Wordless Wednesday--A Touch of Red

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Woodmen of the World Tombstone--Vernando Hilton Nicely

I found a most interesting article in the recent Graveyard Rabbit Journal Woodmen of the World: The Society & Their Tombstones by Stephanie Lincecum. While reading the blog something clicked in my mind and I vaguely remembered that I had photographed a Woodmen of the World tombstone in the Bellevue Cemetery, Bellevue, Ohio this past August. When I first saw this tombstone and the WOW on a metal marker beside it, I had no idea what it meant. I thank Stephanie for the well researched article which gave me the information I needed.


The name on the tombstone is Vernando Nicely 18?? to 1913. A search on the Family Search website gave me Vernando's death certificate. He was born on August 8, 1871 in Ohio and died June 30, 1913 in Graton, Erie County, Ohio. His full name was Vernando Hilton Nicely and his parents were Aaron Nicely and Margaret Elmira Moore.


I found an obituary for Vernando out on FindAGrave:

VICTIM OF TYPHOID
V. D. Nicely Died at His Home, North of Town, Monday Evening After an illness from typhoid fever, extending over a period of seven weeks, V. D. Nicely, a well known and highly respected farmer, died Monday evening at five o'clock at his home two and one-half miles north of town, aged 40 years.

The deceased was a son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Nicely, and was born at Defiance, where he grew to manhood and was married. A year ago last March, the family moved to the Geo. Smith farm north of town, where they have since resided.

It is believed that the death of Mr. Nicely is due to the flood of last March, when the farm upon which they live, was partially inundated, the house and buildings being surrounded by water for a period of five weeks. It will be remembered the family was rescued from their home by a boat which overturned, throwing the occupants into the water.

Mr. Nicely's health failed from that time and the constant worry over the loss of his crops also. It is believed, hastened his death.

He is survived by his widow and three small children, ranging in age from 9 to 2 and 1/2 years. He also leaves his aged parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. Nicely, of Defiance, one brother, and three sisters: C. A. Nicely, of east of town; Mrs. M. B. McCollister, and Mrs. I. K. Phillips, of Bellevue, and Mrs. Hattie Smith, of Defiance.

Mr. Nicely was an industrious farmer, a model citizen, a kind husband and father, and his untimely death called forth expressions of sorrow and the bereaved family have the sympathy of all in their affliction.

Funeral services will be held at the house this afternoon at 2 o'clock, conducted by Rev. H. C. Colburn. Internment will be in Bellevue Cemetery.


© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

EARTH DAY 2010

Celebrate our earth

Wordless Wednesday--Another side of Tulips

Tombstone Tuesday--William Asby Poole

     William Asby Poole is my paternal first cousin three times removed. He is the son of George Henry Poole and Martha Jane Kennedy. I am related through the Poole line. 

     From other family researchers I have learned that William was called Billy. He was a dairy farmer and never married. His vital statistics can be seen on his death certificate located at the end of the blog. 

     Billy's name was derived from his great grandfather Rev. Asby Pool and his grandfather Rev. William Lanham Pool. The Pool surname changed at the end of the 19th century. Apparently, those relations in the Morgantown, West Virginia area decided to add a final letter "e" to their name thus making it Poole. William Asby, his parents and his brothers and sisters are all buried at East Oak Grove in Morgantown, West Virginia.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Treasure Chest Thursday--Frederick Metal Mesh Purse

     This is a dandy! I always seem to attribute these little metal purses to my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark. Following her death, boxes of antique items came into my possession as her only child, my mother, had little interest in the collection of "old stuff".

     From the various articles I have read, the bag was probably manufactured circa 1915-1920.


     With a little research I found that the Mandalian Manufacturing Company, the makers of this particular mesh purse, was purchased by Whiting & Davis. I collect Whiting & Davis and have several bags from the 1930's and 40's. Oddly, I never realized that my grandmothers little mesh bag is made up of the same type of small metal pieces as those in my collection. I guess this is one of the "light bulb lighting" moments!

