#15 Fire--Old Farm Buildings-burning history

15-2020 Fire--Old Farm Buildings-52 Ancestors in a Year

Farmers often have old buildings on their property that are no longer used.  Often it is a granary or a chicken coop, a barn or even a house that sits in the way & collects weeds.  These old buildings are often used for storage of farm equipment but often their usefulness is lost due to the deteriorating condition of the buildings.  It is often too expensive to repair or fix up the buildings.  

In 1973, my husband’s family burnt the original buildings were my husband first lived.  They moved to his house about 1947.  This house was on the farm property that they rented, their first farm.

The First House

It was a 3 room house; living room, kitchen/dining room and bedroom.  The kitchen had a pitcher pump for water and finally water was piped into the house but no drain so his mother still had to empty buckets under the sinks. There was no bathroom, but there was an outhouse. The house was heated by central heat; an oil heater in the living room. And baths were taken in front of the heater, in a galvanized tub.

The granary, which had been a house at one time, had a room in front for storage while the back was the granary.

The granary

There was a barn, where milk cows were kept. The family also raised chickens and pigs. Cream was sold for money to buy groceries.

The barn is the middle building.

Leroy’s parents moved from this house about 1957.  The house was then used for migrant help in the summer.

So in 1973, it was time to remove the buildings.  The local fire department used the buildings for training.  

The fire removing history

For some reason, I took my camera to the burn.  I guess I thought it was necessary to document the house and buildings so we would remember them.  The pictures help remember the memories and the life.  

I don't know if there any pictures of the house when it was lived in.  Maybe someday I find them.  

Little did I know that I would be the family historian and would need these pictures for a blog!

#14-2020 Water

#14-2020 Water

In the arid west, water is vital for life.  Agriculture depends on water for livestock or growing crops.  A lot of the land does not have access to water and thus raises “dryland” crops, like wheat, durum or peas; the river bottoms depend on the irrigation water coming from the mountains.

Homesteaders knew the value of water as they built near a creek, river or spring.  The closer they were to the water, it was easier for the wife to pack buckets of water.  Having water piped into a house from a spring or well was a luxury!    

To attract homesteaders to the west, the Bureau of Reclamation began to create irrigation projects.  Congress in April of 1904 authorized the beginning of surveys of land along the Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers.  The Huntley Project Irrigation District was authorized In April of 1905, by Secretary of the Interior, E. A. Hitchcock.  It became the 5th project authorized under that Act. Plans and specifications for construction of a canal and lateral system to service 35,000 acres were developed with a goal to deliver water for the 1907 season.

The Dredger used to dig the canal and laterals on the Huntley Project Irrigation District.

Lands for the Huntley Project were first opened homestead entry in 1907.  By 1910 there were 352 farm units compromised of 20,905 acres.  The farm units were to consist of 40 acres.  The Homesteaders had to repay a construction cost which could be paid back in annual installments.  It was soon discovered that 40 acres could not support a family.  Thus many farms were sold as other increased their holdings.  For many years farmers on Bureau of Reclamation projects were held to 160 acres, then 360, then 960 acres.  

Because of water, a variety of crops could be raised such as sugarbeets, corn, hay and wheat.

The creation of the canal, laterals and 40 acre fields, was well thought out and developed.  The water continues to this day (2020) to be delivered to fields via the plan developed in 1907.  The landowner continues to pay a charge for the water delivered to his property.  Since the Huntley Project system is a full service project, there are yearly costs for maintenance of the system. 

Delivery of water by laterals and ditches is very labor intensive.  During the spring, the crops are planted, cultivated and ditched.  Which means when the ground is workable, small ditches are created along each row of crops.  A ditcher is pulled behind a tractor, often the field must be ditched twice in order to make a firm ditch.  At the end, head ditches are pulled across for the delivery of the water and end ditches are pulled to drain the water.

A field that has been ditched.

And then the hard work begins as row ditches must be shoveled at the head ditch to make a good placement for the siphon tubes.  And end ditches must have cuts at various places to allow drainage.

