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“Happily Wed in Athens”- Edith Roberts and Edward A. McMurray, November 1921

Edith M. Roberts, circa 1920. Iowa City, Iowa. Perhaps taken around the time of this wedding? Or college graduation? [Click to enlarge.]
Roberts Family, McMurray Family (Click for Family Trees)

This headline is another prime example of not taking everything at face value in genealogy or historical research, and looking deeper. It is also a lesson to not stop after just the headline or first questionable piece of data- some sources may have multiple concerns, as does this article.

The November 29, 1921 Iowa City Press-Citizen, had the headline “Happily Wed in Athens” on a story on page 11 that day. When looking for the announcement of the Edith M. Roberts-Edward A. McMurray wedding, just scanning headlines might make one skip this article- “Athens”?? Is that Athens, Georgia? Athens, Ohio? Athens, Greece? It is unlikely that these two college students would have had a ‘destination wedding’ to a place 5,600 miles away across an ocean in 1921, however, so we can eliminate the truly Greek Athens, to start.

Edward A. McMurray, Sr., probably circa 1920. May have been from around the time of marriage to Edith Roberts, or college graduation? [Click to enlarge.]
Family logically thought that the couple was married in Jasper County, Iowa, where they both grew up and their parents still lived, but no marriage license or announcement had been found in Jasper County despite years of looking. Iowa City in Johnson County, Iowa, was the next logical location as they were both attending school there. Since this article was published in an Iowa City newspaper and no other city or state other than “Athens” was mentioned as the place of the wedding, it is highly possible it may have taken place in their college town where all their friends were located. (Whew- they didn’t elope- that would have made it much harder to find records.) But why would the place be headlined as “Athens” in the middle of Iowa?

“Mr. Edward McMurray, of Newton, Iowa, and Miss Edith Roberts, of Prairie City, Iowa, a sophomore medical student, and a liberal arts junior, respectively, were happily wed last evening, at sunset, at the Congregational conference house.”

The details of the couple matched many that were already known, so that helped us make sure we had the correct individuals. Since their standings at school were noted, the Iowa City location was becoming a bit more promising. One interesting tidbit about the word “Athens”- it conjured up other articles previously found about Edith being a member of the “Athena Literary Society” at the University of Iowa. She had also created a very sweet scrapbook with treasures from Athena events, so looking into the history of the college and the town were the next steps. This research provided our answer- Iowa City, Iowa, was and still is known as “The Athens of the Midwest” due to its many educational and cultural opportunities and events. Skimming other newspaper articles and delving into their context revealed that “Athens” or “The Athens” was a regular replacement for the official name of the town. So now we had our first answer- Edith Roberts and Edward McMurray were married in Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa.

The date of the marriage was the next focus. The article was published in the November 29, 1921 issue, which was a Tuesday. It stated the couple was “happily wed last evening, at sunset” – how romantic! The ‘last evening’ mentioned would have been Monday, November 28. Browsing further through that newspaper issue, because the search software had picked up 2 instances of Edith’s name, was an article listing “Licenses to wed… issued by [the] County Clerk…” The names included “E. A. McMurray (21)” and “Edith M. Roberts (22),”- their ages were after the name. Definitely the correct people, as Edward was born in 1900 and Edith in 1899. No date was given in the paper for the license nor a date for the actual wedding, so Johnson County’s records were the next stop on this quest.

Finding the marriage record was actually quite easy as once the event with date had been put into Ancestry.com, the “Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1951” from the Iowa Department of Public Health appeared in a search. (You don’t have to wait for hints to pop up- just do a ‘Search’ using the button by ‘Tools’ and ‘Edit’ on the upper right of the Ancestry page for that person; Ancestry will use the facts already in your tree to help narrow the hits.) It provided the date of the license, 11/25/1921, and even the license number: 10059. The entry confirmed their names, ages (although it has Edith as 23, which is incorrect), residence (Newton for Edward,  Prairie City for Edith), their parents’ names (the middle initial for George A. Roberts is noted as “M.” which is incorrect), and that both were students and it was the first marriage for each. The record lists that they were married 11/25/21 in Iowa City, Iowa- wait, that is different from the newspaper report! Hmm, what should we do now? Thinking about the date, it is obvious that it was around Thanksgiving of that year, so maybe they married over Thanksgiving break, as students might do so they can have a short honeymoon. A wonderful website called TimeAndDate.com will show us a calendar for that month so we can see that Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on November 24th that year. So it seems that on Friday (11/25/1921) after Thanksgiving, Edith and Edward went to the County Clerk’s office and received their marriage license. They were married by Rev. Walter Schafer that evening, and the return of the actual marriage was filed by the minister on the following Monday, 11/28/1921.

