Maggie Lucille (Gowens) Galloway Friendship Quilt

    My grandmother, Maggie “Lucille” (Gowens) Galloway (1913-2008), referred to this as a "Friendship Quilt." Lucille created and assembled the quilt in Texas between 1932 and 1934. She was just out of High School when she started and finished just after she was married. My grandmother would send each square to family members, who would then hand-embroider their name, date, and location onto the fabric before sending it back to her. After she had all the pieces back, she stitched them together.

My grandmother's "Friendship Quilt"

Provenance:

   After the death of my grandmother in 2008 in Klamath Falls, Oregon, it was handed down to her daughter, Juanita (Galloway) Fallon. Last year (2024) Aunt Juanita gave it to my mother, Faye (Galloway) Hawthorne, during a family reunion.

My mom with the quilt 

The Squares

There are twenty squares: Four across and five down.

In the following descriptions I will number each square left to right, top to bottom.

1.     This is most likely Mary (Jones) Bass, the mother of her sister-in-law, Minnie Bell (Bass) Gowens. Minnie married Lucille’s older brother, Slyvester Bernard Gowens.

2.     Debra Shaw could be a friend. I have found no family connections yet.

3.      Rosa Evelyn Ray is her niece, the daughter of her older ½ sister, Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray. But, Rosa would have been 5 years old, so maybe it was completed by her mother?

4.     Mrs. Charlie G. Ray is her older sister, Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray. Note: She is also the same person in square #15.

5.     Nadine is her niece. Daughter of her older sister, Stella Vera (Gowens) Perry.

6.     Lena Georgia (Gowens) Perry is her older sister.

7.     Frances Delilah McCallister is her niece. Daughter of her older sister Lena (Gowens) McCallister and Henry Matt McCallister.

8.     Nota Mae (Phariss) is her maternal 1^st. cousin. Daughter of her maternal uncle Joseph William Phariss and Maude Mae Close.

9.     Crystal Elizabeth (Gowens) Reedy is her older sister.

10. Mother is her mother Frances Emily (Phariss) Gowens. I am not sure why it says “Lubbock.” They lived in Crosbyton, which is almost 40 miles east.

11. Cordie Loraine Gowens is her older sister.

12. Lora Eva (Atchison) Gowens is her sister-in-law. The wife of her older brother Clarene Preston Gowens.

13. Maude Mae (Close) Phariss is her aunt-in-law. The wife of her maternal uncle Joseph William Phariss.

14. Minnie Belle (Bass) Gowens is her sister-in-law. The wife of her older brother Sylvester Bernard Gowens.

15. Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray is her older sister. The same person as in square #4.

16. Tishe [?] Bass. I have not identified this person yet. There is Theresa (Davis) Bass, wife of Henry Bass, who was living in Crosby County at the time.

17. Virginia Lea Reedy is her niece. Daughter of her older sister Crystal Elizabeth (Gowens) Reedy and Charles Leslie Reedy.

18. Lila Mae Reedy is her niece. Daughter of her older sister Crystal Elizabeth (Gowens) Reedy and Charles Leslie Reedy.

19. Sarah S. (Millican) Perry is the step-mother-in-law of her older sister Stella Vera (Gowens) Perry. Clyde Perry’s step-mother.

20. Juanita Linsly[?] I have not identified. Could be a friend. But, my grandmother’s maternal great-grandmother was Emily (Linsley) Phariss who died in Coleman County, Texas. There may be a connection there.

TOP ROW (L-R)

NEXT ROW (L-R)

NEXT ROW (L-R)

NEXT ROW (L-R)

BOTTOM ROW (L-R)

 

   My grandmother learned how to sew from her mother. She became a seamstress for the rest of her life. She made all the clothes for her children when they were young. After they moved to California in 1942, she worked for several companies, including one in Costa Mesa that only made men's suits. She learned to use the big industrial sewing machines that they had. My mom said she made her a skirt to wear the next day at school all in one night! 

Lucille Gowens and Sammie Galloway - Wedding Day 1933 Scurry Co., Texas

My Colorful Ancestry 9-Year Anniversary

 It was 9 years ago today that I came up with an idea to color-code a 5-generational chart of my ancestors birth places. A viral social media movement ensued and the rest is history. Since then, several genealogy companies now include a form of that idea.

Here is a link to the original blog post that I wrote about it: BLOG POST

I was also recognized by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) for this concept.

I made a t-shirt too! I wore it to several genealogy conferences over the years.

Since that time period, I thought I could come up with a ‘new’ tool to use, but I am not a coder and my ideas of somehow incorporating maps, time-periods, and people are too complex for me. Better leave that to the experts.

RootsTech 2025 ~ Virtual

This is a quick post to document the classes I attended during the RootsTech 2025 genealogy conference. I attended the conference virtually again this year, which makes this my 10th. time in a row. My only in-person was in 2012, 2013, and 2015.

Each year RootsTech calculates how many relatives you are related to through their FamilySearch Family Tree. This year I have 36,109! I can usually confirm whether they are related to me up to the 4th. cousin range. 

 Classes I attended each day.

 

I am hoping to attend next year’s conference in-person. It would be nice to drive up this time from San Diego and visit some canyon country wilderness areas. We’ll see!

