One Mother: Four Birth Certificates; Finding Mistakes in Vital Records

Most genealogists rely on basic information on an individual to build a simple profile of that person's life. Once you have those pieces, the rest of their history is much easier to accumulate. The birth, marriage and death dates and locations are extremely important to building a strong case in your research. Those vital's, the BMD, are typically the first items you look for upon learning of a new ancestor.

We have to remember, however, that those forms were completed by humans. Even those found in recent history commonly have errors and misspellings. Just because its on a BMD record, does not mean its correct. This post will give you an example of that situation.

One Mother: Four Birth Certificates

(Because this example is about real people, who are still alive, actual names have been replaced with those out of my imagination.)

Sally Lorraine Kniver married William J. Wilson in 1960 in Birmingham, Alabama. William was a military man, so they lived in various places along the eastern seaboard during their early years as a family. They had four children in all, born in three different states. The two eldest children, the son and the first daughter, have birth certificates from Maryland and Alabama respectively. Both of those have correct information, with no errors. The other two daughters, however, are different.

The third child was also born in Maryland. The certificate lists birthplace of the babies father and mother, and while William Wilson was born in Washington, it was Washington State, not Washington D.C. as listed on the certificate. Additionally, the information on the mother's residence is incorrect:

Usual Residence of Mother:
State: DC
County: Enumclaw
City or Town: Wash DC

An address is also listed, which happens to be located in Enumclaw, King County, Washington. As a District, Washington DC does not actually reside in a "county", so obviously the information listed on the certificate is confused at best. If you were to just use the information on the certificate of this child alone, as a researcher, you may be quite lost as to where this woman actually lived. (Until you Googled "Enumclaw" that is - trust me, there is only one of those.)

Finally, the fourth child, and last girl of the family. Born in Enumclaw, Washington after William left his military service. The majority of information on her vital record is correct, except for the spelling of her mother's maiden name. The correct spelling is KNIVER, but the record has it as KNIVED. A small error, but another likely to cause confusion, especially with the novice researcher.

If you had all four of these birth records, you would be able to make highly educated assumptions about the family, do some additional research, and find the correct information fairly easily. However, if you have only one or two, and at least one of those has errors, it could certainly lead you down the wrong path. It is important to remember to search along the branches of your tree, just as much as the trunk. In other words, research the siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles along with your direct ancestral line to find as much information as possible; in order to build an accurate and full family history.

Records can be fudged, errors are made, even in today's world. In the above examples, the children were all born in the 1970's, and although corrections have been made to the records, there are many more out there that sit in error.

Example of a Vital Record: Certificate of Marriage

Mortimer J. Lawrence

The Lawrence family was essentially split in two, financially speaking. One side had siblings that were farmers, nearly destitute, with several children to each family and visibly struggling. On the other was Uncle Mortimer, or "Mort" and Warren. Together, they owned, operated and edited The Ohio Farmer and other monthly publications.

Mortimer liked to travel, and there are several surviving letters and postcards from his journeys in the family archives today. There did not seem to be any tension between the farmers back in Nebraska and the well to do Uncle, at least none that is obvious from their correspondance. Mortimer especially kept in touch with his niece, Carrie Brown, daughter of Frances (his sister) and Oscar. 

Front Image

Postcard from Brazil

Mortimer James Lawrence was born 8 Dec 1843 in Springfield, Pennsylvania to John Horatio Lawrence, Sr. and Sarah Evans. By the 1860 census, the family was residing in Ohio, and this is where he enlisted for service in the 3rd Ohio Cavalry, Co. B. He was captured and served time as a POW in Andersonville Prison. In 1866, after the war, he attended Bryant & Stratton Commercial College in Oberlin, and spent several years working in the news industry in the Cleveland area. By 1887, he owned a home in Denver, Colorado, which had running water and electricity, and he was the President & Owner of the People's Savings and Deposit Bank.

On June 25, 1888, the Charter was issued to the thirty ninth Shrine Temple, the El Jebel Shrine, in Denver. During their first meeting, Mortimer suggested the name, "El Jebel", meaning "The Mountain" in Arabic.

On 20 Dec 1866, Mortimer married Hellen J. Mattison, of Cleveland, and they had four sons: M. Lyman, George Stone, Mortimer William, and Paul Terry.

