Military Monday – 11 July 1944

**Today’s letter was addressed to our soldier, as usual, at his Ft. Benjamin Harrison address.  That address had been crossed out, and stamped  to:

• AA RTC
• Ft. Bliss, Texas

The Army had separated our loved ones even more.  What once was a 60 mile distance in the same state between the two, had now grown to a 1,500 miles chasm through the states of Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas all the way to the Mexican border.  As she wrote this letter, she had no knowledge yet of where her love had been sent.

My Darling Sweetheart,
     Here I am as usual, So lonesome I can hardly stand it and no bright remarks honey I can’t lay down to it either.  I mean cause I’m lonesome.  Darn it all anyway honey I’ve been in this darn old bed for a week now.  But as soon as I get them x-rays taken I hope I won’t have to stay in bed.  Gosh honey I miss you so much and I love you too.  Yes I do.  But I don’t suppose you’ll believe me.  I’m still writing not knowing where you are or nothing.  I got a card from your mother today telling me she got the telegram ok.  She wrote it yesterday and said she got a letter from you.  I’m hoping this finds you feeling fine honey.  My leg hurts pretty bad.   Worse than it ever did, I guess some people have got the impression that I’m laying here because I’m to lazy to do anything else.  Gertie got a letter from Jim today.  His is somewhere in England.  Mother went to lodge tonite I went last Tuesday. Same thing like it’s always been.  You know how old women are when they get together.  
     You know that guy called Bunk?  Well he is working for Basil and Scottie goes with him to make Don jealous. Honey I guess marriage is what you make of it, and if I can possibly do so mine will be the right kind.  I just can’t see this running around with some one else and always having trouble, it just isn’t right.  So many young couples marry and the first thing you know some things gone wrong.  I may be young in fact I am but I know it isn’t right to live like some people do.  If you get what I mean.  Say honey I’d still like to know what you had in your pocket book that Sunday that was so personal that I couldn’t see it.  You may not of had a letter in there But I dread the thought of you getting letters from Sherry or any other girl.  I know maybe I shouldn’t be this way But it can’t be helped.  Honey I’m going to close for tonite cause the bugs around the lite are bothering me.  Sweet dreams Dearest I love you Darling and I wish you were here to kiss me goodnite and  – oh well, goodnite Darling.

