Lillie McCrory Taylor (1839-1914): What was Her Relationship to Joseph Greenwood?

James "Joseph" Greenwood is my 2nd great-grandfather.  He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in February 1823 and emigrated during the Great Starvation to the United States about November 1848. He lived in Steubenville, Ohio at "The Grove" which was the home and property of the intermarried members of the Stokely, Wilson and Lloyd clan.  

Joseph moved to Dubuque, Iowa in 1853 with Judge Thomas Wilson from "The Grove" and was still living in the home of Thomas Wilson in the summer of 1856 as a servant.  He met his wife, Mary Delahunty, who was also a servant in the Wilson home, and they married 3 Sep 1858 at St. Raphael's Cathedral.  They lived out their married life farming in rural Dubuque county.  

Mary died 21 Feb 1894 and is buried in St. Joseph's Catholic cemetery in Farley, Iowa.  Joseph lived with his son, James, from then until his death in 1902.  From 1894, Joseph made several trips back to visit old friends in Steubenville, spending the summer of 1899 there.

When Joseph died in April 1902, there was not a funeral held for him in Iowa and he is not buried there with his wife of nearly 40 years.  His remains were sent on to Steubenville, Ohio, accompanied by his sons. Joseph's funeral was held in the home of Mrs. Lillie (McCrory) Taylor.  He is buried at Union Cemetery with his brother, Hugh Greenwood who died in 1895.  The grave immediately beside theirs is that of Lillie (McCrory) Taylor.  On the other side of Lillie are the graves of her husband Thomas B. Taylor and his first wife, Margaretta (Workman) Taylor.

Lillie McCrory was born in 1839 in Ireland and was the daughter of Samuel McCrory and Mary Moorehead.  She emigrated to the US and arrived at the port of New York on 7 Oct 1857 with Mary Kidd.  Lillie is not found in the 1860 US Census but was living in Steubenville, Ohio by 4 Jun 1863.  Lillie married Thomas B. Taylor in Jefferson County, Ohio on 25 April 1867.

The 1870 census shows Lillie and Thomas living at "The Grove" with the family of William R. and Jane (Stokely) Lloyd.   Also living at "The Grove" as a separate household is Elizabeth (Stokely) Wood, current owner of the property.

Lillie is listed in 1880 census with Thomas in Steubenville. Thomas died 1 July 1891 and was buried at Union Cemetery.  Lillie continued to live in Steubenville through the 1900 and 1910 censuses.  She moved to the United Presbyterian (UP) Home in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny Co, Pennsylvania and lived there from 1912 until she died 23 Mar 1914.  Lillie is buried in Union Cemetery.  Her grave marker lies between that of Joseph Greenwood's and a single stone shared by her husband Thomas B. Taylor and his first wife, Margaretta Workman.

Maria (Kidd) Guildford, born Jan 1840 in Ireland who emigrated with Lillie McCrory, was the daughter of James and Esther "Bettie" (Greenwood) Kidd.  It is believed that Esther Greenwood is the sister of Joseph Greenwood, and that Maria is his niece.  I have DNA matches connecting me to Benjamin Greenwood KIDD, the brother of Maria Kidd Guildford.

KEY ITEMS OF INTEREST:

Joseph Greenwood lived at "The Grove" with Judge Thomas Wilson, son of Peter and Francis (Stokely) Wilson for several years and moved with Judge Wilson to Dubuque, Iowa in 1853.

Lillie McCrory emigrated with the niece of Joseph Greenwood in 1857 to the United States.

Lillie and her husband, Thomas, lived at "The Grove" in 1870 with William R and Jane (Stokely) Lloyd and adjacent to Elizabeth (Stokely) Wood.

All the Stokely families are closely related but no marriages to anyone with the surnames of McCrory, Greenwood or Taylor are found. None of the Stokely clan appears to have ancestry in Ireland.

Joseph's only funeral was held in the home of Lillie McCrory Taylor in 1902.

Lillie McCrory Taylor and Joseph Greenwood are buried side by side and Joseph's wife is buried in Iowa.   It is believed that Hugh Greenwood never married.

Both Joseph Greenwood and his brother, Hugh, were brought back to Steubenville to be buried after their deaths.

