Wordless Wednesday...Visiting Droop Mountain Civil War Battlefield

Tombstone Tuesday - John D. Baxter

Recently, Texican and I , along with our daughter, Texichick, made a trip to te Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park, located on Droop Mountain in southern West Virginia. Here the air is still alive with the terrible clashing of Union and Confederate troops.

Located in a field at the top of the mountain stands a lone flag pole from which hangs the US Flag and the WV State Flag. Over in one corner of the field, one can easily overlook the two markers that stand alone. Commemoratives of two fallen Confederate hero's of a bloody battle fought in November of 1863.

One stone commemorates John D. Baxter.

While the stone does not commemorate a grave, it is a marker showing where the individual fell during the battle and died.

At the top of the marker is a photograph of the individual, in Military Dess; and at the bottom is a bronze plaque.

Photograph of John D. Baxter.

Bronze plaque which reads:

JOHN D. BAXTER

THIS MARKS THE SPOT

WHERE JOHN D. BAXTER

ORDERLY SERGEANT CO. F

10TH W.VA. INFT. FELL INSIDE

THE CONFEDERATE LINE

LEADING THE LAST CHARGE

NOVEMBER 6TH 1863.

While John D. Baxter is no relation to me, the atmosphere at this park is one of great reverence for all of the fallen here.

This marker, and one other like it, add a face to the fallen.

Amanuensis Monday - Eloise's Cradle Roll Certificate

CRADLE ROLL CERTIFICATE

This Certifies That

Dorrhy Eloisise Bean

Born Oct 22 1923

Was enrolled a member of the

CRADLE ROLL DEPARTMENT

of the Sourhern Methodist school

of Gap Mills W.Va.

Clara C. Rowan         O.C. Rowan

Date Jan 18 1924    E.A. Wilcher

Died Feb. 14 4a.m.

The above Cradle Roll certificate was for my Dad's sister, who died as an infant following contracting tuberculosis.

Here we see the Cradle Roll lists her in January, and someone added her death date and time just below that.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #35 Wedding

Week #35 – Wedding

Week 35: Weddings. Tell us about your wedding. You may also talk about your future wedding, the wedding of a relative or shape this question to fit your own life experience.

I loved this challenge! To get to talk about our wedding day is always so much fun!

I met the Texican [aka: Johnnie Lee Henry] at a time when God knew to send him into my life. I was literally sick, and dying. I had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and had been given a prognosis of six months to live.

My eldest child was 17. My youngest was 12.

I had not prayed to have healing from the cancer. But I did pray that God would simply let me finish the job of raising my five children. As I was raising them totally alone. [Their father decided after fifteen years of marriage, when the youngest was only 5, that he needed to go "find himself". And he left. Never returning.]

I was literally at the lowest point in my life when Texican showed up. We were penpals first. Then phone friends. But when we came to face to face, well... we've seldom been apart since!

I was 38, and he was 48. And on Christmas Day 1997 he gave me an engagement ring. I promptly said "I will!". [Okay... so that's a lie! I wanted to say "yes" when he asked me to marry him. But I felt I couldn't saddle any man with a wife that was dying, and leaving him with five teenagers to care for! He wouldn't let it go. Telling me he loved me, and he wanted any amount of time left with me. And the kids? He wanted a family of his own. Here he got it. So, after a couple of weeks... I simply gave in! I think it was the meds... or maybe it truly was that I loved him, and I knew, deep down inside, that I needed him!]

We set the date for Friday, February 27, 1998. We were simply going to elope. But before we knew it, we'd told not only the kids, but my sister, and my parents. I, of course, told me best friend. So, we talked to a minister in Covington, Virginia and we headed there for a small, family only ceremony. Well, we ended up with three of the children in attendance [2 were away in school], my parents, my sister and her husband, her daughter and son-in-law, and my good friend Leslie. For a grand total of 9 attendees.

We were all at the church waiting for the minister to show up.

We waited forty-five minutes. And he still wasn't there!

Finally Texican called him. The minister had thought it was a gag! He had talked to me on the phone and took my appointment seriously, until I had told him our names. And then simply erased it from his date book, thinking it was a prank! I mean, I can't imagine why???

A marriage between Cyndi BEANE and John HENRY??? How could that even remotely be conceived as a prank? [tee-hee]

My sister's son-in-law video-taped the ceremony for us. While my sister took still photo's. The three children who were home stood up with us as witnesses.

