30 June 2009

Genea-Musings: California Assembly Bill AB130 - IAJGS Letter

All Genealogist from Hobbyist to Professional should be aware of this issue that will inevitably effect the genealogy community as a whole. Read Randy Seaver's post.

Genea-Musings: California Assembly Bill AB130 - IAJGS Letter

29 June 2009

Changing Gears

This happens to me several times a year. I will continue to write here in the future, but for now I have other projects that really need my attention. I have a yard that still needs a lot more work, though I am very happy to report that we finally have the front yard done! (all but one flower bed that I'll save for later, since we still need to tear up the ground there to replace a basement window) Next is to clean up the side of the house (probably next weekend), the basement and level, seed and start watering the back yard. Then we still have one small section of siding to buy and finish on the side of the house, paint it and then that's done! We need to put on a new roof and put up a fence. All of this takes time and of course we can only go as fast as the money comes in. I doubt we'll get to the new kitchen for another couple years as that will take a great deal of money. Though we could probably get a couple rooms in the basement finished this fall too.

On top of that I am beginning to pull together my work and work toward my accreditation. I would like to achieve this goal in the next year. I have a book I am doing research for and would like to write after I get my credentials. Then in the future I hope to take on genealogy projects for customers.

Let's also not forget my quilting projects either. I went to the Inland Northwest 2009 Quilting show in Kootenai Idaho on Saturday. I took my daughter and my niece and we meet up with my Aunt Dawna there. Just looking at some of the quilts inspired me to finish some of my projects that I have started and became bored or stumped on. So it's back to the sewing machine for me as well. Not to mention my daughter's new bed is now put together in her room and now I really need to finish her quilt. That project is nearly done.

I have really bad tendinitis in my right elbow and I'm sure being on the computer and using the mouse doesn't help it any either. So I have a few really good reasons to take a break. I'll be back soon I promise! I'm sure by the fall all of these projects will slow down and I'll be able to return more often. Though if work slows down any more, I may have more time on my hands than I want. Ta Ta!

23 June 2009

They're Back......

Please stop on over to Looking 4 Kin (the real one) and show your support. I was bummed at the end of last year when Looking 4 Kin dropped out of the genealogy scene, but I understood, as I have had to do the same thing from time to time when life gets too crazy. But Just M and team are back! And so is their chat room!!! So stop by, find some new genealogy friends and welcome them back. I've really enjoyed the chat room in the past. I wished I had more time to visit myself. I just stopped by, but go figure I'm the only nut up at midnight trying to visit a genealogy chat room...hehe!

Heads up there is a copy cat site out there according to Just M. Please make sure you visit through the link I provided to make sure you get the right Looking 4 Kin instead of the copy cat. It's sad to think that even amongst those of us search for our family history that there are jerks trying to making a profit off of the hard work of others.

Tombstone Tuesday - Greiff Couple


Gladys Greiff photo curtosey of Ronald Sykes
Gladys Mae Greiff 1918-1977 was the wife of Willie Greiff. Willie's parents immigrated to the US from Germany. In about 1916 they came to the Spokane area in Washington. Their farm is still owned by their family and is now a museum in Deer Park, near the Wild Rose Cemetery. See my previous post to read more about the museum.


These two photos I took when my family and I were visiting the Wild Rose Cemetery. I was looking for older or military headstones, but this one caught my eye and I just had to take a picture. It's beautiful. It wasn't until I got home that I realized this is the man the museum was created in honor of.

22 June 2009

Madness Monday - Alice A Jeffery

I am going to pull one of my subjects from my Old Paupers Cemetery research as my Madness Monday today. I am not related to this person, but I would certainly like to know more.

From the records of Alfred E and Betty J Shane which they extracted from records in May 1983, I know that Alice A Jeffery was born 7 July 1849 in Wheaton, IL. She was the wife of W. H. Jeffery and died 23 July 1940.

