Wordless Wednesday: Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt

Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt in middle with gloves.

~Caroline

 

DAR, Some Secrets, Brother Ed, and the Mayans

US Navy 060417-N-8157C-162 The American flag flies prominently during the World Patriot Tour performance at Hickam Air Force Base (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every time I go to a DAR event [and I'd say even the meetings are events...pomp and circumstance...which is a very nice surprise amidst my usual days filled with mediocrity] and every time I go to my GenSoc meetings, I feel the pressure to get my DAR app completed.

It's not a bad kind of pressure, and it certainly comes from myself. So while working on several app reviews for my 4YourFamilyStory.com site and while monitoring the new Google Plus Communities that Kenneth R. Marks [from TheAncestorHunt.com blog] and I created and while Christmas shopping, I've been going over my research plans trying to figure out what I need to do so I can get my DAR [Daughter of the American Revolution] and my UEL [United Empire Loyalist] applications completed.

And then I got my 23andMe DNA results and I was sidetracked for a while. {And, no, the results won't help me with this research problem. That would have been nice though.}

But now I'm back.

So. I thought I'd list what I need to do next. {And, no, this is not my research plan, my research plans, or my research log. This is a very informal update of where I am and what I plan to do next and some of the reasons why. My formal research plans and research log are located in OneNote in table and narrative formats.} 

After consulting with my DAR Chapter's Registrar by phone a month ago, I found that I don't need to take my supposed Patriot line back to my supposed-but-proven-for-others-Patriot, Melchior Stock because his son, who is my proposed ancestor, Matthias Stock is also a proven-for-others-Patriot. [That's right 2 of them are proven Patriots.] But? I don't even have to prove Matthias' relationship to his son Michael Stock/Stuck [my ancestor] because it's already been done via another descendant of Michael's, through one of his sons.

Now, I don't descend through that same son of Michael's. Nope. I descend through one of his daughters, Margaret Barbara Stuck who married a Mr. Rook and their daughter, Susannah Rook married Benjamin Brown Vaughan, and it's through their son, Daniel Rook Vaughan, that I descend.

Well, him and the very Catholic Annie J. O'Brien from Ireland.

{As a sidenote, my cousin who descends from Daniel and Annie & who found me through this blog, is coming to Texas in January to photograph tombstones, including Daniel's and Annie's. And since I think I found it last year, but it's broken and was too heavy to turn over and verify, we're looking into identifying it and getting it repaired. So we've been collaborating on family info and such via email. Bonus!}

Anywho. My work was lessened somewhat by my local DAR Chapter's Registrar and I found a cousin and I got my DNA test results back. It's raining genealogy here, no?

Oh, and I checked with my local DAR Chapter's Regent about my grandfather. {We're in the same GenSoc and I strategically sat by her at the Christmas Party a little over a week ago, which was a blast, BTW.} Anywho, I told her about my grandfather probably not being divorced before he married my Gran, and she asked if they'd married, and I said yes, and she said no problem. So. My wayward grandfather isn't going to be a stumbling block on my road to DAR membership. {At least, not yet.}

So. Here's what I still need to get and what I have for each generation:

My Birth & Marriage: No prob. Got those.

My parents BMDs: No prob. Got those. [Well, it is a problem that I have their D's, but there's not much I can do about it.]

My Mom's Parents:

Mary Alice Velda Truitt Blacketer {or my Gran}

Death - Can I order a copy of my Gran's death certificate? No. Her death occurred less than 25 years ago here in Texas and for recent deaths {less than 25 years} only immediate-to-her family members can order them. So. I have one aunt and a couple of uncles that could order it, but I'm not close to them nor in touch with them. However, I do have an aunt-by-marriage that I am in touch with so I can ask her if she happens to have a copy. If not, then I'll need to turn to some secondary documentation. An obit would be nice and since I was there at my Gran's funeral and know that my Mom created the obituary, I happen to know my Gran had one. So I need to look for that. She does appear in the Texas Death Index as well as the SSDI. So once I get a copy of her obituary, I can send off for a copy of her Social Security Application. Also, when I go to San Antonio, I need to visit Gran and snap a photo of her tombstone. {Of course, tombstones can be wrong and not very reliable information-wise - especially for birth info - but I'd like it for my records. And I'll be there, so why not?}

Birth - The problem with her birth is that it seems to vary by 1 or 2 years in the census records {which is not unusual, but in her case it doesn't make sense because of her birthday versus the date of enumeration on the census records} and is {maybe} unclear on her U.S. Passport Application. And I'll write more in detail later after I try to obtain some better documentation, which brings me to her Good-Better-Best documentation options for her birth event.

Best case scenario would be a copy of her birth record. However, according to The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists: The Essential Guide to American County and Town Sources, edited by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius, statewide birth recordings didn't start until 1914 in Louisiana; Rapides Parish is an original Parish; and there is no information listed for birth records in the Parish at all (pp.282-283 and pp. 293-294). And further general information about birth records is given for after statewide recordings began and Catholic church records are suggested for before (pp.282-283). Additionally, a survey of Clayton Library for Genealogical Research's Microprint Collection and their online card catalog yielded nothing for finding birth records before statewide recordings in Louisiana around my Gran's birth year. And a look at FamilySearch.org's online databases as well as their online card catalog yielded nothing as well as for birth records for Rapides Parish, Louisiana before statewide recordings of births and for around the time she was born. So, unless someone out there knows of anything else, I'm going to say - right now - that it probably doesn't exist.

