James 'JP' Smock

Rip’s Polish Ancestry Villages Slideshow

Vintage Photo Slideshows / By /

Most of Rip’s Polish ancestors, including the Polka, Kloc and Maduzia families were poor farmers from the small villages in the Debica area of southeast Poland; Gawrzylowa, Jaworze Dolne, Jaworze Grone, Pilzno, Pilznionek and Zawierzbie.

These photos of the ancestral villages of Rip’s Polish ancestors were taken by James Derheim in the 1980’s. James also labeled all of the photos and included some hand made maps of the locations.
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11 Generations of Rip’s Ancestors

Heritage / By /

Rip’s roots can be traced back to two uniquely different American families. His father was an 8th generation American whose ancestors were among the earliest Dutch settlers in New York, long before the American Revolution and his mother was a 1st generation American whose Polish family settled in Texas around 1870.
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11 Generations of Rip’s Ancestors Read More »

World War II In The South Pacific Photo Album

Vintage Photo Albums / By /

Walter A Rip Smock's WWII In The South Pacific

Most of these photos were taken in the Marshall Islands in 1944, during World War II. Rip was in the Navy and served on an Aircraft Carrier in the South Pacific. His Navy buddies nicknamed him ‘Smokey’. The descriptions were taken from writing in Rip’s albums or from the back of the original photos.

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Hunting and Fishing In The 40’s Photo Album

Vintage Photo Albums / By /

1940's Walter A Rip Smock Hunting and Fishing PhotosMost of these old Texas hunting and fishing photos were taken in the 1940’s either at the old Chocolate Bayou shack or at the Christmas Bay camp between Surfside and San Luis Pass. The descriptions were taken from writing in Rip’s albums or from the back of the original photos.

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Click on small thumbnails below to enlarge photos.

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The Stolen House

Stories / By /

The Stolen House at 77 Stanley Place in Houston, TexasIn honor of the 16th anniversary of the death of my father, here’s a story I wrote this morning about a stolen house. I’ve been researching this story for years and Rip seemed to be telling me last night that it was time to finish it. The best part of the story to me is the newspaper photo of the house Rip lived in when he was young.

Research for this story came from the following sources;
Real Property Records from Harris County Clerk
1901 – 1955 Houston Chronicle Archives
1896 and 1907 Houston, Harris County Texas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1907 – 1955 Morrison & Fourmy Directory of the City of Houston
Texas birth, marriage and death records

…Edited 10/27/20, 10/28/20 and 11/01/20 to add some newly found evidence and a map of the exact location of Stanley Street.
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