Ancestor Approved

I'm honored to have been awarded the 'Ancestor Approved' award by Theresa at Tangled Trees and Julie at GenBlog. Now I have to pass it on to others in the geneablogger community, as well as list 10 things that have surprised, humbled or enlightened me through my genealogical research.

Surprised:

1. By how much there still is to learn about my family, even after all these years of working on my genealogy.


2. To find out that I'm my own cousin several times over - I'm a victim of pedigree collapse.


3.  That so many 'skeletons' aren't so bad when seen in the light of today.  People are people, the really interesting ones make the newspapers!

Humbled:

4. By the courage of my ancestors who made the decision to journey to a new world - whether to escape persecution, seek fortune or simply start anew.


5. To find that so many others are willing to help share their research expertise and go the 'extra mile' to help out a fellow genealogist.


6. The sacrifices made by those who served in times of war to protect our freedoms or to ensure that others had the same chances.

Enlightened: 

7. To find out that I had a Mayflower ancestor - Stephen Hopkins (still need to 'prove' it)


8. With a desire to gain knowledge of the history of the times my ancestors lived, whether it be colonial days or Civil War

9. To find that I'm not the only one out there - there is a great community of geneabloggers on the Internet, each with their own story to tell.


10. By the fact that no piece of evidence should be overlooked, and that the case is never closed on a genealogical conclusion!

10 Geneablogs Who Do Their Ancestors Proud:

Before My Time

Life From The Roots

Hearts And Bones 

Debby's Indiana Genealogy

Betty's Boneyard Genealogy Blog

Granite In My Blood

John Brown Kin

Relative Musings

The Roots of it All

Adventures in the Family Tree

   

There are so many good geneablogs out there, with new ones added all the time.  Check out Geneabloggers for a complete list.


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

William Francis Pierce (1865-1950)

William Francis PIERCE (1865-1950) was my maternal 2nd-great grandfather.  The PIERCE family has English origins, with the immigrant ancestor, Thomas PIERCE (1608-1683), settling in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The following facts about William's life are known:

• Birth: He was born  July 10, 1865 in Frankton, Madison County, Indiana, the son of Edmund G. and Catherine (GROENENDYKE) PIERCE.
• Census: 1870 - he appears in the E.G. PIERCE household in Lafayette Township, Madison County, Indiana.
• Census: 1880 - he appears in the Catherine PIERCE household in Lafayette Township, Madison County, Indiana.
• Marriage: He married Clara PENNISTEN on January 14, 1892 in Madison County, Indiana.
• Census: 1900 - he appears as head of household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana.
• Marriage: He married Vida MADDOX on March 4, 1909 in Madison County, Indiana.
• Census: 1910 - he appears as head of household in Lafayette Township, Madison County, Indiana
• Census: 1920 - he appears as head of household in Lafayette Township, Madison County, Indiana
• Census: 1930 - he appears as head of household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana.
• Death: He died September 21, 1950 in Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana.
• Obituary: His obituary appeared in the September 21, 1950 Alexandria Times-Tribune
• Burial: He was buried September 25, 1950 in Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana.

The following facts need additional research and/or documentation to complete my research:

• Obituary: Need to seek out obituaries printed in other local papers (Elwood, Anderson, etc.)
• Death: Need to obtain a copy of his death certificate from the Madison County, Indiana Health Department
• Residence: Need to research local directories and telephone books to pinpoint residence from 1930-1950.

Ancestry of William Francis PIERCE (1865-1950), Ahnentafel # 26 in my ancestry:

Ahnentafel # 52: Edmund G. PIERCE (1837-1875); Wayne Co., IN>Madison Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 104: Francis S. PIERCE (1806-1881); Vermont>Wayne Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 208: Gordon PIERCE (1773-1875); Worcester Co., MA>Chenango Co., NY


Ahnentafel # 416: Seth PIERCE (1744-1835); Middlesex Co., MA>Cortland Co., NY


Ahnentafel # 832: Seth PIERCE (1716-1794); Middlesex Co., MA>Windham Co., CT


Ahnentafel #1664: Samuel PIERCE (1681-1774); Middlesex Co., MA>Windham Co., CT


Ahnentafel #3328: Samuel PIERCE (1656-1721); Middlesex Co., MA


Ahnentafel #6656: Thomas PIERCE (1608-1683); England>Middlesex Co., MA


Related blog posts:

•  Marriage: William Pierce to Vida Maddox

• Marriage: William Pierce to Clara Pennisten

• Tombstone Tuesday: William Francis & Vida (Maddox) Pierce

• William F. Pierce household : Madison County, Indiana

• Today in my database: William Francis Pierce (b. July 10, 1865)

Family Milestones: April 7th

My paternal 4th-great granduncle, Jesse C. CHEW, married on this date in 1806 to Martha DRIVER.  Jesse was the son of Nathaniel and Sarah (SPRINGER) CHEW, and the younger brother of my Rev. Nathaniel CHEW.  Jesse was born September 3, 1788 in Gloucester County, New Jersey.  I do not have dates of birth or death for Martha, nor her parentage.  Jesse died April 18, 1846.  Nothing further is known at this time.

My maternal 5th-great grandaunt, Mary CHEW, married on this date in 1825 to Joseph MOON.  Mary was the daughter of Andrew and Anna Marie (BARTHUS) CHEW, and the younger sister of my Elizabeth CHEW.  I do not have dates of birth or death for Joseph, nor his parentage.  Elizabeth died March 9, 1859.  Nothing further is known at this time.

My maternal 5th-great grandaunt, Janet WARDLAW, was born on this date in 1784 in Virginia.  Janet was the daughter of Robert and Janet (DOWNEY) WARDLAW, and the younger sister of my Samuel WARDLAW.  Janet married January 12, 1805 in Clermont County, Ohio to Joseph CALVIN.  I do not have dates of birth or death for Joseph, nor his parentage.  They had 10 children.  Janet died October 1851 in Brown County, Ohio.

My paternal 6th-great grandaunt, Judith DAVIS, was born on this date in 1731.  Judith was the daughter of John and Elizabeth (MAXSON) DAVIS, and the younger sister of my Thomas William DAVIS.  Judith was born April 7, 1731. Judith married in 1749 to Thomas BABCOCK.  Thomas was born March 7, 1710 in Westerly, Rhode Island.  I do not have his parentage.  They had at least 1 son.  Thomas died in 1785.  Nothing further is known at this time.

My paternal 3rd-great grandaunt, Matilda JACOBS, was born on this date in 1824 in Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania.  Matilda was the daughter of David and Barbara (BYERS) JACOBS, and the older sister of my Susan JACOBS.  Matilda married on April 27, 1847 in Wayne County, Ohio to George COOK.  George was born June 11, 1818 in York County, Pennsylvania.  I do not have his parentage.  They had 5 children.  George died September 14, 1887 in Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio.  Matilda died May 27, 1892 in Hiawatha, Brown County, Kansas.



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