SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Patrick Henry Dawes (1860-1889)

This portrait was being sold by the
Mobile Museum - from an article in the
Mobile Press-Register, 3 Nov 1985

Patrick Henry Dawes was born in Mobile, Alabama, on December 14, 1860. His parents were Patrick Henry Dawes (1830-1880) and Mary Ann (1835-1889), both immigrants from Ireland. He worked as a cashier/bookkeeper for Tonsmiere & Craft, local grocers on Dauphin Street. He also was a volunteer firefighter with Merchants Steam Fire Company No. 4, whose house was located on Conti Street, west of Jackson.

On February 14, 1885, Patrick married Emma Elizabeth Horst (1865-1923), fifth child and oldest daughter of Martin Horst (1830-1878) and Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908), both immigrants from Germany and my 3x-great-grandparents. Emma was the younger sister of my great-great-grandfather Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912).

Together Patrick and Emma had two children, one who died at birth, and one daughter - Zoe  Josephine Dawes (b. December 23, 1887). The couple lived in a house on the east side of St. Emmanuel Street with their little daughter but their life together would be a short one. On November 9, 1889, at 6 in the evening Patrick died. He was just 28 years old. He left behind his wife of 4 1/2 years and daughter Zoe, not quite two.



Mobile Register
10 Nov 1889
[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

DEATH OF PATRICK H. DAWES

   "Mr. Patrick H. Dawes died at six o'clock yesterday evening at the residence of his sister, Mrs. Addie Betrix. He had been in delicate health for some time past, and about a week ago was forced to leave his post of duty. He arrived in the city yesterday afternoon about three o'clock from Montgomery.
   The deceased was born in Mobile December 14, 1860, and the greater portion of his life was spent in this city. He was educated at Richardson's Academy, and about twelve years ago entered the employ of the late firm of Tonsmiere & Craft as a clerk, being shortly afterward promoted to the position of bookkeeper. He remained with this firm until its dissolution, when he became a partner in the firm of Craft & Co. About two years ago he withdrew from this firm and became bookkeeper for F. E. Tutwiler & Co., where he remained a few months, and then accepted a similar position with James O'Brien in Montgomery.
  He was for a number of years a member of the Mobile Rifle Company, and took part in the competitive drills of that company at Nashville, Houston, Dubuque, Mobile and New Orleans.
   He married Miss Emma Horst, who with one daughter survives him. He also leaves a mother, two sisters, Mrs. Addie Betrix, of this city, and Miss Ellie Simpson, of Montgomery, three brothers, E.J. and R.B. Dawes of this city, and W.W. Dawes, of Meridian, and a large circle of friends to mourn his death.
   The deceased was of a quiet and unassuming disposition, and possessed of those qualities of head and heart which endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. The time and place of the funeral are announced elsewhere." (Mobile Register, 10 Nov 1889)

Emma married again, on November 7, 1892 to Charles Monroe Altice (1864-1943), a 29-year-old grocer. They would have three children of their own. Zoe married Thomas Parker Cumberland (1883-1973) on October 7, 1908, in Mobile. They had no children.

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Thompson-Flemming Wedding 1912



Imo Flemming Thompson
(1886-1919)

Imo Flemming is my great-great-aunt. I never knew her but just to see this picture that she posed for in the early 1900's makes me think she must have been quite a woman. She was born Elizabeth Imogene Flemming on September 28, 1886 in Rome, Georgia. Her parents were my 3x-great-grandparents Charles Clinton Flemming (1854-1932) and Elizabeth Agnes McCaffrey (1858-1922), and a younger sister to my great-great-grandfather Harry Clinton Flemming (1878-1955). 
She was much loved among her family - she served as maid-of-honor in the wedding of both her sister Susie (1879-1908) and Charles (1884-1935), and possibly more. She was also best friends with her sister-in-law Pearl Horst (1884-1961), wife of Harry and my great-grandmother.

In early December 1912 the engagement of Charlie and Lizzie's sixth child was announced in the local Birmingham newspaper:

Darrell Robert Thompson, her husband-to-be, was born in Anniston, Alabama, on January 25, 1890, the oldest son of Robert Durrell Thompson (1863-1944) and Mary Eldon Rose (1868-1934). At the time of their engagement Darrell was a Clerk with Southern Railway.

