Wordless Wednesday - Mariah Botkin & Pearl Stephens

Mariah Botkin (1863-1953) and her son Pearl M. Stephens (1882-1960)

Tombstone Tuesday - William Stephens and Mary Mariah Botkin

My son, Ben, at his great-great-great grandparents tombstone. Lafontaine Cemetery, Wabash County, Indiana. William Stephens and Mary Mariah Boktin were the parents of Pearl McCllean Stephens.

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #12

Week 12: Check out the web sites for the Society of American Archivists (http://www.archivists.org/), ARMA International (http://www.arma.org/), and the American Library Association (http://ala.org/). Genealogists can benefit from the educational opportunities and publications of other information-based organizations. You may not be an archivist, records manager or librarian, but you share the same interests. Look at the events these associations hold. Find the books they publish and see if you can request them through your library via Inter-Library Loan. You may also want to check out your state’s (or country’s) library association. If you’re a genealogy blogger, write about your impressions of one or more of these organizations.

For this weeks challenge I looked at the website for the Society of American Archivists. At first I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for but I quickly became engrossed in a study involving Web 2.0 and archives. Web 2.0 describes the shift from presenting Internet content to users as a collection of marked-up text to an interactive environment where users have the ability to create content as easily as they consume it. The study involves how Web 2.0 technology is exemplified in certain catagories including: blogs, photo-sharing sites, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds and social networks.

All of this poses a challenge to archivists. How do archivists use this new technology to interact with their patrons? What does this mean for skills sets an archivists must have in the future?

The report goes on to list case studies of how archivists are becoming more conscious of the need to provide interactive services to their users. Included is a case study of how the Kansas Historical Society is using Podcasts to showcase their collections.

Overall, this weeks challenge opened my eyes to the role Web 2.0 technology will continue to play in genealogy research. As archives become use to the interactive nature of the internet I believe they will move towards becoming more open and willing to share their collections digitally. As new archivists enter the field they will have a comfort level using Web 2.0 technology that may not exist at this time.

I started this challenge not sure what I was looking for and ended up spending hours reading this study and becoming more knowledgable about the technology I utilize everyday. I'm much more aware of the challenges and opportunites Web 2.0 offers to museums, historical societies, libraries and research facilites. It's a conversation they are sure to continue having among themselves in the future.

Tim O’Reilly, “What is Web 2.0,” O’Reilly Media, http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html (accessed Mar. 14, 2009).

Surname Saturday - Boulanger/Baker

1 Aleck Boulanger (1834 - ) b: 01 May 1834 in Canada
..... + Mathilda Unknown (1843 - ) b: 01 Jun 1843 in Canada, m: 1861 in Canada
........... 2 Joseph Boulanger (1871 - ) b: May 1871 in Canada
................. 3 Alice Boulanger (1896 - ) b: May 1896 in Massachusetts
........... 2 Francis Boulanger (1878 - ) b: Sep 1878 in Canada
........... + Mary B. LeFallien (1882 - ) b: 1882 in Canada, m: Abt. 1899
................. 3 Joseph Boulanger (1901 - ) b: 1901 in Massachusetts
................. 3 Edward Baker (1902 - 1974) b: 11 Sep 1902 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA, d:14 May 1974 in Newton, Fairfield,CT
................. + Julia Marie Dolak (1903 - 1982) b: 24 Jan 1903 in Moravia, Czechoslovocia, m: 03 Nov 1941 in Bronx, Bronx, New York, USA, d: 29 Jun 1982 in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut
....................... 4 Living Baker (1942 - ) b: 26 May 1942 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri
....................... + William Ellam (1937 - 1998) b: 30 Dec 1937 in Adams, Berkshire, Massachusetts m: 08 Oct 1960 in Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina, USA, d: 11 Oct 1998 in Palm Beach, Florida, USA
....................... 4 Joanne Francis Baker (1942 - 2005) b: 26 May 1942 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri d: 07 Nov 2005 in Colville, Stevens, Washington
....................... + Ludlow Rancford Chase (1941 - 1991) b: 26 Jan 1941 in Maine, USA, m: 03 Mar 1959 in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut d: 09 May 1991 in Spokane, Spokane,Washington
................. 3 August Boulanger (1906 - ) b: 1906 in Massachusetts
........... 2 Aleck Boulanger (1880 - ) b: Oct 1880 in Canada
........... 2 Rosanna Boulanger (1882 - ) b: Oct 1882 in Massachusetts
........... 2 Henry Boulanger (1886 - ) b: Sep 1886 in Massachusetts

Follow Friday - Bits of Yesterday

Bits of Yesterday is a new genealogy blog started by my friend Patty. Patty has been blogging about her family for years so starting one about her genealogy research just comes naturally. It has a beautiful layout and the banner picture is a wonderful old family photo.

