Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hidden Gems of Family History :: Found 'em in the Newspaper!

Newspapers are one of my favorite resources. Many precious tidbits of information have been found within their pages that have added to the "humanization" of my family tree. Recording the events of their daily lives, newspapers can be a goldmine of information. Obituary notices are, of course, most commonly found, and they are wonderful (some more so than others). But it is those extra tidbits that, oftentimes, can only be found by reading the microfilm until your eyes are crossed, your head is pounding with a headache, and your stomach queasy from motion sickness! Ah, the joys of newspaper research. But the treasures that can be found make it all worthwhile.

From local newspapers, I've learned a few interesting things about some family members:

During the early 1900s Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker are Royal Entertainers. I sorta knew that from my grandmother's writings, but thought it was neat that one of their parties made the local news.

In July 1902, Franklin H. Foust had eight or ten Sheep Drowned as a result of the floods.

On May 1st 1909, Curtis W. Jones remembered the worst May Day "ever perpetrated on the people in this vicinity." That was in 1851. . .

It was in May 1905 that my great-grandfather, Henry Phend, pulled a gun on poor Dr. Souder when he came to check on the family. Henry had been quarantined with his wife and 7 children for 11 days, The children ranged from 6 months to 12 years old.

We learned that in January 1911 about "Mrs. C.R. Brubaker, who went to Traverse City, Michigan, to look after the shipment of the household goods, was stormbound for three days and did not arrive here until Wednesday. A great snow storm was raging in northern Michigan. The C.R. Brubaker family will make their home with his father, Wm. Brubaker in Troy township." This was after the tragic death of C.R.'s brother Hale Brubaker.

In August 1914, within a week of each other, there were Fires at the Brubaker and Phend Homes. Thankfully, little damage was done to either house.

In August 1917, Henry Meier and his friend, a Miss Burnworth, spent the day with friends where he had an encounter with a Runaway Colt. Ten days later Mr. Meier and Miss Doris Burnworth eloped to Michigan to get married.

In December 1917 Two Fellows were Home From Camp Taylor, one of whom was my grandfather, Victor Phend.

In July 1918, we find that Roy Parkinson Has a Fine Store at Wolf Lake.

The next month, Mildred Jones Married an Illinois Man. She had to resign a very fine position as physical director at the Y. M. C. A. in Detroit, Michigan. And he was going to be entering an army training camp the first of September.

In January 1919, a letter that Vic Phend Writes From France to his sister in Columbia City was published in the local paper.

In 1921, the Brubaker-Phend Marriage joined together my grandparents, Vic Phend and Hazlette Brubaker.

Fast forward to May 1947 when a Larwill Girl was Married in a North Webster Church. That girl would become my mother and she was marrying the man who would become my father.

On September 4, 1952 Henry & Susie Yarian Phend celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. A family celebration was held the previous Sunday. "Seventy-five people attended the dinner at noon which was served on the lawn. In the afternoon 150 guests called between 2 and 5 o'clock." I was there, but being only 4 years old at the time don't remember the events of the day.

In November 1957, Henry Phend Celebrated his 92nd Birthday at the home of his son Gerald.

These are just a few of the "special" items I've found buried in the pages of local newspapers. When I first started my research I didn't always take the time to read the other stories, even those on the same page. I was fixated on finding a specific article. One day I came home from the Nappanne Library so excited. I had found the obituary of my 2nd great grandfather, Eli Yarian. I won't go into detail here as he will be the subject of a future post, but Eli died on January 28, 1895 in a "frightful and very sad accident" whereby he "met instant death by being struck on the head with a limb of a falling tree." The story of his demise took nearly an entire column of the first page; it was full of the rather gruesome details surrounding his death.

I showed the copy of the article to my mother. As she finished reading it, she started laughing. I didn't understand why it would be so funny to her. When I asked her, she handed the copy back to me and pointed to a little article in the next column.
"Last Saturday, Frank Smith paid a fine and costs amounting to $8.30 imposed in Justice Corns' court for using profane language. The affidavit was filed by Jonathan Yarian. Young Smith, with others, were hauling logs, and some difficulty arose about loading, which caused the young man to so far forget himself as to heap some abuse on Mr. Yarian, among other things, language calculated to reflect discredit on the name of the latter's mother, and supplementing it with a threat to chop off his leg, or some things to that effect. As he might have carried out his threat without bodily harm to Mr. Yarian, he was simply caused to plead guilty to using profanity. Frank will probably be a little more discreet in the future, in the choice of language."
After reading it, I too began laughing. You see, we knew that no "bodily harm" would have come to Mr. Jonathan Yarian even if Mr. Smith had followed through on his threat. Why? Because Jonathan Yarian had a wooden leg, which was the result of injury and amputation during the Civil War.

After that little incident I was more conscientious in my reading. Doing so, however, comes with a price - more time spent looking at that microfilm! But what fun it is, especially when you find those hidden gems of family history!

Contributed to the 57th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy :: I read it in the news!

Correcting Mistakes :: Elsie and Charles Wiseman

Being human, we all make mistakes. Once the errant data is posted "out there" on the World Wide Web it can't be taken back. And then it gets propagated by others researching the same family. What do you do? If you wait to post anything until your research is "completed" then the chances are good your research will never be seen by anyone else. Dear Myrtle has a post this morning about Correcting Mistakes in your genealogy research. It's worth your time to read it.

My Tombstone Tuesday post earlier today is a case in point. The inscriptions for my dad's parents Elsie Shuder and Charlie Wiseman show that they were both born in 1886. And that was what was recorded by my cousin in the papers that I received from her years ago. I haven't done all that much research myself on my Dad's lines because my cousin spent quite a few years researching the Wiseman and Shuder lines. I'm not laying any "blame" on her, after all, I entered the date in my database without verifying it, and that's what was on the tombstone so it had to be right!

Anyway, as I was going through some of my cousins papers last year I noticed that there were no copies of the marriage application or death records for Elsie and Charlie. So, I ordered them and discovered that for both of them their year of birth is 1885, not 1886.

A search on WorldConnect for Elsie Shuder, born 1885, returned no results. A search for her born 1886 turned up 12 databases, all of which (including mine: rwiseman_bray) give her date of birth as 18 Aug 1886. A search for Charles Wilson Wiseman, born 1886, returned 14 results. The 13 entries that are for him all give 20 Sep 1886 as his date of birth. Someday, if I get ambitious enough, I might contact the contributors of those other databases or perhaps add a post-em note to their entries for Elsie and Charles. A second issue with Charles is his date of death. My cousin had it as February 4, 1943 but his death record shows that he died on January 28th.

In an ideal world, I would update my WorldConnect database immediately, but for a variety of reasons, it isn't likely that I will be doing that anytime soon. To me, this isn't "critical" information. Important, yes, but not critical. It doesn't involve a connection to the wrong lineage or anything major, so what I've done is add post-ems with the correct information. (You do read post-ems on WorldConnect when you see them, don't you?) As soon as this is posted I'll edit the post-ems to include a link here so people can see the documents for themselves.

As always, click on the images below to view a larger version. . .

Marriage Application, Charles Wiseman and Elsie Shuder. March 1, 1906. Kosciusko County, Indiana (Book N Page 224)

Death Certificate, Elsie Shuder Wiseman. February 3, 1926. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 5058)

Death Certificate, Charles Wiseman. January 28, 1943. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 3636)

Seeking Hidden Treasures

Denise at The Family Curator has issued a Treasure Hunt! A Challenge for Genea Bloggers. The premise of this two-part challenge is that we must select a destination (i.e. a box of "stuff"), make a plan (map and timeline), post the plan by September 30th, then tackle the project, and before October 20th, share our once-buried treasure with a second post.

The Destination: The box shown below. It is one of 30 or so unopened boxes in my garage. It was two years ago that I moved from a house to an apartment. Many of the boxes contain books, there just isn't enough room for them in the apartment. Anyway, this box measures 13" high, 16" wide, and 13" deep.

The Map: To be honest, I don't think there will be any genealogical treasures within, but it is labeled "Cards, Letters, Misc" and the lord only knows what is included in miscellaneous! So, I'll sort through everything to see what I have and determine whether it should be kept or if it should be discarded. I can only hope that it will contain something worthy of sharing!

The Timeline: Hopefully, I'll get to this next week, but obviously will get it done before the October 20th deadline. How's that for commitment? The biggest step was moving it from the garage into the apartment. It is sitting in a spot where I'll see it every day so I won't forget about the project.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Elsie Shuder and Charles Wiseman

Gravesite of my grandparents Elsie Shuder and Charles Wilson Wiseman
North Webster Cemetery, North Webster (Kosciusko County), Indiana
Wiseman
Elsie Shuder / 1886-1926
Charles W. / 1886-1943

Elsie Shuder was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder. She was born on August 18, 1885 in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. The inscription shows her year of birth as 1886 but her marriage application and death record both show that she was born in 1885. Elsie perished in a house fire on February 3, 1926 leaving eight children between the ages of 2 and 16. She was 40 years old. My father was the youngest of the children.

Charles Wilson Wiseman was born on September 20, 1885 also in Tippecanoe Township. The inscription shows his year of birth as 1886 but his marriage application, WWI Draft Registration Card, and Certificate of Death all give his year of birth as 1885. He was the son of Samuel Bray and Amanda Minerva (Alexander) Wiseman. It was said that Charlie made the best moonshine and was the best one-armed card shark in the county. (In 1908, his right arm had been amputated below the elbow after an accident with a cement mixer.) Charlie passed away on January 28, 1943 at McDonald Hospital in Warsaw, Indiana.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Monday's Child :: The Nursery Rhyme

There is an old nursery rhyme that supposedly predicts the personality of an individual based on the day they were born. Wikipedia has several versions and a search of the web found numerous other variations, but I think this one is probably the most common version, in today's language.
Monday's child is fair of face.
Tuesday's child is full of grace.
Wednesday's child is full of woe.
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving.
Saturday's child works hard for a living.
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is fair and wise, good and gay.
The day of my birth was a Tuesday. I must have been born on the wrong day! When I think of a graceful person I see someone with style, beauty, poise, charm, and elegance. I think of my Aunt Fern, who was the epitome of style. I think of Grace Kelly. But I've never thought of myself as "full of grace" as it just isn't in my nature. No sense of style. Not beautiful. Little poise. Maybe some charm. Definitely not elegant!

I am really a Thursday's child. Always wanting to go places. To be somewhere that I wasn't. I'm afraid that the wanderlust gene is surfacing once again. I'm not sure where it will take me this time but I am certain that I'll be "going places" before this next year is through. I'd go sooner but there are some "things" and family matters that need to be taken care of first...

An Update on Carl and Claude Robison

Carl and Claude Robison are sons of Frank and Cora Robison, grandsons of Henry and Lucy Robison, and great grandsons of Henry and Ann Robison.

=+= Carl Robison =+=

According to his mother's obituary published in the Columbia City Post on July 16, 1934 Carl Robison was living in Cincinnati, Ohio. However, the obituary of his mother that was published in the Leader-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) stated that he lived in Lincoln, Nebraska!

I hadn't found Carl in Indiana or Ohio in 1930, but a search of the 1930 census found that he was indeed living in Lincoln. (Lancaster County, Nebraska, page 218). Carl Robison was head of the household. He was renting his home for $50, was 33 years old, married, first married at age 21, born in Indiana, and his parents were born in Indiana. His wife Cecil, was 32 years old, first married at age 20, born in Indiana. The occupation given for both of them was music teacher.

The staff at the Marion Library found his obituary in the Chronicle-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) published on Sunday, December 12, 1971 (page 12).
Carl Robison, 75, 216 W. 41st St., widely known musician, died at 1 p.m. Saturday at his home following an illness of two years.

A native of Marion, he formerly played with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and with the Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., Symphony Orchestra. He also taught oboe at the University of Nebraska. He played for the opening of the Lyric Theater in Marion many years ago. He was a charter member of the Musicians Union here. For several years after he returned to Marion, he was a tool and die maker at Paranite Wire and Cable Co.

Mr. Robison was a member of St. James Lutheran Church, and he was a member of Samaritan Lodge, F and A M, and all of the York Rite Masonic Bodies in Marion, the Mizpah Shrine, Fort Wayne, the Shrine Band in that city and the Mississinewa Chapter, Order of Eastern Star.

Survivors include the wife, Venetta; one son, Jack, Riverside, Calif.; one stepson, Charles Diodore, Riverside, Calif., and a brother, Henry, Warren.

Friends may call after 7 p.m. today at Shawley Memorial Chapel, 2901 S. Washington St. Funeral arrangements are pending.
The Social Security Death Index on ancestry shows that Carl was born May 28, 1896 and died Dec 1971. His last residence was Marion, Grant County, Indiana.

=+= Claude Robison =+=

All I had on Claude was that he was listed with his parents in the census records for 1910 through 1930 which showed that he was born about 1909 or 1910. The staff at the Marion Library found his funeral notice published in the Chronicle-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) on Sunday July 14, 1968:
Services for former Marion resident Claude Robison, 59, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in St. John's Church of Christ, Chicago Heights, Ill.

Mr. Robison, formerly employed at Beitler Studio, Marion, died Friday night in Chicago Heights. Burial will be there.

Survivors are his wife, the former Bernice Oliver; two brothers, Henry, Warren, and Carl, Marion; two sons, Don, California, and Carl, Chicago Heights, and six grandchildren.
The Social Security Death Index on ancestry shows that Claude was born April 4, 1909 and died July 1968. His last residence was Chicago Heights, Cook County, Illinois.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Got slides you wanta digitize?

If you've been following my blog recently then you are aware that I've been on a digitizing spree. It started in April with scanning a few photos for my mother's 80th birthday and evolved into a project to scan our family's picture albums. That's almost done, just waiting for my niece to get her part of the project completed ;-)

The next phase was started this past week with the purchase of a ScanSnap S300 scanner for digitizing my genealogy documents and correspondence. I really can't say enough about that little scanner. It is amazingly quick with very good quality. I heartily recommend it!

All the while I've been wondering how to digitize my slide collection. I've researched scanning services found online but the cost per slide (anywhere from $.35 to $.65 cents EACH) was prohibitive. Too much money. I tested the slide scanning capability of my flatbed scanner. The results were good but it took several minutes to scan each slide. Too much time. I investigated purchasing a scanner made specifically for digitizing slides. But after reading reviews and blog posts about the process have decided against that method. Too much time and too much money.

The other day a friend and I were discussing our scanning projects. She had purchased a slide scanner but gave up after scanning only a few as it took too much time. Then she mentioned that someone had told her about a place where you could get slides digitized at a very reasonable price. That place? Wal-Mart. Yeah, right. So I stopped by my local Wal-Mart store and found out that they do indeed scan slides to CD. (I don't know if every Wal-Mart has this capability though, you'll have to ask.) Their price? $2.50 for 40 slides. That's only 6.25 CENTS for each slide! To say that I was skeptical would be putting it mildly.

On Thursday, after selecting 80 slides of varying quality and subject matter, I dropped them off for processing. Yesterday I picked up the slides and their accompanying CD. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. They are NOT high resolution archival images but they will give you a decent 4x6 printed image. And they look good on the computer screen. And, I think for my purposes they will do just fine. Very few of my slides were ever printed. I'm not interested in making large prints or prints of any size for that matter, I just want to be able to view the pictures again and enjoy re-visiting the places I've been.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" definitely applies here. You won't get archival quality images for 6 cents but you will get acceptable images for viewing on-screen. So, as I'm scanning my genealogy documents I'll also be spending some time sorting through my slides selecting those to be digitized. This may not be acceptable to you but I thought I'd present it as an alternative to the higher priced digitizing services. Try it with a selection of 40 slides and see what you think. At worst, you'll only waste $2.50 to find out if it is worthwhile for you.

Yellowstone National Park, July 1979
Copyright © 1979/2008 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Friday, September 26, 2008

Getting to know me, getting to know kinexxions...

To state the obvious ;-) there has been quite an increase in the number of genealogy and family history blogs this summer! With that in mind Terry Thornton issued a challenge to all genea-bloggers a few weeks ago to write a post about ourselves and our blog so that we, and our readers, might get to know each other a little bit better.