In the Social Section of The Birmingham Age, the Rehearsal Dinner the evening before the wedding was described in some detail:

Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Fleming Buffet Supper Hosts

"The members of the party who are to attend Miss Imo Flemming and Mr. Thompson this morning at their wedding enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Fleming last evening after the rehearsal, at a buffet supper. Ferns, poinsettia and other decorations appropriate to the Christmas and New Year season were employed to brighten the surroundings and a tempting supper was served from the dining room." (December 31, 1912)

[click to enlarge]

Thompson-Flemming Wedding This Morning

   "Tuesday morning at 8:30 o'clock at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Flemming, on St. Charles street, the marriage of their daughter, Miss Imo Elizabeth Flemming to Mr. D. I. Thompson of Anniston was solemnized impressively, but with quiet simplicity. Father J. E. Coyle of St. Paul's church administered the solemn nuptial vow.
   Christmas greens with an interlude of red in holly berries and poinsettas made the home a very attractive setting for the wedding. The improvised alter of palms, ferns and smilax which was built in the living room had poinsetta flowers woven into the green bank. Numerous candles on the altar furnished the only illumination for the room.
   The music for the wedding was played by Miss Abbie Murphy, and just before the ceremony she rendered a beautiful nuptial song. The bridal party entered to the notes of the Lohengrin wedding march.
   Mrs. James Bennet Thomas, a bride of the late summer, served her sister as matron of honor. She wore a handsome coat suit of tan cloth with hat, shoes and gloves of the same shade. Her flowers were Richmand roses.
   Miss Flemming descended the stairway with her father, Mr. C. C. Flemming, Sr. She was gowned in her traveling suit of dark blue serge and a small velvet hat of a similar color which was trimmed with one graceful plume, curling over the side brim. She held a shower bouquet of lillies of the valley and brides roses.
     Mr. Thompson, attended by his best man, Mr. James Bennet Thomas, joined his bride at the altar. The beautiful marriage ceremony of the Catholic church was performed by the Rev. Father Coyle.
     Mr. and Mrs. Thompson left on an early train for Washington, New York and other points in the North. At the end of two weeks they will go to Anniston, where they are to make their home."  (December 31, 1912)



Possibly the Wedding Picture of
Imo and Darrell Thompson
(Note the small hat with a plume
that she has set on his head)

After their wedding, the couple was transferred at least twice from their home in Anniston, first to Charlotte, North Carolina - where he registered for the WWI Draft in 1917. At this time he was the Chief Clerk with Southern Railroad. Sometime after this  Darrell and Imo moved to Baltimore, Maryland. It was here, on January 26, 1919, that Imo died. They had just celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary.

Why she died at the young age of 32 isn't known. Family stories say she died in childbirth. But this was also the end of the worldwide Flu Pandemic that started in the fall of 1918. This flu strain killed mostly young adults, with healthy immune systems. Only two months earlier, Imo's youngest brother Tom (1896-1918) had died from complications from this same flu. What is know is that her body was taken back by train to Birmingham, where she was buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

Her husband remarried in 1921. He and his wife Margauritte had a daughter Marion in 1924 in Georgia. By 1930 they had moved once again to Indianapolis, Indiana. Nothing further is known of Darrell and his new family.

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Frederick Horst (Apr 1867-Aug 1867)

Frederick Horst, called Freddy by his family, was born on April 1, 1867 in Mobile, Alabama. He was the sixth child of my great-great-great grandparents Martin Horst (1830-1878) and Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908). - he was the tenth child of Apollonia, who had been widowed before marrying Martin. Their first child together, and Freddy's older brother, was Charles Frederick (1856-1912), my great-great-grandfather.

Before Freddy was born Apollonia had given birth to three daughters and six sons. Three of those sons had died very young: Ferdinand Berg, her first child with husband Tobias Berg (1819-1853), was born December 10, 1847 and lived just 8 days; Samuel Berg was born in May 1850 and died on the 23rd of the same month; and William Horst, her fourth son and child with Martin, was born February 23, 1863 but lived only sixteen months, dying on July 5, 1864.

Freddy was born three years after the death of little William and two years after the end of the Civil War. The Horsts were still in the liquor dealership business but were having difficulty getting their customers to pay their bills. Times were very hard all over the South as the entire economy struggled to recover from the war. They were also in the middle of building their new home - the same one which stands today at 407 Conti Street.

On January 12th, 1868, Martin wrote a letter to his younger brother Charles (1835-1900), living in Metropolis, Illinois, to catch him up with his family's happenings, and complained of the difficulties he was facing:

"I am just now finishing up my new dwelling I have been building wich (sic) cost me twenty-six Thousand dolls. Seven Thousand more than I calculated on; and when I began last spring I only had twelve Thousand cash hoping at that time to collect by Jan. 1st at least 6 or 7 thousand dolls. that I could draw out of my Business but so far I have not been able to collect one doll. of this money and probable (sic) never will; as most people who owe any money are taking the benifit (sic) of the Bankrupt Law and then (sic) there is a very poor showing."

On August 27, 1867, five-month-old little Fredy died. A notice was placed in the local Mobile newspaper the following day:

In the same letter written in January of the following year Martin concludes by filling his brother in on his family:

"My family are all well. Last Aug. I lost my little Boy Fredy five months old and have but four Children now three Boyse (sic) and the youngest a little Girl 2 1/2 years old. All in good health and spirit."

Two more children were born after little Freddy's death - one son and one daughter. Both lived long and full lives. Freddy Horst is my 3x-great-uncle.

FRIDAY'S FAMOUS - William Joseph Imbert (1883-1921)

William Joseph Imbert was the husband of Odille L. Fortier (1887-1956), my first cousin, 3x removed. Doubtlessly, no one in our family has ever heard of him. He may be more of a "forgotten" than a "famous" but during his time he certainly was well known in New Orleans, especially where he worked as a waiter at the Grunewald Hotel.

Odille Fortier was the fourth of six children born to Omer Auguste Fortier (1855-1897) and Laura Octavia Eslava (1859-1910). Omer was the older brother of Odalie Fortier Horst (1857-1920), my great-great-grandmother; he was the sixth of eleven children born to my 3x-great-grandparents Jacques Omer Fortier (1813-1867) and Augustine Melanie Laperle Degruy (1822-1872).

Odille and Billy Imbert, as he was called, were married in May 1911 in New Orleans. Odille was 23 and Billy was 27 at the time. Odille's father had died over a decade before and her mother had just died the previous year. Billy's father had died before 1900 and his mother was remarried to a carpenter who did odd jobs for a living. They were on their own, and no doubt planning the perfect life together.

The couple welcomed their first child nine months after their wedding, Marguerite Mary (born February 22, 1912). Two sons soon followed - William Joseph (b. July 28, 1913) and Wallace (b. 1920). 

On Sunday, May 29, 1921 William J. Imbert died of an apparent heart attack. The story of Billy's death appeared in the New Orleans Picayune newspaper on May 30, 1921. It included more of who the man was - and what made him so famous in 'The Big Easy'.

from Picayune
May 30, 1921

"Billy", Perfect Waiter, Is Dead

William J. Imbert, Won Distinction from Life of Service

"It is said that the great prince of Conde lived one day too long for his fame. Such is not the case with "Billy" Imbert, who was buried Monday morning from his home at 3305 Canal street, and who will be remembered by all Orleanians as the most perfect waiter that ever served the prominent and exclusive sets of this community.

William J. Imbert, or "Billy" as he was known, for the past eighteen and a half years, has been an employee of the Grunewald Hotel, and for the past twelve years its head waiter. He was found dead at home Sunday morning by his wife, having been the victim of a sudden attack of heart trouble. His death was not only a cause of profound sorrow for his wife and three little children, but to thousands of Orleanians, who had come to regard "Billy" as a genius in his line. Employees at the hotel were downcast when his death was known, and in subdued whispers discussed it all morning among themselves. Hardly a well-known guest, who came to the Grill for Sunday breakfast but he was greeted with the whispered salutation: "Billy died this morning."

If ever there was such a thing as a genius in the art of catering to people, "Billy" Imbert deserved that title. By his courtesy, kindness, vigilance, and through his eternal habit of deffering to the whims of his guest, he conquered nearly everyone who came to know him.

Two sets of people knew "Billy" well - men in public life who frequented the Grunewald and persons who move about in the social world. Hardly a distinguished visitor to the Grunewald who does not remember "Billy". Sportsmen who frequented the Lake Shore Club will all testify to his qualities; millionaires who shot duck at the Delta Club all learned to esteem him. Society matrons whose affairs depended upon the success of the service have praised him.

The Grunevald Hotel
[now the Roosevelt New Orleans]

Imbert had been with the Grunewald for 12 1/2 years. Theodore Grunewald, president of the company, esteemed him highly. It was he who with Mr. Grunewald made the first inspection of the present Grunewald annex. It was he who presided over the parties served on the old Josephine, in the days when service was akin to genius. When the Creole Sue was brought here "Billy" was among those who took the first spin on her through Lake Pontchartrain. Racing folk who came to New Orleans in the winter will miss him, especially the copper king. "Millionaire Clarke" as he was called, who always insisted on "Billy" serving his party while he was here.

"Billy's" last great triumph was the luncheon served here to President Harding. It was he who managed this affair throughout and it was his ability to manage such things that brought from visiting newspapermen the statement that it was the best arranged and served affair they had ever attended.

"Billy" was 38 years old."

 Odille was left widowed at the age of 34. Their children were just 9-, 7-, and 1-years old. Young Wallace died after an illness at the age of twelve, on November 21, 1932. Odille died on April 15, 1956. Both Marguerite and William each married and gave their mother nine grandchildren. Billy and Odille are buried at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans.

