#5-2020. So Far Away. 52 Ancestors in a Year

5-2020. So Far Away.  

My husband paternal side of his family came to the United States from Russia.  They were classified as “Germans from Russia”.  It is an interesting culture and heritage to learn more about since it isn’t taught in history classes.  Germans were invited to Russia, promised a land of “milk and honey” by Catherine the Great in the 1760’s.  They were also promised that they would not have to serve in the Russian military.  Upon arriving in Russia, things that were promised were not, but the Germans worked to survive—although many died the first few years.  Survival was tough and because of a work ethic; they survived and prospered.   Their first homes might have been a cave dug into the side of the hill.  Manufacturing their own equipment to farm created a legacy of farming, thriftiness, and survival.  Their life began to change after Catherine the Great died and the new rulers began to conscript the German men into the military.    There were many factors that caused the Germans to leave their families and the homeland that they knew, to emigrate to a “better place”.  Many came to the United States but many also left for other countries.

Leroy’s grandmother’s family, the Grosskopf’s came from Frank, Russia; or known as  Medeveditskii Krestovyi Buyerak.  Frank was located on the east bank of the Medveditsa River, on the western edge of the Saratov Province of the Lower Volga area.

The Gabel’s came from Warenburg, Russia, or known as Privalnaja, Privalnaya.  Warenburg was on the east side of the Volga River.

(You can Google the locations!)

Leroy’s great grandparents came in 1907 and 1911.  One family came through New York and one family through Philadelphia.  The Gabel’s came through Nebraska but apparently the Grosskopf’s came right to the Billings, Montana area. Leroy’s grandparents married in Huntley in 1920.

As was common with many Germans from Russia families, little knowledge of the life in Russia was passed down to their children or grandchildren.  It seemed like they never wanted to talk about the life they left.  Since the younger people of the German colonies were the ones that left, few traveled with family bibles or documentation of their history.  It is known that they had to have paperwork to leave  Russia as well as paperwork to enter the United States,  but I have yet to discover that type of paperwork in the family.

Researching the families in Russian, So Far Away, is definitely a challenge.  As one might expect, records are difficult to find; if they survived.  Many records have been filmed but are limited to certain areas of Russia.  Working with the Germans from Russia organization; “American Historical Society of Germans from Russia”, I have received great information.  Finding census records to trace a family have been helpful and even a baptism record confirming a birth date was located.  But those records are difficult to obtain.  And read or translate.  Some are in Russian, some in German. 

If only I could find original records in the possession of family…..

#4-2020 Close to Home- Armstead School

#4-2020  "Close to Home"   Armstead School


Armstead was named for Henry Armstead who came to the area in 1905 to promote the Silver Fisher Mine near Polaris.  (The Montana Standard, Butte Montana  20 September 1965, page 19)


Located in Armstead was a railroad junction, of the Gilmore and Pittsburg Railroad running from Salmon to Armstead and the Oregon Short Line that later became the Union Pacific.  Because of the railroad junction, it became a central location to ship cattle by railroad.  The cattle arrived either on a train from Idaho or were trailed to the Stockyards from ranches in Beaverhead County.

Clark Canyon Dam was built on the Beaverhead River, south of Dillon, and was competed in 1964.  The dam is about 20 miles from Dillon, the hometown of my family.

After the dam was completed, Hap Hawkins lake created behind the dam buried the small town of Armstead.  The land on which Armstead sat was purchased by the Bureau of Reclamation and buildings were removed or razed.  There was school, post office, bar and several businesses along with homes.

An article in The MIssoulian reported that Armstead had not been seen for decades but with 3 years of drought, Armstead had resurfaced. (The Missoulian (Missoula, MT) 1 December 2002, page 41)

Don Shaffner

2002

82 years old

Labor Day weekend 2002

While visiting Dad, during Labor Day weekend of 2002, we drove to Armstead.  The town that had been buried in 1964!  We went to Red Rock and drove on the original highway to Armstead.  Since the water was low after 3 years of drought, the road was passable.  The original road, still paved with yellow lines down the center, was still passable after 38 years of being under water.  Give or take a year or two after the completion of the dam, the road has been under the lake.  In a couple of places the sides & shoulders of the road had washed away, but not bad.  We drove all the way to Armstead!  Amazing!  Even the railroad bed was still visible.

