Musings

I have been busy for a while - and yet I have not posted. I was thinking today as I read a short article about genealogy in Family Tree a genealogy magazine - that I should use the Blog! It was % questions with a genealogy blogger that got my attention, so I thougfht I would personalize a little bit: Question 1: How did I get started in genealogy? This is easy. I had just retired and we wewre visiting Ann's mother. While we were there we were visited by Ann's first cousin, Barbara, and she sparked an interest when she asked me to help her with a project. Heck I was retired, I had some computer skills, and I had some time. She suggested taking the 1949 family hisdtory book, and use that as a foundation, and try to update it - locating lost relatives! I did not immediately fall into the bottomless pit. When wqe returned home I spent a couple of hours with a former co-worker who had been doing genealogy for years. Together it was the result of these two folks that got me hooked. Question 2: What would be your "top family history find"? This was apparently for the lady in the magazine - nopt for me however. The Tener Family has had a number of folks interested in family history and I have been very fortunate to meet them - or their descendants. What I am trying to compress is that many, many folks have been incredibly kind and have shared many, many family archives. If there is a way to encapsulate thew highlights, it would be the sharing of so many family stories, letters, photos and artifacts. It isthis generousity which has allowed me to share among the family so many stories. Question 3: What isthe latest you have stayed up at night working on genealogy? Let me preface my response with a short history. When I was in the working world, I worked a lot of shift work: many, perhaps the vast majority of those would be a 'swing shift' or the hours between 4:00 PM and midnight. I think that those late hours may have had some effect upon by biological clock, or my circadian rythm, or even something I learned a little about - Photoperiodism. All this to say, I stay up late. IF I get on a roll,. and have lines that I am able to pursue, I have often stayed up to a little afte 4:00 AM! Remember - I am retired. Question 4: If you could meet any ancestor, who would it be? Isn't this a fascinating question? Would it be the baseball player? Would it be the bachelor banker who cherished his herd of milking shorthorn cattle? Would it be one of the family historians who so painlessly transcribed over 570 pages of old family letters? Maybe the first member of the family to travel to the USA? Maybe one of the George Tener's who was a family historian, or Roberta T. Johns who too was very much into the Family History. I just do not know. But, on the other side of the grave - I have had the blessing to meet so many of the living relatives, and with luck this group will only grow! Question 5: If you were not doing genealogy, what would you be doing? The very first thing that came to mind was - I'd like to be a better cook. Before genealogy, I was involved with my college fraternity alumni association, and continue to do that. Our House is almost 100 years old, and in need of repairs. Some way I have been responsible to maintaining it - and that can be time consuming. I have been very luck to find very talented alumni to help with this project. Then, while I am healthy, I'd like to travel some more. And there is no reason not to merge travel and genealogy! OK. There are some questions, and along with my musings - a recent post onto the blog.

Hugh Tener & Matilda Erbe

Hampden wrote:
“Can we learn anything further about these two?
Where did Hugh Tener settle in Ireland? (written in an answer – Castlecaulfield.
What are the antecedents of Matilda Erbe?

“The crest used on the Tener silver and the Moree harness is credited by Burke and others to the Tanner of Cornwall and Devon. If this is the case, who changed the name?

“Lee Tener of Brooklyn thinks much could be learned from the Church records in Castlecaulfield. He also suggests that someone should have a talk with Mrs. Edw. Archer (Emily Tener), 81 Antrim Road, Belfast – a grand daughter of Richard tener of Castlecaulfield. Mrs. Archer is well over 80. She might also help with the Kinley line – sice her grandfather’s brother Robert ‘Robin’ Tener married a Sarah Kinley.

“A guess is that the Tener’s or Tanners first came to Ireland either during the Ulster Plantation in 1610, or with soldiers of William III – victor of Boyne I n 1690. For authentic word on this it would seem necessary for someone to search the records in Ireland. The crest, while interesting, is at best only a clue.

"In the published genealogy of Tanner Family of Rhose Island andUtah, it is stated that the Tannersof Cornwall and Devon are the ancestors of all the Tanners in America and Ireland. But we have yet to establish any connection between the Tener’s of Tyrone and the Tanners of Cornwall and Devon.”

