Madness Monday - "Aunt Nancy"

Madness Monday

"Aunt Nancy"

"Dad, can we still get over into the old Bean cemetery?", I asked him my favorite man in the whole wide world.

"Yes, they can't stop us from going into the cemetery," he answered. "But, they won't let us put up a fence around it to protect it, or even put a sign up at the road so everyone will know where it's at," he added.

I went on to remark that in another 20-30 years, no one will be alive to even know where it is, unless one of the young generation picks up the mantle from me before I die. Dad's turns 80 this year. And I'm sniffing the heels of the big "6-0". So, 30 years from now, there's likely to be no one left to even know the cemetery is a cemetery.

My last visit there was probably about 8 years ago, when some "cousins" (2nd cousins 4 times removed) came to our reunion. Dad and I spent the day taking them around Monroe County to the various places we thought they would enjoy seeing that the family had been involved in. One was where our original Bean family member was buried.

The cemetery is little more than depressions in the ground, with broken slabs and rocks marking the graves. Trees have sprouted through the center of some of the graves. Great huge trees. And in some  places you can literally fall into a grave if you are not careful. (Just ask my Uncle Jack, who stepped onto a mossy area, and found himself hip deep in a rotted wooden coffin. A few leg bones were all that was left of what had been a family member.

The cemetery dates back at least to 1856, and there may have been a grave or two prior to that. No one knows for sure.

The broken slabs and rocks that mark one end of the graves (about 31 can be clearly defined) have only one stone with any carving on it. The carved letter "C" can be found on one. We know that the family was buried inside of what once had been a fenced cemetery. While everyone had told me, prior to my first visit, that you could not know where that was, and no one living knew where the fence had been, I proved them wrong. For I found the rotted, wooden fence posts that marked the cemetery perimeter, and in places, the fence, still stapled with fence staples, to some of the huge trees. I was able to walk the cemetery perimeter. Family legend says that the family members were buried inside that fence perimeter. And that slaves had been buried (all except for two) just on the outside of the fence.

We can easily determine 13 of the interior graves. We just don't know which of the 13 known people buried there, are in the marked graves. Neither do we know which slaves were buried on the exterior surroundings of the cemetery. Again, we know of a finite number.

"Dad, as far as I can tell, the first grave in the cemetery is Aunt Nancy's," I said.

Dad, is the living history of our family. You see, his father, my grandfather, was born in 1866. No, you read that right. My Dad's father, my grandfather, was born in 1866. The year after the Civil War had ended. Quick run down. Grandpa was born in December of 1866. Twenty months after the Civil War had come to a conclusion. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his Mother (my great-grandmother) had fled to with four of her very small children in an oxen covered wagon, to be with her spouse, my great-grandfather. (That's a story for another day, however.) Grandpa didn't marry the first time until toward the end of the 19th century, when he was nearly 30. Unfortunately, and rather sadly, this first wife died with tuberculosis, leave Grandpa with 2 small children, and one very newborn child. A very short time later, Grandpa married again. This time, the two were married nearly 20 years, when this wife gave birth to her 9th child with him. She had toxemia, which is a condition not uncommon today with women who do note receive pre-natal care. This was 1929. And again, Grandpa was left with very young children, and a newborn baby. The children were now 12 in number (that number included 3 children who died due to tuberculosis and whooping cough). Grandpa was now widowed twice. And in 1935, he married for the last time. This time to my Grandmother, who was almost 40 (b.1897). In 1937 she gave birth to a baby boy. My Dad. Two years later to another baby boy, when she was 41, and Grandpa was 73. And 4 years later, to another baby boy (Grandma was 46, and Grandpa was 87 on the birth of the youngest!) All in all, Grandpa fathered 15 children. He outlived 4 of his children, and two of his wives.

So, while my Dad's formative years were spent with an aging father, he was the absorbent sponge, who sat at his father's knee, and listened to the phantasmagorical stories the elderly man had to tell of family history. And for the most part, Dad has been spot on with documentation I have been able to locate on the family!

"No, Nancy's not buried in the Bean cemetery!", he corrected me. "She's buried over at Hollywood, in the old Bruffey Memorial Cemetery. Remember? The cemetery and church are named after her family, the Bruffey's!" he corrected.

"No, Dad, Nancy never got married. She was home with her family when she died." (I was pretty sure I was correct on this one.)

"No, honey, remember, she was the one who died from hemorrhoids? Dad always said he really loved Aunt Nancy. And she suffered horrible before she died!"

"Dad, your Dad couldn't have known Nancy! Nancy died in 1856, ten years before your Dad was even born!"

"No, honey! I know I'm right about this!", he insisted.

Since I was on the phone with him, I just trotted into my little office, and fired up the old computer.

"Hang on Dad," I said, "I'm going to look it up on the computer."

I quickly went to Aunt Nancy's information.

Dad waited patiently while my computer booted up, and I went into my FTM program.

"Here she is, Daddy! She was born either 1815 or 1816 (the year is not specific in the birth register). And she died on October 11th, 1856," I said, rather proudly that for once I was able to prove him wrong. "And she's buried in the Bean cemetery. She died from a 'fever'," I said, "and your great-grandma died on Novembr 7th, just a few weeks after her. Her death is listed as a stroke, but I always wondered if she got whatever 'fever' Nancy had and died from complications of that."

"Well, I don't know where you got that information, Sissy, (my Dad uses the term Sissy for myself and my younger sister, interchangeably), but she's buried over at Hollywood. That much I know for a fact. I've seen her grave there myself."

"Dad, are we talking about the same Nancy?" I queried, suddenly the distinction hitting me.

"Well, now, you know, you might have something there. I think I'm talking about my Grandma's sister, aren't I? And you're talking about my Grandpa's sister! Well, ya know, I reckon we were both right!" he exclaimed. Both of us relieved we didn't have to say, "I told you so!" to the other. Or even more relieved the dreaded, "I guess you were right and I was wrong!" didn't have to be said!