So maybe Edith and Edward had returned home to celebrate Thanksgiving with family, and then returned to school the next day. Was the wedding planned in advance but they waited until the last minute to get the license because they were so busy with exams? Did they make a spur-of-the-moment decision to marry on Thanksgiving or when they got back up to school? Were their parents or siblings in attendance? Rev. Walter C. Schafer was a pastor for students in Iowa City.  Seeing that the witnesses to the wedding were Brainerd Ullrich and Leon Wiggins, names totally unknown to this researcher, suggests that maybe the family did not attend, because a sibling is often the Maid of Honor or Best Man and officially witnesses the wedding.  We will likely never know, however. Because Edith and Edward divorced in less than ten years, there are no wedding portraits and it was not talked about much within subsequent families. Finding these records after years of wondering about details fills in some answers, but leaves the rest to our imaginations.

The last line of the newspaper article was interesting, and does need some explanation but that too will have to be supplied by our imaginations:

“Friends will wish the joy questioning collegians long life and happiness.”

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Photos are treasures from the family archives.
  2. See references listed in above paragraphs.
  3. Rev Walter C. Schafer- a student pastor who attended a Chicago conference for religious workers in American colleges and universities. Iowa City Citizen, Jan. 9, 1919, page 8. Also listed as a 33 year old minister in the 1920 Iowa City Ward 2, Johnson County, Iowa, Federal Census.

 

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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 2013-2021 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, i.e, reference this blog.
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The McMurray and Benjamin Soldiers at Camp McKinley, Des Moines, Iowa, 1898

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Will McMurray and Harry McMurray- Spanish-American War
Company L, 51st Iowa Regiment, taken at further training in California. These men probably trained with our ancestors at Camp McKinley, 1898; image via Wikipedia, public domain.

McMurray Family, Benjamin Family (Click for Family Tree)

[Are you related? Yes, if you are a descendant of the Jasper County Iowa McMurray,  Benjamin, or Lambert families. This would include having Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert McMurray, or Maude “Midge” McMurray Cook as ancestors, and there are many other branches from this family.]

“SAD GOODBYES OF LOVED ONES” was one of the headlines in the 16 May 1898 issue of The Newton Daily Record. The day before, a Sunday, an extra train was arranged to take Newton, Iowa families to Camp McKinley in Des Moines, Iowa to spend a last day with their sons, brothers, fathers, cousins, and neighbors before they went off to fight in the Spanish-American War. “The parting scenes in the evening made a sad picture indeed,” the paper stated. “The boys are anxious to be off, but of course all are thinking more seriously of the uncertainty of what the future may have in store for them.” The plan was that the unit would leave for New Orleans soon.

Our ancestors were not a part of this parting scene, however. Medical examinations had taken place by the 10th of May, and sadly, William Elmer McMurray was rejected, although we do not know the reason. His brother Harry James McMurray was elected as 2nd Lieutenant of the company on the 10th, but then he too, along with three other men from Co. L,  failed the medical exam. “The boys were deeply disappointed but there was no use of kicking,” per The Record. Even with those losses for medical reasons, the company had 11 members more than what was needed, so additional men also made the sad trip home. We can imagine the hurt, the disappointment, and the range of emotions those young men felt, especially with their cousins still in a unit that was going off to a foreign war. Imagining the reactions of the parents too is not hard- how do you reconcile your son’s disappointment (times two for Hannah Melissa Benjamin McMurray and Fred McMurray, the parents of Will and Harry) with your patriotism but also your relief to not have your baby going off to war?

Knowing what happened to the unit after they left Camp McKinley gives us an interesting perspective, however.

Iowa had four infantry regiments mustered for the Spanish-American War.

