All posts by CJ Spicer
Dexter News Clippings
DEXTER NEWS CLIPPINGS
I’ve collected a number of Dexter news clippings to get perspective on our family. It is important to learn more about the comings and goings of these family members, so each article is an important discovery. It puts the family in context with local history – as you will see.
Information in news clippings is helpful to reference and verify family association (such as the Dexter-Connelly-Henderson Reunion clip, below).
The families gathered for this story are primarily those of the four Dunlap sisters: Mary Dexter, Margaret “Harriet” Walburn, Melinda Connelly and Martha Henderson. All are the daughters of James Hamilton Dunlap and Zerna Mitchell.
George James Dexter talked about his experience in the Civil War according to the article. He documented his adventures in the military during General Sherman’s “March to the Sea”. I wish that speech survived. It would have made such a welcome addition!
DEXTER-HENDERSON-CONNELLY REUNION
Mary Dunlap Dexter was quite progressive, helping to found the “Three O’Clock Club”. This was a group of women, many of them spouses of Purdue University professors. They organized with the goal to improve intellectual ability. Her parties were legend and she was frequently discussed in the social pages.
The news clipping below features a holiday party at which Mary and her friend Katherine Porter attended as charter members. They served tea to the collected guests:
Literature Club Party
An Article About The Founding Of The Three O’Clock Club
Mary Dexter was quite a social butterfly. This trait was passed on through multiple generations, it seems. Her involvement in church and community was well documented. Mary’s final party was a holiday party in December of 1929. Days later, but before the new year and decade began, Mary passed away. This final holiday party was one of her most celebrated events.
There are many more news clippings and articles on file attached to the family members on the Ancestry tree gedcom (currently called DexterHistorianFamily). I will add others here as I find, review and develop the individual stories.
Finally, since WordPress apparently doesn’t like the length of the above clipping, I attached the transcript for it. Names in this article include many within Lafayette social and intellectual circles. Many of the ladies included their maiden as well as married names.
This is quite a forward-thinking group, since white women didn’t get the vote for another 14 years. From the 1906 dust-up you can read about, you will see that there was quite the split in points-of-view as to the necessity of “clubs” in general!
Enjoy the news clippings and come back to see what new discoveries have been found about our Dexters and the related and associated families.
Speaking In Relative Terms Ep 001
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:04 — 23.9MB) | Embed
Speaking in Relative Terms – A Family Podcast is a new podcast offered by Connie and David Spicer in order to enrich our children and all cousins out there on the history and genealogy of our respective families. We’ll explore DNA questions and situations, and see find out about our family but we will focus on the stories of our ancestors and our own descendants. Yes, you’ll hear from cousins near and far – and grandkids and folks of all ages, starting with today’s episode!
Today, I tell 3 stories about different members of my family – past and present. The first story is about my 3X great grandmother Arabella Swan. The second features an “anonymous” cousin and our DNA match research to verify her parentage. The third story starts the long story of 2 and 3X great grandfather Dexters and how they came to America.
Then, our granddaughter, Jolene Law, all of 4 years old, visits me. Jojo is starting to figure out if she ever wants to do this again. I think you’ll enjoy the conversation – and I hope Jojo gets to hear it again in a half century! Can you imagine?
Join us next time for another episode of Speaking in Relative Terms. Be sure to find and follow us on Facebook and Twitter @RelativeTerms.
QOTM: Questions of the Month
QOTM: Questions of the Month
I would love to see more of you get involved, and as such, decided to post Questions of the Month aka QOTM.
Answer any one or more of these questions. Post it here (or send it to me to post for you) and I’ll make sure you are listed as the author. With that in mind, here are the first set of questions.
Question 1: Describe a favorite memory of you and your favorite pet, sibling or a best friend growing up.
Question 2: Tell us an interesting, amusing or otherwise engaging anecdote about your school life.
Question 3: What happened when you brought home your ‘someday’ spouse or significant other to meet the family for the first time?
Question 4: What was “so great” about your parents? What wasn’t?
Question 5: Do you have a story to share about an ancestor that’s “hard to believe”?
If you are part of the family and have not yet requested to join in, please do! Just send a request to info@dextergenealogy.com and you will get your member info in our return email.
You can also respond to questions in the comments, but it would be more clear to do your own story. Let’s write!
Odd Deaths and Family Lore
ODD DEATHS
Recently, I discovered odd deaths within the family. Because these discoveries left questions I wanted answers to, I dug into the research. Some associated family lore goes along with these events and when I have a specific incident, I’ll include it.
While these tragedies brought great trauma to our kin at the time, generations and separation insulate us. (Or, do they?) Discussion makes it easier to share and clear up confusion that comes from myth and mystery. From there, we turn it into a true biography of our relative with a beginning, middle and end. Hopefully, we learn what drove them to do the things they did.
So, I ‘ll bring a few of these (not all, by any means) to your attention and see what you think of this odd collection of Dexter and associated family demises. Be sure to leave a comment after the article!
THE SAD LIFE OF WILLIAM HUSTON
First of all, let’s start with William Huston. William was my 2nd great grandfather, my paternal grandmother’s grandfather. He was born May 27th, 1838, a son of Archibald Huston. On May 30, 1860, he married Elizabeth Ridenour of Xenia, Ohio.
Shortly after his marriage, William enlisted and served in the Civil War in the 154th Ohio Infantry, a National Guard regiment, as a private. When serving our country, he lost his arm.
Years after mustering out, William and Elizabeth finally started their family. I located records for 4 sons that made it to adulthood: Charles, Edward, George and Frank. There is a large gap that doesn’t show any children, yet there are articles that refer to a 5th son and 3 daughters.
After the Civil War, a traumatized and disabled William needed time to adjust – time his wife also needed to give him. The younger children don’t appear in census, so I am assuming they stayed with other relatives. As yet, their names are unknown.
DECISION OR ACCIDENT?
Alas, William had a difficult life and found a more difficult, sad end. According to a news article, there was considerable street conversation about William’s family.
The gossip suggested that it “was well known” that William was beaten badly by one of his sons the year before his death. (See article within photos). Despondent that he could not provide the way he thought he should, and overcome with despair, William decided there was only one way out.
SECOND ARTICLE COMMENTARY
A second article claims there was no depression, no sadness and no poor home life: William’s death was an unfortunate event. This article claimed that William purchased poison instead of “medication”. He took it before he arrived home that fateful day without realizing what it was.
Despite lingering for some hours, William succumbed to the poison he had ingested, aged just 61 years.
Which son was it that caused physical and emotional injury to William? Did my great grandfather George beat his father or was it one of the other siblings? Fining this answer could also provide insight on why my great grandparents were divorced. Did this odd death occur as a result of a thrashing by a son or a combination of errors?
NEXT UP: WILLIAM’S BROTHER GEORGE W. HUSTON
Our next odd death will be that of William’s brother, George Washington Huston – the brother William named his son (my great grandfather) after.
