Yesterday I received an Ancestry.com message from a woman in Ohio who had found a Bible that had a name that appears in my public tree – Landfair. She said she would mail it to me if I would pick up the cost. I was warned that the Bible was heavy.
Unfortunately, there are so many scams today how do you know if the offer is legit or not? She provided a phone number. I Googled it and it was for Ohio but not for her. She had provided her first and last name and checking that out, she was a member of a genealogy organization to which I also belong. She did live in the area where she reportedly found the Bible.
I first messaged her back on Ancestry but after several hours, she hadn’t replied. I decided to give her a call.
I’m glad I took the risk…she was a sweet woman who said she finally was able to get out and enjoy an interest that she pursued BC (before covid) – reuniting found items to descendants. She said she found my public tree first because I had the most citations for the family. She also reached out to a few others who had the name in their tree.
The oldest documented individual in the Bible was my first cousin three times removed. I knew of a closer descendant so I texted the kind woman an email address and told her to mention my name. That individual lives close and would save the finder the issue of mailing.
It was an absolutely important find for that line as there is NO marriage record to be found other than what was recorded in the Bible.
Kudos to all of you wonderful people who spread genealogy acts of kindness!
Did you know that August is Make-A-Will month?! I had no idea until I received spam this morning that it was time for me to make a will. I checked it out and sure enough, this is the month to complete this important but disdained task.
Funny how as family historians/genealogists we LOVE wills and probate but personally, not so much.
Earlier this week I was volunteering at my local hospital when I overheard a family discussing a terminal family member. The individual hadn’t yet died but the family members present, 2 grandchildren and 3 siblings of the patient, were in a discussion over who was going to get what after the death. I tried really hard to ignore the conversation as it was not only none of my business, it was disheartening.
A grandchild reported that the patient had expressed what items was to go to what individual. One of the patient’s children said, “Fine,” but then went on to state they were going over to the patient’s home later that day to pick up items believed to be inherited. The other adult children then decided they were going to go, too.
I have no ending to the story. Perhaps the patient recovered, went home and discovered items missing. Maybe the family members would have returned them before the patient returned home. More likely, the individual died and family members arriving after the death discovered items they thought belonged to them were gone.
Personally, hubby and I have experienced family issues after a loved one’s death. It is not pretty and can destroy relationships. These events happened even though there was a will in most cases.
Although I still miss my mom who passed in 2001, I was fortunate that she had planned well for her final days. When she was first diagnosed with Alzheimers, she asked me to attend a meeting she had scheduled regarding disposition of her remains as she wanted to be cremated. She had previously made a will. The only problem was she couldn’t decide where the cremains would be housed. I never got an answer so my husband and I decided to inter them in the family plot where she grew up and where her parents and grandparents were buried.
Several years ago, I convinced hubby we needed to make our final arrangements to spare our adult kids the task. We updated our wills and added a Living Will, Power of Attorney, and Designated Health Care Surrogates. The kids each received a copy. We had both children notarize the form regarding our body’s donation to science. We purchased a space in our city cemetery and selected a funeral home that will receive our cremains once medical school students are done with them. The funeral home has our obits. We placed our children’s names on our property and bank accounts so that they can close out any debts or make needed repairs seamlessly.
To avoid the scenario that I overheard at the hospital, I have placed stickers on the bottom of several items that have been in the family for years and I want passed down to the next generation. The labels state who was the original owner of the item. I don’t care which of my children get what items and there isn’t a lot to fight over. Unlabeled items they can keep, sell or donate.
The death of a loved one is never easy. The lack of a will makes the situation even more difficult. Make time to make your final arrangements soon. You’re not only helping your closest family members, generations to come will discover your will and thank you for that.
Today is Emancipation Day to commemorate those who were freed from slavery.
Emancipation has another meaning, that of liberation typically from a legal, social or political restriction. When my husband and I decided to retire as longtime public school employees we hadn’t been aware that the day we selected, August 1, 2021, that we termed our “emancipation” day was actually already memorialized as the day to remember those who had been enslaved.
Reading the news this morning about emancipation made me realize this was an extra special day to celebrate freedom!
