Everett Clarence Van Every (1906-1924)

I've mentioned Everett before...most recently in my post on Orphans...but my information on him has become a little more confused. He died childless at age 17, but was (possibly) the only child of Samuel Van Every, brother of my grandmother Myrtle.

Why the possibly? Well, there are two reasons. As I have mentioned in some of my earlier posts, Samuel appears to have had relationships with other women which might have led to currently unidentified children. However, there also turns out to be a chance Everett wasn't Samuel's child.

Here's what I know and how I know it.

From his death certificate, image obtained from FamilySearch:

Name : Everett Van Every
Death date : 01 Apr 1924
County: Travis, Texas
City: Near Austin, in Barton Creek
Birth date : 01 Aug 1906
Birth place : Texas
Age at death : 17 years
Gender : Male
Marital status : Single
Race or color : White
Spouse name :
Father name : S. Van Every
Birth place of father: Texas
Mother name : Esther Dahlin
Birth place of mother: Austin, Texas
Informant: G.A. Dahlin
Doctors note: "I hereby certify that I attended deceased from **saw soon after removed from water April 1, 1924** The cause of death was **drowning**
Place of Burial: Oakwood Cemetery
Date of Burial: April 2, 1924

-----
From genealogy notes drawn up by Marguerite Benold Spencer (born in 1906- 1st cousin to Everett - daughter of Samuel Van Every's sister, Minnie)

Everett was the son of Samuel and Esther Dahlin, and he drowned at age 17.

From _X_, 2009 (born in 1917 - 1st cousin to Everett - daughter of a brother of Esther) - She is still alive, but the information was relayed through an email conversation with her son.

Everett was the son of Esther Dahlin and a Van Landingham. Marriage between Esther and Samuel Van Every was very brief, but Everett was given Samuel's surname.

Everett drowned in Deep Eddy Pool at a high school graduation party.

GA Dahlin (informant on Death Certificate) would have been Gustav Dahlin - another brother of Esther's.

In reading the death certificate I assumed "Near Austin, in Barton Creek" literally meant that is where Everett drowned. But research shows Barton Creek is also the name of a city in Travis County. Deep Eddy Pool is about 10 miles from the physical Barton Creek. It seems strange that a high school graduation party would be held on April 1 - but it could have still been a school-related event.

In evaluating the two sources, _X_ and Marguerite Spencer are both first cousins of Everett. (By marriage if not blood.) _X_ would have been 7 years old when Everett died, and her recollection of events might be mostly second-hand. Marguerite would have been 17 or 18, the same age as Everett. _X_ may have lived in the Austin area, while Marguerite, in 1924, was likely living in El Paso. (600 miles away) However, for the first 11 years of her life, she would have lived on the outskirts of Austin, and could have known Everett well.

I don't know the details of their separation, or if my Great-Uncle kept in contact with his ex-wife and son. I do know that in the 1910 and 1920 census he was living in California, and from about 1920 until his death he was living in Missouri.

I can imagine that by the time _X_ was born, Esther may have been trying to distance herself from an ex-husband who had long since left her and Everett behind. It's harder for me to imagine why my great uncle would tell his family Everett was his, if he wasn't. It's a huge mark against a man to even appear to abandon a child. (Though to repeat, I don't know if he kept in touch or not, despite the miles he put between himself and them.)

However, I can imagine Esther telling Samuel that Everett was his, and Samuel thinking this to be the case, even if it wasn't.

On the one hand, Everett didn't live long enough to have any children. (Well...at least there is currently no evidence to the contrary.) So his paternity doesn't pose any major genealogical dilemmas. But I am saddened by the question mark that is now by his name, and which is likely never to be resolved completely, as there is no DNA to test.

Everett's birth certificate has not been found. Certificates are supposed to go back to 1903 in Texas. However, even if the Ancestry database were complete, of the 23,000 births in Texas in 1906 that it lists, over 17,000 are just recorded as "Infant of X" where X is the father's name. Since I'm no longer certain what should appear in that location, it's not too useful.

