Tombstone Tuesday...

Christ Church Cemetery

Sherburne, Chenango county, New York

Stephen Medbury - Died 9 Nov 1869

Athalinda Medbury (his wife) - Died 4 Nov 1884

Help! Can a man really die twice????

Maybe someone out there in the genealogy world can figure this one out.  There's probably a very simple explanation...hopefully someone understands these documents better than I do.

It all started when I was trying to find Civil War records for my great-great grandfather, John Johns (born OH between 1840 and 1842).  John's wife was Cynthia Pilgrim; they were married 3 Sep 1862 in Dakota county, NE (Vol. 1, Pg. 47).

My first stop was  Footnote where I found the following THREE Civil War Pension records.  I believe it's the same person because the certificate number is the same, 500787.

 

At the bottom of each card is "Died" and a date.  Two of the cards have Oct. 13 1910 in Monte Vista, CA (which is in Placer county), but the other one has Dec. 10, 1920 in Del Paso Heights, CA (which is in Sacramento county).

How can he die on two different dates...ten years apart??? Help...can someone explain this to me?

To re-enforce that this John Johns is my John Johns...I have Margretta (Blay) Johns' address book which has a notation of "John Johns Del Paso Heights California." Margretta was John's daughter-in-law (married to his son, Robert William Johns).  Del Paso is the location of death at the bottom of the first card (above).

On Ancestry I found two records for John Johns in the "U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938" database.  Again...these appear to be the same person as they have the same pension certificate number of 500787.

 

In the first record his wife is listed as Carrie.  Could Carrie be Cynthia? Is it a variation of the name Cynthia, or is this another wife?  I last found Cynthia in the 1880 census (living in Nebraska), by 1900 she is gone and he's listed as a widow (living in Denver, Colorado).  In the 1910 census (enumerated on 16 Apr 1910) he's still in Denver, Colorado but is now living with his daughter, Hattie (Johns) Smith and her family.  He's still listed as a widower.  In the second veteran's home record above, his wife is listed as Frances...what?  Another wife?  You've got to be kidding...  Could they make this any more confusing?  By the way...the age listed in both records indicates his age when he entered the veteran's home.

In the 1920 U.S. Census (enumerated 23 Mar 1920) I can find a John Johns at the National Military Home in Malibu, Los Angeles county, CA.  He has the right age and birth location.  But there is also another John Johns (with the right age and birth location) living in Malibu, Los Angeles county, CA (enumerated 5 Jan 1920) living with his wife, Fraces(sic).  How could this be him when the veteran's home record above indicates he was admitted 27 Dec 1919 and released 10 Aug 1920?

So...are you as confused as I am?  Does anyone out there want to take a shot at helping me figure this out?  Come on...be brave...

On this day in our family history...

Jasper Johns and Katie Bliven were married on this day (29 Mar) in 1895; Dakota City, Dakota county, Nebraska (Vol. 3, Pg. 218). 

Below is a picture of Jasper and Katie.  I believe the photo was taken in Sioux City, Iowa - possibly when they were living with their son, Earl G. Johns at 216 South Collins Street.  You can see the house number directly above them. 

The 1930 census shows them all living together at that address (#209/209, Pg. 13a, E.D. 34, Sioux City, Woodbury Co., Iowa).

The image below is from Bing maps and shows a current view of 216 South Collins St., Sioux City, IA.  I wish it could show a street view of the house.

Wordless Wednesday...

Tombstone Tuesday...

Crynant Cemetery, Glamorgan, Wales

Amy Morgan

Born in California 16 Jun 1865

Died at Swansea 20 Jan 1875

"As mine own shadow was this child to me

A second self far dearer and more fair."

Also Elizabeth Morgan

Died 28 Apr 1892

Age 59

"Beloved in Life, Deeply Lamented in Death"

Also Thomas Morgan

Died 19 Jul 1909

Age 81

Thomas came to the U.S. in 1852 eventually making his way to California where he co-owned a gold mine in Cherokee, CA with his younger brother, Jenkin Morgan.  Around 1856 he went back to Wales where he married, Elizabeth Williams and by 1859 they are back in the U.S.  Around 1870 the family returns to Wales where Thomas and Elizabeth remain for the rest of their lives.   