Siphon tubes are used in each row, or every other row, placed at the head ditch.  Learning to fill a tube and siphon the water is a skill learned by all farm children.  There are various methods to fill the siphon tube; some submerge the tube and throw it over the ditch while others stand on the ditch and “pump” the tube to create a siphon.  

Since the land is very flat in many field, the drain water must be watched and water changed before drowning the end of the field.  Plants will drown with standing excess water which cuts off the oxygen to their roots.  And plants will “boil” if left standing in the water when the outside temperature gets hot.    Irrigating is a balancing act, especially when you have various field, size of fields, crops and slope to the field.  

Turning drylands, which have limited crops available to raise, into irrigated land increased the variety of crops available for the homesteader to grow. Not only was the homesteader able to provide for his family, he was able to produce crops for sale, thus increasing his income potential.  Thus irrigated land became more valuable than dry land.  

#13-2020. Nearly Forgotten. Living at the "Home for the Friendless"

#13-2020.  Nearly Forgotten. 52 Ancestors in a year

Mary Catherine Shaffner

Mary Catherine Shaffner also known as Catherine, was the daughter of Gabriel Shaffner and Margaret Maria Fetter.  She was born  the 20th of August 1857 in Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  She was the youngest child in the family of 4. Her older brother, John Martin Shaffner, was my Grandfather’s (John F. Shaffner)  father.  Thus Mary Catherine would have been my grandfather’s aunt.

Mary Catherine never married.  She lived with her parents living for many years at 401 Herr St. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Gabriel was a hatmaker, a cabinet maker and even owned a grocery business. Catherine’s occupation is listed in the Harrisburg City Directory of 1887-1890 as a bleacher.  She and her father’s business, Harrisburg Bleachery, operated at 401 Herr St.  It is said that she took over her father’s hat making business when he died in 1891.

What is a bleacher?  At dictionary.com a bleacher is a person or thing that bleaches.  I suspect Catherine took in laundry to bleach.

In the 1900 census, Mary and her mother were living at 401 Boas Street.  

But I can not find Mary in the 1920 census.

In the 1930 census, Mary is living at “The Home of the Friendless” on 5th and Muench St. in Harrisburg.  There is no mention of when she entered the home.  She was 72 years old at the time the census was taken.

In the 1940 census, Catherine is living at The Home of the Friendless.  She is 83 years old.  And the census notes that she was living there in 1935.

(All census searches were done at Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org)

"Home of the Friendless". 2005

It is now the "Home Center"

Home of the Friendless admitted both childen (almost exclusively young girls) and elderly woman for the first 40 years.  By 1920 the Home was exclusively an old age home.  The Home is at Fifth and Muench in Harrisburg.  It was founded in 1872 by 18 women to provide a place for widows & orphans struggling to survive after the Civil War.  

Here is a link to the history of "The Home for the Friendless":

https://www.pennlive.com/business-news/2017/05/homeland.html


But what a sad name for a facility.  It is heart breaking to think that anyone needed that facility, especially a relative.  Catherine had no immediate family left, although she had nieces and nephews.  But who could have cared for her?

Dean Shaffner, son of my grandfather, John F. Shaffner, wrote on September 13, 1986 about a visit to Mary Shaffner.  Dean writes:  John F. Shaffner, Della (his parents) and Dean visited her (Mary Shaffner) in 1938.  She was in a rest home.  We stayed there for a night or two.  She gave me a gold wedding band.  It had belonged to her mother.  I was about 14 at that time.  I lost it at the homestead and always thought it fell through a crack in the floor of the bunk house.  Often wanted to look for it with a Geiger counter.  At that time I met Marybell Bixler.  She was a young woman then.  (Marybell was her Great-Niece)

Obituary from "The Patriot", Harrisburg, PA, Tuesday, December 3, 1940 states that Miss Mary C. Shaffner,  1901 North Fifth Street, daughter of the later Gabriel and Mary Shaffner, Harrisburg, died yesterday at her home.  She was 82 [83] years old.  Miss Shaffner was the last surviving charter member of Otterbein United Brethren Church.  Several nieces and a nephew survive.  Funeral service will be held at 2 PM Thursday at the funeral parlors of Hawkins, Inc., 1007 North Second Street.  The Rev. Charles R. Beittel of Otterbein Church, will officiate and burial will be in East Harrisburg Cemetery.  Friends may call between 7 and 9 PM tomorrow at the funeral parlors.

