In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

Workers at Endicott-Johnson Shoe Factory, circa 1920 First Row, third from left: my grandfather, Francis Allyn Newton Probably his first job after serving in WWI.  ©2011, Newton Family  Collection

In a past post,   Amanuensis Monday -- The Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter, Part 2 , Albert W.  Elliot had given sworn testimony that Isaac Carter had become ill during Guard and Fatigue Duty in Carolina City, NC in the Winter of 1864.  As I started researching this element of the story, I started looking for Civil War engagements during that time period, and almost immediately was drawn to the Confederate triple-prong plan of attack to retake New Berne. This occured in the Winter of 1864 (February 1-3, 1864).  When I checked the Civil War Chronology in Eastern North Carolina , however, three lines stood out among the entries: Jan. 30, 1864 - 3rd NC Colored Infantry organized at Norfolk, VA. Feb. 8, 1864 - Designation of NC Colored Regiments changed to US Colored Troops. Mar. 17, 1864 - 14th US Colored Heavy Artillery organized at New Bern & Morehead City, NC. The attack on New Bern took place February 1-3, 1864 . . . the 14th Heavy Artillery USCT...

Document #3 [Transcription] (3-125.) ORIGINAL INVALID CLAIM. Soldier, Isaac Carter P.O., New Berne State, N.C. Rank, Private, Corp., & Serg't Company, "B" Transferred "G" Regiment, 14 U.S.C. Vol. Hy. Arty, 14 U.S.C. Vol. Hy. Arty. Rates, $ [left blank] per month, commencing July 5, 1888. Pensioned for [left blank] RECOGNIZED ATTORNEY, Name, Frederick Douglas, P.O., New Berne, N.C. Fee, $25, Agent [left blank] to pay. Articles filed July 5, 1888. APPROVALS. Approved for rheumatism, disease of lungs, and diarrhea & results. Submitted for act: May 6th, 1892. N.M.M. Laugh[hi], Examiner. ************************************************* IMPORTANT DATES. Enlisted March 12th, 1864. Discharged Dec. 11th, 1865. Declaration filed July 5, 1888. Not in service since Dec. 11th, 1865. BASIS OF CLAIM. Alleges in declaration that near Morehead City, N.C., winter of 1864, he contracted diarrhea & piles, rheumatism, swelling of feet ...

© The Estate of R.A. Newton , 2011 This morning I again looked through the first box of items from my Dad's legacy. I found a faded envelope, measuring 7 1/2" x 5 1/2". Inside, to my surprise, was a group of black and white photos, 2 3/4" square. There, before my eyes, were the prints of the Pumpelly Mansion...the main house. In Tuesday's post , I shared the painting Dad did of the shutters of the stone out house in the woods on the mansion grounds...part of the Underground Railroad. © The Estate of R.A. Newton ,  2011 This wasn't the first time I have seen these prints since Dad's death in 2004. The first time, shortly after returning home from Massachusetts, I queried the Tioga County Historical Society  about the Pumpelly family. --- On Fri, 11/14/08, debnc_famhist07@charter.net <debnc_famhist07@charter.net> wrote: From: debnc_famhist07@charter.net <debnc_famhist07@charter.net> Subject: Pumpelly family/Underground Railro...

Path Along the Susquehanna Vestal, New York Painted by Richard Newton, © The Estate of R.A. Newton ,  1970 Underground Railroad Stop, Pumpelly Mansion Apalachin, New York painted by Richard Newton, © The Estate of R.A. Newton,   1975 Every artist's life can be divided into periods...  My father was a perfectionist. His artistic career began as a boy when his mother sent him for art lessons. After his discharge from the Air Force, he attended Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. I don't remember seeing any of his work when I was a young child. My mother said he had taken a large number of canvases to the plumber's next door to our home in Stroudsburg, PA and had them incinerated because he didn't feel they were good enough to be shown. As I grew up, I noticed he would sometimes spend hours  in one spot, waiting for sunlight and shadow to cast just right for photographs of an area he would later paint. Among his favorite artist...

General Affidavit, document #2 The next document in Isaac Carter's Pension File was a General Affidavit, dated June 12, 1888 . . . filed twenty-two and a half years after his discharge from service at Fort Macon in Beaufort, Carteret, NC. [Transcription] ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE CLAIM OF [left blank] AFFIDAVIT OF [left blank] Filed by [left blank] Printed and for sale by J. H. SOULE , Washington, D.C. [Transcription] GENERAL AFFIDAVIT State of North Carolina, County of Craven, SS: In the matter of Invalid Claim of Isaac Carter Sergeant of Co. G 14 Regt U.S.C.T.H. Arty. ON THIS 12th day of June, A.D. 1888; personally appeared before me Clerk of Superior Court in and for the aforesaid County duly authorized to administer oaths, Albert W. Elliott aged 45 years, a resident of James City in the County of Craven and State of N.C. whose Post Office address is James City - NC Sharper Williams aged 62 years, a resident of Newbern in the County of Craven and Stat...