"The Cave" Nightclub

NOTE: "The Cave", considered by some as the first nightclub in the United States, featured waterfalls, stalactites and chorus girls dancing to Dixieland jazz. The Grunewald Hotel was opened in 1893; in 1908 an expansion adding 400 rooms was completed. It was heavily damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina but was reopened in 2009 after a $170 million renovation. Governor Huey Long stayed in a 12th-floor suite, during his stays in Louisiana when he was a U.S. Senator.

HOMETOWN TUESDAY - Flörsheim, Germany

Phillip Huber, my great-great-grandfather, was born on December 17, 1847 in the town of Flörsheim to Georg Huber (1809-1900) and Eva Katherina Fauth (1807-1875). About 1868 he arrived in America, just 21 years old, and settled in Woodburn, Warren County, Kentucky. On April 25, 1871, he married Barbara Brunett (1852-1896), born in Jennings County, Indiana. They settled in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky and had six children, John William "Willie" (born February 8, 1872), Mary Bertha "Mayme" (born August 8, 1873), Ida Catherine (born February 28, 1875), Philomena Barbara "Minnie" (born September 20, 1876), Clarence Joseph (born January 17, 1879), Magdelena "Lena" (born April 18, 1881) and Charles Thomas (born March 11, 1883). After the death of his wife and three of their children, Phillip moved his family to Birmingham, Alabama, where he died on April 4, 1901. Their daughter Mayme, my great-grandmother, married John Martin O'Donnell on February 11, 1904, in Birmingham. Their oldest child, John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964) is my grandfather.

Flörsheim am Main, Hesse, Germany

Flörsheim, also known as Flörsheim/Main, is located in the Main-Taunus-Kreis district of Hesse, Germany. The city is situated on the right side of the Main River. The following information was taken from the german website: http://www.kulturland-rheingau.de.

Coat of Arms

"Flörsheim/Main was first mentioned in documents dating back to 828, however, the municipal laws and the additional name “am Main“ were only bestowed upon the town in 1953. In 1972 Flörsheim, Weilbach and Wicker formed the town of Flörsheim/Main.

The historic centre of Flörsheim – with the spa park Bad Weilbach and the remains of the Linear Pottery settlement were included in the UNESCO list of protected cultural goods in 2008 – was surrounded from the middle of the 16th century onwards by a drystone wall whose preserved remnant is the Main Tower.

St. Gall's Church
St. Gallusgemeinde

The impressive outline of St. Gall's Church as a typical example of the rural late baroque art of church construction, characterises the town. The famous Gall’s Concerts (“Gallus Konzerte”) have been taken place in the baroque chancel for more than 25 years. In the historic centre and communal district of Flörsheim numerous wayside crosses and chapels from the 17th to the 19th centuries can be found, which are partly stations during the great procession called “Prozessionsweg am Verlobten Tag“. This day has been celebrated for more than three hundred years annually on the last Monday of August in remembrance of the fact that the town had overcome the plague epidemic of 1666.

With the signature “FFF“ the Faience Factory of Flörsheim is still present in the town’s coat of arms. The prince-elector from Mainz established the manufactory in Flörsheim in 1765. Numerous jugs, vases and objects manufactured in the faience factory are on display in the Museum of local history, as well as a considerable number of paintings by Christian Georg Schütz Sen. born in Flörsheim in 1718 and his entourage.

Flörsheim Watchtower

The Flörsheim Watchtower (“Flörsheimer Warte”), once erected as a watchtower of the territorial army of Kastel, is not only the distinctive landmark on the Wicker high ground (“Wickerer Anhöhe”). While drinking a nice glass of wine visitors can enjoy a spectacular view over the vineyard site "Herrnberg" down into the Main valley and across the Forest of Odes. The second vineyard site in Flörsheim, "St.-Anna-Kapelle" is located in the area of the Wiesenmühle. St Anne’s Chapel built in 1715 is located there, which is dedicated to St Anna Selbdritt who gave the vineyard site its name. Flörsheim has its own wine tasting stand since August 2010. The wine growers from Flörsheim and Wicker offer their wines from the end of April to the beginning of October, from Fridays to Sundays in a pavilion on the Main dam and guarantee visitors and guests an enjoyable and good time.

The town’s offer as for culture, free time and relaxation is written in large capitals, additionally festivals and markets characterise the lively town of Flörsheim/Main in the course of the year. Numerous hikers and pilgrims pass through Flörsheim-Weilbach on their hike along Bonifatiusroute from Mainz to Fulda. Visitors can take the Main Bicycle Route (“Main-Radweg”) R3, one of Germany’s most famous long-distance cycling trails on Flörsheim’s side of the Main.

