Exploring WWII U.S. Navy Records Online

Ancestry has placed the U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 online, and what a lot of good information I've found this Memorial Day.  The muster rolls give information such as the sailor's name, his service number, when and where they enlisted, as well as movements from ship to ship.  

• John M. High - he was my maternal great-uncle.  Served aboard the USS Oklahoma and survived Pearl Harbor.  He came onboard the Oklahoma on 9-3-1938 and enlisted in the Navy on 4-10-1937.  It appears he was aboard the USS Sepulga after the attack.

• Floyd Ray Lambertson - another maternal great-uncle.  He served aboard LST 779, the ship that supplied the famous flag photographed at Iwo Jima.  He enlisted 1-4-1944 at Indianapolis, Indiana and was rated as a "Comm. Rep." [Navy friends - help me out here]

I did not find everyone that I believe should be listed in this database.  Perhaps not all have been indexed.  The information provided is very valuable, including service numbers of the men who served.

Baby Steps: My Ancestry.com Family Tree

LeMaster Family Tree on Ancestry.com

I've taken some baby steps and created a family tree on Ancestry.com.  I've been a member of Ancestry for quite some time, but didn't have my own family tree posted there. At one time I had uploaded my entire GEDCOM database, but I soon deleted it as it was unwieldy.  Now I'm working on creating my tree one branch at a time, working to have the best information, sources and photos possible.  My id on Ancestry is tjlgenes.

The process of creating a tree at Ancestry is very easy and straight-forward.  Even though privacy of living individuals is assured, I decided to input myself and my parents as simply Living, along with the surname and no dates.  

I've resisted the urges to click on the little green leaves that give "hints" because right now I know these individuals pretty well and doubt there will be anything new in the hints.  As I add information further back, or add my wife's line, I will probably look at them more closely.  Already, I've received emails from Ancestry suggesting census records, etc. to link with my great-grandparents.  I haven't yet done that, but will once I enter all of the facts and provide the source material.

I've been trying to locate photos of each of my direct line to add to the family tree as well.  Doing this has been an eye-opener, as I've finding out that I didn't have as many photos of some branches of the tree as I thought.

Right now, the tree only has my direct line back to my great-great grandparents.  Surnames include: LeMaster(s), Chew, Wehrly, Smith, Haley, Sherrick, Metzner, Moulton, Wright, King, Pierce, Penisten, Lambertson, Beals and Davis.

In addition to this mini-tree, I have my entire database backed-up as on WorldConnect at database tjlgenes.

Candidate for Fourth Ward, Elyria, Ohio (1902)

Source: The Weekly Chronicle (Elyria, Ohio), April 5, 1902, page 4.

This snippet listing the candidates for 4th Ward of the City of Elyria, Ohio in 1902 lists my paternal great-granduncle, William Clifford LeMASTER (1871-1922) as a candidate.  He was successful in the election.

I have enjoyed scouring through the newspaper collections of Elyria at Ancestry.com, obtaining tidbits of information about his life.

William was born in Darke County, Ohio, grew up in Jay County, Indiana and moved to Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio shortly after his marriage in 1892.  He lived there until 1904, when he moved west to Colorado.

When You Break The Microfilm Reader, It's Time To Go Home

Microfilm reader at Jay County Public Library

My first research trip of 2011 turned out to be a productive one.  I had planned a visit to the Jay County Public Library in Portland, Indiana in order to obtain copies of obituaries from the local newspaper.  Prior to my trip, I had created a "to-do list" using the features of my RootsMagic database.

Though my focus was going to be strictly on obituaries, I decided to contact the Jay County Historical Society via email to see if by chance someone could come in on Saturday and let us look around.  Normally, the museum is only opened through the week.  On my last research trip, the microfilm reader at the library stopped working, and I wanted to have a back up plan in case it was broken again.

My dad wanted to go with me on this trip, and I was excited to have him come along.  He's been getting interested in family history again, reading my blog daily, doing off site research and preparing mini-history books on our ancestors.  We met at 7 a.m. in the morning and headed out to Portland.

Arriving at the library, my cell phone rang and it was Tom Young from the Historical Society letting me know that he could open the museum for us and let us do some research.  We agreed to meet at 10 a.m., so that still gave dad and I a few hours at the library.

As I quickly began to scour the local newspapers, which stretch back into the 1880s, I was pleased with the rate of success.  At only $0.15 per copy, these obituaries are a bargain.  I only wish that the entire collection of these small town newspapers were online somewhere, such as Ancestry, so that I could do an every name search and locate tidbits of information about the daily lives of the families.  The society notes in the earlier newspapers are great sources of information.

Just before 10 a.m., we headed down the Historical Society, where we met Tom.  My dad and Tom graduated from Portland High School in the same class, and as we talked we also realized that we have a distant connection through the Haley-Easterday families.  Tom mentioned that he has read my blog, always nice to hear that as well.  Will have to see what more information I could share with Tom about the Haley and Easterday families.

