SNGF: Holiday Celebrations and Memories - Part 2

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings: Join in, accept the mission, and execute it with precision. Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him about your Christmases past. Rev up the old thinking cap and cue up the Mission Impossible music - your mission, should you decide to accept it - keeping with the Christmas theme - is:

1)   Today's challenge is to share memories of December holiday gatherings and celebrations with your families (as a child, a young adult, a parent, a grandparent, a great-grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a nibling, a cousin, an in-law)!  

2)  Pick two or three questions from the list in my blog post:  Ask AI Gemini:  "What questions can I write about concerning family gatherings and celebrations during the December holidays?"  This is a new list of questions, somewhat different from last year's list.

Here's mine:

Question: If you could travel back in time to observe one specific holiday gathering from your grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ era, which one would it be and why?

I thought I would focus on my maternal grandmother, Pansy’s (Mam-ma) family. I will select 25 December 1920, as I can account for everyone in the family's location. Her grandfather, William Carlton “Carl” Lancaster, had been a farmer in Erath County, Texas, but had recently moved to Stephenville in December.[1] The farm had been located southwest of Stephenville, the county seat, not far from Greens Creek.

Their Residences
Carl and his wife, Martha Jane “Doll” Coor, had six children. In 1920, two of the children, twins Earl and Pearl, were fourteen and lived at home.[2]

George Warren, their eldest, was a farmer near Greens Creek. George was married to Lela Ann Loveless, and their first child, Pansy Louise, was just six.[3]

Willie Friend, their second child, was married to Hattie Ellis. He was also a farmer, living in the same vicinity. In 1920, they had only one child, Carlton Raymond “Pete,” who was five years old.[4]

Josephine Hazel, their first daughter, was living with her husband, William Hutson “Hutts” Loveless, a farmer, living very near her brother Willie. They had two children, Dorothy, age four, and Royce, age two.[5]

Margaret, their fourth child, had married in the previous year to Herbert A. Self, and they were living in Fort Worth. They had no children.[6] A drive from Fort Worth to Stephenville was about 80 miles. If they came, perhaps they arrived the day before. Christmas in 1920 was on a Saturday.

Christmas Celebration
So, did Carl and Doll celebrate Christmas at their new home in Stephenville, or did one of their children host the festivities?  

What would they have eaten? My grandmother always had ham, yams, black-eyed peas, and rolls, so perhaps those items were part of this Christmas. If only we had an agricultural schedule that could have told us if Carl or his sons had raised hogs.

Would there have been a decorated tree? Would Santa have arrived for the children? Perhaps Carl and Doll had presents just for the four grandchildren. Maybe he made some wooden toys for them, and Doll sewed some clothing and doll clothes for the granddaughter’s dolls.

Newspaper articles mentioned Carl having sings at his place, so perhaps they sat around the tree and sang Christmas songs.[7]

What would have made this special, if I could have attended, is that I would have met my 2x-great-grandparents and my great-grandparents, and also all those aunts and uncles. I could have asked them lots of questions about their lives. Plus, I love to sing, so if they sang carols on Christmas, that would have been a fun activity.

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[1] “News Briefs,” Stephenville Empire, 3 Dec 1920, p. 11, col. 1. Also, “Lone Oak News,” Stephenville Empire, 10 Dec 1920, p. 8.

[2] 1920 US census, Erath Co, Texas, Justice Prec. 1, ED 4, p. 41 (stamped), fam. 44, William C. Lancaster.

[3] 1920 US census, Erath Co, Texas, Justice Prec. 2, ED 7, p. 89 (stamped), fam. 45, Warren Lancaster.

[4] 1920 US census, Erath Co, Texas, Justice Prec. 1, ED 4, sht 2b, dwelling 37, Willie F. Lancaster.

[5] 1920 US census, Erath Co, Texas, Justice Prec. 1, ED 4, sht 2b, dwelling 38, Hudson W. Lovelace.

[6] 1920 US census, Tarrant Co, Texas, Fort Worth, ED 126, p. 293 (stamped), dwelling 458, Herbert Self.

[7] “Hickey,” The Dublin Progress, 16 May 1913, p. 6, col. 3.

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