Cousins posting family stuff
Van Landry’s post this week is about Addie Hine and Louis Bucklin with a photo of them when she was 29. Ray Bucklin said she was really good with kids. She had lots of experience. They had 11 children that survived to adulthood, a total of 19 grand kids. I am not going to try counting the great grand kids. Here she is with some great grandkids. Charles and Kurt Bruchhaus? She lived at Ruth Bucklin and William Charles “Budda” Bruchhaus’ house in her later years.
Addie and Lou Bucklin in 1905
This is a photo of my mom’s paternal grandparents in 1905. They were married in 1898 and by the time this photo was taken, they already had five children. But before I finish counting off their children, let me tell you a little bit about the two of them.
Addie May Hine was born in Noblesville, Indiana, on Sept. 23, 1876. She was the oldest of six children born to George Hine and Susan Stanbrough. She had five younger brothers and the youngest was only eight years younger than she was. From the earliest photos of the family, it looks like they lived in a frontier area with a rough wood home. The family moved to Louisiana in 1894 and settled in the Hathaway area of Jefferson Davis Parish.
Louis Charles Bucklin was born in Masonville, Iowa, on April 11, 1873. He was the youngest child of James Bucklin and his second wife Mary Ann McGrath. James was from a family line with a long history in Massachusetts, while Mary Ann was an Irish immigrant. Louis had five older siblings – a half-sister and half-brother by his father and his first wife Rhoda Marie Gove, plus two brothers and a sister by his parents. In the 1880 census they were living in Coffin Grove, Iowa, which was a very small community in rural Iowa. Four years later the family moved to the Jennings, Louisiana, area and acquired homestead property in the Hathaway area. Louis was too young to stake a claim, but his father, brother and sister were able to.
Louis kept a journal starting in January of 1893 when he went off to school. He returned home at the death of his sister Jennie in June of 1893. From that point on his journal was mostly about farming and such. Except when he occasionally mentions a certain “Miss Hine” or “Addie” who came to help his mother with chores around the house. I suppose she was worth mentioning because he ended up marrying her in 1898, which brings us back to the top of the story.
Soon after this photo was taken, the three most important Bucklin offspring were sprung! In 1906 there came Herbert, who is the grandfather of our Joseph. Then in 1907 there was a double dose of goodness – the identical twins Fred and Clarence. Fred is my grandfather and Clarence is the father of Carla. There were a few more after that, but they’re hardly worth mentioning. I really shouldn’t joke about that because the next one, Edna, is the reason we have so many wonderful photos from way back when. She collected and protected many photos, though this one was kept by Ruth. Joseph and Louise visited and scanned numerous photos from both of them.
All in all, Addie and Lou had a nice even dozen children. Now I’m feeling a little obligated to name them all, so here goes: Leo, Mary, Ralph, Paul, Carl, Herbert, Clarence, Fred, Edna, Robert, Ruth, and Roy. That’s a lot of names to come up with. From the look of the photo, they seem like somewhat happy people – salt of the earth. I’d like to say that they lived long and happy lives, but sadly Lou died at the age of fifty-four. Addie went on the live into her eighties and died less than a month after I was born. I don’t have any personal memories of either Addie or Lou, but I do feel like I get to know them a little from the photos and stories that they left behind. And now, hopefully, you do too.
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Update for July 9, 2026 – Added a few slight bits of information for a reissue of this post on Facebook after ten years. I’m changing all of the older posts to change the spelling of Addie’s middle name to be consistently May.
Jean Trasimond Landry in 1861
I realized recently that I haven’t posted one of the oldest photos in my collection of old photos. It is a Civil War photo of my great great grandfather Trasimond Landry. He was my paternal grandmother’s maternal grandfather. And being that he was from the South, he was in the Confederate Army. The photo is dated as 1861. It’s a pretty clear photo considering how old it is.
I won’t talk about the politics of the Civil War. Oh, well, maybe just a little. Slavery is wrong. It is so hard for me to understand how people can treat their fellow human beings so cruelly. I hear things like, “But they treated them so nicely.” or “They kept the buildings they lived in nice and comfortable.” or “He really cherished him and left him a gold watch in his will.”
“Really?” I think, shaking my head. If you treated them so well, why weren’t we freed? If you liked the buildings so much, why don’t we trade? If you want to leave something, leave me my free will – worth innumerable gold watches compared to the life you stole from me. But I wasn’t there (thank goodness) and people are more enlightened now (hopefully).
