Family Stories

What happened to "them"?

2013-04-10T18:11:00.000-05:00

English: View into Depot Town in Ypsilanti, MI, from the Cross St bridge over the Huron River, looking down Cross Street to the River St intersection and beyond. This was taken in October 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I knew something had happened to them. At first I thought the "them" was made up of three, then after finding the youngest of the "them" alive and well as a married adult, I sighed with relief.

Only 2 of "them" missing.

I've written about the name "Alice" being used in my family before. My Gran and her mother, my "Boo", were both named Alice, and I have some cousins named Alice as well. So when I traced back Boo's father, Daniel Rook Vaughan, to the 1850 census and found him with his parents, Benjamin Brown & Susanna Vaughan, and his 2 sisters, Prudence and Alice, I thought to myself, "Huh. So this is the Alice whom everyone is named after." {The Alice who my daughter wishes I had named her after.} {And Vyla's -- one of my Boo's younger sisters -- middle name is Prudence.}

By the 1860 census, part of the family seems to fall off the grid. Daniel is living with his grandmother, Margaret Barbara Rook, a couple of aunts, and an uncle there in Ypsilanti. His older sister Prudence is living across the border in Ohio with a family that seemingly has no connection to her {I've looked. But don't you go look because I'm not done trying to figure it out. I'm stubborn like that.}, but she's about 18 miles from her uncle, her father's brother -- Harmon Vaughan.

No Benjamin. No Susanna. No Alice.

Or so I thought. I did some census voodoo and traced all of the people named Alice I could find born in Michigan in about March of 1850 with a mother born in New York and a father born in Canada. {On the 1850 census, they list her age in months.} And I found one who seemed to move around a bit because she was married to a preacher -- an aptly named man by the name of Almond Parsons -- who must have traveled a circuit of some kind in lower Michigan where Ypsilanti is located. After skippity-doo-dahing across southern Michigan, they settle in Kalamazoo, Michigan {which is almost as fun to say as Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan where Alice was born}. Finally, she is found in the 1940 census living with her daughter Nellie and family at the age of 90, and Alice Barbara Parsons passes away 4 years later in 1944. I did discover her and the Reverend's other child as well, but I'll save that story for another day. {I'm evil like that.}

So I found Alice. {Of course, that begs the question, "Who was this Alice named after?" A relative, a friend, a pet cat? I'll keep my suspicions to myself for now.}

But what happened to Benjamin Brown & Susanna (Rook) Vaughan -- Prudence's, Daniel's, and Alice's parents? I consulted The History of Ypsilanti by Harvey C. Colburn at The Clayton {Amy Coffin's nickname for the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research}, and in it I found the Hawkins family mentioned. This was an important clue because my fourth great-grandfather's second wife in Ypsilanti was a Hester A. Hawkins and they live near a Hawkins family in Ypsilanti in a couple of censuses. {And Ypsilanti is a wee town -- then and now.} I then found a John Vaughan mentioned in the book as a vestry member and as a sexton for St. Luke's Episcopal Church there in Ypsilanti which is still open today. {In fact, I started following the church's Facebook Page because there's something about following your 4th great grandparent's church on Facebook, especially since I'm Episcopalian too.}

Finding a John Vaughan mentioned as a member of the Episcopalian Church was another important clue because I had already found Benjamin's baptismal record near Iberville, Quebec in Anglican records in Caldwell's Manor (Foucault) and Christie's Manor (Noyan) naming his parents as John T. & Prudence (Brown) Vaughan. I knew my John had been an Anglican/Episcopalian. Had he remained in the same denomination after they immigrated to America?

So I emailed St. Luke's and asked where their church records for the 1800s were archived, and they said they were located at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. So I had a look-see at their website and found, at the time, all lookups needed to be in person. Then I checked the catalog on FamilySearch.org, but they hadn't been filmed. So I put it off, and then picked the trail back up when I decided to apply for Daughter's of the American Revolution membership and United Empire Loyalist membership through Daniel's maternal and paternal lines, respectively. At the same time. {There's just something about a Civil War musician's mother's line being a Patriot line and his father's line being a Loyalist line, no?}

I thought perhaps I'd need to hire someone to go through those church records because I couldn't figure out how to convince my family that a family vacation to Michigan was a fabulous idea. They tend to like the Gulf Coast beaches in the summer. Go figure.

But then I checked FamilySearch.org again -- about two years later -- and found they'd been filmed. Well, at least the parish records containing baptisms, confirmations, burials, etc., had been filmed. The vestry minutes have not been filmed. But a girl can't be picky, right? {And all of this is why I don't really think I have too many research brick walls. Many times -- for one reason or another -- I just haven't looked everywhere yet.}

So I ordered/rented the film for St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan from the FHL {Family History Library} and had it sent to my local library, MCML, {My nickname for the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.}, which recently became an affiliate of the FHL.

Had my 4th great grandfather, John T. Vaughan, been on the vestry at St. Luke's? Had he and his family worshiped there? Had Daniel been baptized there? More importantly, would I finally have my answers to what happened to my 3rd great grandparents, Benjamin Brown & Susanna (Rook) Vaughan?

Would my answers be on that microfilm roll tucked in a little white box?

Would I find out what happened to "them"?

~Caroline

Note: Sources available upon request because if you think we're related, then contact me and we'll figure it out together. My email is up at the top of this blog page sort of on the right side in the Nav Bar.

Life Happens, Tangents, Social Media, and Genealogy Wow!

2013-03-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

I like tangents. Some of my very best genealogical finds come when I go off into tangents. Unfortunately, though, it's making my Daughters of the American Revolution and United Empire Loyalists research journeys much, much longer.

In my last blog post, I stated that the only way to find out about Annie's mother's maiden name was to go ahead and order a copy of Daniel and Annie's marriage record from the Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives.

And? I lied. That's not the only way. It was just the way I thought would be the easiest because I had not found a cousin {or the cousin} who had a copy of their church marriage record or a Family Bible or, really, anything that indicated what Annie's mother's name was.

You see, it all started about 2008 when I first started researching Daniel and Annie. When I joined the NGS the first time, I searched their database of family group sheets and found one submitted by a lady. It didn't give me anything I hadn't already found online. But? The name and address of the lady who had submitted it to the NGS was stamped across the front of it.

I tried writing her, but I never received a response, and I wasn't really surprised because the family group sheet had been submitted ages ago, like back in the 1980s.

Then? I Googled Daniel and Annie's names together and came across a Vaughan/Vaughn family website which was just a database of submitted info, and? It didn't contain anything I didn't already have about Daniel and Annie. After accessing it just that one time, it became infected with malware. Over the years, I've periodically checked it while searching online, and every time, the browser indicated that the site was infected with malware. {And, yes, I had cleaned out my cache and used different browsers.}

And then I ran into some clues online involving the same lady who had submitted the family group sheet to NGS. Some very nice unsubstantiated pieces of info like how Annie had 8 or 9 brothers one of whom is named Henry and, oh by the way she had a partial letter that Henry had sent Annie and it had Henry's address in Dublin and there was a date too... . And? There was an email address. So, of course I emailed her. And? No response. One of the best pieces of info that she left, though, was that she was Annie's great granddaughter through Henry Lewis, which is my Boo's older brother making her my second cousin once removed. But after about 2001, she seemed to drop off the online internet forums and sites.

So in reviewing all of this when I was gathering everything together for my DAR application, I thought, well, I just need to get the documents myself if possible.

And about the same time I started blogging about my DAR and UEL application journey, which, if you'll remember, has also included tangents along the way because I just can't help myself. I mean, it's a no-brainer when the archivist emails you and says, "I found your great-grandmother's baptismal record, but I also found her siblings' baptismal records. You want those?"

Of course, I want those. But for me, having them in my hand led me to blog about each one. For some, documents are cold with clues and facts...just names and dates. For me, though, a document comes alive. Each one is a soupy mixture of tidbits of stories and it seems when I hold one in my hands - even if it is just a photocopy, the stories seem to bubble up in my head until they start to spill over. And that's exactly what happened when I received all those baptismal records. I couldn't not speculate about each one's baptismal day based on what I already had found about each one's life and about what I personally have experienced on that ferry ride between Bolivar Point and Galveston Island.

For me, it's kind of like the movie Night at the Museum or book The Night at the Museum by Milam Trenc. You know how the statues and history come alive when the museum closed? Well, when I get a document and look at each piece of information and when I start to piece things together within the context of what I know already or what I've found, well, the people in my tree start to come alive...the stories start to become more real...and then my imagination starts playing with possibilities and then I write stories about the possibilities. I mean they're always open-ended because I don't usually have everything yet. But I always stop to look at a document and wonder...And instead of wondering in my head or on a piece of paper, I blog it. I blog my questions and possibilities as I go.

And, in this case, with my great-grandmother's {Boo's} siblings, blogging about each one's baptismal record was one of the best things I could have done because a descendant of one of my Boo's sisters contacted me because he'd been Googling. And since I had been off on one of my tangents with the baptismal records that have absolutely nothing to do with my DAR and UEL apps, Google matched us up and he emailed me. He also confirmed all of Vyla's names throughout the years. {Google has got to be the best distant cousin matchmaker. At least it is for me. Ancestry's trees come in at a close second though.}

Anywho, this cousin is also a second cousin once removed because he descends from Vyla. And he and his wife were supposed to come to Texas last October to photograph tombstones and do some research. But then life happened and then the trip got rescheduled to January. And then life happened again and the trip got pushed off to March.

And then in the meantime, um, life happened to me as well, but somehow I've found the time here and there to keep digging and to even keep blogging a bit. And every time I blogged, I tweeted about my blog post. You know, just to share it and what-have-you.

Then one of those times a fellow tweeter, who I had started following because she's a photographer/Photoshop kind of person and then she followed back and then she started following some other fellow genealogists and then we, um, kind of got her hooked on genealogy {I swear to you I didn't do it on purpose.}, direct messaged me after I tweeted a link to one of my blog posts. She said that she was really enjoying Daniel's and Annie's story unfold, that she had Googled their names, found this Vaughan Family Website and asked if I'd seen it.

And?

It was that original site that I hadn't checked in a year. You know, the one with the malware. It had been taken down and redone. And? This time it had some more info. And it was from that same lady/2nd cousin who descends from my Boo's older brother, Henry Lewis. This time there was a ton of detail and verbiage that made it clear that she has some documentation of some kind. It just wasn't listed on there anywhere.

So then I went to Facebook and found her and sent a friend request. Then I messaged her. {Which I should have done before, but, you know, life happens...}

And?

No response. *big sigh*

So I kept going with Daniel's and Annie's civil marriage record and ordered microfilm for other parts of the tree for my DAR and UEL applications. And then I started combing through all those clues from that Vaughan/Vaughn family site. Like...

...the clue where she states that their marriage record indicates Annie's mother's maiden name...

...the clue where she states that Annie had been just visiting her cousins - the Browns - in New Orleans when she met Daniel because Daniel had been doing some carpentry work for her cousins and they were married by a Rev. Gleason in St. Alphonsus Church in New Orleans...

