Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Part 1 - Michael Simmet

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know it is Friday. But last Saturday, I ran the Missouri Deaths project, so this is catch up!

The following was sent to me by my cousin, Gale.

Death Notice of Michael Simmet Lancaster,Erie,New York

SIMMET In this city January 17,1909 Michael Simmet husband of the late Catherine Simmet and father of Mrs. Frank J Basher, Mrs Alden Hetherly, Mrs. William Giesswein , Frank Simmet of Middleton Mich., Michael and Charles Simmet the late Mrs.Valentine May and George Simmet; aged 83 years 3 months and 24 days. Funeral from the residence of his son Michael Simmet No. 431 Adams Street Wednesday morning at 7:30 o'clock and from St Mary's Church at Lancaster, N.Y. 9 o'clock Burial at the convenience of the family.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Too-Too Thursday

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

It is too-too late for me to be writing a blog. I've worked too-too long on census and crafts today. My eyes are going cross-eyed. If I complete the two census reports sitting on my desk, I'll be down to 315 left.

Anne, you say, you are really doing well on them. Well, I would say, I am struggling to keep up with the pace that I have set and that I hope to be done with them by the end of February. I am grateful for that extra day. I keep finding more census to add to the queue and that just puts me further behind. I think I'll sleep on it.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Dunham & Gardheffner

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

On January 18, 1910, Martha "Mattie" Dunham-Cox-Wilson married George X. Gardheffner in St. Joseph, Berrien, Michigan. Her first marriage ended with the death of her husband, Richard Cox in June of 1888. She married her second husband William Wilson in December of 1888. It's unknown whether their marriage ended in death or divorce. Then on January 18, 1910, Mattie married George Gardheffner.

Mattie was the daughter of Job & Hannah (Percival) Dunham. Her grandparents were Cullen Percival and Rachel Quigley.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Scrambling to Keep Up

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend, I was contacted by a family member that I was not previously acquainted with. Oh, I knew he existed, but that is as far as it went. He was nice enough to send me an obituary on his great-great grandfather, Michael Simmet (Zimmeth). That was really good. Of course, because I now knew the married name of one of the daughters - and her husband's name I had to go look for them in the census. I not only found census for 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930, but I found the 1892 and 1905 New York state censuses. So yes, I added six more to the queue! What did that mean? I had to enter and link 16 censuses yesterday to keep up. I am trying to do 10 or 12 a day just to keep ahead of the game. Believe me, it barely keeps me even. So here I sit at 347 left to go, which means I have entered 230 since January 1st.

And as I sit here entering this information, I am forced to stop and look up something in my files and I think - I should scan all these old records and link them too! I am talking about all the vital records I've located in the last 25 years of research. OMG! Just the thought of that stresses me out.

Okay, back to census!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

New Relatives

2012-01-23T00:01:00.002-06:00

One of the reasons that I blog is to get my surnames out in the blogosphere. People new to family research will eventually stumble upon my blog and hopefully get in touch with me.

I've been lucky enough to have that happen twice in the last two weeks. The most recent one is connected to my Zimmeths - he from the Simmet line. No one in his family was much interested in the family roots until it was too late to question anyone. Now, being one of the eldest in his line, he is trying to get started.

I hope I didn't overwhelm him with the information I sent him tonight. He did send me a wonderful obituary for his ancestor, Michael Zimmeth/Simmet who was my great grandfather's oldest brother.

I love the internet!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

SYMPATHY SATURDAY - Missouri 1961 Deaths

2012-01-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

Thursday evening I received the long awaited email from the Missouri State Archives: The 1961 Death Certificates are ready for transcription! It sounds tedious, but really, the only thing you need to transcribe is the county, date of death, and the name of the decedent. I do use Google Chrome web browser for this, because that is what worked best for me in the past.

Feel the urge to volunteer? Here is the link.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Moving Right Along - The Census Project

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

I don't know what it is about census images, but they seem to multiply in my files overnight. I've been studiously working on these since the first of the year and it seems as if I am not making as much headway as I think I should. The problem, I think, is that I find someone for whom I've missed a year or was unable to find (see yesterday's Too-Too post) and then inspiration hits and I find the missing census. Sometimes. Sometimes no matter what I do or what great ideas I have they just can't be found. Then I just move on. It must be working because I've got that down to 389 census images left in the queue!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Too-Too Thursday

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

I think I found a new theme! This Too-Too Thursday is for those jaw-dropping things we find as we research. As in, I can't believe what I am seeing/reading and/or not finding. And I'm hoping to find one or two more for Thursday so that I can swap them out as I find appropriate blog topics.

So this week. Too-Too Thursday. My regulars will know that I am working hard to get all those census records I've found into my RootsMagic 5 database. I don't know about you, but it really BUGS me when I am missing a census for someone. Today's case is William Sellon Percival. Born to Ansel Percival and Sylvia Sellon, he was the eldest child and was born in Vermont. His two brothers and 3 sisters were born in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, where the younger generation seemed to settle in. On March 3, 1841, he married Lydia S. Pierce, daughter of Leonard and Lucy Booth Pierce. They had one son, William Arasmus Percival, born about 1842.

When I find a new family or spouse or child, I go looking for the census. This family should appear on the 1850 census, right? Wrong. I found them in 1860 in Amherst, Hampshire, Massachusetts. In 1866 William Sellon Percival dies and in 1867, his spouse, Lydia dies, he at the age of 51 and Lydia at 57!

Well, I am persistent and the other day when I was entering the information for the 1860 census, I decided to give it one more try. But first, here is the 1860 census and the information I had from it. I also had the 1865 census, but it is pretty dark. The only difference between 1865 and 1860? 1865 has him born in Vermont. Not Massachusetts as does the 1860. If you take a close look, you will see that William is listed as William C. Percival, Lydia S., William A. and Lucy Pierce. Lucy is Lydia's mother. This is important.

So, I figured if I found Lucy living with them in 1860, maybe she was living there in 1850? Now this part is really important: DO NOT RELY ON THE INDEX WHEN LOOKING FOR A HARD TO FIND RECORD. If you find someone who might appear with the family go to that page and take a look at it. I tried looking for Percival, Percival soundexed, Pierce and then finally Per*. That one did the trick, but did not elicit some weird spelling for Percival as hoped. Nope, it brought up Lucy Perce. When I looked at the page, it looked like Pirce. But more importantly, were the people with whom she was enumerated:

William Petengale (not how it's indexed) age 34 M Wagonmaker born in VT
Lydia S "                                                    31 F                        born in Mass.
William R "                                                   8 M                       born in Mass
Lucy Pirce                                                   51 F                        born in Mass

And this is how William appears on the 1850 index on Ancestry. Is it any wonder why I couldn't find them in 1850?

I can only blame the census taker or whomever transcribed this record for this weird name. There is one clue on the middle image that gives me hope. At the top left it says Copy 14. I'm off to look for support info. Wish me luck.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

OMG! They're Working Against Me!

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

You know it's bad enough when you can't find something because of something you neglected to look for, but when it's the census taker, transcriber, or indexer - or sometimes a combination of them - you feel like they are totally working against you. In 1850, did someone consciously say or think: "I'm going to make it very difficult for someone to find this record in 2012."

Did the town clerks in Massachusetts say, let's make everyone search by town (even if they don't know the town) instead of the county. Yes, I know Massachusetts has town records, but still, can't the towns within a county cooperate? For instance, I am searching for a birth record for William Arasmus Percival, born about 1842 in Massachusetts, most likely in Hampshire county, since that is where his parents were living. However, when I checked a town against the 1855 Massachusetts state census, I didn't find it on the Massachusetts Vital Records site. Why? Because whomever transcribed that census spelled it Williamsburgh instead of Williamsburg.

I need all the help I can get, not red herrings.

In a more positive light, my database hit 33,333 individuals last night!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

The Census Project - Small Chunks

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

The Census Project - yes you are going to hear about this project ad infinitum until I finish it. I started with about 550 census reports saved as images. I edit them in a photo editor so that only the people I need are on the page. I print them as drafts and then add the census as a fact, and link the image to the family. I've done 71 census reports. So that should bring me down to 479, right? WRONG! Because I added 14 more yesterday. So that leaves me with 493 left to work on. I figured if I link at least 6 every day between now and March 31st, I'll finish. Provided I don't add any more. I can do that. I usually print them off in lots of 12, so if I can stick to at least 6, with maybe doing 12 if time and other projects allow, its not an insurmountable task!

An audiobook on my iPod touch helps me get through the tedium of entering all the information.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Ellie Runyon Chinn

2012-01-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

From the Lexington Herald, Lexington, Kentucky, death, 15 January 1952, p8 c8.

Miss Ellie B. Chinn.

Funeral services for Miss Ellie Runyon Chinn, of 248 East Maxwell street, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the W. R. Milward mortuary chapel. The Rev. Leslie R. Smith will officiate and burial will be in the Lexington Cemetery.

Miss Chinn died at 6:45 a.m. yesterday at Good Samaritan Hospital after an illness of two months. She was a retired schoolteacher.

A native of Lexington, Miss Chinn was the daughter of the late Addison B. and Frances Runyon Chinn. She was a graduate of Sayre College and a member of Central Christian Church.

She is survived by a brother, A. C. Chinn of Lexington.

{My regular readers might remember that Ellie's father, Addison Ball Chinn was murdered in a 1902 home invasion in Lexington, Kentucky, and was a subject of my Thriller Thursday theme. Her brother, Asa was also injured.}

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

What Was I Thinking?

2012-01-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

I am about 45 census reports into my project and there have been a couple that leave me scratching my head and muttering "What was I thinking?" Yes, it is the dreaded - who is this family connected to and why did I feel obligated to save the report?

When that happens, I simply move it to my "Needs More Work" folder and move on to the next one, hoping that the marriage records will elicit more information.

Or the census records I've come across and wondered how on earth they were able to index it since even with augmentation, you can't read anything on the page. These most often are from Ancestry.com. Their indexers have x-ray vision eyes?

It's back to work I go. It's possible I am buried under an avalanche of census reports.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Theme Thursday?

2012-01-12T00:04:00.002-06:00

The unthinkable has happened. I've run out of tragedies for Thriller Thursday. I really like the idea of a theme, but none of the ones have struck my fancy. Treasures are out, because my family didn't seem to get too many treasures, so that would be a short theme. I'm open to suggestions!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Zimmeth and Moerschel

2012-01-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

January 12, 1784, John Theobold (or Diebold) Zimmeth was married to Regine Moerschel, in Roeschwoog, Alsace, France. They were my great-great-great grandparents. John Zimmeth was the son of John Theobold Zimmeth and Anna Maria Schalek; Regina was the daughter of Antony Moerschel and Barbara Koch(er).

One of My Favorite Projects

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-06:00

For the last couple of years, I've been one of the volunteers on the Missouri Death Certificates Database. I love this project. Last year we had the death certificates done in record time. It is worth taking time out from other projects to help with this. Yay, Missouri!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

In the Works!

2012-01-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have started on the "Great Census Project." This was an effort I have made to document mysteriously disappearing family members or even whole families. Once I got started on it, I couldn't stop. This is actually something I've worked on for many, many years. Many years ago, I started adding the census as a fact/event on each person in my genealogy program. Then I went back and started linking the census images to the family members listed on that record.

