Tombstone Tuesday William Haley and Clara Holt

This is the tombstone for William Henry Haley and Clara Holt Haley. They are buried at New Hope UMC in Randolph, VA. Interestingly enough, William's birth date is incorrect. He was born in 1861, not 1860. I base this on the information he provided on his marriage registration and on the information from his death certificate.

An Update on William H Haley

I have spent most of my genealogy time lately researching my Haley line of Halifax County, VA. My great-great grandfather William Henry Haley (1861-1948) has presented me with many mysteries. (See my first post on William here .) Sounds better than brick walls, doesn't it? Well, I've made a little progress and thought I'd share what I have so far.

The information William provided on his marriage registration in 1883 stated his parents as S C Haley and Mary A (not Margaret as I originally thought). I then ordered a copy of William's death certificate in hopes of learning more definitively who his parents were. According to the death certificate, his parents were "Kays [Case] Haley" and "Ann Triplet" both of Halifax County, VA. This information was provided by William's son-in-law George Nichols, husband of Daisy Haley. Putting these two pieces of information together along side the Halifax County census records for 1860-1880 I concluded that S C Haley was likely Stephen C [Case] Haley married to Mary A [Ann] Tribble. I believe Ann Triplett was actually Ann Tribble. S C Haley and his wife lived next door and close to many Tribble families. I found no evidence of the surname Triplett in that area.

Other mysteries abound, but I'll save telling them for next time.

Weekly Postcard Easter

Easter is next week and I thought I would share an Easter postcard from among my collection. This lovely postcard was sent to my great grandmother Esther Lee Richardson when she was living in News Ferry, VA. The card is postmarked 3 Apr 1915 in Ringgold, VA.

It's transcription reads:

Esther, Why haven't you answer my last letter? You treated me real bad. Say, aren't you coming to see us soon. You and Rubin just ride by and never ________ Hope he is well _____. Tell Mrs. R___ she must come sometimes. Are you most married. What are you going to do Easter? Come up here please do. Answer soon. Nannie Lee

The sender of this card was Nannie Lee with no surname given. I suspect this may have been Esther's cousin Nannie Lee Elliott, though I cannot be completely sure. The Rubin who is mentioned would have been Esther's younger brother. Mrs. R___ was Esther's mother Hattie Richardson.

Notice the mention of being married? Esther was married the following November to Boss Henry Talbott.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday Elbert Lowery

Elbert Lowery (1920-1998) is not actually an ancestor of mine. I found his picture among others I recently received. In a quick look on ancestry.com, I learned he was from Halifax County, VA. I share his photo in hopes one of his descendants might come across it. I'd love to reunite the photo with the family.

WWII Sailor Pictures

I found these pictures among my Aunt Elma Talbott Solomon's things recently. Elma's husband Lonnie Solomon was in the US Navy when they got married. I found a number of photos taken at the Hunting Estate in New York where Lonnie and Elma spent R and R with friends.


The quality of the photos is not good, but I love the subjects. I do not know who the individual couples are, but the story is clear.

Elma Lee Talbott Solomon

Elma Lee Talbott Solomon (b. 15 Sep 1920, d. 17 Jan 1999) was the third child born to Boss Henry Talbott and Esther Lee Richardson of South Boston, VA. I recently received a box of her pictures and have had a great time going through them. Elma's life was well documented in pictures. It has been fun seeing the progression of fashions through the years.

As a very young girl Elma lost her mother and then her older sister Ruth and younger brother Garnett a year later to influenza. Like many rural families in the 1920's the young family lived close to grandparents, aunts and uncles. After her mother's death, her father moved the family in with his parents Joseph Merritt and Rosa (Bowen) Talbott.

Elma married Lonnie Solomon of Turbeville, VA. When her husband was discharged from the Navy following WWII, the couple continued to live amongst the family in the Cluster Springs area outside of South Boston. Elma and Lonnie never had children of their own, however Elma always enjoyed the children of her family and friends. She enjoyed a full and active life with many friends, church activities and work.