Joseph Greenwood is from Ballymena, Antrim, Ireland.

Lillie (McCrory) Taylor had a living nephew, John Watt, who lived in Ballymena at the time of Lillie's death in 1914.

Lillie left a significant bequest from her estate to Maria (Kidd) Guilford, Joseph's niece in 1914.   

Maria named one of her daughters, Lillian, and one of Joseph's granddaughters was named Lillian.

The entire remainder of Lillie's estate was left to Mountford L. Lloyd in trust for William L. Lloyd to be kept safely invested, and the net income to be paid to the said William L. Lloyd during his natural life. 

At the death of said William L. Lloyd the residue became the absolute property of Mountford L. Lloyd, or his heirs.   Mountford L. Lloyd and William L. Lloyd are the sons of William and Jane (Stokely) Lloyd that Lillie and Thomas were living with at "The Grove" in 1870.

Lillie appointed Mary Wood as Executrix of estate.  Mary Wood was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Stokely) Wood.

My direct line connection to Joseph Greenwood:

Karla Von Fumetti, daughter of

Cyril Von Fumetti, son of

Sadie (Greenwood) Von Fumetti Bush, daughter of

Joseph Greenwood, son of

Joseph Greenwood, 1823-1902

Pictured:  Bob Greene and Viki Von Fumetti, 1966.

My grandmother, Sadie (Greenwood) Bush was trying to solve this mystery as far back as 1966 when she made the trip from Dubuque to Steubenville to visit Joseph Greenwood's grave.

This is the grave of Lillie McCrory's husband, Thomas B. Taylor's, 

first wife, Margaretta (Workman) Taylor

This is a 55-year research mystery, and I welcome any input, questions, or suggestions.

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood, 1829-1894: Parents, Siblings and Origins

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Mary Delehanty emigrated to the United States about 1855 although I have been unable to find her specific immigration information to date.  She is found first in Dubuque, Iowa in the 1856 Iowa State Census when she is listed as Mary Dillanttei at age 27.  The census lists her as a servant, born in Ireland, and in the state "0" years.  Mary is living in a house with the family of Judge Thomas Wilson and three other servants, Mary O’Hare, Ann Lynett, and Joseph Greenwood, all also born in Ireland and new to the state.  Joseph Greenwood moved to Dubuque with the family of Thomas Wilson and had been associated with the Wilson family for several years prior.  Mary shows up in the 1856-57 Dubuque City Directory, along with Joseph Greenwood as a servant, boarding at 16th and White, which is also listed as the home of Thomas Wilson, a District Court Judge.  

Mary married Joseph Greenwood 3 Sept 1858 at St. Raphael's Catholic Cathedral in Dubuque.  They farmed in Whitewater Township, and then in Taylor Township in Dubuque County for the duration of their married life.  Joseph and Mary had 5 children:

     Joseph, born 1859
     James, born 1861
     Catherine, born 1863   
     William, born 1865
     Mary, born 1868

Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood died 21 Feb 1894.  Various censuses from 1856-1880 indicate that Mary was born about 1828, although the last census she was listed in indicated 1829-30.  Mary's death certificate lists her age at death as 65 years, 7 months, 3 days, which would be 18 Jul 1928-29.  Mary's grave marker lists her birth date as 17 Mar 1831.   I do believe that Mary celebrated her birthday on March 17th.  The year of her birth is likely to be between 1828 and 1831. 

One of Mary's obituaries said that she was born in Kings County, Ireland and mentioned that she was survived by a brother but gave no name or location.  That was the starting information in the search for Mary's parents and siblings. 

There were a few other Delehants living in Dubuque County in the various years that Mary was living there.  There were only two families living close to Dubuque County with parents of a possible age to be Mary's parents.  The first was that of John and Honora (Powers) Delahunt who lived just south of the Dubuque County line in Mosalem Township, Jackson County who emigrated to the US and were in Jackson County by the time of the 1849 census.  John Delahunt of this family was originally from Birr, Kings County and Honora Powers was from Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland.  Tipperary is the adjacent county to Kings County, now known as County Offaly.

The family of Matthew and Margaret Delahunt lived in the Galena Territory of Jo Davies County, Illinois which is about 20 miles east of Dubuque and documents say they were from County Wicklow, Ireland.

