Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) Invitation Postcard, c1910? (Click to enlarge.)
➡ Women’s Suffrage
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) worked for many years to get what became the 18th Amendment, or Prohibition, passed in the United States. They felt that limiting alcohol consumption would improve the quality of life for women and children as it also improved the lives of men and the family finances.
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) Invitation Postcard, c1910?- Reverse (Click to enlarge.)
The women’s suffrage movement was at times associated with the temperance movement, though some groups tried to distance themselves from the other. Some felt that the goals of the other might alienate their own followers, and there was, at times, dissension within a group because of those who wanted to combine efforts, and those who did not. In the end, Prohibition was passed first, in 1917, and was ratified in 1919; women’s suffrage was submitted for ratification in 1919, and ratification completed in 1920.
Fainting and liquor flasks. Marion Daily Star 20 Feb 1878, Vol. II, No. 251, Page 1. With permission of MDS for non-profit use only.
The above story is a good example of how prevalent alcohol use was in the late 1800s.
It is very impressive that Prohibition passed without women having the right to vote.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Postcard in the collection of the author.
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.
Wedding certificate of Irene L. Peters and Samuel Taylor Beerbower, 13 January 1867. Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)Beerbower Family
Transcription:
This
Certifies that
the rite of
Holy Matrimony
was celebrated between
Samuel T. Beerbower of Marion Ohio
and Irene L. Peters of Marion Ohio was
on the 18th [1867 written above] day of January 1867 [written in] at Bucyrus Ohio married
by the Rev Harmount
Witness S E Ramsey
Witness E B Ramsey
Samuel Taylor Beerbower (1842-1902) was the son of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey (MacElvey) Beerbower.
Irene L. Peters (1846-1924) was the daughter of Nathan Peters (1799-1881) and his second wife, Mrs. Mary Russell Ballantine Peters (1820-1830).
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Image courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society, Marion, Ohio, from the Samuel Taylor Beerbower Family Bible.
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image. Click to enlarge image.
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.
Samuel T. Beerbower Bible- Unknown couple from the front of the Bible. Posted courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
➡ Beerbower Family
Tuesday’s Tip:Contact the local historical society where your ancestors lived. They may have a treasure trove of family information!
We were very lucky because the Marion County Historical Society (MCHS) found and contacted us through the blog. Our Beerbower family lived in Marion County, Ohio for a number of generations, and a Beerbower family bible was donated to the Society, along with photographs that were found inside. The MCHS is planning an exhibit and they would like to learn more about the Beerbower family.
Samuel T. Beerbower Bible- Unknown couple from the front of the Bible- reverse. Posted courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Alas, like so many photos, there are no names nor dates on the majority of the images (though we are lucky with this one). We are putting these images up on the blog in hope that someone will recognize some of these folks, and let us know. The MCHS has kindly shared all the images of Beerbowers and Bible pages to help us piece together more of our family history.
This Bible is known as the Samuel T. Beerbower Bible. Samuel was the brother of our direct ancestor, Edgar Peter Beerbower, who married Anna Missouri Springsteen. He was thus an uncle to Anna May Beerbower, who married Gerard William Helbling. (If you are a grandchild of May and GW, Samuel would be your great-great uncle.) See the Beerbower Family Tree on the blog for more information.
So who are the people in this image?
Known Data:
Clue #1– The image was found in the front of the Bible.
Clue #2– The Bible the picture was found in is called the Samuel T. Beerbower Bible.
Clue #3– The reverse of the image notes the photographer as “Wm. H. Moore, Third Story, Bennett’s Block, Marion, Ohio.”
Clue #4– “1878” is handwritten on the reverse of the photo.
Clue #5– The image shows a man and a woman.
Analysis:
Clue #1– The image was probably of two people very important and/or closely related, to the family, since it was in the front of the Bible. That would often be parents.
Clue #2– Although the bible is called the Samuel T. Beerbower Bible, the notations inside suggest it may have been the Bible of Nathan Peters, Samuel’s father-in-law, and passed down to Irene L. Peters, Samuel’s wife. There are mostly Peters family member listed, and just a few Beerbowers. Instead, it may have been Irene’s Bible into which she copied the names from her father’s Bible.
