Friday, November 30, 2007

Merritt Bunnerll 1887-1900

Merrit Bunnell was the oldest child of Harvey and May Bunnell. He was born Aug 3, 1887. One of Merrit's distinguishing characteristics was his very fair blonde hair. He died on Dec 1, 1900 and is buried in the Johnsonville Cemetery.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

George Block in Iowa

Here is a picture of George Block thrashing wheat in Iowa - not sure which oine is George though. He was up there with Willie and Ben Bloch and Claude Stark (perhaps others) about 1911.

Six Blue Point kids

Here is a picture of some kids in the Blue Point area - Dale Bunnell, Kathryn Bunnell, Glen Wilfong, Marie Bunnell, Isaac Smith and Edra Wilfong. The picture was probably taken int he late 1930s.

Samuel Holmes

I just happened to stumble across this and thought the Rogers family might find it of interest, It is transcribed from A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled by William E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, copyright 1918. Samuel Holmes was the brother to our Eliza (Holmes) Best - in other words - this is Mattie Rogers' uncle.

SAMUEL HOLMES


SAMUEL HOLMES has shown an ability amounting to genius for the successful handling of business affairs, especially landed transactions, and during his long residence in Kansas has accumulated some of the finest sections of farming land in Greenwood and surrounding counties. Mr. Holmes learned the value of industry when a boy, also the principles of straightforward integrity, and it may be said that in consequence he has always been a successful man. He is now eighty-three years of age and lives practically retired at Eureka. One of the connections he still retains is as vice president of the Home National Bank. Mr. Holmes is an honored veteran of the Civil war, in which he fought on the Union side.
He was born in Carroll County, Ohio, December 8, 1834, and lived on his father's farm there until 1853. In the meantime he attended the rural schools. Most of the schools at that time were supported on the subscription plan, and their advantages were correspondingly meager. In the spring of 1853 he moved out to Wayne County, Illinois, where his father followed him in the fall of the same year. Mr. Holmes laid the foundation of his success as a farmer in Illinois, and from that state brought considerable capital as well as experience to Kansas in the spring of 1870. Locating in Greenwood County, he pre-empted a claim and paid $1.25 per acre. This land was in the Osage reservation near Climax. On his quarter section there he lived until 1886, and in the meantime invested his surplus capital in various other quarter sections. He still owns the old homestead, but for the past thirty years has lived in Eureka. His individual ownership now includes 182 acres. But in the meantime he has given away 1,040 acres to his children. Each of his seven children received 160 acres except his daughter Ida, who accepted eighty acres and the equivalent of the other eighty acres she took in bank stocks. Mr. Holmes has done a magnificent part by his children, and they are all prosperous and have done their individual share of the world's work. Mr. Holmes also owns a comfortable residence on Mulberry Street in Eureka.
The beginning of his military service came in August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company D of the Eighty-seventh Illinois Infantry. He was in active service until the close of the war. His first important campaign was the siege of Vicksburg, and during the progress of operations against that city he participated in the severely fought battle at Jackson, Mississippi. Later his regiment was mounted and participated in Banks campaign up the Red River, and from that time until the end of the war he was engaged in scouting up and down the Mississippi River. He had numerous escapes from danger, and put in nearly three years of hard fighting for the preservation of the Union.
Mr. Holmes is a democrat, and for three years held the office of county commissioner of Greenwood County. He is a past master of Twin Falls Lodge of Masons and now has membership in Fidelity Lodge No. 106 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Holmes comes of long lived and rugged stock, and both he and his ancestors have shown great vitality. The family record is noteworthy in several ways. Mr. Holmes was one of the eighteen children borne by his mother, while his father had fully twenty-six children by his three marriages.
The Holmes ancestors came from Scotland and were early settlers in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Holmes' great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His name was Joel Holmes, and he was the founder of the family on this side of the Atlantic. The grandfather was John Holmes, who was born in Pennsylvania, took part as a soldier in the War of 1812, developed a pioneer farm in the wilds of Ohio and died in Seneca County of that state. Thus there has been members of this family participants in every great war in which this country has engaged.
