Discovery

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adventure, Ancestry.com, Arkansas, Daviess County, discovery, Dunklin County, genealogy, information, journey, Malden, Missouri, Nebraska, obituary, Taylor, US Census, West Virginia

At times, on a journey, you come across something unexpected, a discovery that lends a bit of excitement to your adventure.  When Bill and I were last in Michigan several years ago, we visited Mackinac Island, a place I hadn’t been to since I was a kid.  When I had been there with my family all those years ago, we had ridden bicycles around the perimeter of the island.  Bill and I walked some of the paths farther in, and saw many wonderful wooded landscapes, and , a fort that I had never seen before.

Flags being raised at Fort Mackinac

Fort Mackinac was a well-known fort, and we got there early enough to see these Girl Scouts raise the flags that day.  The fort we discovered though was not nearly as well fortified.

Bill in the doorway into Fort George/Fort Holmes

The fort was not much more than raised dirt walls, but according to the sign nearby it “was the bulwark of British defenses in 1814 when the American attack was repulsed.”  I could see why.  It was at the highest point on the island, and looked straight down on Fort Mackinac.

Looking down from our newly discovered fort, we could see the flags that we had watched the scouts raise a few hours before.

Not all discoveries come in the form of forts or buildings though.  With genealogy, discovery often takes the form of documents; various records and photographs.

One such genealogical discovery I made was in the documents my father had sent me.  One in particular I called “genealogy gold”.  It was the obituary of my paternal great-grandfather, William H. Taylor.

William Henry Taylor Obituary

OLD RESIDENT OF THE CITY BURIED LAST FRIDAY

William H. Taylor, age 75 years, 3 months, and five days, who died March 15th, at his home here, was buried in Park Cemetry last Friday afternoon, following religious services which were conducted at the Methodist Church by the Pastor, the Rev. W. J. Velvick.

Mr. Taylor was born on Nov. 1o, 1857 in Upshur County, West Virginia, the son of John and Eliza Taylor. He moved with his family to Nebraska in 1884 and for nine years resided in that state. In 1893, he moved to Gallatin, Mo., where he made his home for sixteen years, moving from there to Arkansas, where he lived for three years. In 1913, he moved with his family to Malden and opened a furniture store having operated that business up until he was stricken with paralysi two years age. Mr. Taylor suffered his first paralytic stroke while serving on the election in1931, and had been unable to continue his business after that time.

He was married on March 15, 1883 to miss Georgia Chrisman and to this union nine children were born, three of these having preceded their father in death. Mr. Taylor is surviced by his wife and six children, these being: Roy Taylor of Carbondale, Ill.; Mrs. Dell Lukeheart, Ceadar grove, Iowa; Mrs. Ethel Littell, Mounds, Ill.; Mrs. Maud Hester of Malden;Mrs. Hazel Nobel of Parma; and Ralph Taylor of Flint, Michigan.

On the date of his death, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, having been married for fifty years.

(handwritten) 2 of the songs (Some Day We’ll Know, Abide With Me)

 Wow!  I was blown away!  Basically this one document confirmed every bit of census data that I had already found, and filled in a few details as well.  Within about a year of marrying my great-grandmother, they had moved to Nebraska, where census data showed that five of their children were born:  Millard Dee (1885), Roy Oscar (1887), Boyd (1888), Lucy Dell (1891), and Ethel (1892). In 1893, the family moved to Gallatin, Missouri in Daviess County and lived there for sixteen years, enough time for three other children to be born:  Anna Maud (1894), Hazel (1896), and Floyd Ralph, my grandfather (1900).

My Grandfather and His Family

Now looking at the fact that 9 children were born and only 8 were living, I knew that child number nine could have been born in West Virginia prior to the first move, in Nebraska, in Missouri, or possibly somewhere along the road.  My best guesses were that, barring the possibility of a twin, it would be a child older than Millard, a child born in the gap between Boyd and Lucy Dell, or in the gap between Hazel and my grandfather.

They would live there until about 1909, when they moved to Arkansas, just in time to be there for the 1910 census.

