52 Ancestors #47: Congratulations New Zealand!

Ancestor Name: William Archibald Strang (1906-1989)

I didn't even know I had relatives in New Zealand until a fourth cousin once removed introduced herself through Ancestry.com a few years ago. She's since become a great research collaborator and, if something exists on the Internet, she will find it. We have great fun when on the trail of an elusive shared ancestor. We forward each other our progress before signing off to go to bed and the other picks it up and keeps the ball moving forward while the other sleeps. She also guest blogs occasionally and is a great story teller. So it's only fitting to reprise this post in the wake of the New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks, winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup last month.

This post was originally published on 30 September 2013.

Thanks to a work colleague, who is from South Africa, I know how big a deal rugby is in some parts of the world. I discovered a few weeks ago when researching my Semple ancestors, who emigrated from Scotland to New Zealand in 1862, that I have a famous All Blacks captain in my extended family tree.

William Archibald "Archie" Strang; photograph courtesy of Ancestry.com
member KiwiAndrea

My South African friend had this to say:

As a kid growing up in South Africa the Springboks vs. All Blacks was, as far as we were concerned, the greatest rivalry in world sport. Those heros from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were spoken of with awe.

The following profile was written by Lindsay Knight for the New Zealand Rugby Museum:

Archie Strang was a clever inside back, equally skilled at halfback or either five eighths position, who may have achieved even greater deeds in New Zealand rugby had he born in another era.

Strang was at his peak in the depression years of the early 30s. But as a stock agent in South Canterbury he often had trouble leaving his job and at the end of the 1931 season when he was still only 25 he retired to concentrate on his work having in those grim depression years being given an ultimatum by an employer for whom rugby had little interest.

A Southlander by birth, Strang moved with his family to Timaru while in his early teens and was an exceptional first XV player 1922-24 while at Timaru Boys High School. He had also played 1st XV rugby for Southland Boys High School in 1921.

He went straight into the South Canterbury representative side from school in 1925 and even as a youngster showed maturity and leadership quality. As a teenager he captained South Canterbury in his first season in a match against West Coast.

Strang in those seasons alternated between halfback and the five eighths, But it was as a five eigthhs that he gained a place in the South Island side for the 1927 interisland match which also doubled as a trial for the following year's tour to South Africa.

A top performance in that and the final trial won him a place in the touring party where his versatility proved to be an asset. He played in 14 of the 22 matches and with Frank Kilby injured for much of the tour filled in as a halfback on five occasions.

He played in the first two tests as a second five eighths and in the second match in the series drop kicked a goal with 10 minutes remaining to give the All Blacks a 7-6 win, their first test win on South African soil.

Despite this heroic contribution Strang was dropped for the final two tests. Because of work he was unavailable for the 1929 tour of Australia but proved he was still a national contender with a starring role for the South in that year's interisland match scoring a try, converting one and kicking four penalties for a personal tally of 17.

After captained a combined South Canterbury, Mid Canterbury and North Otago selection against the 1930 British tourist and scoring a try and a penalty in the 16-9 defeat he returned to the All Blacks for the final two tests.

Playing at first five, he kicked a conversion in the All Blacks' 15-10 third test win at Eden Park and in the 22-8 fourth test win at Athletic Park he scored a try and kicked two conversion. Strang's last test for the All Blacks was again at first five and as captain in the 1931 20-13 win over Australia at Eden Park.

Strang made the All Blacks from two South Canterbury clubs, High School Old Boys in 1928 and then Temuka in 1930. In the Temuka club's centenary book he is described glowingly as "a sound and heady first five eighths" and "a complete footballer."

His younger brother Jack represented South Canterbury as a forward in 1934-37 and played for the South Island in 1935. Archie Strang later became a prominent administrator on the South Canterbury union and for many years served international touring teams in any stay at Timaru as a liaison officer. He was also selector-coach for the Tauranga sub-union.

Haka!

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Sporting.

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William Archibald "Archie" Strang was my third cousin twice removed. He was born on 18 October 1906 in Invercargill, New Zealand, to William and Sarah Mary Maud (Talbot) Strang. He married Rubina Bella Ford in 1931 and served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Forces during World War II and died on 11 February 1989 Tauranga, New Zealand. He was interred at Pyes Pa Memorial Park in Tauranga.

52 Ancestors #39: For the Love of the Game

Ancestor Name: Lester "Les" Evans Willis (1908-1982)

Lester Evans Willis was born on 17 January 1908 in Nacogdoches, Texas, to Elijah David and Mary Cordelia Ford. Two years later the family lived in Walker County, Texas, where Lester's father worked at a saw mill. Les attended East Texas Baptist University in Marshall for two years where he likely played on the school's baseball team. When he left school, he lived with his sister and brother-in-law, Ovie and Ruth Pevoto in Beaumont, Texas, and worked as a pumper at an oil refinery.