Paris Blues and my family history...hmmmmm

Have you ever seen the movie Paris Blues?

I don't think I've ever seen it, and you're probably wondering what this has to do with family history. Well a couple of days ago the answer would have been nothing. But that was a couple of days ago...before my Prehn research (that I talked about yesterday), before my recent trek to Genealogy Bank - where I let my fingers do the walking until I found..."Dallas Couple Lands in Paris Film Making."

Evidently Walter Lawrence Prehn and his wife, Carrie (Hille) Prehn, were vacationing in Europe.  They made a visit to Paris and wanted to take a quick boat ride (or is that Bateau Mouche ride?) on the Seine.  They arrived just as the bateau mouche was starting off.  They had to jump to get on the boat, but they made it.  The trip is underway, but they realize it's not going to the destination they thought.  Curious they stopped a man in a beret and asked where they were going.  Needless to say the man was slightly taken aback...he thought they were joking.  He informed them that the ship was being used as a movie set and all the "passengers" were actors.  The film?  You guessed it....Paris Blues.  The newspaper article goes on to say that Joanne Woodward and Sidney Poitier stopped by and apologized to the Prehns.  And the man in the beret?  Why he was the director, Martin Ritt.  Walter and Carrie ended up as extras in the movie.  So now I'm going to have to rent the movie and watch for them.

I tried to enhance the newspaper photo...but didn't have much success.

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, I LOVE newspapers.  You just never know what you're going to find.  Does this add genealogically to my data?  No, but I love the story and I love the little glimpse into their life.  Things like this turn them from mere names into people, or ancestors.

Is there a story behind the certificate???

Sometimes we, as genealogists, focus on events and their corresponding sources (certificates, registers, etc).  We tend to overlook the story behind those events or documents. Get the certificate, get the proof and move on to another ancestor.  But...

I was recently going through my file folder for Henry Prehn (my great-great grandfather) and his descendants.  Entering data, organizing and scanning documents, researching on-line, etc.  Henry's son, Walter Lawrence Prehn Sr., lived in Texas.  So off I went to look for available Texas records.  My first stop was FamilySearch Record Search where I found the death certificate for Margaret Ann Prehn (Walter L. Prehn Jr.'s daughter).

The cause of death is listed as "pulomary hemorrhage" and "severe 3rd degree burns."  There are other notations like..."clothing caught on fire," This made me want to find the story behind the certificate.  So I went to my favorite newspaper site - Genealogy Bank.  There I found the sad tale...

It was Christmas day 1953, and little Margaret had been given a grass skirt as a Christmas present.  She had the skirt on...I can just picture her spinning around and watching the grass twirl..., but she got too close to a heater.  The skirt caught fire and she was badly burned.  She survived 5 months, but her little body was just too damaged, she died 16 May 1954.  The story was carried in the 17 May 1954 issue of the Dallas Morning News (TX) newspaper, pg. 10.

Are you like me?  Do you want to find the story behind the facts?  I can't even begin to imagine how devasted Margaret's parents were.  To have such a happy ocassion go so horribly wrong - it's heartbreaking.

Now to find out why she was buried in Palo Alto, California...hmmm...another story behind the story?

A life that began and ended in February...

According to his obituary (in the Carlinville Democrat (IL) newspaper, the major events of Edward Trover's life occurred in February.  He was born 4 Feb 1887 (the son of Edward and Julia Morris Trover);  he was married 2 Feb 1907 (to Lois Irene Gates); he died 19 Feb 1956 (in Carlinville, Macoupin county, IL); and he was buried 22 Feb 1956 (in the Carlinville City Cemetery).

Wordless Wednesday...

