Showing posts with label Brubaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brubaker. Show all posts

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Lysander Joslin Family - Index to Posts

Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin are my 3rd Great Grandparents.

An Index Post is how I keep track of all of the blog posts that have been written on a family line. It helps keep me organized and allows visitors to easily find information on that family. This post will be updated as new blog posts are written on the family. Please contact me at kinexxions@gmail.com if you are researching this family or have additional information on them.

For information on Lysander's parents, siblings, and ancestors, please see Joslin Family - Index to Posts

See Robison Family - Index to Posts for information on Lydia's possible parents and siblings.

Lysander and Lydia were married in 1843 in Whitley County, Indiana and were the parents of 15 children, five of whom died young.
Children of Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin:

1. Anna Eliza Joslin and William Klingaman
  • The Joslin Sisters Photograph January 13, 2008 [Photograph of Roxie Arminta Joslin Parkison, Anna Eliza Joslin Klingaman, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower, and Mandella "Della" Joslin Quillen.]
  • Greetings from... Iowa May 05, 2011 [A visit to McDowell Cemetery in Jefferson County, Iowa where Anna Eliza, William and several of their children are buried.
2. Mary Jane Joslin
3. Elcy Ellen Joslin
4. Malissa Joslin and William Brubaker (my 2nd great-grandparents)
5. Luther Marion Joslin and Phoebe Dorcas Elliott

6. Roxie Arminta Joslin and Jacob Henry Parkison Parkison
  • Baxter Springs November 27, 2007 [burial site of Jacob and Roxie Joslin Parkison]
  • The Joslin Sisters Photograph January 13, 2008 [Photograph of Roxie Arminta Joslin Parkison, Anna Eliza Joslin Klingaman, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower, and Mandella "Della" Joslin Quillen.]
7. John Lafayette Joslin was born November 30, 1855 in Whitley County, Indiana. He reportedly died in California, date unknown.

8. Esther Joslin
9. Minerva Fatima Joslin and William John Knight

10. Andrew Hanable Joslin and Elmina Himes

11. Lillian Arvilla Joslin
12. Ida Blanch Joslin Dressler Lewis
13. Della Joslin and James Downey Quillen
14. Elmer Joslin
  • Mary, Elcy, Esther, Lillian, and Elmer July 29, 2008 [gravesites in Adams Cemetery - Elmer was born June 4, 1868 and died June 30, 1868 in Jefferson County, Iowa. His gravesite has not been found.]
15. Elmus Robison Joslin and Catherine "Kattie" Kelly. Elmus was a twin to Elmer.


Originally Posted on March 3, 2008 :: Last Updated on May 10, 2011

Post date adjusted December 29, 2012 so that when a search for the surname is done on the blog this post will appear first the search list.

Posted by Becky Wiseman at 2:30 AM 0 comments
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Brubaker Family - Index to Posts

An Index Post is how I keep track of all of the blog posts that have been written on a family line. It helps keep me organized and allows visitors to easily find information on that family. This post will be updated as new blog posts are written on the family. Please contact me at kinexxions@gmail.com if you are researching this family or have additional information on them.

Hans Jacob Brubacher (1st) is my 7th Great Grandfather.
His date of birth is not known but estimated to be about 1700. He died before 17 April 1755 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
John Brubaker is my 3rd Great Grandfather.
Born in Perry County, Ohio in 1819, he was the son of Martin Brubaker and Nancy Neel. In 1849, he moved to Huntington County, Indiana.
William Brubaker (son of John Brubaker and Sarah Foster)
He married Malissa Joslin on April 20, 1871 in Whitley County, Indiana. They are my Great-Great Grandparents. William was born in Perry County, Ohio and came with his mother and step-father, Sarah Foster and George T. Parkison, to Whitley County in the early 1850s. Malissa's parents, Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin had come to Whitley County with their respective families in the late 1830s and early 1840s.
Charles Romain Brubaker (son of William and Malissa). Married Maude Catherine Wise. They are my Great Grandparents.
Hale Brubaker (Son of William and Malissa)
Originally Posted on March 3, 2008 :: Last Updated on January 22, 2011 

 Post date adjusted December 29, 2012 so that when a search for the surname is done on the blog this post will appear first the search list.
Posted by Becky Wiseman at 12:40 AM 0 comments
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Friday, September 21, 2012

On to Lancaster...

Thursday - September 6th - - After leaving the Flight 93 Memorial, I continued eastward on U.S. 30 stopping for the night at Caledonia State Park, about 15 miles west of Gettysburg. I didn't get as far as I had wanted because of the late start from Greensburg and the stop at the memorial. It was another hot and humid day but a bit too buggy to leave the windows open. The air cooled down somewhat after the sun went down and it was rather comfortable.

 Friday - September 7th - - It was a pleasant drive through Gettysburg in the morning. As I got closer to Lancaster, the traffic grew heavier. I stopped for an early lunch and to confirm the directions to the Lancaster County Historical Society Library, which is in temporary facilities at 4 West King Street in downtown Lancaster. Arrived there at about 11 am. The staff was very helpful, showing me around and explaining procedures.

On one of my visits to the family history library in Salt Lake City last year I found a record of the will of Hans Jacob Brubaker II that stated the will was written in German so was not transcribed in the record book. Luckily for me, the Historical Society has translations and transcriptions available for the "German" wills. Other records obtained were the estate inventories of Hans Jacob I (1755) and Hans Jacob II (1802). These are the men who lived in Martick Township, which is now Providence township - not the ones who lived in Hempfield Township.

The library also has photocopied the original records of the "Evangelical Lutheran Church of Holy Trinity" of Lancaster, which include baptisms, marriages, and funerals. Some of the copied pages are difficult to read but I was able to find the 1763 marriage record of John Georg Steinweeg and Veronica Danerin. Among other things, I learned that the surname Daner was not only spelled Danner and Tanner (as I already knew) but also Dohner (and likely other variations also).