...the clue where she states Annie's cousin's husband was the city engineer for the City of New Orleans and that there was a family rumor that Annie's father had been an engineer in Dublin too...So I started checking out some of these clues online, and I never got around to ordering Daniel and Annie's marriage record from the Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives. You know, the one I said might contain Annie's mother's maiden name? Yeah, that one.

Turns out Annie's mother's name, according to this lovely lady cousin, is Jane Lennon. {Ohmigosh, right? That was totally one of my speculations/possibilities}. And since I already knew one of Daniel and Annie's marriage witnesses was Katie L. Lennon, well, I thought to myself, "Hm. Cousin?"

But wait. She stated that the Browns were Annie's cousins. So I skipped off to Ancestry.com and did a little census and city directory work and found found a Kate Lennon living in a household with a Henry Brown, a Jennie L. Brown, and some other Brown family members. And? Henry Brown's occupation was listed as a civil engineer.

{Goose bumps, or is that just me?}

Then? I decided to take the plunge with Annie's info on irishgenealogy.ie. I mean, I had her possible-and-completely-unsubstantiated parent's names now and one of her brother's names. I was feeling kind of lucky and optimistic about being able to find Annie's baptismal record if it had been placed online. And I was on the couch with my iPad and thought, "Why not just have a peek?" So I looked, and...

None with the right date and/or parents. So then I searched for her parents together because it allows you to look for one person as well as another at the same time, and...

I found a James O'Brien who had married a Jane Lennon in 1831 in St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. But? Nothing conclusive to say they were, indeed, Annie's parents. And sadly, there was no address and the blanks for their parents were empty. Then another marriage record came with up when I searched their names but the one getting married this time was a Henry O'Brien in 1887 and his parents were James and Jane (Lennon) O'Brien. And his address was 61 Lr. Mecklenburgh in Dublin.

Which jogged my memory of those clues about Annie's brother Henry from Dublin from my second cousin. Remember that partial letter? Well, it was sent in 1886 and his address, according to my wonderfully generous but elusive lady cousin, was 61 Lr Mecklenb---h (?) in Dublin.

So unless Henry O'Brien from the 1886 letter who was Annie's brother moved out of the 61 Lr Mecklenburgh residence and then a Henry O'Brien from 1887 whose parents were also a James O'Brien and Jane Lennon moved in, well, I'm pretty sure they are her parents. Maybe.

However, I still need to see that church marriage record. I want/need verification. I also need to familiarize myself with Irish records. You know, what's available for what time periods, and where are they located? I can't just blindly keep on drifting along the Internet looking at Irish records here and Irish records there never knowing for sure that I've looked at everything that exists, online or off. {Which is why I just bought Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: Irish Genealogy by John Grenham.} I need to get a lay of the land, so to speak.

So this week, I decided to take a look at the microfilm that I had previously ordered and I started with Daniel's family up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and found some interesting information that I needed for both my DAR and UEL applications, and I'll get into the details of that in another blog post.

However, after a lovely day at the library perusing those handwritten parish records from about 1830s to the 1880s of St. Luke's Episcopal Church of Ypsilanti, Michigan, I came home and checked my email, and found an email from someone I didn't know {which happens a lot, btw} with 2 PDF attachments and no message. I usually delete those, but I knew my 2nd cousin was somewhere in the state taking photos of tombstones and the sender's email address was for a copy and print place in Giddings, Texas. {I Googled it.}

And? I clicked to view them. These were the PDFs {that I later converted to JPGs}:

Emails like this should come with a tissue warning. Seriously.

So, I guessed that my 2nd cousin from Alabama had probably found my 2nd cousin that had left all those online clues. So I emailed him to see if he had been the one to send me these pics, and he called me later on that evening and confirmed that he'd found her!
Apparently life had happened to my other 2nd cousin and she hadn't been able to respond, but that she'd been doing genealogy for 50 years. And she had pictures and books and documents and letters and you name it. And when my 2nd cousin from Alabama was at the local copy/print place copying everything that my other 2nd cousin had so generously shared with him and he saw that pic of the Daniel and Annie, he said he knew I'd want to see it!

Oh my, was he ever right about that! Did you see Daniel's awesome 'stache!!!! And Annie! I love how she has one hand on Henry Lewis and the other around Genevieve. And then Vyla's hand is on Annie's shoulder. And my Boo! {She's Alice on the left.} I have memories of Boo from when I was real little. And thanks to another cousin who found me on Facebook, I have some other photos of her including one from 1920, but to see her here with everyone one else? Wow.

And then Henry Lewis. Another wow. When he grew up, I knew he had become a Master Mariner because I have his death certificate, and my literary mind wondered about the stories he could tell. In these photos, he looks bigger than life! And look at him on the boat. Just wow.

I'm meeting with my 2nd cousin from Alabama either Sunday or Monday, and I can't wait to see what our other cousin shared about the Vaughan and O'Brien families with him. And if a copy of Daniel and Annie's church marriage record is in there with her mother's maiden name, well, then I won't have to order it. If not, I'll still order it because it's important that I have something that links Annie to James O'Brien and Jane Lennon. Of course, there might be other things that have been found. I won't know until I see everything and assess it all.

And then many of you probably saw my Facebook update the other day about all of this, but what you didn't see is that another first cousin who recently started following me messaged me that evening and said she remembered that her dad had some photos of Daniel from the Civil War, and that it'd been a while since she had seen them, but that she thought that he had had a drum in those photos. But she was gonna contact him and see what happened to those photos.

{Dramatic pause.}

This is why I blog about my ancestors. {This isn't the first time I've hit the collaborative jackpot via my blog.}
This is why I don't wait until I have the whole story or all the facts. {If you want a cousin to contact you real quick-like, then blog something wrong. I mean, wrap it up with words like I think or I wonder or I guess, but my point is there is always someone who is gonna respond to that.}
This is why I not only research collaterals, but I blog about them as well. I just never know who is going to be Googling about their ancestor who might be related to my ancestor.
This is why I Tweet. {Others are accessing my blog posts by the social media platform of their choosing, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. And I meet the most remarkable people from around the world there. And then for some reason a few of them start looking for their ancestors. It's contagious, I think. I should probably come with a warning like, "Beware: following or interacting with me could very possibly lead you to wanting to learn about your family and where you come from."}
This is why I Facebook. {Even though I don't really like Facebook. It's not about me and what I prefer, but about the fact that so many others are on and like Facebook. And even when I post my blog posts there, life happens and they just don't click through on those links to my blog posts, but they certainly are reading Facebook updates. Note to self: Remember that.}

You can be certain that I'll be blogging about that collaborative family history jackpot my cousins are so generously sharing with me, particularly the, um, "stuff" I think will be useful for my DAR and UEL applications. You know, the reason I started researching Daniel and Annie again in the first place.

~Caroline

Vaughn, Daniel Rooke and Family. Photograph. ca. 1895. Digital image. Privately held by Carolyn Marble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lincoln, Texas. 2013.

Vaughn, Henry Lewis and Henry Daniel Vaughn. Photograph. Digital image. Privately held by Carolyn Marble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lincoln, Texas. 2013.

Vaughn, Carolyn Elizabeth Laxson.  Photograph. Digital image. Privately held by Carolyn Marble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lincoln, Texas. 2013.

HLV & DEA B. Calvin Jr.  Photograph. Digital image. Privately held by Carolyn Marble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lincoln, Texas. 2013.

HLV (on sidewalk).  Photograph. Digital image. Privately held by Carolyn Marble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lincoln, Texas. 2013.

HLV (on boat).  Photograph. Digital image. Privately held by Carolyn Marble, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Lincoln, Texas. 2013.

Annie & the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Part Deux

2013-01-29T15:42:00.000-06:00

St. Alphonsus Church, New Orleans. Detail. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, that is.

In my last blog post, I explained how the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives seemed pretty serious about their instructions for genealogists. If I want a copy of my 2nd grandparent's marriage record, I either need to give them the church they were married in or the address of the residence(s) of participants in the marriage {In my case, Daniel and Annie's }, and preferably the bride's address.

And all I had was the info on their returned marriage license that indicates that the marriage was performed in NOLA and the returned marriage license was signed by a Rev. Gleason. And I knew from family lore that Annie was a devout Catholic.

So, as suggested by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives' page for genealogists, I attempted to consult the city directories for New Orleans for the time period around Daniel and Annie's New Orleans marriage in 1874. I did this by first surveying where all the directories are available to me {where I am located, a northern suburb of Houston}. And? If I could get it for free, that'd be nice. {Can I get an Amen?}

According to FamilySearch.org and the New Orleans' public library, there are 2 different city of directories for this time period - Sourds and Edwards. Sourds is available on Ancestry.com to which I have a subscription, but? No listings for "my" Daniel Vaughan or no listing for "my" Annie O'Brien. {There are others, but I ruled them out by following them in the later city directories and censuses for NOLA when I know and can prove that my Daniel and Annie were living in Galveston, Texas with city directories, censuses, and their children's baptismal records.}

I thought about ordering the films from the FHL, but I already have 4 films on order with them so I don't have to go meet {or bother} Brother Ed at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives.

So I checked out what my local genealogical library, Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, in Houston had on microfilm the last time I was there. In the online microprint database it indicated it had the NOLA city directories on microfilm, but didn't indicate from which publishers. So I went to Clayton.

And? They had both Sourds and Edwards.

And? Not one Daniel Vaughan or Annie O'Brien in either one of them.

So? I looked up the witnesses listed on their returned marriage license in the city directories. I only found a "Katie S. Lennon" listed several years after Daniel's and Annie's marriage {when they were already living in Galveston, Texas according to the Galveston city directories and their children's baptismal records}.

St. Alphonsus Church, New Orleans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then? I looked under the Gleason surname in the 1874 and 1875 city directories looking for the {or a} Rev. Gleason that married them {or might have married them} and signed their marriage license before returning it. Bingo! A Rev. James Gleason {spelled 'Gleeson in 1874 and 'Gleason' in 1875} was listed as an "Assistant Pastor" at St. Alphonsus Church while living at the "Convent of Redemptorists".

This information matched the info that Finn so graciously found in that GenealogyBank.com newspaper article that he said indicated a Rev. Gleason {a deacon} had presided over a Father Duffy's funeral at St. Alphonsus Church in NOLA.

But? Is this the church where Daniel and Annie were married in 1874? So, I decided to find out quickly what I could about St. Alphonsus and the Catholic Church in NOLA for this time period. So, of course, I Googled it.

And these are the websites I found:

And this is my summary of what I found for what I need {But there's more & I highly recommend reading those links especially if you have Irish Catholic NOLA heritage}:
St. Alphonsus Church parish in NOLA served the Roman Catholic Irish community in the Lower Garden District of NOLA, and that it was located right across the street from St. Mary's Assumption Church, which served the German immigrant community in this time period. If you have the time and inclination, please read all about this community in the above links. {Wow. I learned a lot.}

I also found in these links that while St. Alphonsus is no longer an operating church it is open for visits to the public 3 days a week and that the Irish Channel, which is where the Irish immigrants lived in the Lower Garden District in this time period, throws "the best" St. Patrick's Day Parades every year. You know what all this means right? I NEED to go back to NOLA for St. Patrick's Day. You know, for research purposes. ;)

St Alphonsus Catholic Church (Photo credit: Traveling Mermaid)

So. While I couldn't find an address for Daniel or Annie, I think I found the church they were married in. And there's only one way to find out for sure.

