Sentimental Sunday: Happy Halloween!

Three of my siblings - Brian, Mary, and Mark - Halloween 1971, Houston, Texas

 © Amanda Pape - 2010

Wordless Wedding Wednesday: Betty Pape and Frank Streff, September 11, 1948

This is my Aunt Betty and Uncle Bud, who celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary this year, and share the September 11 wedding anniversary date with my parents.

Thanks to Stephanie, a bridesmaid for Betty and Bud's granddaughter Betsy's wedding last weekend, for taking this photo-of-a-photo and allowing me to use it.  Thanks too to Aunt Betty for permission.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Sentimental Sunday: Elizabeth Banavich Guokas and baby, between 1901 & 1917

Like last week's photo, this one was also found among the things of my maternal grandfather, Charles Peter Guokas Jr. (1903-1967) after he passed away. I am guessing that he is probably the baby in this photograph, but it could be any one of his five siblings, who were born between 1901 and 1917. The woman is his mother, Elizabeth Banavich/Bonewitz/Bovits (I've seen it spelled all three ways) Guokas (1875-1929).

Elizabeth came to the United States in 1900 from Russia (Lithuania), according to the 1910 census.  She married Charles Peter Guokas Sr. (1863-1939) on January 19, 1900, in Harris County, Texas.  In the Texas Marriages Index available on Family Search, her last name is shown as Bovits, and it appears as Bouits in a listing of marriage licenses in the Houston Daily Post on January 21, 1900.  Interestingly, Charles' brother Joseph P. Guokas (1869-1933) married Paulina/Pauline/Policina Cuniowskuna (in Texas Marriages Index)/ Cinnowskima (in the newspaper), (1878-1953), the same day. Makes me wonder if Paulina and Elizabeth traveled together, as the 1920 census also indicates that Paulina arrived in 1900 from Lithuania.

I love my great-grandmother's lacy blouse and fancy hat!  I definitely see the family resemblance - my grandfather, mother, and I all have the same facial structure.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Happy 82nd Birthday, Mom!

My mother, Geraldine Margaret Guokas Pape, was born on October 19, 1928, in Houston, Texas, at 2215 Shearn (south of Interstate 10 and west of Interstate 45 and downtown Houston).

This photo is one of my favorites of her as a young girl.  She thinks this photo was taken around 1936, when she was eight years old.  The back of the portrait indicates that it was taken at Foley Bros., which at that time was the largest department store in Houston and located in the 400 block of Main Street.

Her dress in this photo was made by my maternal grandmother, Sara Wolfe Guokas Archibald.

She and Dad are still going strong; they leave tomorrow on a trip to Rochester, New York, for my cousin's daughter's wedding.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Sentimental Sunday: Charles Sr. & Elizabeth Banavich Guokas & baby, 1901-1903

There was no identifying information on the back of this photograph, but since it was found among my maternal grandfather's things after he passed away, my mother and I assume that the adults in the photograph are her grandparents and my great-grandparents, Charles Peter Guokas Sr. and his second wife, Elizabeth Banavich/Bonewitz/Bovits (I've seen it spelled all three ways) Guokas.

I'm not entirely sure who the baby is.  It could be my grandfather, Charles Peter Guokas Jr. (born 1903), but I believe it is more likely his older sister, Elizabeth Wanda "Lizzie" Guokas (born 1901).  My reasoning is that if this baby was my grandfather, his older sister would also be in the photograph. Perhaps it is instead Justice, their first-born son, who was born and died in 1902.  We'll never know.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Happy Birthday to my Baby Sister!

This photo was taken in the summer of 1967 at a roadside park on a trip from Houston, Texas, to New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana. I think Mary was pretending to be a tree.  Click on the photo for a larger view.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Funeral Card Friday: Justice Guokas, 1902

 Been doing a lot of work of late with my Guokas (maternal grandfather) side, since it's a rather unique name.  My grandfather had an older brother named Justice who died as an infant.  At left is his funeral card. Below is an obituary from a local newspaper.  Notice the differences?  I'm inclined to think the funeral card is correct.  I can't imagine my great-grandparents paying for a funeral card with a mistake on it (let alone two mistakes), especially since Justice was my great-grandfather's first son after four daughters.

The "old Catholic cemetery" mentioned in the obituary would be St. Vincent's Cemetery, 2405 Navigation Street at St. Charles, in Houston, Texas.  The Church of the Annunciation is in downtown Houston, and is the same one where my parents were married and my maternal aunt took her vows as a nun.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

{Note:  The funeral card is not entirely correct, either.  Church records show Justice was born July 18, 1902, thus he was only a month old at death, not four months.}

from The Houston Daily Post, August 17, 1902, page 12

Wordless Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Massmann Pape, Sept. 3, 1924

My paternal grandmother on her wedding day.

The photo is by Joseph Toloff of Evanston, Illinois.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Black Sheep Sunday: Murder

I was doing a little research on the Guokas line last night (my mother's maiden name), as my mom had sent me some notes she'd written about family lore. I was checking for the last name in FamilySearch (pilot and beta) as well as in Ancestry.com, concentrating on Texas.

While in FamilySearch's collection of Texas Death [certificate]s, 1890-1976, I came across Henry Lee Guokas (1910-1984) listed as a parent for Gail Lee Gross, who died December 26, 1959, at age 19.  Henry was my grandfather Charles Guokas Jr.'s first cousin, the oldest son of his dad's brother Anton, and I'd already located him in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses as well as the Social Security Death Index and the Texas Death Index, 1903-2000.  The information about this daughter and her mother (maiden name Floy Payne) was new. (Gail is pictured at right, from the 1955 North Dallas High School yearbook).

I took a closer look at the actual death certificate, and found this:

Wow! Decided to check the Dallas Morning News historical archives, and I found three articles, the most thorough of which is the following:

from the Dallas Morning News, March 23, 1960, page 5

I wonder if Harold Ray Gross is still in prison, or died there, or was paroled at some point?

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Rio Frio Tex, Summer 1967

 The inspiration for my user name - that's me at age 10.  Click on the photo for a larger view.

We spent a couple summers at Cold Springs Ranch Courts, just north of the tiny town of Rio Frio, on the Frio River in the Hill Country of Texas.  It's also north of Garner State Park.  This area is probably my most favorite place in the world.

© Amanda Pape - 2010

Sentimental Sunday: Famous Apache/Comanche with TC & Nannie Moore, 1927

The photo at right was sent by Mark's cousin Tom.  It was taken in 1927 in Indiahoma, Oklahoma.  The couple on the right are Mark's and Tom's grandparents, Nancy Flora "Nannie" Jones Moore (1882-1969) and Tandy Clayton "Clayton" Moore (1878-1964).  The photograph was taken by their oldest child, Tom's father, Thomas Gurth "Gurth" Moore (1902-1935) when he visited them at their home in Marlow, Oklahoma, after a drive there from his home in Austin, Texas, in his new 1927 Chevrolet.

Nannie and Clayton wanted Gurth to drive them to nearby Indiahoma to visit the Apache Chevato (Comanche name Chebahtah, 1852-1931), from whom they had leased land when they first came to Oklahoma from Texas in 1901.  Chevato is famous for being the Apache who took Herman Lehmann (1859-1932) captive in the Fredericksburg, Texas, area in 1870.  Chevato later joined with the Comanche and became a bodyguard for Quanah Parker (c1852-1911, the son of another famous Indian captive, Cynthia Ann Parker, c1827-1870).

Tom recorded many stories about Chevato from his grandfather Clayton, but the following is my favorite:

Chevato's wife [Pi-he, the daughter of a cousin of Quanah Parker] had a son [Thomas David Chebahtah, January 1902-1968] before my Dad [Gurth] was born in March [1902].  He was proud of his son, and offered Grandpa [Clayton] two ponies for my dad, saying, "Then I have two boys."  Grandpa told Chevato he would give him two ponies for his son, and then Clayton would have two boys.  Old Chevato ended the conversation -- Grandpa thought that was the only way to get Chevato to forget about trading.

© Amanda Pape - 2010