Author: Lark

Marysville Class Picture circa 1909

~ Lark ~ Leave a comment

Uncharacteristically for Mary, this photograph is not dated.  However, her daughter (#50) appears to be about 8 years old so I would date it around 1909.  Characteristically, there is a “key” on the back of the photo (see image below).  Those names are transcribed at the bottom of this post.

Marysville School Class Photo circa 1909
Marysville School Class Photo circa 1909 (back)
  1. Dora Murphy
  2. Mrs. Geo. Larson (Trese or Trise? Betor)
  3. Lexie Guilbault
  4. Nora Haley
  5. [unidentified]
  6. Minnie Buselion
  7. Mae Touhy
  8. Cecil Oconnell [or O’Connell?]
  9. Gertie Bakenhall
  10. Joe Krouse
  11. Harley Bo??ee
  12. ?asty Betor
  13. Johnie Peabody
  14. W?rn Buselion
  15. Morgan Langon
  16. [unidentified]
  17. David Julian
  18. [unidentified]
  19. Edward Julian
  20. Victoria Betor
  21. Margaret Tuohy
  22. George Loyd
  23. Katie Guilbault
  24. Draper girls
  25.        “         “
  26. Selma Winstrom [or Wenstrom?]
  27. Catheline Oconnell [or O’Connell?]
  28. [unidentified]
  29. Lizzie Sullivan
  30. Freda Sharp
  31. Katie Sullivan
  32. Russell Williams
  33. [unidentified]
  34. Lenord Micheals [or Michaels?] 
  35. Frank Hufty
  36. Charlie Laiff
  37. Arthur Betor
  38. Frank Sharp
  39. Jack Haley
  40. Delore Guilbault
  41. Roland Lynch
  42. Tom Kirby
  43. Joe Oconnell [or O’Connell?]
  44. Wilbert ??
  45. Tom Laiff
  46. Micheal [or Michael?] Tuohy
  47. [unidentified]
  48. Charles Guilbault
  49. Lillian Middlebrooks
  50. Frances Schenk [my grandmother]
  51. Cathryn Chisolm
  52. Edna Murphy
  53. Norine Murphy
  54. Ruth Lee
  55. Draper Girl
  56. Freda Ortel
  57. Vera Guilbault
  58. Mae Haley
  59. Nellie Guilbault
  60. Emma Horton
  61. Chester Chisolm
  62. Willie Tuohy
  63. [unidentified]
  64. Hugh Chisolm
  65. [unidentified]
  66. Nick Zimmerman
  67. Florence Lynch (teacher)
  68. Alice Sullivan
  69. Sumner Horton
  70. Leo. Kirby
  71. Yelmer Winstrom [or Wenstrom?]
  72. Gertie Bakenhall
  73. Florence Guilcrist
  74. [unidentified]
  75. Mary Krouse
  76. Percy Mead
  77. Minnie Busilion (teacher)
  78. Will Lee
  79. [unidentified]

The genealogy jackpot!

~ Lark ~ Leave a comment

When I pulled this paint-splattered book out of the box that had been in my Grandmother’s basement for about 14 years, and then in my Aunt and Uncle’s garage for another 45 years, my first impression was that it was some sort of school record – for obvious reasons.  But after just a few minutes of flipping through the pages, I realized it was a journal written by my great grandmother!  This is the sort of thing all family historians hope to find – the genealogy “lottery” jackpot!!

Journal #1, outside cover

The inside cover gives you a flavor of what this journal is like . . . and I’ve highlighted the part that immediately caught my eye.

Journal #1, inside cover

Here’s the passage enlarged . . .

Journal #1: “Don’t destroy this book”

So . . . even though she references specific page numbers, not all of the pages are numbered – and the few pages that are numbered aren’t numbered sequentially.  Confusing, right??  To add to the confusion, the entries are not chronological and it appears that she often revisited certain entries several or many years later and added a comment in the margin or at the top of the page.  Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about . . .

Journal #1: example of notation made in top margin at a later date (i.e., “Mother came to Belmont . . . “

As you might imagine, I was frustrated at first – but it turned out that reading this journal was a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle – and I love jigsaw puzzles!

I believe Mary was actively writing in this journal for about 20 years, beginning in 1929.  The journal includes some daily “this is what I did today” entries, but also includes her thoughts and dreams regarding her life, as well as some wonderful family history and Marysville historical information.  On a practical note, one entry contains a list of all the residents in Marysville on that particular day.  And on another day, she made a list of all the flowers in her garden.  And as you can see, she used every square inch of paper!

Mary’s note above – “Don’t Destroy This Book” – is probably the single greatest reason I am sharing this journal.  I believe she intended it to be read and shared.  I hope, and believe, I have her blessing.

But that’s enough from me – I’ll let Mary tell you her story.

George Schenk, Mary’s 1st husband

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1897 G Schenk
George Schenk circa 1897. Mary G. Rumping Schenk Schaffer Riordan Photograph and Personal Papers Collection. ©J. P. Ball & Son

George Schenk (sometimes spelled Schenck) was born September 29, 1877 in Houghton, Michigan, the son of John Frederick Schenk and Katherine “Kate” Ziegler.  When George was 6 years old, his father died and Kate was left to raise George and his seven siblings, ranging in age from 9 months to 14 years old, on her own. By at least 1887, and possibly as early as 1885, Kate moved with the children to Belmont Township, Montana.  By age 10, George was working in hard rock mines as a water carrier.

Mary and George married on September 29, 1899, and had five children between 1901 and 1914.  They lived in Marysville, Montana, where George worked primarily in the Drumlummon Mine.  After suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs for two years, George died October 31, 1915 – at the young age of 38. He is buried in the Marysville cemetery, together with his baby daughter Valentine.

Mary was 37 years old when George died and their children ranged in age from 5 to 14 years old.

More on the Steamboat Rose Bud

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Since I was feeling lucky and excited to have located a picture of the steamboat Rose Bud, referenced in the post 1879: Mary’s Trip to Montana, I got curious this morning and decided to do a little more research.  This was a fun – and very fruitful – research project!

First, I found another wonderful photo of the Rose Bud, courtesy of the Montana State University Library, James Willard Schultz Photos and Personal Papers.  The description of this photo is as follows:

“Photo of a steamboat docked on a river. It has 2 tall smoke stacks and a letter P on a banner between them. The name Rosebud on the wheelhouse. There are men on deck and a group of men including soldiers are standing on the shore with bags of freight stacked nearby.”

Rosebud_MSU image

Next, I learned that Missouri River steamboats transported passengers and freight to the gold mines in Montana from 1862 until 1888.  Many only made one or two trips.  Most were small stern-wheelers built for other rivers and not adapted to the strong currents and tortuous channel of the Missouri River.  Consequently, a large number of the ships were lost.  [see Complete List of Steamboats Operating on Upper Missouri River]

However, it seems the Rose Bud fell into a slightly different category from other Missouri River steamboats.  According to a 2011 article in the Billings Gazette, the Rose Bud was built in Pennsylvania in 1877, and was designed to work the shallower waters of the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone.  She was 193 feet long and could carry 286 tons, plus passengers and crew.  Her maiden voyage was in the summer of 1877 – with Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman on board.  He was on a tour of military facilities following the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.

The Rose Bud made more than 50 trips to Montana over a 19-year period, and was one of the last steamers on Montana rivers before railroads made them obsolete.  The Billings Gazette article goes on to state that the Rose Bud was wrecked on pilings of a railroad warehouse in Bismarck, North Dakota, when the water level on the Missouri went down unexpectedly.1

And finally, I learned that the Rose Bud pilot’s wheel is located at the Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena.  I will definitely check that out on my trip to Helena this summer!

1.  went down unexpectedly.  I found a source that states the Rose Bud sank in the Missouri River near Bismarck on May 25, 1880.  If the Billings Gazette article is correct that the Rose Bud’s career spanned a 19-year period, this date is incorrect.