St Mary's Catholic Church, San Antonio (Photo credit: Rennett Stowe)

Better case scenario would be her baptismal record. I found on an index on FamilySearch.org that she was baptized in San Antonio, Texas in 1913 at St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown. So after such a resounding success with obtaining my Boo's {Gran's mother} baptismal record from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Archives, I thought this might not be as difficult as I once thought. However, I talked to a very over-worked Brother Ed at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, and they're understaffed. 

In fact, it's just Brother Ed. 

Archiving all by himself. 

And he's 'swamped'.

And he informed me it'd be quicker if I could just come down there and do it myself. 

Challenge accepted, Brother Ed. 

So. A trip to San Antonio {3 hours away} to rummage around the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives looking for my Gran's baptismal record is now on my agenda.

Good case scenario would be a copy of her Social Security Application, it should have her birth date and place and her parent's names, but depending on when that was applied for, this will more than likely be a secondary document for her birth information and second best to her baptismal record, in my opinion, even though she would probably have needed her birth certificate {which I think doesn't exist}or an affidavit to apply for it, but it's direct because it should answer the question of her birth event. 

And this is the thinking behind my opinion: If her 'later' baptism was in 1913, then her baptismal record would be preferable because that would have been created closer to the event of her birth. And would clear up {or maybe not} her birth year.

squared circle - mayan calendar (Photo credit: Thom Watson)

But then what evidence did they provide for her Social Security Application and what, if any, did they provide for her baptism? Thus, I'm gonna try to get both. So, we'll see what we can get. And we'll see what we can see with what we get. {And perhaps her SSA is the better case scenario and her baptismal record is the good case scenario.}

{My suspicion is that my Gran was born before my Boo and Claudius were married and my very Catholic Boo tried to keep this under wraps. {And may be the reason my Gran was born in Cheneyville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana while the rest of the family was in Texas.} So, through trying to find evidence, I'll be exposing her secret, which I'm sure I'm going to hear about it from her in the After Life, which may be tomorrow, according to the Mayans.

So I need to collect what evidence I can, and write a proof argument for her birth based on the evidence and my interpretation of the evidence. {But not before tomorrow because I may not have to do the work.}

Marriage - Speaking of rummaging around the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, I might as well look for my Gran's and my naughty grandfather's {James Wesley Blacketer} marriage record, or blessing, or whatever. From the various indices found on FamilySearch.org, I've {intelligently, I think} guessed {and maybe incorrectly} that they had a civil marriage that was later blessed by a Father So-n-So at St. Mary's Catholic Church, downtown San Antonio. {More on my  guess below.} 

And then I'll go downtown to the courthouse and look for their civil marriage record and their divorce record. {Thanks to my Big Paw Paw's, my Dad's Dad, penchant for women and lawsuits in Bexar County, I know where to go for divorce records.}

Ironically and coincidentally, the courthouse is right next door to...

 {wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...} 

...St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown San Antonio. So. I'll snap a pic of that. {And perhaps I'll partake of some Holy Water on the forehead, some prayer, and maybe even light a candle. Lord knows my family lines and research need it, eh?}

James Wesley Blacketer {My naughty grandfather. The naughty one that is NOT Big Paw Paw, who also happens to be quite naughty in his own right and lived in San Antonio as well.}

Death - I have his death certificate compliments of FamilySearch.org and I already visited him at his grave located at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio and snapped a photo of his tombstone. {But his birth date is off by 2 years on his tombstone.} Oh, and I have his 2 obituaries, which the second has proven to be quite enlightening on some future stories of him, but nothing I need for my applications.

Birth - According to all documentation that I've collected on him, he was born in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Now, according to Iowa, I can order it as long as no one really dwells too much on the 'legal' part. {You know, that part where I'm not quite too sure he ever divorced his first wife before he married my Gran.} But while searching in FamilySearch.org, an index indicates that he was baptized a month after his marriage to my Gran at St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown San Antonio. 

Now, why would he do that? Simple. {I think.} To get the marriage blessed by the Catholic Church. Because if you don't think that my Gran's Gran, the very Catholic Annie O'Brien from Ireland and her mother, my very Catholic Boo {Alice Florence Vaughan Truitt} weren't fit to be tied when they found out about my Gran entering into marital bliss with James via a civil union, you're just plain crazy. Well, that's my {maybe intelligent but could be very wrong} guess anyways. 

So. While I'm rummaging around the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives for my Gran's baptismal record and their marriage blessing, I'll have a look-see for James' very-late-but-very-necessary-to-my-Gran {and her mother and her Gran and the Catholic Church} baptismal record as well. At the same time, though, I'll order his birth record from Iowa. It's $15 and what's the worst they can say? No? And why would they? He was born in Iowa and grew up and married the first time in Missouri. {Not that he actually told anyone that. I've just dug around a lot for that info. And wouldn't you know? That marriage record was much easier to get.}

Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt {my Boo; my Gran's mother}

Death - I have her death certificate, and while I'm in San Antonio tracing her daughter's records, I'll have a visit with her at graveside and snap a pic of her tombstone for my records.

