Houston Library

I had my first dealings with the Houston Library system. What a pleasure! You email them describing what you're looking for (in my case, obituaries) and a few days later they email you back with the results...and a price. In my case, $3 per obit. You call them up, give them a credit card number, and they email you a PDF of whatever you asked for. I snagged four obits in two days for a total of $12...all from my PC. What world we live in!

Enforced Break

My old laptop finally blew up on Friday night. So I'm on my desktop. I suppose I should be happy to be so computer rich. I have access to lots of them. However, not being able to snuggle down in the comfort of my sofa and watch TV while I troll for new or better info is a real drag. When I'm at my desktop, I'm in my home office, which is where I work...no real work...not fun genealogy.

So now the question is do I give up my old trusty (well maybe not so trusty) friend in favor of a spiffy new friend? Or do I get my old laptop fixed (again!) and see if I can milk it for yet a few more searches. Computers have become so cheap compared to what they used to cost that not buying a new one seems silly. But I get attached to things...you should see the keep sakes in my china cabinet.

In the meantime, the enforced break means I can read while the TV goes in the background or crochet. I owe two freezing sisters-in-law winter scarves.

Fred Walter Nelson m. Cora Maude Burns

Fred has a World War I draft/registration record that says that he was born 12 Jul 1881. This record is only one on which I've seen an exact DOB for Fred. Since this is a federal record, I'm going to use this as his working DOB. In the 1917-1918 WWI record, the family is living in Tira, Hopkins County, Texas.

Based on the 1900 census entries (see below), proximity played a part in the marriage of Fred and Cora Maude Burns. They married 13 Nov 1901 in Franklin County, Texas.

I can track census entries:
1900 Cora: Texas, Franklin County, J. P. 2, District 41, SD 1, ED 41, Sheet 5 B
1900 Fred: Texas, Franklin County, Justice Precinct 41, SD 1, ED 41, Sheet 6 A (35)
1910: Oklahoma, Choctaw County, Hugo, SD 4, ED 59, Sheet 8 B (5501)
1920: Texas, Delta County, Cooper, District 48, SD 1, ED 48, Sheet 24 A (2651, 8337)
1930: Can't find the family!

The censuses show the following children:
Pearline Nelson b. 1906 Texas
Lawrence J. Nelson b. 1908 Texas
Olie L. Nelson b. 1913 Texas
Ina M. Nelson b. 1917 Texas
Jesse D. Nelson b. 1919 Texas...SSN 454-26-1694 might be a record of his death...

Alas, this family remains a mystery post 1920. I'll have to peck away at this one some more to see if I can make any headway.


Pin It

Margaret Louise Allen

Mrs. Hoyt Oliver Smith's maiden name was Margaret Louise Allen.

After using Pipl to find out that Hoyt was related to Brandon Wayne Smith, I looked up Brandon in Ancestry to see if I could begin to figure out who each of the people mentioned in the Intelius file on Pipl were. Turns out that Brandon died in 2004 at age 23. He has an exuberant obituary on Ancestry and Find A Grave (9686229). Brandon's obituary lead me to the name of his father, James Hoyt Smith, who died in 1987. I could then pursue birth and marriage records for James to construct the family group. Using James' birth record, I found out that the Miss Allen that Hoyt married 4 Aug 1942 was Margaret Louise Allen.

At the moment, I'm waiting to hear from the Houston library. I've requested a search for obituaries for Hoyt and James.

Ananias Jackson Booth

A date and place of birth for A.J. has been a brickwall for many a researcher. The few census entries that can be found for A.J. say he was born in 1833 in New York. However, Ancestry.com seems to have posted new millitary info and there's an entry of interest.

U. S. Army, register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
Booth, Ananias J., Hazel eyes, dark hair, fair complexion, b. 1829 Fishkill, (Duchess County) New York, Laborer, Registered 25 Nov 1850 (age 21) at Pokupsic (Poughkeepsie, NY) by Gibson, Infantry K, Deserted 12 Jul 1851, at camp in Fort ___________ (might be Fort Kaskaskia or Fort Washington).

Deserting the army would certainly be a good reason for A.J. to leave New York state.

I have A.J.'s military record from the Civil War. He deserted there too but returned in time for the Battle of Vicksburg. With the Civil War, getting away with deserting may not have been as easy as it would have beein in 1851.

The upshot is there's circumstantial evidence that would lead one to believe that the 1850 Army record is a good lead on A.J.'s birth.

I've written to Delta County, Texas (where A.J. died) to see if it's possible to find a death record. According to Delta County, death records weren't kept until the early 1900's. If I'm lucky, I'll find a probate or cemetery records. My next stop is the Delta County library to see what they can find. They ask for a small research fee. Not a problem. Any genealogist will tell you that genealogy ain't a cheap hobby.

Bomberg Turns out to be Broberg

I've been tracking down my D's; that is, dead people with no death date. I had an entry for Louise Marie Bomberg. I went looking for her husband Walter Roland McKinley. In a routine newspaper search, I found a Mrs. Walter McKinley as a survivor in the obituary of Mrs. Anna Josephine Broberg. The places were right--Loves Park and Cambridge, Illinois. So I started looking for the Broberg family. It turns out that my Louie Marie Bomberg was actually Marie Louise Broberg. I was able to locate census entries and a SSDI entry for Marie (327-40-2526). Now I'm on the hunt for obituaries for Marie and Walter to prove that I have the right person.

In a lull

I've exhaused every one of my pursuits for F (Find A Grave entry) and O (Obituary) combinations. Now I'm pursing Ds (deaths) info so that I can then look for Os and do Fs, and then ask for pictures.

I've got a small monument to the McKee family in the making on Find A Grave. The thing that is so nice about Find A Grave is that it's a free for users. Anyone who is looking for a family member will be able to follow all of the links (sometimes as many as four generations) back. I love Find A Grave...it's way beyond cool.

So wish me luck with chasing down all of my Ds...those death records are out there somewhere...