Not So Wordless Wednesday: Four Generations of Hunts

Here's a photo I found in my Grandma Edith's collection awhile ago. It's of four generations of her Hunt family, and I believe it was taken sometime around 1953.

On the left is my great great grandmother, Georgia Francis Ann Purser. She was born October 7, 1871, in Searcy, White County, Arkansas, and died July 14, 1956, in Henderson County, Texas. She was married to William Calhoun Hunt. 

Next to Georgia is her oldest child, and my great grandfather, James William "Earl" Hunt. James was born January 1, 1891, in Lee County, Texas, and died April 7, 1961, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was married to Ethel Modena Martindale.

Next to Earl is his youngest child, and my Grandma Edith's younger brother, George Lee Hunt. Uncle George was born January 11, 1927, in Oklahoma, and died November 1987 in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma. 

Standing in front are George's two sons. I think they are Lester Wayne Hunt and James Lee Hunt, but I'm not entirely sure (if any Hunt cousins are reading this and know for sure, please feel free to let me know!). 

Wednesday's Child: Edith Vivian Hunt

Some people may think it's a chore to organize files and photos, but I'm having a lot of fun whipping my documents into shape on Google Drive. Part of the joy is getting a fresh look at a bunch of old photos of my family members and ancestors.

Here are a few photos I have of my Grandma, Edith Vivian Hunt (Brittain), from when she was a child. I'm so happy that my great grandparents, Jim and Ethel Hunt, had a camera and loved to take pictures of their family!

Edith Vivian Hunt,  born April 1, 1920, in Slick, Creek County, Oklahoma

Baby Edith, with her parents, James William (Earl) Hunt and Ethel Modina Martindale  

That's Edith on the left

Edith at 14 years old

I love her curls!

Wasn't my Grandma a pretty young lady!?

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My 16 Great Great Grandparents

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings offers this mission for some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1)  List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).  [Hint - you might use an Ancestral Name List from your software for this.]

2)  Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.

3)  For extra credit, go make a "Heritage Pie" chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the  chart generator from Kid Zone for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the "Heritage Pie" chart idea.]

Since my sweetie is away for the weekend, and I'm on my own this Saturday night, I thought it would be fun to play along! I went one step further and, where available, added photos for each set of great-greats.

My 16 great-great grandparents are:

1. Frederick Harmon Brittain, son of Milton Price Brittain and Nancy Garriott, was born on 20 January 1859 in Keokuk County, Iowa, USA. He died on 6 February 1921 in Van Buren County, Arkansas, USA. He married Mary Jane Rooks on 14 September 1879 in Lowery City, St. Clair County, Missouri, USA.

2. Mary Jane Rooks, daughter of Thomas J. Rooks and Serena Jane Ishmael, was born on 3 March 1862, in Grundy County Missouri, USA. She died on 28 March 1904 in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA.

Frederick and Mary Jane Brittain

3. William Leroy Halstead, Jr., son of William Leroy Halstead and Ann Dobson, was born on 6 March 1859 in Pocahontas, Pocahontas County, Iowa, USA. He died on 27 November 1944 in Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Nancy Catherine Campbell in 1880 in Missouri, USA.

4. Nancy Catherine Campbell, daughter of George Thomas Campbell and Mary Jane Carter, was born on 13 November 1856 in Palo Alto County, Iowa, USA. She died on 14 March 1940 in Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA.

William and Nancy Halstead

5. William Calhoun Hunt, son of James Sanders Hunt and, possibly, Arnetta Sellers, was born on 9 September 1870 in Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA. He died on 26 March 1915 in Jackson, Coal County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Georgia Frances Ann Purser on 4 March 1891 in Lee County, Texas, USA.

6. Georgia Frances Ann Purser, daughter of James Monroe Purser and Nancy Susan Hodge, was born on 7 October 1871 in Searcy, White County, Arkansas, USA. She died on 14 July 1956 in Henderson, Rusk County, Texas, USA. 

William and Georgia Hunt and their family

7. Riley Harrison Martindale, believed to be son of James Jancey Martindale and Sarah ____, was born in 1876 in Sebastian County, Arkansas, USA. He died on 17 April 1899 in Canadian, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Nancy Dezina Jaggers on 19 February 1896 in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, USA.