Information from the East Harrisburg Cemetery Company on February 25, 1986 lists Miss Mary C.  Shaffner, age 83,  is buried at the East Harrisburg Cemetery in Section 2, Lot 117

Catherine was nearly forgotten. 

I visited the Cemetery in 2005 and located her grave.  She was buried near her father and mother. My grandfather had many photos in his collection of family members, but there are none of Mary Catherine.  

We will not forget about our ancestors.

#12-2020. Popular Labor Day weekend in Dillon-1979

#12-2020 Popular.  1979 Labor Day weekend in Dillon, Montana!  A popular weekend!

In September 1979 I was in Dillon, Montana for the annual Labor Day weekend festivities.  It was and is a very popular weekend in southwestern Montana.  It is the County Fair and Rodeo weekend.  It is the weekend that many return to their “roots”, hold family reunions and celebrate the end of summer.  

Dillon, Montana is in Beaverhead County, the largest county in Montana.  There were and still are more cows than people.  My father was the veterinarian and had a veterinary practice in the county and parts of other counties.  His speciality was large animals, and cows were a big part of his practice.  He traveled to many ranches through the year, often eating in homes or cookhouses at the ranches because of the distance from Dillon.  Sometimes he was gone for a couple of days during calving time or fall rush of working cattle.  For many years the roads were not even paved so ranchers were very generous to provide him a hot meal.  

And so began the tradition of my Mom (Helen) & dad (Don) hosting a “feed” at their house in Dillon after the parade on Labor Day.  This was their way of thanking clients and friends for feeding Don!  It was common knowledge that Helen would have food available.  And of course, my sister & I grew up with many of the ranch kids, so our house was often the common meeting place for many.  She feed lots of people throughout the Labor Day weekend!

Since it was a popular weekend, my grandfather volunteered to babysit my son for an evening.  This would be his first time at Dillon Labor Day weekend!  Of course I  joined my friends and family in the local celebrations downtown.  The celebrations occurred in the bars up and down Main Street.  Meeting friends & relatives you haven’t seen in years, is always fun and requires a “cheers” or more than one!

On Monday of Labor Day weekend is the Parade.  It is the last day of the festivities with a rodeo in the afternoon.  It is a very popular day.  But since I had celebrated too much, I thought attending the parade was not a wise decision and it would be best to stay at my parent’s house & stir the goulash and help get things ready. Mom took Greg, my son.   It was normal to have 50 people descend on the house after the parade, quickly eat and rush to the rodeo which started about 2 hours after the parade ended.

This is my mother's recipe for goulash. 

She gave me this recipe when I married.

She made more than 1 batch for a crowd.

Since I didn’t feel 100%, I laid down to rest.  Yep, fell asleep.  Suddenly my mother was at the bedroom door, holding my son who had attended his 1st parade, crying loudly.  I woke up immediately!  My first thought was I had burned the goulash!  And believe me, mother’s goulash was good, expected at the lunch and heaven help me if I had burned it!  Through tears she told me about the jets flying over of the parade and that one had hit the grain elevator where the parade passed by.  In disbelief of the events unfolding, and that my immediate family was safe, I rushed to the hospital.  The human hospital.  Dad was on the board of trustees for the hospital & had already left for the hospital to provide help.  He even stopped at his veterinary hospital to get x-ray film.  I was a medical lab technician and I had worked with the medical technologist there.  Anticipating injuries and fatalities, I rushed to help. The lab welcomed me with open arms.  We prepared for a major disaster as it was common to have thousands of people in town for the weekend and at the parade.  People, who had ever been employed at the hospital rushed to help.  I said, I can draw blood on patients until my best friend is brought in.  Knowing she was at the head of the parade on a horse and the jet had gone down near the front of the parade, I was worried sick.  And then we waited.

