The Search for Lula May and the Forgotten Hawks Infants

When Edmond Oscar Hawks passed away in October 1910 in Rossville, Kansas, his obituary noted that he was survived by his wife Iva Elzina (Haworth), and their two children: a son, Roy Hawks, and a daughter, Minnie Mabel (Hawks) Lumpkins, my second great-grandmother.

Edmond Oscar and Iva Elzina (Haworth) Hawks
Family Sleuther's third great-grandparents

The obituary also made a brief and somber reference to two children who had died in infancy. It offered no names, dates, ages, or even a hint of their final resting place. Notably, they were not buried in the Rossville Cemetery, where Edmond—and later Iva—were laid to rest. For decades, these children remained nameless, lost to history—until a small yet significant discovery brought their memory back to light.

Edmond Oscar Hawks obituary excerpt
The Rossville Reporter, October 28, 1910

A volunteer with the FindAGrave website created a memorial page for a girl named Lula May Hawks and linked it to the memorials for Edmond and Iva as their daughter. The volunteer also uploaded a photo of a patch of grass in the Hawks Cemetery near the town of Cuba in Republic County, Kansas. This cemetery, where Iva's father, George Chalkley Haworth, is buried, also contains a lot owned by Edmond Oscar Hawks—a fact that surprised me. The image revealed Lula May's burial in an unmarked grave within that lot, which is recorded in the cemetery's register.

Photo by author, October 2014

Lula May Hawks' unmarked grave
Photo courtesy of FindAGrave user jln

Edmond’s burial plot, Lot 33, is nestled between those belonging to his brothers, Andrew Jackson Hawks and Robert Johnston Hawks. Each of these lots contains seven graves. Lula May rests in grave #1 of Edmond’s lot.

Detail of the Hawks Cemetery depicts Lot 33 owned by E.O. Hawks
Photo courtesy of FindAGrave user jln

But Lula May wasn’t alone. The cemetery’s burial register also notes an unnamed infant interred in grave #2. No other children are buried in the lot, making it almost certain that this child was another of Edmond and Iva’s children who died in infancy. 

Detail of the Hawks Cemetery directory listing Lula May Hawks and an unnamed infant in E.O. Hawks' Lot 33, graves 1 and 2; Photo courtesy of FindAGrave user jln

Thanks to the dedication of a FindAGrave volunteer who meticulously documented unmarked graves and their ownership, the lost children of Edmond and Iva—my third great-grandparents—are no longer forgotten. While much about their lives remains a mystery, rediscovering their resting place ensures they are remembered as part of the Hawks family's story. This small but significant discovery helps preserve their memory, even if their lives were too brief to leave behind many traces.

Who in your recent family history might still be waiting to be rediscovered?

Reunited Virtually and It Feels So Good!

The COVID-19 pandemic forced my family to cancel its annual family reunion, sort of.

Aware of the risk of communal spread from in-person gatherings, we opted to exercise caution and not meet at our go-to Kansas state park during Memorial Day weekend. Instead, we took our reunion digital.

The internet enabled us to preserve our decades-long tradition of reuniting to commemorate the life of my second great-grandmother Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber, her eight children and their many descendants.

I'm pleased to report that the event was a success!

How did we do it? 

Simply put, we made full use of Facebook.

About six years ago, I created a private Facebook group for Minnie's descendants to connect with each other and share old photos and memories. The site has been wildly popular, now boasting over 200 members and regular features such as Throwback Thursday photos featuring pictures from old family albums, commemorative birthday posts, and, sadly, remembrances for when we lose a family member. For all its current political annoyances, Facebook remains a widely used platform that makes it an important tool for connecting and engaging with family who are spread across the United States.

Just days before our scheduled reunion, Facebook unveiled a new tool: Messenger Rooms. Developed to compete with Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Messenger Rooms is a video chat tool that allows multiple users to join a virtual room and, using the webcam and mic on your internet-connected device, meet with users face-to-face. Its integration into the Facebook platform made it the obvious choice (especially because many of our members are not tech savvy and, I feared, would struggle with navigating a new platform. To draw as big an audience as possible, there was an imperative to keep the action under one digital house - lucky for Facebook).

At an appointed time, members of our family Facebook group were invited to join a Messenger Room where they visited, said hello and posed for a group photo. Of course, it's not the same as being with someone in person. But, in the craziness of 2020, it's an affordable alternative that linked family from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

What did success look like?

Across dozens of electronic devices, we had approximately 100 relatives participate in our virtual reunion activities (mirroring the numbers we regularly see in person). Many folks were online when we posed for our traditional group photo.

