Maybe Back to Posting

College classes are done for the semester (maintained a 4.0!! Yay, me!) so hopefully I’ll be able to start posting again on a somewhat regular schedule. So sorry I’ve been silent for too long.  Have also had quite a bit of personal upheaval going on – so that doesn’t bode well for focusing on genealogy, research & writing. 

I’ve recently heard from a new-to-me cousin; related through the Goul line of my family and hopefully she & I can start to compare notes and see if we have any new information between the two of us.

I’m excited by the recent upload on Familysearch Indexing of so many new records.  I’ve already found some marriage records and a baby that I never knew existed.  I’ve looked at the records but haven’t had too much time to absorb what I’ve found.

And as many of you know, I lost my mother a year ago this month.  Her estate is still not settled and now the reverse mortgage company wants to foreclose on her property since the real estate broker and the estate attorney decided to list the property for WAY too much to begin with and in this economy (& the fact that the property is in a depressed area of the country), nothing happened in the way of potential buyers.  So now we are just waiting . . . some more. 

I’ve not had a lot of time either to read most of the genea-blogs I am subscribed to – sorry about that.  I’m not ignoring you – believe me! 

And I’ve been thrilled to hear of the geneabloggers getting together recently in Salt Lake.  Love looking at the pictures.

I watched each episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” and my personal favorite was Susan Sarandon’s episode.  Looking forward to the 2nd season.  Are you?

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Been So Busy

I want to apologize to my faithful readers for not posting as often as I have in the past.  I am taking two classes at the local community college – one via online – so between studying, going to class, my part time job, and caring for the home, I’ve been a little too busy to write articles.

However, I’ve been following several of the other genea-blogs and am so excited that genealogy is going “mainstream”!  Some examples:

• “Faces of America” - the four-part PBS show hosted by Dr. Gates that focused on the ancestry of several celebrities (Meryl Streep, Mike Nichols, Stephen Cobert, Queen Noor, etc.)
• “Who Do You Think You Are?” - the U.S. equivalent to the BBC series.  From Executive Producer, Lisa Kudrow, this series on NBC focuses on one celebrity per episode.  The first took Sarah Jessica Parker on a trek via her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to California and then to New England and the second episode took Emmett Smith from the Deep South in search of his slave roots and then across the ocean to Africa.  I’m excited by this program and enjoy the “AHA” moments each of them have!
• “Generations Project” - on BYU Television.  If you don’t have this, you can view the episodes online.  This series follows “normal” people in their quest for their roots.

And all of this comes just in time for the Census to be filled out.  I’ve read so many issues debating this.  People don’t want to give this information out (you think they don’t already know?), that it will be used for the wrong purpose, why is it important, etc.  I, for one, know that some of my ancestors probably didn’t like it either – or I’d have found them by now!  In 72 years the genealogists in your family (your grandkids or great-grandkids or even a great-niece or nephew) will thank you for filling this out and sending it in. 

I hope to be back to posting regularly in the weeks to come so please – don’t go away!

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Helping Hands

Volunteer as a noun is defined by Dictionary.com as:

a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking or a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

Volunteerism is defined by the same source as above as:

the policy or practice of volunteering one’s time or talents for charitable, educational, or other worthwhile activities, esp. in one’s community.

I pondered how being a volunteer and volunteerism correlated with my family history and genealogy.  I can remember many activities that my mother took part in that would qualify as “volunteer”. 

1. Girl Scout Leader
2. Church Council member and President
3. Church committee member
4. Parent Teacher Organization member
5. Substitute Teacher (when it was all volunteer)
6. Working at school carnivals and community festivals
7. Helping to coordinate her alumna banquets
8. Driving elderly friends or church members to church, church functions or back home
9. Hosting women’s or club functions or bridge parties
10. Driving her teenage daughter (me) and friends everywhere

As a member of several organizations (Parents Without Partners, American Legion, FOE Auxilliary, and a Square Dancing Club), I’m sure she put in a good many volunteer hours.  Through the church, even when she was ill and couldn’t do very much, she still volunteered to cook chickens that would be used for the Tuesday night dinners the church held for the community.

My mom saw volunteerism modeled by both of her parents who were very active in community organizations.  My grandparents either separately or together were members of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (N.A.R.F.E.), American Legion, Eastern Star, and Daughters of America.  My grandfather served on the Council for the Village he resided in and worked hard toward the merger of the towns of Fairfield and Osborn in Greene County, Ohio long before they did merge to become Fairborn.  He also was a Boy Scout leader for many years and a member of the Masons.

My mom’s brother also saw the modeling of this type of volunteerism of his parents and became very active in the community as an adult.  He helped organize the Battle Creek (Michigan) Hot Air Balloon championships; was a member of the Masons and the Lions club; member of the Battle Creek chamber of commerce who started the Leadership Academy; helped with Battle Creek’s sesquicentenial celebration leading to the formation of PRIDE INC., of Keep America Beautiful; and many other activities.

Researching the many volunteer activities and the organizations my family members have been involved, has led me to the conclusion that they were very giving people and have passed on this sense of helping others.  I have spent a good number of years wondering if “no” is part of my vocabulary. 

At the age of not yet 50, I have been a Girl Scout Leader for two of my daughters; spent many years on the Christian Education board at church and the Cemetery Board; have now sat on the PTA as a board member and officer for 4 years; helped with one of our community organizations via our church by helping to make lunches for low income families during the summer; as a coordinator, treasurer and public relations chair for a parent organization; and other activities.

So how do I pass this on?  Will my volunteerism or that of my mother, my uncle, and my grandparents impact the lives of my children, grandchildren or the great-grandchildren yet to be?  And how does one go about volunteering without it being all about them?  Helping others – either within a structured organization or individually – is not to make a name for oneself.  It shouldn’t be done with the thought that others will think more highly of you.

Volunteering in the name of genealogy should take on the same thought process.  If you are in the position to help someone – whether it is spending an hour at the local libary looking up obituaries or a census index; going to a nearby cemetery to photograph/transcribe a few headstones; or pointing someone in the right direction – you should.  Just because it is the right thing to do.  Someday you may need that type of help.  Very limited. Very specific.

I don’t know how much I’ve contributed to other’s research however I have received communications from very, very distant cousins or people researching the same surname as I am, and I’ve at least responded or sent them my own communication.  If nothing else, I hope they feel that they aren’t out in the genealogy research “world” without a paddle – that someone else has read their query or message board post.

I’ve been helped immensely by volunteers.  Not only has a kind lady taken pictures of the requested headstones for me but she photographed other family members’ headstones and spent several hours at her local library researching the names and sent me news clippings.  And she didn’t want one penny for her time or her postage.  That is a volunteer – being selfless and not thinking about what was in it for her.

Two of my relatives in my Johnson line along with myself have pooled our resources and research and share everything about our shared lines that we find – including questions about whether we are on the right track. 

That is volunteerism through genealogy.

Another definition of Volunteer is someone who signs up, enters, and serves in the military.  Even though our service men and women do receive pay from the government, by offering to sacrifice themselves in order to assure our freedom – that is still volunteerism.

I’ve had many ancestors and family members who have volunteered in such a way.  My grandfather for WWI, and went on to serve until the Korean War.  My dad and his brothers who served during WWII and even beyond.  Cousins who served in the Viet Nam War.  Children of first cousins who served in the first Gulf War.  A great-grandfather who served in the Civil War.  Others who serve now – although not in a battle zone.  This type of selfless sacrifice has also been passed down through the generations.

Humanitarian?  Philanthropic? – they all add up to VOLUNTEER!

This post was written for the 88th Carnival of Genealogy.

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Best 2009 Genea-Moment(s)!

I’m a day late on a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post (thanks for the topic, Randy Seaver, of Genea-Musings!).

Several of my Best of 2009 moments came from items that fell into my lap so to speak.  After my mother passed away, I found many documents and photos that I hadn’t been looking for, but was very excited to find. 

1. My maternal grandparents’ framed Marriage Certificate, my maternal grandmother’s parents’ marriage certificate and their parents’ marriage certificates!
2. Birth Certificates for my mother and her siblings and my maternal grandparents.
3. My maternal grandparents’ wills (I’d seen these when they had passed away but now have the actual documents and all the letters and court papers through probate.)
4. Very Large Portraits of Ancestors.
5. Address books that gave me some clues about family residences and my grandparents’ friends.

Looking back on my posts in 2009, I’ve picked a few that I consider my “best”:

1. January 24 – Meeting Julia. I was able to learn a little more about my paternal grandmother’s sister via this biography.
2. February 18 – Additional Research Techniques. I highlighted how researching a book on Coshocton marriages enabled me to put some pieces to a family puzzle together.
3. March 2 – Childhood Enemies – Adult BFFs written for the 11th Edition of Smile for the Camera.
4. September 30 – The Box, part one of a 2 part post that concluded with the October 1st post –  The Calendar. This was one of the items I found at the bottom of a trunk at my mom’s house and told the intimate story of my “baby” aunt’s brief life from my grandmother’s perspective.
5. October 17 – Mingling of Families and Murder. This post was very challenging as I tired to untangle how two sides of my family were forever entwined.

I also realized just how helpful others can be.  Not only did a lady take pictures of headstones for me via Find A Grave, but she did some research at her local library and sent me some news clippings.  I also connected with a distant Goul cousin who mailed some very valuable family history information.

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My Nash Connections

 

The parents of my great-grandfather – Joseph Napolean Wilt – were Israel Isaac Wilt and Christine (or Christena) Nash.  I haven’t delved into the Nash family very deeply and wonder if I’ve really scratched the surface.  One of my resolutions, posted in I Resolved To . . ., is to pick another branch of my family to research. After all, my grandmother’s middle name was Christena – after her grandmother. 

Christena Nash was the daughter of Alexander Nash and Elsie.  Elsie’s name has been spelled Elcie, Elsy, and Elsie.  Her surname has been listed as Winninger or Winger – and several variations of those names.  Christena was born in 1837 in Pennsylvania. 

Alexander Nash was born the end of May in 1808 in Pennsylvania.  His parents remain a mystery to me although in the 1880 US Census, Alexander listed his father as born in Maryland and his mother as born in Pennsylvania.  A man named Alexander Nash is in the 1840 US Census enumerated in Beaver Township, Green County, Pennsylvania with 1 male age 0-5, 1 male age 30-40, 1 female age under 5, 1 female age 5-10, and 1 female age 20-30.  This leads me to believe – although not documented – that Alexander is the older male as he would have been 32 in 1840.  Elsy born in mid-July 1813, would have been 27 years old.  Their oldest three children are reportedly: Sarah Nash, born in 1829; an  unknown son born between 1835-1840; and my 2nd great-grandmother, Christena, born in 1837.  I found Sarah’s information through the Henry County Genealogical Society on an index of the Lebanon Baptist Cemetery in Henry County, Indiana.  She had died on August 21, 1850 at the age of 20 years, 7 months, and 27 days and was listed as the daughter of Alex and Elsie Nash.  Her mother was only 15 when she was born.

Alexander and Elsy were enumerated on the 1850 US Census in Prairie Township, Henry County, Indiana.  His age was listed as 42 and her age as 38.  Children in the household included: “Christy Ann” (Christena), Sarah, Alexander, Catherine, and Nancy and Elsy (appearing to be twins).  If the young male enumerated in the 1840 Census had been their son, he had died prior to the 1850 Census.  Sometime between the two censuses, the family had moved from Pennyslvania to Indiana. As the younget girls, Nancy and Elsy, were listed as born in Pennsylvania and were age 4 in 1850 – their move to Indiana had been recent.

