Donating or Selling Family Heirlooms to a Museum

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your family heirloom collection?  We have been having this discussion at our house.  What is the best long term archival solution for family heirlooms?  Have you considered donating or selling your family heirlooms to a museum?

Mae Moss Coffman was known as "Coffee" to her co-workers.

Mae Moss as a young woman.  Oral history was that she had a photographer boyfriend.

The first step is to identify a museum that might want your family heirlooms.  Make a list of museums that you have visited or that are on your list to visit.  I tend to visit museums that might have historical collections related to my family history.  For example, one of my favorite museums is the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA).  I have tons of family history centered in Oakland, California.  My grandmother and her sister grew up in Oakland and were surrounded by many family members who lived in Northern California for decades.  Perhaps the OMCA might be interested in my family heirloom collection.

Once you have identified your preferred museum for donation or sale, visit their website and read their donation and sale policy.  For example, here is the policy for donation from the OMCA website:

"Donating or Selling Objects to the Oakland Museum of California
            Thank you for your interest in donating or selling items to Oakland Museum of California’s permanent collection. Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) collects art, history, and natural sciences objects related to California.

In order to consider your donation of artwork(s), artifact(s) or specimen(s), OMCA requires interested parties to submit a written proposal to be considered by our curatorial and collections staff.

Please note, proposals for gifts that would qualify for the 2015 year-end tax deduction needed to be received by December 1, 2015. 

What to include in a proposal:

In order for Museum staff to consider the object, please submit the following information in your proposal:

Whether you are offering a donation or sale. If the item is for sale, provide price and any conditions or terms.

Connections to California are essential, so please be sure to state them.

Information about the object such as: a general description; the name of artist or manufacturer (if known); dimensions; date made; history of how it was made or used; and, any other details you can provide.

Good pictures. Visual documentation is also important to the process, in particular to help assess condition.

How you came to own the object. Please also include any formal documentation of ownership.

Once we receive your complete proposal, OMCA staff will carefully consider your offer, and make a decision based on criteria such as its relevance to the OMCA mission, how well it fits with plans for the OMCA Collection, whether it is in good condition, and whether we can adequately care for it in the future. Not all donation or sale offers can be accepted.

We respond to proposals on a first come, first served basis. However, depending on the unique considerations of each proposal, it can take anywhere from one month to six months for us to respond.

Please do not bring objects to the Museum. We will be in touch if we need to view the item(s) in person. Note that we cannot offer appraisals nor can we recommend appraisers. For these questions, please visit the American Society of Appraisers website or call ASA at 800-272-8258.

Mail proposals to:

Oakland Museum of California Attention:OMCA Lab, Acquisitions Committee1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607

Or submit via email to: ehansen@museumca.org

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Oakland Museum of California."

This seems like a great model for a donation to any museum.  My proposal would center on preserving the collection of a working class family based in Oakland, California.  The matriarch, Mae Moss Coffman Forbes was raised in an orphanage in Sacramento and came to Oakland from San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.  She was married in Oakland in 1907 to Ernest Coffman.  Ernest lived in Oakland near his parents, brother and sister and their families.

Ernest Coffman, Elaine and Vivian's father written by Vivian.

Ernest and Mae moved to New York City before 1910 so Ernest could work as a branch manager for the Gas Consumers Association.  Mae had her first daughter, Elaine in Manhattan in 1910 and Vivian was born in New Jersey in 1916.  The family was back in Oakland by 1920 residing with Ernest's sister, Viola Coffman Hughes.  Mae worked as a cashier for Owl Drug.  Ernest went into the automobile tire business with his brother, Otis Coffman.

David and Viola Hughes, Oakland, California

Coffman Bros. Tires Advertisement, Oakland Tribune, October 17, 1920

Ernest and Mae were divorced by 1925.  Ernest kept Vivian in the care of his sister, Viola Hughes and Mae kept my grandmother, Elaine.  Mae remarried to Ernest "Doc" Forbes, the pharmacist at the Owl Drug Store where she worked in 1936.  Doc was born in Australia in 1884 and immigrated to California in 1904.  I have dozens of objects related to all of these family members that I might like to donate.

To make a donation of family heirlooms, the next step is to make an inventory of your family heirlooms and write a proposal.  So excuse me, I need to get busy!

Ernest "Doc" Forbes, Pharmacist, Owl Drugs, Oakland, California

Doc Forbes at Owl Drug, Oakland, California

We used to have Doc's mortar & pestle at our house when I was a kid.  I wonder what happened to that one?

Doc Forbes at Owl Drug
Doc was a Mason in the Sequoia Lodge joining in 1908.  Governor and Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren was the Worshipful Master in 1928 and the Grand Master in 1936.  I have Doc's copy of the Fifty Year History of Sequoia Lodge, No. 349 F. & A. M. Oakland, California published in 1952.  I also have a pocket watch, pen and dozens of photographs of him and Grandma Mae.  Are they worthy of preservation in a museum?  I plan to photograph, inventory and write up the stories that go with these objects.

Is My Brickwall About to Tumble Down?

The latest discovery in my own family history is an obituary which ties my great grandmother, Mae Blanche Moss to a man named John Lauenstein in 1906.  The obituary states that "May" Moss is the step-daughter of Mr. Lauenstein.  My maternal great grandmother, Mae Moss, was the first wife of my maternal great grandfather, Ernest Coffman, and the mother of Elaine and Vivian Coffman.  Later she married Ernest "Doc" Forbes, a pharmacist for Owl Drug.

