Delk Family History (and more!)

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

I am the youngest of the first cousins. This is not a statement, just a fact. My grandfather, Charles Wesley, passed away before I was born, and my grandmother, Bernice, a year and a half after I was born. So instead of grandparents, I had lots of aunts and uncles. We were a big family and we had huge family gatherings. The annual Christmas get together was at my Dad’s sister Marge’s house and it was by all accounts a big deal, even though we had just saw everyone a month earlier at Thanksgiving. I was spoiled with cookies that Aunt Marge had prepared and stamps that Uncle Warren had gathered for me. I was also schooled in cribbage and tolerated by the older cousins. Those times are long past. The big family Thanksgiving diner and Christmas gatherings eventually stopped and three years ago the family reunions also came to an end.
My aunts and uncles have grown old and sadly, they too, are passing away. Aunt Marge passed away on Friday, February 24, 2011. She will be missed by many, but, her cookie making will live on. For my wedding 20-years ago, she gave me a cookie cookbook, which to this day is still being used. And I am passing what I know about making cookies, on to my daughter, who is one of the many cousins and grandchildren who will carry on the traditions and values that the children of Charles and Bernice have passed along to their children.

The diary is done with an index, of sorts. I have coded it so one can jump to the beginning of every month. Since I now know how I am laying the diary section out, the other diary’s will go a little faster. As I have mentioned before, this diary holds some interesting tidbits about what was going on, from where everyone was to the weather. Please take some time to go through it and let me know what you think.

Brian

Aunt Mary’s diary has been updated, it is now complete through October. Interesting stuff going on in Weldon, Iowa. Peggy is crazy on a couple of days, they listened to King George IV speech, canned a lot garden goods for the cave, spent time in the cave because of a bad storm, and a lot of people visited. This is good stuff for researchers of the Great Depression era house holds. Will have the rest of the diary and an index later in the week.

Brian

The months of April and May, 1933 through 1937 have been posted, with the April links fixed. After I get all of the pages posted, I will make an easier index for people to jump around the diary. Dad is also preparing a book a poems that Martha Maitlen Delk had written through out her life. These poems detailed the times, both good and bad in her life and give a good account, just like Mary’s diary, of what was happening in the world around her. Look for them starting next month.

Brian

Mary May Delk’s diary has been updated. The months of February, March and April have been added. Also, I fixed the first link. Should have the rest done by the end of the week.

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

The thing about maintaining a website is that it takes time and time away from family. So instead of working with relatives of the past, I figured I would spend time with my own family. It would be sad not to participate in your own family’s life because you were too busy researching and writing about relatives of a bygone era. But not all is lost, the living have to sleep sometime and genealogist don’t. So, I have started to add mini-biographies to the direct descendants of Ethelred; I did however start with John’s family. Let me say this, I am taking the information from a program that I have not updated in ten years. Some of it may be incorrect. But please comment and let me know what is wrong or what I can add so everyone is one the same page.

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.

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