#29-2020 Newsworthy. John Shaffner-telegrapher

John F. Shaffner

1926

Telegrapher at Union Pacific Depot in Dillon, Montana

John F. Shaffner (my grandfather) secured a position as a student telegrapher in September of 1907 with the Pennsylvania Railroad when he was 20 years old.  By December of 1907 he was classified as a "telegrapher".  Grandpa wrote that in the years following the turn of the 18th century, the country was in a real panic, jobs were scarce and wages were low.  Work day was usually 10-12 hours usually from 7 to 6.  He had worked as a printer previously earning $2 a day.  When he became an apprentice, his wage was increased to $3.00 a day.  John's first position as a telegrapher was at a tower a few miles out of Muncy, Pennsylvania and that is where he began to court Della Kurtz who would later become his wife.  He worked for the railroad for 5 years (until February of 1912) and then a short time (5 months) for Congressman Lafferty from Oregon.  He was anxious to go west so wrote to the Northern Pacific asking for a job and was offered a position on any division between St. Paul and the west coast.  He chose the Yellowstone division and was even a pass to Glendive, Montana.  When he got there he was put on a train for Sims, North Dakota where he remained for 2-3 years.  He began with the Yellowstone Division in September of 1912 and worked until June 1917.  When he moved to   Dillon he began with the Oregon Short Line and then the Union Pacific Railroad.  He worked as a telegrapher until 1944, for 33 years.

A telegrapher often got the news before the newspapers did.  Grandpa stated they were not connected with any newspaper, they didn't make public announcements, unless it was an emergency.  He remembers getting the news of inaugurations, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, when Woodrow Wilson was elected President.  When they got the news of Pearl Harbor attack, it was announced to people that were around the depot.  Since there was no television, the baseball scores were sent by telegraphy.  He would get the scores and give them to the theater which would announce them to the audience.  He stated there were telephones but the news and such all came in by telegraphy.  

John F. Shaffner

1989

Donnee Stibal (John's granddaughter) wrote in his scrapbook beside the picture that Grandpa was cleaning house and wanted to give it to the museum for the old depot where he originally typed with it.  She took him down to turn over to them.  John Burrows understood the Morse code when Grandpa typed out a message to him.  She thought the typewriter was made of iron as it was heavy.   Grandpa typed letters on it until not too many years ago.

Donating his Typewriter

The newspaper article in the Dillon Tribune

21 November 1989

Page 10, image 10

#28-2020 Multiples Lloyd twins

Lloyd Twins

Albert G. Lloyd and his wife Lois Hammond Jasper Lloyd had a set of twins in 1877 in Waitsburg, Washington.  Clara and Fredy were born 6 October 1877.   

Fredy died first on 12 November 1877. The next day Clara died on November 13th.

Lois planted a rose bush besides the grave.  The one that was carried in a prairie schooner from Missouri to Oregon.  And then transplanted to Dillon, Montana and then to Huntley, Montana.

The twins are buried at the City Cemetery in Waitsburg, Washington in Block 56, Lot 2, Space 1.

I do not know if the twins were born premature or if they were sick.  There maybe a newspaper mention of the funeral but there was no information in the family file.

Sydney Gabel at the graves in Waitsburg

Rose Bush

The rose bush at Sydney's in 2020

#27-2020. Solo. William R. Lloyd

#27-2020. Solo. William (Tony) Ray Lloyd--died Solo on the Prairie

William, the son of Albert Gallatin Lloyd and Lois H. Jasper, was born 10 June 1861 in Waitsburg, Washington.  A. G. & Lois had moved to Waitsburg in 1859.  In the family notes, it states that William was the second or third white child born in Walla Walla County.  

In the census of 1900, William was in the Fort Benton Township, Choteau, Montana.   He was a boarder, 39 years old. He was not married and his occupation is a gambler.  The head of the house where William was a boarder was Fred Thielbar who listed his occupation as saloon keeper.  The census was taken on 27th of June 1900.

What happened Tony after 1900?  I have not found other information on his life until he was found Solo on the prairie.

 TONY LLOYD FOUND DEAD 

March 3, 1905 

Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Lloyd received word Sunday that their son William R. Lloyd better known as Tony Lloyd had been found dead on the prairie about 40 miles from Harlem, Mont., on Saturday, Feb. 25.  He was found by a stage driver and had probably been dead three or four days.  Two jagged gashes in the neck indicated the cause of death while nearby was a dull pocket knife with blood which would indicate that Tony had met with foul play or had committed suicide.  No particulars have been received but the family do not believe it is suicide.  Wesley Lloyd left for Harlem Monday and will return with the body, arriving here Friday afternoon.  The funeral will take place from the farm home near this city, probably Saturday afternoon.  William R. Lloyd was 43 years of age and unmarried. (newspaper clipping from the "Waitsburg Times)

Milk River News-1 March 1905

Takes His Own Life

W. R. Lloyd Stabs Himself Fatally on the Prairie Near Hays

Word was brought to this city the middle of last week that a dead man was found one mile west of Hays, some forty odd miles south of here, and that the body was found on the old Mission road to Chinook, with two large gashes on each side of the throat, while an ordinary pocket knife was lying by the side of the corpse, plainly telling how the deed had been accomplished.  In the absence of the county corner, Justice of the Peace G. W. Vennum, left for the scence and by driving all night reached the place of suicide early Sunday morning.  The body was found by John Cochrane, while he was hunting cattle and the authorities were at once notified.  At the inquest several witnesses were examined and the body was identified as that of W. R. Lloyd, better known as "Toney", who had been engaged in doing some contract work at Zortman for Harry Kellar, and who was supposed to be on his way from Zortman to Forgart's ranch in the Bear paw mountains, where he had secured employment as a ranch hand.  Lloyd was 44 years of age and well known in and around the Little Rockies where had lived for some time.  His folks were located at Waitsburg, Wash., and two brothers arrived yesterday evening to take the body home with them for burial.  The coroner's jury composed of W. H. Granger, Jay T. Rhoads and Ernest Whetstone, all of Havre, brought in a verdict that the deceased came to his death by his own hand.  The body was brought to Harlem and will be shipped from here to Washington for burial.  

(Milk River Valley News, 1 March 1905)

Tony Lloyd of Zortmand, committed suicide in the hills west of Hays on Feb. 23.  Mr. Lloyd was well known in Zortman and Landusky. 
(Milk River Valley News "Harlem", 8 March 1905)

 FUNERAL OF WILLIAM R. LLOYD 

March 10, 1905

Wesley Lloyd returned from Harlem, Montana Friday, March 3rd bring the body of his brother, William R. Lloyd, an account of which was given in our last issue.  The funeral took place at 10 o'clock Saturday morning from the farm of his parents, Mr. And Mrs. A. G. Lloyd, two miles west of town.  The services were conducted by Rev. E. E. Hench of the First Presbyterian Church and the remains buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.  A long line of relatives and friends of the family followed the remains to the grave. (newspaper clipping--and he was buried at the Cemetery Cemetery).  I presume the clipping was from the "Waitsburg Times", but there was nothing written on the clipping.

William R. Lloyd Funeral Card

William R. Lloyd's headstone

His headstone his shared with his brother Charles C. Lloyd

City Cemetery, Waitsburg, Washington

Block 56, Lot 3, Space 3

Did Tony die by suicide or was he murdered?  

The information and original funeral cards are in the file (which I inherited) of William R. Lloyd.  The genealogy information on this family line was collected by William's sister, Angeline and given to my mother.

#26-2020. Middle. of the Family Bible

#26-2020.   Family Bible

What is in the middle of a Family Bible?

Many people have heard of a “Family Bible”, but many have never seen one or knew they exist.  

 “Family Bibles” were an important part of our ancestors life.  It is where they recorded the births, deaths & marriages of a family.  A "Family Bible" was a cherished possession in a family and passed down through the generations.  They are a treasure for a genealogist!

John M. Shaffner was my great grandfather. John M. Shaffner married Elizabeth Deborah Fletcher on 16 September 1880.  Their first son, Willard Fletcher Shaffner, was born on 10 July 1881.  I would presume that is when they began recording their family information.  A Family Bible could have been given as a gift.

The Shaffner Family Bible held by my father, Don Shaffner

In the middle of the “Family Bible”, are pages to record births, deaths and marriages in the family.  Many times these births were home births and or the vital records were not kept by a city/county/state office.  

John M. Shaffner wrote the information on his first marriage.  His wife died in 1899 and he remarried.  He wrote about that too.  

Often there are other gems of information in the middle of the Bible pertaining to family history.

The Shaffner Family Bible had loose pages of information about family.  The handwriting indicates an older style of cursive.  These are in archival protection so  hard to photograph.   Most of the information is about my 3rd great grandmother, Margaret Maria Fetter Shaffner's family!  Interesting there is not much information on her husband, my 3rd great grandfather, Gabriel Shaffner.  The information is birth dates, complete with time of both.  There are also marriage recorded with dates!  Since it was before civil registrations, these are the best records available for a genealogist. 

Does your family have a "Family Bible"?  

Keep looking and asking; you might be surprised what you find in the "middle"!

#25 Unexpected. A newsreel gave the information.

The story of events was told to us by my mother, Helen Lloyd many times.  The story always had a sadness of the way the family learned that Tony was a POW. Unexpected

Tony and my mother were cousins. (1st cousins 1x removed).  Although Tony was about 10 years older than my mother, the Lloyd family lived in the same community.  Family was important and suddenly one of their's was in WWII.  

Tony Boynton Lloyd was born 12 March 1915 at Waitsburg, Washington.   His parents were Wesley and Ina Lloyd.  

He joined the military after completing four years at the University of Washington in chemical engineering.  Tony was called up with other reserve officers in August of 1940 and was transferred to Fort Mills, Corregidor in the Philippines in September of 1941.   

In Tony's file, created by my mother, was a picture of Tony in the Philippines in April of 1942.  My mother marked the picture that it was in Life magazine.