Clue #3– Research on this photographer indicates he was a daguerreotypist 1857-60 and had studios in Cinncinnati 1857-97 and Marion 1859-97. There was also a “Moore’s Photographic Gallery” on Bennet’s Block in Marion, but no date noted. The History of Marion County, Ohio, 1883, notes that his Bennet Block studio was established in 1855, and at the time of the writing of the county history, published in 1883, he had moved to Main Street. If a photographer had a large stock of backings, this one may have been still used after moving to the new location, but for now, we will use 1855-1883 as the time range for the Bennet location.
Checking for W. H. Moore in Marion city directories will help to narrow the time frame a bit.
Clue #4– It is unknown who added the date to the photo. The date does fit with the known dates of the photographer’s location. The photo appears to be a ‘cabinet card’ which was introduced in the early 1870s, so the date of 1878 still is very plausible. Analyzing the style of clothing and hairstyles may help to narrow the date range of the image.
Clue #5– The man and woman in the image are posed as married persons are often posed. They appear to be in their 30s-50s.
Nathan Peters- Portrait and signature from “History of Marion Co OH,” 1883, p226. Drawn from a picture of him, per his bio in the above. (Click to enlarge.)
My hypothesis (which remains to be proven) is that the first image is Nathan Peters with his wife, probably his second wife, Mary Ballantine Peters. They married on 02 Jan 1842, and Irene L. Peters, their daughter, was the Bible owner at one point.
Mary B. Peters died on 18 Dec 1850, however, so could not have been in a photo taken by WH Moore, since his business started in 1855. I am wondering if this could be a copy of an earlier photo, possibly a daguerrotype; this appears to be the case with another photo in the collection. Nathan would have been 79 in 1878, so that would be older than the man in this picture, thus reinforcing the idea this is a copy of an older image.
We have no evidence that Nathan remarried after the death of his second wife. Censuses show some of his children living with him on the farm in his later years, plus a servant for the household and a farm laborer, but no wife is listed. (We have been unable to find him in the 1850 census, although his 1850 Agriculture Schedule is available.)
Note the cheekbones and jawline of the man in the couple picture, and his ears- they look somewhat similar to the drawn portrait of Nathan that was in the county history, which might vary somewhat as it was an artist’s conception of a photo. The hairline and brow seem similar, too.
The Bible has mostly Peters information, and very little on the Beerbowers, so that is another clue that suggests this first image in the Bible might be Nathan Peters and wife.
What do you think?
It is so wonderful that Historical Societies and scholars are finally working with family historians- that is the only way to tell the whole story of history.
And please, if you know anything about the couple in this image, contact us!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Image courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society.
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 Contact Us form), 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.
Henry Horn’s Pension Application Affirmation and his mark. (Click to enlarge.)
[Editor’s Note:We apologize that this Tuesday post was not published on Tuesday- not sure what computer gremlins intervened. But here it is on Thursday, and now yesterday’s post will probably make more sense.]
➡ Horn Family, McMurray Family, Genealogy Research
Have a genealogical conundrum? Have lots of facts and details but not sure how they all fit together?
Tuesday’s Tip:
1. Write a list of brief notes- just the facts.
2. Look at the notes apart from all that data and details circled around your desk space or computer desktop, and with a very open mind to all the possibilities. Give your thoughts time to brew, and meld- even ‘sleep on it.’
3. Analyze the brief facts, and find any connections- or none. Knowing what is ‘NOT’ may be important too.
4. Write an Analysis Report that details how you came to your conclusions. It doesn’t have to be long, perfect, or totally accurate (yet)- it is just a record of your thought process to help in the future.
In the dark long ago of genealogical research, pre-internet, gathering information was tedious and difficult. One would read the queries posted in genealogical magazines, join local historical societies and place queries in their newsletters, then send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelopes) so the person you were writing to with questions did not have to buy a stamp just to respond to you, nor have to figure out the handwriting for your address. One would copy by hand or make carbon copies (the origin of “CC” in your email program, for the internet generation) pedigree charts and Family Group Records to include in the letter, and then one had to wait months, even years, to see your envelope returned with hopefully useful information typed with a typewriter with dirty keys and usually with handwritten notes inserted or in the margins. The carbon paper was messy and smeared, but that was all we had until the late 60s when copy machines could be found. (Those were very smelly and left oil and/or alcohol stains on the paper, but still an improvement.)
Books, journals, and government records were, of course, available with information, but they were secreted away in all sorts of depositories one would have to travel to, and once there, with many not indexed, or not indexed well, poring over the books and old records was a challenge. Thankfully the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) had a lending library, and would ship old books from their circulating library. I eagerly awaited those big boxes of sometimes very old, falling-apart books that held so much information. The St. Louis County, Missouri, public library had an excellent genealogy section that was helpful too.
