52 Ancestors: Multiples - The Mystery of the Twins

I have heard stories that I have some multiple births in my family but I have not been able to confirm that.  So when the blog prompt of Multiples came up, I immediately thought about my husband's grandmother, Pearl Grumer, and her twin, Ruth Grumer.  We have very few photos of Pearl and the one below is the only photo we have of Ruth.

LtoR:  Ruth Grumer, Kenneth Whitmore, Pearl Grumer, Ruby Byrd, Evenlyn LaRoche, Marcus Byrd

Pearl and Ruth were born on 1 April, 1894 in Rock Springs, Wyoming.  They were the daughters of Mary Nelson, who was born in Sweden, but we are unclear as to who their biological father was.  They, along with their sister Bertha, were apparently adopted by Frank Grumer after his marriage to Mary in 1897.  My mother-in-law referred to Frank as "Daddy Grumer" and thought that the children had, indeed, been adopted.  Ruth's death certificate states that her father was Frank Grumer while Pearl's states that her father was unknown.  Sadly, I don't know anything about Mary Nelson and my friend in Sweden has searched for her unsuccessfully - Mary Nelson is a pretty common name.

I can find no census records for Mary and the children in 1900 but found Frank in Green River, Wyoming as a lodger.  His age and birthplace are correct but it shows that he was single.  Huh?

By 1910 Frank is in Green River with Mary and the girls and it shows that he and Mary were married for 18 years.  Another fact that seems incorrect since they were married in 1897 - maybe they said they were married prior to the twins' birth so no one knew they were adopted.

1920 found the family in Green River - Frank, Mary, Pearl, Bertha, and Bertha's 5 year old daughter, Vernice.  Ruth was married and lived nearby.

Pearl married Marcus Burket Byrd in 1921 and by 1930, they were in Sacramento with their young daughter, Ruby.  Marcus worked on the railroad so the family moved around often.

I'd like to solve the mystery of who the biological father was - perhaps it was Frank and since the girls were all born prior to their marriage, maybe they kept that a secret.

Sadly, Pearl died before my husband was born so he never had the opportunity to know her except through the few pictures we have of her.

Pearl (Grumer) Byrd

Pearl, along with her husband Marcus Byrd, are buried in Sunrise Memorial Cemetery in Vallejo, California.  Ruth is buried with her husband, James LaRoche, in nearby Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo.

I'm not giving up!

52 Ancestors: Unusual Source - U.S. War Rations

My parents, Gordon and Gerry (Martin) Levy, met at Fresno High School in about 1943 - dad was a senior, Mom was a sophomore.  Shortly after my dad graduated in June,1944 he went away to Stanford to start his college career.  Of course, Mom missed him terribly so she did what people did in those days, she wrote letters to her man.  With social media and e-mail today, those hand written letters are virtually non-existent but, fortunately, my dad inherited the "pack rat" gene and saved the letters she wrote to him.

Gerry Martin and Gordon Levy, c. 1944

They look so young in this photo but it would have been about the time they were writing to each other.  Note:  My mother apparently did not have the "pack rat" gene as I haven't located any of the letters he wrote to her.

My latest project has been transcribing the letters she wrote to him and I've learned a lot about my mother from these letters.  I could research for years and years and without this unusual source I would never have learned details about her cousin Norma, whom she spent a lot of time with, and Norma's parents, Winnie (Dick) and John Hoey.  And who would have guessed her overuse of the exclamation point!!!!!!  But most of all, I would have never understood just how much this young woman who had just turned 16 loved my dad. ♥

As I transcribed letters yesterday, I came to a very interesting section where she wrote on September 2, 1944:

Just went down to get the steaks!!!  Beautiful 2 inch thick T-bones!!!   This isn’t common knowledge but we don’t have to pay the points until we get them!  Also I think the place should be reported to the A.P.A. for the prices they charge!!  Not because they’re high but because they’re so low!!!!  Please don’t think we’re too awful – we’re not you know!!!

Of course my radar went up as I typed the part about common knowledge and then - what?  Points?  So I did what any person in 2021 would do and immediately started researching.  And sure enough, I started learning about meat and cheese rationing in World War II.  

I came across a blog at www.sarahsundin.com that was very interesting.  On March 29, 2018 she wrote this:

Rationing of meat and cheese was an important part of life on the US Home front.  A complex and constantly changing system kept grocery shoppers on their toes.

