I have finished transcribing the November 1893-September 1894 diary of Stella Bowling Cunningham. I will continue to post it in entries at this site, but if you wish to download it in its entirety as a Rich Text Format document, you may do so by selecting the version you wish here (RTF or PDF) or by clicking the link in the sidebar under “Downloads.” My posts of the diary entries will consist of my particular favorites or ones I find interesting rather than the whole diary, but you can get a flavor for the diary by checking out these three entries:
Our Family History Posts
Diary of Stella Bowling Cunningham, December 1893 Part 2
Posted in Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories
View Introduction and Notes on the Text.
Transcription of the Diary of Stella Bowling Cunningham, December 16, 1893 to December 31, 1893
Sat. Dec. 16, 1893Helped clean up and wrote to J.W.T.
Went to town with Aunt Panthea [the sister of Stella’s mother, Mary Elizabeth Kennedy, Panthea Narcissa Kennedy Payne], Florence, and Mrs. Hayes.
Went to several stores. Had my voucher fixed by old Bro. Perry paid .25 cts.
Bought stamps .10 cts.
Knife .25
Borrowed off D. Campbell $10.00.
Dec. 16, 1893 concluded
Bought (at Denton) velvet .50
(at Denton) rings .10
hat 2.50
ribbon (cream) .25
lawn .10
Silk (cream) .10
silk thread .05
Album 1.50
fine-comb .10
pocket-book .05
Comb-case .10
Finished the book-mark and made one for Mary Hutton and wrote a little to her and sent it. In evening went with Aunt Panthea to see some sick people, the Mrs-es Milligan & Mrs. Bradley.
Went back to Mrs. Milligan to get a stamping pattern.
Wrote to Mama [Mary Kennedy Bowling] and fixed the cravat case to send.
Florence and I went to Mrs. Hall’s to get a cloak-pattern but failed to get it.
Sunday, Dec. 17, 1893
After the cleaning up I washed & dressed for church.
Went to Mr. E. church & heard the new preacher preach on “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
In the evening Mr. Amos came for me. At night several young folks came in and I had to play some for them [in several other places in the diary, Stella mentions playing the organ, so it may be assumed that is what she means here]. They sang some. (There was whiskey around.)
Got a letter from Flood and Vincent so fixed the book “Outlines of Economics” to send back to exchange for “Roman & Medieval Art.”
I left ten cents to pay postage.
Monday, Dec. 18, 1893
School as usual and very good too. At night made a pin cushion & gave Mrs. Cunningham [Mary Anne Penelope Anthony Cunningham, Amos’s mother] and Mattie. Made two head rests (a long one and a square one).
Fixed the hat-mark in Mr. Libass’ hat. The first thing in the eve was to start my hat-mark with A.B.C. [initials of Amos Blakey Cunningham] on it to be a Xmas present.
Tues. Dec. 19, 1893
School.
Sent and bought hat-rack .10 bought Panthea’s knife, fork, & spoon .25.
As Mr. Cunningham was fixing to move several came to help catch chickens so I did nothing but talk, play the organ and eat pop-corn & pecans.
In evening I finished my skirt & made my handkerchiefs.
Wed. Dec. 20, 1893
Mr. Cunningham moved out & Mr. Bragg came in.
School as common. After which I made another head rest! Wrote a note to Eva.
At night read some & finished my hat-mark.
Mr. Amos sat up & talked with me till late and I granted his request [either a euphemism for a kiss or his proposal].
Began my handkerchief.
Thurs. Dec. 21st 1893
School as common & read some at night. Retired early.
Miss Mattie staid all night and went to a party.
I slept good.
Friday Dec. 22, 1893
School as usual and dismissed for Xmas.
Fixed up things to go home and went to Mr. Cunningham’s with Mr. Amos on a load of oats (in sacks).
At night the Houston boys came over and staid till bed-time.