     This is Wedsnday morning Dearest and I just received your letter.  I feel like bursting out in tears for some reason.  Here all along I thought you’d left Saturday cause that’s why you never came home.  This letter will make three of them I’m sending out today.  I don’t know yet where you’ll be when you get these. But I’m going to send them to Ft. harrison.  Darling how can I tell you how your letter made me feel.  You know once I told you I had a lumpt in my throat and a pain around my heart.  I guess thats the way it is now.  Only you aren’t here for me to put my arms around you and kiss you.  I just oh honey I’m going to cry.  I love you so much and honey I sure do miss you.  I feel so sorry for you having to stay in that darn old place.  I’m pretty sure honey when you get away from Ft. Benj. you’ll like the army a little better anyway.  I wish it were so I could be with you every nite.  Well honey maybe it won’t be long till what we both want will happen.  Honey if there is any way possible will we get our little house like I’ve always wanted? 
     Honey it’s about 8:30 and every body in bed.  Of course Le Roy and his Dad were up and now gone to tend to the horses.  Thoat’s how I got your letter.  When I get this finished I’m going to call Gertie and see if she will go mail these letters.  There are three of them.  I would of written you more, But I thought surely you’d get shipped before now.  It rained a little last night and it looks like rain today.  Thank God cause we really  need rain. 
     Say honey it sure didn’t take you long to eat chow.  Only 15 minutes.  Honey maybe the food they feed you isn’t so good.  But please take your time eating and Darling you aren’t going to H — when you die.  You shouldn’t say things like that.  Honey I love you and wether you believe me or not I don’t know.  But Darling I do.  
     Honey you asked who Erma was I though you knew who I meant any way it’s Francis’s little sister I think she is 12 so don’t go getting any ideas.  Remember me.  Darling I am staying off my feet, In bed all the time.  But I’m going to get up this afternoon cause I’ve got to go to the Dr. and fill out some Insurance papers.  I get to go to Peru Hospital and I’m sure glad of that cause I know that Dr. over there and I don’t know any of them in marion.  You’d think I was going to have a critical operation or something as much trouble as I’ve got to go to.  Be in one of them beds at least one night.  I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what shows up.  Probably tell me I’m to heavy to be on my feet and they aren’t strong enough to hold me up.  Yes Darling I hope there is some way of curing my leg.  But what do I keep telling you about it.  Darling I guess maybe it’s because your the only one who ever listens to me.  I was so mad at you last nite I could of rung your neck if I’d of found you.  I was dreaming again.  I thought we went to a fair or something and you run off from me and I didn’t have the money to pay my way in.  So I sneaked in and was caught.  Just then Daddy woke me up and he must of been the who had a hold of me. 
     Honey this is all the stationary I have right now.  So I’ll try and get some up town this afternoon and write you again.  But Darling listen, you’ve got to believe me, please don’t be afraid of me changing my mind.  Yes honey I remember what you said that day in the park too. It just sounded like if I quit you, you wouldn’t give a hoot.  You’d go on having your fun.  Believe me honey if any thing like that would happen, I don’t think I’d be worth much for some time. But also Darling I remember lots of other sweet things you told me.  But it’s funny how you wouldn’t let up on the subject of getting married.  From the time I got there till I left I think you really wanted an answer.  I’ll never forget the first time you aske me to marry you.  You just kept asking me over and over. Like I told you, you should of knocked me in the head and as you said say “I do” for the both of us.  Sorry Honey you’ve not gotten any letters from me the first of this week.  But really Darling I thought you would be shipped out before now cause you said Friday over the phone you were pretty sure you’d be shipping the next day.  Well Dearest I’ll close for now and see if I can get Gertie up to go mail these.  So long Darling with love from your little to-be-wife. 

I’ll always remember you love me and try to do the same for me Darling.

Your Darling Little Sweetheart

The Start of My 1940 Adventure

I have to admit, somewhat embarrassed, I haven’t always been interested in history – family, American, or world history.  I sat through my classes in high school, memorized the names and dates that we were told to, and immediately forgot …a lot…of what I (didn’t) learn.

The phrase, “Teach yourself history by doing family history.”, is so insanely true.  My poor husband, who aspired to be a history teacher, still shakes his head and laughs at the memory from early on in my research days, when I asked him questions such as “This American ancestor died in France in 1944 – what was going on then? Why did he die over there?”  (If you know…you know.)

Thankfully, I know better now, and I can say with absolute certainty that it was the SECOND World War that my grandfather fought in and not the first.  (Sorry, grandpa, for aging you prematurely all these years.)  I do, however, tend to forget that World War II affected the entire country, and not just those who enlisted and served in the military.  World War II was more than my grandfather serving in the army overseas.  World War II was also the farmers in rural northwest Ohio.

I’ve added a photo here of a “War Ration” book that was among my grandmother’s things passed on to me by my mother a few years ago.  She thought I’d like to have it with my newly discovered interest in all things historical and family related. 

(Ashamedly) I had no clue as to what it was. 

This book is filled with multiple pages of stamps that my grandparents would tear out as needed for purchasing items such as sugar, coffee, meats & cheese.  In a nutshell, for those who don’t already know – During the war, it became necessary to ration food, gas, and clothing in order to control supply and demand and deal with the shortages of items that were not as readily available.  There were red stamps, blue stamps, red points, blue points…I’m sure it was difficult trying to keep it all straight.  But the sacrifice was necessary.

And while we’re talking about what was going on in the 1940’s, my grandparents had also recently been included on a new federal census.  Do you remember the excitement that came as a prelude to the release of the 1940 census in 2012? At the time, it was referred to as the “largest, most comprehensive, and most recent record set available that records the names of those who were living in the United States at the time the census was taken.” Those who appeared in the 1940 US Census are part of what newsman, Tom Brokaw referred to as “The Greatest Generation”.  They survived the Great Depression, many men fought in the second World War, and their women sacrificed here at home.  These individuals understood hard work, industry, and have seen innovations in technology that we most likely take for granted today.  

