Goodbye 2021

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Alexandria, 26 Dec 2021.

In many ways this year has been a repeat of 2020. We're into the second year of the pandemic and facing a fourth (fifth? sixth?) wave of COVID. I have managed a few West Coast trips, visiting LA, Seattle and San Francisco. We stayed close to home this summer for a family vacation to Virginia's Eastern Shore, and visited family in Columbia, South Carolina. Otherwise, we've spent a lot of time in our home neighborhood. A lot. So much time in the house.

Traditionally, I've used this post to reflect back on top photos, places visited during the year or cool experiences. While I did manage some fun adventures with great company, this year was a little different. I'm grateful that the kids were able to go back to in-person school, and we've largely stayed healthy. I missed seeing friends and colleagues in our offices around the world, and I'm still spending too much time on Zoom, but there's hope for in-person meetings and international travel in 2022.

I'll wrap up this post with a collection of some of my favorite photos from 2021.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Alexandria, 9 Apr 2021.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Maya, 29 July 2021.

Photo by Patrick Jones. NoMA DC, 19 Sep 2021.

Photo by Patrick Jones. L. Jones, 25 Sep 2021.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Banksy, San Francisco. 3 Dec 2021.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Wrdsmth, Los Angeles. 1 Oct 2021.

Happy Holidays

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. 26 Dec 2021.

Urban Wildlife

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. 14 Dec 2021.

This hawk was perched in a tree next our house earlier this week. Possibly it is a Cooper's Hawk. It's a big one, we've seen this in the trees around our place during the year.

Christmas Tree at DCA

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. DCA, 2 Dec 2021.

This shot is from last Thursday at DCA's National Hall. The new security lanes are a huge improvement, and open up the airport to easier movement along each of the terminal piers connected to National Hall. The image above shows a scene of the ongoing pandemic - the airport still under construction, with a window cleaner to the right, few travelers and face covering signage.

Fall Colors

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. 15 Nov 2021.

Still Life with a Turkey Pie

Rijksmuseum. Pieter Claesz, 1627.

 

Gobble Gobble

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Pumpkin Pie. 25 Nov 2021.

From the sale of one old mule

 

Ancestry. Oklahoma Wills, 1919.

Back in 2013, I wrote about the disposition of the estate of Henry Donham Lee Lambert, my 3rd-great-grandfather. In my previous posts, I didn't include the page above, which shows the sale of Henry's homestead land, and one old mule.

Back in action

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Warm-ups. 13 Nov 2021.

Yesterday we caught Georgetown's first game of the 2021-22 college basketball season at Capital One Arena in DC. Unfortunately it was a flat start by the Hoyas, who lost to the Dartmouth Big Green 69-60. While the Georgetown performance wasn't great, it was cool to see basketball in-person again.

Human Love

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Ruben Rojas.Venice, CA. 1 Oct 2021.

Son of Frank

New Orleans Marriages, 1871

A few of my recent posts have referred to John Halter, son of Frank Halter. He was the one who led the succession case for Frank's estate. I'll now cover his branch of the Halter line. John was born on 5 May 1846 in New Orleans. On 11 January 1871 he married Azelia Cure, a daughter of Pierre Adolph Cure and Anastacia Lafrance.

John and Azelia had the following children:

- Alice Halter, 1871-1955

- Emma Halter, 1872-1917

- Adeline Halter, 1878-1880

- Arthur Halter, 1879-1880

- Barbara Halter, 1881-1968

- Elizabeth Halter, 1884-1955

- Mary Stella Halter, 1891-

John and Azelia separated sometime before 1910. He died on 25 May 1914. For now, this concludes my review of the Halter family in New Orleans.

John and Anna

 

FamilySearch. New Orleans Marriages, 1857.

I'm picking up my dive through the New Orleans records to follow the family of Jean (John) Halter, younger brother of Frank Halter. John married Anna Hess in New Orleans on 10 August 1857, although they met earlier in France. The couple arrived together aboard the ship Ariel, sailing into New Orleans on 29 April 1857.

New Orleans Arrivals, 1857.

John and Anna (also known as Marie Anna) had three children:

- Edward Peter Halter, 1859-1899

- Mary Veronica Halter, 1862-1906

- Josephine Halter, 1865-1937

The family appears in the 1880 US Census in New Orleans, with Mary living next door with her husband Louis Reynolds.

1880 US Census, New Orleans.

Anna died on 7 May 1892. Her son Edward died on 2 December 1899. The remaining family appears in the 1900 US Census. Josephine appears as a seamstress in John's household. The next year, Josephine married Peter Schmidt on 3 July 1901.

1900 US Census, New Orleans.

John died on 10 February 1905.

New Orleans Times-Picayune, 11 Feb 1905.

In 1906, Mary and Josephine submitted a succession case to the Court for the estates of their parents and brother.

When Mary died on 7 November 1906, her son Lewis Edward Reynolds filed a petition for emancipation with the court, so that he could claim Mary's interest in the estate of her father John. The remaining property in the estate passed to Josephine.

Halloween Party 1909

 

Evansville Courier & Press, 27 Oct 1909

The clipping above mentions my great-grandmother, Blanche A. Lamon, attending a Halloween party in 1909. She would have been 22 then, living with her parents in Fort Branch, Gibson County.

