Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Who Is Your MRUA?

Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings has issued another Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge: Who is your MRUA - your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor?  Have you looked at your research files recently for this unknown person?  What offline or online sources might you search to help you identify your MRUA?

Here's mine:

Number 15 on my Anhnentafel is June Kirk DAVIS.  I do not know who her father was, but I do know that her mother was Ida DAVIS. Here is a brief outline of what I do know about her parents:

June was born June 11, 1898 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.  Her birth certificate lists here parents as Atkinson and Ida Davis.  I have found no record of an Atkinson Davis.  I had been told by my grandmother that her mother (June) was an orphan.  June was orphaned when her mother, Ida died August 2, 1900 in Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana.  June was raised by her maternal grandmother and step-grandfather, Mary (SWAFFORD) GILLILAND and her second husband Robert F. GILLILAND.  Both June and her sister took the GILLILAND surname.  June was using the GILLILAND surname when she married Clemon Beals LAMBERTSON on June 28, 1917 in Monroe County, Indiana.  June and Clemon raised their family in Elwood, Madison County, Indiana, where June died on March 20, 1951.  

Speculation in the family has been that June was illegitimate.  At the time of June's birth, Ida was divorced from her husband, Samuel G. HANCOCK, whom she had married in 1892.  I have found a record in the 1900 census for Ida D. HANCOCK, living at the "Door of Hope", apparently a shelter, in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.  June had an older sister, Pansy, who was born December 11, 1894.  I do not know if Pansy and June shared the same father.

June's mother, Ida, remarried on July 19, 1900 in Monroe County, Indiana to Carrie A. MORRIS.  Ida died on August 2, 1900 in Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana of tuberculosis.

A collection of photographs given to me by a cousin showed a mysterious Frank Fletcher, who may be June's father.  The image does bare a resemblance to some of my great-uncles.  I have previously found records of Frank Fletcher in nearby Green County, Indiana in the 1900-1920 census.  Frank Fletcher is mentioned as Pansy's father in her obituary, which states that Pansy was born in Monroe County, Indiana.


I have previously written a post about June Davis here.  I have been unable to locate her in the 1900 census, but did locate her sister Pansy, living with her grandparents in Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana.


If any has any research ideas, I would love to hear them!

Weekly Genealogy Blogging Prompt # 46: Obituaries

Amy Coffin at We Tree has given us another genealogy prompt.  Week # 46: Comment on obituaries in your collection.  Obits come in all shapes and sizes. Share some of the standouts with readers.

I truly enjoy collecting and reading the obituaries of my ancestors and relatives because they add flesh and bones to the places and dates.  Recently, I have focused on trying to be sure that I've collected obits from my direct line of ancestors in as many different papers as possible.  I've found that the small town papers give the best obituaries in terms of character of my ancestors, probably because they have more space and in smaller locales people were more likely to be well-known by their neighbors.

My recent favorite: The obituary of my great-grandmother, Barbara Isabel LeMASTER, which corrected the errors in my database regarding her place of death.  While I had previously believed she had died in Jay County, Indiana, the words leapt out from the page as I read:

"Mrs. Barbara I. Lemaster, wife of L.C. Lemaster, of east of Salamonia, died at 4:25 o'clock Thursday evening at the hospital at Union City." 

Union City was in nearby Randolph County, Indiana, giving me a new avenue to research.

One of the shortest: The obituary of my paternal 3rd-great grandfather,  Dr. Ezekiel Cooper CHEW, in the South Bend Weekly Tribune of September 1, 1888:

 "Mr. Chew, west of town, died on the 27th ins., of dropsy, with which he had suffered for a long time.  The funeral was held at the Christian church on the 29th, Rev. B. McDermott officiating.  The remains were buried in the cemetery north of town."

 Dr. Chew had been married three times, outlived two wives, fathered 16 children, graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and practiced in two states.  Yet he just rated three lines.

One of the saddest:  The obituary of Mildred WRIGHT, in the September 13, 1903 Anderson Daily Herald:

"Alex. Sept.12 - Mildred Wright, aged 2 years and 6 months, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wright, residing two miles north of the city, died this morning at 2 o'clock of diphtheria.  Private funeral services at the home tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock."

 I could not imagine the heartbreak that these parents, and those of any parent who has lost a child, went through.

Misinformation, embellishment, or fabrication?:  The obituary of my maternal 3rd-great grandfather, Carey Wilson LAMBERTSON, in the March 18, 1918 Elwood Call-Leader:

"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."

I've found no connection between President Woodrow Wilson and our Wilson family.  Was this an embellishment by the paper, or perhaps a story my ancestor told, and/or believed?

Obituaries do come in all shapes and sizes, and some are more truthful than others.  All are clues and pieces to this puzzle that we call genealogy.

 

 

 

Family Milestones: November 21st

My paternal 3rd-great granduncle, Isaac LEMASTERS, married Hannah Elizabeth COLEMAN on this date in 1821 in Shelby County, Ohio. Isaac was the son of Jacob and Hanna (________) LEMASTERS, and the older brother of my Luman Walker LEMASTERS. Isaac was born December 18, 1795 in Virginia. Hannah was born April 17, 1807 in Warren County, Ohio, the daughter of Phillip and Ann (KELLY) COLEMAN. Isaac died about January 11, 1841 in Allen County, Ohio, and Hannah later remarried to John B. LOCKHART. Hannah died May 7, 1892 in Union Township, Auglaize County, Ohio.

My paternal great-grandaunt, Rachel Emma Pernina HALEY, was born on this date in 1869 in Medina County, Ohio. Rachel was the daughter of George Washington and Mary Jane (SHERRICK) HALEY, and the younger sister of my Eli Weldon HALEY. Rachel married William Benton HAMLIN on July 11, 1888 in Jay County, Indiana. Nothing further is known.