First Library Trip to Dallas Public Library (Week 5 – 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Just less than 20 years ago, my friend Barbara mentioned that she was working on her family’s genealogy. She had one of the first versions of Family Tree Maker and showed me how it worked on her computer. She had notebooks full of research.

Within a year and a half, my mom had given me a few small boxes of old photos. We sat at her dining table going through each one and labeling them to the best of her knowledge. Around the same time, my sister-in-law – with some collaboration from a distant cousin as well as my father-in-law – had completed two family history books on my husband’s line. I talked to my friend more about this software program she had. Before too long, I had gotten a copy and was using it. Through dial-up, I was able to get on the internet. Cyndi’s List was the first “genealogy” website I found. At my local public library, I also found another website run by the Church of Latter Day Saints – FamilySearch before it was really called FamilySearch! Then the site mainly had family histories acquired by the church – no real census records or anything else.

I don’t remember how much longer after that it was that Barbara suggested she take me to the Dallas Public Library to the Genealogy section. She had been there many times so I wouldn’t feel like a complete newbie! We set a day, she picked me up, and made the trek just south of us into downtown Dallas.

Once we got to the 8th floor, Barbara helped me sign in and showed me the procedure for pulling microfilm as well as finding which one I needed via census index in the books. We found two empty microfilm readers and settled in for the day. First, I was struck by how many items there were on the shelves to look at. Second, I figured it was going to take me a long time even with the right microfilm roll to find what I was looking for. I had brought some blank census record research sheets that I had gotten out of my copy of “The Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook” by Emily Ann Croom in order to write down my findings. (I hadn’t planned to spend much on making copies of microfilm pages.)

I found a name on my matenal family line in one of the census indexes so I carefully retrieved the microfilm and threaded it through the reader. After going backward and forward a few times (a little too fast!), figuring out how to bring the image into focus at the size I wanted, I finally saw my great-great-grandmother’s name on the 1870 census record.

The image above is the first time I found Melissa (Malissa) Goul Blazer on any official record. I think I smiled the rest of the day! She was real. She was counted. And not only that but my great-grandmother Katie was the 6 year old living with her. I knew it was the right family because I was aware of the names of the other children. I was a little confused why Melissa’s husband wasn’t living with her (it would be many more years before I realized that Melissa was a young widow). Suddenly, there was a need for me to find others: other ancestors of mine. And that drive is still there – except with a more discerning eye. But that name written on the census record – that was probably the turning point in my family history research. And it all began with a trip to the library!

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Genealogy Road Trip – Part Five

(Links for the first four parts are at the end of this blog post.)

My grandson and I got an early start on Wednesday, July 13, and headed to get breakfast. By the way, did I mention that beginning the very first night we checked in to our hotel, we had flushing issues with the toilet? They left a plunger with us but it was still not flushing correctly so when we left the hotel to begin our day on Wednesday, I more or less gave the hotel an ultimatum – fix it or move us. (The maintenance man finally fixed it during the day while we were out!)

There were many things I had wanted to cram in to our day, and the first item on the agenda was finding and taking photos of the houses my ancestors had lived. Luckily, with a borrowed GPS, it made my job easier to find the homes. I had five addresses – one home looked pretty trashed (a lot of junk piled around outside) and another one had been torn down.

This was the home my grandparents, Lloyd and Ella (House) Amore lived in during the 1930s and 40s. In fact my Uncle Bervil Amore’s son, Bill, was born upstairs.

I believe the house above is the last home my grandfather, Lloyd, resided before his death in 1955. This is the house my sister remembers visiting him.

This house was the home of my great-grandparents – James and Frances (Ogan) House – in the early 1900s. After Lloyd and Ella moved to the farm owned by her parents, James and Frances bought the new home in 1915 just prior to Frances’ death. The 1,228 square foot home has three bedrooms and one bath. The total lot size is 6,300 square feet (home details from Trulia.com). James and youngest son, Lester, continued to live in the home until James went to the Sandusky Soldier’s and Sailor’s home in the early 1920s – where he lived on and off until his death on October 1, 1924. This was the home where Lester’s second wife, Pearl Davidson, took her own life on the morning of April 5, 1945 via a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

I took this photo of the Church of the Nazarene after I drove by and remembered my cousins telling me that my grandmother Ella had attended this church. I turned around and parked across the street to take this shot.

Following our morning criss-crossing Coshocton, we headed toward Historic Roscoe Village. We wanted to visit the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. The name comes from the union of Mary Susan Humrickhouse and Joseph Johnson. Their sons – John and David Johnson – collected many items and artifacts from their many trips around the world. They left all the items to the village of Roscoe. (Sources: Wikipedia: Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum and J-H Museum brochure)

Outside the museum is the cut-out (shown above in photo) so I had to take a photo of it with my grandson! The other photos (above) were taken in the Historic Ohio gallery and consist of the village shoemakers tools (which I had to get a picture because my great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather were both shoemakers and one was located in Roscoe Village!), furnishings from a log house, and 18th & 19th century firearms.

The American Indian gallery exhibits included the Zuni Turquoise and Squash bracelet and necklace and Coral Squash necklace (top right), the Chippewa cradleboard (center right), Native American coiled baskets. and the Sioux Elk Hide Dress (left).

Other items displayed included the early Ohio typewriter (top right), Italian accordian decorated with mother-of-pearl (center right), early Ohio spinning wheel (bottom right), a walrus tusk with Inuit Scrimshaw artwork (bottom left), and the Newark Holy Stones (top left). The stones were reported to be found in 1860 among the ancient Indian burial mounds in Newark, Ohio. For more information, you can read about the stones here.

Along with the Newark Holy Stones exhibit on the second floor, is also the Golden Gallery. Items in the “Victorian Nook” include a 1930s silk wedding dress and 19th century men’s suit (left), a white lawn dress, and a studio camera.

Sharing space in the Golden Gallery, are many printers tools and objects. A separate room on the second floor is used for Special Exhibits. During the time of our visit, the exhibit was “Grafted to the Past” – art that was inspired by objects in the museum to commemorate its 85th anniversary. The photo on the above left is Rounce mixed media artwork done by Curt Derby. Besides printers blocks, quoins, and tools on the right hand side above, there is a Washington press and a model of the Gutenberg press. These exhibits appealed to the graphic artist side of me! I absolutely adored them.

Two exhibits included in the Asian Gallery were the Japanese Samurai and Buddha. Located in the Historic Ohio Gallery was the Stock tray (center bottom) first made in Coshocton. The 1850s square grand piano at the top right was used in the first Roscoe Hotel during the Civil War. Below that is a photo of a page from a 1570 Bible. The Boston Parlor Organ was manufactured in Coshocton in the 19th century. Lastly, on the bottom right corner, is Lord Baltimore’s prayer book dated 1632.

I recommend a visit to this museum if you are ever in the Coshocton area. It won’t take up all of your day but it is well worth the small admission cost. There is also a gift shop on the first floor. I made a purchase of a book about Ohio’s Canals and my grandson – after seeing many, many arrowheads in the American Indian Gallery, bought some arrowheads!

After we left the museum, we headed to the Coshocton Public Library. I wanted to do some in-depth research in their genealogy room. Had I realized that most everything I thought I would be able to find was already digitized or my cousin had sent it to me, I would not have spent as many hours (6+) there. I also would have urged my grandson to find a nice cozy chair in the main part of the library – where there was an electrical outlet for his phone and hand held gaming system – so he wouldn’t have been as bored as he was. Lesson learned.

I pored over many books and items from the vertical files. Unfortunately, the very limited amount of microfilm readers were being used most of the time I was there – at least the one with the copier attached. Finally, the user left and I was able to delve in to the wills and probates microfilm. Bingo! I found my great-grandparents’ (James and Frances House) wills. That is something I need if I ever decide to apply for the Daughters of Union Veterans Lineage Society as it proves that my grandmother is James’ daughter.

Next – Historic Roscoe Village Tour

Links to the first few parts:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

(All photos copyright Wendy Littrell, address for private use.)

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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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