tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30449227570062250502023-11-16T01:02:04.138-05:00Consanguineous ConnectionsDocumenting the meandering path as I continue my family history journey. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-5113006525845056052017-10-31T17:56:00.001-04:002017-10-31T17:56:33.463-04:00Old News - New Stories: Creepy ColumnsI love using Newspapers for genealogical research. Not only do you find out things about your ancestors but you also get to read the same publications that they very well might have read.<br />
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Since it's Halloween, I used Newspapers.com to search some of the newspapers from areas where my ancestors are from or would have access to those publications to see if I could find any spooky ghost stories written up in the local papers.<br />
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So, here is one of my favorite spooky columns I found searching through the papers this week:<br />
<br />
<b>A Real Ghost</b><br />
<br />
On November 4, 1873, an article ran in the Bristol News reporting on four train engineers which had all had odd sightings by the train tracks. <br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A fortnight ago Thomas Campbell, who was temporarily acting as engineer of [the] train that left Troy at forty-five minutes past four P.M., when passing Stoney lane, near the Aqueduct, saw a man standing between the tracks waving his hat and gesticulating vehemently. Campbell whistled "down breaks", and keeping his eye on the man, and being fearful of running over him, whistled again. While the speed of the train was being slackened the man seemed to disappear from sight. Campbell and his fireman both express a willingness to swear to this statement. They affirm that the man did not walk away: he vanished into the air. After the train arrived in Scheneetady they related the circumstance to the other men employed on the train. There are several hypotheses by which this circumstance if it stood alone could be explained. But we can offer no explanation for what follows. On Monday of this week William Mower, the engineer on the train, saw on the same spot two human arms. When the train reached the place the arms disappeared. Tuesday evening the roof of the cab was struck by a stone which the engineer says would have come from only one direction - the sky. Wednesday evening John Lawrence, engineer of the gravel train, at precisely the same spot saw arms. The hands attached thereto were not clenched as before, but were open and held two balls of glowing fire. Last evening, at exactly the same time and place, Lawrence discovered the body of a man lying across the track. In vain he essayed to stop the train. His efforts were futile. The locomotive and all the cars passed over the prostrate form. As speedily as possible the train was stopped, and all proceeded to the place where the form had been seen, expecting to see a bloody and mutilated corpse. They found nothing, not even a spot of blood. Then the conclusion forced itself upon the mind of the engineer that he ran over a ghost. He is an ardent spiritualist, and he is positive in the belief that something about the occurrence was supernatural. -- Troy Times</blockquote>
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"A Real Ghost" <i>Bristol News</i> (Bristol, TN), 04 Nov 1873, p. 4, col. 2; Digital image (https://www.newspapers.com/image/76176961/); Accessed 25 Oct 2017.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-23416293360381134962017-09-13T13:22:00.001-04:002017-09-13T13:22:54.813-04:00Freeman Hunt: Civil War Stories - Battle of PetersburgAs related to my last post on my trip to Richmond, VA - one of my main reasons for this trip was to stop by the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/pete/index.htm" target="_blank">Petersburg National Battlefield</a>.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx30SnSzUbYtsoIAdlS_8M-z_V_5C-J91DEiMe0WEnS9C_OuTp4eTl5MFD1PdXPoPFGi1M0gTB4XYO7SbrvBnxnt6PRWWtkkqLrX04jMFFZnzCq3MzoyOdVkogMNyH0dwVjrQeX3Gjk5Mw/s1600/Hunt%252C+Freeman+J+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="682" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx30SnSzUbYtsoIAdlS_8M-z_V_5C-J91DEiMe0WEnS9C_OuTp4eTl5MFD1PdXPoPFGi1M0gTB4XYO7SbrvBnxnt6PRWWtkkqLrX04jMFFZnzCq3MzoyOdVkogMNyH0dwVjrQeX3Gjk5Mw/s320/Hunt%252C+Freeman+J+Photo.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Freeman J. Hunt<br />About 1884</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back in early 2016 I ran into a treasure trove of information about my 3rd great-grandfather, Freeman Hunt when I visited the Fenton History Center in Jamestown, NY. You can read that post <a href="http://consanguineousconnections.blogspot.com/2016/03/jamestown-ny-research-adventure.html" target="_blank">here</a>. And one of the things I learned was that he was at Petersburg. <br />
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If you have any ancestors who fought in the Civil War, if you haven't checked out the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm" target="_blank">National Parks website database of Civil War Soldiers</a> I recommend it because it can give you information about the unit(s) they were with and then you can click on further links to find out where those units fought.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPw213jydR2dQgnmhF4kfZlqUDhMz7u264Crx0Wol6j-S9hETOmlFyhZjFUqA16Gob4NBKMqYL5DyLs7Rh6MUim7GfR8qDpcjLJ5GZ3VInP9NWELMD_NKPthlOrvu3FF3EejYlZgPLaNT/s1600/Soldier+Details.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPw213jydR2dQgnmhF4kfZlqUDhMz7u264Crx0Wol6j-S9hETOmlFyhZjFUqA16Gob4NBKMqYL5DyLs7Rh6MUim7GfR8qDpcjLJ5GZ3VInP9NWELMD_NKPthlOrvu3FF3EejYlZgPLaNT/s320/Soldier+Details.JPG" width="313" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Detail from NPS Civil War Soldier Database for Freeman Hunt</i></td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
With this information, you can order the full service records which are housed at the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records" target="_blank">National Archives</a> (I ordered mine a few days ago). Another excellent use of this information is to have a chat with the excellent rangers at these battlefield parks.<br />
<br />
At the Petersburg Battlefield Park, they had notebooks of information about where in the park various regiments were, what battles they took part in (Petersburg lasted several months so there was a lot going on there). Sometimes they might not know the exact locations but can give you a general idea of where they probably were. Which is exciting if you like following in your ancestors footsteps.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2ZFtTIosqS2drsc827Ife5xcvtOOlDNH-BMQIQM8V5Oa2INTwr1tpTo_esoBqCGRltRPgdrZNbhJea6YkoWngy_USW32xqMgdCyOJNiC7Ps3dytbaxv9qWNvVl1dvY9OF0DmhxBYBgKV/s1600/Petersburg+Notebook+-+72nd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="1224" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2ZFtTIosqS2drsc827Ife5xcvtOOlDNH-BMQIQM8V5Oa2INTwr1tpTo_esoBqCGRltRPgdrZNbhJea6YkoWngy_USW32xqMgdCyOJNiC7Ps3dytbaxv9qWNvVl1dvY9OF0DmhxBYBgKV/s320/Petersburg+Notebook+-+72nd.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From Petersburg Battlefield Notebook<br />Red text notes are my personal notation.</i></td></tr>
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From the information I found from my Jamestown, NY research trip, I knew that Freeman Hunt mustered out on June 20, 1864 so he actually wasn't in Petersburg for very long so he wasn't at Jerusalem Plank Road or Peebles Farm. And from June 15-18, they pretty much were just hanging out as reserves and building earthworks since most were mustering out in a few days and were VERY motivated to stay alive. The photo below is from the National Archives, I don't know what group but I'm sure it would have been a familiar situation for my ancestor.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Soldiers at rest after drill, Petersburg, Va., 1864. The soldiers are seated reading letters and papers and playing cards. </i><br />
<i>111-B-220. National Archives Identifier: 524639 </i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></td></tr>
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<br />
I am also lucky that there is a book written, <i><a href="http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-7644-2" target="_blank">The 72nd New York Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster</a></i> by Rick Barram, which if you have any ancestors who fought with this group, I recommend because it has a lot of info (which I should have referenced more before my Richmond trip - but more on that later). The author describes their experiences at Petersburg:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
With enlistments in the 72nd expiring, it was probably a miracle Leonard and the other officers could get the boys to load a rifle, let along fight, as most were going home in just a few days and no one wanted to be wounded or killed this late in the game. All were filthy and spent. Perhaps a few dozen men in the whole army had gotten to bathe back at the North Anna, but chances were it was none of these boys. They wore the same clothes as when they had stepped off from Brandy Station seven weeks earlier. But there was some consolation: by the 18th, the supply situation had been resolved and the men finally enjoyed fresh rations. Skirmishing proceeded all day on the 19th and 20th.... On the evening of the 20th, the 72nd was pulled out of the line and replaced by elements of the IX Corps. The New Yorkers marched nearly the entire next day, going into line of battle near the Weldon Railroad. Nothing came of the 72nd's move to the Weldon Railroad, and as it would turn out, this was the last time the 72nd would go into line. With its term of service expired, the regiment was relieved from the front on the morning of the 22nd, going to the rear to be mustered out.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2]</span></blockquote>
When I visited the battlefield, the ranger directed me to an area, currently across from a small picnic spot which he thought was probably the area where the 72nd was during these few days in June. We aren't certain, but it is a decent guess - and a better guess than I could have made on my own. I snapped a photo - the tree growth is all newer since most trees that were there at the time had been used for building materials (if you notice the photo above, while I don't think is this area, has very few trees for reference).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjivgA4NS6Y_3lzsa0dHcVmEaF1dC7s8rXuAvusHBZb6DWTP6ZNuaCczxlG2NIoJeJ3xKzhhJPED7kiEdu5BU4wffMy9rFP1RDXBS-cWQea1JDksTz6982gQewjnblD7OQ0UanuH7x0ouZ/s1600/Petersburg+Photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1027" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjivgA4NS6Y_3lzsa0dHcVmEaF1dC7s8rXuAvusHBZb6DWTP6ZNuaCczxlG2NIoJeJ3xKzhhJPED7kiEdu5BU4wffMy9rFP1RDXBS-cWQea1JDksTz6982gQewjnblD7OQ0UanuH7x0ouZ/s640/Petersburg+Photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo taken on September 4, 2017</i></td></tr>
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I'll go more into the details of Freeman's Civil War stories. It's kind of odd that I'm starting his stories at the end of his service, but that's where I am starting myself. He was in a lot of important battles of the Civil War and his Company B returned with only a small portion of the men who had left three years before. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8DDfoXPiuOGjPssdNzu9YakgTM82bC4sd95TOqMPpABmijDgeEYwsTSpGWR29fxGtQoqOlHFO8G3MvVc5jt30AuNEzfMQiPiBwAMbdTWcSLS3foXg6ESDx6BuLQy0Z43aqQt1SbBa98d7/s1600/Return.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="246" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8DDfoXPiuOGjPssdNzu9YakgTM82bC4sd95TOqMPpABmijDgeEYwsTSpGWR29fxGtQoqOlHFO8G3MvVc5jt30AuNEzfMQiPiBwAMbdTWcSLS3foXg6ESDx6BuLQy0Z43aqQt1SbBa98d7/s400/Return.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I am uncertain what newspaper this clipping is from, it is from the Company B Scrapbook<br />in the Archives at the Fenton History Center.</i></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1] “Soldiers at rest after drill, Petersburg, Va., 1864.” 111-B-220. National Archives Identifier: 524639, Pictures of the Civil War: </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Select Audiovisual Records at the National Archives, </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">National Archives at </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">College Park, College Park, MD, https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-002.jpg, accessed September 12, 2017.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[2] Rick Barram, <i>The 72nd New York Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster</i> (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2014), 309, accessed September 12, 2017</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-11693111707281797932017-09-06T17:21:00.001-04:002017-09-06T17:21:34.793-04:00Trip to Richmond, VA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZ4cpuEvA9pCtQaoXUkM4krqRQyIg6zO0f8yzYesYdgPUhssipF3drGBU5cLQC055ISeW71Y9TehigzpV3Xa3XdDbW1d9QfyzRaagMvjjoSTR8A5xQTwK4AMjyJHJPzmLVdS0o_26ZeGB/s1600/16th+c+selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="812" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZ4cpuEvA9pCtQaoXUkM4krqRQyIg6zO0f8yzYesYdgPUhssipF3drGBU5cLQC055ISeW71Y9TehigzpV3Xa3XdDbW1d9QfyzRaagMvjjoSTR8A5xQTwK4AMjyJHJPzmLVdS0o_26ZeGB/s320/16th+c+selfie.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Enjoying the VA Museum of Fine Arts</b><br />Painting: Two Donors in Adoration before the Madonna<br />and Child and St. Michael, 1557-60<br />Giovanni Battista Moroni, Italian</td></tr>
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Over the
Labor Day weekend I took a short trip up to the Richmond, VA area partly to do
some genealogical research and partly because I’ve driven through Richmond
about a hundred times and had never actually stopped to see anything there.<br />
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I’m probably
going to get a few posts out of this trip because I have a bit to share, plus since I got back into records I hadn't been in a while, I noticed info I hadn’t
documented properly which led me to find more ancestors – Yay!<o:p></o:p></div>
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But, I’ll
start at the beginning with a word of advice: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>If you are
planning on going to a library or archive, double-check the calendar or give a
call to make sure that they are open their normal hours</b>. </div>
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I had planned to go to the <a href="http://www.lva.virginia.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Virginia</a>, which is normally open on Saturdays; however, as I discovered late
the night before I was going to go, they were closed all Labor Day
weekend. I figured they were going to be
closed on Monday but they were also closed Saturday. Sadness! </div>
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At least I
did figure it out before showing up, but it was a bit of a bummer since I was
geared up to do some research. I do
think my husband breathed a large sigh of relief that he wasn’t going to be
tethered to a library for several hours however. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnbvWQ_AeAq340dfUS9ZiOJwTxCK8wcKrQYoWQEc7KA94JrwKlvzBSnOmKNAeGJYqLr2hr0XeA1MkCCCvZUYQoNH4HoauMCoyI0DoGape0FTiNVHUmH1cu9APBA254vCc7V3XOXFjrwLp/s1600/Dapper+Dan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnbvWQ_AeAq340dfUS9ZiOJwTxCK8wcKrQYoWQEc7KA94JrwKlvzBSnOmKNAeGJYqLr2hr0XeA1MkCCCvZUYQoNH4HoauMCoyI0DoGape0FTiNVHUmH1cu9APBA254vCc7V3XOXFjrwLp/s320/Dapper+Dan.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dapper Dan - I'm fairly certain I had one of these</td></tr>
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So, instead
of the library, we went to the <a href="http://www.vahistorical.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Historical Society</a> which had some
lovely exhibits about VA history and helped to answer some of the questions I
had about some of my ancestors who migrated from VA to OH (via what is now WV)
in the late 1700s. They had some interesting
interactive displays including one for Civil War battles that showed how many
losses were had on what sides and then showed a graphic on where in the US
those troops were from which was really fascinating to visualize.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3bpBONt6vssVwj8fVJ0ipMxavmXX3PB7PSX4MFptd8e9aFzi7r_u7U2ebaWLrS5n5NA0DQ4hZEpu0PzrjcEkpi2MFep0pBkSRFUymw-DMF-otTihpDbWfxymCD4JyXW05zmqTFCMuIwA/s1600/Trolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3bpBONt6vssVwj8fVJ0ipMxavmXX3PB7PSX4MFptd8e9aFzi7r_u7U2ebaWLrS5n5NA0DQ4hZEpu0PzrjcEkpi2MFep0pBkSRFUymw-DMF-otTihpDbWfxymCD4JyXW05zmqTFCMuIwA/s320/Trolls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trolls - some of my Mom's favorites!</td></tr>
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They also
have a temporary exhibit currently on <a href="http://www.vahistorical.org/exhibitions/toys-%E2%80%9850s-%E2%80%9860s-and-%E2%80%9870s" target="_blank">Toys from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s</a> which
was a lot of fun – my husband turned into a 7-year-old in that exhibit, it was
adorable.</div>
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We also
visited the <a href="https://vmfa.museum/" target="_blank">Virginia Museum of Fine Arts</a>.
