Amanuensis Monday: The Fish Story

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. 

Undated news clipping, possibly Alexandria, Indiana Times-Tribune

Bill Wright, employee of the post office, was telling the folks back home this week about the "ones that got away" while on his vacation.  Mr. and Mrs. Wright were fishing at Tippecanoe lake last Saturday night and had a string of six fish tied on the back of the boat.   The boat drifted into some weeds and the fish became tangled in the weeds and broke loose.

Among the catch was the largest fish ever caught by Mrs. Wright, a one and one-fourth pound crappie.

That's the story!

---

Bill Wright was my maternal grandfather.

Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

Sunday's Obituary: Lawrence Spence (1863-1961)

Lawrence Spence obituary, Anderson Herald, Anderson, Indiana, April 1, 1961, page 2

SPENCE FUNERAL IN ALEXANDRIA

Alexandria - Military funeral services for Lawrence Spence, 98, Indiana's oldest member of the American Legion, were held Thursday afternoon at the Karl M. Kyle Funeral Home with the Rev. Herschel M. Reed, pastor of the First Christian Church, in charge.

Organ music was provided by Mrs. Martin Burden.

Pall bearers were Earl Stage, Harry Beardsley, Garland Shafer, Irl Gorden, Herschel Swindell and William A. Lewis.  Chaplain was Sam Allen and color guards were Charles Cummins, Sam Allen, Fred Marston and Virgil Holford.

At the IOOF Cemetery, where interment was made, the firing squad was comprised of James Donahue, Donald P. Jones, Richard Hall and Neal Johnson. Buglar was Robert Hiatt, Jr.

Sunday’s Obituary – if you have obituaries of family members and ancestors, consider posting them along with other information about that person as part of Sunday’s Obituary. This is an ongoing series developed by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here.

Surname Saturday : JACOBS

The JACOBS surname is in my paternal line.  The origins of the surname are believed to be German.

Stories and history:

Ahnentafel # 43 : Susan Jacobs (1825-1864).  Susan was born August 18, 1825 in Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania.  She married March 23, 1843 in Wayne County, Ohio to David Sherrick (1823-1914).  David was born October 18, 1823 in York County, Pennsylvania.  They raised 9 children in Wayne and Ashland Counties, Ohio.  David died September 30, 1914 in Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio.  Susan died February 24, 1864 in Mifflin Township, Ashland County, Ohio.

Ahnentafel # 86 : David Jacobs (1796-1857).  David was born October 3, 1796 in York County, Pennsylvania.  He married circa 1817 in York County, Pennsylvania to Barbara Byers (1798-1874).  Barbara was born January 5, 1798 in Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania.  They raised 10 children in York County, Pennsylvania and Wayne County, Ohio.  Barbara died December 4, 1874 in Congress Township, Wayne County, Ohio.  David died June 20, 1857 in Wayne County, Ohio.  

Ahnentafel # 172 : Michael Jacobs (1772-1846).  Michael was born November 20, 1772.  He married Margaret ________ (1769-1864).  Margaret was born October 23, 1769.  They raised 8 children in York County, Pennsylvania.  Margaret died February 23, 1864.  Michael died January 23, 1846 in Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania.

Ahnentafel # 344 : Johan Michel Jacobs (c1742-bef1790).  Johan was born circa 1742 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  He married July 18, 1771 in Dover Township, York County, Pennsylvania to Maria Catherine Cherdron (bef1730-af1790).  Maria was baptized February 16, 1730 in Otterberg, Bayern.    She was previously married to Johann Peter Gutling. Maria died after 1790 in Dover Township, York County, Pennsylvania.  Johan died before 1790 in Dover, York County, Pennsylvania.

Related blog posts:

• Today in my database: Michael Jacobs (b. November 20, 1772)

• Today in my database: Susan Jacobs (b. August 18, 1825)

Surname Saturday – create a post in which you discuss a surname and mention its origins, its geographical location(s) and how it fits into your genealogy research. Surname Saturday is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Exploratory Data Analysis: Luman Cooper LeMasters (1867-1933)

Luman C. LeMasters

Luman Cooper LeMasters (1867-1933) was my paternal great-grandfather.  What follows is an exploratory data analysis of the biographical facts I have discovered about him.

