Happy Easter!

Here's hoping that you have a wonderful Easter!

Follow Friday - Favorites for March 29, 2013

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

What did Revolutionary Soldiers carry in their pockets?
I'm not a scrapbooker, but I thought this kit looked awesome for saving family memories
John at Filopietism Prism asks: Have you ever seen one of these?
Lessons in genealogy collaboration
Help tell the story of American agricultural change
Mary at Growing up in Willow Creek found a message in a bottle
Are My Roots Showing says: "You say A.D.D. like it's a bad thing!"
650 WACs Defy the Subs at Climbing My Family Tree
For Heaven's Sake Stop it, a message from the Lost  Battalion
Bon Jovi is a treasure, too!
German Easter traditions at ABT UNK
Nancy at My Ancestors and Me implores you: read newspapers
Wendy shares about her mom's best friends
The waitress, the girl and the broken hamburger

Treasure Chest Thursday - Our National Parks

Pea Ridge National Military Park

A couple of days ago I heard a report on NPR regarding the effects of the sequester on our National Parks. I must admit that I was sad to hear that the National Park Service has to cut more than $150 million from their budget. While the story stated that the amount is only 5% of the NPS budget, it will mean visible changes to visitors. You may see grass not cut as often at cemeteries, limited staff or limited hours. Plan your trip ahead of time to avoid missing the park you want to see.

Now seems like a perfect time to do what we can as historians to support the parks. Go visit a local historic site or one that your ancestor was at. Or make a donation through your time or wallet. Visit The National Parks Foundation on more ways to help our national parks in these tough times.

Workday Wednesday - A pail of dung, or workday fun

I found this little gem in some of my father's papers. We've all worked at a place like this...I couldn't help but share.

Fearless Females - Education

My mom's graduation May 25, 1972

Throughout the history of my direct ancestor lines it appears that education was more of a male achievement. My mother and my grandmothers all graduated from high school. My mother attended Richmond High School in Richmond, Missouri, and my maternal grandmother graduated from Hardin High School in Hardin, Missouri. My paternal grandmother, Lois Burnett, attended Westport High School in Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated in 1938.

My high school graduation on May 26, 1995.

To date I have found no female ancestors in my direct line that attended college. Which makes me the first! Even though my female ancestors did not attend college, I learned long ago that higher learning can not replace common sense. I learned as much from my female ancestors as I did from the males. Education is more than just books!

Fearless Females is a series of blogging prompts began by The Accidental Genealogist honoring National Women's History month.

Matrilineal Monday - Harriett Potts

Harriett Potts is my 3rd great grandmother on my father's maternal side. She was born in Sibley, Missouri on September 7, 1836. Sibley is a small town on the very eastern edge of Jackson County, Missouri. Harriett was the third of nine known children to Joseph W. and Mary (Grainger) Potts. Both Joseph and Mary Potts were born in Tennessee, but by the birth of their first child in 1831 they were living in Missouri. By 1839 they were living in Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri, which is presumably where they lived until their deaths.

I have found no proof, but according to some other trees online it appears that both Joseph and Mary Potts died sometime between 1857 and 1859. Those years must have been difficult for the children, coupled with the coming Civil War. The Potts sons were very involved with the Civil War in Johnson County, Missouri. I have found record of at least four of the five brothers fighting in the Civil War. Harriett's brother, James, was killed in 1862 while fighting with Co. G, 7th Regiment Missouri State Militia Cavalry.

Harriett married Thomas Jefferson Burnett in Johnson County, Missouri on March 24, 1858. The couple had eight children, two dying in infancy.

The Burnett family moved around west Missouri for several years and finally settled in Kingsville, Missouri by 1880. Thomas was a farmer and served as Justice of the Peace for several years and Harriett stayed at home with the family. Thomas died in 1905 and was buried in Kingsville Cemetery, Johnson County, Missouri. Harriett died February 19, 1919, in Pleasant Hill, Cass County, Missouri, I am assuming she was living with her daughter at the time. She was laid to rest next to her husband in Kingsville.

