Amanuensis Monday- Letters From the Past-Part 3

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

 On the 23 of August 1914  William A. McManus wrote to his daughter Etta Daughrity. This is the third of three letters that I found in the Daughrity family Bible.

I have transcribed it just as it was written. I did not change any spelling or grammar.

Envelope from 23 August 1914 letter
W.A. McManus to Etta Daugherity

Envelope is addressed to

 Mrs. Etta Daugherity

710 Church St.

Sumter, SC

The stamp has fallen off but it looks like the postmark was from Lucknow,SC.

Page 1

   Page 1                                                                     

                                                                                      

  Bishopville, SC

  Aug. 23th  1914

 My Dear Children I am

  writing you theas few 

  lines in answer to your ever

 welcome letter which I received

some time ago and was glad
hear from you and to hear

 that you were well theas 

 leaves me well trusting 

 that they will find you

 boat the same

I th would have wrote to 

 you before now but I

 thoat that I would wait

 untell I moved and I moved  

to the poor farm thursday
and I am writing to you

today  Etta you asked

me if I had  paid that

Page 2

Page 2

five dollars that Davied

owed Mr. Halloman no I

have not paid it yet but
will if Daived hasent paid

it

Ella you asked me if I 

was mad with you and

that you onely asked me

to board jainey some

whear els that did not

make me mad but 

Etta my Dear Child I

am 60 years old now

and I have spent 20 years of that for you

and you no that my wife

left me on your and

jaineys acout and

Emmie turned janey out of her house and

then for you to do

the same thing

Page 3

Page 3

 Why you no that

 it hurt my heart more

over  Etta you are the only

 one that knows how I had

my money in the Bank

and I told Daivd

to tell you what I would

do if you turned jainey

out of your hous so

you was not going by

what other popel said

but that you was going 

to do what you thout was

your Duty so if corse 

I am satisfied if you are

           Now Etta

you know that was

going to make my

home with you

and Daived and I have

 Page 4

Page 4

decided that you would 

 do that to keep from 

being Bothered with  

me in my old age but    

my Dear Child what  

I have dun fore you  

I dident do it for eney  

 selfsis notive but    

what I thoat was my    

Duty to you and my     

god so I onely ask you   

to thank god that he   

gave me helth and  

strength to work for 

you and never give    

me a thoat eney more in 

life for I am not wortey
of even a thoat 

 your father

  W.A. Mcmanus

  Bishopville, S.C.    

R..F.D.2.4.                                                         

                             This is such a sad letter. Again there is the mention of the mysterious Jainey. It seems that she is the source of some contention in the family. According to the letter, two family members have asked Jainey to leave their home. The first was Emma McManus, W.A. McManus' daughter-in-law,and the second his daugher Etta. What the relationship between Jainey and the McManus family was is still unknown to  me but clearly she is important to William (W.A.) McManus.
                        William McManus died on the 13th of September 1914, only a short time after this letter was written.  I don't know when it was mailed or how long it would have taken to get to Etta. Did she get it before her father died? Was she able to see or write to him again and resolve what ever was going on or did he die with it still between them?  I really hope that she did but I doubt I will ever know.   Perhaps the answer is in solving the mystery of who Jainey/Janey was and her relationship to the McManus famly.


Previously transcribed letters from W.A. McManus to daughter Etta.

Letter 1

http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/10/amanuensis-monday-letters-from-past.html

Letter 2

.http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/amanuensis-monday-letters-from-past.html

                                            

                                                                                                      

                                          

                       

Letter Transcribed 11 November  2012 by Cheryl Hudson Passey
From original letter found in Daughrity family Bible
Original letter in  possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey archived in Daughrity Family File

                             

                                                                                                               

To Honor Those Who Served

             My Family's Veterans                                    

Viet Nam

John Allen Hudson

Gilbert Ernest Roberts (1920-1944)

WWII

Benjamin Allen Hudson (1918-1976)