Sat. Dec. 23, ’93
Mr. Amos took me to Coppell in a buggy.
Bought ticket for .80 cts. And started for home about ten o’clock. At Plano Mama & Homer [Stella’s brother, Homer Alfred Bowling] met me in the buggy.
I paid on Homer’s suit $2.00 and bought for Horation [Stella’s brother, Horatio Hayden Bowling] a chest of tools .35.
Got home before night. Mama, Miss Mollie, and Ida came to see me.
Sunday 12-24-1893
Did up work and went to church. Bro. Crouch preached on “The Seven Sayings of Christ on the Cross.”
In eve Home and I went to see Velma and take their presents [to] put in children’s stockings (cts.) .50.
Monday. Dec. 25th 1893 Xmas
Cleaned up and gave the presents. Papa a book-mark Mama a comb-case, Homer a knife and hat-rack Horation a little tool chest, & Panthea a knife, fork, & spoon [Note: This is probably Stella’s sister Panthea or Panthia Verena Bowling rather than her Aunt Panthea.] Mama gave me a collar and cuffs.
Velma, Herbert, and his Bro. came about eleven o’clock they gave me a work-box. We had a very good dinner. Mrs. Leach came a while & Susie also Ida a few moments. Velma & them went home. We played “Cash” and enjoyed it. Got a letter from Maggie.
Tues. Dec. 26, 1893
After cleaning up I painted Laura’s felt for paper-holder.
Went to Mr. Armstrong’s a few moments. Then to Mr. Culledges to see Stena [or possibly Steven] Watson.
Went to the S.S. concert at Campbellite church. It was very good but I sorter had headache.
Wed. 12-27-1893
After cleaning up & dressing we all went to Velma’s, had a good dinner. In the eve Mrs. Dorsey, Mrs. Worsham, Mrs. Mary Shirley, & Mrs. Graham came to see us.
After they all left Velma & I went where Bro. Herbert was working. (I staid all night at McKinney, the rest went home.)
Thurs. 12-28-1893
After getting ready Velma and I went by Mrs. Phillips’ a while then out to depot and I came home paying for ticket .25.
Washed & ironed Papa some shirts when I got home. In eve went to Mrs. Leach’s & to Lizzy Ereckson’s & saw Mr. Hugh.
Miss Mollie gave me some plants to set out.
Got a letter from Mary Hutton. (I think it was to-day.)
Fri. 12-29, 1893
After cleaning up & getting ready Papa brought me over to Lewisville in buggy. I had no mail only “Chautauquan.”
Saturday 12-30-1893
Got up late & help do work. Made a head-rest for Aunt Panthea (A large one).
Papa left after-noon. Went to Uncle John’s awhile.
My washing which had been done last week was .25 (unpaid).
Bought wax .05
Aunt Panthea gave me a beautiful handkerchief to use as neck-tie (pink chiffon).
Florence and I went to Mrs. Payne’s & I went to Mrs. Hall’s but Cora was gone.
Sun. 12-31-1893
Got breakfast or rather helped & helped clean up then dressed but was too sick to go to church. I had to lie down some & ate no dinner. Uncle Jeff brought me out to Mrs. Bragg’s (as I was about well.) I started to write some and Mr. Amos came to see me. We had a very nice time. He gave me a beautiful silk handkerchief with S on it & said “S is for sweet.” He staid till after eleven o’clock then bid me good bye ( ) [Stella’s euphemism for a kiss].
Thus ended the year 1893 with me after he left I retired but was sleepless for sometime & heard shooting to welcome the New Year I suppose.
I prayed before retiring.
Now dear 1893 I bid you adieu. You have gone with joys to some and sorrows to others and I have had some of each. Farewell, farewell.
Diary of Stella Bowling Cunningham, December 1893 Part 1
Posted in Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories
View Introduction and Notes on the Text.
