Happy July 4th and America 250

Celebrating Independence Day and America 250 with this penny postal greeting sent to my husband's family in Cleveland, Ohio, 119 years ago today. What a colorful Uncle Sam!

Celebrating Fourth of July in Family History

Three special events took place on the Fourth of July in my and my husband's combined family tree:

• Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954), my maternal great uncle, was born on July 4th in what was Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). He came to America in 1904, became a naturalized US citizen in 1909, and got married in Bridgeport, Connecticut, less than a week later. I've been in touch with his grandchildren, my 2d cousins.
• Thomas Jefferson Isaiah Haskell Wood (1848-1861), in my husband's Wood family tree, was born on July 4th in Plaquemine, Louisiana, the second of 17 children. Sadly, this young man drowned at the age of 12. 
• George Ainsworth Larimer (1873-1922), my husband's 1c2r, served in the 157th Indiana Infantry during the Spanish-American War, 1898. On July 4, 1899, George boarded a Chicago-bound train near his home in Indiana. "Coincidentally" on the same train was Cora May Lutz, also from Indiana. The two left the train at St. Joseph, Michigan (a Gretna Green), were married by a justice of the peace, then returned home later that day. I blogged about the news coverage of this elopement here.

Thinking of these three ancestors on July 4th weekend.

Independence Day Postcard from Last Century

More than a century ago, hubby's four-year-old uncle Wally in Cleveland, Ohio received this colorful Independence Day postcard from his aunt in Chicago, Illinois. She playfully asked him to take care and not burn his fingers with July 4th sparklers. Also she asked: "Do you remember your Aunt Nellie?" 

On Independence Day 2024, I'm remembering my husband's uncle Wallis Walter Wood (1905-1957) and the not-forgotten Rachel "Nellie" Wood Lewis Kirby (1864-1954), with affection. 

Happy July 4th! 

Independence Day Postcard from 115 Years Ago

 

For Independence Day 115 years ago, my hubby's uncle Wallis W. Wood (1905-1957) in Cleveland, Ohio received this colorful penny postcard in the mail. 

I just love these vintage postcards, still in the family more than a century later.

The sender was Rachel "Nellie" Wood Kirby (1864-1954), an attentive aunt living in Chicago, Illinois. 

Nellie and other members of the Wood family rarely missed an opportunity to send penny postcards to younger relatives. 

One year, Nellie even sent her nephew a postcard for George Washington's birthday on February 22, which was celebrated as a federal holiday beginning in 1879. 

Today, of course, George Washington shares his official holiday with Abraham Lincoln, both celebrated on Presidents' Day. 

Happy Independence Day!