Honoring My Family's Veterans

My family’s U.S. Veterans (that I know of at this point)

On my Dad’s side:

My Dad –  Specialist, 3^rd Class, U.S. Army, Korean Conflict veteran, Japan as a Petroleum Laboratory Supervisor

My grandpa, Owen Carl Henn (1906-1988), U.S. Army (albeit briefly), WWII

My first cousin, twice removed, Benjamin F. Bentley (1893-1926), Sergeant, WWI

My 2^nd great grandfather, John Henn (1842-1919), private, Company G 3^rd Regiment, New York Light Artillery, Union Army, U.S. Civil War

My 3^rd Great Uncle, Andrew Henn (1832-1911), private, New York Light Artillery, Union Army, U.S. Civil War

On my Mom’s side:

My cousin KMR, Master Sergeant, U.S .Air Force, retired

Great-Uncle Don B. Snyder (1918-2012), Technical Sergeant, 151^st Infantry, 38^th Division (“Avengers of Bataan” – he served in the operation that won them that nickname), WWII

My great-grandfather, Vernon Erwin (1872-1947), private, G Company, 4^th Illinois Infantry, Spanish American War

My 2^nd-great-grandfather Edward Carleton Bailey (1849-1926), private, Company D, 192^nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Union Army

My 3^rd great uncle John W. Bailey (1843-1864), 1^st enlistment 1861: private, Company C, 45^th Pennsylvania Infantry, Union Army; 2^nd enlistment 1864: corporal, Company C, 45^th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, Union Army – died of wounds incurred in the siege of Petersburg, VA. U.S. Civil War

My 2^nd great grandfather John Erwin (1841-1917), 1^st enlistment 1861: private, Company D, 11^th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, Union Army, wounded at the Battle of Corinth and discharged; 2^nd enlistment (1864): private then corporal, Company B, Illinois 48^th Infantry, Union Army. U.S. Civil War 

My 3^rd great uncle William Erwin (1838-1865), enlisted 1861, Sergeant, Company D, 11^th Regiment Missouri Volunteers, Union Army, discharged to accept commission as Captain July 1, 1864, died of wounds received at Spanish Fort, Ala. U.S. Civil War 

My 3^rd great uncle Eli Erwin, private, Company F, 18^th Regiment Missouri Infantry, Union Army, badly wounded at the Battle of Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing 6 April 1862, sent to field hospital a Savannah, TN. He was discharged August 31, 1862, near Corinth MS due to wounds incurred at Shiloh. He didn’t make it home alive. U.S. Civil War 

My 3^rd great uncle Lafayette Erwin (1848-1935), private, Company E, 155^th Illinois Regiment, Union Army. U.S. Civil War

  

My 3^rd great grandfather Henry Y Zimmerman (1794-1853), private, “Captain George Sanderson’s Company” Ohio, War of 1812

Maternal Ancestor Charts ... to Date (Direct Line)

As I explained yesterday, I thought I had previously posted the direct line ancestor charts for my maternal side, to the extent I've found them thus far, but when  I looked for them, I only found one side posted and I'd screwed up the image posting somehow. So I'm going to post the charts for the maternal side of my family (to date) tonight.

I'm only doing direct line charts because there are too many people in most generations to post readable charts if I were to include entire families. And I'm only including the people I'm pretty sure of -- so yes, I might have others on my working tree ...trying them out, so to speak. But not here.

Vertical Pedigree Chart for Clarence Weldon Snyder (1910-1984)
My maternal grandfather
Click to make bigger

Vertical Pedigree Chart for Mabel LeRe Erwin (1910-1990)
My maternal grandmother
Click to make bigger

If you think we share any ancestors, please contact me. I'd love to hear from you! You can leave a comment or email at the address on my Contact Me page.

8 Escape Injuries When Auto, Ambulance Collide (June 30, 1923)

"8 Escape Injuries When Auto, Ambulance Collide"
The Findlay Morning Republican, June 30,1923, page 2
(found at Newspaperarchive.com)
Click to Make Bigger

Transcription:

8 Escape Injuries When Auto, Ambulance Collide

Touring Car Driven by S. M. Hartman, 318 First Street, Crashes into Rear of Carey, O., Ambulance Driven by Charles Sutter, Funeral Director of That Place, Who Suffers Minor Injuries

      Eight persons narrowly escaped injury when a touring car crashed into and toppled an ambulance from Carey, O., on its side at First and S. Main Streets yesterday afternoon.

     

     Charles Sutter, funeral director, of Carey, who was driving the ambulance, was slightly injured about the head and neck. He was the only occupant of the machine, having taken a patient, Miss Clara Shull, of near Vanlue, to the Home and Hospital, a short time before.

               Seven in Touring Car

     The touring car was driven by S. M. Hartman, 318 First Street. Other occupants of the machine were his wife, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, all ranging in ages from 3 to 18 years. All were shaken by the impact but unhurt.

     The children were:

     Berenice and Helen Duffield, daughters of Jay. W. Duffield, of near Van Buren.

     Mabel and Dale Erwin, children of Mrs. Fannie Erwin, 225 Park Ave.

     Josephine Hart, a grandchild, of the same address.

     The collision occurred shortly after 3 o’clock. The ambulance was northbound from the hospital on the return trip to Carey, and the Hartman machine was running south on Main Street.

               View Is Obstructed

     A third machine, driver unknown, passed the Hartman car obstructing the view of Mr. Hartman as he turned his car to go east on First Street. Before the machine could be halted, it crashed into the rear of the ambulance, turning it around and pushing it over on its side in front of the Campfield apartments.

     Mr. Sutter, his straw hat bent by the mixup, crawled out of the window while residents nearby, hearing the crash, held their breath for signs of life around the ill-fated car.

     The touring car with its seven occupants lost a wheel in the jam. The ambulance was badly damaged. A wheel was broken, the body battered and glass in the windows and windshield shattered. It was removed to Runnell’s garage.

     Renshler’s ambulance was summoned to the scene.

