Almost Famous

I've been working through my unprocessed materials that have piled up for many years.  I've posted a picture before:

Today I came across an article, "Eaches of Loudoun County, Virginia," by Thomas Katheder, Esq. of Lake Buena Vista, Florida, published in The Virginia Genealogist Vol. 42 No. 4, April 1998.  My interest in the Eaches is just peripheral; Joseph Eaches was a business partner of Robert Braden, doing business with him and John Morgan as Braden Morgan & Company from about 1816 to about 1821.

I was reading through the article looking for tidbits to add to my information on Robert Braden and his business dealings, when I came upon this in the footnotes:  "The author is grateful to Sue Beach, Muncie, Ind., who has compiled an extensive Braden genealogy and who has posted much of it on the Internet at http://www.rootsweb.com/~valoudou/index.html."  

That sentence really made my day.

It is good to know that my research is useful to others and is being used to further their research.   And I really appreciate the fact that Mr. Katheder cited his sources.  

Rediscoveries: Robert F. Braden's Civil War Trunk

While we no longer have the original letters, we do have transcriptions made by Vera (Healey) Braden of the Civil War letters of Robert F. Braden.

Below is a page from one of those transcriptions.  This is a transcription of a letter Robert wrote from Prairie Grove, Arkansas on 22 December 1862:

I want to call your attention to the 4th paragraph that begins "But if you could look..."

Notice that he describes his living quarters in his tent and mentions "...in the other corner is a box with a folding lid, which holds my uniform and traps and when opened makes a very convenient desk."

Well, we have that box.

We have had it for ages and knew it was old and a "family piece," but didn't realize that it was the box Robert was describing in his letter, until one day while sorting through the stuff we keep inside it, I noticed that the lid was stained with ink (see that black spot).  And then I saw written on the inside of the lid:

"R.F.Braden" written in ink on the inside of the lid.

So while we no longer have Robert's letters, we have the box he used as a desk to write them.

Old Letters Update #3 - Facts, Deductions & Suppositions

Discovering that the empty envelopes did not match the letters we have set me on a quest to finally get a handle on the old Braden letters.

I had put together a spreadsheet of the empty envelopes and I decided to add to that and compile a full overview of the letters we know were in the family at one time.

I looked over the correspondence I have between Vera (Healey) Braden and the various staff at the Indiana Historical Society.  I re-discovered a news article from 1936 that talks about the letters.  And I looked at the letters we still have.

I still need to go through the letters that we have only as copies provided by the Indiana Historical Society.  I will report again once I finish the spread sheet.

But I think I have come up with a logical "story" of the Braden letters.  This is based on facts, but has a number of deductions and suppositions.  So here is my proposed Braden Letters Story:

The Address Sheet of one of the early Braden letters

Most of the earliest letters are either written TO Deborah (Young) Jenners or BY her daughter, Nancy (Jenners) Jennings.  Deborah died in 1842 and Nancy in 1844.  Mary's other sister, Sarah, died in 1846.  The other early letters were written TO Mary (Jenners) Braden or a few to her husband, Burr Braden.

I believe that after the death of her mother and sisters, Mary (Jenners) Braden, came into possession of the letters that had be written to her mother and her sister, Nancy.  Many of the letters TO Nancy were probably FROM Elizabeth (Braden) Hixon, based on the letters that we have that were written BY Nancy.

Sometime in the 1850s, Elizabeth (Braden) Hixon's daughter, Betty (Hixon) Fenton, visited Burr and Mary Braden at their home in Jefferson, Indiana.  I believe that at that time, Mary Braden gave Betty the letters her mother, Elizabeth, had written to Mary's sister, Nancy.  And Betty gave Mary the letters Nancy had written to Elizabeth.  That would explain why the Braden letters our family had were the ones Nancy had WRITTEN not the ones she had RECEIVED.

The next significant group of letters were written BY Robert F. Braden TO his parents, Burr and Mary Braden, and family while he was serving in the military during the Civil War.   Burr died while Robert was in the service.  Mary kept her son's letters.  Mary died before Robert was discharged.

After Burr and Mary died, their son, William M. Braden, took over the family farm and homestead.  The letters apparently remained in the old home.  William married Laura Watt and they had three children: Mary Jane, Robert F., and Alba E. Braden.

A large number of the letters were written by relatives of Laura (Watt) Braden TO her, so Laura apparently saved her letters, too.  The family continued to live in the old home and both William and Laura died there.  So, I suspect, the letters remained there until after Laura's death.

William and Laura's son, Robert F., took over running the family farm and eventually married, though he had no children.  Their daughter, Mary Jane, never married.  Their son, Alba, married Emily Crane and had two children, William Robert and Laura Nancy.  I will do blog posts on all these people, but for now, I want to think about the letters.

Another significant group of the letters are written to Mary Jane Braden.  She was a letter-saver, too.

Sometime after her parents died, Mary Jane Braden moved from the family farm to a house in Frankfort, Indiana.  She lived there until her death in 1932.  Her obituary mentions that she kept numerous scrapbooks that "would be of interest to any library."  I've never seen these scrapbooks.

Both Alba and his wife Emily died while their children were young.  The children's uncle and aunt, Robert and Mary Jane Braden, became their guardians.

Here is what I believe happened next.  When Mary Jane moved into Frankfort, she took the letters with her.  She put them into a scrapbook.  Or maybe more than one scrapbook.  Some of the envelopes still have signs of glue on them from being pasted into a scrapbook.  The 1936 news article I have about the letters mentions that they are in a scrapbook.  The correspondence with the Indiana Historical Society mentions removing them from a scrapbook.

When Mary Jane died in 1932, her heirs were her nephew and niece, William R. and Laura N. Braden.   My husband's mother remembers her mother, Vera (Healey) Braden, and her aunt, Laura (Braden) Pavey, cleaning out Mary Jane's house.  It seems likely that Vera came into possession of the scrapbooks with the letters at that time.

In her correspondence about the letters, Vera says (in 1963) that "for 31 years I have had letters on the Civil War, written by Major Robert Braden..."  So, she got them in 1932 which is when Mary Jane Braden died.

In 1964, Vera allowed the Indiana Historical Society to publish her transcriptions of some of the Civil War letters.  Then in 1969, Vera allowed the Indiana Historical Society to make copies of all the letters still in her possession.  They were removed from the scrapbook(s) at that time for copying.  The letters were returned to Vera laid flat in folders.

Sometime after the 1969 copying, all the Civil War letters and most of the letters written before the Civil War left Vera's possession.  We don't know for sure what happened to them.  My mother-in-law says Vera sold them to a collector, but I have no documentation.

I know one of the oldest letters, from Martin Jenners to his mother, Deborah, written in 1826 is now in the possession of a library in Florida, given to them by a collector.

I suspect that the letters Betty (Hixon) Fenton got from Mary (Jenners) Braden when she visited in the 1850s are the documents that went up for sale in an estate sale in Little Rock, Arkansas.  This was the sale that another researcher attended and purchased a couple of the documents which she then gave to me.

The letters that remain in the family are currently in archival boxes here in my office.  I plan to scan them so I can share them.  I am not sure yet just how many letters there were originally; however, my spreadsheet has 517 items on it.  The oldest is a cover sheet for a letter dated 1799 and addressed to Abiel Jenners, Washington City.  This item is MISSING but the Indiana Historical Society has a copy.  There are 247 empty envelopes with no letters and that the IHS does NOT have copies of.  There are 86 letters that we used to have and that the IHS has copies of, but that we no longer have the originals.  And there are 184 items that we still have the original.  These range in date from 1826 to 1969. 

