Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

In 1873, my 3rd great grandparents, John and Margaret (Marshall) Dean, were living along Wheeling Creek in West Virginia. They had been married for about 20 years and had raised 7 children by that point. John followed in his father's footprints making a living as a blacksmith, and Margaret took care of their home. Relying only on the fact that they never separated or divorced and were able to pose for a family photo together later in life with their grown children, I would surmise their marriage was a fairly happy and satisfying one. The Dean Family (Front Row L to R: Joseph Dean, John Dean, Margaret (Marshall) Dean, Athe Dean;  Back Row L to R: Ralph Dean, Ben Dean, Chester Dean, John A. Dean) However, in September of 1873, it would seem Margaret had a bone to pick with John. A piece of their dirty laundry was aired when she published a post in the local newspaper for all the neighbors to see! "Notice.,"  The Wheeling Daily Register,  Ohio County, West Virginia, 27 Sep 1...

One of the conflicts that Americans participated in, which I know the least about, happens to be the Vietnam War. I won't even pretend to know the first thing about what sparked the initial standoff between North and South Vietnam, nor why the United States felt the need to become involved.  With minimal research, I can report that the war spanned 20 years, from 1955 to 1975, with ties to the Cold War which was "raging on" as the backdrop. North Vietnam was backed by the Soviet Union, and South Vietnam had the U.S. and other anti-communist countries backing its interests. The U.S. military was actively involved from 1965, under President Lyndon B. Johnson's command, until its withdrawal in 1973 during President Richard Nixon's term. According to the Department of Defense Statistical Information Analysis Division (SIAD), nearly 60,000 American service members died as a result of the war, with another 300,000+ wounded in action. Many of those men had not enlisted in...

My paternal grandparents were married on the 9th of April in 1939. It was a Sunday in San Bernardino, California. Harry and Alta (Eggenberger) Foltz, 9 Apr 1939, San Bernardino, California. But it wasn't just any Sunday in April, it happened to be Easter Sunday. They were accompanied by two of their friends from the Pasadena area, where they were living at the time, Jesse E. Chamberlain and A. E. Myers Jr. Jesse was a laundry mangler residing nearby Alta, so I assume they met by chance within their community. Myers and his family ran the restaurant that Harry bartended at on the corner of Orange Grove and Fair Oaks avenues in Pasadena. It appeared to be a very small affair, indeed, as I know Harry's out-of-state mom was not able to be in attendance and I assume the same went for Alta's out-of-state mom, as well, their fathers both having passed away when they were younger. Harry and Alta (Eggenberger) Foltz with marriage witnesses Jesse Chamberlain and A. E. Myers, Jr., 9 A...

It's ironic that the most colorful character in my family tree was born with the surname of White! Related to me only through marriage to a great granduncle, Gertrude was anything but plain, white bread. "Grandma Dean, 1912"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 11 Feb 2018. The images left behind of Gertrude clearly shine a light on this woman's wild and free spirit. She certainly didn't maintain societal norms for her day.  "Gertrude White";  Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 29 Aug 2017. Born in 1893 in Upshur County, West Virginia to farming parents of modest means, the U.S. censuses show her education spanned at least from age 7 through 17 reaching the 8th grade, which is already far superior to the majority of the men in my family tree who typically dropped out of school around the age of 12 or so to begin earn...

Coincidentally this weekend, I sat down for lunch at Camarillo Airport with a couple who I met on a genealogy research trip and who happen to own a private plane! Plus, one is the Air Boss for the Wings Over Camarillo annual air show in California. Planes truly seem to be this week's overall theme. We chatted a bit about what motivated them to start flying, as well as touching on some of my own family's aviation history. I've never taken up too much interest in the business of airlines or flights or even space exploration, though I've certainly been intrigued with others who have. My aunt is a retired flight attendant, a cousin worked for Boeing (I think on the B-52 bombers? I likely don't have my facts straight there), and my maternal grandfather was a part of the Apollo 11 mission. Aside from taking commercial flights to my vacation destinations and one helicopter ride over the Pt. Mugu and Malibu area, I've never really had any further connection to planes. ...

Summers were known to be the time of year when the extended Dean and Millhouse families (my maternal branch) could all come together in West Virginia for their respective reunions. The tradition began at least by 1949 for the Deans in Wheeling Park, but likely much earlier. For as often as these gatherings probably took place over the years, I have very few photographs to document them. I, myself, only recall attending one "reunion" at Oglebay Park in 1999, but it was really a 50th anniversary celebration for my great aunt Thelma and Melvin Mays. It feels a tad awkward showing up to these events and really only recognizing a handful of people out of the throngs who attend. Having to strike up that initial conversation with a "stranger" is never easy as you blurt out, "So how do you fit in to the tree? Who are you? How should I know you?" So that's just one of the excuses my introverted self makes for not going. Gary and Kira Foltz being anti-social, Og...

While I consider myself the resident storyteller of the family, I discovered the following 10-page memoir written by my grandma within one of our photo albums, and have to say she did a fine job illustrating key moments in her life.  I've transcribed what she wrote, keeping all spelling errors and edits intact. The only addition I made was noting her brother's name [Raymond] when she was referring to him in third person and only by pronoun and, of course, the contemporaneous photographs. I don't have any context as to what brought about this document or whether a more finalized version ever existed in some fashion. Edna (Dean) Millhouse, circa 1956. " [?], quite hilly West Virginia until the butter was a solid pound rolls at this point in time, we had no refrigeration but some time later did have an ice box and at that time we could buy 25-50 and 100 pound cakes of ice. Always had to be sure to remember to empty the drip pan, or we would have a wet mess to clean up. Ou...