"I was talking about Nancy Perkins, wasn't I?" Dad remarked. "And I was talking about Nancy Bean," I said.

"Well, yeah, I reckon Nancy Bean is the earliest known grave we know of in the Bean Cemetery," he concluded. "And my Grandma would've been the next one to be buried in the cemetery."

"Say, you remember that 2 of the slaves were buried in the front yard of the old house, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I do, Dad," I said. "But neither you, nor I, are gonna tell the owners where that is, are we?" I asked. (Well, they know now, as I've written about it in the family newsletter several times. Their graves, or rather, grave, was in the south-eastern corner of the front yard, beneath what had become a HUGE Rose of Sharon shrub.  My gr-gr-grandmother had planted the shrub so that no one would ever disturb their remains. The two slaves were elderly, and married to one another. One cold winter, in 1855, the two got pneumonia, and died within hours of one another. The ground being frozen, the only place soft enough to dig up was in the south-eastern corner of the front yard. A single grave, and the couple wrapped in a couple of quilts, together.) So gr-gr-grandma had allowed the men to bury the couple there, with the understanding that come spring they would be moved over to the cemetery, which is on a knoll across what had once been a farmed field, and overlooking the house gr-gr-grandpa had built for his wife. Well, spring came. The ground thawed. And planting time came upon the farm. And everyone was busy with crops and newborn farm animals. And before you knew it, summer was upon them. Gr-gr-grandma was a shrewd woman. She knew the menfolk wouldn't get the grave moved. So, to prevent anyone in the future from accidentally digging up the grave, she planted a new Rose-of-Sharon shrub on the top of the grave. And about ten years or so ago, the owners of the place cut down the shrub, and made a wide, modern drive into the property. And it passes directly over the place where the slave couple were buried. Their bones long ago turning to dust, there wasn't anything to find from the last 160 years, I am sure. So they didn't know that they placed a drive over a double grave. And although I've seen the owners a few times, I've never had the heart to say anything to them.

And so, I answered Dad, "Yes, I remember Dad!"

And so, Nancy Bean, born in either 1815 or 1816, died 11 October 1856, and was, what we believe, the first person buried in the cemetery. Her mother followed just 3 weeks later.

On September 18, 2000, 208 years after the birth of my gr-gr-grandfather, on his birthdate, a group of men in our family gathered together at the cemetery and placed a modern tombstone commemorating my gr-gr-grandparents.

The front of the stone, with my gr-gr-grandparents names, and birth and death dates.

The back of the stone, commemorating our tie to the Clan MacBean.

We are proud to be included in the Clan's registry, although there has never been any proof that we are connected.

Unfortunately, we are what is called an "orphan line", meaning, that no one knows how we got the surname BEAN. And even DNA has not tied to us any other Bean line (or its many variants of spelling!). But the Clan MacBean has generously "adopted" us And for that we are grateful. It gives us a sense of belonging. However, this Scot clan, may not be even a far reaching ancestral line, as we once thought. It seems the Irish genes are way more definitive than the Scot genes. And before the Scot genes, a close second to the Irish genes are the English ones!

Nancy Morgan Bruffey - nee Perkins (1815-1892), my gr-grandmother's sister, (Margaret Smith Bean - nee Perkins), is buried at what is now called the Hollywood Cemetery in Hollywood, Monroe County, WV. She was married to George Washington Bruffey (b. 1815 in Virginia). And she did, indeed die from a severe infection of hemorrhoids. (I can only imagine the pain that must have been!) The cemetery was, indeed, once called the Bruffey Cemetery. The Bruffey Memorial Church continues to operate there. While I haven't been there to document stones, I am unable to tell whether she has a marked grave or not. Dad says he was there once with his Dad, when he was a young boy, and used to know just which grave was hers. He thinks it is toward the top of the hill. Perhaps I will get over there soon, and document the cemetery.

Don't give up when you and someone else are certain you are correct about a bit of family legend. As seen from this, you could BOTH actually be correct!  Make sure you can argue your stance before you wade into that pool, as some people can get very defensive regarding the family tree! ("I know what I know! So stop being a blamed fool and listen to me!") Be able to back up your argument! And be willing to listen to what the other person has to say. Again, as seen from our little tete a tete, you could actually both be correct! Just talking about two different individuals!

Have you ever knocked noggins with someone because you knew your recollections were correct, and the other persons weren't? If so, tell us how you settled it! We'd love to hear from you!

Madness Monday

MADNESS MONDAY

Well it's been a VERY LONG WEEK. And yet, the week has only begun! As I write this, we are in the wee small hours of the morning, and I have to be up in a few short hours and head off to work.

I usually set up my Mountain Genealogy posts a week in advance, so that I can sit back and not have to post them myself, merely let the blog post them at the time I pre-set it to. However, this past week, I was in bed with influenza Type A. It's a nasty bug. Leaves you sick at your stomach, and yet I couldn't throw up. (Wish I had, I probably would have felt better!) Even ginger ale made me sick. Yeck. The only thing that didn't turn my stomach into a raging cauldron was of all things, farina (Cream of Wheat to those of you who don't buy generics!)  Or plain Ramen noodles. (No seasoning pack added.)

As I finished up tonight's dinner dishes, very late, because I fell asleep in my recliner before getting them done), I realized I had not written a single post for this week! So, here I am, at the last minute trying to get them done for the upcoming week.

I want to thank everyone who has expressed their kindness when reading my droll little tales of my family ancestry. I rather find the stories of my ancestry quite interesting. And I try to put them out there for posterity. I feel like, 'If I don't tell the stories, then who will?' I would like to think one of my five children would be bitten by the genealogy bug, but not so far. So, for the sake my grandchildren and future great-grandchildren, they will find them here, and at our local historical society, who will receive all of my files when I leave this earth.

So, while you are, perhaps, snug in your beds and dreaming of whatever it is you are dreaming of tonight, I will scampering here at the last minute, getting this week's blog posts out there for you!

Here's wishing you all sweet dreams and a happy tomorrow!

Madness Monday

I usually spend my weekends writing blog posts in advance for the coming week.

