wordless Wednesday...

my grandmother's second cousin Belle Wellington Gray, 1870-1957

Sarah Fenimore-Strength and Devotion

It's been so long since I wrote about my family.  I have been inspired by the 52 Ancestors challenge to write about an ancestor once a week for 52 weeks. There are so many stories to tell!

Since March is Women's History Month, I am writing about my third great grandmother Sarah Fenimore. She lived a long life filled with heartbreak and hardships, and I admire her strength and love for her family.
Sarah was born in Burlington County, New Jersey in 1793 to Joshua Fenimore and his wife Elizabeth.  In 1816, she married a cousin Daniel R. Fenimore.

I am lucky to have family information that was sent to my great grandmother before 1885 which document this family. Sarah and Daniel had 11 children between 1817-1836.  Their first born child, Maria, was my second great grandmother.  Five of their children died as babies and toddlers-Thomas, Isaac, Sarah J., Mary Boone and Daniel R.

Their last child Hannah J. was born in September of 1836 and in December of that year, Sarah's husband Daniel died at the age of 47. Sarah was left to raise 6 children on her own-Maria, Caroline, Henry, Susanna, Elizabeth and Hannah J. Sadly, Hannah died at age 17 in 1853.

Adding to Sarah's troubles was that Elizabeth was blind.  We don't know if she was blind at birth, but at a young age she was educated at a school for the blind in Philadelphia and eventually became a teacher there. Elizabeth died at age 32 in 1862. It is incredible to me that Sarah could get the education and training for her daughter in that time frame.  There were strong family ties in this Fenimore family as Elizabeth was left property and money from older Fenimore aunts-she is referred to as "the blind daughter of Sarah and Daniel" in their wills.

Susanna required special care throughout her lifetime as well.  We don't know what her exact problems were but she was always cared for by her mother and sisters. She had a son William S. Fenimore, out of wedlock in 1857.  After her mother Sarah died in 1878, she was cared for by my grandmother's family until her death in 1906.  Sarah Fenimore died in 1878 in Burlington New Jersey.  In her will, she made special provisions for her daughter Susanna and Susanna's son Will.

In every way possible, Sarah supported her children in ways that were not typical for the times.
A few years ago I made this tag for Mother's Day to honor Sarah. Her strength and devotion to her children continue to inspire me.

a small world...

I inherited dozens and dozens of old family photos from the Beverly, Edgewater Park and Willingboro New Jersey area. In one album, I found this photograph labeled Sam LaCorte killed in World War I. My wish was to find a descendant of this family and return this treasure to them. I posted the photo on facebook as several area folks are friends there. I knew there was family still in the area, but had no luck in finding them.

Fast forward a few weeks later to my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower in Edgewater Park. I was introduced to her delightful grandmother, Anita who grew up in Edgewater Park. We started talking about her family and mentioned she had an Italian grandfather who lived in Willingboro. I asked her his name and incredibly it was LaCorte. Sam was her uncle! She knew he served in the war but they had no photographs of him. Anita and her sisters were thrilled to hear about this wonderful photograph and I look forward to returning this treasure to them. I did learn later that Sam was not killed in the war, but did not live many years after serving his country.

It appears that Sam's family were farmers and they lived near my grandmother's family's farm.

So, after over 90 years, Sam LaCorte will be remembered again by his family.

Ralston Laird at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania!

It has been a week since the opening of the exhibit honoring my ancestor, Ralston Laird, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. I have deliberately waited to write about about this evening. How do you do justice to describing one of the most amazing nights of your life?

It is every genealogist's dream to have their ancestors recognized and remembered. The artist, Duke Riley, created the most amazing pieces of art honoring my great great grandfather's brother. He was also so gracious to me and generous in stating that he could not have done this project without my research. It has been such an honor for me to meet Duke and work with him. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about him and seeing the work he has produced over the years. He is an incredibly talented artist who also brings humor to his work. His dedication and daring are so inspiring.

To my great surprise, I was asked to talk about my research at the opening. I am a shy person who does not enjoy being the center of attention and I had nothing prepared. Somehow, I was able to make my way to the podium and speak to the crowd. Amazingly, I was not nervous and was able to talk about Ralston and his family. The crowd was so kind and seemed truly interested in what I had to say. Several people had questions and HSP would like me to write an article for their interactive website.

If you live in the Philadelphia area, I would strongly encourage you to visit HSP and see this wonderful project. I would like to thank Duke for his interest in Ralston and his family and for his kindness to me. I would also like to acknowledge a fellow researcher, Lynn Jefferies, who died several years ago. Lynn felt very strongly that I should publish an article on Ralston Laird. Through her volunteer work at the Camden County Historical Society, she would find various little tidbits about Ralston and Petty's Island and send them to me. I wish that she was here to share this wonderful moment with me.

Here is a link to my photographs from opening night.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=189205&id=778298272&l=cb87dbdfee

My husband's blog on the evening:

http://ekbooks.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/reclaiming-the-lost-kingdom-of-laird-duke-riley/

A blogger's account of the evening:

http://www.printeresting.org/2010/02/05/philagrafika-2010-duke-riley-at-the-historical-society-of-philadelphia/

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

http://www.hsp.org

Links to other articles and for Duke Riley's website can be found on my previous post about Ralston Laird.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Students at Farnum School

Beverly, Burlington County NJ

circa 1898

Celebrating Ralston's life!

I am passionate about my ancestors! Some of them are especially dear to my heart, and I am happy to say that one of my favorite relatives is being recognized for the truly remarkable man he was.
Several months ago, I was contacted by an artist named Duke Riley. He was hired to create an exhibit on Petty's Island for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He found my research online on my great great grandfather's brother, Ralston Laird and decided to focus his project on Ralston! This really is a dream come true for me. I am so grateful that Duke has brought my ancestor to life, he is the perfect person to tell Ralston Laird's story to the world.
Ralston Laird came over to the United States from Donegal, Ireland in the early 1850's. He first lived in Philadelphia then moved to Petty's Island which is between Philadelphia and Camden New Jersey. He lived there for over 50 years and was proclaimed the "King."
Ralston and his wife had ten children--four of his daughters were born deaf. The girls eventually attended the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, three of them married deaf men they met at school. The newspaper photo above shows Ralston as an old man by his home on the island with his ferocious dog Prince. Prince was a guard dog who protected Ralston's deaf daughters. With all of Ralston's family trials, he was kind and helpful to other families, especially fellow immigrants to his island.
Thursday night, February 4, 2010, my family and I will be attending the opening for Duke's incredible project at the Historical Society. If you would like to read more about about Ralston's life, Duke's project and his other work, I have provided links below.
http://www.philagrafika2010.org/artist/duke-riley
http://dukeriley.info
http://citypaper.net/articles/2010/01/28/duke-riley-pettys-island-philagrafika
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/duke-riley/open-letter-to-hugo-chave_b_435921.html

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Asbury Park New Jersey circa 1910