As I prepared for my genealogy road trip to Kansas, I wanted to organize my paperwork so I could share it with my relatives. I have thought a lot about going digital, but I am a very visual person and find that I work better with actual papers. But, how should I organize them? My filing system I decided to use hanging files, rather than notebooks, because it was both faster and cheaper. Also, I liked how tidy it looked. My filing system I created a hanging file for each couple who were my direct ancestors. And, I color coded...
I had a wonderful trip back to my childhood home in southern Kansas last weekend. My family has lived in the area (Cowley & Sumner Counties) since about 1870. My grand aunt, Beulah (Peters) Brewer, got me started in genealogy back in 1998 and, when she passed away in 2009, my aunt and uncle inherited boxes and boxes of her research. They are also the ones who have collected many family photos and other family heirlooms over the years. So, I was in genealogy paradise! It was incredible! A friend of the family, Cheryl, is a retired librarian who has...
My daughter is taking a year-long geography course this year. Last week she was learning about the “pushes” and “pulls” that cause people to migrate or move. Sometimes people move because something disagreeable or unacceptable occurs and they are trying to get away from it. While other times the pull of something desirable in another place causes them to migrate. Although I have yet to find any evidence that they won any land, I believe some of my family members moved to Oklahoma for the 1901 Land Lottery. (I know they were in Lawton by early 1903.) Free land? That’s...
I recently made an unusual find. It’s a census record for a family I believe our my relatives. Of course, that isn’t unusual. But, what is unusual is the name of where they were living. They were living in a place called Pee Pee! After seeing this unusual town name, I immediately searched the internet to find out how the town got its name. According to Ohio History Central, it was named after Peter Patrick, an early resident of the area. I wonder if this was his nickname? What about your family… did they come from any unusual places? Do we...
S. P. Coppenbarger death, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, 23 Aug 1893, page 4, column 2; digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 07 Oct 2014) Of course we expect to find death records of our relatives. But, this is the kind of death you don’t want to find. Sylvester Perry Coppenbarger (1839 in De Witt Co, IL – 1893 in OK) was my 1st cousin four times removed. His grandfather, Jacob Coppenbarger Senior (1769 in Wythe Co, VA – 1841 in De Witt Co, IL), was my fourth great grandfather. Sadly, “S. P.” evidently died at the age of 53 by an...
Here’s an excerpt from an interesting letter I found in a relative’s Civil War service record today. It appears to be written by a Captain Hogle and is dated February 21st, 1865. It starts by explaining when and where he enlisted and that he had served faithfully for a year and was experiencing good health. But, that changed on the night of August 3rd, 1864… when he was struck by lightning! …since which time, he has been wholly unable for duty. The lightning struck the right side of the head, face and shoulder extending down the arm, side, thigh, leg...
I’m busy looking through the small town paper where my family has lived since the early 1870s. I lived there when I was young and have many relatives still in the area. These small papers are full of interesting articles! One article I found this morning said that my second great grand uncle, or the brother of my second great grandmother, had “entertained those present [at a ‘big dinner’] by reciting one of his German poems.” Oh, how I wish I could read that poem! But, then I found one published in the newspaper! (And maybe there are more?) It...
May 31st, 1899. An electrical storm bursts upon the small town of Ashton, Kansas during the late evening hours. Thunder booms and lightning flashes across the sky. A young family probably tries to sleep but the mother and father are kept awake by the show. Then, they hear what sounds like a train coming towards them. They probably crouch together for safety and hold on tight to their baby boy. And then the tornado hits their house. Image from Wikipedia The house is torn apart by the twister. It is demolished. The husband is blown 450 feet away and is...
It looks like Ancestry has had old yearbooks on their site for awhile, but I think they recently added some new ones including one that is useful to me: Arkansas City High School in Kansas. My grandmother, Hazel Peters, graduated from there in 1928. Hazel Peters (1910-1975) (married to James Edward Stewart) Senior Photo – original in possession of family I don’t know what is legal to post from Ancestry, so I’m thankful that Hazel’s senior photo is on the possession of my family. (Note: the hair looks odd because it was digitally colored & I changed it back to...
I found the following newspaper advertisement twenty-two times in the Arkansas City Daily Traveler. I guess Eckert (Eckard) Peters (1845- 1915) was sold on this miracle drug! Eckert was a brother of my great, great grandfather, Charles Peters (1847 in Germany – 1910 in Comanche County, Oklahoma). In 1894 they both lived in Sumner County, Kansas which was near the county line of Cowley County, Kansas where Arkansas City (“Ark City”) is located. Lagrippe Remedy, Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 08 Nov 1894, page 3, column 2; digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 20 Sep 2014) Two years ago...
