Three Little Channell Girls

     My great grandmother is one of the three little girls pictured here.  From left to right they are:  Estella Rachel Channell Eckerson, 1878-1965, Emma Alice Channell Eshom, 1881-1958, and Mary Margaret Channell, 1875-1884.  They were the daughters of Edward Channell and Jane Foglesong, who had married in Van Buren County, Iowa.  The whole family came to Washington Territory in September of 1881, settling in Centralia, Lewis County.  As Mary Margaret only lived one day past her ninth birthday, she must not have lived very long after the visit to the photographer.  Note that the photography studio was "over Skidmore's Drug Store," in Portland, Oregon.  I love the prop fence, and the roll of hay-like material the toddler is sitting on.
     "Stella" Eckerson lived the longest of the three girls, which meant our lives actually overlapped for a time.  I, of course, remember her as an old, old, woman.  If you'd told me she was 150 years old, I probably would have believed you, but in reality she was in her eighties.  Her only son and her granddaughter, my mother, inherited her long, bony wrists.  All three of them looked very much alike in old age.  I remember our family going in the summer to visit her at her house, two states away, where she was always kind and welcoming, although I believe she had a rather wry wit.  She also came to California on a visit, very late in her life.  We have a few photos of her during that time.  She had on a dress, nylon stockings, and dress pumps; I don't think she owned any pants.  I remember her always in a dress of some sort, and a cover-all type of apron.
     Living alone, her one weakness seemed to be a collection of "Radio-TV Mirror" magazines.  Looking at copies online brings a smile:  they're filled with ads for products like Listerine and girdles, and have a lot of gossipy tidbits about the celebrities of the time.  The one I saw featured Art Linkletter on the cover.
     My great-grandmother lived a life that observed many changes, moving across the country from small-town Iowa to a different Territory, a country at war more than once, a long widowhood, the dawn of the space age, and being kept company by broadcast entertainment.
     A very long time, indeed, since she was the solemn little girl in the photograph.

Estella, Emma, & Mary Channell, l. to. r.
Photo in possession of the author

"New" Eckerson house - 100 years later

Pursuing our ancestors in the local newspapers of the time can reward us with some pretty specific nuggets, particularly if our relations lived in a small town.  The editors were always on the lookout for something to fill up the pages, some of which was pretty mundane ("Mr. Smith was in town yesterday doing business at the post office...he reports a fine litter of pigs was born at his place.").

One such item of interest to me appeared in the Centralia Daily Chronicle (Lewis County, Washington).  The issue of Friday, November 7, 1913 published this brief entry:

The Mr. and Mrs. Eckerson, were John and Estella Channell Eckerson, parents of Harold L. Eckerson.  Harold was 11 when they moved into the house, which was located on Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

This photo shows how the house looked some time later, after some shrubbery had matured.

John & Stella Eckerson house, Harrison Avenue, Centralia, WA

Stella was widowed in 1922, and lived out much of the rest of her life in the house alone, except for the period of time she offered room and board to her bachelor uncle, Sam Channell.

Sadly, the house declined over time, and  is now the home of a used car lot, with traffic whizzing by on the widened road.  Going to visit today is like picking a scab, you know you shouldn't do it, but you can't help it.  Interesting to note that some of the leaded glass panes are still in place.

Two different bookends to the life of a house:  the newspaper announcement of a fresh beginning, and its final chapter as a forlorn sales office.

Edward Channell family: treasure among the essentials

     

     

Signature of Edward Channell in Bible
(In possession of the author)

     Among my ancestors are  many who made the journey across vast parts of the United States.  No, they didn't come to seek their fortunes in the Gold Rush of 1849, nor were they fur traders, or travelers around the tip of South America.  One particular family, that of Edward Channell, made the sensible decision to wait until the railroad had been completed across the United States, and travel in relative safety and "comfort."
     A recent clean-out of my garage made me wonder:  how did I managed to accumulate so much "stuff," half of which I don't remember having?  I doubt the Channell family were able to bring many possessions with them on the move from Douds, Van Buren County, Iowa, to Centralia, Lewis County, Washington.  Thankfully, among the belongings they picked up along the way are those considered treasures by their descendants.
     Somehow,  their massive Bible, printed as a tutorial, has survived.  Whether they carried it with them, shipped it separately, or acquired it later, I don't know.  The complete title is lengthy, but starts out, "Hitchcock's New and Complete Analysis of the Holy Bible:  or, the whole of the Old and New Testaments Arranged According to Subjects in Twenty-Seven Books..."  It was printed by A. J. Johnson & Son of New York & Philadelphia.  The copyright date, in Roman numerals, is 1875.

Edward Channell family Bible, copyright 1875

     Besides the inscribed name (top), someone kindly included a very specific piece of information.  Considering the long stretch between the censuses of 1880 and 1900, this was most welcome:  the time of the family's move to Washington.  "Edward Channell and Family Emigrated to Wash. Ter. in the month of Sept. 1881."

     I can now visualize this couple as they made the trip across the country by train.  Not only were they leaving everything that was familiar behind them, they had to manage the trip with three young daughters, ages 6, 3, and 8 months!  

     An adventure, indeed...   

     

     

"Hitting the road" for data: Clarence B. Channel

It seemed an unlikely source to find a family history nugget:  the newsletter of the Nebraska Road Department.  But, here's another example of how casting the net a lot wider via a Google search can pay off.  This refers to another descendant of my ancestor Jeremiah Channel(l) of eastern Ohio.  It proved to be a good starting point for uncovering more data about this side of the family. 

http://www.transportation.nebraska.gov/roadrunner/docs/archives/feb-mar-09.pdf

Probate proceedings: why aren't they all like this?!?

     We've all had great hopes of placing our ancestors in an earlier generation by using wills and probate proceedings.  Unfortunately, too often some hazy terms are used such as "his wife," or "his children."  Sometimes, however, we are surprised by the amount of detail that's been meticulously added.  Here is an example from Van Buren County, Iowa, and the estate of my ancestor, George Channell, who died in 1898.  Note that every heir is named, along with relationship, residence and age.  It isn't as though these are young children, either.  This is an excellent means of confirming information I'd collected from other sources.
     A further example of the benefit of collecting ALL available data, not just listings out of indexes or abstracts.  This comes via microfilmed copies available via the Family History Library.  I viewed them in Salt Lake City, but the film can be ordered online for viewing at local Family History Centers.