Relatively Speaking, Organizing Your Data Base Photos

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Recently, Diane (our non-blogging Wild One) and I chatted a few minutes about organizing photos or scanned documents you want to link to your data base. This is not a high priority in Diane’s research life, so she has not really done much. On the other hand, I, have, mmmm, almost afraid to type this number, almost 7, 750 multimedia (photos, videos, documents, maps, sound bites, etc.) attached to individuals on my data base (maintained by RootsMagic 3.x). Anne and Karen have many more than I do, linking wild one ladies!

There is no doubt you need an organization plan, you need to be able to find those photos. Here is my master plan.

Photos are NOT buried inside the RM program on my hard drive, they are instead, stored in a separate directory, mine is called, “Family History Photos”. Isn’t that original?? LOL

Within that directory there are many, 54 to be exact, subdirectories. Most are named for the surnames I am researching, Trumbo, Halterman, Lashbrook, Gehrke, Fenton, Eley, etc. There are also directories for special needs, such as Heirloom and special stuff, where I store photos of heirlooms and other special stuff we own; Lihue Lutheran Church records, for scans of records from that church, this file contains 91 scans. I have several files named “Places cemeteries and stuff” (1, 2 and 3), these contain maps, photos of gates at cemeteries, photos of houses.

I have found that I prefer not to have a lot of photos in one directory. I used to let the files grow and grow, and have one that has over 700 photos in it. TOOOOOO many! I am happier with 200, but that is a personal preference.

Remember, organize the way your logic works, and what works for me may not work for you.  The challenge is that you need to be able to find the files.  Have fun, organization is a great thing!

*Graphic courtesy of clker.com

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Relatively Speaking, Wild Ones on Input and Output

First I would like to thank Anne for switching with me last week while we were tending to the passing of Man's Mother.

Next, this is another one of my "wordy" posts, but, hope you have the time for a visit and stick around to read. 

The Wild Ones share and compare.  We chat about all factions of our research.  We discuss input, share web sites, talk about research methods, data bases, photos.  You name it, I think we have discussed it.  One thing becomes evident very quickly, we agree on sourcing, YA GOTTA SOURCE.  After that, we all do the basics, but, each with our own individual twists.  Truth is, we actually all source a bit differently too, but, we ALL source, heavily.

One thing we do differently is FACTS.  Karen, Diane and Anne use a lot of facts.  Carol does not, I use basic facts of birth, marriages, divorce, death, burial and social security and sometimes baptism and confirmation.  I may use occupation as well.  I rarely use facts for life events such as residence, census, military, land records, nationality, retirement, scholarship, and a multitude of other choices available from RootsMagic.

Karen, Diane and Anne's rational is that when they open the edit screen all the life events are front and center.  Good plan, makes a lot of sense.  However, I don't mind opening the General Notes to review what I have managed to input.  My General Notes field is arranged in a chronological manner.  Start with birth, tell my ancestor's story year by year, ending with their death, obituary, probate information if available.

Part of my rational is that I like the way my input methods print a modified register report.  I asked cousin Anne if she would share a sample of the same report, using an ancestor for whom she has a number of Facts.  She kindly did.  What follows first is a sample of her work,  and then a sample of mine.  We both used the modified register report.  I did not include any childen in these examples.  Anne's report appears in blue, mine appears in red. 

I have edited the spacing a bit.  No sources are indicated, but if you see names that look familiar, contact us!  LOL 

I have added in black lettering, indications such  as "Fact Sentence(s)", or "General Notes" or "Note(s) attached to fact", so you can see how the information was input to our data bases and compare how it printed.  A "Fact Sentence" is a sentence generated by the program from data we have input, as an example, if we input a date and a place for a Birth Fact, it prints a sentence containing those facts, such as "Carol was born on ***???*** in Virginia."   "Notes" information is something that we have typed in ourselves.  There may be several paragraphs of "Fact Sentence(s)" in a row and several paragraphs of "General Notes" in a row.

Anne's:

Descendants of Frank Graves Bowman

First Generation

Fact Sentence(s):  Frank Graves Bowman was born on September 4, 1854 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri.

He appeared in the census on July 3, 1860 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. Attended school within the year. He appeared in the census on June 25, 1870 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. Frank appeared in the census on June 10, 1880 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. He appeared in the census on June 14, 1900 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. He appeared in the census on April 30, 1910 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. Frank appeared in the census on January 8, 1920 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. He lived 1607 South Street in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri in 1920. He lived 1501 Franklin Street in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri in 1929.

Frank died of apoplexy on February 24, 1930 at the age of 75 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri.

Note attached to fact (death fact): Frank Bowman was stricken with paralysis on October 22, 1929. He and his brother Edwin Bowman founded the Lexington News in 1889. He was postmaster at Lexington under the administration of Grover Cleveland, appointed Secretary of State Board of Corrections and Charities by Governor Folk, deputy county recorder under Henry McNeel, and enrolling clerk at the State House of Representatives for 12 years.

