On This Day: September 13

1663: Anna Shepard, one of my maternal 7^th great-grandmothers, the daughter of Thomas Shepard, Jr., and Anna (Tyng) Shepard was born. She died 24 July 1708.

[Source: Massachusetts Historical Society : New England Historic Genealogical Society, "Colonial Collegians: Biographies of Those Who Attended American Colleges before the War for Independence," database, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 5 Sep 2011), entry for Thomas Shepard, Harvard, p. 219.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Amanuensis Monday - Will of George Eaton (Easton) 1797

On his TransylvanianDutch blog, John Newmark defines an amanuensis as “a person employed to write out what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.” For more information about this daily blogging prompt, see John’s post Amanuensis – Why?.

I have amassed quite a collection of scans of handwritten documents related to my ancestors—primarily marriage records, deeds, and wills. As I have been transcribing these documents, it occurred to me that most of these documents were not actually written by my ancestors, but rather dictated to someone else, and then transcribed by a clerk into official records.


This week I am posting a transcription and image of the 1797 will of George Eaton (Easton?) of Rowan County, North Carolina.  I believe that George may be a brother to my 6th great-grandfather John Eaton.

In the name of God Amen! I George Eaton of the County

of Rowan & State of N^o. Carolina, being of perfect health

of body & perfect mind & memory thanks be to God for it, &

calling to mind the mortality of my body, & knowing that it

is appointed for all men once to die, do make & ordain

this my last will & test: that is to say principally & first

of all I give & recomend my soul to God who gave it & my

body I recommend to the earth, to be buried in a christian

burial, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but

at the general resurrection, I shall receive the same again by

the mighty power of God. And as touching such worldly

estate wherewith it had pleased God to bless me in this life

I give devise & dispose of the same in the following form

[?]I desire that my Land & plantation, whereon I now live

should be sold & the money equally divided between my four

children viz. John, Sarah, David & Elizabeth Eaton. I give

all the rest of my moveable property to my three youngest

Children Sarah, David & Elizabeth.

I likewise, constitute make & ordain my beloved brother Daniel

Easton & neighbour Laz^s Whitehead executors of this my

last will & test: all & singular the above mentioned legacey

to my heirs to be freely enjoyed & possessed by them for ever

This I desire should be considered as my last will & test:

whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this 18^th

day of February 1797.

Signed sealed, published, in presence

of:

E. Jones                                  George Easton {seal}

               his

Abraham X Hall [?}

              mark

[Source: "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970."  images,  FamilySearch  (www.familysearch.org : accessd 9 Aug 2011);  George Eaton, will dated 18 Sep 1897; citing Probate Records, Rown, Wills, 1780-1803, Vol. C, image 229.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Honoring My Grandparents

To forget one's ancestors is to be

a brook without a source,

a tree without a root.

(Chinese Proverb)

Jasper Jackson Spurlock (1876-1940)

Mamie Olive (Martindale) Spurlock (1884-1971)

William Lee Yawman (1870-1948)

Myrtle Arminta (Snider) Yawman (1878-1958)

Forget-Me-Nots
By Marie Nyl-Frosch (Private Collection) [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

People have been sewing by hand for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the middle of the nineteenth century that Elias Howe received the first American patent for a process that used thread from two different sources. Isaac Singer, though, was the first to build a sewing machine that was successfully manufactured and sold to consumers. There was a time when a sewing machine was found in every woman's home. This is no longer the case. In fact, fewer and fewer people these days know how to sew, by hand or machine.

Singer model 27, drawing of treadle table
from instruction manual;
public domain image from
Wikimedia Commons

My first sewing machine looked somewhat like the picture on the left, but it had been converted to use electricity instead of the treadle! The bobbin was shuttle-shaped instead of round as used on later machines. It would only sew a straight stitch in one direction, but it served its purpose.

The sewing machine I have now is a Sears Kenmore model given to me as a wedding gift by my mother and my older sisters. They got a bargain because the model had been discontinued! I used it regularly for many years to sew everything from children's clothes to a wedding dress. It's in the garage now because I don't sew much anymore and just don't have space for it.

My mother loved to have the latest model sewing machine...she wanted it to have all the latest bells and whistles! She sewed clothes for me and my sister when we were young; much to my embarrassment, they were often made of matching fabric! One of my childhood dreams was to have a "store-bought" dress.

My Grandma Yawman was an accomplished seamstress, and I'm not sure whether she ever owned a sewing machine. One of my prize heirlooms is a skirt she made, entirely by hand, for my older sister is the mid-1950s. Made of blue and white printed cotton, it is in remarkable condition for its age. The seams are French seams, the buttonholes at the waistband are hand-worked. Beautiful needlework!

A stitch in time saves nine...you ask, nine what? Nine more stitches, of course.



© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Friend of Friends Friday - Will of John Caskey 1785

Following is an image and transcription of the 1785 will of John Caskey of Craven County, South Carolina. It has been transcribed exactly as written.

