William Hulbert, the Immigrant

My paternal ancestor, William Hulbert, is believed to have been born in England in the early 17^th century, possibly being the son of Richard and Ann (Bower) Hulbert, of County Wiltshire, England. Some sources have given his date of birth as being May 2, 1612, but a more probable year would be by 1606 (William was shown as being above the age of 60 on 13 March 1666/67.)

“On the twentieth of March, 1630, a group of men and women, one hundred and forty in number, set sail from Plymouth, England, in the good ship, the “Mary and John.” The company had been selected and assembled largely through the efforts of the Reverend John White, of Dorchester, England’ with whom they spent the day before sailing, “fasting, preaching, and praying.” These people had come from the western counties of England, mostly from Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Somerset. They had chosen two ministers to accompany them: “men who were interested in the idea of bringing the Indians to the knowledge of the gospel.” The Reverend John maverick was an elderly man from Devon, a minister of the Established church. Reverend John Warham was also an ordained minister of the church of England, in Exeter, eminent as a preacher. There is some evidence that both of these men were in some difficulties with the church on account of their sympathies with the Puritans….” (The “Mary and John”: A Story of the Founding of Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1630, Kuhns, Maude Pinney, Tuttle Pub. Co., 1943, p. 1)

Being a young man at a time of political and religious turmoil in England, there are any number of reasons why William may have decided to leave his home and travel across the ocean, the most plausible being the group of Puritans who came from England with The Winthrop Fleet. The Puritans had a desire to change the Church of England (unlike the Pilgrims who wanted nothing to do with it.), in a sense making it more pure. Although there is no sufficient evidence of William being part of the Puritan segment, it is the most certain explanation. Certainly, he also could have been the adventurous son, the one who had set out to make it on his own in the New World, or as a traveller who had heard the tales of the Jamestown settlement that had come several years before him. Whatever the reason for his journey, he was the only member of the Hulbert family that arrived that day – he was not married, and no other extended family members came with him on this ship.

Unfortunately there is not an existing passenger list available for the ship, Mary and John, although attempts at an accurate list of the individuals that would have been able to sail on the ship have been made.  In 1930, Charles Banks created the first synthetic list in his work Planters of the Commonwealth, followed by Maude Pinney Kuhns, Mary and John, in 1943. The problem is that the first work listed 138 names, and the second only 136. Between the two of them there were 195 different passenger listed as being aboard a ship that would have only held 140 at the most. Using these two resources, as well as the History of the Town of Dorchester, and additional knowledge of the individuals, a more complete list was made available from Burton Spears with his Mary and John Clearing House. It is in this resource that we find our William Hulbert (showing as Hulbird) as being a “probable” passenger aboard the ship.

According to the Mary and John Clearing House, the ship left Plymouth, England on 20 March 1630, with 140 passengers. “These families and passengers were recruited by the Reverend John White of Dorchester, Dorset. Nearly all of the Mary and John 1630 passengers came from the West Country counties of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon and the West Country towns of Dorchester, Bridport, Crewkerne, and Exeter.” (http://www.maryandjohn1630.com/clearinghouse.html, accessed April 2, 2013) Seventy days later, the ship landed at what is now known as Dorchester, Massachusetts on the 30th of May – two weeks before the arrival of the Winthrop Fleet.

Earliest records tell us that our ancestor, William, was one of the first settlers in Dorchester about 1630, was a freeman, and therefore a landowner as of 3 April 1632 (when he was admitted into the Dorchester Church). He was granted 16 acres of land on 16 January 1632/33, an eight acre lot in 1634, and six acres in the meadows beyond the Naponset River.

Few other details of William’s life show that he left Dorchester, and made his way to Connecticut, where he is considered to be one of the founders of Windsor.  He lived on “Backer Row”, until the Pequot War of 1637, when he, for consideration of his safety, moved into the “public palisado”, and land was apportioned to him in 1640.

Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 shows William Hurlbut and Ann Allen (the widow of Samuel Allen) being married after 28 April 1648, and William also shows up in the Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society:

May 1648 – Land in Harttford vp on the Riuer of Coneckticott belonging to william Hullberd & to his hayers for euer.  viz One pfell on which his dwelling houfe Now Standeth & another Tenymentt & yerdes thare in being & was Sumtyme pfell of the Meetting houfe yerd Contain by Eftma Two Roodes be it More or Les Abutting on the hyway Leding fro the Mill to the Meeting houfe on the weft & on Mr Clementt Chaplins Land on the South & on the Meeting houfe yerd on the Eaft & on the North.

Sometime later, William and family made their way to Northampton, and in 1662, he is listed among the names of inhabitants, eight years after the settlement.  He remained there for the remainder of his life until 17 April 1694 when he died.

 

 

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Susannah (North) Martin

Susannah North, although not directly an ancestor, has me completely intrigued – Not only with her life, but also with a period in history when emotions ran high, superstitions ran wild, and accusations ran rampant.  She is not directly an ancestor, as she was the second wife of my 9th great-grandfather, George Martin, however, through many 2nd marriages in my family, I have come to accept these alternate ancestors as my own.  Susannah was my 9th great-grandmother, who lost her life during the insanity of the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.

I stumbled upon this knowledge purely out of curiosity one day.  Like many other family historians, I would often ponder the possibility of what “famous” ancestors might be hiding in my family tree.  Knowing that I have a deep history in early Massachusetts, I immediately considered Salem and it’s surrounding area, and it didn’t take long to locate in my local library a copy of the “Associated Daughters of Early American Witches Roll of Ancestors”.

**note:  Being raised with an ultra-conservative religious upbringing, I must admit to having a moment in the library when I just sat at the table and stared at the cover of the book in front of me, wondering if I might be unleashing some completely new realm of crazy upon opening the cover to this book…

And then the moment passed and the need for knowledge took over.

Once I had convinced myself that demons were not going to fly off of the inside pages of the book, and that this was a book of those who were ACCUSED of witchcraft, I proceeded on to the list of names.  To be fair, I actually located a total of five ancestors that had been accused of witchcraft.  Susannah was the only one of “my” five to actually hang for the accusations against her, as the other four individuals eventually had the charges against them dropped.

She was born in England, the daughter of Richard and Joan North, and baptized in 1621 in Buckinghamshire, England.  When she was just a young girl, her mother died, and her father, his 2nd wife, and Susannah came to the Massachusetts colony in 1639, settling in Salisbury. She married widower, George Martin, in 1646, and together they had eight children.

Fellow great-granddaughter and blogger, Verena Elizabeth, shared the following about Susannah in her own words:

For years, rumors had swirled around Susannah, implying that she was a witch. It seemed like whenever a neighbor took sick or livestock died, there were whispers that Susannah was to blame. She, herself, did little to squelch the rumors. On some occasions she even seemed to encourage them, by muttering curses under her breath, or unapologetically voicing her opinions for anyone to hear.

Susannah had even been charged with witchcraft, more than twenty years before, but the courts had ruled in her favor. Later, her husband, George, had sued her accuser for slander. The courts had found in George’s favor, but had awarded him less than a penny in damages. Apparently, they didn’t think the accusations could have done much damage to Susannah’s already difficult reputation.

But now, George was gone and her children were grown. Darkness and fear had overtaken the community. Indian attacks were on the rise and danger was in the air. There was fear that God was displeased, and that the Devil walked among them. It was in this atmosphere that Susannah was taken into custody, and escorted to the courts in Salem.

It appears that throughout her life, Susannah’s main trouble was that she was an intelligent and outspoken woman who did not like to be taken advantage of. She spoke her mind when she felt she had been cheated or abused. She did not suffer fools lightly, and would make a joke or sarcastic remark if she thought those around her were being silly. She had been in court numerous times, as a defendant and as a plaintiff. In addition to fighting charges that had been made against her, she had spent years fighting to prove that her father’s will had been falsified. Despite five appeals, she had lost, and her step-mother had succeeded in stealing her inheritance. So the Susannah who was dragged to the courthouse in Salem was not a woman who was easily intimidated.

Despite a lack of evidence against her, Susannah was found guilty and she was hanged with four other women in July, 1692.  Their bodies were buried in what used to be an unmarked and until recently, an unknown area.

In 2016, an area known as “Proctor’s Ledge” was confirmed to be the site of the hangings of these 5 women, and the area is now marked by a semi-circle of stones dedicated with the names of the women who were hanged in that location – including that of Susannah Martin.

In Salem, Proctor’s Ledge finally gets a memorial (Photo: James Bostick)

Amen.  Amen.  A false tongue will never make a guilty person. – Susannah Martin 

~C.

Actual Site of Salem Witch Hangings Discovered

New Memorial for Salem Witch Trial Hangings

Lawrence & Cassandra (Burnell) Southwick

Tags

Quaker, Southwick

(I wrote this during my first attempt at the #52Ancestors challenge a few years ago, and am sharing again to start off this year’s challenge.)

If you’ve ever seen the musical The Sound of Music, one particular tune begins with the lyric:

“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…”

I suppose if I wanted to go CLEAR back to the beginning, that would mean Adam in the Garden.  But since I’ve drawn an invisible line in the sand with my research that happens to coincide with where the ocean begins/ends, I look at the ancestor that I have thus far been able to trace the furthest back before hitting that wall of water.

Lawrence Southwick and Cassandra Burnell were both immigrants from England, both born within a few years of one another right around 1600.  According to parish records, they were married on 25 Jan 1623 in St. Mary’s Church – Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England.  Although there is a record of them arriving here on the Mayflower, don’t be too quick to mistake it for THE Mayflower.  It was a similar time frame, yet they’re not listed on the passenger list for the original ship in 1620.  The possibility and belief is that there was a 2nd Mayflower ship that arrived sometime later with Lawrence who came first and then returned for his bride bringing Cassandra and their children with him on a separate voyage.

Everytime I locate an ancestor who has made a move, especially one away from home to start a new life, I have to ask myself questions.  Why would they leave?  What would make them walk away from the life as they knew it?  What were they looking for?

History lesson 101 boys and girls, it was all about (well, mostly about) religion.

The first permanent settlers here were Puritans – English Separatists who broke away from the Church of England and were committed to a life lived based on the Bible.  They weren’t satisfied that the Reformation had gone as far as it should have, and they wanted to pull away from practices they felt were too similar to those in the Catholic Church.

In 1656, however, when the first Quaker missionaries arrived in the colonies, there were conversions to this new way of religious thinking and the Puritans began to persecute those who came here to convert as well as those who converted.  Sadly among those persecuted were my 10th great-grandparents, Lawrence and Cassandra.

They, and their children, at some point chose to worship away and separate from the legalistic church that had been established by the colonists.  Regularly.  In fact, there are multiple records of the couple, as well as their son, Josiah, being fined for their absence from the regular services on Sundays.  The Southwicks, being an aged couple, would remain imprisoned for weeks at a time, were released, and then upon their “usual absence” or being found to have met with or hosting other Quaker Friends in their home, they would once again be taken into custody, fined, and sometimes even whipped.

In the fall of 1658, the couple and their oldest son were imprisoned and Cassandra was whipped again.  While they were detained, a son and daughter who were left at home, continued on with the religious practice of their parents.  In doing so, these two – Daniel and Provided Southwick, were fined accordingly.  However, the family had been reduced to poverty by the number of excessive fines and punishments and they had no way to pay, so it was decreed that the two children would be sold as bond-slaves.  (Thankfully, this never came to pass.) Lawrence and Cassandra, meanwhile, after many attempts to convince and be reformed, were ordered to leave – to “depart out of this jurisdiction…or be banished under the pain of death.”  The Governor believed they should have been hanged for being blasphemers and heretics.  But upon their release, they returned instead to their family and their home, rather than leaving as they were told to.