Birth - I already obtained her baptismal record. And many thanks to the not understaffed Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Archives for that. 

Marriage - Boo and ol' Claudius Roy Truitt {a.k.a., The Jerk} were married in San Antonio, or so says a book of San Antonio marriages in the genealogy department at my local library {15 minutes away.}, Montgomery County Memorial Library. And? Because the lovely local library is in possession of  the microfilm that contains their marriage record in Bexar County, I need to go snap a copy of that. {It's there. I've seen it. I just didn't get a copy at the time.} But? My Boo divorced 'The Jerk' in San Antonio, so while I'm at the courthouse in San Antonio, I might as well snag that record too, no? {'Cause I've learned from Big Paw Paw that sometimes divorce records are boring and sometimes they're not, but they're always full of info and stories.} And maybe I'll even look for their marriage record at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives. 'Cause why not? {Of course, they may not have married there. But I'll be there right next to the very over-worked Brother Ed. So why not look?}

Claudius Roy Truitt

Death - I have his death certificate via FamilySearch.org, and I hunted down his tombstone here in Houston and snapped a photo of it already.

Birth - I have a copy of his birth record compliments of Ancestry.com. {Thank goodness because he was born in Kentucky.}

{So. Basically, 'ol Claudius was reportedly a jerk in real life, but so far, he's not been a jerk to me and my research. So there's that.}

Daniel Rook Vaughan {my Boo's dad}

Death - I have his death certificate via fold3.com back when it was still footnote.com. And I may  have located his tombstone and {hopefully} on this same research trip, I can visit him gravesid

English: Plaque on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Building in Washington, D.C., denoting the founding of the Knights of Pythias at that location in 1864. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

e {with my newly-found cousin} and verify that and snap a photo of his tombstone located in the Knights of Pythias cemetery. And speaking of the Knights of Pythias, I have his membership record from the San Antonio Chapter, and they recorded his death in his membership record. So I think I'm squared away on the evidence of his death. The former is direct and primary and the latter is not as primary and may even be secondary, but it is direct.

Birth - Daniel was born in 1847 in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co, Michigan. And because his father's line is the Loyalist line, and because his father was baptized in the Church of England up in Noyan, Quebec, and because I have a suspicion {Thanks to a published history of the wee town of Ypsilanti.} Daniel's grandfather was the sexton of the still-open St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Ypsilanti and may be buried in the church's cemetery, I think Daniel's - if he was baptized and his family was Episcopalian {like me} like I suspect, baptismal records just might be there. I've already contacted them and they informed me that their records are archived in Ann Arbor which at the time didn't take email or snail mail lookup requests. But according to a recent search in FamilySearch.org, they've microfilmed them since the last time I searched. So I'll be placing a rental order. Of course, I could be wrong about their church membership, but I'll deal with that when I have to, if I have to. {His mother's line was decidedly Lutheran and Ypsilanti is a wee town.} So, on second thought, maybe I'll order the microfilm of the local Lutheran Church's records too.

New Orleans - French Quarter: St. Louis Cathedral (Photo credit: wallyg)

 Marriage - According to a book of New Orleans' marriages located in my local library, Daniel and Annie were married in 1874. So, I need to locate where the information came from. Further, it's indexed on FamilySearch.org so I'm going to need to do some digging around on that. And? Would Annie have insisted the marriage be in a Catholic Church or, perhaps, had it been blessed in one? Of course, that brings up which Catholic Church in New Orleans? {Am I allowed to *snort* at this question?} So, I need to do a more thorough survey of the available records and the locations of said records.

Also, note that Daniel was in the Civil War and received a pension that his widow, Annie, later collected. So. That's a good avenue for information as well for a whole lot of events. Hopefully. So that's going on order as well. But when I'll get it and what's in the pension file, I don't know. 

Annie J. (O'Brien) Vaughan {my Boo's mom}

Death - I have her death certificate via FamilySearch.org. And like I mentioned above, I'm pretty sure of her tombstone. The former is direct and primary for her death event. The latter is for my records.

Birth - I've written about this. And the closest document to the occurrence of her birth that shows her place of birth is her first child's baptismal record created in 1876. As far as the date is concerned, that's going to be the very secondary Death Certificate and her tombstone, once I snap a pic of it. Plus, there are the various census records she appears in which silently indicate she never became naturalized citizen. I'll need to write a proof argument explaining the places I've looked for her birth record information {and not found it}, and lay out the case for the secondary and indirect evidence supporting her birth event at the time of the writing of the proof argument.

And here is the Loyalist-Patriot split. Daniel's paternal line is the Loyalist line, and his maternal line is the Patriot line. But? I'll save that for another time. {And if you've made it this far in my ramblings, you should receive a reward from me, like me stopping for now.}

So. Me and some cemetery visits, some picture-taking, a new cousin, some microfilm ordering and reading, another visit to the Bexar County Courthouse, a visit to St. Mary's Cathedral, a visit to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, and Brother Ed are all on the horizon. 

