Family History Bus: I Found Her!

Many months ago I wrote how I was looking for information on one of my ancestors.  It's my great great great grandmother, Kate Clouser.  I was looking for her supposed husband's name, who was the father of her son, George.  Searching high and low, I have come no closer to finding anything about him, besides the fact that his information is elusive.

Today, however, I took a trip to the Lebanon County Historical Society.  The place rocks!  The historian, Brian (?) was so very helpful in leading me to the information I needed to solve some pieces of the puzzle.  He spent hours helping me dig for information, and I am so thankful for his time and expertise!  While we were not able to find anything about George's biological father, we did find that Kate got married in 1885, when George was about 18 years old.  He (Brian) found the name of the church she attended, the marriage information – to whom, and when.  He found where she's buried, and even a copy of a last will and testament of her father.

It turns out, her father bequeathed (nice word, eh?:) his entire estate to her.  I assume this is where she lived out the rest of her life.  Who would give up something like that?  When I put these two pieces of information together – that she received his estate, and that she married Andrew Hasser – I was able to clearly see her information on the census records I already have printed for George Shindel, post-1885.  There she was, on ALL my print outs.  Right next to her son, living in the same house my parents now own, was Andrew and Catherine Hasser.

I don't know why I never noticed there were more people living in the house before.  It's as if their names were invisible, but right there in front of my face.  How wild is that?  I can't quite get over it.

So months and months of searching have finally brought me some awesome information.  The house that my parents are currently trying to sell has been in my family for generations and generations and generations.  How far back, I have yet to explore.  Ever since I have been searching for information on Kate and her family, I have been drawn to this house, particularly with the idea that I'd like to use it for my private facilitating work. I'm not entirely sure how that will work, but I'm still drawn to it.  I hope it can be a place not only for healing within my own family, but perhaps for others as well.

Awesome find!  

Family History Bus: Ralph Roddy

Last week on the way to church, I had a question pop into my head.  We were passing by a home that my parents used to live in, but have since rented it out when our family size exceeded the house size.

"Mom, do you know who owned the house before you did?"

"I'm not sure.  You'd have to ask your dad."

So we go through church, and I'm trying to recall any stories my dad might have previously told me.

Jump back to two weeks ago.  I was working with a sweet friend, Sister K, who had assisted me with some family history research.  I had been stuck on a particular line in my family –my grandmother's grandfather– for literally about six months.  Sister K took my little folder of family pedigrees and went to work while I went home and fed my kids dinner.  Later in the evening, she shared what she found.  It was a marriage license of my grandma's grandfather's daughter.  It had his and his wife's names, along with some other interesting and useful info.  But Sister K seemed to get distracted (so I thought) on their daughter's info, which was my grandma's aunt.  I try not to get distracted by siblings, so I just listened and then tried to refocus on the grandfather I've been stuck with.

Needless to say, when I picked up last Sunday, I was likewise distracted by the daughter and her husband.  Enough to start exploring, and see if I could find any more data on them.

Upon searching through the census records, I found that this daughter and husband lived with the grandparents for quite some time.  As I looked closer at the census, I even found the address where they lived.  And you'll never guess where.

(1930 Census)

 They lived right in the house that my parents now own, and have owned for the past 30+ years.

Funny how questions tend to stick in our heads.  I think Sister K heard the questions coming to her head too, she just didn't realize it enough to point it out to me.

The husband's name of the daughter who I never paid attention to is Ralph Roddy.  Perhaps he wants me to pay attention to him for a reason?  I think I have a good sense of why.

Very grateful I finally am finding answers!

Family History Bus: Miracles in Days

Two days ago I was at church, talking to a sweet friend who was almost like a second mom to me.  I spent many hours at her house growing up, and her daughter spent many hours at mine.  We talked about family history –she's a true expert– and I asked her for help.  She said to give her a call, and I fully intend to.

After talking to her, my family history juices were flowing.  When I got home, I decided to go traipse around a nearby cemetery.  I found information online about a year ago about a leg of my family that the bulk of whose remains were buried in a cemetery just under a mile from where I lived for over 20 years of my life.  So when I got home from church, the urge to go take pictures of headstones was almost enough to make me drop everything and run.  I found this:

I don't know how exactly we're related yet.  But I do know that we are.

And then this one:

Can you read it?  I can't.  But I know it's written in German.  And the cool thing is, it just so happens that my sister (who joined me in my traipsing) is married to a man who speaks German.  COOL!

And then I found this one:

Flanked by an American Flag and a special memorial, this plaque next to the grave marker on the right indicates that this ancestor served in the Revolutionary War.  I appreciate the marker, and the service.

Do you think this ancestor would be pleased to know that their great great great great great ??? grandson is inadvertently recognizing his efforts?  I hope so.

Upon returning home, I stumbled across this during an OCD cleaning rampage:

It's a book 486 pages long of my family history on my dad's side.  This book is priceless.  And it was just sitting on my parents' credenza, as if it had always been there.

Later in the day, I was asking my sister if she still had some family history stuff that my dad had loaned her.  She said she returned it, and it was somewhere at my parents' place.  So I looked for it, but didn't find it.  Until yesterday.

It's a giant scroll of family pedigrees.  I've been waiting to get my hands on this baby for years!!!  And there it was, just like the other book, sitting there, as if it had always been there.

And just 30 minutes ago, before I started writing, I walked into the computer room and came across this:

It's a Germen-to-English/English-to-German translator/glossary.  Very simple and easy to use.  On Sunday, when I came home from the cemetery, I had asked my sister's husb. about translating those tombstones for me.  When I found this book just now, I asked him if it was his, and if he had left it on the chair for me.  He said he hadn't.  But it was sitting there, under my camera (which I had been searching for all day).  Once again, as if it had always been there, just waiting for me to pick up.

I don't consider this a coincidence.  I'm thankful.

Family History Bus: Genealogy Fan Charts

A few months ago I was introduced to a really awesome tool to help move forward in family history work.  It's called a fan chart. 

There are a lot of places you could make (or have made) a fan chart.  It's basically a diagram of one's family tree, starting with you at the center, and branching out to your parents, grandparents, and so forth.  What's great about it is that it allows you to easily see where there is information lacking, and it helps you get direction on where to begin research as a result of seeing those gaping holes. 

The one above was created at a site located at www.createfan.com.  It's super easy to use, especially if you have a familysearch.org account.  (If you're LDS, this is also the same as your lds.org account, as they've all been synced.)  Simply go to createfan.com, click on login, and then once logged in, click on "create fan".  A box will pop up, asking if you want to open or save the file.  Upon opening it, you can view your personal pedigree. 

Some of us have a lot of information on our fans, and some have nothing.  If you have nothing, it means you haven't linked up to your ancestors on familysearch.org.  This is not a problem, and is easily remedied by spending a bit of time on that website, connecting yourself to any listed deceased ancestors.  And if you don't think you have any listed there, you'll most likely be surprised to find that your ancestors are there - you're just not connected yet.  For me, it just took a short bit of time to link up, and voila!  Connected!

A very cool, useful resource in helping sort out one's genealogy.  Let me know if you give it a try! 

Family History Bus: Getting Started

In the last few weeks, I've really become addicted to family history work.  Some people call this "genealogy".  Whatever you may call it, once you start, it tends to quickly become a favorite pastime. 

One of the things I'm finding that's critical for me is a Family Group Record (FGR) sheet.  They're downloadable and printable for free here.  (On the top right of the screen, you can click the link where it says "Download the Printable (PDF) Version" to print a clear copy.) 

I think I jumped in way over my head when I got started, and now I'm having to swim back to shallow waters.  When looking in the lines and lines of pedigrees I found for my family at new.familysearch.org, I found it was easy to get mixed up in downlines, by looking at other children in a family I descended from.  These would be my aunts and uncles, but since I wasn't their direct descendant, it was easy to get mixed up on who I actually descended from. 

This is where the FGR sheet comes in.  Even though many families (not all, apparently;) have a person who takes care of the "family history", it's important for anyone who looks at their history to know where they came from, and it's beneficial to take some time to look at those closest to you.  The shallow water. 

This is what I wish someone would have stressed to me.  In downloading a FGR sheet, you can fill out your immediate family's info.  If you're married, fill one our for yourself and your spouse.  And then fill in your kids.  Then print off a second sheet, and fill in one for the family of your parents.  After that, if you're feeling generous, fill out the family for your spouse.  Keep going back as time allows.  If you want to stay organized, buy some cheap 15¢ folders at Wal-Mart that allow for 3 holes in the side, and file your FGRs by main last names. 

Once you tackle your immediate family, take a little time to see if you can find your more extended family, like cousins.  (I never really knew any of mine, beyond three or four.)  Start asking them questions.  See if anyone's got a family Bible with pedigrees in it.  There's a ton of info online, but it seems like mastering swimming in this shallow water helps prepare one for the deeper treading. 

Have you ever tried using a FGR?  Have you even heard of such things?  Have they made your research easier?  Are you gonna jump on the Family History Bus? ;)

(photo source)

~Jen:)