Grandma isn’t Playing Nice! . . . On Either Side

Okay, here’s the deal, we were all new once . . . right?

When I initially started “collecting” family stories and information in the “dark-ages” before computers and digitization - before I had discretionary funds to send for records or travel to archives - I pretty much knew the present-day and not too distant past stories and details of the living and the recently deceased family members - I had grown up with them, visited them and knew where they lived and worked. 

So, in 2003, when I started tracing their genealogy and family history in earnest, I documented what I knew and started a tree sapling on Ancestry.com.  And, I made the decision early on, that because I had the most information on my mother’s paternal ancestors, I would document what I knew on them, but would not linger - I’d come back to them later.  What I really wanted to get to and discover was the genealogy and family history of my other three grandparents; I didn’t know much beyond them.

I started with the basics, I had birth and death certificates and U.S. Army Discharge papers for my Dad’s Dad; a death certificate for both my mother’s Mom and Grandmother and for her Dad; and, I also had the obituary clipping for my Dad’s Mom.  And, of course, their family stories – the stories I had grown up listening to.  I entered the basic details gleaned from these documents and stories into each one of their profiles and then set about collecting the basic records to document and substantiate their lives and the details that I had.

Reminder . . . this was before I had learned to really focus on each word and line of a document.  Before I had learned the benefits of transcribing a document – even if it was clearly written and easily read – to ensure that I paid attention to every small detail.  Before I knew to create a timeline for each family member so that I could see potential gaps in their lives, the missing vital statistics and details of their lives, and to note any conflicting information.  Before I knew to really focus on what documents I had and which ones were missing.  Before I knew to both pay attention to source information – where that information came from and who provided it – and, to cite – document – the source.  And, before I had discovered the Barefoot Genealogist, Crista Cowan, and her tutorials on the Ancestry YouTube channel and all the tips and tricks I’d learn from her.  Before I learned to document “negative” research – search results that didn’t yield any further information; new information; or that completely debunked the information I had – so that I wouldn’t “climb” the wrong family tree.  Before I learned about blogs and online webinars where I’d continue to learn how to document my family’s history and genealogy.  Before I started blogging and getting my family’s story online and connecting with “cousins.”  And, before the added dividend of really focusing on the details – the facts, ma’am, just the facts – when creating a blog post on the family member or line that I was currently working.

After, creating the online sapling, I used the initial physical documents to record what I knew about each “leaf” and then I started collecting census records, obituaries, birth and death certificates that I didn’t already have for each family member.  Which brings us to today’s post . . .

My maternal Grandmother, Catherine Louise (STARR) Kriebel’s parents were Eva E RAMER and William E STARR Sr.  And, my Great Grandmother, Eva RAMER’s parents were Oscar RAMER and Louisa MILHEIM.  I knew this because . . .

1. My mother and her siblings knew each of them and they knew where each of them lived and worked – they had grown up with them and visited them
2. I knew my Grandmother, Catherine (STARR) Kriebel, I knew her siblings, I knew the house she grew up in.  I visited there often as a child – her brother, Robert STARR lived there with his wife and with his Mother – my Grandmother’s mother – Eva E (RAMER) Starr 
3. I had the physical copy of the obituary for my Grandmother, Catherine STARR; the physical copy of the death certificate for my Great Grandmother, Eva E (RAMER) Starr; the death certificate (found online) for my Great Great Grandmother, Louisa MILHEIM and a copy (found online) of the marriage license for Louisa MILHEIM and Oscar RAMER 
4. I had US Census records for each ancestor and their family unit from their birth through 1940

And, each of of these substantiated what I already knew – names, dates of birth, marriage, death and residence.  Nothing was amiss.  Or . . . was there?

I didn’t have my Grandmother Catherine (STARR) Kriebel’s birth certificate, I ordered it and waited.  Now, I knew that Catherine’s parents were William E STARR and Eva E RAMER, but when I received the copy of her birth certificate via US Postal Service, it was very generic – provided the child’s name, date and place of birth and parent’s names.  The certificate read . . .

Name:  Catherine Louise STARR

Date of Birth: 1 December 1912
Place of Birth:  Allentown, Lehigh, Pennsylvania

Father: William E STARR
Mother: Eva Pfaff

Well, that isn’t right, my Great Grandmother’s name was Eva E RAMER.  Must have received this in error.  Trash!  And, I moved on.  Yes, now, I am hanging my head in shame, but remember, I was just getting started and I hadn’t yet learned.  We’ll return to this in a bit.

Next I spoke to and “interviewed” my Mother’s cousin Marty.  Marty is Robert STARR’s daughter, and Robert is the half-brother of my Grandmother, Catherine, the son of my Great Grandfather William E STARR and his first wife, Ethel Lynda Kline, and the step-grandson of my Great Great Grandparent’s Louisa MILHEIM and Oscar RAMER.  She was able to provide very few additional details, but I did learn when her father, Robert, passed away – my family had been living overseas at the time and we weren’t aware – sadly, after the death of my Grandmother in 1975 and the busyness of daily living, our families didn’t stay in touch. 

I went looking for Robert’s obituary.

Robert’s obituary was published 6 June 1992 in The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) and named his parents . . .

