Research in genealogy depends on written material. It is in the documentation that we find our "facts." It is in letters, newspaper clippings, and small notations that we often find windows in which we can catch a brief glimpse of an earlier time -- and maybe even catch a hint of the personality of an ancestor.
This page is always under construction.
Marriage Certificate of Ann Elizabeth Butler and Samuel W. Foss, 1853
On the death of W. H. Foss (two items)
Oakland, Kansas, from 1890 to 1910
Letters giving clues to a Lamb genealogy (five items)
Letters from Germany, post World War II
Click on any photograph for an enlarged view
Complaint v. Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick,Wilmott Reed, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth How, John Alden,William Proctor, John Flood, Mary Toothaker and daughter, and Arthur Abbott
Salem May the 28'th 1692
Joseph Houlton and John Walcot both of Salem village Yeomen made Complaint in behalfe of theire Majes'ts against [] Carrier of Andover the wife of Thomas Carrier of s'd Towne husbandman [] fosdick of Maulden or charlstown [] Reed of Marbleead the wife of Samull Reed of s'd place [] Rice of Reding the wife of Nicholas Rice of s'd Towne [] How the wife of James How of Topsfeild Capt John Alden of Boston Mariner, William procter of Salem farmes, Capt John flood of Rowley marsh on boston Mary Toothaker, the wife of Roger toothaker of Belrica, and [] Toothaker the daughter of s'd Roger Toothaker [] Abott that lives between Ips. Topsfeild & wenham for sundry acts of Witchcraft by them and Every one of them Committed on the Bodys of Mary Walcot, Abigail Williams Marcy Lewis Ann putnam and Others belonging to Salem Village or farmes Lately, to the hurt and Injury of theire bodys therefore Craves Justice.
Joseph houlton
John Walcutt
Carrier of Andover -- -Marshall Essex
Reed of Marblehead -- Const --
Rice of Reding -- Const -- -
How of Topsfeild -- -Const
Wm procter -- -Const --
( Essex County Archives, Salem )
Warrant for Arrest of Martha Carrier
To the Marshall of Essex or his dept or to the Constables of Andover
You are in theire Majests names hereby required [to] apprehend and forthwith secure, and bring before [us] Martha Carrier the wife of Thomas Currier of An[dover] on Tuesday next being the 31't day of this Instant mo[nth] of May about ten of the clock in the forenoon or as soon as may be afterwards at [the] house of L't Nathaniell Ingersalls in Salem Village who stands charged with haveing Committed Sundry [acts] of Witchcraft on the Bodys of Mary Walcot and abi[gail] williams of Salem Village to theire great hurt & [injury] in order to her Examination Relateing to the prem[ises] abovesaid faile not
Dated Salem May 28'th 1692.
by us *John Hathorne
*Jonathan.Corwin
Assis'ts
(Reverse) I have apprehend the w'tin named parson and brought her to the place appinted -- by me *John Ballard. const. andover
( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 135 )
Examination of Martha Carrier
May. 1692
(Q) Abigail Williams w'o hurts you?
(A) Goody Carrier of Andover.
(Q) Eliz: Hubbard who hurts you?
(A) Goody Carrier
(Q) Susan:Sheldon, who hurts you?
(A) Goody Carrier, she bites me, pinches me, & tells me she would cut my throat, if I did not signe her book
(Comment) Mary Walcot said she afflicted her & brought the book to her.
(Q to Martha Carrier) What do you say to this you are charged with?
(A from Martha Carrier) I have not done it.
(Comment) Sus:Sheldon cried she looks upon the black man. Ann Putman complained of a pin stuck in her.
(Q to Martha Carrier) What black man is that?
(A from Martha Carrier) I know none.
(Comment) Ann Putman testifyed there was. Mary Warrin cryed out she was prickt.
(Q to Martha Carrier) What black man did you see?
(A from Martha Carrier) I saw no black man but your own presence.
(Q to Martha Carrier) Can you look upon these & not knock them down?
(A from Martha Carrier) They will dissemble if I look upon them.
(Comment) You see you look upon them & they fall down
(Response from Martha Carrier) It is false the Devil is a liar. I lookt upon none since I came into the room but you.
(Response of the the "afflicted" spectators at the proceedings) Susan:Sheldon cryed out in a Trance I wonder what could you murder. 13. persons? Mary Walcot testifyed the same that there lay.13. Ghosts. All the afflicted fell into most intollerable out-cries & agonies. Eliz: Hubbard & Ann Putman testifyed the same that she had killed 13. at Andover.
(Response from Martha Carrier) It is a shamefull thing that you should mind these folks that are out of their wits.
(Q to Martha Carrier regarding the "afflicted" spectators) Do not you see them?
(A from Martha Carrier) If I do speak you will not believe me?
(Response of the the "afflicted" spectators at the proceedings) You do see them, said the accusers.
(A from Martha Carrier)You lye, I am wronged.
(Response of the the "afflicted" spectators at the proceedings) There is the black man wispering in her ear said many of the afflicted. Mercy Lewes in a violent fit, was well upon the examinants grasping her arm. The Tortures of the afflicted was so great that there was no enduring of it, so that she (Martha Carrier) was ordered away & to be bound hand & foot with all expedition the afflicted in the mean while almost killed to the great trouble of all spectators Magistrates & others.
Note. As soon as she (Martha Carrier) was well bound they all had strange & sodain ease.
Mary Walcot told the Magistrates that this woman told her she (Martha Carrier) had been a witch this. 40. yeares.
( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 136 )
In addition to the charges against herself, Martha Carrier's five youngest children were also charged, imprisoned, and tortured.
LINKS
Famous American Trials -- The Salem Witchcraft Trials
This is a mystery letter. I have not yet found a David Libby, although there is a Linda Foss who married a James F. Brackett. His mother was Aphia Libby. I have speculated that the letter was kept and handed down through Aphia Libby to James F. Brackett because David was her brother and had been lost at sea after writing this letter. Then, for some reason, perhaps on the death of her husband, Linda Foss returned to her family, still keeping this letter. All romantic conjecture, of course. Perhaps someone can identify these people, David Libby and his father, Joseph Libby. I include the letter in this page as an example of early 19th Century writing. I have corrected or updated spelling and punctuation in the transcription in order to make the letter easier to read.
Antigua December 21th 1808
Honored Father I take this opportunity to Inform you that I am well and hope these Few Lines will find you the same and all my Friends well. We sailed from Saco November the 17 and on the 20 we had a very severe gale of wind which we laid to 48 hours. We had very rough weather till we got past the gulf. We had 25 days passage to Barbados and 4 days from there to Antigua. We expect to sail from here in about 4 days and bound to Wilmington in North Carolina and from there to the West Indies again. We shall return home about the last of May. We have very clever officers. We live just the same in the steerage as they do in the cabin. We are all well and hardy aboard and have been the whole passage. Bill was very seasick when he came out but he is well now. You must remember me to all inquiring friends. I have no more to write at present.
David Libby
The back of the above letter is addressed:
Mr. Joseph Libby of
Limington in the County of York and State of
Massachusetts.
Marriage Certificate of Ann Elizabeth Butler and Samuel W. Foss, 1853.
Wedding Quilt of Ann Elizabeth Butler, 1853
Each center square was signed by her wedding guests.
The Early Years
In
1891 my grandparents purchased the home where I have lived most of my life –
834 Wabash. It
is one of the older houses in Oakland. I am on the lap of my grandfather,
my parents are standing to the right, my grandmother to the left.
Where the Oakland Park is located, stood a marvelous old farm house that belonged to Chet Thomas, one of the early settlers of Oakland. It was probably the ranch house when most of Oakland was his farm before it was laid out for building lots. It was torn down in 1936 to make the Oakland Park. As far back as I can remember this place was owned and occupied by a family by the name of Moore. I never knew Mr. Moore, but I remember Mrs. Moore well. On the southeast corner of this place stood a small square building which was the real estate office of Parker Moore, a son. It was later torn down. It was in this yard, under a big tree, that the Oakland United Methodist Church was organized in 1887. They had fourteen charter members. This was four years before my grandparents purchased their home.