Flörsheim - on the River Main

Under the motto “Give the Landscape Meaning – a Landscape for the Senses“ the regional Park Rhine-Main aims at protecting open spaces between the settlements in the conurbation of Rhein Main and at developing them as habitat and people’s place for relaxation. Numerous ways and itineraries, squares and observation points designed by horticulture and architecture as well as artistically designed objects and installations offer famlies with children attractive destinations in Flörsheim and its vicinity: the “Poet’s House” (“Haus des Dichters“) in Weilbach as well as the “stones along the panoramic path”, (“Steine am Panoramaweg“), the former territorial army of Kastel (“Kasteler Landwehr“), the Flörsheim Watchtower or the iron tree in ”Flörsheimer Schweiz“."

Map of Flörsheim (inset Germany)

The Mainstein is a sculpture in Flörsheim depicting some of the history of the town. The lower part depicts the Mainz Cathedral, the 1000 year old center of the Archbishopric of Mainz, the former principality of the Holy Roman Empire of which Flörsheim, Wicker and Weilbach were ruled. The geese in the center section depict the geese-breeding industry in the town; the wheat carving represents the history of cultivation of grain in the area.

"Der Mainstein"
Collage from Mainzauber.de/blog

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Thomas Joseph Flemming (1896-1918)



Thomas Joseph Flemming
1896-1918

Thomas Joseph Flemming is my great-great-uncle. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 3, 1896, Tom was the youngest son of my great-great-great-grandparents Charles Clinton Flemming (1854-1932) and Elizabeth Agnes McCaffrey (1858-1922); my great-grandfather Harry Clinton Flemming (1878-1955) was their oldest child of eleven.

On September 12, 1916, Tom married Eleanor Catherine Smith (1896-1989). They lived in Birmingham and he worked for his father's business "Charlie's Transfer Company". No doubt they thought they had the whole world ahead of them.

In April 1917 Tom was required to sign up for the draft for World War I, along with all young American men between the ages of 21 and 31. He described himself on his registration card as "Short", "Stout" with "Dark" hair and eyes. There's so much more to Thomas Joseph Flemming, than this brief description, but most of the details have been lost to the ages.

What is known is that late in November 1918, Tom caught the flu. Normally, a young 22-year-old healthy man would feel bad for several days but would bounce back as good as new. But this wasn't the typical bout of influenza. This was the 1918 Global Flu Pandemic - also known as "The Spanish Flu". This was a variant form of the H1N1 Virus, the same type of flu as the 2009 "Swine Flu" pandemic.

Tom was sick with the flu for three days before he developed pneumonia - a characteristic of this kind of flu. He was staying at his parents' home during his illness. He suffered four more days with pneumonia before finally succumbing to the deadly virus on November 30, 1918. The notice of his death in the paper read:

T. J. FLEMINGS (sic)

Funeral services for Thomas J. Flemings, who died at the home of his father, Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock, will be held from the residence, 1115 St. Charles Street, South, Sunday 3 o'clock. Internment at Elmwood with Father J. E. Coyle officiating. He is survived by his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Flemings, and three brothers A. C. Flemings,  Jr. and J. B. Flemings; two sisters Mrs. J. B. Thomas of Birmingham, and Mrs. D. R. Thompson, of Baltimore.

[December 1, 1918; Birmingham News]

World wide the "Spanish Flu" killed at least 3% of the world's population - that's at least 50 million people! Over 500 million people, or 27% of the world's population, were infected. Influenza usually kills the elderly, infants less than 2 years old, and those with compromised immune systems. But the Spanish flu's main victims were the young. Research  using historic samples found in a victim preserved in Alaska's frozen environments in 2005 has revealed that the virus causes an over-stimulation of the immune system. This may be why young people, with a very healthy immune system were more likely to die. [Another odd fact about the pandemic is that flu typically is the worst during the winter, but the Spanish flu hit worst in summer and fall. . . just like the Swine flu.]

Tom was buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. His wife Catherine moved to Ohio soon after her young husband's death where she met her future husband.

What kind of man was he? What did he enjoy doing in his free time? What would his children have looked like? None of this is known, or will ever be known, because he died so young. But now he hasn't been completely forgotten.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTO - Sitting on Train Tracks, ca 1921-22

Sitting on Train Tracks
Birmingham, Alabama
ca. 1921-1922

I love this photograph - just a simple picture of four young girls, laughing and being silly and enjoying a long day together. One is smiling with such spirit her whole body smiles, throwing her head back with pure joy. Another sits quietly, taking it all in, enjoying the lollipop she brought with her on the girls' adventure on Birmingham's Southside neighborhood.

It could almost be set when I was a young girl, spending all day outside with my friends or my sisters. But I never set out through endless fields with no homes in sight, or crawled up an embankment to rest on railroad tracks. The lollipop looks familiar; playing outside wearing dresses does not.

What makes the photograph even more special is knowing that my grandmother, Susie Elizabeth Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999) is the young girl laughing in the center of the picture. She looks to me to be about 12-13 years old, but I'm not sure. Next to her is one of her best friends, Adelaide Atkins, looking at Susie laughing, no doubt at something silly that one of the other girls just said.

