Who Do You Think You Are? - Season 2 Starts Friday on NBC

Who Do Think You Are? on NBC

The 2nd season of this great show starts this Friday on NBC at 8/7 central.  If you haven't seen it you should.  It is about celebrities searching for their roots.  Very interesting what is uncovered.   If you are stuck in the house and you better stay inside during this Oklahoma blizzard then now is a good time to check out the episodes from season one.  The previous episodes will be available for viewing until Feb. 5th. 

I hope that one day this show will do a follow up.  I wonder what these celebrities do with their new found knowlegde of their family history.  All of the shows from season one were very interesting but I was surprised that my personal favorite was Susan Sarandon's.  Amazing that because of a family secret her grandmother never knew that Ms. Sarandon was her grandaughter.  You have to watch it.

Also, the show along with ancestry.com is having a sweepstakes.  You can enter to win a $20,000 journey to your family's homeland.

If I win I'm taking my children to their ancestral home in Wales:

Gwydir Castle, Llanrwst, North Wales

Photo courtesy of Michelle of Ireland via flickr.com

Where they have wild peacocks roaming the gardens and it's all green and pretty:

Michelle of Ireland

Gwydir Castle has been beautifully restored and is now a B&B.  You can read more about it here.

Thanks to Michelle of Ireland for letting me use her beautiful photos of my children's homeland.  You can click on the above link to view more of her photos and even make a purchase.

  That is my endorsement not hers.

Please stay safe and warm.

Love,

Territory Mom

Your Family's Strange Remedies - RHOK

PaPa Baker

After not blogging for a few weeks I am getting back in the saddle.  I was going to blog yesterday but things got off to a rocky start which means "turn off the computer".  We went to the garden to calm some nerves, then the baby calves got out, then it started raining, again.  After chasing kids and calves in the rain I finally gave up and went in the house.  Eventually, my husband came home because he got rained out so I knew he could get the calves in.  By the time he got home they were over at the neighbor's, he was not happy, but successful in getting the calves back.

So, today I'm hooking up the with Real Housewives of Oklahoma for McLinky Monday:  What is Your Strange Remedies?

My great grandma, Pearl would go out in the woods to gather plants to make all kinds of remedies but I don't know what they were.

My mom tells me that when one of kids or grandkids would start teething, my PaPa Baker (my great grandfather) would kill a rabbit and put the brains in a dish cloth then rub it on the child's gums (are you okay?).  This would keep the pain away.  Apparently if you survived this as a child he would take you snipe hunting when you became a teenager. 

When a storm was coming, my husband's Uncle John would throw an ax at the ground to split the storm clouds.  The storm would always go around them.

Oh, I almost forgot, when my grandma would change clothes she would cover her head with panties(clean ones) to keep her bee hive hairdo from messing up.  Wait until the AquaNet is dry before putting panties on your head.

I love family folklore.  Check out the RHOK for more strange remedies.

 

Love,

Territory Mom

Yesterday's Harvest

A few years ago when I first met one of my husband's aunts she sat down beside me with her photo album.  I thought, okay she is going to show me pictures of her grandkids.  I opened the album and we began the journey of her garden, from discing it, planting, watering, fertilizing, spraying, growing, harvest to canning and cooking.  I thought what kind of person takes pictures of their garden and documents everything. 

 I know, ME.

Hope you are having a great harvest.
Love,
Territory Mom

P.S.   That is a white eggplant in the middle called "Ghost".  Cool, huh?

Don't forget to join Oklahoma Blogging Club

A Little Eery But A Great Source

If you are wanting to start searching for your family roots one of the best ways to start is searching cemeteries.  Sometimes the information from a tombstone is your only source.

You don't have to go to any haunted cemeteries to find your ancestors just check out Find A Grave.

The website was created by Jim Tipton in 1995 because he could not find a site that catered to his hobby of visiting graves of famous people.  Lucky for us who are not famous.  Thousands of volunteers submit obits, photos and family histories to the site.  All you have to do is submit a search with your family name.  If it is a common name include the name of the state where you think your ancestor is buried.

These are some relatives I found, my great grandparents.  The above photo is when they were young and lived in the woods in Briartown, aka Younger's Bend, Oklahoma.

This photo is on their grave marker.  The volunteer who submitted the photo did a great job.

