Sentimental Sunday: A Beggar Wishes

My Dad & Aunt Carole ca.1942

"O.K., who's up for an "All the Houses I Grew Up In" tour?

While visiting family in San Antonio when I was younger, I think my dad asked that question just to hear our groans.  We really didn't have a choice in the matter.  We were going and we were gonna start with the house he was born in.  Just like every other single time.  And the tour wasn't just of the houses my dad grew up in either.  [Of course not.]  It included his high school; his junior high; his hang-outs; where he used to drag race [In the dark. With no headlights.]; where he and mom used to go on dates; where he ran the Air Force guy off the road to tell him that *he* [my dad] was her boyfriend & that she wasn't available for dates anymore [I'm sure he was very polite about that. *snort*]; etc.


A quick glance at the calendar reminds me that March 12th is the 7th anniversary of his death, and it's approaching quickly.  Perhaps that's why he's crept into my thoughts.

Did you know he was the reason I got into genealogy in the first place?  He was.

I remember my senior year in high school and working on my genealogy school project.  And I remember him asking me to "do" our genealogy.  That he only knew a few things about his dad, Big Paw Paw.  And that he wanted to know more.

At the time, I found it strange that he wanted to know more about a man who had been mean to him.  A man who had never shown him love or kindness.

I didn't realize how important it was to him, and at the time, I didn't pursue our family's history other than what my Gran and my Paw Paw shared with me.  Our stories.  I was too busy living in the "now" to look up some guy from the past no one liked.

Then "life" happened, as it tends to do.  Dad's health problems rotated between battling heart attacks and kidney cancer [renal cell carcinoma], and the battles would continue for the rest of his life.  In between all that, my younger brother was diagnosed with a rare mitochondrial genetic disorder, and then passed away a year and a half later.  I married, and began having my children.  Additionally throughout the years, my mom's mom, my Gran, died; my mom's brother-in-law, my Uncle Lloyd, died [He's a character with some stories.]; my dad's mom, my Paw Paw, died; my mother-in-law died from breast cancer; and then my dad died.

Like I said, "life happened."

And then one day, "life" got me to thinking about my dad's original request.  I remembered those few details that my dad had told me about Big Paw Paw.  And, well, I started looking.  I chronicled that rough & rocky rookie family history journey here.  [It's not pretty, and, um, it's in 6 parts.  So grab some coffee and donuts and get comfy before reading.]

I wish I'd started researching our family's history when he was alive.  I wish he was here doing it with me.  My dad loved researching on the internet, loved history, and loved technology.  He would've loved genealogy.

But like mom always used to say when I was younger, "If wishes were horses, Caroline, beggars could ride."

*Sigh.* She's right, as usual.

So, I plug along.

Researching.

Writing.

Chronicling my ancestors' lives.

But I must be a "beggar" at heart.  'Cause I still keep wishing for my dad to come riding in on a horse to give me one of his dang "All the Houses I Grew Up In" tours.

Review of All the Players

For the benefit of those who are new to Big Paw Paw, I thought I'd give you a run-down of those related to Big Paw Paw [blood-related & those unfortunate enough to marry who married him].  Because I can get even more blog posts outta Big Paw Paw what I found at the courthouse will make a whole lot more sense.

Players [or if you're Big Paw Paw, Playa']
 
John Marschall - was Big Paw Paw's dad and a Prussian immigrant who was born 6 Jun 1856 in Gorszewice, Kreis Samter, Posen, Prussia. [Saying that 5 times real fast won't be harder than it was for me to find the name of that dang village.]  John passed 20 Sep 1927 in Hitchcock, Galveston County, Texas.

Emma (Schleicher) Marschall - was Big Paw Paw's mom who was born to Prussian immigrants on 14 Feb 1856 in either Guadalupe County or Comal County, Texas.[You'd think it'd be easy to find the Schleicher family in Texas back then. And you'd think it'd be easy for me to get to those counties for research. No. On both counts.] Emma passed 30 Jun 1928 on Galveston Island, Galveston Co., Texas.

John Jr. - Big Paw-Paw's big brother & eldest child of John & Emma's. (1880-1943) Had several occupations including being a dairyman before settling on being a realtor in Galveston.  Married Josephine Ballou and was an "Islander" (Born, lived & died on Galveston Island) [I wonder if he was called Big John? *snort*]

Robert - Another older brother of Big Paw Paw's born in 1883 but died as a young child, so Big Paw Paw never knew him.

Jane - Big Paw Paw's oldest sister (1884-1954); married Otto Rosin; After the Storm of 1900, Otto and Jane moved to higher ground in San Antonio, Texas.  Otto was the son of Wilhelm and Caroline (love her name) Rosin, who brought their family to Galveston Island from Prussia.  Otto had a younger sister named Emma who was born after the family came to Galveston.  Otto and Jane go into the same business as Big Paw Paw in San Antonio after a stint with a dairy farm.  So, family & business competitors.  [That always turns out well.]

Antoneta "Nettie" - Another older sister of Big Paw Paw's (1886-1953); married Nikolas Pericles Legatos/Legate (but they just called him Pete), son of Greek immigrants; It's probable that Pete taught Big Paw Paw to fish, but whether that's true or not, they did fish together for a living back when Big Paw Paw was 17 yrs old in 1910.  Also, Nettie died in Rusk State Hospital [mental institution] under mysterious circumstances. [More detective work needed.]

Laura Ellen "Ella" - (1890-1962) )Another older sister of Big Paw Paw's married first Miles Breen. Then when he passed, she married Thomas Cobb.  My aunt remembers visiting her once.


Rolland or Roman (but probably Rolland - long story) - (1891-1912) Another older brother of Big Paw Paw's, Rolland died as a young adult from a massive heart attack.


Mary - (1895-1922) Big Paw Paw's younger sister, Mary married Harry, who owned a dairy. [True. Can't make this stuff up.]  She and her husband passed early in their marriage in San Antonio- Harry from diabetes and Mary a couple of months later from Strep. [Thank God for modern medicine, eh?]


Child - Name Unknown - John & Emma had another child but it must have died before they could christen him/her.


So, Big Paw Paw was the baby brother to all except Mary.


Emma Rosin - In 1917 in San Antonio Big Paw Paw married Emma Rosin, his older sister's (Jane's) husband's (Otto's) baby sister.  I know this because I have their marriage record.  She also appears in various land records that Big Paw Paw and she were involved in due to what he called Burnett Wrecking Company that included wrecking homes but also buying them first and the land and re-building and he sold and rented homes and he had lumber yards.  So it really wasn't just a wrecking company, but more like real estate development.  Big Paw Paw's business transactions involving land and homes are well-documented in Bexar County's historical land records. [Hallelujah.]


These land records, though, left a lot of clues about his personal life.  Suddenly in the transactions, Emma just isn't there.  Did she die? Did they divorce? Big Paw Paw was born and raised a Catholic, and perhaps Emma was too?  I dunno.  But Big Paw Paw couldn't have divorced her, right? I mean, he'd be in trouble with the church and his family, especially his mother.  But I do know there was something that happened in the family that caused a "break" between Big Paw Paw and his family. Could this be it?