The United States produced meat and cheese for her civilians and military, and also for her Allies.  During World War I, food shortages were a serious problem, with hoarding, escalating prices, and rushes on stores.  When World War II started, the government reduced deliveries to stores and restaurants, instituted price controls, and urged people to voluntarily reduce consumption.  Britain had already instituted a point-based rationing system and had found it effective, so the United States decided to implement a similar program in 1943.  Rationing made sure everyone got a fair share.

Did Mom or Dad ever talk about this?  While I knew there had been rationing, I didn't really think about the fact that it could have affected my parents or even grandparents.  But, apparently, it had.

And the blog went on to say:

War Ration Books Two, Three, and Four contained blue stamps for processed foods and red stamps for meat, cheese, and fats.  Each person received 64 red stamps each month, providing 28 ounces of meat and 4 ounces of cheese per week.  The stamps were printed with a number for point value and a letter to specify the rationing period - such as C8.  Rationing calendars in newspapers declared which stamps were current and for how long.  To prevent fraud, the stamps had to be torn off in the presence of the grocer.  Stamps were good for one, two, five, or eight points, with "no change" given, so the shopper had to be careful to use the exact number of stamps.  The system was simplified on February 27, 1944, when plastic tokens were issued as change.

Each cut of meat was assigned a point value per pound, based not on price or quality, but on scarcity.  These point values varied throughout the war depending on supply and demand.  "Variety meats" such as kidney, liver, brain, and tongue had little use for the military, so their point values were low.  On May 3, 1944, thanks to a good supply, all meats except steak and choice cuts of beef were removed from rationing - temporarily. 

You can read her complete blog HERE

And then it hit me - I'd seen War Ration Books somewhere around my house so I went on a hunt to find them.  There they were - the property of my husband's maternal grandparents, Pearl (Grumer) and Marcus Burket Byrd.

Pearl (Grumer) and Marcus Byrd, date unknown

I have to laugh - "Do not lose it".

Never pay more than the legal price - how did you know what was legal?

My mother's letters to my dad have proven to be an unusual source and I had no idea the things I'd learn.  Who knew?

52 Ancestors: Gratitude

Gratitude.  The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  Oxford Dictionary.

I know there is so much to be grateful for but in these challenging times, I sometimes have trouble remembering that.  Instead, this weeks' blog prompt brought to mind a time when a complete stranger was extremely grateful for my actions.  Most of the time, this brings me as much (or maybe more) satisfaction than being grateful for something someone did for me.

It started with a picture which has been hanging on my wall for at least 25 years, long before my genealogy journey began.

All I knew is that the soldier at the bottom right of the photo was my husband's maternal grandfather, Marcus Burket Byrd.  Since Marcus died before my husband was born, we didn't have too much information about him.  We added the photo to a collage frame we had and hung it on the wall.  And that was it.

A few months ago, we decided to break up the collage so we would have each photo individually so after all these years, out came the photo.  And suddenly a new world opened up.

Well look at that - a handwritten caption on the bottom.  

St. Mito
Feb. 25th 1919.  Dinard France

I assume it was written by Marcus but I wonder if I'll ever know for sure.  So now we know where he was during at least part of World War I - interestingly, my grandparents were married just 2 days after this photo was taken.

And then I did the obvious (sometimes it's not so obvious to me but I'm learning) and turned the photo over.

Five of the six men are identified and it looks like each of them wrote their own name on the back of the photo!

I did a quick scan on Ancestry to see if I could find some descendants of these men and before long had found two - a great niece of Arthur Sandberg and the grandson of Walter Waldschmidt.  I was thrilled to be able to provide this photo of their ancestor and was ecstatic to receive this e-mail from Walter's grandson.

"Oh Debi!  Bless your heart, you have made my year!  My grandfather is standing on the back row, third man from the left and that is his signature on the back.  He was a very handsome man.  I have to be honest, I got a chill and tears of pride came upon me when I saw this.......He didn't talk about his military experience, but I think he fought in France.....I want to thank you very much for reaching out so that I could have this treasure.  You're a very kind and thoughtful person."

This year has been rough in so many ways but this right here is a reason to keep me going.  Just when it all seems mundane and almost pointless, someone's year just got a lot better.  And that made my year a lot better.

Gratitude.  The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  Oxford Dictionary.

