Received March 11, 1997:
Our March 12, 1997 reply:
Hello Carol,
Thank you for waiting. Our phone was restored yesterday morning after 3
weeks so I've been sorting and answering email like mad, much of it
including the information you so kindly shared with us. Thank you so very,
very much! What a surprise and a pleasure to learn about Oscar and his
family and to realize that Elmer must have lived not far from us when I and
my brothers and sisters were growing up on Tyrone Farm, Town of Peru, Dunn
Co. We're a bunch of beginners at genealogy, but if the others feel half
the thrill I do from your news, then the hunt is on in earnest. I've
digested every word you sent, entered the info into William and Rachel's
descendant's list, and examined surface possibilities. If Oscar was born
in Connacot, ME, then it's safe to assume William & Rachel were married
there and that Charles Arthur was born there too. I can find no Connacot
on any of the maps available here at home but will be heading back to Maine
on the www with some solid leads, thank to you.
May we ask about you, Carol? Your email address gives no indication of
your location. Do you or did you live in Wisconsin too? Your report seems
so professionally correct I suspect you are an old hand at genealogy,
knowing all the ins and outs of this fascinating task. Do you often have
the opportunity to share your findings?
I'm the second (living) son of Marvin and Inga (Johnson) Tibbetts and now
64 years old, living in retirement with my wife and daughter in Baguio
City, Philippines. We have a web page dedicated to family genealogy with a
partial 'Descendants of William Tibbetts & Rachel Pomeroy' listing that now
includes Oscar. If you're interested in seeing it I will send you the URL.
This should meet the qualifications of 'found' in Most Wanted and with
your approval will certainly be reported to them as such.
Thanks again so much, Carol, and we hope to hear from and more about you.
For the Tibbetts clan, Bob Tibbetts
From: C. & D. Severson <68256@maqs.net>
Our reply of 14 March 1997:
From: "C. & D. Severson" <68256@maqs.net>
To:
From: "C. & D. Severson" <68256@maqs.net>
To:
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 17:21:14 -0600
Hi,
I have information on another son, Oscar born about 1849 in Connacot, ME married 26 Feb 1871 Durand, Pepin, WI Josephine Clark daughter of Joseph
Perry Clark and Harriet Jane Berto (my relative) married second 23 Nov 1887 Sarah Grenier in Eau Claire, WI. Oscar and Josephine had at least 4
children. On the 1880 census, Durand only Caroline aged 4 and Charles aged 2 are listed. But, in WI Vital Records I found marriages for two more
sons. Edward married Mathilda Duboise 3 Aug 1896 Peru, Dunn, WI and Elmer born 24 Jul 1876 Eau Claire married 21 May 1907 Eau Galle, Dunn, WI died 16
June 1962 Menomonie, Dunn, WI and buried 18 June 1962 Menomonie. I didn't do much more research on the family after I realized Josephine had died.
Elmer was a friend of my aunt and she had his death notice. Oscar's marriage license clearly states that his parents were William and
Rachel (Pomeroy) Tibbits. Hope this is what you were looking for and gives you some more leads to follow.
Carol Severson 68256@maqs.net
To: bobtib@bgo.cyberspace.com.ph
Subject: Tibbetts Family
Date: Thursday, March 13, 1997 5:57 AM
Dear Bob,
Yes, I was born near Eau Claire, but my father Howard Vasey was born at
Louisville and my mother Frances Cotts at Downsville. Those are both in
Dunn County. Their families had been in Dunn County since 1850-70. We
moved to Milwaukee when I was a baby and my husband and I moved to
Westfield 2 years ago after I had to take an early retirement. (I have
emphysema and am on oxygen)
I am not sure exactly where Peru was in relationship to Menomonie, but you
may have known some of my relatives, Cotts, Vasey, Clark, Wold, Doughty to
name a few. I still have some relatives in the area.
Please send the URL for the Tibbetts home page.
I have a little more information. My aunt lived in Menomonie until she
died about 5 years ago. She kept a scrap book with obits and news articles
of friends and relatives. I dug it out and this is what was there about
the Tibbetts. If you have any other family members in Dunn County you are
looking for info about (different last name than Tibbetts) let me know and
I will see if there is anything in her scrap book.
Elmer P. Tibbetts wife Ida May (Everett) died 3 Jan 1956 at Menomonie.
According to Elmer's obit he had 3 suriving daughters: Mrs. Genevieve
Mulheron at Ettrick, Mrs. Dale Buzzell (Marie) at Portland, OR and Mrs.
Norman (Nina) Penquite at Frederick, WI; Four sons Roy, at Frederick,
WI, Palmer at Milwaukee, Raymond at Eau Claire (who died Dec 1983) and
Edward at Menomonie.
Two years ago, Palmer was still alive in Milwaukee. We have an old phone
book that lists him at 6291 Fleetwood Court, Milwaukee Phone
414-421-6060. He is a doctor.
I have been doing genealogy for about 15 years and I am still learning
thanks to the computer and the internet. I am finding that I did not do
all the documentation along the way that I should have. Remember to keep
notes of where you found your information. Some day someone may want to
refer back to it.
I sent a note to Most Wanted, but you should certainly do so as well.
Good Luck in your search.
