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Wordless Wednesday 9/7/22
Posted in Anthony, Wordless Wednesday
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Free Space – Generations Cafe Ancestry Challenge
A Space that Reminds Me of my Grandmother
The Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919. It is truly a spectacular phenomenon of nature. It is so massive that it can be seen from space.
In elementary school I was enchanted by the book, Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry, one of my favorite authors when I was young. This novel is based on the true story of the burro who lived on his own in the canyon after his owner died, helping people who would feed him but ignoring people he didn’t feel like interacting with; he was a very independent burro.
It was a dream come true when I got to actually visit the Grand Canyon as a child. Even more special was the fact that my grandmother, Anna Agnes Anthony McLeod Jacobs, and step-grandfather, Jack Jacobs, had an amazing connection with the Grand Canyon. Not only did they live there but my step-grandfather was a guide leading the mule caravans down the canyon and my grandmother was a waitress at the restaurant. She told me that she loved being a waitress because she met the best people. She especially enjoyed when the German tourists came and she would converse with them in German (which usually really surprised them).
In 1966 we moved to Oklahoma from California and stopped at the Grand Canyon for a couple of days. I really wanted to take a mule ride down the canyon but my mother absolutely refused to let me.
Regardless, we had a wonderful time just exploring the Grand Canyon from the rim. The view was so gorgeous that it just didn’t feel real.
Years later, Gary and I were visiting Sedona and Gary mentioned that he had never been to the Grand Canyon, so…we booked a trip on the Grand Canyon Railway.
We ate, we drank, we enjoyed the entertainment. Then we reached the Grand Canyon. We spent lots of time exploring (and no, I didn’t take the mule ride this time either.) This visit was also magical and we created lots of memories.
We ended our trek with a late lunch at the restaurant where Grandma worked (this historical hotel and restaurant opened in 1905).
I feel that in the future this would be a wonderful space for a family reunion.
At the Library – Generations Cafe Ancestry Challenge
My Life in the Library
“Diego knew the dragon was alive the moment he touched it. Even though only a statue, and only eighteen inches tall, Diego felt a pulsing heartbeat when he accepted it from the author.”
So the book, Diego’s Dragon: Spirits of the Sun, begins. The author is Kevin Gerard and he visited our school, Desert Springs Middle School, many times to give author talks and promote his series, Connor and the Crossworlds. I was the school librarian and my Follett representative suggested that I call Kevin to visit our school. For many years, Kevin provided free author visits. We turned the visits to school wide events with lots of fun activities. Then Kevin started a new fantasy series, Diego’s Dragon, and included me as one of the characters, Mrs. Coble the school librarian.
My character appears on page 3: “She waved and smiled. Diego felt his knees turn to jelly all over again. He wanted her to look back. He watched her so intently he barely heard Mrs. Coble calling to him.
‘Diego!’ she yelled for the fourth time. ‘Come over here with your dragon. We have to get some pictures. Aren’t you excited? You’ll be in the newspaper.’
Diego reached through the crowd of students, wrapped his finger around the dragon’s body, and left a crowd of unhappy admirers in his wake. Some of them left the library; others followed him over to the desk.
‘Now, we want to get a few pictures of you alone with the dragon,’ said Mrs. Coble, ‘and then of course some pictures of you with Mr. Sullivan.’
The students began ribbing Diego about his sudden stardom. He took it well, but now that Racquel had left, he just wanted to go home. He couldn’t get her out of his head.
‘Smile, Diego,’ said Mrs. Coble, alarming him. ‘Hold your dragon up. Good, now once again, smile for the camera.’
The picture session seemed to drag on for a month, first by himself, then with some friends, with Mrs. Coble, with Mr. Sullivan and Mrs. Coble, and finally a few with some other students. Diego began to get bored until he stood next to Mr. Sullivan for a set of pictures (Gerard).”
Okay, so there was a bit of typecasting involved…I perhaps went a little overboard with taking pictures but I wanted the students to be able to have a photo to remember the author and book event.
My love of libraries began early. My mother took me to the Beaumont Public Library the summer before I started Kindergarten to get my first library card. My passion for reading began early. Before I got my library card, my mother would let me pick out a Little Golden Book when she got groceries. I don’t remember ever learning to read; I just always could. In school my favorite subject was reading and I loved the Dick and Jane books as well as the orange phonics workbook that we used in first grade.
