EXCITING UPDATE

In 2022, I posted a video on TikTok asking for help finding the children of Grandma E. Virgina (Kaelber) Fifer's youngest brother, Alvin “Manny” Kaelber. Earlier this week, I was in contact with one of Alvin’s grandchildren. (TikTok video update here.) I can't say how excited I am & wish that Grandma were here to know. 

L-R: Alvin “Manny” Kaelber , Virginia “Bid” Kaelber, Florence “Sis” Kaelber, Belle “Toots” Kaelber, & James Kaelber

Jacqueline Vertrees Sleeth - RIP

Jacqueline Vertrees Sleeth 

via Tri-Cities Herald

Jacquie was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the oldest child of Jack & Eula Vertrees. After graduation from Bellingham High School, she attended Pacific Lutheran University where she sang in the choir. In 1945 she met and married Ray Dyck, the couple bought a dairy in Post Falls, Idaho. Jacquie returned to school and earned her nursing degree. In 1964 Jacquie & Ray divorced, and she moved to Spokane where she met and married Bud Sleeth. In the mid 1970's they moved to Kennewick, and Jacquie began work at Kennewick General Hospital as head of Central Supply and remained until her retirement in the 1990's. Jacquie loved her pets and gardening. Always active, she took exercise classes at CBC, ran in fun runs, volunteered at the hospital, worked on the election board, was a member of Sons of Norway, and a member of First Lutheran Church. In 2015 she moved to Spokane to be closer to her daughters, although her heart always remained in Kennewick. Jacquie is survived by her husband Bud Sleeth, Spokane; bother Tom (Ann) Vertrees, Kennewick; daughters Gail (Gordon) Schoonmaker, Post Falls, Idaho; Jill (Larry) Fifer, Rice, Washington; grandchildren Jeff Dawson, Dawn Ray Fifer, Tonya Fifer, and great grandson Tyler Fifer-Alexander all of Spokane. A celebration of her life will be held at First Lutheran Church in Kennewick on Saturday, March 10th, at 2:00 pm.

Raymond Lee Dyck, 97 - RIP

Raymond (Ray) Lee Dyck, 97 

via Find A Grave

Ray rode off into the sunset on March 16, 2017 in Post Falls, Idaho. Ray was born on October 30, 1919, he was the oldest child of Frank and Lena (Schrag) Dyck, German, Russian Mennonite farmers in Ruff, Washington. He grew up working on the family's wheat ranch. His love for rodeo began at a young age, and he never passed up a chance to practice riding the family's cattle.

After graduating from Lind High School, he began breaking horses and mules. He became a cattle buyer and met his wife, Jacquie Vertrees, who was a telephone operator in Moses Lake, when he made sales calls.

Ray was one of the founders of the Moses Lake Rodeo which continues today.

Ray and Jacquie, along with their infant daughter, moved to Davenport, Washington, and raised cattle.

In 1950, Ray packed up the family, purchased a dairy and moved to Post Falls, Idaho. Although his love for rodeo continued , he put aside his calf roping (tie down roping) in order to raise his family. Always involved with horses, he became a member of the Kootenai County Saddle Club.

Ray and Jacquie divorced in 1965. He began raising exotic cross cattle and sold his Brahma bulls to rodeo contractors.

Marilyn Fitzsimmons and Ray were wed, but later divorced.

Ray, always a hard worker, sold his dairy but needed more to do in retirement so he went to work at Helmers Hardware. He also enjoyed team roping in his later years. In his 90's, Ray moved to Guardian Angel Retirement Community in Post Falls.

Ray is survived by one brother, Alvin Dyck (Marge) of Moses Lake, Wa. Three daughters: Gail Schoonmaker (Gordon) of Post Falls, Id; Barbara Jill Fifer (Larry) of Rice, WA; Jeanne Ruebke of Coeur d'Alene, ID. Grandson, Jeff Dawson of Spokane, Wa. Granddaughters: Dawn Ray Fifer and Tonya Fifer of Spokane Valley, Wa., Brianna Ruebke and Kelly Ruebke of Coeur d'Alene, Id. Great-grandson, Tyler Fifer-Alexander of Spokane Valley, Wa.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, a sister and his son, Frank Dyck, and his son-in-law, John Ruebke.

