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A Precarious, Hayes-ian Kind of Year

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

This time last year I was just starting my research for the last blog post I wrote about my Scottish CHAMBERS ancestors. This past weekend I stumbled into a new quest. I was researching the life of President Rutherford Birchard HAYES (whose HAYES family is also Scottish) when I came across a website (Research & Collections – Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums (rbhayes.org)) where I noticed a link to President HAYES’ pedigree chart. I thought it would be fun to look through his ancestral chart and see if I noticed any familiar names. So I popped open both my parents’ charts and pulled up President HAYES’ chart. It didn’t take long to see some familiar names from my mom’s chart which was very exciting. What was even more exciting is what I found out next.

Before you begin reading though, let’s talk about a familiar New Year’s Eve song, Auld Lang Syne, which happens to be an old Scottish song. Since it’s almost New Year’s again I thought it would be appropriate to sprinkle some of the lyrics throughout this blog post and to give a little history about it. The song was written down for the first time by Robert BURNS about 40 years or so before President HAYES was born. If you happen to still sing it as the old year passes and the new year enters, you may be interested to know that ‘auld lang syne‘ can be translated as ‘for days gone by’ or ‘for olden times’ or ‘for the sake of old times’. It’s a call to remember the past and remember past relationships. For purposes of this blog post I’ll be using the English version of the song so I don’t have to stop and explain things along the way. I thought the song very appropriate for recognizing old relationships and closing out this year’s blog posts. I’ll begin with my mom’s family.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

I’ve written about my maternal 2nd great grandma, Lucinda DOW, before. You can find those posts by going to my blog’s home page at https://daysofourlivesgenealogy.wordpress.com, finding the search bar on the right side of the screen under the header photograph, typing in “Lucinda Dow” and clicking ‘Search’. (Just a hint for this search and others you do online in the future- if you put quotation marks around your search terms the search engine will search for instances of those two words within a few words of each other so that you get better search results.) Lucinda’s quite a character and has been difficult to research at times. My mom’s family connects to Rutherford HAYES’ dad’s family through Lucinda’s dad and on back to Rutherford HAYES’ ROOT/ROOTE family. John ROOT II and Mary KILBOURNE ROOT are President HAYES’ paternal 5th great grandparents and my maternal 13th great grandparents. The surname line goes from my DOW to ELLIS/ALLIS to BRONSON to ROOTE/ROOT. For Rutherford HAYES, the surname line goes from HAYES to SMITH to ROOTE/ROOT. John ROOT was a weaver by trade. If you’re interested in knowing more about John and Mary you can click on over to Janice Harshbarger’s blog, Happy Genealogy Dance, at Happy Genealogy Dance: Allen line: John Root 1608-1684, Immigrant and read more for yourself. We don’t follow her line of descent but we do share John and Mary as ancestors and she wrote an interesting post about them if you want to learn more.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
and surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Once I’d finished tracing out my mom’s line as it related to Rutherford HAYES, I learned that Rutherford and I are 6th cousins 8 times removed- meaning we’re 6th cousins separated by 8 generations. ‘Cousins removed’ gets complicated but Jessica Grimaud simplifies it in her article Cousin Chart—Family Relationships Explained • FamilySearch if you want to learn more. My mom’s ancestors connect to Rutherford HAYES’ dad’s ancestors

We two have run about the hills,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

