2024 Week 20 - Taking Care of Business

             Occupations of my ancestors – I touched on this during Week 6 where I highlighted those that I knew or came from census records. 

       However, there were some home-based businesses that my mother and I participated in.  My mom sold Avon in the 1970’s.  I helped her put together her orders every other week for delivery to her customers.  I did direct sales as well (in fact I still do!).  I started out with Enrich International in about 1997 which became Unicity before they went bankrupt in 2004.  I only had a few customers – most of the sales were for personal use.  This was an herbal supplement company that expanded into other countries.  Then I moved on to another Direct Sales company known as Weekenders.  This was a clothing line that had a core line that was basic clothing (skirts, slacks, tops, & jackets) that packed well.  This company went bankrupt as well (they kept expanding the clothing line and then focused on the young generation) in 2008.  Here again, most of my sales were personal use until they no longer carried the type of clothes that were suitable for business attire.  I decided then not to do any more direct sale companies.  I said no for a long time.  Then I was introduced to Tastefully Simple.  They had a program that I could join for minimal cost and only have to do $200 in sales per quarter.  That was easy – I usually spent about $60 a month on items to do freezer meals.  So, I signed

up in 2014 (after purchasing from them for about 2 years).  I am still involved with them through the various changes the company has gone through.  I usually have a table at various bazaars and swap meets throughout the year.  I make enough to give me spending money for fun activities like bowling, gambling, and genealogy.  I have a blog that I use to focus on some of the meals that I prepare using the products as well as a Facebook page.  You should check them out sometime.

2024 Week 19 - Preserve

             Growing up, my mom and my grandmother did a lot of canning.  Papa and Grandma’s house had an entire room that was the pantry and it was full of canned goods.  Our house also had a pantry that was in the “garage”. 

       Papa had a huge garden and we would go over and help harvest the vegetables and fruit.  I can remember rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries.  I know that there were other items but I can’t remember what they were.

       We also had a huge garden that I had to help weed every day.  We had peas, green beans, corn, potatoes, carrots, chard, lettuce, broccoli, squash, onions, asparagus, and cucumbers. Oh, and beets and tomatoes.

       When the berries were ripe, we would pick them.  They were cleaned and put into freezer containers or bags for use during the winter.  We also used them fresh and to make jam.  The rhubarb was also used in the jam to act as pectin.  We also ate rhubarb fresh – as a sauce or as a cobbler.  Cucumbers were eaten fresh with onions in vinegar as well as pickled – dill pickles, sweet pickles, as well as bread & butter.  The beets were pickled as well.  We blanched the corn, peas, and chard.  The green beans were canned.  Carrots stayed in the ground or kept in a box so we could eat them fresh or they were canned for later use as well.

       We also canned peaches and pears and apricots.  We also cut up apples to freeze for pies.  Oh, cabbage was also grown.  I can remember going over to Papa’s house and we would spend the day chopping up the cabbage and putting it in a stone crockpot to cure into sauerkraut.  Once the kraut was ready, it was then canned into jars.  I miss eating homemade kraut.

       Growing up on a farm, we also raised our own beef.  Had a yearling butchered and the meat wrapped up and stored in our freezer.  It lasted an entire year.  We also had fresh liver, tongue and heart to eat.  I wasn’t crazy about the tongue or heart but my brother loved them.

       We would also get cherries and plums off of trees on our property.  Some were eaten fresh while others were canned for later.

       Did I do any canning?  Yes, I did when I first left home.  My first experience was making applesauce.  I thought it turned out great and it was delicious.  However, whenever I ate it, my mouth turned black.  Discovered that you don’t cook apples in an aluminum pan.  The acid content of the apples interacted with the pan and leached into the sauce which then interacted with the saliva in my mouth.

       Later canning efforts earned purple ribbons and other awards at the local fairs.  I made zucchini relish, pickle relish, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, and apple pie filling.  I haven’t canned in years nor have I grown a garden.

       Now I spend my time preserving family history.  Writing the stories my dad told and documenting family information.  And documenting our travel for future generations.

2024 Week 18 - Love & Marriage

             I’ve been using DNA to help remove some brick walls in my ancestry.  But did you know that siblings cause issues in DNA research?  Yep, and I get it on both sides.

       Paternal ancestry, I have siblings marrying siblings.  I’ve talked about my Great Grandfather William Edward Kludt several times.  He was the oldest living child of John (Heinrich Johann Ludwig) Kludt and was born 2 October 1862 in West Bend, Washington County, Wisconsin.  In the late 1870’s the family moved to West Union, Fayette County, Iowa.  This is where he met his wife, Susan Katherine Reisner. They were married on 14 February 1889 in West Union.  Susan was born 3 Sept 1863 in Clermont, Fayette County, Iowa to Henry Reisner and Maria Margaret Haueisen as the fifth child.

       William’s sister, Augusta Maria Kludt, born 11 January 1865 in West Bend, Washington County, Wisconsin, also married a Reisner – one of Susan’s older brothers, George August Reisner, born 15 May 1859 in Stoughton, Dane County, Wisconsin.  They were married 24 May 1883 in West Union.  So, for DNA research, the cousins are considered double-cousins and can have twice as much DNA.  And I was trying to determine who were William & Augusta’s maternal grandparents.

       Luckily, William’s brother, Henry Carl, did NOT marry a Reisner.  He married Alma Nelson in 1907 in Fayette County, Iowa.

       Susan had eight other siblings that married into various families living in Fayette County, Iowa.  These families include Reichel, Neumann, Weidermann, Winkleman, Steuer, and Lehmer.

       Now, for my maternal side it’s not siblings marrying siblings, but descending from two siblings.  Aaron Lowe (born c1772 in Virginia) and Sarah Frazier (born c1774 in Virginia) were married 3 October 1801 in Patrick County, Virginia.  They had ten children.  I descend from two of their daughters, Ellen & Mary.

·      Ellen Lowe was born 4 May 1803 in Patrick County, Virginia.  She married Moses Stanley on 29 October 1822 in Patrick County, Virginia.  He was born 2 May 1800.  They had 12 children. 

o  Their son, William F Stanley, born in 1826 married Sarah Ann Scott on 1 Dec 1853 in Pike County, Kentucky.  They had lots of children.

§  Their daughter, Ruth E Stanley, born 12 Apr 1865 in Pike County, Kentucky, married Elbert Bevins on 22 Apr 1886 in Pike County, Kentucky.  They had 10 children.

·      Their daughter, Rosa Zettie Bevins, born 31 March 1887 in Meta, Pike County, Kentucky, married George Wilby Keesee on 15 Jun 1907 in Meta.

·      Mary Lowe, born 15 September 1818 in Patrick County, Virginia, married Booker T Keesee (Sr) on 4 October 1840 in Pike County, Kentucky. Booker was born 2 March 1819 in Logan County, Virginia to Richard Keesee & Judith Morris.  Mary & Booker had 12 children.

o  Their youngest, Booker T Keesee (Jr) was born 9 August 1864 at Road Fork, Pond Creek, in Pike County, Kentucky.  Booker married Caroline Evie Maynard, daughter of George Washington Maynard & Sarah Caines, on 19 Jun 1884 in Pike County, Kentucky.  They had six children.

§  Their oldest son (second born child) was George Wilby Keesee, born 9 June 1887 in Piso, Pike County Kentucky.  As mentioned above, he married Zettie Bevins.

I have an unproven line of ancestry where I supposedly descend from Elisabeth & Joan Plantagenet  (daughters of King Edward & Eleanor of Castile).

·      Elisabeth is the ancestor of Anne Boleyn (not the one married to King Henry!) who married John Shelton.  The Shelton family married into the Hurt family who married into the Bevins family (the parents of the above mentioned Elbert Bevins).

·      Joan also ties into the same family.  However, she ties in on Anne’s maternal grandmother.  Whereas, Elisabeth was through the maternal grandfather.

It will be interesting to validate the above information.    

2024 Week 17 - War

         There are lots of wars in our history – some family members fought in, others they lived through, and others I really don’t know anything about.

       I’ve written previous blog posts about family veterans.  One looked at ancestors serving or providing service during the American Revolution.  Another looked at those who served during the Civil War.

       The Belles family knew how to serve their country.  Let’s start with the current generation.  My son, Nathan, served in
the US Navy from May 2010 to December 2017.  This would include Operation New Dawn in Iraq, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom’s Sentinal in Afghanistan.  He was in the Persian Gulf in 2016 serving aboard the USS Ramage that was part of an escort for an aircraft carrier. 

My husband, David, served in Vietnam in 1970 in the US Army.  I’ll have to ask him to write about his time.  He’s talked about it some but I don’t have all the details.

        My father-in-law, Jack, served in the US Navy during WWII.  He enlisted in September 1942 and was discharged in December 1945.  In May 1943 he started serving aboard the USS SC746 (a sub-chaser) as an F1c on temporary duty to the 7^th Fleet.  He advanced to MoMM2c in December 1943.  In 1945 he had training at the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Training Base.  In December 1945, he was transferred from LSM500 (a medium landing ship) to San Diego Staging Center for discharge.  Interesting thing, two of his brothers also served during WWII.  Frank was also in the Navy (S2) and was on the USS Amesbury (APD46) in June 1945.  The ship was also in the Pacific.  Fred served in the Army Air Corp as a mechanic.

2024 Week 16: Step - Lucy Elizabeth Cram Loshbaugh Keesee

 I’ll look at the step relationships in my family tree.  The first known “step” was my Great Grandma Lucy.  Grandma Lucy was born 22 Sept 1892 in Minnesota to Frederick Guy Cram and Mary Elizabeth Chapman.  Her first marriage was to Theron Loshbaugh.  She married my Great Grandfather, George Wilby Keesee on 22 Oct 1941 in Payette, Idaho.  They were both widowed at the time of their marriage according to the county Marriage Register.

No children were born of this union.

It is my understanding that Grandma Lucy started out being George’s housekeeper.  I’m not sure when that started.  Her first husband, Theron Loshbaugh, passed away in 1938 in Bandon, Coos County, Oregon.  She is not listed in the 1939 City Directory for Lewis County, Washington.  George is listed as living in Glenoma. 

The 1940 Federal Census shows that they were husband and wife and that they lived in Missouri in 1935 (although this can't be right).  

1946 City Directory has them living in Centralia.

1949 City Directory has them living on Washington.

The 1949-1950 Directory has them with the same box as 1946 with a family member having the same box as listed in the 1949 directory.

The 1950 census has them living in the house that I visited when I was growing up.  However, the street name changed from Washington to Sandra.

By 1957, the box number changed again.  However, I know that they never moved.

1958 City Directory:

George passed away on 27 Oct 1964 in his home.

Grandma Lucy continued to live in the home until her health required her to live with her family in Oregon.  She passed away 6 Jun 1986 in Myrtle Point, Coos County, OR.