52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 36, Ancestor Photos

So many heritage photos show our ancestors with serious faces. That was the norm -- the expected. My great-great-grandmother (and her eldest daughter) preferred to have fun with the camera. This photo of Nerinda with a cluster of unusual props has always been one of my favorite photos. I wish there were a story or note on the back of the photo, but there's only the name written on the front.

This photo also reminds me of an early genealogical mistake that I hope you won't make. This was one of a dozen or more photos in a heritage photo album that belonged to my great-grandfather. I tore the album apart looking for names and dates on the backs of the photos. I destroyed a beautiful album that was from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Today I would work slowly and carefully, realizing that the album was as precious as the photos. Fortunately I did keep all the unlabelled and unknown photos together, so I do know they belonged to my great-grandfather.

So a word to the wise: cherish not only your heritage photos, but also the heritage albums they're in.

ClubScrap digital kits: A Study in Red, Artifacts

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 35, Genealogy Friends

I love having genealogy friends, whether they are cousins or not. It provides an avenue to bounce ideas, thoughts, theories and questions off other researchers and also be a sounding board for them. Better yet, it gives me friends who understand the crazy hobby and this crazy hobbyist.

So today I want to say a big old North Carolina HEY to local friends Cheryl M and Sharon F, cousins Laurel P and Lorna W, German guru Mary P and cousin-of-cousins Rob W. And I must add a Swedish HEJ to almost-cousin Benny E.

The weekly blogging prompt asks how we met, so I have to write a few words about Rob, who is amazing. He has spent many years compiling what he calls a forest, rather than a tree, focusing on everyone in a single Oklahoma county. He has a lot of my family members in his forest and I can't remember exactly how we connected. He has sent me many obituaries for my family members and we have pooled our knowledge to identify the parentage for some of the women that appear in my tree and his forest.

Rob is not the only researcher who focuses on a location, rather than a family. These sorts of researchers provide a great service to the genealogical community by giving our family members the context of friends and neighbors. The in-depth knowledge they have and share are invaluable for revealing otherwise hidden relationships.

So thanks, Rob, and the rest of my genealogy friends. I'll see you gathered 'round the 1940 census.

Here's a look at a family reunion with the genealogy buffs at top left going over a chart. This genealogist was behind the camera. The neutral colors of this paper never appealed to me, but with mixed clothing colors, I appreciated how the neutrals didn't clash with anything. Using this kit for a series of family reunion photos gave me a new perspective on the benefits of earthtones.

ClubScrap Private Eye paper kit

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 34, Genealogy Challenges

Genealogical research from the comfort of our couches is easy these days. But what happens when the online records run dry? One of the earliest genealogical seminars that I took gave me invaluable guidance that I still follow today:

Follow the Land

Finding and reading the deeds of our ancestors takes more effort than browsing the census. The records are usually on microfilm, available for borrowing through a local Family History Center. They are also available at the courthouse where the deed was recorded.

However, the internet age is also coming to a courthouse near you. More counties are putting indexes and deeds online and making them available to the public. Check your counties periodically to see if they've started sharing online deeds and indexes. I had a recent experience with online land records that led to answering a long-standing question.

Where did Thomas Allen Come From?

One of my ancestors is a Thomas Allen who was born in 1814 in North Carolina, the state where I now live. He lived in South Surry (now Yadkin) County, NC, in 1850, but had left the state before the next census. The 1850 census showed him being a farmer, but owning no land. Family legend said the family was from Beaufort County, NC. But there were a number of Allen families in Yadkin/Surry. The online debates with my cousins centered on whether the legend was right or wrong. Was Thomas Allen really from Surry County or Beaufort County?

The Allen family has been number one on my NC research list ever since I moved here in 2005. I'd reviewed probate abstracts and family history books, but nothing had revealed his parentage or family. It was time to get off the couch and follow the land, if he owned any.

A quick check of the online deed index for Yadkin County showed a sale by a Thomas Allen in 1851. A review of the 1850 census showed no other Thomas Allen in the area. Since Yadkin was carved from Surry County in 1850, that county was also important. An online index to slave sales in Surry County showed a Thomas Allen selling slaves in 1849. Surry did not have other deed indexes online and neither county had old deeds online at the time of my check.

However, just looking at the online indexes told me that there would be deeds available for review. The creation of such online indexes by government agencies is a wonderful gift.

Ordering microfilm via the FHC would have been one option, but these counties are not far and I had another reason to visit that area. I scheduled a couple of vacation days and hit the interstate for the two hour trip to Yadkinville.

The answer to the long-standing debate was in the Surry County deed books. Thomas Allen had been forced into the 1849 version of bankruptcy and had to sell his land and slaves. There was a long list of creditors, debts and assets, including land. Paging through the poorly-indexed deed books turned up mention of a bond held by Thomas Allen for $1700 from one C.S. Davis of Beaufort County.

