Additional branch of the Jacobs line

It's Christmas morning, I'm the only one awake, so of course I'm working on genealogy. Going through my old files, I found an email I had saved from the JACOBS-L list regarding William JACOBS and Sybil LITTEL that has given me more leads and avenues of further research.

Back in 2005, June Jordan had written to the list regarding sorting out the data regarding the various JACOBS families in Brown County, Ohio and what she had discovered regarding William. Turns out William was not of her line, but she did an excellent job in pointing future researchers in the right direction by retracing her steps and giving sources for where she found her information.

According to her research, my William was the son of Jacob and Hannah (JOHNSON) JACOBS of Monongalia County, Virginia. Doing a quick Google search on Jacob, looks like there is quite a bit of information out there on him in the early records of Monongalia County - where he may have crossed paths with my Lemaster relatives - looks like I have some letters to write, etc.

William had at least two sisters, Rebecca who married Samuel Frazee, and Hannah who married a ________ Harbert. Samuel Frazee was a Revolutionary War veteran, as was Jacob Jacobs.

The email also gave information regarding Sybil Littel's sister, Rhoda Rilea, who was the widow of Revolutionary War veteran, Richard Rilea. Richard died 1839 in Brown County, Ohio.

Runaway Chew women

Working through some of the miscellaneous records in my files, I came across these two records that I saved from the CHEW mailing list on Rootsweb.

April 25, 1781: Gloucester County, April 23, 1781 To all whom it may concern, whereas my wife Elizabeth Chew, regardless of the Solemn obligation of matrimony, hath, during my captivity with the enemy, been guilty of the act of incontinency ....Aaron Chew

April 5, 1748; Whereas ANNE, the wife NATHANIEL CHEW, at the head of Timber-creek in Gloucester County, has disposed of some of her said husband's goods, without his knowledge, and ran him in debt; this is therefore to desire all persons not to trust her anymore on his account, not to buy any goods of her that she may offer to sale, for he will pay no debts of her contracting, nor allow of her selling any of his goods, from the date hereof. NATHANIEL CHEW

Both of these were quotes taken from the book "Runaway Women, Elopements And Other Miscreant Deeds, As Advertised In The Pennsylvania Gazette - 1728 -1789. (together with a few abused wives and unfortunate children)." Compiled by Judith Ann Highley Meier. Published by Closson Press. 1993.

I'm not sure which Aaron Chew family that this information relates to, and I believe that the Nathaniel Chew mentioned is the son of Nathaniel and Mary (Clark) Chew, who married Anne Gibbons. More research will need to be done to try to tie these records to individuals in my database. The book that these snippets were taken from sounds like an interesting read. Early newspapers are always full of juicy family tidbits.

Miss Hazel O'Bryant Entertained a Party of Friends

Alexandria Times-Tribune, Thursday, March 2, 1905, page 1.

ENTERTAINED HER FRIENDS

Miss Hazel O'Bryant Entertained a Party of Friends at Her Home Tuesday Night.

Miss Hazel O'Bryant entertained at her home on West Jefferson on Tuesday evening, in honor of her birthday anniversary. A very enjoyable time was had by all, the evening being spent with games and music. Refreshments were served after which the guests collected around the mysterious table, waiting until a late hour to see it move.

Those present were Dora Frank, Bessie Horne, Winnie Hurlock, Eva Schwinn, Bessie Bowers, Thera Carver, Jennie Kendall, Shirley Pickard, Pearl Coffin, Thurman Hall, Omer Broyles, Hugh Kerr, Allen McKenna, Carl Jones, Ashel Cunningham, Otto Frank, Doxey Pickard, Jay Crouse, Howard Brattain and Ray Hupp.

[Hazel O'Bryant was my maternal 2nd-great grandaunt. She married Jesse WRIGHT on June 10, 1916 in Madison County, Indiana]

Cousin Kellie's Blog

My first cousin Kellie in North Carolina has been blogging about her family life and creating family history memories at her site, Country Life. Reading about her her family's adventures helps remind me that family history is more than just people and dates. It is these day to day recording of the family history that will be carried on to the next generation.

