Family History

Valentines of Yore ANTIQUE CHILDHOOD VALENTINES ~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~ Above, adult handwriting of my Grandmother Rovilla Heideman Lindsey (1891- 1966): " My first Valentine after starting to school. " [c. 1896] Below, perhaps written by the mother of Rovilla's classmate " To Rovilla from Sarah Grimes " And, written by Rovilla as an adult: " Sarah was dearest little friend I ever had. Lived in Lyons, Kans ." ~ Valentine Coincidence ~ I came across Rovilla's late 1890s childhood Valentines a few years ago and filed them carefully away for future reference. I knew they might come in handy one day for the creation of a blogpost such as this one. This next Valentine, however, is a more recent discovery, but it also comes to me courtesy of Rovilla. A week ago, I was thumbing through her 1965 diary, which has been sitting on my desk, along with some other memorabilia, since my mother -- R...

In the Paternal Grandparents photograph: the standing toddler is my biological father: "Bill" William Owen Matthew Moots with his mother, my paternal grandmother: Carrie Mae Clark Moots Bill's father was Carrie's first husband, Othel Walker in this photo, she is seated with her 2nd husband, William Elliott (sp) and their daughter Jewell William Elliott is NOT the biological father of Bill Moots Bill later took the surname of Carrie's 3rd husband William Moots further down in the post: Young Carrie wearing slacks In the Maternal Grandparents photograph are my mother's parents: Paul Jones Lindsey and Mary Rovilla Heideman Lindsey Rovilla never went by "Mary," always by "Rovilla" her father's name was William Michael Heidemann (with 2 "n"s) as adults, Rovilla and both of her brothers, Harry and Melville, dropped the final "n" Ancestors ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS Paternal Grandparents ~ Recent Family Histor...

Presents to my Grandmother Rovilla Heideman Lindsey & Family from her first cousin Elizabeth Miller Taylor. Their parents were siblings: Rovilla the daughter of Anna Mary Miller and Elizabeth the daughter of Jacob George Miller 80 Year Old Christmas Presents GIFTS FROM LONG AGO ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS Family Favorite ~ MCMXLII As my mother's notations explain, these two books -- Christmas Carols (above) and The Night Before Christmas (below) -- were presents to her family, when she was twelve years old. The gifts came from my Grandmother Rovilla Heideman Lindsey's first cousin, Elizabeth Miller Taylor. Rovilla's mother Anna and Elizabeth's father Jacob were siblings . I recently shared these photos with my third cousins -- Elizabeth's grandchildren -- so they could what their grandmother sent out for Christmas 80 years ago! Not only that, but here's visible evidence that Elizabeth's gifts, chosen with love and care, were immed...

More Vintage Valentines ANTIQUE CHILDHOOD VALENTINES ~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~ Unique Gilded Age Valentine from the childhood favorites of my Grandmother Rovilla Heideman Lindsey (1891 - 1966) [please see previous post ] The boardering shades of monochromatic pink, are in keeping with Valentines Day, yet completely unlike all of the other multi - colored cards that Rovilla saved over the years. The gray tones of the little illustration are unusual, as well as the subject matter -- a humble shepherd child, instead of the more typical elaborately dressed children and adults, highly decorated with fans, flowers . . . Like this one: Opening up the pink / gray Valentine, I found it rather endearing that the sender, who remains unknown, as the card is unsigned, has managed to include two misspellings, adding a "u" and an extra "i" thus R-o- u -v-i-l-l- i -a instead of R-o-v-i-l-l-a Yet, ...

Uncle William Birkinbine Miller A GENTLEMAN AND A SCHOLAR ~ BORN 160 YEARS AGO TODAY ~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS William Birkinbine Miller June 28, 1859 - November 8, 1893 Uncle Will's Funeral Flowers Cause of death: colon cancer at age 34 Uncle Will was the eldest brother of my Great - Grandmother Anna Mary Miller Heidemann ( 1862 - 1923 ). Anna Mary's little daughter -- my Grandmother Rovilla ( 1891 - 1966 ) -- was only 2 years old at the time of Will's death, yet, through the decades, she became the keeper of his memory, passing on to my mother and me the remaining souvenirs of his short life and literary temperment. Though Will had long " gone from all touch ," Rovilla kept his " unseen presence within the borders of day " ( William Soutar ). First among the tokens is this small New Testament, a present from Will to Anna in 1879: 1879 On the back page, he has written: "Wm B. Miller is my name Kleinfeltersville is m...

The Birkinbine Millers of Oak Street MY GREAT - GREAT GRANDPARENTS ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS Henry Wise Miller (May 27, 1834 ~ October 29, 1915) & Elizabeth Birkinbine Miller (February 28, 1938 ~ March 28, 1925) ~ 17 Oak Street ~ Emporia, Kansas ~ I wish I could say for sure who is standing in front of the house, but the photo is not labelled, and I cannot be certain. Perhaps it is Elizabeth to the left, and her daughter Anna Mary (my great - grandmother) to the right.   ~ Henry Miller's tailor shop in Emporia, Kansas ~ He shared the space with his son - in - law, Nathaniel Reider, who ran a shoe shop at the corner of 4th Avenue & Commercial Street . Public notice for visible display, indicating that the owner -- Henry Wise Miller -- had purchased a legal license from the U.S. government to manufacture and sell cigars! Not easy to read, but here’s what it says: (41) U. S. INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECTOR'S CERTIFICATE TO MANUFACTURER OF TOBACCO OR CI...