My grandfather is William Ogden Rhea. He was born in Tennessee and died in Montana. He was born in 1882 and died in April of 1962. He lived on a farm and worked for the railroad. I know everything I need to know about my grandfather and so I added all the records from Ancestry. I didn't really look at them because I know everything there is to know about my grandfather. A little smug, I never thought I could learn anything more because I know everything I need to know about my grandfather.
Come the Genealogy Do-Over. Still smug, I pull the paperwork I needed and started on me. That was boring because I know everything I need to know about me. There are a lot of documents and tidbits for my parents so I skipped back a generation to cite those for my grandfather. It would be easy because yada, yada. yada.
I pull up the Web: Montana, Find A Grave index, 1864-2012. It says he died on July 1, 1962. It doesn't really hit me but I continue to cite it. Finished with that, I pull up the Social Security Death Index. I start typing it in and find the death date is 1968. Wait, how can that be? I know he died in 1962 because we took my dad to the airport so he could fly home and I was just starting high school.
So feeling a little less smug, I look at Find A Grave. The Montana link is is based on the larger national database and on the original Find A Grave, I find my grandfather died on April 17, 1962. I have my own photos of his headstone with the same date. I go back and look at the source citation on Ancestry. It is wrong! I make the adjustment on the source and look at my grandfather's profile. It has been wrong since day one because I was smug. Feeling even less sure, I look at the year discrepancy.
I think I should get a copy of the Social Security Death Index because I can't believe it is that far off on the year. Then it hits me, I have his death certificate buried somewhere in my paperwork. After some searching I find it and low and behold, it says he died in 1962. What I did find however is the social security number on the Death Index is different than the one on the death certificate. DUH, missed that tidbit too. I know there was only one William Rhea in Billings, Montana in 1962 because he was my grandfather. Could it be possible that another William Rhea lived there at the same time? I have made a discovery. There was another William Rhea. I don't know who he is or if he is even related but it's another avenue to explore.
I have been very sure of my facts and very smug because I was so careful as I accepted each piece of information. After all, my grandfather was unique and I knew everything I needed to know about him.
Thank you Thomas MacEntee for suggesting a Do-Over. Thank you for making sure those of us who were lazy go back and cite our sources. Thank you for telling us to slow down although I now realize that when I'm done scrutinizing each piece of information, I will be a very old woman.
Showing posts with label Find a Grave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Find a Grave. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Quilts - Day 5 of the Family History Writing Challenge
Today is a good day. Jeanne, the one who is identifying the graves in the Old Catholic Church in Golden, New Mexico, sent me a list of the family graves with names, dates, and photos. She is having trouble identifying the graves for the three named “Narcisco.” I will have my sister-in-law contact her. She should be able to tell them apart. It is so nice for a stranger to take an interest. The best is part is they don’t stay strangers for long and when we finally get to Golden, we have a date to meet.
Now I am back to Martha Jane. While researching corset covers, I ran across an article on quilts. I am a quilter so it is understandable that I got sidetracked. My son, brother, nephew, and former brother-in-law are all Civil War Reenactors in Missouri. That sent me on another search for Civil War quilts. Everyone in my family is getting a quilt for Christmas and I have started a few but wasn’t sure what to make for my son. When I found that the Log Cabin Pattern was pre-Civil War, I was delighted. Guess what he’s getting for Christmas?
I have quilts on the brain. A friend and I walked into our local Salvation Army Thrift Store a couple of weeks ago. I was looking for bed sheets to use as quilt backings. I found a lovely sheet that was more than I expected and was continuing down the line when I spotted what looked like a quilt. The closer I got, the more excited I became. It is an old, crazy quilt. It is completely hand stitched. Some of the pieces are frayed but that’s not a big deal. The crazy quilting is hand embroidered and each piece is tied in the back. I told my friend that I didn’t care what it cost; I was going to have it. When it came time to pay for it, the clerk said it was $8.00 but that all the bedding was 30% off. I paid $5.60 for the quilt. I couldn’t wait to get to the car. I felt like I had just stolen it because had it been in an antique store, it would have been out of my price range. Although it is too fragile to use as a blanket, I am not going to put it away. It was meant to be used so I will hang it to enjoy every day.
The back tied
The larger picture
Stitching detail
Fabrics used
So what does that have to do with Martha Jane? In her letter dated, Oct. 10, 1919, she writes,
“Cornie says she has her bean gathered in and now wants to do some sewing. Lillie says come out and help her quilt some evening and she will help next evening. She is quilting 2 and wants to quilt 3 more.”