“William E and Eva E (MILHEIM) STARR”

Wait, that isn’t right!  Where did that come from?  Eva E RAMER and William E STARR are the biological parents of my Grandmother, Catherine, but, William E STARR and Ethel Lynda Kline are the parent’s of my Grandmother’s half-brothers, William E STARR, Jr and Robert STARR.  Okay, by this point, I had learned that I needed to “sure-up” my research if there was a discrepancy.  Everything else in the obituary was consistent with what I knew from first-hand knowledge of growing up with my Grand Uncle.  I made note of the discrepancy and did not yet attach the obituary to Robert’s profile.  I next moved to census records, marriage license(s), death certificates, etc. and set about the task of documenting my family – confirming what I knew, but, with the added task of “proving” or “disproving” the names of Robert’s parents.

Locating the marriage license for William E STARR and Ethel Lynda Kline, the census records for William and Ethel  and Ethel’s death certificate, I was able to “prove” to my satisfaction that both William E, Jr and Robert C STARR were the sons of William E STARR and Ethel Lynda Kline.  Eva E RAMER was their step-mother.  And, I moved on. (we’ll take a look at these documents shortly)

Okay, that research was pretty much all completed back in 2003/4.  In the following years I continued to learn how to research; how to organize my notes; how to create a timeline; how to pay close attention to everything, but particularly to the oddities; how to make note of those oddities, discrepancies, outright errors and “negative” search results; how I should transcribe every document, which in turn helps me focus on all the details; how to do F A N Research; how to create a blog; how to document my searches, so that I didn’t keep searching for those records that I had already found, or, didn’t; how to cite my sources; I learned the basic principals of the Genealogical Proof Standards (GPS); and, I learned research strategies – for me, that meant focusing on one family and surname at a time – to doggedly pursue each leaf and branch, locating “low-hanging” fruit – birth, marriage, census and death records – to include obituaries -  and then diving deeper and locating military records, wills and probate records; land deeds, etc. 

In all honesty, I am still learning about record collections that I haven’t yet explored – why I continue to watch Crista Cowan and other genealogy webinars and why I read a number of blogs.  There is a lot, A LOT of information and educational materials* out there – I cannot encourage you enough to avail yourself of it.  And, most of it, if not all, is in easy to understand (read NOT collegiate) language.  And, that is PERFECT for me.

*To learn more about F A N Research, Citing your Sources and the Genealogical Proof Standards (GPS), click on the hyperlinks (red print).

Since 2004 I have been focused on documenting the BEARSELL, LEARN and LINDSEY - my Dad’s paternal line - families with occasional short forays into the collateral lines, using the F A N Research strategy to help find and document the elusive direct-line ancestors.  Until . . . recently.

Over the past year, the State of Pennsylvania and Ancestry.com have worked together and have recently digitized Pennsylvania’s 1906 – 1963 death certificates.  In doing so, a lot of “shaky leaf” hints have been appearing and distracting my attention.  I’m usually able to stay focused, I don’t, as a rule, tend to get distracted for long.  If my focus on the family / line that I am working on is diverted, it is usually only a brief distraction – one long enough to review the hint and decide whether it is something to keep or can be discarded.  I then refocus my attention to the name / line that I had previously been working.  However . . .

Two weeks ago, a “shaky leaf” hint appeared for my Great Grandmother, Eva E RAMER – the Pennsylvania death certificate.  Okay, I’ll take a look, I don’t expect to find any new information, I’ll just verify that it is her death certificate and I’ll review – in depth - all her source documents when I focus on the RAMER line.  But, wait!  . . .

1. That doesn’t look like the hard-copy certificate I have
2. Her parents are listed as George MILHEIM and Louisa PFAFF

Well, that isn’t right.  Eva’s parents were Oscar RAMER and Louisa MILHEIM. 

MILHEIM is right, but it was Eva’s Mother’s maiden name. Who’s George? My Great Great Grandmother’s – Louisa – Father’s name was Charles MILHEIM.  And, PFAFF?  Wait!  PFAFF?  I’ve seen that before.  Oh, I remember, the copy of the birth certificate for my Grandmother – Catherine Louise STARR – that I initially ordered and subsequently threw away, had Eva PFAFF listed as the Mother of my Grandmother.  And, did I mention, that I had on another occasion attempted to obtain another copy of my Grandmother’s birth certificate?  Yes, and when it arrived, it had the same – I assumed – error and . . . you guessed it, I threw it away too. Nope, I hadn’t yet learned.

But, this time, PFAFF had my attention.  Everything else on my Great Grandmother’s death certificate was correct - home address; city and state; date and place of birth; date and place of death; and spouse’s name.  The informant?  My Grandmother, Catherine Louise (STARR) Kriebel and her physical address was also correct.

I knew this information to be correct because I knew my Grandmother and where she lived – I visited her there often – and while I didn’t know either of my Great Grandparents, I did know where they had lived and died – my Grand Uncle Bob (Robert E STARR) and his wife, Ann, lived there – and I visited them often.  So, back to my original question, where did George MILHEIM and Eva PFAFF come from? 

It’s 2015 and by now I had learned the lessons mentioned above.  So much for briefly looking over the hint and “storing” it for when I began work in earnest on the RAMERs.  I couldn’t just put it aside, I needed to, at the very least, research why the PFAFF surname kept appearing – three times is more than a coincidence.  What was I missing?