1. Vital Records

     1.1. Birth Certificate

          Luman was born May 27, 1867 in Jay County, Indiana ^{1, 2}. The State of Indiana didn't require state-wide registrations of birth until after 1907.  Prior to this date, they were only recorded in the counties where the event occurred.  Jay County, Indiana only has birth records from 1882.


          1.1.1. Birth Notice in Newspaper


               If Luman's birth was announced in a local newspaper, it has been lost to history.  The Jay County Public Library has newspapers from the late 1880s, and there was a book by Rex Bertram "Jay Co., IN Newspaper Clippings, 1871-1887", but I haven't discovered anything earlier.  The holdings of the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis do not indicate any newspapers of the period.

          1.1.2. Bible Record


               I am not aware of the survival of a Lemasters family Bible.  Luman's father, Luman Walker Lemasters Jr., mentioned a family Bible in his Civil War pension paperwork, but if it has survived to the present day, I am unaware.  I will continue to reach out to extended family hoping that it does exist.


          1.1.3. Baptismal Record


               The Lemasters were members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Salamonia in Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana.  The church is no longer in existence.  I have contacted the Jay County Historical Society, and they do not have the records of this church.  I have reached out to local researchers in Jay County to see what they can find out as well.  I have contacted the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Conference church via email to see if they have any records of this church.


          1.1.4. Adoption Record


               There is no indication that Luman was adopted.


     1.2. Marriage license


          Luman was married on November 13, 1886 in Jay County, Indiana to Barbara Isabel Wehrly³.  A copy of this record was the subject of a previous post.  They were married by S.J. Mellinger.


          1.2.1. Marriage notice in newspaper


               I have not searched in Jay County Newspapers to see if Luman and Barbara's nuptials were announced in the newspaper.  Have added this to my "to-do list" on my next research trip into Jay County.


          1.2.2. Anniversary notice


              I have not searched in Jay County Newspapers for mention of Luman and Barbara's anniversaries either.  Their 25th would have been on November 13, 1911.  They did not survive to reach their 50th anniversary. Have added this search to my "to-do list" on my next research trip into Jay County.


          1.2.3. Divorce decree


               There is no indication that a divorce ever occurred, and a recent search of court records during the time period did not turn up a divorce record.


     1.3. Death certificate


          Luman died on February 11, 1933 at Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana³.  A copy of this record was the subject of a previous post.  His age was listed as 65 years, 8 months and 15 days.  The cause of death was listed as "carcinoma bladder". He passed away at 8 o'clock in the evening. His funeral was handled by the Williamson funeral home in Portland, and he was buried February 14, 1933 in the Salamonia Cemetery.  By re-examining this record I discovered I had been reporting Luman's death date erroneously as February 10, 1933 for a number of years, relying on a secondary source⁴.


          1.3.1. Obituary in newspaper


               Luman's obituary appeared in the February 13, 1933 edition of The Commercial-Review in Portland, Indiana⁵.  The obituary appeared in a Monday edition and the obituary was a subject of a previous post.  The obituary referred to him by his middle name, Cooper, which is probably how he was called.  The obituary states that he was "in failing health for four years and seriously ill the past four months".  The obituary states that he was a rural mail carrier and farmer and mentions there were 29 surviving grandchildren.


          1.3.2. Funeral home record


               The Jay County Library has some of the records from the Williamson Funeral Home in Portland, Indiana.  Will add this to my "to-do list" on my next research trip into Jay County.


          1.3.3. Tombstone photograph


               Luman's tombstone in the Salamonia Cemetery has been photographed.  The tombstone spells the surname as "LeMasters".  It lists him as Luman Cooper 1867-1933, and his wife, Barbara is also listed.⁶.