Armed with the above information I began my search on her life.
  • First I found her in the Idaho Death Index 1911-1951 on Ancestry.com (original data: Bureau of Health Policy and Vital Statistics. Idaho Death Index, 1911-1951, Boise, ID: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.) The dates match that found in
  • 1880 Census of Village of White Creek, Adams Co., Wisconsin William H Jeffery age 23 and wife Alice age 27 with two children, Luella age 3 and David age 1. William was born in Canada, Alice in Illinois, and both children in Wisconsin. (1880 Federal Census, Village of White Creek, Adams, Wisconsin, page no. 1, sup dist 2, enum dist 4, 1 July 1880 by C. J. Austin, dwelling 2, family 3)
  • 1894 Graham, Benton Co., Minnesota Territory I find them again. William age 41, Alice age 39? and Ella-19 and David O-15. I know ages don't exactly match, but I've seen this so many times I've about become numb to it. But they are in close proximatity to the ages of the subjects I'm looking for. Though this time I notice that William is born in NY, and the others are the same as the 1880 census. (I have a printout of this that I can hardly read the source information, but I do know that it was the 1894 Minnesota Territory census of Graham, Benton Co. The page number is unreadable)
  • 1900 Federal Census of Graham, Benton Co., Minnesota. Once again I find the family of William Jeffery, born Oct 1853 age 47, married 25 years, born in NY, parents both in England, farmer, Alice, wife, born July 1855, age 45, married 25 years, 2 living children, born in IL and parents in NY. Child David, son born Apr 1879 age 21 born in Wisconsin. (1900 Federal Census, Graham, Benton Co., Minnesota, sup dist 6, Enum dist 320, sheet no., 4 B, on 7 Jun 1900 by Scott Thomas, dwelling 76, family 76)
  • WWI registration of son David Orvil Jeffery on Sept 12, 1918 in Simpson Hill, Hill Co., Montana. He was born 1 April 1878 (one year different than the 1900 census). His wife is Sadie and also lived in Simpson Hill. This helps to bring him closer to Idaho.
I have yet to find Alice and William after the 1900 census. I will keep looking, but from what information I have here is her story.

Alice A (maiden name unknown) was born 7 July 1849 in Wheaton, IL. She married William H Jeffery about 1875 possibly in WI where their children were born. Their daughter, Luella or Ella, was born about 1877 in WI, followed by David Orvil Jeffery on 1 Apr 1878 also in WI. Since the family is in the 1880 census living in Village of White Creek, Adams Co., WI it's very possibly that the children were born in Adams Co., WI. By 1894 the family has moved on to Graham, Benton Co., Minnesota Territory, where we still see them again in the 1900 census. Then I loose track of the family, but I do find David registering for WWI in Hill Co., MT. Somewhere between 1900 and Alice's death William and Alice moved to Kootenai County, Idaho, where Alice A Jeffery died 23 Jul 1940 in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai Co., ID.

She is interred at the Kootenai County Cemetery aka Old Paupers Cemetery. Unfortunately we do not know exactly where she is buried as all but one no longer have names or markers. If you know anything on this family or about this person I would love to hear from you. I would love to write her story and add it to the Old Paupers Cemetery book that I am working on.

21 June 2009

Roads Less Traveled - Tour Six

We decided to put my new book to use yesterday. While I was at the Coeur d'Alene North Idaho Museum on Friday I purchased a book Roads Less Traveled through the Coeur d'Alenes. It has eight different tours of the area covering Kootenai, Benewah and Shoshone Counties of Idaho. So for our first tour we choose the Tour Six: Historic Coeru d'Alene National Forest.

The tour starts at the Fernan Ranger Station on E Sherman in Coeur d'Alene. Just in front of the Ranger Station is the Fernan Village. This was once the homestead of John Fernan a Civil War veteran. He came to Fort Sherman where he was a soldier in 1878. His wife joined him a year later and they raise thier six children here. Interestingly Mary Jane, his wife, was the first white woman to raise a family in this area. How scary I'm sure that was at times. John rented boats for use on the lake and raised alfalfa hay in the area. Now it is all homes.

