"Divorce Wars" In The Early 1800's

Copyright 2010, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

There was a Hollywood movie a few years back called "The War Of The Roses", a comedy-tragedy depicting a divorcing couple who continued to live in the same house together while battling it out via their divorce lawyers. Accusations and threats ran rampant. They each wanted sole ownership of the house and property, even the family pets. Neither would budge an inch, each trying to one-up the other and "win".  Their battles continued on the homefront, with mudslinging and trickery, and with ultimately tragic results. Everybody loses. 

Divorces were not so different for our ancestors, it seems. In reviewing some divorce records published in an old issue of my collection of the North Carolina Genealogical Society's Journal, I came across some rather interesting and humorous transcripts of divorce cases in North Carolina in 1805. Though the named parties are not ancestors of mine, I thought I would share one amusing account anyway. It seems that reasons for divorce have not changed a whole lot over the years; though we learn that back in the early 1800's a married woman had few if any legal rights to her own property and money, even if her husband had been missing for many years, unless she was able to secure a legal divorce. The frontier version of community property meant in essence that everything belonged to the husband solely, even property the wife had inherited from her own family, unless she obtained a divorce order giving her rights to her own property and possessions. Some of us may wish that "tar and feathering" by the neighbors was still a common practice in dealing with wayward husbands!

The following transcript appeared in the NCGS Journal in May 1993, on page 101. Original Source: "Divorce & Separations from Petitions to the North Carolina General Assembly from 1779- 1805. "

"Eisenhaur, Mary (Meyers) and Nicholas Eisenhauer. Petition of Mary Eisenhauer of Cabarrus Co., NC, 12 Nov 1805, states that her rude, lazy and misanthropic husband, Nicholas Eisenhauer, drove her from home about 20 years ago without the slightest subsistence. He "made away with all we had" and abandoned your petitioner "for good and all", except once when he returned and tried to convince her to sell 200 acres of land that her father, Michael Meyers, bestowed upon her. 'He left me again under hundreds of bitter and cruel curses, and I truly suffered many since many times, although by the help of my children and God's blessings, I acquired a little again'. The petitioner reflects upon the 'nasty character' of the said Nicholas by including the following about him: "He got an intimate understanding with a licentious widow. Some neighbors, mistrusting him, watched and catched them in fornication; took him out of the house, tarred and feathered him and exposed him in that figure to public execration'. Your petitioner prays for assistance to secure herself all such small acquisitions she has saved since her husband left her and what she may acquire hereafter. Signed fifteen subscribers, most of them signing in German script. Bill to secure to persons named such property as they may acquire hereafter......and is passed 18-19 Dec, 1805. "

"Only The Men Had Babies"

 Copyright 2010, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

One of our challenges when searching for our female ancestors, especially in the American frontier days and prior, is that we often find the records appear only under her married name as an adult, and under her father's household name in census records as a child. She was often considered a mere extension of her father and then her husband, with no identity of her own...treated in the records more like property to be enumerated along with household/ farm belongings, than as a unique individual who was a mother and matriarch of a family line. Unless she kept a journal which still survives today and we are lucky enough to find it, we are apt to learn little about her daily life and the events that affected her. One of my focuses in working on updating my own family tree, is to strive to include more biographical information on the women in my tree, especially my direct female ancestors. It is through researching my female ancestors and their family histories, that I have discovered my eligibility to join various descendants' patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War; as well as a society for descendants of outlaws, pirates, and privateers. These women, and their ancestry, are what makes my family tree as colorful as it is.

I came across this poem recently. It was published in the Phelps County (MO) Genealogical Society's Quarterly magazine dated April 1993.

"ONLY THE MEN HAD BABIES"
"by Dr. Dorothy Branson"

"My ancestor William had children.
All named, with birth and places,
But his wife is not even mentioned;
Of her, there are not even traces.

Surely she must have existed,
Was born, was a child, and had dreams,
Grew up and learned how to keep house,
Was a PERSON- but nameless, it seems.