I went back and looked at the document I had on Eva’s death – remember, I thought, or, perhaps more accurately, assumed, it was a copy of her death certificate.  When I looked at it, I now realized it was a copy of the Local Registrar’s Certification of Death.¹  And, it did not include the names of her parent’s.  Nor did it note her maiden name.

The document provides my Great      Grandmother’s name as Eva Elizabeth STARR and the place of death as 548 Noble Street, Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  It also provides her date of birth, 24 January 1889 and her date of death as, 5 January 1959.  This is all accurate.  Eva’s step-son and my Grandmother Catherine’s half-brother, Robert and his wife lived in the home he was raised in.  The home, for which the address is provided on the certification of death.  And, as I’ve said, I visited there many times.

 

The death certificate² provides the place of death and the deceased’s usual residence (where deceased lived) as 548 Noble Street, Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  The document also provided Eva’s . . .

• Full Name:  Eva Elizabeth STARR
• Full Name of Spouse:  William E STARR
• Date of Birth: 24 January 1889
• Date of Death: 5 January 1959
• Father’s Name: Geo MILHEIM
• Mother’s Maiden Name: Louisa PFAFF
• Informant:  Mrs. Wilmer KRIEBEL of Schwenksville, Pennsylvania

Mrs. Wilmer KRIEBEL is my Grandmother, Catherine STARR.  She was married to Wilmer, my Grandfather.

Hmm, Grandma isn’t playing nice!

Next I looked at the marriage license³ for my Great Great Grandparents Louisa MILHEIM  and Oscar RAMER.  It provides the . . .  

• Man’s Name: Oscar REMER (variant of RAMER)
• Woman’s Name: Louisa MILHEIM
• Age of Man: 23
• Age of Woman: 23
• Residence of Man: Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
• Residence of Woman: Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
• Parents’ Name – Man: Eli REMER
• Parents’ Name – Woman: Charles MILHEIM

Nothing amiss here; all what I had grown up hearing around the dinner table.

What I initially find made me realize that I’d need to employ the F A N (Family / Friends, Associates, and Neighbors) research method and go through both the 1880 and 1900 US Federal Census for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.  I will need to document the RAMERs, MILHEIMs, and PFAFFs prior to Eva’s birth.  What this means is, I will need to “collect” all families with these surnames and save them in my ancestry “shoebox” and then, I’ll need to go through ALL of the townships and enumeration districts within the county, page by page.  I know that I’ll have to compare each individual within a family and each family in order to sort this out.  And, I also know that I’ll have to pay close attention to the neighbors as well.  And, too, I need to go back over the census records that I had previously saved back in 2003/4.

And, collecting all instances of these surnames within the townships and enumeration districts of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania is what I have been doing, as time permitted, these past two weeks. For statistical purposes, the 1880 US Federal Census for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania had 31 townships, 56 enumeration districts and 1,385 images.  And, the 1900 US Federal Census for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania had 36 townships, 67 enumeration districts and 1,920 images.  FUN!!

Having gone through all 3,305 images of the 1880 and 1900 US Federal Census records for Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and collecting all instances of the RAMER, MILHEIM and PFAFF surnames – including variant spellings – I am now ready to review and dissect each and figure this mystery out.  Thanks Grandma!!

I will return soon and share what I’ve learned.

COMING SOON . . .

Will my real Great Grandmother, Eva E. . . RAMER. . . MILHEIM . . . PFAFF please stand up!

PS:  I hope that I am not the only one that learns the hard way.

PPS: And, my paternal Grandma?  Well, she isn’t playing nice either!  She was the informant on her brother’s death certificate and, she said that he was married.  Ummm, no he wasn’t. . . NEVER!  Sigh, that will have to wait until I’ve sorted through this.

Tracy

Copyright © 2015 Tracy L Meyers

________________________________________________________

Sources:

¹Norristown, Pennsylvania, Certification of Death, no. 545557 (1959), Eva Elizabeth Starr; Norristown Local Registrar of Vital Statistics, Cherry Street

²Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Health, Death Certificate 6852 (1959), Eva Elizabeth Starr; ancestry.com, online

³Pennsylvania County Marriages 1855 - 1950 Index and Images (Family Search), "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885 - 1950," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VF43-NG5 :, Date License acquired: 31 May 1892 / Date of Marriage: 31 May 1892. FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VF4V-782).

One Year–That was Fast!

Well, technically Family Preserve’s  blogiversary was a month ago – 23 February to be exact.

The past ten months were fast-paced.  Filled with lots of research on many different limbs and branches of my family tree.  In December, it all came to a halt.  I had caught up; but worse, I felt as though ‘burn-out’ was setting in.  Just before the holidays I had found one or two documents, I ordered them and then set about waiting.  But try as I might, until this past week or so, I just couldn’t muster a lot of energy or enthusiasm genealogy research.

While I’ve known from the start that I wanted to look back over my first year of blogging - I kept notes on successes, ‘cousin bating’ and the like.  This too failed to initially energize me.  Until this week.

This week I received the documents I had ordered before Christmas and a ‘cousin’ contacted me out of the blue after coming across my blog.    This has gotten me excited again.  And, I’ve been climbing and exploring my family tree with renewed vigor.

So, here we go, Family Preserves takes a look back on its first year . . .

