Old Cousin Bait is Still Cousin Bait

You never know when "cousin bait" might be effective.  This week I received an email from a fellow Groendyke/Groenendyke researcher that stated the following:

I saw an old sept 15 1998 RootsWeb request from yourself for descendants of James Groenendyke and Barbara Buck . I will not go much further as this was an old request and I do not know if you are still out there.

I'm so glad that I posted to RootsWeb back in 1998 and also glad that this cousin had the persistence to find me and reach out.  Now that we have each other's email addresses, we can begin to share information.

This is a family line that I'm not aware of many others researching, so I'm hopeful that we can expand on each other's research.

Old cousin bait never gets stale, it's like a fine wine, better with age!

Shaky Leaves : Anna L. (Wright) Vinson (1864-1914)

Anna L. (Wright) Vinson (1864-1914) was my maternal 2nd-great grandaunt, the daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Heaton) Wright.  She was married to Albert Morris "Ab" Vinson (1858-1921).  Ancestry.com is currently showing 4 hints for her in my LeMaster and Allied Families Member Tree.

One of the hints is a link to Anna's memorial page at the FindAGrave website, which I created and maintain.  Anna is buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana.

In the 1910 census, Anna was living in Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana with her husband Albert, who was a deputy sheriff.  Also in the household was Anna's brother, Jesse, and a boarder, Addie Hughs, who was laid off from the paper mill.

In the 1880 census, Anna was living in the Joseph Wright household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana as a 16 year old student.

While neither of these 'hints' were new facts to my database, I did link them to Anna's record in the Ancestry Member Tree and downloaded copies of the images so I can add to my RootsMagic database.

In the database, Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920, which contains data from the WPA index, the following information was found:

Name:	Anna L. Vinson
Date:	6 Jun 1914
Location:	Alexandria
Age:	50 Yr
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Source Location:	City/County Health Office, Anderson or City Health Office, Elwood/Alexandria
Source notes:	The source of this record is the book 2CH-8 on page 37 within the series produced by the Indiana Works Progress Administration.

This matches the death date I have for Anna, and provides the book and page number so I can obtain a copy of her death certificate.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for a future research trip.

If you are related or have any additional information or corrections, I'd love to hear from you.

Mrs. Hercules Routs Robber With Retort

Searching for more information about my grandaunt and uncles roofing company in Richmond, Indiana, located the following snippet (1950) :

Mrs. Hercules Routs Robber With Retort

Richmond, Ind. Dec. 7 - (AP) Mrs. Bertha Hercules told police she thought a man was joking when he walked into her husband's roofing company office, pointed a gun at her and said: "Sister, I need some money and I need it bad."

She had a snappy comebakc:

"Brother, if you can find any money here just go ahead and take it."

She said the man didn't pursue the subject of money any further but walked out.

That snappy comeback might give a little insight into her character.  My dad said that his dad sold roofing for them.  Will have to see what other stories I can find.

Bertha (LeMaster) Hercules was the wife of Russell, and the daughter of Luman and Barbara (Wehrly) LeMaster.

Since this story was picked up by the Associated Press, Newspapers.com has mention of it all across the country.

Found this add in another newspaper, the address 625 Sheridan Richmond Indiana matches where Bertha's residence was listed on her death certificate.  Today, this location is a bar known as the Sheridan Pub.