This was one of the most exciting events I had yet to experience during my time researching, and I was lucky enough to already know where my family members were in 1940, making it easier than most, I imagine, to locate them in the census with some ease.

On the morning of April 2nd, 2012, the much talked about, much hyped up, much drooled over 1940 census images were finally released to the public eye.  Family historians were poised at computers and by the time I had dragged myself out of bed at 7:30, some of the images were already online, and I was thanking the genealogy gods that I had Hoosier ancestors since Indiana was one of the first states that Ancestry.com had put up.  It was quick, painless, and beautiful when that first census image came up, even when I had to take the time to search through the names without an index available.  I think the process kept us all humble.

Who else appeared in the 1940 census?

• My great-grandmother and grandmother in Sugar Creek Twp., Clinton Co., Indiana
• Three sets of great-great grandparents, one of which didn’t make things easy for anyone who was trying to keep track of them.  For whatever reason they didn’t spend a lot of time living together as man and wife.
• On my maternal side, in Paulding County, Ohio were a set of grandparents, 2 sets of great-grandparents, a set of great-great grandparents, and a great-great grandmother. Those were the easy ones as they didn’t move far, nor often.

Unfortunately on my paternal side it was slightly trickier with a few of them.  My grandparents (all 4 of them, as a divorce and remarriage blessed me with an extra grandfather and grandmother) were a bit more…complex.

I had located my great-grandparents, and they were still married in 1940! (I have no idea when they divorced, although this helped narrow it down a little bit.)  Oh yes, and that teenager living with them…my grandfather, all of 14 years old, and just 5 years before he would enlist in the Army and fall in love with a certain little “blonde angel” (also known as my grandmother).

~C.

Certifiably Certifiable

I have started, put on pause, and am getting ready to start up again, the process of working towards adding a set of post nominals to my name – not for the sake of the letters themselves, but more for what they stand for.

I decided to look into this when I realized just how much I loved “doing” genealogy – the research, the hunt, figuring out the puzzle – and I’m also of the belief that everyone should be able to do what they love doing, rather than spending their days being miserable at their job. (To be fair, I’m not miserable at my current paying job. But when you’re better half recognizes that your passion is in a different arena, a.k.a. genealogy, take advantage and follow his lead!)

Now, to do this…I could just continue as I am now.  Consistently researching my own family, learning as I go, offering help in my spare time as it becomes available to those who inquire.

This could be problematic, as I see it, for a few reasons:

1. I simply don’t feel comfortable charging a fee for this service when I know that there is still so much for me to learn to produce quality work.  There is always, ALWAYS more to learn in this field, from how we do what we do, to what we do.
2. Choosing to do this out of generosity, or out of the goodness of my heart means there isn’t a commitment on my part to do my best to do the work asked for. I would be doing it on my timetable, not someone elses.
3. Those little initials after my name will also mean that I’ve agreed to adhere to a certain set of “standards”…a genealogical code of ethics.  Of course, I would never try to convince someone that they were a descendant of Charlemagne if they really weren’t, but this code goes way past that…and that’s where the extra training and education also comes in.  Genealogists actually have to earn those letters behind their names.

I’ve researched my options, and I’m thankful with the many affordable options available online, in addition to some extra e-learning opportunities through the FamilySearch website, “skillbuilder” articles on the National Genealogical Society website, and conference learning opportunities when the travel works for both Mr. D. and myself.

When it comes to the time and financial investment.  There are definitely great learning opportunities out there that are highly regarded in the genealogical community, and I’ve already completed Mastering Genealogical Proof, also known as the GenProof study group. I have already begun coursework through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, to improve my methodology, which is where my focus will return in just a few short months, AND, eventually – if all goes well – PLCGS (Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies) will proudly follow.

~C.

Homer Hulbert

I have only ever known my great-grandfather by name. There were times during family dinners when perhaps his name may have been mentioned, but for the majority of my childhood, that’s all he was – merely a name. Families being what they were, mine had it’s own state of dysfunction, and I didn’t know my own paternal grandfather until I was maybe nine or ten years old. Keeping that in mind, it’s no wonder that I grew up unaware of the details of my great-grandfather’s life until I researched and discovered him for myself.

