Wordless Wednesday - Helen Ross at ISU

This one is captioned Helen Elizabeth Ross, ISU, Iowa City, Iowa. Helen was my great grand aunt, the sister of my great grandmother Clara (Ross) Fowlie.

Update: After a web search I found out that this is the same photo that was used in her 1928 college yearbook. Helen apparently was one of only three women to graduate from the UI College of Law in 1928. See this link for the yearbook page. It is captioned...
Helen Elisabeth Ross
Rockwell City
Law
Kappa Beta Pi, Bethany Circle, Interprofessional Sorority Council.

Apparently, Kappa Beta Pi was "the first legal sorority in the U.S., was founded in 1908 at the Chicago-Kent College of Law to promote high professional standards among women law students and lawyers."

I stumbled across this info when I found this page that had a photo mentioning the class of 1928 and Helen E. Ross.

Wordless Wednesday - Helen Ross

This is a portrait of my great grand aunt, Helen Ross (later Whitted). This may have been a high school or a College photo while she was attending Iowa State University around 1923.

Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph Fowlie

This is the death and burial record for my 2nd great grand uncle, Joseph Fowlie. He was the brother of my 2nd great grandfather, Alexander Brown Fowlie. The record is from Cherokee Mental Health Institute in Cherokee, Iowa.

Based on census records, Joseph must have been quite close to my 2nd great grandfather, Alexander Fowlie. At the time of the 1870 census, they were living together in Dayton Township, Cedar County, Iowa and working as farm laborers. At the time of the 1880 census, Joseph was living with the Alex and Mary Fowlie and their children in Jackson Township, Benton County, Iowa. In 1890, they were living in the vicinity of Rockwell City, Iowa and "A.B. Fowlie" (Alexander Brown Fowlie) was listed as correspondent at the time of Joseph's admission to the mental hospital at Independence, Iowa.

According to this record he died March 21, 1909 at 6:16PM from Lobar Pneumonia. He was buried at the hospital cemetery in grave #83. I am not certain what the other columns represent, one looks like age, but he was about 80, not 57. I also don't know what "No." 54 meant. So there are a few questions that remain, but this answers the question of burial.

Ben Evers with Irene Brassfield

Irene Brassfield with Ben Evers in Cherokee, Iowa

This is a photo of Ben Evers (1872-1954) with Irene Brassfield (1924-2010) in front of the Evers home in Cherokee, Iowa. Ben Evers married my 2nd great grandmother Nellie (Bates-Brassfield) Evers in 1915, years after the death of my 2nd great grandfather Elvis H. Brassfield in 1904. Ben was step-grandfather to my grandfather Elvis J. Brassfield. Irene Brassfield was the sister of Elvis J. Brassfield.

Tombstone Tuesday - Evers plot at Cherokee

This is a photo from a Brassfield family album. It did not have much for a caption, but it is from Oak Hill Cemetery, Cherokee, Iowa and shows the Evers family grave site. I think it dates to the 1920s. The family connection is that Ben Evers married my 2nd great grand mother, Nellie Brassfield. Ben was the step-grand father of my grandfather, Elvis J. Brassfield. These graves are the graves of his parents and other relatives.

Unfortunately the stones are not very readable, so I'll have to try to find out what they say at a later date.

Wordless Wednesday - Ward and Mary Gillespie

This is a slide showing Ward and Mary (Ross) Gillespie and their pet dog. I think this dates back to the 1950s during a visit to Iowa. Mary was my great aunt, sister to my great grandmother Clara (Ross) Fowlie.

Hiram Stotler and Sarah F. Stotler in 1879

Hiram Stotler and Sarah F. Stotler

This is another from an old Stotler album. It was captioned: 1879 - "My father and step mother, Mr. and Mrs. Stotler" Bedford, Iowa. I assume the caption was written by my 2nd great grandmother Mary H. Stotler-Ross. After my 3rd great grandmother Hannah Argo-Stotler died in March 1871, Hiram married Sarah Frances Stevenson ("Fannie") in December 1871. They eventually divorced and she lived in Mansfield, Illinois from 1880 until her death in 1920. I posted her obituary here. I think Hiram was living in Iowa from 1900 until his death, so perhaps they divorced prior to 1900.

Wordless Wednesday - Mary Stotler-Ross

This is a slide showing my 2nd great grandmother, Mary (Stotler) Ross. It is probably at her home in Lake Creek Township, Calhoun, Iowa. She was blind for many years and died in 1959. A photo of my grandmother sits on the desk at the left.

Wordless Wednesday - Frank and Clara Fowlie

This is a slide showing my great grandparents, Frank Fowlie and Clara (Ross) Fowlie. I think this is from the 1940s, but it could be from the 1950s. This might have been taken at Clara's mother's home in Lake Creek Township, Calhoun County, Iowa.