After leaving the Historical Society at 4:30 and successfully making my way through the city traffic while heading south, I drove by the lands of the two Jacobs. The campground where I was staying was an hours drive away so I was unable to spend much time in that area.

Saturday - September 8th - - I stopped for several hours in the morning at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, located at 2215 Millstream Road in Lancaster. First off, I purchased a copy of the Mennonite Heritage Magazine that had the article on Hans Jacob Brubaker II - the Fraktur artist then made my way downstairs to the library. Once again the staff was very nice and helpful. I only spent about 2 hours there but it was long enough to know that I need to return. And really, that was my goal during this visit - to get some idea of the resources that are available.

My visit to Lancaster was very productive and, yes, it was much too short but if I was going to make it to Maine by Monday (the 10th) to meet up with my friend, I had to get back on the highway!

the url for this post is http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/09/on-to-lancaster.html
Posted by Becky Wiseman at 8:47 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, September 02, 2012

Warrants. Surveys. Patents :: Locating the Land of Hans Jacob Brubacher

A wonderful article was published in the January 1986 issue of "Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage" titled "Hans Jacob Brubacher, Fraktur Artist" which was written by David R. Johnson. I received the article in 1999 from a distant cousin, Margery Bebow, who is related through both the Brubaker and Foster lines. She had received the article from another distant cousin, Ken Fawley, who happens to be married to my 1st cousin Caroline Conrad.

The seven-page article presented what was known about the three generations of men named Hans Jacob Brubacher who lived in what was then Martic Township (now Providence Township) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from about 1730 through 1817. Information from Mr. Johnson's research in land and estate records combined with that from Phares Brubaker Gibble's "History and Genealogy of the Brubaker, Brubacher, Brewbaker family in America" provides a good summary of the family, though with at least one error, which may be the subject of a future post.

Hans Jacob Brubaker III is my 5th great-grandfather. His father, Hans Jacob II - the Fraktur Artist, is my 6th great-grandfather. His father, Hans Jacob I, is my 7th great-grandfather.

In his will (dated June 24, 1754 and recorded in Lancaster County Will Book 1 pages 89-90) Hans Jacob Brubacher identified himself as a weaver. Proved on April 17, 1755 the will stated that he owned real estate but did not provide a location or description of the land.

On page 11, the author of the Fraktur Artist article cites several passages from "History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men", by Franklin Ellis and Samuel Evans (Philadelphia: Evens & Peck, 1883), p. 868:
The elder Hans Jacob acquired 124 acres of land through agents John Herr and Martin Kendig in 1730, "about one mile due southwest from the present village of New Providence, near Big Beaver Creek."
The author continues by saying (emphasis added):
A more garbled account by the same authors gives similar information in a history of the town of New Providence: "A man by the name of Powpather had a large tract of land close by, if not altogether in the limits of the present village. His land extended westward. When he divided his land among his children he changed the name on their deeds to 'Brubaker.'"
Mr. Johnson goes on to say:
The location of the first Jacob Brubacher's land is still uncertain. The most probable tract is the one consisting of 318-plus acres, for which Henry Herr obtained warrant, survey, and patent in 1762 and which was located one mile or more south-southwest of the village of New Providence.
In the footnote for the above statement, citing Patent AA-3-296 and Survey C-76-209, the author states: "As yet no patent, survey, or deed for the elder Jacob Brubacher has surfaced."

Referring to the will and the estate of the elder Hans Jacob, Mr. Johnson states:
"The deceased owned about 150 acres in what was then Martic Township. Because his personal estate was insufficient to pay all expenses, a sale of 60 acres of his land was contemplated, but the family later agreed to sell the whole tract. Jacob Graeff was the highest bidder of £114 at the sale which took place on April 27, 1757, but the court refused to confirm the sale when Thomas Smith, a local resident, appeared and claimed that others present at the bidding did not have time to submit their bids. On December 31, 1757, another sale was held on the premises. This time Henry Herr purchased the farm for £130 5s. and agreed to take responsibility for the widow's bequeathments. When the estate was settled, a final balance was equally divided among the four inheriting children, each of whom received £17 10s. 9d. Henry Herr may have been a close friend or relative; the year before the sale, minor child Abraham Brubacher chose him as guardian."
While looking for county and state resources available online for Pennsylvania in preparation for on-site research in the areas where several ancestors lived, I "discovered" the awesome website of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, particularly the Land Records Portal associated with the State Archives.

Available online through the above mentioned Land Records Portal are digital images of land warrants, surveys, patents, warrantee township maps, and other associated state-level land records from the 1680s to the present day. They DO NOT have the deed books for transactions "transferring land between private citizens that occurred either after or during the patenting process." Those records are maintained at the office of the Recorder of Deeds for the appropriate county.

Some image sets, such as the warrantee township maps, do not include coverage for all counties or even all townships within a county. It does get a little confusing, since there were so many county boundary changes, and it takes time to figure out what you're looking for and then even determining what you are looking at. But it is well worth the time it takes.

Sometimes a warrant was issued but the patent wasn't filed until many years later. Such was the case of the land of Hans Jacob Brubacher II. One warrant for his land was dated July 20, 1748 and another on March 9, 1759 but the patents were not issued until February 23, 1813.

I first looked at the Warrantee Township Maps. There are very few available for the counties where my ancestors settled, but there just happened to be one for Providence Township, Lancaster County. These maps show all original land purchases from the Proprietors or the Commonwealth that were made within the boundaries of present-day townships. The warrants and surveys will generally be found in the county at the time they were issued. Like I said, it does get a bit confusing!


The maps are large pdf files. This one was 7.5mb and I imagine the original was several feet wide. You have to enlarge the map considerably to be able to read the text. Then you look through the names on the map to find your person(s) of interest. The numbers in the upper left of each entry indicate the location on the map. I was looking for Jacob Brubaker but was pleasantly surprised to find the name of Thomas Stoneroad also.