Throughout his life, he resided in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington D.C., New York, and Florida, and had traveled to Brazil, the Bahamas, Europe, and sailed extensively throughout the Atlantic on his yacht. A few days before his death, his former business associate, W.W. Porter, dreamed of it happening. Mortimer passed away on 30 Nov 1922 in Washington, D.C. 

16,500,000 Eligible for Military Training

From the Record Journal of Douglas County, Castle Rock, Douglas County, Colorado. Friday, October 18, 1940, Page 2. 


16,500,00 Are Eligible, Census Figures Indicate


United States census bureau estimates that 16,500,000 men will be found eligible for military training after the completion of registration of all persons within the age limits fixed by the Burke-Wadsworth act.
Among the states which will contribute the larger number of eligible trainees, according to the bureau's estimate, are: New York, 1,835,000; Pennsylvania, 1,190,000; and Illinois, 1,043,000."

Counting Noses: Getting Ready for the 1940 Census

From the Record Journal of Douglas County, Castle Rock, Douglas County, Colorado. Friday, March 29, 1940, Page 4.


THE CENSUS ENUMERATOR WILL SOON BE COUNTING NOSES OF YOU AND YOURS


"If every family in Douglas County would devote the conversation at one single dinner hour to a discussion of the coming Census of Population, it would be a great convenience to the family, an aid to the community and to the Government," according to C.C. Unfug,  District Supervisor of the Census for this district.

"The Census man is coming to every home in April," said Mr. Unfug, "and some member of each family should be designated by the family to act as spokesman when the Census taker comes, and give all the information required about every household occupant, even including roomeys and hired help who live in the household." According to Mr. Unfug, these are the facts that the Census man will ask for at every household:

House number and street.
Home owned, or rented; home value, if owned; monthly rent if rented.
Live on farm?
Name of every person in household and relationship to head of family; sex, color or race; age last birthday; single, married, widowed or divorced.
Whether attended school or college since March 1, 1940; highest grade completed.
State or Country of birth.
Citizenship if foreign born.
Where did each person live five years ago, that is on April 1, 1935?
To get complete facts of employment and unemployment, each person 14 or over must say whether at work for pay or profit in private industry during March 24-30, this year. If not working for private industry, or non emergency government work, or regular government work, whether working for WPA, NYA, CCC for that week. If neither at work nor assigned to public emergency work, each person must say whether or not he is seeking work; if not seeking work, whether he has a job or business from which he is temporarily away.
Each person not at work or not seeking work must say whether engaged in home housework, in school, unable to work or "other".
All persons employed by private industry or on regular government work are required to give the number of hours worked the week of March 24-30, and those seeking work and those assigned to public emergency work must state the duration of their unemployment in weeks up to March 30, 1940.
Every person at work, either private or emergency, must give present occupation, industry and class of worker. Those without work but seeking work must report on whether they have had previous work experience lasting one month or more and give their last occupation, industry and class of worker. If they have not had previous work experience and are seeking work they will be listed as "new workers".
Information sough on "occupation" above, must include exact nature of duties performed, such as trade, profession or particular kind of work done. Under "industry" above, report kind of factory, store or other business in which duties are performed. Under "class of worker" above, report whether a wage or salary worker in private work; a wage or salary worker in government work (including WPA, CCC, NYA); an employer: working on own account, or an unpaid family worker.
Report the number of weeks worked during 1939 (equivalent, full-time weeks). Report the amount of wages, or salary received (including commissions) during 1939 and whether there was additional income of $59 or more from other sources during the year.
Each twentieth person will be asked the state or county of birth of father and mother; mother tongue; whether a veteran; whether a wife, widow or child under 18 of a veteran; if a child, is the veteran father dead; what war or military service.
Each twentieth person will also be asked whether he or she has a Social Security number, whether or not deductions were paid for Federal Old Age Insurance, or Railroad Retirement in 1939. If deductions were made, were they based on all, one-half, or more, or less than half of wages or salary?
Each twentieth person will be asked his or her "usual" occupation, industry, and class of worker. State as usual occupation that one so regarded, or if not sure, that one at which he has worked in most(?) during the past ten years.
The supplementary Census will also ask each woman who has been married whether married more than once; age at first marriage and number of children.

Wordless Wednesday: The Unknowns of Valley Brook

In Valley Brook Cemetery, in Breckenridge, Summit County, Colorado, there are over 100 "Unknowns".