The family wants to extent a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful caregivers, nurses and staff at the Timber House Guardian Angel Post Falls for the superb and loving care they gave Ray. Also, we extend a grateful thank you to Hospice of North Idaho.

Most of all the family wants to thank Ray for making us the luckiest people in the world.

Thanksgiving 2015 - in pictures

Larry Fifer's retirement party

19 June 2015

talking with Grandma

As I said in my first post, I love stories. After Grandpa Robert died & Grandma Virginia moved to Spokane Valley, I have had the opportunity to look through Grandma's old pictures & records. And, of course, I've had the chance to ask Grandma questions. Below are two YouTube "videos" of talks that I've had with Grandma. (They were done in 2012 or 2013.) The first is regarding an obit, the second is regarding a photo.

Myrtle Denman Kaelber - obit c. 1943

Bill Fifer - photo c. 1945

Charles Alvin Fifer (1918 - 1919) - Find A Grave Photos

I just added a photo 

to the Find A Grave memorial 

of Charles Alvin Fifer (1918 - 1919).

choir concert & a new app

Today I downloaded a new app - Photo Mapo - for my iPhone.

The choir concert this evening seemed a perfect opportunity to try it out.

Here is one image.

 

 

 

Mrs. Fifer's retirement party

On 15 May 2014,
a retirement party was held
for my mom.

B. Jill (Dyck) Fifer started teaching

at the Inchelium K-12 school around 1980.

While there, she taught high school English,

worked as a school counselor

(after receiving her masters degree),
& then taught 2nd grade.

Before she worked in Inchelium,

she taught high school English

at Kettle Falls School District #212.

* * *

Inchelium is in Ferry County, Washington (State), USA.
Kettle Falls is in Stevens County, Washington (State), USA.

---

"Kaelber" is tagged on this post
because my paternal grandma  
- E. Virginia (Kaelber) Fifer -
attended the event.

Sinclair family mystery

There is a family mystery that I would like to solve. It involves the relationship between my great-grandmother Mary Ann (Sinclair) Kaelber & her mother Susan (Sylvester) Sinclair or [a possible] step-mother Susan (Morse/Morise) Sinclair.
 

Here is the family lore:

For as long as Grandma Virginia or Dad can remember, my great grandma Mary always said that Susan (or "that woman" as she put it) was not her mom. The legend goes that, as Daniel Sinclair lay dying from blood poisoning c. 1911, he told Mary that "she's not your mom" and that she was to "get out of [there]".

As you can tell from my first paragraph, based upon my research so far, I have come up with two names: Susan Sylvester & Susan Morse (or Morise).

Great Grandma Mary's death certificate (1900-1999) lists her mother as Susan Sinclair. (However, it also lists her occupation as nurse. In searching the Washington State Department of Health's Provider Credential Search, it appears that she was not a licensed nurse or nurse aide.) The death certificate of John Sinclair (1902-1920), Mary's younger brother, lists his mother as Susan Morse. (However, if their older brother Joseph Sinclair [who is listed as "not of sound mind" on his 1917 draft card] were the one who had provided the information, it is possible that it wasn't correct.)

 

Since John Sinclair was born in 1902, one would assume that the 1910 Washington State census could indicate a different woman than did the 1900 Wisconsin census. However, that's not the case!

In looking at this information, one could wonder if Daniel Sinclair had had an affair - and a child - with a woman named Susan Morse ... and that Daniel's statement had actually been about Susan Sylvester not being John's mom (vs Susan Morse not being Mary's mom).

But then what would I make of this 1915 marriage document (from Spokane County, Washington) which lists the bride as a widow named Susan Morse Sinclair? (And Spokane County does not necessarily seem strange, as this page from the 12 June 1915 edition of The Colville Examiner and the 1920 census' [here & here] suggest that Susan was not living with relatives in Ferry County in 1915 or 1920.)

* * *

In order to shed more light on the situation, I need to get the birth certificates for both Joseph Sinclair and John Sinclair. (Mary's birth certificate lists her mother as Susan Salvesta.) I would also like to get the marriage certificate for Daniel Sinclair and Susan Sylvester and the possible marriage certificate for Daniel Sinclair and Susan Morse (although general online searches have not indicated the existence of such a document).

 

 

---

If you have any information, please leave a comment on this post

or click on contact Dawn, above.

 

Robert Fifer on Fold3

I recently realized that my grandpa, Robert V. Fifer, is listed on Fold3.