Good idea? It seemed so at the time. In a frenzy I pulled about 600 pages of census. I got way behind transcribing and linking. Some families started on one page and ended on another page. Some families are mysteriously missing in 1870 in Lafayette county, Missouri. The one I am most concerned about is making sure I have all the info from the 1930 census entered and the images linked before the 1940 census is released and searchable. Some of my families moved so much. For instance, my mother's family in 1930 were all listed as living in one home. It's possible, but my mother spent most of her early years living with an aunt. My grandfather, after 1900, is never in the same home twice. Well, actually, neither grandfather is living in the same home in 1930 as they were in 1920. My paternal grandfather lived in three different states from 1910 to 1930.

So now, under pressure to get these all entered and linked before April. If I don't go crazy first!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Horace Boardman Rose

2012-01-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

This is all I have for Horace Rose who purportedly died on January 7, 1841. He married Elvira Percival, daughter of Dr. Jabez Percival and Elizabeth Stearns (and sister of my great-great-great grandfather, Dr. John Stearns Percival.)

Ted R. Worley, Editor, "A Sketch of Horace Boardman Rose," Arkansas Historical Quarterly Volume 14, Number 3 (Autumn 1955): p 281-282, Volume 14, #3, p 281-282.

A Sketch of Horace Boardman Rose

Edited by Ted R. Worley

The original of the following biographical sketch of Horace Boardman Rose, for whom the town of Roseville, Arkansas, was named, is in the Weaver-Field Collection of the Arkansas History Commission. This collection consisting of household relics, books, maps, and miscellaneous manuscript records was loaned in 1954 to the Commission by the late Ben Johnson Field, Jr. and Mary Judith Field Julian. The author of the sketch is unknown. The town of Roseville was on the Arkansas River in Franklin County about ten miles below Ozark.

Major Horace Boardman Rose of New York, one of the Pioneers of Arkansas, was married in 1807 to Miss Elivra Percival of Indiana, and with his bride went to New Orleans, LA., to make their home; of this marriage three daughters were born -- Mary Eliza, Eudora Elvira and Corinna. In 1830 Major Rose moved to Arkansas from New Orleans, bringing his wife, and his three young daughters with him -- also a young man from Virginia, Saml. Montgomery Weaver. The little party came up the Arkansas river on one of the early steamboats, (that mode of travel being in its infancy at that time). After a trip of many weeks, the boat landed at Little Rock, then a settlement of a few houses, spending several days here, Major Rose concluded he would like to explore the country further up the river, so the little party again boarded the steam boat and moved on to the west -- When the boat arrived at what was then called McClaines Bottom, (in after years as the place grew to be a town the name was changed to Roseville, in honor of Major Rose, who did so much for the up building, and advancement of the place). Major Rose seeing the beautiful country, and rich lands of that locality, decided to remain there, invest money, and make his home, which was afterward noted for its hospitality, and meeting of cultured people under its roof. Major Rose himself, being a man of great learning, and elegant personality, possessed a very valuable library, (a part of which is still owned, and priced by one of his granddaughters, Mrs. Mary Rose Field of 311 E. 6th Street Little Rock.) His wife, a gentle and dignified lady, with great charm of manner added much to the refinement and happiness of their home. Mary Eliza Rose eldest daughter of Major and Mrs. Rose married Saml. Montgomery Weaver in 1836, and returned to Little Rock to make this place their home, and spent the balance of their lives here, Mrs. Weaver having lived to the age of 91 -- honored, and beloved by all who knew her -- her children, grandchildren, and great-granddaughter, are still living in the old colonial home, built by her husband, Saml. M. Weaver in 1838. Major and Mrs. Rose's second daughter, Eudora Elvira, married Mr. George Knox of Van Buren, Ark. and made their home in that place. Corinna married Mr. Quinn of Roseville, after some years was left a widow, then Mr. Dr. Chism of same place, and spent the rest of her life in the town named after her father. Major Rose died in 1841, his wife in 1835; bot were laid to rest in Roseville.

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Time Flies ..

2012-01-06T00:02:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that the first week of the New Year has zipped by this fast. Seems like just yesterday, I was writing a post for 2011!

I have been working on getting some scrapbook pages done and dealing with at least a very small portion of older daughter's photos along with photos from my niece's wedding last November. Dealing with all the photos has been part of my new year's resolution for a couple of years now. At least I am making progress, albeit slowly.

The other resolution I have is to deal with all the census that I've saved hopefully before the 1940 census is released. No, I haven't started them, but I have wrapped up all the obits and newspaper articles I culled from the library in Lexington, Kentucky. And I finished the death certificates I had saved. I plan on working through the marriages I've saved also while working on the census. They sort of keep my mind straight on which family I am in need of info for.

In the meantime, nose to the grindstone and all that!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Henry C. Bowman

2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-06:00

Lexington Herald, Lexington, Kentucky, November 1, 1921:

FARMER KILLED BY INTERURBAN

Hal C. Bowman, 60, Had Back to Approaching Car and Was Unable to Hear Sound of the Whistle.

WAS LEADER IN FAYETTE

Hal C. Bowman, 60 years old, prominent Fayette county farmer, was killed instantly yesterday afternoon about 5:30 o'clock, when he was struck by a westbound interurban car on the Versailles pike, at the intersection of Gun's Lane, about three miles from Lexington.

Mr. Bowman apparently did not see the approaching car. It was raining and he was holding an umbrella watching for the car going toward Lexington, which meets the car bound for Versailles near that point.

According to the story, told by Motorman P. Maupin, who, with Conductor J. R. Jordan, was in charge of the interurban, the car was about 75 feet from the crossing when he saw Mr. Bowman standing on the track with his back toward the approaching car. Mr. Maupin applied the brakes and blew the whistle, he said, but was unable to stop the car until after it struck Mr. Bowman. Mr. Bowman was deaf, which accounts for his not hearing the whistle, it was stated.

The force of the impact knocked Mr. Bowman across the pike. The body was badly mangled and apparently many bones in his body, besides his skull, were broken. He was taken into the house at the intersection of the two roads by the crew on the car and later taken to the establishment of W. R. Milward.

Mr. Bowman was one of the most prominent and influential farmers of the county. He was born and lived in that section of the county all his life. He was the son of the late Henry Bowman. He is survived by two sisters, Anna Bell and Sallie, and two brothers, Andrew W. and Will, all of Lexington. The funeral arrangements will be announced later.

The inquest will be held Wednesday morning at the courthouse, Coroner John Anglin announced.

Copyright 2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Percival & Beale

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

On January 4, 1830, in a civil ceremony in Bangor, Maine, Gordon Percival married Emeline Beale. Gordon was a son of Daniel Percival and Prudence Southmayd.

As Proposals Go ...

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-06:00

I always talk about how my husband proposed. At least that is what we think he did. He didn't come right out and ask me to marry him. No. That would have been clear and memorable. He kind of backed into it. And we can't exactly say what he said. Then I forgot to say yes. I guess he didn't catch on from my hugging and kissing him?

So, it must run in my family because this is how my great-great-great grandfather proposed to his third wife (I am descended from his first.)

Mrs Catherine Chinn, the last wife of the deceased, was a remarkable woman. It has been said of her that she was thirty years a maid, thirty years a wife, and thirty years a widow, when at the age of ninety she committed her remaining life's span into the keeping of her aged wooer. His proposal of marriage was in the form of a letter, in which he said that if her answer was to be favorable she must keep the letter. Getting no other reply but the silent acceptance, he called. She met him with "Dr. Chinn I received your letter and have kept it." So they were married and it was a grand church ceremonial. The bride wore white satin with a veil, little children walked before them, none but aged people were shown to the choice seats, and the city was all alive with the event. The pair took a bridal trip to relatives in Missouri, then settled down in Lexington where they spent their twelve years of married life.

Sounds kind of romantic to me? Actually my own DH put his proposal in writing afterwards, so that both parties were clear that he didn't propose to me by accident or ask for a cup of coffee!

Copyright 2010-2012, ACK for Gene Notes

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

Wow! I can't believe how fast 2011 zipped buy. Time sure does fly when you are having fun. Not that all of 2011 was fun, but it sure is over.

2012 is the year really, that DH and I are going to sit down and go through all the bins of photos and sort them out. Even if I have to tie us down to do it.

Last year I really got into this scrapbook thing in a big way, including a new program My Memories Suite v3. I had lots of fun learning to use it and getting those creative juices flowing again. I even crocheted a cowl for younger daughter. In 2012, I plan on using all my resources to get those photos organized, put in scrapbooks and preserving them.

This is the year the 1940 census comes out. I've determined that trying to locate my family on the 1940 census without an index is probably a huge problem. My dad, uncle and grandfather were living in a boarding home and my mom was living somewhere. When asked some years ago where she was living in 1940, she couldn't quite remember if she lived with a cousin, or was already working as an au pair or living with a friend. That's certainly a problem for locating people on the census.

In 2012, I plan on working on all the various record images I've saved and finally getting the info entered and images linked.

Hopefully 2012 will also include a research trip or two.

2011 saw me start a lifestyle change with the diagnosis of diabetes. Here's hoping I'll keep up with the better diet and exercise and weight loss. I have to admit I am feeling a lot better.

I hope you all have a happy 2012!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Happy New Year! 2012

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Sympathy Saturday - Sad or Creepy?

2011-12-31T00:01:00.000-06:00

Every so often I come across a coincidence (?) that is sad. Or maybe it is creepy? I don't know. My first reaction is sad and then it works its way into creeped out.

The latest in the sad or creepy factor are the deaths of Green Caleb Gay and Pluma Woodworth Gay of Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio. Green died December 28, 1928 of infirmities of age - he was 86. His widow, Pluma died one year later on December 28, 1929 -- of infirmities of age! She was 85. Both were buried in West Andover, Ohio on December 31st of the years they died.

A Look Back at 2011

2011-12-30T00:01:00.000-06:00

I don't know why it is that I am so happy to see the year end. Maybe because it wasn't such a great year over all. My DH and I were each diagnosed with diseases we didn't want to deal with, yet I think the experiences and learning how to deal with our diagnoses has been a wake up call. DH is walking close to if not over 5 miles on a daily basis. I'm eating healthier. I think we both feel a lot better knowing we have somewhat minimal control over our bodies for the time being.

DH's father passed in September. He was 92 years old and was starting to decline at an increased pace.

Our older daughter took a cruise with friends. She loved it. I'm a little jealous. Younger daughter made the move from the Detroit area to Nashville. It's nice to have all four of us in the same state again.

My genealogy database grew by smaller leaps and bounds than usual - adding just over a thousand people with associated sources, places and images. And I finally got all the death records I had lingering in folders added to my database!

I actually did work on older daughter's scrapbook photo album. Now that vacation time is over and the holidays are winding up, I expect to be back in the groove scrapbooking again. This time last year I was planning their cookbooks, a project that actually got done quickly. It's nice to know I don't have to package up anything I make for younger daughter and pop it in the mail or over to UPS. Nope, we can drive it there or have her pick it up on one of her trips here for the weekend.

