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)
1) Family treasure chest of photos- thanks, Cousin Cindi and Cousin Julie!
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Original content copyright 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.
OK, so is this a family history blog or is it boring history class???
Well, to fully understand our family’s history, we need to know the history of the time and place in which they lived. It is the only way to get a feel for the pressures they faced in their daily lives- did they live in the city and have to worry about armed gangs roaming the streets, or out on the frontier where Indians were fighting to preserve their own lands from encroachment? Did they live on a farm and experience the seasonal calendar of crops and livestock? Or were they seafarers who worried about storms and the quality of wood used for the hull of their ship? How did our ancestors meet their daily needs for food, water, and shelter? How did they travel to new homesteads, new places to meet and marry? What wars did they fight in, whether soldier or civilian? Where are they buried, and why there? Answering even some of these questions begins a story about those who came before, and those who have made us who we are. They take the ‘boring’ out of genealogy- who begat who and when is just not that interesting! But if you tell a story of how two parents met, their challenges as they raised their children, and the legacy of grandchildren left behind, THAT makes interesting genealogy, and interesting lessons to apply to our own lives.
Today, 13 July, is the 228th anniversary of the Northwest Ordinance, officially known as “An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio.” The Second Continental Congress passed this act in 1787, creating the first official territory of the new country. The territory comprised those lands west of the Appalachian Mountains with the upper Mississippi River becoming the westernmost boundary; the northern boundary was British Canada and the Great Lakes, down to the Ohio River as the southernmost boundary. Our Benjamin and Ford ancestors lived in this territory, so knowing a bit about it will enhance what we understand of their lives. Others of our families moved into these territories or early states, and may have been there even before: Aiken, Russell, Springsteen, Beerbower, McMurray, Roberts, Daniel, and Murrell.
What makes the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 so important is that it explained how the Federal Government would expand via public domain land, and create new states, rather than the previous method of the states just expanding ever westward with their competing claims for land. Note in the first image how Virginia and Georgia claimed property far to the west- in Georgia’s case, even through much of what is now Alabama and Mississippi. When searching for very old records, one would need to look in records for those original states claiming property, even though the hometown might now be in Indiana!
The Congress approved a bill of rights for the citizens in the Northwest Territory, and guaranteed that the new states would be equal to the original thirteen colonies in all respects. Slavery was outlawed in the new territory, and thus would be outlawed as the areas became states. (The NW Ordinance was therefore a contributing factor to the Civil War.)
Earlier ordinances (1784, 1785) for this territory, provided for self-governing districts and representation to Congress. In 1787,the ordinance required surveying and land grant units to be determined on a township basis, which was six miles square. A settler had to buy at least one square mile (640 acres) and pay at least one dollar per acre. (Land prices in the Midwest now range from about $5,000-10,000 per acre, or even more.) Each township had one section set aside for a school, and the 1787 Ordinance mandated that education would be provided in the territory.
Northwest Territory of USA- 1787 via Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. (Click to enlarge.)
The 1787 NW Ordinance also outlined the steps that parts of the territory would need to take to become a state. Initially, Congress appointed a governor and judges; when a part of the territory reached 5,000 adult free males, it would become a territory and govern with its own legislature, although the governor still had veto power. Attainment of a population of 60,000 allowed a territory to petition to be admitted to the Union as one of at least 3 but no more than 5 states carved from the Northwest Territory. Ohio was the first of the new states, in 1803, followed by Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
We will ‘explore’ the Northwest Territories and our ancestors who walked those lands in upcoming posts.
Please note that these articles are submitted by various writers and many are op-ed type articles, some with an agenda and some not necessarily fact-checked. It is a great map, however, for the 1787 NW Ordinance, and we appreciate that they allow use of their graphics.
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Original content copyright 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.
Edward A. McMurray and his mother, Edith Roberts Luck surveying the corn field on their family farm, circa 1980.
Here are just a few of our farming and gardening ancestors that I was thinking of as I worked with the soil and plants on the land we own, and that we can pass on to our descendants, just like our ancestors did:
Frederick Asbury McMurray, circa 1890?
Frederick Asbury “F.A.” McMurray (1850-1929) worked on the family farm as a child, with his occupation listed as “works on farm” on the 1870 US Federal Census when he was 19; he was living in the household of his parents, Henderson McMurray and Mary Ann Horn McMurray. Of their 11 children, the boys apparently stayed in school until 14 or 15, though they probably took time off – or school was closed- for planting and harvest. The four oldest boys worked on the farm full-time, and the family boarded a 20 yr old woman who also helped with the housework- a lot of hungry mouths to feed after that hard farm labor, and a lot of dirty laundry.