Wordless Wednesday: Truman Receives a Menorah

Caption: Photograph of President Truman in the Oval Office, evidently receiving a Menorah as a gift from the Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion (center), and Abba Eban, the Ambassador of Israel to the United States.: 05/08/1951 [National Archives]

Tombstone Tuesday: Herman Max Feinstein (1886-1963)

My great grandfather, Herman Max Feinstein, was born in Poland, in 1886, the son of Selig and Annie (Perlik) Dudelsack. Upon their arrival in the United States the family changed their surname to Feinstein. The date of birth on his tombstone matches that of his WWI draft registration in 1917, and his Social Security Application in 1936.

He married Anna Blatt on May 26, 1912 in St. Louis, Missouri.

He and Anna are buried in the Newmark-Feinstein plot at United Hebrew Cemetery.

Amanuensis Monday: The Greatest Mitzvah

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

"Tzedaka is equal to all the other commandments combined." (Bava Batra, 9A).

Tzedaka means deeds of justice, often translated as charity, and the Talmudic quote above illustrates its religious importance. During Khanike/Hanuka it is traditional to give children money (gelt) and encourage them to use the money for tzedaka.

Below are transcriptions from several news articles I found in the St. Louis Post Dispatch 1874-1922 archives. They illustrate acts of tzedaka by young St. Louisans, including some relatives.

---

St. Louis Post Dispatch, Sept 5, 1911, page 4.

AHA! “SCHOOLDAY TROUBLES” EVEN HELP MILK FUND
Saucy Comedy of This Name Given for Babies’ Benefit as Real Schools Open

On the very verge, as it were, of the new school term’s opening today, the big feature of an entertainment recently given by three little girls at 5962 Bertha avenue, which realized $6 for the Post-Dispatch Pure Milk and Free Ice Fund, was a sketch entitled “School Day Troubles,” bless your life!

And they were very typical and diverting school day troubles, too, as set forth by little Misses Lucille Kregesman, Louise B Wilcox, and Catherine Connolly, to the keen amusement of their audience.

[…]

Four other little girls gave a show for the Pure Milk Fund’s benefit at 1935 Burd Avenue the other night, earning $6.22 with which to help in saving the lives of the poor babies of the tenements. The helpful girls who gave this show were Edna Wyner, Estelle Kreisman, Rose Feinstein, and Lillian Kreisman, and they are properly proud of their show’s success.

[…]

All honor to the helping girls and the helping boys of St. Louis! They have covered themselves with glory this summer.

St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 29, 1913, page 9.

SAVING THE BABIES

Six young folks living on the 1900 block, Burd avenue, sold lemonade for the benefit of the Post-Dispatch Pure Milk and Free Ice Fund and earned $1.68 with which to help save the tenement babies.

Those who took part in this good enterprise are Rose Feinstein, 1941A; Clara and Jessie Seidel, 1938A; Tillie Cohen, 1947A; and Ben and Mollie Steinberg, 1935A Burd avenue.

St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 23, 1918, page 10.

LOYALTY LEAGUE SHOW TO HELP THE BABIES
Miss Susan Barnes and Associates to Present Play Thursday Night in University City

Miss Susan Barnes of 6312 Washington boulevard and associates, who last year presented “The Toy Shop” so successfully for the benefit of the Post-Dispatch Pure Milk Fund and Free Ice Fund, will produce another play Thursday night, on the lawn at 6307 Westminster place, to help the babies. The title of the play is “What Can I Do?” and the performance will start at 8:30 o’clock. The children who will participate are organized this year as the University City Chapter of the Children’s Loyalty League of America and the affair is under the auspices of the chapter.

[…]

A show consisting of recitations, dancing, and singing numbers was given at 4724 Newberry terrace, July 20. All but one of the children traking part live on Newberry terrace. With the street numbers, they are: Henrietta Racine, 4717; Mabel Cohen, 4730A; Ethel Smith, 4718A; Belle Gerber, 4724; Adeline Feinstein, 4732; Mildred Steinwolf, 4748; Helen Gerber, 4724; George Cohen, 4730; Burton Cohen, 4730A; Shalben Baskem, 4733. The other participant was Marian Fisher, 4713 Vernon avenue. The receipts were $12.51.

