Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

Alta and Harry Foltz, my paternal grandparents, had far too little time with me. In fact, Alta only met me while I was still in the womb. She died just a couple months before I was born. Harry had a couple years with me before he passed, but I don't have any memories of him -- just photos of the two of us. Harry Foltz and granddaughter Kira D. Foltz, Gardena, California, 1987. But both of them shared another loss of time spent with a loved one -- a far closer connection. They each lost their father when they were 13 years of age. Alta and Harry Foltz New Year's Day at the Millhouse's, Hawthorne, California, 1984. Harry's dad, George LeeRoy Foltz, died in November of 1923. I don't even believe I have a photo of father and son together. Myrtle and George LeeRoy Foltz wedding portrait, Vliets, Kansas, 1902. On one postcard addressed to Harry's mom, George LeeRoy did sign it as "Pappa," so perhaps that is what his kids knew him by growing up. Otherwise, he...

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...

My great grandfather George Foltz had two middle names, Lee and Roy. Nowhere in his parents' families do any of his given names exist, so it's unknown what led to him being named George LeeRoy. George LeeRoy Foltz But was he named George LeeRoy? Or was it George Lee Roy? Or how about George LeRoy or Leroy? In the end, he went by the nickname Roy, so I guess it doesn't really matter. But there are certainly historical documents out there that list him with all of those variations. And even on his homestead application, 3 of those variations are included across just 2 pages....and he corrected one of them to LeeRoy, inserting a missing "e"! Plus, he signed his name "Georg LeeRoy Foltz" on another page (oddly dropping the "e" from George)! What's that about? Is it likely that going by Roy seemed the simplest way to always get it right? Well, if that's the case, then why go and name your son Charles Leroy Foltz?  Or did they name him LeRo...

Sutton is a small town in Braxton County, smack dab in the center of West Virginia. Home to the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum and the Haunted Haymond House, there's not much else to write home about, but this place was once called home by my mom's side of the family from about 1902 to 1945-ish. It was also the birthplace of Lizzie's roadhouse! Elizabeth (Rockwell) Dixon was my 2nd great grandmother, and she also happened to be a fine businesswoman. She ran her own gas station and store on the side of the road. Mrs. Lizzie Dixon roadhouse, Sutton, West Virginia, circa 1930.  Photo provided by Nancy (Hogg) Jones to Kira D. Foltz. Dixon roadhouse, Sutton, West Virginia, 18 Nov 1934. Dixon roadhouse, Sutton, West Virginia, 18 Nov 1934. And that's right; it wasn't managed by her husband! It was HER name up on that sign: Mrs. Lizzie Dixon roadhouse sign, Sutton, West Virginia, circa 1930.  Photo provided by Nancy (Hogg) Jones to Kira D. Foltz. The exact location of where t...

It's hard to think I'm related to my family when discussing the topic of food. My generation, also known as Gen-Y or Millennial, is well known for dining out at restaurants or ordering meal delivery on the daily. It's even a rare occurrence to see me enjoying leftovers! There's something about the elapsed time between the food being cooked and it being ingested that I just can't stomach. So juxtaposing that lifestyle with those of my parents or grandparents feels like a world of difference. My parents, the Baby Boomers, really straddled the middle of two food cultures in America. They were born and grew up in a time where families gathered around the dinner table each evening to enjoy a home-cooked meal off the stove or out of the oven, which the matriarch of the family likely labored over for the majority of the day.  (Left to right: Edna (Dean) Millhouse, Tommy Hogg, Beatrice (Dixon) Dean Cole, Mary (Dixon) Hogg, Beatrice and Frannie Millhouse in front) Then, even...

Thirty eight years of marriage doesn't make the list of the longest union in the family tree or the shortest, but it was a memorable length of time for my second great grandparents, Charles and Matilda Foltz. Matilda and Charles Foltz, circa 1888. Although Charles was raised in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, the Civil War seemed to be the catalyst for his resettling further west. His half-brother John Henry Fultz put down roots in Livingston County, Illinois by 1868 and Charles must have arrived within a few years. There, he met Matilda Stafford, who had grown up in the area. Charles and Matilda Foltz, wedding portrait tintype, Illinois, 1872. On March 3rd, 1872, Charles (23 years old) and Matilda (16 years old) were wed in Eppards Point, Livingston County, Illinois by Reverend H. D. Ledgerwood of Weston (who had also officiated John Fultz's marriage to Harriet Switzer). Charles E. Foltz and Matilda K. Stafford marriage license, Livingston County, Illinois, 3 Mar 1872...