Note attached to fact (obituary fact): 
    Frank Bowman Dies After Long Illness
    Secretary of Chamber of Commerce and Founder of The News Victim of Paralysis
     Frank Bowman, secretary of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce, died at his home on North Seventeenth Street, at 1:10 o'clock Monday afternoon after an extended illness. Paralysis was the cause of death. The funeral service was held Wednesday afternoon, conducted by the Rev. W. A. Wimberly, pastor of the First Christian Church.
    Mr. Bowman was born in Lexington on September 4, 1854. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Webb on April 3, 1883. The wife and four children survive as follows: Mrs. Hugh Rogers, Lexington; Mrs. James A. Rankin, Claremont, California; Mrs. John S. Percival, Detroit, Michigan; and John Bowman of Kansas City.
    Stricken with paralysis on October 22, last, Mr. Bowman later rallied considerably and was believed to be on the road to recovery, but later developments brought gradual weakening.
     Mr. Bowman was the founder of The Lexington News and for many years operated this newspaper in partnership with a brother. He was a man of strong convictions and unfailing adherences to the simple virtues. Through his political connections in later years he acquired friendships throughout the state and was widely admired for likeable qualities. He was postmaster at Lexington under the administration of Grover Cleveland, later became secretary of the state board of charities and correction. He was also deputy county recorder under Henry McNeel and enrolling clerk of the house of representatives for twelve years. He had been secretary of the local Chamber of Commerce for a number of years.

Fact Sentence:  Frank is listed as a retired newspaper editor on his death certificate. He was buried on February 26, 1930 in MachPelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. He was buried in Block B, Lot 116.

General Notes:  Edwin F. and Frank G. Bowman, of the firm of Bowman Bros., the enterprising and energetic editors and proprietors of the well-known Lexington News, established in 1889, and the official organ of the city and county, are both men of excellent business ability, progressive in their ideas and intelligent in their handling of the direct issues of the day. Their attractive paper is Democratic in politics and contains thirty-two columns of neatly printed matter, readable and newsy. The Bowman Bros. are the sons of John P. Bowman, a native of Kentucky, and an early settler of Missouri, who located in Lexington, Lafayette County, in 1844.

The father of our subject served six years as Sheriff of Lafayette County, and for four years was Circuit Clerk, which official position he held at the outbreak of the Civil War. Possessing unusual ability, and energetic and faithful in the discharge of all duties entrusted to his care, John P. Bowman was also courageous in character and decisive in action, and, responding to the sentiment of his heart, entered the Confederate ranks, and as Col. Bowman distinguished himself by his gallant bearing upon the field of battle. He engaged in numerous battles and skirmishes and fell a victim to constant exposure in inclement weather, contracting a severe cold, and finally dying of a congestive chill. His death was mourned as a public loss, and his memory is not yet green in the hearts of all who knew him well.

The mother of Edwin and Frank Bowman was Mary E. Chinn, of Lexington, Ky., a daughter of Dr. Joseph G. Chinn, who lived to the advanced age of ninety-seven years, and was married three times. His last marriage occurred at the age of ninety-four, and his wife, who was ninety-six when she married him, died in her ninety-ninth year. Mrs. John Bowman is still living, and is now in her seventieth year and resides in Lexington, where the Bowman Family is represented by four successive generations. The Bowman brothers are both married, and their pleasant homes are blessed with the presence of children. Edwin F. Has been in the printing business for twenty-five years, and Frank G. has been engaged in the same occupation for twenty years, both being thoroughly at home in every detail of their work, and, in every sense of the word, practical printers. They run several job presses of large power, and turn out fine specimens of typographic work.

Frank G. Bowman holds the State medal offered by the Missouri Press Association, which was held in St. Joseph in 1882, and which medal was given for the champion office, the swiftest and neatest in job printing. Our subjects, the Bowman Brothers, have an extended circle of warm friends, and enjoy the esteem and confidence of the general public, among whom they have passed almost their entire lives. Together with their families they are important factors in the promotion of all the best interests of their city, and with word and deed sustain its worthy enterprises, be they religious, benevolent or purely business. The power of the press in the hands of such men as our subject is always effectively used in behalf of progress and reform, and its value cannot be overestimated.

Last residence 1501 Franklin St., Lexington, Missouri.

Bible Record gives his name as Franklin Graves Bowman.

Fact Sentences:  Frank Graves Bowman and Elizabeth C. "Lizzie" Webb were married on April 3, 1883 in Dover, Lafayette, Missouri. Elizabeth C. "Lizzie" Webb, daughter of John Garland Webb and Elizabeth Custis Carter, was born on June 12, 1861 in Waverly, Lafayette, Missouri.

Note attached to fact (death fact): Her death certificate gives birthdate as June 12, 1863.

Fact Sentences:  She appeared in the census on July 25, 1870 in Dover, Lafayette, Missouri. She appeared in the census in June, 1880 in Dover, Lafayette, Missouri. Lizzie appeared in the census on June 14, 1900 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. She appeared in the census on April 30, 1910 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. She appeared in the census on January 8, 1920 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. Lizzie appeared in the census on April 11, 1930 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. She lived 234 North 17th Street in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri in April, 1930.

She died of a cerebral hemorrhage and arteriosclerotic heart disease on October 8, 1949 at the age of 88 in Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. Lizzie was buried on October 10, 1949 in MachPelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. She was buried in Block B, Lot 116.