The 49th Iowa, made up of men from Tipton, Marshalltown, etc., was sent to Savannah Georgia for training, and was part of the occupying force in Cuba after the war in 1898-1899.

Iowa’s 51st Infantry mustered men from Des Moines, Oskaloosa, etc., and were transported to San Francisco, CA for training. They then saw active duty in the Philippines, helping to put down the Philippine Insurrection that happened after the war..

The 52nd Iowa trained at Chickamauga Park, Georgia. The men in this unit and their families back home must have felt another connection to the Civil War as they were in the same area that Iowa troops had fought, and won, at Missionary Ridge on 25 Nov 1863. The 52nd then returned to Camp McKinley in October, 1898, and were quartered in barns that had been overhauled to prepare for the cold winter. They expected to be shipped out on 30 Oct., however with Spain surrendering on 16 July 1898 and a treaty in progress, they were mustered out on 30 Oct 1898, never seeing foreign service since the war was only ten weeks long.

And then there was the 50th Iowa Infantry, from Newton and thereabouts. Lieut. Col. Elliott Ellsworth Lambert was made full Colonel, and was in command of the entire Brigade at one point; Roland E. Benjamin may have still been in the unit, but we will leave that for other researchers to determine. The 50th shipped south from Des Moines to Jacksonville, Florida, arriving 24 May 1898. Their camp was a flat section of sandy land outside the city called “Camp Cuba Libre” since one of the reasons for the war was independence for Cuba from Spain. The men drilled and completed target practice day after day, training for their planned liberation of Havana, Cuba.

Camp Cuba Libre had up to 30,000 men living there, with supplies very scarce at the beginning. Eating utensils had not arrived so the men ate off of shingles with their fingers. Uniforms were only available in small numbers, and by the time some of the men got theirs, the uniforms of others had already worn out. Some supplies were purposefully withheld by the administration to help ‘toughen’ the men, such as tent floorboards, and medical supplies were so short that the camp had to ask the Red Cross for assistance.

Once the rainy season began in Florida, things got even worse. Flooding began in the camp. Without wooden floorboards in their tents there was no hope of staying out of the watery muck. The soldiers built new barracks that were elevated, however they still had to move around through the flooded portions of camp. (Please see a picture here that should be public domain due to its age and that it was probably taken by a federal employee, but it is apparently copyrighted by number of organizations so cannot be posted.)

Soldiers started getting sick, many with typhoid fever, which is a bacterial infection from contaminated water or food; it can also be transmitted between people due to poor sanitation. (It would have been challenging to build latrines in sandy soil with a water table close to the surface, and then the rains came…) The number of men visiting sick call increased as the rains continued, and some died, especially since antibiotics were not yet available. Female nurses, not yet common in the military, had to brave social ostracizing- they were considered loose women, especially by the camp surgeon. Catholic Lakota nuns and then Red Cross nurses from the North cared for the ailing men despite the constant suspicion and monitoring of their behavior.

Both officers and soldiers protested up the chain of command about the camp conditions and increasing sickness, and finally on 1 August they were given permission to move the camp to higher ground. This helped, but because of the long period of infection and bacterial shedding of typhoid, in just over three weeks from 10 Aug-5 Sep, 100-300 men were either relieved of duty due to illness or were in the hospital. Inspections were conducted and eventually improvements to sanitary conditions were made.

A cease-fire with Spain was signed on 12 August 1898.

The War Department ordered the 50th to return to Iowa on 12 Sep 1898. Sick men were carefully loaded into Pullman cars and the train transported the Regiment back to Des Moines, where they arrived on 17 Sep. Most men were given a 40 day furlough, and then they returned to Camp McKinley. They were mustered out there on 30 Nov 1898, never having left the continental United States.

Many of the sick went home and died soon after at their Iowa home, their illness acquired during their term of service. At least they were with their family at the end.

Of the 1,369 men of the 50th Iowa Infantry Regiment, none were killed or wounded in battle, however 32 died of disease, 30 were discharged for disease, wounds, or other causes, and 38 were transferred. Col. Lambert wrote many reports that detailed the events of the unit during its time in service.

One estimate is that 90% of the men who died during the Spanish-American War were lost to disease.

This information begs the question- would we be here if Will McMurray and Harry McMurray had been accepted into service during the Spanish-American War?

