Wordless Wednesday

In keeping with the Wordless Wednesday theme for the day, I'm showing you a photograph of a particular pioneer tool being demonstrated. What is it? And what is it used for? [Answer to be revealed tomorrow!]



Hint: It's used for a particular part of a house!

Tombstone Tuesday

Better late than never! [Or at least I always say so!]

I didn't get my Tombstone Tuesday entry in yesterday, due to spending a wonderful visit with my sister-in-law and 2 nieces and nephew! I hadn't seen my beautiful sister-in-law, Cheri, or the oldest niece, Lexi, in 9 years! And I had never met the 2 younger ones, Walter [my Dad's namesake] and Taylor [he being 7 and she almost 5]. Such is the problem when you live more than a thousand miles apart, and busy schedules keep you from getting together! And it was a lovely visit! [I introduced the kids to a button yo-yo, one of the pioneer toys I played with as a child, as did all of my children.]

And so, I humbly apologize for missing Tombstone Tuesday. And herewith submit my entry for the week.

This awesome tombstone is found in Chesterton, Indiana. The gent who located this marker was amazed at it, and couldn't understand what it symbolized. However, I am afraid I understand it all too well!

You think it's grotesque, you say?

Well, not if you understand it!

This depicts the poor creature who is obsessed with his Ham radio. Nearly gargoylesque [is that even a word?], he is hunched over his radio, with mic in hand.

One wonders if the Ham operator designed this tombstone? Or if his poor widow did!!! [I'd bet his widow did!]

Yep, you got it. I'm married to an avid Ham hound. I know the stance all too well! [Sorry dear! But it's the truth!]

The Generations Network Becomes Ancestry.Com

PROVO, Utah, July 6 /PRNewswire/ - The Generations Network, the world’s leading online family history resource, today announced that it is changing its name to Ancestry.com effective immediately.

“Our company has a long and fascinating history, and we’ve been through several name changes over the years. But we started with Ancestry.com, and it now feels completely natural to let our company once again share the Ancestry.com brand with our flagship product,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO, Ancestry.com. “We’re proud that Ancestry.com has developed as the defining online brand associated with family history. Alongside Ancestry.com, we will continue to support our other brands, including Family Tree Maker, myfamily.com, MyCanvas, Rootsweb, Genealogy.com, Jiapu.com and of course, our international Ancestry sites.”

Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com is the world’s leading online family history resource, with more than 4 billion records, proprietary search technologies and an engaged community of 950,000 subscribers and more than 3.5 million active members.

Ancestry.com boasts the only completely indexed online U.S. Federal Census Collection (1790-1930), the most comprehensive online compilation of U.S. ship passenger lists (1820-1960), the largest online collection of African American historical documents and the most comprehensive online collection of U.S. military records, among others.

Global Ancestry Sites
Beyond the United States, the Ancestry global network includes local country sites for the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Italy, France and Sweden.

In August 2008, Ancestry launched a dedicated Chinese family history Web site, jiapu.com.

Complementary Product Lines

•Ancestry.com DNA now extends the Ancestry service into the field of genetic genealogy.
•MyCanvas, a digital publishing platform integrated into Ancestry.com, now gives every family the ability to create completely unique, professionally printed family history books.
•Family Tree Maker(R) 2009, the No. 1-selling family history software package, is now available online and in major retail stores throughout North America and Europe.
•The redesigned myfamily.com site now has new features, providing families everywhere a safe, private, and free family home on the Web
.

The Generations Network operates through two companies; Generations Holding, Inc., which is changing its name to Ancestry.com Inc. and The Generations Network, Inc., which is changing its name to Ancestry.com Operations Inc. The company will refer to itself as Ancestry.com.

For more information, or to build your family tree and discover your family history, visit www.ancestry.com.

About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com is the world’s leading resource for online family history and has digitized and put online over 4 billion records over the past twelve years. Ancestry users have created over ten million family trees containing over one billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, and more than 8 million unique visitors spent more than 4 million hours on an Ancestry Web site in April 2009 (comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide). For more information on Ancestry.com and its other family history resources, visit http://corporate.ancestry.com.

