It starts with just one clue...

About a year ago, I received another box of genealogy goodies from my family. Unfortunately, it sat for a while, as other part of my life took precedence. I finally got a chance to really dig into the material recently, and I found this photo... 

Jennie Yoe has been a great source of information for me in the past. I first learned of Jennie as I was examining the widow's pension file for Frances (Lawrence) Brown. As Oscar's widow, Frances submitted her paperwork almost immediately after his death, and her file is quite large (for which I am grateful!) Included in that material, is an affidavit, written by Jennie Yoe: 

"State of Kansas, Montgomery County.

I Jennie E Yoe being duly sworn... I am a niece of Oscar F Brown who died October 12th, 1906 at Central City, Nebraska, that I had known him since girlhood, that I knew him before the war, and he was guest at my father & mother's home in Shelbina, Mo, after the war, when not employed elsewhere. That I know he was never married until he was united with Miss Frances E Lawrence June 14th 1874. That he corresponded before and after his marriage, that in the summer of 1893 he visited me at my home in Independence. I had also visited him and his family in Nebraska.

 ~ Jennie E Yoe" 

 

The excitement when I first realized what this letter contained - Oscar's stated niece - was incredible. She is either the daughter of Oscar's sibling, or Frances' sibling, and this was a connection that was new-to-me at the time. I've had the Lawrence tree filled in for a while, and Jennie didn't seem to fit there anywhere, but I double checked it all for a connection to a Yoe family. I found none. Other sources have told me that Oscar had several siblings, so I started to look at Jennie Yoe to learn more. Who was she? 

Thankfully, she had a successful husband. 

Jennie was the daughter of Harriet Brown and Warren W. Weatherby, both of Shelby County, Missouri. I knew that Oscar had spent some time in Missouri before the start of the Civil War, and eventually put together that he lived with his married older sister and her family as a young man in that county. Jennie had married William Thomas Yoe, who had moved to Shelby County in 1866, after his own service in the war. 

In 1868, W.T. Yoe and his brother, Charles, began the Independence Tribune newspaper with two others, and in 1871, they moved it to Independence, Kansas. Thanks to A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans (and Google Books), I have a great 2 page summary of the Yoe family, and their newspaper history in the area. I was able to compile all of this research and connect these dots back in 2011 - 2012, so I've known all this for a while. 

Last year, I got a box.

I didn't have a lot of time to look through the box when I received it from my family. The pieces had mostly been taken from the household of my great uncle, who had recently passed away. A few days ago, I felt like I was ready to take another look, so I pulled it back out. And that's when I found it. 

A simple brown paper bag, with "Independence, Kansas" written on it. I'd seen similar wrapping and the careful handwriting before, and I believe it to be that of another of my distant Aunt's. My family truly is blessed in that we have a great deal of personal material that has been passed down. Seeing the label on the bag, I very carefully removed the contents. Of course, I immediately recognized that whatever was inside likely had to do with the Yoe's and therefore, may include another clue on Oscar or his family. 

Jennie Yoe

Inside, I was astonished to find a picture that was just about right... the woman was about the right age... had the family "look" about her... the clothing was the right era... and when I turned it over, I could barely make out the name, written in pencil, "Jennie." It took me a bit longer to find "Yoe," but it is indeed there. 


Included in the envelope with this amazing, now treasured, photograph are several others. Most have hand writing on the back, indicating the people in the image and a year. Some include mention of "Hattie," and the Yoe's did have a daughter named Harriet Elizabeth; I've seen her referenced as Hattie elsewhere. With a bit more research, I am fairly confident that I will be able to connect the photograph's with Hattie Yoe.

I also found a card stock envelope from the Ford Optical Company (a Kodak and Eyeglass store) in Denver, Colorado. It is addressed to Mrs. Ben Shearston of Brighton, Colo., who is a niece of Frances Lawrence. To my knowledge, the Shearston's never lived in Kansas, so it would appear that the collections got mixed, however it adds more understanding to some of the other photographs. Many refer to "Ben," and initial review indicates that is probably Ben Shearston, rather than a relation to Jennie Yoe, as I have not yet been able to find a Ben or Benjamin in Jennie's line. 