(Findlay Morning Republican, June 30, 1923, page 2 (found at NewspaperArchive.com))

This was likely the accident I talked about a year and a half ago, in the profile of my second great grandfather, Samuel Myers Hartman. I had not found this article when I wrote it, but I did find legal notices in the papers that due to a car accident in the spring of 1923, Samuel M. Hartman had been sued for $4500 in damages by the driver of the other vehicle, and that Samuel M. Hartman had filed a cross-claim against the other driver for $1200. In that prior profile I noted, for perspective, that in 1923, the average car cost $393, the average house cost $8,142, and the average yearly wage was $1,066. I stated then that it had to have been one heck of an accident, even though both drivers obviously came out of it alive. Now that I know that Mr. Sutter’s ambulance was destroyed, I can speculate that it likely cost more than a regular car to replace, and that its loss likely had a significant adverse impact on his ability to carry out his normal business because, in most of the 1800’s and early 1900’s, the town‘s ambulance service was run by a funeral home in the town (I've learned by reading accident and death notices). So Sutter could have sued for the replacement value of the ambulance and for the damage to his business.  I don’t know enough to speculate as to what damages the amount of Samuel M. Hartman’s cross-claim represented. On the eve of trial, the parties came to an undisclosed settlement. 

From this article, I could learn:

• that S. M. Hartman, my second great-grandfather, lived at 318 1st St., Findlay, OH on June 30, 1923; 
• that he was well-off enough to own a touring car in 1923; 
• that he was married, and his wife was living at that time;
• that he had at least four grandchildren, all granddaughters; 
• that one of his daughters had married a Jay W. Duffield of near Van Buren Ohio and they had two daughters, named Berenice and Helen; 
• that his daughter Fannie (my great-grandmother) had married a man surnamed Erwin (my great-grandfather) and was either widowed or divorced from him since she was allowed the use of her own first name in the newspaper account (traditions of the early 1900’s requiring that married women were always identified by Mrs. "their husband’s name.");
• that Fannie and Mr. Erwin had (at least) two daughters, Mabel and Dale; 
• that Mr. Hartman had a great grandchild by the name of Josephine Hart who was also Fannie Erwin’s grandchild (which indicates that Fannie probably also had at least one older child);
• that Fannie, Mabel, Dale, and Josephine lived at 225 Park Ave., Findlay, Ohio, on June 30, 1923; 
• and that the named children ranged in age from three years old until 18 years old. It was likely, but not certain, that Josephine was the three-year-old child. 

I also learned the names of a few businesses in Findlay, Ohio.

That’s a lot of genealogical information to pull out of one newspaper article. Besides allowing you to show some slice of life color for your ancestors, newspaper articles are often a genealogical goldmine!

52 Ancestors - #19 Mabel Erwin Snyder (1910 – 1990)

Click to make bigger

Click to make bigger

This is my 19th post for the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks”challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the “No Story Too Small” blog. I know many bloggers are doing stories about their mothers this week. My Mom is a very private person and would not be happy if I wrote about her life on my blog. So this week I'm writing about my Mom's Mom, my Grandma Snyder.

My grandmother, Mabel LeRe Erwin was born July 16, 1910 to newlyweds Fannie Hartman Hart (38) and Vernon Erwin (38)  in Louisville, Illinois, who had married in 1909. She was Vernon’s first child and Fannie’s sixth child. Fannie had been previously married to Orley Hart and was widowed by his death in 1905. Vernon and Fannie had another daughter, Dale Hart Erwin (1912- ??), two years later. Mabel’s half siblings were: Lester Dene Hart (1894-1981); Gladys Hart (1896-1902); Reed C. Hart (1898-1954); Verne Allen Hart (1900-1982); and Julia Ann Hart (1903-1978).

Fannie's and Vernon's marriage broke up when Mabel was approximately five years old and Vernon left, leaving Fannie to raise her children alone. By 1920, Fannie, Mabel, and Dale had moved to Hancock County, Ohio, where Fannie was raised and her extended family still lived. Fannie became a live-in housekeeper for a farmer and his elderly father and the girls lived with their mother on the farm.

As a young girl, Mabel was interested in the theatre. According to the October 28, 1921 Findlay Republican Courier, Mabel Erwin was one of  26 small girls chosen to  perform the part of the “Dream Kiddies”  in “Kathleen, “ a romantic musical comedy to be performed at the Majestic Theatre in Findlay, Ohio as a benefit for the America Legion on November 3 & 4, 1921. She would have been 11 at the time.

As a teenager, Mabel was very active in multiple clubs in town and in school. I get the impression that she was an extrovert (I am not an extrovert and looking at the list of mentions I unearthed in the Findlay Republican Courier makes me was want to hide  …with a book). At age 13, Mabel was mentioned as telling several jokes at a meeting of the “Buds of Promise”.  At age 14, she is written up on the women’s society page as attending the birthday party of Elizabeth Hartman (likely a relative, as Hartman was Fannie’s maiden name).  At age 15, she hosted her Sunday school class in her home on North Main Street for a St. Patrick’s Day party. At 16, in her junior year of high school, she performed as one of the lead actors in the Junior play, “Her Husband’s Wife;” performed in a Thanksgiving Program play as “Bob, the grocer’s boy”;  and  was very active in the “Justamere Club”  where she gave speeches on “America” in at least three meetings (the “justamere club” was an all woman club promoted in the late 1920’s by Laura Ingalls Wilder [wrote "Little House on the Prairie"]; the club was devoted to intellectual inquiry and current events and was described as “a self-improvement study group for women who wanted to do more than merely take care of their families and manage a household and go beyond socializing to cultivate their minds and increase their knowledge” in Ingalls' biography by John E. Miller).  

In her senior year of high school, when she was 17, she was part of the group that produced the High School Yearbook and was on one of the teams of students canvassing local businesses for donations in exchange for ads in the yearbook;  involved with the Mah-Kaw-Wee Camp Fire Girls and presented a talk on “Loyalty”; spoke on “honest Taxpaying” at a Senior Chapel Service; was a member of the Girl’s Reserves, a charity and social group that met at the high school; and was a member of the Debate Club, where she took the affirmative position in a debate on the subject “Resolved: That Findlay Adopt The City Manager Plan”.  And, perhaps most impressively to me, she did all this while maintaining grades of 90% or higher in all of her classes in all four years of high school, making the Honors “E” Class! My grandmother was a very smart girl with a lively mind when she was young.  Later she worked her way through college and obtained an accounting degree from Findlay College, where she also worked on the college yearbook. 

