Listen:
cbb to dbf 082672a (27.9M)
cbb to dbf 082672b (12.2M)
In these two recordings made on August 26-27, 1972, and sent to daughter Diane Biswell Ferrier in Chapel Hill, NC, Charles and Mary Biswell tell the news from Woodstown, NJ. Charles's sister Helen Biswell Forbes and brother Frederic Biswell from Fayette, MO, had recently visited them. Diane and her family had also visited them over the summer.
Charles reads a letter that Helen had sent to him after her return to Missouri.
Charles also reads a letter from Mary's brother Ralph Yancey which describes his and his wife Betty's new house in St. Joseph, MO. He was moving back to Missouri from Williamsburg, VA. His (and Mary's) mother Mary Minor Yancey was living nearby in Hiawatha, KS, at the time, in the home of his sister Frances and her husband Ray Meidinger.
They talk about daughter Jane Biswell Golub's mother-in-law entering a nursing home.
When the Ferriers were visiting the Biswells in Woodstown. Diane's husband David Ferrier bought a shopping cart full of day-old bakery items for $5 from the Acme supermarket. Many were "candy cakes," cheap cakes with white frosting and a jelly fruit candy on top. They were brought back to Chapel Hill put in the freezer. Some may even have made the move to Orangeburg, SC, in the summer of 1973. It has become a family legend.
Karen Ferrier's 6th birthday was on August 27, and she and Robert would be attending Frank Porter Graham Elementary School in Chapel Hill the next day, Karen in first grade and Robert in second.
Okie Kreimeyer was a co-worker of Charles's at DuPont. Both were retired by 1972. Suda was his wife.
Johnnie Wallace was their neighbor on Chestnut Drive in Woodstown.
The mystery of who drew on the lampshade with a crayon was never solved, and the suspects are still not talking even if the statute of limitations has expired.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Charles Biswell's recollections of his family and life on the farm
Listen:
cbb family history part 1 (4.9M)
On December 31, 1989, during the Christmas holiday in Orangeburg, SC, Robert Ferrier, the grandson of Charles Biswell, read the beginning of a tribute that Charles had written about his father, Charles Rice Biswell. The unfinished tribute was written in January 1984.
Robert, who was living in Boca Raton, FL, at the time, was visiting his grandfather in his apartment on Stanley Street in Orangeburg and remembers reading and recording the tribute while both of them were sitting on the bed in the master bedroom.
Listen:
cbb family history part 2 (13.7M)
In February 1990, Charles continued his recollections about his family: Charles Rice Biswell's participation in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, the double wedding of his parents and aunt and uncle, a description of his mother, Ellie Rush Cornelius Biswell, and the houses that stood on the Biswell farm.
Ellie and Charles Rice could have visited the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago for their honeymoon.
Listen:
cbb family history part 3 (9.0M)
Charles continues the family history, talking about the births of his siblings James, Helen, and Frederic, the description of the "new" house on the Biswell farm, memories of visits to his Cornelius grandparents, and chores on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 4 (9.6M)
Charles continues talking about life on the farm: the fruit eaten, wild greens, chickens, and cleaning house.
Listen:
cbb family history part 5 (9.5M)
Charles continues talking about his childhood: sweeping the yard, his mother's anti-smoking and anti-alcohol campaigns, and his studies in grade school. He recounts his education through high school in Fayette, MO, Central College, the University of Missouri, and graduate school at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He remembers the deaths of his mother and his sister Josephine and meeting his future wife, Mary Yancey. He talks about the forms of transportation the family used up to that time.
Listen:
cbb family history part 6 (10.8M)
Charles recalls the family automobiles, Charles Rice Biswell's community service and tobacco habit, fishing, friend Henry Gilmore, and the bees kept on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 7 (9.1M)
Charles talks about hunting for squirrel and rabbit, his father making oyster soup, raising farm animals, and planting crops on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 8 (9.5M)
Charles describes growing corn, harvesting wheat, raising sheep, hogs, and cattle, building the ice house, and receiving punishment for childhood infractions.