Lumpkins Barber 2020 virtual reunion

For the first time in over a decade, we designed a reunion t-shirt. Emblazoned with an adaptation of a famous portrait of Minnie with her eight children (the only surviving photo of Minnie pictured with all of her children), it was a sign of the times: Minnie and her children were retrofitted with face masks (thanks to the talents of a graphic designer), and the shirts were blue cotton to recognize healthcare workers who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic. Nearly 75 shirts were sold.

Minnie Lumpkins Barber and her eight children, retrofitted in face masks

Times of difficulty force us to adapt and roll with the punches. Rather than skipping a year, Minnie's descendants got creative. Despite the contagion and ban on in-person gatherings, we found a way to preserve our traditions and, perhaps, strengthened our family's bonds and commitment to our ancestral heritage.

Have you taken your family's reunion virtual? Share your tips, best practices, and tools that helped you connect and engage.

Hosting a Virtual Family Reunion in the Age of Coronavirus

Well, 2020 sure took an unexpected turn!

The pandemic has implications for the annual family reunion that I was slated to host over Memorial Day weekend. Social distancing leaves me navigating our changed world in search of a path to salvage the reunion experience.

Rekindling Reunions

In 2015, I rekindled my family's tradition of holding a reunion for descendants of my second great-grandmother Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber (1881-1973) and her two husbands - John Lumpkins and Joseph Barber. Learn more about Minnie's life in this documentary.

For decades, descendants of Minnie's eight children have gathered at a Kansas state park to reconnect and reminisce about our shared family history.

Over the years, the reunion's attendance surged until the last of Minnie's children passed away in 2005. Numbers began to dip. Eventually, the organized reunions ceased altogether. Our family's tradition stopped.

In 2015, amid a resurging interest in family history (thanks to a Facebook group that brought everyone together virtually and engaged them through videos and Throwback Thursday photo posts), we organized our first in-person reunion in the banquet hall of a steakhouse.

It was a full house, so in 2016 and for three subsequent years we returned to the state park with over 100 family members. See Kansas Family Reunions: Celebrating Five Years to learn more about the success of our renewed reunions.

Reunions in the age of Coronavirus

To be responsive to the dangers that the current health crisis poses for everyone, but particularly for our many older family members, the decision was made to cancel the formal in-person gathering.

I wrote to our family that:

"Despite the disappointing news, this unprecedented situation gives us an opportunity to reflect on the strength of our family's history and think creatively about how we adapt. 

We descend from hardy stock. Minnie Barber's tough as nails character inspires us to roll with the punches and demonstrate adaptability when facing challenges (after all, we are talking about a woman born in a dugout on the prairie who outlived two husbands, raised eight children, lived through two world wars and a Great Depression, and survived the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918!). 

In that spirit, I propose a few ideas for a reunion that connects and celebrates our family virtually."

I shared three ideas to attempt to capture and preserve elements of our reunion experience.

• Virtual Video Call: Host a video call for an hour or two where folks will log on, see familiar faces, say hello, commiserate about the pandemic, and share our amazement at the ability of technology to remotely connect each of us from our scattered corners across the country. I'm still investigating technology platforms with Zoom and the recently announced Facebook Messenger Groups in the running.

• Group Photo: Although we can't be in person for our traditional group photo, we can make a creative attempt. Family members will take a socially distanced photo or selfie and share that with me to be stitched together into one giant photo collage. 

• Reunion T-Shirts: During the 1990's, our reunions were big business and had an annual themed t-shirt. I never attempted this for the reignited reunions. But, in an era when we're quarantined and looking for ways to connect, what better way than a shirt that everyone wears on the day of the virtual video call and in their group photo? 

To properly theme the shirts, I hired an affordable graphic designer on Fiverr to modify the only portrait of Minnie with all eight of her children (which has become a hallmark of our family's visual branding). The graphic artist outfitted everyone in 2020 attire (face masks).

Working with CreateMyTee, I added the updated family portrait to a blue shirt - in honor of healthcare workers. The site creates an online page where family members can place their own orders. This service spares me the hassle of being a middleman ordering, paying, or distributing shirts for the group. This was a challenge in the 1990's that I wanted to avoid.

Those are three of my ideas for hosting a virtual family reunion, which we'll pilot later this month.

What success have you had with virtually convening and engaging family? Share your ideas, including technology platforms, for how to host a virtual reunion in the age of Coronavirus.

A Kansas Farm Before the Dust Bowl

While scanning a stack of old family photos that belonged to my great-grandmother Nevella (Benedick) Lumpkins, I came across a picture of a farm. The back of the photo was labeled the Walbridge Farm in Russell County, Kansas.

I couldn't immediately pinpoint the importance of the farm, but the Walbridge name was familiar.

Because it was among photographs belonging to my great-grandmother, I pulled an old family history book published in the 1990's. The volume detailed the life of my second great-grandmother Minnie Hawks who was born in a dugout on the Kansas prairie near the town of Cuba. She was married twice - first to John Lumpkins who died young and then to Joseph Barber. Between those two marriages, she had eight children who lived to adulthood.

Thumbing through the family history, I found a passage that explained the Walbridge farm's link to my family:

"In 1922, when Vernon [Minnie's youngest child] was old enough, Minnie and Joseph Barber and their children, Roy Lumpkins - age 18, Marion Lumpkins - age 15, John Lumpkins - age 12, Vuferd Barber - age 7, Virgil Barber - age 5, Joe Barber - age 2, and Vernon Barber moved to the Walbridge place which is located one mile east and four miles north of Gorham, Kansas in Russell County. They lived there until 1927."

Joseph and Minnie Barber with their sons Vuferd (back, left), Virgil (far right)
Joe (front left) and Vernon (front right). Taken about the time they lived on the
Walbridge farm.

Living on the farm for five years between decennial census enumerations, the family was documented only once on the property in a 1925 Kansas state census.

Joseph Barber was renting from an L. C. Walbridge who owned the land and was its namesake.

Although the photo doesn't ID any of my ancestors (and I can't make out any of the men - surely one of them must be Joseph), it provides a glimpse into what life was like for my Kansas kin in the years just before the Dust Bowl. It's the next best thing to having a time machine and experiencing it for myself. 

Kansas Family Reunions: Celebrating Five Years

Each year, descendants of my second great-grandmother Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber and her two husbands John Lumpkins and Joseph Barber, gather at Webster State Park - a large reservoir in central Kansas - to reconnect and reminisce over our shared family history (and enjoy the beautiful outdoors while praying that the spring storms and tornadoes spare us!).

A History of Reunions

Minnie Hawks married John Lumpkins in January 1897 in Rossville, Kansas. They had six children, of whom four lived to adulthood. On John's 37th birthday, while walking home from work, he slipped on ice and sustained a fatal head injury. At 28, Minnie was a widow.

In October 1914, she married Joseph Barber. Together, they had four sons. Joseph raised Minnie's children from her first marriage as his own. 

Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber, center, with her children.

It was this family history that gave rise to the annual Lumpkins Barber Family Reunion at Webster State Park. 

Initially the reunions were a gathering of Minnie's eight children and 35 grandchildren to celebrate her April birthday. Eventually, the celebration was pushed to Memorial Day weekend, which became synonymous with family reunion. For decades after Minnie's passing in 1973, the reunions continued and flourished.

Over the years, the annual reunion was routinely featured in the hometown newspaper's society pages.

The Family Gatherings Dwindle

However, as the years passed and Minnie's own children began to pass away, the number of attendees started to dwindle. In recent years, the reunion nearly ceased. A few family members would meet at a local steakhouse and reminisce. But the days of hundreds of cousins reconnecting seemed a thing of the past.

In July 2014, when my grandmother (a granddaughter of Minnie) - who was deeply passionate about her family - was terminally ill, I created a Facebook group for Minnie's descendants. At that time, I envisioned it as a virtual family reunion space where we could share photos, reminisce, reconnect and rebuild the connections that were fading as older generations passed away. I soon realized I had a powerful tool at hand with the potential to bring history back to life.

Reunited And It Feels So Good

In 2015, I decided to see if we could recreate the magic. Using Facebook's event organizing functionality, I created a calendar invite for a reunion at a local steak house in Kansas. Would anyone attend?

Yes, was the resounding answer. In fact, dozens of family members showed up and filled the restaurant's banquet room. At day's end, there was a strong appetite for the reunions of the past.

The following year, I reserved a large sheltered site at Webster State Park and issued another Facebook event invite. And guess what? People actually came! 

For the 2017 reunion, I reached out to the local newspaper to tout the rekindled event that had graced their pages for years. Without any prior acknowledgement of my proposed story, they published it in the paper! See Lumpkins Barber Reunion.

Family Sleuther as cub reporter.

This year, 2019 marked my fifth year of organizing the annual family reunion using the power of Facebook.

Facebook event invites for five family reunions.

Despite the ominous threat of severe weather, we had another robust turnout that continued the success of the prior years.

Family Reunion 2019

Family Reunion 2018

Family Reunion 2017

Family Reunion 2016

Organize Your Reunion

While I revel in my success and meditate on the future of the reunion in 2020, perhaps you're thinking about organizing your own family reunion.

Take a look at some tips I shared with Carolina Girl Genealogy in my post, "Summer is Coming: Time to Plan Your Family Reunion."

What best practices do you have for planning and running a successful family reunion?

Family History on Film: An Oral History Project

I've been MIA for the past few weeks.

Work is - like always - busy; there's been travel with more on the horizon.

But my family history research has not been dormant! In fact, I've undertaken an exciting project.

Each year, family on my maternal side get together for a reunion that started decades ago to celebrate the birthday of my second great-grandmother Minnie Mabel (Hawks) Lumpkins-Barber. The reunion tradition continues - long after her passing - with the descendants of her eight children convening everyday in an online Facebook group and annually in-person at a Kansas state park.

Minnie Lumpkins-Barber (center) with her eight children at an early family reunion.

A Family's Matriarch

Minnie's life was emblematic of American history, rooted in the settling of the Great Plains. Born in a dugout on the Kansas prairie in 1881, Minnie was first married to John Lumpkins in 1897. Together, they had six children (of whom four survived to adulthood). Following John's untimely death on his 38th birthday in 1910, Minnie was left a young widow. In 1914, she married Joseph Barber and had four more children - all sons.

Minnie was the matriarch of a large family. Each of her children married and raised families of their own. Today, there are hundreds of living descendants.

In 2019, over 45 years after her death and nearly 14 years after her last living child passed away, Minnie's life story was becoming hazy. Time does that.

However, interest among her descendants about our shared family history remained strong. There was an appetite for the story of our ancestry. How could I tell it in a way that was compelling to younger generations?

New Technology to Tell Family History

Fortuitously, a small technical hiccup (after eight years of faithful service, my laptop recently died requiring me to buy a new one) gave me access to shiny new film-making software.

I had an idea for the family's Facebook group. What if I made short films that recounted both of Minnie's marriages and those of her children, and published them on the wedding anniversary? The script, narrated by different descendants, could succinctly introduce characters (family, really) who have long passed away, recall how they met and married, and introduce their children (helping the growing number of descendants identify their link to Grandma Minnie).

I plotted Minnie's two marriages and those of her eight children on a calendar and got to work connecting with descendants to draft scripts, and collect old film, photos, and documents. I also found talent (family members) willing to play my reindeer games record the script.

Coincidentally, Minnie's marriage to John Lumpkins - the one that began the family's story - occurred on January 6th. It would be the project's pilot. Lessons learned from the production of each film would inform the next.

Cue the House Lights!

On January 26th, the second film was released to mark the wedding anniversary of Minnie's son Vernon Barber.

This Thursday - Valentine's Day - will mark the 85th wedding anniversary of Minnie's son Marion Lumpkins, my great-grandfather.

Clearly, I'm not Spielberg. My purpose is to simply share our family's history using a different medium that may resonate and better stick with my audience.

The project is underway. Three marriages down and seven to go! It's going to be an interesting year, and one that I hope Minnie's descendants appreciate and learn from.

Have you made films to share your family's history? I'd love to see your concept. Please share your approach in the comments below.

Memorial Day: Reunion and Remembering

For the past several years, Memorial Day has been about family: family reunions and family history.

Since 2016, I've re-organized a reunion of descendants of my second great-grandmother Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber (1881-1973).

John Lumpkins - her first husband and my ancestor - passed away on his 38th birthday. His untimely death left Minnie a widow at the age of 28 with three young children and one on the way. In 1914, she married Joseph Barber and they had four sons.

Her eight children went on to provide her with 35 grandchildren and dozens more great-grandchildren. Her clan began celebrating her birthday with a family reunion at a Kansas state park. For decades, hundreds of relatives would gather to camp and reminisce.

Unfortunately, as years passed and new generations unfamiliar with Minnie came to adulthood, the reunion began to dwindle.

Fast-forward to 2015: my family history addiction compelled me to reignite the reunions, which have continued for the past few years with a hundred people attending.

2018 Lumpkins Barber Family Reunion

The reunion allows me to connect with my living family, but no trip to Kansas is complete without a stop at the Plainville Cemetery to remember my ancestors.

Nearest and dearest to my heart, is the grave of my maternal grandmother Marilyn who passed away in October 2014.

The cemetery is the final resting place of her parents, my great-grandparents.

Marion's mother Minnie - the central figure behind our family reunions - is buried a few yards away.

Nevella's parents are buried in the cemetery, too.

And both Ernest and Bessie (Bair) Benedick's parents are buried nearby.

Albert Benedick was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Union Army. His mother, Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick, is my fourth great-grandmother and is buried beside him.