I did wear an ivory tea dress, and my sister made me a veil.

It was a celebration. Of life anew. For both of us.

Our Wedding

On the far left is son Mike, son Chris, the minister [from the back] Rev. Jackie Hollowell, Texican, me, and daughter, Texichick. You can just make out my parents, and my niece seated in the second pew.

 

Immediately following the ceremony, we left for a week long honeymoon in the Natural Bridge area of Virginia. We also visited the two children who were away in school and unable to attend the wedding.

Miraculously, shortly after we were married, x-rays revealed a dramatic change in the lung cancer. A biopsy confirmed that all that remained was scar tissue!

I have since undergone several biopsy tests, and none have revealed anything more than scarring.

I like to tell everyone that love healed me, and broke the bonds that cancer held on me. Love. A higher power. A miracle. My wedding wrought a change that made me a stronger woman. One that I know can survive anything this life puts before me.

And that's one reason why I love to talk about my wedding.  It was a simple affair. No great music was played. No cathedral in which we stood. No designer gown was worn. But love wrought a change in two people's lives.

We will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary this coming February. And we have so much to celebrate!

Surname Saturday - Bonderant

GENERATION 1

1.

Cynthia Ann BEANE was born in New Albany, Floyd Co., IN. She was the daughter

of 2. Walter Maxwell BEANE and 3. Lois Velleda DREHER. She married Johnnie Lee HENRY in Covington, Alleghany Co., VA, son of Joseph Wright HENRY and Betty Louise Rotge. He

was born in San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX.



GENERATION 2

2.

Walter Maxwell BEANE was born in Waiteville, Monroe County, WV. He was the

son of 4. John Monroe BEAN and 5. Mary Elizabeth FAUDREE. He married Lois Velleda DREHER

in Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

3.

Lois Velleda DREHER was born in Georgetown, FLoyd Co., IN. She was the daughter

of 6. Henry Condar DREHER Jr. and 7. Irene Caroline BANET.



GENERATION 3

4.

John Monroe BEAN was born on 15 Dec 1866 in Cincinatti, Ohio. He died on 10 Apr 1954 in

Waiteville, Monroe Co., WV. He was the son of 8. William McHarvey BEAN and 9. Margaret Smith

PERKINS. He married Mary Elizabeth FAUDREE in Alleghany County, Virginia.
5. Mary Elizabeth FAUDREE was born on 03 June 1897 in Sweet Springs, Monroe County, West Virginia/ SHe was the daughter of Stepehen Ledford FAUDREE and Elizabeth CARNEFIX.



GENERATION 4
.

8.

William McHarvey BEAN was born on 26 Aug 1832 in Dropping Lick, Near Zenith, Monroe Co, VA.

He died on 14 May 1890 in Gap Mills, Monroe Co, WV. He was the son of 16. William M. BEAN and

17. Rachel WISEMAN. He married Margaret Smith PERKINS on 26 Aug 1852 in Monroe County,

Virginia.

9.

Margaret Smith PERKINS was born 03 Mar 1826 in Greenbrier County, Virginia. She died 11 Jun

1891 in Monroe County, West Virginia. She was the daughter of 18. Samuel PERKINS and 19.

Elizabeth TUCKWILLER.



GENERATION 5

18.

Samuel PERKINS was born on 21 Apr 1778 in Virginia. He died on 19 Jan 1854 in Fort Springs,

Greenbrier, Virginia. He was the son of 36. James PERKINS and 37. Elizabeth BONDERANT. He

married Elizabeth TUCKWILLER on 15 Sep 1812 in Greenbrier County, Virginia.

19.

Elizabeth TUCKWILLER was born 08 Nov 1779 in Greenbrier County, Virginia. She died 28 Jul 1867

in Greenbrier County, Virginia. She was the daughter of 38. John TUCKWILLER and 39. Catherine

RIFFE.



GENERATION 6

36.

James PERKINS was born on 21 Nov 1741. He died on 25 Mar 1825 in Greenbrier County, Virginia.

He was the son of 72. John PERKINS and 73. Mary UNKNOWN. He married Elizabeth BONDERANT

in 1768 in Washington.

37. Elizabeth BONDERANT. She died 1832.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Granny Had An Owl (or Two!)

Granny was born Irene Caroline Banet on 24 May 1906 in Indiana to Francis Isidore Banet  and  Adeline Josephine Eve.

Granny married Grandpa, Henry Condar Dreher, Jr. [1902-1977] on 12 Dec 1923 in Indiana.

The couple had five children: Ethel, Art, Marion, Billy, and Lois.

Sadly, Grandpa died in 1977. A year later Granny came to live with our family in West Virginia. She moved into a small house trailer that my [first] husband and I had bought when we were married in 1975. A tiny home, but Granny made it seem warm and inviting, and often entertained guests, even out of town guests! How I've yet to figure out, but Granny was talented that way!

As she was getting older, her eyesight began to fade from cataracts. Mom tried to interest her in something small to collect, as it was getting more and more difficult for her to see to do the needlework she'd always done. Somehow, an owl collection began. When Granny passed away in 1989, she left behind hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny little owls statuettes. Each family member was given one.

I chose a very simple one that came from Mexico.

This diminutive fellow stands a mere 1-1/2 inches tall. His eyes are mere dots of black onyx! He sits patiently watching my family's going to and fro from a shelf on the china hutch, amongst a forest of crystal goblets.

Each time I see this wise sage, I am reminded of the love we shared with Granny. A simple country woman that wise in oh so many ways!

Wordless Wednesday....Cemetery Hunting 2009

Tombstone Tuesday - Virginia Kessinger Norman

Virginia M.

Wife of

Chas. P. Norman

Died

Jun*****

[the rest of stone is illegible].

Virginia M. KESSINGER was born 20 Mar 1865 in Gilmer County, West Virginia to Wilson KESINGER and Sarah BEAN.

Virginia married Charles P. NORMAN [b. 1858] on 20 Nov 1879 in Gilmer County, at the age of just 14. One year later, on 13 Nov 1880 she had a son, Wirt. P. NORMAN.

The tombstone above shows her date of death as "Jun", which is as far as is legible. We would presume this means she died in June. And Fannie Beane in "William Beane and His Family of Monroe County, West Virginia" lists her date of death as 03 Jun 1881. However, death records, both the original handwritten, and a typed index, in the county, show her date of death as 15 Apr 1883. It also shows her name as "Lina" [most likely a nickname].

Virginia is buried on the old Kessinger family farm located in Gilmer County, WV.

Matrilineal Monday...Past My Mother

My Mother is such a doll! In 1995 at the age of 57 she suffered a brain aneurysm that has kept her physically incapacitated, mentally robbed her of her more cognible skills and thoughts. Through it all, she has kept the sweetest of dispositions. She is seldom without a smile. And her only thoughts are of her Savior and loving her family as muh as she can with whatever time she has left upon this earth.

This post is for my "Mommy", and all of my grand-Mommy's who came before her!

Cynthia Ann BEANE   was born in New Albany, Floyd Co., IN. She was the daughter of 2. Walter Maxwell BEANE and 3. Lois Velleda DREHER. She married Johnnie Lee HENRY in Covington, Alleghany Co., VA, son of Joseph Wright HENRY and Betty Louise Rotge. He was born in San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX.

Lois Velleda DREHER

was born in Georgetown, FLoyd Co., IN. She was the daughter of 6. Henry Condar DREHER Jr. and 7. Irene Caroline BANET. She married Walter Maxwell BEANE in Presidio, San Francisco, CA, son of John Monroe Bean, Sr. and Mary ELizabeth Faudree.

Irene Caroline BANET was born 24 May 1906 in Indiana. She died 08 Aug 1989 in Gap Mills, Monroe Co., WV. She was the daughter of 14. Francis Isidore Banet and 15. Adeline Josephine EVE. She married Henry Condar Dreher, Jr. in Georgetown, Floyd, IN. Son of Henry Condar Dreher, Sr. and Sophie Josephine Benzel.

Adeline Josephine EVE

was born 11 Feb 1867 in Indiana. She died 05 Nov 1958 in Indiana. She was the daughter of 30. Joseph EVE and 31. Annette. She married Francis Isadore Banet in Indiana. Son of Isadore Banet and Rosalie Sprigler.

Annette was born 12 Feb 1840 in Indiana. She died 01 May 1870 in Indiana. She married Joseph Eve in Indiana.

So, this IS my matrilineal line as far back as we have been able to trace to date. Following the mother's, I go back to Annette, whose parents we do not know. It's quite the story! And I look forward to one day finding more of this line!