Click to make bigger

My grandmother and grandfather knew each other in high school and dated.  My grandfather, Clarence Snyder, was the captain of the football team.  In the fall of their senior year, on the evening of October 15, 1927, Mabel and Clarence were riding in a car, driven by Donald Simpson, 18, of Findlay, Ohio, with two other couples (all three of the boys played on the football team), when the vehicle was involved in an collision with a freight train at the East Main Crossing of the New York Central Railroad.  The train was traveling at about 25 mph, and the car at about 10 mph; and the car hit the third freight car of the train.  All occupants were thrown from the car (this was before seat belts), and the car was totally demolished, but only the driver was seriously injured.  (He recovered.)

Perhaps this scare solidified my grandparents’ intentions to one another.  They became serious, and once while Clarence was at college at Ohio University (I get the impression that he may have graduated a year after she did but I’m not sure), they secretly got married, on January 5, 1929,  in Crawford County Ohio (they lied about their ages on the application, but would have been of legal age even if they hadn't); then she returned to her home with her mother and he continued with college, until he graduated and they could be together. [To see the Application for Marriage License and Marriage Certificate, see Clarence's story.]

The 1930 census shows Mabel, 20, living with her mother and younger sister at 425 Hardin Street and a bookkeeper for a garage. The 1931 city directory is a bit more detailed, showing Mabel as a bookkeeper for the Davison-Harrington Chevrolet Company.  By 1933, Mabel and Clarence were living together as man and wife in Findlay Ohio, at 301 E. Main Cross Street. Their first child was born to them the next year in Findlay. (Note, I will not be giving names or exact birth dates as the children are living.) They had four children in six years and then nearly a decade later, in the mid-1940’s, had another two children. Mabel became quite ill with amoebic dysentery for several years after the birth of her last child, which she and others caught in a hotel in the Midwest, and this adversely affected her ability to do much of anything as she lacked the energy as a result of being constantly sick. The girls cleaned the house while she slept at that time.

The girls are not being identified because they are living.
Click to make bigger.

Mabel and Clarence got married and started having children at the height of the Great Depression, when it was extremely difficult to find work and provide for one’s family; even those who were employed weren't paid much. Much of the country was on austerity measures just to get by, wearing clothes that were mended and re-mended, stretching food, and hunting to supply meat for the family meals, and based on family stories, and Mabel and Clarence did all of that and more.  Even so, the little family was lucky in that Clarence was employed.  

Mabel and Clarence first moved to Jewett in Harrison County, Ohio and then to St. Clairsville Ohio, and by 1942, the family, had moved to Huron, Ohio, when Clarence obtained a job with one of the war industries and again they were lucky as Clarence's job was deemed "essential" and he was not sent to war. 

Click to make bigger

After the war, Clarence moved more into business for  himself as a manufacturer’s representative (salesperson of a sort) for several  toy and sporting goods companies, a traveling position that took him away from home a lot; Mabel did the accounting for his business, in addition to being a homemaker and doing volunteer work in the community.  She made almost all of her children’s clothes. She did not work for anyone else outside the house, but (according to what I found in The Sandusky Register) she was involved in a lot of charity work and social clubs over the years.  She was often the leader of the Parent-Teachers Association, the local March of Dimes fundraising drive, and the local Camp Fire Girls unit, and a local Girl Scout unit; and later she was a den mother for a cub scout unit. She was a member of the Eastern Star, the Library Fundraising Committee, and the local yacht club decorating committee; and she was also in charge of publicity for the Grand Forest Beach Association and later the Beach wood Cove Association (local homeowner’s associations for the neighborhoods in which they lived). Mabel was also active in the Huron Presbyterian church and for many years was the head of the missionary education committee, and in charge of national missions, and, at least once acted as their representative to the World Council of Churches. Additionally, she entertained as a means to support and further Clarence’s career, and because she enjoyed it; she also planned and hosted beautiful weddings for her oldest four daughters throughout the 1950's.

Click to make bigger

In 1958, their youngest daughter, at age 12, had to have surgery that required eight months thereafter in a body cast. While she was in the hospital, the carport was converted into a room to hold a hospital bed so that she could be cared for at home. 

I can remember that Grandma Snyder was an excellent cook, as is my mother, who learned from her.  She sewed and knitted, and she liked to read.  I was told that Mabel and Clarence played cards together (gin and bridge) and played competitive bridge against others. She also golfed, with Clarence, and in women’s tournaments. I found several mentions in the local paper of her winning ladies’ golf tournaments and ladies’ bridge tournaments. 

My own main memories of Grandma Snyder are of her cooking for large family get-togethers, of her with Foo-Foo, her poodle (actually, now I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there were a succession of poodles named Foo-Foo, as Foo-Foo is in almost every memory I have of her and that’s a long time for a poodle  to live), and often of her animatedly involved in a discussion with my father and other family members.

Click to make bigger

In or about 1969, when I was about 9, Mabel & Clarence retired to Florida, where they bought a house in Yankeetown Florida near the the Withlacoochee  on one of the inland waterways, a canal. I remember going to visit them several times. I have a vivid memory of an alligator crawling out of the canal into the backyard.  I don’t know if that happened more than once, but once was enough for me! Mabel was initially an active member of the Yankeetown Women’s Club, the Parson’s Memorial Presbyterian Church, and the Order of the Eastern Star.

Unfortunately, Mabel developed dementia in her later years. Now that I know how intelligent and active she was when she was younger, it seems all the more tragic. After awhile it got to the point that Grandpa Snyder, Clarence, could not care for her at home and moved her to the Crystal River Geriatrics Center in about 1982. Clarence died about two years later, and the family decided that it was better that she stay in an environment that she was used to, so she continued to live at Crystal River,  and her daughters and son visited her there. Her Alzheimer’s continued to progress.  She died on June 2, 1990, and was buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay, Ohio, next to Clarence.

==========

I  need to :

I'm still looking for documentation for period between 1940 & death, beyond newspapers (although more newspapers would be nice), to corroborate memories (mine, those of my parents, and of my aunts).

----------------
Census for 1920, 1930 & 1940; City Directories for Findlay Ohio; The Findlay Republican Courier; The Sandusky Register; The Florida Death Index, and the memories of myself, my parents, and my aunts.

