So sorry for the (long) delay in updating with a post. Needless to say, tons of genealogy work, mistakes included, has gone on in the meantime.
It always seems that during a Nancy Drew story, she never incorrectly assumes anything. Her "who-did-it" assumptions always turn out correct. I wish it was that way in genealogy. When I last wrote, I was waiting for my great-great-grandfather's confederate pension application to travel all the way from Texas to Virginia. I assumed that since his application was made in Texas, it meant that he had been in Texas during the war. WRONG! While waiting for the copy of his application, I spent some time researching the Civil War in Texas, particularly Matagorda County, which was where his application was made. And though I did learn about what happened there, I was a good thousand miles away from where great-great-grandpa was. When his application finally arrived, I was very surprised to learn that he had served in...Tennessee! My jaw dropped open thinking of the incredible action he was a part of during that time. And I had to roll my eyes when thinking that I had wasted my time with research on the assumption that he had served in Texas.
Since then, I have taken a more cautious approach to my genealogy research. I do not start researching an area until I am absolutely certain that an ancestor was there at that time. I liken this tactic to the way I approach a body of water. Since I cannot swim, I never assume that it's not deep just because I can see the bottom. In the same way, since I was not there when an ancestor was, I will never again assume that an ancestor lived in a place or took part in an event until I know for sure.
As a side note, Lewis' application did include many other details and did fill in the blanks between his time growing up in Kentucky and living in Texas. Right now, his application is the gem of my genealogy collection.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Nancy Drew and the Missing Census Mystery
I read a Nancy Drew this past week: The Hidden Window Mystery. This coming weekend is a Nancy Drew convention in Charlottesville. This group chooses a location each year from a book. The Hidden Window Mystery takes place in, of all places, almost my backyard! My husband and I had a good laugh when one of the characters states that "the head of the university art department might help us. I'll call him." [Andy's office is a part of the fine arts department, hence our laughter.] But while reading this book (I should say re-reading, since I did read it about 18 year ago, and it's probably with all my other Nancy Drew books still at my parent's house), I was struck by the thought that the mystery solved never starts out on the same path where it ends up. And it's just like genealogy!
This week, I spent some time trying to find my great-great grandfather, Lewis Carlton Allen, in the 1870 and 1880 census. I have the 1850 and 1860 census for him. He lived in Kentucky then. The 1890 census is non-existent (destroyed in a fire), and I have the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 census when he lived in Texas. I had always been told that he was in the Civil War and fought for the Confederacy, though I didn't know where. In the Texas State Archives, I found an index for the Confederate pension applications that includes his application and his wife's widow application. Though I do not have a copy of the application (I made a request for copies from the Archives yesterday, so I should get them soon), this index said his service was in Matagorda County, Texas! That's on the coast near Galveston! How did he end up in Texas soon after he appeared in the 1860 census in Kentucky? After a quick search of the 1870 and 1880 census in Texas, I still cannot find him!
My next step in the search was to look at his siblings. All of them stayed either in Kentucky or another bordering state. Lewis seems to be the only one to "leave the nest" and go so far away. I found his older brother Jasper (older by about 14 years) in the 1870 census in Kentucky with his wife, Hulda, and family. Since I was on a Civil War trail, I decided to see if there were any military records for Jasper. To my surprise, I found records for Jasper, but not quite what I expected. Jasper fought for the Union in Kentucky! Kentucky was a border state and it was here that "brother truly fought against brother." Another brother, William G., also fought for the Union in Illinois!
Now here is another interesting aspect: their great-grandfather, Ananias Allen, owned 4 slaves in 1790, then 1 slave in 1830. Other family members (cousins, uncles) owned a few slaves. But by the time you get to the 1850's, I haven't found any immediate family members who owned slaves. Could this be the reason that Lewis left Kentucky shortly after the 1860 census? Was there a difference of opinions over slavery in his family? I will probably never know. But I began my Nancy Drew family sleuthing trying to solve one mystery, and ended up solving another instead. Hopefully when I receive Lewis' Confederate Pension Application soon, it will shed more light on his whereabouts during his years missing from the census record.
