Archive for the ‘Sherry’s Family Tree’ Category
Amanuensis Monday – Maggie McGinnis Dies at Age 101
by Sherry Stocking Kline
19 July 2010
Many thanks to my cousin Lynne Bajuk, California, for our great-grandmother Maggie McGinnis’ obituary!
This past week, Lynne sent me a wonderful ‘genealogy care package’ with photographs and this obituary. Happy Dance!
Fortunately, I was able to find Maggie’s husband, Thomas Jefferson McGinnis’ obituary and send it to her recently. It has been sooo wonderful to ‘meet’ and visit with Lynne and to be able to share information and work together. Lynne has many wonderful stories that her mother told her that I’d not heard. Marvelous!
Maggie McGinnis, 101, Succumbed Sunday
Funeral services for Mrs. Margaret (Maggie) McGinnis, 101, were conducted at the Cedar Vale Methodist church Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 o’clock with Rev. W. E. Burdette officiating.
Mrs. McGinnis passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Maud Stocking, Sunday morning at 6:15 o’clock from arterial thrombosis. Although bedfast since the first of February, Mrs. McGinnis had only been seriously ill since 11 o’clock Saturday morning.
Mrs. McGinnis had made her home in Cedar Vale with her daughter for the past nine and one-half years. She was loved and admired by all who knew her. Despite her age, Mrs. McGinnis possessed a keen and alert mind and enjoyed conversing on current topics. She frequently spoke of her childhood and enjoyed telling of her experiences when she with other girls of her community sang for Abraham Lincoln.
A trio composed of Bill House, James E. Humble and Maurice Smith sang “Abide With Me” and “City Four Square.” As a solo, Maurice Smith sang “Crossing the Bar.” Mrs. R. D. Oltjen was pianist.
Pallbearers were Marshall Hill of Arkansas City, Herbert Stocking of Elk City, Harold and Fred Stocking of Mayfield, Bob and Jack Yearout of Wellington.
Burial was made in the cemetery at Mayfield, Kansas.
Obituary
Margaret (Maggie) E. Corson McGinnis was born January 19, 1849, in Saugamon County, Illinois (Sangamon?) and died March 26, 1950-, in Cedar Vale, Kansas at the age of 101 years, two months, and seven days.
Maggie Corson was educated in a rural school near her home and in Springfield, Illinois. In 1860 she was one of a group of children trained to sing campaign songs in support of Abraham Lincoln’s candidacy for president. The group on one occasion sang for Lincoln and received his thanks.
At the age of fifteen she united with the Methodist church of which she remained a loyal member throughout her life.
After teaching for three years in Illinois rural and village schools, she was married in 1872 to Thomas J. McGinnis, who was teaching and farming in eastern Illinois.
In 1886 they moved to Kansas, eventually living in several communities in this state.
After the death of her husband at Emporia in 1911, Mrs. McGinnis lived in Missouri, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Maryland, and California, eventually returning to Kansas, where the has been residing with her daughter, Mrs. Maud Stocking, in Cedar Vale.
Mrs. McGinnis is survived by three sons – Charles E. of Los Angeles; Eugene E. of Wichita; and Virgil H. of Denver; two daughters – Mrs. Maud Stocking of Cedar Vale and Myrta E. (Ethel) McGinnis of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania; twelve grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren.
More info:
Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis, daughter of Richard S. and Mary (Corson) Corson, is buried in the Osborne Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas, near the small town of Mayfield, Kansas, with four generations of descendants.
Maggie McGinnis Sang For Abraham Lincoln
A Photo of Maggie Corson McGinnis (and me) on her 100th Birthday
Dottie Metcalf Lindenbuger – “Dream Big, Work Hard”
by Sherry Stocking Kline
June 22, 2010
Because Dottie and her family lived hours from here we didn’t see Dottie often while she was growing up. But we’ve watched her ‘grow up’ from a distance thanks to e-mail, Christmas newsletters, and now Facebook.
And the one thing that has been a thread throughout her growing up years, grade school, high school, college, and her teaching career, is that when Dottie does something, she chooses to do it well, chooses to excel at it, and chooses to work hard to be the best at it, and reach her goals.