Mail or email the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives with the exact information they have so carefully and explicitly asked for when a genealogist is making an inquiry naming St. Alphonsus Church as the church Daniel in Annie were married in.

~Caroline

New Orleans & Annie: Just What is Available?

2013-01-18T12:38:00.001-06:00

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis serves as mother church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Okay, in my last post I mentioned I needed to find Annie's address in order to order her church marriage record from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans' Archives.

And I mentioned that I'd already looked - albeit half-heartedly and really I'd been looking for Daniel at the time - in Ancestry.com's database at the New Orleans City Directories.

And it was suggested by Randy Seaver in the comments {Thank you, Randy! =) } that I should look at fold3.com's city directories.

And then it was suggested by Donna that I shouldn't need the address because I have the name of the priest and that's what they'd need the address for - to determine the parish/church. Thanks, Donna!

And then Finn looked in the GenealogyBank.com database and found a newspaper mention of a Father Gleason, a Deacon, who had presided of a Father Duffy's funeral in September of 1874 at St. Alphonsus Church in New Orleans, but wasn't sure if a deacon could preside over a marriage in the Catholic church. Thanks Finn!

And then Jennifer mentioned that a deacon can preside over a Catholic wedding nowadays, but wasn't sure if that was true in 1874. Also, Jennifer mentioned using the city directories to get a listing of the Catholic churches in 1874. Thanks Jennifer!

And? All of them were excellent suggestions, and I greatly appreciate their input. =)

However, I was suggesting - and obviously I didn't do it very well - that I needed to get a better idea of what's available for city directories {and other information} for New Orleans for the time period. I know from previous research that there can be multiple publishings of city directories by multiple publishers for any given year for a city, and in my last post, I was hinting at needing to take a step back and getting a lay of the land on the city directories {not to mention for Catholic records}.

Are there multiple city directories for NOLA for this time period? Where do I find a listing of them all that either once existed or still exist?

While I could go and renew my fold3.com subscription, how do I know if they have all the directories from all the publishers? While it's a different database, Ancestry.com only has 1 publisher's city directory for that time period - the one published by Sourd. And I can't tell just by glancing at their title, what fold3.com includes.

And, Donna is correct. Pick up the phone and call or email. But? Maybe I'm reading too much into their long and detailed page for genealogists, but I get the impression they mean business with their rules. And while some archives have it all together, some don't. Remember my post about Brother Ed? I'm looking for the info but they're busy and I haven't looked under every rock on the Internet or in my vicinity yet, IMO. {I was extremely kind and generous in my telling of my experience over the phone with Brother Ed in San Antonio. To my simple, polite, and direct inquiry - not demand - he was rather rude. However, he might have been having a bad day.}

And I do have a GenealogyBank.com subscription, but as I'm writing these blog posts, I'm performing the search, so I hadn't looked there yet for this particular information. However, we can't assume it's the same Rev. Gleason and we can't assume that was his parish. Probably, possibly, or maybe, but who knows? But a very, very good clue. Thank you for looking, Finn.

And Jennifer, you are correct. One good place to look for a listing of churches would be the city directories. {As a side note, I had looked in Sourd's city directory under the occupation of 'carpenter' for Daniel because in Galveston - where they are living after their marriage - Daniel had been a carpenter.} I've also used city directories for looking at businesses and such for other research problems. Thanks, Jennifer!

But? As I mentioned up above, I was - in my mind - thinking I needed to pause and take a survey of what's available to me for the city of New Orleans. I live near Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston, Texas, and since New Orleans is only 7 hours away and is in the state next to me, it would behoove me to check out what Clayton might have for this problem.

Also, I checked the New Orleans main public library's website as suggested by the Archdiocese of New Orleans' website to see if it listed not only years, but publishers of what they had and to see if they did look-ups. They have years but not publishers and they do look-ups. So I need to contact them.

And I checked FamilySearch.org's online digital records - no city directories have been digitized, but they have quite a few directories for NOLA for the time period on microfilm listed in their catalog. And? There are different publishers for the time period I'm looking for. They have Sourd's, which is what Ancestry.com has. But for the time period I'm looking at, they have Edwards' Annual Directory of the Inhabitants of New Orleans and then they have one published by an outfit in Connecticut in the 1980s that seems to include many, many years, but who was the original publisher of those directories? Is it all of the directories? If I were a betting woman, I'd bet that what they have is exactly what the NOLA public library has. But for all of them, each year is on a different roll. At $7.50 per roll and several years and possibly 2 publishers, that's going to get expensive. {Especially since I saved myself from meeting the contrary and definitely overworked and exasperated-sounding Brother Ed at the San Antonio Archdiocese Archives by ordering the films I needed from FHL concerning St. Mary's Catholic Church in San Antonio. I already have $30 worth of rental films coming my way. =) }

So then I checked to see what Clayton had on microfilm. They definitely have some city directories for NOLA, but I can't tell which ones online. So then I checked their online catalog. What kind of books do they have for Orleans Parish, Louisiana? Books, of course, usually mean indices and not copies of originals, but, you know, I'm looking to see what and where everything is before deciding which avenue is the best to take for me considering, well, everything {including over-worked and under-funded archives}.

And they have some books covering city directories. But? Lo and behold, they had 10 volumes entitled Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from the Archives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. What does it have in it exactly? I dunno. Is it just indexed info of what the archives has? I dunno. If it is just indexed info, which info did they include? I dunno. Is it transcriptions? I dunno. Does it include 1874? It has a list of years included, but 1874 isn't listed. But I need to double check it. Could be wrong or incomplete.

But I'm going to found out what's in those 10 volumes of Roman Catholic NOLA awesomeness. I'm going to see what info they contain as well as what publishers Clayton includes in their microfilm and book offerings for NOLA city directories because I want their marriage record, but I want Annie's address too. I've been to NOLA several times, and I've been tempted to take one of the tours that takes you to the area where Irish immigrants lived back then {or I could just save the money and drive down the street myself}, but it's always bothered me not knowing where Annie lived exactly. I wanna know what I'm looking at when I go and see.

{And I need to go to Clayton anyway.}

But I want their marriage record as well to see if it gives me any more clues as to who Annie was and who her parents were. I wanna see if the info on their church marriage record matches the info I found on Daniel and Annie's returned marriage license. Did Rev. Gleason accidentally write down married names for their mothers, or is that what was on their church marriage record as well? What other info could be on there? Quite a bit or not much more?

But when I contact the archives and maybe the library for the info, I want to make sure I have as much info as possible so that it's easier on them as well.

~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. Thanks! ~C

Other blog posts relating to my DAR and EUL application research:
Family Stories: DAR or Bust
Family Stories: Loyalist + Patriot = ?
Family Stories: Boo's Baptismal Records Came In!
A Baby Boy
He Had Salt Water in His Veins
I Knew it Genevieve
Viola "Vyla" Prudence Vaughan Sproul Clifton Brandenburg
Stories Within the Old Lighthouse
James Wesley Blacketer's Story Continues...
DAR, Some Secrets, Brother Ed, and the Mayans
Collaborative Genealogy Works
Annie, I'm One Step Closer to Finding You
Annie and the Archdiocese of New Orleans

Annie and the Archdiocese of New Orleans

2013-01-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, I looked. Well, I Googled. After the marriage record success of yesterday's find which came by mail from Louisiana, I took a 10 minute break to eat lunch and then Googled the Archdiocese of New Orleans. And according to their very helpful and very long and detailed information concerning how a genealogist goes about finding a marriage record for their 2nd great grandparents who married somewhere in New Orleans {and hopefully in a Catholic church} in 1874, I found the following information useful for my needs:

The cut-off for privacy and full access is 1930. {Excellent.}
All genealogical requests must be sent via email or written mail. {Okey dokey.}
If I don't know the exact church of where the sacrament took place, I must include detailed information like parent's names, exact date of sacrament, who performed the marriage, if it was a marriage, etc. {No problemo.}
For marriages after 1845, requests must include the name of the church or the address of the applicants, especially the bride's. {Crap.}
Check the city directories at the New Orleans Public Library's Main Branch. {Okay.}

I have previously checked the city directories for New Orleans on Ancestry.com with no luck for Annie and maybe some luck for Daniel although it's not conclusive. One Daniel Vaughn/Vaughan is definitely not him, but a Dan Vaughn may be him. Can't tell for sure.

So. I will check other online places for the directories. Does Ancestry have them all? According to the 1900 census, Annie came to America in 1872 {And who knows how accurate that is? I've previously looked for her on passenger records and on immigration records with no success}, and I believe the city directories on Ancestry.com had thru 1871 and not 1872, 1873, or 1874 and then they pick up after that .

And I'll also check to see if Clayton Library has them or if FamilySearch.org lists anything for them or if they have them on microfilm. And I'll definitely check to see if the New Orleans main library does lookups of them.

So. I need to survey what is available for New Orleans City Directories and look for an address for Annie if I want the Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives to look for Daniel and Annie's marriage record. Or send in the request with the so-so address I have for a Dan Vaughan. And I really don't like that option.

Or? I could do some in-depth looking for a Rev. Gleason in city directories and newspapers to try to narrow which Catholic Parish he was working in around 1874. Surely he presided over a funeral that was written up in an New Orleans newspaper in 1874, right?

I'll do both.

Baby Steps. But I'm getting there.

I'm getting closer to Annie.

~Caroline

Annie, I'm one step closer to finding you.

2013-01-14T13:14:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, I had the honor and privilege of attending a wedding in a small country Texas town, Chappell Hill. The exchange of vows took place in St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church which was established in 1889, and it's very beautiful, and the ceremony was beautiful as well.

And as I was listening to the priest conduct the ceremony, it wasn't very hard to let my genealogy and family history imagination take over. Who else had been married in this church? Is this hardwood floor original to the church? Where do they keep their records? Who was baptized here? And did the original Polish-German settlers and communicants of this church here in Chappell Hill have as hard of a time understanding their priest as I do this one? Probably not because they would have spoken Polish or German, and I do not. {Yes, the priest on Saturday spoke English, but it was with a very heavy German accent.} Of course, Catholic services in 1889 would probably have been spoken in Latin, right? So, perhaps past parishioners had been just as in the dark as I was on Saturday. {I'm Episcopalian, and our liturgical services are quite similar so I was able to follow fine, but I do like to listen and understand the Gospel and sermon. Most of the time. ;) }

Needless to say, my mind wandered on Saturday evening during the ceremony. I even thought about Daniel and Annie's {my 2nd great grandparent's} marriage in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1874. Yes, I'd ordered a copy of their marriage record from the Secretary of State, Archives Division in Louisiana thanks to Jennifer Sepulvado's suggestion for my Daughter's of the American Revolution (DAR) and United Empire Loyalist (UEL) applications, but knowing from family stories handed down orally in my family that Annie was a devout Irish Catholic, and knowing from my research that Daniel might have grown up as an Episcopalian {like myself}, I've often wandered what church they were married in. Who stood up for them? What were they wearing? Who married them? What kind of flowers did Annie hold, if any?

