Last week I shared with my readers the Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma which was awarded to my Great-Grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster in 1896.
Today I have another treasure to share with you. It's Frederick Emory Webster's business card. This little gem was included in a bag of photos my mom brought over to me. I wish I knew just how old this business card is. I know it's at least 67 years old because Frederick died on July 21, 1946 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
It looks like Frederick, or "Frederico" in Portuguese, had a business partner, a Mr. Benjamin Tomas.
Frederick and Benjamin's business was in Santos, Brazil. This business card is written in Portuguese, and I neither read nor speak Portuguese. But my mom does, so I asked her to translate this for me.
Certificados, de Reservista, e Licencas em geral.
Das 14: as 17: hrs.
Certificate of Reservist and Licensing in general.
Well, this is a rather surprising translation. Why? Because I thought this business card was for Frederick's dental practice. But, according to this business card, it seems that Frederick was involved in another type of business venture as well. And I'm not really sure what kind of business it was. Calling cards, naturalization, licensing, etc.? It's a mystery to me. But, whatever kind of business it was, it appears that Frederick had a side business in addition to his dental practice.
I shouldn't be surprised that Frederick was involved in more than just dentistry. After all, he did have an Optical Boat and a Photo Boat docked next to his Dental Boat. And speaking of his Dental Boat, have you seen the photos of the shark hanging in front of the Dental Boat yet? Whoever caught that shark must have had a great fish story to tell!
Oh, Great-Grandpa Frederick! You were such an interesting and colorful character.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Asbury Bateman Webster, who died of inflammation of the lungs at nine years of age.
Today we remember Asbury's youngest brother, Fred Lincoln Webster.
Fred was born on October 28, 1863 in Pecatonica, Winnebago, Illinois. He was the youngest of eight children born to Moses Augustine Webster and Amanda Melvina Carlisle. His oldest sibling, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster (my 2nd Great-Grandfather) was 25 years older than him and had already served in the Civil War by the time Fred was born.
Another older brother, Watson Emery Webster (not to be confused with my Great-Grandfather, Watson Emory [Frederick] Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist") had also served in the Civil War before Fred was born. Both Ebenezer and Watson were discharged from the service in Feb and Jan 1863 respectively due to disability.
I've only found Fred in one federal census. Here's Fred living with his parents, Moses and Amanda in the 1870 Blairstown, Benton, Iowa U.S. Census.1 His brother Watson and his family are living in the household as well. Sadly, one year after this census was taken, Fred's mother, Amanda died. She was only 51 years old at the time of her death.
As you can see, Fred was six years old at the time of this census. A short seven years after this census was taken, Fred passed away.
"Fred Lincoln Webster, b. Oct. 28, 1863, was killed by accident, Aug. 21, 1877."
Fred was just two months shy of his fourteenth birthday when he died. I don't know anything about the accident that caused his death. I've tried to find newspaper accounts regarding Fred's death, but haven't been able to find anything yet.
I'm not even sure where Fred died. He could have died in Iowa or even Kansas. Why Kansas? Because in the 1880 U.S. Census, Fred's father, Moses, was living in Marshall County, Kansas with his son Ebenezer. It is possible that sometime following the death of Fred's mother, Amanda, in 1871, Moses and little Fred moved from Iowa to Ebenezer's home in Kansas.
As I related in my post about Fred's brother, Asbury, four of the eight children born to Moses and Amanda Webster died at young ages. I'd like to remember the other two children in future posts.
Treasure Chest Thursday–The Big Reveal ~ What's In The Old Metal Tube?
Remember the mysterious old metal tube I told you about in my previous post Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Grandpa Debs' Black Briefcase? Well, it's time for "The Big Reveal."
When I took the lid off of this unique metal tube, I pulled out something wrapped in a brown waxy paper. Unrolling the wax paper I discovered several amazing documents.
One of these documents was my Great-Grandpa Frederick Webster's Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma from the Western Dental College in Kansas City, Missouri, dated April 2, 1896! Unbelievable! Here I was holding a document that was 116+ years old! How cool is that?! I just had to share this amazing find with you.
I'd say this document is in remarkably good condition considering how old it is. The diploma measures approximately 19" x 14" so it was too large for my flatbed scanner. I used my Flip-Pal to scan the diploma and it worked great!
My regular readers may know that I sometimes like to crop and enlarge portions of the images I share in my posts. I chose to do this in this post as well.
Let's start with the college name on the diploma – Western Dental College of Kansas City, Missouri.
"The lineage of the UMKC School of Dentistry reaches back to the 1881 founding of the Kansas City Dental College, then a department of the Kansas City Medical College. Eventually, the Dental College merged with the Western Dental College to form the Kansas City-Western Dental College. In 1941, the Dental College affiliated with the privately supported University of Kansas City and became that institution’s School of Dentistry. Twenty years later, the University of Kansas City joined the four-campus state University of Missouri system, and became the University of Missouri-Kansas City. As part of the merger, the dental school became the UMKC School of Dentistry."
Congratulations on your wonderful achievement Great-Grandpa Frederick!
"By virtue of the authority vested in this College by the State of Missouri and upon the completion of the prescribed Course of Study and the fulfilment [sic] of all requirements of this College it has this day conferred upon Fred E. Webster the Degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, who shall be accorded all the honors privileges and legal rights pertaining to the Degree."
It was actually nice (and kind of a relief) to know that my Great-Grandpa Frederick really did become a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), and that he wasn't just traveling around on his dental boat "practicing" the art of dentistry. Yes, I did say "dental boat." Below is a photo of the "F.E. Webster Dental Boat."
