Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

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...

  NOVEMBER 14, 2021 Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2011, I took a drive with my family up the coast of California in which we met my great aunt Vivian for the first time. Vivian (Foltz) Silva and Kira D. Foltz, San Francisco, California, Thanksgiving weekend 2011. Week 45: Stormy Weather Vivian was the daughter of my great grandparents, George LeeRoy Foltz and Myrtle May Mills. Roy had died at a fairly young age (see his story here ) but Myrtle went on to the age of 97. She didn't pass away until the year 1980, so she had a long life to live after her first husband. Myrtle (Mills) Foltz Haley, undated photo, privately held by descendant Kira D. Foltz. My father and I had known that Myrtle remarried after Roy's death to a man named Benjamin Thomas "Tom" Haley and she became quite close to a few of Tom's kids from his previous marriage. It was known to be a good union, but tragically also cut short, as Tom died just two years later in 1931. Myrtle (Mills) Foltz Haley ...

  NOVEMBER 10, 2021 The death of my great grandfather must have come as quite the surprise to my great grandmother. Roy Foltz was only 43 years old when he died after surgery at Walla Walla Hospital. Week 43: Shock The story, as told in the Foltz family, was that George LeeRoy Foltz was shoeing a horse when it kicked him in the stomach. The damage was intense enough to send him to the hospital. It's said when they opened him up, they found a cancerous tumor the size of a man's head. Though he made it off the operating table, he unfortunately died a few days later. Washington State Board of Health, Roy Foltz death certificate, record no. 167, registered no. 579, 25 Nov 1923, Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington. All of this took place in Walla Walla, Washington. At the time, Roy and Myrtle were living in Weston, Oregon, but Roy ran a wagon team, so it's likely he was out on the road working. George LeeRoy Foltz, 1912, Oregon. There is a conflicting report of what occurred at...

  SEPTEMBER 05, 2020 Head on over to MyHeritage.com THIS WEEK to upload your black and white photos for FREE (you’ll need to set up a free registered account with the site first). The system will instantly enhance the image and utilize cutting-edge software to give color to your photo! Check out some of my personal examples below. BEFORE Photo of Dixon Family on wagon, 1904, West Virginia, black and white original in personal possession of Kira D. Foltz. AFTER Photo of Dixon Family on wagon, 1904, West Virginia, black and white original in personal possession of Kira D. Foltz; digital colorized image,  MyHeritage  (MyHeritage.com : accessed 5 Sep 2020). Here’s what the colorizer looks like in action! Screenshot of MyHeritage Photo Enhancer Tool, 5 Sep 2020,  MyHeritage  (MyHeritage.com : accessed 5 Sep 2020); photo of John C. Eggenberger in his confectionary and grocery store, 1905, Boone, Iowa, black and white original courtesy of Sandra (Foltz) Vallo in person...