August 16, 2025

Introducing Raymond Edward Gunterman

Meet Raymond Edward Gunterman

June 27, 1910 – May 19, 1997

On a warm June day in 1910, Raymond Edward Gunterman entered the world in Illinois. He was the son of Lela Marie Maurer and Stephen A. Gunterman, and grew up alongside his sister, Mary Kathryn.

A Louisville Youth

By the 1920s, Ray was in Louisville, Kentucky, where he made the papers for sprinting in the Relay Race for Boys. At just 15, he was already finding ways to leave his mark in the city.

Family and Work

The 1930 census captures Ray at home with his mother and sister, both stenographers. A few years later, in 1937, he married Oleita Lightfoot Ayers. With that marriage came not only a new household but also Oleita’s young daughter, Bettie Sue, whom Raymond helped raise.

Ray worked steadily—first in auto accessories, later as a salesman in the wholesale plumbing trade. His days were filled with the responsibilities of providing for his growing family, which eventually included his own sons Peter and Raymond Jr.

The Man Behind the Records

Life was not without bumps. In 1949, a Louisville newspaper reported Raymond fined on bookmaking charges—a reminder that even our most buttoned-up ancestors had complicated stories. Yet, his obituary decades later described him as a Scoutmaster, a man of trade associations, a Knight of Columbus, and an archer with the Louisville club.

A Legacy Remembered

Raymond passed away in Louisville on 19 May 1997, at the age of 86. He was remembered as a devoted father and grandfather, survived by his children, stepchildren, 10 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. He rests today in the family plot at Cave Hill Cemetery, a life’s story carved into the Kentucky soil.

Share Your Memories

Do you remember Raymond? Did he share stories of his days as a Scoutmaster, or perhaps tales from the old plumbing trade? We’d love to hear your memories. Please share them in the comments below so his story continues to live on.

Looking for more details?
Visit Raymond’s Family Page to explore the full timeline of his life—complete with records, census images, and the story of how his path wound from a Louisville race track to the family plot at Cave Hill Cemetery.

August 16, 2025

Introducing Flora Louise Black

Share Your Memories of Flora Louise Black

1911 – 1996
A woman who never waited for the green light. 🚦

Meet Flora

Born in Indianapolis in 1911, Flora Louise Black grew up in a bustling household before marrying young, raising three children, and later striking out on her own. Over the years she reinvented herself time and again—through new marriages, new homes, and new names (her luggage tags proudly read “Flo” no matter what the paperwork said).

She worked as a secretary, traveled fearlessly on her own, and filled journals with her thoughts and experiences. Family lore says she may have been married five to seven times, though the exact count remains one of her best-kept secrets.

What isn’t a secret? Flo lived life boldly, faithfully, and on her own terms.

Family Memories

Her driving skills are the stuff of legend:

Sitting at a red light, Flo would confidently declare, “My turn!” before pulling into traffic.
She once stopped right in the middle of an intersection to check her map. (Seatbelts not included!)
She delighted her grandchildren with trips to Woolworth cafeterias and the mall for cheesecake.
She inspired her family with her independence—traveling alone, keeping her faith, and journaling every year of her life.

As her granddaughter Karen remembered:
“She was a strong and outspoken Christian lady. I admired her greatly. She was one of the first women I knew who traveled alone and lived independently. I looked up to her courage.”

Add Your Story

This page is for the people who knew and loved Flo best. Did she ever take you on one of her “adventurous” car rides? Do you remember her journals, her faith, or her fearless spirit?

Please share your memories in the comments below. Every story adds another piece to the lively mosaic that was Flora Louise Black’s life.

📜 Want the full story?
Head over to Flora Louise Black’s Family Page to see her complete timeline—from birth records to censuses, city directories, and more. It’s the detailed backbone behind all the memories shared here.

August 15, 2025

Introducing Lois Catherine Buchanan

Welcome to the Memory Page for Lois Catherine Buchanan

August 14, 1914 – February 15, 2007

Lois’s story is one of quiet strength, deep roots, and the kind of steadiness that anchored her family through nearly a century of change. Born in Ridgeway, Illinois, the daughter of Reverend Maurice Buchanan and Pearl Wilton, Lois grew up in the warm but watchful world of a Methodist parsonage. From her early years in small Indiana towns to her long life in Indianapolis, she remained devoted to family, faith, and the art of creating a welcoming home.

Over her 92 years, Lois witnessed two World Wars, the rise of the automobile and the computer, and the transformation of her city—but her heart stayed firmly grounded in the things that mattered most: the people she loved and the communities she served.

A Few Things to Remember About Lois

The Preacher’s Daughter: She spent her childhood in parsonages, learning grace and hospitality from an early age.
A Long First Marriage: Married to Robert Daniel Boone for more than four decades, raising two children, Michael and Marilyn.
A Second Chapter: At 63, she married James Steven Kiraly, finding companionship and stability in her later years.
An Indianapolis Fixture: From the 1930s onward, she made the city her home—through bustling downtown years, suburban life, and a quiet retirement.

Share Your Memories

Do you remember visiting Lois’s home on East 62nd Street?
Did you know her from church, the neighborhood, or family gatherings?
Do you have a treasured recipe, holiday tradition, or photograph tied to her?

Your stories help keep her spirit alive for future generations. Please share them below so they can become part of her legacy.

📜 Back to the Buchanan Family Page to explore more relatives and history.

Curious about Lois’s place in the family tree?
Return to her Family Page to see how her story connects with generations past and present.

August 11, 2025

Introducing Philip Carlin Buchanan

Philip Carlin Buchanan

Born: January 4, 1913 – Shawneetown, Illinois
Died: January 5, 1967 – Anderson, Indiana
Laid to Rest: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana

Every life leaves a trail — a string of addresses, occupations, and dates neatly preserved in public records. For Philip Carlin Buchanan, those official lines tell of a preacher’s son who became a husband, father, and typewriter salesman.

Born in the river town of Shawneetown, Illinois, Carlin grew up in a household where faith and family intertwined, his father serving as a Methodist pastor. Life took him from small-town Indiana streets to the busy neighborhoods of Indianapolis, where he built a family with Theresa Louise Owens and raised three daughters.

Yet, beyond the directories and census returns, there are the untold stories — the everyday moments, the quirks, the laughter, and the challenges. Family whispers suggest a more colorful side to Carlin’s life, but without hard evidence, those tales remain in the realm of rumor and imagination.

Want to see the full timeline of Carlin’s life?
Visit Philip Carlin Buchanan’s Family Page for a milestone-by-milestone account, complete with records, photos, and historical context.

Share Your Memories

Do you remember Carlin — his voice, his humor, his habits?
Did he ever tell you a story, teach you a skill, or leave you with an unforgettable moment?

Your memories could help paint the fuller picture of his life for future generations. Please share your stories, photographs, or recollections in the comments below. Together, we can bring Carlin’s story to life beyond the black-and-white of official records.

August 10, 2025

Introducing George Thomas Applegate

Introduction Page – George Thomas Applegate

Every family has those steady, familiar presences — the kind of people who anchor a family’s story without demanding the spotlight. For our family, George Thomas Applegate was one of them.

Born in Crothersville, Indiana, in 1899, George grew up in a time when the pace of life was measured in work shifts, neighborhood news, and the changing seasons. His life carried him through early factory work, decades at Allison, and the shifting rhythms of a city that was always growing around him.

George was no stranger to life’s twists — from stepfathers to wartime draft registrations, from divorce to late-in-life marriages — yet he met each chapter with a kind of quiet perseverance. He remained rooted in Indianapolis, building a life that blended hard work, community, and family ties.

If you knew George — whether you worked alongside him, saw him at church, or shared a seat at his kitchen table — we’d love for you to add your stories here. It’s these personal memories that bring his history to life far better than census records and draft cards ever could.

📝 Share Your Memories
Use the comment box below to tell us about George — his laugh, his habits, the advice he gave, the things that made him uniquely himself. Your stories will help keep his memory alive for future generations.

Want the full story?
Visit George Thomas Applegate’s Family Page to explore his complete life timeline, from his Crothersville childhood to his final years in Indianapolis.

