| I had not heard from my Aunt Maxine in nearly 35 years, since we moved from OH to FL when I was 13. We just lost contact with each other. I conducted a search for her name on the Internet in May of 1998 and three listings came up. One of them was her. I called her and we talked for about 30 minutes, she was very surprised! About three weeks later I received a wonderful 5-page letter from her along with a stack of old black & white photos from their childhood. How exciting! While some may consider a lot of the letter's content personal, I share it with you here because I feel it is vital and important to others who may be researching the lineages I am. And I think it is of historical relevance for that time, too. |
| "Dear Charles and Family, "You are quite right about my date of birth and age. I was born Feb. 14, 1910 and am now 88 yrs. Alton [Beyer], my husband, was a long time teacher of English and Literature at Dover, Ohio, and I taught piano privately and worked quite a while as a sales person in childrens' wear. We had two daughters, Lenore who died of cancer Dec 20, '88 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was born May 9, 1937. She was a violinist and had 3 sons. And Judith who lives in Steubenville Ohio and was born Feb 22, 1941. Judy has 2 sons and a grandson. "Years ago Judy, Al and I drove to Roseville, Ohio where Keith, Virginia, and I were born, just to look around and talk to whom ever we could. We took a picture of the house where we were born and found a swimming pool in the back yard. We felt kinda bad that it had been changed. There were steps going down to the back of the house which extended down with a basement kitchen and dining area. "We went to the cemetery and took pictures of the Moore family tomb stones there, and recorded dates. Our Grandfather Moore was a blacksmith and had the only pair of horse stocks in the county (to hold the foot while it was being worked on). I remember seeings the sparks fly and loved it as he got them red hot and hammered to shape the shoes. The shop is now a garage, but the owners gave me a brick from the old kiln. They also suggested we see the house. "C.W. Moore 1850-1927 (your Great Grandparents, Charles) Elizabeth Moore 1851-1928. Buried in plot #10 in Roseville Cemetery, across from their home. "I remember having "taken a trip" with Grandpa Moore from Roseville, OH to Zanesville, OH on the train to buy the stocks. It wasn't far to go but it was a big trip for this little girl. Also I had my first taste of coffee at their house (it was a bit of coffee poured over crackers at breakfast). Virginia & Keith were there, too. "I remember hearing that my brother, Keith, when I was born, went up and down the Roseville streets shouting, "I have a baby sister and her name is Magazine!" "I recall Keith and Virginia were right there doing the same things I did. We always played together & with our neighbor friends. Our precious dog, Queen, was our love and constant companion. She never seemed to tire of us. "I have been told by several people what fine and talented parents we had. Our dad was a barber and sign painter. But he did many more things. He had a very "up to date" camera. It was placed on a tripod with a black cover to put over his head when he took pictures. He was a fine camera man and had his own dark room for developing. He also painted pictures and often tinted the photographs. "Our mother crocheted lace, made our clothes. We had lace insertion and edging on our slips. We learned, as we grew up, that Dad and Mother made all of the decorations that were on our Christmas trees. Keith later told me that he had peeked into the living room on Christmas eve when our parents were decorating, and we were supposed to be sound asleep in our beds! "We moved from Roseville to Somerset [OH]--Grandma & Grandpa Stickel's home--when our mother became ill with tuberculosis. They hired a private nurse, "Miss Henthorn," to nurse and take care of sanitation to keep the children healthy and from getting the disease. Our father worked as a barber in Somerset then. Our mother, Jennie Catherine Moore, died in 1918 at age 31 (born 1887). Our father was greatly saddened at her death. I recall hearing that he said, "The sun will never shine on my face again," and as it was, with his spirit gone, he developed typhoid fever, was taken to a Zanesville hospital and also died about three months later. So sad that there were no antibiotics or any medications to treat infections then--in fact, when I grew up and Al and I were just married (1933), Al developed strep throat and almost died, a very high fever. Sulfa was just being introduced and the doctor tried it on Al. The doctor later told us "If Al hadn't died of the strep infection, it's a wonder the sulfa hadn't killed him!" It was so crude then. This was about 1938 and our parents died in 1918. I tell you this to show why there were so many deaths earlier, including little children. "The death of our parents was not just a family affair. The whole town of Somerset grieved with and for us. Keith was then 10, I was 8, and Virginia 4. I've been told our parents had a 4th child--Carl--who died at birth. He was between Virginia and me. I can barely recall seeing the little casket sitting by the front door in Roseville. "We three children lived on with Grandma & Grandpa Stickel in Somerset who by this time were getting quite old. They had raised their own 7 children. Grandpa used to trot us on his knee and sing old war songs to us. He was a Civil War veteran--shot through the body and lungs and lay dying on the battle field in the battle for Missionary Ridge in Gettysburg. They passed over his body 3 times with a stretcher, on the 4th time he was able to move a bit and raised his hand. They cut the bullet out of his back right there on the battle field with nothing to dull the pain. From then on he had to sleep propped up with pillows, in a sitting position. "I never heard our grandparents say an unkind word to each other, nor use any kind of profanity. I remember we were't allowed to sing at the table or put our arms on the table when we ate. They were good in arithmetic and spelling and helped us when we asked for help, and they encouraged us to study. "I suppose because of the energy drain on our grandparents, their youngest son, Uncle Sherman and his wife Aunt Lesta, of Canton, took Keith to live with them in Canton, OH, as he did for several years. At times Virginia and I would visit there too as well as with their other children. "Later Keith seemed to get the wonder-lust and left their home when he was older. I remember clearly when Keith came driving in saying he had been in Kansas. He stayed a while and was off again. I guess there's a little of that traveling spirit in all of us. "Uncle Sherman and Aunt Lesta, daughter Vera & husband, moved to Florida in later life. He was the youngest son and the last to die on Oct 28, '88 at age 103. Viriginia visited him at the nursing home and saw that he had what he needed and wanted. "Our daughter Judy found some of these pictures of Keith among the pictures I left in her attic when we moved to a mobile home in Texas. I had a few here, too. He was a dear, sweet boy as you can see. We had great times playing together in the back yard. "Charles, your father lived a long life, after all of his war experience and shell shock. He said to me, "I can still hear those Japs picking over our trenches." "You caused me to think a lot about our childhood and I thought about it after I went to bed. "I wish you and your family the best of good fortune and health." Max |