Then the route takes you around the lake. At 0.7 miles there is suppose to be a Cattle Crossing. Not over the road, but under the road. The CCC built this road and built tunnels under the road for cattle to get through to the water on the lake. I didn't see the tunnels, but we didn't want to spend long on the road. There is currently construction going on to widen the road. Parts of the road are on the verge of sliding into the lake, so it looks like they are shaving away the mountainside on the other side in order to move the road safer away from the lake.

Next was the Moate House, built in 1954 by Robert Moate. It is a very cute and interesting vertical log cabin. It is one of the first homes built on this lake. His father homestead the area up on the hill.

The route continues to take you around the lake. This road was built by the CCC beginning in 1934. I was a one lane road with turnouts. It took nearly 20 years to complete. It helped to boost the economy in the area and provided greater access to the lumber used in the housing boom after WWII.

Lillypad Bay appears to be in the process of being restored to it's form natural beauty. There was a bridge built across Lillypad Bay that was torn down and the bay was filled in to create a road across. As we traveled passed we see that another bridge is being constructed across Lillypad Bay. I'm sure they will they tear out the current road and open the end of the bay back up. It's obvious where it gets the name Lillypad Bay. It is completely full of Lillypad's and they are huge. I wanted to get a picture, but with the construction there is really no safe place to pull over.

Next was the Kelly homestead. William Kelly came to this area in 1886. He homesteaded this area just on the other side of the lake as you head back into the beautiful valley with his wife and nine children. Over the years there were three different homes built on the property and all three of them burned down. Only two large 100 year old barns remain on the property. I didn't see them, but I'm sure they were amongst the trees at the base of the hill. There is a new home on the property and new owners, though some of the Kelly descendants still own section of the original homestead in the valley.

There were several other sites along the way that have their share of history, but for us they were mostly full of beauty. The hills here are full of pine trees, ferns, and other native plants and flowers to north Idaho.

After going up and over the Fernan Saddle and coming down the other side you come to Deception Creek Experimental Forest. This area was once homesteaded by Isaac Sand in 1904. Then in 1906 the Forest Service pulled this area from homesteading and began to reacquire the homesteads. After Isaac died in 1913 his wife refused to sell the land to the McGoldrick Lumber Company and the land eventually went back to the forest service. I was saddened to discover that Ranger Haynes burned all the buildings on the homestead.

Then we discover there is a grave under the road! Yes a reread the entry a few times. Bill Moore and a couple companions were traveling to Coeur d'Alene. They stopped in the area. The next morning Bill suffered a heart attach and fell dead from his horse. The other two men buried him and reported his death when they reached Coeur d'Alene. Then the story gets more interesting. A storekeeper that Bill owed money, came out here and dug up his body to see if he had any money on him, but he didn't. The cabin the men stayed in was destroyed when the road was built in 1934 and Bill's grave ended up under the road near the mouth of the creek that bares his name.

Then we came to one of our favorite camping sites which you can see in the photo above with my middle boy, the Honeysuckle Campground. Actually when we camp here we have a secluded places back behind this campground on the other side of the creek where we go. We don't stay in the campground.

Then the route took us into uncharted territory for us. We had never been back this way. This area was absolutely breath taking and the road a bit scary as there was only room for one car! But it looks like not too many people know of this area or rarely visit it. There were two interesting sites along this road.

The first was the Halsey Homestead and Barker Sawmill. The location of this former homestead is in the picture below. You are suppose to be able to see the foundation of the Tepee Burner, but from our view point we couldn't see it. There was 85.82 acres here that was homesteaded by Homer Halsey's mother in the early 1900's. In 1912 Homer's sister died and was buried beside the creek here. In 1946 Bob Barker built a Saw mill here and operated it until the early 1960s. It has since been returned to the Forest Service. In 2003 efforts were began to restore the natural foliage of the area. In an effort to chock out the noxious weeds more of the native plants and flower you see here were planted in this valley.