What an inspiration! And while many graduation messages include the “Dream Big” they don’t always include the “work hard” part that is a key part of anyone’s success.
To read the article in “The Columbian” that inspired this blog post, click here.
Amanuensis Monday – Victor A. and Rachel Breneman
by Sherry Stocking Kline – 17 May 2010
It’s another Genealogy Happy Dance Monday! While visiting the nearby town of Kingman, Kansas while my son had some dental work done, I kept busy stopping at several stores to distribute ad fliers for the upcoming Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Meeting on June 19th, featuring the Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor. (See program info here.)
When I stopped at the Kingman Carnegie Library, the librarian agreed to post our KCGS flyer, and showed me the Kingman County History book where I located some information submitted by my mom’s cousin, Victor A. Breneman. The book was a great source, and I learned some information that I didn’t already know.
I already knew the who-begat-who info, but I still find myself guilty of not asking enough questions, and thereby missing a lot of information. I need to turn over a new leaf!
The following is transcribed from the Kingman County History book, “Kingman County, Kansas and its People”.
Victor A. Breneman Family – submitted by Victor A. Breneman
The Breneman family came to Kingman in 1917. The family name is Swiss in origin and the first members arrived in this country in 1709. They were part of a group which later became known as the “Pennsylvania Dutch.” They settled in Conestoga and Lancaster Counties. The family came west by way of Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, and later to Wellington, Kansas.
The local family consisted of Ira J. Breneman, Adelia (Allen) Breneman, his wife, two sons, Paul A. and Victor A. Breneman. Mrs. Adelia Breneman was of Scottish-English extraction. Her maiden name was Allen and the family settled in New England prior to the Revolutionary War. They were related to the family of Ethan Allen, the famous general in the War for Independence.
Ira J. Breneman was born in Muscatine County, Iowa, May 18, 1874. He died January 11, 1963, and is buried in the Belle Plaine Cemetery. During most of his working life he was a railroader. He was a locomotive fireman, a maintenance employee, and in railroad bridge construction.
Mrs. Adelia (Allen) Breneman was born June 20, 1885, and died September 14, 1938. She was a Registered Nurse and spent most of her working life at this profession and in raising her sons.
Paul Breneman was born in Conway Springs, Kansas, July 9, 1907. He grew up in Kingman. He was married to Laurilla White. Paul served on the police force in Kingman for several years and later became Chief of Police. He later was employed by the Boeing Company as a member of its security force. He is retired and now lives in Derby, Kansas.
Victor Breneman was born in Conway Springs, Kansas, September 16, 1911. He grew up in Kingman, attended the Kingman Schools, The Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga, The Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was married to Rachael A. Hoover, March 19, 1933.
Victor served many years in the Army National Guard, the Army Reserve, and on active duty with the Army during World War II. He served in the 137th Infantry, 35th division during the entire war. He took part in the Invasion of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and three other campaigns. He retired from the military as a Colonel.
His military awards included the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of enemy action. After his military service he entered the Postal Service, later becoming Postmaster. He served a number of years in this capacity.
Transcriber’s Note: Victor and Rachel Breneman are now deceased, and like a very bad genealogist, I realized that I don’t think I have their dates of death in my family tree program, even though we attended their funerals. Vic and Rachel are buried in the Kingman Cemetery, Kingman County, Kansas. Both Paul and Laurilla Breneman and Victor and Rachel Breneman have children and grandchildren who are living, and I’ve taken their names out of this public transcription.
Treasure Thursday Great-Grandma McGinnis Sang For Abraham Lincoln in 1860
Great-Grandma McGinnis Sang for Abraham Lincoln…
This photograph has been in the family for some time and my Great-Grandma Margaret “Maggie” (Corson) McGinnis, (my grandma Maud Stocking’s mother) told her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that she was a child in this photograph in the wagon on the lower right hand side of the photograph with the sign that reads “Let Me In – Kansas.”
Great-Grandma McGinnis said that she and other children sang for then candidate Abraham Lincoln on this day.
According to my Uncle Herb, and my brother Harold (a.k.a Fred), (both of whom were old enough to remember the story well) Great-Grandma Maggie said that Mr. Lincoln stopped, bent down, and spoke to her about “letting Kansas in” to the Union as a state.
