Week 8 - Courting (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Here is my grandparent's courting story as told by my grandmother, Elizabeth to her daughter.  

"Mother & Dad met at a party held by the "Arnold Girls".  One October or November, the Arnold girls were planning a party.  When one of the girls asked, "Whom shall we invite?".  Anna said, "Well, ask Floyd Heacock!"  So they did and at this party, Floyd & Elizabeth met.  Time passed till March, at which time Floyd asked Elizabeth to a dance - officially their first date! Floyd, at this time, was working in a local drugstore as a soda-jerk.  He asked Bernard Arnold in the drug store one day if he thought Elizabeth would go out with him.  Bernard, Elizabeth's brother replied, "I don't know.  Why don't you ask her!?"  So Floyd did so; Elizabeth accepted and they went to a dance in Manns Choice or somewhere.  Later they went to a basketball game - "Romance was born". One time Elizabeth & sister Anna stayed at Aunt Cel's on West Pitt St. in Bedford because their brothers & sisters had measles and the family was quarantined.  Elizabeth and Anna had already had measles, so they were allowed to go to school, but had to stay at Aunt Cel's.  Aunt Cel's house was freezing cold in the parlor and the bedrooms.  Floyd was dating Elizabeth while she was staying with Aunt Cel.  When asked if the "cold" promoted "cuddling" , Elizabeth replied " Oh, we didn't know each other well enough, then!"" 

The story doesn't tell the year that they met, but it sounds like they must have met in high school. Elizabeth attended a commercial business school in Harrisburg in 1923 right after graduating from high school.  We have Valentine cards and a Christmas card that Floyd sent to her at a Harrisburg address.  By 1925, Elizabeth was back home working for the local office of the Pa Transportation department.  Floyd Heacock was 23 and Elizabeth Arnold almost 22 when they married at 7AM on  Monday, June 4, 1928 in the St. Thomas Catholic Church Rectory.  The Best Man was Paul Kund.  The Maid of Honor was sister Anna Arnold.  They took a wedding trip to Watkins Glen and Niagara Falls.

Floyd's Valentines to Elizabeth

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 7: Landed (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 Landed ...... When I first see this word, my mind immediately goes to the skies, as in Aviation.  It's automatic since there are many individuals in recent family that have been involved in that industry, including us.  But. of course, I think for this week's topic, I need to stay on the ground and think ..... Farmers. 

If your ancestors have been in America for longer than a hundred years or so, you may find a few farmers  among them.  It would not be surprising, especially if they were the wandering type always looking for good farm land.  One great grandfather in particular was a very successful farmer, more specifically, horticulturist and orchardist.  

Foster James Heacock (1869-1939) was born in Benjaminville, Illinois to James W Heacock & Sarah Nixon who moved there in 1865 from Washington Co, Indiana.  It's hard to say what happened, possibly Sarah's father could not manage the farm any longer, but in 1873, the family moved back to Indiana where James was in the nursery business and acquired the title to Spring Hill Farm from his father in law in 1874.  Eventually, Foster inherited the farm and was a well educated and well known fruit expert.  However, Foster did not immediately settle into farming. 

The Benjaminville Quaker Meeting House, the only remaining building of the town. This would have been where the Heacock family worshiped.

 

    The house at Spring Hill Farm with 3 generations on the porch, my grandfather is the baby.

       

From the Salem Democrat in 1915

One of Foster's trees in an Indiana fruit growers publication 1916

                                 

 Coming from a Quaker family, education was important, so he attended the Valaparaiso Normal School  and became a teacher, then later moved east to Pennsylvania where he was the Principal of a Business College in Butler until 1897.  After this, he returned to Indiana to begin his farming as manager of the Heacock Fruit Company. His apples won many prizes, notably at the Indiana State Apple Show in 1916.  Foster also grew peaches and was known for his Leghorn chickens.  Foster also served as President of the Indiana Horticultural Society for 5 or 6 years.

     

Salem Democrat 1906

                                                                Salem Republican 1910

Foster's wife died in 1917 leaving him with several dependent children.  In 1919, he sold Spring Hill Farm and moved with his 3 youngest children to Bedford, Pennsylvania. He purchased the Friendly Fruit Farm in Clearville, Pa near Bedford and continued his successful fruit growing business and also remarried.  

The Friendly Fruit Farm - I like the name as it reminds me that the family were Quakers also called Friends

Bedford Gazette 1922

His apples continued winning prizes at fairs and Foster was a popular speaker giving lectures at horticulture societies.  Over the years Foster was granted at least 4 patents for inventions relating to the fruit business, a fruit grader and several fruit shipping containers as well as a combination lock. 

Fruit Grader Patent 1916 - this sorted the fruit by size

One of his sons, Oliver, continued in his footsteps as the owner of  his own farm, the Honeycomb Fruit Farm in Adams county, Pennsylvania, from 1930 to 1980 growing apples and peaches and supplying apples to the Musselman's Company for their applesauce.  