F. A. married and in 1880 was listed as a farmer in the census. He became an auctioneer about 1880; he cried over 128 sales in 1902 (‘cried’ is a term for what an auctioneer does as he offers lots for sale), with the very large average of $2,100 per sale making him an auctioneer in demand- he was very good at getting the prices up for his sellers. (Since he probably took a percentage of the sales, there was good incentive to describe the goods in an enticing way, then encourage more bidders to make a higher offer.) By the 1885 Iowa State Census F. A. was listed as having a Second Hand Store- a good spin-off for an auctioneer, and a lot less physical work than being a farmer. (McMurray Family Ancestor– click for family tree)
Gerard William Helbling in his garden, August 1934. Family photo album.
Gerard William Helbling loved roses, and had a flower garden he loved. (He never seemed the sort…) He grew some veggies, such as tomatoes, too. (Helbling Family Ancestor– click for family tree.)
The garden and family dog of Gerard William Helbling, August 1934. Family photo album.
William “Bill” Aiken supposedly had a pecan farm in Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi in the 1930s. (Lee Family Ancestor– click for family tree.)
Samuel T. Beerbower showed livestock at the county fair, so likely grew some of his own hay for grazing. (Helbling/Beerbower Family Ancestor– click for family tree.)
Samuel T. Beerbower- County Fair Winner. 03 Oct 1879, The Marion Daily Star, Vol. II, No. 305, (Whle No. 615), Page 4. Posted with permission.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Frederick A. McMurray, auctioneer article from the Daily Herald, Newton, Iowa, 01 Jan 1903, page 9.
2) Samuel T. Beerbower article as cited above.
3) Family treasure chest of photos.
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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 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.
Some would say that family historians/genealogists are obsessed with the dead, and that perspective is somewhat understandable.
Some would say that family historians/genealogists find it hard to stop researching the dead and spend more time on the living- occasionally that is true as well, especially at 2am.
Some would also say it is just weird that family historians/genealogists remember the special days of the dead, such as birthdays, anniversaries, or death dates; that assessment may have some element of truth as well.
It can be argued, however, that the yearning to know more about those who have gone before, to hold them close in one’s heart, is really what drives those who spend countless hours searching for the minutiae of a life. It can be the need to tell an ancestor’s story, so that they are not forgotten; it can be a way to hold on to them just a bit longer, to not let them go “to the other side” just yet, especially for those the family historian has known in this life and loved deeply. It can be a way to not say a final “good bye” so soon, to help a loved one linger in the hearts of others for just a bit longer, too.
Family historians/genealogists also want to understand their inner selves more, to know where this trait or that look came from, and connect themselves to those who have gone before through these commonalities. How can we know our place in the universe without the context of our being?
Mary Helbling McMurray on her wedding day, honeymooning on Lake Ozark, 05 June 1948.
Sharing the lives of our ancestors is a gift that family historians/genealogists wish to give to their own descendants, their collateral kin, and even the world- history is the story of every life, truly, not just those who fought wars or those who started them.
Becoming a family historian/genealogist is not always a conscious choice- a muse, an inner drive, or even the voices of our ancestors move us to travel along their journeys. We want to leave a legacy of that knowledge for those we love now, and those we will love in the future, even after we are gone.
Mary Helbling McMurray with her first grandson, 22 Feb 1987.
Family historians/genealogists LOVE, and are a part of the chain of love that is family.
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Mary Theresa Helbling McMurray, a woman full of love.
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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 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard was born in 1839 in Churchville, New York, and was an educator, activist, and reformer who touched the lives of many of our ancestors. Even schoolchildren of her day knew about her work for alcohol temperance, women’s suffrage, child labor laws, eight hour workdays, domestic violence laws, education and labor reforms, prison reform, and other social causes.
Frances lived in liberal Oberlin, Ohio from age 2-6 (about 1841-1845), where her father had taken the family to be a part of Oberlin’s ministry. Our ancestor, Joseph Hitchcock Payne (father of Edward B. Payne) had attended Oberlin in 1834-1836, where he studied Divinity, and EB Payne attended Oberlin later as well. They were like-minded families with their work toward social equality and conversion from Congregationalism to a more liberal denomination: the Willards converted to Methodism, and while JH Payne did not convert, his son EB Payne moved even farther to the left with his change to Unitarianism. The Willard family then moved to Janesville, Wisconsin Territory, about 1846, and Frances grew up an independent child of the frontier.
The Willards valued education for both male and female, and Frances attended college as her brother did. She was named President of Evanston College for Ladies in 1871, which was associated with, and two years later merged with, Northwestern University. “Frank” as she was called by her friends, became the Dean of Women at Northwestern, and also a professor of art and English. She resigned in 1874 after continued conflict with Northwestern’s president, Charles H. Fowler, to whom she had been engaged 13 years before.
