Tidbits From My World:: Reflection's Dreams. Headstones. Fortunes. Critters. Scientific Fistic.

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Man and I are already dreaming of escaping for the winter - when our Heritage RV, Tana heads south. First, however, lets talk headstones, critters, fortunes and scientific fistic.  Yea, let's.

Last summer and earlier this year, I shared with you the experience of ordering three memorial markers at one time.  Three markers, three different cemeteries, three different set of rules.  One could say I live dangerously, err, an exciting life.  One could say, I might be just a little crazed.

But, all's well that ends well and Man and I are very pleased with the results.

And, so, I unveil a photo of the last of the three.  (To see the first two, see this post from June 2015.)

And, the memorial marker for Man's paternal grandparents.  Yes, he has two names.  Yes he is one of my most interesting research subjects.  He IS the reason I became addicted to family research. Good ole "Archie".

If you care to read my report on the day we went to the cemetery, it is here, on Reflections.  It was quite the day. Hopefully you will find some humor in it at my expense.

Now, about those fortunes, critters, and scientific fistic.  I spent a few hours this summer transcribing news articles. I have collected news articles here and there over a few years. I have more to transcribe. It is tedious work that transcribing. Tedious, but, also enjoyable. The articles add so much color to my data base. Stories, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous, sometimes sad.  Over the last few months, I have published some interesting ones over at Reflections.  And, here are the links.

One of Man's ancestors, a uncle of some generations removed, Aaron Lashbrook took me on a bit of a fortune hunt.  The hook, from 1892,  that caused me to search more, is here.    And, in 1902, the report of the failed hunt.

Oscar Lashbrook, son of our fortune hunter Aaron, was involved in a horse story.

Aaron has his own horse stories, here is one.  Believe it or not, Aaron was probably the subject of this dog story.

Orville Lashbrook, another of Man's kin, was a police officer in Kansas City, Missouri. Over the years I have found quite a few little tidbits that are interesting on Orville.  One post at Reflections covered vice squads, safes and opossums.  Really.  Tis here.

Next I found Orville testifying about, of all things, honey bees.

And, Aaron, our dear country veterinarian from Kansas, was also the subject of this piece, on scientific fistic.

Newspapers, do you research them??  Really you should.  I followed one Lashbrook young man from the first articles on the draft for World War I till he went off to war and returned home.  It was a fascinating, eye opening, experience for me.  One time I found a report of all the new cars sold in a month.  Yes, indeedy, a Lashbrook was listed.

And, there you have it, dreams, headstones, fortunes, critters and scientific fistic.

Till next month.  Come October, Man and I will, hopefully, be in the crazy packing and organizing extravaganza that goes on before we head south.  

Hope to see ya on the road, in a library, archives or a cemetery some time soon.




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The Headstones Have Arrived AND Do You Digitally Edit Documents?

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Last summer I wrote about ordering 3 markers for Man's family, one for his great-grandmother, Charlotte and one for his great-grandfather, Carl (husband and wife, but, not buried side by side, not even buried in the same county).  Also ordered was a companion stone for his grandparents, the Stevens.  All three markers were delivered by November 2014, but, we had no opportunity to visit and photograph the new markers at that time.  This spring (almost summer) we are visiting where possible. We are happy to report that we have managed to obtain photos of Charlotte and Carl's stones.

You can read the previous posts here: The Lazy Hazy Days of Summer, Perfect for Remembering and Headstones and here:  Sounds Easy - - Until - - Ordering Memorial Markers

Carl is buried mid state in Clare, Clare County, Michigan.  I could see no time frame that we would be able to visit there, and even though I had requested a photo on the web site, Find A Grave, months ago, the request had not been fulfilled.  I had a "brain storm" of sorts and turned to social media, posting on Facebook that if anyone would be traveling through mid Michigan and had it in their hearts to stop and take a photo, I would be so thankful.  Within minutes, and I mean minutes, FB friend Pam Warren (who is a Genealogy Blogger, at Granny's Genealogy) wrote privately and volunteered, stating she had her hubby were driving through Clare that very weekend.  Talk about a sense of timing on my part.  I had no idea.  What a true delight.  I had quite a bit of information, including a scanned copy of the lay out of the cemetery and where Carl's burial spot was, so, I forwarded that information to her right away.  I was able to include the image of what the stone was supposed to look like.  And, true to her promise in just a few days I had this lovely image of Carl's marker.  She has granted me permission to use the photo, thank you Pam, for being a good friend, and the photo.