In my mind, the holiday weekend is forever intertwined with family - living and past. It's a time of reflection on the people who have positioned us for the lives we lead. 

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "...every man is a quotation from all his ancestors."

Love To All The Family. Don't Worry About Me.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, four of Minnie (Hawks) Barber's sons enlisted in the service. Three of them served overseas along with her eldest grandson.

My second great-grandmother was immensely proud of them and displayed a four star service flag in the window of her Kansas home, denoting her sons' contributions to their country.

As war ravaged the globe, Minnie busied herself with household chores, baking, and letter writing to her sons and grandson; anything to preoccupy her mind and keep from thinking about the dangers they faced.

Prisoner of War
According to enlistment records in the National Archives, Minnie's nephew Albert E. Hawks joined the Army on February 11, 1941. Following the United States' declaration of war later that year, he was shipped to the Philippines to serve in the Southwest Pacific Theater.

Albert E. Hawks

In May 1942, he was captured by Japanese forces after their victory over the Allies at the Battle of the Corregidor in the Bay of Manila. The first report of his capture was made on May 7, 1942.

In August 1943, Minnie's hometown newspaper, The Plainville Times, reported that Albert's parents in Topeka had received a card from their son - the first they had heard from him since April 1942.

According to the newspaper, "The message was headed 'Imperial Japanese Army,' and after being censored, read: 'I am interned in a H.Q. military prison camp of P.I. My health is fair. I am uninjured. I am under treatment. Love to all of the family. Don't worry about me.'"

While a relief to hear from Albert, the family certainly continued to worry.

In April 1944, the Plainville Times again reported on Albert. According to the paper, "His parents have recently received two messages from the government informing them that he had talked over the short-wave radio two different times. He said he was well and had received one of their packages and several letters."

Hell Ship Attacked
In October 1944, Albert was among 1,800 prisoners of war who were loaded onto the Japanese hell ship Arisan Maru with severely inhumane conditions.

According to one account, the ship's holds "contained three levels of wooden shelves with about three feet between shelves. They could barely stand or move in the space ... The men received scant amounts of rice and water while on board. The heat proved unbearable, and about a third of the men suffered from dysentery and malaria. The stench grew steadily in the confined quarters. The Japanese dispensed no medicine. They did however issue life preservers which served to increase the fear of them. Many men lost their spirit and will to live and had fits. The other men had to hold them down."

In the early evening of October 24, 1944, the Arisan Maru was torpedoed by the USS Shark.

According to an account by William Bowen, "The Arisan carried no markings or flag indicating that it was carrying Allied prisoners. The Americans had no way of recognizing the Arisan as a prison ship. It was hit aft of midships causing the ship to split open with the rear section sinking downward into the sea. A torpedo is thought to have hit in number three hold where Japanese troops and civilians were located."

Japanese forces evacuated the sinking ship, but made no effort to save their prisoners. In fact, they actively worked to prevent escape by cutting rope ladders and closing hatches to the ship's holds.

Fewer than ten prisoners survived the sinking. Albert was among the victims.

Military records include reports that Albert survived the initial torpedo attack, but was shot as he swam away from the sinking Arisan. His remains were never recovered. He was the only member of the Hawks family not to return home from the war.

For his service, Albert was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His captivity - over 900 days - was among the longest recorded during World War II.

His name is inscribed on a memorial in Manila, a simple reminder of the sacrifice one Kansas family made to save the world from Fascism.

Marking Time: Benchmarking Life Expectancy

My great-grandfather, Marion Lumpkins, outlived all five of his full-siblings and even one of his daughters.

He passed away in 1998 at the age of 91. When you consider the times in which he lived, it seems fortunate that he reached such a ripe old age.

Born in January 1907 in the town of Rossville, Kansas, he grew up in an era when child mortality was high. He lost a two-year-old brother to whooping cough and a five-year-old sister to dysentery.

As a farmer during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, he lived a physically demanding life. His work had him in the fields from dawn to dusk. Despite it all, he boasted good health and a laid back demeanor.

As the years passed and his family started to pre-decease him, he quietly began marking time.

He saved the funeral cards that were distributed at the memorial services for his family. As I reviewed the cards, I noticed his handwriting on three of them.

The first was for his elder sister Ethel (Lumpkins) Trexler, who passed away in 1967. In his small and shaky script I saw where he had manually done the math to determine her age at death. Subtracting her birth year from her death year, he reached the conclusion that Ethel lived to be 70 years old.

Ethel (Lumpkins) Trexler funeral card

The second funeral card was for his mother Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber, who passed away in 1973. Again, his shaky penmanship crunches the numbers and determines that she lived to be 92. If he was concerned about his own longevity, was that number a relief to him?

Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber funeral card

The last memorial card was for his younger brother John Andrew Lumpkins, who passed away in 1980. His calculations determined that John lived to be 70 years old - the same age as his sister Ethel.

John Andrew Lumpkins funeral card

 
He had another full-sibling - a brother named Irwin Roy Lumpkins - who died in 1988 at the age of 83. I didn't find a funeral card for him in my grandfather's belongings.

What did this exercise mean to Marion? His father was only 38 when he passed away following an accidental head injury. Perhaps he was trying to determine his life expectancy based on family history? His two siblings suggested that anything beyond 70 was doing pretty darn good, and, ultimately, he lived to nearly the same age as his mother. Not bad for a 20th century farmer.

Ancestors in Motion: Lights, Camera, Action!

I am a bit spoiled very fortunate to have photographs of nearly all 16 of my second great-grandparents. 

I say nearly all because I'm missing one. Just one. That's William B. Upton who lived until February 1904 - well into the age of photography.

But let's not dwell on his inability to sit for a portrait and provide me my sought-after Kodak moment.

Grandma's Casting Call

A couple recent discoveries have distracted me from the disappointment of no snapshot of my 2X Great-Grandpa Upton.

I've recently obtained digitized copies of several grainy film reels depicting various family outings over the past six decades. The silent movies include brief appearances by two of my second great-grandmothers. Yes, not one, but two distant ancestors! 

Minnie Lumpkins Barber - 2nd Great-Grandmother

The first leading lady is Eva (Lamb) Stevens Fagan. She's from my paternal line. She was born December 21, 1885 in Vermont to parents Francis and Phoebe (Jarvis) Lamb. She married my second great-grandfather William Stevens in 1904. He died in 1916 and she remarried several years later to Thomas Fagan.

In the footage, the camera pans to Eva and a baby (my paternal uncle). She reaches for a bottle and takes a dramatic thirst-quenching gulp. Based on the age of my uncle, I believe the film was recorded in about 1957 in Colorado's Rocky Mountains.

Eva (Lamb) Stevens Fagan - about 1957

The second starlet is Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber. She's from my maternal line. She was born April 21, 1881 in Kansas to parents Edmond and Iva (Haworth) Hawks. She married my second great-grandfather John Lumpkins in 1897. He died in 1910 and she remarried in 1914 to Joseph Barber.

In her big scene, Minnie struts across the yard - begrudgingly - towards the camera. The film quickly cuts to her birthday at a lake, perhaps Plainville lake or Webster reservoir in Kansas, where she is seen cutting a two-tiered birthday cake. I'm unsure of the exact year, but probably in the 1950s or 1960s.

Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber - 1950s or 1960s

A Thousand Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But what's the value of a film? 

These are exceptionally short clips with no audio, yet they still give me an inkling for these women's personalities. Eva comes across as nurturing, graceful and thirsty. Minnie portrays a sense of humor that's never seen in her frowning photographs. 

The worth of these film clips cannot be quantified. They're immeasurably valuable to this family historian.

Do you have old family film reels? What's the most distant ancestor you have recorded in motion?

Tragic Losses Forged Grandma's Strength

Born in 1881 in a home dug into the Kansas prairie near the town of Cuba, Minnie Hawks' arrival in this world set the scene for a life of hardship.

Although I never met my second great-grandmother, surviving photographs depict a woman of unsmiling and stern disposition. How could she not be when her life was rooted in hard work and deep loss?

Minnie Hawks Lumpkins Barber

In 1888, Minnie's father Edmond Hawks loaded his family and their possessions into a covered wagon led by a team of oxen and moved to Rossville just west of Topeka. Edmond opened up a barbershop where he employed and trained a young man named John Lumpkins.

In January 1897, just a few months shy of her 16th birthday, Minnie and John were married. By 1901, they were parents to three young children.

A Mother's Loss
On his second birthday, the Lumpkins' youngest child, William Earl, died in his mother's arms. An August 1903 death notice in The Shawnee County News revealed that "the little one had been suffering with whooping cough and contracted a severe cold which settled on the lungs producing death." Years later, Minnie would tell family that she was still haunted by the terrifying sound of her toddler gasping at breath and life.

Tragedy continued the following year. In September 1904, Minnie gave birth to her fourth child Irwin Roy. Less than a month later, happiness succumbed to grief when The Shawnee County News reported that the Lumpkins' five-year-old daughter, Emma Mabel, "died after a week's illness from dysentery." Young Emma was buried beside her brother in the Rossville Cemetery.

