Surname Saturday – Lander

This apparently simple surname is in fact one of complex origins according to the surname data base. It may be a development of the Olde French "Lavendier" which was usually anglicized to Launder and Lander, and describes one who owned the local laundry, and was therefore occupational.  The same word was confusingly applied to a textile worker who washed the cloth after dyeing.  However, a larger number of British name holders will have a Germanic or Anglo-Saxon origins, and sometimes with a later 17th century Huguenot entry as well to thoroughly mix the brew.  In this case the name is topographical and describes a countryman, one who lived on the land, as opposed to a city dweller.

Bleaching Ground by de Momper and Jan Brueghel II,
early 17th Century

Another origin of the name traces to the town of Landau in Germany, but I, at this time, do not think this family branch goes back in this direction.

It’s interesting to note here, that during my research, I have found this surname spelled many other ways.  This may have occurred when the information was gathered during the time of the census, or the transcriber may have translated the script differently than what was actually written.  Some other examples found besides the ones listed above include Landess, Landere, Landes, Lanner, Landis, Lauder, Larder, Landry, Landers, Landen, Alander, and Sander to name a few.

In any case, I have had to be very open to misspellings for this surname.  It has also been helpful to seek the same document (i.e., census record) but indexed by different organizations, such as Ancestry vs. Heritage Quest.

My husband’s known family history (handed down) begins with Warren LANDER and Trypheni/Tryhphena BILLINGS of Brighton, Somerset, Maine.  I spent a lot of time searching for Billings and I now believe that the evidence points to Tryphena PICKERING and that Billings was probably her middle name.  If this is true, then they married in 1836 in Brighton, Maine and my husband’s great grandfather was one of at least five children (four girls and one boy) from this union.

It was 3 November 1845 that Warren and Trypheni became parents of a son whom they named Warren James LANDER.

“At an early age he removed with his parents to Kingston, Wisconsin.  When he was seven years of age his father died.

In the autumn of 1865, Warren entered Lawrence University at Appleton and graduated as Bachelor of Arts in the summer of 1869 as valedictorian of his class.  He was admitted to the bar in Outagamie County in 1870 and in 1871 took up his residence in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Soon after he settled in Green Bay, he was elected city attorney for Fort Howard and filled this position for six years.”

Green Bay and Fort Howard 1867

On 21 October 1875, Warren married Miss Annah Elizabeth Watson, (born 2 March 1849 in Newbury, Sank County, Wisconsin). The wedding took place in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Lamb (Brother-in-law and sister to Annah) in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  From this union they had ten children.

The Lander family made their home in Green Bay, Wisconsin until Warren’s tragic death on 28 November 1892.

Green Bay Lawyer Hangs’ Himself.

Green Bay, Wis., Nov. 28 - Special Telegram.

- Warren J. Lander committed suicide to-day by hanging himself with a clothes line in the attic of his home on Webster avenue.  For several months Mr. Lander, who is a lawyer, has been a sufferer, having only recently recovered from a severe illness, which culminated in a brain trouble. Though suffering considerably he at- tended to his office duties during the past months until a few days ago, when he was again taken severely ill.

Regarding the character of Warren James Lander, it was stated that, “Mr. Lander was a man of more than ordinary intellectual power, he was an able and successful advocate; being of industrious and persevering habits he soon attained a high standing at the bar and acquired a competence for himself and family.”

©2012 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Those Places Thursday – A Day in Hollywood

I gave my husband a slice of family history this year for Christmas:  tickets to see It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Okay, maybe that’s not quite the family history you may think of, but this movie happens to be my husband’s all-time favorite and his family roots stretch into the Hollywood area.  In fact, his family owned a house on Hollywood Boulevard in the late 1800’s.



Lander Home on Hollywood Boulevard, late 1890's

This all started a couple of weeks ago when I was searching for places to visit in the Los Angeles area for a possible family reunion in 2012.  I stumbled upon an article about the recent restoration efforts of the Egyptian Theatre and then happened to notice the list of coming attractions.  I was so excited to see my husband’s favorite on the list.  I called the kids to confirm their availability for the date and then bought tickets.

We had a great time.  First we drove up the coast and saw some of the areas where the film was shot.  My husband got nostalgic and showed us the hill that he, as a kid, used to race down on his Flexy Flyer, and then traveling east on Sunset Boulevard we saw Paul Revere Middle School, his junior high alma mater.

