Spirited Halloween Crafts, Future Family History

Three generations of my family (ages 4 and up) enjoyed a morning of spirited Halloween crafts last week. 

Not only did we have a fun time, we created memories that will be part of family history in the future, with photos as conversation starters. Maybe we'll look back on this craft day as the, uh, ghost of Halloween past!

Of course these spirited beauties will be represented in the family photo calendar for 2024.

Happy Halloween, and may you have treats, no tricks. 

Top: ghost, deep-sea fish, panda. Bottom: sad princess, watermelon, watermelon with sparkly rainbow. 

"Spirits" is the 52 Ancestors prompt for week 44, from Amy Johnson Crow. 

Happy Halloween: Postcard from Aunt Nellie

 

Happy Halloween from my husband's Wood family! This colorful holiday postcard was sent to hubby's uncle in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 28, 1913. 

The sender was Aunt Rachel Ellen "Nellie" Wood Lewis Kirby (1864-1954). Nellie was an older sister of James Edgar Wood (1871-1939), my hubby's grandfather. James and Nellie were close and Nellie was very fond of his four boys. 

During the early 1900s, Nellie sent postcards to her beloved Wood nephews for every conceivable occasion. The recipients really enjoyed hearing from this favorite aunt -- so much so that the Wood family kept these postcards for more than a century!

Nellie's Story

Nellie married her first husband, Walter Alfred Lewis Sr. (1860-1897), when she was 20 and he was 24. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 37, leaving Nellie with a son to raise alone. She moved to Detroit to find work. In Detroit she also met the man who would become her second husband, Arthur Kirby (1860-1939).

Not long afterward, Nellie and Arthur moved to Chicago...and eloped to the "Gretna Green" town of Crown Point, Indiana, in 1907, where they could be married and return home that same day to the Windy City. According to the 1910 US Census, he worked as a barber and she worked as a seamstress. In 1920, he was still a barber but she was running a nursery from home. In 1930, he continued working as a barber but she had no occupation. 

The year 1939 was sad for Nellie. Her brother James (my husband's grandfather) died in January in Cleveland, Ohio, and then her husband Arthur in Chicago died in March. From then on, Nellie lived by herself in Chicago, but remained in touch with her Wood family back in Ohio until her death in 1954.

Remembering Nellie on Halloween with this postcard she sent to the Wood family 107 years ago today.

Happy Halloween to the Wood Boys in Cleveland

Penny postcard sent by Rachel Ellen "Nellie" Wood Lewis Kirby
to her nephew, Walter W. Wood, around 1910.

When my late father-in-law Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) and his three brothers were young, they would receive seasonal greeting cards like this from their aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Above, a postcard sent by Aunt Nellie, who lived in Chicago, to her nephew in Cleveland, Ohio, around 1910.

Wishing you only #Genealogy treats, no #FamilyHistory tricks, this Halloween.

Friendly, Not Frightful, Halloween Cards

In the 1910s, my husband's father and uncles in Cleveland, OH, frequently received penny-postcard holiday greetings from relatives across the miles. These were friendly (not frightful) messages to let the Wood youngsters know they were in the hearts of their family.

Here are two of my favorites. Rachel Ellen "Nellie" Wood (1864-1954) sent these and other colorful greeting cards to the four sons of her younger brother, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939). Nellie lived in Chicago, James lived in Cleveland, but they were able to visit each other from time to time.

"Aunt Nellie" Wood was married first to Walter Alfred Lervis (1860-1897) at the age of 20. After his death, she married Samuel Arthur Kirby (1860-1939).

"Aunt Nellie" had a special fondness for these nephews, as revealed through the messages on her holiday cards. She remembered their hobbies, sent get-well wishes when one broke an arm, and urged them to continue their studies.

Some of the penny postcards were signed "Uncle Arthur" (in another handwriting), which made me smile even more. The Wood boys were being treated, not tricked, for Halloween!

Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors prompt for this week is "frightening."

Sorting Saturday: Happy Halloween 1913

That favorite Wood aunt, Rachel Ellen "Nellie" Wood Kirby, sent this adorable Halloween card to her Cleveland nephew, Wallis Walter Wood, in 1913.

Wallis ("Uncle Wally" in the family, 1905-1957) was one of four sons of James Edgar Wood (1871-1939) and Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925). His brothers were: Edgar James Wood (1903-1986), John Andrew Wood (1908-1980), and Theodore William Wood (1910-1968).

Although James Edgar Wood was a builder--a carpenter from a long, long line of carpenters in the Wood family tree--none of his sons entered that trade. All pursued careers in business and, in their spare time, tinkered with home-improvement carpentry here and there.

My late father-in-law Edgar James Wood had these colorful greeting cards carefully stored away for many years. How wonderful that they've been passed down in the family for 103 years, and counting.

Sentimental Sunday

 At left is my mom and below is her twin sister, a few minutes older. These are their high school graduation photos.

Remember those socks filled with chalk that children used to swing around on Halloween? Mom's Halloween memories weren't very positive because one Halloween she was socked in the mouth with a sock filled with rocks. Although she had a few sets of front teeth put in over the years, replaced as dental techniques became better, she always had to be careful what and how she ate. She even had to be careful how she kissed! 2022 update: letters written to her in 1940s mentioned her new teeth and the problem with kissing.