Reading was important in the McLeod family. My grandmother encouraged my mother to read. She always told her that she would never be lonely if she had a book. The presents that I remember most from my grandmother were books (Gary and I continued this tradition with the younger generations in our family). I still have a book that my grandmother gave me when I was probably about eight, Glenda of Oz; it was published in 1920. It was a magical book and I went to the library and checked out the rest of the series. (Of course, watching The Wizard of Oz was a yearly tradition growing up.)
Other fond library memories happened the summer before seventh grade. We had just moved to Coffeyville and hadn’t had a chance to make friends yet. We met the girl across the street and my sister Becky, our neighbor, and I began going to the library weekly. We would walk to the library, browse, check out our books, go across the street to Peter Pan and buy cherry limeades, then walk home. Two books that I remember reading that summer were The Red Planet by Robert Heinlein and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
While reading has always been part of my life, I decided to make it a big part of my career. I received a BSE in Elementary Education with specialties in Reading and Language Arts. Upon graduation I launched my 40 year career in education. I began as a Reading Specialist then taught 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th grades before spending over half of my career as the Teacher Librarian at Desert Springs Middle School. (I also have an MS in Secondary School Counseling and a Masters in Information and Library Science).
As the School Librarian, I strived to get students excited about books and reading and to provide them with the research and note taking skills necessary for future school success. I focused on making the library a welcome and inclusive space for all students and provided activities and programs that encouraged all students to actively participate.
I was a librarian during a time of significant change due to advances in technology. I started with DOS version of Follett as my library computer program, but at that time there were no computers available for teachers or students. We had the old wooden card catalog – typing those cards was an absolute nightmare.
I loved giving book talks and felt that we accomplished much by having students create original content based on quality research and note taking skills. One of my absolute favorite activities was the Ancient Civilizations Scavenger Hunt that the sixth grade teachers and I collaborated on using books only. I am really glad that I was able to be part of so many changes in the library world and feel very fortunate that I was able to turn my passion into my career.
Sources
Gerard, Kevin. Diego’s Dragon, Book One: Spirits of the Sun. Crying Cougar Press, 2013.
Posted in Coble, Genealogy
Tagged Desert Springs Middle School Library
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Help – Month 8 of 12 Ancestors in 12 Months
Preserving the Past
Who are these people? Where are they? When did they get together?
We were recently in Billings, Montana to visit Gary’s family. It was the first time in many, many years that all of Gary’s siblings were together. We’re scattered around the country with vastly different schedules so someone is usually missing. This time Gary’s mom, Georgene, spent time with me going through family photos and identifying the people in the few photos that we have of her family. It is so important to label these people now so that we can pass this information on to future generations. I am digitizing these photographs, keeping one copy as is, and making another copy with names and whatever other information that I can.
My mother was very interested in her family history. She and first cousin once removed (who were about the same age) began to send family photographs back and forth to identify the people in them. She asked me to create a book of her family history with family photos. She also wanted help in determining if her grandmother gave birth to twins. There were rumors to that effect but her mother (who was the youngest, born in 1905) really had no idea if the rumors were true. Using only the free version of Ancestry and Family Search, I began to do some research and discovered that yes, my great grandmother Anthony gave birth to twins on October 13, 1897. Sadly, Christina died in 1989 and Otillia died in 1899.
My mother died on February 26, 2021. After her death, we discovered a CD that my Uncle Will created for her. My mother did not have a computer, only a tablet, so she did not know what was on it. I took it home with me and discovered a treasure trove of family pictures, most of which my mother did not have. In addition, when my uncle saved the photo he saved it with the names of the people in the photo as well as dates when he knew them.
This is one of the photos that he included which contains both of my mother’s grandmothers. It’s a special picture because there are very few of Sarah McLeod, my paternal great grandmother.
Using the information that Uncle Will included, I added the names directly on the photo for easy identification in the future.
Gary’s family has been good about sharing Coble family photos and someone labeled many of them which is helpful. This is a fun one of Gary’s grandfather.