The 1860 US Census shows the family living in the same place.  Even though Sarah was to have died in 1850, there is a Sarah still enumerated with the family – something further to be researched.  One thought is that she actually died in 1860 and the indexer either made a typo when putting the date online or couldn’t read the headstone.  That would also mean that there was an unknown daughter in the 1840 census and Sarah was actually born in 1839 and Elsie hadn’t been as young as if Sarah was born in 1829.  It might also explain why the family didn’t show up in the 1830 Census – they might not have been married yet and still residing with their respective families.  Children, besides Sarah, included in the 1860 Census include Alexander, Catherine, Nancy, Elsy, and Mary.

Alexander died on April 14, 1883 and Elsie died on May 3, 1890.  They are both buried in the Lebanon Baptist Cemetery.  They had a son, Wilmot Nash, born on April 9, 1848 who died at age 2 on June 11, 1850.  He is buried close to them.  Their daughter, Christena, also died before they did – on August 18, 1876. 

Further research will include the 1870 and 1880 US Census records for Alexander and Elsie; Indiana marriage records on their children; headstone transcriptions; other Indiana county records; and looking into Nash families in the Beaver Twp and Green County areas of Pennsylvania.

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I Resolve To . . . (2010 Edition)

The 87th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy concerns “GeneaResolutions”.  I looked back on my post for the 63rd Edition – I Resolve To . . . in order to see what I had listed as my resolutions concerning genealogy for 2009.

I had listed that I wanted to scan more documents, photos and the rest of my slides – did not quite get there!  I did scan some newly discovered photos but did not get a chance to scan much and certainly did not get my slides scanned.   I wanted to organize my files – absolutely did not do that!  For one thing they are in another room that is being used by another family member and it’s very difficult for me to get to them.  As for my online files, in between being out of state for six weeks this past spring and dealing with a new baby in the house, a lot of my genea-resolutions from last year never got done.

I had also resolved to blog more and take part in more carnivals.  That didn’t happen but not for lack of trying.  I also have not worked on my Graveyard Rabbit Blog – at all this year.

So this year I won’t be as ambitious (which is one reason I don’t ever make personal New Year’s Resolutions!).  So here they are:

1. Leave comments on each genea-blog I read.  How do the authors know we’ve visited if we never say “hi”!
2. Write at least one blog post every two weeks – since I know I won’t have time to write every week or every day.  I am going to try to write several posts to be published throughout my “down” time.
3. Pick another branch of my family to research – this will get me out of the rut of looking at the same people and getting the same results. 
4. Write one biography on an ancestor in the next three months.
5. Write another chapter in my “Goul” family history.

When the year is up, I want to be able to say that I completed all five of these resolutions!

(CoG Illustration courtesy of footnoteMaven!)

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Indiana Resources

There are a good number of my maternal ancestors and collateral families who moved to, were born in, or resided in Indiana for quite awhile. I have several databases I use in order to gather leads or to find records.

Indiana Room of the Anderson (Madison County) Public Library. This is where I find Cemetery Records for 98 cemeteries within that county. Obituary Record index from the Anderson Daily Bulletin (1921-1967).

The Muncie / Delaware County Digital Resource Library has enabled me to find court records, obituaries, funeral home information and burial information on my ancestors that lived in Delaware County.

Indiana Marriages (1811-1959) from Family Search Record Search has recently been updated and has enabled me to locate several more marriage records.

The General Indiana database listing and the Localities in Indiana database listing on Cyndi’s List has also yielded results.

When I am digging for more information, I first look to see if that county or town has an online genealogical presence, if there is an online genealogy database at the public library in that location, if I can find court records or online obituaries. I use Google as my search engine and while I’m there, I check Google Books for county Histories, Biographies, genealogical quarterlies, and other digitized books or pamphlets that could include the researched ancestor.

Once I’ve found a listing for an obituary or death, I can request a copy from the genealogy society or library at that location – usually for a small fee. If the name is spelled differently than what I have listed, I can do further searching on Find A Grave, Rootsweb, or other genealogy databases.

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Kreativ Blogger – 2nd Go ‘Round!

Thank you for the award, Karen!

Earlier this year, this award went around the genea-blogger (and “normal” blogger) community.   I was fortunate to receive this award from Sheri of Grandma’s Stitches.  Just recently I was given this award again – from Karen at Twigs to Roots. Karen has recently begun her foray into the blogging world and has jumped in with both feet! Please travel to her blog and give her a big geneablogger welcome!

As part of receiving this award, I am to list seven things about myself:

1. I am back in college again!
2. My new grandson will be 2 months old on Saturday!
3. I love Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte!
4. I get to take the day “off” for Thanksgiving this year as one of my daughter’s is having it at her house for the first time!
5. All of my grandsons have blue eyes.
6. I’m almost at the tail end of the “baby boomer” generation!
7. I am secretary for the PTA at my grandson’s elementary school!

Next, I’m to Award this to other blogs that I enjoy.  I’d like to try to highlight some that are new to me – since this award has already been around to several.

A Tale of Two Ancestors by Amanda Acquard. Amanda must be the sister I didn’t know I had because we share the same interests – history, genealogy, and travel (though I haven’t been able to do that!). She is currently in graduate school and working toward becoming a genealogy reference librarian. Although I am currently only working toward my associates degree, I had decided I would very much like a career as a historical archivist – whether for a library or a museum – but that is a very long way off! Stop by and say hi to Amanda!

Ancestor Hunting by Cheryl Rothwell. Her story A Family Way is very touching. Please go read her blog if you don’t have it bookmarked already!

Diggin Up Dirt by Cat. She posts interesting articles about her own genealogy research and the information she’s been able to obtain. I find it useful to see what she and other’s have found – especially when I need a slight nudge in the right direction.  Stop by and read some of her interesting posts.

And I’m sure there are many more I could honor with this award – however, I want to make sure others have the opportunity to award it!

Thanks, Karen, for the award!  And congratulations to all who receive it!

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Boats! Planes! Autos!

When my dad got orders for Japan in the early ’50s, he went ahead of the rest of the family.  Mom had to get from Ohio to the Pacific Coast in order to sail to Japan. 

The photo at left was taken when my mom, brother and sister were leaving my Uncle’s home in Michigan headed west.  They drove 450 miles in one day and got to Fargo, North Dakota about 6:15 p.m.  In a postcard to her folks, Mom said they stayed at a cabin for the night – the cost: $4.  They traveled through Montana and went to Oregon in order to visit my great-grandmother for a short time.  Then north to Seattle to Fort Lawton where they had to wait a few days before sailing to Japan on June 9, 1953. 

The trip, aboard the USNS General Hugh J. Gaffey, would take 12 days – although by crossing the international date line, they lost a day.  While on board, my sister tap danced in a Variety show and my brother – when not seasick – made friends.  The ship carried 2400 troops – all on their way to Yokohama. 

My parents were in Japan for two tours and while there, they drove the Nash that had been transported via ship with them.  Sometimes they rode a train like the one pictured (left) and my siblings rode a bus (right) back and forth to school or on field trips.

While on their 2nd tour in Japan, my parents and brother all learned to fly courtesy of the Tachikawa Aero Club.  They even “starred” in a short film promoting the Aero Club Family Plan.  Back in the States and after I came along, my parents still flew every once in awhile.  Here’s a picture of my Dad in ’72 getting ready to fly.

My parents had some very interesting adventures in the air and on land.  I feel very blessed that not only do I have stories and pictures, but memories of when I accompanied them on some of their adventures!

Written for the 18th Edition of Smile for the Camera - Travel.

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Loving the Carnival!

Extra! Extra!   Read all about how the case of Chase began at the town on the river spending days of childhood on the water and wandering through a haunted graveyard.  Though independent from birth, there was still time for the furry and feathered family members or calling on dear St. Nicholas.  Often taking time to share, show and explain traditions or statistics on age in the books for genealogy.  When friends would meet Mom, they understood her senior moments talking about the great Texas snow. Often explanations would be given about the American political road map with exclamations of “What a bunch of hooey!”  However, when we get together for the Carnival, I resolve to only say, “Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!” and we are not just horsin’ around.

Carnival:

• Cruise?
• Rides and Games?
• Rio?
• Parades?
• Mardi Gras?

If you chose none of the above, you are correct!!!  In the blogosphere, the word carnival takes on a whole new meaning – well sort of!  Generally a blog carnival is a repository for many contributors’ blog posts centered around a chosen theme.  In the genealogy blog world, there are several types of “carnivals” in which to participate – Cabinet of Curiosities”, Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, Irish Heritage and Culture, and several others.

Three years ago, Jasia who authors Creative Gene wrote Carnival of Genealogy, Edition 1. This Carnival is now in its 84th Edition. The topic for this edition is “What has the Carnival of Genealogy Meant to You?”

Creative Gene was one of the first Genealogy Blogs I bookmarked and read each day.  Soon, I was clicking on the links to others’ blogs and soon bookmarked several of them.  I read with interest the CoG’s and soon realized that not only were others submitting articles that more people would read but sometimes connections were being made.  I knew that if I were to get more than just a few readers (and possibly some connections, too), I should participate in the CoG’s.  I enjoy writing and knew that should I undertake a project writing biographies of my ancestors, I should start writing and reading others’ articles.

My first submission to the CoG was for the 47th Edition, published on May 3, 2008 with the theme “A Place Called Home”.  My entry was The Town on the River. Wow! After some research and writing and re-writing, I had an article of which I could be proud! Jasia even extended a warm welcome to me and encouraged everyone to welcome this “newbie” to the Carnival!

Since that first entry, I’ve participated in numbers 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 78, and 79 (see top paragraph – all my titles are incorporated into the opening!).  There have been a wide variety of topics and several others besides Jasia have hosted.  I have not hosted a CoG – that is something I would have to look into and make sure that if I do volunteer to host that I have the time to make sure it is done properly. 

I’ve had several favorite topics.  Lately I haven’t been able to find the time to put in research in order to write an indepth post for some of them.  My favorites have been: The Case of Chase written for the 53rd Edition. The theme was “Carousel” – any genealogy topic was fair game. I had spent quite a bit of time on my article and included pictures and documented evidence information. This article brought four comments from others – two of them descendents of the man I wrote about – people I didn’t think existed! Another favorite entry was Independent from Birth for the 51st Edition.

I’ve read articles in the CoG that have touched my heart, sparked an interest, and given me new research techniques to think about and investigate.  Unfortunately, I’m unable to think of just one that would be the all time stand-out – there are so many talented writers and enthusiastic genealogists for me to pick just one!

I generally encourage my readers to check out or submit articles to the CoG.  The more the merrier!  And it’s always wonderful when someone new begins submitting articles.

The Carnival of Genealogy has enabled me to go above and beyond just gathering names, dates and places.  I have delved into the lives of those that I’ve written about – trying to capture their emotions, joys, and hardships.  Reading others’ articles has given me new avenues to investigate and research when hunting for that “brick wall” ancestor.

The impact on my life has been two-fold.  One – I’ve been able to meet new friends and some distant cousins.  By reading some of the articles and seeing a common surname, I’ve made connections.  The second aspect has been aiding me in becoming a more thorough researcher and writer.

I’d like to extend my thanks to all of the genea-bloggers who have commented on my articles; who have pointed me in other directions for information; to those who capture my interest with their thought provoking, informative and heart-touching stories; and to Jasia who first introduced me to the Carnival of Genealogy!  You folks are great!

And for all of you who think you can’t write an article for the CoG – just try it once!  You may learn something new about yourself!

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