---

Rose Feinstein was born in 1901 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest daughter of my second great grandparents, Selig and Annie (Perlik) Feinstein. So she would have been ten years old in 1911, and twelve in 1913.

Adeline Feinstein was born in 1908, daughter of Selig and Annie's oldest son, Harry. So in 1918 she would have been ten. (She was one of the orphans who moved in with my great grandparents circa 1930.)

Selig, Annie, and their children were likely living in tenements themselves through 1905.

---

If you choose to join me in Amanuensis Monday and post your transcriptions, feel free to add a link to your post below, or in the comments.

Dear Genea-Santa

The below is written for the 86th Carnival of Genealogy

Dear Genea-Santa

You didn’t bring me anything I asked for last year. Not my great grandfather’s military uniform, not a bagpipe constructed or played by my Dudelsack ancestors, not my grandfather’s copy of Les Miserables, and none of the photographs I specified.

I thought I was a good boy, Santa. I remember sitting on your lap as a child and sharing my long lists with you. You always brought me at least one of those items.

Were you responsible for some of the things I did discover this year? If so, thanks!

What do I want this year? Well, I still want everything I asked for last year, but if that’s not possible here are a few more items:

1) There’s a lot of information I want to know. A lot of mysteries to solve. A lot of brick walls to break down. I was told last year to stick to material things, as opposed to clues to my family history. I wasn’t given that restriction this year. So if you could help me in just one of my quests, that would be much appreciated!

2) Now I've discovered photographs of my Newmark ancestors from when they were in London, I want more of them. So far I have my great grandfather Barney, and his sister Nellie. There were six other siblings, and two parents. I have photographs of the parents thirty years later, but I'd love to see them a bit younger. Maybe some photographs that were taken in 1902 at the wedding of Barney's brother, Sol?

3) The Van Every family bible. According to a letter my great grandfather, Melvin Van Every, wrote my grandmother, Myrtle, it was lost in 1925 during a move.

4) Finally, the computer I have is great, and the information on the internet is wonderful, but I want a computer system like Batman has. I think it might help me in my research. Thanks!

[Poster created by footnoteMaven]

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Weekly Genealogy Picks -- December 6 to December 13
from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhere

Both Tamura Jones at The Modern Software Experience and Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings look at Ancestry's new web-offering, Mundia.

Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life shows us how to add a Copyright watermark to photographs

footnoteMaven at the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal shares some information she has learned on Victorian post-mortem photography. (Not for the squeamish.)

Ellizabeth Powell Crowe at Crowe's Nest discusses the Genealogy of the word 'Jitney'. I, too, am a logophile (one who loves words), and often find word etymologies interesting. However, I was especially intrigued by this entry as the word 'Jitney' has popped up in my own family research, and should appear in a post a week from tomorrow.

The MoSGA Messenger has some information on some proposed renovations at NARA, a congressional subcommittee meeting coming up, and ways to contact the congress members involved.

In Soul Word Art "The Story Teller" discusses How to See a Story of an Ancestor. It may seem slightly unscientific to some, but could appeal to others as something enjoyable to do after returning from your trip to the library or cemetery.

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak at Ancestry Magazine tells the story of how she found a silver spoon a home.

James Tanner at Genealogy's Star asks: is certification of genealogists necessary?

Legacy News shows us how to create a font of our own handwriting.

NARAtions tells us to Expect the Unexpected in our research, providing an example.

ArchivesNext discusses Online access to moving images at the National Archives

Khanike Links

In Chanukah: How Do You Spell It, Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe presents some statistics on how often each spelling is used. [She doesn't list one of my favorite spellings -- A Google search reveals there are slightly over 31,000 hits for 'Khanike', confirming it is one of the least common spellings.]

