The Faces Of My Family

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week - Family Heirlooms

2012-02-11T04:34:00.000-05:00

Week 6 – Family Heirlooms: For which family heirloom are you most thankful? How did you acquire this treasure and what does it mean to you and your family?

One of my most treasured possessions is the bible kept by my Great-Great Grandparents, John Thomas Brane and Marilla Scott Brane.

Inside the front cover they glued and taped obituaries for family members from the local newspaper dating back to 1872. My great-great grandmother also listed all the family marriages, births and deaths.

Sadly it is very old and in bad condition.

Right after Christmas there was an article in our local newspaper about a church in town who had old books restored regarding their church history. I contacted the company they used and found that they were located in the same small town my boys go to college in!

I took the bible to them for an estimate and left it in their capable hands. It will take 6 months and several hundred dollars to restore.

But to me......it's priceless.

Find a Grave - The Extra Things You Can Do at Find A Grave

2012-02-08T05:08:00.001-05:00

Once you have entered a memorial, asked for changes and additions, received a memorial transfer or set up your virtual cemetery, what is left to do? Plenty!

Request a photo - Once you enter a memorial on Find A Grave or locate one of your ancestors memorials without a headstone photo, you may request a photo be taken. Just go to the memorial and click on the "Request A Photo" button. This will take you to a new screen where you can add additional information for the photo volunteer such as location in cemetery. Then click the "Submit Photo Request" button. The email will go out to all the volunteers in the area. It is always to good idea to contact the cemetery office ahead of time to determine the grave's location. Many cemeteries will only provide that information to a relative and not a photo volunteer.

Virtual Flowers - When you enter a memorial or find one of your ancestors you may leave a virtual flower for them along with a brief note. Go to the memorial to which you wish to add flowers. There is a box on the right side that says "Leave Flowers and a Note for this Person". Click on that box and follow the instructions to leave your flower. You must be a Find A Grave member in order to leave flowers and notes.
I always state my relationship in the notes section. Taking this step has helped me connect with living relatives who visit the same memorial.

Sponsor a Memorial - Sponsoring a memorial page costs only $5.00 and will remove those annoying ads. It also allows you to add more than 5 photos to the memorial. To sponsor any non-famous memorial just click on the sponsorship link at the top of the memorial page. Fill out the secure form and you are done! If you are not the memorial manager, they will receive an email that you have sponsored their memorial. This does not mean that you are now the memorial manager although most memorial managers, when they receive this email, do transfer to you.

Volunteering for Find A Grave - Because Find A Grave members have been so helpful to me by posting memorials of my ancestors, I feel moved to give back. You can become a Find A Grave photo volunteer in your area. Just log in to your account, go to your Contributor Profile page and click on the "Edit My Profile" link in the top right corner. From here you can enter your zip code and choose to be a photo volunteer in your area. Remember that there may be many volunteers in your zip code and all of you will receive the same email request when it comes through. If you are willing to take the photo you need to "claim it". You then have 14 days to upload the photo before it goes back into the system as "unclaimed". Note: Find A Grave does not allow volunteers to charge money for their service.

There are so many facets of Find A Grave that I still haven't covered. My #1 suggestion to anyone new to the site is to read through the FAQ's. They are quite extensive but will cover any question you may have! Just follow this link to access the page.

Tombstone Tuesday - CR SCOTT

2012-02-07T04:42:00.000-05:00

This is the stone for my G-G-G grandfather, Charles Leonard Lewis Dewise SCOTT, better known as CR Scott or Right Scott.

He was born 16 Jun 1813 in Fayette County, Indiana and died on 11 Feb 1888. On 26 Jan 1833 in Fayette County he married Mary Ann Chumney and together they had 12 children.

CR is buried in the Old La Fontaine Cemetery in La Fontaine, Wabash, Indiana. The cemetery is in horrible condition. The town of La Fontaine should be ashamed.....

Sunday's Obituary - Rosanna Kelly HANLEY

2012-02-05T05:34:00.000-05:00

Hamilton Spectator
June 10, 1912, Page 10

The grim reaper came with startling suddeness to Mrs. Rosanna Routh, 19 Mulberry Street, yesterday morning. Deceased was in her 70th year. The funeral will take place on Tuesday morning from Dwyers undertaking establishment to St. Mary's Cathedral, and thence to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Four sons and one daughter survive. Heart failure is given as the cause of death.

Hamilton Herald
June 10, 1912, Page 12

Mrs. Rosanna Routh, for many years a resident of Hamilton, died quite suddenly at an early hour this morning at her home, Mulberry street, at the age of 70 years. Heart trouble is given as the cause of death. Deceased was well known and highly esteemed. Her husband predeceased her several years ago. Five sons and one daughter survive. The funeral will be held on Tuesday morning from Dwyer's undertaking parlors to St. Mary's Cathedral, thence to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

(same day newspaper, different page)

In this city, at her late residence, 30 Mulberry Street, Rosanna Hanley, wife of James Routh. Funeral will take place from Dwyer's undertaking parlors Tuesday morning at 8:30 to St. Mary's Catherdral, thence to Holy Sepulchre cemetery.

Find a Grave - What's up with Virtual Cemeteries?

2012-02-01T05:55:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about Find A Grave is the ability to create Virtual Cemeteries and I have created plenty! It's a great way to organize the memorials the way I want.

I have Virtual Cemeteries by surname, by cemetery, and even by Civil War Regiment. Whatever serves your purpose.....you are in control!

You may be wondering.....why have a virtual cemetery at all? Remember last week when we talked about how to ask for a memorial transfer? What happens when that transfer is denied? This is important to remember about virtual cemeteries....you can put ANY memorial in a virtual cemetery. You don't have to manage the memorial.

Take my BOTKIN surname for example. I created a Virtual Cemetery for Botkin Family members and as I come across their memorials on Find A Grave I place them in the virtual cemetery. As of today this VC holds 440 Botkin family members. The overwhelming majority of those I do not manage. (The ones you manage will be in bold type). I can keep them all together in this way. My Virtual Cemetery contains memorials from many different real cemeteries!

Let's take a look at another of my VC's this one for Center Grove Cemetery. I have 70 ancestors buried in Center Grove from more than one of my family surnames. By creating a virtual cemetery and placing my family members in here I can manipulate the information in a couple of ways.

Say I am planning a research trip to Wabash County and will be making a stop by Center Grove Cemetery. By going to my Contributor Tools page I can download my data from my Center Grove VC into a tab-delimited Excel sheet. In this way I can manipulate the data any way I would like. For example, I can choose to sort by memorials with no photo.

So how do you go about creating a Virtual Cemetery? That part is easy! Go to your Contributor Tools page then click on the Edit button across from "my virtual cemeteries". From here you can add any VC you would like or edit one that you have already created. Now go to a memorial that you want to add to the VC. As you scroll down the memorial you will see a link to "edit virtual cemetery info". Click on that link and a list of your VC's will come up. Click the box in front of the VC you want to add the memorial to. Now click save changes. That's it!

The last way I use my VC is as a cross check with my FTM program. If you click on the Places tab in FTM you will get a list of all the locations you have entered in the program. I enter all cemeteries as: Cemetery - Center Grove. When I click on this it will tell me who from my database is buried here. If it lists 73 people and I only have 70 in my VC then I know I am missing 3 people in my VC. I can use the list in FTM to determine who is missing.

See how handy those VC's can be? See why my love affair with Find A Grave continues?!

So far I've covered How to Suggest a Correction, How to Ask For a Memorial Transfer and How to Set Up a Virtual Cemetery. But what else can you do with Find A Grave? Next week I'll cover some of the other neat features Find A Grave offers!

Tombstone Tuesday - Jacob SCOTT

2012-01-31T05:30:00.000-05:00

(Photo courtesy of Judy Mayberry Belford)

Jacob SCOTT, born in 1845 in Indiana, is the fourth son of John SCOTT and Abigail HARRELL.

On 16 Oct 1862 at the age of 17 he married Mary JONES.

On 25 Mar 1864 at age 19 he enlisted in the 47th Indiana Infantry, Company I. Just 3 months later he died in St. Louis, MO.

He is buried in Jefferson National Barracks Cemetery in St. Louis. His name is also on a monument at Center Grove Cemetery in LaFontaine, IN. His two brothers Moses and Jesse D. are also listed on the monument. All three brothers lost their lives in the Civil War.

Jacob's Find A Grave memorial can be found here.

Mystery Monday - Can You Help Date This Photo?

2012-01-30T05:38:00.002-05:00

I just love this photo! Whoever they are I bet they were lots of fun!

**This is one of a handful of photos found in an album among the possessions of Clyde Arthur BRANE (1881-1972), grandson of Daniel and Mariah Anderson BRANE. The name on the outside of the album reads Mariah Anderson BRANE.

Sunday's Obituary - Henry Harry HANLEY

2012-01-29T05:32:00.002-05:00

Services Not Set for Henry Hanley

Funeral rites were being completed today for Henry Hanley, seventy-seven, who died at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Marion General Hospital where he had been a patient for two weeks.

A resident of Marion for more than 60 years, Mr. Hanley was born in Toronto, Canada. He operated a coal yard and grocery establishment at Ninetheenth and Meridian streets here and was a member of St. Paul Catholic church.

Survivors include six daughters, Mrs. Lillian Sutton, Mrs. Turbine Gossett, Mrs. Maude Carson and Mrs. Mamie Bowser, all of Marion; Mrs. Teressa Monroe, Muncie, and Mrs. Elizabeth Hayes, Detroit, and two sons, Leo and Pat, both of Detroit.

The body will remain at 805 South Adams Street pending completion of funeral rites.

Record of Death, Grant county

Henry Hanley, May 5, 1943, Retail Merchant, Coal and Grocery, Male, White, Widowed, 77. Grant Memorial Park, Needham and son, Cerebral Hemorrhage, Pierre J. Fisher, MD
Marion General Hospital (1901 S. meridian) May 1, 1866, Toronto, Canada, Patrick Hanley, Ireland, Rosetta Killey, Ireland, Mrs. Terbine Gossett, Inf.

Henry Hanley is my Great-Great Grandfather. His Find a Grave memorial is located here.

Follow Friday - DAR Website

2012-01-27T05:14:00.000-05:00

For more than a year I have been diligently working on my DAR application. Both my 3rd great-grandfather, Thomas Botkin and my 4th great-grandfather, Hugh Botkin, served in the Revolutionary War and I have been trying to pull together all the documentation I need to prove my lineage.

While I've had help from the wonderful people of the William Tuffs Chapter of the DAR here in Indiana, one of the best sources of information for me has been the applications on file with the DAR that have already proven lineage of my ancestors.

You can find these on the DAR site. Just follow this link and click on the Ancestor Tab. Here you can search by the surname of your ancestors to see if perhaps lineage has already been proven! If you find an application on file you can order it for $10.00 and download it immediately!

You can use this information in two ways:

1. If an ancestor down the line has already been proven you will only need to prove your link to that person. In my case both Thomas and Hugh have been proven but I need to prove my link to my 2nd great-grandfather Isaac and his link to his father Thomas.

2. I've been able to use the information in these applications to track down the original sources they used. One of the applications that I ordered had proven the link of Isaac's brothers to his father Thomas. I can obtain and use this same source and use it as proof of Isaac's parentage.

If you suspect you may have a Revolutionary Soldier in your family be sure and use the search feature on the Ancestor Tab. You never know what you may find!

Thrifty Thursday - FREE Webinar with Ol' Myrt!

2012-01-26T05:05:00.000-05:00

On Monday, Jan 30, 2012 at 10 p.m. EST join Ol' Myrt for a FREE online webinar entitled Google Reader UPDATE.

Here is Myrt's description of the webinar.

It's about time you used GOOGLE READER to pull in posts from your favorite genealogy bloggers. Since our last webinar on this topic, the good folks at Google changed their interface. This "workshop" webinar will demo in real time how to set up Google Reader with five basic blog feeds and create folders among other options of this free service.

You've been meaning to get your blog reading better organized, so SIGN UP NOW!

How to Ask for a Memorial Transfer on Find A Grave

2012-01-25T05:54:00.000-05:00

Last week I wrote about the correct procedure to ask for corrections and additions to be made to a Find A Grave memorial that you do not manage. But what if you would like the volunteer to transfer ownership of a memorial they created? What are the correct steps to follow in this situation?

1. First, determine if you really need the memorial transferred to you for management. Remember that additions and corrections can be made through Suggest a Correction. Simply having someone in your family tree is not grounds to ask for a management transfer request.

2. The guidelines for a transfer request is for direct relatives within four generations. This would be your siblings, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Requests for these types of transfers will be granted. If the memorial manager refuses just send an email to edit at Find A Grave and they will make the transfer for you.

3. Transfers outside of four generations are at the discretion of the memorial manager. When asking for this type of transfer be sure to be polite and always explain your relationship to the deceased. Keep in mind that the original contributor may also be related to the memorial.

4. Finally, please note that it is not appropriate to request a transfer, then after receiving it, delete the original memorial and substitute with a new one you have created. This practice is against Find A Grave rules and will get you a "time out" or banned from the site.

What do I do if I request a transfer out of the four generation guideline and it is denied? This is when I either create a virtual cemetery or add the memorial to one I have already created.

What is a Virtual Cemetery? I'll cover that feature and its uses next week.

Tombstone Tuesday - Terbina Gertrude Hanley Gossett

2012-01-24T05:42:00.000-05:00

Terbina HANLEY was born 6 Jul 1908 in Marion, Grant, Indiana to Henry Harry HANLEY and Grace Helen JACKSON.

On 4 Jun 1927 in Grant County, Indiana she married Dillard Jennings GOSSETT. Together they had at least three daughters.

Sadly, on 9 Jun 1943 in Grant County Terbina died of kidney failure at the young age of 34. She is buried in Grant Memorial Park, Marion, Indiana along side her parents.

Mystery Monday - Can You Help Date This Photo?

2012-01-23T05:39:00.000-05:00

2012-01-22T05:08:00.002-05:00

Sentimental Sunday – Henry HANLEY – “Hand over the Shotgun”

Yet another story from my infamous HANLEY ancestors! This story is about my Great-Great Grandfather, Henry HANLEY. He is the father of Leo (The Baby in the Basket), Elizabeth (My Mother the Nun) and Harry (Youth’s Tragic Death).

In 1933 the United States Government called in the gold via executive order by President Roosevelt.

See the Gold Confiscation Order of April 3, 1933 here.

My G-G Grandfather Henry, however, refused to turn in his gold coins. Instead he took himself down to the corner bar in Marion, Indiana and attempted to pay for his drinks using a gold coin. When the bartender refused to accept the coin as payment Grandpa Henry went back home and retrieved his shotgun.

Returning to the bar my 67 year old Grandfather made his displeasure known by shooting several holes in the ceiling. I’m told this did make the local newspaper although I haven’t found the article. If you are reading this and you live in Marion, Indiana please contact me!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 3 - Free Online Genealogy Tools

2012-01-21T05:06:00.003-05:00

It's week 3 of Amy Coffin's 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy prompts.

Week 3 - Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?

My favorite Free Online Genealogy tool is the Soldiers and Sailors website. I can currently count 43 of my ancestors that fought in the Civil War, both on the Union and Confederate sides. I found all of them listed on the Soldiers and Sailors website. Brothers and cousins fought alongside each other often in the same unit. By finding one of my ancestors on the site and then searching the unit they were in, I can trace families.

The website, a collaboration of the National Park Service and public and private partners, contains over 6.3 million soldiers names from the National Archives. Besides the names, the site includes information about the Regiments and the battles they fought in.

If you are searching for your own Civil War ancestors or you are just a Civil War buff, be sure and check out the site!

Follow Friday - Archives.gov - Get 1940 Census Ready!

2012-01-20T05:49:00.000-05:00

In 72 days the 1940 Federal Census will be released and I plan to be ready!

Archives.gov has everything you need to know about the 1940 census, how to start your search, what finding aids are available and the coolest videos about the census including the one below:

How to Suggest a Correction on Find A Grave

2012-01-19T05:52:00.000-05:00

I have been a member of Find A Grave for almost 4 years now. In that time I have found the final resting place of hundreds of my ancestors on the site.