For those of you who follow my blog you know my life often has some odd coincidences occur. Someone told me that happens to me because I tell everyone I know about the weird situations so they just keep coming. I guess the theory is that by talking and writing about them I become a magnet for more. I don’t know about that but I do think this is kind of strange… Friday, March 13, 2020 was my last day working onsite at a school. The following day I was supposed to be volunteering at a library with my local genealogy society to help patrons with their brick walls. The event was cancelled at the last minute because of covid-19. Although the monthly meetings and trainings moved to Zoom, the brick wall event was not rescheduled until yesterday. Friday, July 30 happened to be my last day forever in education and the following day, the brick wall event which was supposed to be back at the library got moved to Zoom because I live in the fasted growing covid area in the country.
Too bad we couldn’t meet in person as it would have been a wonderful bookend of the beginning and termination of the pandemic.
Although I’m leaving the K-12 education field permanently, I’m definitely not abandoning genealogy. I’ll continue to blog, consult with clients, volunteer at my local historical society and provide research. Due to my termination contract, I’m unable to “teach” for the next year in any capacity but plan to return to genealogical lectures eventually.
In addition to spending more time on genealogy, I plan to invest time in my local community. Due to my previously long commute I was never able to do that. I plan on volunteering at my local hospital and with other community events.
Hubby and I are so looking forward to this next chapter in our lives. It is a privilege having you continue to follow my blog as I head off in a new direction. Stay tuned for my new adventures!
Indiana, U.S., Civil War Soldier Database Index, 1861-1865, Isaac Lofton, digital database; Ancestry.com: accessed 6 Jul 2021.
With Hurricane/Tropical Storm Elsa coming through my neighborhood this week, I’ve spent my days finishing up documentation for the Forgotten Ones project sponsored by the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The purpose is to identify those who served for the Union but have no descendants. Their stories are compiled and will be included on the organization’s website so that their service will not be forgotten.
In researching two individuals, I found perfect examples of why EXHAUSTIVE research is paramount. The first discovery I made was while researching Isaac Lofton (1835-1889), an Indiana native farm laborer who enlisted for the Union. My heart sunk after spending an hour acquiring documents when I discovered the picture above.
Notice why I was concerned? Check out the Notes section – “Deserted.”
If I had stopped there I would never have learned the true story of heroic Isaac.
Further research uncovered what happened 2 days BEFORE Isaac left the hospital, which was used as a convalescent center for not threatening gunshot wounds or disease:
Gerald Kennedy. U.S. Army Hospital: Keokuk, 1862-1865, The Annals of Iowa, Vol. 40, Number 2, Fall, 1969, pp. 118-136; digital image, core.ac.uk: accessed 7 July 2021, p.132.
I don’t know about you, but I think it was a wise move on Isaac’s part to take off from that hospital when he did.
It’s what he did next that impresses me the most…he could have returned to Indiana, kept his mouth shut and carried on with his life. He chose another path, however. Instead, Isaac went SOUTH, into the war, and re-enlisted with Company K, 1st Infantry, Mississippi Marine Brigade. I didn’t even know there was a Union regiment from Mississippi!
Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Ohio, Isaac Lofton, digital image; Fold3.com: accessed 6 July 2021, citing NARA Publication Number M540, Record Group 94, Roll 0034.
He served until the war ended as a Marine on the Mississippi River. Impressive for a man who had little experience with water growing up.
After the war, he married Lydia Harbaugh in 1868; the couple had no children.
I’m glad I continued researching to understand his story as finding one document does not mean it tells the whole truth.
That point can be further made by the next individual I selected to research, Julius Theodore C. Wilman. Julius (1838-1885) volunteered as a private in 1861 with the 3rd Regiment, Infantry in his native Maryland. I was impressed to discover he was promoted to Lieutenant:
Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Maryland, Julius T. C. Willman, digital image; Fold3.com: accessed 7 July 2021, citing NARA M384, Record Group 94, Roll 0128, p. 1 & 2.
He must have received notice of the charges as he sent a second letter stating he was “anxious” to learn if his resignation had been accepted and to correct the record. He claimed he was not AWOL but had permission from a physician because he was “sick.” Notice that he never mentioned being ill in his resignation letter? In reviewing his service file, however, on Fold3, I discovered his true character. Five charges were filed against him and he did not handle the situation well. Evidently, the commanding officer decided that no man could use his own guns and they were to be collected. Two privates did not want to part with their revolvers so they cut a deal with Julius; he promised to keep them safe and return them to the men. Except, Julius didn’t want to part with them when the privates asked for them back. They reported him to higher ups who confronted Julius. He denied he had the revolvers though they were found in his possession. When asked how that occurred, he spewed profanities and threats against the officer who had issued the command. Then, he went AWOL. He returned to his mother’s residence and submitted a resignation letter stating he was needed at home to take care of his elderly widowed mother, his invalid brother, and his sister-in-law with two small children whose husband, another of his brothers, had been killed at Gettysburg. He claimed to be the only one who could care for the family since one other surviving brother had important work to do in the government’s service.