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “Co. L Will be First to Go,” The Newton Daily Record, 11 May 1898, page 4.
  2. “Among Camp McKinley Boys,” The Newton Daily Record, 16 May 1898, page 4.
  3. Iowa Civil War Monuments– http://www.iowacivilwarmonuments.com/cgi-bin/gaarddetails.pl?1222301210
  4. 52nd Iowa– http://www.spanamwar.com/52ndiowa.htm
  5. Warren Co Iowa Soldiers some war statistics– http://iagenweb.org/warren/military/spanishamericanwar.html
  6. Historical Sketch of the 50th Iowa Volunteer Infantry– http://genealogytrails.com/iowa/50th_regiment1.html
  7. “Iowa Spanish-American War Soldiers Who Died Due to Illness or Wounds”– http://iagenweb.org/history/military/SPW/SPAW_deaths.htm
  8. The Iowa National Guard has images along with a history at https://www.iowanationalguard.com/History/History/Pages/Spanish-American-War.aspx
    The picture that is to the left  of the descriptions of the 49th and 51st Iowa has a file name suggesting they are officers of the 50th in Jacksonville, FL.
  9. An illustrated cover- envelope and stamp- from a soldier in Co. F, 50th Iowa may be seen at https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1898-cover-co-50th-iowa-camp-cuba-97337567
  10. Camp Cuba Libre- one may question the accuracy of some of this after seeing pictures of the camp. — http://www.spanamwar.com/campcubalibre.htm

 

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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 2013-2020 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, i.e, reference this blog.
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Will McMurray and Harry McMurray at Camp McKinley, 1898

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Will McMurray and Harry McMurray- Spanish-American War

McMurray-Benjamin Family circa 1886: Frederick Asbury McMurray, Hannah "Melissa" Benjamin McMurray, William Elmer McMurray, Harry J. McMurray, Addie Belle McMurray, Roy McMurray, and Ray McMurray (baby)
McMurray-Benjamin Family circa 1886: Frederick Asbury McMurray, Hannah “Melissa” Benjamin McMurray, William Elmer McMurray, Harry J. McMurray, Addie Belle McMurray, Roy McMurray, and Ray McMurray (baby). [Sorry, we do not have a family picture from the 1890s.]
McMurray Family, Benjamin Family (Click for Family Tree)

[Are you related? Yes, if you are a descendant of the Jasper County Iowa McMurray,  Benjamin, or Lambert families. This would include having Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert McMurray, or Maude “Midge” McMurray Cook as ancestors.]

As was said in previous posts in this series, the memory of the Civil War was still a part of the American psyche in 1898. Newton, Iowa’s Company L, Second Regiment, National Guard, became the 50th Iowa once they were at Camp McKinley in Des Moines- a continuation of the regimental numbers from the War Between the States.

The Newton newspaper was full of tidbits of local people and the goings-on at Camp McKinley. On April 28th, the Newton Record mentioned that Hayden Reynolds and Fred McMurray visited their sons the previous day at Camp McKinley. The boys had been in camp just one day.

On May 9th, “Mrs. Fred McMurray [Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray] went to Des Moines to visit her two soldies [sic] boys, Lieut. Will and Orderly Sergt. Harry McMurray of Co. L, at Camp McKinley.”

E. E. Lambert was called “Colonel” in the May 11th The Newton Record story that reported he had come home on the 10th and then would return in the morning, on May 12th, to Camp McKinley. His wife, Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Boydston) Lambert was likely very happy to see him, even though the military had not yet given him the rank promotion the paper did.

While home, Lieut. Col. Lambert was of course asked how the Newton boys were faring at camp. He reported that Company L and the whole regiment were “… in high glee over the prospect of getting to go to the front.” Their regiment had been chosen to leave first, but he did not think it was feasible to get the regiment ready to move out until at least the following Wednesday, the 18th of May.

Apparently the First Regiment had exerted political pull as far as being the first regiment to leave camp, but that did not work out. The Third Regiment, with many soldiers from Des Moines, was rumored to be chosen next, but as the Record reported the “Second out-classed all of them.” The Second Regiment included the Newton Guard, and was to get it’s marching orders before any of the others.