MINE:

Descendants of Friedrich (Fritz/Fred) Johann Gehrke

First Generation

Fact Sentences:  Friedrich (Fritz/Fred) Johann Gehrke was born on April 22, 1885 in Hammerstein, West Prussia, Germany. He died on July 29, 1964 in Hazel Park, Oakland County, Michigan. He was buried on August 1, 1964 in Glen Eden Memorial Park, Livonia, Wayne County, Michigan. He was an employee of Ford Motor Company. He had a Social Security Number of 377-14-0417, issued in Michigan.

General Notes:  Fred was confirmed as Fritz Johann Gehrke on April 8, 1900 at the Lihue Lutheran Church in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii by Pastor Hans Isenberg. In this record his birthplace is given as Hammerstein, District of Sihlochau, Westprussia.

Hammerstein Germany is now in Poland and is known as Czarne.

Fred was living in Huron County by August 18, 1909 when he and his future bride, Lilly Gerth were witnesses to the wedding of Fred Link and Alma Gerth.

Fred was enumerated as a border in the 1910 census of Brookfield Township, Huron County, Michigan with Edward Gerth. Edward would become his brother-in-law before the year of 1910 was over. The census taker recorded Fred's age as 25 and his birth place as California, the birth place of his parents as Ger-Germany (this census taker would note the difference between Germany born Germans and Canadian born Germans), his occupation as general farm employee.

January 13, 1910 Fred entered into a land contract with The Kilmanagh Bank of Frank W. Hubbard & Company for purchase of land in of Brookfield Township of Huron County, Michigan, described as 40 acres in the south west quarter of the north west quarter of Section 11. On June 5, 1915 the bank deeded the property to Fred in fulfillment of the land contract. He paid $2,000.00 for the property. Compiler has not found record of when Fred may have sold this property.

On February 2, 1920 land described as the south half of the south east quarter of the north east quarter of section 10 of Brookfield Township, Huron County, Michigan was deeded to Fred Gehrke of Brookfield Township for the consideration of $2,000.00 by Stuart D. McGregor, Trustee of the Owendale Bank of A. L. Wright & Co. On May 20, 1920 Fred and Lilly deeded the same piece of property back to the bank. This deed states that the property is incumbered by a mortgage of $3,000.00 given to Pigeon State Bank, Pigeon, Huron County, Michigan. (A personal search of the mortgage records of Huron County may provide further data.)

Fred was a farmer when he lived in Huron County, Michigan. His daughter, Hilda, reports that while he lived in California he was a bank teller.

The 1920 census of Brookfield Township, Huron County, Michigan shows Fred and his family as follows: Fred Gehrke, age 34, owns his home which is mortgaged, immigrated in 1887 (we know this to be in error as we have the ship's manifest which is dated November 1888), naturalized in 1900, born in West Prussia, mother tongue German, parents born in West Prussia, occupation farmer; Lily, wife, age 31, immigrated in 1893, naturalized in 1908, born in Canada, mother tongue German, parents both born in Canada; Hedwig, son (yes, SON!, even though we all know Hedwig was his daughter), age 7, born Michigan; Hilda, daughter, age 5, born Michigan; Frederica, daughter, age 4 and 2 months, born Michigan; Martha, daughter, age 2 and 4 months, born, Michigan. Enumerated with Fred was his brother John, age 22, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, parents born in Germany, occupation laborer; Edith, sister-in-law (remember the relationship stated is between the person and the head of household, in this case, Fred), age 20, born Michigan; Irene, niece, age 1 and 7 months, born Michigan.

Fred and Lilly are listed as some of the original German settlers in Lincoln Park Township, now Lincoln Park, Wayne County, Michigan.

Frederic J. Gehrke is found enumerated on the 1930 U.S. Census, Lincoln Park City, Wayne County, Michigan, ED 82-1013 living at 4040 Agnes: Frederick J. Gehrke, owns home, value of home $4,500., 44 years old, married, 24 years of age at the time of his first marriage, born Hawaii, parents both born Germany, assembler automobile company; Lillian A., wife, age 41, married, age at time of first marriage 21, born Canada (English), both parents born Canada (English), came to US in 1893, Naturalized; Hilda M., daughter, age 16, born Michigan; Friedarica J., daughter, age 14, born Michigan; Martha W., daughter, age 12, born Michigan; Mildred L., daughter, age 6, born Michigan; Arthur G., son, age 4 and 7 months, born Michigan; Charlotte L., mother, age 68, widow, born Germany, both parents born Germany, speaks German, came to US in 1911, Naturalized; Charles H., nephew, age 8, born Michigan, father born Hawaii, mother born Michigan; Ines L., niece, age 6, born Michigan, father born Hawaii, mother born Michigan.

In 1938 Fred applied for a social security card number, the application reveals he was unemployed at the time. Interestingly, Fred gives his place of birth as Lihue, Kauai, Hawaiian Islands.

Fred's obituary read as follows (newspaper source unknown to compiler):
"Fred John Gehrke
     Fred John Gehrke, age 79, 1131 East George, Hazel Park, died Wednesday. He was born in Germany April 22, 1885.
     Surviving are four children, Mrs. Ernest (Hedwig) Pariseau of the George address, Mrs. Cornelis (Hilda) deHilster of Wyandotte, Mrs. Arthur (Mildred) Stevens of Allen Park, Arthur of Southgate, 10 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two brothers, Charles 1141 East Muir, Hazel Park, John of Detroit; and a sister, Mrs. August (Hedwig) Brown of Lihue, Hawaii.
     Mr. Gehrke formerly lived in Lincoln Park.
     He is at Hopcroft Funeral Home 23919 John R, Hazel Park.
     Funeral services will be at 1 p.m., Saturday, in Hazel Park Lutheran Church. Burial will be in Glen Eden Cemetery."

Fred's funeral was held from Hazel Park Lutheran Church, in Hazel Park, Oakland County, Michigan with Rev. Henry Maehring officiating. The sermon topic for his funeral was based on Isaiah, 25, verse 7 - 9.

Fred and Lilly are buried at Glen Eden Cemetery, Livonia, Wayne County, Michigan, Sunrise, Garden, lot 687. Fred's mother, Charlotte is buried nearby. The grave numbers are 2, 3 and 4, Charlotte's grave is not marked with a headstone.

Fact Sentences:  Friedrich (Fritz/Fred) Johann Gehrke and Lilly Anna Gerth were married on September 15, 1910 in Linkville, Huron County, Michigan.

Lilly Anna Gerth (daughter of Peter Gerth and Katherina Ruthig) was born on October 7, 1888 in North Easthope, Perth County, Ontario, Canada. She was baptized on December 23, 1888. She died on May 28, 1959 in Lincoln Park, Wayne County, Michigan. She was buried on June 1, 1959 in Glen Eden Memorial Park, Livonia, Wayne County, Michigan. She was a housewife.

General Notes: On the birth records of North Easthope, Perth County, Ontario, Canada her name is spelled Lily Annie. Her father's profession is given as butcher.

Lilly was confirmed April 12, 1903 by Pastor August Deichmann of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church of Pigeon/Linkville, Huron County, Michigan.

Pastor August Deichmann, of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pigeon/Linkville, Huron County, Michigan wrote this entry in the church record on the occasion of Fred and Lilly's marriage: On September 1, 1910 the following people were married in this church: Friedrich Johann Gehrke, of Brookfield, Michigan, born April 22, 1885 in Germany at Hammerstein, son of Karl Gehrke and his wife Charlotte, nee Grundemann and Lilly Anna Gerth of Winsor, Michigan, born October 7, 1888 in Canada, daughter of Peter Gerth and his wife Katharina, nee Ruthig. Witnesses to the marriage were Harry Decher, Louise Gerth, Peter Gerth and Bertha Heck.

Remembrances by Margaret I. Cova
     "Lilly Gerth Gehrke and Uncle Fred loved to play euchre. After Bill and I moved to Allen Park we had great times calling each other to play euchre. Of course, the boys were caught changing trump in the middle of the hand. We would have to stop them and fuss a little--but it was all in fun. A piece of cake and cup of coffee always ended a nice evening. Of course the cold beer earlier in the evening hit the spot. I miss both of them. One evening after playing cards at their home in Lincoln Park she handed me my baptismal certificate. Aunt Lilly had kept it all those years. What a nice surprise. Many years later through that baptismal certificate I wrote the church and asked them to check through their records (St. Paul's in Linkville) and send me copies of the Gehrke birth, weddings and etc. that led to furthering our genealogy."

Her obituary appeared in the Lincoln Parker newspaper, Lincoln Park, Wayne County, Michigan on June 4, 1959 as follows:
     "GEHRKE - Funeral services for Mrs. Lillian Anne Gehrke, 70, of 4040 Agnes, Lincoln Park, were held Monday, at Lincoln Park's Calvary Lutheran Church. Burial was in Glen Eden Cemetery. Mrs. Gehrke, born in Ontario on October 7, 1888, died last Thursday at her home. Surviving are her husband, Frederick; five children, Mrs. Mildred Stevens, of Allen Park; Arthur, of Lincoln Park; Mrs. Martha Maitland, of Taylor Township; Mrs. Hilda deHilster, of Wyandotte; and Mrs. Hedwig Pariseau, of Hazel Park; eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild, and four sisters."

Lillie's death was found recorded in the church records of Calvary Lutheran Church of Lincoln Park, Wayne County, Michigan as follows: Lillian A. Gehrke, born 10/7/1888 in Hamburg, Ont., Canada, died 5/18/1959 in Lincoln Park, Michigan, buried 6/1/1959 at Glen Eden Cemetery. Remarks: Husband, 4 daughters, 1 son, 8 grandchildren and 4 sisters (obviously a referral to the survivors).

So, there you have it, two reports, that vary slightly, depending on how many facts we use, and of course, how we use them.  It so happens that Anne and I both use RootsMagic.  She has version 4, I still am using 3. 

Thank Anne for sharing, thanks to the Wild Ones for the many stimulating conversations over the years.  We are proof we can all do it a bit differently and yet have great results.

*Graphic courtesy of vintagekin.com

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

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Relatively Speaking, Happy Birthday Karen

Happy Birthday to cousin and friend Karen. 

Here she is in her absolutely most favorite mode, Gramma!!

*Surf on over to her blog, Genealogy Frame of Mind and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

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Relatively Speaking, It's Hot Out There, You Say it is Carol's Turn??

