Tag Archives: Adam

Wedding Wednesday: A Question of Nationality

I’m not sure if it was meant as a joke, or if newlyweds Gerald and Fern (Thoma) Adam of Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa were genuinely confused. When asked to state their nationalities at the time of their marriage, their answers should have been simple; they were the American-born children of American-born parents, after all, so there was really no question that they were American themselves. Jerry, however, stated that he was of French nationality, while Fern declared that she was German-English.¹

Gerald Joseph Adam, Sioux City, Iowa, ca. 1929; digital image 2012, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2014.

Fern Lavonne Thoma, Sioux City, Iowa, ca. 1929; digital image 2012, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2014.

From a genealogical perspective, I love it. How often does one have the chance to learn what their forebears knew of their own ancestry? However, if I didn’t already know so much about this couple and their heritage, I might have been thrown off. Jerry’s ancestry was indeed French – and French Canadian, and Polish. Fern’s ancestors, many of whom were likely early arrivals on American soil, can thus far be traced to Germany and the British Isles.

I don’t know when exactly the couple met while on their way downtown to the movie theater, but Jerry and Fern married in their hometown on 8 June 1929 – eighty-five years ago this week.² Fern was twenty-one, and although Jerry would not celebrate his twenty-first birthday for eleven more days,³ he claimed to be the same age as Fern.⁴ Their wedding attendants were close friends Merle Montgomery and Dorothy Thompson,⁵ and, following their ceremony, led by Reverend R. M. LeCair of St. Jean Baptiste Church, the couple took a “motor trip” to the Black Hills of South Dakota.⁶

“Iowa, Marriage Records, 1923-1937,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2014), Gerald Adam and Fern Thoma, 8 June 1929, Sioux City; citing “Iowa Marriage Records, 1923–37,” microfilm, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.

If your ancestors married in Iowa between 1923 and 1937, be sure to visit Ancestry.com’s digital image collection, “Iowa, Marriage Records, 1923-1937,” new this year. This database has plenty of detail to offer, as marriage records included such information as age, place of residence, occupation, place of birth, father’s name, mother’s maiden name, number of marriages, and the names of the officiant and witnesses. It’s also an opportunity to see the signatures of the couple – likely the last time the bride would sign her maiden name. Have you found any surprises in this record set?

Continue reading →

An Iowa Homestead

3 Replies

Winter was well on its way when Timothy Adam claimed a homestead near Moville, Woodbury County, Iowa, in December 1886. At that time, only a claim shanty existed on the property.¹ I have to wonder if Timothy weathered the winter alone, with his wife and children situated somewhere in town, or if they joined him in what certainly must have been far from ideal living conditions. In any case, the next year, Timothy built a house that measured fifteen by twenty-one feet – three hundred and fifteen square feet for a family of six.²

Timothy Adam (Woodbury County) homestead file, final certificate no. 2560, Fort Des Moines, Iowa, Land Office; Land Entry Papers, 1800-1908; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

The Homestead Act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on 20 May 1862.³ My first ancestor who took advantage of the one hundred and sixty acres offered to qualified applicants who lived on the land for five years and made specified improvements was Jens Madsen Schmidt, a Danish immigrant who settled in South Dakota in 1870.⁴ I had assumed that any ancestors who claimed homesteads in the years to follow would have had to journey even further west to find available land, but as it turns out, this was not necessarily the case. It would be sixteen years before Timothy would claim his homestead to the east, in northwestern Iowa.

The new yet modest house must have seemed positively roomy in comparison to the original shanty, and perhaps it was an improvement over what may have been an even more crowded situation back in Massachusetts. Timothy had been born and raised in St. Pie, Quebec, but by the time he was twenty, he had settled in Indian Orchard, Hampden County, Massachusetts, with his wife, Odile Millette.⁴ For nearly two decades, they relied on the cotton mills to earn a living, although Timothy was a carpenter by trade.⁵ Life in Massachusetts was likely difficult; Odile reportedly gave birth to ten children, of whom only five survived to adulthood.⁶ At least one succumbed to scarlet fever.⁷

Life in Iowa proved to be a fresh start for the family. Within a few years, the homestead boasted a barn, corn crib, hen house, shed, two wells, and fencing, valued altogether at eight hundred dollars. Timothy had cultivated ninety acres, and had raised crops every season. In addition, he had become a naturalized citizen. Finally, in 1893, at the age of forty-five, Timothy Adam became the proud owner of the NE 1/4 of Section 29, Township 88N, Range 45W in Woodbury County, Iowa.⁸

Continue reading →

A Little French Boy

3 Replies

An American by birth, Henry Joseph Adam spoke French until he started school.¹ He was born in Indian Orchard, Hampden County, Massachusetts, on 5 August 1881, the son of Timothy and Odile (Millette) Adam, both of French Canadian heritage.² His father had been born in Quebec, while his mother had been born in upstate New York.³ Regardless of their nationality, their roots ran deep, and the French language likely remained more familiar to them than English.