Unknown 22 and Unknown 22A

Website Review: Colorado State Archives Historical Records Index Search

This post is an overview of the Historical Records Index Search system on the Colorado State Archives website. You can find this immensely helpful Colorado resource here:

Colorado State Archives: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/
Colorado Historical Records Index main page: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/hrd/index.htm

If you are researching the State of Colorado, the Archives is a must hit resource. By indexing the available records, they have provided historians and genealogists with a easy to use and free resource, allowing researchers to identify possible records prior to visiting the Archives or making requests for copies.

There are numerous databases available, and you can see the list at the bottom of the Index main page (link above).  The last update was made 25 June 2012, and at that time, there were 2,243,831 entries. If you need information on a specific record type, you can peruse the Records Descriptions page, which lists each resource individually. Included in the site is everything from federal census', "Amache Japanese Internment Camp Teachers", "Prohibition Arrests", "Non-Fatal Mine Accidents", county records, and much more.

When you conduct a search, the system will display the first 200 matches, and no more. You cannot move to page two. If you are searching for "Bill Jones", all record types, in Denver, you will need to be more specific to find who and what you are looking for. However, if you are searching a rather unusual name, for example, "Widmeyer" you can be rather vague in your search terms. Please note, the system does not use Soundex, so you will have to search all the various spellings you can think of to find all of the resources available.

Searches can be conducted by last name only, first name only, or a combination. "Smith, John" or Smith, Jo" for example. You can also search by county, year range, and record type.

Although the site states that Internet Explorer works best, I have been solely using Chrome, and it has worked fine for me.

Images are not available through the site, only derivatives. You can order records through the site, however, which is a nice feature. When you have found a record you are interested in purchasing, simply click the box next to it in the results list, and hit the "Add/Remove to Inquiry" button at the top of the spreadsheet. When you are done searching, and have added all the records to your inquiry, click on the "Complete Email Request" button, and you will be led to an online form to complete. Their fee system is listed at the bottom of this post.

The State Archives also has several other resources and historically interesting links:
Digital Archives
Family History Site
Governor Ritter Historical Archives
Governor Owens Historical Archives
Listen to D-Day Radio Broadcasts
Digital Trademarks


The Colorado State Archives is managed by Terry Ketelsen.

Found at 1313 Sherman, Room 1B20, Denver, Colorado 80203, you can contact them via phone at: 303-866-2358. The public research room is open 9:00am - 4:30pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. They are closed on weekends and Wednesdays, and state holidays.

General Requests
Colorado Residents: $15.00 per search or name to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.
Out of State Requests: $25.00 per search or name to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.
Certified Copies: $10.00 and up per document.
Professional Assistance: $28.00 per hour charged in fifteen minute intervals ($7.00 for every fifteen minutes.)

Specific Requests
Corporation Searches: $25.00 per corporation to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.
Radon Searches: $25.00 per name to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.

There Is A Line: The Difference Between Collaboration and Cheating

Recently, I had a message sent to me on my www.ancestry.com account. Here is a person asking for access to my private tree, so she can "use" my information. I have several concerns about this. Let me state now, before I get going on my rant, that I am in no way affiliated with Ancestry.com, except for the fact that I purchase access to their system.

I actually have several tree's on ancestry. All the projects I work on eventually end up there. I think of them as rough drafts, and that is the primary reason why I keep them private. I do not want anyone using me as a resource when the original is about as far from polished as you can get. The tree's are like a working theory; as I find clues or names that may (or may not) help me, I add them in to see what will happen. It allows me the creative freedom to prove or disprove a theory or assumption. Sometimes, I can delete that new idea immediately - it's obviously not a match to who I'm looking for. There are other times when an idea becomes its own tree, so I can continue to progress in my work at a later date and time. (See, I have this thing called a toddler. She's not exactly willing to let Mommy sit at the computer all day.) Life interrupts, so I have to save it all and come back to it again and again. Not everything on my tree's are correctly cited, not everything has been judged against the Genealogical Proof Standard. Therefore, it is private.

As much as I value the resources that Ancestry.com provides to me, it is not the end all and be all of genealogical research. There is so much more out there to investigate. The vast majority of that work goes into a much different database on my hard drive, and never gets posted to an individual's online profile.

When I send a message on ancestry, it goes something like this...

"Hello, I'm looking for information on So-And-So and his wife, Mrs. So-And-So. Here is what I know about them already: he was born... she was born... they married on this day, year... they lived here... they had these children... they are buried... Thank you so much for your time and consideration in sharing any new information you may have."


Etc., etc., etc.