Our multi-part task is to write a short paragraph "describing you, your work, and your goals for writing" and then select three posts that represent "the bright and breezy and beautiful" according to Terry's criteria.

Seems like I just did this not too long ago. Anyway, I've been involved with genealogy and family history research off and on for more than 25 years. I've spent countless hours in libraries. I've cranked through many rolls of microfilm. I've gotten my hands (and clothes) dirty doing courthouse research. I've visited some of the areas where my ancestors lived, and the places they are buried. And it's been fun. It has also been a rewarding and interesting journey. I've still got a "few" brick walls to break through, but for the most part I've been quite fortunate.

When I started this blog in January of 2007, my intent was to present the genealogy and history of the families that I am researching, and, hopefully, to reach out to others who are interested in the same families. My goals haven't changed though I throw in a few posts about interesting websites I've found, and a few tips now and then, but the majority of posts are still about my families and my research. I've also posted a little bit of personal history and recently started to post some of my photographs. Of the 9 ½ years I spent in the U. S. Navy, nearly 8 were as a photographer. So if you really want to get to know me, poke around in some of those posts or click on some of the other posts in the archives (in the right sidebar at the bottom of the blog).

This next part is tough. We have to select only 3 posts that are the "best of the best" of all the articles we've written. . .

the brightest, the article you should read first to understand me and my blog:
Two roads diverged... A rather philosophical musing, it simply tells of a turning point in my life. If that one decision had been different, how would things have changed?

the breeziest, funny or sassy or provocative or sprightly:
A Million Dollars? Just for genealogy research? We can all dream, can't we?

the most beautiful: Grandma's Story and Grandpa Vic. Okay, that's two posts, but my grandparents share equally in their importance to me and both were the inspiration for my research.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

I wonder, were they happy?

Recently I scanned some miscellaneous documents for a project for my local genealogy society. Among them was this one. . .

"July 29 / 95

Mr. Wm. H. Magley will please give to Charles O Hess the propper papers to make him self and Miss L. E. Jones happy.

Yours truly
Ed Jones"

Wm. H. Magley was the Whitley County Clerk of Courts in 1895. That's the office that issued marriage licenses. Recorded in Book 5, page 343: Charles Oscar Hess married Ella Jones on August 1, 1895.

According to the transcribed records, Charles was 24 years old and the son of Peter S. Hess. His mother's maiden name was Creager. Ella was 17 years old and the daughter of Edmond Jones. Her mother's maiden name was given as Diller.

A check of the cemetery transcriptions showed that they are buried in Adams Cemetery, Troy Township, Whitley County. Their names are recorded on the same stone. Charles Oscar (1871-1927) and Lucy Ella Hess (1876-1967).

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Wordless Wednesday :: Standing By


The Great Forest Park Balloon Race, St. Louis, Missouri
September 1994
Copyright © 1994/2008 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tombstone Tuesday :: Elizabeth Helms Jones

They (whoever "they" are) say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, I hope that Amy Crow over at Amy’s Genealogy, etc. Blog is flattered that I am helping myself to her theme of "Tombstone Tuesday" for a series of blog posts. . . Thanks for the inspiration, Amy!

I have a large "collection" of photos of gravestones from various cemeteries that I've visited and plan to eventually post them at Find A Grave. But until that happens, I thought I'd occasionally post some of the family grave photos here at kinexxions.


Masonic Section, Greenhill Cemetery, Columbia City, Indiana

OUR MOTHER / Elizabeth B. Jones / DIED / Nov. 17, 1883. / AGED / 79 Yrs. 7 Mo. 14 Ds.

The text inscribed below her age is not legible.

My post on Grandma Jones, whose maiden name was Helms, was one of the first ancestor biographies that I posted here at kinexxions.

Monday, September 22, 2008

First Impressions? I'm in love!

As with people, when you "meet" a piece of new hardware, those first impressions are important. And I'm very impressed, to the point that I think I am in love with my new ScanSnap S300! Actually, thanks to Denise, I was in love with it before the FedEx guy delivered it late this afternoon! As Denise reported, set up was a breeze. Really. Within half an hour of receiving it I was scanning documents! And creating searchable pdf files. Awesome doesn't even come close to describing this little gem.

After playing with it for an hour or so, I set up some scanning profiles (thank you Brooks), pulled out one of my 3-ring binders and started scanning. You can set it up to create the searchable pdf file as you scan or, as I have done, send the scanned file to the ScanSnap software and let it create the searchable pdf later. If you create the searchable pdf as you scan, the scanning just takes longer.

In a little over an hour (75 minutes to be exact) I had scanned 164 pages into 51 pdf files. While I took a break to eat supper, I let the software go to work to make those pdf files searchable. That took about 50 minutes. Then I scanned another 60 pages into 22 pdf files. That took 20 minutes. Converting those 22 pdf files into searchable pdf took 12 minutes. Granted, the binder that I selected had already been sorted and the pages put into sequence but it still took me longer to select the pages to be grouped together than it did to scan those pages.

Of course, I'm not "done" with those files yet. I should give each of them a more descriptive name and probably add some tags, comments and descriptions. But at least they are scanned. And searchable.

Hmm, I just noticed that there aren't any options to add descriptive information to a pdf file with Windows Vista. Guess maybe the file name will have to do.

James and Tobitha Scott Robison

About a month ago I was contacted by a descendant of James and Tobitha Scott Robison. We *think* that James *could be* a son of Henry and Ann Robison.

That inquiry set me off to "assemble" the information I had on the Robison/Robinson Families of Whitley County, Indiana and to see if I could fill in some of the blank spots. Through evaluation of the census records it was determined that Henry and Ann Robison *may* have had eight children.

In the household of Henry and Ann in 1830 there is one male 10-14 years old (year of birth would be between 1816 and 1820). In 1840 there is one male aged 20-29 years (born 1811-1820). James Robison "fits" into this time frame. Unless there is a bible record out there "somewhere" that provides the names of the children of Henry and Ann Robison, I don't know that we'll ever be able to "prove" that James is their son.

Whitley County marriage records show that James Robinson and Tobitha Jane Scott were married on January 1, 1846. (pdf documents online: Marriage Affidavit and the Marriage Return)

The only James Robison listed in the 1850 census for Whitley county was 32 years old and enumerated in the household of Thomas Cleveland. His place of birth was left blank. At 32 years of age, his year of birth would be about 1818 give or take a year (or two). So where is his wife Tobitha?

In the 1860 census for Cleveland Township, Whitley County (page 212/895) we find James and Tobitha Robinson with three children: 11 year old Samuel, two year old "E" and a 10 year old female. At first glance the name of the 10 year old looks like Martha, but upon closer examination I think it is Marietta. James is a 43 year old laborer, he owns real estate valued at $200 and has a personal estate of $112. He was born in Pennsylvania. Tobitha is 33 years old and was born in Ohio.

In 1870, Tobitha J. Robison is listed in Cleveland Township, Whitley County as head of household. She is 30 [sic] years old, has real estate valued at $150 and a personal estate of $100. She was born in Pennsylvania. Listed in her household is 12 year old Emily Jane, 10 year old Marietta, and 5 year old Arena Ann. All of the children were born in Indiana. If Marietta is 10 years old in 1860, she would be 20 in 1870. Unless, perhaps, the first Marietta died and a daughter born afterwards was given the same name? Was Emily Jane named after James' possible sister Emily?

Online Cemetery Transcriptions for South Whitley Cemetery show the following burials in section U row 16 stones 6, 7 & 8:
Emily Jane Robinson died January 3, 1875 aged 17 years 1 month 7 days
James Robinson died April 2 1860 aged 33 years 6 months 3 days
Samuel M Robinson died October 1855

There is an issue with two of the entries. James is listed in the 1860 census which was enumerated on July 27th. And 11 year old Samuel is listed in the household in 1860 also. Thus, a trip to the South Whitley Cemetery was in order!

