Julia Anna Peters

Julia Anna Peters, James W. Wallace

Parents: George W. Peters, Sarah Penny
Birth date: September 9, 1872
Marriages:

1. April 30, 1895 to William Shell. Anna was 22 and William was 27. They had one child, Lena Mabel Shell
2. August 20, 1899 to James W. Wallace. Anna was 26 and James was 32. They had two children, Adrian Floyd and Cecil Denver.

Death date: April 14, 1956

Julia Anna has been a really interesting person to research. It seems like she went by her first name Julia when she was young (see the 1880 Census), but by her first marriage, she was called by her middle name Anna or Annie (see the subsequent censuses).

As you can see from the 1880 census, Julia is the second youngest child in her family. Her father had passed away just a year before the census was taken, so Julia's mother Sarah was listed as the head of household. Julia's older brothers helped to support the family (if you look at the 1880 census in Family Search, you can see Julia's older brother George W and his family listed right before Julia's family unit), but you wonder how Julia's life and perspective were different without her father around for much of her life.

Did you know that the 1890 U.S. Census was burned? Evidently there was an fire in the basement where it was kept, and all fragments except a few maps were destroyed as a result. This fire is what prompted the United States to establish the National Archives. So we don't have any of the 1890 Census records. It would be nice to know more about Julia's family at this point, but I guess we'll just have to live with the gap.

In 1895, Annie married William Shell (I found their marriage license/certificate!). About a year later, their daughter Mabel was born. Around 1898, William passed away. What a tragedy! I'm sure that Annie was distraught! On top of having a young child and not knowing how she was going to survive financially, her husband and companion was no longer there for her.

Annie married again, about a year and a half after William's passing. She married James Wallace, also a young widower. His first wife had passed away three years earlier, just a few months after he and she married. James and Annie married just in time to have their first year of marriage preserved by the 1900 US Census. Mabel is 4 at this point, and James and Annie had been married for about a year. They were renting a house that didn't have a farm, but most of the people living near them lived on farms.

At the 1910 Census, James and Annie seem to have a really good life going for them. They own their own farm free of mortgage!  Their children are growing and going to school--at this point, they have two boys (Adrian, 9, and Cecil, 1.5 years - here's his birth record from 1908) in addition to Annie's daughter Mabel. James seems to have steady work at the sawmill, which brings in a more reliable income than the farm would.

Not much seems to have changed by the 1920 Census except that Mabel has moved on, probably to marry and start her own family. I couldn't find a marriage record for her, so I'm not sure who she married or if she did marry. Annie's son Adrian got married two years after the census was taken, so Annie and James were left with only their youngest child at home, making Cecil essentially an only child for his teenage years.

Sometime before 1930, Annie and James sold their farm and moved into town. James started up a grocery store, and Annie worked there as a clerk. Unfortunately, it seems like that business didn't work out for them, because in 1940 James was working at the saw mill again.

Annie was 83 when she passed away.

1880 Census
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MZ1D-6Y5

Marriage to William Shell:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XD59-LCQ

Birth of Cecil Denver Wallace, Sr. (1908):
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X67W-S5S

Marriage of son, Adrian Peters (1922):
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZ1N-7LL

1900 Census:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMCC-1R8

1910 Census:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MLNF-1ST

1920 Census:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MDBS-5VX

1930 Census:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4S4-YXF

1940 Census:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KWD1-6W5

Clifford L White

Clifford Lee or Levi (I'm not sure which it was) White was a kind and family-oriented man. He took in his son's family and spent time with his grandchildren, sometimes taking them along on rides while performing his job as a salesman.

Parents: Thomas Pinkham (T.P.) White, Flora Jane Nichols
Birth: May 9, 1875
Marriage: June 7, 1899 to Minnie May Winspear. Cliff was 24 and Minnie was 22. Their only child was Clifford Winspear White.
Death: September 23, 1965

Birth record:

1880 Census:

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This census is hard to read, but it shows all of Cliff's siblings as well as his parents. Thomas P's profession is listed as a carriage maker. Cliff was in the very middle of five children.

Cliff and Minnie's marriage record is on the post I wrote about Minnie. You can find links to the following censuses on that post, as well.

1900 Census:

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This is (barely) less than a year after Cliff and Minnie's marriage. We see from this census is that the family is renting their home, and must live in or near town, since they don't have a farm. We also see that Cliff worked at a livery stable on his "own account" (that's what the 'o' means after his place of work). I'm guessing that this job could be related to his father's job as a carriage maker. We also see that both of Cliff, Sr's parents were born in Ohio.

1910 Census:

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From this census, you can see that Cliff Sr. and Minnie were a little bit older when Cliff Jr. was born. In fact, he was born over 7 years after they married! They sure did have a long wait. I'm sure they treasured their only son that they had waited so long for. I remember hearing that Cliff, Jr. was a "spoiled only child," but I suspect that his parents couldn't help it. They had waited so long for this child.

We also see that Cliff Sr. still worked as a "livery man" at a livery stable. If I understand the census taker's shorthand correctly, Cliff Sr. was the employer at the livery stable.

1920 Census:

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In this census, we see that Cliff Sr. is working on his "own account" (OA on the far right) as a manager at a garage. This is probably a natural transition from the livery stable as the country was transitioning from horses to automobiles as their main mode of transportation.

1930 Census:

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At the time of this census, Cliff Jr. had just moved out and married the beautiful Jo Grupenhoff, so Minnie and Cliff, Sr. are empty-nesters. The family owned a radio set, rented their home, and did not live on a farm. Cliff, Sr. worked as a salesman for a "monument co." meaning that he sold gravestones.
1940 Census:

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Here's a big change! Minnie and Cliff, Sr. own their own home, and it's beautiful and spacious. White Acres housed Minnie and Cliff, Sr. on one side and their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren on the other. Cliff, Sr. was a "monument" (aka gravestone) salesman, and Minnie stayed at home.
Cliff passed away a few months after his 90th birthday. The record of his death states that he passed away in Clermont County at a "long term care facility". I'm not sure if that means a long term facility in a hospital or if it means he was in a rest home when he passed away. I'm guessing that since Minnie was still living at the time of his death, Cliff was not in a rest home.

Minnie May Winspear

Minnie was born about 10 years after the Civil War, and lived well into the 20th century. What must it have been like to live during that time of leaping changes in technology in the modern world? She started her life without electricity, indoor plumbing, or motorized vehicles. She ended her life after cars had been around for dozens of years, electricity had passed the threshold of television, air conditioning, and telephones that would allow you to talk to someone across the globe almost instantaneously. Even her name reflected the changing times: Minnie was an extremely popular name during the 1870's, and continued to be popular a few dozens of years, but declined gradually until now, when it's very unusual to meet someone named Minnie.

Minnie May Winspear and Clifford L. White

Parents: Wheelock Winspear, Ellen Eve Rowe
Birth: October 21 or December 5, 1877
Marriage: June 7, 1899 to Clifford Levi White. Minnie was 22 and Cliff was 24.
               Their only child was Clifford Winspear White, my great-grandfather.
Death: 1971

Birth record for Minnie Winspear:

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This record is pretty self-explanatory, but it shows Minnie's birth date. As you will see in the other records I've found for her, this is an elusive date! I'm not sure if this is the correct date or not. We also get Ellen's middle initial from this record: E. I'm pretty sure this is the actual record for Minnie, however. I didn't find any other women named Minnie with parents of similar names when I was looking her up.

1880 Census:

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This is the only census I could find with Minnie in it before her marriage. I felt really proud of myself for finding her in this one, since she's listed as Minetta (I think it's a write-o). I found this record by looking up her father's and mother's names. Here she's 2 years old. You can also see her grandmother (Kate, short for Catherine :) and aunt in the two rows above the Wheelock Winspear family. We also see that Minnie's mother was born in England, as well as both of Minnie's maternal grandparents. Minnie's father's family is from New York. I wonder what brought them to Ohio?

Marriage license and certificate for Minnie May Winspear and Clifford Lee White:

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Whew! This document has a TON of information! We get the full names of both bride and groom, we get their birth dates (This shows Minnie's as December 5, in conflict with the birth record that I found for her). We also get each parent's name or maiden name. Maiden names are priceless in family history research, by the way! We also see that Minnie was born and raised in Pierce Township, since she is listed as living at the "same place" as where she was born. 

We also get crucial information about Clifford Lee (or is it Levi? I think I saw that name somewhere ... ) from this record, but I will discuss that in his entry.

1900 Census:

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This is (barely) less than a year after Cliff and Minnie's marriage. This census is another source that lists Minnie's birth month as December. I'm pretty sure that even if Minnie was born in October, she was convinced that she was born in December. Another thing we see from this census is that the family is renting their home, and must live in or near town, since they don't have a farm.

1910 Census:

Click to enlarge

From this census, you can see that Cliff Sr. and Minnie were a little bit older when Cliff Jr. was born. In fact, he was born over 7 years after they married! They sure did have a long wait. I'm sure they treasured their only son that they had waited so long for. I remember hearing that Cliff, Jr. was a "spoiled only child," but I suspect that his parents couldn't help it. They had waited so long for this child.

We also see that Cliff Sr. still worked as a "livery man" at a livery stable. If I understand the census taker's shorthand correctly, Cliff Sr. was the employer at the livery stable. The family still rented a house that was not on a farm.

