Month: December 2017

Go Tigers!

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Sorry about that misleading title. I couldn’t resist. I was trying to think of something to get people’s attention that was related to the story I’m going to write. “Go Tigers!” seems to be attention grabbing. But this article is not about LSU tigers. Not that I have anything against LSU tigers, my dad and I both got our graduate degrees at LSU. The tiger in this story is mainly just a tiger head that my mom made for me when I was a kid.

Jamie and Van Landry in early 1970s.

As you can see from this photo, it wasn’t just a tiger head that she made. She also made tiger-print pajamas for me and a leopard-print nightgown for my younger sister Jamie. What made me think of this photo was the cold weather we are having. I’m not much of a fan of cold weather and never really have been.

I don’t remember if it was that cold on the day that we got this sleepwear, but I do remember that it was a surprise when we got home from school.  And it wasn’t a hand-me-down!  Something new and decidedly fun.  Who wouldn’t want tiger-striped pajamas?  Any LSU fan would surely agree.  Of course, I had no awareness of LSU’s mascot at the time.  I just liked my new flannel pajamas with the matching tiger head.  It was warm and cozy and something that our mama had made us.

Another warm memory of my mom was a few years later on.  When I was in junior high, I had a paper route in the neighborhood.  And we were like the post – neither rain, nor sleet, nor blah blah blah could keep us from delivering those newspapers.  So every day after school – while reruns of “Star Trek” were playing mind you (now that’s dedication!) – I would faithfully go out and deliver my paper route.  Sometimes I would even do my brother’s as well if he had something to do!

Betty Lou Bucklin Landry in the 1960s.

During the winter it could get particularly cold riding that old Schwinn bicycle in the elements.  If it was raining, I would really be miserable.  I don’t know how often she would do this, but I remember my mom having a warm blanket to wrap around me when I would finish my paper route.  I’m not sure if she kept the blanket warm in the dryer or just started it running when I got home, but I remember it being nice and toasty and definitely comforting.

I’m sure that my brothers and sisters have warm memories of my mom as well.  It’s not like I was the only one she treated that way.  I think she loved being a mom, taking care of her children and showing them that she loved them.  This carried on to her grandchildren as well.

Though later in life her failing memory caused her to be reticent in dealing with people, sometimes even her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Too bad they weren’t able to experience the full warmth of her love.  It was a wonderful thing.

Mamma and Nook in 1890

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‘Mamma + Nook’ was the inscription written on the border of this photo.  Do you recognize anyone?  Yes? No?

I was so excited when I first saw this photo.  Not only because of the cute little baby who was obviously called Nook.  (Or do I have that wrong?  The little baby could actually be ‘Mamma’ and the older one ‘Nook.’)  I was excited because I recognized my great great grandmother Cathrine Jane Foster Phenice immediately.

Even though the other photos of her that I had seen were from about 20 or 30 years later, she still had that Grandpa Munster look about her.  I shouldn’t say that.  I still feel a little guilty about turning her later years photo into a Grandpa Munster lookalike for Halloween this year. (Animating old photos has helped to change my view of her.)

Cathrine or Kate was the mother of Harry Clifton Phenice.  Harry was the father of Myrtle Sylvia Phenice Bucklin.  Myrtle was the mother of Betty Lou Bucklin Landry.  And everyone knows that Betty Lou was my dear sweet mama.  Kate was also the mother of the little girl in the photo.  Her name was Emma Orra Phenice and she was the grandmother of Mona Quillen, the person who graciously shared this photo with me.  It is part of the collection that I refer to as the Lincoln Collection.

I got this photo earlier this year and fell in love with it.  But I have to take my time in sharing the really good ones since there are a limited number of them.  Consider this a Christmas gift from me.  It’s kind of appropriate because the last time I featured Kate, there was a Christmas theme.  (She had her fire incident on Christmas Eve Eve, remember?)

1889 Homestead Testimony Page 1

Since Emma was born in 1889, I’m dating this photo as 1890.  And I happened to run across some other information earlier this year that gives some more glimpses into what was going on with the Phenice family in 1889.  I found a document titled “Homestead, Pre-Emption and Commutation Proof.”  It was for the land homesteaded by Samuel Phenice in McCook County, Nebraska.  He had filed a homestead entry No. 4887 on Nov. 9, 1885.  He moved onto the property on April 1, 1886 and commenced to “building a house worth $12.” (see page 2 of document)

1889 Homestead Testimony Page 2

He stated that his family consists of himself, his wife, and their six children.  This was true for June 8, 1889, which is when the document was written.  Kate had given birth to seven children, but they had lost an infant daughter named Mollie in 1881. So when little Emma was born on June 20, Samuel and Kate would have seven children.  Emma was their last child.