Mae Moss is my genealogical mystery woman.  She was placed in the Sacramento Protestant Orphan Asylum by her mother in 1892.  This institution was known to us in Sacramento as the Sacramento Children's Home.

!BIRTH: 1882 Sacramento Children's Home Register; copied by Jill Mayne, Oct 1989 May Moss born Feb 19 1882, American; came to California June 1890, Sacramento; Admitted: 6 Dec 1892 by Mrs. J. Moss; Discharged: 4 Aug 1897 to Mrs. Moss, Father: Nashville, Tenn.; Mother: Richmond, VA; Married: Galveston, Tex.; Parents Death: Waco, Texas; Parents Habits: Intemperate.  Mrs. Moss took May without permission from the Board.

I have never been able to find any records which substantiate any of the vital information provided by Mae's mother to the orphanage.  Between the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1900 Galveston storm, there has been considerable record loss which has affected my search.

Mae stated on her 1936 application for a Social Security account number:  Mae B. Moss Coffman; 885 Aileen Street, Oakland Calif.; Employer: Owl Drug Co. at 14 & Washington Sts., Oakland, Cal.;  age at last birthday: 51; DOB: 19 Feb 1885; POB: Brooklyn, New York; Father: John Moss; Mother: Annie Lanstein; signed Nov. 30, 1936 by Mae B. Coffman.

Lanstein vs. Lauenstein.  This raises the possibility that Lanstein was not the maiden name of Mae's mother, rather it was a married name.  Curiously, however, no wife is mentioned in Mr. Lauenstein's obituary:

The San Francisco Call, Saturday, January 13, 1906, page 13.

LAUENSTEIN---In this city, January 12, 1906, at his residence, 8 Miles court, John Lauenstein, stepfather of May Moss, a native of Hamburg, Germany, aged 46 years, 9 months and 4 days.

  Friends and acquaintances are respectfully invited to attend the funeral services Sunday, January 14, at 12 o'clock m., at his late residence, 8 Miles court, off California street near Powell. Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery.

  Funeral will take place under the auspices of San Francisco Aerie No. 5, F.O.E., Sunday, January 14, at 1 o'clock p.m., from Eagles Hall, 731 Market street. By order of 

  D. J. CREAMER, Acting President. 

 GUS POHLMAN, Secretary.

Publication Title: San Francisco Call; 13 January 1906, page 13; California Digital Newspaper Collection [cdnc.ucr.edu]

 

California Digital Newspaper Collection
www.cdnc.ucr.edu

The address "off California Street" does match with the stories that both Elaine and Vivian told me:

!BIOGRAPHY: 1906 Elaine Coffman Kelly, Interview by Nick Cimino 4 Nov 1989

     Mae and her mother lived in San Francisco on the street below the Fairmont Hotel.  Going up California Street it was the first street before you hit the top.  The rooming house was down there in the middle of the block.  Mae worked on California and Montgomery at a fancy fruit and vegetable market for Mr. Gedding and she apparently knew the family.  She was a cashier.  When the fire broke out after the earthquake in 1906 some of the people went to the Golden Gate Park.  Elaine remembers her mom telling about her father pulling this trunk down California Street one block below the Fairmont all the way down to the ferry boat which went over to Oakland.  They assume that Ernest took Mae and her mother to Aunt Viola Coffman Hughes house at 742 46th Street.

!BIOGRAPHY: 1906 Vivian McGrath, Interview by N. Cimino 10 Nov 1989;  Vivian told me many times that her mother and grandmother were in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake.  Mae Moss was working as a cashier or a bookkeeper for Mr. Gedding who had a wholesale produce company at the foot of California Street.  Mae and her mother were living in a flat on a little narrow street right behind the Fairmont Hotel. They put their possessions in a big trunk, got the trunk down the stairs of the place and pushed it out to California Street but they could not get the trunk up the hill because it was too steep.  Mae smiled at two strong men coming up the hill and they pulled the trunk up the hill for her.  She and her mother then pushed it down the hill.  They got out to Golden Gate Park somehow. Everyone was camping in the park.  Ernest Coffman found them in the park and brought Mae and her mother back to Oakland to the house of Viola Coffman Hughes at 742 46th St.

          

To corroborate the above stories, I checked the 1920 Census for names that sound like "Gedding".  I found a Mr. Charles L. Goetting, age 52, born in Germany, immigrated 1868 and naturalized 1878.   He was a lodger at 568 California Street and his occupation was produce salesman.   He is also listed with his family at 675 Second Avenue. The story about Mr. Goetting checks out pretty well.  I have found advertisements for his produce business. 

Now I have John Lauenstein as the stepfather of Great Grandma Mae and residing near California Street. His gravestone in Mt. Olivet in Colma says that his wife was Virginia.  That threw me a curve ball.  I cannot find him or a wife named Virginia in the 1900 census of San Francisco.  What happened to Mae's mother, Annie?  Is Virginia the same as Annie?  Why doesn't the obituary mention Virginia?

FindaGrave Memorial #135257484
www.findagrave.com

Grandma Mae has been one step forward and two steps back at every turn in the research journey.  But at least I have a few more names to trace down and hopefully, it will lead to actual records of Mae and her parents.

YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED!

Here is the complete chronology for John Lauenstein, 1859-1906:

1859- BIRTH • Hamburg, Germany

Per obituary; died January 12, 1906, aged 46 years, 9 months and 4 days. This yields a birthdate of 8 Apr 1859.

1890- NATURALIZATION • San Francisco, California, USA

Naturalized: SF Sup.[Superior Court?], July 31, 1890 per 1890 & 1896 Voter 

Registers  see below.

