Hamm Nash Johnson Herrick Ancestor Stories

  The Courtship of Our Maternal Grandparents Floyd Nash and Leora Hamm By Lisa J Herrick Peters AMES In the mid 1850s, in a swampy area in Iowa that started out as a station stop for the railway, there was a small group of people known as the Squaw Creek Church that would meet together for worship, led by a Baptist minister. In 1862, a one room Civil War school was built for 12 students on the east bank of Squaw Creek, so the group started meeting there. The area was founded as Ames in 1864. The Squaw Creek School built in 1862 In 1868 two reverends determined to organize a ‘proper’ Baptist church there drove out from Des Moines looking for Baptist families. They found 5 people, and so a prayer meeting was organized by Reverend John Anson Nash (our great great uncle), who was one of the founders of Des Moines and the first Reverend there. That same Reverend had influenced his nephew, our Great Grandfather Darius Albert Nash, to relocate from Illinois to Iowa. Portrait from our fami...

  The Hamm, Nash, Johnson and Herrick grandparents were the parents of Norma Fern Nash and Vernon Arthur Herrick who had 5 daughters.  Norma's parents were Leora Margaret  Ham  and Floyd Chapman  Nash  ( Leora's father used only one m instead of the original spelling  Hamm , which is what I use for all references to that surname). Their story together starts in Ames, Iowa.  Leora Margaret Ham (1895-1965) and Floyd Chapman Nash (1886-1958)  Vernon 's parents were Walda Sophia Johnson and Vernon Jones Herrick ( I usually refer to the Vernon's as Vernon A and Vernon J ) . Their story together starts in Muncie, Indiana. Walda Sophia Johnson (1893-1962) and Vernon Jones Herrick (1892-1962) These grandparents grew up in families from different backgrounds and cultures, with different interests and priorities. All of that came together when Vernon A and Norma were married in Los Angeles, California. In future posts I'll share more about these gr...

Welcome to my new blog! Here on the Hamm Nash Johnson Herrick Ancestor Stories blog you'll learn about what made this family who it is today...or who made this family what it is today. I'll be sharing history, stories, folklore, letters, photos, recipes and much more. I hope you subscribe so you can receive each new post as it's published.