Otis and his siblings

So, let's recap a little:

My grandma Genevieve's grandparents were Otis and Fannie Vaughn. Otis's parents were some of the original settlers of Walworth County, coming here in 1837, just one year after the land became available to white men

Otis and his siblings went on to be fixtures of Walworth County in the years as it transitioned from wilderness in the Northwest Territory to a rural pastiche of prosperous, orderly villages. In their lifetimes, they saw some of the biggest changes the modern world would bring: electricity, automobiles, industrialization. They started life in log cabins or westward wagon trains and ended up in comfortable houses on paved streets in fully formed towns that would have been unimaginable in these locations at the start of their lives.

Otis was one of five children (a sixth son, Melvin, died in infancy.) His sister Abbie only lived to be 14; we don't know which childhood illness claimed her life, but sadly this was not an uncommon story in the days before vaccines and antibiotics. His oldest sibling, a brother named Benjamin, was significantly older than Otis; 13 years separated them. Though Ben initially married and had children in Walworth County, he eventually moved his family out to the west coast. (More on Ben and his wife Martha to come in a later post.)

Phebe and Otis, around 1844

Phebe and possibly Abbie, around 1848

It seems that throughout his life, Otis was closest with his two sisters, Delia and Phebe. Delia was eight years older than Otis, and Phebe was only four years older than he was.The three of them lived in Walworth County all their lives; Delia and Phebe ended up living closer to Elkhorn, and Otis eventually moved into Burlington, but they visited each other often and from the newspaper clippings, we know that their families often traveled together.

Phebe poses alone a few years later

The sisters lived in Elkhorn because they both married men from that city. Phebe married Rufus Harriman; Delia married LeGrand Latham.

Delia (back left) and Phebe pose with their husbands. (The couples were arranged diagonally; Rufus is on the left in front.)

In posts to come, I'll delve a little deeper into the lives of Otis's siblings and their families, starting with Rufus and Phebe. In the treasure trove of family history and photographs that I inherited when Corinne passed away, Phebe has the most prominent representation in the collection, (after Otis and Fannie, of course.) It's likely this is related to the sad story of their estranged grandson and heir. With no one to leave her family heirlooms to, perhaps Phebe gave them to her brother's children instead.

But that is a story for next time.

Recipes: Quick Coffee Cake

Most of the recipes from Genevieve's recipe box that I have posted in the past have been posted "blind" -- meaning I haven't had the ingredients or the cooking confidence to attempt them. But this Quick Coffee Cake was easy enough that I decided to give it a try.

Quick Coffee Cake

1 egg
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 tbsp. shortening
1/2 teas. salt
2 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. vanilla

Topping
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 teas. cinnamon
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. melted butter

Beat egg. Add sugar, then milk. Alternating with flour, salt and baking powder. Add melted shortening and vanilla. Baked in greased 8" cake pan for 25 mins. at 350-375.

Sprinkle the topping on cake before baking OR just plain with cinnamon and sugar is good - this after it's baked.

Note: I didn't have an 8" cake pan so I used a bread pan instead. Also, I used vegetable shortening when I'm guessing Genevieve would have used lard. And I used skim milk, which Genevieve would never have had in her house. But despite that, I am happy to report that the coffee cake is delicious! Cinnamon-y, buttery, and just all around good. And so easy to make!

Nourishing Notes tea towel

I found this great kitchen towel at the Dose Market in Chicago a couple of months ago, and just have to share it with you.

It's by a company called Nourshing Notes, and they have a bunch of other great, old-timey greeting cards, kitchen linens and such. Check it out!

And of course, preserve your family recipes. I will continue to share recipes from my grandma's recipe box and hope to have some new content up soon! Stay tuned...

Genevieve's Bon-bon Cookies

If you're looking for a last-minute cookie recipe to take to a holiday party, why not try my grandma Genevieve's bon-bon cookies? (Which are really sugar cookies with powdered or colored sugar.) Merry Christmas, everyone!

Genevieve's Bon-bon Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup sifted corn starch
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

Mix butter and vanilla or almond extract. Mix powdered sugar and cornstarch, add to butter mixture. Add flour. Chill several hours. Roll the dough in balls and bake at 350F about 10 mins. While warm, roll in powdered sugar (or roll in colored sugar prior to baking.)

Recipes: Old-fashioned Dumplings

I really believe that no one does Christmas better than Germans. Their neat, picturesque villages are the perfect Christmas villages, and Germans in Rhineland were the first ones to cut down evergreens and bring them in the house to decorate. Not to mention, all of their delicious, rich foods -- mulled wine, wursts, strudels, schnitzels... But something about winter and Christmas always makes me crave dumplings in particular. So, from Genevieve's recipe box, here are:

 

Dumplings (Old-Fashioned Solid Kind)

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
little sugar

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix all ingredients. Put in chicken or beef broth. Cook covered, about 12 minutes.


*This recipe is a little scant on the instructions, so if anyone has suggestions/clarifications, please leave them in the comments!

Recipes: Fruitcake, Larkin 1870

Although they've been out of fashion for years, fruitcakes were once considered a sinful treat, especially for those who lived in climates where fruit was hard to come by in the winter. During the reign of Queen Victoria, they were de rigeur in the finest drawing rooms at teatime, and the tradition extended to America as well. In Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" (one of my favorite of his short stories), he recounts with sweet childhood innocence the tradition of making fruitcakes with his simpatico great aunt and how they saved up their pennies all year to be able to buy the precious ingredients that would go into the fruitcake.

Here then is a recipe for fruitcake from Genevieve's recipe box, attributed to "Larkin, 1870."

Fruitcake, Larkin 1870

2 1/2 C. apple sauce
4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 C. butter
4 C. flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 lb. mixed fruit
1/4 lb. candied cherries
1 lb. raisins
1 C. nuts
1 lb. dates, cut up
1/2 lb. dried apricots
1 small package of figs
Candied pineapple

Heat apple sauce and then add baking soda, sugar and shortening. Then add flour, salt and spices.

Put fruit in large pan and add 1 C. of flour; mix well. Add to cake mixture a little at a time; mix well. Fill greased, lined pans 1/2 full of mixture and decorate tops with nuts, cherries and candied pineapple. Bake at 300F about 1-1/2 hours or until done.

And while we're on the subject of fruitcake, it just isn't Christmas until I've heard this song:

Lily Haxworth Wallace's Gingerbread Waffles with Marshmallow Sauce

Genevieve's recipe box is a beautiful mess - full of handwritten notes, recipes clipped from the back of boxes and newspaper clippings she thought looked interesting. The following recipe was taken from one of those newspaper clippings, which went into great detail on how to "break in your new waffle iron."

Gingerbread Waffles with Marshmallow Sauce

by Lily Haxworth Wallace, Homemaking Editor

1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2/3 cup sour milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Whipped cream

Cream shortening and sugar, add the beaten eggs, molasses and milk, then the dry ingredients sifted together twice. Beat just until smooth and bake as directed*, putting the waffles together with whipped cream at moment of serving. These waffles are particularly good served with a marshmallow sauce made by boiling together one cup sugar and one-third cup water to the thread stage (230 degrees F), pouring this sirup over twenty marshmallows which have been melted in the upper part of a double boiler with three tablespoons light cream, and flavoring with vanilla, orange, or any preferred extract, using one teaspoon to the above quantities. Serves four.

*By the directions of your specific waffle iron, I assume.