Homer Alonzo Hulbert was the son of Charles and Florida (Kerr) Hulbert, born on November 3, 1887. Grandma (the original family historian) would argue that “THE birth record” shows that he was born in Gallia County, Ohio. A second birth record was located, however, just across the Ohio River in Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia. This confusion of facts was an ongoing disagreement between my grandmother and I, but perhaps she was just determined to maintain our family’s Buckeye roots for as many generations as possible.  (Doubtful, but what would you do with birth records from two states for one individual? Leave me a comment with your research suggestion!)  

At the time of his birth, Homer was the baby brother of Oscar V. (Verlin) and Della Maud Hulbert. Tragically, when Homer was only a year old, his 23-year old mother passed away, and his brother just a short time after that. The loss of the two family members left Homer and his (barely) older sister alone with their father who was not yet 30 years old.  Although his father, Charles, remarried in 1890, the two children seem to have disappeared, as they are a vivid absence on the 1900 census that only shows their father with his new wife and the six children they had together over the past decade.  

Perhaps it’s something as simple as Homer had been missed on the census.  There were a lot of new step-siblings in the house by the time the 1900 census taker came around.  But I don’t think so, because his sister is not there either.  My gut says that they were together…wherever that was.   And that’s a bitter-sweet thought. I can’t help but wonder, being small children at the time of their mother’s death, if Homer and his sister, Della, would have been sent to live with a family member while their father attempted to restart his life with a new bride.  Wherever they ended up, I have no record of Homer’s childhood years.

By 1910, Homer was now 22 years old, a newlywed and a new father as well, his little family of three living in Piatt County, Illinois.  He had married Miss Carrie Hill in September of 1909, and their first born son, Charles, was born in January 1910.  Three more sons would quickly follow – Wayne in 1911, Donald in 1912, and Homer Jesse in 1914.

In a strange twist of fate, not long after this photo was taken, he found himself in the same tragic situation that his father had been through many years before.  In 1917, his wife passed away, leaving this young father to raise four boys on his own.

Homer would marry a second time, in January of 1919, a young 16 year old, Helen Allen – the daughter of Herman and Sarah (Rentfrow) Allen.  I often wonder what it was like for this young girl to come in to this ready-made family with four young boys all under the age of 10 – boys who were certainly missing their own young mother.  Although I can understand that times were different, and perhaps it was “normal” for young women (girls) to be considered as replacement mothers for the children of widowers.  But I can’t help but wonder what their life like was like as a married couple when Homer was almost twice her age?

Somehow, they made it work, and Helen raised those boys as if they were her own.  In 1925, she and Homer added yet another son to their family.  Robert was born in January 1925, but then tragically died in the spring when he suffered from whooping cough and pneumonia at just five months old.  He was buried next to Homer’s first wife, Carrie, in an unmarked grave in Cerro Gordo.

The following year, 1926, Homer and Helen once again welcomed another son, my grandfather, to their family.  What soon followed was a series of moves across multiple states for this family.  The first was away from the state of Illinois and into northwest Ohio in the late 1920’s.  The same unknown reasons that led my great-grandfather to Illinois as a young man, are probably what led him to relocate with his wife and five boys 20 years later.  Perhaps it was to be close to his sister, Della, for they had made their way to Illinois together, and in 1930, they are both found in Northwest Ohio – he in Bryan, and she was in Defiance County.

In 1934, in a Tucson, Arizona city directory, Homer & Helen and “Homer Jr.” are shown as living in Tucson, Arizona.  Whether this was actually his son, Homer, or the mistaken identity of my grandfather, I’m not certain.  However, my grandfather was living in Tucson, Arizona with his mother and father in 1935 (according to the 1940 U.S. Census).  Whoever was living there with Homer and and his wife, Helen, the stay did not last long.  By 1940, they had set up housekeeping in Steuben County, Indiana, and in 1942, Homer and Helen’s marriage had ended, and he was living in Fulton County, Indiana, very possibly with his sons, Don and Warren, both of whom were working in the area at that time.

