Do you know Marvin Russel?

Question:
Do you know Marvin Russel?

Answer:
We know very little about Marvin Russel, but we feel confident that he would be willing to crack a small grin when forced to by a nice young lady. As you can see in the photos below, his expression was slightly different when he had his arm around Velma Phillips. The photos, likely taken in the 1930s, are in Nebraska, but we could no find any further information on Marvin. So if you know him or his family, please contact us. We would love to know more about Marvin and how he is linked to the Phillips family.

Photos:
Marvin Russel


Velma Phillips and Marvin Russel


References:
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Do you know LeRoy Burr?

Question:
Do you know LeRoy Burr?

Answer:
LeRoy Burr (possibly "Leroy Burr") is shown in one of our photographs posing with a horse. Either he, or the horse he is posing with, had the nickname of "Sonny Boy."

After some searching, we did find a Burr family related to our own Phillips family in Nebraska. It turns out that Verna Pearl Phillips (daughter of Francis "Frank" Eugene Phillips) married James Newton Burr. They had two or three children together, Mabel, Claris, and Eleanor (it appears Mabel died at a young age). According to our internal notes, James Burr was born on April 9, 1889, but after further research, that appears to be Pearl's birthday. James was born in 1882. He married Pearl in 1907 and died in 1943. Pearl died on June 14, 1970 (the date of death could be 1910, but we doubt it). Our notes also say he was a "Sand hill, Nebraska cattle rancher. 30 miles north of Whitman, Nebr."

Based on our rough calculations, a ranch 30 miles north of Whitman, would be in Cherry County.

We found a few other interesting items in our research of the Burr family. In 1910, they had one daughter, Mabel (age 1). By 1920, Mabel was missing from the census, and two other children appear, Claris (age 8) and Eleanor (age 6). And all four are still present in the 1930 census.

In 1910, the Burr family lived in Buffalo Lake (Cherry County, Nebraska). In 1920, they moved from Buffalo Lake to Mullen (Hooker County, Nebraska). To be more specific, they moved between January 17th and February 9th of 1920. Why? Because they appear in the 1920 census in both locations with only one variation. James turned 37 during the move. By 1930, they had moved again to Twin Falls, Idaho.

But things get even more interesting. There is a Cleavenger family in Mullen. That name is linked to another side of our family tree, the McCoig family. Odder still is the Phillips family is present as well as the Yaryans and the Piesters, all related to our ancestors and all living in Cherry or Hooker Counties with the Burrs.

Despite all of this research, we still cannot find out how LeRoy Burr fits in. We feel comfortable assuming that he is related to the Burr family of Cherry County (or Hooker County or both), but we could not find a link. We do have some queries out, but nothing has been returned yet that mentions LeRoy. So if you know LeRoy Burr, please contact us.

Photos:
LeRoy Burr "Sonny Boy"


James Burr and Verna Pearl Phillips


Claris Burr, Verna Pearl (Phillips) Burr, and Eleanor Burr


References:
- 1910 United States Federal Census.
- 1920 United States Federal Census.
- 1930 United States Federal Census.
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Do you know Josephine Piel?

Question:
Do you know Josephine Piel?

Answer:
We were able to find a few sources of information that gave us just a little peek at Josephine. Born in 1916 in Blue Hill, Nebraska, she married twice. Once to Melvin McIntosh in 1936 and once to Jim Johnson in 1984. She appears to have had four children, all from her first marriage.

But beyond her obituary and her name on the 1920 and 1930 census, we could not find any other details on her life.

Photos:


References:
- Smith, Rachel. "Lower Volga Village Project." AAUW Livermore-Pleasanton-Dublin Branch. May 2007. Web. 04 May 2010. http://www.webbitt.com/volga/lower/obitsp.htm.
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Do You Know John Maire?

Question:
Do You Know John Maire?

Answer:
Yet again, our Research Team has come up with an empty hand. This time more so than some of our previous attempts. And while we found yet another potential candidate, the link is so tenuous, it does not even garner enough attention to share details.

So in the end, we are left with a single photo of a young man with a fancy belt.

Photos:


References:
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Do You Know Howard Wagner?

Question:
Do You Know Howard Wagner?

Answer:
As usual, our Research Team is coming up with either not enough information, or too much. When we search on Howard Wagner in Nebraska in the 1930s, we come up short when using basic search tools. When we refine our search to more genealogical sites, we find many potential candidates. In the end, we are left with nothing but wonder and more questions.

The closest candidate was one Roy Howard Wagner, born February 6, 1891 in Comstock, Nebraska. In 1917, he was working as a railway brakeman for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. He was single and had blue eyes with light hair. This last clue is as close as we can get to a link between this particular candidate and the person we are looking for. You can see in the photos below, our Howard Wagner has light or blond hair. But we do not feel comfortable taking a firm stance that this is our mystery man because his age would not quite match what we estimate based on the photos.

As you can see, we are still lost. So if you know who our Howard Wagner is, please let us know.

Photos:




References:
- Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

What Do You Remember About Your Grandparents?

Question:
What Do You Remember About Your Grandparents?

Answer:
I grew up with two grandmothers, two grandfathers, and one great-grandmother. All have since died, but I can remember some of the strangest things about them. Like my great-grandmother always had the funniest glasses. They were those old-fashioned, horn-rimmed type that always made me smile when I saw them. And I can still remember being afraid of my one grandmother, even though I had been around her plenty of times before. Makes me wish I could go back and change my reaction because I miss her the most. But instead of sharing all of my bad memories, I thought I would share something a little more positive.

In the first photo below, you can see my grandmother with her grandchildren. I can vaguely remember posing for this photo, but I can remember her house quite well. Everything from the couch to the pillows to the clock on the wall. I can remember exactly where she kept the toys (in the laundry room), what her kitchen table looked like, and all the little knick-knacks she had on her shelf (right as you walked in the front door).

In the second photo, you can see my grandmother as a child. Next to her are siblings and family members. Behind her is a sod house, sometimes called a "soddie."

My grandmother was a solid woman who endured many hardships growing up. But despite how hard her childhood was, she always had time to share her love (and discipline) with her children and grandchildren. It is her love and the story of her life I wish I had more time to go back to get more of.

Photos:




References:
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.

Do You Know Hoot?

Question:
Do You Know Hoot?

Answer:
We are not sure who Hoot really is. Based on one of the photos below, he could be Louie "Lou" Steckly, the husband of Velma Phillips. But based on some further research, we highly doubt that.

In our research, we ran across an undated article from the Hooker County Tribune that mentions "Hoot." But Hoot appears to be brothers with Paul Prentice. It also mentions that Hoot "played ball" and "pitched for the Diamond Bar team." His brother Paul "played with Cody." These two teams appear to be baseball teams.

That particular information led us to a Prentice family living in Calf Creek in Cherry County, Nebraska in 1930. The family had four children, Paul (age 24), Dorothy (age 22), Howard (age 20), and Adaline (age 16). The parents were Benjamin (age 66) and Laura (age 59). Two older sons, William and John, were absent from the 1930 Census, but still listed on the 1920 Census. Our best guess is that Howard is Hoot.

But we cannot confirm that guess with any factual data. So if you know Hoot, let us know!

Photos:
Hoot standing alone:


Velma Phillips and Hoot:


This photo has the title "Old Married Couples"
Hoot, Velma, Virginia, and Frank:


Undated Hooker County Tribune article:


Jess Phillips and Paul Prentice (who appears to be in a baseball uniform):


References:
- 1920 United States Federal Census.
- 1930 United States Federal Census.
- "Rolf News Notes." Hooker County Tribune [Mullen, Nebraska]. Print.
- Numerous facts were gathered from the private Richard Family Estate collection. These facts span numerous sources of information and contain genealogical data, photos, and newspaper articles.