Unless the Mayans were right.

San Antonio Texas Alamo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Other folks go to San Antonio for The Alamo. I'm going for some naughty ancestors. Again.  

~Caroline

Note: If you have some recommendations of places to look for those Louisiana records or any others, please let me know in comments below. However, please refrain from doing the actual research yourself. I know it's tempting and I appreciate the gesture, but I'd like to do it myself unless it's totally impossible for me to do it. And this is partly why I didn't give full dates even though I am aware of them and they are in my research plans. And I'm sure I glossed over a bunch of stuff including my complete thought processes, so if you're confused or have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in comments below.

How does a daughter say goodbye?

Carolyn Marie Blacketer ca. 1943

How does a daughter say goodbye?

I remember most mornings you woke me up with, “Top of the mornin’ to ya and the rest of the day to me.” And that always woke me up because you made me giggle. And no matter how much I tried, I never, ever could beat you to saying it. 

I remember your big smile and the twinkle in your eyes.

And your fierce loyalty. I may have been completely and utterly wrong about something, but you were always there to back me up – no matter what. Do you know how rare that is?!?

I remember Saturday morning shopping at the mall and your generosity to everyone. No one ever caught you on Christmas unawares - even if they showed up on Christmas Day. You always had a present for them. And what about the Christmas where you made up all those rhyming clues and made me hunt for each of my Christmas presents?  Oh, how I loved that.

I remember your stories and pep talks. How could I ever, ever forget the life-altering story you told me of our long line of managing women? Or when I turned thirteen you said, “Now, Caroline, I’ve already been through three teenagers. So, I’ve heard it all. I don’t want to ever hear you say you want to do something just because everyone else is doing it. Would you jump off a bridge if everyone else were doing it? No. No, you wouldn’t.” [The 'Duh.' was understood.]

I remember watching our T.V. shows together. I still watch them. When I'm watching Designing Women and The Golden Girls, you’re always right there laughing with me.

I remember watching you cook, learning how to measure ingredients in my hand, and now I can’t make Gran’s potato salad, Gran’s sausage stuffing, Gran’s peanut brittle,Gran’s refrigerator cookies, and Gran's pralines without thinking of you and Gran while doing it.

Carolyn Marie Blacketer 1954-1955 school year.

I remember all those times you took me to the library. And now I can’t walk into a library without thinking of you. [And considering what I do, that happens a lot.] And what about all those romance books you used to read? I somehow picked that up from you.

I remember your big strong hugs when I needed them the most. And every time you said, “I love you.”

I remember being grounded by Dad numerous times and not being able to go outside or watch T.V. for a week. And how while we’d read in the living room together after dinner during that week, you’d stop reading and say, “When is your father going to learn taking away your reading would be a better punishment?” And I’d answer, “I dunno.” Then we’d go back to reading. *snort*

And your other words of wisdom? “People in hell want ice water, Caroline. Doesn’t mean they’re gonna get it.” And, “If wishes were horses, beggars could ride.” And the sayings I know you got from Gran: like saying “God bless America and all the ships at sea,” when all you wanna do is damn whatever it is that’s upsetting you. And the ever-so-wise, “’To each his own,’ said the old lady when she kissed the cow and the old man who peed in the sea to keep the boat from sinking.” And now whenever I'm upset or stumped, I can't help but think of blessing America, of blessing her ships at sea, of an old lady who must have really loved that cow, and of an old man with creative problem-solving skills.

So. 

How does a daughter say goodbye?

Mom & me in a Ghost Town in West Texas in Jul 1977.

The answer, of course, is...

...she doesn't.

She laughs.

She cries.

She remembers.

She laughs some more.

Then she cries again.

Then she tells.

And then cries some more.

And then she says, “I love you. And I’m gonna miss you somethin' fierce, Mom.”

Then she sighs. And smiles with tears in her eyes as she says,

“Top of the mornin’ to ya and the rest of the day to me.”

~Caroline

Carolyn Marie (Blacketer) Marshall

b. 3 Mar 1939, San Antonio, Texas

d. 28 Sep 2012, San Antonio, Texas

Stories within the old lighthouse

Bolivar Point Lighthouse, Bolivar Point, Texas. © Copyright 2012 Caroline M. Pointer

One hundred twenty-five people sought refuge in the Bolivar Point Lighthouse during the Storm of 1900 that devastated Galveston Island, Texas, and the surrounding area including Bolivar Peninsula. And I cannot even imagine the horrors those lighthouse refugees and those like them on Galveston Island went through.

Luckily my 2nd great grandparents had already moved their family clear to the other side of Texas. [And there was a part 2 to that story as well.]

Anywho. The lighthouse was built in 1872 and has survived all of the storms that have hit this part of the Gulf Coast of where it still stands today.

And other than its color being changed from black and white striped to the solid black that it is today, it is the same lighthouse my great grandmother, Alice Florence Vaughan, would have seen on a daily basis as she grew up on Bolivar Point.