-

Frank Emerson Sullivan, Jr. (1923-2004)

WWI

Frank Emerson Sullivan, Sr (1880-1925)
Headstone:
South Carolina Pvt. 6 INF

                       

Civil War

 Alpheus Baker (1824-1917)
South Carolina

Thomas L. Thames (1827-1863) 
Died from illness as a result of the war.
South Carolina 
Muster Roll 

Benjamin Reese Gibson (1824-1907)
 South Carolina
Muster Roll

 

page 1

                                                               

   
 South Carolina Civil War Widow's Pension Application 24 May 1919
The pension was sought by Mary Dority who was the widow of Manning David Dority (1844-1919)

pg. 2

William J. Dority  (1820-before 1897) South Carolina
Muster Roll

   April 1935 newspaper interview of Emma Ergle Williamson, daughter of George David Ergle.

George David Ergle  (1827-1888)  South Carolina
Daughter Emma's Personal Account
The Aiken Standard and S.C. Gazette
Article: The Centennial Museum
5 April 1935  pg.2

Revolutionary War:
                                 

Phillip Roberts (1763-1854) South Carolina
Bounty Land Record in payment for service in Revolutionary War

Jacob Brazell  (d. 1784) South Carolina
Revolutionary War Pay Roll

                                        More Revolutionary War Soldiers:
                                       John Jacob Ergle (d.1837)  South Carolina
                                       Lt. John Frierson  (1727-1797 )  South Carolina
                                       Jesse Baker (b.1742)  South Carolina
                                      William Baker (d.1833) South Carolina
                                      Anthony Lee (d. 1805) South Carolina
                                      John Bradford (1758-1837) North Carolina
                                      William Vaughn (1764-1857)  South Carolina
                                      William Strother( b.1730) South Carolina
                                      John Marion, Jr. ( 1738- 1780) South Carolina
                               

Other Military Service

State Militia 1759 Cherokee Expedition- Anthony Lee (died 1805)  South Carolina
Charles City County Militia- Capt. Richard Bradford Jr.(1600-1774) Virginia


 As I continue to research the lives of my ancestors I am sure I will find others who served or were willing to serve if called to do so.
I am grateful to each of them for a family legacy of service.

Amanuensis Monday- Letters From the Past: Part 2

 Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.




 On  the 21st of June 1914 William McManus wrote a letter to his daughter Etta Daughrity . This letter is the second of  three letters that I found in the Daughrity family Bible.

The following is a transcription of the letter as written. No grammar or spelling corrections were made.

The envelope is addressed to  Mrs. M.D.Daughtriy
710 Church St,
Sumter,SC

The 2 cent stamp is still attached and it is postmarked Bishopville, SC., June 27 1914                                                                                                        
                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                        Bishopville,SC  June 21th 1914                                                                                                            
 Dear children I am writing
you theas few lines to
let you know that I

am well trusting that
they will find you
the same
I got home all ok
and found everything all
Rite
David pleas express
Janeys trunk so I can
get it next Saturday
sure send it in
Ben Shoemaks name
So if I have moved
he can get it I will
pay the express hear
be sure to send it in


                                                                                                                     
 2
                                                             

Ben Shemaks name

Daived I am sure
proud of your garden
for it is sure fine
and I am glad that
you children are trying
to have sommthing and
I love to slip up on
you children for then
I can find out what
you are doing,
oh let me tell you
I had peach pie for
Breakfirst this
morning My best girl sent it to me
well Il cloas your
father  W.A. McManus


Back of pg. 2

W.A. McManus                                                                        
Bishopeville, SC
cof  Mary Shoemake






     3

Etta 2 girls cam
to see me to day                                           
brout me enoghf
cooked to eat to last
me untell Sunday so
you see I am all o.k.
and I am sure glad that
I have got so meney
nice friends
I will send you a check
before long Well Il
cloas with love to all
your father
 W.A. McManus
Bishopville Route 2




