Old Wiley Family Family Photo...
This is a photo of my mother's grandfather Caleb Thomas Wiley and family. Caleb lived 1835-1907 born in Perry and died in Obion Tennessee. Only people I can identify in the photo besides Caleb who is the seated bearded gentleman, is the seated woman Rebecca who was his second wife, the standing man who his son John by his first wife Catherine Denton and the boy standing by Caleb who we think is John's son Caleb. My mother's father, my grandfather, also Caleb is not in the photo. I don't have a date for this photo but I do know that my grand father Caleb was born in 1879 and if the young man is his brother John he was also a grown man at this time listed as 21 years old and a member of his father's 1900 U.S census. In the next year 1901 he would marry my mother's mother Ethel Janet Ledbetter or Pinkie as she is known.
If you think this is confusing and there are too many Calebs you should start researching the Ledetter side and all the Henrys. Try keeping them straight.
My mother has what I think is the original of this photo. I found this photo posted on line by (I assume it's a man hard to tell this kind of thing in an email correspondence) a person that is the great grand child of Caleb and first wife Catherine. They got the photo from a member of the Bawcum family who is related to the first wife Rebecca. I think it is interesting that this photo got around to the various family memebers and ended up on the internet all these years later.
In the 1870 U.S. census Caleb Wiley is listed as a farmer with an estate valued at $200.
Labels: family
Family Tree Research...
So as if I did not have anything else to do I started a family tree. Gotta be careful looking up a family tree because a monkey might sit on your face.
I have been careful and it takes a bit of care but using Ancestory.com I have found a wealth of info and it may take the rest of my life to sort it out. Here is a photo I scanned and posted on the Ledbetter side of my family tree. It's my mom's grandparents in about 1907. I think I have it right who was who:
Henry Ledbetter and family left to right son Don, wife Malinda, Henry, standing in front of Henry Lillian (never married) standing front is Edmund, standing back Walter Roberts who married daughter Mary who is holding their daughter Ila. seated with child Richard is Ethel Janet "Pinkie" Ledbetetr Wiley (my grandmother). Seated child is Pinkie's son Clay. Standing is Walter, Henry's son and wife Beulah with daughter May.
(Looks a little funny because of my copy and paste)
The Ledbetters look to be traceable back to England where they were sword makers (Lead Beater) possibly before 1066. The Wiley side of my mom's family also goes back to England. On my dad's side the Wallace family look to originate from Londonderry Ireland. After that it's all American with Revoutionary vets, War of 1812 Indian fighters committing genocide on indigenous peoples, slave owners, and Confederates and their widows who were filing for CSA war veteran pensions as late as 1924 in the Angelina Country Court House.
I really don't know what to think of all this. Maybe it is best summed up by a recent quote I read in a book. "North, East, and West are directions. The South is a place." To my cousins, I'll keep you posted and maybe get all this in some organized fashion that can be shared.
Labels: family
Ladies and Gentlemen the Conn Wonderphone...
More Can Guitar Builds...
Feed Me...
The Grand Kids are in for a visit. As usual there is a certain amount of chaos in this usually quiet house but they do come in handy with chores and they liven up meals.
Here Coraline feeds Pop-Pop. It was most delicious. I hope she fixes my supper again sometime.
I just close my eyes and savor!
Warren is getting around very well. He will be walking before you know it and is now a champion bear walker.
Cathy gets ready for some BBQ as Warren waves his plate in the air and pounds the table for a bone to gnaw.
If You Ever Wanted to be a Spaceman...
A Box Guitar Recording...
I don't feel too bad about copping Johnny's tune Folsom Prison Blues since he copied a cool big big band swing tune written by Gordon Jenkins called Crescent City Blues and sung by Beverly Mahr in 1953. Just like he hopped it up with a cotton picking Arkansas hillbilly rockabilly amphetamine beat I changed it up a bit myself.
I played my jewelry box guitar through a little Fender Frontman amp with a bit of tune screamer and phase shifter. Vocals are through a Fender Champ with a little delay.
Hear my version by clicking here.
Hear Beverly Mahr's version by clicking here
I think the Crescent City Blues version is way cool.
Labels: cigar box guitar, electric guitar
Rainy Lake Morning...
Cathy slept in because she's working tonight so I took
an early morning trip to the lake to chase white perch under the highway 147 bridge. I had some success as I caught 4 keepers.
As you can see from the photo it was a rainy morning. Seemed like no bites happened when the rain fell. I tied up under the bridge and had the top on the boat up so I stayed pretty dry. I was wearing a swim suit so really no big concern with dryness. Rain good in the summer time.
The day had a couple of bonuses. One of them was the big schools of white bass braking the top near where I fished. I eased out among them and caught 4 nice keepers that put up a great fight on light tackle. Again the action seemed to stop when a rain shower passed through.
Second bonus of the day was an older gentleman who stopped and asked did I want some fish. He gave me 13 nice crappie. He told me he caught 8000 fish a year and never fished anywhere but under the bridge and that he caught them all on lures. He said he had never bought a minnow in his life. Now some of you may think that sounds like a fish tale but I can tell you that in my work with the geriatric population of southern Angelina county I have heard that a man like this existed. Now I have met him. I did not ask his name as I thanked him for the fish but I bet I know his boat again when I see it.
All in all a very nice day. I guess I did pretty good against an 8000 fish legend. If he had 13 and I had 8 of my own I am not too far off the mark. Maybe somewhere someone is telling the tale of me.
Labels: catfish, pontoon
That Did Not Take Long...
You may have met Boris the rabbit on a previous posting. Early yesterday he brought another new blog character by for a visit.
Ladies and gentlemen meet Branda. You pronounce her name like the Jon Spenser Blues Explosion pronounces it in one of their songs. "BRANDA!"
We Don't Have This in Texas...
We recently enjoyed a game between the Astos and Cubs at Wrigley in Chicago. The Astros won. Here you see a photo of the famed Wrigley roof tops where fans are seated outside the stadium. While I am not sure whether the Cubs have a piece of this action or not I do know that if you have gone to see major league baseball in Houston the past 50 or so years you would not have seen anything if you sat outside the ball park.
Another thing you won't see in Hoston is something like in this photo I made of the Lake Michigan hygiene committee cleaning up the stands after the fans have left. Those are some big fat pop corn fed gulls.
Thank you fans but baseball is made to be played indoors. Keep the gulls on the Gulf.
Signs Signs Everywhere a Sign...
When I was about 16 years old I was walking to work. That may sound strange but it was in the days before we had flying cars and all that stuff. A girl who worked the same place as I was driving by. She saw me and gave me a lift. First time something like this ever happened to me. I remember it so well. She was driving an orange and black Ford Maverick and smoking a cigarette. Blasting from the 8 track player was a song by the Five Man Electrical Band called "Signs." She seemed like such a grown up woman but she was probably only 17. I though I was doing something subversive catching a ride and rocking out like this. As vivid as this scene is to me with the color of the car and the song playing loud and clear I cannot for the life of me remember what the girl's name was.
Anyway I still ride around it a car with a girl. Definitely a grown up woman and I'm married to her. We blast loud music from the stereo. Neither one of us smoke. I don't have any cds by the Five Man Electrical Band to play. I have been known to do some subversive stuff. To make sure I don't forget things I make a lot of pictures. On a recent drive across the country I made pictures of some signs I saw. First two are from the Harry Truman Library. "Give em' Hell Harry" as the saying goes. Next one was from downtown Springfield near the old court house where Abe Lincoln practiced law. Last one I spotted at a bus stop on the streets of Chicago. Signs are everywhere. Look, read, think.
Labels: subversive
More Shameless Self Promotion...
Saturday Night the Back Porch Band play the Lufkin VFW. Starts 8pm and admission is $5.
Thanks to our fans we packed the place and kept the dance floor full two weeks ago. We will try to do it again. Labels: electric guitar, music
A visit to the land of Lincoln...
I recently wrote about our stop in Independence, Mo. at the Truman Museum. We also stopped in Springfield, In. at the Abe Lincoln home and Presidential Library. If we look in the past we see the present. They look about the same.
This photo is his Springfield home. After his election as President he never returned. He was 56 when he was assassinated. That's the same age I am now. A famous quote at the time of his death is "Now he belongs to the ages." Seems like every now and then new things come up about Abe. In the 50s a teenage researcher in the Presidential Library turned up a never before seen photo of his body lying in state. I think I saw a recently published clinical report by the first Doc to reach him after he was shot and of course there is the movie.
Here's a photo of in the home. It was recreated from drawings made just before he went to Washington. Seems like folks knew he was going to be a great one because he either put these furnishings in storage or loaned them out to friends who safely kept them. The only things lost were in Chicago at the time of the fire that destroyed the city.
As you can see the accommodations were very fine for the times. And after Abe became president times were tough. Succession, war, slavery and more ripped the nation apart As we have seen with other presidents the critics of the time were not very kind. Political cartoons in newspapers depicted Abe as an ape, a monkey, an African King or a banjo player. They had great fun with his rough, humble beginnings. Any of this sound familiar? Seen such lately?
Here's Cathy in the foyer of the Library. It's the only place you could make photos. Inside are quite a collection of impressive artifacts from Abe and his family. There's a top hat, letters, other belongings and some very modern media presentations.
Abe was a Republican. Hanging in the foyer was a photo of our old friend Bill who has been awarded the Lincoln Leadership award. I don't think Bill's a Republican. How's that for some bipartisanship? Seen any of that lately?
"...I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinking to himself
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf..."Bob Dylan from "Lilly Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
you thought I was after your job
Gogol Bordello
Cathy's favorite band. They named this blog.
Wallace Fun Photos
My online photos.
SatchWWOZ
New Orleans Jazz Fest Radio
The Older You Will Get Video Channel I Make all these myself.
Stone Wall Studio First Place I Was Ever Mentioned on The Internet
Facebook Lots of me on Facebook
St. Patrick Catholic Church Lufkin, Tx
I am webmaster of the official church web site