1/31/14

Baskets of Beginnings and A Few Finishes

January is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth,
 for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire...
it is the time for home. 
Here I am on the last day of January with 'Baskets of Beginnings' and a 'Few Finishes'.  The 'Baskets' will empty and refill several times through out the year, and the 'Few Finishes' will become a 'Few More'.
Although January's Finishes have been Few..
 They have been 'Comforting'. 
They have 'Warmed' my heart and soul. 
They have 'Stayed Firm'. 
They have gone 'Home'.
  They are 'Treasured Memories'.
They are Resting and at Peace beneath His Wings.
In Memory

1/30/14

Out of the 'Ordinary Court' Marriage Bond


You would think after many years as a Family Historian/Genealogist, I would be use to discovering 'Out of the Ordinary' pieces of information like my 3x Great Grandparents Marriage Bond.  Yep, a BOND, not a license.

My initial response was...'An Arranged Marriage'...then...surely not it was afterall the early 1800's.  Even back in the Colonial Era when 'Arranged Marriages' were common place, my five and six times Greats married for love which occasionally involved a dowry of land, a few shillings and barnyard assets.

 But here it is...null and void of any mention of love, honor and cherish...the 'Out of the Ordinary', 'Court of Ordinary' Bond of Columbia County Georgia, signed and sealed document firmly and lawfully binding my 3xGreat Grandmother Francis to marriage for the sum of $857.14.
KNOW all Men by these Presents, That we
Ichabod Pittman & Washington W. Stone
are held firmly bonded unto the Court of Ordinary of Columbia County,
in the form of
EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY-SEVEN DOLLARS and FOURTEEN CENTS,
to which payment well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs,
executors and administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents,
sealed with our seals and dated this 12th day of October 1707
The Condition of the above Obligation is such
That, whereas there is a MARRIAGE intended to be Solemnized between the above named
Ichabod Pittman and Francis J. Stone
if there be no lawful cause to obstruct the same, then this Obligation to be void,
else to remain in full force and virtue.
 
Signed, Sealed and Acknowledged in the presence of
A. Crawford, clk
About Georgia Marriage Bonds
The intent of a marriage bond is to protect the Register of Probates from liability of authorizing an unlawful marriage.  In a bond, the groom binds himself to the court, attesting that there should be no lawful impediment to the marriage.  The information recorded in most marriage bonds includes:  names of two persons binding themselves to the Register of Probates or Court of Ordinary (usually the groom and another man), date of the bond, amount of the bond (usually substantial), name of the bride and groom to be married, and conditions of the obligation.  Marriage bonds were recorded from the Colonial Period through roughly the 1840's.  However, few of these early marriage bonds exist.  Those that exist for the Colonial Period are found in Colonial miscellaneous legal documents.  Georgia Genealogy, Wisdom, Justice and Moderation!
Interestingly, this document fits the criteria for existence in the Colonial miscellaneous legal documents...it is mistakenly dated 1707.  Had it been correctly dated 1807, it may never have found it's way to the Family Search Records where I found a digitally preserved copy in the Georgia County Marriage Records 1785-1850
Ichabod Byrd and Francis Jackson Stone
Bonded In Marriage
October 12, 1807
Their children begin

1/24/14

Scrapbooking and Crochet...Perfect Cold Day Projects

It is cold in Texas today.  It was cold yesterday and last night, as well....the perfect time for Fireside Crocheting.  I am enjoying crocheting this Shawl pattern called Sea Shell Wrap.  So much so, that I have TWO going at the same time.  I work on one for awhile and then the other...which is shades of purple.  One of the things I like about this pattern it is easy to alter.  Yep, I will follow a pattern only so far and for so long before I have to 'Do My Own Thing'.  It's called 'creative license'...I have lots of them.  Without them, there would be more UFO's and WIP's waiting in the wings.

Cold days in Texas are perfect for Scrapbooking, too! 
 So, I'll share a couple of pages from 'The 1940's Scrapbook Restoration' with you. 
How amazing is it to have this original large Class of 1943 photo?  I'd say it is a rare piece of memorabilia along with the photo of the High School building.  Both of these pieces were loose in the original 1940's Album as they did not fit the pages...another amazement of their 73 year survival, and one of the reasons I chose to restore/redo with 12x12 pages.
 
You will notice the original attempt to hold the photo in place with scotch tape which over time turned yellow, ridged and impossible to remove....Arrow #1. 
 
 I DO NOT remove it...I use an exacto knife to trim it even with the outer edges and then hide as much as possible when mounting on the new background paper.   Using the exacto knife, cut  the background paper in a shape...ie top corners...to cover the tape and at the same time anchor the photo to the page.   
 