Sometime in the 1940’s, his son, Wayne, made his way to California for a short time.  The story within the family is that on his way back from California, Uncle Wayne decided to stop in Missouri and he purchased a farm there.  He asked Homer to join him, and for a short time, both father and son had a farm in the “Show-Me State”.  It was approximately 1948-49 when they both returned to Ohio.

Homer soon found and married his 3rd wife, Hannah (Schlosser) Allomong.  They were  married in Arkansas and returned to Ohio – for a short time returning to Gallia County, where Homer began his life on the banks of the Ohio River, until finally returning to Bryan and Williams County, in 1959.

The last five months of his life were spent as a resident of the Williams County Home where he passed away in 1964.

This great-grandfather of mine seems to have been a bit of a restless soul.  Constantly going wherever the wind would take him, packing up the family and moving on to where he could find whatever opportunities were awaiting him around the next bend.

~C.

Genealogy Side Roads

I like to think that I can keep the everyday, non-genealogy motivated reader interested in the tales of my dearly departed ancestors, and my quest to locate them. Or even my journey in finding them. And did you also know (it’s rhetorical, don’t answer that), that I’m in the process of going through what I like to call genealogy continuing ed. Taking my skillset to the next level, so I can say that I’m researching to my best possible ability – for instance, knowing where I got all of my information from…which, unless it all came from an interview that you personally had with your great aunt Ethel (and even that info can be…tricky.), you really should know and document where you discovered that little tidbit of info for great-grandpa.

When I first began this hobby obsession with genealogy, I started out (as most people do) just trying to find that next name.

Similar to something like this: ”Grandpa grew up here, so if I look in this census I should find him as a toddler. Got ’em!…and his parents were…so-and-so. Great!  Now, if THEY grew up in the same area, then I’ll look in this census to find them with their individual families…and there they are….next!”  And so on and so forth.  I really just wanted to get from one generation to the next as quickly as possible, knowing the names, but not really learning anything about them personally.  In some instances, I didn’t even care about the siblings of my ancestors. I only wanted to see the direct trail that this family had taken, not even paying attention the little side-roads.

And that was my #1 mistake (of so many, that as a beginner, I would make). It turns out that all of those little side roads can be helpful in searching out the direction of your direct path. For example, I was unable to find great grandpa on the census, until FINALLY one day he shows up living with an uncle. An uncle? What uncle? Oh…the one that I never bothered to document! Suddenly recording all of those siblings (and they had really big families back in the day!) seemed a bit more important.  Similarly, I was unable to locate where my great-great grandfather was in Illinois.  I had found the woman he was married to, but it was only her and her daughters. 

Well that’s not right.  Where’s her husband?  Where’s her son?    Oh!  The son!  I searched for the son’s name via the census, and in the process, I was to find great-great grandpa Allen living in the next town and his son was living with him.  (Apparently, grandpa and grandma didn’t get along too well, ya know.)

So there ya go.  Today’s genealogy lesson.  Don’t neglect those side roads!  You never know what valuable information may be drifting along in the dust.

~C.

Florence, Massachusetts

My research has taken a detour…no, not even a detour. It’s a full-on road block. All because of this monster of a map. Just look at it! I know that I’m looking at it in the right direction, because the heading is at the top of the page. And yet…the left side property owners have all been written upside down. The right side property owners are all facing sideways.

Forget getting dizzy just from trying to turn the page in whichever direction you’re reading. It’s actually trying to read the thing that gives me a headache. It’s a monster.

But this is where I’m at in my family history narrative and I can’t move forward until I get this map out of the way and out of my mind.

I wish ol’ William Hulbert were here to talk me through all of his old neighbors.

I have found William’s land that was owned on this map – easy breezy. But I have to wonder if there aren’t other researchers out there like me, who haven’t been so lucky as to be able to decipher the handwriting? Wouldn’t I love to find this map alongside a new one…redone, transcribed…to be able to read all of the names that are on it, and not just a few?

Thankfully, that’s not the end of the story, and there is good news! 

A genealogy angel contacted me and located a cleaner copy of this map that is also larger and easier to read, and I now have a digital copy of the map – actually, the entire book that the map appears in – on my computer.

I wonder what the aforementioned genie-angel would consider to be an adequate payment for this discovery? Oreos? Mt. Dew? Hershey Bar? (What? I’d splurge for the King size!)

~C.

The 12 Days of a Genealogist’s Christmas!!

Yeah, you know you’re excited for this one!!  Everybody sing!!

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….

12 antique photos

11 genealogy field trips (Ft. Wayne, DC, Massachusetts…I’m not picky!)

10 cemetery transcriptions

9 obituaries – pronounced “Oh-BIT-chew-aries” for the sake of the song.

8 property owner maps (that are readable!)

7 Civil War pension files

6 marriage records

5 “brick walls” torn down!!

4 newly found cousins

3 family bibles

2 census records (1900, my great-grandfather and his sister would be great!)

and more classes with the International Institute of Genie Studies!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

102 Genealogy Things

Is this my “Bucket List”? Maybe.

Over a decade ago, this was circling its way through the genealogical community – I believe it started with 99 things, and it grows as needed. I bumped it up to 102.

I look at this list more as a list of genealogical experiences to strive for, some completed (in Bold), and some that are still in front of me waiting to be done.

1. Belong to a genealogical society – Western New York Genealogical Society
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. – At one time, unfortunately, I let my blogging slide for a few years, and I may have gotten kicked out of the group, but I would like to take another shot at doing this semi-regularly.
9. Attended a genealogy conference. Once. Loved it! Need to do it again!
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society/local library’s family history group.
12. Joined the National Genealogical Society.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
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.
19. Cold called a distant relative. – I wrote a letter…does that count??
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name (and those of ancestors)
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research. In chocolate. 🙂
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals. A carnival? What is this? Please tell me there are no clowns involved.
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.
33. Performed a record lookup.
34. Took a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space. – popped up from a hole in the ground? Yes. Outer space? No.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
38. Think genealogy is a passion and/or obsession not a hobby.
39. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person.
40. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
41. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
42. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
43. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
44. Disproved a family myth through research.
45. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
46. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
47. Translated a record from a foreign language.
48. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
49. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
50. Used microfiche.
51. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
52. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
53. Taught a class in genealogy.
54. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
55. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
57. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
58. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
59. Have found many relevant and unexpected articles on internet to “put flesh on the bones”.
60. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
61. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
62. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC. – Coolest research experience of my life!
63. Have an ancestor who came to America as an indentured servant.
64. Have an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or Civil War.
65. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
66. Can “read” a church record in Latin.
67. Have an ancestor who changed his/her name, just enough to be confusing.
68. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list. – Back in the day, when you still could!
69. Created a family website.
70. Have a genealogy blog. – …and here we are!
71. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
72. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
73. Done genealogy research at a court house.
74. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library
75. Found an ancestor in an online newspaper archive.
76. Have visited a NARA branch.
77. Have an ancestor who served in WWI or WWII.
78. Use maps in my genealogy research.
79. Have a blacksheep ancestor.
80. Found a bigamist amongst my ancestors.
81. Attended a genealogical institute.
82. Taken online genealogy (and local history) courses.
83. Consistently (document) and cite my sources. – “Consistently” trying!
84. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors.
85. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
86. Have an ancestor who was married four times.
87. Made a rubbing of an ancestor’s gravestone.
88. Followed genealogists on Twitter. – Now known as “X”.
89. Published a family history book.
90. Offended a family member with my research.
91. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
92. Have a paid subscription to a genealogy database.
93. Submitted articles for FamilySearch Wiki.
94. Organized a family reunion.
95. Converted someone new to the love of all things genealogy.
96. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
97. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
98. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
99. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 
100. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the “Psychic Roots” variety.
101. Visited the Library of Congress. – why did I do these things BEFORE I started genealogy?? More importantly…why haven’t I done them SINCE?
102. Belong to a lineage society

~C.

