Walk a Mile In Those Shoes ~ When Photos Tell the Tale

 

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 4 (FAVOURITE PHOTO)

We have so many photos that choosing just one seemed an impossible task. 

Once I decided which branch of the Bramble Bush to write about this week the decision became more obvious. 

I remember the first time I saw this photo:

Great Grandpa Alonzo with my husband

This is my husband with his great grandfather Alonzo Vannatter. 

The book (sourced below) was a present for my husband from his grandmother in 1993. She wrote a personal message to him in the front of the book. She also included notes of who was who.

I read that book cover to cover. I have always loved history, and this one had personal connections to our family.

When I arrived at page 84 I shared the photo with my husband. 
I commented that it appears his belief in his personal value was instilled in him young. 

Even today $145 a mile is a tremendous amount of money. He had never seen the book or heard the story before I showed it to him.

The book is a history of the Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario, Canada.

Intertwined is part of my husband's family story.  

Great Grandpa Alzonzo & Great Grandma Vera  when they were younger

In this photo are:
two of my husband's X2 great grandfathers: George Williams & Ben Vannatter, one X2 great grandmother: Fidella (nee Foreman) Vannatter
and one X2 great aunt: Florence (nee Aspden) Williams
  (who is related by marriage paternally, and blood maternally)

Back far left is my husband's grandmother, Nina
on her left, her sister Reta

Finding family photos & stories in published works!

This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***




Sources:

Sider, Morris E., & Vannatter, Alonzo. (1978), Fruit From Woods And Sands: The Story of Houghton Mission. Nappanee, Indiana: Evangel Press..

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

________________________________________________________________

 

The Long Line ~ Van Etten becomes Vannatter

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 3 (LONG LINE)

When I first met my husband he explained that his love of red wine & pasta was genetic since he was Italian through his dad's maternal line.  His great grandfather was Alonzo Vannatter.  I think my husband decided that the Vannatter family was Italian because he thought the name Alonzo was Italian. 

"The name Alonzo is a boy's name of Spanish, Italian origin meaning "noble, ready". You may be surprised to know that Alonzo has been on the Most Popular list since 1880, when such records began to be kept,..." 1

Born Asa Alonzo, but known as Alonzo. On page 88 of the book FRUIT FROM WOODS AND SANDS it's suggested that he was named after Asa Bearss who was one of the original evangelists who shaped the church community that Alonzo would one day lead.  When Alonzo was born in 1901 his parents may have simply chosen the name because they liked it. Alonzo was known as Lonnie to his family.


When I first began researching the Vannatter side of his family tree there was nothing to suggest  they weren't Italian. Using my brand new Ancestry access I tracked back generation by generation using the documents I found. When I arrived to my husband's 5th great grandfather I discovered the name he had been born with was Van Etten, but his children were Vannatter. As I chased this line further up with the newly found name I arrived in Kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland).


You should have seen my husband's face when I told him he needed to let go of the red wine, and embrace licorice. Although funny, I do regret telling him since now I have to share my dutch licorice treats. Several years later when he received his DNA results it was confirmed. There was no Italian in his family tree. He still likes red wine & pasta, but now doesn't claim it's due to his heritage.


The Vannatter line was the first family line I was able to research back to the 1600s.  The only reason I haven't gone further back is that I have put this branch of the tree aside to focus on other lines.


 Further down the tree in this long line of Vannatters is my husband's great grandparents: Alonzo & Vera Vannatter.

source: FRUIT FROM WOODS AND SANDS

Asa Alonzo (Lonnie) Vannatter
BIRTH 23 NOV 1901 • Frogmore, Houghton Tp., Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 8 APR 1976 • London, Ontario, Canada

Vera Catharine Williams
BIRTH 27 SEP 1902 • Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 25 MAR 1981 • Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada

Alonzo's church:

The Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario

When my husband was small he spent quite a bit of time with his great grandparents.

My husband and his great grandfather, 1969
source: FRUIT FROM WOODS AND SANDS

38 years between the two photos.