Standing behind Susie is Agnes Marie O'Brien (1908-1979); to her left (our right) sits her youngest sister Helen (1911-1988). Marie, as the older sister was called, and Helen are the children of Edward Joseph O'Brien (1867-1922) and Agnes Gertrude McCaffrey (1879-1919). The sisters' mother Agnes was the youngest surviving child of thirteen children, and the youngest sister of my great-great-grandmother Charlotte Agnes "Lizzie" McCaffrey Flemming (1858-1922). This makes Susie a "first cousin-once removed" of Helen and Marie. [Susie's mother Pearl Alphonsine Horst (1864-1861) was Marie and Helen's first-cousin.]

The photograph seems to have been taken around 1921-22. Two short years prior to this picture being taken Helen and Marie had lost their mother to uterine cancer - she was just 40 years old. When she died her husband was left to care for their six children, ranging in age from eight to eighteen years old. Only three years later their father Edward also died; he was 55-years-old.

So it seems that Marie and Helen were probably visiting their mother's niece, Susie, who was the perfect age for them to play with. After the death of their father, around the time the photo was snapped, the girls and their older siblings moved to Elizabethton, Tennessee (for the exact reason I don't know). Susie, Marie and Adelaide would each marry within the next decade and have children; Helen would remain unmarried, living to be seventy-seven.

But leaving home, having husbands and children, was all for another day, another time. This day was for laughing and dreaming, sitting on train tracks until the sound of a whistle blew. It was for enjoying a lollipop and talking with good friends. It was a day to escape. And lucky for us, someone had a camera nearby to capture it all, so that we could enjoy the day, too.

[NOTE: This post has been corrected from its original form after it was pointed out to me that I had two of the girls incorrectly identified - Adelaide is on the far left and Susie is laughing in the middle. Thanks to Adelaide's granddaughter for letting me know!]

MONDAY'S MOTHERS - Marietta Elizabeth Lloyd Johnson Hartin (1838-1909)

Marietta Elizabeth Lloyd Johnson Hartin is not directly related to me, except by marriage, as the mother-in-law of my great-great-great-uncle. But she is a relative worth noting and this is her story.

Marietta Elizabeth Lloyd Johnson Hartin
In Mourning Attire - ca. 1890

Marietta Elizabeth Lloyd was born on November 4, 1838, in Georgia. Her parents are unknown. In 1860 she married Jack Johnson (UNK) and on January 1, 1862, she gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter - Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Jack died at some point in the 1870's, leaving Marietta and her young daughter alone.

On October 2, 1879, Marietta married John Sulden Hartin (1844-1904) in Butler County, Alabama. John Hartin was a veteran of the Civil War, having survived being shot twice in battle. He had been married in 1865 to Amanda Elizabeth Hayes (1846-1874) and they had two children: Wiley Suldon Hartin (1867-1911) and Martha Susan Hartin (1873-1954). He was widowed less than ten years after he was first married, left to raise an 8-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter. So when he married Marietta their family now included her daughter Mary, 17, his son Wiley, 12, and his daughter Martha "Mattie", 6.

Young Mary was soon also married. On July 1, 1885, in Rome, Georgia, she married Charles Andrew McCaffrey. Davis, as he was often called (in honor of Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederacy), was born on May 2, 1865, in Selma, Alabama, the 6th of thirteen children. His father, Thomas Joseph McCaffrey (1832-1896), had moved south at the start of the Civil War to work at Tannehill and Brierfield Ironworks. His mother, Charlotte Elizabeth McCluskey (1838-1917) had moved from their home in Baltimore during the war to join her husband. Charles was born in Selma, one month after Union troops had attacked Confederate defenders at Selma; completely outnumbered, Selma fell to the over 12,000 Union troops, and the Ironworks that supplied cannon and ammunition to the south was destroyed. Thomas and Charlotte McCaffrey are my great-great-great-grandparents; Davis is the younger brother of my great-great-grandmother Elizabeth "Lizzie" McCaffrey Flemming (1858-1922).

Charles and Mary had the first of three sons (six months after they were wed). On January 18, 1886, John Thomas was born. Fifteen months later, on April 28, 1887, the family welcomed Charles Louis, called "Carl". Their last child, Karl Albert, was born two years later, on July 22, 1889. Their family was now complete. But their happiness was short lived.

Early in 1890, Mary contracted Typhoid Fever. Typhoid fever is acquired after eating or drinking something that has been contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Obviously where there is poor hygene or poor sanitation the bacteria will thrive. Typhoid fever was very common across America at this time (there are currently 21.5 million people affected worldwide each year  - 400 people in the U.S. acquire it each year, 75% after visiting a foreign country). Symptoms of the illness include a high fever of 103-104 degrees, diarrhea, headache, stomach pain and sometimes delirium.
Antibiotics can be used today to treat the illness but in 1890 no such drug existed.