Cornie is her daughter-in-law. Lillie is her daughter. She is still trying to get William (my grandfather) to move back to Tennessee. That theme runs through all five letters. At the time the letters were written, he had been gone for four years. Although they didn’t get to Montana until 1917, they spent two years in Missouri. I don’t know anything about the two year period other than my uncle was born there in 1915. My grandmother was from Missouri so it is possible they stayed with family, although, she didn’t like any of them. That’s a story in itself.
I can imagine Martha, Cornie, and Lillie sitting in the kitchen of the house Martha and John built before 1884. This picture is of my father and his cousins, Hugh and Howard taken in about 1970. They are three of Martha’s grandchildren.
The quilting was done by hand because the house did not have electricity in 1919. The letters are full of information about the family and neighbors so that is what would be the conversation while quilting.
“Mama, how’s your hand?” Lillie asked.
“The bruise and skinned place came near killing me. I swelled all over bad but I think I am nearly well of that”, Martha responded. “I have been gathering chestnuts the past week. I have 3 or 4 gallons, do you want some?”
“I’ll take some,” volunteered Cornie. “I have my beans all gathered in.”
“I have plenty of chickapins too,” Martha replied. “Do you hear the whistles?” The crusher and separator is running now. You can hear one of their whistles 40 miles. They finally got water at the mine. Roy and Sam are running trucks and they say they will make a road from the mines through Sterling Hollow to Lawson’s Mill.
“They have the road graded in 2 ½ miles of the county line,” Lillie said. “They say they will build another crusher there and one at Keeton.”
“I wonder if William will come here this fall,” Martha mused. “I want Ralph to hurry and help me with the chestnuts. Essie wants him to come and help her ate molasses. Floyd made 45 gallons molasses and Nelson is making some now. Floyd has a fine crop of tobacco and corn enough to do him. I think we will too.
“They called Della new boy Luke Michael,” Lillie said. “Another nephew for me to spoil and another grandson for you, Mama.” Did you hear that Frank Rhea has moved to the camps?”
“I heard that,” Cornie said. “You would think at his age, he would stay in the house. He just can’t seem to get away from the mines.”
“I’m glad William is not mining,” Martha said, “But I wish he would come home. I have looked for a letter for 2 weeks. Floyd says to tell him that they fear that letter he was going to write to them will be gray headed when it gets here.”
988 words
Now I am back to Martha Jane. While researching corset covers, I ran across an article on quilts. I am a quilter so it is understandable that I got sidetracked. My son, brother, nephew, and former brother-in-law are all Civil War Reenactors in Missouri. That sent me on another search for Civil War quilts. Everyone in my family is getting a quilt for Christmas and I have started a few but wasn’t sure what to make for my son. When I found that the Log Cabin Pattern was pre-Civil War, I was delighted. Guess what he’s getting for Christmas?
I have quilts on the brain. A friend and I walked into our local Salvation Army Thrift Store a couple of weeks ago. I was looking for bed sheets to use as quilt backings. I found a lovely sheet that was more than I expected and was continuing down the line when I spotted what looked like a quilt. The closer I got, the more excited I became. It is an old, crazy quilt. It is completely hand stitched. Some of the pieces are frayed but that’s not a big deal. The crazy quilting is hand embroidered and each piece is tied in the back. I told my friend that I didn’t care what it cost; I was going to have it. When it came time to pay for it, the clerk said it was $8.00 but that all the bedding was 30% off. I paid $5.60 for the quilt. I couldn’t wait to get to the car. I felt like I had just stolen it because had it been in an antique store, it would have been out of my price range. Although it is too fragile to use as a blanket, I am not going to put it away. It was meant to be used so I will hang it to enjoy every day.
The back tied
The larger picture
Stitching detail
Fabrics used
So what does that have to do with Martha Jane? In her letter dated, Oct. 10, 1919, she writes,
“Cornie says she has her bean gathered in and now wants to do some sewing. Lillie says come out and help her quilt some evening and she will help next evening. She is quilting 2 and wants to quilt 3 more.”
