The Hope Chest

THE HOPE CHEST

by Karen Utter Jennings

The first seven years of my life were spent at Rocky Comfort. We lived on the old home place down by the Indian Creek Bridge south of the post office. My paternal great-grandmother, Ollie Johnson Utter Brier lived on the hill south of the school. I was in her house just as much as I was in our own.

I remember each room in Great-grandma Ollie’s house and the furniture she owned.   One of the pieces of furniture I loved was the cedar chest. The chest is small, sets on the floor (there are no legs) and has carved-wood handles on each end of the lid. Rectangular diamond-shaped wooden pieces adorn the front and sides of the cedar chest and it is very heavy.    

As I grew into a young girl, one day when I went to visit, the cedar chest was setting in the living room under the front window. Great-grandma Ollie and I sat on the hardwood floor next to the chest. She explained that the chest would be mine when she died or I got married, whichever came first. She called the cedar chest a hope chest and explained the meaning of it.  She said she was “setting things back” for me when I grew up and married, so the things inside were mine.

Great-grandma Ollie said my grandfather, her only son, Perry Utter, made the chest when he was a boy.  She said Perry was talented in wood working and he loved to make things.  He also made the wooden sewing machine stand that housed her Singer sewing machine. I later learned that Ollie’s father, Thomas “Bud” Johnson, worked in the woods, hewing lumber after he came to Missouri from Indiana in 1876. That is the topic of another column someday.

As Ollie’s gnarled hands lifted the lid, I was delighted to spy several things inside wrapped up with doilies and handkerchiefs (hankies as we called them) and laying next to each other. She lifted the first item out of the chest, unwrapped it, and handed me a pickle or condiment dish that was very old and worth a lot of money. She told the story of the dish. It had belonged to a female family member.  

Ollie brought out a square box that housed her Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera. Her story about cameras and her love of taking pictures is one that I will always remember.  As soon as cameras became available, she bought her first one and began snapping pictures of everything around her, especially her family. Along with the camera, she gave me her photo album. That photograph album is a topic of another column in weeks to come.

When we reached the bottom of the cedar chest, we rewrapped each item and placed them into their safe place. She closed the lid on the chest and I ran off to get out my paper doll collection and other toys and spread them on the floor to play.   

I am happy to say, I got married before her death, so the cedar chest came to live at my house.  Over the years, it lost its strong scent of cedar and it needed a good cleaning and a few repairs. I used a good soap for wooden furniture and left it as it is. The chest now holds my important memorabilia. As time goes by, I add things to the old chest and someday I will sit with my grandchildren to explain the history of the items. 

I am in the process of taking pictures of the heirlooms I own and writing about what I know of them. I teach my grandchildren about their heritage and the genealogy work I do. One day, years from now, family members will harvest the benefits of my genealogy work, so that they may pass on the story of the old cedar chest.

             

Christmas Toys For Girls and Boys

CHRISTMAS TOYS FOR GIRLS AND BOYS

By Karen Utter Jennings

            Toys are always a big part of Christmas. Each year, Mother told my brothers and me to make a list of what we wanted for Christmas. Usually, we received two things from the list we wrote. While I reminisced about the old toys from our past Christmases, my curiosity led me to research the history of some of those toys.  

            The year was 1965 and I asked for a walking doll, which was a hot toy. Every girl wanted a doll that walked. Early on Christmas morning, when my brothers and I couldn’t wait a minute more, we jumped out of bed and rushed to the living room to marvel at the presents strewn around the tree.

            When I spied the huge rectangular box with my name on it, I knew. To my fourth grade stature, the doll was amazingly lifelike, standing three and a half feet high. I named her Tonie. She wore size 3 real girl clothing and during the months that followed, I quickly collected clothing for her, keeping the wardrobe in the doll box.

            Since I was the only girl in the family, my walking doll was the little sister I never had. I named her Tonie. Tonie had long red hair with poufy bangs and her blue eyes watched me marvel at her beauty.  She wore a red dress, white under things with white lace socks and shoes. By taking her left arm and guiding her Tonie walked everywhere with me except to school. I distinctly remember Mom telling me the doll was a Horsman doll and the emphasis she placed on the name meant it was important.

