Category: This and That

image_pdfimage_print

Wedding Wednesday: John Sales and his daughter Phebe Sales

Vervaardigd in ca. 1684. This map of the current New England was published by Nicolaes Visscher II (1649-1702). Visscher copied first a map by Jan Janssonius (1588-1664) from 1651 and added a view of New Amsterdam, the current Manhattan. The map is very accurate: each European town which existed at the time has been represented. Public domain via Wikipedia.
Vervaardigd in ca. 1684. This map of the current New England was published by Nicolaes Visscher II (1649-1702). Visscher copied first a map by Jan Janssonius (1588-1664) from 1651 and added a view of New Amsterdam, the current Manhattan. The map is very accurate: each European town which existed at the time has been represented. Public domain via Wikipedia.

 

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s had been difficult for the “Black Sheep” known as John Sales and his little daughter, Phebe Sales. They are not related to us, but theirs is an interesting story that tells us a bit about what life was like in the early colonies, where some of our ancestors lived too.

In our previous posts we left John and Phebe on 6 June 1637, ‘bound out’ and “troublesome,” with an unknown fate to be decided by two men and the court.

Apparently, they were released from their indenture, as John and Phebe went to New Netherland, a Dutch colony that is now New York, New Jersey, Delaware, etc. The Dutch were much more tolerant of religious differences, women had more rights, and John and Phebe could be rid of the strict Puritans as well as their bad experiences in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John changed his name to be Dutch-sounding- he went by “Jan Celes,” and lived in Manhattan. (It was a lot less pricey in those days.)

Jan Celes was recorded in New Amsterdam (now New York City), the capital, on 21 August 1644 when he married  a widow named Maria Sloofs, called “Marritjen [Mary] Roberts” in his will. (The Dutch used a woman’s maiden name for all official records, thus ‘Roberts’ would have been Mary’s maiden name and she was recorded throughout the records as such.)

Jan’s will was dated just eight months after the marriage, on 17 April 1645, and he was “…wounded and lying sick abed”- in fact, he was so ill that he could not write, thus gave his last wishes verbally with at least two witnesses.

Phebe Sales, his daughter, had already married, on 11 February 1640, to Theunis Nyssen, in New Amsterdam. In 1645, her father willed half his estate to Theunis, and half to his wife Marritjen, whose portion was to revert to Theunis upon her death or remarriage. Thus Phebe and any heirs would have the benefit of almost all of his estate eventually. Jan did allow in his will that Marritjen could have, if she did not remarry, 200 guilders to will to whomever she wished. John also listed his name as “John Seals” as well as “Jan Celes”; he combined the English and Dutch names when he wrote his signature as “Jan Seles.”

John died sometime between when his will was given on 17 April 1645, and 9 August 1645, when John’s widow “Mary Robbertszen” married Thomas Grydy (Greedy) in New York. Interestingly, Thomas was a convicted felon, as had been John Sales. Mary  probably died by 13 October 1658 when Thomas made his will, as no wife was mentioned.

Theunis likely died before Phebe, as her second husband was Jan Cornelison Buys; they married in Middelwout (now Flatbush) on 24 August 1663, and she may have had one child with him. She died and was buried as “Femmetje Jans” on 13 December 1666, in the Flatbush Church Cemetery.

Hopefully, John Sales, a “Black Sheep” in 1633 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his daughter Phebe, had a better life in New Netherland.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900, via Archive.org.
  2. John Sale is listed on page 2 of “Boston Church Records” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database.  AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .)
  3. Entry for John Sales: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). He is listed on p. 407-8 in a footnote in the profile of John Coggeshall, page 1616-1618 in his own profile as John Sales.
  4. “&c” means “and etc.”
  5. Double or dual dating is often used during this time period because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. See the article on dual dating at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_dating and http://www.usgenweb.org/research/calendar.shtml.
  6. The followup on the lives of John Sales and Phebe Sales is a lesson in good genealogy. There was another “John Sales” who was found in Providence, Rhode Island, in the late 1630s- many thought these two were one and the same. An excellent article by Gwenn Epperson proved that they were not. See”The True Identity of John Sales alias Jan Celes of Manhattan” was printed in the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record (NTGBR 123:65-73), and the story was added to in 1994 by Harry Macy (NYGBR 124:226-27).

