And look – they were actually MADE IN THE USA!!!

I think that there are a few that may have been from a different set.  I’m not sure why this guy has a hole on top of his head.  He looks different than the above soldiers though.  Of course, that could be because his paint is really wearing off.

And here are some of the casualties of war.

Here are a few of them in action, in our backyard.  Yes, we have rocks in our yard – we live in the desert.

Do any of you have toy soldiers also?

I thought I’d pull it out and take some pictures of these family heirlooms.  I sent pictures to Andy’s mom, so I could get the history on where these came from.

They were actually her toys.  The house that went along with this furniture was stored in the attic and a squirrel munched on it. And the little plastic dolls {which had rubber bands in the joints} broke.  But the wooden furniture is still in great shape!

Since they were in the same box, I thought that maybe these figurines went with the dollhouse furniture, but they didn’t.  My husband’s great-great grandma and great-grandfather gave them to his mom.  They were from their childhood.  I’m not sure how old that makes them, but they’re in wonderful shape.  Aren’t they cute?

And so colorful!

Here you can see some of the furniture in more detail.  The vanities even have little mirrors on them.Do you have any old toys from your childhood?

John Edwards, Sr. was my 3rd great-grandfather.  He served for a short period during the Civil War, in Co. G 9th Michigan Infantry.

This letter was written to try and receive an increase to his pension.  It is transcribed under the images.

Gentlemen – About three (3) years ago, I made an application for $72.00 (seventy-two dollars) a month.  Under disability that I needed the aid of another person and it was granted.  Since that time my aflliction has crawled on.
I can neither dress or undress my self.  Keep to my bed and big chair all the time.
I surely think I am entitled to the ($90.00) ninty dollars a  month.
I have got a big rupture, aboe hte naval as big as a goose egg, which is very painful all the time. Costing me about $5.00 a month for medicine all the time.
My pension certificate no. is 749.884.
Yours Resp,
John Edwards, Sr.
Dow City, Ia

I’m not sure what year she graduated in, but she was born in 1915, so probably in the early 30′s.  She went to Tonganoxie High School in Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, KS.

This census record was the only clue I had that they had more than the children that survived to adulthood.  It also made sense that they had adopted – perhaps because they had lost so many children and couldn’t have any more naturally.

One of the treasures I found in John Edwards’ pension file was a list of his children’s names – even the ones that didn’t survive to adulthood.

As you can see, John stated that the family records were burned in a fire, so he didn’t have exact dates for the children’s births.  (Of course, my husband can’t seem to remember any of my children’s birthdays, so this doesn’t surprise me a bit!)

I now know that they had the following children:

1. ? Edwards (if any of you happen to have superhero vision and can read the first name of this child, I’d be forever grateful.)  Born Sept 1868.  This child must have died before 1870, because he/she is not with them in the census.
2. Wallace, born 25 April 1871.  He died in 1946.
3. Ida Mae
4. John, born 2 June 1878.  This is my great-great grandfather.
5. Samuel
6. Arnold
7. Olive
8. Eldin, born 13 Feb 1895 (he was adopted).

So, my question is – was there another natural-born child that was living in 1900 that I was unaware of  or was Sarah unsure about how to answer the question about her children?  She said that she had 7 children (which she did give birth to 7 children) but 3 of them were living (her adopted son was one of these three).  Minor detail, but I’m sure it’s not important.

I’m so happy to finally put some names to these children who died at such young ages.  I now wonder if maybe I could find their gravestones, if there are any existing.  They could be in Michigan, Canada, or Iowa – so a bunch of places to look.

You can read about my ongoing saga here and here and here.

To put it short and simple, he died in 1931 and his records aren’t in the National Archives along with the majority of the Civil War pensions.  The first time I tried getting his pension packet was about 8-10 yrs ago – and to no avail.  I tried again a few times over the years, getting very discouraged.  This past January I got serious about it.  I made a lot of phone calls to a lot of departments I didn’t know existed.  I finally was told that the records were with the VA and not NARA.  I put in my request and got a confirmation that they received it.  And then I waited and waited and waited and waited some more.  I tried calling the VA a few months back – have you ever done that before?  Suffice it to say that I didn’t get through to anybody and I had just about given up on ever getting my hands on these records.

On Christmas, my mom called and said she’d received a package the day before – from the VA.  (I put her address on the request since I knew we were moving and didn’t know if it would be forwarded to me!).  I now have his entire pension packet – and it was FREE!!!