OK, what with the heat, the yard work, the family issues, cemetery stomping, preparing some blog posts for publication later this week and the wedding activities, I did not realize it was my turn at the helm until Karen reminded me.

Oh, OHHHHH!!

All the Wild Ones have been so busy that the email numbers have been reduced to almost zip!  Bill must be wondering where we all are (insider joke, we always say that Mr. Microsoft Bill (Gates) must get our MIA email, we just cannot figure out why he would want to read our ranting about indexing at Ancestry, or how we found the latest death certificate/obit/burial record - - - - ).

What we do know:  Two of us have family members dealing with heart issues, we are praying.  One of us has a very banged up auto from the storms the other night.  Tree and car, mmmmm, not a good mix.  Could have been worse, no one was hurt.

We are ALL busy in our yards and gardens.  We go out and weed a bit, come back in and do a bit of computer work or house work, then go back out in the heat and try to do a bit more weeding, weeding and more weeding.  Seems we all have LOTS of weeds.  SIGHHH  Must be all that heat, they are growing, like, well, like weeds!

Our kids are getting new jobs, going to school, graduating from college, moving to new digs, getting married. We all celebrated Father's Day with the special men in our lives. 

Ya, baby, it is hot out there, and Carol has NO more for Relatively Speaking this time around.

*Pssstttttt, I can tell you that Karen will be talking genie and cooking this week (maybe even today) on her blog.  Anne has a fab story coming soon on her blog about a news article she found in Lexington this week.  Later this week I will have a post about the cooler and the wedding, and depending on how the week plays out, I might even have one bout dead eye and knockin' knees.  But right now, I am gonna schedule this for publication early Monday, and I am headed for the land of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

**Graphic courtesy of webweavers.nu

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

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Spur of the Moment, Relatively Speaking

Karen, over at Genealogy Frame of Mind had a great post last week about Research Notebooks. I do research notebooks too, however, Karen’s put me to shame. She spends weeks preparing for research trips. I sometimes have 1 day to prepare for a research stop or trip. Man and I kinda do things on the “spur of the moment” plan. Which means, I discover we are traveling through an area where I want to do some research, I say to Man, hey, how bout a stop at XYZ County, Kansas. He says, ya or nah, and if it is a ya, I am into spur of the moment “to do list” building.

Karen is TOTALLY organized, her to do lists are a thing of beauty. (By the way, Anne’s to do lists are great too, and, yes, put me to shame as well.) I have been picking up hints from both of them, and I am better than I was years back, but, to do lists are still a weak point for me.

Hopefully Karen will be sharing with all of us soon her great cemetery “need” lists. In the meantime, I am going to share one of my spur of the moment hints, which has worked pretty well for me.

Simply, print from your genie program, a place list. RootsMagic allows you to print all events that took place in a specific place. I print that list, and then review. Do I have a certificate or document to establish the birth, marriage or death listed for that place?

So, say, Man and I agree to stop in XYZ County Kansas. I print the place list report for XYZ County, and find there are 3 marriages, and 2 deaths that I have recorded in my data base that took place in XYZ County. Of those 3 marriages, I have a document for one, so, I will mark that off the printed list and I will go looking for the other 2. Of the 2 deaths, I have nothing, so, I will go looking for documentation and obituaries for them. Ya, I will probably go hunt up a cemetery too, IF by the research I have done I can verify they are buried in XYZ County. If my spur of the moment research fails to locate documentation I will make note of that in my data base.

Here is a sample from one of my old books, apologies for the quality of the graphic, try clicking to see in a larger view.  You can see where I marked off in heavy black marker items which required no attention, the smaller thin lines and some brief notes were done as I worked in the repository.  Large X mark indicated I had transferred all data and findings to my data base, and there is even a small note at the bottom indicating the date said transfer was done.

So, there ya go, spur of the moment to do lists for a specific locale. Stay tuned over at Genealogy Frame of Mind for Karen to show you her great cemetery lists. SIGHHH, she is SOOOO organized.

*Graphic of street sign from ???, source of online site information long lost.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence
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This 'n That, From Reflections on the Road

After a long day of travel, I was so appreciative of a great email and note from Granny Pam of Granny's Genealogy awarding me the Ancestor Approved Award.  Thank you so much, it came at a good time, boosted my mood! My post, Ancestor Approved Award is here.  Thank you all, again.

A really fun thing we saw yesterday was a water tower disguised as a peach, or was it a HUGE peach, disguised as a water tower??  Sorry, no photos, I don't do photos at 60 MPH.  Anyway, it was between Montgomery and Birmingham Alabama and was on the west side of I 65.  It even had the peach fuzz!

Today is cousin Karen's turn at the helm of Relatively Speaking, Cousins that Blog, her post today is Relatively Speaking --- Resource!  As always, great info, especially as summer research trip time is drawing near.   Karen is VERY good at trip prep and trip results, so a read of her proven tricks might give you a new trick for your own research bag of tricks.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

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Relatively Speaking, Cousins That Blog, and Take Photos for Each Other

Anne shares another facit of a genealogical support group, how the Wild Ones help each other, even taking photos, in her issue today, Relatively Speaking, Cemeteries & Death Certificates.  Great photos, good research and a new piece of the family is located.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Cousins That Blog, Annespiration

The Wild Ones have been chatting again, this time it is comparing how we go from a document, say a vital record, like a death certificate, to our data base.  Here is no surprise, some of us do it the same, and then, some of us don't.