  I like that you can see where the porcelain is chipped, it adds to the authenticity.

I have never seen these photos so I am happy to finally put a face to the names.

I looked up my husband's family and found this photo of one of his relatives:

Laura, isn't she cute or wasn't she cute.

Before you set out on a wild goose chase (I have been on many) go to Find a Grave first.   It will save you  time, gas money, miles on your car, chigger bites, poison ivy and most important you don't have to stop and ask directions.
Have a great day.
Love,
Territory Mom

I Can't Get to Wal-Mart

We have known for quite awhile that this bridge was going to be replaced.  I didn't get photos of it until the beginning of last week's ice storm.  The guys at Oklahoma Bridges have posted some great photos and a some information about this old bridge that gets us across Deep Fork River and to Wal-Mart.

I thought it was the same bridge as the one in the photo below:

My husband's grandma and her sister

It's not the same bridge but it could be this bridge which also crosses Deep Fork:

Anyway, I can't get to Wal-Mart.  Did that bridge really need to be replaced?  It wasn't in such bad condition, was it?

Happy Grandma's Day.

Love,

Territory Mom

Royalty Or Just Peasants and Thieves

Have you ever heard someone say "we found out we come from royalty". Well, when you discuss with someone family research they always say that. After researching my family history all I found was peasants and thieves, no royalty.

So, I started researching my husband's side and found that yes, he is a descendant of English royalty(everyone is, you know). I've been working on a post for a couple of weeks now about this royalty connection. It has taken a couple of weeks because I was trying to get permission to use a photo from the photographer in Wales. It is a photo of the beautiful castle that my husband's and children's ancestors built.

The photographer graciously granted permission to use his photo. Thank you dear sir.

I continued my research and found that the founder of this dynasty did not leave a male heir and so the castle went to a sister. Then I find out that there were many cousins went left Wales in a hurry and came to America. You know what that means, yes criminal activity. Therefore, I have decided not the post about my children's royalty until I have further knowledge. This could take some time. Until then, Iechyd dda. That means,' good health' in Welsh. I learned that from my new Welsh photographer friend.

Love, Territory Mom

Happy 4th of July!!!!

This is the most patriotic photo I could find in my collection. It is of my husband's grandfather. This photo was taken right before it went to war, that was WWI. Although my husband and I are just a year apart in age his grandfather was the same age as my great grandfather.

Anyway, his grandfather, James left his small family farm and went to war. He caught the bus at a small store in Canadian, OK, which is a few miles north of Bugtussle.

Have a safe and happy 4th.

Love,

Territory Mom

Aunt Belle Died

There is no good way to tell someone a family member has died.

My husband works away from home. He only comes home once a week, sometimes for only one night. It is good that he has work in Oklahoma except for the fact that it is on the other side of the state.

Last night he called and said he was going to take a shower and go to be early, so when his dad called about 8:00pm and told me that his sister, Belle had died I decided to wait until morning to tell my husband. I knew he was tired and I didn't want to wake him up. Big mistake. Based on his reaction I should have told him last night. She had been in a nursing home for years but it was still difficult.

He loved his Aunt Belle. His dad was a truck driver and was also away from home a lot, so his Aunt Belle would help with him and his three brothers. Aunt Belle was the only girl with six boys so taking care of four rowdy boys was nothing to her.

Aunt Belle was a fixture in the local town. Kind of a historic marker by herself. She ran the laundromat for years. There are several old washing machines and parts scattered around our land to prove it. She left her mark.

Aunt Belle was the family historian. She searched for her grandma's family for years. When I found them (McChristian's) I couldn't tell her but I told her daughter. Now Aunt Belle can get the whole story from her grandma, Rosa Bell. I hope they are having a great visit.

Have a great day.

Love,

Territory Mom

Who was Rosa Bell? - Part Two

Why would Rosa Bell name her daughter such an unusual name, Minnie Ozine?

I searched the Internet for "Ozine". I thought it might be a surname, nothing. Then I tried McChristian. No one in the family knew if McChristian was Rosa Bell's mother's name or her father's name. Oh, the magic of the Internet. On the message board on Genealogy.com I searched "McChristian". I submitted my question to a lady with the most queries. I told her I was looking for Rosa Bell Withers or McChristian who named her daughter Minnie Ozine. With less than twenty messages it didn't take long to get an answer. After generations of this family wondering who Rosa Bell was the answer came less than 24 hours later.