Thomas Allen's wife was Majincy Davis. The inclusion of this bond confirmed that this was the right Thomas Allen, that their children did know her surname and confirmed familial ties to Beaufort County. We have no parents yet for this couple, but we now can follow the trail back to Beaufort County with the certainty that the family legend has a basis in reality.

I've studied the Allen and Davis families of Beaufort County and have found both surnames in close proximity near the community known as Leechville. The State Archives of North Carolina has placed a large number of maps online. Studying the maps of that area from the early 1800s shows men of both surnames holding property.

I hope Thomas Allen and C.S. Davis (whoever he was) will show up in the land or court records. With no index online from the Beaufort County Register of Deeds, I'm looking forward to another field trip, this time to the beach!

What else is in land records?

I've written before about proving parentage via deeds. That's an important reason to use land records. I've also learned:

• How another ancestor managed money poorly and that his older brother was skeptical of his money management ability (TN).
• The date that a Confederate soldier died and his sister's name (AR).
• That an ancestor signed his dead mother's name to a mortgage (WI).
• About an illegitimate child who died young (PA).
• Proper names for people listed by initials or nickname in the census.

 

Thoughts about Land Records

Most, but not all, land records are simple to search. I encountered one county in Wisconsin where the deeds were indexed and recorded not by grantee (buyer) and grantor (seller) name, but by the township/range where it was located and the type of legal document being recorded. Before looking at land records, read about the way the county indexes the deeds. That saved me from borrowing vast quantities of microfilm for that particular county. A field trip was the best way to do research there.

If you want to find your ancestor's land in the older states, you will need to learn about metes and bounds and possibly invest in a program such as Deed Mapper. The land sold by the federal government using the township/range system is much easier to work with and find. If you just want to find the genealogical nuggets, it helps to have an idea of where in the county the land is found, but an exact location is not critical. Beware of states like Ohio where both types of land sales were made.

Here's a little comparison of the irregular nature of metes and bounds versus the geometrical township/range system. On the left is an 1808 survey from Pennsylvania and on the right is an 1875 survey from Illinois.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 31, Cousins

"Ekstrom, party of three."

My uncle and his party arrived at the hostess station only to find another group of the same number and uncommon name. The hostess clarified by adding a first name. But both men were named the same. They laughed and chatted a moment. Not only were their last names spelled the same, but they used the same nickname for their first name. Both had grown up in the Swedish-American community in the Chicago area and had migrated west as adults. My uncle lived in the Phoenix area, but was visiting San Diego that day. The other man lived in the San Diego area, while his father lived in the Phoenix area. They negotiated the table and went their separate ways with a cute story to tell about their unusual encounter. That might have been the end of the story.

But one day in 2003 an email arrived from Sweden. Benny Ekström lives in Östergötland, the same province where my Ekstrom roots originate. Four of his great-uncles had emigrated from Östergötland to America in the early 1900s and he wanted to find his American cousins. He had found my website which showed my Östergötland roots and he had noticed the similarity of names and parishes. Was my family related to his?

We emailed back and forth and decided to join forces and help each other. He sent me the names, birthdates and emigration dates of his relatives and I started digging on my American-focused subscription sites. I knew very little about my Swedish roots. I had gleaned only a few tidbits from Illinois vital records and ship lists and had no idea how to begin to research in Swedish records.

Benny was a godsend! 

He had printed out dozens of pages of Östergötland church record indexes that were available only through a local university. He paged through his file and emailed me birth dates for my great-grandfather and his siblings, along with parents names, marriage dates, birth dates and death dates. He also told me about the Swedish Genline website that provided images of the church records. I subscribed and begin my own journey through the wonderful records kept by the Lutheran church (that company has been acquired by Ancestry and is now included in their site). Benny later copied all the index pages and mailed them to me at no small expense to himself.

Benny knew about one branch of his American family. John had gone to Chicago and Benny was in contact with his descendants. I was looking for three more branches for him.

Karl Ekstrom had gone first to Chicago and died in Minnesota, but Benny knew nothing else. I soon found a candidate in prison in North Dakota in the 1930 census. Yes, Benny recalled that he had heard something about Karl being in prison. Through an archivist I learned that Karl had been sent to prison for abusing family members. We decided to do no further research on that branch.

David and Ernst were challenges. I finally found their immigration records. They had gone to Canada about 1928. There was no census and no Social Security death index to use for locating them. Using search engines, I found that a man matching David's birth date was buried on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The online phone listings turned up 13 listings for the Ekstrom surname on Vancouver Island. It could not have been coincidence, so we took a risk.

I acquired Canadian stamps and sent a letter, a response form and a Canadian-stamped SASE to all 13 addresses. I received back a couple of nice letters and a couple of emails. We learned that David had died without issue. All the Ekstroms on Vancouver Island were descended from Ernst. One of the emails came from a sweet lady named Lynda. She and Benny began to use to web chats to get to know each other. Benny now had several Canadian cousins.

Benny and I think our families connect, but we have never found the link. The switch from patronymics to permanent surnames in Sweden means that unrelated families often share a surname.