Carol Severson (Mrs. Donald)
W6037 Elk Drive
Westfield, WI 53964
Dear Carol,
Thanks so much for the your nice reply and the bonus of the added
information on Elmer's family. Perhaps others in the family may remember
better than I, but I remember the names Cotts and Doughty plus I remember
our Mom saying we had relatives in Frederick. There were Mulherans living
in our community but I don't remember them as relatives. My older sister,
Mary, and I were born at Sacred Heart Hospital, Eau Claire. The family
then moved to Town of Peru, a township of Dunn County and not a town as
such. There may have been a town at one time with commercial places but
when we lived there Meridean, also in the township, was the nearest
village. On my trusty Rand-McNally Road Atlas of circa 1968 or so,
Downsville is shown on Hwy 25 about 8 miles south of Menomonie. Meridean
is about 8 miles southeast of Downsville as the crow flies, a bit farther
by the road which is not shown on my map. There was a ferry across the
Chippewa River at Meridean when I was growing up that was closed probably
around the time that we moved to Elmwood during the winter of 1947-1948.
I can remember riding with my folks from Menomonie via Downsville to the
ferry landing (the ferry was manned by Cris Swenson for many years who
lived in a house provided for that purpose on the Meridean side right near
the landing. When we reached the opposite landing my Dad would blow the
horn until Cris came out of his house and brought the ferry - that was
powered by the river current - over to our side. That was always a big
treat for us kids, and convenient for travelers too. The ferry was
maintained by the township and I think Meridean was the site of the town
hall. The town also maintained the town roads - all were dirt roads at
that time and after my Dad had a tractor on the farm, he had the job of
hooking the town grader to his tractor to grade the town road periodically.
He was also supposed to cut brush and tree limbs that threatened the
roads. After leaving Eau Claire the family first lived in a house about a
mile from Meridean very near to the place where my Dad and his sister Alice
were born. The original farm buildings were all gone maybe due to yearly
floods. I had a good talk with Aunt Alice last summer at her trailer home
in Bremerton, Washington, where she still lives, about the original place
and she indicated it was near the farm of Herman Fern who I remember
farming there. Anyhow, the family lived only a short time in that house
and then moved to Tyrone Farm, about 2 miles farther down the same road or
about 3 miles down river from Meridean and also very near the Chippewa
River. That was probably about 1933-34. We kids went to school at Red
Cedar School, almost 3 miles farther downstream. Red Cedar was on the
railroad (the railroad also ran between our Tyrone Farm House and the
river) and was a community of mostly railroad workers. Red Cedar School
was located on high ground almost directly opposite where the Red Cedar
River joined the Chippewa. There was also a railroad bridge and a junction
there as the track coming from Downsville, Dunnville, and Menomonie joined
the track going from Durand to Eau Claire. All freight trains and we kids
used to ride to Durand in the caboose of the work trains - great fun!
Well, we walked to school and that was an adventure in itself. And the
school was really something. One room with a big wood-burning stove in a
corner at the rear with a sheetmetal jacket around it to keep the kids from
being burned, but also served to spread the heat. School district provided
hot lunches that consisted of bread and beans, mostly. The teacher put the
cans of beans in the pans of water at the top of the stove jacket - the
water pans were meant to raise the humidity of the room. More than once I
recall the bean cans exploding when the teacher forgot to remove them in
time. My first teacher was Mr. Hanson who lived in Menomonie and drove
each day to the other side of the railroad bridge then walked across it and
over to the school. The school was common of those of that era. A
coatroom at the entrance and then the one big classroom with rows of desks.
All 8 grades were taught and the teacher would hold classes by calling
students to the front where there were chairs for them. They consolidated
schools and Red Cedar was closed so I attended grades 7 and 8 at Meridean.
I remember my favorite teacher at Red Cedar was Mrs. Peters because she was
so good to me and somehow made me believe she thought I might amount to
something. That was during wartime and her son was wounded. She brought
his Purple Heart Medal to show the students.
Tyrone Farm is a story in itself and the Cider brothers from Chicago who
bought it and caused us to move to Elmwood (we were only rentors) made a
name for themselves that people around there probably still talk about.
But I've rambled on and on, Carol, and enjoy recalling those times but
probably boring you to tears. We had a family reunion in 1990, the last
year of Mom's life, held at my sister Mary's Prairie Farm home (they've
since retired and now live in Eau Claire) and many of us, along with our
Mom, drove down to Meridean to visit Locke Cemetary (where Charles Arthur
and Mary Elizabeth, my Mom & Dad, and brother Roy rest). We then visited
Tyrone Farm, stopping along the road for a look and Stan Cider came out and
chatted with us. The farm buildings were in a very deteriorated condition
but most of the buildings we remember so well were still standing. Cor,
Ruth & I took the same tour in 1994 on a Wisconsin visit from Montana, and
were surprised to find no signs remaining of any buildings at Tyrone. I
was very sad to see that chapter in my life so completely gone.
Before I forget I want to give you the URL for the family genealogy data:
http://www2.cyberspace.com.ph/~bobtib/family/gendex.html. We also have a web page:
http://www2.cyberspace.com.ph/~bobtib/index.html.
If you have any
suggestions on how we could improve the genealogy page, or any of the
pages, would sure appreciate your comments, Carol. The pages exist mainly
because I'm learning how to use HTML formatting and found a need to try
things as I proceed in the tutorial.
Sorry to hear you have emphysema. We hope and pray your condition will
improve so you will not need the oxygen. I'm familiar with the area around
Westfield though I don't recall the town. My folks moved to Fond du Lac in
the middle 50's and we frequently traveled on Hwy 80 (south of you) through
Montello, etc., on our trips back to Dunn County. In the years before his
death in 1968, my Dad had close friends in Friendship, Adams County, and
during my visits home we spent much time together in that vicinity, not so
far from Westfield.
Thanks again, Carol, for all your help and we look forward to hearing from
you again. Bob Tibbetts
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