The conversation started out something like this,

Karen:  "So tell us what you do when you find them? type in the whole thing? Scan it?  hmmmmmmmm???????? inquiring minds want to know..."

Anne:  "I save them as image files, print them out, pull out the vital info, attach the image to the person’s record and go on to the next one."

Karen:  "COOL. Sounds about like what I have been doing."

Carol:  "So, you must find it easier to work from the printed version?? I rarely print anything any more, cept for census, sometimes."

Anne:  "Yeah, because basically, I miss info if I am writing it from an image."

Carol:  "I just got cheap lately and don't want to use the paper or spend the $$ for the ink. So, I click back and forth between the image and RM. I figure if I have the image linked, I can always revisit if I get that sinking feeling that I missed something!"

Then, we started chatting about what info we may transcribe or grab off a death record,

Carol:  "I do not transcribe EVERYTHING on a doc, are you transcribing like, every line???"

Karen:  "I pick it apart, major stuff, dates, informant, burial location, parents, a bit of everything..."

Anne:  "Nope. Birth date, death date, burial date, cause of death. Locations. Parents. Spouse if available. No, I do not do a line by line."

The conversation morphed over to other things, and so it goes, the Wild Ones, chatting away, comparing, learning from each other, inspiring each other.  Karen has decided this should now be called, Annespiration.  How's that make ya feel Anne, an inspiration to the Wild Ones!  We usually find that after talking about how we do something, we are inspired to work, work, work away!

* Graphic of  Moi, errr, lady at computer, courtesy of  webweaver.nu/

** Image of documents courtesy of VintageKin.com (Link non-function as of October 2018)

*** RM = RootsMagic, data base I currently use and love.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

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Relatively Speaking, Anne's Got One for Tomorrow

Cousin Anne, at Gene Notes, is up tomorrow for her turn at writing for Relatively Speaking - Cousins That Blog.  She says we talked about her subject this week in our email, now, hmmmmm???  which email would that be Anne??  One of the hundreds??

She also mentions "time warp"??  Does that have something to do with Daylight Savings Time or her post??  Check in tomorrow AM and lets all find out.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

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Relatively Speaking, Tie In's, Birth and Marriage Dates, and Mega Thanx

It is so rewarding to realize that my little blog has readers, followers, and those that read, and then write and give me feedback.  Amy is one of those, she reads and she gives feed back.

Amy was instrumental in Spelling Don’t Count, Even in Indexing, Save Me Please!  Amy put me on to the Chancery cases digitized at the Library of Virginia.  I could work on those cases for years, they are a gold mine for me.  Amy lives in the area of Virginia where the Darden and Eley clans lived.  She has "insider information", she sometimes pulls obits for me.  Amy is indeed a great researcher and online friend.  THANX AMY!!

A while back, she read cousin Anne's Relatively Speaking post, Where Does the Inspiriation Come From?, Or Blunder Your Way to a Blog Topic!  Anne's comment "What I really find irritating are the number of headstones I've found recently with just years on them...", had Amy writing me suggesting a follow up blog when it was my turn next to write Relatively Speaking.  (I can use all the help I can get, another thanx Amy!)

Amy wrote, "Remember on the Brantley stuff that one of the books that Rick let them copy was the 1902 Voter Registration Book. Now I cannot vouch for all places (since I can't seem to find anyone in IOW that knows where their books are), but the Southampton one has full birthdates in some of the sections and tells how many years they person resided in the state, county, area/locality.  I've been able to complete get complete birthdates for people that only had the years listed on their tombstone."

Actually Amy, I did not remember, but, I went surfing.  The main link to the Brantley Association of America is here.  Isn't this a fabulous site and project??  The Southampton County page is here, and further investigation will lead you to the Southampton Records, with those voter registrations down at the bottom of the page.  And, yes, I need to spend a considerable amount of research time here Amy, I see so many surnames that are in my data base. *

Here is a small sample of the page, you will have to click on it to open to a new page to see in a larger format, then click the back button to return here to Reflections.

 Thanks to Amy, a great idea of where to look for birth dates!
 

* While writing this post, I actually did snoop around some more and I discovered a license to marry for Charles H. Darden and Martha A. Stephenson.  I have been looking for this for YEARS!!  Charles is my ggg grandfather, and Martha is his second wife.  Charles' house is shown in Smile For The Camera, "Give Their Face A Place", Sarah Anne Darden.   Guess I owe Amy ANOTHER big thank you!

THANK YOU!!

**And, since I am thanking Amy, guess I will include another shout out for this tidbit she forwarded this weekend, because, as she wrote, "ok, decided to stop my stuff and work on someone else's line... " Amy found more stuff I have been looking for.  Amy you are really on a roll.  How many times can I say thank you??  Obviously, NOT enough! (Image from Ancestry)

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

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Relatively Speaking, Mid Week by Karen and Anne

I must draw your attention to both cousins blogs today, both wonderful.