According to the Phares Gibble book (page 76) Jacob Brubaker III married Elizabeth Stoneroad. Records show that the surname was originally Steinweg or Steinweeg. The surnames seem to have been used interchangeably for a period of time in the 1780s through the early 1800s. Apparently "stein" is a German and Norwegian word meaning "stone" or "rock" and "weg" means way or road. Thus Stoneroad is the anglicized equivalent of Steinweg.


Above is a very small portion of the Warrantee Township Map for Providence Township (double-click the image to view a larger version). The area outlined in blue is the location of the land of Jacob Brubaker II, which was inherited by Jacob III. The area outlined in green is the tract of Thomas Stoneroad.

Below is survey C-16-89 for Jacob Brubaker (II). The text reads:
A Drought of a Tract of Land Situate in Martick Township in the County of Lancaster Containing in the whole 107 as & 166 pr & the usual allowance of Six P Cent for the Roads &c 72 as & 76 pr & the usual Allowance Surveyed in pursuance of a warrant dated the 8th of March AD 1759* Granted unto Jacob Brubacker and 35 as & 90 pr and the usual Allowance, being part of a Larger Tract Containing -

Surveyed in pursuance of a Warrant dated the 8th of March AD 1759 Granted unto Thomas Smith &c Surveyed the above tract of Land for Abraham Brubaker the 11th day of January AD 1810.

Jacob Hibshman D.S.
* Brubacker's Warrt is Dated 20 July 1748

Survey C-16-89 for Jacob Brubaker.
I also looked up the survey for Thomas Stoneroad. The surname is unique enough that I've been gathering whatever information I can find on anyone with that surname.


Survey C-201-16 for Thomas Stoneroad.

His tract of land is 42 acres. But what I found very interesting is that his name is associated with the tract labeled A-51-104, which is the survey number. So, yeah, I grabbed that one too.


The original survey A-51-104 is for Jacob Prowpather!

Yes! This is the record that had previously not been found! And I wouldn't have found it either if I hadn't looked at the survey for Thomas Stoneroad. Luckily, my friend Cindy was at home with me at the time and I was able to share this discovery with her, though I'm sure I didn't explain it all very well. It was just nice to be able to talk it over with someone else who "understands" these things!

The document text reads:
Jacob Prowpather 124 acres & the allowance of Six pcent situate on a Branch of Beaver Creek in the County of Lancaster Surveyd to him in right of Martin Kendrick & John Heer [sic: Herr], the 4th of November 1730.

Jno. Taylor.

Warrt. 22 November 1717.
Returned &ca. Novr. 29th 1764 for the use of Martin Funk in pursuance of a Warrt. dated the 26th day of Novr. 1764 now Situate in Martick Township in the County of Lancaster.
No Warrant or Patent was found for this land in Lancaster County or Chester County in the name of Jacob Prowpather or Jacob Brubaker or other variations of the surname. (Lancaster County was a part of Chester County until 1729.) I didn't really expect to find either record since the tract was "in right of" Kendrick and Heer.

Records at the county level will have to be checked to find the deeds for when Jacob sold the land and for Thomas Stoneroad's purchase of the land.


Looking at the Warrantee map once again, we see that the land identified as survey A-51-104 (outlined in red) belonged to Martin Funk and is the same property originally owned by Jacob Prowpather, aka Jacob Brubaker (the 1st) from 1730 until his death in 1755. The land that Thomas Stoneroad obtained in 1804 is outlined in green, and that of Jacob II (and III), which they owned from 1748 to about 1817, is outlined in blue.

In his article, David R. Johnson included two diagrams of the property of Jacob II, one of which placed the property in a present-day (1986) map. Using his drawings and Google Maps, I was able to locate the Brubaker tracts on a road map and on a satellite view.



That dark line running from the left-center and curving down the lower-right of the image is the Enola Low Grade Trail, which opened last year. I may just have to check that out (amongst other things) on my way through Pennsylvania this coming week!

I haven't gotten through the entire list of Pennsylvania ancestors yet, but I have found warrants, surveys, and patents for the lands of 12 of them! All in all, the last couple of days have been very productive...

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "Warrants. Surveys. Patents :: Locating the Land of Hans Jacob Brubacher," Kinexxions, posted September 2, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/09/warrants-surveys-patents-locating-land.html : accessed [access date])
Posted by Becky Wiseman at 9:35 PM 3 comments
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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Wilder's Brigade at Hoover's Gap

The poem below (my contribution to Bill West's Third Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge) was included in an undated newspaper article found in the files of my Grandmother. Just 17 ½ years old, her Grandfather (my Great-Great Grandfather) William Brubaker enlisted in Company E, 17th Indiana Regiment on April 21, 1861. He was discharged on June 20, 1864 and eight months later was "veteranized" and enlisted as a sergeant in Company I, 152nd Regiment. He was again honorably discharged on August 30, 1865.

In October 1862, the 17th Indiana was part of a brigade headed by General John Thomas Wilder (a Colonel at the time). The regiments spent much of their time pursuing Confederate raiders and cavalry. As a result, the General decided that his troops would be more effective as mounted infantry. The brigade became known as the "Hatchet Brigade" and then as the "Lightning Brigade" since it could move much faster than the regular walking infantry units. Adding to their effectiveness, the mounted brigade was armed with Spencer repeating rifles on May 18th, 1863.

A little over a month later, on June 24, 1863, the Lightning Brigade used the Spencer rifles for the first time in battle - at Hoover's Gap, Tennessee. They successfully repelled five Confederate assaults and inflicted huge casualties. The 17th Indiana lost 48 soldiers killed and wounded in the severe fighting and the Illinois regiments lost over 100 in the fighting that day.

The poem was recited by Miss Maud Pressler during the 4th annual reunion of Company E held at the residence of Mrs. Isaac Shinneman in Columbia City, Indiana. There was no indication in the article as to the author of the poem.