Unfortunately, this past weekend I was sick most of the time in bed, and am still suffering with malaise and body aches. [I feel like crap!]

So... I am suffering a "Madness Monday" moment today as I scramble to get my daily blog posts in order.

Bear with me, dear readers, and I hope to be back on track tomorrow.

Have a great Monday!

Madness Monday

It all started on Monday morning before Thanksgiving.

Great-grandpa headed out into the woods with his gun held safely across his chest. He sat the gun on the far side of the old split rail fence before he crossed over it. Stepped carefully across the large rocks that lay in a somewhat-straight path across the old creek bed. And climbed the steep trail up the mountain where he'd heard gobbling off and on for the past couple of months.

Coming into a thick, dense, brushy patch, he crouched low and waited.

Sure enough, off in the distance he could hear the gobbling.

Putting his open hand next to his mouth, ululating he mimicked the cry.

He didn't have long to wait. Out strutted the old gobbler. He shouldered his gun and fired.

That evening, he hung the turkey in the old barn by its feet. And on Tuesday, great-grandma cleaned it.

On Thanksgiving, great-grandma either roasted the turkey in the fireplace...

...or in the fireplace oven [I don't know which she actually used!]

Speed forward to Grandpa. He raised a gobbler every year. His deed wasn't performed until Tuesday morning, when he'd carry a sharp knife or axe, and head out to the chopping block with ol' Tom tucked under his arm.

Poor ol' Tom sometimes acted like he knew what was about to happen!

Grandma would hang Tom up by his feet, after the "beheading", and allow the blood to drain.

Next day, on Wednesday, Grandma would pluck and clean the innards from the big bird.

On Thursday... Grandma slow roasted the old bird in the oven of her woodstove...

Fast forward to today!

I head out to the local supermarket where I pick out the biggest frozen turkey in the freezer bins.

On sale, I pay $1.10 a pound for the bird. So the average cost is $22 to $27.50 for the old Tom turkey.

I simply place the turkey in my refrigerator to thaw out for a couple of days. Then pop it in the oven on the big day. Why... there's even a built in thermometer to tell me when the meat has reached its ideal cooking temperature. The guesswork is all taken out of it!

I simply don't know if I can handle the stress! It's just too much for me!!! Take me back to the good ol' days!!!

[NOT!!!!]

Madness Monday - The Melting Pot

I don't trust online family trees much. But I do utilize them on occasion. Maybe that's idiosynchratic, but it's the truth.

I wouldn't trust an online family tree....well....as far as I could throw it, as my grandpa used to say.

Why?

Much has been written lately on the conglomerative efforts of others to blend family trees. For some, they believe it makes the tree more authentic and thus more correct. For others, [like myself], we find the errors [especially the repetitive ones] totally distort the family tree and thus make it virtually useless.

Let's take my own family tree for instance.

Let's look at my great-great-grandfather, William Bean.  He was born to William McBean and Sarah Bane his wife, in 1792 in Baltimore, MD. He died on 01 Jan 1864 in Monroe County, West Virginia.

If you go to Ancestry.com's family trees, input just his birth and death date, you will get a plethora of family trees that come up [none of them sourced properly, except for other trees as sources]. Let's look at just the first tree that comes up: brooks Family Tree.

You will note that at first glance this tree looks pretty good. But take a look first at who William's parents are listed as: William Bean [1745-1798] and Margaret Perkins [1760]. The dates look plausible enough right?

This tree only lists one child for William and his wife Rachel Wiseman [1790-1856], and that is Margaret Jane Bean. [There were actually 13 recorded children!] And Margaret Jane was indeed one of their children, and she did in fact marry Alexander Eakin, as this tree suggests. But take a look at William's parents here: William Bean and Margaret Perkins.

Oh my! To someone who has actually researched this family, this jumps out as a huge neon sign! Flashing and warning, "Danger! Big Error! Danger! Big Error!!!"

Why?

You see the name of one of William and Rachel's son's [the 12th born child] was William. And guess who that William married???

Margaret Perkins!!! Wouldn't it be rather odd if his parents were so named, and then he had a son who also married a woman with the exact same name as his mother?

Well, odd, but it has been known to happen. Especially back in the day when men and women married first cousins! But such is not the case here. Someone has copied a false tree, and just didn't take the time to verify what was in the tree!

Let's take a look at another tree: Greer Goff Coffman Birdwell Davis Pike Asher Gibson Johnson and many more

 For me, this tree is the epitome of stupidity gone awry. Here we find William Bean born 18 Sep 1792, which is fact, correct; and dying 01 Jan 1864, again correct.

Now let's look at dear old William's parents: William Bean [1635-1697] and Margaret U Bean [1637-1697].

Here's where a big ol' "DUH!" sign needs to be plastered to the front and back of this individual, and just for good measure, another one to his forehead!!!

Let's see, William's father and mother both died in 1697, but he wasn't born until 1792??? [Again, we have his son and daughter-in-law's names for his parents!!!]

All of William and Rachel's children were registered births in Monroe County. A simple search through the records [which are now online - even worse, they are  - gasp!!!! - available for FREE!!!] reveals all of the children's births.

What is so infuriating is that both of the gaff's listed above are perpetuated by individuals without EVER one of them verifying the data they have copied! Simply downloading an online tree and inserting it into your free PAF or other genealogy program does not mean that the tree you have is correct! Accurate! Or worth the bytes it takes up in your computer space!

One of the perpetuators of the myth that it is just this easy to obtain a legitimate family tree is, of course, Ancestry.com themselves. A simple look at their television commercials will assure you that they are indeed making the unaware public think thus.

"What did I see? A green leaf. So I clicked on it. And there was my whole family tree all the way back to the Revolutionary War! It was just that simple!"

Does Ancestry.com  provide a disclaimer for individuals who might not realize the inaccuracy of the information?

