2024 52 Ancestors: Influencer - The Photographic Dixon Couple

Before the phrase, "But first, let me take a selfie!" reigned supreme in the late 2010s, my 2nd great grandparents, Nathan & Lizzie (Rockwell) Dixon, were already masters of photog culture.

Their heyday was in the first half of the 20th century. Photography had only been invented a couple decades before they were born and had only gone mainstream when they were still in their youth. But it must have been an absolute hobby of theirs (or at least Lizzie's), because my family picture collection is filled with snaps of her and her husband.

The two of them can certainly hold the title of first-ever influencers in our family tree. Here is just a selection of their photos over the years (and I'm positive I have several more hidden amongst my photo albums):

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2024 52 Ancestors: Origins - Physical Traits

Ever wonder who you inherited your dashing good looks from, those cute dimples, or how about that thinning hair line and thick love handles? This week, I'm exploring the origins of physical traits in my family tree. The first one that instantly comes to mind are my eyes. I know exactly who I got the color from versus the shape of them! Many babies' irises can be seen changing colors for their first six months or so. I was told my parents thought for sure I was going to inherit my dad's blue eyes, because they stayed that way even nearing the 2 year mark. However, they ended up turning hazel -- the color of my mom's eyes. (Left) Beatrice (Millhouse) Foltz; (Right) Kira Foltz Now, as for the shape of my eyeballs, I have my dad to thank for that! And I know this, because we have the same football-shaped stigmatism in each of our right eyes. Plus, a lazy eyelid over it, to boot! (Left) Gary Foltz; (Right) Kira Foltz My long lashes definitely came from my maternal side. But...

2024 52 Ancestors: Changing Names - Grandfather Foltz

During my grandfather's lifetime, in 1936, social security numbers were invented by the government in order to keep track of employment wages and histories of United States workers in an effort to determine their entitlement to benefits out of the social security fund. Harry Foltz, Portland, Oregon, 1930. This new line of bureaucratic red tape may have been the reason my grandfather and his mother went on the hunt for a record of his birth. The same issue appeared to crop up when it was time to apply for a passport as well. Although they were both certain he was born 3 February 1910 on their homestead in Fort Rock, Oregon, there was no extant documentation claiming so. Oregon State Board of Health, "Birth Record Application," 8 Mar 1958. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, copy of 1920 U.S. federal census enumeration details for Foltz, Harry A., 27 Aug 1942. His mother had to write up a deposition testifying to the details of his and his siblings' births in...

2024 52 Ancestors: Creativity - Handmade Quilts and Clothes

In a previous blog post on my Great Grandaunt Mary , I wrote about her quilting hobby and how I coincidentally found a photo of her sewing a pattern that wound up in the hands of a cousin whom I had just met online (all due to this blog!). Quilt made by Mary (Dixon) Stalnaker Hogg and gifted to Nancy Hogg. Photo supplied by Nancy Hogg, 2022. Mary wasn't the only quilter in the family though. Her mother, Lizzie (Rockwell) Dixon, and grandmother, Elizabeth (Pitcock) Rockwell, had also been avid quilters. In 2009, our family attended a small reunion outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma at my Great Aunt Frances (Dean) Wise's home to celebrate her 90th birthday and her sister Thelma's 81st. It was the perfect opportunity to raid Frances' closet, figuratively speaking! She gave us the low down on several family heirlooms and photos hung about her bedroom, including the many handmade quilts she had stored in a box, as well as two garments she produced herself. Both she and Thelma are n...

Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

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