Cierra's Family History

Still here

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:30:00 +0000

It's been quite a while since I posted something on here. To say life has been hectic, would be an understatement. I haven"t had much of a chance to work on the genealogy, but I have not given up on it, as I do enjoy working on it.

If anyone is still reading this, bear with me for a little longer until things settle down a bit. By that point, I should have more stories and pictures for you.

Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:47:00 +0000

I apologize for slacking on this site, but I simply haven't had the time to post anything for quite some time.

I went back to school about 3 weeks ago to get all the requisite Microsoft Certifications to become a Systems Administrator, so that is taking up much of my time these days between classes and homework. I am hoping that I can balance time between my family and school as well as here, so I can keep things moving forward.

In addition, I am trying to learn a new genealogy program from Family Tree Maker which is the 2008 version. A while back, I bought this version of the software because it came with more bells and whistles, and it looked like it might make things easier. I was so far off on that, it wasn't even funny. While they did add newer features that the previous version didn't have, they took away ones that I did like. They are, however, slowly adding features back that are missing. I must say that this program is much more complex than the previous one. But, once I get a handle on how it works, it will be worth it because of the newer features, such as media integration.

To give you an idea of the program I was using versus the one I am now learning, take a look at these screen shots of the main page for each program. This first picture is the old 2006 version. It seems simple enough to use right? Well, it was. There wasn't much brain power required to master it easily, so I was flying in no time.

The 2nd picture is what the new version looks like. As you can see, the main screen is now broken up into 3 little windows. The far left part of it is the entire list of everyone in the tree. The middle is the current person's family, as well as their ancestor's tree. The right hand side is the main person that you are entering information for.

Children of Rose DeMartini

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:28:00 +0000

My grandmother's father (John DeMartini) was one of 8 children born to Augustino DeMartini and his wife, Celestina Cereghino in Martinez, California in the late 1800's.

John's sister Rose's family is the subject of this writing. A few years back, I had the priviledge of running across the Great Grand-daughter of Rose Ann DeMartini, when our paths crossed while researching the same family. Annie is her name, and she helped me piece in the missing parts of my genealogy, and I, in return, did the same for her. I remember Annie saying that her mom remembered my grandparents (Tom and Mildred) from years before, and that she was even close with the family of Ray DeMartini (who I often visited when I was little) who lived over on Patio Drive in Campbell years back. However, neither of us believe that our paths in life have ever crossed before our mutual genealogical research.

Rose Ann DeMartini married a man by the name of Antone Paul Cantell on February 28, 1904 in San Jose, California. Together they had 6 children, one of which was Gertrude Agnes Cantell.

The following picture is of Gertude (Rose DeMartini's daughter) from Cousin Annie's collection. The date would be the early to mid 1920's.

Cal McLish

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:10:00 +0000

I ran into an intersting person in my continuing research of my wife's side of the family.

This man's name is Cal McLish. Cal's full birth name was Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. Yes, you read that right. That is a mouthful, isn't it. Cal once said the following concerning how he came into that name. He stated "There were eight kids in my family, and I was the only one my father was permitted to name, so I guess he figured he'd make up for the situation."

Cal was born December 1, 1925 in Oklahoma and is Chickasaw. As far as I know, he is still alive and well.

Cal was a professional baseball pitcher, as if the picture above didn't tell you that allready. In the 20 years (between 1944 and 1964) he played professional ball, he played for The Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Cincinatti Reds, Chicago White Sox and the Philladelphia Phillies. In 1959, he was on the All Star Team. He had a win / loss record of 92 and 92, with an E.R.A. of 4.00 and 713 strike outs.

Another notable highlight of his career, was when he set a major league record with 16 consecutive road wins. That feat was later matched by several players including Greg Maddux.

After retiring from playing, Cal went on to become a pitching coach for the Phillies (1965-1966), Expos (1969-1975), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1976-1982).

Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:38:00 +0000

As you can see, the site is back up. I have removed some information that had caused the problems which led me to take the site down for the time being.

I had played around with different ways of bringing information to you, with a minimal amount of hassle, but none of them were efficient enough. Most required you to have a special log-in username and password, but from previous experience with that type of system, those are usually lost or forgotten, especially if you don't visit all that often.

So, from here on out, all information on here will be concerning people from several generations ago.

Anyway.........

Welcome back to the site, and I hope you like what you see.

Some Old Family Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:11:00 +0000

The time has come to share some old family photos again. These 5 photos can be found on the internet and all of them are descendants of James Logan Colbert.

As always, all images are copyrighted by their respective owners. If I have the wrong owner of the photo's mentioned, please let me know, so I can correct the error

The first photo is of my wife's 4th Great Grandfather Cyrus Harris. Cyrus was the first Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. He was born on August 22, 1817 in Pontotoc, Mississippi. It is currently unknown who his father was, as it appears that the father abandoned his family when Cyrus was a baby. However, Cyrus' mother was part Chickasaw (through her mother, Molly Colbert) and part Cherokee (through her father Christopher Phillip Oxberry). The image is copyright by Oklahoma State University.

The next photo is of a gentleman by the name of Harry Harvel White. Harry was a grandson of the above mentioned Cyrus Harris. He lived between the years of 1875-1958. In the photo, you can clearly see the Native American features in his face. This image is copyrighted by D.B. Mathes from this website.

This next photo is a bit older. It appears to have been an artists drawing of Rhoda Gunn (1818-1876) and her husband, Joseph Brevard Potts (1820-1862). I am not sure who owns the Copyright on this. But, it might be Oklahoma State.

And this last photo is from about 1896. It is a picture of the Staff of Bloomfield Academy in Indian Territory. Of note is the gentleman in the back row center. His name is Douglas Henry Johnston. Douglas, in addition to being the Superintendant of the Bloomfield Academy, was also a 3 term Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. His wife, Nellie Bynum (not pictured) was a Great Great Grand Daughter of James Logan Colbert. Douglas Henry Johnston was born on October 16, 1856 within the Choctaw Nation, while his wife Nellie was born on October 20, 1859 within the Choctaw Nation. The photo is copyrighted by Oklahoma State University.

Loren Thomas (Buck) Harris

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:49:00 +0000

One of my wife's Great Great Uncles was named Loren Thomas Harris. Loren Thomas (who went by the nickname of "Buck") was brother to my wife's Great Grandfather, Hindman Harris Sr.

The other day, when doing research on Buck, I ran across an article in a newspaper called "The Daily Ardmoreite", from Ardmore, Oklahoma. The following was written in celebration of Buck's impending 100th birthday on July 31, 2001. The photo is also from that article. The original article was published by The Daily Ardmoreite on June 24, 2001

Buck was born on July 31, 1901 in Tishomingo, Indian Territory (Oklahoma did not officially become a State until November, of 1907) and passed away on October 23, 2002 at age 101.

"Soon-to-be centenarian Buck Harris qualifies as more than a senior resident approaching 100 years old. He's a page of Chickasaw history.

Officially named Loren Thomas, Buck has the distinction of being one of 52 original Chickasaw enrollees with the Dawes Commission still living. He's also a great-grandson of Cyrus Harris who was elected in 1856 as the first governor of the Chickasaw tribe. Cyrus served as tribal governor five terms during a pre-statehood era when the headquarters was located in Tishomingo.

Tribal history, though, was secondary Saturday at Elmbrook Nursing Home when relatives, Chickasaw leaders and several friends gathered to recognize Harris who will turn 100 on July 31. In addition to the family gathering and fellowship, the reception centered on the presentation of a silver medal by Kennedy Brown, special assistant to Gov. Bill Anoatubby. The medal was struck as a tribute to original enrollees and has 2654, Harris' enrollment number, engraved on the back side. He was enrolled on May 21, 1906, in Tishomingo, Indian Territory.

Sharing the ceremony were granddaughters LaVanda Rhynes, Pat Fowler and Deborah Kraus of Moore and Nela Hickey of Oklahoma City. Third- and fourth-generation family members from the six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren also attended. Beverly Tallbird from the tribal headquarters emceed the brief program.

