Names.
Eleven Children:
Eva
Elmer
Ernest
Edwin
Erma
Esther
Ethel
Evelyn
Elsie
Emory
Eleanor
And the parents:
Elwood and Emma
:)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
How Much Tragedy Can One Mother Take?
An obituary from 1926 led me to update the branch of a family in Pennsylvania. The obituary all by itself causes my heart to ache for the family of the young man. He was 23, married, father of one, and died from burns on his body from an accident at work.
The mother of the young man, Ellen, lost her first son when he was six years old for reasons unknown to me. Her second child, a daughter, lived to be an adult and the mother of two children. Her third child, a daughter, died at the age of three months. Her fourth child is the above mentioned young man who died at the age of 23 in the horrific accident.
Child five lived to the ripe old age of 78. Ellen lost four babies at birth. I know one was the youngest of the brood, but I don't have years for the other three.
To sum it all up, Ellen was the mother of nine children. She lost six of them before they reached the age of seven. Then the 23 year old son....
Four years after losing her son, Ellen lost her husband.
I can only imagine the pain in her life.
The mother of the young man, Ellen, lost her first son when he was six years old for reasons unknown to me. Her second child, a daughter, lived to be an adult and the mother of two children. Her third child, a daughter, died at the age of three months. Her fourth child is the above mentioned young man who died at the age of 23 in the horrific accident.
Child five lived to the ripe old age of 78. Ellen lost four babies at birth. I know one was the youngest of the brood, but I don't have years for the other three.
To sum it all up, Ellen was the mother of nine children. She lost six of them before they reached the age of seven. Then the 23 year old son....
Four years after losing her son, Ellen lost her husband.
I can only imagine the pain in her life.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Genealogy and Technology
As I sort through my stacks of genealogy materials (why did I feel the need to print EVERYTHING) to convert them to digital and selectively shred, I am reminded of all the different ways I've stored my data.
When I first started, I worked for a company with a word processing machine. My boss allowed me to learn how to use the machine (it wasn't a part of my job duties) and on my lunch hour I would enter my family information. I created a number system. I have been reminded of that number system as the old documents have the number(s) written on them.
This was cumbersome and not handy at all as I only had access to the machine during lunch hour at work and only if the person assigned to the machine was not working over her lunch hour.
The Commodore64 came out and we bought one. I bought a genealogy program for it. I don't remember the name, but I remember not being that happy with it. I re-entered all the data into the program. Something happened and I lost it all and got to do it again. I learned a big lesson about backing up. The program was not as effective as I would have liked, but it was better than doing it by hand.
At work I was learning to use a relational database called RBase. I loved that database. I purchased RBase for use at home. I used it to store my genealogy and once again, I re-entered all my data. My very most favorite thing about using the database was I could create whatever report I wanted and make it look exactly the way I wanted.
That worked until new technology came out and RBase was no longer supported. By this time I had thousands of names and was not thrilled about moving the data again. And I hated the idea of losing my control over reports.
I decided to use Family Tree Maker for my next venture into storing and sorting data. I've stuck with it although at times it frustrates me too. Even though at times I'm tempted to move to a different program, I am sticking with FTM. I get tired of the updates and haven't been thrilled with their 'improvements' as I still can't create reports the way I did before although I'm getting better at understanding the program and can get close to what I want. There are a few things I've not figured out yet, but I really don't need those particular features either...at the moment...so I'm letting it go. I do like the capability of storing digital copies of documents and photos and linking them to people.
Now that we are deep into the digital age, I look back at how long it took me to get information versus how fast I can get the information and have a copy of the document stored and linked to the person.
When I first started, I worked for a company with a word processing machine. My boss allowed me to learn how to use the machine (it wasn't a part of my job duties) and on my lunch hour I would enter my family information. I created a number system. I have been reminded of that number system as the old documents have the number(s) written on them.
This was cumbersome and not handy at all as I only had access to the machine during lunch hour at work and only if the person assigned to the machine was not working over her lunch hour.
The Commodore64 came out and we bought one. I bought a genealogy program for it. I don't remember the name, but I remember not being that happy with it. I re-entered all the data into the program. Something happened and I lost it all and got to do it again. I learned a big lesson about backing up. The program was not as effective as I would have liked, but it was better than doing it by hand.