Father & Daughter

Bertha Albee & Abraham Lincoln Albee

Tombstone Tuesday

Abraham Lincoln Albee

20 Apr 1920

Woodlawn Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo county, California

 

Califnornia Department of Public Health dateh certificate for Abraham Lincoln Alvee (sic), 1920, #2996

 

The San Francisco Examiner newspaper (California) - 22 Apr 1920 issue, pg. 4 (section cc)

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...

It's difficult sometimes to decide which name to use as the primary name when there are several to choose from.  Most genealogy programs allow us to enter an alias...that's not the issue.  How do I decide which to enter as the primary name?  Case in point...

My husband's great great grandmother is listed as Duanna Morehead in 1848 in Vermillion county, IN probate court papers (Box 124) when her step-mother sued her in a petition for dower from property Duanna inherited when her father died.

 

In the 1850 census for Vermillion, Vermillion county, IN (pg. 107a) she is listed as Duanna Morehead.

On 21 Sep 1859 she marries Joseph Dicken and the marriage register (Vermillion county, IL - Bk. A, Pg. 290) lists her name as Duanah Moorehead:

In the 1860 census for Vermillion, Vermillion county, IN (pg. 132) she is listed as Duanna Dicken :

In the 1870 census for Camargo, Douglas county, IL (pg. 268a) she is listed as Duanna Dicken:

On 9 Jul 1872 she passed away and was buried in Broadus cemetery, Douglas county, IL.  Her headstone is engraved Dauanah Dicken.

So my question is...which name should I use as her "primary" name in my database?  Duanna?  Duanah? Or Dauanah?  I would normally lean toward the marriage record, except in this case it appears to be a register that is all written in the same hand.  It isn't anything she signed herself.  Do I assume the headstone is the most correct?  Her husband was alive when she died, wouldn't he have known how to spell her name?   But then more records appear as Duanna, so does that one win because it has the majority?  Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...  Which would you use? 

What does a yo-yo, bubble gum, scotch tape and Pez have in common???

When I was a kid, I remember when we got our first color TV (am I dating myself...or what?).  The whole family sat on the sofa as we Ohhhh'd and Ahhhh'd at the vibrant colors dancing across the RCA screen.  I think we were watching Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea or Sea Hunt...something like that.  The ocean water was incredibly blue.

OK...so back to the question.  What does a yo-yo, bubble gum, scotch tape and Pez have in common?  My Grandfather...well sort of.

Actually they were all invented during a period of his life.  My genealogy software of choice is Legacy Family Tree, and it has the option of including inventions in a chronology of the person's life.  I have fun with this.  It's always interesting to see what inventions your ancestor may have seen or experienced.  What they may have Ohhhh'd and Ahhhh'd over.

From the Chronology tab, click on "Options."  In the Chronology  Options box (the Include tab) click on the "Select Background Timelines" box at the bottom.  Click "Add a Timeline" and you will get a list of timelines you can include (such as Wars, Presidents, Organization of States, etc).  Select "Inventions."  It's that simple.  Now your chronology view has inventions plugged into it.

The screenshot above shows what was invented when my Grandfather was 19 to 27 years old.  So what was invented during your ancestors' lifetime?  You will be surprised.

Second Life chat provides Real Life benefits...

Last night I attended a genealogy chat in Second Life (SL) hosted by Genie Weezles (pictured here in front of the whiteboard and used with her permission).

The topic was "sharing."  Genie did a wonderful job introducing us to various ways to share our genealogy.  I've already implemented some of her recommendations...there is now a "Share This" button on my blog posts.  This allows readers to share a posting in various ways (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc).

Another topic in the chat was Delicious - a social bookmarking site.   It allows you to have access to your bookmarks/favorites no matter what computer you're on and search/view the non-private bookmarks of other users.  I've set up my Delicious account...very, very nice.

Also discussed was Stumble Upon, Su.Pr, Flickr, Picasa, and Transfer Big Files.  There was so much useful information in this chat.  I'm still setting up accounts, and trying out the things we were shown.

If you haven't checked out Second Life...you're really missing out.  There are some very knowledgable genealogists willing to share, help and host chats like this one. 

Hoping to see you in SL :-)

Treasure Chest Thursday

My husband's great great grandfather, Cyrus Downey, was in the Civil War.  Our "treasure chest" item is a letter Cyrus wrote to his brother on 22 Dec 1863.

On the other side of the letter he drew a map of the battlefield.  Below is a transcription of the letter...well all except for one word (which I can't clearly read).  If anyone out there has any ideas about the missing word...please let me know:

December the 22th 1863
Murfreesboro Tenn

 Dear Brother
I thot that I would drop you a few lines to let you a few words that I got your letter yesterday, and was glad to hear from you and tell Catharine that I would be glad to have those suspenders and [unreadable word ] and that knife and handkerchief and if I don’t get them before the 15 of next month I can by them here those things will cost me a bout 8 or 10 $ and send me that box when you get the chance but I want them other things rite the way as soon as you can send them I send my love to you all

This is the Chickamoga battle ground and when I get home I will show you where our reg fot hand this to Catharine

 Cyrus Downey

It actually looks to me like the word is "pumps," but if that's right...well...what does that mean?  The letter was written in pencil and is fading.

The Catharine he refers to is his wife, Catharine (Burtner) Downey.  Per his pension file (#263511/379-997), Cyrus enlisted in Company F, 123rd Regiment of Illinois Volunteers on 1 Aug 1862, and was mustered into service on 6 Sep 1862.  He was discharged 28 Jun 1865 in Nashville, TN.

My husband and I treasure this letter and are so grateful that his mother passed it on to us.  She knew of our interest in genealogy, and knew we would keep it safe.

Wordless Wednesday...

Before

After

Anna Christina (Zeitz) Osborn

Photo restoration using Corel's Paint Shop Pro X2.  I guess that wasn't really wordless...was it?

Breaking up is very hard to do...

I'm planning on kicking my computer to the curb...well...actually, I'm kicking it to my husband (the computer  that is) and he's kicking his computer to the curb.  It's about time that I replace my desktop, and so begins the task of making sure all my essential programs get installed on the new beast.  So what are my essentials?  Here they are (in no particular order):

• Legacy Family Tree  - genealogy software
• Microsoft Office - Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, and Excel
• Adobe CS4 (especially InDesign and Photoshop!) - their creativity suite
• Photodex's ProShow Producer - for creating slide shows
• Techsmith's Camtasia Studio - screen recording software
• Corel's Paint Shop Pro X2 - photo editing software
• GreenLife Emerald Viewer - viewer for Second Life
• LogMeIn - remote computer access software
• Evernote - note taking and web page clipping software
• Picasa - Google's free image editing software
• Transcript - view an image & transcribe it at the same time
• Screenshot Captor - software for capturing and annotating screen shots
• IrfanView - image viewer and editor
• ImgBurn - DVD burning software
• 7-Zip - compresses and uncompresses .zip and .rar files
• BookCat - book cataloging software
• CoffeeCup HTML Editor - web design software
• FastStone Viewer - another image browser and editor
• FileZilla FTP Client - file uploading software
• Audacity - digital audio editor
• Internet Explorer - internet browser
• Firefox - internet browser

Of course, I have to backup my contacts and favorites, and install the software for my printers, and scanner.  See what I mean...breaking up (with your computer) is very hard to do.  But then I think of the one I'm planning to buy...8GB ram, 1T hard drive, etc., etc.  Maybe breaking up isn't so hard after all!

Hmmmm...have I forgotten anything?  I'll have to double and triple check my list.  Anyone out there have any "essential" software?  What are your must haves?

The Wreck of the Alice Buck...

The year is 1881 and the Alice Buck (a ship out of New York) is bound for Oregon laden with railroad iron for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company.  On board is a crew of 24 that included the Captain, Herman Henningser.  They encountered a hurricane at latitude 16 degrees north and the ship began taking on water.  Although the crew was manning the pumps around the clock, the situation continued to get worse.  Capt. Henningser decided to head to San Francisco for repairs.  He mistakenly thought they were about fifty miles southwest of the Farallones and turned northeast.  Shortly after midnight on September 26th, the ship struck the rocks in Half Moon Bay (San Mateo county, California) and quickly began falling apart.  Some of the crew members became "panic-stricken" and jumped overboard...they were never seen again.  Others stayed with the ship as long as there was something to hold on to.  A couple made it to shore where they were helped by locals.  Two young men, Silas Hovious and Frank Hale, received recognition for their heroic actions in saving the lives of some of the mariners from the Alice Buck.

Photo of Half Moon Bay cliffs from Flickr and used under creative commons license by owner "radzfoto"

The 10 Oct 1881 issue of the New York Times newspaper carried the story on page 2.  It details the actions of the two 19 year old young men.

Subsequent newspaper articles give the names of those lost:  William Barry West, First Mate; D. Crocker, Second Mate; George Parker, a boy of 14; David Black, seaman; Charles Reader, seaman; Patrick Welsh, seaman; John Gunnison, seaman; and "two Chinamen, cook and steward."

The San Mateo County Coroner's Index lists (as unknown) some of the seamen that died in the wreck (A104-A109); notice all were found on different days.

Silas and Frank were each given a certificate and gold medal in recognition of their heroic actions.  The certificate reads, in part, "Humanity, unflinching courage and personal peril for the sake of saving human life.  These qualities so significantly displayed by yourself and your comrade, Frank Hale, when, on the 27th of September last, you saved four lives from the wreck of the Alice Buck, on the coast of California, near Half Moon Bay..."

The Annual report of the Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, 18, Volumes 50-53 shows the cost of the gold medals the young men were given...$25.00.

So how is this story connected to my family history?  Silas Hovious' son, Edward Hovious married Carolyn Raaen.  Carolyn was the daughter of my great grandmother, Minnie Prehn (by her first husband, Lawrence Raaen).  This isn't my direct line of research...but it's still an interesting story.

Tombstone Tuesday...

Veronica Alphenia MANLEY

Born:  7 Sep 1893

Died:  4 Feb 1894

Buried:  Green Hill Cemetery, Logan county, IL

Veronica (nicknamed Ronie) was the daughter of John Milton and Rachel Anna (Carrothers) Manley.  She died just shy of 5 months old.  John and Rachel must have wanted a lasting memory of this precious baby and had this photograph taken after she died.  Five of their twelve children died at under 2 years of age.   

An update on my "test"...

On New Year's Eve I posted an article on a test I was performing to see how many researchers with wrong information would be interested in making corrections when provided with documentation (you can read that post here).  Out of ten e-mails I sent, three not only expressed gratitude for the information, but quickly corrected their Ancestry Public Tree entry.  I am so grateful for their attitude and how swiftly they made the correction. 

According to their Ancestry profile a few of the others haven't been on the web site for 6 months or more...so it may be a while before those will be corrected (if ever). 

However, there still remains one researcher who in spite of documentation prefers to hold on to the inaccurate information.  She found a John Manley buried in Iowa and seems to disregard any information that proves her wrong.  I've sent her the correct headstone photo and offered to send her the other sources (obituaries that list her ancestor as a survivor, and the death certificate which lists the correct parents and spouse), but still she doesn't seem interested in accuracy.  I find that attitude very sad.

Were there any Happy New Years in my family history????

Happy 2010!  Celebrating New Years yesterday had me wondering if there were any New Years babies born in my family history.  I did a search in Legacy and sure enough there were.  One was Laura Louise Prehn.  According to her Missouri death certificate (#11783), Laura was born 1 Jan 1879 in Webster Groves, St. Louis county, Missouri.  She was the daughter of Johann (John) Prehn and Louise Wilhelmine Marie Leue. 

She was a bit of a heroine in Jan 1912 when she rescued a couple of women.  The story appeared in the Webster Groves Times newspaper on 5 Jan 1912, page 1.   

Laura never married and was 77 years old when she died in Webster Groves on 1 Mar 1956. Her body was cremated on 2 Mar 1956 and placed in Valhalla's Hillcrest Abbey Crematory in St. Louis, Missouri.