Usually when I find a listing on Find A Grave I have additional information I would like added to the memorial. Over the years I have read countless complaints both on the Find A Grave discussion boards and in other forums on the web about Find A Grave members who don't make the suggested changes and additions that have been requested.

Often these complaints arise because the person making the suggestion has not read the FAQ's on the site and isn't following the correct procedure. Frustration sometimes leads to name calling and other unnecessary and counter-productive behaviors.

Here is the correct way to suggest a correction:

Step 1: Open the memorial you would like to suggest changes or additions to.
Step 2: Look on the upper right corner of the memorial and find the "Edit" tab.
Step 3: Select the Edit tab to open a new window that lists actions you can take with the memorial.
Step 4: Select the first choice "Suggest a Correction or Provide Additional Information".
Step 5: Check the cc: "Send me a Copy of this Email" box.
Step 6: Be sure and thank the Find A Grave volunteer who created this memorial and then list the changes and additions you would like made.
Step 7: Sign the email and list your Find A Grave member number (this number is found next to your name on your member page--find your name on the left hand panel and click on it to open this screen)

That is how to correctly suggest changes and additions to a memorial. This way the links to the memorial are provided to the creator making it easy to make the changes and insuring they are made to the right memorial.

Here are some DONT'S when asking for changes:

1. Don't demand the changes and additions be made. Remember we are all volunteers on this site.
2. Don't email the changes directly to the member. Not everyone checks their email on a consistent basis.
3. Don't request the changes on their public member page. Same reason as above.

If the changes you request are not made after 30 days, send a copy of the email you sent (that is why you ALWAYS check the "send me a copy of this email" box) to edit at Find A Grave. They will make the changes for you.

What if you would like the memorial transferred to your ownership instead of just asking for changes? I'll cover the correct procedure for that next week.

Stop SOPA

2012-01-18T05:35:00.000-05:00

Tombstone Tuesday - Never Use Concrete to Repair a Tombstone!

2012-01-17T05:28:00.002-05:00

This story is a PERFECT example of why you should NEVER use concrete to repair a tombstone.

I have been working along with my mother and my cousin Dee Dee to repair tombstones in an old cemetery in the woods in Wabash County, Indiana. On our last trip we were resetting stones and making repairs to those that had broken.

This stone is one we have wondered about for awhile:

It just seemed like an awful large stone to have sunk so far into the ground.....then my cousin had one of those "ah ha" moments! Months before we had found part of a stone further in the woods. She thought maybe the markings on that piece matched this stone. She and her friend went into the woods and brought the large stone out and set it next to this one.

A perfect match!

We were so excited! My husband got a shovel and began to carefully dig around the set stone so we could repair the break and make the stone whole again! But he quickly ran into a problem....the stone in the ground had been rest in concrete.

There is no way to repair this stone now without doing further damage. My heart sank.

The person who set the stone in concrete believed they were doing the right thing. I'm sure they thought the other part of the stone was lost forever. If only they had just reset the stone in pea gravel and dirt.

When making repairs please be sure that all repairs you make are reversible. The products we use can all be removed in the future without doing any damage to the stones. If they fall over again they will break in the same place and not cause further breaks. The epoxy can be carefully scraped off and replaced with new.

William Spradling's stone was from 1852. How I wish we could have made it whole again.....

Mystery Monday - Can You Help Date This Photo?

2012-01-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Sentimental Sunday – Elizabeth Hanley – “My Mother the Nun”

2012-01-15T05:02:00.001-05:00

This is another of my HANLEY family stories. This one is about my Great Grand Aunt Elizabeth HANLEY, sister of Leo (father of The Baby in The Basket).

When Aunt Elizabeth was 13 she entered Sisters of Providence of St. Mary’s of The Woods in Terre Haute, Indiana in order to become a nun. She really wanted to be a teacher but sometime between the age of 13 and 19 she got sick and lost most of her hearing.

Fearing that her dream would not come true she left the convent and worked as a maid in Detroit, Michigan. When she was 36 she met Theodore HAYES, married him and had two sons.

In the 1970’s, after her sons were grown and her marriage had ended, Aunt Elizabeth went back to the convent, took her vows and became Sister Virginia Clare.

She passed away in Detriot, Michigan in 1981.

Follow Friday - Obit Kit

2012-01-13T05:10:00.001-05:00

Back in October my Uncle died unexpectedly.

In addition to having to deal with overwhelming shock, my Aunt found herself in the position of having to make many decisions very quickly.

There was the decision of what funeral home to call, who needed to be notified, how to get the children home from college, where to purchase a burial plot (here or in Utah), what was the amount of his life insurance and where was the policy, etc....

The one thing I remember from that terrible Sunday morning was the funeral home coming for my Uncle's body and telling my Aunt as they were leaving "we will need information for an obit". This was more than she could handle at the time. How to write an obit when the death was so unexpected?

I vowed right then that my husband and I would prepare our final wishes this year so that our children, or surviving spouse, would not have to make them during their time of grief. This includes writing our own obits.

On Friday, October 21, on Geneabloggers radio, Thomas had Susan Soper on as a guest. She is the author of Obit Kit - A Guide to Celebrating Your Life. Before the program ended I had ordered Susan's book. It's a great guide to making your end of life decisions including not only your obit but what you would like included in your funeral or memorial service.

I know it sounds creepy to some, but for me, taking care of these details myself is like leaving a final, loving gift for my family.

Thrifty Thursday - GeneaWebinars

2012-01-12T05:29:00.000-05:00

As I discussed in my last Thrifty Thursday post, I take advantage of as many FREE educational opportunities as I can as a way to stretch my genealogy dollars.

One of my favorite sites to visit is GeneaWebinars. Created by Pat Richley-Erickson otherwise known as Ol' Myrt of Dear Myrtle Genealogy Blog, the site was designed as one space to organize all the genealogy webinars on the internet. It's a one stop shop for those of us looking to further our genealogy education from the comfort of our home and/or those of us watching our budgets.

The calendar on this site lists tons of webinars available and marks those that are FREE! For example, on the January 2012 calendar, 10 webinars are listed. Everything from "How to Make Money from your Genealogy Blog" to "Kentucky Genealogy Crash Course".

To make sure you don't miss any upcoming Webinars be sure to click the + Google Calendar button on the lower right corner of the GeneaWebinars calendar and this will add the webinars to your personal Google Calendar!

Thrifty and organized! That's a double win!

Wordless Wednesday - Prague

2012-01-11T06:24:00.000-05:00

Our oldest son (20) arrived in Prague this morning to begin his January term of studies for College. Over the next few weeks he will travel around the Czech Republic studying the facets of business for the "snow industry".

How I wish I could have joined him on this journey!

In 1922 my husband's Grandmother Julia Marie Dolakova, along with a friend, immigrated from Czechoslovakia to New York City in search of a better life. She was 19 years old.

Julia was the mother of five children including my mother-in-law. In 1982 she died tragically in a fire in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was 79.

I only met Nanny once. But I would love someday to see where she came from.

Tombstone Tuesday - Lillian Grace Hanley Sutton

2012-01-10T05:51:00.001-05:00

Lillian Grace Hanley SUTTON is the daughter of Henry Harry HANLEY and Grace Helen Jackson HANLEY. The oldest daughter of 4 children, Lillian was born in Marion, Grant, Indiana. On 3 Sep 1927 in Grant County, Lillian married James Richard SUTTON.

She and Richard are buried in Grant Memorial Park in Marion, Indiana.

Mystery Monday - Can You Help Date This Photo?

2012-01-09T05:39:00.000-05:00

Sentimental Sunday - The Baby In The Basket - Jack HANLEY

2012-01-08T05:58:00.000-05:00

My mom has lots of stories regarding our infamous HANLEY relatives. This is one of my favorites.

Immigrants from Ireland, they settled in Canada but frequently crossed the border into Detriot. Some of the family eventually made their way down to Marion in Grant County, Indiana. Regardless of where they ended up there is no doubt that the entire family was a group of lovable characters.

This is the story of Jack HANLEY. He arrived in a basket on the doorstep of my great grand uncle Leo HANLEY and his second wife Ruth Ruggles Laing HANLEY at their home in Detriot.

Ruth always said that Jack was Leo's child from a "relationship". We really don't know for sure. Ruth died in 1943 and Leo in 1953. I don't know what became of Jack. He is a brick wall for our family. All I have is one photo of him with Uncle Leo.

That's Jack, the sweet baby in the basket. If there are any HANLEY ancestors out there that know more about Jack's story, please contact me. I'm hoping for a happy ending for this little boy.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 1 - Blogs

2012-01-07T05:30:00.000-05:00

Week 1 of Amy Coffin's new blogging series, 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, is all about blogs. Here is the prompt:

Blogging is a great way for genealogists to share information with family members, potential cousins and each other. For which blog are you most thankful for? Is it one of the earliest blogs you read, or a current one? What is special about the blog and why should others read it?

The irony for me is that the blog I am most thankful for is Amy's! We Tree was the first blog I read and the one that got me thinking about starting my own blog. With Amy's encouragement I wrote my first blog post almost two years ago!

Blogging has introduced me to cousin's I didn't know about and a genealogy community I am proud to be a part of. On my google reader I subscribed to over 100 genealogy blogs! It would be impossible for me to choose a favorite.

But the blog I'm most thankful for is easy.......The We Tree Genealogy Blog.

Follow Friday - Southern California Genealogical Society

2012-01-06T05:36:00.000-05:00

So why is girl from the Hoosier state excited about following the Southern California Genealogical Society website? Because of the Jamboree Extension Series of course!

As a follow up to the popular extension series of 2011 the 2012 series will begin tomorrow, January 7th, with the FREE webinar "Me and My Laptop: Getting the Most Out of Your Laptop While Researching Onsite" presented by Linda Woodward Geiger. The description says:

"Tips for making onsite research more efficient and productive using DropBox (or similar cloud) in conjunction with spreadsheets, word processing programs, genealogy software, and more."

Count me in! If you want to register for the webinar follow the link here.

To see the complete listing of webinars click here.

Thrifty Thursday - Free January Webinars!

2012-01-05T05:08:00.000-05:00

There is nothing thriftier than FREE and I love all the free webinars available to genealogists!

In January alone I will attend 3 webinars.

Yesterday I spent my lunch hour attending the Legacy Family Tree Webinar "Digital Books and Sites for Genealogists" presented by James Tanner of Genealogy's Star blog. If you missed it, no worries, it should be available to listen to FREE for the next 10 days at this link.

On Monday, January 9th, I'll come home from work, make dinner, change into my p.j.'s and hop on my laptop at 7pm EST to attend the webinar "Introduction to the 1940 Federal Census" presented by Constance Potter and the Friends of the National Archives Southeast Region. To sign up for the webinar follow this link.

Finally, on Tuesday, January 10th I'll follow the same schedule as Monday and tune in at 8pm EST to attend Thomas MacEntee's webinar entitled "10 Ways to Jump Start Your Genealogy in 2012" sponsored by the Illinois State Genealogical Society. To register follow this link.

If you are looking to increase your knowledge while watching your budget, be sure to check out all the FREE educational opportunities on the web!

Wordless Wednesday - Organized Genealogy Files

2012-01-04T05:46:00.001-05:00

Back in November, over at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, I attended a webinar presented by Mary Hill entitled "FamilyRoots Organizer System". Over Christmas break I implemented the color coding system with GREAT results! This is just a small sample of what I was able to accomplish!

The webinar is now available to purchase for $9.95 by following the link here.

Tombstone Tuesday - Charles Augustus Hanley

2012-01-03T05:16:00.000-05:00

Charles Augustus HANLEY

Charles, oldest child of Henry and Mary Jessie Patterson HANLEY, was born 30 May 1887 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In 1894, at age 7, Charles immigrated to the United States along with his parents and siblings.

He married Anna Elizabeth PURTEE circa 1907. In 1908 son Howard Samuel was born and in 1910 daughter Lucille Evelyn joined the family.

12 Apr 1935 at the age of 47, Charles died in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. He is buried in Estates of Serenity Cemetery in Marion, Grant, Indiana.

Mystery Monday - Can You Help Date This Photo?

2012-01-02T04:56:00.001-05:00

The ancestors in this photo are unidentified and I'm trying to determine what year it may have been taken. Can you help?

**This is one of a handful of photos found in an album among the possessions of Clyde Arthur BRANE (1881-1972), grandson of Daniel and Mariah Anderson BRANE. The name on the outside of the album reads Mariah Anderson BRANE.

Genealogy Goals for 2012

2012-01-01T11:26:00.000-05:00

It's the first day of a new year, the perfect time for setting goals! But first, a quick review. I only set 3 goals for 2011….did I complete them?

Goal #1 Finish scanning the pile of papers sitting on the floor by my bed. I'm 3/4 of the way done, I just have to take it into the home stretch! Mission Accomplished!

Goal #2 Leave a comment on, at least, 5 blog posts each day. I appreciate each and every comment I receive on this blog and want to be sure I am returning the favor. I'm inspired by genealogy blog postings everyday....I just need to say so. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t accomplish this goal. I read many blogs a day but reading them on my smartphone makes commenting a challenge. I’m moving this goal to 2012.

Goal #3 Begin organizing my genealogy files for the new file cabinet. I was tempted to say complete this process but I know once I begin digging into some of those files I will get sidetracked. A little genealogy ADD will probably set in. It's a little disorder which I suffer from, from time to time! Mission Accomplished! I can’t wait to show you how organized my cabinet is!

In 2012 I plan on:

· - Attending my first National Genealogy Conference (NGS in May)

· - Complete my DAR application and join my local DAR chapter

· - Schedule my blog postings ahead of time

· - Record more family stories

· - Write my own obit

· - Comment on those blogs I read!

I’m off to my Google Reader now to see what you have planned for 2012. I’m sure what I find will inspire me! (and I'll be sure to leave a comment)!

Thankful Thursday - I'm so thankful for the doctors......

2011-12-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

As I write this post my Mother-in-Law is undergoing a double bypass surgery.

I am so thankful for the doctors who found the problem, for the medical knowledge available to repair the damage and to the entire medical community at Memorial Hospital in South Bend for taking loving care of her for us.

I'm grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers both Jan and our family have received these last few days.

Mostly I'm thankful that among the gifts we will receive this holiday season, the best gift of all, will be having Jan home with us for Christmas. Nothing else can compare.

Thankful Thursday - Free Genealogy Education

2011-12-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

It might seem a silly thing to be thankful for but with two sons in college at the same time my dollars are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d thin these days!

But that doesn't stop me from taking advantage of many genealogy learning opportunities available. I just look for those with a price tag to fit my current budget.....FREE!

I did a quick look back at all the learning resources online in the past year that I have taken advantage of and am blown away! Keep in mind these are just the ones I can remember (this middle age brain isn't what it use to be!)

I have listened to:

12 Legacy Family Tree Webinars
3 Explorinars by Thomas MacEntee
1 Ancestry.com Webinar
1 class on the Civil War recorded by Yale Univeristy
1 PBS Documentary on the War of 1812 available online
Countless Friday nights listening to Geneabloggers Radio
Many Podcasts of Genealogy Gems

Not to mention all I've learned from the 100+ genealogy blogs that I follow! And the year isn't over yet! I still have two more Webinars I am registered for in December!

All this FREE education has allowed me to save my genealogy education dollars for my first national genealogy conference - NGS in Cincinnati in May!

Today I am so thankful for all of you in the genealogy community who share your expertise with all of us. The price tag may be free but it is PRICELESS to me.

Wordless Wednesday - Just Sayin'

2011-11-30T16:33:00.000-05:00

Happy 52nd Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad!

2011-11-22T06:41:00.000-05:00

I Met Dick Eastman!

2011-11-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

Some of you will remember this post when I met Tina Lyons in Fort Wayne. I talked about how corny I sounded when introducing myself to Tina. Well,......I may have been even worse yesterday.

Each year the Elkhart County Genealogical Society brings in a speaker for their Fall Workshop. This year it was Dick Eastman. Before the session started I went over to introduce myself and asked for a picture. Here it is:

Luckily this photo doesn't show the extent of my "geekness" but trust me folks.....it was present in full force.

I'm headed to NGS in May in Cincinnati and between now and then I really need to work on my "cool" quotient.