Patty has just started “dipping her toes” into the genealogy world and I’m so happy to be taking this journey with her. Reading about her adventures on Bits of Yesterday is such a treat and the advise she has already begun to receive from fellow geneabloggers is so appreciated!

Please visit Bits of Yesterday and welcome Patty to the geneablogging community. And while you are there, check out her March 11th post about her first brick wall...Edward Smith. Maybe someone can offer a suggestion?

Lisa

Wordless Wednesday

Myself, my Aunt Sue and my brother Sterling

Christmas 1972

Tombstone Tuesday - Edward C. Baker

Edward C. Baker

9 Sep 1902 - 14 May 1974

Services for Edward C. Baker, of 235 Quarry Street, a retired Remington Arms company supervisor, who died Wednesday, will take place tomorrow at 9:15 a.m. in the Adzima Funeral Home, 591 Artic street, and at 10:00 in St. Patrick's church. Burial will be in St. Michael's Cemetery, Stratford.

Born in East Taunton, Mass. Mr. Baker lived in the area for 25 years.

Survivors include his wife Mrs. Julia Dolak Baker of Bridgeport; two daughters, Mrs. Joan Chase of Sandy Hook, and Mrs. Jeannette Edgerton of Indiana; two stepsons, Arthur Heske of Dracul, Mass. and Edward Heske of Sturbridge, Mass.; a stepdaughter, Mrs. Dorothy Chomko of Trumbull.

Obit appeared in The Bridgeport Post, Thurday, May 16, 1974.

Madness Monday - One Man. Many Wives.

My madness Monday post qualifies on two fronts.

My husbands maternal grandfather, Ed Baker, was hospitalized in 1961 in The Connecticut Fairfield State Hospital. His official diagnosis was Institutional Psychosis. From the doctors notes found in Nanny's estate, I would guess he suffered from schizophrenia. That is part one of the "madness."

Part two was also found in the estate papers. Letters Nanny received from Ed Baker's ex-wife indicated that he was married multiple times. And not always divorced!

I began using the letters as a guide to build a timeline of Ed's life prior to Nanny.

11 Sept. 1902 Ed is born in Taunton, Mass.

14 Sept. 1902 Ed (legal name is Cyprian Edward Boulanger) was baptised in Holy Family Church in East Taunton, Mass.

1 Dec. 1919 Ed entered the Navy (after giving his birth date as 1 Dec. 1901) and served until 2 Feb. 1921.

1930 Census he is living in Detroit, MI and working as a Polisher in an auto plant.

17 June 1940 Ed marries Anna Maria Spaulding in St. Patrick's Church, Chanute, Kansas. The license indicates that he was living in Chicago, IL at the time of the marriage.

2 Dec. 1940 - Ed and Anna Maria are divorced.

7 May 1941 - Ed married Evelyn Marie Simpson in Kansas City, MO.

7 Oct. 1941 - Rose M. Belanger files for divorce from Christopher Edward Belanger in Providence, Rhode Island. (Since this divorce degree is found in Ed's papers I believe this was another marriage for Ed using a different name.)

3 Nov. 1941 - Ed marries Nanny in Bronx, New York.

1941 - letters indicate another divorce from a Laura Grace Martin of New York.

24 May 1942 - Nanny gives birth to my MIL and her twin sister in Kansas City, MO.

8 Jun 1942 - Ed and Nanny marry again in St. Joseph Hospital, Kansas City, MO.

I have been able to find the marriage certificate of Ed to Anna Maria Spaulding, also the marriage certificate to Evelyn Marie Simpson, the divorce degree from Rose M. Belanger and both marriage certificates of Ed and Nanny. The rest is a mystery....and a madness.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Sick Call Cabinet

This is the Sick Call or Last Rites Cabinet that hung in my maternal grandfathers house when he was young. It now hangs in my parents home and is willed to my oldest son, Ben, who expressed his desire for it.

My grandfather was given last rites from the items in the cabinet when he was a child. Obviously he lived, but the story he told of that day is a treasure to our family. As is the cabinet.

Tombstone Tuesday - Benjamin Brane

Benjamin Brane

1785-1870

(Owen) Friends Cemetery
Lincolnville, Wabash County, Indiana

Dear Ancestor,

Your tombstone stands among the rest, neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out on polished, marble stone.

It reaches out to all who care, it is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist, you died and I was born.

Yet each of us are cells of you in flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse entirely not our own.

