Ancestor Approved ~ Ten Discoveries

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when Shelley Bishop over at  A Sense of Family gave me the “Ancestor Approved Award.”  The award was created by Leslie Ann of Ancestors Live Here in March 2010, and has been passed along to many genealogical bloggers.  I am honored to be in good company, thank you Shelley!

Recipients are asked to make a list of ten things they have learned about their ancestors that have humbled, surprised, or enlightened them. Then they are to pass on the award to ten other bloggers who are doing their ancestors proud.  Kind of a nice way to wrap up the old year and start out the new year.  I have learned a lot about my ancestors this year.

1.  I was surprised this year to learn my Dad's side of the family had French bloodlines and in two lines no less!  Thought they were a bunch of hot headed Scotch and Germans. I am a descendant of Maureen DuVall a French Huguenot and my Gardners are actually Gaertner's who married the Nouviers in Moselle, France.

2.  I was humbled by Maureen and his life.  The Huguenots had a lot of turmoil in their lives and then to come to a new country around 1650 and start all over is a huge step.

3.  I was enlightened this year by a "new" cousin.  I had a letter from her many years ago I inherited from my Granny.  I had finally tracked her down and it was well worth the hunt.

4.  I was also enlightened and humbled by Kentucky this year.  My cohort in research and I made a road trip to the Kentucky State Archives and Historical Society for a mad three days of non-stop research!  The Archivists at both locations have our undying love now and we are planning another revealing marathon!  Our Ancestors had been waiting for us to uncover many delightful records!!

5.  I must admit that I was surprised to find my first Confederate Soldier, Samuel Thomas Wells, in my non to distant family line.  Now that the dust has settled, we'll keep him. :)

6.  I was humbled when on my visit to Monroe County, Ohio this year when I took my Mom on her first courthouse stake out.  We both got teary eyed when she opened and held a court document with her Great Grandmother's, Mary Anne Hayes Stine, signature on it.  

7.  I guess you could use the word enlightened or even humbled when while in Monroe County, we drove through the hills early in the morning to watch the sun burn off the mist in the cemetery where many of my family are laid to rest.  I posed for a lovely photo with my Great Grandma and Grandpa.  Also nearby was my only Revolutionary War ancestor on my Mom's side of the family.

8.  I was also humbled to have been able to head over to Hancock County, Ohio to visit the graves of my Scotch ancestors after the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference.  I was able to sit down next to my fifth great Grandmother, Mary Milligan Sorbie Littrick, who was born in Scotland, survived two husbands and came to the U.S. with her two grown sons early in Ohio History.  

9.  I was surprised to find out that I am a descendant of Col. James Francis Moore who served his country and States well in the Revolutionary War and he died while on the Legislature floor in Frankfort, Kentucky.

10.  And lastly, I am extremely grateful and humbled in the progress I have made this past year with all of my ancestors.  I have been madly citing my sources, updating my tree, keeping files filed, helping others with their research and enjoying myself thoroughly in my endeavors.

After just picking ten things about this past year's ancestors, I now have the hard job of picking ten blogs that I have enjoyed this past year and passing along the Ancestors Approved Award. It is a lot of fun to read about other genealogists and their adventures in the genealogical world. So thank you and enjoy!

Kelly

My pick for the Ancestors Approved Award:

1. Adventures in Genealogy Education by Angela

2. Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog by Harold

3. Staats Place by Chris

4. The Scottish Emigration Blog by Amanda

5. Pollyblog by Polly

6. Henthorn Genealogy by Mr. Dickie

7. The Symbolic Past by Marian

8. Greta's Genealogy Bog by Greta

9. Finding our Italian Roots by Melanie

10. Our Scots by Jo

 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun ~ Genea-Santa letter

From Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!  It's Saturday Night - take some time from the Christmas shopping and wrapping frenzy - and have a little Genealogy Fun!!  Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.  Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented dreams:

1)  Write your Genea-Santa letter.  Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy?  What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list?  They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue your ancestral quest.

2)  Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook status or comment to this post.

Dear Santa,
I think I have done a pretty good job of keeping track of all my sources this year.  I have made progress in my filing and updating my tree. I have met some new family and helped out some fellow Genies.  This year could you please bring me:

1.  The birth and death dates of my Gaertner & Nouvier family in France.
2.  The time to finish my Huguenot Lineage Application.
3.  The location in Germany my Rheinlanders came from.
4.  And last but not least, an Ipad! 