Cousin Anne over at Gene Notes, writes about her hubbie's grandmother's home village in Poland.  That photo makes me want to jump on a plane and have a visit.

Cousin Karen writes what I wish I had, about television and the latest rash of genie-programs.  You HAVE to read it.  Karen, can I add my sig line to this post??

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Anne's Got Inspirations

Cousin and friend Anne, over at Gene Notes is ramping up for her submission to the Monday series, Relatively Speaking - Cousins that Blog.  She let out a little hint today, something about inspirations.  I'll be there first thing tomorrow AM Anne!

*Graphic courtesy of http://desktoppub.about.com/

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Slave Names & Chancery Cases

If you read cousins Anne's post, Things in Common & Diverse Results, and cousin Karen's post, Names Names Names, you will see that the Wild One's research, though on common ground, is quite, as Anne says, diverse.  We love comparing, we all learn from it, and sometimes we get a good laugh, or cry.

This discussion began, when I found some slave names in early Chancery cases in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  I believe I have found names before over the years, but have not done much with that information, even though I have had every intention of doing so.  That well meaning intention stated, I really don't think I have had an effective method to do so, but I feel Reflections From the Fence is a great place to start. 

So, lets begin.  My discoveries were made when I was informed that Chancery cases from Isle of Wight County Virginia had been digitized and were available at the Library of Virginia web site.  At the bottom of this page (currently left bottom) you will see a link that says, "Site Index".  Click it and it takes you here.  Now click on "Chancery Records Index" and you find yourself, here.  After reading the intro, click on Search the index, currently the last link of the page, you will find yourself here. 

After a few visits to the site, I found I get the best results from my search requests by using the "Surname" search, and only using one name, even if I know more names that are involved. 

Note:  Not all Virginia counties have been digitized, I am anxiously awaiting Rockingham County, I KNOW I have several cases there involving my great-grandfather Charles Homan Trumbo, but, I digress.

Now that you know where I was searching, I am going to give you links to several Chancery cases in Isle of Wight that concern my ancestors or individuals I am researching.  I have been downloading pages and pages, at least 500 pages over several long days.  I have tried transcribing a few of them, and to say it is laborious is rather an understatement. We all know old handwriting is a tough assignment, and believe me, some of these pages surely live up to that.

Case # 1:  Plaintiff(s) WIDOW OF JOHN MARSHALL, PATSEY MARSHALL WIDOW
Defendant(s) MARTHA MARSHALL &C BY ETC
Index number:  1834-024.  I believe this is the earliest dated case I have found. Case has 9 pages, I would draw your attention to page 2, which names slaves, here is a screen shot.

Even if you open this graphic you can see it is a hard read.  The names appear again on page 8, which is a little easier on the eyes.

Here it is after a bit of photoshop editing:

On page 9 of this Chancery case you will find values of the slaves (note the description of Simon, who seems to be the son of Louis, in one sentence on this page he is referred to as " & Louis's small child Simon").

Case # 2: Plaintiff(s) MARTHA MARSHALL &C BY ETC
Defendant(s) ADMR OF JOHN MARSHALL
Index number: 1835-002
Case has 15 pages, please look at page 7. This page gives specific information on which heir received which slave, hopefully that information would aid researchers.

Another related case is
Case # 3 Plaintiff(s) MARTHA MARSHALL &C BY ETC
Defendant(s) POLLY MARSHALL BY ETC
Index number: 1835-006

Lets take a moment and talk about my ancestors, in hopes that it will assist researchers:

John Marshall was born about 1788, married in 1816 to Martha "Patsey" Darden, and died in December of 1829.

John and Martha had the following children: John Lawson Marshall, Adolphus Marshall, Polly Marshall, Lydia Marshall, Thomas J. Marshall and Martha Marshall.

Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall, widow married her second husband, Exum Eley in 1832 in Isle of Wight County Virginia.  Exum was a widower having had 7 children with his first wife, Polly B. Moody, they are:  William H. Eley, Exum L. Eley, George W. Eley, James M. Eley, Sally A. Eley, Rebecca (middle initial in question) Eley and Thomas J. Eley. 

Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall Eley and Exum Eley had 3 children:  Virginia C. Eley, Stephen A. Eley and my direct ancestor, Solomon B. Eley (also found in records as Solomon J. Eley).

All these names appear in the last two cases of the day:

Case # 4: Plaintiff(s) WIDOW OF EXUM ELEY and MARTHA ELEY WIDOW
Defendant(s) EXR OF EXUM ELEY ETC
Index # 1850-001 (Note 14 pages)

Case # 5:  Plaintiff(s) EXR OF EXUM ELEY
Defendant(s) MARTHA ELEY ETC
Index # 1850-010 (Note 101 pages)  Researchers looking for slave names in this Chancery case please start by checking out pages 23 and 32. 

As you can see, I will be very busy for months to come digesting and inputing all this information from Chancery cases.  I still have more cases to investigate.  I will let you know if I find more slave names, in hopes that I can give some leads to those who may be looking. 

It is easy to see, that again, cousins that research, even looking in the same time frames may find totally different kinds of records and have totally different results.

* I also draw you attention to these great posts and blogs where discussions on sharing of slave information is ongoing.  No particular order to my list here, just a few of the great places I have found information and hints, and maybe a bit of  inspiration.  No, this is NOT a comprehensive list, just a jumping off point for you, my readers.

Gini, of Ginisology, wrote about Friend of Friends.  Luckie from Our Georgia Roots, talks about this issue on her Monday Madness post.  Wow, she got a lot of feedback on this one. Sandra Taliaferro, from I Never Knew My Father is writing about this subject as well, including the Friend of Friends project. Mavis from Conversations With My Ancestors gave me some great ideas for sharing my slave names, I need to revisit those suggestions again Mavis, thank you so much.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Karen's Up Tomorrow

Cousin Karen, of Genealogy Frame of Mind, is on tap tomorrow for her issue of Relatively Speaking - Cousins That Blog. She gave us a clue on her post and I have to tell you, I cannot wait to read it.  Hint, last I heard, it will tie in with what Anne, Gene Notes,  talked about last week. 

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Anne's Results May Differ

Anne, over at Gene Notes,  writes today about the different results the Wild One's have in our research, even with common situations.

She reminds me that the discoveries I made last week require some serious follow up research and transcribing and other work.   I have contacted Mavis over at Conversations With My Ancestors for some suggestions about sharing these discoveries, maybe we can help some descendants/researchers.  Thanks Mavis for the suggestions.

Now, go read Anne's take on the same situations and different results.  Happens all the time with the Wild Ones and is interesting every time.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Anne's Keeping it TOP Secret

Anne, cousin and friend, over at Gene Notes tells me she is ready for her issue of Relatively Speaking - Cousins That Blog.

Her next issue of our project is due tomorrow AM. I cannot promise, Anne, that I will check it out at 2 AM like I did last time. However, since she is keeping it top secret, you can bet, I'll be reading as soon as the dogs have been fed and taken out for their business, and I have my strong German coffee in hand. 

Her only hint is that it was inspired by e-conversations with cousins Carol & Karen.  Oh, dear, lets see, what outrageous things did we chat about last week??  Holding my breath, well, maybe not!  Don't think I can hold it that long.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.
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Relatively Speaking, Have You Seen - - ??

Wild One email is, well, out of control, numbers too large to count, piled up as tall as a mountain, interesting, sad, happy, and sometimes a great lead to web sites packed with goodies.

So many times one of us happens across a web site and the emails start to fly, "Have you seen this site?"  "NO, send URL".  Sometimes these emails occur when a web site is updated, sometimes it is a web site someone else mentions, as in, "Have you ever heard of this site??"

Now, you know, we are all gonna go surfing over to have a lookie see ourselves.  Punch in our favorite surname in search boxes, let the fun begin!

Last week it was Karen who started the activity, something about old newspapers that someone mentioned to her. Nope, was not Ancestry, nor any of the other pay sites that have papers.  It was a free site.  I remembered The Chronicling of America project, Library of Congress.  Their home page is here.

I sent the link to Karen, yes, this was what she had heard about.  So, as is the norm, since I was there, I decided to spend some time snooping.  I started with the Adair County News, Adair, Kentucky and found an article I had been looking for.  Then, I skipped to Minnesota newspapers, and typed in, Lashbrook, but of course.  Nine hits.  Looked at all of them, but of course.   First six were interesting, but nothing I did not have, however, number seven was a fun hit!  It did not tell me anything startling or new.  The article talked about Man's great-grandfather, Wallace Lashbrook, who was for many years a traveling salesman.  Knew that.  Actually, have it documented pretty nicely in my data base.  So, why was this a fun hit??

First here is the paragraph that mentions Wallace, or W. H., as he is frequently found in records:

The fun part was the graphic at the very top of the article, I just love the drawing, don't you??

Source:  St. Paul Daily Globe. (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, May 26, 1888, Image 10, here is a direct link.  Whomever "Charlie" was, he must have run across a lot of commercial travelers, that is one long article, quite a few names.

Yes, being part of a genealogical support group, such as the Wild Ones can be a very good thing, besides friendship, you get great leads to genie-web sites!  And, by the way, revisits to web sites can be a VERY good thing too, you just might find something newly added or something that the indexers or the OCR did not pick up the first or second time around.

Now, excuse me while I go link this fun color/graphic to Wallace's multimedia event area on my data base.

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

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Relatively Speaking, Karen's Jokester Ancestor

Cousin/friend/fellow blogger Karen has a cute story about one of her ancestors and his census names over at Genealogy Frame of Mind.

Snicker, good one Karen!

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

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Relatively Speaking, Karen's Up Next

Sometime tomorrow, WO, cousin and friend Karen over at Genealogy Frame of Mind will make her debut on Relatively Speaking, Cousins that Blog.

She has not given any hint as to what she will be chatting about, I can barely stand the waiting!

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence.

Relatively Speaking, Anne's Reaching Out

Cousin Anne has posted her first edition of Relatively Speaking, Cousins That Blog over at Gene Notes.

Go see how she reaches out to her cousins and --- 

She has a wise bit of advice there.  You'll see when you visit her.

*Yes, Anne, the time stamp of almost 2 AM is correct.  I just could not wait to read your post, so had a peak while I was up with Tilly.

OHHHH, and note that the computer still thinks we are on EST, I just know you will LOVE that!
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