She had parents, and someplace, a home,
Her brothers are listed, no doubt.
But she was only a girl,
So not really worth telling about.

She was half of my ancestor's heritage;
Without her he wouldn't have life.
His genes are half of hers, but I find
She was only his father's wife.

Once a girl was first 'dau', then was 'wife'.
She belonged to her father till married,
And then She belonged to her husband,
And beside him, unnamed, she was buried.

How awful to think MY descendants
Might search for a name for me,
Be unable to find my identity,
And wonder just who I might be."


"Note: Recorded in PCGS Quarterly April 2003 by Barbara Smith Pugh, previously appeared in publications of the Champaign County Genealogical Society (Fall 1991), and the Henry County Genealogical Society, as well as the Dawson County (Mont.) Historical and Genealogical Society. "

The FRISCO : St Louis-San Francisco Railway, A Look Back In Time

 Copyright 2010, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

The following is a great source for photos and information on the FRISCO Railway, from which my grandfather John P Harrison retired in 1935 at age 70, after 45 years of service, as a lineman and engineer based out of St. Louis.

http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/frisco.cfm

Alexander Clarke- Immigrant Ancestor: Highlanders in North Carolina

Copyright 2010, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

The following article is about the early Clarke families of North Carolina, and my maternal 5th-great-grandfather Alexander Clarke.

Source: Excerpts from "The Settlement of the Scotch on The River Cape Fear; Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical Illustrative of a Portion of Her Early Settlers", Foote, William Henry, originally published 1846, New York, R. Carter. Information Source: Ancestry.com.

"The time of the settlement of the first Scotch families upon the River Cape Fear is not known with exactness. There were some at the time of the separation of the provence into North and South Carolina, in the year 1729. In consequence of disabilities in their native land (Scotland), the enterprising Scotch followed the example of their relations in Ireland, and sough refuge and abundance in America. From records in the possession of descendants of Alexander Clarke, it appears that he came over and took his residence upon the River Cape Fear in 1736, and that a ship load of emigrants came with him. It also appears that he found a good many Scotch settled in Cumberland at the time of his arrival. "

" Alexander Clark(e) came from Jura (Scotland), one of the Hebrides. His ancestors, particulary his grandfather, had suffered much in the wars that had desolated Scotland, and fell heaviest on the Presbyterians. Being constrained to flee for his life, his grandfather took two of his sons and went to Ireland, and saw many trials and suffering, which were brought to a close by the Battle of Boyne, that decided the fate of the British Dominions. Returning to Scotland after the peace, he sought his family; leaving the vessel, he ascended a hill that overlooked his residence, and gazed in sadness over the desolation that met his eye; to use his own words, "but three smokes in all of Jura could be seen". Not a member of his family could be found to tell the fate of the rest. They had all perished in the persecutions. He returned to Ireland to find his cup of bitterness , overflowing as it was, made still bitter by the death of one of his two sons. After some time he returned, and spent the remainder of his days in Jura, having for his second wife one whose sufferings had been equal to his own. Her infant had been taken from her arms, its' head severed from its' body in her presence, and used by a ruffian twisting his hand in its' hair, to beat the mother on the breast till she was left for dead. Gilbert, the only surviving child of his first wife, returned with his father to Jura, and there lived and reared a family. One of his (Gilbert's) sons, Alexander, married Flora McLean, and reared four sons and four daughters. When his eldest son was sixteen years of age, he (Alexander) removed to America, and settled in Cumberland County, (North Carolina), on the Cape Fear. Some of the descendants of Kenneth Clarke, half brother to Gilbert (also) came to America. From this stock arose numerous families in the south and west".

"When Alexander Clarke emigrated to America, he paid the passage of many poor emigrants, and gave them employment until till the price was repaid. Many companies of Scotsmen came to America in a similar way, some person of property paying their passage, and giving them employ upon their lands until they were able to set up for themselves. "

"North Carolina was long a favorite field for Highlander emigration, most of them exiles from Scotland consequant on the troubles that that followed the downfall of the Stuarts, some of them MacDonalds who had been fugitives from the massacre of Glencoe. The persecution to which the Highlanders were subjected after the scattering of the clans made them eager to escape from Scotland. They were followed by many of their kilth and kin to the plantations of America, till the vast plains and forest lands in the heart of North CArolina were sprinkled with a Gaelic speaking population. "

Alexander Clarke appears to have arrived on Cape Fear, Chatham County, North Carolina circa 1736-1739 according to various published sources; his name is listed on Passenger & Immigration lists for arrival in 1739. He appears in North Carolina census records as early as 1755, and in the Register of Deeds of Chatham County 1780-1783. His will appears in North Carolina Abstract of Wills for Cumberland County in 1794.

Remembering John David Harrison, Dec 13, 1947- Dec 3, 2009

Copyright 2010, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

Following are some of the memories of my brother, John David Harrison, that I shared at his memorial service in December 2009:

My brother, John David Harrison, was many things to many people. To me, he was simply my big brother, “Dave”. You see, for the first half of his life, he went by his middle name. I grew up knowing him as Dave, and he will always be Dave to me. But whether you knew him as Dave, Uncle Dave, John, Dad, Brother, Grandpa, or simply as friend…..he meant something special to all of us here today.

My brother was a unique individual. He was a mere human, full of human faults and frailties. He was a true Harrison……fiesty, opinionated, sometimes stubborn, often quick-tempered, fierce in his political beliefs; but equally as fierce in his support of family and friends when the chips were down. He was a generous soul who would give you the shirt off his back if he felt you really needed it. He was a steadfast friend in times of need, when you felt like you had no other friend to turn to. To some of his friends and family, he was their rock to lean on. To me, he was there for me during some of the darkest hours of my life when there was truly no on else there for me. I will always be grateful for what he contributed to my life, and to the lives of my daughters, his nieces.

My brother and I often faught like cats and dogs growing up. We were a about 4 years apart in age….just enough for him to resent the pesty little sister hanging around and nosing into his business. Then, by the time we were in high school, the age difference mattered less, and he was dating some of my friends. He graduated and went off to be a soldier in Viet Nam. He sent letters and photos home documenting his adventures, not realizing at first the true magnitude of the danger he was in. Then, he saw some of his friends perish in the war. He came home a changed person, as all the Viet Nam veterans did…a little more somber, a little more serious, and with a broken heart because his girlfriend had deserted him. Eventually, he fell in love again and married one of my former school friends, and had two beautiful daughters with her. Though they eventually parted ways, they remained friends to the very end. My brother and I weren’t as close as we could have been over the last few years, especially since I had moved to Arizona. Time and distance had seen our lives take separate paths, and is often the case with siblings. But, I always knew he would have my back if I ever really needed him to. Now, he is gone, and I miss him already.

My brother loved to sing karaoke. Many of his best friends in his last years were friends he met while enjoying karaoke. Those friends got him through some of the darkest hours of his life. I shared a few karaoke moments with my brother myself. I will always have a fond vision of my brother, Dave/John, costumed as “The King”, Elvis Presley, in full regalia; singing Elvis songs as one of the featured guest performers on a cruise ship. It was a real hoot, and he did a pretty good job. I missed the time he performed as Garth Brooks on a cruise and brought the house down. I would have loved to have been there for that one.

Hydia Hollins summed it up well when she wrote:

What is a Brother?
Someone who is there when you are hurting
He picks you up and dusts you off again

What is a brother?
Someone who sees you are without a smile
And he gives you one of his
And gives you a hug too,
Just especially for you

What is a brother?
Someone who stands by your side
And holds your hand
When things don’t go well
He helps you to understand

What is a brother?
A cherished friend for life
A brother by blood
A cousin, or a friend
But always by Love

In closing, I will share these few lines written by Helen Steiner Rice:

After the clouds, the sunshine
After the winter, the spring
After the shower, the rainbow
For life is a changeable thing.
After the night, the morning
Bidding all darkness cease
After life’s cares and sorrows,
The comfort and sweetness of peace.

