Jane Milnes 1885 Funeral Card

Jane Milnes, died 3 Jan 1885, buried 6 Jan 1885 (age 16)

Kirkheaton, West Yorkshire, England. Daughter of George and Sarah Milnes.

Farewell, farewell, my parents dear,

Brother and sister kind,

And my companions whom I loved,

I leave you all behind.

To me you all were kind and true,

While here on earth I dwelt with you,

Then do not mourn you've done your best,

You kindly loved me to the last.

This funeral card was originally owned by my mother's uncle, Elton Hartley. Elton was the family genealogist for the George and Rebecca Hartley Family Organization until his death. Elton lived in Utah and throughout his years of research, he corresponded with family members in England about the genealogy. Many family members sent him photos, funeral cards, newspaper clippings, and details of vital records in their correspondence. This funeral card is just one of many in Elton's collection which was handed down to his daughter after his passing. I have had the privilege of making digital copies of all the records for preservation purposes, thanks to his daughter Lola.

The 1867 Erskine Family Bible

I didn't know that we had a family Bible in our family's possession until a few years ago. My mother gave the Bible to my brother and he told me about it. Publication date was 1867. The "family record" pages are all filled out, including marriage and other events that pre-date the publication. I took several pictures of the Bible, from all angles, and all pages with writing on them. The last two pages of the Bible are almost completely gone.

The Bible belonged to my 2nd great-grandfather, Thomas Erskine 1836-1904 and his wife Evelinah Huff 1836-1909. He wrote his marriage date and place in the Bible on one of the Family Record pages. The couple had five children, Cyrus Melvin, Frances Wilda, Mary Jane, Charles Clarence, and Florence Lillian. (Charles is my great-grandfather.) The two daughters, Mary and Florence, preceded both Thomas and Evelinah in death.

Thomas Erskine was 5' 9" tall, light complexion, auburn hair, and blue eyes. He joined the Ohio Volunteer Infantry at McArthur, Vinton Co., Ohio on 10 March 1864. He was captured in the battle of Gainesville, Florida and taken to the Andersonville Prison. Thomas was one of the very few who escaped from Andersonville. He was discharged 13 June 1865 and went to Missouri where his was Charles was born.

Thomas died on 8 May 1904 at Menomonie, Dunn Co., Wisconsin and was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery. His wife Evelinah went to live with their oldest son Cyrus in Cloquet, Carlton, Minnesota after his death. Eventually she moved to California and lived with their daughter Frances. Evelinah died 9 February 1909 at Ukiah, Mendocino Co. California.vv

Longtime Burbank Police Sergeant A. Erskine Dies

     Aldred Erskine, 68, a Burbank police sergeant for 22 years before his retirement in 1951, died Sunday in Sepulveda Veterans Hospital.  Born in Superior, Wis., Mr. Erskine was employed as a machinist at Hydro-Aire Corp. for the last 10 years.  Mr. Erskine joined the Burbank Police Department on Jan. 27, 1930. His first duty was on a motorcycle followed by assignment to the patrol division. In 1937 he was appointed sergeant. A Burbank resident for 32 years, Mr. Erskine resided at 1718 Landis St.  He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Burbank Second Ward.  He was a veteran of World War I.  Mr. Erskine leaves his widow, Frances B.; a daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Elaine Johansen of Lake View Terrace; four brothers, Charles C. of Burbank, Thomas of Richmond, John of Ontario, and Lawrence of San Jose; and nine grandchildren.  Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Eckermans Funeral Service Chapel.  Interment will be in Glen Haven Memorial Park. (Obituary clipping obtained from his daughter Dorothy. Date of publication and newspaper is unknown.)

     Aldred Erskine was born 30 Jan 1896 at Superior, Douglas, Wisconsin. His parents were Charles Clarence Erskine (1868-1933) and Minnie Steffens (1873-1940). Aldred had seven brothers: Cyrus Melvin, Thomas Francis, Miles Maywood, Charles Clarence, James, John Milton, and William Lawrence; and two sisters: Evaline Dorothy and Minnie May. Aldred became a certified deputy for the city of Burbank, California on 30 Jan 1930 and retired on 1 Nov 1951. He died 31 May 1964 at the Veteran's hospital in Sepulveda, California. Burial was at Glen Haven Memorial Park.

Headstone Monuments for Johan and Juliane Johansen

I've never been to Iowa to see where my great-grandparents, Johan and Juliane [Hansen] Johansen, were buried. These headstone photos were taken by their son, my grandfather, Johan Roy Tolve Johansen. Grandpa got interested in his genealogy during the 1960s and on a trip back to Iowa to see his half-brother Armand Madsen, he also visited the place where his parents were buried. My grandfather's sister, Alma Christine [Johansen] Jones, was also buried in this cemetery, but sadly the cemetery does not have a record of her burial.

Johan and Juliane were both born in Denmark. Juliane immigrated to the United States in 1888. Johan's immigration date is unknown. They were married in Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska in 1893. They had two children, Alma born in 1895 and my grandfather Johan born in 1900. 

My grandfather often wrote his name as,  Roy T. Johansen. Four months after Roy was born the family moved to Ringsted, Emmet Co., Iowa. They lived in Ringsted for ten years and then moved to Clinton, Clinton Co., Iowa. A year-and-a-half later, Juliane passed away. My grandfather was only 11 years old when his mother died.

Johan remarried, a lady named Mary Waldorf, and they eventually moved out west to Arizona. 

In 1940 Johan died and his body was sent back to Iowa for burial next to his first wife Juliane.

Mayflower Descendants

The living descendants of Benjamin Kingman Curtis and Sarah Lavantia Card have the option to apply for membership in the Mayflower Society. Fran Jensen, the author of this Blog applied and was submitted as a member in 2023 through this lineage:

1. John Billington, Mayflower passenger
2. Francis Billington, son of John Billington
3. Mary Billington, daughter of Francis Billington, and wife of Samuel Sabin.
4. Israel Sabin, son of Samuel Sabin and Mary Billington. Israel married Mary Ormsby.
5. Josiah Sabin, son of Israel Sabin and Mary Ormsby. Josiah married Mary Gay.
6. Israel Sabin, son of Josiah Sabin and Mary Gay. Israel married Avis Bennett.
7. Josiah Sabin, son of Israel Sabin and Avis Bennett. Josiah married Lydia Cady. Josiah is a proven Patriot in both the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). Several descendants of Benjamin Kingman Curtis, including Fran Jensen, the author of this Blog, have already joined DAR through this lineage. Fran can assist you in your application if you are interested.
8. Sarah Ann Sabin, daughter of Josiah Sabin and Lydia Cady. Sarah married William Fuller Card.
9. Sarah Lavantia Card, daughter of William Fuller Card and Sarah Ann Sabin. Sarah married Benjamin Kingman Curtis.
10. Benjamin Kingman Curtis and Sarah Lavantia Card had ten children. Nine lived to adulthood and married. The eight children who have possible living descendants that could apply for membership in the Mayflower Society include: 

• Cyrus Jerome Curtis
• Friend Charles Curtis
• Sarah Ellenor Curtis
• Oscar Benjamin Curtis
• George Leslie Curtis
• William Rushmer Curtis
• Mary Lavantia Curtis
• DeWilton Emory Curtis

I scanned an entire notebook of old letters and research notes that were collected by my great-grandfather Andrew Hartley and his son Elton Hartley (my grandmother's brother). Total pages scanned was about 200 sheets of paper.

My favorite letters were the ones written in response to an ad in the local newspaper for Bradford, Yorkshire, England. The ads were placed by Elton Hartley, looking for cousins who descended from the same ancestral families, the Hartley, Richards, or Wadsworth families. I think it's amazing how quickly people responded to queries in the newspaper about the search for his ancestors.

Written 14 Aug 1951

Autobiography of Grace Fincher Curtis

An autobiography of Grace Fincher Curtis, titled, "The Winding Trail", was published in 1991 by Diana Dekoeyer.

The dedication states, "Diana, bless her, has always been so good to old Grandma Grace. She is making a book out of my life. That is, if she can make heads or tails of my crazy writings."

Grace Amy Fincher was born 9 August 1895 R Manfred, North Dakota. She married Sherman James Curtis on 7 April 1915 at Harve, Hill county, Montana. Sherman was born on 3 June 1892 in Preston, Idaho, the son of Oscar Benjamin Curtis and Esther Mary Thompson. Sherman died 25 January 1970 and Grace died in 1998, both in California. The book is 147 pages and includes:

• The children of Herbert and Liza Fincher
• Michigan to Canada 1910-1914
• A Short History of Sherman James Curtis
• Boy Meets Girl 1915-1922
• Journey to Idaho 1923
• Coeur d'Alene
• On to Washington
• Orient, Washington
• British Columbia to Yakima then to Spokane 1925-1926
• Big Timber 1927
• Caliente, Nevada 1928
• California 1929
• Antelope Valley 1930-1944
• Burbank and Vista 1945-1948
• Aguanga 1950-1955
• Vista 1956-1957
• Grapevine 1958-1960
• Sonora 1961-1963
• Vista 1964-1990

I do not have a copy of the autobiography and I believe the book is out of print. If anyone knows where a copy can be obtained or viewed, please add comments to this post. Thanks so much!

My Friend Passed Away

 Yesterday I was thinking about a friend of mine, Lois Scott. She was older than me and I never had the chance to meet her in person. I've talked to her on the phone a few times and we wrote a few letters to each other several years ago. Originally I found her while doing some research to find the descendants of Benjamin Kingman Curtis. Her name was Lois Scott. She was so kind and helpful in sharing all that she had on her side of the Curtis family. Before I met Lois, I knew almost nothing about that side of our family. Anyway, while thinking about her, I was hopeful that she would still be alive, so I decided to check the Social Security Death Index. Sadly, I discovered that she had passed away a year ago last Christmas. I felt so sad about her passing because I had recently found a new picture of some ancestors on her side of the family and I wanted to share that picture with her. Now I will never have the chance to share the photo with her. I was thinking that sharing the photo with her would be a good way to pay back (at least in part) all the kindness she showed me in sharing her genealogy records with me. I will have to try and contact her children to see if they would like a copy of the picture that I wanted to give their mother.

Stitches

He was hurt when a board fell on his head. He needed stitches, but the doctor fixed his wound with a staple instead. He only had one staple, but the head wrap made the injury look much worse. He was a brave boy.

DeWilton Emory Curtis

We finally have a picture of DeWilton's headstone. I added details about his place of burial to the Find-A-Grave website and requested a photo. I've taken pictures of headstones for others who have made similar requests. Cemeteries I've taken pictures at for Find-A-Grave requests include Salt Lake City Cemetery, Sandy City Cemetery, Lake Hills Memorial Park, and Provo City Cemetery.

DeWilton's place of burial is one that I'll likely not ever see in person. He was buried at the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Buena Vista, Chafee Co., Colorado. Someone who lives near that area walked the cemetery, found the headstone, and added it to the Find-A-Grave website. If you have a minute, please add a comment to the photographer's page to tell them thank you for taking the time to take the picture for us. If you'd like to help others by taking pictures of headstone in your local cemetery, be sure to register and sign up to be a volunteer. On his stone it says:

D. E. Curtis

1873 - 1952