Rediscoveries: Chicago Exposition of 1893

As I mentioned in my post about Laura (Watt) Braden, in June 1893, she visited the Chicago Exposition.  I posted my not-very-good snapshot of the commemorative newspaper we have framed:

Sorting through some other items this week, I came across several interesting advertising cards that Laura must have brought home from her visit to the Exposition.  I share them below:

Rediscoveries: Frankfort High School Class of 1889

Robert F. Braden, son of William M. Braden and Laura Watt Braden, was graduated from Frankfort High School, Frankfort, Indiana  in June 1889.  The above items are from that graduation. 

Old Letters Update #2 - Many More Missing Than We Thought

I've written before about the many old letters that we are lucky enough to have in our possession and about the ones we know are now missing.  For those who missed the posts, they are HERE and HERE.

Anyway, I finally got around to going through the pile of empty envelopes that have been in my "To Do" box for ages.  I discovered that there are 241 envelopes ranging in postmarks from June 1876 to May 1926.  I had always assumed that they went with the letters we have.

241 empty envelopes!

Today, I tried to match the envelopes to the letters and discovered that they don't match.

So, that means that there are 241 letters that the family USED to have that are no longer in our possession.

So the mystery of what happened to the missing letters just got even bigger.  WHY did my husband's grandmother keep some of the letters and get rid of the others?  She apparently kept the envelopes because she thought the stamps might be valuable.  To me, the envelopes and stamps are just a frustrating, tantalizing reminder of all the family history that is lost to us because the letters are gone.

Letter: Lucien Stilwell to Mary Elva Stilwell 23 August 1870

On 23 August 1870, Lucien White Stilwell (1844-1932), who was living in Cairo, Illinois, wrote a letter to his nine-year-old sister, Mary Elva Stilwell (1861-1955), called "Minnie" by the family.

Lucien White Stilwell

Mary Elva Stilwell, age 16, ca 1877

The envelope is addressed to: Miss Minnie Stilwell, Metomen, Fond du Lac Co., Wisconsin.  The postmark is not readable.  Printed in pencil in corner in another hand: “Mary Elva Stilwell = Minnie   Age 9 in 1870”

Cairo, Ill  Aug 23  1870
My Dear Sister Minnie,

    I was very glad to read your letter so well written by a little girl.  I hope you will continue to improve until you become a good writer & composer.  Good writing, good spelling & nicely composed letters &c show well in a young lady.  I have seen spelling in writing by some ladies that consider themselves very much accomplished as the present notions have it, that to see them

(the spelling especially) very much lowers their accomplishments in my estimation.  I believe that one half of the “brilliant” spoken and fashionable ladies are very much show their ignorance when they write, & I have seen considerable of it.  We get written orders for groceries from them sometimes & comp grammar & spelling greet us such I did not look for from such sources.  Think, Minnie, that true accomplishments consist in a good head & heart, & not in dress, pianos, fashionable leisure, afternoon calls & empty conversation (brainless).  Don’t think I mean you will ever have these notions, but you don’t know where you will be 

placed by the time you grow up if you live, & how easily young misses are inclined to such notions  when thrown into society of such Character.  Hannah is now where she sees much of such in F.D. Lac, & is of just the right age to be influenced by them.  A young miss of 15 here, visiting, thinks she is a young lady of the right size to rush along among the fashionables, have plenty of beaux & put on airs, looking down of on common people, as big as any woman.  Such traits are detestable.  She better act like a modest little girl & go to school to learn.  I kn  And so anxious is she to get along fast that she is not overly choice in 

her selection of company – though that is respectable, but such ones do not stop to think of real worth in companions – especially, of youths of the male kind.  I know another of the same age nearly, who wears shorter dresses, thinks she is nothing but a young girl, is modest & keeps her place, & has real merit; the two are cousins.  The former is naturally smarter & the last naturally better & consequently would be most loved.  Girls now a days get old heads too soon.  Live & learn – in education & true merits while a girl, Minnie, for you will be a woman soon enough, if you live.  Our Sunday school was first rate Sunday, & larger.  You ought to see how eager the little girls are for the new Library book.  Well my sheet is almost full.  I hope you will write me again a longer letter.  Much love to you & Edie, Grandma & Warren.  The big ones don’t need any news than I sent by Hannah.
            Your affct. Brother Lucien

Hankinson Attic Photos: Mystery Young Woman - A Stilwell?