 It was there at Corregidor  that he was taken prisoner by the Japanese in 28 April 1942.  

With limited information to the public, the family was never certain if Tony was a POW or had died.

Wes & Ina were at a movie and a newsreel was shown as was the custom in those days.  The newsreel  was showing a Japanese film of the surrender of American troops at Corregidor.   They recognized their son as POW.  The theatre reprinted a picture from the newsreel for the family.  That was the first time that they knew their son was a POW.    Can you imagine receiving news like that?

Unexpected.

It was at Christmas time in 1945 when the family received a telegram from the War Department that  their son had died in a prison camp in Japan on 7 January 1943.

Telegram Following is the text of the message received:  "The Secretary of war has asked me to express his deep regret that your son, First Lieutenant Tony B. Lloyd, died in Japan, January 7, 1943, as a result of malnutrition while a prisoner of war of the Japanese government.  I regret that unavoidable circumstances made necessary the unusual lapse of time in reporting your son's death to you.  Confirming letter follows.

For 2 years, the family after his capture by the Japanese, his family would hear rumors, giving them hope.  

It was thought he later escaped.  Consistent rumors had him serving with Filipino, and later, Chinese guerrillas, where his resourcefulness and skill with weapons were being utilized against the common enemy.  Now it is known that following the surrender he was variously at Billbid prison, Cabanatuan and finally Kokura, Japan on Shokuku island.

#24-2020 Handed Down. Shoes!

#24. Handed Down. Shoes from my Great Great Grandmother

In my collection of family artifacts are a pair of shoes!  And also a dress or two!


They belonged to Lois Jasper Lloyd.  Her nickname was Tiny Weenie Grandma.

Lois was born in Kentucky in 1841 and died in Waitsburg, Washington in 1930.  She had interesting life, heading west on the Oregon Trail in 1854, moving to Waitsburg in 1859.  

I believe the shoes say it all!

They are very small & dainty.  

But the shoes required lots of lacing!

I wonder which dress she wore them with!

A black dress?

Or a blue/gray dress?

Or the black dress located at the Bruce Memorial Museum in Waitsburg, Washington?

https://www.waitsburgmuseum.org

The Bruce House-Memorial Museum is owned by the Waitsburg Historical Society

#23 Wedding. Mom & Dad's wedding

#23 2020. Wedding. July 14, 1946

Seventy four years ago, Helen Lloyd married Don Shaffner.  My parents, Helen & Don had met at Washington State College in Pullman, Washington.

 Don & Helen

July 14, 1946

Helen was from a pioneer family in Waitsburg, Washington while Don was from a ranching family in Dillon, Montana.  Don was in Veterinary College after serving in WWII in the South Pacific.  

Helen lost her father 6 weeks before her wedding.  The wedding had been planned before his death.  Helen had graduated from college in 1946.  

While I have looked at their wedding picture for years, it wasn’t until I gathered up the pictures for the blog, that I "read" the story and “looked” at the pictures.

The description of the wedding was so interesting.   Mother carried a prayer book from Eastern Star, with orchids and stephanotis.  A rose point handkerchief which had been carried by the groom's mother at her wedding!  Where is the handkerchief today???  The bride's mother wore aqua blue gown with a corsage of white gladioli while the groom's mother also wore a gown of aqua blue with black accessories. The attendants were Mom's sister, Betty Race, who wore a gown of pink jersey with an overskirt of pink net and carried a colonial bouquet.  The groom's attendants were his brother, George and a younger brother Dean, was an usher along with Betty's husband, Robert Race.  

The wedding story in the newspaper.

I do not know which newspaper.

Don & Helen's wedding party

On the left:  Betty Race, Della & John F. Shaffner

On the right:  George Lloyd and George Shaffner

Calla Lloyd (Helen's mother)

This family group picture was great!  There are Don's parents in 1946 as well as Helen's mother! 

The best part of researching this blog was finding the Bride's book and looking through it.

The invitation to the wedding.

Also included in the Bride's book was a handwritten list. Typical of Helen to include all information,  the headings were Present received, Article, Sent by, Sender's address, Where bought, Thank you written.  The list includes gifts given at her wedding showers. There is also a list for announcements, including addresses.  Which is pretty informative for a genealogist looking for information on relatives in 1946!

Mother wrote in the book about getting her engagement ring.  (information for another blog!)

There were newspaper articles/notices about her wedding showers, and a luncheon where she was honored.

Helen even filled out a brief family tree for the bride and the groom.  Limited information, but even in 1946 my mom knew her genealogy!

In the book was a listing of the wedding party.  Since her father, George Marvin Lloyd, passed away 6 weeks before the wedding; her cousin Milton Lloyd walked her down the aisle standing in for her father.  An interesting note written by Mom;  "After wedding rehearsal the wedding party went out home and were served ice cream & cake.  After that they got served something a mite stronger.  Don initiated some of the new glasses we got as wedding presents."

The Bride's book also was used as a guest register.  

And a list of all the gifts received and from whom received! 

Included in the book is the diary of their honeymoon! (another blog perhaps???)