My Trails into the Past

In Silver Bow County, Montana, the school districts took a census of children in their community. They counted children as young as infants up to twenty years of age. This helped them determine the number of classrooms and teachers needed. Here is the page from the 1910 school census for School District No. 1, where my 2x-great-uncle, Michael & Sarah Sullivan’s children were listed. [1] The bonus in this school census for me is that the published census included each child, their birthdates, ages, parents’ names, and addresses. I can use this information to support the birth of the child and their parentage. Of course, this derivative record is not as reliable as a birth certificate. Still, if no birth record was created or the birth record is not available due to access restrictions, then this is a suitable alternative, as the parents likely gave the information. Finding School Census Records In checking the FamilySearch catalog using the keyword search of “school census,” I ...

Many of the women on my father’s side were teachers. This was a common occupation for women, especially those who never married. This was the case for Margaret Teresa Gleeson, my great-grandaunt. Margaret, the daughter of John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney, was born on 28 July 1873 in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada and baptized on 24 August 1873 at St. Philip’s Church in Richmond. [1] She was their ninth child and fifth daughter. She would have one younger brother. Childhood When she was six years old, her family moved to the United States, settling in Mitchell, Davison County, Dakota Territory. The youngest three children were not listed as attending school in 1880. [2] She attended Mitchell High School. On one program held at the school in October 1889, Margaret gave a recitation titled “A Slave’s Heroism.” [3] In the next month, she recited “Spinning.” [4] During Arbor Day in May 1890, gave an essay on grasses, “showing that many plants not generally known as grasses reall...

When my mother, Lela Nell Johnston, was a young child, they moved around a lot due to her father’s job as carpenter before and during World War II. Because of their frequent moves, they don’t appear in city directories. They were enumerated in Stephenville, Erath County, Texas in 1940, living with her mother’s parents, Warren and Lela Lancaster. Lela Nell was five in that census, having not yet turned six that year. [1] In family papers, we have copies of some of her report cards that help fill in that story. I’ll highlight the cards and fill in with additional research I have done. The first report card is for the school year 1941-42 where she was in second grade at Nash School in Fort Worth, Texas. She was in lower second grade and her teacher was S. Moore. I don’t think she was there long. She attended only part of the first semester, fifteen days in the second report and 23 days in the third. [2] The school building still stands in Fort Worth and is called Charles E. Nash Elem...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings : 1)  Do you have memories of your Junior High School (or Middle School) years?  Please share several of them. Actually, I attended neither a middle school or junior high but an intermediate school consisting of seventh and eighth grades. Parkmead Intermediate was located on Newell Avenue in Walnut Creek, California adjacent to Parkmead Elementary, which I also attended. I walked to school. In the low water part of the year, I took a shortcut by crossing the creek and cutting through Mr. Newell’s property. Both grade years had English, math, science, social studies, P.E., foreign language, music/art in 7th grade and home ec. in 8th grade (boys had shop), and one elective, which for both years was girls’ chorus. I took German for foreign language from Mrs. Harvey. My grades were average (couldn’t find the report cards I...

This is my fourth year working on this year-long 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. My best memories of Valentine’s Day were during elementary school when we would buy small cards, sign our name, and drop them off in the decorated box in the classroom. Everyone gave cards and everyone received them. Two classmates were in charge of delivering the cards to everyone. When my mother was room mother, she always decorated an apple or orange cardboard box she likely got from my father, who worked in the produce department at the local grocery store, LoRay. The boxes were covered in red, white, and pink paper along with lacy doilies, cupid cut-outs, and hearts pasted to them. My mother’s boxes were beautiful! I sure wish I had a photo of one of the boxes she made. I tried sea...