Transcription of the Diary of Stella Bowling Cunningham, December 1, 1893 to December 15, 1893
Fri. Dec. 1- 1893School as usual & in eve swept the house & went to Lewisville.
Sat. Dec. 2, 1893
Went to town and bought
Canton flannel $1.35
thread .05
Brown velvet .60
canbrier [?] .100
Crinlin [?] .10
Wrote to Flood & Vincent about exchanging a book. Wrote to J.W.T. & Mary Hutton.
Sewed on dress.
Washing .20 unpaid.
Sun. Dec. 3, 1893
It was to-day I wrote instead of Sat.
In evening Uncle Jeff took me out to Mr. Cunningham & Mr. A. [Amos Cunningham] & I had a talk at night.
Mon. Dec. 4 ’93
Had school. The first day of second month [perhaps this refers to when Stella started teaching school?].
Sewed on my dress after school & at night.
Sent picture to Sallie & Minnie.
Bought stamps .10 cts.
Tues. Dec. 5, 1893
School as usual and in eve sewed some & at night went to church. Free Will preached on the Blind man healed.
One profession.
Mr. Amos went with me.
Wed. Dec. 6, 1893
Not a full school because of rain. Wrote a little to Maggie. Sewed in eve and at night. (The pedd? [possibly peddler] staid all night.) Mr. Libass teased us so much.
Thurs. Dec. 7, 1893
School as usual and sewed at night. Carrie staid all night.
Fri. Dec. 8, 1893
School as common & in eve had spelling [possibly tutoring or extra class?]. Uncle Jeff came for me. Found Mama [Mary Elizabeth Kennedy Bowling] & Children [most likely Stella’s younger siblings] here.
Sat. Dec. 9, 1893
Wrote to Maggie & to Judge Bradley, sending three stamps for reply.
Sewed on dress finished it. Went to town and
bought Silk $.50
thread (silk) .10
ribbon .15
cord .15
ribbon & thread .35
Borrowed from P.N.C. $1.00
Went to Uncle John’s [I’m not sure who Uncle John is, as I have no record of a sibling named “John” for either parent, but could be an uncle by marriage or family friend].
Washing .20 cts. unpaid.
Rubber .10 cts.
Sunday, Dec. 10, 1893
Arose late and helped do work then went to church wore my green dress.
A Bro. Miller preached on “Stephen being stoned.”
In eve Uncle Jeff brought me out to Mr. C [presumably Cunningham] and at night we all went to church at schoolhouse. Mr. Amos went with me. A Mr. Holley preached about “Salvation being of the Lord etc.” It was late when we retired.
Wrote to Rosco.
Monday, Dec. 11, 1893
School as usual and at night made the cravat case for Velma [Stella’s sister]. Mr. A. sat up with me & we had a talk. Bought stamps .10.
Tues. Dec. 12, 1893
School and it turned cold. At night wen went to Mrs. Lusk’s and it was late when I retired. (Mr. A. asked for a ( ) but I refused.) [Note: This is one of Stella’s euphemisms for “kiss.”] Got a letter from J.W.T.
Mr. Amos brought my papers and paint too.
Wednesday, Dec. 13, 1893
At night made Mr. Libass’ hat mark. School as common.
Went to Mr. Bragg’s [possibly the Bragg family that Amos’s sister Mattie (Martha Lugena Cunningham) married into] and saw the little baby & got to board with them.
Thurs. Dec. 14, 1893
At night went to a party at Mr. W. Cunningham’s [most likely William Matthew Cunningham, Amos’s oldest brother] and came home to make Mattie’s hat mark [Mattie is most likely Martha Lugena Cunningham, Amos’s sister].
Sat up late to get it finished.
Fri. Dec. 15, 1893
School as usual and afterward swept the house.
Fixed to go to town & wrote some in this book.
It was late when Uncle Jeff came for me. Commenced Papa’s [“Papa” was William Jones Bowling, Stella’s father] book-mark. Went to Mrs. Hall.
