It pays to keep looking...

Even though you've checked a website before, perhaps several times before, it pays to check again.  I periodically search the Ancestry Public Member Trees for several of my direct line ancestors.  I always hope to find someone researching the same families.  I'm generally disappointed.  However, yesterday when I checked Henry Pilgrim (my 3rd great grandfather) I saw what purported to be a photograph of him with is wife (Zilpah Pritchett Pilgrim).  It's an obvious photocopy of a photograph with a typewritten notation at the bottom that reads "Henry Pilgrim Sr. - and wife Zylphia Pritchett Pilgrim."

Image from the "Warner/Joyce/Schultz/Wahl" Public Member Tree 

on Ancestry.com  submitted by "jonathantripple"

The picture was added on 11 Feb 2011.  I quickly sent a message to the submitter asking how they obtained the picture, how it was identified and who has the original.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to confirm the authenticity of the photo and perhaps obtain a better copy.

It pays to look...and look again!

Wordless Wednesday...

 

 

State of Illinois Death Certificate #185

Decatur Daily Review newspaper
18 Mar 1916 issue, pg. 8, col. 1

The subject was...obituaries...

A few months ago I attended a genealogy chat in Second Life - the topic was obituaries.  It was another great chat hosted by Genie Weezles.  After the chat I visited several of the sites recommended and hit "pay dirt."  One of the suggested sites was for the United Brethren Obituaries Index (Sorry the link is no longer active).  My husband had ancestors that were United Brethren and I decided to check the index.  A quick search for "Burtner" showed Rev. Henry Burtner.  When I clicked on the link I didn't just get a transcript, but a clipping of the obituary from the 4 Mar 1857  issue of the Religious Telescope publication (Dayton, OH).  This wonderful clipping gave a memoir of Rev. Burtner's life, and contained information I didn't have previously.

I am continually amazed at how great the chats are in Second Life.  They are full of useful information.   

Tombstone Tuesday...

Emily Susan Yunker

Daughter of John James & Mary Ann (Younger) Yunker

Born 11 Sep 1873, Effingham county, Illinois

Died 9 Nov 1884, Fayette county, Illinois*

Buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Effingham county, Illinois

Emily Susan Yunker spent the morning of November 9th baking pies.  Once she finished she went outside to play.  While playing around the family's wagon in the yard, she was crushed to death. The pies she baked that morning ended up being served to guests after her funeral.

*Fayette county, IL 1884 death register #1140

On this day in our family history...

This is Alanson Osborn (also known as A. Lanson Osborn), my husband's great great grandfather.   He was born 15 Aug 1822 in Athens county, Ohio and died on this day in 1895 (4 Oct 1895) in Moweaqua, Shelby county, Illinois. 

Alanson, is buried in Ludwig Cemetery, Shelby county, Illinois.  A short obituary was found in the Moweaqua Call-Mail Newspaper (Moweaqua, Shelby county, Illinois), 9 Oct 1895 issue, pg. 3, col. 1.

The Protrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois from the Biographical Publishing Co. of Chicago, 1891 (available on-line at the Internet Archive) has a biographical sketch of Alanson on pages 434 to 436.

Treasure Chest Thursday

My husband's great grandfather, William Albert Downey, owned a cabinet shop/furniture shop in Decatur, Illinois. He had been a carpenter most of his life.  We have a photo of him in his shop.

We also have a blank receipt from his business.  It shows the address as 2177 North Church St., Decatur, Illinois.

But even more imporant than these items is the piece of furniture we have that was made by William Albert Downey.  It's a wash stand.  It actually has a mirror to go with it, but when we inherited it the mirror was in really bad shape and was being refinished.   Unfortunately it's still in the same condition :-)

From DDDs to remarks...did I miss something important???

The Genealogy Insider blog had a posting today about DDD schedules.  I'll be honest...I hadn't heard of the DDD schedules or paid attention to column 15 of the 1880 census.  Perhaps that was because I didn't have any ancestors that had a notation in that column, but I had to be sure I hadn't missed anything.  So I set about to check various ancestors, and while I didn't find any ddd's, I did notice something that had escaped my initial research...the census takers "remarks."  Here is a portion of the page I was viewing.  The enumerater made several comments at the bottom of the page.  

None of these were my family, but what if they had been? I might have missed them completely.  So now, besides looking for ddd's, I also have to look at the end of township enumerations for any "remarks" I missed. OK...I must go now and get busy.

Wordless Wednesday...

Helen (Klingler) Fitch

Born 3 Sep 1896 - Iowa

Died 17 Apr 1984 - Phoenix, Arizona

Buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery, Topeka, Kansas