 I try NOT to permanently set photos or documents to the background paper.
 
In the next Restoration post, I will 'Show and Tell' how to digitally remove the tape to restore the photo to it's pre-scotched yet vintage/aged look....Arrow #2.
 
Stay Warm, Ya'll !!!
http://collectintexasgal.blogspot.com/p/1940s-scrapbook-restoration.html
click on pic for more
1940's Scrapbook Restoration

1/23/14

1940's Scrapbook Restoration Begins

My Mother's Scrapbook has been a thing of great interest and fascination to me for as long as I can remember.  When I was a little girl I loved seeing my baby pictures...
...Mother was in her Twenties.
As a teenager I got a kick out of my Mama's clothes, hairdos and dark lipstick...
...Mother was in her Thirties.
Days passed into weeks...weeks into months....months into years...
...Mother was in her Eighties when...
Her memories and 1940's Scrapbook was shared with the 1940 US Census Project.
http://collectintexasgal.blogspot.com/p/1940-us-census-community-project.html
~click on Banner for the 1940's US Census Community Project Posts~
 
The original scrapbook, started in 1941 is now 73 years old and has been through one restoration in 1997 where the deteriorating cover was saved by attaching it to a binder type folder.  The original pages were sheathed in sheet protectors.

Since that time, the quality and availability of Restoration products have made great strides and grown into the 'Scrapbooking Industry' of today.

In the last 17 years, the first restoration has held up well, but it is now time for what I plan to be the last restoration.  This restoration will reflect the Old Scrapbook's photos and memorabilia, and include the new photos and stories inspired by my Mother's being a part of the 'Greatest Generation'.

You are welcome to come along on this my Second Big Restoration Scrapbook Project.
Here's the Sidebar Tag where Restoration Posts will be linked.

1/20/14

Lucky Me!

The older we get, the more we appreciate 'Happy Birthday Wishes'
 from family and friends.
I can just imagine how happy my parents were to receive the cards and gifts on
January 20, 1947.
Why else would the Cards and Birth Announcement be in Mothers 1940's Photo Album?
Because they were like parents of all times
...they were Happy and Proud of their First Born...
and Mother was a 'Saver/Keeper' of Cards, Photos, Clippings and Letters.
In other words, she was a *Ephemeraist.
These cards were from Mother's Sister Elsie (top card), her friend Phyllis, and her Mom~my Grandma.  It's funny that she signed it with Grandma in parenthesis...all of her children and grandchildren called her Mom.  Maybe she wanted me to call her 'Grandma'. 
My Ephemeraist Mother's Lifetime Collection of *Ephemeramobilia continues to defy and redefine the meaning of the word Ephemera...
...things that are important or useful for only a short time: 
 items that were not meant to have lasting value.
She set the Saving/Keeper Standards high....I intend to Save/Keep them there.
Like Mother Like Daughter!
*Ephemeraist...new word in the SuDictionary  *Ephermeramobilia...another new word.
Again, I say...
The older we get, the more we appreciate 'Happy Birthday Wishes' from family and friends.
I love this Happy Birthday Wish from my BFF Beverly.
 
As women, we are only as strong as the hairspray we use,
the coffee we drink, and the girlfriends
we've been blessed with.
Lucky me!
And Happy Birthday to You!
 
Thank-you Beverly
Your card reminds me of these two BFF's
 Phyllis and Thelma...1946...I was just a 'Twinkle' in her eye!
Lucky Me!

1/19/14

Direct Ancestor Ichabod Completes Second Generation Georgians

Although there is not a great deal of documentation on the life of Ichabod Byrd Pittman, he was born in a well documented and historically significant time in the life of his parents and grandparents who were pioneers in the expansion of the American Colonies in Georgia and the pursuit of Religious Freedom.
Ichabod Byrd Pittman
3xGreat Grandfather
1782-1827
His Story On
Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors

Beneath HIS Wing

STAY FIRM
He has not failed Thee in all the past.
And will he go and leave thee to sink at last?
Nay, he said he will hide Thee
Beneath His Wing;
And sweetly there in safety Thou mayest sing.
"The Lord is they keeper"
Psalms 121:5
Today, Sunday, January 19, 2014, I'm writing this post to share the 'Stay Firm' message
and how it came to be a part of my Mother's Family History.
 
I've written about both my Grandmother and Mother many times here on CollectInTexas Gal.  They have been the inspiration and focus for posts about Sewing, Aprons, Cooking, Hankies, Dishes, The 1940's and more.  I've often blamed given credit to Mother for my being a 'Saver and Collector'.
 
