Well, it’s not Saturday night, nor is it Sunday. but I haven’t forgotten about doing a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post. So, let’s pretend, it is Saturday night and some time for some genealogy fun.
Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music): 1) What memories do you have of family sickness or death? Tell us about one or more of them and how the family dealt with it. 2) Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook. Be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog post on this post.
Do you remember being sick or in the hospital as a child? I was in the hospital to have my tonsils removed around age 5 and had a bad case of influenza while a kindergartner. However, my best memories are of when I got the childhood illnesses of mumps, measles and chicken pox.
Towards the end of first grade, I evidently wasn’t very careful when I used the drinking fountain because I got the mumps. The theory was that another student who had recently had the mumps passed them to me via the drinking fountain.
I remember being placed in my parents’ room and the room being kept dark. I also remember being told that the dishes and silverware I used had to be kept separate from the other dishes and silverware. I even have a vague memory of the doctor visiting me in that room. My mom’s efforts to keep me isolated from the rest of the family remind me a lot of what families are going thru today when someone gets COVID. Thanks to my mom’s efforts no one else in the family got the mumps.
I couldn’t have been released from my ‘quarantine’ very long before I got the measles. This time, I wasn’t alone. Both of my brothers also got the measles.
After recovering from the measles and being released from our confinement, the three of us came down with chicken pox. Thus, we were confined again. I remember the oatmeal baths and the constant reminders not to scratch.
So basically, I spent the entire summer between first and second grade confined to the house. And my mother spent the entire summer caring for a 7 year old, a 5 1/2 year old and a 2 year old.
When I interviewed my parents, I asked my mom about what I referred to as the ‘summer from hell’. Below is a transcription of that portion of the interview:
Me – Do you remember what must have been the summer from ‘hell’ when you had three kids with measles and chicken pox
M – well I remember it wasn’t too bad thanks to grandma and grandpa Crawford and uncle LR. Cause LR was I’ll never forget him sitting there oohing and aahing at the fireworks when you guys still had the chicken pox. Cause you couldn’t go outdoors. And you couldn’t go out and see the fireworks but we could see them from the picture window there in Dodge and he was sitting down there by that window and course Gene was gone he had gone away to school that summer
D – you remember that
Me – I don’t remember that
M – he had left a week early because you got the mumps and he had never had the mumps and how the boys escaped the mumps I’ll never know
Me – you kept me in isolation
M – ya but you know even so, they probably, they’re lucky, they got vaccine as soon as the mumps vaccine came out
Thankfully, we have now have vaccines for the mumps, measles and chicken pox. These vaccines keep children (and their parent caregivers) from going thru a summer like mine.
As adults, we have another vaccine that we can take. This one is to prevent COVID-19. Currently, young children cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19. To protect them, we need to create a circle of vaccinated people around them. So please, protect the children in your life by getting a COVID vaccine.
Do you have newspaper clippings in your genealogy files that have no source information? Do those clippings provide vital information that you can’t find in another source?
That’s my situation with one of the obituaries for my grandmother’s twin brother, Paul Mentzer. Paul died in Colorado. According to his death certificate, he died from a fractured skull.
This death certificate raises the question as to how Paul Mentzer fractured his skull. An obituary was located in the Iola Register from Iola, Kansas that does not provide any clues as to how this injury happened.
Paul Mentzer Rites Tuesday (Special to the Register) Neosho Falls, Aug. 17 — Word was received here by relatives Saturday of the death of Paul Mentzer of Springfield, Colo. Mr. Mentzer who was 46 years old, was a former resident of Neosho Falls but for the past 7 years had taught in the schools at Springfield. The body arrived in Iola this morning and was accompanied by Mrs. Mentzer and the couple’s two sons, Delos and Eugene. Before her marriage Mrs. Mentzer was Ada Saferite of Neosho Falls. He is also survived by his father, C. O. Mentzer, Neosho Falls; two sisters, Mrs. Pauline Briles and Mrs. Gladys Green of Emporia; and two brothers, Leslie, Neosho Falles, and Herbert of near LeRoy. Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the Neosho Falls Methodist Church with burial in Cedarvale cemetery.
