52 Ancestors 2022: Week 3: Favorite Photo

Four Generations in One Photo x 2

Not every kid born in the 1990’s can tout that she has a photograph with her Great-Grandmother. In fact, not every kid born in the 90’s can say she has a four-generation photo comprised of herself, mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother. As a matter of fact, I have two four-generation photographs.

When I was growing up, it seemed to be rare that any of my friends knew a Great-Grandparent. More so, some of them hadn’t even had the luck of knowing a Grandparent. Now, rewind to the 1960’s when my Mom was a kid… she knew three of her Great-Grandparents and one of them lived to be 97 years old. He died when my Mom was 17.

I wish on everything I am that I could have had my Great-Grandmother until I was 17, but unfortunately she passed away on October 2nd, 2001, when I was 8 years old. The Great-Grandmother I’m talking about is my direct maternal line Great-Grandmother, Anna Elizabeth (Thompson) Sandefur. 

You'll notice me make mention of my Nana a lot on this blog and on my genealogy page on Facebook... because she's the entire reason I got into doing genealogy going on twenty-two years ago now (in the year 2000.) 

Nana, as all of her grandkids and great-grandkids called her, was born on August 18th, 1916, in the Smith Mills area of Henderson County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of John Rowan Thompson, a farmer who ended up making a bit of money in the oil industry, and Mary Janella Nally, a homemaker who ruled her home with a tender but firm touch.

Nana was the 7th child of 8 born to John and Janella. In fact, the 5th child, Vannie Louise, had just died of membranous croup on November 19th, 1915. It probably was just after that, that Janella got pregnant with my Nana. 

It was on August 25th, 1933, that Nana became Mrs. Henry Lloyd Sandefur — and it was indeed a shotgun wedding. They eloped to Shawneetown, Gallatin County, Illinois for the wedding and Nana lied about her age. Eight months later, Nana gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Carolyn. Two sons -- Donald "Don" and William "Buddy" came afterward and then the next girl — my Grandmother, Glynda Jane. 

Grandma was born at home when they were living on Letcher Street, here in Henderson, on Friday, June 13th. 1941. She was delivered by the late Dr. Walter O’Nan — the father of the doctor who delivered me almost 52 years later, Dr. William O’Nan. 

Now my Mom, she was the first of only two children born to my Grandparents -- Jady & Glynda. Mom was brought into the world at about 2:30 AM on January 8th, 1963, and her younger brother followed two years and three days later. Unfortunately, we lost my Uncle on July 5th, 2014.. he was only 49 years old. 

The two photographs I have that are four generations were taken roughly Christmas 1993 (when I was ten months old) and then the summer of 1996, I believe, when I was 3 years old. It *might* have been summer of 1997, when I was 4 years old. 

The photograph from Christmas of '93, being a typical kid... I had taken to it with an ink pen. There's a wonderful group on Facebook called "Random Acts of Photo Restoration" and they helped me edit the photo back to its near original glory. (Note for all you with kids out there....hide your family photos. Hide them until your kids are about 13 years old lol.) 

You can't even tell that Nana's face, all over Grandma's body, and even some over my face and my Mom's face had pen scribbles, can you? They did an awesome job! Kudos to that Facebook group!

The above photograph was taken in the backyard of my Grandparents house in front of their little 'barn' building. I actually just found another picture like this one but a little bit closer to us the other day. I knew the photo existed, but had forgotten what photo album it had been slipped into. So here it is for y'all to see. 

All of these photos were taken at my Grandparents house.. That house, even to this day, is my favorite place in the world. Sadly, it was sold at auction in August of 2015. I drive past it multiples times, every single day. Sometimes I just want to pull into the driveway and sit there a while. Reminisce on being a kid, on better times. I miss my Great-Grandmother, I miss my Grandparents, I miss my Uncle. I miss all of us being a family. 

They always say when the Grandparents pass away, the family splinters apart...that's no lie and no exaggeration. I don't talk to my cousins whatsoever now. I can't tell you hardly anything going on in their lives. One cousin makes the newspaper fairly often for her work with the Habitat for Humanity. I do speak to my youngest cousin... he's a Dad now. He sends us pictures of his baby boy fairly often. 