Oh my heavens that's going to take a lot of work.

Tombstone Tuesday - Hezekiah's Stone Is Repaired!

2011-11-01T10:08:00.000-04:00

Well, mostly......
Here is the before:

And here is the after:

We still have to return in the Spring to fill in the cracks. But we were so excited to see it cleaned up and standing on it's own again!

Here are a few photos of the process:

First we had to remove the old adhesive from a previous repair.

Here is my cousin Dee Dee with the stone soon after the new epoxy was applied.

Waiting for the epoxy to set. It took awhile because it was COLD out!

Here, again, is the after. Once we had the stone cleaned we could see all the beautiful details on it!

Hezekiah RINEARSON was born in 1832 in Indiana. He married Susan Stephens on 16 Apr 1855 in Huntington County, IN. They had four children, one daughter, Lucinda and three sons, Solomon, Erasmus and Marshall.

Hezekiah enlisted in the 47th Indiana Infantry and fought in the Civil War. He died on 16 Aug 1863 leaving Susan a widow with four young children. Sadly, 6 months after Hezekiah's death 17 month old Marshall died. He is buried with his father in America Cemetery, La Fontaine, Indiana.

And This Is Why I Have A Genealogy Blog.....

2011-10-28T11:20:00.000-04:00

Back in November 2010 we were doing some clean up work in America Cemetery and found the headstones for four boys, Abner, William, John and Wabeen Stevens. They all died under the age of 5 and were all the sons of Elijah and Permelia Stevens.

You can read the posting here....

We searched the rest of the cemetery and didn't locate their parents. I did some searching on Ancestry, Find A Grave, etc... and couldn't find what happened to the rest of the family and, especially their parents.

The sight of these four little stones just tugged at my heart and I desperately wanted to find the rest of their family.

What happened to their parents Elijah and Permelia has remained a mystery to me.....until today!

I received the following comment on that posting 11 months after it first appeared and this is what it said:

"Permelia and Elijah Stevens were my 2nd great grandparents. I just found their graves on FindAGrave.com listed under Elijah Stephens and Emelia Stephens at the Old LaFontaine Cemetery. Their last name was spelled Stephens on the death certificate of their daughter, Alice also. On a whim, I searched on the alternate spelling and couldn't believe I actually found them."

I can't believe she found them either! But I shouldn't be surprised. After all tomorrow morning I am headed two hours back to the cemetery to do more clean up work. A trip that has been planned for months.

Perfect timing? Strange coincidence? Or another instance of Cemetery Serendipity. I think you all know which one I think is at work here......

Wordless Wednesday - What Happens When Your Youngest Leaves For College

2011-10-26T05:12:00.000-04:00

You take over their spare closet.......

Boy will I miss all those piles by the side of my bed. LOL!

Church Treasures Recovered and Restored

2011-10-24T09:06:00.000-04:00

I just love this story. It takes place right here in my hometown and you can bet I will be making a visit to this church to view these historical records!

The Rev. Adelia Kelso, left, Les Lamon and Alma McClelland talk about the 19th-century books they found in a strongbox at First Presbyterian Church in South Bend. The restored books will be displayed at church Oct. 30. (South Bend Tribune Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES / October 11, 2011)

By MAY LEE JOHNSONSouth Bend Tribune Staff Writer

6:49 a.m. EDT, October 23, 2011

SOUTH BEND -- "What a shame," Alma McClelland thought to herself when she saw the condition of the handwritten books from the 19th century.

As excited as she was about the discovery in a Wells Fargo strongbox of this precious history of both the First Presbyterian Church and the community, its deteriorating condition was equally distressing.

McClelland, a 50-year member of the First Presbyterian Church of South Bend, looked at the yellowed and mildewed books, written by our pioneers, and was overcome by sadness.

But she and fellow volunteer Les Lamon started doing what needed to be done to restore the valuable history uncovered during the church's 175th anniversary in 2009.

Two years later, 10 volumes of church historical books have been professionally restored and will be on display for the public at the church's Reformation Sunday activities Oct. 30.

The history reveals the stories of important pioneers in their own handwriting.

"There is some interesting history in those books for our church, but there is community information, too," McClelland said. "We would be happy to share it with the community. All they have to do is stop by and see it."

But before the strongbox was uncovered, some digging was required by Lamon and McClelland.

Lamon, a retired history professor at Indiana University South Bend, had a hunch there was a treasure to be found in the church.

Here's how Lamon describes the process:

"I had heard stories that Schuyler Colfax (a local newspaper owner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and vice president of the United States from 1869-1873) was a member and knew that there were other folks important to the development of South Bend who had been members.

"I wanted to see if I could substantiate these stories. But, as we searched through the material a box at a time, we could not find any of the original minute books from those 19th-century years.

"Several members and church staff looked throughout the church offices and Alma and I inquired of other longtime members as to the whereabouts of the missing records.

“We got nowhere for a long time. Then I decided to move a lot of loosely stacked boxes and stacks of paper in the very back floor of the vault against a filing cabinet containing the records of a long-running series of turkey dinners.

“I found a 19th-century Wells Fargo strongbox, not unlike that seen in movies aboard a stagecoach fleeing from Wild West bad guys. I showed Alma what I found and we both made jokes about what kind of treasure it might hold.

“However, the galvanized steel box attracted moisture, which brought the twin threats of mold and mildew. These handwritten books were crumbling and could soon become illegible.”

Lamon knew several local foundations that might be interested in preserving the material. He applied and received a $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo Foundation.

The restoration was done by Etherington Conservation Services of North Manchester, Ind.

Meanwhile, the Rev. Adelia Kelso, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, was awestruck by the discovery.

“When I first opened up a book containing the written words, and the actual handwriting, of First Presbyterian’s history, I suddenly knew that it was my history — for the history of Presbyterian Christians, no matter where they come from, is my history, too,” Kelso said.

“It took my breath away. It felt as though I were standing on the shoulders of those elders of long past, smelling the horses and seeing the tiny, wee town, and I was awed by their perseverance in the faith, commitment to Reformed/Presbyterian theology, love and devotion that fostered a disciplined life and an understanding that obeying God meant simply receiving his love and offering that same love to their neighbor.”

The congregation and guests can see the restored books firsthand at the special Reformation Sunday Service and Reception.

In honor of the Presbyterian Church’s Scottish heritage, a reception will be held in the Social Hall of First Presbyterian Church, 333 W. Colfax Ave., South Bend, following the 10:45 a.m. worship Oct. 30, Reformation Sunday.

Staff writer May Lee Johnson:
mjohnson@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6326

Slavery resolution
Among the 19th-century items of local interest discovered in a strongbox at First Presbyterian Church was a document, dated Dec. 13, 1848, and billed as a resolution on slavery to the (Presbyterian) General Assembly from the Presbyterian Church of South Bend.

In a point-by-point statement drawn up during a session at the “house of Mr. Chapin,” the local group writes that “slavery as it exists in the Southern Presbyterian Church is a crying sin.” The resolution also takes to task the “highest judiciary of the church” for failing to take a stand against slavery.

Follow Friday - You Tube

2011-10-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

My Follow Friday post is a bit different this week. I'm going to suggest everyone take a look at YouTube!

I was on YouTube doing a search for a particular interview and was just amazed at the amount of information posted on that site. On a whim I put in the search terms "Cemeteries, Wabash County, Indiana" and was shocked to find the video below. It was posted in May of 2009 and is a video of what is left of the Indian burial ground at White's Institute in Wabash County, Indiana.

This is a cemetery I've been meaning to visit but haven't had a chance yet to get there!

So give YouTube a try! Put in some search terms and see what you find. And be sure and leave a comment to share with us all!

What Is Your Story – What Is The Moment You Knew?

2011-10-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

I loved the posting this week on The Armchair Genealogist. Lynn Palermo wrote about the moment she knew she needed to make more time for her family and how that led to her interest in genealogy.

At the end of that posting, which you can read here, she asked the question "What is your story - what it the moment you knew?"

For me it was 1996 when my oldest child was in kindergarten. Here's my story....

My mother has been researching my family all my life. But I wasn't really interested in genealogy until my oldest son brought a simple worksheet home from kindergarten. His assignment was to fill out his Family Tree. The tree was very small and only asked for parents and grandparents names.

This was when I discovered that my husband did not know all of his grandparents names.

I just couldn't imagine that! I could not only recite my grandparents, and my great-grandparents but I knew if I wanted to go further back my mother could fill in the blanks.

But for my husband he only knew the first and married names of his maternal and paternal grandmothers. He did not know the names of his grandfathers or the maiden names of his grandmothers. I was stunned.

This is when my research into my husband's family tree began. And it has been a challenge! While I do now know the names of all his grandparents and his great-grandparents, his paternal grandfather remains my biggest brick wall. He disappears from the family in the 1940's and what happened to him after that remains a mystery.

This project to discover my husbands ancestors tripped the "genealogy switch" inside of me and has fueled my passion for this field. I have since become deeply interested in the Civil War and in particular the Indiana units. It has led me to become trained and pursue Cemetery Restoration and Preservation. Mostly it has introduced me to fellow researchers all over the world whom I connect with everyday via social media and who challenge me to learn more and whose stories I love to hear.

So I'll ask the same question as Lynn......What is your story?

GeneaBloggers Radio - Bring Out Your Dead!

2011-10-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

Last night I experienced something new....I was a guest on GeneaBloggers Radio talking about Cemetery Preservation and Restoration! Also on the show was Brett Atlas from RestingSpot.com. Brett gave a very interesting overview of his new Smart Phone App and it's use in genealogy. I can't wait to try it out!

Prior to my segment I was hanging out in the chat room, where all the "cool" kids are, not feeling very nervous.....until my phone rang and Thomas was on the other end of the line. Suddenly I went from just chatting with online friends to a feeling of terror! Hahahaha! But it passed quickly. Thomas is so kind and he was right, it was just like a conversation among friends.

I want to thank Thomas again and everyone on the boards. I love talking about cemeteries and there aren't many people in my "real" life who truly understand my passion!

If you have an interest in cemeteries here are a couple of resources you'll want to check out.

Gravestonestudies.org
Graveyardgroomers.com
A Graveyard Preservation Printer by Lynette Strangstad. Available through Amazon.com

And if you missed last nights episode you can listen to it online below.

Listen to internet radio with GeneaBloggers on Blog Talk Radio

Wednesday's Child - Nellie Unknown

2011-10-12T05:19:00.001-04:00

We found this stone for Nellie while working in Boundary Line Cemetery in La Fontaine, IN.

I can't read the line beneath Nellie's name which probably states who her parents are. All I know is that Nellie died on 3 Apr 1886 and was only 1 day old. Most likely she died in Wabash County, IN. Her stone is among a few just left leaning on other stones so I can't even tell where she is buried in the cemetery.

I'll need to do further research at the courthouse and in the newspaper to try and determine Nellie's last name.

Until then she remains Nellie Unknown.

Thrilling Thursday - I'm Really Going!!!

2011-10-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

It's settled, it's decided, it's written on my calendar in INK!

I am going to the National Genealogical Society Family History Conference 2012! It is being held in Cincinnati, OH May 9-12, 2012. Not only that but I'm going with not one but two of my genealogy friends! The road trip from South Bend, Indiana to Cincinnati, Ohio will take us 4 1/2 hours. By the time we arrive our stomachs will ache from all that laughing!

I'm so excited and can't wait for more details!

So what about you? Are you going to NGS 2012? Have you attended a national conference before or will this be your first?

For more information as it becomes available be sure to follow the NGS Conference News Blog 2012.

Wordless Wednesday - William T. Botkin

2011-09-28T07:24:00.000-04:00

Born: 9 Jan 1842 - Randolph County, Indiana

Died 5 Feb 1863 - St. Louis, MO (Age 21)

69th Indiana Infantry - Company D

Tombstone Tuesday - Cemetery Restoration Training

2011-09-27T05:56:00.000-04:00

I have had so many wonderful comments on my post Tombstone Tuesday - Genealogy Serendipity regarding the restoration of Rebecca CAROTHER's gravestone. Along with those comments came some questions as to how I was allowed to do this type of restoration in a cemetery in Indiana. Great question! I'd love to share the answer here.

In the state of Indiana there are laws regarding what you can and cannot do in a cemetery. I assume each state has its own set of rules but I will just be dealing with Indiana law in this post. To read the complete list of laws for Indiana click here.

Here is a list of some things that aren't against the law but I really wish you wouldn't do!
- Take rubbings of any kind on an old stone
- Use chalk or shaving cream to try and read a stone better
- Use bleach or any other household cleaner in an attempt to clean a stone

In order to do the work I did in Boundary Line I had to complete the following requirements:

1. I had to take the Beginning Restoration class in Indianapolis in May. This was a two day class taught in conjunction with the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Indiana Historical Society. Since I am located in South Bend I had to pay not only for the class but also for hotel, food and travel expenses. But the value of that class is priceless! And to meet others also interested in cemetery preservation was so much fun!

2. I had to return to Indianapolis in August to take the Advanced Restoration class which provided us with hands on experience in repairing, locating and resetting stones in an old, historical cemetery.

3. I had to get permission from the cemetery owner to do the work. In this case it was Boundary Line Church. However, I will be back in Wabash County in October in another cemetery which is owned by Liberty Township. In that case I had to get permission from the Township Trustee.

4. I had to get permission from the private land owner. This, again, was Boundary Line Church. However, for October it is the farmer whose property that cemetery is located on.

5. Once I had completed the above steps, I had to file for a permit with the Director of Special Initiatives, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Department of Natural Resources, DNR. They reviewed my training and the permissions I had obtained and issued a permit. I must carry that permit on me while performing the work in order to be in compliance with Indiana law.

So, you see, there was a lot of work done before I was ever able to receive the permit! But it was all worth it to fix Rebecca's stone. And not only would I do it again but I will be in October! This time in America Cemetery, La Fontaine, Indiana. Joining me on that adventure will, once again, be my husband, mom, dad and my "cousin" Dee Dee. The focus of our work that day will be this stone:

Hezekiah Rinearson served in the Civil War with the 47th Indiana Infantry, Company G. He died at home on 16 Aug 1863 at the age of 31. His stone certainly needs to be repaired. Who knows what serendipity may come our way!

Tombstone Tuesday - Genealogy Serendipity Strikes Again!

2011-09-20T05:08:00.001-04:00

This is the stone for my relative Albert O. SCOTT. It is located in Boundary Line Cemetery in La Fontaine, IN and is, as you can see, in great need of repair.

Saturday morning I traveled with my husband and parents 2 hours south to attempt to fix Albert's stone. We planned ahead bringing a car full of tools to tackle the cleaning and resetting.

When we arrived at the cemetery we quickly realized that while we could clean his stone, we would not be able to reset it like we planned. We will need to construct a new base first which we were not prepared to do on Saturday.

Not wanting to waste the mix we brought with us we turned our attention to this stone:

This stone is for Rebecca CAROTHERS. Rebecca is not a relative of ours but since we had what we needed to fix her stone we decided to go ahead and clean and reset her marker.

Here she is looking good again! I just knew Rebecca was sending us her thanks!

Once we accomplished this task and cleaned a couple of other relatives stones we headed to the BP Station for lunch. One thing to note about Boundary Line Cemetery is that it is located in a rural area. Very rural! The BP Station is the only place in town to wash up and grab something to eat.

After lunch we returned to the cemetery to complete our work for the day. Just as we were packing up a van pulled up to the cemetery. We all stopped to stare as having any vehicle pass by was a rarity much less to have one stop!

Out jumps a couple who ask "Is this Boundary Line Cemetery"? My mom replied "Yes". "Oh good"! They said....".we are from Oregon and made this detour on our travels to try and locate my Great - Grandmothers headstone." "What is her name"? my mother asked. Their reply?

Rebecca CAROTHERS.........

So while we thought we were coming to fix up Albert's stone, Ms. Rebecca had others plans for us that day. She wanted to be clean and standing tall for her relatives who were coming to visit her that afternoon!

Glad we could be of assistance Rebecca.

Here is Rebecca with her Great - Grandson and his wife.

And another story for Genealogy Serendipity is in the books!

A Few Genealogy Challenges For You!

2011-09-15T05:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I completed the Genealogy Meme proposed by Becky Wiseman of Kinexxions and it got me thinking.

There are a couple of items not on the list that I see as important or growing more important in the genealogy community. So I'd like to propose a couple of items be added and I'm challenging you to try them yourself!

Attend an online Webinar (or Explorinar)
Few of us can afford to attend all the conferences we would like in order to hear all the speakers we would like to hear. Lucky for us we all have the opportunity to attend an online Webinar or Explorinar from the comfort of our own home and most times for FREE!

One of my favorite sources for free Webinars is Legacy Family Tree. This month alone they have featured free webinars by Thomas MacEntee, Paul Allen and Marian Pierre-Louis! Upcoming Webinars will feature Dan Lynch and Lisa Alzo. Just go to the Legacy website to register. If you can't attend the Webinar at its scheduled time, many are available to listen to for FREE for 10 days following the presentation. Most are also available for purchase.

You can also find a list of webinars by visiting the GeneaWebinars site.

Explorinars are a creation of Thomas MacEntee. He describes them as "A casual exploration of a website, an application or some other program that could be useful to genealogists and family historians. Explorinars are free and limited to 100 participants. There are no handouts so please take notes." I have attended a couple of these and find I really enjoy this format. It is strictly an hour long (perfect for my busy schedule) and while there are no handouts the interactive chat feature allows you to ask your questions in real time and receive real time answers! To find out about upcoming Explorinars keep an eye on the Genealogy Education tab on High-Definition Genealogy.

Join Google+
At first I didn't understand the reason for joining Google+. I have my Facebook page so why would I be interested in Google+? The answer is...for the circle feature! On my Google+ page I have created a circle for all my Genealogy friends. I love being able to go to one source to get updates on what they are doing or their latest posts. If you haven't been invited yet to join Google+ just leave a comment below. I have many invitations still to give.

To learn more about Google+ be sure to register for Dan Lynch's FREE Webinar "A Closer Look At Google+" on Wednesday, November 30th. Follow the link here.

Set up a Twitter account and Tweet Deck and follow your favorite genealogists
This is just plain fun! When I turn on my computer I open my Tweet Deck and all day long I receive the Tweets of some of my favorite peeps! A short list of those I follow include Thomas MacEntee, Tina Lyons, Megan Smolenyak, Miriam Robbins, Lynn Palermo, Cyndis List, Dick Eastman and Dear Myrtle herself!

I learned all about Twitter and Tweet Deck by attending Myrtle's FREE Webinar back in June. If you'd like to listen to the Webinar you can download it from Lulu here. Cost of the download is just $5.99.

So there are my three challenges to you. I hope you all pick one and give it a try. Maybe you have a challenge of your own you like me to take on. If you do let me know by leaving a comment below. I think I'm up for it!

A Genealogy Meme

2011-09-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

Back in 2009 Becky Wiseman of Kinexxions created this Genealogy Meme and now, two years later, it is making it's way around the blogging community again. Since I didn't participate the first time I can't compare how I'm doing but I can use it to develop a plan for the upcoming year!

So here we go.......

The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type

Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)

Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Belong to a genealogical society.
Researched records onsite at a court house.
Transcribed records.
Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents).
Joined Facebook.
Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
Attended a genealogy conference.
Lectured at a genealogy conference.
Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
Talked to dead ancestors.
Researched outside the state in which I live.
Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
Cold called a distant relative.
Posted messages on a surname message board.
Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
Googled my name.
Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
Have been paid to do genealogical research.
Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
Participated in a genealogy meme.
Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
Performed a record lookup for someone else.
Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
Found a disturbing family secret.
Told others about a disturbing family secret.
Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
Taught someone else how to find their roots.
Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
Disproved a family myth through research.
Got a family member to let you copy photos.
Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
Translated a record from a foreign language.
Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
Used microfiche.
Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
Taught a class in genealogy.
Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
Visited the Library of Congress.
Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
Can read a church record in Latin.
Have an ancestor who changed their name.
Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
Created a family website.
Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
Have broken through at least one brick wall.
Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
Use maps in my genealogy research.
Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
Visited the National Archives in Kew.
Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
Consistently cite my sources.
Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone. (I would NEVER do this, it might damage the stone!)
Organized a family reunion.
Published a family history book (on one of my families).
Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
Have done the genealogy happy dance.
Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
Offended a family member with my research.
Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts

And one of my own to add to the list:

105. Join the DAR

In summary, I have completed 53 items! Not bad. And I have identified 7 goals I would like to obtain in 2012:

1. Research records onsite at a court house.

2. Contribute to one of the genealogy carnivals.

3. Use a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.

4. Become a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.

5. Consistently cite my sources.

6. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.

7. Join the DAR

8. Attend NGS 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio!

Sounds like a great plan for 2012. I can't wait to get started!

Tombstone Tuesday - Julia A. Armstrong MCPHERSON

2011-09-13T05:00:00.001-04:00

Julia A. Armstrong MCPHERSON

Julia was born 17 Jul 1855, daughter of Joseph ARMSTRONG and Cynthia A. THOMPSON. On the 17 Feb 1870, at the age of 14 she married Walter Francis MCPHERSON.

On 1 Feb 1871 Julia gave birth to her son Claude MCPHERSON. On 1 Mar 1871 Claude died at the age of 1 month. One day later on 2 Mar 1871 Julia died at the age of 15.

They are buried together in Boundary Line Cemetery, La Fontaine, Indiana. Julia's Find A Grave memorial can be found here.

Military Monday - The Boys of the 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

2011-09-12T15:34:00.001-04:00

Henry C. Reynolds

(Photo Credit to Kathy Nixon, Find A Grave Volunteer)

Henry C. REYNOLDS was born 10 Jan 1842 in Wayne County, Indiana, the oldest son of Jesse and Rebecca REYNOLDS.

He enlisted in Company I, Indiana 69th Infantry Regiment and mustered in 19 Aug 1862. According to The History of Randolph County, Indiana by E. Tucker, Page 262, Henry died on a hospital boat in Memphis, Tennessee on 27 Feb 1863. He was 21 years old.

He is buried in Williamsburg Cemetery, Wayne County, Indiana. His Find A Grave Memorial can be found here.

Wordless Wednesday - Empty Nest.......

2011-09-07T09:02:00.000-04:00

First the youngest left for college.....

Then the oldest went back....

After 20 years my husband and I are experiencing the "empty nest".

Military Monday - The Boys of the 69th - Deserters

2011-08-29T09:48:00.001-04:00

The following is an excerpt from the book These Men Were Heros Once: The Sixty-Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Pages 101-102.

Headquarters 69th Ind. Vol Infantry

Youngs Point, LA, Feb. 13, 1863

General Order No. 17

The following named soldiers have been mustered on the Rolls of the 69 Regiment Ind. Vol. Infantry as Deserters.

Co. E.

Lieut. Francis French, Williamsburg
Thomas. H. Cadwalader, Lynn
David Mann, Lynn
Daniel Taylor, Williamsburg
Wm.F. Loe (Odle), Lynn
Daniel H. Miller, Williamsburg
Nathan Harris, Lynn
John. B. Longfellow, Lynn
John. R. Fisher, Lynn
Urbane (Albin) Baldwin, Lynn
Pleasant W. Bales, Lynn
Isaac N. Bales, Lynn
Curtis L. Neal, Lynn
Jesse Hodgins, Lynn
Mark Sclagle, Williamsburg

Baldwin, the two Bales, Neal and Hodgins deliberately deserted from the transports on the Mississippi River; the others never left the state with the regiment.

If you ancestor is named on the above list don't be so sure they actually deserted! Further research shows that:

Lieut. Francis French, Williamsburg was a member of the 69th, Company E. He enlisted August 1982 for a period of three years. He was promoted to 2nd LT and was taken prisoner at Richmond, KY, exchanged and resigned.

The History of Randolph County Indiana by E. Tucker page 256, shows William F. Odell 69th Regiment, Company E missing since battle of Richmond, KY, August 20, 1862. This proves that he did leave the state with his regiment contrary to what the report shows although he may have left his unit at or after the battle.

More research is needed to determine the true story of these soldiers.

Wordless Wednesday - Marilla Elma Scott Brane

2011-08-24T05:00:00.001-04:00

Marilla Elma Scott BRANE

Circa 1946

Marilla is my great-great grandmother. She was born 26 May 1862 in Wabash County, Indiana and died 21 Mar 1948 in Marion, Grant, Indiana.

Her Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

Tombstone Tuesday - Mary Jessie Patterson HANLEY

2011-08-23T05:00:00.000-04:00

(This photo was in a relatives papers)

Mary Jessie Patterson HANLEY is my great-great grandmother. She was born 24 May 1870 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. Her mother was Elizabeth and her father is unknown.

On 17 May 1886 at the age of 16 she married Henry Harry HANLEY in Hamilton. Over the next 16 years she gave birth to 13 children. "Jessie" tragically died on 23 Oct 1902 at the age of 32 in Alexandria, Madison, Indiana. Henry took her body back to Canada and she is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Burlington, Canada.

Jessie's Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

*Please refrain from chalking tombstones. It does not wash away with the next rain and can cause irreparable damage to the stone.

Military Monday - William Rhinehart COOMLER

2011-08-22T05:00:00.001-04:00

(Photo Courtesy of Eric Lowman)

William Rhinehart COOMLER was born 8 May 1841 in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio to Jacob and Mary Hoffman COOMLER. He was 9 of 12 children born to Jacob and Mary (6 of whom lived to adulthood).

On the 10 Jun 1861 he enlisted as a private and was mustered into Company G, 12th Ohio Infantry. On the 27 Aug 1862 he was shot in the face at Bull Run Bridge, Virginia. He was discharged for his wounds on 19 Jan 1863.

On 8 Aug 1863 he married Sarah Moore and together they had 12 Children. William died on 30 Mar 1926 at age 84 in Mentone, Kosciusko, Indiana. He is buried along with Sarah in Mentone Cemetery, Mentone, Indiana.

His Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

Sunday's Obituary - John Thomas Brane

2011-08-14T09:58:00.000-04:00

John Brane Dies At Farm Home

John Brane, a life-long resident of Liberty township, died at his home north of LaFontaine at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon following a five year's illness with sugar diabetis. During the past couple of years he had undergone four operations on his feet when gangreen set in and this caused his death. His last illness was of about a month's duration and he was brought to his home from the Wabash hospital two weeks ago.

He was born on a farm adjoining the one he died on March 28, 1861 and spent all his life, with exceptions of a couple of years in LaFontaine, on the farm.

He is survived by seven children, Clyde of Glendive, Mont.; Mrs. Pearl Stevens, South Bend; Mrs. Harold Hadley, Westfield; Mrs. Rhoda Hockett, Indianapolis; George, Marion; Ralph, LaFontaine and Charles of LaFontaine.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday from the Lincolnville, United Brethren church with the Rev. K.K. Merryman assisted by the Rev. J.F. Lutey of the LaFontaine, M.E. church. Burial will be made in Center Grove cemetery and grandsons will be pallbearers.

Circa 1934, newspaper unknown.

John Thomas Brane is my great-great grandfather. His daughter Florence preceded him in death in 1907. My great-great grandmother Marilla Elma Scott BRANE lived until 1948.

Follow Friday - World War II London Blitz Diary 1939-1945

2011-08-12T11:12:00.001-04:00

I have been following this fascinating blog written from a series of forty-three diaries written by Victoria's grandmother during the war.

The description of the blog World War II London Blitz Diary 1939-1945 grabbed my attention right from the start.

"I am the Great Granddaughter of Ruby Alice Thompson Side. I inherited forty-three diaries that span from 1909–1969. These diaries are personal experiences and opinions of Ruby's marriage and the war she lived through, often not knowing if her house would be the next target of destruction. I cannot imagine having to endure these experiences. Ruby was not able to express her opinions or feelings about either the war or her marriage except in the privacy of her Diary. Being able to do so was her saving grace. These are Ruby’s outpourings of her experience during the war Bliz bombings that she could not always speak about. Many of the things she says in today's world would be considered politically incorrect. In this very personal and historical account Ruby writes about her truth of the war and her marriage which she shares with no one but the diary. Some of her opinions will be disturbing to some people. To edit out Ruby's opinions would be a disservice to Ruby so her words will stand as she wrote them."

As genealogists I'm guessing we all have a love of history. This is a unique first hand accounting of what it was like to live during World War II and I look forward to each new post. I'm betting you will too......

A Cemetery Hero

2011-08-11T05:00:00.004-04:00

This is John.

John is just your average middle aged man who attend the Cemetery Restoration Workshop with his wife. But John saw something that day that disturbed him. You see, while Workshops have been held in this cemetery for the past three years and so much great restoration work has been done, one thing had not been corrected until John came along.

You see, sometime in the past, a couple of vandals came along and threw a stone over the fence and down the embankment. This picture will give you an idea of the terrain it was thrown in.

This hill is much steeper than you can see in this picture and the area is covered in poison ivy. Also, the stone was large. Due to it's size, the location and the manpower it would take to get this stone up the hill and over the fence, it had remained there. Walt, Micki, D.B and Bird were all aware the stone was there and all wanted to bring back up the hill. The stone is of a woman simply known at the time as "Martha". Until the team could figure out how to raise the stone she would remain at the bottom of the hill. That is until John came along.

Following lunch that day the hands-on portion of the restoration workshop began. John stood up, threw his lunch away, brushed off his hands and announced "that stone is coming up". And off John went.

First he gathered straps and pulleys and then John hopped over that fence. He rolled the stone as far up the hill as he could by himself and then he put together a system of straps and pulleys and began to move that stone up to the fence line. About this time Walt saw what John was doing and hurried over to help. Eventually the men set up the tripod and began working as a team to move the stone over the fence.

And that is exactly what they did.

Once they had it over the fence a group of volunteers worked to get it set back on its original base. I asked John to please step into the frame so that I could take his picture with Martha's stone. He hesitated and had to be convienced by those around to step into the photo. He didn't think he had done anything special. But I do.

John came to the workshop that morning just an ordinary man. But he left as my cemetery hero.

You can visit Martha's Find A Grave memorial here.

To read the entire series of the Cemetery Restoration Workshop click here for post 1 and here for post 2.

Wednesday's Child - George B. Stuck - Cemetery Restoration Part II

2011-08-10T05:00:00.001-04:00

You can read part one of my Cemetery Restoration Workshop here.

After lunch we were all encouraged to get our hands dirty and, under the direction of Walk, Micki, Bird and D.B, we should try our hands at restoring a stone. My mom, "cousin" DeeDee and I chose this stone:

It's the stone of 6 year old George B. Stuck who died in 1869. His stone was found, in pieces, buried in the corner of the cemetery along with a few others. Micki was able to determine the original location of his burial and we were to repair, clean and reset the stone in it's proper location. Following the directions given to us and under the watchful eye of D.B. we began the process.

Here is DeeDee cleaning the broken edges of the stone. This process is made easier using a drill with a nylon brush head.

Next we cleaned the broken edges to allow for good adhesion.

Then we dry fit the pieces together. As you can see, there is a gap where a piece of the stone is missing. However, all the information and writing on the stone is there. We will use aluminum netting and fill in this area with mortar.

Next we applied the epoxy.

And waited for it to set.

Then the real fun began. Cleaning. We used a combination of ammonia and water and the nylon brush head to clean off the dirt and grime.

Can you believe the difference! It came out so clean!

Next we took the stone back to it's original site and soon discovered why it had broken. Sometime in the past the stone had fallen over and someone had concreted it back into its slot. This is always a no-no! Don't use concrete to set a stone. This does not allow the stone to give if it is knocked over. Instead it will break as George's did. It would take too much time to chisel out all the concrete and reset the stone in its slot we instead we used a mastic.

Here you can clearly see the missing section that we needed to fill. The next step was to mix a mortar that would closely match the color of the cleaned stone. Sadly this is where I failed in my photography! I took the picture below after we filled in the void but failed to take one after the excess mortar was cleaned off the stone. But you get the idea.

Here the stone is again. Before and After.

Little George is once again at rest next to his brother John was also died as a child. And I feel great about what we were able to accomplish.

Tomorrow's post is entitled. A Cemetery Hero. Because that's how I see this man. I can't wait to tell this story.........