The blog does a good job of telling the story of how they live, deal with current events and their relationships with family and friends. Many years down the road this will be something her kids and grandkids can look back upon and say 'remember when?'

North Carolina has a lot of interesting history, and we share a lot of Quaker ancestry that came from areas such as Guilford and Chatham counties. I hope to someday be able to visit her and see some of the historic sites that she's chronicled in her blog.

Google Books fill in the gaps

Google's Book Search has become an addictive and fruitful part of my research over the past few days. So much so that I find myself easily distracted, chasing down one rabbit hole or another.

I began by searching on the Philbrick line and came across a copy of Rev. Jacob Chapman's "A Genealogy of the Philbrick and Philbrook Families: Descended from the Emigrant, Thomas Philbrick, 1583-1687". My connection to the Philbrick family comes through my paternal 3rd-great grandmother, Emeline PHILBRICK (1820-1881) who married Albert MOULTON. As I had very little data on the family in my database, I was eager to see what this genealogy had to say. Through this genealogy, I was able to add seven more generations to this line. As I did other study on collateral lines, I was also able to learn more about colonial America and the Province of New Hampshire.

Soon I found myself searching for other collateral lines and learning about ancestors who came over during the Great Migration with the Winthrop Fleet. I finally had to remind myself to just stick with one task at a time. The good thing about Google Book Search is that you can add titles to "My Library" and go back search or browse to your hearts' content later.

The great thing about Google Book Search is that you can search in your pajamas and at any time of the day, something that is especially nice during these winter months when you don't want to venture out. They are continuing to add other libraries to their search database, and just recently added several magazines to the search capabilities, such as Life. Check it out!

Richard Alderman Land Entry: Madison County, Indiana

Going through my scanned genealogy files, I found this land entry record from the National Archives for my maternal fourth great-grandfather, Richard Alderman (1810-aft1870). I had originally located this record through the GLO records website.



Richard's land entry was made August 1, 1839 in Madison County, Indiana in Section 22, Township 19-N, Range 7-E. The patent number was 2953 and the land office was the Indianapolis land office. Richard's 40 acres were authorized by the Land Act of 1820.



No. 29563 Land Office, Indianapolis December 20 1836



IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED, That, in pursuance of Law, Richard Alderman of Madison county, State of Indiana, on this day purchased of the Register of this Office, the lot or North East quarter of the South East quarter of section number Twenty two in township number Nineteen north of range number Seven East containing Forty acres, at the rate of one dollar and twenty five cents per acre, amounting to forty dollars and cents, for which the said Richard Alderman has made payment in full as required by law.



NOW THEREFORE BE IT KNOWN, That, on presentation of this certificate to the COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE, the said Richard Alderman shall be entitled to receive a patent for the lot above described.



A. St. Clair, Register

Land Office at Indianapolis

Dec 20th 1836

I Richard Alderman of Madison county, Ind do hereby apply for the purchase of NE qt of SE section, No. 22 Township No. 19 N. Range No. 7 E. containing 40 acres and ___ hundreths, according to the returns of the Surveyor General, for which I have agreed with the Register to give at the rate of $ 1 25 per acre.

Richard Alderman
X
his mark

I, Arthur St. Clair, Register of the Land Office, do hereby certify that the lot above described contains forty acres ___ hundreths as mentioned, and that the price agreed upon is $ 1 25 per acre.

A. St. Clair
Register

Alex man was on Oklahoma at Pearl

Source : Anderson Herald-Bulletin, Anderson, Indiana, Sunday, December 8, 1991.



Alex man was on Oklahoma at Pearl by Jim Bannon.



When we put together our special Pearl Harbor anniversary section recently, we contacted some people in this area who were survivors of the attack.



Another survivor turned up later, and even though we couldn't get his story in the Pearl Harbor section, I thought it deserved telling.