At work I was learning to use a relational database called RBase. I loved that database. I purchased RBase for use at home. I used it to store my genealogy and once again, I re-entered all my data. My very most favorite thing about using the database was I could create whatever report I wanted and make it look exactly the way I wanted.
That worked until new technology came out and RBase was no longer supported. By this time I had thousands of names and was not thrilled about moving the data again. And I hated the idea of losing my control over reports.
I decided to use Family Tree Maker for my next venture into storing and sorting data. I've stuck with it although at times it frustrates me too. Even though at times I'm tempted to move to a different program, I am sticking with FTM. I get tired of the updates and haven't been thrilled with their 'improvements' as I still can't create reports the way I did before although I'm getting better at understanding the program and can get close to what I want. There are a few things I've not figured out yet, but I really don't need those particular features either...at the moment...so I'm letting it go. I do like the capability of storing digital copies of documents and photos and linking them to people.
Now that we are deep into the digital age, I look back at how long it took me to get information versus how fast I can get the information and have a copy of the document stored and linked to the person.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Attaching Documents
I scanned all of the obits from the last couple research trips. I like to type the source on the jpg file. My photo editing software has some great features, but it's not very user friendly. Adding text is frustrating. I figure it out and then don't use it for a long time and back to square one.
My solution to that is to pull the jpg files (I scan the files as jpg because I like them as jpgs.) into PowerPoint. I used that program all the time with my students for picture editing. I crop and add a text box with the source information and save the PowerPoint as a jpeg file.
I then pull it into the expensive program and do a final crop. I could make the file fit the PowerPoint page and not do the last step, but it doesn't take that long to crop in the other program.
Now I'm ready to attach the jpg files to the genealogy program. Next is to figure out how to get the pictures to automatically print in the reports.
My solution to that is to pull the jpg files (I scan the files as jpg because I like them as jpgs.) into PowerPoint. I used that program all the time with my students for picture editing. I crop and add a text box with the source information and save the PowerPoint as a jpeg file.
I then pull it into the expensive program and do a final crop. I could make the file fit the PowerPoint page and not do the last step, but it doesn't take that long to crop in the other program.
Now I'm ready to attach the jpg files to the genealogy program. Next is to figure out how to get the pictures to automatically print in the reports.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Ummm, today I want to be called....
I have never understood the desire to change a name. My childhood best friends decided we should change our names and they picked out new names. I couldn't think of something else I wanted to be called and it wasn't because I was so in love with my given name, I just didn't have any desire to change it. I think I frustrated them.
All of the name changing frustrates me. My latest example is Thad. Thad was William on the 1920 census, Thaddeus in 1930, and Houston on the 1940. Yes, William, Thaddeus and Houston are the same person as I have other documents tying the names to one person, thankfully. (Except for William...that name never shows up again. The 'child' is a junior and I've never found the name William associated with the father either.)
So, when I first met Thad in 1920, I thought he was William. I never dreamed he was a junior.
Knowing what I know about Thad, it makes me wonder about some of his siblings such as Ellen. She shows up on the 1915 Kansas census with a birth year of 1888 between brothers Frank and Chester. Why isn't she listed on the 1900 or 1910 census or the Kansas 1905 census? Is she the E in Margaret E? Margaret E was born in 1896. She is listed on the 1900, 1905, 1910 and 1920 censuses. Margaret is between brothers Frank and Chester. Makes sense doesn't it? Seems like Ellen must be Margaret Ellen with the age off in the census which isn't all that unusual.
Hold on.
Walter is between Frank and Chester, too. He was born in 1891. He is on the 1900, 1905, 1910 and 1920 census. Where was he in 1915?
I made a graphic to help me keep all of this straight.
Better get back to searching.
All of the name changing frustrates me. My latest example is Thad. Thad was William on the 1920 census, Thaddeus in 1930, and Houston on the 1940. Yes, William, Thaddeus and Houston are the same person as I have other documents tying the names to one person, thankfully. (Except for William...that name never shows up again. The 'child' is a junior and I've never found the name William associated with the father either.)
So, when I first met Thad in 1920, I thought he was William. I never dreamed he was a junior.
Knowing what I know about Thad, it makes me wonder about some of his siblings such as Ellen. She shows up on the 1915 Kansas census with a birth year of 1888 between brothers Frank and Chester. Why isn't she listed on the 1900 or 1910 census or the Kansas 1905 census? Is she the E in Margaret E? Margaret E was born in 1896. She is listed on the 1900, 1905, 1910 and 1920 censuses. Margaret is between brothers Frank and Chester. Makes sense doesn't it? Seems like Ellen must be Margaret Ellen with the age off in the census which isn't all that unusual.