You know, the usual stuff that goes on in a genealogist's or family historian's mind during a wedding in a very old church.

However, if I'd been at home on Saturday I would have checked my mail, and I could have had some answers to my questions about Daniel and Annie's wedding. And more clues. But then on this cold and drizzly day, it sure was nice to find their marriage record in the mailbox.

That's right. My marriage record copy order was completed in a very timely fashion. A huge thank you goes out to the Archives Division, Secretary of State of Louisiana because I now have in my possession a copy of Daniel and Annie's marriage record from 1874.

Now, I've ordered other marriage records before for other branches in my tree {and for other people}, and sometimes you get less information or clues than you were expecting and sometimes you get more. I prefer to just not think about it and expect less so that when I open up the envelope, and find out more than what I expected, then I'm pleasantly surprised. {Read: Jumping up and down with joy.}

And this is definitely one of those occasions.

According to their marriage a copy of their returned marriage license filed in Book No. 5, Folio 255, Mr. D.R. Vaughn and Miss Annie O'Brien were married by Rev. Gleason on 19 Mar 1874. The returned marriage license clearly states that D.R. Vaughn was 27 years old and a native of New Orleans, and his parents {That's right HIS PARENTS.} were B.J. Vaughn and Susanna Vaughn.

It also clearly states that Annie O'Brien was a native of Ireland and that she was the daughter of James O'Brien and Jane O'Brien. Their witnesses were a W.L. Leibrock and a Katie L. Lennon.

The marriage license was issued on 17 Mar 1874 by the Hon. John Daley and received back and filed in Book 5, Folio 255 on 23 Mar 1874.

Now, just because this is a photocopy of the of it does not mean the information is 100% correct. It's not. First, This is a photocopy of the returned marriage license filed in Book 5, Folio 255, and because of its photocopied state, it's considered a derivative of the original. However, in my opinion, it's a very good photocopy and it's clear to read and understand.

The other thing to consider is that the information on the returned marriage license was filled out probably by Rev. Gleason. It was probably signed by him, Daniel, and Annie. They were a part of the ceremony. The witnesses would have signed as well and, duh, they were witnesses. So the information on here concerning Daniel and Annie's marriage is as accurate as I can get without seeing the original returned marriage license with my own eyes and without attending their wedding ceremony {which would have been impossible}. The information concerning their marriage is primary. It also is direct information to my research question for my DAR and UEL applications. When {date} and where {city, county, state} were Daniel and Annie married? They were married 19 Mar 1874 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. And it corroborates other information and documents I have found concerning their marriage.

However, the information concerning Daniel's age and parents would have come from Daniel and not very close in time to the actual event. Yes, Daniel was there when he was born, but I was there when I was born, and I cannot attest to, well, anything on that day. {And you can't either concerning your own birth.} But according to what I've known all my life and my birth certificate, my age that I know it to be is correct. {Unfortunately.} So while I don't have his birth information nor his baptismal information {Microfilm is on order.}, I do have census information, his death certificate, and military information and the age recorded on his marriage record is in line with what I've found on those documents. And the same goes for his parent's names. {And I'm not even upset that his mother's maiden name isn't given. I already have it. It would've been nice for corroboration, though.}

Now, the same kind of thinking goes for Annie's given information. Interestingly, her age isn't listed. Annie would have been *counts on fingers* about 20 years old. I say, about because according to her death certificate, she was born 21 Jul 1853 so IF that's correct, when she married, she hadn't turned 21 yet. {If my math is correct. I hate math.} And, apparently, she told the priest who married them, Rev. Gleason, that she was a native of Ireland, and this corroborates everything I've learned about Annie via family lore as well as census records, her death certificate, her children's baptismal records, and her children's death certificates.

What's really awesome about this marriage record is the listing of Annie's parents. I assume Annie volunteered the information to Rev. Gleason. {Who else would have? Okay, maybe Daniel, but I've NO evidence that he knew them at all. Ever. Which means I know nothing.} So. This photocopy of the marriage record corroborates the information given on her death certificate by her youngest son, Daniel Warren Vaughan, that her father was, indeed, a James O'Brien. All still very secondhand, but I love clues that don't contradict each other, especially since trying to find an Annie J. O'Brien whose father might be a James O'Brien in Catholic Irish records in maybe Dublin Ireland seems so very daunting. {Amen?}

And? This marriage record reveals Annie's mother's name...

{Wait for it...}

Jane O'Brien. Which is totally new news for me. Now, I'm going to suggest that just as Daniel's mother's surname listed on the marriage record was not her maiden name, that probably Jane's maiden name is not O'Brien. But? Hello? I have her first name {if it's correct}! Unfortunately, it's a very common name, but I'm SO not gonna complain. {It could've been Mary. My tin cup is always half full and according to family lore so was Annie's.}

Now, remember, from Genevieve's {Daniel's and Annie's daughter's} baptismal record we learned that one of Genevieve's real names {As opposed to the one she went by her almost entire life because why make it easy on me?} was Jane. And from the census records and elsewhere, I've learned that Annie's middle initial is a "J." So the hint of Annie's naming patterns surfaces once again.

It also surfaces on the marriage record in another place - in the revealing of the the witnesses names. As I mentioned above, the second witness was a Katie L. Lennon. And we know from Genevieve's baptismal record and census records that Genevieve's middle name was Lennon.

This clue leads me to 2 additional research paths. I need to research both of these witnesses to discern their relationship to the happy couple. Who were they to Daniel and Annie? Also, it means if there is no relationship between Katie and Annie I probably don't need to keep the name 'Lennon' in mind when I eventually look for Annie's origins in Ireland.

The last clue that it gives me is that they were married by a Rev. Gleason. This indicates they were married in a church...a church that has records. {Oh yeah.} So now I need to track down a Rev. Gleason in probably a Catholic church in 1874. I think that's do-able. At least trying to find him is do-able. Certainly, I don't need it for my DAR and UEL applications, but who knows what kind of info it contains? Does it corroborate or contradict this marriage record or anything else I've found or know? And wouldn't it be nice the next time I go back to New Orleans to be able to visit and photograph the church where they were married if it's still there? So, I'll definitely hunt down {or at least try to} Rev. Gleason and the church Daniel and Annie were married in.

As far as my DAR and UEL applications are concerned, this marriage record is just what I needed for acceptable evidence of their marriage event for both applications. And since it's Daniel's maternal and paternal lines that hold the Patriot and Loyalist, respectively, needed for my applications, it would seem it's all good in this respect.

But it's also given me many clues for further research on Annie's origins and the rest of her line and hers and Daniel's wedding day.

I'm a step closer to the completion of my DAR and UEL applications.

And, Annie, I'm one step closer to finding you. {Um. Not physically, just your origins. And whatever stories I can find about you and anyone remotely related to you. And me.}

~Caroline

Orleans Parish, Louisiana, [Still obtaining the title of the register from the Archives Division because it wasn't listed in the photocopy.], Book 5: Folio 255, D.R. Vaughn - Annie O'Brien; State of Louisiana, Secretary of State, Archives Division, Baton Rouge.

Other blog posts pertaining to my DAR & UEL quests & some related tangents {In case you're really bored.}:

Family Stories: DAR or Bust
Family Stories: Loyalist + Patriot = ?
Family Stories: Boo's Baptismal Records Came In!
A Baby Boy
He Had Salt Water in His Veins
I Knew it Genevieve
Viola "Vyla" Prudence Vaughan Sproul Clifton Brandenburg
Stories Within the Old Lighthouse
James Wesley Blacketer's Story Continues...
DAR, Some Secrets, Brother Ed, and the Mayans
Collaborative Genealogy Works

Collaborative Genealogy Works

2012-12-22T07:44:00.001-06:00

Okay. This is awesome. I shared in my last post quite a bit on where I was on my DAR & UEL applications. {Probably too much. Boring, no?}

Anywho, I posted and then went about my Christmas preparations which are quite a bit right now, a couple of days before Christmas.

But? I had had asked a question to y'all at the end of my post which is something I suggest on my blog, BloggingGenealogy.com, family history bloggers do at the end of their blog posts to get readers engaged as well as to encourage collaboration from readers and most especially potential cousins.

I asked y'all if y'all had any suggestions especially on the Louisiana records that I needed to survey more.

And I received some awesome suggestions, some of which I knew about {and that's good because I may not have known about them}.

And then Jennifer Sepulvado suggested the online index of marriages from the Louisiana Archives and if its there, then a copy of the marriage license can be ordered online for $5.

So, guess who just ordered a copy of Daniel and Annie's marriage license from 1874?

The same person who owes Jennifer a huge BIG THANK YOU!

Me. Daniel & Annie's 2nd great granddaughter.

So, how's that for fast collaborative genealogy?

Note: Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. Keep them coming! :)

Another Note: I quickly did this blog post on my iPhone using the Blogger app. It's an on-the-go-post 'cause I'm on-the-go with Christmas prep {Read: shopping & baking.}.

And Another Note: The Mayans were wrong and it turns out I have to do the work.

~Caroline

DAR, Some Secrets, Brother Ed, and the Mayans

2012-12-20T10:52:00.000-06:00

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.

James Wesley Blacketer's Story Continues...

2012-12-06T13:30:00.002-06:00

"He used to walk around in his underwear."

"Excuse me?"

"He used to walk around in his underwear in their house. Didn't matter who was around either. Boo never liked it at all. But he thought he was 'something'."

I'd imagine that my great grandmother, affectionately known and called 'Boo', thought it was highly improper and scandalous for her son-in-law {my grandfather}, James Wesley Blacketer, to walk around in his underwear.

And I'd overheard when I was a child that my grandfather was a 'jerk' and I knew from my mom that he'd divorced the family -my Gran and all 8 children- because he really had been in love with my Gran, but wasn't too keen on being a father, or at least that was what my mom told me how she felt about it. And him.

And I also knew he'd been married before because I have a copy of his marriage certificate and his World War I draft registration card that shows he'd been married before. Couple that with the carefully guarded but often whispered rumors in the family about another family of his, and, well, the whole I-like-to-prance-around-in-my-underwear-while-at-home-but-not-alone tidbit about my grandfather, while not surprising, was, um, definitely shocking.

And, really, at the time I spoke with my aunt I was kind of in awe because I'd never met this aunt, or don't remember meeting her because there'd been a family feud in my mom's family when I was younger. So, while I knew her name and knew {by name only} which brother of my mom's she had married, I'd never really known her. And thanks to Facebook and a first cousin who found me there {son of a different aunt and uncle who'd been on the other side of the feud}, I met him in person and my aunt by telephone. And they were all too willing and extremely generous with their family stories, remembrances, rumors, and pictures of the family. {And I cannot thank them enough.}

That's right. Family pictures. Ones that included my grandfather...with his clothes on. {Thank goodness.}

"So, how did you learn about him walking around in his underwear?" {Not that I doubted her. I mean, who can make this kinda stuff up? And who would want to?!?}

"I used to do Boo's hair at my house later on in her life and she used to tell me things. She never liked your grandfather." {Not hard to guess why.}

"...and your grandfather's niece got a hold of Gran many years ago. She had done the family's genealogy and tracked Gran down. And that's when Gran found out he had had another family."