Sleep well, my dear brother. I will always miss you.

July 4th 2009, and The Passing of Icons of Our Generation

Copyright 2015, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

We just celebrated Independence Day 2009 a few days ago, a joyous occasion for all Americans. Many of us celebrated with food and fireworks at local community events or backyard Bar-B-Ques. Most of us also watched (or recorded and re-played) the fireworks and musical events from Washington DC and Boston on TV. Both shows were spectacular. My husband and I went to a local festival near where we live in AZ to watch a few minutes of fireworks, then came home and watched the National shows on TV. My daughter Michelle, her husband and kids went to the big show on Tempe Town Lake in AZ for fireworks and live music. A good time was had by all.

In the past week, as a country we have also lost and laid to rest two celebrities who were national Icons.....Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Both were major figures of my young adult years. My first daughter grew up on Michael Jackson's music. The Jackson 5 burst upon the scene as a group when I was still in high school, and Michael Jackson had emerged as the "King of Pop" by the time my daughter Michelle was in Jr. High and High School. Who can ever forget Michael Jackson's moonwalk dancing moves, or his music? Who will ever forget Farrah's gorgeous smile, or that hair? They will forever live on in history as two of the biggest stars of their time. Michael Jackson's music will be his lasting legacy; artists will be singing and playing his music for generations to come (not to mention the karaoke-ers).

Some of us are feeling our mortality, with the passing of these two legends. Though this is primarily a genealogy blog, I feel compelled to also make note of the historical events of my lifetime as they occur. Yesterday morning, watching the live television coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial service was a moving and memorable event. It touched all our hearts, across the country and around the world, to hear his brother Jermaine Jackson sing Michael's favorite song, "Smile". It brought us all to tears when his 11 year old daughter spoke in public for the first time, tearfully proclaiming her love for her daddy. As many Icons do, Michael Jackson had a turbulent and troubled life...yet in death he managed to bring us all together to mourn his passing.

Weekend Escape- SCGS Jamboree 2009

Copyright 2009, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

This Blog is written primarily as my own personal diary of my progress in furthering an interest in genealogy and compiling my family tree. I don't write entries every day, and don't necessarily write for the reading enjoyment of others. I do hope to pick up some readers along the way, especially family members. So far only one close relative has shown even a remote interest in genealogy, my cousin JoAnn who lives in Texas. So, I am still the Lone Ranger, and have thus bestowed myself with the title of Family Historian. For my family, I am the historian. My hope is that one of the grand-children or future great-grandchildren in the family will one day become infected with the genealogy bug, and will be glad to have all of the information that I have compiled.

Last weekend, I attended the Southern California Genealogical Society's big JAMBOREE in Burbank, CA...a 3 day fun event. I flew out to SoCal from Phoenix on Thursday evening, and enjoyed a 4 day stay at the Burbank Airport Marriott, where the conference was being held. The adjacent Convention Center was filled with genealogy vendor exhibits of all sorts, selling useful products and services to aid everyone in researching their family trees. There were also representatives there from many of the major American Patriotic Societies, including Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), Colonial Dames, Daughters of Union Veterans, and many others. I stopped by their booths and signed up as an "interested prospective member"; since this is the year that I do intend to finally follow-through with that long held goal of honoring my ancestors through participation in the relevant patriotic societies based on my lineage. I was already working on my DAR membership documentation, and hope to get that one completed this summer. While at Jamboree, I took my USB flash drive to one vendor to have a nice 10-generation wall chart printed of my family tree, larger and nicer than I could have done myself on my home printer.

The Jamboree included seminars and workshops given by leaders in the Genealogy realm. The esteemed and highly educated and respected speakers were very knowledgable, and entertaining as well as enlightening. We learned all sorts of things, from the best online research sites; to how to organize a research project; to how to best digitize photos and documents to include in a family book; to overviews of the latest updates in all of the major genealogy repositories, research sites, online tools, and family tree software.

