Everybody needs a Helen

Helen

I hope everyone has an Aunt Helen in their life.

My Aunt Helen was my grandfather's sister. She never married and lived her whole life with her parents and her older sister, Pauline. By the time I was old enough to get to know her she had advanced Parkinson's Disease. She was sharp, funny, and caring, but generally pretty quiet. She passed away when I was 16 years old and while I would say I was close to her, in many ways I didn't really know her.

I didn't know, for instance, that Helen was an avid photographer. It was well known among my mother's generation that if there was a family gathering it was going to be Helen behind the camera lens. She was also meticulous. She had her photos made into slides, which were then painstakingly documented. Each slide was identified with the date, place, and the names of the people in the image. Every. Single. Slide. Thousands of images chronicling decades of the family, all neatly boxed and tucked away.

I knew about these slides, but never gave them much thought. When Helen died all her things were willed to her sister, Pauline, and when Pauline passed away she left all her family heirlooms to me. Since I also purchased Pauline's house, the boxes of slides remained on a top shelf in a spare bedroom, tucked out of sight and for the most part out of mind.

At one time I did look through a few of them and saw images I knew I needed to digitize. Unfortunately, I had a scanner that didn't do the images justice. They came out dark, grainy, and sometimes unrecognizable. After scanning a few images I accepted the fact I probably wouldn't ever get the clean image transfer I'd hoped for.

That was several years ago, and every once in a while I'd think to myself "I need to check out those slides again." I thought about this more after purchasing a new scanner, which promises crisper resolution and the potential to render the slides as high-quality digital images.

So on Sunday, while I was organizing other photos I planned to scan (or rescan at a higher resolution) I shuffled around some boxes and saw the slides, and thought "Let's see if I can do anything with these."

I sat down at 9am with a cup of coffee, a box of slides, my laptop and scanner. Fast forward to 8pm and I had five years and 375 images scanned, another two decades and countless images to go.

What's so great about Helen's photos is that they capture the everyday life of my family sixty years ago. There are photos of people laughing, people eating, people lounging around the house, the farm, the park. There are multiple generations - grandparents and great grandparents along with young children. There are vacations and birthday parties and farm sales. There's just about everything you would expect - and all of it is documented.

The boxes of Helen's slides start in 1953 and continue into the 1970s. The last box says on the top "Slides 1971- ?" I'm not sure yet where they end, or what precipitated their end. In my life time I never recalled Helen taking a single picture, but I knew her as the quiet, white-haired aunt whose Parkinson's tremors would have made it hard to be the prolific photographer she once was. Perhaps as children grew and older generations passed away Helen found less she wanted to photograph. Like so many family history questions, they're formed too late to find answers.

Fortunately, the subject and context of the slides are in no way ambiguous. Helen was meticulous, careful, and thoughtful. Scanning is tedious, as I can only scan four at a time and the high resolution needed to produce quality images takes a long time. The result, however, it totally worth the wait.

Thanks, Helen, for everything.

Helen's grandmother, Clara Finch, with Helen's nieces (Clara's great-granddaughters).
Yes, this is the Clara Finch, as in the former Mrs. Loren Finch so often mentioned on this blog.

My great grandfather/Helen's father (right) with his uncles.

Helen's parents' farm sale Jan. 5, 1956.

Helen's mother, sister, and nieces outside their house (and now my house).

The Hunt for Loren

As I continue my relentless hunt of the habitual drunkard and deadbeat dad (and my great-great grandfather) Loren A. Finch, my work right now focuses on gaining a better picture of his life with his wife, Clara, during their tumultuous marriage (1896-1909).

I've chronicled in this blog my use of census data, as well as city directories to pinpoint his location during the short 13 years of their relationship as husband and wife. Now, I'm focusing on newspapers, hoping to find mention of things he said or did during those times.

Several years ago I found the obituary of their five-week-old daughter, Dorothea, in 1901. It has been the only mention of Loren I'd found, though I hadn't looked much. Last weekend while researching in the State of Iowa Historical Society Library I came across two mentions of Loren and Clara in the Marshalltown Times-Republican:

Dec. 4, 1896, p. 7

Licensed to Wed.