“Paul Mentzer Rites Tuesday,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 17 August 1942, page 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 23 December 2019).
Having found one obituary in the Iola Register, one might not continue looking. However, I didn’t stop looking and found one with a few more details.
News of Neosho Falls Neosho Falls, Aug. 19 – Funeral services for Paul Mentzer, who was accidentally killed while working on a building at Springfield, Colo., Saturday afternoon, was held at the Methodist church here Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock, conduced by the Rev. R. L. Kuhns, pastor of the church. A mixed quartet composed of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Leedy, Miss Marion Farhum and Herbert Tidd sang “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere” and “No, Night There” accompanied on the piano by Mrs. Ray Tidd. Interment was made in Cedervale cemetery here.
“News of Neosho Falls,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 20 August 1942, page 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 26 July 2021).
However, it is that clipping that my grandmother saved that has the most information. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to locate a digital copy of the obituary.
Local Teacher Killed in Fall from Roof of High Bldg. Paul Mentzer, 46, manual training insructor in the high school died at the Maxwell hospital in Lamar Friday night at 8:30, after suffering fatal injuries in a fall from the road of the local high school about 5:30 Friday afternoon. He suffered a fractured skill. With John Baro and M. O. White, janitors, he was repairing the roof of the school building, when a rope on a scaffold on which he was working broke. He lost his balance and fell about twnety feet tot he roof of the furnace room. He was rushed to a physician and then taken to Lamar. He died without regaining consciousness. Survivors include his wife, Ada M. Mentzer, and two sons, Deloss, 19, and Eugene 14, all of Springfield. He came to this school system at mid-term last year from Denver, where he had been a patient in the fitzsimmons hospital for injuries received in the last war. He had been retired as instructor again this year. Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Methodist church. The body was shipped to Neosho Falls, Kas., for burial. The Rich Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Mr. Mentzer’s cheerful presence will be sorely missed in our schools this year. During his short residence in Springfield he had mad a great many friends. he was ever popular among both faculty and student body.
Thus, I’m thankful that my grandmother saved the clipping. I just wished she had provided a few details about where she got the obituary. I’m also thankful I have kept these unsourced obituaries that my grandmothers saved.
When you are looking back thru your genealogy data do you ever say to yourself, “Wow, I didn’t remember that!” or “Wow, I didn’t give enough details for that!” or even “Wow, that is such a sloppy citation!” Well, that is my case as I’m looking over the facts I have for Paul Mentzer.
That’s when I came across the fact and accompanying sentence:
Paul Emory Mentzer was wounded while serving in Col. E 139th Infantry A.E>F. before 1 Sep 1918.
I don’t have where he was when he was wounded, how he was wounded or even an exact date. Nor, do I know the extent of his wounds.
And then I look at my source and discover that I have almost nothing in the source details.
So I go digging in my notebooks to locate this source and find a newspaper clipping. (Thank you, grandma)
Since this clipping was saved by my grandmother, it is likely from a Kansas newspaper. Since the letter was from Paul Mentzer to his mother, it was likely printed in a Woodson county, Kansas newspaper. Thanks to efforts to digitize Kansas newspapers, I was able to locate a digitized copy on Newspapers.com.
From Paul Mentzer
Sept. 1, 1918
My Dear Mother: — Well I thought I would try to write you a few lines this morning for the first time since I have been wounded. I am feeling pretty well this morning, but I can hardly see to write, my eyes blur so.
