My Top 10 Genealogy Finds in 2014

2014 has been an amazing year for me and my genealogy research. With increased knowledge, time, and resources available, I've uncovered some amazing discoveries! I had thought about making a "top 10" booklet for my family as Christmas gifts, but didn't get around to it. Maybe I will still do that but give it to them for Valentine's Day. But, for now, I thought I'd highlight my top 10 finds of the year.

1839 Marriage Record - Parish of Prestwich, Lancaster County, England from Ancestry.com

#10 - I didn't start blogging until March of this year, so my first "find" is actually from the end of 2013. It was huge! In November, I made my first "jump across the pond" when I found my 3rd great grandparent's (James Eastwood & Sarah Hall) 1839 marriage record from Lancaster, England! After finding this location, I was able to find birth, marriage, and death records and go back another generation.

Gov. LaFollette of Wisconsin addressing Chautauqua assembly, Decatur, Ill. c.1905
(image from Wikipedia)

#9 - This is a more distant relative and I didn't blog about it, but I found out my 2nd cousin, 5 times removed was Bishop John Heyl Vincent. Bishop J. H. Vincent was one of the two founders of Chautauqua - an adult education movement in the late 1800's & early 1900's. I found many newspaper articles about him including one that starts with this... "General Grant once introduced Bishop J. H. Vincent to President Lincoln and said: 'Dr. Vincent was my pastor at Galena, Ill., and I do not think that I missed one of his sermons while I lived there.'" The next paragraph said, "This same Bishop Vincent, of good old Pennsylvania stock and for many years a resident of Pennsylvania, was the founder of the Chautauqua assembly, next only to the public school system in bringing to the masses of the people some share of their inheritance in the world's great creations in art and literature." [Today in Pennsylvania History, Altoona Mirror, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 09 May 1924, page 11, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, accessed 08 Dec 2014.]

Barbara Grozinger's 1616 baptism record found on FHL film

#8 - After finding my English ancestors, I made another huge discovery when I found the place of origin of one of my German families: the Kaechle's. I first found a marriage record (index only) of my 3rd great grandparents (Thaddeus Kaechle & Katharina Kern) which gave the names of Thaddeus' parents (Anton Koechle/Kaechle & Anna Diringer). From there, I found a site where someone had indexed hundreds of years of church records (Ortsfamilienbuch fur Grissheim) at the church where Thaddeus was born! His ancestors had attended that church for centuries. The oldest record I found was the 1616 baptism of my 8th great grandmother, Barbara Grozinger. That's almost 400 years old! (The location was Grissheim in Baden-Wurttemberg.)

U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926
Marriage record; date: Aug 12, 1710
found on ancestry.com

#7 - Several years ago I discovered I had French Huguenot ancestors (surnames Doremus & Vincent/Van Sant) who had escaped to The Netherlands before coming to America in the late 1600's. But, just recently I found my first document that shows my 8th great grandfather, Cornelis Cornelisse Doremus, was born in The Netherlands! The record is his 1710 marriage record to my 8th great grandmother, Rachel Pietersen. It says he was born in Middleburg, Zeeland, which is part of The Netherlands!

1847 marriage record of Anton Kehrbach & Maria Anna Reuter

#6 - I traced another family back to Germany this year (so, my 3rd location in Europe!) when I located a distant cousin on My Heritage. He had an 1847 marriage record for my 3rd great grandparents, Anton Kehrbach (Korback) & Maria Anna Reuter. Not only did this record show where this family had come from (Ediger which is a small village in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate), but it also gave the names of both of their parents!

#5 - I busted through a brick wall by uncovering my 4th great grandfather's father! Andrew McClintock/McClintic was born in August of 1804 in Pennsylvania. I'd been stuck at this generation for many years. This information came from a researcher I'd hired in Pennsylvania. (The same one who helped me with the Stiver's in #9.) She had transcribed some church records and had the baptism of Andrew McClintock listing his father, John McClintock.

Headstone of Jacob T Dickson, Confederate soldier

#4 - The Civil War Questionnaire of Jacob Tipton Dickson, my great, great grandfather's younger brother. The questionnaire was sent out to Civil War soldiers who were still alive in 1920.  Besides verifying their mother's maiden name, Sally McCage, I love the language of this man from Tennessee and can only imagine that my great, great grandfather would have talked (& spelled words!) the same way. Here are a few of the questions:

...Remarks on Ancestry... my grate parance was from Orolan [?]  and they Died while I were small and I dident never know them

...If you owned land... Now I diden owen any thing I were stayen at home

...Did you parents own slaves?... My father Owen 6 Slaves

I will definitely blog more about this document as I think it is priceless and a wonderful 'find'!

Her Death is Cause for Four Being Held, Springfield Republican, Springfield, Missouri, 01 Nov 1911,
page 1, column 4, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

#3 - I uncovered not one, but two MURDERS in my family this year! That's just crazy! This first one was the murder of my 3rd great grandfather's granddaughter. Her name was Ollie Werther and she married Roy Crockett in about 1909 or 1910. The marriage lasted maybe a year and then, after quarreling, Ollie went home to her dad and told him she had proof that her husband had committed arson on one of their houses to collect the insurance money. They turned this information over to the authorities and Roy was arrested. Allegedly, Roy's sister, brother, cousin & a friend poisoned Ollie with morphine to keep her from testifying against Roy! I found articles acquitting the two females of their murder charges, but have yet to find anything about the two males. As for Roy, he was "surrendered to his bondsman" a few years later, but also started another family, an oil business, and became both a judge and  mayor in Texas!

Ephraim P Bennett's Missouri State Penitentiary Records from the Missouri State Archives

#2 - The other murder I uncovered was actually one that had been passed down in my family, though I hadn't heard the story. I first discovered it after finding my great, great grandmother's brother in the state penitentiary in the 1900 census. From there, I ordered prison records and then found newspaper articles about the murder. 

Ephraim Bennett's brother-in-law, Nathan L Buchanan, was physically abusing his wife, Louisa Jane, Ephraim's sister. At one point, Nathan hit her on the head with a log from the fire and she ended up having to go to an asylum for awhile. Ephraim loaned Nathan the money he needed to commit her, but then one day came out into the field where Nathan was working and shot and killed him. He then turned himself in to the authorities. There most be more to the story as, that night, a lynch mob of somewhere between 50 to 200 men came to hang Ephraim! The family story that was passed down made Ephraim sound like a hero. But, the lynch mob makes me wonder what really happened. I hope to find out more! (I wrote quite a few posts about this murder as I uncovered the story.)

My grandmother & her best friend, circa 1925 (original at my aunt & uncle's in Kansas)

#1 - My biggest "find" of 2014 was the absolutely amazing amount of family photos & memorabilia that my aunt & uncle have at their house. Not only do they have at least 100 old photos, they have baby books, report cards, journals, poems written by family members, land records, newspaper clippings, and so much more! They inherited the work of my Grand Aunt, Beulah Brewer, who started me on this journey back in 1998. Their friend, Cheryl, is a retired librarian who has spent several years putting all of the records both in binders and in a genealogy program. I visited them in Kansas back in October and came home with over 900 images! Wow!!! Some of my favorite photos are those of my grandmother as a young girl.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out! (A Letter to Santa Claus)

My husband's favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story in which  Ralphie wants a BB gun but the adults all tell him, "You'll shoot your eye out!" It's taken me years to appreciate this movie, but now I look forward to seeing it every year.

A few months ago, I found a newspaper clipping at newspapers.com which was a "Dear Santa" letter from my husband's grand uncle (his grandmother's brother). I was amused to see that this 7-year-old was also asking for a BB gun. But, he was also asking for things my husband's other grandparents talked about getting at Christmas: fruit & candy. Frank also seems concerned that Santa might not be able to find them since they are moving, which is a great genealogical find!

Here's the clipping from Haskell News dated the 18th of December, 1919:

Dear Santa Claus, Haskell News, Haskell, Oklahoma, 18 Dec 1919,
page 12, column 3, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com, accessed 13 Sep 2014)

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Great Gift Idea: A Newspaper Clipping Mug

I was 'making' mugs on Shutterfly this morning while thinking about last minute gift ideas. (You can still order them today and get them in time for Christmas with 2-day shipping!) I decided to use some of my heritage photos to see how they looked.

I accidentally clicked on an obituary for my 2nd great grandmother's brother, Emil Werther. While it's kind of creepy to have a mug with an obituary, I think it looks really neat!

Mug sample created with Shutterfly

So, while you probably don't want to order an obituary mug for your loved one, how about using another clipping? I think a wedding announcement mug for a 50th anniversary would be wonderful! Or, in honor of the Christmas season, do you have an old "Dear Santa" clipping? Or even a present day birth announcement mug for new parents?

The mugs also come in black so you might play with both and see which works better. Please let me know if you end up making a newspaper clipping mug!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

SNGF - Make a Surname Christmas Tree

Oops! Somehow I ended up on one of Randy's challenges from last December on Genea-Musings. Oh, well! I'm going to go ahead and post it. It was fun!

So, the challenge was to create a surname genealogy tree and share how you did it. I went to my RootsMagic and created a surname list based on frequency. I then started typing the names in Word while creating a tree shape. I added a star from the 'drawing' tools and then my husband helped me to save it in PowerPoint as I was lost as how to get the image on my blog. Here's the result of some of my most common surnames!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Proof My 8th Great Grandfather was Born in The Netherlands! (& a question)

I had read multiple times that my 8th great grandfather, Cornelis Cornelisse Doremus, was born in The Netherlands. His family were supposedly French Huguenots who escaped religious persecution of protestants in France by moving to Holland in the mid 1600's. His father, Cornelis, brought his young family to New Amsterdam in the New World in about 1685 or 1686. Cornelis Doremus, my 9th great grandfather, is listed on The National Huguenot Society's list of qualified Huguenot ancestors. But, I'd never seen any proof that Cornelis Cornelisse Doremus was born in The Netherlands. Until this week.

In January of this year, Ancestry added a collection titled "U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926." I just stumbled across it a few days ago. And, I've been absolutely amazed at the records I've found from the 1600 & 1700's!

U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926
Marriage record; date: Aug 12, 1710
found on ancestry.com

Above is a marriage record for my 8th great grandparents, Cornelis Cornelisse Doremus and Rachel Pietersen. It shows Cornelis was born at Middleburg, Zeeland [which is in The Netherlands] and lives at Ackquackanonk. His bride, Rachel, was born in and lives at Bergen, which is in current day Hudson County, New Jersey.

I love finding a record showing that Cornelis was born in The Netherlands! The only other places I've trace back to have been Germany and England. (I'm also glad to have found that Rachel was born in Bergen. I don't know anything about her family, so this is a great place to start.)

My next steps with the Doremus family are to see if I can track down some of their records in both Holland and in France! And, I want to find out more about joining The National Huguenot Society!

Oh! And, I have a question...does anyone know what the "Y.M." following the groom & the "Y.D." following the bride mean? Everyone on the page has the same marking except for one marked "widow." Thanks!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

The Name on Her Death Certificate is "Will Hall Minnie." Huh?

Among the hundreds of records I received from my family in Kansas a few weeks ago was a death certificate for my great, great grandmother's sister. They were both born in Germany in the mid-1800's and immigrated to the United States in 1869 at the ages of 23 (my 2x great grandmother) and 10 (her youngest sister).

Wilhelminia (Werther) Heuszel's death certificate
.

The sister's name was Wilhelmina Fredericka Augusta Werther, but she went by Minnie. The name recorded on her death certificate as reported by her son, Frank, threw me for a minute... and then I understood. She's listed as "Will Hall Minnie" Heuzel (her married surname). I guess that Frank said "Wilhelmina" and the registrar wasn't sure how to spell it!

Also, Wilhelmina's mother's maiden name was "Molly" (Rheinhard) Werther, but her maiden name is listed as "Will Hall Werther". I guess Frank got confused and gave HIS mother's maiden name by accident! There are other errors on this document and I believe the notes under it were recorded by my grand aunt, Beulah Brewer.

A good reminder that you can't always trust a single document!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Tip: Why It's Helpful to Fill Out Family Group Sheets by Hand

Today I'm continuing to work on a major genealogy organization project starting with just one surname. When I visited family in Kansas last month, I printed out Family Group Sheets from my RootsMagic program. But, I really didn't like the format. So, today I've been filling one out the old fashioned way - by hand.

I started by filling out the details for my 3x great grandfather, Johann Charles/Carl Guenther Werther:
BORN: 17 May 1819 n in Berka, Sonderhausen, Prussia (Germany)
RELIGION: Protestant
MARRIED: about 1845, probably in Berka
DIED: 19 Apr 1899
CAUSE OF DEATH: dropsy (from obituary)
BURIED: Forest Cemetery, Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio
DATE WILL WRITTEN/PROVED: (BLANK)

The question about the will got me thinking.... have I ever looked for Guenther's will? Is it possibly online?

My first stop was FamilySearch. I went to "search" & then "records" & clicked on the United States on the map. Then I scrolled down to "Ohio" and, after clicking that, clicked on "start researching in Ohio."At the bottom of the page is a section called "Probate & Court" and I went into "Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996." Then it's time to browse through almost 7 million records!

In Pickaway, there are a lot of files to search through. I started with "Administration Dockets" but found Charles Guenther Werther in quite a few of the volumes. Some were just indexes and others just stated that the case was ongoing. But, I eventually found Guenther's will!

I knew that Guenther lived with his married daughter, Lena (Werther) Webbe, at the time of his death. It was kind of frustrating to see that he left all his "personal property and real estate" to Lena and her heirs. He had at least 4 (possibly 5) other children still alive at this point.

And, here's a couple of questions:

This will is from the Pickaway County, Ohio, will book so it was evidently copied by a secretary (or whoever would copy them). But, for Guenther's name, the handwriting is very different! Does anyone have an idea of how this would have got in the book? Did the 'secretary' try to copy his signature? Or could his daughter have written it?

Also, I'd really love to get a copy of the original will.... something I haven't really learned how to do yet. Any hints on how to find it?

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

My First Canadian Records

I've continued to look into the family of C. R. Viney who was a son-in-law of my 3x great grandfather, Guenther Werther. C. R. married Guenther's daughter, Augusta "Gussie" Werther. Yesterday I discovered that C. R., who was born in Canada, served on a steamboat in the Civil War. 

As I tried to learn more about C. R.'s story, my research at newspapers.com helped me to uncover several siblings. Through these siblings I was able to trace C. R. back to his roots in Canada using the 1851 and 1861 censuses. These records revealed his parents names, Joseph & Jane, and two more siblings.

C. R.'s father, Joseph, was born about 1808 in England and his mother, Jane, was born a few years later in Ireland. I show Joseph & Jane Viney had the following children: Joseph H (1832-1918), Charles R "C. R." (1839-1902), George A (1842-1931), Catharine "Kate" L (1847-1927), William (1848-1887), and Cecil E (1857-?, a female).

Royal Canadian Regiment cap badge
posted on Wikipedia

In the 1851 census, Joseph's occupation is listed as "RCR," the Royal Canadian Regiment, which I think is pretty neat! The family is living in St. George's Ward, Lincoln County, Ontario which is part of "Canada West" (though Canada isn't a country at this time).  This area is located on Lake Ontario near Niagara Falls.

"Fort Malden exhibits building and restored barracks"
posted by Dwight Burdette (his own work) at wikipedia

In 1861, the family is in Amherstburg, Essex County, Ontario which is just across the border from Detroit. Joseph, the father, is listed as a "pensioner." Interestingly, every adult on the page was born in either England, Scotland or Ireland and most of the men are listed as "pensioners." I decided to do a little digging...

First of all I discovered that Amherstburg was the site of Fort Malden which was abandoned by the British and Canadians to the Americans in 1813 during the War of 1812. Wikipedia also says that the fort lasted until 1851 when "it was garrisoned by members of The Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment until it was finally de-militarized." Perhaps that is both why there are so many "pensioners" living in the area and why they Viney family is living here, too. 

1851 Census (source at end of post)
Oldest son, Charles, born "Giberalres"? Possibly moved to Upper
Canada between birth of 13 year old Charles & 8 year old George (so, 1838-1843)

The Viney family must have moved to Canada around 1840 (see caption on census record above). I read a little about the "Great Migration to Canada." Wikipedia says over 800,000 people immigrated to Canada between 1815 and 1850, the time period when the Viney family arrived. The primary reason for the mass migration was the relatively low number of jobs available because of populaiton growth. That is probably why the Viney family moved from Ireland to England to Ontario. (Canada didn't become a country until 1867.)

I also found it interesting that the town of Amherstburg that they lived in, which was just across the border from Detroit, was a major terminal settlement in Canada for the Underground Railroad!

One more thing... on these Canadian censuses, the column where the names are listed is titled "names of inmates." Both The Legal Genealogist and I talked about the many uses of the term "inmate" just a couple of months ago!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Sources:

1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Niagara, Lincoln County, Canada West (Ontario): Schedule A; Roll C 11736: Page 63; Line 29; Joseph Viney household; digital image, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed 04 Nov 2014)

1861 Census of Canada West, Amherstburg, Essex County, Canada West (Ontario); page 37; line 29; Joseph Vinie household; digital image, Ancestry.com; http://www.ancestry.com (accessed 04 Nov 2014)

Finding A Sailor on a Mississippi River Steamboat in the Civil War

Last week I read "Shiloh" by James Reasoner about the Battle of Shiloh in the Civil War. I was particularly interested in this book of the series because one of my relatives fought as a Confederate soldier in this battle. This book of historical fiction, however, focused on a character who fought in the battle from a steamboat.

Yes, my history background is weak, though I am actively making it stronger. But, I didn't know that steamboats played a part in the Civil War. As I read about the character's experience on the steamboat and then fighting in the battle, I wished that I had a relative who'd worked on a steamboat on the Mississippi River.

Lookout Steamer on the Tennessee River ca. 1860-1865
public domain image by Mathew Brady found on Wikipedia

That was only days ago, and today I stumbled upon a newspaper article that ties my family not only to a steamboat, but to a steamboat which was an 'active participant' in the Battle of Shiloh! How amazing!

According to "Tennessee Online," the "Union Naval Fleet deployed to the Battle of Shiloh was the largest assembled and said to exceed the Spanish Armada in number. It included 14 armed river boats and 153 steamboats."

C. R. Viney was married to Augusta "Gussie" Viney who was a daughter of my great, great, great grandfather, Guenther Werther. Gussie was born in Germany and came to America as a young girl. (Her brother, Kenny, is the father of Ollie (Werther) Crockett whose murder I wrote about in my last post.)

According to his obituary in The Wichita Beacon dated March 15, 1902, "Mr. Viney was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1839. He moved to the United States when still a young man and secured a position as a sailor on a Mississippi river steamboat.... When the civil war broke out, the boat on which [he was] working was purchased by the government for a dispatch boat and [he] remained with it throughout the war. The vessel took an active part in the battles of Vicksburg and Shilo and in several others of historical importance."

I can't wait to uncover more of C. R.'s interesting life! I am looking for his military records and seeing if I can find any more newspaper clippings. Newspapers.com is my favorite genealogical tool lately. You never know what you'll discover!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Source:
Another Pioneer, The Wichita Beacon, 15 Mar 1902, page 5, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com; accessed 30 Oct 2014)

Murdered by Family Members to Stop Her from Testifying Against Her Husband (Allegedly)

I've written posts about Ephraim Bennett (my great, great grandmother's brother) killing his abusive brother-in-law, Nathan Buchanan. A few days ago, I uncovered another murder in my family tree. This time some in-laws allegedly killed my 3rd great grandfather's granddaughter (so she's my first cousin, three times removed) to prevent her from testifying against her husband!

Her Death is Cause for Four Being Held, Springfield Republican, Springfield, Missouri, 01 Nov 1911,
page 1, column 4, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

Ollie Werther's father, Guenther "Kenny" Werther, immigrated from Germany with his family when he was 15 years old. Her mother, Lucy Jones, had a Cherokee father and a "white" mother. Lucy received her allotment from the Cherokees and brought her land and a house into the marriage.

Ollie married Roy Crockett in 1909 or 1910. In a 1910 census taken on April 28th, the newlyweds are living with Roy's family in New Mexico. But, on a census dated June 1st, they are listed as living with Ollie's family in the town where she grew up: Nowata in Nowata County, Oklahoma.

According to newspaper accounts, the couple lived for a short time in her home which had been a wedding present from her family. But "soon after the wedding - at the request of Werther - the couple went to his house to live. Last August (1910) their deserted home burned and Crockett collected $400 insurance..." [The Coffeyville Daily Journal, 20 Nov 1911]

The newspaper accounts go on to say that Ollie quarreled with her husband and eventually went home and talked with her dad who had an "implacable hatred of his son-in-law." Ollie told her dad that she had proof that her husband had burned down the house for the insurance money. Ollie and her father, Kenny, Kenny and Ollie gave this information to the state insurance officials and Roy was arrested for arson.

Since a wife can't testify against her husband, it is alleged that Roy's sister, his brother, his cousin & a friend came up with a plan to kill Ollie. Allegedly Roy's sister, Dora Gaines, and the friend, Maude Warner, "induced (Ollie) to visit them on the pretext of their trying to effect a reconciliation between the estranged couple. It has been established that Ollie Crockett left the home of her father and, coming to Nowata, took up her residence at the Valley hotel. On October 12 [1911] she became ill and soon after being taken sick she died. Physicians declared they detected symptoms of morphine poisoning and State Chemist DeBar testified that he found four grains of morphine in her viscera and more than enough unassimilated in her stomach to kill a healthy person." [The Wichita Daily Eagle, 12 Sep 1912]

I have found newspaper articles showing that the two women, Dora Gaines and Maude Warner, were acquitted of the murder. But, I haven't found anything on the trials of the two males, Orville and George Crockett. As for Roy Crockett, I found a clipping from 1914 saying he'd been "surrendered by his bondsmen."

Ollie Werther's headstone buried under maiden name & burial paid for by father
Nowata Memorial Cemetery, Nowata, Nowata County, Oklahoma
image by Will Babb posted on Find A Grave

Ollie (Werther) Crockett was only 20 years old when she was allegedly murdered on October 13th, 1911. But, what happened to her husband outside of the arson charges? He remarried less than 6 months later to Blanche Hubbert and had at least 3 children with her. He later started Crockett Oil Company in Texas and became both a judge and a mayor.

I found over a dozen articles about the arson and murder on newspapers.com. Here are a few of them:

• Crockett Murder Case to Go Over Until February?, The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Coffeyville, Kansas, 20 Nov 1911, page 1, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014 
• Freed of Charge of Killing Her Sister-in-Law, The Wichita Daily Eagle, Wichita, Kansas, 12 Sep 1912, page 1, column 2, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014 
• Roy Crockett charged with Arson, The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Coffeyville, Kansas, 03 Feb 1914, page 1, column 6, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Organizing Genealogy Papers

As I prepared for my genealogy road trip to Kansas, I wanted to organize my paperwork so I could share it with my relatives. I have thought a lot about going digital, but I am a very visual person and find that I work better with actual papers. But, how should I organize them?

My filing system

I decided to use hanging files, rather than notebooks, because it was both faster and cheaper. Also, I liked how tidy it looked. 

My filing system

I created a hanging file for each couple who were my direct ancestors. And, I color coded them. The blue files are my dad's paternal line and the green folders (in the back) are my dad's maternal line. I searched for great looking colored hanging files but didn't find anything I really liked and they were quite a bit more expensive.

At the front of each couple's folder, I put a family group sheet. Then, I put all of the paperwork I have for them and for their children. When their child who is my direct ancestor married, the paperwork from that point on goes into the new couple's folder. I made copies of the originals that I had (photos, letters, birth certificates I'd sent off for, etc.) and left the originals at home. One problem with hanging files is that things can fall out and get lost! However, my family was able to easily pull entire files to make copies for themselves.

One of many notebooks compiled by Cheryl V. of
Beulah (Peters) Brewer's research

As far as the papers that my family had to share with me, it was incredible! My grand aunt, Beulah (Peters) Brewer, had done work for several decades. She passed away several years ago, but a family friend & former librarian, Cheryl V, continues to go through the enormous task of organizing Beulah's papers and adding to the research herself. She has created about 10 of these 3-inch binders and still has more to go. A few of the books are about one surname, but others are about just one couple and their children. The notebook pictured is for Beulah's parents, Emil Peters & Myrtle Mae (Coppenbarger) Peters. 

I love how she has designed the covers! There is a brief history of the family and a map showing where they lived. Inside, all of the pages are in protective sleeves and she has created her own tabs using a heavy duty tape. The tabs are primarily for the children of the couple with paperwork for this couple and their children behind the tabs.

As I went through each of these notebooks, I set up a little photography studio. I usually worked in my hotel room in the morning and positioned the pages where there wasn't a glare. I used my iPad and took photos of each page. When there were actual photos, I took those out of the sleeves to photograph better. And, for more important papers and photos, I used the copy machine at my aunt & uncles house.

I am still a little overwhelmed with the fact that I came home with over 900 images! I'm trying to decide how to integrate all of these new documents, photos & facts into my own tree. Once I figure out how I'm going to accomplish it, I will be quite busy!

I'm also reconsidering switching to binders as it was an easy way for me to look through hundreds of images while the hanging files are more challenging. My aunt & uncle bring these binders to our family reunions so family members can page through them. It's a great way to share all of this work!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

My Genealogy Trip: Thrilled with over 900 New Images!!!

I had a wonderful trip back to my childhood home in southern Kansas last weekend. My family has lived in the area (Cowley & Sumner Counties) since about 1870. My grand aunt, Beulah (Peters) Brewer, got me started in genealogy back in 1998 and, when she passed away in 2009, my aunt and uncle inherited boxes and boxes of her research. They are also the ones who have collected many family photos and other family heirlooms over the years. So, I was in genealogy paradise! It was incredible!

A friend of the family, Cheryl, is a retired librarian who has worked on genealogy for many years. She is going through the incredible task of organizing all of Beulah's papers. So far, I believe she has put together ten 3-inch binders of material. And, she has at least 3 more binders to go... plus more boxes that haven't been gone through yet! The task she has done is monumental! And, they gave me permission to copy everything. It's incredible... but it'll take at least another trip. There just wasn't enough time!

Ashton old schoolhouse in Sumner County, Kanasas
photo by Dana (Stewart) Leeds October 2014

The notebooks are incredible! There are probably several hundred old photos. It's amazing! And, I was amazed that I was able to start recognizing my grandmother and other family members in these old photos. There are also report cards, telegrams, poems, obituaries, original wills, and much, much, more. It's absolutely phenomenal!

We also took one 'road trip' to see a couple of old cemeteries and old buildings. Unfortunately, some road work prevented us from seeing everything we wanted to see. But, I did get to Geuda Springs Cemetery where quite a few family members are buried including my Aunt Beulah (headstone above). We also visited the old town of Ashton and I got to see the amazing little one-room school house where my grandmother, Hazel (Peters) Stewart, both went to school as a girl and later taught.

Ashton (Sumner Co, KS) church
Photo by Dana (Stewart) Leeds

We also drove by the old church where young Hazel went to worship. Unfortunately, it is almost entirely covered with trees and bushes. It was hard to see even part of the church to photograph. 

I met some of my second cousins - children of the cousins I grew up with. And, we met some 'new' cousins - these are more distant cousins who are also doing genealogy who I've met online. They all came and shared their research and we shared ours. One lady also brought her sister and her mother. It was great getting to actually meet these other family members/genealogists in person!

Now, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I first need to print out all of these papers I photographed (I used my iPad to take photos of most of the 3-inch binders) and then enter the information in my genealogy program. This will easily take months. I'm really excited, but I know I have a large job ahead of me! I'll be sharing some of my 'finds' and the stories as I move along...

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Newspaper Article Answers Question: Why Did They Leave Oklahoma?

My daughter is taking a year-long geography course this year. Last week she was learning about the "pushes" and "pulls" that cause people to migrate or move. Sometimes people move because something disagreeable or unacceptable occurs and they are trying to get away from it. While other times the pull of something desirable in another place causes them to migrate.

Although I have yet to find any evidence that they won any land, I believe some of my family members moved to Oklahoma for the 1901 Land Lottery. (I know they were in Lawton by early 1903.) Free land? That's quite a pull for a farmer!

"Big Pasture 1905" map, public domain, originally published in "The Daily Oklahoman" in 1905
(image from Wikipedia)
Faxon, where my family lived, is above the A & N in "COMANCHE"

My great, great grandfather, Charles Peters, ended up dying in Comanche County in 1910 and his son, my great grandfather, returned to Kansas less than a year later. But why did they return?

We often struggle to find out why are ancestors moved. This time, though, I found the answer written quite plainly in the newspaper. It's a short clipping, but I'm thankful for it! It misspells my grandfather's name - his name was actually Emil Peters - but correctly identifies his wife. Here is what the article says:

Ama [Emil] Peters and his wife are here from Faxon, Okla. She was formerly Miss Myrtle Coppenbarger. They say that country will never see them again, everything is burned up by drouth [sic]. [Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 27 Jun 1911, page 6, column 2; digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 02 Oct  2014)]

Decades before the Dust Bowl, the years of 1909/1910 were the driest consecutive years of the century in Oklahoma. And, 1910 was the single driest year of the century. (Information from Oklahoma Climatology Center.) These farming families must have really suffered!

I'm thankful to learn of the pull (free land!) & push (drought!) that took my ancestors from Kansas to Oklahoma and back to Kansas again. 

Have you been able to learn why your family left their homes and families and friends to move to a new place? Or do you have family members who returned home for an unknown reason? I hope to uncover more of these stories of the pushes and pulls that affected my family.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

My Family Lived in Pee Pee

I recently made an unusual find. It's a census record for a family I believe our my relatives. Of course, that isn't unusual. But, what is unusual is the name of where they were living. They were living in a place called Pee Pee!

After seeing this unusual town name, I immediately searched the internet to find out how the town got its name. According to Ohio History Central, it was named after Peter Patrick, an early resident of the area. I wonder if this was his nickname? 

What about your family... did they come from any unusual places?

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

The Kind of Newspaper Article You Don't Want to Find...

S. P. Coppenbarger death, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, 23 Aug 1893, page 4, column 2;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 07 Oct  2014)

Of course we expect to find death records of our relatives. But, this is the kind of death you don't want to find. Sylvester Perry Coppenbarger (1839 in De Witt Co, IL - 1893 in OK) was my 1st cousin four times removed. His grandfather, Jacob Coppenbarger Senior (1769 in Wythe Co, VA - 1841 in De Witt Co, IL), was my fourth great grandfather. Sadly, "S. P." evidently died at the age of 53 by an "accidental discharge of a gun."

Do we have ancestors in common? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Civil War Soldier Struck by Lightning!

Here's an excerpt from an interesting letter I found in a relative's Civil War service record today. It appears to be written by a Captain Hogle and is dated February 21st, 1865. It starts by explaining when and where he enlisted and that he had served faithfully for a year and was experiencing good health. But, that changed on the night of August 3rd, 1864... when he was struck by lightning!

