Something She Wanted Us All to Hear While We Were Together

Mary Jane Bair Fallis, Nov 11, 1922- Jun 2, 2016

Funeral services are for the living.  They are a time to remember a shared love and comfort a shared loss.  Grandma took that opportunity to do a little extra, and tell us what she wanted us to hear.
Years ago, she made very specific funeral plans including specific verses she wanted read and who should read them, songs to sing and who to sing them, what should play on the organ and who should play it, who should preach and who should do her hair.  She chose the photo above as well.  She did not write her plans and forget them.  In fact, she thoughtfully updated them over time in hand written notes to the Gant Funeral Home.

Grandma was very intentional in every detail.

And she wanted us to listen carefully to a poem.  "Parable of a Mother's Path in Life", was written by Temple Bailey and first published in Good Housekeeping in 1939. Clearly this piece was very important to Grandma because she copied it so carefully.  While the words are beautiful no matter what, it is priceless to see it in Grandma's hand writing.

While we were together, giving her life our full attention, Grandma wanted us all to know that her greatest joy, her strength, her absolute peace and her rest are made perfect as each of us walks together, in love, with God.

What's a "truck patch"?

As an individual digging in the ancestry garden, I have had a great time.  I have been busy researching; finding names and places and drawing them together to make a pretty good picture.  There is a ton of fact checking to be done, and I don’t want to report anything incorrectly.

However, as your blog host, I am realizing that I am failing to share the fun.  While the names and places are important.  It’s the stories that make it rich and beautiful.  And they are more beautiful when they are shared. 

I do not need to have it perfect before I start sharing the story.

A few weeks ago while visiting Grandma (Mary Jane Bair Fallis) she told me about her own parents.  We all know that Cletis and Olive Bair lived next to the railroad. Evidently their home was marked by the hoboes as a place to find a meal.  Grandma remembers them leaving food easily available, in particular, Great Grandma’s pies.  I’ve been told pies were her specialty.  But, Grandma takes a lot of pride in her own pies- especially her butterscotch pie.  (Debbie, she brags about how good yours is and that you put her name is on the recipe!)

Grandma told me about her grandfather, Irwin.  She told me about his “touring car” and the hard candy he kept in the glove box because his throat gave him trouble as he drove.  I also heard about his rocking chair in the yard under the tree.  I now feel like I need a rocking chair on my porch too.

Grandma also told me about her Uncle Charley and how much he loved kids.  Charley kept a “truck Patch” by the lane at Cletis and Olive’s farm and grew produce that he sold in Summitville from his truck.  Grandma loved her Uncle Charley.

While it’s hard to fact check a story, I will offer the following evidence.

I can personally verify the perfection of a real butterscotch pie- Grandma’s pie is perfect and Debbie, you are amazing!  I needed to google “truck patch”.  I don’t have a rocking chair in my back yard, yet, but I’ve spent enough time on porches at the lake with you all to believe it is a really good idea!

The facts are great, but stories are priceless because of the connections.

Remembering Big Decisions

 

A few weeks ago, Dad visited with Grandma and had the conversation below.

 Conversation with Mother (Mary Jane Fallis Bair 

Today March 6, 2016

Today in a visit with Mother, I asked her the question. . . .”What were some of the hardest decisions that you ever had to make?”       She thought for a while, and said . . . .”Probably the hardest decision that I ever had to make was when Sharon (my sister) was in the 5^th grade". Mother had to decide whether or not to let Sharon get a polio vaccination.  At the time the polio epidemic was on everyone’s mind. Mother knew some people who had been affected by polio and that a scientist by the name of Jonas Salk had recently developed a new vaccine which could prevent polio.     It was unproven, but Mother had seen that he had given the same vaccine to his daughter. That gave Mother enough confidence to trust this Doctor with her daughter. She signed the paper and Sharon took it to school. On the day that they were to give the vaccination, Mother waited until the final recess knowing that by this time Sharon would have already had the shot. She drove past the school and saw Sharon playing on the swings doing just fine. She drove to the opposite side of the school and stopped and said a prayer thanking GOD.” 

It was a wonderful day today talking with my Mother. We also had many laugh’s some of which were stories about me, which I will not repeat. 

Don

        After reading Dad's note, I did a little research into polio just before the introduction of the Salk vaccine.
       Polio is unpredictable and was largely untreatable.  Also known as infantile paralysis, polio, emerged in the summer months of the early 1900's.  Each summer saw the number of cases increase over the previous year. The summer of 1949 the outbreak was higher than normal throughout the US. Sadly, Muncie was, perhaps, the community hardest hit in the nation.  Churches, parks, stores and pools closed to prevent the spread. 
       Ball Hospital saw unprecidented need.  With only 3 iron lungs on site and none available for purchase, Ball Hospital turned to the community.  Jack Reichart, a local machinist, and others worked together to design a "homemade" version. The improvised iron lung was made from empty steel drums, donated vacuums, parts from Borg-Warner, and anything else that could be repurposed in the overnight effort. (Here's the official story)

      Research into treating and preventing Polio was intense.  In 1950, first attempts at a vaccine failed.  But two researchers, Sabin and Salk, had promising results.  In late 1952, Jonas Salk was so confident of his newly developed vaccine that the first injections were to his wife and children.  Plans to test the Salk vaccine on children were developed in 1953 as manufacturers worked to prepare enough vaccine.  In April 1954,  1.8 million children between the ages of 6 and 9 received injections as one of history's largest medical experiments as their parents prayed.  Less than a year later the Salk vaccine was determined to be safe and 90% effective.  Weeks later the Salk vaccine was made available to everyone.

       I can only imagine the weight of fear in those days.  I can see why that would be a decision I might never forget as well!

"Our Ancestors on Father's Side"

Here's another document from Tim and Bud's file.  This was most likely written by Emma Belle Fallis Collins.  It is reasonable to believe that this was composed before 1896.  I've come to this conclusion because the writer only mentions Charles as having L for a middle initial.  In 1896, Amos and Elizabeth Woodring Fallis (Amos's second wife) had their youngest son Watt L Fallis.  The only other author of our documents is Watt. So, it's safe to assume he would have included himself on the list.  Because of Grandpa, Dave and Jeff having Lee as a middle name, I consider the string unbroken though that generation.  Unfortunately, none of us knew it was a "thing".  I dropped the ball on naming all mine- did any of the rest of you keep it going?

Father's Family- the Fallis family

I believe this was also written by Emma Belle, eldest daughter of Amos L.  and Mollie Hayden Fallis.  The other possibility is that it was written by Watt L. Fallis, he was the youngest son of Amos L and Lizzie Woodring (Mollie Hayden died in 1892).

For clarity, here's a recap of the Fallis Family after they came to Central Indiana.

Turner W Fallis and wife Hannah Thompson Fallis- settled east of Marion

      They had 2 children Amos L. and Mary

Amos L. Fallis married Mary Mollie Hayden

      They had 10 children- William, Emma Belle, Frank, Maude, Lillian, John Carl, Dillard, Kenneth,

       and Watt L.

Frank Turner Fallis married Blanche Trout-

       They had 4 children- Arthur, Agnes, Mark C. and Owen

Mark and Veree are our Great Grandparents

    

A Short Drive With Grandpa

Dad (Don) was able to go on a "Sunday Drive" with Grandpa (Val Jean) this week.  Dad wrote me this note to share with you all.

"These 2 photo’s are from a cemetery which is north and east of Wheeling, Indiana. The large rock was acquired by George Milhollin taking his horses down to the river and dragging it up from the river to serve as a tombstone marker for he and his wife. 

Dad, when he and Mother were first married, farmed the land around the cemetery. The owner of the land was George Milhollin and he also owned the Burgiss farm which was across the road from where Mother and Dad live. (also across road from Milspangh’s)
George Milhollin was the father of Ralph Milhollin who was a hunting and fishing buddy of Dad’s. Ralph was sort of iconic in our area as a hunter and fisherman. It was Ralph, Dad and myself, when I was about 7 or 8 years old, that gave me my first taste of Sassafras Tea. We were hunting on the land that Jan and I now own just south of Wheeling. Ralph smelled the scent of sassafras and went over and dug up some roots, shaved off some small pieces of the root and got some water, started a fire, and made sassafras tea. We call that 80 acres the Taylor Farm. Those sassafras trees are still alive today. 

The Olive Branch Cemetery was where Dad wanted to be buried. Mother talked him out of it by saying that none of us kids would ever come to the grave site, because we would never be able to find it.
When asked why he wanted to be buried here, he said,'When I farmed this land, Mother would always pack my lunch and at dinner I would take my fishing rod and go down to the river and catch yellow belly cat fish. I thought that, if I was buried here, that I could get up out of my grave and go down to the river and fish any time I wanted.” 

We had a great day driving around asking questions of Dad.
Dad’s school bus was light green with seats around the perimeter of the bus. The tail pipe ran inside the bus for heat. It was warm, so you had to watch and not put your shoes on the tail pipe for very long as to not burn your shoes.
Don Fallis"

 Thanks for sharing with us, Dad.  Everyone, I'd be happy to have your stories too!

A small glimpse into the Central Indiana Bairs

So here is a small rundown of the Bear/Bair family in central Indiana.  I was getting a little ahead of myself by not clearly checking all sources.  I haven't put dates down because there are descrepancies and I am still checking details. 

Peter Bear and Susannah (Burchell) Bear- married in Frederick County Virginia

·       Ezra Bear+ several more

Ezra Bear and Priscilla (French) Bear- married in Dearborn County, Indiana

·       Samuel Bear

·       John Bear

·       Peter Bear

·       Eliza Jane Bear

·       Lytle Bear

·       Ezra B Bear

·       Abigail Bear

John Bear and Martha (Mc Mahan) Bear

·       Irvin Emory Bear

·       Ida Bear

·       Jesse Bear

·       Carrie Mae Bear

·       Lilly Bear

·       Charles Herman Bair

·       Maude E Bear

·       Everett Earl Bear

·       Edith Bear

·       Sarah Leona* listed in Census as daughter in the household of John and Martha Bear and buried at Vinson Memorial Park under a headstone shared with her parents.

·       Emma B Bear* Listed as a daughter of John and Martha Bear in multiple census records

Irvin Emory Bair and Phoebe Jane (Allman) Bair

·       Virgil E Bear

·       Cletis Emory Bair

Cletis Emory Bair and Minnie Olive (Brake) Bair

·       Miriam (Bair) Mason

·       Mary Jane (Bair) Fallis

·       Thomas Bair

·       Phyllis (Bair) Collins

So many findings that I am going to have to get organizing!

Allman Family Photos

A special treat from Becky!

“I found these photos among my Mother’s things.  This is a picture of her grandmother (and the person whom your grandmother Jane was named after) and her family.

Don’t know the date it was taken but I would guess around 1880s of John Allman, his wife Leaner (Perry) Allman and their 10 children.  Mother marked her grandmother in group.

The names of the children are (not in order) Asbury, Phoebe Jane (our dad’s and my great-grandmother), Maggie, Edna, William, John, Cora, Lorenzo, Charles and Myrtle.

Then I am attaching a picture taken some years later...guessing in the late l930’s of the mother, Leaner, and her 10 children...all looking a bit older!!!

Phoebe Jane Allman (b. 7/30/1864 and d 7/24/1944)  married Irwin Emery Bair (b. 9/26/1864 and d. 11/20/1943) who had a son Cletis E. Bair (your grandmother’s dad) who married Minnie Olive Brake.  They were the parents of Miriam, Mary Jane,  Charles Thomas and Phyllis Ann.  

Thought you might enjoy having/seeing.  This should be a fun search!!!

My mother (Miriam) always told the story that her grandmother (Phoebe Jane Allman) told her that she loved Irwin Emory Bear but she didn’t want to marry anyone who had the same last name as a wild animal. There must have been something to that story, as my great-grandfather obviously changed the spelling of his name from Bear to Bair.  