2. Census Records


     2.1. Federal Census Records


          2.1.1. 1930 Federal Census


               On April 9, 1930, Luman was enumerated in Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana⁷, as Cooper Leamasters, age 63, widowed farmer, aged 63, born Indiana.  Both parents were listed as being born in Indiana.  He could read and write and spoke English.  He also owned his own home.  This was the last federal census he appeared in.


          2.1.2. 1920 Federal Census


               On January 12, 1920, Luman was enumerated in Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana⁸, as Luman Lemaster


          2.1.3. 1910 Federal Census


               On May 5, 1910, Luman was enumerated in Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana⁹, as Cooper Lemaster, age 41, married rural route mail carrier, born Indiana.  Father was listed as born in Ohio and mother as born in New Jersey.  He could read and write and spoke English.  He owned his own home.  He had been married for 24 years.


          2.1.4. 1900 Federal Census


               On June 1, 1900, Luman was enumerated in Salamonia, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana¹⁰, as Luman C. Lemasters, age 33, born May 1867, married farmer, born in Indiana.  Father was listed as born in Ohio and mother as born in New Jersey.  He could read and write and spoke English.  He rented his home, and lived on a farm.  The family was living on Main Street in Salamonia.


          2.1.5. 1880 Federal Census


               On June 5, 1880, Luman was enumerated in Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana¹¹ in the Walker Lemasters household, as Luman Lemasters, age 13, single, working on farm, born in Indiana.  Father was listed as born in Ohio and mother as born in New Jersey.


          2.1.6. 1870 Federal Census


               On June 15, 1870, Luman was enumerated in Allen Township, Darke County, Ohio¹² in the Luman Lemasters houshold, as Luman Lemasters, age 3, single, born Indiana.


     2.2. State Census Records


          The State of Indiana conducted state census in 1853, 1857, 1871, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1919 and 1931.  These however, were merely for the purposes of determining legislative apportionment.


     2.3. Agricultural Census Records


          I have not yet investigated these types of census records to see what information might be shed on the Lemaster family farm.


3. Military Records


     3.1. Draft Registration


          Luman was too old to register for the draft during World War I, however, his sons did and will be discussed later.


     3.2. Pension Records


          Not applicable, as Luman didn't serve in the military.


     3.3. Service Records


          Not applicable.


4. Land Records


     4.1. Deed records


          Deed records need to be researched more thoroughly in Jay County, Indiana, as well as Darke County, Ohio.  The family moved to Valley County, Nebraska for a brief period, and one record was located.  However, none of these have been sourced in my RootsMagic database.


          The following records in the Jay County Circuit Book 2 need researched:


          LeMaster, Luman C., James F. Eley, Replevin, June 7, 1930, Box 724, Record No. 20867


      4.2. Plat map / county map


          Jay County published a plat map in 1874, 1881, 1887, 1901, 1910, and 1920 that may be relevant to my search for Luman.  I have access to copies of the 1887 and 1901 plat maps in Jay County, and need to see what information they hold regarding Luman.


5. Supplemental records


     Supplemental records available to research for Luman include county/city directories, court records and will and probate records.  Searching these will be on my next "to-do list" research trip in Jay County at the library.


     Luman's will was filed in Jay County, Indiana.  Though I have a copy of it, I do not have it properly sourced by book and page in the Probate Office.


Sources:


1. Rummel, Merle & Madelaine Ott, comp., "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977", Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1977, page 385.
2. Luman Cooper LeMaster, death certificate, Book H-8, page 18 (1933), Jay County, Indiana Health Department, Portland, Indiana.
3. Jay County, Indiana Marriage Book C-F, page 180., Clerk's Office, Portland, Indiana.