We choose to call ourselves cousins, regardless.

My "cousin" Benny helped me overcome my apprehension about the Swedish records. He helped me with translation and comprehension and even engaged a seminarian friend for one very old record that he could not interpret. He opened up a whole new world for me. Today I have 118 Ekstroms plus many other Swedish relatives in my family tree, a gift from a wonderful cousin in the "old country".

Benny and his niece came to America to visit and we got together. Where were we? Of course we went to San Diego. They came to visit the Chicago-born cousin that he had known for years, the very same man that my uncle had encountered a couple of years earlier.

Ekstrom branches on ClubScrap Generations digital kit

Finding an overseas cousin is a blessing we don't all receive, but it's well worth the time to try.
 

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 28, Mistakes

The prompt to write about genealogical mistakes beckoned to me. I've already written about some things I've done wrong. I have tried very hard to not climb the wrong tree, but the little mistakes are important, too. My top mistakes include:

• Not interviewing living relatives
• Not documenting sources
• Not visiting courthouses
• Believing family legends
• Accepting other researchers' conclusions

When I first started playing with genealogy, I didn't realize how important the documentation of sources is to the process and the professionalism of genealogy. The lack of sources for my earliest work continues to haunt me 20 years later. Every once in a while I have to stop and look for why something appears in my tree. And sometimes I will remove a so-called fact because I don't have any foundation for it.

Today I'm careful to have a reasonable source for each fact. Sometimes that source is flimsy, but at least I document it. Another researcher's conclusion is one type of flimsy source that I now am very careful to document. If I can't verify it, I am more inclined to note it and place it in a file, and only rarely add it into my tree.

Another regret is not interviewing my grandfather, Fayette Franklin Allee, while he was alive and mentally alert. It was his death in 1997 that propelled me from lazy collector of facts to active seeker of facts. He had a long and storied life. Since I recently scrapped two newspaper articles about him, I share them here to honor his years of teaching deaf and blind children and adults in Tucson, Arizona.

Per my earlier tip, the newspaper articles were copied from the original yellowed and crumbling copies onto matte photo paper. The copies appear here and the originals were discarded.

ClubScrap Body and Soul paper kit

ClubScrap Friendship paper kit

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 21, Ancestor Tales of Hardship

The experiences of one generation affect the lives of the next. This understanding of family systems was one of the factors that pulled me into genealogy. I wanted to understand the forces that formed my parents. Both had suffered hardships in their lives, as had their parents. My maternal grandmother's story was the one that most touched me and affects me to this day.

Imagine being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and an abusive marriage.

Leona Violet Crispen was born in 1909, the youngest, by far, of three daughters. She was the son her father never had. Instead of sewing, she learned to use his blacksmith forge, work on cars, develop film and print photographs.

Her parents divorced in 1921. I can't begin to image the impact on the young Leona. She must have lost friends and certainly her home life was disrupted. Her father moved to the house across the street, so she was able to move freely between her parents' homes. Because they had a civil and close relationship, she never doubted their love for her and her sisters.

After high school she became a telephone operator and married a young man who worked in a foundry. She soon learned that he was unfaithful and cruel. His actions left their only daughter nearly blind and left Leona unable to have more children.

As the stock market crashed in the fall of 1929, her father lost the portfolio he had inherited from his sister. He was able to keep his house and, Leona, living with her father and her husband, decided to file for divorce. Imagine, for a moment, being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and still choosing to end an abusive marriage. Her strength amazes me.

Leona decided about 1931 to leave the cold midwest and move to the warmth of California. Following the famous Route 66, she miscalculated a bit. She ran out of money and gas in the Northern Arizona town of Kingman. With her daughter, she lived under a bridge and in their car while she looked for some way to support them.

Her photography experience was her salvation. The old man who ran the local photography studio wanted to retire, so he hired her and she eventually was able to take over the business. However, she lived day-to-day and struggled through two more bad marriages and divorces during the Depression years.

About 1935, Leona had to place her daughter in boarding school at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson. She left Kingman behind and relocated to be near her daughter. World War II found her fixing airplanes and later working at the ration board. In late 1941, she married her daughter's math teacher and, as a family, they built a stable life. After the war she found a secretarial job in the Tucson school district, where she worked until retirement.

As her choices shaped her life, they affect her family to this day. Her descendants are an Arizona family because she stopped and stayed in Kingman. Her photographic experience became a life-long passion, leading to the vast collection of photographs, negatives and slides that came to me at her death. It is directly due to her choices that I am a scrapbooker and genealogy buff. And, of course, because of those hobbies, this blog exists.

A challenge in 2008 asked that we create a layout about a role model. I chose Leona due to her strength in adversity.

Haberdashery paper kit from ClubScrap

 

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 18, Historical Books

One of my favorite types of historical book is the 19th-century county history book, or mug book. Some are indexed, some are not, but all are worth investigating. If you find one that contains a biography about your ancestor, the information gained can be invaluable. The subject of each biographical sketch generally provided the information himself, so the accuracy and truthfulness is variable. It is important to search the book for collateral relatives, as your ancestor may be discussed in the biography of a brother, grandson or son-in-law.

