Traditionally, genealogy research involves obsessive characters such as myself scouring through old written records found in churches, attics, archives, government holdings, libraries, trunks, courthouses, or really anywhere all sorts of paperwork can be found. And while these are all pertinent sources, they’re not the only ones to tell the stories of our ancestors!
Week 7: Unusual Source
A source can come in many shapes and sizes. In addition to written source records such as passenger ship manifests, marriage certificates, or apprenticeship contracts, there are plentiful numbers of unique items in and around the house which can also lend proof to an ancestor’s life moments. Some examples of these would be a quilted blanket embroidered with names, dates, or figures of the owner’s past, a monogrammed family pocket watch, a photo album, or even a soldier’s uniform patch.
My favorite family heirloom also makes a wonderful source! I inherited this red goblet from my paternal great aunt Vivian Margaret (Foltz) Silva on Thanksgiving weekend in 2011.
World's Columbian Exposition glass etched with "C. E. Foltz World's Fair Chicago 1893." 1893, Chicago, Illinois. Ruby red stained glass with clear bottom and gold etching. Side 1.
World's Columbian Exposition glass etched with "C. E. Foltz World's Fair Chicago 1893." 1893, Chicago, Illinois. Ruby red stained glass with clear bottom and gold etching. Side 2.
I had only just discovered Vivian was alive less than 2 years prior and living in San Francisco, California. We quickly became pen pals. She was in her early 90’s, but was sharp as a tack and still rather active. My dad, her nephew, had no idea what her status was or where she was living. All of his father’s other siblings had passed away, most in the 1980s-‘90s. He had probably last seen Vivian when he was a youngster. His older brother and Vivian’s eldest son were the same age, so the 1st cousins had hung out back in the day, but lost touch over time.
In 2011, my younger sister was attending UC Davis, so my parents and I had planned to drive up from Southern California for Thanksgiving weekend to spend the holiday with her. My dad’s brother Roy, who I had never met, was living in Tulare at the time. Long story short, we decided to meet up with my uncle Roy on the way to see my sister, have Thanksgiving dinner with her, then visit my great aunt Vivian on our drive back home. It was during that first and only in-person meeting with Vivian that she gifted me the glass. I was floored.
Kira D. Foltz with uncle Roy Alan Foltz, Nov 2011, Tulare, California, Sizzler’s Restaurant.
Vivian Margaret (Foltz) Silva with grand niece Kira D. Foltz, Nov 2011, San Francisco, California, Cafe Flore on Market Street in The Castro District.
From left to right, Vivian Margaret (Foltz) Silva with nephew Gary Jon Foltz, grand niece Kira Dawn Foltz, son Leonard Silva, grand niece Brittany Elise Foltz, niece-in-law Beatrice Anna (Millhouse) Foltz, Nov 2011, San Francisco, California, Cafe Flore on Market Street in The Castro District.
It belonged to her grandfather, Charles Edward Foltz. At the time, Charles was the furthest generation back in our Foltz line that I had proven. I had suspected parents for him, which I can now say are verified, but he was certainly a very intriguing figure for me when I met Vivian. I knew he was born in Maryland, had lived for a time in Illinois and Iowa, and had died in Kansas, so to have tangible proof of some of his time in Illinois was extraordinary.
Charles Edward Foltz, 1903, train depot in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Not only that, but the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, or the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 as it was more formally called, had also been a favorite subject of mine. Many key historical facts can be tied to the fair, including the original debut of the ferris wheel, Westinghouse’s winning bid against Tesla to light the park by alternating current electricity, the chance to rent a Kodak camera for the day to document your time at the fair in photographs, and also being the hunting grounds of America’s first notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes. As a side note, the historical fiction novel “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America” by Erik Larson is a wonderfully written account of how the fates of the Chicago’s World Fair and H.H. Holmes were entwined.
Unknown photographer, original Ferris wheel at 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, 1893, Chicago, Illinois; New York Times photo archive; online database with images, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org : accessed 15 Feb 2021).
The goblet makes a great genealogical source, as it places my 2nd great grandfather in Chicago at the fair in the year 1893. While a soft opening was held in 1892 for the fair’s dedication ceremonies, the grand opening for the public did not begin until May 1, 1893. It ran through October of that year.
In addition, Vivian’s gift to me was two-fold. Inside the goblet, she had also kept a collectible half dollar coin from the exposition! While the token may not directly tie back to Charles Edward Foltz, as the etching on the glass does, it still acts as an additional piece of circumstantial evidence that he attended the event. It is another unusual source.
World's Columbian Exposition Chicago half dollar coin, 1892. Original owner was Charles Edward Foltz as indicated by granddaughter Vivian (Foltz) Silva’s accompanied note; privately held by his 2nd great granddaughter Kira D. Foltz in Thousand Oaks, California. Side 1.
World's Columbian Exposition Chicago half dollar coin, 1892. Original owner was Charles Edward Foltz as indicated by granddaughter Vivian (Foltz) Silva’s accompanied note; privately held by his 2nd great granddaughter Kira D. Foltz in Thousand Oaks, California. Side 2.
Note the coin is embossed with the year 1892. A total of 950,000 coins were first minted in Philadelphia on November 19, 1892, but due to the delay of the fair’s opening, another batch of over 4 million were struck in 1893 with the new date. The coins sold at the fair for $1, and reportedly were not flying off shelves, as guests were hesitant to spend $1 on a 50 cent coin. Due to lack of demand, more than 2 million of the 1893 batch were later melted down and destroyed. The Columbian Exposition Half Dollar was actually the very first commemorative design to ever appear on official U.S. coins! It was also the first U.S. legal tender to bear the portrait of a foreigner. They currently are selling for $20-40 on average on the internet today. They contain 0.3617 troy ounces of silver, so they’ll never be worth less than their silver value, which can fluctuate by the day.
Vivian passed away in 2016 at the age of 97. From the relatively short span of time in which I became acquainted with her, I came to know her as such a lovely woman with an incredible spirit (she was even practicing Tai Chi in her last decade!). And she really helped explain and fill in some of the many gaps I had within the Foltz family tree -- a terrific pen pal, for sure. I will be forever grateful for her -- and especially for this amazing heirloom she felt comfortable passing along to me. It now sits on display in my kitchen, where I get to look at it every day.
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