Workday Wednesday-Withem Grocery

Currently a vacuum repair store this used to be Withem Grocery in Ashdown, Arkansas.  My Uncle Ernie Withem owned and ran it for years.  I recall on our family trips  to Ashdown to visit my fathers family during the 70's and 80's we would sometimes stop by the store.  The building is much smaller than I remember and is missing the fuel pumps that used to be out in front.

Thanks to Google maps.

Wordless Wednesday-Happy Hollow, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Theron Webb (behind the bar) Roxie Anna (Hughes) Webb (standing on the left) Anne E. (Reynolds) Webb (last on the right)

Theron Webb and Anne E. (Reynolds)

May have just discovered where these photographs were taken.  Searching Saline County, Arkansas I came across some pictures from an amusement park called Happy Hollow.  There are several similar pictures, though mine look like they were taken at a later date.

Mystery Monday - A year in Oklahoma

I'm finishing up the NGS Home Study Course and am getting information together to write an ancestor biography.  I have decided to write it on my gr gr grandfather Zephaniah Webb (1826-1906). 

While I don't have a lot of information on him I probably have more than on most other ancestors I could do this assignment on. 

I had assumed that once he moved to Arkansas with his father around 1858, he stayed there until he died. 

In the 1880 census, he is living with his wife Clementine and four children:

     Elizabell (Elizabeth) age 14

     Huston N. age 13

     Mary A. age 10

     Charley J. age 5

In the 1900 census, he is living with his son Charley J. and his family.  His other son Huston is also living in the household.

According to a letter written by a cousin, Zephaniah moved with Charley J. and his family to "...Oklahoma about 1898...where they made only one crop and then returned to Pope County." 

I have not found any other reference to this move to Oklahoma.  I did search the Reconstructed 1890 census : taken from personal property tax rolls recorded by school district, range and township, Pope County, Arkansas / copied by Genealogical Records Committee, Persis Lovely Chapter, DAR and did not find any CJ or ZT Webb’s listed. 

My next step is to try to find some Oklahoma property records around that time period.  Hopefully they did own the land they farmed otherwise this may be one of those mysteries that remains unsolved.

Military Monday-Soldiers Claim Agency letter

One interesting letter found among the files my father gave me a while back is this one from the Soldiers Claim Agency.  This is a reply to my great grandfather Dennis McFadden who as far as I know is my only ancestor to fight on the union side in the Civil War. 

So far, I have not had any luck tracking down information about this agency and whether their files still exist or where they might be stored.  I would really like to have my g grandfathers original letter and any followup correspondence that may have occurred. 

I do have his record from the Civil War Pension Index but unfortunately the NARA did not have it in their files.  They did say in their response that it should be in their collection and that they would try to acquire it sometime in the future.  They referred my request to the Veterans Administration who have then forwarded it to a couple of different VA offices.  I'm still waiting to hear if they have been able to located the records. 

Letter transcription:

Dennis McFadden

Roscoe, PA

Comrade:

Your welcome letter rec’d.

Fortunately I found your discharge and enclose it to you.  Will you please acknowledge receipt.             

I am indeed glad to hear from you and shall enrol (sic) you name on our Regt. Register and will send you notice of our future meetings and shall hope to see you present.

Capt. Murphy is dead long since. Lt. Oldson was last heard from at Downs, Kansas. Lt. Dan Firestone was last heard from at Salem Columbiana Co. Ohio.

Write me when you want to know anything about 1^st Ohio Artillery. 

Had (?) you better let me get you a pension?

I can do it if anybody can.  I have been 30 years learning how (to do?) such work.

With a Comrades love

H.C. Miller

99 (or more) genealogy things

I'm hoping to do more than just post pictures on my blog, so I thought I'd do this meme that has been floating around in several variations. 

A meme is going around Geneabloggers' circles about 99 (or more) genealogy things you've done, not done or have no desire to do. It's been making the rounds the last few days so I figured it would be a good time to jump in. This version came from Valerie Elkins at Family Cherished which I got from Tonias Roots Tonia's Roots

Rules are simple:

The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)

Things you have not done or found /don’t care to – (or that I know hasn’t happened in my family).