Further along in his land  transactions, Big Paw Paw files an affidavit concerning some land that basically says that a particular piece of property located in San Antonio was his before he married Oveta Marshall and that she had no interest in it whatsoever.  AND that Oveta had not lived with him for 6 months and that she abandoned him.  It's dated 5 Dec 1927, but it wasn't filed until 7 Mar 1928.  Funny, that.


Hold the presses!  Who the heck is Oveta?  Is this Emma? Was this a second wife? If so, what happened to Emma?  No matter, I'm guessing someone was gearing up for a divorce, and Big Paw Paw was bound & determined to not lose that land.


Then on the same day, 7 Mar 1928, Big Paw Paw sold this same piece of land to a John Marshall, Jr. of Galveston, Texas for $5000. [Bound & determined.]  I've always been 99% sure that this was his older brother.  Also note that in the land record, John's last name was spelled Marshall and not Marschall.  However, further research suggests that Big Paw Paw is the only one in the family that changed his last name to Marshall.

Next, 18 Jul 1928 John and Josephine Marschall of San Antonio, Texas (but they were really of Galveston, but I guess because their land was in San Antonio?) conveyed this same property & 26 shares of stock that they owned of the Farm & Home Savings & Loan of Missouri to the same for $5 to secure $2600 owed to the Association.  Apparently, if I read all the legalese properly, Big Paw Paw still owed $1600 on his original loan on this property that he originally purchased 15 Aug 1925.  Also it involved a renewal of a $350 loan by John & Josephine to pay an indebtedness of Oveta Marshall's as per a divorce decree filed 13 Aug 1927, Cause No. B-47593 "Oveta Marshall v. Joseph Marshall".

It also goes on to state that John & Josephine's homestead was in Galveston, Tx and not at this property. [Of course, it took them 2 paragraphs, lots of commas, & half a page to say that John and Josephine didn't live in that house, but one in Galveston.]


So, the plot thickens.  At this time, I still didn't know if Emma & Oveta were one and the same, right?


Before I get back to these land transactions [Who knew they could be so interesting?], it's important that you know that I have old photos of my grandma, Paw Paw [I know. We're a creative bunch, aren't we?], and Big Paw Paw together as a couple with the earliest dating 1930, and their hair, dress, & other details in the photos substantiate the date.  Now, back to land.


In 1932, John Marschall, Jr. (and Josephine) sell this same piece of land to Otto Rosin, his and Big Paw Paw's brother-in-law.  [Also, um, a competitor of Big Paw Paw's.]  Now, though, they include the actual names of the streets: corner of Burnett and N. Palmetto Streets.  However, no amount was recorded, just "for a good valuable and sufficient consideration."  [*snort* I bet Big Paw Paw was none too happy about that.  The phrase, "fit to be tied" comes to mind.]

In 1937, Otto Rosin then sells it to his wife Jane (Big Paw Paw's sister) for $3000. [Again. Fit to be tied.]

Then 2 things I found in the San Antonio newspapers that applied to either the land or, um, his relationships with women [Had to clarify because Big Paw Paw was always in the papers selling stuff or suing people or getting sued.] were:


In 1937, Big Paw Paw files a lawsuit against Jane Rosin, et al. for theft of damages of property. [Any guesses as to what property? Anyone? Anyone?]


In May of 1936, Joseph Marshall files for divorce from Ola Mae Marshall. [I discovered this right before I went to the courthouse.]


29 Dec 1936, My dad is born to Rettie Mae Martin, my Paw Paw. [Huh. I wonder why Big Paw Paw needed to get a divorce?]


And Holy Toledo, Batman.  Who the heck is Ola Mae?


So there ya' go.  That's the background and the info which led me to the Bexar County Courthouse's basement and to the purchase of a really cool necklace.

Stay tuned for the next post. It'll help to tie some of this stuff together.

Family Stories at the Courthouse

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, I went to San Antonio, Texas the week after Christmas to visit my sister and family.  But I also had high hopes of discovering more about my secretive grandfather, Big Paw Paw.  And all his women.

And I was not disappointed.

Before going to the courthouse for uncovering all of Big Paw Paw's secrets research, I visited with my aunt (Big Paw Paw's daughter; my dad's sister), and she reminded me of something about him that I hadn't really forgotten but really needed to hear again.  He hadn't been a nice person to his family.  He had been mean.

I know I've mentioned all that to y'all before.  It's just easy to forget because I never knew him, and I have distance.  So when I make fun of him and make you (& myself) laugh at him, I'm really making fun of him and laughing at him.  It's no mistake that I use a lot of sarcasm.  I mean, shouldn't some good come from Big Paw Paw? It's high time he caused people to smile, don't you think?

So the day after visiting with my aunt, my sister took my kids to North Star Mall in San Antonio, a place I love. Sisters can be so mean, right?  But I love genealogy more.  So she offered to buy the boots like hers for me that I had tried on in her closet & instantly wanted.  Badly.  And I set off to go digging around in Big Paw Paw's past at the courthouse.  (So, sisters aren't so mean, eh?)

Image via WikipediaParking is easy and great for a city of San Antonio's size.  Plus, it helps that I know downtown like the back of my hand.  So after going through security, I headed down to the basement.  Yes, I said, "basement".  In Texas.  You see, the river runs through downtown, and there's a river level with shopping and restaurants.  Then, there's a street level with, well, the downtown area.  Like many of the buildings downtown, there's a river level, or "basement", and then the above ground levels or stories.  And the place I was looking for, the District Clerk's office, was down below.  And easy to find.  A lady took me behind a door with a security code to the much coveted area of original city recording books, microfilm, and way cool automated microfilm readers.  And beautiful jewelry?  Yes, a friend of the ladies in the basement was selling some handmade jewelry, which we all were oohing and aahing over.  With the thought that this was meant to be otherwise why was it here? thinking, I purchased a really cute necklace.

Image via WikipediaWith the shopping out of the way, the lady who was assisting me asked me the years and surname that I was interested in looking at so she could pull the correct record book.  She pulled it and directed me to an unoccupied desk.  She was really pleased that I already had the file number of my grandfather's divorce suit.  I also told her that I'd like to peruse the "Marshall" surname and all the entries for more of Big Paw Paw's lawsuit activity, and she said it'd be no problem.  She went to shop for jewelry, and I began to shop for Big Paw Paw's secrets.  I wasn't disappointed.  Big Paw Paw had been popular, or maybe infamous, at the courthouse.  I quickly wrote down the necessary info for them (There were several very nice and generous ladies in the office.) to pull the microfilm.  

The microfilm that would tell me some of Big Paw Paw's secrets.  

Secrets about his family and women.


[Stay tuned for Big Paw Paw's secrets. I didn't really have to tell you that, did I? ;) ]

Wordless Wednesday: Found in the Paper!

My, That's a Big Rose!

I found this picture of my grandfather in the San Antonio Express newspaper from 12 Nov 1922.  Ah, the newspapers.  You never know what you're gonna find...

Source:
Photographer/Journalist Unknown, "Rose Has 63-Inch Stem," San Antonio Express, 12 Nov 1922, p. 6, col. 2; digital images, Ancestry.com ( http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Feb 2010), Historical Newspaper Collection.

Wordless Wednesday: Boys & Their Toys

Boys & Their Toys
Some pics of my dad and his cars and some of his dad's cars too [my Big Paw Paw]. My dad was a little wild back then & liked to drag race.  [rolling eyes heavenward] Boys will be boys...

Tombstone Tuesday: My Grandfather

My grandfather, James Wesley Blacketer, is buried in Fort Sam Houston Cemetery located in San Antonio, Texas.

Wordless Wednesday: A Divine House

A "Divine" House



OK, So I'm Not So Wordless, But I Have A Divine Reason
I am way too excited about this house to keep my mouth shut!  Why?  Well, this house may not look so divine, BUT it's the house that my 2nd Great-grandparents, Daniel and Annie (O'Brien) Vaughn lived in when they lived in San Antonio, Texas in their later years. [Remember Annie and her Tin Cup?]  It's a duplex type of home ~ 2 houses connected, and a few of my family members lived in both homes in the early 20th century.  In addition to my 2nd Great-grandparents ~ Daniel and Annie ~ my 1st Great-grandparents, Claudius Roy and Mary Alice "Boo" (Vaughn) Truitt and my grandparents, James Wesley and Mary Alice "Gran" (Truitt) Blacketer lived in this house.  Another family that lived there was my "Boo's" sister and her family.  I love their names: Claiborne Leander and Genevieve (Vaughn) Bouquet. [Oooh, and Claiborne has a cool story, too...] So, now can you see why I think this house is divine?  I can't express how excited I was that I was able to find it this past weekend ~ that it was still standing after all these years.  I had never seen this house, but growing up, I had heard my Gran, my mother, and my aunt talk about it.  "Remember the house on Devine?" they'd ask each other.  I remember always thinking, "What's so great about the house on Devine Street?"  Now, I know ~ the family memories, the family stories.  That's what makes the house on Devine Street so, well, divine, and now I've seen it.  And lucky for the descendants of Daniel and Annie, I took photos of it.  [Your welcome.  It was my pleasure.]  They  won't have to wonder about the house on Devine Street.  They can simply bask in its...divinity.

Wordless Wednesday: Boo! ca. 1946

Boo! ca. 1946

Wordless Wednesday: Look What I Found!

Look What I Found at the Antique Store:
Postcard of Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas
[My dad graduated from Brackenridge High School in 1955 and lived near this park at the time.  I can't tell you how many times we've had family picnics there ~ they're too numerous to count.  The Japanese Sunken Gardens located there are divine, too!  This postcard is postmarked 14 Feb 1909.]

Wordless Wednesday: San Antonio, Tx 1952

My Dad [on right] & Friend Walking Downtown San Antonio, Texas, 1952

"She wrote, 'My Mother'"

A Wonderful Discovery
The week after Hurricane Ike the kids and I stayed with my sister in San Antonio for several days.  On the last day right before we left, she mentioned that she had a couple of "tubs" of stuff that was mom and dad's and asked me if I wanted to go through it. [Well, duh...]  To my utter surprise I found many family photographs, memorabilia, and old school projects [of my dad's].  I was so ecstatic.  She also said I needed to get over to mom's house because there were more "tubs" to go through.  [I have yet to go back, but it's on top of my summer "to-do" list.]

Lillie Mae Alley
This is one of the precious photographs that I found of my great-grandmother on my dad's side, Lillie Mae Alley.  She was the daughter of Catharine Caroline Vaughn who I introduced you to yesterday.  This is the photograph of her that my grandma [my Paw-Paw] had of her mother.  She looks so young, and after doing some research, I found that she'd married very young and died young, so this photograph truly captures her innocence and her life.  She passed away when my Paw-Paw was only 6 years old.  Lillie Mae gave birth to four children: Little Pearl, Roscoe Benton, Rettie Maye [my Paw-Paw], and Mabel Irene.  Little Pearl passed away when just an infant, and until I found her, no one knew she'd existed.  I wonder if my Paw-Paw had known...


My Paw-Paw wrote, "My Mother"
While it's never easy to lose a loved one, certainly this was a difficult age for my Paw-Paw to lose her mother, and I wonder what she thought about this photograph that she had of her mother.  On the back, my Paw-Paw wrote simply, "Lillie Mae Alley (my mother).  Following are the lyrics of a song called "Photograph" that accurately captures the feeling I get when looking at family photographs...[written and performed by Charlie Robison, a Texas music performer; see my music picks in my sidebar.]:


Photograph
[written & performed by
Charlie Robison]
Well I got a picture
It's glued in a book
Of most of my family,
 that somebody took

Well Grandpa died early
Before I could know
The man that they tell me
That I take after so

Well I don't remember
But it still makes me laugh
When I see us together
In a photograph

Well mama and daddy
Burned hot like a flame
But it all turned ashes
With no one to blame

and I can still see them
But not in my mind
It's been so long
All my memories lie

Well I can't remember
But it still makes me laugh
When I see us together
In a photograph

Well it happened last winter
We had a son
And they took a picture
Of family, round one

It's there to remind you
For when you can't recall
What your daddy looked like
When you were so small

Though you won't remember
It'll still make you laugh
When you see us together
In a photograph

No you won't remember
It'll still make you laugh
When you see us together
In a photograph

Happy Mother's Day, Lillie Mae...

Caroline

Secrets, Pt. 6: The Rest of the Story...

Joseph Marschall and Emma Rosin

Last, but not least is Joseph Marschall.  So, what happened to him?  Who was he?  I believe that Joseph Marschall married Emma Rosin in 1917 when they both were 24 years old.  He was a medic in the U.S. Army [1918-1919] during World War I and was awarded the Victory Medal.  In 1920, he was living with Emma in San Antonio and was a tree surgeon according to the 1920 Federal Population Census Schedule.  According to early land transactions that I found of my grandfather's, he and Emma [she was included in the transactions and was listed as his wife] bought, improved, and sold land - all in the same area of town that Otto and Jane Rosin [Joseph's sister] lived and also completed land transactions.  [Additionally, Joseph and Emma lived in the same part of town as Otto and Jane.]  However, the transactions ended abruptly with Emma, and I've not been able to trace her after that.

