John LEE-Dinah DRAGE Marriage Record, Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1912, Irthlingborough Parish Register 1754-1812, via Ancestry.com.
[Robert Eugene Lee–> Lloyd Eugene Lee (1907-1991)–> Samuel John Lee (1879-1964)–> Samuel Lenton Lee (1849-1932)–> George Lee (1821-1897)–>William Lee (1780-1851)–> John Lee (1736-abt 1827) + Dinah Drage (1748-?)]
Dinah Drage married John Lee on 10 September 1776 in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England.
The marriage was by “banns”- a public announcement of an intent to marry, in this case at the church for several Sundays preceding the wedding. (Until 1983, the Catholic church published marriage banns in the parish Sunday newsletter.) Three banns, usually a week apart, were required- it limited spur-of-the-moment marriages. More importantly, there was time for anyone opposed to the marriage to come forth. If the couple was too closely related, one was still married or obligated to another, if they were not of the required age, etc., this was the time to “…speak now or forever hold your peace.” If no one spoke up with a valid concern, the marriage could take place, and would be legal.
And it is a good thing this one did take place- otherwise, their Lee descendants would not be here!
Dinah Drage was the daughter of William Drage (1715-?) and Ann Foster (?-?). Dinah was possibly about 28 years old at the marriage. John Lee’s parents were Henry Lee (1710-?) and Elizabeth Bloifeild (1711-?); John was 40 at the time of the marriage, if we have the correct John Lee. (There were many John Lee in Northamptonshire, but only this one in Irthlingborough.) This could have been a first marriage, but might instead have been a second marriage, at least for John since he is much older. We do not have birth information for Dinah, but do have a baptism record of her birth with the names of her parents. So it likely was not a second marriage for Dinah (her parents were listed as “Drage”), though she may have been older than an infant when baptized, making her age closer to John’s. Since they lived in a city with established churches, however, the likelihood that she was baptized as a young infant is high, making her about 28 or 12 years younger than John.
The above certificate is a bit difficult to read, but it appears that John and Dinah were married by Chris Ellenshaw, Curate. (A Curate was an assistant to the Vicar/ Rector/Minister of a church.) John Robinson and John Sears were witnesses, thus may have been related or close friends of either the bride or groom. (More research to do…) John and Dinah were unable to sign their names and made their mark on the certificate.
Garlands of flowers were used at weddings at this time, so the bride may have had a garland in her hair, some at the church, and even the reception if they had one. Gloves were often given as a gift to the bride- and possibly the groom?
King George III of England, age 33, painted in 1771, via Wikipedia. Public Domain.
George III was the King of England, the American Colonies, and a number of other countries around the world at the time of John and Dinah’s marriage. The news of the Declaration of Independence was not printed in an English newspaper until 17 August 1776- it took about 5-6 weeks for the information to cross the ocean. Would the couple have been concerned, getting married less than a month after hearing the news?
They probably were not that worried, surprisingly. England had been at war with France and other countries for years, so war was not an unusual state. (The people were quite tired of funding such wars with their taxes, however, especially as the war in America continued.) John’s age would have put him at a less-than-prime age for soldiering, thankfully. Because of so many wars and the reduced number of available young men for conscription, the King turned to other countries for troops to hire for the American Revolution, such as the Hessians from Germany. Additionally, some British citizens sided with the Americans, or were somewhat sympathetic as they wanted to continue the lucrative trade with the colonies across the ocean.
So the wedding of John and Dinah was most likely a happy occasion, without the shadow of war looming over them. We hope their almost 46 years of marriage was happy as well.
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
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 2013-2017 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.
Trying to learn about the businesses where our ancestors worked can help us fill in some of the context of their lives.
Samuel J. Lee (1879-1964) was a druggist in St. Louis, Missouri. A Google search with his name took us to GoogleBooks, and a few directories of pharmacies throughout the nation.
Samuel J. Lee in His Drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri, possibly 1940s or 1950s?
GoogleBooks does not have the complete run of these directories- only 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1916, 1921, and 1923 were available for today’s research. (Hopefully more on a tomorrow in the near future.)
There were only two mentions found:
1921- Samuel J. Lee in St. Louis, Missouri, The Era Druggists’ Directory, Vol. 19, Page 178, D. O. Haynes & Co., 1921, via GoogleBooks.
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
1923- Samuel J. Lee as proprietor of Chenoweth Drugs in St. Louis, Missouri, The Era Druggists’ Directory, Vol. 19, Page 178, D. O. Haynes & Co., 1923, via GoogleBooks.
