Guess Who?: Atchison

My Atchison batch + some tintypes:

W. Babberger - photographer

Conklin - photographer

Hill - photographer

J. C. Hill - photographer

Possibly a Beeson or Locker. J. M. Munn - photographer

Kleckner - photographer

Kleckner - photographer

Most likely children of Philo Mauzey.  McLeod - photographer

My tintypes:

I sincerely hope that this is my
gggg-grandma Charity Beeson (b. 1803),
but I don't know

Guess Who?: St. Joseph & Unknowns

If you see anyone you know, drop me a note! :)

J. T. Needles, St. Joseph, MO - photographer

Uhlman, St. Joseph, MO - photographer

Probably Albert Isaacs (son of Amos & Ally),
taken by H. S. Stovall, Weatherby, MO

The following pics are totally unmarked:(

postcard picture

Guess Who?: St. Joe & Atchison

These are a series of other unknowns.  Some I think I have figured out, and I can narrow down the family branch on the St. Joeseph ones, but I need to know who they are! Let me know if you can help:)

no photographer's mark,
but he looks very similar to a picture
I have of the sons of
Amos and Ally Isaacs of St. Joseph, MO

Memorial photograph.
I'm thinking this is Samuel Isaacs,
 son of Amos and Ally Isaacs

Thinking this is Ally Jane (Judah) Isaacs,
the resemblance to Ally's daughter Addie is striking

J. S. Saurman, St. Joseph - photographer

Speculating that this is either Levi or Samuel Judah,
brothers of Ally Jane (Judah) Isaacs

The only one in this post from Atchison,
he has similar features, so I included him

J. W. Souder, St. Joseph, MO - photographer

W. J. Rea, St. Joseph, MO - photographer

It Never Hurts to Ask

Recently, while prepping for a research trip to Atchison, my mom e-mailed the Depot museum there where our distant cousin William "Deafy" Boular's special boots have been on display too see if they were still as such.  She received a reply that they were not, but if she would ask for the curator upon her arrival, they would bring the boots out for her to see.  Awesome!  This led not only to an actual viewing of the boots, but a one on one with the curator where she could ask some questions of him as well.  She found out that if he had still had his legs, he would have been over 6 foot tall.  The museum is gearing up for another exhibit on Deafy as soon as funding allows, so I'll have to revive my research on him I suppose:)

Deafy's boots

"He's Deaf, Dumb, and Legless but the Hardest Worker in His Town"

I had a rare opportunity to research at the State Historical Society today.  I used to be blessed to research there every day when I worked there.  I would research on all my breaks - which were the wonder years of my researching:)  Today I went in search of more Isaacs/Judah/Burchett/Boular info.  I looked at early death records, which in Kansas are rare before they started mandating them in 1911.  I was able to find 4 or five for cousins in these families.  Nothing that proved any ties, but helped flesh some out.  The most significant find was an article on William "Deafy" Boular (mentioned in a previous blog http://adventureswithmyfamily.blogspot.com/2010/04/round-about-way-to-do-things.html).  It was a superb article complete with picture and really lined out how a deaf, legless, mute man was able to succeed mainly thanks to a kindly local doctor setting up a trust fund of sorts by taking wealthy locals out with him when he did his rounds and changed the dressings on William's leg wounds.  Totally amazing! 
  The article also spoke to the wonderful character of William.  He never asked for charity, but was such a hard worker and had a pleasant countenance that it was freely given to him.  "When there exists a man on this earth with the determination and the spirit of William Boular, it makes you wonder, as you drop a coin into the professional beggar's hat, why there are not more like him."
  I love researching my family and discovering wonderful people like this!

What's In a Name?

  The Isaacs and Judah (pronounced Judy) sides of my family have perplexed me for a very long time.  These guys were very close knit and were constantly living with different family members in the census. Without good family documentation, it has been hard to find who belongs in what family.  The 1850 census with my grandparents Amos and Ally Jane (Judah) Isaacs is one such example.  They have 8 children living with them, of whom only 2 are their biological ones (Nancy Jane, and Francis Marion), but all appear to have the Isaacs surname attached.

  When I originally looked at this document, I saw: Amos, Ally, Burget (which I assumed to be Bridget), Caroline, Richard, Martha, Mary, Amos A., Nancy J. and Francis M.  I had come to figure out that since Jesse,the man who I believed to be Amos' dad, went to California with some of his sons - Raleigh and Anderson, and son-in-law- Anderson Burchett, the kids must have been hanging out with Amos and Ally until the parents came back. Jesse had a daughter named Martha who fit the age of Martha in census, and Anderson had children named Mary and Amos A. who also fit the ages.  The other kids remained unknown.
  My mom recently called me and wondered if the Burget name could actually be Burchett - well, after a second look at the record, the sex designation was male instead of female - so no Bridget!  There was a John Burchett (I am not sure how he fits in) that was born in 1838 that was living with Ally's brothers in the 1860 census and would fit the Burget living with Amos and Ally in '50.  So a question answered, and more revealed.
  Lesson learned - always look at all the clues you are presented with.  Never assume you know what's going on.  And, never fully trust a census taker's version of how to spell names, etc...

A Round About Way to do Things

  I have been working on trying to prove my relationship to Jesse Isaacs for YEARS!  So far it's been following one rabbit trail after another.  It doesn't help that he died out in California, or that my ggg-grandpa Amos Isaacs did not have a great obituary that would state the names of his parents, and died before death certificates were common.  It's been a frustrating endeavor.  Therefore, this year I have started researching families that I am just as sure are children of Jesse and siblings to my Amos, trying to make a connection from that.
  One such hopeful connection is Sarah Isaacs who married Archibald Boular in Buchanan County, MO in 1853.  I picked Sarah as a possibility because she's an Isaacs living in Buchanan County, and she matches an age range I have for a child of Jesse's in the 1840 census, plus she lives most everywhere he and Amos live.  I am trying to find an obituary for her, but can't find a death date.
  Following her has led me to a fascinating character, her son, William Boular.  William apparently contracted spinal meningitis when he was 4 which left him deaf.  After Archibald died and Sarah moved to Atchison, KS, William was playing on the railroad cars down at the tracks, slipped and was involved in an accident which left him blind and without legs below his knees.  Now, when I found info about his accident in the 1880 census, I figured that the poor guy would not be the one that would lead me to any great discoveries.  WRONG!

This man, beyond all odds, went on to become a bricklayer, foundry worker, beekeeper, and was married 2x.  He was even featured in Ripley's Believe it Or Not in the 1930s for laying 45,000 bricks in 8 hours.  His 2 page obituary in the Atchison paper not only gave me some great insight into this family's early life, but was a wonderful biography of a wonderful man.  "Deafy" Boular is one of Atchison's heroes and even has a display dedicated to him in their historical society.  "Deafy" is buried in Mount Vernon cemetery in Atchison where Gov. Martin of Territorial Kansas is buried, along with Amelia Earhart's family.

  While we were there to find William's grave, we took time out to see the other monuments.

  Now like all great discoveries, my mom and I found his obituary just as the public library was closing, so we didn't get to follow up totally on this lead, but I am excited to see what else we can find!