The above is part of Hampden Evans Tener papers / letters – possibly part of an exchange between he and Roberta Tener Johns. I amguessing that this was written in the late 1930's or early 1940's --- SO I'll ask if anyone knows about Emily Tener Archer of Belfast - please e-mail me!

So the question in 2012: Does anyone have any documenbtation to add to the mystery? Beside what is in the Tener bluer book - do we know anything about Matilda Erbe and her family line?

Robert O. Tener - son

It is interesting how some material 'resurfaces' and has more meaning once it is examined under a microscope.

Some time ago I received papers from a Tener descendant, and I have had some difficulty getting it all togedther.

My two prior posts were on a Robert Tener who died in January 1943 in New Jersey. More papers are falling together. In a news article in the New Jersey Press, dated October 21, 1943 - and submitted to a family historian Hampden E Tener Jr at about that time by the named person's sister - Mrs. Wm. McKellin of New Jersey, we see the following:

FORT MONMOUTH MAN DECORATED
Fort Monmouth - The Distinguished Flying Cross was presented Tuesday afternoon at Fort Monmouth to Lt. Robert O. Tener, 27, Miami Florida, by Brig. Gen. George L. Van Deusen, commanding general of the erastern signal corps training center.

The medal was awarded "for extraordinary achievement while participating, during the period from Aug. 16 to Dec. 21, 1942, in 22 operational air flights, totaling over 203 hours, during which exposure to enemy fire was probable and expected." At that time he was a corporal. Since then he has returned to the offic er candidatge school at Fort Monmouth, where he was greaduated last August.

Tener enlisted in the air corps at Cam,p Blanding, Fla. Nov. 25, 1941, 12 days before Pearl Harbor, and received his training at four different airfields in the United States. His training was climaxed by a flight in a new bomber from Hamilton field, CAlifornia to Hickam Field, Hawaii, and he went into action against the Japanese almost immediately.

On one bombing mission, Tener and another radio operator - later killed in action - were left exposed to a score of Zero fighters for about twenty minutes as the bomb bay doors of their B-17 jammed open. Tener's companion blasted the corners of the doors off with a pistol to obtain a better view for shooting back.

MISHAP DAMAGES PLANE
In recalling the indicent, Tener explained: "We were operating out of Guadalcanal and on the previous evening one wheel of the bomber dropped into a hole in the rough field we were using. The mishap bent a wing, wrecked a propeller and messed up the bomb racks. Hurriedly patching up the damage, we took off to destroy Japanese shipping which was aiding the big Nipponese push on Guadalcanal. Not until we tried to drop the bombs did we realize the plane's belly was open and the bombs were stuck. Finally we pried the bombs loose, shot off the doors and fought our way to safety."

Bombing every night was the routine around Henderson Field, with the "Tokyo Express" or "Washing Machine Charlie" as the Americans named the nusiance planes, coming over practically on schedule, Tener said. The American fliers returned the compl;iment by dropping bottles oa beer bottles on Japenese installations. :"Nobody slept much", Tener said.

Spotting of mat runways being built by the Japanese in coconut groves was one job of the bomber crews. "The Japanese built the mats around trees, then cut them down to make an iumprovised courduroy field," Lieutenant Tener said. "Whenever we spotted too much white showing thru the trees, we dropped a few bombs just for good measure. The mats were built of coral, which incidentally, is plenty hard to dig foxholes in."

This article was sent to Hampden E. Tener Jr. by his cousin, Mrs William H. McKellin - nee Tener of the Ireland Clan. However, this Tener noted above, is from the Ohio Teners - and to date has NOT been connected to the Irish

ROBERT TENER (1869 - 1943)

Howdy:

In my last post I included a request for contact. I thought it would help to reproduce the obituary which was in the Newark Evening News in January 1943:

Robert Tener, 74, of 680 Belgrove Drive, Arlington, died at his home yesterday, after an illness of several months. Born in Belfast, Ireland, he lived in West Hudson more than fifty years and was employed by the Linen Thread Co., Kearny, until his retirement ten years ago. He was a member of Copestone Lodge, F. and A. M., Kearny.