This is the response I received:

Rosa Bell is a McChristian. She is the daughter of Eliza Jane Isabell McChristian, who never married. Rosa Bell's daughter Minnie Ozine is named after Rosa Bell's aunt Polly Ozine McChristian Massey. The family was from Madison County Arkansas. Eliza's parents and Rosa Bell's grandparents were Robert Monroe McChristian and Rachel Parker (unsure as of this date if she is related to Judge Isaac Parker).

The sadness begins for this family:

Robert "Monroe" McChristian enrolled on February 22, 1863 at Fayetteville Arkansas, as a private, in company B, Regular Volunteers of the First Arkansas Infantry of the Union Army, to serve for three years. He was mustered in on February 23, 1863. On the same day he got leave for a few days for the purpose of seeing to the necessities of his family. It was a 10 to 12 day leave. On February 27, 1863, while Monroe was at home a group of rebels surrounded his house. He was able to grab his rifle but a rebel came up to the window and shot him. The next day his wife was so distraught she went into premature labor and died giving birth to, Polly Ozine.

Rosa Bell's mother, Eliza was left to care for the children. Eventually, the children were divided up and taken in by various family members. When Rosa Bell was 7 she and her mother were living with Eliza's uncle, Green Parker.

Now the mystery of Rosa Bell is solved. I don't think we will ever find out about her father, but you never know.

The name McChristian is definitely Irish. So now my kids can wear buttons that say "Kiss Me I'm Irish on Both Sides". (My Irishness comes from my Friels' side.)

Happy St. Pat's Day and Grandma's Day,

Love,

Territory Mom

Who was Rosa Bell? - Part One

Okay when I said I would be back "tomorrow" that means about a week later. I'm on Oklahoma time. Sorry.

When I first saw the photo of the family that lived in a tent (see previous post) I had to know about the mama. She looked lost to me. She is Rosa Bell Wethers Teem. She told everyone her last name was Wethers (some family historians have it as Withers or Weathers). This is all anyone knew about her. Many believe that she was adopted. Others believe that she was raised on a Cherokee Indian Reservation.

This is what I knew about her. She was born in Arkansas about 1873. She married John Henry Teem and they moved to Oklahoma. She is buried with him in the Wilburton Cemetery, Wilburton, OK. Sometime after her death in the 1950's it was revealed that her real name was Rosa Bell McChristian and so the mystery begins.

I found some family notes that stated her father's name was Wethers and he was a seaman. This is where the secret begins to unfold. The note states that Rosa Bell's mother became pregnant with her. The father, "Wethers" was planning to marry her, (Rosa Bell's mother), but he died at sea and so Rosa Bell was born out of wedlock.

No one knew anything else about her and she didn't share her family history. Rosa Bell did leave one clue. She named her oldest daughter, Minnie Ozine Teem.

To be continued . . .

Love,

Territory Mom

They Lived In a Tent Down By The River

The John Henry Teem family, l to r: Ellis, Peter, John Henry, Minnie, Rosa Bell and Jewell. Three Two more children later, Steve, Anna and Calvin.  (Oldest daughter, Becky is not pictured)

These are my husband's people (my husband refers to his family as "his people", this is a common Okie phrase). My husband's grandma was Minnie, that pretty little girl with a frown. Of course she was living in a tent down by the river. Minnie always told my husband that he looked like her people and he does.

They crossed the Winding Stairs Mountains to Oklahoma. They lived in an area in Oklahoma which is now Eufaula Lake.

John Henry Teem was from Georgia. The original name was Diehm or Thieme. This family emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania before 1750.

Rosa Bell was from Arkansas. She kept a secret her entire life. Her true identity was revealed after her death. I'll tell you the story tomorrow.

Happy Grandma's Day,

Territory Mom

Cowboy J

This is my husband's grandpa. This photo was taken when he was a teenager in the early 1900's. He lived in Canadian, OK when this photo taken. He was a veteran of WWI. He and his wife, Minnie had 6 sons and one daughter. The one girl was tough as a boot.

It's getting ready to storm in our part of Oklahoma so I'll "talk" at ya later. Love, Territory Mom