Delk Family History (and more!)

I have added three letters to Martha (Maitlen) Delk from her son, Charles Wesley. Two of them are from when he was at Camp Pike, Arkansas. Apparently he did not want to be there and was trying to get Martha to write a letter stating that he was needed back home. The other letter was the birth announcement of his son, James William. There are some good details in that one about how they were surviving pretty much day to day.

Also fixed a few links over on the Maitlen side, I will be adding some documents in a little bit that I had scanned earlier, but held on to them until I had people to attach them to. Will keep you posted.

Brian

And letters to boys of World War One. We have a collection of letters and postcards to and from Frank, Russel and Charlie to Elmer and Martha. In them we learn the little things, who got married, who passed away, what Company is in quarantine because of an outbreak of scarlet fever; you know, the little things. Actually, these letters are a treasure chest of information not only about the Delk family during World War One, but of Weldon, Iowa and the different Companies that the three boys were in. So check out the new letters, they are mostly from Frank and Russel, or Elmer and Martha. Also, on some of them, I have included the scanned postcards with them.

I will be adding more documents in the coming weeks.

Brian

The thing about family history is this; while researching the past, the present keeps adding to it. Good or bad, family history has to be experienced, which is why I have been so slow to add new material. But there is now more documents and photos up, most of them having to do with Charles Wesley Delk and his immediate family. Keep checking on the photo and document  logs, I may sneak stuff in without announcing it.

Until next time, Brian.

In terms of my family line, I know where I came from. I can show who was my Grandfathers’ Grandfather. I know some of the basic facts of there lives. What I do not know is who they were. But I am finding out. And that is what this website is about. I may have never known my Grandfather Charlie Delk, but I do know he played cribbage and he taught my Father, who taught me and who has taught my son. I am learning more about him through the letters he wrote home to his parents during WWI. I know that his Mother was distraught over the death of her children and wrote poems to get through the tough times. And lucky for us, her daughter Mary May saved almost everything, and now we are able to share that with you. And getting to know who our family was and what their lives were like is just as important as the 1900 census. The story of our family starts to develop as we gather the photos, letters and documents that were left behind. We begin to learn that Russel Delk was at Camp Dodge on Thanksgiving day in 1917 and that his brother Frank was getting to know the women in Germany. Charlie was at Camp Pike, while his future wife Bernice Butler was studying to become a teacher at Drake University. There are new photos, documents, and letters for all of these family members, and as we uncover more, we will get to know who they were. Have a safe and prosperous 2012. Brian

I do not know everything there is to know to be a parent. I have been a parent for over fifteen years and yet I am still learning the art of parenthood. But what I have come to learn is that a parent such as myself, will treat each child differently. I know how each child will react to events that are mundane, exciting or tragic and will handle each child accordingly. I am sure my parents did the same thing with my two sisters and me and their parents with them. Which is one reason why when it comes time for families to get together and reminiscence of days gone by and how everything transpired, there will be multiple versions of the past. Which leads me to the biographies.

I am sure when it comes time to write out each biography, there will be suggestions that they are not quite right, that somethings did not happen this way or that. This may be the case, but, the purpose of this site is to provide information about John Delk’s descendant’s and if we can, his siblings and ancestors as well. If something is factually inaccurate, please respond in the comments section. But remember, our individual recollection of the past will be different from the collective recollection.

With that all written, biographies of Charles Wesley, Franklin and Martha Maitlen, have been posted. there are also three new letters that can be found on Martha’s page.

Brian

Charlie Delk, my grandfather, and his children have been added to the pull down menus. I was waiting for permission from the still living children, and now we are good to go. I have added 12 photos to Bernice (Butler) Delk, plus some documents of her’s. I am now working on adding more photos, plus some documents, which should be done before the end of next week. Brian

I have now updated Charles Wesley Delk with photos, and have included his wife, Bernice Butler with photos for her. You can only get to her from Charles page. I will be adding some documents to their site as well later in the week. I am still waiting to find out about adding their children to the site.

In other news, I am starting to work with the city of Pleasant Hill on a history project showing the growth of the city and also what the future may hold. I have a photo that I want to add to the site showing a corn field that was taken from Highway 163, the area is now developed with houses and businesses. Would like to get people to sit down and interview to talk about how the city has changed over the past 50 years. This will be an on going project that I hope will get people interested in the history that is around them and that they to will become involved.

Brian