August 9, 2025

Introducing Elsie Mae Applegate

Elsie Mae Applegate Tudor

27 January 1893 – 24 June 1985

From Crothersville’s quiet streets to the busy neighborhoods of Indianapolis, Elsie Mae Applegate Tudor lived a life rooted in devotion — to her family, her community, and the organizations she poured her time into. The daughter of George W. Applegate and Serilda White, Elsie grew up in a blended household, learned early the value of hard work, and carried that ethic into her marriages, her career, and her civic life.

Married first to Wilford Mann in 1912, Elsie found her lifelong partner in Orval Ray Tudor, a World War I veteran. Together, they built a steady life in Indianapolis, sharing more than 60 years of companionship. Elsie worked for L.S. Ayres & Co. for 24 years, served as deputy assessor for Washington Township for over a decade, and held leadership roles in the Order of the Eastern Star, Ladies Oriental Shrine, and the American Legion Auxiliary.

She was a woman who could manage a household with grace, work the sales floor with charm, and preside over community meetings with authority. Elsie’s life spanned 92 years — years in which she witnessed remarkable change but never lost her steadfast sense of purpose.

Explore Elsie’s full story
Visit Elsie Mae Applegate Tudor’s Family Page for a detailed look at her life, historical records, and the milestones that shaped her 92 remarkable years.

Share Your Memories

If you knew Elsie — as a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or fellow member of the many organizations she served — we’d love to hear from you. Share your memories, stories, or photos in the comments below so her legacy can continue to live on through the people who knew her best.

August 9, 2025

Introducing John William Applegate

8 May 1891 – 14 October 1977

John William Applegate

The Man of Many Chapters | Survivor of War and Work | Keeper of Quiet Roads

Some lives are drawn in straight lines — John’s was a patchwork quilt of moves, marriages, and reinventions. Born in Crothersville, Indiana, in the spring of 1891, he grew up in a household where the door was always swinging for siblings, extended family, and visitors.

By the time the First World War arrived, John had already endured a serious hand injury but still stepped forward to serve. After his discharge, his life unfolded in restless chapters: from Indiana streets to Ohio hotels, from sales counters to bakery offices, and eventually, the Arizona desert. His five marriages marked turning points, each carrying him into a new role, a new address, a new attempt at permanence.

He was a man who kept moving — not because he lacked roots, but because he carried them with him.

Want the full story?
Head over to John William Applegate’s Family Page for a detailed, milestone-based history of his life, complete with records, photographs, and research notes.

Tell Us What You Know

The documents tell us where John lived and when he married, but they don’t tell us how he laughed, what stories he told at the dinner table, or whether he liked the desert sunsets in Arizona more than Indiana’s summer evenings.

If you knew John — or if he was part of your family’s stories — please share your memories, photographs, or anecdotes in the comments below. Every detail helps stitch together the man behind the records.

August 9, 2025

Introducing Mary Kathryn Gunterman

Mary Kathryn Gunterman Gathof

25 May 1912 – 8 December 1958
Keeper of the Hearth | Survivor of Storms | Mother of Second Chances

Mary Kathryn Gunterman’s story begins in the heart of Louisville in 1912, in a world where horse-drawn wagons still rattled down cobblestone streets and riverboats plied the Ohio. She was the daughter of Stephen “Steve” Gunterman and Lela Maurer — though records list her mother’s name in a few variations over the years.

Raised primarily by her mother after her parents’ separation, Mary grew up learning both the discipline of work and the quiet art of keeping a home together. At just twelve years old, she found herself in the Courier-Journal — not for mischief, but because she was jolted awake by an earthquake’s tremor. She ran to her mother’s side, frightened but safe, in their Bonnycastle Avenue home.

By the age of eighteen, she was already working as a stenographer, contributing to the household alongside her mother. Life moved quickly after that — she married Louis Aloysius Miller Sr., and together they had two children, Mary Ray and Louis Jr. But in the late 1930s, the family’s stability shattered when Louis Sr. abandoned them.

With limited options and the Great Depression’s shadow still lingering, Mary made the agonizing decision to place her children in Catholic orphanages — Mary Ray at St. Vincent’s for Girls, Louis Jr. likely at St. Thomas for Boys. Yet this was not a permanent goodbye. In time, she brought both children back home, giving them a far better life than the one they had endured in those years apart.

Mary remarried in the 1940s to Stephen C. Gathof, and together they presided over a bustling blended household — her children, his children, grandchildren, and his elderly mother all under one roof. Her work as “Keeper of the House” in such a home was nothing short of full-time management, diplomacy, and love.

In December 1958, Mary’s life was cut short by illness at just 46 years old. She left behind a large and intertwined family, a legacy of resilience, and the memory of a woman who had faced life’s upheavals with determination and care.

📜 Want to explore Mary Kathryn’s full story — from a girl startled by an earthquake to a mother who fought to reunite her family? Visit her Family Page for a detailed, milestone-based biography and historical records.

Share Your Memories

Do you have photographs, letters, or family stories about Mary Kathryn? Please share them in the comments below so we can preserve her history together. Every memory, no matter how small, adds to the story of her life.

August 7, 2025

Introducing Lester Otis Oliver

🧤 Meet Lester Otis Oliver

1909–1981 | Leather Cutter • Laborer • Kentucky Son Turned Indiana Soul

Some lives are lived quietly, shaped not by grand applause but by honest work, steady hands, and the rhythm of responsibility. Lester Otis Oliver was one such man—a glove cutter by trade, a twice-married father of three, and a grandson of Kentucky who built his legacy in the factory-lined neighborhoods of Indianapolis.

Born in 1909 in Allen County, Kentucky, Lester came of age in a world shifting fast—horse carts gave way to streetcars, telegrams to rotary phones. He followed the work north in his twenties, married young, and carved out a living through grit and gloves. By the 1940s, he’d registered for the draft, raised three children with his first wife Flora, and weathered the grind of industrial life. Later, with his second wife Ruth by his side, he spent his final years between Indiana and Tennessee—ultimately resting in Indianapolis, the city where he built his adult life.

We may not know everything about Lester’s life—why he altered his middle name on a draft card, how his children remembered him, or what made him laugh on a Sunday afternoon—but perhaps you do.

🕰 Got a memory of Lester?

Whether you knew him personally or have secondhand stories passed down through family, we’d love to hear them. Drop a note in the Comments below and help us honor his legacy, one detail at a time.

📜 Want to read Lester’s full story?
We’ve traced his life through census records, city directories, and old photographs—from his Kentucky roots to his Indiana years and beyond. Visit Lester’s Family Page to explore his complete timeline and see how his journey unfolded.

August 6, 2025

Introducing Charles Beckett Buchanan

🛠️ Intro Page for Charles Beckett Buchanan

1913–2003
Twin Son of a Preacher | Gulf Coast Grandpa | RCA Foreman | Budgeting Philosopher

Welcome to the gathering place for stories, memories, and reflections about Charles Beckett Buchanan—a man of precision, practicality, and just enough mischief to keep things interesting.

Born in 1913 in a small Indiana town, Charles grew up the son of a Methodist pastor and lived a life that spanned horse-drawn wagons, typewriters, moon landings, and the dawn of the internet. He married Mildred Viola Beyl in 1935, worked in typewriter sales and later as a foreman for RCA, and retired to Florida—where he became a pool shark, a card-playing strategist, and a fiercely independent spirit with a golf swing strong enough to outlive his knees.

Charles didn’t always show affection the way others might—but for those who knew him, he left behind moments of humor, wisdom, and hard-earned love. Maybe you fished with him in the Gulf. Maybe he taught you how to stretch a dollar or win a game of cards. Maybe he made you roll your eyes, and then laugh five minutes later.

If you have a story to tell, a photo to share, or just a favorite memory of Charles—this is the place. Whether you knew him as Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, neighbor, or co-worker… we invite you to add your voice to his story.

📚 Curious about the full story?
You can explore Charles Beckett Buchanan’s life in greater detail—including census records, career milestones, and family memories—on his Family Page. From his early days in Indiana to his retirement in Florida, the timeline offers a deeper look at the man behind the memories.
👉 Click here to visit his Family Page.

🕯️ Drop a memory in the comments below, or send us a message to be included in a future post. He might not have baited your hook—but he certainly left his mark.