As is true with many of my ancestors I know little of what Harriett was actually like. Based on her husband's obituary I believe that they attended the Christian church in Kingsville, but that is the extent of my knowledge. Sadly, the only thing I can think of to locate more on Harriett is the following:

1. Find her obituary.

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents more in-depth. Harriett is #10 on my list.

Follow Friday - Favorites for March 22, 2013

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

Candy makes an effort to become a fighting food
Ten urban myths you thought were true debunked
One Good Thing By Jillee. Absolutely nothing to do with history or genealogy, but a lot of great home tips and recipes so I had to share!
Check out the Soldiers' Found Items link at Olive Tree Genealogy and see if you can help reunite missing treasures to families
Letter to Ireland answered: 28 years later
(Mis)Adventures of a Genealogist explores: It's online, so it must be true! Right?
A "mule" of a treasure at A Southern Sleuth
Free Easter images from The Graphics Fairy
Titanic bandleader's violin found
The history of a house through its wallpapers
Some answers about the Japanese passport at Discovering My Lane Family Roots
Check out the community of storytellers at Narratively

Wordless Wednesday - A magical place!

Out to Eat Tuesday - Minsky's Pizza

I was born and raised in a Minsky's Pizza family. I would almost be willing to bet that it was one of my first solid foods. Minsky's Pizza is a pizza chain in Kansas City, Missouri, which opened it's first location in 1976 at 5105 Main St., just south of The Country Club Plaza. I'm not sure how my parents first learned of Minsky's, other than the fact that my father went to college just blocks away at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

A view of Minsky's Pizza Joynt in south Kansas City, courtesy Google Street View.

Through all my travels I have never found a pizza as good as that served at Minsky's. Growing up my family would drive half an hour from our home in Kansas City North just to get the pizza. And we always ordered the same kind: A large with 1/2 cheese and 1/2 mushroom and canadian bacon with an extra slapping of cheese on the whole thing. Join that with a pitcher of Pepsi, and later in life, beer. My mother and I would spend a moment to lament my father's "gross" choice of toppings and life was good. We always went home with a happy tummy.

This menu hung on the inside of our kitchen cabinet probably from the day my parents came across Minsky's. My dad would often call our order in and we would take a family drive down to pick it up and bring it home. Other times we would eat-in and meet family friends there for food. When I was old enough to drive I would take my friends there (many of which weren't allowed to "cross the river.") We had celebratory dinners at Minsky's and had it at nearly every slumber party on record.

 

Nowadays, Minsky's touts itself as "gourmet" pizza, but back then it was just a pizza joynt. Every single time I head home I visit Minsky's. Such good memories are even better when the food rocks. Minsky's is a chain now with 14 locations. If you are ever in Kansas City I highly recommend it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The coast of Northern Ireland

I consider myself Irish, despite the fact that my family is many, many years distant from having been residents. In my mind I am half Irish and half German, but today the Irish comes out swinging! This is one of my favorite holidays of the year. How can you not love a day dedicated to celebrating heritage, I ask you? Especially a celebration steeped in music, beer and great food! I hope all of you are Irish today and raise a glass:

May those who love us love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

Follow Friday - Favorites for March 15, 2013

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

 

Beware the Ides of March!

A flight story that reminds you of the good in people

Two enemies discover a 'higher call' in battle

The Legal Genealogist works out a puzzling probate

Vintage infographics: Where women worked in 1920

Pure love: a wonderful World War I snapshot

Debi of Who Knew? shares photos of eight of her female ancestors

Nancy at My Ancestors and Me writes a great breakdown of information on a family surname

A love story between neighbors at Remember When Genealogy

A blog versus a website at Social Media and Genealogy

The Olive Tree Genealogy shares WWI letters found in an attic

Genealogy's Star ponders: How do we bridge the genealogy age gap?

The Genealogy Insider lists six Irish genealogy websites to kick start your Irish hunt

Google Reader is out...what's in?

Google Reader is out...what's in?

As you know by now our good friend Google Reader is on the way out. I have only ever used Google Reader to peruse my favorite blogs and now I'm at a loss. What reader do you use? What do you plan to switch to when Google Reader is gone?

