1939 updates

phone conversation w/ mary axsom johnson aug 28 2005
1.email dick uhler, does he know who amanda craig shafers aunt lou or aunt sarah in leon, ia. were
2.aunt dona shafer gave her 2 pics of jenette/janette masters, as a young woman. pauline worked for jenetter/janette
3.grandma susan boyd raised some granddaughters after their mother died: one was 24 year old Geraldine H.
4.Millard & Lillie Lafollette & Winifred Ella Lafollette were in Mary Axsom Johnson's baby book
5.Eva Willis married Harold MAthes and lived in Ia. Was she oscar shafers daughter? then in the next breath, aunt mary tells me that Edna & Roy Willis had children Clayton Roy & Eva, they raised 5 kids. an autograph in pauline shafer axsoms autograph book is" your cousin Eva Willis, Blythedale, Mo"
6. Ross Shafers sisters were Inez, Rose, & Pearl. Who was Dell? was she an Oxford?
7.Jenette/Janette Masters sister Mary Jane married a Willis.
8.Who was G. Bears in diary? (i thought grandma Bears, mary said she would have been grandma Shafer by then. this was the woman pauline called aunt grandma, since she had been married to paulines grandfather & later to her husbands uncle.) Rosa Bears Shafer Axsom)

9. she & virigina flanagan matson are trying to figure out who everyone in the diary is, using cainsville history books, paulines autograph book, mary's baby book, and their shared knowledge.

letter from mary johnson aug 26 2005
virginia invited me to come over and go thru mom's entries with her in an attempt to i.d. persons. First off, JENETTE or JANETTE was MASTERS. she was an old maid and lived with her bro. EDGAR
Mom's Grandpa was GRANDPA "PETE" & her grandma was G. Cindy Craig.
Buster was Punk & Opal Oxfords son.
I have never before heard of Mrs. Land, the farm owner, nor Jane HAmilton. I mean not THIS Jane HAmilton. We went to school with a Jane HAmilton 1 yr at Tindall & she lived across Hwy. 65 from the south end of Martin Cemetery. I'd never heard of Annie Booth (I wonder if she was Lester Booths mother?)
Aunt Inez (Shafer) was a sister to Grandpa Ross. I thought her name was Erlwine or Earlwine (Aunt Dona knows this.) Oscar was their brother and Leta was his wife and Georgie was their son. Pearl Cochran was their sister (Ross, Pearl, Inez, Oscar, and a sister who died first was Rosa). I believe their mother Rose or Rosa was an Oxford.
I think Aunt Dell was an Oxford & a sister of Jake. I don't know if Aunt Dell ever married or if she had kids. Aunt Dona might know. Aunt Mollie I'm sure is Uncle Willie's wife before Rosa Bears.
I don't know who Geraldine A. was Mom had a school friend Geraldine Helton who married a Long, and they were friends again at Trenton.
I see an entry Shelbie. Perhaps it was Shelbie Crouse instead of Shellie.
I'll bet $29.75 was a lot of money for a radio in early 1939! i wonder what installing it entailed!
Lois was Lois Booth, except whre Mom put a K and Virginia thinks that's Lois Kirkpatrick and so do I.
I have no clue who Lil is!
Edd, Hallie, Edna & Pearl were Graves (HAllie, Bessie, Amanda, John, Dollie were siblings and also AUnt Mary Uhler and Aunt May Dumas.) Aunt Alma was Uncle John's wife.
I do not know who Millard was. i'm wondering if there was a Millard Lafollette.
Jr.C. was Jr. Chapman & Bud was his brother.
AUnt Dollie and Barbara were Acott until the mid 40s. I think Montie was short for something & it wasn't Monte.
One entry Mom had gone to Dorothy's. I do not know who Dorothy was.
Wilma, Mamie, and MAry Lou are AUnt Bessie and Bill Frisbie's kids.
i do not know who Jacky was. i wonder if any of Bessie's kids or Aunt Dona ever heard of him. I do not know who Oral was (Jan 23 1939) perhaps related to Lois.
Sue & Julian Heitz (she's Aunt Maudes' dau.)
Jan 27 1939 I gather that U. Ralph had mistakenly gotten someone else's caps.
Cora, Zack, Marshall, Mildred & Rufus were Zimmerman.
Jan 28 1939 Jack ? Punk said that Aunt Dell was better. Punk was mom's Uncle Jake OXfords son.
I'd never heard of Alice Scott.
Avanelle was a Crouse before marriage. Her dad was Shellie. Or Shelbie?
I'd never know Gr. Shafer had a Aunt Lou.
On Feb 7 1939 Mom went to Dorothy's ? to get milk for Opal? perhaps Opal Oxford.
Roe OXford (died & was buried April 19 1939) you typed 2005. he was a brother to Pascal & Pint. ask your dad about them. {she was right. fixed that date. deb}
Jim & Ethel (april 23 1939) must be Jim Frisbie.
Stella Rose was Oxford.
Schulyer?
Cleo P. (Cleo Phillips) married dad's cousin Vera Lillian Maroney (now King) who is Donna Faye Dotys mom & dad. Could Lil be Lillian above?
H. Peterson (may 8 1940) i think was related to Emmaline & Almie &lived between Bill & Aunt Bessie's and Saline.
G. & Ina were Glen & Ina Hughes, a grandson of great-grandma Anna Axsom
on May 12 1940 ? & Betty were here.,
Nally was doctor Virginia said. I think Ross Bears may have been too.
G. Bears? I went to Moore School 1yr with Lois Bears. I can not recall other names in her family, altho i once knew.
Mom didn't feel very well on May 27 1940. I guess I was a pain! ON May 28 she didn't feel a bit well.
W. Ella? Wynonne Crawley
REid was dr.
Mary & Georgia? not a clue
6-12-39 Ralph & Jean (must have been a date, but who? or was it Betty Jean?)
it's a miracle that mom's appendix didn't rupture!
aunt dona sent me 2 pics of janette masters along w/ those other old time pictures a few mos. ago. i dont'know where they are now. someday maybe i'll come across them when i least expect it.
helen, marie (now west) james & beatrice & warren were all BOYD
july 9 1939 Eva & Clayton Roy? Is Roy a last name or middle name? Uncle OScar Shafer had an Eva (I think by a wife before LEta. I wonder if aunt dona knows. she communicates wtih one of eva's sons and could inquire for us.)
i dont' know, but i'm sure Eva is Eva (Shafer) Mathis, husband Harold MAthis or Mathes.
Buster Oxford & Dickey?
7-23 39 Aunt Sarah?
i dont' know who william was at leon hospital, mom had entries in her autograph album by her roommate, favorite nurse and a janitor there.
i wrote to madean today and copied some things & names in hopes she might know (like G. Bears) & help us out.
curtis wants to type each year separate and include last names, so readers will know.
walking to saline was quite a jaunt! Also to Cainsville was!
jean said that she heard thru the grapevine that Howard & SHirley (Gray) Flatt had moved to Saline & he's not very well.
Freeda gave me a school pic of Ruth Ann. Virginia plans to make copies of it. she was so cute
I looked up DIRNDL (lady's full skirted dress with a gathered waistband)
virigina invited me to stay for supper yesterday with them and jean and marilyn. afterwards we looked thru pic albums. she has a pic of a horse "GOLDEN BOY" with a number by his name. he was the father of Roy Rogers horse Trigger and was trained by a Flanagan. I think it was Ben, a brother of her grandpa. She thinks there were 2 Triggers.
in a pic of students by a schoolhouse in an album of virginia's is OSCAR SCHAEFFER, CLEO OSBORN & HALLIE CRAIG> the names are written in ink by kids standing on the back row, but there are no names by kids on the front row.


