Virginia Shumate Moran - La Belle Epoque, ca. 1910

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A beautiful moment in time captured forever.  In this picture Virginia S. Moran epitomizes the elegance, beauty, and fragility of La Belle Epoque, the Beautiful Age.

1888 - 1970

The Tennessee Centennial and Belmont College, 1897

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Education has always been important to the Moran family.  From the time they were little they were attending Mrs. Evans School in Dresden TN and then as they became teenagers the boys (Jimmie and Harrell Moran) were off to a school in Elkton KY and then The Webb Bell Buckle School in of course, Bell Buckle, TN.  The girls (Fannie, Ida, and Marion) attended Mrs. M.E. Clark's Select School for Young Ladies and Miss Price's School in Nashville, TN. They went on to attend Belmont College also located in Nashville.  At the time they were attending, the ladies were housed in the Belmont Mansion which had been divided up into dormitory rooms.

The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition took place in 1897 and there was a special pavilion just for showcasing the contributions and achievements of Tennessee women.  Among those who attended and took part in the Centennial were Fannie and Ida Moran. Fannie contributed works of poetry and writing while Ida participated in Belmont Day at the Centennial by participating in a musical recital.  She performed two solo piano pieces.

This letter from Ann Snyder (Chairman Library Cmte, Women's Board Tennessee Centennial)
was sent to Sue Mooney in Dresden, TN.  Mrs. Mooney was the principal at the Dresden Academy
where Fanny Moran was teaching. The Committee is requesting Mrs. Mooney to submit
books and other works of writing for inclusion at the Exposition. 

This is the programme from Tennessee Centennial for the musical
concert performed by students of Belmont College, May 21, 1897.

Pg. 2 of the programme.  I've underlined Ida Moran's name in red.

Page 3 of the programme.

On the back is a song called Belmont Days.  I'm assuming
it was the Alma Mater for Belmont College.

This is the cover from the Centennial Souvenir book Tennessee Centennial Poems,
written by Annie Somers Gilchrist, 1897.

This is another item from the Tennessee Centennial.  A recital
program for Miss Neva Sharon Stuart, another student from
Belmont College, School of Music.

The Baum's of Denver Colorado

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Updated March 12, 2014

Serendipity strikes again.  Yesterday part of the Martha Belle Shumate puzzle literally dropped at my feet.  While reaching for something else I accidentally knocked Ria Moran's address book to the floor.  As I stooped to pick up the items that fell out I noticed a piece of paper that said "Harry L. Baum Jr_ Mrs. Leslie Prior (Martha Belle) Denver Colorado.  I realized that Martha had remarried, a fact I had not known till that moment! Martha's second husband was Leslie Richard Prior.  I plan to do a separate blog entry once I have more information regarding the Prior family.  I still haven't found where Martha is buried but am hoping to hear from Fairmount Cemetery in the next few days in the hope that she and Leslie Prior are there. Updated at 12:45pm, Fairmount has no record of Martha or her husband Leslie.  The search continues.

Here is the original post with Baum/Shumate information.

We don't know a lot about the Harry Lester Baum family at this point but they certainly make for interesting research.  Here's what we know so far:

Harry L. Baum was born in 1887 in Illinois.  He later moved to Denver CO where he became a successful nose and throat doctor.  He was also Grand Master of the Colorado Masonic Grand Lodge in 1938 and he enjoyed writing Masonic plays. He is in the list of Famous Freemasons under the Initial List of 33rd Degree Masons.

He was married twice. First he was married to a woman named Martha Belle Shumate.  Martha was the youngest daughter of Quincy and Lou Shumate and was born in 1891 either in Kentucky or Tennessee. Martha was Virginia Shumate Moran's cousin, but they were more like sisters because after the death of Virginia's father, Nathan M. Shumate, her Uncle Quincy took her and her two sisters into his home and raised them as his own daughters. 

This picture was taken at Prestel Portraits in Denver, CO.  The Baum family
were the only Moran relatives in Colorado at that time.  This
is Martha Belle Shumate Baum. This photo, long hidden away, hangs
on our family photo wall.

Harry and Martha were married Tuesday, December 14th, 1915, in Denver Colorado.  Here are the couple on a hike.  On the back of the photo Martha, or maybe Harry, wrote: "On our climb of 13,000 ft this is about 12,000 ft elev. We had to rest about every ten steps."

Dr. Harry L. Baum and Martha Belle Shumate hiking in Colorado.

We know that Harry and Martha had at least two children: Harry Jr and Martha (Marty).  Harry had another son with his second wife Ellen Noreen Schryver.  His  name was William Sutton Baum (1939-1987).  Martha Belle and Virginia visited each other and here is a picture of them ca. 1919 with some of the children.

Here is Harry Sr with Harry Jr and we think that is Marty.

We aren't sure what happened to Harry and Martha's marriage but Colorado Court records show that they filed for divorce in 1936.   In January 1937, he married his second wife Ellen N. Schryver who I believe was born in 1908.  If that date is correct then Ellen would've been 29 and Harry 49 at the time of their marriage.

Records seem to indicate that Martha stayed in Denver after the divorce.  We haven't been able to find out when Martha Belle Shumate Baum passed away but we do know that Harry L. Baum Sr. died at the age of 63 from a heart attack in March 1951.

Obituary for Dr. Harry Lester Baum

 The search goes on to find out more about Harry and Martha Baum.