{Whoa! Right?} My aunt went on to explain how this niece told my grandmother that while my grandfather, James Wesley, had been away from home in Missouri during World War I, he just never came back. They assumed he had died. And by 'they' I mean his mother, father, siblings, his first wife, and their 2 children. Of course, they never received confirmation of his death, but they never knew what had had happened to him. With some Ancestry.com searching, where I originally found the record of his marriage to his first wife, I had already known that his first wife went on to remarry. {So, that wasn't new news to me, but the niece contacting my Gran was.}

And my grandfather met my grandmother and married by 1919 in San Antonio. {I hope there's some kind of divorce to his first wife on record because otherwise, I can say buh-bye to my DAR - Daughters of the American Revolution - application with this bit of info. Although, the UEL - United Empire Loyalists - may still take me.} Anywho, lots of detailed offline researching is in order for my DAR and UEL membership quest.

And, like I mentioned previously, my cousin {who found me on Facebook} shared his family history notebook that he'd compiled with photos and documentation from my Gran's niece {obtained through my aunt} as well as from his own personal collection of photos of his side of the family taken over the years.

James Wesley Blacketer ca. 1920 probably taken in San Antonio, Texas.

James Wesley Blacketer probably taken in San Antonio, Texas.

My Gran {Mary Alice Velda Truitt} and my grandfather {James Wesley Blacketer}.

Now, remember, I never met my grandfather because he committed suicide in 1951. And the only image I've seen of him is a black and white photocopy of him from the backside of his passport application that I found on Ancestry.com.

So, to say that I was thankful and fascinated by my grandfather's images shared with me by my cousin is an understatement. {I mean, I actually had tears in my eyes in the middle of a crowded Starbucks where my cousin and I met and swapped stories and family information. That's right. My cousin lives nearby.}

My cousin later emailed me more photos that he had of the family that hadn't yet made his notebook including color images of my grandfather's passport with the original passport photo of which I'd only seen the photocopy version. {My grandfather needed said passport when he worked and lived in Tampico, Mexico right after he married my grandmother.}

And when I gaze at my grandfather's photos - after the emotion over the enormity of the situation lessens - all I can think is, "He used to walk around the house in his underwear in front of everyone."

Well, that and the fact that I just found out that my grandfather appears on an arson investigation list in San Antonio less than a year before he committed suicide and those records are located in the City of San Antonio Archives which is open to the public. And that according to a recently found obituary of my grandfather's {different from the one that I had originally found}, there had been an inquest after his death to prove suicide and he'd been unable to work for the past 3 years due to his illness. {And I'll need to find out where those records are located.}

{And, whoa!?! What illness?!?}

And you know what all that means? Another fact-finding mission to San Antonio to investigate - this time - my other jerk of a grandfather who walked around in his underwear all the time and shocked and irritated his mother-in-law. {And I thought my Dad's dad, Big Paw Paw, was naughty. *snort*}

James Wesley, my grandfather, had been a deeply troubled man.

And he keeps me on my genealogy-family-history-storytellin' toes.

~Caroline
{Sources available upon request.}

It's Going To Be a Great Day Today

2012-11-29T11:55:00.001-06:00

I was brought up listening to Zig Ziglar motivational cassette tapes. Literally. My parents had the set of all 25 cassette tapes and his book, See You at the Top. Every car ride to just about anywhere ~ no matter who was in the car ~ was hosted by Zig Ziglar.

And my parents followed his advice {and then taught it to me}: to sit on the side of the bed upon waking every morning, to clap your hands, and tell yourself, "It's going to be a great day today!"

And then? They taped notes with the same message to their bathroom mirror so that as they got ready in the mornings they'd be reminded of what a great day today was going to be.

Did that mean every day turned out great?

Oh, hell no. My family has gone through a ton of personal crises, tragedies, and horrors over the years just like many other families. And just like many of our ancestors and yours.

The difference? The attitude. How you handle the situation. And when you start out your day telling yourself it's going to be a great day today, what you're really telling yourself is, "Not only am I gonna make it through today, but it's not gonna squash my attitude!"

I got this.

Bring it.

To say that this kind of thinking affected me as a child and as an adult is an understatement.

It gets me through those bad days.

It's the difference between the day running me and the me running the day.

My parents were an awesome example of how a positive attitude can completely change your life.

And while it saddens me that both my parents and Zig Ziglar have now passed away, I know they're all in Heaven. They're actually seeing each other "at the top." {Who knew he meant literally?!? LOL.}

They're clapping and saying,

"It's going to be a great day today!"

And you know what?

It is. It really is.

~Caroline

How does a daughter say goodbye?

2012-09-29T22:49:00.000-05:00

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

2012-08-22T16:20:00.002-05:00

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.

Viola "Vyla" Prudence Vaughan Sproul Clifton Brandenburg.

2012-08-01T00:05:00.000-05:00

There are histories and stories that can be found just in names, and my Great Aunt Vyla's full name is proof of that.

Great Aunt Vyla is one of the lucky ones because I've been able to trace all of her names. [Even though I'm pretty sure she was doing all that marrying and name-changing just to try to trip me up.]

Viola Prudence Vaughan's Baptismal Registry Entry.

Here's where I found the various forms of her names:

Vyla ~ I found her nickname in census records and from a letter she wrote vouching for her niece's [my Gran's] identity attached to her passport application on Ancestry.com. I'd also heard it in family lore.
Viola ~ On her baptismal record and her death certificate.
Clifton ~ Heard it in family lore and it was the surname she used in her letter she wrote vouching for her niece's [my Gran's] identity.
Sproul ~ I found this surname for her in census records, both of her daughters used the surname in census records as well as their wedding announcements found in San Antonio, Texas newspapers.
Brandenburg ~ This is the surname listed on her death certificate.

English: St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica, Archdiocese of Galveston - Houston, in Galveston, Texas, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then about one or two months ago, a distant cousin of mine stumbled across this blog and contacted me. He's a descendant of Great Aunt Vyla's and he confirmed all of her names listed above.

And he wanted to swap info with me.

And he told me that he and his wife lived in Alabama but that they'd be coming to Houston, Texas in October of this year for the big quilt show. And that they wanted to meet me.

And that they were also planning to run over to San Antonio, Texas [about 3 hours from Houston] to take tombstone photos. And they asked me if I knew where Daniel and Annie were buried.

[And, no, this is not the cousin I recently met here in Houston. That's a different one. It's like my summer is raining cousins, no?]

I replied that, yes, I was pretty sure where they were buried. [It's a long story for another time. [And sooner rather than later because it's Daniel's paternal and maternal lines who are the Loyalist and Patriot lines, respectively.]

And? I had just received Great Aunt Vyla's baptismal record in the mail along with my great-grandmother's baptismal record as well as that of their siblings who had also been baptized on Galveston Island.

Bolivar Ferry at Sunset 1219091727A (Photo credit: Patrick Feller)

Indeed, Viola Prudence Vaughan was born to Daniel R. Vaughan and Annie O'Brien 23 Jul 1883 and was baptized by Father J.K. Crowley 27 Sep 1883 at St. Mary's Cathedral on Galveston Island.

I've no clue as to where Annie came up with the name Viola, but the name Prudence probably came from Daniel's older sister Prudence. [I'm clever like that.] Surprisingly, her name didn't come from her baptismal sponsor, Emily Eves.

But? Another baby girl was born to Daniel and Annie, and it's a wonderful reason to celebrate.

Another momentous ferry ride from Bolivar Point to Galveston Island, Texas.

Another joyful trip to Galveston Island and this time to St. Mary's Cathedral for Viola's first of seven sacraments.

Tears mixed with smiles is anyone's guess.

But a reason to rejoice in the family!

Then.

And certainly now.

~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 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, and Genevieve, and now Viola Prudence. Finally, next up is my Great Grandmother Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt, whose record is the one I needed in the first place. The genea-powers-that-be were quite generous, oui?

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

I knew it, Genevieve.

2012-07-31T11:15:00.001-05:00

Jane or Joanna Lennon Vaughan, one of my great-grandmother's [Alice Florence Vaughan's] younger sisters, was born 2 Dec 1884 on Bolivar Point and baptized a ferry ride away at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Galveston Island, Texas, 2 Apr 1888 by Father V. Gurry [sp].

And so was Genevieve Lennon Vaughan and to the same parents ~ Daniel and Annie (O'Brien) Vaughan.

How? Why? Were they twins?

Genevieve's Baptismal Register Entry

No. They're the same person. It's just that for whatever reason [Probably just to mess with my mind.], they called Jane or Joanna Lennon Vaughan by the name "Genevieve." [Joanna is the name given in the handwritten registry. However, Jane is the name used for indexing purposes.]

When I had traced the family through the census records and when I'd found her daughter's wedding announcements in the San Antonio newspapers, I had thought the name Genevieve was a little odd for this family. And then when I found Genevieve had married a man by the name of Claiborne Leander Bouquet, I thought to myself, "Hm. What a coincidence."

I mean, she had a French-y kinda name and then she ended up marrying a man with a French-y kinda name. [Ends up his paternal grandfather had been French-born. No surprise there.]

Just thought it was note-worthy that 2 non-French-y people ~ 1 of which was Irish-born ~ named only one of their children with a French-y name, oui? But? Perhaps Annie was enamored with the name. Who am I to judge?

However as mentioned previously, Genevieve's name doesn't really "match" her siblings:

James Cornel
Henry Lewis
Alice Florence [My Great Grandmother, a.k.a., Boo.]
Viola Prudence
Daniel Warren

And unlike her 2 siblings ~ James Cornel and Henry Lewis ~ both of whom I've blogged about recently, her baptismal sponsors' names offer no clues as to the origins of any parts of her names:

Carolus Warren
Allen (Helena)

[However, her younger brother's middle name may come from ol' Carolus Warren. Maybe.]

And like I've mentioned in previous posts, I've eliminated names from Daniel's side of thefamily, identifying the names, Alice and Prudence, as more than likely comingfrom his sisters' names.

Therefore, when I eventually jump across the pond to scour Irish parish records for an Annie O'Brien who was probably born in Dublin, Ireland; who was hopefully baptized there as well; and who is maybe the daughter of a James O'Brien, I need to keep in mind the following names while searching to help me to identify the correct person:

Genevieve
Jane
Joanna
Lennon

And then, of course, I need to keep in mind her older brother's name Henry which the origin of is unaccounted for by me.

Granted, Annie could have named her kids after neighbors, friends, pet cows, a character from her favorite book of poems [That is, if she had one.], etc. Anything is possible. But so is the fact that Annie may have used some names from her side of the family other than her father's name, James.

They are definitely clues to keep in mind.

Oh, and I'd be remiss at this point if I didn't mention the fact that in several records, Annie's middle initial is "J". Of course, this begs the question, "Jane or Joanna?" Or maybe something else entirely?

All very interesting, but still nothing to help me with my Daughters of the American Revolution and my United Empire Loyalists membership applications.

Just another reminder of a joyous birth of a baby girl to Daniel and Annie, my 2nd great grandparents.

Another eventful ferry ride from Bolivar Point to Galveston Island, Texas.