1890- VOTER REGISTER • San Francisco, California, USA

Name: Lauenstein John; age 30; Nativity: Germany; Occupation: Carpenter; Local Residence: 621 California, Floor 2, Room B; Naturalized: SF Sup. [Superior Court?], July 31, 1890; Date of Registration: Oct., 7, 1890; Publication Title: Voter Register, 10th Precinct, 31st Assembly District, San Francisco County, 1890 [Ancestry.com]

1896- VOTER REGISTER • San Francisco, California, USA

Name: Lauenstein John; age 36; Height: 5', 5"; Complexion: Light; Color of Eyes: Hazel; Color of Hair: Brown; Occupation: Carpenter; Nativity: Germany; Local Residence: 428 Broadway, Floor 3, Room 9; Naturalized: SF Sup. [Superior Court?], July 31, 1890; Date of Registration: June 3, 1896; Publication Title: Voter Register, 7th Precinct, 45th Assembly District, San Francisco County, 1896 [Ancestry.com]

1899 RESIDENCE • San Francisco, California, USA

Lauenstein John, porter [resides with?] James W. Boyce; Publication Title: San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1899 [Ancestry.com]

1900 CENSUS • Presumably San Francisco but have not yet found the census record for John Lauenstein despite a variety of clever search techniques.  If I could find this record it might reveal the mysterious Mrs. Virginia Lauenstein.

1903 RESIDENCE • San Francisco, California, USA

Lauenstein John, bartender, r. 423 Sutter; Publication Title: San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1903 [Ancestry.com]

Before 1906 he was married to a woman named Virginia [maiden name unknown] per the gravestone. Unfortunately, there do not appear to be marriage records for San Francisco County available prior to the 1906 earthquake.  The Western States Marriage Index  at Ancestry.com shows a divorce occurring in Boise, Idaho between a John Lowenstein and wife, Annie.  The index refers to a marriage occurring in San Francisco on 10 Jun 1890.  The date of the divorce is not given.  It seems odd that Annie or John would have gone all the way to Boise to get a divorce.  The original divorce record in Ada County, Idaho may reveal more but the transcript in the Western States Marriage Index has several blanks in the form.

1906- OBITUARY • San Francisco, California, USA

The San Francisco Call, Saturday, January 13, 1906, page 13.

See transcript above in italics.

!BURIAL: January 14, 1906 per obituary.

Name: John Lauenstein

Cemetery: Olivet Memorial Park

Burial or Cremation Place: Colma, San Mateo County, California, USA

Website: http://www.findagrave.com/  

Find A Grave Memorial# 135257484

Marker Transcription: JOHN, BELOVED HUSBAND OF VIRGINIA LAUENSTEIN, AGE 46 YEARS, S.F. AERIE, No. 5 F.O.E.

!PROBATE: A reasonably exhaustive search has not revealed a probate record for John Lauenstein.

Labor Day- Occupational Research

Labor Day is a good time to reflect on the occupations of our ancestors.  My great grandfather, Antonino Cimino, was a contadino or peasant farm laborer in Sicily.  He immigrated to Omaha, Nebraska in 1906 and the 1910 census shows that he worked as a laborer for the railroad.
.  
Antonino moved his family to Sioux City, Iowa about 1912.  On his 1918 World War I draft card, his occupation was written as:  Laborer, C.M. St. P. at 22nd St. Yards, Sioux City, Iowa.  The abbreviation stands for Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad also known as the "Milwaukee Road".  The 1920 census states that "Tony" was working in the Round House at the rail yard.  Today the yard has been turned into a museum known as the Milwaukee Yard.  A visit to this museum is on my bucket list!  In the meantime, we all can take a mini tour of the Railroad Shops here.

My grandfather, Richard Cimino, worked in a packing house in Sioux City, according to the 1930 census.  By 1947, he had moved to Sacramento, California.  I was able to trace his work history through the Sacramento city directories:

• 1947 casing worker, Andrew DeWied Casing Company.
• 1949 his occupation changed to "driver" no company name listed.
• 1952 laborer with State Division of Highways
• 1953 stockman with State Division of Highways
• 1956 clerk State Dept of Public Works
• 1958-1975 storekeeper State Division of Highways
• 1977 retired

My father, Richard J. Cimino, worked while going to school  at a service station and also baled hay.   After high school, he worked as an Electrician Apprentice for 18 months but did not like that there were periods of unemployment in the construction industry.  From 1956 to 1986,  he was employed by Pacific Telephone as a supply man, installer, repairman and desk man on the test board. While in Woodland in the 1950's, he worked the graveyard shift supplying the trucks for the next day.  There was a tomato field next to his building. He would pick ripe tomatoes and sprinkle them with salt for a delicious snack.  

In Sacramento, he worked at 24th & S Streets, as a supply man and later as an installer.  He enjoyed going to the homes of customers when he was a telephone installer, especially the older homes.   Sometimes he would offer to buy their unwanted trash that became his treasure.  On one occasion, I remember that Dad took us to an old house that he had serviced so we could dig antique bottles in the backyard. Dad has always had a passion for antiques and collectibles.  

My father drove a truck similar to this one while employed with Pacific Bell in Sacramento and Santa Rosa.
When I worked for the phone company in the summers of 1973 &1974, I drove a Ford Econoline at Lake Tahoe.

When I was in college, Dad was able to get me a summer job with the phone company.  He transferred to Santa Rosa and he says that was the best thing that ever happened to him.  He loved the weather and the people of Sonoma County.  After retirement from the phone company, he was employed as a school bus driver for the Windsor School District.  He was fully retired by 1996.  His retirement business has been buying and selling collectible toy cars.  He had a camper van that he used to travel to toy shows inscribed with "Cimino's Machines in Miniature."

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UPCOMING EVENT:

One of my clients is interested in documenting her ancestor's occupational experience as a cowboy on the Chisolm Trail.  The 1867 Settlement in Texas City is already well documented as a "Freedom Village" founded by ex-slaves who were cowboys on the Butler Ranch in Galveston County.  All are welcome to join the 5th Annual historical street festival in celebration of the 1867 Settlement Historical District. The event will include a parade, a trail ride and a new historical exhibit.  See the flyer below for more information.

WHEN: September 26, 2015 @ 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
WHERE: 1867 Settlement Historical District & Bell House Museum
106 South Bell Drive
Texas City, TX 77591
COST: Free
CONTACT: Cynthia at 409-770-3085 or Frankie at 409-599-1967

Show & Tell Reveals Genealogy Serendipity

The Texas Bay Area Genealogical Society had our annual Show & Tell meeting on Friday night.  One of the speakers revealed an amazing story of genealogical serendipity.  Several members of the society brought artifacts to display and they each told a story about the items.  Two sisters, Denise and Cheryl Willis brought a picture and an album that they inherited from their grandmother's estate.

Center and right are Denise and Cheryl Willis. On the left is their cousin, Joy Lloyd.  They are displaying a photo album and a picture that were passed down to them without knowing the names of the people in the pictures.

Denise told the story of how they had received a framed picture and a photo album from their grandmother's home.  The names of the people in the pictures were a mystery until they attended the German Special Interest Group sessions this spring at the Friendswood Library.  I presented a series of three sessions on how to trace your German speaking ancestors.  At one of the sessions, our past president, Bill Mayo, brought some of his publications from the German Texas Heritage Society.  Denise was browsing the journals and found an article with a picture of her mystery ancestor.

2012 Article from Texas German Heritage Society with a picture of  their ancestor.

The article identified the woman as Karoline Westerfeld, wife of Fritz Lehde.  There were several more pictures in the article that also identified other family members from the photo album.  Karoline was born 29 November 1844 in Oppenwehe, Westphalia.  She married Fritz Lehde at Eben Ezer Lutheran Church in Berlin, Washington County, Texas.  The Willis sisters were ecstatic to make this discovery about their 2nd great grandmother.

Perhaps you can make an equally exciting discovery at one of our Bay Area Genealogical Society events!  We have a German presentation planned for Saturday, September 19, 2015 from 2-4 p.m. at the Harris County, Freeman Branch Library, 16616 Diana Ln, Houston, TX 77062.  Gay Carter will be presenting a German case study.

Beth Marshall brought several of her family artifacts for the BAGS Show & Tell session.

Saturday, November 7, 2015 from 2-4 p.m. at the Freeman Library, we will have a  program from Gus Hinds on German Genealogy

Tentatively set for February is a presentation by Beth Marshall on understanding the science behind genealogy DNA testing.  Beth also brought some artifacts from her family.  Beth is a retired science teacher.  Her presentation will simplify the science of DNA and its application to genealogy.

I am hoping that Beth can help me sort through my DNA results which are expected in 3-6 weeks.  My client Dr. Gesenia Sloan Pena has received her results and we are in the process of reviewing her list of matches too.

Another upcoming event that I highly recommend is coming up on Halloween.  The League City Historical Society is presenting "Ghosts of the Past."  The Historical Society is offering a series of 45 minute tours of the Fairview Cemetery with tales of the genealogy of pioneer families of League City.  The tours begin at 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm and the last tour is at 4:00 pm.

Dawes Commission Deprived Margaret Garvin of Her Choctaw Heritage

Left to right Margaret Garvin 1866-1927, Sally Welch b. 2 Dec 1891, Emiline Jefferson b. Dec 1886, Lydia Moss Garvin b. Mar 1820, Phoebe Jefferson b. Aug 1887. Estimated date of photograph is 1894.  This photo would have been taken in Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory. SOURCE: Marsha Lynn Sharp, Eufala, Oklahoma, 2003

Many families have an oral tradition about Native American heritage.  Proving that heritage can often be very challenging.  My father-in-law told me many stories about his Choctaw grandmother.  Her birth name was Margaret Garvin.  When she was born on July 27, 1866, in Conway County, Arkansas, her father, James Wiley Garvin, was 54 and her mother, Lydia Moss, was 46. She was married three times and had two sons and six daughters between 1886 and 1911. She died on January 30, 1927, in Krebs, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, at the age of 60, and was buried in Red Oak Cemetery, Bache, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.

Margaret Garvin witnessed tremendous changes that occurred in the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory and fortunately I have been able to find many documents and images of her life.  I have transcribed many of those documents into a chronological record as follows:


BIRTH-DEATH: 1866-1927; Red Oak Cemetery Transcriptions; Pittsburg Co. Gen/Hist Soc, 1992 

 SOURCE: Mike and Patty Lantz, 2007

MARRIAGE: 1886; Marriage certificate of Gillium Jefferson; This is to certify that I did on this 8th day of February 1886, unite in marriage Mr. Gillium Jefferson and Miss Margaret Garvin in accordance with law and custom; W. H. James, Minister of the Gospel; I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original as handed me for Record and Recorded this 5th day of April 1886, E.R. Cheadle, Clerk; Source: Pittsburg County Genealogical and Historical Society, site visit August 2004; The Dawes Case File for Margaret Phebus has a letter which states that Margaret and Gillum Jefferson were married on 13 Feb 1886 but I am still using the 8 Feb 1886 date for their marriage as the Marriage Certificate is a better source. 

MARRIAGE: 1891; Groom: Wm. W. Welch, age 25 to Bride: Mrs. Margaret Jefferson age 23 15 Jul 1891 Both resided at Krebs recorded at South McAlester on 31 July 1891, Book 1 Page 363 Source: USC 49 U.S. District Court, South McAlester, I.T. Marriage Records, Vol. A-C. at Oklahoma Historical Society (OKHS); Marriage was performed by J.Y. Campbell, Minister of the Gospel. 

DIVORCE: Before 1898; Case #1772 from Index in Pittsburg Co. Courthouse; Margaret Welch vs. James Welch recorded 1897; Pittsburg Co. Court Clerk could not find it on their microfilm when we checked on August 3, 2004. This may not be the right case anyway since the names don't exactly match. ===== In the Dawes case file for Margaret Phebus, page 10 states that when William Welch deserted her, she "procured a divorce from him in the United States Court at South McAlester in the Central District of the Indian Territory. 

CENSUS: 1896 Tobucksy County, I. T. Census. Indian and Intermarried White Residents of Tobucksy County, part of which is now Pittsburg County, lists heads of household, those living in the household, ages, and sex. 882 Indians and 126 Intermarried Whites. 14 Pages. Neither William Welch nor Margaret Welch are listed. Margaret's daughters: Emeline Jefferson age 9 and Phoebe Jefferson age 8 are listed. 

RESIDENCE: 1896 in the Dawes case for Sally Welch on page 7, the affidavit of Margaret Phebus states that William Welch deserted her in the year 1896. 

MARRIAGE: 1898; Groom: Mr. W.M. Phebus age 29 and Miss Margaret Welch age 28 both of Krebs were married on 28 Aug 1898 by W. Perry, Pastor of the M.E. Church; Recorded 9 Sep 1898 by E.J. Farmer, Clerk of the United States Court; Indian Territory U.S. Court- Central District; Marriages;Vol. 6; Book 8; Dec.9,1897- March 7, 1900, p. 197; Source: USC 51 U.S. District Court, South McAlester, I.T. , Marriage Records, Vol.7-8 (OKHS) 

SOURCE: Ancestry.com

CENSUS: 1900 with her husband William Phebus in Indian Territory; Choctaw Nation; ED 84, SH 44; Township 5 North, Range 16 East; see his notes for full transcript of record. 

CITIZENSHIP: 1904 Choctaw Nation Citizenship Rejected; Margaret Phebus Dawes Case File, Page 14 on Footnote.com The applicants, Laura E. Phebus and Sallie Welsh (sic) claim their right to enrollment as citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation through their mother Margaret Phebus. The right of the applicants' mother, Margaret Phebus, to citizenship in the Choctaw Nation having been adversely determined by a decree of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Citizenship Court, April 26, 1904, in case No. 60, upon the South McAlester docket of said court, it is hereby ordered that the application of Laura E. Phebus and Sallie Welsh (sic) for enrollment as citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation be dismissed. 

LAND: 1904-1907; Margaret Phebus was granted Homestead Patent No. 23386 Choctaw by intermarriage Roll No. 1268; Date of Certificate: December 30, 1904. The Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations grant and convey the following described land:  The North Half of the South West Quarter and the North half of the South East Quarter of the South West Quarter of Section Nine (9), Township Five (5) North and Range Sixteen (16) East, (Choctaw Nation), of the Indian Base and Meridian in Indian Territory, containing One Hundred (100) acres. Signed Sep 25 1907 by Green McCurtain, Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation and signed Oct 1, 1907 By Douglas H. Johnston, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. Index to Choctaw-Chickasaw Deeds and Allotments (Hastain, 1908); Supplement to Index of Choctaw-Chickasaw Deeds and Allotments (Hastain, 1910); The significance of these early plat maps and indexes to land grants in eastern Oklahoma is still apparent today. These cartographic products provided a quick and factual reference to the original owners of these lands in Indian Territory. The documents were used by abstract and title firms, the legal profession, county clerks, the various administrative offices of the Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, land investors and speculators, and even the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The Indian tribal rolls and censuses, land grants. various other Indian records, and the USGS base maps upon which the original allotments had been annotated, were all available in the office of the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes in Muskogee. The compilations and maps by the Indian Territory Map company, Eddie Hastain and J. Reed Moore were apparently based upon these original source materials. The landownership atlases by Hastain and Moore were reasonably priced and small enough in size to be easily carried in one's pocket for general reference purposes. those interested in land investment opportunities whether for farming, industrial purposes or potential areas for coal, oil and gas fields, were the major purchasers of these publications. These cartographic representations continue to be the best and easiest use for locating the original landownership titles and for historical research in eastern Oklahoma. 

CENSUS: 1910 with her husband William Phebus in Dow Twp., Pittsburg Co., Oklahoma; see his notes for full transcript of record. 

William Phebus Family about 1913 Pittsburg County Oklahoma: left to right: Lydia, Bill, Obie (aka Bud), Margaret, Bill Jr., Elizabeth & Ava; SOURCE: Original photograph in the collection of Nick and Robin Cimino, League City, Texas,  2015

NEWSPAPER: 1920; Oklahoma Miner, Krebs, OK; 26 Aug 1920, p. 3; Local News: Mrs. Wm Phebus is on the sick list. 

William and Margaret Phebus, date unknown.  SOURCE: Pat Dodd, 2011

BIOGRAPHY: The following information was received from the National Archives, Ft. Worth branch based on the Dawes Roll No. I.W. (Intermarried White) 1268: Choctaw Nation. Choctaw Roll. Field No. 5870, Residence: Tobucksy County. Post Office: Carbon, I.T. Age: 35. Blood: I.W. Father: Wiley Garvin, Deceased Non-Citizen. Mother: Liddy Garvin, Enrollment in Gaines County. Margaret Phebus was denied by C.C.C.C. Case #60M 26 Apr 1904 but on further consideration this judgement was reformed 22 Nov 1904. She was admitted as an Intermarried Citizen as "Margaret Phebus or Margaret Welch" by C.C.C.C. Case #60M by judgement 22 Nov 1904. Margaret was admitted on the 1896 citizenship roll in Case #988. She was also admitted by the U.S. Court at South McAlester on 25 Aug 1897 in Case #187 as Margaret Welch. See her testimony as to her residence and the birth of her child as to her parents see her testimony and that of Wiley Garvin. She is now the wife of W.M. Phebus a non citizen as of 24 Dec 1902. Sallie Welch, daughter of Margaret is on Choctaw Roll #426. Margaret was transferred from Choctaw card #4650 on 5 Dec 1904. Enrollment of Margaret approved by the Secretary of the Interior on 30 Dec 1904. Date of application for enrollment was 6 Sep 1899. Date of transfer to this card was 5 Dec 1904. 

BIOGRAPHY: Choctaw 4650 Muskogee, Indian Territory, January 16, 1904 Harley & Lewis Attorneys at Law South McAlester, Indian Territory Gentlemen: Receipt is hereby acknowledged of your letter of January 11, asking if the names of Margaret Phoebus (sic) and Emeline and Phoebe Jefferson have been finally approved so that they can now take their allotments. In reply to your letter you are advised that it appears from our records that Margaret Phebus was admitted to citizenship in the Choctaw Nation by a judgement of the United States Court for the Central District of the Indian Territory, rendered at South McAlester, August 27, 1897, in court case, citizenship docket, Number 187. Under the provisions of the act of Congress of July 1, 1902, the Commission is prohibited from enrolling or making any allotment to any persons whose citizenship is dependent upon judgments of the United States Courts in Indian Territory, until their final right to Choctaw and Chickasaw citizenship has been determined. You are further advised that Phoebe and Emeline Jefferson have been listed for enrollment as citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation, having been identified from the 1896 census roll of the Choctaw Nation, Tobucksy County but their names have not yet been place upon the schedules of citizens by blood of said nation prepared for forwarding to the Secretary of the Interior. They would not therefore, be permitted to make selection of allotment at this time. Respectfully, Chairman 

BIOGRAPHY: Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, South McAlester, Indian Ter. In the enrollment of Margaret Febus (sic) and children as Choctaws; being sworn and examined by Com'r McKennon she states: 
Q What is your name? A Margaret Febus. 
Q How old are you? A Thirty-five. 
Q Where have you been living? A Down here the other side of Cherryville. 
Q How long? A Ever since I have married, thirteen years ago. 
Q All the while? A Yes sir. 
Q When were you married to Mr. Febus? A One year ago; my first man was Jefferson. 
Q What was your name when you made application to the Dawes Commission? A Welch 
Q What was the date of your marriage to Mr. Febus? A August 28th of last year. 
Q You have one child born since that time? A Yes sir. 
Q What is its name? A Laura E. Febus, who born January 8th 1899. I have got three more children; one named Emiline Jefferson, thirteen years old, and Phoebe Jefferson, eleven years old. 
Q They are not included in this judgement? A No sir, but these two children of Jefferson's was enrolled and drawed money when they paid the last time. 
Q Was he a Choctaw citizen? A Yes sir. 
Q Welch wasn't a citizen? A No sir. 
Q The Welch child wasn't included in this judgement? A No sir. Com'r McKennon: Enrollment of Sallie Welch is refused, because it is not in the judgement. (Estimated date of this document is 1899 by Nick Cimino) 

BIOGRAPHY: Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, South McAlester, Indian Ter. In the enrollment of Phoebe and Emeline Jefferson, children of Margaret Febus as Choctaws; being sworn and examined by Com'r McKennon she testifies as follows: 
Q What is your name? A Margaret Febus. 
Q How old are you? A Thirty-five. 
Q What was Phoebe's and Emeline's father's name? A Martin Gillum Jefferson. 
Q Were you married to him? A Yes sir, under the Choctaw law, the other side of Krebs, in the Choctaw Nation. 
Q Who married you? A Holston James, a Chickasaw Indian preacher. I lived with him until he died, and I put him away. 
--- Wiley A. Garvin being sworn and examined states: 
Q What is your name? A Wiley A. Garvin. 
Q How old are you? A Forty-four. 
Q Are you a brother of Margaret Febus? A Yes sir. 
Q Were you present when she was married to Mr. Martin Gillum Jefferson? A  Yes sir, I saw them married in the Choctaw Nation. 
Q By whom? A Holston James, a Minister of the Gospel. (Estimated date of this document is 1899 by Nick Cimino) 

