52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Invite to Dinner (Week 04)

Which relative would I invite to dinner?

Oh boy! This was a tough one. There are plenty of people in my family tree I’d love to have over from dinner and conversation. Narrowing down my prospects wasn’t easy. I decided to pick someone from my Dad’s side of the tree since I picked Mom’s side last week.

George Thorward obituary. Taken from Llewellyn Moore’s box of records.

George Thorward

Soon, I will be highlighting my immigrant ancestors here on the blog. That means you’ll be hearing more about George Thorward. I picked him for this prompt because I know he has some stories to tell. I have so many questions for him.

  • Was his name really George Thorward… George Yohn? Johann Georg Weigel?
  • Did you emigrate from Germany for political reasons?
  • Did you and your brother really make up your name and then go in different directions?
  • Were you close to your siblings?
  • How many siblings did you have?
  • Did you all immigrate?
  • Why did you come to America so young?
  • What happened to your parents?
  • Did you share your immigration story with your children or was it a secret?

I can honestly say if George were still around there would be plenty of questions from me and his other descendants!

L-R: Living Descendant, George W. Thorward, Lewis Thorward, George Thorward (4 generations of Thorwards)

Previous 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks entries:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Favorite Photo (Week 02)

This is a special treat for those that followed along all those years ago when I posted The Diary of Llewellyn for 3 years. Many will recall midway through the Diary, my Great-Grandpa Bill started showing up with his future wife. One of their favorite activities to do was dance.

I miss the Diary entries but I love filling in the gaps like this…

In fact, if you search this blog for “we danced” it comes up more than once!

William and Llewellyn Moore, 1972

This is one of my favorite photos because 50 years later and you can tell she still loved dancing with him!

Tombstone Tuesday: William and Llewellyn

Prospect Hill Cemetery, Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey

William and Llewellyn Moore tombstone
William and Llewellyn Moore tombstone

My great-grandparents, William and Llewellyn Moore, are the topic of this Tombstone Tuesday. Their tombstone looked like the top picture when it was placed there in 1980. When Grandpa Moore passed away in 2012, we buried him in the family plot and added Llewellyn’s death date to her stone.

On their stones are symbols for the Freemasons and the Order of the Eastern Star, both of which were a big part of their lives.

Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers.com. For a full list of topics, visit the website for details.

Wedding Wednesday: Llewellyn and William

Welcome to another Wedding Wednesday! When I started posting this GeneaBloggers Daily Blogging Prompt, I never imagined I’d have more than that first entry. Until I run out of weddings to post about, I will keep posting. I’ve done my Grandma and Grandpa Moore’s 1951 Wedding in 3 posts (one, two, three) and my Grandma and Grandpa Mays’ 1947 Wedding. I also threw in a post for my Grandma Mays and her 2nd husband Wayne.

I’m moving up a generation in my Genealogy Do-Over, so it’s time for my Great-Grandparents to get their turn! We’re starting with William Lawrence Moore and Llewellyn Josephine Thorward. For an extra treat, you can always go back and read the Diary of Llewellyn.

June 12, 1926

1926 Wedding Invitation, William Lawrence Moore, Llewellyn Josephine Thorward, Llewellyn’s Boxes, 1986; privately held by Kathleen Moore, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lexington Park, Maryland. 2005. This collection was taken from Llewellyn Thorward-Moore’s house after her death. They resided with her son until 2005, when they passed to Kathleen Moore.
One of my favorite finds from Llewellyn’s boxes is this wedding invitation from 1926. It’s almost 100 years old now, but in great condition. I have a few more items that pertain to their wedding day. A cool thing with this record is that to date, this is one of two mentions of Lewis’ middle name. There is clearly a G. after his name and I’ll have an eagle eye on all the other records I go through to see if I’ll finally learn what his middle name is. Probably George after his father, but you never know!

written on the back: “Llewellyn on her wedding day”

I love this picture, it’s definitely on the list of favorites. It’s even on my wall as I type this entry. I don’t know when I made the decision to re-scan most of my older documents and pictures but I sure did. Unfortunately, this one isn’t coming off the wall right now. I used those picture hanger strips from a well known name brand and I don’t have anymore to put it back up when I’m done. That means Llewellyn stays on the wall for now!

The Wedding Article

Newspaper article on the marriage

The wedding article is a favorite of mine because it helps to verify a lot of my other “evidence.” For example, it describes Llewellyn’s wedding dress, that helps me to confirm that the writing on the back of the above photo is correct. It also helps me to verify the wedding invitation is for the same couple as the newspaper article. It also parallels what I learned from Llewellyn’s diary by bringing in all the cast of characters I read about for the 3 year period before her wedding.

There is one thing that the article got wrong. The couple didn’t move into their home at 42 Park Avenue, it was 84 Park Avenue. I know that because I have all the mortgage and legal documents to prove it! Some time between when they moved into the house in 1926 and when Llewellyn died in 1986, the house address changed to 86 Park Avenue.