Wordless Wednesday - A nice day for a drive

Claude O. and Florence (Coffman) McGuire on a drive with two of their girls, Margaret and Virginia. From Hardin, Missouri Centennial 1870-1970 (hence the horrible pebbled paper!)

Tuesday's Tip - Adjusting Blogger Comment settings

It didn't take me long in my blog reading career to realize I truly disliked the "word verification." You know, the wacky words and letters that you have to identify in order to post comments to some blogs.

The dreaded word verification

The intent is to show that you have the ability to identify those letters, thereby ensuring you are not a robot. This is especially horrible when trying to make comments via a mobile device! I was so annoyed by the word verification on other blogs that I realized it must be annoying to my readers, too. I dug in to the comments options in Blogger to find different ways to monitor my blog comments.



You can adjust the settings for blog comments by clicking on the Settings link on the left-hand side of your blog's overview page. Then click the link for "Posts and comments."

There are many options for changing how your readers can submit comments to your blog. The first is the Comment Location option, or how your readers will see the Comments box. You have four choices:

1. Full page - It opens a full-size page where the commenter can see the full post, other reader comments and a block for entering their own comment. I tested this option on my mobile and it defaulted to the embedded comment option, rather than changing to a full page.

Full-page comment option

2. Embedded - Opens a comment box on the same page as the post page.

Embedded comment box

3. Pop-up - Opens a small comment box in a separate window. I tested this option on my mobile device and it appears to default to the embedded mode, rather than open a new window.

Pop-up window.

4. Hide - The option to hide comments, though I'm not sure why you would want to!

Under the comment settings you can also determine who is allowed to comment. The options include anyone, Registered user, User with a Google account and only members of the blog. Each option gets progressively more selective as to who can comment. I like allowing anyone to comment, that way I don't force someone to get an account they don't want just to make a comment on my blog. Of course, this means that "Anonymous" users (read: Spammers) are allowed to comment.

The next option is comment moderation. This allows you the option to always, sometimes or never moderate comments. If you choose "always" or "sometimes" (for posts greater than X days old) moderate, the comments will be placed on hold until you approve them for posting via your Blogger homepage. I have mine set to always moderate which means no spam comments make it to my site (and therefore my readers that are following comments). This also means that I never miss a comment. It is a little more work, but I hate spam!

Last, but not least, is the Word Verification option. I'm sure you know how mine is set!

You can choose yes or no for this option. Choosing no means that it is easier for spam comments to make it to your blog. However, you can circumvent this by always moderating comments.

What options do you like for comments settings?

Matrilineal Monday - Bertha Cutler

I'm not going to lie, Bertha Cutler is one of my favorite ancestors. There, I've said it. I'm not sure why I have such a strong attachment to Bertha, but I am consistently drawn to her. I've written about her many times on this blog, but I continue to come back to her. Honestly, there isn't much I don't know about Bertha. The only thing I don't know is her personality, what she was REALLY like. Of course, I won't ever be able to figure that out. I also do not know what she looked like. What I wouldn't give for a photo!

Bertha was born December 28, 1841 in Plymouth, Richland County, Ohio. She was the first born of four known children to James Cutler and Eliza Bodine. James Cutler was an immigrant born originally in Wheatacre, Norfolk County, England, and Eliza Bodine was born in New York.

Eliza Bodine and James Cutler, Bertha Cutler's parents.

I have only found record of four children born to James and Eliza, however, based on the distance between births, I believe that there were more. James is listed as a farmer on each census. Bertha's mother, Eliza, died in 1855 and James remarried a woman named Asenath. Asenath died in 1864 so I imagine that Bertha spent quite a bit of time helping raise her younger siblings.

Bertha married Philip Kuhn on September 19, 1860. Just days after their two-year anniversary, Philip enlisted in the 120th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He would be gone from home for the next three years. On May 8, 1864 Philip was captured on the Red River and transferred to Camp Ford, a prisoner of war camp near Tyler, Texas. Through the magic of Google, I was able to find an archive of letters between Philip and Bertha during that time.

Through their letters I learned that Bertha was at home alone with 2 small children. In the one letter I have from her to Philip she sounds no different than a military spouse from today. Philip and Bertha had a total eleven children. Around 1867, the couple moved their small family to Missouri, where they farmed for a decade and had seven more children. By 1880 they had moved to Centralia, Nemaha County, Kansas.

In 1894 the couple moved to Baldwin City, Kansas, in order to give their children better access to higher education. They raised educators, a reverend and doctors. Philip died in 1899 and Bertha was the head of her household until her death in 1908. She died in Baldwin, Kansas, and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.

Bertha's obituary as printed in the The Baldwin Ledger, 30 Oct. 1908, page 1, col. 5.

   Bertha Cutler was born Dec. 28, 1841, at Plymouth, Ohio, and passed to her rest Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1908. When very young she united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which she continued a consistent member until death. She was united in marriage to Philip Kuhn, Sept. 19, 1860. At the close of the war they removed to Wellsville, Mo., from there to Centralia, Kans., and since 1894, have made Baldwin their home. The funeral services were conducted by Dr. L. H. Murlin, assisted by Rev. Jenness, at the home on Friday afternoon, and interment was Monday at 11 a.m.

   Mr. Kuhn passed to his rest nine years ago. Mrs. Kuhn was a member of the W.C.T.U. and a life member of the Missionary Society of the M. E. Church. She leaves to mourn her death, one sister, two brothers, five sons and four daughters, all of whom met at the old home. It was a sad return home for the entire family had not met at the old home place together since the death of the father. The family re-union that was being planned for the Christmas time came all too soon and the bereaved brothers and sisters returned to the last home gathering with sad and aching hearts.
   All who knew Mrs. Kuhn recognized in her a pure Christian woman whose kindness of heart shone out of her eyes and was betrayed by her every act. She was the devoted mother of 11 children, 9 of whom are still living and all members of the same church.
   Words can add nothing to a life like hers, full of devotion to her family, her friends, and above all, her church.
   During her life in Baldwin she formed many friendships and the breaking of the tie brings grief to many hearts. The deep sympathy felt for the bereaved family is expressed on every hand.
   The old home is broken and the brothers and sisters departing to their work, but the memory and influence of the good mother will always live in their hearts, and give inspiration and courage to a high and noble life.

I mentioned above that I will never really know what Bertha was like, but that isn't totally true. It is clear through the information I do have that she was loved, so she must have been loving. She was willing to move to a new city for better opportunities for her children and she was passionate about her faith. I imagine her to be a "salt of the earth" type of woman and very strong. Maybe that's why she is one of my favorites!

To read more about Bertha Cutler Kuhn, please check out the following links:

To Meet Tuesday - Bertha Cutler Kuhn
Breaking down a genealogical brick wall - Worldcat.org

Based on the above information I have the following "due-outs" for Bertha:

1. Find a photograph!
2. Research Methodist Episcopal church records for more information on Bertha.

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents more in-depth. Bertha is #2 on my list.

Follow Friday - Favorites for March 8, 2013

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

Check out the process on the repairs to the Mayflower II

Help ID a uniform at Kathryn's Quest (plus see a great photo!)

Genealogy goes to the Movies at The Family Recorder

A beautiful house and wedding at Sandi's Family History

Celebrate proper grammar for National Grammar Day (March 4)

A story to make you smile...good deeds do bring good things.

Some of the great "how they met" stories from the Fearless Females blog prompts:

A rebel with a cause at Carolina Girl Genealogy

Ballroom love at Family History Fun

Sister, sister at Jollett, Etc.

How I Met Your Mother at Past-Present-Future

 



Workday Wednesday - The Slot Host

The summer after my sophomore year of college I decided to take a more interesting route to summer jobs. I decided to work at a casino. I'm sure the fact that one of my friends had gotten a job there was part of the allure, but it also sounded more exciting than the office jobs I had been working.

