Forgotten Neighborhood Found

Most genealogists are aware that in exactly one month the 1950 U.S. Federal Census will be released to the public (April 1, 2022). Per the Census Bureau, each census is released 72 years after it was taken. Not only is it fun to find family members in the census, there are usually amazing nuggets of information waiting to be uncovered.

Last week my local genealogy society, Marin County Genealogical Society, was lucky to have Stephen Morse present “Getting Ready for the 1950 Census: Searching with and without a Name Index”. It was an excellent presentation. You can view a video of the presentation under the Recorded Lectures page at the One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse site.

As Steve Morse explains in the video, in order to browse the 1950 Census images when they are released, we will need to know where our family lived and the Enumeration District (ED) that address belongs to. The One Step website is the place to go once you have an address. It has an amazing tool that decodes the Enumeration District number. There are several other tools including the ED descriptions and ED maps.

The ED Maps helped me to find a forgotten neighborhood!

I know my grandparents were married a couple of months after the 1950 Census was taken. My grandmother told me the story of how she was set up on a blind date with my grandfather while they were both living in Wichita, Kansas. This story helped me to find City Directory entries for both of my grandparents in 1949 in Wichita.

Polk’s Wichita (Sedgwick County, Kansas) City Directory 1949
Polk’s Wichita (Sedgwick County, Kansas) City Directory 1949

My Grandma’s address worked like a charm in the One Step ED Finder page. It gave me three possible ED numbers. Using the ED descriptions, I was able to narrow this down to the correct Enumeration District.

My Grandpa’s address was a little tricky and led to the discovery of a lost neighborhood. 303 Beechwood Drive does not exist today in Wichita, Kansas. I tried to use street name change websites to identify the street. Bust! My next step was to google the address. Bingo! I found an article and audio file from KMUW89.1 (Wichita Public Radio) titled “Wichita’s Forgotten Neighborhoods“. Time to learn some local Wichita history!

During WWII, temporary housing was created in Wichita to house the many workers at the aircraft factories in the city. Two of the three neighborhoods still exist. The third neighborhood was Beechwood. Five hundred housing units were created. There were approximately 1000 people living in the neighborhood at the time my grandfather lived there. It was dismantled in 1951 and turned into a “grassy area”. Google Maps indicates there is now a YMCA and office buildings in the former neighborhood. There seems to still be large grassy areas between the buildings.

Once I had this new information, I used the description of Beechwood’s location in the news article and matched it up to the Enumeration Maps. The first map I pulled up was for the city of Wichita. I was excited to see the name Beechwood in the area I was looking for. It is marked with a yellow arrow below.

Since Beechwood fell outside of city lines, I next pulled up the Enumeration Map for the county of Sedgwick, Kanas

Beechwood falls into the yellow box to the East of Wichita. This reads 87-40 to 87-43 (ED numbers) See Urban Fringe Map For Detail. This led me to the map that identifies the Enumeration District I need to find my grandfather in the 1950 census.

Wichita is still heavily involved with the aviation industry. Textron, Learjet, Airbus, Boeing, the US Airforce and Beechcraft all have a presence in Wichita today. There are 3 airports within today’s city limits. The Beechcraft Airport in the above image is now called the Beech Factory Airport, honoring its roots as several aviation companies are located there.

It was so much fun to find more information about my family, the places they lived, and the forgotten neighborhood of Beechwood as I was prepping for the 1950 Census. I am excited to find the 1950 Census entry for my Grandpa. Browsing the images will hopefully paint a better picture of who was living in the neighborhood and what their lives were like.

A huge THANK YOU to Stephen Morse and Joel Weintraub for all the work they do at the One Step webpages. I would not have been able to find all of this without the amazing tools they have created.

Weather Has Always Been A Topic Of Conversation

This past summer my mom gave me several more family history related items.  There is an undated letter addressed to my mom from her paternal Grandmother (Effie Bender Lawbaugh).  The half sheet of paper is hand written on both sides of the paper.  My best guess for dating the letter is the  late 1960’s to the early 1970’s.

There are several references to other family members is the letter.  The first is to Uncle Ben (Effie’s brother).  The second is a more vague reference to “your Uncle”.  I believe this is one of my mom’s maternal uncles who lived just east of a town that is mentioned.