Six months passed and they appeared before the Governor again, being questioned for the disobedience to his order.  Simply put, the “condemned” stated they had done nothing to warrant such treatment, fines, or the threat of banishment.  The reply was that these people stood against the authority of the country in not submitting to its laws; and that “they and the church people are not able well to live together…” The sentence of banishment was then pronounced upon them, and only two weeks’ time was allowed in which to settle their affairs and bid “good-bye” forever to their families and their friends.

The fight was over.  With no means to support the family after extravagant and excessive fines, their farm and livelihood forever ruined, Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick made their way to Shelter Island on Long Island to escape once and for all the persecution they had suffered as Quakers.  There they found refuge with Nathan Sylvestor and his family – who although may or may not have been a Quaker himself, it is known that he detested the religious intolerance of that time and was happy to provide a place of relief.

It was on Shelter Island that Lawrence Southwick passed away on 10 May 1660 and Cassandra only 3 days later.  There are no headstones marking their final resting place, but a memorial stands at Sylvestor Manor for all of those who sought asylum with the family there.

Southwick Memorial at Sylvester Manor Cemetery on Shelter Island, Long Island, New York (Image located at Findagrave.com)

Their son, Josiah, who had also been banished, made his way to Rhode Island, the only other known place where those persecuted as Quakers could find safety.  He and his wife, Mary (Boyce), had a daughter; Deborah Southwick…my 8th great-grandmother.

Charles O. Bingle

Tags

Dearborn County, Lawrenceburg, Ohio

There is a sadness that comes with the story of my great-grandfather, Charles Bingle.   A sadness from not knowing enough about him, and also from the realization that the short time he was alive ended so tragically.

Charles Bingle was born 10 September 1899 in Cleves, Ohio, a small village that is located in southwestern Ohio.  His father, Harrison Bingle, had spent his entire life on the banks of the Ohio River, being born in North Bend.  His mother, Mary Ann (Abdon), was also familiar with the area, born just across the state line in Indiana in a portion of the state known as “Indiana’s Gore” (another tale for another time), a tri-state area where many people spent their lifetimes going back and forth across state lines.  When Harrison and Mary Ann Bingle married and settled down, however, it was the village of Cleves that they settled in and where they would raise their 7 children.

Charles Bingle married a young girl, Zettie Peak, who was also from Cleves, on 24 September 1921 in Lawrenceburgh, Indiana.  Their first child, a son, was born 11 months into their marriage, and two daughters would come along by 1927. This young family of five was living in Xenia, Ohio at that time, where Charles was working as a linesman for the Dayton Power & Light Company.

A 1929 Linesman – similar to what Charles Bingle would have been doing. (Photo courtesy of Shorpy)

A few years later, the family had moved south to Hamilton, Ohio – possibly to be closer to both of their extended families.  Charles was able to continue his work as a linesman in his new hometown, although now he was employed by the Hamilton Service Company.

The final days during the month of July in 1929 in southwestern Ohio were the epitome of summer heat.  Temperatures ranged from 84 all the way up to 90 degrees that final week in July.  Still, Charles Bingle would not find himself relaxing on the banks of the Ohio River on that hot summer’s day.  On Tuesday, July 30th he was doing repair work on a utility pole on the corner of Second and High Streets in Hamilton.

From the front page of the Hamilton Evening Journal – Wednesday, July 31, 1929:

“Man Killed In Fall” – Lineman, Believed Overcome By Heat, Falls From Pole On Second St.
Charles Bingle, 29, 266 Hancock Avenue, Hamilton Service company lineman, was killed at 3 o’clock Tuesday afternoon when he fell 30 feet from a pole to the sidewalk in front of the Second street entrance to the W. C. Frechtling store, Second and High streets.
Linemen told authorities that Bingle had released his safety belt and was descending when his “spurs”, used to get a foothold in the pole, failed to hold.
Belief of police is that Bingle was overcome by the heat.
No hopes were held for the lineman’s life when he was taken to Mercy hospital by police. His legs and left arm were broken and his skull was fractured.
Bingle was married and was the father of three small children.
Funeral services will be held Thursday from the home of Bingle’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Bingle, Cleves, Ohio. Interment will be in the Greenwood cemetery, Cleves.