...since which time, he has been wholly unable for duty. The lightning struck the right side of the head, face and shoulder extending down the arm, side, thigh, leg and foot. the side and thigh is still black. the leg and arm is to some extent paralyzed and rendered partially useless. the said George W. Ward has has spasms as often as every month since Aug. 3rd, 1864. and in my opinion will never recover or be of any benefit to the Government. He received his Disability while in the service of the United States. Disability in my opinion amounts to at least one half. [the letter continues]

Letter from Civil War Service Record of George W Ward, Union Records, Tennessee,
Second Mounted Infantry, image 20 of 21 on Fold3 (accessed 05 Oct 2014)

I guess these young men were truly exposed to the elements! How frustrating this must have been! Not only the injuries and the pain, but also to have to sop fighting the enemy because of being struck by lightning!

The young man who was struck by lightning was George W Ward (b abt 1837 in Perry County, Tennessee - d bet 1800-1810 in Bollinger County, Missouri) who is my 1st cousin five times removed. The ancestor we have in common is my 5th times great grandfather, Nathan Ward Senior (b abt 1750 in Virginia - d abt 1854 in Perry County, Tennessee).

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

An Ancestor's Poem: "Actions Speak Louder Than Words"

I'm busy looking through the small town paper where my family has lived since the early 1870's. I lived there when I was young and have many relatives still in the area. These small papers are full of interesting articles!

One article I found this morning said that my second great grand uncle, or the brother of my second great grandmother, had "entertained those present [at a 'big dinner'] by reciting one of his German poems." Oh, how I wish I could read that poem!

But, then I found one published in the newspaper! (And maybe there are more?) It was published about 6 months before this gathering. How wonderful to actually find one of his poems! And, yes, the family was German, but this poem is in English. I'm not sure if they called his other poem "German" because he was German (this is the generation that immigrated), or if he actually wrote it in German. But, I'm thrilled to have this poem written in English!

Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 15 Dec 1908, page 6, column 4;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 03 Oct  2014)

In preaching 'Peace on earth and to man good will'
While having a pistol in your pocket concealed,
And building fleets and guns with intent to kill,
Is your deceitful sham revealed.
                                - Emil Werther (1854 in Germany - 1942 in Kansas)

Note: This poem could actually be written by Emil's son, Emil Jr (1882-1917), but I think the poems are by the father.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Baby Thrown During 1899 Twister

May 31st, 1899. An electrical storm bursts upon the small town of Ashton, Kansas during the late evening hours. Thunder booms and lightning flashes across the sky. A young family probably tries to sleep but the mother and father are kept awake by the show. Then, they hear what sounds like a train coming towards them. They probably crouch together for safety and hold on tight to their baby boy. And then the tornado hits their house.

Image from Wikipedia

The house is torn apart by the twister. It is demolished. The husband is blown 450 feet away and is badly cut on the head. The mother is OK. But, where is baby Floyd? He's only 10 months old! After searching in the dark, they find that he's been thrown by the tornado, too. But, thankfully he isn't injured.

A Small Twister, Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 01 Jun 1899, page 5, column 2;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 01 Oct  2014)

What a terrifying night for a family! But, I'm sure they were thankful that they all survived the tornado even though they lost their house and possessions.

A Small Twister, Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 01 Jun 1899, page 5, column 2;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 01 Oct  2014)

This is what happened on May 31st, 1899 to my great, great grandfather's daughter and her family. D. V. Waggoner was married to Mary Ellen "Ella" Coppenbarger, a sister of my great grandmother, Myrtle Mae (Coppenbarger) Peters. Myrtle Mae and their parents, Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger & Elizabeth (Bennett) Coppenbarger were living nearby as were other family members. I wonder when they found out that a tornado had demolished Ella's home and thrown the little baby away from the safety of his mom and dad. What a terrifying event!

Once again, the only reason I found this story is because of a newspaper article I found at newspapers.com. Newspapers can tell us so much about our ancestors and get us past the names, dates and places.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Old Yearbooks on Ancestry

It looks like Ancestry has had old yearbooks on their site for awhile, but I think they recently added some new ones including one that is useful to me: Arkansas City High School in Kansas. My grandmother, Hazel Peters, graduated from there in 1928.

Hazel Peters (1910-1975) (married to James Edward Stewart)
Senior Photo - original in possession of family

I don't know what is legal to post from Ancestry, so I'm thankful that Hazel's senior photo is on the possession of my family. (Note: the hair looks odd because it was digitally colored & I changed it back to black & white.) So, I'm not going to post other photos from the book, but I encourage you to look! Here are some interesting things I found in Hazel's yearbook:

• Hazel's senior photo
• A page entitled "Interpretive Reading" that says Hazel tied for 4th place
• A page entitled "The Play: Barry Corners" about the senior class play where "Hazel Peters, as Grace, Pat's (the main character) older sister, haughty and disdainful, lent a decided contrast to the merry Patsy. Hazel was 'in' her part from start to finish and her acting was outstanding." I was thrilled to find out that my grandmother acted as I was in plays in high school and I didn't know my grandmother was, too!
• A photo of the school play, though I'm not sure which one is Hazel. I'm going to take this photo to Kansas next month and see if I can find out!
• The photo of the cheerleaders... they were all guys!
• The photo of the band... they were all guys! (But, the orchestra had females, too!)

I absolutely loved 'reading' through this old yearbook. I've also found them for a few of her cousins and aunts and uncles so I'm going to keep digging!

Have you found your ancestors in these old yearbooks? Did you find anything surprising?

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Praise for Miracle Drug!

I found the following newspaper advertisement twenty-two times in the Arkansas City Daily Traveler. I guess Eckert (Eckard) Peters (1845- 1915) was sold on this miracle drug! Eckert was a brother of my great, great grandfather, Charles Peters (1847 in Germany - 1910 in Comanche County, Oklahoma). In 1894 they both lived in Sumner County, Kansas which was near the county line of Cowley County, Kansas where Arkansas City ("Ark City") is located.

Lagrippe Remedy, Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 08 Nov 1894, page 3, column 2;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 20 Sep 2014)

Two years ago I bought a 25-cent bottle of Lagrippe Remedy for coughs and colds and it cured when all others failed. I buy it by the pint now and am never without it. - Eckert Peters, Ashton, Kan." For sale at Simmons' drug store.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

"One Lovely Blog" Award!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive two nominations today for the "One Lovely Blog" Award! A big thank you to both Carla Lee at Sassygenealogist and Elise Ann Wormuth at Living in the Past for these nominations! My genealogy blog is still quite new and this award means a lot!

Here are the 'rules' for this award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!)
4. Contact your bloggers to let them know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award

So, again, thanks again to Carla Lee and Elise Ann Wormuth! (See links above.)

7 things about me:

1. I have a degree in Biology Education and worked in a research laboratory as an undergraduate student.
2. I have played the piano since I was very young and was an accompanist both at school and at church.
3. I love to travel and have (so far) visited 9 countries: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, France, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Mexico, & the Bahamas.
4. I started doing genealogy in 1998 when you still had to use a microfilm reader to view the censuses.
5. I just moved from the house we lived in for over 17 years! I've also lived in two other houses for about 10 years each. I don't move around much!
6. I've been married for over 20 years to my high school sweetheart.
7. I'm an avid reader and just finished reading my 60th book of the year.

Nominate 15 bloggers.... So, in no particular order...

1.  Midge Frazel of Granite in My Blood
2.  Michael Lacopo of Hoosier Daddy?
3.  Diane Hall of Michigan Family Trails
4.  Harold Henderson of Midwestern Microhistory
5.  Lorine McGinnis Schulze of The Olive Tree Genealogy
6.  Kenneth R. Marks of The Ancestor Hunt
7.  Elizabeth Handler of From Maine to Kentucky
8.  Jill at Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journey
9.  Karen Blackmore at Karen's Genealogy Oasis
10. Kris Stewart at My Link to the Past
11. Sheri Fenley at The Educated Genealogist
12. Lynn Palermo at The Armchair Genealogist
13. Judy G. Russell at The Legal Genealogist
14. Miriam J. Robbins of Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors
15. Debi Austen at Who Knew?

Contact the Bloggers you nominated... I'm heading off to do that now!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Do/Did Your Children Know Their Great-Grandparents?

Randy posted his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge... and it's based on one of my posts! Neat! So, here are the rules:

1) Dana Leeds on the Enthusiastic Genealogist blog asks "Did/Do Your Children Know Any of Their Great-Grandparents?"

2) I thought that would be a great Saturday Night Genealogy Fun question - so please share your response with us in a blog post of your own, in a comment on this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post.

3) For extra credit, or in case the answer is "No," then please answer the question for yourself, or your parents

Randy, I'm so glad you used my post as a SNGF challenge! Since I already did the challenge for my daughter (& myself), I thought I'd use my husband instead. So, here goes!

"Papa Booger" in middle & "Big Granny" on far right with 3 of their daughters

My husband, like my daughter, knew four of his great-grandparents! And, all of them lived nearby!

1. Thomas Harrison Leeds (1887-1975)
2. Benjamin Harrison Payton (1887-1985)
3. James Vernon Miller, aka "Papa Booger" (1890-1978) & his wife...
4. Leatha Ellen (Moore) Miller, aka "Big Granny" (1896-1981)

We aren't sure where either of the nicknames came from!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Do Your Children Know Any of Their Great-Grandparents?

Paula Stuart-Warren posted about the birth of her first great grandchild. Then, she talked about how many great-grandparents her children knew, and how many great-grandparents she knew. That got me thinking about the relationship my daughter has had with four of her great-grandparents. (I only had one great-grandparent living when I was born, but she lived across the country and died when I was less than 2 months old.)

One of my husband's grandmother's died when my daughter was about 14 months old. Sadly, she had an advanced case of Alzheimer's. She kept thinking my baby girl was a baby boy! We only have a few photos of them together. I love this photo!

This is Grandpa H holding my daughter. He turned 80 years old two days after she was born. They first met when she was about 1 month old and I surprised him with this homemade shirt that says "I [heart] my Great Grandpa." He passed away last May in his mid-90's.

And this is my baby girl with Grandpa H's wife, Grandma H. She is still living and we get to see her quite a few times each year. If Grandpa H would have lived until August last year, they would have celebrated 70 years of marriage!

We recently moved and I can't find a photo of my daughter with her other great grandmother - my Grandmother K. We lived far apart, but they got to see each other three times before my grandmother passed away when my daughter was about 3 1/2. I have a lovely 4 generation professional photo taken of the two of them with my mom and myself.

What about you... did you know any of your great grandparents? Or did your children know theirs?

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net