Where in the World... is Colorado?

In the west, many of the states went through several migrations before taking on their current shape, size, border position, etc. The history of these events, and the impact made by these changes, can still be felt today.


This post is not about Colorado's timeline... its about identifying records.


Take a look at this particular document. This is from the Territorial Case Files of the U.S. District Courts of Utah 1870-1896; NARA (Publication number M1401; digitized and available on www.Fold3.com).

U.S. Marshall's Office Affidavit of Subpoena, Arapahoe County, Colorado.

The document is dated April 30th, 1891. It's a mess, isn't it? 

Let's take a closer look at the details in the top half.

Excerpt

This is a statement from the U.S. Marshall's Office in Denver, Arapahoe County, Colorado, stating that subpoena's had been issued to four men:

1. C.B. Wilson
2. Charles M Waters
3. E.N. Fussell
4. W.W. Patterson

But.. wait. This is from the Territorial Case Files of the U.S. District Courts of Utah collection. Huh?


It goes on to indicate, in the handwriting in the lower left corner, the Marshal's Fee's for this service, a total of $2.24. Of course, you see immediately that every indication of the record being made in Utah is crossed out, and Colorado information is hand written over the top.


It's a great document, and an even better clue for anyone researching these families. There are a few different ways you could continue to research this... why were they subpoenaed? Do court records exist? Where else does this paper trail go?


I actually found this piece while conducting a search to identify what collections Fold3.com has that relate to Colorado in general. I was not searching for any of the names listed on the document, nor was I even digging for specific information made available on this record. I was searching Fold3.com for all available records for Colorado. These came up because they were every word indexed.


Let's back up for a second, and give a short history. Nearly half of what we know now as Colorado was once part of Utah Territory, essentially everything from the Continental Divide west. Utah Territory was formed in 1850, and this portion of it was formed into six counties in 1852. For those of us researching the western part of the state in the very early days of the gold rush, this becomes important, as some of the gold camps were established while the area was still part of Utah Territory. Breckenridge in current day Summit County is just one example of this. Colorado Territory was not established until 28 Feb 1861.

All of this leads to the question: why are the folks in Denver in 1891 using a form from Utah? 

This record was produced thirty years after Colorado became its own designated dot on the map. Arapahoe County was one of the original seventeen created in the state, also. Certainly they would have had their own forms printed by then?  We can make guesses as to why they were using this particular form (and by the way, this isn't the only record like this in the collection, there are a handful more that use the same form from Utah), but I think it's more important just to realize that they did in fact use these forms.

You can tell where I'm going with this, right? 

It is vitally important to search in a variety of ways to find the information you are looking for. You never know what you might find when using a different key word, wild card search, or something beyond a surname.

#genchat : geography the Southwest States

Today will be the second ever #genchat : geography, and our topic is the Southwest! 

What you need to know :

Join the fun on Twitter by following the #genchat hashtag. We will start the chat promptly at 10:30am Central. For purposes of this discussion, we will "define" the southwest states as: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, California and Nevada. 



A rather broad range, I realize, but in order to have a dynamic conversation, somewhat necessary.

Here are a few helpful links to have in general, but certainly for the chat as well.

Arizona

• FamilySearch Wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Arizona_Introduction
• Arizona Geographic Alliance (Arizona State University): http://geoalliance.asu.edu/azga/
• Geography of Arizona (WorldAtlas): http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/azland.htm
• "The Historical Geography of Arizona" by Rufus Kay Wyllys, JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3634811
• Archaeology & Geography, Arizona State Tourism: http://www.arizonaguide.com/arizona-travel-info/learn-about-arizona/archaeology-geography

California

• FamilySearch Wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/California_Introduction
• Geography of California, Princeton: http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Geography_of_California.html
• California Geographical Society: http://www.csun.edu/~calgeosoc/
• The Name and the Geography: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbgeog.html
• Historical Geography of California: http://www.sjsu.edu/geography/resources/Cal_geog/Historical/

Nevada

• FamilySearch Wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Nevada_Introduction
• University of Nevada Department of Geography: http://www.unr.edu/geography/
• Sierra Nevada Geography: http://www.sierranevadaphotos.com/geography/
• Nevada Geographic Information Society: http://www.ngis.org/
• Historical Myth A Month: Nevada Names and Geography: http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=686&Itemid=418 (From the State Archives website; a true gem in Nevada history!)
• 1895 U.S. Atlas, Nevada: http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/NV/