After describing the Second Iowa as “the ‘crack’ regiment in the camp,” the newspaper reported that Co. L from Newton was the only group that had suffered from a “lack of comfort and friends.” A few of the Newton boys had received clothing or food from friends or family, but not the larger amount other groups, such as those from Iowa City, Keokuk, Grinnell, and Davenport, had received as “donations.” Some of these groups had received “box after box” or up to five loads of provisions, including tasty delicacies from home, clothing, and even cash. One group received about $300 in cash, another $1,300; the Newton boys had not received anything similar. The paper went on to say that the camp outfit of Co. L was one of the poorest.

“Of course, the Newton boys are as good, or better, than the most of them, but they do not always get all they really need.”

The shaming of Newton citizens by the newspaper had its intended effect- their boys at Camp McKinley began to receive “generous gifts from home” the next week. The camp outfit was improved by granite cups and plates (metal enamelware, blue or gray with white splatters was common; sometimes called ‘graniteware’), and table decorations. (??) The table decorations may have been used for the “Two Grand Feasts” provided to the boys by the ladies of Newton. “Eatables” were collected and sent up on the 10:47am train on 12 May 1898: roast chicken, dressing, bread, cakes, canned fruits, preserves, jellies, radishes, and onions. Those who wanted to contribute were to drop them by Mr. J. P. Newell’s early in the morning. The ladies requested even more chickens to help fill up those boys who were training hard at Camp McKinley. The Women’s Relief Corps (W.R.C., an auxiliary of the G.A.R.) was responsible for the big box to be sent to the boys for their Sunday dinner. The goal was for the goodies to be a “navel stretcher” and remind the boys that they had not been forgotten by the folks at home.

Apparently, the Newton families had been following the directions of the camp that soldiers were to have only regular Army rations, however that is not what was happening with the other units in camp. They did rectify the situation once they realized- and the boys were “assured of a sumptuous feast” -actually two- before they headed off to the front.

Local folks in Newton planned to go to the camp that Friday, May 13, to celebrate Flag Day. This must have been a special event, as the official Flag Day is June 14, the anniversary of when our country’s flag was adopted. What we now call “Memorial Day” was then known as “Decoration Day” and would not occur until May 30th of 1898. Citizens likely wanted to celebrate our flag and our country with their boys before they went off to war.

(To be continued...)

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. The Newton Daily Record, 28 April 1898, page 1.
  2. The Newton Daily Record, 11 May 1898, page 4.
  3. The Newton Daily Record, 16 May 1898, page 4.

 

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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 2013-2020 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, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Will McMurray and Harry McMurray- Off to Training Camp for the Spanish-American War

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Will McMurray and Harry McMurray- Spanish-American War
Lieut. Col. Elliott Ellsworth Lambert, Provost Marshall of Camp McKinley, Des Moines, Iowa, possibly around 1898. Posted with the kind permission of our new-found cousin.

McMurray Family, Benjamin Family (Click for Family Tree)

[Are you related? Yes, if you are a descendant of the Jasper County, Iowa McMurray,  Benjamin, or Lambert families. This would include having Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert McMurray, or Maude “Midge” McMurray Cook as ancestors.]

(Continued from yesterday.)

Will McMurray and his younger brother Harry McMurray, their cousin Roland Benjamin, plus the other Company L, National Guard of Newton, Iowa members met at the Old Armory at one o’clock on Tuesday, April 26th, 1898, for one last time. The nineteen men and two cooks formed up to march off to the train station for their trip to training camp in Des Moines, Iowa. Lieut. Col. Elliott Ellsworth Lambert (1863-1948), above, another cousin on the Benjamin side, mounted a very handsome black charger and the horse pranced off down the street. A large crowd had gathered at Lister’s Opera House to see off their sons, brother, fathers, friends, and neighbors. An “eloquent prayer” was offered by the Methodist minister, and the Mayor spoke briefly. A minister of the Christian Church gave the benediction for the young men, and the crowd heartily sang the hymn, “America.”

Company L once again formed up to march. About forty veterans from the Civil War, members of the G. A. R. (Grand Army of the Republic- a group of Civil War veterans) led the Knights of Pythias and then “the heroes of the day,” Company L, in a march to the train depot. The young men bravely sang, “The Battle Song of the Iowa Troops” written especially for this war, trying to distract themselves from the sadness of the moment.

A special train of six coaches arrived at the train station at about three p.m. to rousing cheers. The cars already contained young volunteers from Davenport, Muscatine, Maquoketa, Grinnell, and Student Cadets from the State University at Iowa City.

“Soon the last farewells were spoken and the last kisses received from the mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts. There was scarcely a dry eye or a lip that did not quiver in the vast crowd…”

The Newton soldiers marched into their own car, which was added to the train. The steam train chugged out of the station as the crowd waved goodbye, and likely many more tears were shed.

“Thus the boys have won their first battle, and though hallowed by tears instead of blood, it was one of the hardest battles that they will be called on to meet– the sad goodbyes with loved ones and going out from home for the first time with the possibility of never returning.”

 

(To be continued…)

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “Our Boys March Off to War,” The Newton Record, 28 April 1898, Vol. 4, No. 40, P. 1.
  2. Lieut. Col. Elliott Ellsworth “E. E.” Lambert was the son of Reuben K. Lambert (1839-1918) and Cynthia Adeline Benjamin (1841-1925). Cynthia was the sister of Hannah Melissa Benjamin.
  3. The photo of Elliott Ellsworth Lambert appears to have embossed on it “G.L. Bates” and to the left of the name, probably “Newton,” to the right, “Iowa.” There was a photographer named G. L. Bates in Newton Iowa at least from 1901-1902, and one, possibly the same person, in Prairie City, Iowa (near to Newton), from 1884-1885. See “Langdon’s List of 19th & Early 20th Century Photographers” at https://www.langdonroad.com/ban-to-baz.
  4. E. E.’s uniform in this picture was likely ceremonial dress. http://www.spanamwar.com/American49Iowauniform.htm
  5. The ‘hymn’ “America” was originally a poem, and sung to as many as 75 different tunes before being first published in 1910. We know it today as “America the Beautiful.” See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful for details.

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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 2013-2019 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, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

“Waste Philosophy” by Rev. Edward B. Payne, 1892: Introduction

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series "Waste Philosophy" by Rev. Edward B. Payne, 1892
“Waste Philosophy” by Rev. Edward B. Payne, June 1st, 1892, Berkeley Cal. Owned by author.

McMurray Family, Payne Family (Click for Family Tree)

[Am I related? Yes, if you are a descendant of Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert McMurray, or Maude “Midge” (McMurray) Cook. If you are not related, you may still enjoy this series of posts, since this is National Poetry Month (!!) and because this poem speaks to our history, psyche, and culture. Hopefully all will enjoy.]

Fifty years ago today, in 1970, a group of concerned environmentalists celebrated the first official “Earth Day.” Pollution of water and air, as well as trash and litter, were becoming bigger problems as our population increased and the “things” we purchased as individuals and a society became disposable. So many of our ‘throw-away’ items never really went away, however, just temporarily out of sight into a landfill or an old overgrown lot in a neighborhood or down by a river. Our country, states, and municipalities have developed regulations over these last fifty years to help control trash and minimize pollution to help us all stay healthier and to maintain our precious water, air, land, and ecosystems. Although we have not made the progress those early Earth Day celebrants knew was needed, we have come a long way over these fifty years, and Americans are healthier, in some ways, because of this awareness and drive for change.

Our ancestors knew that polluted land, air, and water were unhealthy for us all, and that trash piling up could cause outbreaks of disease, draw vermin that carried disease, and was smelly and unsightly.  Our ancestors also were frugal, and many of them quite poor- they could not afford to throw away old clothing and bedding, glass bottles, or fabric sacks (bags). They did have some mechanisms to collect these items and reuse them, and one of the ways they did that was by allowing ‘rag pickers’ and others to assist with solid waste ‘disposal’- really “reuse” and “recycle” before those words were trendy. Some of our immigrant ancestors would have this job soon after they got off the boat, since they likely had little money once they had paid their passage and rented a home or apartment in America, and they probably spoke no English which was a barrier to a conventional job. There was also quite a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment at times as a new ethnic group flooded in, and these groups felt discrimination in economic as well as physical ways. Rag pickers were considered some of the lowest in society, sadly. Some of our Broida family (unrelated to the McMurrays and Paynes) came over as immigrants from Lithuania, and were rag pickers in New York City right off the boat. They worked hard, brought over the rest of the family, and finally became merchants of fine men’s and women’s clothing- the American dream and truly a “rags to (what would have seemed like) riches” story.