Did Joseph Have Another Wife?
After the transactions that included Emma, Joseph had many more by himself until 1927.  This is where I found a public affidavit that he had filed.  In it he claims that the land [that John and Josephine end up buying from him later] was his before his marriage to an Oveta Marshall, and that Oveta had abandoned him 6 months prior.  I verified when he first purchased this land, and he did purchase it after the land transactions that had included Emma, which indicates possibly that he had another wife.  Two scenarios exist.  Either Emma and Oveta are one in the same, or he married Emma and something happened to her [passed away or they divorced] and then he married an Oveta...I lean a little towards the possiblity that Emma and Oveta are not the same person.  First, the wording and the time line suggested in the public affidavit indicates that he had another wife [if he was telling the truth].  Plus, Emma stops appearing in the land transactions.  Interestingly, Oveta never appears in any transactions - possibly meaning that they weren't married for very long?  Basically, I don't know what happened exactly, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that he was married twice before marrying my grandmother.  Unfortunately, both Emma and Oveta have proven to be elusive for me and I've not been able to find a marriage record for Joseph and Oveta..Do remember, though that John and Josephine of Galveston, Texas bought the land in dispute from Joseph and immediately mortgaged it plus 26 shares in some stock in order to pay Oveta Marshall $350 per a divorce decree, and they did it for a Joseph Marshall.  They then sell the same land in 1932 to Otto Rosin of San Antonio.  It's possible that Emma and Oveta are the same person, but the name Oveta is not listed as a possible nickname for Emma nor does the name Oveta have germanic origins.  However, anything's possible and without evidence I don't have enough proof at this point.  If they are the same person though, it might explain Joseph's separation from the family, and the land sale to Otto Rosin later, but that could be because Otto lived in San Antonio and John & Josephine didn't, and it would make sense to sell it to him.   After these transactions, my grandfather had many more land transactions - all in San Antonio - that he executed by himself until 1942 when my grandmother - "Paw-Paw" - appears in the land transactions until my grandfather's, "Big Paw-Paw's" death.  My father appears in several transactions as well.


So are Joseph Marshall and Joseph Marschall the Same Person?

I'm pretty convinced they are the same person.  What are the chances that a John and Josephine Marschall of Galveston, Tx. would complete transactions with a Joseph Marshall and Otto Rosin who were not the same ones that they were related to?  Considering that I checked for other Joseph Marshall's [either spelling] that fit the criteria in one way or another and was unable to find one other than this one, I don't think the chances are very high.  [Other Otto Rosin's were checked for as well.]  Also, all the land transactions led back to my grandfather.  The name spelling change from Marschall to Marshall may have been simply my grandfather "American-izing" his name [which was common], or it could represent the separation with the family.  As far as the landscaper angle, I don't know if it was him, but he was a tree surgeon at one time, and remember the landscaping ad was for the 1st high rise in San Antonio in the Laurel Heights area...a possible connection to real estate development [a small one, I know].  It's not any stranger than his brother's occupations [mentioned in my last post], and San Antonio was experiencing economic growth at the time.

Other Avenues to Search
There are many things that I need to find.  To name a few:

• A marriage record between Joseph and Oveta;
• Joseph's and Oveta's divorce records;
• My grandfather's will;
• His appearance in the 1930 Census; and
• Emma...

So, What Gets a Catholic Excommunicated?
Well, the Canon Law of 1917 is written in Latin and is here.  However, I don't know Latin, so I surfed around on forums and websites looking for a simple answer.  [Can you hear me laughing?  Apparently, there are no simple answers when talking about Canon Law in the Catholic Church.]  However, from what I could tell - basically - a marriage after a divorce would get a Catholic excommunicated from the Church because the Church doesn't recognize the divorce...I'm pretty sure my grandfather had been divorced at least once before marrying my grandmother.  Now whether or not he was actually excommunicated and to what level [yes, there are levels or degrees] I don't know.  This is another follow-up that I need to do, but this could also explain a separation between my grandfather and his family...

Joseph Was a Carpenter...
Growing up my dad [Joseph, Jr.] was able to build anything without drawing it up first.  It simply [for him] went from his imagination to creation...[Remember the deck I mentioned in Runaway Bunny?  He built that.]  I once asked him where he had learned to build, and he said that his father [Joseph, Sr.] had taught him.  You see, he'd helped his dad tear-down and build houses in San Antonio...







Where's My Sign?

I still felt that I needed to do something other than what I had already done or listed.  I could have used a sign that had a picture of everyone on it and that read "Hey, Caroline!  Look no further, we're your family".  Too much to ask for?  Probably, but there was something I hadn't done yet that I needed to do...

My Dad's Sister...My Aunt

My dad had a sister, and I hadn't called her yet  for a number of reasons.  First, growing up I wasn't really close to her.  Plus, I thought my mom knew everything that my dad had known, and I'd already exchanged info with her.  I also didn't know how sensitive an issue it would be for her to learn that her father had had another marriage [& possibly 2].  It was time though for the call that should have come first in my quest for answers.  I ended up having a good conversation with her for about an hour & half.  She took everything in stride, and it turned out she knew something more.  While I was listing my grandfather's probable siblings...she stopped me and said, "Wait.  I remember when I was young your dad and I travelling to Galveston to visit our Aunt Ella...her first name was Laura.  I think I remember that her first husband's last name was "Breen" and that he died when their children were young and she remarried.  Also I remember that Roman had died while he was young."  She went on to say that she hadn't thought about that "in years" and probably wouldn't have remembered it if I hadn't mentioned their names...[Oh yeah...]


One Final Twist to the Rest of the Story...
In looking at Rootsweb/Ancestry.com Surname Message Boards and Genforum's Surname Boards under the names "Marshall" and "Marschall", I found a woman looking for a Joseph Marschall...a Joseph Marschall whose parents were John and Emma Marschall of Galveston, Texas.  She provided enough information that I was able to determine that this was the same family.  I posted a response, but didn't get a return response.  In looking at her various posts/requests however, I noticed 2 things: that over time her posts became increasingly urgent, and then one day, they stopped abruptly.  So, on a hunch I decided to "Google" her name which she had provided in her posts, and I found her obituary.  Ironically, she had died the same year as my dad.  According to her posts, she was a descendant of my grandfather's brother, John Marschall, Jr.  She'd indicated that there were no more male Marschall's to carry on the name, but that she'd remembered her father telling her about John's younger brother - Joseph Marschall - who'd been "separated" from the family and had lived in San Antonio, and she was wondering if he'd had a family...Well, he did.  He had a daughter and son...a son who had another son, who had 3 more sons...While the spelling of the name is a little different, it still carries on.  All of them...all of us...descendants of John Marschall from Posen, Prussia who had been..."just a farmer".

So, for your family's sake, go find your farmers!

Caroline

Secrets, Part 5

I'm running out of new and different Galveston pictures that don't have a bunch of peeps in them so this story has to end soon! [Besides, I have an appointment with a guy about some islands that I want...] So, did the Storm of 1900 leave Nettie, Joseph, and Mary orphans?...Nope, it didn't. Remember how in my ignorance I didn't check for any other Marschall's in the 1910 census? If I had, I would've found them. Also, I was able to find a digital copy of the Galveston Commissioners Report of the status of the farms and the farm families after the storm at the Rosenberg Library in their manuscript department. [Oh yeah...] It had good info including their temporary address after the storm, and 2 of their nearby neighbors were the Rosin's and the Cobb's.