I will try to tell you all about my troubles. I was on guard at a strong position on a strong front at the front line when a nine-inch shell came along and bursted about ten feet from me. Well, I didn’t know anything for about four hours, I guess. When I did come to I found I had a piece of shrapnel in my chest which came awful near getting me. It went clean under my ribs. The doctor said it just came a fraction of an inch getting me. There was also one in my left leg, above my knee about four inches. I got another shrapnel which was about four inches long and two inches wide and it went almost tot he bone. I tell you it sure is ore. Then my eyes were nearly put out. I couldn’t see for four days to amount to anything I can’t read yet, only very large print. My face was burned by the powder from the shell, and I was shell shocked also, and gassed. Well, to make a long story short, I had seven wounds, besides some small ones. There were seven wounded by the same shell and two killed. The boy that was standing beside me was blown all to pieces and died instantly. Poor kid, he never knew what struck him. The other boy was also blown up. I tell you mamma it’s terrible. I tell you I had a hard fight for my life, but with God’s help and my strong constitution I pulled through all right. After I was hit I first went to the aid station to have my wounds wrapped up so that I wouldn’t bleed to death before I could get to the field hospital. I was carried on stretchers for about three miles, then putn in an ambulance truck and rode for about 15 miles to a field hospital where I was operated on to get the pieces of shrapnel out of my body. I was wounded at 5 a.m. and I do not know what time I went under the influence of ether, but I do know when I came out from under the influence of it. It was 10 p.m. that night. I stayed there three days until I was able to be taken to the base hospital. It was about 75 miles from the field hospital to the base hospital. I was transferred in an ambulance with beds in it, so I was handled very nicely. When I arrived at the base hospital I was worn out, but I found to my surprise, a big first class hospital with American nurses. I am certainly treated well, better than I expected to be. The nurse comes often; she feeds me with a spoon. If I stay here long enough I will get my mail here, but if I don’t it will be kept for me at my Co.
I have been in the trenches three times. We sure have them on the run now. We are hoping for victory soon and our safe return home — back to the good old U.S.A. I suppose you got the letter the chaplin sent for me?
Well I must close for my eyes will hardly let me write. Don’t worry about me, for I am getting along fine. Good-bye, good luck and God bless you all.
From your loving son.
Paul E. Mentzer
Co. E, 139th Inf. A. E. F.
(From Paul Mentzer’s Chaplin)
A.E.F., Aug. 27, 1918
Mrs. C. O. Mentzer,
Neosho Falls, Kansas
My Dear Mrs. Mentzer
I have just come from the hospital here where I found your son Paul quite badly wounded, but we think he will pull through O.K. He was hit by a high explosive shell last night. His face is badly scalded and several pieces of the shell hit him in the body. He said to tell you not to worry and that he would soon be around all right and would get even with the enemy. It is wonderful the spirit all our boys show in danger or wounded. They are all game to the end, and your son is equal to any of them. I am chaplin in the 139th and shall do all in my power for your son. Rest assured that he will get all the best attention that he would get anywhere, and don’t worry over him.
With sympathy to you, but also in pride of the spirit of our boys, I am
Very sincerely,
Daniel Lane
1st Lieut. Chaplin
So, now I have details about how Paul Mentzer was wounded and the ability to create a better citation. I doubt I would have unearthed these details if I hadn’t been reviewing my data.
Did you start Thomas MacEntee’s genealogy do-over or go-over? If so, did you make significant progress? I have to admit that I started this project in July of 2015 as evidenced by my blog post: Genealogy Do-Over Week #1. And, based on my current project working with the records for a third great-grandfather, Hiram Currey of Peoria, Illinois and his children, I am NOT finished.
As I’m evaluating the information I have, I have to admit to several deficiencies in my research.
Incomplete citations
Untranscribed records
Sketchy hand-written notes versus actual copies (photocopies / images) of the record
Working my way thru each of the facts and the sources for those facts, I am finding that many of those facts came from various county histories. Fortunately, many of those books have been digitized and can be found on sites such as Archives.org. Thus, I can create a better citation and incorporate notes from the source and attach an image.
Even though I only have information for about 30 years of Hiram Currey’s life, I have several courthouse documents – none of which were transcribed. Like the land dispute court case that I recently transcribed, transcribing the remaining records will likely take some time. However, these untranscribed records are the only records I currently have that tie Hiram Currey to his brothers.
