Happy birthdays

Today is my oldest granddaughter's birthday.  Cayenne is in college now, and I'm so thrilled for her. I was glad she weathered Irma the hurricane at home in Tampa with her family, rather than staying at college (where she's only been a month) in Jacksonville, FL.

Proud dad, Marty. (Just grabbed this from his Facebook post, (somehow I didn't have it before 11:30 am today)

Cinnamon a proud mom with her new grad, Cayenne.

End of August was not only my paternal grandfather, George Rogers' birthday on the 28th, (more about him HERE) but also my son, Russ' wife Michelle's mom, Joanne. Wish there was a term for co-mother-in-laws.

"Poppy" 1877-1960, George Elmore Rogers Sr. a Texan all his life.

A lovely family photo from way back - Michelle on left and her mom Joanne on right (birthday Aug 28)

I just found out my neighbor across the way has his birthday Aug. 27, while mine was the 23rd.

Another person in my church community has the same birthday I do (1 year older) and she's also a clay artist!

Remember I like to make funny faces at my age!

Beginning of September, my maternal grandmother (above) Mozelle Miller Munhall (1897-1960) just had her birthday on the 8th.

My paternal great-great grandfather had his on Sept. 10, (Alexander G. Swasey, 1784-1861) born in Swansea, MA, died in Newport, RI. He was a mariner and ship builder and wood carver.

Did I forget my youngest son, Tai, who had his birthday on the 4th of Sept?

Tai as a teen (who just turned 38!)

Or my middle son, Russ, who had his birthday a week before mine, on Aug. 16? His wife is Michelle, pictured above with her mom and dad and sis.

Russ who just hit his half century mark!  Congrats to you!

So many children...growing up, getting older, and living such interesting lives!

Next birthday in my family is Michael, my oldest grandson! But not till October...

Michael on left, Cayenne middle, and other brother, William on right!

And in case you read my recent Rant about Birthdays blog, here are the mothers of the birthday folks, the ones I know anyway.  Congratulations to birthing such wonderful people!

Cinnamon Arkwright Heym, mother of Cayenne and William.
Betty Bass Rogers, mother of George Rogers, Sr.
Rose Kinsella Fiore, mother of Joanne
Mataley Munhall Rogers, mother of myself
Eugenia Booth Miller, mother of Mozelle Munhall
Sarah Helon Swasey, mother of Alexander G. Swasey, Sr.
Myself, Barbara Booth Rogers, mother of Marty, Russ and Tai.
Deborah Lewis Thurston Fernandez, mother of Michael

Work & Play, grandmother and g.g grandfather!

My grandmother's birthday was today, so this week I'll tell you a bit about her life for Sepia Saturday's meme of Work and Play.

She definitely did both of those...a seamstress and a woman who knew how to relax. Of course a bit of booze and cigarettes helped, both of which my mother would always roll her eyes about.

Here's my post about her from 2013, pretty much says it all.

Four Miller sisters at Christmas 1951, my grandmother is in the chair

But again in 2014, I posted a bit more narrative about her life, and how I remembered her.

 Mozelle Booth Miller Webb Munhall visiting Mary Beth and Barbara in Houston, between 1948-49.

Mozelle in 1935.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
 I must also mention my grandmother Rogers' grandfather, who's birthday is tomorrow. Alexander G. Swasey, Sr. was born Sept 10, 1784.  His son was named after him, and none of the records used Sr. and Jr. to differentiate between them.  But it can eventually be figured out by the ages they were born and died, married and had children.  Here is another site of a blog I posted about him in 2014.

But what was the work of Alexander Swasey Sr?  He was a woodcarver, and apparently also captained some ships.  Various sources say he went to China commanding the ships, but they could also be referring to his son of the same name.

Newport (RI) article about an eagle carved by Captain Alexander Swasey, 1964 now in the Historic Museum

I wish I had a photo of that eagle carving.  I dare say the Historic Society of Newport, RI has kept it in good shape.

I also was interested in some historic photos and documents about Newport, RI, and blogged about them here and HERE.

I'm glad the descendant of Captain Swasey (my father George Rogers,) married the daughter of Mozelle Miller Munhall, (Mataley Munhall!)  That's so I could be here spending time researching about their lives.

Remembering my ancestors

Happy Birthday!
  to Alexander G Swasey Sr. 

My great-great-great grandfather 

Birth 10 Sept 1784 in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA 

Death 28 Oct 1861 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Last year I posted in his honor HERE.  And earlier I posted about him HERE.

These were my comments and some of my research about him and his family.


This year I will just add a newspaper article that was about him and his work as a wood carver.

Unfortunately the person who added this to Ancestry didn't give any data as to when or where it was published.  I'm pretty sure it was published in Newport RI.

My sleuthing feelings say it came out in the early 20th century because of the referral to "during the middle decades of the last century" referring to the wood carving having been on display at the Market on Pelham St (in Newport, RI).

A World's Fair in New York is where his carved eagle was being displayed.  That should give me a date.  Well, there were a lot of expositions of different interests in New York many times in the early twentieth century.  But we might go for the first big one, called a World's Fair, which is just an assumption.

That was the 1939-40 World's Fair, which had a lot to do with a forward thinking outlook, moving away from the depression years, and with the 60 foreign exhibits, showing the world that the US was doing pretty darn well.  It also was interrupted by the beginnings of the European conflict and two countries didn't even open their exhibits in 1940, Poland and Czechoslovakia.

I wonder if the Rhode Island unit of the New England pavalion was during that World's Fair...

The article also seems to have some sarcastic remarks about how the Swasey eagle replaced another "more modern" exhibit.  I wonder if that had anything to do with the beginnings of World War II...a patriotic symbol instead of some terns.


I'm joining Sepia Saturday with the connection (frail though it may be) that this post is also about something published in a newspaper.  Check out other posts over at Sepia Saturday HERE.