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Madness Monday: The Punishment of John Sales, 1633

John Sale and daughter Phebe 'bound over' for theft by John. Found in Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles henry Pope, 1900. Public domain.
John Sale and daughter Phebe ‘bound over’ for theft by John. Found in Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900. Public domain.

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Puritans felt compelled to make sure that others, even non-Puritans, followed the rules/laws of an orderly society. Hence, “Black Sheep” like John Sales were to be made an example, and his punishment was harsh. On the 1st of April 1633, he was “censured by the Court after this manner:”

… all his estate was to be forfeited (though it likely was small)

… he had to pay double restitution to all those he had wronged

… he “shall be whipped”

…he will be “bound as servant with any that will retain him for 3 years”

The records continue:

“John Sayle is bound with Mr. Coxeshall for 3 yeares, for which hee is to give him £4 per ann[um]; his daughter is also bound with him for 14 yeares. Mr. Coxeshall is to haue [have] a sow [female pig] with her, & att the end of her time hee is to giue [give] vnto [unto] her a cowe calfe.”

So John’s little daughter, possibly just seven-years old (she was baptized 1 May 1626), was punished too. As her mother is not mentioned in any of the Colony records, we can assume that her father was her sole caregiver until this point. At least they kept the two together.

On 4 March 1633/34, John was whipped for running away from his master.

On 30 January 1634/35, John came back after running away again, and this time it was noted that he ran to the Indians. He was most likely whipped, again. It would be interesting to know his experience during the time he was gone, and whether or not his daughter accompanied him.

Two years later, on 7 April 1635, the court records that two of the colony leaders were to examine “the business” between John Sayles, his daughter, Mr. Coxeall, and a John Levens. There are no details of the problem or how it was solved, but by 6 June 1637, Phebe Seales, who had been ‘put apprentice’ to John Coggeshall (the same ‘Mr. Coxehall,’ Boston merchant), had caused enough problems that a court intervention was required. Unfortunately the girl “proved overburdensome to him… the Court…have thought it just to ease him of it…” Apparently Coggeshall had “put” Phebe (loaned her out) to John Levins, and that was not working out well either. So the court agreed upon two arbitrators, who were to “…end the difference between the said parties & to set down such order for the ease and discharge of the said John Coggeshall, &c disposing of the said Phebe, as they shall think equal.”

Sadly, we do not know how the issues were resolved, but we do know what happened to John Sales and his daughter Phebe Sales. We will finish the story in our next post, on Wednesday.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900, via Archive.org.
  2. John Sale is listed on page 2 of “Boston Church Records” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database.  AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .)
  3. Entry for John Sales: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). He is listed on p. 407-8 in a footnote in the profile of John Coggeshall, page 1616-1618 in his own profile as John Sales.
  4. “&c” means “and etc.”
  5. Double or dual dating is often used during this time period because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. See the article on dual dating at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_dating and http://www.usgenweb.org/research/calendar.shtml.

 

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Black Sheep Sunday: Crime and Punishment circa 1633

John Sale and daughter Phebe 'bound over' for theft by John. Found in Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles henry Pope, 1900. Public domain.
John Sale and daughter Phebe ‘bound over’ for theft committed by John. Found in Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900. Public domain.

 

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Our Burnell, Tucker, Bannister, Pomeroy, Parsons, and Kingsley ancestors lived in Puritan Massachusetts in the 1600s, and the early 1700s as the society became more diverse. They may have known John Sales, or known of him- news travelled faster than we realize even though they did not have cell phones in those days. Thankfully, John Sales is not the ‘Black Sheep’ of our family, though he likely is such in some other family. His story, however, will give a bit of context to the time and place that our own ancestors lived.

Charles Henry Pope compiled information from many available sources, such as, in this case, the Records of Massachusetts Bay Colony or the General Court [Col. Rec.], and Gov. John Winthrop’s History of Massachusetts [W.]. Pope’s book Pioneers of Massachusetts was published in 1900.

These records show that John Sales was admitted as an inhabitant of Charlestown, Massachusetts, now known as Cambridge (Boston’s oldest neighborhood), and in 1630 the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. From other sources we learn that John migrated from Little Waldingfield, Suffolk, England, in 1630, and his first residence in the colony was Charlestown. John most likely was already a member of the Puritan church- the ONLY religion tolerated in the colony. To become a member of the local church, however, John, like other men and women, had to be examined by local Puritan religious leaders and found to be steadfast and knowledgeable in his faith. In fact, he proved himself- John was one of the members from the very beginning of the First Church in Boston, on 27 August 1630- he was member #21.

Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet, the first female poet to be published in the English colonies- and the most famous poet in the colonies- was also listed in that first accounting of members of the new church. Her most famous lines are:

“If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.”

John Winthrop, the Governor of the colony, was a member of the Boston First Church, too.

So how did John Sales, who travelled in such prominent circles to some degree, end up being convicted of theft?? ‘Black Sheep’ that he was, he had the distinction of being the first person in the colony to be convicted of that crime, on 1 April 1633.

We know that times were pretty lean in the first years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and we know that John had a daughter named Phebe to support. We do not know John’s status when he immigrated to the colony- was he part of the gentry, a merchant, a skilled craftsman, an apprentice, or indentured servant? His wife was not listed in any records (still existing) once he was in the colony. She may have died in England after the birth of their second daughter in 1628, or she died on board ship or shortly after arrival. My hypothesis is that she would have been on board ship, as it would be unlikely a man would bring a four-year old daughter- Phebe- with him to the colony without a woman to care for her. (Phoebe was baptized in 1626, but may not have been an infant at baptism, thus her actual age is unknown.) If his wife and second daughter, 2 year old Sarah had come on the voyage, they would have been like many other colonists, who travelled as a family. A number of passengers on board perished during the journey, however, and John’s wife and youngest daughter may have been two of them, as they are not mentioned in any of the Colony’s records.

John Sales and family probably sailed from England with the Winthrop Fleet, the 12 ships that landed in Salem, Massachusetts on 12 June 1630. The sick and decimated colonists already in Salem did not have enough food even for themselves, nor housing for the new arrivals. The newest colonists then only had a few months to find a different place to settle and build shelters for the oncoming brutal New England winter. They moved about twenty miles away, and founded Charlestown.

Wattle-and-daub construction, via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Wattle-and-daub construction, via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The colonists mostly lived in very simple housing such as wigwams, dugout homes, or wattle-and-daub (basically stick and mud) houses with dirt floors. The rich persons in town had clapboard houses, which would have been much warmer in winter than drafty wattle-and-daub. There was a lack of fresh water in Charlestown, and growing and gathering food to sustain them over that first winter would have been a challenge during the few remaining months of summer. Many got sick from poor diet, local conditions, and hard work. In that first year, about 200 of the approximately 1,000 immigrants died; the next spring, in 1631, another 200 returned to England. John Sale and his daughter Phebe somehow survived these tough times, and made it through their first year in the New World.

The year 1632 was harder, though, for John and Phebe. The Charlestown Town Records state:

“heere happened in this Towne, the first knowne thiefe yt [that] was notoriously observed in ye Country, his name was John Sales who having stolne [stolen] Corne from many people in this Scarce time was Convicted thereof before the Court…”

John was accused of

“… fellonyously takeing away corne & fishe from dyvers persons the last yeare & this, as also clapboards, &c.”

Not that stealing is acceptable, especially when others also do not have enough, but perhaps John was just trying to feed his daughter and himself, and either add clapboards to their home to help them stay warm, or use the clapboards for firewood. He may have been too sick to care for his daughter as well as bring home dinner or kindling from the woods. We cannot know his situation or motivation, but we do know what happened next.

We can also tell you that John Sales was not listed as an inhabitant of Charlestown on 9 January 1633/34. Obviously there was a big change in his life.

Tomorrow- The Punishment

 

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900, via Archive.org.
  2. John Sale is listed on page 2 of “Boston Church Records” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database.  AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .)
  3. Entry for John Sales: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). He is listed on p. 407-8 in a footnote in the profile of John Coggeshall, page 1616-1618 in his own profile as John Sales.
  4. “&c” means “and etc.”
  5. Double or dual dating is often used during this time period because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. See the article on dual dating at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_dating and http://www.usgenweb.org/research/calendar.shtml.

 

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Military Monday: Army Recruitment in 1858

Army Recruitment Ad in the Daily State Sentinel, Indianapolis, Indiana, 27 April 1858, page 3, via Hoosier State Chronicles.
Army Recruitment Ad in the Daily State Sentinel, Indianapolis, Indiana, 27 April 1858, page 3, via Hoosier State Chronicles. (Click to enlarge.)

Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

This 1858 ad seems somewhat charming in a way, taken as is. Just $11-22 per month pay? That is about $300-600 in today’s dollars. No wife or child? It made sense to not have encumbrances, as at that time, the US Army was fighting Native Americans out west and in Florida, was involved in armed conflict with the Mormons in Utah, had become a player on the world stage, etc. Although our founding fathers had not wanted a standing army, by the 1850s it was deemed a necessity, hence this advertisement for new Army recruits.

But once this ad is put into the context of the times and our family, as well as our nation, it is actually a chilling foreshadowing.

The years leading up to the Civil War were contentious, whether the issue was overtly slavery or the deeper heart of the matter- state’s rights. Economics were in play as well, with not just the huge property value of slaves being an issue- the South felt that the federal tariffs were favorable to the North and penalized the South. Our nation was quite divided by all of these issues.

In May, another massacre had occurred in ‘Bleeding Kansas’ with pro-slavery forces crossing from Missouri into Kansas Territory, which was in the process of determining whether or not to be a slave state. The gang captured 11 Free-Staters who were not armed and had not been involved with any of the previous violence- many of them actually knew the gang leader and went willingly as they did not realize the intention was to shoot them down in cold blood. Five died in the incident, and only one of the gang members was ever prosecuted. (He was later hanged.)

[We had families by the name of Hemphill, Turner, Daniel, and Thomas in Missouri (although most were originally from southern states), possibly Joseph H. Payne in Kansas Territory, and quite a few families who lived in border states or the south during this time period. They all would have seen the violence and hatred up close and possibly personal.]

Abraham Lincoln in 1858. Ambrotype by Abraham Byers, Beardstown, Illinois, via Wikipedia; public domain.
Abraham Lincoln in 1858. Ambrotype by Abraham Byers, Beardstown, Illinois, via Wikipedia; public domain. (Click to enlarge.)

Not long after the above recruitment ad and the pro-slavery ‘Marais des Cygnes massacre,’ Abraham Lincoln gave his famous “House Divided” speech on 16 June 1858 as he accepted his Republican party’s nomination for the Illinois US Senate seat. He was pitted against Stephen A. Douglas, who felt each state or territory had the right to choose whether or not they wanted slavery.

Here is the passage you might remember from history class:

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South.”

The famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates began that August, and although Lincoln did not win the Senate seat that election, his ‘House Divided’ speech helped to put him in the forefront of his party and the abolition/federal vs. state’s rights cause.

There was, most likely, a young boy named Abram Furman Springsteen (1850-1930) taking in all of this news and such advertisements with wide eyes. Although his father, Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909) was a Democrat, because Jeff was active in local politics, Abram would have heard the latest news and discussions, probably from both sides, for quite a few years.  Abram was only 7 at the time of the ad, and he turned 8 in July, after Lincoln’s speech. By age 11, he was running away to join the Army, on the Union side. Apparently, Northern sympathies trumped his father’s political party, at least, for a young man in Indiana. Or maybe it was the exciting visit of Abraham Lincoln who stopped in Indianapolis on 11 February 1861, as he was on his way to be inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States… We will probably never know for sure, but it is interesting to see the history and context of the times of our ancestors through newspapers and other research, so we can determine how it may have motivated the events of their lives.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Army Recruitment Ad in the Daily State Sentinel, Indianapolis, Indiana, 27 April 1858, page 3, via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  2. ‘1858 in the United States’–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1858_in_the_United_States
  3. ‘Marais des Cygnes massacre’–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marais_des_Cygnes_massacre

  4. ‘Lincoln’s House Divided Speech’– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_House_Divided_Speech

  5. ‘The Abraham Lincoln Blog’–http://abrahamlincolnblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/lincolns-inauguration-journey-february.html
  6. Of course, the glamour and glory of going off to war may also have inspired Abram to enlist. He was quite a patriotic man in his later years, though, strongly believing in the United States and its government, so Abram’s reasons for enlisting were likely many.
  7. See also “Wisdom Wednesday: The Springsteens and Abraham Lincoln”– http://heritageramblings.net/2016/02/10/wisdom-wednesday-the-springsteens-and-abraham-lincoln-contd/

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Thriller Thursday: Elsie Janis and “That Fascinating Baseball Slide”

Elsie Janis (Beerbower) in the April, 1913 magazine, "Theatre"- 'At Home' section. There, Vol. 17, No. 146, Page 225, via Archive.org.
Elsie Janis (Beerbower) in the April, 1913 magazine, “Theatre”- ‘At Home’ section. “Theatre,” Vol. 17, No. 146, Page 225, via Archive.org.