Suddenly Dad came into the lab and said he was going home to eat.  What???  Dad leaving; highly unusual.  He told us there was limited injuries; maybe 2 or 3 with burns.  Imagine our surprise!  But a welcome surprise.  There were many things that happened that day, many positive things displaying how a small community comes together & works together in a crisis.  Some things were truly unbelievable.  

My husband who was at home in Huntley, was on a tractor piling corn silage during harvest, and heard the first news of the crash on his radio.  He knew my family always stood by the depot for the parade.  He rushed to the phone to call my parents house.  He was quite glad to hear good news that we all OK!

My family is standing in the lower right of the left hand picture.  

So a popular weekend turned into a popular memory; one I will never forget!  Nor will the town of Dillon or anyone who was there!  And I think of it every time I make goulash!

#11-2020. Luck. 52 Ancestors in a Year

#11-2020.    Luck

With genealogy, luck is a word often used.  Sometimes luck when searching for ancestors is a huge part of the research.  Was the luck due to good investigative research process, or the angel on the shoulder luck?  Sometimes, one never knows!  

Most of my luck was inherited.  The luck is in the form of physical information. With any luck, I have several generations of information, which might include the person I am researching or writing about.  Yes, that includes pictures that are labeled.  I have funeral cards, address books from my mother and grandfather, newspaper articles, family group sheets done by others, lists of families done by ancestors (before family group sheets were a “thing”), a couple of Family Bibles and stories written by my mother.  

My Luck is a thank you to my mother who inherited and added onto to her family history.  Long before computers!  My Luck is a thank you to my paternal grandfather who also kept track of family, labeled pictures and worked his grandddaughter, Donnee, to pass down family history.  He was prolific in writing his family history, or his life story, through out the years.  

The unlucky part is that seldom is there a citation noting where they found the information.  My mother always said when asked where she got it….”Well Aunt Gilla said”.  Apparently she was the expert!  But which Aunt Gilla?

Gilead Ann Jasper born in 1839 in Kentucky and died in 1934 in Philomath, Benton County, Oregon.  This Gilla was a sister to my mother’s great grandmother.  She must have known some of the history, first hand.  Was she the Aunt Gilla who "said"?

But there is another Gilla in the family.   Gillian Ann Lloyd, born in 1873 in Walla Walla County, Washington and died in 1947 in Tacoma, Washington. This Gilla was a sister to my mother’s grandfather.  And she collected and worked on the family history.  Was she the Aunt Gilla who "said".

Both Gilla’s were probably referred to as Aunt Gilla.  

I love this picture of Aunt Gilla Jasper Irwin and the story. What knowledge and information she had.  I sure would like to talk with her!

The article says that Gilla is 90 years old.  So the article would have been written about 1929.

But as the majority of newspaper articles are lacking the name of the newspaper as well as the date.

My luck will be earned finding it!

#10-2020 Strong Women. The Heath Sisters

#10-2020 Strong Women.  The Heath Sisters

I have always admired the story of Mary Heath and her sister Lois.  

They were the daughters of William Heath (a Revolutionary War veteran) and Polly Heath.

Lois Heath was born 1787 in Pendleton County, South Carolina.  

Lois never married

Mary “Polly” Heath (my 3rd great grandmother) was born on 14 October 1807 in Somerset, Pulaski, Kentucky.    

The birth dates are from family information, not confirmed yet.  

 Mary was married to John McHenry Jasper on 27 March 1828 in Somerset, Pulaski, Kentucky.   Seven children (Elizabeth, Andrew, Nancy, William, Thomas, Gilead and Lois) were born to Mary & John in Kentucky before they followed the trail to Missouri in 1841.  Lois Heath Jasper (who was named for her aunt)  born in 1841, was a baby when they journeyed to Missouri.  Another daughter, Minerva was born in 1844 in Missouri. 

Family story indicates that Lois joined the Jasper family after her father had died in 1829.

Tragedy struck the family when John Jasper died in 1845 near Whiteville, Missouri.  Mary was left with  8 children, the oldest, Elizabeth was 16.  In 1848, two daughters, Elizabeth and Nancy (age 16) married on the same day in December.  

In the 1850 (4 November 1850) Census, Mary was living in Tremont Township, Buchanan County, Missouri.  Mary was the head of the household at age 39 but she can not read or write.  The children living in the house were Andrew (19), William (16), Thomas (14), Gillard (11), Lois (8) and Minerva (6).  I have yet to locate her sister Lois in 1850 census.

In 1851 Mary's oldest son, Andrew as well as his sister Elizabeth Jasper Ownby & her family crossed the plains to Oregon.   Another daughter, Nancy Jasper Langston, losing her husband on the trip, crossed the plains in 1852.  Andrew came back to Missouri and escorted his mother Mary, her old maid sister Lois, and his siblings to Oregon in 1854.  The wagon load consisted of  Andrew, William, Thomas, Gilead, Lois and Minerva along with Polly and Lois Heath.  

Mary carried this tin of scrap material and notes in her pocket across the plains.

The family story is that after enduring many hardships and privations, much of the stock having died; when they reached Green River, Wyoming; the family stayed there while an older son went on to obtain food and supplies.  These he got from other members of the party who had gone in advance of the train to locate a home for the family.  The Jasper family crossed with an ox team, but not all of the family was able to ride at one time.  Gilead Ann walked the major part of the trip and carried a small baby part of the way.  Gilead would have been 15 and Minerva, the youngest would have been 10.   (I am not sure what baby she carried.) Lois, my Great Great grandmother was 13 years old.  The family settled in Benton County, Oregon where Mary’s daughters lived.

With children to support and feed, Mary often was a housekeeper or operated a boarding house.  

In the 1860 Census, Mary is living in the Butte Precinct of Benton County, Oregon.  The children living with her were Andrew, William, Thomas and Minivera.  The other daughters, Lois and Gillard (Gilla) had married.  Lois Heath is living with her niece’s family, Elizabeth and Jesse Owenby in the Lloyd Precinct of Benton County, Oregon.  

About 1864 Mary & Lois moved to Waitsburg, Washington where Mary’s daughter, Lois Jasper Lloyd and her husband A. G. Lloyd lived.  

In the 1870 census, the sisters were living with Mary’s son, Andrew Jasper in Waitsburg, Washington.  Lois was 84 years old. And Mary was 68 years old.  

Both sisters are buried in Waitsburg at the City Cemetery.  Mary died in 1876 at the age of 69 and Lois died in 1878 at the age of 90.  

The sisters had traveled from one coast to another—Lois from South Carolina to Oregon, while Mary traveled from Kentucky to Oregon—mostly by oxen team.  I can’t imagine the hard life that these women endured throughout their life.  But they survived.  The hard work these women did is the reason that their descendants were successful.  They did not know the word "quit".  

#9-2020 Disaster. The Meek Cutoff Oregon Trail

#9-2020. Disaster. Terrible Trail: the Meek Cutoff, 1845

The trail that my 3rd Great Grandfather, John Lloyd,  took on the way to Oregon.  The Meek Cutoff was a major disaster for many who traversed that portion of the Oregon Trail.

Stephen Meek, a frontiersman, was hired as a guide in Missouri for wagons trains in 1845 but apparently he was fired when they reached Fort Boise.  Being out of work, led him to convince several captains of trains that he knew a shorter route to the Williamette Valley and they hired him as a guide.  I am sure that the travelers were tired, hot and dusty by the time they reached Fort Boise.  They knew that there was tough passage through the Blue Mountains, a long trail down the Columbia River to the Williamette Valley.  Many were quick to jump at the chance of getting there faster and easier.  But little did they know of the bad fortune that would occur.

