Foster

Some Pics from the Garden

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On my primary blog, I sometimes update readers about The Meadow Project. I am allowing a part of my yard to go semi-natural, with wild grasses and flowers. It all started with (aside from too much lawn to mow), noticing how few bees and butterflies I was seeing. Even the dandelions in the grass that always had one honeybee per flower, were just sitting empty. Here are some early to mid-spring shots of the latest developments.

This Red-tailed Hawk’s nest in the oak tree is why the squirrels are agog.

The paths I’m making with surplus leaves.

The pear tree, especially pretty in flower this year.

My seedlings, that I started late March. We keep having cold spells, so only the perennials can go into the garden.




The Foster Family

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(Jared’s headstone has him born 1805.)

Grave marker for Jared Foster, Opdyke Cemetery, Jefferson Co. IL

Mr. Perrin, above, has a couple of conflations in his piece. John Foster, who may be called Sr., though it isn’t clear he used this himself, was great-great-great-grandfather to the Jonathan who was Jared’s father. In between were Samuel and two Williams. John, born 1618, was the original immigrant, and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, the state in which the Fosters lived for several generations.

Nostalgic Pics

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Old-time soft drink brands, and the bottles they came in.
My Barker grandparents’ kitchen in their Mt. Vernon, IL bungalow.
Another view. The door to the right went to the basement. The house had a sort of front and back parlor design; a little room behind a French door that you can see just on the left, was used for a bedroom/sewing room, but could have been used as a dining room. There were two “true” bedrooms, at either end of a little hall, and a front porch with a swing, the steps painted red.
A school project from the 1960s, East Elementary, Athens, OH.

My Great-Great Grandfather

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C. C. Gaither, Ted Foster (baby), Wilma Ramsey Foster [Walton, Shultz], and Mila Gaither Ramsey, probably 1937.

The text of C. C. Gaither’s (1858-1945) obituary.

Christopher Columbus Gaither, son of Silas and Miranda [Marinda] Gaither was born May 4, 1858, near Thompsonville, Illinois, and departed this life March 23 [1945], in the Moore hospital in Benton, Illinois, at the age of 86 years and 10 months and 19 days. He was united in marriage to Isabelle Adams Plasters, now deceased, in 1877 [1878]. To this union were born two children, Mrs. Dora McCollum, Akin, Illinois, Mrs. Effie Summers, Benton, Illinois.

In 1883, he was united in marriage to Mary J. Summers, also deceased. To this union were born 11 children, seven boys and four girls, namely, Millard, Portland, Oregon; Carter, Enumclaw, Washington; Ernest, Decatur, Illinois; Silas and Riley, Thompsonville, Illinois; Roy and Hobert, deceased; Mayme Burg, Sacramento, California; Fannie Brinker, Hot Springs, Arkansas; Mila Ramsey, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and Marie, deceased.

In 1934, he was united in marriage to Florence Aiken. He spent his entire life in Franklin County, being a farmer until his retirement, when he moved to Akin, where he has lived for a number of years.

He will be sadly missed by his many friends and neighbors. He leaves to mourn his passing eight children, 26 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, one brother, Matthew Ing of Michigan, one sister, Paralee Summers, of Thompsonville.

He would not want the ones he loved

To grieve for him today

We must not say that he is dead

For he is just away

Away upon a journey

To a land that’s bright and fair

And though we will miss him here

We know he’s happy there

And memories will bring

New comforts every day

As we recall he’s not dead

But just away

Card of Thanks

We sincerely wish to thank our many friends and neighbors for their assistance during the death of our dear father, Columbus Gaither. We especially wish to thank those that gave the floral offerings and the Drake Funeral Home and Rev. C. C. Mitchell for his words of comfort—The Gaither Children.

Note:

Columbus Gaither’s death certificate lists the cause of death as accident; he was struck by a car while walking down the road near his home. The driver was a Summers, and may have been one of his relatives.