Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween

For Halloween and Día de los Muertos, some Latin-themed street art from Miami and a scary hammerhead shark:
Photo by Patrick Jones. Wynwood Walls, Miami.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Wynwood Walls, Miami. 16 Jun 2015.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Returning to the Flatt Family

Before departing for meetings in Ireland, I wrote about my 4th-great-grandfather Pleasant Flatt, and his family in Jackson County, Tennessee. Pleasant's sons, Reamus (later Robert) and William, made their own way after their difficult childhood in Tennessee and settled in Arkansas and Adair County, Kentucky. I skipped over the next part of the story involving Pleasant Flatt, referencing his appearance in the 1860 US Census without providing context. So here is the next part of the story.

Sometime after the death of Lucinda McCormick in 1852 and the end of the chancery case in February 1854, Pleasant Flatt relocated to neighboring Overton County, Tennessee. In the 1860 US Census, Pleasant appears with 25-year old Mary A. Flatt, sons Reamus and William, and the following children:
- Nancy J (age 5)
- Margaret (age 3)
- "Philapena" S. (age 2)
- Martha E. (5 months old)

I do not know yet what happened to Mary A. after the 1860 Census. From the 1870 Census, it looks like Mary had two more children (Cansada in Tennessee around 1862 and Mary F. Flatt in Kentucky about 1865). She may have died in Metcalfe County sometime between 1865 and 1869.

Pleasant next appears in a marriage bond to Nancy (Dowell) Hubbard in Metcalfe County, Kentucky on 1 February 1870. He is listed as 48 years old. They were married on 2 February 1870 by James H. Keen (witnesses Levi Copeland and William Hubbard). Keen was a neighbor in East Fork, Metcalfe County, a few houses down from the Flatt family. In the 1870 US Census, the Flatt family looked like this:
- Pleasant Flatt (47)
- Nancy D. (34)
- Margaret E. (12)
- Susanna P. (11)
- Martha E. (10)
- Cansada (7)
- Mary F. (5)
Children from Nancy's first marriage to James Whitfield Hubbard also in the household:
- Valotta Eugenia Hubbard (12)
- Joanna Hubbard (11)
- Sarah Elizabeth Hubbard (9)
- James E. Hubbard (7)
- Mary W. Hubbard (5)

My 3rd-great-grandmother Nancy Jane Flatt (age 15) appears three doors down in the household of John W. Rose and his wife Mary. At the time, she could not read or write.

Pleasant disappears after the 1870 US Census, as I cannot find him in the 1880 US Census. Third wife Nancy D. had changed her name back to Hubbard, and she appears as head-of-household in Lafayette, Metcalfe County, Kentucky with several of her own children. The Flatt children do not appear in the household with Nancy Hubbard.

The Flatt daughters look like they have scattered among other families in Metcalfe County by 1880. Susanna Flatt (listed as Sousan Flat) appears as a domestic servant (21 years old) in the household of William Thomas in Lafayette, Metcalfe County in the 1880 Census. Her younger sister Martha E. married Benjamin Jeffries around 1879, and they appear as living in Lafayette, Metcalfe County with a newborn daughter Mary F. Jeffries. Cansada Flatt appears in the 1880 Census as Kanzady Flatts, 16 years old, domestic servant, living in the household of John H. Hays in Lafayette, Metcalfe County, near her sister Martha.

I have not yet been able to find Nancy Jane Flatt and her youngest sister Mary F. Flatt in the 1880 US Census. Mary appears in the Kentucky marriage records on FamilySearch, marrying Henry T. Piper in Metcalfe County on 15 March 1883.

Cansada Flatt married Peter Floyd Tackett in Metcalfe County on 14 March 1888, and her family later moved to Illinois and Missouri.

There are a few more leads to follow for the Flatt family, and I will have these in another post.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

RIP

On Sunday we received the news of the passing of Allison's grandfather, Alfred "Fritz" Stephen Freyling Jr, in Evansville, Indiana. This is a copy of his obituary from the Evansville Courier Press:


Alfred Stephen Freyling Jr., 89, of Evansville, Indiana, passed away Sunday, October 25, 2015, at Good Samaritan Nursing Home.
Fritz was born in Warrick County, Indiana, on December 11, 1925, to Alfred and Norma (Kuester) Freyling. He graduated in 1943, from Central High School. Fritz retired from the U.S. Postal Service and served in the U.S. Army. He was a member of Bethlehem United Church of Christ and the VFW Post #1114. Fritz had a knack for fixing things and enjoyed gardening.
Fritz is survived by his wife of 68 years, Marilyn (Halter) Freyling of Evansville, Ind.; daughters, Deborah Havens and Barbara Dizney, both of Evansville, Ind.; son, Stephen R. (Heidi Keller) Freyling, of Calif.; sister-in-law, Bernice Halter, of Aurora, Colo.; grandchildren, Kristen (William) Thomason, Allison (Patrick) Jones, Eric (Sarah) Dizney, Brian (Lauren) Havens and Kamalia Freyling; great-grandchildren, Abigial, Brooke and Alexander Thomason, Sophia and Silas Jones, Gavin and Olivia Dizney and Riley Leach. Many nieces and nephews also survive. Fritz is preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Irma, Irene, Helen and Lillian.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, October 29, 2015, at Bethlehem United Church of Christ, 6400 Oak Hill Rd, Evansville, IN 47725, with Pastor Mark Sirnic officiating. Burial will be held at the church cemetery.
Friends may visit from 6 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 28, 2015, at Browning Funeral Home, 738 E. Diamond Ave. Memorial contributions may be made to Bethlehem United Church of Christ. Condolences may be made online at www.browningfuneral.com.

Published in Courier Press on Oct. 27, 2015.


Saturday, October 24, 2015

Guinness

On Monday evening I was fortunate to attend a private event at the historic Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. The Storehouse was originally the fermentation plant for the St. James' Gate Brewery and today is the most visited tourist attraction in Ireland.
Photo by Patrick Jones. 19 Oct 2015.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Guinness Storehouse, 19 Oct 2015.

The Storehouse contains the history and archives of Arthur Guinness' brewery, including some of its famous advertising and artwork. The photo below shows a 2-ton carved wood pint of Guinness. There is a short video showing how they made the sculpture on Vimeo.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Guinness pint sculpture
Photo by Patrick Jones. Fish on a Bicycle, Guinness Storehouse.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Entrance at St. James' Gate.
After the Guinness event, our group joined the rest of the meeting attendees at the conference gala on Dame Lane. The photo below gives a sense of the fun, with around 2,000 people packed into the alley and pubs on Dame Lane.
Photo by Patrick Jones. That Night in Dublin.
This post covers the end of my photos from Dublin, and I will be making a return to my family history research and writing.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Street Art Dublin Part 2

This is another set of street art photos from wandering around Dublin. The first shot is a fitting one for family history.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Temple Bar District, 14 Oct 2015.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Temple Bar District, 14 Oct 2015.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Temple Bar District, 14 Oct 2015.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Alley in Temple Bar District.
Photo by Patrick Jones. Dublin, 14 Oct 2015.
Photo by Patrick Jones. 17 Oct 2015.
I spotted some well known artists but did not have an opportunity to take more pictures of street art. French artist Fin DAC still has a long mural next to The Gibson hotel in Dublin's Docklands. Hopefully I'll be back in Dublin soon.