Younger daughter adopted a cat in May. Her name is Belle and she has spent some time at grammy and grampy's house without younger daughter. Amazingly enough, she really didn't get too excited about the Christmas tree or the decorations. Of course, grammy tried to keep the danglies to a minimum.

What's in store for 2012 besides the 1940 census? Who knows!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Annie Barr Bunn

2011-12-29T00:01:00.000-06:00

Annie Barr Bunn died at the age of 53 in Jefferson township, Shelby county, Missouri as a result of accidental burn with hot water. Contributing to the cause of her death was the fact that she had epilepsy of the grand mal variety. Which meant she had seizures. She died September 10, 1930. She was married to Joseph Bunn and had at least one daughter, Mildred, who married Paul Austin Chinn.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Buford & Eckle

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

December 28, 1892 in Lexington, Lafayette county, Missouri, Florence Buford, daughter of Legrand Griffin Buford and Ora Ella Chinn were married. Orra was the daughter of Joseph Garland Chinn and Nannie Shelby. Orra was my first cousin 3 times removed and Legrand was my third cousin 4 times removed.

This is Why I Blog!

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

I had a great email exchange the other day with a chap in Scotland. It seems that he did a mountain of research on breweries in Scotland and Alloa in Clackmannanshire in particular. I mentioned in a blog post on May 19, 2010 that I was working on the Maitland family and mentioned Charles Maitland of Bass Crest Brewery in Alloa. By the time he was through I had tons of stuff on the family including a transcription from the family bible. This wasn't a different Maitland family, it was my direct line. Well you can imagine, especially if you are a family researcher, that I am just thrilled with my windfall. One of my favorite items is a photo of Bass Crest House, where Charles Maitland lived with his family. And it is still standing and occupied.

This is Fun? Yes!

2011-12-26T00:05:00.000-06:00

I've been having quite the time of it, entering death certificates in my database. I started off with about 250, added about a dozen, and am currently down to about 56 left. Yes, I am enjoying it. It sounds crazy, but each death certificate has provided me with a little more detail about the people who were already in my database. And then there are the death certificates I found of people who weren't yet in my database. And the marriages I found as a result, and the next generation found because I am paying attention to the detail.

I am always looking for blog topics, and have found a few and discarded them because I don't want to offend the living. For instance, there is a death record for one relative, a second cousin twice removed, that seems fitting for my Thriller Thursday blog, but since this person left behind a couple of children, I don't want to speculate on the circumstances of her death. Maybe someday.

In the meantime, I will continue to enter the information, research a little further if possible, and blog about it if relevant.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

Greeting done with My Memories Suite v 3 and "Blue Christmas" from Trixie Scraps.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Charles Webb Becken

2011-12-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

Off and on, I've worked on the Webb family, which is my dad's side of the family. And I am always surprised when I find someone who connects recently to the line. One such person, was Charles Webb Becken. I began corresponding with him in the late 1990's and a little into the 2000's. Chuck was the adopted son of Mary Louise Webb and Albert Charles Becken. In all our emails, when he gave me dates of births and deaths, he never gave me places. Recently, I started looking for death information on this adopted grandparents, Walter Leslie Webb and Mozella "Zella" Hutcheson. Since the Walter and Zella married in Jackson county, Missouri, that is where I started my search. Walter died in 1930, but was not found in Missouri. Nope, I found him in Illinois. Once I had his death certificate, I found the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses, and had discovered three daughters. But, Mozella was the mother of 5 with 3 living children. One more daughter was found on Family Search's Illinois birth records - Margaret - born in 1892. Since she is not listed on the 1900 census, I presume she died somewhere in that 8 year time frame.

Obituaries for Walter and Zella, who died December 12, 1941 elicited the spouses of the daughters. Frank Herdman, William H. Brady and A. C. Becken. Unfortunately, it did not give the daughter's given name. Just Mrs. Frank Herdman, Mrs. William H. Brady and Mrs. A. C. Becken. Well, I knew Becken was married to the youngest daughter, Mary Louise. Search of the 1930 census gave me Katherine Herdman and Helen Brady.

Search of the Social Security death index gave me Charles Webb Becken, born in 1926 and died December 23, 2007. None of my online indices have pointed me towards a death notice or obituary. I am saddened by that. One thing I should mention about Chuck, is that he surfed the web and sent email with WebTV. While I never met him, I enjoyed our sporadic correspondence. So here is my poor attempt at an obituary for Charles.

Charles Webb Becken died in Los Gatos, California on December 23, 2007. Born in Illinois on August 2, 1926 he was adopted by Albert Charles and Mary Louise Webb Becken.

Later in life, Chuck developed an avid interest in genealogy. Especially his own. He was a willing correspondent and sprinkled his family history emails with jokes. He is missed by his audience. He is survived by one daughter ...

As you see, I don't even know where he is buried, so that I could post a memorial on Find-A-Grave. Blogs touch a lot of people, and I hope someone out there has more information for me.

OCFRD ...

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yes, I do have this disease. OCFRD. Obsessive. Compulsive. Family. Research. Disease. And I have it bad. And that is what makes me look for the death certificate online for a seriously removed relative. Or the in-law of a removed relative. For instance, while entering the parents of a seriously removed relative's wife (2nd cousin 3 times removed) from her death certificate, I noticed they listed her mother as Helen unknown. I hate that. So I had to look. I didn't find her maiden name, but I did look. I feel that women are hard enough to trace, mainly because we give up our maiden names. The ultimate insult is to find a death certificate for a woman, and they don't even bother with her first name, they just list her as Mrs. John Smith. And then list her parents as unknown. That just sets my OCFRD off and off I go searching for the answer.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - John Loyd Thurman ... Or Is It?

2011-12-22T00:01:00.000-06:00

I am transcribing death certificates into my genealogical database and I came across one that piqued my interest: John Loyd Thurman (their spelling) who died in the Greene County, Missouri Jail.

Why he was in jail, I do not know, but he died of generalized arteriosclerosis, cerebral sclerosis with psychosis and he was malnourished. He was 75 years old.

Okay, I can see why he might get picked up. Again I've not found a newspaper article regarding him. He was the son of John Loyd Thurmond and Martha Kirtley.

Is this something we might call Alzheimer's today? A sad end for the poor man.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

2011-12-21T00:15:00.000-06:00

Wow! Two years ago I started this mostly family history blog. And I've kept it going even though there were times I realllllllly wanted to skip it. But I've stuck with it (every day but Sunday.) Thanks to my 100 followers and the 20 thousand plus hits on my blog. You make me want to get that next topic posted. So Happy Blogoversary to Me!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Webb & Hutcheson

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

On December 21, 1883 in Jackson county, Missouri, Walter Leslie Webb, son of William C. Webb & Martha Jones Webb was married to Mozella "Zella" Hutcheson.

To Err is Human. To Find Anyway is Divine!

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

I hate errors on vital records. Really hate it. Why? Because then I have to go back and PROVE why my information is right. That can be incredibly time consuming. For instance, yesterday one of the death certificates had the decedent's father's name wrong. I was able to pull census to prove my information is correct, but I hate having to do that.

Then there was the death record for William P. Smith of Agency, Missouri. According to his death certificate, he was born on August 15, 1916 and died October 15, 1916 at the age of 55 years and 2 months. Not possible. Slightly dyslexic person who filled out the form? According to census and calculating the birth date from his age, he was born August 15, 1861. That was a careless mistake. You see it all the time.

Another careless mistake is they will ask the informant for the father and mother's names. They DON'T want the names of the informant's parents, they want the name of the decedent's parents.

And I can't tell you how much time I've wasted over the years looking for a death record in one state only to find out that the person died somewhere else. This happens mostly when you have a burial record but no death certificate. I am sure there might be a future generation who doesn't know that my grandmother died at the Soo in Michigan (that's Saulte St. Marie for all you non-Michiganders) and not in Lexington, Missouri. And no, she wasn't living at the Soo either. My dad's family was on vacation when my grandma became ill. The transportation costs to transport her back to Detroit, have a service there, and then transportation for the whole family - dad, his brother and father - to Lexington, Missouri where she was ultimately buried - must have been astronomical for 1938.

What did I learn from all this? Widen your search. If you don't find a record where you expect to find one, search for the unexpected. It works.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Making Progress

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

I am AMAZED that I am making any headway on my family database this close to Christmas. I've worked on some Christmas crafts that are gifts (enough said) and wrapped everything. I have one stocking stuffer to get yet, if I can find what I want and now am working on the death certificates I've accumulated over the past year. When I name the files for saving, I name them: MO-DC William P Smith. If there is more than one William Smith in my database it might read thus: MO-DC William P Smith-Buchanan - for the county. Or I might stick the year on the end. This avoids duplication when I go to add the image to the database. Over the last 3 weeks, I've added about 150 images, mostly death certificates. And I've added about 10 more to the queue. And countless census records and marriage records and one or two birth records.

I've made it up to the last few of the Missouri death records, if I could just stop adding more! Still to go,109 death records that encompass New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington, and Ontario, Canada.

I've added 134 new people to my database also. The census records include 554 pages and there are 540 marriage records to add. Those are the ones that will take a while to enter. I cringe every time I add a new census. My goal is to be done with the death records by the end of the year. If I start dipping into the marriages - that will be good.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Victor Klijewski

2011-12-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

Victor Klijewski was a first cousin twice removed to my DH. My hubby's great grandfather, Max Klijewski was a half brother to Victor's father, Leon Klijewski.

I sort of stumbled on this second family of Leon Klijewski not long after Victor died. I don't know if he ever married, had children or grandchildren. I only know that he was born December 21, 1914 in Detroit, Michigan and died December 17, 2001, and his last residence was Livonia, Michigan.

Loriman Samuel Percival Who Are You?

2011-12-16T00:05:00.000-06:00

In yesterday's blog post, I indicated I had possibly found a family member while randomly searching on Ancestry in their "Report of the Death of An American Citizen" database recently. I came across a death record for one Loriman Samuel Percival. Curious. While I do have a Loriman Brigham Percival, born in 1884 to Samuel M. Percival & Druscilla Snow Percival*, I only have a census from 1910 that shows Loriman B. Percival married to Inez. Inez proved to be Inez C. Mattison and they were married in 1905 in Washington. After 1910, Loriman B. Percival, or L. B. Percival is difficult to find. In 1910, he is listed as a salesman, but the majority of the articles I find on him list him as an actor. I have looked for a death notice/record of him for some time now, without much luck. I need something to prove that Loriman Samuel Percival is his son.

One more look at the newspapers on Ancestry showed something I hadn't seen before. Could this be the article I hoped to find?

It certainly did prove several things. First, it proved Loriman B. Percival mentioned was the correct Loriman Percival. Even though they got his mother's first name wrong. Dinsilla? Really? Spouse was Viola (Shaw). And his son -- Loriman S. Percival. I love it when things work out they way I think they should! I am so glad I kept looking for this record, because the name kept making me think they were father and son, but I needed the proof.