Next we came to the Trail Creek Work Camp site and Magee Ranger Station. Supposedly the camp was dismantled, but there were still cabins there and even cars there. So I didn't take pictures. But the ranger station sat empty. Below you can see one of the cabins. The Station was in use from 1908-1973. There is also a warehouse, barn, office, bunkhouse, as well as the house. During WWII the CCC built a 900-meter long emergency airstrip. The rangers house can be rented.


My daughter and oldest son looking at the cabin. My daughter is on this kick of begging her brother for piggy-back rides lately.
McPherson Meadows, another breath taking site. I told my husband to stop so I could take a photo of this. I wished I could have gotten closer, but you might be able to see the little log structure. It was a tool shed and is the only thing remaining of the McPherson homestead. Frank McPherson lived her from 1920 until he died in 1980. He was a trapper and also did seasonal work for the Forest Service. This land is still privately owned and only the tool shed remains. McPherson's cabin was moved in 2004 to the Shoshone Work Center. Hopefully we'll get to see that when we go on the tour of Shoshone County.
There were other interesting stories along the way. The children really loved having their mother be a tour guide. As we came to each location along the way I would read the history about it. It made the trip a lot more interesting then just staring out the window at the trees and flowers. I can't wait until we take another one of these tours and neither can the kids. They keep asking when we are going to do this again.

19 June 2009

North Idaho Museum

Well my Friday trip with the kids took us not far from home to the Museum of North Idaho in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Our four year old daughter got a bit tired of it all, but she hung in there. The boys however were reading and looking at the pictures. I heard a few "wows" and "mom look at this" or "What is that?" I would say they really enjoyed themselves. It's a great experience for children and a chance for them to learn history, especially our local history.

The local history is comprised mostly of the logging and mining industries of the area as well as the Coeur d'Alene Indian history. The Coeur d'Alene Indian are still a major part of this area. I hope to learn more of their history as we spend our summer exploring more historical area.

I meant to get a picture but I completely forgot. Now I think I will sit down and read the book a bought "Roads Less Traveled Through the Coeru d'Alenes" by Dorothy Dahlgren and Simone Kincade.

Next Friday I think the kids and I will travel to Harrison, Idaho to visit the museum and cemetery there.

17 June 2009

Wordless Wednessday



Another attempt at my retouching. This photo as you can see was taken in April 1960 of my grandfather Rusty and his twin daughters (my mother and Aunt Mary). I think it turned out pretty well.

16 June 2009

Tombstone Tuesday - Wild Rose Cemetery


This post is not about the headstone. For one I wasn't prepared. I just happened to be out with the family, had my camera and stopped at this cemetery. I think I am going to have to prepare a little box with cemetery supplies to keep in the van. I have a feeling this will happen more often.

Anyway this is about the family in the back ground. My husband and daughter holding hands while looking at a headstone. My oldest off to the side, and my middle boy looking at the ones under the tree.

15 June 2009

FamHist: The Problem With Primary Source Documents

FamHist: The Problem With Primary Source Documents

This is a great post and something to consider. Many of us today will or usually post are Madness Monday posts. Well here is an article that you may want to read instead.

Often times we can't find records because information is recorded incorrectly. Death certificates, though a primary source, are a common place for this, as explained in this article.

From my experience I never rely on just one primary source. You really need to gather all of your sources and come to a working conclusion based on ALL of the evidence.

I've even found a birth certificate of my husband's grandmother that had her mother's maiden name as her father's surname and the mother had someone Else's surname. Try to figure that one out. We were luck she was a twin, or it may have never been found. The state sure couldn't find it.

Just something to consider on those maddening elusive ancestors.

14 June 2009

Wild Rose Prairie

I had a lot of fun with the family yesterday and it was packed full of history at that. The day started out with a trip to the Car d'Lane show, which is the annual car show in downtown Coeur d'Alene, ID near where we live. You can see my boys admiring the cars in the photos. If they were facing the camera they'd probably be drooling like their father.

