Unidentified World War I soldier

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “Military.”

If you read my blog post last week, you learned about Bertha Smith Athya’s photo album … the one where none of the photos are labeled. We can identify some of them, but many are unidentified family or friends. The World War I era soldier in the two photos below are an example of what’s in the album.

I have no clue whether he’s a family member or a friend. I’ve looked through the family tree trying to identify him, but no luck so far. Bertha was living in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania from the time of her birth in 1898 until she married George Athya in 1924 so that would a good clue as to where he’s from.

With a little research, I’m dating the photo ca. 1917, which fits into the timeframe of Bertha’s album.

On November 11, 1918, it will have been 100 years since the end of the Great War. I felt it would be appropriate to get this soldier’s photo out of the album and on the Internet. Perhaps someone will recognize him, and if so, I’d love to hear from you.

Bertha Smith’s photo album—a family treasure

Page from Bertha's photo album

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “another language” and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t come up with anything. So instead, I’ll focus on documenting another family treasure—a photo album that belonged to my husband’s grandmother, Bertha Smith Athya.

The album is bound in brown, textured leather and is 7 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches. The edges show a few signs of wear but is in very good condition otherwise. The inside pages are standard, black photo album paper. There are 164 photos on 30 of the 50 pages. One page has a greeting card glued to it and 19 pages are blank. All of the photos are glued on the pages and not a single photo is labeled. Luckily, Bertha left behind a box of photos and she wrote names on the backs of some of them. With the help of those photos, I’ve been able to identify a few of the people in the album.

Front cover of Bertha's photo album

Note the quarter on the bottom row. Many of the photos are that small.

The album appears to contain photos of both family and friends dating from the early 1900s to the mid-1930s. One photo is marked 1-7-17. Many of the photos are of Bertha herself. Some are her mother Amanda Horne Smith, her Aunt Electra Smith Jack, brothers Howard, George, and John Smith, sisters Edith and Helen Smith, sister-in-law Myrtle Stewart Smith, and sons John and Howard Athya. Several are a group of church ladies, I believe from Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Bertha’s family lived in Apollo and later Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania so I’m assuming that would be where most of the people in the album lived as well.

Note the middle photos and how Bertha cut the one photo and split it.

The photo below is a post card and not part of the album. “Bertha Smith, Paulton, Pa.” is written on the back so I assume it was taken at whatever school Bertha attended at the time. Bertha (or maybe it's her sister Helen) is standing at the end of the second row in the dark dress. I estimate she’s about nine years old so that would date the photo circa 1907. If that's Helen in the photo, the date would be circa 1904. After comparing the group photo to some of the individual photos from the box, it appears some are the same girls and boys.

Take a look for yourself. What do you think? Are the people from the album found in the group photo?

If you recognize anyone, I’d love to hear from you.

Kathryn Marston would only celebrate one Mother's Day

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “Mother’s Day.” Today’s blog post is about a young woman who would only live to celebrate one Mother’s Day.

Photo courtesy of Bulldog Fan, Find A Grave ID 48178484.

Kathryn O. Marston, daughter of Elijah “Frank” Marston and Carrie Cox Armstrong, was born December 1888 in Georgia, most likely Atlanta. As far as I can tell, she was the only child of Frank and Carrie, however, it appears she had at least four siblings from her mother’s first marriage to Joel B. Joyner—Callie Joyner, Hattie M. Joyner, Annie Joyner, and William Hugh Joyner. She went by Katie and was the first cousin 2x removed of my brother-in-law Randy Marston.

Katie’s mother was 10 years older than her father.

Katie came from a musical family—her father Frank was a musician for 40 years according to his death certificate. He played the French horn at the Second Baptist Church in Atlanta, was a traveling salesman for a music house, a member and president of the Southern University Orchestra organization, a member and president of the Atlanta chapter of the American Federation of Musicians Local 148, and a member of the Musical Union Band with his brother John Henry Marston. It’s said his brother John played the tuba in the Old Atlanta Band and with John Philip Sousa’s band but I haven’t found evidence of either yet.

On June 1, 1900, Katie and her family lived on Ivy Street in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother Carrie, who was the head of the household, ran a boarding house. The census enumerator noted that Carrie was the mother of five children, three of which were living. All three were in fact living in the home on that day. At age 11, Katie was the youngest. Her sister Hattie was 26 years old and her brother Hugh was 22 years old; both were single. Katie’s father was a piano tuner at the time. Her parents had been married for 13 years. One boarder, John W. Collier, would marry Katie’s sister Callie in 1904. Ten of the boarders were men; one a 19-year old female in school.

1900 Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia census

Katie still lived with her parents on Ivy Street in 1906 according to the Atlanta City Directory. She worked as a clerk.

On April 25, 1907, Katie performed a “vocal number” at the piano recital of Miss Rosalie Eubanks that was held at the Cable Hall. The event was open to the public.

Katie married Herbert Maynard in Atlanta on June 19, 1907. The Atlanta Constitution reported the wedding on June 20:

Marston-Maynard. The marriage of Miss Kate Marston and Dr. Herbert Maynard took place yesterday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock at the home of the bride’s parents, Professor and Mrs. E. F. Marston, on Ivy street.

The wedding was a very quiet home affair, only a few intimate friends and the immediate relatives of the bride and groom being present. The ceremony was performed by Dr. H. K. Pendleton in the front parlor, which was tastefully decorated with palms and ferns. The bride wore a traveling gown of leather brown voile trimmed with baby Irish lace. The jacket being worn over a blouse waist of cream embroidered mull. The hat was an ecru straw, sailor shape, and was trimmed with brown velvet ribbon and brown wings.

Immediately after the ceremony, Dr. and Mrs. Maynard left for Augusta, where they will make their future home. 

The bride is a young woman, possessing the happy combination of rare beauty and charming personality, and is an accomplished vocalist. Dr. Maynard, formerly of Boston, Mass., but who for two years past has made Atlanta his home, is a young druggist of high standing. 

Dr. and Mrs. Maynard have a host of friends who are extending to them hearty congratulations and regret that they will not make Atlanta their home.

Katie and Herbert apparently didn’t stay in Augusta for long. By 1908, the Atlanta City Directory recorded them living at 68 Fulton Street. Herbert worked as a “prescription clerk” on Whitehall Street. By the end of the year, they had moved to Ivy Street, probably to be close to her parents.
The couple welcomed their only child, a daughter they named Sarah Carolyn Maynard. The Atlanta Constitution ran a birth announcement on Christmas Day, 1908:

Mr. and Mrs. E. Herbert Maynard announce the birth of a daughter at their residence, 108 Ivy street. She has been named Sarah Carolyn Maynard, for her grandmothers.

According to Wikipedia, Mother’s Day “ … was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first official Mother’s Day celebrated at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908.” Katie would have been pregnant with Sarah when the first Mother’s Day celebration took place so hopefully her husband recognized her on Mother’s Day in May 1909 as this would have been the only opportunity to do so. Katie would be gone by the end of the year, succumbing to typhoid pneumonia in Atlanta on December 1. The Atlanta Constitution reported her death the following day:

Mrs. Katie O. Maynard. Mrs. Katie O. Maynard, 21 years old, wife of E. Herbert Maynard, died at a private sanitarium at 12 o’clock last night of typhoid pneumonia. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Marston and lived with her parents at 102 Ivy street. The body will remain at the chapel of H. M. Patterson & Son until funeral arrangements are made.

Katie was buried at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.


References:

• Music and Military: The Musical Union Band and the Coming Parade of the Horse Guard, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, October 6, 1883.
• 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Atlanta Ward 06, District 0076, Fulton County, Georgia.
• Musicians meeting notice, A. F. of M., Local 148, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, October 30 1904.
• Atlanta, Georgia, City Directory, 1906.
• Miss Eubanks’ Piano Recital, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, April 21, 1907.
• Marston-Maynard, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, June 20, 1907.
• Sarah Carolyn Maynard birth announcement, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, December 25, 1908.
• Mrs. Katie O. Maynard, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, December 2, 1909.
• Find A Grave memorial 177273363, Katie Marston Maynard. 
• Mother’s Day (United States); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_(United_States). 
• Musicians Serenading the Constitution, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, February 8, 1911.
• Musicians of America to Gather in Atlanta, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, April 11, 1911.
• American Federated Musicians on Parade, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, May 9, 1911.
• Southern University Orchestra, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, November 7, 1915.
• Second Baptist, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, December 20, 1919.
• E. F. Marston’s State of Georgia death certificate, February 23, 1932.

Digging in FamilySearch records

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “close up.” I wasn’t sure how I wanted to tackle this one but then remembered reading a recent tweet from FamilySearch stating they had added their 2 billionth image to their free online database. I have a subscription with ancestry.com so that’s my “go to” for research but after reading the article, I decided it was time to take a “close up” look at what FamilySearch had. It didn’t take long before I found several records I hadn’t found on ancestry.com.

My first search was on John Henry Marston, my brother-in-law Randy’s father. I was home for 10 days last month and on my last afternoon there, Randy showed up with a box full of letters his father had written to his mother dating from 1939 – 1945. He told me he had another box just like it at home. All I could think of was “why didn’t you bring this over last weekend!” We spent a little time reading some of the letters but I was leaving town in two hours and needed to help my mother in the kitchen so couldn’t spend the time I wanted to on them. I told Randy we need to tell his parents story, something I’m determined to do. I would have loved to bring the box of letters home with me and start on that project but that wasn't happening! So, since I don’t have the letters and won’t see them again until late October, I decided to start my research on John Marston to see what I could find, especially anything related to his military career. I didn’t have much luck finding military records though, only the indexed U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Record and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File. Both provided details but no images. I looked for his World War II draft registration card but didn’t find it so that was the first thing I searched for on familysearch.org and it was the first thing that came up. As you can see on the image below, it provides details about John and even his father, John Sr. I also found the registration card for John’s brother-in-law, Geral Marvin Stacks, which tells me where John lived at the time.

John Henry Marston's World War II registration card, page 1

John Henry Marston's World War II registration card, page 2

Geral Marvin Stacks' World War II registration card

Then I spent the next two days researching John’s family which was a lot of fun. I always learn a little history when I do that because I like to take a “close up” looks at interesting details I find. In this case, I did a deep dive into Hollywood Cemetery, an old cemetery in Atlanta which I wrote about last week.

My next search was on William Hoyt Vest. Hoyt was my granny’s last husband (she had several) and is the only husband I remember her being with. We always called him Hoyt; he was a sweet man and was good to us Lankford kids. My granny divorced Hoyt late in his life and he moved to San Diego to live with his son. I’ve never been able to find his burial location so often look when I find new records. I still didn’t find where Hoyt is buried but I did find out who his first wife was—Mary K. Wells, born December 18, 1907 in Tennessee and died on May 23, 1970 in San Diego, California.

Hamilton County, Tennessee marriage license for Hoyt Vest and Mary Wells

I also discovered that Hoyt and Mary had an infant daughter that survived less than one month—Billie Jean Vest, born February 16, 1934 in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee and died on March 26, 1934 in Chattanooga.

Billie Jean Vest's death certificate

Another discovery was that Hoyt had an infant sister that died before her first birthday—Martha Lee Vest, born in Georgia on May 1, 1927 and died in Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia on February 15, 1928.

Martha Lee Vest's death certificate

Neither Billie or Martha would have shown up in any census record so if not for the death records, they may have been forgotten about. I added a memorial to both infants to Ebenezer Cemetery in Find A Grave to help others find them.

These are just a few examples of the records I found from my “close up” review of FamilySearch. If you don’t have a subscription to ancestry.com, don’t let that stop you from researching your family. Head over to familysearch.org, set up a free account, and get started!