A memorable trip to St. Joseph's Catholic Church ~ the first German Catholic church built in Texas and the oldest still-standing wooden building in Texas ~ where Jane or Joanna "Genevieve" Lennon Vaughan received her first of seven sacraments.

We can only guess as to how Daniel and Annie were feeling that day. Smiles? Laughter? Tears of happiness? And if Genevieve's older brother, baby James, had already passed by this time, a bittersweet tear may have made its presence known. And did baby Genevieve cry as she was christened by Father Gurry [sp]?

We'll probably never know.

But one thing is for sure, my Great Aunt Genevieve.

I knew you were Genevieve.

And at the same time I knew you weren't.

I knew it, Genevieve.

~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. [Scandalous, 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 archivist graciously sent me my great grandmother's siblings' baptismal records as well. [At least, the ones who were baptized within that diocese.] Therefore, I've been blogging about their records and the story they reveal: James Cornel, Henry Lewis, and now Genevieve. Next will be Viola Prudence, and then finally my great grandmother, Alice Florence, whose record is the one I needed in the first place. The genea-powers-that-be were quite generous, oui?

St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Galveston, Galveston County, Texas). Baptismal Registers. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Houston, Texas.

He had salt water in his veins

2012-07-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

I can still remember the first time I learned what "situational irony" meant. I was in my literature class in junior high, and the following example of it was given. If a world traveling big game hunter were to retire and then be run over by a car and killed, that would be situational irony because you would think he would have been killed while hunting big game. [Of course, they never said if he was being chased by a bear, but I can be difficult about these things.]

So when the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, died from a heart attack caused by a sting ray stinging him in the chest, I thought to myself, "situational irony" because you'd think he would've died by one of those big ferocious crocodiles that he usually hunted and not by a sting ray. Okay, it was a similar activity, but still not the same dangerous activity he was known for. And it had reminded me of that first example about situational irony.

Copy of Henry Lewis Vaughan's Death Certificate.

Moreover, while researching, I discovered from his death certificate and his World War I Draft Registration Card that my Great-Uncle, Henry Lewis Vaughan, had been a master mariner, had supposedly participated in the Spanish-American War, had been an instructor for the U.S. War Department in 1918, but had died at the age of 78 from a head-on automobile collision.

And I thought to myself at the time, "situational irony." Again.

He has a colorful history. There's something about someone working on the high seas that gets my literary self excited from imagining the tall tales this man could have and might have told.

Copy of Henry Lewis Vaughan's WWI Draft Registration Card.

So what does this have to do with my applications to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the United Empire Loyalists (UEL)? Admittedly, not much. However, I did receive a copy of his baptismal entry along with my great-grandmother's as well as some of their siblings. According to the entry he was born after his older brother Baby James, on 7 April 1878, and was baptized 2 Jun 1878 at St. Mary's Cathedral in Galveston, Galveston County, Texas.

All other pieces of documentation indicate he was, like my great-grandmother, born on Bolivar Peninsula, which was and still is today a ferry ride away from Galveston Island.

Copy of Henry Lewis Vaughan's Baptismal Register Entry.

There are 4 items of note about his baptismal entry that do shed some light on the Vaughan family. One is that the surname was first spelled "Vaughn" on Henry's register entry then corrected to "Vaughan". Indeed, throughout Henry's life, just like his father's (Daniel Rook Vaughan's) life, it was consistently spelled both ways. So I find it interesting that on Baby James' baptismal entry, it was spelled "Vaughn" and on Henry's it's corrected to "Vaughan". I do know that on Daniel's father's baptismal record it's spelled "Vaughan" as well. As I mentioned, just something to note.

The 2nd item of note is that his middle name is spelled "Louis" on the entry, but on other documentation I've found on him, it's spelled "Lewis". However, I think this is pretty minor.

Likewise, the 3rd item of note is that Annie's maiden name was added to the document and it looks to have been added at the same time the document was made, but after they had originally written it out, as if they re-read it and said, "Oopsie Daisy. You're Annie O'Brien Vaughan, not Annie Vaughan." I could be wrong [and it wouldn't be the first time, nor will it be the last], but that's what it looks like.

Sadly, the 4th item of note is that I had had no clue as to where Daniel and Annie had come up with the name Henry Lewis before I had received his baptismal entry. Neither one can be found [or least I haven't found them] on Daniel's side of the family. So, where did they come from? I'd hoped that perhaps they'd be a clue to Annie's side of the family, but, alas, Henry's baptismal sponsors were Louis Moore and Lucy Moore. But? Where did the name "Henry" come from? My luck? Annie named him after the captain of the ferry boat, but I'm going to try and stay positive about this. [Really, I am.] I'm just not real excited about the name Henry. It's common. So when I begin to look for Annie J. O'Brien maybe born in Dublin, Ireland [and hopefully baptized there], with a father maybe named James, I need to keep an eye out for the name Henry. Great. All I'm missing is a Mary to round out these common names. But? I've some hints that Annie may have been Mary Anne J. O'Brien. So you can see why I'm not really happy with this name Henry. [But I'm not bitter about this. I promise.]

Anywho. So nothing here that helps me out for my applications, but I've found, as with Baby James' baptismal entry, having it in hand makes me think of his day of baptism.

No matter the year, June 2nd on the island and peninsula is hot and humid. And very breezy. I know this because I've ridden on the ferry between the peninsula and the island. I've stood there gazing at the bay with the strong breeze whipping my hair around my head, I've felt the sea spray on my face, I've heard the shrill sounds of the sea gulls flying nearby, and I've felt the sweat dripping down my back. [In other words, I was sweaty, sunburned, wind burned, my hair was tangled, and there was bird poop on the ferry.] And it makes me wonder if Baby James had still been alive when Henry was baptized, or had he already passed? Were Daniel and Annie standing on that ferry [or sitting] with both James and Henry?

And considering Henry Lewis grew up to become a master mariner, I think it very fitting he started out his little life taking a ferry ride to the island to be baptized. The old saying, "He had salt water in his veins" seems apt for this wee one. The way in which Henry Lewis died can be labeled as "situational irony," but the start of his life seems almost, I dunno, prophetic. [Definitely coincidental, but the romantic in me likes the idea of it being prophetic. So I'm going with it.]


On the ferry from Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston Island. © Copyright 2009 Caroline Pointer

~Caroline

"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J6Y5-LHC : accessed 2012), Henry Lewis Vaughan, 1956.

" World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918." Database and images. Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6482&iid=VA-1984908-4124&fn=Henry+Lewis&ln=Vaughan&st=r&ssrc=pt_t1884615_p-764111646_kpidz0q3d-764111646z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgPLz0q3dpid&pid=21558721 : accessed 2012).

St. Mary's Cathedral (Galveston, Galveston County, Texas). Baptismal Registers. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Houston, Texas.

A Baby Boy!

2012-07-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

She had no way of knowing how her simple reply to my email would affect me. I mean, how could she? We didn't know each other. And we still don't.

But with that email reply, she gave me some hope. Hope that maybe I'd know whether my thoughts on the matter were right. That perhaps I had a lead or a clue.

However, with the envelope and copies she sent me, the Archivist for the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston took away my hope of being right, but gave me such a special little unexpected gift.

A baby boy.

Okay. I knew he was there from my email, but that little bundle of joy wasn't exactly real for me until I was holding a copy of his entry in the baptismal register.

Jacobum Cornelium Vaughn's entry in St. Patrick's Cathedral Baptismal Register, 1876.

Jacobum Cornelium Vaughn was born 7 January 1876 and was baptized 6 February 1876 at St. Patrick's Church on Galveston Island, Texas according to a copy of his entry in the baptismal register. His parents were listed in the baptismal record as "Danieli R. Vaughn" and "Anna Vaughn (olim OBrian)" ~ my 2nd great-grandparents: Daniel R. Vaughn/Vaughan and Anna/Annie O'Brien.

Now. Their names look a little "funny" but as the archivist so kindly explained in her accompanying cover letter, their names are in Latin form. So, I Googled until I found what everything meant. I'm curious like that. And if you are too, here are the websites I found and liked that help me out with the Latin in church records: The Parish of Atherton in the County of Lancashire [I really liked their table of Latin name forms and the explanation of how folks' names were written down.] and the Latin Genealogical Word List by Kimberly Powell on About.com.

According to The Parish of Atherton in the County of Lancashire's website and their handy-dandy explanations and tables, Danieli was the Latin form of Daniel and because of the ending that meant he was the baby's father. And Jacobum is Latin for James, and because Jacobum was the one being baptized [the star of the show], his name ended with -um.

But what about his middle name, Cornelium? I was kind of hoping that was a clue to perhaps a maternal line in Annie's family. Obviously, the base of the name is Cornel- or Corneli-. Again the ending is -um indicating he's the star of the show.

But? The names written in the sponsors lines is where my hopes were dashed. His sponsors were Cornelio A. Donohoe and Lillia A. Bruenne. [I think. A preliminary look in census records didn't clear up her last name for me because I couldn't find her. I will look again later.] The ending of Cornelio indicates a witness to the event. A witness. And not necessarily a family member.

However, I'm not in complete despair though. I'm pretty sure Annie didn't have any relatives here, but I could be very wrong. I, at the very least, have 2 more names to hunt down like the prey they are.

Not only that, but Annie's birthplace is listed as Dublin, Ireland. And remember how I wasn't too sure about Dublin, Ireland being her birthplace because it'd been listed on her death certificate where her youngest son was the informant? And he didn't even know his mom's mom's name so how I could I trust, really, that he knew where she'd been born? Right? [Dude. It's not like I don't trust you, but? I don't. Your mama had just died. You were probably upset about that, no? And you weren't there when your mama was born.]

Anywho, this document ~Jacobum Cornelium's baptismal register entry~ was created in 1876 which is much closer to Annie's birth than when her death certificate was created in 1918. [Kind of a 'duh' statement, I know, but sometimes those need to be said. Or written.] And Annie is more than likely the one to have given that nugget of awesomeness [a.k.a., her place of birth] to the priest. We don't know if Annie really knows where she was born because while she was there, she wouldn't have remembered everything. [Do you? That's what I thought.] But no matter. This is just a scrap of a clue. This is still a step forward in my opinion.

It's still daunting to think that I need to look for an Annie J. O'Brien who was born and hopefully baptized in a parish in Dublin, Ireland with a father maybe named James . And she may have been a Mary Anne in those yet to be looked for baptismal records. Maybe.

And what does this have to do with my DAR [Daughters of the American Revolution] and UEL [United Empire Loyalists] applications? Well, the reason I ended up with Jacobum's baptismal record is because I was looking for his younger sister's [my great-grandmother's] baptismal record. I need that because Texas didn't start statewide birth recordings until 1903-ish. And it was sent to me as well as other siblings' records [Because that Archivist rocks!]. I need evidence of her birth and this was the closest thing I could think of to the event of her birth that might have been documented that would indicate her birth. And I was right.

But I think the most important thing to emerge about this is the story ~ Jacobum Cornelium's story. I know that James [Jacobum] doesn't make it. At some point he dies young. I don't know when, but I'll find out. I'll try to find where he was buried. [Not an easy thing to do on an island on the Gulf that gets hit with hurricanes and has a ton of cemeteries.] He was possibly named after his maternal grandfather and he was baptized in a beautiful cathedral on Galveston, Island. And, yeah, it's still there today.