Until Death Do Us Part
The Lumpkins attempted to piece together their broken hearts and move forward with life. In 1907, their son (my great-grandfather) Marion was born, and, shortly afterwards, the family moved to Topeka where John worked in a barbershop his father-in-law Edmond operated.

In February 1910, Minnie was expecting another child. Life seemed to have regained its footing.

On the evening of February 23rd, John was walking home from work and slipped on some ice. He fell with great force and hit his head, but was able to get himself home.

A Rossville newspaper wrote that, "Mr. Lumpkins was taken sick Wednesday evening and passed a restless night. In the morning he complained of dizziness and blindness. He was assisted by his wife to the lounge downstairs and she went immeditately for a nearby doctor. When she returned Mr. Lumpkins was unconscious and Dr. Keith was sent for. Upon his arrival he announced that the suffered could not live and death came at about 9 o'clock a.m. His death was due to appoplexy (sic)."

The local paper wrote that John's passing on his 38th birthday "could scarcely be believed in Rossville and came as a distinct shock to his friends and relatives here."

"His death was a shock because no one had any reason to expect such news. Mr. Lumpkins was yet a young man and known to be of rugged health. The end was undoubtedly unexpected on his part, for it was all so sudden - taken slightly ill in the evening - the next day he died."

At the age of 28 with three young children to care for and one on the way, Minnie was a widow.

Her Father's Daughter
In October 1910, tragedy struck once again. Minnie's father Edmond Hawks passed away.

The paper wrote that he had "been suffering for the past eight or ten weeks with a sort of paralysis [and] died at his home on the Howerton ranch north of town [Rossville]." He was just 51 years old.

Edmond Oscar Hawks Memorial Card

In one year, Minnie had lost both her husband and father. Their losses must have stung deeply with the uncertainty of how to provide for her young family.

Fortified Strong By Life's Hardships
For a time she lived with her mother and worked odd jobs. Eventually she began a new chapter in life. She remarried in October 1914 and gave birth to four more sons, each of whom enlisted during World War II.

Minnie lived until the age of 92. I imagine the hardships she suffered early on fortified her for the challenges that were endemic to life on the early prairie. Where some would crumble under the heavy burden of loss, she was strengthened and persisted. Perhaps a steely exterior was the key to her survival and longevity.

Happy National Sisters Day: Ancestor Edition!

Happy National Sisters Day!

What? You didn't know there was a day to commemorate sisters? Please! If we can have a designated National Hot Dog Day, then you better believe there's a day to commemorate everything.

Not having any sisters of my own to celebrate, my family historian mind immediately thought of an old black and white photo that depicts a cast of seemingly fascinating characters - the Lumpkins sisters.

The Lumpkins Sisters (photo date unknown)

My third great-grandparents William and Phoebe (Howerton) Lumpkins had nine children: six girls and three boys, including my second great-grandfather John Lumpkins. Sadly, John passed away on his 38th birthday.

On February 24, 1910, as John left his barbershop to head home, he slipped on a patch of ice and hit his head. Suffering a traumatic brain injury, he succumbed later that evening leaving behind his wife Minnie with three children and one on the way.

John Lumpkins

After Minnie remarried, John's siblings, including his five sisters who were still living at that time, would provide his children their only remaining link to the Lumpkins family. The society pages revealed continued visits, and family photos would occasionally include one of the Lumpkins aunts. But who were they?

I've been able to determine who they married and when they passed away, but nothing more substantive about their personalities and what they were like. While there is important research that must continue (after all, what family history and photos did they pass down to their descendants?), for the purposes of today, we'll judge a book by its cover and infer their personality from their stern black and white photo.

Sarah Jane (Lumpkins) Markham

According to her birth record, Sarah Jane Lumpkins was born May 27, 1856 in Morgan County, Kentucky. Sometime between 1860 and 1870, the entire Lumpkins family moved to Shawnee County, Kansas. By the time of the 1910 census, she had been married for 32 years to Frank Markham. Together they had two sons: William and Charles.

While we know where she's buried, there's no record of her death year (no year inscribed on her headstone and the cemetery's records are incomplete). She appeared in the 1930 census, but not the following decade, so I speculate she passed away within that time frame.

Based solely on her photo, I imagine her to be the gentle grandmotherly sister. Just look at those eyes and faint smile!

Mary (Lumpkins) Brown

According to her death certificate, Mary Lumpkins was born April 14, 1862 (presumably in Morgan County, Kentucky). She's been more difficult to pinpoint in the census records. We know she married Daniel F. Brown and lived in Missouri (again, thanks to the death certificate). When she passed away in July 1946, she was to be buried in Memorial Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

On the complete opposite spectrum from Sarah Jane, I imagine Mary was the sharp tongued, skeptical sister. Look at that face! She looks like she's just about had enough of their tomfoolery.


Martha Elizabeth (Lumpkins) Yocum Powers

According to the 1900 census, Martha Elizabeth Lumpkins was born in December 1865 (again, presumably in Morgan County, Kentucky). In 1883, she married David Yocum. They had two sons: Claude William and Earl. The marriage apparently fell apart because David gave his marital status as divorced in the 1900 census. Martha said she was married although there was no spouse enumerated in her household. In 1904, she remarried to Wilton A. Powers. According to an index of obituaries for the Topeka State Journal, Martha passed away in late April or early May 1938 (despite that her tombstone is engraved with a 1937 death year).

Doesn't Martha look like a blend of her sisters Mary and Sarah Jane? Her eyes hint at a moderated combination of stern kindness.

Myrtle (Lumpkins) Koons

The 1910 census tells us that Myrtle Lumpkins was born in about 1874 and had been married to Elmer E. Koons for 18 years (suggesting a marriage date of about 1892) and that they had - by that year - four children (all of whom were still alive).

According to her headstone, Myrtle died in June 1955. She was buried in the same cemetery as her parents and brother John.

Of her siblings, her youthful gaze gives the impression of innocence. She certainly doesn't have any of the sternness that sisters Martha and Mary portray.

Minnie (Lumpkins) Stull McVay

The youngest of the Lumpkins sisters was Minnie who was born November 9, 1877 in Rossville, Kansas according to her obituary. In November 1899, she married Raymond Riley Stull and had a son Cyril Claude. After Raymond died, she remarried to Challis McVay.

She died in 1970 and was buried in Bent County, Colorado. Her obituary shed more light on the Lumpkins family's move from Kentucky, stating that William and Phoebe headed to Kansas following the close of the Civil War.

Minnie was the last living Lumpkins sibling at the time of her death in 1970. It must be difficult to see your family pass on and be the last one, and perhaps, with that in mind, is why I imagine her face to represent a certain youthful yet knowing maturity.

In sum, I wonder what the dynamic was between these sisters. To sit for a portrait together suggests that they were close. But surely they bickered and snapped like all siblings. What happiness, heartaches and struggles did they share? We can only imagine the shape of the bond between these sisters captured forever in a black and white portrait.

A Family Reunion Revived

Growing up, Memorial Day always meant family reunion. Each year, we would travel back to Kansas to decorate the graves for our loved ones. We would also celebrate my 2nd great-grandmother Minnie (Hawks) Barber, her eight adult children, and - over the years - her hundreds of descendants.

Minnie (Hawks) Barber pictured center with her eight adult children.

Minnie Hawks married John Lumpkins in January 1897 in Rossville, Kansas. They had six children, of whom four lived to adulthood. On his 37th birthday, while walking home from work, John slipped on ice and sustained a fatal head injury. At 28, Minnie was a widow. In October 1914, Minnie married Joseph Barber. Together, they had four sons. Joseph raised Minnie's children from her first marriage as his own. Minnie lived out the rest of her life in the small prairie town of Plainville, Kansas.

It was this family history that gave rise to the annual Lumpkins Barber family reunion at Webster State Park. Over the years, the reunion was routinely featured in Plainville's society pages.

However, as the years passed and Minnie's own children began to pass away, the number of attendees started to dwindle. In recent years, the reunion nearly ceased. A few family members would meet at a local steakhouse and reminisce. But the days of hundreds of cousins reconnecting seemed a thing of the past.

This year, I was eager to see if I could rekindle the reunion experience that seemed lost.

In January, I reserved a site at Webster State Park. I next turned to social media, creating a Facebook event invitation that invited all of the family who were members of our online Lumpkins Barber Facebook group to a Memorial Day weekend potluck lunch.

I sent regular reminders to make sure the reunion stayed on everyone's radar. I even brought Grandma Barber into the mix, hoping she would be a compelling saleswoman for the reunion.

Would they show?

Happily, the ancestors looked very favorably on our revived reunion. It was a huge success. The weather forecast calling for a 60% chance of rain gave way to warm sunshine. Attendance was remarkably robust with 100 people from across the US showing up to reconnect and remember. There was a fantastic energy and a strong interest in ensuring that the reunions continued.

2016 Lumpkins Barber Family Reunion

I think Grandma Barber would have been very proud to see her descendants gathering to remember her legacy - a legacy that seems positioned to continue for years ahead with renewed purpose and commitment.