Henry Joseph Adam, Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa, ca. 1886-87; digital image 2013, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2014.

Pictured here circa 1886-87, when he was about five years old, Henry is simply but neatly dressed. He wears breeches with high patterned stockings, and a white or light-colored shirt with a contrasting bow-tie. His boots, perhaps hand-me-downs from an older brother, have been polished till they shine. He may hold a cap in his left hand, although it is indistinct due to the quality of this tintype. Despite the fact that cabinet cards grew in popularity during this decade, tintypes were still certainly not unusual. The faintest blush of pink is visible on Henry’s cheeks from a painted accent.

The studio setup is interesting and not particularly professional. Henry stands upon a small stool, and leans against a piece of furniture covered with heavy fabric. The painted backdrop behind him depicts a scene of a house, fields, and a tree, which doesn’t tie in well with the wood floor in the foreground. I suspect that this photograph may have been taken in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa; the Adam family moved here sometime in the mid-1880s, perhaps because of its proximity to the large French Canadian community in nearby Jefferson, Union County, South Dakota.⁴ Thus, this little French boy remained in good company; he may have learned English at school, but he would not have forgotten his French!

Continue reading →

Friendship Clubs and Funny Quotes: Finding Family in Yearbooks

4 Replies

Several years before they would meet and marry, teenagers Fern and Jerry were unsuspecting students at Central High School in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa.¹ They were not in the same grade, and this was a large school; Fern moved to Sioux City only in time for her senior year, and as Jerry graduated two years later, it’s possible that they never crossed paths during their brief overlap as students at the imposing sandstone building dubbed “The Castle on the Hill.”²

The Maroon and White, Vol. XXI (Sioux City, Iowa: Central High School, 1925), 67; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 March 2014).

Fern Lavonne Thoma graduated from Central High School in 1925. In her yearbook photo, she wore a long necklace and, true to the times, styled her hair in a fashionable, chin-length bob. The only club that Fern had joined was the “Friendship Club,” which, apparently, was mandatory for all female students.³From what I remember her telling me, she enjoyed her time at this school, especially a banquet for the upperclassmen during which the school gymnasium was decorated like a boat. She thought this event was “just wonderful!”⁴

The Maroon and White, Vol. XXIII (Sioux City, Iowa: Central High School, 1927), 34; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 March 2014).

Gerald “Jerry” Joseph Adam graduated from Central High School in 1927. According to the yearbook, he was in the general course of study and had been involved in Civics, no surprise given his penchant for writing to politicians later in his life, as well as the Spanish Club. His handsome photo was paired with the quote, “Who shows you your place when you go to the Princess?”⁵ As a teenager, Jerry earned money as an usher at the Princess Theatre in downtown Sioux City, surely a popular place among his movie-going peers.⁶

In fact, Fern and Jerry reportedly met while on their way to the movies. Fern and her friend Florence were walking downtown when two young men, who were known to Florence, drove up in their rental car and offered the girls a ride. Fern approached the front to sit next to the driver, when Jerry suggested that she sit in the back with him. Fern later claimed that Florence had set her up, while Jerry liked to say that when he first laid eyes on Fern, he proclaimed, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry!”⁷

If you would like to find yearbook photos of your ancestors (or even yourself), check out the yearbook collections on Ancestry.com. In my experience, yearbooks don’t always appear as strong “shaky leaf” matches, so I have found it helpful to search specifically within the category “Schools, Directories & Church Histories” in order to bring all relevant results to the top.

Also consider searching the yearbooks individually as your ancestor’s full name may not have been given for every appearance, particularly if he or she was an underclassman or appeared in additional club or athletic photographs. As a bonus, see if you can find his or her autograph scrawled in the back of the book. You never know what you might learn about the glory days of your ancestor’s youth!

Continue reading →

A Witness to the Ruff Disaster of 1918

Tombstone Tuesday: Marguerite Chicoine

11 Replies

Whenever I hear that someone is a Chicoine, I assume that we’re related. From what I’ve been able to learn, most, if not all of those who bear the Chicoine surname – in the United States, at least – can trace their ancestry to the early settlers of Quebec. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, many of these French Canadian Chicoines immigrated to New England, and from there, many moved on to settle in southeastern South Dakota. The Ancestry.com surname map reflects this migration pattern.

Grave of Marguerite (Chicoine) Adam, 1816-1878, Saint Aloysius Cemetery, Indian Orchard, Hampden, Massachusetts; image date 1987, privately held by Brian Adam [personal information withheld].

The last of my ancestors to carry the Chicoine surname was Marguerite Chicoine of Indian Orchard, Hampden County, Massachusetts.¹ Marguerite was baptized on 31 August 1816 in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, the daughter of Leon Chicoine, a forgeron, or blacksmith, and Marie Varie.²According to family lore, which has not been verified, Marguerite was of Native American (First Nation) descent through her mother.³

Marguerite married Timothée Adam on 23 October 1837 in Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.⁴ They farmed in Saint-Hyacinthe County,⁵ and together, they had at least sixteen children, fourteen of whom survived to adulthood: Timothee (I), Marguerite, Marie, Julienne, Timothee (II), Louis, Joseph, Marie Vitaline, Pierre Pie, Joseph Magloire, Euclide, Marie Elisa, Marie Arcelia, Elzear Henry, Prosper Phillip Adam, and an anonymous infant who did not live longer than two days.

By 1865, Marguerite had relocated with her family to Massachusetts, to a community where many, including her husband, sought work in the cotton mills.⁶ However, her time there was short-lived; Marguerite succumbed to consumption on 12 September 1878, days after she turned sixty-two.⁷ She is buried at the Saint Aloysius Cemetery in Indian Orchard, Hampden County, Massachusetts.⁸

Note: This blog post was updated on 27 May 2020 to include the name of an additional child of Marguerite Chicoine.

Continue reading →

A New Year’s Eve Party?

The Traveling Photographer’s Ram

11 Replies

Leon Francis Adam, ca. 1916, Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa; digital image 2010, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2013.

Only a handful of photographs exist of little Leon. He was barely five years old when he tumbled into a bonfire and died from his burns.¹ This photograph, however, taken when he was perhaps three years old, gives a glimpse into his brief but surely happy childhood.

Leon Francis Adam was born in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa, on 23 August 1913.² He was the second and youngest son of Henry Joseph and Melanie Veronica (Lutz) Adam.³ It wasn’t uncommon at this time for photographers to travel through towns with some sort of enticing animal in tow – often a pony,⁴ or, in this case, a wooly ram pulling a two-wheeled cart. Mothers must have smiled to see their children flock to the attraction, making their parting with a few pennies for a photograph that much easier. This particular photograph is a picture postcard, a format that reached its peak circa 1905-1920.⁵

Leon is wearing simple play clothes – tiny overalls, a check shirt, and black, button-up shoes. His expression is cautious, and he appears to look not at the photographer but at someone off to the side, likely his mother, offering encouragement. Note the bone placed in front of the wheel of the cart, perhaps necessary to avoid a situation of a runaway ram!

Did your young ancestors ever pose with a pony, ram, or other barnyard animal?

SOURCES
¹ “Plays in a Fire; Lad Dies of Burns,” unidentified newspaper from Sioux City, Iowa, September 1918.
² Grave of Leon Adam, 1913-1918, Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa; image date unknown, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2013.
³ “Plays in Fire; Lad Dies of Burns,” 1918.
⁴ “Wayback Wednesday: Remembering the Pony Photographer” The Family Curator, 14 August 2013 (http://www.thefamilycurator.com/home/2013/8/14/wayback-wednesday-remembering-the-pony-photographer.html : accessed 13 December 2013).
⁵ Maureen A. Taylor, Family Photo Detective (Cincinnati: Family Tree Books, 2013), 65.

A Wedding Party

5 Replies

Not everyone had a wedding portrait made. In my experience, it was even less common for a wedding portrait to include the wedding attendants or witnesses. However, when Henry Joseph Adam and Melanie Veronica Lutz married on 24 October 1905, they posed for a formal photograph with four attendants.

Henry and Melanie (Lutz) Adam wedding photograph, 1905, Sioux City, Iowa; digital image 2010, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2013.

Melanie, the bride, appears to wear her brown hair loose behind her shoulders, unless this is an illusion created by a shadow. The dark material of her dress, featuring a pleated bodice and v-neck, contrasts with a high white collar. A decorative watch is pinned at her bodice, and a small brooch is at her throat. To the right, her attendant, Permelia Adam, wears a white pleated bodice with full sleeves and a large bow off-center at the collar. Blanche Adam also wears a white bodice, although it features decorative buttons and lace detail. An elegant string of pearls rests at her throat, above the high collar. Like Permelia, Blanche wears a large bow in her hair.

Henry, the groom, wears a dark suit with a crisp white collar and white bow tie. His suit fastens higher than those of his attendants; Theodore Adam wears a polka dot tie, and Herman Adam sports a vest and bow tie. The men have all combed their dark hair with side parts and fashionable waves.

Carnations were apparently in vogue in 1905, or perhaps they were a favorite of the bride. Melanie wears two long-stemmed white carnations, facing downward, pinned to her bodice. Henry wears one as well, although the stem is hidden by his lapel. Although Permelia seems to wear a carnation, the stem is so long that the blossom itself cannot be seen, and the male attendants wear darker flowers that are indistinct against their suits. Only Blanche goes without a flower.

The Adam-Lutz wedding was held at St. Jean the Baptiste Catholic Church in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa on a Tuesday morning. Forty guests attended, the majority of whom were relatives.¹ As Melanie had no family in the area, it is understandable that only her husband’s relations would have made up their wedding party; Permelia and Theodore were Henry’s brother and sister, while Blanche and Herman were his cousins. After the ceremony, an informal wedding breakfast was served at the home of Henry’s parents, which was decorated, unsurprisingly, with flowers.²

SOURCES
¹“Adam-Lutze,” Sioux City (Iowa) Tribune, 28 October 1905.
²“Adam-Lutze,” Sioux City (Iowa) Tribune, 28 October 1905.

Edwardian Children’s Fashions

2 Replies

Gerald Joseph Adam photograph, ca. 1910-1911, Sioux City, Iowa; digital image 2010, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2013.

Gerald “Jerry” Adam of Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa, is pictured here at left with his cousin, Alvin Joseph Bauer, and Alvin’s cousin, Helen Ann Thomas. The three toddlers stand on a sidewalk and hold hands, supporting the youngest in the middle. Jerry speaks to someone who has caught his attention outside of the frame, while Alvin gazes directly at the camera, wide eyed and solemn. Little Helen has a sweet smile for the photographer.

All of the children wear dark shoes and thick stockings. Jerry’s dress is the most elaborate, made of a light-colored plaid or gingham fabric with matching knickerbockers. It features two rows of white buttons, a bow at the throat, and a drop waist with a dark belt. His hair is curled in chin-length ringlets. The other, younger children are dressed more simply. Alvin wears a shapeless, light-colored gown without adornment. His hair is short, slickly parted on the side. Helen wears a similarly loose gown, though it appears to have a light calico pattern. Her dress has a collar, over which hangs a slim necklace and pendant. Her hair is also short, though wavy in texture.

In the Edwardian era, it continued to be common for young children, regardless of gender, to wear comfortable gowns. While it undoubtedly made changing soiled clothing a quicker task, dresses also allowed for easier movement. Pants – and haircuts – for little boys were often reserved for the time at which they would start school. In 1907, The Ladies’ Home Journal made a comparison of practical and impractical children’s clothing, writing:

“The first boy is in for a good time, and yet he looks the thorough little man with his bloomer trousers underneath his one-piece suit. Then look at his ‘nice’ but unhappy little companion who is made a ridiculous caricature of a man in his wee trousers so out of place on little legs.”¹

When was this picture taken? Jerry was born in June 1908,² Helen was born in August 1908,³ and Alvin was in August 1909,⁴. It should be noted that Alvin, the youngest, was already walking when this picture was taken, dating the picture no earlier than the late summer of 1910. Several additional clues date the photograph slightly later. The children do not wear coats, but appear to be dressed in layers. Furthermore, the trees in the background are completely bare. It seems most likely that this photograph was taken in the late fall of 1910 or the early spring of 1911.

Could the photograph have been taken on a holiday, perhaps Thanksgiving or Easter, when the families might have gotten together? Or was this simply a play date of a century ago? Regardless, I’m sure that my great grandfather would have had something to say about this photograph of him wearing long curls and a dress!

Have you found that your grandfathers wore dresses as children?

SOURCES
¹ “Edwardian Clothing: Good Taste and Bad Taste in Dressing Children,” Victorian Magazine, (http://www.victoriana.com/edwardianfashions/edwardianchildren.php : accessed 20 September 2013).
² “Iowa, Births and Christenings Index, 1857-1947,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2013), entry for Herald [Gerald] Joseph Adam, 19 June 1908, Sioux City.
³ “Iowa, Births and Christenings Index, 1857-1947,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2013), entry for Helen Ann Thomas, 22 August 1908, Sioux City.
⁴ “Iowa, Births and Christenings Index, 1857-1947,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 September 2013), entry for Alvin Joseph Bauer, 7 August 1909, Sioux City.