Happy birthday, Lucile Fox Osgood!

Today is my Grandma Osgood's birthday. She was born in 1921 in Saffordville, Kansas. She died a little over 5 years ago. I miss her!

Lucile was one of ten children born to William and Lillie Pearl Fox. Only seven daughters survived childhood. Grandma was the third oldest. After high school graduation i n1939, she spent 2 years at the State Teacher's college in Emporia, Kansas. She taught in a one room school house in Florence Kansas. That is where she met a handsome young farmer by the name of Everett Osgood. From what Grandma told my sister and I, Everett would go out of his way to go pick up the daily mail--a route that would take him right by the little schoolhouse. The kids would see him coming and singsong to their teacher, "Here comes Mr. Osgood!" Here is a photo of "Lucie and her kids" in front of the schoolhouse in the early 1940's,

Lucile and Everett were married on April 30, 1944 at the home of her sister in Elmdale, Kansas. They spent their young married life in Florence, but moved to Idaho in about 1953. (I'm sure my mom or uncle Milt can be more specific about this date).

Grandma gave birth to seven babies. Her second, Anita Rae, died at birth. If memory serves me correctly from conversations I had with her and my mom about the event, the baby was breech. The doctors told her that the baby was stillborn, but Grandma heard Anita cry. After that, Grandma had her next baby, my mom, at home.

Grandma was a beautiful, strong lady, yet very gentle at the same time. She had a great sense of humor and she loved the Lord. Even though I miss her, I know that one day we will see each other again.

Here Grandma meets her newest great grandson, Olivier. This was taken in about 2000.

A History of "Pioneer Sarah" - Part Two

The article continues:

"Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Henry Fordyce and Rachel/Sarah, along with the Thomas J. Sampson family, joined a wagon train going west for about two years. It is thought they had relatives there. (Note: Thomas J. Sampson was Henry and Rachel/Sarah's son in law. He married their daughter, Mahala Fordyce. TJ was the one who sacrificed his own health and life for his team of horses).

In Iowa, another tragedy struck the hearts of the two families - and that of Rachel/Sarah in particular. Her little namesake Rachel, daughter of Thomas and Mahala Sampson, came too close to the fire where trash was burning. She burned to death.

The lure of free homestead land drew them to Kansas, and the families once more packed their belongings. Two sons had been born to the Sampsons while in Iowa, and when they arrived in Marion County in October of 1869, John Wesley Sampson was only a few weeks old.

The two families chose adjoining land on section 14-18-5 in Clear Creek township. Eight months after their arrival, a federal census was taken on June 21, 1870. It listed Henry Fordyce as age 69, white, a farmer born in New Jersey, a citizen, with property of $1,717.00 in value. His wife is listed as Rachel, 71, female, white, b. West Virginia. They lived in Clear Creek township about five miles east of Lincolnville. Living with the Fordyces was an 18 year old youth named Frank Vanmeter.

In the months that followed, the aging couple met yet another young adventure, building a home, setting up their farming operations, coping with weather and soil vastly different than the lush green land of Indiana. But they were survivors who could meet a challenge. Stone houses were built, orchards planted, fences built, three new grandchildren arrived to be cuddled, and older children needed to be told tales of adventures. Their twilight years could not have been lonely nor empty. In the year of 1878, Rachel/Sarah died. In the months that followed, neighbors by the name of Howell were making a trip to Indiana and offered to take Henry with them. In his luggage Henry packed the Fordyce family Bible and went to Indiana to see his son and relatives. The Howells did not bring him back. According to information in the Marion County (Kansas) Court House, (Book P.P. 176, Register of Deeds), the Howells induced Henry to sign on March 4, 1879, a paper agreeing to give John Howell and wife 80 acres of land in Marion County, Kansas, in exchange for "clothes and board and necessary medical treatment during his life, and, at his death, the said John Howell to furnish the said Henry Fordyce with a respectable burial outfit." Henry, according to the date of death on his tombstone died the same day the agreement was signed, March 4, 1879. The Howells waited seven weeks and filed their claim on April 21, 1879, then waited until February of 1892 to file in Marion County an affidavit or claim to the land, SW quarter-section of 14-18-5 "containing 160 acres, more or less."

Henry died the same month as his son-in-law, Thomas Sampson, husband of the Fordyce's daughter Mahala. Thomas died 29 March 1879 of dust pneumonia, leaving his wife with 10

children, one an infant. Thomas must have been something of a powerhouse of a man to have accomplished all that he had in his less than 10 years on the prairie; he had bought expensive machinery, including a threshing machine and well pump. There were notes on the machinery and livestock. He had not expected to die at age 47. Mahala simply could not go to Indiana to see about her father's affairs. So the Howells were able to "absorb" the Fordyce land Mahala and her children sorely needed.