Tombstone Tuesday - Cemetery Preservation Workshop

2011-08-09T05:00:00.004-04:00

Saturday I traveled to Indianapolis to attend the Advanced Hands-On Cemetery Preservation Workshop sponsored by the Indiana Historical Society and the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, DNR.

We spent the day learning about how to reset stones, repair broken stones and how to find the original location of moved stones. And, as only a fellow graveyard rabbit would understand, I had a BLAST!!

First of all the presenters, Walt, Micki, D.B and Bird, are so much fun to learn from. They are passionate about cemetery restoration and eager to share their knowledge so that others can learn how to restore and preserve our cemeteries, and most importantly how to do no harm. I love the quote from Walt "It don't take a rocket scientist to do this, but it does take a heart. And I got one of them."

Walt, who owns, Graveyard Groomer, is what you might call....a character! Here he is below at the start of the morning explaining to the group the agenda for the day.

The first thing we learned was how to reset Stacked Monument/Oblelisks.

This is the stone Walt, D.B and Bird would be resetting. Notice the name SMITH on the bottom? Well, it is facing east. Also the husband's name is facing east and the wife's in on the other side facing west. Walt tells us that this is a sign that this monument has fallen in the past and someone has tried to repair it. How did he know that? Because it is stacked wrong! According to Walt, the name SMITH would have been facing West as people at this time were buried facing west so that when judgment day came they would be facing in the correct direction. If we looked around the cemetery we could see that that was true! Also, the husband's information should be on the left side of the monument and the wife's on the right. This is because the preacher "buried them as he married them". In addition to repairing the loose stone, they would be putting them back in their proper orientation.

The first step is to lift the top stone off. This is done using a tripod and a series of chains and straps all designed to do no damage to the stones.

Once the stone was removed we could see that, indeed, someone had tried to repair the stone in the past. They has used concrete but it had not adhered properly allowing the stone to "walk" off it's base. Most likely this was due to not cleaning or wetting the surface before using the concrete. Step one of repairing this was to remove the concrete and clean the surface. Here is Bird chiseling off the old concrete. It came off easily and quickly.

After cleaning the surface of both stones, they applied a stacking mix and monument setting compound and restacked the stones. Here is the finished product. (With the stones in the correct orientation)!

Next we learned how to repair and reset a broken stone. Here is the stone they would be demonstrating with. (It had already been cleaned to save time in the demonstration).

When repairing a broken stone the first step is always to dry fit the pieces first. This is to be sure that you have all the missing pieces. Next you need to clean the surfaces where the breaks are and then epoxy them together. Once the epoxy is dry and the stone reset it needs to be cleaned. Walt recommends a mixture of ammonia and water and a nylon brush. As you can see in the example, the stone cleaned back to a brillant white limestone. It's important to clean the stone before filling in any voids and cracks so that you can match the void mix to the color of the stone.

The last step is to mix your mortar and fill in the voids and cracks. This is where you can really see the great work Walt and his team do. Look at the finished product! You can barely see the crack and the mortar is not even dry yet!

Tomorrows posting, "Wednesday's Child", will focus on the stone myself, my mom and my "cousin" DeeDee repaired with our own hands. It was the stone of a 6 year old boy that was found in 3 pieces buried in the corner of the cemetery. We were able to repair it and reset it back in its original location. What a great feeling that gave us!

Military Monday - The Boys of the 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry - Martin VanBuren Pinney

2011-08-08T04:54:00.001-04:00

Martin VanBuren Pinney

(Photo from the book "These Men Were Heros Once" by Carolyn S. Bridge)

Martin VanBuren PINNEY was born 4 Dec 1843 in Delaware County, Ohio son of Charles C. and Hannah Vail Bailey. He enlisted in Company F, Indiana 69th Infantry Regiment on 19 August 1862. He was 19 years old. Martin survived the war, mustering out 5 July 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Wilson S. PINNEY, Martin's brother also enlisted in Company F, Indiana 69th Infantry Regiment on 19 August 1862. He died at Memphis, Tennessee on 13 March 1863.

After the war, Martin moved to Missouri where he continued farming. He died on the 21 November 1933 in Jasper County, Missouri and is buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Neosho, Newton County, Missouri.

(Photo Courtesy of Moonshadow)

Martin's Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

Tombstone Tuesday - Carrie Virginia Botkin Rexrode

2011-07-26T05:00:00.001-04:00

Bodkin Cemetery

Pendleton County, West Virginia

(Photo courtesy of Raderfarm)

Born: 9 May 1890, Highland County, Virginia

Died: 10 Jan 1930, Highland County, Virginia

Carrie is the daugher of Elias Botkin and Ida May Sims. She married George Henry Rexrode and was the mother of at least two sons, Elbert and Paul.

Military Monday - How to Find Possible Civil War Soldiers in Your Tree

2011-07-25T05:00:00.001-04:00

One of the best hints I took away from Ancestry Day in Fort Wayne came during the session given by Anne Gillespie Mitchell from Ancestry.com. She showed us how to determine who in our family tree may have served in the Civil War using our Family Tree Maker program.

Here is how it works in 6 easy steps!

1. Open your Family Tree Maker program and select a tree. Take a look at the index on the left side of the panel. At the top it will list how many are in your tree. For me that number is 3734. That's a lot of names to scroll through to find possible soldiers! But wait, there is a quick way to cut that number down!

2. At the bottom on the index you will see a button that says "Filter". Click on that to open the filter panel. First step is to click "Select All" and hit OK. This should give you the number in your tree. 3734 appears for me.

3. Now comes the fun part! First click on "Filter Out" - Sex = Female. Now my number is reduced to 1949!

4. Then "Filter Out" Birth - is before - 1818. My number is now 1800. But wait....let's go back and "Filter Out" Birth - is after - 1846. Now I'm down to 897!

5. We can also "Filter Out" Death - is before - 1861. My number is now 877.

6. One more step that I took was to "Filter Out" - Birth is Blank. The number I'm left with is 220! So much better than scrolling through the 3734 names I started out with!

My next step is to check out the Civil War Soldiers Records and Profiles on Ancestry to see if I can find these men in the records. If you don't have an Ancestry subscription you can always check out the Soldiers and Sailors website the site is free and searchable by name or unit.

The last hint that Anne shared was to check for gaps in the children. If there are no children born between 1860-1865 that could be a clue to follow.

Once you have this information be sure and map your soldier's journey through the war by following his regiment's records. Gather all the information you can and create a timeline. Check for brothers and cousins who may have also fought. Lots of times family members served together.

All this information will begin to reveal a story to you. Take the time to do a biographical sketch of your Ancestor. What better way to honor them than to tell their story and share it on your blog?

I look forward to reading everyone of them........

Ancestry Day in Fort Wayne and How I Met a Blogging Celebrity!

2011-07-23T20:41:00.000-04:00

Ancestry came to Fort Wayne, Indiana today and I made the trek with three genealogy friends from South Bend to attend. It was awesome!

The four sessions for the day included Juliana Szucs Smith talking on Insider Search Tips for Ancestry.com, Anne Gillespie Mitchell (Ancestry.com Search Product Manager) revealed tips on How to Find Your Civil War Roots at Ancestry.com, Curt Witcher discussed Hidden Treasures of The Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne and finally "Lou" Dennis Szucs taught us A Dozen Ways to Jumpstart Your Family History Project.

All that for a mere $20.00! What a steal and what a great day!

And about that blogging celebrity? Well, back when I first read Amy Coffin's We Tree blog and was inspired to start my own, I also began reading another blog written by a fellow Hoosier. While waiting for the first session to start I was passing time by checking my Facebook newsfeed and saw where she was working the event at the registration table! I thought now's my chance to actually meet, in person, a fellow blogger! But then I got cold feet. What would I say, how stupid would I look, etc.....but my friends told me to just walk up to her and introduce myself. And so I did. It went something like this. "Ummm, hi, you don't know me but I read your blog and I wanted to meet you in person" (or something equally corny). But I must say Tina Lyons of Gen Wish List couldn't have been nicer! Thank you Tina for being so kind to me!

So I survived meeting my first blogging Rock Star and lived to write about it.

But if I ever meet Gini Webb or Amy Coffin in person.....all bets are off.......

Wednesday's Child - Mary Dorcas Botkin

2011-07-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

Mount Hope Cemetery

Webb City, Jasper, Missouri

(Photo Courtesy of Kelly aka alexmom55)

Age 2, died on Christmas Day 1882. Daughter of Eli Frances Botkin and Mary Minerva McCormick.

Tombstone Tuesday - Verna Bowser

2011-07-05T11:09:00.000-04:00

Blue Creek Cemetery

Haviland, Ohio

(Photo Courtesy of Brent Turner)

Verna Bowser

15 Aug 1886

1 Oct 1890

Age 4 Years, 1 Month, 16 Days

Daughter of Jonathan Bowser and Mary Watt Bowser. Inscription reads:

VERNA

Dau of

J&M BOWSER

Died Oct. 1, 1890

Aged

4 Y 1 Mo 16 D

Weep not father and mother for me

For I am waiting in glory for thee.

Tombstone Tuesday - Knute Rockne

2011-06-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

Highland Cemetery

South Bend, Indiana

The Boys of the 69th - Some Gave All

2011-05-30T08:35:00.001-04:00

(Photo credit to Judy Mayberry Belford)

Wiley Jefferson DUDLEY enlisted as a private in Company I, 69th Infantry Regiment Indiana on 19th of August 1862. He was 25 years old.

Wiley was born 1837 in Indiana to Abner DUDLEY and Elizabeth Snow DUDLEY. On the 26 Jan 1860 in Henry County, Indiana he married Elizabeth Staley. His son, John Jefferson DUDLEY, was born in Oct of 1862 making him just 2 months old when Wiley mustered into service.

The 69th was called into service at the siege of Vicksburg from May - July 1863. On 5 July 1863 Wiley died as a Corporal in the Union hospital in Vicksburg.

He is buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. His Find a Grave memorial can be viewed here.

Military Monday - Andersonville Prison

2011-04-11T08:31:00.000-04:00

In my BOTKIN family alone I have 24 confirmed Civil War Veterans. 16 on the Union side and 8 on the Confederate side. I have 28 more that I have not confirmed but I believe may have served. There are so many sad stories to come out of this research but lately I have been taking a closer look at the three I know died in Andersonville Prison.

This is their story.

On 19 Jun 1862, 18 year old Amos BOTKIN of Clark County, Ohio enlisted in the 45th Regiment, Company K. He was the oldest son of Moses and Sally Ann BOTKIN.

On 6 Aug 1862, Amos' uncle, William Innes BOTKIN, age 30 also enlisted in the 45th Regiment, Company K. Three months earlier William and his wife Nancy had lost their only child. William was the son of Jeremiah and Anna BOTKIN.

Also on 6 Aug 1862, Willam's cousin, William J. BOTKIN, age 27 also enlisted in the 45th Regiment, Company K. Willam left behind his wife Clara and two children, 1 year old Kenton and daughter Georgie who was born while Willam was at war. Willam J. was the son of Abraham and Sarah BOTKIN who lost another son, Wallace, in the war.

The 45th Regment was mustered into service on 19 Aug 1862 at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio. They faced many battles in the 15 months leading up to that day that sealed the fate of the BOTKIN men.

On 15 Nov 1863 at Holsten River, TN all three were captured and sent to Andersonville. I can only assume the two older Uncles were probably looking out for 18 year old Amos and thus were together when captured.

Andersonville prison was the deadliest prisoner of war camp during the Civil War with a total of nearly 13,000 deaths. Over 40% of all Union prisoners of war who died during the Civil War perished at Andersonville. The conditions were horrible.

Amos died first on 19 May 1864 of Debilitas, a condition described as a weakened and enfeebled condition. 5 days later his Uncle William Innes died of Anasarca followed 22 days later by William J., also of Anasarca.

All three are buried in Andersonville National Cemetery. Amos is in grave #1212, William Innes in grave #1368 and William J. in grave #1970.

Follow Friday - West in New England

2011-04-08T08:50:00.000-04:00

In honor of the 150 anniversary of the Civil War, Bill over at West in New England is running the following blog challenge between now and April 10th.

Did you have ancestors in America on 12Apr 1861? If so, where were they

and what were their circumstances? How did the Civil War affect them and
their family? Did the men enlist and did they perish in battle or die of illness?
On which side did they fight, or did you have relatives fighting on BOTH sides?
How did the women left at home cope, or did anany of them find ways to help

the war effort? Were your ancestors living as slaves on Southern plantations
and if so when were they freed? Or were they freemen of color who enlisted
to fight?

If your ancestors had not emigrated to America as yet, what was their life

like around the time of the Civil War?

The 150 year celebration of the Civil War is a great source for those of us

blogging about our family history. So, let's do a little research over the coming
weeks between now and April 12th. Find out the answers to the questions
I asked and write about them. Or if you think of another topic to do with your

family history and the Civil War, write about that. Send me the link when you
publish it on your blog, and on April 12th I'll publish all the links here.

I'll be submitting a link for this challenge and I hope you will too. I can't wait to read your story!

On This Day - April 7

2011-04-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Eliza Jane Lyon BOTKIN was born on this day in 1857 in Warren County, Iowa. On 21 Apr 1878 she married Francis Marion BOTKIN in Warren County. Eliza died on 1 Jul 1928 and is buried in Belmont Cemetery, Milo, Iowa. Her Find A Grave memorial is found here.

Farra Looker BOTKIN was born on this day in 1868 in Indiana. On 23 May 1900 in Delware, Indiana he married Susan Kirby. His second wife was Amy A. Ping whom he married 29 Nov 1916 in Monroe, Indiana. Farra is the son of William Tipton BOTKIN and Martha Frances Cropper.

Viola BOTKIN was born on this day in 1871 in Missouri. She is the daughter of Moses Matson BOTKIN and Elizabeth Gastineau.

Joseph ALTER was born on the day in 1912 in Marion, Grant, Indiana. He is the son of Claude ALTER and Rosannah Hanley. Little Joseph died on 20 Dec 1912 at the age of 8 months.

Merrill Oscar KENDALL was born on this day in 1922. He is the son of Homer Ulysses KENDALL and Vesta Elizabeth Brane. He married Anne Kruger.

Matthew SHAUL died on this day in 1851 in Springfield, Clark, Ohio. He is the husband of Mary B. Botkin and the father of 16 children. Matthew was a veteran of the war of 1812. He is buried in Asbury Cemetery, Catawa, Ohio. His Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

Jonathan SCOTT died on this day in 1862 at the age of 22. Jonathan is the son of Charles "Right" SCOTT and Mary Ann Chumney. Enlisted as a Corporal on 23 October 1861 in Company H, 36th Infantry Regiment Indiana. Killed on 7 Apr 1862 at Shiloh, TN.

Sarah Jane COCHRAN died on this day in 1911 in Delphos, Ohio. The wife of Benjamin BOTKIN, she is the mother of Alonzo, Catherine, Ann Maria, Lucy, William, Charles and Mary.

Charlotte Elizabeth BRANE died on this day in 1927. She is the wife of William Schoby whom she married 6 Mar 1873 in Wabash County, Indiana. Charlotte is the daugher of Peter BRANE and Elizabeth Ritchie. She is buried in Center Grove Cemetery, Lincolnville, Indiana. Her Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

Tech Tuesday - Webinar Overview - Backing Up Your Genealogy Data

2011-04-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

As a part of my plan to increase my research skills I have been taking advantage of something new to me - Webinars! Wow, what a world I have been missing out on!

On my lunch hour last week I listened to the archived webinar presented by Thomas MacEntee - "Backing Up Your Genealogy Data" As everyone knows, Thomas is a wonderful speaker and it turns out he is just as gifted as a webinar instructor!

I have to admit to being lax about backing up my data on a consistent basis. I thought the webinar would give me hints on developing a back-up plan and it did. But I learned so much more! I now have a firm grasp of what "cloud computing" is and, I am proud to say, am the new owner of a Dropbox account!

The biggest take away from the webinar for me was identifying where my genealogy files reside on my computer. In addition to my FTM files I have files of genealogical photos, documents, emails I'd hate to lose in addition to all those favorite bookmarks. It's been a long process finding all the files I need to backup but, as Thomas pointed out, my research represents a large investment for me in terms of both time and money.