Using the two images of the grave marker for James, shown below, I believe his inscription reads "James / Robenson / husband of / T. J. Robenson / died / Apr 12, 1870 / aged / 53 ys 6 m 3 d"



The inscription for James is on the south face of the stone. There is another inscription on the west face that is pretty much illegible, even with using the foil technique. However, it appears to be for the son, Samuel. The date can't be deciphered but since he is listed in the 1860 census I'd be inclined to think that he died in 1865 rather than 1855 as the above mentioned transcription indicates.

A marker to the south of James is also unreadable but it looks like it could be for Emily Jane. To the north of James there is another marker, not included in the online cemetery transcriptions, that reads "Infant / son of / J. and T. J. / Robison"



A little over a year after James' death, his widow remarried. Whitley County Marriages (book 2 page 120) show that Tobitha Robinson was married on June 26, 1871 to Joseph Mintz [sic]. I have not looked at the actual record yet so I don't know if Mintz is a transcription error or if that is what the record says.

My correspondent said that Joseph and Tabitha Montz lived in Chester Township, Wabash County, Indiana and that is where they were found in 1880. Joseph Montz was the head of the household, he was a 57 year old farmer and had been born in Pennsylvania.

His wife, Tabitha J., was 54 years old and had been born in Ohio. Living with them was 15 year old Anna Robison, born in Indiana, identified as a step daughter of Joseph.

If we go back to the cemetery, we'll see a marker to the north of Infant Robison that is now illegible. In the cemetery transcriptions it is identified as J. M. Alburn Carper, son of J & C, who died October 11, 1882 aged 11 years 11 months.

To the north of the Carper stone is that of Tobitha Montz:
Tobitha J / Wife of / Joseph / Montz / died / NOV. 1, 1882 / AGED / 56 Y's 1 Mo. / 27 D's


The James Robison family at South Whitley Cemetery, Cleveland Township, Whitley County, Indiana. Eliza Jane McMannen could be a sister of James.

Joseph Montz is not listed in the Whitley County cemetery transcriptions.

My correspondent is a great-granddaughter of James and Tobitha's daughter, Arena Ann Robison (also known as Irene Ann and Irena). Irene was born January 3, 1865. On June 3, 1883 she was married to Jacob E. Cripe. Sometime in the late 1890s Jacob and Irene traveled west via covered wagon, first living in Missouri for a while and then moving to Kansas. I found them in Montier Township, Shannon County, Missouri in 1900. I haven't found them in the 1910 census index at ancestry. In 1920 Jacob and Irene are living on Fifth Street in Pomona, Franklin County, Kansas. In 1930, Irena is widowed and living by herself on East 5th Street in Pomona.

The following information on Irene's family was transcribed by my correspondent from the Cripe family bible.
  • Jacob E. Cripe and Irena A. Robison wed on Sunday June 3, 1883 at the residence of J. Montz. Witnesses were Jacob Grow and wife, Joseph Lands and wife, Bob Cripe and wife and Lizzie Frantz (or Frentz)
  • Jacob E. Cripe born July 20, 1852, died October 30, 1928
  • Irena A. Cripe born January 3, 1865
  • Martha E. Cripe born July 6, 1884
  • Mary A. Cripe born January 26, 1888, died January 14, 1908
  • Infant son [of Mary's] died January 14, 1908
  • Alice Cripe born Nov. 2, 1889
  • Ira D. Cripe born June 5, 1894 d. April 27, 1975

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Charles Bair

Charles Bair, age 5, was listed with Franklin and Emily (Robison) Bair in the 1870 census. I haven't found Charles in the 1880 census yet (at least no one the right age born in Indiana). His father's obituary of 1917 stated that Charles lived in Pana, Illinois.

The only Charles (Chas., Charlie, Charley) Bair (Bare, Bear, Barr, etc.), of the right age (born about 1865 in Indiana) was found in 1900 in Assumption Village, Christian County, Illinois (the surname was indexed as Bain).
Charles S. Bair, Oct. 1867, 32, married 8 years, born Indiana, father born Ohio, mother born Unknown, Bartender
Alva, wife, Dec 1875, 24, married 8 years, 3 children 3 living, born Illinois, parents born French Canada
Frank, son, Feb 1895, 5, born Illinois
Lavetta, daughter, Feb 1898, 2, born Illinois
Harvey, son, Dec 1899, 5/12, born Illinois
Bertha Reed, Servant, Jun 1885, 15, born Illinois
Charles Harmes, boarder, Sept 1869, 30, born England
Antone Karmou [?], boarder, Jan 1866, 34, born Germany
Sarah Denepe [?], boarder, Oct 1816, 83, widowed, 5 children 4 living, born Ohio

Charles was found in 1910, living in Tower Hill Township, Shelby County, Illinois. It is highly likely that his first wife, Alva, passed away since this record shows that Charles and his wife Sadie had been married for only 3 years. Also, since Frances was born in Indiana and six years old, she is probably Sadie's daughter from a previous marriage.
Charles Bair, head, 43, married twice, married for 3 years, born Indiana, father born Ohio, mother born unknown
Sadie, wife, 28, married twice, married for 3 years, 2 children 2 living, born Ohio, father born New York, mother born Ohio
Frank, son, 15, born Illinois, father born Indiana, mother born Illinois
Laveda, daughter, 12, born Illinois, father born Indiana, mother born Illinois
Harvy, son, 10, born Illinois, father born Indiana, mother born Illinois
Frances, daughter, 6, born Indiana, father born Ohio, mother born Indiana
Margaret, daughter, 1, born Illinois, father born Indiana, mother born Ohio

The family of Charles and Sadie Bair was not found in Illinois in the 1920 census index but there is a Charles Bair of the right age in Christian County. Thing is though, none of the children listed in the 1910 census are in his household in 1920, and his wife's name is Nellie. Did Sadie die? Did Charles and Sadie get divorced? Charles and Nellie resided on South Clark Street, Pana City, Pana Township, Christian County, Illinois. (When Franklin Bair died, his son Chas. was living in Pana, Illinois.) Charles Bair was a 53 year old coal miner. He had been born in Indiana. His wife, Nellie, was 36 years old and born in Illinois.

In 1930 Charles and Nellie were living in Mascoutah City, St. Clair County, Illinois. Charles Bair, was 63 years old and worked as a miner at the Kulb Coal Company. He rents his home for $10. Charles was first married at age 24. (This puts his year of birth at about 1867 and first marriage about 1891. In the 1900 census it showed that Charles and Alva had been married 8 years, i.e. married about 1892.) His wife Nellie was 46 years old and born in Illinois. Her first marriage was at the age of 20.

Obviously, I don't know for sure that these four census entries are all for the same person, however, based on further research shown below, I think they are. But if they are the same fellow, I still don't know whether or not he is the "right" Charles Bair that is the son of Franklin and Emily Robison Bair. This Charles was born in Indiana, his age is off by two years based on being 15 years old in 1870, however, he named his first child Frank. Was he named after Charles' father, or is it merely a coincidence?

This Charles Bair was married three times and had four children. I haven't discovered any information at all on any of the children, except for Harvey. I need to do more searching for them but the information found on Harvey, shown below, makes the connection to the Charles Bair in the census of 1900 and 1910 and to the Charles Bair in the 1920 and 1930 census.

=+==+=

Harvey Leaff Bair was found in the World War I Draft Registration Cards at ancestry. The registration date was September 12, 1918. Harvey lived in Shelbyville, Illinois, he was 18 years old and was born December 23, 1899. He was a student employed by Sharks Business in Shelbyville. His nearest relative was Charles S. Bair who lived in Pana, Christian County, Illinois. This is what makes that connection to the above census records for Charles Bair.

Additional research will be needed to verify whether or not the Harvey Bair in the following records is the same person.

In 1920, there is a Harvey Bair, age 20, single, born in Illinois, parents born in Illinois listed in the household of Jacob and Margaret B. Doll as their Foster Son. Jacob Doll is 73 years old and Margaret, his wife, is 68. They are located in Rural Township, Shelby County, Illinois. This Harvey Bair is a very good candidate to be the son of Charles.

In 1930, there is a 30 year old Harvey Bair listed as a boarder in the household of John J. and Grace McGoogan in Maplewood, St. Louis County, Missouri page 7b. Harvey was born in Illinois, his parents were born in the United States, and he is a Book Keeper for a Lead Co.

A Harvey L Bair, born 1899 in Illinois, was found in the U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records at ancestry. He enlisted as a Private on June 12, 1942 at Albany, Essex County, New York. He was a single man, without dependents.

The Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 on ancestry show that a Harvey L Bair, age 43 born about 1900, was married on March 6, 1943 to Elizabeth Burton. She was 40 years old, born about 1903. They were married at Webster Grover, St Louis, Missouri.

And finally, the Social Security Death Index shows a Harvey Bair who was born December 23, 1899 and died in September 1978. Last Residence and Last Benefit was Keyport, Monmouth, New Jersey. His social security card was issued in Missouri.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

It's Almost Here!

At 1 o'clock Wednesday afternoon I ordered a new scanner, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300. If I had paid the extra $15 for express delivery it would already be here, but the "slow boat" delivery by ground is fine with me. It should show up on my doorstep Monday!


Denise Olson on her Family Matters blog has been extolling the virtues of the S300M (for Mac) that she purchased in July. After reading about her experience with it I started checking out Automatic Document Feed (ADF) scanners for Windows. I've got all those genea-documents that I want to scan and the idea of doing them with my flatbed scanner is more than a little disheartening.

After reading this November 2007 Review of the S300, I was hooked on the S300! Well, actually, Denise had me hooked, that review clinched the deal. There will still be some things that will have to be scanned using the flatbed, but I think much of what I have can be done by the S300.

So I am patiently waiting.

And trying to getting some things organized for phase two of my scanning project.

Franklin Henry Bair 1862-1948

Franklin Henry Bair was enumerated as Franklin Bair in the household of Franklin and Emily (Robison) Bair in the 1870 Whitley County, Indiana census. He was six years old, which makes his year of birth about 1863-4. He was presumably named after his father, Franklin Bair, and his mother's father, Henry Robison.

The only child of Franklin and Emily that I was able to find in Whitley County in 1880, Franklin is listed as a boarder in the household of Henry Miller: Frank Bair, age 17, laborer, born Indiana, parents born Ohio.

On January 31, 1886 Franklin H. Bair was married to Nettie S. Ellis in Whitley County, Indiana. The marriage application shows that he will be 24 years old on his next birthday (i.e. 23 years old and born about 1863). He was born in Columbia City and his parents are given as Franklin H. Bair and Emily Robinson. His wife, Nettie S. Ellis, was 22 years old, born in Ohio, and was the daughter of E. H. Ellis and E. Keller.

His father's obituary of 1917 stated that Frank lived in Iowa and we have the following entry in Eagle Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa that fits the criteria for Franklin (born 1862-1864 in Indiana).
F. Henry Bair, head of household, June 1862, 37, married 14 years, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Indiana, farmer
Nettie, wife, Mar 1863, 37, married 14 years, 2 children 2 living, born Ohio, father born Missouri, mother born Ohio
Myrtle, daughter, Nov 1886, 13, born Iowa
Albert, son, July 1895, 4, born Iowa
George W. Blough, relationship is blank, Aug 1883 [sic], 26, single, born Pennsylvania

In 1910 Franklin was back in Indiana! We found him and his family in Spencer Township, Jennings County, Indiana. (Did he move back to Iowa before his father's death? Or, perhaps more likely, his father was unaware of his return to Indiana. Jennings county is located in the south east corner of Indiana.)
Franklin H. Bair, head, 47, married once, married 24 years, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Indiana, farmer, general farm
Nettie S., wife, 47, married once, married 24 years, born Ohio, father born Missouri, mother born Ohio
Myrta F., daughter, 23, single, born Iowa
Franklin A., son, 15, single, born Iowa
Franklin and his family certainly moved around. The WWI Draft Registration Card for Franklin Albert Bair, dated June 5, 1917 gives his home address as Dunnell, Minnesota. And in 1920 we find the family in Lake Fremont Township, Martin County, Minnesota.
Franklin H. Bair, head, 57, married, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, Operator, Farm
Ellis N., wife, 57, married, born Ohio, father born Missouri, mother born Ohio [Ellis was Nettie's maiden name]
Meartie M., daughter, 32, single, born Iowa, House Keeper, Farm
Franklin A., son, 25, single, born Iowa, Machinist, Automobile

After yet another move, they were found in 1930 at Wood River, Burnett County, Wisconsin.
F. Henry Bair, head, owns home valued at $1200, 68, married, first married at age 23, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Indiana, Farmer
Nettie, wife, 68, married, first married at age 23, born Ohio, father born Missouri, mother born Ohio
Mryta, daughter, 42, single, born Iowa

A check of the Burnett County, Wisconsin website shows that Franklin, his wife, and daughter are buried in Riverside Cemetery.
Franklin Henry Bair was born 12 Jun 1862 and died 27 May 1948
Nettie Bair, born 05 Mar 1862 died 01 Oct 1939
Myrta Bair, born 23 Nov 1885 died 14 Nov 1984

Myrta died just a few days before her 99th (or 98th) birthday!! The 1900 census gives her birth date as Nov 1886 as does the Social Security Death Index. It shows that Myrta Bair was born November 23, 1886 and died Nov 1984. Her last residence was Grantsburg, Burnett County, Wisconsin and her social security card was issued in Wisconsin.

=+==+=

World War I Draft Registration Cards on ancestry have an entry for Franklin Albert Bair. He was 22 years old, born July 17, 1894 in La Porte City, Iowa. His home address is Dunnell, Minn. He is single and a farmer. He signed his name as Albert Bair. He is of medium height and medium build, has brown eyes and dark brown hair. He registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 in the Lake Fremont precinct in Martin County, Minnesota.

In 1930, he was found in Newton City, Jasper County, Iowa (page 4b). He is listed as a Lodger in the household of Harry and Louise Hale and their three children: Albert Bair, age 35, Divorced, born Iowa, father born Indiana, mother born Ohio, Welder, Washing Machine Factory, veteran of WWI.

The Social Security Death Index has an entry for a Franklin Bair, born July 17, 1894 and died September 1980. His last residence and last benefit was listed as Frederic, Polk County, Wisconsin. His social security card was issued in Arizona.

=+==+=

Unless their son married again, there is a good probability that Franklin Henry Bair and his wife Nettie have no living descendants ;-(

Update January 17, 2009: Funeral Notices posted for Franklin and Nettie Bair.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Franklin and Emily Robison Bair

In the first part of the Robison/Robinson Families of Whitley County, Indiana I discussed what was known about Henry Robison and his wife Ann. Census records indicate that they could have had eight children. Emily is one of the three known children.

Emily Robison is listed as 15 years old in the household of Henry and Ann Robison in the 1850 census of Whitley County, Indiana. She would have been born about 1835. Emily is also named in her father's will dated August 8, 1851 and in a deed record dated August 15, 1855 where her mother was selling land in Whitley County, Indiana.

Although Emily Robison was not found in the 1860 census in Whitley County, there is a 24 year old Emma Robison, listed as a serving girl, in the household of John Wireman in Columbia City. I don't know if Emily and this Emma are the same person but I don't think they are since there is a marriage record for both Emily Robinson and Emma Robinson in Whitley County.

Emma A. Robinson was married on August 9, 1869 to John Van Liew. I have not found Emma and John in any census records for Whitley County or elsewhere. There isn't much to go on other than their marriage date. If this is "Emily" Robison, she would have been about 34 years old at the time of her marriage.

It is more likely that the Emily Robinson who was married on April 27, 1861 to Franklin Bair is "our" Emily. If so, she would have been 25 or 26 years old and Franklin would have been 23. This ties in nicely to the fact that, in the 1870 census shown below, Emily is two years older than Franklin. Other than the Emma Robinson mentioned above who married John Van Liew, no other "Emily" Robi(n)son has been found in Whitley County (at least not in the records I've checked) during this time period. In the absence of proof, I am making the ASSUMPTION that this Emily is the daughter of Henry and Ann Robison. I'd love to hear from a descendant of Emily and Franklin Bair or anyone else who might have information about them!