Charlotte is buried about a hour or so from our stick built home, so one day when we were going to be about half way there doing errands, we went to the cemetery (prior to errands, but, of course) and visited her grave site and the new marker.  We visited other family markers while there.  We checked on Man's parent's stone which had "tilted" a bit, he had requested the cemetery level the marker.  He was very pleased to see it was indeed, leveled.  To say we were delighted with the new marker on Charlotte's grave is an understatement.  What a sense of closure I felt.  I had wanted these graves marked for years and now they were.

I maintain the memorials for both Carl and Charlotte, they can be found here, Carl and Charlotte.

We will personally visit the grave sites of the Stevens' in the coming weeks, with camera in hand. I am very excited about seeing the stone.

Elsewhere in my genie life:

I have been down the genie research shiny hole. Many years of Commonwealth of Virginia marriages , divorces , deaths and some birth information have been added to Ancestry dot com.   Truth is, I have not even looked at the birth information, but, one of my research buddies/angels says there is a lot of delayed info there. At some time I will visit that data base.  The marriage and death data bases have images of the actual certificates. (Note:  Recent years do NOT have certificate images online, only the indexed information is available, some images were not released due to regulations covering recent events and privacy.)  I have roots so deep in Virginia I frequently say, "you cannot dig me out".  I have been having a wonderful time digging around in the data bases.

So, the question arises, do you digitally edit documents that you find online??  Here is an example of one from the death data base, frankly, it is well digitized, clear and quite easy to read.

In it's original downloaded size it is 1.21 MB of data.  I link documents to my data base, building a "life story" via documents and photos, when I can obtain them.  I love building the life stories this way.  However, I don't care to have that large a document linked, that is a lot of storage.

So, I digitally edit and reduce the storage size.  Trim off the black sides, enhance.  And, look what I found when I did, a white box in the middle of the document:

Social security numbers have been edited out of the documents/data base.  I won't comment further on the whys and wherefores.  I just thought it was interesting what happened when I edited the downloaded document.

Have you ever edited a document to find a surprise hidden?

Happy researching, I am going back to the shiny hole of Virginia records.  Yee ha!




* The required disclaimer, I have not been asked by Ancestry.com to review or even to use their pay web site.  I pay my fees, I use, I take my chances.  I have a more full and detailed disclaimer page on my own blog, Reflections From the Fence, you can find the disclaimers, here.

A Marker and a Memory~ When Did Her Father Die?

 My maternal Great Grandfather, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. was born and died in Sumter County, South Carolina. David, as he was known to his family, is buried in the Sumter City Cemetery.

 Finding David's headstone at the cemetery was exciting. I had discovered his birth and death dates.
 Or had I? Nagging at the back of my mind was my Grandmother,  Azile Juanita Daughrity Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009) telling me that the stone was not the original. She told me that she and her sisters put new markers on their parents graves, and the one for their father was wrong. Her memory was that he died around Christmas because she remembered being so sad that holiday season.
     A search of Manning David Daughrity's death certificate has been unsuccessful. Many attempts have been made by myself and other Daughrity family researchers over the years.


  The Memorial Record from David's funeral has the following information

Memorial Record

Manning David Daughrity

9th June  1931

 But who filled out the Memorial? Was it done at the time of his death or years later? What about the information, is it correct?
  The family Bible also has Manning David Daughrity's death as 9 June 1931, but the same questions arise. Who filled it out and when?

 A search for an obituary for David Daughrity produced the following from The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina. It is dated 10 June 1931.  The report is of the death of M.D. Daughrity on 9 June 1931.

M.D. Daughrity Obituary
The State, Columbia, South Carolina
10 June 1931.pg. 6

 Pretty convincing evidence that Manning David Daughrity, Jr. died on 9 June 1931.

One more piece of evidence convinced me of his death date. 

 A day of research at the  Sumter County Genealogical Society in Sumter, South Carolina provided me with the funeral home record for the death and burial of M.D. Daughrity.

Shelley-Brunson Funeral Home Record
M. D. Daughrity, 9 June 1931, pg. 240

The record from Shelley-Brunson Funeral Home, Sumter, South Carolina is consistent with the newspaper report of death.
 Also, a deed was found for Cemetery Plot  No. S506 bought by Mrs. M. D. Daughrity with the date 13 June 1931.  

 With these pieces of information, it is clear that M.D Daughrity died on 9 June 1931 and was buried on 10 June 1931 in the Sumter City Cemetery. 

    So Grandmom was right. Her father's marker was wrong.

 He didn't die at Christmas as she remembered, but the death date was not correct.

 What caused her to think her father died in December?  

I think I may have found out the answer to that question.

