Allen Seniors Genealogy Club

A genealogy club for people 50+ years of age

News

Here is the latest Club Newsletter.

asgc.jpgALLEN SENIOR

GENEALOGY CLUB

Tracing Our Roots and Having Fun!

 

January 2010

 

Officers                                                                                       Meetings

Coordinator: Ray Dean                                        4th Monday of each month

Vice-Coordinator: Judy Hammer                                                      1:00p.m.

Secretary: Bobbie Perry                                                  Allen Senior Center

Newsletter: Kay Pacheco                                                   451 St. Mary Drive

Program Coordinator: Richard Henry                                   Allen, TX 75002

Website Coordinator:  Richard Henry                                                                                                                                214-509-4820

www.asgconline.com

Membership is open to everyone 50 years of age, or older, that is a member of the Allen Senior Recreation Center.  There are no dues to be an ASGC member.

 Calendar

Regular meetings at 1:00 p.m. on the 4th Monday of each month, except as noted.  Members may come at 12:00 noon, have lunch in the dining room and visit.  Call the above number before 9:30 a.m. that day to reserve your meal.

 

January:          How to Organize Your Data – Pat Gates

February:      Inserting Photos into Microsoft Word Documents – Leon Stirm

March:             Short Tales from Bee County, Texas – Phil Pacheco

 

Message from the Coordinator

 

Here it is another year in front of us. I hope it holds all that is good for each and everyone of us. As I look back on 2009 I see that we have really had a good year. Richard Henry has again given the club a very interesting slate of programs. And many thanks to Kay and Phil Pacheco for all the contributions that they have made through the news letter and the most interesting programs. Also, thanks to Bobby Perry for doing the club minutes and Judy Hammer Vice Coordinator. It has been a pleasure for me to have been the coordinator for the past two years.

 We can now look forward to the new year with much anticipation of the benefits of the up coming programs that will move us along in our search for those that have gone before us. Our ancestors have done so much to shape who we are as we are shaping those that we embrace today.

 While at my daughters wedding I made the remark that I did not feel that I had made much of a contribution to the world. My son quickly reminded me that this wedding and most of the people present would not be here had it not been for my contribution. So look around and see how much richer this world is just because of you.

Let’s have a great 2010. 

 Harlin Ray Dean Sr.

 ASGC Coordinator

Upcoming Events

From Tracy Luscombe, Genealogy Librarian, McKinney Public Library, 101 E. Hunt St., McKinney, TX:  Join us Saturday, January 23, 2010 (10:30am-noon) for a FREE program, led by Tresa Tatyrek, on how to plan for a genealogy research trip.  Be sure you are fully prepared to make the best use of your time when you reach your destination.   Tresa is an experienced genealogist of many years and an active member of several genealogical and lineage societies.  

 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

                                               

MY BRICK WALL

 Ancestor Surnames:  CLARK, MITCHELL, KIZER, COUNTRYMAN

          I am trying to find the parents of my g.g.grandfather David R. Clark, b. 7 Oct 1820 in probably Penobscot County, Maine and d. 10 Oct 1874 in Tipton, Cedar County, Iowa; married 3 Oct 1841 in Hermon, Penobscot, Maine, Ruth Mitchell, b. 14 Nov 1820 in probably Penobscot County, Maine. They lived in Hermon, Penobscot County, Maine where three children were born (Sara Augusta, Frederick A., and David W.)  In about 1855 they moved from Maine to the Tipton area of Cedar County, Iowa.  There they had four more children (Marietta E., Frank J., Charley and Jennie.)  David R. Clark and his son David W. both fought in the Civil War and they have G.A.R. markers on their graves at the Masonic Cemetery in Tipton.

         David W. Clark (my g.grandfather) was born 29 Oct 1848 and died 5 Jan 1921 in Tipton, Iowa.  He married in 1875 in Tipton, Iowa Emily Kizer, b. 12 Jan 1852 in California, and died 25 May 1925 in Stanwood, Cedar County, Iowa.  They are also buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Tipton, Iowa.  They had six children (Merle and Maude [twins], Claude, Mary Louisa, Herman and Harold.

         Mary Louisa Clark (my grandmother) was born 16 June 1882 in Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa and died 14 Aug 1952 in Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa; md. 24 Nov 1910 in Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa Charles Eugene Countryman, b. 17 Nov 1884 in Wyoming, Iowa and d. 23 Sept 1951 in Tipton, Iowa.  They are also buried in the Masonic Cemetery at Tipton, Iowa.  They had eight surviving children (Wallace Eugene, Warren Kizer, Max Parsons, Doris Evelyn, Kenneth Virgil, Clarice Jean, Roger Dale and Don Devereux.)  Warren Kizer Countryman was my father.

         Any ideas of avenues (I haven’t already tried!) will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks,

Diane (Countryman) Moore

 

_______________________________

         I have a brick wall with finding my great-grandparents on my father's side.  The name I am looking for is Thomas Mullin who lived in Butler County, Pennsylvania, in 1880.  I found an 1880 Census with him and his family listed.  His wife was Eleanor.  My grandmother's name was Arabelle, who was born in 1867.  There were four children.  Then I found him in 1910 with a wife named Laura and they had two children.  I do not know what happened to wife number one or when or where.  I found in the 1880 Census that an "s" had been added to the name Mullin.  I looked through 3,000 names before I found Thomas Mullin(s).  My grandfather married my grandmother in Butler County, PA, and that was about 1887, so they were in Butler County at that time.  Eleanor's maiden name was Deets (Deats).  I have not found anyone by that name.  I have heard my grandfather talk about Parkersburg, West Virginia and other towns north of there in West Virginia.  I will continue to search West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Eleanor also was known as Ellen.

 Dorothy Yelton

RESEARCH TIP

          Take a second look at that statue.  When you see an equestrian statue in the park, look at the horse’s hooves.  If all four are on the ground, the rider died a natural death.  If one hoof is raised, the rider died of wounds sustained in battle.  If two hooves are in the air, the rider was killed in battle.  Apparently this is an international code followed by all sculptors.  (Southern California Gen. Soc.)

 

MISFILED MARRIAGE RECORDS

by Debbie Tipton, Irving, TX

 Are you having trouble finding a marriage license in Texas?  If the marriage took place between 1867 and 1880, it could be, and probably is, filed in the District Clerk’s office rather than the County Clerk’s office.  I recently learned that, just after the close of the Civil War, the State of Texas passed a law requiring all marriages to be filed in the District Clerk’s Office.  Following the reconstruction period, that law was rescinded, once again requiring that all marriages be filed in the County Clerk’s office.

 While searching for a deed in the Hunt County Courthouse, I came across a marriage which had been recorded in the Deed Books.  I suppose clerks weren’t as meticulous years ago as they are today.  Probably the marriage book was full, but there were several blank pages remaining in the deed book, so that’s where the marriage was recorded.  Moral of the story is, “Don’t just look where the record is supposed to be - look everyplace else too!”

 FADED WRITING

 

It is reported that a 75-watt black light bulb in any light that casts light directly on a document may do wonders in bringing out faded writing.

 

WHICH WAR'S WHICH?

 

Not quite sure in which war your ancestor may have been involved? These dates from the Iowa Genealogical Society Newsletter, Feb. 1990, may help:                                                                                                                                                                                                      Likely Birth Years

        War                           Dates                                      to Participate

 

Bacon's Rebellion     1676                                                1626 - 1656

Intercolonial Wars    1689 - 1765                                       1639 - 1743

Pontiac's Rebellion   1763 - 1765                                       1713 - 1743

American Revolution 1775 - 1783                                       1720 - 1763

Indian Wars             1790 - 1811                                       1740 - 1791

War of 1812             1812 - 1815                                       1762 -1794

Blackhawk War        1832                                                 1762 - 1812

Mexican War            1846 - 1848                                       1796 - 1828

Civil War                  1861 - 1865                                      1806 - 1845

Spanish American War         1898                                                1848 - 1880

 

WIDOW'S DOWER

 

A widow's dower was one third interest in the lands owned by her husband at his death, and usually included the house and buildings. At her death, it went to his heirs. The dower was a life estate in the land and proof of descent can be proven by deeds when the heirs sold their interest in the dower or the dower itself.

(Roots and Branches, Tuscaloosa Gen. Soc., AL)

 

GENEALOGY BLOG

A librarian friend sent me this url last month. I found quite a bit on the site – try your luck!

http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/

 
 New and Free DAR Online Databases

 The following announcement was written by the Daughters of the American Revolution:

 After nearly a decade of scanning, indexing, and other behind-the-scenes work by DAR members and employees, the Daughters of the American Revolution is pleased to announce the availability of the DAR Genealogical Research System on our public website. Here are the direct links:

 http://www.dar.org/library/online_research.cfm or www.dar.org (and click on the Library button at the top, then the second tab in the left-hand column).

 The GRS is a growing collection of databases that provide access to many materials collected by the DAR over the past 119 years. Included in this collection of databases is the GRC National Index which has been available to researchers for the past few years. There are still some kinks we’re working out here and there.


When you go to the link above, you will find several tabs that will enable searching in the various databases:

 Ancestor – established DAR Revolutionary War Ancestors and basic information about them with listings of the applications submitted by descendants who joined the DAR [updated daily]

Member – limited access to information on deceased/former DAR members – not current members.

Descendants – index of generations in applications between the DAR member and the Revolutionary War ancestor. There is much eighteenth and nineteenth-century information here. [ongoing indexing project]

GRC – everyname index to 20,000 typescript volumes (some still being indexed) of genealogical records such as cemeteries, Bibles, etc. This index is not limited to the period of the American Revolution at all.


Resources [In particular, the digitized DAR Library Revolutionary Pension Extract Card Index and the Analytical Index Cards.

 Library Catalog – our book, periodical, and manuscript holdings.

 

____________________________

 

Your Ancestors Traveled Along the Interstate Highway

CoveredWagon1The thought of your ancestors of 100 or 200 years ago traveling along a modern-day interstate highway may  seem   amusing as interstate highways didn't exist until the 1950s. Yet, it is quite possible that your ancestors traveled along the same routes as today's interstates, plus or minus a very few miles.


Westward migration in the United States usually took place in the path of least resistance: on riverboats where practical or on pathways along rivers when boat travel was not available.

 In cases where there was no river to follow, overland travel generally went along the path of least resistance, too: through valleys, through mountain passes, and perhaps straight across the flatlands and prairies.


When studying migration patterns throughout history in the United States, we can see hundreds of examples. In New England, the first inland areas to be settled were along the Merrimack River, the Connecticut River, the Penobscot River, and the others.


When researching the origins of those who settled the mountainous areas of northern Vermont and New Hampshire, we find that most of them were from Connecticut and western Massachusetts. They traveled up the Connecticut River, not overland across the north-south mountain ranges that receding glaciers carved many thousands of years earlier. Today, Interstate 91 follows roughly the same route.

 In Massachusetts, the east-west migration generally followed the valleys through the central part of the state, often following the Boston Post Road (present-day U.S. Route 20). That path is more or less parallel to the present-day Massachusetts Turnpike, or Interstate 90.


As we travel down the eastern seaboard, the migration pattern was repeated: the Hudson River, the Susquehanna River, the Potomac River, the Savannah River, and many others became "highways" of travel for our ancestors. As we move further west, we find the "super highways" of years past: the Mississippi River, the Ohio, and the Missouri.


Of course, rivers didn't always exist in convenient places. Many times the early settlers blazed overland routes through valleys where travel would be easier for wagons drawn by horses or oxen. Two major examples would the Cumberland Gap in Tennessee and the Wilderness Road in Virginia. These routes did follow rivers, where possible, but they also went overland through valleys, following paths that could be used by horses and oxen pulling wagons. Of course, there were dozens of others highways.


If you follow the migration paths of your ancestors prior to 1850, you will see that they usually traveled along the same routes as did earlier travelers, routes that allowed for easier transport. These routes were generally on rivers, beside rivers, or through valleys.

 For a few years in the first half of the 19th century, canals looked like they would become the primary method of transportation. Indeed, that did happen in a few areas, such as the Erie Canal. The traffic on the canals moved at two or three miles an hour as the barges and boats were typically powered by work animals that walked along adjacent footpaths. However, canals were doomed almost from the start as a new, mechanized beast soon appeared that could move more goods, move them faster, and do so at less construction expense.


By the mid 19th century, railroads started appearing in significant numbers. Railroad locomotives could perform the work of many horses or oxen, and the travel experience for passengers in railroad cars was much better than riding on a buckboard or a Conestoga wagon. These "iron horses" were very powerful but had one major shortcoming: they weren't very good at climbing hills.


The railroads were always built along the flattest land possible, often on or beside the routes that had already been established for overland travel. The railroads thrived best along riverbanks, which rarely had hills, or through valleys, including the Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road. More than a few railroads were built on the footpaths beside canals, replacing the "beasts of burdens" that had powered the canal boats of the previous generation. Of course, these new-fangled railroads transported immigrants, freight, and livestock alike.


Let's fast forward another century. In the 1950s, the federal government began its interstate highways project. The primary justification was to build a transportation system the Defense Department could use to move convoys in time of war. However, commercial and personal uses soon eclipsed defense purposes. Today we all travel along interstate highways without regard to the travel hardships of our ancestors.


The interstate highways often follow the same paths as the earlier railroads and the still earlier ox-carts and covered wagons. While modern construction techniques have allowed a few exceptions, such as building highways in the mountains, the majority of today's interstate highways are built along traditional trade routes and migration paths. In other words, today's highways often follow rivers, old canals, and deep valleys.


Are you mystified as to the origins of some family in your family tree? You know where they lived on a certain date but wonder where they came from? Get out a modern-day highway map, and find the town where those ancestors lived. Next, see where the major highways of that town go. Chances are that your ancestors traveled along one of those routes. They almost never traveled over a mountain range or through a swampy area.


There’s a good chance that your ancestors followed the same approximate route as today's super highways. Start by looking at the records of the state “up the highway” from their hometown. Sleuthing along today’s interstates may actually pay off.

 (Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter)