Stream Family History

The Ely Community History Society Archives has recently received a digital version of the Stream Family History.

Part I (19 pages) of this historical narrative chronicles the Stream family from its origins in Germany, to Loudoun County, Virginia, then Licking County, Ohio and westward to Iowa in the mid-19th century.

 It is the work of the late Wendell W. Stream, and his son, Douglas K. Stream, who took on his father's research, expanded upon it, and wrote this narrative.

Part II of this booklet (25 pages) is a continuation of the story, focusing on the lives of the pioneer brothers, in addition to a few of their descendants who contributed to the development of Linn, Madison, Greene, and Union counties of Iowa. They are, Wilhelm Strehm (later referred to as William Stream), Samuel Addison Stream, Grafton Caywood Stream, and Elias Stream.

Two of those with ties to Ely are pictured below.

Elias Stream

Samuel Stream

 

 

If you are interested in reading this family history, please contact us at the email listed in the right column.  

The Naming of the St. Quentin Post

(UPDATE BELOW!)

Be sure to read "The Naming of the St. Quentin Post", researched and presented by Post Historian Rob Smith this past Veterans' Day.  It tells the story of two men from Ely, Joseph Dvorak and Charles Noska, who died near the city of St. Quentin, France in World War I.  Smith does a wonderful job of taking us back in time and describing  the conditions of the war the men experienced, as well as conditions back home.  Other Ely area men who died in World War I were Joseph Filipi, Joseph F. Kriz, and Frank Moses, Jr.  Read the story at St. Quentin Post website

Read other history posts at the Legion blog.  Click the drop down under the tab "History" to see all the articles offered.  Great job!

UPDATE:

From Judy Daubenmier

Charles Noska was my great uncle. He was a twin. He was drafted despite having a withered arm. My grandmother kept his photo and pointed it out to me often. She never forgot him. The information on the post website is very informative. It does leave out several other children in the family, including my grandmother and her twin sister.

Here is a photo of his grave (provided by Rob Smith, who says - I visited his grave at the Somme American Cemetery in France. It is a gorgeous place.)

 

 From the Historic Ely Elevator Facebook page

Perhaps you’ve noticed the new addition to our yard! You may or may not also recognize this railroad baggage cart, which until recently was displayed in front of City Hall. The cart was in desperate need of repair, so local master-of-all-trades Orville Meskimen restored it, and beautifully so. 

 

 The city wanted to display the cart closer to the old railroad, the Historic Ely Elevator is happy to give it a new home! (and will do our best to protect it from the elements)

 

This was Orville’s second restoration of this important historic artifact. The details of its rescue can be found in the Ely Community History Society blog: https://www.elyhistory.com/2019/12/the-baggage-cart.html

Cedar Rapids Horsemen's Club

We have received a large collection of documents and photos concerning the Cedar Rapids Horsemen's Club, which was located in the town of Western for many years. We will be indexing this collection over the next few months.

Click the photos to enlarge them.

The Horsemen's Club in Western (now torn down)

                                             Interior of the club

 

Members celebrating the club's 79th birthday
On the far right is Jim Miller from Ely.
Identities would be appreciated!

 

 

Ely School Kids 1930s

 Click the photo to enlarge it

                                         Ely school kids outside the building in the 1930s

The girl on the right with her legs crossed is Edna Sladek, who graduated in 1933.

We would appreciate if people can identify others (in comments below) or email HistoricEly@yahoo.com.