Web sites:
http://www.ancestry.com/

http://www.myfamily.com/

http://www.genealogy.com/

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

http://www.mycanvas.com/

http://www.dna.ancestry.com/

http://www.familytreemaker.com/

Madness Monday

Madness Monday - Keeping in the Spirit of fellow Geneabloggers, I have decided to begin posting a "Madness Monday", "Tombstone Tuesday", and "Wordless Wednesday".

In posting a Madness Monday, one is to write about either a "Mad" relative [or other such that you are researching], or someone you are researching that is driving you mad!

I have chosen my subject as William McHarvey Bean, my paternal great-grandfather.

This is "young" William, [named after his "Pa".]

William was born in 1832 in Zenith, Monroe County, Virginia, in what is now West Virginia. He was born along Back Valley. This is a narrow little valley that runs between Peter's Mountain, and a smaller ridge. William was the 12th born of 13 children to William and Rachel [Wiseman] Bean.

In 1852 William married Margaret Smith Perkins/Parkins. William and Margaret went on to parent 8 children, 7 of whom reached adulthood. They lived, also, in Monroe County.

Back in 2001, before I was accurately recording everything I found on my ancestors, I sent an email to a researcher to attempt to locate records on William in the Civil War. At the same time I received his records from NARA regarding his enlistment in the Confederate Army. However, we also knew that William "switched sides", much to his family's dismay, and he was threatened with being disowned. His father even purposely removed him from his will for this action. The researcher I had engaged sent me an email regarding William's Union records. Yes, they had found his records. But there was a problem. They had been sealed, and the seal could not be opened, by Presidential Order of Abraham Lincoln, dated 10 April 1865. The researcher stated that he could make copies of the available info, or I could mail NARA for the info, which would be cheaper than him making a return trip. [This individual did not make copies while he was there, which today confounds me...but we had not, in his defense, make prior arrangements about costs for copies, etc.] So, I chose to send for copies of what was available from NARA.

In the meantime, the copies of William's Confederate record arrived. We found out that William was temporarily listed as AWOL. But within 2 weeks was found to be on a POW list for Elmira Prison in Elmira, NY. This was astonishing! Because the information received from the researcher was that William had enlisted in the Union Army in Elmira, NY, and was immediately sent as a Sgt. to Johnson Island in Ohio to guard Confederate soldiers.

We were so perplexed! How could someone, who had just "switched sides" be trusted to guard Confederate prisoners? Especially the prisoners of Johnson's Island, who were officers???

We began to suspect subterfuge.

Then we began to make a little sense of some of the things we were reading.

It seems that just 10 short days after William arrived in Ohio, a Confederate move to engage the enemy and free the prisoners of Johnson's Island was thwarted by a soldier who had just arrived, 10 short days before, from Elmira Prison. Could it be that William did not "switch sides", but was actually a double agent?

The possibility seemed almost unreal! But we theorized that would be why his records were sealed by President Lincoln. To protect his identity.

But then came the small, business-sized envelope from NARA. No records or copies of anything were inside. Just a form-letter telling me that no records had been found, and that I could search for other family members should I wish to.

Instead of relying on another paper response, I picked up the phone and began making phone calls. I spoke with a NARA representative and explained that I had sent a representative to their facility and this person had seen a file. I explained that he had found that actual records were not available, That within the file was a form that stated William's records had been sealed under Presidential order. This person assured me they would look into it.

I really never expected to hear from them again, and began to mentally form my letter of complaint. Two days later I received a call back from the same individual. While he was most polite, he assured me that he had spent hours attempting to locate the file, and even searched through cross-referencing for it. He was empty-handed.

Could my researcher have either looked at the wrong file, or even, heaven forbid, have lied to me? But not. He couldn't have lied, because the facts all fit. Just like the pieces to a puzzle.

It became curiouser and curiouser.

Well, surely I should be able to locate more information. Somewhere!

In 1890, while serving as a US Marshall, William was shot and killed by a constable who was attempting to repossess a horse and buggy driven by William. The newspaper article clearly stated William was a US Marshall. This is information that had also been handed down to me from family lore.

The interesting thing about William's murder, for it was murder, was that the constable, who claimed to have shot William in self-defense, shot him through the back window of William's buggy. Into the back of the head.

Interestingly enough, local newspaper articles of the trial of the man accused literally state that he was "spirited away to an undisclosed location". Family lore states that the Justice Department approached great-grandmother and asked if she wanted them to pursue the matter on a Federal level. Her reply was "No! You folks have to realize that me and my kids still have to live in this county!"