Those records support an unwritten proof argument tying Hiram Currey of Peoria to his son, Hiram Currey of Leavenworth County, Kansas and to his father, Hiram Currey of Champaign County, Ohio. Thus, I envision spending several days transcribing these records in hopes of identifying leads to more records.
Even though I’m not finished, I’m thankful for Thomas MacEntee’s genealogy do-over and the incentive to begin going back thru my files.
Do you ever encounter records that seem to be the same person but contain conflicting data? Well, that just happened to me when I found an obituary for Mrs. Carrie Woolford in the 16 July 1931 issue of the Journal Gazette of Maltoon, Illinois.
Death of Former Arcola resident Special to the Journal-Gazette Arcola, Ill., July 16. – Mrs. Carrie Woolford, widow of Jacob P. Woolford, and former Arcola resident, died Monday in San Antonio, Tex., at the home of a son, Samuel Woolford, with whom she had been making her home for about 13 years. The body has been shipped to Arcola for burial here Friday. Mrs. Woolford spent the early part of her life in Arcola and in the Galton neighborhood. She married Jacob Woolford, Dec. 24, 1879, three sons being born to the union, all of whom are living. They are Ross Woolford of Rupert, Ida., Alfred Woolford, Terre Haute, Ind., and Samuel Woolford of San Antonio. Mr. Woolford died in 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Woolford lived in Galton for a number of years. Mr. Woolford engaging in the grain and general merchandising business. Later, they moved to Terre Haute, where they remained until Mr. Woolford’s death. Following Mr. Woolford’s death, Mrs. Woolford moved to San Antonio to make her home with her son.
“Death of Former Arcola Resident,” Journal Gazette (Mattoon, Illinois), 16 July 1931, page 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 12 July 2021).
Everything in the above obituary fits what I already knew about the family — EXCEPT — the location of her death. I had her death recorded as having happened in Idaho and not Texas. Thanks to Ancestry, I even have a copy of the Idaho death certificate.
Idaho, Death Records, 1890-1967, Caroline Woolford, 13 July 1931; database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 14 June 2021).
So, are these records for two different people OR for the same person? I believe they are for the same person.
The informant on the death certificate is Ross Woolford. The obituary includes a son named Ross.
The obituary indicates that Ross Woolford lived in Rupert, Idaho. The death certificate indicates that Caroline Woolford died in Rupert, Idaho.
The death certificate lists William Kelso as the father of Caroline Woolford which agrees with the information I have on the family.
The obituary was found in a newspaper in the region where Caroline Kelso Woolford grew up and not in a newspaper where any of her children lived. So far, I haven’t located an obituary in Idaho, Texas or Indiana.
Caroline Woolford’s Find a Grave site states that she died in Idaho.
Until I find records to indicate that these records are for two different individual, I am concluding that the obituary is for Caroline Kelso Woolford, daughter of William and Caroline Kelso and mother of Ross, Alfred and Samuel. If I didn’t already have a lot of documented facts for this family, I would have had to reject the obituary.
So, the lessons I’ve learned by analyzing these records include:
Conflicting records do not necessarily indicate two separate individual
Having researched the entire family helped with the analysis of the conflicting records
Even though they are evidently back in style, I can confess that I have never worn a corset. However, my grandmother wore a corset – every day. As a child, I once asked her why and she said it helped her back.
While grandma may have been wearing a corset in her later years to help her back, I doubt that is why she started wearing a corset. Like Sphinx Shapewear and corsets of today, corsets were worn to ‘shape’ the figure. A search of the Emporia, Kansas newspapers for the word corset between the years 1930 and 1950 supports the notion that a corset was a fashion ‘necessity’.
In 1939, the article “New Styles Call for Old Fashioned Corsets” promotes the need to wear a corset.
Chicago, Aug. 1 (AP) – The business of putting women back into corsets, the kind with laces and stays, came to light at the Merchandise Mart style clinic today.