As to the real name of Rachel/Sarah, we would like to suggest that both Biblical names eminently suited her. She was strong, patient, loving, fruitful, faithful, courageous, and though uneducated because of frontier conditions, she was a splendid teacher by precept and example. She was proud of her heritage and the heritage of her children. She taught her daughter that her ancestry went back to the Mayflower and also the ancestors who arrived with William Penn. Lee Sampson has suggested that Sarah was probably Rachel/Sarah's middle name and that she may have become known as Sarah because she preferred that name. There was both a Sarah and a Rachel among the Thomas Sampson family children. Thomas' mother was named Sarah Grear.

Though there are more records to be searched, and more to be written, it seemed appropriate to write as much of the story of this ancestress as is now available for the reunion of the Sampson family on June 12, 1983, so that it can be distributed and hopefully preserved by someone who may be able to someday find all the remaining story of a gallant lady."

A Sampson Story...with a picture!

I'm thrilled to get some new photos of some of my Sampson ancestors. A recently found cousin (2 times removed) has shared them with me on Facebook. I'm loving seeing these pictures-its like a holiday gift! This photo is of Miles Ellsworth Sampson and his wife, Caroline Kline Sampson, with their three eldest children. The picture was probably taken around the turn of the century. The oldest daughter, Lillie Pearl, is my great-grandmother. Since I don't want to just throw up a picture without a story, here is one that happened a few years before this photo was taken.

Lillie Pearl Sampson was born near what was Elk, Kansas, on the Stowers place on Middle Creek in December 1894. The next year she and her parents Miles Ellsworth and Caroline Julianne Kline Sampson traveled by covered wagon to homestead newly opened land in Arkansas. Baby Lillie rode for 5 weeks on the dusty trails to her new home. Her father built a cabin and cleared new land. The future looked promising for this young couple who homesteaded in this new state. But they soon found out "Yankees" weren't welcome in Arkansas. So after approximately four years of hard work Lillie awoke one morning to the sounds of angry "neighbors" cross plowing her parents beautiful crops and abundant garden. The civil war had left hostile feelings and they were told to get out. So the family with five year old Lillie and her baby brother Albert William who was born in Arkansas in 1898 returned to Kansas.

Back in Kansas, Miles and Caroline went on to have six more children.

Stay tuned for more on the Sampsons!

The value of a good pair of horses

This is the story of my 3rd great grandfather on my mother's side, Thomas Jasper Sampson. He was known as "T.J."

This is a photograph of some of his children taken in 1886, about 7 years after Thomas died. Their son, Miles E. is in my family line. He is the first man standing on the left. He married Caroline Kline, the daughter of Karl and Amelia Kline. (See previous posts with my musings on them!)

TJ and his wife Mahala lived on the Kansas prairie in Marion County during the 1870's. Prior to living in Kansas, they lived in Wabash, Indiana and Wapello, Ohio. They had fourteen children between the years of 1853 and 1879. Three daughters died before reaching adulthood. Sarah was 11 months old when she died in 1854. Rachel was 3 years old when she died in 1868 and Mahala was 15 when she died in 1877. I am in awe of how strong this couple must have been to have so many children-and be able to move interstate with so many! My family just moved 3 miles away with 3 kids. It was one of the most difficult things we have ever done as a family. But moving from Iowa to Kansas, probably in a covered wagons, with 8-10 kids!? I am convinced we do not know difficulty these days.

According to the 1870 census, the Sampson's were a farming family. The value of his real estate is reported as $1,100 and personal estate $837. They lived near Mahala's elderly parents, Henry and Rachel Fordyce. (Otherwise known as Pioneer Sarah.)

On a blustery March day in 1879, a 46 year old Thomas hitched a team to the wagon and set out for Council Grove for supplies. On the way home a dust storm caught him, and T.J. feared for the lives of his valued horses. He removed his jacket and tied it around "Kit's" head. next he removed his shirt and wrapped it around "Kip's" head. Evidently, he had no other piece of cloth to protect his own lungs from the dust laden cold March wind. A week later he was dead of dust pneumonia. His youngest child, Maggie May, was only 2 months old.

This just goes to show how valuable a good team of horses was to a farmer on the Kansas prairie.