This week, I spent some time trying to find my great-great grandfather, Lewis Carlton Allen, in the 1870 and 1880 census. I have the 1850 and 1860 census for him. He lived in Kentucky then. The 1890 census is non-existent (destroyed in a fire), and I have the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 census when he lived in Texas. I had always been told that he was in the Civil War and fought for the Confederacy, though I didn't know where. In the Texas State Archives, I found an index for the Confederate pension applications that includes his application and his wife's widow application. Though I do not have a copy of the application (I made a request for copies from the Archives yesterday, so I should get them soon), this index said his service was in Matagorda County, Texas! That's on the coast near Galveston! How did he end up in Texas soon after he appeared in the 1860 census in Kentucky? After a quick search of the 1870 and 1880 census in Texas, I still cannot find him!
My next step in the search was to look at his siblings. All of them stayed either in Kentucky or another bordering state. Lewis seems to be the only one to "leave the nest" and go so far away. I found his older brother Jasper (older by about 14 years) in the 1870 census in Kentucky with his wife, Hulda, and family. Since I was on a Civil War trail, I decided to see if there were any military records for Jasper. To my surprise, I found records for Jasper, but not quite what I expected. Jasper fought for the Union in Kentucky! Kentucky was a border state and it was here that "brother truly fought against brother." Another brother, William G., also fought for the Union in Illinois!
Now here is another interesting aspect: their great-grandfather, Ananias Allen, owned 4 slaves in 1790, then 1 slave in 1830. Other family members (cousins, uncles) owned a few slaves. But by the time you get to the 1850's, I haven't found any immediate family members who owned slaves. Could this be the reason that Lewis left Kentucky shortly after the 1860 census? Was there a difference of opinions over slavery in his family? I will probably never know. But I began my Nancy Drew family sleuthing trying to solve one mystery, and ended up solving another instead. Hopefully when I receive Lewis' Confederate Pension Application soon, it will shed more light on his whereabouts during his years missing from the census record.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Nancy Drew and the Many-Angled Mystery
Nancy Drew always seems so thorough in solving her mysteries. She looks at every angle of the situation. We should do the same with genealogy.
I know many people are satisfied with simply having the names and dates of ancestors. Not me! I want to discover and know every aspect about them and know what shaped them. Finding this information will take all of you inner Nancy Drew-like sleuthing skills.
For example, one ancestor, John Beasley, was born 14 Feb 1813 in Georgia. Many genealogists would record this birth date and move on to find other information. But I want to dig deeper and find other angles at which to view him. First, what was happening in the world in 1813? The U.S. had only been its own country for about 35 years! I know he was born in Georgia, though I haven't found any evidence of where in Georgia. If I go on the assumption of who many family trees have as his father (though no paper trail has been found yet to prove his father), his "father" is shown as being married in 1811 in Morgan, Georgia. Where is this in Georgia? What is this area like? Doing research on Georgia history, I find that this area of Georgia was created from Creek Indian lands acquired in 1814 in the Treaty of Fort Jackson. That would mean that if John Beasley was born in that area in 1813, technically, he was born on Indian lands. What were those living conditions like? What exactly was happening in this area between Indians, settlers, and the U.S. government?
As I find out more information about John Beasley, more questions of this type desire to be answered. In the 1840 census, he appears in Stoddard Co., Missouri. What was that area like at the time? What would have prompted him to settle there? Did he make any stops on the way to Missouri? Later, he moved to Texas. Again, why? What were conditions like there? What was going on in the world during this period of history?