Well, that's the gist of my favorite photographs.. Photographs speak a thousand words and my how I wish I could hear the voices of my Great-Grandma and my Grandma again. I'm tearing up just as I type this. What I wouldn't give to sit on a bench and chat with both of them again for a while. Don't you just wish heaven had a telephone? Or visiting hours? Pack up a picnic and spend a Sunday afternoon up there.. 

52 Ancestors 2022: Week 2: Favorite Find

I thought I'd take a moment to go over some of my favorite finds since starting genealogy in 2000 -- they've come in the last few years and they've come from newspapers. 

This will forever be one of my favorite things I've discovered in the newspaper. This was from the July 10th, 1902 "Courier & Press" out of Evansville, Indiana. I knew my 4x Grandmother's name was Susan and I knew her maiden name was something like Switzer, Sweitzer, Sweilzer... then finally I found out it was Schweitzer. 

Susan was born in April of 1802 and died July 5th, 1902. So she was just slightly over one hundred years old. What I didn't realize, was that she and her husband, John Byrd, were considered pioneers of Posey County, Indiana...and thus through them, and this newspaper clipping, I can join The Society of Indiana Pioneers, if I want to. I actually e-mailed the genealogist with the Society of Indiana Pioneers and she confirmed, when/if I want to join, Susan Schweitzer & John Byrd are a great couple to use. 

They married in Posey County, Indiana, on March 12th, 1831. I believe the genealogist of the Society of Pioneers said that proof of any ancestor in, especially Southern Indiana, by 1820 was grounds for joining. John Byrd is in Posey County, in the census, by 1820.

Censuses said Susan was from Pennsylvania, but this article helped confirm that. There were other Schweitzer's that came to Posey County, Indiana, and I had to play "connect the dots" to finally figure out who Susan's parents were.. My DNA didn't help with the Schweitzer line...but my Mom's absolutely did!! 

I finally figured out (after almost two years of playing with Mom's DNA) that Susan was the daughter of Jacob Schweitzer & Elisabeth Hoke. Jacob was born July 13th, 1765 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His wife, Elisabeth, was born February 7th, 1766. They married roughly 1788, because I've found a son born to them in 1790. By the 1820 census, Jacob & Elisabeth are in Columbiana, Ohio. They never made it as far as Indiana, so for a moment or two, I'd thought maybe I'd found the wrong couple.

However, the connection to the state of Ohio helped give credence to Mary "Polly" Schweitzer, who married Samuel Davis in Posey County, Indiana, in 1830, being a sister of Susan Schweitzer. The family clearly migrated to Ohio probably post 1810. The girls, how they ended up in Southern Indiana... perhaps they came with other relatives? Friends of the family? I'm unsure. 

Jacob Schweitzer died in Columbiana County, Ohio, on October 27th, 1841, and Elisabeth followed him in death on December 20th, 1844. 

Jacob was the son of Peter Schweitzer and Elizabeth Heffelfinger. My Mom has numerous DNA matches through them. Elisabeth was the daughter of Johannes "John" Hoke and Maria Sabina Schwob; Mom has numerous DNA matches through them as well! So I know I've found the correct lineage for my Susan (Schweitzer) Byrd at long last. 

Susan, whos full first name was Susannah, and her husband John had at least seven children: Jesse, Samuel, John, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jonathan, and Esther. My ancestor is their son John, who married Maria Moore. 

John & Maria were both born in Posey County, Indiana, but eventually migrated over to Henderson County, Kentucky. They're both buried in the Smith Mills Cemetery. They left quite a progeny of Byrd's on this side of the Ohio River. Lots of us are still living in Henderson County today.

Susan (Schweitzer) Byrd's death certificate says she was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery -- I believe that's the one in Poseyville, Posey County, Indiana. I'm unsure where her husband, John, is buried. Perhaps on the family farm? He died sometime between 1860 and 1870. He wasn't in the Civil War. 

The Byrd line has been a tough nut to crack, too. John Byrd, as far as I know, was the son of John Byrd and Mary Brookes. His father, John Byrd, was born about 1772 in I believe Caswell County, North Carolina. That's where he married Mary Brookes on July 21st, 1795. By 1820, though, they're in Posey County, Indiana. 

John Byrd 1772 dies sometime between 1850 and 1860. Mary (Brookes) Byrd I believe dies between 1840 and 1850, as she doesn't appear with her husband in the 1850 census. I have a lot of DNA matches connecting to John Byrd & Catherine King, so for now, that's my hypothesis of parentage for my John Byrd 1772. 

John & Mary (Brookes) Byrd had at least eight children. I descend through another of their children -- Elizabeth Byrd (1810-1883) who married Littleton Keeling (1796-1858). Their daughter, Sarah Keeling (1828-1868) married Solomon "Sol" Moore (1828-1875) and they were the parents of Maria Moore, the one and the same that married John Byrd, son of John Byrd & Susan Schweitzer. 

That's actually another interesting discovery... My 4x Grandmother, Sarah (Keeling) Moore is buried next to a house in Mt. Vernon, Posey County, Indiana. It's next to 103. W. Sherman. She died in 1868, and Sol, her husband, died in 1875... but no tombstone has been found for him. Her tombstone just stands there... by itself, behind a house in the middle of town. You can even see it on Google Street View!!

Another interesting newspaper clipping I found mentions my 4x Grandmother, Maria (Knight) Lawhorn Brown Ballard. It confirmed her as the mother of my 3x Grandmother, Sarah (Brown) Bastin (wife of Martin Stimmons Bastin) and it also finally confirmed when she died -- May 1898, in Lincoln County, Kentucky. 

Maria has been a tough person to track down. She was born circa 1815 in Virginia, I believe. She married first to Benjamin Lawhorn on May 30th, 1835, in Casey County, Kentucky, who was at least 40 years her senior. They had at least two daughters that are mentioned in his will (in 1845): Christina and Lavinia.  (I had previously believed Maria was born about 1805 and he was only 20 years older than her, but upon more research, I don't believe she was born as early as 1805, I believe she was born closer to 1815.)

Then Maria married Brazil Brown on March 6th, 1847, in Wayne County, Kentucky. They had I believe two daughters: Julia (also called Juda), and my ancestor, Sarah. By 1860, Maria is widowed or divorced as Brazil is no longer in census with her. 

She married for the last time on June 11th, 1866, in Lincoln County, Kentucky, to John H. Ballard. They had no children. I believe John Ballard died sometime between the 1880 census and when Maria died in 1898, as, I don't believe he survived her. 

I believe that Maria's parentage is up in the air. She could be a daughter of Ephraim Knight and Mary Carrel -- but more probably, she's the daughter of Robert Knight and Martha Burgess. I fully believe she and her husband, Brazil, were related to each other through the Burgess family. 

Her husband, Brazil Brown, was the son of Jesse Brown & Juda Hodge, I believe...and she was the daughter of Amasa Hodge & Jane McDaniel -- some of my Burgess DNA matches are DNA descendants of Amasa & Jane, that would make sense that they are our MRCA.. but, considering I have no Brown DNA matches... I wonder if Brazil Brown was actually the son of a Burgess and born out of an affair.

My last "OMG" discovery was that my Great-Grandmother, Lorene (LaRue) Blanford wrote into the newspaper, on behalf of her Dad, Charles Clarence LaRue, to try and learn about their family history. To know that my LaRue ancestors were interested in their genealogy...well, it sent me into giddy mode major. 

My Mom told me a story that she, my Grandparents, and my Great-Grandparents took a road trip to South Dakota to see my Uncle Jay while he was stationed there. On the way back, they went to Kansas and saw "some of Grandma Lorene's cousins." I believe those cousins were some LaRue's that wrote to her from this very newspaper article! 

Benjamin Hardin LaRue, my 3x Grandfather, was the son of Josiah LaRue & Mary Castleman -- some of their children ended up moving west into Missouri, Arkansas, and even Kansas. It's no coincidence, now, that Lorene met up with cousins who lived in Kansas. It's because of this very article printed in the Evansville newspaper on August 18th, 1973.