Veterans

I've always been rushed when it came to jotting down a list of family veterans for the kids to take to school each November. To get around that, I usually claimed we didn't know of anyone who served in the military. And, We are off a generation - our parents were too young for WWII and too old for Vietnam. When I've taken time to think about it, though, I realize that there are indeed relatives that I could have been listing!

Start with: My dad. (Surprise!) He served in the Army in Okinawa from 1953-1955. He saw no action, but worked in an office on the island for several years.

My brother: Clyde K. Harward. He served in the Army as a medic during the 1980's. He was in Germany and Texas. He was released early due to his son's health issues and is since deceased.

My 19-year-old son isn't quite a veteran yet. He signed up for the Army National Guard 9 months ago and just completed his "boot camp" training this past October (2008).

My mother's two brothers were vets:
Uncle Harold S. Madsen served in the army in Germany during WWII. The story is told of how he and his buddies were hiding in a cellar while German soldiers were searching the house above them. He attributes their being alive to God's intervention!

Uncle Kenneth C. Madsen served in WWII in the Navy - He told us of how he was sea sick on a transport ship for weeks. Poor guy!

My husband's great uncle served in WWII. We have a photo of him in uniform. I plan to track down some more relatives and list them here...

Re: Rickords

Here are some of my favorite Rickords photos:

These two are of Vernon J Rickords,(17Mar1910-28Aug1980) son of Cecil Bert and Jennie Eliza Jane Calkins Rickords. He worked at a dude ranch 1930-31 outside of Reno, Nevada to earn enough money to marry his sweetheart, Hazel Shockey (14Jun1913-15Dec1998), daughter of Liss Listy and Evelyn Gidney Shockey. They are my husband's paternal grandparents.


This is Jennie Eliza Jane Calkins Rickords 1947 at Soap Lake, Washington. I love that she was comfortable having a swimsuit photo taken of her back in the day!
Below is Cecil Bert Rickords, Jennie's husband from whom she was divorced. They had nine children together when Cecil up and left - returned home to his parents and Jennie had to support the family after this. She was a strong woman whom I definitely admire!

Here are seven of those nine children and Cecil and Jennie. 1930.

A Riot of Rickords

We Rickords are pretty particular about how you spell our name. Yes, we know that it's a misspelling from some other point in time. Originally, it was most likely Records. Some use Rickards, Richards, Rickard or Rickord.

Whatever. It is what it is and has been since Benjamin Rickords (1808-aft1870) from Delaware/Maryland spelled it thus in the early 1800's.

What we know of him: Benjamin Eskridge Rickords m. Sabrina Killpatrick (1811-aft1870) to this marriage were born 11 children all in Ohio: (and where did this Eskridge name come from? It shows up in 3 generations of Rickords...) He died in Broadwell, Logan County, Illinois where many Rickords lived for generations and some still do. If you look for them in census records, be sure to check the various spellings, including ORickords (for the 1880 census taker who heard "William O. Rickords" and interpreted it as "William O'Rickords")


1.Richard Eskridge Rickords (22Oct1830-17Dec1920)m.Christiann Harlow
*2.William Orlando Rickords (7Apr1833-6Nov1919) m.Lucy/Icy Lawson
3.Sarah E. Rickords (2Jul1835-22Oct1905) m. Samuel Watts
4.Mary Jane Rickords (1837-Bef 1865) m. Andrew Lawson
5.Eliza Ann Rickords (1839-1874) m.1 John McNeely m.2 John Lawson
6. Smiley Spencer Rickords (8Feb1842-22Aug1919) m. Eliza Jane Porter
7.John Wesley Rickords (4Feb1844-7Jul1926) m.1 Sarah R. Antill M.2 Mary J. Zimmerman
8. Joseph A or H Rickords (1845-1863)
9. Samuel B. Rickords (Jan1848-15Jan1935) m. Mary Emmaline Harlow
10.Drusilla Rickords (1850- )
11.Rebecca Rickords (Sep18568-aft1930) m. Mahlon Lawson

*2. William Orlando Rickords
and Issy Lawson (interesting that 4 of the siblings married into the Lawson family.)
I have recently become acquainted with Reita who lives in Illinois and has graciously shared photos of her father and grandfather Samuel James Rickords (son of Wm Orlando Rickords) as well as many of the Rickords tombstones in Illinois. This past summer I acquired two more photos of Wm Orlando's children: Smiley Spencer and Emma May. This makes 4 children for whom I have photos from that family!
Their 10 children:

*2A. John Eskridge Rickords (6Jul1858-27Jan1952) m. Anna Mae Shilling











2B. Mary Elizabeth Rickords (8Feb1861-aft 1900) m. Herman Pane Slayton
2C. Benjamin P. Rickords (15Jan1864-1921) m. Cordelia D. Hess
2D. Samuel James Rickords (8Mar1867-13Jun1929) m.1 Hester E. Staggers m.2 Clara Lavona Crayne
2E. Smiley Spencer Rickords (4Sep1869-1940) m. Loretta G. Harper










2F. Emma May Rickords (2Mar1872-23Nov1949) m. Joseph Lucas











2G. Andrew Johnson Rickords (31Mar1874-aft 1910) m. Effie Mae Page
2H. Joseph Alexander Rickords (9Dec1876-aft1930)
2I. William Henry Rickords (25Apr1878-aft1918)
2J. George W. Rickords (11Oct1882-1942)

*2A. John Eskridge Rickords and Anna Mae Shilling had 5 children:

2A.i. Elizabeth Lanore Rickords (14Sep1884-May1961) m. C. Richard Beck
*2A.ii. Cecil Bert Rickords (20Oct1887-24Dec1959) m. Jennie Eliza Jane Calkins
2A.iii. Levert John Rickords (10Jul1893-23Apr1970) m. Anna Messner
2A.iv. Claude Allen Rickords (20Jun1900-31Dec1939) m. Leota Genevia Ryman

2A.v. Jessie Rebecca Rickords (29Apr1902-Apr1997) m.1 Frank Anderson m.2 Gustov Maehl


*2A.ii. Cecil and Jennie Eliza Jane Calkins Rickords had 9 children:

*2A.ii.a. Vernon J Rickords (17Mar1910-28Aug1980) m. Hazel Shockey

2A.ii.b. Hazel Fern Rickords (5Feb1912-24Jul1991) m.1 Tom Chisom m.2 John Anderson m.3 Elling Ytteroy m.4 Josef H. Weidmann

2A.ii.c. Ruth Evelyn Rickords (24Feb1914-2Feb1992) m.1 Art Struble m.2 Bob Hicks m.3 Riley H. Fisher

2A.ii.d. Dorothy Mae Rickords (26Nov1916-1May1973) m. Charles Calvin Powers

2A.ii.e. Kenneth Claude Rickords (16Oct1918-23Jan1993) m. Dorothy Rose Leubke

2A.ii.f. Doris Aileen Rickords (1Jul1921-17Jul2005) m. William B. Hall

2A.ii.g. Cecil Lorain Rickords (27Aug1923-15Aug1997) m. Peggy Lou Dobbs

2A.ii.h. Lindel Bert Rickords (living)

2A.ii.i. Claude James Rickords (22Jul1926-14May2007) m. Valoyce Roxy Elrod

*2A.ii.a. Vernon J and Hazel Shockey Rickords had 3 children:

2A.ii.a.1. Deena Barbara Rickords (5Feb1933-17Jun1988)
2A.ii.a.2. John Vernon Rickords (27Jun1935-24Jan1940)
died at age 5 to leukemia










*2A.ii.a.3. Philip Rickords (living)
Philip has six children. I am married to the oldest. We have 5 children, three of them boys who will carry on the Rickords name.

Favorite Photos

Here's my dad's step-mother - Joan Arnett Cheesbrough as a toddler, her sister Victoria and their step-brother Joseph Henry Cheesbrough. They're sitting on a stuffed ostrich at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition World's Fair held in San Francisco in 1915. The family visited here that year from their ranch home in Wyoming and purchased some new furniture as well.



These two photos are of Nellie Arnett Cheesbrough - Joan's (Dad's step-mom) mother. Can't you just see the joy in her face? I love it! We are so fortunate to have dozens of photos like this of the Arnetts and Cheesbroughs. It appears that they were refined and well-to-do. One of the sisters to Nellie was a doctor.

Della Louise Burtenshaw

Della Louise Burtenshaw Noe Paramour Harward

I've always wanted to know my Grandma Harward. My dad's mother. She died of breast cancer when Dad was five. I'd like to see what was in her mind and what made her "tick." My cousin Susan wrote a book about her mom, including a lot of information about Grandma. It is so fascinating!