Detail of the Mandalian Manufacturing Company mark

More on Mandalian Metal Mesh Purses;

Sahatiel Gabrabed Mandalian Purses
Mesh bags by Mandalian

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Wordless Wednesday--Glorious Color Before a Freeze

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Tombstone Tuesday--Rebecca Caldwell Hill

     My paternal great great great great grandmother, Rebecca Caldwell Hill, wife of Robert Hill. Rebecca was born to John and Mary Caldwell on June 7, 1865 in Charlotte County, Virginia. She married Robert Hill on November 22, 1787 in Frederick County, Virginia.

     Robert was given a 400 acres tract of land in Monongalia County, (West) Virginia for his service during the American Revolution. The newly weds removed to Monongalia County and began to raise a family north of Morgantown. To this union nine children were born:

Jonathan Hill
Margaret Johnston Hill
Joseph Davidson Hill--My great great great grandfather
William J. Hill
James Hill
Sarah Johnston Hill
George D. Hill
Elizabeth Hill
Robert Johnson Hill

     Robert and Rebecca were originally buried in The Old Hill Cemetery located on a section of their land. As Morgantown grew, old pioneers buried in this cemetery were moved to other resting places. During the spring of 1928 the caskets of the Hills and their friends, Purnell and Mary Carey Houston were moved to Mt. Union Cemetery north of Morgantown on Route 119.

Rebecca died on October 20, 1843 in Monongalia County, (West) Virginia.

Tombstone inscription:

In Memory of
Rebecca Hill. Wife
of Robert Hill. Was bo-
rn June 7th AD 1765 depa-
rted this life Oct 20
1843 Aged 78 years
4 Mo. and 13 Dys.

Hill Family Bible Record

Revised:  September 21, 2023

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Festival of Postcards--Geography--Threave Castle, Scotland

Threave Castle postcard I sent to my Dad in 2005

     Have you ever found a place that is special.....a comfort zone? One of mine is Threave Castle located on the River Dee, Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Back in 2003, when I first had the pleasure of visiting numerous "family" castles in the Dumfries area, this one just felt special. Although there is not much left....the interior is gone, I could almost imagine bygone days. Sitting at one of the windows and watching far beyond the River Dee hoping that visitors would arrive.

     I have decided to add a couple of my own photos here to illustrate:


     The wooden floors of the castle are long gone, but you can see the window seat in front of the open window.

     My special place to sit and let my mind wander is a bench hidden behind the foliage. It is near the barn like structure (which is an information and gift shop) to the left of the castle.


     Getting to Threave. The parking lot is a pleasant walk beside a cow pasture. There are even a few Highland cows behind the fences. The walkway ends at a jetty. A little motor boat takes tourists back and forth across the River Dee.

Back of the Threave Castle postcard I sent to my Dad

     The poem Lord Maxwell's Good-night by Anonymous mentions many of the Maxwell castles in the Dumfries area. When I revisited in 2005, I made certain to see each one. Of course, Threave was still my favorite. The verse on Threave--

"Adieu! Dumfries, my proper place,
But and Carlaverock fair!
Adieu! the castle of the Threave
And all my buildings there!"


© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Treasure Chest Thursday--Enoch Wood Plate

Provenance of the Enoch Wood Plate“European Scenery”Circa 1818-1846

     This plate was one of several items plucked from a trash bin on the tree lawn of Grams and Pop Pop’s(my paternal grandparents)apartment at 71 North Bryant Avenue, Bellevue, Pennsylvania in the early 1960’s by my Mom. 

     I have been told by Mom, Aunt Faith and Grams’ niece, Kae Wallace Billik, that when Grams and Pop Pop moved to St. Petersburg, Florida Grams dumped most of the family belongings out on the tree lawn for the trash pickup. Various family members from both the Hughes and VanGilder sides picked heirloom treasurers out of the garbage cans. Apparently, Grams wanted a new start in Florida and did not want to be encumbered with old “stuff.” Consequently, much of our family history is in a landfill somewhere in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


     The plate graced the dining room wall of my family home on Bramble Lane in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for over twenty years. When the house was sold in 1982 Mom gave me several old plates that once belonged to Grams and I stored them in a box in the attic. One day, not too many years ago, and a move and an attic later, I happened to remember the plates and added them to my dining room décor.

