TransylvanianDutch

Friday, August 15, 2014

Differing Reactions to Historical Figures

My wife and I were watching the Who Do You Think You Are episode with Valerie Bertinelli.

Ms. Bertinelli learned she had King Edward I for an ancestor.

As the historian was telling her all about the great things King Edward, or Longshanks, did for parliamentary democracy, my wife had a very different reaction.

Another nickname for King Edward, besides Longshanks, was Hammer of the Scots. My wife's maiden name is Wallace.

Some historical figures have both positive and negative associations - depending upon who you are. People will react differently to discovering they have a particular US President in their family tree. There are Romanians who count Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, aka Vlad the Impaler, as a national folk hero.

I'm sure my wife hopes Valerie Bertinelli, and her family, are able to focus on the good things King Edward did, but she is happy we haven't found Edwardian ancestry for either of us.

(The image is of a portrait in Westminster Abbey thought to be of Edward I)

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Happy 100th Birthday to my grandmother - Belle "Sissie" (Feinstein) Newmark (1914-2002)

Belle "Sissie" (Feinstein) Newmark - August 14, 1914 - Oct 11, 2002

Today my grandmother would have turned 100. Below are some photographs.

Top L-R: With her brother, Ben; With her brother, Seymour (Babe); With her parents, Herman and Annie, and her brother, Seymour.

Bottom L-R: With me (1995); with her husband, my grandfather, Melvin - two photographs; high school graduation. (And, of course, the baby photo, and newspaper engagement notice.)

Below: As a young girl, and two photographs of her and my grandfather on their honeymoon

Monday, August 4, 2014

Amanuensis Monday: Obituary of Caroline Mathilde G Schrock - July 23, 1915

The Weekly Tribune and Cape County Herald, Friday, July 23, 1915, page 4
Mrs. C.M.G. SCHROCK IS DEAD AT 97 YEARS OF AGE

Well-Known Woman, Born in Germany, Lived in Missouri 55 Years.

Mrs. Caroline Mathilde G. Schrock died at the home of her son, Berthold Schrock, at Scopus, Mo., on July 17, at the age of 97 years.

Mrs. Schrock was the wife of Anton F.J. Schrock who died at their residence near Marble Hill on the 8th day of June, 1900. After the death of her husband she made her home with her oldest son, near Scopus.

She was born Nov. 14, 1817 at Neurode, Silesia, Germany. She was married on Feb. 7, 1843, and emigrated to America in 1852. They came to Missouri in 1860 and located on a homestead near Marble Hill, Bollinger County.

Seven children were born to their marriage, all of whom survive their parents. The children are: Berthold Schrock, of Scopus, age 71 years; Charles Schrock of Cape Girardeau, age 69 years; Cecilia Brodtman, of Cape Girardeau, age 65 years; Mary Kamp, of Burfordville, age 63 years; John Schrock, of Morley, age 61 years; Hedwig Schwartz, Lentna [?Lentner], Shelby County, age 59 years; Albert Schrock, of Marble Hill, 55 years.

She is also survived by 36 grandchildren and 67 great grandchildren.

The Scott County Kicker had a much shorter obituary on July 31, basically summarizing the information in the earlier obituary. [Morley, Missouri - where her son, John, lived - is in Scott County.]

Mrs. Caroline Schrock died at Scopus, Bollinger county last week in her 98th year. She was born in Germany and settled where Marble Hill now is in 1860. Seven children survive her, the oldest being 71 and the youngest 55. There are 36 grand children and 67 great grandchildren.

Notes

1) Some obituaries contain more information in them than others. It's hard to imagine an obituary, though, that was better crafted for the genealogist than the first one above. Birth date, Place of Birth, Death Date, Date and Place of Death for spouse, Marriage Date, Year of Emigration. Names and Ages of all children - from which one can figure out whether or not they were born in Germany, or the US. (Assuming all the numbers are accurate, two children were born in the same year they changed locations - Mary may have been born in Germany or the US, Albert may have been born in Missouri, or wherever they were beforehand.)

2) A simple internet search leads me to the immigration date October 3, 1853, on the ship, Marianne.
So the obituary appears to have been off by a year.

The death certificate for John Schrock, my wife's great-grandfather, says he was born in Baltimore, Maryland. However, the manifest transcription states they were headed for Cincinnati, and Albert Schrock's death certificate states he was born in Cincinnati. So it appears they spent time in both Maryland and Ohio before moving to Missouri.

Mary isn't listed on the manifest, however, her death certificate states she was born in July of 1852 in Germany. If the date of birth is correct, it's possible children under a certain age weren't listed on the manifest. It's also possible the date of birth on her death certificate is wrong, and perhaps she was named after the ship.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Amanuensis Monday: Letter from Ted to Martin - Feb 7, 1943 - Of War and Citizenship

CHICAGO, ILL.
FEB 7, 1943.

DEAR MARTIN:

It’s just 5 o’clock in the morning here and everything is quiet so having nothing to do I thought it would be a good idea to sit down and linotype a few lines. I am on what they call the “dog watch” on the sheet and only get busy when things happen. Ihave been “watching” now for a year and a half and nothing has yet happened on the shift.