Diary of Stella Bowling Cunningham, November 28, 1893 – November 30, 1893
Posted in Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories
Introduction and Notes on the text:
I have preserved all of Stella Bowling Cunningham’s writing, including errors, such as spelling errors, capitalization errors, etc. except where confusion might occur. I have also preserved her original paragraph breaks, although I didn’t preserve her line breaks, as the diary was written in a very thin ledger. Where writing is indecipherable or extra notation is needed in order for the reader to understand something, I have included a note in italics and brackets [ ].
Stella apparently taught school during part of the time in which she wrote this journal; this is inferred from the fact that she frequently mentions school as if she is teaching it. She apparently boarded in several houses, as it was not uncommon for local families to host teachers. One family with whom she boarded was the Cunningham family. “Mr. Cunningham” in her journal refers to Johnson Franklin Cunningham, who would become her father-in-law. Mr. A. and Mr. Amos refer to Amos Blakey Cunningham, who would become her husband. The journal might have been started during the beginning stages of their courtship and continues past their wedding, covering a total of about ten months from November 1893 to September 1894. Toward the end of the journal, she mentions how sick she feels. I think she is experiencing morning sickness, as she would have been expecting my great-grandfather, but she doesn’t mention she is pregnant in the journal.
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 1893
Had school as usual & fun [possibly fine] too but not extra good order.
I am most sick with cold and cough.
In eve Uncle Jeff [I am not sure who this is, as I have no record of a sibling named “Jeff” for either of Stella’s parents, but it could be an uncle by marriage or a family friend] came by and brought me two letters, one from Rosco & one from Sadie & my Chautauquan [The Chautauquan was a publication of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, the first organized reading circle in the country, a four-year course of assigned home reading].
Sent for stamps .10 cts. For this book .10 and bought Pain Paint .25.
After school finished my gown all but buttons & holes.
Read some in my course.
Wed. Nov. 29, ’93
Nothing unusual.
Thurs. Nov. 30,1893
Thanksgiving day but it was not observed here. Started to write to — [indecipherable, possibly Minnie].
Family Reunion Letters
Posted in Genealogy 101
It seems a lot of people are stopping by here looking for advice on writing family reunion letters. I have not actually ever planned a family reunion or written a letter, so take my advice with that in mind.
It seems logical to me that the first step involved in planning a reunion is to scout out among your family members for interest. If no one is interested, it will be an exercise in frustration. Give yourself plenty of time to plan. Large events like this don’t come together at the spur of the moment. My goal with this post is not to teach you how to put together a family reunion; however, but to help you with writing a letter.
First of all, use a word processing program like MS Word to create a mail merge file and send a letter to as many relatives as you can think of. I would create something like this:
The Huff family needs your help. We are organizing a family reunion for July 2007, and we want be sure as many family members attend as possible. Won’t you please help us? We sent a copy of this letter to the following individuals [don’t send addresses; it isn’t necessary]. If you know of someone else who needs to be included in our plans, please send their name and address to us.
Once you have collected as many addresses as possible, send copies of the family group sheet chart (look in the sidebar to the right if you need one) to each family. Ask that they send these back to you, so you will have accurate genealogical information. It would be a nice gesture to include as many family members as possible on some sort of descendent tree chart, like my grandfather’s cousin Lee did for a Cunningham family reunion in the 1990’s. However, be very careful not to include erroneous information, which can inadvertently lead to hurt feelings. A person in one branch of my family simply entered any unknown dates as January 1 of the year in which the event was believed to have occurred. An uninformed person taking that information as truth might decide to build their genealogy files upon that erroneous information, thereby introducing huge errors into the genealogical record.