Hold on.
Walter is between Frank and Chester, too. He was born in 1891. He is on the 1900, 1905, 1910 and 1920 census. Where was he in 1915?
I made a graphic to help me keep all of this straight.
Better get back to searching.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Marvin and Mervin
My imagination is working overtime. Marvin and Mervin are twins. Mervin died in California and is buried there according to every source I can find. However, his gravestone has Marvin on it.
Marvin died several years after Mervin in another state.
Why does Mervin's headstone say Marvin? Is just a simple mistake or did Marvin die in California and Mervin take over his identity?
Marvin died several years after Mervin in another state.
Why does Mervin's headstone say Marvin? Is just a simple mistake or did Marvin die in California and Mervin take over his identity?
And when do you think the child will have a name?
It's the eighth of October in 1850. Your baby was born in July of 1849. The census said he is unnamed. Really? ( I have found babies a month or maybe four months old without names, but never one this old. I wonder why he went so long without a name.)
Friday, February 15, 2013
Is she or isn't she?
I drove to Garden City, Kansas today to do find some obituaries I needed to confirm some family members and dates. I also hoped the obits might give me some leads on locations for siblings and such. I did NOT expect any of the obituaries to make me scratch my head and say "I don't get it" while searching through the database to see if I can make sense of the obit.
Maybe if I 'talk' my way through it here I will figure it out. I don't hold out a lot of hope, but here goes.
This person, Ella, is not a direct relative of mine or my husband. She is the child of my husband's great-grandmother's second husband. I like gathering a little information on the step portion of families as you just never know when it might come in handy. I think I'm sorry I picked up her obit. (Just had to throw in that little whine.)
Ella is not married as far as I know. Her obit has her maiden name on it, however, it refers to her as Mrs. That could be a mistake on the newspaper's part. All of the information in the obit agrees with what I already have for her until I get to survivors. Now I have a problem.
According to all my research, let me list what I have, oh....wait...I think I may have just solved my problem. I should have checked my sources before getting too carried away here. I have her flagged as a POSSIBLE family member. The obit was to confirm or deny her connection to the family. I think I just confirmed she is NOT a member of the family. <big sigh> I wish I would have noted my question on the obit list today. It would have saved me a lot of time and aggravation. So, I'm done whining and I'm glad I picked up the obit.
Maybe if I 'talk' my way through it here I will figure it out. I don't hold out a lot of hope, but here goes.
This person, Ella, is not a direct relative of mine or my husband. She is the child of my husband's great-grandmother's second husband. I like gathering a little information on the step portion of families as you just never know when it might come in handy. I think I'm sorry I picked up her obit. (Just had to throw in that little whine.)
Ella is not married as far as I know. Her obit has her maiden name on it, however, it refers to her as Mrs. That could be a mistake on the newspaper's part. All of the information in the obit agrees with what I already have for her until I get to survivors. Now I have a problem.
According to all my research, let me list what I have, oh....wait...I think I may have just solved my problem. I should have checked my sources before getting too carried away here. I have her flagged as a POSSIBLE family member. The obit was to confirm or deny her connection to the family. I think I just confirmed she is NOT a member of the family. <big sigh> I wish I would have noted my question on the obit list today. It would have saved me a lot of time and aggravation. So, I'm done whining and I'm glad I picked up the obit.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
One Little Letter
can make all the difference.
U instead of e.
Hurd instead of Herd.
Found ya! Finally!
U instead of e.
Hurd instead of Herd.
Found ya! Finally!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Let me introduce my cousin who is also my half sibling who might be a step sibling too....
Well, the step-sibling part is exaggerating a bit, but it makes for an interesting heading!
I'm working on one of my husband's branches and I think this particular group is making my hair grayer by the minute.
I'm struggling to find most of them on the census records. The ones I can find are making life difficult. Ida, a great aunt, was married twice. She had three children by her first husband and, sadly, he died before 1915. I cannot find them in the 1910 census. The oldest daughter is in the 1920 census with her grandparents, Ida's parents. The other two children are listed with their mother, Ida, and their step-father aka their uncle, James. They are NOT listed with their birth names on the census, they have their uncle's last name. I just spent the last hour figuring that one out after I connected those two kids to other parents for various reasons. I have now disconnected them and placed them with the proper parents with the proper names with the help of a few other documents. Whew!
Wait, there's more.
Ida has a sister Bertha. Bertha is James' first wife. They have eight children together. The youngest was born in 1913. Remember Ida's husband died before 1915? Well, something was going on between Ida and James...some consoling? Anyway, Ida and James have a son together around 1915 and also marry.
Bertha remarries before 1920, but is divorced before 1930. She does not have any more children that I know of. Her second husband was married before her and has three children. He marries again after Bertha.
I have to go make an appointment to get the gray covered.
I'm working on one of my husband's branches and I think this particular group is making my hair grayer by the minute.
I'm struggling to find most of them on the census records. The ones I can find are making life difficult. Ida, a great aunt, was married twice. She had three children by her first husband and, sadly, he died before 1915. I cannot find them in the 1910 census. The oldest daughter is in the 1920 census with her grandparents, Ida's parents. The other two children are listed with their mother, Ida, and their step-father aka their uncle, James. They are NOT listed with their birth names on the census, they have their uncle's last name. I just spent the last hour figuring that one out after I connected those two kids to other parents for various reasons. I have now disconnected them and placed them with the proper parents with the proper names with the help of a few other documents. Whew!
Wait, there's more.
Ida has a sister Bertha. Bertha is James' first wife. They have eight children together. The youngest was born in 1913. Remember Ida's husband died before 1915? Well, something was going on between Ida and James...some consoling? Anyway, Ida and James have a son together around 1915 and also marry.
Bertha remarries before 1920, but is divorced before 1930. She does not have any more children that I know of. Her second husband was married before her and has three children. He marries again after Bertha.
I have to go make an appointment to get the gray covered.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Persistence
Today I was gathering information on a 4th cousin 1x removed in the state of Washington. I noticed his death record had a different name for a wife. It was just a first name, but a clue that he may have been married twice. If he was married twice, the first wife could very well be married twice. So I looked at the SSDI with her birthdate. No luck. I took out the last name and searched just for her birthdate and first name. Several choices came up for the area she lived in. I had to look and look some more and I found a Viola with the same birthdate and in the same area. However, the last name was not one I was familiar with for her. A little more digging through marriage records and I found her second husband. Then I found family trees from her second husband's family. Now I have her date of death and place and feel comfortable that I have the correct information. However, I will look up her obituary the next time I am in the area.
Her first husband, my actual cousin, well, I'm still working on finding out who is second wife is as I have not been able to locate them in the marriage records. I may have to settle for listing his name on my obituary search for the next time I am in the area.
Her first husband, my actual cousin, well, I'm still working on finding out who is second wife is as I have not been able to locate them in the marriage records. I may have to settle for listing his name on my obituary search for the next time I am in the area.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Free Searching
I get asked all the time about free search sites. I love findagrave.com, familysearch.org, and http://www.cyndislist.com/.
I love finding states with access to records. I usually stick them in my favorites, but when my computer crashed I lost my sites. So then I started sticking them in Delicious, an online bookmarking site, but I have to log in and I get tired of that. (Can you spell l.a.z.y??) Now, well, now I think I'll start adding them to this blog. I've given some thought as to how to organize them and haven't decided how I want to do it just yet. So, for now, I'll just add them to the blog and label them. If you run across a link that doesn't work, let me know.
I love finding states with access to records. I usually stick them in my favorites, but when my computer crashed I lost my sites. So then I started sticking them in Delicious, an online bookmarking site, but I have to log in and I get tired of that. (Can you spell l.a.z.y??) Now, well, now I think I'll start adding them to this blog. I've given some thought as to how to organize them and haven't decided how I want to do it just yet. So, for now, I'll just add them to the blog and label them. If you run across a link that doesn't work, let me know.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Why? Now What?
Today I'm updating a family using information from two obituaries I found when at the library the other day. I won't use names because the family is local and several members are still alive.
After I enter information from an obituary I check to see what I can find on Ancestry.com and the internet. Well, today's search leaves me frustrated. One of the children has an incorrect death date and place on Ancestry.com family trees. I know that it is wrong as I have sources showing the 'child' is still alive. I don't know who attached that death date and information to their family tree first, but two others have copied the information and posted it online. Argh! I wonder how many more times the misinformation will be copied in the future?
