Monday, September 18, 2023

Lambert Allen Caraway’s Service in World War I with the 24th Aero Squadron




After lengthy research, I am pleased to publish a research paper that documents my great-uncle Lambert Allen Caraway's service in WWI.

This compilation originally was an attempt to track the places Lambert served in the military during WWI with dates and any photos taken at the time he was serving in those places. But in the course of my research, some intriguing tidbits came to light that, for me, shed light on why, only a few months after returning home seemingly unharmed from the war, Lambert died of “septic cerebral meningitis”—hence, the reason why this the timeline of the narrative begins prior to Lambert’s enlistment.



Saturday, July 15, 2023

The first residence of Jake and Elsie Caraway

On 13 Jul 2023, I was doing family history research on Jake Caraway’s life timeline. I was tracking where he lived and when, as well as where he worked and when. I found the home address in Oakland of where Jake and Elsie first lived when they got married (and where they brought home their first child, Ann). The address was 2240 Hopkins Street in Oakland.

In doing some online sleuthing, I happened to find an old photo from 1940 on the Oakland Public Library online archive and the caption showed that Hopkins Street later became MacArthur Boulevard.

I then searched Google Earth to find what the current address looks like and found that an historic apartment building still stands there. 

Then I went back to the 1940 photo and discovered that the very apartment building is in the old photo! So the photo shows EXACTLY what the neighborhood looked like when Jake and Elsie lived there!


Another fun discovery...When I looked closely at the texture of the building, the vent grates, and the banding along the bottom of the building, it realized it was the background in the photos we have of Jake holding Ann when she was a baby as well as the ones of the two of them when Ann was a toddler. It's fun tidbits like these that make family history research come alive for me.

Monday, May 22, 2023

William Munce's Personal History

Read William Munce's Personal History here 

In 1960, William (Bill) Munce wrote his personal history at the request of his daughter, Elsie Munce Caraway. Transcriptions of the personal history are available to view on FamilySearch and Ancestry. I am providing a link to a backup for those unable to access those sites.

Read William Munce's Personal History here

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Poems by James Munce

Read Poems by James Munce here 


James Munce published a volume of poetry in the mid-1800s. According to the University of Pennsylvania's online books page the first edition was probably in 1863. A second edition (the one that the family is familiar with, has copies and an original of) was published in 1881 as "enlarged". And a small note under the author's name states "Author of 'The Three Kirks'" which is a work that hasn't been located to my knowledge. 



Google books has digitized the 1881 edition in full. I have downloaded the pdf and made it available for download in case Google books ever removes access to it. 

Read Poems by James Munce here 

Saturday, October 17, 2009

"My Dear Native Home" by James Munce



There’s a sweet little village in Erin’s green Isle,
Where the beam of pure friendship for ever does smile-
Still dear to my heart whatsoever I roam, -
‘Tis the place of my birth, ‘tis my dear native home.
The smiles of the summer there longest remain,
And the rose sheds its odour through Daniel’s domain,*
Where the maid and her lover are welcome to roam
O’oer the beautiful walks of my dear native home.
By the clear purling stream leading to the mill,
Where the willow and evergreen hang o’er it still-
When it falls in the fish pond and spreads out in foam-
Show the grandeur and taste of my dear native home.
Its old Danish moat from afar may be seen,
With its round winding path and strong magazine-
With the flag of old England that floats o’er the dome,
Sheds a glory and grace round my dear native home.
The spire of the church in its beauty appears,
Unhurt by the malice or mildew of years;
To the sleepers around it fond memory does roam,
Who wander’d with me round my dear native home.
Sweet scene of my childhood, still dear to my heart,
I can meet you in smiles, but in tears will depart;
For the want of employment compels me to roam
Away from the shades of my dear native home.
Fair shade of Carnathon, how grand you appear!
But where are the comrades who oft wander’d here?
Do they sleep in the dust, or like me do they roam,
And sigh for one look of their dear native home?
Wherever they wander, forget they ne’er will
The stone of remembrance that stands on the hill,
Where the maids in the evening light-hearted do roam,
And sing the lov’d songs of my dear native home.
Those dear hallow’d scenes I may ne’er see again;
May peace, love, and friendship still with them remain’
Till my heart cease to beat and be laid in the tomb,
With delight I’ll look back to my dear native home.