Elma and husband Lonnie

Going through the many pictures from Elma's life has brought back memories of this lovely lady I was fortunate to know. One of the things that struck me as I have studied her pictures is her resemblance to her mother. I had never noticed that before. She had the tall, lean build of her father, but I see the Richardson side of the family in her facial features. I wonder what else I'll discover as I complete the inventory of her pictures.

Weekly Postcard Mrs. D T Richardson

This is a fun birthday card addressed to my great-great grandmother Harriet Elliott Richardson (Mrs. D. T. Richardson) in the c/o Mr. C. R. Elliott of News Ferry, VA. Harriett apparently was visiting her brother C. R. Elliott during Apr of 1913.

The card is dated 2 Apr 1913 which is not Harriett's birthday. Her birthday was actually 14 Oct 1871. I believe this was a case of a frugal sender using the card she had available.

The transcription on the back as as follows:

Dear Hattie
How are you feeling today? O. K. I hope We are all well at present I am coming to see you Fri. if I can and want you to meet me at the depot I will just bring the baby and will come in the morning train. love to all I am as ever your sister

Ruth Ricketts

Ruth Ricketts (1877-1962) was Harriett's sister-in-law, sister to Daniel Thomas Richardson. Of note, Daniel Richardson died in Nov 1912, about 4 months prior to this card being written.

Treasure Chest Thursday

This cute little cat is a door stop that belonged to my great grandmother Winnie Haley Carr. Today it holds a hall door open in my home and makes me smile when I pass. I don't know a lot about antique door stops, but this one is very heavy!

Wordless Wednesday

Esther Lee Richardson

b. 21 Nov 1896

d. 25 Jan 1923

Weekly Postcard - A Birthday Card

As I am sure has become obvious over time, I have quite a large collection of postcards that belonged to my ancestors. Luckily, they never threw any away. (I've begun to see an legacy of pack rats!) In order to share the postcards as well as preserve them, I decided to post (no pun intended) weekly a postcard and its transcription.

This week's postcard is a birthday card addressed to Mrs. T F Chandler of West Rye, N.H.

The card is postmarked 1 Jan 1915 in Everett Mass.

The transcription reads:

My dear Henry:-
A very happy birthday to you. I will write you a long letter soon. After you see all the folks and rest up a little I want you to make me a visit. Walter seconds my wishes too.
Lots of love
Billy

There are several things about this card that I find interesting from a family history view point. First off, I have no idea who Mrs Chandler, Henry or Billy are. There are no Chandlers in my database nor any ancestors from the New England area. Also, the card is addressed to Mrs. T F Chandler, but the salutation is to Henry.

Another interesting question is how did this card end up among my great-mother's things in South Boston, VA?

Needing Advice On Cleaning Heirloom Clothing

I recently received a few articles of clothing that belonged to my great-grandmother Esther Lee Richardson Talbott (d. 1923). Among the clothes was a skirt and top, sun bonnets, a child's dress and a child's gown. The family thinks the child's dress was Esther's daughter Ruth Virginia's (d. 1924).

The clothing is quite dirty. The child's white gown has dark brown stains on it. I think these pieces may have been packed away for years in my great-grandfather's trunk after their respective deaths.

Here's my question....

How do I clean them/restore them? Is this something I can do or does it require a professional?

If any readers have any experience or advice, please comment. I would be ever so appreciative.

Treasure Chest Thursday

Moore Union Church, Sanford, NC

Today's treasure is a bit of a departure from the usual Treasure Chest Thursday. Moore Union Church is located in Lee County, NC outside of Sanford. The cemetery at this beautiful little church holds many generations of my family. Family lines include Maddox, Lett, and Howard.

The legacies of faith, family, and community are represented here. For that reason, I consider this little church to be a true family treasure.