Your letter came in vedy handily and I felt relieved as I thought maybe you have forgotten about me. The inclosed post card was a big bust. Now I know what they meant by the second front in Africa. I have shown it to many of my friends and they sure got a kick out of it.

Things are going along smoothly at home. Too smoothly infact for there isn’t many of us at home now. Mother lives mostly by herself as only Jean and Lee are stying with her and Jean Works while Lee goes to high school. Wally is now in the service at Fort Sheridan and Ed is also in being stationed in Fort Beale California. He is with a medical detachment. You may think California is a swell place for him to be but no so from the letters a get from him. He says its been raining there ever since Nov. 30 the day he got there and now its nothing but a mud hole. Betwixt the rain and his sore feet he is having one hell of a time. His last letter said the Major gave him a polite hint to apply for a discharge as he is over 38 years and the outfit could move along much faster without him. I sent him a written request from the employer and am now waiting for him to be discharge.

Allen was stationed in Missouri for awhile and he went to see Myrtle while he was there. He said she was angry with me for not writing her. If she’d know all the letters I am writing every week she’d probably forgive me. I have to do all the family correspondence as Frances is not so well and does not write to any one. Her school keeps her very busy and saps all her strength. I thing she would be much better off if she’d quit and stay home and raise a family. But she won’t hear of it.

Today I met Mother and went with her to the Customs house where she made proof of her citizen ship and received a derivative citizenship certificate. Boy was she happy. I saw Myrtle Howell the other day she has two girls of her own and told me that Emil her brother who is a captain became the father of twins. What a man!

The law business has kept up well for me. Three men from our office are in the Navy and left me to take care of all their business. In January after 15 years of practice I took in the fabulous sum of $1,200. I hope I don’t have to wait another 15 years to duplicate it. Well, it’s getting toward quitting time. The phone (damn it) is ringing somebody must have had a baby or something so I’ll say thirty and close.

TED

Notes:

1) I previously transcribed a letter Ted wrote a few weeks later, on March 8th, 1943. At that time he said he'd keep writing when he found the time, but these are the only two surviving letters that he wrote my grandfather during the war.

2) We don't have the postcard my grandfather sent Ted, but from the obvious puns Ted uses, it's not difficult to get a rough idea.

3) Allen and Ed are additional brothers of my grandfather, and Jean is a sister. Wally is Jean's son, and Lee a daughter. Myrtle is Martin's wife, and Frances is Ted's wife. I'm unsure who Myrtle and Emil Howell are.

4) My great grandfather, Samuel/Salomon Deutsch, filed his Petition for Naturalization in 1921.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Amanuensis Monday: July 4, 1943 - Africa

APO 606
July 6, 1943

Dear Sweetheart:

It had been raining very heavily for almost a week here until today, and finally the sun has come out in all its glory. Maybe it was the rain that caused it, the muggy weather, but my spirits have been just about as low as the clouds, which were touching the ground. And when I’m that way I just don’t care to write. You may have noticed an absence of mail for several days, and lack of enthusiasm, which you’ve noted before. I write in circles and don’t make sense. In reading you can tell that I’m very impatient to get to the bottom of the page and then stop. I don’t feel more like writing right now, but I will carry on.

We had a very good program on for the 4th of July but the rain cancelled most of the things planned. The program was put off until the 5th because of rain, but on the 5th it was no better. However, I went to the movie in the evening and stayed through the rain with hundreds of others. We saw Robert Taylor in some Navy picture the name of which I don’t know. The weather just seemed to fit with the picture because it showed a lot of rough weather and rain on the seas and you could get the effect very noticeably. I had my slicker on this time and thought I was well protected. A puddle or pool of water collected in my lap on the slicker and when I moved once it went through and made me all wet underneath, so that it wasn’t so comfortable after that.

Just prior to the movie I was in a gathering celebrating the birth of a new star, Col. Earl Hoag was just promoted from Executive Officer to Commanding General AMEW. Gen. Fitzgerald, our previous commanding officer, has gone back to the States on a new assignment. Gen. Hoag is well-liked and seems to have things on the ball. The CG AMEW is also CG of USAFICA of which I’m a member, as you know.

Christie, my roommate, had a mishap that was very funny. One evening a few days ago, he saw me leave the room and thought I went into the washroom adjoining. A few minutes later, after undressing, he went into the washroom to take a shower, and he saw me washing my face, bending over the washbowl. He thought he was being funny and gave a hard kick on the rear end, and when “I” straightened out and looked at him, he was very much surprised to find that it wasn’t I but Col. Sampey the Inspector General. Christie hardly knows Col. Sampey and he’s very much embarrassed, to say the least. After all, a major can’t go around kicking inspector generals in the rear end and get away with it without some embarrassment. Col. Sampey took it good naturedly and said he merely owes one to Christie.

Your letter of June 30th was handed to me just this minute. I’m writing this at the office at 1645 GMT.
I think too that you’re fortunate in having such good neighbors as the Franeys. I get a letter from Frank occasionally, but I put off responding as I can’t make any palaver after such a long absence. However, I finally got around to sending him a short letter.

Thanks very much for your efforts in getting a wallet for me. I’ll just hang on to the one I have until you send a new one. You probably can have it sent as official mail if it’s given by the I in C.
I’m glad to hear that ___ is interested in skating. She’ll probably learn to skate expertly by the time I get back. I hope she doesn’t get scuffed up too much. Youngsters learning to skate usually wear out their clothes very quickly, so you’ll no doubt have a job there. Ernie Pyle stayed around here quite a while and I had meals with him frequently. He certainly deserves that writeup that Time gave him. Everyone thinks he’s #1.

I have to mail this right away to get it into our outgoing pouch for the day. Most Love.

Martin

Notes:

1) I continue my habit of editing out the names of living individuals. Though depending upon their age at the time, it is possible some of his fellow servicemen are still alive.
2) During the war, those in the service were often not allowed to include their location in letters home -- they were only allowed to indicate their Army Post Office. The identification of those post offices has since been released. APO 606 was Accra, Gold Coast. [Source: Numerical Listing of APOs January 1942-November 1947 - I originally found this pdf at the 7th Armored Division website]
3) AMEW – Africa Middle East Wing
4) USAFICA – United States Armed Forces in Central Africa
5) I in C – Inspector in Charge (I think)
6) My grandfather doesn't provide a lot of identifying information for the film he saw, and I don’t know how soon films were shown to troops after release date. Bataan, starring Robert Taylor and George Murphy, and including Desi Arnaz, was released in June of 1943. Stand By For Action, starring Robert Taylor and Charles Laughton, was released in December of 1942.
7) I grew up in the house my grandparents lived in at that time. I never knew Frank Franey, as he passed away a year before I was born, but I did know his widow, Adele. Mrs. Franey would often let my siblings and me play in her backyard.
8) I have many of the letters my grandmother and grandfather sent each other, however, the letter my grandmother wrote on June 30, 1943, is not in the collection.
9) Ernie Pyle was a well-known journalist.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

A Toast to the First and the Fourth of July (repost)

A Toast to the First and the Fourth of July
for David Van Every (1757-1820)
©July 2009 - John Newmark

For two years my fourth great fought
for the creation of our nation
then in seventeen seventy seven
he deemed his disloyalty a disservice
and joined the other side.
Finally, he and his family fled to Canada.

His motivations are unrecorded.
Beyond his appearance on muster rolls,
a few brief mentions elsewhere,
we have nothing. No inkling
of the wherefores behind his decision
either in seventy five, or seventy seven.

In July’s opening barrage
of national celebrations
I honor both of his decisions -
whatever the reasons, and his willingness
to fight for what he believed
even when those beliefs changed.

***
July 1 is Canada Day
July 4 is Independence Day

This poem was based on information I'd found on the web, citing The Records of the Van Every Family, by Mary Blackadar Piersol, 1947. After writing this poem, I discovered the muster rolls for David Van Every on Footnote that put the information somewhat in doubt.

The muster rolls suggest he enlisted on July 4, 1775, and deserted on Sept 12 (or Sept / 2) 1775. And re-enlisted on May 23, 1777, and redeserted in June of 1777. So in total it would have been for three months, not two years.

Also, since writing the poem, I obtained a copy of The Records of the Van Every Family, by Mary Blackadar Piersol. She only mentions David joining and deserting in 1777. So she didn't know about the 1775 muster roll. Somebody else must have found documentation that he joined in 1775, and an incorrect interpretation was made that he remained in service between 1775 and 1777.

It's impossible to assign motivation to the enlistments and desertions. David was 18 and 20 years old in 1775 and 1777. He may have just been a very confused young man.

While McGregory Van Every and his children ultimately joined the Loyalist camp, and fled to Canada, there were many Van Everys who fought as Patriots throughout the war. They just aren't my ancestors. As one researcher notes concerning David and his brother, Benjamin:

David and Benjamin Van Every perhaps had decided to join the New York Militia, as it was in this Regiment that the cousins of their father, McGregory Van Every had been serving: Martin as a Lieutenant, Cornelius (1730 - 1815) as an Ensign and later as a Lieutenant, and Rynier as a Captain. However, soon after deserting from the New York Militia, both David and Benjamin transferred themselves to Butler's Rangers, within which they fought for the duration of the American Revolution, David as a Sergeant and Benjamin as a regular soldier.

--- "Warner Cemetery: an important piece of Canada's heritage worth preserving," Robert Collins McBride, The Loyalist Gazette, March 22, 2000.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

June 28, 1914

100 Years ago today, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot by Gavrilo Princip.

Where were my ancestors on June 28, 1914?

Newmarks/Cruvants - St. Louis, Missouri

My grandfather, Melvin Newmark, was born in 1912
His father, Barney Newmark, had immigrated in 1909
His mother, Bertha (Cruvant) Newmark, was likely born in Missouri in 1886. (The Cruvant family was definitely in the US at the time.)
Three out of four of Melvin's grandparents were alive in 1914 - all living in the greater St. Louis area.

Blatts/Feinsteins - St. Louis, Missouri

My grandmother, Belle "Sissie" Newmark was born August 14, 1914, so she wasn't quite born yet.
Her father, Herman Feinstein, had immigrated in 1890
Her mother, Anna (Blatt) Feinstein, had immigrated, I believe, in the late 1890s
Three out of four of Sissie's grandparents were alive in 1914 - all living in the greater St. Louis area.

Van Everys/Denyer - Caldwell County, Texas

My grandmother, Myrtle Van Every, was born in 1900
Her father, Melvin Van Every, and mother, Margaret (Denyer) Van Every, were both alive in 1914 and living in Texas
None of Myrtle's grandparents were alive in 1914

Deutsches/Lichtmans - Chicago, IL

My grandfather, Martin Deutsch, was born in 1907 in Nagyalmas, Hungary (Almasu, Romania)
The Deutsch family had immigrated to Chicago from Hungary between 1912-1913.
They were the last of my ancestors to arrive in the US.
Both of Martin's parents were alive in 1914, and living in Chicago
All four of Martin's grandparents remained in Hungary. Their dates of death are unknown.

On our honeymoon in 2012, my wife and I visited the jail cell where Gavrilo Princip spent the years 1914-1918. It was Cell #1 at Terezin, which was renamed Theresienstadt by the Nazis during WWII. [Not Your Usual Honeymoon Destination]

Several ancestors and kin registered for the draft during WWI, but I am not aware of any who actually served.

Friday, June 27, 2014

How do I find out if they're dead or alive?

A relative my mother has been in contact with for a few years hasn't responded to emails recently. When she tried the phone number she had, it was disconnected.

A year ago, I would have simply gone to one of the several websites that provided access to the Social Security Death Index, and checked if the relative was there. However, Congress closed that method at the end of last year, creating a waiting period of three years before someone's information is accessible on private websites. Their rationale was that the SSDI permitted people to steal the Social Security numbers of dead people for fraudulent purposes. Of course, the SSDI was created to prevent such fraud. If anyone was getting away with using the SS#s of the recently deceased, it was not the fault of the SSDI being easily accessible, it was the fault of those who were supposed to be checking the numbers against the database not doing so.

Now if you have a "legitimate fraud prevention interest, or have a legitimate business purpose pursuant to a law, governmental rule, regulation, or fiduciary duty", while you are entitled to access the database, you have to pay for a certification program, which I am sure will encourage everyone who should be using it to do so, right? Sigh. That battle was lost last year, but it is still upsetting, because there was no good reason for Congress to do what it did.

So, without the SSDI, I checked Legacy. No obituary published within the last year for the relative, and Legacy does include the primary newspapers for the city and county of residence. However, the relative's spouse is deceased, and there are no children. Someone has to write the obituary.

I checked the online news archives at the local newspapers on both the city and county level without finding any information one way or another.

The relative was an amateur radio operator. I was able to find out that their license was renewed in February of last year, and it's a ten year license. QRZ provides online logging. The last time somebody logged that they had spoken with our relative via amateur radio was in December of last year. But that's meaningless since there are logs from the 1990s on the list of 'most recent' logs. Our relative didn't log their calls on this website, so it would be pretty random who logged on their end.

1) Can anybody think of any other resource I can check. (The state of last known residence is California.)

2) Is there anybody reading this who has paid for the certification program, has access to recent deaths in the SSDI, and would be willing, and legally allowed, to check the database for me? I don't know what the restrictions are for those who do go through the certification program, and I don't want anyone entering any gray areas for me. (If the relative is deceased, I wouldn't be interested in any information from the database beyond their date of death.)

Websites/Search Engines I've checked
Legacy
QRZ
Google
Whitepages
California Digital Newspaper Collection

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my father, grandfathers, great grandfathers, great great grandfathers, etc

LtoR: Melvin L. Newmark, Barney Newmark, Herman M. Feinstein, Samuel J. Newmark, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, Morris Blatt, Martin Deutsch, Melvin E. Van Every, Samuel Deutsch, Samuel Van Every.

Unpictured: my father, Selig Feinstein, Abraham Deutsch, Israel Lichtman, Ebenezer Denyer, etc.

For Father's Day my sons created some art for me. (Pretty good handwriting for 15 months! I think they may have had some help.)

Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day 2014

A post on what Memorial Day is for, besides barbecues.

The above image comes from a past version of the Memorial Day page at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, explaining that Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who died in the service of their country. [Read the full text of the poem.]

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action. [source]

[More on the history of Memorial Day]

Unnamed Remains the Bravest Soldier - by Walt Whitman (From 'Specimen Days')

OF scenes like these, I say, who writes—whoe’er can write the story? Of many a score—aye, thousands, north and south, of unwrit heroes, unknown heroisms, incredible, impromptu, first-class desperations—who tells? No history ever—no poem sings, no music sounds, those bravest men of all—those deeds. No formal general’s report, nor book in the library, nor column in the paper, embalms the bravest, north or south, east or west. Unnamed, unknown, remain, and still remain, the bravest soldiers. Our manliest—our boys—our hardy darlings; no picture gives them. Likely, the typic one of them (standing, no doubt, for hundreds, thousands,) crawls aside to some bush-clump, or ferny tuft, on receiving his death-shot—there sheltering a little while, soaking roots, grass and soil, with red blood—the battle advances, retreats, flits from the scene, sweeps by—and there, haply with pain and suffering (yet less, far less, than is supposed,) the last lethargy winds like a serpent round him—the eyes glaze in death—none recks—perhaps the burial-squads, in truce, a week afterwards, search not the secluded spot—and there, at last, the Bravest Soldier crumbles in mother earth, unburied and unknown.

The cartoon above is by John T. McCutcheon - published circa 1900

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Caution is needed with obituaries

Obituaries can be great resources for filling in both recent and past generations of branches of your family tree, but one has to be very careful about the assumptions one makes when reading them.

[All names below have been altered.]

I read the below obituary of a distant cousin

SCHWINN, ROBIN (nee Goldstein) … dear mother of Penny Ann (Edward) Molloy, Ethan J. (Marcia) Johnson and the late Alice First; dear grandmother of Lana (Louis) Spalding, George W., Jack C., Rachel A. Johnson and Melissa Steinway; dear great grandmother of Matthew and Michael Spalding...

From this obituary I entered three children for Robin Goldstein and __ Schwinn

Penny Ann Schwinn – (married Edward Molloy)
Marcia Schwinn – (married Ethan J. Johnson) (daughter Rachel)
Alice Schwinn – (married ___ First)

I was unable to assign the other grandchildren to their parents without further information. I suspect there are a number of genealogists who would fill in the blanks as I did, carefully noting where they got the information, naturally.

Then I found Alice Schwinn’s obit

...Mrs. Schwinn…She is survived by her father, Ethan Johnson; mother, Robin Schwinn; sister, Penny Molloy; brother, John Johnson; grandmother, Opal Johnson; and close friend, Patricia Marie.

I knew something was wrong somewhere. There was no way Alice's father was her sister’s husband. And here was a brother not mentioned in the first obituary.

After a little thought I redrew the tree.

Robin Goldstein (Spouse 1: Ethan John Johnson) (Spouse 2: ___ Schwinn)
Children:

Penny Ann ___ (married Edward Molloy)
Ethan John Johnson, Jr. (married Marcia ___) (daughter Rachel)
Alice Johnson (married ___ First)

This information fits both obituaries, but contains some new assumptions. In order to confirm these, I could make a trip to the library and look up some marriage records in the microfilm. Or I could try to contact the cousins.

It is common for individuals to be better known by their middle name than their first, especially when they share a name with a parent. It is also common for half-siblings and step parents to be referenced without the modifiers. This leads to ambiguity that sometimes doesn't appear ambiguous.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Amanuensis Monday: Reasons for taking up arms

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

I began this project back on February 16, 2009. (Recently the posts have been sporadic, but for a few years it was weekly.) Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe and share their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.

***

I've written in the past that in the role of Family Historian "I’m careful not to infer what someone’s thoughts or beliefs were, unless they were written down. I record the facts as they are known." While the reasons that the southern states seceded in the Civil War are well recorded with each state's Declaration of Secession, the reasons individuals chose to take up arms are not. The reasons individuals join the armed services today differ greatly, and I imagine the reasons differed 150 years ago, as well. So I refuse to sit in judgment of the decisions of my ancestors without knowing their reasons.

Two years ago, I discovered some records at Fold3 concerning my wife's 3rd great grandfather, Lewis C Gober. It appeared that he spent some time in the St. Louis Gratiot Street Prison as a prisoner of war after voluntarily giving himself up. The records indicated he surrendered himself on Aug 28, 1863, was charged with violating his oath of allegiance, was tried by court martial, and was released on Feb 29, 1864. There was no other information, so I had no clue why he violated his oath and joined the Confederate army. I also had no clue why he decided to surrender himself.

In the past 2 years, Fold3's Civil War records have grown. I conducted a search recently, and found some more relevant records. I found the actual signed Oath of Allegiance, dated December 23, 1862, as well as the official declaration of charges against him, and his signed statement explaining his actions.

A transcription of his statement follows:

Statement of Lewis C. Gober

I am 33 years old reside in Cape Girardeau County and by occupation a Blacksmith. I took the oath of allegiance the 23th December 1862 at Jackson Mo. The oath was administered to me by Adjutant Greene.

I joined Co. A Jeffers Reg’t C.S.A. in May ’63 for the war and deserted on the 18th of August following. I knew I was violating the oath of allegiance but was under the influence of whiskey at the time I enlisted.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 15th day [?]‘63
L Dodge
District Adj’t Marshall

This is a reason for taking up arms I hadn't previously considered, and is a good example of why one shouldn't make any assumptions about an ancestor's thought processes without seeing an explanation in their own words.

[Note: This statement is clearly in the handwriting of the District Adj't Marshall, and was likely transcribed from oral testimony. Lewis Gober's signature indicates he did at least know how to sign his name.]

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Surname Saturday: Hartley

Discuss a surname and mention its origins, its geographical location(s) and how it fits into your genealogy research.

Hartley

Hartley is a locational surname derived from the Old English 'Heort' (Hart) and 'Leah' (Wood or clearing). George W. Hartley is my 3rd great grandfather. His descendants testified in front of The Dawes Commission that he and his wife were part Native American. Most of their descendants remained in Texas.

***

The numbering below follows the d'Aboville system. The first digit represents the order surnames make their first appearance on my ahnentafel. (I've emboldened the names of my direct ancestors.)

16. George W. Hartley ( - 1835) married Eliza Beasley

16.1 Samuel Tillman Hartley (1830-1920) married (a) Margaret Rawls (1848-?) (b)
Nancy Virginia Rock (1853-1932)
16.2 Sarah Ann Hartley (1836-1898) married (a) Ebenezer Ophan Denyer (1828-1872) (b) George Willliam Foster
16.3 William Hartley (1844-)

16.1a.1 Caroline (Callie) Texanna Hartley (1866 – 1941) married Jesse Taylor
16.1a.2 Georgia Amelia Hartley (1870 – 1940) married Miles Phillips
16.1a.3 Robert Hilliard Hartley (1872 – ) married Margaret LNU
16.1a.4 Virginia Hartley (1874 – ) married Henry Schultz (1870-)
16.1a.5 Helena Senthliza Hartley (1875 –)
16.1a.6 Sophronia Hartley (1876 –) married James Cagle (1864- )
16.1a.7 Amie Hartley (1881 – )
16.1a.8 Samuel Hamler Hartley (1885 – 1964)
16.1b.1 Edna Hartley (1891-1973) married Manuel Taylor McCorkle (1887-1933)

16.2a Follow their descent at 8.2.3
16.2b.1 Eliza Caroline Foster (1875-1916) married William T Reeves (1871-)
16.2b.2 George William Foster (1877-1957)
16.2b.3 Sarah Ann Foster (1878-1961) married William McCarty (1865-1953)

16.1a.3.1 Bessie Leanner Hartley (1896-)
16.1a.3.2 Youler May Hartley (1898- )
16.1a.3.3. Mantie Hartley (1901 - )
16.1a.4.1 Birdie Schultz (1890- )
16.1a.4.2 Callie Schultz (1891- )
16.1a.4.3 Julia Schultz (1897- )
16.1a.4.4 Richard Schultz (1899- )
16.1a.6.1 Hazel Cagle (1894- )
16.1a.6.2 Dessie Cagle (1898- )
16.1a.6.3 Flossie Cagle (1905- )
16.1a.6.4 Edna Cagle (1907- )
16.1a.6.5 Ruby Cagle (1911- )
16.1a.6.6 Otis Cagle (1915- )
16.1b.1.1 Clarence Taylor McCorkle (1923-1988)
16.1b.1.2 Grady McCorkle (1925-1990)

16.2b.1.1 Nora Alice Reeves (1893-1985)
16.2b.1.2 Ada Bell Reeves (1895-1948) married Riley Green Vann (1890-1949)
16.2b.1.3 James Allen Reeves (1897-)
16.2b.1.4 Lona Mae Reeves (1906-) married Galveston Clark Pittman
16.2b.3.1 Lillie May McCarty
16.2b.3.2 Ollie McCarty (1898-1973) married Oda LNU
16.2b.3.3 William Franklin McCarty (1900-1971) married Ola Dee McWhorter (1902-1980)
16.2b.3.4 Elizabeth Ann McCarty (1904-1996) married Oscar Marian McWhorter (1895-1981)

16.2b.3.2.1 Ruben McCarty (1918-1997)
16.2b.3.3.1 Pearl Louise McCarty (1926-2007)
16.2b.3.3.2 Joy Lynn McCarty (1942-1971)

My number is 16.2a.3.8.1.3

Thursday, May 1, 2014

May Day! May Day!

Holidays on May 1st

May Day which has its traditional origins in the Celtic holiday of Beltane and the Germanic holiday of Walpurgis Night.

International Workers' Day [aka Labo(u)r Day] which has its origins in Chicago's Haymarket Affair. [Chicago Historical Society's Haymarket Affair Digital Collection]. Ironically, while the International Workers movement chose May 1 to honor the Haymarket Affair, Labor Day is observed in September in both the U.S. and Canada.

Loyalty Day - a holiday created in America in the 1950s to 'counter-balance' International Worker's Day.

MayDay - "An initiative to protect cultural heritage from disasters."

Note: the distress call "Mayday!" actually derives from the French words venez m'aider - meaning "come help me."

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Two Poems for April 19th (Repost)

The Midnight Ride of William Dawes - by Helen F Moore (1896)

I am a wandering, bitter shade,
Never of me was a hero made;
Poets have never sung my praise,
Nobody crowned my brow with bays;
And if you ask me the fatal cause,
I answer only, “My name was Dawes.”

‘Tis all very well for the children to hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere;
But why should my name be quite forgot,
Who rode as boldly and well, God wot?
Why should I ask? The reason is clear –
My name was Dawes and his Revere.

When the lights from the old North Church flashed out,
Paul Revere was waiting about,
But I was already on my way.
The shadows of night fell cold and gray
As I rode, with never a break or a pause;
But what was the use, when my name was Dawes!