52 Ancestors #18 Vernon/Verna/Vern Erwin (1872-1947)

Vernon Erwin with granddaughter, 1947, in Huron Ohio
(Note: granddaughter is not named because she is living.)
Click to make bigger

This is my 18th post for the “52Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the “No Story Too Small” blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

Vernon Erwin is my great-grandfather on my Mom’s mother’s side. He was born on February 15, 1872, in Louisville, Illinois, which is in Clay County. His parents were John Erwin(1841-1917) and Amelia Ann Conley (1847-1915). They had six children including Vernon; the others were: Luella Erwin Baird (1869- abt  1910),  Troy Erwin (1873-1874); Katurah Erwin (1876-1895); Mabel Erwin (1879 - ?aft 3/12/1910), infant Erwin (1883). Only Luella, Vernon, and Mabel lived to adulthood.

Vernon grew up in Louisville, Illinois. His father owned a hardware store and sold farm machinery. His father and three uncles served in the Union Army in the Civil War. Perhaps that is why Vernon  (“Verna”) enlisted in the army on May 10, 1898. He served one year as a private with G company  of the 4^th Illinois Infantry, in the Spanish-American War. The 4^th Infantry participated in the Battle of El Caney, Cuba and the Seige of Santiago Cuba. For a good description of troop movements, etc., of the 4^th Illinois Infantry in that war see: http://scouts87_90.tripod.com/id39.html. He was wounded during service, but I don’t know how yet. Later he drew a pension based on his service (pension # C-1 233 759). 

Click to make bigger

It is possible that Vernon suffered from undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the war ("Shell shock " or PTSD wasn't recognized as a condition until WWII, before that its effects were likely to get you punished, or killed, for insubordination, while in the Armed Forces,  (based on a book I'm reading about WW1) and seriously screw up one's life after he leaves the Army. PTSD could explain some of Vernon's behavior in the balance of his life.

I’m not sure whether he went home first after discharge but, in the next year, the 1900 census found him in Scappouse, Oregon, (outside of Portland) working as a day laborer.

I lost track of him for 9 years, but by 1909, he was back in Louisville, Illinois. In that year, at age 37, he married my great-grandmother, Fannie Hartman Hart, a widow with four children. I’ve not found an earlier marriage for him to date. This marriage to my great-grandmother did not work out well, although they did have two children: my grandmother, Mabel LeRe Erwin Snyder (1910-1990) and Dale Hart Erwin Crawford Shapiro Spicer Ludwig (1912 - ????) [Note: I’m not actually sure where Ludwig falls in that order other than knowing he’s not first]. According to a letter sent to my Mom from her cousin A (who was doing family history research), Vernon had left Fannie by 1915. Mabel would have been 5 and Dale, 3.

I then lost track of him for fifteen years. I have a few possibilities but no certainties. Sometime in those fifteen years it appears that he and my great-grandmother were divorced. I haven’t found the documentation yet.

1053 Cary Ave., San Pedro CA is 1/2 of the duplex on the right
Photo courtesy of Google Maps, photo taken 2011
Click to make bigger

I remembered my mother’s stories of him living in Los Angeles, California and being a policeman or a detective, and I think I’ve found him again in 1930, at age 58, living in San Pedro, California, (part of Los Angeles) where he is a watchman for a steamship company, and is married to Bertha, who is three years younger than he and also from Illinois (Bertha may have been previously married to another man also with the last name of Erwin, as she was at the same address before my great-grandfather with a man named Burt Erwin, or it could be my great grandfather if he was using a middle name -- I don't know his middle name). The age of this Vern Erwin is dead on, and the census reports he is from Illinois, that he is a veteran and that he fought in the Spanish-American war [“Sp”]. I know that retired policemen often become watchmen or security guards, so it’s plausible. At any rate, having found him in the census, I then found him in the San Pedro City directories at 1053 Cary Av, married to Bertha, and listed as a watchman in 1930 (age 58), 1932 (age 60), and 1937 (age 65). Over the years the city directory spells his first name several different ways. On April 3, 1940, the census finds Vern (68) and Bertha (65) in Elsinore, Riverside, California; his occupation is listed as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency. The 1940 city directory still had him in San Pedro, but at a new address on Neptune Avenue. Vern & Bertha may have moved partway through the year to Elsinore, or they may have been in Elsinore for a few years and Vern may have moved back to San Pedro when Bertha died on September 1, 1940. He was 68 in 1940; Bertha was 66 when she died.

The picture at the top was taken during a visit to his oldest daughter in Huron Ohio, after Bertha died. If the date on the back of the picture is correct, it was taken the year that he died.

Vernon/Verna/Vern died in Los Angeles CA, on November 18, 1947 (the death index notes that his mother’s maiden name was “Conley”, and he was born in Illinois, confirming it is the right person – I have to write off for the death certificate). He is buried is the Los Angeles National Cemetery, a Veterans’ cemetery, at 950 South Sepulveda Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90049, Section 261 Row C Site 11.

Click to make bigger
photo credit: Kevin Baird via photopin - cc

If anyone knows more about Vernon Erwin and is willing to share with mew, please either contact me through my email on the Contact Me page or leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you!

-------------
I need to find where Vernon was during the missing years between 1912 -ish and 1930, and try to confirm whether or not he was a police officer.
I want to obtain his military and military pension records.
I also want to obtain/see a copy of his divorce records (from Fannie) and his later marriage record (to Bertha) and/or find out if California ever had common law marriages
-------------
Sources, in general (I have more specific elsewhere): Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011: San Pedro City Directory; US Census for 1880, 1900, 1910, 1930, 1940; Fold3.com; "Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934," index, FamilySearch; U.S. Veteran's Grave sites; U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans; California Findagrave.com memorial # 370264; California Death Index.

52 Ancestors #17 Fannie Hartman Hart Erwin

This is my latest post for the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the No Story Too Small blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

Fannie Hartman was my great-grandmother on my mom’s mom’s side, i.e. not the one who wrote out the family history notes.  From talking to the people who remember her, she was not a particularly pleasant person to be around. Mom and at least one aunt are each convinced she hated them. Other aunts remember visiting her and being afraid to touch anything in the apartment. I always wondered if she started out difficult or did life turn her that way? But then other people have gone through rough times and not turned brittle. Anyway, I’ll never know that; I can only tell you what I’ve found in my research.