Oakland had a Mayor, Councilmen, and a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Brigham was the first mayor and Mrs. Don Coffman was the last. Uncle Ben Williams was the Justice of the Peace. Everyone called him Uncle Ben. Uncle Ben lived in the big house on the corner of Forest and Thomas. The City Council met in a wooden building located on the southwest corner of his yard, but when the weather was warm they would meet under a large tree in the yard. Oakland also had a Marshal, Mr. E. C. Shaver, who is still living and will be 101 on the 4th of November.
Poplar Street was the dividing line between the City of Topeka and Oakland. Poplar Street and all north of Division and east of Poplar was Oakland. The streets still have the original names except for three east and west streets. Iowa was changed to East Grant, Indiana was changed to Fairchild, and Pennsylvania was changed to Laurent. These were changed because some of the streets in Highland Park had the same names and it was confusing, especially in delivering mail. I have always felt that Highland Park should have changed their street names because Oakland had the names first.
There were no sidewalks or paved streets. Houses were heated by big stoves that burned coal or wood. They had to carry the coal in and the ashes out. In those ashes were what we called clinkers or cinders. These were spread on all the walks like gravel. Gas streetlights were first used in Oakland because we didn’t have electricity. One pole still stands on the southeast corner of Forest and Fairchild. When we first got electric streetlights, they were turned off at 10 o’clock. If we were out for the evening, we tried to be home by that time. Gaslights were also used in all the homes.
Oakland has always had beautiful trees and there were hundreds of cherry trees. We had eighteen cherry trees in our yard. People came from far and near to buy our cherries. They were sold by the half bushel or bushel and sometimes folks bought a whole tree for a few dollars and picked the cherries themselves. There were a lot of houses in Oakland, but still more vacant lots. When I was young, we played Run, Sheep, Run, all over town.
When I was two years old, my father and mother moved to California to help build a sugar factory in Oxnard. We moved back to Oakland in time for me to go to the second grade. Mr. Will Amos was my teacher. She lived in the 900 block of Forest. The school was a two-story wooden building with three rooms on each floor. There were eight grades in this school, and some of the rooms had two grades in them. In later years there were two first grade rooms. Mrs. Florence Graft taught one and Miss Augusta Waite taught the other. Both also had a second grade in their rooms. I don’t know how you enter the building now, but when I was going to school, Mr. Biggs, the janitor, pounded on something that made a lot of noise and we lined up two by two and marched in. Miss Waite would be standing in the door with a ruler and saying, “left, right, left, right.” In those days we used slates up to the third grade and tablets after that.
We moved away from Oakland again, to Springfield, and returned when I was in the 8th grade. I don’t remember who my teacher was at that time, but John R. Carter was the Principal. He and my father had attended school together at Auburn, Kansas. There was an old organ in this school and we sang every morning and I played the organ.
Not many of the Oakland children were fortunate enough to be able to go to high school. The high school was in the city of Topeka and you had to pay tuition to attend. Finally a brick building was erected north of the old wooden school for the Oakland High School. The high school building burned down and the grade school was later torn down to build this school. There were some wonderful basketball and volleyball games in the gym of that high school.
Street cars used to run through Oakland and made a loop somewhere near Riverside and Arter in order to turn around and start the trip back to town. That was near the old Kelsey home. North of that home and down by the river was a park. My mother used to tell me that there were Chautauquas every summer at that park. A Chautauqua was an assembly lasting several days for educational and recreational purposes. Programs included lectures, concerts, and plays. The Sells-Floto Circus used to use the park for its winter quarters for several years. They had all kinds of animals at the park, and Mr. Nagle, father of two of our Oakland residents at this time, took care of the animals in the summer and taught school in the winter. When Garfield Park was created, the Oakland Park was done away with.
East of Oakland were big farms and lovely old houses. Potatoes were the main crops and when potatoes were dug all the Oakland boys went potato picking. I don’t know how they were paid, but I do know a lot of the boys depended on picking up potatoes to buy their clothes and for spending money. I made my first money picking strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries for Harley Taylor. He had a team and a hay ruck and would pick us girls up and haul us to his berry patch which was on Strait Street across where the Shunganunga used to be. It is part of Garden Park now. At that time the Shunganunga was quite a large stream and some of the churches used it once in a while for baptizing.