One of the books in my collection is the 1878 History of Morgan County, Illinois. This book is 768 unindexed pages, of which 300 pages contain biographies. 150 pages describe the history of Illinois and 40 pages contain abstracts of state laws. With multiple branches of my family passing through that state, this information may be of use beyond the Morgan County families. The remainder of the book discusses the formation of the county, towns, early settlers, organizations, military history, businesses and churches. 

This book has two biographies of great interest to me. My third great-grandfather had a short biography that lists his birth date and birth place and that of his wife, the names and birth dates of all their children, the death dates of their children who died, his father's name and, last but certainly not least, the names of each of his father's seven wives. My second great-grandfather did not have a biography in the book, but his older brother had one. This biography was similar in listing his parents and also includes the names of his brothers who served in the Union Army, along with the unit in which they served.

Portions of 19th century mug books are increasingly found online as the copyrights have expired. Indexes to the biographies are often found at the USGenWeb county pages. Sometimes there is a look-up volunteer who will transcribe a biography of interest.

A cousin found and shared a biography that is the best I've seen for my family's genealogical data. Imagine finding such a gem as follows for your family.

My ancestor, Clifford Cole, was the grandson of Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander. Rebecca's oldest brother had a biography with these paragraphs (and more) published in 1891.

Milestones digital kit from Club Scrap, Tree from Scrapper's Guide

GOODSPEED'S BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL MEMOIRS
OF NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS
1891

John Maynard
 ... He was born in the Old Dominion in 1823, and is a son of Evan and Judith (Ragland) Maynard, both of whom were born in Halifax County, of that State, the former's birth occurring March 3, 1793, and the latter's April 5, 1803, and their deaths in 1881 and February 16, 1874, respectively. Their marriage was celebrated July 13, 1820, and in 1847 they came to the State of Tennessee, where the father entered upon the practice of medicine, and he continued this occupation until his death, although he had previously been a farmer.
 

He and his wife were of French-English origin, and he was a soldier in the War of 1812. They were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and became the parents of eleven children, nine of whom lived to be grown: Harriet (wife of Chris Adams), John, Judith F. (wife of Robert Hart. of Tennessee), Mary A. (wife of Bluford Alexander, a resident of this State), Stith, Patience (wife of Austin Simmons, a resident of Washington County, Ark.), Even (a resident of Missouri), Rebecca A. (wife of Jeff. Alexander, of Weakley County, [p.415] Tenn.) and Thomas (who is a resident of Randolph County). ...

What Did I Learn?

From this brief biography I have learned the names of the men that Rebecca's sisters married and that my great-great-grandfather went by the name of Jeff. More importantly, I've learned my 3rd-great-grandparent's names, birth dates, birth locations, marriage date, death dates, occupations, church affiliation, ethnic heritage, military service and migration year. Some of the items may not be accurate, but all are clues to my heritage.

Check out the mug books for the areas your ancestors lived. You may find some jewels.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 14, State and National Societies

The National Genealogical Society annual conference is my favorite opportunity to grow my knowledge and skills. I  frequently advocate for it with friends and relatives and I'm going to get on the soapbox again for a few minutes.

When the NGS conference comes to your area, I challenge you to commit at least one day to check it out. You can visit the vendors in the exhibition hall for free. Pay one day of registration and attend several presentations by certified speakers and authors.  I've attended the full conference 3 times, most recently in Raleigh in 2009, with my cousin Laurel as my roommate. I also attended just one day when it was held a few hours away, but my work schedule didn't allow me time for the full 4 days. I always come away with a bag of goodies and lots of new ideas.

What's happening this May in Cincinnati that excites me?

• Extended hours at the Cincinnati Historical Society Library
• Youth Kamp to involve our young relatives
• Ask an Expert, a free 20-minute consultation with a certified professional
• Free scanning by Ancestry.com
• Photo Detecting 101 with Maureen Taylor
• Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor with the kilt-wearing Craig Roberts Scott
• Genealogy-on-the Go with the iPad with Lisa Louise Cooke
• Genealogical Research and Writing: Are You a Saint, Sinner, or Bumfuzzled Soul? with Elizabeth Shown Mills
• Navigating the NARA Branches with Julie Miller
• So You've Found Your German Town of Origin: Now What? with Teresa Steinkamp McMillin
• Ohio: The Great Land Experiment with Jana Sloan Broglin
• Utilizing Social Networks for Genealogy Research with Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers
• German Marriage Laws and Customs with Warren Bitner
• Internet Privacy and Security for Genealogists with Jordan Jones
• How to Be a Bad Genealogist with William B Saxbe, Jr. promises a few laughs
• Common Sense for Genealogists with Kay Haviland Freilich
• Convert Your Family History Book to an e-Book with Marlis Glaser Humphrey
• The 1940 Census with Constance Potter
• Personal Digital Archiving: An Overview, with Mark Steven Middleton
• Over 100 vendors will be in the exhibition hall with software, books, maps and keepsakes
• Recordings of some sessions will be made available for purchase

I counted as many as 10 tracks in a day and as many as 6 sessions. Some sessions are longer than others, so I'll guess at 30-50 different sessions to choose from during each of the 4 days. That's a smorgasbord of over 100 different choices.