Shelley-Brunson Funeral Home Record
Mary E. Dority, 18 Dec. 1930, pg. 256

  
   While searching through the Funeral Home records for David Daughrity, I came across the entry for Mary E. Daughrity (1843-1930), David's mother and Grandmom's Grandmother. The date of her death and burial may provide the reason for the memories of an unhappy holiday season. Grandmom was remembering the death of her Grandmother, who died on 18 December 1930 and buried the next day.
 Family stories and memories usually have some truth to them. Grandmom's memory of sadness due to a loved one's death at a time that should have been a season for celebration was correct.  The family member mourned at Christmas in 1930 was her beloved Grandmother. Following six months later was the death of her father. Surely, the Christmas Holidays of 1931 was a hard one for the family as well.
   A marker and a memory. Proving that more than one source is needed to verify information and that family stories, while not always correct, can lead us to our ancestors. 

What family stories have aided you in finding your people?
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheri

Reflections Returns to Home Base, Tidbits From My World

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Man and I have returned to our home base, aka, the stick built.  We have been here almost two weeks.  The map above shows our 6 months away. I cannot say we stayed away from snow and cold this year, because we visited places that had mucho snow, sometimes 3 to 4 feet, and one of our last stops in Glenwood Springs Colorado was a bit longer than we envisioned as, well, we got snowed in. Not much snow at the campground, but, we could not get over the 11,000 foot pass to Denver for several days due to snow and ice.  We towed Tana about 5200 miles over the six months.  We put 9600 on the truck, Jolly.

Since our return, we have cut the acreage twice and felled two dead trees.  There are enough weeds to keep me, mmm, "entertained" for a while.  We have not finished moving out of Tana and back into the stick built.

I know I have been chattering all spring about "stepping" away from the computer.  I hear other bloggers/genealogists mentioning that as well.  Seems there are a number of us that are feeling "burnout".  For me, I am doing my best to walk away for several hours, here, there, but, every day, just walking away.  Of course, I usually have my iToys in tow.  I know, I know.  One device at a time.  First the computer, then, the iPad, next the iPhone.

And, I have been chattering about doing some serious catching up on input and organization.  To that effect, I have been tossing stuff in trash cans daily.  You know, stuff, like old shoes, old clothes, old stuff.  No, I cannot face doing this all in one massive tossing marathon, but, I can toss something every day.  I will admit, I am looking for the largest stuff possible to toss first, making a few holes.  Seeing that "holes" are the goal, tossing the large stuff first makes me feel like I have done something wonderful and urges me on to find more big stuff to toss.  (Why is it I hear Man's doubting snorts in the background?)

I am attempting to catch up on my travel blog posts over at Reflections From the Fence.  I am almost 2 years behind.  Isn't that sad?  As I blog I delete bad photos, and move the photos reviewed to a archival area on the hard drive.  Keeping up the daily backups and twice monthly backups to my external hard drives is paramount and something I do keep up to date. Organization, with a dose of madness tossed in to keep it real.

In between moving, tossing, organizing, blogging, and stepping away from the computer, I have managed to find two new cousins, we all descend from 2 lines in early Pennsylvania and Virginia. We have been sharing.  While sharing, I discovered some, ok, a number more than just some, of missing files on my computer.  (Refer to last sentence of the paragraph above, "Organization, with a dose of madness tossed in to keep it real.")  Books I had scanned about 2 years ago, MIA.  No where to be found.  After some quiet wailing and whining to myself, I checked one of the backup external hard drives and there they all were.  See, backups saved me a serious and painful do-over.  Did you hear my sighs of relief??  They were long and loud sighs.

Above:  just one small corner of the office.  If I can manage to clean up this corner, before fall, I will be dancing joyfully.  In that pile I see genealogy, and taxes and filing and "cleanup in aisle 4 please".  I can guarantee that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Approaching like the "tossing stuff" project, do a little every day, or twice a day, or something.  Anything is better than nothing. (Again, I hear Man's snorting in the background.  Hmmmph.)

Last summer I spent considerable time arranging for markers to be placed on 3 graves of Man's ancestors.  I hope to personally visit two of these grave sites in the next month or so and obtain photos.  Descendants of two are so pleased that there are now new beautiful markers on their ancestor's graves.  Received a warm and loving thank you note from one of the descendants the other day.  She is thrilled.  Another descendant wrote when she saw mock-up photos that she was crying with joy.  Yes, all that work was worth it.  The money spent was worth it.  I feel closure, my heart is at peace.

What are your plans for the upcoming summer?  Research, organizing, tossing stuff, or just stepping away from the computer?  Whatever you plan, don't forget to include lots of visits and hugs with family, they are after all the basis of our research, why we do what we love so much. And, oh, take lots of photos!




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Sounds Easy - - Until - - Ordering Memorial Markers

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Sounds easy - - ordering headstones and monuments for Man’s family members whose final resting places have been unmarked for years.

Sounds easy - - until you actually start the process.

Suggestion - - maybe just do one at a time?  Dealing with three cemeteries has proven to be a bit of a challenge.  They all have different rules.  Different requirements.

Here are some suggestions, from things I am learning along the way.

Call each cemetery first thing.  As soon as you decide you want to place monuments, call the cemetery.  Ask questions.  What requirements, what restrictions are enforced.  Keep good notes, you are going to need them.  Get contact information, names, full street address and phone numbers, Also obtain the full address and contact data on where the memorial is to be delivered. Street address for delivery could well be different from where the office is.

Some of the restrictions will be size, some will be the type of materials required. Some cemeteries only allow bronze flat memorials.  Some restrict the smallest size allowed, or the largest size allowed.  Some require that “companion” stones are only one specific size.  (BTW, a companion stone is one that has two names, usually a husband and wife on the same stone.)

Inquire as to requirements for the base to set your memorial on.  Marble, or concrete.  Does the cemetery require that you have a request in for said base by a certain date, here in Michigan, there is one cemetery we are dealing with that must have an order for the base placed no later than September 30th.  Or, we wait till next spring.

And, of course, you need to know, what fees are involved. After you pay the price of the memorial marker, how much will you need to pay to the cemetery to have the memorial installed to their specifications.  One cemetery charges $600.00 for a companion stone.  One cemetery charges $250.00 for installation of a single bronze.  Once cemetery is replacing some weird little concrete stub of a “marker” for a minimal installation cost to us.

Work closely with the cemetery and the monument makers.  Put them in touch with each other. One cemetery we are dealing with requires a form to be filled out by the monument maker which we must sign off on or they will not accept delivery.  One cemetery has suggested a rubbing be made of other family stones.  They require as an exact match as possible.  You try matching a stone, in color and style when what you must match is over 70 years old.  Hint: they don’t quarry that kind of stone anymore.

You will find that if you use suppliers other than those recommended by the cemetery your fees and requirements may change.  If they order from a company they deal with continuously, you may or may not pay more.  The cemetery may be more or less cooperative.  They have reasons, to be uncooperative, some of the reasons probably have to do with $$, but, some of the nightmare stories of stones arriving in horrible shape and inscribed horribly, well, you can understand the cemeteries cringing when you state a desire to deal with other than their usual vendors.

Ask about lead time required by the monument supplier.  Ask prices.  Ask for discounts. Yes, at least try, ask for discounts.

You might consider informing the cemetery of exactly how the stones will be inscribed.  With Man’s grandfather we are working on having BOTH of his names inscribed.  The cemetery needs to know this.

I have asked the cemeteries what dates they have recorded.  This was particularly important when I was trying to come up with a birth date for Man’s grandmother.  It took me two days to review and consult and draw up a time line listing of her ages.  She was vain, she “fibbed” about her age on every single document.  And, oh, her death certificate, had her aged 61, but, the death date and the birth dates recorded do NOT figure up to 61.  We had different days, different months and a plethora of different years.  We had to “settle” on one set of dates, as Man was not going to consider a birth stated as “About 1888 to 1893".

Ask for photos of suggestions and of the final product from your vendor.  I am asking for photos of the final product before they are shipped.

Yes, it sounded easy - - in theory - - 




* Images of the headstones are mock ups of the stones/memorials we hope to be ordering in the next week or so.

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The Lazy Hazy Days of Summer, Perfect for Remembering and Headstones

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Summer here in the USA is mostly a done deal.  Soon our youngsters will be headed back to school (actually some have already started).

So between shopping for school supplies, some last minute vacation getaways and our upcoming National holiday of Labor Day, we are all busy people.

How have you spent your summer days?  Researching in libraries, visiting cemeteries, laying on the beach?

Well, there was no beach time, cemeteries or research trips for Man and I this summer.  We have been sticking close to the stick built, but, believe me, we have not been idle.  We have had quite a few visitors, including my Mother and the grandtwins.  We have been doing lots of yard work, the yard was ignored for a few summers, the flower beds were and parts still are, rather overgrown and full of weeds.  We have spread over 8 cubic yards of cedar mulch so far, here and there, and we still have another 3 left in the utility trailer to spread.

During breaks from all this great exercise and family time I work on the data base, reviewing, linking photos and documents.  All good things.

With the sale of Man’s childhood home last month, we are going to do something else that needs to be done.  It has been over 50 years waiting to be done.  We are going to invest in something marble or bronze - - 

We are ordering headstones for his grandparents and his great grandparents.  One of the great-grandparents died in 1923, no stone.  His wife, died in 1939, no stone.  The grandparents we will be memorializing died in 1952 and 1954, again, no stones.

We have been asked, why do this, when there are very few that will visit the graves?  Stones are not cheap.  Simple, everyone deserves to be remembered.   

Calls are being made, information gathered, brochures requested.  The hope is that before these Rvers head south for the cold months we will have stones in place for those who have waited far too long.  

RIP, Charlotte Gehrke, Carl Gehrke, Arthur N Stevens (aka Archibald Lashbrook) and Edna Stevens.  You have not been forgotten.

* Photo courtesy of Kaz, subscriber at Pixabay.  Permission was requested for use of her Public Domain photo, permission was granted.  Thanks Karen.
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Killing Them Off - It can help knock down those brick walls

What Death Records have you used?

One thing that many genealogists do not pursue, as much as they should, is death records.

Even though as beginners we are advised to kill off the individuals in our trees. 
However, unless the death records available, provide clues to aid the addition of further generations, many of us think it is something that can be left till last.

But is this really such a good idea, and are these records as lacking in information as we believe.

So what records are available that can help us to determine that our family member has died.

In England and Wales here are some of the records I  have used

• Death Certificates - these were required from 1837. However they are not always available for the early years.
• Burial Records for church or cemetery.
• Newspapers - obituaries, death notices and inquest reports.
• Headstones - although many are illegible.

As I discovered only this week, the amount of information found in any of these records can vary widely.

Death Certificates or Registers

Certificates in England and Wales contain only a limited amount of information, although you can sometimes discover a daughter's married surname if she registered the death. Here is a useful guide to what can be found on these certificates  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By3twQPayu2VMUJjMWtRRTVnMDQ/edit?usp=sharing

In Scotland it is very different. The Scotland's People website allows access to images of the registers (for a fee), the details as to what information can be found on these, is explained on this page  http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=554&628 .
This extra information can be a great help. 
So if you have family who died in Scotland it may be worth your while checking out those death records.

Burial Records or Registers

Burial records may be your first port of call for earlier years, but I would always recommend finding the original record where possible as sometimes additional information is recorded. Even for more recent burials the registers can confirm where the individual was buried and where any memorial may be found. 
Today many individuals are cremated. Although this was less common in the past, a lack of a burial record, cannot be considered to indicate that an individual is or was still alive and searching for a cremation may need to be considered.
If someone was cremated it may be more difficult to find the records but books of remembrance and memorials can be found.

Newspapers

For sudden deaths then newspapers can reveal much about the family as an inquest will look into the circumstances of the death. 

Death notices may contain little more than a death date, but others can be more like an obituary, with details of family members. 
They may give clues to other places to find records or mention the company involved in the burial.

Headstones and Memorials

Headstones can be very susceptible to the ravages of time and weather conditions. Some older memorials can still be read today whilst other newer ones can be illegible. The materials used and the position in the burial ground are all factors affecting the memorial.

Many family history societies will have transcribed headstones in the past and this may be the only way of finding what was written on the memorial.

Find a Grave http://www.findagrave.com/ is worth looking at even for more recent deaths as is Billion Graves http://billiongraves.com/ .

I have not extended my search beyond England and Wales so I would suggest that if you are looking for records in other parts of the world you check out Cyndi's List http://www.cyndislist.com/  to find out what records may be available or where you may be able to start looking.

Finding out when and how someone died can bring so much to your story and without a record of death how can you be sure that there was not some other reason why that individual has apparently disappeared. 

This does not mean that we record individuals as living well past the usual life expectancy, but a deceased without a death date is always open to questions. 

Divorce was not readily available for our ancestors and if someone was of the right age, they may have another, yet to be discovered, family.

Widows of any age may have remarried. So that death record you found was it your person or another with the same name. 
This has happened to me and I discovered the person had remarried and was living with her new husband on the next census. She finally died some decades after the original date I had found.

If you have found death records to be useful please share what you have found with others in the community. If you have found any unusual sources or particularly useful records then I am sure others would love to know about them.

As I have mentioned before we all benefit from collaboration none of us know everything so please share your thoughts. 
Whilst you may help others it is also possible that others may help you.

"COME ON LET'S BREAK DOWN SOME BRICK WALLS!"