Cornie is her daughter-in-law. Lillie is her daughter. She is still trying to get William (my grandfather) to move back to Tennessee. That theme runs through all five letters. At the time the letters were written, he had been gone for four years. Although they didn’t get to Montana until 1917, they spent two years in Missouri. I don’t know anything about the two year period other than my uncle was born there in 1915. My grandmother was from Missouri so it is possible they stayed with family, although, she didn’t like any of them. That’s a story in itself.
I can imagine Martha, Cornie, and Lillie sitting in the kitchen of the house Martha and John built before 1884. This picture is of my father and his cousins, Hugh and Howard taken in about 1970. They are three of Martha’s grandchildren.
The quilting was done by hand because the house did not have electricity in 1919. The letters are full of information about the family and neighbors so that is what would be the conversation while quilting.
“Mama, how’s your hand?” Lillie asked.
“The bruise and skinned place came near killing me. I swelled all over bad but I think I am nearly well of that”, Martha responded. “I have been gathering chestnuts the past week. I have 3 or 4 gallons, do you want some?”
“I’ll take some,” volunteered Cornie. “I have my beans all gathered in.”
“I have plenty of chickapins too,” Martha replied. “Do you hear the whistles?” The crusher and separator is running now. You can hear one of their whistles 40 miles. They finally got water at the mine. Roy and Sam are running trucks and they say they will make a road from the mines through Sterling Hollow to Lawson’s Mill.
“They have the road graded in 2 ½ miles of the county line,” Lillie said. “They say they will build another crusher there and one at Keeton.”
“I wonder if William will come here this fall,” Martha mused. “I want Ralph to hurry and help me with the chestnuts. Essie wants him to come and help her ate molasses. Floyd made 45 gallons molasses and Nelson is making some now. Floyd has a fine crop of tobacco and corn enough to do him. I think we will too.
“They called Della new boy Luke Michael,” Lillie said. “Another nephew for me to spoil and another grandson for you, Mama.” Did you hear that Frank Rhea has moved to the camps?”
“I heard that,” Cornie said. “You would think at his age, he would stay in the house. He just can’t seem to get away from the mines.”
“I’m glad William is not mining,” Martha said, “But I wish he would come home. I have looked for a letter for 2 weeks. Floyd says to tell him that they fear that letter he was going to write to them will be gray headed when it gets here.”
988 words
Monday, February 4, 2013
A Corset - Day 4 of the Family History Writing Challenge
Yesterday was a day away from home. No, we didn't go to a Superbowl Party. We spent the day at Knott's Berry Farm. I didn't take any pictures of the boys, my child and his friend, I took a picture of a corset. I used my phone and tried to avoid the glare on the glass but the picture is not very good. So why am I taking bad pictures of a corset and not my child while he celebrates his 12th birthday? Why is a corset important?
Martha Jane (McCollum (Rhea), wrote a letter to my grandparents on January 1, 1919. In the letter, she says her daughter gave her a corset cover for Christmas. What is a corset cover? Why did they have them? I find myself woefully uneducated in the undergarments of the times. If it was important enough to share in a letter, than it needs to be important to me. Everything she wrote in the letters are clues for me to learn more about her. The letters are chatty about the family and neighbors and I have discovered I need to be more aware of the small things she shares. They tell me who she was.
Knott's Berry Farm is not new to us. I have a page on Squidoo with family pictures taken as early as 1954 and just found another one to add, taken of my mother in 1947. That means the picture is older than me and that's saying a lot. So, while the boys rode roller coasters, my husband and I wandered the shops and museums. They have a small museum with lots of fun stuff to see. There was a display of muskets but I couldn't get a good picture of the one I wanted. A photo would have been helpful because there are many muskets but the one they had was the right time frame and used in the Civil War. He was murdered with his own musket and I would like to be as accurate as possible. I will probably have to go into Los Angeles to get a good photo. (Gee, darn, a road trip) I find the photos help stir my imagination and are a tangible link to the past.
My husband did manage to take a picture of the boys. My child has a thing about mustaches so he bought some. His fascination with them started when he was about 5 and we vacationed in Tombstone, Arizona. Every time we go back, he buys more and the car has one too.
However, time doesn’t stand still when you walk away from the computer. I came home to find about 30 pictures taken of my husband’s biological family’s graves in New Mexico. The family is new to us as he was adopted. The photographer is a very nice lady who is part of Find a Grave. She and I share information on the family. I help her identify some of the graves where she doesn’t have all the info and she shares what she knows to help my husband become acquainted with the family he was denied. It is a story that I have shared in a small book written for the rest of the children (his biological brothers and sisters) who were also denied their family history.