In researching Julius’ claims about his need to be home, his story falls further apart. Although it was true his mother was a widow, she had raised 4 boys as a single mom since 1849. In the 1860 US Federal census, none of the adult “boys” can be found but mom had found work as a toll gatherer in Virginia. In 1870 and 1880, mom was living with one of Julius’ brothers. Julius certainly wasn’t concerned about her at her end of life when he relocated to Wisconsin. She outlived him by 4 months.
There is NO documentation to show that one of his brothers was an invalid. That brother, most likely Henry, was quite well when he completed his draft registration. Henry never was called up for service and married after the war.
There is NO documentation that brother Frederick Agustus worked for the government. He did complete a draft registration in July 1863; he was a miller in Fredericks County, Maryland throughout the war.
There is NO documentation Julius ever took care of his sister-in-law or nephews after his brother was killed at Gettysburg. In fact, his sister-in-law had married Julius’ brother John Lewis in 1857 but was found in the 1860 US Federal census as residing with her parents using her maiden name. She continued to live with them in 1870, along with her two children who had been born in 1861 and 1863. She eventually remarried and newspaper articles note the adult children returned to visit their step-dad. That implies the step-dad took on the parental role and not Julius.
There is also NO evidence that Julius had remorse for his actions regarding his poor judgement in taking the revolvers, lying about them being in his possession, his angry outburst and threats when confronted with the evidence and his failure to go through proper channels when he became “sick.”
The only truth discovered was the death of his brother, John Lewis. It is interesting to note Julius had been taken as a POW for a short time a few months before the revolver incident. He was traded quickly back to the Union. No mention of that was made in his resignation.
Julius had reason to be anxious and depressed; he possibly was suffering from PTSD. He later became a diabetic so he also may have had underlying medical issues at the time of the incident. His physical and mental state was stressed yet it disturbs me that he had no remorse for his actions.
I decided not to submit his story. Perhaps, there are two lessons learned here. The first, exhaustive research is a must. The second, sometimes it’s better to remain a Forgotten One.
I have always loved to travel, especially for genealogical purposes. The past year has taken that privilege away but I discovered, like you, there was always work arounds in most cases. I relied on others to obtain a document or check a source through Ask-A-Librarian or other email inquiry. I was surprised to discover how much I could accomplish using those resources.
Now that my closest family has all been fully vaccinated, travel has become a hot topic. Should we or shouldn’t we?
A week before the pandemic quarantine arrived, hubby and I had planned to travel later that summer to Sweden to mix genealogy research from both his mother and father’s lines with cultural immersion. This year, we had planned to do the same with Croatia and next year, after a Mediterranean cruise, to stomp through France to explore more of my lines. We guessed, by that time, Great Britain would have settled down somewhat after Brexit and we’d both explore our Welsh, Scotts, Irish and English roots.
I realize that Croatia is open for travel now but do I want to do that?! Is it wise to venture abroad and possibly bring home a new variant? Do I want to travel wearing a mask and with more hand sanitizer then I usually pack? On the other hand, am I contributing to Europe’s recession by not going?
An alternative would be US travel. After checking that archives have reopened, we could spend some time this summer traveling throughout the midwest or the northeast. That leads to more questions – should we fly or should we drive? With the rental car shortages and the great price increase in rentals, is it even worth flying? Do I want to pack up the car and drive, which would require more frequent stops along the way and the possibility of still getting a covid exposure? Sure, the chances of infection are small but they remain.
In all my years of traveling I was one of those foolish mortals that really didn’t worry about Montezuma’s revenge. I swam in cenotes, crawled into caves, ate from food trucks in cities and with local villagers outdoors in rural areas, even consuming uncooked fruits and vegetables. I was always fine. The pandemic has reminded me of my own mortality and to not push my luck.
Even though I’m fully vaccinated, I’m reluctant to travel. Ethics in genealogy go beyond being truthful and accurate. Ethics include being responsible to others. No matter how much I miss meeting new people, learning about different cultures and exploring archives new to me, I think I’ll take a wait and see approach to travel for now.