This suggests that Sam bought the Chenoweth Drugstore, and, as many do, Sam kept the old name since that is how customers knew the company. Generally, a buyer has to purchase the name and the “goodwill” it has built up over the years to continue to use it, or else rename the store at the risk of old customers not being able to find it.
Samuel J. Lee (left) in his Chouteau Ave store in St. Louis, Missouri, circa 1920?
Further research in other years did not bring up Sam’s name. It did, however, bring up the Chenoweth name.
1913- Chenoweth Drugs in St. Louis, Missouri, The Era Druggists’ Directory, Vol. 17, Page 113, D. O. Haynes & Co., 1913, via GoogleBooks.
◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊
1916- Chenoweth Drugs in St. Louis, Missouri, The Era Druggists’ Directory, Vol. 18, Page 100, D. O. Haynes & Co., 1916, via GoogleBooks.
We know by the address that it was the same store. A quick trip to GoogleMaps shows the 4067 Chouteau Ave. address as very close to Sarah Ave- it is the closest cross-street. Sadly the building no longer appears to be in existence.
It is interesting that in 1921, the drugstore was listed under just Sam’s name, but in 1923, it was called “Chenoweth Drug Store” again. Reviewing city directories might give us more information, and it is more likely that a complete (or almost complete) run of those will be more available than the more specific druggist directories.
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
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 2013-2017 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.
W. C. Fields (above) was a curmudgeon, and on the anniversary of his birth on 29 February 1880, we celebrate all the curmudgeons we know and love- or try to love.
What is a curmudgeon, you may ask? Generally described as a complaining, crotchety, critical old man, in the interest of equal rights we will include women as possibilities too. “Snarling contempt” is a good phrase that can describe the opinions, attitudes, and writings of curmudgeons. The very best curmudgeons, however, will add a bit of humor or dry wit to their scathing words, and give us an insight into the human condition; sometimes they even make a career out of it.
W. C. Fields is famous for many a curmudgeonly phrase, some from his movies, and some said on his own while in character (he was said to personally be a kind man). Many other quotes have been attributed to him but may not be really his words. Here are a few of his most famous:
“I never vote for anybody, I always vote against.”
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.“
“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.”
And the quote that sums up his character:
“I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.“
Title page of the First Folio, 1623. Copper engraving of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout. Public domain, via Wikipedia.
The characters of William Shakespeare issued their share of curmudgeonly insults to each other long before- and now after- W. C. Fields:
“There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.” (from Henry V)
“Thine face is not worth sunburning.” (from Henry V)
“Your brain is as dry as the remainder biscuit after voyage.” (from As You Like It)
“You are as a candle, the better burnt out.” (from Henry IV, Part 1)
Nowadays, we may have to extend the definition of ‘curmudgeon’ to include cartoons (Lucy always complaining and nagging Charlie Brown), puppets (Oscar the Grouch), and even internet memes (Grumpy Cat). And when you put two together you get…
Isn’t the internet wonderful??
We all know some curmudgeons, and likely have a few in the family, though it is doubtful that any of our dear readers would fit into that category. We won’t name (many) names, but we do have a few ancestors who are long gone that we could possibly honor as Curmudgeons on this very special day.
OK, OK, it’s not really that special a day, as any true curmudgeon would proclaim.
Samuel J. Lee in His Drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri, possibly 1940s or 1950s?
Samuel J. Lee (1879-1964) ran a drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri. As the neighborhood changed and got quite a bit rougher, it is understandable that he might have turned a bit curmudgeonly. Only apparently Sam sort of was that way even before. A nephew who worked for him said that it did not take much to get Sam upset. He actually had a peephole in the wall of the drugstore- something common to many stores so that an owner could truly ‘keep an eye’ on things. The nephew stated, however, that Sam would monitor his work performance through the peephole, to make sure he did not dish out too much ice cream to a customer at the soda fountain, or even worse, sample the ice cream himself.
Sam was a quiet man, according to another family member. He didn’t talk much, and in the evenings would just go sit in the sunroom of the house on Alamo, read his paper and smoke a cigar. So maybe he was more a quiet man, and people just took that silence as curmudgeonly?
Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling in his garden in St. Louis, Missouri. Date unknown, likely 1920s.
Gerard William “G. W.” Helbling (1882-1971) did not have the benefit of much formal education, but he was a brilliant man. That brilliance could drive some people crazy, though, like one of his daughters. She said he always had a criticism for a movie, an article, or whatever. He would explain how it could not really happen, why it wasn’t true, the facts that were missing, or how it was biased. He was most likely right, as he was a prodigious reader and knowledgeable about a whole lot of things. He would often guess what would happen next, and spoil the plot line.
He could be a very loving man, however, and the love he showed for his dear wife, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, was the kind of love women (ok, men too) dream about.
So maybe we can’t officially call him a curmudgeon? Maybe just a part-time curmudgeon, who was usually right.
Hannah Melissa Benjamin with her great-grandson, Edward A. McMurray, Jr., about 1926.
We don’t really know enough about Hannah Melissa “Malissa” (Benjamin) McMurray (1854-1932) to officially proclaim her a curmudgeon. We don’t know that she was a complainer- her life was filled with work on the farm until her mid-fifties, and raising five children. She must have been a special woman to have endured it all, and some complaints, if any, should be excused.
But asking a descendant to identify the above picture was interesting. There was no name, and the informant was the young great-grandson pictured with Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray above. At first he did not recognize her through the fading lenses and memories of the 70+ years that had passed since that picture was taken. Then he looked up, in a somewhat taken aback fashion, when asked if it could be Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray. (Possibilities had been narrowed time-wise.) “Yes,” he replied. “She was VERY stern.” He was one who always gave people the benefit of the doubt, but apparently she curbed the enthusiasm of a toddler quite significantly, and he remembered it deeply when asked so many years later. He wouldn’t elaborate on whether that sternness was due to her complaining or just silently expecting him to toe the line; so maybe she was a pseudo-curmudgeon.
Headstone of Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841) in Old Colony Burial Ground, Granville, Licking County, Ohio, with kind permission of photographer.
Jonathan Benjamin (1739-1841) was the third-great grandfather of Malissa (Benjamin) McMurray. Maybe Malissa got some of his ‘stern’ DNA.
The 1881 tome (816 pages!) compiled by N. N. Hill, Jr. called “History of Licking County, O., Its Past and Present: Containing a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest, a Complete History of Licking County … a History of Its Soldiers in the Late War … Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, [and it goes on…]” tells Jonathan’s story the best:
Jonathan Benjamin was in some respects an extraordinary man. He was a person of rather coarse features, but of strong muscular powers, with a still stronger will. He was very determined in all his undertakings, and of an unforgiving temperament. Having passed through the French and Indian wars, and through the war of the Revolution, and having suffered much and long by Indian depredations, both in the loss of friends and property, the finer feelings of his nature had become blunted to such an extent that he seemed to have lost most of his sympathy for his fellow man. Still he was a man of religious habits, and of good morals, but was generally considered to be a man that was naturally morose and unsociable, and was not known through life to have expressed his forgiveness of the Indian race…. Mrs. Benjamin possessed social qualities that in great measure compensated for lack of them in her husband.”
Jonathan had lived through Indian wars in New York (and/or New Jersey), Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as in Licking and Fairfield Counties, Ohio. He witnessed his family members killed or carried off in Indian raids, and he had fought in military battles from at least the age of fourteen. He lived to be 102 years, 10 months, and 12 days old, and his demeanor never mellowed. His curmudgeonly attitude was likely fueled by the sorrows and hardships he had experienced in his long life. We can put on our psychiatrist hats and say maybe he was covering up the pain. Or maybe he was a quintessential curmudgeon?
It is hard to actually know if these folks were truly curmudgeons or not, as we only have a part of the story. They all had hard lives, so I do apologize to them if they were not curmudgeonly just for the sake of curmudgeon-ness.
So, who will you honor today on “Curmudgeon Day”??
The “remainder biscuit after voyage” refers to the saltwater-soaked, then dried out, wormy biscuits that are all that is left for sailors and travelers to eat at the end of a very long voyage on board ship.
Jon Winokur wrote The Portable Curmudgeon and a variety of sequels which are just delightful if you enjoy this genre of humor and quotations.
History of Licking County, O., Its Past and Present: Containing a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest, a Complete History of Licking County … a History of Its Soldiers in the Late War … Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, Etc., compiled by N. N. Hill, A. A. Graham & Co., 1881 may be found at https://books.google.com/books?id=_Xw8AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Jonathan Benjamin bio on p. 602.
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 2013-2015 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.
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 2013-2015 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.
Portions of the lyrics posted for educational use only.
2) Photos from family treasure chests.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution 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.
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.
