Individual Notes
Note for: Walter SHUFFLEBOTHAM, 1880 - 1961
Index
Event: Type: General Family History
Note:
From: Mary Dore [mailto:mdore0425@msn.com]
Sent: 05 November 2006 04:08
To: Ian Wallbank
Subject: Re: Shuffelbothan/Shufflebotham
Dear Ian:
Thanks so much Family history is so great to know about and then to pass on to our children.
Eli did not change the family name. It was very dear to him and thus he was understandably hurt when Henry asked to change his. I have a letter in which Eli gives his blessing and best wishes to Henry, but it obviously was a difficult thing for him.
The Shuffelbotham name sounded so very English, and so unusual to all Henry's army buddies, he could foresee difficulties ahead in the business world. His army unit was all but obliterated and was thus combined with another unit from elsewhere, so the public exposure to the name became greater toward the end of the war. (Buddies would ask: Shuffle/Shuffel WHAT?) My dad told me this. The thought of inscribing that long name on his leathergoods was worrisome as well.
I remember your area well from my trip there in late March of 2000. I know it was a great trading area for porcelain, ceramics and other goods for centuries. I want to return and visit the factories and pottery outlets there.
We arrived in Stoke On Trent with too much luggage and had to ask for much help. We appeared absolutely stupid with our big suitcases, but we were on a 3-week trip and this was the end. We went first to Piccadilly where we found all our train schedule info was wrong We were tired and hungry and the only place open there was a rather forbidding pub. Food service was closed. My sister Margaret was with me. She is 13 years older than I. I made her sit with our bags in an area with many beer drinkers while I found some sandwiches in a fridge and got us some tea. And finally our train came to Stoke. Several men had to help with our bags. (Great people) There were many taxis at the Stoke station. Our driver was from Pakistan and spoke perfect English. We stayed at the Moat House which our travel agent assured us was "near everything", which it turned out to be. However, there was little of that English charm there.
The next day was Monday and the Lichfield Records Office was open but 35 miles away and after calling them on the phone, I found there wasn't any genealogical agent on duty that day. Also that info requests for family records had to be in writing So, I wrote a letter and bought a postal draft (bank wouldn't issue a draft because that bank wasn't in correspondence with my Bank America) to pay for minimal information and postage and received the info a couple of weeks later at home. I could see that St. Giles had great records going back many years and I always meant to ask for a wider search on the name of Guest and Chesterton as well as earlier Shuffelbotham family. I found it most interesting that marriage and baptismal info contained the trade of the fathers which I of course realize was a part of their family identification, and thus gives some social history too.
That afternoon we had a late lunch at the hotel and then took a cab to Hanley, saw all the merchandise under tent covers. My sister window shopped while I raced round to find the post office to mail my request to Lichfield. We stopped in the big pottery mall for tea and muffins, shopped more and then had supper at a pub restaurant call the Bar La De Da, enjoyed the food and laughed about the name.
That night we saw a very very funny play at the Regent Theater which was a spoof on politics of the 1990s, "Out of Order".
The next morning Margie stayed at the hotel while I went to the reference library at Hanley and read a lot of local history. Most of the material I wanted was not available on Tuesdays. I did copy many things which I now can't find. And, the staff looked the other way as I copied beyond my "allowed" limit.
Late morning we took a cab to Newcastle, looked around only briefly. I had hoped to get around to the potteries, but there was just no time. Enjoyed seeing your canals and some shops and the great building with the clock tower and was able to visit a beauty shop quickly and have a late lunch at a pub and then back to the Moat for dinner, later.
I'm down with a bit of flu today and just decided to look up my trip notes re my brief time spent in that wonderful area and share with you. The theater in Hanley was outstanding and we noticed another near by. My sister wasn't well and I was able finally to get her a doctor in London the next day after.
Best wishes to all your family and thanks again for telling me about your family. I hope to meet you all some day. Mary D.
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From: Mary Dore [mailto:mdore0425@msn.com]
Sent: 03 November 2006 23:00
To: Ian Wallbank
Subject: Re: Shuffelbothan/Shufflebotham
Dear Ian:
I had NO idea any Shuffel(le)bothams existed Now, I'd like to know why the spelling of the name changed, apparently when Eli came to America. Possibly because it became misspelled on an immigration record or some other civil form? Eli was apparently very proud of his English heritage. I never knew either Henry or Eli as I wasn't born until 1929 (12 years after Henry's death). My family has LONG generations. So it is very hard for me to visualize back through the family line. For some reason, the spelling changed. Some time ago I got on line and found a ship passenger list that listed some Shufflebothams and figured those people weren't "mine" so didn't pursue the issue. Must look again sometime.
My dad told me that his father carefully pointed out that his (original) last name should be spelled the "el" way. And that is the spelling on the Albany, New York grave markers. I plan to send the pictures to Priscilla Fraser soon. They actually were taken by her dad, Bruce Butler, some years ago.