Fannie Hartman was born the third daughter and fourth child of Samuel Myers Hartman and Julia Ann Zimmerman in December 1844 in Findlay, Ohio. She had ten brothers and sisters: Charles Oliver (1868-1943), Etta Genora Hartman  Archer (1869-1942), Della Sylvia Hartman Spitler (1871-1892), Zoe Amelia Hartman  Rader (1874-1954), Samuel Thomas (1876-1877), Jesse Ephraim (1877-1945), Wellie Z. (1879-1960), Henry Barnhill (1884-1968), and Cleo Zerelda Hartman Duffield (1869-1966).  The sister closest to her in age (Della) died at 21 [Fannie would have been 20] and one brother died in infancy.  Her father was a successful farmer in Hancock County Ohio, having moved there from Wayne County Ohio just before she was born.

Cleo, Fannie, Zoe & Etta - The Hartman Girls
Click to make bigger

She married Orley Calvin Hart on December 10, 1893, in Hancock County, Ohio, when she was 21 years old. He was born in Hancock County too. By the time of the 1900 census, they had moved to Clay County, Illinois, living and farming with Orley's parents.  Family paperwork (compiled by my Mom's cousin) says that they lived in Van Buren, Ohio until they joined other Hart families in Clay County, Illinois in 1899 and that they bought  40 acres and together with the other families farmed a total of 280 acres.  Fannie and Orley had five children: Lester Dene (1894-1981, Gladys (1896-1902), Reed C (1898-1954), Verne Allen (1900-1954), and Julia Ann (1903-1978). According to the same family papers, her daughter, Gladys, died at age 5 of “sugar diabetes”. Unfortunately, Orley died just two years later on January 28, 1905, also of diabetes, and Fannie was left grieving and alone to raise her four children. I would hope and expect that his family helped, at least with the farm.

The family of my  great-grandfather, Vernon Erwin, had lived in Clay county, IL since before  it was formed in 1824, but I doubt that Fannie had met him until after Orley died as he was away from the county for several years (his profile will be #18, tune in next week to see where he was).  She married Vernon Erwin in 1909, in Louisville IL (the main city in Clay County). The 1910 census shows Vernon (spelled Verna), Fannie (listed as Frances), and her four children, living together; Vernon is not working, but 15 year old Dene is shown as “farm labor”. Vernon and Fannie had two children of their own:  my grandmother, Mabel LeRe Erwin Snyder (1910-1990) and her sister, Dale Hart Erwin Crawford Shapiro Spicer Ludwig [actually I’m not exactly sure where Ludwig goes on that list] (1912-????).

Dale & Mabel Erwin
Click to make bigger

My great-grandfather left my great-grandmother before 1920; I have a note from my mom’s cousin that says he left in 1915.  I don’t know whether he paid child support; but even if he did, Fannie was again left with the major responsibility of raising and caring for their daughters, alone. If it’s true that he left in 1915, my grandmother was 5 when he left and her sister Dale was 3.  By 1920, the census shows that Fannie (46)  had returned to Hancock County Ohio, and that she and her two youngest daughters, Mabel (9) and Dale (8), lived in Pleasant, Ohio in the household of a father and son, Henry and George Borough, where Fannie was employed as their housekeeper. The census says George (47) was a farmer and Henry (79) did not work. From that point on Fannie always told the census taker that she was a widow, even though my great-grandfather still lived (and I have pictures showing that he later visited his grandkids – my mom & her sisters and brother). I guess that either being a widow was less embarrassing than admitting she had been left by her husband, or she was trying to erase all memory of that disastrous short marriage from her life (to the extent possible given two children of the union).  I also expect she still loved Orley since she gave Vernon’s younger daughter, Dale Hart Erwin, Orley’s last name as a middle name; and she was Orley’s widow so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

The Findlay city directories for the next decade occasionally listed “Verne A Erwin” as her spouse, and sometimes listed her as Verne’s widow, and sometimes didn’t mention him at all. By 1929, she had obtained an apartment in Findlay with her two youngest daughters, and the directory indicated that she was a seamstress.  The 1930 census shows that Fannie (it says age 55, but she’s 58) is a seamstress for a clothing store, Mabel  (20) is a bookkeeper for a garage, and Dale (18) is a saleslady at a clothing store. The 1931 city directory is a bit more detailed, showing Fannie as a seamstress for Kessel’s Fashion Shop, Mabel a bookkeeper for the Davison-Harrington Chevrolet Company, and Dale as a saleswoman for C.B. Dabney. All three live at 425 Hardin Street.

In the next few years both daughters would marry in quiet simple ceremonies and move away. In 1935 Fannie moved to Massillon in Stark County, Ohio and was still living there at the time of the 1940 census.  Fannie was 68 in 1940, and the census indicates that she had a lodger by the name of Alexander Holderbaum, who was 81. She may have been hired as his caretaker, as Mom's cousin's notes indicate that she at one point cared for" a lady in Gomer, Ohio”; Gomer is in Allen County, Ohio.  She may have had a series of housekeeper/caretaker jobs.

By 1943, she was back in Findlay, living in the downtown apartment my mother and aunts remember visiting her at (218 ½ S. Main street -- across from the Courthouse), with her daughter Julia, who works as a clerk at Dall’s Drapery Shop . They would live together at that apartment for the rest of Fannie’s life.  According to Mom's cousin Fannie suffered an incapacitating stroke in March 1954 and was bedridden thereafter.  The Findlay Republican Courier reported that she was admitted to Blanchard Valley Hospital on March 9, 1954, and was taken to the hospital again, from her home, on March 17, 1954. She died July 13, 1954. Her son Reed died a month later; I think I’m glad she did not know that.

Click to make bigger

Mom's cousin’s notes say that Fannie “enjoyed crafts and needlework. After visits to [her daughter] Dale in Florida, she made many objects from shells. She did a lot of sewing and made most of the granddaughters’ clothes. She loved to read, put jigsaw puzzles together, and take walks in the fields and woods.” She and Julia pieced and sewed  the quilt top pictured HERE , in my 3^rd - ever post (my mom turned it into a hand-tied quilt, as the drapery fabrics used were too heavy to quilt in the usual manner).

----------------

U.S Census: 1880, 1900; 1910; 1920; 1930, 1940; "Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X2G1-WJ6 : accessed 14 Apr 2014), Verna Erwin and Francis Hart, 1909; citing Clay, Illinois, United States; FHL microfilm 1008796; Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011., Findlay Ohio City Directories for 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952; Findlay Republican Courier, January 18, 1935, p. 6; Findlay Republican Courier, March 9, 1954, p. 16; Findlay Republican Courier, March 17, 1954, p. 12.