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #34 - Smells

Week #34 – Smells

Week 34: Smells. Describe any smells that take you back to childhood. These could be from meals, fragrant gardens, musty basements, or something entirely different.

***

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants.

I am so happy about this challenge! It is one that I simply love! The idea that a smell, an aroma, can take us back to a place or a time that means something to us. Good or bad.

I suppose the number one smell that can take me right back to my childhood is the smell of bacon frying in a pan on a woodstove.

If you've ever smelled that distinct aroma, you'll know what I mean! It simply isn't the same smell when it is being cooked on an electric range!

As a youngster, both of my Grandmother's cooked on a woodstove. As I got a little older, Grandma Dreher got a gas, and then an electric stove. But at Grandma Beane's house, the smell of bacon frying was always on a woodstove!

As a teenager, we moved from the city to the country, and one of the first things Mama bought was a wood-burning cookstove. How well I remember the smell of bacon frying on a Saturday morning! [Mama didn't cook breakfast except on weekends, as we ate cold cereal the rest of the time. And Sunday mornings were a busy time at our house. Everyone getting ready for Sunday school and church!]

So, those smells take me back to slow, lazy Saturday mornings, when breakfast was more of a brunch than an early morning thing. There would be crispty fried bacon, eggs fried to perfection, biscuits hot from the oven, fresh churned butter, grape or damson plum preserves, or if we were lucky - apple butter with lots of cinnamon! And of course, at Grandma's house, there was always ice cold milk! [My Mama raised us on powdered milk - something I despise to this day! Yuck!]

Occasionally we'd take a trip to my Aunt Veda's in Bumpass, Virginia. Aunt Veda was a "gourmet" of country cooking. [She was the Paula Deen of the time to her community and family!] She made the best breakfast's in the world! She had the bacon, but also sausage, and ham slices! And for the menfolks, there were also ham steaks, big ol' thick slabs of ham cut into steaks! And instead of the regular brown or cream gravy most of us usually got at home, Aunt Veda made red-eye gravy from the ham. [You have to have eaten red-eye gravy to know it's allure! But it's a delicacy , especially in the south. And Aunt Veda and Uncle Melvin lived right in the heart of the pre-Civil War plantations!] To sit down at a breakfast at Aunt Veda's table, was equivalent to sitting down to a breakfast at a big ol' southern plantation prior to the Civil War. The table literally groaning with food, you simply wouldn't know where to start first when it came to eating!

Another smell that can take me back...the smell of laundry hanging on a breezy spring day on the clothesline! A little bit pungent from the use of bleach, but fresh and clean as only linens can smell when hanging on the line! Oh, I used to take great pride in hanging the laundry for my Mama. It was one of the first grown up chores I got to do! I was tall for my age, and could easily hang the sheets and towels without letting them touch the ground! Mama taught me to fold the wet things from the washing machine just so, so that when I went to hang them on the line they would go up without any problems. And living in the city, Mama had a certain way about hanging those delicate items that ladies didn't want seen by all the neighbors! Since we had neighbors to the sides and behind us, underclothes and lingerie was to be hanged between the rows of other longer garments or sheets! So brassieres, panties, undershorts, petticoats and slips, as well as nighties, were hung in the center lines, while sheets always went to the outer lines to hide what was behind them. [It was a bit more of a genteel time!]

And one last smell for this assignment. That of yeast rolls rising! Neither of my Grandmother's, nor my Mama made yeast rolls. But my Aunt Mildred did [Aunt Mildred is my Daddy's brother's wife.] Aunt Mildred, thankfully, is still with us, although she is now 87 years young! Although it's been years since I have seen her make yeast rolls, the ones she used to make were out of this world! And that scent was pure heaven to me! Before the raised dough ever went into the oven my mouth was watering, and my tummy grumbling!!! We recently had a family reunion, and although she didn't make yeast rolls, Aunt Mildred graced our tables with homemade coconut cream pie! [It's a secret recipe that you couldn't pry from her mind! She absolutely refuses to reveal it! We've even sat in front of her and tried to write it down as she makes it, but somehow... something remains elusive and we can't duplicate it!]

So, here are three of my favorite smells that can transport me back to another time and place. There are of course many more!

The smell of rain coming down in the spring; a cherrywood cigar burning; White Shoulders cologne; spray starch; roasting peanuts; and oh so many more!

What scents can transport you to another time and place?