And it's the same lighthouse that stood there on the day Daniel and Annie boarded the ferry for Alice's baptism which would take place later on Galveston Island in St. Mary's Cathedral. And as they sailed across the bay, I wonder if either Daniel or Annie looked back at it? Surely they would have gazed at it on their way back home after Alice's baptism, for it would have been, as it is now, the tallest structure on Point Bolivar.




I wonder if, as she grew up, Alice ever stopped to look at the lighthouse. Did she ever ponder its stories it held inside? Did she marvel at its strength?

I know every time I gaze at the old lighthouse I ponder the stories located within its steel-covered brick walls.  I wonder if it could ~ or even if it would ~ share its stories with me.

~Caroline

Note: I'm in the process of getting all my records together in order to apply for membership into the Daughters of the American Revolution as well as the United Empire Loyalists. At the same time. With the same line. [Scandulous, I know.] And I've blogged about this quest previously. Also, when I ordered my great grandmother's baptismal record from the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Archives, the awesome archivist sent me my great grandmother's sibllings' records as well. [At least, the ones who had been baptized in the same diocese.] Therefore, I've been blogging about their records and the resulting stories: James Cornel, Henry Lewis, Genevieve Lennon, and Viola Prudence, and now, finally my Great Grandmother, Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt, but we just called her 'Boo', a shortened version of her nickname 'Bamboo' [And you know you wanna click on the link to read *that* story. =) ]

St. Mary's Cathedaral (Galveston, Galveston County, Texas). Baptismal Registers. Roman Catholic Church Archdiocese og Galveston-Houston, Texas.

Boo's Baptismal Records Came In!

Boo's Baptismal Records Came In!
You're probably thinking, "Great! Awesome! Yay, Boo's baptismal records came in! Woo-hoo! Wait. Who the heck is Boo?"

Boo is my first great grandmother, my Gran's mom, a.k.a., Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt. I previously blogged about how she came to be known as Boo in Her Irish Eyes They Were a-Smilin'. I also blogged about her name Alice, and a little about her siblings and parents in Why Didn't You Name Me Alice?.

And the reason it's so important that her baptismal records came in is because I'm preparing my application to DAR and UEL [And maybe a few others as well cuz why not?]. Boo was born in 1881 in Port Bolivar, Texas ~ well before Texas started requiring birth records to be kept. Knowing that Boo was Catholic, I looked on FamilySearch.org, to see if I could find any church records online before resorting to ordering microfilm, and in their Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981, collection [which is really a vague index] I found she had been baptized at St. Mary's Cathedral in Galveston, Texas, which was and still is just a ferry ride away from Port Bolivar, Texas.

With a quick phone call and a brief email request with just the identifying facts needed, within 24 hours, the FAN-tabulous archivist for the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston emailed me that she had not only found my Boo's [Of course, she called her Alice Florence Vaughan cuz she's my Boo, not hers. I'm stingy like that.] baptismal record but the baptismal records of what looked like 4 of her siblings, all of them including my Boo were children of Daniel and Annie (O'brien) Vaughan. And she asked me if I wanted them as well. For free.


Well, duh. My Mama didn't raise no fool. [She wouldn't accept a donation, but I've some more requests for them in the future where, um, a donation will miraculously fall into the envelope with my new requests. Cuz I'll snail mail it instead of email it. I'm sneaky like that.]

Anywho. She, at the time, had also given me the names of Boo's siblings, and if you read my post about her name Alice, you'll recall that I'd found some of the naming patterns Annie had used in naming some of her children. And by "some" I mean I found the names she'd used from her husband's [Daniel's] family. And according to Annie's death certificate, her father was James, her mother's name isn't listed, and her place of birth is listed as Dublin, Ireland. The odds of me finding my Annie born in maybe Dublin, Ireland with a father maybe named James O'brien are slim to none. And Slim just left the room. No?

So, I had great hopes the names that were clearly not from Daniel's family were perhaps from her side of the family. And that perhaps when I began to search Irish records that I'd have some more names to help identify the right Annie O'brien.

Also? I knew that Annie had had 5 of 8 children still living in 1900. So, some kiddos had died by 1900. Who were they?

The Archivist had sent me the names in that glorious original email, and they were the following:

• Vaughan, Henry Lewis (b.4/7/1878) 
• Vaughn, James Cornel (bapt. 2/6/1876)
• Vaughan, Viola Prudence (b.7/23/1883) 
• Vaughn, Joanna Lennon (b.12/2/1887

I was familiar with everyone except James Cornel. So, I guessed that he was probably one of the kiddos that hadn't made it to 1900. But I was intrigued by his name. James? Well, if Annie's death certificate has the correct information about her father, than this James may have been named after him. But Cornel? Was this a family name from Annie's lines? The other names listed above that cannot be explained from Daniel's lines are:

• Henry Lewis
• Viola
• Joanna Lennon [Although Joanna might be from Annie...]

Add to that my Boo's middle name Florence, and I might have some clues to help identify Annie in church records in Ireland. [A genea-girl can dream, you know.]

Of course, the names could've been picked out of a hat for all I know. However, my mom's lines tend to  be bogged down in naming patterns to the "nth degree." [Not complaining.] And Annie is Irish. And the Irish like to name kiddos after family. So who knows?