We also had a lot of fun. There were lunches, dinners, and banquets. There was the Marriott itself, a recently remodeled luxury hotel with great food and great room service. Not being an early riser myself, most mornings I enjoyed the luxury of having my pre-ordered breakfast delivered to my room at my designated time. I enjoy nothing more on a mini-vacation than awakening to a hot pot of coffee and a nice breakfast delivered to my room, to savor at my lesiure while beginning my preparations for the day ahead. I usually skipped lunch in favor of a refreshing nap in my room between the morning and afternoon seminars, or used that time to browse the vendor booths. Evenings were my time for a bit of socializing at the dinners and banquets (where we networked and met new friends, and were enlightened and entertained over dinner by selected speakers). Following dinner, I usually retreated to my room to peruse my shopping acquisitions of the day (various genealogy books, booklets, pamphlets, and CD's); and to of course check my email and Facebook postings.

Last but not least, I usually checked in on my Facebook "farm" on "Farmtown" before going to bed, and made sure my farmtown neighbors were not neglecting to water my flowers and pull my weeds in the fun virtual farming community we "live" in. I tried to send out my daily "farm gifts" as well, lest my farmtown neighbors neglect to send me any. Farmtown is just one of the many little game diversions to be found on Facebook, and those of us who spend a lot of time on the web and doing online research need those small diversions of social communicating with other Facebook friends that these games provide. I tend to the farms of my Facebook Farmtown neighbors, and they tend to mine. My Farm has grown quite large; I am currently a Level 26 Farmer and just acquired the Big White Farmhouse, of which I am very proud. However, I am still an ambitious farmer and have a ways to go yet...I am jealous of some of my neighbors with bigger and fancier farms. I want the meandering river with bridges, and gazebos and greenhouses, that I see on their farms! Must keep harvesting those crops to get more coins and get rich enough to acquire those items! In short, I am a Farmtown Addict!! All of this time and effort spent on "farming" does detract from the amount of time I could be spending on genealogy, of course. However, it also provides breaks and a fun diversion, which helps to stimulate those groggy brain cells after hours of staring at old census records online. One of my favorite excuses for avoiding drudgery is: "I can't clean the house right now, I have to harvest my Farmtown crops!". In fact, as I write this blog entry....my crops are calling, need to go hire a crew to harvest soon!

In summary, I really enjoyed going to the SCGS Jamboree, and have greatly enjoyed discovering Facebook and that online genealogy community as well. In fact, Facebook is how I discovered the Jamboree to begin with. I just got on Facebook a little over a month ago, and have connected with almost 100 new genealogy friends in that time. Facebook also enabled me to re-connect with a few old highschool friends. It keeps me in the loop with relatives; since no one really wants to email or snail mail anymore these days...everyone is on Facebook! I originally joined Facebook to check up on a wayward college student daughter who is off at college in another city; however that quickly fell by the wayside as I focused on genealogy networking. I can honestly say that Facebook is to be credited with re-igniting my interest in genealogy that had been dormant for years. It also got me hooked on playing Farmtown, but there are worse habits to be afflicted with.

Genealogists are a quirky bunch. Some people have hobbies such as collecting coins, or building model airplanes, or quilting, or singing karaoke, or playing video games. Many of us have those hobbies too. However, a genealogist's favorite pastime and form of "fun" is finding long-lost ancestors in census records, discovering a Revolutionary War Patriot ancestor for the first time, or finding a photo of the cemetary headstone of a great-great-great-grandparent. Only a genealogist would understand the "happy dance" that ensues, following one of those discoveries.

The following quote from Family Tree Magazine, written by Allison Stacy (Publisher/ Editorial Director) describes it best: "You can tell someone's a genealogist if the person engages in certain behaviors- spending weekends at the library, for instance, or visiting cemeteries with a surprising amount of enthusiam. I showed my true colors after the sudden collapse of Cologne, Germany's city archive: Whereas the average person would see the desrtruction and say ' What a disaster! ' or, ' Wow, I hope no one got hurt ', my initial reaction was to ask, ' Gee, I wonder how many of those records are on microfilm' ".

In closing, I would like to take the liberty of sharing a link to the Blog postings of Elizabeth O'Neal, below, as shared by Randy Seaver on Facebook. Elizabeth funnily describes the Jamboree experience with affectionate humor as "JamStock 09", saying it so much better than I can. Vist Elizabeth's genealogy blog at www.littlebytesoflife.com to read about the following:



"* JAMSTOCK '09: What REALLY Happened at the Geneablogger Dinner

* JAMSTOCK '09: Son of Blogger Jamfest Rocks the Marriott

* JAMSTOCK '09: BREAKING NEWS

* JAMSTOCK '09: Genealogists Stage Sit-In

* JAMSTOCK '09: Let the Love Begin! "


I intend to become a follower of Elizabeth's humorous blog now, too! Genealogy can be such a serious business, it is refreshing to read a humorous take on the collective community of all of us Hopelessly Hooked Genealogists.

A Remembrance: Legacy of John P. Harrison & The Frisco Railroad

                Copyright 2009, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)


PROFILE OF JOHN P. HARRISON, HIS LIFE AND TIMES WITH THE FRISCO RAILROAD

In honor of Father's Day just passed, I have decided to contribute an article on my paternal grandfather, John P. Harrison, 1865- 1942 . My grandfather died long before I was born. However, I have come to know the essence of the man through reading his journal, and from oral memories related to me by my father and my aunt.

John Pettis "Pinkney" Harrison was born 4 March 1865, in DeSoto, Missouri. His parents were John Milton Harrison (Union Civil War Veteran) and Mary Jane Coppedge, of Maries County, Missouri. John was born during the final years of the Civil War, shortly before the Confederate resistance ceased and the war ended.

In about 1894, John married Susannah "Susan" Allen of Phelps County, Missouri. He was about 29 years of age, and she was 19, when they wed. They became the parents of nine children, one of whom died in early childhood. At the time of their marriage, Grover Cleveland was President of the United States; Thomas Edison had just demonstrated the first moving-picture camera; and Hawaii had just become recognized as a republic.

John was a proud, hard-working family man. He came from Missouri farm stock, and had been instilled with a strong work ethic by his own parents. John grew up on a farm, but later earned his living with the "Frisco" railroad in Missouri, (officially known as the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company). This railroad originally bore the name of the Atlantic & Pacific before the Civil War. John began his life-long railroad career with the "Frisco" in 1892, at the age of about 25, and approximately two years prior to his marriage to Susan. At about the time of his marriage, the railroads were embroiled in a nationwide strike and labor dispute overseen by the powerful American Railway Union. It is not known whether John was at that time among the 150,000 members of this union, but this strike surely affected his early career. John later became a member of the Brotherhood Of Linemen & Engineers union. In the year 1921, John's wage statement from the railroad indicates that he earned a total income of $2133.44 for that year. His children recalled that throughout John's career and union membership, there were many railroad labor disputes resulting in strikes and layoffs affecting John and his family. John worked hard and provided adequately for his wife and many children throughout his railroad career, though frugality was the norm. There were times of financial harship, especially during the Depression years.

John P. Harrison left behind a simple journal, entitled "Ledger", in which he briefly recorded the momentous events of his lifetime, as well as his employment record and history with the "Frisco". In this journal, John also recorded family records, recipes, and his favorite home remedies for medicinal purposes and houshehold repair. One of John's favorite poulstices was "A good Linement For Man Or Beast: To a pint of kerosene, add five-cents worth of camphor gum and let stand overnight. Add one half pint of sweet oil, shake well and it is ready for use. For burns, stiff neck and sore throat it has no equal. Fine for raw sores on man or beast".