The family history of this particular plate is that it comes from someone in either Grams or Pop Pop’s background. I do not know if the plate traveled across “the great pond” back in the early 1900’s when three voyages were made to and from Hartlepool, England by our Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Olesen Hughes, or if Great Great Grandma Olesen brought it to the states when she immigrated in the early 1920’s or if it was purchased in the United States by one of our West Virginia ancestors. Regardless of who originally owned the plate it becomes yours through the Hughes Family. And I can guarantee that it was Grams, the master of glue, who cemented it, back together!

European Scenery in Cartouche and EW or EW & S

     The plate was manufactured by the prominent potter, Enoch Wood of Burslem, Staffordshire, England. The Wood pottery firm was in business from 1790 until 1845, five years after Enoch Wood’s death. In 1818 Enoch Wood purchased the business outright and the name became Enoch Wood and Sons. There was a high demand for pottery from Staffordshire in the United States during the early part of the nineteenth century and Enoch Wood and Sons became the largest exporter of earthenware pieces. The business closed five years after Enoch Wood’s death when the survivors claimed their money from the estate.

     The county of Staffordshire has historical importance to the Hughes Family. The earliest Hughes Family members that I have been able to trace came from Staffordshire going back to the late 1700’s and early 1800’s; however, they were not from the pottery area. Our ancestors lived in the small village of Wordsley and the male members were employed in the iron and coal areas. It was before 1871 that Samuel and Ann Hughes moved their family from Wordsley to West Hartlepool, England.

Plate given as a wedding gift to my cousin, Phyllis Hughes Goodman

Grams and Pop Pop= Sarah Margaret VanGilder Hughes and George Henry Hughes

More on Enoch Wood:

Enoch Wood Obituary

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Wordless Wednesday--The Garden Awakens: Bloodroot

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Ancestor Approved Award

I was pleased to learn over the weekend that I had received the "Ancestor Approved Award" from Linda McCauley at Documenting the Details and Lori over at Genealogy and Me. THANK YOU both for recognizing Flipside with this honor. As a recipient of this award, I am to list 10 things I have learned about my ancestors that have surprised, humbled or enlightened me and then pass the award on to 10 other genealogy bloggers who I feel are doing their ancestors proud. I was surprised category:

1. To learn from my maternal great grandfather's Civil War Pension File that he was sent to a mental institution for "lunacy" in the early 1890's.

2. To learn from a cousin in Hartlepool, that my paternal great grandparents followed Fred Olesen to America. I don't think that was true.

3. To learn that my paternal gggggg grandparents owned slaves.

4. To learn that my maternal great grandfather lost a leg in a train accident before 1900 in Youngstown, Ohio I was enlightened category:

5. That my paternal great grandfather was a census enumerator for the 1900 West Virginia census in Morgantown, West Virginia.

6. That the same paternal great grandfather was an elected official in Morgantown, West Virginia.

7. That the small village of Cannon's Mill in Columbiana County, Ohio was named for my ggg grandfather, Lindsay Cannon and his mill.

In the humbled category:

8. By the strength of my paternal great grandmother, Jessie Pool VanGilder to make a life for herself and her three girls following her husbands early death.

9. At the fortitude it took my maternal ggg grandfather to fight the US government in the mid 1850's and win. They tried to make him pay back the pension money that was given to his father-in-law following his death.