Young Love

December 2, 1944 – These two lovebirds had just “tied the knot.” It didn’t hit me until one of my later visits home, when I had the opportunity to look through “the trunk” again, just how young these two really were. My grandfather always looked young, but when I realized that they were just 18 and 19 years old, newlyweds, and he was just 6 months into the Army, and getting ready to enter into the World War II …how absolutely crazy they must’ve been about each other at the time.

Conflicting Research Details

What’s a researcher to do?

When I first started researching, my grandma – who had been the sole family historian up to that point – told me that my great-grandfather had been born in Gallia Co., Ohio. It made sense, and seeing that grandma had been doing this for decades via “old-school” methods (traveling and researching on-site or sending for records through the mail), I took her at her word on that little fact. Two years later, I found a birth record from the state of West Virginia showing where my great-grandfather was born in Huntington. I showed it to grandma, even made her a copy for her own records. She continued to believe that he had been born in Ohio, however, and I have yet to find a definitive answer since discovering that great-grandpa has a birth record in both states, Ohio and West Virginia.

Fast forward a few years, and grandma and I were comparing notes again. Looking at my record for my 4th great-grandmother, Susannah Karnes, she promptly exclaimed, “That wasn’t her name! Her maiden name was ‘HOUCK’, and not ‘KARNES’.” I tried to explain that everything I had found, pointed in the direction that she was the daughter of George Karnes, I have a record of the marriage bond, and a land transfer record that points in that precise direction, and…

“No. Her maiden name was ‘HOUCK'”.

So what is a researcher to do, when someone – whether it be grandma or a long-lost cousin – argues questions the evidence in your research?

1. You may never change someone else’s mind, so instead, remember to open your own mind that perhaps you’re information just might be wrong. If the evidence isn’t proving the answer to your research question, there’s probably a reason why.
2. If we have two documents that don’t match up, (much like great-grandpa’s two-state birth record i mentioned above), continue to look for additional evidence. Such as additional proof showing his parents in either state at the time of birth, a church record for a baptism, additional vital records that show a place of birth.
3. Consider ALL of the evidence in front of you. Not only the pieces that confirm what you believe, but all of it. (After all, we’re keeping an open mind here – remember?)

In the instance of my 4th great-grandmother, Susannah:

Bedford County, Virginia, Deed Book 21, Page 452-
13 August 1829 – Indenture in which Andrew Kerr and Susannah, his wife, late Susanna Houck of {GALLIA} COUNTY, STATE OF OHIO of one part sell to Simon Sharpe of Bedford County, Virginia, of the other part – for $120.00 a tract of land in Bedford County on Roaring Run containing 66 acres, being the same land allotted to the said Susan by the name of Susan Houcke as part of her portion of the real estate of the late George Kerns, dec’d, and designated in the division of said Kerns land as lot #8, etc. Recorded August 14, 1829. (NOTE: on 11 August, 1829 – same parties of 1st part sell Parham Arrington of Bedford County, Virginia another portion of Susanna’s land (Lot #3) bequeathed to her by George Kerns, dec’d (ibid page 451) containing 33 acres, etc.)

What does this record tell me, or more importantly – what would it tell grandma?

1. This record states the name of my 4th great-grandparents, Andrew & Susannah Kerr.
2. It says that her name prior to her marriage to Andrew, was HOUCK.
3. It states that she was given land by George KERNS…most likely an inheritance at the time of his death, allowing me to believe she was his daughter since women were not commonly allotted land “back in the day” unless it was given from a direct family member.

Bedford County Marriage Bonds, 1800-1853, page 74 – Salem, MA : Higginson Book Co., Reprint. Originally published: Salt Lake City, Utah : Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. https://archive.org/details/bedfordcountyvir00unse shows the groom, bride, date, and the bondsman.

Admittedly, still one more spelling option, however, I see this as an additional piece of evidence that Susannah was Susannah Kerns (or Karnes, or Carns), who was married to Mr. Houck, and then married 2nd to Andrew Kerr, my ancestor.

(On a side note, if anyone has insight into why two states would record the birth record of great-grandpa that I spoke of earlier, please feel free to send me a message!)

~C.