I think any genealogist who truly wants to understand their family roots will ask these types of questions and will try to view their ancestors from every possible angle, not just the names and dates. The easiest place to start this type of sleuthing is with a notebook and computer (Nancy had her notebook and blue car - but with today's gas prices, the computer is cheaper!). In your notebook, write down the questions you have about your ancestor and where they lived. Then start to Google. Or if you live in the same area as your ancestor, take a trip to your local library. Many public libraries have reading rooms filled with local history resources. A large university library may have many state-level historical resources. As you look at all the angles of your ancestor, remember to provide documentation and always have a paper trail for your claims. Nancy Drew would do nothing less!
I know many people are satisfied with simply having the names and dates of ancestors. Not me! I want to discover and know every aspect about them and know what shaped them. Finding this information will take all of you inner Nancy Drew-like sleuthing skills.
For example, one ancestor, John Beasley, was born 14 Feb 1813 in Georgia. Many genealogists would record this birth date and move on to find other information. But I want to dig deeper and find other angles at which to view him. First, what was happening in the world in 1813? The U.S. had only been its own country for about 35 years! I know he was born in Georgia, though I haven't found any evidence of where in Georgia. If I go on the assumption of who many family trees have as his father (though no paper trail has been found yet to prove his father), his "father" is shown as being married in 1811 in Morgan, Georgia. Where is this in Georgia? What is this area like? Doing research on Georgia history, I find that this area of Georgia was created from Creek Indian lands acquired in 1814 in the Treaty of Fort Jackson. That would mean that if John Beasley was born in that area in 1813, technically, he was born on Indian lands. What were those living conditions like? What exactly was happening in this area between Indians, settlers, and the U.S. government?
As I find out more information about John Beasley, more questions of this type desire to be answered. In the 1840 census, he appears in Stoddard Co., Missouri. What was that area like at the time? What would have prompted him to settle there? Did he make any stops on the way to Missouri? Later, he moved to Texas. Again, why? What were conditions like there? What was going on in the world during this period of history?
I think any genealogist who truly wants to understand their family roots will ask these types of questions and will try to view their ancestors from every possible angle, not just the names and dates. The easiest place to start this type of sleuthing is with a notebook and computer (Nancy had her notebook and blue car - but with today's gas prices, the computer is cheaper!). In your notebook, write down the questions you have about your ancestor and where they lived. Then start to Google. Or if you live in the same area as your ancestor, take a trip to your local library. Many public libraries have reading rooms filled with local history resources. A large university library may have many state-level historical resources. As you look at all the angles of your ancestor, remember to provide documentation and always have a paper trail for your claims. Nancy Drew would do nothing less!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Nancy Drew and Her Back-up Crew
In every Nancy Drew story, Nancy always had her "back-up crew" with her. George and Bess always seemed to be with Nancy for every adventure, though I primarily remember them as being the brawn of the bunch. Nancy was the brains. It was Nancy who put the pieces of the puzzle together to solve the mystery. George and Bess were along for the ride, and perhaps to undo the ropes around Nancy when the bad guys tied her up.
When you research your family tree, you are Nancy Drew. You are the one gathering all the information and putting all the pieces together. But, you cannot forget your back-up crew. Your crew consists of relatives who may know family stories or can verify facts. It also consists of other genealogists who very willingly serve as your back-up when the going gets tough (though I don't think they will literally untie the ropes if you are ever in that type of situation). There are many times when I have come to what I think is a dead-end in my research, only to have another genealogist find a document that will help me continue.
When I began researching the Polish side of the family, I found many dead-ends. I was unfamiliar with immigration documents and resources. One day, I posted a general message about an ancestor on a message board. It was a truly horrible message - something along the lines of "Looking for XX (18xx-19xx), married YY, etc." And I posted it in a general Poland message board instead of the area they came from (which I didn't know). Fortunately, the back-up crew came to my rescue. A nice gentleman found immigration documents telling from where the family came (these documents were right under my nose, by the way). He emailed me copies of all the documents he found, and even included a map of Poland with the city they came from circled!