*Samuel & Druscilla were first cousins.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Loriman Samuel Percival

2011-12-15T00:03:00.000-06:00

I always like to browse new or updated databases at Ancestry.com. Recently, I found this tidbit on the left. (Click on image to see a larger image.) It seems that Loriman Samuel Percival was in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941.

Hmm. That's interesting. Maybe I could find an obit with more information. Well, as you can see, I did find Loriman "F." Percival in the Oakland Tribune on Ancestry. All it did though was make me ask more questions, like who are his parents. Oh sure, it shows his mother on the death report, but no mention of a father. Was he related to Loriman Brigham Percival?

Check back tomorrow for the answer to my questions.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Basher & Zimmeth

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

This couple were my first cousins twice removed. They, therefore, were first cousins to each other. Francis Joseph Basher/Bescher was the son of George Bescher and Marianna Zimmeth and Josephine Zimmeth was the daughter of Michael Zimmeth/Simmet/Simmeth and Catherine Eisenmann. Marianna and Michael, were of course brother and sister and were two of the siblings of my great-grandfather, August Zimmeth.

Frank and Josephine were married December 15, 1887 in Lancaster, Erie, New York.

Texas Deaths, 1977 - 1986

2011-12-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

I feel like I'm using a very slow microfilm reader. Seriously. Family Search now has some death certificates up for Texas from 1977-1979. I had really good results with 1977, so I thought I would get a jump on 1978 Texas deaths.

First, I printed a custom report in RootsMagic that listed the name, death date and location of the people that I know died in Texas in 1978. If and when all these records are indexed, I'll go and search by surname. that always turns up a few winners for me.

In order to search, you need to know the county and the month, at least, when they died. This required looking at some of the indices available online. You would think that one of these indices would have the certificate number listed. Oh no. That would be too easy. Instead you have to locate the year, month and county on Family search and page through. and it isn't even like they tell you that certificate number 12345 - 23456 is Harris county or anything like that. And the month? Well, let's say that several of the groups say Aug-Sept and include June and July too! Weird way of doing things if you ask me. And I am not going to page through Harris county, Texas. It's a huge file. So then I have to make a to-do list item so that I don't forget about searching once these records are indexed.

And I won't even talk about the hour I wasted looking for a record in the wrong year.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Great Review, But ...

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Lexington Herald, March 8, 1964:

MRS. WILSON REMINISCES

AN ESCAPE FROM REALITY,
by Hester P. Wilson. Exposition Press, $2.75

Mrs. Wilson is a native of Fayette County and a retired teacher, and "An Escape from Reality" is a little book of recollections of her childhood.

She was born Hester Price [WRONG] and she grew up at the Price [WRONG] Family farm on the Newtown Pike in a section of the county where many of the old homes and some of the old families remain yet. Her mother was the teacher in the one-room school Hester attended, and Prof. M. A. Cassidy was the county school superintendent, a dignified educator who later became superintendent of city schools and for whom an elementary school is named.

Mr. Price [WRONG], a youngster during the Civil War and a staunch Confederate sympathizer, often told Hester tales of the conflict, in which the Southerners were, of course always the heroes, and throughout the book Mrs. Wilson refers to herself not as Hester but as "Rebel." it was not until she was well along in school that she learned that the Civil War, as a matter of fact, had two sides.

Her recollections are fascinating. The Harknesses, Miss Elizabeth Dangerfield, H. Price McGrath, the Peters family, the Keenes all have a place in these reminiscences, as do Castleton, Winton, McGrathiana, Cabell's Dale, Elmendorf and other well known homes and farms.

Change from the one-room schoolhouse, the crossroads store and the horse and buggy to the present day is the theme of "An Escape from Reality," and the author's rich sense of humor and easy style of writing make it an interesting book. - L.B.M.

It's not often you can find a book review for a book a relative wrote. In this case, the book was published in 1964. The review is good, but there is a glaring error. The reviewer, one L.B.M., never bothered to check his/her facts and the author's name. Her full name was Hester Price Parker Wilson; Parker was her maiden name, not Price. Hester Parker's father was Harvey J. Parker. Hester's mother was Stirling "Price" Kirtley. Yes, she was named for a Confederate General. Price's mother. Susan Anna Chinn died just before Price's 10th birthday. Price's father was Isaac Shelby Kirtley. I have never found a record of his death. After the death of her mother, Price went to live with her aunt & uncle, Joseph & Hester Chinn Trapp.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday, Emma Bowman Mize

2011-12-10T00:01:00.000-06:00

Emma Bowman was the daughter of Abraham Bowman and Mary Gist Bowman. Abraham and Mary were first cousins.

Somewhere around 1877 - I haven't yet found their marriage record - Emma married Peter Mize. She died December 10, 1930 in Nodaway, Andrew county, Missouri.

I Just Love It When ...

2011-12-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a project in RootsMagic, and all I can say is that I've knocked about 60 items off my to-do list. You know, it doesn't hurt to review those lists once in a while.

So I am running along working on this to-do list. One of the obituaries I would love to have is an Odessa, Missouri newspaper - at least I think that is what I want. Somewhere in the Lafayette or Saline county area there must be a newspaper with an obituary for Katie Webb DeMoss. She was the daughter of Samuel Webb and Elizabeth McReynolds and she married John P. DeMoss, Jr. John was the son of John Pool DeMoss and Mary E. Davidson. John DeMoss, Jr was my first cousin 3 times removed, his mother being a sister of my great-great grandmother, Susan Davidson Percival later Holt.

Katie has been in my database for years, I found her accidentally. Born in 1867, she died in 1969. Centenarians have always interested me. So today, I found her parents. Now to connect them to my Webb lines ...

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Martha Stanard Bodley

2011-12-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

Martha's death certificate is one of those that makes me wonder what happened exactly. Granted, she was 83 at the time, and lots of elderly people die as a result of broken hips. Martha's cause of death reads as "of fractured right hip, accidentally fell while stepping onto curb." Of course, this death certificate doesn't really indicate whether she died from the fall or much later. And of course, I can't find a newspaper article that relates what happened.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Keen & Southgate

2011-12-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

From Kentucky Reporter, Lexington, Kentucky, Marriage announcement, 20 December 1824, p 3 c4:

Married on Tuesday evening, the 7th inst., by the Rev. Dr. Fishback, William Wright Southgate to Miss Adeliza Keen of this town.

Adeliza Keen was the daughter of Sanford Keen and Sthreshley or Threshley.

Missouri Deaths 1834-1910

2011-12-06T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yeah, Ancestry is great about posting new databases, but not-so-hot about fixing databases. For instance, I discovered October 16, 2010, that their Missouri Deaths 1834-1910, specifically Jackson county, were missing a lot of images. So I reported it. Not once, not, twice, but every time I came across a missing image. On November 30, 2011 they updated their database, calling it "new." Finally I got the images I wanted. And knocked 3 more items off the to-do list!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Better Check It Again, Santa

2011-12-05T00:01:00.000-06:00

And no, I don't mean your naughty and nice list. I mean that genealogy you found on Ancestry.

As funny as the commercial may seem, it seems too many of us are accepting the information we find on Ancestry.com as fact. Just because it's there, doesn't mean it's true. Whenever I find something that I find questionable about someone on Ancestry, I seek to verify it. You be the judge: Ancestry.com Santa Commercial.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Horace Grosvenor Craig

2011-12-03T00:01:00.000-06:00

From the Lexington Herald, December 5, 1919:

"Horace G. Craig

Word was received in the city Thursday of the death of Horace G. Craig, of Parkville, Mo., formerly well known coal dealer of Lexington. Mr. Craig was 80 years old and died of infirmities of old age. He was a brother-in-law of S. T. Swift, of this city."

Horace Grosvenor Craig was the son of Elijah Wisdom Craig and Almira Grosvenor. He was born December 15, 1835 in Lexington, Kentucky.

Success! At Last

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

Ever since the Seeking Michigan site went online, I've been looking for death certificates of some of my family in Michigan in the 1900-1910 time frame. I pulled many certificates, but was stumped on George August Zimmeth, my great-uncle George Zimmeth's son. Or one of them. You see, George Zimmeth, Senior and his wife Julia Blust had a total of 12 children born between 1907 and 1918. Only three lived to be adults, most of them died as infants, one died as a three-year-old.

I looked every which way I could and the other night decided to give it one more try, searching instead by the date of 1909 and county of Iosco. I found him indexed as Augut Zinnth, Oct 25, 1909, Tawas, Iosco County.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Accidental Shooting of Sidney E. DeLong

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

From the Lexington Leader, June 23, 1932:

ACCIDENTAL SHOT PROVES FATAL TO SIDNEY E. DELONG

Paint Salesman is Struck by Shot While in Basement of Bank

Sidney E. DeLong, 49, 720 Sunset drive, paint salesman, died at St. Joseph's hospital at 10:45 o'clock this morning, 45 minutes after an accidental shot struck him in the abdomen while he was in the basement of the First National Bank and Trust Company building at west Main street and Cheapside.

Mr. DeLong was shot when a pistol Billy Courtney, 17, 229 South Hanover avenue, was handling accidentally discharged. Young Courtney is the son of William H. Courtney, president of the banking company. He had been employed in the bank basement for several days sorting checks, and with Mr. DeLong and John A. Gross, Newtown pike, custodian of the building, had been examining the gun.

Young Courtney said he thought the gun was unloaded, and had been told it was "on safety."

Mr. Gross had started to grease the pistol, when Mr. DeLong and the Courtney boy took the weapon for closer examination. Mr. DeLong had gone to the bank to see Mr. Gross about an order of paint.

Mr. DeLong's wife, Mrs. Nell Wallis DeLong, and two of his brothers, George E. DeLong, Fayette circuit clerk, and John B. DeLong, 522 west Third street, were notified immediately. George DeLong accompanied his brother to the hospital in the ambulance.

Mr. Gross turned the pistol, a Luger automatic, over to Capt. Thomas P. Hanley, Lieut. J. Howard Wills and Detectives John L. Sellers and Ed Wiseman, who investigated the accident.

Mr. Gross said he had taken the pistol from his office on the fourth floor to the basement room to clean and grease it. It had one cartridge in the barrel, and the magazine was out.

The custodian said he had just introduced Mr. DeLong and young Courtney, who had not previously known each other. They had shaken hands, and Mr. DeLong had remarked on Billy's resemblance to his father.

Mr. Gross turned to get some rags off a shelf, and heard the shot. When he turned Mr. DeLong said, "I'm shot - I'm going to die."

In his excitement, Mr. Gross exclaimed, "Sid, I told you it was loaded - why did you fool with it?" He said Mr. DeLong shook his head weakly, apparently unable to speak.

Mr. Gross said it was impossible for him to tell in whose hands the gun was at the time it discharged, since both Mr. DeLong and young Courtney were looking at it and standing very close together.

Young Courtney, immediately after the shooting, ran upstairs into the main corridor of the bank into his father's office. His father was in attendance at the Kentucky State Bankers' Association meeting at the Lafayette hotel, and the boy hurried there, where he told his father what had occurred.

