"LONGEVITY," for #52ancestors challenge:

This year I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy challenge, "52 Weeks/52 Ancestors," which I also followed for two years 2014 & 2015.

We have relatively long-lived ancestors showing in our lines: my father's parents lived to mid-late 80s, my mother's mother/grandmother/great-grandmother lived in their 90s and 100s. I have every expectation of living to 100!

My longest-lived direct ancestor who lived over 100 is my 2nd great-grandmother, Harriet "Hattie" Philena ORMSBEE.  Here's a 1924 photo of her at 97 years of age, during a visit my grandmother took with her 5 children including my 2 year old mother, from Vancouver BC Canada to Englewood, New Jersey. She is the shortest in the photo, second from left.

My grandmother wrote on the back, identifying each person and their relation to her. I love how this photo shows relationships here. My 2 year old mother is playing with her mother's jewellery, and Madee and GreatGrandma Graves were clearly talking about something while waiting for the photo to be taken. I suspect Madee's husband, my great-grandfather, was taking the photograph.

From left to right:
"Madee" Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES
      b. 5 Nov 1857 Jordan NY, d. 30 Oct 1955 Englewood NJ

"GreatGrandma Graves" Harriet "Hattie" Philena ORMSBEE
      b. 28 May 1827 Manlius NY, d. 20 Aug 1929, Englewood NJ

"Mary" [my mother] 2 years old in this photo

"Mother" - my Grandmother known as GrandPete,
      b. 19 May 1880 Syracuse NY, d. 23 Oct 1973 Burnaby BC Canada

I have a number of long-lived persons in their 90s as well, even back in the 1700s with baptism dates with birthdates as well. Of course, there are also a number of women who died young, likely in childbirth, as well as men who died before 50, perhaps in accidents or due to illnesses.

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If any of these are ancestors of yours, I would be happy to hear from you with your comments or corrected information. I am also very happy to share any details I might have that are not shown on this post. Contact information calewis at telus dot net is found at the very bottom of this blog.

Blooger has a glitch which is stopping me from replying to your comments, but please do know that I appreciate your comments very much. You make my day! Thanks so much for stopping by to read my family blog. 

52 ANCESTORS, 52 THEMES, No. 35, SCHOOL DAYS: Gussie GRAVES' report card, 1878

This year's challenge by Amy Crow is another weekly blog based on Themes. Last week's theme was NON-POPULATION SCHEDULES or censuses - but instead, I wrote about my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary McCURDY.

This week's theme is SCHOOL DAYS  and I have a very brief glimpse into the school days of my maternal great-grandmother, Clara Augusta "Gussie" "Madee" GRAVES (1857-1955).

Found in the TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM - see my other blog for more details - the report card from the Rockland Institute, is one of the few known details about my great-grandmother's interests and abilities.

The Rockland Female Institute was a fashionable finishing school, with room for a maximum of about 100 boarding students (women).  From Syracuse, where her family lived, it would be approximately 235 miles distant.  A brief history and description may be read from a newspaper article found on  Old Fulton Postcards/Newspapers, 1940.

The Rockland Female Institute was built in Nyack, New York, near the Hudson River.  The photograph seen here (Copyright The Hudson River Valley Heritage website)  is dated 1856, not long after the Institute had opened.  

My great-grandmother was always known to me as "Madee" - a corruption of the Spanish word for Mother - Madre.  She seems to have been called "Gussie" by her family, and certainly by her husband, James "Grove" Grover TERWILLIGER.

She died when I was 12 years old, although I don't remember the family talking about her at that time.  Mind you, that age and stage is so narcissistic, any discussion of Madee likely flew right over my head!  At one time I had a small pencil box of hers, but somewhere along the line, it disappeared... likely thrown out as "not being useful".  I think I stopped using pencil boxes at high school (Grades 7-12).  Now, of course, I'm mourning the loss of that small piece of treasure from her life.

Her Report, dated Feb 1, 1878, is for a half-academic year, and shows almost perfect attendance (95%). And her scholastic achievement was quite exceptional! Bright young woman - 21 years of age at this point.