Today, I am not writing about Martha Jane. I have let too many opportunities get by me. I didn’t ask questions when I had the chance and those resources are lost forever. I don’t make that mistake anymore. I have some questions about the photos and today, before it’s too late, I will make sure that I understand what she is telling me about the family.
While I delve into the past to learn about Martha Jane, it is easy to put off updating what is current. The lady taking the pictures is 70 something and not in the best of health. I appreciate what she is doing for me and don’t want to make it any harder for her. The pictures show that there is snow on the ground and although we have never met, her safety concerns me as she tramps around the old graveyard. Today is the day to deal with the current. The past will not change so it is safe to put it off until tomorrow.
Martha Jane (McCollum (Rhea), wrote a letter to my grandparents on January 1, 1919. In the letter, she says her daughter gave her a corset cover for Christmas. What is a corset cover? Why did they have them? I find myself woefully uneducated in the undergarments of the times. If it was important enough to share in a letter, than it needs to be important to me. Everything she wrote in the letters are clues for me to learn more about her. The letters are chatty about the family and neighbors and I have discovered I need to be more aware of the small things she shares. They tell me who she was.
Knott's Berry Farm is not new to us. I have a page on Squidoo with family pictures taken as early as 1954 and just found another one to add, taken of my mother in 1947. That means the picture is older than me and that's saying a lot. So, while the boys rode roller coasters, my husband and I wandered the shops and museums. They have a small museum with lots of fun stuff to see. There was a display of muskets but I couldn't get a good picture of the one I wanted. A photo would have been helpful because there are many muskets but the one they had was the right time frame and used in the Civil War. He was murdered with his own musket and I would like to be as accurate as possible. I will probably have to go into Los Angeles to get a good photo. (Gee, darn, a road trip) I find the photos help stir my imagination and are a tangible link to the past.
My husband did manage to take a picture of the boys. My child has a thing about mustaches so he bought some. His fascination with them started when he was about 5 and we vacationed in Tombstone, Arizona. Every time we go back, he buys more and the car has one too.
However, time doesn’t stand still when you walk away from the computer. I came home to find about 30 pictures taken of my husband’s biological family’s graves in New Mexico. The family is new to us as he was adopted. The photographer is a very nice lady who is part of Find a Grave. She and I share information on the family. I help her identify some of the graves where she doesn’t have all the info and she shares what she knows to help my husband become acquainted with the family he was denied. It is a story that I have shared in a small book written for the rest of the children (his biological brothers and sisters) who were also denied their family history.
Today, I am not writing about Martha Jane. I have let too many opportunities get by me. I didn’t ask questions when I had the chance and those resources are lost forever. I don’t make that mistake anymore. I have some questions about the photos and today, before it’s too late, I will make sure that I understand what she is telling me about the family.
While I delve into the past to learn about Martha Jane, it is easy to put off updating what is current. The lady taking the pictures is 70 something and not in the best of health. I appreciate what she is doing for me and don’t want to make it any harder for her. The pictures show that there is snow on the ground and although we have never met, her safety concerns me as she tramps around the old graveyard. Today is the day to deal with the current. The past will not change so it is safe to put it off until tomorrow.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Finding more on "Find A Grave"
Find a Grave is a relatively new site for me. When searching Ancestry.com, the site would popup in the search and lead to another website. The website would display graveyard information about the person I was researching and quite possibly a corresponding headstone. I would blindly add the gravesite to my ancestor’s page and move on. I didn't quite get it but thought it was really cool.
I don't know when it changed but suddenly, like most of my genealogical research, it hit me that there was more to Find A Grave than I realized. The website is not flashy. Its plain look threw me off and the features don't come with bells, lights, and whistles. However, I'm not complaining because I discovered advantages I never expected.
The format is straight forward. Fill in the information and press search. The trick is to put in enough information to get close to the person you are searching for but not more than was posted on the site. For example, I typed in William Ogden Rhea.
This is the message I got:
Grave Search Results
Sorry, there are no records in the Find A Grave database matching your query.
Well, at least the system is polite. So I played with it and found that if I put in “Rhea”, added the state, and omitted the William Ogden, there were 16 results. From there, it was easy to find my grandfather. With those results, I could also see my grandmother.
Wait, I am getting ahead of myself.
Martha Jane McColloam is my great grandmother. She is my topic for the Family History Writing Challenge in February 2013. Lynn from “The Armchair Genealogist” does this every year. I have spent weeks getting ready.
When I found Martha’s headstone I was delighted. It confirmed birth and death in a very concrete way. However, buried with her was a L. V. McColloam and a link to that page. Scrolling over to her page, I saw it was assigned to a Lillie McColloam. I knew that wasn’t right. Lillie married Nelson Snodgrass. I also knew that Martha’s daughter Luvena never married and died young. Sure enough, the dates I had for her matched the headstone.
On the Find a Grave page, there is a tab called edit. Clicking on the tab takes you to a form where you can correct information, add a bio or add other information for others searching for that person. Corrections were completed the next day.
Curious, I wondered who got the form so I starting reading the forum. I found that mostly volunteers maintain Find A Grave. I also found that it is possible to request a marker photo if there is not one on the page. Given the new-found knowledge, I tried another family and asked for the photos of my husband’s biological grandparents graves. The next day I received an email from the person who was going to take the pictures. She had questions about the family who makes up 90% of the cemetery. We had a very long conversation. I added her as a guest on my Ancestry.com to aid her in identifying many of the graves with markings that aren’t clear anymore. It was very beneficial for both of us and we still correspond.
Back to the Rhea’s…the pictures of the markers were available almost immediately. They came with a message. Was the other two Rhea’s part of the same family? I didn’t realize my aunt and uncle were buried there too. I looked them up on Find A Grave but there were no pages for them. That’s when I learned I could add people if the cemetery is known. I completed the bio and the links and then requested the photos. I had always assumed that if they weren’t there, they didn’t exist. Now I know better.
I will admit that there is more for me to learn but giving back is big on my list. I am a new volunteer and take photos at my local cemeteries. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I will be out taking photos of the headstones in my queue.
I don't know when it changed but suddenly, like most of my genealogical research, it hit me that there was more to Find A Grave than I realized. The website is not flashy. Its plain look threw me off and the features don't come with bells, lights, and whistles. However, I'm not complaining because I discovered advantages I never expected.
The format is straight forward. Fill in the information and press search. The trick is to put in enough information to get close to the person you are searching for but not more than was posted on the site. For example, I typed in William Ogden Rhea.
This is the message I got:
Grave Search Results
Sorry, there are no records in the Find A Grave database matching your query.
Well, at least the system is polite. So I played with it and found that if I put in “Rhea”, added the state, and omitted the William Ogden, there were 16 results. From there, it was easy to find my grandfather. With those results, I could also see my grandmother.
Wait, I am getting ahead of myself.
Martha Jane McColloam is my great grandmother. She is my topic for the Family History Writing Challenge in February 2013. Lynn from “The Armchair Genealogist” does this every year. I have spent weeks getting ready.
When I found Martha’s headstone I was delighted. It confirmed birth and death in a very concrete way. However, buried with her was a L. V. McColloam and a link to that page. Scrolling over to her page, I saw it was assigned to a Lillie McColloam. I knew that wasn’t right. Lillie married Nelson Snodgrass. I also knew that Martha’s daughter Luvena never married and died young. Sure enough, the dates I had for her matched the headstone.
On the Find a Grave page, there is a tab called edit. Clicking on the tab takes you to a form where you can correct information, add a bio or add other information for others searching for that person. Corrections were completed the next day.
Curious, I wondered who got the form so I starting reading the forum. I found that mostly volunteers maintain Find A Grave. I also found that it is possible to request a marker photo if there is not one on the page. Given the new-found knowledge, I tried another family and asked for the photos of my husband’s biological grandparents graves. The next day I received an email from the person who was going to take the pictures. She had questions about the family who makes up 90% of the cemetery. We had a very long conversation. I added her as a guest on my Ancestry.com to aid her in identifying many of the graves with markings that aren’t clear anymore. It was very beneficial for both of us and we still correspond.
Back to the Rhea’s…the pictures of the markers were available almost immediately. They came with a message. Was the other two Rhea’s part of the same family? I didn’t realize my aunt and uncle were buried there too. I looked them up on Find A Grave but there were no pages for them. That’s when I learned I could add people if the cemetery is known. I completed the bio and the links and then requested the photos. I had always assumed that if they weren’t there, they didn’t exist. Now I know better.
I will admit that there is more for me to learn but giving back is big on my list. I am a new volunteer and take photos at my local cemeteries. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I will be out taking photos of the headstones in my queue.
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