I need to start treating it as such.

If you want to purchase a copy of the webinar Backing Up Your Genealogy Files visit Legacy Family Tree Webinars for more information. And while you are there be sure to sign up for Thomas's upcoming April webinars:

April 6, 2011 - Building a Research Toolbox. Are you overwhelmed with the number of online resources for genealogical research? Are you constantly working with unorganized bookmarks or favorites? Printing out lists of websites you use most? Learn how to build a research toolbox that is organized, easy-to-use, and can be accessed from almost anywhere. Presented by professional genealogist and Geneablogger.com's Thomas MacEntee, participants will learn not only some of the most important online resources for genealogical research, but also how to organize these resources into an easy-to-access and portable virtual toolbox.

April 21, 2011 - Dropbox for Genealogists. Are you familiar with Dropbox – a program that provides 2 gigabytes of online storage for free? Learn how to sign up for Dropbox, install the program and get started ensuring the safety and security of your genealogy research data. Seems too good to be true, right? Two gigabytes of online storage for free? And storage that can synchronize files across your computer, your laptop and even your mobile device? It is true, and you can learn how to leverage the power of Dropbox – a free online program to back up your genealogy data and even share files with friends and family.

See you in class!

Amanuensis Monday - Granville Moody Botkin Letter

2011-04-04T08:37:00.000-04:00

This letter was written by Granville Moody BOTKIN and has been passed down by his descendents. I received a copy recently from Al BOTKIN.

There is a note at the top of this letter which reads:
"Copy of this story was given to Aunt Mabel BOTKIN by Granville Moody BOTKIN. Aunt Mabel gave her copy to Aunt Sarah BOTKIN, who loaned it to me on this date to make copies of it" Wayne BOTKIN, July 2, 19(51?)

ORIGIN OF THE BOTKIN FAMILY IN AMERICA

(By Granville Moody Botkin)

     The most vivid of my impressions concerning the American origin of the Botkin family was made by a conversation at my father's house between my grandfather, George Botkin, and his brother Richard, when the former was back from Illinois on a visit, and the latter was there making up my father's broom corn crop into brooms.

     In these early years of my life the only book that could interest me a "History of the French & Indian War". In fact, it was the only book, I think, that was about the place except the Bible and an old "Buck-wheat Note" songbook. I had been reading about the slaughter of General Braddock's army, and the noble and courageous action of Col. George Washington and hsi Virginia Riflemen, and had imbibed therefrom the idea that the Virginians did all the fighting that was done. Some how or other that subject came up in the hearing of Grandfather and Uncle Richard, whereup they corrected that false impressino of mine. In doing so they related the following story in substance.

     In one of the Britian regiments (the 47th or 54th - I cAnnot be certain now) was a Company made up of young men from the north part of Ireland. Among them were the two brothers, Charles and George Botkin, the former being my Great-grandfather, and the father of the George and Richard to whom I was listening.

     That company was marching close by a wooded knoll when the firing began at the front, and the head of the British column began to stampede. Washington chanced to be near and seeing the rout ahead, began to snap out precautionary orders to the British captains near him. He ordered the captain of the Irish company to march quickly and seize the heavily timbered knoll already mentioned, and place his men behind the trees and hold that position at all hazards until ordered away.

     The quick movement of the Irish company to seize that knoll in the right was none too soon, for on its crest they set the Indians, who, led by a French officer were to seize that hill and cut off the British retreat from theambuscade a quarter of a mile beyond. A quick, determined bayonet charge drove off the Indians, and the Irish company during the next half hour repulsed several attempts to dislodge of flank them. At last the fugitives from the front, all who were fortunate enough to escape the rifle balls and tomahawks of the Indians, passed to the rear and the tide of pursueing savages rushing agfer them, came upon the Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvfania fiflemen, who Washington had quickly but adroitly posted for covering the retreat. An awful battle raged there for a quarter of an hour, when the Indians fell back out of the range of those deadly rifles. In the meantime Washington sent a messenger to the Irish captain to withdraw and cross Meadow Creek to the rear of his own riflemen. That messenger was killed. Another was sent and was also killed. In the meantime, Washington, ignorant of his second messenger's fate and concluding from the cessation of firing on that hill that the company had received and obeyed his order, bade his own men to fall back behind Meadow Creek. That movement allowed the Indians to get to the rear of the hill. But the captain of the Irish company was a clearheaded, resolute, fellow. Forming his men in two parallel columns and placing the stretchers with his wounded between, he marched to the right and away from the line of retreating troops, and headed his march toward Philadelphia. They reached a frontier settlement where they found the old men, women and children huddled into block houses expecting every hour to hear either the war whoop of the savages or the shouts of greeting of fathers, husbands and sons who had gone to the front to watch the Allegheny passes for hostile bands. There the captain halted his company, both for rest and succor for his wounded and for the safety of the almost helpless settlement. There, the men's time having expired the captain at last discharged his company, and there and elsewhere in the vicinity most of the men stayed. Amongst them were Charles and George Botkin, who like most of their comrades, had probably joined the army enlisting for service in America, for the ultimate purpose of finding homes in the New World.

     The American Revolution came and found these men ready and willing to stake their all upon the altars of American liberty. They enlisted in a rising Pennsylvania batallion and joined Washington at or near New York City. They were with him on the retreat across New Jersey, and their bare feet left bloody tracks on the snow along the Delaware. They were with him at Trenton on that awful morning's march and charge that gave to our country one of the most glorious victories in its history.

     When Washington disposed of the prisoners by sending them far away into the woods at what is now Carlyle, he sent the remnant of the Pennsylvania batallion to guard them, "and thereby hangeth the tale".

     The Hessians were an industrious lot of Germans and having no home in the Old World. they longed for a settlement in the New. Their officers had their wives and children with them. So, too, had some of the men. In a short time they had felled and hewed the logs, made the clap-boards, and erected their own barracks. It did not take such people long to clear and plant gardens and small fields of grain and vegetables.

     It seems that while on duty guarding the Hessionans my great-grandfather Charles got acquainted with Major Karhl and family, for in 1783 he returned to Carlyle Barracks and married the Major's daughter Jemina Karhl. Karhl's first name was Isaac. He also had a son Isaac, and a grandson by the same name. Now if you will reflect a moment you will readily see how that name Karhl got changed and that its spelling was changed to Curl. You will also understand where my uncle, Isacc Curl Botkin, got his name and why.

     Thus originated the Botkin family in America. But it was a numerous family in the North of Ireland and across the straight in Scotland. Indeed, so frequently during troublous ages did the people emigrate back and forth in that region, that it was hard to find in the corner of Ireland a family without Scotch boood and history: or to find in the neighborhing corner of Scotland a family that was not related to Irish neighbors. An old Scotchman once told me tht he came from that part of Scotland and that he was very well acquainted in his young days with members of the Botkin family on either side of the Strait.

     My great-grandfather soon after getting married settled in Rockingham County, Va, near Woodstock, in the Shenandoah Valley. But about the year 1800 he with others, began discussing the project of moving to the Mad River country in Ohio. It took them two years to fully mature their plans and to organize their company, for they must expect to fight the Indians. They crossed the Ohio River at or near Parkersburg in 1802. They had 124 rifleman besides the women and children, altho a large part of those riflemen were boys in their teens. They passed through Old Chillicothe to Cincinnati - then Fort Washington, and thence moved north along the old military trail.  A part of the company kept on into what is now Clinton and Shelby counties, while grandfather built himself a home on Sinking Creek in Clark County, on what is now the "Doc" Yeazell place, where that first old cabin still stands.

Sunday's Obituary - Harry Hanley

2011-04-03T08:03:00.000-04:00

Marion Daily Leader
Monday Evening, October 22, 1906

YOUTH'S TRAGIC DEATH

Harry Hanley dies at hospital

of wounds received from gun in

hands of companion

WAS ACCIDENT

While out hunting with Walter Hanthorn Sunday gun was accidentally discharged

An investingation into the death of Harry HANLEY, which occured at the Marion Hospital at 4:15 o'clock this morning as the result of being shot with a rifle in the hands of Walter Hanthorn, a young man of about the same age, living at Nineteenth and Meridan streets, is being made by the coroner.

Coroner Davis said this morning that the evidence at hand clearly showed that Hanley's death was caused accidentally and he did not believe anyone would be held to blame for the sad affair.

Dr. G.D. Kimball, the attending physician, secured a statement from the youth before he died to which he places the responsibility on no one, but says it was clearly due to an accident.

Hanley formerly lived here, but his house is now in Alexandria. He is a glassworker. He and Hanthorn were intimate friends. The two were together Sunday and decided to go hunting in the afternoon. They took a twenty-two caliber rifle, going across the Railroad Avenue bridge and up the river near the Monroe Pike. They were about a half mile east of the bridge when the shooting occured.

A squirrel had been chased into a hollow log, Hanthron was at one end of the log with the rifle and Hanley was at the other trying to punch the squirrel from the log. The rifle was discharged in some way and Hanley fell crying that he was shot.

Hanley was carried to the Hanthron home and Digg's ambulance was called. The boy suffered intensely during the ride to the hospital, and when examination was made of his injuries it was found there were twelve holes in his intestines. All the perferations were serious.

The bullet entered the abdomen on the right side, only a few inches below the diaphragm.

"Papa, no one is to blame for this affair," said the lad before he died.

The boy's father arrived here from Alexandria several hours before he died. He was conscious at the time and remained so until a short time before the end came.

The Hanthorn boy is almost prostrated as the result of the accident and could hardly be controlled when he learned of his friend's death.

The funeral arrangements have not been made, but interment will be made at Alexandria.

Bert White, superintendent of the police, says all evidence at hand shows that the shooting was entirely accidental. Officer Rosencrance spent sometime on the case Sunday night.

John Hanley, father of the boy, called at the Police Station this morning and demanded a more rigid investigation of the circumstances leading to the death of his son. He said he was not fully satisfied it was clearly accidental. He was referred to the prosecutor and after hearing his story Mr. Friendline sent him to the coroner. Dr. Davis said this afternoon he intended to take all evidence, but as far as he could learn there was no reason to think the shooting was anything but accidental.

Harry HANLEY is my great-grand Uncle.

He was born 21 Feb 1893 in Hamiton, Ontario, Canada to Henry HANLEY and Mary Jessie Patterson HANLEY. He was only 13 years old when he died 23 Oct 1906 in Marion, Indiana. He was the 5th out of 13 children.

Two items in this newspaper account caught my interest. The first is that it states he is a glassworker in Alexandria, Indiana. He was only 13 years old but his mother had died in 1902 when he was just 9. His father remarried in 1903 and began having more children with his second wife, including a step-sister to Harry born just 4 months before his death. With so many mouths to feed I suppose sending your 13 year old son to work was probably necessary.

It also states that his fathers name was John. It wasn't. It was Henry Harry HANLEY. I've never heard that he went by the nickname John and don't know why he would. I'm guessing this was incorrect information given to the newspaper.

I want to learn more about Harry including where he was buried. I have a research trip planned to Marion in May. I hope to find more to add to the story of young Harry's life.

1940 U.S. Census will be Released....

2011-04-01T09:07:00.000-04:00

One year from today!

Enough said.

Edit: As Thomas pointed out it will actually be one year from tomorrow as April 1st is a Sunday next year. Darn it........

Tombstone Tuesday - The Coomler Children

2011-03-15T13:25:00.000-04:00

Barbury Ellen Coomler

Age 4

Born: 29 Dec 1843

Died: 19 May 1848

Daniel Jacob Coomler

Age 2

Born: 22 Mar 1846

Died: 10 Jun 1848

Joseph F. Coomler

Age 14 months

Born: 2 Jun 1857

Died: 27 Aug 1858

George Broderick Coomler

Age 11

Born: 16 Feb 1851

Died: 16 Feb 1862

All are children of Jacob and Mary Hoffman COOMLER. All buried in America Cemetery, LaFontaine, Wabash, Indiana.

One Lovely Blog Award

2011-03-14T13:26:00.000-04:00

I'm sending a huge thank you to Ros over at GenWestUK for bestowing me with the One Lovely Blog Award! I'm honored and happy to pass it along!

The rules of acceptance are :

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and their blog link.

2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.

3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

The blogs I have chosen are lovely in so many ways! I hope you visit each one!

1. Fantastic Electrisoil

2, Images Past

3. Finding Family Stories

4. The Professional Descendant

5. 2338 W. Washington Boulevard - While this blog is not new to me it is certainly one of the Loveliest!

6. The Ginger Jewish Genealogist

7. Have You Seen My Roots

8. Pollyblog

9. The Journey Takers Blog

10. The Keough Corner

11. The Family Recorder

12. A Couple of Whiles

13. Hanging From The Family Tree

14. Hunting Dead People

15. Are You My Cousin?

Enjoy!

Sentimental Sunday - A Family Scattered

2011-03-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

You know those family stories, the ones that tug at your heartstrings and haunt your thoughts for days? Well, this is one of those.

It is the story of my Great Grandfather, Ora Everett STEPHENS and his siblings. In January of 1898 they were all living in Gas City, Indiana. The family consisted of my Great Great Grandfather George Washington STEPHENS, my Great Great Grandmother Rebecca Jane BOLE and the children, Ottis (1878), Ida (1883), Inez (1885), Iva (1889), Ora (1891 - my Great Grandfather), Olen (1893), Ilan (1895) and baby Irene (1898). The oldest daughter Icy was a newlywed and brother Walter had died as an infant in 1880.

But in July of that year George died leaving Rebecca to support all the children on her own. In the 1900 census she is still living in Gas City and still has Ottis, Ida, Inez, Ilan and Irene with her. Also living in the household are daughter Icy and her husband Henry.

In 1902 Rebecca gets remarried to John STROUP and this is where the family story kicks in. It is said that John wanted to marry Rebecca but didn't want her children. So Rebecca, after keeping the family together for four year, begins giving the children away. One to an Aunt, a few went into an orphanage and baby Irene was given to the neighbors. It is further said that those neighbors moved away in the middle of the night and none of the siblings ever saw Irene again.

Rebecca goes on to live another 41 years spending 29 of those married to her second husband John. In one census it shows John's children living with them. But what about her own? Did she live with regrets? Did her heart panic at the thought of what may of happened to baby Irene? Or did she just move on with her life?

And what about Irene? The story is now 109 years old and I'm sure missing pieces of important information. But if what I've been told is partially true, could Irene have been given to one of the neighbors living by them in the 1900 census? Common sense tells me that at 4 years old her new parents may not have changed her first name but most likely changed her last. The 1900 census for Gas City, Indiana is only 37 pages long. If I search each and every family living in Gas City in 1900 and look for them in the 1910 census I just might find an Irene living with them. It would put me one step closer to discovering what happened to Irene.

It's a long shot. But I'm taking it.

Sometimes Life Gets In The Way

2011-03-11T13:48:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost 3 weeks since my last post!

I've been covering a maternity leave at work as well as continuing to do certain aspects of my own job and the hours I've been working are CRAZY! My hobby has greatly suffered and I am having research withdrawals! LOL!

With things calming down a bit I hope to get back on track and in the swing of things! Spring is just around the corner and I have plans for onsite research and cemetery visits. I have to get ready for those.

But for now, I'm off to get caught up on my blog reading. I can't wait to hear what all of you have been up to!

Military Monday - The Boys of the 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

2011-02-21T13:02:00.000-05:00

Kevin at Arbor Familiae has written a wonderful post about of the Boys of the 69th entitiled "These Men Were Heros Once". Please visit Kevin's blog to enjoy a wonderful story of the men that served.

Link to his post is here

Another Google Alert makes my jaw drop!! - Part 5

2011-02-18T22:14:00.000-05:00

The decade of 1900-1910 brought about a drastic decline in the life Cordelia had been living. Even while imprisoned she had enjoyed private accommodations and the freedom brought about by sexual favors to come and go from prison as she pleased. But beginning in 1900 all that would begin to crumble. Once she was moved to San Quentin she lost her comfortable surroundings. Then a series of events began a slow and steady decline of her life...

On 30 Aug 1900 Cordelia’s beloved father, Richard died suddenly after being kicked in the head by a horse.

In November of 1901 her sister Sadie was declared insane.