I applied to Harrah's in North Kansas City, Missouri to be a slot host. That was back in the days when you had to use special coins to play the slot machines. It was my job to carry the casino's "money" and make change for the guests. There was intensive training for the job and a lot of rules. I specifically remember only being able to carry a see-through pouch into the building.
The uniform was hideous. Black polyester pants, a white collar-less dress shirt, this harlequin vest and a fantastic change belt. Which I might add that once loaded with "change" weighed a million pounds. I blame the change belt for my massive hips. I can't find any photos of me in the uniform which is probably best.



My lovely vest.

I'm not sure why I only worked one summer at the casino. In fact, I don't even remember quitting. That may explain why I still have the vest this many years later. I do remember loving the job. I wasn't very good at it, math has never been my best subject, but I loved talking with the guests and feeling the good vibes that radiated from them. Most people who come to a casino just come for fun...maybe thinking they'll win a tiny bit and have some drinks. Those are the fun people.

But to every coin there are two sides. I have so many stories about the sad people at the casino. The people there, every day, positive they are going to hit the big one...even though they can only afford the penny slots.

I once had a guest that was playing on quarter slot machines. She hit a jackpot and was so excited by the amount she won that she fell backward on her seat and hit her head on the machine behind her. She was okay, but her math was bad. She thought she won $1,000, but she won 1,000 quarters. Quite a difference and not really worth stitches.

My friend once waited on someone that had the same attitude in the penny slots. She kept asking my friend to hold her machine for her so she could go to the bathroom. She was just "sure" it was going to hit and she didn't want to leave the machine that she had put so much money in to. We were not allowed to hold machines, after all, they are completely random, so my friend said no. An hour later the same lady had her call light on. My friend returned only to find that the women had wet herself rather than leave her penny slot machine.

What a great job! If nothing else I have a lot of great stories. ;)

Tuesday's Tip - Removing image frames in Blogger

Yesterday Kathryn from Kathryn's Quest wrote a post in her Fearless Females series about German marriage records. In her post she used my tip for creating ancestor charts with the Microsoft SmartArt tool. Her graphic looks great but she was perturbed by the white border around all of her blog images. I was able to figure out how to get rid of those "pesky borders" and thought I would share it.

Note the border around this image. The template you use in Blogger will determine how prominent your image borders are. You'll note that mine are barely noticeable because I choose to have a white background. A blog design with a colored background may have a more prominent image border. Luckily, Blogger gives us the ability to change our template to suit our tastes.

To make changes to your template, follow the "Template" link on the left-hand column of your Blogger home page and then the orange "Customize" button under the screenshot of your blog.

This opens the Blogger Template Designer where you can make changes to every part of your blog design. Click on the Advanced link and then scroll down to Images.

The Border Color, marked with a red box above, is where you can change that "pesky" frame color.



Once again, Blogger makes it too easy. They supply color choices that go well with your blog template. Or you can choose your own color by clicking the color box circled in red above. In that link you can use the color mixer to design a custom color, or you can nix the image border all together by choosing the transparent option, also circled in red above.

Be sure to apply your changes to your template by clicking the orange "Apply to Blog" button on the very upper right-hand corner of the Blogger Template Designer. You can also click on the "View Blog" link here to view your changes as your readers will see them. I suggest you do this while you have the Blogger Template Designer open so you can adjust changes easily without trying to remember where you were in the Designer.

Remember, a Blogger template is just a great place to start. You can change colors and fonts, adjust widths and the overall layout. Make it your own!

Update: Based on comments from readers I have learned that not all Blogger templates allow you to change the frame on your images via the Blogger Template Designer. Kathryn of Kathryn's Quest found this link helpful. Beware, it does include editing HTML, but it's not difficult.

Mystery Monday - Walter O. Stevens and the Sanitorium

Another photo from my mystery black photo albums. This photo came out of an album with just a handful of photos, many of which were identified as Walter O. Stevens. Based on her dress I feel like this is from around the 1910s. This looks to me to be a wedding portrait.

This photo was pasted on the same page as the wedding portrait. It's definitely the same studio and that's Walter with a friend. Perhaps the best man? The only difference I can see is that Walter has added a watch chain to this image. I'm not positive that this was taken the same day.

 

I flipped back through the album and noticed that Walter had been a gent and wrote his full name and home town on the inside cover. Bingo! I did a search and it seems that Walter was born November 11, 1897 in Unity, Maine. His parents were William and Jettie (Farwell) Stevens. I found some census records for the family and it appears that Walter served in WWI. However, I can't find any record of a marriage for Walter. If there was one, my original surmise that the photo was taken in the 1910s would be wrong, as Walter was still living with his parents on the 1920 census.

 

The other photos in the album are curious as well. None are labeled and there are a couple of photos of men who appear to be sick.

 

Nearly all the photos appear to have been taken at the same building which you can see in the background here.

And here is a photo of Walter, clearly worse for the wear. His cheeks are sunken and he looks thinner.

Sadly, after a search for Walter in the Maine death records it appears that he died in 1921 from tuberculosis. According to the death records it appears that he suffered from the disease for three years. And then it all came together: the photos of sick men, the "sterile" background in the photos and the sickly looking Walter...this is an album from his stay at a sanitorium.

 

In the early 1900s, tuberculosis was a serious health concern and one that was often times fatal. Communities across the United States built sanitoriums with the intent to segregate tuberculosis patients in an attempt to keep the disease from spreading. The state of Maine had at least three such sanitoriums. The Central Maine Sanitorium in Fairfield, Maine was only twenty miles from Walter's hometown of Unity. There is not much online for the Central Maine Sanitorium other than its suspected ghost activity. However, I was able to find a postcard on ebay that I am almost sure is the same building in all of Walter's photos.

 

The question remains, is that a wedding photo?

 

To read more about the treatment of tuberculosis in the state of Maine, click here.

Surname Saturday - Edward M. Creed

I am related to Edward M. Creed through my paternal side. Edward is an ancestor of which I know relatively little. There are many mentions of him online but to date I have found no "proof" of any of the information, so this post will reflect only the confirmed information.

Edward was born sometime around 1810 in North Carolina. I know that the family was in Surry County, North Carolina, in 1841 and in 1860. However, I find them in Cherokee County, North Carolina in 1850. That is more than a 260 mile difference, which seems strange for the time.

I have found no concrete evidence of Edward's parentage. Some online trees list his parents as Bennett W. Creed and Mary Moore, but I have found nothing to confirm it. I also do not have proof of his marriage to his first wife, Telitha/Talitha. Other than her listing on the 1850 census, I have nothing about her. This is particularly sad because she is #6 on my 3rd great grandparents list. ;)

It is believed that her maiden name was Cockerham, but again, no proof. I know of the following children born to Edward and Talitha:

There are records showing an Edward Creed of Surry County, North Carolina marrying two more times. Is this my Edward? I don't know! At least I don't know for sure. I don't know when Edward died and my link to him, his son Joseph, moved away as soon as he became of age so there is no information through this line. For years I have tried to extend this line past Edward, but everyone I have spoken to did not have the documentation I MUST have to continue the line. Are their trees right? Probably. But without any documents I'm just not happy.

The bottom line is that I know Edward existed and that he lived in Surry County, North Carolina. The. End.

Based on the above information I have the following "due-outs" for Edward (there isn't enough space on this blog, but I'll try):

1. Find a marriage record between Edward and Talitha.
2. Find a death date.
3. See if I can find an obituary.
4. Look AGAIN for a family history online. Perhaps something has been uploaded since my last search.
5. Try to determine where Edward was born.
6. Determine why the family was in Cherokee County, North Carolina in 1850.

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents more in-depth. Edward is #5 on my list.

Follow Friday - Favorites for March 1, 2013

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

Listen to an entire day of 1939 radio

CNN highlights the world's 10 most beautiful cemeteries

Dawn at Wisteria comes across a unique profession on the census

The American Government's Advice for Yeti Hunters, 1959

A Scrapbook of me shares beautiful $50 wedding gown

A glimpse at a 1930s grocery at The Broersma Ancestry

John at Filiopietism Prism vindicates our genealogy addiction!

A different kind of cousin bait as Are My Roots Showing?

What is your ancestor's dollar worth today?

Strange but interesting: My Daguerreotype of Guy

Betty at My Mother's Family Stories shares that not all family stories are easy to tell, but they must be told