John William & Rosa Emma (Morgan) Slack – A Portrait of the Children

I have been fortunate in the past week to connect with distance relatives of the “Slack” side of my family I have never met or talked to before. One telephone call was all it took to start a cascade of emails, address exchanges and phone numbers I am still happily sorting through and recording. No doubt more posts will result from it in the future.

During discussions with my new-found relatives, I came to realize there are a couple of photos in my possession that may be of interest to many of the Slack’s who descended from my Great Grandparents - John William Slack (b. Nov 23, 1873 d. 1959) and Rosa Emma Morgan (b. Nov 1, 1878 d. Jun 17, 1937) of Springfield, Missouri. John and Rose had nine children, the youngest being my maternal grandfather, Ellsworth Woodrow Slack.

The first photo (below) is the only one I have of John William Slack. Unfortunately, I don't have a photograph of Rosa. The picture below shows John W. Slack Sr. in the middle flanked by Ellsworth to his right and John William Slack Jr. to his left. All are proudly showing off their catch from a successful fishing trip. The photo was processed in 1955 in Springfield, Missouri, and I think may been taken in my Grandfather’s backyard. I know from my Grandfather Ellsworth that the family loved to fish, and would do so whenever they had the opportunity. I have lived a life full of listening to his “fish” stories, and have even made a few myself!

The second photograph (below) is courtesy of my Aunt Sarah (Slack) Niday, or “Sally” as I have always called her. This is a wonderful group photo of all the Slack children taken in the late 1920's or early 1930’s, presumably in Springfield, Missouri.

Back Row, from left to right:
James Earl Slack (b. Nov 2, 1899 d. Nov 2, 1993)
Amos Dee Slack (b. 1903, d. ?)
Garland Glenwill Slack (b. May 9, 1904 d. Aug 31, 1978)
John William Slack Jr. (b. Jun 15, 1912 d. Jan 4, 1992)
Ellsworth Woodrow Slack (b. Mar 16, 1914 d. Mar 4, 1996)

Front Row, from left to right:
Amanda Jane (Slack) Mauch (b. Feb 9, 1897 d. ?)
Ruth Kathryn (Slack) Whitehead (b. Sep 5, 1901 d. May 12 1993)
Mary J. (Slack) Carter (b. Nov 28, 1905 d. Dec 16, 1988)
Christina (Slack) Stephens (b. Dec 17, 1909 d. Oct 26 1990)

I must thank one of my newly discovered distant cousins, Kathryn Ann (Whitehead) Tilley of Destin, Florida for recently providing a few of the dates and names of my Grandfather’s siblings that I previously have been unable to find. I encourage anyone with information on my Southwest Missouri Slack family roots, or any family line for that matter, to contact me or reply to this and other posts. Together, we can keep their memories and treasured stories alive for generations to come.