So we spent a while there looking at two streets full of cars. We missed the Friday Night Cruise. We've gone to that before, but I was wiped out Friday night.

Then we had a couple errands to run. One took us to North Spokane, WA near Mead to get an electric used lawn mower we finally found on Craigslist. We just finished our front lawn and it is now a raised lawn with rock all the way around. Gas lawnmowers are too heavy to lift up there, so we had been looking for an electric. It's for just a small patch of lawn.
So we were on our way. I called and got directions, and don't laugh....I missed one of the turns he told me to take. So we ended up going a little too far down Hwy 395 trying to find this street that didn't exist on 395. Where we turned around we saw a sign for a Farm Museum. So we agreed that after we meet the guy holding this lawn mower for us we'd come back. We finally found the place, almost by accident, bought the lawn mower and headed back to the museum. It was a five mile drive off of 395 through beautiful winding hills that opened into stretches of farm land and then back to hills....until we got there. About a mile in we saw an old school house being restored. I love to see that when someone take the time, care, and money to restore and protect our history. On the right just before the museum was a cemetery (made mental note to return after we were done). We got to the museum and had a wonderful time. This was the North Spokane Farm Museum Wild Rose Prairie in Deer Park, WA. Most museum you go in and walk through the displays and read for yourself, but this was different. The lady who walked us through talked to us and told us the history behind so many of the pieces. Some of it was from her family, some from her husbands and others pieces donated by other local family. But they have done a fabulous job of preserving the history of everything there. Even my children had their own tour guide, a young boy....I believe was the ladies grandson. He was I sure younger than my oldest, but he walked them through and showed them the working displays they could play with and they had a blast. My husband and I were in awe of the care that has gone into creating this museum. If you are ever in Eastern Washington you've got to make a trip to visit this museum. It's well worth it!

On my way out I asked my husband to be a dear and stop by the cemetery. He did.It was the Wild Rose Cemetery established 1885, though the gal at the museum did say that they believe people were buried there before it was actually established and that the headstones are gone on some of the old ones. The cemetery is still used though they are nearly out of space. We all got out and visited. It was a great lesson time for the kids. I took a moment to explain respect in a cemetery to them. They did really good really. My daughter stayed with me, and on occasion I had to remind her to look down that she was too close to a headstone and over the grave. She'd give her usual respond of "Oppie" and quickly move. The boys did really good. They split up and helped me look for old headstones or military stones. My husband also walked through and admired a few until his allergies got the best of him and he went back to the car. I didn't care if my allergies were getting to me. I managed to get photos of plenty of headstones, so I now have plenty of material for future Tombstone Tuesday posts. Now I am going to visit Find-A-Grave and see if this cemetery is even on there. If not then I'll post it.

Then we grabbed a bit to eat and came home. I walked into the house to find that even the dogs behaved themselves. There wasn't a problem at all. So it was a really good day!

Now I've told the kids that since I'm off on Fridays for I don't know how long (work is just really slow and looking worse) I'm going to take them to museum to give us something to do. The next two we will visit is the Coeur d'Alene museum and Harrison Museum. I'll report on these later.

09 June 2009

To step back......

in time and see the actual records that were hand written in beautiful cursive hand writing is the one experience an aspiring genealogist should never pass up.

I had a doctor's appointment today and when I was done I knew that I had enough time to go a few blocks down to the courthouse. The baby sitter was at the house with the kids, and I could have one of those moments I have dreamed about for so long.

I went in to the Kootenai county courthouse and asked were I would find the old archived records I was looking for. The nice gentleman directed me to the Records office down on the left. I went in and explained to the lady, that quickly stepped forward to help me, that I had been doing research on the Kootenai County Cemetery up on Seltice (aka Paupers Cemetery). I told her a little about it and what I was hoping to find out. She took me to the vault where all the old books were kept and thought for a minute, and then went back out and pulled out a file. In this file was a copy of the list and history compiled by Alfred E and Betty J Shane. Their records come from the old Cassidy Funeral home record books (I'm still trying to find where those records disappeared to). Anyway she just gave this to me. Then she took me back to the vault and began to explain the different collections of books and what I may find in them, which ones most likely would yield information I was search for, and which ones were for the year range I was looking for.

