Sisters: Bonnie & Ruby

The following are some photographs of my maternal grandmother, Bonnie Mae (LAMBERTSON) WRIGHT and her younger sister, Ruby June (LAMBERTSON) WALSH.  These came from the collection of my cousin, Mike Walsh.


This first one shows them both as young girls.  As you can tell, the photo was rather rough for wear, having been folded, etc.  However, you can still see both of their adult faces in the expressions of these children.

Ruby & Bonnie Lambertson

This next photo is also undated, but I've been told that Ruby took grandma Bonnie with her on a trip to the Smoky Mountains after my grandfather passed away, so this is at least post-1973.

Bonnie (Lambertson) Wright, Ruby (Lambertson) Walsh in the Smoky Mountains

This next photo was taken in 1976 and from the photo I can identify it as my parents' home outside of Alexandria, Indiana.  Lovely couch and nice wood paneling signify the 1970s.  Obviously it was Christmas time, and I'm pretty sure that is my brother, Jason, playing with the train set.

Bonnie (Lambertson) Wright, Ruby (Lambertson) Walsh, 1976

This next photograph was taken at my grandmother's home at 610 West Broadway, Alexandria, Indiana in 1980.  It was taken with a Polaroid camera.  Remember those? 

Ruby Walsh, Bonnie Wright, 1980

The last picture was taken on Christmas Eve 1983 at Ruby's house.  This was the last Christmas we had with grandma.  She was very ill with cancer and was determined to see her sister at Christmas.  We braved a blizzard to make it to Ruby's.

Ruby Walsh, Bonnie Wright, 24 December 1983

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.

LeMaster Deaths: Jay County, Indiana

Source: Deaths, Jay County, Indiana: Jay County Historical Society, Portland, Indiana

This copy of a page from a compiled notebook of Jay County, Indiana deaths was obtained on my last trip to the Jay County Historical Society in Portland, Indiana.  


The pages list the name of the deceased, place of death, date of death, sex, age, book and page of death record, and what cemetery they are buried in.  These records are more modern than the W.P.A. indices of the county which only cover up to 1920.  This appears to be a computerized index.


LeMaster, Arthur R., Portland, IN, Dec. 16, 1971, M, 85, CH-3, 335, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, Chesley F., Portland, Aug. 9, 1960, M, May 25, 1890, CH-2, 98, Salamonia, Jay Co., IN
LeMaster, Dortha, Salamonia, IN, May 24, 1976, F, 73, H-12, 90, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, John L., Jr., Portland, IN, Mar. 27, 1973, M, 50, CH-4, 47, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, John L., Sr., Portland, IN, Jan. 13, 1980, M, 77, CH-4, 233, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, Larry D., Jay County, IN, Feb. 28, 1974, M, 24, H-12, 70, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, Maude G., Portland, IN, Jan. 31, 1967, F, 78, H-12, 2, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, Roger A., Salamonia, IN, Mar. 5, 1972, M, 45, H-12, 46, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN
LeMaster, William A., Portland, IN, Oct. 15, 1978, M, 54, CH-4, 201, Salamonia, Salamonia, IN


Definitely good information to have, especially the exact book and page numbers to request copies of death certificates.