Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Wordless Wednesday: Clemon and Helen (Fisher) Lambertson, 1961

Clemon and Helen (Fisher) Lambertson, 1961
Photo of my maternal great-grandfather, Clemon Beals Lambertson (1898-1994) and his second wife, Helen (Fisher) Lambertson (1911-1996) taken in 1961, likely in Alexandria, Indiana.

Colorful Family Stories

The Monday before last, a gathering was held at my parent's house because my uncle & aunt were up from Tennessee and mom wanted to gather all of the cousins together for a cookout.  It was a gathering of first cousins on both my Lambertson and Wright side.

It was nice to see everyone again, a few of whom I hadn't seen in quite some time.  The best part of the evening for me was the chance to share some stories on the Wright side with my mom's 1st cousins.

Since the house I grew up in used to be the farm house where my great-grandparents, Virgil and Muriel (Pierce) Wright lived, the cousins had memories to share of the farm when it was a working farm as well as tales of my great-grandparents.  I have no direct memory of my great-grandparents, and the stories I've received from my mother were not the same memories that her cousins shared - partly because they grew up next door and were at the farm more.

It was interesting to hear that my great-grandfather Virgil told my great-grandmother that he had quit smoking, yet was hiding cigarette cartons out in the grain so he could smoke in the barn, to the stories of great-grandmother testing the cousins urine for blood sugar levels (diabetes runs in the family), before allowing them an ice cream treat.  Those type of stories make them a bit more colorful than just names and dates.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Wordless Wednesday : Tiny Dancer

Michelle LeMaster, Alexandria, Indiana, 1978


Found this picture of my little sister from 1978 in her dance costume.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Sugar Grove Cemetery, Wayne County, Indiana : Pierce Family


Francis S. Pierce (1806-1881) my 4th-great grandfather

Rebecca (Page) Pierce (1806-1893), my 4th-great grandmother


Stone sans aluminum foil

Albert O. Pierce and wife Sarah.  Albert was son of Francis & Rebecca (Page) Pierce

View looking back towards the church

These photos were taken earlier this year on a visit to the Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wayne County, Indiana.  My mom, dad & I headed there and into the courthouse in Richmond while working on documentation for mom's application for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The cemetery was found relatively easily, and is located in a rural area next to the church, which appears to still be in use.  The church was a United Brethren in Christ church.

I have not been able to determine that Francis or Rebecca ever attended this church, but it is possible.  More likely they were living with their son, Albert, at the time of their death and this was the nearest community cemetery.  From what I have found, there are no surviving records of the early church.  

For more on the cemetery, read here.

In order to get a better picture of the tombstones, we used aluminum foil to help bring out the inscriptions.  I feel that this didn't work out too badly.

Friday, July 15, 2016

DNA : First Cousin Match at AncestryDNA

I haven't written about my AncestryDNA matches, other than a quick post about my ethnicity results.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had a predicted first cousin match, as I knew of no one who was interested in DNA research.

Right away, I recognized which cousin this was because of who the administrator was.  This match is my paternal first cousin on the LeMaster side.

Unfortunately, AncestryDNA doesn't offer a chromosome browser to show me exactly where we match and use that to compare against other matches.

My cousin's husband and I have been corresponding, they did they DNA test for the ethnicity results, and have a tree at the site.  My cousin's results were updated to GEDMATCH, and below are the results.


GEDMatch predicts the estimated number of generations to a MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) to be 2 generations - which is correct, we share common grandparents.

We share DNA on 24 matching segments as detailed in the chart.  I will use this data to begin mapping other matches against me and my cousin.  I can check my other known paternal line matches and see where we all match and segment out the various lines to determine if the additional matches are through the LeMaster side or the Haley side.

Now I have DNA results from my paternal side at AncestryDNA and my maternal side at FamilyTreeDNA and both are uploaded to GEDMatch.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Wordless Wednesday: Shrine Circus

Evansville Press, Evansville, Indiana, November 25, 1998, page 1
My daughter, Corinne, at the Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Exploratory Data Analysis : Elizabeth (Shaw) King Cochran (1827-1900)

Elizabeth (Shaw) (King) Cochran (1827-1900) was my maternal 3rd-great grandmother.  What follows is an exploratory analysis of the biographical data I have discovered about her.

1. Vital Records

    Elizabeth was born October 29, 1829 in Fayette County, Indiana
1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
     1.1. Birth Certificate

          The State of Indiana did not require birth certificates until 1907, so no birth certificate for Elizabeth is available.

          1.1.1. Birth Notice in Newspaper

               If a Elizabeth's birth was mentioned in a local newspaper, it has been lost to time.

          1.1.2. Bible Record

               I am not aware of any surviving Bible record for the Shaw family that would record the birth of Elizabeth.  Will continue to reach out to extended family in hopes that one will be found.

          1.1.3. Baptismal Record

               I am not aware of any baptismal record for Elizabeth, nor do I know the church affiliation of the Shaw family.

          1.1.4. Adoption Record

               There is no indication that Elizabeth was adopted.

     1.2. Marriage License

          I have not been able to locate a marriage record for Elizabeth and Daniel King.  They were married December 5, 1847 in Madison County, Indiana1.  After Daniel's death, Elizabeth married William H. Cochran, circa 1876, in Madison County, Indiana.  Likewise, I have not been able to locate a marriage record for them.  The courthouse in Madison County, Indiana suffered a fire in 1880 and early marriage records were lost.

          1.2.1 Marriage Notice in Newspaper

               Will need to search contemporary newspaper accounts to see if mention was made of Elizabeth and Daniel's nuptials or Elizabeth and William's nuptials.

          1.2.2. Anniversary Notice

            Elizabeth and Daniel's 25th wedding anniversary would have been December 5, 1872.  Will need to search contemporary newspaper accounts to see if mention was made of their anniversary.
           Elizabeth passed away prior to being married for 25 years to William.

          1.2.3. Divorce Decree

              There is no indication that Elizabeth and Daniel or Elizabeth and William were ever divorced.  Will need to search court records in Madison County, Indiana in order to complete an exhaustive search.

     1.3. Death Certificate

          Elizabeth died October 10, 1900 in Frankton, Madison County, Indiana2. Her cause of death was typhoid fever.

          1.3.1. Obituary in Newspaper

               Will need to search contemporary newspapers to see if I can locate a copy of Elizabeth's obituary or death record.

          1.3.2. Funeral Home Records

               Will need to search the local historical society to see if they have funeral home records that might shed some light on Elizabeth's funeral.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

          1.3.3. Tombstone Photograph

               Elizabeth was buried in the Howard Cemetery, Pipe Creek Township, Madison County, Indiana.  There was no marker found for her in a search of the cemetery.

2. Census Records

     2.1. Federal Census Records

          2.1.1. 1900 Federal Census

               On June 13, 1900, Elizabeth was enumerated in the William Cochran household in Frankton, Madison County, Indiana7, as Elizabeth Cochran, wife, born October 1827, age 70, married 20 years.  She was the mother of 10 children, 6 of whom were living.  She was born in Ohio and her father was born in Pennsylvania and mother in Kentucky.  She could read.

          2.1.2. 1880 Federal Census

               On June 28, 1880, Elizabeth was enumerated in the Wm. H. Cochran household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana4, as Elizabeth Cochran, wife, age 50, keeping house. She was born in Indiana and her father was born in Ohio and mother born in Kentucky.

          2.1.3. 1870 Federal Census

               On September 12, 1870, Elizabeth was enumerated in the Daniel King household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana6, as Elizabeth King, age 39, keeping house, born in Indiana.

          2.1.4. 1860 Federal Census

               On July 31, 1860, Elizabeth was enumerated in the Daniel King household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana5, as Elizabeth King, age 31, born in Indiana, cannot read and write.

          2.1.5. 1850 Federal Census

                On August 21, 1850, Elizabeth was enumerated in the Daniel King household in Jackson Township, Madison County, Indiana3, as Elizabeth King, age 20, born in Tennessee.

     2.2. State Census Records

           The State of Indiana conducted census in 1853, 1857, 1871, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1919 and 1931.  These, however, were merely for the purposes of legislative apportionment.

     2.3. Agricultural Census Records

          I have not yet investigated these types of records to see what light they might shed on the Shaw or King families.

3. Military Records

     3.1. Draft Registration

          Not applicable, as Elizabeth was female.

     3.2. Pension Records

            I am not aware of any military service for Elizabeth's father or husbands that would have made her eligible for a pension.

     3.3. Service Records

          Not applicable, as Elizabeth was female.

4. Land Records

     4.1. Deed Records

          Deed records will need to be thoroughly searched in Madison County, Indiana to see what records might mention Elizabeth and husbands Daniel and William.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

     4.2. Plat map / county map

          Plat maps of Madison County, Indiana will need to be searched to see what information that can be gleaned that might be relevant for my search.

5. Supplemental Records

     Supplemental records available for research on Elizabeth include city/county directories, court records and will and probate records.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

Sources:

1. Sandra Freeman, "John William Wright - Ellen King family group sheet,", compiled [n.d.] (Alexandria, Indiana).
2. Ancestry.com. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900-2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.
3. Daniel King household, 1850 U.S. census, population schedule, Jackson Township, Madison County, Indiana, dwelling 274, family 274; National Archives micropublication M432, roll 158, page 97.
4. Wm. H. Cochran household, 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, USA, page 58, ED 21, SD 3, dwelling 451, family 453; National Archives micropublication T9, roll 293.
5. Daniel King household, 1860 U.S. census, Madison County, Indiana, population schedule, Monroe Twp., page 145, dwelling 1025, family 1023; National Archives micropublication M653, roll 277.
6. Daniel King household, 1870 U.S. census, Madison County, Indiana, population schedule, Monroe Twp., page 35, dwelling 255, family 249; National Archives micropublication M593, roll 336.
7. William Cochran household, 1900 U.S. census, Madison County, Indiana, population schedule, Frankton, ED 102, SD 67, sheet 10, dwelling 313, family 324; National Archives micropublication T623, roll 386.

This post was developed as part of the series relating to Building My 2011 Research Template, an attempt to systematically document and source the details of my ancestors' lives. Comments regarding this template and the conclusions drawn in this article are welcomed.