Helbling Family, Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

While some of our dear readers may not actually consider this to be a real thriller like some of the wild movies or tv shows that are out there today,  today’s post does at least have a “whodunnit?” component. And then there is the thrill of research, though sometimes gone too far… (maybe).

As has been mentioned previously on the blog, Elsie Bierbower (1889-1956) was the cousin of Anna May Beerbower (1881-1954), who married William Gerard Helbling. Anna May was the daughter of Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916), while Elsie was the daughter of John Eleazer Bierbower (1858-1929). Elsie went by “Little Elsie” in her child-star years, and then used “Elsie Janis” as her stage name.

Elsie started her career in vaudeville and on the stage, but eventually added audio recordings and later movies. “That Fascinating Baseball Slide”- AKA just “Fascinating Baseball Slide,” was her first recording, in 1912.

Add for new Elsie Janis records in 1912, published in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, PA), page 7, column 6, via Google Newspapers.
Ad for new Elsie Janis records in 1912, published in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, PA), 28 December 1912, page 7, column 6, via Google Newspapers.

Those of us who grew up with piles of records alongside our turnables- actually called ‘record players’  at the time, ‘turntables’  probably later in the 70s- know that the name in parentheses under the title is the name of the songwriter. This record shows that Elsie wrote the song, as well as sang it with an orchestra.

Label from "Fascinating Baseball Slide" by Elsie Janis, 1912, via Library of Congress.
Label from “Fascinating Baseball Slide” a 10″ record by Elsie Janis, 1912, via Library of Congress. (Click to enlarge.)

A number of websites and other resources state that Elsie wrote the song.

Imagine the surprise when this result popped up in a search:

Copyright record for "That Fascinating Baseball Slide," in Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3, Volume 7, Number 1, Page 484, via GoogleBooks.
Copyright record for “That Fascinating Baseball Slide,” in Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3, Volume 7, Number 1, Page 484, via GoogleBooks.

I have been unable to find this song with Elsie as author, with or without the word “That” in the title, listed in the official copyright books printed by the government. (There were, however, many other entires of Elsie’s songs and screenplays in various government volumes.) The copyright of 20 April 1912 fits well with when the record was released, but finding a copy of the ‘Crescent music co.’ sheet music has been challenging. Additionally, finding H. S. Wittmaak in more than the copyright entry books has been unsuccessful. (Wittmaak did write other songs that were listed in the copyright books.)

Elsie was just 23 when this song came out, but she had been a huge star for many years. Did she really write “Fascinating Baseball Slide”? Or possibly she purchased the song from H.S. Wittmaak and paid for the right to list it as her own? Maybe she rewrote the song to some extent?

One more interesting tidbit- our leading picture shows Elsie sitting at the piano, reading sheet music. Surprisingly, in an article published in Liberty magazine later in her life, she stated that she did not know how to play the piano! She likely did know how to read and write music, however, if she was a songwriter and singer.

So that’s our “whodunnit”- hope you found it thrilling for this Thursday.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Hear the song “That Fascinating Baseball Slide” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84aPkozicqk
  2. Library of Congress version of song– https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox.2903?#
  3. The song is also on a 2009 CD of Elsie’s music, called, “Sweetheart of the A.E.F.” by Archaeophone. It has 24 songs, including this one. Eight songs are also available on iTunes, as is one of her books and a movie that she helped write. The CD used to be on iTunes, but is no longer; I was surprised when the lyrics were noted as ‘explicit’- turns out some are racist, sadly- just FYI.
  4. Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. “Victor matrix B-12527. Fascinating base-ball slide / Elsie Janis,” accessed July 20, 2016, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200012723/B-12527-Fascinating_base-ball_slide.
  5. “McCreery and Company- New Victor Records for January- Elsie Janis Records” in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, PA), 28 Dec 1912, page 7, via Google Newspapers–  https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JBZRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F2YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5333%2C742293
  6. “Is Elsie Janis Guided by Her Dead Mother’s Voice?” Liberty Magazine, 28 November 1936, https://archive.org/stream/Liberty_v13n48_-_1936_-_MacFadden/Liberty%20v13n48%20-%201936%20-%20MacFadden#page/n13/mode/2up

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.