Here's the facts that I know about her:
She was born 16 Sep 1895 in Shelton, Bonneville, Idaho to William Burtenshaw and Sarah Alice Clegg. Married George Edwin Noe 9 Dec 1941 in Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho. Divorced. Married 2nd John Franklin Paramour in 1929 in Reno, Washoe, Nevada. Divorced. Married 3rd Eldon Harward 31 Jan 1931 in Price, Carbon, Utah. Divorced. Died 3 July 1941 in Shelton, Bonneville, Idaho of Breast Cancer.

My Documentation includes:
1900 census, Dist. 16, Willow Creek, Bingham, Idaho: Burtenshaw, Della, daughter, white, female, born Sept 1896, age 4, single, born in Idaho, both parents born in Utah.

1910 census, Dist. 51, Willow Creek, Bingham, Idaho: Burtenshaw, Della L., daughter, female, white, age 14, single, born in Idaho, both parents born in Utah. Occupation: none.





William Burtenshaw Family
Back Row: John, Francis, LeRoy
2nd Row: Etta Burtenshaw Moss, Vera Burtenshaw Schmidt, Ora Burtenshaw Snow, Linda Burtenshaw Cleverley
3rd Row: Lorania Burtenshaw Yetter Jackson (Aunt Rainy), Della (Grandma!), Mother Sarah Alice Clegg Burtenshaw
Front: Wilbur Brown (from Sarah's second marriage) and Florence Burtenshaw Miller


1920 census, Dist. 102, Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho: Noe, Della L., wife, female, white, age 24, married, born in Idaho, both parents born in Utah. Occupation: none.

Film #184262 P. 1296 Salt Lake. Divorced.

1930 census, Dist. 31, Reno, Washoe, Nevada: Paramore, Della, wife-H, female, white, age 35, married, first married at age 19, born in Idaho, both parents born in Utah. Occupation: none.

Marriage certificate to Eldon Harward (image is as big as I can get it here)



Here is an e-mail I got from one of my inquiries to cousin Susan:
June 28, 2008
Hi Lisa,

Apparently none of Della's three husbands were angels. A few years ago Carol, Barbara, and I visited with Della's younger--and only surviving--sister, Florence (who has since passed away); and she told us that Della was a 'rescuer' when it came to men. She said Della was attracted to men who weren't very good to her. I don't know how much truth there is in that, but it is the case that all the men she married did, in one way or another, abuse her. I don't know whether George Noe was ever physically abusive, but he did cheat on her. Her second marriage lasted only abut six months, and that husband apparently was very abusive. In the case of Eldon, the abuse came later.

Eldon and Della married in January, 1931, and my mother described their first year together as probably the happiest in her childhood. Eldon was very good to both Della and Maxine, and Maxine called him daddy and loved him like a father. But everything changed with the birth of their stillborn daughter in the summer of 1933. That is when their marriage began to deteriorate. They began to argue frequently, and Eldon left often for weeks at a time to work in Wyoming. There was much unrest and insecurity over mining at the time (conflicts over unionization, etc.), and I suspect their personal tragedy was compounded by economic concerns. Della twice attempted suicide by drinking poison. I suspect she was suffering from depression, and was probably no eaiser to live with than Eldon. Their relationship apparently deteriorated so severely that even the birth of your father--in November 1934--could not salvage it.

In September, 1936, Della had a mastectomy for breast cancer. The incision was held in place by small pearl buttons. (Yes, it sounds bizarre to me too. I have no idea how that actually worked and have never been able to learn more about it.) A few days following her sugery in the mining hospital in Kenilworth, she was transferred to the hospital in Price, where she spent a couple of weeks. Following is the account I wrote in my book about the episode over her buttons. It is based on mother's account:

Two weeks passed, and Eldon brought Della home. She was weak and could hardly lift her one arm. That very night, despite her weakness, the arguments started again and continued as if there had never been a break. One night shortly after her return home, the two got into an especially ugly quarrel; it turned violent and Eldon shoved Della roughly, causing her sore arm to fling backwards. Della cried out in pain. The incision over her breast was not sutured, it was held in place by small pearl buttons, and the backward thrust of her arm caused one of the buttons to rip out. Two more weeks passed and Eldon left for Wyoming, and Della returned to work as a cook at the hotel.

The only other episode of physical violence I know of occurred in the spring of 1937. Della and Eldon were arguing and Maxine got between them and told Eldon to leave her mama alone. He hit Maxine and gave her a black eye.

So there you have it. It's a sad story. But of course, it's also incomplete. I imagine that even throughout their troubled years, they had moments of happiness and contentment as well. And, of course, their was the birth of your dad. Which just shows that even the most difficult and unhappy circumstances can still bring forth something good and wonderful.

Love, Sue