Now there was no question; my family had indeed lived in Arkansas!

With the information from the obituary, I was now able to figure out which of the children were still living and which had died.  Ethel, Maud, Hazel and my grandfather were still living with their parents.  Roy and Dell were listed in the obituary.  Therefore, Millard and Boyd had died.  I was able to confirm this. I found a picture of their grave marker at findagrave.com.  Boyd died in 1905; Millard in 1907.  They were buried in Gallatin, Missouri.

Finally, my great-grandparents didn’t stay in Arkansas long; they moved to Malden in 1913, which is where they lived out their lives.  My great-grandfather ran a furniture store until he had a stroke in 1931 when he was serving on the election, and he died in 1933 on the day of his golden wedding anniversary.  It seems like the Ides of March was both a good and a bad day in his life.

I am not sure why this obituary was typed rather than a newspaper clipping like the one I was given for my great-grandmother.  Perhaps the copy was in a very deteriorated condition, and the person who typed it wanted to retain the information, even if it wasn’t in its original form.  Perhaps they copied it from a clipping that belonged to another member of the family.  This likely was done before the age of the Xerox machine.  It could have also been typed by one member of the family and mailed to another farther away.

The one piece of information that is on this typed copy though is one that you would not find in the newspaper.  That is the handwritten note that indicates two of the songs played or sung at the funeral.  Whoever wrote that down was either at the funeral or had spoken to someone who had been in attendance.

It’s always great to discover a new piece of information.  It’s greater still when a piece of information confirms the data you have.

The Long and Winding Road

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adventure, Ancestry.com, Arkansas, Dunklin County, Flint, genealogy, investigation, journey, Malden, Michigan, Missouri, path, road, Sevier County, Taylor, US Census, Virginia, West Virginia

When I decided to trace my great-grandfather’s journey from West Virginia to Malden, Missouri, I never realized what a long and winding road his path would take!  Malden was his family’s final destination, but by no means was it their only one.

I had already found a 1930 US Census that showed my grandparents had already moved to my home town of Flint, Michigan.  As my grandfather was their youngest child, it was likely all the children were married or out of the house.  Once I found the 1930 census, it confirmed my suspicions:

Portion of the 1930 US Census showing my great-grandparents.

My great-grandparents were living by themselves.  I knew where my grandfather was at this time.  Where were all of his siblings?

I did learn a few things from this survey.  My great-grandparents owned a home, valued at $1,500 (not bad considering that this was after the start of the Great Depression).  While you cannot see it from this except, my great-grandfather was not working, nor had he ever been a veteran.  There was a discrepancy between the 1900 US Census and this one:  back in 1900, my great-grandmother had been listed as being born in West Virginia like her husband, William Henry.  However, on this census, she was listed as being born in Virginia!  Which one was correct?

I decided to keep working backwards, and found them again in 1920 in Malden, Missouri, this time with one child still at home.

1920 and one child left in the house: my grandfather!

Georgia didn’t seem to know which side of the state line she was born on.  This time, not only is she born in West Virginia, but so are her parents!  In 1930, they, like her, had crossed over the border to be born in Virginia.

As I continued research on this and other parts of my family tree, I  would learn over and over again that records can contain inaccurate and sometimes misleading information.  I also began to distinguish between primary source data, and secondary source data.

The US Census contains a mixture of both.  It is a primary source for where a person resided on the date that the census occurred.  Much of the other data though is a secondary data source.  Ages and birth year and month, places of birth, and places of parent’s birth are second-hand information on these records.  Other records (like a birth certificate) would be a primary data source that could confirm the information on the census.

For now though, I would continue one more decade back and fill in the last gap.  With the information on the 1910 US Census, I would be able to see the movements of my ancestors over a 40-year span.

So:

• 1930 – Malden, Missouri
• 1920 – Malden, Missouri
• 1910 – ?
• 1900 – Daviess County, Missouri

My working theories were:

1. The family would still be in Daviess County.
2. The family would be somewhere in Missouri between Daviess County and Dunklin County, where Malden is.
3. Since some of the children had been born in Nebraska prior to 1900, the family might have moved back there for a time between the two locations in Missouri.
4. The family would have already moved to Malden.

It’s nice to have theories, but of course it is the facts that will show where their path had really taken them.  And, once again, the path led to a place I didn’t expect.

In 1910, my family lived in...Arkansas?

Here’s a copy of the 1900 Census too:

My Grandfather and His Family

It didn’t faze me in the least that in 1900 my grandfather was listed as Floyd R. and in 1910 was listed as Ralfa.  Ralph was his middle name, and Ralfa I am sure, was a misspelling on the part of some well-meaning census worker.  The M in Anna M. stood for Maud, so again, they had been easy to match up.  Of course, Hazel and Ethel were pretty obvious matches.

What of the other children?  Well, I knew from 1900 that my great-grandmother had nine children and eight were living.  I noticed in 1910, the number of living children had dropped to six.  Two of my grandfather’s siblings had died.  We knew for sure the four children listed on the 1910 Census were alive.  The four not on this census were Millard D., Oscar R., Boyd, and Lucy D..  Which two had lived, and which two had died?

I wondered what had brought my great-grandparents to Arkansas.  You could almost draw a line straight down from Daviess County to Sevier County.  What had sparked their southern migration?  And why, within 10 years, had they returned to Missouri, this time settling in the southeast corner of the state?

It was certainly a long and winding road I had discovered on my great-grandparents’ journey to the West.  From the information I had gathered so far, they had left West Virginia some time prior to 1885 (the approximate year their oldest known child was born in Nebraska).  They stayed in Nebraska long enough to have at least five children.  From there, the family traveled to Daviess County, Missouri, which is likely where my grandfather was born (and possibly at least two other siblings as well).  The unknown 9th child could have been born in any of these locations.  All we know for now is that as of 1900, the child no longer was alive.

By 1910, the family had lost two more of its children, and gained one new family member, a mother-in-law (which means this would be my great-great-grandmother).  The name is listed as what appears to be Luveza Olaker (Ancestry.com listed the name as Luvcza Olaker, but I think my interpretation of the handwriting is closer to the truth).  Two of the children had also moved on to their own paths in life.  The family had also moved south and slightly west to Sevier County, Arkansas, a county just to the east of the Oklahoma border, and not too far away from the northeast border of Texas.

Ten short years later, the family returned to Missouri, this time residing in Dunklin County in the town of Malden.  The 1920 Census only shows my grandfather residing in the home with his parents.  There is not information given on this Census to indicate whether there are fewer living children now; we only know that by 1920, my grandfather’s remaining siblings had left their parents’ home.  In 1920, I also learned that my great-grandfather was running a furniture store, and my grandfather was listed as being in sales (was he working for his father?).

By 1930, my grandfather had already moved out on his own and was working on raising a family of his own in Flint, Michigan.  His parents, still residing in Malden, were no longer working.  They lived in a house they owned.

I had exhausted this path for the moment, and so I turned to yet another detour.  However, a surprising piece of information would soon come my way that would confirm much of the research I had just done.

 

Adventuring Allies

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adventure, Ancestry.com, descendant tree, Elder, genealogy, information, journey, Malden, McCombs, Missouri, Schreckengast, Taylor

On Ancestry.com, they make it easy to connect with others that are researching similar interests.  There are forums available to ask questions about family members you are trying to investigate.  When a hint appears for a family member that links to another person’s family tree, you can choose to contact that person directly.  At times, this person can become an ally in your journey, offering guidance, and in my case, a few new stories to add to your tree. One such ally I found in my early journey has the screen name Kaderquin.  Kaderquin’s tree came up as a hint for me because of a possible tie-in with my great-grandfather, William H. Taylor. My first note to Kaderquin:

Hi! I’m pretty new to all this, but a leaf attracted me here because my great-grandfather (William H Taylor) appears to be connected to it. I guess I would like to know how I can confirm it’s the same person, and where do I go from here?