10. At the courage of all of my late 1700 and early 1800 pioneer ancestors who began to cross the wilderness to find a home inland from the original colonies. This chosing of ten to receive awards is always so difficult as all the blogs I read are worthy. I have checked to see those blogs that have already received this award and will try to send it along to fellow genealogy bloggers who have yet to be recognized. 1. Hummer at Branching Out Through The Years 2. Barbara at Life From the Roots 3. Terri at The Ties That Bind 4. Linda at Exploring Almost Forgotten Gravesites in Ohio 5. Liz at My Big Fat Cajun/ Irish/Scottish/English/German/French/Southern Family Blog 6. Tina at Gen Wish List 7. Claudia at Claudia's Genealogy Blog 8. TK at Before My Time 9. Diana at Random Relatives 10. Dorene at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay

HAPPY EASTER

HAPPY EASTER FROM FLIPSIDE

Easters Past--Growing up Hughes

Today I am deep in memories of Easter in the Hughes family during my childhood and teenage years. I can't remember the larger family getting together for a festive celebration like we did for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was a day we spent together--just our family--and perhaps my maternal grandmother would come over for dinner.


I know that my Easter dresses were made by my maternal grandmother. Often I had a new straw purse to carry and a hat and gloves. The Easter bunny made a visit the night before and we would get up to find large baskets packed with little toys and candy.


One of the special candies was a large sugar egg. Decorated with frosting and a little panorama inside. Decades ago, as I was wandering around Hixsons, a delightful shop in Lakewood, Ohio, I found some of those old fashioned sugar eggs. I bought three...one for each of my two sons and one for me! That egg is still in my freezer. I have kept it for over 20 years. How strange is that....lol


Another memory of Easter past is the corsage. My father would always...yes always....have a lovely Easter corsage for my Mom and I to wear to church.


Church was the most important part of our Easter celebration. We were members of Hiland Presbyterian Church in Perrysville, Pennsylvania during the 1950's. Even as children we looked forward to church and the extra activities it provided. I was a member of the children's choir and Easter was a holiday when we put on our choir robes and sang during the church service.


In 2004, before my father was admitted to an assisted living facility, my brothers and I met in Pittsburgh and, as a family, we again attended Hiland for Easter service....as adults. Ken, Jeff and I spent time following the service wandering around the church..inside and out....reliving the past. It was a very moving service and is a lasting memory as it was the last time Dad was able to celebrate Easter at Hiland.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Funeral Card Friday--George Henry Hughes

I do not have too many funeral cards for my family....only a handful. George Henry Hughes is my paternal grandfather, affectionately known as Pop Pop.

George was born on March 19, 1898 in Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He was the son of John George Hughes and Elizabeth Ferdinande Olesen. In 1906, the Hughes family immigrated arriving at the port of New York, then taking a train to the southside area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

George married Sarah Margaret VanGilder on June 05, 1920 in Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia. The Hughes' had three children.

In 1963 George retired from the American Bridge Company and he and Sarah moved from Bellevue, Pennsylvania to St. Petersburg, Florida.

George died in South Pasadena, Pinellas County, Florida on June 23, 1973. He was cremated and the ashes were transported to his resting place in Allegheny County Memorial Park, Allison Park, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Treasure Chest Thursday--Frederick Sterling Silver Spoon

     I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth....they have just come to me through various family estates. Here is another sterling silver spoon from my maternal Frederick family collection. The last time I posted a spoon, I received a comment from Liz over at My Big Fat Cajun/Irish/ Scottish/English/German/ French/Southern Family Blog. She was able to identify the name of the pattern. Maybe this one will also be familiar.

     The engraved Frederick "F" is clearly marked. The pattern looks somewhat gothic. I wonder if this belonged to one family member to be used as a teaspoon or if it was part of a set.

     Using my Kovel book, the maker's mark belongs to R. Wallace and Sons Manufacturing Company, Wallingford, Connecticut (1871-1956).

     The red arrow is pointing to the year mark. Unfortunately, I was not able to find out any information as to the year. The mark is a letter "E". I would ballpark it as mid to late 1890's. Sources: -Kovel, Ralph and Terry, Kovels' American Silver Marks: 1650 to the Present, Crown Publishers, New York, 1989, page 386. -The Online Encyclopedia of American Silver Marks, Letter W. 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.  

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

April Fool's Day

FROM FLIPSIDE