Recently, I posted another message about another Polish relative. I had a suspicion that I knew who her parents were, but I did not have any proof that they were (remember the "burden of proof"?). By posting this message, another woman helped me by finding the parent's obituary, naming his daughter as the relative I had posted about. She also found other obituaries for that family. Turns out, she has a subscription to a newspaper archive website, which is why I was unable to find any obituaries for the family in my own searches. She emailed me a copy of the obituaries for my files.
My back-up crew came to my rescue in my family tree mystery. I now have some more puzzle pieces that I can put together and continue on in my search. But just as I have a back-up crew, so must I be a part of a back-up crew for another researcher. I must also be on the lookout for other genealogists who are "tied-up" in a dead end and help them "undo the rope." If a researcher is looking for someone who would go to the county courthouse to get a copy of a record, I need to answer the call. Or if I have access to a resource that another researcher does not have access to, I need to willingly offer my services to find that information for them. It's all part of the genealogy search: sometimes being a Nancy, other times being a George or Bess.
When you research your family tree, you are Nancy Drew. You are the one gathering all the information and putting all the pieces together. But, you cannot forget your back-up crew. Your crew consists of relatives who may know family stories or can verify facts. It also consists of other genealogists who very willingly serve as your back-up when the going gets tough (though I don't think they will literally untie the ropes if you are ever in that type of situation). There are many times when I have come to what I think is a dead-end in my research, only to have another genealogist find a document that will help me continue.
When I began researching the Polish side of the family, I found many dead-ends. I was unfamiliar with immigration documents and resources. One day, I posted a general message about an ancestor on a message board. It was a truly horrible message - something along the lines of "Looking for XX (18xx-19xx), married YY, etc." And I posted it in a general Poland message board instead of the area they came from (which I didn't know). Fortunately, the back-up crew came to my rescue. A nice gentleman found immigration documents telling from where the family came (these documents were right under my nose, by the way). He emailed me copies of all the documents he found, and even included a map of Poland with the city they came from circled!
Recently, I posted another message about another Polish relative. I had a suspicion that I knew who her parents were, but I did not have any proof that they were (remember the "burden of proof"?). By posting this message, another woman helped me by finding the parent's obituary, naming his daughter as the relative I had posted about. She also found other obituaries for that family. Turns out, she has a subscription to a newspaper archive website, which is why I was unable to find any obituaries for the family in my own searches. She emailed me a copy of the obituaries for my files.
My back-up crew came to my rescue in my family tree mystery. I now have some more puzzle pieces that I can put together and continue on in my search. But just as I have a back-up crew, so must I be a part of a back-up crew for another researcher. I must also be on the lookout for other genealogists who are "tied-up" in a dead end and help them "undo the rope." If a researcher is looking for someone who would go to the county courthouse to get a copy of a record, I need to answer the call. Or if I have access to a resource that another researcher does not have access to, I need to willingly offer my services to find that information for them. It's all part of the genealogy search: sometimes being a Nancy, other times being a George or Bess.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Nanci Dru and the Misspelled Name
We all know how Nancy Drew spells her name. Or do we? What if you found "Nanci Dru" listed in the census instead of our known spelling? Would it throw you for a loop? Perplex you? Or would you find it somewhat interesting? Hopefully you would find it interesting, because you will come across many "misspelled" names in genealogy. Remember, though, that the "correct" spelling of names did not really become important until this past century. Most people could not read or write (check out some of your ancestors in the census and see if they could). Some could not even speak English (again, if you have any immigrant relatives, see what their census information says). Therefore, most names were written down the way they sounded. And when you add in people of different parts of the country writing down the names they hear other people saying, you have the perfect recipe for "misspelled" names.
