My Genealogy Pondering

Back To My Old Tricks

2012-01-29T13:22:00.002-06:00

I'll admit it. I have a very bad habit of becoming super enthusiastic about something only to let my vitality drain quietly away. However, in my defense it usually takes about ten years to completely turn to other endeavors.

I've been working on the family history now for about seventeen years; a milestone of hanging in there! Of course, within that time I've changed my direction many times and there are so many lines to discover it's hard to get bored.

I spent many years devoted to my great-grandfather, William Sidney Emay, the orphan train rider. Taking the time to learn all I could about the era, organizations, social mores, etc. causing and facilitating such programs. I joined the Orphan Train Heritage Society of America serving on the board and as president the last few years of its existence until merging with the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, Kansas. During those years I gave lectures/presentations which allowed me to meet many wonderful genealogists and historians.

During all this time, I was also researching other lines of my and my husband's family. I attended conferences, joined societies, took courses such as American Genealogy from NGS, and read everything I could get my hands on about my newest addiction.

A couple of years ago, I decided it was time to write about the family lines I'd been researching. To help me with the task, I began this blog hoping it would keep me on track. I do think it's helped and I did publish my husband's Rush line in 2010.

Last year I was supposed to publish my Leisure line but I didn't get that done. I let too many things get in the way of my writing. My resolution for 2012 was to "write" 5 out of seven days during the year; well, that resolve went by the wayside quickly! However, I am determined not to let my oh so familiar lagging interest get the better of me this time.

In an effort to jump start my enthusiasm I've joined The Family History Writing Challenge issued by Lynn Palermo, The Armchair Genealogist. I've committed to 250 words a day during the month of February. That's 7,250 words in 29 days (darn leap year!) Now, I'm sure I'm allowed to do more than that but not less:)

Can I do it? Can I stay focused and excited enough to stick with it? I'm going to give it my wholehearted best! So if you don't see many posted to this blog or the Leisure blog or the EGS blog, remember that probably means I'm sticking to my guns and writing about my Leisures. Unfortunately, words written for the blogs won't count in the challenge.

Oh and the word count above is 330. Just maybe I can do this!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Week 2

2012-01-08T13:29:00.000-06:00

Week 2 – Paid Online Genealogy Tools: Which paid genealogy tool do you appreciate the most? What special features put it at the top of your list? How can it help others with their genealogy research?

I have to admit I'm very tight with my genealogy funds and I've whittled my paid site down to only a couple that I use most. I'd love to add more but tend to only subscribe to some on a monthly basis when and only when I need them.

That said, I've been a member of Ancestry.com for years now. Sometimes I'm concerned about the price (it is a bit pricey, isn't it?) but, for me, the benefits outweigh the cost. I'm not a great user of on-line trees, unless they are well sourced. However, I use "user" trees" as clues only and never assume they are correct.

My favorite feature is the ability to merge data into my tree. Although I usually have to refine the citation, I love having an image merge along with the source.

I'm sure Ancestry would be helpful to others in their genealogy research and the nice thing is there is the library addition which makes it available to so many without cost. I, however, would find it difficult to give up perusing its databases at home in my 'jammies.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 1

2012-01-06T14:47:00.000-06:00

Week 1 – Blogs: Blogging is a great way for genealogists to share information with family members, potential cousins and each other. For which blog are you most thankful? Is it one of the earliest blogs you read, or a current one? What is special about the blog and why should others read it?

I have so many blogs I'm thankful for and for many different reasons. Some I like best because of the light and playful voice I hear as I read, some because they instruct me on the best use of software I use, some for the great ideas and suggestions I glean, and some for leading me to information and data helpful in my personal research.

The one I'd like to highlight here is Dear Myrtle's Genealogy Blog. Her posts so often fill more than one of my reasons for reading. Her sense of humor shines and she instructs and directs her readers with excellent ideas and suggestions.

I recommend this blog to any and all of my fellow genealogists.

Mary Frances Leisure Outline

2012-01-02T14:15:00.000-06:00

In order to know what I need to fill in while writing Fannie's bio, I've created an outline with what I know. Please note the sources are listed for the same reason - what do I have and what do I need.

What I know about Mary Frances "Fannie" (Leisure) Emay

Ø Born in RushCounty Indiana 26 Oct 1861
Sources: Tombstone, Obituary, 1900 Census - Born before birth certificates wererequired.

Ø 2^ndchild of 6 and only daughter of Joseph & Eliza Jane (Hinton) Leisure
Sources: 1870 Census, obituary, family photo with parents & brothers

Ø Born justafter the start of the US Civil War

Ø MarriedWilliam Sidney Emay in Rush County, Indiana on 12 Sep 1878
Source: Rush County Marriage certificate and return
She was just turning 17 when she married.

Ø Reference:William was an Orphan Train Rider having been brought to Rush County inFebruary of 1862 at the age of 8. (Create appendix with his story.)

Ø They had 5children:
     Clara Elizabeth – 11 Sep 1879-14 Mar1956
     Joseph Blount – 19 Jun 1881-24 Jun 1969
     Cleveland – 18 Sep 1884-24 Jul 1885
     Ola Blanche - 31 Mar 1886-28 Dec 1970
Sources: Certificates for Cleveland and Ola, obituaries, tombstones, censusrecords

Ø Her fatherdied 15 Sep 1896 in Rush County.
Sources: Death record and obituaries.

Ø HusbandWilliam died 31 Oct 1901 of a sudden stomach ailment.
Sources: Death record, obituaries, tombstone (Note: he was originally buried inthe Hannegan Cemetery but moved to Center Church Cemetery after Fanny died.)

Ø Children’smarriages:
Clara “Lizzie” to Charles Sumner Stewart 10 Sep 1902 in Rush County, Indiana
Joseph to Luva May Reeves 12 Sep 1907 in Rush County, Indiana
Ola to Glen Ging 23 Oct 1913 in Rush County, Indiana
Sources: county records and misc. announcements

Ø In the 1910census, Fannie’s mother, Eliza Jane, is living with Fannie and Ola in Mays,Rush County, Indiana.

Ø Eliza Janedied 21 Sep 1915 in Rush County, Indiana
Source: Rush County Death Records & memorial card

Ø In the 1920census, Fannie is living in the Charles Stewart household with daughter,Lizzie.

Ø In the 1930census, Fannie is living in Rush County in the household of Glen Ging with daughterOla.

Ø Fannie died 22May 1951 in Hancock County, Indiana where daughter Ola Ging and family livedand is buried in Center Church cemetery in Rush County, Indiana.
Source: obituary, tombstone photo.

GeneaPress: Illinois State Genealogical Society Announces Webinar Series

2011-12-31T14:56:00.000-06:00

GeneaPress: Illinois State Genealogical Society Announces Webinar Series:

Just think you can go to class in your 'jammies and no one will know:)
'via Blog this'

My 2011 Goal Results & 2012 Goal

2011-12-29T13:57:00.001-06:00

This year is nearly over and I know without a doubt I'll not be reaching my 2011 goal of writing and publishing my Leisure family. I did make some progress. I decided on a format and created an outline. The format which includes biographies for my direct line seems to have been my stumbling block.

As you may know, if you've followed my posts, writing my father and my grandmothers' bios took considerable time and no small amount of "pondering." I feel great accomplishment in saying their stories are finished (some editing still needed) but, since my Leisure line in America goes back to the 1700s, I have oh so far to go.

What I'll need to do in 2012 - because this goal will carry over - is be diligent in keeping to a writing schedule. No excuses this year! Of the 24 hours in each day, at the very least, one must be dedicated to completing this task. Let's say five of seven days anyway, with the exception of vacation days. See there I go again!

I know I'll be drawn to more research as I go along and, though I don't consider that wasting time, I'll need to balance it with "getting things down on paper" - so to speak. I must keep reminding myself the research will never be finished - there will always be something new popping up; but, maybe, some of that should be left to the genealogists who come after me. After all, I have lots of lines I need to cover before I'm through. If I don't provide what I know in a concise and easily accessed manner, very likely my work will end up in a recycle bin somewhere.

So, I welcome 2012 with new enthusiasm and commitment to publish my Leisure Line.

Doing The Happy Dance

2011-12-14T15:04:00.000-06:00

Lucky for you, you can’t see my version of the happydance. Picture the combination of anIrish gig and the twist being performed by a senior (albeit not too senior)citizen with a stupid grin on her face. That’s it and that’s enough because Idon’t want to gross you out!

Why all the frivolity, you ask? Did you find a missing ancestor?Did you break through a long standing brick wall? Have you found that missingcousin who has all the family photos and the family Bible?

No, I answer. None of those wonderful things occurred. But,I am a step closer to my 2011 goal of writing up my Leisure line. Now it doesn’tmean I’m even close to any publication which I had hoped would happen but I didfinally finish my Grandmother’s bio.

I once heard a fellow genealogist say “Writing about ourrecent ancestors is easy because we know more about them.” Well, I’ve foundjust the opposite to be true. Yes, I did know both my father and his mother.Yes, I could relate from personal experience certain events. However, with bothI had, let’s say, issues I needed to deal with in order to present them in astrue a light as I could.

Writing Grandma’s story helped me pull back from my view andtake a look at her life from, hopefully, her perspective. I came to understand whyshe reacted to events and circumstances in certain ways. I now see her in adifferent, more accepting light.

The happy dance is over. I’ll move on to my next ancestor inthe line – Mary Frances “Fanny” Leisure. This one should be easier because Ididn’t know her personally and I’m not starting with baggage that needsdiscarding.

My Ponderer Is All Tied Up

2011-12-09T13:32:00.001-06:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to post here and I will probably be remiss for a while longer. As silly as it sounds, it's all because of our dog, Bessie.

That's a picture of her before she injured her knee and before the surgery last Friday to correct it. Now the back leg you see is shaved and looks like a naked turkey leg.

She is four and a half years old and very energetic. In fact, it is her athleticism that got her in this fix in the first place. She had what in humans in called an ACL tear most often suffered by athletes who run fast and turn too quickly.

Her incision seems to be healing well and the swelling is finally gone, although she still isn't using the leg too much. From what I gather, it will be eight weeks before the leg will be healed and probably three months before she is back to normal.

Right now the trial is keeping her from licking the incision area and keeping her quiet and off her feet most of the time. Really it's not like dealing with a person; she doesn't seem to understand all this is for her own
good. She only knows she's starting to feel better and "why can't I get off the deck and chase those squirrels?"

Anyway, between my husband and I, we're on 24/7 watch the dog duty at least for another week when the wound should be healed. Maybe after that my pondering mind will get back to thinking about research, writing, and family history. For now, it's "No, Bessie, leave it alone!!"

The Thanksgiving Table

2011-11-23T13:27:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is the big turkey day and the family will be gathering at my daughter’s house for the feast. With few exceptions the Thanksgiving Day gathering has been an annual tradition. Though the location changed from time to time over the years, the tradition held together well.

I don’t recall how we celebrated as I was growing up and living with my parents. Once we moved to Chicago, I’m sure we just had a quiet family dinner with the five of us – my parents, my two brothers, and me. Later, after my sister was born, my brothers and I were all married and living far from home.

However, by 1963, at least for a short time, we “kids” were all back home with our spouses and children. Once again Mom had a houseful to cook for at Thanksgiving. I guess that's when the tradition really began. Time went on and the two boys with their families moved away again but my husband, Jim, and I stayed on with our two girls. Thanksgiving became a holiday to bring all of our families together. My mother included Jim’s parents and sister in all the gatherings which meant we didn't have to divide our time between sides.

Jim and I and the girls moved from small apartment to small apartment for years – no room for hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. Finally, in 1971, after nearly ten years, we bought our home with room enough for all. Thanksgiving became my holiday! How I loved cooking, decorating the tables, and bringing everyone together!

But, of course, I wasn’t quite satisfied. My vision of Thanksgiving (Norman Rockwell style) included everyone sitting around one large table, – all the adults, at least - not split between numerous small tables and TV trays. Jim, as he so often does, came to the rescue. He built a table long enough for all the grown-ups and wide enough to handle the serving dishes, turkey platter, and place settings. The children still had to sit at a card table, but that still fit my vision.

I loved that table. It served us well for dinner after dinner and not just on Thanksgiving. It’s still around somewhere, I think. I’ve not used it in years and it’s been passed from daughter to daughter through the years. I won’t need it back but I still have the picture in my mind of our families giving thanks around it.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wordless Wednesday - My Girls

2011-11-16T12:46:00.000-06:00

Just a sample of the 500 plus photos scanned from the box under the bed!! Project complete!!

A New Toy

2011-11-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've been saving up for a long time to buy an IPad. The tablet size just seemed like it would be so much easier to read than my IPhone - which by the way I love. I guess that was really my problem; other than the size couldn't see any big advantage to the purchase. After all, I do more writing and taking notes than anything else and I really didn't think the IPad would be too advantageous with my needs.

Even so, I set out Wednesday thinking I'd come home with and IPad. I'd seen a really good price at our Sam's Club but decided to check my options at Best Buy first. While talking to the young man assisting me, I mentioned I do a lot of writing and he directed me to the Asus Tablet ( an Android system) which comes with Polaris - an app which reads and writes to MicroSoft products like Word, Excel, and Power Point; all products I use. In addition, I added the docking station which, when docked, turns the tablet into a net book with a full keyboard, USB slots, SD slot and additional battery power.

I'm giving it a try. I have 14 days to return it if I find I don't like it but, so far, I'm very happy with it. I've added a few apps and am writing this post with it using the keyboard. If I find something I really don't like, I'll let you know.

Never Stop Trying; Try Everything!