The tracks include local knowledge about Ohio and surrounding states, photos,  records, methodology, technology, writing, professional skills and ethnic research such as German and African-American. I've recently consulted with friends about their German research and hope to soon have some of my own to do. The focus on Ohio and Germany tempts me, but it's just not possible to attend this year.

The 2013 conference city will be announced by the end of this year's conference. I'm looking forward to finding out if it will fit in my plans.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 10, Genealogy Road Trips

Taking a genealogy road trip is something I love to do to advance family research -- step 3 of my plan for scrapping my family history. I can step out of my day-to-day work life, and that is a blessing in itself. Sharing time with friends and relatives is a bonus.

Scrapping a Road Trip

I've only scrapped one road trip. Honestly, I have to admit it doesn't fit with my current scrapping philosophy. My thinking now is to scrap only what will matter to my grandchildren. Since I started sorting through my own Grandmother's memorabilia, I've found that her vacation photos, while pretty, don't mean anything to me. Photos of places I've never been, or can't identify, just go into the trash.

My philosophy doesn't apply to digital pages that are not printed. Although digital files form their own sort of clutter, at least the kids won't have to decide whether or not to throw away an album. So I do create "throw-away" digital pages for use on my screen-saver, desktop or yearly printed calendar.

For the 2002 road trip that has been partially scrapped, I wrote the journaling for each day right after the trip. I picked a color scheme for the album, created a number tag for each day and chose which memorabilia would go on each page. I also had pictures that were taken with family members with whom we met along the way. I included maps that indicate locations of interest. The album is a hodgepodge of stickers, postcards, photos, maps and just plain stuff. Here's day 12, a day when I met with a cousin and also ordered a marker for my grandmother's grave at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.


Why Even Take a Road Trip?

My previous post was written in reaction to some garbage genealogy I found online. I believe that road trips are an important step to help us get beyond the simplicity and the errors of online resources and into the meat of our ancestors' lives. Today I'll introduce you to Jacob Crispen, a man who never existed, according to Ancestry, but was found during a road trip.

"I Won't Raise Jacob's Brats"

Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen [ Tookey] was left a widow by her husband, Jacob Crispen. She sent their three small children to Jacob's brother, who turned them away, saying "I will not raise Jacob's brats". These hurtful words have been passed down through the generations, along with this family story.

This family is nowhere to be found in the census. Using family records and stories, I acquired death certificates for the three children and for their mother. The youngest, Laura Crispen [McQuiston Kahn], had been born about 1867, according to her death certificate. Assuming 2 years between children, it appeared Jacob had died between 1866 and 1869. Clark Crispen, my great-grandfather, claimed to have been born in Oil City, Venango County, PA, in 1863. Nerinda had grown up in Clarion County, PA, and she had remarried about 1882. Mary Crispen [Infield] had lived in Pittsburgh in 1890.

I had established a timeframe and a geographical area to search for Jacob. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania civil records are almost non-existant before 1900. One resource then available via the LDS library was a probate index for Venango County, PA. The only Jacob Crispen in the index had died in 1885, too late to be the right Jacob.

National Genealogical Society, Conference in the States, 2003, Pittsburgh

When NGS 2003 was announced, I saw my opportunity to learn about Pennsylvania research and then use what I'd learned. Cousin Lorna and I registered for NGS and planned our second road trip. From her home in northern Illinois, we researched in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including attending the conference.

Venango County Courthouse

When we arrived in Venango County, I headed straight for the probate records in the courthouse. I planned to start my trip by eliminating this source. Opening the docket, I was stunned to see Mary Infield, Clark Crispen and Laura McQuiston listed as heirs. My reality suddenly shifted as the old family story now was revealed as a cover-up.

My next stop was the prothonotary office to look for a divorce, but I had no luck. Though I found little else for the Crispen family on the trip, the time was well worth it. I found Jacob in a city directory and in a cemetery index, though his grave is unmarked. I later received a copy of the full probate file from the historical society, which houses the old files. The file told me the city where each child lived in 1885, as well as the first names of the women's husbands.

Knowing that Jacob Crispen was alive for the 1870 and 1880 census, I redoubled my efforts fo find the family in the census records. As online census indexing improved over the next few years, I continued to probe. The only trace found was Laura in 1880. I found a possible Jacob, but it seemed unlikely.

Pennsylvania Road Trip, September, 2011

Another cousin, Laurel, wanted to go on a Pennsylvania road trip. We live about 3 hours apart, so we decided to travel together to research our Kerr family, as well as the associated families. We started planning six months before we left. That planning included knowing who, what, when, where and why. The better we planned, the more fruitful our trip would be.