Another connection back to the Lawrence family is a photo of two headstone's, one of which clearly says "Lawrence," and the other, though more difficult to read, I believe says John H. Lawrence. On the back, "Taken May 29, 1918 Father lies at the left of the stone, Mother at the right. Little Ruth at Dear Mother's feet. Brother Jesse beside little Ruth." If I am right, then this is the grave site of John H. Lawrence, Jr., a veteran of the Civil War, his wife, Martha Augusta Ransom, and their children. Although the name Ruth is new to me, I do know that they had a son Jesse, who died at the age of 8 years old. 

Back side of the photo of Jennie Yoe. The handwriting with her
name is right about center, at the top of the image. It's there. I promise.

I'm quite excited to continue this line of research. The biography of the Yoe brothers in the Kansas and Kansans text lists several family members, including Jennie and W.T. Yoe's children. It would certainly be incredible to trace the family to current day and try to find a descendant of my 2nd great grand aunt, Harriet Brown! 



William E. Connelley. A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, Volume IV. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, New York, 1918. (http://books.google.com/books/about/A_Standard_History_of_Kansas_and_Kansans.html?id=s6IUAAAAYAAJ)

Joys of a Brickwall

On a recent excursion to the City Park with my family, I was inspired to think of my genealogy brick wall in a different way. 

What does your wall look like?
Copyright Jen Baldwin, 2014

Many of us have been there. The frustration. The dashed hope. 

The seemingly endless pursuit of new material, new research, new resources.  The absolute challenge of a brick wall. 




In reality, when you stop and think about the process you have gone through in trying to put the pieces together, as meager as some of them may be, you also start to realize how much you have learned. 

Imagine genealogy without any challenges. It's a gloomy vision, to be sure. 


Oscar is my opportunity. 

Changing my outlook on the "brick wall" of a genealogy research project means giving it a new name. Brick wall has too many negative connotations for me, so I'm now going to think of my project as my "opportunity." And his name is Oscar. 

Oscar was born around 1832 in New York, and died in 1906 in Nebraska. I know a great deal about his adult life, it's his childhood and his parents that have been difficult to pin down. I've been working on Oscar's story since I started on my family history, he has always been a bit of an enigma. I realize, though, that perception is everything, and as I commonly say, "life is in the details." I wonder how many resources I have discovered in the course of the last fifteen years that would have remained "unknown" to me without Oscar? 

I certainly would not know as much about early Michigan history, or the development of western New York. I would know next to nothing about the Mississippi Marine Brigade, and its role patrolling the Mississippi River during the Civil War (and without all of that information, how would I have been able to stump the military researcher at the Denver National Archives a couple years ago on a question about the unit?). 

The four inch binder of material that has been accumulated would not be nearly as thick, and the little clues hidden within would have been overlooked. The intricate details of Oscar's life may have remained unknown for a long, long time. The detailed study of his life, his timeline, would not exist. I never would have stopped to question, "what did Oscar farm in Nebraska? What was his crop?" "Did the family have live stock? If so, what effect did barbed wire have on the homestead?" The questions I've asked over the course of this project would have gone unasked. 

All of this is done with really one primary objective: identifying with as much certainty as possible who Oscar's parents are. That's really been the burning question for a long time for me. Along the way, though, the treasures - answers to these questions and more - have been uncovered.  

Because of Oscar, I am a much better genealogist today. 

What ring will you stretch for next?
Copyright Jen Baldwin, 2014.

I would challenge you to think of your "brick wall" in a new way. As you grasp one ring, continue to reach for the next. Remember that every clue is important, no matter how small it may be at the time. Remember that the challenge of the hunt is what makes us good researchers, the application of our discoveries is what makes us great.