I include as many details as I think I can without losing the interest of the reader. I do this to show that I am willing to share as much as I give, I am genuine, and I care about the ancestor in question. I care about the researcher's credibility and the ancestor's "online image" so to speak. I can recite that last line verbatim, because that is how I have been ending my messages and emails for collaboration requests for as long as I can remember. This is personal stuff. It doesn't get any more personal than your family. People out there in the genealogical community generally recognize this fact, and strive to ensure that the trust and respect from one researcher to another is displayed upon first contact; and continues to be present and obvious as long as the collaboration continues. It is displayed in comments and credits given to each researcher.

Please, don't be a cheater. Collaborate with the world, but don't cheat. Take credit for your individual work, and give credit where credit is due. It's very important, and unfortunately, its rampant in amateur and hobbyist genealogy.

The Adams Family

Buried together in a small corner of the Valley Brook Cemetery in Breckenridge, Colorado, sits the Adams Family: Josie, Marie Therese (mother), Paul G., and Philip P., (father). Little Josie caught my interest first, as early deaths are wont to do, and tucked on my maternal heart strings. Today I got the chance to take a look at her family in a more structured and intentional way. 

Adams Family Plot

Josie Adams did not survive for long in the sometimes extreme environment of Summit County, Colorado. Born in September, she lived just over a year.

According to the 1900 and 1910 census records for Summit County, Philip was born in Germany, and arrived in the United States in 1880. The State of Colorado Historical Records Index Search (http://www.colorado.gov) revealed nothing, neither did the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records database (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx). Since both of these are initial search resources for me, I had to dig a little deeper. The 1920 census reveals that Philip became a Naturalized Citizen in 1894, but does not mention the still living Marie in the same household, though it does say that Philip is still married.

Census records tell me that Marie was born in Wisconsin. The 1900 Federal Census provides a marriage date of 1883, and I was able to locate a marriage record in the BYU Idaho Special Collections & Family History (http://abish.byui.edu) system for Philip Adams of Breckenridge and Threasa KLANKA of Breckenridge, 24 May 1884 (Western States Marriage Record Index, ID 349647, Vol. A, Page 21). The marriage took place in Breckenridge, so this is more than likely the correct Philip and Therese.  Using the spelling of her first name provided by the headstone, rather than the alternate on the marriage index, searching for Therese Klanka born in Wisconsin in 1859 on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) gives me the following result:
1870 Federal Census, Therese KLENKE, born 1859, Wisconsin. Daughter of Anton and Dore, sister to Herman and Carl. Residing in the Town of Herman, Sheboygan County, about 65 miles north of Wisconsin, just inland from the shore of Lake Michigan.

From what I have already collected, the Adams also had children Dora, Agnes and Clara, all born in Colorado. So what happened to them? Since they all survived at least long enough to be recorded in the 1900 Census, they probably married and moved on with their new families.

Paul G. Adams, born Sept. 13, 1885, is also buried in Valley Brook next to his parents and baby sister. The General Land Office Records database (see above link) tells us that he obtained property in Baca County, Colorado in 1920; but the 1930 census has him back in Breckenridge. Where will he be in 1940, I wonder? Guess I still have a few days before that information becomes available... (see the 1940 U.S. Census Project for more information!)

If I had the inclination and time, I would order Philip's naturalization papers to see what else I could learn. However, for the purpose of this summary, I believe I have said enough. Please note all of the above resources were accessed on 25 Mar 2012, and a FindAGrave memorial has been created for Philip Adams (www.findagrave.com, memorial # 87354918); I would imagine the rest of the headstones will be added to the site before the end of the day. The research done for the purpose of this blog was also conducted and completed on 25 Mar 2012, and is stored in the personal files of Jen Baldwin, Ancestral Journeys, author. A full genealogical report will be posted on the Summit County Trails to the Past website in the near future (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cosummtp/).

Today Matters Just As Much

Over the past few weeks, I have had numerous interactions with members of my family, mostly via phone, regarding current events in our families history. Everything from basketball tournaments, toddler birthday parties, and participating in fundraising for causes has been discussed, at length.

One thing that continues to strike me is this: we make memories every day. These are the stories our children will tell around the dinner table after a Thanksgiving meal when they are adults. Some of the conversations recently have been rather negative, full of frustration, anger, drama and complicating details. It makes me take a step back and to tell myself to stop. It doesn't matter that much. It's not that important.

What matters is the smile on my daughters face. That's all.

My thoughts for the day.