We had a post office in Oakland, churches, quite a few grocery stores, a hardware store and even a newspaper, the Oakland Blade. I understand there is a complete file of the Oakland Blade at the Historical Society at 10th and Jackson. There was a rug factory, and a woolen mill. The woolen Mill later housed an airplane factory. We also had two drug stores, a doctor and a dentist and a cleaning establishment. What is now the Kaw Valley Bank was the Oakland Bank, located on the southwest corner of Wabash and Thomas.
The Methodist church was the largest of the churches and when a lot of room was required for an event, it would be held at that church. The church also had a bell that was donated by the churchwomen of Topeka. When there was a fire or a calamity of some kind, that bell was rung. The Presbyterian Church also had a bell. Once, when two little boys were drowned in the river, the Presbyterian Church rang their bell until the bodies were found. The Presbyterian Church was located at 1301 Winfield. Later it moved to its present location. The Christian church was built in 1903. There was also a Dunkard Church and when the high school burned, the Dunkard Church was used for part of the school. It is now a Baptist Mission.
Oakland also had a very fine marching band of about forty members. It was organized by Rev. Scholes of the Christian Church and was often mistaken for Marshall’s band. There was also a Veteran’s club, and the GAR. They both met monthly. On Memorial Day, services were held in the Methodist Church and the veterans marched to the church led by the Oakland Band.
In the spring when the violets were in bloom, there was a day when all the teachers took their pupils over to what is now Billard park to pick violets. They also organized a Maypole dance every spring in the schoolyard and all of Oakland came to see it.
Oakland became part of Topeka in 1926 and they began to pave some of the streets. Many of the old streetcar tracks were not removed and are under the pavement now. Sometimes the pavement wears through and shows the tracks. Now all of the streets in Oakland are paved, with the exception of a few east and west streets. Wabash was paved in 1941.
Everything east of the Santa Fe Shops is considered Oakland now, but we old-timers know that Oakland is really east of Poplar.
Edith
Mohney
834 Wabash
October 1972
911 South 5th Street
Champaign, Ill
Feb 23, 1934
Mrs. Eva Kennedy,
416 South 6th Street
Burlington, Kansas
Dear Mrs. Kennedy:--
A Mr. Frank B. Lamb of Ben Avon, Pa., is writing a genealogy of the Lamb family and he has written to us for certain information in regard to Dad’s relatives. It seems as if he wants the name of your mother and father, the date of their birth, the date of their marriage, maiden name of your mother, her full name, name of each child, date of their bith, date of marriage, to who, and same in regard to grandchildren. So I would appreciate it greatly if you would send me the above information of each of your sisters and brothers and their children and grandchildren. Give full name of each. Will you please give me the date of the death of your mother. Also you father and any other members of your sisters, brothers or children.
If you cannot supply all this information, will you please write to your sisters and brothers and ask them to write to me giving me the information. I will then send it on to Mr. Lamb. I think this will be a wonderful record in our family.
Our family are all well and busy. Dad is interested in Govermental affairs and keeps in close touch with agricultural matters. Two of my sisters teach school in Danville, Ill and they see Emma Frayce Bradford who visits there quite often. A couple of years ago, Aunt Alma Lamb
(Uncle William Lamb’s widow) spent several days with us at Thanksgiving time.
Hoping you and your family are all well, I am
Sincerely yours,
Allie B. Lamb
Dad and mother send their regards to you and remember with pleasure the short visit that Mr. Kennedy made us. We all wish that you both could visit us again.
The following is a transcription of a letter written to Eva Lamb Kennedy. It contains hints of collateral families:
VILLA RIVIERA APARTMENT HOTEL
OCEAN BOULEVARD AT ALAMITOS
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
April 12th 1937
My dear Eva--
My sister - Ella - and I were glad to hear from you and to know you had met friends of hers - Mr and Mrs Little.
Evidently you have not heard Ella has been ill for four years, tho she is now recovering much more rapidly in the past year. I have been with her all of the time in the past two years & most of the time prior to that time. Last fall she was able to spend several weeks in Oklahoma City. We hope to get ourselves reestablished there this fall & spend at least the last months of the year at home.
We would love to meet you & hope some day that we can. I feel I know so little of my father's family. The Harry Lambs (with 3 children) live in Okla. City. Edith Lamb Hawkins (Gus L.) live at Ninuba Cal. We had a good visit here with her last year. Allie Lamb -- her sister in Champign -- wrote us of her fathers death. This was some time ago. I have not heard from Billy's wife, Alma for a year. At that time her eyes were bad. Helen's husband -- David Lilianthol -- has made quite a name for himself. That is about the extent of my knowledge of the family.
I have two children --both married -- happily or at least they think they are. My daughters husband is head of the Swift plant in Clinton Okla. & my son is taking his masters at Columbia University, NYC, this June. He will take his PhD in two years. He has a darling little wife on top of that! They will take their vacation here with us this summer. That is if we do not decide to go to Denver -- which is indefinite now.
We like it here in Long Beach for our apartment is quiet & sunny -- overlooks the bay, which is a city in itself when the fleet is in.
I intended to tell you while on the subject of sisters illness that the doctors tell us she will get well. I feel she will, tho it has been a very slow process.
When you see the Little's again give them our regards.
With kindest regards from both of us --
Sincerely yours --
Vinnie L. Leavitt
Mrs. Ella Classon
The Okla C. address that you have will always reach us.
911 S. 5th Street
Champaign, Ill
Nov 1, 1961
Mrs. Eva Kennedy
416 South 6th Street
Burlington, Kansas
Dear Mrs. Kennedy,
In looking over some old letter we found one from you and your name was Lamb. We could not figure out who your father was and finally my sister said she thought it was Pliney Wheeler Lamb. If so, he must have been the son of Pliney Lamb who was my father’s father and who married my grandmother Lamb. He must have had children by another marriage. Do you know the names of all the Lambs in the West? I know all the Lamb men here, but not the names of the daughters and step children.
Here there were the following:
Steve Lamb – no children
George Lamb -- six children
C. A. Lamb, my father, 6 children
Billy Lamb – 1 daughter
Jim Lamb – 4 children
Can you send me the names of all the Lambs – children and daughters of Pliney Lamb and where they lived and where they live or did live.
I know Mrs. Frank Kerr lived in Kansas. Is Dora Crane your sister?
Do you have any further history of the lamb family in the West?
Here we are very proud of the name Lamb. My father passed away in 1935. My only brother in 1958, my Mother last Christmas, age 971/2 – a wonderfully grand lady.
Sincerely,
Nellie Lamb
The following is a single page of a rough draft of a letter, apparently responding to the above letter from Nellie Lamb. It was written on scrap paper by Eva Lamb Kennedy. Clipped to this draft was an envelope with some notes that she had made.
November 5, 1961
Dear Cousin Nellie,
I have looked over the records but I don’t have much information as my father died in 1882 and my mother died in 1890 – but my father, Pliney Wheeler Lamb was a half brother of your father and so both were sons of Pliney Lamb. Your Grandfather Lamb -- Pliney Lamb -- was married twice. My father --Pliney Wheeler Lamb -- had one other bother, Stephen Lamb, who died just a short time before our father died September 7th 1882. Also my father had one other sister --Amorette Lamb Stafford. Neither his brother or sister Amorette had any children.
The following is a note made on the back of an envelope and boldly marked: KEEP:
Vinnie Leavett
Ella Classen
Jim Lamb – father
Charles – older - died
Eddie – younger – died
-------------------------
James Lamb – ½ brother
Billie Lamb – ½ brother
Pliney Wheeler Lamb
Indiana
Realtor – also brother (an arrowed line is drawn from here to point at James Lamb)
Eva Lamb Kennedy -- cousin of Ella Lamb Classen
--------------
Kittie ½ sister
Marion & Jim & Martha Peiratt
Own cousins of Papa
In 1894, 16 year old Elizabeth Mohney attended the wedding of a friend and kept this menu as a souvenir.
From a newspaper clipping, possibly from Scammon, Kansas:
W. H. FOSS KILLED
On last Friday at about five o’clock word came to the Frisco office here that W. H. Foss, the weighmaster for the Frisco at the coal schutes at Scammon had been killed by freight train No. 71. The many friends of the family were dumfounded at the news and were reluctant to inform the wife and daughter of the sad news. At that hour supper was ready for the return of the husband and father who was expected at any moment.
Early in the year Mr. Foss had been weighing coal for the Scammon schutes, but about six weeks ago had been transferred to the Hamilton & Grant mine between here and Pittsburg, where the railroad company has schutes. His wife did not know he was at Scammon, as he was sent there for a day or two on account of the death of the child of the regular man there.
The accident happened just like hundreds of others, by trying to get on a moving train. The mine shut down at four o’clock, when his days work was over. About this time a train came north and it was his custom to come home with this crew. On Friday he was a little late and in trying to get on lost his life, the wheels almost severing his head from his body.
W. H. Foss was about 45 years old. He was born on the day the first gun was fired on Fort Sumpter. When 11 years old he came to Kansas with his parents and settled at Topeka, where his parents still live. In 1886 he married Miss Mary Edna Moore, of Topeka. They moved to California and then back again. A year ago they lived at Springfield, Mo. He was then sent here by the Frisco as clerk for the repair and round house foreman, but later this office was vacated and he was given a weighmaster’s position.
They were members of the M. E. church and had the letters in here and were active workers in the church.
On of the brothers of Mrs. Foss is a minister in a northern state, whom she telegraphed to come to Topeka to meet her. They came here last August. He was a member of the A. O. U. W., fully paid up and carries a policy of $2000. He leaves his wife and daughter, Edith, who is about 15 years old.
Mrs. C. A. Howe accompanied the wife and daughter to Topeka, going on the Saturday morning meteor. Funeral services were held on Sunday. The father and mother of Mr. Foss live in that city, where highly respected. When Mrs. Howe left Topeka, it was the intention of Mrs. Foss to return here and pack her goods and bore to that city.
ON THE DEATH OF WILLIAM HENRY FOSS
A letter to the Topeka funeral home from Cherokee, Kansas
Cherokee, Kans. June 21 –05
Whitcomb & Hamilton
Topeka, Kans.
Gentlemen –
My reply to your request of the 15th has been delayed on account of my being out of town when your letter arrived and have had a little trouble in finding the man that saw the accident. I did not see this man myself, but have been told that he:
Mr. George A. Blackett of Scammon Kansas
Says, that he was standing on the platform at the Scammon depot talking with Mr. Foss, when the train came along. Says, Mr. Foss caught the car but missed his footing and was thrown to the ground, a bolt projecting downward from the boxing of the truck caught the side of his face, tearing the lower jaw from the head, also completely tearing away the neck, leaving nothing but a little skin of the back of the neck, holding the head to the body.
The body of Mr. Foss was brought to our rooms at Cherokee about six o’clock Friday evening May 19 –05 by the railroad men. I was not in when they came and do not know any of the crew that was on the train.
The body was prepared by Mr. G.C. Langford of Columbus, & myself. It was shipped to Topeka May 21 –05 and I was informed that the funeral took place the same day.
We did not tell Mrs. Foss how badly Mr. Foss was mangled. Thought it would cause her extra pain and would do no good.
Hoping this will be of some benefit to you and offering any future assistance possible.
I remain yours very truly,
Mell McColm
P.S. Mr. Blackett says that he intends leaving Scammon but would not mind staying a short time if it would benefit Mrs. Foss any.
Marriage Certificate of Ann Elizabeth Butler and Samuel W. Foss
Oakland, Kansas from 1890 to1910
Letters giving clues to a Lamb genealogy
Letters from Germany, post World War II
Collecting Dust (Home), Layers of Dust, Raising Dust, Written in Dust, Duststorms, Cobwebs, Dusty Relics
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Martha Mohney Schneck