Now? After receiving the baptismal records, I have some answers.

And, of course, I have some more questions. [Cuz, duh. Dead people are quite questionable.]

Join me this week as I explore and blog their baptismal records and the information found therein.

But what do you think I found?

~Caroline

Using OneNote to help me track my research problems

As promised here is the tutorial on how I'm gonna use OneNote to keep track of my research problems. The Research Plan Freebie is available on my companion blog 4YourFamilyStory.com. But I'm curious. How do you work your research problems and keep track of them? Let me know in comments below. =)

~Caroline
 

Loyalist + Patriot = ?

What Do You Get When a Loyalist Line marries a Patriot Line?

I decided since I might have both in the family that I'd finally do the work and then apply to Daughters of the American Revolution [DAR] and United Empire Loyalists [UEL] at the same time.

As far as my supposed Loyalist line is concerned, I've only one that I know about, and that's my Vaughan line. Josephus Vaughan is a proven Loyalist because he migrated to Quebec and is listed as having received his 200 acres for remaining loyal to the crown. [That's right. He didn't fight either. He just believed in what he believed in for whatever reason, lost his family land in Fairfield, CT, where his father had been the town physician, and was forced to migrate to Quebec.] A few generations later, my Vaughan line returns to America and settles in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co, MI where my 2nd Great Grandfather, Daniel Rook Vaughan, is born and where he signs up at the age of 15 to be a musician in the Civil War. [How 'bout that? Loyalist to Civil War soldier in 4 generations.]

Then I got to thinking about Daniel's mother's family, and how I had found some information on her mother's line, the Stuck/Stock family. And I wondered if that line had been in America during the Revolution, and if so, what side had they been on?

So I took a look, and the supposed progenitor of this Stuck/Stock family line is Johann Melchoir Stock. Then I ran his name through the DAR system, and lo and behold, he's a proven Patriot because he paid taxes. [Yeah. I know. Another non-fighter.] After a little more digging online, I found a lead on some sourced information on the family. One claim was that he may have only paid taxes, but he offered up his sons to the War. Well, I did find one of the sons in the DAR system, but he's not my ancestor, Johann Matthias Stock. It's one of his brothers. So was my Matthias a Patriot? Did he fight or contribute to the effort? I dunno. But there seems to be quite a bit of information available for this family line. Even if I can't prove Matthias was a Patriot, I don't even have to prove Melchoir's Patriot status with DAR because that's already been done. I just need to prove Matthias and Melchoir's relationship. [And that person with the sourced info indicates where Matthias was confirmed. But I digress...]

Anywho. I thought this made an even better story. An orphaned boy [His mom & dad died before he was 15yo.] who became a man in the Civil War was a descendant from a Loyalist and a Patriot. Did he know? Were his ancestors turning over in their graves when he signed up?

So what DO you get when when a Loyalist line marries a Patriot Line? In this case, you get a Civil War vet and an awesome story. And me trying to document it all officially and write about it.

Next few posts, I'll be going through each person and the documentation I have, what I don't have, and how & where I plan to get it. I may even do it as a video tutorial so I can show you how I'm keeping up with it in Family Tree Maker 2012 software. 

Are you ready to see how this story unfolds? Do I have the right characters? Do I really know the ending?

I dunno. We'll just have to wait and see.

~Caroline

Jerks, Genea-Karma, Donuts & Dreams

About six months ago I received a request to photograph a tombstone located in a small cemetery near my neighborhood. I, of course, looked up the cemetery because I’d never heard of it and I’d driven right by there to take my son to basketball practice and I didn’t remember seeing a cemetery.

I found a four page transcription of the tombstones in the cemetery online, quickly found my dude, Mr. Gressett [who had the same last name as my college roommate at Texas A&M University, and I fleetingly wondered if they were related], and put my graving outfit on [What? You don’t have an outfit for graving?]

I thought to myself, “This shouldn’t be too bad. It’s a small cemetery.” I also thought I’d photograph all of it if it was indeed small. After all, I already had the transcription spreadsheet in hand. What could go wrong, right?

When I will learn not to ask myself that question I’ll never know.  Anywho, I went and searched for it. Drove right past it. [Of course] Turned around and slowed down at the empty overgrown lot that had a few trees. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” [Yeah. I talk to myself in the car. And in my office.]

I parked and thanked God I’d put my graving outfit on –jeans, long-sleeved shirt, and Timberland boots. I quickly found the tombstone to fulfill the request, then started taking photos of each tombstone, methodically going through the spreadsheet and checking the peeps off.

To my dismay, though, I found something kind of odd. There were tombstone transcriptions listed for some tombstones that I couldn’t find, and these were spouses of ones already there. Likewise, there were tombstones in the cemetery that did not appear on the list, and they weren’t new. And you want to know why? Well, I can tell you one thing. It’s not that these ancestors [not mine, someone else’s] were playing hide-and-go-seek.

