#48 - Wednesday's Child #1: James W. Bagby

Wednesday's Child #1: James W. Bagby

"Wednesday's Child" is a genealogy blogging prompt where you post photos of gravestones of children and give life to the young soul's story. In my inaugural post using this prompt, I am writing about James W. Bagby, my wife's 1st cousin twice removed.

 

Back on February 4, 2020, I wrote a brief biography of Josiah W. Bagby (1835-1913) who is my wife's great-granduncle.  In preparing to write that post, I visited Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, where he was buried.  While at the cemetery I found a total of three family plots for the Bagby family.  

Oakwood Cemetery Sign from https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/51498/oakwood-cemetery/photo downloaded 2021.12.21.

#47 - Lines: My Patrilineal Line

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of December 13 is “Lines".  I decided to post about my Patrilineal Line as far back as I can document.    I am able to trace back my patrilineal line to my fifth great grandfather.

#46: Homemade - Anna’s Chair

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of December 5 is “Homemade."

Cropped image from an undated, original photo in the collection of ©Virginia E. Summers Olsen

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Anna Marie Gillen was the fifth of seven children born to Frederick and Mary Kraher Gillen.  She was born November 12, 1886 in Jersey City, NJ.  She was their third daughter, but the only one to have survived to adulthood.  My great, grandfather, Edward Gillen, was born next in 1888.

When Anna was 19, she married Edward Colwell on December 23, 1905.  

Anna Marie Gillen and Edward Colwell, circa 1930.  Enhanced and cropped image of a scanned photo from the collection of ©Virginia E. Summers Olsen.

On September 24, 1910 Edward Gillen married Caroline Schmitz in New York City.  And they soon started their family when Anna Marie Gillen (my grandmother) was born on July 6, 1911.  Obviously Edward and Caroline named her after Edward’s sister.  And Anna and Edward Colwell were named as her Godparents.  

Anna Marie Gillen, undated image, but estimated about 1911-1912.   Scanned image from original photo in the collection of ©Virginia E. Summers Olsen

For Anna’s first Christmas in 1911, Edward Colwell made the chair pictured above as a gift to Anna.  So this wonderful “Homemade” gift is now a 110 year-old family heirloom that four generations of Anna’s descendants have sat in!

This ends Part 1 of this story.  Part 2 will cover the journey of the chair through the generations and will be continued in our family’s private Facebook group.

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How I'm related to Anna Marie Gillen:

                                Frederick Gillen = Mary Kraher

                                                            |

                  ———————————————————————————-—————

                  |                                                                              |

  Anna Marie Gillen = Edward Colwell                  Edward Gillen = Caroline Schmitz 

                                                                                                          |

                                                                                          Anna Marie Gillen = Charles (SOLTIS) Summers

                                                                                                                          |

                                                                                                                       Mom = Dad

                                                                                                                                  |

                                                                                                                                ME

#45: Strength: Elizabeth “Eliza” S. Faris

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of November 28 is "Strength".  For over a week I struggled in trying to think of an ancestor to apply this prompt too.  I scrolled and scrolled through the family tree looking for inspiration and potential facts that could lead to a story about strength.  And then I found the story of one of my wife’s ancestors, her 4th great-grand aunt, that embodies Strength.  And it is so hard to believe that the details of this woman’s story from the early 1800’s was so well documented.