1920 Census:

Click to enlarge

In this census, we see that Cliff Sr. is working on his "own account" (OA on the far right) as a manager at a garage. This is probably a natural transition from the livery stable as the country was transitioning from horses to automobiles as their main mode of transportation. It's also interesting to see that Minnie was working outside the home, even though two-income families were much less common during this time period. I don't know what the "creamery office" was, but she was the manager of it. I think that's pretty impressive for a woman from her time period. The family now owns the house that they're living in, but they have a mortgage on it.

1930 Census:

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Minnie isn't working anymore by the time 1930 rolls around. For some reason, the family is renting again.Cliff Jr. had just moved out and married the beautiful Jo Grupenhoff, so Minnie and Cliff, Sr. are empty-nesters. I imagine that it must have been especially lonely for Minnie, since she didn't work anymore. However, it's possible that she was able to visit with her neighbors to pass the time.

1940 Census:

Click to enlarge

Here's a big change! Minnie and Cliff, Sr. own their own home, and it's beautiful and spacious. White Acres housed Minnie and Cliff, Sr. on one side and their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren on the other. Cliff, Sr. was a "monument" (aka gravestone) salesman, and Minnie stayed at home, which I imagine she did for the remainder of her life.

Minnie lived into her 90's. Her only grandchild lived in Baltimore with his three children, Minnie's great-grandchildren. She outlived her husband by six years. I don't know much about the remainder of her life, but I hope it was happy and fulfilling.

Mollie Elizabeth Chambers

Mollie Elizabeth Chambers was Great-Grandma Lucy's mother. I'm guessing that Grandma Lucy learned most of her amazing cooking skills from her.

Mollie is in the center

John and Mollie Henize, circa 1940

Parents: Thomas Chambers, Lucy Jane Bishop

Birth: November 1, 1868 in Green, Brown, Ohio (it's a real place! And of course it's close to Amelia)

Marriage: March 2, 1890 to John Henry Henize. She was 21 and he was 25, almost 26.

• Children: Thomas Christopher (Chris), Frederick Raymond (Fred), Vesta May, Ralph Lawrence, Harley Clyde, Walter Floyd, Ora Bery (Bery), Dora Bedah (Bee), and Lucy

Death: December 9, 1946

I found a record of her birth* on FamilySearch, but there was no image associated with it. I'm guessing her parents didn't know what they were going to call her yet, because her name is listed only as "Chambers."

The 1870 Census doesn't give us much information, but we can still learn important things from it. First, this census page is from Green township, Brown county, Ohio. Mollie was still living in the town where she was born. Second, Mollie had an older sister named Carry B and her father was a farmer. We can see the value of their home was above average, but not much (a little bit further down the page we see a home valued at 3,500). We also see that Mollie is close in age to her sister and the second oldest child of her parents.

In the 1880 Census, we see that Mollie's mother went by Lucy Jane. We also learn that Mollie's maternal grandfather was born in New Jersey, and that her paternal grandfather was born in Pennsylvania. Her father still worked as a farmer.

I couldn't find Mollie in the 1890 or the 1900 censuses, so we're skipping a large portion of her life here.

Here in the 1910 Census she's been married for about 20 years. You can see that Mollie's oldest child is 19 years old at this census. I also noticed that she has a son named Fred. I think she named him after her brother Frederick. Maybe they were close and she liked the name a lot because she liked the person so much. The only other person that shares a name with someone in Mollie's family growing up would be Lucy, who appears to be named after Mollie's mother.

One thing from this census that I think is interesting is there are two columns to indicate how many children a mother has borne and how many of those children are still alive. I think this is a really useful tool for people working on family history because they can see if they need to look for records of any other children.

We also see that Mollie worked at home. She was a farmer's wife, which meant a lot of work for her. However, they owned their house without a mortgage, so they must have been at least modestly well off.

1920 Census: Here we get another little snapshot of Mollie's life. It may look like things haven't changed very much--John still farms, he still owns his land, they live in the same place--but look at the number of children listed with them. What mother feels her life is the same after one of her children moves out on his or her own? And at this point, three of Mollie's children have moved out on their own. One of her adult children--Vesta--is still at home but working the adult job of teaching. The baby of the family is already 12 years old. Thankfully, many of her children stayed close, so she was able to see them often and whenever the family had family reunions.

By the 1940 Census all of Mollie and John's children are long gone. The two are in their 70's . They own their own farm and live in the same house they have lived in for years. John still works hard (it lists that he worked 52 hours during the preceding week on his farm) and I would imagine that Mollie does, too.

I couldn't find a death certificate for Mollie, but I did find one for John. He passed away in 1948 and was widowed at the time. The information on FamilyTree shows that Mollie passed away just two years before that. She was 78 years old.

*There is another record of her birth, but it looks like a duplicate or near duplicate of the first one.