We got to our destination a couple hours early so we could check out some of the sights. 

You can’t step out on Hollywood without stepping on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Once a century ago, sweet citrus trees and palms populated the Boulevard.  Today, this public “monument” now lines the thoroughfare.  It consists of marble and bronze stars embedded into the sidewalk as memorials to individuals who have made an impact on the entertainment industry.

Mel Brooks on the Walk of Fame

As we walked and read the many stars at our feet we completely missed the entrance to the Egyptian Theatre and had to double back.  Registering where it was located, we crossed the street and went to Hollywood and Highland for dinner.

Hollywood and Highland Complex, December 2011

The Hollywood and Highland complex today is home to the Kodak theatre and a shopping complex that wraps around the back of the Chinese Theatre. The elephants and monolithic wall pay homage to D.W. Griffith's Gates of Babylon from his film Intolerance.

The original gates stood a few miles east where Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards (possibly near my husband’s ancestral Lander home) meet in East Hollywood. They stood until, termite infested, they were declared a public nuisance and torn down.

Moving west along the Boulevard, we visited Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.  This landmark theatre was commissioned a couple of years after the success of the Egyptian Theatre.  It opened May 18, 1927, with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s film The King of Kings.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre, December 2011

It’s a grand and beautiful structure but the most popular and unique feature is its forecourt.  This area is filled with concrete slabs which display the signatures, footprints, and handprints (even Sonja Henie’s skate blade marks) of popular motion picture personalities through the years.  (Unfortunately, this attraction in later years would pull the attention away from the Egyptian Theatre.)

After lingering on the steps of the Chinese Theatre and trying to fit our hands and feet into the cement impressions, we proceeded east on the Boulevard to the Egyptian Theatre.

The Egyptian Theatre, 1939

The Egyptian Theatre was originally built in 1922 by showman Sid Grauman and real estate developer Charles E. Toberman.  It cost $800,000 and took 18 months to construct. Seeing it today, this magnificent theatre has been carefully restored honoring its past and its original Egyptian Revival style - a fad in the 1920’s which was inspired by the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922.

When it opened on October 18, 1922, the Egyptian was the venue for the first-ever Hollywood premier, Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks. And, because the original film cost over $1 million to produce, the admission price to the premiere was $5.00. 

The Egyptian Theatre, December 2011

Eighty-nine years later, our family enjoyed our first-ever movie, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World inside this historic theatre at a cost of $11.oo a ticket.  I’d say that’s a great price to pay for a wonderful day of entertainment and a slice of history.

©2012 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories – The Ward's First Card

This is a continuing post for the AdventCalendar of Christmas Memories which is hosted by GeneaBloggers as a means to encourage family historians to write about their holiday traditions. Today’s prompt is Christmas Cards.

In October of 1933, my husband’s parents eloped and were married in Mexicali, Mexico.  This is the Christmas card they sent out to friends and family the following year.

Christmas 1934



©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Military Monday - Herschel Lander with the 4th Corps Balloon Group

Corp. Herschel S. Lander, World War I

My husband's great uncle, Herschel S. Lander
(23 Jun 1890-28 May 1940), son of Warren and Annah Lander, was in France during World War I with the American Expeditionary Force, 4th Corps Balloon Group.

On back of World War I Postcard Photo reads the following:

Mr. W. J. Lander & Family

A Merry Xmas
  &
A Happy New Year
Corp. Herschel S. Lander
Headquarters Co. Balloon Group
4^th Army Corps
Am. E.F.
A.R.O.775.

World War I Balloon units of the U.S. Army:

• 1st Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Balloon Companies.
• 3rd Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 3rd, 4th, 9th, and 42nd Balloon Companies.
• 5th Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 12th Balloon Companies.
• First U.S. Army Balloons consisted of the 1st Corps Balloon Group which consisted of the 11th and 43rd Balloon Companies.
• 4th Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 15th, 16th, and 69th Balloon Companies.
• 6th Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 10th Balloon Company.