-------------------

I need to look at the land records for Clay County to see when Fannie and Orley purchased land there.

I’d like to find marriage records (& not just indexes) and a death certificate and obituary for Fannie.

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Hartman Girls

Written on the back is "The Hartman Girls: Cleo Duffield, Fannie Hart-Erwin, Zoe Rader and Etta."


These are my Great-grand aunts and my Great-grand-mother Fannie (Hartman) (Hart) Erwin, on my mother's maternal line. My great-grandmother is behind two of her sisters, so we only see her head. I don't know why Etta's married name is not listed, but it is Archer.

Their parents were Samuel Myers Hartman (1844-1928) and Julia Zimmerman (1844-1913) who  grew up and married in Wayne Co Ohio, near Wooster, then moved to Findlay Ohio in Hancock County sometime before October 26, 1872 as my great-grandmother was the first child I know for certain was born in Findlay.  Samuel and Julia had 11 children: Charles O (1869-1930) s; Etta /Ettie (1870-????); Dellie (1871- ????); Fannie (1872-1954); Zoe (1874-1954); Jesse (1877-1945); Samuel T. (1877-1880); Wellie (1879-1960); 1880-1957); Henry (1884-1968); and Cleo (1899-1966.)

52 Ancestors: Ancestor #1 Crawford Erwin, 1818-1910

[Picture property of Jimmie Ferguson, Bowling Green Kentucky, used with permission. Click to embiggen.]

Crawford Erwin is my third great grandfather, and it is through researching his family that I connected with my first previously unknown cousin, a third cousin once removed, Jimmie Ferguson. He had several photographs of our mutual several times great grandfather and he graciously allowed me to use the photo above for my blog. Jimmie is descended through Crawford’s son ,Edward, from his second wife, and I am descended through Crawford’s second son from his first marriage.

I’ve done several posts about others in Crawford Erwin’s family. He is the son of Judge William Erwin and the father of John Erwin and Eli Erwin. They have been easier than some to write about as biographical sketches of several family members were written up in History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois", published in 1884.

The book describes Crawford Erwin as one of Hoosier Township's "best and most prominent farmers." He would have been sixty-six when it was published. Crawford was born on April 19, 1818, in Lawrence County, Indiana, when his father was 40 and his mother was 35. His father, William Erwin, moved with part of his family, including Crawford and two of his brothers, to Clay County in October, 1832.  Crawford was fourteen at the time.  

Crawford Erwin was “brought up among the deer and other wild animals, and hence early learned the use of fire-arms. He has killed many a deer and other wild game.  At one time, upon returning home from taking his grandmother to his aunt's, he saw a herd of seven deer. He at once brought his gun to his shoulder (for they always carried guns then), and fired without getting off the horse.  The ball passed entirely through the deer he had shot at, and entered another one just in the rear, killing both of them. This was a wonderful feat for a boy. “ (I think it was pretty amazing since he likely had a muzzle loading rifle. It probably also was a flintlock rifle. Percussion rifles had just been invented in the 1820’s and were more expensive and thus not likely to have been given to a boy. The U.S. army had adopted an early single shot breech loader in 1819; but again, given the expense, it is doubtful that a boy had one.) 

In 1837, when he was 19 years old,  he married Eliza A. Craig (my third great-grandmother), daughter of Adam Craig, an early settler of Clay county; she was also 19. They had seven children, two of whom  died in childhood, in 1852, (Sarah Jane, 13, and Elbert, 16 mos.); those who survived to adulthood were William, John, Eli, Lafayette, and Elizabeth Adeline. Eliza died in February 1855, and Crawford again married, July 3 of the same year; this time to Mrs. Rachel Humes Milligan. (While this might seem like unseemly haste, Crawford was a farmer, which would have involved long hours in the fields, or hunting for meat for his family, and when Eliza died, their youngest surviving child was only one year old, and the rest were boys of 7, 12, 14, and 17. He needed someone to care for his youngest sons and baby daughter.) Rachel also likely needed a man to help provide for her children as the 1860 Census shows four children under 15 with Rachel’s prior married name living with Crawford and Rachel. He and Rachel had another five children together, two of whom were living in 1884 when the county history book was published, Angeline and Edward Everett. 

[Crawford Erwin seated with second wife Rachel Humes Milligan Erwin. Back row, standing (L to R): Angeline Erwin Britten, John Erwin (my 2nd great- grandfather), Edward Everett Erwin (Jim Ferguson's great-grandfather), and Elizabeth Adeline Erwin Kenley Henderson. (kindly given to me by Jim Ferguson, 9/23/13, and used with permission.) The gentleman with the medal is my 2nd-great-grandfather, John. The one labeled "Grandpa" is Jimmie Ferguson's 2nd-great-grandfather, Edward. They are half brothers. (Click to embiggen.)]

When the Civil War broke out Crawford’s three oldest sons left to fight for the North in the Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and his fourth son fought for the North in the Illinois Infantry.  Crawford's eldest son, Capt. William Erwin, Captain of Company D, Eleventh Regiment Missouri Volunteer Infantry, was killed in front at Spanish Fort, Ala., while “heroically leading his men on to victory”.  His third son, Eli, a private, was badly wounded at the Battle of Shiloh; and, while records show he survived in hospital a few months, he never made it home. His second son John was wounded in his first service but returned to fight again, and survived the war, to return to Clay County. The youngest of the four, Lafayette, also survived, and subsequently moved to California.

At the time the county history book was written, Crawford owned 347 acres of land and resided along the northern township line (sort of in the central portion) of Hoosier Prairie, Clay County, Illinois (see picture below, click to embiggen). He was a member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and of the Masonic order. For ten years, in addition to being a farmer, he held the office of Justice of the Peace, and “also has held other offices of trust”. 

Rachel Erwin died in 1893 at age 70, and apparently Crawford liked being married, as he married Elizabeth Adams the next year. She was 69 and he was 76. He was widowed again by 1910, and living in the home of Clara and Thomas McWilliams; the 1910 census lists Crawford as a step-father in that household. I haven’t figured out whether one of the two was a child of Rachel Humes Mulligan who wasn’t living with them after their marriage, a child of Elizabeth Adams, or whether he married yet again after Elizabeth Adams died. Crawford died on December 2, 1910, at the age of 92.