I located the Marschall family's death certificates [other than Joseph's, but I did have my grandfather's]; the birth certificates of all the children's children, the men's World War I Registration Cards, and San Antonio land transactions for John Jr. and Otto Rosin [along with my grandfather's]. Below I've listed a summary of each family member to hopefully make things a little easier to understand. [The birth and death certificates were found @ Clayton Genealogical Library [located on Caroline St.], but the death certs can be found now on FamilySearch and Footnote as well.]

John Marschall, Sr.,  Father

After the Storm of 1900, John, Sr. and Emma never lived together again. In 1910, he lived with his daughter, Jane and her husband Otto Rosin in San Antonio at which time Otto was a dairy farmer [maybe John Sr. helped him with that].  In 1920 he lived alone until he passed away in 1928 while living in Hitchcock, Texas [which is on the mainland, but still in Galveston County].  No matter where he lived, he always listed his occupation as a farmer even though he never owned one again after the storm.  He now lays at rest in an unmarked grave in Lakeview Cemetery on Galveston Island.  I did find his Naturalization Certificate as well as a passport application that he filed...wonderful clues left...he was from Posen, Prussia, and his father was...John Marschall, [of course].

Emma Schleicher Marschall, Mother

In 1910, his wife Emma lived with their son John Jr, and his family.  She continued to live on Galveston Island where she passed away in 1927 and is now buried next to her husband in Lakeview Cemetery on the island.  Her last residence was on 31st St near the Strand where the parking lot now is of the Bank of America building [a pity, though, because the nearby homes are Victorian beauties...].  Her parents were Herman and Betty Schleicher of Germany, and Emma was born in New Braunfels, Tx.

John Marschall, Jr. and Josephine Ballou

John, Jr. married Josephine Ballou and was born, lived and died on Galveston Island [he was what we call an "Islander" here]. In 1910, Emma [John's mother] lived with them. They lived in various homes throughout Galveston, and one of the homes [pic on the right] located on 25th St is now an art gallery, Galveston Gallery [not sure of its status after hurricane Ike, though].  John Jr.'s occupations were [in order] farmer [while growing up], fisherman, dairyman, realtor - which actually represents some of the industry trends at the time in this part of Texas.  John and Josephine in 1928 bought land from a Joseph Marshall of San Antonio and immediately mortgaged it plus 26 shares of stock to pay $350 to an Oveta Marshall to get a judgement released against a Joseph Marshall of San Antonio as per a divorce decree.  In 1932 they sold this same land to an Otto Rosin of San Antonio.  John and Josephine had only 1 child, John Raymond, Sr.

Jane Marschall and Otto Rosin

Jane Marschall married an Otto Rosin of Germany, who had been the son of Wilhelm and Caroline Rosin also of Germany.  [Remember the neighboring Rosin farm on the island?...his mother, in my opinion, had a way cool name...]  Otto's 3 youngest siblings were born on Galveston Island - including an Emma Rosin.  Otto's occupations?  Farmer, dairy man, propietor of a house moving business in San Antonio, and was in real estate in San Antonio.  Many Islanders moved from Galveston to "higher ground" after the storm, and at the time San Antonio was experiencing a "boom" and was growing rapidly.  Some of Jane's and Otto's children were born in Galveston and some in San Antonio.  In 1910, Emma Rosin was living with them along with Jane's father John, Sr.  in San Antonio.  Otto and Jane always lived in the area of San Antonio that's south of Interstate-10 and east of Interstate-35 [bottom right corner of San Antonio & near downtown].  And as mentioned before he bought land in San Antonio from John and Josephine in 1932.

Antonetta "Nettie" Marschall and Nicholas Pericles "Pete" Legatos
Nettie [baptized Antonetta] Marschall married, of course, Nicholas Pericles "Pete" Legatos [later changed to Legate].  Pete had been a son of a Greek immigrant and fisherman.  Until Pete's death, they had always lived on Galveston Island and had fished for a living.  After the Storm of 1900, Joseph and Mary lived with them and their family.  Nettie passed away while in Rusk State Hospital [mental insitution] in Cherokee, Texas under mysterious circumstances.


Laura Ellen "Ella" Marschall and Miles Breen; Thomas Cobb
Laura Ellen "Ella" Marschall married a Miles Breen and together with their children lived on the island.  After Miles passed away, Laura Ellen married a Thomas Cobb. [Remember the Cobb farm near the Marschall farm?]  She had 1 son with Thomas.  I found her name as "Ella" on several documents.

Roman/Rolland Marschall

Roman/Rolland Marschall [name found spelled both ways]  died young in 1922 on Galveston Island from a massive heart attack.  In 1910 he'd been the only boarder with a family whose next door neighbors were Breen's.  He's buried in an unmarked grave in Lakeview Cemetery on the island.



Mary Marschall and Harry Esperson
Mary Marschall married a Harry Esperson who'd been a...dairyman and the son of an Aussie & New Yorker.  He and Mary moved to San Antonio and bought a home [but not from Otto or Joseph].  Five months later, Harry died due to complications of Diabetes.  Then 2 months after that Mary became septic from strep throat and passed away childless.  Otto Rosin, her brother-in-law, was the informant on her death certificate.  She and Harry were transferred back to Galveston and were buried there.



...And Joseph?...stay tuned for the rest of the story & secrets...[the end, I promise, is next]

Caroline

Secrets, Part 4 or What's Pete "the Greek Fisherman's" Full Name?

O.K., I haven't taken over the Caroline or Marshall Islands yet [by virtue of their names alone, they should already be mine].  I've been trying to finish this family story of mine, which is taking a lot longer than I thought it would.  You thought so, too?  Be patient...I promise there's an end worth waiting for [at least I hope you think it's worth waiting for].  You have to remember that all this stuff didn't happen overnight, and we certainly aren't going to solve it overnight, either.  [Plus, I'd make your head hurt if I talked about everything in one post...]

So, where were we?  Oh yes, on a farm on Galveston Island in 1900 with a Nettie, Joseph, & Mary Marschall.  [Do you think they could hear the waves while working on their farm?  Just a thought...]  So, were these the same siblings I found in 1910 all in the same household with Nettie's husband, Pete "the Greek Fisherman" Legatos?  At this point, I'm pretty certain they are.  The info given in the 1910 census and the 1900 census for these 3 sibs match exactly [ages, birth, parents' birth, etc.], and there aren't any others living on Galveston Island with the last name Marshall or Marschall with their first names...so I'm leaning towards the fact that these are the same people.  [The true test would be more info...isn't that always the truth?]  Anyway, I mentioned in my last post that they were living with the rest of their family...want to take a guess what their father's name was and where he was born?...You got it!  John Marschall was their father and he was born, according to this census, in Germany.  To make it simpler, here's a quick rundown of this family in the 1900 census:

1.  John Marschall;  Head of Household; born Jun 1857 in Germany; 43yo; married 21 yrs; immigrated 1879; in U.S. 21 yrs; occupation: farmer; and parents born in Germany.
2.  Emma Marschall; wife; born Feb 1857 in Texas; 43yo; married 21 yrs; 7 of 9 children still living; and parents born in Germany.

Children:
3.  John b. Oct 1881 in Tx; 18yo
4.  Jane b. Jul 1884 in Tx; 15yo
5.  Nettie b. Jan 1886 in Tx; 14yo
6.  Saveria E. b.May 1890 in Tx; 10yo
7.  Roman b. Oct 1891 in Tx; 8yo
8.  Joseph b. Jun 1893 in Tx; 7yo
9.  Mare[y?] b. Nov 1895 in Tx 5yo
[and a boarder, William E. Ritz, a schoolteacher - may or may not be related]

This is becoming like a soup that you just keep adding ingredients to...Here are a couple of things that I wanted to point out though - putting aside, for a moment the surname spelling difference...Some food for thought [hey, we're cooking, aren't we?]:  1. This Joseph's birthday is Jun 1893, the same month and one of the target years [1893/95/96] of my grandfather's birth month and year that I'm looking for; 2.  My grandmother indicated on my grandfather's death certificate that his father was John Marshall.  Could it be the same one? [No other John-Joseph relationship can be found in this time period with the surname spelled either way.]  3. This candidate for Mary is spelled Mare, but the birth year and age match the 1910 census, probably could be chalked up to a spelling error; 4. The father's birthplace here in 1900 is Germany - not Poland/Prussia/Texas, which have all been mentioned before for the father of Joseph...so which is it?

I already addressed the 1920 reporting of Texas as the birthplace of Joseph's father.  The listing could be wrong due to clerical error, etc, or this might not be the same Joseph.  As far as the Polish/Prussian/German issue?  Well, I had a  simple & quick look-see at Prussian/Polish/German history [Do you hear me laughing?  I'm laughing because it was neither simple nor quick...Wow! What a history...].  I determined that with the course of history changing due to wars and such, oftentimes immigrants would obviously hear news of what was going on in their homeland and would refer to it in the context of whatever country it was under rule at the time.  In other words, if say , for example, Prussia took over Poland then Poland was given back to the Polish, then immigrants from there would refer to their homeland first as Poland then Prussia then Poland depending on who ruled what, when [I hope that makes sense...]  So, this gives a probable reason for the discrepancy, and if it's true then it might help to pinpoint where John Marschall came from someday [if indeed, he's Joseph's father and this Joseph is my grandfather, of course...]

So, I decided to visit my local genealogical department at Montgomery County Memorial Library in Conroe, Texas.  Not huge, but it's packed with lots of local info.  After looking through all [& I do mean all] the books for Galveston County [O.K., it took me several trips...], I found some "Marschall's" listed in the index of a book entitled, "St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Galveston, Texas, baptismal, confirmation, marriage, and death records : 1860-1952."  Could these be mine, or, at least, the ones I was looking for?  I quickly looked them up and...Bingo!  All the children's births and baptisms were listed as well as witnesses and of course, their parents.  [There weren't any confirmations, marriages, or deaths listed, but, hey I'm not going to be too picky...]  This was indeed the same family.  But was this my family? [...and why does "Catholic" ring a bell...?]

There were some discrepancies [...of course!].  A few names were cleared up:  Saveria E. from the 1900 census was actually Laura Ellen [either transcription or language error] & Mare from the 1900 census was baptized as Mary.  There was an additional child listed, Robert, but remember that Emma, their mother, listed in the 1900 census that only 7 of her 9 children were still living?  This was probably 1 of the 2 that didn't make it. [The other one may not have been baptized before it's death.]  Last, but certainly not least, Joseph's birth was listed as 17 Jun 1890 and his baptism as "Jun...1893".  However, it's highly unlikely that he was born in 1890 because his sister Laura Ellen was born 12 May 1890.  I could be wrong though...[What is it with his birth, anyway?]

I decided to play "What if..." [When puzzled, why not play a game?]  What if...this was the correct family [there were no others that I had found that fit the bill, so to speak...]?  What if...this Joseph Marschall was my grandfather?  If so, what happened to the rest of the family between 1900 and 1910?  Why were Joseph and Mary living with their older sister Nettie...?  Then, it hit me - no pun intended - the Storm of 1900.  You know, the devastating hurricane that hit Galveston Island in 1900 and killed so many?  I quickly "Googled" the storm looking for the exact date...it was 8 Sep 1900.  Then I quickly looked at the date this family was counted in the 1900 census: June 1900.  So, the storm had come after the census was taken for this household...Were Nettie, Joseph, and Mary the only survivors in the family?  I quickly located a list of fatalities and looked for the Marschall name spelled either way, and they weren't listed [just one Harriet Marshall].  Of course, there were only about 6000 of the 8000-12,000 people that actually passed away from the storm on there because they weren't able to find and/or identify them all.  So, they could've passed away and not been recorded at all...I felt sad about the possibilty of this, whether it was "my" family, or not,  because they were someone's family...Did the Storm of 1900 leave Nettie, Joseph, and Mary orphans?...And, were these orphans mine?  [If you're interested, at the bottom of my blog in my book carousel I have featured a book that is about Galveston, Texas; the Storm of 1900; and the reconstruction and fortification of the island...]

Caroline

Secrets, Part 3

Have you ever been to a beach?  Having always lived near the coast of Texas, I sometimes take it for granted.  I love the sand between my toes, the wind blowing in my hair, the sun's warmth on my face, but most of all, I like the sound and sight of the waves as they break upon the beach.  It's a consistent and comforting melody that soothes my soul.  [In fact while we're talking about secrets, my secret fantasy is to have my own island...now that would be cool...maybe I could take over the Caroline Islands or the Marshall Islands...]

Galveston Island, Texas has a unique history.  Some of it's more colorful players in that history include the Karankawa Indians, the explorer Cabeza De Vaca, the pirate Jean Lafitte and his merry bandits [O.K., not so merry, but definitely bandits & no, none of them were "my pirate" - a story for another time] as well as the many immigrants that came through looking for a new home in a new land.  The Port of Galveston ushered in over 133,000 people into the United States.  [If you're ever in the neighborhood, go to the Texas Seaport Museum, a wonderful place that depicts the history of Galveston - my family loved it, and it has a database of all the passenger lists for those who came through Galveston.]  Sometimes I think about what those immigrants saw and felt when they came off that ship. [I'd imagine that a fair share probably kissed the solid ground and were thankful to be off the ship that had carried them here.]  I wonder, though for those who stayed on Galveston Island to make their new home, if they saw the same things that I do when I'm here - that miraculous sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico and that stunning sunset over the bay in the vast Texas sky.  Did they, too, like the sound of the waves and the salty smell of the breeze?

Though my grandfather, Joseph Marshall was born on Galveston Island, Texas 17 Jun 1895/96, he lived most his life in San Antonio, Texas.  In my last post, I explored what I could find out about him on the little bit of info that my dad had shared with me before my dad died.  Here's what I had/found:

1. In addition to his birth date & place, he'd died 29 Jul 1968 in San Antonio, Texas.

2. His father's name was probably John Marshall.

3. He bought/sold/rented/wrecked homes/buildings/land in San Antonio, Texas.

4. Slight chance that he married a woman by the name of Emma Rosin in San Antonio, Texas.

5. He was a WWI vet with a bronze Victory Medal.

6. Was 17-18 years older than my grandma [who was not named Emma - definitely old enough to have had a first marriage, though.]