Considerable research was done trying to prove whether the families of John and Honora or the family of Matthew and Margaret were possibly Mary's parents.  Matthew and Margaret had a daughter Mary and were from County Wicklow, a significant distance from Mary's birthplace of Offaly County, which allowed them to be ruled out.

Looking at John and Honora (Powers) Delahunty as possible parents of Mary, there is little documentation that names who their children were.  Those mentioned in the censuses living with, or associated with Honora after John's death in October 1849 and generally proven are: 

     James Delehanty b. Jan 1827

     Mary Anna (Delahunt) Freeman b. Sept 1828
     Julia (Delahunt) Redden b. 1833

     Edward Joseph Delehanty b. 18 Jun 1844

John Delahunt b. 7 Mar 1830 has often been considered as a son of John and Honora (Powers) Delahunt, but no paper documentation exists.  

Frustrated with lack of any source documents listing Mary and connecting her with any family members, I turned to DNA matching.

To date, I have 7 DNA matches with descendants of John Delahunt b. 7 Mar 1830, through two of his children, Daniel, and Mary Ellen.  This proves a genetic relationship between Mary (Delahunt) Greenwood and John Joseph Delahunt, suggesting that the connecting ancestor couple could be shared parents or a more distant relationship.

John Joseph Delahunt married Anna Maher 15 Nov 1857 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio.  They had the following children: 

     Michael b. Aug 1859
     Katherine, b. Jan 1861
     Daniel, b. 6 Mar 1863
     Mary Ellen, b. 6 May 1865
     Andrew, b. 25 Oct 1869
     Anna, b. 1 Jun 1871
     John Joseph, b. 1 Jun 1873

I also have a small DNA match to Ann Delehant.  Her 2nd great-grandfather was William Delehanty.  His obituary states that he was born 1822 in Kings County (now Offaly), Ireland, emigrating to the US in 1849 and settling in Niagara County, New York in 1850.  

William married twice, (1) Bridget Tyrell and (2) Ellen.  His children, all born to Bridget are:

     Michael b. 1851
     Edward b. 1853
     Catherine b. 1854
     Daniel b, 1855
     Ellen b. 1856
     Mary b. 1857, died young
     William b. 1858
     Bridget b. 1860, died young
     Mary b. 1861
     Bridget b. 1863

William's obituary states that he was survived by a brother and sister in Dubuque, Iowa, and a brother and sister in Denver, Colorado.  At the time of William's death 3 Oct 1893, Mary (Delahunty) Greenwood was living in Dubuque County and the above John Delahunt (mar. Anna Maher) had moved from Dubuque County where they had farmed for many years to Fremont County, Iowa.

John Delahunt b.ca.1830 is found in the 1860 Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio census (official date 1 Jun 1860) with the following people living in his household:  

DELAHUNT, John 25 M b. Ireland
Anne 2 F b. Ireland
                Thomas 35 M b. Ireland
MAHER, John 24 M b. Ireland

Michael 34 M b. Ohio

The 1860 census does not identify specific relationships, but research shows that there should have been Anne (Maher) Delahunt b.1827 and son Michael b.1859 in this household.  They have not been found in any other household and the census taker may have started with Anne who would have been 32 on the official date of the census and omitted baby Michael, who was born in Iowa.  Although there are Michael and Thomas Delahunt living in the household, it is hard to say what the relationship might be though it would seem quite possible they were brothers/cousins/uncles to John Delahunt who was head of the household. Research shows that John Maher is the brother of Anne (Maher) Delahunt.

John Delahunt is also found posting an advertisement in the "Missing Friends” of the 28 Jan 1860 Boston Pilot under Information Wanted:

OF THOMAS DELAHUNTY, from the parish of Roscrea [King's co.]; when last heard from October, 1858, was in St. Louis, Missouri. any information as to his whereabouts will be thankfully received by his brother, John Delahunty, Cincinnati, Ohio.

John is listed 4 months later in the above 1860 census, with a Thomas living in his household.  It seems probable that this is the same Thomas, listed as a brother of John's.  

Changing gears, and looking for Delahunts living in the Denver, Colorado area, I found a handful of names but the only ones I could not associate with a different family was the family of Daniel Delehanty, b. 8 Jan 1822 in Ireland. He married 1869 to Margaret Regan in Denver and living in Weld County, adjacent to Denver and today considered part of the Denver metropolitan area.  Daniel is listed in the 1860 through 1900 censuses and would have survived William Delehant who had a "surviving brother and sister" at the time of his death in 1893.

Daniel and Margaret (Regan) Delehant had the following children:

     William b. 1870
     Thomas b. 1872
     Mary b.1874

Using the research I had done, I put together a theoretical family for Mary using the potential links of DNA, census information and obituaries:

     William b. 1822
     Daniel b. 8 Jan 1822
     Michael b. abt 1827
     Mary b. 17 March 1828-1831
     John Joseph b.  7 Mar 1831
     Thomas b. ca 1825
     An unidentified sister 

Knowing that the likely place Mary and the others were from was Roscrea Parish, Kings (now Offaly), Ireland the search was started with that location in the Irish baptismal records.  What was tricky is that Roscrea Parish is generally considered to be in Tipperary County, but there is indeed a very small piece of the parish that strays into County Offaly.

There, in the Roscrea parish records, County Offaly is found this family:

Michael Delehanty and Catherine Whelan

Their children:

     William and Daniel, twins, baptized 7 Jan1822
     Johanna, baptized 29 June 1825
     Michael, baptized 13 July 1827
     Mary, baptized 20 March 1829
     John, baptized 17 April 1831
     Thomas, baptized 31 July 1833 
     Catherine, baptized 14 Apr 1835
     Sarah, baptized 14 Aug 1838

Layering the above family next to my theoretical family for Mary is the following

Theoretical family                           Children of Michael & Catherine (Whelan) Delahanty:

William b. 1822
Daniel b. 8 Jan 1822                        William and Daniel, twins, baptized 7 Jan1822
                                                         Johanna, baptized 29 June 1825
Michael b. abt 1827                         Michael, baptized 13 July 1827
Mary b. 17 March 1828-1831          Mary, baptized 20 March 1829
John Joseph b.  7 Mar 1831             John, baptized 17 April 1831
Thomas b. ca 1825                           Thomas, baptized 31 July 1833 
                                                          Catherine, bap 14 Apr 1835
                                                          Sarah, bap 14 Aug 1838
Unidentified Sister

These are very close matches for Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood and her theoretical siblings.

Other things to take into consideration:

1. William's obituary says 2 brothers and 2 sisters survived his death on 3 Oct 1893.  At that time Mary, John Joseph and Daniel were all living.  I have not been able to find Catherine or Sarah from the above family yet to rule them in as the surviving sister, or out. I have no additional information on Thomas or Michael, but this would indicate they had died prior to William.

2. Mary's obituary says 1 brother survived her.   John Joseph and Daniel would have survived her, as well as the unidentified sister.  There was no family lore passed down through Mary's lines so it is unknown if Mary had an ongoing relationship with any of her siblings and what her family may have known about them.

3. The English and the Irish often followed a traditional naming pattern. Although not all families adhered to this naming pattern, this is generally the format that was followed:

     1st son - named for paternal grandfather
     2nd son - named for maternal grandfather
     3rd son - named for the father
     1st dau - named for maternal grandmother
     2nd dau - named for paternal grandmother
     3rd dau - named for the mother

In William's family:

     1st son - named Michael
     1st known daughter - named Catherine
     a son named Daniel, presumably after William's twin
     a son named Mary, possibly named for William's sister

In Daniel's family:

     a son named William, presumably after Daniel's twin
     a son named Thomas, possibly after Daniel's brother
     a daughter named Mary, possibly after Daniel's sister

In Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood's family:

     2 sons named after her husband's 1st and 2nd names "Joseph James"
     1st daughter - named Catherine
     2nd daughter - named Mary
     3rd son named William - there are no known William's in Joseph's family

In John Joseph's family:

     1st son - named Michael
     2nd son - named Daniel - Anna's father by transcription is "Darbutis"
     3rd son - named Andrew
     4th son - named John Joseph after his father
     1st known daughter - named Katherine 
     2nd known daughter - named Mary.  Anna's mother was Maria
     3rd daughter named Anna - mother of this child also named Anna

There is substantial reason to believe that these families named their children following at least a semblance of a naming tradition or named them after parents and siblings. 

4. There are no daughters in William, Daniel, Mary, or John's families named Honora (Nora, Annora).  There are no sons named John in these families except that John Joseph named his 4th son, John Joseph, but gave his first-born son the name of Michael.  

5. John and Honora (Powers) Delehant emigrated to the US about 1840 and were living in Iowa no later than 1849 when they are listed in the 1849 Iowa census.  Out of William, Daniel, Mary, and John Joseph, William emigrated was the first to arrive, about 1849. The other 3 arrived several years later.  In addition it does not make sense that John and Honora would have brought 3 of their young children, James (13), Mary Anna (12) and Julia (7) and left behind Mary (11) and John Joseph (9).  Mary emigrated about 1855 and John states in the 1900 census that he emigrated in 1851.

6. William and Daniel were twins.  Twins appear to run in this family line as Mary had 4 sets of twin grandchildren: 1 set through son Joseph and three sets through her son James.  While this is not proof of relationship, it is interesting. 

Based on the evidence above, I believe the following to be the family of Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood:

Parents: Michael Delehanty and Catherine Whelan

Their children, all baptized Roscrea Parish, Kings County (now County Offaly), Ireland:

     William and Daniel, twins, baptized 7 January 1822
     Johanna, baptized 29 Jun 1825
     Michael, baptized 13 July 1827
     Mary, baptized 20 March 1829, likely born 17 March 1829
     John Joseph, baptized 17 April 1831, likely born 7 Mar 1831 
     Thomas, baptized 31 Jul 1833
     Catherine, baptized 14 April 1835
     Sarah, baptized 14 Aug 1838

Nothing more is known at this point about the birth, marriage, or death dates or locations of Michael Delehanty or Catherine Whelan.   

I do feel this conclusively proves that John and Honora (Powers) Delehanty are not the parents of Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood nor of John Joseph Delehanty b. 7 Mar 1831. John Delahunty b.abt 1800 was supposedly born in Birr, Kings County and Honora Powers born in County Tipperary. John b.abt.1800 is likely related at some point further back on the Delehanty line.  Research could be done to verify whether the children that John and Honora had were baptized in Roscrea Parish or an adjacent parish prior to their emigration in 1849.   

Sources and Proof documents available on request.

Michael Delehanty and Catherine Whelan, parents of

Mary (Delehanty) Greenwood, my 2nd great-grandmother, mother of 
Joseph Greenwood, father of
Sadie (Greenwood) Von Fumetti Bush, mother of
Cyril Von Fumetti, father of 
Karla (Von Fumetti) Staudt

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Romance and Marriage: Kathleen Kenyon and Cyril Von Fumetti, 1949-1955

Cyril and Kathleen Von Fumetti

November 19, 1955

Cyril "Cy" Von Fumetti grew up in Dubuque, Iowa.  Kathleen "Katie" Kenyon grew up in Monroe County, Wisconsin.  Their paths might never have crossed except for Camp McCoy, an Army training base, in Monroe County, between Tomah and Sparta.  

Click here for History of Camp McCoy, now Fort McCoy

Click photos to view full size

Cy graduated from high school in 1948 and went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City that fall as a mechanical engineering major.  Needing a way to earn and pay for college expenses he joined the Army ROTC program at the university.  Part of the commitment to the Army included an obligation to participate in summer training. That training took Cy to Camp McCoy the summer of 1949, and the following summers again the next 3 years.  

Cyril met Katie sometime over the summer of 1949 when she was between her Junior and Senior year of high school.  We would not know about that early meeting except that one of her friends made a comment about "Si" in Katie's senior yearbook. 

It was likely a slow to develop friendship or romance because Cyril was not in Monroe County on a regular basis other than during the summers.  Katie had several boyfriends over the same years and moved around enough that no grass grew under her shoes.  

She graduated from Tomah High School in May 1950 and spent the summer at home in Tomah, working at the local A&W.  Although neither Cyril nor Katie ever talked much about their dating life, it is likely they resumed their friendship that summer. At the end of summer training, Cyril returned to the University of Iowa and Katie started at the University of Wisconsin in Madison that fall majoring in Chemistry.  

Katie's College Womens' Dorm 

"The Badger Club"

The Badger Club Residents

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Fall 1950

Katie, age 18, is in the front row, 2nd from the right

Katie was awarded a one-year tuition scholarship to the University of Wisconsin and a monetary science award from Bausch & Lomb.  Her brother Kyle Kenyon gave her a significant gift of money on her graduation from high school which she used to help pay housing and expenses.  In addition, Katie found a job as a part time clerk-typist job in the Sociology Department at the UW.  Despite everything she did not have enough funds to continue after the first semester and had to step away from the university.  

Katie went to work for Cutler and Hamer Engineering Services as a full-time editorial-clerk in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a little over a year from March 1951 through June of 1952 along with doubling up as a nanny for a local family.  Cyril was back in Camp McCoy the summer of 1951 when Katie was working in Milwaukee.  We do not know if they saw each other much, if at all, that summer.  

Katie, center

Milwaukee Club ca. 1951-1953

When Katie left Milwaukee and returned to Tomah the summer of 1952, she was employed at Camp McCoy as a clerk typist and continued there through September 1953.  She and Cyril may have dated the first summer in 1952, but he was officially sworn in as a second Lieutenant in the Army in February 1953 and was in France and Germany the summer of 1953.

Katie was able to go back to the University of Madison fall of 1953 as a full-time student.  She had dated a local boy from high school over the past few years and they became engaged Christmas 1953 over the winter break. The engagement was brief and was broken off because Katie wanted a large family, and he did not.  

Katie with "small gift"

Christmas 1953

By late spring 1954 Kathleen had moved on with her life and was socializing again at the university.  

"Pajama Party"

University of Wisconsin

Katie, center checked shirt.

Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity Formal

May 8, 1954

Katie is in the 2nd row, 3rd person from the left.

Katie was hired as a part-time typist by Solvit Chemical Company in Madison during the school year 1953-54 but needed a full-time job that summer to help with fall school expenses. During that summer of 1954, Katie returned to Tomah to work as a clerk-typist and stock-record clerk in the Commissary Office at Camp McCoy.  When it was time to go back to Madison for fall semester, she took on a part-time typist job with Schwarz Paper Company in Madison.  Cyril spent that entire time in France.

Always a very social young woman, Katie ran for and became a semi-finalist for the 1955 University of Wisconsin Prom Queen.

Katie permanently left school in February 1955, returning home to Tomah and went back to work in a promoted full-time position as Requisition Clerk for the Commissary Office at Camp McCoy until mid-October.  She quit her job at that point to get ready for her wedding to Cyril and prepare for a permanent move to Dubuque, Iowa.   Katie left college the first time to earn money to go back later, but it is unclear why she left college the second time as Cyril did not return from France until May 1955.  They may have been engaged already at that time and knew she would not finish before they were married.

Women Employees at Camp McCoy

September 2, 1955

Katie, center

Cyril returned from France in May 1955 and went to work as a mechanical engineer for the John Deere Tractor Works in Dubuque, Iowa.  Dubuque is 125 miles from Tomah and from photos taken he made the trip to see Katie several times that summer in his new Chevy Bel Air and used the camera he had purchased while visiting Germany.

Katie

Taken by Cyril Summer 1955

Katie and Cy

At the Beach, Summer 1955

Katie putting her hair up in her trademark pinwheels after swimming.

Summer 1955

Cyril in town for the Tomah Centennial Celebration

Katie, Fritz Kelley and Cy with Fritz's car

Summer 1955

Katie and Cy

Summer 1955

Cy and Katie's wedding was held on November 19, 1955, a cold, snowy weekend.  It was also the first day of deer hunting season in Wisconsin, a bone of contention with a brother and a couple of brothers-in-law! 

Katie and her mother, Harriet (Shookman) Kenyon 

leave the house to get ready for the wedding. 

Katie, the youngest of the 8 children was the last to get married. 

Tomah Methodist Church.

Postcard from 1956

Harriet, attaching Katie's veil shortly before the wedding.

Flower girl, Karen Greene, age 5.