Well, I would just contact the Justice Department and see about getting William's records for his career as a US Marshall. While I was waiting, I decided to play devil's advocate. Let's say that the search for William's Union records was a farce. He had never served in the Union Army. Then he would have had to have taken a citizen's oath in order to have become a US Marshall. Otherwise, he would not have been able to hold office. I would search for his oath.

I contacted the courthouse. Yes, they did in fact hold copies of all the Monroe Countians who pledged the oath. And so I made my trip to the county seat and the courthouse. I spent hours poring over every single pledge signed.

But no William.

A few days later I received a letter back from the Justice Department. There was no record of William Bean having served as a US Marshall.

Could the newspaper have been wrong?

Then I received a copy of William's granddaughter's memoir's. She clearly stated he was a Marshall. Again I was feeling curiouser and curiouser! [Lewis Carroll is coming out in me, remember "Alice in Wonderland"?]

And so, I thought I would make a trip back to the courthouse and look for William's death record. By 1890, the time of his death, death records for West Virginia included the individuals occupation if known. I was shown to the record room, and the appropriate book for the year in question was pointed out. I began thumbing through the pages until I came to the place where the entries for 1890 should have been. I say "should have been", because at the point, someone had carefully torn the pages for 1890 and 1891 from the book. I immediately went and retrieved the clerk who came into the record room with me to see what my excitement was about.

"Well, I'll be! I've never noticed this before!", she exclaimed. On careful inspection, one could clearly see the discolored edges of the tear, and determine that these pages had been removed many, many years ago. The oxidation was plain to the naked eye.

On questioning if these records would have been sent to the Department of Health I was told no. That was not required until 1895.

However, I began to feel as though someone, or some agency, was carefully covering up William's existence. Even now. Over 100 years since his death.

The Union file that was, and then wasn't. The Justice Department record that should have been, but wasn't. The death record that should have been, but wasn't.

And then we attempted to get the Daughters of the Confederacy to recognize William. After all, here we were looking at his records, showing him to have been AWOL, and then a short few days later a confirmation of his being taken as a prisoner and place in Elmira Prison. Surely, if we couldn't prove he had served in the Union Army, then we had proof positive of the Confederate service!

The Daughters of the Confederacy stated that they could not accept out application, as William had been labeled as a traitor to the Confederacy. When we responded with, please show us your proof that he was a traitor, we were met with no reply at all. Even after repeated attempts for such.

William was a known traitor to the Confederacy? Yet here we sat with his Confederate records. There seemed to have been some kind of service in the Union Army. But there was no proof. Johnson Island records did not reveal William Bean having served there. Courthouse records did not show his oath of allegiance, nor his death record. And yet, newspaper and family stated he was a US Marshall.

A few weeks ago I picked up the phone and called the State Department of Health, in an off-chance hope that maybe there would be a death certificate filed in Charleston. Sure enough. We finally had a small breakthrough.

The kind woman I spoke with not only sent me a copy of William's death certificate, but a copy of great-grandmother's as well, who died in 1891.

The first thing I examined was his occupation. Sure enough, William's occupation at the time of death is listed as US Marshall.

There is another twist to this story.

When William was still in Elmira, his wife and his four children loaded themselves into an oxen-pulled wagon and crossed enemy lines and went to Ohio. They joined William "somewhere" in Ohio. But after the War they moved to Cincinnati, where on December 15, 1866 my grandfather, John was born.

My "madness" is in trying to fit all of these puzzle pieces together in such a way that they "make sense".

Where have all of William's records gone? Could there have been a government cover up of his true purpose during the War? Did the Justice Department hide his records? Was he, in fact, a double-agent during the War? Does that explain why he never had to take an oath of allegiance? Why were his death records torn from the county courthouse?

The search goes on.... and on... and on...

"Golden Rules of Genealogy"

The following 10 Rules comes from Got Genealogy's Lisa Lee [reprinted with permission]:

"GOLDEN RULES OF GENEALOGY"

1] "SPELING DUSN'T COWNT"
Back in the day folks couldn't spell and many could barely write, so check all variant spellings of names. Whenever possible, use wild card or Soundex searches to help find variant spellings of your names.

