Follow Friday - Favorites

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.

 

A tip from Gena's Genealogy on religious research: Library of Congress Online Exhibits

Vintage Vignettes compares Find A Grave to Patchwork Quilts

The Bee's Knees Daily shares Vintage Toys from a Sears Catalog

Visit Polish Research and see if you can help read a document: What does it say?

See great photos of the Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition at Scrapbook of Me.

A good tip from My Genealogical Quest: Turn the Page

Fantastic advice at The Ancestry Binder Files: Analysis of Worries

Women in the Civil War: Covert Force
Interesting historical photo merge: A Walk Through Time in Spitalfields
The Civil War's role in our Christmas of today: Civil War Christmas
History in the Walls at the National Museum of American History
Bill West of West in New England discusses: If I Ran Christmas

 

 

 



Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Cousins

Military Monday - Dr. Leroy P. Kuhn, A.E.F. surgeon

Dr. Leroy Philip Kuhn, my 2nd great grand uncle, was a surgeon during World War I. I only stumbled across this information when I Googled his name during my research on a history I am writing for his parents. I found a biography for Dr. Kuhn in the The Alumni Record of the University of Illinois (Chicago Departments) 1921 which stated his service:

It says "Capt., M.C., U.S.A., Ag 4-D4, 1918." M.C. historically stands for medical corps, which makes sense given his occupation. I'm not sure what the Ag 4-D 4 is referencing. Now I was interested to see if Leroy Kuhn had served overseas.

Given this information from his biography I searched for Leroy Kuhn and found that he had a membership in the Military Surgeon Association:

At a meeting of the Military Surgeons Association held August 1 and 3, 1918 443 medical officers gained membership into the Association, to include Dr. Kuhn. Membership was restricted to commissioned officers in any of the military services. Here is proof of his commissioning, but no indication of his service.

Yet another Google search yielded this gem from the History of Medicine and Surgery and Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, 1922.

This reference mentions his unit: Surgical Group No. 7. I searched long and hard for this term, but found nothing. So I reached out the historians at the Army Medical Command (AMEDD). I had asked why I could find nothing on the term "Surgical Group." They explained that the peacetime Army medical structure (which was used upon our initial entry into WWI) was heavy on hospitals did not have the capability to push forward to be closer to the front. Thus the birth of Surgical Groups or Teams. The reason I couldn't find any information on Surgical Group No. 7 is that these groups typically were called "Teams."

However, numerous searches for Surgical Team No. 7 have yielded nothing. Presumably, Surgical Team No. 7 would have been attached to Hospital No. 7. I have found information on this hospital, but nothing about Dr. Kuhn. So it appears it is time to order his military service record. Records prior to 1950 are archival and are open to the public for a copying fee. They can be ordered here at the National Archives eServices website.

Follow Friday - Favorites

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.



The 1941 Christmas Tree: A Bright Light in Dark Times
A German genealogist's take on Westphalia and Lower Saxony research (in English): Angela's Genealogy
An easy craft gift idea for family and friends: Vintage Photo Pillow
Putting the London Blitz in perspective: The Bomb Sight
Humble beginnings: A brief History of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Historypin gets an update: All new Historypin
Life in the Past Lane reminds us: Never Trust the box!
A random pairing: Ancestry.com featured on CSI
A great tip from The Spiraling Chains: Designating tomorrow's heirlooms today

12 Ancestors to meet, 12 questions to ask and 12 things to tell

Today is 12-12-12 and I just had to write a "12" post to celebrate this day! My topic will be twelve ancestors I would like to meet...in no particular order, of course.

A snippet of a letter written by Philip Kuhn telling his wife about the attack on the City Belle.

1. Philip Kuhn - Ah, Philip. Admittedly, one of my favorite ancestors. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to Philip. Perhaps it is his Civil War service or time as a prisoner of war. Either way, I would like to talk to Philip about his time on the City Belle, a Civil War Union troop transport that was attacked on the Red River in 1864. Philip survived the attack and ended up a POW in Camp Ford, Texas.

William Butler, Sr. (1824-1895)

2. William Butler, Sr. - I have lots of questions for Mr. Butler, my 3rd great-grandfather. His early days were fascinating...he was a prominent business man in early Chicago, married well and became very wealthy. I would ask William who the mother of my my 2nd great-grandfather is. I'm sure he would think me impertinent, but the documents don't match the story he passed down.