2011-10-31T14:23:00.000-05:00

For years now, literally, I've been trying to find the death certificate for my husband's grandmother, Alice Augusta Christiansen Davey. She died 31 Dec 1948 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. It should have been easy. Her death notice was published in the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Tribune (Don't be deceived by the Larsen surname - that's her step-father's name and she was never legally adopted), and my mother-in-law confirmed the date; as well as, the inscription on the tombstone in the Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois.

But, it wasn't easy. She wasn't listed under Davey or Davis or Davie or any of the spellings I could come up with. But today, because a link to the Cook County Death Index 1908-1988 on Ancestry was posted to the Illinois Genealogy Research Community on Skype by Robin of savingstories, I thought I'd try again.

This time I didn't put in a surname, just the death date; voila!, up came Alice Dayey. I don't think I would ever have tried that spelling but looking at it now it should have been one of my options:)

Now, the next time I'm in Springfield when the Illinois Archives is open, I'll be able to get a copy of the death certificate. Thanks, Robin, for giving me one more push. Never give up; never say can't!

Cook County Archives Comes Through

2011-10-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

On September 28th I posted about ordering a divorce file for Julia Rush and Peter Jacobson and yesterday I received the packet in the mail. There are dates flying all over the place but it looks like the final judgment of divorce was 4 Sep 1897.

First of all, this is most definitely our Julia. The two witnesses in the case, other than Julia, were Saloma Siebel (her mother) and Jennie Siegler (her aunt-in-law).

I was hoping this record would finally resolve the issue of Julia's twins and it did and more. According to the testimony Julia and Peter had three children, not just the twins. The children had all died before 23 Dec 1894 when Peter deserted Julia. Since Julia and Peter were married 01 Mar 1892, it gives me a small window to look for the records.

I still don't know the names or sex of the children but maybe I'll be able to find some records. A cursory look at Jacobsen/Jacobson births and deaths for those years has not been fruitful yet. I'll keep on looking though:)

Chase E Stewart Coroner Report

2011-10-12T15:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd blogged about ordering this film but I must have just tweeted about it. Anyway, I've been trying to find a record of a coroner's report regarding the death of my Dad's brother, Chase, for some time. When I was in Rushville, Indiana on research I'd inquired about such reports but no one at the courthouse seemed to know how I might find them. Huumph!

I knew for a previous research trip the LDS church had been filming Rush County records (just happened to be there when they were there) so I decided to try the LDS catalogue to see if anything new had appeared. Lo and behold, there was a film for Coroner's Inquests from 1893-1932. Perhaps it was new or perhaps I'd missed it before, I don't know. All I know is it's exactly what I was looking for; Chase died in 1918, smack dab in the middle of the records.

I hopped on the phone and called my local Family History Center to make sure they'd be open when I went to place the order. I was told that wouldn't be possible. "We've been told we can't take any more orders for films; beginning tomorrow you'll have to order them on-line at Family Search." She sounded a bit skeptical; I, on the other hand, was thrilled. Anything that saves me a trip to Schaumburg is a good thing!

I waited a day or two before I braved the new procedure but found the ordering quite simple. The biggest problem was finding the right page as it's not accessible from the home page: here's the address. You will need to choose the Family History Center you want the films sent to and, of course, the film numbers. They accept credit cards and paypal.

I placed my order on September 21, 2011. On October 8, I received an email from the Schaumburg Family History Center stating that my film was there. I had to wait until yesterday to go because of the Columbus Day holiday but, at last, I had the film in hand and in a few minutes I was doing the happy dance!!

Most of the information I already knew from the newspaper report and family stories but, as usual, there were a few new tidbits to add. Here's a transcription of the record:

Rush County, Indiana Coroner’s Inquests, 1893-1932
LDS film 1631808, Items 4-5
# 106

STATE OF INDIANA, Rush COUNTY, IND

I, John M Lee M.D. Coroner of said County do hereby certify that on
the 20^th day of November 1918, at Mays, Indiana
I held an inquest on the body of Chase E. Stewart the following being the
report in full of the proceedings of said inquest, except the testimony, which is, with a full and complete report of this inquest

On file in the office of County Clerk

Said inquest was begun on the 20^th day of November 1918 and concluded

On the 20^th day of November 1918

WITNESSES	UNDERTAKER

Charles S. Stewart	George C. Wyatt Co
Lowell Mansfield
J. Levi Lord M.D.
Vernon Walke

	POST MORTEM
	None

STATE OF INDIANA, Rush COUNTY,
I, John M. Lee Coroner of said County, having examined the body
of Chase E. Stewart and heard the testimony of the witnesses, do hereby
find that the said deceased came to his death by accidental discharge of one barrel
of double barreled shot gun which he was carrying and occurred when he was in the
act of climbing through a gap in the fence of the S. H. Trabue farm near Mays, Ind.
The wound resulting was complete shattering of left side of face and skull death occurring instantly.

The said deceased being a male of the age of 15 yrs. 2 mos. 8 da.: 5 feet and 8
inches in height, light hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, approximate weight 116 lb., teeth good;
scars, if any None; nativity American and had on his person at the time of his death no valuables except
a watch which was given to his parents at their house.

There is one new name in the witness list: Vernon Walke. Lowell Mansfield (Chase's cousin) had gone hunting with Chase that day but what about Vernon? From the 1910 census, I learned that Vernon (who would have been a neighbor of sorts) would have been 12 years old at the time of the accident. How did it happen he was called as a witness? He must have either been hunting with the boys or come upon the accident quickly. He was never mentioned in the newspaper accounts.

Mostly, for me, this account helps account for some of my Grandmother's (Lizzie Stewart) demeanor. How does one even recover from seeing your son in that condition? I don't think she ever really did.

Documenting Our Immediate Family

2011-10-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

Sometimes one just has to put some concentration and effort on the now or, at least, the recent past. For years, I've been researching, reviewing, digitizing, organizing the papers and events of the more distant past. Oh, you might consider my parents and my dear husband's parents to be "recent" but I'm talking about our lives and our children's lives.

Over the years, we've taking tons, and I mean tons, of photos. Some, for me, are rather irrelevant - no people - but even eliminating those, we still have tons. Most of those have been categorized by year and, at least, some in each year have been labeled with names. Some, but not all, of our home movies have been transferred to new media - that's really my husband's job and hopefully he'll get back to it this winter.

So what has me concerned? It's the BOX: the one under the bed, the one that has many of the earliest photos and documents related to our little family. It has been haunting me so I pulled it out yesterday and decided it was time - past time - to do something.

Here's the plan: I'm going to scan everything and categorized by child and/or family group, then, I'm going to give each child her own stuff. These girls are mothers of grown children of their own. It's past time for them to have their childhood memorabilia. The family group items I'll put with the later pics and docs.

So, I started yesterday. I got out my new Flip-Pal and scanned close to 200 photos and a few papers. It's just a start but it felt good to get that far.

Sunday, we'll be having lunch with one of the daughters and I'll be giving her all the report cards I've saved since junior kindergarten and the few papers I kept. There will be more but I'm not going to wait until I get it all. They can have it in bits and pieces as I go along.

I'll have to make time to finish this project while keeping up with my writing projects but I'll do the best I can.

Waiting for Julia

2011-09-28T13:18:00.000-05:00

Back in February of 2011 I posted about ordering divorce records for Julia (Rush) and Peter Jacobsen from the Cook County, IL archives. Since I didn't want to make another trip to the Loop (that's downtown Chicago for those who may not know), I was told the archives would notify me of the charges and once I submitted a check they would send the copies.
So I waited and waited and waited. Finally in June I called to check the status. The woman (I should have asked her name, I know) told me the file was in the stack and I would be contacted when she got to it.
So I waited and waited and waited. Finally, last week I called again to check the status. I was told that I "had not replied to the bill that was sent" and the file had been returned. Ummm, I never got a bill but I wasn't about to argue. I just asked that it be reordered and that I be billed by email.
Yesterday, I received the email. Bless their hearts!! The cost might seem a bit pricey but is no more expensive than taking the train, spending the time at the archives, doing lunch and maybe some shopping (hey, I'd be downtown!), and taking the train back home. So, the check went in the mail today and, I think, my wait is almost over.
I'm hoping these papers will shed some light on the the mystery of "Jule's twins".

All I have is their picture and the family story that they died at about 9 months within days of each other - no names, no birthdates, no death dates. I'd been looking for Browns but maybe they were Jacobsen children.
I can only hope:-)

Tomb Stone Tuesday - Charles & Lizzie Stewart

2011-09-27T13:42:00.000-05:00

This the the tombstone for my Stewart grandparents. The "Stewart" is on the other side of this stone and around their stone are smaller ones of other family members. The location is the Center Church Cemetery in Center Township, Rush County, Indiana.

Tombstone for Charles S., 1870-1945, & Clara Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Emay) Stewart 1879-1956

My grandmother went by Lizzie throughout her life and, as you can see, to her final rest. It must have run in the family because her mother, Mary Frances (Leisure) Emay, was always known as "Fanny".

I-Phone Addition?

2011-09-23T13:42:00.000-05:00

So there I was last night, minding my own business, watching TV with my Dear Husband, my I-Phone resting on the end table next to me. Suddenly, my phone lights up and I think Oh I must be getting text from one of the girls but, no, the message reads "No SIM card installed." What? No SIM card? Of course, there's a SIM card!
I proceeded to do all the things I could think of to correct the problem (TV and DH forgotten). I took the SIM card out and reseated it. No change. I shut the phone down and restarted it. No change. I called my daughter to see if she could think of anything else to try. No help.
Oh, no! It was too late to go to the store for help. I'd have to wait - hours!! - to get my connection back. Hours!! What if someone wanted to talk to me? What if an emergency occurred and no one could contact me (sure there is the land line but would anyone think to use it?) What if I wanted to check Twitter or Facebook or Google+ or my email? I'd have to boot up the computer and be tied to one location!! Oh no!!
Well, I made it through the night with only a little tossing and turning and fortunately no nightmares. This morning I went on the computer, got the phone number of the store, called from the land line for the hours. They didn't open until 10am so the dog would get her walk first. Not being able to check-in on Four Square when we got to the State Park was awful. I mean, if you can't check-in why go, right?
At last, we arrived at the store and within minutes, bless their hearts, a new SIM card replaced the defective one ("It happens sometimes", they said) and I was back in business.
While in those hours of limbo my DH said he felt a bit relieved to be out of contact for awhile. I, on the other hand, felt uninformed, out of touch, and just a little bit naked. Now I ask you, is this an addition or am I just totally adjusted to 21st century technology?

Sunday Obituary - Lizzie Emay Stewart

2011-09-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

I only have a photocopy of this obituary from the scrapbook of Eloise Davis (1st cousin once-removed). I can't believe I didn't look it up when I was in Rushville, Indiana last summer but I had so many look-up items I guess I didn't get around to it. I'm sure this or one very similar was published in the Rushville Republican but the photocopy isn't cited. I'll confirm that next time I'm in town.

Mays Resident Dies At Home

Mrs. Clara Elizabeth Stewart, 76, died at 9 o'clock Wednesday night at her home in Mays. She was born in Rush County on September 11, 1879, a daughter of William and Mary Frances Leisure Emay. Her husband, Charles S. Stewart, succumbed February 1945.

A lifelong resident of Rush County, she was a member of the Center Christian Church and the Mays Study Club.

Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Ralph Beabout of Plymouth and Mrs. George Flanagan of Centerville; two sons, Earl Stewart of Chicago and Wayne Stewart of California; a sister, Mrs. Glen Ging of Greenfield; a brother, Joseph Emay of Knightstown, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The Rev. Myron Taylor will conduct funeral services at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Wyatt Moore Memorial with burial in Center Cemetery. Friends may call at the Memorial after noon Friday.

Clara Elizabeth "Lizzie" died 14 Mar 1956 and was buried 17 Mar 1956.(1) Since the article states "friends may call Friday..." the obituary was probably published Thursday 15 Mar 1956.

1. Clara Elizabeth Stewart entry, Rush County Indiana Deaths, Book 8B: 250, no. 5, County Department of Health, Rushville, Indiana

Wordless Wednesday (almost) - EMAY children

2011-09-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

The beautiful girl on the left, Lizzie, is my grandmother and the person whose bio I'm currently on. This picture was taken about 1900. Not included in the photo is the children's little brother, Cleveland, who died 24 July 1885 at the age of 10 months. Ola - or as we called her, Aunt Oli - was born 31 Mar 1886, just nine months later.

Updated Blog Page

2011-09-13T15:37:00.000-05:00

I'm finished updating my blog site for a while. I changed the look a bit and added a surname page.

Hope you like it.

A New Face for my Pondering

2011-09-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

I've been working on changing my blog design this morning. I hope you like it.

There's lots more to do. I plan to add a page or two with static information, include my surnames, etc. At least, I've started.

It's back to work!!

Final Day of FGS2011

2011-09-11T15:50:00.000-05:00

I must admit my last day at the FGS conference is mostly a blur. The day was primarily spent working as a volunteer monitoring various sessions or helping out at the ISGS booth. Happily our booth had plenty of traffic.

Monitoring the rooms was lots more fun than I had anticipated and it caused me to sit in on some sessions I might not otherwise have attended. I took away new and useful information for each even when the topic wasn't specific to my personal research.

In the evening after the clean-up, I had the opportunity to dine with genealogy friends, some new, some recently met. How exciting to hear how much everyone enjoyed the four/five days we'd spent together. Most of us had helped in one capacity or another; we all had stories as well as new and exciting information/knowledge to share.

Now it's time to evaluate what we've learned, organized our thoughts, and put some of that newly gained "stuff" into action. As for me, I can't wait to try out me new Flip Pal scanner! Maybe I'll get more of my personal family pictures scanned now that I can do it pretty much anywhere anytime!!

(I have no affiliation with the Flip-Pal company other than being a new owner of the product.)

