52 Ancestors #23 – Charles O. Bingle

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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.

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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.

52 Ancestors #22 – Nay and Goldie (Blaine) Thrasher

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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!

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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.

Cutting Ties with Ancestry.com

I don’t have time for nonsense.

With three kids, a husband, a part time job, a full-time volunteer position…I don’t have time for nonsense, drama, or anything that adds any more craziness to my already hectic life.

First it was about a new Ancestry.com website.  This didn’t bother me so much, as everything is new at some point,right?  I mean the initial Ancestry.com was a learning experience that I got used to.  This is how I look at it when Facebook does an upgrade, or my Mac’s operating system is upgraded…it may take some getting used to, but you live with it, and hopefully you adjust.  However, there was also drama, because this was not, a popular change among the masses.

A short time later in the year,  I read of changes in Ancestry.com’s  subscription plans, and alarms went off in my head.  This sounded like drama.  This sounded like changes in what I was being offered as a subscriber.   I could have access to more databases, but my subscription rate would go up.  Or I could pay what I was currently paying (or pay less), and have less access than what I currently had.  Wait…What?  No Thank You!

I didn’t have time for that kind of ridiculousness, and I began to research my options.

Fast forward to just a short time ago when Ancestry.com (once again) came out with an announcement.  They were no longer going to sell Family Tree Maker nor would they continue to offer FTM support as of January 2017.

That was the final step.  I’m sure they had their reasons for doing everything they did, but honestly, Ancestry.com, it’s just too much.  I like consistency.  I like drama-free.  I don’t want to have to think twice or bang my head against a brick wall except for my ancestor brick-walls that I’m trying to knock down.

I merely want and expect things to work in the way they are supposed to.

My Ancestry subscription has lapsed, and I’m now a proud subscriber to two other sites, for LESS than what I was paying for a year of Ancestry.  There are less databases, but its a more intense focus on my New England ancestors, which is what I’m ready for in my current research.  And let’s not forget that I was doing genealogy via FREE databases for YEARS before ever taking a bite of the Ancestry.com apple.

My Family Tree Maker software is …ugh. Bothersome.  I’ve never cared for it, but after making the change from PC to Mac, it was the option that I chose.  A few things haven’t been working right on my version for some time now, and I could probably contact customer support to get it fixed, but I’ve found ways to work around the issues, as I had no desire or time to call some software geek who would walk me through varying steps of making me feel technologically challenged, when in actuality,  it was the product that wasn’t keeping up with my computer.

So change is needed.

I’ve found a new genealogy program in RootsMagic,and I’m using just the basic version as I begin to acclimate myself to this change.  However, today I read that RootsMagic is offering the upgrade of their program for only $20 to FTM users plus a free book on using their system.  SOLD!

I’m looking at the RootsMagic people saying to all of us genealogists, “Yes! We understand your frustration and it’s okay. Let us help you!”  In the meantime,  Ancestry.com is sitting in their tower looking over their spreadsheets of quarterly earnings saying to themselves “How can we increase this even more than what we already have?”

I don’t have time for that kind of nonsense.

Adios Ancestry.com.  It was fun while it lasted.

~C

December 4 – Christmas Lights

Tags

Advent, ChristmasMemories

Picture with me for a moment – driving along a country road at night. It’s a pretty sparse country road, with the closest town being 10-15 minutes away.  The car headlights chase the curves in the road, unsure of what we may come upon. The road turns to the left just a bit, and up a hill.   Topping over the hill, you see it…the bright glow of a house that is on fire!

Oh….wait….no, that house is NOT on fire. It’s the glow of bright orange electric candles in every. stinkin’. window – causing the home to put out a glow, almost resembling a bonfire before a homecoming football game!

That glowing house was my house at Christmas time. And it wasn’t just a single candle in each window…it was a trio. Three. Tres. Do the math with me. 3 candles x 14 windows…yeah, you’re starting to see the glow now aren’t you?

Adding to that –  what I am certain were the oldest outdoor Christmas decorations left on earth.  TWO 4 foot plastic candles (more candles!) that read “NOEL” down the front.  ONE 5 foot plastic Santa Claus (with finger appropriately positioned against his nose, as if ready to take off through our non-existent chimney) – both candles and Santa, once plugged in looked more transparent as the paint originally used on their plastic bodies had worn off long ago.

And then there were the lights. No, not the bright beautiful LED lights that are seen today, and not even were they miniature lights. These were the B I G C9 light bulbs that were strung along the shrubs in front of our house.

All part of the magic of the Christmas season, right? Tell that to the wisemen who stopped at our house, certain that the glow they saw in the sky was from a star. Boy were they surprised when they popped over that hill and didn’t find a King, but instead found our house – in all of it’s electrified, Christmas glory.

http://s259.photobucket.com/user/oholylights/library/

~C.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history twenty-four different ways during December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.

 

December 3 – Christmas Music

Tags

Advent, ChristmasMemories

(“Christmas carols, church music and even more modern novelty songs are all a big part of our Christmas memories. What songs were your favorites as a child and are they still your favorites or do you have new ones? What about your parents or family members – were there certain songs or types of Christmas music played during the season? And how would you describe the type of Christmas music you like?”)

When I was growing up, the very first record my mom would play was Lynn Anderson’s Christmas record. Yes, it was country music. Stop laughing. Yes, it was an actual record.  Really. Okay, yes it was old school country music. More twang and steel guitar than what should be allowed on one record album.

Oddly enough, I still love that record. But, sad to say, I do not own a record player, and the album has been out of print for years. Thanks to an amazing little thing called iTunes, I was able to obtain a digital copy and burned my own CD, and I can get rid of that sad little cassette tape where I recorded that album years ago.

I’d say its time for the first Christmas song from the first Christmas record of my Christmas season…don’t you think??? Enjoy!!

~C.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history twenty-four different ways during December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.