The document states that Kate and the children moved onto the property (and into the $12 house he built) on about June 10, 1886, which was about ten weeks after he started work on the site.  According to page 3, the house was “part dug + part sod house, 22 by 24 feet with an ‘Ell’ 14 by 22 feet in size, has 4 doors and 5 windows worth $200.”

1889 Homestead Testimony Page 3

He goes on to list improvements on the land and their value.  They had a stable worth $20, a granary worth $20, a 155 ft. deep well worth $80, 65 acres of farmed land worth $130, and forest and fruit trees worth $50.  He puts a total value as $500.  He also had farm implements such as two plows, a cultivator, a mower (not a riding one, I’m sure!), a wagon, and a barrow.  All of which he had owned since before moving on to the property.

Aren’t you just loving all of these details?  I am.  It describes so much of what their life would have been like out in the prairie lands in Nebraska where his neighbor (& witness in other documents) lived 3/4 of a mile away.  The neighbor said he visited frequently.

1889 Homestead Testimony Page 4

When the neighbor visited, he probably noticed that there was a horse, five cows, a colt, three hogs, and a mess of chickens.  When he went into the house he would have seen the stove, the two tables, and the ten chairs.  He may or may not have seen the four beds and the bedding.  If he shared a meal with them he would have seen the dishes and cooking utensils.

He would definitely notice those six kids ranging from age three to twenty-one.  (Our H. C. was 15 at the time.)  It’s hard not to notice that many kids running around underfoot.  It also would have been hard not to notice that Kate was soon to be adding a seventh to the group.  Would he have commented on that?  Would that have been frowned upon?  There’s no way to know about that.  That wasn’t included in the document.

One of the other things I like about this document is that it was written by Samuel himself and signed as well.  And his answers to some of the questions are interesting as well – “No Sir” and “I think not.”  Little did they know that we would be looking back at that document and photo almost 130 years later to get a glimpse of their lives.

You may now return to the present.

A Letter from Aunt Sue

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This is from a letter written by Susan G. Hine to Miss Nola Stanbro, Lovington, N. Mexico about the death of James Stanbrough. (Nola was the granddaughter of Sue and Jim’s brother Joseph B. Stanbrough.  Nola was the daughter of Orville Carlton Stanbro.)

Elton, La. Oct 29, 1923

My dear niece and all

It has been so long since I wrote to you I expect you have forgotten us. but it sure has been a busy summer and fall. the boys are threshing their Rice now but think they will just about finish up this week. Ollie is not going to have as good a crop this year as he did last but the prices are better so I guess we will come out alright. I told you in one of my letters that Uncle Jim was failing so fast. Well there was an epodemic of colds going round. I was quite sick but did not give up and have the Dr. but was miserable. so about the time I got better Bro took a hard cold. I Dr. him just as I did myself. and we all thought he was getting better he did not cough hardley any. so one morning he had a hemorage. and we sent for the Dr. he said he had taken fresh cold and it was almost pneumonia, but not bad. gave him medicine and told me what to rub on his chest but he did not get much better. he would seem better every other day. he said there was not anything that hurt him. he just seemed wore out so he just got weaker and weaker. the Dr. came again and said we might just as well make up our minds to give him up for there was no hope. one day I asked him if he wanted to get well and he said O I don’t know but he did not say anything about dying. but he told the minister he was living for Christ he was all to him. the day the Dr. Said there was no hope. but he might live till morning. but the Death angle came for him that evening at 6:30, Sept 10. he just passed a way without a strugle. I was glad he did not have to suffer. and of course we all have that debt to pay sooner or later. I am ashamed to ask forgiveness for not writing sooner. for I feel like I should not but I was just about wore out. for Bro just wanted me to wait on him all the time. and they were cutting Rice and I had to cook for the hands. and just kept puting it off from day to day. but will try to do better next time. so will close hoping to hear from you soon. I am as ever. Aunt Sue

The Ancient Family Plot

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Van Landry taking selfie with great great great grandfather Amedee Bujol at St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery in Brusly, Louisiana.