Some misspellings are just by one letter. In the 1900 census, my husband's great-grandfather's family is listed as Burnett. In 1910, an e was added to the end. But in 1920, it was back to Burnett. Other misspellings are downright crazy. I know I've mentioned my husband's Polish side of the family. Take the name Gonsiewski. In 1910, it appears as Gonsiewski, but in 1930, we get Gasiewski. The craziest is the name Bednarczyk. In 1910, we have Brnardszyk! A 1931 Syracuse City directory spelled the name as Bednarezwk! But if you pronounced those different spellings with a Polish accent, they would all sound similar.
So how would Nanci Dru go about finding her ancestors? I think she would get creative and start misspelling all the names. Type in the known spelling in a search box, then go back and try a "misspelled" name. Change the y to an i, an ew to a u. A name starts with an L? Try searching with a P instead (this worked with another family name, Lara. The L in the census is rather loopy-looking, like a P. Because of this, it was indexed as Para instead). If you have immigrants in your family, do a little research on the native spellings and pronunciations of that language. That will help when you search for an anglicized form of the name. And like Nancy Drew, keep investigating!
Some misspellings are just by one letter. In the 1900 census, my husband's great-grandfather's family is listed as Burnett. In 1910, an e was added to the end. But in 1920, it was back to Burnett. Other misspellings are downright crazy. I know I've mentioned my husband's Polish side of the family. Take the name Gonsiewski. In 1910, it appears as Gonsiewski, but in 1930, we get Gasiewski. The craziest is the name Bednarczyk. In 1910, we have Brnardszyk! A 1931 Syracuse City directory spelled the name as Bednarezwk! But if you pronounced those different spellings with a Polish accent, they would all sound similar.
So how would Nanci Dru go about finding her ancestors? I think she would get creative and start misspelling all the names. Type in the known spelling in a search box, then go back and try a "misspelled" name. Change the y to an i, an ew to a u. A name starts with an L? Try searching with a P instead (this worked with another family name, Lara. The L in the census is rather loopy-looking, like a P. Because of this, it was indexed as Para instead). If you have immigrants in your family, do a little research on the native spellings and pronunciations of that language. That will help when you search for an anglicized form of the name. And like Nancy Drew, keep investigating!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Nancy Drew and the case of the Kate Middletons
I saw an article a few days ago introducing other "Kate Middletons", those who are having a difficult time with using their given name right now because it's also the name of the future Princess of Wales. It's a reminder that there will always be people with the same name, especially in family trees. There is a wonderful legacy in passing on your name to one of your children. But it can also create chaos in research, particularly if the family has an obsession with the same name.
My husband's mother's family is the perfect example of a naming obsession. In fact, not just the family, but the entire Polish community of which they were a part. Johns, Stanleys, Peters, and Marys all abound in the census records. The only way to tell them apart is by their birthdays! As I mentioned in my last post, you want to have a paper trail to prove your information about your relatives. That paper trail is even more important when talking about relatives with the same name.
Now most family trees only include direct ancestors. Most others I know who research genealogy do not even include the siblings of an ancestor. I beg to differ. Though I do not include the children of those siblings, including the siblings of ancestors helps to correctly identify your direct ancestors, especially if it is family tradition to use the same names in each generation. It will help to know if the document you are looking at pertains to John your great-grandfather, John your 2nd cousin twice removed, or an unrelated John. Having the names and dates of siblings helps to identify your ancestor from among the unrelated people who have the same name. Using siblings is the only way I have been able to correctly identify my great-great grandfather. Another person with his same name was born 2 years after him in the same part of Kentucky. Not only that, they appear in the same county in the census! The only way to tell them apart was by using my knowledge of his siblings. He was living with his sister at the time. The other was living with his parents and a slew of siblings whose names did not match the names of my great-great grandfather's siblings. How confusing!
Besides helping identify the correct ancestor, sibling's names can also be used to find information about your ancestor. There may be an obituary about a sibling that mentions your direct ancestor, or a sibling's will leaving something to your ancestor. Google the sibling's name to see what come up. But never underestimate the power of knowing the names of siblings! They are an important piece of the puzzle identifying your ancestor from the other "Kate Middletons."