If you do not receive replies from some families, you might need to contact them again. I personally would not become a pest. If someone made it very clear they didn’t want to cooperate, I would try to include his/her information as best as I could, but I would not invent dates or spellings, and I might indicate such doubts by question marks. Try to exhaust other alternatives — such as contacting other family members you think might have the information. If, for instance, I couldn’t remember my cousin’s daughter’s middle name, and she did not reply with a completed family group sheet, I could try my aunt, who would most likely know the middle name of her granddaughter and would probably reply to my letter.
Please feel free to add your comments if you have tips or advice on family reunion letters for readers of this site.
Huff Family History
Posted in Research Questions
I have been receiving many queries via Google for the “Huff family history.” I am a Huff by marriage, and I am afraid I know very little about my husband’s lineage. I am happy to confer with anyone who has information about the family, as living family members, to date, have not been able to provide much information, either.
The Huffs into which I married are from Nashville, Tennessee. My husband is Steven Eric Huff, son of Bobby Richard Huff and Margaret Lovene Lane. My father-in-law’s parents were Ben Martin Huff, who died in Spring Hill, Maury County, Tennessee in 1994, and Frances Milred Bolton, who was born in Hart County, Kentucky. My husband believes his great-grandfather to have been Will Martin Huff. At any rate, the name Martin does seem to be popular in his branch of the Huff family.
If any visitors querying “Huff family history” see a connection, I would like to hear from you.
One of the more touching stories in my family history centers around my grandfather, David Edwin Swier, who passed away almost four years ago on July 29, 2001. I had always known that my grandfather was adopted, but I only found out the circumstances of his adoption upon his death. My mother sent me a photocopy of his obituary, which I believe was printed in the Yakima Herald-Republic:
SELAH — David Edwin Swier, 79, passed away Sunday, July 29, 2001 at his home in Selah. David was born December 29, 1921 in Spokane, WA to Omar and Gertrude Gearhart. His given name was Edwin Guy Gearhart. He was adopted by Walter and Laura Swier in 1930 and changed his name to David Edwin Swier.
David attended grade school and high school in Cowiche, WA. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWII and served as an aircraft and engine mechanic. He married Anita J. Brownell on September 20, 1957. They shared many joys together over the next 44 years.
David worked for his parents in the orchard business, and later worked for Michelson Packaging Co. before retiring. He enjoyed gardening, fixing up cars, and he particularly enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Anita Swier of Selah, WA; four sons, David E. Swier of Ohio, Randy Swier of Kennewick, WA, Thomas Swier and his wife Patti of Georgia, Richard Swier and his wife Ellen of Toppenish, WA; and his daughter Debbie Swier of Kent, WA; 11 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; 8 sisters, Eva Heier, Margie Water, Jessie Riddle, Betty Ann Bailey, Ruth Anderson, Carol Babb, Dorcas Tobin and Helen Marie West; and a brother, Frank Walker.
He was preceded in death by his parents and adoptive parents; 3 sisters, Mary Smith, Ruth Kyker and Alice McReynolds; and 3 brothers, Junior Gearhart, John Gearhart, and Donald Cannon.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 2, 2001 at 3:00 p.m. at Keith and Keith Funeral Home, 902 W. Yakima Ave. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the donor’s favorite charity.
This obituary was most illuminating in my quest to find out more about my father’s family. I had never met nor corresponded with my grandfather. I had corresponded with my step-grandmother, Anita Brownell Swier, over the years, but my grandfather seem to be this silent, enigmatic figure who handed down his adopted name to me, but little else. Who was he?
Conspicuously absent from the obituary was a mention of my grandmother, who was my grandfather’s first wife. She and my grandfather divorced when my father was quite young. My father dislikes talking about his childhood; consequently, I knew little about his family.
I did know, as I mentioned previously, that my grandfather had been adopted. I did not know the names of his natural parents. My natural great-grandmother remarried some time after her children were adopted by other families, and my father knew her as Grandma Lightle. This was all the information we had, and we did not realize that Lightle had not been my grandfather’s birth name. Once I read the obituary, I posted some queries at online genealogy sites, and I was contacted by a cousin — her father, too, had been one of the Gearhart children. She told me the following story.
