Treasure Chest Thursday - Baby Book

My husband's baby book has more than just fun facts from his early years--it also has names of relatives! It also has a lock of his hair from his first haircut decades ago :) No photos, but all entries were handwritten by my mother-in-law, and the book is in excellent condition. She even left notes about his formula and pablum.

The entries are easier to read in reality than they look in this scan, and there are lots and lots of names scattered through the pages. This year I'm going to start tracing his Steiner and Traxler lines, and both names are here. So my treasure chest item for today is this baby book. Are there baby books in your treasure chest?

Family Recipe Friday - Grandmother McClure's Butterscotch Brownies

Floyda Mabel Steiner McClure, my husband's grandmother, made these not-too-sweet butterscotch brownies. You can see her below, reading to my husband (pre-TV days).

For a little Christmas family bonus, we gave out copies of this recipe held in a cute glass recipe holder clip, along with specialty toppings to be attached with icing.

Grandma McClure's Butterscotch Brownies

7/8 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (or margerine)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" or 8" round or square pan.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and add sugar gradually to blend thoroughly.
3. Stir in eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture. Then stir in sifted ingredients. Add nuts if desired. Batter will be fairly smooth and thin.
4. Spread batter in greased pan, bake at 350 for 20 min. Check for doneness with a toothpick. If toothpick is clean/dry, remove brownies from oven.
5. Cool, cut into squares, dust with powdered sugar, and serve with ice cream for best taste!

Sharing recipes from ancestors is one way to keep family history alive--as discussed in my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Grandma, Upper Sandusky, and McGuffey's Reader

Years ago, my husband's parents gifted him with a beat-up old book, McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader (revised edition). These days, McGuffey's is available for free, online, from the Gutenberg Project.

The book itself is too fragile to scan, unfortunately, so no picture here. The book has huge sentimental value because it belonged to my husband's grandmother, Floyda Steiner McClure, who used it in school in Upper Sandusky, OH, about 1890-91.

Interestingly, Floyda practiced her shorthand on the endpapers at the back of the book. She also scribbled some math sums back there. No highlighting in the book, of course. This is a family treasure because it connects us to older generations in a tangible way. How else would we know that Floyda read Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Lord Byron, and more?

2022 update: New image of cover.

The McClure Family - Ohio Branch

I'm researching my husband's family at the moment...here are two photos of his grandparents. Above is Floyda Mabel Steiner McClure (1878-1948), of Nevada, Ohio (d. Cleveland).

And here's Brice Larimer McClure, (1878-1970), affectionately known as "The Old Gentleman" in the family. He was born in Little Traverse, Michigan (d. Cleveland). He's named after Brice S. Larimer, his maternal grandfather. 

We're not sure where the name Brice comes from or why it was chosen, since the family tree doesn't yet reflect that name, but we're not very far into this family's research. 2022 update: An ancestor in the family was Brice Smith, clearly the reason why Brice was passed down in multiple generations.

Surname Saturday: McClure and Steiner

Above is Floyda Mabel Steiner McClure, my husband's maternal grandmother. She was born in Nevada on March 30, 1878 (according to her obit) and married Brice Larimer McClure in Upper Sandusky, OH, on June 10, 1903. She died in November, 1948. In this photo from the late 1930s, she's holding her oldest grandson, Wallis (my hubby), on her lap. Floyda had many siblings, including Carrie Steiner Traxler, Blanche Etta Steiner Rhuark, and Minnie Estella Steiner Halbedel. So far as I know, she had only one brother, Orville J. Steiner, 1856-1936. Above is Brice Larimer McClure, born Dec 25, 1878 in Little Traverse, Indiana to William Madison McClure, a farmer, and his wife, Margaret Jane Larimer. I want to trace this branch of the McClure family. Based on Census records, William Madison McClure's father is Benjamin McClure (married to Sarah Denning). Other children of Benjamin (a farmer, born in Ohio) and Sarah Denning McClure were: Mary A. McClure, John N. McClure, Train C. McClure, Elizabeth McClure, and Addison McClure. 

2022 update: For more about the McClure ancestors in my husband's family, see the ancestor landing page here.