There she was, just a little girl, at a Turning Point in History…
Wow! There she was, just a little girl, being spoken to by a man who was then a candidate for president. Can you just imagine? Did they have any idea that they were at a point in history that would lead to such historically memorable events as the Civil War, the ending of slavery, the assassination of a President, and other major turning points in our country’s history?
In light of what was to come just a few years later, it is no wonder that Great-Grandma shared this story with her children and grandchildren.
I’ve seen this photograph on-line in several places, so I know it must have been a popular photograph in that time and era and I’m glad that Great-grandma Maggie had a copy of this photograph and shared this story with her family.
Other Related Posts:
Corson Family Info:
Wordless Wednesday – Margaret Corson McGinnis’ 100th Birthday
You can learn more about the Corson Family, Book and Association Website Here.
My Corson Family Website and Happy Dance Post is Here.
Three Hundred Years With the Corson Family in America.
McGinnis Family Info:
My Maggie Corson/McGinnis Happy Dance!
Carnival of Genealogy – My Poem to My Ancestors
Maggie’s Husband:
Amanuensis Monday – Thomas J. McGinnis Obituary
Wordless Wednesday – Mayfield, Kansas’ Blacksmith Shop & Otto Breneman
by Sherry Stocking Kline
7 May 2010
The Mayfield Blacksmith Shop…
This is a photograph of Otto Breneman and his father, Constantine Breneman, standing in front of Otto’s blacksmith shop. The blacksmith shop was located in Mayfield, Kansas (about 10 miles west of Wellington, Kansas) till at least sometime in the 1930’s when Otto passed away.
Otto’s mother was Salinda Breneman, and he was married to Nancy Virginia Hoyt, daughter of Joseph and Wilhemina (Dewein) Hoyt, and they had a daughter, Bernice Breneman.
According to information in the book “Mayfield: Then & Now”, Otto served as mayor of Mayfield from 1927 to 1929.
Otto was my great uncle, and he passed away before I was born, (his Tombstone photo can be found here). If the shop or the home was there when I was small I don’t recall it. I wish I had taken an “after” photograph so you could see what it looks like today, but there is a nice white ranch style home there, with a large grassy area in front of it.
This photograph comes from Otto’s daughter, Bernice Breneman Thomas’ collection of photographs, now in her son’s, Orlan Thomas’ collection, and can also be found on Page 71 of the “Mayfield: Then & Now” book. Orlan and his wife recently came to visit and loaned me his genealogy and photograph collection to scan, and nearly 200 scans later, I have many more photographs that he is allowing me to share digitally with other family members.
Ask a Lot of Different Questions…
Looking at this photograph reminds me that until I began working with a friend on the book “Mayfield: Then & Now” and began asking questions of everyone, including my mom and other family members I had no idea that some of our Breneman family lived in the Mayfield area, let alone owned a blacksmith shop.
According to a cousin that I visited with recently, her father told her that Constantine served as a blacksmith in the Union Army when he was a soldier in the Civil War. So, if there is a moral to this story, ask your older generation (as many as possible) and even your siblings and your cousins, a lot of different questions a lot of different ways…
Other Related Posts:
Tombstone Tuesday: Otto and Nancy Breneman
Constantine Breneman and His Buggy Horse Photograph of Ott’s father, Constantine driving a buggy with his beautiful buggy horse.
Constantine Breneman’s Buggy Horse – Photograph of Constantine’s Buggy Horse
Salinda E. (Rose) Breneman – Photograph of Ott’s mother, Salinda, and her tombstone. Ott’s parent’s, Salinda and Constantine, divorced in later life.
Too Young to Die – Photo of Ott Breneman and his siblings, and a photograph of Albert’s tombstone. Albert was killed in a Motorcycle Accident.
Photograph of May Breneman Jones Willey – Sister of Ott Breneman.
Tombstone Tuesday – Myrtle B Jones
by Sherry Stocking Kline
4 May 2010
This eight and 1/2 month old child’s stone, located in the Osborne Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas, about 10 miles west of Wellington, Kansas, and about 1/2 mile East of Mayfield on West 20th Street is another mystery that I would very much like to solve.
Kinfolk? Or Just a Lot of Coincidences?
On the Stone:
Myrtle B. Jones
Dau of W. & M. E. Jones
Died July 5, 1890
Aged 8 Mos 18 Days
(I was not able to read the inscription below the name and date, and as I had my granddaughters with me, and no safe way to clean the stone with me, I didn’t try to clean and read it while there and am not able to in the photograph.)
Is Myrtle part of my family? I think so, actually. Myrtle’s parents are W. and M. E. Jones, and just two stones over is a stone for Evan Jones, and Evan’s parents were Willis and Martha Ellen (Smith) Jones, originally from the Hart & Barren County, Kentucky area.
So Who was Ten-Year-Old George T. Hill?
In between Myrtle and Evan is a ten-year-old boy named George T. Hill (photo coming soon) and while so far the Hill name is not one that has shown up in our family tree, my mother feels that he is related, but she does not know how, and both Myrtle and George died thirty-some years before my mother was born. My family lived next door to a Hill family for (at least) two generations in both families, but the Hill child next to Myrtle does not appear (according to census, etc) to belong to any of those Hills.
Is Myrtle my great-great aunt? I think so. In this small cemetery, buried so closely together, and within a few stones of my father that would be a lot of coincidences for there not to be a kinship. But before I add Myrtle to our family tree as a lost child of Willis and Martha, I’m going to be looking in area newspapers for obituaries and making sure there weren’t any other W. & M. E. Jones in this area. And then I may just use a pencil when I add her in…
52 Weeks to Better Genealogy – Week 16 – Online Catalog of Kansas State University
by Sherry Stocking Kline
29 April 2010
I missed out on the first few weeks of 52 Weeks To Better Genealogy (check out this week’s challenge on www.geneabloggers.com) began by Amy Coffin of We Tree, but there are such great weekly challenges there that I’m trying to join in all the fun!
I have to confess to something. I’ve not really researched online library catalogs very much before. I know that’s terrible, because I could be missing so many great sources. (I do check library catalogs IN the libraries). So, it seemed like a great idea to use this blog challenge to ‘get my feet wet’ so to speak.
I began with the online catalog of the library at Kansas State University, my alma mater. I thought that I might find histories, genealogies, and diaries. So remember that I’m not real knowledgeable about searching the online catalogs, but anyhow, I didn’t find anything under the “Genealogy” search there.
I did find a link to a magazine database that I would absolutely LOVE to have access to. ProQuest. ProQuest not only owns the Heritage Quest database that we all love to search, they also have copies of all types of magazine articles. Type in Vitamin D, and you’ve got beau coup articles to read about the new discoveries science has made that Vitamin D plays in our health.
But I digress. Anyhow, ProQuest magazines isn’t available to non-students. So I pick up the phone, call the librarian, and ask if I can get a library card that will let me access ProQuest through the university website. Alumni should have privileges, right?
Too expensive, the librarian said…
Apparently not. ProQuest is not available to non-students. Too expensive, the librarian said. But the very nice librarian sends me to the State of Kansas library website, goes there on her own computer and points out a free database that is similar to the ProQuest, called the Expanded Academic, and that shows promise for some of the non-genealogy research that I want to do.
Going on down the list of fun research tools available on State of Kansas library website, I find the Heritage Quest link! Woo Hoo! And I don’t have to in-put my library card number or pin number. Better and better.
I Put in My Great-Grandmother’s Name…
I go to Heritage Quest and in the census, put in my great-grandmother’s maiden name, Martha Ellen Jones for 1910. And got nothing. Must have done something wrong. Usually there are hundreds if not thousands of Martha Ellen Joneses. I’m just trying to figure out, if I can, what happened to her after the 1880 census.
All along I’ve been running under the assumption that she died, and that I just didn’t know where she died and was buried, but that may not be true. She and great-grandfather may have ‘split the blanket’ and gone their separate ways. Anyhow, I’m not finding her this morning.
So, on to the PERSI index at Heritage Quest, where I check out the name Stocking in the Revolutionary War database. None of my ancestors are listed in this database. But some other Stocking’s are, including Lemuel and his wife Ruth. Lemuel fought in the Continental Army from Massachusetts, and then there was Moses and his wife Elizabeth. Moses was in the Navy. While these folks are not my ancestors, there is a nearly 100% chance they are relatives, as so far, I’ve not connected with anyone with the Stocking name who is not related to me.
I Found the Original Stocking Ancestry…
Next, I search for books with the Stocking name, and find “The family of George Stocking”, Boston:: D. Clapp & Son, printers, 1896, 8 pgs. How cool is that. This man is my first American ancestor. A few years after he arrived, he was with Thomas Hooker’s party and helped found Hartford, Connecticut. The information here is included, perhaps in its entirety, in the Stocking Ancestry updated and compiled by Hobart Stocking, but it was awesome to see an old copy of the original book.
I am Deacon Samuel’s descendant.
On the last page of this book, Page 8, that is on-line, it lists the Revolutionary War soldiers in the family, and there are more than were listed on the PERSI Revolutionary War database. Hmm, maybe the George listed is one of my ancestors.
So here is another clue for future research! And if this George is ‘my’ George, then I can join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) in two different lines.
While searching, I also found three other books located in Kansas that may be available by library inter-loan. Awesome! Thank you Amy and Thomas for the inspiration!
Wordless Wednesday – Great Grandpa Constantine Breneman & Dolly
by Sherry Stocking Kline
28 Apr 2010
A while back I posted photographs of my Great-Grandpa Constantine Breneman and his beautiful buggy horse. Being a horse crazy girl growing up, oh how I wanted to know that horse’s name.
It was evident that Great-grandpa was proud of her.
Yes, her! This past weekend we had a small family gathering on the Breneman side complete with stacks of photographs, family trees, and research books. We had a great time exchanging information and stories and then lo and behold my cousin had the above photograph with the caption, “Constantine Breneman and Dolly. Isn’t she a beauty?!
And as I write this, I think “Oh, dear, do you suppose Dolly is the dog underneath the horse??”
I hope not. And surely, if the dog was the focus of the photograph, Great-Grandpa Breneman would have been shown seated with it instead!
Related Links:
Constantine Breneman & His Buggy Horse “Dolly”
Constantine Breneman’s Horse “Dolly” Pulling a Buggy
Constantine Breneman & Family Members
Constantine Breneman’s Son, Albert Breneman’s tombstone & a photograph of Constantine’s Children
Tombstone Tuesday – Guy L. Wood
by Sherry Stocking Kline
27 April 2010
Here is a tombstone for a family member on my husband’s side, and I’ve been having a great deal of fun lately trying to put the puzzle pieces together, and honestly, trying very hard to just shove some of those pieces in place and make them fit! I knew they had to, I just didn’t know how.
On the Stone:
Guy L. Wood
Apr 16, 1891
Oct 11, 1947Located in the Milan Cemetery, just about 15 miles west of Wellington, Kansas (and a couple of miles west of Milan) on Highway 160.
But the pieces just wouldn’t fit, no matter how hard I tried. And then one day, someone said “a Wood married a Wood” and it all fell into place.
Now what are the odds that a Wood family would live a mile away from another Wood family, that they would NOT be related (for at least two generations back), they would originate from totally different Eastern states, and that they had several children with the same name?
Thanks to helpful family hints from a cousin, research I’ve done, and the records that I’ve found at the Sumner County History & Genealogy Center in Wellington, I’ve added some good branches to this tree, and firmed up some of the other connections. More to come!
Amanuensis Monday – Thomas J. McGinnis Obituary
by Sherry Stocking Kline
26 April 2010
Last week I wrote the exciting news that during a short conversation with my dad’s sister I learned that my great-grandfather had not died in Sumner County as I believed, but in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas. A quick call to the Emporia State Library, Emporia, Kansas on Saturday and and early Monday morning e-mail to the genealogy librarian and by mid-afternoon, the scanned image of my Great-Grandfather Thomas J. (I think it stands for Jefferson, but I haven’t seen that on official documents yet!) McGinnis’ obituary, and burial info was in my e-mail inbox!
Thank you, Ms. Sundberg!
Woo Hoo! Monday Happy Dances are always awesome! I learned a lot of great info, but the one thing I wanted to learn wasn’t in his obituary.
Who Were His Parents?