The focus of the letter is the non stop rain/tornadoes in Kansas and the resulting flooding.  It may have made national news with the way my mom’s Grandmother is talking about it.  The towns that are mentioned are all in the middle of Kansas generally North and West of Wichita.

I apologize for the long transcription.  I think it is important to include exactly how the letter is written to get a feel for the whole thing. The spacing and line break also tell a story. Here is a transcription of the letter:

Dear Sheryl –

I know you all been reading

about the tornados we have been

having. there were 24 tornados in

the last 2 day –  cause cold air from

the North + hot air from the gulf –

there has been 5 to 10 ins. of rain in

all parts off the State all rivers are

flooding in every part of state

been raining for 48 hrs – or more

Little River was hit bad and

North I think you Uncle lives

just North of Little River. been

trying to get Uncle Ben but

phones all down, he lives just

2 blocks west of the Post Office –

don’t know if they are in trouble

 

or not  – Rice County was hit

the hardest of all – but they

had tornados in all parts of

state.  Not going to Eugenia

for a while, hope you and

friend could come out love

to have you.  Janice is home

not got a job.

 

the river behind your house

at Pratt – is all under water

not heard but probly.  got in

your house again.  I’ll always

call it your house

just a note to tell you about the

Kansas storm in last 2 days still

Raining =  all my love

Grandmother

Wedding Wednesday – William Lawbaugh and Lydia Ummel

I mentioned in my post Following A Shiny Star Into A Genealogy Blackhole that I had found the marriage of William Lawbaugh and Lydia Ummel on FamilySearch.org.

"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZDK-72B : accessed 11 March 2015), William Lawbaugh and Lydia Umel, 22 Nov 1849; citing Wayne, Ohio, United States, reference 430; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 425,754.
“Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZDK-72B : accessed 11 March 2015), William Lawbaugh and Lydia Umel, 22 Nov 1849; citing Wayne, Ohio, United States, reference 430; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 425,754.

William Lawbaugh to Lydia Ummel

The state of Ohio Wayne County SS.  I hereby certify that on the 22nd day of November AD 1849 Mr William Lawbaugh and miss Lydia Ummel were legally joined in marriage by me a teaching Elder in the church ????  ???? my hand this 22nd day of November 1849.  Samuel N Miller

Rest In Peace Grandma

This past Wednesday, January 31, 2014, my grandmother, Roberta Fleming passed away peacefully with her family around her.

She was known by many names including Mom, Grandma, Aunt Roberta, Birdie, and the Silver Fox.  A couple of years ago when my children, her great-grandchildren, were born we added another name, Gigi.  It was her short hand for Great Grandmother.  She wanted a fun grandma name.

Roberta Mitchell baby
Roberta Irene Mitchell

 

My grandmother was born Roberta Irene Mitchell to Dudley Moses Mitchell and Opal Blanche Strickler on January 10, 1931 in Topeka, Kansas.  She was the youngest of five children with one older sister, Loretta, and three older brothers, Raymond, Delbert, and Kenneth.

Her family moved to Hutchinson, Kansas during the Depression. Grandma stayed there until she attended X-Ray Technician school in Topeka, Kansas.  While at school, she met my grandfather, William Henry Lawbaugh.  They married in 1950.  The couple starting raising their family in Pratt, Kansas with their first three children.  They relocated to the Anaheim, California area in the late 1950’s.  There they added to the family a set of twins.  In 1964, Bill Lawbaugh passed away leaving his wife with 5 children.  Roberta went to work to provide for her family.

Roberta and Bill
Roberta and Bill Lawbaugh

 

In 1973, Roberta married James Fleming.  They joined their families Brady Bunch style, five from her side in addition to the four children Jim had. They lived in several cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. I have many memories from my childhood of them being together.  In fact, I learned how to swim in their pool when they lived in Downey, California.  After their time in Downey, they moved to the desert, living in the Cochella Valley.

Roberta and Jim
Jim and Roberta Fleming

 

After Jim Fleming passed away in 1994, Grandma moved back to the beach.  She loved the ocean and was at home in San Clemente, California.  This was during my college years in San Diego.  At least once a month I would make the 45 minute drive north to spend the weekend with her.  We had so much fun together!

All of the facts above do not capture the entire picture.  My grandma was fun and feisty.  She LOVED her children.  It would not be a complete day without a Crown Royal and cigarette, even her dog enjoyed cocktail hour with a piece of ice.  Her house was never quiet, either the news channel was on the TV or she was playing her beloved big band music.  She loved to dance.  Our family has the great memory of dancing the night away at my cousin’s wedding this past summer.  While she was not interested in researching her family herself, she was always willing to tell me stories of her childhood and what she remembered of others in her family. Grandma was a horrendous driver.  We were always offering to chauffeur her places.  She was an avid Bridge player.  The drawer of her coffee table has many sets of playing cards and bridge score sheets.  Grandma was very neat and clean.  You were always careful to make your bed and clean up after yourself at her home.  Most of all Grandma loved being with her family.  Holidays were always big affairs with lots of food and football.  Most Sundays were spent with family on the beach.  The beach was a slice of heaven for my grandma.

Roberta 80th

I could go on and on.  She is going to be so greatly missed.  I have to take comfort in how she taught us all to be a family.  I know that although she is no longer at the head of the family, we have each other.

I love you grandma!

 

Tombstone Tuesday – William Henry Lawbaugh

Last week my family took a second trip to Southern California this summer.  Since we had visited my paternal grandfather’s grave on the last trip, I made a point to stop at my maternal grandfather’s grave this time around.  Even though I have driven past the area many times, I had never been to the cemetery before.

I am so happy we took the time to stop and pay our respects.  Not only did I get the chance to tell my children stories about their great-grandfather, I also took a picture to post to Findagrave.com.

Lawbaugh william gravestone

 

When we arrived at my grandmother’s house and I told her we had visited Bill’s grave, the stories started.  I learned my grandparents met when my grandpa was at X-Ray Technician school in Wichita, Kansas.  One of her friends in the dorm, Dee Dee, was dating a man who worked for my grandfather.  Dee Dee set them up.

The night of their first date my grandmother was very sick but decided to go out anyways.  She walked to the lobby of the dorm to meet my grandfather for the very first time.  When she saw him, her heart jumped into her throat.  The next morning the school called my great-grandmother to the school because my grandmother was so sick.  When my grandma woke up and saw her mother she said, “I met the man I am going to marry!” My great-grandmother thought it was just the illness talking but sure enough a year later my grandparents married.  The rest is history!

Follow Friday – Geneseo Public Library, Henry County, Illinois

About 1853 my 4th great-grandparents, John and Margaret Lawbaugh, migrated West from Ohio to Illinois.  They and many of their children settled in and around Geneseo, Illinois.  My 2nd great-grandfather, William Henry Lawbaugh was the next ancestor to leave the area in the late 1880’s.  I have a lot of research I want to do in this town!

I recently found myself at the Geneseo Public Library website.  I will admit I was having a random genealogy tangent moment and was not planning to check this website.  I have been here before and seen the extensive listing of genealogy materials the library holds.  I would love to take a genealogy vacation and hole up in the library to comb the materials.

This time I visited the website, I noticed a link to “digitized local newspaper.”  There are ten city and county newspapers that have been digitized and posted to the website.  The newspapers span 1856-1977!  The best part is that the database is searchable!

I did a search for my family using just the surname Lawbaugh.  The results page includes 211 hits from three newspapers over a 100 year period.  I am so excited about all the research I have on my to-do list!!

If anyone has ancestors from Geneseo, Illinois, I highly suggest visiting the Geneseo Public Library website and taking full advantage of the great resources there.

Sunday’s Obituary – Sarah J Morris

Sarah Morris is my 3rd great-grandmother.

Me to Sarah J Morris

 

She is another ancestor that I really do not know much about.  I found her obituary at the Kansas State Archives on my trip to Kansas last month.  I feel really lucky to have another great obituary in the paper to learn more about my ancestor.  Along with a lot of personal information about Sarah, the obituary has great descriptions of the grief of the family.

Hudson, Sarah obit

 

Mrs. Sarah J Hudson

Another of La Cygne’s good mothers has passed from this world to her home in heaven.  A family that she has tenderly cared for and nursed to manhood and womanhood is now deep in grief.  The old home that has been one continued pleasure for more than a quarter of a century with a good mother presiding over it is now stilled in the sadness that death brings.

Last Monday afternoon the spirit of Sarah J. wife of Frederick Hudson, departed this life and went to claim the reward in heaven that is promised to all good women.   Mrs. Hudson had been in poor health for some time and while it really could be no surprise that the silver cord of life should sever at the ripe old age the deceased had attained, yet even with that possibility the friends and relatives were unprepared to meet the crisis.  To take  from the home the mother who has been its guardian for so many years is something that is hard to temper the heart to forego.

Sarah J. Morris was born in Pike county, Illinois, August 6, 1835; she was married to Frederick Hudson December 30, 1855 and they removed to Kansas the winter of 1880 where they have resided ever since.  In the sixteenth year of her life the deceased joined the Christian church and has been a worker for the Lord ever since.  She leaves a husband, and seven children who are W.B. Hudson of Kansas City, Mrs. W.H. Lawbaugh of Wellington, Kansas, Mrs. F.H.  Howard, Mrs. Chas. Moore, Mrs. L. H. Hetzer, and Ralph and George Hudson all of this place to mourn her death.  Two brothers, Samuel Morris of Dallas, Texas and Geo. Morris of Pittsburgh, Kansas also survive.

Funeral services were held at the family home in the south part of town on Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock by Elder R.A. Odenweller of Pleasanton.  His remarks were very beautiful and he pictured the kind and loving woman who had fought life’s battles to the end and through it all maintained a sweet friendship for all.  After the ceremony at the home the large concourse of grief stricken friends interred the body of the departed on in the Oak Lawn cemetery.

 The La Cygne Weekly Journal, La Cygne, Kansas, 8 April 1904, Page 1, Column 3

Sunday’s Obituary – Frederick Hudson of La Cygne, Kansas

Frederick Hudson is my 3rd great grand father on my maternal side.

Sierra 3rd Great Grandpa

I found this obituary at the Kansas State Archives last weekend.  I was so excited to find an obituary that offered so much information!  Definitely another dancing at the microfilm reader moment.  You know you are among friends when other researchers do not look at you funny but instead smile at your victory dance.  My favorite part of the obituary is the description of the moments when Fred passed away.  La Cygne is pronounced La Scene.  Thank you to my Kansas cousins for teaching me this!!

 

Old Citizen Passes Away

Fred Hudson died at his home in the south part of town Tuesday evening.  He had been a resident of La Cygne since 1880 and had an active part in building the town.  Bricklayer and plasterer by trade, soon after coming here he started a brick yard and began manufacturing brick.  Most of the brick buildings in town are built with the Hudson brick.  Because of failing health Mr. Hudson quit active work several years ago.

Frederick Hudson was born in Scalford, Leicestershire, England, August 22, 1834, and died in La Cygne, Kan., May 22, 1923, at the age of 88 years and 9 months.

When about nine years of age he came with his parents to America, making the voyage in a sail ship.  Landing at New Orleans he traveled up the Mississippi River to Illinois, where he grew to manhood and worked with his father at the bricklaying and plastering trade which he followed so many years.

He was married to Sarah G Morris at Milton, Ill., on December 30, 1855.  To this union were born ten children, four of whom are still living and were with him when the end came.  With his family he moved to La Cygne, January 1, 1880 and since the death of his wife, 19 years ago he has made his home with his son Ralph and family who have cared for him so devotedly, sparing no pains to make his life as pleasant as it was possible to do.  Two or three years ago he suffered a stroke of paralysis but recovered sufficiently to be around most of the time, until last Friday morning when he had a serious attack and never fully regained consciousness.  He made a confession of religion in his early manhood and later united with the Christian church at La Cygne during Rev. Irwin’s meetings several years ago and was one of the deacons of the church for some time, but owing to his age and failing health he had not been very active in church work in late years.

He was an honest, upright citizen, honorable in all his dealings, a good neighbor, a devoted husband, a kind and loving father and a friend to those in need.  He bore his sufferings patiently with never a murmur or complaint, and after a life of usefulness he passed peacefully away just as the sun was sinking to rest, and when the spirit was taking its flight he quietly laid his hands down as though he had finished his work and passed to his reward.  His wife and two sons, W.B. and George H., and one daughter, Mrs. Belle Howard preceded him in death several years ago; also three children died in infancy.

He leaves one son, Ralph, of La Cygne; three daughters, Mrs. Clem Lawbaugh of Wellington, Mrs. Minnie Hetzer and Mrs. Sytha Moore of Parker, eighteen grand children, eight great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends to mourn his loss.

Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Boyer at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Hudson and the body was laid to rest in Oak LawnCemetery.

Those from out of town for the funeral were: Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Moore and children and Mr. and Mrs. L.H. Hetzer of Parker; Mrs Clem Lawbaugh and son of Wellington; Mrs. Ida Hudson, Mrs, Irvin Wagner and Mrs. Hazel Smith of Kansas City; Fred Moore of Miami Station, Mo.

KansasState Archives
Microfilm L20: La Cygne Journal, July 1, 1921-June 27, 1924
The La Cygne Journal, La Cygne, Kansas
Friday, 25 May 1923
Page 2, column 1

 

 

Genealogy Jackpot!

In the middle of April I traveled to Northern Virginia to visit with my parents.  While there, I made a deal that I would help my mom with some computer issues and in return she would watch my kids for a day so I could visit the Daughters of the American Revolution Library.

For me, the day spent in the library was like riding a rainbow and finding the jackpot of genealogy gold at the other end.   I arrived with a four page list of books I wanted to look at.  All day I was making finds and shoring up research I have already completed.  I would have been happy with the information I found in the first five hours of the day.  I had no idea the day was going to get even better.

I wanted to end the day with further research on my Lawbaugh line.  As part of my research I have already checked online trees to get clues where I needed to look.  I had a feeling that I could connect my Lawbaughs via Kansas, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania to Johannes Laubach.  Even with the online information, I want to conduct my own research for originals to prove my hypothesis.  I currently have research completed for my line up to William Lawbaugh (1823-1896) m. Lydia Ummel.  I have collected death certificates, obituaries, and cemetery information for the family.  My research log has finding marriage and birth information for both of them next on the list.

The jackpot moment at DAR came just after 3pm.  I made my way over to the Seimes Technology Center to look up a book called “An Ancestor To Remember: Johannes Laubach (Labach-Lawbaugh 1728-1808) of Chester County, Penna.” by Mrs. William T. Alston.  I had found the book in the online catalog during my pre-visit research.  The librarian in the room helped me to find the scanned book in the digital collection.  She was concerned because I had under an hour left in the day to get through an 170 page book.  I was almost immediately excited because the index listed names in order of descendent and the page numbers they would be found on.  I quickly found my William Lawbaugh and realized I only needed to get through the first 55 pages of the book.  I started hitting the print button on each page in case I ran out of time.  I plan on going back and looking at the rest of the book on another visit.

I had a couple of moments where I had to shut my mouth to not scream in delight.  Instead I was punching my fists into the air like a boxer with a punching bag!  Not only did this book list my William Lawbaugh and his direct line to Johannes Laubach, it also included his descendants including my mother! There are lots of photos of important cemetery markers and photocopies of church records. The most important is the author included her sources.  I have a road map to follow on my own research!

It still gets even better.  The reference librarian was scanning the pages I was printing and  mentioned to me that I should run back over to the Library room to pull a book by Stassburger/Hinke.  The book was listed as one of the author’s sources for date of arrival in Pennsylvania.  With just 15 minutes before closing, I rushed back over and went straight to the reference librarian to get assistance to find the book.  As I quickly flipped to the pages for my ancestor Johannes Laubach, I realized that this book contained signatures of people who arrived in the British Colonies from Germany.  Upon arriving in the British Colonies, passengers were required to sign an oath to England and an oath of abjuration for Germany.

I have the signature of my ancestor who was born in 1728 and arrived in Pennsylvania on the Two Brothers on September 15, 1748!!!  Holy Genealogy Jackpot!!  Even now, a month later, I am giddy with excitement about this find.  I have to give a huge shout out to the librarians at the DAR Library.  I would have missed this jackpot if they were not so knowledgeable about the library collections. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Laubach signature