My great-grandfather, Omar Alfred Gearhart, suffered a gunshot wound to the head in a hunting accident. As a result of this brain injury, he drank a lot and could also become violently angry.
During the Great Depression, he opened up an auto repair garage with a partner. Shortly before his youngest child was born, he argued with his partner and was later found shot dead in the garage. The money and the partner were both gone.
After her husband’s murder, Gertrude was left with 10 children and was pregnant with another. She had no means of income. Her pregnancy hindered her ability to work. She had the baby — a boy — and still couldn’t find work. The older children would find work here and there, but it wasn’t enough to fill the needs of the family. They were all starving. Bessie, the third from the youngest, said that she remembered standing at her mother’s bedroom door waiting for her turn to nurse. Gertrude was trying to to nurse the three youngest children just to keep them alive.
Gertrude knew the situation couldn’t continue. She had heard the State of Washington was going to come and take her children away. She didn’t want them parceled out to distant homes, losing contact with each other. She wanted them to be able to stay in contact with each other. She went to her pastor and asked for help. They came up with a plan to ask the congregation for help. When the congregation was presented with the situation, members of the church stepped forward to adopt the children.
The adoption papers included Gertrude’s request that the children grow up knowing each other. The only children who weren’t adopted were those who were old enough to be on their own and the baby.
My grandfather was adopted by Walter Swier and Laura Helen Schmidt Swier. My father remembers them very fondly. His cousin Rick Zeutenhorst has told me he remembers going to their home in Cowiche for large family gatherings. His grandmother, Laura, used to hold him and croon softly to him in Dutch when he was upset. On the night his mother left, she held him like this all night. She was tragically killed in a car accident when my father was about 13. I honor both lineages in my family tree. Some people might say that since the Swiers were not my “blood” relatives that I shouldn’t include them in my genealogy. I disagree. If not for their willingness to help a poor family in need, I might not be here, as my grandfather may have died of starvation or else lived such a different life so as to be unable to meet and marry my grandmother and father five children. The Swiers provided my father with stability and rare moments of happiness in a difficult childhood, and I honor them for that.
I would like to learn more about the circumstances of my great-grandfather’s murder and the death of my great-grandmother. Through a Soundex-based search, I was able to discover the correct spelling of “Lightle” for her name and the month and year of her death — March, 1971. One of my research goals is to try to find desdendants of the other Gearhart children mentioned in this obituary and let them know their story, should they be interested. If you believe you may descend from Omar Alfred Gearhart and Gertrude Nettie Perkins, I would love to hear from you.
How Do I Get Started?
Posted in Genealogy 101
Are you interested in learning about genealogy? There are lots of sites on the Internet that point the way.
- Genealogy@About.com is very comprehensive; it is designed to be a one-stop portal, like other About.com sites.
- USGenWeb is good if you’ve already started and need more information.
- rssGenealogy.com has an abundance of links, but if you’re a beginner it might be a bit overwhelming.
- Cyndi’s List is a great site and well worth a visit.
- Rootsweb.com is “the oldest free genealogy site.”
I became interested in genealogy when a photocopy of a descendant tree prepared for a family reunion was passed on to me by my grandparents. In fact, it was almost exactly like this one, but because it was prepared for a Cunningham family reunion, it included more desdendants. One of these days, I need to get more of my cousins on my own tree so they can use the information I’ve found to further their research. That was about 15 years ago. I think that’s the first time I had given thought to the fact that I was part of an extended family that stretched back into history. I wanted to know more about these people from whom I descend. I wanted to know their names, where they lived, what they did. So, I became an amateur genealogist.
At first, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t really know where to go for help. This was before the Internet, and I wasn’t really sure where to start. I found Tracing Your Ancestry Logbook at a bookstore. I was a student at University of Georgia, which has a great microfilm collection. I started with the desdendant chart I had. Once I had found those individuals on census records, I was stuck. What did I do next?