With his great grandfather's photo, in the lobby of
The Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario, 2007

Alonzo & Vera's X3 great grandsons in the photo below

X3 great grandsons in front of Alonzo's curch
The Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario, 2007

Tracking the long family lines through a name or spelling change!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Related Previous Blogs:

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
Reverend Alonzo Vannatter ~ Brethren In Christ Church, Frogmore, Ontario
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2019 Week 17 (At Worship)
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/04/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-17-at.html




Footnotes:

1 Alonzo, Nameberry,  Retrieved January 15th 2020 from
https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alonzo




Sources:

Brethren In Christ Beginnings, Mennogesprach, Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario, September 1989, Vol. 7, No. 2, Retrieved January 15th 2020 from
https://mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Mennogesprach7-2.pdf

Fruit from Woods and Sands, The Story of Houghton Missin, Sider, E. Morris and Alonzo Vannatter, Evangel Press, Nappanee, Indiana, Messiah College, Pennsylvania, 1978




Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

Reverend Alonzo Vannatter ~ Brethren In Christ Church, Frogmore, Ontario

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 17 (At Worship)

This week's prompt AT WORSHIP posed no hesitation on who I would feature. My husband's great grandfather was a Reverend in a small town in Houghton Township, Ontario. 

When I first started hearing the stories about Asa Alonzo Vannatter (known as Lonnie to those close to him) I loved that his church was in a town called Frogmore.

Brethren In Christ church in Frogmore, Ontario, Canada  ~ 2007

Throughout my husband's growing up he was close to extended family. All of his grandparents & great grandparents played a vital part in his formative years. His great grandfather Vannatter was a larger than life character for him. 

My husband with his great grandfather, publication and date unknown

This write up in a church document shows why that would be. 

"   Rev. Alonzo Vannatter is described in Roy V. Sider's introduction to the book as being "one of the great but little known men of the Brethren in Christ. No man could be more loyal in crisis than he was. Godliness and good humour rarely find a better mix than they did in Alonzo Vannatter." Vannatter's qualities as a person and as a pastor may be seen in this paragraph that he has given us: "Rose early, did my chores . . . got ready for church, about nine miles for the 10 a.m. Sunday School and preaching service at 11. At 12 o'clock started home and then changed horses and drove to Bethel, about 7 miles, for 2 p.m. Sunday School and preaching service at 3, them home to chores and supper and at 7:30 p.m. conducted worship service at Frogmore."   "(1)  

My husband at the Church in Frogmore, Ontario in 2007 in front of the pastors photos
(his great grandfather, Alonzo, second from left)

 Asa Alonzo Vannatter was the 5th of 6 children born to Benjamin Augustus Vannatter and Sophia Fidella Foreman. He was born on the 23rd of November in 1901 in Frogmore, Houghton Township, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. 

On the 2nd of January 1923 he married Vera Catharine Williams in Cultus, Ontario, Canada.

Vera was born on September 27th 1902 in Norfolk County, Ontario Canada. Her parents were George Albert Williams and Edith Gertrude Brisseau. 

Alonzo and Vera were parents to 5 children: 4 girls and a boy. My husbands' grandmother was their 2nd born. None of their children strayed far from their parents. Most of the extended family still lives in the area. They stayed very connected to all their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. 

Alonzo died on April 8th 1976 in London, Ontario, Canada. Vera died on March 25th 1981 in Tillsonburg, Ontario. They were both buried in Cultus Cemetery, Cultus, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.

Cultus Cemetery, Cultus, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada

While working on this blog I decided to search for any entries I could find. I was able to find many records of Reverend Alonzo Vannatter in marriage and funeral records (a few copied below). The best find was this document about  the history of the Brethren in Chris church where there is much more information to read (link in the sources at that end). The book referenced below is written by Rev. Alonzo & Rev. Sider. We have a copy of. It was a gift to my husband from his grandmother who was very proud of her father. 

Retrieved April 28th 2019  from Brethren in Christ - History and Life archives  http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents18/1982-2-december_1982.pdf

Evangelical Visitor Archives, retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents9/1971-05-10_may_10,1971.pdf

Evangelical Visitor Archives, retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents11/1954-09-27_sep_27,1954.pdf

Evangelical Visitor Archives retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents13/1968-02-26_feb_26,1968.pdf

Evangelical Visitor archives, retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents13/1968-09-09_sep_09,1968.pdf

Evangelical Visitor archives, retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents11/1954-09-27_sep_27,1954.pdf

Evangelical Visitor archives,  retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents10/1948-10-04_oct_4,1948.pdf

Evangelical Visitor archive, retrieved April 28th 2019 from http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents12/1961-05-15_may_15,1961.pdf

Finding family history by searching for documents & details.

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources

(1) Brethern in Christ, History and Life, December 1982, Retrieved April 25, 2019 from
http://bicarchives.messiah.edu/files/Documents18/1982-2-december_1982.pdf

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!