Loren A. Finch, boilermaker, of Boone, aged 21, and Clara Wilson, aged 25, of Tama County.
---

Dec. 8, 1896, p. 6

Loren A. Finch, a boiler maker of Boone, and Miss Clara Wilson, of Tama County, were made man and wife by Justice Ames Saturday afternoon.
---

A very simple, straightforward announcement to the start of a very complicated marriage.

Each clue is a step closer. The search continues...

Family History Summer winds down

Sunday I took what looks to be my final family history road trip for this summer. This time it was short - just 20 minutes up the road to Gladbrook, Iowa. There I met with two distant cousins (second cousins once removed to be exact) and once again used my handy scanner and laptop to add more photos to my family collection.

These cousins have lived in the area all their lives and I grew up around them, but it wasn't until I started doing family history that I realized we were related. In fact, I find more and more that I went to high school with a surprising number of people who share branches on my family tree. Our roots run deep in Tama County!

I didn't really get to know Trudi and Susan until a few years ago when I started attending the Sienknecht Family Reunions in Lincoln, Iowa. Now I know more about them and their families, which continue to grow - a reason why I scoff at anyone who asks if I'm "done" with the family history. How is that ever possible?

There's not much more to update about this trip except that it will probably be my last for a while. Family history is fun, but time-consuming and unfortunately it's payoffs aren't monetary.

Until next time...

Charles and Margarethe (Sienknecht) Fink.

Finding direction in directories

Among all the things I could use in family history research, city directories have never been very high on my list. In fact, I've never given them any thought. I never thought they could provide anything other than proving someone was living in a certain city at a certain time.

Recently (and by recently I mean yesterday) I decided to give them another look and now I'm a full convert.

City Directories around the turn of the last century provide a surprising amount of detail about your ancestors, including name, spouses name, street address, occupation (including employer) and whether they rent or own. In many ways it serves as a census between censuses. The only thing missing is birth dates and place of birth.

As I've written here before, largest, most aggravating mystery in my family history is the life of my great-great grandfather, Loren A. Finch. It's been more than a century since he walked out on his wife and children and to date no one knows what happened to him. I have always believed my great grandmother, who was 11 when her father walked out on the family, had some idea of where he went, but she never spoke of him during her lifetime. He wasn't a good father, a good husband, or generally a good person. I wish I could know more of what made him who he was. He and Clara, my great-great grandmother were married Dec. 4, 1896, nearly a full year before my great grandmother entered the world, so I have to believe they married for some reason other than necessity. Looking at Clara's affidavit for divorce, it's clear their relationship soured quickly.

…during the time that this plaintiff lived with said defendant he did not support her; that he at different times during their married life left this plaintiff and their four minor children destitute without money or any means of support, and that during their married life the said defendant spent $1800.00* of this plaintiff’s money, and that when he finally left this plaintiff as above alleged he left her and their said minor children destitute and has refused and neglected to support her or their said children, and at times that this plaintiff has been compelled to call upon the town or county where they resided for aid; That after the marriage of this plaintiff and said defendant the said defendant has become an habitual drunkard and that said habit grew upon him to such an extent that he would become intoxicated at any and all times that it was possible for him to get liquor, and that at one time when living in Boone the said defendant came to this plaintiff and took from her ten cents, all of the money that she had, and spent it for whiskey…

*About $42,000 in 2013 currency. 

I know from the US Census in 1900 that Loren and Clara were living in Boone, Iowa, where he was employed as a fireman on the railroad. In the 1905 Iowa Census they are living in Madrid, Iowa. Loren walked out Jan. 9, 1909, and Clara filed for divorce in October of the same year, so by the time the Census taker strolled into town in 1910 Clara was listed as married, but living alone with her children. 

For many years I've assumed those were the only clues I had of their married life together. The in-between years were left to speculation, as no one alive them is around to share details of their home, nor  where they apt to do so when they were living. Newspapers, which so often provide glimpses into the everyday life of ancestors, could hold clues, but research is limited due to geography and time. The only newspaper reference to Loren I've uncovered to date is the obituary Dorothea, Loren and Clara's daughter who died in 1901.

The Boone County Democrat, March 29, 1901 p. 8
 FINCH- The five week old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.C. Finch of Des Moines died at the parental home of J.W. Finch, 4020 Harrison St. on Friday evening about 7:30 o'clock. The funeral was held Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock and after brief services by Rev. S.E. Wilcox the remains were laid to rest in East Linwood.

It's been several years since I found this sad chronicle while combing the archives at the State Historical Society in Des Moines. At the time, I didn't give much thought to the details outside of the actual death. I didn't think about the fact it mentioned Loren and Clara lived in Des Moines, or that the daughter was living in Boone with her grandparents when she passed away. 

This is where it becomes important to think of each item as one piece of a much larger puzzle. Here we have Clara's statement to the courts detailing how Loren was unable to provide for his family, followed by a article about an infant's death that occurred at the home of her grandparents living in a separate town than her mother and father. Why were they not living together? What was happening in their lives at this time?

These questions are what led me to begin appreciating the information in city directories.

Loren is always on my mind when doing research, but I don't always make him the focus. Yesterday I decided to look into him again with a cursory Ancestry.com search. Once again, the search revealed the usual facts: the 1880 US Census (he was 6 years old), the 1895 Iowa Census, the 1900 US Census, etc. There was also the long list of city directory searches, mostly in Des Moines, Iowa. I looked at one, dated 1947, and was perplexed. Could it be this easy? Was Loren alive and residing in Des Moines all this time? 

No. It's never that easy.

The directory listing was for Clara, who by some cruel irony was still listed as the wife of Loren Finch in the city directory, some 40 years after their marriage ended. I can only imagine how bitter she must have felt about still being considered "Loren Finch's wife" instead of her own person. 

Further down the search results list, however, I found earlier listings - much earlier. I clicked on one from 1900 and found the following entry in a Des Moines city directory:

City Directory for Des Moines, Iowa, 1900.

I already knew from the 1900 US Census that Loren was a fireman on the railroad, but this provided not only his job, but his employer (the Chicago and North Western Railroad) and his place of residence, 703 Lyon Street.

I continued looking through the records and found the next year, 1901, the same year little Dorothea passed away in Boone. 

City Directory for Des Moines, Iowa, 1901.

This is where I really started to appreciate the information directories can provide. A year after Loren was living and working in Des Moines the directory still has him listed, but states he had "removed to Boone, Ia." Perhaps when young Dorothea passed away they family was in the process of relocating, or part of the family had come to reside with his parents while he transitioned to a new home and new work. There are many possibilities, none of which will probably be answered.

The next year (1902), Clara is living alone in Des Moines. 

City Directory for Des Moines, Iowa, 1902.

She's still listed as Mrs. Clara Finch, but no mention of Loren. Unfortunately there is no online Boone city directory for 1902, so his residence is unknown at the time. What is known is that he wasn't in Des Moines with his wife. Was this one of those times, as Clara stated in the divorce petition, where he left the family destitute and alone? Was he on a prolonged bender, spending money on whiskey while she did what she could to care for her children? 

By 1903 Loren and family were together again, this time living in Boone, where Loren continued working as a fireman for C&NW Railroads.

City Directory for Boone, Iowa, 1903.

By 1904, Loren and family had moved yet again, though still in Boone. He was no longer employed with the railroad, and was listed dubiously as a "laborer".

City Directory for Boone, Iowa, 1904.

 That's where the trail goes cold. In 1905 Loren and family were living in Madrid, Iowa, though his employment unknown. According to Clara's statement, they moved to Tama County (where she grew up and where her father and step-mother still lived) around 1907. The city directory offerings on Ancestry are spotty. Boone, for example, doesn't have 1905 or 1906 online. What is available provides a informative look into the life of the elusive Loren Finch. It shows how transient the family was, how unreliable his employment became, and gives a better idea of what kind of life poor Clara and her children had to live during their decade in his house.

If you haven't considered using city directories in your research, I highly suggest you give them a second look. You might be amazed by what you learn.

Who Do You Think You Are?