History rings with his silvery name;
Closed to me are the portals of fame.
Had he been Dawes and I Revere,
No one had heard of him, I fear.
No one has heard of me because
He was Revere and I was Dawes.

***

Excerpt from Campo dei Fiori, by Czeslaw Milosz (1943)

I thought of the Campo dei Fiori
In Warsaw by the sky-carousel
One clear spring evening
To the strains of a carnival tune.
The bright melody drowned
The salvos from the ghetto wall,
And couples were flying
High in the cloudless sky.

(full poem)

April 19th is filled with historical events.

Many Americans think of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. (Some erroneously place it on April 18th, but it was a midnight ride. The battles took place the next day.)

But this is also the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. Last year's April edition of Tablet Magazine was devoted to Warsaw, including a haunting look at repurposed gravestones.

Note: According to this source William Dawes, who rode with Revere, was related to Henry L Dawes, for whom The Dawes Act was named.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Surname Saturday: Genealogy Filk

Bill West of West In New England recently announced the Second Geneabloggers' Just Make Up the Lyrics Challenge

1. Set the names of your ancestors to the music of any song. It can be
any number of names, any song. Just remember to mention what song
you are using so we can all sing along as we read!

More info

While I posted a comment on the first round of this back in 2009, apparently I was unable to come up with a contribution, which surprises me. I love writing filks, and what could possibly have caught my attention more than a genealogical filk challenge?!

I hear a few head scratches. What's filk?

One definition: A popular or folk song with lyrics revised or completely new lyrics and/or music, intended for humorous effect when read, and/or to be sung late at night at Science Fiction conventions.

While the term was invented for the science fiction community (some say it was originally a typo for 'folk' music) there's no reason its use can't be broadened to include any similar parodies.

I may have passed on the 2009 challenge, but I'm not passing this time around. (the lyrics of the final verse below are very close to the original, but the original lyrics worked quite well.)

NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer
Lyrics by John Newmark, 2014
Sung to the tune of: Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious, by The Sherman Brothers, 1964

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer
Even though our surnames, yes
We often can’t remember
If we say them long enough
We’ll know them by December
NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Because I was confused as heck
When I was just a lad
My father taught a little trick
It wasn’t quite so bad
“Our surnames might be bothersome
But I bet you didn’t know
String all our names together
And this is how it goes:

NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer”
Even though my surnames, yes
I couldn’t quite remember
When I said them long enough
I knew them by December
NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
So when your names you can’t recall
There’s no need for dismay
Just string your names together
In any sort of way
But better do it carefully
Or it could change your life
One night I taught this to me girl
And now me girl's my wife!
She’s WallaceGoberTaylorBlackmanFulkersonAndSchrock
WallaceGoberTaylorBlackmanFulkersonAndSchrock
I’m NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer
NewmarkCruvantFeinsteinLichtmanAdlerDeutschAndDenyer

Friday, April 4, 2014

Raising Relatives and non-Relatives

As I mentioned a month ago, my wife and I are in the process of adopting twin boys, so I've wondered a little bit about other adopted children in my genealogy database, and how easy it is when looking at census records to confuse parent-child relationships.

One instance is the Denyer family in 1870.

Samuel and Zerelda (Singleton) Denyer - Children: Amanda, Robert, Albert and Ida
Ebenezer and Sarah (Hartley) Denyer - Children: William and Margaret

Samuel Denyer died in 1861, and Zerelda died in 1867, so by the time of the 1870 census, their children were orphans. It is common for a relative to assume guardianship of orphaned children, and that is what happened.

According to the 1870 census, Amanda, Robert, Albert, and Ida Denyer were living with their uncle's family - my second great grandparents Ebenezer and Sarah (Hartley) Denyer, and their two children William and Margaret.

Another instance is the Feinstein family in 1930

Harry and Dora (Servinsky) Feinstein - Children: Sidney, Adeline, Alvin, Willard, Seymour
Herman and Annie (Blatt) Feinstein - Children: Bernard, Belle, Seymour

Dora Feinstein died in 1920. Harry remarried in 1928. According to the 1930 census, he was employed as an insurance agent. However, his children were no longer living with him and his second wife. (By 1930, all but their youngest was over the age of 18, but Seymour was only 15 years old.)

In 1930 Adeline and Alvin are living with my great grandparents Herman and Annie Feinstein, and their children. Sidney Feinstein is a lodger in a hotel, and Seymour was a resident of the Jewish Orphan Home. I have been unable to find Willard in the census.

If Harry was alive and employed, why was Seymour placed in an orphan home? I'm unable to answer this question. It's possible he was placed in the home prior to his father's remarriage.

A third instance is my wife's 2nd great grandfather, Louis Pleas Gober

In the 1880 census, Louis is living with the (unrelated, to my knowledge) Kinder family in Cape Girardeau, MO. I know his father died in 1876, but I am unsure what happened to his mother.

I recently came across these statistics:

In 2010, in the State of Missouri, "there were 10,174 children in the custody of the Children’s Division."
Only "3,427 of youth placed in the foster care system live in the homes of relative and kinship providers."
I suspect the numbers in other states are similar.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2014

Every year on St. Patrick's Day I've blogged about the Irish ancestry of my great grandfather, Barney Newmark. I was named after him through my Hebrew name, בָּרוּךְ (Barukh).

He wrote a bio of himself for a "Who's Who" of local businessmen claiming to be a native of Dublin, even though he was almost certainly born on the outskirts of Warsaw, in Warka, Poland. He celebrated his birthday on March 17th, though some documents state he was born on March 25th, and others state April 14th. I shared my Irishness with a friend back in 2007, and he looked Barney up in the 1930 US Census, and sent me a link. I've long been interested in my ancestry, but I had done no research, and had no idea what was available online. And here I am seven years later.

While my Irish ancestry may be somewhat mythological, my wife's isn't. According to some sources, her 3rd great grandfather, Thomas Muldoon, was born in Ireland in 1817, in County Fermanagh.

Past St. Patrick's Day posts

March 16, 2013: Happy St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2012: Happy 126th Birthday to my Great Grandfather
March 17, 2011: Happy St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2010: Barney's Birthday and Birthplace
March 17, 2009: On St. Patrick's Day Everyone is Irish
March 17, 2008: My 'Irish' Great Grandfather
March 15, 2007: Corned Beef and Cabbage on Rye

Friday, February 28, 2014

Social Media Policy for Parents

My wife and I are in the process of adopting twin boys.

Many questions have popped into my mind over the past few weeks, and one of them is what our social media policy should be.

I am a very public person. You can find out a lot of information about me on the internet. Some, perhaps, I might wish you couldn't. (Some I might attempt to see if I can remove before my sons-to-be are of internet surfing age.) However, almost everything I have put online about myself, I have made a conscious decision to do so. I have a policy on this blog of not sharing photographs of living relatives without being absolutely sure they will approve. The boys are only 1 year old, so they don't have the ability to consent, yet.

This blog is public, and indexed by search engines, which is one reason I refrain from sharing photographs of and stories about living relatives. My Facebook account is visible only to 'friends.' However, those Facebook friends include dozens of people I have never met - mostly fellow genealogists. A lot of them I feel like I know through their blogs, but I don't really know them. And there are a handful of other 'friends' I only know through the internet. Facebook does make it relatively easy to share posts with only a select group of friends, and I could divide my friend list between those people I have met, and those I haven't.

Then there is the question of whether I need to go through the process of removing geotags from photographs that I do choose to upload. This is an easier one for me to answer. The main concerns with geotags is that they can pinpoint the location the photograph was taken. So if you post a photograph when you are on vacation, someone might know you are on vacation. If you post a photograph of your kid at home, someone can figure out where you live. I don't post vacation photos until I am home. It's a common safety precaution whether one has kids or not. And whether or not I post photographs taken at home, it is very easy to find my home address on the internet. (A little more difficult since my wife and I dropped our landline, but still fairly easy.) Posting photographs with geotags will not lead to a decrease in privacy. At least not in my situation.

Lots of my friends post photographs of their children on Facebook, and while the boys haven't yet been placed into our home, that date is only days away, and I already am feeling the 'proud father' cravings to share my naches ('joy') with the world.

Input is welcomed.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Sepia Saturday 210: Do You See What I See?

I haven't participated in SepiaSaturday since May, but I thought I would return to the meme. They provide a weekly prompt for bloggers to search through their files of old photographs.

Many of us will have experienced the joy of discovering a precious old photograph tucked away within the pages of a dusty old volume. Now is your opportunity to share such discoveries, or, if you prefer, share your photographic discoveries whether they were found in a bound volume of Shakespeare or in an old shoebox.

My mind returns to the photograph on the left. I didn't discover it in a 'dusty old volume.' I discovered it in a digitized newspaper article. The article doesn't identify the individuals beyond the neighborhood - Little Jerusalem, St. Louis, Missouri, 1900. I had two great-great grandfathers who owned a second hand store at that time. I wondered if it could be the Cruvant family. The few photographs I do have of the family aren't conclusive either way. But the facial similarities are intriguing. At the time, the presence of a baby made the identification less likely.

Since I last posted about this photograph, I have figured out who the baby could be, if it is the Cruvant family. Fannie Cruvand, the daughter of Ben and Pearl (Grossberg) Cruvand, was born July 1, 1900. Ben was the nephew of my second great grandfather. According to the census, they lived at 1125 North 12th street, whereas my second great grandfather lived at 1111 Morgan street. Looking at old maps they weren't far from each other. In that case, the mother in the photo could be Fannie's mother, Pearl, or my second great grandmother. Of course, they could still also be a completely different family. My mind could certainly be only seeing similarities it wants to see, and ignoring crucial differences.

To be more certain either way, I would need a known photograph of my second great grandfather closer to 1900. A childhood photograph of Sol could also be helpful.

Pages

Friday, August 15, 2014

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Monday, August 4, 2014

Monday, July 28, 2014

Monday, July 7, 2014

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Friday, June 27, 2014

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Monday, May 26, 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Monday, May 5, 2014

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Friday, April 4, 2014

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

Saturday, January 11, 2014

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