8. Nancy Dezina Jaggers, daughter of Jessie James Jaggers and Louiza Jane Turman, was born on 1 September 1877 in Sulligent, Lamar County, Alabama, USA. She died on 14 September 1944 in Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma, USA.  

Nancy Dezina Jaggers Martindale with her daughter, Ethel

9. John Bartrem, son of Samuel Bartram and Harriet Boste, was born in 1815 in Kelsale, Suffolk County, England. He died about 1882 at sea (en route from England to USA). He married Esther Meredith on 12 July 1846 in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire, England.  

10. Esther Meredith, daughter of Joseph Meredith and Sarah ___, was born in 1814 in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire County, England. She died in March 1888 in Monmouthshire County, Wales.

James and Esther Meridith and their family

11. George Elmer Veale, son of Andrew Jackson Veale and Elizabeth Miller, was born on 5 August 1850 in Pike County, Indiana, USA. He died on 20 September 1928 in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas, USA. He married Margaret Harriman on 7 February 1872 in Daviess County, Indiana, USA.

12. Margaret Harriman, daughter of Jacob Harryman and Catherine LeFevre, was born on 12 November 1850 in Indiana, USA. She died on 23 January 1932 in Richmond, Contra Costa County, California, USA (while visiting family). 

Margaret Harriman Veale in 1931

13. Laurits Hansen Madsen, sone of Hans Madsen and Sidsel Marie Christensen, was born on 21 May 1839 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. He died on 1 October 1934 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. He married Kristen Kristen Terkelsen on 1 April 1869 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. 

14. Kristen Terkelsen, daughter of Hans Terkelsen and Kirsten Christensen, was born in 1850 in Graasten, Denmark. She died in 1925 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark.

Laurits and Kristen Madsen and their family in Denmark

15. Johann Bruhns, son of Frederich Bruhns and Marguerite ____, was born on 20 July 1848 in Holstein, Germany. He died on 24 July 1934 in Tracy, San Joaquin County, California, USA. He married Christina Marguerita Schlichtmann, on 3 November 1881 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA.

16. Christina Marguerita Schlichtmann, daughter of Claus Schlichtmann and Anna Sophie Vanderleith, was born on 20 March 1862 in Hannover, Stadt Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany.  1 December 1952 in Tracy, San Joaquin County, California, USA.

Wedding photo of John and Christina Bruhns

 
The birthplaces of my 16 great-great-grandparents are:

*  USA - 10 (3 in IA, 2 in AR, 2 in IN, 1 in AL, 1 in MO, 1 in MS)

*  England - 2

*  Denmark - 2

*  Germany - 2

Here is my "Heritage Pie" chart:

 Well, that WAS fun! Thanks, Randy, for the inspiration!!

Sentimental Sunday: My Two Great Grandmas

Here's a photo of my two paternal great grandmothers: Jessie Luetta Halstead Brittain (Dad's paternal grandma) and Ethel Modena Martindale Hunt Dobbs (Dad's maternal grandma).

Jessie Luetta Halstead (1898-1974) and Ethel Modena Martindale (1896-1977)
They don't look terribly thrilled to be having their picture taken...

The photo was taken at my grandparents' (Woodie Brittain and Edith Hunt Brittain) home in Livermore, California. By this time, Ethel lived in Oklahoma (where both my grandparents were born) and Jessie lived in Oregon, so I think it was rare that they actually were in the same room together.

My sister, Cindy, and I were fortunate that we both got to know our great grandmas and spend time with them when they visited our family in California. They were sweet little ladies who liked to dote on their grandkids. =)

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday: James, Ethel and baby Edith Brittain in 1920 Oklahoma

Here's one of my favorite photos from my Dad's family. It's a picture of my great grandparents, James William Hunt (1881-1961) and Ethel Modena Martindale Hunt (1896-1977), and their baby daughter, my Grandma Edith Vivian Hunt Brittain (1920-1993). It appears to have been taken soon after Grandma Edith was born (April 1, 1920, in Slick, Creek County, Oklahoma).

It looks like James is looking lovingly at his new little girl. I had always heard he was a sweet man.

I wonder if they were living in the tent. There appears to be furniture inside it, and the person taking the picture seemed to make sure that he or she got the entire tent in the shot. The 1920 US census, in which they were enumerated in January of that year, shows them living next door to James' brother, Melvin Dean Hunt, and his wife, Veatrice. Perhaps the tent was on their land? James and Melvin were both laborers in the oil fields, and not wealthy, so it's entirely possible that the young couple made their first home in a tent. By the 1930 census, both couples had moved from that area. Makes me feel grateful for the four solid walls and roof that my parents were always able to put over our heads.

Wedding Wednesday: James & Ethel Hunt's 1918 Marriage Record

I solved a mystery this week! I had been trying to figure out exactly when and where my paternal great grandparents, James William Hunt (1891-1961) and Ethel Modena Martindale (1896-1977), were married. Based on census documents and what I already knew, I figured it was before 1920 and somewhere in Oklahoma.  I had been looking for a record under both of their names together, as well as separately. It finally occurred to me (duh!) that Great Grandma Ethel had been married prior to this union, and I wondered if I might have more luck searching under her married name: Ethel Mackey. BINGO!!! A quick Google search led me to the Coal County Genealogical Society, where I found an index of THIS:

It's the Application For Marriage License, the Marriage License and the Certificate of Marriage -- all in one document. Once I found the index, I quickly sent off my $5 donation and a request for a copy of the document. Within a week, this wonderful record showed up in my mail box and I can now see that James and Ethel Hunt were married in Coalgate, Coal County, Oklahoma on January 16, 1918. Ethel was 21 years old, and James was 27 years old. They both resided in Centrahoma, Oklahoma. It appears that they showed up at the courthouse, applied for the license and got hitched by a Justice of the Peace there all on the same day.

James and Ethel raised three children: my grandma, Edith Vivian Hunt Brittain (1920-1993), Edgar James (Bud) Hunt (1922-2004) and George Lee Hunt (1927-1987). James died on April 7, 1961, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ethel married a third time to Joe Gordon Dobbs (as kids, we knew and loved her as Great Grandma Dobbs). Joe passed away in 1964. Ethel died at the age of 80 on August 3, 1977, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even though she was three times a widow, she was a cheerful lady who was always happy to spend time playing with my sister, Cindy, and me when she visited my Grandma Edith in Livermore, California.

I'm now hunting for the marriage records for Ethel's first and third marriages, and I've learned my lesson to not just rely on maiden names in my searches, especially when I know that one of my female ancestors has been married more than once!

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Cars!

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants. You do not have to be a blogger to participate. If you do not have a genealogy blog, write down your memories on your computer, or simply record them on paper and keep them with your files.
  

Week 3: Cars.  What was your first car? Describe the make, model and color, but also any memories you have of the vehicle. You can also expand on this topic and describe the car(s) your parents drove and any childhood memories attached to it.

I *wish* I had a picture of my first car. She was something to behold. A 1969 Ford Torino purchased from some good family friends. Puke green with black racing stripes along the side, and one of those air cam-thingies on the hood. Oh, and a V8 engine, which was probably too fast and powerful for this teenaged country girl. Her name was Myrtle. Myrtle, The Turtle, The Mean Green Driving Machine. And she was all mine. She was huge -- I swear, I could fit my sister and another five or so friends in there and we'd turn up the 8-track stereo and go cruisin', usually up and down Pacific Ave. in Stockton, California (do kids still cruise?). She was also easy to spot in a crowded high school parking lot full of big, new, shiny pickup trucks, Camaros, Firebirds and the like. Sadly, Myrtle left us in around 1983, after I went off to college, when my little sister was driving her and was run off the road by some crazy madman (so we're told, anyway...). Cindy was fine, Myrtle was not. R.I.P., Myrtle. You are still missed.

In lieu of pics of my own beloved first wheels, here are some photos of our family's cars through time. To be honest, it was easier to find pictures of my people on horses and bulls than with their cars!

I think that was our family's 1967 Ford Galaxy (c. 1971 or 1972)

Not sure, but I think these are Bartrams

Grandma Edith, Great Grandma Brittain and Dad: Road trip! (c. 1955 or so)

Grandma Edith -- Glamming it up on their road trip

Uncle Johnnie Bruhns with his puppies and car

Great Grandma Ethel Modena Martindale Hunt (Grandma Dobbs
to us!) and her mom, Nancy Dezina Jaggers Martindale

My dad, William Lee Brittain

Grandpa Woodie Brittain, holding my dad in front of their car (c. 1942)