What's in a Wallet? What's in a name? Debra Ann Newton (myself) I once heard that a wallet tells a story about the person who carries it. Mine is a small, black, zippered wallet which came with my purse, containing only a few coins, some "plastic", a library card, a Barnes and Nobel Membership card, and various other  member services cards, some business cards and the phone numbers of my employees, several scripture cards, and my State ID (I don't drive). It serves as an illustration of a Christian manager with an affinity for books and discounts. Within the file box of my Dad's belongings from his dresser drawers was his wallet. When I showed it to my husband, he said, "Yeah. It's a wallet." He had little interest in what was inside the wallet. Perhaps he felt it was too personal to look through it . . . or perhaps it was just too mundane. But with my underlying belief that by the contents of a person's wallet a story can be told, I...

Over the past few weeks, I have realized that I am at a point in my writing that it is imperative that I transcribe and abstract my great grandfather-in-law's Civil War Pension file. I had first mentioned the file in my post, Where Do I Go From Here? . I ordered the file on April 7, 2011, and the first one hundred pages were prepared on May 8, 2011 and received on May 13th. Upon receipt via USPS, I immediately went online to request the remaining seventy-five pages, which had already been prepared on May 9, 2011. The cost of the file was $75 for the first 100 pages, and $48.75 for the remaining 80 pages, totaling $123.75. As much as I like to keep costs to a minimum, this was an investment well worth the money spent. One night I sat down on my sofa and read the whole file from start to finish. The most interesting information was contained in the affidavits, giving testimony to the relationship and witness of Isaac Carter's friends and family in regards to the claim of disabi...

Thanks to my husband's distant cousin, Yvette Porter Moore of Digging Roots: My Family History , I now have a new NEWTON connection!!! She sent me a Facebook post with a link to a Newton tombstone. I've seen so many Newtons...the name is fairly common and finds points of origin from various countries, including Germany, and spelled Neuton. I have learned not to get too hopeful. But when I followed the link to Midge Frazel's blog, Granite in My Blood , I noticed that the labels included: Newton, Southborough Rural Cemetery, Tombstone Tuesday. SOUTHBOROUGH!?!?!? Could it be??? So I left a comment: Southborough...is it Southborough, MA? We had Newtons in Paxton, Worcester County, MA; Marlborough, Middlesex County, MA; Leicester, Worcester County, MA; and some I have not located yet. If so, it is very possible. My line goes back to the immigrant Richard Newton of Bures St. Mary's Church, Essex, England; his father was Robert Newton of Woolthorpe, Essex, England. What ...

Not everything in my Dad's dresser drawers belonged to him, personally. I was amazed to find two very special certificates originally belonging to my maternal grandmother, Abby Simmons (King) Silverman. [Item 3]  [Transcription] Certificate of Baptism This Certifies That Abby Simmons King Child of Mr. Andrew T. King And Geneva E. Mosher (King) Born at Jamestown, R.I. July 17, 1908 was by me BAPTIZED in St. Paul's Luth Ch on the Twenty-fourth day of March in The Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighteen W.A. Dickson G.E. (King) Behringer, Sponsor G. Harold Kinard, Pastor [Item 4] GO YE THEREFORE AND TEACH ALL NATIONS BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON, AND             OF THE HOLY GHOST MATT. 28:19 The second item was my grandmother's confirmation certificate. [Transcription] Remembrance of the Day of Confirmation Memorial Verse. The same Lord over all is rich unto all th...

Doris Shirley Silverman (my Mom) Mark Silverman (1905 - 1966) My grandfather, Mark Silverman, whom I affectionately called Pop Pop, was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who came to this country during the Pogroms of Czar Nicholas. He was a dedicated son and hard worker who left school following the death of his father to get a job and help support his family. He died of cancer when I was just four years old, but I have fond memories of him playing Tiddlywinks, taking me to the park, pushing me on the swings, going for walks and getting ice cream. My mother always told me throughout my childhood of the advice he gave her while growing up... Ecclesiastes 9:10a Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might . And with it, the advice of Polonius to his son, Laertes... This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. William...

 In an attempt to locate one more Culley grave marker, I returned to the CD my brother-in-law had sent following the 2005 George Family Reunion. I came across this photo of James Thomas Dove and Martha Dove Carter's grave markers . . . but low and behold . . . in the background was one more Culley stone. James Rudolph Culley. Not all of the grave marker is visible; but from what is showing, it appears that he served in the Navy during a World War. No dates can be seen. Unfortunately, an attempt to enlarge the date plate at the base of the grave marker provided no more clues as it was too out of focus to decipher. My next step was to go to the Craven County Register of Deeds website to see if records could be found there. I located only two records. James Rudolph Cully was born in 1925 to Martha Ann Carter and Joseph Bing Cully [Book 1925/Page 1264]. He died in 1956 [Book 1856/Page 512]. I then went to Ancestry.com to see if any other information might be available. When I...

When I first began the research for developing a social history of the locale where my husband's ancestors had settled, I worked extensively with Census data. Looking at raw Census schedules, however, is not a practical way to quickly identify patterns within the pages. I wanted to look at specific pieces of information on one page that would eliminate the extraneous. So I created a database which presents only the information I cared to examine.  Below is a cross-section of my database of the 1910 Census for Township 5, Craven County, NC. The first column records the location: next is a listing of only those persons involved in work of some kind: the third and fourth columns record the type of work engaged: then I made columns for occupation. The first occupation column is farming. . . the second was timber. . . etc. For this study, I wanted to determine if there was a location where farmers and timber workers were more densely concentrated. This is an area where my husban...