Ghost Towns and Lost Cities - Delaware

An interesting article is here;  http://inwanderlust.weebly.com/blog/ghost-towns-and-lost-cities-Delaware
From Wanderlust blog the articles talks about ghost towns several of which I did not know existed at one time.  Some are recently lost. 

A Couple Of Ebay Items For Delmar Delaware

There are a couple of interesting items regarding Delmar Delaware on ebay;
First is a record by the Welch Family singers From Delmar

with Ellen Mae, Regina S., Danny, Gary and Richard Welch

The second is a 1923 (postmark) postcard to John Handy Culver of the M E Church in Delmar.  The card is from Louise Culver to her brother John Handy Culver who it looks like was in the army at the time.

It looks like State street and First street was dirt at the time

John Handy Culver was born in 1907 to John W. and Elizabeth Culver.  He would died in 1972.  He attended the College of William and Mary and his 1929 yearbook photo is below.  He was active civic person, ended up having his own Oldsmobile franchise in Salisbury. 

Highlander Glory

Jay Hearn has a website called Highlander Glory on which talks about the Hearn(e) family from this area.  We hope to have him speak to our organization in January or February.  The website address is;
http://www.highlanderglory.net/english-ancestors.html

There are several tabs, so wander around, the website to see if there is anything you may be interested in. 

Delaware Railroads by Deldot

At the Deldot website is a PDF formatted article (abt 20 pages)  on Delaware Railroads.  There are some references in it to Delmar and a photograph (page 43) of the round house in Delmar.  The link is https://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/delaware_bridge_book/pdf/del_rrs.pdf

Delmar 1876

The pile and tie trade mentioned refers to timber for mine pilings and railroad track ties

Pearl Harbor

Area Telephone Companies

The 1967 Jack Adkins Telephone Article; Riverton and Delmar telephone Company, Diamond State telephone Company, C&P telephone company, Salisbury telephone Company, Bethel, Laurel and Sharptown Telephone Company.

Happy Thanksgiving

Altho our northern neighbors like to claim Thanksgiving as their own, there were a number of other places that celebrated a Thanksgiving before Plymouth, Mass in 1621.  Florida is taking the claim currently by saying September 8, 1565 the Spaniards had a Thanksgiving at St. Augustine.   However Texas comes in saying the Spaniards celebrated in Canyon, Texas on May 1541.  The English celebrated thanksgiving in the  Berkeley hundreds Jamestown Virginia in 1619.  I am sure there are others. 

http://www.history.com/news/did-florida-host-the-first-thanksgiving

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2015/nov/24/letter-thanksgiving-virginia/

Regardless who came first, the Delmar Historical and Arts Society wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We are grateful for the support the community has given us.

Church Cemetery Sign

This Wednesday Afternoon

The Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society and The Laurel Public Library is proud to present

 Nancy E. Lynch

Preserving War Letters: Touchstones of Time

Letters from any war constitute primary source material, first-hand accounts from the battlefield, and provide a unique window on that conflict. Preserving this priceless correspondence as social history for future generations is critical. Learn how—and how not—to safeguard letters from our Delaware troops at war in this lively, interactive program by award-winning journalist Nancy E. Lynch who received nearly 1,000 letters from the frontlines of the Vietnam War for her popular newspaper column.

This event is open to the public and is free.

 

Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM November 18th at the Laurel Public Library In the Mary Wootten Carpenter Room

Sussex County Cousins

I went to a session of Sussex County Cousins at the Laurel Library yesterday.  These are usually good events and this was also good.  The idea is you bring your genealogical information and ask other people attending if they have any of the people you are looking for and you trade information.  About 20 people were there.  The drawback, I have, is my hearing is growing worst each year and with any kind of background noise it makes it impossible for me to hear.  With 20 people talking it did create problems for me.  Some information was added to the data on family members so I got something out of it.  Plan to attend it when it is given again next year.

Adult Services Librarian, Gregg McCullough, gave an overview of the library's Delaware Collection.  Members of the Major Nathaniel Mitchell Chapter, NSDAR  http://delawaredar.org/chapters.htm  ,  gave a brief presentation on DAR, and Gregg gave a brief presentation on C.A.R.  http://www.nscar.org/    and SAR   http://www.sar.org/

The Major Nathaniel Mitchell Chapter of the Delaware DAR provided snacks and information and kept things moving.

Butch Baker, Patty Conklin and The Mason Dixon Auction House 2004

Vietnam Mailbag

Nancy E. Lynch and Rick Lovekin spoke Friday at the Delmar Public library.  Their talk was called "Vietnam Mailbag."   Nancy had a column in the Wilmington News Journal during the Vietnam war in which Delaware military people stationed in Vietnam could write the newspaper and express their opinion. From these hundreds of letter she produced a book called Vietnam mailbag.  Her discussion is based on those letters.

Rick Lovekin was a Huey Helicopter gunner in Vietnam and he shared his outlook on being in Vietnam.  Various show and tell material was displayed. 

Anyone will find her presentation interesting, it is even more so if you are of the age to have lived thru that time period.  The civil unrest in the United States at that time made a number of military people say they preferred to be in Vietnam instead of the United States. 

Nancy will speak again on the 18th of November at the Laurel Public Library.  this time her presentation will be on preserving war time letters.  Both programs are thru a grant from the Delaware Humanities Forum.

Journalist Nancy E. Lynch, author of the award-winning social history, Vietnam Mailbag, Voices From the War: 1968-1972, will speak on “Preserving War Letters, Touchstones of Time” at 2 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Laurel Public Library.

         Sponsored by the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society and the Laurel Public library and underwritten by a grant from the Delaware Humanities Forum, Lynch’s talk will be at the library at 101 E. 4^th St., Laurel, Del.

         Lynch will discuss the relevance today of selected correspondence from her book, based on nearly 1,000 letters she received from Delaware troops in Vietnam as a columnist with The News Journal in Wilmington, Del..

         War letters, first-hand accounts from the front lines, provide a unique window on that conflict and constitute primary source material. Preserving these priceless letters as social history for future generations is critical she believes.

          After Lynch’s book was published in 2008, she faced the dilemma of how to preserve her letters from Vietnam, believed to be the largest collection of war correspondence ever addressed to one reporter.

         Learn how—and how not—to safeguard letters from any war as well as old family missives, even farm journals, in Lynch’s informative and interactive program. She will provide a handout of resources for the proper disposition of these valuable social records.

         Lynch has written seven books and remains a freelance writer.  A University of Delaware graduate, she lives in Bethel, Del.

Dorchester County Historical Society talk

Terry Neild and Lynne Mills Of The Dorchester County Historical Society

spoke last Wednesday to the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society.  Between the two, they had a wealth of information they shared with the society regarding the resources the public could use at their headquarters and their own personal genealogical searches.  After listening to them everyone agreed it was worth a trip to Cambridge to make use of their facility.

The Villani Family

An interesting post was made today on facebook by Wayne Cannon.  He talked about the Villa-Nova in Ocean City which was built by Ignazio and Constantina Villani.  The tie in to Delmar is that their son Liborio I. Villani built Delmar Manor in Delmar DE. http://delmardustpan.blogspot.com/2008/04/glimpse-at-history-of-delmar-manor.html

From Wayne Cannon post  ----Not... far from the beach, Ignazio and Constantina Villani opened the Villa-Nova in 1939, a cluster of 38 tourist cabins and rooms ($25.00 a week) and a nightclub. Angelo Villani, "We only charged 25 cents for people to come in and dance in those days, and a spaghetti dinner was only 35 cents," "We had a five-piece band that we paid $5.00 per night - The Blue Serenaders." The Villa-Nova was the main venue for this part of West Ocean City. When the nightclub closed in 1945, it was transformed into I. Villani and Sons, a furniture store, moving and reopening on what later became Route 50 in 1951. Today, the old Villa-Nova building and the cabins remain on Route 707, also called Old Bridge Road. The old nightclub is now the home of The Full Moon Saloon

At The Delmar Library This Friday Nancy Lynch Speaks

Delmar Public Library
38481 Sussex Highway

Friday, October 30, at 2 pm.

Delaware Humanities Forum program

Description:

Vietnam Mailbag

Speaker: Nancy E. Lynch

Topic: History, United States History

When American troops in Vietnam answered the call to correspond with a young reporter four decades ago, they could not have envisioned the enduring relevancy of their war letters or the rich legacy their words, photographs and memorabilia would leave to succeeding generations. Ms. Lynch discusses and reads selected war letters from her book, Vietnam Mailbag, Voices From the War: 1968-1972, based on her popular newspaper column, “Nancy’s Vietnam Mailbag.” She is accompanied by Vietnam veteran Rick Lovekin, a Huey helicopter door gunner, Cobra crew chief and frequent letter writer to Nancy, who shows slides from Vietnam set to 1960s music.

Join DHAS - End Of The Year Special

Join DHAS anytime in the remaining year and your dues will be applied to next year and you will receive October, November and December membership free

 

DELMAR HISTORICAL AND ART SOCIETY - 2015

President: Chris Walter

V.P. Patsy Bridge
Treasurer: Ginger Trader
Secretary: Karin Walter

 

Clip and mail to:

Delmar Historical and Arts Society

PO Box 344
Delmar, Delaware 19940

Name ________________________

Address_______________________

Phone_________________________

Email__________________________

 Annual dues are payable in January of each year and cover the period from January 1 to December 31.

 

Individual Membership - $24.00

Institutional membership - $48.00
Life Membership - $200.00
Student and Senior (62& over) $12.00

Delmar Caboose On Artisan Fair day

On October 11, 2015 Delmar Downtown had an artisan fair.  The Delmar Historical and Arts Society acted as Docents for the caboose which was open for the day.  Above is DHAS President Chris Walter.

The Dorchester County Historical Society Speakers

The Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society is proud to present

 Terry Neild and Lynne Mills

Of

The Dorchester County Historical Society

Genealogist Terry Neild will share her knowledge of DCHS’ own collection of documents, books and photographs that can help guide local and regional family research. In addition, nontraditional sources such as local store ledgers, payroll records and newspaper articles will be explored. This collection is part of the Family Life Center, which is open to the public and on the campus of the Heritage Museums and Gardens of Dorchester.

Genealogist Lynne Mills will share her research on her family from the lower part of Dorchester — mainly Bishops Head and Crocheron. The surnames include Johnson, Murphy, Mills and Pritchett. The public is invited to bring their genealogical information for comparison.

This event is open to the public and is free.

 

Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM October 28th at the Adkins Historical and Museum Complex – Odd Fellow Hall in Mardela Springs

 

Vintage Halloween Cards

Joe Burger Came For A Visit

Joe Burger and his wife drove up from Albany, Georgia to visit the Freeney Hearne cemetery today.  He is a Great Grandson of Elijah Freeney.  They gave a generous donation to DHAS.

Delmar In the 1920s?

The Central building featuring Hearne and Smith on the left, the Whayland Hotel on the right  electric lines and electric transformer and phone lines are up.  The Sen Auben sign may have been an ad for Sen Auben Cigars

New Information on Hearne Family Origin

In 1907 William T. Hearne published his "Brief History and Genealogy of the Hearne Family"  A classic for people looking for information on the Hearne family. The beginning of the book is heavy on Hearnes on the Eastern shore including the Delmar area. While visiting and gathering information on the Hearne family he also hit them up for a contribution to a memorial he intended to put in Delmar for the Hearne family.  It is felt those who did not contribute were left out of the book.  A version of the book is on the internet at http://www.cragun.com/brian/hearne/history/

At the Freeney -Hearne cemetery outside of Delmar is the monument.  Dedicated to William Hearne the merchant

James (Jay) Batson Hearne has had the chance to do additional research on William Hearne.  He wrote the Delmar Historical and Arts Society the following message.  We hope to have Mr. Hearne speak to DHAS in the upcoming months about his research.  Below is what he wrote;

During the last year (winter 2014 & spring 2015) I have made several “discoveries” about the above William Hearne, his wife Mary and their parents and relatives in England.  This was made possible by collaborating with the book “Brief History & Genealogy of the Hearne Family,” written by Wm. T. Hearne in 1895 & updated in 1907, plus the old Ledger & Daybook belonging to William Hearne, Merchant (1684-1688).  In comparing these two volumes with a recent work published in 2002 by the London Record Society entitled “The Letters of William Freeman, London Merchant 1678-1685,” edited by David Hancock, currently Professor of History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. many missing pieces of his life have fallen into place!  To me this is very exciting, especially after nearly 40 some years of genealogical research into his family and those of the various Hearn(e)s of the Eastern Shore!