Mr. Tener is survived by a son John of East Orange, and two daughters: Mrs. Mary McKellin of Arlington; and Mrs. Martha Barian of Allenhurst. Masonic services will be held tomorrow at 8:00 PM at the George Brierly Funeral Home, 750 Kearney Avenue, Arlington. Rev. Dr. Wallace Carver of First Presbyterian Church, Arlington, will officiate at religious services there Monday at 2:00 PM. Internment will be at Arlington Cemetery.

Hope to hear from a descendant.

SEEKING A FAMILY LINE

It occurred to me as I was trying to locate a missing family line of Teners: maybe, just maybe there would be someone from that line, seeking information, and they might locate us.

That being the case - I am trying to locate a descendant of the Robert Tener line, he was born in Ireland in 1867. He immigrated to USA in 1887, or so, naturalized in 1892. His wife, one Janet McMechan was Scottish, arrived in Ellis Island with the children in June 1893.

Thisbranch was a little surprise to the family when Hampden E. Tener Jr. saw an obituary for Robert in the newspaper in 1943.

Any help with this -- contact me.

And yet another ........ has passed!

Only hours after learning of the passing of James F. Tener, I learned of the passing of yet another of the family. James Butterfield, Tener blue book page 79, passed away May 23, 2009. We learn a great deal about him from an on-line resource - published there by McCall Brothers Funeral Homes. ( http://www.mccallbros.com/james-butterfield/ )



Born --- August 25, 1922: Died --- May 23, 2009

James Butterfield, Master Mariner, slipped his cable and set sail from Victoria on Swiftsure Day, Saturday May 23, after a brief bout with cancer. He leaves his beloved wife Sybil in the 60th year of their marriage; sons Christopher (Merrie-Ellen), Philip (Tracy), Peter (Sarah), Benjamin (Anne); grandchildren Marco, Sarah, Oonagh, Rosanna, Claire, Harry, Julian, Felix, Robin and Marijn; brothers Philip (Jenifer), Aidan (Aileen), John Sebastian (Mary). He was predeceased by an infant daughter, Robin (1951), and daughter Joy (Stefano) in 2006.

James was born in Reno, Nevada on August 25, 1922, the first son of James Butterfield, of Vancouver, and Virginia (Tener), of Wheeling, West Virginia. He grew up in Vancouver and in Summerland, BC. He attended the Duncan Grammar School, and in 1936 went to Liverpool (UK) to train for three years as a cadet in the Merchant Navy training ship HMS Conway. On leaving the Conway he joined the Canadian Pacific Steamships – RMS Empress of Russia – and for two years sailed to the Far East from Vancouver.

In 1942 he was Deck Officer in three Foreign Going merchant ships, the last of which SS Jasper Park was torpedoed and sunk in the Indian Ocean. He spent the next two years as Navigating Officer (RCN(R)) in HMCS North Bay on convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic.

In 1945, he attended Trinity College, University of Toronto, where he met and fell in love with Sybil Agnew. They both graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1948, and James then returned to the Navy. After being commissioned as a Lieutenant in the RCN, he married Sybil in Kingston, Ontario in April, 1950.

James served in Vancouver, Halifax, St. Jean, Halifax again, and Victoria; his last naval posting was as skipper of the training ketch HMCS Oriole. After retiring from the Navy in 1968, James served briefly in the Canadian Hydrographic Service, and then joined BC Ferries as Chief Officer, Master and then Senior Master. His last command was M/V Queen of the North, from which he retired in 1986. For some years afterwards he acted as Master of M/V Charlotte Princess for the summer, taking her on positioning cruises to the Queen Charlotte Islands; in this way he passed on his profound knowledge of the coast he loved to a younger generation.

James loved the sea and ships, books, poetry, music, dancing and friendship. He will be warmly remembered by his shipmates in the Company of Master Mariners; The Conway Association; The Thermopylae Club; The Naval Officers Association of Vancouver Island and by many friends up and down the West Coast, and around the world. He was contented and true-blue. His enthusiasm, love of life, and of people will forever be an inspiration to those who were fortunate to have known him. The family would like to thank Dr Cox, the staff at Victoria Hospice and Beacon Services for their care. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, on Saturday, June 13 at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his memory to the Mission to Seafarers, 401 East Waterfront Rd., Vancouver, BC, V6A 4G9

Another Family Member Passes

I was saddened this past week when I learned of the passing of yet another Tener family member.