Sentimental Sunday... Grandma's Madonna

Grandma's Madonna

My Grandma Bean gave me this picture many, many years ago. It's been tucked away in a desk drawer, even folded once and put into a book!

A couple of years ago, I saw a reproduction of this painting on canvas. It gave me the brilliant idea to mount the picture on canvas, and do [oh! gasp!] the unthinkable. I decoupaged the picture to canvas, in hopes it would last, at least through my lifetime!

Grandma was a Methodist, and so the how, or why, she had a paper printing of the Madonna is beyond me. It wasn't a sentimental picture to her, it simply was a pretty picture depicting the mother of Jesus, and she thought I would enjoy having it.

This picture now hangs in my bedroom, where I have started a small collection of Madonna and Madonna and Child pictures. I enjoy the thought of a loving Mother looking over us. And although I am not Catholic, I find the Madonna comforting. Much like the writer in "Beneath The Tuscan Sun", I think of her not as "Mother Mary", but as perhaps, my favorite aunt. So I have an "Aunt Mary" who watches comfortingly over me as I sleep!

Do you have any family treasures that are kept in your bedroom as they bring you comfort or comforting thoughts while you sleep?

What are they?

Surname Saturday - Spahr

GENERATION 1
1.

Cynthia Ann BEANE

was born in New Albany, Floyd Co., IN. She was the daughter

of 2. Walter Maxwell BEANE and 3. Lois Velleda DREHER. She married Johnnie Lee HENRY  in Covington, Alleghany Co., VA, son of Joseph Wright HENRY and Betty Louise Rotge. He

was born in San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX.



GENERATION 2

2. Walter Maxwell BEANE

was born in Waiteville, Monroe County, WV. He was the

son of 4. John Monroe BEAN and 5. Mary Elizabeth FAUDREE. He married Lois Velleda DREHER

in Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

3.

Lois Velleda DREHER was born in Georgetown, FLoyd Co., IN. She was the daughter

of 6. Henry Condar DREHER Jr. and 7. Irene Caroline BANET.





GENERATION 3

4.

John Monroe BEAN was born on 15 Dec 1866 in Cincinatti, Ohio. He died on 10 Apr 1954 in

Waiteville, Monroe Co., WV. He was the son of 8. William McHarvey BEAN and 9. Margaret Smith

PERKINS. He married Blanche Uremia CROSIER on 26 Jun 1895 in Monroe County, West Virginia.

5.

Mary Elizabeth FAUDREE was born 03 June 1897 in Monroe County, West Virginia. She died 01 Jan 1975 in Clifton Forge, Alleghany, Virginia. She was the daughter of Stephen Ledford FAUDREE and

Elizabeth CARNEFIX.





GENERATION 4

10.

Stephen Ledford FAUDREE was born on 08 Jul 1857 in Sweet Springs, Monroe County, Virginia.

He died on 16 Jan 1929 in Sweet Springs, Monroe County, WV. He was the son of 20. Richard C.

FAUDREE and 21. Mary Margaret WICKLINE. He married Elizabeth CARNEFIX on 17 Dec 1878 in

Monroe County, West Virginia.

11.

Elizabeth CARNEFIX was born 08 Jul 1851 in Sweet Springs, Monroe County, WV. She died 22 Jul

1929 in Sweet Springs, Monroe County, WV. She was the daughter of 22. George W. CARNEFIX and

23. Mary Susan DAUGHERTY.





GENERATION 5

20.

Richard C. FAUDREE was born in 1834 in Halifax, VA. He died on 01 Jan 1902 in Sweet Springs,

Monroe County, WV. He was the son of 40. Lewis FAUDREE and 41. Mabelia HALL. He married

Mary Margaret WICKLINE on 28 Oct 1856 in Monroe County, Virginia.

21.

Mary Margaret WICKLINE was born 1831 in Monroe County, Virginia. She was the daughter of 42.

Elijah WICKLINE and 43. Elizabeth Lewis.





GENERATION 6

42.

Elijah WICKLINE was born in 1799 in Monroe County, Virginia. He died on 27 Jun 1879 in Sweet

Springs, Monroe, West Virginia. He was the son of 84. Jacob W. WICKLINE and 85. Catherine

SPARR. He married Elizabeth Lewis on 08 Jan 1821 in Monroe County, Virginia.

43. Elizabeth Lewis was born 1795 in Virginia.





GENERATION 7

84.