Microfilm was available for order from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and could be read in a local branch of their library.
The above information was all we had to go on to learn Henry Horn’s history. Our Tuesday Tip to write down what you know, in a brief form, and then analyze, is how we came to a hypothesis about Henry Horn and his military service, using information gleaned from the above resources.
Following is a bit of what was known about Henry Horn back in the late 60s/early 70s, even pretty much up until the 1990s and special genealogy interest mailing forums online, and then Ancestry.com. Finding Henry Horn’s pension application on microfilm in 1992 helped immensely.
1. Mary Ann Horn (1824-1891) married Henderson McMurray and had Frederick Asbury McMurray (1850-1929), one of their 13 children and an ancestor.
2. Mary Ann Horn’s father was Frederick P. Horn (1796-1867), and his father was Henry Horn (1758-1845). We could not find Henry’s parents nor record of his birth in the US, but Horn is a common name.
3. Henry Horn served in the American Revolutionary War forces, as he had a US Pension granted.
4. Henry Horn was born near Hesse-Cassel, Germany, in the year 1758, per his pension.
5. Henry Horn was just 16 when he came to America, per his pension.
6. Henry Horn enlisted at Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1777, per his pension.
7. Henry Horn participated in the Battle of Trenton, per his military marker.
8. Henry Horn married Elizabeth Pretzman (1759-1840) in 1782 in Leesburg, Loudon County, Virginia.
9. Henry and Elizabeth moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, with their children.
10. Oftentimes, his name was listed as “Heinrich Horn” or “Henrich Horn.”
As a colonial America and American Revolution history buff, and knowing the history of the time, as I skimmed these brief facts, the lightbulb went on.
Born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany? The hated Hessians ‘mercenaries’ that supplemented British troops were recruited from there.
Born in 1758? That would make him prime age for the military and draft, age 18 in 1776.
The Battle of Trenton? The Hessians marched with General Howe’s British Redcoats and took New Jersey as a defeated George Washington and his troops retreated. The Hessians occupied the small town of Trenton, NJ, as their winter quarters, but were attacked 26 Dec. 1776 by Washington’s forces after crossing the Delaware River and the Hessians surrendered after their commander was killed.
BIG CLUE– There is no mention of the Battle of Trenton in Henry’s pension. If he had been part of Washington’s forces, wouldn’t that famous, turning-tide battle be remembered, even at his advanced age at the time of the pension?
Place of enlistment Lancaster, PA? The Hessians captured at Trenton on 26 December 1776, over 900, were taken to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as prisoners of war. So Henry Horn would have been in that place in the year 1777 if he indeed was a Hessian.
Enlisted in 1777? The prisoners at Lancaster had been enticed to enlist in General Washington’s forces. They were well-trained soldiers, and the American rebels needed all the military forces they could muster.
Hmmmm, this analysis suggests that Henry Horn could have been a Hessian- but was he? Granted, there were many Germans who had immigrated to the colonies before 1776, and there were German regiments who served Washington well. The above analysis is not quite the genealogical standard of ‘preponderance of evidence,’ but a good basis for more research- for proof.
Unfortunately, back then, there was not much available to check whether or not Heinrich Horn was on the rolls of the Hessian recruits. HETRINA, or Hessische Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg, Index nach Familiennamen, was not available in English, but I felt it would give the answer. Sadly, it was only available in German in Germany, and I never got a reply from my letters to archives there. The Hessians kept very good records, so that they would be paid well by the British King George for his German mercenaries, but I just could not find access to any of them at that time.
Once the mailing lists and genealogy websites began popping up on the internet, plus with correspondence with other Horn researchers, the consensus was that Henry could have come to America via one of the following scenarios:
1. He was avoiding the German draft, since he was the prime age of 16, so immigrated on his own. Germany had a history of sending their armies to other countries as mercenaries, as did other European countries.
2. He came to America with his parents when about 12, arriving at the Port of Philadelphia in 1770 on the ‘Good Ship Sally.’ The family settled in York, PA, and Henry joined the colonists when war broke out with Britain. This was the view held by one of the premier Horn researchers.
3. He came as a Hessian soldier.
The third scenario turned out to be the truth about Heinrich Horn, and we will explore more in future posts.
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.
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