He was quite possibly swaddled in a blanket. Maybe it was cold. Rain or sunshine ~ who is to say? On 6 February 1876 little Jacobum Cornelium received his first of seven sacraments. Did he robustly cry while being held by the unfamiliar Father Glynn? Or did he coo? His parents were quite proud, I can only imagine. Perhaps Annie smiled at some point. Moved to tears? I don't know. Possibly.

I probably will never know.

But I do know he existed. His story was short. But little Jacobum Cornelium was here. I've no doubt about that.

So, little Jacobum Cornelium [James Cornel] has been added to the family tree. And to my list that seems to grow. You know, the list of people whose story I will find and tell? When did James die? Why did he die? Where is he buried?

But for now, I think I'll savor this wondrous moment ~ for Daniel and Annie had...

A baby boy!

~Caroline

St. Patrick's Cathedral (Galveston, Galveston County, Texas). Baptismal Registers. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Houston, Texas.

Boo's Baptismal Records Came In!

2012-06-25T17:45:00.001-05:00

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

James Wesley Blacketer and his legacy

2012-06-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

You know, I didn't start out looking for it or him. Honestly, I didn't. But some of the best things come to me when I'm not expecting them.

And I don't even really like him. Of course, I never met him. But I'd heard enough about him to know that I'd probably not like him. Do you really need to meet someone to know them?

He was weak. Not physically ~ at least, I don't think so ~ but character-wise. In my mind, he was what an author would describe a character in their book as having a "weak chin".

This is why when I found the U.S. Passport Application on Ancestry.com for my grandfather, James Wesley Blacketer, I was both excited and hesitantly anxious, for given the date of the application, I knew what was on the second page. However, I was slow to click the arrow button to advance to the next page.

Why? Well, of the things I'd heard about him, he didn't seem to make the right choices in life.

His children didn't think much of him.

His second wife didn't think too much of him either.

And what his first and third wives thought of him? Well, that's lost in time somewhere.

I mean, it's sad when the only good thing some of your children can say about you is that, "When Mother would take us over to visit with him after the divorce, he was always very happy to see Mother. I think he really loved Mother."

That's sad to me. It's sad he never tried to be a father to his eight children with his second wife. It's also sad that at the time of those visits, he was married to his third wife, Rose. [Make the bad man stop, right?]

And? It surprised me to find out that he had married before my Gran, and may have had at least one child with his first wife. I often wonder about Virginia Leach and their child together if, indeed, that was his child. What happened to her? What happened to the child? Did they survive? Did she and my grandfather divorce? Or did he just simply leave?

While growing up, I had heard whispers in the kitchen when my mother's family was over that one of my uncles had been contacted by a woman. And when I say "contacted" I mean she just showed up on his doorstep and when he opened the door, she introduced herself and said, "I think we're related." Not the best way to, um, contact possible relatives. She was of Native American descent and explained that a man by the same name as my grandfather was her father, too. And that he'd lived on the reservation for a while.

Of course, I was too young at the time to catch her name nor where she came from. [And really not supposed to be in the kitchen eavesdropping, but a kid learns the best stuff that way, no?] And, really? Today, I'd SO welcome someone coming to my door like that much more than my uncle did back then. [Okay. I'd be shocked, but the family historian in me would be overjoyed. A new branch in the family tree! Hello?!?]

But? It makes me wonder about Virginia Leach and her one child that I know of. Was this child the one who showed up on my uncle's doorstep so long ago? Why didn't anyone pursue this relation? Sure, the thought of it was scandalous and their father had been a louse of a husband and father, but was that her fault?

Of course, I don't know if any of it is true. For all I know, he could have wives and children everywhere along his timeline. But I know for a fact my grandfather was married to a Virginia Leach because I have their marriage record. I know for a fact that he was supporting his wife Virginia Leach and a child when he filled out his World War I Draft Registration Card.

And I was contacted by a Davis cousin researcher. [Our common ancestor being Andrew J. Davis whose daughter Estella Cordelia married a Mr. Smith and their daughter married my grandfather's father Harrison Blacketer.] And in an email to me she said years ago she'd been in contact via snail mail with a descendant of my grandfather's younger brother, Maurice, and that she thought that descendant could shed some light on the matter. I've not been able to find her, but I'm hopeful of finding someone with a part of this story. I'm far from done with researching. In fact, I've only just begun.

But getting back to my grandfather, he committed suicide in 1951. I feel bad for him that he thought life was so bad that the only option left for him was to end his life. Did he have regrets about the decisions he had made? Did he think the effects of his bad choices in life would fix themselves if he were no longer alive? Or that they'd just disappear? Or had he been hurting so much that he just couldn't take it anymore?

"He was always keen on making children just not keen on taking care of them." That's the motto his children always laughingly said about him. It was always a laugh laced with sadness. You know, one of those moments where if you don't laugh, you'll cry. That's his legacy that he left behind.

So, when I found his U.S. Passport Application, I took a deep breath and clicked the arrow to look at the man for the very first time who had been so imperfect, so troubled, so unable to be the man his loved ones needed him to be, and so human.

And I stared.

And I kept staring at him with all these questions and feelings tumbling inside me, and I asked of him what many people ask of those who've decided to take their lives, "Why?"

Unfortunately, he didn't reply. But, at least I had a face to the few facts, to the few stories, and to the many rumors I have of him. And you know what?

His chin looks a little weak.

But I really like his bow tie. Not many men can pull that off.

~Caroline

Sources:

Ancestry.com "U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925." Database and images. Ancestry.com. http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=1174&path=Passport+Applications%2c+January+2%2c+1906+-+March+31%2c+1925.1920.Roll+1307+-+Certificates%3a+71376-71749%2c+21+Jul+1920-21+Jul+1920.149&sid=&gskw=James+W+Blackster : 2009.

Using OneNote to help me track my research problems

2012-05-14T22:34:00.002-05:00

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

They weren't just my ancestors

2012-05-14T14:28:00.001-05:00

The Devil's in the Details

My Gran

Okay. So I hadn't looked at my data in, like, forever. So I hadn't felt the need to go over everything in my Gran's and my Boo's [My Gran's mom.] lives with a fine-toothed comb. Why should I? My Gran was my Gran and my Boo was my Boo. And I knew them. And when I started out researching I really didn't know what the heck I doing.

But now I do. And this weekend in prep for filling out my application for DAR and UEL, I found some discrepancies that should have been staring me in the face from my database. [Hey, I rhymed.] But I dunno what happened. I know I've switched this database a multitude of times over the years in search of software that I like. More than likely, though, I, myself, messed it up somewhere.

Anywho, the devil's in the details, especially when you don't pay attention to the details. I don't know to what level DAR and the UEL go as far as proof is concerned, but me? I'm trying to adhere to the Genealogical Proof Standard [GPS]. [Mostly.]

Not only is the devil in the details, but so are the family stories. Here's my research plan. And then I'll continue this story on the other end. [Yeah. I know. It's long. I'm sorry. Not really.]

Research Problem

Need to provide evidence for my Gran's birth and parental relationship.
Need to reconcile her different names on different pieces of evidence.
Need to reconcile the difference in birth year between baptismal index, the 1910, 1920, 1930 censuses and other evidence. The variances suggest something is wrong with the listed ages or the birth year of 1901.
Also need to reconcile parent's names listed in 1910 census with other evidence.

Known Facts / Family Information

Information	Source
She was born 21 Sep 1901 or 1902 in Cheneyville, LA.	US Passport App from Ancestry.com
Birth is listed as Sep 1901 Cheneyville, LA	Letter vouching for her identity attached to her US passport application. Letter written by her maternal aunt, Vyla (Vaughan) Clifton./Ancestry.com
She may have been baptized at St. Mary's Cathedral downtown S.A. in 1913 but they list her b.21 Sep 1892.	Baptismal Index on FamilySearch.org Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 from FamilySearch.org Pasted from <https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Mary%20Alice%20Velda%22~%20%2Bsurname%3ATruitt~>
7yo b. LA in 1910	1910 Census/Ancestry.com
18yo b.LA in 1920	1920 Census/Ancestry.com
27yo b.LA in 1930; first married at age 20yo	1930 Census/Ancestry.com
Her birthdate is 21 Sep 1902	SSDI/Ancestry.com

Her name is Alice V. Truitt	1910 census/Ancestry.com
Her name is Mary A. Blacketer	1920 census/Ancestry.com
Her name is Alice Blacketer	1930 census/Ancestry.com
Her name is Mary Alice Velda Truitt	Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 Pasted from <https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Mary%20Alice%20Velda%22~%20%2Bsurname%3ATruitt~> Index on FamilySearch.org
She was a practicing Catholic.	Personal knowledge.
I knew her name to be & knew her to be called Mary Alice (Truitt) Blacketer, Mary, Alice, "Sam", "Gran".	Personal knowledge.

Mother is listed as Alice Vaughn.	Baptismal Index Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 - FamilySearch.org Pasted from <https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Mary%20Alice%20Velda%22~%20%2Bsurname%3ATruitt~>
Father is listed as Claud R. Truitt	Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981 Pasted from <https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Mary%20Alice%20Velda%22~%20%2Bsurname%3ATruitt~> Index on FamilySearch.org
Her mother's name is listed as "Cora"	1910 Census/Ancestry.com
Her father's name is listed as "Chas R."	1910 Census/Ancestry.com
Her parents were married 22 Nov 1901 in Bexar County, Texas.	Published index of Marriages of Bexar County, Texas/MCML
Her mother Alice Truitt is listed as my Gran's husband's daughter	1930 census/Ancestry.com

Working Hypothesis [What are the possible answers based on what you already know listed above? Keep an open mind. These are things you are trying to prove or disprove.]

According to a published index, her parents were married 22 Nov 1901. All the evidence of her birth is secondary [like census] and is far from the actual event of her birth. Was Gran conceived and born before her parent's marriage? It's possible her birth year was earlier as the baptism index suggests, but that much earlier? Doubtful.

In 1910, the census was taken 21 Apr 1910 & her listed age is 7yo. If that's true, she would've been turning 8yo, making her correct birth year 1902. [Not 1901 like she reports later in life.]

In 1920 [the same year she applies for a US Passport and reports her birthday as 21 Sep 1901, I think. See below. The census was taken 2 Jan 1920 ~ well before her birthday ~ and her listed age is 18yo. If that's so, then at the time of the 1920 census, she would be turning 19yo later in the year, giving her a birth year of 1901.

In 1930, the census was taken 8 Apr 1930 and her listed age in it is 27yo. If true, her birthday would be later in the year and she'd be turning 28yo, giving her a birth year of 1902, which contradicts the 1920 census and US Passport application [Maybe. See below.]. Unlike the 1920 census, though, her mother is living with her and her family. Quite possible her mother gave the information to the enumerator for the 1930 census, not my Gran. Also it's before her wedding anniversary, but it's listed that she was first married at age 20yo, meaning her birth year would be seven years ago giving her a birth year of 1903. Of course, most people when asked about their marriage aren't specific to the day, especially if you're asking the mother. [Ugh. Hate math.]