I was a big fan of Who Do You Think You Are? on NBC. I saw every episode and loved the very personal, very relatable experiences the celebrities encountered. Anyone researching family history has felt the same frustrations, angers, fears, joys, and heartbreaks of learning about the past.

It was a phenomenal show, which of course meant NBC promptly cancelled it. (Side note: Like many good shows, the original series was a BBC production. Look on You Tube for episodes from the UK version - they're fantastic. I particularly recommend the episodes on Martin Freeman and J.K. Rowling.)

Imagine my excitement to learn that TLC, once known as a channel about learning, was resurrecting the series! Of course, I was a little scared it would take on a new tone (this is the land of Honey Boo Boo, folks), but the first episode, featuring Kelly Clarkson, was very much like it always was. Last week's episode featuring Christina Applegate was extremely powerful. It makes me excited to see where the season takes us.

One thing that always kind of irritates me about WDYTYA? is how quickly they learn so much. Granted, it's only an hour show (40 minutes without commercials) and they have to encapsulate the entire journey into that short, easy-to-digest segment, but still. It's so frustrating to watch them look up someone's great-great grandfather on Ancestry.com and say "Oh, it looks like you have to go to Bulgaria." and suddenly they're traipsing through eastern Europe.

That irritation arises mostly from jealousy. What really irritates me is how they always seem to find their answers on Ancestry.com. Now, I understand that's a sponsor and as a subscriber I can tell you I do find a lot on there, but it is definitely not universal answer to every family history riddle. I have run into many dead ends on Ancestry, as well as incorrect information (though most of that comes from personal trees that can't be blamed on the site, just on sloppy researchers).

I wish I could have the WDYTYA? experience in my family history research. I've spent 15 years searching for my great-great grandfather, Loren A. Finch, an abusive alcoholic who abandoned his family in 1909 and vanished seemingly into thin air (in fact, a lot of Christina Applegate's investigation into her grandfather felt similar to the story of Loren's family). I have not been able to find him after the day he left and I would love nothing more than to hire a bevy of investigators and professional genealogists to hunt his sorry ass down. Even though he is long gone and the last of his children died in 2006, I want to find him. The rest of the family says they don't need to know what happened to him as he wasn't a part of their life. While I agree with that, I also think that allowing him to remain unaccounted for allows him to remain "free" - it feels like he won. I don't want to allow him to think he got away with it.

I need to find him. I'm not a celebrity, but I do have a compelling mystery. What do you say, TLC?

722 miles

This has truly been the summer of family history travel. Last Friday I drove to far eastern Iowa and visited the small town of Preston, where I connected with a second cousin (twice removed) and explored the photos and history of the Gruver family. Upon returning home Friday afternoon I had completed 722 miles of driving for family history this summer - and summer isn't over yet!

It may seem like a lot, but to me the payoff is well worth the gas and wear and tear (I did have two flat tires this month, but ironically neither were directly connected to family history excursions). I always enjoy meeting new relations and forming new friendships. There are people around the state and the nation who once were only connected by a remote strand of DNA who now are regular email correspondents and even Facebook friends!

Friday's visit was valuable for many reasons, Curt, the distant cousin with whom I chatted, was quite interested in the history and eager to share. I was only to glad to reciprocate, and by the end of our three-hour chat I copied 167 files to his computer and left with about 100 new photos of the Gruver clan. Most were of the "younger" Gruvers - the first cousins of my great-grandmother and their descendants. Some, however, provided photos of family members who until now had been only a name on paper. It is always so valuable to finally see a face. It brings the history to life.

While looking through Curt's albums I noticed several photos I have at home. Neither of us know who are in them, but it's evident they belong to the Gruver family, so the quest continues.

Another positive outcome was the identification of several people previously labeled "unknown" in my collection. One photo, which includes three generations of the Gruver family, was positively identified as containing Curt's grandmother, standing directly next to my great-great-grandmother. Before my visit to Preston I had no photos of his grandmother, so there would have been no way to know who she was.

Inspired by these identifications, I sat down last night with an old photo album that came from the Gruver cousin in Washington State. I had scanned those images a year ago when I first received them, but many photos remained in the large "unidentified" category. After careful inspection and armed with new faces and names from recent visits with relatives, it wasn't hard for me to put names to the faces in at least half a dozen photos and narrow down the faces in dozens more.

I feel like I'm getting closer to understanding who these people are - the puzzle is slowly getting solved. Next: to schedule a trip to Elkader to visit anther Gruver cousin and hopefully answer more questions.

I have four new tires and summer is waning. Time to get moving!

A trip to Aunt Nona's

My summer of family history adventures continue! This past weekend I traveled to visit my great-great aunt, Nona, and learn a little more about my late great-grandmother's family. Aunt Nona was the youngest of eight children and the last of her generation. She was my grandmother's aunt and even my grandmother and her sisters are all gone, so she's really one last great link to several generations of family.

Aunts Ferne (left) and Nona (right) with Grandma Leone
at her 80th birthday party in 1990.

There were four sisters in Nona's family. My great-grandma, Grandma Leone, was the oldest and Nona the youngest. Sixteen years separated the two, but the sisters always remained close. Even after Grandma Leone passed away in 1994 we always saw Aunt Nona and Aunt Ferne at family reunions and different gatherings (the other sister, June, had passed away in the 1970s after battling cancer). Ferne passed away in 2006 and it's been several years since we had a family reunion. I knew from second-hand accounts Nona was doing well, but I wanted to visit her myself. She was always so sweet and kind every time I had seen her before. I also wanted to know if she had any family photos (you know how I am with the family photos).

So on Sunday, with laptop, scanner, and mother in tow (it's her great aunt, so I felt I should probably invite her along), I headed two hours northeast to Elgin, Iowa. Nona was waiting for us when we arrived, as she had decided not to go to church that morning. We headed to downtown Elgin, where we ate at the Elgin Cafe, a regular haunt for Nona, who was called "Grandma" by the proprietor and who comes for coffee with other ladies of a certain age several times a week.

After what I can only describe as a sumptuous meal, we made our way back to her house, where she

My great-great grandfather, Will Kerr (left),
looking rather like a dandy with an
unidentified friend (or relative).

had a box ready. On the phone a few weeks ago when I'd arranged this visit she told me "I don't have many old photos". This was a gross miscalculation. I suppose maybe she didn't think there were that many or, since many were her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, they didn't seem that "old" to her. In reality, her parents are my great-great grandparents, so it was exactly what I was looking for.

Nona's eyesight is waning, the effects of macular degeneration. Still, she was able to look close to see faces and through teamwork we were able to identify many photos. Some photos held special meaning for her, and she told stories as we perused the images.

"This is me as a young girl," she said, holding a small billfold-sized picture of a teenage Nona. "This is the only picture my dad kept in his wallet and it was in there until the day he died."

There were also some hidden surprises. Behind the photo of one cousin was a folded up teaching contract for Nona's sister, June, from 1936. Their mother, Anna, was listed as one of the school district trustees.

"That's probably how she got that job," Nona recalled. "Dad wouldn't talk to mom forever after that. He was so mad she took on working for the district."

Ella Kerr, my great-great-great grandmother.

These are the kind of stories that make family history so engaging. It makes the faces on an old photo more than just a distant relative. It makes them real people with real lives and real experiences.

We spent nearly four hours going through photos, scanning well over one hundred images. After many Nona would say "Oh, you don't want this one, do you?" at which time I would promptly take it from her hand and press it to the glass. I want them al. ALL!

At the end of the day we hugged and said goodbye, promising to visit again soon. I'm determined to make sure we have more time to visit and see each other outside of funerals (a sad reality of life, I'm afraid).

Nona isn't the oldest person in my family, but she is the last of my great-grandparents' generation living. Years ago I spent time getting to know another great-great aunt and still treasure the times we spent together and the stories she told.

If you haven't done so, think about how many generations you can go back in your family and find a living member. Then, give them a call. You never know what you'll learn.

Several generations of the Kerr family, with matriarch Ella Kerr in the center.
My great grandmother is directly behind her holding my grandma, then just a baby.