Wordless Wednesday - Frank fowlie and Ward Gillespie relax in Lake View

This is a scan of another slide from Grandma's collection. It shows Frank Fowlie on the left and Ward Gillespie on the right as they relax at the Fowlie home in Lake View, Iowa. Frank Fowlie was my Great Grandfather. Ward Gillespie was married to my great aunt Mary (Ross) Gillespie, so he was Frank's brother-in-law. I think this is from the 1950s, but those drapes seem very loud to me.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Telegram reporting the death of John Ross Sr

This is a scan of a Western Union telegram reporting the death of my 2nd great grandfather, John F. Ross Sr. to his wife Mary H. (Stotler) Ross. Mary was living with their daughter Dr. Mary A. Ross in Los Angeles, California at the time. Helen is their daughter, Helen Ross (later Whitted). I found it in the 1940 diary of Mary H. (Stotler) Ross.

Received at 1117 N. Western Ave., Hollywood, Calif. Telephone GLadstone 3164
1934 DEC 13 AM 8 42
SM47 10=LAKECITY IOWA 13 1020A
MARY S ROSS=
318 NORTH MARIPOSEA LOSA=
FATHER PASSED AWAY THIS MORNING WIRE IF YOU WILL COME=
HELEN.

Wordless Wednesday - Clara Fowlie in Lake View

This is a scan of a slide from Grandma's collection. It shows my great grandmother Clara (Ross) Fowlie at their home on the lake at Lake View, Iowa. It looks like she might be cleaning the window. There is a can of paint there as well, so maybe they were painting window trim. This is from a group of slides that date to before 1960.

Tombstone Tuesday - John F. Ross Sr.

This is the tombstone of my 2nd great grandfather, John Franklin Ross Sr. located at Lake Creek Cemetery, Lake Creek Township, Calhoun County, Iowa. Click the John F. Ross Sr. label at the bottom of the article to see more articles about him.

Sunday's Obituary - John Franklin Ross

This is the obituary of my 2nd great grandfather, John Franklin Ross. Unfortunately there is no publication information on the source document. It was likely written by his family and published in the Rockwell City or Lake City newspaper near his home in Iowa, in the days following December 13, 1934.

Wordless Wednesday - Ross sisters

This is a scan of a slide from my grandmother's collection showing my great grandmother Clara (Ross) Fowlie on the left with her sisters Mary (Ross) Gillespie, center, and Helen (Ross) Whitted on the right. This is at the same location as last Wednesday's photo. Late 1940s / 1950s time frame, possibly at the Ross farm in Calhoun County, Iowa.

Update: I found a very similar photo in a different album captioned October 17, 1954 at the Whitted farm.

Wordless Wednesday - Frank and Clara Fowlie with flowers

This is a scan of a slide from my grandmother's collection showing my great grandparents, Frank and Clara (Ross) Fowlie. I think it dates back to the 1950s or late 1940s. I am not certain where the photo was taken, possibly the Ross farm in Calhoun County.

Update: I found a similar photo in another album that says this is from October 17, 1954 at the Whitted farm. Helen Ross-Whitted was Clara Ross-Fowlie's sister.

Wordless Wednesday - Fowlie Siblings

This photo was taken prior to November 1961 at the Frank Fowlie residence in Lake View, Iowa. George Fowlie (1878 - 1967) is on the left next to Frank Fowlie (1892 - 1977). On the right side is Alex Fowlie (1886 - 1974 aka Alec Foley) and his wife Jessie (Crawford) (1897 - 1961 aka Jessie Foley). They must have been visiting from Minnesota at the time of the photo. I cropped the photo from a larger scan from my grandmother's set of slides.

Frank Brown Fowlie was my great-grandfather, George and Alec were his brothers.

Wordless Wednesday - Fowlie retirement home then and now

117 Denison Beach Drive in 2011

This is a series of photos of Frank and Clara (Ross) Fowlie's home in Lake View, Sac County, Iowa. They were my great grand parents. As you can see from the current photo, the color is different, but the floor plan appears to be the same. The oldest photo shows the home without the dining room and porch, which were added later in the 50s and 60s. As I've mentioned before, we always thought of the green color shown below as "Grandpa green". Click read more to see the rest of the photos...

Wordless Wednesday - Grain Bin

Grain bin at the location of the Frank Fowlie Farm

This is a photo of the location of the farm where Frank and Clara (Ross) Fowlie lived before they moved to Lake View, Sac, Iowa. Frank and Clara Fowlie are my great grandparents.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing at this site that was there at the time the Fowlie's owned the property. I'm told that the grain bin is located near where the house was located. I took the grain bin photo last week while passing through Iowa. Below is a photo of Frank and Clara Fowlie on the farm. Below that is an aerial photo of the farm.

Frank and Clara on the farm

Mid-October 1948, Farm East of Lake View, IA

Wordless Wednesday - 1937 Photos

This sequence of images depicts my grandfather, Elvis J. Brassfield and his parents, Floyd and Thelma (Hunt) Brassfield on May 16, 1937. There are no details as to what the event is, perhaps some high school prom or banquet. Elvis didn't graduate High School until 1939. Note the Ice sign, advertising the family business and the back end of one of the family trucks is in a couple of images. These were probably taken near their home on South Street in Lake City, Iowa. More images after the jump...