The “Woman’s Crusade” for antiliquor laws was gaining ground and Frances became president of a Chicago temperance organization. She lectured and held other positions in local and national temperance societies, including the largest, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Temperance (control of alcohol by law) was an important women’s issue- alcoholic men would drink up their pay even before they got home where it was needed for food and lodging for their families. Women would work what jobs they could, such as taking in laundry, to help compensate and feed their large families; even the youngest of the children might have to work in factories or on the streets instead of attending school in order for the family to not go hungry. Domestic abuse was rampant and very frequently linked to alcohol, so women felt that restrictive alcohol laws might give their children and themselves better lives.
In 1877, Willard was director of women’s meetings for Dwight L. Moody, a Chicago evangelist. Our ancestor, Edward B. Payne, had also worked with Moody earlier, 1870-1871, when EB was newly married to Nannie Burnell and they lived in Chicago. Moody worked in the poorest tenements of Chicago, as did our ancestor, who was also working as a librarian by day, and doing Moody’s ‘night work’ to help the poor lift themselves out of poverty.
Frances Willard only worked briefly for Moody, and left the national WCTU in 1877, as she had wanted to link women’s suffrage with the temperance movement, but the WCTU president wished to keep the issue only alcohol prohibition. Suffrage became the main topic of the lectures given by Frances throughout 1878, but she became the national WCTU president in 1879, and held that post for the remainder of her life.
Frances Willard Postcard-Reverse
[Editor’s Note:It may seem silly to post the back of the card especially when it does not have an address or note, but postcard enthusiasts can date and sometimes even determine manufacturer of the card by the way the back is divided, typeface, stamp box, etc.]
Frances was able to support herself on lecture fees, and she traveled to every state then in the Union in 1883. She traveled 30,000 miles per year (before airplanes!) and gave an average of 400 lectures per year for period of about ten years. In 1886, the WCTU provided her a salary to continue her work. The WCTU was the largest organized group of women in the 19th century.
The platform used by Willard to gain acceptance of women’s suffrage by the average woman was “Home Protection.” By having the right to vote, women could protect their home and family from the “devastation” caused by legal, strong drink. Additionally, if women had a voice in choosing civic leaders and therefore the laws they made, men would not be able to so easily get leniency for the crimes they committed against women and children. Patriarchal ministers, press, and society tried to turn women away from the suffrage movement, but Frances also used her interpretation of Scripture to argue for equality between the sexes: “God sets male and female side by side throughout his realm of law.”
Politics was a world that women should be a part of, per many of the speeches Frances gave. About 1893, a large painting was commissioned that showed Frances with an American Indian, an “idiot” or mentally disabled man, a convict, and an insane man. It was entitled “American Woman and Her Political Peers.” Henrietta Briggs-Wall, a Kansas suffrage and temperance advocate, had commissioned the painting, and exhibited it at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1894 she said, of its display:
“It strikes the women every time. They do not realize that we are classed with idiots, criminals, and the insane as they do when they see that picture. Shocking? Well, it takes a shock to arouse some people to a sense of injustice and degradation.”
Frances learned to ride the bicycle in the 1893, when she was 53- quite a rebellious feat for a woman in those days! (How did they kept those long skirts out of the way??) She wrote a sweet little book about it, which shows us that the bicycle was a key to freedom for many women, as well as men. She felt that mastery of the bicycle would help women to gain mastery over their lives- the ‘wheel within a wheel’concept.
A popular speaker around the world, and especially in England, Frances also drew attention to the international drug trade with the “Polyglot Petition.”
Trips to Europe and new Socialist thought intrigued Frances, and she became a Socialist in her later years. Her political and social thoughts again paralleled those of Edward B. Payne- he declared himself a Socialist as well in the 1890s.
The work of Frances Willard was pivotal in the passage of the 18th (Prohibition) and 19th (Women’s Suffrage) Amendments. Sadly, she did not live to see the passage of either, as she died of influenza in 1898 in New York City while waiting to embark upon a ship for a lecture tour in England and France.
In 1905, a statue of Frances Willard was submitted by the state of Illinois (she lived in Evanston for many years) to Statuary Hall in the US Capitol. It was the only statue of a woman in the hall until 1958. Today, there are just eight women represented among the 100 official statues placed in Statuary Hall and throughout the Capitol.
“Statue of Frances Willard in the US Capitol” by RadioFan at English Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Republished in 1991 as How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: Reflections of an Influential 19th Century Woman, Carol O’Hare, editor.
A short book that really is about learning to ride a bicycle- sounds silly, but in the 1890s that was a really outrageous thing for a woman to do! The first 10 pages or so give quite a glimpse into life as it was for women. The “Wheel within a Wheel” portion of the title has to do with a Bible verse in Ezekiel, showing the many layers of an action or spirituality.
7) The featured postcard is owned by the author. It is one of a trio of postcards on American suffragists. (Would love to own the other two!) The seller of this postcard was kind enough to send me scans of those two in her collection, and has given permission for them to be posted in an upcoming “Suffrage Saturday” post.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images- it may also make them sharper.
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 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.