I did learn the exact address of where he lived when he passed, that his funeral was in his home rather than the church, even though the obituary mentioned him being a faithful worker in the Methodist Church, and I learned that his body was brought by Santa Fe Train No. 13 to Sumner County, where he was buried in the Osborn Cemetery, Mayfield, Sumner County, Kansas. (I did know where he was buried, and have photographs of his stone.) But the obituary did not mention Thomas’ parents. So far, no death records have been located, and Thomas passed away TWO months before Kansas’ State-wide death records were mandatory.
Here is Thomas J. McGinnis Obituary Transcript – Emporia Gazette May 12, 1911
T. J. McGinnis Dead
T. J. McGinnis died this morning at 5:45 at the family home, 1309 State Street. He had been sick with a complication of diseases since last July. He was born in Westville, Ohio, August 17, 1842, where he grew to manhood and taught in country schools for a few years before going to Illinois, where he continued to teach school.
He was married near Springfield, Ill to Miss Maggie E. Carson (my note: should be Corson), and lived there until 1886, when the family moved to Kansas, locating first in Barbour County. (this may actually be Bourbon County)
He taught in several of the high schools in the southern part of Kansas before coming to Morris County, from which place the family moved to Emporia four years ago. Mr. McGinnis’s failing health preventing from further work.
He was a man of exceptionally strong personality, and many lives have been made stronger by his uplighting influence in the class room. As a young man he served a short time in the Civil War before leaving his native state. He was a member of the Masonic lodge and of the A.O.U.W., and was for years as active and efficient worker in the Methodist Church.
Besides his wife he leaves five children. They are Charles E. McGinnis, an attorney to Pueblo, Colo.. Eugene McGinnis of Ford County, Kansas; Virgil McGinnis, of Pueblo, Colo; Mrs. Maud Stocking, of Mayfield, Kan.; and Miss Ethel, who lives at home.
No definite arrangements have been made for the funeral, but the body will be taken to Mayfield for interment. The funeral arrangements will be announced later.
Notes:
Maud Stocking was my grandmother, and she used to tell me wonderful stories about my father’s childhood. I wish someone had told me that by the time I was thirty, those memories would fade like a quilt beyond repair…
Miss Ethel a.k.a. Myrta Ethel, became Dr. Myrta Ethel McGinnis, and taught at Ft. Hays University in Western Kansas, and later at a small college in Pennsylvania.
I don’t recall meeting Gene, Charles, or Virgil.
Thomas J. McGinnis Funeral Information Transcription
13 May 1911 Emporia Gazette
The McGinnis Funeral Tomorrow
The funeral services of T. J. McGinnis will be held at the home, 1809 State Street, at 10 o’clock, sharp, tomorrow morning. The services will be conducted by Rev. H. W. Hargett, of the First Methodist Church.
Thomas J. McGinnis
15 May 1911 Emporia GazetteThe McGinnis Funeral
The funeral of T. J. McGinnis was held yesterday morning at 10 o’clock from the home on State Street. The services were conducted by Reverend Henry W. Hargett, of the First Methodist Church, of which church Mr. McGinnis was a most faithful member. The floral offerings were abundant and showed the wide circle of friends Mr. McGinnis had made during his few years of residence in Emporia. The pall-bearers were D. A. Dryer, H. A. Tibbals, J. W. Shawgo, Newberry, William Jay and T. O. Stephenson.
The body was taken on Santa Fe train No. 13 to Mayfield, Kansas, where the interment was made today.
18 May 1911 – Emporia Weekly Gazette
The funeral of T. J. McGinnis was held yesterday morning at 10 o’clock from the home on State Street. The services were conducted by Reverend Henry W. Hargett, of the First Methodist Church, of which church Mr. McGinnis was a most faithful member. The floral offereings were abundant and showed the wide circle of friends Mr. McGinnis had made during his few years of residence in Emporia. The pall-bearers were D. A. Dryer, H. A. Tibbals, J. W. Shawgo, Newberry, William Jay and T. O. Stephenson.
The body was taken on Santa Fe train No. 13 to Mayfield, Kansas, where the interment was made today.
Related Posts:
52 Weeks to a Better Genealogy – Letter to the Emporia State Library, Emporia, Kansas
Margaret (Corson) McGinnis (Thomas’ widow) on Her 100th Birthday!