["History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois” published 1884 by Chicago: Globe Publishing,historical Publishers, reprinted 2000 by Brookhaven Press , LaCrosse Wisconsin, (Google ebook, scanned), pp. 185 & 186 of original, pp. 655 & 656 of Google eBook scan;  Find-a-Grave: Illinois; Federal Census for 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910; Illinois, Marriages, to 1850 and 1851-1900[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Volume 1, page 222, Lic # 2950, Clay County; Ancestry.com. U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 (database on-line). Photos from Jimmie Ferguson, used with permission.]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wordless Wednesday: My grandparents -- at 17!

The back of the photo says, "Clarence & Mabel, Camp Pittenger, Tiffin OH, 1927"
Clarence Snyder and Mabel Erwin would have been 17.

First pass of Mom’s Maternal line

In the past week I got as far as it appears I can on this first pass through of my Mom’s mother’s side of the family. Earlier, in the Catching You Up post, I explained how far I’d gotten up Mom’s maternal grandmother’s line in this first pass and posted a picture of the direct line pedigree chart starting from Fannie (Hartman) Hart Erwin (which involved the following surnames: Diehl, Hart, Hartman, Meyers, Speicher, Whonsetler, Wonsetler/Wonsettler, and Zimmerman). Since then, I’ve been researching Mom’s maternal grandfather’s family, and have gotten as far as I can go on this first not-so-very-in-depth pass. I’ve got some good hints as to where I’ll be going in the next step up in general, on several of the lines, but I just can’t find/make the next connection using the family papers I have, Ancestry.com, Google EBooks for county history books, Fold3.com, Google, and Newspapers.com, alone, right now.  [Yes, I know I originally said I’d stick to Ancestry.com for the first pass – I got enticed and distracted. ; ) ]

Mom’s maternal grandfather’s family tree, as I have it now, looks like this (click to embiggen):

It involves folks with the following surnames: Conley, Cosner, Craig, Erwin, Lewis, Miller, Wilson. 

I can tell that in the next pass I will be doing a lot more research into North Carolina, as I have indication in the documentation I have that nearly everyone I lost the trail of was born in or spent some time in North Carolina. It shows that Judge William Erwin & his wife Lydia Lewis were born in North Carolina, as were both Henry Conley, his father John, and his father John, and Henry’s wife Sarah Cosner. I have some indication that Judge William Erwin’s father, William, may have been born in Ireland. Adam Craig may have at one point been in Tennessee, since his daughter, Eliza Ann, was born in that state, but I really know very little about him. I know nothing about either John Conley's (1776-1853) wife or his mother.

Putting together the charts for my Mom's maternal line, the direct line chart of my maternal grandmother (Mom’s Mother, Mabel Erwin), as I have it now, looks like this (click to embiggen):

I’ve been reading up on lots of other possible types of searches for the second pass. That pass will take more time and more patience. I can see now too, that I will probably take some time off searching between the two passes to create and/or organize my physical files in a much better way as that will help me make a better and more successful search ultimately. I will probably also be sending out emails/letters to older relatives requesting memories/stories they have of their relatives/ancestors as those would both help my search and provide body & color to the bare bones of my document search to help me know my ancestors more as people. But first I must finish the first pass of the rest of the family.

This weekend I started the first pass of my mother’s paternal line of the family. I have some help with this side in the form of handwritten remembrances of her own family and family tree, and that of her husband, by my great grandmother, Pearl Pauline Bailey.  I started by entering her remembered connections and names as she wrote them into Ancestry.com and waited overnight for little wiggling leaves to show up to hopefully verify her memories. I’ve already discovered that her remembrances of family history aren’t entirely accurate. So, while it’s a start, it all must be verified. Fun!

Ancestor Highlight: William "Judge" Erwin, 1777-1837, my 4th great grandfather

      William Erwin, my 4th great grandfather, was born in central and lived in North Carolina from 1777 until approximately 1810. He moved with his family to Indiana Territory in about 1810, locating in what became Clark County, Indiana.  He served for some years as a Magistrate of the Indiana Territory, appointed by Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison (who was later President of the U.S., for one month). The Indian Territory consisted of what is now Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio.

In l8l5 he moved to what became Lawrence county, Indiana, just a year later when Indiana became a state in December 1816. In that county, he became widely known, serving for a time as County Judge.  He was described as a ”man of fine abilities, and… integrity”.  His commissions as County Judge were signed by Jonathan Jennings, as Governor of the state of Illinois, and R. A. New, as Secretary of State.

Judge William Erwin and three of his sons, Jarrett L., David and Crawford (my 3rd great grandfather), moved from Indiana, and settled in Clay County Illinois, in October, 1832. Judge Erwin, as he was known, bought his first tract of land there, 80 acres, in 1833. The Erwins were influential citizens, and did much toward building up schools and churches, and developing the county. Judge William Erwin was a member of the County Board in 1834.

The first school taught in the Hoosier Prairie was by Judge Erwin, at his own home, and attended by all in reach. Young men would also come from other neighborhoods and board in the vicinity in order to attend the school. “The school was taught by Judge William Erwin, in a log cabin in the Judge’s own door-yard, and the seats consisted of split poles with pins in them for leg's; the floor was of puncheon, and the window was simply a log out of one side of the cabin, with nothing over the aperture. They however kept a plank with which they covered this crack when the weather was too cold. The room was warmed by a huge fire-place, and the chimney was made of sticks and mud.” (p. 149 of History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois; Chicago: Globe Publishing, Historical Publishers, 1884; Reprint published by Brookhaven Publishers 2000.)

Judge Erwin died August 4, 1837, and was the first person buried in the Erwin Cemetery. The land occupied by this cemetery was once selected by him for a building site for his home, but he afterward changed his mind in regard to it, and upon his death his friends buried him there.

[Facts drawn from “History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest time to the Present; Together with Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscenses, Note, etc.” Chicago: Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers, 1881, Digitized by Google, pp. 103-104, 249-250;  A biographical sketch of Capt Hugh Erwin, in The History of Cherokee County, Kansas included within the History of Kansas by William G. Cutler, published by A.T. Andreas, 1883; “History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois; Chicago: Globe Publishing, Historical Publishers, 1884, Reprint published by Brookhaven Publishers 2000; digitized by Google, pp. 449, 451; Wikipedia: Indiana Territory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Territory); Web: Illinois, Find-a-grave Index, 1809-2012 (found at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=ER&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=16&GScntry=4&GSsr=6041&GRid=30322381&); the  United States Federal Census of 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, and 1830; and U.S. General Land Office Records, 1996-1907.]

