St. George Family History Expo - Tomorrow!

Wow! Family History Expos is ten years old! Pretty exciting. The St. George Expo starts tomorrow at the Dixie Convention Center. This is the ninth year St. George has hosted Family History Expos. 

The agenda is chock-full of a fabulous offering of presentations. This link will take you there. If you're in the area, don't miss it.

I'm disappointed to not be able to be there on Friday, but I'm stuck in the snowstorm in the Midwest. The upside is I'm stuck with grandchildren. :) I will be at the Expo on Saturday, though, and very much looking forward to it. Look for me at the 'Ask the Pros' booth. I'd love to hear about your research or try to help you out.

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February Photo Collage Festival - #6

Eugene Aitchison

My father-in-law, Eugene Aitchison, served in the U. S. Navy from 1945 to 1946. He was among the first sailors into Yokosuka, Japan, at the end of World War II. He achieved the rank of motor machinist third class.

Gene was born on January 21, 1921, in Alderwood Manor, Snohomish County, Washington. In 1929, his father, William Rutherford Aitchison, died there. In the 1940 census, Gene is enumerated with his mother (Ivy Ellen Youker Aitchison) and his brother, Bill; also in Alderwood Manor.

By  1945, Gene had joined the Navy and was stationed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) which is in Kitsap County. He met Mary Wynne. They were married on May 15, 1945, in Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington. Shortly thereafter, Gene shipped out with his unit to serve in the Pacific.

While he was overseas, Mary purchased a home in Suquamish, Kitsap County, Washington. They raised their family of seven children there. Gene died in 2002.

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February Photo Collage Festival - #5

William Rutherford Aitchison

I don't know when this picture was taken, but it is the most formal one we have of my husband's grandfather, William Rutherford Aitchison, as an adult. As an infant (a twin) he was photographed with his mother and brother. I featured their picture as #1 of this series.

William was born in on December 12, 1865, in Sullivan Township, Grey County, Ontario, Canada. He and his brother, Andrew Rutherford, were the third and fourth children born to John and Elizabeth (Ewing) Aitchison; William was the older of the two.

According to the 1920 census, William immigrated to the United State in 1892, naturalizing in 1893. On March 20, 1899, William was married to Ivy Johnson (her maiden name was later legally changed to Youker - story for later) in La Grande, Union County, Oregon. He and Ivy continued living there, where their first two children were born. When their daughter, Mildred, died at the tender age of three, they began making plans to move. Their little son, John, was just one month old.

In 1905, when their third child, William "Colonel," was born, they were living in Boise, Ada County, Idaho. William then moved his family onto land in western Idaho along the Snake River in Canyon County. They had two children when living there; Arthur (1912) and Elizabeth (1917;later Margaret Elizabeth).

In about 1919, the family went to Sequim, Clallam County, Washington, where some friends were living. However, by 1920, they had a home in Cedarhome, Snohomish County, Washington. This is now Alderwood Manor.

In 1926, Arthur was killed in a sad gunshot accident. This was devastating for the family. Then, in 1929, William R. died suddenly from a heart attack. They are both buried in the Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in Seattle, Washington.

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February Photo Collage Festival - #4

Aitchison family & friend, 1930

Many thoughts go through my mind when I see this picture. I love the clothes, the hair, the happy. I love how happy the children appear to be, especially my father-in-law, Eugene (Gene). He's the one in the middle. Grandma doesn't look quite as cheerful. Then, I remember that her husband died just the year before. They had moved to Snohomish County, Washington, by 1920. Gene was born in Alderwood Manor in 1921. His father, William Rutherford Aitchison, died April 29, 1929.

Elizabeth, or Aunt Betty, was about 12 years old in this picture. She was an attentive older sister and treated Gene well throughout her life. She married Richard Keniston in 1941. Aunt Betty died in 2000.

The other child in the picture is Grandon Waldron. Grandon was a lifelong friend of Gene's. They played together as children, hunted together as adults and spent many happy hours socializing. Grandon, or Wally, died in 2005. The family has many pictures that include Grandon.

I don't know who took the picture. It is obviously a posed one. I'm glad it was taken, and especially glad it was preserved.

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February Photo Collage Festival - #3

Eugene Aitchison

My father-in-law, Eugene Aitchison, served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was stationed aboard ship in the Pacific. He was on one of the first ships to arrive in Yokosuka, Japan, after the official end of the war. This photo is of a drawing done by a street artist there in 1945. The kanji wording on the right is said to say 'Aitchison.'

This post is part of the February Photo Collage Festival.

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February Photo Collage Festival - #2

Albert Delbert Gibler

This photo is from a Gibler family collection. Albert was born on 25 August 1863 in Decatur County, Iowa. His parents were Edward Franklin and Rachel Catharine (Bellew/Ballou) Gibler. He married Susan C. Johnson of Mercer County, Missouri. Albert died on 1 October 1932 in Mt. Moriah, Harrison County, Missouri, and is buried in the Hamilton Cemetery in Harrison County. He was actually my husband's 1st cousin 3 times removed.

I first discovered Albert (A.D. Gibler) when I was searching for information on Albert Delbert Gibler who was born in 1843. Most of the records showed that this Albert served in the Civil War and died during that conflict in Port Hudson, Louisiana. However, many records had confused the two men and merged their information. Through careful research, I was able to separate the two in my own family records.

A.D. Gibler was born just one month after his uncle's death, leading to the conclusion he was named for the fallen hero. Albert (1843) was born to James David and Sarah Margaret (Sams) Gibler in Ohio. The family removed to Jones County, Iowa (1852 census); Linn County, Iowa (1856 census); and then to Decatur County, Iowa, by 1860, where they stayed. Albert enlisted in Company I, 34th Infantry regiment on 15 October 1862 which was organized in Burlington, Iowa. He died of "Pernicious Mt. Fever" in an Army hospital on 20 July 1863. (Ancestry.com. U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.)

So while this picture is of one Albert Delbert Gibler, the memories of both men may be honored through their shared names.

This post is part of the February Photo Collage Festival.

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February Photo Collage Festival - #1

Elizabeth (Ewing) Aitchison, 1866

her twin sons, Alexander Rutherford &

William Rutherford (foot showing)

born 12 December 1865

Elizabeth Ewing was my husband's great-grandmother. She was born to James (or John) and Jane (McCartney) Ewing on August 3, 1839. We are told she was born in what became Chinguacousy, Peel County, Ontario, Canada. In 1851, this family was living in Sullivan sub-district of Grey County, Canada West (Ontario).

On August 3, 1861, Elizabeth married John Aitchison in Grey County. They became the parents of ten children, including these darling little twin boys. William Rutherford Aitchison is my husband's grandfather. I love that they made sure his little foot was exposed to keep it clear which baby was which.

Elizabeth died from peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix in Sullivan on September 5, 1901. She was 62 years old. She is buried in the Knox Presbyterian Cemetery in Grey County.

This post is part of the February Photo Collage Festival.

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February Photo Collage Festival

I just think this is such a fun idea! Since I've already written some brief biographies on about four generations of my own family, I've decided to join in on this challenge with pictures from my husband's family. I haven't done much work on his lines for quite some time. This should spur me, for at least one month.

Here is my collage

(Much to my chagrin, I don't have 28 pictures! I've had to duplicate some of the people.

 Now, my project may be to get more pictures while I still can.)

This post is part of the February Photo Collage Festival.

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