"Wilder's Brigade at Hoover's Gap"

We rode in advance the whole night long, Faster as near the daylight come,
With never a shout, or laugh, or song, Like hunters pursuing game.
And never a clank of a saber smote An ear in the whole brigade,
And never a bugle breathed a note As the swift night ride we made.

Night's silence was only broken by The sound of our horses' feet:
The stars shown bright in the Southern sky, And the air was warm and sweet.
A sudden halt in the gray of dawn, A single, low, keen bugle call,
We formed in line and galloped on - A few low whispers, and that was all.

For well we knew the day would bring The fierce, wild charge and fight,
And that many a rifle ball would sing Its death-song ore the night.
Our blood rose high when right before, Our eyes the first thin lines of gray,
The skirmishers of an army corps, stretched out across our way.

And on beyond, in Hoover's Gap, Before us spread were a thousand tents;
And in them taking a morning nap Slept Bragg and his regiments.
Loud and clear our bugles sang, And "Charge for the Gap!" was the cry.
And a shout went up from our line that rang And echoed against the sky.

And every steed by spur was stung, As we bent in our saddles low,
And quickly our "Spencers" were unslung, As we rushed on the fearless foe.
On, in the face of the storm of lead That full on our column broke
Over the wounded and over the dead, And through the sulphurous smoke.

We rode the skirmishers to the ground, For Hoover's Gap was our goal;
But above the tumult came the sound Of and army's battle-roll!
"Dismount - Lie down!" Strong line of gray At the double-quick with guns atrail,
Bore down on us in fierce array Expecting that we would quail.

But never a man in the whole brigage Turned back on a coward's heel,
But we lay and gazed all undismayed, Along our barrels of steel.
On - on they came, with savage yell, 'Till fifty paces lay between
And then a flame, as if from hell, Burst full upon the scene.

The black and writhing clouds of smoke Leaped up, then settled over all,
Meanwhile ten thousand rifles spoke Their speech of flame and ball.
For one full hour, like waves that beat Upon the shores that will not yield,
They charged - then sounded the retreat, And left us on the field.

Comrades of many a bloody fray, Of victory or dire mishap,
Who would not rather on that day Have died than lost the Gap?

Posted by Becky Wiseman at 8:15 AM 2 comments
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Friday, July 29, 2011

838 State Street

I don't know exactly what year my grandmother and her family moved to Traverse City, Michigan but they were living there in 1909 and 1910. At some point they moved to a small house at 838 State Street – the 1910 census shows the family residing on State Street. Grandma recalled those days in Traverse City fondly when she wrote her autobiography. They were there only a few years when the family had to return to Indiana in December 1910, due to the death of her father's brother, Hale Brubaker.


Written on the reverse side of this photo, taken about 1950, is “This is the house we lived in – Traverse City, Mich. 40 years later.” The lady standing in front of the house is my grandmother, Hazlette Brubaker Phend.

This week I had the opportunity to pay a brief visit to the house...


The house at 838 State Street as it appeared on July 27, 2011. The perspective isn't exactly the same but it appears to be the same house as in the previous photo. The front porch has been removed and the roof has been extended over the side porch. And the trees have gotten bigger. And there are more houses in the neighborhood.


The side view.


The red “A” marks the location of 838 State Street, Traverse City, Michigan.


The big purple blob on the right marks the location of Traverse City State Park where I spent the night. The little blue blob is at 838 State Street. I was at a McDonald's on the corner of Front and Hope Street (a block west and north of 838 State Street) when I learned exactly where the house was located!

Once you get off the main road (U.S. 31 aka Front Street) Traverse City is a pretty quiet place. A nice “little town” that I'm sure my grandmother would no longer recognize.

Posted by Becky Wiseman at 3:00 AM 3 comments
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Grandma's New House :: 1950

In The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 14 my Grandmother stated that she “went to work for a Chevrolet & Buick dealership in Auburn as head bookkeeper. At last I was earning a decent salary and had a new home built...”

I don't know the address of the house but it was out in the country near Auburn in Dekalb County, Indiana. I've asked my aunts and my mother if they knew the address but they don't remember.

This week my cousin gave me some things from her mother Phyllis (Phend) Mitchell. Among the photographs and miscellaneous papers was an envelope marked “Detailed cost of Mother's house she built in Auburn in 1950.” There was also a photograph of the house...

The house that Grandma (Hazlette Brubaker Phend Dunn) had built in 1950.

Building Supplies and Plumbing.

Plaster and Electricity.

Flooring and Cost of House ($5,250.86)

The thing I remember most about the house was the front step, with the upright brick edging. Many family photos were taken on those steps...

1951 – Me and my brothers.

1955 – Grandma with her grandchildren.
That's me, reaching toward my sister, probably to pull her thumb out of her mouth!


Posted by Becky Wiseman at 8:15 PM 3 comments
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Meeting the Grands...

Donna Pointkouski has an interesting post, Meeting Great-Grandma, in which she discusses longevity and over-lapping generations. Her post prompted me to take a look at my database. Even though I knew some of my “grands” had lived long lives, I was surprised at how many were alive during my lifetime.

My Dad knew 3 of his 4 grandparents but all of his great-grandparents were long gone before he was born.

Mom was in her late teens when her grandfather, Charles Brubaker, passed away though she says she never met him (he moved to Mississippi before she was born). She was in her mid to late 20s when the other three grandparents died and she knew each one of them. She met two of her great-grandmothers and one great-grandfather but would have only been 4-8 years old when they died. However, she says she remembers them.

Although one of my great-grandfathers and all four of my great-grandmothers were living when I was born, I don't personally have any memory of any of them. I would have been between the age of two and ten when they died. They all lived within 15 miles of where we lived.

Dad's mother's mother (i.e., my Great-Grandmother) Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder died January 2, 1954. I was not quite six years old when she passed away at the age of 99.

His father's mother, Amanda (Alexander) Wiseman was also still living when I was born. I was two years old when she died June 2, 1950 at the age of 89.