84 Park Avenue

The last picture on the top right is a current view of the home from Google Street View. The rest are from a collection of photos found in Llewellyn’s house.

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Bibles Part 3

Happy Thursday everyone! I’ve made some time to make sure we get another bible put up on the blog today! It’s been a few months, but I haven’t forgotten about these bibles sitting on my dresser! For those who want to catch up: Bibles Part 1 and Bibles Part 2!

The Bible for Today

This is a New Testament Bible, and it is in fairly good condition. The copyright page shows that it was published in 1946. There are only two loose pages in it. The rest are unblemished and secure. The two loose pages happen to be the only ones with writing in them, so I am left wondering if they were pressed in from another book at some point. One page is decidedly smaller than the book, and the other looks like it might be the protective page at the beginning of the Bible. The “protective page” is black on one side and tan on the other. The only thing I can’t tell is if the size is right to fit with this Bible.

The Protective Page (Less Mysterious)

This image shows that written on the tan side of the page are death dates for “Mother” and “Father.” I am very familiar with Great-Grandma Llewellyn’s handwriting after transcribing her diary. I’m assuming this is her but a quick check of her parents headstones confirms that it is them. I find it particularly emotional that she noted down the time of death as well. I have to say, I never thought I would ever know the time of death for my great-great Grandparents. That just shows you never know what you will find in Genealogy.

The smaller (Mysterious) page

Let’s just all admit what we’re asking ourselves after reading that page. Who the heck are Charlotte and Augustus Fowler? Not that I can justify research time for this in the middle of a Genealogy Do-Over. A little harmless search won’t hurt, right?

An Ancestry.com 1860 US Census search for Charlotte Fowler, living in New York City brings up ONE New York City result. The icing on my New Years cake is that she is living with what looks like a family of Doremus’. That happens to be the maiden name of Llewellyn’s Grandmother, Josephine Doremus! Oh Charlotte, I don’t know who you are, but you are going on the list for a Mystery Monday search once my Do-Over is more stable!

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Bibles Part 1

thebibles

Welcome back to another post where I brag about my Great-Grandmother Llewellyn Thorward-Moore. Ha! Sorry, but I had to do it. As you all know, I’ve been doing my Genealogy Do-Over for the last few months. In the process of that, I’ve been revisiting all the wonderful things that were in what I’m calling “Llewellyn’s Boxes.” In those boxes were a bunch of bibles. Not all of them were Llewellyn’s and they don’t all have names in them, but I thought it would be cool to highlight one a week here on the blog.

The Dora Thorward-Plume Bible
The Dora Thorward-Plume Bible

The first one we’ll look at is what I will now refer to as the Dora Plume bible. Dora was the sister of my 2nd Great-Grandfather, Lewis Thorward, and the only daughter of George Thorward and Josephine Doremus. The Bible itself was actually in a box with the publisher’s name on it. You can see in the top left photo that it is an Oxford Text Bible. The top right image is the bible itself taken out of the box. The bottom left photo is the bible sitting in the box. Finally the bottom right photo is the goodies that were UNDER the bible. That’s right I said goodies! Can you imagine if I hadn’t of opened the box? If I had thought, oh its just another bible.

goodies

The collage above shows what was found underneath the bible. It clearly shows a name card for the Order of the Eastern Star. I know that Llewellyn was also a member of that organization. Three obituaries were found, George Thorward (Dora’s Father), Josephine Thorward (Dora’s mother), and Lewis Thorward (Dora’s brother). All of them died in the 1940s. I can’t be sure about the images but I’m leaning to think that the woman in the tintype is Josephine Thorward. I have a picture of Josephine’s mother also and I don’t think that is her. I will have to pull out the other photos I believe to be Josephine and compare them.

As for the boys, I know for a fact that they are not Dora’s brothers Frank and Lewis. I can spot Lewis in a line up with my eyes closed! Dora didn’t have any sons, she just had one daughter. That leaves the possibility of it being her husband, Leslie Plume, and one of his brothers. He had four of them that I know about. They were all quite a bit older than him, the closest in age being 16 years older than him. Those boys do seem to have an age gap between them. Looks like I will have to research how to distinguish time periods! 🙂

todorafromles

Here’s the last picture for this bible, in case you were wondering how I surmised it was Dora’s bible. I didn’t just guess because of the name card and obituaries, I promise! Gosh, I’ve always felt attached to this couple in my family tree and it makes me smile seeing this little note. Despite that attachment, the dates of death and place of burial for them are still a mystery to me. I’m going to be working extra hard to figure out that this time around. Back to business! The bible is in almost perfect condition. One of the ribbons is even still marking a page. There is no damage that I can see and no markings either. This is definitely one of my favorite heirlooms!