I wanted to focus on the records of the township schools at the museum, and right away dad found a school photo from 1931-32 of Mt. Zion school in Noble Township that had included his mother, Ruth Pauline Haley.  Fortunately, someone had taken the time to identify each and every person in the photo.  Very serendipitous to find such a picture right off the bat.

We spent about two hours at the museum, where I obtained copies of anniversary notices from the local newspapers, recipes submitted by family members to locally-published cookbooks, funeral home records and marriage supplemental transcript records.  Someone had taken the time to print these from the courthouse and place them in binders at the Historical Society, giving me access to information that normally would have been locked up at the courthouse on a weekend.

It's easy to get so involved in your research that you forget to eat, but around noon we decided that we'd better not overstay our welcome with Tom. We thanked him for letting us research on Saturday, and headed to lunch for a sandwich.

After lunch, we called my aunt Juanita and uncle Harold, and found out they were home.  We were able to visit with them for a good couple of hours, sharing the information we had just discovered.  Dad gave Juanita a booklet he had put together on the Lemasters family, including records on our ancestors' Civil War service.  Harold and Juanita shared some memories about the members of the families in the obits I had discovered.  My cousin Mark and his wife and daughter showed up right as we were leaving, and it was good to see them again.  Dad told them about this blog, so hopefully they will check it out and see some of the information we've discovered.

Then it was back to the library for a couple more hours of research.  Dad was digging into the plat maps and the city directories while I was burning up the microfilm reader printing obituaries.  As in the morning, was able to make great headway.  Just around 4 p.m., however, the microfilm reader decided it was time to surrender.  The reel just refused to advance forward or backwards. That was my cue that it was time to call it a day.  After notifying the staff of the problems, we decided to pack it in and call it a day.

We called my uncle Paul and aunt Betty, found out they were home, and stopped by for a visit on the way out of town.  We again shared the research and gave them a copy of the family history dad had put together.  Uncle Paul remembered some stories and shared a few tidbits about the family members whose obituaries I had obtained.  Cousin Nancy stopped by and we found out she is getting married in June; also saw cousin Phil briefly.

It was a long day, but a good day from a research standpoint.  Now I just have to source the data, and will post copies of the obituaries on the blog.

Finds from the visit to the Jay County Public Library:

• Information regarding the 1949 polio epidemic in Portland, something I want to document as it affected my family
• Obituary of Patty Lou LeMaster, age 12, from the November 1, 1945 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Maxine Elizabeth LeMaster, age 10, from the April 4, 1931 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• LeMaster, Sr., age 77, from the January 14, 1980 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Clarence Harrison LeMaster, age 75, from the November 29, 1963 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Elvin Cooper LeMaster, age 87, from the May 17, 2000 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Garth Luman LeMaster, Sr., age 76, from the February 6, 1998 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Bertha A. (LeMasters) Hercules, age 69, from the January 2, 1962 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of John Leland LeMaster, Jr., age 50, from the March 28, 1973 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of William A. LeMaster, age 54, from the October 16, 1978 edition of The Commerical-Review.
• Obituary of Roger A. LeMaster, age 45, from the March 6, 1972 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Bertha (LeMasters) Yaeger, age 47, from the March 17, 1922 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Beulah S. (LeMasters) Rockwell, from the July 18, 1940 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Catherine Elizabeth (Lemasters) Wehrly, from the December 26, 1911 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Ralph V. LeMaster, age 73, from the February 1, 1996 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Floyd LeMasters, Sr., from the February 12, 1982 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Mary Elsie (LeMasters) Atkinson, age 70, from the June 5, 1942 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Ord Otterbein LeMasters, from the September 15, 1937 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Rachel (Lemasters) Cunningham, from the March 12, 1913 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Maude (LeMasters) Phillips, from the September 16, 1968 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Matthias Jefferson Atkinson, age 59, from the August 25, 1923 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Ferry Mae (Bickel) LeMaster, age 86, from the July 21, 1978 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Ora Lee (Brady) LeMaster, age 87, from the April 16, 2008 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Clara L. (Burkey) LeMaster, age 90, from the October 31, 1985 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Dr. William Anderson Chew, from the January 7, 1914 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Carrie V. (Haley) Thornburg, age 98, from the August 6, 2003 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Obituary of Larry LeMaster, age 24, from the February 28, 1974 edition of The Commercial-Review.
• Wedding announcement of Ora Lee Brady and Garth L. LeMaster from the May 11, 1942 edition of The Commercial-Review.

Finds from the visit to the Jay County Historical Society:

• Photograph of my grandmother, Ruth Pauline Haley, int he Mt. Zion School of Noble Township, 1931-32.
• Funeral record of Frank Haley, August 1, 1937 from the Baird Funeral Home.
• Marriage supplemental record of Pearl M. Metzner to Edward H. Baumgartner from June 2, 1915.
• Marriage supplemental record of Archibald E. Chew from October 27, 1909.
• Marriage supplemental record of Mamie Petry from October 12, 1907.
• 45th Anniversary announcement of Mr. and Mrs. Lisle Wehrly, from April 1, 1969.
• 50th Anniversary announcement of Mr. and Mrs. Vern Haley, from March 3, 1966.
• LeMaster entries in the 1927 Jay County Directory
• LeMaster entries in the 1941 Portland, Indiana City Directory
• LeMaster entries in the 1949 Portland, Indiana City Directory

I'm looking forward to planning out my next research trip.  

Election Day, 1900 : The Vote in Detail

Source: The Elyria Republican, Elyria, Ohio, April 5, 1900, page 1

Thanks to Ancestry.com, I've found out that my paternal great-granduncle, William Clifford LeMASTER, was elected as the Fourth Ward Councilman for the city of Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio in 1900.  Republicans only one two of the four wards in the city, and William received more votes than any other councilman.  He received 247 votes to his opponents 119 votes.

The article was fascinating, not so much for the family history, but for the grandstanding and spin that the editors put into their articles.  Granted, this was a Republican house organ, but the manner in which they complained about the democratic shenanigans was pretty funny.  Makes what goes on today seem tame.

The article is partially transcribed below:

TWO WOMEN WERE ELECTED

Will Serve On Elyria's Board of Education.

MANY BALLOTS WERE REJECTED

School Bond Issue Approved By Large Ward Majorities - Democrats Make Slight Gains

Monday's election in Elyria, while not without its surprises, was generaly satisfactory to republicans under the existing conditions.

The advantage which the democrats gained in keeping the republican nominees off the ticket served to elect democratic councilmen in the second and third wards, democratic assessor in the second ward, and made the margins in other contests closer than is consistent with the customary republican majorities.

The conditions affecting the election were such as to make both sides active in getting out the voters, and a large vote was polled.

WOMEN ATTEND THE POLLS

For the first time in the history of local politics the women exercised the franchise in the selection of members of the school board, and the two women candidates were triumphantly elected.  All day long they thronged the polling places, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather.  They came in pairs, or small groups, singly and with male escorts.  Their vote aggregated 334, being highest in the fourth ward, where 124 women voted.  Many republicans voted for the women's ticket.  It is alike flattering to the chivalry and sense of the voters that Miss Metcalf and Mrs. Young were elected.  In affairs which pertain to the welfare of the young, the counsel of women is never to be despised.

BALLOTS IMPROPERLY MARKED

Many ballots were thrown out as being improperly marked.  In some wards tickets all written out and voted straight with an X under the eagle were accepted, and in others thrown out.  The intention of these will be probably made matters of contest before the proper authorities.

The partisan complexion of the council remains unchanged, two democratic members going out this spring.

The school bond issue carried by large majorities in each ward.  The vote on the issue of bonds was 934 for and 258 against.

Carlisle, which is in this school district, gave for the board of education, Chamberlain, one vote, Miss Metcalf, two votes, Dr. Sampsel and Thos. Seward two votes each.

MAJORITIES OF WINNING CANDIDATES

The winning candidates with their respective majorities follow:

Water Works Trustee

P.H. Boynton, R.............................37

Councilmen

First Ward - R.B. Dersch, R.............93

Second Ward - Grant Grundy, D.....93

Third Ward - Martin Mueller.............61

Fourth Ward - W.C. LeMaster.......128

[end of transcription]

Bonnie Lambertson : 1938 Yearbook photo

My maternal grandmother, Bonnie LAMBERTSON, was a freshman in the 1938 Elwood, Indiana High School Crescent Yearbook, found at Ancestry.com.  She appears in the top row, far right.

I've cropped and rotated the image, and think that she looks a bit like my daughter at that age.

Floyd "Wimp" Lambertson's Yearbook?

While searching at Ancestry.com, I was perusing the 1937 Elwood, Indiana High School Yearbook (The Crescent), looking for information on my relatives.  I found this image containing many signatures of classmates - and in the upper right you can see the name Floyd LAMBERTSON, with the nickname "Wimp" written underneath.

At first, I thought this might have been my maternal great-uncle's way of signing the yearbook, but now I am wondering if this was his actual yearbook, and somehow it ended up being imaged by Ancestry.com.  The reason I feel this way is that his name is printed, rather than in cursive.

I'm not sure how Ancestry.com obtained the copies of the yearbooks in its collection, but they have the Elwood, Indiana ones from the years 1937 through 1940.

With A Little Help From My Friends

Thanks to the encouragement of my friends Earline from Ancestral Notes and Apple from Apple's Tree, I've added a GEDCOM to my user ID at Ancestry.com.  Hopefully others who may be researching my lines will find the information useful, and I can make even more connections. 

I decided to use a GEDCOM that includes not only my daughter's ancestry, but my stepdaughters' as well.  Hopefully, that will generate more 'hits' of potential new information and collaboration with other researchers. This tree contains more 'sourced' information than the tree I have at World Connect, which contains the whole database.

I haven't added any photographs to this tree yet, although I may in the future.  As I understand it, if I upload a replacement GEDCOM, I will lose the attached information previously added.

As my genea-blogging friends pointed out, you can never have too many places to share your tree and make connections.

© 2010, copyright Travis J. LeMaster http://tjlgenes.blogspot.com