From the Underworld on Halloween

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. INAH, Mexico City. 6 Mar 2009.

Swimmer's Eyes

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Venice, CA. 1 Oct 2021.

Succession of Frank Halter, Part 2

The succession file mentioned in Tuesday's post reveals quite a bit about the property and possessions of Frank Halter. I failed to note that the succession was brought forward by John Halter, son of Frank Halter. A description of the real estate owned by Frank is below, and it provides the date he purchased the land on 25 January 1842.

His property also included a four-post bed and bedding, a small armoire, clothing, a safe, 4 tables, 5 chairs, a looking glass, a clock, a hoe and spade, a crosscut saw, 3 hand saws, a foot adze, a plane, crowbar, a hammer and small tools, and 7 colored pictures.

The City of New Orleans filed a challenge on the estate, claiming it had a right to be paid $7.28 in taxes (yes, Seven Dollars and Twenty-Eight Cents) plus $25.00 in drainage taxes, and they had priority to be paid first from the sale of the property. The opposition brought by the City was dismissed.

The Court approved the disposition of the estates on 30 June 1880.

Succession of Frank Halter, Part 1

New Orleans Daily Democrat, 9 Apr 1880.

While searching through the Louisiana Wills and Probates file on Ancestry, I stumbled onto a succession document for Frank Halter (spelled Holter in the document). This was quite a surprise, as it provides his date of death, the date of death for his wife Madeline Weitmann Halter, and their son Hubert Halter. The page below shows that Frank passed away on 3 September 1879, Madeline on 15 February 1860, and Hubert in December 1862. The document also mentions the other children of Frank: Joseph (my wife's 3rd-great-grandfather), Anthony, Marie Therese and Louisa.

Another page below shows that Frank's sister Antoinette paid for the funeral services.

Joseph and Louisa

 

Louisiana Marriages, 3 Feb 1854

After covering the family of Antoinette Halter, I now return to a branch of the Halter family that I've mentioned before. Antoinette's younger brother George Joseph Halter, known as Joseph, was born in Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France in 1830. In 2016, I wrote about Joseph Halter and his marriage to first wife Louisa Elenore Paderas. Louisa was a sister of Dorothea Paderas, wife of Raphael Tudury. Above is a copy of the marriage license from the New Orleans Parish records.

Joseph and Louisa had the following children:

- George Halter, 1855-1904

- Alfred Halter, 1857-1937

- Emma Dora Halter, 1860-1940

Louisa died on 27 November 1864. Joseph remarried to Ida Zimmerer on 6 March 1867. The family appears in the 1870 US Census, with Joseph's occupation listed as wagon driver.

1870 US Census, New Orleans.

Joseph died in July 1874, and his will is available in the Louisiana Wills and Probate records on Ancestry. The will was written in French.

Louisiana Wills, 1874.

Ida was twenty years old when she married Joseph in 1867. After his death, it appears that the children went into the care of Louisa's mother Dorothea Reinke, who served as their tutrix. There is an extensive probate file on the succession of Joseph Halter. Louisa's brother Theodore was quite active in supporting their case, and served as their undertutor. There are about 90 pages in the probate file, so I'll have more to share in a subsequent post.

Josephine and Henry

 

Josephine Kern Zengel-Smith & Henry O. Smith.

As noted yesterday, Josephine Kern Zengel (daughter of Antoinette Halter Kern) married Henry Otto Smith in New Orleans in 1915, when she was 49. He was originally from Brooklyn, New York. From the available records, it appears that they traveled quite often. In 1921, the couple went to San Francisco, and then sailed on the S.S. Manoa of the Matson Lines. Josephine and Henry departed San Francisco on 20 July, arriving in Honolulu on 27 July 1921.

Huntington Library. S.S. Manoa.

Josephine and Henry returned from their Hawaiian vacation on the S.S. Maui, arriving back into San Francisco on 10 August 1921.

In April 1922, Henry applied for a US Passport in order for to travel to Europe. The photo at the top of the post comes from Henry's passport application. Charles Huber, husband of Josephine's step-sister Magdalena, served as a witness on Henry's application. Josephine and Henry departed New York in June 1922, with planned stops in the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Gibraltar and France. They made the voyage with Josephine's niece, Hilda Zengel. Charles Huber also served as a witness on her passport application. Hilda's parents died before 1908, so she had been living with Josephine from before her marriage to Henry. Hilda continued living with them after their marriage.

Hilda Zengel, 1922.

Josephine, Henry and Hilda returned to New York on the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam from Plymouth, England on 9 September 1922. Their passenger arrival was processed at Ellis Island.

Josephine and Henry took another trip to Europe in 1928. They appear on a passenger arrival list at Ellis Island arriving on the S.S. Stavangerfjord of the Norwegian America Line from Oslo on 10 September 1928. Curiously, the arrival list has Josephine's birth date as 14 March 1870, but the New Orleans Birth Records have her birth date as 28 February 1866.

Source: Gjenvick Archives.

Josephine and Hilda took a trip to Europe in 1932, arriving back in New York on 3 August 1932 on the S.S. Europa from Bremen.

Josephine passed away on 6 August 1940 in New Orleans.

New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7 Aug 1940.