Five years later he was playing minor league baseball. He spent 12 years in the minors as a left-handed pitcher. In 1932 he played for Shreveport-Tyler Sports. The next year he played for the Baton Rouge Solons and the Jackson Senators. He started the 1934 season with the Joplin Miners and was traded to the El Dorado Lions where he remained for part of the 1935 season. He ended that season with the Fort Worth Cats. He pitched for the Pine Bluff Judges for the next two seasons. In 1938 he was with the Louisville Colonels and in 1939, the Milwaukee Brewers, an AA club. In 1940 through 1942 he played with the Memphis Chickasaws, another AA club. I'm not sure exactly if he played in 1943-1945 seasons. If he did, there is no record of it.  Les ended his minor league career with the Chickasaws where he won 18 out of 25 games.

Lester Evan Willis, 1947 Cleveland Indians pitcher; photograph courtesy of FAG
volunteer Gordon Brett Echols

During the winter meeting of major league general managers, the Rule 5 Draft is held. The rule aims to prevent major league teams from stockpiling their minor league teams with too many young players. The team with the worst record the previous season drafts first and can draft eligible players from any other teams' minor leagues. Les Willis was chosen by the Cleveland Indians during the 1946 Rule 5 Draft. He played with them for the 1947 season, which was his last in professional baseball, and worked in 22 games, starting twice.

He married Minnie Edith Stringer, my fourth cousin, sometime before 1940. When the census was enumerated that year, they lived in Jasper, Texas, and had one son, Lester Evans Willis, Jr. They owned their own home, which was valued at $1,200. Les' occupation was listed as professional baseball player for the Southern Association. He had worked 52 weeks the previous year, 48 hours each week, and made $2,000.

Minnie died 30 May 1966 at a hospital in Beaumont, Texas. Her residence was listed as 404 West. Collier Street, Jasper, Texas. Sometime after that Les married Emma Jetta Bowen. Les died on 22 January 1982. He stilled lived at the West Collier Street address at the time of his death. He was interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Jasper. Both his wives were interred there as well.

I first learned Les was a professional baseball player when this hint was provided by Ancestry.com:

Les Willis' record from Ancestry.com's Professional Baseball
Players, 1876-2004, database

It was an unusual source about which I had never before known.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Unusual.

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The title of a Kevin Costner movie was used as the title of this post.

52 Ancestors #39: 1946 Pittsburgh Steelers

Ancestor Name: KLAPSTEIN, Earl Loren (1922-1997)

My Schalin ancestors immigrated to Alberta, Canada, in 1893, primarily to escape the religious intolerance of Russian Tsar Alexander III. My grandmother's aunt, Pauline (Schalin) Falkenberg, married John Gutche soon after the extended Schalin clan arrived in Alberta. He was her second husband. They had five children between 1895 and 1906.

In 1917, their oldest daughter, Sadie Pauline Gutche, married Emil Klapstein. Emil's family was also from Russia and had immigrated to Alberta about 1898. Soon after their marriage they moved to Lodi, California. Emil worked as a manager at the Enterprise Planning Mill and they lived at 523 East Walnut (which is now a parking lot).

Sadie and Emil had three children: Harvey Cecil, Vernon Sidney, and Earl Loren. Vernon later changed his surname to Kenwood. Earl played college football in California at the University of the Pacific and was a member of the university's ROTC program. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and was later drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 24th round (250th overall) in 1944.

Earl Klapstein in 1943; photograph courtesy of Fanbase

By 1946 he was playing offensive and defensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team went 5-5-1 under head coach, Jock Sutherland, who was later inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

1946 Pittsburgh Steelers; photograph courtesy of Tailgating Jerseys

In 1956 he was a defensive line coach and scout for the Green Bay Packers; it was his move up to the coaching ranks of professional football. He didn't stay in Green Bay long. According to an Associated Press card, he became the Director of Physical Education and head football coach at California Junior College in Cerritos soon after it was founded.

Racine Journal Times, 20 April 1956

Earl married Viola C. Wiederrich, on 7 May 1944 in Nevada. He had just completed basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina but had not yet been deployed to the Pacific. They made their home in Lodi most of their entire lives. Viola was a fine athlete in her own right. She played shortstop on a championship softball team in 1939. Earl died in 1997 and Viola in 2009. Both are buried at Cherokee Memorial Park in Lodi.

