, she used those albums to reminisce and write her memoirs which consist of about a thousand hand-written pages.  I have yet to transcribe all of that!  They make fascinating reading, describing her life and surroundings from a very early age on the farm, to marrying my grandfather and having kids, to fashions and events of the day.  One of my earlier posts was taken from those memoirs.  And yet another benefit - her albums were passed to me when she died.  The image above is just one.  While grandma didn't take the picture, she did hand color it, another photographic hobby she enjoyed.  I have many hundreds of photos of family and friends dating back to the 1880's.  You will doubtless be seeing more of her photos in weeks and months to come.  Come to think of it, this post might better have been made a Treasure Chest Thursday entry instead!  Thanks, grandma!