Mary died on January 14, 1890, at the age of 28. She was buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome, Georgia where the family lived. Charles was widowed at 34 years old, left to raise his three little boys - John, four days short of his 4th birthday; Charles, 2-and-a-half; and Karl, 6-months-old. Her only child having died, Mary's mother went into mourning, as was the custom of the time.

Mourning Clothes
Mourning attire was an outward sign of the loss and grief over the death of a loved one - usually a spouse or a child. The mourning period was usually a year and one day from the death, and what you were allowed to wear was quite specific.. Mourning dress for women was always black, plain, with black buttons and was made of a dull cloth, usually crape. A simple veil would also be worn that covered the face. After the first year was completed "half-mourning" would take place. At this time the person could alter her clothes to be less simple - often adding black lace or dark jewelry. The veil could now be worn off the face or a black hat or headpiece would be worn. Half-mourning was usually 9 months. At the end of this time dresses would slowly begin to add colors. Some women may have chosen to wear their mourning clothes for the remainder of their lives, to honor their dead loved one.

Marietta and her husband took her three grandsons into be raised. She was fifty-two years old, her husband was fifty-six. They set up their home in Birmingham, close to where many of the boys' father's sisters lived with their families. In early January 1904, Marietta lost her second husband. Five short years later, on Christmas day 1909, Marietta died at the age of seventy-one. By this time her grandsons were grown - John was 24, Charles was 22, and Karl was 20.

Charles McCaffrey had moved to Mobile, Alabama, and in February 1895, Charles was married to Minnie Lee Miller (1867-1927), and together they had two more children: Clifford (1899-1900) and Charlotte Teresa "Lottie" (1901-1955). Charles died in January 1917, at the age of fifty-one.

THURSDAY'S TREASURE - Catholicism and Our Family's Faith

First, I need to acknowledge that I know this isn't Thursday. It's Friday, Good Friday in fact. But as I thought about my post for today, trying to recognize the importance of this day, I thought about one of our family's real treasures - our Catholic faith. All but two of my mother's ancestors came to America as Catholics and passed their religion down through their children, grandchildren and beyond. It's a faith and a religion that I, too, practice, that my children practice and one that my husband will become a member of tomorrow night, at the Easter Vigil Mass.

My Mother's Lineage

   + Susan Elizabeth Flemming (1909-1999)

             ++ Harry Clinton Flemming (1878-1955)

                   +++ Charles Clinton Flemming (1854-1932)*

                          ++++James Benjamin Flemming (1827-1907)**

                          ++++ Sarah Linza Jackson (1837-1902)**

                                  +++++ William Jackson (1800-1879)**

                                  +++++ Elizabeth (1802-1870)**

                   +++ Elizabeth Agnes McCaffrey (1858-1922)

                          ++++ Thomas Joseph McCaffrey (1832-1896)

                                  +++++ Thomas McCaffrey (1799-1890)

                                  +++++ Susan (1793-1769)

                          ++++ Charlotte Elizabeth McCluskey (1838-1917)

                                  +++++ Patrick McCluskey (1810-1855)

                                  +++++ Mary Ann (1805-1871)

          ++ Pearl Alphonsine Horst (1884-1961)

                   +++ Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912)

                          ++++ Martin Horst (1830-1878)

                                  +++++ Johann Ekhard Horst (1802-1852)

                                  +++++ Elizabeth Martin (UNK-1844)

                          ++++ Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908)

                                  +++++ Matthew Weinschenk (UNK- b. 1842)

                                  +++++ Maria Barbara Biebel (1787-1842)

                   +++ Odalie Felice Fortier (1857-1920)

                          ++++ Jacques Omer Fortier (1813-1867)

                                  +++++ Jacques Omer Fortier (1792-1823)

                                  +++++ Charlotte Adele Chauvin deLery (1796-1834)

                           ++++ Augustine Melanie Laperle DeGruy (1822-1872)

                                  +++++ Jean Baptiste Valentin Dufouchard DeGruy (1751-1838)

                                  +++++ Melanie Gaudin (1786-1853)

+ John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964)

          ++ John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937)

                     +++ Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911)

                           ++++ Richard O'Donnell (1787-1857)

                           ++++ Margaret (UNK)

                     +++ Bridget Kennedy (1838-1883)

                           ++++ James Kennedy (1818-UNK)

                           ++++ Mary Maguire (1833-1893)

         ++ Mary Huber (1873-1913)

                    +++ Philip Huber (1847-1901)

                           ++++ Georg Huber (1809-1900)

                                   +++++ Peter Huber (1772-1858)