John M. High is 72 years old now and lives in Alexandria. On the morning of December 7, 1941, he was a ship's cook first class serving on the battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma, anchored along battleship row at Pearl Harbor.



High has been in bad health recently, suffering two heart attacks and a stroke and his story was told to me by his son, Charles, of Anderson, who works at Delco Remy.



When the attack came, High was in his bunk, since he had just come off nightwatch.



The Oklahoma was hit hard. It caught fire and, though it did not sink, it rolled over. Many on board lost their lives.



John High managed to get from below deck to the main deck. Smoke and fire were everywhere. He jumped over the rail and swam through burning oil to safety.



His son says the one story that sticks out in his mind that his father tells of that day is the one about a Catholic priest. It seems several men on the ship were trapped by flames and the only way out was through a porthole.



The priest, a portly man, helped push 12 men through that porthole to safety. But when he tried to get through he got stuck and drowned when the ship capsized. "He saved those 12 men but he couldn't save himself," the younger High said.



He said his father never talked much about Pearl Harbor and World War II. He talked more about it after he had his first heart attack, Charles High said.



A twist on High's story was that his parents were notified their son was missing in action. High was from Rowesburg, W. Va. The message they received read: "The Navy Department deeply regrets to inform you that your son, John M. High, is missing following action in the service of his country."

The message added that to prevent any possible aid to the enemy, the parents should not divulge the name of the ship he served on or where it was stationed.

Then on Jan. 2, 1942, his parents got the wonderful news that John was, indeed, safe. John High went on to serve the rest of World War II with the Navy in the Pacific, serving on several different ships.

He went almost nine years without seeing his parents, from 1936 to 1945.

How did he get to Alexandria? He met his wife while in the Navy. She was from Alex and when the war ended they settled there. High worked at Pierce Governor in Anderson for awhile and then joined Haynes Stellite Corp. in Kokomo. He retired from Cabot Corp. (which bought Haynes) in Kokomo.

"My father is a very patriotic person," Charles High said, "He has a great love for his country."

[John M. High married my maternal great-aunt, Clara Ellen Wright- TJL]

Day of Infamy : Alex Man Survived Pearl Harbor

Source: Alexandria Times-Tribune, December 11, 1991.

Day of Infamy: Alex Man Survived Pearl Harbor by Stephen Dick

It was the Day of Infamy. 50 years ago. Sleepy Pearl Harbor Navla [sic] Base in Hawaii, where reveille had been about an hour old. Sailors were waking up, taking showers, ands [sic] finding their way to the mess decks for a steaming cup of coffee.

The ships were lined up in port. On Battleship Row were some of the Navy's mightiest warships, named after the states. The USS Arizona has become the most famous but sitting two ships away, outboard from another battleship, was the USS Oklahoma. On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, a first class cook named John M. High, already a five-year veteran of the Navy, was preparing chow for his shipmates. Just another Sunday morning, the ship probably in holiday routine.

While the men ate their breakfasts, the waters 200 miles north of Oahu were infested with Japanese ships including six carriers loaded with warplanes. Around 8 a.m. the squadron of Japanese bombers snaked around the mountain ridges that bordered Oahu. Past the mountains and over the sea the bombers turned north toward Pearl Harbor and dropped their lethal cargo on the unsuspecting men below. For a half hour 183 planes decimated much of the US's second fleet. Twenty ships were damaged, many sunk, including the USS Oklahoma where John High, like his shipmates, may have thought the apocalypse was upon them.

High went topside, saw the carnage, and knew his ship was going down. The ship had suffered repeated torpedo assaults. He had no recourse but to jump into the water which was covered with burning oil. High suffered some mild burns and was forced to swim under water to shore.

Soon his ship lay on the bottom of Pearl Harbor along with the Arizona and others. Also at the bottom were his naval records. He was listed as missing in action for six weeks after the attack. When High, who was from West Virginia, ran into a man he knew from home, the man was incredulous. "We thought you were dead." he told High.

John M. High is alive to this day, and makes his home in Alexandria. He moved here in the late Forties with his wife, Clara Ellen Wright, who was from Alexandria. Because he survived Pearl Harbor, where 2,000 soldiers and sailors died, High was honored last Saturday, the 50th anniversary of the attack, by the Alexandria Veterans of Foreign Wars where he was made an honorary member.

High is not the youth he was when he heard and felt the Japanese bombs falling that morning. At 72, he suffered a stroke two years ago and does very little nowadays. But Clara said he enjoyed the ceremony on Saturday. "John got emotional about it," she said.

When he was 22, however, he was more worried about getting his pay than he was about the historical significance of the bombing. When he tried to get paid, long after the attack, he was told he'd have to wait because of his missing records. High told the Navy he'd be going home. He got paid, and spent the war years in the Pacific on a number of ships. Clara could not recall their names but said he was often in combat situations.

In 1945, with the war over, John was transferred to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. There he met Clara, a WAVE, who had joined the Navy from Alexandria. They married in 1945. He was the chief commissaryman at Great Lakes until his discharge in 1947.

The couple came back to Alexandria to make their home. John worked at a number of jobs including Stellite in Alexandria. He was transferred by that company to Kokomo and retired from there in 1984.

The couple had two sons, Charles, who served with the Army as an MP, in El Paso, Texas, and Phillip, who also joined the Army and spent time in Korea.

During the years where the war retreated into memory, John and Clara frequently went to reunions of survivors of the USS Oklahoma. There the stories and memories flowed. A compartment full of men had sunk with the ship, but in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor they had made enough noise to be heard. When they were rescued by divers, they had spent time in pitch black darkness with water up to their necks. Then there was a priest aboard from Dubuque, Iowa, who rescued many men by forcing them out of a small porthole into the water. The priest had perished, however, as he was too large to fit through the opening.

Clara said that attending the survivors' reunions was like getting together with family. One reunion took place in Hawaii and a survivor from Mississippi was told by his doctor that his health wouldn't allow such a long trip. He told the doctor he'd rather be dead in Pearl Harbor than alive in Gulfport. He went and he returned.

The last reunion the Highs attended was in, aptly enough, Oklahoma City in 1990. Because of John's illness they did not attend the 1991 reunion, and will likely miss the 1992 get-together in Norfolk, Va.

But the memories and heroic actions of men under extreme conditions remain as an inspiration to us all. As VFW Commander Bill Tankersley said at Saturday's ceremony, "America answered the call and the rest is history."

The USS Arizona remains at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, a memorial to that day of infamy, and a reminder that we live in a volatile, unpredictable world. And what of the USS Oklahoma? She was raised and was going to be repaired. But as tugboats were pulling her out to sea, the lines broke and the ship sank again. The Navy let her rest. It was her men, not herself, that answered the call 50 years ago. John High was one of those men.

Nathan C. Beals, Probate Judge

While searching at Google Book Search, I found an interesting tidbit about my maternal 5th great grandfather, Nathan C. Beals (1789-1867). Nathan was mentioned in the book, Courts and Lawyers of Indiana by Leander John Monks, Logan Esarey, and Ernest Vivian Shockley. The book was published by Federal Pub. Co., in 1916 and was digitized from the Harvard University.

The mention on page 751 states, "Nathan C. Beals was the first Probate Judge (1844-46) of Howard county. He was a plain, good natured, unsophisticated farmer, and a man of average intellect. Benjamin Lesoura, who succeeded Beals, was an honest, upright and industrious citizen, and a farmer by occupation. Nathan C. Beals was elected to succeeded Judge Lesoura, and he, in turn, was followed by Robert Ervin, who served until the office was abolished."

At the time that he served, the county was known as Richardville county. Howard county was organized out of the Miami Reservation as Richardville county by act of the Indiana State Legislature on January 15, 1844. On December 28, 1846 the name of the county was changed to Howard by another act of the State Legislature.

Nathan appears in the 1850 census of Howard county in Taylor township with his occupation listed as a millwright, age 61, birthplace unknown. The 1860 census of Howard county shows his age as 70, born in Tennessee. Nathan was born 1789-9mo-3rd within the confines of Lost Creek Monthly Meeting, Jefferson County, Tennessee. He died 1867-9mo-5d in Humboldt, Richardson Co., Nebraska.

Ambitious Project

Yesterday I began the rather ambitious project of transcribing the newspapers of Alexandria found in the Alexandria-Monroe Public Library. The history room has the Alexandria Times-Tribune starting with March 1, 1905. The Times began in 1885 and merged with the Tribune (began in 1898) in 1903 to become the Times-Tribune. Most of my maternal ancestry was in the Alexandria area at that time, and my hope is that by embarking on this project I will discover new data about my family.

Alexandria was a booming place in those early days due to the discovery of natural gas. The town was settled in 1836. By 1890, the population was only 715 but by 1900 the population had grown to 7,221, of which 1005 were foreign born, according to the 1910 Encyclopedia Britannica. Population growth of over 700 percent was a direct result of the numerous factories that at one time existed in the area.

I will be posting the articles that I transcribe to the INMADISO-L mailing list at Rootsweb. This is a mailing list dedicated to those seeking information about their families from Madison County, Indiana. The activity on the list has been rather slow lately, but hopefully my postings will not only help another researcher but also stimulate discussion traffic on the list.

At another county mailing list I subscribe to a similar project there by an individual has greatly increased the knowledge of the county and its people and has helped my research. My goal is to be able to give someone else a clue or a nugget as I do my own digging.

My goal is to try to work on this at least one lunch hour per week and see how that goes.

Seasons Past

December 1971 @ Grandma Wright's

[L-R : Kellie Wright, Jim Wright, Travis LeMaster, Jason LeMaster (seated)]

Christmastime is full of many traditions and memories in my family. I remember as a child going on Christmas Eve to my Grandma Wright's house in Alexandria, and then on Christmas day, after opening presents at home, we would travel to Grandma LeMaster's in Portland.

One of the family traditions that I recall from my youth at Christmastime was gathering together for a family photo. My cousins and I would gather next to the plastic Santa, who had our names written on his list, and pose for a group photo. The Santa is now at my mom & dad's, and they've tried to carry on the tradition by adding the grand kids names to Santa's list. I'm not sure when the Santa tradition started, as he is not in the 1971 photo above.

Another tradition I can recall from Grandma Wright's was the famous red punch that was a hit with the kids. If I remember correctly, it was Hawaiian Punch with ice cream. Many of the photographs from that time will show us kids with red punch smiles!

Early Christmas morning we had to eat breakfast before we could open any presents. I remember dad getting out the old Super 8 movie camera and the big light that it had. We each had to take a turn opening presents, so that everyone could see what was being opened. After everything was opened, we each placed all of our loot on the bed for a photograph that would show all of the things that we received. When we would get dressed to head over to Grandma LeMaster's we could take one or two things with us to play with.

At Grandma LeMaster's I remember a big meal with lots of cousins around watching football on television or playing games. Many times that would be the only time of the year that I would see these cousins.

Christmas continues to be a special time of the year for me, but for different reasons now. I wonder what the kid in the picture above was thinking about.

Submitted to the 61st Carnival of Genealogy :: Traditions

Nancy Byars Power (1802-1876)

Received an email from another researcher who found my WorldConnect database and sent me an addition for my records. So many times I have been given additional information and corrections to data through postings online.

David Alsup sent me information on the death date and place of Nancy (Byars) Power, my first cousin 6 times removed. She was the daughter of John and Catherine (Heck) Byars, and died August 14, 1876 in Bracken County, Kentucky. Many of the Heck family were in this area.

This is a family that I didn't have much information on, nor would I have time to dig into, but it is nice that someone took the time to add to and make corrections to my data.

Creating and sharing memories

This weekend my daughter, Corinne, and her boyfriend, Ryan, were here from Evansville for a visit to Alexandria. Staying at her grandparents gave her the opportunity to show her boyfriend some of the highlights of the Alexandria area, and I had the privilege of going along.