7. Slight chance he may have been a tree surgeon & possibly involved in landscaping - but not likely - maybe.

8. Was possibly excommunicated from the Catholic Church [just a vague recollection, though].

9.  He was a fisherman or fished at one time in Galveston, Texas...whatever that means.

Lots of "maybe's", "possible's", and "slight chance's," but definitely better than a blank piece of paper [unless, of course, it's all wrong...bite my tongue...]

There was one thing that I'd forgotten to check while we were "in" San Antonio, and that was my grandfather's Social Security Death Index entry.  Luckily, it was pretty easy to find.  I was kind of suprised though to find that his birth year was 1893 - not 1895/96 that had been previously reported.  The lack of any other Joseph Marshall's who died on the same day in San Antonio who was also born in Texas and whose last residence's zip code was my grandmother's zip code as well as the same zip code / quadrant of San Antonio that my grandfather did land transactions in, led me to believe that this was indeed his entry in the SSDI...So, now I have 3 possible birth years...This new one though does coincide with the 1 of 2 Joseph Marshall's found in the 1920 census in San Antonio.  Remember, the tree surgeon married to an Emma, both of the same age?  So, we'll see...

To recap, I wasn't able to find my grandfather in the 1930 census in San Antonio, and as I just mentioned, he may have been the Joseph Marshall married to an Emma, possibly an Emma Rosin [Remember, the marriage record in San Antonio that I found?]  According to that 1920 census of this Joseph and Emma, Joseph was born in Texas as were his parents.  This Emma was born in Texas, while both parents were born in Germany.  So, since I wasn't sure if this was my grandfather or not in 1920 and even though he'd entered the Army in 1918 in San Antonio, I decided to look in the Galveston, Texas census for 1920 anyway.  There were no likely candidates for the position, so to speak.

I then turned to the 1910 census in Galveston, Texas, and there I found a Joseph Marshall.  Well, at least on Ancestry.com.  Heritage Quest and the actual microfilmed copy on both databases have it spelled "Marschall" indicating that the transcriber for the Ancestry.com database might have got it wrong, which happens.  [However, it usually isn't in my favor...]  There were no other Joseph Marshall's on Galveston Island in the correct age range in 1910.  The only closest one was in Fayette County, but I thought it best to go the Galveston route because I didn't have any indication that my grandfather had resided in Fayette County...[a possibility for later maybe, if at all].  This Joseph Marschall was 17yo and the only other "Marschall" in the household was a Mary [15yo].  The head of household was Pete Legatos and his wife was Nettie [24yo].  Joseph and Mary were listed as Pete's brother-in-law and sister-in-law, respectively.  Meaning that they were Nettie's younger siblings.  All three of them had listed their father as being born in Pru-Polish [Prussia] and their mother, Texas. 

Also, remember that vague fishing/fisherman memory that my dad had of my grandfather?  Well, guess what Pete Legatos and Joseph Marschall did for a living?  Yup!  They were fisherman on their "own boat".  Of course, this is an island, and fishing is a big industry here...Do you do jigsaw puzzles?  My family and I do.  You know those irritating pieces that "look" like they fit, but they don't and you want to pound them in and make 'em fit?  Yeah, that's how I felt at this point...

The 2 main discrepancies that are evident between these 2 Joseph Marshall's are the name spelling and the difference in the father's birthplace...Keeping in mind the census is subject to error due to the person giving the info, enumerator errors, and trancription errors [as shown above], I decided to "plug along" with this family for awhile.  [Besides, I didn't have any other likely Joseph Marshall's to follow in the vicinity...]  I also was encouraged by the "finds" in the 1910 census.

Basically, I was left with a lot of questions, but one was bugging me the most.  If [& I do mean if] this was my grandfather and his siblings, where were their parents and any possible other siblings?  In my ignorance, I didn't look any further in the 1910 census for any other "Marschall's".  I assumed that if this Joseph and Mary were - at kind of a young age - living with their older sister and not their parents that something had happened to the parents.  [I now know not to assume anything...]  Instead, I shot back to the 1900 census in Galveston.  Guess who I found living with their family on a farm on the island?...Right!  Nettie, Joseph, and Mary [ages matched the ages in the 1910 census].  Again, here the surname was Marschall, not Marshall.

There were a  few minor discrepancies, but was this my grandfather's family?  Was this my grandfather, Joseph Marshall / Marschall?  [Anyone...?]

Caroline

Secrets, Part 2

[This is part 2 of a multi-part post entitled, "Secrets." For better clarity, please read part 1 - but you don't have to...]

As I mentioned before, according to my dad, my grandfather didn't speak much about his past. As a result, he left behind a family ignorant of its origins. Also according to my father and other relatives, my grandfather was cantankerous. The impression that I got at a young age was that he was a grumpy and contrary man, and this impression stuck, preventing me from discovering just where my grandfather came from and who he actually was.  With age comes clarity, though, and it became important to me to find him and his family...my family.  This was my first attempt at research years ago, so it's clumsy and I've come a long way since then, but I learned quite a few things along the way even though I "jumped" around and had to backtrack many times.

Unfortunately, my father only knew the following information about my grandfather: his name, Joseph Marshall; born 17 Jun 1896 and raised in Galveston, Texas & died in 1968 in San Antonio, Texas; was a fisherman in Galveston; and was thought to have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church, which was a vague recollection at best. [I don't know about you, but that last one set my imagination in overdrive!]

There was another clue [and what I think of as a treasure] that I stumbled upon before beginning my search. Right after my father passed away, I was going through a box of his things and in it I discovered an old jewelry box, and amongst the pennies, nuts, screws, and broken watches, I found the actual "jewel". It was a discolored military medal of some kind. After reading and Googling, I identified it here as a Victory Medal from WWI. The only person on my dad's side who I could think of who could've earned this was my grandfather. A jump in logic?...yes. It could've been anyone's, and I didn't know who had given it to my dad. Definitely a puzzle piece to put to the side and see where it fits, if at all, in the big picture.  My grandfather's picture that I presented in the 1st post of this series shows my grandfather in a military uniform.  The uniform has a high collar with only the top button and a what looked like a pin on the collar on one side.  To my untrained eye, the pin looked like it had a design in the shape of grapes [it was a little blurry]...So, off to Google again...I located a WWI uniform company that sells reproductions, AEF Supply.  The pictures of the uniforms looked very similar to my grandfather's uniform and there I also found a picture of a WWI Medical Enlisted Man Collar Disk that looked just like the "design of grapes" on my grandfather's pin.  There were no other collar pins that had a similar design.  Later on after acquiring more information, I sent off for his military records and found out that he was in the U.S. Army as a Private from 22 Jul 1918 to 10 Feb 1919.  He was in the 29th Company, 3rd Group, 165th Depot Brigade with place of entry as San Antonio and place of separation as Camp Travis, Texas.  It indicated he received a WWI Victory Bronze Button and Victory Medal.  Bingo...the medal I found in my dad's jewelry box - more than likely - was my grandfather's.  It's amazing to me how our history..our family story...is just sitting there around waiting for us to find it.