First, an important message to those who follow my blog posted on Blogger….In July, you will no longer be receiving my blog directly to your email. I’m so sorry! Google has decided to cancel the email subscriber feature. I’ll continue blogging and you can find me through Blogger or at my GenealogyAtHeart.com website where I also post.
The photo above, which I discovered accidentally this week, haunts me. It connects my past to the present in a special way.
Since the pandemic began, my husband and I have sat next to each other almost daily working separately but together from our home office. When I began my career in the education field 44 years ago, if someone had told me this was how it would end I wouldn’t have believed them.
I have been fortunate throughout this difficult time when so many have suffered untold losses. Last Friday, as I was wrapping up the work week, I came across the picture above. Before reading the caption, I was overcome with a vague memory. I somehow recognized the building. I dismissed that thought quickly. The JSTOR Daily article title, Libraries and Pandemics: Past and Present could be a photo from any Carnegie library in 1918 since most used the same architectural plans. Except it wasn’t just any old library building.
The caption identifies the librarians sitting on the steps as protecting themselves from the influenze pandemic in October 1918 in Gary, Indiana. As a child, I climbed those steps many times with my mother, who would have been 6 months old when the photo was taken. Her father and maternal grandfather would bring the influenza home to the rest of the family three months later. Joseph Kos[s], who I’ve blogged about previously, would succumb to the disease.
The last time I visited that library was about 55 years ago. It has long been closed, not because of age or lack of use, but due to mismanagement of city finances. Six years ago I was told that most of the holdings were still inside, waiting for the day that funds became available to reopen. I don’t know if that’s still the case though it appears that it re-opened after a renovation in January 2018 but has been shuttered again.
I wonder what the librarians pictured above, who worked hard to preserve the library’s contents even during a pandemic, would think about the state of the library today. No doubt, like me, they would have found it difficult to fathom what the future held.
I also wonder about the condition of the contents remaining in an environment that is unheated in winter or cooled in summer. As a child, I well remember the annual heat wave in July where temperatures would sore to 100 degrees. We managed with the windows open and portable fans to catch the breeze blowing off Lake Michigan. The winters could be brutal with snow falling as early as October and as late as April.
But this blog isn’t about record loss; my thoughts today turn to sensory memory. After all these years, I still recall those steps that were so hard to climb when I was small. The angle the photo had been taken no doubt helped me recall the building. Being short in those days, the view I visualized and stored in my mind would have been from looking up at the entrance.
Using our senses can help recall those distant genealogy memories we carry. Smelling and tasting one of my grandmother’s recipe takes me to another time. For my husband, remembrances of holidays past are easily recalled when we share food around the table held in his maternal grandmother’s china. Hearing my departed relatives voices recorded on our old movies gives me that goose bump sensation as if they are still here. The sound of those voices helps me remember other events to which I associate them.
Partaking in a former activity can also help recall long forgotten memories. Early last year, my husband salvaged a bike that was placed for trash pickup. We have two bikes which we never ride and he couldn’t explain why he brought it home with its rear flat tire. I was drawn to the bike, too. Watching my husband tinkering with the bike recalled memories of my grandfather who had once been in the same position as my husband was, fixing the chain. After the repairs were complete I decided to take it for a spin. It was a cool spring morning and I felt like I was 8 years old again. The only thing missing was my apple red wind breaker my mom had purchased from Montgomery Wards on sale. I can’t explain why that one block bike ride made me remember that long forgotten jacket. Most likely it was due to my sense of macro reception, balance and movement on the bike, that enabled me to think of the past.
There is also that 6th sense, intuition, that is yet unexplainable. Somehow, we just know where to find that tombstone or missing document. Perhaps this sense is a compilation of the others mentioned when we relax and let the thoughts enter.
Using your senses in genealogy is another asset for your toolbox, however, caution is needed. Memory alone does not suffice; examination of records and the input of others who may have shared that memory are necessary.
You might be thinking I’m being a prolific blogger this morning as this is my 5th post but the truth is I only planned to write about the one year anniversary of changing practices due to the pandemic.