2] "ASSUME NOTHING"
Check all your facts, don'tassume that any particular document is right or wrong, and always try to find other independent sources to corroborate your facts as much as possible. Verify, verify, verify. For instance, don't assume that:
* your ancestors were married
* census information is accurate
* vital (or otherP records were correct
* your ancestor's life events were recorded
* your ancestors were enslaved
* newly freed slaves in the same vicinity with the same surname were related

3] "USE DISCRETION"
Never lie in your genealogy reports, but use discretion when reporting family information, as it may affect some of your living relatives.

4] "ALWAYS DOCUMENT YOUR SOURCES, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY CONTRADICT ONE ANOTHER"
Over time, you will compile more data and those once seemingly contradictory pieces of evidence may prove to be just the pieces of the puzzle you need to prove or disprove your theory. But be consistent as you cite your sources. There are all sorts of standard citation formats that you can follow; but even if you just make up your own form for listing your sources, be consistent with it. Future researchers [your descendants] will thank you. Cite your sources.

5] "MOST DATES ARE APPROXIMATE"
Prior to the 20th century, anyway. It's okay to state that someone was born "abt. 1845" or died "May 1915" if you don't have an exact date. And even if you ave an exact date from one document, another document may have a different date. And which date is "correct"? They all are.

6] "IF UNSURE, SAY SO"
Future researchers will thank you for being honest if you simply say that you cannot prove a specific fact, yet you "suspect" such and such is true. Don't fudge the facts. Ever.

7] "COMPUTERS ARE GREAT BUT DON'T FORGET THE LIBRARY"
Yes, we love doing our research online and we think that there's nothing better than using the computer to find new sources, view digital images of original documents and even connect with long lost relatives. But for genealogists, the internet will never replace the wonderful work oflibraries, county courthouses, archives and historical societies. You can't do it all online. DO as much as you can online, then turn off your computer and hit the bricks!

8] "EXPLORE"
The internet is a living, breathing thing, which changes by the second. Hunt for new Web sites, and revisit old ones looking for updates with new information. Be creative in your searches. You won't break the internet. Really.

9] "PASS YOUR RESEARCH ALONG"
No matter how many decades you spend researching your family, your research will never be done. In that stead, plan on passing along your research to the next generations' researchers. Leave excellent notes, cite all your sources, explain your shorthand...in essence, leave your research the way you'd have liked to have found it.

10] "DON'T DIE WITH YOUR STORIES STILL IN YOU"
Giving credit to Dr. Wayne Dyer for his Don't die with your music still in you, we want to remind you to tell the stories as completely and as accuratley as possible. Genealogy isn't about just doing research. Genealogy is about telling the stories and ensuring that your ancestor's legacies live on for generations to come. Without the stories, the research won'd do anyonemuch good. The legacy of your ancestors rests in your capable hands. Doing the research is fine, but always remember that you have been chosen to tell their stories.

Free Resource Available Near You!

The following article is reprinted with permission from Dick Eastman's Eastman's Online Genealogical Newsletter for July 5th, 2009:

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormons), has gathered a huge amount of genealogical information. Their Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah is the largest such facility in the world, with millions of books and microfilmed records, as well as many on microfiche. There is no fee for searching any of the records available in the library. They are completely FREE for anyone to search.

Of course, not everyone lives near Salt Lake City, or can afford the time and money to travel there. For most of us, we can use a nearby "catalog office" that allows us to access most of the same information that is in Salt Lake City.

There is no charge to visit a local Family History Center. However, you will be asked to pay for any photocopies you make (usually about $.05 per page) and you are asked to pay for the postage for the microfilms you rent from the main library in Salt Lake City (typically $5.50 in the United States for a 30-day rental).

Many local Family History Centers have computer scanners so you can load up your thumb drive with images and take them home to view on your own computer. Most local centers also have a collection of the most frequently used microforms and sometimes they also have a large collection of genealogy books. Family History Centers are completely free for your use, as are their computers.

Both the Family History Library and the satellite Family History Centers also offer free access to gigantic databases and to a number of research web sites such as Ancestry and HeritageQuest Online.

The local Family History Centers can provide most of the resources of the huge Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Of course, a trip to a local center will probably be much more cost-effective than a trip to Salt Lake City! Many of the centers are located in Mormon churches. However, you will never be given any information about the Mormon religion nor will you be approached by Mormon missionaries, unless you ask. The local Centers welcome visitors of all faiths. In fact, history has shown that the local centers are more popular amongst non-Mormons than amongst those who belong to that faith.