The Mountain Democrat (Placerville, California)

Nov 30, 1901 – Miss Sadie Brown, the sister of Mrs. Cordelia Botkin, the alleged poisoner of Mrs. John P. Dunning, whose escapade in climbing into the cab of an engine and driving a horse attached to a milk wagon until it was exhausted, has brought her prominently before the public in Santa Rosa, has been adjudged insane.

31 Apr 1904 Welcome, who had obtained a divorce from Cordelia , died in Stockton, California.

Welcome A. Botkin Dead
Gained Notoriety Thro’ Wife

Los Angeles Times – Welcome A. Botkin, divorced husband of Cordelia Botkin, died this morning at No. 125 Ellis Street. Death was due to heart failure and digestive complications. He had been ailing for several months, and the end was not unexpected. His only child, Beverly Botkin, was with him when his end came.

Through notoriety gained by his wife, Botkin attracted almost as much attention at the first trial of the poisoner of Mrs. Deane and Mrs. Dunning as the woman herself. At the time of her arrest he was possessed considerable means, which was consumed in securing legal aid for the defendant. After his money was gone and Cordelia Botkin had been convicted, he quietly secured a divorce, which was granted about two years ago.

Botkin was 67 years of age. He had been in the employ of the Armour Packing Company for many years and had represented their interests in nearly every large city in the West. For the past decade he had been stationed in California.

Cordelia has petitioned the court to let her attend Welcome's funeral but the request was denied.

31 Apr 1905 her only child and son Beverly died

TAKEN FROM PRISON TO VIEW REMAINS OF SON

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2. 1905 – Mrs. Cordelia Botkin convicted of the murder of Mrs. John P. Dunning of Dover, Delaware, by means of poisoned candy sent through the mail was today permitted to leave the county jail in charge of a deputy sheriff, so she might view the remains of her only son, who died a few days ago. She placed a few roses on the coffin and gave evidence of deep grief, but did not lose her self control.

17 Apr 1907 John Dunning, the man she killed for died of a brain tumor:

In early 1910 Cordelia’s health takes a turn for the worse and she appeals for parole.

Mrs. Botkin Pleads for Parole

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 12, 1910 – Mrs Cordelia Botkin, serving a life sentence at San Quentin for having sent a box of poisoned candy to Mrs. Dunning of Delaware, wife of a man with whom Mrs. Botkin’s name had been associated, had been associated, has applied to the Board of Prison Directors for parole. Her case was considered today at the regular meeting of the board at San Quentin. “Mrs. Florence Roberts, a well-known prison worker, known as “Mother Roberts” is exerting herself in Mrs. Botkin’s behalf.

Since the death of Mrs. Botkin’s son Beverly and her sister, Mrs. Botkin has grieved so much that she is a hopeless invalid.

An effort is being made to take her to spend her remaining days with her mother and faithful sister, Miss Dora Brown, who live at the modest cottage at the old homestead at Healdsburg.

Dunning, for love of whom Mrs. Botkin committed the deed, is dead, as well as all members of Mrs. Botkin’s family. Mrs. Botkin has been in various prisons for this crime for more than twelve years and the once handsome woman is now a broken hearted crushed wreck of femininity, two weak to leave her bed.

7 Mar 1910 Cordelia dies in Prison

Denton Journal: “Mrs. Cordelia Botkin, serving a life sentence at San Quentin, Cal., died on Monday, March 7.”

A journalist for the Oakland Tribune quoted the cause on her death certificate as “softening of the brain induced by melancholy.”

I spoke with the cemetery in Healdsburg where Cordelia is buried alongside her mother and father. It seems her stone is covered over with grass and ground cover and needs to be unburied. I've posted the memorial on FAG and have requested a photo. I've explained in my request that the stone is buried and that I am hoping some adventurous soul will take on the project of uncovering it.

It seems almost amazing to me that a woman so infamous in life would be so forgotten in death.

Now that I've come to know Cordelia's life story a little better, I wonder what life was like for Welcome and Beverly. Their stories are next.........

Another Google Alert makes my jaw drop - Part 4!!

2011-02-16T19:29:00.000-05:00

To read the entire series you can return to Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

The Trial Heard Around the Country

Weekly Gazette Stockman (Reno, Nevada)

SAN FRANCSICO, Nov. 12, 1898 – The date of the trial of Mrs. Cordilia Botkin accused of the murder of Mrs. John P. Dunning, of Dover, Del., by means of a box of poisoned candy sent through the maile, has been set for December 5th. The indictment, charging her with crimes was read to her to-day and when asked to answer the charge she replied, “Not Guilty.”

Chief of Police Lees has prepared a strong case against the accused woman and confidently believes she will be convicted.

The Sandusky Star (Sandusky, Ohio)

Trial Proceeding Smoothly.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 15, 1898 – The trial of Mrs. Cordelia Botkin is becoming more interesting to that part of the public which takes as interest in such proceedings. Never has a murder trial of such import progressed so rapidly in a San Francisco courtroom. Witnesses are subjected to but slight cross-examination as a rule and the attorneys on both sides rarely protest against the admission of evidence.
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John Dunning, the man Cordelia was in love with had cheated on his wife and at times Cordelia with other women in San Francisco. When called as a witness at the trial he was asked to reveal the names of the other women, when he refused he himself was sent to jail!

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Proceedings in the Noted Dunning Poisoning Case.

SAN FRANCISCO Dec 20, 1898. – When the trial of Mrs. Botkin was resumed to-day, John P. Dunning, who had spent the night in jail for refusing to divulge the names of women with whom he had been intimate, was called to the stand. When asked if he was ready to furnish the desired information he replied that he would do so only when it was shown that some woman other than Mrs. Botkin was connected with the murder of his wife and her sister. Judge Cook remanded him to the custody of the Sheriff.

MRS. BOTKIN GUILTY.

The Jury Returns a Verdict Of Murder in the First Degree.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31, 1898-Mrs. Cordelia Botkin was convicted last night of the murder of Mrs. John P. Dunning. At twenty minutes past 10 o’clock the jury, which had been out since 5 p.m., came into court with a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. Mrs. Botkin, however, escapes the gallows, for the jury decided to fix her punishment at imprisonment for life.

The verdict was a complete surprise. It was not for one moment thought that a conclusion would be reached so quickly.

Mrs. Botkin took her fate stoically. She betrayed no sign for many moments. But when the court-room had been cleared and the full realization of what had occurred struck home to her, she gave way, but soon recovered and was taken to jail.

The Marion Star (Marion, Ohio)

Dec 31, 1989 –
…The courtroom was cleared when just after Mrs. Botkin had announced to the deputy sheriff in a clear voice that she was ready to go with him to prison, occurred the only sensational incident of the evening. The condemned woman attempted to rise, when her highly strung nerves seemed to relax and suddenly she fell back into the arms of Mrs. Roberts. It was thought she had fainted but in a moment a glass of water revived her and she resumed her usual appearance, though the intense nervous strain was still apparent in the twitching of her facial muscles and the quick movement of her fingers drummed on the table. In a few minutes she apparently shook off all signs of excitement and quietly accompanied the deputy sheriff out of the courtroom.

Fort Wayne News (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Dec 31, 1898

MRS. BOTKIN GUILTY. IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE.

Accepts the Verdict of the Jury With the Utmost Composure.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31.-

When the detective read the warrants to Mrs. Botkin that woman displayed mild surprise, but did not seem at all shocked. In fact, she had been looking forward to this very event.

“Well,” she said’ “the excitement has worn off at last and I am now prepared for anything.”

Mr. Botkin was present when his wife was placed under arrest, but he seemed confident of her innocence, and affectionate words were exchanged between them, the husband assisting the wife in packing up the things she would probably need after she had been placed in confinement.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31. – Mrs Botkin passed a bad night. She sobbed continuously and was hysterical some of the time. She still declares she is innocent, she declares that the failure to convict in two recent murder trials in San Francisco influenced the jury, and she was made the scapegoat of public opinion.

The Mountain Democrat, (Placerville, California),

Jan 14, 1899 – Welcome H. Botkin, husband of Mrs. Cordelia Botkin, who was convicted of murdering Mrs. J. P. Dunning, has closed his office in Stockton, where he was acting as manager of the Stockton Grain and Stock Exchange, and will go East to get away from the unpleasant notoriety.

Blurb in a society section of the GAZETTE

January 18th, 1899-Admirers of Mrs. Botkin are requested by the Memphis Appeal not to send her any candy. She doesn’t like it.

The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)

TO TRY MRS. BOTKIN AGAIN

Another Hearing in Noted Criminal Case at San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., Feb. 28, 1903 – The district attorney’s office contemplated putting Mrs. Cordelia Botkin On trial for the second time next week for the alleged murder of Dover, Del., women but a further delay in the famous case appears inevitable. Preparations to bring the famous case to trial again have been in progress for many months, but the death of Chief of Police Lees, who was active in the first trial, and several other things have combined to necessitate the long delay. Meanwhile the Delaware parties interested in the case have been complaining of the numerous postponements and the legislatures of that state last week took official action upon the apparent inactivity of the California authorities in the matter.

Mrs. Botkin, who is spending her fourth year in jail, has lost none of her beauty in prison. She has comfortable quarters in jail and is said to be happy in the hope that her second trial will result in her acquittal. The arrest and trial of Mrs. Botkin four years ago attracted national attention owing to the many novel and interesting features of the case.
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It's interesting to note that the above article talks about Cordelia's comfortable accomodations at the county jail. It seems Cordelia was given a private room with her own bed and personal items. She also exchanged sexual favors with the guards and was allowed to leave at her own will and go shopping in town! This arrangement was discovered one day when the judge who found her guilty and sentenced her to live in prison saw her on a streetcar, out shopping!
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ALL LADIES AND CHILDREN BARRED. TESTIMONY UNFIT FOR THEM TO HEAR

Trial of the Botkin Murder Case Resumed This Morning

SAN FRANCISCO, March 21, 1904. – The second trial of Mrs. Cordelia L. Botkin, charged with the murder of Mrs. John J. Dunning at Dover, Delaware. In August, 1898 by means of poisoned candy, was resumed in Judge Cook’s department of the superior court at 10:15 this morning.

At the request of the defense all witnesses were excluded from the court room. Judge Cook also ordered from the court room all children and minors, of whom a number were present, accompanied by women. Judge Cook declared it was no place for children.

BODKIN CASE GOES OVER THREE MONTHS

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 21, 1907 - Mrs. Cordelia Botkin, convicted of the murder by poison of Mrs. Deane and Mrs. Dunning at Dover, Del., will have to wait tree months longer before getting an opportunity of having her case review by a higher court. Ever since her conviction she has been making an effort to have the sentence of life imprisonment set aside and the case to have been heard in the appellate court today, but by agreement of the attorneys the hearing was put over until the next calendar, which will be fully three months hence.

After the earthquake, Mrs. Botkin who had been kept in the county jail pending the decision of the appellate court, was taken to the state penitentiary at San Quentin because she feared for her personal safety and was obliged to dispense with some of the comforts she had enjoyed at the county prison.
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After the San Francisco earthquake, the jail Cordelia had been staying in was damaged to the point of being dangerous. Cordelia was moved to San Quentin where she would live out her natural life after being found guilty again upon the close of her second trial.

Part 5 will discuss the drastic changes that occur after Cordelia's moves to San Quentin.........

We interrupt our regularly scheduled post to say....

2011-02-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

Happy blogiversary to me, happy blogiversary to me, happy blogiversary dear Lisa, happy blogiversary to me!!!

I can't believe it has been one year since I started this blog! The year has flown by. When I think about all the genealogy adventures I've had in the last year I am literally gobsmacked.

I have located and explored two abandoned cemeteries, I have uncovered shocking stories about my family members and I've met many other family members I didn't know before both online and in person!

I can't wait to see what the year ahead holds for me. Whatever it is, I'll bet it will be just as good!

Thank you everyone for reading and leaving comments on this blog.....I appreciate all of you from the bottom of my heart!

Another Google Alert makes my jaw drop - Part 3!!!

2011-02-13T08:37:00.000-05:00

You can catch up on the story of the infamous Cordelia BOTKIN in Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

When we left off Cordelia and Welcome were now separated. Cordelia was living in San Francisco and Welcome was living in Stockton, CA.

But what was Cordelia up to in San Francisco........this is were the story picks back up...

It's a fall day in 1895 and Cordelia and a friend were taking a stroll in Golden Gate Park. They had sat down on a bench to rest and must have noticed a gentleman having problems with the bicycle he was riding. Cordelia went over and introduced herself to the man whose name she learns is John Dunning. Cordelia introduces herself as a well do to woman from England names Ada. John is forthright and introduces himself as a married man. But that doesn't matter to Cordelia who finds herself interested in John.

The newspaper accounts of the story jump ahead at this point. Eventually John learns who Cordelia really is, the wife of a successful business man and mother of one son 10 years his senior. She learns more about John who is, a successful news correspondent with the Associated Press with a wife and a young daughter.

It isn't long before Cordelia introduces John to the wild side of San Francisco and he falls into a life of gambling, sex and debauchery. John loses his job, his wife and his daughter all due to the influence of Cordelia. When the Spanish-American war broke out the news service remembered John. They offered him a job as a news correspondent in Puerto Rico. John jumped at the chance to get his life back and accepted. He told Cordelia that the affair was over and that after his assignment he would be reuniting with his wife who had moved back home to Delaware with their daughter.

Cordelia cried and begged John not to go. She even tried to convince the war board to send her to Cuba as a nurse so that she could be with John. The board turned her down due to her age.

In August of 1898 Cordelia hatches a plan to get her competition, John's wife, Elizabeth, out of the picture. She purchased a box of candy in San Francisco, laced it with poison, wrote a note, "with love to yourself and baby, Mrs. C" and mailed it to John's wife in Delaware.  Elizabeth, her sister Ida, and other family members ate the chocolate laced with arsenic. Elizabeth and Ida both died. The father, suspicious that the candy may have been poisoned had it tested and found the arsenic. Meanwhile, John was summoned home from Cuba and was able to identify the handwriting on the note as Cordelia's.

Cordelia is arrested in San Francisco for the murder of  Elizabeth and Ida. The trial is about to begin, but like Cordelia herself, it would cause a sensation and keep the city of San Francisco spellbound for many months.

Part 4 - the trial of Cordelia BOTKIN is next......

Another Google Alert makes my jaw drop!! - Part 2

2011-02-11T05:55:00.000-05:00

Part 1 - Cordelia Botkin, psychopathic killer can be found here.

Now that I knew Cordelia was, in fact, related (wife of my 2nd cousin 6x removed to be exact) I was curious to learn more about her. Who was Cordelia Adelaide BROWN and where did she come from? For answers I first turned to Ancestry.

Cordelia was born in 1854 in Brownsville, Nebraska to Richard and Lemina Alderman BROWN. She was one of seven girls born to Richard and Lemina. On the 26 Sep 1872 in Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of 18, she married Welcome A. BOTKIN. Welcome was 15 years older than Cordelia at the time of their marriage.

In 1874, Cordelia gave birth to their only child, a son named Beverly Brown BOTKIN. In the 1880 census Welcome, Cordelia and Beverly are living in Kansas City, MO where Welcome is working as a banker.

The 1878 United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made men, Missouri Volume, contains a sketch of Welcome, calling him "a man of social, genial disposition, well calculated to make and retain friends." It also states that Cordelia "of Kansas City, daughter of Richard and Lumina Brown, and old family of that city now in California" Nothing in the biography indicates what is to come in the life of Welcome, Cordelia and Beverly.

It appears that sometime in the late 1880's the family moved to Stockton, CA where Welcome became a salesman for the Armour Packing Company. They seperated sometime around 1894. Although estranged, Welcome in Stockton and Cordelia in San Francisco, Welcome continued to support Cordelia. They spent just enough time together to maintain their maritial status, a situation that agreed with both of them. But their lives couldn't have been more different. While Welcome remained a steady and successful businessman, Cordelia's life was marked with drinking, gambling and partaking of the fun to be had in San Francisco.

Then came the day in September of 1895 when Cordelia met John Dunning in Golden Gate Park. A meeting that would eventually lead to murder.......