ISGS Luncheon at FGS2011

2011-09-11T15:22:00.001-05:00

In my previous blog post, I promised a few pictures from the ISGS Luncheon.

As mentioned our speaker was Dr. Mike Lockett and here he is in his Union Soldier regalia informing and amusing us with his wonderful, unique stories.

Most important to me - not just because I had the privilege of making the introductions - was the honoring of this year's ISGS award recipients.

Marla Vizdal accepted the Volkel Hall of Fame for Libby Grimm,
Mary Matson Hawk & Donald Schmidt received the Writer's Award
Harold Workman received the Special Recognition Award
Robert Buecher received the Community Service Award
Nelda Ravens received the Community Service Award

Gary Hargis accepting for Sandra Hargreaves Luebking
the Volkel Hall of Fame Award from
ISGS President Jance Fritsch

For those who may not be aware, the Volkel Hall of Fame is a posthumous award. The names of our two recipients for 2011 will be added to the plaque placed at the entrance to the reading room at the Illinois State Archives.

Congratulations to all the recipients and thank you from ISGS and the genealogy community for all you've giving us in time and effort.

FGS Conference Day 2 and Part of 3

2011-09-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

This is going to be short and sweet; well, maybe just short. I'm writing this at the Cyber Cafe at the back of the exhibit hall in the Prairie Conference Center. The interent connection here is very slooow - no pics this time but there will be more later! My computer is back at the hotel and I'm tooo tired to walk across the street to get it.

Yesterday was so full and enjoyable I didn't have time to post an update last night.

The hightlight of our day was the ISGS luncheon. The speaker, Dr Mike Lockett, told some wonderful, unusual stories about the Civil War while dressed as a Union Soldier. Then, during the ISGS luncheon I had the previledge to announce the recipients of this year's ISGS award recipients. It was a grand time and I'll post more about it later.

For the rest of the day, it was monitoring or attending sessions and wondering around the exhibit hall. I had the opportunity to talk with lots of vendors, local society leaders, and happy attendees. I also got the down-low on the Flip-Pal scanner and I broke down and bought one today!! I can't wait to try it out.

Today has been spent working at registration, monitoring sessions, spending more time in the exhibit hall, and having great fun meeting and greeting so many fellow genealogists.

Tonight is the big gala for the 35th anniversary of FGS. I'll post an update on that as soon as I can.

Day One at FGS2011

2011-09-08T08:16:00.002-05:00

I had every intention of blogging during the day yesterday but for several reasons - too busy, media area not open until Thursday... - it had to wait until this morning. Fortunately, I have a few minutes this morning before heading over the hear the keynote address from David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States. Can"t wait to hear what he has to say.

So here I was yesterday morning getting ready to start the day. I'm not going to show you how I looked at the end of the day 'cause that's just too depressing.

The beads are from Geneabloggers as is the large pin - thanks Thomas.

I'm staying at the Hilton which is just across the street from the Convention Center. Once I got over there my day turned hectic - great fun, very information, lots of new ideas to take back to my local society, Elgin Genealogical Society - but hectic.

The evening was the best part, though. The Illinois Genealogical Society (I'm on the board) hosted a Prairie Social with our sponsor FamilySearch. What great fun!! Besides the ice cream sundaes, popcorn, and desserts, there was music from period musicians, a prized wheel, local society tables, and Fox Valley Genealogical Society hosted the Geopardy Game and, of course, our special guests: President and Mrs. Lincoln!

Some a of host members and attendees were attired in period dress as well. You can see for yourself a good time was had by all.

Jane Halderman, Larry Pepper, Janice Fritsch, David Kent Coy,
Dan Dixon, and Suzie Pope

"Mollie" Lincoln, Abe Lincoln, Suzie Pope

And this is me manning the EGS table. We had an excellent turnout with great traffic. It was great to meet so many genealogists!

I Made to the FGS Conference 2011

2011-09-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

Well my Dear Husband (DH) and I left home bright and early this morning, dropped the dog, Bessie, at Bark Avenue for her boarding days (This was not without some reticence on her part once she figured out this trip wasn't just for daycare.), and set out for Springfield, Illinois. The FGS Conference starts tomorrow but volunteer orientation was today.

Oriene Springstroh and Becky Higgins

We arrived in Springfield with just enough time to grab a bite of lunch and then head over the the Convention Center for our orientation. While getting briefed on how to man the Registration Desk, Oriene Springstroh of Fox Valley Genealogy Society on I had our picture taken. She wanted to prove to her DH that she isn't the only person wearing a genealogy shirt; not only a shirt but the same shirt!! - I've simply got to remember to comb my hair before the camera is snapped. UGH!!

Later DH and I completed our registration, got our bags - very nice ones - and organized our schedules with the additional information in our Guides.

We've had our dinner and later I'm going to try to find my way into a gathering which includes many of the bloggers who will be here for the next few days. I'm anxious to meet some of the wonderful people I follow on a regular basis.

That's it for now. I'll keep you posted as best I can as the days go on.

The Donner Party and the Blue Family

2011-08-31T15:22:00.000-05:00

As my husband said yesterday, "You just never know who you're related to until you find out."

If you’ve had any interest in the American migration west, you’ve heard of the tragedy of the Donner Party. I had heard bits and pieces about this throughout my life. Was the first time in school while studying the Oregon Trail? Perhaps. Anyway, then it was simply History – not my favorite subject.

If the details of the Donner Party are vague in your mind check out the well-documented Wikipedia entry or this wonderful PBS film from The American Experience.

I recently received The Chalice, the quarterly newsletter from the Blue Family Association and there was a wonderful article, “The Donner Party Revisited” by Kenneth Blue of Grass Valley, California regarding the Blues who were part of the Donner Party. You haven’t heard of them because, of course, the Blues are on the maternal side and we all know what happens to female surnames.

Even though I have to go back nine generations to our common ancestor, John Blaw of Sommerset County, New Jersey, I am still a distant cousin to the families that made that perilous journey back in 1846/47. Now it’s about Family, not just History; now I feel connected.

Below, Kenneth lists our Blue family as associated with the Donner Party:

The DONNER Family

George Donner’s second wife was Mary Blue, daughter of Solomon and Telitha Ann (Morris) Blue:

Mary BLUE, m1.1828 Charles R. TENANT, m2.1829 George DONNER (b.1784?-1847). Both of her marriages took place in Sangamon Co. IL. Mary was the second of the three wives of George DONNER, leader of the tragic Donner Party. Presumably, she died before his third marriage, to Tamzene or Tamsen (EUSTIS) DOZIER in 1839. Mary's two children survived the ordeal during the winter of 1846/7. George died at Alder Creek Camp, Nevada Co. CA, as a result of an infected hand.

First marriage [of Mary Blue]: No issue.

Second marriage [of Mary Blue]:

1. Elitha Cumi DONNER (1832-1923), m1.1847 Perry McCOON (ca1821-1851), m2.1853 Benjamin R. WILDER (1821- 1898).

2. Leanna Charity DONNER (1834-1930), m.1852 John Mathias APP (1821-1898).

Mary died before the westward trek, but her two daughters made the journey and mercifully they both survived to make lives for themselves in California.

Mary's sister, Elizabeth, and her family were not so fortunate. Elizabeth had married Jacob Donner, George's brother, in 1835 and they had five children:

Elizabeth BLUE (d.1847), m1.1829 James HOOK, divorced, m2.1835 Jacob DONNER (ca1790-1846). Both of her marriages took place in Sangamon Co. IL. James abandoned his family and Elizabeth divorced him. Jacob was a brother of George DONNER, second husband of Elizabeth's sister Mary. Elizabeth and Jacob died with the famous Donner Party at Alder Creek Camp, Nevada Co. CA.

First marriage [of Elizabeth Blue]:

1. Solomon Elijah HOOK (1832-1878), m.1866 Alice M. ROBERTS.

2. William HOOK (1834-1847). Died while with the Donner Party.

Second marriage [of Elizabeth Blue]:

3. George DONNER (ca1837-1874), m.1862 Margaret WATSON.

4. Mary Martha DONNER (ca1839-1860), m.1859 Sherman Otis HOUGHTON (1828-1914).

5. Isaac DONNER (ca1841-1846/7). Died while with the Donner Party.

6. Samuel DONNER (ca1843-1846/7). Died while with the Donner Party.

7. Lewis DONNER (ca1844-1846/7). Died while with the Donner Party.

Elizabeth (Blue) Donner, her husband Jacob, and all seven of her children were members of the

Donner Party. Of this group, only three of her children survived, Solomon Hook, George Donner and

Mary Martha Donner.

More fortunate was George Donner’s daughter from his first marriage, Susannah Donner. In 1835 she

married Barneybeth Marshall Blue, brother of Mary and Elizabeth (Blue) Donner. Susannah and Barney stayed behind in Illinois, then in 1850 they moved to Missouri.

Grandma Stewart's Biography

2011-08-24T14:16:00.000-05:00

I have been agonizing over writing the biography of my grandmother, Clara Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stewart, for a long time now. I have very few, and I do mean very few, personal memories of her. I've felt quite badly about that until recently.
You see our family moved from Indiana to Illinois when I had just turned ten years old. I thought surely by the age of ten I should have gathered lots of memories of family by then. And I had. I have some wonderful remembrances of my Grandma Miller and that whole family; but I can barely recall the other side.
As it turns out, however, there weren't that many opportunities to develop recollections of the Stewart grandparents because our family didn't visit there all that often. We weren't as embraced as the other siblings families so we stayed away. I don't need to go into the whys of that here as I've already dealt with it in my Dad's bio but at least I don't feel like a such dunce any more.
My little brother - 3 years older than me - remembers more and has promised to share so I'll be able to flesh out some bones with his stories. My big brother - 6 years older than me - doesn't remember any better than I do!
Bottom line, I think I'll be able to get that write-up done soon and be able to move on or rather back into the Leisure line.

Wordless Wednesday - Joseph Leisure

2011-07-27T15:32:00.000-05:00

Joseph Leisure 1837-1896

Love the beard!

Preparing for Leisure Reunion

2011-06-15T14:12:00.000-05:00

Next weekend is the 90th Leisure Reunion and I'm working hard in preparation. Not that there is much I need to do for the reunion itself but I will have a day and a half for research in Rush County.

I did receive a copy of the newspaper article reporting our very 1st reunion, if you're interested you can read it here. I think it's pretty interesting. Now I'm going to see what I can find out about the people mentioned in the article so I can relate them to the current attendees.

Guess I'm better get to it:)

True Progress on Earl Stewart

2011-06-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

I don't doubt that you can hear my "Yeas!!!" or see my dance of joy! I just finished a complete draft of Dad's bio!

Except for some pictures I haven't included yet (but I have them in digital form and ready to add), I actually made it through to the end. Now, I'm sure I'll be thinking of things from time to time I'll want to add and I know I'll have to make many revisions before I publish it - but THE DRAFT IS DONE!!!

I'll be moving on to my grandmother, Clara Elizabeth (Emay) Stewart next. This one may be a bit difficult as well but probably not as hard as Dad's. After all, I'm more removed from her. I'll have to work through an issue or two but, here's hoping I'll be able to fly through it.

Update on Dad's Bio

2011-05-28T12:15:00.000-05:00

I’m still spending as much time as I’ve been able to allot to writing up Dad’s biography. Today will also be given to that task.

Knowing what to include and what to leave out is becoming the issue for me. I keep reminding myself that this is the story of his life and not his life’s influence on mine. That may seem like a small difference but it really isn’t. My desire is to see the events and situations in which he found himself from – as best I can – his point of view. The things he did or didn’t do throughout his lifetime had an influence and effect on my life but, for this writing, my feelings or views shouldn’t be obvious.

I’m finding it much easier to write about people more distant to me who, though they are part of what makes me “me”, have a less direct impact. In fact, I didn’t experience anything like this when I wrote about the Ruch family. They were on my husband’s side and, for the most part, I’d never met them. I could easily tell their story with objectivity.

Well, I must get back to it. I really need to get this finished, at least in draft, so I can move back a bit farther where the words will probably come with less effort. Of course, the next write-up will be my grandmother and, unfortunately, I have some issues there, too. Who knows, maybe this will help me understand her better.

So Much to Do, So Little Time

2011-05-14T14:13:00.000-05:00

I'll take this brief opportunity to say I'm still here and hope to get back to more frequent posts soon. For the time being, I'm caught up in household duties - both inside and out - which have been taking up most of my time and pretty much all of my energy. I've only been able to keep up with the tasks required to fulfill my volunteer jobs - EGS & ISGS - and, thus, have sorely neglected other far more fun and interesting activities like blogging!

However, I have been carrying on more consistent email correspondence with one of my brothers. He has been so helpful sharing his memories of our Dad and some great stories they are! David is three years older than I and he is able to fill in earlier years I don't remember at all. Besides, another view is always useful. With his additions, I know Dad's story will be far more interesting. Can't wait to get back to writing !!

Once the painting is finished - if it ever is - ...

Earl Stewart & his Graduating Class of 1933

2011-04-26T12:14:00.001-05:00

Leisure Family History: Earl Stewart & his Graduating Class of 1933: Looking for names of class mates. Please go to link to see photo of the 13 students who graduated in Mays, Indiana in 1933

Making My Way Back

2011-04-25T15:17:00.000-05:00

At last, I'm back at the keyboard preparing to delve, once again, into my project for the year. The great delay has been because I went on a vacation. I was only gone 13 days but it's taken me much longer to get back on track. I guess sometimes you just need a vacation from your vacation.

I have done a bit of research on some individuals in my Leisure line since I've been back. It's been hit and miss, though, and they have been mostly distant cousins.

My current task is to write my Dad's biography. The spark came this morning out of the blue. My husband and I went out for breakfast at one of our local cafes. Sitting at a booth in my direct line of sight was a man who could have been my Dad's twin - at least, when my Dad was about 20 years younger than when he died. It was difficult to keep from staring. Oddly, every time I looked at him I saw a different aspect of his features which reminded me of each of my brothers and also Dad alone.

I'm taking this experience as a push (from Dad?) to stop procrastinating and get that bio finished. I'm picturing him standing with his feet apart, hands on hips and that look that said, "NOW!"

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Surnames

2011-03-26T14:51:00.000-05:00

Randy Seavers of Genea-Musings has posted our weekly ~~challenge~~ game:
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Go into your Genealogy Management Program (GMP; either software on your computer, or an online family tree) and figure out how to Count how many surnames you have in your family tree database.

2) Tell us which GMP you're using and how you did this task.

3) Tell us how many surnames, and if possible, which Surname has the most entries. If this excites you, tell us which surnames are in the top 5!

I'm using Family Tree Maker 2011 and this is the first time I've look for this option in this version. It only took me a couple of minutes to figure out I needed to create a report. Go to Publish, choose the Person Reports, then create a Surname Report. In the report options choose All Indiviuals and Sort by Surname Count. Choose Create again and voila!

My report is 25 pages long but, many of the surnames are only recorded once. As my Irish relatives would say, "They're the blow-ins". Really they are just the distant collateral lines I haven't investigated yet.

I like this report because I gives more than just a count of a surnames use; it also breaks the usage down by Male, Female, Earliest, Most recent. I find that very interesting.

Since I always have a problem following directions:) here are my top 12 most used surnames:

	Surname Report

Surname	Count	Male	Female	Earliest	Most recent
LEISURE	371	217	154	1719	2004
MILLER	193	106	87	1702	1979
STEWART	179	93	86	1720	1966
WALKER	158	91	67	1655	1923
KENNEDY	155	86	68	1750	1994
BARBER	150	82	68	1652	1896
BENEFIEL	111	53	58	1759	1916
BLUE	94	47	47	1735	1917
STEPHENS	83	45	38	1730	1904
HIGGINS	77	39	38	1808	1996
BUCHANAN	67	33	34	1651	1899

Looking at this, I'm beginning to see why writing up the Leisure family is taking me so long!

Is It Procrastination?

2011-03-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

Today was going to be the day I worked on my Dad's bio, including all the documents and pictures I plan to use. However, as the saying goes, "the best laid plans..."

After walking the dog, lunching with the hubby, purchasing and preparing a couple of get-well cards (planned to do that yesterday but...), I finally made it into the office and turned on my computer. I thought I'd take a quick look at my Google Reader to catch up on some blog posts - 118 - and check my email . Well, there were some great posts today and a few I just had to comment on and there were a couple a emails that needed immediate attention and thought.

That was three hours ago and now I only have about one hour before I need to start dinner and decide what our evening plans may be. It looks like the bio will be on hold for, at least, another day.

Maybe, it I hadn't spent time working on a totally different line yesterday, just because something peaked my interest, I'd be in better shape today. What can I say, I seem to be in a flit cycle.

Coming to a Decision

2011-03-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

Here it is March already and I'm still mulling around trying to decide how to proceed with my Leisure project. The Ruch family wasn't this difficult; once I'd decided to key on the immigrant couple everything just started to flow. However, I only had three generations to deal with at that point.

My Leisure line came to the colonies before the Revolutionary War but there is debate as to the parentage of our Joseph Leisure. Is he the son of Abraham Leseure, the French Huguenot who was a refugee to Switzerland and then the colonies? Do I want to get into that discussion? I'm thinking - no.

This time, I think, I'll start with my father and work my way back to his Leisure line. Using biographies (long & short) of direct line ancestors, I go back as far as I can prove. Of course, I may veer off some and include bios of collaterals if it seems appropriate.

This doesn't mean I won't include the usual pedigree/descendant/family group forms we genealogists love so much. It simply means I'm going to try my hand at a different format and see how it goes. It also doesn't mean I won't include a discussion of the Leseure issue somewhere; perhaps in the Preface or, maybe, in an appendix.

Anyway, now I feel better about the project and think I can start writing next week!

My Day at DCGS Conference

2011-02-27T10:44:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was an interesting, informative, enriching, fun day!

I arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn about 7:00 am to help fellow ISGS member, Carole McCarty, set up our table in one of the two vendor rooms. I was especially happy to come early this year because with the conference virtually sold out parking would become a trial later on.

I had heard about George Schweitzer and his speaking style since I became interested in genealogy over 15 years ago but hadn't had the opportunity to hear him until now. I was not disappointed and nor was the standing room only crowd at the first session of the day. I was able to snap this shot from my standing position at the back of the room.

George continued to fill the room all day. His vintage costumes, well-done accents, and charming wit even managed to keep the audience awake after lunch!!
(Just as an aside, I'm not sure George is too up on technology. When I asked if I could take his picture for my blog, he said, "Your what?")

The other major speaker at the conference was John Philip Colletta. He is another speaker who keeps the audience involved with his humor. John has a wonderful way of passing along important information in a most enjoyable manner. He too filled his room to over-capacity all day!

Tim Pinnick spoke about the importance of WWI Draft Cards in our research. Michelle Wilson gave information about Searching for French-Canadians. Carole Magnuson of Passage Express provided two workshop session for that software. Jeff Bockman of DCGS gave two of his talks - one on cemetery research and one titled No Birth Certificate? No Problem!

I must also mention how much I enjoyed my lunch. I'm not usually impressed by the food at conferences but the Hilton did a wonderful job, I thought, both in the food and the service. I had the salmon and it was delish!

All in all, I had a great day. Between all the knowledge gained in the session and all the wonderful people I met while manning the ISGS table, my head was spinning by the time I got home.

GREAT JOB, DUPAGE COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY!!

DCGS Conference Feb 26, 2011

2011-02-25T15:19:00.000-06:00

I'll be going to the DuPage County Genealogy Society's (DCGS) conference tomorrow in St. Charles, Illinois. Several excellent speakers will be there but the highlighters are John Philip Colletta and George Schweitzer. I always enjoy John's talks but this year I'm especially excited about the opportunity to hear George Schweitzer. I've heard about George for years but this is my first opportunity to hear him!

I don't know what kind of facilities will be available but, if I have the opportunity, I'll be blogging about the event during the day and, of course, I hope to send out a tweet or two using #dcgsc as a hash tag. If you don't follow me and your interested in the tweets, just search for the hash tag and you'll see the tweets.

If you'll be at the conference - it is a sold-out event - I'll be around. I'm not sure of my times yet but I'll be spending some time manning the Illinois State Genealogical Society's table in the vending area. Stop by and say, "hi." I'd love to meet you!

Waffling

2011-02-24T14:31:00.000-06:00

Oh my, oh my. Here I am again wondering in which direction I should go!

I've been busy with the miscellaneous tasks of my life (housework not included in this scenario). I've been concentrating on my responsibilities to Elgin Genealogical Society and to the Illinois State Genealogical Society. It isn't that these responsibilities are onus, it's just that I never seem to have enough hours in the day. That said, I know I could make more hours; I don't have to spend my mornings walking the dog or visiting my father-in-law or grocery shopping. I don't have to spend my evenings sitting next to my husband watching TV. I don't have to but these extraneous activities add balance to my life and balance is a good thing.

So, basically, that leaves about four hours a day to give to my organizing, research, scanning, blog reading and writing, and preparing for publishing my Leisure-line this year. I truly appreciate that I have four hours a day; many genealogists can't afford even that much time to our obsession. However, what it means is that I must make the best possible use of that time.

This brings me to the title of this post: Waffling. Or perhaps a better title would be: Floundering. Either way, I feel somehow lost in a sea of Leisures and collateral lines. I still haven't made a final decision on where to start. I am getting there though so maybe the inspiration will hit soon, giving me incentive to move forward.

Wish me luck. I've only got 1 1/2 hours left today!!

ISGS Pre-board Meeting

2011-02-19T06:57:00.000-06:00

I'm in Springfield, Illinois today where I'll be attending the Illinois State Genealogical Society board meeting. There's lots of excitement here are we continue preparations for hosting the FGS conference September 7-10.
But, fortunately, all is not "all work and no play."

Last evening some of us gathered at the local Cheddar's restaurant for a great meal and lively conversation. Even though still hoarse and recovering from RootsTech, Thomas MacEntee was able to join us. Some medications are easier to take than others.

Later, we met in the breakfast room at the Comfort Suites to watch WDYTYA together. It was great fun playing the drinking game along with the show. Of course, we were drinking soda this time around. Then, there are a short break before we crowded around a lap to to listen to Geneabloggers' radio show, hosted this week by Dear MYRTLE.

It was a great evening with a wonderful group of people. Today, however, we get down to business!

Thankful Thursday - 2 Generations of Love

2011-02-10T12:21:00.000-06:00

I may not have mentioned this before but I've been - slowly - working on my memoirs ( for want of a better word) and have been looking for a certain photo I remembered of me and my two wonderful brothers. I knew it was among of the collection of papers from my mother but it has been evading me for months. Well, this morning, while the dog was walking on the treadmill, I took a millionth look in a box of miscellaneous "stuff" and there it was! Not only the one I was searching for but also one of the only "studio" photos of my two beautiful daughters! Wow, what a thrill.

So here's the picture of my two big brothers - I've always and will always call them, "the boys" - when Larry was 6, David (my little brother) was 3, and I was 6 weeks old. Of course, over our growing up years we had some of the usual sibling issues along the way but I couldn't have asked for better brothers. They were often my "cocoons" in troubling times.

Then, I grew up, married and had my own family. My two girls have been the light of my adult life. Of course, we had some of the usual parent/child issues along the way but I could not have asked for more wonderful children. I had more fun growing up with them than I ever had in my own childhood.

Tammy age 2 1/2 and Samantha age 6 weeks

So there they are. Two generations that are so very dear to my heart. I'm so thankful to have had them in my life.

More about Julia

2011-02-04T14:53:00.000-06:00

At last, I’m at the computer updating my blog. It’s been an interesting several days. Last week, my husband had a procedure performed on his eye which took me out of pocket for a couple of days. Then, Monday, I did my civic duty and reported to the Daley Center in downtown Chicago for jury duty. Normally, I love jury duty and have happily served for three trials (civil); however, this time with a prediction of large amounts of snow coming on Tuesday, I was hoping I would languish away in the assembly room and be dismissed at the end of the day.

My panel was called at about 11:45, just when I thought they might be sending us out to lunch! We spent the next hour in the courtroom as the judge and lawyers picked their jury. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when the rest of us were released, completely, at about 12: 45.

Well, now, what to do with my afternoon? I grabbed some lunch at the State of Illinois building across the street and then went back to the Daley Center, but this time I headed for the Cook County Archives on the 11^th floor. I’d take the opportunity to see if I could find divorce records for both of the Julia Ruch marriages.

I’d just recently learned of her first marriage to Peter Jacobsen in 1892 and she is listed in the 1900 census as divorced. Somewhere between those years there must be some legal papers. Julia married Charlie Brown in 1901; he lists her as next of kin on his WWI registration in 1918; she is living alone but as married in the 1920 census; in 1930, she is listed as widowed.

The Archives has microfilmed indices of both the Superior and the Circuit Court files from 1871. After some searching, I found the divorce for Jacobson, Peter and Jacobson, Julia Rush in 1897. I’ve ordered the file and hopefully will be able to have it copied and sent sometime next week.

I didn’t find a divorce for the Brown marriage, but I may not have looked far enough. I had forgotten she was listed as married in 1920 and was thinking a divorce probably occurred between 1918 and 1920. I still find it interesting that she is listed as widowed in 1930 (Charlie died in 1926) and she is also listed in her mother’s probate in 1931 as the widow of Charles Brown. According to his death records he had remarried and his spouse’s name was Freda. The question remains was there a divorce? So far no marriage record has been found for Charles and Freda (Friederika Kolvitz Walker) but she is listed in the 1930 census with the surname of Brown.

I was very pleased to be home watching the blizzard arrive on Tuesday afternoon, though not so pleased about clearing all that snow. My husband was forbidden by the doctor to shovel or even use the snow blower. (I actually felt sorry for him because he was so upset he couldn’t help me.)

For now, I must get back to my Leisure family.

A New Ruch Mystery

2011-01-28T12:01:00.000-06:00

When I published the book and CD about the Ruch Family last year, I thought, “Now, I can put that away and start on another line,” swiping my hands in finality. Of course, in genealogy, there is no finality and for all intents and purposes, no end. There are always some little details left undone and a mystery or two left unsolved and, sometimes, a mystery pops up that wasn’t even previously considered.

Well, such a “mystery” has come to the front in the past few days; a mystery that I can’t just dismiss and move on from without, at least, putting it forth here on my blog. You see as well as publishing in book form and on CD for the family, I put the family tree on Ancestry as a public tree for all to see. Just a few days ago, I received a message, through Ancestry from a gentleman from California, Ronald, who asked if I thought a particular Charles D. Brown listed in the Family Search database, “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947” was the same Charles Brown who was married to my Julia Ruch Brown.

You may remember Julia is the twin sister of my husband’s grandmother, Emma Ruch Higgins. Julia, according to family lore, had a set of twins who died at nine months old within days of each other. Also, according to family lore, Charlie was “a womanizer” and Julia “kicked him out.”

Well, the death certificate Ronald mentioned was for Charles D. Brown who was born 27 Jul 1876 in New York and died 08 Nov 1926 in Oak Park, Illinois, the husband of Freda and the son of Louise Murrey born in Vermont and Mert Brown born in New York. I’m sure he is our “Charlie Brown.” In the 1910 census, Julia is listed as married to Charles Brown (born in New York) and living with them is his mother, Louise, who was born in Vermont. In addition, Charles’ WWI registration in 1918 lists Julia as his next of kin. The 1920 census records Julia as living alone; so, sometime between the registration and the census, it appears the couple split up.

This, however, isn’t the real mystery. After a few emails between Ronald and me, he mentioned a 1900 census that shows Julia Rusch living as a roomer on Madison Street in Chicago. She is most assuredly my Julia as she was born in Nov 1874 PA with parents born in France. I’d been looking for her in the 1900 census but, apparently, hadn’t tried that spelling. Anyway, she is listed as divorced on the census so Ronald, innocently, asked if I’d ever looked for a marriage previous to Charlie. Well, no, I hadn’t. There had never been the slightest hint in the family about an earlier marriage.

Well, she was married before. In 1892 Julia Ruch married Peter Jacobsen in a civil ceremony by a Justice of the Peace.

Now this is a horse of another color. Perhaps the twins were the product of this first union. There may be hope yet in finding their birth and death records! Though I really must get back to work on the Leisure project, I’ll at least spend some time in the Cook County, Illinois databases to see what I can find. Of course, there are also the two divorce files I should look for but that will take a trip to the Loop.

Try as I might, this Ruch family simply won’t leave me alone!!

Still Organizing Myself

2011-01-19T12:08:00.000-06:00

I know I've been silent for awhile. I've been working on organizing my various responsibilities for the year. There are start-up duties for my EGS treasurer & ISGS Honors & Awards positions.

Since my time at the computer has been limited this month due to family obligations, my attention has had to be on these new aspects of my life. Hopefully, soon I"ll have things back under control and will be able to be more consistent with my posts.

By the way, if you haven't checked out the new Leisure Family Blog yet, please take a look at leisurefamilyhistory.blogspot.com. We'd love your comments.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ancestral Name List Roulette

2011-01-16T10:52:00.000-06:00

It's Saturday Night again - time for some more Genealogy Fun!! from Randy Seaver of www.geneamusings.com.

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) How old is one of your grandfathers now, or how old would he be if he had lived? Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."

2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel"). Who is that person?

3) Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."

My grandfather, Charles Sumner Stewart, would be 141 years old were he still living. My ancestral name list roulette number is then 35. Number 35 on my ahnentafel report is Mary Buchanan, one of my favorite ancestors.

Mary was born 15 Mar 1764 in York, Pennsylvania to George and Esther (Campbell) Buchanan. In 1787, she married George Eli Benefiel who had served with her father in the Revolutionary War. They lived in Jefferson County, Indiana where she died 21 May 1857. The couple had twelve children.

From the undated papers of Edna Lanham, family historian:

Mary Buchanan Benefiel was a fine pioneer woman, a faithful helpmate, and a good mother...She braved the hardships of the new settlements of Kentucky ad Indiana reared a family of twelve and enjoyed, so records say, 105 grandchildren. She lies in Jefferson Church cemetery beside her soldier husband, her gave being marked by the original stone.

From the papers of Fauna Mikhalko, genealogist, Madison Indiana held at the Jefferson County Historical Society, including family history of George Stewart, Madison, Indiana:

George Benefiel...wife was of Scottish descent. Her cousin, Claud Buchanan in Scotland was an author of considerable note, writing books of a religious nature. She was a second cousin of President James Buchanan...

Thanks again,Randy, for a fun exercise, even though I'm a little late:)

Emay/Leisure Marriage

2011-01-12T09:57:00.000-06:00

I’ve started going through my various files, documents, and photos on the Leisure family line. One document was the marriage certificate of William Sydney Emay and Mary Frances (aka Fanny) Leisure. This document has interested me before but I hadn’t taken the time to do any research on it. J. B. Blount officiated the marriage on 12 Sep 1878 was. The question in my mind has been whether there was any other relationship with Rev. Blount.

Jacob B. Blount was one of the early ministers of the Church of Christ at Little Blue River, now known as Hannegan Christian Church. The church was organized in 1830 and the first building erected in 1869 on land obtained for the congregation by George W. Leisure and Benjamin Kendall.[1]

Rev. Jacob B. Blount (born in Tipton, Indiana) was the father of Raymond L. who was born in Posey township, Rush county on 29 Mar 1880. Raymond married Serena Rhodes was the daughter of Lewis R. and Elizabeth Leisure. (Aha! a Leisure).[2] Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph P. Leisure and Dorinda T. Fresh.

I had most of this information in my genealogy database except I have not looked for the parents of Raymond. So now I know the person who performed the marriage of my great-grandparents was the father-in-law of my 2^nd cousin 3x removed. That seems very distant but it appears closer (to me anyway) to remember that Serena’s mother, Elizabeth, and the bride, “Fanny,” were 1^st cousins.

Just as an aside, William, the groom, holds a special place in my heart. He was an orphan train rider. He arrived by train in Rushville, Indiana in February of 1862 under the auspices of the New York Children’s Aid Society and placed in the home of Mr. J. M. Cook. William thrived and became a well-respected member of the community. More importantly he found warmth and love with “Fanny.” Though he died 50 years before “Fanny”, she never remarried and she kept his (very large) picture hanging in her bedroom until her death.

[1] Gary, A.L. and E. B. Thomas editors, Centennial History of Rush County, Indiana (Indianapolis, Historical Publishing Company, 1921), volume I, page 422.

[2] Gary, A.L. and E. B. Thomas editors, Centennial History of Rush County, Indiana (Indianapolis, Historical Publishing Company, 1921), volume II, page 245, 246. Biographical information for Raymond L. Blount.

Still Getting Started

2011-01-06T14:05:00.000-06:00

Here we are almost at the end of the 1st week of 2011 and I'm still trying to get a handle on all the tasks I need to put together to accomplished the goals I've set for myself. I have to:

decide where and how to start with the researching and writing of my Leisure line
create some more pages and blog posts for the new Leisure Family blog (leisurefamilyhistory.blogspot.com)
make room for the files - paper - I'll inherit as treasurer of my genealogy society
create a time-line of tasks to be performed as chair of Honors & Awards of ISGS
finalize and create reports to be used for personal taxes
clean out file cabinets of unnecessary paperwork
continue work on my personal memoirs and find that picture of me and my brothers I've been searching for.

Well, at least, this list should help me better define the lists to come.

Oh, yes, I forgot all about jury duty at the end of the month:)

Leisure Genealogy

2011-01-02T12:56:00.000-06:00

Today is the day my new project begins. This year my resolution is to write and publish the story of my Leisure line. To that end, I'll be blogging about my genealogical adventures as I plod along.

As with my Ruch project, I'll first deal with what generation to start with and how far to go into the collateral lines. This decision will be a bit more difficult with the Leisures as they have been in the US since the 1700s. I'll explain my dilemma in a later post. I really don't feel the need to write a tome but I can already see the pages growing.

At the Leisure Reunion last year, I agreed to set up a blog to keep in touch, record family history, and perhaps gather new relatives along the way. Sometime this week I will be launching that blog. It's nearly ready but I have a few items to take care of first. Once it's up and running, I"ll provide the address so you can check it out.

For that blog, I'll, hopefully, have lots of Leisure authors to help with the posts. Our Indiana Leisure's had large families so there should be plenty to write about.

That's it for now as I need to put my thinking cap on and dig in!

Happy 2011

2010-12-31T23:49:00.001-06:00

Advent Calendar - Christmas and Deceased Relatives

2010-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

I'm so thankful for the really long run we had without losing any of our close family. However, since 1994 our number has declined. First, it was my Dad, Earl Robert Stewart, who died in September of 1994. We only had a few months to adjust before our Christmas Eve party. Dad's job was always to read the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke while everyone sat quietly - a rather difficult task for the little ones who awaited their presents. Even though his job was taken over by my son-in-law, I still miss Dad's beautiful voice on that special evening. He is remembered on Christmas Eve with his famous baked beans.

Then, just before Christmas (Dec. 20) of 2001, we unexpectedly lost my brother-in-law, Warren Parrent. Warren was always so much fun, especially when our girls were small. Warren seemed to have as much fun playing with their new toys as the girls did. He would be on the floor investigating the workings and "helping" the girls figure everything out. He was a great guy and we miss him. He is remembered each Christmas Eve with a bowl full of cashews - one of his favorites.

In September 2002, my mother, Gladys Miller Stewart, died. She had literally "made" our Christmases for so many years, the thought of celebrating without her was devastating to me. I learned everything I know about hostessing a party from my mother. She had a wonderful way of making everyone feel warm and welcome. There really isn't any part of our party that doesn't remind me of her. Our special reminder of Mom, though, is fudge.

Finally, this will be our third Christmas without my mother-in-law, Alice Davey Higgins. Oh, how she loved it when the family got together. For several years before her death, she was unable to get out to our party; so we would bring an abbreviated party to her and my father-in-law. A couple of hours before the party at our house, everyone gathered at the retirement home for a pre-party - complete with food and gifts, song and jokes. Alice seemed to really appreciate the effort and we got to have double the fun! She didn't have a favorite party food, but we remember her just the same.

We miss them all but, as we celebrate, the memory of their lives are special gifts to us.

Advent Calendar - Christmas Music

2010-12-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

I'm one of those people who love Christmas music and I always have. I can't wait until Thanksgiving when our local radio station 93.9 changes their venue to all Christmas music all the time!

When I was younger, I loved to sing it. I was in the choir at school and church and was a soloist. The church music was so majestic it would simply take my breath away. It was as wonderful to prepare for the the concerts as it was to perform them.

In later years, my personal music stayed mostly within the family. On Christmas Eve, it was my job to sing my very favorite Christmas song of all: Sweet Little Jesus Boy by Robert MacGimsey. I can't hear it even today without tearing up. Here's a picture of me on Christmas Eve 1983 (that was one of my thin years:)

Several bouts of bronchitis have made me a listener, not a singer, but I continue to adore this season's music.

Advent Calendar - Christmas Shopping

2010-12-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

I remember it as if it were yesterday! That was the year I did all the Christmas shopping in one day and the year I truly stumped my present peepers.

I was working at our local bank at the time and my boss and I decided to spend an evening at Woodfield Mall to try to make a dent in our shopping lists. I must have had a good idea as to what I wanted to buy because by the end of the evening I was loaded down with packages and my credit card was almost too hot to hold. In fact, it had been used so often that night that at one store they had the clerk hand me the phone to verify it was really me making all those purchases!

How on earth was I to go home with all those gifts and still keep them a surprise from my preteen daughters; especially Sam who made it an annual challenge to seek out the presents before Christmas? There was no way I could walk into the house with them and keeping them in the truck would only stall the issue. My boss came to the rescue, as she was often wont to do. She offered to keep all of it at her house as long as I needed. Hah! Sam couldn't find them there and she didn't.

The gifts remained out of the house until Christmas Eve and I was able to sneak them in without being seen. That was probably the only year the girls never had a clue what they were getting until Christmas Day. I really enjoyed that year, too.

Advent Calendar - Christmas Stockings

2010-12-18T13:12:00.000-06:00

From the first year we held the Christmas Eve celebration at our house until the present, my husband and I filled stockings for each of our grandchildren. The stockings were hung along the staircase leading to our living room. The children's stockings hung along side mine and my husband's ("Mom" and "Dad") and, for the past two years, our dog, Bessie's.

As the children grew older, we began wrestling with the dilemma of when one stopped the tradition. We finally decided that when a grandchild reached - or would reach prior to the next Christmas - the age of 21, they would be deemed an adult and no longer receive a stocking. Last year, our oldest grandson, Stewart got his last filled stocking and was given the stocking that had been used since his infancy.

This year would be Derek's turn, except this year the party moves to another house. Oh my!! Now what to do. I guess all good things must eventually come to an end so this will be the last year for this. Santa will drop three stockings at our house which we will deliver to the new location. Derek, Kristin, and Randi will get to keep their stockings and Kristin and Randi will find a little something extra inside just to make up for the few years they'll be missing.

Even as they got older, the grandkids still seemed to enjoy looking for the treasures in those stockings.

Randi, Kristin, Kim (Derek's girlfried; he had to work), and Stewart Dec 2009

Advent Calendar - Day 16

2010-12-16T14:59:00.000-06:00

I know today is suppose to be about what went on at school during the Christmas season but I don't have many school memories. Oh, there was the annual choir concert in which I participated but other than that - nothing.

However, my life (as a child and teenager) centered around our church and my friends there. Our BYF (Baptist Youth Fellowship) always worked very hard on presenting the best Christmas pageant we possibly could. For a few years our group was very sparse on female members so I usually got the part of Mary. One particular year when I was about twelve, I recall, I was Mary and my future husband, about 14, was Joseph. At the time, I really didn't want much to do with him but now it is a sweet recollection.

Somewhere, in my mother's papers there is a picture of that pageant, but right now I don't have time to go digging:(

Advent Calendar - Other Traditions

2010-12-11T10:30:00.000-06:00

The more I think about it the more I realize that our family's concentration during the holidays has been Christmas Eve. Even my memories of Indiana center on the party at Grandma's house; I barely recall Christmas Day at all.

One of the traditions my Grandma started was giving out chocolate-covered cherries. She gave the candy to all the men only. Over the years that really began to aggravate my mother. Once we moved to Chicago and Mom made her own party - which in later years included our spouses, my husband's parents, and his sister and husband - the candy was giving to all the adults, male or female! Later, it was my turn to hold the gathering and I kept the tradition going.

The tradition I started - though it lasted only a few years - was for Christmas Day. The girls and I were usually on our own that day because my husband had to work. (He always made sure he had Christmas Eve off.) So we girls often went to my mother's house to hang out and eat leftovers. I started bringing a birthday cake and we would sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was a fun way to remember the reason we had the holiday.

Then, we would get bored and either went bowling or to a movie.

Advent Calendar Day 9 - Santa Revisited

2010-12-09T14:02:00.000-06:00

I know we already had the Santa prompt this year but I simply must post this wonderful picture. To me it looks like it comes right out of It's A Wonderful Life. This is of my husband and his sister sitting with Santa. It was taken in about 1947. Sorry I haven't cleaned it up at all so it still has the crease marks from being folded and Santa has a smudge on his nose.

Advent Calendar - Christmas Cookies

2010-12-08T13:34:00.000-06:00

I love cookies no matter what time of year but there is something special about homemade cookies at Christmas time. What could be better than that warmth and aroma wafting from the oven while my two wonderful daughters and I decorated sugar cookies. I think it was Dad who liked eating those the most, while we girls could barely wait for the chocolate chips cookies to cool!

That was years ago, but usually about this time, my husband says, "Are you going to make cookies this year?" I'm thinking I may go the store bought route. Maybe if I sneak them in the house and light a vanilla candle he won't know the difference:)

Advent Calendar - Santa Claus

2010-12-06T06:30:00.001-06:00

‘Twas the night before Christmas 1999

And this may not rhyme

But the family was gathered

For a jolly good time.

They had food to eat, carols to sing

And exchanging of presents

Before the children rushed home

To await Santa’s entrance.

Kristin, Stewart, Derek
Randi

Now, Stewart, age ten

And Derek, age nine

Shared knowing looks

with each other this time.

They thought them too old

For belief in sweet Santa

But they kept quiet that night

Because they’d been told.

You see, Kristin, age 8

Clung to the thought

That Santa rode in his sleigh

Each December 24^th.

And Randi, age 6

Simply knew in her heart

That Santa would come

With toys to impart.

So Grandpa took charge

As a stand-in for Claus

On his knees with the children

He checked on the gifts, large & small.

But, wait, there’s a sound at the door.

Who could it be? The family’s all here!

Everyone’s gaze went to the stairs

Everyone’s jaw fell straight to the floor.

It was Santa in person, the real one for sure!

He paused for a moment to see who was there

He talked to each child while checking his list

He knew they were there; they were secure.

He stayed but a moment; No time for long banter

He must begin his long flight around the world

But for that one evening and those few hours

Each family member believed in dear Santa.

(Just a warning note to little ones all:

If you stop believing; Santa stops coming.)

Advent Calendar - Outdoor Lights

2010-12-05T15:48:00.000-06:00

I was just about to skip posting for this prompt - just because I couldn't think of any outstanding outdoor light story. However, I do have an anecdote to share.

About sixteen years ago, the company I worked for was moving its accounting/marketing departments from Schaumburg, Illinois to its headquarters in Los Angeles, California. At the time I was the supervisor of one of the Units being moved. Most of my Unit, including me, opted to remain in Illinois; however, we still had the obligation to train those who would be taking our places.

So, just before Christmas, five of us traveled to LA. We had a significant drive from our hotel to the headquarters. One afternoon, on the way back to the hotel, we were admiring some of the outdoor decorations when Renee popped out with, "Why do they have all these decorations?" After which we had to explain that even though it is always warm in LA, Christmas still comes there and people celebrate just like we did. I really think she was truly shocked!!

But, in her defense, the whole thing felt a bit surreal to me too.

Advent Calendar - Christmas Cards

2010-12-04T10:21:00.000-06:00

I really don't remember my mother sending out lots of Christmas cards. I'm sure she sent to the relatives back home in Indiana once we moved to Chicago but I don't think she sent to friends far and wide. However, my husband's mother had a huge Christmas card list and faithfully sent to, I'm thinking, almost everyone she knew. Preparing the cards and getting them in the mail was an annual process that took many hours to complete. For her it was a labor of love and a way to stay in touch.

Looking back, I guess I fall somewhere between my Mom and his Mom. I had a fairly large list of friends and family who heard from us each year through the Christmas mail. However, unlike my mother-in-law, I wasn't sending to old friends from grammar school or even high school. Perhaps I should have; at least, I might know where they are today if I had.

Now, I lean on email, Twitter, and Facebook to send most of my holiday greetings. My physical card list has dwindled to a very manageable number which is both efficient and economical.

I must admit, though, I do love receiving the greetings I find in my mailbox - both online and off.;)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Advent Calendar - Christmas Tree Ornaments

2010-12-03T12:59:00.000-06:00

Our tree holds many special ornaments for me. They're not expensive like hand-blown glass but were created by or for our two girls. One year when they were small we sat in our kitchen and made ornaments using clothes pins. The girls made a great little fireman for their volunteer fireman Dad; that one is highly treasured.

There are the little felt candy cane with the name "Samantha" barely fitting which Sam brought home from Sunday School and Tammy's owl (she loved owls) that has perched on our Christmas tree each year.

I think my favorite ornament memory, though, is a tradition my husband started after the birth of our first grandchild. Each year he buys (a labor of love done with no little agony) each child an ornament just from him. He isn't a man who displays affection easily or casually but this annual gesture is one way he shows how very much he loves his grandchildren. The ornaments, but not the love, stop at age 21 - one down and three to go.:)

Advent Calendar - Christmas Food

2010-12-02T16:03:00.002-06:00

Ah, the taste and aroma of Christmas treats in the making!!

Our Christmas holiday foods haven’t been the huge feasts of ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and such for a long time. Those foods have been reserved for Thanksgiving. No, we revel in the appetizer and dessert categories.

When I was a small child in Indiana, we had lots of relatives in the area and Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma’s house with the Uncles, Aunts, and cousins. My two brothers and I were piled in the car with our parents and whatever Mom was bringing, probably pie or cake. I don’t really remember what ended up on Grandma’s table; I guess I was too busy playing with my cousins.

However, when I was 10, we moved to Chicago and our family became very small - just the five of us. Rather than a big meal, Mom treated us to hamburgers and banana splits. That’s how the appetizers and desserts tradition began.

There must be some sort of sandwich, though, because the one item truly required is Dad’s baked beans. Well, really they are Dad’s Mom’s baked beans but she passed them down to him, who passed them on to Mom, who passed them on to my sister and me, who passed them on to my daughters. There is no true recipe, just a list of ingredients and instructions on how to tell the proportions are correct. Those instructions must be given in-person a number of times because it takes the eyes, nose, and taste to get it right!

Another must is Hersey’s fudge. The directions are on the cocoa can and it’s easy to make except often it takes several tries to get the perfect batch – not that the imperfect batches go to waste.

Those are the musts; the rest is up to each cook. Our table is always filled to the brim with tasty treats and munchies!

Advent Calendar - The Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T14:09:00.000-06:00

I've seen many versions of the Christmas tree during my lifetime. Although the ones in my house have remained very traditional, there were a few years during the '70s when my mother followed the fads of the flocked and/or silver metal trees. Happily, she quickly returned to the beautifully decorated green tree I remembered from my childhood.

Speaking of childhood, it's my grandchildren who have made my best memories of our Christmas trees. When they were young they would come - all four - to help decorate our tree and spend the night. The tree got decorated, some cookies were baked, and in the morning we went out for pancakes and eggs. I watched them grow up in front of our tree.

This is what our tree looked like for many years with the help of our grandchildren.

Here the children are sitting in front of the tree before the presents have been distributed in 1994.

Left to right: Randi, Kristin, Stewart, Derek

Here they are just seven years later in 2001. They are singing a carol because they always had to "perform" before they gifts were opened. They grow up too fast!

Left to Right: Derek, Stewart, Kristin
Front: Randi

We're looking forward to a new tradition starting this year. Our Christmas Eve gathering will move to one of our daughter's home. New tree, new memories!

Gearing Up For Christmas

2010-11-30T15:18:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe I haven't posted since November 19 but facts don't lie! We have been busy around here though and as everyone knows sometimes life gets in the way.

Since I last posted, we have a new roof, new siding, and new gutters on our 39 year old house. We'll have to wait for spring to paint the trim but things are already looking better!

My Christmas cards are in the mail - those I still send. My father-in-law's list is ready and the cards have been purchased so that feels nearly complete.

I got an early Christmas present a few days ago. My granddaughter bought a new 4G I-phone which meant her 3G was handed down to me. I'm so excited I can finally carry my genealogy database with me all the time once again!! My old PDA went belly-up well over a year ago which left me with only my laptop. Needless to say, I've been working on getting apps for my new phone:)

I'm sure the Advent Calendar of Christmas prompts will help get and keep me in the mood for the holiday! For now, I'm off to work on those cards.

ISGS Springfield2

2010-11-19T22:17:00.000-06:00

I had to hurry off from my previous post because I was going to be late for dinner. A number of the ISGS board members met at Cheddars and we had a great meal and lots of good conversation.

Jack, Donna Pond, Janice Fritsch, Jane Haldeman, Cheri Hunter
Kristy Gravlin, and Michele Claypool

Later, most of us continued socializing at the Comfort Suites. Now it's time to get some rest and prepare for the meeting tomorrow. I'm so pleased to be associated with such a dedicated and talented group of people.

ISGS Springfield

2010-11-19T16:46:00.000-06:00

This morning around 9:00, Larry Pepper, the new 1st vice president of the Illinois State Genealogical Society picked me up to come to Springfield for my first ISGS board meeting tomorrow. Our trip was uneventful but full of lots of great conversation. Good company does help travel time fly by.

After a nice lunch at the Garden of Eatin', we went to the Illinois Archives to the ISGS office to see if we could be of any help. Hopefully, we did more helping than hindering.

The ISGS designated office at the Illinois Archives

That's it for now

A Century of Progress and One Girl

2010-11-14T13:29:00.000-06:00

Alice Davey lived in Chicago most of her life. The Chicago World's Fair was a big event not to be missed. While there, she picked up a souvenir provided by the Chicago & North Western Railway - a small note pad which she used as a diary/calendar beginning in January of 1934.

This little pad also had pictures of some of the buildings and special locations of A Century of Progress. Some of these still grace Chicago and some are long gone.

Alice and her boyfriend, "Happy", and her family, plus visiting relatives went to the Fair many times. She always recorded the event, even if it was succinctly.

Wednesday,

July 4, 1934

Happy & I went to the Fair. Happy took home two Coca Cola glasses.

Tuesday, October 30, 1934	Hap and I want to the Fair. Got home around 1:30.
Wednesday, October 31, 1934	The last day of the Fair. My Mother and Dad went and Cliff and Catherine. I went to school.

My guess is she had more fun going to the fair on Tuesday with Hap than she would have had with her Mother, Dad, and Cliff and Catherine (brother and sister-in-law). Just sayin' :)

SNGF - Fun With Photos

2010-11-13T20:24:00.000-06:00

Our fun for this Saturday from Randy Seaver:
1) Go to the AnyMaking website (http://anymaking.com - it's FREE to use) and ...
2) Doctor some of your priceless photographs using one or more of their photo effects to turn your photo into a cartoon, into a puzzle, into a wanted poster, etc. Try it, it's fun. You can spend hours doing this. Think about Christmas presents for your family or friends... [Note that if you want decent size photos - or real puzzles, portraits, etc., you'll need to subscribe to their Premium service.]
3) Show off your creations on your own blog, or on Facebook, or some other online photo location.

I only did one Wanted Poster but it's a real one. I'm actually still looking for Charles Brown who was apparently "kicked out" by Julia Ruch Brown for being a "womanizer." Where did he go and did she divorce him?

Wednesday Child: Mildred Mary Higgins

2010-11-10T13:39:00.000-06:00

This beautiful little girl died just before her 5th birthday of complications from the Measles.

Mildred Mary Higgins 1908-1912

A Month In the Life of Alice Davey - 1929

2010-11-08T13:17:00.000-06:00

In honor of Amanuensis Monday, I'm sharing one month of entries from the calendar/diary of Alice Davey. At the time of the writing, Alice was 14 years old and in the 8th grade. She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.
She mentions her friends by first name only. Their full names (of those I know) are: Mary Osman; Irene Hall; Gertrude Gronvall of Ishpeming, Michigan; Tecklas & Lida Larson, aunts from Ishpeming, Michigan; Gena Bertolone.
I love how she usual mentions the theater and title when show goes to the movies.

Tuesday, January 1, 1929	Mary came over to my house and woke the New Year’s in.
Wednesday, January 2, 1929	Too cold to go out so stayed in the house with Mary and played games.
Thursday, January 3, 1929	Went to the show with Mary and saw Varsity (at the Wilson)
Friday, January 4, 1929	Went to Irene’s house and stayed until Sunday.
Saturday, January 5, 1929	Went to Bobbies house that is down stairs and played school.
Sunday, January 6, 1929	Irene came to my house and we went to Mary’s house and to the show.
Monday, January 7, 1929	Started school again.
Tuesday, January 8, 1929	Grandma House [Hossman?]came over to our house. I went to the show and saw Clara Bow in “Free to Love”.
Wednesday, January 9, 1929	Got a letter from Gertrude. I wrote to my aunt Teckla & Lida.
Thursday, January 10, 1929	Went to church with Mary.
Friday, January 11, 1929	Stayed at home and did homework.
Saturday, January 12, 1929	Went to Saturday club.
Sunday, January 13, 1929	Went to Sunday School. Went to the Paradise with Gena and saw “Dream of Love”
Monday, January 14, 1929	Stayed home and studied English.
Tuesday, January 15, 1929	Stayed home.
Wednesday, January 16, 1929	Stayed home.
Thursday, January 17, 1929	Went to church with Mary.
Friday, January 18, 1929	Stayed home.
Saturday, January 19, 1929	Went to the American with my mother and saw “The Laughing Man.”
Sunday, January 20, 1929	Went to Sunday School. Went to the Bishop with Gena and saw “Com. Marriage”. We went to the American too and saw “Silks and Saddles.”
Monday, January 21, 1929	Stayed home.
Tuesday, January 22, 1929	Stayed home.
Wednesday, February 23, 1929	Went to library. At night read “The Arabian Nights.”
Thursday, January 24, 1929	Went to church with Mary.
Friday, January 25, 1929	Stayed home and fixed hearts for our church Valentine Party We had a party at school for the 8A’s.
Saturday, January 26, 1929	Went to Saturday Club. Went to Wilson with Gena and saw “The Home Towners.”
Sunday, January 27, 1929	Went to Sunday School Went to the American with Gena and Mary and saw “Annaoplis”. We went to the Ashland too and saw “Fazil.”
Monday, January 28, 1929	Stayed home and worked on English Book.
Tuesday, January 29, 1929	Stayed home.
Wednesday, January 30, 1929	Stayed home.
Thursday, January 31, 1929	Went to church with Mary.

Transcribing Diaries

2010-11-04T13:50:00.000-05:00

Back a few years ago, before my mother-in-law, Alice, passed away, I began transcribing diaries she had placed in my possession. I managed to complete from January 1, 1932 through February 25, 1934 before turning to other projects.

In 1932, Alice was eighteen years old. She wasn't the type of girl who poured out her soul on paper each evening. Her writings are more a calendar of her life and she kept such calendars throughout her life. Each day was given some comment. Sometimes it's a mere, "Stayed home", other times she gives mention to people in her life and special events. Alice and her friends loved going to the movies and she often mentions the title and names the theater they attended. These short writings even provide a peek into her early relationship with my father-in-law.

Recently, I found the 1929 book- oops - which I've begun to transcribe and then I plan to start where I left off in 1934 which will take me into 1935. I'll need to do a little hunting around after that because I have a gap until 1939. I'm sure the missing books are somewhere - probably in the cedar chest which is bulging at the seams!

Anyway, I plan to work on this little task, off and on, while I'm taking my short break between major projects until the first of next year. For now, it's back to 1929.

SNGF - Halloween Personality

2010-10-30T15:03:00.000-05:00

Saturday Night Fun from Randy Seaver:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Go take the Hallowe'en Personality quiz at http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyourhalloweenpersonalityquiz/

2) Post it on your own blog, as a comment on this blog, or on your Facebook page.

3) Tell us if this is "right on" or note. Have fun with it!

Here's my result:

You're a friendly person, but not the life of the party. You like making someone else's day - and you'll dress up if you think of a really fun costume.

You definitely think of yourself as someone who has a dark side. And part of having that dark side means not showing it.

Your inner child is open minded, playful, and adventurous.

You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope.

You're prone to be quite emotional and over dramatic. Deep down, you enjoy being scared out of your mind... even if you don't admit it.

You are a traditionalist with most aspects of your life. You like your Halloween costume to be basic, well made, and conventional enough to wear another year.

I'd say this is pretty accurate. Most of it is right on, except I openly admit I "enjoy being scared out of my mind." Also, I really do like people for the most part...sometimes...at arm's length...in the sunlight...

52 Weeks Challenge Week 44 - Giving Back

2010-10-29T14:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, it is hard to believe we're already in week 44 of the year 2010!!

Our challenge from Amy Coffin for this week:

Week 44: Research ways to give back to the genealogy community. A great deal of genealogy information on line was put there by volunteers. This week, your challenge is to examine some different ways genealogists can donate their time and effort in kind...

There are some wonderful places on-line where we genealogists can give back to our time. Many of them were mentioned in the original challenge; like "Find-a-Grave (http://www.findagrave.com/), Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (http://www.raogk.org/), FamilySearch Indexing (http://www.familysearch.or
g/eng/indexing/frameset_indexing.asp), the World Archives Project (http://landing.ancestry.com/wap/learnmore.aspx), Unclaimed Persons (http://www.unclaimedpersons.org/) and the USGenWeb project (http://www.usgenweb.org/)."

As much as possible we should contribute to these wonderful causes; however, there are also many non-online opportunities as well. Our local genealogy societies are in dire need of volunteers. These organizations continue to give back to the community through educational programs, personal help for new researchers, and digitizing and indexing local records.

The prevalence of internet use for genealogy education and research has brought about a reduction in attendance at meetings. Apparently, many researchers new to genealogy are of the impression that "everything is on the Web." What a shame!

Take, as example, my local genealogy society - The Elgin (IL) Genealogy Society (EGS). I joined in 1995 but EGS had already been in existence for 23 years. By the time I came along they were already providing two meetings a month - one morning and one evening. In 1991, they published Kane County Illinois Early Families 1833-1835. An on-going project is the indexing of vital records from the Elgin newspapers. (In conjunction with the Gail Borden Public Library, the index is on-line through the library catalogue.) Many local records have been indexed and/or digitized and are available on the EGS website for free to Elgin area researchers. And, of course, we currently have an EGS blog:)

Now, for my point. None of the above items could have taken place without volunteers. The organization itself could not function without officers, committee chairs, committee members, project leaders and workers. Our local societies are still extremely important to the genealogy community and, I hope, we continue to support them by volunteering our time, effort, and expertise.

It Is Finished!

2010-10-19T14:21:00.000-05:00

At last but ahead of schedule, my project on the Ruch family is finished!

I just completed the digital presentation and, except for actually burning the CDs, the project is done!!

This is the menu page for the presentation - prepared with Passage Express software:

Now, I'm going to take a bit of a break - not from genealogy or blogging - from anything with a deadline:) I'll be able to go the the Illinois State Genealogical Society Conference this weekend without feeling any guilt. Yay!!

I already have my next project in mine but I'll wait to share that news. If I tell you know, I'll probably start on it and then when would my break start?

SNGF - Who or What Do I Blame?

2010-10-16T18:19:00.000-05:00

Responding to Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Fun Challenge which is:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and we need more of you to do this, otherwise it may end...), is to:

1) Read Brenda Joyce Jerome's post Who or What Do You Blame? on the Western Kentucky Genealogy blog. She asks these questions:

* Can you identify person or event that started you on this search for family information?

* Did you pick up researching where a relative had left off?

* Did your interest stem from your child's school project on genealogy?

* If you have been researching many years, it may be hard to pinpoint one reason for this journey.

Well, this one is easy for me even though I've been researching our family's (mine & my husband's) for about fifteen years. I had just recently "retired" - the company I worked for moved to California but I chose to stay in Illinois. One day my husband and I were visiting with his parents and the conversation went something like this:

Father-in-law (FIL): "A long time ago someone told me that Higgins Road was named after my grandfather." (My FIL's name is Francis Higgins and Higgins Road is a main artery in the city of Chicago.)

Me (in ignorance): "That should be easy to find out. I'll go to the library this week."

And I did go to the library that next week and I did find that Higgins Road is named for a man named - would you believe - Francis Higgins who had owned a farm in the Chicago area. Alas, I also learn that the two men are not related in any way.

Feeling somewhat deflated by this news, I decided I should see what I could learn about my FIL's real grandfather. It took some digging and certainly more than a week but I found the family. I was able to tell my FIL about relatives he barely, if at all, knew; even reuniting with a cousin whom he had not seen for seventy years. I was also able to tell time that Higgins Road in Hampshire, Illinois (just outside Chicago) got its name because it ran alongside his grandfather's dairy farm.

Of course, I couldn't stop there. I knew each family line had its own story and so the search goes on. At least it keeps me out of trouble, most of the time!

It's Not Fancy But It's Done!

2010-10-13T09:22:00.000-05:00

For Almost Wordless Wednesday: The RUCH book is in print!!

Could I Be Happier?

2010-10-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, could I be happier than I am right now. Only if I had my Ruch digital presentation completed and on the CDs! Why? Because the book is being printed and bound as I write this!!

I decided since I am only printing a few paper copies I'd go for a hardbound cover. The proof looks great and I can't wait to see the final piece.

Thought I'd share with my blogging friends. Now, I have to get back to work on the digital version!

Almost There. Seven Smart Stories to Go!

2010-10-04T12:34:00.001-05:00

I’m nearly finished with content for the digital edition of “The Life and Times of Charles and Salomé (Siegler) Ruch.” I’ve decided to create short, individual narratives for each of the children. Some I know more about than others but such is life. To do this, I’m using (a sneaky way to learn a new feature) Family Tree Maker 2011’s* new Smart Story feature.

There are a few things I don’t like about Smart Story but am not sure yet if it is the programming or just my inexperience and/or lack of knowledge about how to make some things happen. For example, when trying to put media into the “story”, I can’t figure out how to size it, align it or have text wrap around it.

Because I want to include footnotes – which thankfully I can do – I have to be very careful about how I pull “facts” into the writing. As you can see on the image below, (the birth fact is currently chosen) the bottom third of the right side provides options which can be dragged and dropped into the story. How I’m planning to use the fact will determine which I choose. Using the Insert button at the top right, you can choose to include footnotes or leave them off.

All in all, I think I like the Smart Story feature. One thing I like about it is that I don’t have to think about the wording for a fact until I use it in a narrative. Smart Story gives various options from a full sentence to various key words when using the “facts” option. It also has a “biography” option which basically pulls in all the facts, notes and such and creates a “story” for you. Personally, I don’t like that option but others might.

Now back to work, I have several Smart Stories to go, after which I’ll create the Menu for the CD and then I’ll be finished. Well, except I still need to print the hardcopy version and burn the CDs.

* I’m not associated with Family Tree Maker in any way other than a user. I’ve never received a free copy for review or been compensated in any way.

Marie Perttula

2010-09-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

I'm still looking at some old photos of mostly people unrelated to our family but who were most likely friends & acquaintances. Here is a picture of Marie Perttula in her early teens (?). According to the 1930 census, she was born about 1909 in Michigan. In 1930 she was living in Ishpeming, MI with her parents: Nels, a butcher age 59, and Lizzie, age 56, who were both born in Finland. Also in the household were her siblings: John, age 30; Eino, age 26; William, age 24 and Edna, age 18. Marie is listed as age 21, a saleslady at a retail dry goods store.

If anyone is looking for Marie, here's a beautiful shot of her. I love the Little Orphan Annie hairdo!!

Surname Saturday: EVEN Lost Relation

2010-09-25T15:22:00.000-05:00

I've been rummaging through some old pictures, most of which are unidentified. The image below is a of a darling looking little girl unrelated to my family but I'm sure she belongs to someone else. Written on the back of the photo: Dorothy Even, 2 years old, 1929.
With that information, I found her in the 1930 census living at the same address as my mother-in-law's family. Dorothy was listed with her parents: Matthew & Alma and her two siblings: Elizabeth, age 13 and George, age 7. Her father age 45 had been born in France; mother age 30 had been born in New York. He father's occupation is "cutlery helper" in a cutlery factory.
Hopefully, this post will help her find her find her way back to family.

Project Update September 24, 2010

2010-09-24T14:12:00.000-05:00

Wow, it seems forever since I've created a post but it's really only been a couple of weeks. My husband and I were on a cruise and during that time I went totally low-tech - no computer, no cell phone (on-board), no genealogy, no nothing. Once back on land, there was a long, long two-day drive during which time I caught a nasty cold. At last, I'm starting to feel better and think I'll be back to normal soon.

I did do some work on my project yesterday. I now have all the pictures and documents I plan to include in my digital version of "The Life and Times of Charles & Salome (Siegler) Ruch". Since I still have some time before I have to finalize, I'm planning on preparing a few more reports on the children and their families for this version as well.

Except for a final proofreading, my hard-copy version is ready to print. Since I'm only planning on a few copies, I think I'll just take it to Kinkos and get the best binding they have to offer.

That's it for now. I have to get back to work.

Surname Saturday: Ruch, Fell (Fehl), Colum

2010-09-04T15:18:00.001-05:00

This is a bit of a repeat but I've been trying to find Maggie (Ruch) Fell's death/obituary for some time with no luck. Maybe a long lost relative will see this and point me in the right direction:)

Margaret RUCH was born on 24 Mar 1882 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. She married Oscar FELL on 05 Mar 1902 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. She lived in Chicago, Cook, Illinois in 1920 (2836 Kedzie Ave., Ward 27). She lived in Chicago, Cook, Illinois on 05 Apr 1930 (3036 N. Kedzie Ave.). She died after 1966. She was also known as Maggie. She was also known as Blanche M. RUCH.

Margaret & Oscar had one child:
Elva FELL was born about 1904 in Illinois. She lived in Chicago, Cook, Illinois in 1920 (Ward 27). She married William K COLUM before 1925 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois (probably). She lived in Chicago, Cook, Illinois in 1930. She died on Jan 1961 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. She was buried on 04 Jan 1961 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois (St. Adalbert's).

William & Elva had one child:
Laverne COLUM was born 06 Apr 1925 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois

Project Update Aug. 31, 2010

2010-08-31T15:51:00.000-05:00

Once again my silence has been golden; for me, at least.

I've been diligently working on editing the reports for my publication and still have "the story" out to my proofreader. The full hard-copy document is about 180 pages at this time and I'm not planning on making it much longer. The printed edition will have fewer pictures than the digital one for financial reasons.

With the printed edition well underway, I'm planning to change my focus to the CD/DVD version. I'll be using Passage Express ( I have no connection with this company except as a user of the product) which will make organizing the contents and creating a "front page" easy for me to do. With all the reports, charts and "the story" already prepared, most of my work is done. I'll just need to pick out more pictures and documents and organize them into folders to be brought into the software.

Right now I'm feeling good about getting the project finished on time. Hopefully, the end product will be worth the effort!

Eliphalet B. Miller - Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T18:44:00.000-05:00

Eliphalet Barber Miller - 68th Reg, Co. C, Indiana Vol.