Listen:
cbb family history part 9 (9.1M)
Charles continues to recall life on the farm: a visiting tramp, peddlers, the player piano, singing, going barefoot, fences, candy treats, and celebrating Christmas.
Listen:
cbb family history part 10 (9.8M)
Charles continues with his Christmas memories and the animals on the farm: dogs, horses, and mules.
Listen:
cbb family history part 11 (9.3M)
Charles continues talking about the horses and the labor required to keep the farm operating, including other families that lived on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 12 (7.4M)
Charles recounts his courtship and marriage to Mary Biswell, taking sister Edith to Colorado, leaving the farm with his brother Harold to pursue their educations, his father's death, and his surviving siblings.
cbb family history part 1 (4.9M)
On December 31, 1989, during the Christmas holiday in Orangeburg, SC, Robert Ferrier, the grandson of Charles Biswell, read the beginning of a tribute that Charles had written about his father, Charles Rice Biswell. The unfinished tribute was written in January 1984.
Robert, who was living in Boca Raton, FL, at the time, was visiting his grandfather in his apartment on Stanley Street in Orangeburg and remembers reading and recording the tribute while both of them were sitting on the bed in the master bedroom.
Listen:
cbb family history part 2 (13.7M)
In February 1990, Charles continued his recollections about his family: Charles Rice Biswell's participation in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, the double wedding of his parents and aunt and uncle, a description of his mother, Ellie Rush Cornelius Biswell, and the houses that stood on the Biswell farm.
Ellie and Charles Rice could have visited the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago for their honeymoon.
Listen:
cbb family history part 3 (9.0M)
Charles continues the family history, talking about the births of his siblings James, Helen, and Frederic, the description of the "new" house on the Biswell farm, memories of visits to his Cornelius grandparents, and chores on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 4 (9.6M)
Charles continues talking about life on the farm: the fruit eaten, wild greens, chickens, and cleaning house.
Listen:
cbb family history part 5 (9.5M)
Charles continues talking about his childhood: sweeping the yard, his mother's anti-smoking and anti-alcohol campaigns, and his studies in grade school. He recounts his education through high school in Fayette, MO, Central College, the University of Missouri, and graduate school at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He remembers the deaths of his mother and his sister Josephine and meeting his future wife, Mary Yancey. He talks about the forms of transportation the family used up to that time.
Listen:
cbb family history part 6 (10.8M)
Charles recalls the family automobiles, Charles Rice Biswell's community service and tobacco habit, fishing, friend Henry Gilmore, and the bees kept on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 7 (9.1M)
Charles talks about hunting for squirrel and rabbit, his father making oyster soup, raising farm animals, and planting crops on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 8 (9.5M)
Charles describes growing corn, harvesting wheat, raising sheep, hogs, and cattle, building the ice house, and receiving punishment for childhood infractions.
Listen:
cbb family history part 9 (9.1M)
Charles continues to recall life on the farm: a visiting tramp, peddlers, the player piano, singing, going barefoot, fences, candy treats, and celebrating Christmas.
Listen:
cbb family history part 10 (9.8M)
Charles continues with his Christmas memories and the animals on the farm: dogs, horses, and mules.
Listen:
cbb family history part 11 (9.3M)
Charles continues talking about the horses and the labor required to keep the farm operating, including other families that lived on the farm.