            In 1865, E.I. Horsman opened a toy company in New York City. In those early years of manufacturing, they produced a variety of dolls. A Horsman doll meant value and parents wanted quality dolls for their children. During the 1960s, the Horsman Company proudly distributed dolls that looked like celebrities and famous characters such as Cinderella, the Flying Nun, Mary Poppins, Patty Duke and Jacqueline Kennedy, and of course, the wildly popular walking dolls.

            As I marveled over my new doll, my brothers, Mike, Bill and Bob, got a Marx Fort Apache Play set that they shared. The fort came in a big box and included figurines of the U.S. Cavalry, the Indians, the walls and gate of the fort along with cannons, tepees and all the accessories. Along with the fort, the boys also got Johnny West and Geronimo dolls to accompany the theme of cowboys and Indians.

            Louis Marx & Company toy manufacturers made the Fort Apache Play Sets and the Johnny West and Geronimo boy dolls. The company began in 1919 and is known for producing the famous Yoyo in 1928.

            When I asked my husband about his favorite Christmas toy, with a twinkle in his eye, he spoke of his little blue pedal car. He was six years old in 1957 and all he wanted was a car. He got it.

            The house his folks lived in at the time allowed him to drive his car around throughout the house. He remembers pedaling the car as fast as his legs would go, bumping into anything and anyone who got in his way.

            Toy pedal cars were made after the automobile was invented. However, due to their expense to manufacture, usually only the wealthier families purchased them. Because of World War II, no pedal cars were produced during the 1940s. The miniature cars became increasingly popular and eventually, they were not just for the wealthier families. During the 1960s, plastic replaced much of the metal pedal car production, ending the era of true pedal cars.

            In today’s market, collectors vie for vintage toys. The little girls and boys have grown up and have turned the vintage toy market into a big business. The internet is full of websites with toys for sale. Search any of the sites and you are sure to find a replica of that exact toy you once owned as a child. Interestingly, the prices on most vintage toys accommodate everyone from those on a low budget to those who are able to spend thousands of dollars.

            And so, I bring you the memories of a few Christmas toys for girls and boys. I wish everyone a happy and safe Merry Christmas. May all your holiday wishes come true, no matter your age!

Rocky Comfort: Little Town in the Missouri Ozarks

Rocky Comfort: Little Town in the Missouri Ozarks

By Karen Utter Jennings

            Rocky Comfort is a peculiar name for a town.  The history of the village tells about the rocky terrain descending into a beautiful green valley; hence the name.  I am fortunate to live not far from Rocky Comfort, so I take a little drive occasionally to visit the graves of my family in the cemetery and take a spin around the town. 

            The first seven years of my childhood were spent growing up in Rocky.  My parents, Ronnie and Emma Faye Utter and my brothers, Mike, Bill, and Bob, lived between the Prosperity Baptist Church and the Indian Creek Bridge downtown.  The property is known as the old Shipman Place.

            The property came into our Utter/Brier family in the 1950s when my paternal grandmother’s parents (the Blacks) bought it. Through the years, it was sold and resold to family members. When Mae Utter Martin bought it, she had a huge pond dozed out in the back near where Indian Creek Branch flows.

            I have many photographs of the house and property when we lived there. Finally, in the 1970s, Mae Utter Martin went to the Elmhurst Nursing Home in Webb City, Missouri, and the property was sold. Today the property looks nothing like it did. There’s a mobile home setting toward the back of the land.

            Our paternal great-grandmother, Ollie (Johnson) Utter Brier, lived just north of the elementary school and the playground.  Her property is known as the old Milligan house. A dirt road separated the place from the school grounds.

            In 1943, Ollie’s parents, Thomas and Nancy Johnson left Kings Valley and moved to Rocky. Tom and Nancy’s health continued to deteriorate and Ollie and her husband, Bill Brier, left Kansas and moved to Rocky to care for them.

            Bill and Ollie bought the place and the surrounding acreage right after that. I have photographs of the houses and land when me and my family lived there.

            My first and second grade teachers were Marie Goosetree and Lela Young, respectively.  I have old grade cards from those elementary school days.  I remember crossing the road to go to school wearing a dress with long corduroy pants underneath and carrying my satchel. A satchel is defined as a small bag often with a shoulder strap that one carries supplies in and carried to school.

            As time went by, we knew everyone who lived in town.  Ollie loved to walk and she would take my brothers and me for a “walk around the block.”  At each of the houses along the way, we stopped to chat with the neighbors.  Some of her neighbors were George and Julie Barnett, Ouida Lowe, Delores Lamberson, Ephraim Decker, Joi Blair, and Lyman Dabbs.

            The Rocky Comfort Methodist Church is still standing in the same spot, but under a different name.  Earl D. Young christened me in that little church.  As a youngster on Sunday mornings, Ollie slipped a dime into my chubby hand so I could contribute to the offering.  

            Many family members are buried in the old part of the Rocky Comfort Cemetery, located north of town near the Prosperity Baptist Church.

            The year before I was born, my paternal grandfather, Perry Utter, bought the Conoco Station located on the east side of  Rocky.  He, along with his two sons, Ronald and Wayne, offered complete auto service to customers.  Perry also coached the boys’ softball team, called the Conoco’s, of which I have pictures and newspaper stories. They were champion ballplayers.

            I am fortunate to own lots of photographs and memorabilia from my family during their Rocky Comfort days.

            In those days, the Stanley Ford home was still standing and Cecil Shewmake owned the grocery store.  The artesian well down at the four-way stop was full of water and my family got their mail at the little brick post office.  My brothers think of Rocky as their Paradise. 

            Lazy summer days spent at Grandma Ollie’s house meant listening to the whirl of the old window fan and the announcer’s lulling voices broadcasting the baseball games on television.  Iced tea with spearmint picked fresh from the garden, hamburgers on buns (not bread slices) and angel food cake was our favorite meal.  Those are just a few of the memories of days gone by.

            Rocky Comfort was once a large town boasting many businesses and residents. In 1907, when the railroad decided to take their train about 3 miles north and east of Rocky, the town eventually dried up. The new town of Wheaton was born with the railroad.

            Today Rocky Comfort is a village with several hundred residents. But it will always be my childhood hometown where memories carry me back to those glorious days filled with love, laughter, and family times.    

           

Love and Marriage: Girls Marrying at a Young Age

I am writing a women’s fiction story of my great-grandmother based on her life. While I am having fun imagining scenes to fill in where there is no documentation, history must be written correctly. My paternal great-grandmother, Ollie Francis Johnson Utter Brier, married at age 14 to Dee Jay Utter, who was 23. When my brother read the first few chapters of my manuscripit, we discussed the issue of why would an early teen girl marry an older man? In today's world it is not as common for that to happen. That is the reason for the question I posed about why girls married at such young ages years ago. Of course, we must look at the era in which they married, 1909, Missouri. It's been fun listening to everyone who wanted to share a story or historical facts with me. To all who did, I thank you!

Disclaimer: This list is not all-inclusive. There are many reasons why girls married at a young age that may not be listed. Even if one of our ancestors married young for a reason that is listed here, each person has a unique set of circumstances that shapes the reasons they do something and the choices that they make. With that in mind, a list such as this may never contain every reason a female married young. 

                                                                                                     

ANCESTORS MARRYING AT A YOUNG AGE

By Karen Utter Jennings                        

Why did our female ancestors get married at a young age? Social & Economical reasons played a huge role in our ancestor’s lives. Prior to WWI, girls commonly married by the age of 14-16 & they sometimes married men 5-10 years older. As WWII began, many Americans rushed to get married. They also decided to have children as soon as possible. During that time, marriage and birth rates soared.

Here are a few of the reasons I gathered:

City:

In the city, females usually were older when they married. By the end of the 19th century, girls who could afford it were getting an education, going through a full high school, a teacher "normal" school, or even college. Rich girls were going on grand tours of Europe and attending finishing schools there. Girls from poor families might have worked and saved money for a sort of dowry.

Country:

 In the rural & farming communities, men needed Men needed to marry and have children, especially boys, to work the land. It was the only way to get ahead if they wanted to make the land profitable.

Economic:

The historical lack of ways for women to work and earn wages led to only two options: further their education or get married. Depending on the era, occupations for women were limited.  

Gender & Expectations:

Males were favored over females; it was thought female children had less value. Marrying off a girl was a way for a father to feed the remaining kids at home. Boys could help work the land, which meant they sometimes stayed at home longer. It was a man’s world and women had no rights, even to their own bodies and their children. Females were expected to marry and keep house & raise the children.   

 Geographical locations & the Era:   

The areas in which a person lived set the tone for social mores and values for the marriageable age. From the New England states, to the West Coast, to the prairies, the northern & southern states, to the Wild West, family beliefs differed significantly. It was also affected by the era in which they lived. For example, Victorian America held different views of marriage than the Roaring Twenties. From the book, “Marriage in the Victorian Era” by Jen Ziegenfuss, she states that marriage was not romanticized or fairytale-like as depicted in some books. Love played a minor role in marriages. Rather, they were looked upon more as a business-like deal. There were strict “rules” & etiquette to follow. After marriage, as in other eras, women belonged to their husband & owned nothing.

 Childbirth:

High infant mortality and women dying in childbirth was common, so the idea was to marry young to give a woman more childbearing years. This actually contributed to the high death toll because young girls were not fully developed.  

Land:

Owning land was and always will be the lifeblood of families. It gave families social and economic status. Many movies and books abound using land as the reason for feuds, murders, illicit marriages, and all kinds of immoral purposes.

Life expectancy:

Life expectancy wasn’t anywhere near what it is today. In different eras, life expectancy fluctuates. Due to the hardships of life, many children and adults died early. So many people married and started a family as soon as they could. 

Love: 

Sometimes love was the simple reason for couples getting married. On the other hand, a girl might be looking for someone to love her.

Money: 

Sometimes marriages revolved around money. One or the other needs it and the other one has it, so through some scheme marriage people marry.

Debatable purposes: 

Sometimes couples married because there was a baby on the way. Also through blackmail, abduction, and other disreputable schemes, marriages were used for evil purposes.

Parents: 

Sometimes the parents thought it was a good idea for their young child to marry for whatever reasons so they would arrange for their child to marry another child whom they approved.

Safety: Generally, a young woman was safer from unscrupulous men if she were married. She was also 'safe' from an unplanned pregnancy with a suitor if they married before their relationship turned sexual. If the girl was in an abusive home life, she might get married to escape the abuse.    

Security: sometimes girls needed a guardian and marriage was the safest way for her to have one. Families were quick to marry their daughters off thinking their daughters would be taken care of. If she was an orphan, she might marry for security purposes.

Social Interaction:

This was an important part of life, no matter the gender. Interacting with peers helped women grow, bond, share, learn and think for themselves. Women have formed groups centered around the community, school, and church for years.  

Widowers & Widows:

A widower would remarry quickly after their wife died because they needed someone to care for the children of the previous marriage. A widower looked for a young, unmarried, & hearty woman to have children, again, and to cook and clean the house. A much younger woman might marry an older man, 10, 20, or 30 years older.

Sources used to write this article were taken from several authors’ comments from the 19^th Century Writers online group; “Women Making America” by Heidi Hemming & Julie Hemming Savage; family & friends from Face Book; “Marriage in the Victorian Era” by Jen Ziegenfuss; “Marriages & Families” Second Edition, by Constance L. Shehan; and other online sources.

Turn of the Century Marriages

Turn of the Century Marriages

by Karen Utter Jennings

My great-grandmother, Ollie Francis Johnson Utter Brier was born in August, 1895 and died August 1975, during her years she witnessed a lot of history. I've thought her life story is interesting and so I've taken on the task of writing it ~ I'm writing chaper 27 now.She married in 1909, barely at the age of 14 to my grt-grandfather, Dee Jay Utter, who was 23. When I spoke with my brother Bill, who's reading my first draft, he
just can't come to terms with WHY a little girl would marry an "old" man...

Believe me, I struggled with that very question & put off writing the chapter for a very long time. Just the other day I knew I had to plunge ahead and write it or it would never get written. So I forged ahead giving the feeling in the story that she was in love and that Dee Jay, was also in love.

Still, my brother just can't buy it. So it got me to thinking that maybe I need a more plausible reason for her to marry at that age? Maybe I need a good plot device to make the story more interesting. Marrying for love? Hmmmm, I know people marry for many other reasons besides being in love.

So, I put it to my friends and I'm gathering their thoughts while researching it on the web. Not much turned up on the websites. But answers from my friends are flowing in about why young girls married so darn young way back then.

But, even my mother married my father when she was only 15; Dad was 20. However, there is a very good reason for mom marrying at that time....and that's HER book!  ;)

Anyway, when I finally decide about the plausible reason for her to marry so young, I'll post the answer coming up.....
Karen Utter Jennings

Veteran's Day and Genealogy

VETERAN’S DAY AND GENEALOGY

By Karen Utter Jennings

            In honor of Veteran’s Day, let us remember those who have and who are serving to protect our country. For all of the wars, my family has documented those who served in the military. I have done some, but not all, research on the military side of my families. Other family members are continually searching and finding information that we share with each other.

            If you want to research the men and women who served in the military, following are good places to do so.

            According to evidence, there are at least 25 Utter men who served in the Revolutionary War. A good website to search for the Revolution is Liberty’s The American Revolution. It offers teachers guides and resources and chronicles the war. Another site is Revolutionary War Sites: A Guide to the Battlefields. This site arranges the battlefields by states.

            During the Civil War, our family has many who served.  My mother’s side of the family documents Confederate Cherokee Mounted Volunteers. A few websites you might search are: The Civil War Archive: United States Colored Troops, Grand Army of the Republic, Cyndi’s List: US Civil War, and United States Military Records on the Family Search site.

            World War I is also known as the Great War.  I have the pictures that my great, grandmother, Ollie, saved of her husband during the time he served in France.  Some websites for WWI are The Great War, World War I Trenches: On the Web, and the First World War.com.

            For World War II websites, search U.S. Airborne During World War II; The National World War II Memorial; and the World War II U.S. Veteran’s Website.

            Transitioning to a more current time, my husband, Stephen Jennings, served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  My cousin, Charlie Beam, served in Japan with the Air Force.  Presently, Cousin Sonya has twin grandsons serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

            The National Archives Record Administration (NARA) offers a huge database filled with military information.  You will find links to genealogy, how to request military service records, historical documents and much more.  Ancestry.com has a nice military database, but you must subscribe to use Ancestry. 

            I hope these websites will help you find your military ancestors.  

THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING: GATHER FAMILY STORIES Genealogy Journey

GATHER FAMILY STORIES

By

Karen Utter Jennings

            The harvest season is a season of gathering crops from the fields and getting together with family and friends to celebrate the harvest. Gathering family stories is a fun and tantalizing aspect of genealogy. With the holidays approaching, now is a good time to prepare for big family gatherings. 

            Collecting family stories includes letters, oral stories, photos, cards, interviews, Bible records, published materials such as books, etc.  Each piece of memorabilia contributes to a rich family history.

            Many folks write holiday family letters to their kinfolk.  These letters can sometimes be full of family information, so keep them with your research.  Not long ago, my cousin, Shirley Bell Utter Grout gave me photos and old family keepsakes from her side of the Utter family: Zim and Sarah Utter. In the batch were several letters written by Sarah’s sister. The sister writes of news from their hometown in Indiana and of family still living there. The sister gives details of a friend’s wedding and all she received as wedding gifts. What a wonderful documentation!

             When you have old letters, somewhere on the letter, perhaps at the top or bottom, include the date, who the writer of the letter is and how they are kin to you.  In fact, always save all letter and cards as they document and preserve that person’s handwriting and their words. 

            This year, during your annual Christmas card sending, why not try your hand at writing family letters to your kinfolk.   Explain that you are doing genealogy and include family information that you have found.  Ask them if they can supply answers to the missing information and if they have pictures they will share.  You may be surprised at what you will get in return. 

            Another suggestion for this year’s Thanksgiving and Christmas family gatherings is to ask your guests to bring a few family photos to share with everyone. Then prepare for the event by writing down questions you may have or memories, which will be great conversation starters.

            Interviewing relatives at the family gatherings is another great way to learn bits and pieces of days gone by.   An informal interview can be as simple as sitting together asking and answering questions.  Beforehand, write questions on paper so you will not forget them during the excitement of the day. Keep the paper and pen with you.  While interviewing, think about using a small cassette recorder if you have one.  I have learned that when our family members get to reminiscing, I cannot write fast enough to catch every phrase and word!  You may want to ask your relatives permission to use a recorder beforehand.    

            Another great way to gather family stories is to use the photos you have with no identification on them.  Place the photos in archival-safe clear sleeves and assign a number to each photo.  During the get-together, pass them around and ask if anyone recognizes the people, places, events, and dates.   Write the information you learn about the photos on paper corresponding with the assigned number of each photo.

            Please, never write on the backs of the pictures and if you must, use pencil.  If you use an ink pen to write on the backs, over time the ink will bleed through onto the fronts of the pictures ruining them.  

            Family dinners and get-togethers are opportunities to discover missing pieces of your research.  The holidays are coming: gather your family history stories.