My husband's mother's family is the perfect example of a naming obsession. In fact, not just the family, but the entire Polish community of which they were a part. Johns, Stanleys, Peters, and Marys all abound in the census records. The only way to tell them apart is by their birthdays! As I mentioned in my last post, you want to have a paper trail to prove your information about your relatives. That paper trail is even more important when talking about relatives with the same name.
Now most family trees only include direct ancestors. Most others I know who research genealogy do not even include the siblings of an ancestor. I beg to differ. Though I do not include the children of those siblings, including the siblings of ancestors helps to correctly identify your direct ancestors, especially if it is family tradition to use the same names in each generation. It will help to know if the document you are looking at pertains to John your great-grandfather, John your 2nd cousin twice removed, or an unrelated John. Having the names and dates of siblings helps to identify your ancestor from among the unrelated people who have the same name. Using siblings is the only way I have been able to correctly identify my great-great grandfather. Another person with his same name was born 2 years after him in the same part of Kentucky. Not only that, they appear in the same county in the census! The only way to tell them apart was by using my knowledge of his siblings. He was living with his sister at the time. The other was living with his parents and a slew of siblings whose names did not match the names of my great-great grandfather's siblings. How confusing!
Besides helping identify the correct ancestor, sibling's names can also be used to find information about your ancestor. There may be an obituary about a sibling that mentions your direct ancestor, or a sibling's will leaving something to your ancestor. Google the sibling's name to see what come up. But never underestimate the power of knowing the names of siblings! They are an important piece of the puzzle identifying your ancestor from the other "Kate Middletons."
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Nancy Drew and the Burden of Proof
Can you imagine if Nancy Drew made an accusation against the bad guy without having any sort of proof? Her case against them would not hold up in court, much to the embarrassment of her father who just happens to be an attorney. I'm pretty certain her father would want to see the paper trail!
And so it is with genealogy. It is easy to claim someone as an ancestor without having the proof. There are many family trees available on the internet, but not many have the documents to back it up. We need to see the paper trail! Ancestry.com is a great place to get started on your family tree [I am in no way compensated for promoting Ancestry.com (though if they're reading this... :) ). I find their subscription service to be very helpful in locating documents pertaining to my ancestors]. But, caveat emptor! It is easy to get excited and carried away in searching for ancestors, especially when you have found a gem of an ancestor, and click on every other person's own family tree to add their information to yours without verifying the facts. I have done this with my own tree (though I am going back to find the paper trail for each person)! If I had taken my time with each person to find my proof, instead of letting the excitement of the moment get to me, I would be saving myself a lot of time now.
What do genealogists use as proof? Census documents are always the first to come to mind. Other documents would be military records (I found many WWI draft cards for my family tree), immigration records, ship manifests, newspaper articles, wills, local histories, land records, church records, and cemetery records, just to name a few. Another helpful tip to get started is simply a Google search. Type in the name of an ancestor with perhaps a birth or death date, maybe with a spouse's name, or with a location. By a Google search, I was able to find a document mentioning my great-great grandmother's first spouse (who was the person I was actually looking for), which then led me to a marriage license document and his obituary.
I think it is alright to add information to an ancestor's file that you believe pertains to them. But make sure you put a note there saying that you believe this is true but that you don't have the evidence for it yet. If another family tree lists an ancestor's parents, but you do not have any evidence that they are indeed the real parents, I would pencil in the names on your family tree, but do not begin to research them until you know for sure that they are the parents. Why spend the time researching a line you are not sure is the correct one? Above all, don't believe everything you read on the internet or see in another family tree about your ancestor. Find that piece of proof. Build that case for your ancestor that Nancy Drew's father would want to work with.