Notes from Jeanette's Trip to No. Ireland in 2001

17 Sep 2001

"What a wonderful time we had in Northern Ireland and we have found out so much information on James Munce - I spoke to the undertaker last night and he is a walking history book and he knows the house that Agnes Cleland lived in and there family is now called Cleland McVey so that is why we cannot find much on her family. He spoke to these people for me and has found out that the poem on Carrickmannon was in every household in Carrickmannon in the early 1880 as he was their idol and known as the "Robbie Burns" of Donaghadee a lot of his poems were made into songs and he is now going to get me more information. I have also found out that an Andrew Munce was the Headmaster of the Donaghadee school and he is trying to find out if he was related to James Munce it was from 1900 to 1950 he was Headmaster of the school. Anne, I met with W.G. Pollock he was about 80 plus and was a Headmaster he is the man who wrote the book "Six miles from Bangor, Donaghadee and the Copeland Islands "- well you know that in that book James Munce is mentioned as the Robbie Burns of Donaghadee and they have a poem in the book that he wrote about Donaghadee I have photocopied this in the library - and now I am trying to get a copy of the book - so if Wayne can see any more copies of this could you get it for me as they are out of print and the last printing was in 1982. Pollock was an unusual man, very frail and I feel that he was tired he was busy getting organised to go to Bangor on the bus but it was lovely meeting him - I met this man in a shop who knew him and he took Graham and I down to where he lives - so he had no warning that we were coming. The people in Ballygowan were wonderful and Betty and Dennis the undertaker and his wife are coming to Australia on the 4th October and they might come to Melbourne so I will let you know what happens.

"Well I am off to-day to the Mitchell Library I am now in Glasgow and Isabel I can see how Bruce loves this place it is wonderful and so beautiful, the people are so friendly and warm and I would say that beside Australia it would be heaven on earth to live except for the winter months.

"We are going to Edinburgh tomorrow and I will get the pages of the book of Poems that are missing from the copy we have and see the difference in the copies of the poems that were printed."

24 Apr 2002

"I went to Northern Ireland last year and it was a wonderful experience - I went to the school in Carrickmannon that James Munce had attended and met people in the area from Ballygowan which is next door to Carrickmannon and from Saintfield where Agnes Cleland came from. One of the people that I met and have also had come to Australia and stay with us whilst they were visiting Australia for a wedding in Brisbane was Denis Porter the Undertaker and his wife Betty from Saintfield - Denis before he came did some research on James and found that the poem that he had written on Carrickmannon in 1861 was in every household during that period and that some of the poems that had been written had been made into songs, I thought that this was interesting but unfortunately he did not know which ones.

"During the visit to Scotland Graham and I spent several days at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow photocopying the books of Poems of James, making sure that we had copies of all the poems that he had written. I have those here and I have decided that the easiest thing to do is to scan them into the computer so that you can all get the copies and just print them off. My cousins here all want copies and so do cousins on my grandmother's sisters side in Canada and in Sydney and Brisbane - the photocopying is expensive they charge here 20 cents a sheet and there are many many sheets so this is what I am going to do."

Friday, October 16, 2009

Six Miles From Bangor: The Story of Donaghadee by W.G. Pollock



I have finally located and acquired a copy of this little out-of-print book about Donaghadee, the hometown of James Munce. One of James Munce's poems is actually included in the book. I went hunting on the internet after re-reading some of the notes I had in my family history file from Jeanette's trip to Northern Ireland.

I have taken the time to scan every page in the book, lay out the pages in their original formate using InDesign, and then created a pdf file so everyone can download a copy of the book to read and reference at their convenience. Downloadable a pdf file of the entire book by clicking here.

~~Cindy Garber Iverson

Addendum from Jeanette:

"I bought this book some years ago on the computer from a book seller in Northern Ireland and when I was in Donagadee in 2001 I went to the Library and was going to photo-copy some of the book as James Munce was in there with one of his poems. Anyway, we went to lunch at the hotel and then went across to this little store opposite. I asked if they had a copy of the book. They informed me that they had no copies. There was this lovely gentleman there, and he said to me that he knew William Pollock and that he lived around the corner just down the street. He walked down the street with Graham and I and around the corner to this house that was right on the road -- knocked on the door and out came William Pollock. He was an elderly gentleman. He talked to me about the book and the research that he had done on James Munce. I tried everywhere to get a copy of the book -- but managed to get it when I came home."