52 Ancestors: Same Name - Winfield Scott Byrd

Winfield Scott Byrd was my husband's maternal great grandfather.  As you can imagine, he (along with many others) was named for the celebrated Winfield Scott, who was known as the Grand Old Man of the Army for his years of service.

Winfield Scott was the son of William and Ann (Mason) Scott and was born on 13 Jun 1786 near Petersburg, Virginia.  He was a General in the U.S. Army from 1814-1861 and served in the War of 1812, the Mexican American War, and the early stages of the Civil War.  Historians consider him to be one of the most accomplished generals in U.S. history.  In 1852, he was the Whig party presidential nominee but was defeated in the general election by Franklin Pierce.  In 1855, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, the first U.S. Army officer to hold that rank since George Washington.  Winfield Scott died 29 May 1866 at West Point and is buried at the West Point Cemetery.

Winfield Scott
photo by Wikipedia

But enough about that Winfield Scott - let's focus on Winfield Scott Byrd, my husband's great grandfather.  My mother-in-law was the only child of Winfield's son, Marcus Burket Byrd, and Pearl Grumer.

Winfield Scott Byrd was born 29 Aug 1847 in Hawkins County, Tennessee.  He was the 5th (out of 13) child of James Anderson Byrd and Margaret/Margerite (Kelly) Byrd.

A grandchild of Winfield Scott has provided us with some stories, although there is no documentation to verify if these are true.  We have heard for many years about "Old Man Byrd", Winfield's paternal grandfather.  I cringe when I hear him called old since at the time of his death he was younger than I am.  We do know many details about William (aka Old Man) and even have a book with some interesting information.  But this is a story that the grandchild of Winfield wrote:

Life was pretty simple in these parts til the Civil War started building up steam, and since this part of Tennessee was not aligned with either the North or the South, tensions were running high between neighbors.  The Byrds' sympathies were with the North.

Some men neighbors, and Southern sympathizers, came by the Byrd farm with the intention of 'bushwhacking' some Northern men.  They asked old William where his sons were, and since they weren't there, they took the old man around the orchard, they leaned him against a tree and shot him explaining "Couldn't get anything out of the old S.B., had to kill him".  This is a quote from granddad Winfield, who was hiding in the barn."

The story continues:

After the Civil War was over, emotions around this part of Tennessee were still running high, and some of the local fellows raised a rebel flag over the courthouse in Whitsburg.  The patriotic teenager, Winfield, climbed to the roof of the building, sawed the pole and let it drop.  In the process, he dropped his saw and broke the handle.  It was never repaired.  Winfield used this saw all his years as a tradesman and carpenter, sharpening it until the blade was thin.  It was his most prized possession.

Winfield married Serena Chestnut in 1869.

Marriage of Winfield Scott Byrd (Bird) and Serena Chestnut
28 September 1869
Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002

While looking closely at this, it could be that Serena was her middle name - could her first name be Mariah?

On 18 July 1870 in Russellville, Tennessee, daughter Una was born.  Several years later a sister was born and in 1876, mother and daughter died of typhoid pneumonia and little Una went to live with her grandparents.

In 1877, Winfield married Mildred Mace.

Marriage of Winfield Scott Byrd and Mildred Mace
11 July 1877
Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002

Together Millie and Winfield raised nine children.  "Little" Una helped raise Byrd kids until she caught the eye of a local realtor, William Moore, who was 20 years her senior.

Clay Center, Kansas was going to be a rail center and the town was booming.  Carpenters were in demand so at some point in the early 1880's, the family joined the boom.  It was there that my husband's grandfather, Marcus Burket Byrd, was born on 18 May, 1887.

But by 1901, the growth of Clay Center had slowed and the Byrd family moved on.  They became pioneer travelers again, and by covered wagon moved to Oklahoma, where Winfield and one of the boys got land grants and began homesteading.  Things went well until a prairie fire destroyed their efforts.  They moved on after that.  This time to Idaho, where some of the older boys worked for the railroad in Pocatello.

They bought a dairy, and the family milked cows.  Winfield followed his trade as a carpenter, and Mildred ran a boarding house for railroad workers.

Millie died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 2 June 1925 leaving Winfield a widow for the next 15 years.  Winfield Scott Byrd died at his home at 905 S. Main in Pocatello on 17 February, 1940.

Winfield is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello, Idaho.  Sadly, we were in Pocatello about 20 years ago and at the time had no idea Winfield was interred there.  Next time we will stop by the cemetery to pay our respects.

RIP, Winfield Scott Byrd.