Her grandfather on her father’s side was Irwin Emory Bair....but he was born as Irwin Emory Bear.  They lived in Summitville (Madison county) Indiana.  His parents were:  John Bear (b. 28 July 1836 and d. 2 Sept. 1901) and Martha McMahon (b 1844 and d 1903)

John and Martha Bear had  10 children -

• Edith Grace – b 1884 and d 1966
• Ida Ella – b 1867
• Jesse Colbert – b 1870 d 1908
• Lillie Ann – b 1874
• Elsie Maude – b 1880
• Irwin Emory – b 1867 – d. 1943
• Carrie Mae – b 1872 and d 1957
• Charles Sherman – b 1878 and d 1953
• Everett Earl – b 1883 and d 1943 

*John Bear’s parents were:  Ezra Bear (b 1814 and d 1878) and Pricicilla French (b 1816 and d 1872)

Interesting as I didn’t know much about that side of family.   Not that I know that much more now, but I will have a better starting point on researching it”- Becky

A better subscription

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What I found today

The oldest Bair to live in central Indiana wasn't actually a "Bair". Peter Bear settled in Madison County. He was a pioneer who came West with his son Ezra, Ezra's wife Priscilla, and their 7 children. Peter, Ezra and Priscilla are buried at Starr Cemetery in Alexandria with the last name Bear.  Peter was born March 3,1788 and died January 15, 1870.

The first Fallis in central Indiana was Turner W. Fallis.  Turner, his wife Hannah Thompson Fallis, their son Amos L Fallis, and at least two of Hannah's brothers came to Grant county in 1848 or 1949.  Turner died October 17, 1850 and is buried in McKinney/Lugar Creek cemetery.n Turner actually has 2 markers, the original and a larger one that shares the name of his wife Hannah who died in 1894. McKinney/Lugar Creek Cemetery is east of Marion.  http://www.ingenweb.org/ingrant/Cemeteries/Lugar/LUGam.html

July 1970

Mark and Veree Fallis Family 50th Anniversary

July 20, 1970

at the family home on  West County Road 950 N, Gaston Indiana

I actually have all of us identified on a list stored with this photo.  If you'd like a copy, let me know and I will email it.  In keeping with our privacy policy, I'm not posting it on here, but I am happy to share.  With the additional photos on the bottom, it's possible that this has the entirety of 4 generations of the Fallis Family 1903-1947.  Can anyone out there verify if that is the case?

Getting Started

Years ago Tim and Uncle Bud started the work of tracing the family roots. Thanks, Tim. What an incredible task especially before the Internet! At Christmas, Dad gave me the box of research. The records are not originals and can be replaced, but there are 4 narratives that may be one of a kind. I have scanned those and stored the originals. One is attached here.  

It is not signed, but at the top in what must be Bud's handwriting it says "Emma Belle (Fallis) Collins". It's in pencil and doesn't show up in the image I've attached. Emma was Great Grandpa Fallis's oldest sister. Emma was born February 24, 1769. She married Charley Collins in 1891 and had a son named Munsey and a daughter named Mary. You can click on the images to see them larger.

I love history so I plan on studying ours. There are a lot of Fallis's out there and it is kind of murky. I am also looking into the Bair history. I will post findings here for all to share.

I would love your help in shaking the family tree.

1. Write down any family names or places- please don't assume I know anything. If you give me a name I'll happily research it.
2. Write the stories. Your own and those of the people we love. Even the simple things. If this seems awkward, let me know and I can help.
3. Fill out forms to help me with the facts. The forms I am referring to are at the top of the sidebar to the right. You can scan and email them to me or send them in the mail. Feel free to leave blanks or put question marks by anything that is a best guess.
4. Photos! You can put them in Dropbox for me (just click on the "Dropbox Submission" link on the left sidebar - you do not need a Dropbox account to use this), and we will add them to the album page of the blog. Videos are great too!