I started the morning on routine maintenance to my website – genealogyatheart.com and in the process, somehow noticed that 4 older posts, 3 since June, had never posted. I don’t know how that happened so I hit the “publish” button and see that 3 of the 4 are live. Going to figure out when I’m done with this blog what’s up with the last one! Three were on strange events and one was on volunteering to identify WW2 vets. Since the past year has definitely been strange and there has been so many unnecessary deaths it seemed fitting I discovered the drafts this morning.
Was it the technology or the person (me) that was responsible? Don’t know! I usually like to find out the reason for mistakes to prevent them from reoccurring but on this beautiful almost spring morning where I’ll be losing an hour this weekend anyway, I’m choosing to focus instead on the future.
It was 1 year ago today, Friday the 13th, that I spent my last day in person at my education job. I was supposed to meet a genealogy client and do volunteer work on the 14th at a local library but that was cancelled due to the unexpected covid-19 closures. Like most of the rest of the world, I had spent March 11th bringing home items from work that I thought would be essential to use to continue doing my job from home and on the 12th, discovered there was NO hams, turkeys or toilet paper left in the first 4 grocery stores I stopped in on my way home from work.
A year ago, my guess was the pandemic would last about 6 weeks. Yeah, don’t ask me to make any forecasts! I based that assumption on the amount of time since I had first heard about Wuhong’s cases – towards the end of January – and watched with amazement how quickly they were building hospitals. By March, they had stopped so I guessed wrongly that it would just take a short time to get up to speed in providing medical assistance and our lives would be back to “normal”.
That gets me to the ham and turkey on my shopping list – I thought I’d hunker down at home and my meal planning to get through lockdown was influenced by my childhood upbringing. The grandchild of immigrants and the child of a Great Depression parent, we always had a large pantry in the basement known as the fruit cellar. I’ve blogged before how it got it’s name – that’s where my grandparents kept the illegal vino they were producing during prohibition. By the time I came along it held canned goods, soda “pop” bottles in case company came and spices. An extra chest freezer was housed on our enclosed front porch with a doily over it so it didn’t stand out. It was always filled. This was all beneficial to avoid panic buying before a snowstorm hit. Cooking a huge meal mid day Sundays resulted in having food for the rest of the week. I figured we’d have a ham with the fixings and then Monday, use leftovers for sandwiches, Tuesday would be omelets, soup from the hambone on Wednesday and Thursday, any remains mixed with macaroni and cheese on Friday and the week was almost through! I would do something similar with the turkey and chicken to get through 6 weeks of lockdown. Except, I couldn’t find turkey and ham.
I do have a large pantry and an extra fridge in the garage but I never kept them as well stocked as my grandparents did theirs. My shopping foray last March changed that practice and I scrounged for whatever I found left in the store – 3 corned beefs, 2 whole chickens, some ground beef and hot dogs. I found the ham and turkey at the 5th store I went to which was the one closest to my home. The toilet paper was discovered by a suggestion from another shopper at Big Lots. My bookkeeper at work had found hers at Staples. This was clearly a tipoff that that world was changing in a strange way.
I pivoted my education job by working through what was supposed to have been my week off for spring break. I was up and running with that quickly and easily with a plan to keep the students engaged the week we were transitioning to online learning to give the teachers time to get their lessons prepared. My genealogy business was placed on hiatus but I decided to keep writing the blog.
Reflecting on the past year, my biggest surprise is that I’m really okay with working from home. This has been the longest time since adulthood that I haven’t been on a trip or to a visit to a library. I’ve got several ideas of where I’ll do research once the world reopens fully. I’m okay with being patient for when that happens. In the meantime, I’ve created a list of where I need to research, what I need to find and some of the archives I’ll be visiting.
Thinking back, I now have no idea how I endured for years the long commute I made 5 days a week. I’ve only topped off my car with gas 4 times since last March 13th. Sometimes I would have to stop for gas more than once per week. I have spent the over 2 hours per day that I had lost driving on other tasks. Initially, I spent a lot more time on my education job but now that I’m in the groove, that has lessened. I’m now using the extra time to listen to podcasts and do my own personal genealogy research. I updated my family’s cookbook and included a section on Pandemic cooking for future generations. It’s got a great substitution chart – can’t find cake flour, here’s what you do! We also switched our hydroponics to aquaponics, took in 2 hens that were hatched 2 weeks before the pandemic at my school and froze the loquats and lemon juice from our neighbors tree for use the rest of the year.
I am amazed at how much genealogy research I have been able to do by being housebound. Granted, much has been because of the dedication of staff at archives who have done look ups for me over the past year. Due to the special offers that were available last spring, I took advantage of mining through online resources I hadn’t explored before. That was an awesome use of my time and money.
I donated some of my time by volunteering and I’ll blog more about that soon. I also donated some cash to organizations who were extremely helpful and are now in desperate need of funds. I plan to do more of this in the future.
By working fully from home I was thankful that hubby and I had renovated our home in the past few years, especially our office. We had to make some adjustments but that was mostly due to our primary jobs. I use a whole lot less paper (and printer ink!) then when I was working outside of the home. I’ve cleaned all of our closets and reorganized the kitchen and bath cabinets for efficiency. Those tasks I always put in “some day” category as in “after I retire.” Now they’re done and that will give me more time later.
I also now understand why my grandmother always washed her hands when she came in from leaving the house and why she changed her clothes after attending a funeral. The lessons she learned from the 1918 flu epidemic stayed with her 40 years later. I wonder if I’ll be doing the same.
Take this week and think about how you and your family have changed routines and practices. It is amazing how flexible and versatile we all are. No matter what the future holds we will be taking these characteristics with us. That gives me hope.
Turning lemons into lemonade takes some amount of work but it’s worth the refreshing result. As my grandparents would say, Zdravlje – To Health!
This was supposed to have been published in June 2020 but somehow was not.
Last week I blogged about my strange experience looking for my Hollingshead family going from England to Barbados to Pennsylvania/New Jersey. I was desperately searching for a document to show proof that my ancestor, Daniel, was the individual in all of those locations. Some odd happening occurred – a dream, an undelivered email, an internet site popping up after the electricity had been turned off – put me back on track. Here’s what happened this week… Although the member of my local genealogy association that I had reached out to for help in connecting with a presenter’s email was returned as undeliverable, I used the same email address and reached the person I was seeking a few minutes later. She responded she was unavailable but when get back with me soon. I’ve signed up for a British seminar online that I found by “looking small” as instructed in my dream. It’s scheduled for Friday and I’m eagerly awaiting it. Being impatient, I had a hunch that the dream meant more than just the upcoming lecture. I don’t know why I did the following, but I did and I’m glad of that. I decided to check Ancestry.com hints for Daniel. I don’t use the hint option very often. I do sometimes if I’m starting a new search for a client but for my own tree, not so much. In case you aren’t aware, your Ancestry hints never really leave you. If you click “Ignore” that isn’t the same as delete – which isn’t an option. When you Ignore, it simply goes to the Hint section and is placed under that heading. The other categories are Undecided and Accepted. Accepted hints are all those that are showing in your Facts section, Undecided are those you can’t make up your mind about after you’ve reviewed it. In my Undecided section, I had about 15 hints and most were completely wrong – wrong locations (like Ohio and I was searching before there was even an Ohio territory), wrong time period (like the 1900’s and I needed 1600-1700’s), or wrong names (like Hollins). There were 2 interesting hints, however, that I clicked on and both were from a DNA relative I’ve corresponded with in the past. I trust her work and she always uses citations! The hints were notes she had taken from old texts she had found in her local library. Lucky lady, she lives close to an awesome research library.. I wanted to find the original books to check her notes so I did a Google book search (on Google, click the “Other” box and then click “Books” is the easiest to find and lo and behold, this is what I discovered:
Alfred Mathews. History of Wayne, Pike and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: R. T. Peck & Co,1886, p. 1156.
Even though this is exactly what I’m looking for regarding the route of immigration, there is no proof, other than that Stroud J. Hollinshead, a likely descendant, shared the info for his personal biographical sketch. Sigh! He even got some of the facts wrong. The second paragraph is a hot mess; How could Daniel, the first ancestor, be killed at the Battle of Blenheim and then hold public office in Sussex County, New Jersey? Quite a feat, I say. The date of birth is off by a few years. Didn’t mention the first wife, Ann Alexander, from whom I’m descended but does mention their child, Mary, as the daughter of the second wife, Thomasin. Mary married a Duer; according to this bio, so did Mary’s stepmom after the death of Daniel. Hmm, but something isn’t quite correct there, either. Thomasin was a female and the information states she married a Jane Deuer. I suspect they meant John as this would have been the early 1700’s. Then I found the following interesting story:
Rev. John C. Rankin, DD. The Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge, NJ. Jersey City: John H. Lyon, 1872., p.7.