A Tragic Family Mystery? (Eli Erwin)

   I've run into another puzzle in my family research this week. Since I caught all of you up to where I'd gotten before I started the blog, I'm back into the Erwin line again. Normally I don't do a lot with brothers and sisters of my direct line ancestors, but I do flesh them out to some extent because I've found it often helps me find the right person(s) in prior generations. So this week I've been working on John Erwin's (2nd great-great grandfather)  brother's and sisters. 

Three of his brothers also served in the Civil War, on the Union side, but only Lafayette made it home. Captain William Erwin died at the Battle of Spanish Fort, AL. Private Eli (Elias) Erwin died at the Battle of Shiloh, TN. Or did he?

It is family lore that Eli died at the Battle of Shiloh, which occurred on April 6 and 7, 1862. There is a grave for him at the Hoosier Cemetery in Louisville in Clay county Illinois. According to Findagrave.com, it indicates that he died on April 5, 1862, but that could just be a typo. By the time I'd gotten to Eli, I'd gotten pretty good at finding out service information for the Civil War. The fact that the National Park Service Soldier and Sailor Search website was not operable during the Federal Government shutdown and that the National Archives website was operating on a very limited basis for the same reason did put a hitch in my stride but I had work-arounds. I confirmed that Eli had served with Company F of the 18th Missouri Infantry, through the Missouri Archive online system, and I used that information to search for Eli at Fold3.com, just looking for anything they might have to add some color to his profile. Boy, did I ever find "color"!

I found a 9 pg  record of Muster Rolls (summarized bi-monthly) document at Fold3.com for Elias Erwin which indicates, in pertinent part:

"Elias Erwin. Private, Co F, 18 Reg’t Missouri Infantry

Appears on Company Muster Roll November & December 1861, Present

Appears on Company Muster Roll January & February 1862, Present

Appears on Company Muster Roll March & April 1862, Absent
Remarks: Badly wounded in both thighs in the battle 6 April 1862 and sent to Savannah, Tenn

Appears on Company Muster Roll May & June 1862, Absent
Remarks: Wounded in both thighs Battle Shiloh 6 April 1862. Left at Hospital Savannah, Tenn April 7/62.

Appears on Company Muster Roll for date of August 31, 1962
Remarks: Discharged from Camp No. 10 near Corinth Miss. On account of wounds received in action Battle of Shiloh 6th April 62. Enrolled Dec. 17, 61 Westin, MO. Date & place muster in not shown. Name not bourne on subsequent rolls of this company"*

If he had died at Shiloh, I would have thought that the document would have said "killed" or "died" instead of discharged? To me, "Discharged" indicates he was alive on August 31, 1862. Wouldn't you think so?

Based on the grave, I'm thinking that he didn't make it home after discharge. Perhaps it is a memorial grave, without an actual internment?

I feel so bad for the boy. He was only 19 in 1862 (per census records). He had been "badly wounded" in both thighs. He was discharged to get himself home, near Corinth Miss, between the May 1862 Seige of Corinth and the early October Battle of Corinth. He was in the Confederate state of Mississippi and nearly 350 miles from home, and the area between where he was and home must have been crawling with hostile troops. I hope someone took care of him at the end and that he wasn't alone and scared.

Whether he died in June 1862, or sometime after August 31, 1862, will probably remain a mystery. In either case, it was a tragedy.


*[Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866; Publication Number M405; National Archives Catalog No. 300398; Record group 94; State: Missouri; Roll 0520; Military Unit: 18th Infantry, E-Ge. www.Fold3.com.]

I Feel Like Thomas Edison

This week I made fewer discoveries and spent more time running into roadblocks. But, as Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that do not work,” and I have been discovering sources of information that may well work for other people on the tree later on, bookmarking them, and/or joining them, as needed. I have also added a few bits and pieces of additional facts to people I’d already discovered (some real estate transactions by Great Aunt Julia Hart Siddall and her 2nd husband found on Archives.com and Newspapers.com; some family stories about Great Aunt Julia Hart Siddall told to me by one of my mother’s sisters after she saw the post about the quilt and my efforts to find the drapery shop; some Civil War related information for some of 2nd great grandfather John Erwin’s siblings, etc). And I’ve been doing some background research on the War of 1812 and Mennonites to try to understand and reconcile some facts I’d found regarding one of my third great grandfathers, Henry Y. Zimmerman, who will be my Ancestor Highlight for this week (I learned a lot but it didn’t help me reconcile the two opposing facts – the man is a puzzlement, on multiple levels). I will write that post tomorrow.

I also received and uploaded some family tree software to my computer so that I can work on it outside of Ancestry.com and so I can more easily keep track of information obtained from sources other than Ancestry. I am living proof that incessant advertising works. Over the past several months I’ve gotten a tone of ads from Ancestry.com for software called Family Tree Maker. I bought the latest version of it. I’ve since seen competing blog posts by other people as to whether they like it better or something called RootsMagic or Family Source better. Since I’m just beginning I rather think that whatever I get used to will work for me and this is set up a lot like Ancestry.com and will sync with Ancestry.com quite easily, which I like.

The Family Tree Maker software also helped me make the chart I put up with the catch up post earlier this week. Making the chart was easy and fun. Figuring out how to post it on BlogSpot was anything but; even though I found a how to video and a step by step instruction with pictures on the web. It didn’t turn out like I wanted it to turn out but it’s readable and adequate. It’s odd how I have infinite patience with historical research, even including brick walls; but am shortly reduced to cussing at the computer and pounding the desk (both actions utterly unhelpful) when I’m trying to do something technical and it isn’t working, lol!

Next week I’m going back to the Erwin branch to get them as far as I can, and then I’m moving on to the Snyder side of Mom’s family. My goal is to get the first pass through Mom’s family done by the end of October. I don’t know yet if that is possible, but I’m going to try.

P.S. Hah! I just learned how to make paragraphs in html! (I had no paragraphs the first two times I previewed this. I needed to use html to put in links.) I can learn nearly anything from a good Google search! And now, to bed.