Another son, my grandfather Floyd, kept a bit of the farmer in him in the form of his large backyard vegetable garden.  Lots of corn, potatoes, peas and beans and probably other things as well.

                                                         Floyd's garden in the background

It doesn't seem to matter how much land one owns, it's still a strong drive in many people to have some land to call their own and maybe even have a little plot to grow things on.   I would like to have a green thumb like my ancestors but I don't.  I still try a little tho. 

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Neighborhood Getting Busy

 12 Feb 2022

One of my interests is nature. I love when it comes into my yard in ways that are not frequent or usual.  Over the years our yard has seen many Wild Turkeys. Usually in small groups but today they broke our yard record.  I lost track at 40 while trying to count them.  I had a great vantage point to watch but not for photos. I will have to remove the window screen I guess.  One other time, years ago, we had 40 as well.  The last few days have seen the snow melting. You could almost see the excitement in the turkeys pecking around for whatever it is that they look for.  They moved on fast tho. I hope they come back again.  With this many turkeys around there will sure to be a few battles among the males as mating season starts.  

Today's photos

We have a few good turkey stories from years past.  So speaking of battles, a few years ago, we had a street fight. Two toms had their necks wrapped around each other and were oblivious to everything else in the street.  This went on for at least a half an hour.  It was actually quite comical looking at times but dead serious.  I do not know how it ended as the toms wrangled themselves into a yard where I could not see them anymore. Other than  a few scuffles, I had never witnessed this before and haven't since.  

When love is in the air, sometimes confusion can set in.  One spring, a tom decided that his reflection in the bumper of our truck was of interest.  He would look at himself and peck the bumpers.  It got so bad that he would get up on the truck cab roof as if to claim it as all his.  We had the scratch marks to show for it.  We were hesitant to go out and chase him because he could have chased us back.  Better to just watch and be entertained.

Turkeys like our bird feeders too.  Who me?

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 6 - Maps (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 Maps are one of my favorite things.  I still have the very first map that we could call our own.  It was a Rand-McNally book atlas of all the states that I redeemed S & H Green stamps for.  We used this map for many years along with local maps that we purchased or picked up at gas stations and the AAA office.  We moved a bit in our early marriage and the first thing we needed in our new location was always a map.  In the car, my title became Navigator.  Later, when we started taking out of state vacations, they were always driving trips. Off to Barnes and Nobles for that state's map. We hardly ever got lost, well, at least in a car.  But that is another story.  

One of our trips was actually partially planned to visit the Cold Harbor Battlefield in Virginia so that I  could visit the site where my 3rd great grandfather, John Border Amos, fought with the 55th PA Infantry.  He was wounded there and that was the end of his time with the 55th.  When we were in the Visitor Center talking with the Park Ranger to find out where on the battlefield he may have been, she showed us some maps and told us how to find the spot.  You will breathe his air she said.   Yay!  We found the spot and I could not resist purchasing copies of the maps as well.  I am far from a Civil War expert, but I do like looking at these maps and seeing how detailed they were and being able to point to a spot and say he was right there.  

June 3 , 1864 - Battle of Cold Harbor - area circled is where John Border Amos was injured an attack

Now, I use our maps to find places that an ancestor lived and wish that I had known of that ancestor when I was in their neighborhood.  Today, I use Google maps to go places but it was way more fun to actually plan and map out our trips and sidetrips with the paper ones.  Or deviate from the plan if something more interesting came up.  I often wonder how our ancestors went west without a map, just following a worn trail or blazing their own.  Sounds intimidating.  But they managed and more places ended up on maps because of them.  Old historical maps are cool because the land, as in roads and streets or lack of,  and place names may have been different 100 years ago. 

Genealogy is kind of like a map too.  A map of your family that sometimes takes unexpected turns and ends at surprising destinations.    More often, the maps I refer to for genealogy are now online.  I can zoom in and see details a little better, but I miss the feel of the paper.  So I keep the paper ones.  

Happy traveling!

P.S. -  The morning after I wrote this, a map appeared in my Facebook feed from a historical group that I follow.  I immediately recognized it as a later map of the location where my husband's 4th great grandfather and his brother, Jacob & Joseph Sinton, owned a general store from the early 1800's to about 1847.  This map was from 1850.  I have some old news articles about the history of this store and went back to read them and one gave the name of the person who bought the property in 1847.  That name was on this 1850 map.  Bennett.  I always knew it was on this town square, but this gives a little more perspective than just knowing what is there today. Now I can pinpoint the exact location of the store and what was around it at the time.  

The Public Square of Wilkes Barre, PA in 1850 with "Bennett" in the right upper side of the square

Oct 26, 1945 The Wilkes Barre Times Leader Evening News

May 22, 1911 Wilkes Barre Record

As I said, I Love Maps!!

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved.