Follow Friday: Lucas County and For Your Family Story

The first recommendation is for Frank Myers' Lucas Countian. My family spent a few generations in Lucas County, Iowa. Frank writes about the past, present, and future of the county. He brings it life for me and makes it the #1 place I'd like to visit.

The second recommendation is for Caroline Pointer's 4 Your Family Story. I love her daily Things You Need to Know.

 

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Treasure Chest Thursday: S. Mariani & Sons

Business cards, a pencil, and a brush from S. Mariani & Sons.

 

 

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Wordless Wednesday- Charles Albert Badgley

My grandfather, Charles Albert Badgley, Senior. 

From the Announcement at the Funeral:
In Loving Memory of
CHARLES ALBERT BADGLEY
Date of Birth
August 19, 1907
Fresno, California
Date of Death
February 20, 2000
Sacramento, California
Funeral Services
Mount Vernon Mortuary, Church of the Valley
Thursday, February 24, 2000
2:00 P.M.
Services by
Tehama Lodge #3
Free and Accepted Masons

Travel Tuesday- Dream Trip

 

I have started planning a fantasy trip to the Midwest.  It’s silly, I know, but if I were to win a trip anywhere in the world, I’d go to Russell, Iowa and Capa, South Dakota.  I think that because I don’t ask for Paris, I should get two small towns, don’t you?  I can work it in one trip, so they only need to fly me to Minneapolis (see how thoughtful I am?).

Here is my fantasy plan:

Fly into Minneapolis on a Wednesday.  See my Minnesota family and friends Wednesday night and then on Thursday drive to Chariton (it’s a 6-hour drive). Chariton is where I will stay for a few days (it’s close to Russell and where the library and courthouse are).  On Friday, I’ll visit the library and cemetery and just drive around, getting my bearings.  On Saturday, I’ll drive to Oskaloosa, What Cheer and Chillicothe, visiting the libraries and museums there.  On Sunday, I will visit Zero and, if they will have me, visit with my friends in Des Moines.  Monday I will spend in Russell walking the town and exploring.  Monday night will be the Lucas County Genealogical Society meeting, which I will attend.  Then Tuesday I will head to Minneapolis again and pick up Grampa (in my fantasy, Grampa flies out from Seattle to go with me to Capa).  I get Grampa and then we head to Midland where we have a hotel reservation.

We spend a few days in Midland while Grampa walks me through the ghost town of Capa.  We compare my working map with what he remembers this trip and make it more accurate.  I keep copious notes for the book about Capa that I will someday write.

We then head to Sheridan where Grampa can show me the work he did while in the CCCs.  Then to Lead and the other mining towns where Grandma’s family lived/lives.  We head back and I fly him home to Seattle and then come home myself.

I think it’s doable.  It’s my dream trip.  Pathetic, right?  But aside from pathetic… DOABLE!!!  It’s not really a “dream.”  It’s a to-do list for the future.

Cryptic Poetry

Cora "Ed" Shelton- white shirt, folded arms

Been trying my hand at poetry lately.  Some of it is about me and my life and feelings.  Some are about my ancestors.  Trying to give some meat to their bones.  Some petals for their flowers.  This one is a bit cryptic, but it goes with the story of Cora.  So once you read the story of Cora, it makes more sense.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Regardless...

A Pack of Camels, Unfiltered

Your name was Cora, but you said it was Charles.

You went by “Ed.”

You owned a sewing shop with your young wife.

Your strict parenting was remembered.

Your secrets were remembered.

You were always fun. Always the life of the party.

You had a wife before and it’s sad that through history

It was thought there was divorce.

There was not.  There was tragedy.

Your dark hair and blue eyes have not been passed down.

But your work ethics and your strength have.

Thank you, Grampa Cora.

Scrapbook Sunday- December 2013

Some of our December 2013 activities.

 

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Hall's Balsam

From the Collection of the Museum of Health Care at Kingston

My third great grandfather, Miles Price, filed for a pension from his service in the Civil War. He claims that he contracted the measles while in camp and that they affected his lungs for his whole life.  The druggist in the small town was called on to say that he remembers Grampa buying lots of Halls Balsam.  This was in lieu of going to any hospitals or seeking official treatment, other than from his uncle-in-law doctor, deceased before filing the pension.

In 1849, Dr. Amon L. Scovill partnered with Henry E Morrill to market Dr. Roger’s Compound Syrup of Liverwort, Tar & Canchalagua. Within a few years, they also had other medicines under their name of A. L. Scovill & Co, including Dr. William Hall’s Balsam for the Lungs, Scovill’s Compound Extract of Sarsaparilla and Stillingia, and Circassian Hair Restorative.  The business was taken over in 1872 by John Henry under the name of John F. Henry & Co. 

A book titled, “One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed,” by C. A. Bogardus, Champion Quick Shot of the World (yes, it say that in the title) tells us that the ingredients of Hall’s Balsam are ipecac, extract of squills, chloroform, wine of tar, opium and mullen.  Ipecac was once used as an expectorant.  It was often combined with opium in a syrup form for cough medicines.  Extract of squills is extract from the drimia maritime plant (commonly called the sea onion).  The extract was used as an expectorant.  Chloroform was once used to calm patients with asthma and also used in cough medicines, toothpastes, and mouthwash as a sweeting agent.  It, of course, is now known for knocking people out in the movies.  A cloth over the face ALWAYS means chloroform.  And there Grampa was ingesting it like crazy…  Wine of tar was simply a byproduct of the distillation of tar, used as an expectorant.  Mullen weeds are natural bronchial dilator and, obviously, opium, used to relax, calm and basically survive.  And, again.  Grampa was ingesting it like crazy.

Sources:

• http://www.rdhinstl.com/mm/rs220.htm
• http://museumofhealthcare.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/artefactual-dr-william-halls-balsam-for-the-lungs/
• http://fax.libs.uga.edu/AG105XB74/1f/one_thousand_secrets_revealed.pdf
• http://science.jrank.org/pages/1446/Chloroform.html
• http://wikipedia.com