I can’t wait to show you all the next bible!

Treasure Chest Thursday is a daily blogging prompt at GeneaBloggers.com

Treasure Chest Thursday: Thank You Note

This Treasure Chest Thursday post is a thank you note between my grandma, Florence Redford-Moore and her husband’s grandma, Jennie Love-Thorward.

Treasure Chest Thursday is a Daily Blogging Prompt given by GeneaBloggers.com

Wordless Wednesday: Llewellyn

llewellynww

Wordless Wednesday is a daily blogging prompt at GeneaBloggers.

Mystery Monday: La Moss

mystery monday: la moss

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve done a Mystery Monday. I wasn’t expecting to dive into one this soon into my Genealogy Do-Over but oh well! This mystery isn’t even new to the blog. I’ve written about La Moss before on Mystery Monday. I never did find out what her real name was. I’m so curious though because it seems like she was one of Llewellyn’s best friends.

I started thinking about La Moss again when I was over-analyzing Llewellyn’s wedding guest and gift lists. 5 years after my last La Moss thought, she popped into my head again. Surely since she is all over Llewellyn’s journal, she must have been at the wedding. There might be a few road blocks though:

  1. She might not have signed the guest book.
  2. She might not have given Llewellyn a gift.

If all of those things are true, man that’s not going to help. It’s not going to block me though. I am a better researcher now and surely I should be able to find her, even if it takes me awhile. I have a tentative game plan to find La Moss’ identity.

  1. I will check all the unknown to me female guests from the wedding guest list.
  2. I will check all the unknown to me people in the wedding gift list.
  3. I will check the census surrounding Llewellyn in 1920 and 1930 to see if any of these people are possibilities.
  4. I will send away to the New Jersey State Archives for a birth record search. La Moss should have been born before 1915, which means the record will cost only $10 instead of $25.
  5. I will have so much fun finding new ways of looking, because this is my test on how creative I can get if I need to.
Is La Moss in this picture?
Is La Moss in this picture?

This is the original picture I used to make the Mystery Monday graphic. Is La Moss in this picture? I know Llewellyn is the second from the right. Everyone else is up in the air. It could be cousins, it could be coworkers, it could be church trip friends. The possibilities are endless. Will Llewellyn have a picture of La Moss in all these pictures and will I even be able to find her? I guess we will find out!

Treasure Chest Thursday: Our Wedding Book

ourweddingbook

You might have thought to yourself that I was done with the family tree that I made last week. Well, as an over-analyzer, I am definitely not done. If you want to blame anyone, feel free to blame Great Grandma Llewellyn. She left me all these records and what kind of genealogist would I be if I didn’t pull out every scrap of information I could?

ThorwardLlewellyn_1926_weddingbook_02

You see, I have more names to get through. First things first, we have to get the family members out of the way. Then, we will see what all is left and see who we have. This is the bridal party. All familiar names, any names that aren’t family are instantly recognized because of The Diary of Llewellyn. I need to remind myself to index that so that it is easier to follow. I guess that would be a good use of that Genealogy Task Tracker I have. 😉

ThorwardLlewellyn_1926_weddingbook_03

First off, hats off to Mr. B. F. Oakley, Jr. who wanted to make it clear – still single. Ha! I see two aunts, an uncle and a Walker on this page. The Walker might be connected, I’ll have to check that.

wmhmooresig

Oh boy, more familiar names! I’m 80% positive that Armstrong was the surname of one of the priests at Llewellyn’s church. Then we have the Moores showing up in droves. Excuse my yell of excitement because now I also have the signature of the first known Moore in America, William H. Moore. (Note: I added the arrow for the blog, the image and original scan are pink arrow-less.) The only thing that would make me happier is if he signed it Wm. H. Moore – born in This Parish, in This County, of Ireland. That’s probably too much to ask though, so we’ll just go ahead and be happy for what we have. I also won’t mention that he had a son who was also named William H. Moore. The shakiness of the signature looks more like an 80-year-old than a 57-year-old. It could be either one though and the Junior’s wife and daughter are the very next signatures. I don’t want to think about that now though.

ThorwardLlewellyn_1926_weddingbook_05

Last page and tons of family names and a few non-family names. I also just solved one of the questions from my post last week. There on the right hand side is the signature of Mr & Mrs Chas Haynes and right under them is Viola Love. Man, this list of names is really making me happy today. I’m not done yet though!

llewellynside-book

Now we have hearts added to the people who signed Llewellyn’s Guest Book. I added a few more details to show that some of her cousins signed the book themselves.

williamside-book

Now here is William’s side with his cousins added and it looks less lonely. I left both Williams with question marks since I’m trying to be a non-biased researcher (Ha!). All in all, I think other than making a list of the names that are not in the tree, I am done analyzing this wedding! I hope…

Treasure Chest Thursday is a daily blogging prompt used by GeneaBloggers.