William Holmes, father of Samuel, was born at Tuscarora, Pennsylvania, in 1801. He was reared and married in his native state, followed farming there, later removed to Carroll County, Ohio, a few years before Samuel was born, and developed one of the best farms in that county. He also became a man of prominence in local affairs, serving four years as auditor of Carroll County and four years as county treasurer. In 1853 he removed to Wayne County, Illinois, and afterwards retired from farming and spent the rest of his years there. His death occurred in 1887, when eighty-six years of age. He was a democrat in politics.
William Holmes' first wife was a Miss Joseph. Her four children, all now deceased, were Mary, Elizabeth, William and John. For his second wife William Holmes married Eliza Davis, the mother of Samuel Holmes. She was born at Tuscarora, Pennsylvania, in 1807, and died in Carroll County, Ohio, in 1849. A brief record of her large family of children is as follows: Isaac, who was a farmer in Putnam County, Ohio, and died in 1915; Catherine, who died in Carroll County, Ohio; Martha, who died in Carroll County; Jonathan, who was killed when a young man in Carroll County by a tree falling upon him; James, who was a physician and went to the Civil war as a Union soldier having charge of a Government hospital, and was never heard of afterwards; Miriam, who died in Wayne County, Illinois, in the summer of 1916; Samuel, who was the seventh of his mother's children; Eliza, who died in Wayne County, Illinois, in 1914; David, a veteran of the Civil war, afterwards a farmer, and died in Wayne County in 1914; Oliver, who died in Wayne County, was a farmer, served as county clerk four years, and as county treasurer the same length of time; Martin and Daniel, both of whom died in childhood; Milton, who is a farmer in Wayne County, Illinois; Sarah, who died at Madison, Kansas, in 1908; Eleanor, who died in Wayne County in 1904; Samantha, wife of Jesse Robinson, a retired veteran of the Civil war, her home being in Edwards County, Illinois; Calvin, a retired land owner at Mulberry, Arkansas; and the eighteenth and youngest was a son that died in infancy, his mother passing away at the same time. William Holmes married for his third wife Martha Wiseman. She was born at Massillon, Ohio, and died in Wayne County, Illinois, in 1870. She became the mother of four children: Eli, who was a physician and surgeon and died at St. Louis, Missouri; Malissa, who resides at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, widow of Caney Staton, who was a farmer; George, who is a farmer on the Roaring Fork of the Rio Grande in Colorado; and Mary, wife of William Westfall, employed in the steel factory at Pueblo, Colorado.
Mr. Samuel Holmes was married in Wayne County, Illinois, in 1856, to Miss Elizabeth Porterfield, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Thompson) Porterfield. Her father was a farmer and both parents are now deceased. Mrs. Holmes died at Eureka, February 14, 1911, about five years after they had celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. It is the privilege of few couples to travel such a long part of the journey of life together as was the lot of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Holmes. Of their children the oldest is Elsina, wife of Marshall Moore, a farmer on Honey Creek in Greenwood County; Elmer, has been a farmer but is now living retired at Severy, Kansas; Alvin, whose home is on a farm at Climax, has completed one term of four years as county commissioner of Greenwood County and in 1916 was re-elected for another similar term; Mariett, is the wife of E. B. Powers, a farmer at Climax, Kansas; Arizona, who lives with her father in Eureka, is the widow of Harry Wyant, who was a farmer; Ida has always lived with her father and is unmarried; Murray, the youngest of the children, is cashier of the Home National Bank of Eureka. He was born in Greenwood County in April, 1882, was educated in the public schools of Eureka, graduating from high school in 1900, and also had a course in the Kansas City Business College at Kansas City, Missouri. On completing his education he became bookkeeper in the Citizens National Bank of Eureka, and in 1904, when the Home National Bank was organized he took the post of assistant cashier and bookkeeper and was advanced to cashier in 1912. He is an active democrat, is treasurer of the Board of Education of Eureka, and is one of the vigorous and progressive younger citizens of Greenwood County. Besides his home on Elm Street, he owns a 160-acre farm, given him by his father, in Greenwood County. Murray Holmes was married May 16, 1906, to Miss Jo Burris, daughter of A. P. and Lydia (McGanan) Burris, who reside on a farm at Virgil, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Murray Holmes have two children: Burris, born August 11, 1907, and Horace, born January 8, 1909.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Nov 27 - Lon Rogers

