Hello
Ok, for three years or more I have been in a nearly desperate search of my
great grandmother's gravesite and praying for a photograph for my mom, now
83, who would very much like to know about the grandmother she never met.
Today, I was given an excerpt from a unknown book, that had been given to
a Ernest Eakins in 1990 by a Delores Fay Greeg Harboldt Evans of Melbourne
Florida. Tommorrow, I may learn more about the book. But tonight, I want to
tell you this new information.
Jennie E. Swisher, born abt 1856, who married Merritt Henry Cave on
October 16, 1877, may actually be, "get this" Virginia Ellen Swisher.
Virginia Ellen Swisher married Merritt Henry Cave, and died on November 27,
1920. But she was known as "Jeannie". All the legal documents I have found
had Jenny or Jennie on them, so this turned me for a flip at first. However,
in the material is that this Jeannie was in the Zeigfield Follies in 1920.
She managed some apartments, made beautiful paper flowers and loved to dance
and have fun. She had sparkley devilish eyes. Was blinded by glaucoma and
died of cancer. Her second husband's name was Joseph Cooper. (Remember, I
found her daughter listing her mom's name as Jennie Cooper on her marriage
license in 1908?). They had one daughter, Katie Ellen
Edmundson-Bauer-Chrisman-Eggelstone born 5/17/1899 in Seymour Missouri.
(Where the heck is Seymour Missouri? If that is where Jennie's daughter was
born, they maybe that is where she is buried?; since I can't find her after
three years of looking)
Now, for those of you who have been aggressively helping me; Do you think
that is a big enough curve ball in genealogy research?
Well, if that isn't enough for ya!!!!! Maybe this is. On several
documents, as previously stated, I have found this Jeannie Swisher as being
born in Virginia, Missouri, Clayton Illinois, and now.... guess what, this
information states she is born in.... County Cork Ireland... But her
parents, Absolom S. Swisher and Sarah E. Spicer resided in Adams County
Illinois near Kellerville, where they are now buried on the family farm in a
Cemetery known as the Amen Cemetery.
That said, as I am pulling my hair out of my head.... here. Oh, well, if
nothing else, if she really was in the Zeigfield Follies in 1920, maybe there
is in fact a photo of here somewhere out there afterall.
Thomas W. Rogers, born May 9, 1954
311 N. Main Street P. O. Box 85
Deer Creek, Illinois 61733
Notes: Information from excerpts of a unknown book, unknown author, given to
Ernest Eakins in 1990 by Delores Faye Gregg Harboldt Evans, 2809 Vassar
Street, Melbourne, Florida. 32901 Tele: 407-676-4293 for the genealogy of
Virginia Swisher. (Phone no longer valid in February 2002).
Notes: This Reel below of the Ziegfield Follies is Jeannie Swisher who
married Merritt Henry Cave on October 16, 1877 in Brown County, Illinois.
Reel # 183 THEATER OF THE AIR:
Fanny by Gaslight, Death Takes a Holiday, Cannibal, Dominant Sex, Scarlet
Pimpernel, Blanche Fury, Against the Wind, Jeannie
Thomas William Rogers called and made inquiries in February of 2002, in
an attempt to locate a copy of this Radio Show, however, such was not
available.
Metro Golden Memories, 1-800-538-6675. John & Marg Sebert,
-------------------------------------------------------
Kingwood College Library
American Cultural History - The Twentieth Century
1910 -1919
Facts about this decade......
... The Ziegfeld girls earned $75 / week........
... Average salary $750 / year....
Subj: Re: Radio Manuscripts
Date: 3/2/02 3:04:43 PM Central Standard Time
From: lgroebe(a)genericradio.com
To: Travelback4u(a)aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
on 3/1/02 4:06 PM, Travelback4u(a)aol.com at Travelback4u(a)aol.com wrote:
Hello
I am trying to locate a copy of a manuscript, and possible information on
a Ziegfield Follies Girl, that was in a Ziegfield Follies Radio Show in
1920.
I've been told no actual recordings of such exist anymore, but I
am
interested in a manuscript and possible photo record of her.
Here is what I know:
1920 Reel # 183 THEATER OF THE AIR:
Fanny by Gaslight, Death Takes a Holiday, Cannibal, Dominant Sex, Scarlet
Pimpernel, Blanche Fury, Against the Wind, Jeannie
I'm not sure if the Reel #183 is an original number or a number placed on
this by the list of Ziegfield Follies I got it from.
This Jeannie is my great grandmother. Mom mom, now 83, never met her, as
she died the same year this was on the air in 1920. Nobody in the family
has
ever found a photo of her and I have been looking for a photo to give
my
mom.
It would also be interesting to give her a copy of the manuscript of
the
Radio Show.
You indeed have a mystery here -- one I can't solve.
But perhaps I can provide a few clues.
Let's start with "Reel 183."
This appears to be a reel-to-reel tape recording that is part of a 100-tape
collection donated to Washington State University by radio show collectors
Paul and Grace Pitzer.
There's a page on the collection at
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/mmr/pitzer.htm
Mr. Pitzer may have a home page at
http://members.home.net/pcpitzer
...but I can't access it at the moment, so I can't be sure. (He also appears
to have this email address: pcpitzer(a)home.com.)
The reel itself would appear to be 8 episodes from a radio series called
"Theater of the Air." I believe this was probably a syndicated radio show
(as opposed to a network show) sold to individual stations and provided
originally as big 16" transcription discs. What "Theater of the Air" is
almost certainly *not* is a radio show made in 1920. It may be ABOUT 1920,
but it isn't FROM that year, as radio drama (or recordings of same) didn't
exist yet! More than likely this was a series produced in the 1940s
sometime. (There were several famous shows that had "Theater of the Air" as
part of their names, but these titles aren't on any of the logs from those
shows, so apparently this is a relatively obscure syndicated production.)
So you should be able to get a recording of the radio drama from WSU.
The script is likely lost to history, unless somehow the recording mentions
up the writer's name (somewhat unlikely) and that could be traced.
So now *I'm* still mystified -- what was the "1920" date you referenced if
not the date of the radio show? Is this the date of the Ziegfeld show that
"Jeannie" was in?
There was a nice coffee-table book on Ziegfeld published a few years ago --
"The Ziegfeld Touch" written by some descendants and published by Harry
Abrams co. I'm looking at a friend's copy as I write. It lists his major
productions year by year. In 1920 there was a "Ziegfeld Follies", a
"Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic" , and a "Nine O'Clock Frolic" among
others.
Pretty good stars in some of them - W.C. Fields, Fanny Brice, etc.
I found no "Jeannie" in the book, but I do see some cast pictures, and your
great-grandmother may well be in them. It may well be worth looking for this
book at the library or on Amazon.
I hope this was of some use to you - let me know how things go!
--Larry Groebe
Generic Radio Workshop
Notes and research Written By Thomas William Rogers born 5/9/1954 in
Peoria Co Illinois