And so it is with genealogy. It is easy to claim someone as an ancestor without having the proof. There are many family trees available on the internet, but not many have the documents to back it up. We need to see the paper trail! Ancestry.com is a great place to get started on your family tree [I am in no way compensated for promoting Ancestry.com (though if they're reading this... :) ). I find their subscription service to be very helpful in locating documents pertaining to my ancestors]. But, caveat emptor! It is easy to get excited and carried away in searching for ancestors, especially when you have found a gem of an ancestor, and click on every other person's own family tree to add their information to yours without verifying the facts. I have done this with my own tree (though I am going back to find the paper trail for each person)! If I had taken my time with each person to find my proof, instead of letting the excitement of the moment get to me, I would be saving myself a lot of time now.
What do genealogists use as proof? Census documents are always the first to come to mind. Other documents would be military records (I found many WWI draft cards for my family tree), immigration records, ship manifests, newspaper articles, wills, local histories, land records, church records, and cemetery records, just to name a few. Another helpful tip to get started is simply a Google search. Type in the name of an ancestor with perhaps a birth or death date, maybe with a spouse's name, or with a location. By a Google search, I was able to find a document mentioning my great-great grandmother's first spouse (who was the person I was actually looking for), which then led me to a marriage license document and his obituary.
I think it is alright to add information to an ancestor's file that you believe pertains to them. But make sure you put a note there saying that you believe this is true but that you don't have the evidence for it yet. If another family tree lists an ancestor's parents, but you do not have any evidence that they are indeed the real parents, I would pencil in the names on your family tree, but do not begin to research them until you know for sure that they are the parents. Why spend the time researching a line you are not sure is the correct one? Above all, don't believe everything you read on the internet or see in another family tree about your ancestor. Find that piece of proof. Build that case for your ancestor that Nancy Drew's father would want to work with.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Nancy's Missed Interview
What if Nancy Drew missed an interview opportunity? Would she have had the facts she needed to solve the mystery? Would the mystery have been easier if she had only asked the right questions?
Every genealogy research guide will tell you to begin with two things: 1) Start with yourself and work your way backwards, and 2) Interview all of your elderly relatives. I must admit that I severely overlooked the second step. There were so many times that I could have asked my grandparents questions, and I didn't. Case in point: The famous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde killed Doyle Johnson in Temple, Texas on December 25, 1932. Mr. Johnson lived at 606 S. 13th Street. According to the 1930 census, my grandfather lived at 1305 S. 45th Street. It was perhaps a mile away. During a visit to my grandparents, the thought crossed my mind to ask my grandfather if he remembered this (he would have been about 11 at the time). That entire visit, I never asked. Sadly, that opportunity to ask ended almost 4 years ago. I also never thought to ask him about his service in the army during WWII. Only in his obituary did I find out that he had been awarded the EAME Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Star, a Good Conduct Medal and Victory Ribbon with 1 Service Stripe, and 4 Overseas Service Bars.
I am determined to not let any remaining opportunities to pass away. I've no doubt that certain relatives find me nosy. Others are happy to share their memories and will write pages of information for me. I still kick myself for not asking my grandfather about Bonnie and Clyde, among many other questions, but it has given me the guts to ask some rather personal questions to people. And with the determination of Nancy Drew, I will not miss any more interviews.
Every genealogy research guide will tell you to begin with two things: 1) Start with yourself and work your way backwards, and 2) Interview all of your elderly relatives. I must admit that I severely overlooked the second step. There were so many times that I could have asked my grandparents questions, and I didn't. Case in point: The famous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde killed Doyle Johnson in Temple, Texas on December 25, 1932. Mr. Johnson lived at 606 S. 13th Street. According to the 1930 census, my grandfather lived at 1305 S. 45th Street. It was perhaps a mile away. During a visit to my grandparents, the thought crossed my mind to ask my grandfather if he remembered this (he would have been about 11 at the time). That entire visit, I never asked. Sadly, that opportunity to ask ended almost 4 years ago. I also never thought to ask him about his service in the army during WWII. Only in his obituary did I find out that he had been awarded the EAME Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Star, a Good Conduct Medal and Victory Ribbon with 1 Service Stripe, and 4 Overseas Service Bars.
