Great-Grandaddy Mack, the Jitney Driver

     I recently found a new city directory listing for my Great-Grandfather, Vary "Mack" Huyler in 1928 Columbia, South Carolina.

     His job title, "jitney drvr," struck me as funny. What did it mean? A search turned up this image from Fulton County, Georgia sometime in the 1920s:

     So my grandfather, at age 25, was driving this taxi/trolly combo. Meanwhile, others are still driving around, literally using horse power!

     By next year's directory, he'd moved on.  He moved a lot and the next listing I have for him is his 1937 social security application, at which time he was working at a cotton oil company in Augusta, Georgia.

     From the 1928 directory, I also learn his address: 1419 Jefferson.  I was able to find the address on google maps. He was living in a shotgun house:

     Mack's travels make him hard to track down, but I am finding, him piece by piece.

A Complete 1940 Census?

     I woke up today to an email from Ancestry.com, telling me that they had finished indexing the 1940 Census. Yay! North and South Carolina are online and I can now complete my ancestor search.  I was still looking for:

• Nina Albea - Greenwood County, SC - born 1878, SC
• Vary "Mack" Huyler - Guildford County, NC (maybe) - born 1903, SC
• John and Ida Huyler/Hyler - Lexington or Richland Coounty, SC - born 1861 and 1863, SC

     But after hours of searching, I'm still in the same position I was in this morning: census-less. I've seen a lot of silly errors in Ancestry.com's 1940 Census records and I'm hoping that that's my problem. Hopefully when FamilySearch releases these states I'll be able to find my ancestors. 

He Was Married Four Times to Two Women

     I'm doing a little bit of last minute 1940 Census prep research.  I have never been able to find my maternal grandmother's parents, Vary "Mack" Huyler and Ruby Waters, in the 1930 census.  They would be married less than a year later in Atlanta, Georgia, but I just can't find them.

     Thanks to city directories, I know exactly where Ruby will be found in 1940: living in Atlanta with her second husband.  But what about Mack? I know he left Ruby shortly after their daughter was born to "find work." He didn't return for 14 years. So where was he in 1940?

     I know from his social security application that he was in Augusta, Georgia in 1937. That's where I planned to look. But today I decided to do one last run through city directories to see if I could find a listing for him in a 1940 book. I didn't find him in 1940, but I did find him in 1939 - in Greensboro, North Carolina. With a wife. Surprise!

     Well, something of a surprise.  I know who Ruth was. She was Ruth Sexton, Mack's second wife... or third... or would that be fourth? I guess it depends on how you count. Based on the information I have, it now looks like she's both Mack's 2nd and 4th wife, with my Great-Grandmother Ruby Waters being his 1st and 3rd.  Mack was married four times, to two women.  Here's the timeline I can piece together:

• Feb 1931 - Mack Huyler m. Ruby Waters, Atlanta (marriage certificate)
• abt 1937 - Ruby Waters m. Cecil Whitfield (city directory)
• by 1939 - Mack Huyler m. Ruth Sexton (city directory)
• Dec 1947 - Mack Huyler m. Ruby Waters (bible record)
• abt 1960 - Mack Huyler m. Ruth Sexton (obituary)

     I have evidence of a lot of marriages, but I don't have any official records. Even the first marriage between Ruby and Mack, I have a certificate but I haven't found an actual license (I assume the online database is incomplete and that microfilm in not available at the archive).  And what about divorces? Hopefully the couples were legally divorced...

     And hopefully Mack can still be found at 710 Railroad St for the 1940 census.  If so, he'll be in ED 41-58 in either block 313 or 314. Fingers crossed!

Grandaddy Mack in Pictures

     The other week a new cousin found me online at wikitree and has been sending information to me about the Hyler / Huyler family. She sent me photos of the family Bible and confirmed that her side of the family remembered my Great-Grandfather, Vary "Mack" Huyler. A few days ago she emailed me a photo of Mack's mom, Ida. Today she snail-mailed me photos of Mack himself.

     These photos are very exciting! Mack didn't tell his daughter (my grandmother) about his family and we only know what we've found from research. Before, the only photos of him is from the late 1950s or later. Now I have two photos of him as a young man!

     I'm going to post one of the photos here to see if anyone can help me with it. Mack appears to be wearing some sort of ill-fitting military uniform. I'm estimating the photo is from the early/mid 1920s, so it's post WWI and pre CCC and WWII. Does anyone have any idea what this uniform is about? Perhaps a peace-time army uniform? National Guard? (BTW, he was from South Carolina)

A Sign of the Times

     Inside my Great-Grandfather's funeral condolence book is a cemetery plot deed for his first wife, Ruby Waters Huyler (he ended up buried next to his second wife two states over). She was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia in 1953. At this time and in this place Jim Crow was king. This document highlights the way that segregation was a big part of life in the south.

     Looking over the deed, you can see that there are eight rules regarding burial in this cemetery. Rules one and two: White Only. I'm really curious about when these rules were changed. 1964? After?

     Here's the deed:

Wait... You're Not Supposed to be Buried There

     According to my Great-Great-Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Meetze Hyler's,  obituary, she was buried in the Mt Pleasant Lutheran Church cemetery and was a life long Lutheran. So then, why is she actually buried in the Beulah Baptist Cemetery. And why can't I find the Mount Pleasant Church?

     The answer: hydroelectric power.

     Thanks to a fellow researcher, I now know that the land that was the Mt Pleasant cemetery is now under Lake Murray (SC).  Reviewing the wikipedia page for this lake, I see that "93 graveyards containing 2,323 graves" were moved when the area was dammed up in the late 1920s. It seems that some of my ancestors were among those moved.

     This is actually somewhat common in this area. I know that in Georgia there are no natural lakes. All lakes are man made and usually require the destruction of a populated area. The cemeteries in these areas must be moved. So, here's a tip: if you're trying to find a cemetery and can't, but there's a lake nearby, you might want to start looking for your ancestors in a different location. And there will be records of the removals, so check with the local government for the records.

Wordless Wednesday

Elizabeth Meetze Hyler Obituary - Amanuensis Monday

   The following is the obituary of Elizabeth Meetze Hyler, the wife of Nathan Washington Hyler of Lexington County, South Carolina.  It was published in The State newspaper on 7 June 1910.

Mrs. Elizabeth Hyler Special to The State.     Lexington, June 6 - Mrs. Elizabeth Hyler, widow of Wash Hyler, and one of the oldest residents of this county, died at her home on Hollow Creek this morning at 3 o'clock, having reached the ripe old age of 84 years.     Mrs. Hyler was one of the most loved women of her community and her death has caused much sorrow, she having been widely known throughout her section.      The deceased is survived by three sons, Rufus, John and Henry Hyler, all well known men of the county. She was a member of the Lutheran church and was active in religious af- fairs.      She will be buried tomorrow morn- ing at 10 o'clock in Mt. Pleasant churchyard, with funeral services by her pastor, the Rev. O. C. Peter- son.

     It's interesting to note that she, and many of her family, are actually buried in the Beulah United Methodist Church Cemetery in Gilbert. According to their website, they have been in place since 1896. I've also been unable to verify if the Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church in Saluda even has a cemetery. So I'm not entirely sure what happened between the obituary and the burial or after, that provided the incorrect information. 

Family History is a Coloring Book

     As I wrote yesterday, I had recently been sent scans from a family history book that detailed the Swiss-German origins of the Huyler / Heiler family. At the beginning of the section is a note that anyone wanting more information should contact the Whitaker Family Association. I've been busy working non-stop since Wednesday and hadn't had a chance to look for this group. However, my mom had free time yesterday to start searching.

     She found the website of Wilford Whitaker, the great-grandson of Priscilla Heiler, the daughter of Hans Conrad Heyler, who was the brother of Bernhard Heyler, Sr., my eight-times great-grandfather. My mom had done a search on GoodSearch.com for the name of the book, Broad Bay Pioneers, the author and the name Hyler. This returned the following result:





     Mom was very excited to see this book, which is written from the perspective of Priscilla Hyler Robinson and tells the story of her family's journey from Switzerland to Germany and then to Maine (then Massachusetts) in America. Priscilla's grandson, John Robinson, converted to the Mormon church and moved west with them. It is thanks to this family, their memories and research, that I'm now finding all of this information on my ancestors.

     I have sent an email to the address on the website, and hope to hear back soon from these very distant cousins.

Surname Saturday - Huyler, Revisited

     I've wrote about the Huyler family on a previous Saturday. I wrote that the family was said to be German and different spellings include Hyler, Heyler, Heiler, Hoyler, Hoiler, Hiler, etc. Recently, I decided to focus my research on this family and broaden my research net.

     I started by taking my mom's suggestion and contacting the authors of other online family trees that cover this family. Of the six researchers I contacted, I've heard back from three. Two said they couldn't help me, but another's response prove very useful. He stated that he had been researching the family for a number of years and has/had documents from visiting archives. He didn't appear to be able to send me these documents, but he did scan some pages from a book he owned and sent them to me. They consisted of a compiled family history of the Hoyler, Hoiler family of Wossingen, Baden, Germany, originally of Neftenback, Zurich, Switzerland. The book is Broad Bay Pioneers by Wilford W Whitaker.