99 Genealogy Things

1. Belong to a genealogical society   plan to join more as I get more into it
2. Joined a group on Genealogy Wise.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded headstone pictures to Find-A-Grave or a similar site
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference. attended my first one in July and plan on attending more
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference. I'd like to at some point
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society/local library’s family history group.  often
12. Joined the National Genealogical Society.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.  Not yet, but that is one of my goals.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society. Not yet but probably will
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery. does getting lost in the cemetery count? 
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants. Most likely to ask if I can take pictures of the outside.
19. Cold called a distant relative. if email counts then yes
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name (and those of ancestors – it turns up great info sometimes) found a few helpful items when I first started
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it. Not yet
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research. Not yet but hopefully will at some point.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research. Sam as above.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items.  Working on organizing and labeling old photographs that were my grandmother's.
33. Performed a record lookup.
34. Took a genealogy seminar cruise. I would like to sometime soon.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space. Sealy or Celie or Celia or Celaea etc. [Autrey] Sample.  That's the only explanation.
36. Found a disturbing family secret. Not yet but I hope to.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret (but not all of the secrets).  When I find one, Sure.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking). That's my wifes bailiwick.
39. Think genealogy is a passion and/or obsession not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person.
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure. I've only began seriously doing genealogy and have just started digitizing things.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology. Not overwhelmed but pleased.  It makes it so much easier than when I first looked into genealogy.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.  I really don't know any of my cousins other than occasional emails.
45. Disproved a family myth through research. Looking forward to it.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records. My Android phone takes much better pictures of photos and documents than my digital camera did.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. Haven't needed to yet.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record. Trying but no luck so far.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.  Yup
51. Used microforms. Yes, at least once a week.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  Another thing on my to do list.
53. Used Google+ for genealogy.  I've tried to join for the last few weeks but keep getting  the message "We've temporarily exceeded our capacity. Please try again soon."
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy. At least once a month.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.  It's been a while, not sure I can remember.
61. Have found many relevant and unexpected articles on the Internet to “put flesh on the bones”.  Not really, but maybe something will turn up some day.
62. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Have access to it at work, but will probably buy one some day.
63. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.  Quite often.
64. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC. When I was in DC a couple of years ago I wanted to but wasn't able to fit it in.  Besides it was before I got into doing genealogy seriously.
65. Have an ancestor who came to America as an indentured servant. That's one of the stories I've heard but haven't verified.
66. Have an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or Civil War. Yes (both sides), haven't found one, and yes (several)
67. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
68. Can “read” a church record in Latin.
69. Have an ancestor who changed his/her name, just enough to be confusing.  Not aware of anyone yet.
70. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
71. Created a family website.
72. Have a genealogy blog.
73. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone. Does my grandmother's box of photos and letters count.
74. Have broken through at least one brick wall. Nope, and I seem to be finding more.
75. Done genealogy research at a court house.
76. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center
77. Found an ancestor in an online newspaper archive.
78. Have visited a NARA branch. The Southwest Region in Fort Worth.  I really didn't have anything specific I was looking for at the time but stopped by just to check it out.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.
79. Have an ancestor who served in WWI or WWII. Several who were registered for WWI but as far as I know no one served.
80. Use maps in my genealogy research.
81. Have a blacksheep ancestor.
82. Found a bigamist amongst my ancestors.
83. Attended a genealogical institute.
84. Taken online genealogy (and local history) courses.
85. Consistently (document) and cite my sources.  Now I do.
86. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors.
87. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.  Mostly
88. Have an ancestor who was married four times. I believe there are one or two that have.
89. Made a rubbing of an ancestor’s gravestone.  Nope, cell phone camera is my preferred method.
90. Followed genealogists on Twitter. Don't have an account, may one of these days.
91. Published a family history book. One of my goals.
92. Learned of a death of a fairly close family relative through research.
93. Offended a family member with my research.  Haven't come across any good dirt yet.
94. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
95. Have a paid subscription to a genealogy database.  Have access to many through work so am able to save my money for other things.
96. Submitted articles for FamilySearch Wiki.
97. Organized a family reunion.
98. Used Archives in countries where my ancestors originated.
99. Converted someone new to the love of all things genealogy. I believe so.

Wordless Wednesday



From the left: Ida Lee ( friend of Maude), Maude Renfro, Grace Bailey (married a Gentry), James Herbert Renfro (standing in back), Dena Renfro (paternal grandmother), Mary Elizabeth Bailey Renfro (g grandmother), and John Stephen Renfro (g grandfather).

Workday Wednesday- Clyde Webb at work

A few weeks ago I was going through some old pictures with my parents and we came across this picture.  I always remember my mother mentioning that her father was a salesman and was often away from home.  I don't ever remember them talking about his pre-salesman life. 

Before his traveling salesman days, he was an electrician.  Here is a picture of him at work.  I have no idea when or where this was taken.  Notation on back says "C. L. at work I did not know he took this one." I don't know who wrote this or who 'he' refers to.

Cool find at my parents house

Visiting my parents this weekend and made a neat discovery. 

A couple of weeks ago I posted this photo from my grandmother Webb's box of pictures.  I have no idea who he was or where or when this was taken.

Looking at some of the pictures my mother has placed around the house I noticed this one.

This is a picture of my grandmother Ruth McFadden.  This was in Pennsylvania, possibly Pittsburgh.  She was born in 1905 so I'm guessing this was taken in the late teens to early 1920's. 

My mother thinks the boy could possible be her younger brother, our uncle Jack, though it could also be a neighbor or friend.

While the mystery is not completely solved yet, it's cool that I seem a little closer, which is what makes genealogy fun.







Wordless Wednesday- Who's baby is this?

Unlabeled photograph found among my grandmother Webb's box of pictures.  The woman appears is several pictures but so far I have not put a name or relationship to her.

Sports Saturday: ready for some baseball

Found this picture in my grandmother Webb's box of memories.   I have no idea who this kid is or where the picture was taken.  I found it in with several of my grandmother's family pictures, but it could easily have been a member or neighbor of my grandfather's as well.  I'm guessing it was taken sometime in the 19 teens. 

Wordless Wednesday-Clyde Webb

One of the oldest photographs I have, probably from before the 1920s.  I believe Clyde is my grandfather, though I'm not sure it is the correct Clyde.  The other person I do not know and don't recognize the name at the bottom.  Also, they are standing in front of a delivery car for Williams Grocery.  In a previous post my grandfather is posing in a later delivery car with another unknown person.

Angelina College Genealogy Conference wrap up

The title of this year’s conference was Family Myths and Realities.  It was held over 3 days July 14-16.  The first day is listed as optional but I really wish I could have made it.  The sessions for Thursday were After the Funeral: Research Within & Without the Cemetery and the second was Statute and Story: Laws and Social History in Family Research.  Next year I will be sure to attend the first day of “optional” meetings.

Friday the 15^th

The first session I attended was by Philip Adderley-Aunt Marshaler, Mosely Wild, & Amelia Weistock: Three Persons or One?  The speaker described the evidence, analyzed it, and tried resolve contradictions then left it to us to determine if the subject was one or three different people. I leaned toward the conclusion that she was likely one person however I wouldn't bet a large sum on it.

The second session was Jerry Woodman’s Your Genealogical Software Should Be More Than A Filing Cabinet.  While I knew most of the things discussed, such as if you use abbreviations for states, be consistent and don’t write out the full name on other pages.  I do have a habit of doing such things and his suggestion to write out list of rules that you can access easily and reminds you what abbreviations and the like you use.

Next was Emily Croom-My Dear Children: Letters, Diaries, and Family Bibles & Other Family Papers.  I attended this one because I just recently received from my parents a box of old letters, pictures and scrapbooks of mostly my maternal grandparents.  Unfortunately, my grandparents were not very diligent when it came to labeling and dating these items.  Still they are fun to go through and I did get some good tips on what to do and not do with them.  One project I’m going to start is to put all the photographs on a cd then have my mother look through them and add any names or places she may remember.  I should also send a copy to my aunt to see if she recalls anything my mother may not.

