Young Woman

It wasn’t easy to pick out a favorite photo. I have so many: my kids at different ages, my wedding photos, reunions, ancestors, and even some of myself as a young child.

I chose the photo of my maternal grandmother, Vesta Christena Wilt, as a young woman – before she was married (probably). Her unruly baby fine wavy hair set in place. A locket on a chain around her neck. Blue eyes looking toward her future.

A photo of a woman of whom I see a bit of myself in the eyes, the same type of hair, and slight smile. A photo I treasure – but my Nana – I treasure her memory even more.

This post was written as part of Week 3 “Favorite Photo” blog prompt of “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” For more information please go to https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

(Digital and original photo in possession of Wendy Littrell.)

Read Full Post »

Love is the Foundation

On October 15, 1916 a letter was written from Miss Vesta Wilt to Mr Johnson that read:

It has now been six months since I have known you. Am beginning to love you. Is mine returned? I think not. But nevertheless I’m thinking of proposing your hand in marrige. Am telling you as you may think seriously on the matter. Yours as B/4

Two months and nine days later on December 24, 1916 the two wed in Anderson, Indiana. Their marriage was a foundation built on love that lasted beyond their deaths in 1984 and 1985. It lasted due to their commitment not only to each other but to their family, their faith, and to their journey through the military into civilian life. Their legacy has been three out of four children who lived to adulthood who in turn gave life to the couple’s eight grandchildren. In turn that has brought life to 16 great-grandchildren. The great-great-grandchildren presently number 23. And the babies and young children considered great-great-great-grandchildren number 8. The union that the foundation of love of Miss Vesta Wilt and Mr Glen R Johnson have produced a total of 53 descendants.

Vesta and Glen are my maternal grandparents and a couple that all of us who grew up knowing them remember them with fondness, respect, and love.

This post was written from the blog prompt “Foundations” as part of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. For more information on this series please see: https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/ 

Read Full Post »

My 12th Blogging Anniversary!

Today marks 12 years since I started this genealogy blog! There have been some months that I’ve published posts quite often and some years I haven’t posted very much. My last post on this blog was back on August 1st of last year.

That doesn’t mean I have slowed down in my family history research. As is known to happen, real life events had to come before blogging. Last fall, a new baby was born into the family – our third granddaughter! That prompted a trip out of state for me. That all happened right after our grandson left for Army Basic Training – he is a National Guardsman. After returning from being with family, circumstances prompted my husband and I to move in to the parsonage in town and leave the farm. It took several trips with the pick-up truck moving our furniture and other boxes plus what could be stuffed in my vehicle. Finally, toward the end of October, we were fully moved in.

Soon, it was time to head to our grandson’s basic training graduation. The trip was long so we split it into 2 days’ of travel. Did I mention that Missouri was getting snow as we left home and drove? Our daughter was with us and our son, my grandson’s uncle, met us at our destination. We had a great two days of Family Day events and then graduation.

Not too long after arriving back home, the holidays were upon us which meant grocery shopping and cooking. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, it was time to decorate and shop for Christmas. Our grandson was able to get a two week holiday block leave from his advanced training so he flew home for Christmas. And of course – we had snow in and around the time he was home – which kept up through early January.

The snow and ice prompted me to stay at home. Why get out if I didn’t have to? Again, real life happened – this time not only was one of our vehicles out of commission and the pick-up truck needed brakes, but my car decided it was feeling left out so it was out. A new transmission and several other necessary mechanical work, and it was back in running order. That was after the truck was in the shop.

Just when I thought, I’d be able to finally get out – the stay-at-home-order was given. So, now my pastor husband is a televangelist! Facebook Live sermons is how he gets his church service out each Sunday now.

And what was I supposed to be doing today? Helping our historical society host the county’s bicentennial event – Pioneer Day – at the museum. Many volunteers were signed up to help; different events throughout the museum and outside were to be held ; and a new exhibit was going to be unveiled. All of this is still planned – just now it will be in July.

Since my first few months of the year was spent pretty much “at home” – being socially distant and contained inside is nothing new. I do miss being able to just go to the store without thinking about it – or spending twenty minutes sanitizing after I leave the store, before I touch my car, after I put my groceries in, before I touch my car again, after I put groceries away, and then washing my hands and sanitizing where my grocery bags had sat. In the last three weeks, I’ve managed to limit my exposure to being at Walmart just once each week.

I learned how to sew face masks – thank goodness I had my sewing machine fixed and tuned up just before all this happened. Originally, I was going to work on my first quilt. Today, I finished a granny square quilt top and seven masks. Just as I was about done with the eighth mask, my sewing machine needle broke. I now have to wait until I’m able to get back to the store next week!

In between all of this, I have been working on family history. I’ve had a break through of sorts on my paternal great-grandfather. I’ve been watching some fascinating webinars – especially on land records.

It’s been a fantastic twelve years blogging, and I hope I can keep it up for several more years because it has been cousin bait!

By the way – get your census turned in!

Read Full Post »

Millennials and Family History – My Experience

Genealogist Amy Johnson Crow has a fascinating podcast series at “Generations Cafe” (you can listen to it via any number of platforms – I use Spotify), and her latest is The Truth About Millennials and Genealogy. Yesterday, as I listened to Amy  and her daughter in conversation about what millennials think when it comes to genealogy, I found myself thinking about my own millenials.

First, Amy explained who the millennials are (those born from 1981-1998) which means that all four of my kids fall into that label. They are all adults with families and/or careers, bills to pay, and responsibilities. However, I probably only categorize my youngest as a millennial and even then, most of the time, she comes across as older in her thought processes.

Second, I was born toward the tail end of the baby boom. Some days I consider myself a baby boomer and other times I do not. Now that I’m getting closer to 60, I feel more and more like one! My parents were born prior to the depression so they lived through that as well as WWII. Could their life experiences have influenced how I perceive not only the world but my role as a family historian? Consequently, could it be the same for my children?

As I thought about topics that Amy had brought up during her podcast, I reflected on not only my experience but also my children’s. One thing that was mentioned had to do with heirlooms and reasons the younger generation may or may not want those items. Growing up, my mother would always mention how she ended up with certain items: “Mom Amore gave that to me” or “that used to belong to Gramma Clawson.” Often times I would hear stories to go along with her pronouncements. Then there were the items she used – the candy dish that always held M&Ms and the cookie jar that only held a certain type of sandwich cookie. There were things that my grandparents always had around – the Swiss kitchen scene plaque that hung in their kitchen (photo above), the Christmas bell that played “Jingle Bells,” and the wooden shoes they bought on a trip to Holland. There were always stories to go along with the items of note. I passed those stories – my stories – to my children. So when it came time to clean out my mom’s home after she died, the items we kept meant something – not only to my sister and I but to her children and to my children. Had it not been for the constant stories or the memories surrounding certain items, those heirlooms wouldn’t have meant much to us.

Another point in Amy’s podcast was the concept of “doing” genealogy. I grew up hearing family stories – all of the time. That didn’t mean I paid as much attention to them as I wish I had, but I’d listened just enough to inspire a spark of wanting to know fact from fiction. My sister enjoys hearing about what I find, but she doesn’t want to do the research. Most of my kids like hearing the stories – especially about black sheep relatives, but they don’t want to do the research. My son, however, likes the mystery and working the puzzles as much as I do. Reaching out to unknown cousins carries a certain risk – rejection or even finding that “crazy” relative – but it might mean making a new family connection that is wonderful.

The third item that Amy’s podcast brought to my attention was how to attract not only millennials to genealogy or historical societies – but people of all ages. Rachel even mentioned food! That’s good because my local historical society puts on a pretty good spread for everyone at our quarterly meetings! What will people get out of the societies? What’s in it for them? Are they artistic? Maybe they could be asked to volunteer some time to paint a sign for a special event? Do they want to read about what their parents or grandparents did 20-50 years ago in the newspapers kept at the historical society? Are they aware that their great-grandparents donated this really cool (insert item) to the historical society? Have they seen it? Do they know the story behind it? These and many more things are something I think my historical society can brainstorm about to come up with other ideas to get everyone more involved.

Perhaps there are members of a historical society who aren’t part of the Facebook (or other social media) crowd; maybe they don’t even have email or smart phones. I bet they have kids or grandkids who are. Pick an afternoon and have the grandkids pull up some information for you so it can be a tag team learning event. Pull out that item from the back of the closet the next time your millennial son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter/niece/nephew come over, and tell them the story behind it. Pull up a historic map and overlay it with a current one to show them where the great-great-grandparents lived in the 1800s and what that area looks like today.

I think one of the biggest thing genealogists and family historians can do to help millennials feel comfortable about learning more about family history is to not talk down to them when they do ask questions. Not everyone knows what FTM stands for or that ethnic breakdowns of a DNA test are just estimates. Not everyone knows what a Family History Center is or where one can be found. When they ask a question – in person or on social media – it’s best to find out what they do know in order to give them an answer that is neither over their head nor condescending.

I want to thank Amy and her daughter Rachel for a well done and thought provoking podcast. Please go listen – and then listen to the rest of her podcasts.

Read Full Post »

A Challenging New Role – Week 2 (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The  Week 2 prompt for “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” is Challenge. And do I have a challenge ahead of me! In October 2017, I accepted a position on the Board of Directors for my local society – Chariton County Historical Society. At the first board meeting I attended, I was asked if I would accept the role of Vice President/Program Coordinator. I was excited about helping the organization find new and exciting programs for their quarterly meetings.

Fast forward to July 2018 when the President of the Board resigned after many, many years of being very active on the Board and with the museum. At the July board and quarterly meetings, as Vice President I stepped up to chair the meetings. October is the month to elect new officers. Besides the one new member who was asked to serve to fill the empty spot, the other seven and I agreed to continue on the board. I really enjoyed my position and said I would continue as VP, but then one other lady said she could be VP but not President. So I consented to the position.

At the October quarterly meeting (our “big” meeting), the slate of Board members and Officers were approved and without any nominations from the floor, were elected. Immediately, I realized that I was really out of my comfort zone. I didn’t grow up in Chariton county. I didn’t know that much about most of the artifacts in the museum. I didn’t have a clue about the “business” of being President. I did however know that several of the board members and our hostesses are a wealth of information, advice, and guidance. And I can delegate! (Insert maniacal laughter!!)

This year will be challenging, but one thing I learned many years ago is that a challenge is just another opportunity. Missouri is coming up on the 200th Anniversary of statehood in 2021. Every group, society, and organization will be having some sort of birthday celebration of sorts. And in 2020 it will be Chariton County’s anniversary! I foresee many amazing things for the Chariton County Historical Society, its members, the community, and all the visitors!

Wheelwright Shop Display at Chariton County Historical Society & Museum

General Store exhibit in “Main Street” area

I can’t conclude this post without inviting all of you to come visit us at 115 E. 2nd Street in Salisbury, Missouri. The museum (which has a genealogy library and a large Veterans area) is open from the first Tuesday in April until the last Saturday in October, Tuesday through Friday from 1-4 p.m. or by appointment. Check out the website for Chariton County Museum and our Facebook Page.

If you would like to join the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge by Amy Johnson Crow, please click here to be taken to the link. (Hint: you don’t have to write about an ancestor – as this post shows – nor do you need to have a blog. This is a way for you to just start writing!)

(Images: Top – digital image use via Creative Commons; all other photos: photographer – Wendy Littrell, original digital images in possession of Wendy Littrell.)

Read Full Post »

My Nine Instagram Favorites of 2018

I used #2018bestnine to compile a collage of my top nine photos from Instagram for 2018. The top nine are ranked according to how many “hearts” (likes) were given on each picture. In case some of my followers aren’t on that social media platform, I thought I’d also post the compilation here as many of them are genealogy related – as well as my captions for each one.

Beginning at the top row, left to right and working my way down:

1. Lois Evelyn Johnson, born on June 9, 1927, was my mom’s baby sister. She was premature and couldn’t seem to gain weight according to a calendar diary my grandmother kept. Lois Evelyn died on September 30, 1927. She was first buried in a cemetery in Fairborn, Ohio (then Fairfield), but a family lost several members due to a fire and wasn’t able to afford cemetery plots. My grandparents donated their plots and had the baby re-interned at Glen Haven Memorial Gardens outside New Carlisle, Ohio. This is Lois Evelyn’s heart-shaped grave marker. Lying in the family plot are my grandparents, Aunt & Uncle, and my mom. Most of the family together in rest.
2. Genealogy Photo a Day for May 2 is “Happy Face” – a pic of my mom Mary (left) with her older sister Genevieve taken about 1956. Yesterday, May 1, was 9th anniversary of mom’s passing. Today May 2 marks 60 years of my aunt’s passing.
3. Today the Genealogy Photo a Day is Letters. I have boxes & boxes of letters dating back to 1916. This letter was written by my maternal grandmother when my grandparents were stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany in the early 50s.
4. Chariton County Missouri museum has Laura Ingalls Little House on the Prairie info in display case
5. My husband and I were married in the office of our local Justice of the Peace in May 1988. Almost a year later, on the first Saturday of April, we had a church wedding (a reaffirmation). The date happened to fall on April Fools Day!
6. Today the Genealogy Photo a Day theme is “Starts With T”so I chose a photo that depicts Trip of a Lifetime! My mom was thrilled to travel to Israel in the 90s. Here she is riding a camel! I am glad Mom was able to do this.
7. This item hung on my grandparents’ wall in all of their homes for as long as I could remember. I was probably almost a teen when I made it known to my grandmother that I sure would like to have that item. Every time I saw it, I asked my grandmother to wind it for me (it plays music). At some point before my grandmother’s death, she put my name on the back of that plaque. I also think I ended up with it because I was the “baby” (by 14 years) of the grandchildren and most of the other granddaughter’s (there are 5 of us and 3 grandsons) received items like crystal stemware, jewelry, and silver. They bought the item in Garmisch (in Bavaria), and I have the letter written to my mother that detailed their trip to Garmisch and the purchase of that piece!
8. Today’s theme for Genealogy Photo a Day is “Friends” so I chose this pic taken in the fall of 1966 in Seattle. I’m in red in front of my mom & dad. With us is Derald & Marilyn Manning and their 2 children (their daughter took the picture). We were at the top of the Space Needle. Mom & Dad met the Mannings over 10 years earlier when the men were in the US Army Air Corps/US Air Force stationed in Japan. The couples spent many evenings together playing cards, eating dinner, enjoying parties, and being close friends. I know they exchanged Christmas cards for awhile before finally losing touch by the mid 70s due to distance and my parents’ divorce.
9. This is my Great-great-grandmother Melissa Goul. Her daughter Katie was the mother of my maternal grandfather. Melissa had a tragic life. Born in Ohio in Oct 1832, she found herself pregnant with her first cousin’s baby at the age of 18. The cousin (& his wife) moved to Missouri while Melissa’s parents moved her to Indiana. Melissa ended up marrying Franklin Blazer and had 5 more kids. Frank was killed by lightning in 1869 at the age of 33. Melissa then ran the farm by herself. She died on March 7, 1907 but had pre-planned her funeral as she didn’t want to be buried in the winter. Her funeral was held three months later on June 9. According to newspaper accounts, her body was very well preserved, and she looked as if she was just recently deceased at the time of her open casket funeral.

Are you on Instagram? Do you participate in the #genealogyphotoaday challenge?

Read Full Post »

The Women Who Came Before Me

In honor of Mother’s Day, I created a collage of all of the women who are my direct ancestors. After I was finished, I marveled that I had so many photos to use!

Beginning at the top, left to right:
Margaret Bushong b. 24 Jan 1814 in Ohio and d. 1 Jun 1888 in Hamilton county, Indiana. 3rd great-grandmother
Mary Angeline Werts b. 15 Feb 1855 in Coshocton county, Ohio and d. 5 Dec 1941 in Roscoe, Coshocton county, Ohio. Great-grandmother
Frances Virginia Ogan b. 29 Nov 1846 in Guernsey county, Ohio and d. 18 Feb 1915 in Coshocton, Ohio. Great-grandmother
Margaret Catherine Maple b. 22 Dec 1808 in Coshocton, Ohio and d. 13 May 1851 in Muskingum county, Ohio. 3rd great-grandmother
Nancy Caylor b. 10 May 1840 in Indiana and d. 21 Dec 1900 in Noblesville, Indiana. Great-Great-grandmother
Melissa Goul b. 17 Oct 1832 in Champaign county, Ohio and d. 7 Mar 1907 in Madison county, Indiana. Great-Great-grandmother
Ella Maria House b. 22 Jun 1882 in Coshocton county, Ohio and d. 3 Jul 1946 in Coshocton, Ohio. Grandmother
Louisa Bookless b. 13 Apr 1834 in Muskingum county, Ohio and d. 26 Jul 1912 in Coshocton, Ohio. Great-Great-grandmother
Martha Jane Stern b. 9 Feb 1872 in Clarksville, Indiana and d. 6 Nov 1956 in Leaburg, Oregon. Great-grandmother
Katie J Blazer b. 27 Sep 1864 in Madison county, Indiana and d. 20 May 1930 in Fairfield (now Fairborn), Ohio. Great-grandmother
Vesta Christena Wilt b. 7 May 1898 in Noblesville, Indiana and d. 19 Jan 1984 in Dayton, Ohio. Grandmother
Mary Helen Johnson b. 21 Sep 1921 in Anderson, Indiana and d. 1 May 2009 in Beavercreek, Ohio. Mother
Me!

 

Read Full Post »

Fresh Start with Old Material (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 1)

When I started working on my family history, information on the web was lacking. In fact, aside from the beginnings of Ancestry.com, Rootsweb, and the old LDS FamilySearch.org, the main website was Cyndi’s List. Cyndi Ingle was a one woman show back in 2001, and she still is. Except today, Cyndi’s List is much bigger.

Fortunately, back then a good friend let me borrow her family tree software in order to begin. All the beginning genealogy articles I found online or in a few magazines suggested to start with yourself. That is exactly what I did. Now, almost twenty years later, I am using the latest version of Family Tree Maker (FTM). The database assigns a reference number to each person, and my number is 1. Number 2 is my dad. I really have no idea what the computations are for numbers in FTM. My mother shows up as Reference number 7359!

My descendants include four children and eight grandchildren! My ancestors include my two parents and four grandparents.

• Paternal: Lloyd William Amore and Ella Maria House
• Maternal: Glen Roy Johnson and Vesta Christena Wilt

As I go further back into my family history, not only do the generations become compounded but I am at brick walls on others. I have listed the number of known and documented ancestors after the relationship.

Great-Grandparents – 8

• Paternal: William Henry Amore and Mary Angeline Werts; James Emory House and Frances Virginia Ogan
• Maternal: John Lafayette Johnson and Katie J Blazer; Joseph Napolean Wilt and Martha Jane Stern

Great-Great-Grandparents (AKA 2x great-grandparents) – 14 out of 16

• Paternal: William Amore and Charlotte Reed; William Washington Werts and Louisa Bookless; Florus Allen House and Julia Ann Lewis; BRICKWALL on Frances Ogan’s biological parents.
• Maternal: James Wilson Johnson and Amanda Eveline Mullis; Franklin Blazer and Melissa Goul; Isreal Isaac Wilt and Christena Nash; Emanuel Bushong Stern and Nancy Caylor.

3x Great-Grandparents – 25 out of 32

• Paternal: BRICKWALL on William Amore’s parents; Zachariah Reed and BRICKWALL on Charlotte Reed’s mother; George Peter Werts and Margaret Catherine Maple; David Bookless and Mary Cartmell; Allen House and Editha Bigelow; Abel Lewis Jr and Nancy (Ann) Johnston.
• Maternal: Jacob Johnson and Ann Shields; John Mullis and Darlett Stanley; John Blazer and Mary Ann Nelson; John Goul and Martha McManaway (or alternate spellings); John Wilt and Phebe Hottinger; Alexander Nash and Elsy Minesinger; Peter Stern and Margaret Bushong; Abraham Caylor and Susannah Miller.

4x Great-Grandparents – 42 out of 64

• Paternal: BRICKWALL on Zachariah Reed’s parents; George Peter Werts and Susanna Huff; William B Maple and Mary Fuller; (thought to be but not proven) William Bookless and Ann Pearson; John Cartmell and mother of Mary Cartmell NOT PROVEN; Lazarus House and Rebecca Risley; Eli Bigelow and Anna Freeman; Abel Lewis and Elizabeth Jones; James Johnston and Catherine See.
• Maternal: BRICKWALL on Jacob Johnson’s parents; William Shields and Mary (maiden name is unknown); George Mullis (Sr) and Margaret “Polly” Owens; Thomas Stanley Sr and Sarah Mason; Philip Blazer and Elizabeth Kingsley; John Griffith Nelson and Mary Dickenson Arbuckle; Adam Goul and Elizabeth Lutz; BRICKWALL for parents of Martha McManaway; Peter Wilt and BRICKWALL for John Wilt’s mother; John Hottinger and Mary Orebaugh; Joshua Nash and Abigail (maiden name is unknown); Joseph Minesinger and Christeana (maiden name is unknown); Christian Stern and Susanna Roudebush; John Bushong and Anna Stover; Johannes Caylor (Kohler) and Sarah Salome Kinsey; Joseph H Miller and Catherine Botafield.

Now, 17 years after I began this family history journey, where do I start in order to break down those brick walls? I start with myself once again and go through each person’s documentation, ephemera, and stories in order to pick out as much information as I can. I also check into each person’s FAN club (family, associates and neighbors) – cluster research – for even more evidence.

(Photos above (left to right top to bottom) – First collage: Glen & Vesta (Wilt) Johnson; Lloyd & Ella (House) Amore; William Henry & Mary (Werts) Amore; John & Katie (Blazer) Johnson. Second collage: Peter & Margaret (Bushong) Stern; Joseph & Martha (Stern) Wilt and family; Emanuel & Nancy (Caylor) Stern; George Peter & Margaret Catherine (Maple) Werts. Third collage: James Wilson Johnson; William Amore; Melissa (Goul) Blazer; Isreal Wilt.)

This is the first post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for Week 1. For more information or to sign up to participate (all free!!), check out Amy Johnson Crow’s post: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Read Full Post »

Celebrating Nine Years

I have been so busy the last few months that I completely missed my blogging anniversary (blogiversary)! Nine years ago on April 19, 2008, I wrote the first two posts here on All My Branches Genealogy: New Genealogy Blog and They Died How?

Since that day, I’ve published 580 articles; have 66 followers; and have had 404 likes, 14,789 visitors and 65,457 views.

Thank you to my faithful readers!

 

Read Full Post »

First Genealogy Conference

This Saturday I will be attending my very first genealogy seminar! I’m looking forward to being with other genealogists and experiencing what several of my genea-friends have experienced. There are some in the field who are considered “rock stars” – the ones who speak at conferences all over the country and have a wealth of knowledge to share. One such “rock star” is Judy G. Russell. She is known as the Legal Genealogist. Judy’s blog of the same name (Legal Geanealogist) is full of useful information on copyrights, laws from year’s past, and other helpful hints. If you are a family historian, you must read Judy’s blog. I’ve also been Facebook friends with Judy for several years. Finally, on Saturday I will get to hear her presentations and meet her in person at the Midwest Genealogy Center Spring Seminar.

Read Full Post »