Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Barbie Clothes and Straight Pins

 As I thought about this week's #52 Ancestors theme of Creativity, I thought of my mom, Dixie Joy (Butzek) Martin. When I was growing up, she had a black Singer sewing machine and made most of our clothes. At the time, I always wanted 'store-bought' clothes, but looking back, I realize that I had a lot of very nice things I wouldn't have otherwise had. 

One thing I remember is this bright blue corduroy skirt that she made me. The reason it "sticks" in my mind is the whole straight-pin saga. While my mother was a great seamstress, she was not always the best at removing the straight pins she used to tack up the hem. They'd sometimes just get sewn into the hems - only to be discovered at some point in class when I sat down. Ouch!!!

My mom also made Barbie clothes. I had an early Barbie doll (which I still blame my sisters for destroying), and my mom created a wonderful wardrobe for my doll. Barbie had a real mink stole, made from a mink collar from an old coat. She had a wonderful wedding dress and lots of other great clothes. Of course, I didn't quite appreciate them at the time—I wanted the outfits that were advertised on TV.

At some point, my mom stopped sewing. Perhaps it was when my brother came along, and she wasn't interested in making boys' clothing. I think I was in college when she took up painting. She worked in oils and painted mostly scenery, but she also painted portraits of most of the grandkids. I still have the ones she painted of my sons, and I have several of her landscapes. She was quite good, but she eventually gave it up even though we often encouraged her to take it up again. 

My mom's creative gene was passed down to my younger sister Jeanne, who is very crafty and has her own shop on Etsy. I dabble in papercrafts, so I guess I got a bit of that creative gene, too. But none of us got bit by the sewing bug. 

Monday, May 20, 2024

What was his name?? Josiah, Cyrus, Silas, Si, Cy, Joseph???

I wrote this post last year in response to the Nickname theme for #52Ancestors in #52Weeks. The variety of names Josiah Pogue used still puzzles me. I've updated the post for this year's theme. 

My great-great-grandfather, Josiah Pogue, was a man with many names. To this day, I don't know what his "real" name was but I suspect it was Josiah. 

Born before births were registered in Franklin County, Josiah first shows up as a three-year-old in the 1850 Franklin County, Illinois census. He is clearly listed as Josiah. The last name is spelled Pouge [This happens often. The name is also misspelled as Page].[1] 

Enumerated as a thirteen-year-old, he is still listed as Josiah, living with the John M. Foster family in Franklin County in 1860.[2] Both parents (or at least his mother) died sometime between 1850 and 1860, and the Fosters were a family intertwined with the Pogue family in some way. Relatives, perhaps, or at least close friends? The actual relationship is still unclear.

He cannot be found in the 1870 census. [I believe a whole neighborhood was missed in the enumeration process.] In 1880, twenty-three-year-old Josirus Pogue was listed as a cousin in the William Foster household. William Foster is related to John M. Foster, who lived next door in 1880.[3]

Thirty-eight-year-old Josiah Pogue married Mahala McClearin Striplin in 1886 in Franklin County. It is unclear how Josiah had aged fifteen years in six years, but it is likely an error and should say twenty-eight. [This whole marriage record has a lot of problems, and the recorder appears to have been careless in several ways.] John M Foster, a Baptist minister, performed the marriage.[4]

In 1900, fifty-two-year-old Cyrus Pogue was enumerated in the Franklin County census with his wife Mahala and four children, including my great-grandmother Isabel Pogue.[5] Josiah died later in the year, and his tombstone lists his name as Josiah Pogue.[6]  

In 1910, when daughter Olive Isabel "Belle" Pogue married, her license listed her father as Joseph Pogue.[7] He is also called Joseph S. Pogue on her Social Security Application.[8] On her 1959 death certificate, her father is listed as Silas Pogue.[9] In 1964, when Josiah's daughter Lydia Pogue Ewing died, her obituary listed her father as Joe Pogue.[10]

Other mentions have been found calling him Si, Silas, and Cy. He was likely indeed named Josiah but was called Joe or Cy by various people. Both nicknames can easily be found within the name Josiah, and multiple people likely mistook them for nicknames such as Joseph, Cyrus, or Silas. 

#52 Ancestors topic of the week - Nicknames!!  Revised 15 January 2025.

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[1] 1850 U.S. census, Franklin County, Illinois, pop. sched., p. 34b, dwell. 482, fam. 496, Jas Pouge household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 May 2024).

[2] 1860 U.S. census, Franklin County, Illinois, pop. sched., Township 75, range 4E, p.34b, dwell and fam 977, Josiah Pogue in John M. Foster household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2024).

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Franklin County, Illinois, pop. sched. Cave Township, e.d. 16, p.7, dwell. and fam. 54, Josirus Pogue in William A. Foster household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 April 2023). 

[4] "Marriage Records, 1878-1916," digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 10 October 2024); Franklin County, Vol. 1, p. 129, Lic. #1617, 1886, Pogue-Striplin marriage; FHL #4661221/1005307, image 141. 

[5] 1900 U.S. census, Franklin County, Illinois, pop. sched., Cave Township, e.d. 27, sheet 8a, dwell. 144, fam. 144, Cyrus Pogue household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 October 2022).

[6] Find a Grave; digital image (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 15 January 2025); Memorial #191234210, Josiah Pogue (1849-1900), Mount Zion Cemetery (Thompsonville, Franklin County, Illinois); photo by Brandon Rowe.

[7] Marriage license received from Williamson County Clerk. p. 333, marriage book M, 1910, Edwards-Pogue marriage.

[8] "Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007": index, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 15 January 2025).Belle Pogue Hedges, SSN 334-16-8882. Father: Joseph S. Pogue, Mother: Mahala J. McClerr (sp). 

[9] Illinois Death certificate. Copy received from cousin [name withheld for privacy], Williamson County, Illinois, Belle Hedges, 1959, Father: Silas Pogue, Mother: Mahalia McClerren. 

[10] "Mrs. Ewing Dies in West Frankfort," Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale), 2 February 1964, p.24, col.2. 



Friday, May 10, 2024

Grape Preserves (Jelly)

 This week's topic in #52 Ancestors is "Preserve." Of course, as a genealogist, I spend most of my time trying to preserve family stories and records. But that's not what came to mind when I first thought about the topic.

When we lived in South Holland, Illinois, we had climbing grape vines. They surrounded a small patio area, which was actually quite lovely, even though I don't remember using it much. The grapes were dark purple Concord-type grapes. I suspect the birds enjoyed them, but I mostly remember the birds picking the cherries off our two cherry trees so maybe that kept them away from the grapes.

Every year, late in the summer, we'd pick those grapes, and my mom would make grape jelly. The smell of that process was wonderful and the resulting jelly was yummy. Of course, I just did the picking - I didn't get involved in the process, which I seem to recall involved the stove, lots of jars, and hot wax (in those days, that's how jelly was sealed). It must have been a lot of work. 

But mostly, I remember eating the grapes as we picked them off the vines. Even today, the smell of dark purple grapes brings me back to my childhood and those wonderful grapevines.

Looking at a picture of our old house on Google Maps, it appears as though the grapevines are long gone. We might have even pulled them out before we moved—I can't quite remember. But I'd love to have a small, sheltered area these days—surrounded by those dark, fragrant grapes.