4. Rummel, Merle & Madelaine Ott, comp., "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977", Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1977, page 385.
5. Cooper LeMaster obituary, Portland Commercial-Review, Portland, Indiana, February 13, 1933, page 1.
6. Luman Cooper LeMasters tombstone, Salamonia Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana, transcribed by the writer, 26 March 2009.
7. Cooper Leamaster household, 1930 U.S. census, population schedule, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana, USA, ED 38-8, SD 5, sheet 4A, dwelling 82, family 82; National Archives micropublication T626.
8. Luman Lemaster household, 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana, ED 72, SD 84, sheet 5, dwelling 103, family 103; National Archives micropublication T625.
9. Cooper Lemaster household, 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana, ED 67, SD 1, sheet 8, dwelling 170, family 175; National Archives micropublication T624.
10. Luman C. Lemasters household, 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Salamonia, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana, ED 62, SD 8, sheet 1A, dwelling 4, family 4; National Archives micropublication T623.
11. Walker Lemasters household, 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana, ED 161, SD 6, page 4, dwelling 47, family 48; National Archives micropublication T9.

This post was developed as part of the series relating to Building My 2011 Research Template, an attempt to systematically document and source the details of my ancestors' lives. Comments regarding this template and the conclusions draw in this article are welcomed.

Year In Review : How Did You Find Me?

Taking another look-back at the stats on this blog for the past month and the year (or at least since Blogger added Stats) has shown some interesting developments.

As I mentioned in my last look at the stats on this blog, I've been using Twitter to tweet about posts.  I also started using Feedburner that will read the RSS feed and tweet the updates.  Linking posts to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN has also driven traffic to the blog.

My top referring sites are Google, Find1Friend and Facebook.  I was not familiar with Find1Friend, apparently it aggregates all social media.

The most popular search terms this year include:

• blogger : self-explanatory

• forrest chew salamonia indiana : Forrest is a member of my Chew family.  I wish whoever searched for him would have contacted me.

• travis lemaster : who is looking for me?  an old girlfriend?

• mary prevost : I have no idea how they found my blog through these search terms.  There are no references to the Prevost surname here.

• lambertson and wilson families of new jersey and ohio : Yes!  These are my people.  Who are you?  Why didn't you contact me?

There is now a new most popular post, GeneaLeaks, which rose quickly to the top after being highlighted by Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings.  Thanks, Randy!  Clearly, being mentioned by a popular blogger will lead to page views.

Just in the past month, there have been three posts that have received a great deal of interest, quickly moving them up to the top of my popular posts.  Once again, I find that once a post makes it to the sidebar as a popular post, it continues to receive more 'clicks'.  

Besides the previously mentioned GeneaLeaks, other posts with recent popularity include Applying SWOT Analysis To Your Genealogy Research and Building My 2011 Research Template.  I will be interested in seeing how 2011 stats pan out.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by and commented on my blog posts. May you all have a productive research year in 2011!

Family Recipe Friday: Black Walnut Fudge

Mom shared another family recipe, this one is from my LeMaster side:

Black Walnut Fudge

We decided to collect and crack black walnuts this year since they were so big. I only wish we could crack them open like the squirrels do.

Weldon remembers his dad, Ord, cracking black walnuts and his mom making fudge.  While this is not her recipe it is good and simple, especially when using freshly cracked nuts

    3 1/3 cups sugar                                               
    1 cup light corn syrup                                         
    1/2 cup butter                                                 
    9 ounces evaporated milk                                       
    1/2 cup black walnuts, chopped   
                              
Mix first four intredients in a 3-quart saucepan.   Cook over medium heat to 240 degrees (236 degress is soft ball stage).   Remove from heat and cool.   Beat until it loses its gloss, then add nuts and pour into a 9x13-inch buttered pan.   Note:  It may look glossy or taffy like consistency until it is fully cooled.


Family Recipe Friday – is an opportunity to share your family recipes with fellow bloggers and foodies alike. Whether it’s an old-fashioned recipe passed down through generations, a recipe uncovered through your family history research, or a discovered recipe that embraces your ancestral heritage share them on Family Recipe Friday. This series was suggested by Lynn Palermo of The Armchair Genealogist.