Dear Ancestor, the place you filled one hundred years ago,
Spreads out among the ones you left who would have loved you so.

I wonder if you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew,
That someday I would find this spot, and come to visit you.

Author Unknown

Memory Monday - A Follow-up to Sentimenal Sunday

Below is an excerpt of a post I wrote for my personal blog back in June of 2008. It is about the funeral of my grandmother, Martha Jean Stephens, the topic yesterday for my Sentimental Sunday post.

My grandmother died last week. She was 86 years old and had been in a nursing home for years. Although it was not unexpected it still hurt.

At the funeral on Friday the Chaplain invited anyone who wanted to come up and say a few words about grandma. I had no intention of speaking but somehow I felt moved to share my memories and found myself standing at the podium.

I really don't remember everything I said. I spoke through tears but I spoke from my heart.

It's only now, 3 days later, that I'm wishing I had said more. There are so many things I should have said, and would have said, had I been prepared.

And I'd like to say them here.

Thank you grandma for the purple satin hat you kept in a "dress up" box when I was young. I loved that hat and have more than a couple of pictures of me wearing it.

Thank you for saving your McCall's magazine so I could cut out the Betsey McCall paper doll every month.

Thank you for waffle cookies in the tin stored in the oven. And for homemade noodles drying on newspaper on the kitchen table.

Thank you for Christmas Eve's at your house with pork tenderloins and pickled eggs. Thank you for letting me ring that little bell you kept on the Christmas tree and for giving me that bell when grandpa died. It's the most precious ornament on my tree every year.

Thank you for letting me "help" you wash the dishes when I was young. You had that sprayer attachment on your sink and I loved rinsing the dishes with it. I remember mom telling me to be careful and you saying "oh, she's fine". I wonder now how many times you had to change your clothes after I helped.

Thank you for teaching me to play cards and for teaching me how to win. Thank you for sharing your love of the Chicago Cubs with my sons. Although Ben wishes you would have picked a team with a better record of wins!

Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Every child should have someone love them the way you did. And thank you for loving grandpa. We all know how much you missed him after he died.
And that's where I'm finding peace. Knowing you are with grandpa now. And all your sisters and brother and parents and grandparents. And that I'll see you again someday.

Goodbye grandma...I'll miss you.

Sentimental Sunday - Martha Jean Stephens Stephens

Martha J. Stephens
July 7, 1921 - June 24, 2008

SOUTH BEND - Martha Jean Stephens, 86, of South Bend died at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, 2008 in Southfield Village following an illness. Mrs. Stephens was born July 7, 1921, in Wabash County, IN, to the late Pearl and Grace (Brane) Stephens and had lived in South Bend since 1924. On October 26, 1940, in Marion, IN, she married Irvin Stephens who preceded her in death on March 24, 1994. She was also preceded by three sisters, Marie Schields, Georgia McElheny and Irene Blain; and one brother, Dalton Stephens. She is survived by two daughters, Karen (Robert) Swanson and Connie Wagner, both of South Bend; four grandchildren, Howard Sterling Swanson, Lisa (Mark) Ellam, Stephany (Patrick) Wagner-Thornhill, and Jonathan (Darcy) Wagner; eight great-grandchildren, Jennifer (Chad) Worvey, Garrett Swanson, Ben and Andy Ellam, Dane and Abby Wagner, and Ella and Will Thornhill; and one great-great-grandson, Alex Swanson. Mrs. Stephens was a graduate of the former Central High School in June of 1939 and took great pride in the fact that she was the first person in the family to do so. Private family visitation and services will be held in the Welsheimer Family Funeral Home, 521 N. William St. with Chaplain Deborah Hewitt of Southfield Village officiating. Entombment will follow in Riverview Cemetery at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, 111 Sunnybrook Court, South Bend, IN, 46637 or to Southfield Village, 6450 Miami Circle, South Bend, IN, 46614.

Published in The South Bend Tribune on 6/27/2008.

A Revolutionary War Pension and a bit of history enters my living room

I sent for the DAR records of my GGGGGG-Grandfather this week. When looking up the records I noticed their was a pension number listed. I hopped onto Footnote, looked up the pension papers and what I read brought a little bit of history into my living room.

My GGGGGG-Grandmother, Margaret Devericks Botkin, filed for a pension as a widow of my GGGGGG-Grandfather, Thomas Botkin dated the 27 April, 1844 in the county of Pendleton, Virginia. A part of her affidavit read:

"....that he was again drafted in the month of September in the year 1781 and that the company to which he was attached _____ ____ in Staunton, Virginia, under the command of Captain Thomas Hicklin from which place he was marched to near Yorktown where they joined the main army under the command of General George Washington, that he was at the serge of Yorktown until the surrender of the British Army by Lord Cornwallis and helped to guard the prisoners to the town of ________, Virginia, from which place he returned home, that in this tour he served full three months."