NGS 2024 Virtual

   I attended the 2024 National Genealogical Society's Virtual Family History Conference "Expanding Possibilities" this weekend. It was very fun and informative as usual. Even though it was virtual, I saw a lot of friends and familial faces again. I am glad that all the classes were recorded so I can see the ones that I missed while attending the live classes I chose for each day.

“LIVE” 2024 NGS Sessions Attended:

Thursday

• Virtual Tour: International African American History Museum
• SLAM! Idea Showcase and Expo Hall Opening


Friday

• PLENARY SESSION: Artificial Intelligence and Genealogy: The First Year and Onward! - Steve Little
• Irish Immigration-Digging Deeper - David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FUGA, FIGSRS
• Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Land Records Analysis - David M. McCorkle
• In Their Own Words: Women and the War of 1812 - Julia A. Anderson, MA, AG
• Using Social and Historical Context to Support Indirect Evidence - LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, FASG
• Using Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to Solve a Misattributed-Parentage Case in America’s Colonial Era - Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, FASG, FUGA, FNGS


Saturday

• PLENARY SESSION: Artificial Intelligence and Genealogy: A Discussion of Issues and Concerns - Blaine T. Bettinger, PhD, JD, and others
• Assembling Cryptic Bits of Documentary Evidence and DNA to Answer Major Genealogical Questions - Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, FASG, FUGA, FNGS
• Hand-written Text Recognition: Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence to Transcribe and Search Documents - Yvette Hoitink, CG, QG
• Research Planning: The First Step to Solving Tough Problems - Jill Morelli, CG, CGL
• Finding Frances: A German American Case Study in Community, Illegitimacy, Immigration, and Interstate Migration - Nancy A. Peters, CG, CGL
• Using Land Records to Prove Ancestral Connections - Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FUGA, FVGS







I am so looking forward to NGS 2025 when it will be in-person in Louisville, Kentucky! 😀


LINK to NGS: https://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/

On the 125th. Anniversary of my Grandfather’s Birth - James Boardman Hawthorne

On the 125th. Anniversary of my Grandfather’s Birth - James Boardman Hawthorne 

On a cold Thursday, 12 days after the New Year, in 1899, my grandfather was born in Greenville, Alabama. His mother, Kathryn Ann (Albertson) Hawthorne, was the daughter of a Danish immigrant. His father, Alexander Travis Hawthorne, was the son of a Major in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Boardman, as his family called him, was named after his father’s uncle, Rev. Dr. J. B. Hawthorne, a famous Baptist preacher in the South. 

Boardman with his mother Kathryn
Greenville, Alabama ca. 1900

Boardman's father, Alex Hawthorne

   When I asked him about his birth, he said that it was snowing, and the snow would blow into the house from the cracks in the shutters. His mother had to make sure he was covered up with blankets. Decades later, I researched old weather maps and news articles to see if this happened… and sure enough, it did!  The blizzard of 1899 started in February 1899 (a month after he was born) and covered all of Alabama and down into Florida.

Temperature map of the United States during the storm

   According to the 1900 US Federal Census, his father was a farmer, and his mother was at home with the children: Boardman 1, Etta Mae 4, and Travis 8. Another child who was born in 1889, named Ethel, did not survive past that year. 

  Boardman had many aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived in Greenville as a child, and more in nearby Camden. His Danish grandfather lived in Manhattan, New York at the time, and his 64-year-old grandmother, Clara (Ford) Hawthorne, was living in Greenville. 

Boardman's grandmother, Clara (Ford) Hawthorne

   My grandfather instilled love and compassion in his own family, which has been carried down through the generations. Boardman has 42 living descendants as of January 2024, with more on the way. 

Boardman with wife Myrtle and their children.

Boardman's legacy lives on...

NGS 2022 Sacramento: Day 4 - Last Day

Saturday, 28 May 2022

 

   Day 4 – Last Day! Saturday… One last day to get in some quality learning. This conference has been a success in every way, from accommodations and food to the volunteers and organization. The local host, the California Genealogical Society, has been incredibly helpful throughout the conference. I’ve encountered no problems to speak of. How is this so? I think everyone involved, including the attendees, wanted to make this go smooth after a two-year hiatus. Lots of happy smiling faces and people wanting to make new friends is just the icing on the cake. As NGS moves forward year after year with new conferences in different cities, I shall return to attend.

 

Today’s Classes

·      Finding Migrating Families: Tracing Elusive Ancestors Using Cluster Research with Nancy A. Peters, CG, CGL

·      Filling in the Blanks: Identifying Mary and Sweet Baby James with Amy Larner Giroux, Ph.D., CG, CGL

·      Organize Like an Archivist with Nancy E. Loe, MA, MLS

·      NGS LUNCHEON -- Colored Citizens of Coloma and the Life of Rufus Burgess with Jonathan Burgess

·      Following Land and Slaves: Analyzing Original Deeds from a Burned, Extinct County with Amy Larner Giroux, Ph.D., CG, CGL

·      Linking Generations: Using Court and Land Records with Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL

 

  

Got Photos? I do…

 

Last day!

Got NGS? I do!

My first time hearing Amy Giroux speak!

I sat in the back corner of almost every class

Good friend Nancy Loe with long hair!

NGS Luncheon

Friend Jim Beidler signing his book to me

The spacious lobby

An impromptu meeting of Genealogists

My new friend Connie Knox!

The great Judy Russell

Farewell Sacramento!

Beautiful Sacramento

 

 

 

Thank you to the National Genealogical Society!

See you next year!