Jacob W. WICKLINE was born on 25 May 1750 in Robeson Twp, Berks Co., PA. He died on 26 Dec

1821 in Sweet Springs, Monroe County, VA. He was the son of 168. Johan Georg WICKLINE and

169. Anna Christiana ROTH. He married Catherine SPARR.

85.

Catherine SPARR. She was the daughter of 170. Johan Frederich SPARR and 171. Anna

Margaretha SCHNAEDER.





GENERATION 8

170.

Johan Frederich SPARR was born on 01 Sep 1725 in Waldenburg, Neckar, Wuttemburg, Germany.

He was the son of 340. Johan George SPARR and 341. Maria Catrina KAUFFMAN. He married Anna

Margaretha SCHNAEDER.

171.

Anna Margaretha SCHNAEDER was born 13 Feb 1729 in Switzerland. She died 08 May 1801 in

Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of 342. Johan Christian SCHNAEDER and 343. Susanna

Margaretha UNKNOWN.





GENERATION 9

340.

Johan George SPARR was born in Sitenburg, Schwrz, Wrtt, Germany. He died on 19 Oct 1777 in

Dover, York, PA. He was the son of 680. Hansford Jerg SPAHR and 681. Maria UNKNOWN. He

married Maria Catrina KAUFFMAN.

341.

Maria Catrina KAUFFMAN was born 30 Jan 1703 in Waldenburg, Jagst, Wrtt, Germany. She died 16

Jul 1776 in Dover, York, PA. She was the daughter of 682. Georg Michel KAUFFMAN and 683. Anna

Maria BUHLER.





GENERATION 10

680.

Hansford Jerg SPAHR was born on 16 May 1671 in Altenburg, Schwrz, Wrtt, Germany. He was the

son of 1360. Jakob SPAHR and 1361. Anna Barbara STIBLE. He married Maria UNKNOWN.

681. Maria UNKNOWN was born 12 Jun 1675 in Wuttemburg, Germany.




GENERATION 11

1360.

Jakob SPAHR was born in 1646 in Altenburg, Schwrz, Wrtt, Germany. He was the son of 2720.

Jacob Jerg SPAHR and 2721. Maria KAHRER. He married Anna Barbara STIBLE.

1361.Anna Barbara STIBLE. She was the daughter of 2722. George STIBLE.





GENERATION 12

2720.

Jacob Jerg SPAHR was born in 1616 in Wuttemburg, Germany. He died on 27 Mar 1682 in

Wuttemburg, Germany. He was the son of 5440. Jacob SPAHR. He married Maria KAHRER.

2721.

Maria KAHRER was born 1618 in Wuttemburg, Germany. She died 18 May 1689 in Wuttemburg,

Germany. She was the daughter of 5442. Claus KAHRER.





GENERATION 13

5440.

Jacob SPAHR.

+ 179i.. Jacob Jerg SPAHR was born 1616 in Wuttemburg, Germany, died 27 Mar 1682 in

Wuttemburg, Germany.

5442.

Claus KAHRER.

+ 180i.. Maria KAHRER was born 1618 in Wuttemburg, Germany, died 18 May 1689 in

Wuttemburg, Germany.

Family Recipe Friday - Granny's Creamed Peas

Granny's Creamed Peas

 Granny, born Irene Caroline Banet, was a second generation American. Her father's parents had been born in France. And it was this French country cooking she grew up on. Then she married my Grandfather, who was also a second generation American. However, his heritage was German!

Combine these two distinct forms of cooking and eating, and you have fine cuisine that is often smothered in rich, creamy sauces and gravies!

One of my favorite dishes was Granny's fresh creamed peas. I've tried to make them without using the high fat content which she used, but it simply isn't the same! So, on occasion, I simply have to make creamed peas, just to remind myself what a great food heritage I come from!

Enjoy!!!

Granny's Creamed Peas

serves 6

Ingredients:

1 - quart fresh peas, blanched

2- cups heavy cream

2 - tablespoons cornstarch

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

After peas have been blanched, allow to cool completely before proceeding with directions.

Then, place peas in a medium-sized heavy sauce pan. Add 1-1/2 cups of the cream. Heat thoroughly over medium-low heat [heat slowly so that the cream does not burn].

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix the remainder of the cream [1/2 cup] and the cornstarch, until well combined and smooth in consistency. When peas are heatd completely, pour the cream and cornstarch mixture over all and mix well. Heat until it reaches the consistency you want. [Granny's creamed peas were always very thick!]