While I remembered Armstead as a town and the Buffalo Bar, Dad stood on the steps of the school and pointed out landmarks from the foundations.  Over there, he said, lived the people with the Shetland ponies.  As a veterinarian he had to treat those ponies and he hated Shetland ponies—if they don’t kick you, they will bite you!  He pointed out where the Buffalo Bar stood and told stories of the history of the bar.  It was a center point of the town to gather; lots of cattle were bought and sold at the bar and lots of transactions occurred over whiskey.  He pointed out where the stockyards was located.  As a veterinarian he had to write health inspections for cattle loading on the train.  The cattle were shipped to Chicago, Kansas City, St. Paul and various other places.

Dad told the story of a rancher who had trailed his cattle to the stockyards and then gone to the Buffalo and enjoyed whiskey.  The next morning he went to load his cattle on the train and they were gone.  Apparently another man, who probably had too much whiskey, load the wrong pen of cattle on a train.  Calls were made, the train was stopped and returned.  Cattle unloaded and the correct cattle were loaded!  From the stories Dad told, I would imagine that happened more than once!  

The amazing thing about getting the train stopped and turned around; it was done in the days before cell phones!  

#3 - 2020 Long Line

#3-2020. Long Line.  52 Ancestors in a Year

In the western heritage culture, the term long line might refer to the length of a rein on a team of horses.

Combine on Bob Hayden-Colfax, Washington

30 head team hooked

My mother, Helen Lloyd, was raised in Waitsburg, Washington.  Farming in that area and Palouse Hills of eastern Washington was done with teams of horses or mules.  The hills were steep, the soil was great and wheat was the crop.  

Combining on McKinney Land

32 head team hooked

Plowing on McKinney Land

These pictures are from Helen’s collection, but not from her family farm. 

Can you imagine the daily chore of caring for this many horses in the team?  Daily chores of feeding and watering the team, in the morning, at noon and at night.  At noon, the dream was team was unhooked and watered and then re-hooked to the equipment.  If you count the horses or mules in the team, there are  25-33 head.  (And they are hard to count in the picture!). And don't forget that the men that worked the teams and helped with harvest also had to be fed!  That is another story!

A team took a long line  of leather rein from the teamster driving the team to the lead team.

At Fort Walla Walla Museum, in Walla Walla, Washington, there is an excellent life size display of a team hooked to a combine.  It was one of my Dad’s favorite displays.  He loved teams and grew up in the era of using teams to feed cattle as well as put up hay.  On a trip there Dad was like a kid in a candy store explaining to me all the details of the workings of such a large team, from the lead team to the wheel team and all points in between.  Oh how I wished I had an iPhone to have recorded his explanations!  

Don Shaffner viewing and explaining the team!  

A replica of the driver, thick long lines in his hands.  

The driver of the team even had a can of pebbles next to his seat.  That was for an occasional rock thrown at a horse to “giddy up”!  Sometimes the long line wasn’t an effective method to encourage a horse to “step up”.  

An explanation and example of how a team was hitched with "long lines".

#2-2020. Favorite Photo. 52 Ancestors in a Year

#2-2020. Favorite Photo.  52 Ancestors in a Year

As the recipient & keeper of many, if not hundreds of family photos, it was very hard to choose just one favorite photo.  So I chose 2 related photos.

Yes, I really do have lots of family photos and luckily most are identified.  Thanks to my grandfather, John F. Shaffner and my cousin, Donnee Shaffner Stibal, most are identified in the Shaffner family line. 

My mother, Helen Lloyd's family also had many family pictures and most are labeled.  In both sets of inherited collections there those unlabeled ones that I am always looking for clues on.

This is picture is favorite because it is the only picture I have of my great great grandmother, Margaret Maria Fetter Shaffner.  The plus to the picture is her holding Walter Ruskin Shaffner, the youngest brother of my grandfather.   

Margaret was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1820 and died 10 November 1903 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 83 years of age.  

Walter Ruskin Shaffner was born 7 September 1899 and his mother died 17 November, 1899.

I believe the picture would have been taken about 1900-1902.  