This photo was among the family photos we obtained from the attic of the John R. Jones house in Hankinson, North Dakota.  The copy I have as obviously been made from an older original.  If you look closely, you can see that the original had been removed from its frame in order to make the copy.  It looks to me to have been in one of those small fancy glass covered frames, much like what she is holding. 

From her hair and clothing, I would date this as Civil War or before.  She seems to be about 16 - 18 years old.   When I asked Marycarol Jones about this photo, she just said she thought it was "a Stilwell."

I have given it a lot of thought, and have come to the conclusion that she MAY be Mary Kay White (1824-1901) who married Lonson Stilwell and was the mother of Mary Elva Stilwell who married John R. Jones.  If I am right, then the photo was taken ca 1840-1842, which is certainly possible.

Here is a picture that I know is Mary Kay (White) Stilwell:

Mary Kay (White) Stilwell

So what do you think? 

Rediscoveries: Starr School 5B

Not the greatest copy, sorry.  My copy is a photocopy of the original and it is too big for my scanner, so this is a photo of that!

Anyway, this is the 5th grade class of Starr School in Richmond, Indiana, probably taken about 1937 or so.  My mother-in-law and father-in-law are both in this picture.  I can't identify anyone else, but am putting it out there for the benefit of others.

If I ever get a better copy, I will update this post.

Stella Naomi (Hough) Healey, 1875-1974

Stella Naomi Hough was born in Clarksburg, Decatur Co., Indiana on 3 January 1875.  Her parents were Rev. Milton Thomas Hough and his wife, Martha Jane Alcorn.

Stella Hough, age 3, ca 1878, tintype

The family moved around a lot, perhaps because of her father's occupation as a minister.  By the 1850 census, when Stella was five, they were in Marion, Grant Co., Indiana.  The family was shown as: Hough, Milton T., wm 40, married, minister; Mattie J. wf 40 wife, keeping house; Rosalie, wf 14, daughter; Homer, wm 11, son; Stella N, wf 5, daughter.

Stella Hough, age 4, ca 1879

By 1885, the Houghs were living at Lyons, Rice Co, Kansas.  The 1885 Kansas state census shows the family as: M.T. Hough, 45, m, w, married, minister; M.J. Hough, 45, f w married; H.H. Hough, 16, m w; S.N. Hough 10 f w.

The following photo is of the family home in Lyons, Kansas.   A note on the back says Stella lived there when she was eleven years old.

Hough Home, Lyons, Kansas about 1886

By January 1889, the family was in Holton, Jackson Co., Kansas.  On 19 January 1889, Stella's mother, Mattie (Alcorn) Hough, died.  Stella was 14 years old.

Stella Hough, age 15 (ca 1890)

A few months later, in September 1889, Stella's father, Milton, remarried to Mary Victoria Cain.

Stella was living in Moniteau Co., Missouri by June 1893 when she and George Howland Healey applied for a marriage license.  Stella and George were married at the Christian Church in Tipton, Moniteau Co., Missouri on 14 June 1893.  Stella's father, Rev. Milton T. Hough, performed the marriage.  Stella was 18 years old and George was 19.

 George Howland Healey was born 14 November 1873 in Jasper Co., Indiana.  He was the son of Joshua and Julia (Howland) Healey.  I will do a separate post about George; I want to focus mostly on Stella in this post.

Henry Sylvester Healey

On 16 November 1894, at Sedalia, Missouri, Stella gave birth to their first child, a son they named, Henry Sylvester Healey, after one of George's uncles.

About 1895, George and Stella went to Washington, D.C. where he worked as a printer in the Government Printing Office.  But they were back in Indiana by 27 January 1896 when their second child, a son they named George Warren Healey, was born at Brookston in White County.  They had moved to Brookston so George could work as the editor of a newspaper there.