Of course they do! [Can you imagine the liability suits they might otherwise have?] But it is not blatantly available without searching for it!!! Go to the bottom of the page and you will find a link Terms and conditions, and we find the following [once you scroll down the page a ways!]:

"User provided content


Portions of the Service will contain user provided content, to which you may contribute appropriate content. For this content, Ancestry is a distributor only. By submitting content to Ancestry, you grant Ancestry, the corporate host of the Service, a license to the content to use, host, distribute that Content and allow hosting and distribution of that Content, to the extent and in that form or context we deem appropriate. Should you contribute content to the site, you understand that it will be seen and used by others under the license described herein. You should submit only content which belongs to you and will not violate the property or other rights of other people or organizations. Ancestry is sensitive to the copyright of others. For more concerning copyright issues, view our corporate policy. We will not edit or monitor user provided content, with the exception that, to promote privacy, an automated filtering tool will be used to suppress, and omit from display, information submitted to the tree areas of the site which appears to pertain to a living person. We also reserves the right to remove any user provided content that comes to our attention and that we believe, in our sole discretion, is illegal, obscene, indecent, defamatory, incites racial or ethnic hatred or violates the rights of others, or is in any other way objectionable.


LIABILITY DISCLAIMER


The information, products, and services included on this Web Service may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein. We and our third party suppliers provide all Content in this Service "AS IS", and without any warranty of any kind.

Ancestry, and its third party suppliers make no representations concerning the suitability, reliability or accuracy of the Content or the service provided on the Service for any purpose. We and our third party suppliers disclaim all warranties, expressed or implied, in connection with the Content and the services provided on the Service, including conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no case will we or our third party providers be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, special or other damages including, without limitation, lost or delay of use, lost profits, loss of data or any other damage in contract, tort, equity or any other legal theory, even if advised of the possibility thereof. "

Okay, so I'm not an attorney, but I'm guessing that pretty much covers their proverbial butt's.
 
But do you have any idea what percentage of the public actually clicks on that link to read this statement?
 
Nope?
 
Well, me neither, but I'd feel safe in wagering less than 1 percent! Yep, I'd wager a whole years salary on that one!!!
 
And so what happens is that individuals download these faulty, absolutely inaccurate, crappy family trees, believing them to be totally accurate. And someone sees their tree then, and it gets downloaded. And so on. And so on. And... well you get the picture.
 
Before long you have not just one or two, but literally, as in the case of my William Bean, hundreds, if not thousands, of the inaccurate trees floating about in cyberspace. All propigating new trees which will also be inaccurate, sloppy, and passed on for fact.
 
I certainly don't mean to denigrate Ancestry.com  in this post! As a matter of fact, I LOVE Ancestry.com and utilize it every single day! It is a great tool in both my personal research, as well as my business! But for me, the family tree section should come with a bold disclaimer. And a recommendation that users also utilize the search functions of the site to verify any and all claims on the tree for accuracy! [99% of William Bean's family can be verified right online with Ancestry.com!!!]
 
And I certainly don't mean to proclaim that Ancestry.com is the only site with this problem! There is also FamilySearch.org; gencircles.com, geni.com, mytrees.com, myfamily.com, and any number of others which also utilize trees uploaded by individuals without discretion.
 
What the family tree section of these sites do for me is often gives me insight into a direction to aim my research when I get stuck. I have often used the online trees to steer me into a right direction. They are wonderful for that! And I have also found some marvellous, perfectly accurate, and well documented and sourced trees as well! So not all trees are hazards!
 
They have also brought me mounds of grief from clients and prospective clients! 
 
"I downloaded my tree off of the Internet, and what you brought me isn't anything at all like what I got?" or, "I downloaded a tree off of Ancestry, and it said I was related to Thomas Jefferson [or John Wayne, or Betsy Ross, or even Adam and Eve!] How come you don't have him listed in the research you did???"
 
The connundrum is in educating the public to take these trees at face value, and not mistake them for fact. But to find the facts either hire a research consultant or do the research themselves [which of course to me is 99% of the fun!].

Madness Monday

So, what is it that is driving me "Mad" this Monday? Well, for one [yes there are more than one!] I wonder if I am the ONLY genealogy research person that decides to post their "gripes" on Madness Monday? Hmmm... am I alone in this?

While I really am not a pessimist [you know... those half glass individuals], I do have gripes. And I think if we don't share those gripes then we can never come up with a legitimate way to solve the problem that those gripes represent.

Now, for the piece de resistance, my official "Mad" [read gripe] post for this Monday is that I can't seem to get caught up on my filing. While I am not too bad, [read...I do trascribe documents, add photos, place in my notes, etc.] at taking care of all of the papers I collect for my ancestry, it sems I can never find time to properly catalog and file them! I have literally MOUNDS of papers that need to be sorted, placed in archival sheets, and then into the notebooks system I began using about 6 years ago. [Yes, I literally have 10 of those huge binders [I think they are 4" binders], and probably will need another 5 or 6 to get everything I have piled up filed correctly!]

Is there a better way than placing the papers in my "file" pile?

Well, of course there is! Common sense would tell you I simply need to file them immediately after transcribing, scanning, etc. But it seems I am always in a hurry, and can never get to it right then. So, I tell myself that I will get to it in a day or two, and that day or two well... it never comes around!

So, my gripe today is plainly, against myself!

I'm beginning to look around for a 12-step group for genealogists. Or "Pile Makers of America". Surely they have a Union that can help me!

Okay, so after I print out the hard copy of my blog post to save, for posterity don't ya know... I will ....






put it in the pile of things to be filed. When I get around to it!

Madness Monday - The 2010 Census

How disappointed was I when my dear hubby, the Texican, and I received our Census to fill out this year!

The generic questions did not ask for our nationality, our jobs or out birthplaces.

It wasn't necessarily that I was disappointed for us... but for those descendants of ours who might someday actually want to find out more about us!!!

It did have one positive output... that we both became more determined to not only uncover more about our own ancestors and record that information for our future descendants, but to also keep more regular diary entries on ourselves! I personally have kept a diary since I was 7 years old, and not that I am 50, have volumes of the things! Although there are certainly some I would not published, especially from my more adventurous youth!, most are details of the where and when's of my life. And perhaps that will be enough for my descendants.