I'm sure the people posting the information believe they have the correct information because it comes from US Veterans Gravesites on Ancestry.com and the SSDI. The person on the Gravesites data and SSDI has the same birthdate as the family member...well...it's a year off. That's not necessarily unusual. The middle initial is wrong...that's not unusual either, however, it does not match the middle name. If I didn't have the information I have showing that this person CANNOT be the same, I would see this as possible information for my cousin.
This is not the first time I have found misinformation in family trees posted online. Sometimes I think dates have been intentionally entered wrong on online family trees and wonder if the owner did that because of all of the copying without researching or giving credit.
Now, what do I do about it? I'm not going to do anything about it. Right or wrong, that's my decision. I am not going to take the time to contact all of the owners of the incorrect family trees. If I can find the information online to prove the person is still alive, so can the others.
After I enter information from an obituary I check to see what I can find on Ancestry.com and the internet. Well, today's search leaves me frustrated. One of the children has an incorrect death date and place on Ancestry.com family trees. I know that it is wrong as I have sources showing the 'child' is still alive. I don't know who attached that death date and information to their family tree first, but two others have copied the information and posted it online. Argh! I wonder how many more times the misinformation will be copied in the future?
I'm sure the people posting the information believe they have the correct information because it comes from US Veterans Gravesites on Ancestry.com and the SSDI. The person on the Gravesites data and SSDI has the same birthdate as the family member...well...it's a year off. That's not necessarily unusual. The middle initial is wrong...that's not unusual either, however, it does not match the middle name. If I didn't have the information I have showing that this person CANNOT be the same, I would see this as possible information for my cousin.
This is not the first time I have found misinformation in family trees posted online. Sometimes I think dates have been intentionally entered wrong on online family trees and wonder if the owner did that because of all of the copying without researching or giving credit.
Now, what do I do about it? I'm not going to do anything about it. Right or wrong, that's my decision. I am not going to take the time to contact all of the owners of the incorrect family trees. If I can find the information online to prove the person is still alive, so can the others.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Not Exactly What I Wanted
I spent some time this weekend at the library looking to prove Arnold Cook is the son of Levi and Sarah (Poole) Cook. Levi is a Mayflower descendant. I hoped to find books on descendants, specifically, Francis Cooke.
Arnold fits right in the Levi/Sarah family. His birth year is approximately 1800. Could Randall (b Nov 10, 1800) be Randall Arnold? Could Arnold's date of birth be 1881 which puts him between Randall and Thomas?
Unless someone knows something I don't, I have come to the conclusion Arnold is NOT the son of Levi and Sarah. First, there is nothing on the internet that I can find that leads me to believe I could be wrong. Second, I can find the other children listed in the Abington (Massachusetts)Vital Records, but not Arnold. (I also cannot find Thomas Jefferson Cook, born about 1802 in Abington, but have found him listed in The History of Edward Poole of Weymouth, Mass (1635) and his descendants by Murray Edward Poole written in 1893.)
Randall is not the same as Arnold...different wife, different children.
So that leads me to ask, who are the parents of Arnold Cook? He was born in either 1800 in Massachusetts or Rhode Island; 1801 in Massachusetts or New York or Rhode Island. I know from the census he was a farmer and lived in Rensselaer County, New York. He is buried in Cook Cemetery located in Petersburg, Rensselaer, New York.
Arnold fits right in the Levi/Sarah family. His birth year is approximately 1800. Could Randall (b Nov 10, 1800) be Randall Arnold? Could Arnold's date of birth be 1881 which puts him between Randall and Thomas?
Unless someone knows something I don't, I have come to the conclusion Arnold is NOT the son of Levi and Sarah. First, there is nothing on the internet that I can find that leads me to believe I could be wrong. Second, I can find the other children listed in the Abington (Massachusetts)Vital Records, but not Arnold. (I also cannot find Thomas Jefferson Cook, born about 1802 in Abington, but have found him listed in The History of Edward Poole of Weymouth, Mass (1635) and his descendants by Murray Edward Poole written in 1893.)
Randall is not the same as Arnold...different wife, different children.
So that leads me to ask, who are the parents of Arnold Cook? He was born in either 1800 in Massachusetts or Rhode Island; 1801 in Massachusetts or New York or Rhode Island. I know from the census he was a farmer and lived in Rensselaer County, New York. He is buried in Cook Cemetery located in Petersburg, Rensselaer, New York.
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