More than anything, I wish I had a picture of my great-grandfather.  I have been told this story since I was a young girl (minus the graphic details, of course), but I have no idea what Charles looked like.  The only thing I’ve ever known of him is the story of how he died.  If my grandmother had a photograph of her father, I know I would have found it by now in the family trunk.  It’s not there.

His bride would remarry, and his children all grew to live long full lives.  The building he fell in front of is no longer there – in its place is a small green space in an area that is being revived in the center of Hamilton.  His stone that was placed in the cemetery in Cleves is simple.  Life has a way of carrying on – and we’re left with only the stories of those who were here long before us.

~C.

Ancestor Birth Pedigree Chart

This fun little project – well it’s popped up multiple times on my Facebook page, Twitter feed, blog reader….you name it, I’m seeing it!!  So I decided, why not – it would be fun, and it just might be interesting to see it in living color!

So for your enjoyment, I present to you my Ancestor Birth Pedigree Chart…showing where mi familia all came from – at least the last 5 generations of us.

Seriously, as if we didn’t already know this Buckeye girl was going to be surrounded in Scarlet??

Heritage, Inheritance, and A Legacy

“To know who you are, you have to know where your story began.”

I heard this phrase the other day, and it rang in my ears like the deep rich tones of a large windchime. Clear. Resolute. It really is a true statement. Although I certainly do have my own personality and quirks that are mine alone, there is definitely something to be said for knowing where you have come from. Not just knowing who your relatives are and were in name only, but also in the understanding of the struggles they endured and the successes they enjoyed. This knowledge can give us a deeper sense of our heritage that in turn can be passed on to the next generation. Upon learning of their struggles we may catch the tiniest glimpse of ourselves in them, and understand just a little bit better that we are stronger than we thought. I have discovered for myself many fascinating things about my family members and their history, but now it can be passed down to my children, and their children, and those family members who will hopefully one day read this and discover for themselves the history of where they also came from.

There were many families who in one way or another eventually made their way together and became the foundation upon which my mother’s strength of character was forged – Parrish, Medley, Blaine, Thrasher, Southwick, Carnahan, Stanley, and Linnaberry (just to name a few). These groups were strong farmers, some were patriots, some rebelled against what was expected and held onto their convictions, and yes, there were even a few black sheep. Men and women whom I have heard stories of throughout the years – I have admiration for some, and I cringe with disdain towards the actions of others. But whatever good OR BAD their choices may have been, they were real people, and they were a part of my family. They are all a part of who I am, and I am proud to take ownership and call them mine.

This is why I research and this is why I write about them, because they all have a story to be told.

C.

Nay and Goldie (Blaine) Thrasher

Tags

Ohio, Paulding

Nay Thrasher was born William Nay Thrasher, on 8 April 1884, the son of Wesley and Martha (Carnahan) Thrasher (The grandson of Levi Thrasher). Wesley and Martha moved from Delaware County and arrived in Paulding County, Ohio around 1875.  It was there that their son Nay was born, raised, and lived his entire life in Brown Township.

Goldie Blaine was also born in Paulding County. The daughter of Charles and Anna Bell (Linnabary) Blain, she was born 18 April 1888 and was only four years old when both her baby brother and her father died. Although her mother remarried within just a few years, young Goldie would be found living with her paternal grandparents and her half-brother from an earlier marriage.

On 6 May 1905, a 21 year old young man married a young 17 year old girl and they set up housekeeping in a rented home close to his parents. Soon their family of two would steadily grow to a full home with 11 children being born to the couple. Their youngest child, a daughter, would be born in 1929…just in time to see The Great Depression hit, and inevitably, affect this large family as it would the entire country.

Nay and Goldie would lose two children early in their lifetime. Little Gertrude Thrasher, who died from pneumonia before she could turn two years old in 1919, and Dennis Thrasher, who contracted Typhoid Fever at the age of 16 years old in 1924.

The Thrashers were married for 50 years – years that witnessed two World Wars and nine different Presidential leaders, along with medical discoveries such as insulin, penicillin, and a vaccine for polio.  It was shortly after their 50th wedding anniversary, when Goldie Thrasher passed away at the age of 67 years old.  Her husband, Nay, lived on to see a time period that brought on space travel and the war in Vietnam, prior to his death in 1968.

Mrs. Goldie Thrasher, rt. 1, Oakwood, died Friday (20 May 1955) in the Paulding Memorial Hospital, where she had been a patient eight weeks. She had been ill approximately five months.
Surviving Mrs. Thrasher, a lifelong resident of Oakwood community, are the husband, Nay Thrasher, to whom she had been married 50 years, May 5; three sons, six daughters, 41 grandchildren seven great granchildren; a half brother, Benjamin Stanley, Pauldling, and a half sister, Mrs. May Martin, McComb.
Services were conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Methodist church Rev. R.R. Kinney officiating. Burial in the Sherman Cemetery.

William Nay Thrasher, 84, died at 6:05 a.m. Friday (25 October 1968) in Defiance Hospital where he was admitted Monday following a stroke. He had made his home the past four years with a daughter.
He was born April 8, 1884 in Brown Tp., Paulding County, a son of Wesley and Martha (Carnahan) Thrasher, and attended the Basswood School. In May, 1905, he married Goldie Blaine, who died May 20, 1955.  A retired farmer, he attended the Oakwood United Methodiest Church and was a member of the Oakwood IOOF Lodge.
Surviving are three sons, five other daughters, a sister, Mrs. Hulda Delaney, 62 grandchildren and 48 great grandchildren.
Services were at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Taylor Funeral Home, Oakwood, Rev. Richard R. Crosby officiating. Burial in Sherman Cemetery, west of Oakwood.

SNGF – 2015 Ancestor Score

Randy Seaver, over at Geneamusings, hosts a weekly “Saturday Night Genealogy Fun” event every week…Most weeks I don’t even catch the event for one reason or another.  Other weeks I look at his challenge and say…”Huh?”, then I shrug my shoulders and move on.

This week, however, I’m taking him up on his challenge, because I find it to be a great way to keep track of my research progress this year.  So although he has dated his challenge for 2016, I’m dating it 2015…because since the beginning of this new year I have not yet discovered any new ancestors (I’ll compare the numbers at the end of the year to see how I’ve done.).  His challenge is to determine how complete my genealogy research is by compiling a score based on the number of direct ancestors that I’ve located.

It’s simple really – by counting myself, my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on, and so on….for just 10 generations that equals a potential of 1,023 people who are, as Crista Cowan states, “responsible for your existence.”

Generation	Relationship	Possible People	My Identified People
1	You	1	1
2	Parents	2	2
3	Grandparents	4	4
4	Great-grandparents	8	8
5	2x Great-grandparents	16	16
6	3x Great- grandparents	32	32
7	4x Great- grandparents	64	46
8	5x Great-grandparents	128	45
9	6x Great- grandparents	256	44
10	7x Great-grandparents	512	45
	TOTAL	1,023	243

My 10 generations show that I’ve located a mere 243 of these ancestors…that’s only 24%!!  Looks like I have some work to do this year!

The next time somebody tells you that they’ve finished their entire family tree, have them show you the numbers…and the aunts, uncles, cousins that aren’t even included with these numbers.  There is always a new family member to discover!!

~C.

New Year, New Tools!

Tags

Gallia, Ohio

Last year I attempted a “Do-Over” on my family tree.

Like most resolutions, it didn’t last long, and I think I made it through all of week 1 and organized my computer files before letting the “Do-Over” get the best of me.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that I made it to my local gym for more workouts in the last year than I accomplished actual completed tasks in the organized Do-Over.

After 43 years, I can say with a certain amount of absolution that resolutions do not work for me.  I know what it is that I want to do and what I want to accomplish, I just prefer to do it at my own pace.  Putting it on a calendar sets a timer in motion and suddenly I’m feeling pressure to accomplish this huge milestone in the next 365 days.  Or smaller milestones over the course of the next 12 months.  Or 52 weeks even.

The new year signals this crazy period of time when we try to convince ourselves that it’s a good idea to do such things –  whether going to the gym, organizing our family history research, or even just taking a fresh set of eyes to our personal lives and seeing where we want to make changes….hopefully for the better.  But sometimes, maybe it’s just about getting the right tools in our hands to help us put those plans into motion.

This year I have opted for a “New tools, NO resolutions” New Year.

I’ve been researching my ancestors for a while now, not as long as some, but longer than most.  There are still family members to locate, details on their lives to find, and stories to be told.  I’m at the point in my genealogist/family historian career that I no longer am concerned as much with adding the names to my database, but more so it’s their stories that I have a passion to share.

In doing so, I also want to tell it well, and tell it intelligently.  When I was in high school and college, the number one rule to a good research paper was to have sources to back up the material that you’re writing about.  It’s no different in the genealogy community.  “Cite Your Sources” is the #1 mantra (or should be) of every genealogist out there.   To help with that, I found a program that helps me with my sources, and assists in leading me to a logical conclusion about all of the evidence I have collected.  Evidentia is pure genius in doing this as it forces me to look at everything and pull it all together in a “big picture”sort-of-way while also keeping me on track with genealogical proof standards.

This year, I just recently added the companion book to the Evidentia software as well as a “Quick-Start” guide…because sometimes you know that there’s a whole lot more that you could be doing but just don’t know how, and then there are other times when you just need that quick reference tool as a reminder aide.  Bravo Ed and Evidentia – I’m really looking forward to taking things up a notch this year!

Another purchase was the “Genealogy Do-Over” workbook from Thomas MacEntee.  I know I already confessed to failing miserably at this last year.  I fully anticipate, however, that this workbook will help by putting into my hands what I wanted to do, and allow me to do it at my own pace without having to watch all of the genealogy over-achievers zip right past me, leaving me in the dust.  Love that this was put into print for us!

I wrote in a previous post that I was looking at new family tree software and RootsMagic has met that challenge for Family Tree Maker users (with a free book included!).  Check that off Genealogy Shopping List as “purchased”.

Finally, I recently renewed my membership to a related genealogical society, and in the process purchased a reprint of the 1874 illustrated atlas from Gallia County, Ohio…my paternal “homeland”, if you will. (at 50% off, I couldn’t NOT get it!)  I’m way too visual of a person to not have this item in my genealogy library, so I’m incredibly anxious to leisurely browse through and locate my many ancestors who were in the area at that time period.

Combined, all of these items would probably be termed as what the Genealogy Do-Over refers to as “Bright Shiny Objects” – you know, those things that come up that ultimately distract you from your goal.

Have no fear my genes-friends….I have enough outside of my genealogy world to distract me. All of these lovelies will simply pull me in and guide me to the next ancestor who is merely waiting for me to tell their story.

~C.

Military Monday: 6 July 1944

Tags

Converse

(A letter to our soldier from his sweetheart…letter is shared “as is”…misspellings and all.)

Converse, Indiana

My Darling Sweetheart,
    Honey please try to make this letter out. Because I’m in bed trying my best to write it. I received your very sweet letter this morning and tryed to answer it as soon as I got it but it seemed like every time I’d start somebody would interfere. But Gertie and I are here alone now and I’ll finish if it takes me all nite, cause I want this mailed early in the morning. Your proably wondering why I’m in bed. Well I’ve been here two days now. I’ve not worked at all since I’ve came back. I was going to work Tuesday But I was left So Tuesday afternoon, Gertie and Francis, Erma and I walked about 5 or 6 miles I think and when we got back I went to lodge and while I was up there my leg started hurting and hasn’t let up yet. It seems like my leg gets weaker all the time. Mother went to the Dr just a while ago to see about having x-rays taken So I’ll know about that when she gets back.
      I’m going to cash in some of my bonds for the money I’m going to need. I sure hate this laying in bed. Honey this morning before I got your letter the Anacond was here. Told Mother to call them when we found out what I was going to do. But when Mother brought your letter Daddy said if that factory man could see me then He would swear I was able to work.
     Oh Darling your letters are so wonderful they sure hit the spot. You don’t believe me do you honey? Please do. I love you honey honest I do. Don came in today for a very short while. I told him you were going to write him. Say honey it looks like my whole family has decided you are the one for me. Aunt Ruth was down today. She thinks the same. I told you I was interrupted every time I started writing. Well Uncle Jack is listening to the radio and full blast. Sweetheart please write to me as often as you can. Your letters mean a great deal to me. I miss you darling I do I miss you so much. I sure hope you get that weekend pass. But honey I don’t think we should do what you said we would do. I mean just right now. I’ll keep my promise to you Darling I won’t never forget what we’ve planned to do. Dearest in your letter you said you wanted to call me. Honey why didn’t you I would of payed for the call. Your so sweet I can never forget the things you’ve done for me. I’m sure glad you aren’t the kind of guy who drinks because theres nothing else to do. Honey I love you and I want to be with you all the time. So you wrote your Dad a letter and told him we were going to get married. I wish I knew how your folks really felt about me. I’m so weak honey I can’t hardly write. Yes honey I wrote the letter I’m which you probably know by now. I told him that you wanted me to marry you and I couldn’t see giving you up cause never could I find any one who could be any better to me than you. Say honey when we get married I want you to keep your promise to me. You said you wouldn’t even go out on the porch unless I went with you. Honey that’s the way I want it to be – always together. Honey I hope they don’t send you out west or some where far away. But all we can do is just wait and see what happens.
     We got word today that Le Roy is going to get to come home. Maybe the first of next week for good. He was always talking about how much fun he had the night we were all together. Honey Mother just came back from the Dr. But he wasn’t there. He was in Indianapolis for something.
     So your telling the fellows up there that I’m your wife, so they won’t write to me.. You jealous thing. You should be like me I’m not a bit jealous of you. Don’t you dare let me hear about you writing to some other girl. I guess I am pretty jealous of you. But its all your fault. You said you couldn’t love anyone unless they were jealous of you. So that was the only way I could make you love me. Or am I wrong honey. You love me don’t you sweetheart. But you never mentioned anything in your letter wether you were glad to see me over the week end or not. Tell me Darling did you really enjoy being with me. Don’t say yes unless you mean it Darling. I’m telling you honey I enjoyed myself very much. Just to be near you I wish you would be hear tonite. I’m so lonesome and I hate to stay in bed. But my les is to weak and akes so bad I guess its best I lay here. But if you come home I’ll get out of here or die. But I hope to know by tomorrow what is what with the Dr. and me. I wrote my brother another letter today. But I’ve never received any mail from him lately .
     Well honey one good thing when Mother gets my check tomorrow I’ll have enough to pay everybody. But I’d like to send you some money. Honey if at any time you need any money please write and ask me for it. Guess I’d better be signing off with love and stuff and lots of both. Dearest I do hate to close. But hope you can make this out cause laying in bed and writing isn’t so easy. Oh Gosh honey I love you I’ve got to close for now. So I’ll say so long with Gobs of love and kiss for you and you only. Nite Dearest.

Your little Darling.