     As with many of these compiled genealogies, there are very few sources given. I really never know how accurate these genealogies are, but at the very minimum, this book will act as a guide for my future research. At the very best, I now have a complete genealogy of this family line back to the mid 1600s. Here's the information from the book, as well as my personal research:

1. Ulrich Heiler
b. Switzerland
& Magdalena Grüter

2. Bernhard Heyler Sr
b. Switzerland
d. 1707, Wossingen, Baden, Germany
& Barbara Honyssen
d. 19 Aug 1707, Wossingen, Baden, Germany
m. 27 Jul 1680, Andelfingen, Zurich, Switzerland

3. Berndard Heyler Jr
b. 1688, Switzerland
d. aft 1753, Dutch Fork, Lexington SC
& Anna Barbara Vogel
m. 28 Apr 1716, Wossingen, Baden, Germany

4. Johann Michael Heyler
b. 4 May 1723, Wossingen, Baden, Germany
d. 30 Nov 1772, , Lexington, SC
& Hannah Catherine Morlokin
b. abt 1725, Baden, Germany
d. aft 1773, South Carolina
m. abt 1751

5. Bernard Barnet Hoyler
b. abt 1761, Irmo, Lexington, SC
d. 25 Aug 1825, Irmo, Lexington, SC

6. Gabriel Hoyler
b. abt 1794, Irmo, Lexington, SC
d. aft 1860
& Abigail Gartman
b. abt 1805, South Carolina
d. bef 1860
m. 27 Jan 1825, , Lexington, SC

7. Nathan Washington Hyler
b. 9 Aug 1835, , Lexington, SC
d. 30 Nov 1903, , Lexington, SC
& Elizabeth Rachel Meetze
b. 4 Jan 1826, South Carolina
d. 6 Jun 1910, , Lexington, SC
m. abt 1855

8. John Willis Hyler
b. 23 Jun 1861, , Lexington, SC
d. 11 Apr 1949, , Richland, SC
& Ida Leaphart
b. 30 May 1863, , Lexington, SC
d. 26 Jul 1952, Eau Claire, Richland, SC
m. abt 1883

9. Vary Americus Mack Huyler
b. 2 Apr 1903, Columbia, Richland, SC
d. 23 Nov 1976, High Point, Guilford, NC
& Ruby Lee Waters
b. 20 Dec 1911, Shawmut, AL
d. 26 Sep 1953, Georgia
m. 2 Jan 1931, 394 Cameron St SE, Atlanta, GA

10. Betty Dolores Huyler
b. 7 Nov 1931, Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Fulton, GA
d. 1 Oct 2005, Decatur, DeKalb, GA
& Roy Vernon Albea Sr.
b. 20 Aug 1926, Greenwood, Greenwood, SC
d. 13 Sep 2005, Eastside Heritage Center, Snellville, Gwinnett, GA
m. 1 Feb 1947, Greenville, Greenville, SC

Finding A Focus

     When I look at my family tree, I find that many of my families don't go back further than ancestors born around the late 1700s and early 1800s. Only three of my family lines cross the ocean and go overseas in the late 1600s and early/mid 1700s. Why? Because I've concentrated on the "easy" ancestors - the ones who appeared on the 1850 census or left behind common vital records. I've only spent a little bit of time in libraries, I've never researched in an archive and I've never requested film from a Family History Center. But, I think it's time for a change.

     I learned a lot from the recent Atlanta Family History Expo, and was really inspired to push myself and make some new discoveries. I have come to the conclusion that in order to do this, I should concentrate on one family line and stick with it for the majority of my research time.  This way, if I don't find a record right away, I'll look for something else for this family line, instead of jumping around all over my tree for something "easy."

Me and my Grandmama, Easter 2005

     So I asked my mom, what family should we concentrate on? Her response was immediate: the Huyler family. Her reasoning was that this was the first family that we had ever "broken down."

     My grandmama, Betty Huyler Albea, never knew her paternal grandparents. She didn't even know their names and always wished that she did. One of the first records that I ever requested was her father's social security application. This document provided the names of his father: John Willis Hyler and Ida Leaphart. My Grandmama didn't believe in crying, but she was very emotional upon seeing this document and finally learning her grandparent's names. It's one of those moments that you think back on and that make my research worthwhile.

     I'm going to start researching they Huyler family by creating profiles for each individual: what I know and what I don't. For example, every other generation seems to change the spelling of the name. Is it Huyler, Hyler, Hiler, Hoyler, Heyler, etc? What documents am I missing? Which resources have I failed to utilize? I want to challenge myself and accomplish something new. I'm confident that I can do so.

Monday Memories - From "Cousin" Sandra

My maternal Grandmother's cousin, Sandra, sent me a few memories that she remembered about my Grandmama, Betty Huyler Albea:

"As I told you, we were a close family and usually lived near each other. When we lived in College Park , Betty, Roy and the children lived just a few blocks from us. I was about the only one they would let baby sit. Betty couldn't drive, so we would load up the kids in the station wagon, go to a back road with no traffic and let Betty practice driving. Once in July I drove us to the drive-in theatre. It was a stick shift and I was so nervous trying to keep it from rolling back on the car behind me. We had to wait in line a while and we were all burning up it was so hot, then we discovered one of the boys had turned the heater on full blast !"

"I also have a sad memory of Betty. I was young when Aunt Ruby died, but I will never forget the day of her funeral when Betty came in and saw her mother. She fainted and Roy picked her up like a baby and carried her out."

Tracking Mack

My maternal grandmother's father, Vary "Mack" Hyler / Huyler disappeared during the Great Depression to look for work. He left when his daughter was an infant and didn't show up again until she was 14. I'm trying to track down his location during the approximate time period of 1931-1945.

Based on stories that he told his grandchildren, he was a true hobo. Mack said that he traveled "all over" in train cars and smoked "wacky weed." These statements aren't exactly detailed. So, what do I know as fact?

• He was named Vary Americus Hyler, but was known in his later years as Mack Huyler (family stories and documents)
• He stated that he was born on 2 April 1903 in Columbia, Richland, SC (ssa)

• He appears in Lexington County Census records in 1910 and 1920 and cannot be found in the 1930 census.
• He married Ruby L Waters on 2 Jan 1931 in Atlanta GA (marriage cert)
• He and Ruby divorced during his time away (she remarried)
• On 25 Feb 1937 he filed a social security application in Augusta, Richmond, GA
• He returned to Ruby (now divorced from her second husband) when his daughter, Betty, was 14 (statement from Betty)
• He was living with Ruby again in 1948 in Atlanta, GA (directory)
• He married Ruth Sexton after Ruby died (family info and obit)

What about rumors? Aside from the few mentions of riding trains, not much is known. It has been speculated by the family that Mack knew Ruth Sexton from his traveling days and may have been in a relationship with her at that time.

• Ruth was born in Alleghany County, SC in 1913 (obit)
• She spent part of her childhood in Virginia (1920 census).

So, I'm looking for Mack GA & SC and possibly NC & VA. Considering the extensive rail system, my search could expand much further. So, I'll start by examining his Social Security Application further.


Mack's 1937 ssa tells me a few things:

• He was officially calling himself Mack, not Vary, and spelling his surname with a 'u'
• His address was 446 Watkins Street, Augusta, GA
• He was employed with Huckeye Cotton Oil Co

There are a few things I did immediately: mapped the address and checked city directories. Unfortunately, it's hard to say for sure what building on Watkins Street is 446.

The city directories are available online for 1937 and listed 446 as "vacant." So, it seems that Mack was new to this address in '37. The 1938 directory lists Benj F Steerman and Stoney Taylor as living at this address. Did Mack only live here a short time, or was he the roommate or friend of these men? Or was this just an address he listed to have something to put on the form? Regardless, Augusta, Richmond, GA is a city that might offer more clues about Mack. And maybe these other two men might provide information on Mack.

So, where else can I look? I can widen my search of city directories. I can continue to look in the 1930 census, though I don't hold out luck finding him there. I can look for military service. He should have registered for the draft in the early 1940s. I can try and track him through his siblings (three brothers, seven sisters). Any other ideas?

Surname Saturday - Huyler

My maternal Grandmother's maiden name was Betty Huyler. Her father was born Vary Americus Hyler, but changed his name to Mack Huyler. My grandmother did not know her father as a child and never knew about, nor met, any of his family. It was one of those great moments in my genealogy research to be able to provide her with the names of her grandparents: John Willis Hyler and Ida Leaphart.

My Huyler / Hyler ancestors are mainly from Lexington County, South Carolina. Other spellings of this name include Hiler, Heyler and Hoyler. I can trace this line back to Gabriel Hoyler / Hyler, born abt 1794 in South Carolina. He lived in Lexington County with his wife, Abigail Gartman. According to census records, their children were Almenia, Reuhama, Nathan Washington, William, and Frances E. I descend through Nathan Washington Hyler, who served as a confederate soldier during the Civil War.

Other researchers have Gabriel's father as Barnet Bernard Hoyler / Hyler, whose parents are said to be Johann Michael Heyler and Hannah Catherine Morlokin. They are said to have been born in Baden, Germany. I have not seen documentation to prove these two generations.

If anyone else is researching this family line, I'd love to hear from you.

SNGF - Look-a-likes

For this week's fun, Randy has given us a mission to use myheritage.com's facial recognition tools to see what famous folks we look like. I decided to use what is possibly my most very favorite of all my family photos, one of my Grandmama, Betty Huyler Albea.

I'm not sure why I love this photo so much. I never though of my grandmama as she appears in this photo. Here she is absolutely gorgeous in a very classic way. As a child, I never thought of her in terms of "pretty" - she was just grandmama. But now I can see her when she was young and see that she was beautiful.

She's also rather young in this photo, but is dressed up with makeup and stylish hair. I assume that this photo was taken after she was married (age 15). I know she once got in trouble with her grandmother Lou for wearing nail polish, so I don't think the lipstick would have gone over well either.

Also, I'm drawn in by the expression on her face. It's an expression that seems older than she is. She didn't have it easy as a child and was always a very practical, tell it like it is, don't ignore it because it's not happy, sort of person.

Also, she didn't like having her photo taken, so this is the only real portrait (non-snapshot) of her as an adult.

But I digress, the mission was to find famous folks who look like our photo. So, here she is (I think these are pretty good picks).

The Evolution of Betty

I have more photos of my maternal Grandmama, Betty Huyler Albea, than of anyone else in my family tree. Thanks to her mother's photo albums, I can see my Grandmama as she grew. This is especially unique because she was very averse to having her picture taken, especially as she grew older.

Here's a photographic timeline of my Grandmama:

(1931)

(c. 1932)

(c. 1932)

(1938/39)

(1939)

(c. 1942)

(c. 1945)

(c. 1947)

(1964)

(1970)

(1992)

(2003)

Monday Memories - Betty (and not) working

Where Are You?

I cannot find Ruby Water (b. 1911) and Vary "Mack" Huyler (b. 1903) in the 1930 census and it's very frustrating!

Mack's parents are still at home in Lexington Co., SC and Ruby's are in place in Atlanta. But where are their children? In only a few months, Mack and Ruby will be married in Atlanta. But where are they in April of 1930?

There is a Ruby Waters (b. est 1912) listed as an inmate at in the Georgia State Penitentiary. I wonder....

Superstitions

Me:

Did you have any family superstitions?

Mom:

Yes and No. Like, we had the bread and butter thing. And um, bread & butter is where you're walking with someone and something comes between you you say bread and butter. Like you walk between a pole or something. I asked my mom [Betty Huyler Albea] one time she did that and she said that you've let something come between you symbolically and you could have an argument by the end of the day. but by saying that you've sorta smoothed it over.

The other one that I knew we weren't supposed to do - and it was a superstition - was we weren't supposed to open an umbrella in the house. Grandmama didn't really believe that, but it was a superstition. She also said you don't put a hat on the bed or break a mirror. She didn't really believe that you would have seven years bad luck, but she didn't want to break a mirror.

I never remember your Grandaddy [Roy Albea] saying anything about superstitions. I think Grandmama - his mom - was superstitious, but I don't think he was.

I'm not a died-in-the-wool supersitius person, but I do believe in avoiding certain things. It's like, don't press your luck. Your Grandmama would say, "The best insurance is to have insurance."

.

Names, Places & Most Wanted Faces

The surname genealogy meme, started at GeneaBlogie

Surnames & Locals:

Albea - Georgia (Lincoln), South Carolina (Greenwood, Greenville)

Barfield - Georgia (Emanuel, Burke)

Boatright - Georgia (Emanuel, Burke)

Craft - Georgia (Elbert, Hart), South Carolina (Anderson)

Dorn - South Carolina (Edgefield, Greenwood)

Farr - Pennsylvania (Tioga), England

Hyler / Huyler / Hoyler - South Carolina (Lexington)

Leaphart - South Carolina (Lexington)

Powell - Georgia (Elbert, Hart)

Quattlebaum - South Carolina (Edgefield, Greenwood)

Waters - Georgia (Cobb, Milton, Fulton, Rockdale)

Smith - Georgia (Milton, Fulton, Rockdale)

Most Wanted Ancestor:

Parents of Leveret Wat(t)ers (b. 1881, Cobb County, GA)