mary johnson letter aug 29 i have been a woman possessed -just like you with mom's diary info! when i found the entry: Blythedale, MO July 9 1939 signed "Your cousin, Eva Willis" I just had to find out more. i had only known that Mom had one cousin named Eva and she was Oscar Shafer's daughter. I don't think Leta was her mother, so there;s another puzzle. Georgie(in diary) was Oscar & Letas son. I referred back to the diary info and info on Eva & Clayton Roy was July 9 1939.
now there comes a skeleton in the closet. Aunt Dona told me that Eva & Clayton Roy are/were Uncle John Craig's children by Edna Banks. HE didn't want his wife #2 (Alma) to know of his past family/wife or she'd consider him damaged goods. Aunt Dollie did not put the date of his marriage to Alma, so should we assume they got married?
now then, Edna Choloe Banks born 1904 or1907 married John Leroy Willis 1929 & they raised 5 children in info Virginia found. Curtis thought some of these kids were 1/2 siblings, and he was correct. John Leroy who went by Roy was the son of Mary JAne MAsters who married THomas Willis and the elders are buried in Fairview cemetery per Virginia. Mysteries have unraveled and it's exciting to find some clues! Mary Jane was a sister to Jenetter & Edgar per Virginia's finds.
I still do not know who was Dorothy, Geraldine A (could it be H for Hamilton?) Grm. DAisy had a sister MAdge (Boyd) HAmilton, who died at age 24 and she had a Geraldine. THe Geraldine was with Grm. Daisy in the diary on March 8 1940, G. Bears, Hartley (dad was doing farm work on Hartley), Schuyler (May 5 1939), Winifred Ella (Lafallette?). Gr. Shafers AUnt Lou & AUnt Sarah, MAry Ellen & Georgia (could it be Georgie Jun 1&2 1939)
alvin sorenson married coleen willis, dau. of edna & roy Virginia told me. Virginia thinks coleen is a hot head. There's a Marvin Willis, too. i have so many notes from phone conversations with V. that sometimes i have trouble deciphering later as i'm hurriedly making notes as she talks. i have anote 1/2 sister of Marvin Willis (I guess it must be Eva?)