Mr. DeLong was a member of a prominent old Fayette county family. He was a son of Mrs. Etta Berkley DeLong and the late A. A. DeLong. Besides his mother, his is survived by his wife, Mrs. Nell Wallis DeLong; a daughter, Miss Sarah Elizabeth DeLong; a son, Sidney Wallis DeLong; three brothers, George E. DeLong and John B. DeLong, Lexington, and Arthur A. DeLong Jessamine county, and by three sisters, Mrs. Merrit O'Neal, Louisville, and Mrs. H. B. Tucker and Mrs. Francis Fox, both of Lexington.

Mr. DeLong had been in the paint business in recent years, and before that had been a farmer. He was widely known and highly respected. He was a member of Immanuel Baptist church and was actively interested in church work.
Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Garnett & Graves

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-06:00

I have three lines in Boone County, Kentucky that repeatedly intermarry: Gaines, Garnett and Graves. Not only do they marry each other but they all marry into the Kirtley line too!

Today's marriage is between Caroline Garnett, daughter of Joel & Catherine Gaines Garnett and Oscar Kirtley Graves, son of Joseph & Ann Quarles Kirtley Graves. So not only were Carrie & Oscar husband and wife, but they were second cousins. There is a marriage record image on Ancestry, but I have no idea how they indexed it when the grooms name doesn't even appear to be on the page!

Carrie and Oscar were married November 30, 1854 in Boone County, Kentucky. After their marriage they migrated to Saline county, Missouri.

The Tortoise and the Hare

2011-11-29T00:01:00.000-06:00

Remember the old fable about the tortoise and the hare - slow and steady wins the race. Well, that's how I feel about genealogy right now. It is really slow, maybe not steady, but getting there.

I finally finished a project I'm working on for something else and got back to working on entering cemetery data, including pictures, to my database. And of course, most of these have not been entered onto Find-a-grave yet. I decided I will get them in my database first and then go back and submit the records via spreadsheet. Then link the images.

Still on the agenda is finishing the Christmas shopping and doing the decorating. Since we are well into day two of this deluge, outdoor decorating is not going to get done for a while. That's on hold anyway until the guys come to clean the gutters. No point in putting up lights until then.

Somehow it always gets done!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Digging Out

2011-11-28T00:04:00.001-06:00

I'm still digging out after the flurry of "projects" for Christmas and the great Thanksgiving Holiday. I did the usual Turkey, stuffing and green bean casserole with low carb cheesecake for dessert. Younger daughter made the mashed potatoes. Older daughter watched the Lions/Packers game and DH walked. Our newest guest for Thanksgiving this year was our newest grandkitty, Belle. She and her grandpa sure got along well, napping.

Right now, I am prepping for Cyber Monday, since I don't do Black Friday. Did it once. That was enough to last me a long, long time. By the end of this week, my shopping should be done and then it will be time - weather cooperating - to decorate for Christmas, another tradition that I like to keep up. Maybe it will stop raining long enough to haul the decorations into the house from the shed, the lawn guys will clean the leaves out of our eaves and it will be safe to put up the lights.

Maybe when all that is done, I will have some time for ancestor hunting ...

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Dr. Stephen Chism

2011-11-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

Dr. Stephen Howard Chism was born December 14, 1815 in Kentucky and died November 26, 1883 in Roseville, Arkansas. His third wife was Corinna Quinn nee Rose who was my first cousin four times removed (through the Percivals.)

Taking A Deep Breath

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

Whew! Thanksgiving day is done for another year! I can't believe how much was accomplished beforehand that had no bearing on Thanksgiving. Most of my Christmas shopping is done (I find that quite shocking) and everything that I've brought home is wrapped. The Christmas cards are made, stuffed, addressed, stamped, sorted and ready to go in today's mail.

I spent one day dealing with trying to get an upgrade to my My Memories Suite scrapbook software uploaded. Uh, yeah, if I knew I was going to download at a snail's pace, I would have hooked up to the cable and downloaded it. Now that is done too.

The only time I looked at Ancestry in the last few days was to look at a message board notice. I haven't been over to Family Search in a while either. I did, however, download a couple death records from the Seeking Michigan. Not that I've done anything with them yet. But now that I can take a deep breath, maybe I can get some data entry done.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thanksgiving Thursday

2011-11-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

Since today is Thanksgiving, I've opted not to thrill you with a Thriller Thursday subject, but instead to be thankful for all the blessings I've received this year.

1. Older daughter is NOT scheduled to work Thanksgiving and "Black Friday." That is a small miracle right there as she has always worked either or both in the past. Except for maybe her year with "the cult."

2. Younger daughter now lives an hour away from us rather than 11 hours. This year her trip to our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas will involve an hour drive rather than a plane ride or the above mentioned 11 hour trip.

3. DH and I are actually enjoying good health despite our wake up calls earlier this year.

4. We are thankful for all our family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Meyer & Beckmeier

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-06:00

My great-great grandparents on my mother's side were Henrich "Anton" Meyer and Philomena "Mina" Beckmeier. They were married on November 23, 1850 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Pardon Me While I ...

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year. Pre-Thanksgiving mania is starting. Older daughter's concern with Thanksgiving is the Lions and Packers game. Those of you who don't follow football, that is the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers playing in the traditional Thanksgiving day match. OD has really gotten us all interested in football again. So interested, that I watched the end of the Tennessee Tech-Austin Peay game and watched TTU win their first Ohio Valley Conference title since 1975.

My concern with Thanksgiving, is the food. I am trying to find low-carb alternatives for some traditional family fare. Baking starts tomorrow.

Then of course there are the Christmas cards to address and the Christmas letter to write. The first part is done - it's the second part that is giving me headaches. There are some people that I would dearly like to update on our family, but this year's letter is particularly difficult to write. Oh and all the cards are sitting on my desk taking up valuable real estate where I would normally pile to-do stuff or to-file stuff. Not that those items aren't on my desk, they are, just covered with piles of addressed, stamped & stuffed envelopes.

Not to mention Christmas shopping. I have actually done some. I really like stuff I make myself for special treats and hope the recipients feel the same. Even the bigger stuff is not so much an issue this year. This year's gift recipients include the new addition to our family, Miss Belle Starr, Younger Daughter's adopted cat. Belle is also coming for Thanksgiving and has become very attached to her grandma, grandpa and auntie!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

From Ancestry: This is a collection of Civil War Registrations from 1863-1865. There were four drafts that included 776,000 individuals in that time. The records contain class, congressional district, county, state, residence, name, age on July 1, 1863, race, profession, married status, birthplace, former military service, and remarks.

Now, most of my ancestors were Confederate. A couple glaring exceptions were Dr. Joseph Graves Chinn of Lexington, Kentucky who was a Union sympathizer and a War of 1812 veteran and Alexander Oliphant, of Ray county, Missouri who was also a Union Sympathizer. Obviously Dr. Chinn was too old to even register, and was married, and Alexander Oliphant was 57 at the time of the 1863 draft and married too.

Alexander Maitland, however, was 24 years old in 1863. What surprised me was that he did register for the draft. He was an avowed Confederate sympathizer according to later history. I found no record of his serving, but he was born in Canada West (Toronto). A little more background on Alexander was that his parents lived in Lafayette county, Missouri, on the south side of the Missouri river. In 1860, Alex is enumerated in Ray county, Missouri and in Kansas Territory.

Also enumerated is John Maitland, Alex's younger brother.

Sympathy Saturday - Mary Craig Mitchum

2011-11-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Mary Craig Mitchum was born August 9, 1787, a daughter of Joseph & Sally Wisdom Craig. She was married August 29, 1808 to James Mitchum. She died November 19, 1864 in Woodford county, Kentucky and is buried in Section G, lot 60 in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky.

U.S. Seamen Protection Certificates, 1792-1868

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

These certificates were issued to sailors after the Revolutionary war to protect our seamen against impressment by the British. I doubt they were very effective, but one of my relatives had one - by the name of Benjamin Percival, born in Barnstable County, Massachusetts in 1810. Benjamin was a grandson of Benjamin Percival who kept a diary that has become a piece of Cape Cod history.

Thriller Thursday - Cora Whitney Smith

2011-11-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

Cora Whitney Smith was the eldest daughter of Artemus Whitney and Jerusha Percival. She was born in Belchertown, Hampshire county, Massachusetts, July 11, 1859. She died March 6, 1915 of cancer of the stomach. Her husband, Samuel, predeceased her in 1887 but she was survived by her five children and her sister, Lilla Whitney Hall later Jackson.

It appears that Lilla Whitney Hall Jackson was the only child of Artemus & Jerusha Percival Whitney to have a normal lifespan. She appears in both the 1920 and 1930 census, although she and hubby Arthur have dropped more than 20 years from their ages.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Siekierski & Czaplack

2011-11-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

On November 16, 1920, Rozalia (Rose) Jankowiak married Peter Czaplak in Buffalo, New York. Rose was the daughter of Szczepan (Stephen) Jankowiak and Josephine Siekierski. This information was shared with me by Joan Lussier, a great granddaughter of Stephen & Josephine Siekierski Jankowiak.

Research Mania

2011-11-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

While on our trip last week, we spent a few hours at one local cemetery where I took 63 photos. In the three sections we visited, we found ALL the headstones we were hunting. They have been uploaded, and renamed and are ready for linking.

On our trip to the library, with my 28 page to-do list in hand, I found records on 30 people, made 47 copies (some were very long, others continued to a second page). Said copies have been scanned, grouped and named. One was actually transcribed - look for it in December on Thriller Thursday.

Home again - car unloaded, bags unpacked, laundry done! Sounds like a successful trip to me!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Ruth Bowsher Smeaton Hessling Stanley Moore Zimmeth Follow-Up

2011-11-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

Thanks to PalmsRV's comment on last Saturday's post on Sympathy Saturday for my step-grandma - I now have more information in regards to my step-grandma's first marriage.

Because she was a minor, the actual marriage record is held in the Probate Court, probably in Bay County, but I wouldn't swear to that. As you will see by the included articles, Ruth led quite the life.

PRETTY GIRL SLID DOWN SHEET TO ELOPE; CAUGHT

Detroit, Aug. 2. -- Ruth Smeaton, a pretty little 15-year-old girl, slid down a bed sheet from the windo of her bedroom in Pinconnning, Mich., at 3 a.m. into the arms of her sweetheart Albert Hessling who is already married and is just twice Ruth's age.

The child had been held a prisoner in her own room for six weeks -- ever since her foster father, James Smeaton, learned of the attachment.

And she is still a prisoner. Hessling put her on a train; they left Pinconning about three minutes after Ruth slid down the lifelife. Patrolmen HEss and Dahlow were waiting in Detroit ready to pick little Ruth up.

MARRIED MAN ELOPES WITH GIRL IN 'TEENS

Albert Hessling of Pinconning Accused of Abducting Ruth Smeaton, Aged Fifteen.

Bay city, July 30, -- Albert Hessling of Pinconning, twenty-five years old was arraigned before Justice Michael Byrne of that village Thursday afternoon on a charge of abduction.

An examination was set for Tuesday next. Hessling furnished bail.

He was arrested in Detroit in the company of Ruth Smeaton, fifteen years old, with whom he eloped, it is charged. Hessling said he intended to marry the girl as soon as he got a divorce.

Finally, Ruth got permission from her mother and she and Albert were married.