Wordless Wednesday: William & Estella Brown

 Wordless? Ha! Just not my style...

William James Brown was the third son of William Warner Brown and Emma Anderson (Andersson?) of Orting, Washington. Born 9 Feb 1921, he married Stella Lindsley on 1 Dec 1942. Uncle Bill was a Merchant Marine in WWII, before signing up he worked on the ALCAN (or Alaskan-Canadian Highway) with the CCC. He also served in the Army Air Corp, never going abroad. After his service was over, he worked in a cardboard manufacturing plant in Sumner, Washington, and remained there until retirement.

William J. Brown

Bill & Stella

Estella Lindsley may have been Native American, possibly in the Puyallup, Washington area.  We know she had a sister named Ester, and one member of the family remembers seeing more in the family.

They are both buried in the Orting Cemetery, Orting, Washington.

Youth In Cemetery

Leadville Girl Scouts

 Are kids, our next generation, interested in genealogy?

Well, maybe not. But I think we can do something about that. For the past year, I have been working with a local Girl Scout Troop in Leadville, Colorado. I have three nieces in the group, and my sister is one of the leaders, so it was a pretty easy and natural thing for me to be involved, and to be excited about the chance to pass my passion on to someone else. Someone young.

Author and family with the
Cose family marker.

We started last summer by taking the girls to the Evergreen Cemetery in Leadville. We had a local history buff tour us through the headstones, and she was wonderful and full of information. She showed them different kinds of graves, different areas of the cemetery (i.e. The Elks, I.O.O.F.), and told a lot of entertaining stories. About half way through though, she lost her audience. The girls just stopped listening. They wanted to either be entertained or entertain themselves.

After the "official" tour, I stepped in. I talked to the group about headstone rubbings, and we practiced on a few newer graves. They had over sized paper and a crayon. They were pretty happy for about ten minutes. Most of the kids started to filter home at this point, and that was okay. They were done.

I had something else completely in mind for my nieces however. There was a headstone I needed to find. At the time, they were 7 and 9 years, so I told them we were going on a scavenger hunt. That perked them right up! I gave them a general area of the cemetery, which we found using the map I brought along, and set them loose. They were excited because they were in charge, and they had a goal. We'd been at the cemetery for over two hours at this point, and no other goal had been established for the group. I think that was mistake #1.

We did find who I was looking for, even though I ended up actually finding her, and not the girls. Catherine J. (Daniels) Cose, 1858-1941. She was the sister of my 2nd great aunt, and I had just recently made the connection to the Leadville area.  I could not believe how excited they were to find her and her family! To them, it was real. It wasn't just names on paper with dates and random stories about a person they'll never meet, it was there, in front of them. For the first time, we had evidence that someone else in our family had lived in Leadville; we had always thought that my sister's family were the first to be in the area. And here was someone that was in their town. 


The question is, "is the next generation interested in genealogy"? Yes, I think they are. You just have to make it real. Leading the group through the genealogy project this year, I started bringing a picture of the same guy every time; Oscar F. Brown, my 2nd great grandfather. Every time I met with them, we would start with holding him up, and saying "hello" to Oscar. We would repeat what we knew about him...  he lived in Nebraska, he fought in the Civil War... they were engaged. That brings them to being interested about the topic of the day, whether its different kinds of records, geography, or family crests.

Jennifer Holik, genealogist and author, will be releasing Branching Out: Genealogy for 1st-3rd Grade Students very soon. I'm excited. Very excited. You can see her other publications and blog at http://www.generationsbiz.com/. You should also check out her blog post on Archives.com, "Connecting Children With Their Past" for great tips on getting started: http://www.archives.com/experts/holik-urban-jennifer/kids-genealogy.html.

Images of Summit County, Colorado

All images are copyright of the photographer, Jen Baldwin, Ancestral Journeys, 2012. 

Please ask permission  before use. 

Breckenridge, Summit County, Colorado

March 2012

The Women In My Life

Genealogy is full of interesting folks, and we commonly run into the male epidemic. There is just more information on men, plain and simple. Community histories, biographies, directories, census records... they just focused on men more. That was the culture of generations past.

However, it is women's history month. Here's a sampling of some of the more interesting ladies I have discovered over the years.

Sarah Evans, date unknown.