Regarding his railroad career, John wrote in his journal simply: "Seniority on RR: Began as Fireman at Newburg, MO on Frisco from Aug 1, 1892 to Feb 4, 1895. - As Fireman at DeSoto, MO on Iron Mountain from Dec 15, 1895 to Feb 4th, 1900. Permoted (sp) and Engineer from Feb 4th, 1900 to about Jan 1903- the date I have not got. Then hired as Engineer at Cape Giradeau (MO) Oct 2nd, 1903. Resigned Oct 1, 1906. Rehired same place March 13th, 1907. Was taken out of service by same officials at Chaffee (MO) on Nov 23rd, 1923. Reinstated on Dec 16th (1923) with all seniority rights. Then taken out again same charges by officials at Springfield (MO) and reinstated with all seniority rights on 23rd January, 1924. Cut of Engineers about 1933, date I haven't got. Placed on crossing watchman job in St. Louis (MO) on June 27th, 1933, and retired at age 70 on pencion (sp) May 31st, 1935. " There had apparently been some kind of a labor-related dispute in which John was involved, during which time his credibility as an engineer had been questioned. Perhaps this had to do with a railway accident of some sort? We do not know. However, the issue was later resolved in John's favor, and his position and seniority were restored.

What is unspoken in John's brief account of his railroad career above, is that John and Susan Harrison raised their family during the years of the Great Depression. Their youngest children, one of which was my father Marvin Milton Harrison, had vivid memories of the hardships exprienced by John and Susan Harrison and their family during those Depression era years. John was apparently lucky enough to remain employed with the railroad and working steadily to provide for his family during most (but not all)of the Depression. Still, times were tough for everyone. My father, Marvin, recalls many meals consisting of "just beans and biscuits, and glad to get it". John was "taken out of service" for a period of time during the Depression, however we do not know if this was due to a union labor dispute, or due to financial cutbacks and layoffs experienced by the railroad. This did result in financial hardship for the family, at a time when John was in his sixties and nearing retirement, and John's wife was in seriously ill-health.

As yet, I have been unable to obtain copies the railroad company's records as this railroad is now defunct, and their records from that period of time were not preserved. However, we do have the records preserved by John himself. In his journal/ ledger, John recorded a receipt for financial assistance he received from his union brothers at the B. of L. E. during the Depression-era, on August 2nd, 1930. About 40 of John's union brotherhood had donated funds with the following message: "On account of sickness in his family for the past year, and having been out of service since June 20 (1930), and being in need of financial assistance, We the undersigned members of the B. of L.E. wish to contribute the amounts opposite our names to the relief of our Brother, John P. Harrison". John's wife Susan died 3 years later from a long-term illness.

John spent the majority of his railroad career as a Lineman and Engineer. Shortly before his wife's death, John was transferred with the railroad to St. Louis, MO for a position as a crossing watchman in 1933. There he ramined until his retirement two years later in 1935, at age 70. John was extremely proud of his life-long career with the railroad. He saved his retirement pension notice and tucked it into his journal/ ledger. John's last hand-written entry in his journal reads: "Thanks a lot. I am well pleased. Glod Bless the Frisco."

John also left instructions in his ledger for family to follow at his passing. John wrote: "This is my request to whom it may concern: at past the age of 70, at my death please don't bury me at DeSoto. I don't care to be buried there.- just anyplace else that is most convenient to you. And, please bury me in just a blue suit of over-clothes like I wore to make a living for my family. Don't let the funeral cost over $100, as that is enough to bury me when times is so hard as ever. (signed)- John P. Harrison, 2901 Caroline St., St. Louis, MO. John, ever frugal, later added a post-script as follows: "P.S.- I prefer to be cremated. That will cost $50. Don't care what is done with the ashes". John's family honored his final wishes. His ashes were interred at a cemetery in St. Louis, MO.

At the time of John's passing, Franklin D. Roosevelt was President of the U.S., and the nation was embroiled in WWII. I have no personal memories of the grandfather that I never met, but feel fortunate that my aunt preserved his ledger/diary so that future generations would get to know some glimpse of the character of their ancestor. It enables me to comprehend the emotional scars that the Great Depression left on the people who lived through it, including my own father; who like his father John P. Harrison was a frugal man to the end.

A Year Ends and New Blog Begins- December 2008- My Genealogy Journey

Copyright 2008, Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

My first genea-blog post, a brand new blog- Dec 29, 2008

Another year draws quickly to a close. I contemplate the things I would like to accomplish in 2009; and beginning a Blog seems to be one of them. This is my inaugaral entry into my new Blog, which I hope to keep updated to share with family and friends in 2009. Perhaps this Blog will lead to new friendships along the way?

I hope to get seriously back into my Genealogy hobby in 2009; which has been put on the shelf for many years due to being too busy with "life" to pay much attention to my dead ancestors. Having just moved into a new home, with more rooms, I now have one full room which I can devote to genealogy research and storing of my genealogy books and records. Once I am able to retrieve those dusty files from their storage boxes and get them all arranged neatly in filing cabinets in my new "home office/ genealogy room"; and arrange all those family history books neatly on their display shelves; I will once again become motivated to delve into the past. There are so many discoveries of colorful ancestors who led intriguing lives, yet to uncover. Since I last did serious research about 15 years ago, everything has become available online. I hardly know where to start; the task ahead is both tantalizing and daunting. I did my original research the "hard way", first by sorting through clippings and old photos from an elderly aunt's attic; then piecing it all together one generation at a time going backwards from my aunt's generation. I wrote letters by "snail mail" to genealogical societies in the geographic areas of my known ancestral roots in the early 1900's and 1800's; and worked backwards in time from there. I hit gold along the way, networking with enough fellow "Genie's" who had connections to some of my ancestral lines, that I was able to piece together quite a few generations of my family tree fairly quickly. Then I started writing to the National Archives and State Archives to gather copies of original documents. on some of my ancestors. I now have quite a collection, enough to document my elgibiity to join DAR, Daughters of the Confederacy, and several other Patriotic Societies.

Which brings me to yet another item on my 2009 "To Do List": To actually complete that DAR application and enrollment packet and get it submitted, and start attending some DAR functions with one of the local chapters near where I live in Arizona. One local chapter has kindly had me on their mailing list for over a year now, inviting me to participate in events and functions while awaiting my completion of the documentation to make me an official member. I must get around to doing that this year! I must reschedule a Genealogy Cruise in 2009, to compensate for the one I missed in 2008 for health reasons.

Meantime, my youngest daughter is just home for the holidays from her first semester of college at University of Arizona, where she is a Pre-Nursing student in the Honors College. My eldest daughter, son-in-law and grandkids joined us at our new home on Christmas Eve to celebrate with dinner and a gift exchange. My husband passes his early-retirement hours and days with a daily regimine of crossword puzzles, to try to stave off the ever-advancing stages of Early Onset Alzheimers/ Dementia, that ended his career at age 55 (2 years ago).

Another thing I would like to accomplish in the coming year, is to get the RV out of storage and put a few miles on it, traveling around in it a little bit and maybe getting to some RV rally's and group camp-outs and events. We own land in Arkansas and Texas that we would love to visit in the RV, in the spring or summer, stopping off to see some relatives along the way. From there, we could go on into Missouri, land of my ancestral roots in the 1800's, and perhaps do a little more genealogy research, or even visit my mother's resting place in Poplar Bluff, MO. I am semi-retired now myself, so may have the time this coming year to travel a bit....but would have to do all the driving myself. The Alzheimers has robbed my husband of the ability to drive or to do much of anything these days, much too early in his lifespan. It has robbed me of a companion and provider. He may enjoy getting out in the RV with me to see some country, though.

Other than that, like everyone else we just hope to survive financially intact in 2009. I am happy to see Obama coming into office as the next President. I think that has done the morale of this country a world of good, already.

I will be posting to this blog from time to time, sharing some of my daily or weekly thoughts, challenges, worries, hopes, dreams, accomplishments....maybe even a recipe or a poem here or there. Hopefully I will have the health and stamina, and time, in 2009 to accomplish a few of the things on my To Do list. Here's hoping that all of you who read this will enjoy the same.