Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

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...

With a lot of hard work and long days, my great grandfather George LeeRoy Foltz was able to lay claim to a part of the American frontier. The Homestead Act of 1862, along with its later updates in the early 1900s, had paved the way for men like him to acquire large swaths of land outright, so long as they agreed to farm and improve upon it. George and his wife Myrtle left their home in Kansas and set out for the coastal state of Oregon. After arriving in Rainier, at only 28 years old, George submitted an application in late November 1908 to homestead 4 adjoining lots of land in the high desert of Fort Rock Valley. George L. Foltz, Fort Rock Oregon homestead application, 1908; National Archives. Bureau of Land Management, Township No. 26 South Range 14 East Willamette Meridian Oregon survey plat, 1862. Right out of the gate, he encountered a snafu. Whether an accounting error, filing mishap, or by the land agent's or his own misunderstanding, his application was initially rejected t...