From the Ann Arbor News: BAY CITY -- Ruth Smeaton, aged 16, and Albert Hessling, 27, elopers from Pinconning to Detroit, where they were arrested, have been married. It is likely the abduction charges against the groom will be dropped, Hessling having a decree of divorce and the girl's mother then consenting to the marriage.

They had one son, Maynard, and were divorced in 1918. The divorce decree gives their marriage date as August 12, 1914 - obviously wrong. Ruth went on to marry three more men. One of them was already married. Albert committed suicide October 26, 1922.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Ruth Bowsher Zimmeth

2011-11-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Ruth Zimmeth was my step-grandma, being my grandfather's third wife. Her name should really read Ruth Ellen Bowsher Smeaton Hessling Stanley Moore Zimmeth. She led such an interesting life and I wish two things:

1. That I had know what I know now about her before she died.
2. That I had the guts to ask her about her life.

My mom knew that Ruth had been married before she married my grandpa, and I think she knew that Ruth had been adopted when she was an infant, and that Ruth had a son.

Ruth was born December 13, 1899 in Standish, Michigan to Nelson Lewis or Lewis Nelson Bowsher and Mary Ellen Sanderson and was the youngest of their five children. The eldest daughter, Mary, died the day after her own birth. The surviving children were Charles, born in 1881 in Ohio, Daisy, born in 1884, also in Ohio and Catherine or Cassy, born in 1888 in Ohio. So you see that Ruth was 11 years younger than Cassy, 15 years younger than Daisy and 18 years younger than Charles. In 1900, I found an Ellen Bowsher, born in Ohio, in a Sanitarium in Grand Traverse county. There is no other record of her. In May of 1900, Ruth was adopted by James and Caronline (Phillips) Smeaton in Standish, Michigan. They were age 57 and 52 at the time of Ruth's adoption.

When Ruth was 14, she married Albert Hessling. The marriage produced her son Maynard in 1916 when Ruth was 16. Ruth and Albert divorced in March of 1918 when Ruth was 18. Albert got custody of Maynard. Maynard was actually raised by Albert's sister and brother-in-law.

In June of 1918, Ruth married David Stanley and they divorced on October 9, 1920. They married again November 27, 1920. After that I have no idea what happened to David. I don't know if their marriage ended in divorce or death. I do know that Ruth married Thomas Lloyd Moore on October 28, 1928 in Gaylord, Michigan. There was only one problem with this marriage. He was already married. Ruth divorced him sometime before December of 1944. That was the year she married my grandfather. In 1953, she received an annulment for her marriage to Moore. She and grandpa lived pretty happily after that.

Charles Zimmeth, Ruth's last husband and my grandfather, died June 4, 1979 in Essexville, Michigan. Ruth died November 12, 1990 in Hampton Bay, Michigan. Ruth always wanted to live to be 100. Her memorial card actually gives her birth year as 1889. Too bad it was wrong. Ruth is buried beside her last husband in St. Michael's Cemetery in Pinconning, Michigan.

Blog Fodder

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

After attending my niece's wedding last weekend, DH and I headed southward towards home and stopped for a few nights near Lexington, Kentucky. This part of the trip was research. Yay! Monday was spent at the Lexington Cemetery and Tuesday at the Lexington Public Library. I picked up some blog fodder, which is always a good thing. There were only two things on my list of 28 pages at the library that I couldn't find. No, I didn't look for everything, but selected those I was primarily interested in - some 30 items. I can hardly wait to check those off my to-do list!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - George M. Whitney

2011-11-10T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yes, yet another of the children of Artemus Whitney and Jerusha Percival, George was born September 23, 1861 in Amherst, Massachusetts. He died July 27, 1912 from cerebral degeneration and hemiplegia. His death certificate does not reflect it, but I believe he probably had a stroke. He was survived by his two sisters, Cora and Lilla, and his father.

Wedding Wednesday - Bowman & Gay

2011-11-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

Florence Bowman, daughter of Henry Clay Bowman and Elizabeth Reed, married Robert Hicks Gay on November 9, 1905 in Fayette county, Kentucky. She was 36 and he was 37.

Tombstone Tuesday - The Wickliffe Monument

2011-11-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

I have never seen a monument like this and I had to take a picture of it because I can't even explain this. It is in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky. Make sure you click on each image. Use your browser's back button to return to this page!

Sometimes It is Scary!

2011-11-06T23:03:00.000-06:00

DH and I are in Kentucky for a couple days of research before heading home to middle Tennessee. Because so many of my dad's line lived in the Lexington, Kentucky area for a while, we picked up a copy of the Herald-Leader. After I waded through the Michael's ads and started to settle in, I asked DH to save me the obituary page, telling him I might find something there.

Well, by now I am sure you know where this is headed. Yes, I found an obituary for a line allied with my Chinn line - David Morton Trapp. Turns out he was my second cousin twice removed. He was the grandson of Joseph Trapp and Hester Chinn. Hester was the youngest daughter of Dr. Joseph Graves Chinn and Barbara Garland Graves, my great-great-great grandparents.

So yes, I've copied and pasted his obituary into my genealogy program, sourced it to the Herald-Leader and will scan the obit when I get home.

Do you check local newspapers when you are traveling?

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Helen French Symon

2011-11-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Helen French Symon was my dad's first cousin. When I first got really interested in the family history, Helen is the one who pointed me in the right direction and shared what she had on the Percival/Maitland/Oliphant families with me. Although I never had a chance to meet her, we did talk on the phone a few times. I removed her daughter's name from the obituary to protect her privacy.

Friday, November 6, 1992 Kansas City (Missouri) Star

HELEN F. SYMON

Helen F. Symon, 67, Overland Park, died Nov. 5, 1992, at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Park Lawn Chapel. The family requests no flowers and suggests contributions to charity. Mrs. Symon was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and lived in Topeka and Columbia before moving to Kansas City in the late 1940s. She was an Avon representative. Earlier she was an assistant manager at the Villa Monterrey Apartments and Townhouses. She received a bachelor's degree in history and English from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1947 and was a member of Delta Gamma. She was a member of the Kansas City Sigmas of Sigma Chi, the Kansas City Young Matrons and the Westport chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a member of the Village Presbyterian Church. Survivors include a daughter, Kansas City, and nieces and nephews.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Priorities

2011-11-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

I am writing this Tuesday while prepping for our weekend trip for my niece's wedding, trying to get blogs in the can so to speak before we leave.

Things still left to do:

1. Find a pair of shoes for the wedding. How difficult can it be to find a pair of black heels to wear? Well, I guess totally difficult since I have not yet found a pair. Okay, it has been 3 years since I wore heels. Since retirement, I've worn sandals and tennis shoes. I have one pair of black heels and the last time I wore them I thought I was gonna die. I haven't had a new pair of heels since before 2006. It's time. Now if I could just find a pair. - Well I actually accomplished this. I found a pair of black pumps. I WAS going to buy this pair of black suede half-boots that they had in my size, but the heels were too high and I got a cramp in my calf when I tried to walk in them. Comfort wins!

2. I am still printing out to-do lists. The first one for the Lexington, Kentucky public library is 28 pages long. I rarely get more than a couple pages done. I am specifically going through the list to pick out the ones I want first. One hopefully will be a future Thriller Thursday. The other one is my listing for Lexington Cemetery. This has gotten much smaller over the years, but still needs work. I may even get a chance to take a look at it and see if anyone has posted images for any of the remainders over on Find-A-Grave.

3. I need a card for the wedding.

4. Usual housekeeping stuff needs to be caught up.

5. Packing. Maybe I should remove the price tags from my outfit before I pack it?

6. Hair cut. Fortunately, this will get done this afternoon.

Have I left anything out?

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - William G. Whitney Kicked by a Horse

2011-11-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

William G. Whitney was the son of Artemus Henry Whitney and Jerusha Sellon Percival. He was also the brother of Harry Whitney, the subject of last week's Thriller Thursday. William was born in Dana, Massachusetts about June 11, 1864 and died March 11, 1901 from internal hemorrhage after being kicked by a horse, in Athol, Massachusetts. His occupation was teamster. William was 36 years old.

Wedding Wednesday - Roberts & Ewald

2011-11-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

On November 2, 2007, Amy Roberts & Dan Ewald were married. Amy is a second cousin to my daughters on DH's side. Happy Anniversary Amy & Dan!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Prepping for Another Trip

2011-11-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

DH and I have started preparations for our next trip which is coming up really quickly. This time it is a trip back up to Michigan for the wedding of one of our nieces. This is the third trip up and hopefully on the way back will give us a little time in Lexington, Kentucky. DH and I have been thinking about where to stay. Maybe Georgetown (better get that Cemetery stuff together for Georgetown Cemetery) or Lexington (to-do list for the Main branch of the Lexington Public Library and the Lexington Cemetery) or maybe just a little south of Lexington.

Here is just a sample of the list I am making for us:

1. Copy of Hotel reservation.
2. Pack research to-do lists.
3. Pack chargers for electronics.
4. Pack road construction information.
5. Camera.
6. Make sure clothes and shoes and accessories for wedding are packed into the car.

That last one is very important. For nephew's wedding in 2004 in Rhode Island/Massachusetts, we made it to mile marker 10 on southbound I-75 in Michigan when we realized our clothes for his wedding were still hanging in the garment bags in the laundry room. We lost two hours on that trip making a run for the house to fetch shoes and clothes!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Coming Soon

2011-10-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

In just over 5 months the 1940 census will be released. It seems like just a few years ago that I was eagerly anticipating the 1930 census. By 1940, both my grandmothers had passed. My dad was living with his father and brother somewhere in Detroit. My mom on the other hand, well, in 1940 I'm not sure where she was living. Her Aunt Rose had also died by this time, and Uncle John went to live with his son and daughter-in-law; mom was either with another relative or living with the Hopkins for whom she worked as an au pair.

What secrets will the 1940 census reveal for you?

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Betty Blancett Kruszka

2011-10-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

From the Escanaba Daily Press, October 31, 1992:

Betty M. Kruszka.

Rapid River -- Betty M. Kruszka, 65, of 9897 Co. 513 T Road (P.O. Box 176), Rapid River, died Thursday, October 29, at St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, Minn, following a brief illness.

She was born Jan 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Ohio, daughter of Frederick Blancett and the former Emma Brown. She was raised in Cambridge. She had lived in the Detroit area most of her adult life and moved to Rapid River in 1980.

She was employed as a bookkeeper in auto sales most of her working life. She enjoyed boating and other outdoor activities.

Her husband, Chester, died Feb. 20, 1992.

Survivors include one son, Richard L. Borrusch of Rapid River, and 2 grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at a later date and will be announced by Skradski Funeral Home, Gladstone.

[Blogger's note: Betty's husband, Chester, has his name on a marker with his parents in Sacred Heart of Mary Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan. The death date is not filled in, nor is there any mention of Betty.]

Sometimes The Ideas Come Easy

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm sure all bloggers struggle at times with blog topics. I know I do, especially for my Thriller Thursday blog because most of the juicy stuff has already been blogged! However, when doing this week's Thriller Thursday I was presented with three more subjects and so I have my Thriller Thursday blog set for the next few weeks.