I am determined to not let any remaining opportunities to pass away. I've no doubt that certain relatives find me nosy. Others are happy to share their memories and will write pages of information for me. I still kick myself for not asking my grandfather about Bonnie and Clyde, among many other questions, but it has given me the guts to ask some rather personal questions to people. And with the determination of Nancy Drew, I will not miss any more interviews.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Stratemeyer's Rule No. 1: End each chapter with a cliffhanger
Genealogy research can easily become an obsession. Countless hours may be spent just finding basic details about one person. Before you know it, you have pages upon pages of facts and notes all over the room. Hand-drawn family trees are scattered about, and you bookmark every web page you come across that mentions an ancestor's name. The image of every census record you find is copied to a folder on your desktop named "Genealogy", and you soon realize that you have more pictures of census pages than you do of your child's entire life!
And for every ancestor you find information about, you usually have to add two more people (parents) to the list of people to research. The questions and the searching never seem to stop! My solution is to keep a plain, spiral notebook and write down any questions I think of in it, and to follow Stratemeyer's rule: End each chapter with a cliffhanger. What fun is it to find all the answers and leave no cliffhangers? Aren't the cliffhangers what kept us up all night trying to finish a Nancy Drew story? And weren't we so excited when we finished that particular story that we just had to get the next book? So, too, is genealogy research.
Leave each section of the research with a cliffhanger, and you'll be excited to start the next part.
"Mysteries!" Ned exclaimed, turning out the lantern. "Haven't you had enough of them?"
Just like the ending of a Nancy Drew story, so is family genealogy. Once you solve one mystery, there is another waiting for you. And like Nancy, you will never have enough.
*For interesting background information on the Nancy Drew series, check out Melanie Rehak's Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the women who created her from your local library.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Nancy Drew 59: The Secret in the Old Lace
Many years ago, my grandmother gave me two old doilies made by my great-grandmother. I put them in a shadow box, placed some biographical information about my great-grandmother on the back, and hung them on my living room wall. We're in a different house, but they're still on the living room wall.
When my grandmother gave them to me, I began to do genealogical research. Needless to say, I didn't get very far. I was an undergrad, busy writing all those college papers! What little research I did was stuffed in a box, which was then moved to four different abodes.
In the meantime, a little boy came along, then graduate school work in library science, followed by a little girl. It was in choosing that little girl's name that a renewed interest in genealogy surfaced (also helped that I had developed an interest in reference materials and information searches in library science). I got to choose her name since my husband had chosen our boy's name. While thinking about names, I looked at those old doilies on the living room wall: Kate! We should name our little girl after my great-grandmother!
Then came another mission: truly research our family's genealogy. Have it not only for my own interest in history, but so that our future generations can have it. So that my Kate can know more about her great-great-grandmother Kate.
This, then, is my story and journey of family research, Nancy Drew style. Using what I learned in library science to help solve the family mysteries.
When my grandmother gave them to me, I began to do genealogical research. Needless to say, I didn't get very far. I was an undergrad, busy writing all those college papers! What little research I did was stuffed in a box, which was then moved to four different abodes.
In the meantime, a little boy came along, then graduate school work in library science, followed by a little girl. It was in choosing that little girl's name that a renewed interest in genealogy surfaced (also helped that I had developed an interest in reference materials and information searches in library science). I got to choose her name since my husband had chosen our boy's name. While thinking about names, I looked at those old doilies on the living room wall: Kate! We should name our little girl after my great-grandmother!
Then came another mission: truly research our family's genealogy. Have it not only for my own interest in history, but so that our future generations can have it. So that my Kate can know more about her great-great-grandmother Kate.
This, then, is my story and journey of family research, Nancy Drew style. Using what I learned in library science to help solve the family mysteries.
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