Yes, we are talking about THAT General George Washington! Whoa, my ancestor was a large part of history. I need to transcribe the entire 24 page document to see what else I can learn.

But my excitement has me stuck on page 5 for the moment.....

Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktownby John Trumbull, depicting the British surrendering to French (left) and American (right) troops. Oil on canvas, 1820.

Wordless Wednesday - Where I Work

University of Notre Dame - Grotto

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #9

Pick five genealogy blogs and read them every day. Meet new people and networking within the online genealogy community is a great way to expand your own research and experience. Reading the blogs of others will help you get to know others.

It was hard for me to cut this list down to five, but here are five of my favorites!

We Tree

I have to start with We Tree. Amy Coffin is the one that put the genealogy blog bug in me and is the sole reason I have a blog today. I have especially enjoyed her Anatomy of a Military Pension file posts. It has inspired me to search for the Revolution War Pension of one of my own ancestors. Amy is also the author of the 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy and voted one of the 40 Best Genealogy Blogs by Family Tree Magazine.

Greta's Genealogy Bog

What do I like about Greta's Blog? Everything! I love reading about her Mystery Normans and Source Citations. It was by reading Greta's Blog that I, a newbie to this geneablog world, began to understand the Winter Games and what Carnivals are all about! Greta posts to her blog almost daily, something I aspire to. Oh, and Greta's Bog was also voted one of the 40 Best Blogs by Family Tree Magazine. Duly deserved.

Our Georgia Roots

Another one of the 40 Best Blogs (do I sense a pattern here?!), Our Georgia Roots has introduced me to the African-American Genealogy Community. I am moved by her passion for bringing the community together and encouraging everyone to be responsible in sharing their records of slave ownership in their family trees. Luckie is also one of the very best writers out there and her blog is....beautiful.

Swedish Thoughts

Yvonne's blog first caught my attention because of the title. My father's family all came from Sweden and I am intrigued by all things swedish. I love the layout and look of the blog and all the wonderful photos that Yvonne posts. But most amazing to me is how Swedish Thoughts proves once again that it's a small world after all. I just realized today that I "know" Yvonne! As a part of my volunteer work with RAOGK I have done research for her in the past. And in return, she proved us with some research on our family in Sweden!

Flipside

I really like the style of Linda's writing. When I read her blog I feel like we are just a couple of old friends having a cup of coffee and sharing our family research stories. I'm always so eager to read Linda's posts when they appear in my Google Reader. I was on the sidelines cheering her on as she participated in the Winter Games and look forward everyday to her new posts.

It was so hard to choose just 5 blogs. I'm slowly working my way down the list of blogs at Geneabloggers. With over 900 to choose from that may take awhile but I'm enjoying each and every one!

Winter 2010 GeneaBlogger Games

I missed the Winter GeneaBlogger Games.

I could use the excuse that my blog was too new to participate but that would just be, well......an excuse. The truth is I was intimidated by the competition categories. And I was intimidated because I knew, deep inside I knew, that I'm failing in most of the areas covered. So, after reading everyones blogs and celebrating with them as they earned their medals I have become inspired to tackle my own version of the Games.

Over the past week I have accomplished the following in each catagory:

1. Go Back and Cite Your Sources!

- As a birthday present for myself I ordered the book Evidence Explained from Amazon. I got an email notifying me that it shipped today so I should receive it soon!
- I started a new family tree. For the last 10 years I have been researching my husband's family. It's my turn now! I've started with myself and am sourcing everything correctly. I haven't gotten very far yet but I can tell you it is a thing of beauty already!

2. Organize Your Research!

- Following Lisa Louise Cooke's Tutorial in the May 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine, I spent last night organizing my hard drive. It was easy and I feel an incredible sense of relief knowing that enormous task is accomplished!

3. Expand Your Knowledge!

- Again, using a Tutorial in the May 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine, I did some research in the Daughters of the American Revolution Databases. And I found two ancestors! Today I ordered the latest long form applications on each name and will also explore Footnote to view the Pension File on one of them.

4. Reach Out and Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!

- As a volunteer for RAOGK I have many opportunities to give back the kindness others have extended to me. This week I will be pulling obits here in Indiana for a family researcher in Oregon.

The two catagories I haven't tackled yet are Back Up Your Data! and Write! Write! Write! My goal is to cover both in the next few days.

Let the games begin!