The Meek Cutoff wound across the high desert area of Oregon, heading northwest to the Williamette Valley.  Stephen Meek had some idea of where to go, but there were many problems on the trail.  The trail was difficult, water was impossible to find in many areas, many people were sick and it was hot and dry.  Without water, many oxen gave up and died.  There were people upset with the guide, threatening to kill him.  

The wagon train had endured many hardships on the trip, but the lack of water, fatigue and running low on provisions began to take a toll on the pioneers.  It was even reported that in desperation many put salt on grass for food.  

As John Lloyd set out from Missouri, with his 2 wagons and 10 family members, what was he thinking?

Was he thinking of the difficult trails ahead of him, the length of the trip, the hardships endured and the possibility that they might not make it to Oregon?  Was the promise of a better future or opportunity or prosperity so enticing, that one would think only of the end result, not of the trip?

John and family set out in 1845 with the “The Savannah Oregon Emigrating Society” that was also known as the “Tetherow Train”.  Solomon Tetherow was the captain [not a guide] for the main body of wagon for the full distance.  What was his experience and qualifications?

From Captain Tetherow’s journal, a wagon train rule required each outfit to have 100-150 lbs of flour, 75 lbs of meal and 50 lbs of bacon for every person.

John Lloyd was elected to the executive council of the “Savannah Oregon Emigrating Society” at a meeting on the Missouri bottom on 28 April 1845.  Many of the people listed on the wagon train roster were somehow connected to the Lloyd family, mostly by marriage.  Since the number of wagons was large, they were broken down into 4 platoons, each with captains,so a hollow square could be easily formed every night,  

In Lewis A. McArthur, “Mary’s  River,” Oregon Georgraphic Names, Portland, Oregon, Oregon Historical Society, 1952 edition,, p. 389 states that St. Clair and John Lloyd were alternate captains of the last platoons to take the Cutoff.  

John wrote to his brother, Robert, in Rutledge, Grainger County, Tennessee on 25 March 1847 from Polk County, Oregon Territory.

(I assume this is the first letter written from Oregon Territory to his brother.)

He stated that they were 6 months and 3 days from the time they left their old home until we got to Linton on the Williamette.  They had no more bad luck than is common for Oregon immigrants.  They lost 18 head of cattle out of 37 and one horse.  They found the road passable but many bad places.  He went on stating that neither of his wagons got turned over on the trip.  It is without timber most of the way.  He stated that there were about 700 wagons, 10 or 12,000 head of cattle, a good many horses and mules, little rain and dust in abundance.  He also stated that they did not all travel in the same company but in a good many small companies.  He said they were not molested by the Indians but they stole a good many horses.  He continues by saying that they crossed all the waters that we came to without any difficulty except green river and deshoots (Deschutes) and they rafted across the green river but had to take their wagons apart to cross the deshoots.  John stated that their provisions held out well with the exception of “flower” (flour) which got somewhat scare.  He stated that they had bacon, coffee, sugar, tea rice and dried fruit after we got to our Journeys end.  The trip from the states to Oregon is a journey that can be performed with very little ease.  

While John endured hardships, his letter indicates that they were on the Meek Cutoff as he wrote they had to take apart the wagons to cross the Deschutes river.  All the members of his family arrived in Oregon so while they watched disasters around them, they were safe.  

If you are interested in the Meek Cutoff of 1845, I have listed the sources that I have used.  They are very interesting ready to understand the hardships that the pioneers endured crossing the Plains to prosperity.

Clark, Keith and Lowell Tiller, Terrible Trail:  The Meek Cutoff, 1845.  Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers LTD, 1967

Wikipedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek_Cutoff), “Meek Cutoff”, viewed 23 February 2020.

Lockley, Fred.  Captain Sol. Tetherow, Wagon Train Master.  Pamphlet. (Portland, Oregon: Fred Lockley) no date.  

The story was even made into a movie!