George Warren Healey ca 1899 (baby in the window is his sister, Vera)

On 10 August 1896, young Henry Sylvester died of cholera at Brookston, Indiana.  He was only about 20 months old.  He was buried at Weston Cemetery in Rensselaer, Indiana.

Stella and George's next child, daughter Vera Voynne Healey, was born 6 June 1898 at Brookston, Indiana.

Vera Voynne Healey

The 1900 census shows the family living in Brookston and gives the following information:  "Healey, George H., born Nov. 1872, age 27, married 7 yrs, born IN, father born Canada (Eng), mother born IN, occupation publisher, renting home, can read, write & speak English;   ---Stella H., wife, born Jan 1875, age 25, married 7 yrs, had 3 children & 2 still living, born IN, father born IN, mother born Missouri, can read, write, speak English;    ----George W., son, born Jan 1896, age 4, born IN, father & mother both born in IN;  ----Vera V., daughter, born June 1898, age 1, born IN, parents both born in IN;  ----Julia A., mother [George's], born Feb 1840, age 60, had 5 children with 3 still living, born IN, father born New York, mother born New Jersey, can read, write, speak English;  ----Maud J., sister [George's], born Apr 1880, age 20, single, born IN, mother born IN, father born Canada, occupation publisher, can read, write & speak English"

Another daughter, Ivah Maud Healey, was born at Brookston on 14 August 1900.

On 27 October 1900, Stella's father, Milton T. Hough, died at Holton, Kansas.

Stella (Hough) Healey about 1900

Sometime between August 1900 and December 1905, the family moved to Rensselaer, Jasper Co., Indiana.  George became active in the Indiana National Guard and became the publisher of the Rensselaer Republican newspaper.

George W., Ivah, and Vera Healey

Ivah (top), Vera (middle) and George W. Healey

On 23 December 1905, another son, Adna Julian, was born at Rensselaer, Indiana.  The family usually called him "Jim."

In September 1908, the family was living in the "Old Tyler House" on North Weston St. in Rensselaer.  That house has since been torn down.  The following picture was taken there.

Healey Family, 6 September 1908

Identities (left to right) per the back of the photo:  "Rensselaer, Indiana, in George Healey's yard 'Old Tyler House.' Taken in 1908.  September 6 1908.  Maude Healey Mills, Edward Mills, George W. Healey, Mrs. Anna Mills, Vera Healey, Carry Jasperson, Ivah Healey, Stella Hough Healey, Adna Healey, George H. Healey, Mrs. Julia Healey."  Maude was George H.'s sister; Julia was his mother.

The 1910 census finds the family still on Weston St. in Rensselaer, Indiana.  The household was: George H. Healey, head, 37, married once for 16 years, Editor of newspaper; Stella, wife, 35, married once for 16 years, 5 children with 4 living; George W., son, 14; Vera V., daughter, 11; Ivah M., daughter, 9; Adna J., son, 4; Julia A., mother, 70, widow, 5 children with 3 living.

By 1912, the family had moved to the "Randall House" on the corner of Susan and Cullen Streets in Rensselaer.   The following picture was taken on the porch of that house.

Healey family, Summer 1912

This photo is also identified on the back, though not quite so clearly as the one above.  Location was given as "Porch - Randall House, Rensselaer, Indiana."  Left to right: Florence Lyon (holding) Julia A. Lyon (4 years old), Lucille Lyon,  Martha Hall, Stella, Aunt Mary Faucett, Joe (Lyon), Vera, Dora Healey Lyon, Adna, George Healey Sr., Maud Healey Mills, Mother Healey, Ivah, Imogene, Emma Faucett Hall."

On 20 February 1915, son Homer Max Healey was born in Rensselaer.

Stella and George about 1916

In June 1916, George and his son, George W., were called up for duty (they were in the Indiana National Guard) and sent to Ft. Sam Houston in Texas.  They were sent to fight in the Mexican Border War.  Stella and the children moved to Texas to be near George.  Stella's sister, Rose, also lived in Texas.

On 22 November 1917, Stella and George's oldest son, George W., married Ida Mae Brewer in Hattisburg, Mississippi.

Then in 1918, George was sent overseas during WWI.  Stella and the children lived in Texas and New Orleans during George's absence. 

On 31 October 1918, George and Stella's first grandchild was born, George Warren Healey, Jr., son of George W. and Ida (Brewer) Healey.

By 1920, George was back from France and the family had moved back to Indiana, settling in Frankfort, Clinton Co. where George was the editor of the Frankfort Crescent News and Frankfort Times.  The family was in Frankfort for about three years.  It was during this time that daughter, Vera, met her future husband, William R. Braden.  Vera and Bill were married 24 February 1923 in Louisville, Kentucky.

On 3 February 1925, daughter Ivah married Roy Dallas Parks in Indianapolis.

By the 1930 census, George and Stella were living in Indianapolis at 2415 Alabama St.  The household lists: Healey, George H., head, renter, m,w,57, married at age 20, born Indiana; Supt. Pub. Relations, Street Railway; Stella N, wife, f, w, 56, married at 18, born Indiana; Homer M., son, m, w, 15, single, born Indiana, soda boy at drug store; Parks, Roy D., son-in-law, m, w, 37, first married at age 22, born Indiana, auto trimmer, paint shop; Ivah M, daughter, f w 29, m at age 24, born Indiana.

I am not sure when son, Jim, left home, but it was certainly before the 1930 census.  He was in Los Angeles for a time and married Tommie Kight in Yuma, Arizona in 1932.

Max married Elizabeth D. Rea in September 1935 in Madison, Indiana.

By 1942, George and Stella were living at the English Hotel on Monument Circle in Indianapolis.

Stella Naomi (Hough) Healey

On 14 June 1943, Stella and George celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Hotel Antlers, Indianapolis.  The following picture was taken at that celebration:

On 19 June 1945, George H. Healey died in Indianapolis.  Stella was 70 years old.  After George's death, Stella lived at various places in Indianapolis and shared her home with daughter, Ivah, who was also a widow.

Stella at Vera and Bill's cabin in Canada, date unknown

Stella in New Mexico, ca 1950

Stella at her 90th birthday party, January 1965

Stella Naomi (Hough) Healey died 19 June 1974, just 6 months short of her 100th birthday.  

One of several obituaries follows (from the Rensselaer Republican):  

"Graveside Rites Saturday for Stella Healey.  Stella Hough Healey, 99, of Indianapolis, passed away at 4:00 a.m. Wednesday in Greenview Manor, Indianapolis.  She had been in failing health two years. 

Born in Clarksburg, Indiana, on January 3, 1875, she was the daughter of the Rev. Milton T. and Martha J. (Alcorn) Hough.  She was married to Brigadier General George H. Healey; he passed away February 16, 1945.  Gen. Healey was a former partner in ownership of the Republican.  He merged the newspaper with the Rensselaer Journal, owned by Leslie Clark, in 1908.  Healey and Clark operated the paper together until 1921.  

A resident of Indianapolis for 40 years, Mrs. Healey was a member of Central Christian Church of Indianapolis and the Marion County Chapter of American War Mothers.  She was a charter member and first president of the American Legion Auxiliary of Indianapolis, had served as National Junior Vice President of the Mexican Border Veterans Auxiliary of Indianapolis, and was Past President of the Friday Afternoon Reading Club.
Surviving are three sons, George W. of Palms Springs, California, A. James of Santa Paula, California, and H. Max of Chicago; two daughters, Mrs. Vera Braden of Richmond, Indiana, and Mrs. Ivah M. Parks of Indianapolis; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

Graveside rites will be conducted from Weston Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Saturday with the Rev. David Fischer officiating.  Jackson Funeral Chapel is in charge of local arrangements."

Stella is buried next to her husband, George, at Weston Cemetery in Rensselaer, Indiana.  There is no tombstone.