New Mexico

• FamilySearch Wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/New_Mexico_Genealogy
• New Mexico Guide on National Geographic: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/united-states/new-mexico-guide/
• NMSU Department of Geography: http://geography.nmsu.edu/
• New Mexico Museum of Art, "New Mexico Art Tells New Mexico History" : http://online.nmartmuseum.org/nmhistory/people-places-and-politics/new-mexicos-geography/history-geography.html
• New Mexico Roots, ltd. 11 volumes of demographic data: http://repository.unm.edu/handle/1928/14546

Oklahoma

• FamilySearch Wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Oklahoma_Introduction
• OSU Department of Geography: http://geog.okstate.edu/
• Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education: http://alliances.nationalgeographic.com/detail/oklahoma-alliance-for-geographic-education-okage/edn6CA6FF7969E62D31D
• Oklahoma Atlas Institute: http://www.okatlas.org/
• Historical Maps of Oklahoma (at Alabamamaps.ua.edu): http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/us_states/oklahoma/

Texas

• FamilySearch Wiki: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Texas_Introduction
• Texas Guide from National Geographic: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/united-states/texas-guide/
• Texas Geographic Information Council: http://www.dir.texas.gov/sponsored/tgic/Pages/overview.aspx
• Geography: Cities of Texas Games! http://www.geography-map-games.com/geography-games-Geography-Cities-of-Texas-_pageid98.html  Test your knowledge and have a little fun! 
• Dallas Public Library Databases (if you have access): http://dallaslibrary2.org/genealogy/databases.php
• Texas State Historical Association, The Handbook of Texas Online: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online

Geography in Genealogy

They go hand in hand. Geography and genealogy are - must be! - intertwined in your research journey. Following the path of an ancestral line opens new doors, exposes new details and provides new ideas on every branch of the family tree.

Let's go back to Oscar for a great example of what I mean. We'll stick to the geography specific information here.

• Born in New York. 
• Moved to Michigan as a toddler.
• Lived with sister and family in Missouri as a young adult.
• Enlisted in Union forces in Missouri Cav, originally. 
• After the war, he went back to Missouri for a couple of years.
• Homesteaded in Nebraska, spent the remainder of his years in a three county area.

Part of Oscar Brown's Homestead file.
Personal holdings of author.

I know the family moved to Michigan because Oscar ran for state senate at one point, and that tidbit was included in his political ticket in the local newspaper. From there, I was able to locate possible property records held by his assumed father, and the grave of his sister, leading to her family. I never would have found any of that if I had not known he spent time in Michigan.

On the 1860 census, he is listed in the household of his sister in Missouri. When I first found him here, I did not realize it was his sister, but was later able to match the family connection using documents in his pension file. From that information, I searched the Shelby County, Missouri area much more thoroughly, and was able to find employment records for him there after the war. We always assumed he went immediately to Nebraska, but that was not the case. Again, without the geography, those records would not have been located.

His homestead records, the remainder of his census records and other family information tell me about his life in Nebraska, along with that of his wife and children.

Even with all the records in the world, knowing what they experienced in their day to day is so meaningful to so many of us. I have a secret weapon in this part of the search: National Geographic.

The photos, the maps, oh my! A true world treasure, National Geographic has been documenting history since 1888.

This year, I obtained a copy of The Complete National Geographic software. Love it! Immediate access to every issue, every page, right on my desktop! If you have not explored this resource, I highly recommend it. (Note, National Geographic and its affiliates and I have no connection. I am not being compensated in anyway for this mention in my blog.) Simple searches on the software cd's provide exciting and informative background information on many facets of my ancestors' lives, and the places they lived. I have been able to fill my tree with amazing facts, and those maps! I could go on and on about the maps...

Have a great geography resource? I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

Where Were They? 1936 North American Heat Wave

1936. The country is in the midst of the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl has ravaged the plains states for years. The world is on the verge of war. It must have felt like a never ending armaggedon to some. What could possibly come next?

Goodwell, Okla. Dust Bowl.
Chris Jones/National Geographic/
Getty Images.

Heat.

It set records, some of which still stand today. Drought was rampant. Crops were destroyed. People died.