Another Google Alert makes my jaw drop!! - Part 1

2011-02-10T12:54:00.000-05:00

If you haven't signed up to receive Google Alerts you must do so....now! Just google, Google Alerts and follow the four easy steps to signing up. Really....do it now....I'll wait........

Hummmm, deee dummm, dummmm..........

Did you do it? Good, now sit back and prepare to be stunned by my latest alert!

This is what appeared in my inbox yesterday:

Ten Evil Psychopaths You Probably Don't Know (trust me the title got my attention!)

# 10 Cordelia Botkin

Candy for my Sweetheart

Cordelia Botkin was the estranged wife of a prominent businessman in San Francisco in the last decade of the 19th century. She (41 years old) met John Dunning (31) when his bicycle broke down in the park. Botkin made very obvious sexual advances, and consequently Dunning (who was married to a former congressman’s daughter) entered into a torrid affair with her. He eventually left his wife and fell into a life of gambling, sex and alcoholism – all fueled (and financed) by Botkin. He eventually decided to end the affair and return to his wife, a fact of which he informed Botkin. Not wanting to be left alone, she sent a box of poisoned candy to Dunning’s wife made to look like a gift from a friend. Dunning’s wife and five friends and family members ate the chocolate. Four recovered but the wife and her sister died. The remaining chocolates were tested and found to be laced with arsenic. The trail of the candy eventually led back to Botkin, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. In a strange twist to the tale, the judge who sent her to jail saw her out shopping in town a few weeks later; an investigation uncovered the fact that Botkin was exchanging sexual favors in order to be allowed to leave jail whenever she wanted. She died in jail at the age of 56. Her cause of death was: “softening of the brain due to melancholy.”

At first I wasn't sure how, or if, Cordelia was one of my BOTKIN ancestors. The article doesn't mention the name of her estranged husband. However, a quick Google search revealed that her husband was Welcome A. BOTKIN.

This is when my heart really started pounding....I have a Welcome A. BOTKIN in my family tree! Problem was I had his wife listed as Della Brown. I learned very quickly that Della was a nickname for Cordelia Adelaide Brown, the real name of his wife and the psychopathic killer the article is written about!

Welcome is the son of Charles and Dorcas BOTKIN and I just started doing further research on their children. I've only gotten through child number 2 out of 12. Since Welcome is number 10 it would have been awhile before I started digging into his story.

Not anymore, receiving this latest Google Alert moved him right to the top of my research list! I can't wait to see what I can learn about Welcome, Cordelia and their son Beverley! If you are as curious about them as I then follow along! Tomorrow I'll post Part 2 of their story!

Tombstone Tuesday - Theodosius Botkin

2011-02-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

Bellefontaine City Cemetery

Bellefontaine, Logan, Ohio

(Photo Courtesy of Deb Allison, FAG volunteer)

Theodosius BOTKIN

25 Jun 1846 - 17 May 1918

Civil War Soldier: 1861 - 1865

Mound City, Kansas Probate Judge: 1875 - ?

Judge of the 32nd District Court Stevens County, Kansas: 1889 - 1892

Elected to the Kansas House of Representatives: 1896

Spanish-American War Soldier: 1898

U.S. Consul at Campbellton, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia: 1918

Military Monday - My Civil War Photos Arrived!!!

2011-02-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

Way back in October I was at work eating lunch at my desk, as usual, and catching up on my blog reading. On that day I ran across a posting on Photo Detective with Maureen A. Taylor regarding ways to locate photos of your ancestors who fought in the Civil War. Maureen states in her posting that "according to the 1860 census, there were at least 1,500 individuals who operated as photographers just prior to the war. This number only includes those who claimed it as their primary business and doesn't include individuals who had side businesses snapping pictures. That's a lot of photographers." "......these photographers took an estimated one million pictures, but only several thousand still exist."

So how to go about finding them? One of the ways she suggested was to check the United States Army Heritage & Education Center. The site has thousands of images and an online database. Not everything is online, but I took a shot and put in the surname BOTKIN. Here's what I found:

Results for "botkin" in AHCO Digital Document System
View results by databases. View combined results.

1/2 sitting image of Pvt. William T. Botkin, Co. D, 69th Regt., Ind. Vol. Inf.

1/2 sitting wartime image of Pvt. John W. Botkin, Co. D, 69th Regt., Ind. Vol. Inf.

I gave a shout of disbelieve at my desk. These are my ancestors! John and William are brothers who enlisted in the 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry along with 3 of their cousins! I've written about John and William here, here and here. I immediately began reading the site trying to determine how to order copies of the pictures.

In true government style, the site was a bit difficult to understand. Even after calling ahead to check, I still sent in the wrong amount of money the first time around and had to start the process all over again. But 4 months and $62.00 later I found the package I have been waiting for in my mail. Inside was a CD with the digital photos of John and William. Here they are:

John W. BOTKIN

1839-1911

William T. BOTKIN

1842-1863

I'll admit, seeing the photo of William made me cry. He died during the civil war in St. Louis, MO at the age of 21 of consumption. I have a son of my own near that age and I felt the sorrow his mother must have felt at losing her son so young. In fact, she herself died just 6 months later. But I'm so happy to have copies of the photos in my possession!

If you are searching for photos of your Civil War ancestors be sure and read Maureen's posting here. She gives other ideas where to look. The search may be like looking for a needle in a haystack but the results can be tremendous!

A Google Alert Pays Off In A Big, Big Way!!

2011-02-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

As anyone who is close to me will tell you, I live in the land of Google! IGoogle, Google Earth, Google Books, Google Reader, you name it, I love it. But one of my favorite Google tools has to be Google Alert.
By setting alerts for some of my less common surnames, Google does the web searching for me every day and alerts me when it finds something new on the web pertaining to that surname.

Well last week I received an alert on a Theodosius BOTKIN. It is the 150 anniversary of Kansas as a state and various articles have been appearing on the Internet. In the past couple of weeks two such articles have contained information regarding this Theodosius BOTKIN. At the time the first alert appeared in my inbox I didn't have Theodosius in my family tree software. But I did know that a branch of the BOTKIN family in Ohio did move to Kansas. I had a good hunch he was related but I didn't know how.

A quick search of my favorite databases, Ancestry, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Rootsweb and, of course, Google revealed that Theodosius is the son of Isaac Curl BOTKIN and Sarah DALRYMPLE and grandson of George BOTKIN and Sarah HESTER making Theodosius my 3rd cousin 5x removed.

Further research into Theodosius revealed an even more astonishing picture.........he was lawyer, a judge, and a scoundrel straight out of the pages of a wild west novel! In fact, he has been written about in many books appearing on Google Books, Ballots and Bullets: The Bloody County Seat Wars of Kansas, PrairyErth: (a deep map), When Kansas Was Young, and various books written about the impeachment of Theodosius Botkin. An excerpt from the book PrairyErth by William Least Heat Moon (page 532) gives a taste of who Theodosius was:

".....the next day neighbors come to visit and they tell Sam not to go into the courtroom of Judge Theodosius Botkin, who keeps a brace of pistols next to his gavel, uses armed bodyguards, and has survived impeachment on grounds of drunkenness, partisanship, and fraud. The people know that if Botkin can get Sam in jail, a murder is easy to cover over. Sam repeats that he sees no real danger, yet, when a woman asks whether Margaret will go, he says, yes, if they kill me I want her there to close my eyes.
Tuesday morning they depart, Sam riding the ten miles in the buggy between Margaret and their housekeeper Mrs. Carpenter......and they arrive in Hugoton by eleven o'clock.....Sam arrives at the Methodist church being used as a courthouse. Judge Botkin, who holds Sam responsible for his impeachment, hears that Woods has arrived and inexplicably adjourns court until afternoon. Sam enters, and looks over the docket. The judge leaves, stepping past James Brennan lounging in the doorway. The judge says "hello, Jimmy" and he walks on towards the buggy and heartily greets Margaret, who has never met him, and heads up the street......Sam comes through the door passing close to the slouched man whose right hand is concealed to his side, and goes down the wooden stairs and towards his buggy. Brennan......fires once and hits Sam in the back...."

In all Sam Wood was shot by James Brennan three times and died on the floor of the church. Everyone in town knows who hired James Brennan to assassinate Sam Wood but neither Theodosius Botkin or James Brennan are convicted of the crime. A jury can't be found for the trial.

In the end, Theodosius, fearing for his life moves from Kansas to Salt Lake, Utah where he sits up a law practice. He was serving as U.S. Consul at Campbellton, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, when he died, May 27, 1918 at the age of 71. He is buried in Bellefontaine City Cemetery, Bellefontaine, Logan, Ohio. His Find a Grave memorial can be found here.

His memorial is simple and tells nothing of the story of the man he was. In addition, I don't find him in many family trees listed on Ancestry or Rootsweb and the information in those trees contain incomplete or inaccurate information. It seems time has forgotten Theodosious.

But now that I found him, I can't wait to learn more.

I Stand Corrected

2011-02-02T08:08:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I published a post on this blog, in response to one that Brenda posted at Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, regarding my local genealogy society. The post was critical of the society and expressed why I had chosen not to become a member.

A person who I admire very much read the posting and commented on it, correcting some assumptions that I made. Due to her words I removed the entry.

But then I started thinking.....I've always told my sons if they didn't like something but refused to get involved to change the situation then they lost their right to complain. If you are not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem. Yet here I sat voicing my frustrations with a society I was not a member of.

Can we all say hypocritical?

So I took the leap. I sent in my dues and joined the society. Monday night I attend my first meeting as an official member and the experience was a positive one in many ways.

First, a friend from my church genealogy group attended with me and also joined that evening. Together we believe it is time for us to join forces with the society. In her word "it's the right thing to do.....network with other genealogy folks."

I found the members, as a whole, very inviting. The speaker they engaged for the evening gave a fascinating talk on the history of the Pokagon Indians in the area and answered many questions the members had afterwards. The program scheduled for next month sounds equally as good and I can't wait to attend again.

Also, I was able to speak with a member who is experienced in indexing cemeteries regarding the project our small genealogy group has taken on. She gave me some extremely useful advice we can implement when the snow melts and we return to our work in the Spring. How's that for networking!

I still have some concerns about the society, but for now, I'll keep them to myself. Except for one.......there is still the issue of members falling asleep as soon as the speaker begins talking. Out of respect for the speaker I wish they would at least sit in the back row and not in front.

Maybe my first suggestion will be for stronger coffee.............

A Love Letter Obituary

2011-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you who didn't see this posted on Megan Smolenyak's Facebook page......have your tissues ready.

Mary Elizabeth Kittredge Jack

Visit Guest Book

Mary Elizabeth Kittredge Jack
March 23,1932 - January 9, 2011

Dear Mary,

I have rarely written you in the 54 years of our marriage. We were never apart that much. Your death on Sunday, January 9th, 2011, has, for awhile at least, changed that. Leukemia took nine years to alter our lives forever. I'm supposed to write an obituary but please, think of this as a love letter my dear. Others can think of it as a letter of remembrance or whatever they want.

We met, you remember, in a small restaurant at the corner of State and Congress. Introduced by friends, when they left we lingered on. The Longfellow restaurant is gone now, so is the building. We dated and often went to Wassons Grove for hamburgers and sat at their picnic tables under the pines. That's gone too.

It was the summer of 1955 and you had just graduated from three years at the Maine Medical School of Nursing. You were class president, second academically, and had aced your state Boards. You were an RN. I was just out of the Army having visited Korea and Japan. You were pretty, smart, and fun. You had a nice family. I was hooked.

You grew up in the Willard Beach section of South Portland. The beach was your playground. World War II made for exciting times with the forts, the shipyard, and the weekly launchings. You had five brothers and sisters to play with you. You were the third of six children born to Elmer G. and Ruth Gavett Kittredge. You were born on March 23, 1932. Did you know it was a Wednesday?

You graduated from South Portland High class of 1950 and worked two years before deciding on RN training. You later worked at Maine Medical Center as an assistant head nurse. We were married in 1957 and after our first child was born in 1959 you quit to raise our family. We found we had more common interests than expected; books, classical music, antiques, boats, swimming, travel and camping. You were an officer of Maine's first dive club. You made pre-dawn breakfasts for the gang when they came to the farm to go hunting. You took to cooking, gardening and canning food. Impressive. I hope I told you that along the way.

I was trying to start a business with no money. You helped there, too. You kept your part-time job. We needed the money. Soon the boys were old enough to help and it became a family business as it is today. You-worked right alongside of us doing almost every job as the company grew to six branches and scores of employees. As a corporate officer of K.L. Jack & Co, you mediated meetings and kept us all in line as only a mother can. We could not have done it without you. Customers still ask, "Where's Mary?" I wish I knew. Wherever you are I'm sure they like you. People, dogs, and flowers always responded well to you.

We did have some fun. Remember? Europe was nice but you liked Canada better especially New Foundland, Gaspe, and the Cabot Trail. When we took our sailboat, "Runaway", south for a few years that was the highlight of my travels. You liked the Bahamas the best, I think. Your favorite was our 12,000 mile RV trip to see the USA. I'm glad we got to do that. I am enclosing the picture I took in Zion Park near the waterfall. You were 74 then ..... still pretty, still sharp, still fun, and still fighting leukemia. If only we could do that trip one more time.

Mary, I have a nice lot-at Pine Grove in North Yarmouth. It's as pretty as a cemetery can be. My parents are there. They really liked you. My father said I was lucky. There is even room for our boys if they are-of a mind to join us someday. Not soon, I hope. Our sons Christopher (Chris) and Lawrence (Gus) Jack are not far away in Greater Portland as is our grandson Ryan Jack. For your sisters Joan Fine in Massachusetts and Claire Greer in Florida it's a bit far. It's handy for Patricia Powers in Cumberland and your brothers Steve and Scott Kittredge in South Portland. I know they will visit often and not forget you.

I will never forget you, and especially our last words. You were too weak to move and had not spoken for hours, and even then, so softly. I was sitting by your bed holding your hand. It was just before dawn and I was struggling to stay awake. Weakly, but very clearly, you said, "Kenneth." I stood and leaned over with my ear near you. You said, "I love you," and raised your head and kissed me on the cheek. I turned my head. Your eyes were open and you had a quirky smile on your face. I said, "I love you too, Mary. I always have and always will."

Your grateful husband,

Ken Jack

Oh, P.S. We are not going to have a service right now. We will do it in the spring when the flowers are out. It will be a better planned gathering of friends and family. By then we may all be able to smile once again. We'll let everyone know when & where and perhaps you can be there too, if only in spirit, and we'll all share our fond memories of you. There are so many.

To offer words of condolence to the family, sign a guest book and share memories, go to the obituary page at www.independentdeathcare.com

Published in Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on January 23, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Generations United

2011-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Mom and I at the gravesite of Isaac BOTKIN and Carolyn Minnear BOTKIN in Minnear Cemetery, La Fontaine, Indiana.

Isaac and Carolyn are mom's great-great grandparents and my great-great-great grandparents.

Photo taken October 2010. You can read the story of how we found Minnear Cemetery here.

Tombstone Tuesday - Rebecca Ann Botkin Brane

2011-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Rebecca Ann Botkin BRANE

b: Dec 1857 in Wabash County, Indiana

d: 1925 in Wabash County, Indiana

Rebecca is the daugher of Isaac and Caroline Minnear BOTKIN. On the 8 Sep 1880 she married William Henry BRANE in Wabash County, Indiana. They were the parents of one daughter, Florence S. BRANE.

Rebecca is buried along with William and Florence in the LaFontaine IOOF Cemetery, LaFontaine, Indiana. Her FAG memorial can be found here.

Military Monday - The Boys of the 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

2011-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Moses "Mode" D. Catey

b: 1837 in Indiana

d: 11 Mar 1866 in Wayne County, Indiana

Moses D. CATEY, oldest son of William B. and Sarah DAVIDSSON CATEY was born in 1837 in Indiana.

Mode served in the civil war along with his brothers George and William Henry "Big Hank". He enlisted in the 69th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company D on 18 Aug 1862. Mode was discharged for disability on 6 Aug 1863. He died 11 Mar 1866 at his Wayne County, Indiana home of consumption.

Mode is buried in Union Chapel Methodist Cemetery in Randolph County, Indiana. His FAG memorial can be found here.