3. Peter Kuhn - Peter is my immigrant ancestor and furthest ancestor to have been found in my Kuhn line. He was born in 1748 in Germany and came to America around 1760. If I could meet Peter I would ask him why he chose to leave Germany and I would sneak in a question about where he was from and who his parents were.

4. Bertha Kuhn - Bertha (Cutler) Kuhn was my 3rd great-grandmother and wife of Philip (No. 1). I have written previously about my desire to meet her. I feel a connection to Bertha because she was a military spouse at home while her husband went to war. If I could ask her one thing I would ask her if she ever had her photo taken and if so where it is now!

Joseph M. Creed (1841-1917)

5. Joseph M. Creed - Joseph is my ancestor that floated all over the country before settling in Oklahoma. Joseph's question is too easy: I would ask Joseph who his parents and grandparents were. I have snippets of proof for his ancestry but nothing concrete.

Marcellus White's headstone (1832-1895)

6. Marcellus White - Another ancestor I have too many questions for. Marcellus is yet another 3rd great-grandfather. He was born in Virginia and at some point moved his family to Missouri. I think I would ask Marcellus why he chose to move more than 900 miles away from his home state. I would also ask Marcellus about his Civil War experiences, especially whether he was really at Appomattox Court House.

7. Samuel O. McGuire - Samuel was also a Civil War veteran, fighting for the Confederates. He was also captured and spent time at Fort Delaware prisoner of war camp. I think I would ask Samuel why he chose to fight for the Confederate side. He was born and raised in Kentucky, which I'm sure had a strong bearing on his choice. But I would like to know if he was fighting for States rights or for maintaining slavery or both.

8. Lois Burnett Kuhn - Lois was my grandmother and she died when my father was only 18. I was never able to meet her, but my father has spoken of her so much I feel like I know her well. I think she would have made a terrific grandmother and I would give anything to be able to sit down with her for an afternoon and just talk. I don't have any specific questions for Lois, I just want to be with her.

This is possibly a photo of young Bettie Knupp, later Coffman. (1857-1887)

9. Elizabeth Knupp Coffman - Elizabeth was a 3rd great-grandmother. She was born and raised in Virginia. She married John Coffman and they had five children. Just two days after her 30th birthday Bettie committed suicide. Although I'm sure there are more, Bettie is the only ancestor I have found that has ended their own life. She had a 9-month-old baby and I'm wondering if she was experiencing post-partum depression. I would like to ask her why she felt this was the only way out.

10. James Smith Trabue - James is no relation to me, other than he married a distant cousin. However, he is one of the only people I have found in my tree that fought in World War I. Unfortunately, James was killed in the early hours of November 11, 1918, just hours before the armistice was signed. If I could meet James I would ask him about his war experiences.

11. Leroy Philip Kuhn - A distant uncle, Leroy is the only blood relative I have found that participated in WWI. He was assigned to Surgical Team No. 7, A.E.F. To date I have found no information about his actual service and whether he was sent overseas. So, the obvious question is: Tell me about your WWI service.

12. William White - William White was my Mayflower ancestor. He arrived in America but died the first winter, leaving a wife and two small children. I would ask him this: Would you do it again?

Here are 12 questions I would ask any relative I was fortunate enough to meet.

1. Who were your parents?
2. Who were your grandparents?
3. Why did you immigrate/move cross country?
4. Did you ever have your photo taken and where can I find a copy?
5. What was your most prized possession?
6. What modern day invention would you most like to have had in your day?
7. What moment in my life are you most proud of?
8. What moment in your life would you like to re-live?
9. What moment in your life would you like to do over and change?
10. What historical moment will you always remember?
11. What was your favorite activity or past time?
12. What is your favorite memory and why?

And finally, here are 12 things I would tell my ancestors (in an assumption they have not been following the saga of my life!):

1. I wish I could have known you.
2. I love genealogy because it is important to me that your story is remembered.
3. I have a wonderful husband and two great (albeit crazy) sons.
4. My parents did a great job in raising me.
5. I think I received some of your traits: work ethic, desire to help my community, importance of family
6. I'm not religious, but I'm still a good person (important, I think, to let all of my uber-religious ancestors know).
7. I really enjoy working and especially love public relations.
8. My favorite invention is the Internet.
9. I enjoy sewing and especially quilting.
10. Service to country is very important to me and I appreciate your military service.
11. I would love to step back in time and live life in your shoes.

And last but not least,

12. I hope I make you proud.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Grab bag

My favorite memory of Christmases past is family gatherings. There was nothing better than the organized chaos of a big family in a small place.

A family gathering at my great-grandparents house circa 1977. I'm the short red head.

Our family was very busy during Christmas season. We would have one Christmas celebration at my great-grandparents house, Clifton and Hazel White. This celebration was reserved for a gift exchange with my great-grandparents and a huge potluck. Then our more immediate family would have a celebration at my grandparents' house. This celebration included my grandparents, their three children and all the spouses and grandchildren.

The second family gathering of the day.

This second celebration included another gift exchange. In later years it also included a massive potluck (when not held on the same day as the White family Christmas). There were always close to twenty people in a small house. There was a kid's table in the back room and some of the adults had to eat in the living room, but I don't ever remember hearing complaints. My mother would always bring her iced sugar cookies and my grandmother would make a turkey or chicken with all the fixings which included mashed potatoes, noodles, homemade yeast rolls and several pies.

My brother and I have since moved away and are not able to join in the family celebration anymore. My family does go back for the holidays, but we usually have to miss the big family gathering. Instead, we have a new tradition which includes my grandmother, parents, my children and my in-laws. My children are lucky to be the stars of the show!

But I remember back to the big groups and I miss tripping over people and being at the kid's table. What I wouldn't give to go back for just one Christmas.

To see my 2011 Grab bag - Christmas playlist post click here.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more here.

Follow Friday - Favorites

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.

Census adventures: Census Taker Proves a Hero
Good recipes to try at My Northern Ancestral Souls: Cooking with Grandma
Helping an Italian Prisoner in World War II
World War I recruitment: 1914 British WWI Recruitment Posters
Making historical recipes available online: Transcribe culinary history with the click of a mouse
DIY History by the University of Iowa libraries: Help build the historical record by doing it yourself
Photos of London in the early 1900s: The Streets of London
WWI trench talk entrenched today: The trench talk that is now entrenched in the English language
Exploring Missouri's role in The Great War: Missouri Over There

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Santa Claus letters

This is the first year that my oldest could write a letter to Santa. Writing letters to Santa has been a tradition in my family since my husband and I first got together. It was a way to let each other know what we would like and still keep the fun of Christmas! And now my son is in on the action, too.

My son's letter has reminded me of an important lesson about Christmas. For at least a month my husband and I have been determining what gifts to get our children. We usually try to get one "large" gift and a couple of small. We had all sorts of grandiose ideas for our oldest to include one of those hand-held educational tablets. But then I read my son's letter. He didn't want any whizzbang stuff. He asked for three simple toys. And on top of that he wanted to include some things for his Angel from the Salvation Army tree. The moral of the story? Christmas gets out of hand quickly because we as parents let it do so. If my son is given tons of pricey gifts now, he will grow to expect that. But if we focus on a few items he would really love we can make the holiday more about giving and less about getting.

Read my 2011 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Santa Claus here.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more here.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Outdoor Decorations

One tradition with holiday lights that our family always observes is a tour of the Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri to see the holiday lights. Known as "The Plaza," with your pronunciation of the "a" dictating your financial status, the Country Club Plaza was designed in 1922 and was touted as the nation's first suburban shopping district. It's architecture and fountains are amazing. But my favorite draw is Christmas when the entire shopping district, 15 city blocks, is lit with Christmas lights.

Photo by ChrisM70 via Flickr.com

The Plaza is lit on Thanksgiving night with a celebration that draws thousands. My family went to the lighting ceremony when I was little and as soon as I could drive I started heading there with my friends. It was a tradition that we kept for years until I moved away. The lights stay on through early January.

There is something about the lights that just makes it seem like the holidays.

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history 24 different ways during 24 days in December! Learn more here.

Military Monday - Gen. John Pershing, A Truman State Grad

I graduated from a small state school in northeast Missouri called Truman State University. When I started college in the fall of 1995 the school, in Kirksville, Missouri, was called Northeast Missouri State University, but the name was changed in 1996 to honor Missouri's only president.

Photo by Derhai, Wikimedia Commons.

I was immediately enthralled by the campus on my first visit and didn't even apply to any other colleges. Thank goodness I was accepted! During my freshman year I was put in Military Science, better known as the class you take when you are in ROTC. I loved it! Our classes were in Pershing Hall, which was the sports facility and also had classroom space. I knew that Black Jack Pershing was from Missouri (Laclede) and I thought the building was named to honor another great Missourian.