There was an emphasis on bustle effects and smaller waists, posing the immediate question of how to get the smaller waist line.
“By corsets, and in some instances, of course, corsets that lace,” said Mrs. Katherine Ratto, stylist in charge of the clinic, a feature of the fall-winter wholesale apparel market.
“Hip interest,” she said is achieved by the bustle effects — bows in back, loops of material, peplum jackets or nipped-in waists.
Polk’s Emporia City Directory 1940-1941 available on Ancestry in their U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 database
However, Newman’s wasn’t the only clothing store selling corsets at the time. There are several ads in the newspapers indicating that Poole’s sold corsets. One of the most interesting ones is from the February 1942 paper discussing the rationing of rubber and the impact that had on the making of corsets.
Polk’s Emporia City Directory 1940-1941 available on Ancestry in their U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 database
In the December 1949 issue of The Emporia Weekly Gazette (Emporia, Kansas) was a short news item about the corset department at Poole’s.
Mrs. Ann Van Cleave, of Poole’s corset and lingerie department, has recieved a certificate indicating that she has recently attended and completed a prescribed training course in the fundamentals of corsetry. The course is conducted by Warner’s of Chicago.
My ‘corset’ search of the Emporia papers also turned up some interesting medical information regarding the wearing of corsets. The first article involved having monkeys wear corsets.
Wants Monkeys to Wear Corsets Two Full Years
Chicago (Oct. 11 (AP) – Dr. Andrew C. Ivy, physiologist and vice president of the University of Illinois wants 40 monkeys to wear corsets for two years in an experiment which may determne how grandma got her ulcers.
Dr. Ivy said he believes tight corsets, proposed for American women by Paris designers, help peptic ulcers. Research disclosed, he said, that women had more ulcers when they laced themselves tightly.
The experiment with the monkeys, estimated to cost $5,000 would establish, or disprove his belief, Dr. Ivy said, and he plans to go through with it as soon as he can find 40 monkeys, the tightest corsets and $5,000.
To prevent stripping, he’ll put the monkeys into plaster caste molded from the corsets. After two years Dr. Ivy will tell women what, if anything has happened to the monkeys’ insides.
Even though Dr. Ivy’s proposal sounds inhumane to us today, there may have been some truth to his hypothesis that corsets caused ulcers since he was quoted about the corset-ulcer issue in an article about the issue in the Oct. 1950 issue of The Emporia Gazette.
Ulcers Less Numerous When Women Discarded Tight Fitting Corsets
Palm Springs (AP) – Old-fashioned corsets went out of style and peptic ulcers among women declined says a medical expert.
Using the year 1900 as a turning point, Dr. Andrew C. Ivy said that before the turn of the century there were about three times as many peptic ulcer cases among women as among men.
Today, since the stiff stays and tight lacings have been tossed out the style window, the ratio is reversed.
Dr. Ivy, vice president of the University of Illinois, added in his lecture to a dental medicine seminar Monday that the beneficial effect of more comfortable foundations for the ladies was accompanied by a general change in the American way of life and increased tensions among men.
While I disagree with Dr. Ivy’s conclusion that the disappearance of the corset “increased tensions among men,” I do believe that wearing a corset every day would have been uncomfortable and may have impacted the body. One will never know whether my grandmother’s wearing of a corset helped her back or caused other medical issues. She was accustomed to it and continued to wear one even after styles changed.
However, I’m thankful that I live in a time period where I don’t have to don a corset.