Air Service World War I posters fromWikipedia

For more information, go to www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Wordless Wednesday - Lander Camping Trip



  Camping at Pismo Beach, California in 1919

(Left to Right) Herschel, Warren, Lois (4 yrs. old), Florence Lander

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Cupid Goes to Berkley

Thanks to Betty’s Boneyard Genealogy Blog for posting Tuesday’s Tip: The California Newspaper Digital Archive, I have found a great article on a couple of early Hollywood, California relatives.  The article appeared in the Los Angeles Herald, Volume 33, Number 328, 24 August 1906.

CUPID STEALS
COLLEGE GIRL

INVADES GATES OF NORTHERN
UNIVERSITY

Los Angeles Attorney and
One of Hollywood's Fairest Daughters
Wedded — Couple Find Separation
Is Simply Unbearable

  Even the most steadfast ambitions of a maid with inclinations toward a college education cannot withstand some of the onslaughts of Cupid when the little blind god makes up his mind.

This was proved to a large circle of friends of Miss Florence Murphy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Murphy, and Warren James Lander, a prominent young attorney, yesterday.

Two weeks ago Miss Murphy, now Mrs. Lander, packed her trunks and started north, bound for the freshman class at Berkeley.

That was two weeks ago yesterday.  Whether it is that there is really some truth in the saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder is not clear, but the truth remains that Mr. Lander was able to stand the separation not quite one week.

The following Wednesday evening he took the train for San Francisco and Thursday morning arrived there.  He went to Berkeley and found Miss Murphy installed in the apartments which she had taken for the fall term.

Perhaps absence has much the same effect on a young woman as it does on a young man. Just what words the young man used to convince the young woman that he could no longer live in Los Angeles while she lived in Berkeley no one but Mr. and Mrs. Lander and the four walls of a room know, and they will not tell.  Certain it is that his language was persuasive, for before nightfall the girl had decided that a course in managing a pretty little home in Hollywood would be quite as beneficial to her mental and spiritual development as a course in the University of California.

That night they went to Oakland, where they paid a visit to the First Congregational church, and with the assistance of the minister they banished all further thought of colleges and careers.

Mrs. Lander again packed her trunks and for a week a very happy bride and bridegroom enjoyed the pleasures of Santa Cruz and Del Monte.  Yesterday they came home and moved immediately into a pretty house opposite to the home of the bride's parents.

Eight years ago, when Florence Murphy and Warren Lander were 13 and 14 years of age respectively, they were sweethearts.  Ever since that time they have been the closest friends, and it was understood that when Miss Murphy had received enough of college life she would become his bride.  Before she went away to college Mr. Lander tried to persuade her that she did not want to go, but he did not succeed. There is evidently nothing like trying and trying again if you would win the heart of a lady fair.

Miss Murphy is a graduate of the Los Angeles high school and a talented pianist.  She is an attractive girl with blonde hair and blue eyes and a graceful slender figure.  Mr. Lander is a graduate of the law school of the University of Southern California and is looked upon as a clever young man.  The wedding came as a big surprise to the friends and relatives of the young people.

Warren and Florence at Berkley, ca. 1906

 

I always wondered why their wedding took place in Oakland when they both lived in Hollywood. 

Thanks again Betty! 

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, Hollywood Cemetery, and Blogging

Last weekend I attended the 42nd Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel.  This was my third time going to this event and I was not disappointed.  My weekend was filled with great instruction from top notch speakers, cruising (and purchasing) throughout the exhibit hall, and exchanging stories with other family historians.  I had a great time.
 
There were two highlights of the event for me.  The first was that I got to tour the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where my husband’s great-grandmother, Annah E. Lander, was interned in 1935.  And the second was to attend at the Genealogy Bloggers Summit I where I found instruction and encouragement to start this blog.

1935 Newpaper Obituary from Family Scrapbook

The Hollywood Forever Tour was fantastic.  I had forgotten my research data at home so I had to go to the office to look up where Annah was located.  The girl in the office leafed through an old log book and she found the information I needed.  Annah was in the Cathedral Mausoleum, Crypt 75, at the far end of the cemetery.

Hollywood Cemetery Cathedral Mausoleum

Photo taken June 10, 2011

Annah Elizabeth Watson Lander

Born March 2, 1849 in Newbury, Sank County, Wisconsin

Died1935 in Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California

I know this blog is a little rough and bumpy but I'm encouraged by the community and support that is available and look forward to hearing from you. 

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved