2007 Lambertson Reunion : Ruby J. Walsh Family

Photo taken at the 2007 Lambertson Family Reunion held at the home of Ord & Gloria LeMaster held on July 28, 2007 outside of Alexandria, Indiana.

Front Row (L-R) : Ruby Walsh, Bob Walsh
Back Row (L-R): Mike Walsh, Kris Walsh

2007 Lambertson Reunion : Bonnie M. Lambertson Family

Photo taken at the 2007 Lambertson Family Reunion held at the home of Ord & Gloria LeMaster held on July 28, 2007 outside of Alexandria, Indiana.

Front Row (L-R) : Corinne LeMaster, Rachael LeMaster, Gloria LeMaster, Lauren LeMaster

Back Row (L-R): Travis LeMaster, Eileen LeMaster, Lisa LeMaster, Jason LeMaster, Ord LeMaster

2007 Lambertson Reunion : Bonnie M. Lambertson Family

Photo taken at the 2007 Lambertson Family Reunion held at the home of Ord & Gloria LeMaster held on July 28, 2007 outside of Alexandria, Indiana.

Front Row (L-R) : Terry Wright, Phyllis Wright

Back Row (L-R): Jim Wright, Jeremy Wright, Laura Wright

2007 Lambertson Reunion : Floyd R. Lambertson Family

Photo taken at the 2007 Lambertson Family Reunion held at the home of Ord & Gloria LeMaster held on July 28, 2007 outside of Alexandria, Indiana.

Front Row (L-R) : Francell Metzger, Nellie Lambertson, Linda Ellsworth, Edna Lambertson

Back Row (L-R): Jerry Lambertson, John Metzger, Larry Lambertson

Nelson J. Lambertson - Butler Co., OH

Nelson J. LAMBERTSON appears in the 1900-1920 census in Hamilton, Butler Co., OH. Nelson is my maternal 3rd great granduncle, the son of John and Sarah A. (WILLSON) LAMBERTSON.

Nelson appears as the head of household in the 1900 census, aged 31 years. His occupation was that of a wagon maker with a real estate value of $500. Also appearing with Nelson was his widowed daughter, Mary LOY, and her son Lewis. Lewis was shown as being born June 1891 in Ohio.

Nelson appears in the 1910 and 1920 census in the household of daughter Mary and her new husband David CREWS. In the 1920 census, David's surname is spelled CRUSS. David was born ca. 1871 in Indiana his occupation was that of an electrician.

The 1920 census shows son Lora CRUSS, aged 28, born Ohio who is an electrician. I believe that this may be Mary's son, Lewis, from her first marriage. It is possible that the census enumerator assigned him to the wrong surname. More investigation will have to be done.

Nelson J. LAMBERTSON was born April 4, 1838 Stillwell Corner, Butler Co., OH, d. October 3, 1929 Dayton, Montgomery Co., OH and was buried in the Abbottsville Cemetery in Darke Co., OH. Nelson married June 26, 1858 Riley Twp., Butler Co., OH to Eliza Jane JOHNSON, b. December 1837 Ohio and died July 6, 1899. Nelson was a Civil War veteran of Co. I, 167th Regt., OH National Guard.

Leona D. Lambertson - 1920 Madison Co., IN

My maternal great-grandaunt, Leona D. Lambertson, appears in the 1920 census of Elwood, Madison Co., IN as a lodger in the home of Sherman B. Harting. In this capacity, she was listed as a servant.

Leona was the daughter of Charles Wilson and Pearl May (Beals) Lambertson, born August 20, 1904 in Hamilton Co., IN.

I did not know that she was working at such a young age as a domestic, nor do I know of any relationship with this particular Harting family. I was surprised to not find Leona listed with the rest of her family in the 3rd ward of Elwood.

Initial Conversion Experiences with RootsMagic

Having recently converted from FamilyTreeMaker to RootsMagic, I must say that I have been overwhelmed and pleasantly pleased with the experience. As previously noted, I had been using FTM since the mid-1990s when I obtained my first PC. Although I had only upgraded to FTM 6.0, I was still pleased with the database and it meet my needs. With each new upgrade to FTM, I hesitated to spend money going after minor tweaks to the program and/or additional 'bells and whistles' that I did not need. It was not until reading about the reviews of the new FTM 2008 that I decided to investigate upgrading my genealogical software and after doing so, I decided that FTM would not be the way to go. I am so glad that I found RootsMagic.

The database converted my FTM file into RootsMagic with ease, and I immediately set about looking at the various reports and charts. There are so many ways to 'tweak' the data, that I can tell that I am going to love using this program for a long time. Over the past few days I have been modifying some information in my database, correcting known problems, and adding a few 'to-do' list items.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is serious about doing family history research just for the powerful source wizard alone. Already I have been able to use it to create source data for census records, etc. and found that in just a few quick steps, I had a source that was standardized along the lines of Elizabeth Shown Mills work "Evidence..." The family view in RootsMagic has allowed me to notice missing pieces of data in my research, and I've already created a few 'to-do' lists for my next research trip. The merge option was easy to use, and I found a few individuals that needed to be merged together. I have even played with the error reports and will slowly be correcting or ignoring potential errors that the program finds.

I can't praise this program enough! It is an easy to use and powerful database, with so many options and discoveries that await. It's hard to stay focused and realize that I have to go to work each day and not just stay at home and look at my family history in a new light.

Obituary : Albert Hanley Pefley Sr.

Source : Wabash Plain-Dealer, August 18, 2007

Albert Hanley Pefley Sr., Peosta, Iowa, went home for eternal rest after a short battle with Burkitt's Lymphoma, complicated by a recent stroke. He passed away in the home of his daughter, Jill Zintz, Plano, Iowa, on Aug. 15, 2007. He was surrounded by family as he was ushered by his angels to Heaven to spend the rest of eternity with Jesus and passed loved ones.

"Ab" was born on Aug. 18, 1931, at home on the family farm near Lagro, to Homer and Flossie Lewis-Pefley. His mother often told the story of placing her small-for-size infant son in a shoebox in the bottom of an open bureau drawer as a makeshift cradle.

His parents and grandparents were farmers and instilled a deep love of nature and respect of the land in him. He told a story of himself as a child of raiding the farm kitchen drawer for spoons and "plowing" a small spot in his mother's garden. He would then ask his Mom for any seed or bean she could spare so that he could "farm" a spot. Although she was not enthused about transforming her flatware into "farm equipment," his mother supported his love for farming and supplied what he needed so that he could plant, nurture, and harvest "his crop."

He was a very spiritual person and credits this to his Grandfather Lewis. He would often talk of a special memory of his baptism in the Salamonie River in Indiana as a young boy alongside his brother, Robert. Currently, he attended the Word of Life Church in Dubuque, Iowa, where he helped with the Angel Food Outreach Program and participated in the Christian Mens' breakfast group. He was always willing to lend a hand in any committee or activity that needed volunteers. In his earlier years, he volunteered as a church usher and passionately taught Sunday school. He believed strongly in blood donation at the Red Cross and eagerly sought out donations for the American Heart and Cancer societies, and the Haiti Outreach Project.

After high school graduation, Al enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he managed the sports department on base. It was there that he met and befriended Billy Martin and Zack Monroe, who went on to play professional baseball.

After his military discharge, he attended and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in agriculture-business. While in college, he met Barbara Schomers and they married soon after his graduation. To this union, they were blessed with five children, Al PefleyJr., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Debbie Wardlow, Centerville, Iowa, Kim Klinkhammer, Dubuque, Iowa, Jill Zintz, Plano, Iowa, and Jeff Pefley, Dubuque, Iowa.

With his new wife, he relocated to Austin, Minn., where he made a 35-year career with Hormel Foods. Through his career, he and his family found homes in Austin and Hutchinson, Minn., Centerville, Iowa, and LeCenter, Minn. He and Barbara retired to Peosta, Iowa, in 1998. Because Al found it difficult to sit still after retirement, he took on part-time jobs at Timberline Golf Course in Peosta as a greenskeeper through the summer and at Sundown Ski Resort, Asbury, Iowa, as a ski-lift operator during the winters.

Al's hobbies included barbecuing, fishing, gardening, golfing, woodworking, antiquing, furniture restoration and Bible study. He was active with Emmaus, Lions Club, Jaycees, Odd Fellow Lodge, Disciples and many church committees. In addition to volunteering at church, the Dubuque Rescue Mission and Food for the Soul, Al always "loved God's people" and never knew a stranger. Al often sought out those in need and befriended them, never forgetting a face or a name.

Al is preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Dean, and an infant stillborn brother, Henry.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, Peosta, Iowa; brothers, Harvey, Kokomo, and Robert, Lagro; a sister, Bonnie Ramey, LaFontaine; his children; three sons-in-law, Sean Wardlow, Tim Klinkhammer and Bill Zintz; and 13 grandchildren, Crystal, Caitlyn and Nick Howe, Stephen and Sawyer Wardlow, Tony, Troy, Tara and Tyler Furlin, Brittney and Hilary Morris and Joe and Chloe Zintz.

Arrangements are being handled by Behr Funeral Home, Dubuque, Iowa.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007, at Behr Funeral Home, with services at Word of Life Church at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007.

The family wishes to thank Mercy Medical Center-Hospice of Centerville, Pastors Loren Hirschey and Kay Singley for frequent visits, powerful prayers and communion, Dr. Garber, Emma Leopard (Al's home health aide), Lois Hays and Doctors Paulsen, Loukinen, Bek, Ringold, Kukla, Caceres and Horwitz, in addition to the nurses at Mercy Health Center of Dubuque who cared lovingly for Dad, for the fellowship, friendship and support shown by friends at Timberline Golf Course and Sundown Ski Resort. Thanks for the prayers from Emmaus, First United Methodist Church of Centerville, Word of Life Church of Dubuque and numerous prayer chains that gave Dad hope, the visits that brightened his days and lessened his suffering and the steady stream of cards that made him smile when we didn't think he had a smile left to share.

A memorial fund has been established to Mercy Medical Center-Hospice of Centerville.

John Lambertson family - 1900 Randolph Co., IN

John V. Lambertson family appears in the 1900 census of Randolph Co., IN in Monroe Twp. He was living in the household of his father-in-law, William Oliver. By this time, John was married to second wife, Annie E. Oliver. John stated that his father was born in Germany and that his mother was born in Virginia. This conflicts with other data that shows his father and mother were both born in New Jersey.

John was born August 17, 1833 in Warren Co., NJ, and had married his second wife, Annie E. Oliver on April 20, 1882 in Farmland, Randolph Co., IN. Annie was born August 1853 in Ohio and died May 1, 1901 in Hamilton, OH. John died August 30, 1913 in Farmersville, Butler Co., OH. John is buried in the Municipal Cemetery, Farmersville.

John and Annie had one son, Ward W. Lambertson, born August 3, 1886 in Ohio.

There were other grandchildren of William Oliver listed in the household under the name of Lyst. They were Oliver, Annie and Ralph. I speculate that they may be the children of Millard and Hettie (________) Lyst, grandchildren of John and Sarah (Lambertson) Lyst. This would make another connection between Mr. Oliver and the Lambertson family.

Switching to RootsMagic

I've taken the plunge and have updated my genealogy software to RootsMagic 3. Previously, I have been using Family Tree Maker version 6.0. Over the years I've avoided updating and buying the seemingly endless updates and 'new versions' of FTM that seemed to grow like weeds.

So far, I am impressed by the ease in which I could import my data into RootsMagic. The source wizard is an easy interface to use, and I'm having fun playing with my database to see how new reports will look.

George G. Lambertson family - 1860 Mason Co. KY & 1870 New York City

The mysterious George G. LAMBERTSON and family was found in the 1860 census of Mason Co., KY. George was listed as age 28, born in New Jersey, and his occupation was that of M.E. [Methodist Episcopal] Minister. He appears with his wife Harriet, age 26, born Ohio; and two children : Isolina aged 2 and George L. aged 10 months.

In the 1870 census of Reily Twp., Butler Co., OH, Harriet LAMBERTSON is living with her brother Daniel JONES and his family. Only daughter Isolina is listed, so I presume that George L. died sometime between 1860 and 1870.

George G. LAMBERTSON appears in the 1870 census of 16th Ward of New York City as a Botanical doctor, aged 37, born in New Jersey. He has a new wife, Adelaide, aged 37, a Fortune Teller born in Connecticut.

Clemon Lambertson Family - Madison Co., IN

My maternal great-grandfather, Clemon Beals Lambertson, appears in the 1920 and 1930 census of Madison Co., IN as head of household in the 2nd ward of the city of Elwood.

In both records, he is listed as working at a cabinet factory, which matches his obituary that stated he worked for Sellers Cabinets in Elwood. In the 1920 census, he was renting his home, but by 1930 he owned a home. The family owned a radio in 1930.

It was interesting to see the record of my grandmother, Bonnie, and her brothers and sister on the census records in 1930.

Charles W. Lambertson Family - Hamilton & Madison Co., IN

The Charles W. Lambertson family was enumerated in the 1910 census of Hamilton Co., IN and the 1920 census of Madison Co., IN. Charles was my maternal 2nd-great-grandfather.

In the 1910 census, Charles' occupation was that of a painter and in 1920 he was a carpenter working for a contracting firm. They 1910 census states that his wife, Pearl, was the mother of 5 children with 5 living. This information excludes twins, Gerald and Geraldine, who were born and died in 1906 of milk poisoning.

In the 1920 census, daughter Leona was living as a lodger in the household of Freeman Harting on North A street in the city of Elwood.

Charles Wilson LAMBERTSON b. January 25, 1872 Preble Co., OH., d. May 24, 1958 Elwood, Madison Co., IN., m. April 18, 1897 Hamilton Co., IN to Pearl May BEALS. Pearl b. May 11, 1878 Westfield, Hamilton Co., IN, d. August 3, 1970 Elwood, Madison Co., IN.

Known children of Charles Wilson and Pearl May (BEALS) LAMBERTSON are as follows :
i. Clemon Beals LAMBERTSON b. October 27, 1898 Hamilton Co., IN., d. March 18, 1994 Madison Co., IN., m. June Kirk DAVIS, m(2) Helen B. DUNCAN
ii. Orville E. LAMBERTSON b. February 23, 1902 Hamilton Co., IN., d. May 23, 1984 Butte Co., CA., m. Mary E. HERTER, m(2) Martha STONER, m(3) Hassie HAWKINS
iii. Leona D. LAMBERTSON b. August 20, 1904, d. after 1920 census, m. Clarence FETZ, m(2) Joe CARPENTER
iv. Gerald LAMBERTSON b. June 28, 1906 Hamilton Co., IN, d. October 4, 1906 Hamilton Co., IN
v. Geraldine LAMBERTSON b. June 28, 1906 Hamilton Co., IN., d. October 5, 1906 Hamilton Co., IN
vi. Paul LAMBERTSON b. May 16, 1908 Hamilton Co., IN., d. May 18, 1994 Madison Co., IN., m. Goldie LAYCOCK
vii. Pauline LAMBERTSON b. May 16, 1908 Hamilton Co., IN., d. May 26, 1992 Madison Co., IN., m. Forrest VanNESS
viii. Elizabeth C. LAMBERTSON b. June 15, 1915 Hamilton Co., IN., d. March 23, 1906 Madison Co., IN., m. Ralph HERSCHBERGER

Carmen Lambertson Family - Montgomery & Darke Co., OH

The Carmen Lambertson family appears in the 1860 census of German Twp., Montgomery Co., OH and the 1870 census of Van Buren Twp., Darke Co., OH. While I have his name as being spelled 'Carmon', both census records spell it as 'Carmen'. Carmon was my maternal 3rd-great granduncle.

Carmen's occupation was that of a farmer in 1860 and a wagon maker in 1870. He and his wife Mary must have lost two children as during that time period as daughter Florence b. circa 1851 and son James b. circa 1853 were not listed in the 1870 census. The value of Carmen's personal estate was only $100 in 1870.

Carmen W. LAMBERTSON b. January 30, 1828 New Jersey, d. August 17, 1870 German Twp., Montgomery Co., OH, m. Mary Jane VANLUE circa 1851 in Ohio. Mary b. ca. 1835 Ohio, d. after 1870 Ohio.

Known children of Carmen W. and Mary Jane (VANLUE) LAMBERTSON are as follows :
i. Florence LAMBERTSON b. ca. 1851 Ohio, d. bet. 1860-1870 Ohio
ii. Curtis LAMBERTSON b. ca. 1853 Ohio, d. bet. 1860-1870 Ohio
iii. James LAMBERTSON b. ca. 1857 Ohio, d. after 1870 census
iv. Mary LAMBERTSON b. ca. 1864 Ohio, d. after 1870 census

Stivers Update

Jim Ed Prow of Hendricksville contacted me about the Stivers family, as he's looking for updates and photographs. His grandmother Roxie Stivers was a sister to Daniel Stivers who married Dealie Davis. Dealie was the sister of my 2nd-great grandmother, Ida Davis. Hopefully, we can share some information and expand my knowledge of this family.

Daniel Stivers' parents were John W. and Eliza Jane (Martin) Stivers, according to Jim Ed.

Find A Grave Photo Success : Daniel Adney

Member 'Buddy' has located the gravesite of Eileen's maternal 5th-great grandfather, Daniel Adney in the Woods Chapel Cemetery in Union Co., IN.

Daniel was born January 12, 1777 in Botetourt Co., VA and died May 2, 1862 in Union Co., IN. He married Anna Coger on February 3, 1798 in Franklin Co., VA.

Gegenheimer Update

Received an email from a cousin, Heidi Gegenheimer-Murphy who was able to update my data on the family of Sarah C. Haley who married August Gegenheimer. She was able to provide names of additional children as well as some death dates. Sarah C. Haley was the daughter of George J. and Rachel (GARY) HALEY.

Sarah C. HALEY b. November 1845 Ohio, d. February 12, 1926 Portland, Jay Co., IN., m. May 11, 1865 Erie Co., OH to August GEGENHEIMER. August b. November 1842 Germany, d. August 17, 1933 Portland, Jay Co., IN.

Known children of August and Sarah C. (HALEY) GEGENHEIMER are as follows :
i. George M. Gegenheimer b. May 5, 1866 Huron, Erie Co., OH
ii. William F. Gegenheimer b. August 7, 1868 Vermillion, Erie Co., OH
iii. John H. Gegenheimer b. June 25, 1871 Erie Co., OH
iv. Elizabeth R. Gegenheimer b. October 29, 1873 Erie Co., OH
v. Della P. Gegenheimer b. August 27, 1876 Florence, Erie Co., OH
vi. Sarah H. Gegenheimer b. June 3, 1879 Jay Co., IN
vii. Hanna A. Gegenheimer b. April 8, 1882 Jay Co., IN
viii. Lorenzo H. Gegenheimer b. March 30, 1885 Jay Co., IN
ix. Charles H.B. Gegenheimer b. February 18, 1888 Jay Co., IN
x. Arthur C. Gegenheimer b. December 10, 1893 Jay Co., IN

Find A Grave Photo Success : Edward Wildt

Member Kathy Current was able to obtain a photograph for me of Edward Ferdinand Wildt in the Locust Hill Cemetery in Evansville, IN. Edward is the maternal great-grandfather of my daughter. He and his wife Miriam Ruth (Miguet) Wildt both now have memorial pages at FindAGrave.

Kathy was also able to find the gravesite of Edward's brother, Gilbert D. Wildt at the Alexander Memorial Park cemetery.

Haunting Errors of World Family Tree

Back when I first started putting my genealogy data into Family Tree Maker, I made the novice mistake of importing data from the World Family Tree files that came along with the software. While this data provided many clues for further research, so much of it was not sourced that it is practically useless and full of errors. I have attempted to slowly and methodically eliminate any traces of this imported data from my database, but unfortunately some still remains.

Case in point is a recent WorldConnect post-em regarding a marriage record of Thomas Swafford and Nellie Howard. I have the date as 1800 in Bledsoe Co., TN with a source of WFT. However, as the poster pointed out, Bledsoe Co., TN was not even formed until 1801, so the location is wrong.

World Connect Postem : Sherrick Family

Received an update on World Connect regarding Jacob Sherrick whose daughter Barbara married Cyrus A. Baldwin. Midge Ryan contacted me to let me know that Jacob's name was also spelled Sherk, that he was born in Lancaster Co., PA and that his wife's name was Catherine Shock.

Jacob Sherrick and Catherine Shock were married January 13, 1825 in Wayne Co., IN. I'm not sure yet how he connects with my other Sherrick/Sherk lines. His daughter Barbara married my half 3rd cousin 6 times removed, Cyrus Baldwin. The Baldwins were Quakers and members of the West Grove MM in Wayne Co., IN.