Mom's mother's mother, Maude (Wise) Brubaker died February 14, 1953, aged 75; I was almost 5 years old. Maude is in the middle, her granddaughter Phyllis (Phend) Mitchell is on the left and her daughter, Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend is on the right.

Mom's father's mother, Susie (Yarian) Phend died April 29, 1956 at age 84; I was 8 years old.

Of my great-grandfathers, only Mom's father's father, Henry A. Phend was still living when I was born. He passed away July 10, 1958 at the age of 92; I was 10 years old.

Henry and Susie (Yarian) Phend with their great-grandchildren at their 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration in September 1952. I'm sitting on the ground on the left side of the picture.

Posted by Becky Wiseman at 1:00 AM 4 comments
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Monday, January 17, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 14 ~ Adult Life

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Adult Life, continued

Vic was in very poor health [1] and about 1931 sold his business and we moved back to Columbia City. At this time we had only a very small income from the government so I went to work at the Oriental Show-U Sauce Company from six till midnight. Later Vic got total disability from the government and we moved to the country. There was no electricity or any conveniences, just old fashioned living. It would have been nice if everything had gone well, however, things became bad and after Shirley Ann was born in 1934 we moved to a country home near Larwill. Vic was working back in Fort Wayne again and we decided to try to buy a place of our own.

Matters became worse, I filed for divorce and the kids and I moved to Elkhart. There I baked pies for my brothers restaurant, cleaned houses, took in a boarder with two little girls, and eked out a living for us. Then my grandmother Brubaker-Bower died and left me an inheritance of $500.00. This allowed me to purchase the little house in Larwill and we moved there in 1938.

After a couple of years on an unbelievable small income, I was given the chance to buy a larger house. I took that chance; we moved into the big house, it was 1940. I got a few jobs, remarried Vic, tried working at Blue Bell with Phyllis but I was terrible. I worked for a trucking company in Fort Wayne for a while, and then finally went to work for Jewell Tea Company. I drove a truck for them for two years during World War II then went to work for an insurance company.

Vic and I divorced again [2] and I moved to Auburn. Another marriage, to Harold Dunn, fizzled out and again I was alone. Phyllis and Pat had both married while Ginny, Billy and Shirley stayed in Larwill with Vic.

I worked for a dry cleaning business, then a milling company in Butler. During this time I took a high school course and learned the double entry system of bookkeeping. Changing jobs once again, I went to work for a Chevrolet & Buick dealership in Auburn as head bookkeeper. At last I was earning a decent salary and had a new home built and had a very good life. I belonged to and was an officer in BPW (Business & Professional Women), worked in the Methodist Church, and had numerous friends. During this time I did some traveling; went to visit my son while he was in North Carolina, went to Traverse City and to Niagara Falls.

BPW Fashion Show.
She's got a tiara on so perhaps she was the Queen of the show!

Since I was getting older I thought I should get closer to my family. Both Bill's wife and Patricia were expecting babies and neither of them were very well. So I sold my home in Auburn and went to work for Bill at a weekly wage as his bookkeeper and helped out the girls, as it was needed. After little Billy Phend was on his way to being better and Ralph Victor Reiff was going strong, I took a job as the manager of Miller's Ice Cream Store at Five Points in Fort Wayne. I kept this job for three years then moved to North Webster where I opened a restaurant of my own.

==+====+====+==

And, this (about 1961) is where she ended her story...

==+====+====+==

[1] Grandpa Vic was gassed during WWI.

[2] Court records show that they were divorced July 7, 1937 and remarried on October 15, 1939. On July 17, 1945 they divorced for the second time.

Posted by Becky Wiseman at 5:00 AM 3 comments
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Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 13 ~ Adult Life

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Adult Life

Just before the war ended I moved to Columbia City and began working for the larger "Home" Telephone Company.

I was still in Etna at the end of World War I. I had gone to Columbia City when Mama left the farm and had gone to work at the telephone office there. When Lodema Roth, the manager at Etna got the flu they sent me there till she was better. During that period the message came thru that the war was ended. I opened the keys on the switchboard and told everyone "the war is over". A short time later a message came that it was a false alarm. So I had to make another "all out" call - but only a few days later, on November 11, 1918 it really was over.

I was back in Columbia City and had gone home to lunch when our next door neighbor, Fred Howell, who was Wire Chief for the telephone company, came to our house and said, "Hazlette you must go pack for a few days stay at Arcola and catch the next train in half an hour." Well, I scrambled to get everything I needed and ran to the depot, which was just half a block from our house. The girl at Arcola had died and her family had moved away. Fred came over that afternoon and set up two cots - one for the neighbor girl and one for myself. He made arrangements for the restaurant to bring my meals. I only had to stay for one week while training the new girl. Then it was back to Columbia City.

During the next year I made lots of new friends. Maud Cramer and I hit it off at once and we were friends for the rest of her life. She and I double dated occasionally. Her future husband, Elmer Bump, and my future husband, Victor Phend, were one of these double dates!

Later I left the telephone company (the pay was terrible) and went to work at the Jet White Grocery, the first cash and carry store in the city. For a time I worked at Dr. Glock’s office in Fort Wayne, then went back to the phone company.

One day Lawrence Goble came in to the telephone office and asked me to come to work for him clerking and bookkeeping. I thought it was too big a job for me with no formal education. But he told me to write him a letter asking for the job, and he could tell from that. I wrote the letter and got the job as his "girl Friday" and worked there until Phyllis was born.

Hazlette Brubaker and Victor Phend. Her brother Bill in the background.
Probably about 1920.

Vic and I were married October 15, 1921 and Phyllis was born a year later. We lived in the Kissinger Addition and Vic worked in Fort Wayne; the government was paying him to learn the typewriter business. Patricia was born in 1926 and the next year we moved to Fort Wayne on Westbrook Drive. Virginia was born in 1928 and two years later, William Henry was born. He was the only one of the children born in a hospital (Lutheran) and the girls always thought you went to the hospital to get boys.