Then she pulled down the Grantee Deed Book for 1920-1940, and then left to let me began my search. Oh how to describe it. I ran my hand down the spin of it and felt the old well worn leather that has seen seventy years of hands. I carefully opened the cover to see tattered edges and appreciate it oh so much more. I selected "B" to start with. Why not? I've done research and written about both Rufus Beck and Paul Best. Let see what this little treasure can tell me about these two men. I pull back the first page with the "B" tab on it only to discover it was blank. Well that can't be. So I pull back the next page. Well of course there we go. As I slide my finger down the pages, looking at each and every surname, I can't help but admire this beautiful scrolled handwriting. With the occasional rough handwritten line. I bet there was one particular person who maintained the majority of the records listed in this book. They took pride in their work, and I loved seeing that.

Though I found no surname of Best I did however find several individuals buying deeds in the 1920's with the surname of Beck. I will dig further into these later and see if they are of any relation to Rufus.

I told myself that I had to leave there at 12:00 in order to have time to eat lunch and get to work. At 12:00 I thought....Oh just another page won't hurt.....then 12:05 .....just another .....I'll be okay ....then at 12:10 I finally had to say okay that's enough. I regrettably folded up the book and put it back on the self where she pulled it from.

As I went out the door she smiled and waved and I said "thanks. I'll come again when I can stay longer." I left there with such excitement and a big smile on my face. I'm sure that's why the lady outside the door looked at me strangely. She was probably thinking "what on earth would have her leaving a court house with a big goofy grin on her face." If only she knew the feeling a genealogist gets when.......... Oh heck why do a try to explain it. Only a genealogist would understand.

All the way home I'm thinking of how can I possibly get away for a little time with out the children to go through more of these records? Then it hit me. Heck I made a deal with the babysitter so that she could afford her college that I would at least pay her a minimum each week. Well I've been tacking on 1-4 hours extra each week to make that minimum. So as soon as I got home I asked her if she would mind actually watching the kids for those extra hours on Friday, now that I have Friday's off (work is really getting slow. It's scary really) so that I can go down to the court house and maybe even the library. It'll be easier on the kids, and I can go to places they aren't allowed for now. She was more than grateful that I always paid the extra, even if she didn't work it, that she answered "sure" in a heartbeat. So problem solved. I will now have a chance to spend more time in records and find more of the missing pieces.

Ok it's now midnight and I guess I should get some sleep. I just couldn't go to bed with so much pent up excitement, without sharing. I even shared it at work. I swear I watched one gals eyes glaze over.....oh well.

07 June 2009

Burial vs. Cremation

Have you ever wondered why there are so many cemeteries with nothing but flat headstone and no monuments? How about the reason behind more cremations and fewer burials, besides the obvious cost? Ever wondered why people buried before a certain time in history in your area had beautiful standing monuments and raised family plots, and then sometime in the 1900's all the headstone lay flat on the ground?

All of these questions are answered in a well written and very detailed post by Dead Man Talking on Blogging a Dead Horse: A Little History. Stop by and read his post and learn a little something new you may not know.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Where were they in 1909?

I've done a post like this a couple years ago. I was a lot of fun. Thanks Randy for bringing it back.

1) Which of your ancestors were alive in 1909?

For me it's not my grand parents but my great gandparents who were alive in 1909. That is except for one exception. My great grandmother Lillie Lutitia Hoard wasn't born until 1910. She was my mother's maternal grandmother. Lillie's parents were Thomas Miller Hoard and Martha Ellen McCombs Hoard. My mother's maternal grandfather James Martin Hayes though was aliveas were his parents James Martin Hays and Mary Jane Vest Hays. Then for my mother's paternal grandparents.... Frank Roe was alive as were his parents Jerry and Rachel Roe. As well as May Elizabeth Rollette. My father's grandparents were all alive.....Ewing Richard Woolsey, Mary Joan Williamson (both paternal grandparents) and John Hugh Jenkins and Leota Morton (both maternal grandparents). Mary Joan Williamson's mother died that year. Some of the others I don't know when they died or if they were alive that year. A couple were though.