Total Published Blog Posts February 2013 – March 2014:  34

My Favorite Posts From this Year:

Family / Genealogy Addict

Not the Waltons or the Ingalls

Black Sheep

Missing Ancestor Report

Postive Results:  A direct result of the decision to launch the Family Preserves blog has been positive from the very first.  A few examples of this are highlighted below:

 Family Preserves launched in February 2013

‘Cousins!’

My research of the BEARDSELLS, LEARN, and McLEAN branches of the family tree yielded ‘cousins!’  ‘Cousins’ is used broadly here and encompasses closer and more distant relationships heretofore unknown.

BEARDSELL  In tracing my Great Grandfather, Wallace BEARDSELL’s,  entry in the US (Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), I discovered that he and his second wife, Clara, had a daughter together.  Lidie Victoria BEARDSELL was my Grandmother’s half-sister.  Sadly, I also discovered that she had passed away one year (2012) before I found her.  She was 99.

LEARN A short time after the launch of Family Preserves, I found myself caring for my father who had just undergone open-heart surgery.  To occupy the hours – mostly to keep from worry – I focused on the LEARN branch of the family tree.  And, through a inquiry on one of many  genealogy FaceBook pages, a ‘LEARN’ cousin reached out.  From that connection I was invited and attended my first LEARN Family Reunion.  A reunion equals an endless sea of ‘cousins!’

McLEAN The McLEAN branch of the tree is a collateral line from which I do not directly descend.  However, the research of this branch helped solve a mystery, which I’ll get into a bit more detail about shortly.

 Inspired an Interest in Genealogy Both with the launch of Family Preserves and finding more information on the families within our tree, there has been an increased interest among family members, that had not seemed interested in the preceding (20) years.  The results . . .

Photos Largely due to 50th wedding anniversary that my Aunt and Uncle celebrated in April 2013, my other Aunt went through boxes and boxes of photos an slides.  She came across old family albums that my Grandmother had put together and other photographic treasures of both my Grandfather’s (KOONS / KRIEBEL) and Grandmother’s (STARR / RAMER) families. And, she thought of me.  SCORE!!

Family Interest Okay, my husband and I have been married 27 years and in all that time, I could never get the tiniest morsel of information out of my Father-in-law about his family.  But that all changed January 2013.  Prior to our visit that January, a cousin of my husband’s reached out to him on FaceBook, my husband hasn’t seen him since they were children.  That is another story for another day.  However, my husband had the forethought to mention to Jeff, that I was interested in the family history.  Jeff responded by taking the time to write down what he knew – dates, times, places, names, etc. – scanned his scribbled notes and sent them to us.  SCORE!! 

With that start I was able to start filling in the leaves and branches with the MEYERS / ZEISSLER / STULTZ / VAN BUSKIRK and PATTERSON Families.  When we arrived in Pennsylvania for our visit, I shared with my Father-in-law what I had recently learned and that my husband and I were going to make a point of visiting the cemeteries where my husband’s ancestors were buried; first we needed to Google the cemeteries and get the addresses for our GPS.  My Father-in-law said, there is no need, I’ll take you and maybe afterward, if you’d like, I’ll show around where I grew up.  Yes, I’d like very much.  SCORE!!

More Interest  On the other side of the family, I was both surprised and pleased when I received an email from my Uncle, he had come across an old photo (circa 1915) of a 4-door sedan convertible filled with KRIEBEL family members.  The problem?  He didn’t know who any of them were.  But he thought of me – the family genealogist.  SCORE!!

 Ancestor Pages If you’ve read my post Family / Genealogy Addict you’ll note that back in the beginning of 2013 one symptom of my addiction was watching the many and varied genealogy tutorials that were out there on YouTube.  One such tutorial, presented by Crista Cowan, was on creating an Ancestor Page on FaceBook.  I created two. 

 One Mystery Solved (sort of) Well, one of many.  As we genealogists know, there is a never ending supply of mysteries.

As mentioned earlier I was researching the McLEAN’s a collateral line through marriage.  My Grandmother’s sister, Jane Ann (aka Jennie) BEARDSELL married Stanley McLEAN  in 1908.  When I started my research on this line, I knew that they had one son together, Ralph.  I was able to follow the family through the 1910 census but after that . . .

I also knew that Jennie had remarried in 1928; her second husband, William J BROWN, Sr and Jennie had one son together, William J BROWN, Jr.  And, I was able to follow the BROWNs in the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Federal Census.  Jennie (BEARDSELL) BROWN died 10 February 1940 in Camden Township, Camden, New Jersey.  Jennie’s death certificate indicated that she was interred at the Magnolia Cemetery located in the Tacony section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  A call to the cemetery office and I learn that Jennie is buried along side her first husband Stanley McLEAN; Stanley died 20 years later in 1963.  But, between 1910 and 1930 where in the world was Jennie McLEAN? 

I did find Ralph living with his McLEAN Grandparents in Philadelphia on the 1920 census.  I located Stanley McLEAN living in New Jersey, listed as a border, but for the life of me, I could not locate Jennie.  Where in the World was Jennie McLEAN? 