Note added 10 a.m. January 16, 2011 :: Born in 1902, Grandma would be 109 years old today! Happy Birthday Grandma!

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Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 12 ~ the Teenage Years

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Growing Up, the Teenage Years

When we lived in Traverse City, there was a neighbor with a small baby; perhaps he was six months old. One day Mama dressed me up in my best clothes. I remember that she even put my little hat on me and said I was invited to a baptismal. I know I was the only other child there and I sat on a chair by the kitchen table and the baby was on the table. Then the Priest, the first one I'd ever seen one, came and said prayers in Latin and sprinkled the little fellow with water and soon it was over. I think there were refreshments but it was all very serious to me. I've always wondered why I was asked to witness the ceremony; I was the only one there outside the family. It seemed strange to me.

This leads me to think of another unusual thing. As a child were you ever a pallbearer? Well, I was, twice. At West Point Church, when I was about eleven years old, a little Snyder baby had died and four of us young girls were pallbearers. Then we moved to North Webster and that summer, Alfred Hamman's baby died and I was asked to be one of the pallbearers. These were not very pleasant to remember, but I do think they were unusual!

I should like to tell of one thing that happened about November of 1913. There were several Columbia City men that formed a Gun Club and had a cottage at Goose Lake. They were rather a wild, hard drinking bunch, and Mama and Papa were friends of the Mosher’s, who really ran the club. Well, this time in November, a number of fellows were out hunting on our farm.

One man shot Vance. He was a young man with a wife and small children. He was shot as he crossed a wire fence. The shot tore from his lower abdomen up through his body, and yet he lived. The men came to our house for blankets in which to carry him and as it was nearer to the Winter's house, they took him there. He was conscious, in a great deal of pain, and kept begging his friends to kill him.

Someone called Doctor Ben Linvill who refused to come. They called Doctor Dave Linvill, who also refused, as Vance was a poor man with no money. Doctor J.W.C. Scott of Etna was a man in his sixties, but he came in his horse and buggy and tried to save the man. With makeshift table, my mother held a kerosene lamp, and others gave ether to the poor man. Doctor Scott operated and Vance lived thru the operation only to die shortly after. The county buried him, of course, but I never knew what became of his family. There was no Welfare, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid in 1913 or for many years to come.

In December 1913, when I was almost twelve years old, I became very ill. Doctor Nolt said it was a nervous breakdown and had me taken out of school. This seemed like the end of the world to me as I had hoped to be a teacher. As I was too young to work away from home, I helped Mama and that was how I came to do so many things so young. I also read everything I could.

The summer of 1914, Uncle Harl raised onions and I was allowed to help weed them. I earned $5.00 for this, and I still know what I spent it for - Youth's Companion Magazine, $2.00, ten Alger Books, $1.00 and the other $2.00 was spent for dress material for Jane and me. This was the first money I ever earned, but soon I was able to make more. While we were in North Webster the first dollar I earned was from a man who had me play his parlor organ for some people.

I also helped the lady that had a millinery store. I don't think I ever sold any hats for her, but I tried them all on. Jane and I both worked for a summer resort for a while. Then we moved back to the farm.

I went to work for Mrs. Anderson at Cedar Lake. She had crippling arthritis and was almost helpless. I was only fifteen years old but I sure learned a lot while there. I got sick again; this time it was appendicitis and an operation. Once recuperated, I began working at the Farm's Telephone Company at Etna.

My very good friend, Ermal Fruchy worked at the Home Office. There were two telephone companies in this area at that time but after World War I, the larger company bought out the other. This was the start of the present company in Whitley County. Ermal and I had a lot of good times and as we are still good friends we often reminisce and have many pleasant hours reliving these experiences.

The funniest one I'll have to record here. Mrs. Winebrenner, the blacksmith's wife, had two sons. One was in prison and was shot trying to escape. They sent his body to his Mother in Etna. It was the custom for someone to "sit up" with the corpse. No one in town would do it, so Ermal and I, two young girls twenty and sixteen years old, offered to do this. Well this would have been all right, but the other son of the family decided to do the same. We were not about to "sit up" with him so we excused ourselves about Midnight and went home to bed.

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Friday, January 14, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 11 ~ Farming Life

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Farming Life in the Early 20th Century

Papa had about 100 acres of tillable land to farm. The best 50 acres was Grandma's and Papa started clearing the woods, which was on good muck soil. He also started ditching to dry up our swamp, which was good only as pasture. A few years before, this swamp or prairie as Papa called it, was a cranberry bog. Mama said she always picked cranberries there when she was a girl.

The first year or two Papa raised crops like everyone else. Corn, oats, rye, etc. but he always had a problem getting help. When we first took over the farm in 1911, I was only nine years old, Jane and Bill were eight and six, and so we were no help. I remember one of the first hired men Papa got. They told us kids that Joe had been in prison. He had knifed a man and stuffed him into an outside toilet. The man had died and Joe went to prison for two years. Well, I don't think he liked to work very well and he soon left. Papa went to Fort Wayne and brought home John.

John Yosthrenski was Polish and could speak very little English; also, he wasn't much of a farmer. We all liked John and once during the summer he had three young men come for a Sunday. One was only fourteen years old, a large blonde, good looking boy and he had only been in the U.S. as long as John, but he spoke English as well as we did. His name was Buster Ostroski.

John stayed with us all summer and one day in late fall he went to town with Papa. They drank too much and on the way home John asked Papa to stop and he started to walk back home. When asked why, he said, "I won't let Hazlette see me like this." We never saw John again; I was probably ten years old when this happened. The folks then contacted an orphan's home and that is when we got Orville.

Orville Day was from Indiana Harbor and when his father died he was put in the orphanage. He was supposed to be fourteen years old, but the folks were sure he wasn't much older than me. He was a good boy, but had not gone to school and had a terrible personality. He lived with us as if he were our brother and when we eventually left the farm; he continued to stay on with whom ever bought it. We never knew where he finally went.