I love that Fred had a Photo Boat too. It's the boat next to the Dental Boat in the photo above. And, believe it or not, Fred also had an Optical Boat with a sign out front that said "Eyes Tested Free." You can see a photo of that boat here.
And here are the official signatories on Fred's Doctoral Diploma.
"In Witness Whereof is affixed the seal of the College and the signatures of the Directors and Professors. Done at Kansas City Missouri U.S.A. Second day of April, 1896."
So that's it! The Big Reveal! This remarkable 116+ year old document is truly an amazing family heirloom. Thank you Great-Grandpa Frederick and Grandpa Debs for keeping this special document for your descendants to discover and enjoy.
The new Going In-Depth free digital genealogy magazine by The In-Depth Genealogist has arrived! Make sure you check out this amazing new publication.
Last year, I shared a post about my Grandpa Debs Webster's brown briefcase which contains lots of genealogical treasures, including photos and letters. Well, guess what?! It turns out that Grandpa Debs had another briefcase too. Here it is in the photo below. This black briefcase contains some additional genealogical treasures.
Inside this briefcase I found many fascinating documents such as school records, tax records, and many other interesting items. One of the fascinating items I found was this metal tube. I don't know what kind of metal it's made of. It's somewhat heavy and measures almost 16-1/2" long and almost 2" in diameter. It's a bit dented in a few spots. My mom said it's from Brazil, but I don't know how old it is. I don't know if it belonged to my Grandpa Debs or to his father, Frederick Emory Webster, a.k.a. "The Traveling Dentist."
I wanted to share a photo showing the bottom of this metal tube. Just what is that on the bottom of the tube? Could it be welding material?
You must just imagine my delight as I pulled the top off of this tube and excitedly examined what I found inside. I couldn't believe what I was holding in my hands. What did I find? Well, I'm not going to tell you just yet. I'm excited to share the contents of this old metal tube with you in future posts.
Have you checked with your relatives to see if they have any boxes, briefcases, or anything else in their attics, basements, closets, etc.? You just never know what kind of genealogical gold an unassuming box or briefcase may contain.
This is part of a series of posts in which I share the documents relating to the travels of Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster and his family.
In my last "Thanks for Traveling Frederick!" post, I shared a U.S. Consular Registration Application from 1917. I also mentioned how beneficial it is to have an ancestor who liked to travel. The paper trail left behind can be invaluable.
The travel-related document I'm sharing with you today is another U.S. Consular Registration Application,1 only this one is from 1923. Just like the 1917 application, this document is full of interesting and valuable genealogical information.
As you can see, this document is full of amazing genealogical gold nuggets. So, remember to check travel-related documents for your ancestors. You never know what you may find.
My Blog Has a New Home! by Are My Roots Showing?
About seven to nine months after my Grandpa Debs and his family arrived in Glendora, California, they bought a new house. It turned out that their Sponsor, Mr. West, was a home developer. Debs and his wife Willis bought a home in one of Mr. West's housing tracts in Pomona, California.
Debs and his family moved into their new house in early 1953. The house was brand new. Grandpa kept this photo postcard of their new house.
I really don't know the particulars regarding this photo postcard that was sent to my grandparents. And I don't know who Ernie Kearns and Bill Tillman were. An interesting thing about this photo is that it looks like it was taken after my grandparents moved in. Upon closer examination of this photo I noticed two little boys sitting on the front lawn. They're my two uncles.
This house wasn't very large. It was a 1,008 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 1 bath home. I found the home listed on Trulia.com.
Within the walls of this modest 1,008 sq. ft. home lived six people - Grandpa and Grandma Webster, Helena Quillin (Grandma Willis' mother), my mom, who was fourteen at the time, and my two uncles. Remember, there were only 2 bedrooms. I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma Webster got the master bedroom. So, who got the second bedroom? My mom thinks she may have shared it with her Grandma Helena. I guess my two uncles must have slept in the living room.
My Grandpa Debs was a very generous and kind man. He helped his relatives a great deal. A year or two after my Grandpa and his family immigrated to the United States, other family members emigrated from Brazil as well. These were my Grandma Willis' relatives. Where did they stay? At this very house. My mom remembers that at one time there were eleven people living in this modest little home. I really can't imagine eleven people living in this 2 bedroom, 1 bath home! I'm not sure how long they stayed at my grandparents' home. Probably long enough to get themselves established in the United States.
My Great-grandfather, Frederick Emory Webster, traveled a great deal during his life. He didn't stay in one place long enough to be listed in all of the U.S. Censuses. In fact, I've only found him listed in three census records.
But, there can be benefits to having an ancestor who liked to travel. Especially if they traveled in and out of the country, like Frederick did.
One of the benefits of ancestors who traveled is the possibility that they left a paper trail behind them. I recently discovered this document on Ancestry.com. It's a United States Consular Registration Application.1 This application is for my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandpa, Frederick Emory Webster. Because Frederick traveled so much in his life, I've been able to find other documents related to his many travels such as a passport application and passenger lists. I plan on sharing these other documents in future posts.
After thoroughly looking at the details and information in this document, I was able to glean the following interesting and important genealogical information.
So, if you have an ancestor who traveled a lot (or even a little), make sure you search for any and all documents related to their travels. Even if you don't know if one of your ancestors traveled, it's worth checking for travel-related documents, just in case. You may be surprised at what you find.
I had no idea Frederick had registered at the US Consulate in Brazil. What a find! Thanks for traveling Great-Grandpa Frederick! I love the paper trail you've left behind.
Was It Fraud? by Jollett etc.