52 Ancestors - Week 8: I Can Identify

I Can Identify this little girl...

Mary Eliza "Maimie" David  (1877-1971)
Photo by A. D. Lytle Studio, Baton Rouge, La.

     The 1880 U.S. Census lists my Great Grandparents, Samuel Walker Booksh and Arabella Maria Tisdale Booksh, living with Sam's parents, Charles Booksh and Eliza Leonard Booksh, in the 9th Ward of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

     Also living with them are four grandchildren, identified as Elisa Mary age 22, Charles C. Booksh age 19, Mary Eliza Booksh age 3, and S. B. David age 4. Elisa Mary (Mary Eliza in church records) and Charles C. (Charles Everitt in church records) were the children of Sam's oldest brother, Charles Edouard Booksh (1838-1911).

     Several people have assumed that 3 year old Mary Eliza was the daughter of Sam and Belle because the census taker omitted her surname and put a ditto mark behind her name. We know from the family bible and church records that Sam and Belle had only four children, Samuel Walker Jr., Charles Leonard, Wilton Tisdale and Arabella Guinevere. We have puzzled over who this Mary Eliza was for years, but the mystery has finally been solved.

     By making a list of every Mary Eliza and Eliza Mary connected to the family it was clear that the Mary Eliza listed in the 1880 census was Mary Eliza "Maimie" David. She and her brother Seth Booksh David were the children of Sam's sister, Eliza Elizabeth "Lizzie" Booksh and her husband, Joseph Johnson David (pronounced Dah VEED).

     Lizzie Booksh was born 11 April 1855 and married Joseph David on 11 May 1875. Their son Seth Booksh David was born 19 February 1876 and Belle and Sam were his godparents. Daughter Mary Eliza David was born 30 June 1877. Lizzie died young at age 22 on 31 March 1878 and is buried in the David plot in Magnolia Cemetery in Baton Rouge. Joseph David had remarried by the time of the 1880 census and is listed in the 4thWard of West Baton Rouge Parish with his new wife, Amelia, age 21. 

52 Ancestors Week 7

Sarah Ann Gonzales Begue c1910 with son Robert
This is the earliest photo we have of Grandma Begue.

     The theme for Week 7 is Outcast, but I couldn't think of anyone who fit that category so I decided to go with #7 on my Ancestor Chart, my maternal grandmother Sarah Ann Gonzales Begue.

     Sarah Gonzales was born 26 December 1888, the first daughter of John Henry Gonzales and Anna Hathaway. She was delivered by Dr. Lowe. She entered her name as Sarah Anna Gonzales in the Begue Bible but is referred to as Sarah Ann on her birth registration and as Sara Ann in her baptismal record and by her nickname "Sadie" on some other documents. She was baptized Sara Ann Gonzales at Holy Name of Mary Church in Algiers, New Orleans, Louisiana. Sponsors were her uncle George Giles and her Grandmother Anna Farnan Gonzales. My mother said she had blue eyes and black hair. 

     In 1890 her father, John Gonzales, is listed in the New Orleans City Directory at 176 1/2 Eliza Street, Fifth District, which is Algiers, and in 1891 at 180 1/2 Eliza Street in Algiers. Mrs. Ann Gonzales is listed at the same address. That would be John Henry Gonzales's mother, Anne Farnan Gonzales, who was born in Ireland.

     My Mama said, "Mama went to the blind man's school in Algiers." That was undoubtedly the blind educator William Wallace Lampton, who operated a private elementary school in Algiers. (This is Algiers, Richard E. Dixon, 1971, p. 72) Algiers is the part of New Orleans on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.

     In the 1900 U.S. Census the John H. Gonzales family is listed in the Algiers section of New Orleans at 716 Newton Street near Vallette Street.  John H. is 44 years old and a day laborer. Wife Annie is 36, son Joseph M. is 17, a day laborer, son James P. is 13, daughter Sarah A. is 11 and John's mother Ann, a widow, is 73. The Gonzales family is at the bottom of the page and is scribbled over by the census taker in making his calculations. Therefore it did not appear on any census indexes and required a page by page search of the microfilm roll for Algiers. This was long before the census images were online.

     My Mama said, "Mama and her best friend used to work at the shrimp factory up near the McDonoghville line. They would walk home on the levee. On their way home, they were followed by a man who acted strange." Mama lowered her voice and covered her mouth. "He exposed himself! One day when he approached them, Mama's friend said, 'Don't worry. He won't bother us anymore.' She reached up and took the hatpin out of the back of her hat and stuck him with it...down there..."

How Grandma Met Grandpa

     I was lucky that I interviewed and recorded my mother about all the old family stories. Here's what she told me when I asked her how Grandma met Grandpa John Louis Begue.

     "Mama's father sent her to the store to get him some tobacco and papers. Men rolled their own cigarettes then. Daddy and his friend Robert Crombie were at the store to buy tobacco, too, and that was how they met. When they got married on November 20, 1907, Robert was their best man, and they named their first child after him."    

     Robert John Begue was born 29 November 1908. He was baptized at Holy Name of Mary Church on 24 December 1908. Sponsors were Robert Crombie and Sarah's cousin Annie M. Giles. In the 1910 U.S. Census they are living at 936 Vallette Street in Algiers next door to Grandma's mother Anna, now a widow, Uncle Joe and Uncle Jim and Grandma Anne. Father John Henry Gonzales died on 6 February 1907 at age 51. Grandma Anne Farnan Gonzales died 28 November 1910 at age 83.

     Grandma and Grandpa Begue's family continued to grow. In 1910 daughter Florence Amelia was born, followed in 1912 by my mother Vera Mary. Son John Louis Begue Jr. was next in 1914 and then a third daughter Leotha Mildred Begue in 1917. Sons  Sidney James in 1922; Travis Adolph in 1924 and Charles Martin in 1927 brought the total to nine children.

     Grandpa John Louis Begue Sr. died 10 October 1951 at age 64 and Grandma Sara Begue died 22 June 1965 at age 76.  Needless to say I have many more stories about the family but they will have to wait for another week.

52 Ancestors Week 6 - Social Media

Wilton Tisdale Booksh Sr. 1886-1985
with sons Wilton Jr. and William in 1915

 

       I am writing this on February 7, 2023, my Grandfather Booksh's birthday.  He was born in 1886, 137 years ago today, in Grosse Tete, Louisiana, to Arabella Maria Tisdale and Samuel Walker Booksh.  In 1893 when he was 7 years old the family moved to New Orleans.

      The 1900 U. S. Census lists the family at 1365 Constance Street under the name transcribed as Bevoksh, making them very hard to find. They are listed as Sam and Bell with children Sam 19, Lenard 17, Wilton 13 and Vera 10. Listed next door is Eliza Tisdale, Widow. Her husband, Benjamin Franklin Tisdale died in 1876. Living with Great Grandmother Eliza Pratt Tisdale are son Harry, daughter Lee and grand daughters Ma[y] Pierce and Ruth, daughters of  Mary Bernice Tisdale and William Talbot Pierce. Belle's sister, Mary Bernice, died in 1886.

       In the 1910 U.S. Census the family is listed at 1311 St. Mary Street. The family consists of Sam and Belle Booksh and their four children, Samuel Walker Jr., Charles Leonard, Wilton Tisdale, and Arabella Guinevere "Vera."

       Sometime between 1910 and 1912 Wilton met Emma Francis. (See last week's 52 Ancestors blog post for more on that subject.) On 16 July 1912 Wilton and Emma were married. 

       Amy Johnson Crow mentioned that yesterday's newspaper society columns were comparable to today's Social Media. Thanks to a newspaper article found on GenealogyBank.com we know a lot more about their wedding than the usual Marriage Certificate facts.

       The article on page 17 of the Times-Picayune on Sunday, July 21, 1912, although partly illegible because of the binding of the pages, says:

       The marriage of Miss Emma Collins Francis, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Francis, to Mr. Wilton T. Booksh of this city, was quietly celebrated on Tuesday, July 16, at 4 o'clock, at St. George's Church, in the presence of the families and a few intimate friends. After the solemn and beautiful wedding service, which was performed by Rev. Byron Holley, the bridal [party re-]ceived the congratulations [of those] present. Later a dinner [illegible] the bridal pair and family [?was held at An]toine's restaurant, the [illegible] bride, her young sister, Miss [Ernestine] Francis, and brother, Mr. [John Fran-]cis, and her brotheriin-law [and sis-]ter Mr. and Mrs. Gus Terry [hav-]ing come over from their [sum-]mer home at Biloxi, Miss. [for] the marriage. In a few [illegible] and Mrs. Booksh will [illegible] home, which will be in [? Illegible].

       In the 1920 census Wilton and Emma Booksch with children Wilton, William and Ernestine are listed at 111 Brandie Avenue in Biloxi Mississippi. Wilton worked as a Sugar Chemist at sugar mills in Louisiana, Florida, and "in the Tropics," as he used to say. There are several passport applications for him and his family to Guatemala and Honduras

       On 8 February 1925 Emma Francis Booksh died the day after the birth of their daughter Emma. Wilton later married Agnes Lincoln on 3 November 1926 and had two more sons, Charles Leonard and John Richard.

       Another "Social Media" type newspaper article in the April 26, 1933 Baton Rouge Advocate describes a Booksh Family Reunion:

   Quite an enjoyable event was the Booksh family reunion which was held at the home of G. W. Booksh, Jr., the former residence of G. W. Booksh Sr., in Grosse Tete. After attending services at the Rosedale church, the group assembled at the appointed place, coffee was served and later a sumptuous dinner on the grounds was enjoyed. Those attending this affair were: [There follows a long list of Booksh family members...a treasure trove for genealogists to come!]

       I remember attending another Booksh reunion many years later and meeting some of the people mentioned. I have many wonderful memories of my Grandpa Booksh and his sister Vera Booksh Ventress who passed on many family stories. He lived a long life, dying at age 99 on 9 June 1985. 

       Happy Birthday, Grandpa Booksh, and Aunt "Susie" Emma Booksh Sarradet.

       

52 Ancestors Week 5 - OOPS!

 We all make mistakes. I seem to make the same ones over and over again.

When I get caught up in researching family history on the computer I print things out because I don't have time to record them now and I might not be able to find them again. 

Day after day goes by and the pile of print outs grows bigger and threatens to avalanche.  Then I put them in piles to put in folders later. Then I put the folders in boxes. Eventually I say "Enough!" and get down to putting the information into my genealogy program.

Just before Christmas I tackled my computer pile and now, just a little over a month later the new pile is growing. Too many pages and not enough time.

I resolved to tackle the pile on the last day of each month. Today is February 1, but, oops!, I didn't tackle January's pile yesterday. Today is half over and I still have several things on my TooDoo list.

Oh Well! That's life!