After Orville came, Papa began to raise tomatoes, cucumbers and cauliflower. He also tried onions. These crops he planned to take to Fort Wayne and sell at the Farmer's Market. He got a contract from Sears Company for the cauliflower. This one year he had a beautiful crop, about one acre. The plants were set out by hand, kid's hands, and it was hard work. We even tied up the plants so the cauliflower wouldn't sunburn. Sears reneged on the contract and all that hard work and money went down the drain.

This was what happened to much of Papa's farming. He stocked up on dairy cattle, and they got some kind of disease and had to be killed. About this time Papa got sick and was covered with boils and seemed to be out of his mind some of the time. The cattle probably had undulant fever and so Papa had that too. After feeling he was a complete failure, he rented the place to Uncle Harl and we moved to North Webster.

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 10 ~ Childhood on the Farm

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Childhood on the Farm

Jane and Bill worked in the fields and milked cows, etc. while I helped Mama and raised the garden with Papa supervising. I baked all the bread for the family from the time I was eleven years old, also I cooked and baked cakes, but Mama always baked the pies.

Mama and Papa often gave parties. They both liked people and loved to entertain. We always had a party on the 4th of July or anytime that more than one of the family could come over. This, of course, meant Mama's family because Grandma Brubaker was all the family that Papa had.

On one 4th of July, about 1914, Grace and Lena Zintzmeister and Aunt Rose [1] were at Grandma Wise's. Papa bought a five-gallon tub of Ice Cream and made five gallons of lemonade in a big crock. He made tables in the front yard and they were loaded with good things to eat. This was a thing to remember always. Jane and I had new dresses to wear and were very proud of them. Papa always had fire works on the 4th.

Once Jane decided to have a party. She didn't tell Mama or me, she just invited all the kids that had practiced for the Children's Meeting. When we looked down the road and saw all these girls coming dressed in party clothes, we wondered where they were going and Jane said " Oh, I forgot to tell you they are coming here for a party!" Well, Mama and I got busy and while the kids played games we popped corn and Mama made fudge and they all had a grand time.

As we got older we had more formal parties and the biggest one was just before we moved to North Webster. When I was 14 years old Mama invited kids from three different neighborhoods. We really had a nice party with the living room, kitchen and dining porch all decorated and we played party games. It was lots of fun. This was the end of us as a family for Mama and Papa began to have more serious trouble while we were living in North Webster, and Grandma Wise died, and Mama and Papa finally separated.

We had fun all by ourselves that stay in my memory. One time when the yellow Harvester apples were getting over-ripe and had fallen to the ground, someone picked one up and threw it, this started the battle of the apples! It was confined to the dining porch and even though we had to clean it all up afterwards it still was lots of fun. This same thing happened with water on very hot days. Someone would toss a cup of water on Papa and then it really started. The supply tank was in the dining porch so it was real handy.

One of the fun times of "the good old days" was the last day of school. The teacher organized a program of entertainment and there was an enormous carry-in dinner. Every one in the district came and it was one of the highlights of the year.

As you older ones know, school was a one-room affair near Goose Lake, Scott School. My brother, sister and I went to the same school that both Mama and Papa attended. They seem to have had more interesting things to do than we did. For one thing there were older kids - not many went to High School as the closet one was Columbia City and this was in the horse and buggy days. They had spelling bees and Mama had won several prizes for spelling "down" the school. They had box suppers where the girls decorated boxes and filled them with goodies for the boys to buy at auction, then the girl would get to eat with whichever boy bought her box. It was all so simple, but when Mama or Papa would tell us about their good times, we always thought it was wonderful.

In the winter our walk to school, in below zero weather, was really terrible. No one ever said it was too cold or stormy to go. We just walked that mile, most of it with the wind off the frozen lake. One day I remember Mama had me wear her big shawl over my coat. I really didn't get too cold, but Jane and Billy nearly froze. I carried their dinner pails and gave Jane my mittens, but we had to work with her when we got to school - her fingers were frost bitten.

It was several years later that they had consolidated school in Troy Township. Thagrus Burns started to school after it was consolidated and rode one of the first "school hacks". He would have had almost twice as far to walk if they hadn't consolidated.

My parents were both friendly and loved having people about so we had lots of company. People from Huntington or Fort Wayne would drop in on Sunday mornings. I helped Mama many times to catch a couple of chickens, kill, dress, and fry them after the company came! This was before refrigeration and unless notified in advance of their coming, we had to get the freshest meat. I have often thought how easy they could have telephoned, but everyone seemed afraid of long distance phone calls.

We also had several friends who came and stayed for a while. One was Jack Smith, an old soldier and Civil War veteran. He would come for weeks at a time and when we were in Traverse City, he came and stayed a while, liked it so well that he rented a room upstairs and stayed until cold weather.

After we had been back on the farm for sometime, one of our old neighbors from Traverse City, Mrs. Gradop, came for a week and stayed and stayed and stayed! Mama got awfully tired of her and finally wrote her daughter to send for her. She was just "too much".

==+====+====+==

[1] Aunt Rose was Rose Wise Zinsmeister, sister of “Grandpa” William P. Wise. Grace and Lena were her daughters. They lived in Lorain, Ohio.

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 9 ~ Goose Lake Farm

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Goose Lake Farm, continued

The dining room had wainscoting about three feet high all around and this room was my favorite. It had the heating stove beside which we kids would always get dressed on cold mornings. There was a table upon which we played games and got our lessons, Grandma had a nice cupboard here and a couple of rocking chairs. There was a wall desk that I just adored - the front came down revealing pigeonholes with lots of things in it that us kids were not to touch! The telephone was in this room, which was the heart of the house.

And it was in this room that I recall my first Christmas tree. It was just before Billy was born. I had kept saying that I wanted a yellow doll (a doll dressed in yellow) and after all the gifts were removed and opened from beneath what I thought was an enormous tree, Papa lifted me up and there in the tree was a beautiful doll dressed in yellow!