I have to give kudos and a shout out to Laurel, a creative and dogged researcher. I was frustrated with searching for Jacob and Nerinda Kerr Crispen, so Laurel decided to give it a try. She found Jacob and Narinda Chrisman in Clarion County in 1860, with a child named William. This looked highly possible to me. I researched the family, finding probable parents James and Ellen, and a brother, John, all with burials under the name of Crispen. But could I prove this was the right family?

Clarion County Courthouse

When we arrived in Clarion County, I started with probate records. Though James Crispen's probate was interesting, I learned nothing new. Land records were next. I noted every sale and purchase under the Crispen name. There was one sale by John and Jacob Crispen et ux. The deed cemented the family as I had hypothesized. The land had been purchased by James shortly before his death. It was sold by Jacob and Nerinda M Crispen and John and Mary Crispen. [Note: The deed is signed John Crispen Jr. That is because there was an older John Crispen in the area, and does not mean his father was named John.]

Back to Venango County

I learned long ago that research trips are circular. From courthouse to library to cemetery to historical society, then back to the courthouse it goes. This trip included 5 counties in 5 days: we visited 3 courthouses, 3 historical societies, 5 libraries and 11 cemeteries.

When we arrived at the Venango County courthouse, I returned to the prothonotary office to resume my search for a divorce. I especially hoped to read the file to learn more about the previously unknown son, William Crispen. One of the clerks suggested that the court appearance dockets might be of help. She brought the heavy old books out from the vault two at a time and I looked through each index. I found two entries for Crispen divorce filings: in 1867, Jacob filed against Nerinda M[argaret], and, in 1874, Margaret filed against Jacob. Unfortunately, both underlying files are missing from the courthouse.

Without these two road trips, it would have been far more difficult to find and prove Jacob's family. I have new research pathways and the hope of connecting with cousins descended from John Crispen. I hope one of those cousins will have a picture of Jacob to fill that particular gap in my collection.

Preparing for a Research Trip

I've developed a checklist for planning a road trip and, earlier this year, prepared for a two-day trip. Interestingly, I was planning for a Thursday-Friday trip and was tempted to not document hours of operation for other days. I had to cancel the original travel plans and now am grateful I took full notes. I will need to verify the hours of each repository just before I venture out, as hours are often reduced in these days of budget constraints. I also print a map for each location on my list.

I hope my checklist gives you some ideas about preparing for your own road trip to your ancestor's area.

Happy hunting!

---

Preparing to Go to a Courthouse

County Name YADKIN, NC

Formation Date 28 Dec 1850

Parent Counties Surry

Child Counties None

County Seat Yadkinville 27055

Courthouse burned in years none

Records	Years	Public	Fee	Who	Address	Hours	Phone
Birth	From 1913		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Death	From 1913		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Marriage	From 1850		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Burial
Divorce	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Probate	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Court	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Deeds	From 1850		.25 to 2.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225

Genealogical Society location and hours

• see below

Historical Society location and hours

• Yadkin County Historical Society, 216 North Van Buren Street, Yadkinville, (336)-679-2702

Library location, holdings and hours:

• The Charles H. Stone Memorial Library, Danbury Public Library and Yadkin County Public Library have large Genealogy/History rooms that are available to the public.
  YCPL 233 East Main Street (336) 679-8792 Mon, Thu 8:30A-6:30P; Tue, Wed, Fri 8:30A-5:30P; Sat 9:00A- 12:00P
  The Paul Price Davis History & Genealogy Room at the Yadkin County Public Library houses census records, cemetery records, marriage records, family histories, will and deed abstracts, Civil War and Revolutionary War rosters. The Yadkin Ripple, the local newspaper, is on microfilm from 1893 to 1988. Paper copies of the newspaper are available from 1989 to the current issue. A microfilm reader/printer is available.

Cemeteries of interest	Location	Hours	Phone
Swaims Baptist Church	See map Keziah Caroline Swaim Chappel Birth:      Dec. 27, 1824 Death:    Nov. 29, 1869 Married to Moses Chappell April 7, 1851

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 9, Cemeteries

Cemeteries are not often featured in my heritage scrapbook pages. However, I’ll share a couple of ways I’ve included them. First, I invite you to join me on a trip to my favorite cemetery.

A Visit to Kansas

You’re standing on a rise in south-central Kansas on a warm September day. A sea of golden-brown flows to the horizon in all directions. Trees dot the landscape where distant farmhouses rise from the empty fields. The unfettered prairie wind tugs at your hair and whistles in your ears. In the distance, a freight train rolls westward, while cars scurry along the state highway that divides the small town below you. Suddenly deer appear, bounding through nearby fields, and you watch them until they vanish in the distance. Some local farm boys drive past, hauling a load of hay. They wave and call out a greeting, leaving a dust cloud hanging over the dirt road.

Slowly you enter the tiny cemetery, admiring the intricate metal crosses that adorn the top of the fence rail. The grass is calf-high, but dry and dormant. You fervently hope there are no snakes as you walk towards the few visible markers, drawn to a double marker with the inscriptions Mother and Father. You trace the words, reading “Sarah died in 1892 and Aaron died in 1909”. Staring out across the endless prairie, you realize this is the very land they walked, the view they saw, the wind they felt. Little has changed in 120 years. The neighbors have exchanged their wagons for automobiles and a few roads have been paved. This place is unchanged and you feel their closeness here, as nowhere else.

You turn to leave, acknowledging the rest of the family: John with his Civil War marker and Effie and George with their large double stone. You bid them good-bye, along with the rest of the permanent residents of this little piece of the Kansas prairie.

Kansas background by Scrapbook Customs

Cemetery Thoughts
 

I haven’t shared the name of the family, the cemetery or the town. The vandalism that happens in cemeteries is unconscionable and I do not want to put this small and precious place at any more risk than it already faces.

This cemetery and other small rural cemeteries are a part of the fabric of the lives of the nearby residents. When I visit such a cemetery, I feel grounded in the place. A large or city cemetery feels to me less connected to the locality and more like any cemetery in any place.

Scrapping Cemetery Photos
 

I prefer to put photos of people in my heritage scrapbook pages, rather than places or things. I’ve used cemetery and tombstone photos in only two ways. One is to document a trip or visit to a cemetery, as I’ve done with the cemeteries in this Kansas county. The second is as a substitute for a photo of a person.

My grandfather’s elder brother died at age 16. There are no known photos of his face other than as a young boy. Even his marker displays his little-boy photo. This layout shows the faces of the people who appear in the group photo, but in later years of their lives. Gilbert Allee is instead represented by his marker.
 

Club Scrap Autumn Splendor paper kit

They Made the Markers

Digital Collection, Fall Carnival blog train, Sep 2010

I also have an unusual reason to feature grave markers on a layout. My fourth cousin's ancestors were the premier makers of monuments in their area of northwestern Pennsylvania. I commemorated our visit to their family plot and other cemeteries. The most memorable monument we visited sits in the town square of Clarion, PA, to commemorate the Civil War.

I hope this has inspired your own thoughts about whether and when to include cemetery photos in your heritage layouts.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 7, Historical Documents

Who Killed William Maddox, Sr.?

As well as scrapbooking heritage photos, we can use documents on scrapbook pages. Scanning or photographing them lets us adjust the size, use copies, and also protect the original documents from further damage. The documents on my sample page were collected during an extended research trip.

My cousin's wife, Lorna, and I visited several states together to research the Maddox heritage. You met my great-grandmother, Daisy Myrtle Maddox, last week. The most dramatic family legend said that Daisy's father had killed her grandfather. Lorna and I wanted to prove or disprove the legend. Our research took us to Scott County, Illinois.

Here's the story of our findings as I told it on the scrapbook page:

Day 11 - Friday, September 27, 2002

When asked what the best part of the trip was, Lorna and I were in agreement — this was the day! The courthouse in Winchester welcomed us with friendly people and wonderful records. We collected more cemetery lists, photos of a Civil War memorial plaque, a probate file, a recorded deed to sell the family farm, and a marriage certificate with an attached permission note for a minor to marry. The probate file verified the date of death, but we still had no proof that the legendary murder had actually taken place. Down country back roads we drove, looking for the old farm. The fields were full of grain and the creek ran dark with silt. There was no sign of the old log cabin of legend, though none was expected. We did not attempt to speak with the current residents, since we had not called ahead.

We drove north from the farm, soon crossing into Morgan County, the home of the Lake family. The gravesite of Lindsay Lake turned out to be totally inaccessible, so we instead decided to visit the Jacksonville library. I wanted to view microfilm for the year Lindsay Lake died, but Lorna was most insistent that we should also look for information about the murder. I thought it would be time wasted, but conceded to make the effort. Amazingly, she was right. We found no obituary for old Lindsay, but did find our proof of murder in an article about a Circuit Court session. We wanted to scream and dance! At closing time, we floated to the van and headed to Lorna's home in [Northern Illinois].

Birth of a book: Murder at Mauvaisterre

This single small newspaper clipping from 1869 fired my imagination. Since that day Lorna and I have again visited Scott County and surrounding counties, collecting court files and other documents. We've also visited the family's previous place of residence in Pickaway County, Ohio. I've collected at least 18 inches of files on the Maddox family, from 1800 to the present. I've started a book about the murder, which was committed, not by my ancestor, but by his older brother, Lewis Maddox. His brother William Maddox, Jr., and cousin William Knowles (Knoles) were charged as accessories. I'll no doubt write a lot about the Maddox family in weeks to come.





Sample Scrapbook Page

Day 11 Page Closed

For each day of that research trip, I created a scrapbook page to remember the highlights. This page contains images of several documents we found on that exciting day.

