Smile for the Camera, 21st Edition--Give Their Face A Place - Women's History Month

The word prompt for the 21st Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Give Their Face A Place." March is Women's History month and you are asked to picture women back into history. The unknown, known and unsung women who are often the foundation of our family history. Give their face a place. The interpretation is yours. Admission is free with every photograph! Thank you to footnoteMaven over at Shades of the Departed for again sponsoring the event.

I wonder what she is thinking? My paternal great great grandmother, Mary Louise Hill VanGilder was the daughter of Joseph Davidson Hill and Sarah Houston. She was born on in Morgantown, West Virginia and died in the same city in her Hill family home--the very home in which she was born.

I have found another genealogist who is also a direct descendant of Mary Hill VanGilder and she also had a copy of this photograph, although the copy she sent me does not have a tear in the cardboard cover of the photo.


I believe that the handwritten names on the flipside of the photograph were done by my paternal grandmother, Sarah Margaret VanGilder Hughes. Written up in the upper right-hand corner is "Grandma VanGilder"--her grandmother. The middle section--"Great Grandmother VanGilder" was written for Sarah's children as Mary Hill VanGilder was their great grandmother.

The Happy Dance moment for me was when I saw Mary's middle name written on the photograph's back. I did not know that it was Louise. My great grandmother, Jessica Pool VanGilder, named her first daughter after her mother-in-law--Mary Louise VanGilder. This was a common practice in the 1880's to name babies after other family members and an honor to the person whose name was used.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Smile for the Camera 20th Edition--Valentine

Thank you to Shades of the Departed for hosting the 20th editon of Smile For The Camera. The word prompt for the 20th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Valentine." Love is in the air, so celebrate with Smile by sharing a photograph of a Valentine; be that person or paper. The interpretation of Valentine is yours.

My parents, George VanGilder Hughes and Martha Jean Stark, attended school together from kindergarten through high school. It was a small school in a medium sized town outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania--Avalon.

From old high school newspapers that Mom saved (she was the editor) it appears that Mom and Dad did not attend their senior prom together. Perhaps their attraction bloomed after Dad had already invited another senior and he was already committed. They did date during the summer between graduation and college and then left for separate institutions--Dad to Washington & Jefferson in Washington, Pennsylvania and Mom to Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio.

They dated throughout their college years and married on November 23, 1943. Below is their engagement photograph.


I do believe I get my "pack rat" gene from my Mom. She saved many items--cards, letters, memorabilia. Her college items are carefully contained in a scrapbook. The Valentine's Day card and flowers were sent from my Dad to her at Wooster College on February 14, 1940, which would have been her freshman year.


© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Smile for the Camera, 19th Edition--THE GIFT

The word prompt for the 19th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Gift." It is the holiday season and a time for giving. So give Smile readers the gift of sharing, sharing a family photograph. It can be a gift given or received, it can be the gift of talent, it can be the gift of having the photograph itself. The interpretation of gift is yours.

     Like most, as a child, I valued those wonderful Christmas gifts that appeared under the tree each Christmas Eve and joyously opened on Christmas Day. Occasionally, as the older sibling, the toys that my two brothers received often interested me more than my own ;-)

     When married, I often marveled at my husband’s sizeable extended family. Each summer the Smith side would have reunions—something quite foreign to me. Huge numbers would gather, some traveling from other states, to enjoy each others company, share old family tales, eat some fabulous home cookin’ and challenge each other with various games. There was always a softball game and my personal favorite BINGO. The prizes were donated by the family, some purchased…some homemade crafts and given to the oldest, youngest and member who had come from far away as well as to the many winners of the Bingo games. This special day was always greatly anticipated by me each year.

1961 Hughes Family GatheringPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

     Once I asked my Mom why our family never had reunions or more accurately, “Where IS our family?” All the extended family I ever knew was my three grandparents, two aunts, two uncles and eight cousins. Mind you we rarely even saw our Michigan Hughes family, which pretty much limited my “having seen and known” relations to about six or seven. Pretty pitiful!

     In the 1990’s, when I began my genealogical search, I was amazed to discover that I did have an extended family on my mother’s side. Her comment about there being no family on her side of the tree was, to say the least, untrue. She had a wealth of cousins, who had children—I had second cousins!

     My generation corrected the gap between the Pittsburgh and Farmington Hills, Michigan Hughes cousins. We now gather for family events or visits whenever possible during the year. They are a true blessing in my life.

     Where all this is leading is to is the blog’s topic--“The Gift.”

The Hughes Family Gathers for Megan's WeddingSilver Spring, MarylandFall, 2008
     Over the years, as I began to locate and communicate with some of my extended family, I have come to realize that the most cherished gift ever given to me is MY FAMILY. Those I only know as Internet acquaintances and those who I delight in spending time with.