I knew Daniel was flipping property but I didn’t know that he had sold to a James Alexander of New York. That peaked my interest as his first wife was an Alexander and I’ve not been successful in locating her family. So I read up on James Alexander and Lord Stirling. The family liked to hide among other Alexander families in Ireland and France where they fled after picking the wrong political side in Scotland. Scholars haven’t been able to sort through all the stories the family told in the documentation they left behind of who was related to whom as the same individual’s tales changed from time to time. Then, there’s the whole timely topic of race relationships. Lord Stirling made his money partially from the slave trade while father James was alive and didn’t object. My Daniel, however, appeared to have not been in favor of slavery. He brought a slave family with him to New Jersey but it appears there was manumision. I told myself (no proof here!) that Daniel was empathetic as he was purportedly an indentured servant, though others felt this showed he was of the Quaker faith. Yet, as I learned more about James Alexander, I discovered that Daniel’s second wife Thomasin left several slaves to her children when she died so the couple may not have the same shared beliefs or, I’m completely wrong about Daniel. More research definitely needed. The Presbyterian Church reference provides another important clue. Some believe that Daniel was Quaker but I’ve found nothing to support that. He and his children were baptized in the Church of England in England and Barbados, Some of the Alexander land was later donated to the Presbyterian Church. That’s not surprising since James was a Scott and probably of that faith. Further reading informed me there were no Quakers in the the area when Daniel relocated there. If he had been a devout Quaker, he would have likely settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania as the Duer’s initially did. This would explain why I’ve never found a Quaker record for Daniel. Although all of this is interesting to my research, the last weird occurrence happened while I was reading online. My husband and I share an office and he decided he was going to clean his workspace. He is a piler and I’m a filer – he has piles everywhere and I have everything sorted in a variety of devices (handing file folders, in/out baskets, file cabinets, tubs in folders, etc.). As I was deeply involved in an old text my husband said, “Is this yours?” He was holding a CD. I haven’t used CD’s in I don’t know how long so I shook my head no. “Should I toss it?” he asked. “What’s on it?” I replied. “The theme song of Pirates of the Caribbean.” I thought he was kidding me. “Yeah, right.” I said. “Seriously,” he replied. He thought I had recorded it to help me with my search. (Photo above – you can see it’s scratched so it’s not new.) Nope, wasn’t I but somewhere in the great beyond there’s a tech savvy spirit with a sense of humor who is helping me along. Keep it coming!
Season’s Greetings! You may be feeling like the folks were in the photo above after your Thanksgiving feast. Their enthusiasm for the holiday is well, a little underwhelming. Maybe a smaller family gathering would have been a good thing back then.
Whenever I think of all the work that goes into a family get together I think of this picture from my husband’s side of of the family. Taken about the mid 1930’s, from left to right is Clifford Thompson, George Harbaugh, Bert Thompson and Ruth Johnson Thompson. In the midst of the Great Depression, the decorations were scant. Don’t know if it was a heavy meal or the numbness of having to spend the holiday with extended family that put them to sleep.
The picture was taken in the living room of George’s parent’s home. Ruth was George’s maternal aunt. We’re missing the rest of the extended family who lived there – George Sr., his wife, Elsie, and their other children Bob and Betty. Ruth and Elsie’s mother, Louisa, also lived in the household. Where was Bert and Ruth’s daughter, Jeanne? Maybe upstairs playing with cousin Betty. Did Helen Johnson Chellberg, sister to Elsie and Ruth, also come with her husband and three children? Beats me – somethings we will never know.
I’ve been reading a lot in the past week about people being thankful for not having to travel this holiday season. I can relate to that as I dreaded the holidays when our home was cramped with 40 plus people. All those dishes long before dishwashers! No quiet space at all! Lines for the bathroom! Cigar smoke and alcohol breath – yuck! Although I loved those people a bunch I liked them a lot better a little at a time.
This weekend I’ve spent looking at old family holiday photos. Some years were prosperous and others, not. No matter what your holiday plans are for this year your experience will be long remembered not just by you, but by those who know you. If you can’t be all together, keep in touch – via phone, Zoom, letter/card/text – as best you can. Ask the questions you always wondered about, like where was Helen Chellberg in the mid-1930’s? Although the pandemic made this year seem to move slowly, next year just might be too late to get your family questions answered.
I recommend you each out – reconnect – and remember those far away loved ones. Now is the time!