Though I unravelled the military picture and medal secret, there were some more mysteries here to solve. I love a challenge...The place I started looking was where my grandfather passed away, San Antonio, Texas.  I located a microfilmed copy of my grandfather's death certificate at Clayton Genealogical Library in Houston, Texas [one of my favorite places].  My grandmother was the informant and gave the following information: 1.) WWI Vet (yes!); 2.) father was John Marshall; 3.) born 17 Jun 1895, Galveston, Tx; and 4.) Proprietor of house moving and wrecking business.  Additional info was that he died 29 Jul 1968 at the age of 73 of heart related causes; and was buried 1 Aug 1968 in Mission Burial Park in San Antonio, Texas.

This info provided some more insight to my grandfather.  First, it provided the exact date of his death.  It also indicated that he was born in 1895 - not 1896, like my dad thought [something to keep in mind].  In addition, it indicated that he was a WWI vet.  Which lent more supporting evidence to what I had already found.  Another great piece of info was his father's name.  If correct, this could definitely be helpful for identifying him in his earlier years.  Also, his listed occupation coincided with what my father had told me of what he knew about what my grandfather did for a living.  You'd think it be time to pack our bags, so to speak, here in San Antonio and head on to Galveston, right?...Wrong.

But I'm not quite done in San Antonio, yet.  One day messing around on the Bexar County Clerk's office website, [what, you don't do that for fun?] I found that Bexar County's land info is available on an online database.  So, as "a shot in the dark", I entered my grandfather's name.  Oh boy, jackpot!  He had numerous, nay a bevy, of land transactions.  So many, that even to this day I have not read each one.  [Yes, not only does Bexar County have a database of their historical land transactions, but digital copies are available online...free.  As my Gran & mom used to say, "God lov'em!"]  I found transactions also that my grandmother and my dad executed as well for my grandfather's business. Definitely what I needed to verify that this was indeed my grandfather.  I did skim the listing of my grandfather's transcations, including all the name variations and misspellings, and found no other obvious familial relationships, but then I didn't have any other names to compare to...Two more things I found online [just messin' around] in San Antonio for a Joseph Marshall were 2 curious "hits" on the name in 2  issues of the San Antonio Express News.  Joseph Marshall was listed as the landscaper in an ad for the 1st high rise built in San Antonio in the Laurel Heights area.  Also, there was a picture of the biggest rose bush grown by a Joseph Marshall in 1922.  Were these my grandfather?  I don't know...not enough info.  There were also a variety of classified ads involving house/land purchases and sales over the many years.  Also, what I knew of my grandfather was that his business dealt with buying, wrecking, building, and selling buildings, homes and land - not anything to do with plants or landscaping...

The last thing that I needed to check in San Antonio [that I figured at the time] was census records.  In a check in the 1930 Federal Population Census in San Antonio I couldn't find him [utilizing all variations of names, etc.].  He should've showed up there according to family knowledge of his whereabouts and according to his land transactions that started in San Antonio in about 1928 and went through to his death in 1968 [with some transactions after that by his estate].  Plus, his place of entry in 1918 in the Army was San Antonio, Texas.  However, I just couldn't find him.  I searched then the 1920 census in San Antonio, hoping for some info.  I found 2 Joseph Marshall's: one that was clearly not him, and one maybe.  However, the "maybe" was kind of puzzling because this Joseph Marshall was not married to my grandmother.  He was married to a woman by the name of Emma who was the same age as he [27], and by occupation was a tree surgeon.  His parents were listed as being born in Texas and Emma's parents born in Germany.  It was totally possible that my grandfather hadn't made it from Galveston to San Antonio yet in 1920.  So, maybe it wasn't him, but it could've been, yet I needed more info.  Who was this Joseph Marshall?  Another quick trip to Clayton Library in Houston awarded me with a microfilmed copy of a marriage record between a Joseph Marshall and Emma Rosin in 1917 in San Antonio, Texas.  Hmmm...not any info to figure out who this Joseph was and also another name to keep track of in my notes. 

The other subject of interest was my grandmother.  Sometimes in our heads we still think and look at our loved ones with our "child-like eyes."  What I mean is that I never knew my grandfather, and , to me, my grandmother had always been, well, old [and I mean that in the most respectful way].  Of course, my grandparents were the about the same age, right?  Wrong.  When I looked at all the info -together- mathematically and logically things started to look a little differently.  My grandmother was born in 1913 [yes, 1913], and my grandfather, remember,  was born in 1895/1896...He was old enough to have been married before.  [Note to self: looking at people within the context of their relationships saves time in research.  Makes sense, people don't usually live their lives completely isolated.]

Oh well...now it's time to pack our bags and head off to Galveston...yah, a vacation [or at least a working vacation...on a beach].  By the way, I also looked up what a "tree surgeon" was and according to thefreedictionary.com it is "n. a specialist in treating damaged trees" [which makes sense, in retrospect]. 

In my love for genealogy, I sometimes go on and on [hard to believe, right?].  My husband who has a short attention span for all things genealogical is always saying, "Just give me the bottom line, Genea-geek!" [lovingly, of course].  So, here's the bottom line:

1. My grandfather, Joseph Marshall was born 17 Jun 1895 or 1896 in Galveston, Texas
2. He died of heart related causes on 29 Jul 1968 and was buried 1 Aug 1968 @ Mission Burial Park in San Antonio, Tx.
3. He was a medic in the U.S. Army during WWI 22 Jul 1918 to  10 Feb 1919 and was awarded the Victory Medal.  Plus, I have a pic of him in uniform and have what I think is his medal. [Why do I always sit up a little straighter each time I find an ancestor of mine that was in the military?]
4. His business included buying, wrecking/moving, building, renting, & selling houses and land, of which I have his voluminous paper trail. [Oh yeah...]
5.  If accurately reported , his father's name was John Marshall [upside: have name - downside: it's John].  Who was his father? [and mother, family, etc.]
6.  According to dad my grandfather "fished" in Galveston...whatever that means...
7.  Oh and let's not forget, the supposed vague recollection that my grandfather had been excommunicated from the Catholic Church.  What gets a Catholic kicked out of the Church, anyway?
8.  My grandfather was 17-18 years older than my grandmother - definitely old enough to have been married before. [food for thought]...Was he married to an Emma in 1920?

9. Did my grandfather grow rose bushes, or had he been a landscaper?  Either way, was there a connection to Joseph Marshall, the tree surgeon, and was he "my" Joseph Marshall?
10. Why is the sky blue, the grass green, etc.?

Are your bags packed for Galveston Island?  Don't forget the sunscreen as we track down my grandfather who had some secrets [like, a family] on Galveston Island that he never shared with anyone...What happened to his family...my family?

Caroline