Most of my posts are about photos of my ancestors, which is somewhat limiting because photography hasn’t been around very long, genealogically speaking.  I don’t have any photos of my great great great grandparents.  I have photos of most of my great great grandparents.  The only set of great great grandparents that I don’t have photos of happen to also be my great great great grandparents.

The couple in question are Narcisse Landry and his wife Marie Carmelite Hebert Landry.  They were Pee Paw’s (my paternal grandfather) grandparents and Mee Maw’s (my paternal grandmother) great grandparents.  There, that makes everything clear.

Since I don’t have photos of the individual, sometimes I’ll take selfies with their headstone.  Isn’t that sweet?  Or is it morbid?  Either way, I do it.  I have one of myself with Martha Ann Cook Keys and now I have one with Amedee Bujol.

I took this photo almost two weeks ago.  It was a Sunday afternoon and I was thinking to myself, “I want to take a picture of myself with dead people!”  No, not really.  I had a few spare hours and thought I’d take a quick hop across the Mighty Mississip to check out the Brusly cemetery.  I knew that we had some ancestors buried out there and it was a nice overcast day.  Cemeteries are downright miserable in the summer.  Out in the burning heat and there are usually no trees for shade.

Graves of several family members are located in this small area of the cemetery.

But on a day like that, it is perfect for ‘digging up bones’ as my mom liked to call it.  It took me maybe 15 minutes to get from my house to the spot that I parked in that you see in this photo.  I just pulled in a little ways into the graveyard and got out of my car to start looking.

It didn’t take long to find what I was looking for.  I actually couldn’t have parked any closer.  The main person I was looking for was 1) Marie Francoise Leveque Bujol, my 4th great grandmother.  Francoise was the mother of 2)Amedee from the selfie and he was the father of Amelie ‘Belite’ Bujol who married Trasimond Landry.  They were the parents of Marie Therese Landry Patureau, who was Mee Maw’s mother that died in 1909.

I had seen photos of Francoise’s headstone, so I knew what to look for.  The marker has the writing “Veuve Sylvester Bujol” which means the widow of Sylvester Bujol.  I didn’t see his headstone, but I know that he died in 1824.  With her death given as 1875, that means she had been a widow for over 50 years when she died.

Her son Amedee’s wife Anna Adele Landry also outlived her husband.  She was known as the Veuve Bujol as well and is referred as such in the book about Trasimond Landry called “The Tirailleurs.”  Her grave is not at this cemetery.  (2020 Update – I found the death notice for Anna Adele Bujol, so now I know that she outlived her husband by almost 42 years.  It states that she was buried in this cemetery, yet I haven’t been able to find it.)

It is rumored that Trasimond is buried at this cemetery.  There is a headstone for his mother 3) Marie Carmelite Hebert Landry.  She was the wife of Narcisse Landry.  The rumor also states that Narcisse could be buried here as well.  The rumor comes from family members who have been searching for those graves.  When you look at Marie Carmelite’s grave, you can see plenty of real estate around it.  It is thought that Narcisse and Trasimond are buried on either side of her.

Marie Carmelite and Narcisse are my great great grandparents because they are the father of Simon Alcide Landry.  He moved to the western part of the state in the mid to late 1880s with his family and he was buried in Lake Charles.

And though Narcisse may not have been buried in the St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery, we know for sure that some of his brothers were.  I found two of their graves.

The most important brother that I found was Narcisse’s half brother 5) Emmanuel Landry.  The reason I claim his importance is because I also descend from Emmanuel.  He was the father of the Anna Adele that I mentioned earlier.  Not only that, he was the father of Clarissa Doralise and Marguerite ‘Baselite’ Landry, the two wives of my great great grandfather Joseph August Leveque (also buried in Lake Charles).

His wife 4) Celeste Bruneteau Landry’s headstone is at this cemetery as well.  As you can see from the photos, they are large concrete graves that are above the ground.  Sitting on top of Celeste’s grave was a broken marker for Valerien Landry.  His grave must be nearby.  He was another brother of Narcisse Landry.  I don’t descend from him.  Imagine that.

So I descend from Narcisse through two of his sons.  Then I descend from his half brother Emmanuel through two daughters.  Through these connections, I am my own double half 5th cousin once removed.  And that’s not all.  I descend through Narcisse’s brother Onezime through his daughter Marie Emma Landry, the wife of the Patureau immigrant Pierre Ferdinand.  They are the progenitors for all of the Patureaus in southern Louisiana that I know of.

J. H. Amedee Bujol died June 28, 1857, in his 42nd year. He was full of honor, esteemed, loyal, always sincere. He was always a good son, a good husband, and a good father. (roughly translated)

So the people in these graves are part of the great entanglements in my family tree.  I can’t really complain about any of that, because if any of that would have been different, I wouldn’t be here.  And neither would a lot of you reading this.

It’s always interesting to me to see the final resting place of some of my people.  Even though it is a place for the dead, I know that many of my family lived and breathed at this same location.  Mourning their loved ones who came before them.  The cycle continues.

I thought I’d put the family tree for my paternal grandmother on here since all of the graves I found are in her tree.  I also thought I’d add the numbers that are associated with the graves pictured in the second photo on this post.

Family tree showing my grandmother’s ancestors. One correction – I have since found that her maternal great grandmother Anna Adele Landry died on Mar. 13, 1899.

Follow-up Friday: From Betty to Bob – I’m Yours

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“Follow-up Friday?” you ask, “What’s that?”  Well I’ll tell you what it is.  It’s when you obtain some added information that you want to add to your latest post, but you’re too eager to wait for Surplus Sunday.  I know that I made it very clear in my most recent post that you would not be reading any long lost love letters, but I can now happily report that I was wrong.  This is the best thing that I’ve ever been wrong about!

My sister Jamie and I had discussed those long lost letters during the Thanksgiving holiday and neither of us had any idea where those letters had gone to.  We assumed that either our mom or dad had destroyed the letters after we found them and read them.  So I wrote my post on Wednesday and shared it with y’all.

Then this morning I woke up and found a text from Jamie.  She had found a few letters!  I was so excited and when I read them I have to admit that I got a bit choked up.  I also laughed a bit because the letters my mom wrote have quite a bit of humorous points to them.  I was relieved that at least a few letters survived.  From the letters that did survive, it’s clear that they were writing to each other daily.  It is also clear that they were in love.

His letter was written on July 5, 1952, (which is exactly 10 years before our Jamie was born) and he starts out with a “Hi, Baby.”  Not long after that he says, “I sure miss you, cutey.”  He talks about how busy he is with training and not sure he will be able to write every day, but don’t be surprised if some day there isn’t a letter.  (This sets up for a funny exchange in the next letter.)  He then signs off, “All my love.”

I’m not sure of the date of the letter mom wrote, but it starts with “Hi Honey.”  This is a term of endearment that they both called each other for the rest of their lives.  I had been wondering if it had been used that far back, and now I know.  The letter continues as a response to his letter about not writing daily.

She was not expecting a letter and her sister Alma must have known this.  So when Alma went to check on the mail and saw a letter from Bob, she didn’t let Betty Lou know right away.  She then asked mom if she’d rather look through the new catalog or read the new letter from her beau.  Mom says in the letter, “I could have choked her.”  But she doesn’t, because she is “so nice.”  Now that got me giggling again.

But the rest of the letter is full of the same funny and sweet content.  She uses terms that she did for the rest of her life.  She said that she was gaining a “teeniny” bit of weight.  She was glad of that because she had lost weight because she was so lonesome.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed seeing these old letters that I had thought destroyed.  They do give a bit of a window back to the time when they were young, in love, and separated by some distance.  I’ll let you read them now, if you have a mind to.

 

Letter written on July 5, 1952, by Bob Landry who was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio for basic training. He was writing back home to his fiancee Betty Lou Bucklin.

Saturday July 5, 1952

 

Hi Baby,

Watcha know?  We are now having/ our first free time from 7 to 9 P.M. I/ sure miss you, cutey.  Our basic is/ only 8 weeks. So maybe around Sept./ Huh, Hon?

If I miss a day or two writing/ don’t be surprised.  You can’t tell/ how long it’ll be until there’s time/ to write another letter.  These ser-/geants are very unpredictable.

Our T. I. (Technical Instructor) is/ O.K.  I will probably get transfered/Into a Band Squadron next/ week.

I’ll hafta close now.  I have/ lots to do.

Be Good

All my love,

Bob

 

Page 1 of 2

Wed. nite 9:30

Hi Honey,

Hows my man tonight./ Thought you said I wouldn’t get/ a letter this morn.  I didn’t/ expect one.  Alma got the mail/ + she just fooled around and/ pretty soon she asked if I’d/ rather look at the new catalog/ or read your letter.  I could/ had choked her.  But I didn’t/ cause I’m so nice, you know.

I sure do like that picture./  Every time I look at it it/ looks more fanciful.  Yummy!

Just got back from an/ ice cream social.  Had a bunch of fun.  Got to see all my old/ gal friends.  Got to tell them/ all about my darling + showed/ them some pictures of you.  We/ really gabbed.  One of the other/ girls has her a Bob too but I/ bet he ain’t as sweet as mine.  (End of page one)

 

page 2 of 2

(page 2) Didn’t do much today.  Just/ worked.  Hoed this morn + worked/ in the house the rest of the day.

I believe I’m gaining a teeniny/ bit of weight.  It’s about time./  I weighed less that I have in 3 or 4 years.  Everybody thought I looked skinny.  I’ll probably get it back.  I feel better.  I/ believe I was just too lonesome -/ being with the family makes/ it much easier.  anyhow I be/ doing good for myself now.

I reckon that’s all the/ news I can think up.  Guess/ I’ll go to bed.  Sleep tight honey.

Be real good.

I love you, Bob

I’m yours

Betty Lou

(end of letters)

So there you go.  That’s what remains of the long lost love letters.  I can picture my mom being “beside herself” because of what her sister Alma pulled on her.  I’m sure she cursed her out!  Not really, that wasn’t her style.  She probably said something like, “You stinker, you!” and went to her room to read her latest letter.  I’m sure Alma got a good chuckle out of it.  I know I did.  I hope you did too.

 

Love Letters Lost

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Before you get too excited that you are going to be reading some long lost letters that have been found, I want to tell you that you won’t.  The letters are still lost.  At least to me.  Some of the contents of the letters are still available, but the letters themselves have been lost or maybe just destroyed.  Yes, they could have been intentionally destroyed!

The letters I’m talking about were letters written by my parents in 1952.  Daddy went off to basic training for the Air Force in San Antonio after he and my mom were engaged to be married.  I’m sure they missed each other when they were miles apart and my mom was not someone who liked to talk on the phone much.  Besides, it was expensive to make long distance calls in those days.  There weren’t many plans to choose from!  So they sent letters to each other and included photos of some of the things they were doing.

Of course the main thing that was included were pictures of themselves for their enfianced.  This is my mom Betty Lou Bucklin looking sweet for her beau Bob Landry.  I used to always think of my mom as a naive young girl who got lost easily and wasn’t very assertive.

But in retrospect, I think I was wrong.  My mom got exactly what she wanted out of life.  Her dream was to find a nice young man that she would want to marry, have lots of children, and have a family band together.  She didn’t hang around her quaint little country home town of Hathaway to see what would happen.  She went to the big city of Lake Charles and gave herself an option of an education to fall back on as a standby.  The standby was never needed.

This second shot is a photo Betty Lou with her sisters Loris and Alma.  This must have been in the summer of 1952, which was a few months before my parents’ marriage in early November.  On the back of this photo my mom wrote “anything to make you happy.”  I suppose my dad must have appreciated these photos, because he saved them and we’re looking at them today.

Here is one of the photos that he sent to her.  This was taken at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in August of 1952.  His photos were a little more serious than my mom’s.  After all, he was a young man in training for the military.  That’s pretty serious business.

I’m not really sure how frequently they wrote to each other, but it was nowhere near what would be exchanged between people nowadays.  They’d be sending texts and photos every day.  Times were a bit different then.

One of the other differences is that they didn’t have the cloud to save all of their information for them.  They had to put the photos in boxes or albums and the letters in a file or drawer somewhere.  They did do that, because me and my sister Jamie came across those letters years ago.  And being the nosy children that we were back then, we opened up those letters and read them.  I don’t really remember much about the contents of the letters, but I do remember giggling a lot.

We got into trouble for that, which was another thing we giggled about.  But we never saw those letters ever again.  When we cleared out my parents house, we kept an eye out for them, but we could not find them.  I’m afraid that I will never see them again.  I’m not giggling about that.

Lagniappe – Thought I would add these two other photos to this post.  One of them is my mom with her younger brother Austin.  The other one is my mom’s Pin Up photo.  A photo of her in a two piece swimsuit.

Update!  Don’t want to give a spoiler, but that lack of a giggle was wiped off my face.