You can find your nearest local Family History Center at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp. "

July 4th Challenge...

I am a huge fan of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Challenges. [Although I seldom ever see them until Sunday morning when I am perusing my news feeder!]

This week Randy challenged each of us to blog about our favorite 4th of July. And so, I didn't have a hard time remembering that summer day when I was about ten years old....

It was the one and only true family reunion my mother's family held. There were five children in her family. Three girls and two boys. Ethel, the eldest, was born in 1924; followed by Art [aka: Bud] in 1926; Laura [aka: Marion] in 1931; Billy in 1936; and Mama [known to her siblings as Lois] in 1938. There is 14 years difference between the eldest and the youngest. And Mama was a bit spoiled as the baby.

Everyone showed up at the farm where Grandma and Grandpa Dreher lived, on the Little Indian Creek, near Corydon, Indiana. The Little Indian literally ran through their backyard!

The plan on the 4th was to have a huge fish fry, and everyone would swim in the creek. A wonderful deep area of the creek had a huge flat stone bottom, and someone had put steps leading down into the water for easy exit after swimming. Fish were caught just down stream from the swimming area. And when not fishing or swimming, we were canoeing or boating.

Everyone helped to fish and catch literally hundreds of little fish for the fry. I will never forget, when it came time to clean them, however, everyone walked away and left my Mama and Daddy to the chore. I'm not sure if they didn't want to be a part of the mess and smell of the cleaning, or if they just knew that Mama and Daddy could do the job best!

I do know that on the 4th, when all the fish were fried, and the cole slaw made [in a HUGE dish pan!], and the corn on the cob was boiled, we ate like kings and queens!

We played in the water until we were wrinkled little prunes!

And just at dusk, Uncle Art loaded us up and took us to the Lake to watch one of the most spectacular fireworks displays I have ever seen!

It was the last time when we were all together. Oh, we've all gathered since. Unfortunately, it's been to say good-bye to someone who was no longer with us. And even then, unfortunately, not everyone could make the long trip back to Indiana.

Grandma and Grandpa have past on now. Aunt Ethel's husband, Paul is gone. Aunt Marion's husband, Charles is too. And Aunt Marion was the first child to leave, just a few years ago. Even one of the cousins died a few years back.

Still, I can close my eyes, and revisit the little house that sat on the farm. I can see Little Indian running outback. The horses munching grass in the fields.

I can smell the water as it rushed by when it was up, or barely moved when it was calm. I can hear the kids squealing and laughing as they splashed in the water.

I can hear Grandpa as he sat and talked to me. He was the first adult to talk to me like I was an adult, and not a child. How grown up he made me feel! He told me things I will never forget! And there are even more that I have forgotten with time. And he was taken all too soon, for me to ask the questions that I would love to ask him now!

I can see Uncle Charles sitting on the riverbank fishing. He taught me to bait a fish hook. And he called me "Baby Doll".

Uncle Paul's teasing sounds with laughter in my ears! "What do ya mean ya can't find the elbow grease? I know there's a can sittin' on the back of the sink!"

And Aunt Marion.... oh my! That summer she realized I had one true nemesis. SPIDERS!!! She was as scared of them as I was. But to tease me, she would pick up grand daddy long legs and chase me with them! Heaven knows, she had to fight her own fear just to pick one up! But evidently she felt it was worth it to face her own fear just to tease me and see me running screaming across the yard like a mad person!

And Grandma. She was so proud that summer of her flowers and her rock garden! I always wanted to emulate her in that way. Unfortunately I never got the knack from her! But I guess I picked up on some of her talent. She had a way of taking the most ugly of little rundown cabins or shacks, and turning them into the cutest little place to live! All with elbow grease and paint, and just using what she already had. I've done the same thing. Many times in my life now! And may have to yet again one day! And I learned to use my crochet hook. Unfortunately, I need a pattern to make a creation. "Granny" could look at a picture, or even freestyle, and come up with the cutest of creations! She was indeed a talented little woman!

Yep, I do believe that summer, that 4th of July, was one of my most memorable. And my most favorite! Thanks Randy, for prompting me to remember that wonderful time!