Thanks for any help you can give in advance! 🙂

The advice I received was simple, but very helpful:

Good question! You have to compare what you know about your great-grandfather with the information on the “leaf” record. There are probably dozens of William H. Taylors. When was your great-grandfather born? Where did he live? Names of wife/wives, parents, children?

It’s always best to work from the known back…..list all you know, and find out all you can, about your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins….and expand from there.

Good luck on your research. I can’t help you…the William H. Taylor on my Daniel line is there because his son Roy married a third cousin of my grandmother…..or so I think based on current research.

So, I found out quickly that Kaderquin and I had no real family ties, although our lines may have crossed briefly because one of my grand-uncles possibly married her grandmother’s distant cousin.  When I was able to share information about my great-grandfather’s family after some additional research, Kaderquin helped me in locating death certificates for both of my paternal great grandparents. In looking at Kaderquin’s tree, I also discovered she was working on a type of tree I had never seen before:  a descendant tree.  With a descendant tree, instead of starting with yourself and working back, you start with a particular relative and work forward.  I haven’t tried this with my side of the family tree yet since I’m not that far back, but with my husband’s side of the tree, we have started working forward from one of his distant great grandfather’s on his mother’s side, the first known person with the last name of Schreckengast.

About the same time that I had found Kaderquin to be a helpful ally in my journey, I  also located Mary, who turned out to be not only an asset and an ally, but also a somewhat distant relation!  I also discovered Mary through Ancestry.com.  She happened to be researching two names that I knew from my family history:  McCombs (my paternal grandmother’s family name), and Elder (a family name that I knew was somehow related, but I had never understood the connection).  Mary helped me join up the two names with the following facts:

• Mary Emma Brazal (Mary’s grandmother), and Georgia Almeda Brazal (my great-grandmother) were sisters.
• Georgia Almeda (Meda for short) married Joseph McCombs, my great-grandfather (who was always called “Poppa” by the family).  They had four daughters, one of which was my grandmother.  Meda died in 1911.
• Mary Emma married Michael Elder.  They had two sons.  Michael died in 1914.
• Some time after this, Joseph McCombs married Mary Emma Brazal Elder.  This meant that the children from their previous marriages were not only cousins, but also step brothers and sisters!

I had always heard my Aunt Jeanette refer to Poppa’s second wife as “Aunt Emma”.  Up until learning this, I had always thought that she had called her that because she had not wanted to call her “Mom”.  It turns out Aunt Emma really was her aunt!

Mary was gracious enough to share with me some of the family pictures she had.  One of them came with a story I had never heard before:

— Mary’s Comment: “I don’t remember the man’s name but Jeanette was engaged to him and she stood him up on the wedding day left him standing at the alter [sic], a year later they got back together and on their new wedding day he left her standing at the alter [sic].”

 

Kaderquin and Mary were the first allies I found on this journey, but by no means are they the last.  Adventuring allies can assist you, give you advice, and sometimes, they will surprise you with a bit of family history you never knew.

First Step

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adventure, Ancestry.com, Daviess County, genealogy, journey, Malden, Missouri, mystery, Taylor, Who Do You Think You Are?

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)

I had a myriad of choices available to me on what my first step into researching my family tree would be.  Sources are available in many places.  Libraries have many genealogical resources available, especially on the local level.  There are many resources available on the Internet.  There are historical and genealogical societies in abundance.  States have archives available for those tracing their roots, though what items are available readily can vary widely from state to state.

Since I live far away from where my grandparents grew up in Malden, Missouri, I decided that it might be best to start my search online.  Poring over local history resources I felt, would be better once I knew more about my family.  I knew that with genealogical societies, there would likely be a membership fee involved, and I decided again, that would be something that could wait.

About the time I was getting ready to start my search, my husband and I had been watching the NBC show “Who Do You Think You Are?” on Hulu.  I knew that they did much of their searching online through Ancestry.com, and it was there I decided to take my first step into online research.  I knew that I could sign up for a 14-day trial for free, and after that I could do a subscription if I chose.

So, starting with myself, I started entering the information I had gathered.  My first step was inputting all the names, dates, and places that I had gathered together.  It didn’t take long, and it didn’t take long to Ancestry.com to show me a potential next step to take.

Ancestry.com has a little green leaf appear next to a name that has a “hint” to look into.  A hint could lead you to a historical document, or it could lead you to the family tree of someone else that might be researching the same people you are.

One of the first hints I got led me to the 1900 US Census, where I found this record of my grandfather and his family:

Excerpt from the 1900 US Census

What was strange to me at the time was the fact that while the family was in Missouri, they weren’t anywhere near Malden!  This census was from Daviess County, which is more to the north and west of the state; Malden is nearer to the southeast corner of Missouri.

Yet, the names of my grandfather and the aunts and uncles my father had told me were correct, and my father had said that there were eight children in all.  One thing caught my eye though.  In this particular census, they had asked a question about how many children a woman had given birth to, and how many living children she had.  My great-grandmother had eight living children, but she had given birth to nine!  What had happened to this ninth child?  It looked like my adventure now had given me a mystery to solve.

In this census, I also found I had new destinations on my journey.  While Missouri was where my grandfather Floyd R. was born, it was not where some of his siblings were born, and neither of his parents were born there.  Five of my grandfather’s siblings were born in Nebraska, and my great grandparents were both born in West Virginia.  Their parents were born in Virginia and West Virginia.

And what of the mystery ninth child?  Was he/she born in Missouri, Nebraska, or even West Virginia?  Could the child perhaps have been born somewhere in between these places as my great grandparents traveled west?  More hints awaited me, and more steps would be taken on this genealogical journey of mine.

Road Maps and Guides

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adventure, Bunny, genealogy, guide, information, journey, Malden, Missouri

When I plan a journey, I don’t just head out the door and hope for the best.  I do a bit of homework first.  If I’m travelling by car, I might open up a road map and trace out my route.  If I know people who live in the area, or friends that have visited my destination previously, I may ask their opinion on places to go or things to see.  For a place I cannot ask about from those I know, I may turn to the Internet or the local library for additional information.  In arriving at a destination, I might even ask a local or two to suggest a good restaurant, or a place to see.  Guidance and advice can often lead to interesting finds on the journey.

My journey in genealogy started off with some homework as well.  The road map that I consulted was my own knowledge of my family tree.  I knew both my parents’ full names and dates of birth.  On my father’s side, I knew both his parents’ names, as well as his mother’s maiden name.  I knew the name of the city they had both come from (Malden, Missouri).  On my paternal grandmother’s side, I knew her parents’ first names, but I did not know the maiden name of my great-grandmother.  I had no clue about my grandfather’s parents at all.

As to the uncle about whose children I was trying to find more information, the only guide I could consult was my father, and at the beginning of my journey, there was not much guidance he gave.  He knew his brother’s full name; he could even rattle off his military ID number by heart.  But, when I asked what I thought would be a simple question (“When was he born?”)  I got this response:  “I don’t know.”

Other questions turned out to have similar frustrating conclusions.  While he knew the names of the children, he knew none of their birth dates.  The name of my aunt from this previous marriage (at least what they called her) was Bunny; was that her real name?  He didn’t know.  While he thought my aunt and uncle met (and possibly married) in Texas, he couldn’t be sure, and since my uncle had been in the military while they were married, they moved around.  He knew of one or two locations, but as to when they had been in each, again, I met with the dead-end that is “I don’t know.”

On my mother’s side of the family (which I also decided to look into), I had a better road map.  I had been given a copy of research someone in the family had already compiled.  It contained birth and death information, names, some locations, and on some, even the cause of death.  Once again, the information stopped pretty much with my great grandparents, but at least I had both of my maternal great grandmothers’ maiden names; one better than I had on my father’s side.  I did some similar queries with my aunts, but their knowledge stopped at about the same place as the printed family tree.

So, I had consulted the maps of my family tree, and I had asked for guidance from my family.  I was now ready to embark upon my genealogical journey, and let the adventure truly begin!