Not having any other leads, I started searching newspaper.  However, I didn’t have any specifics to go on, so what did I do?  I focused on the years that Jennie went missing, 1911 – 1930, and I searched paper after paper; page after page in both New Jersey and Philadelphia.  My genealogybank.com subscription proved helpful here.  And, many hours and days later, I found . . .

Stanley McLEAN arrested for assault and Battery and Disertion of his wife and three minor children.  Wait, huh, three children?  Okay, I knew about Ralph, but who are the other two?  But then I remembered that Bill BROWN (Jennie and William BROWN Sr.’s son) had sent me a copy of a Family Tree that he had worked on more than 30 years ago.  I got it out and Ralph and Leah McLEAN were listed as Jennie and Stanley’s children.  Okay, two down and one to go.  Then I remembered that there was a picture in the collection of old family photos; the picture was of my Grandmother’s and Jennie’s brother, George with a little girl – Edna McLEAN!  All three children accounted for, yet I didn’t know anything about them and I still hadn’t found Jennie.  Where in the World was Jennie McLEAN? 

What I think I know today. . .

Leah and Edna McLEAN – I found them on the 1920 U.S. Federal Census living in the Clovernook Children’s Home in Philadelphia

Enda McLEAN – I’ve located a marriage record for Edna that indicates she married Edwin Stanley Ervin on 5 October 1935.  This has been my most recent find, I just ordered a copy of the document using familysearch.org’s Family History Library Photo Duplication Request Form.  The email I received this morning from the Family History Library indicates that I will have a 4 – 6 week wait.   

Leah - I still haven’t found her anywhere other than in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census. 

While none of this is ‘proven’ I am confident that I am on the right track.  So, I feel this is a SCORE!!

and lastly . . .

Another collateral line that I’ve delved into just before Christmas is the COSTELLO family.  Again, I don’t directly descend from this line, but my Grandmother’s second husband, Edward P COSTELLO was well loved and respected by his daughter and two step-sons.  His one step-son, my Dad, specifically asked if I would see what I could find on Ed and the COSTELLO family.

With the exception of Ed’s given name, which I have not been able to nail down – is it Edward Pierce; Pierce or Percy – you can read about that mystery here Crap!!  I’ve had some luck . . .

Marriage record for parents (copy recently ordered)

Passport Application w/photo for brother

Philadelphia Passenger List – 1887 Arrival

U.S. Federal Census Records (1900 – 1910)

Death / Obituary Records for Parents

SCORE!!

Okay, so what are my goals for the coming year?

 Blog Posts To be specific, more frequent posting. 

My struggle this past year has been to post on a regular basis.  I have had no problem writing about my research; in truth I have found that to be a successful methodology for me – I’d chronologically go through my research process; documents found; information the documents seemed to corroborate or refute; questions that the documents raised; and the like.  This process helped me focus on what I was missing and where I needed to go from there.

Nor do have a problem with blogging about my successes and disappointments.  But, what I do struggle with is blogging when there (seemingly) isn’t much to say.  I am not good at short ‘chat / FaceBook’ size snippets.  And, these past few months – really since November 2013 – my research, as I said at the beginning, has slowed considerably and until recently, it has been a struggle to get back into the tree and posting again on Family Preserves.

I would love to hear from other bloggers . . .

How do you blog daily / frequently when you’re going through a lull or burnout?  Or . . .

Do you just blog when you have something to share?

The goal of blogging is to not only document family stories and research but also to get that information out there as ‘cousin bait.’  Right?  But, do you worry that if you’re not blogging daily?  Am I putting too much pressure on myself thinking about this?

Continued Education

Rootstech 2013 & 2014 This year I discovered Rootstech 2013 and 2014 webinars.  I worked my way through all of them.  And, I enjoyed them for their tips, tricks and stories.

LiveStream Tutorials I very rarely miss my very favorite genealogist, Crista Cowan’s Tuesday and Thursday tutorials.  And, if I do, I catch them on the ancestry.com YouTube Channel.  I cannot say enough about the depth and breadth of information that Crista puts out weekly on how to climb your family tree and how to pursue the research of your ancestors.  If you have not seen her presentations, I highly recommend them.  You can find the schedule for her LiveStream events here Barefoot Genealogist and the link to ancestry.com’s YouTube channel is here ancestry.com Channel.

Google Earth a year ago, I discovered Lisa Louise Cooke and her book “The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox” and her two CD’s “Google Earth Volume 1” and “Google Earth Volume 2.”  Okay, I am not tech saavy, so I have been procrastinating . . . I haven’t yet installed the program on my computer.  Since then, I have discovered Eric Stitt’s blog Genealogy Through Google Earth.  I love the idea of mapping out my ancestor’s migration and so much more.  Note to self, you must get this on the computer and start using it.!

National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2014 Family History Conference I will be attending my very first genealogy conference of any kind.  The NGS conference this year will be held in Richmond, VA – just 2 hours from where I currently make my home.  I am so looking forward to it.

All in all Family Preserves has had a good first year and I look forward to what next year will bring . . .

Bring on the ‘cousins!’

Bring on the collaboration!

Bring on more tips and tricks!

Bring on the stories and discoveries!

Bring on the genealogy victories!

I have enjoyed this past year with Family Preserves and its successes, I truly hope you, the reader, have enjoyed the stories and that you’ll continue visiting in the coming year.

Thank you, Tracy

Keeping up with the . . . BEARDSELLs, KRIEBELs, LEARNs, LINDSEYs, RAMERs, STARRs . . .

Some people spend their days keeping up with the Jones(es); you know, they always seemingly have the latest and greatest . . . and, we need to have it too.  But, if you are, like me, a genealogist, you know that we spend a lot of time keeping up with . . . or trying to keep up with, our family research.

Sometimes my ancestors and their families are cooperative.  The research, the documentation and the information gleaned, steadily flow and you can methodically plot their timeline and their stories.  And, you keep up, until you’ve reached that point that the information – for the time being – has dried up.  You then move on to the next ancestor and their family. 

But, sometimes genealogy moves fast and furious.  You are working on your research of an ancestor - you’ve come across a wealth of information - and suddenly a wealth of information comes in on another ancestor and another and another and . . . While you appreciate all the information that is daily becoming available, you quickly become overwhelmed and are having a hard time keeping up with it.  And, them all.

Throughout this year I have had this happen to me time and time again.  And, there have been times – I am currently at this point – where information coming in is at a virtual standstill, but more often this year, I’ve had the opposite experience; information becoming available online or I’ve had reasonable to great success in locating and obtaining information when I have traveled to my ancestral locals for more traditional research. And, that information at times comes in, at what seems to me, record speed; I try to keep up but review of documents and recording confirmed information, etc. takes time and sometimes it seems that I am getting this information so fast that I can’t keep up!  So much so that I have come close to yelling STOP!  Don’t worry, I never do, because I am very aware that others do not have this happening for them right now, and I am really, really, grateful for my research successes this year.

Right now, information flow on my ancestors is at a virtual standstill; it has been this way for over a month and I am currently struggling to stay excited about my research – have I reached / has my research reached burn-out?  I find myself, and I think this post was motivated by my wanting to remind myself, that I have had a lot of successes in researching and documenting my ancestors and their stories this past year; and, that this slow period will pass.

How do you all handle the ebb and flow – which sometimes happens at an accelerated pace?  How do you keep yourself motivated and excited during the slow times?

Failed Correspondence

If your involvement in genealogy is more than a passing fancy, I feel sure that you’ve corresponded, in some fashion, with any number of folks, society, library, archive, etc.  And, I also feel sure that you, just as I have, had your share of successes and disappointments that resulted from the effort.  Not having success via the more traditional communication channels, I am taking my failed attempts to the blogosphere.
I am in the throws of getting ready for our trip to Pennsylvania for a Christmas visit with family.  Pennsylvania is where the majority of my and my husband’s ancestors are from.  So, I thought, I’d incorporate some research in our plans.  Realizing that I cannot do it all, I have been focusing on those ancestors that were closest to or predominately from Philadelphia, Philadelphia County and then zeroing in on those with unanswered questions.
One of my ancestral challenges has been my Great Grandfather, Wallace Arthur BEARDSELL.  He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1893, coming from Holme, Yorkshire, England.  I have been able to track him from that point forward to 1940 where I find him listed as a resident in the Philadelphia Home for Indigent Men and Woman.  The home is still in existence today,its current name is Riverview Home.  I ‘lose’ him after1940.  I have, to date, not been able to determine his date of death nor burial location.  My Great Grandmother, Wallace’s first wife died in 1900 and is buried at Greenmount Cemetery, Philadelphia in an unmarked grave.  My Grandfather is not with her.  Wallace’s 2nd wife died in 1964 and is buried at Lawnview Cemetery, Rockledge, Pennsylvania, with her first husband.  Wallace isn’t there. 

His eldest daughter died in 1940 and is buried at Magnolia, Cemetery, Tacony, Pennsylvania.  She too is buried with her first husband and his family.  Her father isn’t there.  Wallace’s son George died in 1954 and is buried at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Oaks, Pennsylvania.  His daughter, Edith (my Grandmother), died in 1987 and is buried alongside George, and her husband, Walter G LINDSEY at the St. Paul’s Episcopal church.  Their father isn’t there.  His remaining daughter, Lidie BEARDSELL Iannuccie (my half-Grand Aunt), lived to 100 and recently past away last year and is buried with her husband at New Cathedral Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  And, Wallace isn’t there. 

Last year, having learned that the Riverview Home, formerly the Philadelphia Home for Indigent Men and Women was still in operation, I called and then e-mailed to inquire about historical records for former residents; did historical records exist?  Was it possible to obtain copies?  Were the records archived on site?  If not, where were they located and who should be contacted?  It is a year later, and to date I have not received any response.

Similarly, another ancestral challenge from York, York County Pennsylvania, is my Grand Uncle, William Gordon LINDSEY.  His last known residence in 1920 is the Children’s Home of York and York County; he’s listed as a ward of home.  In the first part of this year, January 2013, I wrote the home explaining that I was researching my paternal family history and that my Grand Uncle’s last known residence was the Children’s Home of York and York County, Pennsylvania.  I inquired if they had the archived records for their former wards and if it was possible to obtain a copy.  I noted that my specific interest was in learning if William G LINDSEY had lived at the home until age of maturity or if he had been adopted by another family.  I took great pains to explain, that I understood that for privacy reasons they may not be able to provide adoption information.  Obtaining this information would provide me with the much needed clue; IF William G LINDSEY was a resident of the home until the age of maturity, I would continue the search for the LINDSEY surname.  IF William was adopted, I might have to accept that I might never find him because his name, in all probability, may have changed. 
Again, a year later and I still have no response.  About two weeks ago, I took this to the York County, Pennsylvania FaceBook page.  To date, no response there either.
These are just 2 of my most frustrating ancestral challenges; aggravated by failed correspondence.  Not all research and communication can be accomplished via the computer and social media.  I understand.  But . . .  I will be in the Philadelphia area over the holidays, so it is my plan to visit the Riverview Home and the Pennsylvania Genealogical Society; crossing my fingers for better success in person.  But a visit to York, York County, Pennsylvania is not possible this trip.  That will have to wait.

How about you, the reader?  Have you had failed correspondence?  What are your tips to work through the challenge(s)? 

I encourage you to share your stories here, perhaps I or another reader can help.  And, if any of you are familiar with either of these facilities – The Riverview Home in Philadelphia or the Children’s Home of York and York County, Pennsylvania – and know if they’ve kept their historical records and who to contact for more information, I would love to hear from you.
Genealogy, by its very nature requires patience; a virtue that I was not endowed with. 

Mystery Solved . . . almost

Jane Ann (Jennie) BEARDSELL

9 August 1889 - 10 February 1940

Back in March of this year, I shared  the mystery that is my Grand Aunt Jennie (Jane Ann BEARDSELL); the purpose of the post was to help document the pieces of the puzzle that I had and to find the missing pieces, with the goal of putting the puzzle together to see the picture (her story) in its entirety.

Today, I happily share that this family history mystery is solved . . . almost.  There is still a glaring hole (mystery) dead center of the puzzle; where is Jennie between 1911 and 1930?

What we now know and how we got there . . .

'Jennie' was born Jane Ann BEARDSELL, 9 August 1889, in Huddersfield, England.  Her father, Wallace Arthur BEARDSELL was 26 and her mother, Elizabeth Ann (nee ROWBOTTOM) was 22.  On 3 November 1889, Jennie was baptized, Jane Ann BEARDSELL; she was three months (12 weeks) old.  The baptismal record states that she and her faily were living at 'David's' Cottage.

 Baptismal Record

(ancestry.com)

 



And, in 1891, Jennie is living in Wooldale, England with her father and mother.

 

1891 England Census

(ancestry.com)



In 1895 Jennie, her brother George, and their mother, Elizabeth made the journey from the port of Liverpool, England to Pennsylvania, United States and the 'New World.'  A journey of 11 days on the American Line, S/S Southwark.  Their ship departed the port of Liverpool and the waters of England on 11 April 1895 and arrived the port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 21 April 1895.

S/S Southwark

norwayheritage.com/gallery

 

 S/S Southwark Passenger List

ancestry.com 

 

The Immigrant Receiving Station located at the Washington Avenue, Philadelphia waterfront is where I imagine that Wallace Arthur BEARDSELL happily greeted his wife Elizabeth and two children, 5 year old Jennie and one year old, George.  Wallace, who immigrated to Pennsylvania two years before, would have walked with his family a short distance to the waterfront neighborhood of Kensington and their new home.  It is not currently known why the BEARDSELLs chose to leave their home in England, I can only presume that it was for the promise of better opportunities and employment.

 

Jennie would again sail the Atlantic in October 1898 with her mother and siblings, George and Edith.  The ship, S/S Russia, set sail for Liverpool, England, 29 October 1898.  The family would stay in England for a year and four months, setting sail once again for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in February 1900.  Again, it is not known, with certainty, why the family returned to England, but I can only assume that it was to visit both the ROWBOTTOM and BEARDSELL families still living in England.  Knowing that I don't travel well - any mode of transportation - I can only imagine what it must have been like for the young children and their mother on these trans-Atlantic crossings that were before the more modern and comfortable cruise lines that we know today.

 

S/S Russia

Library of Congress

www.loc.gov/pictures/resource

 

S/S Russia Passenger List

ancestry.com

  

 By February 1900, Jennie, her siblings, and her mother were home in Philadelphia with her father.

 

S/S Belgenland

youtube.com/watch?v=mHVzuevn1KY

 

 

S/S Belgenland Passenger List

ancestry.com

 



Sadly, a few short months later (August 1900) Jennie, at the age of 10, would lose her mother to tuberculosis.  Eight years later, according to the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Jennie is married and living with her husband, Stanley McLean and their son, Ralph, in Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey; Jennie is 20.  (to date, I have not been able to locate a marriage license or certificate in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey for Jane Ann (Jennie) BEARDSELL and Stanley McLean).

 

1910 U.S. Federal Census

ancestry.com

 

And then . . . Jennie disappears.

 

In 1920, Stanley is living in a boarding house in Paulsboro, Gloucester, New Jersey.

 

 

1920 U.S. Federal Census

ancestry.com

 



And, their son, Ralph, is found living with his grandparents (his father's parents) in the Tacony suburb of Philadephia, Pennsylvania.

 

1920 U.S. Federal Census

ancestry.com



It is not currently known when Jennie and Stanley separated, nor when their divorce was finalized.  While I have looked for Jennie in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; she had a brother, George; a sister Edith and her family; and her father Wallace who all were residents of Philadelphia at the time.  I have been unable to account for Jennie's whereabouts between 1911 and 1930 when I next find her.

 

In 1930, Jennie was 40 years old and living in Merchantville, Camden, New Jersey with her husband William J Brown, Sr. and their son, William, Jr.

 

1930 U.S. Federal Census

ancestry.com



 



 At the time that the 1930 census was taken, William Brown, Jr. was one year and four months old; having nothing else, at this time, to go by, I am assuming that Jennie and William, Sr. were married on, or about, 1928.

 

In 1940 at the age of 50 years and 6 months, Jennie passed away; her last known residence was 109 Monroe Street, Delaware Township, Camden, New Jersey.  She was survived by her husband, William J Brown, Sr.,; her sons Ralph Stanley Mclean and William J Brown, Jr.; her sister, Edith Rose (nee BEARDSELL) Costello; her brother, George BEARDSELL; and her father, Wallace BEARDSELL.

 

Death Certificate

Personal Collection - TLCmeyers.blogspot.com

 

Jane Ann (Jennie) (nee BEARDSELL) Brown is buried alongside her former husband, Stanley McLean in the Magnolia Cemetery in Tacony, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lot 387, Section E, Grave 3.

 

Questions Remaining:

1. When and where were Jennie and Stanley married? 

    Pennsylvania?  New Jersey?

2. When did Stanley and Jennie separate?

3. When was the divorce between Stanley and Jennie final?  

    Where were the papers filed?

4. Where in the world was Jennie, between 1911 and 1930?

5. When and where were Jennie and William J Brown married? 

    New Jersey?  Pennsylvania?

 

If you are a descendant of any, who are listed here, and have information that could shed some light on the remaining questions, I'd love to hear from you.  Or, if you are visiting and are working through a similar situation, I'd love to hear your research strategies and how you are working to answer your questions?

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

Travel Tuesday - Planning a Research Trip

I have an empty nest.  And, with an empty nest, freedom; what does a genealogy hobbyist do with freedom?  Travel of course.  So this July I am off on a mini-family history tour.  Queue the Beatles Magical HISTORY (err, Mystery) Tour.
 

I took my first mini-family history tour back in December; we were in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania region for other reasons, so decided that we'd take a day trip into the city to visit the cemetery where my Great Grandmother Elizabeth Ann (ROWBOTTOM) BEARDSELL is buried and to visit the Free Library of Philadelphia.  While we were reasonably successful in our family history endeavor, I don't believe that we were as successful as we could have been, if we had taken the time to PLAN our trip.  Both my husband and I have other ancestors in that area, and if we had just done a little planning, I think we could have accomplished far more.  In our defense though, we hadn't really thought about combining our trip with our research - we were in the area for other reasons entirely.

This July, we will again be in Pennsylvania to visit family over the 4th of July.  We will be in and around the area of Columbia, Luzerne, Montour and Monroe Counties; the area that my paternal ancestors are predominately from.  So, we've decided to include a family history tour in the itinerary.

Okay, so I better get planning; but, how do you plan a research trip?  I suppose it really comes down to your personal research needs and style.  So for me, this is how I set about it . . . 

 

1.       Request time off from work

2.       Make lodging reservations

3.       Make arrangements for furry friend to be cared for in your absence

1 - 3 are fairly straightforward

4.       Determine the scope and breadth of your research.

The location we'd be in pretty much set this for us; we'd be focusing our research on the LEARN family.

5.       Create a research log.  This is what I'll use to keep track of . . .

·         Address and contact information

·         Expenses

·         Names of ancestors who are buried in the cemeteries we'd be visiting

·         Last known home address for LEARN ancestors.  Wouldn't it be fun to get pictures of their home, if they are still there?

6.       Create a photo log.  I'll use this to keep an accounting of the photos I've taken and why along with any notes

Research Log



 

 

Photo Log

 

7.       Okay my next step was to take a look at the LEARNs on my family tree, and with the help of OneNote, really take a look at what I know and how I know it.  Thank you Crista Cowan, that mantra is ingrained on my brain.  Which isn't a bad thing. 

I created a notebook for the LEARN surname.  I then created a top tab for each individual and within each individual tab, I created side tabs to record pertinent genealogical information that I had on each of them.

Here's an example

 

 

The, General Information page that you see here, captures at a glance, the timeline for Margaret Ethel LEARN from birth to death.  See tabs on right-hand side . . .

 

·         Birth

·         Marriage

·         Death

·         US Federal Census

 

Within each, I have 'captured' the source documentation that I hold; either in my private holdings or that I have located online and saved.  Each page includes a transcription of those source documents as well as source citations.  I not only want to give credit, where credit is due, but I also want to remember where I found that information.

 

While this may seem duplicative of the information stored and saved on both ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker, I can honestly tell you that physically going through the steps of  transcribing each source document and creating a timeline, will help you hone in on what you're missing and where you need to go next with your research.  The other benefit of physically transcribing a document is that you may actually come across information you missed on initial reading.

 

8.       Having completed steps 1 - 7, I am now ready for my family history tour.  I am really looking forward to it and I look forward to sharing the results when I return.

Okay, have I forgotten something?  Should I be doing something else to prepare for our trip?

I am interested in learning how you plan for a family history tour.

Tracy