Henry's officially shortened name somehow never reached the U.S. veterans bureau in time to be listed at his resignation from the service, and in the army & elsewhere it was often spelled the "le" way. And to this day, the name of Shuham is misspelled also: Schuam, Shuman, etc. There is now only one male heir to the name that is living. He is my great nephew, Walter James Shuham. He is in Medical School at the U. of Texas. His father, Walter Peter Shuham (my brother Walt and Polly's son) married a lady from Korea. "Peter" died some years ago and so that just leaves Walter James. My brother and sister-in-law have both now passed away. My siblings are all gone except my sister, Margaret, never married and now suffers from Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home in Seattle.
I live in Clyde Hill which is a separate little town next to Bellevue, Washington. We have separate post offices but the same zip code. We are just across Lake Washington from Seattle, a few minutes drive when no traffic.
It was wonderful to hear from you. I'd love to hear more about your wife's background, where she went to school, if you two have a family, what type of business leads you to Bulgaria, your ages, where you went to school and all those things that make family communication so interesting. Am also wanting to know what happened to all those wonderful trades after the industrial revolution. It is impossible here to locate a shoemaker today.
I didn't have much time to pursue local English history except to briefly visit the library in Hanley. The area of most importance to me was closed that day. Best wishes, Mary Shuham Dore
Mary Dore
1506 90th Pl NE
Clyde Hill, WA 98004
425.455.0425
mdore0425@msn.com
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From: Mary Dore [mailto:mdore0425@msn.com]
Sent: 31 October 2006 20:10
To: Ian Wallbank
Subject: Fw: Shuffelbothan/Shufflebotham
Am trying to send this one more time Mary S. Dore
----- Original Message -----
From: Mary Dore
To: Ian Walbank
Cc: SOFRASER@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 11:47 PM
Subject: Shuffelbothan/Shufflebotham
Dear Ian:
I am obviously a distant cousin of your wife. I am the great, great granddaughter of Eli Shuffelbotham of Albany and prior to that (1841) Newcastle-under-Lyme.
St. Giles Church was closed the late afternoon when I found it in March, 2000. I wasn't even looking for it, as then I didn't know my grandfather was baptized in that church. My sister and I were there for a very short time. Your town is so pretty I never dreamed relatives would still be there. Why didn't I think to look in the phone book?
My father was Walter Guest Shuham. He was a banker.
His father was Henry Shuffelbotham, (then Shuham). Henry fought in the American Civil War from 1862-5 (until the war ended). I have his service papers and notice of his promotions. He mustered out as Captain. Henry served in the New York 7th Artillery. He is listed in the State of New York Report of the Adjutant General, 1897, 7th and 8th Regiments, of New York Artillery, a book I have in my possession. The book lists him only as 2nd Lt. but I believe he was commissioned a Captain perhaps at the time he resigned.
Henry served as Captain of a Territorial National Guard unit in Waitsburg for a number of years. It became a Washington state Guard unit with statehood in 1889.
He was often referred to as Capt. Shuham when he lived in Waitsburg, Washington (1882 - 1917). He had been kidded about his name by the men in his company during his Civil War service, and, with the permission of his father, he shortened his name from Shuffelbotham to Shuham, which, in the USA was helpful for business purposes. He became a very fine saddle maker. (Shuham is a lot easier to inscribe on leather.)
Following the war, many men went "west" to seek their fortunes. Henry went to San Francisco and went to work for a large, well known saddle company there named Main and Winchester. He met a lovely lady by the name of Lizzie (Elizabeth) Good and they were married July 16, 1871 by Alexander C. Gerrett , Rector of St. Saures (sp?) Church on July 16th 1871.
The family bible (St. James) lists births as: Henry Charles Shuham, April 14, 1872; Arthur Chesterton Shuham, June 16, 1874; Walter Guest Shuham, July 11th 1880, (my dad) all three born in Visalia where Henry opened his own business after leaving San Francisco.
His Visalia Saddle Company became very well known for their fine southwestern saddles in the Mexican style. Henry continued to suffer with malaria attacks (aftermath of war service) in Visalia, the condition made worse there due to the extreme humidity. His business did well but he heard about the dry climate of Walla Walla County in eastern Washington, and a small shop for sale there in Waitsburg, Washington, just 20 miles northeast of the town of Walla Walla. Waitsburg is situated among miles and miles of hay, wheat and barley fields. Huge teams of horses were needed in harvest. There were no automobiles yet, so there was a large market for leather goods.
Florence Annie Shuham was born in Waitsburg on Sept. 24, 1883.
Then there are the deaths listed in the Bible. That page is heartbreaking. I intend to look up the death certificates someday. They are listed this way:
Died on the 16th of Jan. 1889 our beloved son Henry C. Shuham aged 16 years, 9 months & 2 days at Waitsburg, Wash. Territory.