(ok, i had several letters piled together, can't figure out where this page 3 fits in:)William (hosp. july 28 1939 possibly Billy Boyd?
aunt inez was married before she married Warren Earlwine & she didn't know to whom, so i dont' know what last name she would 've been then or to which husband she was married to at the time of the diary.
it should be edna & ROY, not ray on july 9 1939.
i wonder if richard uhler eer knew he had cousins eva & clayton roy? edna banks was daughter of Millie Turner and Aliein Banks. aunt dona has a pic of edna and says that she was really ugly.
aunt dona said that winifred "mutt" wishon had surgery on her eyes and was a nice looking woman afterward. V., Aunt dona and I don't know if this was winifred was winifred ella.since winifred ella is written on the same line as Letha Lafallette as a first visitor in my baby book. i think she was a Lafallette. if she was WISHON, then i think mom would have put her name as Wishon on another line.

aunt dona told me about charlie booth. i never knew him & neither did V.
aunt dell was an oxford, per aunt dona.
Maybe madean can provide info on some of these people, such as aunt lou or aunt sarah & perhaps she;ll know if there was a Winifred Ella Lafallette.
virginia had never heard of using a Model T to saw wood. Curtis & I had known a vehicle was used (i'd seen a tractor) to operate a saw. The saw had a wide belt and it was being used at Grandpa Johnnie's & Grandma Daisy's at Cainsvilles'. A belt broke & hit dad in the neck. i was terrified when he came in the house wtih blood on his neck. i wasn't very old or so it seems. it seems like we were living there then. i was not yet 5 when we moved from Grp. & Grm.'s back to our own house.
The house Mom & Dad were fixing up had been Uncle Alfred Boyds'. the wallpaper that i remember had white dogwood blossoms. after a few years mom & dad tore the kitchen off the back. we had no heat ever in the upstairs & it got plenty cold. those comforts (like mom and janette made were a necessity!.
when i went to Moore School the teacher & kids all walked eastward through timber ending up at the old Masters home. We looked around inside. on our outing we got a cedar tree for the school house christmas tree.
virginia thinks a creek that her Dad called "The Masters Creek" must have been on the road going east from Al Crawleys. We wonder where the east end of that road comes out. it may go through to WW over near where Ronnie Frisbie lives.
jean had snapshots of cathy's daughter in gown & robe. she's a pretty girl.
grandma shafer lived somewhere east of Cainsville for a little while. i remember being there one time. the house was full of people and it was on the west end of the road. it seems like all of aunt bessie's family must have been there. i'm sure it must have been when Uncle Ralph was leaving for the war. he left in oct. 1942. everything has always been fuzzy about that day. i remember dad being in Ca. when Grp. was so sick & I remember the day Bernard was born. Dad took us girls and moms cousin Nadine (Oscars 15 year old) to a mulberry tree, when he came back for us we went from our farm back to Grp. & Grm. and lo & behold, the doctor had "brought" us a new baby brother.

letter from aunt mary 8-31-05
viriginia told me that she was going through notes of things her dad had told her. she said that he'd told her that Lou Boyd (who'd been a Craig) was the dau. of Samuel Craig and her mom was not married to him. She thought i had something about him in my family genealogy info. i scanned thru what aunt dolly had written (va. has the same info that you emailed her) & i found nothing. she said that she thinks Js. (or maybe it's Jr.?) Boyd told her dad this & perhaps his wife Beatrice &their dau. Katie could tell us more about who Samuel was related to & if he was related to our Craig ancestors. I had wondered this ever since learning less than 1 year ago that she was a Boyd.
freeda wrote: i know it has always been a missouri custom for people to drop in, but our family has been the exception.
mary adds: i know back in the days (40s & up until Sept '58 )when we didn't have a phone and at Cainsville none of our neighbors did either people did drip in. not always to the host/hostesses delight! one time near Trenton right at midday meal time.
when mom was writing her diary 1938,9 '40 a bag of store bought candy was infrequent and a real treat. wonder how they kept the ice for homemade ice cream from melting when they had to go all the way to Pleasanton after it? they may have put it in straw or wrapped it (a block, i imagine) in a comforter. grm. daisy used to lower butter down into her cistern in warm weather. sure makes me appreciate running water, electricity and fridge!
mom mentioned a spring. i know there was one at end of timber on the bluffs just west of grm. & grp. house. at our place there was a well at the foot of a very steep hill and dad pulled a barrel of water on a horse drawn sled for laundry day. i can recall when they dug, brick lined a cistern near the house.