The best Christmas present EVER!!!

I will be sharing some of the things I’ve discovered from the records in the coming weeks.

Have any of you gotten Civil War records from the VA before? 

Philip’s wife was named Johanna, but I believe she was his second wife, as his first wife was Margaret.  His children were James Paul, Michael, Mary, and Edward Charles.  He lived in Alton, Madison County, Illinois and ran a grocery store.

This was one of the treasures I found in Philip’s probate records.  He owned a grocery store in Alton, Illinois.

It was neat to see his letterhead, even though it seems to have been crossed out for the purpose of this letter.

I looked on Google Maps to see where the store was located. It looks like Belle Street may have moved a little bit over time – and that a residential area is where part of Belle Street used to be. Looking at the corner of Belle and 16th streets, it doesn’t seem like this was a very busy urban area. It must have been a country store. There are a couple of structures there on what was the corner – I wonder if one of these could have been the store??  Probably not, considering he was a grocer in the 1870′s-80′s time period.  The building is most likely long gone.

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John Davidson was originally from Virginia.  He moved to Missouri, where he married Sophia Talbot. They then moved to present-day Douglas County, Kansas in 1854 and on to Leavenworth County in about 1863.

John was present at the 1855 Kansas election, a botched affair. It is so nice to be able to put him into the context of the turbulent times.  Missourians crossing the river just to vote.  But the testimony is also very helpful, because he gives specific dates that he moved (which I didn’t have) and there’s just something about knowing that this testimony is straight from his mouth.

The following was found in the book titled: Kansas Affairs (Report of the Special Committee appointed to investigate the troubles in Kansas with the views of the minority of said committee), by United States. Congress. House of Representatives, 34th Congress, 1st Session, printed in 1856.

He gave testimony in regards to the election of 30 March 1855.
John C Davidson recalled.
Examined by Mr. Reeder:
I was here at the election of March 30, 1855.  I moved into the Territory in July 1854, from Carroll County, Missouri.  I had moved to Missouri from Virginia in 1839.  I saw a large body of strangers encamped here on the day of the election in March 1855.  I was at one camp composed of men I knew in Carroll County when I lived there.  I had conversations with two of them upon the subject of their being here.  I do not recollect that they told me how many were here from Carroll County or from Missouri.  They told me they came here to vote; that they considered they had a right to vote here; that according to the way the Kansas-Nebraska bill was drawn up, they had a right to vote here while they were residing here, and they were residing here while they were here.  They said they came here to vote and intended to vote, and would not be driven from the polls; that each man of them was prepared to go eight rounds without loading and the ninth round with a butcher knife.  They said they had come into the territory some two or three days before the election and intended to go back as soon as the election was over.  They said they did not intend to settle here.  The men I talked with said they came from Carroll County.  I saw men here from Lexington that I was acquainted with, but had little conversation with them.  I do not recollect of seeing any men from other places I was acquainted with.

By Mr. Woodson:
The men I was talking with said that eastern men were coming up the river with pasted on the front of their hats, in large letters, that they intended to make Kansas a free state, and that they considered they had as good a right to come here and vote as the eastern men.  I did not hear any other reason given.

They were my mom’s books and have her name and address on the inside.  They were published in the early 60′s.

I loved reading them as a kid.  I still do. 

Do you have these books sitting on your shelf also?

It is fairly small. Of course, I have nothing to compare it to.  I don’t own a “salt dish” in my own tableware set.  Do you?

Apparently, these were used before people had salt and pepper shakers.  You could take a pinch of salt from the dish.

I love the raised pattern just inside the rim.

I had originally thought that this piece may have been brought with the Pewsey family from England.  After doing some research, I realize that could not be true.

It was made by Johnson Brothers in England.  From what information I could find online, this company began in 1882.  The Pewseys left England in 1843.  David died in 1887 and Alpharetta in 1891.  It still may have belonged to them.

I did some more sleuthing on Replacements.com and Ebay.  I found that the pattern is called “Lace”  You will notice the name above the Johnson Bros stamp.  It appears that there is a newer pattern which is also called Lace, and so (Older) seems to be added to the description for this above pattern.

I couldn’t seem to figure out when this was produced though.  Are you a china expert?  Any ideas?

This week, I’m sharing a picture of my own baby shoes. Not bronzed. Very worn. Really, how could I have worn these out that much in the short amount of time they must have fit me? I must have fallen down in them a lot to have scuffed them so much.

You know what I love most about them?  The bells my mom attached to the shoelaces.  She must have done it so that she could keep track of me.  I must have jingled everywhere I walked.

Do you still have your baby shoes?

It started out as one of those waffle-type blankets with the silky trim on it. Your basic baby blanket.  It had writing on it: “Everybody needs a little security”.  Could the words have been any more appropriate?

And as if that weren’t bad enough, I named the thing.  Dee.  Not sure what that was I was trying to say, but maybe “Dee” meant security in my infant language.

I used to sit with that blanket and rub the silky trim between my fingers – all the way around the blanket.  And around.  And around.

The coolness of the silky fabric soothed me.  In all honesty, I could probably sit and do that now on a stressful day and it would help relax me.

But I don’t.  It’s now in the cedar chest at the foot of my bed.  I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago, in order to take a picture of it. (Ok, so maybe I felt the silky trim for a moment or two, I admit it.)

I’m so embarrassed to show it here.  It doesn’t even resemble a blanket anymore.  It looks like some ancient artifact from 200 years ago.  In reality, it’s 34 years old (and hasn’t been touched in about the past 30).  That’s a lot of loving in 4 short years.  A lot.

Here is is, a ball of rags.

I had my daughter hold it up for a picture.  You can see that the trim is barely connected to the middle of the blanket anymore.

None of my kids sucked their thumbs or had special blankets they had to have around to sleep.  I was their security blanket – and lost a lot of sleep because of it.

Please tell me I’m not alone.  Did you have a security blanket too?  Or maybe a very worn stuffed animal?

Each family member had their own square.

What a beautiful way to commemorate such a wonderful occasion.

I kind of wish that I did though, because I absolutely love this little shoe.  Isn’t it beautiful?

It was my mom’s and I think it’s the perfect little family heirloom.

Do you have a bronze baby shoe?

I wonder what she would think of me posting her grades for the world to see…

My husband is a great woodworker.  He sanded the old varnish off and simply oiled it down.  Isn’t it beautiful?  The last part of his project is putting a new cushion on the seat.  I love old furniture, especially pieces that have family history like this one.

My husband’s grandmother is selling her home and we drove up to pick up the piano which she gave us.  (I will post about that later, once I get  a nice picture of it.)

Here is a photo I took of her while we were visiting.  It’s hard to believe that she’s 95!!

While we were there, we found this school book, which belonged to her husband – Homer Lyle Weeks.  He attended Knowledge Hill School in Lawrence, Kansas.  The date inside the book is 1923.

I am always drawn towards books.  We have shelves upon shelves of them.  I know that I may live to eat my words, but I can’t imagine replacing all of my books with one of those new-fangled iPads or nooks.  I’m not against electronics of course.  I have an iPhone and a laptop.  I blog for goodness sakes. I just like the feel of a book in my hands while I’m reading it.

This book is one of the other things that we took home with us.  It is so special to know that Andy’s grandpa used this as a child – and that we’ll be able to pass it on to one of our children some day.

I am treasuring the plastic bag full of slides I brought home from my mom’s house this past August.  Apparently, they were much cheaper than getting pictures printed out and so for a number of years, when my mom had film developed, she ordered slides instead of prints.

This has resulted in me missing out on huge chunks of childhood pictures, because really – who pulls out a slide projector and watches slide shows on the wall?  Does anyone still own one of these that actually works?  My mom still had all of the slides in carousels, but the projector was toast.

Anyway, my job is to buy a slide scanner and get all of these images digitized so that we can actually enjoy them!!

I am thinking that it might be what I ask Santa for Christmas this year.

Have any of you all had success in converting your slides to digital images?  Any suggestions on which scanner to buy – or which one to stay away from?

I can’t even begin to imagine how scary that must have been to get this letter. I have a husband in the Army, so I can sympathize.

I am just thankful that he was only wounded, or I wouldn’t be here today!!

Now they are packed away in a trunk and unfortunately we’re not sure who made them or who they belonged to. We know that they came from my mom’s mom’s side of the family, but that’s it.

Were they made by my great-grandmother? Maybe we’ll never know.

They are still family heirlooms though.

He received the Purple Heart.  My dad has it now along with this newspaper clipping.