Perhaps the person who transcribed the cemetery had been distracted. Perhaps the grass and weeds had grown over some of the tombstones.  And perhaps overgrown grass and weeds were the source of my problem now. Or perhaps the cemetery was haunted. Who knows? But most of the tombstones were old with a Civil War Confederate soldier buried there as well. Some of the older tombstones were becoming smooth with their names and vitals being worn away by time and weather.

Now, if I’d been looking for one of those overgrown tombstones, I would’ve been out of luck because I don’t have x-ray vision. But what if there was a way to capture a tombstone’s exact whereabouts so that later on, even if it became overgrown with weeds, even if the inscription wore away, and even if the cemetery where it’s located looks like an overgrown abandoned lot as you drive by it?

Well, there is a way now. RestingSpot.com launched an app for the iPhone this past August and more recently for the Android that, with a click, can capture the GPS coordinates of a tombstone, can capture the name of the cemetery, prompts you to enter in the tombstone information, and allows you to upload the information and a photo of the tombstone to their searchable free website. Did graving just get easier? [Um, yeah.]

However, there is a stipulation. You have to be at the cemetery to create a memorial. After all, the whole reason it was designed is because the co-founder of RestingSpot.com, Brett Atlas, could not find his grandfather’s tombstone even though he’d been there before and he had a map. [And all gravers have been in that situation before, right? Frustrating.] So the whole point of this app is to record the GPS coordinates for the tombstone so that anyone can find it later no matter what, and you have to be there to do that with your handy dandy Smartphone.

Let me ask you gravers out there something. How many of you have gone to a cemetery with your digital camera and with the very best of genea-intentions photographed a whole bunch of tombstones, and then “life” happened and 3 months later you’re finally sitting down to upload those photos, and you can’t quite read a few of them? And since you can’t even remember what you ate for breakfast yesterday, you know darn good and well there’s no way you’re gonna be able to remember reading that tombstone. So now you’re looking at a digital photo on your computer and you can’t figure out if that mark, if it is indeed a mark, is a “C” or a “D”. I mean, is it “Chris P. Cream” or “Chris P. Dream”?  It makes a huge difference. [In this case, the difference between donuts and dreams.]

As genealogists, we’re always saying the best documentation is that which is created as close to the actual event that generated the documentation, right? Not the documentation that was generated three months after you digitally photographed a tombstone while eating a Krispy Kreme donut. And don’t even get me started if you enlist someone else to read those photographs that are three months old because you had to run up and get some more of those tasty Krispy Kreme donuts. I mean, we’re already far from the actual death and creation of the tombstone and now you’re gonna add another person to the situation to help you transcribe those photos of tombstones? Probably not a good idea. And notice that I said they’re transcribing the photos of the tombstones, not the tombstones themselves.

So, I tried RestingSpot.com’s app this past weekend on the 2 family graves that I have near me here in the Houston area, and it worked like a charm. My Great-Aunt Anne, who was one of the brave women who volunteered for the Navy’s W.A.V.E.S. [Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service] and drove an ambulance in France during World War II, has now been GPS’d. And being such a forward-thinking woman for her time, I gotta think she got a big kick out of me capturing her location, entering her vitals, taking a photo of her and her husband’s tombstone, and uploading all of the data to RestingSpot.com’s website  with my handy-dandy iPhone. And? Yes, I’d already taken a photo of her tombstone previously, but it doesn’t hurt to go and visit again, right? To make sure everything is as it should be, right? To pay a visit to a woman who risked so much for her country? I’m not *that* busy.

And the second family member’s tombstone that I visited this past weekend? The Jerk’s. You know, Claudius RoyTruitt, my Gran’s dad? According to my mom, he was a jerk. Don’t know why she thought her grandfather was a jerk. But not knowing the “why” has never stopped me before from finding out someone’s story. In fact, it’s quite the opposite with me. And just in case my great-grandfather has any thoughts about him and his tombstone “disappearing” before I can find out his story, I thought it best to GPS the Jerk, too. He’s not going anywhere on my watch. [And, wow, the only thing that’s been passed down about him is that he’s a jerk. How sad is that?] Now? If anyone else in the family wants to visit the Jerk, well, now they can find him easily.

Once you log onto the website, you can add more information to each memorial. Such as:

• Paying respects
• Bio
• Personality [For Claudius? Jerk. Great-Aunt Anne? Courageous.]
• Professional
• Interests
• Photos & Video [Now, a video about Great-Aunt Anne? That would be fabulous!]
• Friends & Family

There is also a map on the ancestor’s page on RestingSpot.com marking the location of their tombstone, and directions to it are just a click away. Want to share an ancestor’s resting spot? No problem with a click you can share it by email with others.

Does it get any easier than this? Right now, no. RestingSpot.com’s Smartphone app is truly a wonderful addition to the genea-tech world. It combines simplicity and intuitiveness to make a potentially frustrating ancestor visit to the cemetery an enjoyable experience allowing us to write the family stories even quicker and more accurately while eating Krispy Kremes, of course.

So go check RestingSpot.com out. Download their app onto your Smartphone and give it a whirl. Go visit some tombstones that you haven’t visited in a while. What are you waiting for? Go GPS your ancestors’ tombstones.

