Category: Standard Post

Black Sheep Sunday: The Prisoner Partellos

Posted on by spuddled

For today’s Black Sheep Sunday post, I’m going to take a look at two Partello relatives, father and son, who shared the dubious distinction of being enumerated in census records while incarcerated. For those who don’t know (or who have forgotten), my sister-in-law Cheryl is also my ninth cousin once removed. This means these Partello prisoners are even more closely related to Cheryl than they are to me.

First up we have Alvey Adee Partello, my sixth cousin four times removed (and Cheryl’s second cousin three times removed). Born 9 May 1880 in South Dakota, he was the son of Col. Joseph McDowell Trimble and Annie Virginia (Noonan) Partello1. Alvey appeared in the 1880 census in Fort Abraham, Dakota Territory, as an unnamed infant one month old.2

By 1900 Alvey’s father was stationed at Guantanamo Bay,3 and his mother was living at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, along with Alvey and his younger brother Melville.4 On 24 June 1907 in Spokane, Washington, Alvey married Mabel Maude Finch. Their marriage record notes that Alvey was at that time a doctor.5 This fact is corroborated by the Directory of Deceased American Physicians, which notes that he went to the Ohio Medical University in Columbus, acquiring his degree in 1903, and that he worked as an allopath,6 i.e., a regular doctor.

Two years later, on 18 July 1909, Mabel gave birth to their son Richard Alvey Partello in King County, Washington.7 Richard’s birth record indicates that Alvey was now working as a bookkeeper, which seems like a strange career path. This does not appear to have been Alvey’s only strange choice, however. In 1910, in Milton, Snohomish County, Washington, Alvey was enumerated in the Washington State Reformatory. Listed as “A. A. Partello,” 25 years old (he was really 30), his occupation was listed as salesman.8 While her husband was imprisoned, Mabel was living with her widowed mother, her siblings, and her son Robert.9 The Washington State Archives’ digital records provided the most amazing mug shot of Alvey, Prisoner 138. It notes that he was convicted of grand larceny, sentenced on 8 October 1909 and received at the reformatory on 12 October, but eventually received a full pardon on 14 July 1911.10 An article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides the additional detail that the larceny consisted of stealing a valise from a woman who was purchasing a train ticket, to which Alvey pleaded guilty.11

After his release from prison, Alvey worked as a freight agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was thus employed in 1920, when he was enumerated in Portland, Oregon, along with Mabel, Richard, new daughter Dorothy, and Mabel’s mother Mary.12 Alvey would not live long enough to appear in another census. On 2 October 1929 Alvey died in Los Angeles.13 Six months later Mabel, Richard, and Dorothy were enumerated in San Jose. Richard was employed as a salesman at an oil station.14 In 1940 Mabel and Dorothy were living in Tres Pinos, California. Mabel, then 54, was working as a public schoolteacher.15

Meanwhile, what about Richard? His own life seems to have been somewhat hectic. On 11 May 1939 in Harris County, Texas, Richard married Alice Gorden.16 But sometime between then and October 1940, Richard acquired a new wife, known only as “Sally” from the records I have found. In Richard’s draft records from that month, he is described as being employed at the Hollywood Shoe Store on 13th and H Streets NE in Washington, DC.17 Then in February 1942 in Washington, DC, Richard married Sadie Alice Jones.18 At least I think he did. Alternatively, could Alice Gorden and “Sally” and Sadie Alice Jones all be the same person? I am very confused.

Next in Richard’s life was his stint in the military. He became a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army and served between 20 October 1943 and 13 October 1945.19 After his military career ended, Richard had his own brush with the law. On 7 April 1949 he was sentenced for the false drawing of a bank check, and he was sent to the Men’s Penitentiary in Fort Madison, Iowa.20 He was still there a year later when he was enumerated in the 1950 census. There he was simply listed as 40 years old and an inmate.21 Like his father, Richard’s escapade landed him his own appearance in newsprint. The Iowa City Press-Citizen22 describes how he was arrested for passing “three bogus checks,” and how he was using the alias Richard A. Palmer, while pretending to be a doctor. Maybe an allopath?

After his release, Richard seems to have made his way back west once more. In Santa Clara County, California, on 21 April 1957, he married Helen F. Stray.23 Their marriage would not last long, however, as on 26 August 1960, still in Santa Clara County, Richard died.24 He was buried four days later at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno. He was 51. His mother would live an additional 10 years, dying in San Jose on 10 February 1971. She is buried in San Jose’s Los Gatos Memorial Park.

  1. Ancestry, Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004, 4564. ↩︎
  2. FamilyHistory Search and/or www.ancestry.com, 1880 Census, Fort Abraham Lincoln, Burleigh, Dakota Territory; Page 2, Sup Dakota, Enum 81. ↩︎
  3. 1900 Census, Guantanamo, Cuba; Company H, Regiment Fifth, Infantry, Sheet 13A. ↩︎
  4. 1900 Census, Fort Sheridan, Lake, Illinois; Sheet 1B. ↩︎
  5. Ancestry, Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004, 4564. ↩︎
  6. Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929 [database on-line]. ↩︎
  7. Ancestry.com, Washington Births, 1907-1920, 2133. ↩︎
  8. 1910 Census (n.p: 1910, n.d), Milton, Snohomish, Washington; Sup 1, Enum 300, Sheet 5A. ↩︎
  9. Year: 1910; Census Place: Spokane Ward 1, Spokane, Washington; Roll: T624_1670; Page: 6b; Enumeration District: 0156; FHL microfilm: 1375683 ↩︎
  10. https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Collections/TitleInfo/815 ↩︎
  11. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10 October 1909, pg. 22 ↩︎
  12. 1920 Census, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon; Sup 3, Enum 71, Sheet 6A. ↩︎
  13. Ancestry, California, Death Index, 1905-1939. ↩︎
  14. 1930 Census, San Jose, Santa Clara, California; Enum 43-76, Sup 10, Sheet 11A. ↩︎
  15. Ancestry.com, 1940 Census, Tres Pinos, San Benito, California; SD 8, ED 35 & 13, Sheet 7A. ↩︎
  16. FamilySearch, “Texas, Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965/Records, 1837-2015,” marriage index, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 May 2025), 43394. ↩︎
  17. Ancestry.com, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, 656. ↩︎
  18. Clerk of the Superior Court Records Office, Washington D.C., “District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953,” marriage index, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61404 : accessed 29 May 2025), FHL Roll 002293623. ↩︎
  19. www.ancestry.com, U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775-2019 (n.p: 2019, n.d). ↩︎
  20. Iowa State Historical Society, “Iowa, U.S., Consecutive Registers of Convicts, 1867-1970,” convict registers, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60384/ : accessed 29 May 2025), Richard Partello. ↩︎
  21. 1950 U.S. Census, , Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa, enumeration district (ED) 56-41, 25, Iowa State Prison, Richard A. Partello; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/ : accessed 29 May 2025). ↩︎
  22. Iowa City Press-Citizen, 30 March 1949, pg. 14 ↩︎
  23. Ancestry, California, Marriage Index, 1949-1959. ↩︎
  24. www.ancestry.com, California Death Index, 1940-1997 (n.p: 2000, n.d), SSN 437100574. ↩︎

Photo Highlight: Léone Hoffmann

Posted on by spuddled

Today’s photo highlight comes courtesy of our cousin, Daniel Hoffmann, who emailed me a whole packet of amazing photos and documents a number of years ago. This photo was one of them. Daniel’s ancestral line is through Jean Nicolas Hoffmann, older brother of our immigrant ancestor Jacob. Jean Nicolas would have been Daniel’s great-grandfather, and he would have been the grandfather of today’s subject.1

Léone Henriette Hoffmann (my second cousin twice removed) was born 25 October 1899 in Marne, France. She was the daughter of August Ludgard and Hortense Emilie (Thierson) Hoffmann. Léone had a younger sister, Madeleine Alberte, who was born 13 July 1902 in Marne. Sadly, their mother Hortense died on New Year’s Day 1903, and baby Madeleine died 6 weeks later.

In Paris on 13 August 1903 Auguste remarried. His second wife was Amélie Augustine Coquibus. She was 23 years old and from Brésilley, France. Auguste and Amélie had four children: Roger Albert, Hélène Augustine, Maurice Auguste, and Louis Jean (Daniel’s father). Léone, at some point, worked as a sténo-dactylo which, Google tells me, is a profession incorporating shorthand and typing.2

On 2 June 1921 in Paris, Léone married Maurice Georges Bertrand. She was 21, and he was 23. His occupation is listed as “mécanicien.” Apparently I need to learn to dig a little further into French records, because the only other details I have on Léone and Maurice concern their deaths. She died 18 March 1967 in Dammarie-lès-Lys, and he died 22 February 1968 in Orangis.

I find it interesting that ten years after Jacob Hoffmann’s grandniece Lèone was born in Marne, his granddaughter Leona Mae was born in Fairbury, Illinois. And in this old photo of Aunt Leona (she’s on the right), even their dresses look similar.

  1. Information concerning our cousins in France courtesy of Daniel Hoffmann: Daniel Hoffmann, Daniel Hoffmann Geneanet Tree. http://gw0.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=danielhoffmann&lang=en&m=N&v=Hoffmann ↩︎
  2. https://www.google.com/search?q=St%C3%A9no+Dactylo&oq=St%C3%A9no+Dactylo&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABgKGBYYHjIICAIQABgWGB4yCAgDEAAYFhgeMggIBBAAGBYYHjIICAUQABgWGB4yCAgGEAAYFhgeMggIBxAAGBYYHjIICAgQABgWGB4yCAgJEAAYFhge0gEHNDUwajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8 ↩︎

Document Detail: Death Certificate of Philippe Schmidt

Posted on by spuddled

In today’s blog post we’ll be examining one document in detail. Today’s highlighted document is the death record of my 3G-grandfather, Philippe Schmidt. Philippe was born on 26 July 1817 in Butten, Alsace, France, and appears to have spent his entire life there. This small community has a population of 640 and is about 19 miles from the French-German border.1

Philippe’s parents were Philippe and Anna Catharina (Bauer) Schmidt, and he had at least three siblings: Christine, Catherine, and Margaretha. On 18 July 1845 (again in Butten), Philippe (today’s subject, not his father) married Marguérithe Kurtz. She had been born in Butten on 4 August 1820.

Philippe and Marguérithe had four children, all born in Butten: Christian, born 23 January 1847; Christine, our 2G-grandmother, born 26 March 1851; Philipp, born 19 February 1858; and Andreas, born 8 March 1863.2

The 1851 Butten census shows Philippe and Marguérithe, son “Chretien” and daughter Christine (aged 5 weeks), living with the senior Philippe and Catherine, as well as Philippe, Jr’s sister Marguerith.3 Five years later Philippe and Marguérithe, Christian and Christine were living with Marguérithe’s parents, André and Marguérithe (Bauer) Kurz.4 So many repeating names….

Only one month after the birth of Philippe and Marguérithe’s youngest child, on 3 April 1864, Philippe died in Butten. His civil death record appears in the 1525-1912 Bas-Rhin Parish and Civil Registration files and confirms some of the information we have regarding Philippe.5

Noted on the left (under the designation of this as record No. 10), is Philippe’s name (though here spelled as Philippe “Schmitt”), and the fact that he died on 3 April 1864. As an aside, ChatGPT doesn’t seem to be very good at either French or at palaeography, as it transcribed what is clearly “3 avril 1864” as “18 août 1864.” It also tells me that Philippe’s mother’s maiden name is “clearly Bonnet.” As I’ve already mentioned, her name was Bauer.

So here is what I think it really says:

Commune of Butten, Arrondissement of Saverne

The fourth of April 1864 at nine o’clock in the morning, the death certificate of Schmitt Philippe, aged forty-six, died at Butten the third of April 1864 at two o’clock in the afternoon, farmer by profession, born at Butten, department of Bas-Rhin, living at Butten, spouse of Kurtz Marguérithe, living at Butten. Legitimate son of the late Philippe Schmitt, farmer by profession, living at Butten and of the late Catherine Bauer, living at Butten.

On the declaration made to us by Bernard [unsure of surname], aged 72 years, [illegible occupation], living at Butten, who said he was the neighbor of the deceased, and by [maybe Sauer?] Pierre, aged twenty-nine years, weaver by profession, living at Butten, who said he was the neighbor of the deceased, and after the record was read, they signed.

I wish the document listed Philippe’s cause of death, but that was apparently not part of the official death record of 1864. His widow would outlive him by more than 30 years, dying in Butten on 18 December 1895. By that time her son Christian had married Sophie Stock and had 11 children; daughter Christine had married my 2G-grandfather Jacob Hoffmann in Renaucourt France and then emigrated with him to Illinois (they would have seven children in addition to the 11 Jacob had with his first wife); son Philipp married Elizabeth Bauer and had another Philipp who, sadly, lived less than a month; and son Andreas had married Carolina Stenger before dying in Ratzwiller, Alsace, at the age of 35.

The list of all these Butten relatives has me wondering – what percentage of the 640 residents are our cousins? Field trip, anyone?

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butten ↩︎
  2. Barbara Crawford Schmidt, Descendants of Philipp Schmidt (n.p: July 31, 2000, n.d). ↩︎
  3. 1851 census of France, Butten, Alsace, 5, Schmidt, 20, Schmidt Households; digital images, Conseil Departemental Bas-Rhin, Archives Departmentales du Bas-Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/detail-document/REC-POP-C72-R1121#visio/page:REC-POP-C72-R1121-5730 : accessed 4 June 2021). ↩︎
  4. 1856 census of France, Butten, Alsace, 10, Kurtz, 23; Schmitt, 24, Andre’ Kurtz and Philippe Schmitt; digital images, Conseil Departemental Bas-Rhin, Archives Departmentales du Bas-Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/detail-document/REC-POP-C72-R1122#visio/page:REC-POP-C72-R1122-5771 : accessed 4 June 2021). ↩︎
  5. “France, Bas-Rhin, Parish and Civil Registration, 1525-1912”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FYX-6ZLK : Tue Mar 05 02:31:55 UTC 2024), Entry for Philippe Schmitt and Philippe Schmitt, 4 Apr 1864. ↩︎

B Is for…Bronchitis

Posted on by spuddled

Rather than examining one relative or incident in great detail, today’s blog post is going to take a look across the entire family tree for those individuals who share one specific characteristic — namely, bronchitis as a cause of death.

First, the medical details:

“Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the airways that carry air to your lungs. Symptoms include a persistent cough, mucus production, chest discomfort, and fatigue. Acute cases are usually viral and clear up on their own, while chronic bronchitis is a long-term, recurring condition often caused by smoking.”1

And now, the victims:

My 4G-grandmother, Caroline Caryl (the same one whose headstone I stumbled across with miraculous ease), was born in 1807, probably on 13 August, and either in New York state2 or in Chester, Vermont.3 I have yet to identify her parents. She married Loring Taylor, and they had six children, including my 3G-grandmother Lucy Bridges Taylor, who married Charles Wilson. All the children were born in New York State, and Loring died there (in Russell, St. Lawrence County) in 1865.4 By 1870 Caroline was living with her son Orric and his family in Buchanan County, Iowa.5 On 4 December 1887, Caroline died in West Union, Fayette County, Iowa. While the primary cause of death was a paralytic stroke, the immediate cause was “capillary bronchitis of 10 days duration.”6

Ada Davis, born 18 August 1855 in Champaign County, Ohio, was my first cousin five times removed. Her parents were Ananiah and Phebe (Sutton) Davis.7 On 28 October 1875 she married Jesse Irvin Maxson, and they had five children: Ernest Hayward, Walter Wilbur, Harry Howard, Willie Irvin, and Joseph Orva.8 Ada died of chronic bronchitis, with congestion of the lungs as a contributing factor, on 1 October 1910 in Clark County, Ohio. She was 55.9

Next we have Ada’s third cousin once removed (and my fourth cousin four times removed), Cloyd Clifton Davis. Not sure where his parents came up with the name Cloyd (though his is not the only instance in the family tree). They were Richard Washington and Minerva Sarah (Smith) Davis. Cloyd was born 2 February 1883 in Jackson Center, Ohio.10 In 1906 he married Marge M. (surname unknown). He died 23 March 1941 in Sturgis, Michigan, of lobar pneumonia, from which he had suffered for 20 hours, with long-term bronchitis as a contributing factor.11

Clarence Buford Kanatzar, born 5 November 1899 in Sturgeon, Missouri, to George Miller and Mary Jane “Mollie” (Riley) Kanatzar, was my fifth cousin twice removed. On 21 April 1920, in Independence, Missouri (famous as the jumping-off place for the Oregon and other trails), he married another Molly, this one Molly Lou Spene.12 On 7 April 1936 in Sturgeon, Clarence died of what the old newspapers often called “a complication of diseases.” In this case, general tuberculosis, bronchitis, auricular fibrillation, and edema of the lungs.13 He was only 36.

I was going to highlight all our relatives who shared this cause of death, but…there are too many. So here is a brief listing of the remainder:

Next time I’ll choose something less common.

  1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/3993-bronchitis ↩︎
  2. FamilyHistory Search and/or www.ancestry.com, 1880 Census. ↩︎
  3. State Historical Society of Iowa, “Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1880-1972/1880-1968,” death records, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61442/ : accessed 8 November 2025), 815. ↩︎
  4. Portrait and Biographical Album of Fayette County, Iowa: Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County (n.p: Lake City Publishing Company, 1891). ↩︎
  5. 1870 Census. ↩︎
  6. State Historical Society of Iowa, “Iowa, U.S., Death Records, 1880-1972/1880-1968,” death records, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61442/ : accessed 8 November 2025), 815. ↩︎
  7. Ohio, Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953, , Ada Maxson, 1 October 1910; online images, FamilySearch.org (www.familysearch.org : online 11 April 2018). ↩︎
  8. www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com. ↩︎
  9. Ohio, Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953, , Ada Maxson, 1 October 1910; online images, FamilySearch.org (www.familysearch.org : online 11 April 2018). ↩︎
  10. www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com, Memorial ID 152838958. ↩︎
  11. Ibid. ↩︎
  12. Missouri State Archives, “Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002,” marriage record images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 31 October 2019), Clarence B. Kanatzar. ↩︎
  13. Missouri, Web: Missouri, Death Certificates, 1910-1969, 14082, Clarence Buford Kanatzar, 7 April 1936; online scanned images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : online 30 October 2019). ↩︎

Newspaper Tales: Emma Slagel Hoffmann in Print

Posted on by spuddled

Even though at times genealogical discoveries can seem to be full of the morbid or gloomy, it’s important to remember that our ancestors spent a lot of time living their regular lives. Old newspapers can provide a treasure trove of information about some of these happier incidents and give us a more holistic view of our ancestors’ lives.

This week I’m going to look for everyday, non-gloomy newspaper appearances of my great-grandmother, Emma (Slagel) Hoffmann. She would certainly have more than enough sadness that made it into newsprint as well (see Railroad Crossings for one example). Having said that, though this first incident didn’t result in any permanent injuries, it must have been frightening when it happened.

As the Fairbury (Illinois) Blade of 11 November 1921 tells us, Emma, two of her children, and her mother were riding in a Klondyke buggy pulled by a single horse. They were at a crossroads and saw the car of Emil Keller approaching. He had the right-of-way but the driver of the buggy (never technically identified in the article) felt they could make it across before he reached them. Apparently they were wrong, and the car struck the back of the buggy, which became disconnected from the shafts and overturned. Everyone in the buggy was “bruised and cut by flying glass,” and “the older child” received a bad cut on the forehead. A doctor treated the group, and all were reported to be “getting along all right.”1 One thing this article does not do is identify which of Emma’s two children were with her. Obviously it could not have been Clyde or Ralph, who had not yet been born. But there are still so many other options: Uncle Paul would have been 1; Sam, 4; Alice, 7; Lee, 9; Leona, 11; Joe (aka Grandpa), 14; Martha, 16; and Marie, 18. Though I’m not sure the Blade would have referred to Aunt Marie, anyway, as a “child.” Has anyone ever heard this story before and knows who was involved?

I seem to be disproving my own theory about peaceful everyday events abounding in the newspaper, as this next article I came across also involves horses and injuries, though it took place nearly 20 years before the previous incident. Again the story comes to us from The Fairbury Blade. This time Emma was sitting on the back seat of a wagon when the driver (definitely not Emma this time) got out to “hook up a tug” when the horses started to run. “The two Misses Slagel” were “thrown violently to the ground.” They were also treated by a doctor and were recovering.2 Again, I’m slightly baffled by the article, as I have no idea who the second Miss Slagel would have been. Emma was the only Miss Slagel in her family, having only brothers. Could it have been a cousin?

Emma herself would not be “Miss Slagel” much longer, as two months after the buggy incident she would marry my great-grandfather, Paul Hoffmann. An article noting that the couple had obtained a marriage license appeared in the 5 December 1902 Daily Leader of Pontiac, Illinois.3 They were married two days later.

And then there were all the visits; newspapers of the time seem to have spent a lot of their real estate noting visitors coming and going. These are just a few examples:

  • 2 January 1942: Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hoffman of Boise (my grandparents) came for a visit to both Grandma’s parents and the now-widowed Emma4
  • 4 July 1947: Emma, along with granddaughters Phyllis and Marlene, headed west for a visit of several months with family and friends in Caldwell, Idaho, and Portland, Oregon5
  • 9 July 1948: Mrs. Joseph Hoffman and children (this was Grandma and, presumably, Mom, Uncle Jay, and Aunt Paula), arrived for a visit of several weeks, again with both Grandma’s parents and with Emma6
  • 26 June 1952: Mrs. A. A. Himelick (Emma’s daughter Alice) and sons, Paul and Jimmy, were spending a few weeks with Emma, visiting from Kokomo, Indiana7
  • 1 January 1953: The Himelick family was back, spending the holidays with Emma8

This does not include other happy mentions in the newspaper regarding weddings (though I suppose the marriage license is wedding-adjacent) and babies, which I didn’t include here, as births, weddings, and deaths are the bread and butter of genealogy. Today I was focused on the icing on the cake.

  1. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 11 November 1921, pg. 1 ↩︎
  2. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 24 October 1902, pg. 8 ↩︎
  3. The Daily Leader [Pontiac, Illinois], 5 December 1902, pg. 2 ↩︎
  4. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 2 January 1942, pg. 5 ↩︎
  5. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 4 July 1947, pg. 5 ↩︎
  6. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 9 July 1948, pg. 5 ↩︎
  7. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 26 June 1952, pg. 5 ↩︎
  8. The Fairbury [Illinois] Blade, 1 January 1953, pg. 5 ↩︎

Sibling Sunday: The Short Life of John B. Swing

Posted on by spuddled

For today’s Sibling Sunday, I’m taking a look at the life of my second great-granduncle, John B. Swing. John was the brother of my great-great-grandfather, Albert Carl Swing, Sr., and the son of my 3G-grandparents, Karl and Saloma (Bollinger) Swing/Schwing, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Germany and Switzerland, respectively.

John was born between 1850 and 1851 in Akron, Ohio, the eldest of five children. Other siblings were Charles, who lived from 1854-1857; Henry Edward, who married Emma Slegel (to whom we are also related); Albert Carl, Jr., who married Catherine Marie Hoffmann (my great-grandparents); and Joseph Gilbert Swing, who married Catherine’s sister (Lydia) and half-sister (Eugenie), as well as an unrelated first wife.

The Swing family was enumerated in the 1860 census in Akron, appearing as “Charles,” a tailor, 46; “Solima” (I think), 36; John, 9; Henry, 3; and Albert, 1; as well as 20-year-old Elizabeth, a Swiss native whose last name looks like Raison? Raiom? Raioni? I give up.1 In 1870 the family is still in Akron; “Charles” is still listed as a tailor, and John, now 19, is working as a potter. His younger siblings, now including 8-year-old Joseph, are all attending school. Charles’s real estate property is valued at $2000, or about $50,000 today.2

Sometime between 1870 and 1880, most of the Swing family moved from Akron to Livingston County, Illinois, settling in Chatsworth. “Charles” and “Lalla,” along with sons Henry, Albert, and Joseph, were enumerated in Chatsworth on 11 June 1880.3 By 11 June, however, eldest son John had been dead for 34 days. From the Summit County, Ohio death records we learn that 29-year-old John Swing died 8 May 1880,4 and from the Federal Mortality Schedule of 1880 we learn that his cause of death was lung fever.5 Lung fever was an older term that may have referred to pneumonia.6 Less clear is why the death record indicates he died in Akron, but the mortality schedule indicates he died in Chatsworth.

I have yet to find where John is buried, but his father, who outlived him by only three months, is buried outside Fairbury, Illinois. I’ve seen that grave, as well as that of Saloma, who is buried in Fairbury’s Graceland Cemetery. She outlived her husband and son by twenty years, dying in 1900. Albert Carl, Jr., survived until 1922; Henry Edward to 1944; and Joseph Gilbert to 1948.

  1. The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Akron, Summit, Ohio; Roll: M653_1039; Page: 288; Family History Library Film: 805039 ↩︎
  2. Year: 1870; Census Place: Akron Ward 2, Summit, Ohio; Roll: M593_1270; Page: 66B ↩︎
  3. Year: 1880; Census Place: Chatsworth, Livingston, Illinois; Roll: 226; Page: 372c; Enumeration District: 122 ↩︎
  4. Summit County Court of Common Pleas – Probate Division; Summit County, Ohio, Death Records 1866-1908 ↩︎
  5. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Non-population Census Schedules for Illinois, 1850-1880; Archive Collection: T1133; Archive Roll Number: 63; Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Chatsworth, Livingston, Illinois; Page: 1 ↩︎
  6. https://www.thornber.net/medicine/html/medgloss.html ↩︎

Church Record Sunday: Cornelius Davis and Matilda Furrow

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I’ve chosen to define “church record” loosely for today’s post. The marriage record in question comes to us in actuality from a county courthouse in Ohio, but the officiant at the wedding was a clergyman. So that’s good enough for me.

Today we are looking at the marriage of my 4G-grandparents, Cornelius Davis and Matilda Furrow. From their marriage record we learn that they were united in marriage on 7 September 1837 in Clark County, Ohio, by Lewis A. Davis, “a Minister of the Gospel.” I suspect Lewis was some relation, but I have yet to determine exactly which one. They had obtained their marriage license the day before the wedding, and the marriage record further states that both parties were of age.1

Cornelius was, in fact, 29 years old, having been born 23 April 1808 to Joseph S. and Hannah (Sutton) Davis in what would later become West Virginia. He was married first to Rachel Loofboro in 1829, and they had two children, Louisa Jane and Stephen. Stephen died in infancy, and Rachel died sometime between Stephen’s birth and Cornelius’s second marriage, though I don’t know exactly when.2

Matilda Furrow was born between 1817 and 1818 in Miami County, Ohio. Her parents were John and Mary (Simpkins) Furrow, who were originally from Montgomery County, Virginia. She and Cornelius would have eight children: Lewis H., born November 1838; John H. (my 3G-grandfather), born 4 April 1840 (exactly 102 years before Dad and exactly 134 years before me); Lucinda, born 5 May 1842; Hannah Ann, born 23 March 1844; Charles C., born 23 June 1846; Rebecca, born 25 August 1848; Francis Marion, born 28 October 1850; and Ananiah, born 7 March 1852. Ananiah only lived to the age of five, but the remaining 7 children survived at least to adulthood.

Cornelius was enumerated in Jackson, Shelby County, Ohio, in 1850, and in Washington, Harrison County, Missouri, from 1860-1880, but Matilda appears in only the first of these census records. From The Sabbath Recorder (the newsletter of the Seventh Day Baptist Church) of 29 March 1855, we learn that Matilda had died on 19 February of that year in West Union, Iowa. Her cause of death was consumption.3

In another instance of “genealogy is a never-ending pursuit,” I should add here that until about five minutes ago, I was prepared to wrap up Matilda’s life by saying she died sometime between 1850 and 1856 since in the latter year Cornelius appears in the Iowa State Census, listed as a widower. I didn’t know exactly when Matilda died, and I assumed it was somewhere in Ohio. And instead I stumbled across the Sabbath Recorder file which provided the real story. The final detail regarding Matilda’s place of death is made even more interesting in that I’ve actually been to West Union, Iowa, on a genealogical field trip. Of course, I was not looking for Matilda there, since I had no idea that’s where she died. Instead I was looking for her…let’s see…her great-grandson’s great-grandmother, Caroline (Caryl) Taylor. And I managed to just stroll right up to Caroline’s headstone without any searching. As I said in another post about this visit, it was definitely genealogical serendipity.

  1. Ancestry.com. Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. ↩︎
  2. www.ancestry.com, Family Data Collection. ↩︎
  3. https://sabbathrecorderscan.s3.amazonaws.com/SR+Vol+11+(1854-55)/Sabbath+Recorder_1855_11_42.pdf ↩︎

Sympathy Sunday: Dolores (Guymon) Montgomery

Posted on by spuddled

Today’s story takes a few twists and turns and is one I uncovered recently while working on the never-ending “Census Project.” At the center is my fifth cousin twice removed, Dolores R. Guymon. Usually I would include a link pointing back to Dolores in the database portion of this website, but since I only just identified Dolores while working my way through census and other records, she’s not in my online database yet. So instead I’ll link to her mother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Slatten) Guymon. Eventually a branch will be added there for Dolores. Anyway…

Dolores was born 10 September 1906 in Missouri. She was one of four children, one being the Bedonna I wrote about in an earlier post. In 1910 “Delores” and her family were enumerated in Sherman, Missouri1, and in 1920 “Deloris” and family were in Bethany, Missouri.2 On 28 July 1926, at her parents’ home “on South Twelfth Street,” Dolores, then 19, married George William Montgomery, 27.3 To my knowledge, George is not related to “our” Montgomery line, but you never know, especially since my Montgomery branch is something of a brick wall.

I love the detail you can sometimes find in old newspaper articles. Before we jump ahead to the sympathy part(s) of this story, a few tidbits about Dolores’s life in 1926, courtesy of contemporary Missouri newspapers. We learn, first of all, that she was a student at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, had been in the college’s glee club, and in January 1926 was made a member of the college sextette, a mark of vocal distinction.4 Interestingly, Google tells me that Stephens College, founded in 1833, is the second-oldest institution that continues to function as a women’s college. Umm, it is also billed as the pet-friendliest campus “on the planet”!!5 In March of that year, Dolores played the part of widow Sadie Jordon in the Stephens College production of “Icebound.”6 Dolores’s hometown paper, the Bethany Clipper, noted in April that she had spent the Easter holidays in Bethany with her family before returning to college in Columbia. The article further noted her involvement in Stephens College athletics, both as an assistant instructor in tennis and as part of a basketball tournament.7 In May, Dolores was an attendee at a formal banquet held by the Kappa Delta Phi sorority at the Daniel Boone Tavern.8

More details concerning Dolores’s athletic prowess appeared in the Bethany Clipper in June. An article titled “Local Girls Honored At Stephens College” notes that “two of Bethany’s champion tennis players” had been separated for a year but reunited to win another championship at Stephens College as part of the commencement week activities. One of the two was Dolores; the other was yet another Bedonna; after noting in an earlier post that the name sounded so unusual, there seem to be Bedonnas everywhere suddenly. This one was Bedonna Lingle; the two girls won the girls’ doubles championship at Stephens. The article goes on to describe how Dolores was one of only 10 girls (of 600) awarded a Stephens sweater. She was also voted “the most perfect girl in health of body in the entire college.”9 She graduated during that commencement week, even though she was only 19. Did she start really young? Graduate in only one year? I don’t know.

Later in the summer Dolores won a prize for having the highest score at a bridge party10, then participated in a scavenger hunt (hosted by our friend Bedonna Lingle). Prizes were awarded to the winning scavengers: a sunburst pin for the winning lady, and “cigarets” with a leather holder for the winning man. After the hunt, the group dined on “nut sandwiches, bean salad, pickles and grape juice” before going swimming until 2 a.m.! One of the other attendees was none other than Dolores’s future husband, George Montgomery.11

Two weeks later the Clipper told of the announcement of Dolores and George’s engagement. The festivities began as a bridge party hosted by Dolores’s parents, but later when ice cream and cake were served, nasturtiums were passed to each guest which contained hidden hearts with the wedding date noted on them.12 An article then appeared on 4 August which described the wedding that had taken place. Only the immediate families were present as Dolores and George exchanged vows beneath an arch surrounded by red roses beneath a white wedding bell. George’s sister Opal was maid of honor, Dolores’s brother Victor was best man, and Dolores’s sister Bedonna played the wedding march. After a wedding “dinner” (the 1:00 p.m. kind), George and Dolores left for their six-week honeymoon to California. Dolores wore a suit and hat of “reindeer brown.”13

After an eventful 1926, Dolores and George apparently settled down to married life. In 1930 they were enumerated in Cypress Township, Harrison County, Missouri. George is listed as 30 years old and a farmer; “Delores” is 23 and not employed outside the home. They do not have any children. The census also tells us (one of the more random questions asked on any of the censuses) that the couple had a radio set in their home.14 Perhaps Dolores liked to sing along.

Four years later George’s sister Opal (the aforementioned maid of honor at their wedding) married Wesley F. Gillman. She was 26 and her husband was 33.15 A week prior to her wedding, Opal was the guest of honor at an entertainment during which “guests showered Miss Montgomery with beautiful and useful kitchen utensils.” Thankfully the newspaper article about this event clarifies that the gifts were in fact not thrown at Opal but were delivered to the bride in a toy wagon pulled by children dressed as tiny brides. From the article we also learn that Opal was an English teacher at the local high school.16

But now for the sympathy. A little less than two years after her wedding, on Leap Day 1936, Opal gave birth to a daughter, Margaret Louise, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. On the following day, 1 March, Opal died. Her death certificate provides additional details: baby Margaret was in a breech position, complicating delivery. Fifteen hours after Margaret’s birth, Opal died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism.17 Wesley Gillman, Opal’s widow, would live until 1977, but perhaps he felt he couldn’t adequately care for a baby girl. Whatever the reason, the Bethany Republican-Clipper tells us what happened next, some 10 days after Opal’s death18:

In 1940 the family was enumerated in Cypress Township; oddly, Margaret is still listed with the Gillman surname and is described as George’s niece rather than his adopted daughter. Also in the household is a son, George T. Montgomery, a year younger than his adopted sister.19 By 1950 Margaret is still listed as George’s niece, but she is now named as Margaret L. Montgomery.20 More sympathy is in order for the family, as three years later George and Dolores’s son, George Thomas “Thomas” Montgomery, would be killed in a car accident on Highway 69, succumbing to head and chest injuries.21 An article about the accident describes how Tommy crashed head-on into a loaded tractor-trailer at 1:30 a.m. on 23 July 1953, one mile from his home. He had been out with friends that evening, and one of his friends encouraged him to stay overnight due to the late hour, but Tommy did not want to disturb his father by calling home to relay the change of plans. Those on the scene of the accident were positive he had fallen asleep behind the wheel of the 1953 Ford he had received for his 16th birthday. The article notes that he was survived, among others, by “a sister Miss Margaret Montgomery.”22

George, Sr., would survive his son by 10 years, dying in Bethany, Missouri, in December 1963. He was 64.23 Dolores died on Valentine’s Day 1977 at the age of 70. Both are buried in Bethany’s Miriam Cemetery.24 As for Margaret, her own wedding took place just a few weeks after Tommy’s death. She married Glenn A. Mason on 16 August 1953; both were 17. They would have three children: Tom, Peggy, and Michael, and would be married for over 65 years. Margaret died 19 March 2020, and Glenn on 28 September 2021.25

  1. 1910 Census (n.p: 1910, n.d), Sherman, Harrison, Missouri; Sup 3, Enum 109, Sheet 4A. ↩︎
  2. 1920 Census, Bethany, Harrison, Missouri; Sup 3, Enum 98, Sheet 15A. ↩︎
  3. Ancestry.com, “Miss Dolores Guymon to Be Married at 12 O’clock Today,” wedding, , 28 July 1926, Bethany [Missouri] Clipper; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : online 30 May 2026). ↩︎
  4. “Makes College Sextette,” Bethany [Missouri] Clipper, 20 January 1926, pg. 7 ↩︎
  5. https://stephens.edu/ ↩︎
  6. “‘Icebound’ to be Given by Stephens College,” Columbia [Missouri] Missourian, 17 March 1926, pg. 4 ↩︎
  7. “The Clipper Listener,” Bethany [Missouri] Clipper, 7 April 1926, pg. 7 ↩︎
  8. “Stephens Sorority Has Formal Banquet,” Columbia [Missouri] Missourian, 10 May 1926, pg. 3 ↩︎
  9. “Local Girls Honored At Stephens College,” Bethany [Missouri] Clipper, 2 June 1926, pg. 6 ↩︎
  10. Bethany [Missouri] Clipper, 23 June 1926, pg. 7 ↩︎
  11. “Seventeen Find New Thrill For Youths,” Bethany [Missouri] Clipper, 7 July 1926, pg. 4 ↩︎
  12. “Dolores Guymon Honored at Announcement Party,” Bethany [Missouri] Clipper, 21 July 1926, pg. 6 ↩︎
  13. “A Quiet Home Wedding,” Bethany [Missouri] Republican-Clipper, 4 August 1926, pg. 5 ↩︎
  14. 1930 Census, Cypress, Harrson, Missouri; Enum 41-10, Sup 2, Sheet 5A. ↩︎
  15. www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com, Memorial ID 21139813. ↩︎
  16. “Shower for Bride,” Tri-County News [King City, Missouri], 18 May 1934, pg. 6 ↩︎
  17. Missouri Office of the Secretary of State; Jefferson City, MO, USA; Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 ↩︎
  18. Bethany [Missouri] Republican-Clipper, 11 March 1936, pg. 1 ↩︎
  19. Ancestry.com, 1940 Census, Cypress, Harrison, Missouri; SD 3, ED 41-11, Sheet 6A. ↩︎
  20. 1950 U.S. Census, , Cypress, Harrison, Missouri, enumeration district (ED) 41-15, 3, dwell. 26, George W. Montgomery; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/ : accessed 30 May 2026). ↩︎
  21. Missouri Office of the Secretary of State; Jefferson City, MO, USA; Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969 ↩︎
  22. “Tragic, Sad Death of Tommy Montgomery,” Harrison County [Missouri] Times, 30 July 1953, pg. 1 ↩︎
  23. Missouri, Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1971, 63-047778, George Montgomery, 31 December 1963; online images, State of Missouri, Missouri Digital Heritage (https://s1.sos.mo.gov : online 31 May 2026). ↩︎
  24. Missouri Office of the Secretary of State, “Missouri, U.S., Death Records, 1968-2015,” death records, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62145/ : accessed 31 May 2026), Dolores R. Montgomery. ↩︎
  25. www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com, Memorial ID 21139813. ↩︎

Ahnentafel Number: Agnette Evensdatter (Lien) Roberg, #23

Posted on by spuddled

This is the 23rd Sunday of the year, so today’s Ahnentafel Number entry will take a closer look at the life of my great-great-grandmother, Agnette Evensdatter (Lien) Roberg, who is #23 in my ahnentafel chart. Information about Agnette has appeared in a few posts over the years, so some of this may be a refresher, but I’ll see if I can bring out any new tidbits of information.

“Agnette” is the Norwegian variation of “Agnes,” which explains where Grandma Montgomery acquired her middle name. Agnette was born 30 November 1844 in Biri, Oppland, Norway to Even Olsen and Karen Larsdatter (Onsrud) Lien. She was baptized 26 December. Of note is that her name in her baptismal record is spelled “Agnethe.”1 Biri is located in southeastern Norway, about 100 miles north of Oslo.

In the 1865 Norwegian census, the household residing on the Lien farm in Biri consisted of:

  • Even Ols[en], 68
  • Karen Larsd[atter], 57
  • Kari Evensd[atter], 25
  • Stener Evens[en], 13
  • Anthon Christian Arents[en], 2

Anthon, listed as “her son” rather than “their son,” appears to have been the son of Kari so would have been Agnette’s nephew. Agnette herself was no longer residing at home but was in the municipality of Østre Toten. Living in the household of Gustav and Petronelle Raabe, she was listed as a tjenestepige, or servant. While the family members are all listed as having been born in Østre Toten, 2 of the three servants were listed as being born in Biri. The second of these was Oline Evensdatter, Agnette’s older sister, who had been born in 1837. In addition to Oline, Kari, Agnette, and Stener, Even and Karen appear to have had two more daughters: Lene, born in 1847; and Siri, born in 1850.2

The next record where I’ve located Agnette is from May 1871. This is the baptismal record of her son, listed as Emil Marthinus. He was born 12 January of that year and baptized 7 May. Emil’s father is listed as Marthinus Juliussen Gihle, and Agnette is listed as residing at Brændengen. Marthinus and Agnette were not married.3

Agnette and Emil have proven to be elusive in the 1875 census, but in 1878 the two of them sailed from Norway to America. They sailed on 31 May 1878 from Oslo on the S.S. Angelo, traveling to Winona, Minnesota after their arrival.4 It’s uncertain how they met, but on 3 December 1878 in Rushford, Minnesota, Agnette married Anders Svendsen Roberg, 11 years her junior.5 As David Johnson relates in his article about Anders and Agnette, it is not altogether surprising that the two would decide to marry and start a life together.

The following year Anders, Agnette, and Emil traveled to Nebraska by covered wagon, living in a 12 x 12 dugout with a hay roof and two small windows.6 In 1880 the family was enumerated in Shell Creek, Boone County, Nebraska. The household then consisted (badly spelled by the census-taker) of:

  • Svenson, Andrue, 25
  • Svenson, Aginous, 30
  • Amel Anderson, 10
  • Svenson, Serrene, 4/12

This last household member was Anders and Agnette’s son Severin, born 17 February 1880. The following year, on 5 November 1881, my great-grandmother, Sophie Christine, was born, and on 2 June 1884, daughter Sena followed. By 1900 the family was in Midland, Boone County, Nebraska; the enumerator, though only required to provide the month and year of birth of each household member, went above and beyond, providing the complete birthdate for each individual, though in Agnette’s case, two years were lopped off her age (still less than the 4-5 years lopped off in 1880). We can also see that the family appears to have settled into the use of the Roberg “farm name” rather than the patronymic “Svenson” as their surname. Here Sena is also listed under the nickname Sadie.7 In 1900 Sophie was living with the Knudson family and was no longer at home.

  • Roberg, Andrew, b. 10 October 1855
  • Roberg, Agnethe, b. 30 November 1846
  • Roberg, Severin, b. 17 February 1880
  • Roberg, Sadie, b. 2 June 1884
  • Martin, Emil, b. 12 January 1871

After another 10 years, we find the family still in Midland, and Agnette’s age has slowed down again. Here she is listed (as “Agnes”) as 60 years old to “Andrew’s” 55 years. Both Sophie and Severin are now out of the house. Living with her parents was Sena, now a widow under tragic circumstances, and her two daughters Esther, 4; and Clara, 1.8

Nine years later Agnette would die, passing away on 18 February 1919 in Boone County at the age of 74. Her death certificate does provide the correct birthdate information; it also notes her cause of death as carcinoma of the liver, from which she had suffered for two years. She was buried 20 February 1919 in the beautiful South Branch Cemetery outside Newman Grove, Nebraska.9

Sophie, Anders, Severin, Email, Agnette, and Sena
  1. The National Archives (Hamar); SAH-PREST-096: Biri priest’s office; AV/SAH-PREST-096/H/Ha/Haa/L0005; Church register for Biri; 1843–1854 ↩︎
  2. Norwegian Statistical Centre, Norwegian Archives, Historisk befolkningsregister (https://histreg.no/index.php/omhbr : accessed 14 June 2025), Karen Larsdatter. ↩︎
  3. The National Archives of Norway-Arkivverket; Norway; Church Books 1815-1960; Reference Number: SAH/PREST-104
    ↩︎
  4. Digitalarkivet Sources. ↩︎
  5. State of Minnesota, Marriage License of Anders Roberg and Agnette Lien (n.p: dec 3 1878, n.d). ↩︎
  6. H. Halderson, Attorney, History of the Pioneers (n.p: bet 1897-1943, n.d). ↩︎
  7. 1900 Census. ↩︎
  8. 1910 Census (n.p: 1910, n.d). ↩︎
  9. Nebraska State Department of Health, Death Certificate of Agnette Roberg (n.p: n.p, February 19, 1919). ↩︎

Census Sunday: Or, What in the Heck Does Megan Do All Day?

Posted on by spuddled

I’m just finishing up a week at the Outer Banks, which means I’m feeling lazy, so this week’s Census Sunday blog post will follow that old dictum, “Write what you know.” And what do I know? I know how to spend lots and lots of time “doing genealogy.” But what exactly does that mean? I wish it meant that I made a new and thrilling genealogical discovery (i.e., found a brand new ancestor) every day, or even broke through a brick wall every few weeks (or months). William Montgomery, I’m still looking at you. Instead, what it usually means in my case is working on my never-ending “Census Project.”

And what, pray tell, is the “Census Project”? In basic terms, it means selecting (somewhat arbitrarily) one branch of the family tree and tracing all the descendants of that line from 1850 to the present day, or some approximation thereof. I’m currently working my way through the Sweeney line, and have been for…well, I don’t even know how long. Why 1850, you might ask? The 1850 census was the first to list every individual by name, so it’s much easier to be sure you’re looking at the right family than if, say, you are faced with 38 men named William Montgomery in 1840, and the only identifying feature for each family other than location is how many individuals in the household fell into each age range.

So how is the Sweeney Census Project going after all this time? Well, if you want a hobby that will last the rest of your lifetime, this could be it. I’m working my way through the descendants of Moses and Elizabeth (Johnson) Sweeney, and so far I’m on their second child (of 14). Mary Sweeney was born in 1760 and married Tyre Slatten, and I’ve made my way to their 7th child of 8, James Anderson Slatten, and to his 5th child (of 14 – again with 14), another Tyre Slatten. This Tyre and his wife, Julia Anne Coy, moved from Kentucky to Missouri. They only had 7 children, and I’m to their second, a son named James Lyon Slatten. He and his wife Rosetta (or Rozettie) Bartlett also had 7 children. Their eldest, Elizabeth or Lizzie, married Alva Burton Guymon, and they had four children: Victor Floyd, Deloris, Roscoe, and Bedonna. Bedonna definitely goes on Megan’s List of Unusual Familial Names.

But then what does Megan do? Well, Megan goes onto Ancestry.com mostly, and looks up the family of interest. She finds them in the appropriate census record(s) and adds that location as a census “fact” in RootsMagic (Megan’s genealogy software of choice). Then, because she is a weirdo, Megan transcribes the details of the census entry into RootsMagic, then uses those details to add other facts (birthdates and locations, marriages, occupations, newly-discovered children, etc.) to the RootsMagic database, always citing her sources, because Megan has learned that lesson. Then Ancestry helpfully suggests other possibly-related records which are also examined and added as sources if they are really for the correct family. Often they are, but sometimes not even close.

Okay, I’m done talking in the third person now. I make an effort to find each individual in every 1850-1950 census during which they would have been enumerated. If I can’t find someone where they should be, I’ll just add a to-do task to their record, with the optimistic thought that someday I’ll come back and find all those missing documents. But since most of these are cousins of some stripe rather than more direct ancestors, I’m okay with moving on to the next victim, er, family. It’s the direct family members who can’t be found who are the most frustrating. Because where did they go?? Anyway…

Here’s one of the many census records I transcribed this week, the 1900 census record for Tyre and Julia Slatten’s family in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas. I do love those precise birth months/years in the 1900 census, rather than the ages in other censuses. Also the number of years married, and the number of surviving children out of how many children born detail. Tyre and Julia were in Bethany, Harrison County, Missouri, from 1860-1880, then Sulphur Springs from 1900-1910, though both Tyre and Julia were buried in Bethany upon their deaths in 1913 and 1919 respectively.1

So that’s what I’m usually working on, genealogically speaking. Though I will go on occasional side quests, like tracing all of one particular family’s memorials on the Find-a-Grave website, or randomly deciding to research someone else’s family tree on a whim. And sometimes there are side quests to the side quests, like reorganizing my library and updating my book-tracking software with purchase price and location, cover price, and reading dates for all 5679 books. And sometimes I spend time at the Outer Banks.

  1. Year: 1900; Census Place: Sulphur Springs, Benton, Arkansas; Roll: 51; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 0020 ↩︎