I floundered for a few years, not really knowing what to do. If I had it to do over again, I would follow this plan for compiling information:
- Fill out Family Group Sheets as completely as I knew.
- Send photocopies of my Family Group Sheets to individuals in my family who might be able to correct and add to them.
- Interview as many older members of my family as I could. Sadly, some of them have passed away since I started compiling family records — I will not have the chance to ask them about their families again.
- Take down all the information I can about individuals with the surname in which I am interested. I have had to make multiple trips to the library to take down information I could have compiled the first time I went if I had only been more thorough.
- I would make copies of all records I find and keep them in a binder. This includes information from books, historical records, online pedigrees or other genealogical reports.
- I would be more persistent about getting information from relatives. When relatives haven’t responded, I have most often let the matter drop. I should have made more of a pest of myself.
- I would plan my research trips. Sometimes, I went to the library on the spur of the moment, and I was not prepared for researching.
- I would be more judicious about what information from others’ research to include. I would make copies of anything that pertained to my family, but I would not create records or Family Group Sheets unless my information was based on solid sources.
One of the things I eventually did do right is get a software program. The first one I bought was Broderbund’s Family TreeMaker. It is a pretty good program. Essentially, it allows the user to create family group sheets and in turn, develop all types of reports. It also allows the user to create scrapbooks with image files. Admittedly, I did not have the 2005 version, which looks sleeker than the version I had, but I felt FTM was limited in that other types files could not be uploaded into scrapbooks. I also felt that the “notes” section was limited. However, it was easy to navigate.
I have recently purchased Family Tree Legends by Pearl Street Software. I am really happy with it. It seems to have all the same features as FTM, but uploading files to the Internet is easier, and many different types of files may be uploaded into scrapbooks. I also like the different options available for reports. I think the reports look nicer than those in FTM. It was also less expensive. It also has real time Internet backup. If you have ever lost a ton of data because your computer crashed, then you will grow to love this feature.
You don’t have to buy software in order to keep track of your research. After all, genealogists managed without it for a very long time; however, I would recommend it. Family Tree Legends has Internet backup of files, but I would still recommend keeping hard copies of Family Group Sheets and other reports. You might even purchase a logbook, as I did, which comes complete with forms you might use. If you prefer, you can download all you need to start here:
- Pedigree Chart (pdf)
- Family Group Chart p. 1 (pdf)
- Family Group Chart p. 2 (pdf)
- Research Questions (pdf)
- Research Log (pdf)
- Source Notes p. 1 (pdf)
- Source Notes p. 2 (pdf)
You need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view pdf files. Happy researching!
Udell Cunningham
Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, and Photographs
My grandfather will turn 80 today. That deserves a mention in the family history blog, I think!
My grandfather was born Oliver Udell Cunningham on May 3, 1925 in Tulia, Swisher County, Texas to Herman Cunningham and Annie Lola Jennings Cunningham. His parents called him Udell from birth, I believe, and so later he legally changed his name to Udell Oliver Cunningham. The name Udell was suggested by Aunt Jenny, the second wife of Udell’s grandfather, Veto Curry Jennings (you can read a letter about John B. Jennings and view a photograph of him or you can view a photograph of his wife, Lucinda Fannie Curry). Aunt Jenny found the name in a book she had enjoyed, That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright.
According to a family biography written in by his mother, Annie Cunningham, the Cunningham family moved to Lockney, Floyd County, Texas in 1931 (source: History of Floyd County, 1876-1979). My grandfather had an older brother, Alvin Herman Cunningham, born in 1921, and a younger sister, Flois Luene Cunningham, born in 1929. After the family’s move to Lockney, two more children were born: Nelda Gene Cunningham in 1937 and Carolyn Ann Cunningham in 1939. My great-grandmother explains in her family biography that all of the children except Alvin had the same first grade teacher — Mrs. Olga Applewhite. She believes “he would have had her too if [they] had moved to Lockney two years earlier.”