Sarah (Evans) Lawrence (1816-1892). Born in New York, she was supposedly adopted at the age of 3 by the Kaiser family, who continued to use her birth surname of Evans. The story goes like this... Sarah's Dad was shot by an angry neighbor when he purchased the farm that had been foreclosed on. Upon his death, the children were split up. No mention of Sarah's mom. She went on to marry her adopted father's apprentice, John H. Lawrence, and together they had ten children. Eventually, the couple separated and Sarah raised the little one's with the financial help of her older children in Ohio. Two of them went on to own and edit The Ohio Farmer, along with other publications. According to the family oral history, she at various times taught school and worked for a newspaper in Silver Creek, Nebraska, editing, writing obituaries, and other tasks. Her last few years were spent living in one of her son's households in Brighton, Colorado. One of her letters from this time period still exists, and she sounds quite lonely. After a busy and eventful life surrounded by family, she spent her last days staring out of an upstairs window watching the world go by on the street below. She is buried in Brighton, Adams County, Colorado.

Bridget (Conlon/Conlin) McGowan (1843 - ).  Born in January in Ireland, I can only imagine the cold she felt as a newborn. Although I do not know much about Bridget's early childhood, by 1850 the family had come across and could be found in Canton, Hartford County, Connecticut. By the time she died, she had lived in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Alabama, as well as Connecticut and Ireland. She married James McGowan in 1860 in Pittsburgh, and ultimately had nine children. He was also an Irish immigrant. The family seemed to follow the steel industry south. Her parents may have been George Conlin and Mary Unknown. Her brother, James, led an interesting life as a soldier, being stationed in various places around the west, eventually dying in Washington State. Since Bridget is my maternal 3rd great grandmother, the history of her brother is interesting. My father's line has history in Washington, and that is where I was raised. I certainly never imagined I would find anyone in my maternal line in the Pacific Northwest.

Ludwig & Emma Hiller, date unknown.

Emma (Kitzmann) Tober Hiller (1891- 1959)  Known my entire life as Grandma Hiller, Emma was my paternal great grandmother. Born in Volhynia, Russia, her family first arrived through New York in 1909, and settled in Alberta, Canada. Carrying their Moravian faith with them, they were surrounded by others from their homeland, I can only pretend to understand the immigration experience from the perspective of an 18 year old. In 1911, she married Paul Tober, and they lived in Canada for about five years, having one son there, Leo. In November of 1916, they boarded a Canadian Pacific Rail car and came into the U.S. via Sweetwater, Montana. They lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for just a couple of years, and had daughter Elsie. The 1920 US Census finds them in Tacoma, Washington, and Emma remained in the area for the rest of her life. In 1929, Emma and Paul divorced, and I know that my grandmother, Elsie, always had a very negative impression of her father, never forgiving him for leaving her mother. Emma worked as a cafeteria server, hotel housekeeper, and other jobs to keep the family together. Even with all that effort, there was a short time when Elsie and her brother Leo were separated from their mother, but eventually as Elsie got older, she was allowed to live with her brother as she finished high school. The oral history of Emma tells me she was a fierce, strong woman who fought for everything - and fought hard. In 1937 she married Ludwig Hiller. She passed away in Pierce County, Washington, and is buried in Tacoma.

HAM Radio: Brings the Family Together

Mom, up on the radio tower. Oct, '67.

As a child, I have very distinct memories of my parents HAM radio equipment. Tucked away in a nook of the house, just off the kitchen, was the "HAM Shack". For the longest time, I had no idea why we called it that.

My parents used HAM radio every day as a young couple, when my Dad was at sea with the Navy, and Mom was home in Alabama. Not only did they talk to each other, they connected other couples in their same situation, passing messages back and forth.

My Mom gained her knowledge from her father, Louis Heerten. She is the oldest child in the family, and they certainly had a very strong bond. My father was able to connect with his new father-in-law by working on radio equipment together.

Today, my parents are retired. Dad has the radio equipment up and running again for the first time in a long time. Mom tends to stand over his shoulder and listen in, even when she's pretending she's not.

Using OneNote to Prep for the 1940 US Census

I know, I know. All the hype lately has been on Evernote. I use Evernote, and I like it. It helps me. But for the 1940 US Census, I turned to OneNote. It just flows better for me.

So here is what I did. This may help you, it may not, but putting it all out there step by step helps me, so that's what I'm going to do.

I started with my Top 10, and created a new Notebook, simply called 1940 Census. Within it, I created a new page for each geographical area for my Top 10. There were a few goals that were simple, so I made a quick note for each on the page. (One thing I really like about OneNote is that I can write anywhere. My brain does not operate in list form, it's all over the place. So, my notes are too.)