So I’ll get back to talking about my great great grandfather, who grew up in a culture saturated with the slavery mentality. When he was born in 1839, his family had seven slaves on their property. The number increased continually until the time of the Civil War. In 1859 Trasimond went off to St. Joseph’s College in Bardstown, Kentucky, to finish his education. When that was completed in 1861, Trasimond then became part of the West Baton Rouge Tirailleurs. This group mustered into service of the 4th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. (For more information, see the book titled Tirailleurs by Thomas H. Richey, a cousin and fellow descendant of Trasimond.)
Trasimond fought in many battles during the war with people falling all around him. The story about his battles is very riveting. Fortunately for me and my relatives, he survived all of those perilous encounters. Of course all of us descend from survivors of famines, pestilence, and wars, but to read a book that describes the experience makes it a bit more personal.
After the war Trasimond married Amelie Bujol and they had five children together. In 1879 he was bitten by a mosquito. But not just any mosquito. This one carried the virus for the yellow fever. It proved fatal. To make it through musket fire, cannon shot, and slicing bayonets only to be taken down by a lowly mosquito. When the pesky bug bit him, he wouldn’t have known that it would be his downfall. Just the same, I hope he swatted it flat!
Feb. 26, 2021 – The website MyHeritage now has a feature that animates old photos. Of course I had to try it out on this old photo. It came out really well.
Betty Lou Bucklin and Kara Lee Sowder at Christmastime 1938 in Fayetteville, Arkansas
This is one of my mom’s favorite photos of herself. It was taken in 1938, which was during the Great Depression. The thing that made it special according to my mom was that it was a photo of her holding a “real doll.” The thing that makes it special to me is that she was always satisfied with what she had.
Because she didn’t have a “real doll,” but her cousin had two and let her take a photo with one of them. And that was pretty special for little Betty Lou Bucklin! As you can see, she was quite happy taking her photo with that little doll. And with her cousin, of course!
But she’s not really a cousin. My mom’s mom’s sister was Grace Phenice and she was married to Ray Sowder who was from Arkansas. The girl’s name is Kara Lee and she is the daughter of Ray’s brother Hugh who was a professional photographer. Kara Lee and Betty Lou created a lasting memory on that long ago visit in 1938. (At least for my mom. She could remember Kara Lee’s name even when she had memory troubles. I found Kara Lee on Facebook and she had the same photo, but she stated, “I don’t remember who the little girl is.”)
Elvira Crixell and her cousin Isabel Crixell circa 1904
I can’t remember when I first saw that photo of my mom with the doll, but I can remember when I first saw the next photo of Girls With Dolls. It was a couple of weeks ago when I was researching the Patureau side of the family. Some distant cousins on that line have been living deep in southern Texas for several generations. The French Patureaus there have mixed more with the Mexican population as compared to our family which has more Cajun heritage. And the photo of the the two girls with their dolls from circa 1904 definitely caught my eye. The girl on the right was Isabel Crixell, my third cousin once removed. She was born in 1900 and lived to be over 100 years old. The girl on the left is only identified as “a Kowalski little girl.” I’m positive that she is Isabel’s first cousin Elvira Crixell who was born in 1901. She later married a Kowalski.
But in this photo, they are just little girls posing with their dolls. They don’t look quite as happy as my mom was with her real doll, but they do look happier than one particular little girl in the next photo. This time, instead of going thirty years in the more distant past, we’re coming forward thirty years from that first photo.
Landry cousins at Christmas time in 1966
No posting of Girls With Their Dolls in my family could be complete without this next photo. This is from Christmas of 1966 at my Mee Maw’s house. Tim was showing off a car, I was showing off my new sniper rifle, and the girls were showing off their new dolls. Karen looked very satisfied with the doll she was holding. Lauren and her doll both seem to have gotten something in their eyes. Jeanne is happy that she and her doll made it into the photo. Tricia (with the glasses) and Shirley (with the hair) have graduated to holding real children. Tricia has Colleen, while Shirley has Mona. Rob is happy to be the center of attention.
And then there’s poor little Jamie. She wanted a doll of her own to hold. She had her own doll, but she didn’t get to hold it for the photo. Maybe she wanted Karen to have a special moment with a borrowed ‘real doll’ like our mom had? Maybe she didn’t realize that she’d feel lonely without holding her doll when everyone else was holding theirs? Or maybe something else happened. Either way – that was long ago and all is forgiven.
These are Patrick Kenny and Margaret Green, my great great grandparents in Ireland. Their daughter Mary Kate Kenny married Joseph Connors Sr.
Usually I hit a dead end when researching family before they arrived in America, but Ireland posted some old census records online. From the info in Aunt Kate Connors (Clement)’s notes, I was able to find census records on the family. The 1901 Ireland Census lists them and 11 children in the family which gives ages so we can get approximate birth years.
Patrick Kenny was born about 1849 in Drimalagh, Castlerea, Rosscommon, Ireland. Aunt Kate’s notes say, his family “was well fixed.” His brother came to this country and helped build the Washington Monument. The brother returned to Ireland and invested money in cattle.
Margaret Green was born between 1849 and 1852 County Galway, Ireland.
The 1911 census lists Margaret as a widow, so we know Patrick died some time between 1901 and 1911. It also says she had 12 children. The eleven who appear in the censuses are:
Bridget, Patrick, Mary Kate, Francis, Maggie, Thomas, Michael, Selina/Sarah, Timothy, Edward, Annie.
Aunt Kate’s list of names matches pretty well and adds John who based on her list’s order, could have been in his early 20s when the 1901 census took place so may have been married or living on his own by then.
Bea, Patrick, John, Mary Kate, Frank, Maggie, Tom, Mike, Celina, Tim, Ned, Annie.
So far, I can’t get any further back on the Kenny side of the family. But on the Green side, Aunt Kate typed up what her mother, Mary Kate Kenny (Connors) could remember. Mary Kate had left Ireland when she was about 21 years old and may not have had a lot of contact with her siblings that stayed behind so all she had was a few names. She said there were 21 children, 15 of them lived. But we only know the name of the five girls that came to America, Mary Kate, Jennie, Rose, Bea, Sarah. And she listed one sister, Mamie, who stayed in Ireland.
The 1901 Census
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai003848247/
The 1911 Census
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai003189562/
Kathy Jester Mack posted these photos from the Raymond Methodist Church from the early 1950s a few days ago on Facebook. She scanned them from Thelma Brown Jester’s photo collection. People, especially Genevieve Compton Nash were able to name a bunch of them, but it was hard to follow with so many people. So I added numbers and got mom to help fill in a few more blanks. We still need lots of help filling in the blanks.
Reverend Krumnow in front of the congregation.
A second picture taken the same day in front of the church where people used to gather after the service to visit friends and relatives.
And a view of the old Parsonage, Fellowship Hall, and old Church.
I read on the Hathaway Blog that one of Reverend Krumnow’s hobbies was photography. I wonder what kind of photos he took. There must be lots of the congregation in his family albums. Since Rev. Krumnow was a photographer, he may have planned this shot. I wonder if they cleared out the center behind him hoping everyone would be in the shot. They did miss a few though. My grandpa, Herbert Bucklin is only visible in the outdoor shot.
Ferdinand Pierre Patureau 1827-1877
This post is about the first Patureaus in our family that lived in Louisiana – and in the United States for that matter. Since I don’t have photos of his parents Pierre Patureau (Hold on! I believe this photo is a photo of Pierre.) and his wife Anne Rose Machet Patureau, the focus will be on their son Ferdinand. Ferdinand is my generation’s great great grandfather. He was born in France in October of 1826, one of four children. The family decided to move to the United States in 1840 (passport is dated Sept. 10, 1840, so it would be after that date) when Ferdinand was close to fourteen years old. After six months he returned to France by himself without letting anyone know where he was for at least half of a year. He worked his passage across the ocean.
1840 passport for Pierre Patureau, his wife and their four children. Pierre is identified as a boulanger, or baker.
If that’s not a Go Go Patureau, I don’t know what is! I’ve seen and heard different versions of this story, but they usually agree with what I wrote down. After he had been in France for a year and a half, he returned to his family in Louisiana. But when exactly did he return? Did he make it back before his mother died in 1842 from yellow fever? Or before the death of his sister during the same year? And where did the family live? I’ve read that they settled in New Orleans, yet Anne died in Opelousas. Then I read that they moved to the Plaquemine area and settled in Turnerville, which in the northeast area of Plaquemine.
The next big important event in Ferdinand’s life was his marriage to Marie Emma Landry in 1847. She was from West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. They settled in Brusly Landing and started having children soon after. Before the arrival of their eleventh child (my great grandfather Vincent Maximilian) who would be born in 1865, the family moved to Bagdad, Mexico, to get away from the Civil War raging in southern Louisiana. Ferdinand Patureau’s sister Victorine was living there with a large, growing family of her own. I’ve actually been exploring that big TexMex family that descend from the Patureau line. It’s a large family that is more likely to identify themselves as Mexican in much the same way that we are more likely to identify ourselves as Cajun. (I know I do!) I’ve found some interesting stories and photos, but that is for another time.
After the war the family returned to Louisiana and settled in Plaquemine. A few more children were born and then tragedy struck. On Feb. 24 1877, Ferdinand had an accident in the sawmill that he owned which resulted in his death the following day at the age of 50. His wife and two of his children witnessed the accident. He is buried at the large Patureau tomb at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Cemetery in Plaquemine, which is where his father Pierre and many other family members are buried.
The Iberville South Newspaper, Plaquemine, LA., Saturday Morning , March 3, 1877, Vol. 1, No. 17 reads: Mr. F. P. Patureau, while working in his saw mill in this town, was caught by the band and thrown with such force against another portion of the machinery that he died from the injuries received on Saturday morning last. One of his legs was badly crushed, and was amputated by Dr. Postell, all efforts however were unavailing and a hard working, good citizen has been taken from our midst. A large concourse of friends and relatives followed his remains to their resting place on Sunday evening last. (end of transcription)
It doesn’t mention his wife and children being witnesses, but I’ve seen an account of the incident that does mention that fact. It doesn’t say which children were the witnesses. I’d be curious to know who it was.
Aug. 10, 2017 – UPDATE – Replaced the photo with the new and improved version that I got from my dad’s cousin Marie Therese “Sis” Schafer Vicknair. Thanks Sis. Much better than the photo that I started out with.
Poor version of photo that I had for a few years.
July 21, 2022 – Another update! – Now I have found an actual photo of Ferdinand. It could be the basis used for what I now think was a drawing of him. I call it “The Real Photo of Ferdinand Patureau.”
The Landry Family Band on the evening of June 17, 1976. We were playing the song “Mountain Music” with Bob on the guitar, Karen on the ukelele, Van on the bass, Al on the guitar, Jamie on the jug, and Betty on the piano.
Our family started playing at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Wednesday June 16, 1976. We called ourselves the Landry Family Band. This photo was taken on our second night of playing on June 17 – before we had the uniforms that show up in the later photos of our performances.
The anniversary almost slipped by me! I had intended for the 40th Anniversary of playing at Shakey’s to be the main story for my Throwback Thursday series for today. I didn’t think about it when I started my Wednesday evening preparations. I’m kind of glad that I forgot, because I really like the feel that the story about my mom and her grandfather evokes. But if I had remembered, that story would not have been written. So we have an extra installment today. More for everyone!
 Van Landry singing at Shakey’s on Jan. 7, 1978. |
 Bob on the trombone, Jodie on the bass, and Rob on the trumpet were all part of the Landry Family Band. This photo was taken December 23, 1978. |
 Karen was at Shakey’s the most. Besides singing there with the family, she also worked there while she was in college. Here she is on Dec. 23, 1978. |
Jamie singing at Shakey’s on April 21, 1978. |
This was one of the few times that the whole family was there. It was just before Christmas in 1978. There’s Bob on the bass, Jamie, Van with trombone, Karen, Rob singing, Jodie with flute, Al with guitar, and Betty on the piano.
1949 – Harry Clifton Phenice and granddaughter Betty Lou Bucklin
I found this photo recently hiding among some more recent photos. It looks a little familiar, but the details of it are really charming. It looks like Grandpa Phenice may have been out working in the yard. He’s barefoot and it looks like he took his cap off for the photo. (Betty Lou says, “Come on Grandpa, come take a picture with me without your cap on. I’ll bring you a nice dessert after dinner tonight.” He responds, “Well, alright.”)
The year is 1949 and the place is Hathaway, Louisiana. (It is also called China.) Mom was a sophomore or junior in high school and Grandpa Phenice was a 75 year old man. From what I’ve been told he was a very strong man even late in his life. In fact it wasn’t long after this photo was taken that his strength was his undoing.
Some kind of work was being done on a well and a heavy pump needed to be moved. Instead of getting others to help or letting younger backs take care of it for him, he decided to move it himself. He succeeded in moving it, yet the strain from the activity led to him having a stroke which left him bedridden for the rest of his life.
So this is one of the last glimpses into the life that he might have considered normal. Going about his daily business and taking a break to spend a little time with his granddaughter. The simple joys.