BIOGRAPHY: Department of the Interior. Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes. South McAlester, Ind. Ter., December 24th, 1902. --- Original Choctaw Intermarried. --- In the matter of the original application of Margaret Phebus for enrollment as an intermarried citizen of the Choctaw Nation. Margaret Phebus, having been first duly sworn, upon her oath testifies as follows: Examination by the Commission: 
Q What is your name? A Margaret Phebus 
Q Spell your surname please? A P h e b u s. 
Q How old are you? A Thirty seven. 
Q What is your post office address? A Carbon, Indian Territory. 
Q Is that in the Choctaw Nation? A Yes sir. 
Q What is the name of your father? A Wiley Garvin. 
Q Is he living or dead? A He is dead. 
Q What was the name of your mother? A Liddy Garvin. 
Q Living or dead? A She is dead. 
Q Did you claim to have any Indian blood? A Yes sir, by my mother. 
Q Did you ever make application for enrollment as a citizen by blood? A I was enrolled as a citizen by blood of the Choctaw Nation. The name of this applicant as Margaret Febus (sic) appear on the records of the Commission on Choctaw roll card, Field No. 4650, having been admitted to citizenship by blood in the Choctaw Nation by the United States Court, Central District, Indian Territory in Court Case No. 187. 
Q Do you now wish to make application for enrollment as an intermarried citizen of the Choctaw Nation? A Yes sir. 
Q Have you ever applied as an intermarried citizen prior to this time? A No sir. 
Q What is the name of the Choctaw man through whom you claim this right? A Gillum Jefferson. 
Q Was he a recognized and enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation? A Yes sir he was. 
Q Were his rights as such ever disputed? A No sir, because his daddy was a full blood. 
Q When were you married to this man? A Seventeen years ago last February. (Estimated date of marriage=1885 Actual date=1886) 
Q Where was the marriage ceremony performed? A At Carbon. 
Q In the Choctaw Nation? A Yes sir. 
Q At that time were both you and your husband bona fide residents of the Choctaw Nation? A Yes sir. 
Q Who performed the marriage ceremony? A Holston James. 
Q A minister of the gospel? A Yes sir. 
Q Were you married under a license? A No sir. 
Q Have you any evidence of that marriage with you? A There is a man in town here somewhere that saw me married. 
Q Who is that man?   A Dave Vincent (brother-in-law) and John Simpson. 
Q Did you get a marriage certificate? A Yes sir. 
Q What became of that certificate? A It is at home. 
Q Were you ever married before your marriage to Gillum Jefferson? A No sir. 
Q Was he ever married before his marriage to you? A No sir. 
Q After that marriage how long did you live together as husband and wife? A Four years and three months before he died. ( About 1889) 
Q What was the date of his death? A 27th day of April;  I couldn't tell what year, but it was eleven years ago last April. (About 1890 or 1891) 
Q After his death did you remarry? A Yes sir. 
Q What was the name of your second husband? A Welch. 
Q Was he a white man? A Cherokee. 
Q Was he enrolled in the Cherokee nation? A No sir, never was. 
Q When were you married to him? A About seven years ago. (About 1895) 
Q How long did you live with him? A Three years. (Until about 1898) 
Q Did he die or did you separate? A We separated. 
Q Were you divorced from him? A Yes sir. 
Q What was the name of your next husband? A William Phebus. 
Q Is he a white man? A Yes sir. 
Q He makes no claim to enrollment as an Indian? A No sir. 
Q When were you married to him? A Four years ago last August. (1898) 
Q Are you still living with him? A Yes sir. 
Q Are you at present an actual and bona fide resident of the Choctaw Nation? A Yes sir. --- 

BIOGRAPHY: Harold Harrington, telecom, 19 Feb 1994 Margaret was going to go to California. She had a relative out there who was sending her money and then the money stopped when she was in Carbon, IT. She was splitting rails to earn money. Bill Phebus happened along and helped her split rails. He was working in the mines at the time. 

OBITUARY: McAlester News-Capital, Thursday, February 3, 1927; MRS. PHOEBUS (sic) IS BURIED Funeral services for Mrs. W.M. Phoebus who died at her home in Krebs Sunday morning were held from the home Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, interment in the Red Oak cemetery. Mrs. Phoebus had been a resident of Krebs for more than 20 years. She is survived by the husband and eight children, namely Mrs. Troy Woods of Wayne, Okla., Mrs. Jacob James of Hartshorne, Mrs. Eli Wade of Carbon, Mrs. A.F. Grisley of Holiday Cove, West Virginia, Miss Lydia Phoebus and Bill Phoebus both of Krebs, Mrs. Truman Harrington of Cambria and Bud Phoebus of Krebs.

Margaret Garvin was married to three men, Martin Gillium Jefferson, William W. Welch and William Morris Phebus.  The testimony in the court cases for the Dawes Commission and its predecessors are a fascinating record of the life of Margaret Garvin.  It appears that the predecessors to the Dawes Commission had granted Margaret membership in the Choctaw tribe but then she was deprived of that membership in the later trials.  She was admitted to the Choctaw rolls as an Intermarried White.  This helped her to obtain her land claim but has prevented her descendants from claiming membership in the Choctaw tribe.

It was clear that she continued to think of herself as a Choctaw as can be seen from the records below from the 1910 census.  She appears with her family on line 22 in the first image.  The Special Inquiry related to Indians shows that she claimed to be 1/8 Choctaw.  We plan to get Margaret's descendants DNA tested to see if there is any detectable presence of Native American ancestry.  We will keep you posted on the DNA results.

"Uncle Jim that went to Hawaii"

My grand uncle Ernie Coffman sent me an email on March 16 as follows:

Nick, in all of your family tree items, do you have any idea when your Great Uncle Jim Hughes was living on Oahu? I know he and his wife were there when Pearl Harbor was bombed in ‘41, but not sure how far back they go. By the way that might be Great-Great Uncle. I can’t keep up with all the titles.

Ernie

I never knew that I had a relative that lived on Oahu during the bombing of Pearl Harbor!!!