Thank you Santa!
kelly

Non-Paternity Events in Your Family

On the Transitional Genealogist's Email List this past week they have been discussing Non-Paternity Events vs. Adulterers.  Quite interesting I might say and if you are interested you can read the emails on the archives page at: TGF list  

Everybody has them in their families, the only difference is, do they talk about it or do they stuff the information in the back of the closet and in hopes that no one would come looking.  In my family there are two known non-paternity events, at least two that we know about currently.  One event was a secret and the other was just out there and everyone knew.  There is one adulterous relationship back in early Maryland that is rumored in the family, but that has yet to be proven.  We'll talk about that juicy bit another day...

My Granny's (Dollie) "non-paternity" event occurred in 1909 in Putnam County, Ohio.  The story goes that Carrie got pregnant from someone who was boarding at their house and worked on the railroad.  Frank & Samantha Littrick (Carrie's parents) sent Carrie away to a "farm" to have her baby.  Meanwhile, Samantha stuffed her dress to imitate a pregnancy.  When Carrie came back Samantha "had" her baby.  Dollie was raised as Samantha & Frank's child and Carrie was married off a couple of years later.  Carrie had nothing to do with Dollie's upbringing and did not see her much at all during her life. This was told to me by a few different cousins, but according to Dollie's children they knew nothing about the whole story (hence the reason it was a secret in our branch of the family).   Dollie's original birth record lists her mother Carrie and an unknown father.  All of Dollie's other records list a variety of combination of Samantha, Carrie and Frank as parents. To date, nothing has been found to point to a father for Dollie.

Our other "non-paternity" event was for my other side of the family.  My Great Grandmother, Ollie Minnie Laymire was working on neighboring farms in WV for extra money for the family when she was raped, according to her daughter, my Grandmother.  She gave birth to Rex Posten Laymire in 1918, two years later she married my Great Grandfather (John Rogers) and he "adopted" Rex and his name was changed.  As with Granny's birth, we don't know who Rex's father was, but our only clue is the name Posten.  There were people with the surname Posten in the area at the time that Ollie was living in WV.

I don't know about you, but I would choose to have the stories put out there and talked about.  Obviously it is a tender subject with some, (you should have been there they day I confronted my Grandma about Dollie!!) but don't you think that the family has a same right to the information about how they got here as the person with the knowledge?  My advice would be to step lightly but don't let the stories disappear with the last generation.

Kelly

The Frank & Samantha Littrick Family

John & Ollie Laymire Rogers, holding son Rex

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Jean Michel & Elizabeth (Nouvier) Gaertner

Recently, I discovered that my Gardner family were buried at the same little church cemetery in Canal Fulton, Stark County, Ohio as my Rheinlander family.  Jean Michael (John Michael) Gardner and his wife Elizabeth Nouvier are buried at St. Philip & St. James Catholic Cemetery.  Unfortunately, even though the cemetery readings show a gravestone for John, there is not one now.  Elizabeth's stone can be seen above.

Jean (John) was born to Jacob Gaertner and Marie Anne Meyet on 20 Feb 1800, in Arzviller, Moselle, France.  Elizabeth was born 4 Feb 1807, probably the same area in France as John.  They were supposedly married 5 Feb 1828 in Brouderdorff, Moselle, France.  I have not been able to document their marriage date yet.

According to the 1850 Summit County, Ohio census, the family came to the US in 1830 as their first child was born somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. They went on to have six more children, including my ancestress, Margaret born 12 May 1843, Summit County, Ohio.

Kelly

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge this week is:

1)  Go to the AnyMaking website (http://anymaking.com – it’s FREE to use) and …
2)  Doctor some of your priceless photographs using one or more of their photo effects to turn your photo into a cartoon, into a puzzle, into a wanted poster, etc.  Try it, it’s fun.  You can spend hours doing this.  Think about Christmas presents for your family or friends… [Note that if you want decent size photos - or real puzzles, portraits, etc., you'll need to subscribe to their Premium service.]

Do you have those cute unlabeled photos in your family?

I like engraved tombstones a lot....

What can you come up with?
Have fun!
Kelly

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Guy Daniel Rogers

 Guy Daniel Rogers was the second child born 3 March 1922 to John Robert & Ollie Minnie (Laymire) Rogers in Rowlesburg, Preston County, West Virginia. 

Guy spent his early years in Rowlesburg with the family.  Shortly after John and Ollie were divorced, John took Guy and their other son Richard to Rochester, New York.  There he grew up and enlisted in World War II. 

Guy served in the Asian Region.  During his enlistment he wrote letters to his sister, Ruby.  Unfortunately, Guy never made it home to the U.S. Guy drowned in Manila, Philippines on 9 February 1944 and is buried at Fort Bonifacio, Philippines.

Kelly

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - "I Like It"

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - "I Like It" from Randy Seaver!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  A Facebook meme for women went viral this week - the "I Like It" meme which garnered responses like "I Like It ... On the Couch" or "I Like it ... on the Table."  The subject was "purse" - where to put their purse.  The mind boggled for awhile with some of the responses from supposedly proper genealogy ladies.

2)  Please write an "I Like It" post on the theme of "I like doing genealogy research" someplace, and why.

3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, in a comment or note on Facebook.

I like to do genealogy at Special Collections in the Akron Summit County Public Library, Akron, Ohio!  
Special Collections, Akron, Ohio 
They have the best Librarians, who are very knowledgeable and helpful.  They can track down just about anything you are looking for!  You can tell they really love their jobs.  They also have an awesome collection of not just Ohio, but other States and Countries.  They are always working on new projects and love feedback from their researchers, casual and professional.  There is always something new to read and check out. I love Special Collections!


Where do you like to research?

Kelly


 

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Recipes

Isn't it great to find out your ancestors can write?  It is always fun to find something they had written not just signed or marked.  Given to me by my Grandmother, is this recipe written by Minnie Jane Hartsell Rogers Nose.  My Grandmother knew Minnie, I wish I had.  She sounds like she was a really interestng person and boy the things she has seen.

Minnie was born 16 February 1879 in Preston County, West Virginia to Robert A. Hartsell and Mary Neff.  Minnie married Thomas Milton Rogers 26 November 1896 in Preston County.  Thomas died 10 May 1906 from being struck in the head by falling timber, leaving Minnie with six children under the age of ten. 

Minnie lived until 20 March 1967.  We are not sure of the date when Minnie wrote out her recipe for Pumpkin Cake, but we know she wrote it down for the family.  For me it is very neat to have something that my Great Great Grandmother wrote down for us, I bet she liked Pumpkin Cake.

Kelly

Follow Friday ~ The Perceived Age Demographic in Genealogy

Thomas MacEntee over at http://hidefgen.com/ and Marian Pierre-Louis at http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com both discussed the Perceived Age Demographic in Genealogy; after the Family Tree Magazine interviewed a handful of younger people in their latest magazine. As some people commented on their posts, I have often heard that voice behind me say, "Are you even old enough to do genealogy?"!

I have now been researching my family since 2000. My Grandma is the one who dabbled in the family history and got me hooked at an early age. Because of her and her neighbor who also was a researcher, I am now heavily involved in my local Genealogical Society. They meet on the weekends, which makes it easy for someone like me who works during the week. Dues are inexpensive and they provide quality programs to learn from.

I agree with the other people who posted comments on Thomas and Marian's blogs. Us "young people" do not have enough money and/or vacation time to go to all the conferences. I have yet to attend a National Conference, but the Ohio State Conference, closer and for just 3 days, is much easier to accomplish.

I will say tho, as I come around the curve of 30 years old here soon, I find that lately that I am not the youngest anymore. That makes me happy, but I also know how the younger people coming in feel. I look out for them at conferences and meetings, to encourage and support them. We as the "younger people" may have much to learn, but learn we do through the many technology outlets, print information and through conferences. I have learned a lot through all my friends at the Genealogy Society who welcomed me and taught me many things. Not everyone is as welcoming as they could be to the next generation. We can learn a lot from each other.

On another note, I was a little surprised to see all four adds in the Family Tree Magazine, I think there is someone out there that could compile some better statistics on the Genealogical Audience out here. We might be different ages and demographics, but we are all working the same goal, where is my ancestor!