Gladys Olive Mentzer1 was born on 9 Jul 1894 in Woodson, Kansas, United States.2–10
She was the child of Charles Oliver Mentzer and Nettie Adell Wells.6
Bab Mentzer was listed as a 2 year old female born in Kansas in the household of Chas O. Mentzer on the 1895 Kansas census living in Woodson County, Kansas.11
Gladys Mentzur was listed as a 5 year old female born July 1894 in KS living in the household of Charles Mentzur in Woodson County, Kansas on the 1900 census12
Glads O Mentzer was listed as a 10 year old female born in Kansas living in the household of C. O. Mentzer in Neosho Falls, Woodson County, Kansas on the 1905 Kansas census.13
Gladys O. Mentzer was listed as a 15 year old single female born in Kansas living in the household of Charles O. Mentzer in Liberty Township, Coffey County, Kansas on the 1910 census.14
She visited with her parents on 17 May 1914 in Crandall, Coffey, Kansas.15
Glades Mentzer was listed as a 20 year old teacher born in Kansas living in the household of C. O. Mentzer in Neosho Township, Coffey County, Kansas on the 1915 Kansas census.16
In Nov 1915, Gladys attended Missouri Christian College in Camden Point, Platte, Missouri, United States.17–20
Between 1918 and 1919, she was educated at Kansas State Normal School in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States.20–21
She graduated with a lifetime teaching certificate in 1918 in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States.22–23
Between 1920 and 1950 Gladys was a teacher.
Gladys Green was listed as the 25 year old wife or Roy V. Green on 1920 census living in Neosho Falls Township, Woodson County, Kansas. According to the census, Gladys was born in Kansas and was employed as a teacher.24
Gladys M. Green was listed as the 30 year old wife of Roy V. Green on the 1925 Kansas census living in Phillipsburg, Phillips County, Kansas. According to the census, Gladys was born in Kansas. The household included 2 sons: Loris E, age 3 and Gerald R, aged 1.25
Gladys M. Green was listed as the 35 year old wife of Roy V. Green living in Clyde City, Cloud County, Kansas on the 1930 census. According to the census, Gladys was born in Kansas and employed as a teacher in the city schools. Also listed in the household were Loris E., aged 8; Gerald, aged 6 and Kenneth aged 2 7/12.26
She lived in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States in 1936.27
She lived in Kirwin, Phillips, Kansas, United States in Feb 1939.28–29
Gladys O. Green was listed as the 45 year old wife of Roy V. Green on the 1940 census living in Kirwin, Phillips County, Kansas. According to the census, Gladys was born in Kansas. Also listed in the household were 3 sons, Loris E., aged 18; Gerald R., aged 16 and Kenneth M., aged 12. The family was living in Emporia, Kansas in 1935.30
Gladys lived in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States in 1942.31–32
She lived in Burlington, Coffey, Kansas, United States on 26 Apr 1949.33
She attended the funeral of Philip Embry Mentzer on 19 Jul 1952 in Yates Center, Woodson, Kansas, United States.34
Gladys was graduated on 22 May 1954 from in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States .35
She lived at 1014 Market in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States in Aug 1955.36–38
On on 24 Jul 1957, she of Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States attended the funeral of John W. Williams.39
Between 1968 and 1969, Gladys was a member and president of retire teacher’s association in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States.40
In Jun 1968, she hosted her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Green, Pat Roy and Jennifer of New Paltz, NY.41
She published a book of poetry in Oct 1972 in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States.42
Gladys lived in Emporia, Lyon, Kansas, United States in 1976.43
She lived at Kansas Christian Home in Newton, Kansas in Mar 1977.44
She died on 2 Jun 1977 at the age of 82 at Kansas Christian Home in Newton, Harvey, Kansas, United States.5–8
Gladys was buried on 5 Jun 1977 at LeRoy Cemetery in Coffey, Kansas, United States.6,8,45
1. Kansas State Department of Health and Environment, Office of Vital Statistics, Kansas Marriage License B No. 9086 – 002356 (8 December 1917), Roy Green and Gladys Mentzer; Kansas State Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, KS.
2. Mentzer, George, Family Bible of Emeline Minnick Mentzer (no place: no publisher, no date); Doris Ryan, Yates Center, KS, (Doc. #: Mentzer.KS.006)
3. Pauline Mentzer Briles family, The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments King James Version (: The World Publishing Company, ); Letha Doolittle, San Bernadino, California, Transcription (Charles Mentzer Notebook)
4. Charles Mentzer family, Holy Bible Self Pronouncing Edition (: , ); Marcia Philbrick, Seneca, Kansas, stored in filing cabinet
5. Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2016), Gladys Green, 514-32-9054, 1951.
6. “Mrs. Roy Green Dies,” The Emporia Gazette (Emporia, Kansas), 3 June 1977, page 1; Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 23 December 2019).
7. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 21 July 2021), memorial for Gladys Olive Mentzer Green (1894-1977), Find a Grave Memorial no. #56935139, created by Judy Mayfield, citing LeRoy Cemetry, LeRoy, Coffey County, Kansas; accompanying photograph by Judy Mayfield, Gladys Olive Mentzer Green.
8. Gladys Olive Green, death certificate 77-009116 (2 June 1977), Kansas State Board of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Topeka, Kansas.
9. Crawford Family Papers; privately held by Marcia Philbrick, Seneca, Kansas, 2016. Letter from Eugene Crawford regarding family of Kenneth Green.
10. Woodson County (Kansas) Clerk. Woodson County Kansas Births and Deaths (Yates Center, Kansas: ), transcription by Betty J. Wasmer, page 93 (Doc. #: Mentzer.KS.016)
11. 1895 Kansas State Census, Woodson County Kansas, Kansas State Census, North Township, Woodson County, Kansas, page 12 Image 18 of 44, family 2, Chas O Mentzer; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online December 2018); Kansas State Historical Society
12. 1900 U.S. Census, North Township, Woodson County, Kansas, population schedule, North Township, Woodson County, Kansas, SD 4, ED 186, page 1A Image 1 of 12, household 2, Mentzer Charles; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2016); FHL microfilm: 1240503
13. 1905 Kansas Census, Neosho Falls, Woodson County, state census, Neosho Falls, Woodson County, Kansas, page 12 Image 152 of 173, household 72, C. O. Mentzer; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2017); Kansas State Historical Socity
14. 1910 U.S. Census, Liberty Township, Coffey County, Kansas, population schedule, Liberty Township, Coffey County, Kansas, ED 15, sheet 7B Image 14 of 30, household 124, Charles O Mentzer; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2017)
15. “Crandall,” The Daily Republican (Burlington, Kansas), 19 May 1914, image 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online August 2018).
16. 1915 Kansas Census, Coffey County, State Census, Coffey County, Neosho Township, 11 (image 21 of 58) Image 21 of 58, dwelling 91, C. O. Mentzer; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online March 2016)
17. “Briles – Mentzer,” Woodson County Journal (Yates Center, Kansas), 4 November 1915, page 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 July 2021).
18. “Married,” Woodson County Advocate (Yates Center, Kansas), 5 November 1915, page 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 July 2021).
19. “Married,” The Yates Center News (Yates Center, Kansas), 5 November 1915, page 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 July 2021).
20. “Mentzer – Green,” The Emporia Weekly Gazette (Emporia, Kansas), 27 December 1917, page 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 July 2021).
21. Kansas State Normal School Emporia General Catalogue (Topeka, KS: Kansas State Printing Office), 1918-1919 p. 157
22. Kansas State Normal Graduates 1867-1922 (Emporia, KS: Lois Hodge, 1996), p. 38
23. Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia General Catalogue 1924: Part 7 – Record of Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees, 1865-1923 (Topeka, KS: Kansas State Printing Plant, 1924), p. 85.
24. 1920 U.S. Census, Woodson County, Kansas, population schedule, Neosho Falls, Woodson County, Kansas, ED 157, sheet 6B (image 12 of 27) Image 12 of 27, household 163, Green Roy V; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017); NARA microfilm publication T625
25. 1925 Kansas Census, Phillips County Kansas, Kansas State census, Phillipsburg, Phillips County, Kansas, page 4 Image 29 of 93, household 31, Roy V. Green; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2016)
26. 1930 U.S. Census, Cloud County, Kansas, population schedule, Clyde, Cloud County, Kanss, enumeration district (ED) ED 6, Sheet 6A, household 153, Roy V Green; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online January 2018); NARA T626.
