Sometimes the small ephemera left by a person can be so personal that it makes me sentimental about them and the sweet times we had together. Seeing the handwriting, seeing who is important in her life, and just noting that this was information that she thought was important enough to pass on, touches my heart. Edith (Roberts) (McMurray) Luck is a big part of why I love family history so much, so this find made me very sentimental about the times she talked about her family, and drove us all over the county to visit her cousins and elderly relatives. There was only one of the new-fangled copiers in town, and family members would not allow us to take their treasures, so my sister and I copied obituaries, letters, etc., by hand, using a purple Flair pen (the coolest thing to come out of the 60s). There are precious documents that were shared that hot Iowa summer, items that would have been lost forever had we not transcribed them in the 1960s.
Here is a transcription and some details about the persons she listed:
Grandpa Daniels [Robert Woodson Daniels- Edith’s maternal grandfather] March 21-1862
enlisted Rocklimogen W. Vir
5’8″
Light complexion- Light hair Grey eyes
discharged fm USA [United States Army] March 25-1865
was 23 years
Born May 26-1843
Died June 20-1922 79 years
Grandma Daniels [Margaret Ann Hemphill Daniels- Edith’s maternal grandmother]
Marg A.
Born Sept 25- 1839
died Dec 19- 1915 76 years
George Roberts [George Anthony Roberts, Edith’s father]
Born Nov 18 -1861 78 years
died April 18 -1939 5 months
0 days
Ella V. Daniels [Ella Viola (Daniels) Roberts, Edith’s beloved mother]
Born Oct 29 1866 55 yrs- 3 mo- 18 days
Died Jan 17 1922 56 yrs.
Georgie Roberts [Edith’s brother, George Anthony Roberts, Jr.] June 30 1965 [death date] 76 [years] -1889 [birth year]
Ethel Robison [Edith’s sister, Ethel Gay Roberts, married to Bert Robison] Jan 28 1969 [death date] 78 [years] 1891 [birth year]
Winnie Carson [Edith’s first cousin- Winnie Viola Walker was the daughter of Lily G. (Daniels) Walker, Edith’s mother’s sister, and married Archibald Carson (1892-1982)] June 1997 [June 1897 was when Winnie was born- an error in Edith’s notes]
Hilma Stines [Edith’s first cousin and sister of Winnie Viola Walker, both daughters of Lily G. (Daniels) Walker, Edith’s mother’s sister; married Ruben M. Stines.] Ap. 1900 [birth date either April 1900 or approximately 1900; census calculation indicates about 1902 for birth.]
Mrs. Annie Hunniball [Eliza Ann Fletcher, a close friend and neighbor of Edith as an adult. Annie was born 18 Dec 1880 in Timworth, Suffolk, England, and married Albert John Hunniball (1877-1965); they never had children. As a young woman, Annie worked in one of the palaces of the British Queen.] Died 7.45 PM.
1971 Tues Jan 26- Buried
Thurs Jan 28
As I was typing out these names and dates, I thought it somewhat ironic that Edith would have used a page from her address book that had a place for a phone number, since telephones were unknown when some of these persons were born. But then, maybe it was not so ironic, since the lifetimes of these folks spanned a simpler time, leading up to the use of the telephone and even the automobile in the early 1900s. By 1914, the US had the most telephones per capita of any country, so even Margaret Ann (Hemphill) Daniels may have seen or used a telephone before her death in 1915, depending on when it was introduced to their rural area. What an amazing time period to have lived, from the late 1830s until the nineteen-teens and twenties. The changes in technology were just astounding during that time span.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Family treasure chest.
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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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