I discovered Earl Klapstein after having my mother's DNA tested. I wanted to be able to identify which of my DNA matches came from each parent. I also know so little about my mother's side of the family, I was hopeful a test one generation further back would be helpful. One of her 4th to 6th cousin matches had no family tree attached to the test, but I recognized the surname of the person who administered the test from a one-place study I had done of Leduc, Alberta, Canada -- where my Schalin ancestors settled in 1893. I messaged him and we've since shared enough information for me to place him in my family tree. According to my tree software he is the grand nephew of the husband of a first cousin twice removed. That means that from my known information we are not related by blood. So there must have been a Klapstein-Schalin marriage in Russia about which we are both unaware.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

Fearless Females: Immigration
Fearless Females: Religion

Family History Writing Challenge Week #4 Recap: Curling

This is post wraps up the Family History Writing Challenge, a month-long challenge to stop researching our ancestors and start writing about them. I experienced frustration, learned some valuable lessons, wrote about the places in which my Scottish Muirs lived and people for which I had few facts. But what did people do with the little leisure time they had?  Last week I was looking at the 1858 British Ordnance Survey map for East Kilbride parish. I spotted something interesting -- a curling pond near Swinhill Farm, the home of my 3X great grandparents, Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple. Perfect timing since one of my favorite Olympic sports is curling. I guess it's my Scottish roots showing!

Curling pond near Swinhill, Dalserf, Lanarkshire

John Quinn a notary in Paisley, Scotland, first described the sport in 1541 when he wrote about a challenge between a monk in Paisley Abbey and a representative of the abbot. The word curling was first used in 1620 in the a poem written by Henry Adamson. We also know the weavers of East Ayrshire relaxed by playing curling matches. They used the heavy stone weights from their warp beams outfit with a detachable handle. The brass handles were frequently kept on the mantle of the home's fireplace, and wives would keep them highly polished. Scottish immigrants brought the game with them to Canada where it is firmly established today and a winter Olympic sport.

Curling on a lake in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1892; photo courtesy of Wikipedia

By 1830 curling was so popular, there was a demand for a national rule-making body to regulate the game as many variations were played. By 1838 almost every parish in Scotland had its own custom-made curling pond. If my Muir ancestors played, I imagine couldn't afford to join a club, but rather gathered with other at-leisure miners on the local pond for a game.

How did I do?

All Blacks: Haka!

Thanks to a work colleague, who is from South Africa, I know how big a deal rugby is in some parts of the world. I discovered a few weeks ago when researching my Semple ancestors, who emigrated from Scotland to New Zealand in 1862, that I have a famous All Blacks captain in my extended family tree.

William Archibald Strang

My South African friend had this to say:

As a kid growing up in South Africa the Springboks vs. All Blacks was, as far as we were concerned, the greatest rivalry in world sport. Those heros from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were spoken of with awe.

The following profile was written by Lindsay Knight for the New Zealand Rugby Museum:

Archie Strang was a clever inside back, equally skilled at halfback or either five eighths position, who may have achieved even greater deeds in New Zealand rugby had he born in another era.

Strang was at his peak in the depression years of the early 30s. But as a stock agent in South Canterbury he often had trouble leaving his job and at the end of the 1931 season when he was still only 25 he retired to concentrate on his work having in those grim depression years being given an ultimatum by an employer for whom rugby had little interest.

A Southlander by birth, Strang moved with his family to Timaru while in his early teens and was an exceptional first XV player 1922-24 while at Timaru Boys High School. He had also played 1st XV rugby for Southland Boys High School in 1921.

He went straight into the South Canterbury representative side from school in 1925 and even as a youngster showed maturity and leadership quality. As a teenager he captained South Canterbury in his first season in a match against West Coast.

Strang in those seasons alternated between halfback and the five eighths, But it was as a five eigthhs that he gained a place in the South Island side for the 1927 interisland match which also doubled as a trial for the following year's tour to South Africa.

A top performance in that and the final trial won him a place in the touring party where his versatility proved to be an asset. He played in 14 of the 22 matches and with Frank Kilby injured for much of the tour filled in as a halfback on five occasions.

He played in the first two tests as a second five eighths and in the second match in the series drop kicked a goal with 10 minutes remaining to give the All Blacks a 7-6 win, their first test win on South African soil.

Despite this heroic contribution Strang was dropped for the final two tests. Because of work he was unavailable for the 1929 tour of Australia but proved he was still a national contender with a starring role for the South in that year's interisland match scoring a try, converting one and kicking four penalties for a personal tally of 17.

After captained a combined South Canterbury, Mid Canterbury and North Otago selection against the 1930 British tourist and scoring a try and a penalty in the 16-9 defeat he returned to the All Blacks for the final two tests.

Playing at first five, he kicked a conversion in the All Blacks' 15-10 third test win at Eden Park and in the 22-8 fourth test win at Athletic Park he scored a try and kicked two conversion. Strang's last test for the All Blacks was again at first five and as captain in the 1931 20-13 win over Australia at Eden Park.

Strang made the All Blacks from two South Canterbury clubs, High School Old Boys in 1928 and then Temuka in 1930. In the Temuka club's centenary book he is described glowingly as "a sound and heady first five eighths" and "a complete footballer."

His younger brother Jack represented South Canterbury as a forward in 1934-37 and played for the South Island in 1935. Archie Strang later became a prominent administrator on the South Canterbury union and for many years served international touring teams in any stay at Timaru as a liaison officer. He was also selector-coach for the Tauranga sub-union.

Haka!