Festival of Postcards 9th Edition--Locomotion

The next edition of A Festival of Postcards is dedicated to LOCOMOTION - so it’s time to get out those postcards depicting anything that moves. Hosted by Evelyn over at Canadian Family.

This photo postcard was sent to my, then single, mother-in-law during World War II by a maternal cousin, Bill Beeman. Bill served on two ships that were sunk during the war and was stationed in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. George Winstead was the photographer of this card featuring the U.S.S. Chicago.

Bill survived it all and lived out his life in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio.


On the back of the card:
U.S.S. Chicago
%Postmaster
Long Beach, Cali
Division 2

Dear Helena,

I'm leaving Long Beach Monday for Honolulu. I will write while on the way. Having a great time in the Navy.

Love,
Bill

I called my husband's aunt, who is the genealogist of their family and she was not able to tell me much about the Beeman family or about Bill. My husbands great grandaunt, Susanna Rebecca Hess married Henry R. Beeman in 1881 in Darke County, Ohio. Susanna and Henry were Bill Beeman's paternal grandparents.

One unusual item that I did notice on the card is that it is stamped by the post office when it was sent and then again, in Tiffin, Ohio when it was received. I don't think I have seen two separate postmarks on any of my other cards.

© 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

7th Festival of Postcards--Light--George Henry Hughes

Time for the 7th Edition of The Festival of Postcards featuring a scene of Light. Scenes – lit by the moon, neon or - lights of all kinds – street lights, headlights, lamps etc. or the play of light or objects as light as a feather, something that light-ens your heart, lights your way or lights your fire! Thank you to Evelyn over at A Canadian Family for hosting this event.

This postcard is part of my family photo postcard collection. George Henry Hughes is my paternal grandfather. Now you might wonder why it has been posted for the festival when the topic is "light". This is REALLY stretching it....the postcard photo was overexposed and was very light! Sorry, it is the best I can do. I suppose I could also say that the young people were outside sitting in the sunLIGHT when the photo was taken.

I wish I knew more about where this photo postcard was taken. If it was a day camp or a weeklong one where the kids stayed overnight. I certainly was unaware that my great grandparents had the finances to send their son to summer camp. However, thinking upon it further, since my great grandfather was employed by Jones Laughlin Steel Company, perhaps the summer camp was company owned.

One of the neat findings is that my grandfather wrote a note on the back of the card to one of his grandmothers. My suspicion is that it was Granny Olesen, Wilhelmina Weiss Olesen, as she was a widow. If he was writing to his Hughes grandparents he would have addressed it to Grandma and Grandpa, as both were still alive. Apparently, the card was never sent and it is now one of my proud possessions.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Festival of Postcards--December Edition--White

So this is your chance to share any of your black and white postcards, or colour postcards featuring white (think white sands and snow, White Cliffs of Dover etc.). As always, feel free to play with the theme. Do you have postcards depicting places that incorporate the word white (or bianco, blanc etc.)? How about a play on words (e.g. white elephant, it`s not black & white?) You’ve pretty well got carte blanche! Thank you to Evelyn over at A Canadian Family for hosting this event.

My postcard features my paternal grandfather, George Henry Hughes, who is riding on the back of a first aid wagon on the Queens Road, which I think is in Toronto, Canada. George was not able to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I because his vision was so poor. Wanting to serve, he took a bus to Toronto, Canada and on August 1, 1917, age the age of 19, he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a member of the 20th MGC (Machine Gun Company). He was trained on the Vickers Machine Gun and earned his sergeant stripes poor eyesight and all ;-)

More on George Hughes and his military service:
George Henry Hughes and Alot of Bureaucratic Red Tape

Festival of Postcards—4 legged quadrapeds

This is a photo postcard of my paternal great great grandmother, Ferdinande Weiss Olesen. Known as Ann by her contemporaries and as Granny Olesen by younger generations, she is shown with the Olesen family companion. This proud canine’s name has been lost to history, but was the subject of a Smile for the Camera blog done on Flipside back in the spring.

Ferdinande was the daughter of Frederick Heindrich Adolph Weiss and Ferdinande Lehman. She was born in Hamburg, Germany on 14 Nov 1855. The Weiss family immigrated to West Hartlepool, England between 1859 and 1861.

Ann was married to Christian Invart Olesen, a ships chandler and a boarder in the Weiss household, on August 3, 1874 at Christ Church in West Hartlepool, England.

I believe that this photo was taken outside their home on Bolton Street in West Hartlepool, England.


Submitted to A Festival of Postcards for the October 2009 4th Edition--4 legged quadrapeds.

Festival of Postcards #4--WATER

The next edition of A Festival of Postcards is dedicated to WATER - so it’s time to get out those postcards depicting bodies of water, boats, bridges, fish – or anything that contains liquid! Hosted by Evelyn over at Canadian Family.

     This is a Stevengraph postcard purchased several years back. Why? My paternal great grandparents, John George and Elizabeth Olesen Hughes and my paternal grandfather, George Henry Hughes immigrated to the U.S. aboard this ship in 1906. The family boarded the R.M.S. Caronia in Liverpool, England on May 9, 1906 and arrived at the port of New York on May 19, 1906.

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.

© 2009, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

A Festival of Postcards 3rd Edition--Signs

Evelyn Yvonne Theriault over at A Canadian Family Acadian and French-Canadian Genealogy has called for postcards featuring signs for the 3nd Edition of A Festival of Postcards.

This photo postcard was in a photo album that my grandmother made for my aunt. When I first saw that it was from England, my educated guess was that it was a Hughes and with my grandmother’s identification written on the back, decided it was my great great grandmother, Mary Ann Storey Hughes. My grandmother had one too many great’s for my aunt. Mary Ann would have been her great grandmother!

I took the card with me when I had the good fortune to visit relations in Hartlepool, England back in 2003 and the picture was identified by folks that knew her. It was indeed my great great grandmother, Mary Ann Storey Hughes.

She is standing outside of the family’s green grocer store located at 70 Florence Street, in the Longhill section of West Hartlepool, England. Florence Street was one of three main streets in Longhill located near the steel mill. I have enlarged the area around her head to feature some of the signage on the storefront windows. About the only one I can actually read is the one for D.C.L. Yeast.

The family lived in rooms inside the store. John George Marsh, a grandson, who lived in the family quarters at 70 Florence as a child, said that the store was in one room that opened into a “family room” where Mary Ann would sit in a chair by the fireplace holding a big fly swatter to swat the flies. A grand daughter, Betty Hughes Jamieson told me that later in life Mary Ann was very overweight and had a huge wattle that hung down under her chin and when she walked it swung from side to side. A genealogist couldn’t ask for a more descriptive picture than that!

A Festival of Postcard 2nd Edition: Main Street

Evelyn Yvonne Theriault over at A Canadian Family Acadian and French-Canadian Genealogy has come up with a second topic for the 2nd Edition of the Festival of Postcards: Main Street.

     I purchased two old photo postcards on ebay that feature the street where my great grandparents lived in Woodlawn, Pennsylvania in Beaver  County. Certainly not the main street of the town, but it’s a “main” street to me.

     John George Hughes and Elizabeth Olesen Hughes and son, George Henry Hughes moved to Woodlawn about 1915 to 131 Spring Street. Woodlawn was a company town owned by the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. In an attempt to keep the various ethnic groups separated, the company divided the town into 12 numbered plans. Police patrolled the areas to keep the workers from straying into another plan and fraternizing. 

     My Hughes family lived in Plan 10 at 131 Spring Street until about 1937, years after the death of John George Hughes. Elizabeth’s brother, Bill Olesen and perhaps her brother-in-law, Rowland Richards lived in the house. Following John’s death in 1920, Elizabeth’s mother, Ferdinanda (Ann) Olesen immigrated from England and joined her daughter and son at 131 Spring Street.

     Two different views of Spring Street are pictured in the postcards. One card actually shows a decent view of my great grandparents end unit. One of the few photos taken in Woodlawn, features my great grandmother standing in front of 131 Spring Street. Notice that the vine growth around the front porch in the picture is also shown on the postcard.

     I have also added a photograph of 131 Spring Street taken from my car window during a visit several summers ago. The entire street is now a slum area and frankly the current residents were not too pleased that we were slowing down and taking pictures.

Also on Flipside

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE AND ELIZABETH OLESEN HUGHES--131 Spring Street, Woodlawn, Pennsylvania

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE AND ELIZABETH OLESEN HUGHES--RMS Coronia, Immigration 

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE AND ELIZABETH OLESEN HUGHES--Crossing the Pond in 1920

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE AND ELIZABETH OLESEN HUGHES--Death Certificates

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE AND ELIZABETH OLESEN HUGHES--Scrapbooking Immigration

HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE--Court Testimony

-HUGHES JOHN GEORGE--Court Revisited

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE--Happy Dance Photos

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE--Burial Information

-HUGHES, JOHN GEORGE--Did my Paternal Great Grandfather Have Additional Sibling(s)

-HUGHES, ELIZABETH OLESEN--Burial Information

-HUGHES, ELIZABETH OLESEN--With a Dog

Updated October 2022

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.

© 2009, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

A Festival of Postcards--Wheels

Evelyn over at A Canadian Family Acadian and French-Canadian Genealogy is sponsoring a new carnival--A Festival of Postcards and this month's topic is wheels.


I am a collector of numerous items, however, postcards is not one of them. I am thrilled to have found a postcard photo of my Dad when he was about 2 years old, probably taken on the front porch of his grandparents house in Woodlawn, Pennsylvania. The date would be circa 1923 and there is my Dad, George VanGilder Hughes, driving his first set of wheels and from the smile on his precious little face, loving every minute of it. TOO CUTE!!