In the Name of God Amen, I John Caskey of Craven Countey

otherwise Chaster in Camden District and State of South Carolina planter

Being Mindfull of the unsertintey of this trasitery Woreld & Knowing that

that it is Appointed for all Men once to Die do Make Constitute and Appoi

int this to be my Last Will and testament Being of perfect Mind Memory

and understanding first and principally I Recommend my Soul to the

Almightey God Who Give it Nothing Doubting but at the Resurection I

Shall stand in my flesh and see God and as to my Bodey I Recomend to the

Dust there to be Buried in A Christian and Desant like manner at the

Discretion of my Executors hereafter Named, and as toucing Such Worldy

Estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with I Devide and Dispose of in Maner

and form following that is to Say first and prinsabelly, I allow all my

Lawfull Debtes and Demands to be paid by my Executors, and my Nego fellowe

Named [blank] my Waggin and still and two horses I allow to be disposed of at

the Discretion of my Executors, I bequeth to my well beloved Wife Ester Caskey

one hundred acres of this plantation Whereon I now live with all the

Improvements During her Widowhood and at the End of that to fall in to

My Dearly beloved Daughter Izebell and I do leave and bequeth all the

Remainder of my Land Contaning three hundred and fiftey Acres Equally

to be Diveded Amongest my four Sones, I bequeth to my well beloved

Daughter Marey Caskey my Negro Wench Named Keat and I allow all my

plantation tools to be Continued on the plantaton During my well beloved

Wifes Widowhood and as for the Remainder of all my Estate not before-

mentioned I leave it Equally to be Diveded Amongest my Six Children

and my Beloved Wife Each one an Equall proportion, and I do Constitute

and Ordain and Appoint A^rchibald Coulton and Andrew Graham and my

well beloved Wife Ester Caskey to my Lawfull Executors of  this my Last

Will and Testement, Signed Sealed Published and prounenced and

Declared to be my last Will and Testement in presantes of us ^{^this th}19 day

of September Anodomni 1785.

David Graham   }                                                         John Caskey {LS}

Andrew Graham}

John Graham      }

 

[Source: Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina, will of John Caskey, dated 19 September 1785; “South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977,” digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 17 July 2011); the Caskey document is imaged as p. 342 of documents within the section “Camden, Kershaw, Estate record books, 1782-1823, Vol. A1).]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Those Places Thursday - 412 Craig Avenue, Fairbanks

Last week I blogged about the little red house my family lived in when my sister was born. I've been searching for addresses where we lived and found one in a newspaper article: 412 Craig Avenue in the Hamilton Acres development in Fairbanks. So I went to Google Earth to see what I could find!

I remember that, when we lived there, it was close to a major highway, which can be seen running from the upper left to the lower right on this image:

The house we lived in had front steps that I fell on once. Left a scar on my knee that didn't disappear for years. It's also where my dad built a sheet metal "swimming" pool for us. Looks like they have done some remodeling, at the very least...

There was a fire station directly across the street but it doesn't look like it's being used anymore!

And there was a grocery store (a Piggly-Wiggly, I think) next to the fire station.

Not sure it's still a market...looks like things have changed a lot since the early '60s!


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Workday Wednesday - The Watchmaker

When the itinerant clockmakers and watchmakers came to the parish, he observed them as they went about their work of repairing timepieces. He likely asked questions and examined the tools with which they worked. He fashioned tools of his own and began to refurbish the clocks and watches that others could not fix.

This is how my grandfather J. J. “Jack” Spurlock (1876-1940) learned the basics of the trade in which he would engage for the rest of his life.

Soon after being enumerated as a watchmaker in the 1900 census for Bienville Parish, Louisiana, Jack headed north to sharpen his skills through a training course at the Canadian Horological Institute in Toronto. The institute offered several programs of study. Since he had already acquired the basic skills required for the trade, he likely completed a six-month “finisher’s course.”

By 1905, he was a partner in the firm of Spurlock and McMillan in Nacogdoches County, Texas. After his marriage late that year, he entered into a partnership with his father-in-law and formed the Spurlock Martindale Company in Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas.

After several years doing business in Jacksonville, he headed west. In 1913, he worked as a watchmaker in Maricopa County, Arizona. By 1918, he had arrived in California.

Living first in San Diego, he found employment as a watchmaker with J. Jessop & Sons. According to an announcement in the trade publication “The Jeweler’s Circular,” he opened a school in San Diego to train watchmakers in 1919. Sometime during the 1920s, he moved north to Los Angeles where he operated a retail watch store and repair business under his own name until his death in 1940.

He was an active member of the California Horological Association, serving on its Technical Committee and as Vice President. In 1939, he published a book titled Split-Second Chronographs and Timers.

Source: "Finds Pleasure at the Bench,"
Horology: The National Magazine for Advancement in Timekeeping, August 1938, 31.

                        

© 2011 Denise Spurlock