My grandfather played trombone in the high school band. At some point, possibly while he worked in the post office, he began collecting stamps. My grandfather has had a life-long interest in trains. He also likes big band swing. Animals and children see right through his gruff demeanor and love him on sight.
My grandfather first married Orlie K. Quisenberry and had with her a son, Michael Udell Cunningham, who has since changed his name to Michael Lee McElhaney. On October 27, 1951, my grandfather married my grandmother, Doris LaNell Thurman in Clovis, New Mexico. Together they had three children: Patti Jo Cunningham (my mother), Teddy Wayne Cunningham, and Terri Udell Cunningham.
My grandfather served in the Sea-Bees in the Navy during World War II. Later, he would join the U.S. Air Force and retire in the late 1970s with the rank of Master Sergeant. While in the Air Force, he worked principally as a photographer and told me he wrote a textbook on photography, which was uncredited because he was a serviceman. He still enjoys photography. While in the Air Force, the family lived in various locales, principally in Enid, OK., Aurora, CO., Nancy, France, and Kaiserslautern, Germany. My grandparents retired in Aurora, CO.
In his retirement, my grandfather likes to garden and usually plants flowers in several places all over his yard. I recall the yearly trips to Dardano’s Flowerland (which seemed to last for ages!) during which my grandparents would select flowers for their gardens.
My grandfather has six grandchildren: Dana Michelle Swier (me) and Lara Christine Swier, both children of Patti and Thomas Swier; Martin Priester Cunningham, child of Wayne and Helga Priester Cunningham; and Matthew Wayne Findley, Rebecca Lee Findley, and Amy Johanna LaNell Findley, children of Terri and Michael Findley.
As of this writing, my grandfather has ten great-grandchildren: Sarah Noelle Cooke, Margaret Elaine Huff, and Dylan Thomas Huff (my children by both my former husband Wayne Cooke, and my husband Steven Huff); Shane Mann, a step-son of my cousin Martin, and Alexander Markus Cunningham, Martin’s son with wife Becky; James Michael Valentine, Anna Grace Valentine, and William Andrew Valentine, my cousin Rebecca’s children with her husband James Valentine; Harley Hardin and Keith Ashley Hardin, my cousin Amy’s children with her husband Keith Hardin. My sister is expecting her first child in June, which will bring the total to eleven!
My grandfather clearly loves being a grandfather and great-grandfather. He would do surprising things with me when I was younger, like watch MTV videos — he made political commentary about Ronald Reagan when a clip of the then-president appeared in Ratt’s “Round and Round” video! He once threw a tomato worm at me. He chased me around the yard with a dead fish from his tropical fish tank, too. He used to make homemade ice cream and manned the grill (he makes the best steaks!). My grandmother is a seamstress and he always cuts out her patterns and installs the hardware for snaps on her creations. When I was very young, he smoked a pipe. He told me he quit because people only gave him pipes for Christmas. I don’t think there is anything my grandfather wouldn’t do or give for his loved ones. I spent many weekends with my grandparents when I was a child, and they looked after me after school until my mom left off work. He’s been a permanent fixture in my life, and we are very close. He has always shown an interest in the things I learn about our family history as I do my research, and he is always happy to share stories to add to my family history collection.
He took pictures of us all and chronicled our past. I am honored to chronicle his.
View photos of my grandfather (pop-up for larger versions):
Lucinda Fannie Curry
Posted in Photographs
Photograph provided by Jan Jennings. Lucinda Fannie Curry was the wife of John B. Jennings. Photograph was taken on or before 1875.
It is interesting how family resemblances might skip generations. The first thing my mother said when she saw this photo is that it looked like her first cousin Connie Luene. Both my mother and Connie Lu would be this woman’s great-great-grandchildren.