We also talk more openly and freely with our grandchildren, especially when the older ones ask questions [what did you do Grandma when you were little? etc.].

Still, I think about all of those people who will be disappointed when they go to search for their ancestors in 2082, and all they find out is that they are ex-years old, and lived on ex-street, in ex-town, USA!

Perhaps, you, too, are making preparations for your story to be left for your descendants???

Madness Monday

"She must've lost her marbles!"

"She went termporarily insane!"

"The girl never was right in the head!"

"She never did know which end was up!"

"Her poor Mama tried!"

Yep, I have heard it all!

In 1975 I got married at the tender age of 16, much to my parent's dismay. I was a sophomore in high school, and he'd been out of school for a little over a year. He worked in a lumber mill as a sawyer.

Well, I finished high school, and even waited four years before having my first child. Then I didn't stop at one. I had five. In five years!

I got my first degree in 1983 when the 4th child was a newborn. In journalism.

In 1988 I went on to get my second, and became a geriatric nurse practitioner.

In 1990 I divorced my husband after 15 years. [Up until then, only telling one person how abusive it was. I hid it all that time.]

I went on to get an advanced degree. Raised my children on my own, while their father went his separate way and didn't pay a penny of the child support he was ordered to pay.

And then in 2001, three years after remarrying, this time to RIGHT man, I totally switched careers. Again!

I picked up genealogy as a hobby. It morphed slowly into a business, which I went public with in 2006. And my hobby became my full-time career.

I have family members who will forever think I am crazy for changing from my stable career as the caretaker of the elderly, to the "unstable" career of the caretaker of the family history.

My parents, while they say they are proud of my new career, never fail to have the final say in a conversation with, "You know, she had it made as an R.N.! Could've worked for any hospital in the world! But, nope, you see what she's doing now!"

Well, maybe I am crazy. But if so... let me leave this world in my happy state of "madness", doing that which I love most!

Perhaps I am the keeper of the family history. And of finding the history of other families. And if so, then I am quite content to be in this state of "madness"!

I for one, feel blessed to be able to do that which I love most. Dare I say it? I sincerely doubt that those who mock me are even one-quarter as content in their careers as I am in mine!

And with that, I leave this... my "Madness Monday" post!

Madness Monday 4/5/10

I guess this is more a gripe than anything else. But lately I have been having clients who approach me with "verified" family trees, AFTER I have completed their contract.

Seems after they receive my research, they then go online and view a "published" family tree from Ancestry.com, and bam! Suddenly they now have a tree dating back centuries... and they gripe "Why didn't you get all of this information?"

Well, try to explain to some of them that just because it's found on Ancestry.com doesn't mean it's a "verified" tree. And more, just because the tree is on Ancestry.com, doesn't mean it's "published"!

For way too many, just because it's found on Ancestry.com makes it a legitimate tree to them. Even when you explain that ANYONE can post ANY TREE, verified or not, on Ancestry.com.

So, I have tried to begin with telling my new clients that if they decide to look at the family trees posted on Ancestry.com that they also look only at those trees with cited sources. Even so, there are those individuals who are still coming back to me with complaints that I should be able to get the same info! After all, so-and-so found this or that!

I wonder how many other researchers are faced with this dilemma?

I tell my client's up front that unless I can cite a source, a REAL source [and not some tree on Ancestry.com] that I will not include the information! Try explaining that some people will merge trees to make theirs "fit" or "work"! Well, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this problem!

And I'm certainly not denigrating Ancestry.com! I often use the trees on Ancestry to help guide me in a the direction I need to be going to look for more information! I just don't rely on them!

And I utilize Ancestry.com just about daily for records! It's the best investment I ever made in my business! Saves me thousands of dollars each year in travel time! If not for the ready availability of Ancestry.com, I'm not sure how well my business would be doing!

But, shouldn't Ancestry.com place some kind of disclaimer for the public trees it has listed? [Or is there a disclaimer, and I'm just missing it?] And if so, perhaps they could make it more viewable for the general public to see!

Again, I really DO love Ancestry.com!!! I just can't say the same for the public trees!

[Or am I just the only one who gets these kinds of clients?]

Okay, so that's my Madness Monday [Moment].

Madness Monday 3/29/10

Madness Monday

My maiden name is Beane. A pretty innocuous name. Common enough. Many known spellings: Bean [from which we are derived], Been, Bein, Beine, Beene, etc.

So, you would think surely that if we were to undergo a DNA test that we would match up with at least another line of Bean’s somewhere in the world. Right?

Wrong!

The Clan MacBean recognizes many branches of the Bean’s in North America. And I felt with all certainty that when I had my Dad perform a DNA test in 2007 that we would find a definitive match amongst those hallowed family lines.

Wrong I was!

Since that time, our DNA test has been posted with two of the major testing sites, and we have yet to make a definitive match with anyone!

Yes, it is maddening. However, hope springs eternal, and we continue to hope that one day, another individual with a matching DNA sequence, will arise amongst the legions and we will at long last be able to locate those missing ancestors!

Madness Monday - Needing the 36-Hour Day!

In the past few months I have been attempting to "expand" my horizons and stretch myself to include new projects and tasks. And while I have thoroughly enjoyed the extra projects I have taken on, I also note that I never have enough hours in the day to complete ALL of the tasks that I set out to perform!

I generally arise at 6:00 AM, shower, dress and take my medications and grab a quick breakfast, and head into my office. Here I make sure that the blog posts I have written over the weekend have posted themselves properly. I then make sure that they have been distributed to the various networking sites, and check for comments.

Next I set about to write my daily news blog, and commentary. As well as my health advocacy blog, which I add to throughout the day.

Following all of that, I set about to read emails. Now, due to the networking I have been doing, this can take any place from an hour to two hours. I weed through the ones that are obviously junk that the junk filter didn't seem to catch [I never have understood why it doesn't catch the obvious ones that can be so aggravating!] I set aside business emails that need to be answered but can wait until I finish up, and answer those that need to be addressed immediately right then.