[And? Turns out that the man who requested the photo of Mr. Gressett’s tombstone is related to my college roommate. You see, she’s from this itty bitty town in Texas and there were only 12 people in her graduating class from a public school. So, I asked, and well, they’re related. What are the odds, right? Genea-Karma.]

Note: While I was asked to review their site and app (which are/were free), I received no compensation to do so from RestingSpot.com. This is my honest and unbiased opinion. For more about my disclosure statement on Family Stories, click here.

~C

The Shockingly Pink Shell

There.  That one.  The shell.  That's the one.  She liked picking out the ceramic pieces.  They were bare.  Naked.  Just sitting there.  Ready and waiting for someone's imagination to come along and bring it to life.  Being a mother of eight, she knew a little something about that.

She sat down and turned the shell over, and picking up her scraping tool, her sister began to tell of Aunt Vyla's latest antics and she began to scrape the line left by the shell mold.  Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.  Every so often she'd pause, put the tool down, take her small sponge and dip it into the water bowl that she shared with her sister Anne, wring it to near dryness, and gently rub it along the area she had just scraped smoothing the line away.  Making sure with her finger the line would never be seen again.  She kept alternating between the monotonous tasks of scraping and smoothing.

As she was wringing the sponge once again, Anne said something about Aunt Vyla that grabbed her attention away from her task. And she wasn't careful to wring the sponge completely.  She swiped the base where the mold line had been.  Her recognition of what she'd done was too late.  "God bless America and all the ships at sea," she muttered under her breath.  "What?"  Anne inquired.  "Oh nothing," she replied.  "Go on.  What did Aunt Vyla do?  This time?"  Really, it was something.  Now the shell's base would be lopsided.  The extra water on the sponge had made the fragile greenware bend.  Just a little.  But just enough.  She sighed.  Then she went on to scrape once more.

Having finally smoothed the mold line away, there was only one thing to do before the piece was fired in the kiln.  To etch her initials on the bottom of the shell.  Using her scraping tool, she first scratched an "A".  "Not too bad," she thought.  Almost whimsy with the swirls on the bottom of the letter.  Almost.  Next she scratched a "B" into the soft clay.  Hm.  A wee crooked.  Which just about summed up her relationship with the man who stayed around long enough to share his name with her, to father their 8 children, and to leave once the going got tough.  Then she smiled.  O.K., maybe it was a smirk.  God forgive her.  At least she didn't snort.  This time.  Ladies don't snort.  Well, not in public at least.  Or so her mother had told her.


The next week, her shell was waiting for her at her place at the crafts table.  Scandalously naked.  Waiting for her to clothe it in color.  She'd thought about what colors to use all week.  She'd finally decided on pink and maybe a little turquoise for accent.  As she sat down, she gingerly placed a finger on the rim on the back left-hand side of the shell.  She pressed down and then released it.  Clunk.  Yup.  Lopsided.  She sighed.  As she picked up her brush and dipped it into the pink paint, her sister Anne asked her, "Did you hear what Aunt Vyla did yesterday?"  And as her sister talked about Aunt Vyla, she painted the shell.  Pink.  Actually it was starting to look shockingly pink.  She covered the whole shell in shocking pink paint.  Then sat there waiting for it to dry.  Once dry, she rinsed her brush clean and dipped it in the turquoise paint, and began to paint along the rim of the shell providing some depth and a very necessary break from the shocking pink.


When she entered the room the following week, she instantly saw her shell.  Her very pink shell.  It was hard to miss.  She sat down, dipped her brush into the milky glaze, and began to apply the glaze all over the shell.  As her sister began to retell a story about the neighbors, she wondered, "What?  No stories about Aunt Vyla?"


Three layers of glaze and five stories ~two including Aunt Vyla~ later, she was finally done.  She sat back.  And smiled in approval.  She liked it.  She liked its whole shocking pink and lopsided self.  Next week, she'd come pick it up after its last firing.  

Then Anne interrupted her thoughts, "What are you going to do with another ashtray, Alice?  You don't even smoke.  And its lopsided to boot."

Alice sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward.  Sisters.  She finally replied, "'To each his own,' said the old lady as she kissed the cow, and the old man who peed in the sea to keep the boat from sinking."


Then she snorted.

Note: I have no idea what the story is behind this ceramic piece.  I just know that my Gran, Mary Alice (Truitt) Blacketer, made it, and that she did so after she was married.  I took creative license, but the names are real.  Also there were always stories about Aunt Vyla.  Always.  Further, one of my older sisters taught a ceramics class that I attended when I was younger, so I do know a little something about ceramics.  I did witness on occasion my Gran snorting [and quite unlady-like at that].  Yes, she did use the old-lady-cow-old-man-boat saying.  [You didn't think I made that up, did you?  Even I'm not that creative.]  And yeah, my grandfather was a jerk.  It seems I've got a lot of those. [Snort.]  Anywho, here it is, and I use it to hold my paper clips in my office.  It matches absolutely nothing.  It's worth nothing to most.  And it means the world to me.

Gran's Initials.

The lopsided base.

My Gran ~ Mary Alice (Truitt) Blacketer

© Copyright 2010, Caroline Martin Marshall Pointer