In brief, speculation over the years since W.T. Hearne wrote his treatise on the Hearne family have been that Nicholas Hearne (Hern) was the father of William Hearne, London Merchant, although no proof was ever given or available to attest to this fact!   Further none of the children or grandchildren of William Hearne were ever named Nicholas…  Then there is the fact that William Hearne (London Merchant) was supposedly born in London in 1627.  This information was a supposed fact by W.T. Hearne who wrote “Brief History…” because he believed he could read the date 1627 on the back page of the old Ledger, although that date he stated was very faded!  This would make William 61 years of age when his first son was born in Delmar!  It has also been speculated that William Hearne married twice, both times to a Mary and supposedly one of these was a Mary Cuthbert, because records have been found in London of the marriage of a William Hearne to a Mary Cuthbert during the 1680’s time period!!!  However, there are various William Hearnes in London during that time!

However, using the various names of the merchants and their associates listed in both the Old Ledger and the volume “Brief History…” who were in London & the West Indies during the 1680’s and finding various corresponding letters from the Ledger entry dates in the book “Letters of Wm. Freeman,” we find that William Hearne was not yet 21 years of age in 1680.  We further find that he was not the wealthy Merchant that has been portrayed through the years but the young scribe and book keeper of the somewhat well-off London Merchant, William Freeman.  We also learn that he is a young upstart longing to return home to England and ungrateful for being left in the care of Wm. Freeman following his father’s death.

It was through the London Public Records Office that we have discovered William Hearne’s father will, who not surprisingly also a William Hearne!  He lists himself in the opening statements of his last will as “Citizen & Founder of London.”  We have also been able to trace his parentage through the London Founders Company to Buckinghamshire Co., the son of a Thomas Hearne of Sherington.  The father’s will lists our William’s brother (who remained in

London) as a Thomas Hearne; also an elder sister(also remaining in London) a Jemima Hearne , wife of William Baxter (London Merchant) an associate of Wm. Freeman.  This Wm. Baxter is also mentioned in the old Ledger as well as this will.  There is also a sister mentioned in the will, Elizabeth Hearne.  It now becomes of further interest that William Hearne (d. 1691) had a grand daughter named Jemima Hearne, as some family names were passed down.  Through further research we discovered clearly that William Hearne, Sr. (d. 1679 in London) was married twice, once to Elizabeth Warner who died in 1672 (the mother of our Wm. Hearne, merchant)& second to Sarah Barcocke Oatridge.  According to church records, William (d.1679) & wife, Elizabeth (d. 1672) were members of the Church of England “St. Benet Fink” in London.  They were married there in 1654 and their children were born/baptized there in the parish as well as some who died there.  The second marriage of Wm. Hearne (d.1679) to Sarah Barcocke Oatridge, widow, took place in the Anglican church of St. Michael Queenhith London.  Our William Hearne (merchant d. 1691) was born & baptised there in 1659.  This is much more plausible than his birth being in 1627.  However, this makes his passing in Maryland at the young age of 32!

Assuming that his wife, Mary Hearne, would not be much older than he, I began searching to find if she could have remarried!?!?  On the website Ancestry.com I came across several family trees which list Mary Hearne as being the second wife of Joseph Gray of Somerset County, MD. married in 1692.  After various inquiries I found no one could provide substantial evidence to that fact among those who listed her on their trees.  However, it was of great interest that in the Maryland Archive records and those of Somerset Co., MD. that a Joseph Gray was a co administrator with Mary Hearne for her husband, William Hearne in 1691-2.  It also becomes interesting that the two Hearne sons of William Hearne & wife Mary are listed in the birth records between those of the Gray children in the Somerset Maryland Birth registry