Margaret Maria Fetter Shaffner, daughter of Jacob George Fetter III & Margaret Maria Ernest (or Ermet) married Gabriel Shaffner in 1845 in Pennsylvania.  Their son, John Martin Shaffner, born 15 July 1855 married Elizabeth Deborah Fletcher in 16 September 1880 in Whitesville, New York.

I suspect that Margaret helped out raising Walter Ruskin until his father remarried.  

John M. Shaffner married Emma Reamer, but she did not like his children.  The younger children all went to live with older siblings. 

Walter Ruskin Shaffner went to live with his sister, Cecelia and her husband, Richard Daggett in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.  He died December 1916 at the age of 16.  Probably from appendicitis, but the death certificate said acute indigestion.   

His older brother, John F. Shaffner, intended to bring him to Montana. He always regretted that and named his 2nd son, Walter.

This is the Shaffner Family Bible that my grandfather, John F. Shaffner,  took from his Pennsylvania home after his mother died.  Emma was not happy about that according to Grandpa.  But what a treasure it is.  

Included in the Bible was Margaret's family history which I believe are in her handwriting due to the old style of cursive script.

Don Shaffner, my father, holding the Shaffner Family Bible

#1-2020. Fresh Start 52 Ancestors in a Year!

#1 for 2020.  A Fresh Start

52 Ancestors in a Year

I am back!  With a Fresh Start for the New Year!

I have anxiously awaited the topics for 2020 and have them in hand.  I have been making notes of ideas!  I almost have my list ready.  

As I look towards I fresh start, I consider the family lines that I want to focus on for 2020.  I am good at jumping from one line to another, but hope to change my ways!  A New Year’s resolution???  (probably like all the rest and broken within a month!)

Since 2020 is the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower, I am going to found out if Leroy’s ancestor did come on the Mayflower.  And research hints that I had an ancestor on the Mayflower—the same person!  Wouldn’t that be fun to discover!  

Watch for the Mayflower float in the Tournament of Roses Parade.  Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower!  How cool is that!  A Voyage of Hope!  

Didn't all of our ancestors have a Voyage of Hope at sometime in their life?  I know many of mine did.  

So, off I go on a hunt!  

#52 You. 52 Ancestors in a Year

#52 You. 52 Ancestors in a Year

The last blog of the year!  And the blog challenge topic is “YOU”!  

“You” is a definite challenge!  

But “YOU” are the readers that read my blog!  Thank YOU for taking the time to read it.  

I will never run out of ancestors to research!

I use the blog as an opportunity to share my family stories and history.  Some of the readers are family and others are just interested in family history.  

Because I inherited many pictures along with family stories the blog seemed the easiest way to share.  The addition of the blog challenge makes me write for “You” each week.  Hopefully I have material to write about, but now at the end of the year; I guess I have!  I have successfully completed the challenge of 52 Ancestors in a Year!

So what’s next for “YOU”?  

Well….I will continue the blog and next year’s challenge of 52 Ancestors in a Year.  Different topics (I’m told) so hopefully I have material!  I really don’t make anything up!  

Creating the blog and stories forces me outside of my zone.  I have to learn more and research more.  Two things I like doing!  I truly have enjoyed the year of blog challenges.  

So….hope YOU continue to read and encourage me to write in 2020!

#51 Future-priority for Sydney. 52 Ancestors in a year

#51 Future. 52 Ancestors in a Year

The topic for the blog this week is Future.  While there are times I would like to go back in Time, I must think of the Future!

Who wants to help sort pictures?

And the future of genealogy and my genealogy future.  

I have a few items on my checklist to accomplish in 2020. A BIG list!

I am lucky to be researching in this era of digitization so I can research from home by accessing on-line records.  In my pajamas, usually in the early morning hours with my coffee!  There are still records to find!  Since some are not digitized that means I have to find them.  

My priority list for 2020:

1.  A research trip to Pennsylvania.  There are Shaffner’s and Kurtz’s to find!

2.  Research at the National Archives in Washington D.C.  

3.  Research a common ancestor that perhaps Leroy and I have that came over on the Mayflower!  Preliminary research indicates a common ancestor, so records need to be found!

4.  Blog again for 52 weeks!  There will be another 52 Weeks of Ancestors in 2020. 

5.  Attend a national genealogy conference.

6.  The most important task on the list is organize pictures!

7.  Inspire others to work on their family history.