Harris' life in and around Tishomingo was the primary focal point as he shared a busy day with family and friends. Interviewed about approaching his centennial birthday, Harris was slightly impish in a fun-loving way.

Recalling life in and around Tishomingo, he "didn't do much" as a young man, other than "farmed a little." One has to learn from other sources that he owned upwards of 800 original allotment acres at one time.

He married Mae Hatton and raised a step-son, Neal Everett. Both are deceased.

While he lived near Milburn, less than a mile from his Johnston County birthplace, Harris had a variety of jobs, primarily as a truck driver. He talks about working the oilfields in Oklahoma and Kansas. In work, as well as retirement, his primary goal was "to keep busy."

"Raising gardens" became his primary interest during retirement, according to Fowler. Harris and his gardening were featured in a 1991 newspaper article talking about a 91-year-old resident who worked almost daily with a rototiller and used a tire mounted with a bicycle "to prepare the ground for the garden, which surrounds his house and runs into the nearby woods."
He was innovative -- designing a homemade irrigation system. He pulled water by hand from a well and poured it into a large barrel to feed a hose flowing to terraces. Variety was another garden feature -- sweet corn, peas, beans, onions, tomatoes and cabbage, plus other fruits and vegetables.

"I ain't satisfied just sittin' in a rockin' chair," he said. "People do that, and pretty soon they can't get up."

Life may continue at a more casual pace for Harris today, but be alert for his subtle wit."

James Harris Guy

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:35:00 +0000

In my recent searching, I ran across a gentleman by the name of James Harris Guy. Now, Jim Guy, as he was known, was a descendant of James Logan Colbert.

James Guy was a Deputy U.S. Marshall in what was known as the Indian Territory of Oklahoma back in the late 1800's. It was in his line of duty, that he was brutally gunned down by members of "The Lee Gang" on May 1, 1885.

Now, James Guy was also an accomplished poet within the Chickasaw Nation. In fact, he was considered the leading poet of the Chickasaw Nation. You can find some of his writings in a few books that can still be bought through Amazon.

The purpose of this post is to share with all of you, one of his poems concerning an old Fort in Indian Territory called Fort Arbuckle.

Here is the poem. It is believe to have been written just previous to James Guy's death in 1885.

Ft. Arbuckle: by James Harris Guy

The day has been long and dreary;
I halt with the sitting sun
To gaze on the open world
And the work the years have done;
And a vision rises before me,
Of the past as it hath been,
And all the rolling hills have heard,
And the bright-eyed stars have seen.

Full many a thrilling story
Could the echoing rocks repeat,
And methinks I hear in the forest
The tramp of hurrying feet.
The yells of the great Comanche
Ring once more in my ear
And files of the ghostly warrior
Appear and disappear.

I see the dusky phantoms
Rise from their graves to-day,
With the war paint still upon them
As they started for the frey;
They scorned the white man’s promise
And refused to be his slaves,
But their ranks were few and feeble,
And the sun sets on their graves.

Once more from the hills above me
The painted warriors ride,
And fall upon Ft. Arbuckle
Like rocks from the mountain side;
But now the bow and the quiver
Give place to the plodding plow,
A bible, a hut, a handful of corn
And a Christian’s broken vow.

Oh, Mystical Ft. Arbuckle
The sun is falling aslant,
And a friend stands out in his doorway;
God speed thee Thomas Grant;
For thou hast ever a seat at thy board
And thy heart a place,
For him who would sing the wide world o’er
The songs of a ruined race.

The Colbert Family

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:58:00 +0000

While I was on my forced vacation (due to a fractured foot), I started working more on the family tree. I had decided that if I was ever going to get this thing done to my satisfaction, I had to quit bouncing between one family and the next, and just focus on one family until it reached completion. Then, I could move on to the next.

The family tree has several families in it that are quite large. They include the Incardonas, The Van Keurens, The Freers, The Deyos and the Colberts.

So, I started in earnest in piecing the Colbert Family together from all my notes and contacts with various descendants of that family, that I have been in contact with. A big thanks goes out to Kerry Armstrong, who provided the foundation for my work with his own thorough research.

In the last 3 months, I have been able to put together the descendants from 4 of James Logan Colbert's children. While I do still have a ways to go, it is a huge step in gathering the right information from the best sources possible in order to paint an accurate picture of this important family within the Chickasaw Nation.

Once, I have all the names and dates in my software program, I will go back through it again, to fill in the missing information, such as personal biographies along with pictures of many of the people involved.

When completed, I don't want this family tree to be viewed as being anything like all the others out there. While a few researchers stand out from the crowd (such as Kerry Armstrong), most are only interested in downloading someone else's research (without making sure the info is correct in the first place) and importing it into their own family tree. To me, it seems as though most people on the genealogy sites are more interested in collecting names, rather than providing correct information. This can be easily seen on various sites, when someone has a family tree that contains 500,000 names. I know very well, that there is no possible way for all of that information to be correct, as it does take quite a while ( if researched by yourself) to input the information into your family tree.

As it stands right now, after starting the tree in 2000, I have about 10,000 people in there. In 8 years, that is as far as I have progressed. Can you imagine how long it would take to put in 500,000 names and dates, if done correctly? That is impossible without taking someone else's research and importing into your own tree, sight unseen.

When I started the research back in 2000, I was fortunate enough to run across people who took the research seriously. People who were more interested in gathering the best information possible, rather than just names. Those people have helped me along this path, and I am forever in their debt for all they have taught me about how and where to find the records I am looking for. So, a big thanks goes out to Cousin Lee Eckert (for help with the Eckert line), Cousin Paul Incardona (for the advice, and the nudge in the right direction in finding old Sicilian records on the Incardona family), Cousin D.G. Van Curen (for his research and book on the Van Keuren Family) and once again, Kerry Armstrong, for all his work on the Chickasaw Colbert's.

So for now, all the updates you will see on here, will be about various descendants of the Chickasaw Colbert's

R.I.P. Lee Eckert (1927-2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:56:00 +0000

Eight years ago, when I first started working on my families genealogy, I had posted what little information I had, on a genealogy website, in the hopes that someone would see it, and contact me, thereby making a connection with other family that I never knew of. That information just sat on the site for about a year, until I got an e-mail from a gentleman by the name of Lee Eckert.

My dad's mother was part of the Eckert clan, which originally immigrated from Germany in the late 1600's, and evetually settled in Ulster County, New York. As it turned out, Lee was my grandmothers first cousin.

Over the years since I first met Lee, we had bounced ideas on that family back and forth between each other, in our mutual pursuit of learning about them. Lee, was what would be desribed as "old school" when it came to his research, meaning that everything he did, was done with a pencil and paper. For the life of me, I could never fathom working on the genealogy in that way, as the Eckert family is much too large to keep track of, with anything other than a computer program. Once Lee had realized how big the family was (through another distant cousin that we found), he had asked me about the software, and which one was the best, so that he could keep better track of things, and not have to worry about losing a sheet of paper with inportant information on it.

Lee was a really sweet man, who was there for me through the death of my mother, as well as the birth of my daughter. Over the years, we had traded photos of our families, and he watched my daughter grow up through them, and at times, was even the recipient of some of my daughters art work on Christmas cards. Yet, sadly, Lee was quiet about his own health. He never once mentioned that he had been diagnosed with cancer about 5 years ago. He had gone through treatment for it at the time, and it appeared (from what his daughter Kim has since told me) to have gone away.

This past October, Lee's cancer came back; metastizied melanoma was the term the doctors used. Lee had been in the hospital since Christmas Eve day, after the combination of chemo and medications made him very ill. He had started the road to recovery from that, and was doing better, when he decided that he did not want to go through more treatments, as they did not hold much hope that it would do any good, since the cancer was completely taking over his body.

I knew nothing of this until I got an e-mail from Lee's daughter Kim a few weeks ago, explaining the situation. I have since talked to both of Lee's daughters trying to find a good time when I could go out and visit him in the hospital he was in, in the Bay Area. I also got a chance to speak with Lee last weekend very briefly, as he was worn out, but as always, it was nice to talk to him all the same. I had told him that we would like to come out this weekend after my cast came off, and as always, he took the spotlight off of him, and was more concerned about my broken foot, rather than his declining health. But, that was Lee; always concerned about those around him, and always willing to lend a helping hand (or ear) when needed.

Sadly, I will not have that chance. Lee passed away in his sleep, around 4 a.m. this morning. My heart goes out to his daughters Kim and Julie, as well as their own families at this difficult time. I know all to well what they are going though, and my thoughts and prayers are with them at this time. Lee was a great research partner with me, as well as a very beautiful, kind-hearted individual, who will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

In Memory of: Leland Etienne Eckert ( December 18, 1927-January 24, 2008)

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:03:00 +0000

I am sorry I haven't updated this site in a while. So much has been going on that I haven't even had a chance to work on the genealogy at all.

We are in the process of moving up to Washington early in the New Year, so all the planning for that has kept us busy. Besides those plans, we have been dealing with the usual suspects of work, and school for our daughter, who started in the 1st grade this year.

My new truck also crapped out on me about 2 weeks ago. The short of it is that Ford built an engine that was not quite up to par between the model years of 99-04, when they finally had enough complaints to prompt them to redesign the engine. The problem with mine is that there weren't any boots around the spark plugs to stop water (or moisture) from getting past them, and damaging the ignition coils which severely messes up the performance of the truck. I took it in, and they replaced two damaged coils, all the spark plugs, and added boots to prevent moisture from getting in again. But, here's the catch. Being that there is no recall on that problem, Ford would not cover the repair costs. So, $870 later, I got my truck back, but it appears that I might have to take it in again, because it feels like another coil or two have gone bad. That's okay this time, because all work will be covered under the previous repair bill.

Then on Monday night, I slipped and fell. I know, I am getting more gracefull in my old age. So, now I am now hobbling around on crutches, because I not only severely sprained my right foot, (it's all black, blue and purple right now), but I also tore some tissue inside of it. So, needless to say, I got a longer Holiday Vacation than the usual 4 days around Christmas. I should be out of work about 2 weeks, which I guess gives me more of an opportunity to work on the genealogy, since I shouldn't be putting too much pressure on that foot just yet.

The funny thing about the fall was that I remembered something that happened about 20 years ago. Me, my grandfather "Pa", and Grandmother "Pee Wee", were walking through Vasona Park in Los Gatos, when we came upon a little hill where you could walk down to get to the other side of the park where the picnic tables were. Pee Wee went first, and promptly fell on her ass, sliding the rest of the way down. When we got down there, Pa made sure she was okay (she had sprained her ankle), then smacked me, and said "I told you not to push her so hard".

So, by the time we had arrived at the Emergency room for my foot, I was telling everyone who would listen, that my wife pushed me down. To me, that sounded better than saying I slipped and fell in the shower. By the way? I killed the shower in the process as well. The way I see it, if I am going to hurt myself by falling, I am going to cause as much damage as I can on the way down.

We have sent out Christmas cards this year, so you should be recieving yours in the mail soon, if you haven't allready. But, for those of you we don't have addresses for, or for the casual visitors to this site, we wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. May you, and those close to you, be blessed now, and in the coming year.

With our love,
Brandon, Michelle, and Cierra

Immigration Records

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:14:00 +0000

On some genealogy websites, you have access to literally hundreds of thousands of immigration records. These include the main port of Ellis Island. But, there are, however, other points of entry that an immigrant could use to get into the country. One of which is is Philadelphia.

Some immigrants used other areas of the country to come through, such as the border between the United States and Canada. My grandfather Cardona's grandmother on his mother's side came to the United States from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for example.

I have spent alot of time on his site showing you records from my side of the family, or telling stories about them. This time however, I wanted to share a record with my most frequent visitor to this site. That being my Uncle David.

Uncle David's father's side of the family was from Sweden. His (Uncle David's) grandfather, Johannes (Johannes was Americanized as most imigrant names were at the time. Johannes translated to John) Lodin came to this country, early in the 20th century to start a new life for his family.

I was doing a search for Johannes earlier today, and came across a record of his border crossing from Canada. This however was not his original port of departure. He had left Grimnas, Sweden and ended up in Liverpool, England, which is where he departed Europe from, bound for Canada. The date of arrival in Canada was October 31, 1924. Johannes and his wife, Ida, along with sons Ivan and John, were headed to Detroit, Michigan to be with Johannes' mother Erika, who allready lived there.

As with any image on this page, you can always right click on it, to save it to your computer, so you can enlarge it to see what it is you want to see. If you have any problems viewing the image after downloading it, please let me know, and I can e-mail the image to you.

***Update*** For some reason, the image in its original form, when downloaded from Ancestry.com to post on this site, is not clearly viewable when downloaded from here. So, I apologize for the size of the image that is now on this site, but it is the only way it will be clearly viewable to you, the reader.

Johannes and his family start on line 16.

More famous people in our family

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:46:00 +0000

I just picked up Stephen Colbert's (From Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report") book, "I am America (and so can you)" and started reading through the first few pages of the book, when I noticed down at the bottom of one of the pages, Stephen writes that he is 1/13th Chickasaw, which puts him in the same tribe that my wife descended from. The common ancestor that they probably share is James Logan Colbert, who was born in 1721 in South Carolina.

If you are a fan of Colbert's show, pick up his latest book. It is funny.

Here is Stephen's bio from Comedy Central:

Born and raised in South Carolina, Colbert began making a name for himself in Chicago as a member of the famed Second City improv troupe where he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. After several years at Second City, the threesome moved to New York City and, along with others, developed Exit 57, a half-hour sketch comedy series for HBO Downtown Productions which ran for two seasons during the mid-'90s on Comedy Central. Exit 57 received five CableACE nominations for best writing, performing and comedy series.
Colbert reunited with Sedaris and Dinello to create Comedy Central's first ever, live-action, narrative series, Strangers with Candy, a twisted take on the classic and typically moralistic afterschool specials. Colbert also starred opposite Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman in Bewitched; wrote and was a cast member on The Dana Carvey Show; appeared in commercials for GM "Mr. Goodwrench;" wrote for Saturday Night Live and was the voice of Ace on the animated SNL series "The Ambiguously Gay Duo."

Since 1997, Stephen Colbert has been The Daily Show's longest-running and most diverse correspondent. In addition to his role as Senior Political Correspondent he was one of the hosts of "Even Stephven," a point-counterpoint assault featuring co-correspondent Steve Carell, and the host of "This Week in God," in which he reported on all things theological with the assistance of the "God Machine."

Stephen helped The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to win numerous Emmy and Peabody Awards, and contributed to America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books), which immediately topped The New York Times Best Seller List and stayed there for 15 consecutive weeks.

His personality, insight and overall rightness could only lead to The Colbert Report, a half-hour nightly platform for him to give his take on the issues of the day, and, more importantly, to tell you why everyone else's take is just plain wrong.

Census Records

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:43:00 +0000

Alot of the information I have found in my research comes from census records. The census records available online cover the years from 1790-1930. Each decade, a new one is released to the public.

I thought that some of you out there would like to see what one looks like, and the information that it contains on each member of the family.

For the purposes of this post, I will use the 1930 census. The image on here includes the Agrella family. My great Aunt Lucille DeMartini married Elmer Joseph Agrella. The Agrella family listed on this report is Elmer's family: his brothers and sisters as well as his parents.

The Agrella's are the 8th family down. To make it easier to read, you can right click on the photo to save it to your desk top, and then open it with whatever photo program you ahve on your computer.

Cedel Harris

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:33:00 +0000

When I first started working on this genealogy in late 2000, I found myself fascinated with the wealth of information I was finding on my wife's side of the family. More precisely, it was her mother's paternal ancestors. Those ancestors were from Oklahoma, and played a major part in the shaping of the Chickasaw Nation.

My mother in law's maiden name was Harris, and her 3rd great grandfather was a man by the name of Cyrus Harris, who happened to be the first Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. Now, Cyrus himself was a direct descendant of another family within the Chickasaw Nation named the Colbert's and the first known ancestor of that family was one James Logan Colbert who was born in 1721.

As I dug further into the Harris family history, I was constantly drawn back to my wife's grandfather, Hindman Cedel Harris. Hindman (or Cedel, which is what he went by) was the epitome of what you would call a family mystery. I had heard stories about him from his sister, Johnnie, and from others within the family, but the story always came back to the fact that none of them knew what had ever happened to Cedel. You see, sometime in the early 1960's, Cedel walked away from his family and wasn't ever heard from again. There had been rumors that he had moved to the southern end of the central valley in California, but no one ever knew for sure. Some had said that he might have gotten himself into a bit of trouble since he was known to be quite the drinker in his time, but again, no one was sure. Even his father, Hindman Sr., passed away in 1991 without ever knowing what had happened to him.

My wife and I had spoken to Aunt Johnnie, and she gave us a bunch of papers that pertained to her ancestors. Included in the paperwork was a paycheck stub for Cedel which included his social security number. With that information, I logged onto the website Ancestry.com and put Cedel's social security # into what they call the "social security death index" It's a morbid title, I know, but it is quite useful when you are trying to find out when someone died, or if they might still be alive. Anyway, doing so came back with a match. According to Social Security, Cedel had passed away in February of 1976. Unfortunately, I could not get any more information than that. I talked to them on the phone, but they were unable to provide me with more information as Cedel had died at the age of 51 and therefore, had not drawn from the account. At least, with that little bit of information, the family could finally know if he was alive or dead.

Over the years, every once in a while, I would run Cedel's name through genealogy sites, just to see if anything new was on there about him. Each time, I came away disappointed. I wanted to find out more about what had happend to him, where he died, and maybe find out what made him up and leave. But, no matter what I tried, the stars were not lining up. Since I didn't know where he died, I couldn't order a death certificate, or for that matter, find an obituary. So, I would set it aside for a while, only to be drawn back to him a few months later.

About 3 weeks ago, Cedel came to mind again. So, being the stubborn person I am, I ran his name again through Ancestry. I tried all variations of his name: Hindman Harris, Cedel Harris, and Cy Harris, which was the name that Social Security had in its records. This time, however, a match did come up for the name Cy Harris that I had not seen before. The record that I was looking at now, was for the death of a Cy Harris in Washington State. The age of this Cy Harris matched with the Cy Harris that I was looking for. There was no more information, other than that the new Cy Harris had died in Wenatchee Washington. So, I looked up the local newspaper out in Wenatchee and they did have an obituary on file. I had them make me a copy and send it, so I could see who the new Cy Harris was.

Last Monday, I recieved the obituary, and lo and behold, I had finally found Cedel Harris. According to the obituary which ran in the Wenatchee World, Cedel had moved up there in 1970 and married a lady by the name of Elsie Rains on November 3, 1971. It went on to state that he had passed from a sudden illness on September 15, 1975. The obituary, however, made no mention of the family he had left behind in California or Oklahoma. After one more phone call to the local genealogical society in Wenatchee, I was e-mailed a picture of Cedel's final resting place.

Even though we now know where he spent the last years of his life, a part of me feels empty, as the one person in this world who really wanted to know what had happened to him (Aunt Johnnie) had passed away back in March. I remember one of the last times my wife and I visited Johnnie, we gave her a restored version of an old photo of her and her brother Cedel on the front porch of their home in Oklahoma in 1930 or so. I think a large part of her always missed her brother and longed to know what had become of him. I just wish I could have found this information 8 months sooner, so she could have known then what we know now.

Whether Cedel, belived it or not while he was alive, he was missed by those who loved him.

Hindman Cedel Harris

March 9, 1924 - September 15, 1975

The DeMartini Family

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:26:00 +0000

Back Row: John DeMartini,John's wife Louise Nicolas, Elmer Agrella and their daughter Lou. Front Row: Uncle Jack, Anne Corica, and on the far right, my grandmother Mildred

The story of the DeMartini family is a hard one to trace. The descendants of Augustino and his wife, Celestina, scattered after the death of Augustino. Much of the information I have run across comes from distant cousins who have heard stories from the past and, in turn, related it to me.

Here is what I have heard (or found) so far. Augustino and his wife were immigrants from Lorsica, Italy. It is not known for sure who their parents were, but if they named their children according to Italian traditions, then the first born son and daughter would have been named after Augustino's parents. The second born son and daughter would have been named after Celestina's parents. From all the information that I have on their children, the first born son was named Antone and the first daughter was Rose, So it is quite possible that Augustino's parents were Antone and Rose. Celestina's parents, according to the naming tradition, would have been John and Minnie Cereghino. This is, however, in contradiction to Cousin Annie Smith's research that names Augustino's parents as Joseph and Angie DeMartini, while Celestina's father was supposedly named Charles (or Carmelo in Italian). More research is needed to solidify the actual names of their parents.

Augustino and Celestina had 8 children according to census reports, of which 7 of them are known to me through various sources. Those children were Rose Ann, Antone, John Edward, Minnie, Albert Joseph and Katherine. Another daughter, Eleanor, was from all accounts adopted. That fact is stated on the census records for San Jose when it lists her relationship to the head of house as "adopted daughter".

Of all the DeMartini children, Katherine (who went by the nickname of Nina,) was the one who stood out the most. It appears in photographs that Katherine suffered from Downs Syndrome. This has been verified through various family members who knew the family at the time. Katherine died at the age of 22 and was buried next to her cousin in an unmarked grave in the Catholic Cemetery in Santa Clara, California. Also buried at that cemetery is Katherine's brother John Edward and his wife Louise Nicholas.

At one time, Augustino and his family lived near San Carlos Street and Auzerais in San Jose, California. Living behind his house was a family by the name of DeChicco. As the story goes, the DeChicco house was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and had to be rebuilt. A few years after that, Katherine DeMartini managed to set fire to her families barn, which in turn managed to destroy the DeChicco house, once again. Needless to say, after that the DeMartini name was not welcomed in the DeChicco house. To further make matters worse, Anne DeChicco (grand-daughter of the home owners) fell in love with Augustino's grand-son, Ray DeMartini and when she announced to her family who she was going to marry, the news was not taken well at all.

Augustino and Celestina had what would be described as a turbulent marriage. Augustino was an alcoholic, a womanizer, and an abusive husband, by all accounts. From my research alone, it does appear there is some credence to this story as Augustino could be found in the 1900 census of Martinez, California taking up residence in the County Jail. What his offence was, is not known at this time. Cousin Anne DeMartini (Ray DeMartini's wife) has verified alot of the information I am writing about. She has said that Augustino had red hair, blue eyes, and a handle bar moustache and was known to hit on plenty of women in his time.

According to Anne, there came a night that Celestina went out for a walk through the neighborhood and happened to walk past this one lady's window, and was shocked to find that her husband was busy cavorting with the unknown woman. From that sight alone, Celestina deduced that Augustino was having an affair and she kicked him out based on what she saw. According to the 1920 census, Celestina stated that she was divorced, although it is doubted by all who knew of the situation, that she had actually divorced him. Church rules, as well as societies, wouldn't have looked upon a divorce too kindly in the early 1900's. It is my belief that she did not divorce him, because according to the 1930 census, she states her marital status as "widowed". Augustino had died on October 28, 1928 in San Jose.

It was apparently also common knowledge around town that Augustino regularly beat his wife, although, at the time, it was only whispered about.

After Augustino's death came the infighting between the family over who would take care of Celestina until it was her time to go. This infighting caused the family to splinter and drift away from one another over the years. This infighting becomes clearer with the World War I Military Draft Cards for John DeMartini and his brothers Antone and Joseph. Antone lists his dependants as his father, mother and son (Ray DeMartini ). John DeMartini lists his wife as his family, but not his parents. And the other brother, Joseph, only lists his mother, and ignores listing his father, even though he was still alive at the time of the draft.

According to the 1930 census of San Jose, Celestina was living with her son Antone and his family near the corner of Park and Kearney.

Celestina lived to the age of 91, and died in San Jose on March 6, 1950.

A small update

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:09:00 +0000

Hello all!

I have made a small change to this site. I have added a music player (so turn on your speakers), which you will find at the bottom of the site. I did my best to try and find music from not only my generation, but my ancestors as well. So, you will find music from the about 1905 on through the present day. You can click on any song on the list to hear it. Feel free to poke around and let me know if any of the music from the past brings back memories for you. If I have omitted a song that you remember fondly, please let me know and I will do my best to get it added for all of the other visitors to enjoy as well.

I can be reached via the comments section below this post as well as my e-mail address at bmc1069@gmail.com

I hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,
Brandon

Old Family Photo of the Week (Updated)

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:54:00 +0000

I am starting a new feature on this site for two reasons. The first is that it serves as a stop gap between my posts on my research. The second reason is that I though some of you out there would like to see some of the old family photos that I have run across over the years.

The first photo I am posting is of in laws of my Great Great Aunt Theresa (Tessie) Incardona. Aunt Tessie married Gaetano (Thomas) Caito on November 7th, 1920 in San Jose, California. Now, Gaetano's mother was Agatha Aida Lazio. The Lazio's often intermarried with the Alioto's of San Francsico. That being the case, Aunt Tessie's husband Gaetano was 1st cousin to one Joseph Laurence Alioto who was the former Mayor of San Francisco.

The following picture is of Joseph Laurence Alioto's parents: Giuseppe Alioto (1886-1961) and his wife Domenica Mae Lazio (1893-1971).

The following photo is posted here by a request from my Cousin Fred. Cousin Fred was named after my great Uncle Fred who served in the Armed Forces with Cousin Fred's father. This photo is of my grandparents wedding on June 6th, 1942. The bride, is of course, my Grandmother Mildred (a.k.a. Pee Wee). To her right is my Grandfather Thomas. To her left is my Great Uncle Fred. The first young lady to my grandmother's right is her Maid of Honor, Anne, who happens to be Cousin Fred's mother. This photo is also used courtesy of Cousin Fred who was kind enough to e-mail me with a few pictures of my family for my collection.

My Grandfathers Military Records

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 03:20:00 +0000

I have been sitting on my grandfathers military records for about a month and a half, just going through everything and trying to sort out a large piece of his life that encompased the years of 1939 through 1946.

When I had written the N.A.R.A., I had only hoped to get information on the ship that my grandfather was on during the attack on Pearl Harbor, as no one in the family seems to remember exactly what ship it was. Instead I recieved a rather large envelope with all of his records for the six years that he was enlisted in the United States Navy. Included were the names of all the ships he was on as well as his ranks during service and transfers from base to base and ship to ship. I also now have copies of his enlistment and seperation letters with the U.S. Navy.

For the purposes of this post, I will list the ships he was on, along with the pictures I found online of the boats, as well as the dates that he was on each ship. If you come across this site searching for these ships and information on them and you (or a relative of yours) were on the same ship as my grandfather at the same time as he, please feel free to write me at bmc1069@gmail.com or leave a comment at the bottom of this post as I would love to hear from you. Maybe you can help me fill in more detail from my grandfathers life as a Navy Seaman during World War II.

* * * *

U.S.S. Boggs
(July 29, 1939-December 13, 1940)

* * * * *

U.S.S. Argonne
(December 13, 1940-October 20, 1941)

* * * *

U.S.S. Antares
(October 20, 1941-March 28, 1942 and October 2, 1942-November 26, 1942)

This was the ship that my grandfather was on in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate an actual picture of the ship itself, so I have included a picture of a model of the ship that I found. If I happen to run across a better picture, I will put that up in this ones place. After the picture, you will find a ships log from the Antares after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and The Antares role in that area.

U.S.S. Antares

AKS3/A16-3(0661)

Pearl Harbor, T.H.
December 10, 1941.

From:
The Commanding Officer.
To:
The Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Subject:
Air Raid on Oahu December 7, 1941; Report on.

Reference:
(a) CINCPAC despatch 102102 of December 1941.
In compliance with reference (a) the following report concerning the activities of this vessel on the morning of December 7, 1941, is submitted.

"At 0630 the Antares arrived off Pearl Harbor entrance from Canton and Palmyra Islands with a 500 tons steel barge in tow. It was expected to transfer the two to a tug at the above time and then enter Pearl Harbor. As the tug was not in sight at 0630 the ship was turned slowly to the east at which time a suspicious object was sighted about 1500 yards on the starboard quarter. This object could have been a small submarine with upper conning tower awash and periscope partly raised but it could not be positively identified as such. The U.S.S.Ward which was the inshore patrol ship in the vicinity was notified and proceeded to investigate. At 0633 a navy patrol plane circled and dropped two smoke pots near the object.

At 0645 the Ward commenced firing and ceased firing at 0647. At this time either the patrol plane dropped bombs or the Ward three depth charges over the object, which disappeared.

At 0715 the Keosanoua arrived to received the tow and it was passed at 0835. At 0758 explosions were observed in Pearl Harbor and Japanese planes were seen delivering an attack. At 0800 this vessel was under machine gun fire from a Japanese plane, the topside being hit in a few places by approximately thirty calibre bullets. Several bomb and numerous shell fragments continually fell in close proximity and the ship was severely shaken by either bomb bursts or depth charges. As this vessel is not armed, no effective offensive or defensive tactics appeared possible. After passing the tow the ship was maneuvered, zigzagging and turning to a position between the Pearl Harbor restricted area and Honolulu entrance, inshore of combatant ships. As it was apparent that the continued presence of the Antares off shore was placing the ship and personnel in constant jeopardy, authority was requested to enter Honolulu Harbor. This was received from the Harbor Control Officer at 1054 and at 1146 the ship was moored to Berth 5-A, Honolulu Harbor.

No casualties to personnel or material were received. Personnel reacted to the emergency in an exemplary manner. Men disconnecting the tow and others on exposed stations were calm and steady. "

[signed]L.C. GRANNIS.

* * * * *

U.S.S. Prometheus
(November 26, 1942-August 21, 1944)

* * * *

You might notice parts that seem missing in his dates of service. What I have listed here are just his records at sea. On April 7th and 8th, 1939, my grandfather was stationed in San Francisco (Mare Island which is technically Vallejo, California). He left San Francisco for training down in San Diego from April 8th, 1939 through July 29, 1939. After that, he was then stationed on the U.S.S. Boggs.

After his service on the U.S.S. Prometheus he went back to San Francisco from August 21, 1944 through November 16, 1944. He was then sent back down to San Diego through March 15th 1945 and discharged from service on that date on Mare Island in Vallejo, California.

* * * * *

When I have a little more time, I will post more information about his time with the U.S. Navy.

Uncle Tony Cardona

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:09:00 +0000

Now, here's a handsome fella. This would be my Great Uncle Tony in his military uniform during World War II. During a recent visit with Uncle Tony and Aunt Janet, I was able to gather some more photos of family for my collection.

Uncle Tony is what I would refer to as "the last of the full-bloods". Even though he wasn't full-blooded Sicilian like his father Thomas was, Uncle Tony and his brothers (including my grandfather) always reminded me of the Sicilians you would see in "The Godfather" movies.

Now, from what I have been told, they were a step down from their father who often thought of himself as "The Godfather", with the 3 piece suits and the Fedora's, but they still exuded the old Sicilian way in their mannerisms and how they looked at and lived life, right down to everyone having Pasta with every dinner and a goal of owning a Cadillac (I lost track of how many Cadillac's my grandfather owned in his lifetime). They were proud people who held family close, but always managed to have their disagreements anyway, but through it all, they loved the lives they had and loved their family gatherings immensely.

I remember in my younger days (around age 16) when I was going through alot of stuff in my life and generally being a pain in the ass towards everyone and everything that came my way, I moved out of my moms house and in with my grandparents for a while. One day, I talked to Aunt Janet and Uncle Tony who lived up near Chico, California in a little town named Oroville and they had heard about the problems I was having and wanted me to come live with them for a while. Now, me being the stubborn shit I was, I politely tuned them down, but that memory stuck with me because of their kindness and I have never forgotten that. I kept thinking to myself that if I could be half the man that my grand-father or his brothers were, I would be in good shape. Now, whether or not I have achieved that goal remains to be seen, but I still try with each and every day.

My relationship with Uncle Tony and Aunt Janet has grown over the last 7 or 8 years since about the time I found out I was going to be a father. I remembered the family gatherings and how I knew everybody in the family (and it was a large family at that) and I wanted to make sure my daughter would know the same things I did when I was growing up. To me, that was important. Over the years, I have loved talking to the both of them and since we moved to Sacramento that gave us a better excuse to go and visit with them, so we packed up one day and went on up to Oroville. I was surprised when I saw them again. Not much had changed in their appearance. Aunt Janet was the same bubbly person she always was and hadn't aged a bit from my childhood and Uncle Tony was the same guy he always was with the exception of the now white hair and a little less meat around his belly. But, they were the same as they always were to me. What made me laugh (and still does to this day) was my daughters interaction with Uncle Tony.

At first, Cierra was on unfamilliar ground and was a little apprehensive with the new people and surroundings, but while talking with Aunt Janet, I glanced over at Uncle Tony who had the biggest grin on his face and was playing "peek-a-boo" with Cierra around Aunt Janet. Cierra, for her part, was doing the same from behind her mom. Needless to say, we had a good visit over some of Aunt Janet's homemade soup and salad, and then in typical "Aunt Janet fashion", she declared that she had had enough of us and didn't want to see us again for another year all the while, a big smile spreading across her face.

Uncle Tony hasn't been well for a while now; heart problems which tends to happen when you're raised on a steady diet of Italian food, but he was holding his own. Last night, I got the call I was expecting for a while now, but it wasn't the story I had expected to hear. Recently, Uncle Tony and Aunt Janet went out for a drive and got in a car accident that left Aunt Janet with broken ribs and Uncle Tony slightly injured. They were taken to the hospital and Aunt Janet is on the mend. On Sunday, Uncle Tony had a stroke and passed away.

I am still in shock because I guess even though I know that no one lives forever, I just don't expect things to happen that suddenly. It seems like just yesterday that we were visiting with them and I was watching Cierra and Uncle Tony play peek-a-boo.

The "Last of the Full-Bloods" has gone home.

From left to right (Uncle Fred, Great Grandpa Thomas, Uncle Tony, Great Grandma Angelina, Uncle Charlie, and my grandfather Thomas. The Cardona's)

In memory of Anthony Edward Cardona (July 10, 1925-April 22, 2007)

You will be missed Uncle Tony.

Touched by infamy

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:14:00 +0000

While I was going through my records and putting people and information into the family tree on my wife's side, I ran across a man by the name of Eugene Capel Moore. Eugene was born on September 9th, 1901 within the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. When he became an adult, he worked as a Deputy Sheriff in Atoka County, Oklahoma and that is where we find how his life was touched by infamy.

While I haven't found a picture of Eugene Capel Moore, I did find a picture of one of the people whom he ran across on the wrong day in 1932.

Enter Bonnie and Clyde

Here is some information on what happened. The following was taken from an article entitled "A Murder in Stringtown" by Richard Green.

"In the summer of 1932, Gene Moore had been a deputy sheriff in Atoka County for about a year. By one account, this 30-year-old man of part Chickasaw descent liked his job, carried out his duties efficiently and was considered popular by the citizens of Atoka. Hard-working and God-fearing, with a wife and three children, he appeared to be a model citizen with a bright future in law enforcement and possibly as a community leader. Born near Calera (south of Durant) in 1901, Eugene Capel Moore was one of twelve children born to Chickasaw citizen, Lemuel Capel Moore, and two successive wives. Lemuel was born in the former Chickasaw Nation in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1847. He moved to the Choctaw Nation, near Goodland in 1868, and then relocated to Sterrett in the Chickasaw Nation in 1891. He served one term in the Chickasaw Legislature. He was a successful businessman, which probably played a role in getting him elected and definitely played a role in his retirement. Although interested in politics, he preferred devoting his time and energy to his prosperous farming and ranching business around Calera. He amassed considerable wealth, but as a speculator, always risked losing his fortune. His luck did turn bad and he was wiped out financially before his death at age 82 in 1929. By then, his son, Gene, had a wife and family to support. At the front end of the Great Depression, Gene Moore felt blessed to have landed the deputy sheriff's job. Of course, there were obvious occupational hazards. Sometime after 10 p.m. on the evening of Saturday, August 5, 1932, Gene Moore and Sheriff Charley Maxwell drove the eight miles from Atoka to Stringtown apparently to investigate a disturbing-the-peace complaint. Sheriff Maxwell may have called on Moore (and not another available deputy) to accompany him to Stringtown because he wanted to ride in Moore's new Chevrolet. Since the source of the noise was a country-and-western dance, both lawmen felt sure that some of the dancers would be violating local, state and federal prohibitions against consuming alcohol. They arrived just before 11 p.m."

"Confirming the men's suspicious behavior, Sheriff Maxwell walked over to the car and told the men that they could consider themselves under arrest."

"Earlier that afternoon, two men who had stolen a car in Corsicana, Texas, drove north into Oklahoma. At some point, they were joined by one or two companions (accounts vary). The original pair were Raymond Hamilton and Clyde Barrow, who was on the way to nation-wide notoriety as Bonnie Parker's partner in crime. Bonnie and Clyde met in 1930, but were separated for two years during Clyde's imprisonment in Texas for robbery."

"Paroled in early 1932, Clyde joined Bonnie and Hamilton for a series of small holdups, culminating in the gang's first murder in Texas in April. The crime spree continued throughout the summer of 1932, although Bonnie was not with the gang when the men rolled into Stringtown the night of August 5. According to witness Duke Ellis, Barrow and Hamilton had been dancing and drinking but "I did not see either of them get out of line. Then, Sheriff Maxwell and Gene Moore drove up."

"The lawmen spotted some men who were apparently drinking in a nearby car and Maxwell went to investigate. According to Maxwell's other deputy sheriff, Oscar Folsom (who was not present), the two lawmen had in their custody a woman who had escaped from prison in McAlester. Moore stayed with her in his car. Evidently confirming the men's suspicious behavior, Sheriff Maxwell walked over to the car and told the men that they could consider themselves under arrest. Not suspecting trouble, he did not have his gun drawn. Pistol shots rang out. Maxwell was hit several times, but did not fall until he had taken seven bullets. Moore leaped from his car and ducked behind a Model T for cover. He drew his gun, raised up to see the assailants and immediately was dropped by a single bullet from a.30 caliber Stevens automatic rifle."

"As Barrow and Hamilton made their getaway, they continued to fire shots back at the fleeing crowd. When help reached the fallen lawmen, they found Moore dead but Maxwell still alive. Reportedly close to death, he was taken to a McAlester hospital, where following surgery, he recovered, though he was "crippled for life," according to the newspapers."

"Both Hamilton and Barrow escaped to join Bonnie Parker in Dallas. Their wave of violent robberies continued. Barrow reportedly killed three more men in Texas during 1932. Hamilton left the gang, was captured in Michigan and executed in Texas. Although they periodically laid low, Bonnie and Clyde continued their holdups, which increasingly involved shootouts and murders. On May 23, 1934, they were slain in a dramatic police ambush in Louisiana."

"Gene Moore's funeral was held at the First Baptist Church of Atoka. On hand, according to the Atoka Indian Citizen, was "one of the largest crowds ever to attend a funeral in this section of the state to pay respects to a man who was admired and respected by all with whom he had come in contact."

"Thirty-four years later, Bonnie and Clyde were immortalized (again) in the Academy Award winning film, "Bonnie and Clyde," starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. After the film was released, the late, great Chicago newspaper columnist, Mike Royko, disgusted by the movie's glamorizing the killers, wrote a column based on interviews he had with three sons of fathers who were killed by Bonnie and/or Clyde. One was Russell Moore, a Chickasaw veteran of the Korean War. He did not attend his father's funeral because he was less than a year old at the time. His sisters had been 7 and 3."

"Moore said he would not be seeing the movie. "My mother was left with three children to support. We moved in with her parents and she got a job. There was no insurance. [She] was young and pretty when it happened, but she never married again. The roughest thing for me was growing up without a father. The only material possessions I had of his were a hat, his gun belt, and a gold railroad watch. And a picture. He was very tall. They tell me I look a lot like him."

"Six years earlier, in 1962, an article in The Daily Oklahoman told of how Sheriff Maxwell's son, Ted, was offering to sell a shotgun and rifle owned by Clyde Barrow. The rifle was identified as the .30 caliber Stevens that had been used to kill Gene Moore. Maxwell said they "would certainly make fine display trophies for some organization or individual."

Aunt Johnnie

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 18:35:00 +0000

Aunt Johnnie Cochran

Born: Jimmie Lawanda Harris

August 10, 1927 - March 3, 2007

The following is something that Michelle wrote about her Aunt on her own blog. I thought it fitting that it should be up here as well considering this is the one that all our family sees.

She said..............

"I thought you didn't love me. It took a long time for us to warm up to each other but I believe after the third time, you grew on me and I on you. You have a warmth in your eyes. You have a kindness in your heart. Marcella. Is that your name?"

"Michelle" I whispered back with a smile.

"Michelle.....Michelle.....Michelle.....Marcel.....Marcella. I like Marcella. It's a beautiful name" she smiled warmly when she softly spoke the words.

"It doesn't matter. You can call me whatever you choose, so long as you know who I am." I politely responded with a smile.

"Oh I know your face well. I know you so very well. Now that I know the connection, I will never forget, Marcella."

The visit continued with warm, gentle laughs and stories of passed events. She had proclaimed herself president for the day and re-named everyone in the home with names that began with "A".....except for me....Marcella.

"Now, Marcell....when Cierra is of age, you will change her name to AC (a sea). Everyone's name will begin with "A", except yours, Marcella..."

She indulged in a fine cup of coffee, sipped a bit of warm water and slowly snacked on red jello with simple glee. Even though her movements were slow and meticulous, she showed no signs of the pain that she was enduring.

"You understand that I cannot remember your name, right? You understand why it is hard for me to remember your name?"

"Yes of course I understand. It doesn't bother me at all, so long as you know who I am" I gently re-assured her.

"Oh good. Of course I know who you are. I just....I can't remember.....Marcella....it's hard to remember right now." she sighed softly and smiled. "Marcella. Such a lovely name."

I began to tell her, "I know it's hard right now. But don't worry about that, hun. You know, I never got the chance to tell you how beautiful you are. I want you to know that. And I want you to know how very much I love you. You have brought such a beautiful gift into my life. Your eyes are filled with such light and beauty, I can only hope to be as beautiful as you are."

"Oh....I don't feel that I am beautiful. I don't feel it one bit. You are so sweet to tell me this. I have not always been kind, you know?"

"I'm sure we have all had our bad moments but you have remained beautiful and have such a kind heart."

"You have a wonderful heart, Marcel. You know, you will be blessed for your kindness. You know that, right?"

"Thank you. And thank you for everything you have given me."

"You know Marcel, you have such beautiful hair. And you have such a warm light in your eyes. You are beautiful and you are going to be blessed."

That day, I found out that my Aunt was a cotton picker in Oklahoma State while she was a child. She also told me how she believed that my grandfather was a guy who not only enjoyed women and booze, but enjoyed trouble so much that it may had lead him to his death.

"He's probably buried in some farmer's field near Bakersfield. My dad slapped him around one night, telling him to get his act together. If my dad knew what had happened to him, he would have told us....he might have told us....You know Marcel, he would have remembered you. He never forgets a person that catches his attention, he would certainly have remembered you....."

Everyone in the house began fading quickly with exhaustion and I took that as my cue to say my last good-bye. And she said......

"There will never be anything between us. Nothing will ever come between us. And we will hug each other with long strong arms now and after this. I tell you, we will see each other again and you will be blessed. I love you so much. Michelle.....Michelle.....Michelle.....Marcel....Marcella."

"Nothing will ever come between us, Aunt Johnnie. Nothing. I love you so very much. Now be sure to get some rest. You have had a very long day."

"No...not yet. I'm not ready to rest just yet. But soon, Marcella."

"And Aunt Johnnie, don't worry. I'll make sure that Uncle Bob is being taken care of."

With a heavy sigh of relief she responded,"Oh thank you so much Marcella. That is your name, right?"

"Michelle." I whispered back with a soft smile.

"Michelle....Michelle....Michelle....oh Marcel....Marcella. Such a lovely name."

I was told that she wasn't going to make it to the weekend on Thursday, February 22. On Friday, she managed to pull out of her long battle, long enough to have a 3 hour visit with me. Mainly, she was afraid to leave her husband who earlier that day, had a severe Asthma/Panic attack. But in a way, my prayers had been answered so that I may see her one last time. After that visit, her health began to decline again until today. At 10:15am, I received the call that she had passed away.

I was the only outside family member to be granted permission to come see her before her death. Everyone else was told to stay away, except for immediate family like her son, daughter and grand-children. I am honored and in the same breath mortified. Mortified that people who should have been there, were not allowed to. Honored that I was chosen to be there and speak my last heart-felt thoughts of love to a woman who brought to me the truth of my heritage.

I am at peace with the knowledge that she has left us. I am at peace now, knowing that she will not be far away from me. My heart is sad of course to lose someone who I had just began to love and is of such a strong yet loving character.....

A Few Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:39:00 +0000

Sorry for taking so long in getting something up on here, but things have been hectic lately, so I haven't had much time to post something.

I do have a few updates for all of you out there, so let's get started.

First of all, I have requested my grandfather's Military Records from the United States Navy. That was a large part of his life in his younger days and he was present in Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, but no one in the family seems to know (or remember) what ship he was on at the time of the bombing. There is speculation that he was on a repair ship or an oil barge which is why his vessel wasn't destroyed. Hopefully, if the Navy sends ALL of his records instead of just his Notice of Seperation, I can answer all of those questions and more.

Speaking of my grandfather, his birthday is coming up soon and even though he is no longer with us, I wanted to remember him on what would have been his 88th birthday on February 28th. Here is an old photo I have of him in his Navy Uniform with my grandmother Mildred "Pee-Wee" DeMartini.

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I also wanted to take the time and congratulate my sister in law and her husband on the birth of their second child, Kaitlynn Shae (hopefully I got the spelling right) who was born on January 2nd. Here is a photo of the little bundle of joy.

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Finally, I wanted to take a moment and ask for all of your prayers out there for Michelle's Great Aunt Johnnie who is losing her battle with cancer. The doctors tell her she has between 1 and 3 months left and I hope and pray that her final days are as happy, peaceful and pain free as possible. She is such a beautiful woman, and I feel honored to have gotten to know her and her husband Bob over the last ten years. Johnnie and her brother (Michelle's grandfather) are where the Chickasaw roots come from. Aunt Johnnie is 1/4 Chickasaw with a good mix of Cherokee and Choctaw thrown in for good measure. My heart goes out to her and her family in this difficult time. This is her hubands favorite photo of her, so I thought it fitting that I should put that one up here.

I have decided to change course with the genealogy. I know I had said in an earlier post that I would be working on the Cardona's and their surrounding families, but the Harris family (Aunt Johnnie and her ancestors) are calling for my attention more right now than any other family. There is such a rich history with the Harris' and Colbert families that I believe that their lineage will be the first book I write and self-publish once I have it all together and it is only fitting that it is dedicated to Aunt Johnnie since she is the one who got me started in the right direction in finding all of her Native American roots. What was once only a handful of names that Aunt Johnnie had found on her trip to Ada, Oklahoma years ago, has turned into so much more than anyone ever thought. So, thank you Aunt Johnnie for pointing me in the right direction. For more information on the Chickasaw Nation and Aunt Johnnie's ancestors, click here, and here .

God Bless,

More interesting people you find......

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 03:18:00 +0000

So, one of the last posts on here was about Stanley Foreman Reed, a former Supreme Court Justice, who is a cousin of my father in law.

Now, we take a small trip over to my Sicilian side of the family. Now, I realize that some of you out there who read this blog might not know anything about California politics, especially history earlier than our current Governator, but this post deals with a cousin of mine by marriage. His name was Joseph Laurence Alioto. Joe's family married into the Cardona's with the marriage between my great great Aunt Tessie Incardona and her husband Thomas Caito (which I have since learned is pronounced in the old country as Kai--eeee----toe). Thomas Caito's mom Agatha had a brother named Lorenzo Lazio. Lorenzo's grandson was the above mentioned Joe Alioto. Therefore my great great Aunt Tessie's husband Tom Caito was first cousins (one removed as they are one generation apart) with the former Mayor of San Francisco.

For information on Joseph Alioto's daughter, Angela Alioto Veronese click here.

Here is Joe in his younger days:

And here is Joe's biography found at "Reference.com"

Joseph Lawrence Alioto (b. February 12, 1916, San Francisco, California , d. January 29, 1998, San Francisco, California) was the mayor of San Francisco from 1968 to 1976. He was born to Sicilian immigrants (his father was a fisherman; his parents met on a fishing boat while escaping the 1906 San Francisco earthquake). Alioto graduated from St. Mary's College in Moraga, California in 1937 and from The Catholic University of America in 1940. Alioto worked for the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department and then for the Board of Economic Warfare. He returned to San Francisco after World War II and started an antitrust practice, representing Walt Disney and Samuel Goldwyn, among others, eventually becoming a millionaire.

Alioto served on the San Francisco Board of Education from 1948 to 1954, and in the 1960s, served as the chair of the city's Redevelopment Agency. He entered the mayoral race in 1967 when John Shelley, the incumbent, bowed out of the race, allegedly because of poor health but probably because Alioto was more pro-development than Shelley (Shelley, whose rival Eugene McAteer was being backed by Alioto, was also expected to lose against a Republican opponent, Harold Dobbs, after McAteer collapsed and died while playing a game of handball).

Alioto was inaugurated on January 8, 1968, served a term, and was handily re-elected in 1971. Alioto delivered the speech nominating Hubert Humphrey at the Democratic National Convention in 1968. There were rumors that Humphrey would select Alioto as his running mate, but Humphrey selected Edmund Muskie. In July 1969, an article in Look Magazine claimed that Alioto had ties to the Mafioso Aladena Fratianno. Alioto sued the magazine for libel and won a $450,000 judgment. In the course of the litigation, Alioto proved that Look Magazine, desperate and on the verge of bankruptcy, simply conjured up (with no proof) an alleged mob meeting in Vacaville, California at the Nut Tree Restaurant. He later claimed that he had documents that showed that the Nixon Administration leaked disinformation to the magazine in order to stall his career.

Alioto was also indicted by the federal government on bribery charges after he was accused in 1969 by the State of Washington of splitting a $2.3 million fee in an antitrust case with Washington State Attorney General John O'Connell. These charges were pressed by one of Nixon's top men in the State of Washington, then Assistant U.S Attorney and subsequently a U.S. Senator, Slade Gorton. A jury unanimously acquitted Alioto, finding the charges politically motivated. Alioto's focus on fighting these charges led him to reluctantly put aside plans to run for the California governorship against Ronald Reagan in 1970.

Alioto presided over a time of turmoil and change in San Francisco. He ran on a platform of reducing taxes and fighting crime. Alioto put his energy behind the development of three major building projects, the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART), the Transamerica Pyramid and the Embarcadero Center. These efforts engendered opposition in the development stage but were eventually built and transformed the quality of life and skyline of San Francisco. Alioto helped to bring more minorities into city politics, launched a reform of the city charter, and mediated protracted police and fire department strikes in 1975. Alioto's tenure also saw a strike at San Francisco City College during 1968-1969, strife in the Haight-Ashbury, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, and the Zebra murders and Zodiac killings. In 1971, Alioto's wife Angelina vanished, reappearing after 18 days to say that she had taken off to "punish" her husband for neglect. During the time Angelina was missing, she toured the missions of California as part of a religious pilgrimage. Angelina filed divorce proceedings against him in 1975. He remarried in 1978.

Alioto ran in the 1974 Democratic primary for the governor's office, losing to Bob Moretti and Jerry Brown. After he left office, Alioto went back into private practice, but he and his son Joseph Jr. lost a major malpractice case in 1980. In 1991, he and his son went to battle in court against one another over legal fees in another case. Alioto died of prostate cancer in 1998.
Members of Alioto's family are still deeply involved in San Francisco politics. Angela Alioto, a daughter from his first marriage, served eight years as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, two as its President. One of his granddaughters, Michela Alioto-Pier, was appointed to the Board of Supervisors in 2003 by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and won reelection to the Board in 2004. Several of his sons are prominent attorneys and businessmen in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After posting this information on here, I also found information on Joe's second wife Kathleen Sullivan who was the daughter of Billy Sullivan Jr, who back in 1960 (I believe) started and owned a football team in what once was the American Football League. That team at the time was named the Boston Patriots. Now they are the New England Patriots.

Aunt Velma Cardona

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 02:44:00 +0000

I remember growing up and spending alot of time at my grandparents house in San Jose. At least once a week, my grandparents and I would walk around the block to Aunt Velma's house and sit and visit for a while. For the longest time, I never knew that "Aunt Thelma" as my grandfather had called her was an actual Aunt, but she was. She had married my grandfathers brother Charlie on September 7th, 1968. The thing was, Uncle Charlie passed away in 1975 and I don't really remember him. His death shocked the family and it was never really talked about. I guess.....no, I know it was much too painful for my grandfather to remember it even up until the time of my grandfather's death in 1999. Charlie's children pretty much kept to themselves and again, I don't remember meeting any of them either, with the exception of his son Charlie Jr.

Anyway, I always loved visiting "Aunt Thelma" when I was younger as did my cousins. She was such a sweet lady and loosing Charlie was extremely rough on her. The last time I remember seeing Velma was the early 1990's . I tried to find her when we were expecting our first child, but by then, she had moved out of the house on Matson Dr. and I couldn't find her. She would have loved to meet Cierra. I would have loved that also.

My daughter is what got me closer to alot of my family that I hadn't seen or talked to in a while. I wanted her to know the people I grew up around because they were beautiful people. Because of that, I had a chance to reconnect with Aunt Marie in San Francisco, Aunt Carm in Campbell and other cousins I haven't talked to in years. That re-connection with these people meant alot to me. I now wish I had tried harder to find Aunt Velma years ago.

Aunt Velma passed away about 6 months ago at the ripe old age of 89. As soon as I get my scanner working, I will put up her picture on here.

Here is her obituary that I found in the San Jose Mercury News:

"Velma Kopanica Cardona passed away peacefully on April 14. She was surrounded by her family and the caring staff of Palo Alto Commons where she had lived for 10 years. She was born on July 16, 1917 to Tom and Flora Kopanica. She worked for the staff of the San Jose Police Department for 20 years, retiring in 1972. She loved to travel, dance, and in retirement, she learned to paint. She was loved by her sisters Mary Voelke of Vallejo, California, and Pauline Kemper, who preceded her in death. She enjoyed joining and being a part of the Cardona family. Her husband Charles Cardona, preceded her in death.

Velma is survived by her sister, Mary Voelke, her nieces and nephews, and the family of Charles Cardona.

A memorial mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 20th, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 751 Waverley St., Palo Alto. Interment in Santa Clara Mission Cemetery will be private. Arrangements by Oak Hill Funeral Home, San Jose.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Palo Alto Commons Employees Christmas Fund, 4075 El Camino Way, Palo Alto, CA 94306, or any favorite charity."

Rest in Peace Aunt Velma