Listen:
cbb family history part 12 (7.4M)
Charles recounts his courtship and marriage to Mary Biswell, taking sister Edith to Colorado, leaving the farm with his brother Harold to pursue their educations, his father's death, and his surviving siblings.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Charles Biswell's grandchildren perform (1973-1975)
Listen:
cbb grandchildren 73-74 (29.8 MB)
00:00 - 02:43 Ann plays the piano. (11/73)
02:43 - 04:42 Robert plays the piano. (11/18/73)
04:42 - 16:25 Karen spells words and reads. (11/22/73)
16:25 - 20:26 Susan reads a story she wrote. (11/23/73)
20:26 - 25:46 Robert plays the piano. (05/29/74)
25:46 - 30:06 Karen spells words. (05/30/74)
30:06 - 31:48 Ann plays the piano. (06/02/74)
Listen:
cbb grandchildren 74-75 (30.0 MB)
00:00 - 01:16 Ann plays the piano. (06/03/74)
01:16 - 02:37 Susan reads a story she wrote. (06/16/74)
02:37 - 06:56 Ann plays the piano. (11/17/74)
06:56 - 11:20 Susan plays the flute and reads a story she wrote. (11/17/74)
11:20 - 14:50 Robert plays the piano. (11/28/74)
14:50 - 22:15 Karen cheers, sings, and reads. (11/28/74)
22:15 - 25:40 Robert plays the piano. (06/28/75)
25:40 - 26:36 Mindy talks. (06/28/75)
26:36 - 29:21 Karen plays the piano. (06/28/75)
29:21 - 31:59 Robert plays the piano. (11/23/75)
Charles and Mary Biswell traveled to North and South Carolina from Woodstown, NJ, to visit David Biswell's and Diane Ferrier's families about twice a year over a ten-year period: from 1968, when Charles retired, to 1978, when he and Mary moved to Orangeburg, SC. Many of these trips were around Thanksgiving Day, the meal either in Orangeburg or Charlotte, NC. These recordings were made from November 1973 to November 1975.
He records performances from Ann Biswell (piano), Susan Biswell (reading and flute), Robert Ferrier (piano), and Karen Ferrier (spelling, reading, cheering, piano, and singing). Karen steals the show with her rendition of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia."
At the time of the recording the Biswells were living in Charlotte, and the Ferriers were living in Orangeburg.
During a week in June of 1975, Charles and Mary Biswell; David and Sue Ellen Biswell, Ann, and Susan; David and Diane Ferrier, Robert, and Karen; and Herschel and Jane Golub and Mindy rented a beach house on the Isle of Palms, SC. There is some video of this vacation. Charles and Mary and the Golubs must have spent some time in Orangeburg after the beach week.
cbb grandchildren 73-74 (29.8 MB)
00:00 - 02:43 Ann plays the piano. (11/73)
02:43 - 04:42 Robert plays the piano. (11/18/73)
04:42 - 16:25 Karen spells words and reads. (11/22/73)
16:25 - 20:26 Susan reads a story she wrote. (11/23/73)
20:26 - 25:46 Robert plays the piano. (05/29/74)
25:46 - 30:06 Karen spells words. (05/30/74)
30:06 - 31:48 Ann plays the piano. (06/02/74)
Listen:
cbb grandchildren 74-75 (30.0 MB)
00:00 - 01:16 Ann plays the piano. (06/03/74)
01:16 - 02:37 Susan reads a story she wrote. (06/16/74)
02:37 - 06:56 Ann plays the piano. (11/17/74)
06:56 - 11:20 Susan plays the flute and reads a story she wrote. (11/17/74)
11:20 - 14:50 Robert plays the piano. (11/28/74)
14:50 - 22:15 Karen cheers, sings, and reads. (11/28/74)
22:15 - 25:40 Robert plays the piano. (06/28/75)
25:40 - 26:36 Mindy talks. (06/28/75)
26:36 - 29:21 Karen plays the piano. (06/28/75)
29:21 - 31:59 Robert plays the piano. (11/23/75)
Charles and Mary Biswell traveled to North and South Carolina from Woodstown, NJ, to visit David Biswell's and Diane Ferrier's families about twice a year over a ten-year period: from 1968, when Charles retired, to 1978, when he and Mary moved to Orangeburg, SC. Many of these trips were around Thanksgiving Day, the meal either in Orangeburg or Charlotte, NC. These recordings were made from November 1973 to November 1975.
He records performances from Ann Biswell (piano), Susan Biswell (reading and flute), Robert Ferrier (piano), and Karen Ferrier (spelling, reading, cheering, piano, and singing). Karen steals the show with her rendition of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia."
At the time of the recording the Biswells were living in Charlotte, and the Ferriers were living in Orangeburg.
During a week in June of 1975, Charles and Mary Biswell; David and Sue Ellen Biswell, Ann, and Susan; David and Diane Ferrier, Robert, and Karen; and Herschel and Jane Golub and Mindy rented a beach house on the Isle of Palms, SC. There is some video of this vacation. Charles and Mary and the Golubs must have spent some time in Orangeburg after the beach week.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Mary Yancey Biswell's tribute to her husband, Charles Bedford Biswell
Listen to Part 1:
myb to sg 092175a
Listen to Part 2:
myb to sg 092175b
On September 21, 1975, Mary Biswell made a tape for her cousin-in-law Sam Graham about her husband, Charles Biswell, from the time that they met at the wedding of mutual friends in 1929. The Biswells were living in Woodstown, NJ, at the time of the recording. Sam lived in Phoenix, AZ. Charles introduces and concludes the recording which was copied from another tape.
Mary had rheumatic fever as a child which damaged her heart valves and was a chronic affliction for the rest of her life.
In part 2 of the recording, Mary reads from a book that was given to Charles on his retirement from DuPont on May 1, 1968. There is some confusion about his year of birth. DuPont records it as 1905. Family records show 1904.
Mary grew up in the Baptist church and Charles grew up in the Methodist church. They joined the First Baptist Church in Woodstown and were very active. What did Mary mean by describing the church as "progressive" as the term was used in those days?
Charles and Mary were teetotalers.
Timeline:
1929: Charles graduates from Central College in Fayette, MO, with a bachelor of arts degree and teaches chemistry there over the summer. He meets Mary Yancey.
1930: Charles enrolls in graduate school at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to pursue a doctorate in chemistry.
1934: Charles graduates from U of N-L with a doctorate in chemistry. Mary and Charles marry on March 24. Charles gets a job as a research chemist at DuPont's Jackson Laboratory on the Delaware River in southern New Jersey on May 1. They move to Delaware.
1935: Charles and Mary move to Woodstown, NJ.
1968: Charles retires from DuPont on May 1.
myb to sg 092175a
Listen to Part 2:
myb to sg 092175b
On September 21, 1975, Mary Biswell made a tape for her cousin-in-law Sam Graham about her husband, Charles Biswell, from the time that they met at the wedding of mutual friends in 1929. The Biswells were living in Woodstown, NJ, at the time of the recording. Sam lived in Phoenix, AZ. Charles introduces and concludes the recording which was copied from another tape.
Mary had rheumatic fever as a child which damaged her heart valves and was a chronic affliction for the rest of her life.
In part 2 of the recording, Mary reads from a book that was given to Charles on his retirement from DuPont on May 1, 1968. There is some confusion about his year of birth. DuPont records it as 1905. Family records show 1904.
Mary grew up in the Baptist church and Charles grew up in the Methodist church. They joined the First Baptist Church in Woodstown and were very active. What did Mary mean by describing the church as "progressive" as the term was used in those days?
Charles and Mary were teetotalers.
Timeline:
1929: Charles graduates from Central College in Fayette, MO, with a bachelor of arts degree and teaches chemistry there over the summer. He meets Mary Yancey.
1930: Charles enrolls in graduate school at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to pursue a doctorate in chemistry.
1934: Charles graduates from U of N-L with a doctorate in chemistry. Mary and Charles marry on March 24. Charles gets a job as a research chemist at DuPont's Jackson Laboratory on the Delaware River in southern New Jersey on May 1. They move to Delaware.
1935: Charles and Mary move to Woodstown, NJ.
1968: Charles retires from DuPont on May 1.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Charles Biswell tells stories of young Robert Ferrier
Listen:
cbb to fob 103194a
On October 31, 1994, Charles Biswell recorded a tape for his brother Frederic Biswell. He tells a story of his great-granddaughter Katherine Leibel and two stories of his grandson Robert Ferrier, who can still feel the embarrassment of the "seed" story when it was told by his father David Ferrier at a dinner party they had in Chapel Hill, according to Robert's faulty memory. He can now appreciate the profundity of the question, 45 years later and wonders what would have been written on the package?