Katie at the back of the church, escorted by her father, Charles Kenyon.

Wedding party photo after the ceremony.

Rev. Ernest Kistler (back)

L-R: Sandy Hart, Roxy Buxton (maid of honor), 

Katie & Cy, 

Bob Greene (best man) and Jim Link.

Karen Greene, flower girl and Danny Kenyon, ring bearer.

Marriage Record signed after the ceremony.

Receiving Line at the church.

Karen Greene, Dan Kenyon, 

Cyril, Bob Greene and Bob Von der Ohe

Off to the reception!

Bob Greene and Cy helping Katie into Cy's new car.

Exchanging bites of cake.

L-R: Sandy Hart, Cy and Katie, Roxy Buxton, Bob Greene.

Danny Kenyon is not all that interested!

Devilment is afoot!

Bob Greene, always full of fun himself, clearly sees the situation.

The Bridal Couple

Wedding Party

Sandra Hart (niece of bride), Roxy Buxton (maid of honor)

Kathleen and Cyril

Bob Greene (best man and husband of Cyril's sister, Phylis) and Jim Link, (lifelong friend of Cyril).

Wedding Announcement

Dec 8, 1955

La Crosse Tribune

Katie and Cyril spent their first months of married life at 1760 Adair Street.  This house belonged to Cyril's mother and step-father, Sadie and Maurice Bush who spent that winter in Arizona.

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the copyright owner and publisher.

Hunting Morels

Even the name makes my mouth water. It has been a lot of years since I sat down to a plate of morels, but every year they haunt my memory.  In the late spring, after the snow had slowly melted away and the earth was moist and full of fragrance my Grandma Sadie and Grandpa Maurice would go foraging for morels.  They had several spots that they would go to each year, and you had to promise to keep the location a secret. I knew that it was a special thing to be included as the secluded locations were to be treasured and protected for the hunt "next year" and you did not tell "just anyone" where those precious spots were. 

Morels were mainly to be found somewhere near a rotting log or fallen tree.  Their little rounded waffle like heads would be peeking up from the humus rich soil below last year's leaves and twigs or they might surprise you as you moved the early spring grass and weeds around with your hands.  No matter the size, from as small as my young thumb to as big as Grandpa's hand, they would be carefully pulled up and stored in a sack.  One of the locations I remember going was near the Julien Dubuque monument which is high on a hill with a beautiful view overlooking the Mississippi River and the outlet from Catfish Creek on the outskirts of Dubuque.  I think there is now a fence there, but we used to make our way up and down very carefully on the steep slope and around the backside of that hill.  It was usually a goldmine for morels.  

With our bag full of morels, we headed home, and the anticipation would begin. As we would watch with our heads just barely above the countertop, Grandma would fill the sink with fresh water and carefully set several morels in at a time to be swished around to remove any dirt still hanging on to the mushrooms.  Then she would trim the stem edges and except for the smallest ones, she would cut the morels in half, top to bottom.  From there they were laid out on clean kitchen towels to drain, patted dry then wait on mealtime to be cooked.  I remember running out to look at those morels on the towels.  They had such beautiful patterns and intricacy that several years later when I was in high school, I made a silver pendant based on that memory.

When the time came, Grandma put on her apron and pulled out her large cast iron fry pans. She would turn on the burners, put the pans in place and heat them up before tossing in generous chunks of fresh butter to foam up, slide around on the hot surface as they melted and then sizzled. Grandma would lay the morels in the pan a few at a time so that they would brown in the butter but not steam each other.  Between the smell of browned butter and those morels, our feast could not come fast enough!  As they were finished the morels were put on a platter in the warming oven and the process repeated a couple of times until they were all cooked.  

Grandma would pull the platter from the oven and set it on the dining table. One of the most distinct memories I have of my grandmother was hearing her call "Dinner's ready" any time we visited their home, and we were always happy to come running. I can not remember anything else on the table besides the morels but knowing my grandmother I imagine there was a plateful of other good things to go along.  With a pile of morels served up on my plate, I would cut off a piece, close my eyes and pop that bite into my mouth.  

Heaven.  

In my memory, their taste is delicate and distinctive, a wonderful gift from nature.

© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt

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