Wandering Around The Family Tree

 When I was growing up, every now and then, my Dad (Philip Charles Hankins) would talk about his childhood in Collegeville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. One story he mentioned (more than once) was that he and his brother Ralph sold produce from the farm to their neighbors during the depression. I had the impression that it was the two of them an little red wagon going from house to house!  Last night, I found a copy of a Class of 1948 newsletter for Collegeville-Trappe High School in Trappe, Pennsylvania likely from late winter/early spring of 2004. Apparently my Dad had emailed a classmate, Gene Pressler, to ask a question about someone who played basketball for the school in 1945! Gene looped another classmate, Jerry Wien, into the conversation - and away they went reminiscing about growing up in Collegeville.  ]]]Suddenly my Dad started writing about selling produce during the depression! And I finally have a better picture of what happened. I'll just share what my...

 Another mystery photo, likely originally belonging to my great grandparents - William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam. All I know is what is written below the photo - Prude Tut B - 1905. I can't identify any young girls named Prudence or Prudy who were related to either William or Mary Jane in that time period - so she remains a mystery

  This snapshot is labeled Four Generations, 1905 - with no names or locations! It is glued to the back of the paper that has the 1906 wedding cake and 1901 Frank Hankins photos.  Since those photos are clearly linked to my Hankins-Kellam line - and the buildings in the background look like they could be at Hankins, Sullivan County, New York. I looked in my database to see if I could find any families linked to the Hankins/Kellam families that had four generations of males living in 1905.  I found one possible set of four generations The oldest (standing on the left) might be Benjamin Tyler - son of Benjamin Tyler and Sarah Kellam. He was born 6 October 1818 in Damascus, Wayne County, Pennsylvania and died 30 November 1913 in Hankins. He married his step-sister - Rosetta Ross, daughter of John Ross and Love Hurd in August 1839. Benjamin Tyler and Rosetta Ross were both half siblings of my great great grandmother Mary Ellen Ross, daughter of John Ross and Sarah Kellam. The...

 This photo is only identified as Rob 1903. It is glued to the same piece of paper that the 1906 wedding cake and 1901 photo of Frank Hankins are on - so presumably originated with my great grandparents - William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam.  The buildings and landscape remind me of Hankins, Sullivan County, New York - but there is nothing that definitively identifies either the location or Rob's identity. 

 This snapshot of my grandfather, Francis William Hankins, is dated 1901 - when he would have been 3-4 years old. It is one of three snapshots glued to a piece of paper - likely originally in an early family photo album. I only have five photos from that album, I would, of course, love to know what happened to the rest of the photos! These are the earliest snap shots, as opposed to what likely were studio photographs, of my Hankins ancestors.  Frank's parents, William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam were living in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York when this photo was taken. So it may have been taken in Auburn, or possibly at Hankins, Sullivan County, New York where his Kellam grandparents lived, or Equinunk, Wayne County, Pennsylvani where his Hankins grandparents lived.  Francis William Hankins, the son of William Lucas Hankins (1872-1930) and Mary Jane Kellam (1874-1944) was born 8 September 1897 in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. He married Evelyn Clara Call (1895-19...

 This heart-shaped snapshot of what appears to be a fancy cake is glued to a piece of paper with several other photos, and has the date Oct 9th 1906 written around the edge.  Given what I know about the set of photos I'm working with likely came from my great-grandparents William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam, I figured I should look in their families to see if I could find anything associated with that date.  And much to my surprise - I did! Mary Jane Kellam's younger sister Clara Belle Kellam married Floyd Harding on 9 October 1906 in Hankins, Sullivan County, New York! So my guess is - this was their wedding cake.  Clara Belle Kellam, daughter of John Ross Kellem (1830-1903) and Frances Maria Shafer (1846-1924) was born 24 June 1883 in Hankins, Sullivan County, New York. Floyd Harding, the son of James H Harding and Anna, was born 11 May 1876 in Port Jervis, Orange County, New York. Clara and Floyd married on 9 October 1906 in Hankins. Floyd died on 13 Februa...