Also mentioned is Robert's impending move from Boca Raton, FL, to Chapel Hill, NC, which occurred in November 1994.
Heidi is Fred's granddaughter. Ocean City, NJ, is where the Charles Biswell family vacationed when they lived in Woodstown, NJ.
cbb to fob 103194a
On October 31, 1994, Charles Biswell recorded a tape for his brother Frederic Biswell. He tells a story of his great-granddaughter Katherine Leibel and two stories of his grandson Robert Ferrier, who can still feel the embarrassment of the "seed" story when it was told by his father David Ferrier at a dinner party they had in Chapel Hill, according to Robert's faulty memory. He can now appreciate the profundity of the question, 45 years later and wonders what would have been written on the package?
Also mentioned is Robert's impending move from Boca Raton, FL, to Chapel Hill, NC, which occurred in November 1994.
Heidi is Fred's granddaughter. Ocean City, NJ, is where the Charles Biswell family vacationed when they lived in Woodstown, NJ.
Diane Ferrier tells the story of their impending move to Orangeburg, SC, in 1973
Listen:
dbf to cbb 040273
In June of 1973, the Ferriers moved from Chapel Hill, NC, to Orangeburg, SC. In this recording made on April 2, 1973, and mailed to Charles Biswell and Jane Golub, Diane Ferrier tells the story of how the move came to be. Hard to believe it has been 40 years.
Diane's brother and sister-in-law, David and Sue Ellen Biswell, had lived in Orangeburg a few years before that, but they were currently living in Charlotte, NC.
Hunting Island State Park is located near Beaufort, SC, and the Ferriers discovered it earlier while driving from Walt Disney World to Chapel Hill in a 1970 VW Camper, probably in 1972 shortly after the park opened. Good times!
Charles Biswell helped the Ferriers move from Lawrence, KS, to Chapel Hill not that long before in 1970. He drove the Ferriers' VW Beetle in a three-vehicle caravan.
They didn't join the Orangeburg Country Club until many years later. The public golf course and the old Country Club pool, located only a block from the Ferrier's house, would do.
Phil and Lannie Davis were the Ferriers' neighbors on Lexington Drive in Chapel Hill.
The house was sold by owner for $37,000. A tidy profit in those days.
The School of Pharmacy is at the University of North Carolina, of course. David worked in the pharmacy at the UNC Memorial Hospital.
The church is the University United Methodist Church on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
Diane was correct in her prediction that they would make Orangeburg their permanent home.
dbf to cbb 040273
In June of 1973, the Ferriers moved from Chapel Hill, NC, to Orangeburg, SC. In this recording made on April 2, 1973, and mailed to Charles Biswell and Jane Golub, Diane Ferrier tells the story of how the move came to be. Hard to believe it has been 40 years.
Diane's brother and sister-in-law, David and Sue Ellen Biswell, had lived in Orangeburg a few years before that, but they were currently living in Charlotte, NC.
Hunting Island State Park is located near Beaufort, SC, and the Ferriers discovered it earlier while driving from Walt Disney World to Chapel Hill in a 1970 VW Camper, probably in 1972 shortly after the park opened. Good times!
Charles Biswell helped the Ferriers move from Lawrence, KS, to Chapel Hill not that long before in 1970. He drove the Ferriers' VW Beetle in a three-vehicle caravan.
They didn't join the Orangeburg Country Club until many years later. The public golf course and the old Country Club pool, located only a block from the Ferrier's house, would do.
Phil and Lannie Davis were the Ferriers' neighbors on Lexington Drive in Chapel Hill.
The house was sold by owner for $37,000. A tidy profit in those days.
The School of Pharmacy is at the University of North Carolina, of course. David worked in the pharmacy at the UNC Memorial Hospital.
The church is the University United Methodist Church on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
Diane was correct in her prediction that they would make Orangeburg their permanent home.
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