     I actually stretch my family to also include those close personal friends—they are like family after all. MY FAMILY—immediate, extended, all sides of the genealogical tree, close friends—MY FAVORITE GIFT.

A visit to the Hartlepool Hughes FamilyHartlepool, EnglandAugust, 2003

The Southern Funderburg Family
Waterproof, LouisianaMay, 2005


Hughes Family New Year's GatheringPlymouth,Michigan2005 & 2006


Hughes Family Gathers for the Funeral ofGeorge VanGilder HughesSeptember 11, 2007

Smile for the Camera, 17th Edition "School Days"

The word prompt for the 17th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "School Days." It is September, historically the month when a new school year begins. We all have images of the days spent in school. The barefoot children gathered together with their teacher in front of the rural school your ancestors attended. Children at their desks, children at play in the school yard, and those obligatory school photographs - one for every year. Show us your family memories of school days. Thank you to Shades of the Departed for hosting.

Three Avalon, Pennsylvania school days chums from first grade through high school and then from college through medical school are my parents: George VanGilder Hughes and Martha Jean Stark Hughes and Joseph Nathan Arthur, Jr.

My parents and Joe Arthur attended Avalon public schools from grade school through high school. My Mom decided on Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio for further education and Dad and Joe attended Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania. Following their college years, both attended the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and after graduation served their internship at McKeesport Hospital. Dad and Joe did go into separate medical fields; Dad specialized in Internal Medicine and Joe in Urology.

A first home for both the Hughes and Arthur families was on Washington Drive near Perrysville, Pennsylvania. We lived two doors away. We spent a lot of time together and for years, took our family vacation in Stone Harbor, New Jersey usually sharing a duplex. The next generation (that would be mine) developed a close friendship.

Around 1960 we both moved from Washington Drive to other parts of the greater Pittsburgh area. We kids drifted apart, going to different schools, but the fond memories remain. The adults remained in close contact until my parents divorce. I guess the bond between my Mother and the Arthur’s was the strongest as she remained in contact with them until their deaths. In fact, my Mom and I visited Peg Arthur in Pittsburgh several weeks before she died.

Avalon Elementary School class photo.

The photographer was Alfred Walter Stark, my Mom's paternal uncle.

16th Edition of Smile for the Camera--Bling

The word prompt for the 16th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Bling, ancestor Bling." I am always drawn to the beautiful jewelry worn by our ancestors in old photographs. The locket that was your Great Grandmother's treasure, the pocket watch proudly displayed by a male ancestor, the beautiful crosses of old, and the children with their tiny bracelets. While not many of our ancestors were wealthy enough to own multiple pieces of jewelry, there was the one good piece that held sentimental value. Some of us have been fortunate enough to inherit those treasures. This edition is hosted over at Shades of the Departed.

I do have numerous photographs of ancestors adorned in bling; however, I decided to put a little spin on this edition of Smile. Rather than posting a photo of an ancestor in a fabulous piece of bling, I decided to feature a rather plain piece of bling which features a fabulous photograph of an ancestor! Pictured on the lapel pin is my maternal great grandmother, Lucinda (Lou) Orr Frederick. Looking at other photographs of her, I am ball parking the pin to be turn of the 20th century.

Lou did not seem to wear much jewelry. I have several other photos of her taken through the late 1800's and into the early 1900's. Her primary adornments were beautiful lace and/or tatted collars.

15th Edition of Smile for the Camera—George Henry Hughes

The word prompt for the 15th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "They WORKED hard for the family." The professions of our ancestors are almost as interesting as the people themselves. Some of our ancestors worked very hard; they took in laundry, worked the land, raised many children, or went to school and became professionals. Photographs of them working are called occupational photographs and are rather hard to find. If you do have a photograph in your collection or family photographs, bring them to the Carnival. This edition is hosted by footnoteMaven over at Shades of the Departed.

My paternal grandfather, George Henry Hughes, was employed as a draftsman with The American Bridge Company, a Division of U.S. Steel, Ambridge, Pennsylvania, located on the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh. I don’t know what type of position he had when he was first employed with American Bridge, however I do know that he began in 1913 at the age of fifteen.

Over the years American Bridge has been responsible for designing and building hundreds of bridges and buildings in the United States and abroad. Some of the more notable are: the cable for The San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, The Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower and the Mackinac Straits Bridge. These were all designed and constructed during his years with the company.

A local Pittsburgh project that my grandfather worked on was the Civic Arena which had a motorized, retractable roof of fabric-coated plastic. During the early 1950’s, my aunt can remember her father working on the design of the Civic Arena every night at home. He had some form of blocks that were made to copy the drawings on paper and spent hours working with the blocks trying to figure out how to keep the roof of the circular building up.

My Grandfather Hughes was employed by American Bridge his entire working life. He retired in 1961 after 48 years of service. He worked hard for two families during his lifetime. As a teen he added to the family earnings and once married he supported a wife and three children. My grandparents enjoyed a relaxing life after all the work years in warm and sunny St. Petersburg, Florida paid by a retirement plan provided by the company.

Smile for the Camera--Wedding Belles

The word prompt for the 14th Edition of Smile for the Camera is Wedding Belles. Historically, couples married in the month of June to honor Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. Others did it to time conception so births wouldn't interfere with harvest work. And brides in the 15th century chose to marry in June because it coincided with their "annual bath" - that's right - ensuring a relatively sweet-smelling honeymoon.



When I began working on this blog, I quickly realized that I did not have many wedding photos in my genealogy cache of family pictures. My Mom and Dad did not have a white wedding dress ceremony. They were married during World War II when my Dad was in medical school. Their ceremony was small, only family attended, and my Mom wore a new suit. There were no photos taken of either of my grandparents weddings. I think the only family wedding photos, other than my own, are those from the marriage of my Aunt Faith and Uncle Ed in 1955. I was the flower girl.

Then I remembered the professional wedding photograph of my mother’s first cousin, Dorothy Wilma Cooper. After my mother’s death in 1999, I was going through her closets and ran across a box that was filled with her memorabilia. In a manila envelope there was a wedding photo. It was the marriage of my mother’s first cousin, Dorothy Wilma Cooper to Samuel Milton Richards.
Dottie and Samuel married on Halloween, October 31, 1946 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two of her attendants were her first cousins, my mother, Martha Jean Stark Hughes and Lorraine Wilma Miller.

The name Wilma is common in this generation of cousins as their grandmother was Wilhelmina Stark. Three of the five girl cousins had Wilma as a first or middle name.

I first met “Cousin” Dottie in the mid 1990’s. She was so welcoming and shared numerous family stories and photos of our mutual Stark side of the tree. Once, when we were talking about the family, she showed me the photo of her wedding and shared the following story.

Dottie asked my mother to be one of her attendants. Several months before the wedding day, my mother became pregnant with me causing some concern that Mom would not fit into her gown by the end of October.

The knowledge of this story makes the wedding photo very special to me….after all; I was also in the wedding party!

Smile for the Camera--The Dog That Swam the Pond, maybe

The 13th edition of Smile for the Camera features all creatures great and small. Now Smile for the Camera is definitely throwing me a bone.

     I come from an animal family. Dogs and cats have been photographed, in abundance, since before I was born. There are so many photos of family pets that to choose one would be impossible.

     I decided to spotlight a dog that I have never met and have no idea what his/her name is. This pooch appears in photos taken in West Hartlepool, England and seemingly made it across the pond to Woodlawn, Pennsylvania. Did dogs immigrate or is this just an American, English dog wanna-be? If this canine boarded a ship, he would have come in 1907 or in 1921…which begs (no pun intended!) the question, was he too old to make the trip? Perhaps the Hughes/Olesen team just liked this breed of pup.

     Photos that I have found picture the dog with my paternal gg grandmother Ferdinanda Weiss Olesen and my paternal great grandmother Elizabeth Olesen Hughes.

Great Great Grandma Olesen
A photo postcard taken in
Hartlepool, England circa 1890's

Great Grandma Hughes
a photo postcard taken in West Hartlepool, England
circa 1890's

     Great Grandma Hughes in a rare photograph taken in, and I am venturing a guess here, Woodlawn, Pennsylvania. That would make it circa 1913-1921. If the photo was taken when my Great Grandparents came over and were living on the South Side of Pittsburgh, then we are talking 1907-1913.

Also o Flipside

-HUGHES, ELIZABETH OLESEN--Biography

-OLESEN, FERDINANDE WEISS--Biography

-OLESEN, FERDINANDE WEISS--Crossing the Pond 1920

-OLESEN, FERDINANDE WEISS--Festival of Postcards

-OLESEN, FERDINANDE WEISS Psalms Bible--Treasure Chest Thursday

-OLESEN, FERDINANDE WEISS—Tombstone Tuesday

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

Smile for the Camera--George Ethelbert VanGilder

The word prompt for the 12th Edition of Smile For The Camera is A Noble Life. Show us a photograph of an ancestor, relative, or friend that is the embodiment of A Noble Life. A life that is worthy of those who came before and those who follow after. A Life filled with small but courageous acts; filled with love and honor. A simple life, an ordinary life, A Noble Life. Bring them to the carnival and share with us how you've honored them.

Cabinet Card
C. S. Rogers, Photographer
Morgantown, West Virginia
This cabinet card is in my possession

     My paternal great grandfather, George Ethelbert VanGilder complete with a coat, tie, pocket watch and hat. He certainly looks noble, doesn’t he! 

     This cabinet card photograph was taken in Morgantown, West Virginia. George, son of John Oliphant VanGilder and Mary Louise Hill was born on January 27, 1861 in Morgantown, West Virginia¹. He died at age 43 on May 24, 1904 at his home in Morgantown, West Virginia². He left his wife, Jessie Pool VanGilder and four little daughters. 

     He was a dedicated public servant throughout his, all too short, life. Public school teacher³, secretary of the Morgantown school board⁴, enumerator of the 1900 West Virginia Federal Census in Morgantown⁵, and elected town official⁶, were several of his civic activities. 

     There is a cross street, George & VanGilder Streets, in Morgantown named in his honor. I think a line from his obituary says it all….”He was possessed of a kindly, quiet disposition that made friends of all with whom he came in contact.”⁷

^{Other Blogs on Flipside}

-VANGILDER, GEORGE ETHELBERT and JESSICA POOL, Marriage License

-VANGILDER, GEORGE ETHELBERT and JESSICA POOLE, Tombstone Tuesday

-VANGILDER, GEORGE ETHELBERT West Virginia University student

-VANGILDER, GEORGE ETHELBERT--Wordless Wednesday

Notes

1. "Morgantown Weekly Post," Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia, May 24, 1904, page 7. 2. “Morgantown Weekly Post,” page 7. 3. George Ethelbert VanGilder, George Ethelbert VanGilder Autograph Album, Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia, 1888-1887. 4. Samuel T. Willey, History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, From Its First Settlements to the Present Time, Preston Publishing Company, Kingwood, West Virginia, 1883, 657. 5. 1900 West Virginia Federal Census, Morgantown, Morgan District, Seneca, Monongalia County, ED 83, Sheet 15A. 6. Earl L. Core, The Monongalia Story A Bicentennial History: IV Industrialization, (McClain Printing Company, Parsons, West Virginia, 1982), Chapter 122: 1898, page 227. 7. “Morgantown Weekly Post,” page 7.

Updated:  September, 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

Smile for the Camera, 11 Edition--Frederick Family Children

The word prompt for the 11th Edition of Smile For The Camera is brothers & sisters? Were they battling brothers, shy little sisters, or was it brother & sister against the world? Our ancestors often had only their siblings for company. Were they best friends or not? Show us that picture that you found with your family photographs or in your collection that shows your rendition of brothers & sisters.

Children of Alfred Frederick and Lucinda Orr Frederick of Columbiana County, Ohio
Photograph circa 1886

The Cast of Characters (a pretty sober bunch!):

ALBERT L. FREDERICK—the oldest born July 21, 1869, Franklin Square, Columbiana County, Ohio. Known as Bert

WILLIAM WALTER FREDERICK—born October 2, 1871, Franklin Square, Columbiana County, Ohio. Known as Walter.

ROBERT BELL FREDERICK—born October 25, 1873, Franklin Square, Columbiana County, Ohio

EDNA MAY FREDERICK—August 24, 1876, Columbiana, Columbiana County, Ohio

MARTHA MARIE FREDERICK—the baby and my grandmother born April 8, 1880, Columbiana, Columbiana County, Ohio

Martha Marie was my maternal grandmother. My pet name for her was “Teek” because we had to take a “teek-car” (streetcar) to get to her house back in the early 1950’s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I spent quite a bit of time with Teek over the years as a child, teenager and young adult. She lived several years past my marriage, but I cannot remember her ever talking about her family. It’s odd since her father and I share the same birthday! Even my mother did not have any knowledge of her Frederick grandparents or her two uncles, Albert and Walter. No one ever talked about them!

Three of the Frederick children ended up in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Edna lived in Squirrel Hill and my mother told me that she and Teek talked on the telephone, but were not close. I also understand that Edna was very domineering toward Teek….maybe the older/younger sister thing! When Teek's husband, my Grandfather Stark died, folks at the funeral said that now that both sisters were widows, perhaps they would be closer--but that didn't happen!

Robert, called Bob, lived in Avalon, Pennsylvania with his family. Teek and family lived several streets away, so they saw each other frequently. According to my mother, when the Frederick’s got together for an evening or a meal, it was always “very stiff.” Not a lot of silliness or animated conversation.

Albert is missing in action. All I know of him is that he lived in Chicago in 1910 and must have died around 1925-1930 as my mother had no knowledge of him. I blogged about Albert as one of my brick walls and have had an inquiry, but I am beginning to think it is the "other Albert Frederick" who lived in Columbiana County, Ohio.....too bad!!!

Walter was a very social fellow according to his obituary; however his life was cut short by influenza in 1899.

I love the photo. It is one of the oldest pieces of personal history that I own. I am amazed at the clarity of the image as it has not been handled with much care over the years. I found it in a cardboard box along with other “old stuff” after Teek died. For years I held on to the box…….from city to city…from house to house….from attic to basement…until the genealogy bug bit me in 1993. Now it has found a home in an archival folder.