I just added two photos of him, which can be viewed here.

 

Family Photo Friday

Growing up, I attended the Inchelium Community Church

in Inchelium, Ferry County, Washington, USA.

 

I am very thankful that my mom, B. Jill (Dyck) Fifer,

made sure that my sister & I were raised in a faith community.

 

 

our vacation

Last week, my parents, sister, 
son, & I went on vacation 
to the Oregon coast.

I have done a photo book, 
which I will order for the family for Christmas.

I also edited a video (below).

photo book - grandparents home on Lake Roosevelt

I just finished a photo book
- Robert & Virginia's home along Lake Roosevelt -
for Grandma Virginia.

 

She's been living in Spokane County for the last [approximately] 2 years.

I know that she misses Ferry County; I hope that this helps.

genealogy books mentioning my family members

In my Dec 31, 2012 post (an 1850 census, an obit transcription, family notes, cemetery listings, & Google Books), I mentioned using Google Books for genealogy. I had been at Grandma Virginia's & had gotten ahold of some wonderful papers, which I scanned.

 

I have since discovered another book using Google Books: Peter and Elisabeth (Graber) Kaufman family record, 1770-1987 by the Kaufman Genealogy Committee (1988). What is so neat about Google Books is the "from inside the book" feature. I was able to see myself, my sister, & my parents names! We're in a published book! (Also listed are Dyck & Schrag names which I know are part of my family tree.)

 

I will have to get a copy of this book to assist me in making my family tree!

Family Photo Friday

My parents, Larry Fifer & B. Jill Dyck, were married in 1975.

(Washington State Digital Archives source here)

(document images can also be found in my DropBox genealogy folder)

an 1850 census, an obit transcription, family notes, cemetery listings, & Google Books

I spent some time at my Grandma Virginia's place today. We looked through some of her slides, which she is wanting to get regular photo's of. We then spent some time looking through some of her family history stuff.
 

For Christmas I had received a portable scanner. Luccily, I had taken it with me & was able to scan some things, which I will include below.

1850 census - Clark County, Missouri - Fifer

Ida Boyer - 1961 obituary transcription

Denman family notes

Kaelber & Denman family notes

Green Mountain Cemetary



Something I was able to copy were images from a book that seemed to be titled History of Marion County and Representative Citizens. It included the names and information on some of my ancestors & relatives: the Kaelbers.

 

I just did a Google search for . I was able to see that the true name of this book was History of Marion County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens ... and was able to see some of the same pages (as shown below) on Google Books! (The pages viewable on Google Books, of course, are not written on.)

Family Photo Friday

In my last Family Photo Friday (published October 19, 2012), I introduced you to the Boyer siblings. Harriet (who was pictured front left) Boyer was my Grandpa Robert Fifer's mother & my Great-Grandpa John Fifer's second wife. Together, John & Harriet would have eight children. (My Grandpa Robert was the seventh.)

 

Now I will introduce you to two new photos, one of my great-grandpa John Fifer with his first wife Lenora (Williams) Fifer (who died in 1903), & one of my great-grandpa John with his first child (by Lenora), Leo "Russel" Fifer.

 

undated photo

John Fifer & Lenora (Williams) Fifer

 

 

1907

John Fifer & Leo "Russel" Fifer

Family Photo Friday

 

These are the Boyer siblings:

 Philip, Charlie, Harriet, & Mamie.

(from left to right & back to front)

 

Harriet was my grandpa Robert Fifer's mother.

She lived from approx 1889-1967.

(At this time, I don't have the "proof" [birth/death records] to say definately.)

* * *

This photo has been added to both Family Old Photos & Dead Fred.

Dead Fred

In my August 22 post, Family Old Photos, I shared about my account & photo sharing with (of course) Family Old Photos. I shared the three photos that I had uploaded to that point.
 

Well, I have just submitted a photo (the one of my paternal grandfather, Robert Vernon Fifer) to Dead Fred. Because the site requires that all persons in the photographs be deceased, I cannot upload the same photos, as my paternal grandmother & both paternal grandparents are still alive. (You can view a version of his obituary from www.memorialsolutions.com, as his obituary from Colville's Statesman-Examiner is no longer online.)

 

I'm beginning to collect quite a few photos of my ancestors. I will be uploading them as time allows.