MAXIMUM 100    GOOD 80     INDIFFERENT 60
   Composition  100
   German        100
   French           99
   Drawing       100
   Recitation     100
   Music           100

Yes, this young woman was very bright, artistic and creative in several different ways.  Somewhere in the Album may be another piece of her schoolwork... a Science project for which she also received very high marks.  That will have to keep for another day, or for when I finally find it and post the page from the TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM!

Note:
Obviously if you have any information or corrections about the Rockland Institute or any of her classmates, I would be very pleased to receive this.  You may send details through my email at bottom of page, or in the Comments section below.

Blogger - or my computer - is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented!  You truly make my day.

52 ANCESTORS, 52 THEMES. No. 17, Prosper : Charles Giles GRAVES, 1824-1902

This year's challenge by Amy Crow is another weekly blog, but based on Themes.  Number 16 was Live Long.  This week, number 17 theme is Prosper.  

Please note that photos are copyright to me, and may not be copied.  Contact me if you are a relative and wish me to send you a copy, or if you have information/corrections to offer.

The photo here may or may not be of Charles Giles GRAVES - but was with others who clearly were family members, part of a collage. 

Here's Charles Giles GRAVES - a "Gentleman," who lived "on his own means" - as the Censuses state as his Occupation; clearly a prosperous man. Charles Giles GRAVES was my second great-grandfather on my mother's mother's line.  

His father was Cornelius GRAVES (1783-1828) & Anna TREAT (1783-1866). From the Graves Family Association's records, (Gen. 166), Cornelius "...was a stone mason [who] removed to near Auburn New York, where he pursued farming and contracting, and furnished materials to build Auburn prison, and for locks on the Erie Canal."  Anna TREAT was the 2nd great-granddaughter to Governor Robert TREAT of Connecticut.

Charles was the 8th child of Cornelius & Anna, the youngest of 6 sons and 2 daughters, born 7 Mar 1824 in Jordan, Onondaga, NY.  Note he was only 4 years old when his father died.  His mother did not remarry.  

On 26 Sep 1850, in Syracuse, Onondaga, NY, he married "Hattie" Harriet Philena ORMSBEE (1827-1929).  Hattie was the eldest daughter, 2nd child, of Jacob ORMSBEE and Sabra TOWERS. Jacob was a successful contractor/builder in and around Syracuse. 

Charles and Hattie had the following children, born in Syracuse NY:

  1.  Lillian Adele, b. 25 Nov 1853, d. 5 Jan 1949 Syracuse; m. 11 Jul 1877 to
          Gabriel W. Wisner (lawyer); 4 children
  2.  Clara Augusta "Gussie" [ancestor], b. 5 Nov 1857, d. 30 Oct 1955,
          Pinellas FL;  m. 2 Oct 1879 to James "Grove" Grover TERWILLIGER;
          3 children [my line through eldest]
  3.  Florence Estelle, b. 3 Feb 1860, d. 6 Apr 1954 Tabor NJ; m. 6 Sep 1893 to
          Ernest F. Tyler (jeweller/business owner); 1 daughter.  She was called
          "Aunt Toto" by my mother.

From 1862 Jan 21 - 1863 Apr 18, he was a Second Lieutenant in COMPANY "C", 19th INFANTRY, New York.  He resigned out on April 18 1863.  

In the Syracuse region, he owned or was a partner in a number of mercantile businesses (Seager & Graves, e.g.), as well as in the early oil industry, and manufacturing of gas pipes. 

One month short of his 78th birthday, Charles G. GRAVES died at the family residence on Sunday, 4 Feb 1902, after struggling with pneumonia for two weeks, according to newspaper accounts.  He was survived by his wife, Hattie, and their three daughters, eight grandchildren.

He is buried (as is his wife) in the Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, Onondaga, NY, as can be seen on FindAGrave.

If any of these people are your ancestors as well, please contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  I would love to learn more about my ancestors. 