1840-1887
Little Salt Creek Cemetery, Rush, Indiana

If It Was Easy It Wouldn't Be Fun

2010-08-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I’ve finally finished translating (as best I could) and transcribing – probably more accurately described as abstracting – the French civil records I mentioned in my last post. I still need to take the time to compare the information through the years to see if I can trace some of the individuals through time. One difficulty is that over the fifty year period I’m using the same given names are used over and over and over again.

Another major difficulty for me was the change in language. I took French in high school and, though I was a bit rusty, I managed to handle the first forty years without too much trouble. But the last ten year period (1863-1872), due to France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War – was prepared in German. Not just any German either – oh no – old German script. On top of that the given names are teeny tiny!!

I would so much rather deal with the French.

Anyway, at least that’s done and I can go back to concentrating on putting my project together. Hmmm, maybe I’ll just let the next generation of family historian do the comparisons. Oh sure, like I’ll be able to put this away without studying it!!

Always the Way!!

2010-08-13T14:05:00.000-05:00

Just when you think you're at the finish line something new and inviting comes along. As I mentioned in a previous post, my story of the adventures of Charles and Salome (Siegler) Ruch is in editing and I'm pulling together the pictures, reports and charts to complete the publication. In other words, I'm calling a halt to additional research on this line. I mean you have to stop somewhere, right?, or you'll never get anything published.

But, then, I was reading Facebook posts the other day and the Family History Library announced that French Civil Records were available online from the French Library System. Well, of course, I had to go check to see what I might find from Bouxwiller, France. I wasn't too worried because I'd already gleaned lots of records from the LDS microfilm several years ago.

Lo and behold, there were Decennial Tables which I had never seen before. A decennial table is basically a ten-year alphabetical index to births, marriages, and deaths which have been registered at the town hall. Even though I'd decided to make only cursory mention of the family information from Bouxwiller, I certainly couldn't just ignore these wonderful papers. So, for hours I reviewed and printed many pages of these documents to compare to my files as well as find possible updates.

Now, of course, I need to take the time to transcribe the records pertinent to the Ruch and Siegler families. I'm sure this effort will be helpful down the road.

So, here I am still working on finishing this project before year's end but continually, if accidentally, finding new (to me) and interesting records. Isn't technology grand!

Three Ruch Girls - A Treasure on Tuesday

2010-08-10T14:18:00.000-05:00

I've been absent for a few days because I've been spending my time scanning and preserving originals from a couple of photo albums I borrowed from my father-in-law. Some of these I had already scanned some time ago but I had placed them on diskettes, not in folders on my computer. Even though I updated the diskettes to CDs and DVDs, some of the files were damaged or the scans from my old scanner just didn't cut it. This time the pictures are in my family files as well as my Family Tree Maker media files as well as on a back-up drive.

However, the process allowed my to gather even more photos than I had before. Among these was a picture of three of the Ruch girls which I find very interesting. The picture is of Julia, Emma and Mary Ruch probably taken sometime in 1899 after the death of their sister, Alice. Note to pins at the neck of each dress; I think the girls are wearing a picture of Alice for whom they are in mourning. What do you think?

Julia, Emma and Mary Ruch 1899

Julia and Emma (in the back) are twins born 21 Nov 1874 in Erie, PA.

Mary (not a twin) was born 21 Nov 1878 in Chicago, IL.

Yes, they were born on the same date but four years apart.

Julia was married in 1901 and Emma in 1903; Mary came to own a restaurant on Ogden Ave. in Chicago and did not marry until 1922.

Gathering Photos - Ruch, Gehringer, Bouchonville, Budzynski, Marthinsen

2010-08-05T15:40:00.000-05:00

Way back when, I borrowed photo albums from my mother-in-law and scanned the Ruch family pictures I found there. There weren't too many but at least I had something. Now that I'm gathering up the photos for my publication, I find that my scans were terrible. The digital pictures are really small and when enlarged they they get terribly out of focus.

So, this morning when we visited with my father-in-law I borrowed the albums once again and am trying to do a better job this time. Mostly, the photos are from one family gathering in 1938. There is one photo of the men, one of the women and one of the two sets of twins who attended.

My mother-in-law unlike so many people actually did put the names on the back of most of the pictures. Bless Her Heart!! Maybe some of our collateral lines are out there researching; if so, I hope they find this post and enjoy the pictures.

Left to right:
Twins: Eva (Ruch) Bouchonville and Caroline "Lean" (Ruch) Gehringer

Twins: Emma (Ruch) Higgins and Julia (Ruch) Brown

Left to Right Standing: Andrew Bouchonville, Francis "Happy" Higgins, Clarence Gehringer Jr., Dilwyn Gehringer, Edward Budzynski, Ira Gehringer, Charles Higgins
Left to Right Sitting: Louis Bouchonville, John Gehringer, Clarence Gehringer Sr.

Left to Right Standing: Emma Higgins, Mary Gehringer, "Lean" Gehringer, Virginia (Gehringer) Budzynski, Julia Brown, "Dollie" ?, Eva Bouchonville
Left to Right Sitting: Loyale Bouchonville, Eva "Tootie" Marthinsen, "Frankie" Gehringer, Alice Higgins

Project Progress

2010-08-02T14:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the "story" is being edited and proofed!! Now I'm concentrating on what reports I want to include and sort through a few pictures in hopes of finding some I haven't scanned. Pictures for this line are scarce and pictures do make such a difference. Oh, well, one can only do what one can.

I already prepared some of the charts and reports. So far I've done a Pedigree Chart for both Charles and Salome which at least shows the Alsatian families. I've created a three-generation Register Report for Charles Ruch. Also, I've made Family Group Sheets for Charles and Salome, Gottfried and Salome (so little Henry is included) and. then, for each of the children. Since Alice Ruch died young, I've done an Individual Report for her.

I still have lots of proofing to do on the reports but I'm feeling really good about getting this finished for Christmas this year. At the moment, my thoughts are leaning towards the type of publication. Do I want to print everyone a book or should I just create a digital publication? Should I print some books - donations to libraries - and do the rest in digital format?

I could do a nice presentation using Passage Express which I've used for some smaller projects in the past. If I got a microphone, I could even include some narrative on the few pictures I do have which should add interest. However, some in the family aren't computer savvy so paper may be the way to go, at least for them.

And the debate in my mind continues...

Writing and Searching; Searching and Writing

2010-07-28T14:41:00.000-05:00

Once again I sat down at the computer to add to the Ruch story. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m putting in a paragraph or so on each of the children. Yesterday, I actually finished “the girls” so this morning I began with Charles J. E. Ruch. I managed one complete sentence before I felt the need to wander off to check something out on the internet. One whole sentence!!

I knew where Charles moved when he left home in 1891 (from divorce records) and I knew where he lived in 1900 (from the federal census) but I wondered where he’d been in-between? When he married in 1895, where did the young couple begin their lives together? When did they move to their home on Monticello where they were in 1910? Those were the questions bounding around in my head and when things like that start pinging my brain I have no choice, I must go searching!

So it was off to Footnote and the Chicago City Directories. Back in the day, I had to go the Arlington Heights Library and read microfilm which would take most of a day, but, thanks to Footnote, I was hard at work within seconds. I always browse these databases because, for me, it’s just easier to find what I’m looking for, especially since the Ruch surname is seldom spelled the same way twice from year to year. I’ve learned I have to check Ruch, Rush and Rusch in these directories.

Now I have a good sense of where Charles was in any given year, at least through 1930, and what his occupation was as well. A side result from this search was a clarification of the name (changes) and ownership of a family restaurant. I’ve seen this information before but seeing it again made it plain: in 1905, Mary Ruch and Louis Bouchonville (Mary’s sister, Eva Ruch’s husband) owned the Ruch & Co. restaurant on Ogden Ave; between 1909 and 1911, Mary must have bought Louis out because in 1911 the restaurant is listed under Mary Miss Ruch with no Bouchonville included.

Even though this little research project only took a little over an hour, I really need to get back to writing about Charles. Maybe I can get more than one more sentence in this time.

http://mygenealogypondering.blogspot.com/2010/07/silence-equals-progress.html

Silence Equals Progress!

2010-07-25T15:12:00.000-05:00

I know I haven’t been doing much blogging of late but, mostly, it’s because I’ve actually been working on the Ruch family story. This week I finished the Charles & Salomé section. Yea!!!! Yea!!! I also decided to add an abbreviated section about their children (and Henry) and have almost finished with the girls. If I can keep up the pace, I should be able to put “the story” into editing/proof-reading phase in early August.

Once I’ve handed that off to others, I’ll begin working on the actual genealogy reports and charts I’m planning to include. Then, it’s deciding what pictures and documents will best go along with the publication.

Just a month or so ago, I was very concerned about not making enough progress. I felt like I was jumping around too much. Every time I wrote a sentence or two it seemed I needed to do more research or look for more evidence. Doing that slowed down the process considerably. But, at last, I think I’m almost there.

It’s mid-year and I feel I’m mid-way through the project. Who would have thought!!!

Salome Wiedermann Divorce Papers

2010-07-19T15:17:00.000-05:00

Amy Coffin's Week 29 of 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy suggests we "Practice reading handwriting..." and one blogger theme for Monday is Amanuensis [transcribing] Monday. So, today I'm able to "kill two birds with one stone", so to speak.

I've reached the point in writing Salome's story that requires telling about her second marriage and subsequent divorce. For some time I've needed to transcribe some of the documents found in the court papers. Because of Amy's challenge (thanks again!!) I managed to get through two important document articles yesterday.

First is the actual divorce decree which, probably, was written by the Court Clerk, Victor L. Schlaeger. The writing is greatly slanted to the right. At first, it was difficult to read but became easier as I went along. The transcription is below:

Date June 28 [18]92

Tax Fee Book 91, Page 311

Victor L. Schlaeger – Clerk – 437 County Bldg.

[Boilerplate text is in normal style; handwritten text is in italics]

Salome Wiedemann

vs

No. 139873 Decree

Gottfried Wiedemann

This day comes the complainant hereto, by Eldredge & Finch her Solicitors, and this cause coming on now to be heard upon the Bill of Complaint filed herein, taken as confessed against the defendant, and the Court having heard all the evidence adduced herein by the complainant, and the same having been reduced to writing, and a certificate thereof filed herein, and having heard the arguments of Counsel, and being fully advised in the premises, finds all the material allegations in the bill of complaint herein are true and have been sustained by the evidence; and that the defendant has is guilty of habitual drunkenness for the space of two years prior to filing the bill of complaint herein.

It is Therefore Ordered, Adjudged and decreed by the Court that the complainant be, and she is hereby divorced from the defendant, and released from the obligations of her marriage, and restored to all and singular the rights and privileges of an unmarried woman. And it is further ordered, adjudged and decreed by the Court, that the defendant be and he is hereby perpetually enjoined and restrained from entering, being or remaining in any house, or upon any premises, in which the complainant is now, or may hereafter be in lawful possession.

The defendant is also perpetually enjoined and restrained from molesting or interfering with the complainant or her property in any manner whatsoever.

[signature illegible]

Unfortunately, this decree issued on the 28th of July didn't seem to mean anything to Gottfried. Salome was back in court on Monday, July 1 asking for more help:

This petition was harder to read. It was probably written by someone in the attorney's office and seems to have been dashed off very quickly.

Cover Page:

C. No. 139873 – 3178 Superior Court of Cook County

S Wiedemann vs. G. Wiedemann

Petn for Attachment

Filed Jul 1 1892

[signature] Clerk

Eldredge & Finch

Attorneys and Counselors

Suite 314 Chamber of Commerce,

S. E. Cor Washington and LaSalle Sts.

Chicago

[Petition is all handwritten]

State of Illinois

Cook County In the Superior Court

Salome Wiedemann

vs

Gottfried Wiedemann

To the Honorable Francis Wright, Judge, holding a branch of said Court:

The undersigned Salome Wiedemann respectfully represents unto your Honor that she is a resident of said Cook County and is the complainant in the above entitled Cause. That on the 28^th day of June 1892 there was entered in the above entitled cause by you honor, a final decree granting the complainant divorce from the defendant and enjoining the defendant from entering being or remaining in any house or upon any premises in which the complainant might thereafter be in lawful possession, or in any manner interfering with the complainant. But not withstanding said injunction said defendant did on the 29^th day of June 1892 return to the defendant’s house in a drunken condition, and demand admittance. When refused, he threatened the life of the complainant and finally went to sleep in complainants room, and that he still remains around the complainants house in violation of said injunction.

Wherefore complainant prays that the defendant may be ruled to have cause why he should not be attached for contempt of court.

[signature] Salomé Wiedemann

A contempt of court injunction was filed on July 1, 1892 and it appears Gottfried finally got the message as we don't hear about or from him from that day forward.

SNGF - Who Do I Write Like?

2010-07-18T13:19:00.000-05:00

Saturday Night Fun from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings:
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Find something that you have written that you are really proud of - the best of your work. Do an Edit > Copy of it.
2) Go to the website http://iwl.me/ and Paste your text into the waiting box.
3) Tell us which famous author you write like.

This was great fun! I'm very humbled and pleased by the results, however, it makes me want to pay much more attention to what I'm doing. (I think that's a good thing!!)

I chose three writings and got three different answers:

First, I submitted a portion of Memories, basically my autobiography which is not nearly finished and not posted online anywhere. Apparently, this writing resembled that of Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and more.

Second, I copied the Life and Times of Charles Ruch and Salome Siegler page from this blog. This page was likened to Kurt Vonnegut who "wrote works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction" (from Wikipedia).

Finally, a blog post for Wisdom Wednesday, Grandma Miller's Wisdom, went into the box. This time the analyzer brought back David Foster Wallace. According to Wikipedia, he is best know for his novel Infinite Jest "which Time included in its All-Time 100 Greatest Novels list (covering 1923-2006)."

Hmmm! That's a lot to live up to!!