The final session for Friday was David Appleton-The Heralds Visitations.  This covered a little known English source from the early 16th to 17th centuries.  Heralds would visit each English county in order to regulate the use of arms.  Most counties were visited several times during this period.  Those who were allowed arms had them recorded and this included supporting pedigrees.  Unfortunately, I don’t believe I have English ancestors from this period, but it is nice to know about this source in case I find one or am helping someone else in the future.

We then ate dinner and had a speaker, Philip Adderly-Finding Jim’s Mary, A World War II Sweetheart.  Not only did this cover researching people currently living and the resulting privacy concerns, it also gave a good over view of a thorough search.  Several sources I would not have thought of using were effectively demonstrated.  One example would be to use old fire maps to try to jog someone’s memory while virtually touring the city. 

Saturday the 16^th

Saturday began with Emily Croom talking about Digging for Roots in Dixie.  Even though many southern records over the years have been destroyed for a variety of reasons, one can still find a lot of information out there; you just have to know where to look.

Session two was also with Emily Croom, this time talking about Oft-overlooked Ancestors: The Other Half/The Mother Half. This talk covered tracing multiple generations of female ancestors.  While this talk didn’t cover specific sources to look in it was an informative and enjoyable overview with examples about the type of information one can discover.

After lunch I attended The Internet and Historical Newspaper Research with John Sellers.  This talk inspired me to delve into newspapers for more than just obituaries.  Mr. Sellers covered techniques for searching newspapers and went over some of the online databases that are available. While the search engines for the databases are not always great, if one tries searching “outside the box” you never know what kind of information you may find.

For the final session I stayed for John Sellers Your Ancestors Own Cousin and Their Value to Your Research.  This covered looking into collateral ancestors.  By using timelines and geographical studies, you can often find information on ancestors that you may not have access if you just stay with your direct line.

All of the sessions were very enjoyable and the speakers were very good.  Even when the afternoon/after lunch drowzies struck, I was able to shake it off and hear what they were saying.  When topics were discussed that I felt pretty confident with, I still came away with a few new things or at least was refreshed on things I hadn’t done for a little while.  All in all it was a very productive weekend and I feel it recharged my genealogy batteries so I’m ready to finish a few things that I let sit on the back burner for a bit.

I was disappointed that there was no Wi-Fi access at the college.  Apparently this was also an issue last year but for whatever reason the school decided not to let us have access to there network.  Hopefully next year this issue can be resolved.

Next years conference is on July 19-21 and I do plan on attending.

Angelina College Genealogy Conference

I'm in Lufkin Texas for the 15th annual Angelina College Genealogy Conference.  http://www.angelina.edu/genealogy/genealogy.html

This is my first genealogical conference and I hope to be able to attend more in the future.

The session I am most interested in this weekend deals with tracking female ancestors.  The other sessions I plan on attending are just bonuses.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

My grandfather Clyde Lee Webb (driving) and unknown person.  One of my favorite pictures of him, unfortunately I don't have any other information on this photo. 

Genealogy roadtrip #1

I took my first genealogical road trip over the weekend to the bustling metropolis of Waco Texas.  My main goal was to visit the Oakwood Cemetery where my great great grandmother Dianacy (Dicy) Autrey is buried.  She is next to her daughter Mary Francis Tubbs.  The headstone for the husband of Mary is missing, but according to the cemetery records he is buried next to her.

Dicy A. Autrey

Born

Feb. 24, 1830

Died

Sept. 17, 1925

Mary F. Tubbs

Born

Sept. 21, 1852

Died

July 25, 1925

Francis Marion Tubbs (he would be on the left)

Born

Jan. 20, 1852

Died

June 15, 1940

The cemetery was much larger than I expected and it took a little time to find the headstones in Section A.  Unfortunately, I was there on a Sunday and the office was closed so I couldn't get a more precise location.  However, I'm not one who minds walking through a quiet cemetery on  a breezy morning. 



The second part of my trip was to visit the national archives southwest, http://www.archives.gov/southwest/, in Fort Worth.  It wasn't as productive since I didn't have anything specific that I was looking for when I stopped by.  It was mainly just to see what they had and familiarize myself with it.  While I was able to access the Footnote database, I wasn't able to find anything new. 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to my next genealogical road trip.  Most likely it will be to hit some more cemeteries in Arkansas, specifically, Pope County.

SAR

For work last week, I visited the local Sons of the American Revolution (http://www.sar.org/) to give a brief talk on the library, highlight our services and to get word out that we are here.  It was an enjoyable meeting and there were a lot of very knowledgeable people there.

I mentioned that I had some cousins that were in DAR (http://www.dar.org/) on my fathers side but if I joined I'd like to do it with a possible soldier on my mothers side since as far as I know, no one has done it with that line.  They encouraged me to go ahead and join with what I had and then I could work on any others later.  They also said they were trying to increase their membership and wanted to attract more young members.  It is increasingly rare that I can go to such an event and still be included under the label young.

So even though I'm not much of a 'joiner' I went ahead and submitted the information that I have.  I do think it would be good to join this and other such groups in order to network, especially since I am currently taking the NGS-HSC and hoping to get certified in the not too distant future.

Progress

Today I have been working on the NGS Home Study Course vital records assignment, lesson 6.  I visited the County Clerk's Office in order to survey their marriage records.  All marriage licenses have been digitized and can be accessed on one of several computers in the office for viewing various records. 

Cool, I thought as I sat down and began performing various searches.  I found the database easy to use and was able to quickly find the information I needed. 

I did come across a few pages that were dark and impossible to read.  The scanned image included a helpful notation that said Original Illegible.   Even so, and because I like looking through old books, I wanted to take a look at the original, so I went to the desk to ask if I I could see the original documents.

I was told that once the records are scanned they get rid of the originals.

I guess that is progress.

I can only hope that  before the aliens send a pulse to destroy our computer infrastructure as they begin their invasion that these records are somehow backed up and protected.  

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History #10 Disasters

Week 10: Disasters. Did you experience any natural disasters in your lifetime? Tell us about them. If not, then discuss these events that happened to parents, grandparents or others in your family.

I haven't really lived through any major disasters and I am not aware of any that my parents or grandparents went through either.

 

The closest I came was Hurricane Allen which hit Corpus Christi in 1980. 

 

(picture from Wikipedia)

 

We were on a family vacation at Padre Island and recall hearing news reports about the approaching Hurricane.  The day we left, I recall seeing dark clouds way out on the horizon. 

 

The next close call was when Hurricane Rita was approaching the Galveston/Houston area in 2005.  I was far enough inland that I didn't feel I needed to evacuate, but my parents were a bit concerned so I hopped in the car and joined the mad rush out of Dodge.  In hindsight, I could have stayed home and had a mini b-movie fest.

Lineage societies

I know of several people who have taken up genealogy in order to join one of the many lineage societies such as Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), Sons of the Republic of Texas (SRT) and the like.

I do have some cousins on my father's side who are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and if I wanted to, I could propably use that information to join SAR.  I also probably have enough information on my mothers side to join SAR as well as other similar groups. 

The main reason I haven't really looked joining any of these groups is that I'm not sure how active I would actually be.  I realize that like any other group I can be as active as I want, but it seems to me that the main benefit would just be having a group legitimize my and others work.  Right now my plan is to find and join some active, local genealogical societies rather than lineage groups. I think these type of organizations would be more beneficial for me at this time.

Sounds – 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History

Week 9: Sounds.  Describe any sounds that take you back to your childhood. These could be familiar songs, jingles, children playing, or something entirely different.

The one TV theme song that instantly takes me back would have to be the Looney Tunes theme.  I remember getting home from elementary school and my mom would have a card table set up in front of the TV with popsicles, ice cream sandwiches and the like waiting for us.  When the tune played we'd bop along in our seats while eating our treats.  Eventually, the table disappeared and we'd end up sitting on the floor rocking out to the theme. 

Another sound I remember would be late at night trying to go to sleep and hearing a train way off in the distance.  It was far enough away not to be annoying and I enjoyed listening to the whistle and the clickity clack.  It usually was able to distract me from whatever was going into my mind and help me fall asleep. 

Census

I just competed the fifth lesson in the HGS home study course dealing with census records.  While I didn't really learn anything I hadn't known or heard before about using the census, I did find the checklist very useful.

 No. 12 Charlie J. Webb (1874-1937)

            1880, Arkansas, (named male, 6 yrs, in household of his father Zephaniah Webb)

            1890, Arkansas, (no census for Arkansas due to fire damage to census)

            1900, Pope Co., Arkansas, (Head of household, 25 yrs)

            1910, Pope Co., Arkansas, (Head of household, 35 yrs)

            1920, Pope Co., Arkansas, (Head of household, 45yrs)

            1930, Pope Co., Arkansas, (Head of household, 55 yrs)

No. 13 Roxie Anna Hughes (1876-1961)

            1880, Arkansas, (named female, 4 yrs, in the household of her father)

            1890, Arkansas, (no census for Arkansas due to fire damage to census)

            1900, Arkansas, (named female, 24 yrs, in the household of her father)

            1910, Pope Co., Arkansas, (wife, 34 yrs, in the house of her husband, Charlie Webb)

            1920, Pope Co., Arkansas, (wife, 44 yrs, in the household of her husband, Charlie Webb)

            1930, Pope Co., Arkansas, (wife, 54 yrs, in the household of her husband , Charlie Webb)

14. Dennis C. McFadden (1847-1924)

            1850, Ireland

            1860, Ohio, (named male, 13 yrs, possibly in the household of his  sister, Unk Ferry)

1870, Pennsylvania, (head of household, 23 yrs)

            1880, Pennsylvania, (head of household, 33 yrs)

            1890, (no census for Pennsylvania due to fire damage to census)  

1900, Washington Co., Pennsylvania, (head of household, 53 yrs)

            1910, Washington Co., Pennsylvania, (head of household, 63 yrs)

            1920, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania, (head of household, 73 yrs)

15. Elizabeth Neuland (1866-1949)

            1870, Maryland or Pennsylvania, (named female, 4 yrs, in the household of her father, Lewis Neuland)

            1880, Pennsylvania, (named female, 14 yrs, in the household of her father, Lewis Neuland)

            1890, (no census for Pennsylvania due to fire damage to census)

            1900, Washington Co., Pennsylvania, (wife, 34 yrs, in the household of her husband, Dennis McFadden)

            1910, Washington Co., Pennsylvania, (wife, 44 yrs, in the household of her husband, Dennis McFadden)

            1920, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania, (wife, 54 yrs, in the household of her husband, Dennis McFadden)

            1930, Baltimore, Maryland, (named female, 64 yrs, in the household of her son Cornelius McFadden)

Before when I searched for census records it was more scatter shot and I really didn't have anything planned out.  Using this I think will be very beneficial, time wise. 

I'd also like to create a spreadsheet for this so I can search it and not have to scroll or flip through several pages to find what I am looking for.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Technology

Week 8: Technology. What are some of the technological advances that happened during your childhood? What types of technology to you enjoy using today, and which do you avoid?



Technology has changed quite a bit in my life time.  Some of the major things I recall include:


8 Track tapes.  My first real albums were 8 tracks, though it didn't take to long for cassettes to replace them.


My parents were never the types to buy the newest item, whatever it was.  The one exception was when my father came home with the video game Pong.  When we got it, it was the coolest thing ever.  Later on, when the coolness wore off and our friends were getting Atari's and intellevision's, my parents never upgraded no matter how much we pleaded and whined.  Of course, that may be why I have very little interest in gaming these days.  I think have the personality to have been a serious gamer, but frankly, I'm nerdy enough as it is.


When I attended college far enough away from my parents so I couldn't easily use my dad's typewriter, I bought a word processor.

I had that machine for years until I graduated with a history degree with no clue as to what I wanted to do.  As I worked a few retail jobs and looked into  various options, I bought my first computer, an Apple Mac.  

After that, I had a series of PC's until last month I finally went back to Apple and bought a MacBook.

As for something I avoided, I really can't think of anything.  It did take a while for me to get a cell phone, but now that I have one, I don't think I could go back to a landline.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Week 7-Toys

What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?


For some reason when I saw this weeks item, the first thing that came to mind was Col. Steve Austin, a man barely alive...

I remember watching the Six Million Dollar Man as a kid and wishing that  I could be in a horrible crash and have various body parts replaced with bionics.  Fortunately one year for Christmas, I got the action figure and suddenly being in a disfiguring accident was no longer on the top of my list of things to do.


A little later Maskatron was added and what made him awesome is that you could give him the face of Steve Austin or Oscar Madison, who never did get an action figure if I recall correctly, and do dastardly things until good ol' Steve showed up to put a stop to it.  He would often kidnap my sisters dolls since we never did get the Jamie Somers figure and they'd end up tied to trees and all manner of objects and wait for Steve to come and rescue her.  In hindsight, all Mascatron needed was a cape and black mustache to twirl, but then the disguises wouldn't really have worked.  

I don't believe any of us got the Bigfoot action figure which in hindsight seems like a terrible oversight on my parents part.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Week 6

Week 6: Radio and Television. What was your favorite radio or television show from your childhood? What was the program about and who was in it?

TV: 
Doctor Who-I grew up with the Tom Baker Doctor on PBS.  Then for the longest time, I lost track of him only to be re-introduced in 2005.  Since then, I've been going back and catching up on all the Doctors that I've missed over the years.  I even managed to get my granddaughter interested in it.  She was about 2 when I was watching some early black and white episodes.  One time when she was at home, her parents were watching a black & white movie and she asked, "Doctor Who?"  I realized my work was done.

Star Trek- The original show. I began watching it because I thought Spock was cool and wanted to be him.  Later on, I realized green aliens were hot and wanted to be Captain Kirk.

B-movies- On weekends and afternoons I spent time watching many low budget movies that were often shown on UHF stations from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms to Christopher Lee Dracula  to giant mutated insect movies and the like.  To this day, I'd rather watch an old B movie than many of the newer/current releases.  Unfortunately, I never saw a local horror host show while I was growing up in the DFW area.  I don't know if the market didn't have any or if I just somehow missed it as a kid. 

Radio:

The main show that impacted me was Doctor Demento- He always had good song paradies which many times I preferred over the actual songs they were spoofing.  I remember listening to it late at night on Sunday, probably around 10:00, and my parents fussing at me about going to bed because it was a school night. It was a happy day when I picked up a white single earphone cord so I could quietly listen to Weird Al Yankovic's newest tune.

Madness Monday: Sealy Autrey

My current genealogical nemesis is my great grandmother Sealy (Celia, Celie, Clie) Autrey (1859-1907). 

 According to the Lincoln Parish Louisiana Marriage Records 1873-1901 compiled by Willie Huffman Farley says that Sealy E. Autrey married J. H. Sample on 7 July 1878.  I also have the marriage certificate that verifies this.

The 1880 and 1900 US Census shows that J. H. Sample was married to Celia Sample, who was born about 1860.

Also, on the same page of the 1880 census is listed John Autrey’s family with both Tereanna and Sarah living at home.

However, according to Absalom and Elizabeth Autrey and Their Descendants a Tereanna Autrey, born in 1875 in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, married Joe Sample. It is possible that Sealy is a nickname for Tereanna, but the 15 year gap in birth dates seems suspect.

I have also seen online sources where Teranna Autrey married Joe Samples.  This source also lists a Sarah E. Autrey born in 1859. 

While Tereanna did have a sister named Carrie born in 1860, references I’ve seen indicate that she married a Colvin.

There is also a 10 year old Elizabeth in the household of John and and Dianacy in 1870.  This could be either Sealy , Carrie or someone else. 

I have found sites online that indicate Ainsley H. Colvin (1858-?) married Carrie Elizabeth Autrey and lists her birthdate as about 1860 or 1862, born in Hico, Lincoln Parish, LA..

This is a very tangled mess.  I’m thinking if I can find a death certificate, obituary or something similar it might help resolve this matter.