November, 2016 | Family History

The Patureau Sisters of Plaquemine

November 30, 2016 Van Leave a comment

I’ve always known that my Mee Maw had sisters, but when I was a kid I didn’t really give that much thought. She was born Germaine Erie Patureau on Aug. 6, 1895, in Crescent, Louisiana (Plaquemine area). Of the children that survived to adulthood, she was the 4th of 9 children. She was the 2nd daughter of seven. She had one sister named Marie Therese who got married, had two children, and died a day after her second daughter was born. I don’t have a photo of the sisters with Marie Therese included. There may be one out there. (hint, hint)

The Patureau Sisters of Plaquemine – (back) Lorena, Emma, Erie, Lydwin, (front) Sylvie and Zita

This is a photo of the Patureau sisters some time around the late 1950s. It was taken in Duson, Louisiana, at one of the sisters’ home. I’ll name them starting on the back row. On the far left is Lorena. She is the only one that I have any memories of. I remember going to her house (in Opelousas) when she was an older lady. I remember her having a pulley or ring above her bed to assist her in getting in and out of it. She also gave my sister her sewing machine. I also remember her funeral in 1972. When we were riding to the cemetery I was really hungry and my stomach started churning. By the time we got to the graveyard, I ended up having the dry heaves. And my wonderful grandmother who was grieving over the loss of her sister came over and helped me out. (With the assistance of my equally wonderful godmother.) She took out some smelling salts and had me smell it and it settled my stomach immediately. It was like magic! I’ve never had the dry heaves since, but if I ever do, I’ll know the solution.

The next sister is Emma. She was the one that lived in Duson. I’ve posted a photo that includes her before (The Man in Black), but she is more famously known as the mother of Tez. (The Uninvited Guest) I know that she was also a writer. I remember reading through a collection of her poetry and prose when I was younger. Sometimes Tez would recite from it.

Of course the next one is the best one of all! That’s my Mee Maw – the woman we have all grown to love and cherish. (I am not being partial and no descension is allowed!) She looks happy to be with her sisters. I’ve posted another photo of her and her sisters before, but that was before my Throwback Thursday series, which began just over a year ago. I found this photo in my dad’s collection. There is another one from the same day, but I haven’t cleaned it up yet.

The sister on the far right in the blue dress is Lydwin. She is what was ungraciously called an “old maid.” And she probably got that moniker before the age of 30. I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be negative. Right? At any rate she did not get married and lived her life in the Plaquemine area.

Her sister Sylvie also lived in Plaquemine. She is the lady in the front with the blue dress. But she was far from being an old maid. She and her husband Walter Marionneaux had eight children. My dad liked to visit his cousins in Plaquemine. They both had large families, so I’m sure it was a lively house when they visited. Both families have continued to grow through the years, making it hard to keep track of them all.

The last one in this group is Zita. She did not give birth to any children of her own, but she was a mother nonetheless. When their sister Marie Therese died, Zita ended up marrying her widower and rearing the children. A very sweet story, I think.

So there you go. The Patureau sisters of Plaquemine. You would be hard pressed to find a finer group of women.

Patureau

The Age of Camelot

November 23, 2016 Van Leave a comment

Yesterday was the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I saw a few posts where people talked about what they were doing that day. When something that big happens in your lifetime, you tend to remember little details about it. What you were doing. Where you were. What you felt. How you reacted. And people have talked about the assassination as being the end of an era. They likened the years of Kennedy’s presidency with the Age of Camelot. There was even a musical at the time about the original Camelot – the age of King Arthur when truth, goodness, and beauty reigned. The memories of those times have been idealized through the years. The same could be said for my memory of 1963.

The Landry family on July 5, 1963

As you can see, I was just a child. This was a few months before the assassination of Kennedy, but it shows what our family looked like in that era. I was only two and a half, but I have lots of memories from that time. Riding the tricycle on the ‘sidewalk.’ Swinging on the front porch swing. Catching fireflies at night. Playing cowboys and indians.

Of course most of this was done with my brothers and sisters. They were my whole world. That world also included my parents and grandparents and uncles and cousins. It was an idyllic time for me. I didn’t have to go to school. I had no cares in the world. So when that shot rang out from the grassy knoll … Wait, this is not the time to discuss conspiracy theories, sorry about that. So when that shot rang out from the rifle of Lee Harvey Oswald, my life as I knew it ended.

No, not really. Even though I can remember chasing bees, picking figs, and peeking into the old barn, I don’t remember that infamous day in November of that year. I was three by then, so I thought I was growing up. But I was still a kid who wore shorts to church. (I remember wanting to wear long pants like the men did.) So I was probably just too busy playing with my siblings and wondering what I was going to be getting for Christmas. You know, the usual things little boys think about.

Nov. 27, 2016 – Followup to Throwback Thursday.