Next I go through my news reader. Now this is one of my favorite times of the day. I make sure I grab a mug of hot tea, or cappuccino, and relax while I read not only the newspapers and news feeds, but also all of the genealogy and health blog posts from the last 12 hours. [Yep, I check it all twice daily!] This can take any where from an hour to sometimes 3-4!

Finally, I bring up the client information that I am researching, and I head to work. Never having to leave my comfy office chair, unless it is for field research [which seems to be happening at a more alarming rate lately!] If I am heading to the field, everything is generally put on hold, until I return, except for a quick check on the emails for ones that need to have response ASAP. Otherwise, research comes in about 11:30 to 12.

I work through until 1, when I break for lunch; and then I head back at 2. And from 2pm until 6:30 or 7 I am hard at work on the computer. I break for dinner, and then get back on the computer until bed time. [I live alone most of the time, except for weekends - hubby is a long distance truck driver, so I can spend all the time I want working!] Monday nights from 8-9 I watch Antique Roadshow. Tuesday night from 8-10 I watch Biggest Loser. And Friday night from 8-9 Who Do You Think You Are?

I am also attempting to write my first fiction novel. And read voraciously, always having 2 books going at once, and sometimes three. I also blog book reviews for one very well known book publisher, and blog reviews independently on just about anything I can get my hands on.

So... where's a girl supposed to find the time to do research on her own family tree?

My children are all grown, and I was told this would be the time of my life that I could finally take a deep breath and relax. Instead, I find myself running about maddeningly, and working at a more fevered pace than ever I did as a nurse! [I retired from nursing in 1999 after a 13-year career.]

But when I stand back and look at this hectic, fevered pace, and lifestyle I am living, while it can certainly be maddening....

....I wouldn't have it any other way!

Madness Monday

Madness Monday

There have been several things that have driven me quite “mad” during the past couple of weeks. The greatest of which was when my computer crashed due to a virus! [Thankfully I learned a few years ago – from the great folks in this genealogy circle – to make multiple backup copies! So I was fully prepared for the event!] What I wasn’t prepared for, was being without a computer for two weeks while my laptop was being repaired, and while I was waiting shipment of my new desktop PC!

I had to make do with the occasional trip to the library [ugh!]. I live in a very rural area, and our tiny library has exactly ONE [yes, you read that right!], ONE community computer! I would sign in to use the computer, and don’t you know, I’d end up waiting for 2 hours to use it. Only to find out that I was limited to 30 minutes of use at a time! All I could do is skim over my emails, and pull what seemed the most important. Send my clients a quick note and let them know I hadn’t forgotten them, after an explanation as to why I was unable to communicate at the moment. And then an even quicker skim over Google Reader to catch what appeared to be the most important news from there.

It was a VERY LONG two weeks!

The good news is that I now have a brand new computer for my desk, and my old laptop is relegated to being a laptop alone! So, I have the portability I need for making quick trips to the library, FHL, and historical society or courthouse.

But it was, regardless of this now happy conclusion, quite the “maddening” event!

Madness Monday

What is it that drives me “Mad” this week?


Well, I’m actually having a pretty doggone wonderful week! Research has been moving along quite briskly, and events are being uncovered for one particular client that have been so enlightening to her family, that I am just having one of those weeks that nothing seems to be particularly “maddening”!

If there is anything that is “maddening” this week, it would be in my disappointment in the PBS debut of “Faces of America”.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. did a spectacular job in hosting the program. And the celebrities that were aired were simply amazed at the results of his research.

But it was almost as if the research just “magically” produced the content of the show.

Prospective clients often come to me with an attitude that if they purchase a 40-hour research package from me, that they should get the results in 40-hours. Right? Or one work week. Right?

WRONG!

And that’s where I often lose them. Forty hours means that I will dedicate forty-hours in the actual research portion of the project. But a project may take weeks or months to complete! And if we have to rely upon written correspondence for records from a far and distant land [say England, or Switzerland, etc.] then it may take even longer.

If it means digging through archives, and dusty, moldy, records then it can take days. And that doesn’t include the travel to and from the particular repository!

So, when I begin to explain this to a client, they are sometimes at a loss.

I have been told way too many times, “Well, I really needed this next week for so-and-so’s birthday!” [Or for Christmas, etc. One of my busiest times of year is the few weeks before Christmas when the Virgin Birth isn’t the only miracle expected to be performed for the holiday!]

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. doesn’t go into any of the details in how or where he obtained the research for the celebrities. Nor does he go into how long this research took for each celebrity. I think that if a prominent genealogist/ historian such as he would have gone into that sort of detail, the viewer would then have an understanding of what is required of a genealogical researcher, and why time cannot be measured in how fast a report can be put together for a client, but rather in the excellence of the research completed.

That’s my “maddening” Monday observation.

Madness Monday - 08 Feb 2010

Ancestral Labels


I have had several clients over the past few years that have become upset over little things we have uncovered regarding their ancestors.

One client was so upset over the fact that their ancestor had owned slaves that they asked me to “erase that slave census thingy, because I don’t want anyone else to ever know about this”. Uh… erase the Census record? [Yes, she was very serious! She wanted me to make sure the original census record was deleted forever. Not just in the research we were performing, but the original record!] She was totally distraught when I told her that I couldn’t do that, it was a public record. [She has a son who is an aspiring politician, and she was afraid it wouldn’t look very good for him.]

I had another that took part in a well-known Virginia lynching in 1891. She asked that I make sure I “buried” the newspaper story that named him. [What?] Yeah, for some reason she thought I could make the story disappear from the newspaper archives.

I have had several who asked that I just “don’t put that into my report”. From having a well-known old west outlaw, to owning slaves, to being named a part of the Mafioso of Chicago in its heyday.