book and not among the H’s as one would suppose.  However, this was all circumstantial evidence!  According to the book, “Letters of Wm. Freeman…,” William Hearne (d.1691) close associate in St. Kitts & Nevis was a Thomas Westcott.  It appears that Wm. & Thomas quite closely worked together in the islands through the years.  The “Letters…” also state that Thomas Westcott had a brother in London associated with the merchant William Freeman.  His name was John Westcott.  Upon finding and inspection of the London will of John Westcott we see he lists his brother Thomas Westcott in Nevis and lists his sister Mary Gray.  The will states “Whereas I have a bond of William Hearne deceased of an hundred and forty four pounds principal money bearing date of 16^th of December 1684 my will and pleasure is that my executor do not put it in suit against my sister Mary Gray of Maryland in Virginia except God bless her with a plentiful fortune ---“   This additional bit of information seems to completely verify that fact that Mary Westcott of London, England married William Hearne, presumably in Nevis or St. Kitts, as no London records exist and those of Nevis & St. Kitts were lost through either hurricanes or French invasion.

So there is the information he provided We hope it is of some value to Hearne family members.

Norfolk Southern Historical Archivist

Happy Archives Month. Let’s celebrate with the Norfolk and Western Sheet Iron and Pipe Shop String Orchestra, seen here rocking out in Roanoke in 1924.
Did you know that Norfolk Southern has a full-time historical archivist, who takes care of the records of 400 predecessor railroads and more than 200,000 photographs? Stories come from the Archives, and Norfolk Southern has plenty.
Reach out to archivist Jennifer Davis McDaid at jennifer.mcdaid@nscorp.com. She’d love to hear your story, too.
From norfolksouthern on tumblr  http://norfolksouthern.tumblr.com/

A Bit Of France In The American Legion

The Napoleon bust was donated from France and arrived on the Gratitude Train in 1949. This Thank You to America was donated by Madam A. Goujean, 23 Rue Massena, Lyon, France.

American Women Could Lose their Citizenship

In an article by Hal Bookbinder he told of how American women could lose their citizenship between 1907 and 1922.  This is somewhat related to the "Anchor" baby discussion of today in which some people feel that because someone is born here it does not automatically make them a U S Citizen. 

Bookbinder's grandmother was born in 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri.  She later married Edward Horwitz who had immigrated to the United States as a toddler but had never been naturalized.  Since he was not an American citizen Bookbinder's grandmother lost her citizenship and in 1936 was naturalized back as a U S Citizen. 

Bookbinder explained that between 1907 and 1922, American women who married foreign males lost their citizenship. And yet, foreign women who married Americans automatically became citizens.

The Dorchester County Historical Society

Yesterday I had the pleasure of stopping off at the Dorchester County Historical Society on at 1003 Greenway drive in Cambridge Maryland.  There are several buildings the DCHS owns.  The Robbins Heritage center is but part of the complex. 

  there is a library for research and multiple exhibits rooms

 

The library section for research

1922 Prices At The Beebe Hospital Lewes Delaware

Virginia "Ginger" Hudson Trader Moving Up

Delmar Historical and Arts Society member Ginger Trader is moving up in the DAR.  She is a shoo in for Historian General at DAR headquarters where she will have an office and three people working for that position.  A statewide reception will be held for her on Sunday, September 27th at Belmont Hall in Smyrna.

Her resume is equally impressive;

National DAR Service

• National Chair Americanism Committee, 2013-2016
• Vice President General, 2011-2014
• State Regent of Delaware, 2007-2010
• Vice Chair Eastern Division DAR Speakers Staff

Other

• Friend of American Indians, DAR Library, DAR Museum, Veterans
• National Speakers Staff
• Tamassee Advisory Board
• Congress House Committee
• Congress Platform Committee
• DAR Chorus

Club Affiliations

• National Officers Club
• Vice Presidents General Club, Vice President
• State Regents Club
• National Chairmen’s Association
• National Vice Chairmen’s Association
• Heritage Club
• Founders Club

State DAR Service

• Regent
• Chaplain
• Registrar

State Chairmanships

• American History
• American Indians
• DAR Project Patriot
• Membership
• National Defense

Other

• State Officers Club
• Cameo Society

Chapter DAR Service

• Regent
• Vice Regent
• Chaplain
• Registrar
• Historian
• Chair American Heritage Committee
• Chair American History Committee
• Chair DAR Good Citizen Committee
• Chair DAR Magazine Committee
• Chair Insignia Committee
• Chair Junior Membership Committee
• Chair National Defense Committee
• Chair Program Committee

SAR

• Medal of Appreciation with Three Oak Leaf Clusters
• Martha Washington Award with Two Oak Leaf Clusters

C.A.R.

• Senior Leader Nanticoke Society

Education and Career

• University of Delaware
• Commodity Trader specializing in poultry

Professional Affiliations

National Poultry and Food Distributors Association

Church and Community Service

• Church of Christ, Sunday School Teacher, VBS Teacher, Women Events Coordinator and Ladies’ Day Director
• Delmar Historical and Arts Society, Executive Board
• Delmar High School Alumni Association, Past President, Executive Board, and Scholarship Chair
• Nina Wright Wildman Scholarship Chair
• Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Eastern Shore
• 4-H Leader
• Grant-A-Wish Foundation

Awards and Honors outside of DAR

Big Sister of the Year

Family

Husband, Brandon E. Trader
Son, Troy L. Foxwell (SAR)
Daughter-in-law, Carolynn C. Foxwell (DAR)
Grandson, Asher John Foxwell (C.A.R.)

Special Projects

State Regent
Project: 1) Post a net increase in membership; 2) Original Chart Map of Delaware Bay donated to the Delaware Room; 3) Fisher House Project

Freeny School

About 1824 Freeny School
Built in 1910 and was located on old Route 13 north.  The first teacher was Effie Wingate.  The building was sold in 1932 and became part of the Spinning Wheel Night Club.

Delmar Historical and Arts Society will meet this Thursday

The Delmar Historical and Arts Society will meet this Thursday at 7 pm at Peddlers Four on Pennsylvania Ave

George Hurley Passed away

George Hurley, who was  speaker a year or so ago at the Lower Delmarva Genealogical society, passed away on August 9th,  He was a leader in Ocean city and a great historian of Ocean city.  He and his wife co-authored many books.

Previous Delmar Police Chief Dies

Jackie Ford, a previous Delmar Police officer and Chief of police, passed a way on August 9th.  He lived in Crisfield at the time.  A memorial service will be held on Wednesday (August 12th) at 2 pm at Bradshaw and Son Funeral Home in Crisfield

Election 1986 Delmar Delaware

From The State Register April 2, 1986  Click on photo to enlarge

Delmar Ladies Promise Good Time

The ladies of the Delmar M. E. Church propose holding a festival in that place on the afternoon and evening of Friday and Saturday June 8th and 9th,  They promise a good time to all who patronize them, and extend a special invitation to the ladies and gentlemen of Salisbury to attend.

From the Salisbury Advertiser June 22, 1877

Elijah Freeny Trustee For Sallie Freeny 1871

From the Salisbury advertiser September 2 1871

Anthony Johnson

Cemetery Dangers

Walking a cemetery to obtain family names and information is not with out it's danger.  Well tended cemeteries in town or next to churches  have little harm to them, but rural untamed cemeteries may be another matter.  Usually I stay out of those cemeteries in the summer due to over grown foliage, snakes, creature etc.  Better to leave them to the fall or winter.

Try to always travel in two's or more when you visit the more isolated cemeteries.  Even in town and next to churches individuals may accost you.  Keep an eye on your vehicle as it may be robbed while you are far afield in a cemetery.  Use a little common sense for your protection. 

When walking around the more overgrown cemeteries tread gently.  Not only the risk of a vault top giving way is present (small creatures bury into the graves weaking the vaults) but some old graveyards would have a shallow water well for visitors to draw water for flowers for the graves or to clean tombstones.  Those wells may be open or they may be covered with a board that when stepped on will break.

Windmill Down

From The Salisbury Advertiser Feb 6, 1897

During a high wind in Delmar, last week, the big wind mill owned by Mr. Elijah Freeny was blown down and fell upon T. A. Vessey's barn, crushing in the roof and almost wrecking the building.  A colored man who was in the barn at the time escaped unhurt.  The mill stood 76 feet high and had a tank with a capacity of 8,000 gallons.  The tank was empty at the time.

Genealogy Comments

Perhaps the three types of female family members that are the hardest to do a narrative on when building a family tree are those; 1) who died young, 2) never married, and 3) never had children.  There are of course exceptions to each of those three. 

Recently I came across a scrapbook/photo album in a Laurel thrift shop.  It had pictures of a Dorothy Kirby from Newnan, GA and newspaper clippings of the Stallings family again from Newnan.  I have no idea how it landed in the Laurel Delaware thrift store.  I copied a few names down from it, came home and looked them up on Ancestry.com.  I found Dorothy had died in 1923 at the age of 20.  Her mother Inez was a Stallings and had married a Kirby.  My guess was the album was kept by the mother.  In looking at some of the on-line family trees that had Dorothy in them it became obvious that there was little people knew about her other than a birth and death date.  Dorothy had all three of the problems listed above, died young, didn't marry, left no children.

I contacted one of the owners of a family tree that had Dorothy included and asked if she would like the album and she said yes.  I went back and purchased the album and will mail it to that person next week.  At that time a little family history will have been returned to Georgia and Dorothy will have a face to go in the family tree.

Cornerstones

Mt Olive Church

Ernest John White Born Delmar

Above photo is of Ernest John Arters White in 1920.  A commercial traveling shoe salesman, born a little east of Delmar, Delaware to Joseph Greensbury B. White and Levenia West in 1872.  He would move to Philadelphia PA and marry Meta B. Hawlk (dau of Gilbert and Lydia)  In his travels as a shoe salesman he would go to Cuba to open markets there.   He would die on March 24, 1947.

Coimetromania

Minnie Waller - Actress

In 1923 Minnie Waller Sims sailed on the President Roosevelt for Europe.  Giving her occupation as actress.

Born January 4, 1898 to Cornelius and Lillie Guildersleeve Waller, she grew up in Delmar, Delaware .  Her father, Cornelius, worked as a conductor on the railroad.  She would move to New York City to try her hand at acting and there would marry Charles J. Sims in 1919.  She would go by her acting name of Elaine Sims at times. The marriage would not work out and by 1940 she was divorced.   She would marry Eugene Kevlin and move to California.  She would die in Placer California in 1957 19th of June under the name Elaine Kevlin

 

Howard and Amy Waller

Howard and Amy Waller owner of Culver's Men Store In Delmar

Arthur Parker Hitchens 1877-1949

Arthur Parker Hitchens photo in 1916, The son of William Smith Hitchens was born in Delmar in 1877.

Ethel Bennett Hitchens in 1916, his wife

From an article by Claude P Brown in 1950.

Arthur Parker Hitchens was born in Delmar, Delaware, September 14, 1877,the son of William Smith and Fannie Parker Hitchens. He attended Temple College and was graduated from the Medico-Chirurgical College, Philadelphia, in 1898. His internship was spent at Samaritan Hospital, Philadelphia. At various times he studied also at the University of Pennsylvania; at St. Mary's Hospital, London, under Sir Almroth, Wright; at Woods Hole, Massachusetts; at the Army Medical School; and in France and Switzerland.

 In 1901 Dr. Hitchens joined the staff of the biological laboratories of the H. K. Mulford Company, Glenolden, Pennsylvania. From 1905 to 1918, when he entered the Medical Corps of the United States Army, he was director of the laboratories.

 
He left the Army for a short time after the First World War. -During this period he was active in tuberculin research at the Hygienic Laboratories of the Public Health Service, now the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

After accepting appointment as a major in the Medical Corps in 1920, he worked with Colonels F. Charles Craig and Henry J. Nichols in Washington, teaching bacteriology at the Army Medical School. About the same time he completed the basic and advanced training course of the same school.

From 1924 to 1929 Dr. Hitchens was in the Philippines. As a member of the Army Medical Research Board he participated in a study, under Colonel J. F. Siler, of dengue fever. After the completion of that work he became a technical adviser in matters of public health to Governor General Leonard Wood. Under General Wood's direction Dr. Hitchens organized the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the University of the Philippines. This was later supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. Under Governor General Henry L. Stimson, Dr. Hitchens introduced the teaching of public health into the schools.

While in the Philippines he aided in combating an epidemic of cholera. He also was president of the Leprosy Research Board, visiting Culion and other leprosariums.

 

On leaving the Philippines he traveled in Japan, China, Malay, Java, India, and Egypt.

His next assignment was to take charge of the Corps Area Laboratory at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. From there he went to Walter Reed General Hospital in 1934 and to the Army Medical School in 1935. He became a lieutenant colonel in

1937.

In 1938 he went to the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor of military science and tactics. By permission of the Surgeon General, he accepted in 1939 the George S. Wharton professorship of public health and preventive medicine in the university. Retirement from the Army came in 1941, but he was immediately recalled to active duty and continued in the service until 1945. In that year the Wilmington, Delaware, municipal administration invited him to become commissioner of health, in which capacity he served for three years. Upon retirement as commissioner he was appointed director of the Bureau of Laboratories of the Pennsylvania State Board of Health.

 In spite of the fact that Army life entailed frequent changes of residence,Colonel Hitchens was active in numerous scientific and professional organizations.

During his secretaryship in the Society of American Bacteriologists he successfully completed negotiations with the Williams and Wilkins Company of Baltimore for the publication of the JOuRNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY, official organ of the society. Later he was the society's vice-president and president.  Colonel Hitchens interested Williams and Wilkins in publishing D. H. Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. After Dr. Bergey's death he became one of the three members of the editorial board supervising the later editions of the Manual.

For some years Colonel Hitchens was editor of Abstracts of Bacteriology; later he became a member of the editorial board of Biological Abstracts. In addition to his editorial duties he found time to write many scientific papers on

bacteriology, immunology, and public health.

Colonel Hitchens was a fellow of the American Public Health Association and served as a councilor. On joining this association in 1907, he became active in its Laboratory Section. For some years he was chairman of the Committee on

Co-ordination of Standard Laboratory Methods. Those who were associated with him attributed the accomplishments of his committee to his ability to get people to work together harmoniously.  Other organizations of which Colonel Hitchens was a member or a fellow were the Philadelphia College of Physicians (1908), the American Medical Association, the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the American College of Physicians, the American Association of Immunologists (a charter member), the Philadelphia Board of Health (1940-1944), the Philadelphia Council of Social Agencies, the Pennsylvania Public Health Association (of which he was at one time president), the Delaware Public Health Association (which he served as both vice-president and president), the Philadelphia Council of Defense, the Babies Hospital, and the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Tuberculosis Society.

In his work, the improvement of laboratory procedures was his constant aim. One of his many contributions was the preparation and demonstration of the use of semisolid agar (0.1 per cent) media for the growth of anaerobic bacteria.

 

His technical skill was highly developed. He became adept in designing and making glass syringes, pipettes, and other laboratory apparatus, among which was his syringe for inoculating animals with standard doses of antitoxins. He invented a fly trap to be inserted in windows, and also one to be placed over vessels containing fly-attracting refuse

Bacterial vaccines were undergoing rapid development about the time he became director of the Mulford laboratories. After his trip to London for study under Sir Almroth Wright, he instituted research in the bacteriology of infectious
diseases. The organisms isolated during these studies were later used in the preparation of vaccines (bacterins).

The development of antibacterial serums followed much the same pattern, i.e., antistreptococcic serum was produced by inoculating horses with streptococci isolated from scarlet fever, erysipelas, and the respiratory tract. Diphtheria,

tetanus, and BaciUus welchii antitoxins, antimeningococcal serum, and tuberculins were some of the biological products prepared under his supervision. A department for animal biologics was also developed.

His hobby, when he could steal a little time from his many activities, was the history of bacteriology and public health. His library contained numerous books on these subjects.

He married Ethel M. Bennett in 1906. They had two foster children, John and Ethel.

The Council of the Laboratory Section of the American Public Health Association nominated Colonel Hitchens for the Sedgwick Memorial Medal just before his death. One of his friends and colleagues in public health work has written me,"There will be no one to fill the unique place he occupied in our professional

field."

CLAUDE P. BROWN

1950