                                   +++++ Katharina Busch (1787-1862)

                            ++++ Eva Katharina Fauth (1807-1885)

                                   +++++ Christian Fauth (1776-1828)

                                   +++++ Anna Catherina ( 1777-1852)

                   +++ Barbara Brunett (1852-1896)

                            ++++ John Michael Baptiste Brunett (1818-1863)

                                   +++++ Lucovici Brunett (1800-UNK)

                                   +++++ Catharina Schmidt (1800-1881)

                            ++++ Barbara Frisse (1822-1893)

                                   +++++ Joseph Frise (1796-1864)

                                   +++++ Marguerite Lang (1802-1868)

*Converted to Catholicism

**Baptist
All others Roman Catholic

As you can see, my ancestors on my mother's side are almost all Roman Catholics - in five generations there were at least 20 different families, out of twenty-two, that were practicing Catholics. Families came from France and Germany, from Ireland and Canada. They were baptized in the church, received the sacraments, were married in the Catholic Church and were buried in either Catholic cemeteries or the Catholic sections of the city cemeteries. They practiced their faith, raised their children as Catholics, and it has continued to pass through the generations. In several families I can track them up to eleven generations (but I had to stop because there are just so many, many families!).

The only families that were not Catholic were the Flemmings and the Jacksons. James Benjamin Flemming and his wife Sarah Linza Jackson (my 3x-great-grandparents) were Baptists. They were married in her hometown of Darlington, South Carolina in 1854 and moved to Rome, Georgia, before the start of the Civil War. They remained Baptists throughout their life as did all of their children but one. Their oldest son, Charles Clinton Flemming - my great-great-grandfather - changed the path of his family and their descendants when he converted to Catholicism.

The family story goes like this:

"Charles Flemming was apprenticed to a saddler in his early youth, later going out west where he became deathly ill. He was cared for at this time by a Catholic woman who gave him Cardinal Carroll's book, "Faith of Our Fathers". After reading it, he became a Catholic. After he recovered from his illness, he went back to Rome where he met Lizzie McCaffrey at church. They were married on April 9, 1877." [From "Family History" in 1993 Flemming Family Reunion booklet, written by William A. Powell, Jr.]

History of Catholicism in the United States
Catholicism arrived in what is now the United States during the earliest days of the European colonization of the Americas. The first Catholic missionaries were Spanish, having come with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. French colonization came in the early 18th century, with the French establishing missions in the Louisiana Territory districts (including Alabama). The number of Catholics grew during the country's history, at first slowly in the early 19th century. In the mid-19th century an influx of Irish and German immigrants made Catholicism the largest religion in the United States. [Thanks again, Wikipedia]

It remains the largest single religious denomination in the United States, comprising about 22 percent of the population. Worldwide the United States has the fourth largest population of Catholics, with 77.7 million. Mississippi and Alabama have the smallest percentage of Catholics in their state at 6%.

        

                                   

                                                            

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - Easter Sunday 1915

Grider and Charles Horst III on Easter Sunday
ca. 1915    Birmingham, Alabama

This photo was taken about 1915 in front of the Horst's family home in Birmingham, Alabama. These are the children of Charles Frederick Horst, Jr. (1880-1964) and his wife Eliza Loy Dilworth (1883-1960). Frances Grider (born December 23, 1908) and her younger brother Charles Frederick III (born November 10, 1911) are dressed in their Easter finery, in typical clothing for the time. In 1915 Easter Sunday was on April 4th.

Close-up of Photograph
(note the bunny in the basket on the left)

When I first saw the photograph I was surprised by the Easter baskets next to the children, as well as the large Bunny in Grider's basket. I would have thought that baskets were more of a recent addition to our Easter traditions in our country, so I did a little research. I found out from various websites that it was common for Catholics who had been fasting during Lent, leading up to Easter, to bring their Easter meals in baskets on that Sunday to church for the food to be blessed by the parish priest. Germans coming to America are given credit for bringing that tradition with them as they arrived in our country in the 18th century.

Grider and Charles were the only children of Charles & Eliza. [They were highlighted in a post of a photo on July 6, 2011]. Grider never married, living to the age of 86. Charles III married Kathryn Olsofski (1917-1999); he died in 1984. The couple had no children. So there were no more descendants of Charles Horst, Jr., and my father got several of their family pictures after Grider died in 1995.

It's All Relative:  Charles Horst, Jr., was the oldest child of Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912) and Odalie Felice Fortier (1857-1920), my great-great-grandparents, and the older brother of my great-grandmother Pearl Alphonsine Horst Flemming (1884-1961). He was also the oldest grandchild of Martin Horst (1830-1878) and Apollonia Weinschenk (1929-1908); Martin and Apollonia are my great-great-great-grandparents. Grider and Charles are my 1st cousins, twice removed.