27. Polk’s Emporia (Lyon County, Kans.) City Directory 1936 (Kansas City, Mo: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1936), p. 123, Roy V Green; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017).
28. “Obituary of Mrs. C. O. Mentzer,” undated clipping, from unidentified newspaper; Crawford Family Papers, saved by Pauline Briles and passed to granddaughter; privately held 2021 by Marcia Philbrick, [address for private use], Seneca, KS.
29. “News of Neosho Falls,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 15 February 1939, page 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 21 July 2021).
30. 1940 U.S. Census, Kirwin, Phillips County, Kansas, population schedule, Kirwin, Phillips County, Kansas, enumeration district (ED) ED 74-13, sheet 3B, line 57, Roy V Green; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 22 July 2021); NARA T627.
31. Kansas, City and County Census Records, 1919-1961, Gladys O Green, 1942; database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online December 2018). Original Source: Kansas State Board of Agriculture.
32. “Paul Mentzer Rites Tuesday,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 17 August 1942, page 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 23 December 2019).
33. “Neosho Falls News Item,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 26 April 1949; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online August 2018).
35. Commencement Exercises, Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, Kansas (: , 22 May 1954)
36. “Neosho Falls News Items,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 23 August 1955, page 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 July 2021).
37. “C. O. Mentzer Dies in Emporia,” The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 16 August 1955, page 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 July 2021).
38. “U.S. City Directories”, database on-line, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online June 2017), p. 67, Gladys Green; citing “Polk’s Emporia (Lyon County, Kans.) City Directory 1955: Including Lyon County (Kansas City, MO: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1955).”
39. “Deaths – John W. Williams”, Yates Center News, (Yates Center, Kansas), 1 August 1957, page 6; Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS.
40. Crawford Family E-mail, online , Eugene Crawford to Marcia Philbrick – Mentzer Family Notes. Hereinafter cited as Crawford Family E-Mail.
41. “About Town,” digital image, The Emporia Gazette (Emporia, Kansas), 24 June 1968; Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online January 2017).
42. Crawford Family Papers; privately held by Marcia Philbrick, , Seneca, Kansas, 2016. Book of poetry published by Gladys Green. Pauline Briles’ copy passed down to Marcia Philbrick.
43. “Delos Paul Mentzer,” obituary, The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), 13 May 1976; Newspapers.com (http://www.newspaprs.com : viewed online April 2018).
44. “Herbert Mentzer”, Yates Center News, (Yates Center, Kansas), 7 April 1977, page 5; Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS.
45. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online July 2017), memorial for Gladys Olive Mentzer Green (1894-1977), Find a Grave Memorial no. 56935139.
When you log into FamilySearch, do you pay attention to the pictures that ‘pop up’ indicating that someone added memories to a person you are following on the FamilySearch tree? I have to admit that I often just go on by this opening screen to either go to the tree or to the catalog.
However, I recently slowed down and realized that a cousin (likely 2nd cousin once removed) had added family photos to my great-aunt Gladys’ page.
My first response was to contact the poster via FamilySearch’s messages. Then, I dug in my files to compare what was posted with the pictures I received from my grandmother. Finding several items, including her wedding photo, I uploaded images from my files to FamilySearch so that this cousin I have never met could have access to them.
I feel an obligation to share the pictures handed down from my grandmothers with family members. Even though there are a variety of ways to share photos on the Internet, few of them allow for sharing with cousins I have yet to identify. In my opinion, the FamilySearch site is one of the few sites that will likely preserve these photos for future generations.
Since I have quite a few photos and documents for my aunts, uncles and great-aunts/uncles, I have expanded my list of goals to include getting these photos uploaded to FamilySearch. This is one way I can attempt to preserve these items for their descendants.
How are you planning to share or preserve photos and documents for your aunts/uncles and great aunts/uncles?
Heartland Genealogy 