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

We know Martha (Maitlen) Delk wrote poems, and yes, I have more to display, but did you know one of her poems was put to music? Check it out on her page, under Documents. The song or poem, is titled “My Little Rosebud.” It may not have been a Top 100 chart topper, but it was good enough to be published and that is all that counts.  I will be posting more documents and photos in the coming week, until then, stay warm and keep in touch.

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

There are now sixty pages of poems from Martha up on her site. As I mentioned in the last post, I am a slow typist. So, with poem 19, I started scanning them and just making them images. You will see a difference between the new poems and the earlier ones, but who’s counting. Coming up is the Delk annual picnic. I will not be able to attend this year due to a conflict, but I like to give a shout-out to everyone who does make it. If you have anything you would like to share, please pass it along to my Dad and he will make sure it is posted.

Until next time,
Brian

While waiting for my father to gather a few more documents and letters, I thought I would add six more pages of poems from Martha (Maitlen) Delk. There are many more to come. The only thing really holding me back from adding all of them at  once is the sheer number of them. I am a slow typist, so bare with me. Not only that, but these poems, while being little ditties, also represent times in her life. For example, Page 13 has a poem about one of her children who had died as an infant. In modern times we are given medication to help us cope with the hard times, a hundred years ago, my great-grandmother had her poems.

Stay cool in this summer heat.

Brian

My Great-Grandmother was a poet and she did know it. We are currently going through her poems and transcribing them. Seven pages have been added to Martha Maitlen Delk’s page, along with some more photos and two more letters. Some of the poems are Christmas poems that she wrote to friends and family. I will also have some pictures of her and Elmer, Mary May and others, along with some more documents by the end of next week. Until then, Have a Merry and Safe Christmas Holiday.

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

Which is what I should learn to do. I was given four cloth samples from Martha Maitlen. I only posted three. The fourth one is now posted and can be seen here. I must say, the story of how Martha and Elmer met should be told, especially after looking at the swatches of dresses that Martha saved along with notes for each one. Look at the dates. First date with Elmer, April 6th, engaged four days later, and married two months later. How well did they know each other before dating? Since they were first cousins, what did their parents, who were brother and sister, think? And, we know that Elmer’s brother Fernandis Orien, had been in communication with Martha before the marriage because of the letters that Martha had saved. Could he have gotten them together? Just speculation. Will post more soon.

Brian

I have come to the conclusion that interacting with history comes in three forms. There is the form of online or the old fashion book research, looking at documents that others have made available to the public, knowing that something exist, that is tangible, but not actually being able to touch and feel the history. There is the museum experience, where you see the document or the photograph, just out of reach, but a more personable and enjoyable experience. Then there is the best experience of all, actually handling the material and being able to present it to everyone.

On Martha Maitlen’s page, I have added a new category, Cloth Swatches. This page is exciting because I am able to present a glimpse into Martha’s life and life in general in 1892. She wrote down everything, the dates, times, occasion. Take a look, especially at her hand written notes. And enjoy.