However, during a recent trip down memory lane I stumbled across a link on the Truman State University ROTC website that stated that Pershing was a graduate of the school. A little digging and I found that, sure enough, Pershing graduated with a Bachelor of Elementary Didactics degree in June 1880 from the then named First District Normal School. Soon after he attended West Point, graduating in 1882.

Pershing went on to a distinguished military career, serving in many positions to include commanding general of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. He was also Army Chief of Staff in the early 1920s and it all started in Missouri.

For more information on Gen. John Pershing visit the following links:

John J. Pershing, Historic Missourians, The State Historical Society of Missouri
General John J. Pershing, American Experience, PBS
The Pershing Museum
John J. Pershing Obituary, The New York Times

40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Ever Taken

They speak for themselves. Have tissue ready.

40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Ever Taken

Follow Friday - Favorites

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.

A wonderful genealogy relationship yields more surprises, from Old Stones Undeciphered: Treasure Chest Thursday: To My Complete Surprise
Recovering the photos Sandy tried to destroy: Finding Joy Among the Wreckage
A Civil War Serial Killer?: A Serial Murderer in the Regiment?
A nod for my love of 19th century murder mysteries: Murder by Gaslight
Remembering a WWI Soldier at Family History Fun: A Soldier's Short Life
A great tip for Pinterest Groupies: How to Save a Copy of your Pinterest board as a PDF
Hanging from the Family Tree tries Re-searching your Research
A great checklist for Civil War research from Poore Boys in Grey: Facts to look for in researching you Civil War ancestor
Check out this beautiful genealogy bookcase at One Rhode Island Family: A Genealogy Bookcase
An idea for remembering your loved ones: Colorful Memories of Mom

Thankful Thursday - Ohio Probate Records

Today I am thankful to Kathryn of Kathryn's Quest. She recently wrote a post about her Irish brick wall and in that post she mentioned that Ohio Probate Records were recently added to FamilySearch.org. Although I subscribe to updates from FamilySearch, I wasn't aware of this new addition to their records until I read Kathryn's post.

My Kuhn line runs deep in Ohio and more specifically in Richland County, Ohio. So I immediately headed to Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996 to look for my Kuhn ancestors. The first ancestor that sprang to mind was Samuel Kuhn, my fourth-great grandfather. I have written about his oldest son, Philip, many times on this blog specifically here and here. In an amazing piece of luck, I was able to find Samuel's will in the first book I looked at. That never happens!

This was a great will because it had a full listing of his next of kin, their relationship and their current address.

My third-great grandfather is listed third and is living in Baldwin, Kansas. There are four full pages of the will including the text used for announcing the probate in the local newspaper. This is a wonderful addition to my files and I have Kathryn to thank for it!

Wordless Wednesday - In the Garden

A nice break from cold weather. Hazel McGuire White in a garden.

Saturday Source - Kansas Memory

I was born and raised in Missouri, just a few miles from the Kansas border. Many of my relatives lived in the state (as did I for a few years) so I find myself researching there quite often. The other day I came across, again, the great website Kansas Memory and decided it was high time to highlight it.

Created by the Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas Memory is an online repository for all things Kansas. I have found several digitized atlases that have helped me pinpoint my ancestors. I even found a photo of a distant uncle. You can browse their collection by county, topic or just conduct a search. You can also set up a free account and add your finds to an online "notebook." Remember, however, that the KSHS requires permission is granted prior to posting things you find on their site to your own website. This website is a tool-kit must have for anyone researching Kansas ancestors.

Follow Friday - Favorites

I am to the point in my blog reading career where I find a ton of great links that I'm sure you all will like. So I've decided to start a Favorites feature. I'll post the links I've found that either have great genealogy tips or are of historical interest. Enjoy!

Edward Ray, the Ghost of the Panama Canal, aboard the steamship "Panama" en route to the Canal Zone.

Even Lincoln had love problems: Abraham Lincoln to Mary Owens: "It's Not You, It's Me."
A Harrowing Homecoming: The Ghost of the Panama Canal
The diary of a Confederate girl: "Death seemed inevitable & I thought it was well to take it coolly."
A great reminder for farm research from Nancy at My Ancestors and Me: Farmers in Your Family Between 1850 and 1880?
Help with Ohio ancestors from Kathryn at Kathryn's Quest: Ohio Probate Records on Family Search
A war map: 1914: A Daily Mail War Map
A nursing story at My Genealogical Journey: Army Nurse

If you are interested in great history posts across the web, visit the Two Nerdy History Girls blog which has a great weekly featured called Breakfast Links and was one of my inspirations for starting my own favorites feature!

Thankful Thursday - ebay and old photos

Today it is Thanksgiving and I'm blessed to be able to spend the day with my family (and have written this prior so as to not interrupt the visit!). I'm not a big fan of the marketing frenzy rushing toward Christmas that has completely washed over this important holiday. I love this holiday. It is the time of year where my in-laws come to visit and we get to spend quality time together...something that is difficult for families living two states apart.

Today I have decided to tell you about a recent purchase I made on eBay. I love eBay. For me it is the hunt that is so enticing. I'm just sure that one day I'll find a photo of an ancestor or just the perfect piece of ephemera for my WWI collection. The other day I noticed a listing for six photo albums dated around WWI.

I'm not really sure why I was drawn to these albums. There were no close up photos in the listing, so I had no idea if there would be anything in of interest to me. But I spent a sickening amount of money on them anyway and instantly felt buyer's remorse! When they arrived, however, my remorse flew out the window.

In a weird coincidence, three of the albums include photographs from northwestern Arkansas in the 1920s. They include photos of students heading off to the University of Arkansas and photos of small-town Arkansas. Have I mentioned that I am currently living in Arkansas? I plan to offer these albums to the University or to a myriad of organizations here in the state capitol.

Two of the other binders include photos taken by an artistic Soldier stationed in France during WWI, to include some random ephemera from the time. This, for me, was a goldmine. The Soldier took many photos of historic France as well as himself and his buddies.

Although there are no names attached to the photos, in one you can clearly see the Soldier's patch: 79th Infantry Division.

The 79th Infantry Division's lineage is carried on by a unit that I am currently assigned to. What are the chances that six random photography albums from a seller in Illinois would end up with content relevant to me? Not relative to my family, but content I can embrace and hopefully return to the rightful owner. All of the sudden I'm not longer ashamed of what I paid for the albums. I'm just thankful for coincidences.
 

Tuesday's Tune - MacArthur Park

Ah, MacArthur Park. A random song whose meaning is elusive. I remember hearing this song growing up and I loved it. I mean, who wouldn't love a song about cake, right? Remember the words?

"MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark,

All the sweet green icing flowing down. 

Someone left the cake out in the rain.

I don't think that I can take it,

'cause it took so long to bake it.

And I'll never have that recipe again...OH NO!"

MacArthur Park was written by Jimmy Webb and first recorded by Richard Harris in 1969. There were many covers of the song, to include Donna Summers and the Temptations. To me, the Richard Harris version will always be the best. Only he can sound so emotionally disturbed by the mistreatment of a cake.

As it turns out, that cake is meant to represent a relationship. Enjoy!

Frederick Thomas, Fruit Merchant

Frederick Thomas married into my Butler family line when he wed Nellie Eliza Butler in Milwaukee on June 28, 1893. Nellie was my 2nd great grand aunt, sister to my great-great grandfather, William M. Butler, Jr.

This photo is believed to be of Frederick Thomas with his wife, Nellie, and their daughter, Dorothy.

Frederick had been married previously and had one son, Herbert. He was a business man in Chicago and was a prosperous fruit shipper. Frederick, who owned the fruit shipping business F.A. Thomas and Son, originated the idea of refrigerated fruit cars for the shipping of fruit from California to Chicago. He created a private line of rail cars that specialized in fruit, making it possible to ship fruit from California and have it arrive in Chicago without being rotten.

Printed in the Daily Inter Ocean, May 11, 1895.

Note above that F. A. Thomas announced the first shipment of fruit from California to Chicago in 1895. The F.A. Thomas & Son business was located at 104 South Water Street among other produce packers and shippers.

The biography below was printed just prior to Fred's marriage to Nellie Butler. They married later in Fred's life, he was 61, and although it seems improbable, they had one daughter, Dorothy. Note that Fred already had grandchildren by the time he had his second child.




From the Hand-Book of Chicago Biography, 1893 edition.


Frederick's first wife, Frances, died October 31, 1891 on board a train.

Printed in the Ogden Standard, Ogden, Utah, Nov. 1, 1891.

Frederick married Nellie Butler in Milwaukee two years after his first wife's death. Their child Dorothy was born July 20, 1895. Frederick died December 6, 1908. I have yet to find his obituary. Thanks to Frederick's foresight, we can all now enjoy fresh fruit and I, for one, am grateful! 

Follow Friday - Moms should stay in photos

If you are like me, you spend a lot of time taking photos. As genealogists we love photographs and usually are the ones to remember to pull out the camera to make new memories for our descendants. But how often are you in the photo? I, for one, have very few to no photos of myself. I've never thought of myself as photogenic and I don't like to have my photo taken unless I'm "gussie up." But a while back I read an article by Allison Tate here, which describes her own fear of photos and the need to put ourselves back in the picture. While this is written from a mother's point of view, it is just as true for fathers, grandparents or any relative.

Case in point, I had to reach back to March to find a photo of me with my kids.

Wordless Wednesday - Creed Ladies

The Creed sisters. Front row (l-r) Mattie Maxwell, Monnie Bausell and Jessie Kellogg. Back row (l-r) Mintia Whitlock, Gussie Kuhn and Etta Demieville.

Tuesday's Tip - Comments in Adobe Reader

I ran across an issue today with Adobe Reader. I was downloading a newspaper page from Genealogybank.com that included an article on a distant uncle. The actual newspaper page did not show the newspaper title or date, so in order to include all the information I needed to remember I would have had to name the file:

Thomas fruit assoc Daily Inter Ocean Chicago 1_14_1891.pdf

That is one long file name. And yes, I could have shortened some of the terms but I have a horrible memory and I doubt that one day I would remember that DIO stood for Daily Inter Ocean.

I had the bright idea to add meta data to the PDF file, similar to how I add it to my photo files. However, I quickly learned that you can not edit or add meta data to PDF files through Adobe Reader. (This can be done with full Adobe Acrobat). Well, after a little thought I came up with this work around.

Adobe Reader allows you to add comments and highlight documents. This tool allows you to edit documents, or in this example, allows you to add a comment that may help you remember more details about the file.

Quick links for adding comments are circled above.

When you open your PDF file in Adobe Reader you will see two quick links to click for adding comments to the file along the top of the program. You can either add a comment or you can choose to highlight a specific section. Click on the "speech bubble" or Sticky Note icon to add a comment to your page.

When you click on the icon your mouse pointer will turn in to a speech bubble. You can place your Sticky Note anywhere on the page by clicking in the location you want. A yellow and white speech bubble will then appear with a text box. I added the publication data and when and where I found the article. If you find that you no longer need the Sticky Note, simply click on the speech bubble and delete it. If you have multiple notes you can organize them under the comment list on the right-hand side of the screen.

Save your file and the note will now be visible every time you open the file. A great way to share information with fellow researchers. Enjoy!

Baldwin City, Kansas home update

Quite a while ago I wrote a post about this house in Baldwin City, Kansas.

Yesterday I received a comment on that post from a teenager that currently lives in the area and thought the house looked familiar. She wondered if I had any idea where the house was because she was sure she could find it. Problem? I had no idea. So, thanks to Bee I dug a little deeper.

I knew that my 2nd great grandmother, Cora Ozias Kuhn Martin Wolverton (whew!), lived in Baldwin City from around 1900 to 1920. But I wasn't sure when. However, since I last conducted research some additional plat maps have been added online at the Kansas Memory website. I was able to track down Cora's location in 1921.

You can see Cora's property circled in red. It is just south east of town, but there are no roads listed. It also appears that she is due east of the rail head. I hunted around with Google Earth for a while, but couldn't find a house that looks like the photo.

 

A second atlas from 1902 shows a better view and includes street names.

You can see that it appears that Cora lives on the southeast corner of Orange and 1st Steet. I checked out that location and there is no house similar to the one in the photo. I guess it was lost to time.



Wordless Wednesday - F.E. and Gussie Kuhn

My great-grandparents, F.E. & Gussie Kuhn. My father's resemblance to his grandfather is uncanny.

Tech Tuesday - Evernote for Genealogy

I am a very big fan of the website, Evernote. I was first introduced to this site during a random search for organization apps for my phone. At the time I had no idea how helpful this app would become.

Evernote is a collection of products focused on organization. The company offers a multitude of different applications designed to help people get organized and communicate with each other. One of the first times I used Evernote I was helping my husband with a project for his master's degree. I had found a lot of links on the Internet that may be relevant for his project, but just sending the link to him was not a very efficient way for him to quickly weed out the sources that he wouldn't be able to use. With Evernote I was able to create "notes" for my husband that included not only the link to the source, but also a screen shot.

Evernote works by allowing you to capture information on the Internet in a digital notebook. You can download the application to your home computer and add the application tool to your web browser. You are then able to easily create a "note" within the application based on anything you find online that you want to remember later. There is also an application for smart phones and tablets. The best part is that you can sync all your notes through one account in the cloud. This means that notes created from your desktop can be viewed on your smart phone, tablet or laptop. A great option for carrying research queries from home to the library, historical society or on a cemetery visit.

With Evernote you can create "Notes" within a notebook all along a particular topic. You can then share your notebook with other Evernote users. A perfect option for joint genealogy research.

The above screenshot shows an example of a notebook. In the left hand column you can see the various notes I have created on this particular topic. The right-hand screen shows one note in full.

 

A basic Evernote account is free or you can upgrade to a premium account for $5/month or $45/year. You can download Evernote software here for free.

 

I use my Evernote account to keep ideas for my blog in one handy place. Whether it is an interesting website or a note I write to myself with possible post topics, they are all in one location. You can also create tags for your notes to help categorize them.

You'll note above that I have tags for various topics such as "Genealogy" and for specific tags like "Celia Butler," one of my ancestors.

 

Click here for a starter's guide to Evernote.

 

The uses for Evernote in genealogy research seem to be endless and I'm just scratching the surface. Have you used Evernote for your research?



Military Monday - "The Fighting 20th," the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry

Recently I was putting together a post on my 2nd Great-Grandmother, Cora Ozias. In gathering facts I re-read the obituary for her mother, Christine (Potterf) Ozias.

From The Seneca Tribune dated Thursday, January 26, 1899.

The obituary mentions that two of her sons, Joseph and Ernest, are members of the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry and were currently serving in Manila. Now here is a new military avenue for me to research. I am not familiar with the late 19th century military actions, other than I know that A Message to Garcia was written around this time.

The 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service on May 16, 1898. Joseph W. Ozias and Ernest Ozias, brothers to my 2nd great-grandmother Cora Ozias Kuhn, were assigned to Company H.

A list of the Soldiers in Company H, 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, as printed May 17, 1898 in the Kansas Weekly Capital in Topeka, Kansas 

The Spanish-American War was spurned by America's desire to protect it's western shipping lanes and a long-standing disdain for the treatment displayed by Spain towards its territories. The war was declared in April 1898 and ended four months later. Many historians claim that it was this war that officially made America a global power. America gained the Phillipines, Guam and Puerto Rico as territories from Spain and also annexed Hawaii as a result of war.

 

The 20th was made of volunteers from the state of Kansas. The Fighting 20th, History and Official Souvenir states that the 20th was the first regiment mustered in to service from Kansas where not a single man signed with "his mark." Mustered in May 1898, the unit was sent to San Francisco for training and was there for five months in preparation to head to the Phillipines. Pay close attention to the dates and you will note that the 20th did not participate in the Spanish-American war because by the time they arrived in the Phillipines the war was "officially" over. Following the war, Spain was forced to cede the Phillippines to the United States. This disappointed many Fillipinos and they clashed with American forces for the next three years. Therefore, the eight months the Fighting Twentieth spent in battle were part of the Phillipine Insurrection or the Phillipine-American war.

"Philippine Islands: A regiment of sure shots - the fighting 20th Kansas repelling an attack," call Number: LOT 11522-1, Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Both of the Ozias brothers participated in the regiment's training in San Francisco and both went to the Phillipines. Records show that Ernest Ozias was discharged in Manila and for some unknown reason stayed there.

Following his service, Joseph Ozias stayed active in the Fighting 20th veteran's group serving in various leadership positions. Ernest Ozias was admitted to the Veteran's home in Leavenworth, Kansas, based on his service. Both men also have veteran's headstones.

Joseph Ozias' headstone in Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas. His date of death is unknown.

Ernest Ozias' headstone in Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas

For more information on the Fighting 20th or the Spanish-American war visit the following links:

 

The World of 1898 - The Spanish-American War, a Library of Congress presentation

The Spanish American War, 1898, U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian

Crucible of Empire, The Spanish American War, a collection of information by PBS

The Fighting Twentieth, Kansas GenWeb