Diane at Genealogy Insider offers links for those interested in researching the holiday, and Jewish genealogy in general.

RJ.org presents the first of 8 Blogs of Chanukah (one entry for each night).

The Next Two Weeks

In a few days I will be headed south on a vacation with family. I'm not 100% certain of internet access while there. So there could be a short break in my weekly genealogy picks, and depending upon how many entries I am able to prepare in advance, those too could see a hiatus.

Happy Holidays

SNGF: Database Wishes

Randy at Genea-Musings for his weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, challenges:

Define one or more genealogy or family history databases, that are not currently online, that would really help you in your research. Where does this database currently reside?

It almost seems like copying his selection, but I've found newspaper archives so helpful. My selections:

1) The St. Louis Post Dispatch

1874-1922 is online, if you have access to ProQuest. 1988-current is also online, if you have access to NewsBank, or through the newspaper's own archives, though they charge to read the articles. The 66 years inbetween aren't online to my knowledge. The St. Louis Public Library has a great index of the Post Dispatch obituaries (1880-1930, 1942-1945, 1960-1965, 1992-2008). As wonderful as it is, there are gaps. Bob Doerr's website has the obituaries indexed from 1975-1977. (Bob Doerr edited the Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal from 1992-2009. He passed away in September.)

2) The St. Louis Globe Democrat

The Mercantile Library is working on an index of their massive (1930-1986) Clippings file. This too is wonderful, but I'm greedy and want more.

It would be great if a historical archive similar to ProQuest's for the Post Dispatch was created. The St. Louis County Library has the paper on microfilm back to 1853, when it was The Missouri Democrat. (The library does have an index of obituaries for the Globe for the year 1880. It's a start.)

3) St. Louis Jewish Newspapers

An index or database for

• The St. Louis Jewish Tribune 1879-1884
• The St. Louis Free Press 1885-1887
• The St. Louis Jewish Voice 1888-1920
• The St. Louis Jewish Light 1947-1977

The above four papers for the years above are available on microfilm at the St. Louis County Library. The Jewish Light is still in existence; Bound copies from 1947 to current can be found at the Saul Brodsky Community Library.

Happy YouTube Hanuka

Regardless of how you spell it, Hanuka/Khanike/Chanukka begins tonight at sunset. In honor of the holiday I thought I would share a few videos from YouTube

Whether you know him as "The Hairy Hound from Budapest" in the musical My Fair Lady, as Fiddler on the Roof's Tevye, as Worf's adoptive father from Star Trek: The Next Generation, or any other of his numerous acting roles, he released several albums of folk songs in the 50s and 60s, and he was a co-founder of the Newport Folk Festival with Pete Seeger and George Wein. Here's Theodore Bikel singing a holiday song:



In 1972 Don Mclean, reeling from the effects of fame from his hit single American Pie, wrote a song:

My world is a
constant confusion
My mind is prepared to attack
My past, a persuasive illusion
I'm watchin' the future it's black

What does this have to do with Chanukah? The name of the song: Dreidel (It hit #21 on the US charts)



The year I struggled to celebrate Khanike without a menorah (see Wordless Wednesday entry) I could have also used the method suggested in this video




Somehow it seems appropriate -- Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas, so now Sen. Orrin Hatch has written a Hanuka Song! (It's actually pretty good.)



There's not much I can say about this strange song, except that it does provide a small amount of background to the holiday. The Hanukkah Dreidel Song (courtesy of Chabad.org)



A few weekends ago I helped judge some debate rounds at a tournament hosted by my high school alma mater. Here's a video of a Rabbi debating himself in the style of many high school debaters on a controversial topic when it comes to Jewish holidays:



And finally, here's the LeeVees, trying to decide how to spell Channukkahh. (Or is it Janucá with a silent J?)



Here's a list of now 145 videos including all of the above, and more!

(If you are reading this on Facebook, you're not going to see any of the videos above. Click on the "View Original Post" link at the bottom of the post.)