Google Street View of residence address of James Edward Hughes

My curiosity was piqued to see what I could learn about this man.  I went to his profile in my family tree on Ancestry.com to see what information it contained.  I looked first at the relationship field. How was "Uncle Jim" actually related to me.  He was the brother-in-law of my great grand aunt, Viola Coffman Hughes.  My mom called her "Aunt Volie".  Viola Hughes was the matriarch of a large extended family composed of Coffman and Hughes descendants.  She and her husband, David Hughes resided in Oakland, California at 742 46th Street for over forty years.

Viola Nevada Coffman 1871-1966
and her husband David Hughes 1868-1952
Viola was the matriarch of an extended family of Hughes and Coffman descendants.

My great grandfather, Ernest Coffman, Sr. (Viola's brother) was married twice, first to Mae Moss in 1907 and then to Millie Loveless in 1931. My great grandmother, Mae Moss Coffman  and Ernie's mom, Millie were both working mothers.  Aunt Volie provided child care for my mom's Aunt Vivian and fifteen years later for half-brother Ernie.  So my Uncle Ernie essentially grew up in the Hughes residence on 46th Street and regarded the Hughes brothers as his uncles.

Ernest Ellsworth Coffman 1879-1934
My uncle Ernie Coffman was only two years old when his father died.

When James Edward Hughes was born on September 28, 1885, in Oakland, California, his father, David Hughes, was 40 and his mother, Jane Lloyd, was 43. He had five brothers. He died on February 28, 1957, in Alameda County, California, at the age of 71.

In the 1910 census Jim Hughes is found residing with his parents David and Jane Hughes and brothers, Humphrey and Evan in Oakland, California. Evan and Jim were both listed as salesman, hardware and Humphrey was listed as salesman, coffee.

Here is one of the search results for "James e Hughes" honolulu at Newspapers.com

The earliest record that I have of Jim Hughes in Honolulu is as follows from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Saturday 8 Feb 1913:

James E. Hughes who has for the last year and a half acted as the Hawaiian representative of the Pacific Hardware and Steel Company, San Francisco, has recently joined the staff of Catton, Neill and Company as manager of its supply department.

In the 1915 Honolulu, Hawaii, City Directory, James E. Hughes is residing at 1227 Matlock Avenue.  His occupation is salesman.

On his 1918 World War I draft card he is married to Esta E. Hughes and residing at 1418 Kewalo, Honolulu, Hawaii.  His occupation is salesman for the Honolulu Iron Works Company.

The California Passenger List collection at Ancestry.com tells us that James Hughes traveled on the S.S. Maui and left Honolulu, Hawaii, for San Francisco, California, arriving on June 22, 1920.  It appears that he may have been in California for several weeks.  He appears again on a passenger
list departing San Francisco on the S.S. Matsonia on August 11, 1920 and arriving at the Port of Honolulu on August 17, 1920.

The following listings are from the Honolulu City Directories.

Residence Year: 1921
Street address: 1418 Kewalo
Occupation: Clerk, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1923
Street address: 1565 Pensacola apt 18
Occupation: Salesman, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1924
Street address: 2682 Oahu av
Occupation: Salesman, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1925
Street address: 2682 Oahu av
Occupation: Asst Sales Mngr, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1927
Street address: 2732 Oahu av
Occupation: Asst Sales Mgr, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1928
Street address: 2720 Ferdinand av
Occupation: Asst Sales Mgr, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1931
Street address: 2722 Ferdinand av
Occupation: Asst Sales Mgr, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1932
Street address: 2722 Ferdinand av
Occupation: Sales Mgr, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1933
Street address: 2722 Ferdinand av
Occupation: Mgr Merchandise Dept, Honolulu Iron Works

The listings between 1933 and 1947 were the same. Uncle Jim continued to reside at the same address and had the same occupation.  There is nothing in the City Directories to indicate that life changed at all during World War II. However, I would have to surmise that the work at the Honolulu Iron Works must have been profoundly affected by the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  I am sure that Uncle Jim was doing his part to support the war effort.

Residence Year: 1947
Street address: 2722 Ferdinand av
Occupation: Mgr Merchandise Dept, Honolulu Iron Works

Residence Year: 1949
Street address: 2722 Ferdinand av
No occupation listed

Since no occupation is listed here, it would lead me to believe that Uncle Jim had retired by 1949 at the age of 64.

Residence Year: 1950
No directory available

Residence Year: 1951
Jim Hughes is not listed in the Honolulu directory

We know that Jim Hughes returned to Oakland, California and he died there in 1957.  Since he is no longer listed in the Honolulu City Directories this is probably when he relocated to Oakland.  There is a listing in the 1955 Oakland Telephone Directory for Jas E Hughes at 37 TrafalgrPl KEllog 3-4559.  There is a Trafalgar Place in the Oakland Hills in the vicinity of Park Boulevard and Highway 13 so this may have been where he was residing in 1955.

The Maui News Tuesday, October 10, 1922
This article was found when searching "Honolulu Iron Works" on Newspapers.com

From R.L. Polk & Co.'s City Directory of Honolulu, Hawaii. 1956
Ancestry.com image 69 of 255

This image  of the Honolulu Iron Works was from the Honolulu City Directory as found on Ancestry.com.  The business advertisements can make great illustrations for your family history.  You can see that the Honolulu Iron Works was a large industrial complex in the midst of an island paradise.  Hopefully this little tale of James Edward Hughes can be instructive as an example of the kinds of records that can be found on Ancestry.com for your ancestors.  They don't always appear with the little shaking leaves as the commercials would lead you to believe.  When you find these records, they will help you to piece together your "Ancestor Puzzles."