Buggies & Wagons: Follow-Up

As a follow-up to my previous post regarding Beals & Hinshaw: Buggies & Wagons, I contacted the Hinshaw Family Association and received this response:

Travis:

That Hinshaw who was apparently a partner with Nathan Thomas Beals was Amos S. Hinshaw (1839-1930), son of Stephen Hinshaw (and, although we don't know with certainty what his full middle name was, one could guess that it was probably Stephen): 

  http://www.rawbw.com/~hinshaw/cgi-bin/id?329 

Amos S. Hinshaw indeed did live in Westfield, and was a member of Westfield Monthly Meeting.  And he was shown in the 1900 census with occupation "carriage builder", and in 1910 as "mechanic, carriage shop".

As to his relationship to Nathan Thomas Beals:  inconsequential.  Westfield was a small town in 1893, and there was a tight and close Quaker community - Amos and Nathan might have come together in partnership for reasons other than any genealogical relationship.  However, probably coincidentally, Amos was 3rd cousin once removed to Solomon Hinshaw, who married Nathan's sister Elizabeth.

Regards,

Jan Hinshaw

The Hinshaw Family Association

http://www.rawbw.com/~hinshaw

P.S.: I hope you don't mind, but I liked the "Beals & Hinshaw" scan you referenced, so I copied the image and added it to Amos Hinshaw's page (credited to you of course).

Incidentally, I did perform a relationship search through my Rootsmagic database, and found that Nathan Thomas BEALS and Amos S. HINSHAW were indeed first cousins, once removed - through Charles and Hannah (PIGGOTT) DAVIS.

Meinholtz obituaries : Colorado Springs, Colorado

I was able to locate some obituary information on some distant collateral relatives through the Pikes Peak Library District website.  Using their search engines, I was able to locate these obituaries:

Headline:	Henry C. Meinholtz
Date/Pub/Section:	1/21/1948, Gazette, 2

Henry Meinholtz Services Will Be Held Friday


Funeral services for Henry C. Meinholtz who died at his home, 1624 N. Cascade Ave., Monday, will be held at the grave in the Evergreen Cemetery, at 11 a.m. Friday.  Tejon Lodge No. 104, A.F. & A.M. will officiate.  Friends may call at the Law Drawing room on Friday

Headline:	Henry C. Meinholtz
Date/Pub/Section:	1/21/1948, Free Press, 16:5

Henry C. Meinholtz Dies At His Home


Henry C. Meinholtz, retired stockman and farmer, died yesterday at his home, 1624 N. Cascade Ave.


Mr. Meinholtz, who was born in 1875, had lived in Colorado Springs since 1921.  He lived for two years in Alamosa, Colo., and retained business interests in the San Luis Valley.  Before that he lived in Okmulgee, Okla.  He had been ill for a long time.


Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Edith Meinholtz, three daughters, Mrs. Lucille Klinger, Center, Colo., Mrs. Helen Shanks, Salida, Colo., and Mrs. Marjorie Welch, Quincy, Mass.


Services will be held at the grave in Evergreen cemetery at 11 o'clock Friday morning.  Tejon Lodge No. 104, AF & AM, will officiate.  Friends may call Thursday at the Law drawing room.

Headline:	Mary Meinholtz
Date/Pub/Section:	3/29/1935, Gazette, 1

Mary Meinholtz Dies At Her Home

Popular College Graduate Ill Only Few Days; No Funeral Plans

Miss Mary Wilhelmine Meinholtz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Meinholtz, 1624 North Cascade Avenue, and popular Colorado college graduate, died yesterday afternoon at her home, following brief illness.  Her condition was regarded as improving, when it suddenly took a turn for the worse and death followed quickly.

Mr. Meinholtz, who was out of the city, was promptly notified and his return was expected momentarily last night.

Miss Meinholtz, who was born in Henryetta, Okla., in February, 1911, was graduated from Colorado college last year.  During the time she attended college she was one of the most popular members of the student body.  She was a member of Delta Gamma sorority and the Tiger club.  Before entereing Colorado college she studied at Northwestern university and Colorado State Teachers college.