I am thankful for the help of relatives who have helped me identify ancestors. I wish that I had been able to have deeper conversations with relatives about the past when I was younger. I hope that through the information I have and the research that I continue to do that I am able to help younger relatives learn about our ancestors.
The stories are so important. Through the stories of our ancestors we learn about their struggles and successes. We learn about the often harsh circumstances of their lives and learn the stories behind their survival. We are often in awe of what they went through and appreciate their perseverance and their triumphs.
I have been amazed at some of the stories that I have discovered through my research. Shortly after we retired, we moved to a 55+ community in North Las Vegas. I was one of the first members of newly established Genealogy Club. It was a wonderful mix of newbies and very experienced genealogists (a couple of members had been working on their research for 20 or 30 years). One member, Dave, inspired me with stories of his ancestors. He assured me that I would find the stories of my family when I started researching. This group was extremely helpful in providing some worksheets that aided me in focusing my research as well as organizing it. At this time I decided to get a paid subscription to Ancestry.com and MyHeritage so that I had more access to records. However, I still did not have a tree and had not done my DNA. Soon after, I came across Generations Cafe and 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
When COVID-19 hit and we were all staying home, I took advantage of all the help that I’ve received and turned my genealogy research into a full-fledged serious hobby. In 2021 I completed the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge and created a blog for my stories. This year, I am doing the 12 Ancestors in 12 months challenge (though I sometimes write an additional story). I also got my DNA done and have started a tree for my family and recently one for Gary’s family. I discovered a family member through MyHeritage who lives close by and has been very generous with sharing his discoveries of our Anthony family. He has been very helpful in my journey.
What I have discovered is that the more I do, the more there is to do and learn. My next challenge is to try to find out if the Coble family legend of a Hessian deserter is true.
Wordless Wednesday 8/3/22
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Wordless Wednesday 7/27/22
Posted in Coble, Wordless Wednesday
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Extended Family – Generations Cafe Ancestry Challenge
So He’s That Brother
The wind was howling and the seas were treacherous when a horrendous wave struck and a calamity was barely averted. John Howland was swept overboard. William Bradford recorded this momentous event, stating, “In sundry of these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a know of sail, but were forced to hull for divers days together. And in one of them, as they thus lay at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming upon some occasion above the gratings was, with a seele of the ship, thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with boat hook and other means got into the ship again and his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth (Descendants of Henry Howland).”
And so, John Howland, became famous for falling off the Mayflower. In fact, you can read about this tragedy in the picture book, The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland’s Good Fortune by P. J. Lynch. Most likely John was actually in his late teens or early 20’s when this calamity occurred.
John Howland was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact which established “laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices for the good of the colony (History.com).”
John Howland was the more famous brother of my 9th great grandfather, Henry Howland. Henry and another brother, Arthur, followed John to Plymouth Colony. While John was a Pilgrim, both Henry and Arthur were Quakers. (Brothers Humphry and George stayed in England.)
Henry and his wife, Mary, were the 2nd great grandparents of Timothy Smith who I wrote about in my blog dated June 3, 2022 titled What’s a Pacifist to Do? (Coble). Timothy was also a Quaker.
(On the topic of Extended Family, my 9th great grandfather, Henry Howland, is supposedly a direct ancestor of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.)
Sources
Coble, Jacquelyn. “Conflict – Month 6 of 12 Ancestors in 12 Months.” Journeying with Jacque, 3 June 2022, https://journeyingwithjacque.com/conflict-month-6-of-12-ancestors-in-12-months/.
Descendants of Henry Howland, https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~smason/genealogy/howland5/aqwn02.htm.
FamilySearch.org, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MTDG-2WT/henry-howland-1600-1670.
“Henry Howland II (1604-1671) – Find a Grave…” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231207249/henry-howland?_gl=1%2Ad1acib%2A_ga%2AMjEzNDcwNTQxOS4xNjQ1MjA1MjE0%2A_ga_4QT8FMEX30%2AMTY1NzkxNzI1MC40MC4xLjE2NTc5MTgyMTAuMA..
History.com Editors. “Mayflower Compact.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower-compact.
“Howland.” MayflowerHistory.com, http://mayflowerhistory.com/howland.
“John Howland (1591-1672) – Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6613808/john-howland.
Posted in Genealogy, Watkins
Tagged Henry Howland, John Howland
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