Blogger is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You make my day.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - My great-grandmother & plane, 1927

On the back of this photo is written (in my grandmother's handwriting): Madee ('mother') took this plane in 1927.  She would have been about 70 at the time.

An intrepid traveller, she lived to 97 years, buried on her birthday 5 Nov 1955 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York. Clara Augusta "Gussie" "Madee" GRAVES m. James "Grove" Grover TERWILLIGER on 2 Oct 1879, Syracuse, Onondaga, NY.

TERWILLIGER FAMILY - early 1900s Photo, Roselle NJ

This is the only photo which has my maternal grandmother, her two brothers, her mother, and her Terwilliger grandparents all in one photo. There are two additional women in this photo who may not be related.  By elimination, I can assume that my grandmother's father "Grove" is the one taking this photo. Wish I knew more. And I look at the three photos on the back wall with sad eyes, wondering where on earth they ended up! 

My mother wrote on the back of this photo, identifying most of the individuals, in relation to her, and she dated it "Dining Room, Roselle NJ, 1903-1909".  Note that James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER and his wife moved to Roselle in the early 1900s.

• Starting on the left (front), is my 2nd greatgrandfather, James M. TERWILLIGER. He would be 75-80 years old, although he seems rather fragile/older than that, somehow. 
• Next to him behind the table, is his wife, my 2nd greatgrandmother, Harriet F. BUELL Terwilliger, about 70-75 years old. 
• Next, the young woman with dark hair is Vera Stinson, a boarder with the family (as seen on the 1910 Census of Roselle NJ). 
• The older woman behind Vera is not identified on the photo, and I cannot guess her identity or relation to us. 
• Next, sitting at the table, looking down, is my greatgrandmother,  Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES Terwilliger, also known as "Madee" (pronounced Maw-dee).  She would be in her mid-early 50s here. 
• On the very right, seated at the table is my mother's mother, my grandmother, Marguerite "Daisy" "Peggy" Josephine TERWILLIGER, also known as "Pete" (from nickname of  Pepita), whom we called "GrandPete". Here she is about 27 or so. 
• Standing behind is the elder of her two younger brothers, George Walter Terwilliger, aged about 24ish years.
• And finally, the taller and younger of the two young men, standing directly behind his mother is Harold "Hal" Graves Terwilliger, aged about 18 yrs old.

By 1910, a few years more or less after this photo was taken: 
- George married Hazel Belle Hubbard in 1909; he died in 1970, aged 88 yrs
- Harold married in 1935 to Carola Bischoff; he died in 1976, aged 88 yrs
- Marguerite married Charles Edward KUHN in 1910; she died in 1973 aged 93 yrs.  
- James M. TERWILLIGER died in the fall of 1909, aged 85 yrs..  
- Harriet, his wife, died about a year later, aged 82.  
- Grove died in 1929, aged 73.  
- Clara, his wife, died in 1955, aged 98 yrs. 
- Clara's mother, also named Harriet, died in 1929 at the age of 102 yrs. 

If you have any questions about the people in this photo, I'd be happy to answer them.  And if you have any information or corrections, please let me know - I'm always happy to correct my errors!  Contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Lilian Adele GRAVES Wisner

Lilian Adele GRAVES, eldest of the 3 daughters born to Charles Giles GRAVES & Harriet Philena ORMSBEE.  Lilian was b. 25 Nov 1853 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York.  My greatgrandmother was the 2nd-born Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES, and the youngest was Florence Estelle GRAVES.

Lilian married Gabriel W. Wisner in 1877, a lawyer, and they eventually settled in Pittsburgh after all 4 of their children were born in Elmira, New York.   Interestingly, Lilian named their daughter Florence for her sister, and Florence named her own daughter for her sister Lilian.

This very glossy photo was found on eBay by my first cousin, and we managed to buy it for a 'reasonable' price.  The other bidder wanted it because it was a lovely example of a pretty woman of the times, with all the lovely details of hair, clothing, and jewelry.