Last year Miss Meinholtz was awarded first prize in the Colorado college beauty contest.

Following her graduation she entered the employ of the Alexander Film company of this city.

Surviving, besides her parents, are three sisters, Helen and Marjorie Meinholtz of this city and Miss Lucille Meinholtz, who is a student at Lindenwood college, St. Charles, Mo.

Funeral arrangements will be made at the Law mortuary.

---
Henry C. MEINHOLTZ was my paternal great-granduncle, the husband of Edith Mabel LEMASTERS.  Edith was a daughter of Luman Walker and Mary Keziah (CHEW) LEMASTERS.

King and Gooding Families: Orestes, Indiana

Stumbled across the webpage of Debbie Dunn which contained information regarding the King and Gooding families.  The site also give accounts of the famous Orestes, Indiana tornado of 1922.  


Growing up, I attended Orestes Elementary.  Our school mascot was the "Cyclones" in memory of the devastation that occurred in 1922.  Today, the elementary school is closed and sits idle, wasting away.


The connection of this author's line to mine is that Francis Marion GOODING married in 1874 to Mary Ann KING, daughter of Thomas and Martha E. (HAGGERTY) KING.  Thomas was a brother to my Daniel KING.


I need to do some research to tie all of them together, but Thomas KING's widow, Martha, married Nelson GOODING, who was the father of Francis Marion GOODING, above.  So step-brother and step-sister were married in 1886. 


And here I thought modern-day families were complicated...

FindAGrave Success : Metzner

I need to give a long-overdue "shout-out" to a kind volunteer at the FindAGrave.com website, who helped provide pictures of the tombstones of my Metzner relatives at the Gravel Hill Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana.


Thanks to volunteer, Lulabell, I know have photographs on the memorial pages for the following Metzner relatives:


William F. Metzner (1844-1929): William was the son of John and Catherine (YOUNG) METZNER, and married to Mary Ann HALEY, daughter of Sebastian and Lydia A. (RADER) HALEY.


Irvin G. Metzner (1879-1969):  Irvin was the son of William F., above, and was married to Julia STONE.


Herbert W. Metzner (1906-1910): Herbert was the son of Irvin, above.


Gravel Hill Cemetery is located in Bryant, Jay County, Indiana.  William F. Metzner's occupation was listed as a furniture dealer and farmer in the census, Irvin's was listed as a teacher.

Slow Week for Genealogy Research

It seems this time between Christmas and the New Year has been a slow one for my research, most of the work on my family has been sorting through papers and trying to get organized.  My dad has been giving me a lot of his old research papers and family photos to go through.

I did manage to send off two requests for military records, form SF 180, to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, requesting records for both of my grandfathers.  According to the paperwork, there is no charge for a copy of the records if sent to the next of kin, so I had my parents sign and request the paperwork.  Better to do it now while I can.  I submitted copies of my grandfather's obituaries as proof of death, hopefully that will work.  If not, will resubmit with death certificates, when I obtain them (one of my goals for 2011).

My maternal grandfather, William Lee Wright, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps  during World War II.  My paternal grandfather, Ord Wehrly LeMaster, served in the National Guard in the 1920s.  While I have some military records for Grandpa Wright, I do not have anything on Grandpa LeMaster, and I'm hoping that St. Louis has something in their files.  I understand there was a huge fire in 1973 that may have destroyed the records that I seek.

Wordless Wednesday: Bill & Vicki (Walsh) Seamans

Bill & Vicki (Walsh) Seamans, 1976

Wordless Wednesday – a great way to share your old family photos! Create a post with the main focus being a photograph or image. Some posters also include attribute information as to the source of the image (date, location, owner, etc.). Wordless Wednesday is one of the longest running “memes” in the blogosphere and is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Tombstone Tuesday: Imo Chew

Source: Salamonia Cemetery (Jay County, Indiana), Imo Chew marker, photographed by Travis LeMaster, 26 March 2009.

Imo C. CHEW is buried in the Salamonia Cemetery, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana.  Imo was my paternal 1st cousin 3 times removed.