Died on the 30th day of October, 1895, Arthur C. Shuham age 21 years 4 months and 14 days at Geneva, Idaho.
Died on the 10 of September 1909 our beloved wife & mother, aged 56 years, 9 months & 14 Days at Waitsburg, Wash.
(In this entry the month is smeared as if by tears & its difficult to read.)
All handwriting is in Henry's hand. My father never spoke to me about his brothers. He kept pictures of them, however, and I have those carefully preserved. My Aunt Florence was married briefly to a Mr. Merrill, whose name was never mentioned. Aunt Florence lived with us for some time when I was a little girl. She and her husband had no children and my dad supported her until she died.
My dad married my mother, Anna Ennis in 1910. She came from a big Irish family of 11 children. Her mother was a widow by then. Her father had worked his passage from Liverpool to America in the early 1860s and had become a very successful farmer and butcher shop owner in the town of Walla Walla. He married in 1872. Their girls were sent away to Catholic boarding schools and the boys had some college. There was 10 years difference in their ages. I was born 19 years later, following 3 sisters (Elizabeth, Erma, Margaret) and my brother, Walter William Shuham, 11 years older than I. My Irish grandmother was HORRIFIED that my mother wanted to marry my father, prejudiced of course because he was English (and educated at a small Presbyterian academy in Waitsburg) and was a 32nd degree Mason and belonged to the local Anglican Church
Well, they were married anyway by her Catholic priest in a private ceremony at the rectory, witnessed by two Protestant couples who remained close friends all their lives. Her mother accepted my dad the day after the wedding and until she died two years later. Her siblings were very supportive and my dad had to put up with all that big Irish family all his life. They raised us all as Catholics and he sometimes went to Mass with us and he helped our priest raise money during the depresssion when the church was in debt. Even though my father was an Episcopalian, he sometimes attended the Presbyterian church as he was a good friend of the pastor there. He attended a Masonic service once yearly. He and my mom had a great marriage. She died in 1957 and he in 1961. Now, back to the Shuffelbotham family...
I have many letters from Emelia Shuffelbotham written to Henry which I copied years ago for Priscilla's dad, Bruce Butler. Bruce and his wife, Ann McLean Butler both died and Bruce's brother, Frank mailed the copies and a lot of other family material all to me a couple of years ago. Much of the material contain my letters to Bruce and Ann covering many years, explaining the Emelia/Henry correspondence and commenting on material and pictures I had been given by my older sister who had saved them after our dad had died, years before. Also, there are family clippings from newspapers. I have no time right now to go through all the material and will mail it all to Scott and Priscilla. They have computer skills I don't possess and can send things of value on to you via e-mail attachment. My dad had a great respect for his English heritage and for his father and for all those who came over "from the old country". I have letters written by Eli that I cherish.
Example: In his beautiful hand, after their daughter, Maria Victoria died at age 23, he copied a letter she had written to her brother Henry. The little page begins: "The last lines dear Maria wrote were to her brother as follows,
'My Dear Soldier Brother, These my be the last lines my trembling hands may ever trace to you, each day I feel that I grow nearer the end of my journey. I am happy my dear Henry. I trust in my Savior. Oh take him for your guide while you have time to prepare. Oh put it not off. try to become a true Christian Soldier, and if you live to come back, Oh be a comfort to our dear, Father and Mother. I would like to see you once more, but I trust we shall meet in Heaven.
'Farwell my Dear Brother, your loving and affectionate sister. Marie V. Shuffelbotham' "
On that sad note I will close except to explain briefly. I grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, attended school there and even graduated from Whitman College there, the clock tower of which reminds me of Newcastle a little. After college I trained as a manager in a large department store in women's ready-to-wear located here in Seattle and in Chicago. I met my future husband in Seattle, and we were married in Walla Walla's St. Patrick's Catholic Church (which my grandfather and friends helped to build in the 1890s) in November, 1956. My husband was a lawyer and member of the state legislature at the time. In 1980 he was elected to the state Supreme Court and retired in 1992 having served one term as Chief Justice. He died in 1996 after a long illness. We had 6 children, 5 of whom survive. They all hold advance degrees in law, medicine, accounting and business. Four of the five are married and live in the Puget Sound area.
For the record, my address and phone are listed below. I'm 77 years old and have some health problems but hope someday that we shall meet. I had planned to visit England and Ireland again but must wait now. My house needs many repair projects that have had to be put off until next year. And I have some family projects here, not to mention 10 grandchildren and other relatives.
Oh yes, Eli Shuffelbotham's father was Andrew who was married to Hannah (Chesterton?) Best wishes to you and your wife. Hope I haven't bored you to death Scott and Priscilla will have lots of family info soon. Mary Dore
Mary Dore
1506 90th Pl NE
Clyde Hill, WA 98004
425.455.0425
mdore0425@msn.com