TREE TALK

  The story of Jose and Juliana Martin Crizador, and their immigration from the Azores to Oakland, CA via the Sandwich Islands as indentured servants.  Jose and Juliana Martin, circa 1899 29 Apr 1886, Jose and Juiliana  Cesar  Martins Crizidor departed Funchal, Madeira Island on the British steamship Amana for the Sandwich Islands.   The newlyweds were going on a honeymoon cruise to Hawaii, but not the way you think.  No, this trip came with heavy strings attached.   They had signed a years-long contract to work the cane fields on a plantation in Maui in exchange for passage to a new world and new opportunities.   The plantation owners needed workers to harvest and process the sugar cane of Hawaii.  In the Azores, they found a steady stream of men and women looking to escape their island solitude for new opportunities.  The Portuguese knew how to harvest the cane as this was Madeira’s primary crop,...

    Nina Stearns-Smith , 1927 Nina Stearns-Smith Banta(1910-2012), my grandmother, and I met periodically to share the latest news over coffee.  She knew I was interested in family history and loved to share stories and photos of our ancestors. One day I asked, “What was it like growing up in Colorado?”     Nina and Grandma Smith, 1913 “Hmmm,” she started. “Well, I was actually born in Denning, Arkansas, but my mother died when I was a baby.  After that, I lived with Grandma and Grandpa Smith until I was about four years old.”  As she began to tell the story, her eyes became distant and her voice softened, as I sensed her going back to that place and time.   "I had fun when I was with Grandma Smith.  They had a house in town and a farm where I would help feed the chickens.  I loved helping on the farm.           Then one day they took me to a faraway place, to see my father and his new wife. ...

TJ Banta, circa 1946 Theodore “TJ” Banta experienced profound loss and resilience by the time he married Verona Willard at the age of 27 in June 1906.   However, I did not realize the depth of his experience until making a surprise discovery while researching the “Find a Grave” database.   For context, Barbara and I were preparing for an extended research trip that included Ford County, Kansas.  I knew my maternal roots were deep in Kansas.  Bucklin, Kansas was where the Willard and Banta branches of my family tree came together with the marriage of TJ Banta and Verona Willard.  Their roots were so deep that their remains were brought from California back to Kansas to rest within the family plot at Bucklin.  Back to my surprise.  A “Find a Grave” search to see if other Banta relatives were buried in Ford County revealed two others: Birdie and Infant Son Banta.  They are buried in the same grave and share a headst...

I first learned the story of Nina Ruth Bernheim, my grandmother’s mother when I was a young boy.  Here is what I remember:  “Grandma, is that a picture of my mother?” I said, pointing to an old photo on her dresser. “That’s not your mother, Jerry. That’s my mother!” Grandma explained. “Wow, they look just like each other!” “Yes, they do, let’s see if we can find some more pictures, and I will tell you all about my mother.  She is your Great-Grandmother.”   Grandma gathered her album of old photos, yellowed newspaper clippings, and faded letters   “Let’s go see what we can find,” she said.   “I never knew my mother,” Grandma said, as she carefully opened her treasured album. “She died when I was a baby. Her name was Nina, the same as mine.  She grew up in Colorado and her parents died young."   Grandma used a few pictures to help tell the story. “This is my mother, Nina, as a girl," she said. "She is holding her little brother Arthur, who is f...

June McDonald Timm’s Connection to Jennie  Banta  McDonald    When I started the search for Jennie and James Banta it was the early 1990’s when the internet and email were not what we enjoy today.  “Message Boards” were very popular with family historians to mass communicate with people of similar interest.  I posted a request to collaborate with anyone who had any information on Jennie Brock Banta McDonald and James Banta.   I was thrilled 15 years later when I got a reply from June  McDonald  Timm letting me know that Jennie McDonald was her grandmother.  June was in her late 80s at that time, very clear, and shared memories of her grandmother.  She recalled sitting at her side as a young girl, listening to stories while learning to sew.  She remembered Grandma Jennie as a strong woman, no-nonsense, with a sense of humor, and a heart of gold.  She told of five husbands one she nev...

  Searching for James (1832-1881) and Jennie (1855-1932) Banta AI-generated image of James Banta riding in a lightning storm Rolling thunder shook the foundation and lightning filled the room with bursts of glare as heavy rain pounded the roof of their isolated farmhouse.  Young Jennie Banta was laboring hard to birth their second child, and it was not going well.  James needed help and this would not wait for the weather to clear.  He mounted his horse and raced into the stormy night to beg the doctor to come help.  The doctor agreed and arrived in time to successfully deliver a healthy baby girl into the world.  James however was not as fortunate, for he was struck dead by lightning as he rode back home.  A heroic act of chivalry to save the child he would never see.  A daunting future for the widow with a newborn, a two-year-old, and three step-children to raise alone on the Kansas prairie of the Wild West....