Imo was born November 20, 1902 in Jay County, Indiana, the daughter of William Anderson and Emma Susan (STRAIGHT) CHEW.


Imo never married and was a school teacher in Jay County.  She died in 1971, but I do not yet have the exact date.


Tombstone Tuesday – To participate in Tombstone Tuesday simply create a post which includes an image of a gravestone of one or more ancestors and it may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor. This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Building My 2011 Research Template

It's that time of year when people begin to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for improvement in the year to come.  I've decided that in order to make my blog and my genealogy research better, I need to come up with a systematic plan to document my ancestors' lives.

I've decided that I will start by focusing on my great-grandparents, both maternal and paternal, as well as their children.  I will use this blog to document the records as well as gaps that need further research. I will highlight and document the facts and information I have discovered, using the following template:

Documentation of GGF and children:

1. Vital Records (birth, marriage, death)

     1.1. Birth certificate

            1.1.1 Birth notice in newspaper

            1.1.2 Bible record

            1.1.3 Baptismal record

            1.1.4 Adoption record

     1.2 Marriage license

            1.2.1 Marriage notice in newspaper

            1.2.2 Anniversary notice

            1.2.3 Divorce decree

     1.3 Death certificate

            1.3.1 Obituary in newspaper

            1.3.2 Funeral home record

            1.3.3 Tombstone photograph

2. Census Records

     2.1 Federal Census Records

            2.1.1 1930 Federal Census

            2.1.2 1920 Federal Census

            2.1.3 1910 Federal Census

            2.1.4 1900 Federal Census

            2.1.5 1880 Federal Census

            2.1.6 1870 Federal Census

     2.2 State Census Records

     2.3 Agricultural / Mortality Census Records

3. Military Records

     3.1 Draft registration

     3.2 Pension records

     3.3 Service records

4. Land Records

     4.1 Deed records

     4.2 Plat map / county map

5. Supplemental records

     5.1 Social Security records

     5.2 Church membership records

     5.3 City directories

     5.4 Court records

My goal is to start with my great-grandparents, completing this template for them and each of their children (my grandaunts and uncles) and then eventually to continue backwards each successive generation.  If I can progress slowly and methodically, I hope to become a better researcher and create a more thorough documented record of my ancestors lives.

I will also endeavor to document my sources consistently, so that others may see how I arrived at my conclusions.

What are your thoughts?  I would appreciate any comments regarding this plan.

Amanuensis Monday: Future Farmers of America (1937)

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. 

Source: Alexandria-Monroe High School Spectrum, Alexandria, Indiana, 1937

The Future Farmers of America

First row from left to right: Leroy Waymire, Arthur McMahan, Paul Thurston, William Cranfill.  Second row: Basil Retherford, Eugene Hannah, John Featherston, Elbert Hague, Eugene Derstler, Noel Maddox, David Teague, Frank Tobin.  Third row: Eugene Fields, Robert Hobbs, William Blake, Forest McMahan, Bernard Balser, Fred Johnson, John Nacoff, Ralph Porter, Mr. Disque. Back row: Omer Young, Verne Sullivan, Harold Bess, Keith Sizelove, Harry Ellis, Fred Inglis, Lyle Summers, Charles Sayre, William Wright, Dale Blacklidge.

The Future Farmers of America is a National Organization of farm boys studying vocational agriculture with chapters throughout the United States, Hawaii, and Porto Rico.  Its purpose is to create more interest in farming as an occupation, and to instill and nurture a love of country life.

The thirty-three members of the local chapter participate in judging and corn husking contests, and their basketball team furnishes recreation.  Paul Thurston won the Hoosier Farmer Degree.

President: Herman Brown

Vice-President: Arthur McMahan

Secretary: William Cranfill

Treasurer: Leroy Waymire

Reporter: Robert Inglis

Faculty Adviser: Mr. Disque

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My maternal grandfather, William Lee Wright, is pictured in the back row.

Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.