Billy Fox

Among the stacks of papers my mom gave me that she had collected on her family's history was this note. It was written in my grandmother Lucile's handwriting. It reads like an obituary--I don't know if grandma copied it to have for herself. I haven't found the obit in any Kansas newspapers yet. Grandma was one of William's older sisters. Recall from my "Turning 40" post that William was the third son to pass away as an infant. I remember my mom telling me that her mom told her that some neighbor kids had whooping cough and that they thought he caught it from them.

William Wesley Fox, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Fox was born April 22, 1934 and departed this life March 17, 1935 at the age of 10 months and 26 days. He leaves to mourn his departure his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Fox and seven sisters, Elnora, Myrtle, Lucile, Roselma, Minnie, Lillie and Mildred. His Grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. M.E. Sampson of Lincolnville and a host of other relatives and friends. Two brothers, John and Walter preceded him in death.

Billy was a loving baby and during his short stay had won a place in the hearts of all who knew him.

"A precious one from us is gone, a voice we loved is stilled;

a place is vacant in our home which never can be filled.

God in His wisdom has recalled the boom his love had given and through the body slumbers here the soul is safe in heaven."

Card of Thanks

We wish to thank those who were so kind to us during the illness and loss of our dear one.

-Mr. and Mrs. William H. Fox and family

Amelia, his wife

In the never ending battle for paper organization of my genealogy "stuff," I ran across a death certificate that I received last summer from Topkea, Kansas. I was so thrilled when I got it, but had trouble reading it at first. I put it on my table and it sank into the paperwork and got lost. Until the other day.

I've blogged a few times about my great-great-great grandfather on my mom's maternal line, Karl Kline. This is about his wife, Amelia. What I can gather about her life from what little family lore I have, the sparse census records, as well as some reading on life for women as Kansas pioneers, she had a tough life. I'm not ready to blog about some of those details, as I'm still working on some of the research.

Amelia survived her husband by about 17 years, passing away on July 28, 1923. They are buried together at Highland Cemetery in Marion, Kansas. I put the death certificate up on my Facebook page and solicited some help in reading the document from my friends.

One of my new Facebook friends is also a descendant of Karl and Amelia. I had seen her posts on family history bulletin boards and websites, but didn't know who she was. I did a little digging and realized we were related...her mother was my great-grandmother's little sister. So my new friend and I are first cousins, 2 times removed. She still lives in the area that Karl and Amelia lived in. I'm hoping we can collaborate more in the future on our mutual family lines. She gave me some interesting insight into Amelia as part of the death certificate deciphering.

Some of what was reported on the death certificate confirms information I had before. Here is what I learned about Amelia from her death certificate, with much thanks to my friends and family on Facebook for some additional insight:

• She was born in Germany. Some earlier census records report it as "Prussia," which by 1923 had become part of Germany.
• At the time of her death, Amelia lived with her youngest daughter, Daisy, and her husband George Powell. In fact, George is the informant for the death certificate.
• Her maiden name was Windel. It asks for her father's name it says "Don't know, Windel" I've seen the name spelled elsewhere as Wendel, as well. Where it asks for the mother's maiden name, it also says "Don't know." My new-found cousin tells me that Amelia did not speak much English, so it was difficult to get information from her on her ancestry. (Did Daisy not speak German?) Perhaps this wasn't considered important by them at the time. I know many people who don't seem to think their stories are important. (How wrong they are!)
• She died a week after her 81st birthday.
• Her cause of death was central stenosis, a heart valve disorder that involves a narrowing or blockage of the opening of the mitral valve, which separates the upper and lower chambers of the left side of the heart. She suffered from this disease for 2 years, 3 months and 10 days.

Karl and Amelia have captured my interest for some reason. I have a lot more to share about them, but its too soon yet. I am still in the process of learning and gathering information. I was thrilled to connect with my new cousin who also is a granddaughter of the Kline's. Are there any more of you out there?

Here's the actual death certificate:

Who was Jesse Clark Osgood?

I'm a loyal listener of Lisa Louise Cooke's genealogy podcast, Genealogy Gems. In one of her past episodes, she interviewed certified master graphologist Paula Sassi. I was intrigued by how much information Paula was able to glean about Lisa's grandfather by looking at some of his letters written during the great Depression. So I just had to take the plunge and see what Paula might show me about an ancestor that I have some writing samples from.

His name is Jesse Clark Osgood. He was born in March 1837. His mother died when he was a baby, and his father remarried several times. From what I've learned, he was very close to his mother's family, and they took care of him as he grew. The 1860 census lists him living with his uncle and his occupation as a farm laborer.