Add salt and pepper as desired.

Granny always served this as a side dish, but I have to tell you.... I have made this the main course of my meal many times, by utilizing the peas for my protein source, and pouring the entire mixture over toast or biscuits! Yum!

I've tried making this with just whole milk, or evaporated milk, and the taste is simply not the same. There are some dishes you simply cannot cut the fat and get to taste the same!

1940 Census Will Be Free on Ancestry!

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

1940 U.S. Census to be Free on Ancestry.com

Great news in this announcement written by Ancestry.com:

PROVO, UTAH (August 17, 2011) - Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced that both the images and indexes to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census will be made free to search, browse, and explore in the United States when this important collection commences streaming onto the website in mid-April 2012.

When complete, more than 3.8 million original document images containing 130 million plus records will be available to search by more than 45 fields, including name, gender, race, street address, county and state, and parents’ places of birth. It will be Ancestry.com’s most comprehensively indexed set of historical records to date.

Ancestry.com is committing to make the 1940 Census free from release through to the end of 2013, and by doing so hopes to help more people get started exploring their family history. As this census will be the most recent to be made publicly available, it represents the best chance for those new to family history to make that all-important first discovery.

“The release of the 1940 U.S. Census will be an exciting event for any American interested in learning more about their family history,” said Ancestry.com CEO Tim Sullivan. “By making this hugely important collection free to the public for an extended period, we hope to inspire a whole new generation of Americans to start researching their family history.”

“Ancestry.com is working to make the 1940 Census a truly unique interactive search experience...as well as the starting point to help new users easily get started on the world’s leading online family history resource. After finding that first family connection in the 1940 Census, we believe new users will be able to make amazing discoveries by searching our 7 billion digitized historical records, exploring the 26 million family trees created on Ancestry, and collaborating with our nearly 1.7 million subscribing members. We think that 2012 is going to be a great year of discovery for all family historians.”

Thriller Thursday - Grandpa's Car Accident

The following story is taken directly from my Aunt Rita's memoir's. Aunt Rita was born in 1896. She was the eldest of my Grandpa Bean's fifteen children. I used to love to sit for hours and listen to her talk about the "old days". She was one of the most genteel ladies I had ever known.

" I got home in June. Papa was buying a Ford, he paid $500.00 for it. He took it out one P.M. and thought he knew how to drive. We were going to Aunt Florences for cherries. Lama wanted to go, but Papa made him take the load of lumber to Waiteville and we started for cherries. John and Emmette in the back seat Papa and I in front. We did fine until we got to the toll gate (a pole across the road that one had to pay 10¢ for someone to raise the gate to get under); proceeds used to keep road repaired). Papa forgot how to stop the car, it went under the toll gate taking it with us. That in some way pulled Papa over the back of the seat pulling his foot off the clutch. The car ran up on the bank and turned over, it thru me in a rut that the road scraper had made just enough to keep the seat back from crushing my chest. Papa got out some way, but John, Emmette and I were under it. We had passed a buggy just before the wreck. Roscue Rowan was driving the buggy, he lifted the car off of me. I wasn't hurt, scared to death and bruised. Papa's back was hurt and [he] had to go to the hospital later. He never drove a car again as long as he lived. The top was torn off the car, but no other damage.

Model T Ford

1910 Model

After the car top was repaired, Lama and I went to a tent meeting at Hollywood. We went up a long mountain when we got to the top, the exhaust backfired and we were sure someone was shooting at us."

I remember Aunt Rita telling me this same story. She said that Grandpa was so scared and frightened by the accident that he never drove again. He kept a car for many years, but never got behind the wheel again. By the time my Dad came along, Grandpa continued using a horse for transportation, and by the 1940's, relied heavily on his sons to drive him wherever he needed to go. Grandpa was born in 1866, the year following the Civil War's end. He married first to Aunt Rita's mother in 1895, and they had 3 children before she died with tuberculosis. He next married in 1907, and this time had 9 children. His second wife died, following the birth of the ninth children, due to toxemia. He was now 63 years of age. In 1935 he married my Grandmother. He was now 69, and his new bride was 38. The two went on to have three sons together. The last being born in 1943 when Grandpa was 77 and my Grandma was 46.

Grandpa died in 1954, and my Grandma in 1975. They are both buried at New Zion Union Church Cemetery, in Waiteville, Monroe County, West Virginia.