James F. Tener, born in Lorain, Ohio, January 8, 1940, the son of Alan L. and Grace F. Tener passed away at Hospice of South Central Indiana, Columbus, IN. He passed on April 29, 2011 at 10:08 AM. He is survived by his wife Susan L. Tener.

In keeping with Mr. Tener's wishes, he was cremated and there were no services.

(*NOTE: This information comes to us from a death notice in the Republic, a newspaper in Columbus, IN.)

Mr. Tener was noted in the Tener family genealogy book, page 78, published in 1949. I had contact with Mr. Tener in 2003, and he provided some photographs of a Tener family wedding held in Montclair, NJ.

He will be missed by family, and remembered by many!

I was speaking with one of the Tener descendants who lives in New York not that long ago and learned of the passing of Renee Duke Eckelberry Renee married Tener Riggs Eckelberry who is in the Tener Blue Book, page 75. Tener was a very interesting fellow - I contacted him when I first got into Tener Family Research and it was he whom I attribute my full enthusiasm for details. It was he who asked me very early on if I wanted the names and dates or the stories. I thought for only a few seconds and decided then and there, "I want it all!" - and since then I have been fully engrossed in Tener Familly Research.

Tener had maintained a sort of blog - his writings as he lived in France. His family made these available to "Family" and there is a link on Tenerfamily.com. There is also a NEW link to the art work of Renee Duke. Once you hit that link, next to the slide show of her art, there is another slide show regarding her life - is is a fine tribute to her by her son Steve.

Back to point - Tener and Renee had six children - all boys. I have been in contact with them off and on since I began genealogy, and it was their son Riggs who set up the blog for us!


Let me share the obituary for Renee - from the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times web site:
CLEARWATER — For much of her adult life, Renee Duke traveled in some of the world's most cultured circles.

She studied painting at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, and covered the art galleries for the International Herald Tribune. She also lived in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Belgium, and held numerous one-woman shows, where she sold her misty seascapes to art collectors.

"She was really a highly cultured woman who was tremendously approachable," said Riggs Eckelberry, 58, her son. "There was none of the attitude you associate with class."

Ms. Duke was born in 1927 in New York City. She studied fine arts at Radcliffe College, where she met Harvard liberal arts student Tener Eckelberry.
They married in 1948. Her husband's work with Procter & Gamble took them to North America, South America and Europe. In the mid 1950s, they landed in Paris, where Ms. Duke got a job as a reporter for Women's Wear Daily.

As she was earning a master's degree at the Beaux Arts, a 1968 student and worker rebellion erupted. She later told her family that the historic revolt, accompanied by an explosion in the arts, had stirred her senses and made her glad she was alive to witness it.

In the 1960s, Ms. Duke also became increasingly committed to the Church of Scientology, an interest she had developed since the late 1940s, when she came across an early manuscript of church founder L. Ron Hubbard.

She divorced in 1969 and moved to California, where she enjoyed painting seascapes. Her paintings often evoke "the feeling of a storm brewing, of wine-dark seas," her son said. Her poetry was published in the California State Poetry Quarterly and an anthology of poems by Scientologists. Ms. Duke had six sons, all of whom became Scientologists.

In the early 1980s, Ms. Duke led a series of workshops in Europe teaching dianetics — a "spiritual healing technology," according to the church. She enjoyed helping others with their problems. In Scientology, Ms. Duke had risen to a "class nine" auditor, or counselor, out of 12 possible levels.

"That was probably the thing she was proudest of," her son said. "She neglected making herself known as a painter and a writer."

Ms. Duke moved to Clearwater in 2001 and settled into a condominium 2 miles from the church's spiritual headquarters. She studied church teachings five to six hours a day, her son said. She had been studying Jan. 2, then took a break and went home, her son said. She died that day, apparently while taking a nap. Ms. Duke was 83.

She never stopped painting. Art collectors have called since her death, interested in purchasing her work. (**NOTE: There is a link above to a slide show of some of her works.)

From the St Petersburgh Times