Happy New Year – 2019

Happy New Year to you! It has been a bit of a drought here on the blog, and I apologize for that. Sort of like the drought we had here in north central Missouri this past summer. Farmers in the heartland struggled during the harvest this fall as it had been so dry for so long and then all of a sudden, the rains came.

For my readers who are also family history researchers, I hope 2018 was a great year for you – possibly knocking over those brick walls or solving a mystery through DNA. Perhaps you attended your first or tenth genealogy conference or made it to RootsTech in Salt Lake City last winter. Did you meet someone you consider a genealogy “rock star?”

I’ve had an amazing 2018 concerning research, DNA, and genealogy! I hated science in high school and my Biology grade was a C so imagine how surprised with myself I was when I absorbed details about DNA that made sense to me! And through DNA and old-fashioned sleuthing, I am on the trail of my great-grandmother Frances’ birth family. I’ve connected to descendants of two sisters of my great-great-grandmother Charlotte. And I’ve heard from a paternal cousin who may be able to put the last pieces of the puzzle of my great-great-grandfather William’s early life in order.

I have also enjoyed volunteering at the Chariton County Historical Society and being on the board as well as being an appointed officer of my local tent of Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865, I have been helped by so many others in the genealogy field or those who work in libraries and have sent me news articles/obituaries in the past, that I want to give back and pay it forward.

I hope to get back on track with consistent blog posts (beginning with the first post in 2019’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crow (who I met this summer, and who I consider a genealogy rock star – and she’s also a fellow Buckeye!), and over on Instagram – the Genealogy Photo a Day Challenge.

What are your goals for 2019?

(Image used with permission – Creative Commons)

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Oh My Darling, Clementine (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 6)

My family tree has many Johns, Josephs, James, Peters, Williams, Marys,Marthas, Sarahs, Elizabeths, and Catherines but not too many Clementines. There are exactly two. Clementine Romaine Adney, daughter of Henry Harrison Adney and Elizabeth Jane Blazer was born in Holt, Missouri on January 29, 1873 and died on December 23, 1952 in Benton, Oregon. Clementine was my second cousin three times removed. Our shared ancestors are Philip Blazer and Elizabeth Kingsley.

The other Clementine is my great-aunt; sister of my paternal grandfather. Her birth name was Louisa Clementine Amore. Her first name was in honor of her mother’s mom – Louisa (Bookless) Werts Simon. Yet, she was “Clemmie” to everyone else.

Aunt Clemmie was born on March 12, 1874 in Lafayette township of Coshocton county, Ohio to William Henry and Mary Angeline (Werts) Amore. She was the oldest of seven and the only girl. When she was 12, she was an exemplary student with perfect attendance and a grade of 100. Unfortunately, her education went to 8th grade but not beyond according to the 1940 census.

At the age of 19, Clemmie married Benjamin F Baker on December 7, 1893 in Coshocton, Ohio. The couple had four children: Donald Francis, Anna Belle, Clara Ethel, and Charlotte (Lottie) Christina. Ben Baker died on May 19, 1936 leaving Clemmie a widow. Their children were all grown and married by then. The 1940 census lists Clemmie living in the Curtis Davis household on S. Eureka Avenue in Columbus, Ohio as a housekeeper. She had worked every single week of the previous year with an annual income of $260.

At the Amore-Baker reunion in 1951, Clemmie posed with her six brothers for a photo. Left to right: my grandfather Lloyd, Rollo, Clemmie, Zade (Isaiah), Roy, Clarence, and Herbert. It is one of only three I have of Clemmie and her brothers. She died on April 4, 1956 in Springfield, Ohio at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Anna and Harrie Foster. Her brother (and my grandfather) Lloyd had passed away the year before. Her obituary stated that she was survived by her four children, 12 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, and five brothers. Aunt Clemmie was laid to rest next to her husband at Sunset Cemetery in Galloway, Ohio.

This is a post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for Week 6. For more information or to sign up to participate (all free!!), check out Amy Johnson Crow’s post: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

(Clementine graphic: Wikimedia Commons – public domain. All other digital photos in possession of Wendy Littrell)

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New Volunteer Opportunity

Last fall on a day trip to the Chariton County Historical Society and Museum, I filled out a membership form and told the hostess on duty that day that I would start volunteering when the season began in April. Even though my husband’s family has deep roots in Missouri – especially Chariton county – I had found that some of my collateral relatives also had lived and died here. What better way for me to learn about the area I now call home than to spend time at the Historical Society.

My first “volunteer” opportunity came on April 1st during the 150th Anniversary for the city of Salisbury. The museum was open and even provided sheets of clues for a scavenger hunt. It was advised that I participate as well in order to familiarize myself to the location of items and genealogy files. I had spent two hours there a few weeks before learning the new microfilm scanner and printer so I knew the location of many items.

I volunteered to be there one Wednesday in April. We didn’t have any visitors that day so I spent time inserting obituaries from 1954 into binders – in alphabetical order – or creating a new page if it wouldn’t fit. On my next day there – in early May – I scanned several photos from a large 1967 news magazine. Then I downloaded them from the hand held scanner (I want one of those!) onto the computer and used photo editing software to crop and save them. That day there were several visitors. It was enlightening to hear about a military hero that had grown up in Chariton county from a man who had spent time doing research. Soon, his information will be on display in the military section of the museum.

Some of the other high profile people from this area include: Cal Hubbard, Vernon Kennedy, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, and Sterling Price (Governor of Missouri and also a Confederate General).

I urge to find your local genealogy or historical society and join. Not only will you have access to the holdings, but you will also learn more about the history of your area. And if you are in Chariton county or close by, I invite you to stop in and visit the Chariton County Museum & Historical Society.

(Photo: Depiction of a school room located in the “Main Street” section of the Museum; photographer: Wendy Littrell)

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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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Travel Tuesday – My Own Backyard

As a child, I was blessed to have parents who enjoyed going places and not just traveling out of state (see my series of “Over the Rainbow” posts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five) but in our “own backyard” so to speak. These were destinations of up to 2+ hours away from our home outside of Dayton. I think we went to Hueston Woods at least once a year on a day trip to hike the area. One of the last pictures of my parents still together was one that I took in the woods that fall.

In the 30 odd years I lived in the Dallas area, I didn’t have “time” to be a tourist in my own backyard. Never went to the Texas State Fair – mainly because large crowds and the crime was not something I wanted to deal with. It was also not budget friendly for a family with four kids. The closest I came to San Antonio was 45 minutes away when we took our kids to camp in New Braunfels. I saw Austin as we drove through the city. During long weekends the only thing I thought about doing was staying at home and relaxing. The kids didn’t want to spend any more time in a car than necessary (“she’s touching me,” “he’s looking at me,” etc.) plus we had a dog at home to take care of (and the cost of pet boarding was out of the question). Vacations were to see family – not to see the sights.

Now all these years later, we are living in a new place with many historical and natural sights to see and explore. Last year, we started by visiting towns located under a two hour radius. They had the “old time” Main Street feel and buildings had been restored. In fact, the City of Marceline has Main Street U.S.A. It is the place that Walt Disney spent a few years of his childhoood, and it meant so much to him that when he created DisneyLand, its Main Street U.S.A. is modeled after the one in Marceline. I want to explore more of what is in “my own backyard.”

Last summer, after walking the old part of Moberly during a light summer shower, and window shopping at the antique stores, we made our way back home to the farm via Hwy 24. Our first stop was Salisbury where the Chariton County Historical Society and Museum is located. I had already checked out the website so I knew what was in store for us. My husband and grandson thought we were at a place only I would enjoy because upon entering the building there is a big room full of file cabinets that hold vital, historical and genealogical records. Definitely a place I want to spend some time doing research by myself. But then, the lady told us she would turn the light on in the museum so we could explore. The men’s eyes grew wide when they saw what awaited us in the other rooms.

Large picture is a horse drawn carriage; top right picture shows a blacksmith shop; next ones going clockwise: the MFA display; church room; my grandson in the old time jail; the wagon used by George Friesz when he left Illinois for Missouri; a saloon; and an old Fire truck.

The MFA (Missouri Farmers Association) display is important to my husband’s family because his paternal grandmother’s brother, Earl Smutz, was one of the founders in 1914. The wagon owned by George Friesz also has a connection to my husband. His maternal great-grandfather, William Enderle, was the brother-in-law of George Friesz. A display that I couldn’t get a good picture consisted of a news article about Rebecca Schmidt Enderle. She was married to my mother-in-law’s uncle, Rudolph Enderle. Rebecca was one of the nurses who kept Tojo alive after his suicide attempt in order to be tried for war crimes at the end of World War II (News Article in Baltimore Sun).

The museum houses military uniforms, ephemera, and displays from the wars and conflicts Missourians took a part. There is also a room that has displays of very old dresses, books, home goods, quilts, etc. One could easily spend longer than the hour we did.

This spring and summer after the museums open for the season, we hope to spend more time exploring and learning about this area.

When was the last time that you went traveling in your “own backyard?”

(Original digital images taken by Wendy Littrell; address – for private use)

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Sunday’s Obituary – Clara Jennings

Clara Jennings, my second cousin twice removed, was the youngest daughter of Mary E Lewis (daughter of George J Lewis and Eliza McVey) and Alexander Jennings. (If you remember my Saturday Surname post from yesterday, then you know that George J Lewis was the brother of my great-great-grandmother Julia Ann Lewis House.)

Clara was born on June 8, 1877 in the township of Tuscarawas in Coshocton county, Ohio. Her mother Mary was about 36 year old at her birth. Alexander was about eight years older than Mary. The couple already had six children. When Clara was six years old, her father died. Seven and a half years later, Clara’s mother died.

On September 7, 1893 as seventeen year old Clara was visiting her older brother, Leander James Lewis’ home in the Flint Hill area of Coshocton county, she died of typhoid fever. Two days later after her funeral at Mt. Zion church, she was laid to rest in the cemetery. A cemetery where some of my Amore ancestors are also buried.

For me, it is a shame that a young girl died without her mother being there to wipe her brow or tell her good-bye. But perhaps, it was her mother who said “hello” as Clara departed one life and in to an everlasting life.

As an interesting aside, I am related to Clara in two different ways. First, is via her mother, Mary E. Lewis, my great-great-grandmother’s niece (the House side). Second, is mainly through half-sibling and in-law relationship via my great-grandmother on the Amore side. My great-grandmother, Mary A. (Werts) Amore’s half-sister, Sarah Ellen Simon, married another Alexander Jenning (they dropped the “s” from the end of Jennings). Ellen’s husband, Alexander, was the nephew of Mary E. Lewis’s husband’s father – making him the husband of my first cousin three times removed!

Obituary: The Democratic Standard (Coshocton, Ohio), 15 Sep 1893, pg 6, Ancestry.com, digital images, accessed 12 Mar 2016.

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Surname Saturday – Lewis

In a previous article – Tracking Julia – I lamented that I could not be sure that my great-great-grandmother, Julia Ann Lewis House, was the daughter of Abel Lewis. That changed about a month ago when I found a news article that reported:

Mr. Geo. J. Lewis, daughter Julia, son and family, of Zanesville, were visiting his daughters, Mrs. Alex Jennings, Mrs. John Wagoner, and sister, Mrs. F. A. House, and other relatives.

BOOM! Happy dance! George Lewis was the son of Abel Lewis and Nancy Johnson Robinson. If his sister was Mrs. F. A. House (Florus Allen House), then that would mean that my 2nd great-grandmother was George’s sister.

Two things that I found very serendipitous about that small news clipping from the November 2, 1886 edition of The Coshocton Tribune (Coshocton, Ohio):

1. It lists George’s daughter, Julia but doesn’t list the name of his son.
2. It mentions that they will visit Mrs. F. A. House but the “other relatives” are not named.(1)

Today, I located a Quaker meeting record from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that mentions that Abel Lewis left that location many years previous to the date of record – 1808 – living in Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio and had married. (U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, Provo, UT, USA, Haverford College; Haverford, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1803-1812; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: JK2.6 : accessed 12 Mar 2012.)

In the Muskingum Marriage Records (database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18858-10888-51?cc=1614804 : accessed 12 March 2016), Muskingum > Marriage records 1804-1818 > image 59 of 135; county courthouses, Ohio.), Abel Lewis married Nancy Robinson were married on May 26, 1805 by William Newel, Justice of the Peace.

Now, if I can just figure out who Abel Lewis’ and Nancy Johnson Robinson’s parents are!

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So Far Away – Week 6 (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time!

Although the prompt for this week’s 52 Ancestors post is “So Far Away” and as Amy Johnson Crowe explains: “Which ancestor is the farthest from you, either in distance or in time/generations? Which ancestor have you had to go the farthest away to research?” – I have a different take on that. Some ancestors have been born in Germany or Great Britain, but I’m going to write about how close of a kinship I have with an ancestor who is by general standards several generations removed.

One of the definitions that Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary gives for generation is: “the average span of time between the birth of parents and that of their offspring.” YourDictionary.com explains the “average time” as a “period of around thirty years”. Taking that span of time in to consideration, if a couple – born in 1900 – has a child between ages 25-30 years old, when that child is 30, the parents will be 55-60 years old. If the pattern continues, that couple’s grandchildren will be born when they are 85-90. That is only 3 generations born from 1900-1990.

However, looking at statistics in my family tree database from the early 19th century forward parents were between 18-26 when their first child was born making the generation from grandparent to grandchild 36-40 years with very little deviance. That is until it came to my paternal side.

This is how the Amore side of my family stacks up: my dad was 40 years old when I was born. So instead of the average of about 20 years between generations, there was two times that. My dad’s oldest sister was 18 when he was born so there was almost a full generation between him (as the baby of his family) and his sister. His father was a little more than 39 years old. That would mean my grandfather (had he still been living) would have been close to 80 years old. That is four times twenty. Taking the average of my family tree database, one more generation could have fit between my grandfather and myself. My dad was old enough to be my grandfather (well, let’s not tell him that!). There is a full generation between my brother and myself. He was 21 years old when I was born. As with me, my father’s oldest niece was five years younger than him. My oldest nephew was born I was not quite four years old!

Lloyd William Amore, my paternal grandfather, was born on March 4, 1882 in Coshocton county, Ohio. He was the fourth child and third son to William Henry Amore (Henry) and Mary Angelina (Annie) Werts. Henry was almost 30 years old when my grandfather was born. By the time his last child was born in November 1893, he was close to 42 years old. Henry’s father, my great-great-grandfather (William Amore), born in February 1828 was just over 24 years old when his second wife gave birth to Henry. William was almost 49 years old when his last child was born (the child didn’t live). The span of years between William’s birth and my birth is almsot 134 years. That is a at least 6 generations on average. SIX! And in my case it was 1) William 2) William Henry 3) Lloyd William 4) my dad 5) me.

My dad’s oldest niece (my first cousin) who is five years younger than my dad, became a grandmother when I was three years old. My dad became a first time grandfather when my nephew was born. So he was a grandfather in his early 40s as well as a parent to a young child!

So in the immortal lyrics of a Frankie Valli song – my 2nd great-grandfather, William Amore, is “so close, so close and yet so far.”

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Roots – 2015 (Canada)

Recently, I received information from Johanne Gervais that said:

I was wondering if you would post something for all your followers of French Canadian descent. The Quebec Family History society presents Roots 2015 – An international conference on family history in Quebec from June 19-21, 2015 at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest English language genealogical conference held in Quebec. For further information you could go to http://www.qfhs.ca/cpage.php?pt=174

I went to the link provided and it appears that this is sponsored by the Quebec Family History Society that will presented on June 19, 20 and 21. Keynote speaker will be Rick Roberts, Founder of Global Genealogy. There will be information on the Canadian version of Ancestry.com; how to find land and probate records in Quebec; DNA testing; the War of 1812 in Quebec, and much more!

I do not have ancestors that have lived in Quebec or any part of Canada (at least, I haven’t come across them!) but if you are a reader of this blog and feel that this conference would be something for you, please go to the link provided above and check it out.

Disclaimer: I did not solicit this information and have no ties to the Quebec Family History Society or any of the companies involved in this conference.

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New Page

If you look above at the tabs, you’ll notice that I’ve added a new page. I will be updating it periodically but right now it has the beginnings of an Index of Posts pertaining to the Surnames that I am researching. Hopefully, this might make it easier (for me as well) to keep track of what I’ve written about which relative/ancestor!

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