Just when you think the stories can't get sadder

Imagine being a five year girl.  Your mother dies.  Your father places you and your seven year old brother in an orphanage.  A year later your brother dies.  I know times were hard back in the 30s.  This illustrates it.

not a 'real' family member...

Really?  Not a 'real' family member?  Your family member adopted him.  That makes him real.  Why not use the term adopted?  He is a half-sibling to your cousins.  I hope you all didn't make him feel like an outsider as he was growing up. 

Lee and Mabel

In 1918, Lee, age 12, ran away with Mabel (same age? listed as a child in article) to Chicago. Their final destination was supposed to be Gebo, WY. Why there? I don't know. Not much information was given about Mabel, but she sounds like a character. She had movie star theatrics and told the authorities 'Of course it's none of your business, but if you want to know, we're going to get married.' Mabel had a picture of a world-famous "movie vampire" with her that she would not surrender. Poor Lee, his father was coming to get him. His girlfriend/fiance didn't seem to care and declared 'there will be some other time' when she and Lee would run away for good.' Apparently the love didn't last as I find Lee married to someone else when he is an adult. Wonder what happened to Mabel.

 

Cemetery Road Trip

I plotted a trip through Oklahoma to visit cemeteries on my way to a family event in Texas.  My family was impressed with my notebook tabbed with towns.  Each town included a map showing the location of the cemetery (if I had information available), a list of people to 'visit', Find-a-Grave photo requests, and library information if obituaries were needed.   I never had time to visit any libraries as once I was on the road and found the first cemetery it hit home just how much time it was going to take just to visit the cemeteries.  I tried to set a flexible schedule to give myself an idea of time as I traveled.  I found that I fell behind and finally had to abandon the idea of visiting the last two cemeteries.

Some directions were wrong due to road changes.  I am not sure if the map of Avard, Oklahoma was wrong or if I was turned around.  (probably the latter)

I also didn't have time to do any Find-a-Grave photo requests as only one cemetery had a map.  No map means I 'get' to walk the cemetery.  I don't mind walking the cemetery on nice days as the headstones are always interesting and I get to wonder about the stories about the people buried there.

It was an interesting day.  I was on some awful roads out in the middle of nowhere, but it was fun and I can't wait to do it again.

Plural Marriage and DAR

We have some family members of the Morman faith, but not many.  It was interesting to me to find a family on my husband's side who believed in plural marriage and practiced it.  I don't have a problem with plural marriage as long as the parties involved are of age and want to be a part of that lifestyle.  I have to admit I don't understand it.  I'm not sharing my husband and he is well aware of that!  :)

When I attended the genealogy conference I met several Morman attendees.  Makes sense, right?  The conference was in Salt Lake City.  As one of the attendees and I visited about DAR she informed me that DAR would not allow her to join because her mother was not the 1st wife of the war ancestor's descendant.  I was appalled. What difference does it make?  What if the first wife had died and this was a second wife?  (My membership is through a second wife as the first wife died.) Again, what difference does it make as long as my new friend can prove her relationship to the ancestor?  I called DAR when I returned home.  Apparently DAR did not allow this in the past.  But like many other things in our lives, opinions change as time passes.  I notified my new friend to submit her paperwork.  She is going to let me know how things go for her.

Oops!

I did some 'fishing' to find information on a distant cousin.  I was delighted to find her, her husband and their ten children.  Usually I am meticulous about entering every piece of information I have, but this time I didn't.  Perhaps it was because something/one was trying to tell me I caught the wrong fish!  I found her siblings obituaries and they listed her last name wrong.  Well, according to my fishing, it was wrong.  The first time I thought it was a mistake committed by the newspaper.  The second time I thought, 'Hmmm, maybe she married a second time.' which was possible as her husband died several years before she did.  But, nothing I had listed that second marriage or name.  So, I googled the 'second husband' name.  Lucky for me I found the right fish!  I'm so grateful I didn't take the time to enter every detail on the ten children as they are not a part of my family.  Time to detach the wrong fish from the family and delete them one by one. 

Regina Fenstermacher Ross

Regina, who did you marry?  I know his last name is Ross and I know the names of your four children.  John, Hannah, Charles and Joseph.  You are the daughter of Christian and Maria Barbara (Hilbert) Fenstermacher.  Would you stop hiding from me? 

(Regina born about 1801/1802 in PA)

Anyone out there in cyberspace know anything about Regina and her family?

 

Update Feb 2021: No new information on Regina.  I am adding this to my list of people to look up in the Fenstermacher book in Pennsylvania.