Now that I had my mom’s line down, I decided to finish searching just in case I might find a connection to my dad as well. It only took a few minutes to see that there was a connection between my dad’s ancestors and Rutherford HAYES’ mom’s ancestors! My paternal 13th great grandparents Thomas BIRCHARD and Mary ROBINSON are also Rutherford HAYES’ maternal 5th great grandparents. (In case you aren’t following the bolded words- Rutherford B. HAYES is my double 6th cousin 8 times removed by my mom on HAYES’ dad’s line and by my dad on HAYES’ mom’s line.) I love that both lines converge in Rutherford B. HAYES. Very interesting! My dad’s lineage goes through our HUBBARD line. The surname line goes from HUBBARD to WEDDLE/WEDDEL to WALLING to BLEVINS to BUNCH to BARNARD to BIRCHARD (Thomas and Mary). For Rutherford the surname line goes straight up his mom’s BIRCHARD line. Thomas BIRCHARD and Mary ROBINSON are a very interesting couple. I recommend learning more about them. One place you can learn is at The Chattanoogan: Burchards Were Caught Up In Adventist Trial In Rhea County – Chattanoogan.com. They resided for a time at Martha’s Vineyard. I thought that a fitting residence for the family of a future US president. Margaret Dougherty writes about this couple on her blog, Never Ending Family, at My Family History: a never ending story: Immigrant Ancestors: Thomas Birchard (1595-1657) (neverendingfamily.blogspot.com). One more recommended website with information about Thomas and Mary (ROBINSON) BIRCHARD is at Thomas Birchard, Hartford Founder | Founders of Hartford.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

So who was Rutherford B. HAYES? He was the 19th president of the United States. He served one term from 1877-1881. Simplified, one of his main jobs was to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction Era. A task much more difficult than it sounds. Much like our present time, HAYES was living in politically precarious times. His election was at least as contentious as the current presidential election between President Donald TRUMP and former VP Joe BIDEN. Rutherford’s opponent was wealthy Democrat, Samuel TILDEN. Initially, TILDEN won the popular vote but there were several contested state elections. Ultimately, the Electoral College gave HAYES 20 contested electoral votes which made him the winner of the election and President of the United States. However, the “gift” of these 20 votes came at a price. That price was called the Compromise of 1877 whereby HAYES agreed to withdraw any remaining US troops that were protecting Republican officials in the South. This would officially end the Reconstruction Era. In exchange, Democrats would no longer fight Hayes’ appointment as President of the United States. Hayes believed that power belonged with the people, not with the government. He believed in equal treatment regardless of wealth (more specifically, the lack of wealth), social status, or race. He believed the gold standard was essential to economic recovery. He kept order in the US during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. He also kept promises- such as his promise not to run for a second term. He restored people’s faith in the presidency. In short, I think I would have enjoyed getting to know Rutherford. If I could go back in time and enjoy a meal with someone I think Rutherford would be high on my list. There are a lot of questions I’d like to ask him and a lot of things I’d like to learn about him and about our ancestors in common. I love that in Rutherford (as in myself & my siblings) I see the convergence of both my mom’s and my dad’s families.

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know my double 6th cousin 8 times removed- former US President Rutherford Birchard HAYES. I hope you make the most of what’s left of 2020 and I wish you prosperity, love, and happiness in 2021. Have a great week and if I don’t see you again this year, have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

For old times. For old friends. For loved ones who came before us and cleared the path for us.

All my love, Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Nancy Jane Chambers: the Girl with Two Names