One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to the World's Largest Ball of Paint, a roadside attraction that no one should miss. Both Corinne and Ryan had the opportunity to add a coat of paint to the ball, sign their names in the registry, and obtained a certificate showing that they had placed another layer of paint on the ball. Corinne even bought Ryan a T-shirt so that he would always remember the visit.

We toured the area of Orestes and Alexandria, showing them the old Orestes Elementary, the famous Oak Tree, Red Gold and the county landfill. As we came into Alexandria down Harrison Street, we showed them some of the old storefronts and stopped by the library. A trip to Gaither Family Resources to show one thriving business that Alexandria is famous for and a trip by the old ball diamonds.

As we drove, mom started talking about the old mill in Alexandria and remembering when her grandfather would haul grain into town and she would ride along. At that time the roads were all gravel. This was a memory that she hadn't shared before, or I hadn't remembered. We drove by where the old Armscamp Speedway was and she told me that her dad used to qualify the cars for her uncle to drive, another story that I need to find out more about. We drove by the old abandoned Lippincott glass factory and pointed out where the Alexandria Hospital used to be, as well as the old paper mill, etc. It is hard to believe that the town had so many factories at one time.

Memories like this need to be written down and I plan to 'interview' mom over the holidays and the coming weeks to get these types of stories written down.

They counted him twice

My maternal 2nd-great granduncle, Jesse WRIGHT, was counted twice in the 1910 census of Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana. Jesse (1878-1919) was the son of Joseph and Rebecca (Heaton) Wright.

On the April 15, 1910 return, Jesse was living in the Virgil S. DAY household as a roomer. Jesse was listed as male, aged 32, single, born in Indiana and both parents born in Indiana. His occupation was listed as a postal clerk for the railroad, and he could read and write.

Virgil S. DAY was the husband of Jesse's niece, Myrtle M. (Jones) DAY. Myrtle was the daughter of William Alpha and Elizabeth (Wright) Jones.

On the April 22, 1910 return, Jesse was living in the Albert VINSON household as a boarder. Jesse was listed as a male, age 32, born in Indiana with father born Ohio and mother born in Indiana. His occupation was listed as clerk in mail dept., and he could read and write.

Albert VINSON was the husband of Jesse's sister, Anna L. (Wright) VINSON.

Though I'm sure he's not the only member of my family who has been counted twice in the census, at least in Monroe Township in 1910, the count is off by at least one.

Nuggets from the verticle files

I went to the Alexandria-Monroe Public Library on Wednesday during my lunch hour and did a quickie search for more family information. My main focus was to look for the 1901 atlas of Madison County, Indiana because I had seen some of its' color plat maps of the various townships.

I quickly found maps showing the locations of family farms in Monroe and Pipe Creek townships. Will have to return to this atlas for copies of the maps and co-ordinate that will research at the recorder's office. It was very interesting to see how different the towns such as Alexandria, Orestes, Frankton, etc. appeared in 1901 versus today. At that time, there was a boom due to the discovery of natural gas and many factories in the towns.

I also took a peek at the vertical files in the library - and they are a treasure trove of unpublished information. Buried among the photos and newspaper clippings were some handwritten and typewritten histories of the town of Alexandria and the people who built it. Fascinating stuff that I will have to come back to again to dig into.

One interesting item I found was a 1964-65 typewritten directory of the First Christian Church. In it I found my grandfather, William Wright, listed as an elder and my grandmother listed as a deaconess. Now I knew that my grandmother had been in the choir, etc., but I was under the impression that my grandfather was not active in the church. When I mentioned this to my mother, the paper brought up memories of the pastor at the time, and she stated that her dad did serve as an elder - it was a rotating position. She also mentioned that the whole family was baptized in 1960, right before her brother had gone off to college, and that my grandmother had moved her membership from a church in Elwood. Mom thought grandma's church in Elwood may have been a Baptist or a E.U.B. church, she wasn't sure. I knew that the Wright's had been involved in this church for awhile, but this was about the most insight my mother has ever mentioned about her faith experience. She quickly changed the subject to other things. Will have to explore this area of research another day.

Research Trip : Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne, IN

On Election Day, after voting, I headed up to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne to spend the day doing genealogical research. It had been several years since I had been to the library. Geographically speaking, the trip to the library is only about an hour's drive, yet for a number of reasons I've been unable to break away and visit since they remodeled.

I was pleasantly surprised with the changes to the library - the parking garage for one was a nice addition. Previously, I remember parking a few blocks away at a fast food chain restaurant and walking a couple of blocks. I was expecting to pay to park, but on Tuesday I was not required to pay for parking. This may have had something to do with Election Day.

I arrived just before the library opened at 9:00 a.m. and quickly found my way upstairs to the genealogy section. The last time I was at the library I didn't have a laptop and I was looking forward to being able to have my database right in front of me as I searched. The reference librarian help me with questions that I had, including giving a nice map of the facility that showed the locations of all of the stacks. On previous visits, I remember the searching the enormous card catalog, filling out a paper slip to request a book, dropping it off and then having to wait for someone to retrieve the book from the stacks. Having the ability to wander around the stacks freely was a pleasant surprise.

I had tried to prepare as much as possible for this trip by limiting the family I was focusing on to the Wright and allied families of the Clermont and Brown County, Ohio area. I had already printed out a listing of several local history works from their card catalog that I wanted to research, and I eagerly dove in to my research. Although I was joined by others throughout the day, I was able to have a research table to myself, my laptop plugged in and ready to go.

I found some paydirt almost right away in the first work I looked into that showed the location of my relatives in Clermont County in the 1802 census prior to the Enabling Act that established Ohio as a state. I quickly made copies of these pages and others that I found, trying to make sure that I hit every work on my list and marking those that yielded negative research. More on this information later.

The family history stacks were another area that I was glad I could wander around. Though I had a few on my list to look into, as the day wore on and I was closing out the research on the Wright line, I decided to stray a bit from my research path and look into some other family genealogies. I managed to locate some possible further research on a line that ties into my wife's family.

One thing that I forgot to prepare for was more photocopy money. The library charges $.10 per copy, a really cheap price, and also offers you the option of purchasing a copy card where you can put the denomination you would like on the card. I did not do that this time, as I didn't know if I would use it all, nor did I know when I would be able to get back up to the library.

I didn't plan my lunch time well either, around 2 p.m. I was really getting hungry, was done with the research that I had originally come to the library to do, and decided to leave. I was conflicted in having a whole day to research in the library and yet here I was ready to leave so early. My wife was surprised when I called her and told her I was heading home early. I could have very easily grabbed something to eat and then returned to the library, but in the end I decided to head back home so I could watch the election returns. Now I wish I had just stayed at the library until it closed.

Overall, it was a good experience to get back to the ACPL and I didn't even touch on the microfilms, etc. this trip.

Obituary : Carey Lambertson (1846-1918)

Source : Elwood, Indiana Call-Leader, March 18, 1918, page 1.

Carey Lambertson

Cousin of President Wilson Died Here This Morning

Carey Lambertson, aged 72, died at his home at 1906 North F street, this morning at 6 o'clock, after an illness of two weeks, of bronchial pneumonia.

He was one of Elwood's best residents, held in high esteem by all who knew him and there was a general regret expressed by his long time friends and neighbors on learning of his death.

Mr. Lambertson was born in Butler county, Ohio, April 29, 1846, and was the son of John and Sarah Wilson Lambertson. He was a first cousin of President Wilson.

Thirty-seven years ago he removed to Indiana, locating in Hamilton county, where he was married to Clara E. Cook in 1848. Five children were born to this union, a son, Samuel, dying about six years ago. The surviving children are Charles W. and Bert of this city, Mrs. Frank Fisher, near Arcadia, and Mrs. Omer Whisler, of Atlanta. The family removed to this city from Cicero, where they have since resided.

Mr. Lambertson met with an automobile accident last September, since which time he has been in failing health.

He was a member of the Quaker church at Providence, Hamilton county, and a consistent christian man all of his life, enjoying the regard of all who knew him.

The arrangements for the funeral were not announced this afternoon.

Obituary : Paul W. Wright (1905-1994)

Source : Anderson Herald Bulletin, December 12, 1994.

Paul W. Wright, 89, formerly of 1310 Brown St., died Dec. 10, 1994 at Community Hospital following an extended illness.

He was born Feb. 22, 1905, in Alexandria, and lived all of his life in this area. He graduated from Alexandria High School in 1923 and retired in 1965 from the U.S. Postal Service after 42 years as a rural mail carrier.

He was a member of Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge for 66 years and was a member of Rural Carriers Union.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy May Wright; three sons and daughters-in-law; Gene and Sue Wright of Anderson, Maurie and Elizabeth Wright of Anderson, and Robert and Rebecca Wright of Indianapolis; eight grandchildren, David Wright, Linda Wright, Laura Krivoshia, Cathy Wright, Scott Wright, Greg Wright, Kimberly Wright and Jeff Wright.; two great-grandchildren, KateLyn and Cameron Krivoshia.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Bertha Wright; a brother, Fred Wright, and a sister, Erma Johnson.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Brown-Butz-Diedring Funeral Home, Anderson, with Dr. Robert Jackson officiating. Burial will be in East Maplewood Cemetery.

May - Wright wedding

Source : Alexandria Times Tribune, May 23, 1928, page 1.

The wedding of Miss Dorothy May, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas May, and Paul Wright, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wright, of Alexandria, will take place this evening at the home of the bride's parents, east of Anderson. The single ring ceremony will be read at 8 o'clock by Rev. Alva Lindsay, before an altar arranged in the living room of the home, formed of palms, ferns and other spring flowers. The young couple will be unattended and will take their places before the altar, while Miss Eveylyn Martin plays the wedding march from Lohengrin. The bride will wear a smart frock of peach georgette with rows of black velvet ribbon as trimming on the rather full skirt, with basque waist. A corsage of bride's roses and ferns will complete the ensemble, together with shoes and hose in peach shade. Following the wedding ceremony, an informal reception will be held and a buffet luncheon will be served. A bride's cake, wreathed in cut flowers will form the decoration for the centerpiece of the serving table, where Mrs. Orville Stohler and Miss Velma Bronnenberg will assist the hostess in entertaining. The invited guests include : Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wright, Mr. and Mrs. W.H. May, Mr. and Mrs. I.N. May, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie May, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wright, Mr. and Mrs. M. May, and Mrs. Mary May, all of Alexandria; Mr. and Mrs. Leonard of Pioneer, O.; Mr. and Mrs. P. May of Shirley, Ind.; Mr. and Mrs. John Hay, of Windfall and Miss Velma Thomas, of Linville, Ind. After a brief wedding trip the couple will be at home to their friends in the Loan apartments at Anderson. Miss May is a graduate of the Anderson high school, and has been employed as a stenographer at the city hall there. Mr. Wright who is a mail clerk at the Anderson post office, formerly lived in Alexandria where he was graduated from the Alexandria high school. Both young people have a number of relatives and friends in the vicinity.

Wrong Anniversary Date : Joseph Wright - Dorothy Palmer

In my database, I have always had the marriage date of my maternal 3rd great grandfather, Joseph WRIGHT to his second wife, Dorothy PALMER as taking place on April 9, 1891 in Madison County, Indiana.

Secondary sources, such as Dorothy's obituary, backed up this data by stating that they were also married on April 9th.

Which is why you should always try to go back to the original sources - as in looking through my files, I found that I had the copy of the actual marriage record from the Madison County, Indiana clerk's office - and it shows that the license was issued on April 9th but the couple was united in marriage on Apirl 11th by Benjmain F. McCarty.