2) Tell us where your ancestral families were living in 1909. What country, state, county, city/town, etc. Who was in the family at the time? Use the 1910 census as "close enough."

3) Have you found each of these families in the 1910 census?

4) Write a blog post about your response. Or write a comment to this post.

5) Have fun. Learn something!

Genea-Musings: Ancestry Quirks - Census Source Citations

Genea-Musings: Ancestry Quirks - Census Source Citations

This is worth reading. There has been a lot of emphasis on source citation. Randy has discovered a little issue with the way Ancestry.com publishes the source information. If you care about citing your source information correctly, you'll want to know about this.

06 June 2009

Puckerbrush Award


I was shocked to find that Judith of Genealogy Traces awarded me the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award. Judith did an amazing job of pulling together the history of the award and of the word "puckerbrush" in her post The Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence so I'll let you visit this wonderful blogger and read it from her post instead of trying to slaughter it by trying to rewrite it myself. I sure enjoy reading Judith's blog and now thanks to her post I now have a few more on my list that I will enjoy reading. If only I had enough time to do all of that reading. There are just way too many wonderful bloggers out there when it comes to genealogy, but I will try to nominate a few of my favorites.
  1. Lisa of 100 years in America does a wonderful job of writing about her Croatian history here in America. I enjoy reading this blog from time to time. Ironically 100 years in America celebrated a two year Blogoversary this last week! Stop by and wish her another great year of telling us her New York history.
  2. Miriam Midkiff of AnceStories: The stories of my Ancestors has been an absolute inspiration to me. She not only is a wonderful genealogy bogger, but she also is a great research, teacher, and also keeps me updated on local events involving genealogy. I don't know what I would do without her. Probably be lost!! Thanks Miriam for all you have done.
  3. Now this one is great for a wonderful laugh. I just recently discovered Dead Man Talking author of Blogging a Dead Horse of Portland, Oregon. He is also a fellow Grave Yard Rabbit. I'm so glad I found the time that day to read a few new bloggs. Dead Man talking and I share a common interest. We are drawn to grave yards by an unexplainable force. he is lucky to have a wife who shares this interest as well. When ever they see a sign in Oregon for a grave yard, even if off the beaten path, they go for it. I'll look forward to such a time in my life when I'm not wrangling the kids, killing my feet at work, and have some time to just take a drive and visit graveyard. I love to read about his escapades to these sacred places.
  4. Now this one is special to my heart. Though she is not a genealogy blogger, she is still a wonderful writer and worth reading. She is a part of history today and loves to write about her adventures and accomplishments at NASA. She is Desiree Sylvia author of Space Princess & The Boron Bunch. She has been a life long friend (since high school). I miss her all the time, since now she is down in Southern California in the heat of the desert that I can't tolerate very well and I'm up here in North Idaho in knee deep snow in the winter that scares the bajebbers out of her
Then of course there are the ones that most of us know whom have already received the award like Randy Seaver, Thomas MacEntee,and of course Judith, so I'll stop here. I've got some kids to round up, a grocery list to finish and many many photos still to scan as people are now sharing their photos with me and even giving me the originals because they feels I will care for them and preserve them for the family and future generations. I just backed up all my genealogy and photo files on my computer last night. So there is at least one thing off of my list. Again Judith thank you for this wonderful thought. Oh and by the way it's all not as hard as it looks to be a mother, work full time and do what I love. I had to learn to make a schedule if I didn't want my husband constantly complaining that I spend too much time doing what I love with my research and my blog and not enough time on the house, kids and of course him. So I have certain times I spend on the computer during the week, time set aside for house cleaning, and then I work in the evening. Then on the weekend if he is home we find something to do together as a family, but lately I've had the weekend to spend on the computer because he has been at the shop rebuilding one of our vehicles that has been broke down, leaving me with out a car for months. But hopefully "fingers crossed" I will have a vehicle by Monday "fingers still crossed"

03 June 2009

Worldess Wednesday - Children


Amy at We Tree did a fabulous post today about how to entertain our children while pursuing our interests. So for my Wordless Wednesday, since my allergies have me too tired to think, I will link to her post, In the Good Old Summertime.

02 June 2009

Madness Monday - James J Morton

I know a little late. I was waiting on this one in the hopes that I could find something to break down this brick wall, but with no luck so far.

James J Morton was my grandmother, Olivia Joyce Jenkins' grandfather. I know very little about him, but here is what I do know. James J Morton was born about 1862 in Alabama. This information is based on the 1910 & 1920 census which I will give more detail later. He married Flora Idela Beason on 23 December 1890 in Comanche County, Texas. Thanks to a very generous distant cousin, Carole, I now have the original marriage certificate for this. I have no death date or place for him.

James and Flora had the following children:
  • H. G/Q? Morton born about 1893 in Texas. I only find this child once with the family in the 1910 census and nothing more.
  • Leota Morton born 4 Sept 1894 in Oklahoma. She married John Hugh Jenkins and they are the parents of my grandmother Olivia Joyce Jenkins. She died 1974 in Modesto, CA. Leota was in the 1910 and 1920 census with her parents. I obtained her birth and death from her Soc Sec record.
  • Conrad Morton was born 14 Jun 1902 in Arkansas, married Bessie, they had three children I've found Raymond, Dorris and J.B. and he died Aug 1985 in Maysville, Garvin Co., OK. Again his information is from the 1910, 1920 & 1930 census as well as Soc Sec record.
  • Eric Morton was born 14 Jul 1904 in Arkansas and died Jan 1978 Maysville, Garvin Co., OK. Again records are from 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records. Note in 1930 Eric was living in the home of his brother Conrad and his family.
  • Octavous Morton was born 14 Nov 1906 in Arkansas and died Jan 1977 in Maysville, Garvin Co., OK. Records are from 1910 and 1920 census and Soc Sec records.
Records I have
  • Comanche County, Texas marriage certificate for J J Morton and F I Beason issued on the 19th December 1890 and married on the 23rd.
  • 1910 census Henderson Twnp, Hot Spring Co., Arkansas. James was born in Alabama as well as both of his parents. His profession is a Teamster Log Hauler. Flora was born in AL and mother in SC and father in GA. They have been married for 19 years. At this time Flora has given birth to eight children, but only five are living (the five listed above).
  • 1920 Census Whitehead Twnp, Garvin Co., OK. Here James is 58 and a farmer and everything else is the same as before. Flora's information is pretty much the same as well.
  • 1930 Census in the same location as 1920 however I can't find Flora and James. I believe that Flora passed away in 1921. I have yet to prove that but that date is based on family. James however I do not know when he passed way, but may very well be gone by 1930. The 1930 census I found is of Conrad and his family with his both Eric living with them.
  • Social Security Death Index Records for Leota, Conrad, Eric and Octavous
Now here is a real lesson in looking at the neighbors. I noticed that in the 1920 Census there is a Henry Allen and wife Alice living a couple houses from James Morton. Then in the 1930 census the same Henry Allen and wife are living a couple houses from Conrad and Eric Morton. Also James Barber is living next door to both families in both census records. This leads me to believe that Conrad and Eric are living in the same home their parents lived in 1920. Which would also lead one to believe that it is very possible that James has passed away by 1930.

At this point I think it would be very beneficial for me to obtain a death record for James J Morton who most likely passed away between 1920 - 1930 in Maysville, Garvin Co., OK. Now there lies a challenge, but I'm sure I will find someone who can help me obtain that record at some point.

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