I’ve posted a few more photos from the Camelot era of my Bucklin cousins.

Woolley family in Jennings, Louisiana, on July 5, 1963.

Ernest & Loris Woolley with Keith, Glen, and Brent.

Pilcher family in Jennings, Louisiana, on July 5, 1963.

Larry, Sylvia, Kevin, Toni, Lynn, and Paul Pilcher

Seal family in Jennings, Louisiana, on July 5, 1963

Chuck Seal with wife Alma Bucklin Seal and daughter Rhonda Seal.

Bucklin cousins in Jennings, Louisiana, on July 5, 1963

Bucklin cousins in Jennings on July 5, 1963

I thought they probably had copies of those prints, but from the feedback, I don’t think they did. They are some really good photos. Then I posted a poor quality photo of a group shot that was taken on the same day. All I have is a scan that I’ve had for a long time. Hopefully someone has a good print of the photo and they will scan it or take a photo of it and share it with us.

Bucklin cousins in Jennings on July 5, 1963.

Then I started dusting and came across a small framed print I have of those cousins on the same day. I noticed that Rhonda was not cut out of that one, so I thought I’d scan it so I’d have everyone in the photo. I brought the print to my computer and scanned it. Then when I compared it to the digital copy I already had on the computer – Surprise! – it’s actually a different photo than the other one I had. For all this time I thought the photo on my computer and the framed print were of the same photo.

I was starting to think that it might be better to actually scan the negative of the photo. I had photographed those old Polaroids with color film back when I got my first SLR camera in high school. So I went searching for those old negatives of the old photos. I went through everything I could think of and couldn’t find them. I’m not too disappointed, though, because I’m sure I have them somewhere.

But even better than that reassurance was the fact that I found something even better! In addition to taking color photos of those old Polaroids, I evidently took some black and white photos of even older photos! I say evidently, because I don’t remember taking the photos and some of the photos do not look familiar to me at all. But I can recognize some faces and some of them are identified on the back. That’s why you identify people in photos. So other people will know who they are and for later when you’re an old fart and can’t even remember taking the photos in the first place!!!

I’ve been thinking about doing another story about my great great grandfather who was in the Civil War and was a witness to the Lincoln assassination, and I was thinking about using a photo that I had used before. I only had one photo of him to start out with, then I got a second one when I contacted a DNA match along the Phenice line. I found two more photos of him! And I’ve had them all along. I also found a few photos of Daisy Keys and a picture of Grandma as a young child. These photos were probably Grandma’s that I borrowed so I could take photos of them.

Thank you young Van from the bottom of my heart!

Landry

Loops-a-Daisy

November 17, 2016 Van Leave a comment

1950ish-daisy-keys-phenice-with-1st-perm-ever-done-by-betty-lou-heal

Daisy Keys Phenice circa 1950

I’ve been thinking of this photo for a little bit. I got it from a family photo album a couple of weeks ago when I went to visit my parents. I don’t really remember it from when I was younger, but I should. I was the one who put that photo album together! When I was in high school I decided to make a family album that included old photos that I found from my mom’s and dad’s collection. It included photos of their grandparents and parents and old school photos of them and all of us kids. But for some reason, this photo was forgotten by me.

It will be forgotten no more. I suppose that photo album was a precursor to what I do now. I wanted to bring the photos together and make them available for people to easily view. I do remember specifically NOT putting photos of my parents’ great grandparents in that album. They were just too old and from too long ago! Now I can’t get enough of those old photos.

And I think this one is really sweet. This is Daisy Keys Phenice (my mom’s mom’s mom – aka the source of my mitochondrial DNA). She came from England in 1887 with her mom and siblings when she was just 11 years old. I call this post “Loops-a-Daisy” because the original phrase ‘oops-a-daisy’ originated in England a few years before she was born (at least as seen in print – or so the internet search informed me). The “Loops” part of the title is because of the reason for this photo. Young Betty Lou Bucklin must have thought that her grandmother’s hair was too plain and straight for the times. So she went about giving her grandmother her first hair permanent. And then she took a photo of her achievement for all of us to witness.

I see a sweet old lady that humored her grandchild by letting her give her a new hairdo. There is a hint of a smile and she let my mom take her photo, so she must have been pleased with the outcome. I like that you can see her socks as she sits on the porch. She’s sitting off center of the photo and it is a bit skewed as well. I think the cat is another point of focus. Altogether it makes for an interesting photo to share. I just wish there were a bit more loops to see in that hairdo.

Keys

Grandparents

November 10, 2016 Van Leave a comment

A post from a friend of mine today made me think about the topic of grandparents. She had a grandmother that reminded me of my Mee Maw. She liked to cook for her grandchildren, taught them card games and such, and was well loved by everybody. The grandmother who every grandchild hoped to be (and felt like) the favorite of. Many people have fond stories about their grandparents. It reminded me that my dad didn’t have very many memories of his grandparents.

1930-celeste-leveque-landry-robert-joseph-landry-jr-and-vincent-maximilian-patureau-heal

Bobbie Landry with his grandparents circa 1930.

Though the subjects in this photo may be questionable, the facts I tell about it are as accurate as I can get. I believe this is my father in 1930. He was born in January of 1929 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This kid looks about a year or so old and it looks like my dad from other photos that I’ve seen from around that time. If you think he looks like a little girl in this photo, you should see some of the other photos of him! Those curls of his were there from the beginning. The other two people in the photo are his surviving grandparents when the photo was taken.

My dad’s paternal grandmother was Marie Celeste Leveque Landry. She was married to Simon Alcide Joseph Landry who died in 1917. On the other side was his maternal grandfather Vincent Maximilian Patureau, who was always fondly spoken of as “Grampa Max.” His wife was Marie Therese Landry and she died in 1909. These two were not a couple, but they were related. (All of his grandparents were related!) They were half 2nd cousins. The photo was not labeled, but I have identified them because I recognize them from other photos that I’ve been looking through. And who else would it be? It makes sense that he would be in a photo with his grandparents.

It’s the only photo of him with his grandparents. Not only because people back then did not take 1/1000ths of the number of photos that people take nowadays, but also because his grandparents didn’t live much longer. His grandmother died in 1934 and his grandfather followed suit the next year. So shortly after his 6th birthday, little Bobbie did not have any grandparents left. That’s kind of sad. I have many fond memories of my grandparents. I had 24 years worth of memories. I had more years than he did, but not as many as I would have liked.

So now all I can do is cherish the memories of my grandparents. I know many of you do, too. For some of you that still have grandparents, make the most of it. For those with grandchildren, you make the most of it, too. Be funny; be cantankerous; give them something; take something away from them; share your truths with them; tell a few white lies. I don’t have to tell you to love them. I think that comes naturally to most people. Leave them with something to cherish.

1919 – A Family Outing

November 3, 2016 Van Leave a comment

Sometimes I wonder if people are unsure of what I’m talking about. I jump around from one side of the family to the next so I don’t leave anybody out. I guess if someone is interested enough about the connections, they will ask. Sometimes people just want to look at the pictures and move on to the next post. Well, stop that! I want you to read everything I write. Now that you know what I want, you will always do the right thing.

So to keep things from getting confused this week, I’ll start with me. My name is Van Landry and I was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Robert Joseph “Bob” Landry, Jr. and Betty Lou Bucklin Landry. My dad was born in 1929 in Lake Charles and my mom was born in 1933 in Raymond, Lousiana. Her father was Fred D. Bucklin, who was born in Roanoke, Louisiana, in 1907. This information sets you up for the photo this week.

Hine/Bucklin/Stanbrough family group in 1919

The photo was taken in 1919 somewhere around the Hathaway/China area. It was a Hine family get together. There are several photos taken that day with all of the family in different groups. This is a small group. The young girl in the photo (on the far right) is my grandfather Fred’s oldest sister Mary Bucklin, who was born in 1900. She would be 19 years old in this photo. Five years later she would marry Sylvan Phenice, the brother of Fred’s future wife Myrtle. (Sylvan and Mary were married in 1926. Fred and Myrtle were married in 1930.) Sylvan and Mary were together for 56 years until Sylvan’s death in 1982. They did not have any children. Mary died in 1987.

The woman in the middle of the photo is the mother of Fred and Mary (and ten other children) and was named Addie Mae Hine at birth. She was born in 1876 in Noblesville, Indiana, and moved with her family (mother and father and five younger brothers) to Louisiana in 1894. Four years later she married Louis Charles Bucklin and started her large family soon after. Louis did not show up in too many photos. They were married for 29 years at the time of Louis’s death in 1927 at the young age of 54. Addie lived until just 25 days after I was born. I do not have any memories of my great grandmother.

Addie’s mother and father are the other two individuals in this photo. Her mother was born Susan G. Stanbrough in Westfield, Indiana, in 1851. She was the sixth child of twelve children born to a family with strong Quaker roots. In 1873, at the age of 22, she was married to George Henry Hine who was five years her senior. He was born in 1846 in Hamilton County also. (Westfield and Noblesville are in Hamilton County.)

This is one of the last photos of George Hine. He died May 3, 1919. I don’t know how the photo setup came about. I’m thinking it must have been Mary’s idea. She wanted a photo of her with her parents and grandparents. She was probably a bit peeved with her dad for not wanting to be in the photo. His parents had already died, so they couldn’t be in the photo. So she settled for this photo with her mom and her mom’s parents. I like it. That’s my great grandmother and my great great grandparents.

Questions?