I have always felt sorry for those individuals who want me to hold back part of the information we uncover for them. And a couple of times I have taken the time to express my ideals on the subject. After all, I have told them, our ancestors are not us, and they do not reflect who we ourselves are. We make our own names in this world. Well, I have been told I don’t know what I am talking about. [I have never been able to convince these people other than what they have requested of me.]

Today, when they ask me to do this, I just highlight in my Word program, and delete the text they ask me to.

But it’s a real shame! Yes, these individuals may have done things that their families are not proud of, but they are still a part of their heritage. Now, as my hubby says, you can take after that person if you want, or you can make something really wonderful of your name. It’s all up to you.

I for one intend to do the latter when these occasional “ne’er-do-wells” creep into my tree.

Madness Monday - 01 February 2010

Last week I posted several times about Andrew Lewis Morris and Lucy E.V. Caldwell. I’ve had some wonderful responses to those posts, too!

Today I’d like to share one of my “Maddening” experiences with these two individuals.

They have not one, but TWO, marriage records in the Monroe County, West Virginia files!

The first is for April 29, 1878:

You will note that it contains the date and their names.

The second entry is for 02 May 1878:

and this one contains the same information [with the date change] PLUS the name of the individual who performed the marriage ceremony.

So, when did they ACTUALLY get married?

Searches through local newspapers for the time have been fruitless.

In order to cover all bases, I have both dates listed in my notes, and where I obtained the two dates from in my sources. But in my genealogy program in the space for the date, I have put the 02 May date, as it also included the minister’s name who performed the ceremony. Does this mean that’s most likely the truer date?

No, either date could be correct. So, I’ve just made sure to mention both, and their sources, as well as the copies of the micro-fiche, to make sure everything is covered. Should at some time a more definitive proof become available, we can always eliminate the less true one if need be.

And this just drives me “Mad” in the meantime!!!

Madness Monday - January 25, 2009

Here lately, I’ve been getting a strange number of odd requests from blog readers regarding my blog. And while I can say I am humbly grateful to know somebody is reading my blog(s), and I’m not speaking to myself all the time, it is a little maddening at some of the requests I have been getting. Let me share just two of these with you.


“January 5, 2010 – “I saw where you wrote about my grandpa. He was married to my great-great-grandma. Can you tell me more about her?”

That was it! No mention of either individual’s names. Nor the writers name! Let me address this issue. First of all – re-read that question. Do you see it? Grandpa was married to “great-great-grandma” [no that’s not a typo on my part, I simply copied and pasted the original email here].

Second no names for either grandpa or great-great-grandma. If other researchers are anything at all like me…and I hardly presume to put myself in the same category with some of the elite company I happen to read about… I write about dozens of individuals each week. Both my own research and that I do for clients. I sometimes mention clients’ research in my blogging [with all names, places, etc. changed to protect my clients privacy], but only in passing [ie: I found a record I was searching for – this is how I did it; I was surprised to see mention of this in a record I located; etc.] So, to have me remember what, or who, I have written about without any reference, such as even the date I wrote about this individual, well, you get my drift.

It’s maddening!

Here’s another:

“December 7, 2009 – Helo, I saw where you mentioned my grandpa in an article on the computer. I think you got his wife wrong. He wasn’t married to that woman. My grandpa was married to my grandma, and I can prove it!”

Okay, this person actually did go on and mention the date the blog post appeared, and her grandpa’s name. I do apologize to her. Because, the person I mentioned in the blog post was my own grandfather as well. I mentioned the three children he’d had with my grandmother.

You see, the “grandpa” she was referring to was actually her “great-great-grandfather”. Yep. She was descended from my grandfather all right. But from his second wife. Not his first, nor his third [my grandmother]. What the reader did not know, was that her great-great-grandfather had been married three times. She thought he’d only been married the once. So, I do apologize that in my nine years of attempting to locate all of his descendants [from the whole group of 15 children he’d fathered over a 40 year time span] that I somehow had missed this reader, and had not introduced her to the man he really was [I have since remedied that situation]. But the maddening thing I am illustrating here, is that I get these kinds of letter, like this “how dare you say this!” from individuals who haven’t a clue about the reality!

Of course, in all honesty, I am fairly new to the world of blogging [I won’t have my second anniversary until June of this year], so these kinds of comments are new for me. And I was prepared for different kinds of barbs and unflattering comment. What I have been unprepared for are those individuals who comment with lack of intelligent knowledge on the subject they are arguing about!

As my grandpa Dreher used to say, “Don’t go into battle unarmed”.

If you see me posting something regarding any specific individual here, be prepared if you want to “argue”. I’ve done my homework!

Madness Monday - January 18, 2010

Joseph Eve, born 11 January 1829, France, immigrated to this country before 1858. He died 08 January 1892 in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana. His wife Annette [maiden name unknown] was born 12 Feb. 1840 in Indiana. She died 01 May 1870. The couple are buried at S. Mary of the Knob’s Cemetery, in Floyds Knobs, Floyd County, Indiana.


They are my great-great-grandparents.

To date, the only records I have been able to locate, with any uncertainty for this couple, is the 1860 and 1870 Census. His tombstone is recorded on Find-A-Grave. My hope is to make a trip there in the next year or so and actually get to photograph the grave, and do a little research in Floyd County. [I have maternal aunts and an uncle along with many cousins, who live nearby, so it will make a great family reunion trip as well!]

I know from the 1860,1870 and 1880 Census that Joseph was a farmer. And the couple had at least these children: Nicholas, Lawrence, Alfred, Charles and Adaline.

[Joseph married Adaline DuBois 24 Oct 1871, eighteen months after the death of Annette.]

Joseph's daughter, Adaline, was my great-grandmother. Born 11 Feb 1867, she died just one day shy of a full year before I was born. 5 Nov 1958. She is buried in the Edwardsville Cemetery, Georgetown, Floyd County, Indiana.

Adaline married Francis Isidore Banet [15 Aug 1863 – Apr 1945] on 31 Oct 1893 in Floyd County. The couple had eight children: Robert, Arthur, Charles, Augustin, Francis, Clarence, Irene and Lorene. Irene was my grandmother.