Willard and MAttie Rogers third son, Lon (Alonzo) was born Nov 27, 1893. He was the father of five girls and is shown here with wife Ada (Shelton) Rogers.
This picture was taken Apr 04, 1959 on Lon and Ada's 50th wedding anniversary.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Jason Smith - Nov 25

Happy birthday to cousin Jason Smith - shown here with Grandma Smith and little bro Joshua.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving 2007

Here are a few pictures taken last night and this evening. I showed up last night at the St. Louis Gast Haus with loits of yaki soba, tempura nd sake for my coworkers - We stayed late and everyone had plenty to eat. Got up this morning at 6 and drove with some firends to Kansas City for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Muelbach Hotel. I wil be here in Kansas City untiol Saturday, but wil add new pics as I tkae them.



This is the great hall at Union Station in Kansas City. There is a great display of working model trains. No one was there running them today, but I am going back tomorrow and see if they are up and going. Also a great Christmas tree display - all of which were up for bids.

HAppy Thanksgiving

I'd love to see some good photographs of this occasiohn - Thanksgiving, 1971 at the First Christian Church in Carmi. - Bill's Raymonds Grandma and Grandpa and our family. Thee are the only three I know of - really dark slides. Anyways - Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


Wednesday, November 21, 2007

10 years ago

Here is a picute of me at at party taken ten years ago (1997). The suspenders were on loan from the Smithsonian - haha!

20 years ago

This is a sad picture - taken 20 yeara ago. The house I grew up in had burned and was going to be torn down, It had been moved and was sitting behind a muffler shop in East Carmi, IL. Not one of my favortie pictures.

25 Years Agao

This picture was taken in Oct 1982 - me in my marching band uniform,

30 Years Ago

Here is a photo pf Grandma Shelton taken 30 years ago on Nov 7, 1977. I'm not sure where it was taken or who was cut off of the picture.

40 Years Ago

This picture of Grandpa Sheltoin was taken 40 years ago in the Fall ohn 1967. HE is standing on the side of the house at 802 W. Delaware in Fairfield.

Unknown Rogers Kids

These three photos were simply marked "Waterloo Iowa." I copied them from Grandma Shelton's collecton so they are probably Rogers kids - any guesses?

HT and May - 1936

This picture was taken of great-great grandparents Harvey T, and May Bunnell 71 years ago in Sept, 1936, HArvey had been born in Clinton County, IN, butMay (Mary Ethel) was born in 1867 in Wayne County, IL.

WWI photos

I was wanting to do a vetrans Day post last week and now I see we are pushing Thanksgiving. This evening I recieved an Email from my cousin Teresa with two photos of WWI soldiers forming "Uncle Sam" and a stars and stripes shield. I had seen the photos years ago, but had forgotten about them and thought this would be a good place to share them. I have added several other "living pictures", In 1918, photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas took a photograph of 30,000 military officers and men at Camp Custer, Michigan. A special 70-foot tower was built for this purpose.
Mole and Thomas actually specialized in taking these types of photographs - they took a total of 10 photos where thousands of soldiers were posed to form giant, living, symbols of the USA, including a portrait of Woodrow Wilson, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, the Marine Corps emblem, and more.
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Thursday, November 08, 2007

40 Years ago

Here is a picture taken 40 yars ago (I believe in Germany) of Uncle Bill. I hope you were able to log back on, Uncle Bill!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Nov 4 - Bryon Shelton


Uncle Bryan Shelton was born 99 years ago today, His father Wayne was a denocrat and named his firt born son after William Jennings Bryan, This picture was taken the sunmer of 2001 and Bryon is shown with wife Leona and nephew Bill.

Happy Birthday Teresa!



Happy Birthday to Teresa Hutchens! We are WAY overdue for a visit - give me a buzz sometime!

Friday, November 02, 2007

40 Years Ago

Here are two picures taken forty years ago of my cousin Jennifer and myself. Not sure of the exact date, but I imagine we are both about a year old inthese pics. Mom or Aunt Janet may have a better idea of when these were taken, but they were taken in Grandma Shelton's living room and second bedroom. I am noticing that the Robert Wood picture is not hanging over the couch. She must have gotten that picture about that timethough, because I always remember it there - in fact it still hangs over her couch. Do oyu cousins remember the old green couch - I am thinking that Teresa wound up with that couch when Grandma bought a new one, but may remember that wrong.Here are yt