He was a soldier for the 26th Massachusetts infantry during the civil war. One of my aunts located four of his letters written to family members that are held in a special collection at the Louisiana State University library. If you've read this blog from the beginning, you'll know this is one of the things that lured me into the exciting world of genealogy.

I sent Paula the letters and here is what she says they reveal:

"The following report is based upon the handwriting of your great-great grandfather, Jesse Osgood.

His writing shows that he was schooled in the typical copybook writing of the time and the form level indicates that he was a traditional person who adhered to the standards of his generation. He functioned at an above average level of intelligence and was logical and future directed in his thought process. He was motivated by both business and social interaction and had very good manual dexterity. His energy and drive improved with time. [Note: this is from the 4 Civil War letters analzyed.]

It is interesting to note how he developed during his time as a Union soldier. In his letter dated June 22, 1863, he speaks of not feeling well and his writing reflects this in the smaller size and tension evident in the script. However, as he gained in experience and improved in his health, he actually developed into quite a vital man. His letter from Morganza, dated June 18, 1864, shows that he had good energy and probably enjoyed staying busy. He could be a very reliable and hard working individual who took his responsibilities seriously. His writing shows both dominance and care and I believe these are the two words that best describe him. He was working as a nurse and could be firm, yet understanding in the way that he administered to the seven men assigned to him.

His writing also shows some stubbornness and a tendency to be opinionated, but this could also be the natural formations of the writing of this period. He was an extrovert by nature and could gain in energy by interacting with people. His letter hints at this because, even though he could not be with his family, he mentions everyone each time he corresponded. He also provides evidence of the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” He talks of the fruit quite often and his writing shows that he maintained his energy and zest for life even during wartime. Other words that describe him are friendly, outgoing, energetic, assertive, caring, proud and honest.

Overall, he was quite traditional and both proud and humble with the ability to move forward in his life and take things as they came. He probably was pretty easy to get along with, but could take a stance if he felt he was right. He also was able to take people under wing and most likely grew into an admirable patriarch of your family."

From what I know about him, Jesse continued in the health care field by becoming a dentist after the War. He was the first dentist in Florence, Kansas, when he moved there in 1872 with his wife and son, Clark. (My great-grandfather). He later took up a 'tree claim' southeast of Florence and West of Cedar Creek. Later he bought a farm southeast of Florence, most of his time was spent at his profession of dentistry. He would often load his equipment in his buggy and go to his patients, often times getting paid in farm produce. He died in May 1918 of chronic Bright's disease.

I know there are diaries kept by Jesse that are in the hands of some of my Osgood relatives. I'm not sure who has them, but hope someday to be able to learn more about Jesse through these later writings. If you are the Osgood who has the diary, I hope you would please consider sending them to me. Even a copy is okay. I want to transcribe them and share them with the rest of the family. I encourage any Osgood's out there to share anything you know about Jesse in the comments section.

I hope you all have found this handwriting analysis as interesting as I have. I think I may have Paula look at some other ancestor's handwriting too...

Karl Kline...the mystery continues

I blogged earlier this month about my 3rd great grandfather on my mom's side, Karl Gottlieb Kline. Specifically, I am on a hunt to track down his military record.

If readers recall, Karl had a G.A.R. emblem next to his headstone. This would indicate Karl's membership in the "Grand Army of the Republic," a fraternal organization of union veterans of the Civil War.

I learned of a book that could help me in my quest: "Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska Civil War Veterans: Compilation of the Death Rolls of the Departments of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, Grand Army of the Republic, 1883-1948" by Dennis Northcott. I looked for it in vain to be available in full text online. With a 2007 publication date, I shouldn't have been suprised not to find it. I also checked the library catalog of the Carlsbad library, but they did not have the book. According to World Cat, the closest library that held the book was in Los Angeles.

That led me to my first attempt at an interlibrary loan. I've never done this before, but the reference librarian at my local San Diego County branch library was very helpful. I went through the steps to make the request, but it came back in the negative. Apparently, the book is in the reference collection and not loaned out. Was I going to have to drive up to Los Angeles??

My genealogy angel friend, (I'll call her my geneangel from now on, because she is!), googled it for me and found that the Southern Orange County Genealogical Society had the book in their collection, held at the Mission Viejo library. Last Sunday, I convinced my hubby to hang out with the kids for the afternoon and I was off! This was my first trip to a library for family history research. Up until now, I've been able to do it all online. I'm not against library research, quite the contrary. It's just hard for me to get to a library with a 14 month old who thinks he is the center of the universe.

I found the book and copied the "Kline" page. Here is what I found.