• the newspaper clipping
• a landowner map with the farm highlighted
• a photo of the spine of the deed book with the sale of the dower portion of the farm (the rest was foreclosed)
• under the book image are photos of the deed (no copies were available that day)
• miniatures of our ancestors' marriage license with the permission note are tucked in a little clear envelope
• the miniature outside jacket of the inventory from the victim's probate file is also in the clear envelope

Part of Day 11 Page Expanded

This is an interactive page that requires the viewer to flip and pull to see everything. This is one way to pack a lot of information into a layout.

I'm sure you'll find ways to include your family's historical documents in your scrapbook pages.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 6, Family Heirlooms

Never ask a scrapbooker the family heirloom for which she is most thankful! You know what the answer will be -- the old photos.

I do have an abundance of heirlooms. Among them are mementos from the Columbian Exposition of Chicago in 1893, costume jewelry from the 1800s and a Navajo rug from my grandmother's early days in Arizona. Each of these things are just that -- things. They do not represent my ancestors. I value my ancestors, rather than the things they owned. There are two heirlooms that are special to me because they remind me of the spirit of my ancestors.

A Lone Star Quilt

My great-grandmother, Daisy Myrtle Maddox, was a gifted quilter who left behind several beautiful handmade quilts. My brother and I each have one. Mine is a lone star quilt in shades of soft green that often adorned my parent's bed when I was a child. It is old and fragile and today I keep it packed away. The lone star is also special to me because it is a difficult design to execute well. Just the thought of it reminds me of Daisy's love of her family and the thousands of stitches with which she showed her caring throughout the 80 years of her life.

Three Images

The second heirloom I cherish is actually a trio that I scrapbooked several years ago. The focus is a small pin made between 1893 and 1904. It is similar to the common button pins made today, but it is mounted in a pretty spiral frame. The image on the pin is a photograph of my great-grandfather, Clark Earl Crispen. The same photograph is also on a cabinet card taken in Chicago by 1893, the year he went west. The third part of the trio is a 1904 photograph of Daisy wearing the pin as a brooch at her neck. Both of these photos are in my collection. They are precious to me because the objects form an infinite loop of connectivity between my great-grandparents, who later divorced, yet were always friendly.

Club Scrap Ivory Elegance paper kit, images scanned and stitched

How Was I So Lucky?

I was blessed with so many of the family heirlooms by chance. My grandmother's immediate family was small. My great-grandfather's mother and childless sister both left photo collections with Clark at their deaths, as he was the last survivor of his generation. Their collections and Clark's then passed to my grandmother, his youngest daughter, as she was caring for him at his death. Daisy's collection also fell to her, as she also cared for Daisy. My grandmother's only child predeceased her, leaving only my brother and myself. We have divided many heirlooms, but he wants scans of most photos, rather than the originals. I've spent many hours sorting, scanning, and discarding duplicates.

The Start of My Genealogy

If it were not for the photos, I might never have delved into my family history. When my grandmother and I started going through them in the early 1990s, I had no idea who all these people were and how they related to me or to each other. I couldn't keep them straight on paper, so I bought my first genealogy program and started putting in names and dates. The unknown photos captured my imagination, and I soon found myself launching into the research that has now grown my database to over 5000 names. Along the way I've identified unknowns, met new cousins and acquired photos for relatives I never knew I had. And I also turned to scrapbooking as a way to present and preserve the photos.

I'm very thankful indeed for the old family photos.

Scrapping A Memento

Some mementos are too thick or large for a scrapbook layout. They can be photographed or scanned and the image placed into a layout. Other keepsakes are small enough to use on a layout. This pin is flat enough to fit inside a foam core board.

The board has to be cut down to about 11 x 11 so it fits into a 12 x 12 album. The card stock also needs to be trimmed to make it just a little smaller. Trim the page by small increments until it fits. I cut the hole for the pin with a circle guide and cutter, then trimmed the edges with a strip of brown paper, slit to fan out at the front and back. A piece of the same brown is on the back of the hole. The pin is covered with a piece of a transparency, trimmed with the brown journaling circle to hold it all together. All journaling was computer-generated, using the RGB codes provided with the paper kit.

Using Scanned Photos

The photos were resized and reprinted from scanned images, so that they could be matched in size and shape. This is one of the many uses of the photos that you scan: making them larger or smaller to fit your design. These photos were cut to shape with an oval guide. Don't cut your original photos, as one day you might regret it. Rather, reprint the photos and trim with abandon.

Another Foam Core Layout

This layout was a hit when shared online. I took the letter off my high school letter sweater and traced it on foam core board. After making sure it fit, I added card stock, also with the letter cut out. The letter fits down in the core, but the pins ride above it a bit, making a bulky layout. Watch your bulky items to keep them from damaging important photos on the opposite page.

The scary thing to me is that this is almost a heritage layout, as high school kids today have never seen a letter sweater, except in their parent's closet.

Club Scrap Musical Interlude paper kit