Next, I went to http://stevemorse.org/ to use his One Step Tools (thank God for Steve Morse!). I used his Unified 1940 Census ED Finder tool to determine the Enumeration Districts for each city or town that I had previously listed. Then I just moved back over to OneNote, used the Screen Clipping tool, and *poof*! All those ED's were in my notes.

After watching the recent webinar by Thomas MacEntee on prepping for the big day (Navigating the 1940 U.S. Census), I decided to look at WWII draft cards for many of my individuals. Once found, and for some that meant going back through my paper records, and others it was searching online, I was able to again make a quick note on the geographical page for each person. Now I have their ED and their physical address all in one place. Hooray!

Then I thought... I don't want to have to toggle back and forth too much. So, I opened my genealogy database (I use Family Tree Maker 2010 right now) and did a screen clipping on just the vitals of each head of household I was interested in. *Poof* again!

I now have twelve geographic locations listed in OneNote. Some are tiny, with only one ED for the community. Some, like Birmingham, Alabama, have too many to count. I will continue to use the tools made available by Steve Morse and team to narrow down those as much as I can. I am thinking that before the census is actually released, I will have at least twice as many, if not more.

24 days and we're all counting!

The Diary

Last year I was entrusted with a family collection of photos, letters, documents... even one reproduction Civil War medal. You know how this works. You get a huge box of unidentified memorabilia, some of which is garbage, some of which you already have (somewhere) and some of which are pure gold. As in, "this should really be in a museum but I'm probably going to keep it for a while anyway" gold.

The Diary is one of those pieces of gold.

The "Carlyle Collection" as I have named it all came to me from my great grandfather's sister's family. Carrie Brown, daughter of Oscar and Frankie (previously mentioned in several other posts) married Adam Carlyle, and Carrie was good at saving things. So were her daughters. I have certainly gained the honor of becoming the family curator, and eventually the collection ended up in my lap. A title I will gladly carry through to the end. The collection had been organized, to my great delight, to a certain degree by a member of the Carlyle family more recently. He even labelled some of those unknowns for me, which is nearly unheard of.

But no one told me about The Diary.

I had spent days documenting, digitizing and doing my best to filter through the collection. It came contained in seven binders and several other collection devices: boxes, plastic bags, loose pieces. The process had been long and tedious - and I still had to go through and translate all those letters, find where all those pieces belonged. I was really just beginning, but the cataloging was dragging on and on, until I was just done. Done.

Then I found The Diary.

In a very plain looking brown bag. On the front was written, "Diary of Carrie E. Reid 1895 Given to Lizzie Christie (1),  Jean Mouat (2), Helen DeVries (3)." In the top left corner a address label was placed for William DeVries of Bellingham, Wash. (Can you say 1940 US Census?) The back of the bag had a printed label for "PayLess: We're Your Mall in One... We've Got It All Together." Obviously, a modern addition to The Diary. The handwriting on front I recognized from some of the photos I had seen in days previous. Even the pen used was the same. One of the names, Helen DeVries, was familiar, but other than that, I had nothing.

Carrie E. Reid wrote The Diary.

Inside the bag was a dictation notebook, similar to the commonly used white and black notebooks seen across colleges everywhere. The front cover, brown with black and gold embossed lettering, reads "Cyclopedia Book, Exercise and Dictation". The back and inside covers are littered with helpful information, such as "How To Tell the Age of Any Person", in chart form, the "Strength of Ice" and "Origin of the Dollar". Held together with a piece of blue tape along the spine, obviously an attempt made several decades ago. The first page entry is dated Tuesday, Jan 1, 1895, by C.E. Reid, "Diary".

               "This being the 22nd Anniversary of Mother's and Father's wedding we 

                  wished to have some enjoyment so we decided on having a little party."

I was immediately obsessed.

Inside were a few items, other than the script of Carrie Reid. She appears to be writing from somewhere in Canada, so a program from the Grand Opera House in Ottawa (Canada), for Tuesday, February 18th, highlighting Madame Albani in performance, made sense. A color print, on thin paper, slightly torn in the corners, of "The Doctor", published by J.A. Austen & Co., Chicago. A small scrap of paper, written in pencil, "July 4th, 1896, Saturday night..." along with a very fragile sample of hand crocheted lace, folded several times over. The last entry is from Jan. 1st, 1896, "Leap Year".

I hope to find out who Carrie E. Reid was, and where her family ended up. How is she related to me? How did this diary, this very precious item, end up in my hands? The trust my family places in me... wow.

Some of the entries are long, involved stories. Some are very simple, one sentence, maybe two. The transcription will hopefully be completed this year, and the storage of this item for preservation carefully considered. It is a treasure, a family heirloom, yes. But more than that, it is a historic artifact. One for the museum, perhaps.

The Diary.

Maybelle Humphries

Last week, I posted about several unknown photos I found in my families archives. They all seemed to be related to Orting High School in Orting, Pierce County, Washington. Today, I was able to find the names of two of the unidentified, and Maybelle was one of them.

A quick online search through Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and the Washington State Digital Archives reveals the following information: Maybelle Jenette Humphries, daughter of George and Hazel (Kirk) Humphries. She was born 16 Oct 1917 in Pierce County, and appeared to be living in Puyallup in the 1930 census with her parents, sister Marylin and brother Dickie. She was the Class Treasurer for the class of 1936 in Orting. George Humphries was born in Kansas and was listed as a barber. Hazel was born in Washington State.

From the two death records listed by the Washington State Archives, I would guess that George is George Hiram Humphries, who died 29 Mar 1959 at the age of 79, making his birth date (calculated) about 1880. This George died in Yakima, Yakima County, Washington, and they also have a listing of him being buried in the Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima.  There were no listed documents for Hazel Kirk or Hazel Humphries in the archives, however, FamilySearch.org's death record for George listed him as a widow, so Hazel must have died before Mar 1929.

My ultimate goal is to return the photo I have of Maybelle to her family. Can you help?

BCG Mentor

As I continue to develop my skills and prepare myself for going through the certification process with the Board for Certified Genealogists, or BCG, I have decided to look for a mentor to assist me. This is recommended by the Board, and is something I would very much like to have. I have contacted a couple local folks from the web site, but none of them seem very open to the idea, with time consuming projects of their own.

I am looking for someone to proof read my material, critique my processes and summaries and just provide general morale support. The BCG process is long and, I've heard, can be overwhelming. Locally or digitally, it would sure be nice to have someone "hold my hand."

Please pass this on if you know of anybody that might be interested. Thank you.

http://www.bcgcertification.org/

1940 Census: A 1939 Approach

I spent part of my day today taking pictures of newspapers. This is part of the collection of family archives I received last fall, and I am still, slowly, working my way through. Given the recent attention on the release of the 1940 US Census, this article quickly caught my eye. Found at random in a 1939 newspaper, it describes for the reader the history of the first census in the United States.

The transcription:

The Orting Oracle; 27 Apr 1939. Orting, Pierce County, Washington. Vol. 51, Number 24. Page 2.

“How It Started

Provision for the taking of a census of the United States every 10 years is made in the Contitution, and this was originally intended primarily for the purpose of determining how the representation in the House of Representatives should be appointed.

The first census was taken in 1790, in accordance with a bill introduced in the House by James Madison, who later became President. This simply provided for a count of the population; divided into the following classes: White males over 16, white males under 16, white females, free blacks and slaves.

Madison at first wanted to list the occupations of the people, but fear of opposition by the citizens, who might suspect that the government was trying to get a line on their income so as to levy higher taxes, caused the Senate the strike out that provision.

Six months was allowed for the taking of the first census, the total cost of which was $44,377. In some sections a good many people objected to giving the mere information concerning age, but a fairly good job was done and it was shown that the new nation had a population of 3,929,214.

The taking of the 1940 census will probably require the services of 150,000 persons, and the enumerators will be expected to complete their part of the work in 30 days. The count is expected to show a population of about 132 million, the population shown by the census of 1930 was 122,757,046.”

It All Comes Back Around

When I was pregnant with my daughter, my Aunt sent me a baby cup. This was no ordinary cup. It had belonged to my father when he was a baby, and she sent it to me for the baby shower. As someone who truly treasures family heirlooms, this little tin cup is very precious to me. I usually use it to hold my daughter's hospital tag bracelet. Today, I decided to finally digitally document it, and the significance to our family.

In the background is my father, holding his newest granddaughter 30 minutes after she was born.  I took that original photo from the hospital bed; not an easy task mind you, so fresh from labor and delivery.  She was born in March of 2009, and I can hardly believe she will be three years old in just a couple of weeks. Dad has two more grandchildren on the way, and he is one proud man. His cup, however, remains with me and my little girl.