The family of Emily and Franklin Bair is listed in the 1870 census in Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. Franklin was 32 years old, worked in a store, had a personal estate valued at $150, and was born in Pennsylvania. Emily was 34 years old, keeping house, and born in Indiana. Four children were listed in the household, all were born in Indiana: six year old Franklin, five year old Charles, three year old William, and Ira Dell who was 1/12 year old and born in Feb. 1870.

Emily was not listed in the 1880 census records for Whitley County. However, Franklin was found in Columbia City in 1880 where he is a 42 year old butcher that was born in Pennsylvania. He is listed in the household of Geo. W. Crozier.

A check of the Index of Whitley County Guardianship Packets shows an entry for Emily C. Bair with a year of 1877. The year coincides with the statement in Frank's obituary (see below) which says that "Mrs. Bair passed away forty years ago." [Note to self: need to look at this guardianship record!] Emily is not listed in the published cemetery transcriptions for Whitley County. [see The Heirs of Emily Bair posted 12/08/2008]

Franklin Bair was found in the Whitley County census for 1900 and 1910. In 1900 he is listed as a servant in the household of Benjamin F. Hull. Born Oct 1846, Franklin was 63 years old, widowed, and born in Pennsylvania. His occupation was Hostler. In 1910 he is a 73 year old hired man, widowed, born in Ohio, enumerated in the household of Henry A. Schumaker.

The obituary of Frank Bair was published in the Columbia City Post on Wednesday, March 7, 1917:
"Gov." Frank Bair, an inmate at the county hospital since November, 1913, died Sunday night at 7 o'clock from Bright's disease, having suffered a stroke of paralysis a few minutes before death. Mr. Bair was 70 years, 5 months and 20 days of age at his death and was taken to the county farm only after he became so feeble from old age that he could no longer work.

The deceased was born in Pennsylvania, Sept. 15, 1837, and was the son of Samuel and Eleanore Bair. He moved with his parents from Pennsylvania to Ohio where the parents died. He grew to young manhood there and came to Indiana where he married Miss Emma Robinson, a native of this county. Seven children were born to this union, three of whom survive: Laura Lemmon, of Detroit; Chas. Bair, of Pana, Ill.; Frank Bair, of Iowa. Mrs. Bair passed away forty years ago and since that time her husband has lived a single life. He is also survived by one brother, Alvin Bair, of Mishawaka, and two sisters, Mrs. J. I. Kellenbarger, of Newark, Ohio, and Mrs. Henry Egolf, of Thorncreek township. Mr. Bair worked at the butcher trade in this city for many years and was well known among the older people of this vicinity.
So, according to the above information, seven children were born to Frank and Emily, but only three were still living when Frank died:
  • Laura Lemmon, of Detroit. Laura is not listed with them in the 1870 census, which indicates that she was born after 1870 but before 1877 when Emily apparently died. I haven't found anything on her. [Her name could be Flora - added 12/02/2008]
  • Chas. Bair, of Pana, Ill. Charles was 5 years old in 1870. [MORE INFO POSTED 09/20]
  • Frank Bair, of Iowa. Franklin was 6 years old in 1870. [MORE INFO POSTED 09/21]
Two other children were listed in the 1870 census: William was 3 years old and Ira Dell was just a month old. That leaves two other children unaccounted for. Since only three children were mentioned in Franklin's obituary, it is presumed that William, Ira Dell, and the two unknown children all died young.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Frank and Cora Robison of Marion, Indiana

Frank Robison, born in May 1870, was the second child of Henry and Lucy Robison.

In 1870, Frank is 4 1/2 years old and living with his parents in Etna Township, Whitley County, Indiana. The 1880 census shows that 10 year old Frank resides with his parents, but in neighboring Troy Township.

On August 23, 1891 Frank was married to Cora B. Beard in Whitley County. The Whitley County Marriage Applications show that Frank was residing in Loraine, he was 21 years old and employed as a laborer. His parents are given as Henry Robison and Lucy Straight. Cora was 18 years old, living in Marion, and was the daughter of Levi Beard and Louisa Barney.

The obituary notices of his parents both stated that Frank lived in Marion, Indiana. That is where he was found, enumerated as Frank Robinson, in the census records for 1900 through 1930 (Marion is in Grant County). He worked as a moulder in an iron foundry. Frank and Cora had three children: Henry, Carl, and Claude.

The 1900 census shows that Cora was born in September 1873. Her age in later census records is consistent with an 1873 year of birth. Cora died on July 16, 1934 and a notice of her death was published in the Columbia City Post on that date.
Amon Beard today received a message telling of the death at Marion early today of Mrs. Cora Robison, about 62 years old, wife of Frank Robison of Marion. A number of cousins of the deceased reside in Whitley county. Mrs. Robison is survived by her husband and three sons, Henry of Fort Wayne, Carl of Cincinnati, O., and Claude of Marion. Two brothers, Earl Beard of Indianapolis and Elmer Beard of Marion, and a sister, Mrs. Henry Snyder of Marion, also survive. Mrs. Robison was the eldest daughter of Levi Beard, who resided in this county.
On the 17th of July, notice of her funeral was published in the Columbia City Post: "Among the local relatives who will attend the funeral services at 2 p.m. Thursday in Marion for their cousin, Mrs. Frank Robison, are Mr. and Mrs. Amon Beard, Mrs. Candes Schuman, Mrs. Joshua Schuman and Mrs. Goldie Bechtold. Mrs. Robison was the eldest daughter of Levi Beard, former local resident."

Nine months later, on April 26, 1935, Henry also passed away. The Columbia City Post of April 30, 1935 published the notice of his funeral.
Funeral services were held at Marion Monday afternoon for Frank Robinson, 65, a brother of Mrs. Mollie Watters, of Lorane. Mr. Robinson, who formerly resided just west of Lorane, died Friday afternoon of pneumonia. He had been a resident of Marion for 40 years. Mrs. Robinson, who was formerly Cora Beard, a daughter of Levi Beard, died last summer. A sister, Mrs. Ella Kimball, resides at Winegar, Mich.

Relatives from this county who called at the Robinson home in Marion Sunday included the Amon Beard family, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Schuman, Mrs. Angie Schuman and Mrs. Candes Schuman. Attending the funeral services Monday, at the Nelson Street Wesleyan church in Marion were Mrs. Watters and her grandson, William Gavitan of Lorane, and another grandson of Mrs. Watters, Paul Grimes, of Roundout, Ill.
=+==+==+=

Henry Robison is listed as a "s-son" of Frank Robison in the 1900 census. Henry was born in Indiana in Sept 1892 and was 7 years old. In 1910 he is listed with Frank and Cora as a son, 17 years old.

An entry in the World War I Draft Registration Cards on ancestry was found for 24 year old Henry L. Robison. He was born September 20, 1892 in Marion, Grant County, Indiana. He lived at 517 Marshall street in Marion and was employed as a tool designer for Rulentino Motor Works in Marion. He was married. A crippled left hand might be cause for exemption from the draft. He was tall, with a medium build, brown eyes and brown hair. The registration card was dated June 5, 1917.

According to his mother's obituary of July 16, 1934, Henry Robison lived in Fort Wayne.

In 1930, we find Henry L. Robison living in Fort Wayne. He was 37 years old, rents his home $37, owns a radio, was married at age 21, and is employed as an educational supervisor in an auto factory. He and both parents were born in Indiana. Listed with him was his wife, Daisy M., who was 37 and born in Indiana.

Backtracking to the 1920 census, the only Henry Robison that came close to matching his age was found living in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. Henry L. Robison was 27 years old, born in Indiana, married, and a tool designer in a factory. His wife was Daisy M., who was also 27 years old and born in Indiana.

An entry in the Social Security Death Index shows a Henry Robison that was born September 20, 1892 and died in Sep 1977. His last residence was listed as Warren, Huntington County, Indiana. His social security card was issued in Illinois.

Daisy M. Robison was also found in the Social Security Death Index. She was born December 14, 1892 and died on May 17, 1988.

=+==+==+=

Carl Robison was enumerated with his parents in the 1900 and 1910 census records. The 1900 census shows that he was born in May 1896. Like his brother Henry, he too is listed as a "s-son" of Frank Robison while in 1910 he is a son.