Drumroll please.....

When I saw the name "Carl Kline" my heart leapt. This Carl was with a Wisconsin regiment, but his death date was listed as 1891. That couldn't be MY Carl, because we believe he died in 1907. Plus, I have a photo of the Kline family and the youngest daughter, Daisy, appears to be at least five. Daisy was born in 1887. When In looked in the death date column, there was a Kline who died on July 9, 1907. The headstone photo I have says my Karl died on July 7, 1907. That's pretty close. But the name of this Kline is PETER KLINE. He served with Company E, 40th Iowa. Peter Kline's death was reported in the Journal of the 34th Encampment of the Department of Iowa, published in 1908.

Could this be my Kline?

First the name issue. I've seen records with him listed as Gottlob, Gottolob, and Karl. But Peter is a new one. I'm not an expert in German, but I don't think "Peter" translates into Karl/Carl or Gottlieb. Any German experts out there, please feel free to educate me on this point.

Secondly is location. Iowa is not a state I would associate my Karl with. If it had said Pennsylvania, Ohio or Kansas, I would feel better about it. But I have no records, evidence or even family lore that would put Karl in Iowa. But who knows? I definitely have had trouble tracking down any records for this family. I do know Karl lived at least since 1880 in Kansas, and is buried in Marion County. Family lore says the family lived in Wellsville, Ohio prior to that. So Iowa is out of the blue.

I'll keep this nugget in my Kline file. But I don't think this Kline is my ancestor. So, for now, the search goes on.

A soldier's story that has yet to be told

Sometimes I'm able to share an ancestor's story on my blog. Other times, I want to post about questions I have been unable to find the answers for....yet. This is one of those posts.

His name was Karl Gottlieb Kline. He was born in Prussia and emigrated to the United States at some point. He married another German immigrant, Amelia Wendel. They were pioneers in Kansas during the 1880's. I first find them in Douglas County, then Marion County, where they are buried. They are my great-great-great grandparents on my mother's side.

The star shaped emblem to the left of their headstone has the initials "G.A.R. 1861-1865" The Grand Army of the Republic. This was a fraternal organization for Union veterans of the Civil War. It would seem then, that Karl was another civil war veteran in my family tree. Excellent!

Ever since 8th grade, I have been a Civil War buff. I'm not sure what initially captivated me. Our 8th grade social studies teachers showed us a lot of historical movies. We saw the entire series of "Roots," for example. We also saw a movie adaptation of the classic book, "The Red Badge of Courage." It starred Richard Thomas of "The Waltons" fame. For me, that movie put me in the shoes of that young soldier who was so ready to go fight...until he heard the sounds of cannon and gunfire ahead. Perhaps that was what did it. Anyway, I did a lot of reading and learning on my own since then about the Civil War. So I'm very interested in the details of any Civil War service I run across.

Try as I might, I have been unable to track down exactly where Karl's service was. I've gone through all the military databases on Ancestry.com. I've been to the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System. I've even had a difficult time tracking down census records of this family. At one point, I wondered if they really even existed!

Through the kindness of a genealogist friend, (you know who you are...) I have found some census records, the earliest being 1880 in Eudora Township, Douglas County, Kansas. I found a great book online on Kansas Memory: Roster of the Members and Posts: Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kansas, dated 1894. That would fit my time frame, since Karl died in 1907. I manually went through each of the 259 pages and scanned for any mention of a Karl Kline, Karl Klein, Gottlieb Klein, and all permutations of the three names and spellings as I could. NONE. I guess I could have missed it.....if anyone has some time on their hands and wants to try, I would welcome another set of eyes!

I have found records of another German immigrant who fought for the Union by the name of Gottlob Klien, but he was killed during the war. So he's not my Karl. I'll admit in the haze of frustration, I pondered the possibility that my Karl assumed this poor soldier's identity after he died!

The closest I've gotten to some evidence of Civil War military service is a hazy image on a Kansas census record, but I can't really make it out. The 1895 Kansas census includes information on military record (condition of discharge, state of enlistment, letter or name of company or command, number of regiment or other organization to which attached, arm of service.) It kind of looks like Ohio 122. I've looked into that unit, and can't find any names that are even close. I'll put the record at the bottom of this post for anyone who would like to take a stab at it for me. I'd be happy to email it to anyone who wants the file to enlarge to examine it.

So there you have it. One of the reasons I started this blog in the first place was so that others researching the same family lines as I could connect with me and we could collaborate on information. I'm crossing my fingers and saying a prayer to the genealogy fairies on this one.