This Week's Research Project: 1889 Explosion Kills Two Brothers

For the last several weeks, I have been researching the children and grandchildren of Mark P Stewart (Stuart) and Julia Ann (Alexander) Stewart (Stuart), who are my maternal 3rd great grandparents. Yesterday, I decided to work on finding out:

What happened to Henry's twin brother Edward?  

When doing research you always want to move from the "known" to the "unknown" ... So I had to figure out what I knew about Edward first.

1) Edward and Henry were twins, born in December 10, 1871 in Evergreen Township, Montcalm County, Michigan.  Their parents were Mark and Julia, who were born and married in Ohio.

2) The twins are both enumerated with their parents (Mark and Julia) in the 1880 census, in Evergreen.

3) In about 1884, their father Mark dies and so in 1887, Julia applies for a Civil War Widow's Pension and lists three children (Charles, Edward and Henry) living with her that she was their sole support.  

4) In 1900, I found Henry living in Forest County, PA (along with another brother John).  Edward or Charles are not listed in either Montcalm County, Michigan or Forest County, PA in the 1900 census records under Stewart or Stuart.

5) Henry worked in the Shingle and Lumber business in 1893; and lumber was the industry of the region so it was likely that Edward, Charles and John all worked in similar occupations (or farming).

The following is my thought process ...

Knowing that Edward did not appear to follow Henry to Forest County, Pennsylvania and not knowing where Charles may be living in 1900 ... I attempted to see if I could find Edward in a 1900 US Census.  I found a record for a "Edward E Stewart" listed as a "prisoner" in Iowa, that was born in Dec 1871 in Michigan, but his parents are listed as born in NY (my Edward's parents were born in Ohio) so I wasn't sure if this was my person, but I made a notation of the record.

Next not finding an definitive answer for Edward, the next question was ... Did Edward die before the 1900 census.  So I decided to look for a death record (post 1887 but pre 1900).  

My preferred place to start research is in the death certificates at SeekingMichigan.org (1897 to 1922), but I found no Edward Stewart or Edward Stuart that matched my Edward.  Then I narrowed my search period to post 1887 and pre 1897, which puts me in my second favorite place to research ... FamilySearch's Michigan, Deaths, 1867-1897" collection ... which is where I found the following three death records recorded in Montcalm County for 1889.

first image, lines 252 and 253

second image, lines 252 and 253

First thing I noticed was:

Edward Stewart (age 17) and Charles Stewart (age 20) died on the same day March 28, 1889 in Hungerford, Mecosta County, Michigan (not Montcalm Michigan, which is where the death was apparently recorded) On the following image, it listed them as dying in a "boiler explosion" and their parentage information is "not known".

Something else that caught my eye, was that the person above them "William Suet" is the son of "Mark P Suet and Julia Suet" and he was married living in Edmore (which is also a location that my Stewart/Stuart branch was believed to be living in at one time) -- This information I had to file away for looking into another day ... because I was hot on the trail of Edward and Charles now.

Then I reformed my question ...

Was the Edward Stewart and Charles Stewart,
who died in Hungerford, Mecosta, Michigan
on 28 March 1889 the sons of 

Mark P Stewart and Julia Stewart? 

And what caused the boiler explosion? So then I moved on to my next favorite online resource ... historical books and newspaper accounts.

First I did a Google search for "1889" and "Hungerford" and "explosion" and found a couple historical books about factory safety from the early 1890s. Including the following:

Then I found a newspaper article in the Indiana Sentinel from 1889:

Indiana State sentinel, Volume 35, Number 9, 3 April 1889, Page 4
https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISST18890403.1.4

Next I went to the Library of Congress's Chronicling America website and found several more news paper articles, from as far away as Los Angeles, Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Maysville, KY.

Los Angeles daily herald. (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, March 29, 1889, Page 5, Image 5

Sacramento daily record-union. (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, March 29, 1889, Page 4, Image 4

The Salt Lake herald. (Salt Lake City [Utah) 1870-1909, March 29, 1889, Page 5, Image 5

The evening bulletin. (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, March 30, 1889, Image 1

Conclusion:

I still have not proved fully yet that the Edward and Charles killed in the explosion, are the sons of Mark and Julia Stewart but I do know know that they were brothers based on these newspaper stories. Additionally, my Edward would have been approximately 17 or 18 in March 1889; and my Charles would have been approximately 20 or 21 in March 1889 which seems to fit.

The death of these two young men being registered in Montcalm County, Michigan rather than Mecosta County, Michigan where their deaths actually occurred also gives me reason to suspect that they had "familial" ties to Montcalm county, Michigan.  In 1887, Julia was living in Rodney, Mecosta, Michigan but she filed her Widow's Pension Paperwork at the Montcalm County courthouse.

My next research needs to focus on local newspaper accounts and any historical books about the Mecosta or Montcalm county areas.  I will also try to reach out to the local public library and historical societies and see what information they can provide me about the explosion at Morgan's Mill in Hungerford.  I am ultimately hoping to find a newspaper article that says simply "local resident Mrs. Mark Stewart loses two sons Edward and Charles in an explosion in Hungerford this week".  Question is, does that story exist.   Meanwhile, the hunt goes on ...

Thanks for stopping by.

Love and Aloha,
CuznAmy

Joseph Shaw and Alice Kenyon - Marriage March 2, 1874

After seeing that the informant on Thomas Kenyon's death certificate was his sister, Alice Kenyon, I decided to track down any information I could on Alice.  I ordered a copy of her marriage record in 1874 to Joseph Shaw from the GRO in England, which arrived in my mailbox this week.  

This certificate clearly show's her father's name as John Kenyon, I need to see what information I can find that will get me back another generation.  Perhaps a birth record for Alice (from 1853) with a father listed as John.  Wonder how many Alice Kenyon's were born in Wigan in 1852-1854?

Marriage Record for Joseph Shaw and Alic

TRANSCRIPT

CERTIFIED COPY OF AN ENTRY OF MARRIAGE
GIVEN AT THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE

Application Number 5608864/1

1874. Marriage solemnized at the Register office in the district of Wigan in the County of Lancaster.

No.
137

When Married.
Second March 1874

Name and Surname.
Joseph Shaw
Alice Kenyon

Age.
22 years
21 years

Condition.
Bachelor
Spinster

Rank or Profession.
coal miner
colliery laborer

Residence at the time of Marriage.
(unable to read) Wigan
(unable to read) Wigan

Father's Name and Surname.
------------------
John Kenyon (deceased)

Rank or Profession of Father.
------------------
Engine tender

Married in the Register office (according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the - struck through) by (unable to read) before me Robert Halliwell Registar Henry Ackerley Supt Registar

This Marriage was solemnized between us, X the mark of Joseph Shaw  Alice Kenyon
in the Presence of us, Thomas Shakelady  X The mark of Beloy Ann Shackelady

CERTIFIED to be a true copy of an entry in the certified copy of a register of Marriages in the Registration District of Wigan. Given at the GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE, under the Seal of the said Office, the 22nd day of April, 2014.

MXG 242680

===

Some additional research questions for me include:

1) Who are Thomas Shackelady and Beloy Ann Shackelady to either Joseph Shaw or Alice Kenyon?
2) Why didn't Joseph Shaw provide information about his father?
3) Why were they married at the Register office and not the local church?
4) What is an "engine tender"?
5) Can anyone else figure out what is written in for their residences?
6) Can anyone else figure out what is written in above Robert Halliwell's signature.  It appears to be related to how they were married?
7) Look for a birth record in 1853 for Alice Kenyon in Wigan, with a father named John Kenyon (makes the assumption that Alice was born in Wigan).
8) Look for a birth record in 1852 for Joseph Shaw in Wigan.  (This may be more difficult without a father's name to start with, as this may be a rather common name.  It also is assumed that Joseph was born in Wigan.)
9) Can you find a Joseph Shaw living in Wigan, age 19 in the 1871 England Census?
10) Can I find an Alice Kenyon living in Wigan, age 18 in the 1871 England Census with a John Kenyon as the head of household?
11) Can I find an Alice Kenyon, living in Wigan, age 8 in the 1861 England Census with a John Kenyon as head of household?
12) Locate the last census record that John Kenyon, with a daughter named Alice Kenyon can be found and then try to obtain a death record.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love & Aloha,
CuznAmy

Another Piece of the Kenyon Puzzle ... Thomas Kenyon (1854-1887)

So excited. :)  Look what showed up in my mail box this week.  It is a certified copy of the death entry for Thomas Kenyon (my husband's great great grandfather).  The informant is listed as "Alice Shaw, Sister" and her address in Low Green is the address where the death occurred.  Though I am not 100% certain yet this is John Kenyon (Sr.) father, I now have a new name (Alice Kenyon, married to a Mr. Shaw) to help further my research.

Certified Copy of Entry of Death, 1887 for Thomas Kenyon

TRANSCRIPTION

CERTIFIED COPY OF AN ENTRY OF DEATH

GIVEN AT THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE

Application Number 5553750-1

REGISTRATION DISTRICT WIGAN

1887 DEATH in the Sub-district of Hindley in the County of Lancaster

Columns:- 

No. 366

1 When and where died

Fifth September, 1887

85 Mackey Lane, 

Lowe Green, Hindley, U.S.D.

2 Name and surname

Thomas Kenyon

3 Sex

Male

4 Age

33 Years

5 Occupation

Coal Mine Labourer

6 Cause of death

Inflammation of Liver, Jaundice, 

Certified by Thomas Brayton L.R.C.P.

7 Signature, description and residence of informant                                  

X The mark of Alice Shaw, Sister, present at the death,

85 Mackey Lane, Lowe Green, Hindley

8 When registered

Fifth September, 1887

9 Signature of registrar

John Grime Registrar

CERTIFIED to be a true copy of an entry in the certified copy of a Register of Deaths in the District above mention.

Given at the GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE, under the Seal of the said Office, the 26th day of March 2014.

DYD 670352     See note overleaf

CAUTION:  THERE ARE OFFENCES RELATING TO FALSIFYING OR ALTERING A CERTIFICATE AND USING OR POSSESSING A FALSE CERTIFICATE (C) CROWN COPYRIGHT

WARNING: A CERTIFICATE IS NOT EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY.

DAN (GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE ENGLAND SEAL)

Thanks for stopping by.

Love & Aloha,
Cuzn Amy

52 Ancestors: #5 - The Hunt for James Parker Continues

I'm officially behind in my 52 ancestor posts ... but I knew that would happen. I'm just going to keep plugging away as best as I can, and hopefully I'll catch back up before summer.

Do you have that one elusive ancestor, that makes you want to tear your hair out? Me too!

But I know the answer is out there somewhere ... and every so often I do a quick search in Google for:

"James Parker"+"DeKalb County"+TN+genealogy

just hoping my brickwall ancestor will find a way to contact me from the Great Beyond ... through all the ports and plugs that make up the vast World Wide Web.  Usually, its fruitless but every so often I come across new material ... or a new researcher .... with the same brick wall. ;o) (Misery loves company)

Well, during one these random "while I'm waiting for the microwave to finish" searches I came across some new information in the form of a genealogy report of the Descendants of James Parker which had been uploaded by Deborah Hills Nichols sometime in November of 2012. And her "James Parker" is from ... DeKalb County, TN. 

This could be promising ... 

My "James" first shows up in 1852 in DeKalb County, TN when he marries Catherine Burton.  Since I have no birth date or age at death for him, I've had to make some general assumptions as follows:  

1) His wife, Mary Catherine Burton was born about 1834-1836 ... I figure he had to be near her in age ... so I've estimated that he was likely born between 1830 and 1835.  

2) I've also made the assumption that James likely met Catherine Burton through neighbors or church affiliations (meaning they likely lived near each other and perhaps attended the same church in 1851-52).  So if the Burton family lived in Liberty District, DeKalb County, TN during the 1850 census ... perhaps James is related to another "Parker" family living nearby.  

3) It is also entirely possible that my "James Parker" was an outlaw with a made up name, who showed up one day looking for work at the Burton family farm ... and ended up with a shotgun wedding a few months later ... if so, then all bets are off.  

But if not .... He has to be out there in some record .... somewhere .... Right?? (just nod please)

Let's just brainstorm a little using the Parker family list created by Deborah Nichols.  Her report provided information on over eight generations of Parker descendants who could all claim her "James Parker" from DeKalb County, TN as their common ancestor.  Of course, my James Parker was not listed among them (why couldn't it be just that easy?) ... but it did get me thinking about additional ways to research this brickwall ancestor that I had not tried yet.  Namely, which Parker families can I trace from the area ... 

Since I have not been able to to find my "James Parker" listed in the 1850 Census of the DeKalb County, TN area. Nor have I found a "James Parker" in one of the nine counties surrounding DeKalb County, TN that might be a possibility ... I need to refocus my "Parker" research into what I can figure out ...

UNDERSTANDING WHY GEOGRAPHY
& HISTORY ARE IMPORTANT

First I needed a better understanding of the geography that I was working in.  Having never been to this area ... I really needed to use as many maps and historical information that I could find.  

I know my Burton branch intersected with my Parker branch at some point on a farm in Liberty, DeKalb County, TN sometime before 1852.  So when did DeKalb County, TN become an official county? And what County did "Liberty" fit into before DeKalb County was formed.  To answer some of my questions, I visited the Newberry Library - Atlas of Historical County Boundaries website and generated the following three images.  

I've determined that Liberty Township falls approximately at the "E" in the word DeKalb  in these images.

Overlay of DeKalb County, TN Borders 1800

According to the Atlas, in 1800 the Liberty Township area was part of Wilson County, TN.  Now, I don't know how early my "Parker" branch came to DeKalb County, but Deborah Nichols family branch for her James starts in the late 1760s in Smith County, TN which bumps up to Wilson County at the "K" in DeKalb.  So it is possible that our branches may be related as far back as the early 1800s.

Overlay of DeKalb County, TN Borders 1830

Since my "James" was likely born in the early 1830s, I need to make sure I'm looking in the correct location for possible birth records.  The Liberty area appears to actually be located in Smith County, TN during the 1830s.  And I hadn't looked for a birth record for "James" in Smith County, TN yet.  So there's another possible resource to check out.

Overlay of DeKalb County, TN Borders 1840

And by 1840, DeKalb county was officially formed and looked closer to what it looks like today.

Deborah Nichol's information goes on to mention that a few early births were in a location called "Dismal Creek".  A Google search turned up several suggestions, including a map and a book.  The map pinpoints to an area called "Dismal Road" which is north of Liberty by about 2 or 3 miles and runs along the Smith Fork River.  There is also a cemetery marked on the Google map called "Tubb Cemetery", which gives me even another possible resource for tracking down more "Parker" family information.  Which would be very helpful, especially if I can find a connection between my James and Deborah's James.

Google also gave me a link to the text of a book by Will T Hale, called the The History of DeKalb County, TN, published in 1915.  Again, this was a new resource I hadn't found before.  To my joy, the text is searchable and appears to have information on several "Parker" families who were pioneers in the area. Now, it appears that it is computer generated text from a scanned book, so it's not formatted like a book with pages, so it may take me some time to fully digest and analyse.

But again, it's more information than I had this morning. And that is a good thing.

Bottomline ... I've got some new resources to pursue on this branch once again.  I'm still pushing forward with my plans to do a DNA test this summer, but there are no guarantees that I will connect to anyone with a better documented Parker branch going back to Adam ... at least not right away ... and with my luck lately, it's more likely that if we do connect ... they are stuck with the same brickwall as me.

Meanwhile ... the hunt for James Parker continues ...

Love & Aloha,
CuznAmy

52 Ancestors: #4 - George Clark (1857-1923)

This week I’d like to introduce you to another one of my 2nd great grandfathers, George Clark.

When I first started this blog post, I realized that I had very limited materials for the Clark family, and even less in the way of source citations.  A research notation in my software for George Clark, leads me to assume that most of my current information came from pedigree charts submitted to the LDS church Pedigree Resource File (but I have no idea who was the original submitter), and apparently I had not yet gathered the usual copies of any research documents or photographs (birth/death/marriage records, censuses, obituaries, headstones, etc.).

In fact the only electronic images I have currently for George Clark or his kin, were downloaded from the Find-A-Grave memorial pages created in 2008 by a volunteer named Betty Joan Cogan.  I am not sure if or how Betty and I are related (yet), but I am very thankful for her sharing the historical images she had access to.  The following image of George Clark and his wife Elizabeth (Dove) Clark, was cropped from the 1900s photograph of the whole Clark family found on Elizabeth Dove Clark’s Find-A-Grave Memorial.

George Clark [Jr.]  was born on January 29, 1857 in Worth Township, Sanilac County, Michigan.  His parents, George Clark [Sr.] (1825-1896) and Elizabeth Blaine (1827-1895) were Irish Immigrants, and George was the fifth child of thirteen (ten boys and three girls) born to this couple.  I have not found any references that either George used the designation of Jr. or Sr. during their lifetime, so I will not use this designation for the remainder of this post, except references made to George’s father will contain the [Sr.] designation only to reduce confusion.

George Clark married a Elizabeth Dove, on October 27, 1885 in Croswell, Sanilac County, Michigan and to this union two children were born: Moses Dave Clark and Jennie Violet Clark (my great grandmother).  George Clark died July 3, 1923 in Croswell, Michigan, at the age of 66 and is buried at the Croswell cemetery along with his wife.

This week, I have spent time tracking down additional research materials that I could find online for George Clark, his wife and/or their children.  I visited FamilySearch.org, SeekingMichigan.org and Find-A-Grave.com and below is a list of information and/or materials I was able to compile over a couple hours ... and best of all it was FREE.

Find-A-Grave

I was able to gather vital statistic information on several family members as well as download images of various cemetery signs, headstones and several individual and family portraits as contributed by Betty Joan Cogan, Gordon Golchert, Shirley Hoard and other Find-A-Grave volunteers.  Even though the majority of information on Find-A-Grave is not cited, it is a wonderful starting place to gather “clues” that will lead you to primary source records that validate the information.  And occasionally you will find a copy of an obituary or funeral program added to memorial page.

The Find-A-Grave memorial for Charles Clark can be found at: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=26231145  The data provided for George Clark indicates that he was one of twelve children (but I have 13 listed in my database). As my current data comes from compiled records done by other researchers, I still need to validate information for the 13 children I have listed for George Clark [Sr].

FamilySearch

Death Record - FamilySearch does not have an actual copy of the certificate, but they do have an index entry in their collection of "Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952”.  The entry for Geo[rge] Clark can be found at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KF7G-3MK.

Marriage Record – FamilySearch does have copies of the actual marriage records from 1868-1925, and I was able to obtain a copy of the marriage record for George Clark and Elizabeth Dove.  Please note that the index incorrectly identifies Elizabeth’s surname as “DAVE” instead of Dove.

I love the way FamilySearch records provide you with a source citation on the bottom of each record page, and all you need to do is copy and paste the information into your program or research log.

Example:

"Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQ35-3YN : accessed 20 Jan 2014), George Clark and Elizabeth Dave, 27 Oct 1885.

Birth Record – I was not able to find a birth record on FamilySearch (yet).  There was no listing found using the search parameters for a “Geo Clark” or “George Clark” born “1856-1857” in “Sanilac County, Michigan” in the "Michigan, Births and Christenings, 1775-1995," index, FamilySearch collection, and he would not be listed in the Michigan, Births, 1867-1902 collection.  This doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means that either the record is present but index in a way I have not searched yet (like by initials), or perhaps this record is in a collection that has not been digitized yet.  I may need to contact the courthouse directly to get a copy.

Census Records - I was able to locate George Clark in the census listings on Family Search; though copies of the actual images were not available on FamilySearch.or except for the 1900 and 1870 census.   However, a quick visit to my local LDS Family History Center or my public library would provide me with FREE access to Ancestry.com to download the additional images of the census records that I couldn’t access from my home computer.

• 1920 US Census– Census listing as found on FamilySearch; image not available on FamilySearch but available on Ancestry.com
• 1910 US Census – Census listing as found on FamilySearch; image not available on FamilySearch but available on Ancestry.com
• 1900 US Census – Census listing as found on FamilySearch.org; copy of the census image was also downloaded
• 1880 US Census – Census listing as found on FamilySearch; image not available on FamilySearch but available on Ancestry.com
• 1870 US Census – Census listing as found on FamilySearch; copy of the census image was also downloaded
• 1860 US Census – Census listing as found on FamilySearch; image not available on FamilySearch but available on Fold3.com

SeekingMichigan.org

Normally, I find a lot of good information in the “Death Records, 1897-1920” collection on the SeekingMichigan.org website, so I usually start with this webpage when researching my Michigan branches; however in this case there were no records specific to George Clark and Elizabeth Dove Clark (or their children) as they all died after the online collection stops (1920) … and George [Sr.] and Elizabeth Blaine Clark died before the online collection starts (1897).  I did find copies of death certificates for other extended Clark and Dove family members, and I plan to download those and add any additional information to my software program as I work on these branches more.

I'm sorry that this was rather a dry post, in that I didn't share any stories or images.  It was more focused on doing online research and the types of information you can gather.  It is my hope that you at least learned some new information that you didn't already know, and feel more confident in your own research capabilities.

Join me next week as my 52 Ancestor Challenge post turns back to my old nemisis and brickwall ancestor, James Parker.  If you want a get a feeling for my pain and suffering thus far, be sure to read these 2012 posts about this frustrating ancestor:

• January 28, 2012 - James Parker and Catherine Burton 04 January 1852
• January 27, 2012 - Where's James Parker?

As always, if you have any questions or need some personal assistance, please feel free to leave a comment below. I wish you success in your own family history research projects this coming week.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya next time.

Love & Aloha,
CuznAmy

Genealogy 101 – Using Family Group Sheets

Family Group Sheets, also known as Family Group Records, are the next form that you will want to become familiar with.

Once you have put together your four or five generation Pedigree Chart, the next step is to complete a Family Group Sheet for each couple on your chart.  You will need to complete eight Family Group Sheet forms, for a 4 generation pedigree chart.

1 – Person 1 (and spouse)
2 – Person 2 and 3 – your parents and your siblings
3 – Person 4 and 5 – your father’s parents and his siblings
4 – Person 6 and 7 – your mother’s parents and her siblings
5 – Person 8 and 9 – your paternal grandfather’s parents and his siblings
6 – Person 10 and 11 – your paternal grandmother’s parents and her siblings
7 – Person 12 and 13 – your maternal grandfather’s parents and his siblings
8 – Person 14 and 15 – your maternal grandmother’s parents and her siblings

Most family group sheets will record the names of the husband, wife and children in a family unit.  They also record the birth, marriage and death information, as well as additional spouses (if any) of the parents and in some cases the spouses for each of the children.  A well-documented family group sheet will also cite the sources of the information, usually in the footnotes area at the bottom or on the last page.  Some have additional blanks for information such as: cause of death, cemetery information, religious affiliations, military service, occupations, etc.

Online Forms

There are several good resources online to find FREE Family Group Forms.  I prefer to use the forms that are printed in Landscape, because they usually can get several children on one page but the spaces can be small for writing if you write big.  Some of the portrait style forms have larger blanks, but usually only get 3 children on the first page and you need to print continuation pages for the rest of family.

This is the one I use when I am helping someone get started with their research:
Ancestry.com – Family Group Record http://c.mfcreative.com/pdf/trees/charts/famgrec.pdf

But this is also a good form - portrait style with online fill in the blanks in PDF form from the Ancestors tv series on KBYU:

Page 1 http://www.byub.org/ancestors/charts/pdf/familygroup1.pdf
Page 2 (for continuation pages) http://www.byub.org/ancestors/charts/pdf/familygroup2.pdf

And if you are LDS, then you may want to use the LDS version located on FamilySearch:
https://familysearch.org/sites/all/themes/frankie/documents/Step-2-Family-Group-Record.pdf

Staying Organized

In order to stay organized at this point, I suggest getting a 2 inch binder, and putting the Pedigree Chart in the front and then each Family Group Sheet behind it by generation.  So you, then your parents, then your father’s parents, your mother’s parents, etc.  As you gather documents and photos in your research, you can put them into archival sleeves and store the materials behind each respective family group sheet.

What Next

Similar to how a Pedigree Chart gives you an overview of your direct ancestors, a family group sheet helps you get a more detailed overview of the lives of your ancestors and their immediate family.  I use completed Family Group Sheets when I’m creating a “timeline” for an ancestor I am researching, by seeing the important dates in their family along with historical events. Such as the date parents died, and children were married, and census locations and occupations at various times along with dates of wars, or presidential elections, etc.  I get a better picture of the life my ancestor had.

Family Group Sheets provide spaces for you to record information about the parents and children in one family.  They have spaces for names, dates and locations and help you get a more detailed image about the lives of your ancestors in relationship to the various events (births, marriages and deaths) of each family member.

Use the details on your completed family group sheet to get additional ideas about where to search next for more information on the family.  For example: analyzing when a couple’s first child was born (perhaps based off an age and birth place location on a census record) may give you a clue where and when to focus your search for their marriage record. Or analyze when and where they moved from and to based on the dates and locations of the births of each child, and maybe be able to narrow in on a time the family may have immigrated.

Let me know if you have any questions, otherwise I'll see you back here next week for a look at reviewing types of documents you may want to use in your research.

Love & Aloha,
~Cuzn Amy 

52 Ancestors: #3 - Alfred Wilson Long (1864-1937)

This week I thought I should expand my 52 Ancestors Challenge pool to include ancestors of my children ... but on their father's side.  This ancestor has been both frustrating and fun to work on, and I hope you enjoy some of my findings.  So without further adieu ... Let me introduce you to ...

ALFRED WILSON LONG (1864-1937)

ALFRED WILSON LONG
Circa 1931-32
Running for County Commissioner in Wisconsin

Unfortunately this is a scanned copy of a photocopy of an original photo
that was in the possession of Robert Charles Long prior to his death.
This photocopy is in my possession, I am not sure what happened to the original.

Alfred Wilson Long, is my first husband's maternal great grandfather. The majority of my initial information on Alfred came from interviews I had over time with his son Robert Charles Long in the early 1990s. Robert told me that his father was born in England and died in Arizona, that Alfred's first wife had died leaving him with several small children, so he married Robert's mother Adelaide Harcourt (who also had children from a previous marriage) and they had nine additional children together.  Robert was the youngest of eighteen total and that being the youngest, he never had much (if any) interaction with his older half siblings, but he sure had several childhood stories to share about his siblings closer in age to him. :o)

Decidedly there wasn't a lot to go on, and after a few years of unsuccessfully searching for a birth record for Alfred, Robert let me in on a little family secret.  Alfred's last name at birth was actually Longbottom, but sometime during the 1910s or 1920s, Alfred shortened the family name to Long.  With this new information in hand, I was finally able to track down a birth record in February 1997.

Now as most genealogists learn after they've been doing research for a while, it is important to validate all facts and cite all sources as you go along.  But unfortunately when I first started this process I wasn't very good about either.  And since then I have discovered problems in my data, and lots of information that I am not sure where I found the information originally.  So before I go much further, I want to remind my readers that the following information reflects how this person is currently input into my Family Tree Maker software, but that as go through the process of cleaning up my data and going back to cite my resources on this branch, data will likely change.  So please don't take any of this information as set in stone. :)

Alfred Wilson Longbottom, was the son of William Longbottom and Elizabeth Ackroyd Longbottom. He was born on January 21, 1864 in Bradford, England.  I believe his parents were about 28 years old when he was born, and I have information on nine siblings (three brothers and six sisters).  Alfred married Elizabeth Evans on July 25, 1884, in England and to this marriage at least 4 children where born (two boys and two girls).  Robert heard that she died in a fire, perhaps with a child and that Alfred moved to the United States soon after.  Sometime between 1902 and 1906, Alfred met Adelaide Harcourt (widow of John McKean Watson ... though it is possible they were divorced or separated).  Adelaide and John Watson had approximately six children together, and after she married Alfred they had nine children together between 1906 and 1918. Alfred died on February 3, 1937, in Williams, Arizona, at the age of 73.

In the spring of 2011, on a family vacation in Arizona I dragged my poor family about 50 miles out of our way to visit the Williams cemetery where Alfred was buried.  With nothing other than the name of the cemetery, a Google map with directions from Mesa and an scanned black and white image of a 1971 photgraph of the headstone sent to me by another researcher (Regina Gualco) I figured how hard could it be to find.  ??? Boy was I wrong.

First the cemetery was a lot larger than I expected it to be, and secondly there wasn't an office on site to just pop in to and ask.  So we parked in the middle of an area that appeared to have older stones in it, my husband and my children spread out and wander around a couple rows in each direction in hopes of stumbling across the headstone. But after several fruitless minutes of searching it was beginning to look like we would be leaving without finding it and I was trying not to cry.  Then my future son-in-law Tyler suggested that we look for the huge monument in the background of the scanned photo I brought ...

Photo Courtesy of Regina Gualco, obtained 2011

Talk about Duh! why didn't I think of that ... and within seconds I was standing at the stone.  It was an amazing feeling that still brings up the emotions.

I have learned several things during my research of the Longbottom/Watson family.

First off, families come in all different forms and it takes a lot of work on everyone's part to keep things together.  Unfortunately sometimes they don't work out like we expected and relationships fall apart ... BUT they don't have to stay that way.

Secondly, have patience with yourself and others as you go through the research process.  Everyone sees the same story from different perspectives.  Family history reminds me a lot of the story about the blind men describing an elephant, each from the perspective of where they were standing in relationship to the elephant.  your job is to gather and compile all stories from all participants to put together the best possible WHOLE picture you can.

And last, be sure to involve your children whenever possible in your research processes.  It is so very important to help them feel connected to their heritage.  Life can be messy and complicated at times, and knowing that their ancestors survived and even succeeded sometimes under difficult circumstances may help them someday when they need that extra confidence boost to push on through their own trials and keep their shoulder to the wheel.

Four and Five Generations Later ... Here we are. :0)

Thanks for stopping by.  See ya next time.

Love & Aloha,
CuznAmy

52 Ancestors: #2 - Caroline Elizabeth Sterling Wood (1868-1942)

Caroline Elizabeth Sterling Wood (1868-1942)

Caroline Elizabeth Sterling Wood is my 2^nd great grandmother.  She was born 12 January 1868 in New Scotland, Harwich Township, Kent County, Ontario, Canada to James S and Sarah (Bassett) Sterling.  She was the fifth child of eight children (five daughters, and three sons).  New Scotland is located in county of Chatham-Kent, Ontario a little over two miles away from the Rondeau Provincial Park on Lake Erie.

 

On July 24, 1889, at the age of 21, Caroline was united in marriage to a young man from Morpeth named Nathan Wood (1870-1907) at the Presbyterian Church in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada.  Blenheim is about ten miles west of New Scotland; and Morpeth is almost 5 miles north of New Scotland.

It is important to understand how geography affected the lives of your ancestors when doing research.  That way when it looks like someone traveled hundreds of miles to get married, you may want to double check that there is not another community closer that used that same name at one point in history.  For example: New Scotland is also the historical name for New Brunswick ... but it would be unlikely that Caroline would have met Nathan if they didn't live within ten or 20 miles of each other.  

Nathan, Caroline and their son Nelson immigrated to Michigan about 1892, likely over the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, Michigan (which was built after the civil war and is about 73 miles west of New Scotland.  The Blue Water Bridge, located at Port Huron, was closer for them (64 miles away) but was not open to traffic until 1938.

To this union, three children were born:

1. Nelson James Wood (1889-1945)
2. Robert Harold Wood (1893-1961) – my great grandfather
3. Mary Jane Lydia Wood (1903-1985)

In October 1907, Caroline was left a widow with two teenage sons (18 and 14) and a four year old daughter after the unexpected death of her husband Nathan in a boat explosion in Grindstone City, Huron, Michigan.  She never remarried.

My initial records showed that Caroline died December 9, 1942, at the age of 74 IN Grindstone City (which now I believe was based on assumption or best guess) and is buried at the New River Cemetery along with her husband.  However I recently came across this obituary, along with two other articles the in the newspaper the week before her death that indicate that Caroline Wood was spending the winter at the home of her son, Robert Wood when she took ill with pneumonia and was taken to the Harbor Beach Hospital, where she was at the time of her death.  So it is always important to double check your assumed "facts" with other facts to make sure you have the whole picture.

The Harbor Beach Times - 12/04/1942

The Harbor Beach Times - 12/04/1942

The Harbor Beach Times - 12/11/1942 Pg 1

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to see ya again real soon.

Love & Aloha,
CuznAmy

52 Ancestors: #1 - Frederick Christian Volz (1851-1932)

Amy Johnson Crow of the blog No Story Too Small recently issued a challenge to the family history community to concentrate on one ancestor a week over the next 52 weeks, and if possible share a blog post. And call me crazy, but I've decided to try my hand at the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge this year.  I already know I won't get 52 posts done, but I do know that I will attempt to work on at least one of my ancestors each week.  If I have something interesting to share, or have a new discovery ... you can bet I'll find time to write a blog post.  Otherwise, I'll plan on cleaning up my data each week for that particular ancestor and make sure that I cite as many of my sources as possible.

This week I've decided to start with Frederick Christian Volz.  If he were still alive, he would have been 163 years old on the 14th of this month.  I can only image some of the trials, triumphs and historical events he witnessed in his lifetime.  My grandma Ruth (his grand-daughter) taught me a lot about kindness and compassion, and I have no doubt that she learned those traits from her parents who learned them from their parents.

So without any further adieu ... I'd like to introduce you to ...

Frederick Christian Volz (1851-1932)

Photo Courtesy of Melanie Wood O'Brien, 2009.

Frederick Christian Volz [i]  is my 2^nd great grandfather.  He was born on January 14, 1851 in Wilhelmsdorf, Germany [ii] , to Gotlob Volz and Fredericka Wolff Volz.

 

The family came to the United States about 1854, and eventually settled in Sanilac County, Michigan.  I hope to be able to find immigration documents and cross over into German records someday, but so far all I have is some family lore and bits and pieces of the family tree that my cousins and I have been able to compile over the years from US record sources.

Frederick appears to have been the oldest child.  I have been able to find information on two brothers (Charles and Jacob) as well as some information on two half siblings (Gotlob and Martha).   Fredrick married Elizabeth Binder (daughter of John Christian Binder Sr. and Magdolena Schweyer Binder) on November 3, 1874, in Sanilac, Michigan. Soon after their marriage, Fredrick’s mother passed away (05 June 1875) and his father re-married a year later to Bertha Elston (with whom he had at least two more children).  Frederick’s father passed away in 1891 when Frederick was 40 years old.

Frederick and Elizabeth Volz had seven children, four girls and three boys:

1.       Lena Volz (1875-1961)

2.       Martha Volz (1876-1965)

3.       Emma Hulda Volz (1878-1938)

4.       Jacob J Volz (1879-1975)

5.       William Charles Volz (1881-1966) – My great grandfather.

6.       Elizabeth Volz (1882-1944)

7.       Herbert Volz (1892-1988)

Frederick died on November 8, 1932 in Minden City, Michigan, at the age of 81 after living over 51 years in the same small community of Minden on the same family farm which is still held by the Volz family today.  Frederick and Elizabeth are both buried at the Minden City Cemetery. (Find-A-Grave Memorial for Frederick)

I am fortunate enough to have several news clippings in a scrapbook about Frederick C. Volz that were in the newspaper soon after he died.  You can find all five of them here in previous posts to this blog: 

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

I wish I could remember the stories that my Grandma Ruth would tell me about her parents and grandparents and the family dairy farm.  She would have been 18 when her grandfather died.  Frederick was married with small children during the fires in 1871 and 1881, not to mention the harsh winter storms like the one November 1913.  And Frederick would have seen the world around him changing as he grew up.  He was about 10 years old when President Abraham Lincoln was shot, and he lived through the hardships caused by the First World War.  If anyone has some of these stories tucked away, I sure would like to have them written down and saved in my records somewhere.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Love & Aloha,

CuznAmy

---

[i] I have input his name in my database as Christian Fredrick Volz, though it appears that he used the name Frederick C. Volz the majority of his life.  I need to validate

[ii] I am still unclear which Wilhelmsdorf, Germany that Frederick’s family came from as I have found at least three Wilhelmsdorfs on a German map.  One is a Village in the district of Neustadt-Bad Windsheim in Bavaria, one is a Town in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Wurttemburg, and one is a municipality in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia.

Genealogy 101- Starting with A Pedigree Chart

A cousin asked me the other day, "How do I start doing my own genealogy?"

Well, before you go out and buy a genealogy software program, or hire a professional researcher ... you need to figure out what you already know and therefore discover what you don't know about your family.  The best way to do that is to start by filling out a standard blank paper PEDIGREE CHART.

A pedigree chart is not the only chart you will use during your research, but by completing this form first you can better focus your research because you have a master outline showing where there are gaps.

Pedigree charts help you organize the names, dates and places related to your direct biological ancestors (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.) on both your paternal and maternal lines.  Pedigree charts don't contain information about siblings or additional marriages.  Family Group Sheets, which I will cover in a later post, are where you will compile information related to the families of each pair shown on your pedigree chart, including siblings and other marriages.

The most commonly used pedigree charts shows four or five generations on a single page.  I recommend using a four generation chart when starting your research, because it fits best on a single page and will give you enough room to write out details.  Once you are able to move past your fourth generation, it might be time to invest in a genealogy software program.  There are several programs available on the market now, including free versions that can be download, and I will cover these options in a later post.

FREE 4 Generation Pedigree Chart Forms:

Pedigree Chart from FamilySearch.org website (portrait)

Pedigree Chart from Ancestry.com (landscape)

Pedigree Form from KBYU Ancestors tv series (portrait)

You can also find lots of interesting and creative pedigree charts for FREE online with just a simple Google search for "pedigree charts", such as this site: http://genealogy.about.com/od/free_charts/ig/genealogy_charts/ or even a Tigger Family Tree.

http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/tiggermovie/familytree.html

Instructions for filling out a pedigree chart:

Start with completing information about yourself on line 1.  Your father’s full name should then be written on line 2, and your mother's full name (.Your mother’s full name before marriage should appear on line 3.
(Male names will always be recorded on even numbers, except for line 1, and female names will always be on odd numbers).

Use maiden names for females.

Write dates using the day, month, year (27 MAY 1955).

Write place names as completely as possible (city, county, state) (Harbor Beach, Huron, Michigan, USA)

Vocabulary:

Given name: A person’s first name(s).
Surname: A person’s last name or family name.
Maiden name: A female’s surname at birth.
Pedigree: An ancestral line or line or descent.
Pedigree Chart: A chart that indicates a person’s descent
Paternal Line: The line of descent on a father’s side.
Maternal Line: The line of descent on a mother’s side

Let me know if you have any questions, otherwise I'll see you back here next week for a look at using Family Group Sheets.

Love & Aloha,
~Cuzn Amy