Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Eight years ago on April 18th, I decided to take the leap from a Tripod hosted website (which is still in existence) to a Genealogy Blog. I am still reaping the rewards of that decision! Not only did I become a part of the larger “genea-blogger” community but I’ve learned so many tips, tricks, and techniques for research and blogging!

In the last eight years, I have written 551 posts and received 664 comments. The blog has had 59, 547 views and 11,704 visitors (I don’t have a way of knowing how many views and visitors are unique or the same). The day I had the most views was September  6, 2014.

The best part of this journey is the distant cousins that have found me! Some of them had very little information about their family history until they found my blog. That is what keeps me excited about writing and researching.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll still be writing eight years down the road, but I hope you – my readers – will stick around as long as I’m here!

Thank you!

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Follow Friday – 4/15/2016

Sometimes I am a little slow to read or find articles posted the same week as my “Follow Friday” and at least one of the posts below is from a couple weeks ago. I’ve still read it this week!

Susan Peterson explained how easy it is to Create Your Own Clip Art for blog posts. She has some great tips!

To piggy-back on Susan’s post, I ran across 6 Steps to Organize Your Blog Images on Tonia Kendrick’s “Solopreneur Diaries” website.

Are you on Pinterest? Are you following Geneabloggers? If you haven’t followed yet, I urge you to do so – there are many boards there (Genealogy Bargains, May I Introduce You To…, DNA Genealogy, Photo Resources for Genealogists, etc.) that may help in any aspect of genealogy, research, websites, photos, or blogging.

What useful tips or articles have you found this week?

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Follow Friday – April 8, 2016

The blog post that had me by the heartstrings this week was from DNAExplained by Roberta Estes about a daughter that was born too early and passed away without a name or a proper good-bye – The Invisible Child. Her article made me think about my own mother who lost a child at 5 months gestation.

Randy Seaver, at Genea-Musings, never fails to amaze me with tips, ideas, how-tos, or some humor. Yesterday, he posted Ancestry.com Provides a Relationship Calculator, and my first thought was “are there still people who aren’t familiar with that?” I was thinking that it is the line on the person’s profile that says “2nd great-grandmother” – etc. But then I started reading the article! It is not what I thought. Once again, Randy told me something I did not know nor was I aware of!

I believe that Amy Johnson Crow is my hero when it comes to Ohio research! I learn new and interesting things about researching in my home state. Her article, 5 Ways to Prepare For Your Courthouse Research Trip, is not just for those with Ohio ancestors. This couldn’t come at a better time for me because I’m planning on doing some courthouse research this summer when I’m in Ohio. Thank you, Amy!

Denise Olson (Moultrie Creek Gazette) provided some tips on publishing a family history book in Build Family History Books with BookWright. There are many types of services to do this, and Denise helps narrow down those choices.

What have you been reading this week?

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Conceived in Fraud, Died in Violence

The life of William Blazer began in fraud. His biological father, Albert Hercules, allegedly seduced Blazer’s mother, Estella Blazer, with the promise of marriage – a marriage that never happened. (For the previous installments, please read When He Stood Her Up, Common Sense Prevails for Estella Blazer, and A New Blazer) Yet, the child was born, and then had his mother taken from him probably due to illness just a short time after she wed John T Dilts. Willie was only two years old. His grandparents, George W and Amanda Blazer, raised him to adulthood.

When William was just 19, his grandfather drank carbolic acid and died. A local newspaper (unknown) reported that George Blazer had an argument with his son. That person was his grandson, William (as George’s two sons had died as very young children). George died on Sep 24, 1903 and was laid to rest close to his sons and daughter, Estella, in Grovelawn Cemetery in Pendleton, Indiana. William’s grandmother, Amanda, lived another three years before passing away at the age of 61.

On Jan 4, 1910, William married Nellie Spaulding who had already been married and divorced. William raised her son, Samuel Thomas, as his own. The couple went on to have three more sons: William K Blazer, Raymond Blazer, and Rolla Burnsey Blazer. (Editor’s note: on more than one occasion, the surname is spelled Blazier).

By 1922, William was a detective with the Big Four Railroad (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway). On Dec 3, 1922 Blazer tried to arrest two men who were “train riding” – they had hopped aboard without paying for a fare. The confrontation turned deadly as the men stabbed him and threw him from the train as it went through Farmland, Indiana.

When he was found, he was taken to a physician in town before an ambulance was called to take him to Home Hospital in Muncie. It was there that 38 year old William Blazer died from his wounds – never regaining consciousness.

He left a widow, Nellie, and sons: 10 year old William; almost 7 year old Rayond; and 2 year old Rolla.  He was buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson, Indiana. Thirty one years later, Nellie, would join him in eternal rest.

Though born and died in tragedy, William probably had a good life after he was married and became a father. It is unfortunate that he didn’t live long enough to watch his sons grow to manhood.

(Postcard image of Big Four Railroad, Winchester, Indiana: Wikimedia Commons)
(Headlines: Indianapolis New (Indianapolis, Indiana), “Detective is Stabbed and Thrown Off Train,” 5 Sep 1922, pg 19, Newspapers.com, accessed 3 Feb 2016)

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SNGF – 4×6=24

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to participate in the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun until today. Six questions naming 4 people or items. This week will be the first three questions. For more information concerning what SNGF is please go to Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musings post. The answers are of direct ancestors – not collateral lines.

What four places did my ancestors live that are geographically the farthest from where I am today?

• Hartford, Connecticut: my 2nd-7th great-grandfathers were born, lived or died there (William House 1642-1703 / William House 1684-1742 / William House 1713-1788 / Lazarus House 1748-1817 / Allen House 1791 in Connecticut – died Michigan 1845 / Florus Allen House 1813 in Connecticut – died Ohio 1891)
• Suffolk, England: my 9th great-grandparents John Bigelow was born there in 1617 and died Watertown, Massachusetts in 1703 and Mary Warren born in Suffolk about 1624 and died Massachusetts in 1691.
• Alsace, France: my 6th great-grandparents, Nicholas (Hans) Feuerstein and Anna Nonnemacher. He was born there in 1712 and died in Pennsylvania before 1768. She was born there in 1711 and died in York county, Pennsylvania about 1760.
• Baden-Württemberg, Germany: my 8th great-grandparents, Hans P Raudenbusch born about 1614 and died 1704, and Maria Bremm 1639-1711.

What are the four most unusual given names in my family tree? Any name that is not John, William, James, Michael, Jacob, or Mary!

• Eugene: my dad is the only direct line ancestor I have with that given name.
• Vesta: my maternal grandmother is the only direct line ancestor with that given name.
• Ella: my paternal grandmother is the only direct line ancestor with that given name.
• Wendy: I am the only one in my direct line with this given name (although I do have a few cousins named Wendy!)

What are the four most common given names in my family tree? I think I answered that one above but listing direct ancestors within 15 generations, they would be:

• Mary: 24
• William: 19
• John: 57
• Many Elizabeths, Margarets, Annas, Jacobs, and Michaels.

Next Saturday will be the final three questions. Did you play?

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A Snippet of a Life

Today marks the 95th anniversary of my dad’s birth. He’s no longer here to celebrate a birthday. He passed away on December 3rd – ironic because that was the day he and my mom were married in 1943. Ironic because they were divorced in 1973. It was also the day of my baptism in the early 70s. The funeral home that handled the arrangements was less than competent and never published a correct obituary. To honor my dad, I’m posting the full obituary – without worry of copyright infringement because this is the first time it has been published. I wrote it the day after he died. As the family historian, I’m like that. Yet, this obituary only gives a short snippet of who my dad was in life. It’s the first time since he’s been gone, that I’ve been able to publicly write about his life. I’m hoping to tell you more about the man I knew as Dad in the next few weeks.

Eugene James Amore (“Gene”) passed away at Tri-County Nursing Home in Fanning Springs, Florida on December 3, 2015 at the age of 94 from complications of a stroke and pneumonia. He was born to Lloyd W. Amore and Ella Marie (House) Amore on April 4, 1921 in Coshocton, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his parents; siblings: Gertrude Shackelford, Gail Amore, Marie Quirk, Paul Amore, Norman Amore, Bervil Amore, and Maxine Amore; son James G. Amore; and stepson Edward Mottl. He was also preceded in death by his wives, Dorothy (Thackston) Amore and Florence (Smith) Amore. He is survived by his wife Joan Bateman of Chiefland; daughters: Michele (Bill) Broughton of Bonham, Texas and Wendy (Charlie) Littrell of Mendon, Missouri; stepdaughters: Joan Michele of Ocala and Gail (Bob) Kane of Tarpon Springs; stepsons: Tom (Debbie) Mottl of Bellview and Pete (LaVonn) Bateman of Houston, Georgia; grandchildren: Patrick (Toni) Newhouse, Penny (Shannon) Cornelius, Brian Amore, Shannon (Phil) Haney, Teresa (Alan) Coleman, James Sumner, and Jasmine (Ivan) Hammon; seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild; numerous step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Gene enlisted in the Army Air Corps on November 16, 1939. In August 1942, he was assigned to Reykjavik, Iceland to train as an airplane mechanic with the Air Transport Command and returned to Coshocton in December 1943. From there he went to Milwaukee, WI; Great Falls, MT; Tachikawa AFB in Japan; Tokyo, Japan; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; and Panama City, FL. He retired as a MSgt from the US Air Force in 1960. He was employed in civil service – transportation and logistics at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside of Dayton. He retired from civil service in 1972.

Gene had his pilot’s license and while living in Japan, was a member of the NCO Aero Club. He enjoyed listening to Country and Western, singing karaoke (especially “That’s Amore’”), and playing keyboard. Gene was raised in the Salvation Army and the Nazarene church. As a young man, Gene took after his older brothers and had a paper route in Coshocton. He played the trumpet in the Salvation Army band as a youngster. He was a Golden Gloves boxer in Coshocton in the late 1930s.

Gene and Joan were married in 2003, went on a cruise and spent time traveling to visit family. They were regulars at VFW Post No. 5625 in Chiefland, Florida and the Suwannee River Moose Family Center 325 in Fanning Springs, Florida. Gene was a Life Member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 8532 in Coal Hill, Arkansas. Up until his stroke on October 12, Gene regularly fed the birds (and squirrels) in his backyard, mowed his lawn, and took care of little things around the house. His daughters, grandchildren and family members have always remarked on Gene’s sense of humor, positive attitude, and longevity. He will be remembered with love, affection, and admiration from not only his family, but a whole host of friends and extended family.

Gene did not want any services. His ashes will be interred at Royal Oak Memorial Gardens in Brookville, Ohio in July 2016. As a remembrance, raise your glass to him.

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Follow Friday – April 1, 2016

No Fooling!  Here’s a few of the articles that I’ve read this week and want to share with my readers.

Since I was born and raised in Ohio and at least three or more generations back called it home as well, I appreciated Amy Johnson Crow’s article 5 Hidden Treasures for Ohio Genealogy. Although I’ve used a few of her suggestions, I sometimes tend to forget about them. Now I can make sure they are bookmarked when I need to refer to them.

Do you have an ancestor or collateral relative who fought in the Civil War? My 2nd great-grandfather, James Emory House, was a member of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry Co. H, 80th Regiment. Do you wonder if your ancestor was at the Battle of Gettysburg or Vicksburg? Follow the advice that DearMyrtle gives in: Was He There When His Unit Fought in the US Civil War?.

Lynn Palermo (The Accidental Genealogist) shares Seven Timelines Apps to Share Your Stories.

Do you have tins or jars or boxes full of buttons, trinkets, or other household paraphernalia? Have you inherited them from your mom, aunt, or grandmother? What stories does that jar of buttons hold? Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, provides some advice in dealing with items that others would consider “junk” in Why You Don’t Want to Toss Grandma’s Buttons in the Trash”. I especially loved the ending – but don’t read ahead!

That’s all for this edition of Follow Friday!

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