Thank-you Mother for passing on the 'Keeper Gene'.   I'm sure it is a part of our DNA...as I am now convinced that Minnie and who knows before her were also 'Keepers'. How else would her 'Stay Firm' plaque, her Twenty Years Membership pin and her 1913 Bible have been preserved and treasured all these years for her Granddaughter to find in your Treasured Piano Bench among the Hymnals and sheet music?  How did you know I would 'Stay Firm' in our 'Keepers of Treasures' and find them... there in safety...where my heart and soul would...Thou mayest sing?
 
Thank-you Grandmother for your 'Stay Firm' belief's and your dedication to
His House and Word. 
 You have passed on a priceless treasure of 'Faith' in knowing...
.... he said he will hide Thee Beneath His Wing...
Rest In Heavenly Peace 'Beneath His Wings' Sweet Mother!

1/17/14

The Noble Art of Getting Things Done

People overestimate the pleasure they'll get from having more stuff.
This does not apply to new rose bushes, crayons, or yarn stashes.
~Dr. Sun Wolf~
I am sooo glad I included this quote when I posted
 
I made good progress with.....
Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden,
and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.
~Robert Brault~
My Kitchen Cabinets are proof of that...out with all those collected coffee cups.
Out with the chipped plates and bowls...except for two Metlox sandwich plates.
...the chippies are tiny and we really use them often...
Out with the toasted hot pads...no matter I made them from my hoarded fabric scraps!
Out with the ragged out knitted Dish Cloths...no matter the hours spent knitting them!
They have served us well...besides there is a stack in reserve.
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
~Confucius~
I'm really working on that!
Then I moved from the Kitchen to my Studio. 
I tell you I had really good intentions of De-Stashing both the YarnARama, the Queen of Fabric Shelves, Tubs, Baskets and Closet AND the Books, Patterns, Threads, Needles, etc. etc. etc. etc.!
As it happened I decided to take the advice of a Confucious follower.
Besides the noble art of getting things done,
there is the noble art of leaving things undone alone. 
~Lin Yutang~
 Now I am Simplifying my Yarn Stash with the 'Noble Art' of Crochet!
It is simple and I insist....it is not complicated!
Otherwise I would not be using these familiar stitches and patterns.
 
Urban Hiatus Brings on
The Noble Art of Getting Things Done
~CollectInTexas Gal~
Linking To
Beverly's How Sweet The Sound Pink Saturday

1/15/14

I Love Lucy....Eunice...All Twelve or So

The First Lucy Eunice was my 4xGreat Grandmother.
As the daughter of a man whose ardent temperament and zealous Christian beliefs led him to a real 'Calling of the Wild..erness', Lucy's early years were far from the normal Colonial Young Lady upbringing. 

It is said that her father caught 'The Glowing Spirit' of the approaching 'Millenial Glory', abandoned everything and everyone except his wife and three young children and rushed right up to the Susquehanna and pitched his WigWam among the Mohawks.  Poor Martha his wife, went from the bosom of civilized society and all the comforts of life to a wilderness where your next meal was covered in fur, your neighbors were nearly naked, and her children's lessons went from books to bows and arrows.

 Apparently, the Reverend Marshall had some success in converting the Mohawk savages into receiving the Gospel.  However, after about eighteen months, Martha was fed up with WigWam housekeeping, her heathen children, clothes shopping at the tanning poles, and washing Daniels 'breachcloth' in the stream.  Then there was the all out WAR between the savage tribes.

 "I'm leaving, Daniel.   You can stay or go, but know this...if you stay, your heathen kids are staying with you."

Next thing we know, Daniel, Martha and their tribe are in the back woods of Virginia with a different outlook on religion.  It wasn't long before they were both immersed in the Baptist scriptures and in the creek. Through it all, Lucy Eunice, the future Mrs. John Ichabod Pittman and my 4x Great Grandmother made a complete turnaround from buckskin to bonnets to become 'The Matriarch' of the Second Generation of Pittmans in Georgia.  So beloved by her children and grandchildren that at least one of her names...Lucy, Eunice or Marshall...was bestowed on many of her descendants.

By the time Matriarch Lucy had her one and only daughter after seven sons, there were over ten grandchildren named after her.  Without hesitation, Lucy Eunice the first, passed her remarkable name to her daughter born around 1800. 
How would Lucy Eunice the Second live up to the 'Lucy Legacy'?
Her story is told on Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors

1/13/14

Getting Back To My Georgia Roots...

...Posting on Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors
It is working....the Urban Hiatus...that is.
I started in the Kitchen.

Now a little time has been made to get back to my Georgia Ancestors.
Next in line in the Second Generation of Georgia Ancestors
 is my 3xGreat Uncle Hiram.

 Hiram lived a short life, but left a long line of descendants from Georgia to Texas.
Read his story on Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors
Time Hurried On for Hiram the Seventh Son

1/10/14

Over Collecting Brings On Urban Hiatus

These Quotes say what is on my Over Collected Mind!
 
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
~Confucius~
 
Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden,
and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.
~Robert Brault~
 
Besides the noble art of getting things done,
there is the noble art of leaving things undone.
~Lin Yutang~
 
People overestimate the pleasure they'll get from having more stuff.
This does not apply to new rose bushes, crayons, or yarn stashes.
~Dr. Sun Wolf~
 
Urban Hiatus...when one stops posting in journal or blog for a while.
 


1/6/14

'Kismet' 68th Heavenly Anniversary

I believe in 'Kismet'...a power that is believed to control what happens in the future.
On January 6, 1947 Thelma received this card from her husband who was stationed in Japan.  With a smile on her face and her hand resting on her soon to be born baby, she let the tears flow.  It was their First Wedding Anniversary.  They were thousands of miles apart.  Yet she felt him in her heart and in her being for she was carrying their first child.
Today, January 6, 2014, Willard and Thelma are celebrating their
 68th Anniversary together in Heaven
after being apart for twenty-six years. 
For over Forty Years their first born child celebrated their Wedding Anniversary with them by being there or sending a card...afterall she was there for the First Anniversary.  In the last twenty-six years since Willard received his probably 'NotSoSaintly Wings', Thelma continued to receive a card, a phone call or a letter on January 6th from her 'First Born'.
 
So, on this 6th day of January, 2014 the tradition continues....just with a slightly different delivery method with a Kismet Twist.  This 'First Anniversary' card has been in Thelma's Scrapbook all these years and was re-discovered TODAY while 'First Born' was looking for photos. 
I BELIEVE In KISMET!!!
Happy 68th Heavenly Anniversary Mom and Dad
 
Your First Born,
Sue

1/1/14

Comforting Crochet~WIP Wednesday

As creature of comfort, there are several things that I gravitate toward to ensure my creature comforts.  
~Shoes and Socks....you understand this if you have ever worn high heels for eight hours, stood in front of a classroom full of Jr. High kids, spent half of your life in a gym on hard wood floors, broken and/or sprained both ankles, big toe, stuck your said ankle, toe/foot in a bucket of ice water, and have bunions.
~Relaxed Fit Stretch/Plain Jane Jeans...again, you get this if in the 60's you sat in a tub of hot water in your Levi's until they shrunk several sizes smaller than your epidermis.  After which you wore them while they dried and until they would stand alone when peeled off your body.  If that was not your skinny jean era, then you might be a 'Designer Jeans Gal', when it was any bodies GUESS as to how they figured a tall girl with no butt and no defined waist could fit into those hourglass waists, hippo hips, a wedgie crotch and 'SitOn Pockets' with forked studs and wire stitching.

Enough about the physical dis-comforts!  Now for the Spiritual comfort!

When I first learned to crochet, it was not comforting.  I've posted about those early years of doily disasters, skinny thread, and hooks the size of pinheads.  It was so not Comforting that I gave it up for many years until the Age of Aquarius Era called for Granny Square Ponchos, Vests and Afghans.  Oh, for the smell and feel of a skein of RedHeart acrylic...what a blessing to my life as a 'Free Spirited Hooker'...J Hook was my favorite and still is today.
In my 'Golden Crochet Years'...they call it that because one can better afford 'Real Sheep Yarn'...as I was saying these days, I find great comfort in being a 'Square Granny'er'.  It's so familiar, simple, adapts to all kinds of projects and yarns.  In the last few years it has made a big comeback in the Crochet World with Pinterest Crocheters giving Granny Makeovers with a Modern Flair! 

This current Work In Progress was started with the thought it would comfort the person it is being made for.  That's what 'Prayer Shawl's are meant to be...a comfort to infuse healing, good thoughts and prayers of protection...all thoughtfully worked into every stitch.  Like I said, that was my intention from the first chain 4, slip stitch in chain to form a circle.

Instead....it has infused healing,  warmed my heart, lifted my spirits, and protected my soul with every stitch. 
I am so 'Granny Square Comforted',
what a blessing to my 'Golden Age Creature Comfort Spirit and Soul'. 
 
Life Is Good!
 
Posted to Day~By~Day Works In Progress Wednesday