My favorite exhibits were the Art Nouveau jewelry and furniture as well
as the Fabergé eggs.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPbH6Ugaluc_pdqiBG0V_ftQ_wjGrrm5XGwjb03Kw363T0fOomdPBQMjzFpKXn2VzsI_8C-RluX-485F1-CvK-kuOQOMaCQIUBjy8vzsCEXb3-Xr-m3FwLQylD6i_KcOkjCimBe3Fffla/s1600/Imperial+Red+Cross+Egg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="762" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPbH6Ugaluc_pdqiBG0V_ftQ_wjGrrm5XGwjb03Kw363T0fOomdPBQMjzFpKXn2VzsI_8C-RluX-485F1-CvK-kuOQOMaCQIUBjy8vzsCEXb3-Xr-m3FwLQylD6i_KcOkjCimBe3Fffla/s200/Imperial+Red+Cross+Egg.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imperial Red Cross Easter Egg, 1915<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Fabergé Firm</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yJfXYdi_tU_gG9g08E5-z1tZwWyrpn_7SWeMU1Pt0M8y0ViDrGDutJSPdorQQyQ2nkniRLGh4xDD3Awj6MFF98Gc6GCp-XF9mfBkN-K7UzqHb4xhKIa9g7nTxycA4qlzCq4xjV0UNULW/s1600/2+sorcerers+necklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="960" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yJfXYdi_tU_gG9g08E5-z1tZwWyrpn_7SWeMU1Pt0M8y0ViDrGDutJSPdorQQyQ2nkniRLGh4xDD3Awj6MFF98Gc6GCp-XF9mfBkN-K7UzqHb4xhKIa9g7nTxycA4qlzCq4xjV0UNULW/s320/2+sorcerers+necklace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sorcerers Necklace, 1900</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBIOaOkFmwfdhi20B2HmfW9P1MQa_-k-PCxMmLcE3us1iZjwieIc4-x-QZjMSMNiJx0iUvEqOg79OPJ9wgFkWdae9x4FO-TXILad9cw3k2xEIRDF_lGMU97fYAgJenyuZTUPl01T_6z-y/s1600/dragonfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="960" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBIOaOkFmwfdhi20B2HmfW9P1MQa_-k-PCxMmLcE3us1iZjwieIc4-x-QZjMSMNiJx0iUvEqOg79OPJ9wgFkWdae9x4FO-TXILad9cw3k2xEIRDF_lGMU97fYAgJenyuZTUPl01T_6z-y/s320/dragonfly.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buckle, ca. 1900</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfyhUSH-XhNToXJfOwSciJrPOXNbV1EEq1AI9KY4cY75zixbdu3ZD1VwYp8C2Pi_OGYyMcqmXjklkoF2gD6sRJKfNuyJLQ4UqkM6r68ZewKQGt7f_dRJuaxOLjoqH6YZRA7_ary1FKY9_/s1600/Snake+buckle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="960" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfyhUSH-XhNToXJfOwSciJrPOXNbV1EEq1AI9KY4cY75zixbdu3ZD1VwYp8C2Pi_OGYyMcqmXjklkoF2gD6sRJKfNuyJLQ4UqkM6r68ZewKQGt7f_dRJuaxOLjoqH6YZRA7_ary1FKY9_/s320/Snake+buckle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buckle, ca. 1899</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEy5Q4S15cZIv_Bl9p5iQW1g0k62TmiMxIHIKDFhTeM7LzBUKLbsPXi76f4KjVzcAv8J7caPQ0yufLJELeNiTAl0J5b0msNmb9gi3HDCYiS8d1129IMLZuU6bg1x_B7aVvymsn5UyWzYA/s1600/Fabrege+Lily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="806" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEy5Q4S15cZIv_Bl9p5iQW1g0k62TmiMxIHIKDFhTeM7LzBUKLbsPXi76f4KjVzcAv8J7caPQ0yufLJELeNiTAl0J5b0msNmb9gi3HDCYiS8d1129IMLZuU6bg1x_B7aVvymsn5UyWzYA/s200/Fabrege+Lily.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabergé Firm, Lilies of the Valley<br />19th-20th century<br /> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<o:p>We stopped
by the <a href="https://www.poemuseum.org/" target="_blank">Edgar Allan Poe museum</a> which was interesting and I learned a bit more
about the author than I had known and I now need to go read some of his other
works that weren’t part of my normal high school readings.</o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After that,
we hopped over to the <a href="https://acwm.org/" target="_blank">American Civil War Museum (Museum of the Confederacy)</a> in Richmond. We didn’t tour the Confederate White House
because that involved a lot of stairs and my feet/ankles were already complaining
loudly about all the walking we had been doing.
This museum focused a lot on the Confederate side of the war and how it
was viewed from Richmond's point of view. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GMNRIhMXdru8fF-YC5cunZpSSGkt52hiHxl5LKjME1a-FLYbn1ZCDLw175sRqkU2dLWNrp8p-kp24YjAl36ZF-h9zNlIRu12zHr8roERNGcJArfzBd_KhUzsReRnrDZufsHOyDo4f9UZ/s1600/cemetery2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GMNRIhMXdru8fF-YC5cunZpSSGkt52hiHxl5LKjME1a-FLYbn1ZCDLw175sRqkU2dLWNrp8p-kp24YjAl36ZF-h9zNlIRu12zHr8roERNGcJArfzBd_KhUzsReRnrDZufsHOyDo4f9UZ/s320/cemetery2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the James River from<br />Hollywood Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We also did
a self-driving tour through <a href="https://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/" target="_blank">Hollywood Cemetery</a> which is probably one of the
prettiest cemeteries I have visited as it is right on the James River. As far as I know, I don’t have any ancestors
buried there but there are some Presidential gravesites: Tyler & Monroe. It is definitely worth a drive around.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And on the
last day of the trip since it was on the way back home again, we stopped at the
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/rich/index.htm" target="_blank">Richmond Battlefield</a> visitors center. I
discovered later (should have done a bit more research before coming) that the
ancestor I was focusing on this trip was involved in a lot of the battles in
the Richmond area. I’ll need to come
back another time to really spend time at these because there are several
battle locations around the Richmond area – the National Park Service suggests
4 hours for the driving tour around the various battlefields. But, I got an overview of these battles at
the visitor’s center.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpjvXTn47pmN-BeF0Zj7RGvLoovsMqhPWiAqpkPoH2FLOYcl1sQhFgweLDoxGp2-EGwml1WYXdh7kuWKOAJw_KVy_xYmo3vTA39jHwYDgdk1i0vSPalPDBEmB7rNlOsXNmUwIGlX-DRFl/s1600/cemetery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpjvXTn47pmN-BeF0Zj7RGvLoovsMqhPWiAqpkPoH2FLOYcl1sQhFgweLDoxGp2-EGwml1WYXdh7kuWKOAJw_KVy_xYmo3vTA39jHwYDgdk1i0vSPalPDBEmB7rNlOsXNmUwIGlX-DRFl/s320/cemetery.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hollywood Cemetery<br />Richmond, VA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Then we
moved on to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/pete/index.htm" target="_blank">Petersburg National Battlefield</a>. I knew that my ancestor, Freeman Hunt had
been at Petersburg and that he had mustered out at that point. The rangers at the National Park visitor
center were super helpful in giving me information about where my ancestor
might have fought/stationed at the battlefield.
Since I knew what group he was with they were able to show me maps of
battle movements, etc. If you make any
stops to any of the national battlefield parks, make sure you take that info
with you because the rangers there are very knowledgeable and might be able to
give you even more information about what your ancestor was actually involved
in at the battle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m going to
stop there for today. I’ll have another
post about much more detail about what I discovered about my ancestor, Freeman
Hunt’s civil war stories and more in-depth genealogy wise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
But, if you
have a chance to visit <a href="https://www.visitrichmondva.com/" target="_blank">Richmond, VA</a>, I certainly recommend it. There is a lot of history there, the Library
of Virginia houses a lot of the state archives, and some great places to visit.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-6451584656722685242017-08-29T16:43:00.001-04:002017-08-29T16:43:20.922-04:00Diggin' in my Dishner Line<div class="MsoNormal">
Recently, I’ve switched gears just a bit back to my paternal
line, just to keep things interesting. I’ve
been fleshing out some of my Dishner cousins starting with some online
genealogies and going through and checking documentation on them to see if that
checks out and that I’m related to them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing I do think I need to start doing is to start
collecting <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Scott_County,_Virginia_Genealogy" target="_blank">Scott County, VA</a> maps because I have a feeling I’m related to a
large portion of Scott County, VA. I see
a lot of the same names, I see a lot of these folks as neighbors on census
records and I need to start connecting some more of those dots. Who was living where, who was married to who,
etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOfhAeab5FuKae_csAAC8f_wWmT-uAbgDaD60L_wRxPSesfRAvTQYrNlWGRJUugqv5EEn3hyphRaC1zDQcG15RGn4LiZxu2JfROTnnTU9VXyPTMh7RLpVXN6iYNbhcyKgC2hnR0_LPjDX/s1600/1024px-Map_of_Virginia_highlighting_Scott_County.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="1024" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOfhAeab5FuKae_csAAC8f_wWmT-uAbgDaD60L_wRxPSesfRAvTQYrNlWGRJUugqv5EEn3hyphRaC1zDQcG15RGn4LiZxu2JfROTnnTU9VXyPTMh7RLpVXN6iYNbhcyKgC2hnR0_LPjDX/s320/1024px-Map_of_Virginia_highlighting_Scott_County.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.8em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; text-align: start;">
Map of Virginia highlighting Scott County</h1>
By David Benbennick [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My paternal grandmother, Mary Ruth Dishner was born in Scott
County, VA as well as both her parents. I am lucky to have had access to the family bibles for her family so I have documentation from that (and a lot of the delayed birth certificates have references to these bibles).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdNhs8iOpgzuP0vvz398yI6jCho6vIMLEQAZpZu9NXuu037e8VtBFpWQH172aBM7itYTUyZRKmhowUV-91bW43VVjsjuZh_mdRs1WaE3s7fBU3Vj_3va_cnlVEVJ-0Q7-wtS4BJKrnJxa/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="742" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdNhs8iOpgzuP0vvz398yI6jCho6vIMLEQAZpZu9NXuu037e8VtBFpWQH172aBM7itYTUyZRKmhowUV-91bW43VVjsjuZh_mdRs1WaE3s7fBU3Vj_3va_cnlVEVJ-0Q7-wtS4BJKrnJxa/s640/Capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a funny note, we think we might have found the person who now owns the family farm in Scott County. Apparently the owner is the cousin of our dental hygienist (who used to live right down the street from us and I went to school with her daughter) who worked for our cousin who was a dentist (this cousin is also related to the same family who lived at that farm). I know...that's weird and convoluted. But, I have ancestors buried there and I have been unable to find the cemetery online (probably because it's just a small family cemetery) and I need to try to hunt that down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I need to set some time aside to go and wander around the county and see what all is there, what resources are there, what resources are in the library vs other county offices. I also need to hop up to Richmond, VA (which isn't too far from where I live in NC) and check out the <a href="http://www.vahistorical.org/" target="_blank">Virginia Historical Society</a> and the <a href="http://www.lva.virginia.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Virginia</a> to help flesh out more of my knowledge about SW Virginia and how my ancestors fit into the overall story of what was going on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I hope to do more posts regarding this line of inquiry. I apologize for not posting for a while but real life took a wild turn both with my job and a death in the family. But, I am hoping to start sticking to a publication schedule a bit more regularly than I have been doing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-50361240216381460542017-05-09T14:19:00.000-04:002017-05-09T14:42:15.911-04:00Betty's Baby Book: Genealogical Info & Horrifying Medical Advice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9vPCL5uaFBSeV_6cDvD57GoMxstnWKNV0mk1-pD_jCIT30GXi6xMXqfo0ZizkYrOp0WXAHdJ1waD3AxI1CseAqZk4W7bx2s-8TOnXGUuaqcgDsUfPJ0nlisgqKHvB6IYdLzzDRAPXawg/s1600/Infant+Betty+Grann+%2528Barber%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9vPCL5uaFBSeV_6cDvD57GoMxstnWKNV0mk1-pD_jCIT30GXi6xMXqfo0ZizkYrOp0WXAHdJ1waD3AxI1CseAqZk4W7bx2s-8TOnXGUuaqcgDsUfPJ0nlisgqKHvB6IYdLzzDRAPXawg/s320/Infant+Betty+Grann+%2528Barber%2529.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Betty Jane Grann</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A couple weeks ago I went into a bit of the history and social context of Baby Books. Now I'll talk about my grandmother's baby book I recently scanned.<br />
<br />
Betty Jane Grann was born Sunday, August 29, 1926 at 2:00 in Jamestown, NY to Axel Grann and Eunice Hunt.<br />
<br />
Her Baby Book was <i>The Book of Baby Mine</i> printed in 1915.<br />
<br />
Like a lot of the baby books you find, some sections are filled out and several are left blank. This one is no exception.<br />
<br />
From a genealogists perspective, you sometimes get names & dates, places where they lived and just a general story of their life with the young baby. I have a list of people who gave gifts (some of the names I don't know so that gives me something to look into as a genealogist).<br />
<br />
On the page for the Baby's First Outing:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I went over to my grandma Hunts when I was four weeks old. My uncle Walter took me over in his car. Sept 25 was the date. In the evening I went down to see my grandma Grann. My daddy carried me and everyone we met had to stop and have a look at me."</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhf5ytWywyYgZ3RLmOtAWlcKqfYMxs9aw7YAx4rY3DY7LYHPxHrGDohrsipeqXHBMBAR04poPzkBiM89IQ3d7q2tAjdsa-p9nsCiCAI4aDKczLY0G8OKbfKzr2RU_LDLO7gWSdh8uY_0_/s1600/Axel+%2526+baby+Betty+Grann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhf5ytWywyYgZ3RLmOtAWlcKqfYMxs9aw7YAx4rY3DY7LYHPxHrGDohrsipeqXHBMBAR04poPzkBiM89IQ3d7q2tAjdsa-p9nsCiCAI4aDKczLY0G8OKbfKzr2RU_LDLO7gWSdh8uY_0_/s320/Axel+%2526+baby+Betty+Grann.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Axel & Betty Grann</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My grandmother's first words were "pretty, pretty" and "da-da".<br />
<br />
Betty started smiling at 3 months, waved "bye-bye" at 9 months, started walking (apparently never really crawled) at 11 months, and started playing "peek-a-boo" at 12 months.<br />
<br />
Betty was named for one of her mother's childhood friends who lived nearby, Betty Jane Harris.<br />
<br />
The birth of her baby sister, Barbara Jean is documented in the baby book:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a baby sister now, her name is Barbara Jean. She is very, very tiny, but I love her just the same." </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I stayed with my aunt Dagmar one whole week when mother went to the hospital to buy my baby sister."</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
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I now have documentation on the addresses this family lived at from 1926 - 1928<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span>I moved from my first home on 7 Beechview Ave when I was nine months old. I lived on the corner of 8th & Cherry until I was 2 years. Then I moved to great grandma’s old home 312 Allen Street." </blockquote>
And then there is some touching family moments documented in the book:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"My great grandma died July 18, 1928 age 78. The last thing I did was to kiss her when she lay on the bed in the hospital. She had been asking for me before. She smiled so nice when I kissed her. The last time she ever smiled."</blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmihlVafOBR2XV_HzkILO5RxAQT1mppAX6_whQEh-j4zkeWPN7QepVaZ9rszA4FTgi-3elqM937R71xPn0e7df2lAV40_APq8zrAg0OieC96zbelqytbWgdpD-f3_2QQiNV5AvLsOAW_Ia/s1600/Eliza+Hunt+%2526+Child+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmihlVafOBR2XV_HzkILO5RxAQT1mppAX6_whQEh-j4zkeWPN7QepVaZ9rszA4FTgi-3elqM937R71xPn0e7df2lAV40_APq8zrAg0OieC96zbelqytbWgdpD-f3_2QQiNV5AvLsOAW_Ia/s320/Eliza+Hunt+%2526+Child+2.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I believe this photo is of Eliza Hunt (referenced great-grandma)<br />and Betty Grann</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> There are a couple other parts of the baby book that I want to mention because I found them very interesting from a social perspective. One was the advertising in the baby book and the other was the multitude of pages (the entire baby book is over 90 pages long) on the early 20th century advice on taking care of a newborn.</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">There are seven advertisers in the baby book:</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNMyYTJzA2bGjW-xszCQDOFF1tSa6i_SxJ9MPPi6-rs05vyBfVq1a3PGq6IudGqBfRj5j0ll201-DW4nB5D1MQP9qEaXoCSU9tsQVs-PByK161U8tjZaf0K2MRL9UtKIsA0q-6XFUSTUj/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNMyYTJzA2bGjW-xszCQDOFF1tSa6i_SxJ9MPPi6-rs05vyBfVq1a3PGq6IudGqBfRj5j0ll201-DW4nB5D1MQP9qEaXoCSU9tsQVs-PByK161U8tjZaf0K2MRL9UtKIsA0q-6XFUSTUj/s320/Capture.JPG" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nothing like a guilt-trip from buying your groceries<br />from your normal 'unclean' store</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Farmers & Mechanics Bank</b> - ad to open a bank account for the baby</li>
<li><b>Jamestown Evening Journal</b> - publication stressing availability of bedtime stories</li>
<li><b>Clark Hardware Company</b> - household appliances (electric household helps)</li>
<li><b>The Mutual Life Insurance Co. of NY</b> - A Message to Father - re: savings funds</li>
<li><b>The Camp Art Company </b>- Photograph studio - portraits of family</li>
<li><b>Crescent Creamery</b> - Milk for mother & child </li>
<li><b>The Paquin-Snyder Co., Inc</b>. - grocery store</li>
</ul>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwbQ2OT-GUK8RpNd6trN8Od_uP5SqMTyECeEEzhGf-xLPo9cSTVdoojdU9xMjAMXDhiOZHn-UUBqKNv9pWW6K4EyLTnvnD3QFVeBo1uMW-8zXHrs3W1gUautCfk0qvTQ2nWbQvVGjkkac/s1600/Capture2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="44" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwbQ2OT-GUK8RpNd6trN8Od_uP5SqMTyECeEEzhGf-xLPo9cSTVdoojdU9xMjAMXDhiOZHn-UUBqKNv9pWW6K4EyLTnvnD3QFVeBo1uMW-8zXHrs3W1gUautCfk0qvTQ2nWbQvVGjkkac/s320/Capture2.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
The advertisements are very interesting on their use of the newborn baby to hawk their goods from opening a bank account to appliances to insurance to photography to groceries. </div>
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Starting on Page 40 of the baby book is the section on "The A, B, C, of Baby’s Health". I do have to admit that some of this medical advice is a bit horrifying to the modern reader. And some of it just made me laugh out loud.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBeKN9ORXs2WSDX1aXf8o8kQMUGbFamOUZeSAh05_nLeOyzKH5sqBnPnxSVh-zz79rahPrLmOHaY4lBE633cnkT3o1v3kzi3ir0MYHMklAof3JqKmqdWCiHmyse3rOwat8y9hyFjS6cLS/s1600/Capture3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBeKN9ORXs2WSDX1aXf8o8kQMUGbFamOUZeSAh05_nLeOyzKH5sqBnPnxSVh-zz79rahPrLmOHaY4lBE633cnkT3o1v3kzi3ir0MYHMklAof3JqKmqdWCiHmyse3rOwat8y9hyFjS6cLS/s400/Capture3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Never let a day pass without a good movement" is going on a t-shirt.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Along with a lot of commentary on the baby's bowel movements (A LOT of commentary) and an excess of uses for Cod Liver Oil and Castor Oil, you get helpful tips like these:</div>
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<ul>
<li><b><i>As to Medicine</i></b>. No mother should quiet her child with a blow on the head, nor should she stun her baby with the opium and morphine of soothing syrups.</li>
<li><b><i>Rest</i></b>. All young infants are extremely nervous, so avoid exciting them, playing with them, or handling them too much….holding the baby habitually may cause spinal curvature….most of the time young infants should lie quietly in bed till strong enough to sit alone and play.</li>
<li><b><i>Baby’s Bath</i></b>. Never put baby in tub while tub is on a heater.</li>
<li>Borax solution recipe for sore mouth & to clean baby’s eyes; use to clean mother’s nipples</li>
<li><b><i>Airings</i></b>. Sunshine purifies the air….Children deprived of sunshine grow up like pale, weak, cellar plants. Baby should begin taking daytime naps outdoors in summer when three weeks old….In bad weather give baby the benefits of being outdoors by dressing as for an outing, then opening all windows of a room and letting it sleep, protected from wind and dampness. Babies accustomed to cold air and cool baths are hardened against taking cold.</li>
<li><b><i>Diarrhoea: Summer Complaint</i></b>. The average mother will be tempted to resort to some dose containing opium, but nothing more injurious could be done…</li>
<li>Only the most ignorant or indulgent parent would give young children tea, coffee, or beer.</li>
</ul>
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And my favorite:</div>
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<ul>
<li><b><i>Teaching the Bowels Regularity</i></b>. Any baby over 3 months old may be trained to evacuate the bowels….Stimulate the bowels to action by tickling the anus, of if this fails, insert a suppository" [with instructions on how to create your own suppository].</li>
</ul>
<div>
In conclusion: don't hold or play with your baby too much, don't drug them with opium, don't cook them in a pot during bath-time, let them get plenty of air and if the air is too cold it's OK - it builds character, use borax on everything, when not using borax use either castor oil and/or cod liver oil, and regularly tickle your baby's butt so they poop on schedule.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxA1p5q6xV0kLYpMcYRjzSJEpkn1FG68uOaD2XEkap3mVhTcN6Il6Mgqk6TEClircA2j_SI1qwbkobQ60-6G-z4S8Aey3SzQOyQC3_aOPptQ9jstDwvLEnoBGXnnouQLcHjiIioneAly0/s1600/Capture4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxA1p5q6xV0kLYpMcYRjzSJEpkn1FG68uOaD2XEkap3mVhTcN6Il6Mgqk6TEClircA2j_SI1qwbkobQ60-6G-z4S8Aey3SzQOyQC3_aOPptQ9jstDwvLEnoBGXnnouQLcHjiIioneAly0/s400/Capture4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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FYI - I don't recommend any of this medical advice (except please don't hit, drug, or cook baby - that's probably good advice), please consult modern doctors and modern child care manuals.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDZHmgyY9mpU9o1RGvdIe7mqLlSgH9J7o1nGgDjl3nA4MBebxuyUfUm7ea-qTghzkqTY2qFP_UvYKCcl_tGw7NnkfSMIUGEz2D8LnT5djUXz-YUcQ3ku9BSf-fbOSJUQJSvmEZvr-DxRW/s1600/Capture5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDZHmgyY9mpU9o1RGvdIe7mqLlSgH9J7o1nGgDjl3nA4MBebxuyUfUm7ea-qTghzkqTY2qFP_UvYKCcl_tGw7NnkfSMIUGEz2D8LnT5djUXz-YUcQ3ku9BSf-fbOSJUQJSvmEZvr-DxRW/s1600/Capture5.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From the look of it, I think this child was just given an enema.</i></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-48409230352638117372017-05-05T12:00:00.000-04:002017-05-05T12:17:44.603-04:00Pull My FingerIt's been a crazy couple of weeks at my "real" job so I haven't had time to write a proper post (hopefully this weekend - cross your fingers!)<br />
<br />
But, to appease you until then, here is a photo of my Grann relatives.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiubaj3fZIaR6cbrRSaHRui2BQlGFG070g5-gY7rqfUkTGfxFDdZJER2PGIPMb8vo_0D522Zc7FBh5_UuuRhS8RLpm9kD0oJK3agQAM61AaM3qvztJhVJhWt6pTJ7qs6rSk434EhGvpVL/s1600/Grann+Group+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiubaj3fZIaR6cbrRSaHRui2BQlGFG070g5-gY7rqfUkTGfxFDdZJER2PGIPMb8vo_0D522Zc7FBh5_UuuRhS8RLpm9kD0oJK3agQAM61AaM3qvztJhVJhWt6pTJ7qs6rSk434EhGvpVL/s640/Grann+Group+Photo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Back Row</b>: Carl (Sr.) Grann, Otto Johnson, August "Augie" Grann, Dagmar (Kallander) Grann, Eunice (Hunt) Grann, Betty Grann, Walter "Walt" Grann<br /><b>Front Row</b>: Carl H. Grann, Axel Grann, Myrna (Grann?), Ted Grann, Dorothy (Walden) Grann, Marie (Grann) Johnson</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Wonderful family photo and then you see this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_r16Ns1QcDS27Lw3ZIcL9IovzVwdaQH5YraKyj0zFmmpEBhFlEZh5yePkejuO8yz0Txs2SuGI4geZzVXZ1-RtyoeijP18J1Z-khft-5xHaprM3bPsVl43S-Z8r6bx8lNJOX0ACHIJKjb/s1600/Pull+my+finger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_r16Ns1QcDS27Lw3ZIcL9IovzVwdaQH5YraKyj0zFmmpEBhFlEZh5yePkejuO8yz0Txs2SuGI4geZzVXZ1-RtyoeijP18J1Z-khft-5xHaprM3bPsVl43S-Z8r6bx8lNJOX0ACHIJKjb/s320/Pull+my+finger.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Pull my finger!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This answers a lot of questions about my family right here.<br />
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Also, I'm not sure who Myrna is, but I'm kinda feeling bad for her right now:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpNsGlKWCTFFs8Qo0QPlVV6EJsnVBlYlzP7DWSEcSFwrvRRlipN1mlIa_cwoNJU1dJAQDQpxU9PTawLUjA5lxZbl6VlQ5K7UJYqc2vY95NSQSD5f1RnAgao7sBf5GrkRyHmPpmq2pUYe8/s1600/pity+the+little+girl.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpNsGlKWCTFFs8Qo0QPlVV6EJsnVBlYlzP7DWSEcSFwrvRRlipN1mlIa_cwoNJU1dJAQDQpxU9PTawLUjA5lxZbl6VlQ5K7UJYqc2vY95NSQSD5f1RnAgao7sBf5GrkRyHmPpmq2pUYe8/s320/pity+the+little+girl.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Why do I get stuck next to the 'farting' guy?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The 'farting guy' having his finger pulled is my great-grandfather, Axel (married to Eunice in the top row of the photo). I am amused by this little snapshot of my family, and apparently the fact that we've been a humorous bunch for a while now.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-74967122770025267492017-04-21T12:30:00.000-04:002017-04-21T12:30:51.674-04:00The Baby Book: History & Use for Genealogists<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCpjDsH15ng15ib4FtayaYa5yEo_t8NuA5QsYkJkXVyCsC02dQ_nLOyWJ5rx8jn8hBM3-wRVSAkHcxsQVoRWRvwDpFswG7ylpKGxOyjKyNJzO3NvHoXkYvy0KZgF-m6hE-H-ThLlYPOUF/s1600/Baby+Book+of+Mine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCpjDsH15ng15ib4FtayaYa5yEo_t8NuA5QsYkJkXVyCsC02dQ_nLOyWJ5rx8jn8hBM3-wRVSAkHcxsQVoRWRvwDpFswG7ylpKGxOyjKyNJzO3NvHoXkYvy0KZgF-m6hE-H-ThLlYPOUF/s320/Baby+Book+of+Mine.JPG" width="214" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my favorite things that we have in my personal family history collection, is my grandmother’s baby book. It is a mixture of adorable facts about my grandmother as a baby. From lovingly detailed descriptions of my grandmother’s first words & first holidays to advertisements for life insurance, this glimpse at my family’s history is delightful, but the history of the baby book is fascinating as well.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">You begin finding baby books starting in the late 1800s, but by the early 1900s they had become mass-produced with fill-in-the-blank areas for parents to document their child’s progress. They were “memory books in which parents could record a child's activities and developmental milestones and which provided a place to gather photographs, locks of hair, and other mementos.”</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#1" name="top1" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><sup>1</sup></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nicholas Day, the author of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Baby Meets World</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, said that these baby books were really the first baby blogs. “Baby books were where mothers—and they were almost always mothers—recorded the mundane, wondrous details of infancy….it became common for a whole population to write down their random thoughts about their babies. The baby books, like baby blogs today, were a new genre that encouraged parents to pay more attention to every tiny detail of infancy.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#2" name="top2"><sup>2</sup></a> He also surmises that baby books started to become popular in the early 1900s because of the drop in infant mortality; parents were able to expect babies to survive and therefore parents started to document their lives and plan for their futures. This seems like a sound theory for the baby book boom. In 1911 the infant mortality rate (IMR) in the United States was 135 deaths per 1000 live births<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#3" name="top3"><sup>3</sup></a> but the “first third of the 20th century marked an era of significant growth in child health and welfare efforts….the US Children's Bureau (USCB) was founded in 1912, and both local and state public health departments began focusing many of their resources on mothers and children….Along with improved nutrition and public health, advances in medical therapy have reduced the IMR from more than 100 to fewer than 10 deaths per 1000 live births”.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#4" name="top4"><sup>4</sup></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNopFmZoMKKDW9PoPukB9E0d5pNQQeNflrXIVLKO5WLxyG8vrWmeUXvt4HX3HOya1s2xwDLskdx9OnUVGEp5WWjPcHfaRQPLWFeu-aZktA6Bo7qmzHz37TrYBKhIJdDLIUBx_lkHng_kj2/s1600/Clarks+Ad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNopFmZoMKKDW9PoPukB9E0d5pNQQeNflrXIVLKO5WLxyG8vrWmeUXvt4HX3HOya1s2xwDLskdx9OnUVGEp5WWjPcHfaRQPLWFeu-aZktA6Bo7qmzHz37TrYBKhIJdDLIUBx_lkHng_kj2/s320/Clarks+Ad.JPG" width="187" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another fascinating aspect of many of these mass-produced baby books is the social history of advertising they provide. Baby books often have advertisements geared to sell products. “Businesses discovered that babies are a wonderful excuse for consumption, and they helpfully padded the pages of baby books with advertisements for all manner of things that that no baby [or parents] should be without.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#5" name="top5"><sup>5</sup></a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Baby books can be an excellent tool for genealogists as they offer a fascinating glimpse into the daily lives of that family. The books often contain dates, and names of family members. You might find the married names of female relatives. You might find records of siblings. As well as touching moments in that family’s lives. It’s a great way to piece together the story of your relative’s infancy and the lives of the new parents. Look in your attics or trunks to see if you have any baby books. Generally speaking, you find them for the first child and other children in the family either don’t have one or very little was filled in - but even if the baby book you find isn’t your direct ancestor examine it for family details!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQDSMf5nqKn6UDU7s7R8e_oQGUS0sAKbU_UXFzEyeAUr1OOGAn0k3CMuYxCRzND5u3pCA7ZZxTFZN3EX6TdmFoQTao2Gk5xt4NIEB8k3powkfcchXxFnTVp4bzsOPWPOlSy2sr7oOTOqf/s1600/My+First+Outing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQDSMf5nqKn6UDU7s7R8e_oQGUS0sAKbU_UXFzEyeAUr1OOGAn0k3CMuYxCRzND5u3pCA7ZZxTFZN3EX6TdmFoQTao2Gk5xt4NIEB8k3powkfcchXxFnTVp4bzsOPWPOlSy2sr7oOTOqf/s320/My+First+Outing.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The UCLA’s Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library has a collection of baby books, the oldest book in their collection is </span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The Mother’s Record of the Physical, Mental, and Moral Growth of Her Child for the First Fifteen Years” published in 1882.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#6" name="top6"><sup>6</sup></a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The UCLA does take donations of baby books (it might be a good home for your baby books if you don’t want to keep them, or your family doesn’t want to inherit them). Some researchers are using them to study baby development, health, and other social aspects from the home-documented sources such as baby books. If you are interested in donating your baby book to the library, go to the library’s donations page: </span><a href="http://www.library.ucla.edu/about/giving-library/gifts-materials" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.library.ucla.edu/about/giving-library/gifts-materials</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">My next post will examine more in depth my grandmother Betty's baby book and the story I was able to </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">piece</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> together using that family history document.</span></i></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1"><b>1 </b></a>“Baby Books Collection.” UCLA Library, 20 Apr. 2017, http://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections/medicine-sciences-biomedical-library/baby-books-collection.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#top1"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2"><b>2 </b></a>Day, Nicholas. “The First Baby Blogs, Over 100 Years Ago.” Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2013, http://www.slate.com/blogs/how_babies_work/2013/04/17/history_of_baby_books_parents_recorded_children_s_lives_because_they_weren.html.
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#top2"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3"><b>3 </b></a>Brosco, Jeffrey P. “The Early History of the Infant Mortality Rate in America: ‘A Reflection Upon the Past and a Prophecy of the Future.’” Pediatrics, vol. 103, 2, Feb. 1999, AAP News & Journals Gateway, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/103/2/478.short.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#top3"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4"><b>4 </b></a>Brosco, Jeffrey P. “The Early History of the Infant Mortality Rate in America: ‘A Reflection Upon the Past and a Prophecy of the Future.’” Pediatrics, vol. 103, 2, Feb. 1999, AAP News & Journals Gateway, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/103/2/478.short.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#top4"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5"><b>5 </b></a>Day, Nicholas. “The First Baby Blogs, Over 100 Years Ago.” Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2013, http://www.slate.com/blogs/how_babies_work/2013/04/17/history_of_baby_books_parents_recorded_children_s_lives_because_they_weren.html.
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#top5"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6"><b>6 </b></a>Lin, Judy. “Baby Books a Mother Lode for Research.” UCLA Newsroom, 3 June 2010, http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/baby-books-a-mother-lode-159628.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3044922757006225050#top6"><sup>↩</sup></a><br /><b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Additional Sources</i></b>:
</span><br />
<ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">
<li>Braun, Bob. “Rutgers University Professor Writes Book on How Infants Shape Culture, Economics.” <i>NJ.com</i>, 1 Apr. 2010, http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2010/04/rutgers_university_professor_w.html.</li>
<li>Denny, Melcena Burns. <i>The Book of Baby Mine</i>. Grand Rapids: The Simplicity Company, 1915. Print.</li>
<li>Kellogg, Carolyn. “The Hidden History of Baby Books.” <i>Los Angeles Times</i>, 11 June 2010, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/06/the-hidden-history-of-baby-books.html.</li>
</span></ul>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-52578679392713083832017-04-17T12:38:00.000-04:002017-04-17T12:50:07.533-04:00Family Photo Project - Getting Started<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent the long weekend over at my parents’ house to go
through and scan photos and documents.
So, I have a lot of interesting things to share over the coming weeks!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I accomplished my goal which was to scan all the items on my
maternal side. I scanned about 500
photos – most of which we could identify but we do have a stack we need to
examine and compare and see if we can maybe figure out who is who.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYouz7kS3xlXgE0bUsxjTLqnUJSl4s54r9g62nSGEYqVcCOf6rGDiJi8LodhLgUXiMcUqOYrJ4hA0BIekY8HO0smsyTLz7hWCzvEZzLXaUMUYuphgY3P037zUoa79b9OOhcTgGXYQq0Xbs/s1600/06_Bruce+%2526+Brenda+Barber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYouz7kS3xlXgE0bUsxjTLqnUJSl4s54r9g62nSGEYqVcCOf6rGDiJi8LodhLgUXiMcUqOYrJ4hA0BIekY8HO0smsyTLz7hWCzvEZzLXaUMUYuphgY3P037zUoa79b9OOhcTgGXYQq0Xbs/s320/06_Bruce+%2526+Brenda+Barber.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom & my uncle feeding a raccoon at Allegheny State Park<br />
<i>(Don't try this at home boys & girls!)</i></td></tr>
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There were a lot of interesting and fun finds: my
grandmother’s baby book, family letters confirming a theory I had, photos
of some of my immigrant ancestors, my grandfather’s photos he
took when he was abroad during WWII.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lots of interesting stories from my Mom about food, family
rumors, funny facts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8asIittuZFpMCRPDA7WEiOSZERgP4y9XF4H7cU__3xqrXZMU98HKKf01F665_hi0Id9R_P78u0jJWudC0HvHXiQRgq8V_zkLgpHnLnL_JEBTE5jrOsCnU-F6tUCi8DGWpuBvFeUQYO4lS/s1600/Carl+%2526+Dagmar+Grann%253B+Walt+%2526+Dorothy+Grann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8asIittuZFpMCRPDA7WEiOSZERgP4y9XF4H7cU__3xqrXZMU98HKKf01F665_hi0Id9R_P78u0jJWudC0HvHXiQRgq8V_zkLgpHnLnL_JEBTE5jrOsCnU-F6tUCi8DGWpuBvFeUQYO4lS/s400/Carl+%2526+Dagmar+Grann%253B+Walt+%2526+Dorothy+Grann.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carl & Dagmar Grann and Walt & Dorothy Grann</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I think my favorite photo from this weekend is this
one. I also really, really like their hats!<br />
It is a photo of my maternal great-uncles
& great-aunts. From left to right:
Carl Grann & his wife, Dagmar Kallander and his brother, Walter Grann &
his wife, Dorothy Walden. I don’t have
an exact date on the photo but judging from their clothes and ages it should be
sometime in the mid-1920s. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Carl and Dagmar were both born in Sweden (although married in the US), Walt was born after his parents immigrated to the US.</div>
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I find it’s funny how sometimes you can form an opinion or
feeling just from photos. For whatever
reason, I have always been drawn to my great-aunt Dagmar. She died in 1985 so I did meet her, but I don’t
have any memories of her since I was young when she passed. I don’t know, maybe it’s just her unusual
name, or perhaps this photo below (which I just find fantastic).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrRBritAy9mZCFBxnt7xT6886VopHn0zwRtnzEsv6FxtwO9lxREuVpI9MqCy14m1Sv-uHDQS45QxGwknIEDpiXFT_ngzPhAjt-749lA-Rs1EmLw0rw5qVlu80jUnjjFu2abYPT0hcIBh7/s1600/Dagmar+Grann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrRBritAy9mZCFBxnt7xT6886VopHn0zwRtnzEsv6FxtwO9lxREuVpI9MqCy14m1Sv-uHDQS45QxGwknIEDpiXFT_ngzPhAjt-749lA-Rs1EmLw0rw5qVlu80jUnjjFu2abYPT0hcIBh7/s320/Dagmar+Grann.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dagmar Kallander</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I asked my Mom this weekend what Dagmar was like. I asked if she was kind of spunky, because
she looks like she would be. Mom said
that she did think that she was and always liked her (she was one of her
favorite aunts).</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the reasons I love genealogy research is creating
these connections with my family (both living and not), discovering their
stories and the different lives they have had. I look forward to getting back into my family records & photos (we have bins full of stuff from my paternal side I still have to go through and scan) and helping to piece together more of these stories.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-44223972886432351072017-04-09T07:18:00.000-04:002017-04-09T07:20:03.836-04:00Family Recipe ProjectEunice Hunt Grann is my maternal great-grandmother. My middle name is Eunice after her and I bear a great resemblance to her. Seriously...when I found this photo and shared it with my family my brother thought it was me in one of those old-timey photos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7DZy9CABe7ql_Zpw6QBochnSsnanN4J4QVWxj5HIfKP8NT44WaZdbxTWyQv15rn69DeTOneTN47mUj-H-0nplutxXZc8QX60MUH4P2yW8vtvFrKAgSsmdF4I4IaDyVjFJ8KovZEBTUev/s1600/Eunice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7DZy9CABe7ql_Zpw6QBochnSsnanN4J4QVWxj5HIfKP8NT44WaZdbxTWyQv15rn69DeTOneTN47mUj-H-0nplutxXZc8QX60MUH4P2yW8vtvFrKAgSsmdF4I4IaDyVjFJ8KovZEBTUev/s320/Eunice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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From 1978 - 1980 my maternal uncle, Bruce gathered and compiled a lot of the family recipes and had them typed up and gave them to members of the family. My mom has always had a copy of the recipe book and I found my grandmother's copy when she passed away in 2015. My grandmother, Betty is technically my step-grandmother since she was my grandfather's second wife, they were married in December 1979, but she is the only grandmother I knew on that side. But, to keep us genealogists on our toes, both my biological and step grandmothers were named Betty.<br />
<br />
Since I inherited my grandmother's copy, I also found this letter from Bruce to Betty in the cookbook:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR66g-gV-6kBL_eeN58aOd_JHX6LbWEugN_5TcdPu5XrASZa9r6GGUNjqzLRiKirbWEiEgNiXRGA7zv6wy_aH8w7FZE61tzpKZCxRKtSY5WHmXN4T8TnnvOvIXgYDEafloNW_JCl63T4p/s1600/Letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR66g-gV-6kBL_eeN58aOd_JHX6LbWEugN_5TcdPu5XrASZa9r6GGUNjqzLRiKirbWEiEgNiXRGA7zv6wy_aH8w7FZE61tzpKZCxRKtSY5WHmXN4T8TnnvOvIXgYDEafloNW_JCl63T4p/s320/Letter.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Christmas 1980</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Dear Betty,<br />
This project was started over three years ago and includes recipes from my mother's and grandmother's cookbooks, as well as sorted selections from other people. Dorislee did the typing for a year and a half, and it's taken me another year plus to get the books put together.<br />
Since this doesn't include the recipe for the one thing Dad can make - scalloped potatoes - I guess you'll have to execute any of the recipes if they are going to get done. Since it's a loose-leaf book, I assume everyone will add their own favorites. However, as I was folding all the pages and punching all the holes, I realized you'll have to annotate your contributions with Betty "B" Barber to make the distinction.<br />
Welcome to the family!<br />
Love, Bruce"</blockquote>
I do have to admit reading this that I am so grateful for modern technologies that make creating a recipe book for the family much less labor intensive (at least as far as typing on a typewriter and manually punching holes goes).<br />
<br />
This recipe book has many recipes that have very basic (or no) instructions - mostly the ones from my great-grandmother. Probably because most cookie and cake recipes tend to have similar assembly instructions so they just didn't bother writing down. <br />
<br />
But, from a modern cooks perspective, these recipes can be very difficult to follow if you aren't familiar with some of those basics. I know my mom has mentioned not making a lot of these recipes because she just wasn't sure what to do.<br />
<br />
So, one of my projects is to create an updated family cookbook. I want to update the recipes with some more detailed instructions as well as add some additional family recipes and like my uncle before me, distribute the cookbook to family members. But, since it is 2017 - I can also detail my experiences online as well! Again, reference above thought on modern technology!<br />
<br />
So, for your first taste of my family recipes here is the recipe I have made several times for Spritz. It's attributed to both Eunice and her daughter, Betty.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2w_9dYz5KwEZ0G9n51RNAEZXCfW6sYMsQts4koeTCqToPbNmenSlc97qdD94Sjc8saQ6mJFr0HMJDOtEjAtV-ATElzFeh9GfCtZi-tUnRa6Is6PK23pa6K2liLIpZbtx4VyJ98I9_yPtv/s1600/Spritz+recipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2w_9dYz5KwEZ0G9n51RNAEZXCfW6sYMsQts4koeTCqToPbNmenSlc97qdD94Sjc8saQ6mJFr0HMJDOtEjAtV-ATElzFeh9GfCtZi-tUnRa6Is6PK23pa6K2liLIpZbtx4VyJ98I9_yPtv/s400/Spritz+recipe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Since I've made this before, I did actually blog (on a different blog) this modern recipe equivalent so here is the link: <a href="https://recipebuster.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/swedish-christmas-cookies/">https://recipebuster.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/swedish-christmas-cookies/</a><br />
<br />
My mom remembers these cookies at Christmas-time and that is when I tend to make them as well. They are a lovely soft, almond flavored cookie that uses a cookie press.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz12AbDmh000kURxm0VKSVJNeuMS36_bDTNSqE74mcnzEqYPx2vv1Wo1zN-4jGE_GghZjQJdtD0VnYNCLyO0-LWAaPZiW_ox22KMpOjJHKaOPKL8bczVIkq04cfTPRGWotdVneul5yWcMj/s1600/spritz+cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz12AbDmh000kURxm0VKSVJNeuMS36_bDTNSqE74mcnzEqYPx2vv1Wo1zN-4jGE_GghZjQJdtD0VnYNCLyO0-LWAaPZiW_ox22KMpOjJHKaOPKL8bczVIkq04cfTPRGWotdVneul5yWcMj/s400/spritz+cookies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, if you like vintage recipes, keep an eye on this spot for more. I am actually cooking up a couple new recipes today that I haven't tried before so there will be another blog post soon on Danish Tarts!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-57684776147270650132017-03-27T13:57:00.001-04:002017-03-27T14:20:41.872-04:00Swedish AncestorsNow that I've finished mostly with my major tree pruning, I want to move onto my next area of focus: my Swedish ancestors.<br />
<br />
At RootsTech in February, I attended some sessions on Swedish genealogy and using the ArkivDigital website for searching Swedish records. And now I am armed with a bit more information, I feel comfortable starting to gather records from Swedish sources.<br />
<br />
I've also started using Evernote to try to organize my research, keep research logs, and basically just keep me on track.<br />
<br />
So, my first steps are to organize the information I have for my Swedish ancestors into Evernote so I have it all in one place and I can start my lists of research questions. Once I have that organized and questions ready to go, then I'll sign up on ArkivDigital to start gathering records there.<br />
<br />
For some of my family members, I already know where in Sweden they came from, Sätila in Västra Götaland or Vetlanda in Jönköping, Sweden. Others I am not certain, I just know from census records that they were from Sweden so that is going to take a bit more digging so I can figure out where to look in the Swedish records.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here are my ancestors who I've identified as coming from <b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Sätila </span></b>in <b><span style="color: #274e13;">Västra Götaland</span></b> (direct line ancestors in red text):<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Anders Andersson Grann</span></b><br />
Born: 20FEB1832 - Died: 26NOV1906<br />
<i>Born & Died in Sweden - did not immigrate</i><br />
<br />
<b><i>Married to</i></b>:<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Anna Johansdottir</span></b><br />
Born: 09SEP1845 - Died: ?<br />
<i>May have immigrated?</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Children of Anders Andersson Grann & Anna Johansdottir</u></b>:<br />
<b>Alfred Grann</b><br />
Born: ~1861 - Died: ?<br />
<i>May have immigrated?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Anders Grann</b><br />
Born: ~1884 - Died: ?<br />
<i>May have immigrated?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Anna Maria Grann</b><br />
Born: 27MAY1882 - Died: 01APR1966<br />
<i>Born in Sweden - Died in Jamestown, NY</i><br />
<br />
<b>Otto Ludvig Grann</b><br />
Born: 13DEC1887 - Died: ?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Carl Oscar Grann</span></b><br />
Born: 30NOV1875 - Died: 28FEB1953<br />
<i>Born in Sweden - Died in Jamestown, NY</i><br />
<br />
<b><i>Married to:</i></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Mathilda Charlotte Svenson (Swanson?)</span></b><br />
Born: 02AUG1874 - Died: 03JUN1938<br />
<i>Born in Sweden - Died in Jamestown, NY</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><u>Children of Carl Oscar Grann & Mathilda Charlotte Svenson:</u></b><br />
<b>Ivar (Evar)(Sven) Grann</b><br />
Born: 03JUL1897 - Died: 28FEB1947<br />
<i>Born in Sweden - Died in Cleveland, OH</i><br />
<br />
<b>Carl Hjalmer Grann</b><br />
Born: 19MAY1899 - Died: 07JUL1972<br />
<i>Born in Sweden - Died in Jamestown, NY</i><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Axel Elof Grann</span></b><br />
Born: 13MAR1901 - Died: 04MAR1972<br />
<i>Born & Died in New York (family immigrated before he was born)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Others I am fairly certain came from <b><span style="color: #274e13;">Vetlanda </span></b>in <b><span style="color: #274e13;">Jönköping, Sweden</span></b>. These ancestors are:<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Sven Peterson Rask</span></b><br />
Born:15SEP1831 - Died: 10OCT1918<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Gustava Carolina Stark</span></b><br />
26NOV1827 - 20OCT1905<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Children of Sven Peterson Rask & Gustava Carolina Stark:</u></b><br />
<b>Mathilda Christina Rask</b><br />
Born: 03APR1859 - Died: 15FEB1939<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<br />
<b>Carl Augustus Rask</b><br />
Born: 10DEC1860 - Died: Before 1939<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<br />
<b>John Sven Rask</b><br />
Born: 22OCT1862 - Died: 02OCT1948<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Los Angeles, CA</i><br />
<br />
<b>Maria Sophia Rask</b><br />
Born: 22FEB1867 - Died: 13MAR1945<br />
<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><span style="color: red;">Anna Lovisa Rask</span></b><br />
Born: 19MAR1865 - Died: 28APR1939<br />
<i>Born Vetlanda, Sweden - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><i>Married to</i></b>:<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Charles L Ecklund</span></b><br />
Born: 25SEP1858 - Died: 26JUN1918<br />
<i>Born in Sweden (unknown county) - Died in Warren County, PA</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Parents of Charles L. Ecklund: Nels S. Ecklund & Almask from Sweden (unknown county)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6laaAPQlhiuv0Q8HHPisGMUX270dcOrir-D5iwpwcoDj0Ec4dvZcximdE7g4_hJ0diiQ7psy0-E4bMJTkG3MXriMPDzrm78k-PjBBGFVpWgtA8exL7TMalXR8LeGiC-AMxjeO2NGiHU-/s1600/Sweden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6laaAPQlhiuv0Q8HHPisGMUX270dcOrir-D5iwpwcoDj0Ec4dvZcximdE7g4_hJ0diiQ7psy0-E4bMJTkG3MXriMPDzrm78k-PjBBGFVpWgtA8exL7TMalXR8LeGiC-AMxjeO2NGiHU-/s400/Sweden.JPG" width="352" /></a></div>
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So, I have a couple areas that I know to look at and a few family lines so this should probably keep me busy for a little while.<br />
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If any of these folks above are also your ancestors, I would love to hear from you. I am interested in chatting with cousins who also like genealogy. :)<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-4656124842026893992017-02-27T16:12:00.000-05:002017-02-27T16:12:00.436-05:00Tree PruningIt's Family Tree pruning time!<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Raffaello_Sorbi_Pruning_the_roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Raffaello_Sorbi_Pruning_the_roses.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>
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It's a task I've been putting off for FAR too long. I've known for a while that my Ancestry tree has a LOT of unconfirmed branches. Since I've learned more over the past few years I've discovered I need to prune that unconfirmed information out and add it back in again if I can confirm with sources.<br />
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This is mostly the result of being "young and silly" when I first joined Ancestry and you get so excited with the little green leaves and other member's trees that you go a little...crazy.<br />
And that craziness has led me to where I currently am.<br />
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So, I didn't want to completely lose all of the work I have done so I made a GEDCOM copy of the tree I had and saved that as a private tree (I don't want others copying off that tree since it's not confirmed - it's more my giant tree of hints now). And I'm seriously pruning back my public Ancestry tree to those things I have some sort of sources for. <br />
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It's been a big pain in the rear (because I had a TON of branches that I couldn't confirm a link to) but doing this will give me a much cleaner base to run off of and I can use the private tree to help me with hints to hopefully find the source documentation to make the tree grow again. :)<br />
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So, a few tips for new genealogists just starting out:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Think before adding to your tree (I know this seems basic - but sometimes we get a little too excited and we need to slow down and really think if we just need to make note of a source to investigate further or confirm some other way to make sure they are a relation before adding to the tree)</li>
<li>Remember that the little green leaves (or the hint features of your chosen family tree software/website) are HINTS. They might have nothing to do with your ancestor. Use them as a jumping off point for further research.</li>
<li>Download a copy of the documents to your computer at home (don't just have the online link) because if you drop your subscription you might not be able to view that original document again until you subscribe again and that can be frustrating. Plus, crazy things happen and the website might go down or out of business and you want to have copies of these documents.</li>
<li>Other member trees - my personal belief now is to NOT add to your tree from other member's trees. I will use them on occasion as hints to use if I am looking for sources for my ancestors but adding to my tree from other trees made my tree into the mess it became (duplications, unconfirmed info, misspellings, and just plain wrong info).</li>
</ul>
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Good luck and enjoy!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-89157776409952824122017-02-14T13:36:00.001-05:002017-02-14T13:36:57.768-05:00Follow on Bloglovin'!<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/18490207/?claim=szg3jx7wrjr">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-3516434209754784562017-02-13T13:18:00.000-05:002017-02-13T13:18:53.718-05:00RootsTech 2017!Goal #1 for 2017 - Stay out of the hospital (they're starting to recognize me there, that's not good)<br />
Goal #2 for 2017 - more family history research & blogging about it<br />
<br />
I had the opportunity this year to attend <a href="https://www.rootstech.org/" target="_blank">RootsTech</a> in Salt Lake City, which was such an awesome experience!<br />
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I won a free pass to RootsTech which got me off my butt and travelling to SLC. Thank you Shannon at the <a href="http://tntfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Trials and Tribulations of a Self-Taught Family Historian</a> blog!<br />
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I had such a great time, was so inspired, and learned so much it's unbelievable that happened all in one place.<br />
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There were great general sessions including an incredibly moving speech from LeVar Burton. Seriously, by the end of the speech everyone was crying. Everyone. It was beautiful and moving!<br />
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I attended a session on starting Scandinavian genealogy and did a hands on workshop with <a href="https://www.arkivdigital.net/" target="_blank">ArkivDigital</a>. I feel much more comfortable with diving into some of my Swedish ancestry now (I actually looked up my first household record for one of my ancestors).<br />
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There were so many great sessions I attended but I'm also really glad I attended the "100 Days to Better Family History" session so I could take all of the energy from the conference and make an organized plan.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-n4nhebCsHQ5sGDgT3KU2mNagejdoh0lWySNkk4SorGYscS-NSwtfiIGsbaai3SYrq8FPZEUsQ6cNq4o6_Vm3zD9D50BFidKSBHqKI1lvaIgajm2Iimwa95p3NREkrv_VyAPYRsJlYT_N/s1600/RootsTech+Selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-n4nhebCsHQ5sGDgT3KU2mNagejdoh0lWySNkk4SorGYscS-NSwtfiIGsbaai3SYrq8FPZEUsQ6cNq4o6_Vm3zD9D50BFidKSBHqKI1lvaIgajm2Iimwa95p3NREkrv_VyAPYRsJlYT_N/s320/RootsTech+Selfie.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RootsTech Selfie!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwWz8pjizN4P3xSAevxWM3Ki6l_wTHUAj4705dlBZjaMc7NT8hCBVMfEZrL5_Q-GhrU8OCxn7bsHLlJnbfzpVeyZWH6gVmCI_i-ydSRel3ICP9ASyXF1JiRaq9LpxHOwTu-TEGgmg0I_g/s1600/Exhibit+Hall.+RootsTech+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwWz8pjizN4P3xSAevxWM3Ki6l_wTHUAj4705dlBZjaMc7NT8hCBVMfEZrL5_Q-GhrU8OCxn7bsHLlJnbfzpVeyZWH6gVmCI_i-ydSRel3ICP9ASyXF1JiRaq9LpxHOwTu-TEGgmg0I_g/s320/Exhibit+Hall.+RootsTech+2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RootsTech Exhibition Hall<br /></td></tr>
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So, now I'm all motivated and one of my top goals is to regularly blog about what I'm doing with my family history research! Stay tuned!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-41077767830106975052016-11-18T16:29:00.001-05:002016-11-18T16:29:55.971-05:00New Weekly Blog Posts!<div class="MsoNormal">
While driving to work this morning listening to a new
podcast, I had an thought for an interesting blog serial I could focus on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know I have totally not been posting like I had
wanted this year. Honestly 2016 has not been a
particularly fantastic year for me, I won’t bore you with all the details but
let’s say the hospital staff know me a bit too well. So, I haven’t focused on posting or on doing
ancestry research this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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But, back to my idea!
So, this morning I was listening to a new (to me) podcast called
<a href="http://www.medievaldeathtrip.com/" target="_blank">Medieval Death Trip</a>. <i>It sounds more
ominous than it is</i>. It is a literary
focused podcast examining various excerpts from medieval primary sources along
with commentary. I was listening to the
prologue this morning where the author of that podcast (<i>author, host – what is
the correct term for that?</i>) said he was inspired by the book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wisconsin-Death-Trip-Michael-Lesy/dp/0826321933" target="_blank">Wisconsin DeathTrip</a>. That book is a non-fiction work
published in 1973 that is based on a collection of late 19<sup>th</sup> century
articles, photographs, narrations from Wisconsin – most of them kind of “news
of the weird” but as a collection highlight the lives, thoughts, fears, etc. of
the people living at that time. I
haven’t read this book, but I think I’m going to because that sounds
fascinating.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, after being inspired by a podcast inspired by a book, I
thought of a weekly blog serial taking the ideas of using print media from the
various locations and times of my ancestors to flesh out their lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I LOVE looking at old newspapers! While a great place to find a wealth of
information in your genealogical research, it also is a unique glimpse into the
lives of the people in that region and time.
Often our research takes us to the time before internet and computers,
before Skype and email, and usually before TV or telephones or radio. Local newspapers were the lifeblood of
information. It’s how you
learned what was going on in your community, your state, your country and the
world. Not only are their articles about
the main events happening, but also you find very mundane articles about who is
having dinner with who. </div>
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So, my plan is to have a weekly post called <b>Old News - New Stories</b> highlighting an
article, excerpt, advertisement, photograph, etc. from a publication which is
local to one of my ancestors during their time.
So, hopefully you will find it interesting and perhaps inspire some of
your own research into the lives and times to help bring your ancestors to life
(<i>figuratively speaking</i>).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-90829200355853223922016-03-31T10:47:00.001-04:002016-03-31T10:47:03.161-04:00Colorful AncestryI figured I'd join the <a href="http://geneaspy.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-little-thing-that-went-viral.html" target="_blank">genealogy bandwagon</a> and do my color chart based on states/countries that my ancestors came from for the last 5 generations.<br />
<br />
It is a pretty neat way to visualize this information and see where those patterns are and how families have moved.<br />
<br />
I also have my big question marks because my paternal great-grandfather was adopted. We are pretty sure he was born in OH, but I should probably put a question mark there as well.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDfZ7wPKXETn00z7fku66Uo8fc0XgroDeYpzeiaCVXoaVA_I3uLYkchDMqEAleH4ZmhhYpmbrlekzeQUjKe8EYqdeOSNaB_Nv6g-H6XzbFbjBa_GXawVtmmbaQk2Sk99rX3cexGT24rgR/s1600/5+Generation+Color+Chart+-+States.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="603" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDfZ7wPKXETn00z7fku66Uo8fc0XgroDeYpzeiaCVXoaVA_I3uLYkchDMqEAleH4ZmhhYpmbrlekzeQUjKe8EYqdeOSNaB_Nv6g-H6XzbFbjBa_GXawVtmmbaQk2Sk99rX3cexGT24rgR/s640/5+Generation+Color+Chart+-+States.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five Generation Chart - Birth States</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I also then created a chart based on Counties to see how much things changed. I actually expected more change than I saw, which surprised me. I know if I expanded out a few generations that would certainly change. But this chart is a bit more detailed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCt2tl7EGRyLBnlrw3jCnFmNwDXCBzJ_I4J-NSM9Q0mX50Hb9vuYSAYlDs078ZMP62voDzSXkr0roGvsPDJU-TGjyJ6YFwQnSJKOi5qP4vHbpA8_AuB6Wc0iUusWHs3HIYt93m1hYT6bKR/s1600/5+Generation+Color+Chart+-+Counties.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCt2tl7EGRyLBnlrw3jCnFmNwDXCBzJ_I4J-NSM9Q0mX50Hb9vuYSAYlDs078ZMP62voDzSXkr0roGvsPDJU-TGjyJ6YFwQnSJKOi5qP4vHbpA8_AuB6Wc0iUusWHs3HIYt93m1hYT6bKR/s640/5+Generation+Color+Chart+-+Counties.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five Generations - Birth Counties</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div>
Where I do see quite a bit of changes is when I changed the chart to show the counties where folks died.<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgpjLr9FDi4cu67u23uJzKG7dLHni4EnWcpTbUDrDAvkGapbPfZSzFRBQZsZ6tQuaCFv5RDfJp97n0LrSP8_tDksseum3tXq_rr5PD-L66BiyfKmuo6IpcV0HEGndbAJdwWA81H9gZvN6/s1600/5+Generation+Color+Chart+-+Death+Counties.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgpjLr9FDi4cu67u23uJzKG7dLHni4EnWcpTbUDrDAvkGapbPfZSzFRBQZsZ6tQuaCFv5RDfJp97n0LrSP8_tDksseum3tXq_rr5PD-L66BiyfKmuo6IpcV0HEGndbAJdwWA81H9gZvN6/s640/5+Generation+Color+Chart+-+Death+Counties.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five Generations - Death Counties</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, these color charts are fun but also give you a quick visual aide with some useful information at a glance.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-65779600930088062732016-03-15T15:48:00.000-04:002016-03-15T15:55:54.576-04:00Tombstone Tuesday: Hannah Bryan (1770 - 1841)Since I voted today in a Primary election, I figured I'd start my Tombstone Tuesday posts with this one because it was one that lead me to my Presidential relation, President Lincoln.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNj1l5PryJKkv2hL3eLkBkbmzql1MQdLLs4J6LUoKam5wr4DfBJgS5UtBFITIAzouadyVmYGD-QQG2cBUxQ0xD-Ed8zgPLJd8A0m-78by242Y1cgy584nCreGkS7jwkQiutFQj6pgpdJye/s1600/Hannah+Bryan+-+new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNj1l5PryJKkv2hL3eLkBkbmzql1MQdLLs4J6LUoKam5wr4DfBJgS5UtBFITIAzouadyVmYGD-QQG2cBUxQ0xD-Ed8zgPLJd8A0m-78by242Y1cgy584nCreGkS7jwkQiutFQj6pgpdJye/s320/Hannah+Bryan+-+new.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New grave marker for Hannah Bryan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Obviously, this grave marker isn't from 1841. I'm not certain when this one was installed but according to <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=42044&GRid=14495464&" target="_blank">Find A Grave</a> their original stones were trodden on by cows and so their ancestors replaced them. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtfxBS1nbKN3eshEFeWT5l-iAl8lH7LcfoC4kxUW4w_avfTMciCTpmkSneF3ZhSfgMH2cMLfY19EkXe-Ti6cBX4CbtWEkMYXv_tW8S_NWEouaIaxmdysMerxVx-hd-IoUabS27KXV00Zk/s1600/Hannah+Bryan+-+original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtfxBS1nbKN3eshEFeWT5l-iAl8lH7LcfoC4kxUW4w_avfTMciCTpmkSneF3ZhSfgMH2cMLfY19EkXe-Ti6cBX4CbtWEkMYXv_tW8S_NWEouaIaxmdysMerxVx-hd-IoUabS27KXV00Zk/s320/Hannah+Bryan+-+original.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of original headstone for Hannah McDaniel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hannah is the daughter of Benjamin Bryan and Lydia Lincoln (Lydia was the sister of Abraham Lincoln - the grandfather of the President of the same name). So, through Hannah, President Lincoln is my 2nd cousin 6x removed. Which I find pretty cool.<br />
<br />
But, besides that fact, I find that the life of Henry and Hannah very interesting. One of my goals this year is to trace more of their life. They were both born in Virginia and Henry fought during the Revolutionary War (it's also the anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse - which Henry participated in and his company stayed behind to help with the wounded). <br />
They were married after the war and lived for a while in an area of Virginia which is now West Virginia before moving up to Ohio around 1810. The <a href="http://www.galliagenealogy.org/" target="_blank">Gallia County Genealogical Society</a> lists Henry as one of the <a href="http://www.galliagenealogy.org/First%20Families/first.htm" target="_blank">First Families</a> since they were living there before 1821.<br />
<br />
I actually got to visit this family cemetery a few years ago when we were travelling to a friends wedding up in Michigan. We just happened to pass through Gallia county and the name rang a bell and so we stopped back through on the way back home which was really kind of cool (I didn't realize it at the time but my great-uncle still lives in Galliopolis).<br />
<br />
We also quickly stopped by the library and found a folder/book full of genealogical research someone had done on this family that we were able to scan - I'm still going through all of that information! Make sure to stop by libraries in the areas where your ancestors have lived because you never know what might be squirreled away in archives or in their genealogical sections.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKTCmbOLOiBsb3wOtLTxcKftbbSihwn7qESycIjlyHjI03NVEFWKXsZF46GeAlcVnu346bhU74FGghyqpJohOMiJbT8yx7fZrBB8GeR5VJ2NY_eRu5UlOh4I9qIiDPFfNF0c7nk2o31w6/s1600/McDaniels+Crossroads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKTCmbOLOiBsb3wOtLTxcKftbbSihwn7qESycIjlyHjI03NVEFWKXsZF46GeAlcVnu346bhU74FGghyqpJohOMiJbT8yx7fZrBB8GeR5VJ2NY_eRu5UlOh4I9qIiDPFfNF0c7nk2o31w6/s320/McDaniels+Crossroads.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McDaniel's Crossroads - Walnut Township, Ohio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-51094117240496174522016-03-06T17:02:00.000-05:002016-03-06T17:03:42.827-05:00Jamestown, NY Research AdventureOver the holidays I had a bittersweet research adventure. I ended traveling up to Jamestown, NY because my grandmother had become very ill (she ended up passing away a few days later) but while I was up there (after visiting my grandmother) I decided to do some genealogy research since I am rarely up in that area of the country.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ42qfJfRnNiZeMlgFYjMfVHM8Wja82KQnaqV-nas4q338rC4ACu7l1GVqEXoZuv4fxyeTdRiqVCMLBqXIjuQBp2uuxdvYzTD49tkbsQXsCCDBVRzJ0-qpylODcIpLDCq_ITqh5ZAAz76H/s1600/Hunt%252C+Freeman+J+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ42qfJfRnNiZeMlgFYjMfVHM8Wja82KQnaqV-nas4q338rC4ACu7l1GVqEXoZuv4fxyeTdRiqVCMLBqXIjuQBp2uuxdvYzTD49tkbsQXsCCDBVRzJ0-qpylODcIpLDCq_ITqh5ZAAz76H/s320/Hunt%252C+Freeman+J+Photo.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freeman J. Hunt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This is story about how sometimes you *really* have to get off your bum, step away from the electronic searches and go into some of these research places because I would never have found some of this great info if I hadn't decided to go to the <a href="http://www.fentonhistorycenter.org/" target="_blank">Fenton History Center</a> in Jamestown, NY.<br />
<br />
The librarian researcher and one of the library volunteers there helped me find some information on <br />
my Hunt family as well as finding that one of my ancestors, Freeman J. Hunt, was a member of Company B in the 72nd NY Volunteer regiment. At finding that, the librarian got a special glint in her eye and scurried off to the archives and came back with several scrapbooks.<br />
<br />
Company B apparently remained very close after the Civil War and they kept photos and newspaper clippings not only from during the war but all of their various reunions after as well as clippings for wedding anniversaries and obituaries for those who were part of the company. Most of this is not electronically scanned at the moment. It was amazing looking through the picture albums which had been saved by this group. I was able to find a photo of my ancestor, which I did not have previously as well as obituaries and details of his civil war service. <br />
<br />
It really was so exciting and it was also fun to see the librarian and volunteer at the Fenton History Center so excited about it as well.<br />
<br />
So, remember to go out and see if there are local history centers that have genealogical info because you never know what someone, sometime had squirreled away and donated to one of these archives that you will be able to find!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A0VYy5ZDcpSTjd5JBbcfV6dtFrnLJBgZbeyUGhshlKl2sy6CqS1xXp9-PZZf-GofuQbBlgDElUc1pVn3IiSX6F8znx3cHdYI9md5Q3Vnn9mpS4jOnsiu62becYpcN07QXYcplz1_6h11/s1600/Looking+through+scrapbooks+at+Fenton+History+Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A0VYy5ZDcpSTjd5JBbcfV6dtFrnLJBgZbeyUGhshlKl2sy6CqS1xXp9-PZZf-GofuQbBlgDElUc1pVn3IiSX6F8znx3cHdYI9md5Q3Vnn9mpS4jOnsiu62becYpcN07QXYcplz1_6h11/s320/Looking+through+scrapbooks+at+Fenton+History+Center.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband helping me find my 3rd great-grandfather's photo in the scrapbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vPWmlPIW6sfPJcNnBkWl3oSAJ0do33CppntdSD3KecaknX4di0z5kdZvMYLbcSSwq6HWoq2Eojbr9DBl_fuY4B_5rfECEkz1cXDcNx0xNNzNbgLuq9reJLcTOfbma6N-cEkH_7rSR5mL/s1600/Hunt%252C+Freeman.+72nd+NY+Infantry+Co+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vPWmlPIW6sfPJcNnBkWl3oSAJ0do33CppntdSD3KecaknX4di0z5kdZvMYLbcSSwq6HWoq2Eojbr9DBl_fuY4B_5rfECEkz1cXDcNx0xNNzNbgLuq9reJLcTOfbma6N-cEkH_7rSR5mL/s320/Hunt%252C+Freeman.+72nd+NY+Infantry+Co+B.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Company B, 72nd NY Volunteer Infantry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzr1q9Nj9_LlnLk1hknVH0GwLwiU5lzPM5a5yw-D6u2SDYH1KWzgkOESSnU1C7ntW4Q6ueKz2Pne6RqCFlPGUcBUD2S2fmPu1_9Hvyt-DT2jWZ3YJPfe8EtsrKw1fk5OtILnVPluCyQgt/s1600/Hunt%252C+Freeman.+1st+Regimental+Flag+72d+NY+Volunteers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzr1q9Nj9_LlnLk1hknVH0GwLwiU5lzPM5a5yw-D6u2SDYH1KWzgkOESSnU1C7ntW4Q6ueKz2Pne6RqCFlPGUcBUD2S2fmPu1_9Hvyt-DT2jWZ3YJPfe8EtsrKw1fk5OtILnVPluCyQgt/s320/Hunt%252C+Freeman.+1st+Regimental+Flag+72d+NY+Volunteers.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Regimental Flag, 72nd NY Volunteers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57F0WmK1I_XyLzwVgC9Ds1PPxxCBgdiMwOz1UK9cBbDbsm9hUWERTtrnP3z6kM-v5KwQS7eea95FyenJ-B24Z_coGG5ZEnD-dIe8-kxVVsQ4TM7ltdxXo1Pop0rfucZv7AXy5x-EMJrSv/s1600/Hunt%252C+Freeman.+1884+Reunion+of+Company+B+72d+NY+Vol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57F0WmK1I_XyLzwVgC9Ds1PPxxCBgdiMwOz1UK9cBbDbsm9hUWERTtrnP3z6kM-v5KwQS7eea95FyenJ-B24Z_coGG5ZEnD-dIe8-kxVVsQ4TM7ltdxXo1Pop0rfucZv7AXy5x-EMJrSv/s320/Hunt%252C+Freeman.+1884+Reunion+of+Company+B+72d+NY+Vol.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1884 Reunion Company B, 72nd NY Volunteers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So a great big shout out of thanks to Barbara at the Fenton History Center library (and her great volunteer - although I don't think I grabbed his name). If anyone has family research in the Jamestown area - certainly check this place out!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fentonhistorycenter.org/" target="_blank">Fenton History Center</a> - 67 Washington Street, Jamestown, NY 14701</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-27414306320960397132016-02-18T21:08:00.000-05:002016-02-18T21:08:36.159-05:002016 Genealogy GoalsThe end of 2015 ended up being quite a bit crazier than I had anticipated so I haven't done much genealogy for the past couple months. But, now it's calming down it's time for me to set some goals for myself and for this blog for 2016!<br />
<br />
<b>Prune my Tree</b><br />
First and foremost, my first goal is to clean up my Ancestry.com tree. I have a lot of stuff in there that I think is incorrect or I don't have any sort of back up documentation on and I really need to go in and delete or unlink some of the people from my tree.<br />
<br />
Back when I first got on Ancestry I got the little green leaf and I just went a bit too crazy copying things to my tree. Can I put that down as being "young and silly"? But, the result being I have a lot on my tree that just shouldn't be there. So my first goal of the year is to go through and if I don't really have any sort of backup for someone being in my tree then it's time to prune. That way I can work on focusing my attention and expanding my actual tree - with documentation! :)<br />
<br />
<b>Fertilize my Tree</b><br />
I am going to start working and filling in missing documentation for the family I do have and have some back up documents for but am missing some items. So, it's working from the ground up to fill in some of those missing holes and expanding on some extended family.<br />
<br />
<b>Chasing Down a few Fussy Roots</b><br />
There are a few "problem children" I want to focus some time on to expand on their stories or to see if I can get past a brick wall/stumbling block.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Migration of Henry McDaniel's Family</i></b><br />
I actually have a decent amount of info on Henry McDaniel because he was a Revolutionary War veteran so a lot of folks have documented his family, especially post-Rev war. What I actually want to look more into is his story of where he came from pre-Rev war and maybe more about his migration from Virginia to Ohio.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What I know (briefly):<br />1763 - Henry McDaniel born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia<br />1779 - Enlisted during the Revolutionary War in Bedford County, Virginia<br />1780 - Wounded during the battle of Kings Mountain<br />1781 - Discharged from service at Camden (I am assuming SC given his Rev war history)<br />1788 - Married Hannah Bryan in Greenbriar County, VA (now WV)<br />1810 - Migrated from Lewisburg, VA (WV) to Gallia County, OH<br />1838 - Died in Gallia County, OH</blockquote>
I'd like to learn more about why families moved from this area of Virginia to Ohio (I can't imagine this was an easy trip) and see if I can trace their footsteps (or theorized footsteps) from fighting to create this country to expanding it's frontiers.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Adoption of Eugene Chambers</i></b><br />
This is one of my "brick walls". Eugene was adopted by the Chambers family in West Jefferson, Ohio but I have never really been able to find out much about his biological family. We believe his family name was Costella (o). We have some family stories that have been passed down but not really anything to back that up. According to one of my cousins who has also been doing genealogy work, the courthouse records in that area burned down.<br />
So, I need to try to find other sources that might give me some clues as to where Eugene came from and more about his family. I know I want to really hit some newspaper resources to see if I can find some clues that way and try to come up with some other creative ideas to find information.<br />
If anyone has any ideas for me - please let me know!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What I know:<br />1893 - Eugene Costella born (possibly Ohio but some sources have said Virginia)<br />1900 - Living with the Chambers family, the census lists Eugene as a "cousin" (I don't know if he is actually a cousin, or if they just told the census taker he was a cousin since he wasn't officially adopted at that point, or if the census taker didn't know how to list the child so just put cousin)<br />1910 - Living with the Chambers family, this census listed him as an "Adopted Son" (somewhere in that 10 year time period he was officially adopted by the Chambers family)</blockquote>
<b><i>Samuel Ernest Dishner After His Divorce</i></b><br />
Samuel is my great-grandfather and his divorce from my great-grandmother, Phoebe Gillenwater was drama-filled and messy. My father never knew his grandfather and my grandmother never saw him again after his divorce. This wasn't just a divorce, it involved Samuel just disappearing (at least for a while). So, I have started finding some information, but I don't really know much about his life after his divorce and he moved away and I would like to see if I can find out more about his life after he left the rest of my family.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What I know:<br />1899 - Samuel Dishner was born in Scott County, Virginia<br />1917 - Married Phoebe Ethel Gillenwater in Scott County, Virginia<br />1931 - Lived in Jenkins, Kentucky (had a chiropractic practice)<br />1939 - Lived in Kingsport, Tennessee (had a chiropractic practice)<br />1947 - On Aug 2 Samuel disappeared, his family filed a missing person report<br /> - On Aug 26 Samuel sent a postcard to one of his family members saying he was in FL<br /> - On Aug 31 Reported in the newspaper that Samuel had moved to Kentucky<br />1948 - Lived in Jenkins, Kentucy (had a chiropractic practice)<br />1956 - Lived in Houston, Texas<br />1971 - Died in New Braunfels, Texas</blockquote>
<b><i>Gertrude Morgan After Her Divorce and her Missing Son, Emerson Morgan Hunt</i></b><br />
Another divorce case, and I'm really not quite certain what happened to Gertrude afterwards. I have a few clues but I'm not sure if it's the same Gertrude. With women it always gets a bit hazy because did she keep her married name? Did she revert back to using her maiden name? Did she re-marry? The only clue I have - and I'm not 100% its the same people but I think it is, is related to a record I have for her son, Emerson Morgan Hunt. Emerson was a bit of a surprise because we didn't really know about him. My theory is when his parents divorced, he went with his mother (I believe he was a young adult at the time of the divorce) and most of the information like obituaries for his other siblings and father don't mention him at all. The record I have is his draft card and enlistment. But, after that, I can't find any more about him either so I am unsure if he died during the war.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What I know:<br />1870 - Gertrude Morgan born in New York<br />1896 - Gertrude married William Hunt in Jamestown, NY<br />1899 - Emerson Morgan Hunt born in Jamestown, NY<br />1910 - Living in Conewango, PA<br />1918 - Draft card for Emerson Morgan Hunt lists him as a student at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD and his nearest relative as Gertrude Morgan Hunt residing in Boone, MD.<br />1920 - Census for William Hunt lists him as married but does not list Gertrude as living with him, their two other children, Paul and Eunice are living with William.<br />1929 - William Hunt dies in Jamestown, NY, his death certificate lists him as divorced (no mention of Gertrude or Emerson in his obituary).</blockquote>
So, I think all of this will keep me occupied this year and I'm going to try to be good and blog about what I'm finding and sharing and documenting those stories as I find them!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-72033455145650279822015-11-12T00:49:00.000-05:002015-11-12T11:42:01.371-05:00A Post War Trip to SwitzerlandIn honor of Veterans Day, I thought I'd share bits from a letter my grandfather, Harold Barber, wrote to his mother, Helen Ecklund on August 26, 1945 from the 34th Infantry Headquarters in Cividale, Italy. I'm just sharing bits because the letter is 10 pages, single spaced typed. *whew!*<br />
<br />
Harold was part of the 34th Infantry Division (Red Bull Division) and was involved in the campaigns in Naples, Foggia, North Apennines, Po Valley, Rome, and Arno.<br />
<br />
This letter was written in August after the war ended. Mussolini was executed in April of 1945 with the German forces in Italy surrendering soon after. Hitler was dead by the end of April as well and V-E day was declared on May 8, 1945.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Davos, Switzerland<br />
(Not a family photo, I couldn't find any of his photos but this is from a 1940s postcard)</td></tr>
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This letter mainly details his 8 day trip to Switzerland for a short holiday. Excerpts from his letter will be in italics. It amused me some of the details he included in his letter. But, I suppose it was to his mother and he was answering the age old question that he did have clean underwear.<br />
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<i>The night of 14th August...I and two others from Division Headquarters (Joe De Voss and Charlie Bishop) went to Casual Company. We stayed there overnight, sleeping on the floor (and I only had one blanket with me), getting up the morning of the 15th at five o’clock and eating breakfast (I had coffee and bread and peanut butter) and after breakfast getting a copy of our orders (I’m sending a copy of them for scrap book), loading on the trucks (twenty-five men to a truck and fifty men all told or two trucks) and we were crowded beyond adequate description for such a long trip. We left Casual company at six o’clock, going back through Cividale, to Treviso, to Venice, to Padova, to Verona (we stopped outside of Verona to eat cold “C” Rations for lunch), to Brescia, to Bergamo, and finally to Milan – arriving in Milan at the Swiss Leave Hotel, 13 Via Bonaparte at four-thirty that afternoon – or a ride of almost three hundred miles totaling ten hours (a half hour off for lunch at noon). (Try riding for ten hours sitting up on wooden seats in a crowded truck)....</i></blockquote>
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<i>[We] went to the hotel and up to the fifth floor to our room where we left our bags (I had an extra suit of OD’s, underwear, socks, etc, toilet articles, smokes, film, camera, and raincoat). </i></blockquote>
It was also interesting to read about his love of things from back home, especially Coca-cola:<br />
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<i>[W]e (the three of us) went out to the Red Cross Club and between the three of us we drank seventeen cokes, Joe and I drinking most of them. </i></blockquote>
And again later in the trip, when in Einsiedeln:<br />
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<i>That night we sent down the street a little ways and went in where there was dancing, etc, and we found that they had Cokes, so we had two apiece – boy, Cokes in Switzerland after all this time, was quite a surprise – but good. </i> </blockquote>
He took quite a bit of time explaining the trains and had sent a map with his route marked out back to his mother as well. But some of the train talk is quite interesting:<br />
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<i>Note between Airolo and Blasca there are four dotted loops in the rail line – they are tunnels that are made just as the loops show – built through solid rock inside the mountains and curving around in a circle, and as the loop of each tunnel curves it winds up inside the rock mountain so that when you come out of the tunnel you are higher up than when you entered the tunnel – the tunnel actually crossing itself farther up in the mountain. It was about the only way the rail line could get from the lower level to a higher one because of the mountains. It seemed strange when you would be riding inside the mountain in the tunnel, only slightly sensing that you were turning either to the right or left depending on which way each tunnel turned and the same time going up or down grade depending on which way you were going then emerging at the other end of the tunnel and if you were going up in the tunnel then looking down when you came out and seeing where you went into the tunnel just almost below you or vice versa if you were going down.</i></blockquote>
He described some of the food they had (that wasn't cold "C" rations):<br />
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<i>After a brisk walk we arrived at the hotel in the center of town</i> [Davos-Platz] <i>and at the desk was given Room #4, and took our things up to our room, washed and shaved, put on ties, and at seven o’clock went down to dinner (or supper), which it being a meatless day, consisted of soup, a sizable bit of fish prepared with French dressing, beer if you wished, vegetables, salad, and dessert (the food here was all delicious, and in all the while the tour lasted we didn’t have two kinds of soup that were the same – however, for breakfast we only had bread, butter, and coffee at all places – but the other meals made up for the breakfasts – they were all very good and appetizing at every meal except one at Braunwald on a meatless day, however it was the exception to the trip).</i></blockquote>
They went shopping for souvenirs (I actually think I remember the music box he describes)(<span style="color: red;">edit 11/12/15 - I posted this story and my Mom forwarded me the picture of the music box!</span>):<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Music Box </td></tr>
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<i> Jock got himself a 135 Franc watch (Omega I believe) for 95 Francs and a Parker 51 Fountain pen – and Joe finally decided to get one for his wife (it makes a rather large hole in ones Francs to buy a watch, so one hesitates to buy one on that account) – I didn’t get any, mainly as I already had a good one from the PX (the $50 one). Then we sopped around some more and I got a wood-carved music box in the shape of a house (looking at it from the front, on top of the roof, on the right side in front, on the roof is a little knob which moves from one side to the right to open the top of the house) – I’m sending it in a day or two, along with some other things (handkerchiefs, folders, etc). </i></blockquote>
There was also some partying going on in Davos-Platz (but no dancing, <i>naturally</i>)...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>We spent the day being in the hotel room, looking around the town, and that night after dinner we (Jock too) got together in the ballroom again and made the most of enjoying ourselves with Johnny Walkers Scotch and soda at 4 ½ Francs, which is rather expensive, but it was well appreciated nevertheless. I didn’t do any dancing, naturally, but Jock and Joe had a few dances, with Charlie sitting them out with me – we ended up the evening with myself going to bed first about one o’clock and the others staying until the last dog was hung....</i></blockquote>
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<i>The next day, our last day there...we didn’t do very much, mainly as the day was Sunday, but rather just more or less loafed around taking it easy until that night after dinner when Joe, Charlie and I went into the ballroom again and proceeded to have a good time by starting out with Scotch and soda (Charlie didn’t drink), having two in the beginning of the evening, and then I went and inquired of the guide if they had champagne, light or dark, and the price per bottle, and was informed that light (forget the name) was 16 Francs a bottle so ordered a bottle. The waitress brought a nice sized bottle to our table in an urn (Sterling Silver I think) on ice and after about five minutes, giving it time to chill, she came back and opened it and Joe and I proceeded to try it out to the point of having a little over four glasses each when the bottle ran dry, so I ordered another which we eventually exhausted that also, and by the time we arrived at the end of the second bottle both of us were in a slightly (mind you I say slightly) intoxicated state, but well under control, but having a very enormous good time ( the champagne was the best I’ve ever had). When the second bottle of champagne was void of liquid content it was nearly two o’clock so as a last item on the alcoholic program for the evening we each had another Scotch and soda, during which time we became slightly better acquainted with a very good looking girl sitting at a table next to us with four or five other girls and one fellow and finally got her address – Joe her home address – I her address where she works in Zurich. We finally got to bed that evening about three-thirty with a fine feeling and the end of our stay at Davos (we were leaving the next morning) – so be it.</i></blockquote>
His reassurances to his mother of his still-under-control-insobriety after two bottles of champagne and 3 scotch and sodas did give me a giggle. This evening was also a bit much because this is his description of the next night:<br />
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<i>We didn’t do much that day because of the rain, and after dinner that evening we went down to where the bar was and had a bottle of lemon soda each (we hadn’t been feeling too good that morning – sleepy as all get out) and then each a dish of ice cream, and after that I went to bed – don’t know what time the other fellows came to bed as I was sleeping whenever they came in.</i></blockquote>
He describes cable car rides up mountains and window shopping in Zurich. The Cathedral in Einsideln and a steamer ship ride on Lake Luzern.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>To sum up the tour – it was one of, and the best, most enjoyable trips I’ve ever taken, with a continual change of scenery, mountains continually all around, lakes, snow, and excellent meals and accommodations. The people were very friendly and helped to make our trip just that much more a good time. The country is healthy, clean, and not effected too much by the war, with rationing the only thing that is predominate to note. It was, in one word – IT – and well worth any one’s time and pleasure, not to mention the very reasonable charge for the tour. I’m very glad that I had the opportunity to go on the trip and would gladly go back again given the opportunity.</i></blockquote>
And his concerns about when he will be coming home:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> I’ll not say yes or no about sending Christmas gifts just yet until things are thrashed out a little more on this point system, though I don’t hardly expect to get home this year. Will let you know in plenty of time....</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>If I can find the clipping I’m enclosing it with this letter – its about the 34th going to Austria for occupation duty – or refers to it in a way. Don’t know actually if it is true or not, but wouldn’t doubt it – damn!</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Well, the war is over, and I’ve still got 68 points, so I’m hoping they will lower the points for going home and also set a new date for counting up the total number of points – if they lower it to 75 and set a new date at least to 15th of September I’ll have 76 – I hope – hope. Wait – that is all we can do.</i></blockquote>
I couldn't find the information on if he ended up going to Austria but he was happily back home before Christmas that year! His enlistment ended in November 1945 and, as he was hoping in his letter, the Army did change the policy of the Advanced Service Rating points that enlisted men to have 50 points + 4 years of military service were eligible to be discharged from military service.<br />
So it was a very merry Christmas that year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-84571472838113473882015-11-07T19:31:00.001-05:002015-11-07T19:31:25.382-05:00Ancestry Day!Today I attended the Ancestry Day held in Raleigh, NC put on by Ancestry.com, the North Carolina State Archives, the North Carolina Genealogical Society, and the State Library of North Carolina.<br />
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This was <b>AWESOME</b>! <br />
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I am not particularly new to genealogy. I got interested when I was about 12 years old and was staying with my grandmother after school. She had a few family bibles she would show me and let me pour over for hours as well as some old hand-typed documents from previous genealogists detailing family history. <br />
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I have found family history and genealogical research fascinating ever since. When I was a teen, I starting compiling that information into family group sheets and pedigree charts and keeping it in 3-ring binders. <br />
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In college, for a class project I had to interview a family member and write a paper about their life story in context to historical events, local events, etc. during their lives. I interviewed my grandmother, which was one of the best college educational experiences I think I had. I learned so much about her life and about my family history with that one project. As well as wonderful memories of her I would not have had otherwise.<br />
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According to my profile, I've been a member on Ancestry.com since 2011 (although it feels like it has been much, much longer).<br />
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More recently, I have come to the conclusion that I need to be more methodical and make my research be much more in line with the <a href="https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Genealogical_Proof_Standard" target="_blank">genealogical proof standard</a>. I need to share some of the stories that are floating around in my head that I haven't actually written down (which is part of the point of this blog) but also to keep track of what I factually know (with documentary evidence), what I need to find out, and keeping track of where I've already looked.<br />
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Today's sessions were fantastic. I learned some great search tips for making the most out of the Ancestry.com databases. How to use wild cards in the searches, how to do searches from the card catalog instead of searching directly from the tree and the advantages of doing some of the searches that way. As well as exceptional tips on analyzing sources and comparing records.<br />
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There was also a session on genetic ancestry research, specifically in reference to Ancestry's DNA test and how they use that for the ethnicity results as well as the cousin matching, DNA circles and new ancestry discoveries and how you can use this information to further your family research.<br />
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I also learned more about the NC State Archives and the State Library of North Carolina - I need to make a visit to these sometime soon. I don't really have many ancestors from NC but they should have some other information that will be very useful.<br />
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And the day ended with a wonderful session on using the research you've done to create family stories and how to share those stories with others.<br />
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So, I am now totally hyped and I'm sure I'm going to spend the next 12 hours straight glued to my Ancestry.com account (I probably should invest in eye drops because whenever I log into Ancestry.com I totally forget to blink for long periods of time) to try out all the new tips, tricks and skills I picked up today!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-64609055813602936542015-10-31T07:47:00.000-04:002015-11-11T13:22:54.724-05:00The Headless ChickenHappy Halloween!<br />
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For my first "real" post, I figured I'd share a story from my grandmother (who I call Nana), Mary Ruth Dishner Chambers. While the title sounds spooky, it's not really a scary story (<i>unless you are scared of headless chickens</i>).<br />
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In the early 1950's, Papa, my grandfather Clayton E. Chambers, suggested to Nana that they have a "fresh" chicken dinner. Nana had spent a lot of time with her grandparents on a farm in southwestern VA growing up - so he must have assumed she knew what to do with a fresh (aka live) chicken.<br />
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So, my great-great-grandmother brings over a live chicken from the farm and leaves it with Nana for their dinner. However, even though she spent large quantities of time on the farm, Nana had never actually dispatched a chicken herself.<br />
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So, the dragged the unhappy fowl down to the basement to start the process. She had seen her grandmother do this many times while on the farm so I think she just just thought, "how hard can this be?"<br />
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I remember asking her why Papa didn't cut off the chicken's head for her. Nana said Papa just couldn't cut the head off a chicken. He had apparently a incident as a child and accidentally lopped the head off a tragically inquisitive chicken one morning while chopping firewood. And then had to deal with a crazed, headless chicken running around the yard (<i>chickens don't need their heads to do this, at least for a short while</i>). He then got in trouble with his mother, who didn't believe he cut the chicken's head off by accident. But I bet they had a fresh chicken dinner that night.<br />
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Anyways, back to my grandmother's story. Nana had always seen her grandmother grab the chicken by the head and, from her wild gesticulations while telling the story, whip crack the chicken in order to break its neck. This apparently didn't work for Nana. <br />
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I can only picture her, holding a now very irritated chicken by the head, and swinging it around her head like some sort of crazed avian slingshot complete with frantic squawking and feathers flying. <br />
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The chicken decided to fight back and managed to get away and started to dash around the basement. My dad was a young child at the time and was down in the basement to "help". They then had to chase this harassed chicken around the basement. The chicken was finally caught and my grandmother placed it under a basket and had my Dad sit on top to keep the chicken from getting away.<br />
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She then went to get an ax. <i>I am going to pause here because if you don't want to read about chickens actually being killed, it's time to move on (<a href="https://youtu.be/GM7Pg-sdoJU">here's a link to a cute video of a kitten and a chick</a> for you instead).</i><br />
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Nana pulled the chicken's head out from under the basket (while leaving the rest of the chicken under) and according to Dad, proceeded to <u style="font-style: italic;">saw</u> the chickens head off with the ax. (<i>FYI - sawing a chickens head off with an ax is not the most efficient or humane way to fix your fresh chicken dinner.)</i> I'm not quite sure why she didn't lop it off executioners style - knowing my grandmother, she probably didn't want to damage the basement floor. Eventually, she did manage to separate the chicken from its head.<br />
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To draw this story to an end, they did, indeed, have a fresh chicken dinner. I believe that she said she couldn't eat any of it. <br />
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She also made it abundantly clear to Papa that this was going to be the only fresh chicken dinner he was going to have from her.<br />
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So, Happy Halloweens and may all your chickens (at least the ones for dinner) be headless ones!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5v72WnwHMJ5CHYow1gKNt_oKZKIUWdKyJKHkkVFTWVw83gxFPcKd3AVFnyMEHOCQ1ZugB6-gyY1j2_iuGHxv_MBWnnAgr1dea2mElZWoFKEyqeTL7buWKuDy1wzcFuOZj_CD4cOg6w0ER/s1600/NEWS-TN-TH_KI_TI.1950_02_28-0006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5v72WnwHMJ5CHYow1gKNt_oKZKIUWdKyJKHkkVFTWVw83gxFPcKd3AVFnyMEHOCQ1ZugB6-gyY1j2_iuGHxv_MBWnnAgr1dea2mElZWoFKEyqeTL7buWKuDy1wzcFuOZj_CD4cOg6w0ER/s400/NEWS-TN-TH_KI_TI.1950_02_28-0006.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Advertisement from The Kingsport-Times, Feb 28, 1950</i></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044922757006225050.post-77322868489603194962015-10-22T22:13:00.000-04:002015-10-22T22:13:42.894-04:00Welcome to Consanguineous Connections!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Consanguineous</b>: [kon-sang-gwin-ee-uh s] <i>Having the same ancestry or descent.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to my blog dedicated to documenting my family history! This is a way for me to share the research I've already done with family members but will help me keep track of what I've done and where I need to focus my research.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been dabbling in genealogy since I was a teenager and found the old family bibles in my grandparents house. I loved looking through the pages of births and marriages and deaths and trying to imagine what those lives were like so long ago. What did these people do? Where did they go? If they moved, why? Who married who? The millions of questions that pop up when diving into the rabbit hole of genealogical research.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have finally come to a point in my research where I need to be a bit more systematic and definitely start documenting what I've done and what I need to do. This blog will help me do that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As far as the family lines I am researching, my maternal line is my Barber & Hunt lines. Most of these are in New York and Pennsylvania but it appears the Barber line came to PA from Connecticut. My paternal line is a bit trickier since my great-grandfather on my paternal grandfather's side was adopted so the Chambers part of my family seems to stop there as I try to uncover that family line. My paternal grandmother is from southwestern Virginia and those family lines are mostly Dishner and Gillenwater.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also want a place where I can start writing down and documenting family stories as I uncover them. I find them very interesting so hopefully others will as well. So I hope you will enjoy this journey along with me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have questions or comments regarding this blog, please leave a comment!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15095223951848037752noreply@blogger.com0