The World War I Draft Registration Cards show a Carl Robison residing at 1901 W 1st Street, Marion, Indiana. He was single, 21 years old, born on May 28, 1896 in Marion. Carl was employed as a tool maker with the Buick Motor Co., Flint, Michigan. Like his brother, he also had crippled left hand. He was of medium height and medium build with gray eyes and black hair. The registration was dated May 31, 1917.

In the 1920 census Carl was enumerated in Marion in the household of James E. and Margaret Shannon. James is a 52 year old minister. Margaret is 50 years old. Carl Robison is listed as son in law, age 23, married, born Indiana, toolmaker in a factory. Also listed was Eva Robison, daughter, 25, born Indiana.

I haven't found Carl in the 1930 census yet. According to his mother's obituary of July 16, 1934, he was living in Cincinnati, Ohio.

An entry was found for Carl Robinson in the Grant County, Indiana online Death Record Transcriptions 1970-present. He was a tool and die maker aged 75 years 6 months and 13 days. Born on May 28, 1896 and died on December 11, 1971 at his residence at 216 W 41st Street in Marion. His parents were Frank Robinson and Cora Beard. The informant was Vennetta Robinson. Carl was married but the name of his spouse was not given. He was buried at Clear Creek Cemetery in Huntington, Indiana.

=+==+==+=

Claude Robison was listed in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 census records with his parents in Marion. In 1910 his age is given as 1 - 1/12, in 1920 he is 10 years old. In 1930 he is listed as 20 years old and is employed as a photographer. According to his mother's obituary of July 16, 1934, Claude lived in Marion. I have no further information on him.

=+==+==+=

What's next?

The Huntington Library has an excellent genealogy and local history room with an extensive obituary card file. So perhaps a trip to Huntington is in order since Carl is buried there and Henry's last residence was Warren, which is in Huntington County.

There are several other relatives (on Dad's side of the family) that lived in Marion. So perhaps, if I figure out what is need for those people, I might make a trip to Marion. It's about a 90 minute drive. Could stop by Huntington on the way. They are both on state route 9, as is Columbia City. If I wanted to wait a few months, I could tie this in with Megan's presentations on May 30, 2009 at the Marion Public Library...

More than a few Good Books!

The Carnival of Genealogy - 56th edition - Part I has been posted by Lori Thornton over at Smoky Mountain Historian. For this edition of the COG, bloggers were supposed to list the ten books in their genealogical libraries that they find absolutely essential. In "COG 56 Part II" Lori gives us a compilation of the submissions. Guess which one is first! I think this was a good exercise. I haven't gotten through the entire COG yet, but I'm sure that my reading list will increase!

Lori announced the topic for the next edition of the COG, which will be: I read it in the news! "Newspapers can be a wonderful source of family history information. Share some aspect about your family history that you learned about in a newspaper. Articles, advertisements, obituaries, classified ads, photos... all are fair game if they appeared in a newspaper. What did you learn about your family from this information? Was the information accurate? How did you learn about this information... online search? Perusing old newspapers? A clipping saved by a relative? Fill us in on your family scoops... who in your family was in the news?"

The deadline for submissions is October 1st. Use the carnival submission form to submit your post. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the carnival index page. Be sure to read the additional information, at the bottom of the carnival post, before submitting your contribution.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Wordless Wednesday :: Pot of Geraniums

Pot of Geraniums. Columbia City, Indiana.
September 11, 2008.
Copyright © 2008 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A Gift From a Stranger :: Dressler Family Photograph

A few days ago I received a pleasant surprise, delivered to my email inbox. Normally, I don't open email messages with attachments from someone I don't know but the subject of the email enticed me and I thought it would be okay. The subject? "Four Generation Picture of John Jr., John Gilbert, Joseph and Arthur Dressler."

The email was from Marla Duncan who is a great granddaughter of Anna Ellen Dressler. Anna was a sister to John Gilbert Dressler, who was the first husband of Ida Joslin. She had found my blog post on Ida Joslin Dressler Lewis and the letters Ida had written to her sister, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower, (May 1, 1899, November 1934, December 1934, January 1935, Fall of 1936). So, Marla isn't related to me in any way (at least, not that we know of). Even though the people in the picture aren't my ancestors (half of them are related though), I'm still excited to be able to add it to my family history documents.

Marla didn't have any information on Joseph, other than what was written on the back of the photograph. She was thrilled with the information I had posted and thought I'd enjoy having the photograph. Oh, yeah! She said, "I feel like a kid in a candy store!!" Marla has graciously given me permission to post the picture and include her name in this post. It is nice to be able to publicly acknowledge her. Thank you, Marla.

That is why I write about my family history and post it here and elsewhere on the Internet. Not just the ancestors, but about the siblings as well. If you don't put it "out there" no one is going to find it! And I firmly believe that descendants of siblings of our ancestors hold many of the clues we are missing in the search for our family history.

Four generations of Dressler men. Clockwise starting with the young man standing in the back: Joseph, John, Arthur, and John Dressler.

Written on the reverse:
Joseph Dressler son of John Dressler born at Dorrance Ks.
John Dressler son of of John & Sarah Dressler.
John Dressler - Mothers father, born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 3rd 1818. 92 I believe on this date of picture.
Arthur Dressler son of Joe & Belva Dressler, born in Dorrance Ks. Now of Mountainair, New Mexico.(In lower right corner): Gertrudes Picture

=+==+=

Joseph Gilbert Dressler, the young man standing in the center of the picture, is my 1st cousin 3 times removed. His mother, Ida Joslin, and my 2nd great grandmother, Malissa Joslin, were sisters and they were two of the 15 children of Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin.

The only clue I had regarding the whereabouts of Joseph Dressler was in Ida's obituary which stated that a son, Joseph, lived in New Mexico. The letters written by Ida provided some clues as well. When the census indexes became available online it was a relatively simple task to locate him. In September 2004, a query to the webmaster of the Torrance County, New Mexico website put me in contact with a grandson of Joseph Dressler. I sent him the information I had found but never heard back from him. And then, as often happens, life got in the way of research, and I never followed up.

From my 2004 conversations with the grandson of Joe I learned:

Joe and Belva had two sons and a daughter: Chester, Arthur and Lola. Chester and his wife Pearl had one son, Eugene (Gene). Arthur had two daughters and Lola married Irvin Taylor and had two sons.

Joe Dressler's real mother left him and his Dad when Joe was about three years old and he never had any contact with her again until after his Dad died. The grandchildren do not know the name of either Joe's father or mother. After Joe's father died the mother came to see Joe and he thought maybe she even came to New Mexico at least once, maybe twice. When she died Joe went to Kansas and took care of the arrangements. Joe was the only child she ever had, but he never had much contact with her. Joe just never talked about his family. Belva talked about hers a lot and her maiden name was Roe. She was Republican and Joe was a very strong Democrat. Joe was the probate judge for Torrance County for several years.
A portion of a letter from Ida to Malissa in the fall of 1936:
...I guess it made you sadder to bid your boy goodbye forever. I don't know as I will ever see Joe again although he always says he will come when he can get away from his farm. I wrote him it would be too late if he kept putting it off but I know its hard to get away from the farm. He is not well. Neither is his wife. Just working themselves to death - children all worried. Still they don't seem to know how to let up. They always say - "just one more year" - but they keep right on. The youngest boy, with his family, lives on Joes farm. He built a house for him. The other one not far away but Lolo is the one Be--- wants near her but she is a long way off. Only comes every year but she seems happy with her husband and two boys. Guess she won't have any more. I hope not. The youngest is 3 ½ - the other one 6 - going to Kindergarten. Lolo gives them a good start as she taught school several terms before she married Ervin.

=+==+=

Joseph Gilbert Dressler was born February 24, 1885 in Kansas (in Dorrance, according to the photograph) and was the son of John Gilbert and Ida Blanch (Joslin) Dressler.

Joe is listed in the household of John G. Dressler in the 1880 census (Plymouth Township, Russell County, Kansas page 72): Joseph G. Dressler, son, 15 years old, born Feb. 1885 in Kansas. His father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother was born in Indiana.

In the 1910 census, Joseph G. Dressler was found in Dorrance City, Plymouth Township, Russell County, Kansas (page 80B/3B). He is 25 years old and has been married for 6 years. His wife, Belvie L., is 25 years old, has 2 children (both living). Residing with them are their 4 year old son Arthur and daughter Lola, who is 3 years old. Also in their household was his 36 year old brother-in-law William Roe and his 21 year old cousin (female) Ollie Mackle.

In 1920, Joe and family were found in Precinct 17, Jaramillo, Torrance County, New Mexico (page 268/1A). Joseph G. Dressler, owns his home, is 35 years old and married. Also in the household were his wife Belva L., 35; son Arthur G., 14 6/12; daughter Lola L., 12; and son Chester E., 10 7/12.

They were still living in Torrance County in 1930 (Ewing Precinct 17, page 84) but by now the children were out on their own. Joe was 45 years old, he was first married at age 19. He was born in Kansas, his father was born in Pennsylvania, and his mother was born in Indiana. His occupation was listed as a general farm laborer. Listed with him was his wife Belva R., age 45.

Joseph and Belva are buried in Mountainair Cemetery, Torrance County, New Mexico. According to the tombstone picture, Joseph was born February 24, 1885 and died December 15, 1961. Belva was born March 21, 1885 and died January 9, 1967.

=+==+=

Arthur has not been found in the 1930 census. There is a record on the SSDI that shows an Arthur Dressler whose social security card was issued in New Mexico. He was born July 26, 1905 [probably Dorrance, Russell County, Kansas] and died in March 1976. His last residence was listed as Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California. A search of the California Death Index, 1940-1997 on ancestry shows that Arthur G Dressler was born July 26, 1905 in Kansas and died March 20, 1976 in Los Angeles.

The California Marriage Index, 1960-1985 on ancestry has an entry for Arthur G Dressler, age 56, born about 1905. Married on November 11, 1961 in Los Angeles to Viola M, age 47, born about 1914. Her surname is given as Clark on one page and Hucke on another.

=+==+=

Lola Dressler and Irvin Taylor were found in the 1930 census in Township 5, Inyo County, California (page 288): He rents their home for $12.50, they own a Radio. He is 28 years old and was married at age 28. He was born in Texas and works as a laborer at a Clay Mill. His wife, Lola E., is 23 years old, was married at age 22, and was born in Kansas. No occupation is given.

The family listed just before Lola and Irvin was that of 26 year old Cyrus O. Taylor who was born in Texas. Presumably a brother of Irvin.

A search of the California Death Index, 1940-1997 on ancestry resulted in a match for Lola Elnore Taylor, born January 20, 1907 in Kansas. She died March 1, 1983 in Los Angeles. Her mother's maiden name was Roe and her father's surname was Dressler.

In the letter, mentioned above, from the fall of 1936 we find that Lola has two boys: the youngest is 3 ½ and the other one was 6 years old.

A check on WorldConnect found Lola Dressler born January 20, 1907 in Kansas and died March 1, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. She married Samuel Irvin Taylor. He was born May 4, 1901 in Edwards County, Texas and died April 18, 1975 in Kern County, California. His parents were Arris Samuel Taylor and Laura Clazona Roberts. No sources were given.

=+==+=

Chester Dressler was located in the 1930 census in Ewing Precinct 17, Torrance County, New Mexico (page 84). He was 20 years old, was married at age 19, born in Kansas, and was a general farm laborer. His wife, Pearl, was 20 years old and born in Oklahoma.

The SSDI shows that Chester was born June 6, 1910 and died in April 1983. His last residence and last benefit was listed as Mountainair, Torrance County, New Mexico. His social security card was issued in New Mexico. Chester lived on the family farm and it was his son with whom I made a brief contact back in 2004.

=+==+=

Monday, September 15, 2008

The Indispensable Bookshelf

It is truly embarrassing to have to admit this, but I do not have 10 genealogy-specific reference books on my bookshelf! Gasp! It's true though. It was (is) easier, and much cheaper, to go to the library (especially when I was living in the genealogy-Mecca of the Midwest, Fort Wayne). So I'd guess you could say, if it's on my genea-resource bookshelf I consider it indispensable to research!

The Handy Book for Genealogists, Everton Publishers. This book has been essential to my research. It is one of the few books kept on my computer desk. Although the edition I have was published in 1991, it still meets my needs for finding out when a county was organized, the parent county, and the basic information. I no longer rely on the current addresses and contact information for the counties and states, but a quick check on the internet will usually give me that information.

Map Guide to the U. S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920, William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, Genealogical Publishing Company. The edition I have was published in 1995 but is still useful today. It too is kept on my computer desk for quick reference. You can read all about boundary changes for counties, and think you understand, but the maps allow you to see the changes visually. It really brings home why great-great-grandpa was enumerated in three different counties during his lifetime even though he never moved from the original homestead!

Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs, Maureen Taylor, Betterway Books, 2000. Maureen's tips and sources for helping to identify the time period of a photograph are invaluable.

Organizing Your Family History Search, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, Betterway Books, 2000. If I would have had this book when I first started my research, maybe I'd be organized by now! Of course, just having the book doesn't get you organized, you have to follow at least some of the suggestions! Not only does Sharon provide you with a multitude of tips for organizing your files at home but provides tips for organizing a research trip. She doesn't tell you the "best way" to organization, because people are different, instead she provides several options.

Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, Elizabeth Shown Mills, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Sourcing is a big deal in genealogy and family history research, to say the least. I have (almost) always identified in some way where my information came from, just not in the acceptable or "proper" manner. I blame that on the software that I started out with way back when - when sources were entered as notes. I've made a little headway in correcting that but I much prefer to do research! Again, if I'd had this book in my early days it "might" have made a difference.

A few years ago I purchased The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s, Marc McCutcheon, Writer's Digest Books, 1993. It hasn't really been used very much in my genealogy research but I have referred to it from time to time to lookup the meaning of an old term or phrase. It is essentially a dictionary of terms and phrases used in the 1800s. It was one of those impulse purchases at some historical site but someday I hope to use it in writing the history of another of my families.

My most recent acquisition was at the 2006 NGS Conference in Chicago with the newly released The Source : A Guidebook to American Genealogy (Third Edition) Edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. This 900+ page volume is chock full of "good stuff" with articles from a multitude of authors discussing the various topics.

Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Second College Edition, The World Publishing Company, 1970. Given to me by a friend while I was in the Navy, this book has been around the World! Well, at least to Iceland and Japan as well as more than a few of these United States. It too is kept on my computer desk. Yes, I know you can go online to find the definition of anything but I enjoy flipping through the pages.

Road Atlas, Rand McNally, 1964. Yes, 1964! In nearly pristine condition, by the way. It was in a box of some of my grandfather's things that was given to me after his death in 1991. It doesn't leave the house but has seen occasional use when looking for some small town that has disappeared off of today's maps.

The World Wide Web and The Internet. It's not a book but it contains billions of words. It doesn't reside on my bookshelf but it is on my computer desk and, as such, almost always at my fingertips! In this day and age, it is truly an indispensable resource!

Contributed to the 56th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy :: 10 essential books in my genealogy library.

Crowning Glories Galore!

footnoteMaven has posted the 5th Edition - Smile For The Camera over at Shades of The Departed.

The word prompt this time around was "Crowning Glory" and the contributions of the 52 participants will not disappoint you. Please, go check them out, you'll be glad you did! My contribution was The Hover Children :: All Dressed Up.

I'm pleased to say that I will be hosting the 6th Edition of Smile For The Camera here at kinexxions! Thanks, fM, for the opportunity!

The word prompt for the 6th edition is Funny Bone. Show us that picture that never fails to bring a smile to your face! An amusing incident, a funny face, an unusual situation. Share! Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that tickles your Funny Bone and submit it to the carnival.

Your submission may include as many or as few words as you feel are necessary to describe your treasured photograph. Those words may be in the form of an expressive comment, a quote, a journal entry, a poem (your own or a favorite), a scrapbook page, or a heartfelt article. The choice is yours!

Deadline for submission is midnight (PT) October 10, 2008.

Details for submitting your contribution can be found at Smile For The Camera.