Sometimes the hardest days to post are those days when I have to blog off the top of my head. My head has been in such a whirl over the last month, I sometimes forget what day it is! Older daughter is heading back from her Caribbean cruise, younger daughter has moved to Nashville, but is still waiting for her belongings to join her there and next weekend we all head to Michigan for the wedding of one of my nieces. Then when we get back (hopefully after a couple days in Lexington, Kentucky for some research) we have the annual Art Prowl. Watch for more info on that on my alter-ego page Generational.

It seems to me that I've probably done less research this year than in many a year. I hope that changes soon!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Harry A Whitney's Accidental Injury

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Every so often you come across a death certificate or record that raises questions. That's what happened when I read the cause of death for Harry A. Whitney who died July 23, 1896 in Athol, Worcester county, Massachusetts. His death record states he died from "shock and intestinal perforation due to accidental injury." But unfortunately the record doesn't elucidate what the accidental injury was. He was a mechanic, however, so it may be possible it was a work related injury.

He was the son of Artemus Henry Whitney and Jerusha Sellon Percival, and was 25 years 11 months and 18 days at the time of his death. Harry was survived by two sisters and two brothers.

Wedding Wednesday - Bowman & Weber

2011-10-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

On October 26, 1871, Julia P. Bowman married John S. Weber in Boonville, Cooper county, Missouri. Julia was born November 13, 1852 in Lexington, Fayette county, Kentucky and sometime after the family moved to Covington, Kentucky, where her father died about 1866. She was the daughter of Robert Todd Bowman and Elizabeth Dickerson.

Making Progress

2011-10-25T00:14:00.001-05:00

Between making a quick trip to Michigan and dealing with this nasty cold, I've managed - quite surprisingly - to get quite a bit of data entry done. Sometimes good things can happen when you are stuck at home feeling rotten! I've knocked 75 death certificates down!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Misleading Information

2011-10-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

Do you trust everything you read on a death certificate? I hope not. I can't say how many times I've come across a death certificate that the informant has given his/her parents' names and not the names of the decedent.

Take this death certificate for Addie (Adaline) Keas Mansur. It gives her birth date as October 26, 1841 and her death date as October 26, 1941. Wouldn't that make her exactly 100 years old? EXCEPT her age is given as 83 years 11 months and 7 days. Her husband John Mansur was born in 1850. By my figuring, she was born November 19, 1857. The 1900 census says July of 1857. It sure isn't 1841!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Ralph Maitland

2011-10-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

In Los Angeles county, California on October 22, 1965, Ralph Maitland died. He was the son of Alexander Maitland and Desdemona Henderson.

Freaked Out Friday

2011-10-21T00:11:00.002-05:00

What a crazy week it has been. DH has been nursing a coldthis week and oh joy of joys, he’s shared it with me. I don’t feel like we’vehad a chance to catch up on household chores yet, and don’t feel like doingthem anyway. And we need to get out and walk, but these colds and the weatheraren’t cooperating.

Older daughter is on a cruise to some place warmer Saturday for a few days and younger daughteris moving to Nashvillenext week. DH has a birthday coming up and one of my nieces is getting marriedthe first weekend in November. That means another trip up I-75 to Michigan. This will beour third since July. And they have all been really quick trips.

In between laundry, coughing and hacking, I’ve been catchingup on data entry a bit. Catching up isn’t quite the word for it, because thatwill probably never happen! I'm making progress though and that feels good. Andwhile I am doing all that, I'm watching tutorials on my new scrapbookingprogram. And practicing. Hop on over to Generational for a peek at what I amworking on.

Thriller Thursday - Building Collapse

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, when you are searching for something, you come across something unexpected. I had one of those the other day, which really caught me by surprise. I was searching for a death record for Fannie Carlisle Maitland, when I discovered a marriage record for her. On January 1, 1908 Fannie married for her second husband, William W. McBride in Washington county, Arkansas. Somehow, they ended up back in Kansas City, Missouri, where William died tragically in 1912. According to the death certificate he died from from traumatism resulting in fractured skull and other injuries from collapse of building. Unfortunately, I was not able to find an obit or death notice for William McBride, but I did find an account of the collapse, which I have added below.

CORONER TO FIX THE BLAME

AN INQUEST TO DETERMINE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALAMEDA COLLAPSE

The Men Concerned in the Construction and Inspection Explain the Fatal Accident by Placing the Fault on One Another - Their Opinions

The Blame for the collapse of the new Alameda Hotel, Tenth Street and the Paseo, which took a toll of human lives, will be fixed by a coroner's jury. The inquiry will begin at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

Walter N. Davis, owner of the wrecked building, asked Fred B. Hamilton city superintendent of buildings, today to select a committee of building experts to decide who was at fault. To this proposal Mr. Hamilton said:

"That will all be decided at the coroner's inquest. Everyone who had to do with the building, the architect, brick and concrete contractors and everyone else will be witnesses at the inquest."

CITY OFFICIAL BLAMES CONTRACTOR

Mr. Hamilton says the fault lies with the contractor, the George H. Seidhoff Construction Company, which loaded between seventy-five and one hundred wagon loads of cinders on the roof and then pulled the wooden props from under the roof before the cement was dry.

Mr. Davis, owner of the building, agrees with Mr. Hamilton, the superintendent of buildings, and says he protested yesterday against the props being withdrawn.

P. Green, foreman under Siedhoff, the contractor, says he believes the props beneath the roof were taken out too soon.

J. M. Deacy, foreman of the electrical work in the building, agrees with Hamilton and Davis that the withdrawal of the props and the weight of the ashes caused the roof to sink, carrying down the other floors into general ruin.

CONTRACTOR BLAMES THE ARCHITECT

George H. Siedhoff, the concrete contractor, says the blame rests with the architect, Clifton B. Sloan.

"There were not enough ashes on that roof to have any effect," he said. "It is not true that the roof was 'green.' It had been set for fourteen days instead of nine days as was claimed by Mr. Davis. We have our records to prove that. Those props had been under that roof fourteen days, the concrete was set and hard. The plans were faulty. Of course I had to follow the plans. But the walls of the building were of brick only nine inches thick in the two top stories, and there was not a concrete pillar in the walls. The five floors of hollow tile bound together with re-enforced concrete, were set into the brick walls four inches and rested upon the brick, when they should have rested upon concrete pillars.

"The consequence was that when the wooden supports and forms underneath the roof were withdrawn the weight of the roof for twenty-one feet of its length, from the nearest concrete pillar to the wall, fell upon the thin brick wall and the wall buckled out and let the roof fall, and it carried down the other floors one after the other. There should have been concrete pillars and beams in the outside wall to support each floor and the roof."

THE OWNER'S REGRETS

Mr. Davis, owner of the building, wept this forenoon as he stood in the building and looked at the wreck.

"It will ruin me," he said, "but I do not care so much for that as for the poor men who were killed. Every cent I have on earth was in this building. I put sixty thousand dollars in cash into it. And it was the strongest building ever built in Kansas City. I have built twenty-three buildings, and I know the walls were of ample thickness, up to the standard required by the building code. Nothing but the best concrete and mortar went into it, and all was re-enforced. I watched every detail of the construction myself and I know. In all my building work heretofore I never had a man hurt."

"The roof was made of hollow tile eight inches thick and a foot square joined together by the best cement. Between each row of tile there ran a log of iron and over the whole roof was laid two inches of cement."

SUPPORTS TAKEN AWAY TOO SOON

"The roof was flat on top of it cinders were to be spread thirty inches thick at the front of the building and two inches thick at the rear to give it the proper slope to shed rain, and over the bed of cinders was to be laid one inch of cement.

"Siedhoff, the contractor, had hoisted two hundred loads of those cinders to the roof and piled them four feet deep along the rear end of the roof next to the alley. Those cinders weigh forty-five pounds to the cubic foot and four feet of them made a great weight. The roof was yet green and was held up by planking upheld by upright wooden supports. Those supports should have stayed there two weeks longer and you can imagine my surprise when I found Siedhoff's men pulling them out yesterday.

DEFENDS THE CONSTRUCTION

"I protested against it, but Green laughed at me. The result proved that I was right. As soon as the last support was pulled out down came the roof beneath its weight of cinders, and I could hear each floor crash down in turn as the load above fell upon it.

"Proof that the weight of ashes caused the collapse is seen in the wreck itself. Only that portion of the roof fell that had ashes upon it. All the rest of the roof is intact and solid, and I am sure any builder will agree with me that the part of the building yet standing is the solidest in this town."

J. M. Deacy, foreman of the electrical work, said today: "It was one of the best constructed buildings I ever saw, and I have worked in nearly all of them. There was not a faulty thing in it. The concrete was so solid that it took one of my men a whole day to drill a hole through the floor. And the brick walls were solid."

Deacy's life was probably saved by the circumstance that his wife was ill and he went home at 3:30 o'clock. Otherwise he would have been working in a room that went down in the wreck.

At the inquest tomorrow each interested person will be represented by an attorney. There will be suits for damages as a result of the collapse the heirs of those killed and of those injured will claim damages and those at fault will have to pay. It is important therefore, to know who was at fault.

The superintendent of buildings and his inspector will seek to show that they were not at fault, that the walls were of the thickness required by the building code and that the materials used and the work done were up to standard requirements. The owner and the contractor will contend that they are not liable.

Mr. Davis, the owner, had Siedhoff, the contractor, bound by a bond of $10,000 to do his work well. He will seek to show that the contractor was at fault and if he can do that the contractor, under his bond, must replace the collapsed part of the building according to contract.

LAWYERS FLOCK TO THE RUINS

The contractor will seek to show that his work was well done, so as to escape that liability.

Other interested parties are the casualty and liability companies, with which both the owner and contractor had insured against loss because of injuries to employees on the building. If the contractor was at fault the casualty company will have to pay for the deaths and injuries. If the contractor was blameless and the owner at fault the casualty company with which the contractor was insured will escape liability. If the architect was at fault he will be liable for the deaths and injuries.

There are bound to be several law suits result and there were several lawyers for different parties at the building today, taking written statements and making photographs of the walls and all details of the ruins.

The Kansas City testing laboratory took samples of the cement to test and see if it was up to specifications.

CONTRACTOR JUST MISSED DEATH

The whole of the building did not fall. Its full size was seventy-three feet frontage on the Paseo and extending back 120 feet on Tenth Street. The part that fell was the rear twenty-three feet. All the rest of the building is intact and solid.

The part that fell did not all fall at once. The southwest corner fell at 3:30 o'clock and at 4:45 o'clock the northwest corner fell.

Those killed and injured went down in the first collapse. Several had narrow escapes when the second crash came. Among them were George H. Siedhoff, the contractor, who ran when he heard the grinding noise and took refuge under a concrete beam in the front part of the building and George Oppenheimer and B. M. Richardson, insurance men, who leaped from a third story building.

THE MONEY LOSS $7,300

The Jones Store Company had contracted with Mr. Davis to furnish the hotel from top to bottom and it had placed orders with a mill in Philadelphia for four thousand yards of carpet, and with a firm in Pittsburgh, Pas., for brass beds. The furniture was being made in Grand Rapids, Mich., and the silverware was ordered from the Oneida Community. All these orders were canceled today.