Born on 24 May 1906 in Floyd County, Irene died on 08 Aug 1989 in Gap Mills, Monroe County, West Virginia, where she’d gone to live with her youngest daughter, my mother, following the death of her husband, Henry Condar Dreher, Jr. [31 Dec 1902-17 May 1977]. Henry and Irene were married on 12 Dec 1923 in Indiana. They had five children: Ethel, Arthur, Marion, Billy and Lois. Lois is my mother.

Madness Monday - December 28, 2009

This Madness Monday, I would like to discuss my Wickline ancestors.

Again, this is another line of family I have had very little time to research, and am hoping the New Year affords me the time I need to research more of my own ancestry properly.

I begin with my what information I have regarding the Wickline's.

1 Cynthia Ann Beane - b. 1959

2 Walter Maxwell Beane - b. 1937 M: Lois Velleda Dreher

5 Mary Elizabeth Faudree - b. 03 Jun 1897 - d. 01 Jan 1975 M: John Monroe Bean

10 Stephen Ledford Faudree - b. 08 Jul 1857 - d. 16 Jan 1929 M: Elizabeth Carnefix

21 Mary Margaret Wickline - b.1831 - Monroe County, [W]VA - d. Unk M: Richard C. Faudree

42 Elijah Wickline - b.1799 Monroe Co., [W]VA - d.27 Jun 1879 Sweet Springs, Monroe Co., WV M: Elizabeth Lewis

84 Jacob W. Wickline - b. 25 May 1750 Berks Co., PA - d. 26 Dec 1821 Sweet Springs, Monroe Co., [W]VA; M: Catharine Sparr

168 Johan Georg Wickline - b. 1717 Pfaltz, Germany - d. 31 Oct 1754 Robeson Twp., Berks Co., PA - M: Anna Christiana Roth

It drives me mad that so very little information has been located on these persons! An occasional death record, and an occasional Census record. Nothing more. I am trusting 2010 to be a more fruitful year!!!

Advent Calendar - December 21 - Christmas Music, Madness Monday

This post is a joint post for the Genea Advent Calendar, and Madness Monday [see the end of this post for what drives me "Mad"!]




What songs did your family listen to during Christmas? Did you ever go caroling? Did you have a favorite song?
(Note: perhaps there is a particular Christmas song that drives you mad?)

We mainly listened to traditional Christmas carols during the season. Although the family, in general, listened to a lot of Country singers performing the songs. Back then we didn’t have cassette tapes, or 8-tracks, or CD’s. We listened either to the radio, or to record albums. [I am still intrigued when I pass a music shop and see them listing vinyl – not the old 78’s even – as antique recordings! And yes, I owned both!!!]

Oh, my yes, we went caroling nearly every year when I was growing up, until I was married! Sometimes just 3 or 4 of us from the neighborhood. But for the most part, we went as a rather large group. Sometimes from house to house. And sometimes from nursing facility to nursing facility [nursing homes, retirement homes, even the hospital]. And almost always, following an evening singing in the cold, we would end up back at someone’s house where we would be treated to hot-chocolate and Christmas cookies. We would be exhausted, but we were always jubilant!

My favorite Christmas song has always been, as far back as I can remember, “Stille Nacht”, the German rendition of “Silent Night”. [Many people forget that it was written in this language, and so accommodates the language even better than English!] My Grandpa Dreher used to sing it to me in his deep baritone voice. It didn’t have to be Christmas for me to request him to sing it to me, either! He’d take me upon his knee, and hold me close as he sang the beautiful words! I suppose it will be my favorite Christmas carol all my life!

Is there a particular Christmas song that drives me MAD? You betcha!

I don’t know why, because everyone else just cracks up over it, but I despise “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”. Maybe because the very thought of a drunken Grandma, falling down in the snow and being run over by one of Santa’s little magical sleigh-bearers is somehow sacrilegious to my Christmas being! Besides, everyone knows that all eight of those little reindeer [Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen] and even the old Rudolph himself, would stop to render any Grandma aid if they found her on the ground! I’ve often wondered why they haven’t filed a slander suit against the writer of that particular piece of yuletide song!

Madness Monday - December 14, 2009

I get mad, and I do mean MAD at families who allow their cemeteries and their ancestor’s tombstones to become broken and unrepaired. I get furious over cemeteries left untended, and literally allowed to go back to the field. Forgotten by all. And eventually unfindable!

Such was the case of one of our family cemeteries this past summer. My dear cousins from out West [they are four sisters from Utah, New Mexico and Oklahoma], who came to our family reunion in August. On the way, they stopped to try to locate a little, long forgotten family cemetery. There were only four graves there.

Located in a field, next to the farm house, the little plot of earth had been ignored by family for at least the 60 years of the present owners family living there. The owner was raised there, and he had always wanted to do “something” with the little cemetery. He stated he always felt it needed tender loving care. But he had no idea who the family was these people belonged to. But he’d sure like to find them.

Instead, these four ladies found him.

It soon became my mission to restore and fence the little plot of ground. And I began a fund raiser to get enough money to begin work on the ground. We had hoped to be able to do something with it in the spring.

Unfortunately, we received a letter from the owner’s wife in November, stating that he had been killed in a tragic farm tractor accident there on the farm in September. However, in his honor, the wife had the little cemetery fenced. And someone has been hired to repair the broken stones in the spring, when the weather is more appropriate for masonry work.

Naturally, we have reimbursed the owners for the expense thusfar.

But, each year, as my Dad and I go over our many family graves, we clean them, straighten and repair stones as needed, and make sure that the graves, and those buried there, are remembered. I cannot imagine doing otherwise! And I get so angry when I see graves untended and uncared for, and even angrier when I notice they have not been visited by family in a very, very long time.

Each time I visit my grandparents grave, or my great-grandparents, or even my great-great-grandparents, I talk to them, just as if I were having a conversation. Kooky maybe, but I feel like they are there with me in spirit, and can hear my every word. And their memories deserve to be preserved.