Wordless Wednesday

*Inspecting a broken stone in a family cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday

SARAH A.

Wife of

W. KESINGER

Born

Apr 25 1819

Died

Oct 26 1894

Sarah A. Bean was born in Monroe County, [West] Virginia to William Bean and his wife, Rachel Wiseman Bean. She was one of 13 children born to the couple.

Sarah married Wilson KESINGER [1819 - 1892] 16 Nov 1840 in Monroe County. The couple had 13 children, 9 of whom were born in Monroe County. One after a brief move to Craig County, Virginia, and three after their move to Gilmer County, where Wilson and Sarah built a farm life for themselves.

Wilson and Sarah's children were:

Calvin [1841-1917]

Rustus [1842-1862]

Elizabeth [b. 1844]

Floyd [1845 - 1927]

Margaret [b 1847]

John [1849-1925]

William [1852 - 1881]

Edwin [1853-1858]

Martha [1856 - 1877]

Ruphena [1857 - 1893]

Oscar [1860 - 1934]

Hulda [1862 - 1936]

Virginia [1865 - 1881]

Several of the children move west to Kansas. In 1894 Sarah made her second trip to Kansas to visit her children. During her return home she stopped in West Virginia to visit a daughter before heading across the hills to her home. Her son Calvin wrote a letter stating she had enjoyed her visit with the grandchildren, eaten a good dinner and went to bed. She died in the night. Her body was carried across the hills to the family farm, where she was layed to rest beside her husband.

Although this photo depicts the stone marking Sarah's grave as broken, current owners of the farm, although not relatd, have restored the gravestones for the Kesinger cemetery on the farm, and built a protective split rail fence around the cemetery to prevent any damage.

Sentimental Sunday....

Henry and Irene [Banet] DREHER

1958

Surname Saturday... Hunsinger

This is one of thos lines in my family tree of which I know absolutely nothing at all! I am hoping that one day the brick wall will come tumbling down, and I wil get a rare glimpse into a past that will introduce me to my ancestors!

GENERATION 1

1.

Cynthia Ann BEANE was born in New Albany, Floyd Co., IN. She was the daughter

of 2. Walter Maxwell BEANE and 3. Lois Velleda DREHER. She married Johnnie Lee HENRY on 27

Feb 1998 in Covington, Alleghany Co., VA, son of Joseph Wright HENRY and Betty Louise Rotge. He

was born in San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX.



GENERATION 2

2.

Walter Maxwell BEANE was born in Waiteville, Monroe County, WV. He was the

son of 4. John Monroe BEAN and 5. Mary Elizabeth FAUDREE. He married Lois Velleda DREHER

on 12 Dec 1958 in Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

3.

Lois Velleda DREHER was bornin Georgetown, FLoyd Co., IN. She was the daughter

of 6. Henry Condar DREHER Jr. and 7. Irene Caroline BANET.





GENERATION 3

6.

Henry Condar DREHER Jr. was born on 31 Dec 1902 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. He died on

17 May 1977 in Indiana. He was the son of 12. Henry Condar DREHER and 13. Josephine Sophie

Benzel. He married Irene Caroline BANET on 12 Dec 1923 in Indiana.

7.

Irene Caroline BANET was born 24 May 1906 in Indiana. She died 08 Aug 1989 in Gap Mills,

Monroe Co., WV. She was the daughter of 14. Francis Isidore Banet and 15. Adeline Josephine EVE.





GENERATION 4

12.

Henry Condar DREHER was born on 15 Jan 1863 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. He died on 29

Jan 1925 in Louisville, Jefferson Kentucky. He was the son of 24. Gottlieb DREHER and 25. Sarah

HUNSINGER. He married Josephine Sophie Benzel on 11 Aug 1884.

13.

Josephine Sophie Benzel was born 21 Jul 1865 in Indiana. She died 12 Dec 1932 in Louisville,

Jefferson, KY. She was the daughter of 26. John Benzel and 27. Wilhelmina Lambrecht.





GENERATION 5

24.

Gottlieb DREHER was born in 1827 in Baden, Germany. He died in Jan 1893 in Jefferson County,

Kentucky. He married Sarah HUNSINGER.

25.

Sarah HUNSINGER was born 1829 in Alsace, Germany. She died 15 Sep 1900 in Louisville,

Jefferson, Kentucky.