We do not know much about our very early McMurray and Payne ancestors, but rag picking  could have been a job some of them did, or it could have been a way to make a little money on the side. Many persons “of an age” will remember collecting glass soda bottles and later cans along the side of the road and turning them in for two cents or a nickel each, and then using that money for a comic book or candy at the five-and-dime, or to help buy dinner if the family was in dire circumstances.  Salvage yards, flea markets, and those who dumpster dive or pick up ‘good’ trash from the ends of driveways on pick-up days are also carrying on the tradition of caring for the earth and reusing/recycling materials.

Rag picker in Paris, 1899- Ein Lumpensammler früh morgens in Paris, Avenue des Gobelins, Paris, 1899, via Wikipedia, public domain.

In earlier days, a rag picker would have a cart or a pack animal and walk through the streets, calling out their offer to buy rags, bottles, cloth sacks, metals, even bones. Sometimes the rag picker would purchase the items, other times they would just remove garbage for a citizen or business who would be grateful to see it gone. The rag picker or the family might clean and/or sell the items to a person or business who would then reuse or recycle the product. Glass bottles are one example- they could be cleaned and reused, or melted to form new glass. Sometimes ragpickers sold their finds to a middle person who would then work with purchasers.

Rev. Edward B. Payne (1847-1923) was living in Berkeley, California in 1892 when this poem was published. He had been brought up in the Congregational faith with deep New England roots. His father, Joseph H. Payne, was an ordained minister, and his mother, Nancy (Deming) Payne, came from a line of Congregational deacons. Edward’s wife, Nannie (Burnell) Payne, also came from deep New England Congregational roots- her father Kingsley Abner Burnell was a lay missionary who travelled the world and her mother, Cynthia Maria (Pomeroy) Burnell, had a father who was a deacon in the church. Edward and Nannie lived in Berkeley from 1875-1880, after he was ordained. He ministered to the first church built in Berkeley, the Congregational Church. Edward had a crisis of faith though, and became a Unitarian minister, serving in New England for some time before he was called again to Berkeley in December, 1891. He was the first Unitarian minister installed in Berkeley, and he helped develop a very active Unitarian Society. According to this poem, he was challenged by a Book Club Committee, which may have been a Unitarian group, though could have been a secular local group, since the University of California was also in Berkeley. The city was still small- just 5,101 citizens in the 1890 census, and likely had rag pickers who helped keep the small town clean. The Book Club tasked Edward with determining how waste materials gathered by these persons, such as “Rags and bottles, sacks and bags” could possibly have any relationship to literature. Rev. Payne was a perfect candidate for this mind-tickling task, as he was incredibly well-read, a deep thinker, and an excellent writer. The committee most likely thought that the Reverend would devise an intriguing story to tie together these incongruous topics, and that he did. He even set the story in poetry, and, like any talented religious teacher, he provided a number of morals to the story.

Our next post will provide the poem in its entirety. We hope that you will enjoy the poem, and think of how it has meaning for us today. With the Covid-19 virus pandemic shedding a glaring light on human social and economic disparities, our divisiveness as a country, and a (sometimes) lack of understanding that all humans are equal, we can take these words from 1892 and bring new meaning into our 21st century lives.

Stay safe out there, and wash your hands, please.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. The “Waste Philosophy” booklet/poem presented in these posts is scanned from a family copy, so very generously given to the author by her dear aunt in 2018. It is quite treasured, knowing that it was held in the hand of Edward B. Payne, and then his daughter, Lynette (Payne) McMurray, who may have been the person who underlined some of the words in the poem. The Bancroft Library, University of California-Berkeley, also has a copy of this booklet- the only other copy found in many years of searching libraries. A scan was requested and paid for in 2014 (prior to knowing of the family copy), but was not posted here as permissions would have been required from the Bancroft. This booklet should be considered Public Domain due to its age.
  2. Berkeley, California population statistics– http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/Berkeley40.htm

 

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