My knowledge of the heat wave that moved through that year is limited, so I will summarize from Wikipedia. You can read their article in its entirety here.

By late June, temperatures over the country were already exceeding 100 degrees F. Peaking in July, North Dakota recorded 121 F. Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, West Virginia, New Jersey, Ontario, and Manitoba set still-standing records. The death's numbered in the 5000's.

Where were they?

This heat affected the entire continent, so truly, I could almost profile each and every one of my ancestors who were alive in 1936. That would take a while, however, and I just don't have that much time. So, I'll have to pick just a few.

Oscar F. Brown, my great-great grandfather, died in 1906 in Nebraska, and his wife, Frankie, in 1929. They had six children, and all but one saw the intense heat of '36. Except, none of them lived in the plains anymore. They were all in the Pacific Northwest; Washington, Oregon, and northern California. Bessie probably would have seen the worst of it, living in eastern Washington, near Spokane, versus the western half where her siblings were. She died in 1938, and had three children with her first husband, John R. Frank: William, Frances, and John Oscar. I know that Frances died at age 74, and would have been thirty-six at the time of this event, but I do not yet know when her brothers passed. They, also, would have been young adults, and could have easily moved on from the family home.

Back to Nebraska, looking at the Heerten family, my maternal side. Grandpa Heerten attended high school in 1935 in Keya Paha County, and the 1940 census finds him working on a nearby ranch, not too far from his father's farm. So, I know he was there, as were his siblings, and he was unmarried. Both his parents, John and Emma, would have seen the mercury rise that year. I wonder about their state of mind at this time... crops dead in the field, deep in dust and drought, no financial resources to speak of.

Emma Heerten with her granddaughter.
Abt. 1948, Alabama.
Private holdings of author.

Why didn't they leave? After all this hardship, and the approaching war and growing industry, why stay? Two generations later, and I still have cousins working the land in northern Nebraska.

George Clark Davis, Jr., sixteen in 1936, was bearing the summer in Birmingham, Alabama, with his two siblings: Martha and Patricia. Their parents, George C. Davis, Sr and Ella McGowan had been in Jefferson County since sometime between 1910-1920. He a Confederate sympathizer and she a native of Pittsburgh, would have made an interesting couple.  In his father's household, sentiments of old ran strong.  Would the city environment been worse than out on the plains? Cities generate their own heat; how would the children have gotten through day after day of intense heat and unbearable dryness?  How did a "southern lady", as my grandmother and grand aunt were expected to be, tolerate the temperatures?


So, where were they in the summer of 1936 for this disastrous heat wave? Everywhere. Simply because the heat was everywhere. There was no way to avoid it. Where was your family? I would invite you to share your comments or blog links below.

Colorado & Wyoming International Boundary Lines

Historical maps can provide a wealth of information, beyond the basic, "on the surface" geography lesson. Recently, I discovered International Boundary Lines Across Colorado and Wyoming; A Lesson in Geography by Erl H. Ellis in my local library (Johnson Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado; 1966.)  The text covers much more than just boundary lines, and I grabbed it off the shelf on a whim. I'm certainly glad that I did.

Image courtesy of Old World Auctions

The author, Erl H. Ellis, begins with a short review of four discourses that deal with the boundary lines in the Wyoming and Colorado area of the United States. He continues through discussions on Native Americans, the earliest explorers and their claims, and "The Pope's Title" of 1493.

Recall the title here; and realize that the more significant word is "International". International boundaries through Wyoming and Colorado, two of the interior west's land locked states?  Why, yes, indeed. The issue centered around the building of our country, certainly, but more recently, the Town of Breckenridge was questioned in August of 1936. A group of residents, part of the Women's Social Club, realized there was a map of the area from the 1819 secession from Spain to the US, that excluded the town. They proceeded to conduct a formal ceremony, finally putting Colorado's No Man's Land on the United States map, and *finally* officially a part of the country. The story is discussed at some length in the essay, and who would expect a story like that to be highlighted in a geographical publication? We continue to celebrate this occasion with our yearly "Kingdom Days" celebration, honoring our past as the only town in Colorado which was once its very own kingdom and not truly a part of America. Oh, and you can look up the title of Colorado's No Man's Land, it's been written about in several sources.

The point here, of course, is to check your library. A series of maps can tell you much about the history of the community you are researching than just how to get from point A to point B.