On her US Passport Application, it looks like it first was 1902 then written over as 1901, or vice versa. However, the letter from her aunt clearly states 1901 as her birth year. Her application is signed Aug 1920, before her birthday and her age is listed as 18yo. That would mean she was about to turn 19yo making her birth year [*counts on fingers*] 1901.

And her SSDI entry indicates she was born 21 Sep 1902. [Of course it does.]

My gut feeling is that she was born in 1901 before her parents married and that her complete name is Mary Alice Velda (Truitt) Blacketer. And that her mother kept up the lie throughout her life and somehow Gran found out, like when her mother and father divorced. But can I prove it?

Think her parent's name differences in 1910 is just an anomaly, because her father's name is close and they had another Claud living with them as a boarder. Plus her mother's name was Alice Florence, and the listed name on the census is "Cora" which sounds like "Flora" and could be a nickname for Florence. Why would she be going by a nickname from her middle name? Her daughter, my Gran, was Alice too. [Can't tell you how many multiple Mary/Pollys in the same households I've seen, and then they switch off from census to census on who's gonna be Mary and who's gonna be Polly. So this could be true.]

I've never heard the middle name "Velda" for my Gran, but that means nothing. It probably is my Gran's middle name. Mary was probably added when she was baptized. The maternal line here is decidedly Catholic. [I used to take Gran to mass when she came to visit.] In the 1910 census, she's listed as Alice V. Truitt.

Think the relationship listed for my great grandmother in the 1930 census is just a mistake made by the enumerator as her age alone makes that impossible.

List places to look for the answers to your research problem. List all possible places both online and offline to look for evidence to answer the research problem.

Bexar County Courthouse

Catholic Diocese of San Antonio

Survey FamilySearch.org for available applicable microfilm, esp. for LA births.

SSDI/SSA

Research Strategy

Survey records available for Cheneyville, Rapides Parish, LA. Were they recording births? Obtain birth record, if possible. This would clear up name & year discrepancies.

SS App? The index says 1902. She would've needed her birth record to apply for SS or something to vouch for her birth. For her US Passport application, she had her aunt vouch for her which tells me she probably didn't have her birth record. [Oh joy.]

Because the baptismal index indicates she may have been baptized in 1913 at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Antonio, contact the San Antonio Diocese Offices and inquire about their archives. Obtaining her baptismal record might clear up the year and will be enough evidence to prove parentage. The 1892 birth year on that index throws me for a loop because that would mean when my Gran died in May 1993, she wasn't 91yo but [*counts on fingers*] 100yo about to turn 101yo. She *totally* did not look ~ at any time that I knew & saw her ~ 10 years older than her age. Either there's a mistake or my Gran had awesome genes. [And there's hope for me.] Plus, her mother would have been 9yo. Impossible. So. Need birth record & baptismal record to clear up the birth year and name variances.

My Gran divorced my grandfather and my great grandmother divorced my great grandfather. So evidence may lie in those records [because lots of stuff was in my other grandfather's, Big Paw Paw's, multiple divorce records in that same county]. So need to obtain those divorce records because there just might be something in them that will settle this birth year and name variances dilemma. Her parent's marriage needs to be verified as well at the Bexar County Courthouse. [So, I'll be busy there. Thank goodness St. Mary's Cathedral is next door to the courthouse. I'm trying to be thankful for the little things.]

Find the family in the 1940 census in San Antonio, Texas. Names and birth year could add to the evidence. Her mother, supposedly, remained living with her to help her raise her kids. Could possibly have correct information on it. [Stranger things have happened.]

So. Yeah. My Gran wasn't just my Gran and my Boo wasn't just my Boo. They had lives and secrets. Most of all, they were human beings. Human beings before they were Catholic.

And they had stories. Stories I plan to find and share.

Cuz we're all just human beings. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

[Stay tuned in the next post, I'll show you how I've revised my tech method to apply to DAR and UEL in a video tutorial cuz I really like making those tutorials. Sometimes showing tells better than I can tell it.]

~Caroline

Part 2 FTM2012 & Workflow for Researching

2012-05-11T20:43:00.001-05:00

Here's the promised part 2 of how I use FTM 2012 and my online workflow process. And I'm using my DAR & UEL applications as examples.

One question I've already received on it is if I've used the integrated web search in FTM 2012. I have, but I'm not in love with it. First, I have my fave research sites setup in groups via a Forefox browser addon. Second, the view within FTM2012 doesn't show Tasks, just minimal facts, media, & notes. I want to see the tasks along with all the other info when I toggle while researching. I'm greedy like that.

Anywho. Here's the video. And more importantly, what's your workflow?

~Caroline

[Note: I'm cross posting to 4YourFamilyStory.com.]

How I'm using FTM's 2012 'Tasks' Feature

2012-05-11T17:31:00.001-05:00

Here's a short tutorial that explains how I'm using the 'Tasks' feature in FTM 2012 for my applications to DAR and UEL. It's part 1 of 2. The second video delves into my online workflow process and the 'Tasks' feature. I'm cross posting to 4YourFamilyStory.com cuz it's techy. [And then I don't feel so bad that I messed with this all week. =) ]

~Caroline

Loyalist + Patriot = ?

2012-05-09T20:35:00.002-05:00

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.

After looking at my various lines that I suspect lead to proven Patriots, I determined that perhaps my Truitt-Ross line [Remember, my Gran was a Truitt.] would be the easiest. William Ross is listed as a proven Patriot with DAR because he signed the Oath of Allegiance in Delaware. [That's right. He didn't fight.]

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

DAR or Bust.

2012-04-30T17:10:00.001-05:00

I know. It's been a while. I *have* been busy on my other blogs and guest posting, but just not busy here.

However, things are about to pick up. I've decided to actively work on obtaining my DAR [Daughters of the American Revolution] membership. Why? Several reasons.

Unbeknownst to me last Saturday at my local genealogical society's meeting I sat by the Regent-Elect of one of the local DAR chapters, and as any good Texan does, she talked me up over Shipley's donut holes and coffee. [*snort* They say alcohol loosens people up. Please. It's donuts and coffee. And pie. Cherry pie. *clears throat*]

Anywho. She got to talking about their next DAR meeting and how it was the following Thursday night, and that they'd be inducting new members and installing new officers. I mentioned then that I had a few prospects [Read alleged 'misfits'.] to work on for DAR membership, but hadn't worked on it for a while. So next thing I knew I was handing over my business card and she was saying she was gonna call me to get some information on Monday.

And as promised, then today, Monday, she called. Now I'll be attending that Thursday meeting/dinner, and I can't wait!

Why? Cuz I'm not from where I currently live, and I've no family here. And other than Amy Coffin from the WeTree Genealogy Blog, I've no one locally who is interested in genealogy and history. I love being around people, yet I rarely socialize. I enjoy the fact that it'd been several months since I'd been to my genealogy society's meeting and our president came over and gave me a hug and said she'd missed me. Then everyone made sure I was going be at lunch after the meeting with them where we talked about genealogy, local history, and how we were moving our genealogy society and our library to a nearby small town for reasons I cannot disclose. But? Dude. Why wouldn't I want MORE of that? I'd be crazy not too.

Secondly, I need some proper motivation to break through this horribly stubborn brick wall involving my Davis, Smith, and Blacketer lines. Once this wall is outta my way, many of the lines are much simpler, and will open up several DAR prospects, 3 Winthrop Society prospects, & some other colonial society prospects. Not to mention will open up my research for my relationship to the Roosevelts.[Yes. Those Roosevelts.] And while I'm not enamored with the thought of the title of being in these society's and relationships, I am damn proud of my ancestors. And they make good stories. And this is the way I'm choosing to express it. And I like the idea of someone from my local DAR helping me out and being supportive and encouraging with research I already need to do.

Besides, this particular brick wall, involves some alleged hanky panky, and we need a good alleged hanky panky family story on this blog right now that DOES NOT involve Big Paw Paw in any way whatsoever. His ego ~wherever he is~ is already big enough.

Anywho. I've been secretly in touch with a distant Davis cousin, and she's given me some sourced information that's guaranteed to help me out. And actually we're double cousins cuz the Davis's and the Blacketers liked each other a lot.

No. I'm not scared about researching my Smith and Davis lines. It does irritate me that they had the audacity to marry one another in between the 1860 and 1870 census with their daughter ~Martha Jane [at least she's not Mary]~ being born in 1869, and the Baby Daddy Smith is not listed on the 1870 census, but Martha Smith is with her mama Estella Cordelia Davis, my 2nd great grandma.] and they're living with Estella's daddy.

No I'm not scared that Martha Jane Smith when she was older married her step-daddy [Harrison Blacketer], and it's not clear whether he married her mother before that. [But it sure looks that way.]

No. I'm not scared that all the Davis researchers that I could find really believe that Andrew Jackson Davis is the youngest son of Jacob and Eunice (Dixon) Davis, but no one has proof other than the fact that there aren't any other Davis families around where good ol' Andy [or should I say my 3rd great grand papa] was born.

I've not looked under every rock that there is to look under. Not by a long shot. Frankly, I was too stunned at the time that Harrison married his step-daughter. [And don't look at me like that. You would've been too.] I do have a lead on another Blacketer cousin who may have some family stories handed down about Harrison Blacketer, Martha Jane Smith, and Estella Cordelia Davis. And Andy had a Civil War pension. [Did I mention he was in the Civil War for Iowa?] In fact, I know what I've done, and I know what I need to do. I'm better off than most.

So. Yeah. I'm gonna take the DAR plunge and see where it leads. I'm fully aware that the toppling down of my brick wall may take me elsewhere. [I mean, if they were misfits, they're hardly DAR-worthy. Me-worthy. Story-worthy. Just not DAR-worthy. *snort*] That's cool. Just more family stories to tell. And if it does lead to DAR or some other lineage societies, then I will have redeemed all this alleged hanky panky that's been going on in the family tree by my alleged misfit ancestors. [And think of all the Davis, Smith, and Blacketer researchers who will be excited.]

But I'm looking forward to adding another local meeting to my calendar and having a chance to connect with some local folks with common interests.

And then there's the donuts and coffee, of course. [Duh.]

Then, not to be outdone by my misfit ancestors, I thought I'd work on my United Empire Loyalists [UEL] application at the same time I'm working on my DAR application. [My work on that is MUCH easier. They weren't as much of alleged misfits as the other lines, which is really, really funny if you think about it.] They are ALL who I am ~ misfit, loyal to someone or something, and patriotic. And, as my Gran used to say, "God love 'em!"

Therefore, I'll be chronicling everything here in my usual sarcastic fashion. [How else do you handle alleged hanky panky of the likes I've mentioned above?] I've a feeling these folks are gonna leave us saying, "Big Paw Paw who?"

~Caroline

I'm THREE!!!

2012-03-19T17:45:00.001-05:00

I've got cake. Chocolate cake with raspberries on top...

I've got champagne... *POP*

It's time to don the hat of many a party....

Raise your glass high, my friends...

For Family Stories has turned THREE!!!!

And without you, there'd be no Family Stories so I thank you from the bottom of my [partly] Irish heart. With a nod to my Irish roots, here's An Irish Blessing for you from WindWolfCTF:

~Caroline