   The first letter sent by William McManus to his daughter Etta talked of  the mysterious Janey (Jainey) as well as this second one. I have been wondering who Janey was since I first saw a picture of some McManus children and one was said to be Janey. I know she was important to the family because the others were William and Fannie McManus' grandchildren No one in the family seems to know who she is. To see the first blog post about William McManus' letters to his daughter Etta click on this link  http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/10/amanuensis-monday-letters-from-past.html.
 I have read these letters several times but it seems that I had never noticed the back of page 2 and the actual address that W.A McManus had written on it. It said in care of Mary Shoemak. The letter had said to send Janey's trunk to Ben Shoemake.  I decided to look up this family in the census. Was W.A. living with them? What I found out from the 1910 Lee County Census was that Mary was Ben's daughter and his wife's name?  Jane! Could this be the Janey I have been looking for? At this point more research needs to be done to know for sure.
 Again I have learned that transcribing any documents that you may have is worthwhile. Not only to preserve the original information, but to help look more closely and see the information in a new light. By focusing on what was written , I could see clues that I had missed before.




Letter Transcribed 5 November  2012 by Cheryl Hudson Passey
From original letter found in Daughrity family Bible
Original letter in  possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey archived in Daughrity Family File
Digital Copy of the letter also in possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey in Daughrity Family Documents Computer File 

52 Ancestsors in 52 Weeks: Cause of Death~Tornado

A post originally written in November of 2012 is my contribution for
 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2015 Edition Week 10-Stormy Weather.


From the headline of the Tampa  Morning Tribune 6 April 1925
  3 DEAD, 23 HURT IN MIAMI STORM

The article lists among the dead F.E. Sullivan, Westwood Inn. The dead man was Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Sr. (1880-1925). He was the father of my maternal Step Grandfather Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Jr.

  I  first learned about the tragic death of Frank Sr. from his death certificate..  I am not sure why Frank was in  Miami in 1925. According to the 1920 Census, he was single and at Camp Jackson, Richland, South Carolina. By 1923, he had married Christine Williams and son Frank, Jr. had been born. What took him to Florida? Some in the family believe that he and Christine had moved to Miami because Christine had TB. Frank Jr. was left with his mother's parents in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina.
  .

Miami Florida Death Certificate of F.E.Sullivan

Searching for a newspaper account of the tornado gave me a few more pieces of information about Frank, Sr. or F.E. as he is named in the paper. I was amazed at how many newspapers from all across the country carried the story. Most were just copies of the same A.P. report but some had additional pieces of information. There were also some with pictures of the devastation.

Rockford Republic 6 April 1925, page 2

  From the Rockford, Illinois paper I learned
 that F, E Sullivan was" formally a city fireman".

Riverside Daily Press
Riverside, California
6 April, 1925 page 1

                             The Riverside, California  paper described the Westwood Inn as a roadhouse near Little River and said that it was hit by the tornado. Two died and several were injured in the Inn, including F.E. Sullivan.






                                   

                                                                   

                             

Volunteers Searching Through the Rubble
Greensboro Daily Record,  8 April 1925  page 1

Many Homeless and Property Destroyed
Seattle Daily Times
14 April 1925  page 8

The Actual Tornado
The Sunday Repository
Canton, Ohio
19 April 2012  page 11

   From these newspapers, I learned that Frank Sullivan Sr. was living in a boarding house named The Westwood Inn located in Little River, Fla. He had been working as a Fireman. He and another person were  killed when the tornado hit and destroyed the boarding house where they were living. The tornado was reported as the worst the area had ever seen. There were no mentions in any of the papers about his family.

 The broader newspaper search of this natural disaster really paid off. Instead of just his name in the local paper I was able to get much more detail by looking at reports elsewhere. 

  Frank Sullivan Jr became an orphan due to the death of his father in 1925 in the storm and by the death of his mother just a few years later.  He was raised by his grandparents.

  Has a Natural Disaster happened in your family? What has the impacted been for them?

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.

Thanks so much for stopping by.