Off this room was the parlor. When Grandma lived here it was very cold and formal. In fact I don't believe we ever went into this room except for Uncle Hale's funeral. But when we moved into this house in 1911 all that was changed and we used it always whenever we had company. Later Papa bought us a piano and we took music lessons and I guess this room just came alive.

Off this room was the great bedroom, which became Jane's and mine when we grew older. There was another bedroom off the dining room, which was the master bedroom. Mama would let me stay in that room sometimes when I was sick; I remember the pink roses in the wallpaper. This room was at the back of the house but you could see the orchard from the window. It was really lovely in the spring.

There were two large rooms upstairs and an enormously interesting attic. The large room in front had a closet that ran the full length of the room, this was Hale's room and it was sacred to Grandma and was kept locked. But after Uncle Hale died and we moved into the house this is where we kids slept. It was papered with a white rose paper that was lovely. The crab apple tree, which even now stands west of the house, would then touch the windows of this room and the perfume from the blossoms was so lovely, I can still remember spring mornings in that room.

The other room was never papered, the stair well was here and the entrance to the attic. And oh, what an attic! We were allowed to play here on rainy days and it was delightful. Grandpa had a civil war gun with musket and his knapsack. There were candle molds and the butchering equipment was kept here - sausage stuffer and lard renderer, the great big meat grinder attached to a bench. There were trunks of old clothes and books that I would give a lot to see now. This room had just one window but the chimney came up through here and it was always cozy. It also had mice and wasps, which nearly scared me to death - but I loved to go there anyway.

We had things to play with, but not toys like children have now. Papa put a large plank onto a stump in our orchard using a large bolt. As we pushed it around it made a noise that we called music on our Merry-go-Round. We would take turns pushing with one pushing and two riding. Then we had an old buckboard. We put ropes on it to guide and turn the wheels and we would push it up the rise to the house, give it a push and down we would go to the road. These things were really fun, but we soon outgrew them and had to do our farm work and housework like adults while we were still very young.

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 8 ~ Goose Lake Farm

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

Goose Lake Farm

I shall try to describe the farm and the house, as it was when Jane, Bill and I were kids. The house sets back from the road quite a distance, so that the front lawn was much larger than most places. As you drove into the barn yard thru the gate, you passed the granary which held both oats and wheat, and a corn crib which also served as housing for the spring wagon, buckboard and buggy.

Just north and east of the granary was the huge barn. The watering tank was placed under a large maple tree and it was always cool around the tank even in the hottest summer. There was a good fence around this part of the barnyard. The cows could stay under the barn's overhang, which was on the south side and on the east side above the stable doors. When we were small we could not go near the barn unless Grandpa took us - and it was a wonderful occasion when he would consent to a trip to the barn.

When we visited there one summer, I think it was in 1909, Grandpa owned a beautiful Stallion. When people brought their mares over to visit us children were absolutely not allowed to be there. I can remember the older members of the family saying that Grandpa was too old to have such a Stallion around.

The hen house was north of the barn but on an even path from the house. It was built new about 1909 and Grandma was extremely proud of it as it was very modern with a cement floor and had separate areas for feeding and watering and another for rooting.

Back of the new hen house was the one that was used as a hatching house even after Papa owned the farm. Each broody hen was put on fifteen eggs and there was food and water put in the building so that the hens could eat and drink. Thirteen weeks later there were little chicks all over!

Then we go to the house - first is the woodshed filled with wood, as that was their fuel for cooking and heating. It was cut during the winter months from the wood lot down near the lake. To the left is the windmill with the well supplying water to the house first and then piped down to the holding tank under the big Maple tree.

From the wood shed to the door and into the summer dining room we have been walking on a brick walk. And the small yard in front of the dining room and around the windmill was brick. This brick must have been there for years because even in 1909 it was green with moss.

I think that summer dining room was quite unique. There was an iron water tank in one corner that was enclosed by a modern cabinet with a lid on it; the tank held about forty gallons of water. This room was screened in on the north and south with a storage room to the east and the kitchen to the west. There were wooden doors that enclosed it all in the wintertime. There was as large cupboard that had been built years before and Grandma always had the room looking cool and nice.

The next room was the kitchen. I guess I can hardly tell you anything good about it, yet I learned to cook there on an old wood-burning stove. The entrance to the cellar was a trap door in the floor, you opened it and went down the ladder and hoped no one would fall into the opening while you were down below. The cellar was where the potatoes and onions were stored along with the canned fruits and vegetables; a hanging shelf was our refrigerator. The kitchen table was in the space beside this trap door and many was the time that we would have to open the door for milk or cream after we were all seated at the table. The ones that sat on the side near the door, usually Jane and Me, had to stand guard till the trip for cream was made.

On the other side was the buttery and pantry; it was just a big dark place to put everything. There were shelves and a table or sink. It was always dark as night, there were no windows and no kerosene lamp could take the awful dark away - or at least that is the way it seemed to me! There was a plastered room for meat and anything else eatable that freezing wouldn't hurt. This room was always locked.

There had been an addition to this kitchen and in the space between the pantry and the back door was a cistern pump with an iron sink. In 1909 this was quite a modern improvement. The stove was opposite the sink with the wood box and a cupboard.

It really seems very primitive but there were many delicious meals prepared and eaten in that kitchen. There was a screen door between the kitchen and the dining room, which was used as a dining room only on very rare occasions. But the screen door had been put up when we were very small so that Mama could keep an eye on us while working about the kitchen.

The House at the Goose Lake Farm ~ about 1914 ~ Uncle Thornton Brubaker (sitting on the stump, half-brother of William Brubaker), Jane, Orville Day (a hired man), Maud, Billy, Hazlette, Spot, and Charles Romain Brubaker. There are no pictures of the out-buildings that Grandma describes as they were torn down long ago.

The house as it is was on August 16, 2005. The current owners have a living room and master bedroom on the lower floor and two bedrooms upstairs. The kitchen is in the right side of the house. It now has all of the modern conveniences.

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