When I First Learned About Her
When I first started working on my family history back in my teens 3/4 of my grandparents were living and I went to my grandmothers often for information. My paternal grandmother (Mam) told me (always and consistently) that my HUBBARD-line 3rd great grandmother was Nancy Jane STONE and she married John Allen HUBBARD and this couple gave birth to my 2nd great grandfather, Alford Allen HUBBARD (mother of Edith HUBBARD DRAKE). She was eerily accurate on 99% of the family history but this one- well, she was right, but she wasn’t right.
This “right and yet not right” information caused me some grief over the years and it took me a long time to get anywhere with this line. You see, Nancy was really born Nancy Jane CHAMBERS. She was the one and only baby born to William C. and Rhoda A. (ALLEN) CHAMBERS. Nancy’s dad died sometime within a year after Nancy was born. When Nancy was about 2 ½ years old (sometime within the year after William died), Rhoda remarried to James J. STONE, a local widower. Rhoda and James had 10 more children in addition to the children he brought into the marriage and the child Rhoda brought into the marriage. With that many siblings and her mother having remarried when Nancy was so little, it’s not surprising that in the family history her name was passed down as Nancy STONE as opposed to Nancy CHAMBERS. James raised Nancy, not William. So you see- Mam was right and not right all at the same time. Everything else I found out about Nancy I had to learn on my own but at least my Mam got me started with a name and I’m grateful for that and for having had an interest when I was young enough to ask the questions.
All the Other Information I Learned
My biggest breakthrough on Nancy came fairly recently (within the last several years) when I connected with someone on Ancestry who was able to provide that missing piece- the information that Nancy was actually a CHAMBERS and how it came to be that she was known as a STONE. Sadly, I’ve only made it back one more generation. Still, that’s progress and I’ll take it.
Nancy married John Allen HUBBARD when she was only 16 years old. John was 23 years old at the time they married. Nancy and John lived in Harrison County, Missouri for around 20 years. They had most of their children (possibly all of them) while living there. By 1900 they were living in Douglas County, Missouri. There is lots to be learned from each census. For instance, I know that when Nancy was 11 she and her family were living in Polk, Taylor County, Iowa and her stepdad was claiming to be a doctor (this is one of at least 3 different professions he claimed over the years). At that time, she was censused as Nancy STONE. In both the prior and the subsequent federal censuses (1850 and 1860) the family lived in Harrison County, Missouri. I have no idea why they moved to (or from) Iowa. Particularly interesting in Nancy’s case though is the 1900 census. In 1900 women were asked how many children they’d given birth to and how many of those children were still living. Nancy told the census taker she had given birth to 8 children (this count of 8 remained the same in 1910). As of now, I can only account for 6 of those 8 children. Only 4 of the 6 that I can account for lived past 1900. John and Nancy’s daughter Rhoda died at age 29. Their daughter Sedanie died before age 11. That leaves Julia (who married a PRUETT), Sereptia (who married a HARVILL), Alford (my 2nd great grandfather who married Laura A. BUTLER), and Sylvia (who married a STAFFORD). Out of those 4, only my 2nd great grandfather moved down into Southwestern Missouri/Northeastern Oklahoma area. I don’t have any photos of Alford with his mom Nancy but I do have one photo of Alford with his sister Julia and her family.

Alford Hubbard with his sister Julia and her family.
Alford Hubbard with his sister Julia and her family.

Far right is Alford HUBBARD and standing next to him is his sister Julia and Julia’s husband John. I think the young girl is either John and Julia’s daughter or granddaughter.
The other thing I found interesting about Nancy’s children are the death certificates I found for 2 of her children- Julia and Sylvia. Sylvia’s death certificate says she died from Consumption (Tuberculosis). The person giving the information must have been trying to make a point because the exact cause of death the person listed on her certificate states:
Consumption
Used Patent Medicine
Had no physician

I’m thinking this person had a particular dislike for the snake oil salesmen and for the people who refused to go to doctors. I wonder if health care costs were high back then, too?
Sylvia died at 10:00 p.m. on 27 February 1912. I’m betting they had a long night ahead of them. Julia’s death certificate was much less wordy. Julia died at 12:30 a.m. on 17 June 1946 from Cancer of the Liver. Another long night for the HUBBARD family and another long, drawn out death.
The End of the Line
I wish I could tell you what happened to John and Nancy at the end of their lives but I can’t. The last record I can find for them is the 1910 census. They were living in Lincoln Township, Douglas County, Missouri. All the children had moved out and they were by themselves. His age was listed as 71 and hers as 65. They were living in between Julia and her family and Sylvia and her family. So we’ll leave them there, nestled between people they loved and people who loved them back.
I do want to make a sort of endnote. Those of you who carry the Allen name that was handed down through the HUBBARD generations (like my cousin Richard), I believe that ultimately your Allen name came from Nancy’s mom, Rhoda ALLEN CHAMBERS STONE. So you carry more than a middle name of previous ancestors (like Alford and his dad, John). You carry the surname of Rhoda and those who came before her.
In case you’re making cupcakes with me, you can refer back to this past Sunday’s blog post for the link to the cupcake recipe I’m making to honor our birthday girl, Nancy Jane CHAMBERS HUBBARD. You can also click on over to Becky’s blog at Down in the Root Cellar. I hear she’s planning a fabulous blog post coming soon.


Until tomorrow,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Two Men and a Passel of Huntin’ Dogs

I’m going back to the first week that I missed (two weeks ago). The theme was “favorite photo”. I knew right away that I wanted to write about my Papa- Troy Columbus BATES- and also about my paternal great-great-grandfather Alford Allen HUBBARD. Even though these two men were from opposite sides of my family and were born 34 years apart, they share a few things in common. One that I find intriguing is that they both owned the same piece of land in Delaware County, Oklahoma, but at different times. They also both had middle names that were handed down through generations in their respective families.

The other thing they have in common is that they both loved to hunt with their coon dogs. I have a photo of the men each with their own pack of hunting dogs. Those are two of my favorite photos.

My grandpa, Troy "Lum" Bates with one of his hunting dogs and 4 coons they got on a hunting trip.
My grandpa, Troy “Lum” Bates with one of his hunting dogs and 4 coons they got on a hunting trip.

^^ Troy “Lum” BATES with one of his hunting dogs and a nights’ worth of ‘coon hides.

My great-great-grandpa Alford Allen Hubbard and three of his hunting dogs.
My great-great-grandpa Alford Allen Hubbard and three of his hunting dogs.

^^ Alford Allen HUBBARD with several of his hunting dogs.

TROY COLUMBUS BATES

Troy was always called Lum. I never knew him to be called anything else. Columbus is a BATES family name that was handed down through the generations in Papa’s family. He was born to Albert and Dettie (GIBSON) BATES in 1912 in Benton County, Arkansas. He lived in Benton County until at least 1940. Sometime after the 1940 census, he and his wife Jessie, and their family would move to McDonald County, Arkansas. Lum and Jessie owned a grocery store and a cafe at different times throughout their lives. Lum once worked one day for the WPA during the depression. He walked off the job that same day because he wasn’t working and found it distasteful to draw a paycheck without working for it. He was very patriotic but never once voted. He had an extreme distaste for the government and was also very superstitious. He was known to go miles out of his way rather than cross the path of a black cat. He chewed Red Bull tobacco and always had a spittoon by his chair for as long as I can remember. He kept the house at least 100 degrees and always wore several layers of clothing even with the house that hot. He loved playing cards and he enjoyed watching Hee Haw when it was airing on television. But the one thing he truly loved to do more than most anything else was ‘coon hunt.

I remember when Papa BATES was keeping a young ‘coon in a cage. It sure was a mean little creature. If you got too close it would hiss at you like a cat. The only time Papa’s Georgia history came out was when he would yell at his hunting dogs. I never knew why he said “here” like that until I learned that his family was from Georgia and then it made sense why he said that word with the accent he did. Lum had lots of hunting adventures over the years.  Some recall a time he was out hunting and came across a huge marijuana patch.  My mom told me that Papa got so desperate to go hunting once that he actually took her and Aunt Mae with him so he could go hunting. That’s dedication- on their part and his! My dad recalled many hunting trips with Papa BATES including one where he got lost and ended up walking a couple extra miles because of it. Other family members threw in their hunting stories as well but my favorite hunting story is this one. When my son was about 9 or 10 we were visiting Granny and Papa. Papa took my son hunting with him, my dad, and my husband. I loved that my son got to share in that tradition while my grandpa was still well enough to do it with him. Derek talked about that hunting trip for years. Derek used to own a hat that looked much like the one Papa BATES always wore. When he wore it it always reminded me of Papa. Derek even had some senior photos taken with that hat on. I miss both of them deeply.  I was unable to locate any of my pictures of Papa Bates with his hat on, unfortunately.

One of DeReK's senior pictures. He wore a hat that reminded me of the hats my Papa Bates used to wear.
One of DeReK’s senior pictures. He wore a hat that reminded me of the hats my Papa Bates used to wear.

^^ DeReK with his “Lum” hat.

Portrait of Troy "Lum" and Jessie (Riter) Bates.
Portrait of Troy “Lum” and Jessie (Riter) Bates.

^^ Lum and Jessie BATES

Troy "Lum" and Jessie (Riter) Bates with two of their sons - David and Butch.
Troy “Lum” and Jessie (Riter) Bates with two of their sons – David and Butch.

^^The only picture I could find of Lum with his hat on.

ALFORD ALLEN HUBBARD

Alford was born in 1878 in Harrison County, Missouri to John Allen and Nancy Jane (CHAMBERS) HUBBARD. Even though Alford’s official documents spell his name “Alfred”, older members of the family insisted it was spelled “Alford” and that is how they said his name.  The name Allen has remained a family name handed down through the generations to the present day. Unlike my BATES family, my HUBBARD family did not stay put for long periods of time. Sometime after 1880 they left Harrison County, Missouri. In June of 1900 Alford was working as a Teamster in the railroad tie industry in Shannon County, Missouri. He was living in Cordz-Fisher Lumber Company’s camp as a boarder in the home of William and Nancy WOODS. Later that year he married Laura BUTLER in Douglas County, Missouri.

Cordz-Fisher Lumber Company Camp, Shannon County, Missouri.
Cordz-Fisher Lumber Company Camp, Shannon County, Missouri.

Cordz-Fisher Lumber Company Camp.  Photo found at http://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/ozarkswatch/ow601h.htm.  This website has some other photographs and some interesting history about the lumber industry in Missouri around this time period.

By 1902, when their daughter Rosa was born, the family lived in Christian County, Missouri. Alford was working in a sawmill at the time of the 1910 census and the family was living in North Marion Township in Christian County, Missouri.
Although he listed his employment as being at the sawmill in 1910 and his residence as N. Marion Township, on his 1918 World War I Draft Registration he stated he was a farmer and living in Seymour, Webster County, Missouri.  His physical description states he was medium height and medium build.  He had blue eyes and brown hair. (See below.)

Alford Allen Hubbard's World War I Draft Registration Card.
Alford Allen Hubbard’s World War I Draft Registration Card.

By 1920, they were living in Webster County, Missouri where their youngest child Anna was born. Alford was working as a Tie Inspector at a Tie Yard (railroad ties). They had two sons and three daughters including my great-grandmother, Edith HUBBARD. (See my previous post for information about Edith at http://happy-girl-24.livejournal.com/15638.html).

Railroad Tie Yard.
Railroad Tie Yard.

^^ Railroad tie yard photo found at Missouri Digital Heritage http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/msaphotos/id/477/rec/4.

By 1930 they were in McDonald County, Missouri where Alford was working as a railroad tie buyer.  Below is a 1932 Delaware County, Oklahoma school census record for the family.

1932 Delaware County, Oklahoma school census record for Alford & Laura (Butler) Hubbard.
1932 Delaware County, Oklahoma school census record for Alford & Laura (Butler) Hubbard.

In 1940 they were in Delaware County, Oklahoma where Alford and Laura were living with a cousin named Alice Gann. They were listed as Alice’s caretakers. Below is a World War II Draft Registration card for Alford from circa 1945.

Alford Allen Hubbard's World War II Draft Registration Card.
Alford Allen Hubbard’s World War II Draft Registration Card.

Alford died in 1950 and is buried in South West City Cemetery in McDonald County, Missouri.

I don’t have many stories about Alford. I just have the facts I’ve been able to gather from documents.  I have lots of stories about Lum, but then you probably have many of your own.  So I’ll leave you to reminisce about your own experiences with Lum and reflect on the life of Alford.  The next time you hear a hound dog barking, maybe you’ll think of these men and the lives they led.  When you’re done reading and reminiscing, don’t forget to check these other blogs: http://downintherootcellar.blogspot.com, https://recipesfromlena.wordpress.com/, and https://theologyformom.wordpress.com/.


Until next week,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

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