Apartments in the hotel were to rent for $75 a month and nearly all of them were already engaged.

Mr. Davis said today that the damage done could be repaired for $7,300.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Macnie & Percival

2011-10-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

On October 19, 1896 Lorena Percival to John Silliman Macnie in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. Lorena was the daughter of John Percival and Abbie Oakes.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

I've hoped for a while that Texas would release more death certificates and now they are through the LDS FamilySearch.org site. If you don't mind browsing through them. I've tried for two days to get the images to load and finally on the third day, was able to browse through Harris county, Texas death certificates for January of 1978 for Edwin Parker Bowman. Edwin was a nephew of my great grandfather, Frank Bowman. So now I have it. Next up: Faith Maitland Chandler, related through my Maitland line.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Whew -- That Was Exhausting!

2011-10-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

The ability to write your blogs in advance and schedule them for posting is a wonderful thing. Really. Wonderful.

Last week, we took what we thought would be a quick trip back to our old home state because our younger daughter was going to have tendon-repair-to-her-left-ankle-surgery and no one was going to keep her Momma away. Well, after the first post-op day, we knew she would need us around an extra day or so, so we did just that - stay an extra day. So really this quick 5 day trip just turned into a week.

Oh and did I mention same daughter will be packing up and moving to Nashville this month? I will be so glad to have her an hour away rather than a day away. So, I haven't really been focusing on the history as much as the family.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Elizabeth Barney Percival

2011-10-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth Percival nee Barney married Delos Percival probably around 1840. She died October 15, 1892 in Oneida, New York.

Watch Out for Misleading Information!

2011-10-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I didn't think to do this before, but I decided to look and see if my DH's paternal grandfather was registered for the "Old Man's Draft" during World War II. Yes, he was and so was his older brother. Years ago, my F-in-law told me that he called his one uncle, Uncle Bill. Seeing his father's draft registration, that would bear that out.

I find it curious that he puts his brother down as someone who will always know where he is. Not his wife. And he gives his brother's name as William Kruszka, and his brother's address as 1941 Outer Drive.

Except his oldest brother was not William. I'm not saying that William was not his brother, I am saying his name was not William. It was Valentine.

Here is Uncle "Bill's" draft registration. The address is 1941 E. Outer Drive. Yes, he was born in Poland, and was the eldest child of Michael Kruszka and Josephine Glowska. The Zalot family lived next door and Bill's wife wanted the eldest Zalot daughter for her son, Chester. Instead, Bill's nephew caught her!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Tragic Death of Frederick Percival Allen

2011-10-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

From the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, May 4, 1906:

FREDERICK ALLEN DIES IN MEXICO

Cashier of the German American Bank

With Party of Friends

While Traveling for Pleasure Mr. Allen Suffers Attack of Angina Pectoris and Dies - Born in Rochester in 1853 - His Family

Late yesterday afternoon a telegram from Torreno, a small town in Mexico, brought the shocking news of the sudden death of Frederic Percival Allen, cashier of the German-American Bank and one of the best known men in Rochester. About two weeks ago, Mr. Allen, in the company of a party of friends, including Mr. J. H. Stedman, Mr. Porter Ford and Mr. Charles Palmer, started for Mexico on a pleasure trip, the guests of Mr. Arthur Stillwell of Kansas City. They reached the City of Mexico in safety and were on the return trip when Mr. Allen was prostrated by an attack of angina pectoris and death followed almost immediately.

Mr. Allen was one of the most prominent as well as one of the most popular of Rochester's business men and the announcement of his death will bring unaffected sorrow in scores of friends and acquaintances who had known him since boyhood. He was born in this city in February, 1853, and received his education in the old Satterlee school on North street. His father was Samuel Percival Allen, for many years clerk of the State Senate and afterward collector of internal revenue for this district. It was in the revenue office as cashier that Frederic received his first business experience and at the end of his father's term he accepted a position in the Traders Bank. His sterilized character, energy, and marked ability won quick recognition from the older bankers of the town and when the late Frederic Cook and his associates purchased the Bank of Rochester and re-established the German-American Bank, Mr. Allen was made cashier. That position he had held for the last fifteen years, commanding the respect, confidence and affection of his townsmen to an extraordinary degree. Among his other positions of trust he was a director on the Rochester Trust and Safe Deposit Company and a trustee and elder of St. Peter's Church.

In 1875, Mr. Allen married Caroline Clarke, daughter of the late Hon. Freeman Clarke, and in the social as well as the business life of Rochester he had been an important. He is survived by his wife, two daughters - Mrs Buell Mills and Miss Mary Allen, and by one son, Freeman Clarke Allen.

Mr. Allen's untimely death will mean much to Rochester. He had been so prominently connected with all that makes for a city's growth and development that in many ways his loss will seem irreparable and must be counted a public misfortune. Personally, Mr. Allen was one of the most lovable of men and the friendships attracted by his genial personality were made enduring by qualities of mind and heart which withstood every test. A true man in all that the phrase implies he leaves an honored name and by those who knew him best his death will be the most sincerely mourned and his memory the most tenderly cherished.
While Traveling for Pleasure Mr. Allen Suffers Attack of Angina Pectoris and Dies - Born in Rochester in 1853 - His Family

Late yesterday afternoon a telegram from Torreno, a small town in Mexico, brought the shocking news of the sudden death of Frederic Percival Allen, cashier of the German-American Bank and one of the best known men in Rochester. About two weeks ago, Mr. Allen, in the company of a party of friends, including Mr. J. H. Stedman, Mr. Porter Ford and Mr. Charles Palmer, started for Mexico on a pleasure trip, the guests of Mr. Arthur Stillwell of Kansas City. They reached the City of Mexico in safety and were on the return trip when Mr. Allen was prostrated by an attack of angina pectoris and death followed almost immediately.

Mr. Allen was one of the most prominent as well as one of the most popular of Rochester's business men and the announcement of his death will bring unaffected sorrow in scores of friends and acquaintances who had known him since boyhood. He was born in this city in February, 1853, and received his education in the old Satterlee school on North street. His father was Samuel Percival Allen, for many years clerk of the State Senate and afterward collector of internal revenue for this district. It was in the revenue office as cashier that Frederic received his first business experience and at the end of his father's term he accepted a position in the Traders Bank. His sterilized character, energy, and marked ability won quick recognition from the older bankers of the town and when the late Frederic Cook and his associates purchased the Bank of Rochester and re-established the German-American Bank, Mr. Allen was made cashier. That position he had held for the last fifteen years, commanding the respect, confidence and affection of his townsmen to an extraordinary degree. Among his other positions of trust he was a director on the Rochester Trust and Safe Deposit Company and a trustee and elder of St. Peter's Church.

In 1875, Mr. Allen married Caroline Clarke, daughter of the late Hon. Freeman Clarke, and in the social as well as the business life of Rochester he had been an important. He is survived by his wife, two daughters - Mrs Buell Mills and Miss Mary Allen, and by one son, Freeman Clarke Allen.

Mr. Allen's untimely death will mean much to Rochester. He had been so prominently connected with all that makes for a city's growth and development that in many ways his loss will seem irreparable and must be counted a public misfortune. Personally, Mr. Allen was one of the most lovable of men and the friendships attracted by his genial personality were made enduring by qualities of mind and heart which withstood every test. A true man in all that the phrase implies he leaves an honored name and by those who knew him best his death will be the most sincerely mourned and his memory the most tenderly cherished.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wedding Wednesday - Kirtley & Smith

2011-10-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

On October 12, 1881 Richard E. Kirtley and Fannie Smith were married in Callaway county, Missouri. He was the son of Columbus Kirtley and Virginia Ayletta Buckner. She was the daughter of George Smith and Amanda Carter.

Travelin' Tuesday

2011-10-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm not actually travelin' but DH and I drove back up North to be with Younger Daughter while she has surgery on the tendons in her left ankle. Yes, YD is just like her mom, a supreme Klutz with a capital K. Although I'm not sure if her ankle problem is due to her klutziness or just her bad luck at taking a line drive to the ankle during the last game of her baseball season. I don't think bad luck can be inherited.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

One More Thing Added to the Pile!

2011-10-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I am a Procrastinator. And that is with a capital P. I've been putting off a lot of stuff this year and one of the things I've been procrastinating about is the box of albums that belonged to my father-in-law. The albums themselves are cute - especially the ones he brought back from the Pacific during WWII. It's the contents. I'm hoping we can toss the pictures of dead Japanese soldiers. It has always offended me that he kept those. It borders on gloating.

So being the Procrastinator that I am I buried them under one of the tables in the storeroom. Those I will deal with last!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Margaret Martin Maitland

2011-10-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

Margaret Martin Maitland, first wife of Dr. Alexander Maitland, my great-great-great-great grandfather, died on October 8, 1802 in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland as the result of childbirth. Born that day to Dr. and Mrs. Maitland, was Margaret Maitland. Alexander and Margaret Martin(e) Maitland were married February 11, 1797.

Freaked Out Friday!

2011-10-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's Friday already - well almost since I am writing this on Thursday evening. At any rate, here I am scrambling again for a topic not only for today, but for the next few days since we are taking a quick trip up to Michigan next week!

I've been working on lots of projects lately - scrapbook pages, thank you cards and my family history. I seem to be concentrating heavily on Virginia, which is a challenge. Ancestry is making me nuts. First they do something nice, and then they think they do something nice. For instance, to celebrate their 15th anniversary they are giving free access to select databases over a 15 day period. I have yet to find a database that will benefit me. And when I do try to search, I get error messages that tell me they can't display all the results. As a result, I have been trying to stay off Ancestry until their anniversary is over.

Family Search has been making me nuts too. There are Minnesota county birth records for Mankato in Blue Earth county I want to access and yet they cannot be accessed. I've been waiting a couple weeks now and I know I can be waiting for ages. After all I waited over a year for a death certificate and only got it because friend and cousin Carol over at Reflections from the Fence picked it up for me during her trip to Salt Lake City. Now there is a message on the Family Search site that that image is not available. It's very frustrating. Sometimes I think I'll have to wait another year to find out that I won't be able to access Mankato, Blue Earth county, Minnesota birth records.

I guess I have to find something else to do.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thriller Thursday - Died in a Train Wreck

2011-10-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

Deaths and Funerals

Robert Lee Metcalfe
The body of Robert Lee Metcalfe who was born in Lexington in 1864 and was killed in a train wreck Tuesday in Louisiana arrived here yesterday morning. A Louisville family expressed the belief that Metcalfe was a missing kinsman, but Mrs. Ella Dixon, 707 West Third street, and Mrs. Owsley Stanhope of Covington, viewed the body at the John Milward Funeral Home and identified it as that of their brother. Funeral services will be held at the grave in the family lot in Lexington cemetery at 3 o'clock, the Rev. Hayes Farish officiating. The pallbearers will be Owsley Stanhope, W. P. Hegarty, Columbia Sayre, Robert Hughes, John Shephard and Jeff Page.

[Robert Lee Metcalf not Metcalfe was the brother of Virginia "Virgie" Metcalf Stanhope.]

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes