Christmas Tree, 2025

 

Birthday Research Trip - 2025

Spent my birthday in typical fashion by doing a genealogical research trip. This year it was a trip to the archives of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana where one of only two known copies exist of "The History and Genealogy of the Groendyke Family in the United States", published in 1950 by Howard H. Groendyke.

I'd made a trip over to the Lilly Library once before, only to find out that they were closed, so this time I planned ahead and made sure that they were going to be open and would be ready for me when I arrived.

The book was a typewritten manuscript full of information on the family, down to at least my grandparents and uncle - though they had misplaced him as a child of his grandparents.  Mr. Groendyke had spent a lot of time compiling information from various family groups from across the country.

Though I was hoping that the book might have some insight on the earlier generations, I did not find any 'aha' moments that would straighten out the earlier branches of the family.  The book did provide some background on the Dutch settlements on the South River and in New Amsterdam and some of the records found there with the early branches of the familes, but then made some suppositions as to how all of the branches were tied together.

Still nothing yet that will definitively tie our ancestor, James Groendyke (1770-1836) and wife Johanna Antonides into the earlier branches.   Many interenet trees and sources have James as a son of Nicholas and Violet Story, whereas this work seems to feel that James was the son of Nicholas and Catherine Peterson.

Either way, the tradition of James' father dying in a shipwreck is repeated here and that he was raised by an uncle.  Is that uncle the Revolutionary War soldier Johannes "John" Groenendyke (1718-1785) and wife Sarah Lake (1718-1771)? 

Will be working through the images I was able to gather from this manuscript to search for further clues, updating my database and also entries of the family on WikiTree.

FOIA Requests for C-Files

 The Reclaim The Records site just won a FOIA Lawsuit against the Veterans Administration and created a new site to allow researchers to request C-Files (Claim Files) from the VA.

These claims files, according to their press release :

A claims file, or C-File, is the collected file documenting various types of veteran benefits to which a veteran (or their family and heirs) accessed or attempted to access during or after their service, including a military pension, health care, disability or life insurance policies, educational benefits (the GI Bill), mortgage assistance (VA loans), and more.

The vast majority of these files, including all C-Files active since the early 1950s, are still stored within the VA, and have not yet been transferred to the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They often contain tens or sometimes hundreds of pages about the veteran's service and subsequent benefits, and often some basic information about their military service, incredible historical materials that have usually never been seen before.

A C-File can be just a few pages long, or sometimes even a few hundred pages long, depending on which claims were filed with the VA by veterans or their next of kin. C-File records for deceased veterans are usually completely open to the public under FOIA, although occasionally they have a few minor redactions.

So on Christmas morning, I began to request the files of some World War II veterans, including my grandfather - William Lee Wright, and my maternal uncles, Harold Lambertson and Floyd Lambertson.  I've also requested the file of my father-in-law, Luther Cummings.

It remains to be seen what information will be contained in these files, how long it will take to receive the information, and what hoops I might have to jump through - but any additional pieces of information just adds to the family history. 

Christmas Tree - 2024

 

Christmas Tree, 2024

Our Christmas Tree - December 2024 - photo taken in mid-December.

M4A2 Tank Manual - Ralph LeMaster

Was contacted by someone who found this blog and had a copy of a M4A2 Tank Manual that was written on by Ralph LeMaster and he wondered if it was the same family I had written about.

It appears that from the scribbles, that this manual was used by Ralph Vernon LeMaster (1922-2011) who was wife was Donnabell Fields and did serve in the U.S. Army.  Ralph would have been my 1st cousin once removed, a son of Chesley Franklin and Clara (Burkey) LeMaster.

    

Obituary : Peter W. Decker (1947) Crawfordsville, Indiana

Recently obtained the obituary of Peter Wilbur Decker from the Crawfordsville District Public Library.  Peter was the husband of Pansy Gilliland, sister of my great-grandmother, June.  Peter died November 1, 1947 in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana.

Peter W. Decker Expires in City

Peter W. Decker, a resident of Montgomery county for the past 26 years and an employee of the Crawfordsville Seed Company for the last three years, died suddenly at 3:45 o'clock Saturday afternoon at his residence 702 Mill street.  His death was attributed to a heart attack.

Son of William R., and Amanda Rollins Decker, the deceased was born March 13, 1889 at Beaver Dam, Ind.  He married Pansy Gilliland at Bloomington, Ind., Dec. 11, 1912.  Mr. Decker was a member of the Freedom Baptist church.

Surviving in addition to the widow and mother, the latter who resides at Browns Valley, are two sons, Wilbur R. and Robert Jean, both of Crawfordsville; one daughter, Mrs. Wandalee Purcell of Gulfport, Miss.; four brothers, Bert of Browns Valley; Alva and Bill of Louisville, Ky., and Delpherd of Fountain City, Ind. and four sisters, Mrs. James Burkett of Culver, Ind., Mrs. Leona Cowden, Mrs. Ernest Patton and Mrs. Fred Hurst, all of Bloomington.

Funeral services will be conducted at the Freedom Baptist church at 1 o'clock Tuesday afternoon in charge of Rev. H.W. Steen.  Friends may pay their respects at the Decker residence until 11o'clock Tuesday morning.

Source : "Peter W. Decker," obituary, Journal-Review, 3 November 1947, page 4, column 7.

Tombstone Tuesday : Cemetery Serendipity

Had a little bit of experience with some cemetery serendipity when at the Riverside Cemetery in Spencer, Indiana.  Right after I finished photographing the Civil War cannons and the Veterans memorial, I felt drawn to turn to my left.  There I noticed a surname that was familiar and I walked over to the gravesite.

The Schell family plot appeared before me.  Though not a blood relative, I have done research on this family due to their connections.  Elizabeth E. Walker (c1830-1907) who married Dr. Frederick A. Schell had been previously married to Eli Davis, my maternal 4th great-granduncle.

Eli Davis was the son of John and Susannah (Unknown) Davis of Monroe County, Indiana.  I do not have his birthdate, and he may have been born in Virginia.  He was married to Elizabeth E. Walker, daughter of Gideon and Susannah (May) Walker, on 29 April 1848 in Monroe County, Indiana.

Poor Eli died between the time of his marriage and May 1849, when his probate court records indicate he had died.  I know of no children born to Eli and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth married Dr. Frederick A. Schell on 14 February 1850 in Monroe County, Indiana.  They were the parents of at least three children : California, Dorothy and Walker.

Locating the tombstones, I learned that Frederick was a veterans of the Mexican War in Company I of the 16th Infantry, as well as the Civil War as assistant surgeon of the 6th Indiana Cavalry.

Frederick and Elizabeth are buried together next to all three of their children and their son-in-law

Tombstone Tuesday - Riverside Cemetery, Owen County, Indiana

 Truly enjoyed my visit to this old, historic cemetery in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana.

One of the things that fascinated me was the Veteran's Memorial Pavilion that contains Civil War Cannons and was dedicated by the Women's Relief Corp.

The enclosed frame hold the American's Creed protected by glass.  This was rededicated by the VFW in 1985.

Looks as if the GAR post was the Gettysburg Post.  Always enjoy seeing these kind of memorials in cemeteries.

This was my first visit to the cemetery, was there with the SAR for a Patriot grave marking.

Blog Anniversary

Well April 25th is the anniversary of this blog.  Even though I haven't been as active lately, it is still alive and kicking.

Thank you to everyone who has commented, shared or liked a link or post.

As always, I continue to seek out new cousins and continue to learn about my family's history.

Tombstone Tuesday : Faney Languell, Owen County, Indiana

 Over the weekend, as I attended a Patriot Grave Marking for a Revolutionary War patriot at the Riverside Cemetery in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana, I located the tombstone of my maternal 4th-great grandmother.

Fanny Reynolds was born circa 1830 in Indiana, the daughter of Jesse Reynolds and Mary "Polly" Putman.  Some records spell the surname as Runnels.  Fanny married my 4th-great grandfather, Austin Davis on 9 February 1850 in Monroe County, Indiana.  They were the parents of two children.  After Austin died, Fanny married Joseph Languell, whose surname is sometimes spelled Langwell in records.  They were the parents of six children.  While the tombstone has her name as "Faney", census and other records have it as Fanny.

Joseph's marker was on the opposite side of Fanny's.  Interesting to note that both of them died in 1883.  Fanny in June and Joseph in June.  Perhaps there was some illness that brought them down.

There marker was located in Section N of the cemetery.  

Cousin Meet-Up

This weekend, I was at Spencer, Indiana in Owen County for a Patriot Grave Marking with the SAR.

I'd reached out beforehand to my cousin, Shelby, to see if we could meet in person for the first time.  We have been corresponding through email and Facebook for awhile.

At the local McDonald's we were finally able to meet in person.

Shelby is my maternal 3rd cousin 1 generation removed.  Our common ancestor was Ida Davis (1874-1900).  Shelby descends from Ida's daughter Pansy, and I descend from daughter June.

It was nice to meet her in person and share some updates to research.  Additionally, since she now lives in the area where our common ancestors were from, she might be able to help with some on-site research.

Our common ancestral surnames : Gilliland, Davis, Reynolds, Putman, Swafford, Crockett, and Nosler - just to name a few.

COVID Didn’t Help My Genealogy

 When the pandemic hit in 2020 and the world seemed to stop for a moment, it didn’t do for my genealogy research what I thought it would do.  Working remote on a full-time basis for the first time, I was sure that I would have more time to do research.  Surely the time saved in the morning and evening commute would leave more free time to research.

Instead, I found myself working more sporadically on the family tree.  Sure, I was able to complete the goal of joining some lineage societies, but I definitely haven’t been able to keep up with day-to-day research.  Or this blog.

Work intensified and other outside commitments have eaten up much of my time. Working from home is still working, it’s not being “semi-retired” as someone referred to me when I told them I was still remote.

Many well-intentioned and half-baked projects to write about remain.  Hopefully, I’ll get them started before the next crisis draws me away.

DNA Cousin Email Template

I’ve been working on a new template to use when reaching out to my DNA matches, hoping to inspire some collaboration.  Here’s an example:

 Hello cousin -

AncestryDNA predicts that we are 2nd-3rd cousins, sharing 192cM (centimorgans) across 10 segments.

Because you also match my father, sharing 406cM (centimorgans), I know that our common ancestors must be on my paternal side.  Looking at the shared matches we have at Ancestry, many of them have ancestry in common with my Lemasters-Wehrly family lines.

Due to the absence of a  family tree at Ancestry, I have not found any commonality yet.  Are you aware of any anomalies in the family tree? 

Would like to work together with you to determine exactly where the relationship lies.  Could you provide a screenshot of your top matches at AncestryDNA or provide me access to your results?

I’ve built a family tree online that does not require membership at Ancestry, at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/LeMaster-580 .  This is a collaborative tree, and I would appreciate any corrections or additions you can provide.

If you’d prefer to share information outside of the Ancestry message system, my email is travis.lemaster@gmail.com 

I have also tested at other DNA sites - such as 23&Me, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and LivingDNA.

What are your thoughts?

Self Documentation - County Birth Certificate

 The next piece of evidence in my quest to make sure that I had documented my own existence and was able to link back through each generation was a copy of my birth certificate provided by the local county Health Department.

The scanned copy of the certificate indicated it was issued back in 1985, so this document was requested by my parents for some official purpose and ended up in my possession.  The heading on the document indicates the name of the county Board of Health and titles the document as a Certificate of Birth Registration.

The certificate gives the city and date of my birth, and lists both of my parents by their first, middle and last names - but again it does not list my mother's maiden name.

The birthplace of both of my parents is listed on this certificate.  Both of them were born in Indiana, and it gives the exact certificate number, as well as the book and page where the document is maintained.

Once again, regarding the proof standard - this document provides original, direct evidence of my parent's names - but it does not list the maiden name of my mother.  The document does, however, list the middle names of both of my parents.

My RootsMagic database has been updated with this source information and the type (original, primary, direct) in relationship to the birth fact.

For many years, this document was the extent of my self-documentation, and it would only be when I began validating my line with an eye towards joining a lineage society, did I realize that my data was incomplete.  

Earlier posts on this topic include Documenting Myself and Even Weak Evidence Can Teach.

Self Documentation - Hospital Birth Certificate

 It has been over a year since I'd posted any updates on my quest to begin making sure I had adequate documentation of each generation, starting with myself.  Building out a timeline of each event and keeping a research log, the objective of my first report was "to identify the parentage of Travis LeMaster, born [redacted] in [redacted], Indiana."

One of my first pieces of evidence that I examined in my possession was a copy of my birth certificate.  I had two versions - one provided by the hospital itself and one that came from the county Health Department.

The scanned copy of the hospital birth certificate in my collection is not an official, legal document, but rather a ceremonial one provided by the hospital to new parents.  I can remember growing up that this birth certificate was used to verify my age during Little League baseball and other sports teams.  I doubt that it would pass muster in today's world.

The certificate is embossed with the logo of the hospital

The certificate states my full name : first, middle and surname and states the day of the week I was born (Tuesday) as well as the time of birth - 12:50 a.m.  The certificate is signed by the hospital administrator and lists the name of the attending physician, Dr. Paul E. Jarrett, M.D.

Regarding the proof standard, this document provides original direct evidence of my parents, but it does not list the maiden name of my mother.

In order to prove the link between myself and my parents, I would need additional evidence that would list my mother's maiden name.

Earlier posts on this topic include Documenting Myself and Even Weak Evidence Can Teach.

Experimenting with WikiTree

 As you might have noticed from the widget on the right side of the blog, I’ve been working with creating and updating profiles on WikiTree.  

I’m finding I enjoy the wiki format, and the fact that it can be a good source of ‘cousin bait’ to help find other researching with common interest.

I’m working slowly on my direct line ancestors, adding them or updating them with sources, if not already listed.  

Another project I’m working on was adding individuals who served with my ancestors in their Civil War unit.  Hopefully, some descendants of these men might have additional source material relevant to the unit history or even interactions with my ancestor.

Another plus for WikiTree is that it isn’t behind a paywall, so search engines such as Google will find the research and perhaps bring others to collaborate.

One more place to help share the research on the family.

Happy New Year - 2023

 Another year has come - 2023 seems to have come faster than previous years.  It must be a sign of my old age.

This year was full of challenges, both personal and professionally, but I can't totally blame those challenges for my lack of dedication to maintaining this blog.  A bit of laziness touched with lack of progress is the culprit.

If there's one thing that the past year has taught me, it's that life is short.  I lost family and co-workers in 2022 to both the expected and the unexpected.

Here's hoping that 2023 will be better.

Madison County Indiana Locality Guide

 As mentioned previously, one of my projects has been to create locality guides for places where my ancestors lived to aid in finding resources.

On my maternal side, Madison County, Indiana is a place my family has been since its early days.

The United States acquired the land that became Madison County from the Native Americans in the 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne, and by the 1818 Treaty of St. Marys, considerably more territory became the property of the government.  The county was formed 4 January 1823 from lands governed by the Delaware New Purchase.

Madison County was named for James Madison, 4th President of the United States.

• County Seat : Anderson
• Largest City : Anderson
• Record Loss : 1880

A link to the locality guide that I've been working on is here. Any suggestions or additions to additional resources will be appreciated.

Some of the surnames and when they arrived (approximately) in Madison County:

• Wright (1867)
• Lambertson (1918)
• Pierce (1864)
• King (1840)
• Shaw (1847)
• Groenendyke (1842)
  
• Penisten (1840)

Notating AncestryDNA Matches

Sunday morning is suppossed to be the day when I work on my DNA matches. 

Today it was my AncestryDNA matches who had the workout.  I began by filtering my match list by unviewed recent matches.

Today's matches were all in the predicted 4th-6th cousin range, with the highest cM totals being 27cM.

I went through each match by first opening up the match by clicking on the name.  Many had no public family trees or had trees that were not very complete.  I then selected the Shared Matches tab to see who we both shared DNA with.

Remember, AncestryDNA will only show you a match who shares 20cM of DNA with both you and the match.

Once I opened the shared matches between us, I scrolled down the match list to see what notes I may have already entered for the shared matches.  

If I notice a pattern of shared matches notes which might indicate descent from a particular line, I consider that a clue and add a note to the current match for further reference.  For example, if the shared matches indicate descent from the Crockett-Hedge lines, I would put a note in this new matches profile that indicates they have ICW (In Common With) matches on the Crockett-Hedge lines.

Until I do further research on this line, there's no guarantee that this match descends from my ancestral Crockett-Hedge line, but at least I have a clue where to start.

When AncestryDNA predicts a Common Ancestor between us, I indicate that by notating that we have a Predicted MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) and indicate the ancestral couple.  Later, I can work the match filters by Common Ancestors and verify the path of descent.  When I verify the descent, I indicate the Relationship (ie. 2C1R for 2nd Cousin Once Removed) and add each generation in the notes down to the match.

On those occassion where AncestryDNA is telling me that the match and I descend from a couple in my ThruLines that has not been verified yet, I simply note that match as "Hold for further review".  There are a few ThruLines predicted for me that are very speculative.

Today, I had a couple of matches that appeared with shared matches that I had no notes indicating any identified relationships.  Those I simply marked as "Hold for further review".

I've used this method to weed through the matches in a fairly quick fashion.

Multi-generational Birthday Photo

LeMaster family, Evansville, Indiana, 5 Nov 2022

A week ago, I was able to spend my birthday in a manner that I don't believe has ever happened - with not only my daughter and grandchildren, but with my parents as well.  As we gathered for a breakfast in Evansville, I was able to convince the waitress to capture the moment and create a memory - a four-generation photo.

Likely it has been twenty years since my daughter and I have been together on my birthday.  The fact that we were able to meet on the actual day and have all of us together makes the family historian in me smile.  Bonus for me was to see my daughter on her birthday weekend, as her birthday is two days after mine.  I enjoy a lot of mileage out of the corny 'dad joke' that she has been my favorite present.

We were able to spend some time together, enjoy a meal, spend some time shopping and hearing all about school with the grandkids before returning home.

I've always been intrigued by multi-generation photos and now I have a pretty good one to capture a moment in time when we were all together.