Kelly

And one last thing :) Have you ever planned a Genealogy Fun Day with your Genealogical Society? I planed one for ours, we invited the whole family, kids, grandkids, etc. We had genealogical activities planned for all ages to work together with the person who does genealogy in the family. We had stations set up around the room and provided snacks. It was a hit! Never stop looking for ways to include everyone, no matter their age.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Unrelated Family

Have you ever toured a cemetery just for the fun of it? A friend of mine and fellow Genealogist, Julie and I were on a Research Trip to Frankfort, Kentucky last weekend. We decided since the Archives and the Historical Society were closed, the next best thing would be to track down Daniel Boone's grave and then for fun drive around the cemetery!
We did find Daniel Boone, but we also came across many interesting and amazing stones. Some of the most elaborate and biggest stones we had ever seen. Mr. Boone is buried (or supposedly buried according to some people...) at Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky, just outside of downtown.
But that is not who I would like to talk about tonight...now I would like to tell you about the Browns. One would think usually that Brown could be boring, (no offense Brown surnames!), but this particular Brown is rather interesting, especially to those who are avid genealogists. As Julie was driving up and down the little road through the cemetery, she or I would say stop and we'd hop out of the car to look at various stones and snap photos. But on this occasion, I began to hollar, STOP, STOP Julie Stop, go back! We have to have a photo of the Brown's tombstone. I hope those who are searching for the Brown family have not come up with a brick wall, because this might slow some down!

Kelly

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Michael & Hannah (Alton) Stine

Meet Michael & Hannah (Alton) Stine. Michael was born in Pennsylvania in 1783 and died in Monroe County, Ohio in 1873. He married Hannah Alton in 1806 in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Michael purchased land in Ohio in 1827, around that time he moved his entire family to Monroe County, Ohio.
Michael continued to buy and sell land there as well as own a general store for many years. Michael and Hannah had 14 children together. John Stine born in 1821 is my ancestor.
Michael and Hannah are buried at Unity Baptist Church in Monroe County, Ohio.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun ~ Brick Walls

Tonight's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is all about your brick walls. I know you all have them, I have them as well as many people I know. I am continually learning new ways to knock down those walls. I hope you are too!
My stubborn wall, who I have put aside at the moment is my Cog(h)an line.
John Bradley Cogan was born 23 January 1872 probably that is in Titusville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania to Richard Cogan and Mary Deplante (who was supposedly born in Canada). I pretty much have John's life down after he marries in Summit County, Ohio in 1892 to Catherine Conlin. Before that is my problem. I cannot seem to find hide nor hair of Richard and the family. I have found no possible siblings or birth information. I have possibly located a Mary and a son Jonathan in Titusville in 1880, but that is a little sketchy to me too.
Anyone out there have a clue for me?
Kelly

Wordless Wednesday

Tombstone Tuesday ~ George & Margaret (Gardner) Whitman

Germans meet French! Margaret Gardner was born in 1843 probably Summit County, Ohio to French immigrants, John Michael Gardner and Elizabeth Neuyear. Margaret married George Whitman, son of Christian and Mary Radar Whitman. Margaret and George probably married about 1862 in Summit or Wayne County, Ohio. A marriage record has yet to have been found. A search is now being made to see if George served in the Civil War. Hopefully a pension file will be located for George to help solve this problem.

George and Margaret are buried together in St. Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery, Doylestown, Wayne County, Ohio. George died of Dropsy of the Heart in 1907. Margaret died in 1915 of Paralysis due to Artius Sclerousis.

Kelly

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Christian & Mary Whitman

On the 29th of June I wrote about George Whitman. George's son is Christian Whitman. Christian was born 5 February 1807 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Christian married Mrs. Mary Manning 2 February 1841 in Wayne County, Ohio, shortly after the family moved from Pennsylvania. Mary's maiden name might be Rater, according to a few sources. Christian died in 1888 and Mary in 1898. They are buried together at St. Peter & St. Paul's Catholic Church Cemetery, Doylestown, Wayne County, Ohio. Mary and Christian had ten children together. Their eldest son, George born in 1841, (five months after the marriage...) is my ancestor.

Kelly

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun ~ Genealogy Clerihew

Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Write a Genealogy Clerihew (and what is a "clerihew" you ask? See Jim Smith's post today for more details and his clerihew (briefly, a clerihew is a four-line irregular poem or verse that follows an AABB rhyme scheme. It is named for the birthday of Edmund Clerihew Bentley the inventor, aka writer, aka poet."). If you're feeling especially creative, write two or more!

2) Show us your genealogy clerihew in a blog post of your own, in a comment on this blog post, or in a Facebook comment or update. C'mon, dazzle your readers and friends with your poetry and creativeness.

Well here is my Genealogy Clerihew...

Records hold the key

Even tho our ancestors flee

They may hide

But we’ll look wide

Kelly L. Holderbaum (c) 2010

Surname Saturday ~ Whitman

I recently traveled down to Wooster to do some research on my Whitman family. Find estate files for your family is very exciting especially when you hit the jack pot. I blogged earlier about the Whitmans. George died in 1847, leaving his son Christian as the executor and leaving everything to his unnamed wife, shame on him not naming her. But an estate file was filed in 1857. Mary Elizabeth Whitman died, Christian her son is the executor and his finishing his mother and father's estate. The above receipt was in the file. This order for the gravestone for $16.00 tells us Mary Elizabeth's husband, two sons, her date of death and age of death as well as the mark of Christian Whitman. Lovely!

Kelly

Tombstone Tuesday ~ George Whitman

So, on Saturday I took a "Kelly Research Day" and went down to Doylestown, Wayne County, Ohio to find my Whitman and Conlin family at the St. Peters & Pauls Catholic Cemetery. It was a beatuiful day to wander around a cemetery. I found my three generations of Whitmans right away as well as a slew of collateral Whitmans.

I will start at the begining with George Whitman born about 1768 in Switzerland according to some records. George settled in Pennslyvania with his wife and atleast two sons, Christian (born 1807 Adams County, PA) and Andrew. They then moved on to Wayne County, Ohio by 1840, probably in the early to mid 1830s according to land records that I located Saturday also.

George and his family helped build the St. Peters & Pauls Catholic Church. According to the Church history "Masses were celebrated in the log cabin of the Whitman family until 1836." George died 18 June 1843 Wayne County, Ohio at the age of 79 years.

Kelly

http://www.stspeterpaul-doylestown.4lpi.com/

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Ollie Minnie Laymire Rogers

Ollie Minnie Laymire was born 12 January 1887 to John Henry and Louisa Virginia Nose Laymire at Scotch Hill, Newburg, Preston County, West Virginia. She was the third eldest of twelve children. Although I never met Ollie, I have heard many stories about her from various family members. She had a tough life and was interesting.
When Ollie was 31 years old she gave birth to her first son, Rex Posten Laymire in July 1918. To this day we do not know who the father is. In January of 1920, Ollie married John Robert Rogers. They changed Rex's middle and last name to Rex Rudolph Rogers. They went on to have two boys and two girls together. Things were not going well for the expanded family and they separated. John taking the boys to New York and Ollie staying in West Virginia with the girls. At times the children were living with different families. John and Ollie were divorced in 1942. Each of them remarried again. Ollie died 12 August 1952 and is buried where she was born, just down the road in Hunt Cemetery, not far from her parents. As I am writing this, I notice that Ollie's tombstone is wrong, just because it is written in stone doesn't make it true!

Kelly

Sunday's Saturday Day Night Genealogy Fun!

Randy Seaver's "mission for Father's Day, if you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Determine who is one of the most prolific fathers in your genealogy database or in your ancestry. By prolific, I mean the one who fathered the most children.

2) Tell us about him in your own blog post, in comments to this blog post, or in comments on Facebook."

Well hands down, my most prolific father in my husband's family tree is Adam Holderbaum who had two wives and 22 children! Adam was born in 1786 in Bedford County, PA and died in 1870 in Michigan.
On my side of the family, 12 seems to be the magic number in many different branches of mine. Although, Jonas Hartzell born 1818 in PA and died 1875, had 14 children with his wife Elizabeth Godwin.

Happy Father's Day!
Kelly

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #23

This was actually last week's assignment from Amy Coffin of We Tree (http://wetree.blogspot.com/). We were to "come up with a personal genealogy challenge of your own. Each person has different research goals and experiences. Use this week to come up with your own challenge, and then take the steps to accomplish it. Genealogy bloggers are encouraged to share their ideas and challenge their own readers."

In January another Genealogy Friend and I decided to make a list of our Genealogical Research Goals. I had Data, Research, Writing, Education and "Other" goals on my list.
Here were my Research and my Education Goals for the year:

Research:

1. Make 12 request for documents/microfilm

Ordered 3 Monroe County, OH Newspaper microfilms from OHS, ordered 3 estates from Wayne County, OH, ordered final pension payment voucher from NARA, ordered two land files from NARA

2. Order 1 German microfilm on Rheinlander or Shafferman family

3. Go on at least one research trip

Went to Hancock County, OH did research in the Library and Cannonsburg Cemetery

4. Go to at least one new research repository

Education:

1. Attend at least one conference/workshop

Attended Craig Scott's Military Research Day in PA

2. Keep up to date with the NGS Quarterly

trying to!

3. Read 3 new skill books & apply what learned

4. Watch the APG, BCG & NGS Lectures online

Do you have any Genealogy Goals for the year? How are you doing on your goals?

Kelly