Day Trippin’ Through Central Pennsylvania

We , being a spontaneous duo, decided to take off for parts unknown on Wednesday.  We had no idea where we were heading or where we would end up, but knew we’d start at Woodward Hill Cemetery where I had to check some very hard to read inscriptions.

After checking this headstone, I still only know that Anna was the wife of John and cannot make out his surname.  I took some more pictures of Section L in the cemetery and we decided to forget Woodward Hill for awhile and see something different.

As we headed north we decided to go to Indiantown Gap National Cemetery since we were very close to it.  We have found our final home! This place is absolutely beautiful!  It is serene, well manicured and just one of the most attractive cemeteries we have ever been in.  We checked and Jim, being a veteran, and I as his wife, will have no problem making this our final resting place.

We drove through this well-designed cemetery and I looked for various people in my database.  The computer database at the cemetery had spit out maps with the name and section number for each name, and all we had to do is drive to it!  Each section was well manicured with no trash or dead flowers.  Throughout the cemetery spots like this are found with benches, trash cans, and a paved walk.

As we were about the leave the cemetery, a funeral was in progress in the area referred to as the Commital Shelter.  This is a secluded, covered area where final services are held for the veteran, with military honors and are scheduled at 30 minute intervals throughout the day.  When we had entered the cemetery we noticed the flag was at half mast and wondered why.  According to the brochure I obtained in the office, I found out that the flag is at half mast “out of respect for all persons buried that day.”    The scene below was behind the Commital Shelter on the way to the Pennsylvania  Veterans’ Memorial.

What would be off to this man’s right, and up on a small rise is The Pennsylvania Veterans’ Memorial, aforementioned.  It is beautifully designed, and was dedicated in 2001 in honor of all veterans from the Commonwealth starting with the Revolutionary War and through the present.  Names, rank and dates of service can be added by filling out a form and purchasing a spot on a Cruciform for a small fee.

Leaving  this cemetery we decided to cross the Susquehanna and head north to Perry County, one of our favorite spots!  Since we have not been to Millerstown for quite a while, we decided to go visit my great-great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Wolf Troup Lemon, who is buried in the old cemetery in this area.  She and her second husband, Daniel Lemon, are buried next to a large, growing tree.

On our last visit a year or so ago, Daniel’s headstone was growing into the tree.  The tree won.  Daniel’s headstone is now broken into several pieces.  If you follow the dark line up the tree and then see the black hole to the right of that line.  That black hole once had the corner of the headstone imbedded in it.

In the far corner is a group of headstones belonging to the Wolf family.  My fifth great grandfather, Peter Wolf, is in this group, so I visited him as well.  Peter Wolf was Mary Lemon’s father and rests with a few of his children in this shady spot under an old tree.  His wife, Elizabeth Grove Wolf, may rest here as well, but if she does, her headstone has been either buried or missing for a number of years.

There were several headstones just like this one ~ well, the names and dates were different, of course ~ but they were all cast iron with a minimal amount of rust.  You could read each one easily.  I was amazed, since in all the cemeteries I’ve been in, I’d never seen any quite like these.  It was the first I’d taken time to walk thru this cemetery, so of course, it was the first time I’d seen these.  There were several sites that had wonderful surrounds and one of them was spectacular.  It must be maintained by the family.

One of the residents of this site is William Everhart, who’s monument is still very readable even though he died in 1881.  Perhaps the fact that this cemetery is surrounded by trees and hedges contributes to it’s protection from the elements.

Bidding adieu to my family in Millerstown, we headed towards Newport, taking the long way through woods, next to streams and farms. We saw a couple of cabins off the side of the road and got a little wistful thinking this must be, after all, the right way to live!   Reality took over as we neared Newport and we realized we could always visit. . . 

Since I stopped and saw her mother and grandfather, it was only right that I stop and say Hello to my great-great-great-great-grandmother Ann Eliza Troup Ziegler.  She is buried next to her husband, Philip and in front of my great-great-grandmother, Mary Jane Ziegler Gantt Carvell and her first husband, Joseph Don L. Gantt.  

Mary Jane married my great-great grandfather, Jeremiah Mark Carvell, after the death of Joseph Gantt, bringing a young daughter to the marriage.  She and Jeremiah only had one daughter who survived infancy, and it was my great-grandmother, Carrie whom I had visited last month in Shippensburg along with my grandmother, Nellie, and Carrie’s father, Jeremiah.

Next to Mary Jane Carvell and Joseph Gantt’s site are his parents.  Somebody had requested, and probably paid for Perpetual Care, and there was, at one time, a plate that indicated so.  The plate is still there . . . sort of!  

I walked through a portion of the cemetery, talking to a few of my people here and there and taking a few pictures since the landscape seems to change with each visit.  The Troups headstones were some that had changed drastically.  It appears a flood of water went through at some point, although these headstones are on the uphill side of the cemetery.  Can’t figure out how this happened. . . 

As we left the Cemetery and headed back to Newport on our way home, I had to take the final picture of the day.  For some reason this just struck me a peculiar!  The American Legion is the Perry County Country Club??  Am I reading this right?  or are they just on the same road?  Some day we’ll have to take a side trip to find out, but not today!  Our day was drawing to a close and we were hungry.  It was 4:00 PM and we had not stopped for lunch.  A combination lunch/dinner was coming up on the way home.

Another wonderful day in Paradise. . . .

 

One Hundred Years ago on West James Street

Yes, this post card was mailed 100 years ago!  It was sent from Lancaster to Middletown, Pennsylvania, a drive today of perhaps 45 minutes.  We would never dream of sending a postcard to somebody in Middletown today ~ we’d call them, text them, e-mail them or even drive to see them ~ but send a post card?  Not in a blue moon!

West James Street, just two blocks north of West Walnut Street. What’s so special about West Walnut Street? Why I live on West Walnut Street! Just blocks away from Lancaster Theological Seminary, with the Historical Society for the United Church of Christ and a great repository of various Church records and family histories ~ all within walking distance of my home!  The building that appears to be a Church on the right hand side of this post card is in fact still part of the Seminary today.

This is a view of it today.  The street is paved, there is a hedge separating the sidewalk from the lawn and a brick walk in a herringbone pattern that goes from the main entrance on West James Street to the front of the building.  Today it has a needed parking lot, fully mature trees and plantings.  It is a beautiful structure in a city full of beautiful structures.

Lancaster Theological Seminary is directly across the street from Franklin and Marshall College, North Museum of Natural History and Science and Buchanan Park.  We are fortunate, living in Lancaster, to have great facilities for children up thru adults. The North Museum is the destination for many field trips from the schools throughout Lancaster County and in fact interesting for adults as well!  Franklin and Marshall College sponsors many events open to the community year around, from plays, talks and concerts,  and Buchanan Park is enjoyed by the entire community!  The park has a dog park, a rose garden and many events are held there throughout the year, with a community carnival being just one.

Ah, but I digress, all because of a postcard of West James Street with the Seminary on one side, and the College, Museum and Park straight ahead!  This street leads to just a small part of what Lancaster, Pennsylvania has to offer ~

Consider this a post card to you from me and come visit this happenin’ city ~ You’ll enjoy it, I guarantee it!

 

 

Her Brain Instantly Died . . .

While catching up on paperwork today and posting obituaries I came across this one.  Something in it instantly jumped out at me!

Before her marriage she taught school and she was a woman of marked intelligence???

I’m sorry, I don’t buy it.

 

Two Important Events in Nana’s Life; Both on the Same Day

On June 18, 1913 the Senior Class of Sacramento High School held their graduation ceremony. My grandmother, Bertha Emma von Breyman was the first child in her family to walk across a stage and receive her diploma. Quite a feat considering she was the second to youngest of ten children.
Her mother was widowed when my Nana was five years old.  In order to attend high school Nana had moved to her sister’s home to care for the children and do household chores. Throughout her life she was proud of the fact that she had graduated from high school and always emphasized the importance of education. Each one of her six children attended some form of higher education, from the Navel Academy to Stanford, coast to coast, and points in between.
The graduation ceremony was in the morning. Wearing the same suit she had made for her graduation, she and Henry August William Lindgren went down to City Hall and were married the same afternoon. The picture at the head of this blog was taken at the Pan Pacific Exposition in San Francisco on their honeymoon. 

Fifty years later the family gathered in Sacramento to celebrate their anniversary.  The group from left to right:

Jack (deceased), Pat, Catherine (my mother) Henry and Bertha, Bettie, and Henry (deceased.)  Missing from the picture was Bill who lived on the east coast at the time.  Henry was the oldest, followed by Jack, then my mother, Bettie and Pat.  Bill is the baby of the family.

Point of the story?  

If you want to remember an important event in your life, schedule your wedding on the same day!  

 

Alumni News, Lancaster High School, 1898

Another of my finds!  I found this 35 page booklet titled “The High School News. Commencement Number. 1898.” and it was from Lancaster, Pennsylvania!  Since I found it in Franklin County, it wasn’t priced as high as it would have been in Lancaster, and I bought this treasure for $5.00!  

The publishing information states that it was the “Official Organ of the Lancaster High School Alumni Association” and was published monthly.

Since I can’t share the book with it’s wonderful advertisements with everybody, I thought I’d share the Alumni Notes and Class Reunion Section via this blog.  I will get around to a few other things, later.

Meanwhile, enjoy this part!

ALUMNI NOTES.

’67.  Mr. A.N. Breneman, formerly of this city, has notified Secretary Spencer, of the Alumni Associateion, of his change of residence from Westminster, North Carolina, to Aldrich, Shelby county, Alabama.

’76.  Mrs. Harriet Curtis Stein was in Lancaster for serveral weeks this spring, having been called East by the illness of her father, who has since died.   Mrs. Stein and her husband, Mr. Henry W. Stein, ’78, live in Seattle, Washington.

’76.  Mrs. William Henderson, nee Wickersham, of Harrisburg, was visiting her friends in this city during the past week. 

’81.  Mr. W. Scott Adler, of the firm of Chiles, Adler & Cobble, merchants of South Bend, Indiana, sent his regrets and good wishes to the secretary of the Alumni Association in response to the invitation to the annual meeting.

’85.  The wedding of Mr. Charles Emory Long, ’85, and Miss Caroline Louise Metzger, ’88 was celebrated at noon on Wednesday, June 1.  The ceremony was performed at the residence of the bride’s father, Mr. P.A. Metzger, No. 36 North Lime street, by the Rev. W.H. Shaffer, pastor of the First M.E. Church.  Mr. and Mrs. Long will make their home at No. 618 East King street, in this city.

’86.  Dr. M.D. Lederman, who has become a prominent specialist of New York City, sent his regrets and best wishes to the Alumni Association in response to the invitation to the annual meeting.

’88.  Miss M. Grace Hoffmeier was married on Wednesday morning, June 15, to Prof. Thaddeus G. Helm, of this city.  The ceremony was performed at St. Paul’s Reformed Church by Rev. J.W. Meminger, assisted by Rev. Dr. J.S. Stahr, president of Franklin and Marshall College.  A large number of invited guests were present.  Prof. Helm is one of the principals of Franklin and Marshall Academy, and will reside there with Mrs. Helm.

’90 Miss Lucy Pixton, of Philadelphia, spent several days visiting among friends in this city in the early part of this month.  Miss Pixton sang a solo at the First M.E. Church on Sunday, June 12, and also sang at the Iris Club during her stay in Lancaster.

’90.  Miss Sarah E. Cramer was married at noon on Monday, June 6, to Mr. D.S. Horman, of Pottstown, at St. James’ Episcopal Church, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Percy J. Robottom.  The wedding was followed by a reception at the home of the bride’s father, Mr. George Cramer.  Mr. and Mrs. Horman will make their home in Pottstown.

’91.  Rev. Howard W. Diller, who graduated at the General Theological Seminary, in the New York City, on May 25, was ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church at Altoona, on June 15, by Bishop Talbot, of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.  Rev. Mr. Diller has been placed in charge of the church at Renova, Pa., and will assume his duties about the end of June.

’91.  Dr. Newton E. Bitzer graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania on June 8, and received his degree of M.D.  He has also passed the State Board of Examination, and has been licensed to practice int he State of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Bitzer also passed an excellent hospital examination receiving first appointment.  He will be resident physician at the Howard hospital, in Philadelphia during the ensuing year.

’92.  Miss Lydia M. Schofield was married on Wednesday evening June 8, to Mr. Wm. F. Diller of this city.  The ceremony was performed at the home of the bride’s mother, Mrs. Mary B. Schofield, No. 502 West James street.  Mr. and Mrs. Diller will reside in this city.

’92.  Mr. Samuel Albright is home on vacation from the Moravian College, at Bethlehem, where he is a student.

’92.  Mr. Harry E. Edgerley was elected second lieutenant of the company which was mustered into the provisional guard from this city last week.  The company contains a large number of High School alumni an ex-students.

’93.  On Wednesday morning, June 1, Miss M. Grace Faesig was married at the home of her father, Mr. Frank J. Faesig, to Mr. Harry S. Gruger, of this city.  The ceremony was performed by Rev. Dr. J.M. Titzel, of the First Reformed church.  The couple will make their home in this city.

’93.  Dr. O.C. Campbell has graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, and has also successfully passed the State Board medical examination.  Dr. Campbell will be resident physician at St. Joseph’s hospital in Philadelphia during the next year.

’93.  Robert C. Davis graduated this spring from the West Point Military Academy, and received his appointment as second lieutenant.  Lieutenant Davis went immediately to the front with his regiment, after spending a week visiting in this city.

’93.  Edgar Herr Levan graduated on Thursday, June 9, in the Senior class at Franklin and Marshall College.

’94.  Mr. H.C. Bolenius and Mr. William H. Kready graduated with the Senior class at Franklin and Marshall College on Thursday, June 9.  Mr. Bolenius was one of the class prophets on class-day during the Commencement exercises.

’94.  Mr. Eugene A. Heim is home from the Moravian College at Bethlehem, Pa.

’96.  Mr. Sigmund S. Albert has left for West Point where he will commence his work as a student in the United States Military Academy.

’97.  Mr. Newton W. Buch has returned for the summer from Lehigh College where he won a prize for proficiency in chemistry.

’96.  W. Lewis Haldy is home from Dickinson College.

CLASS REUNIONS.

Class of ’91

The Class of ’91 held its Seventh Annual Reunion at the Imperial Hotel, on Tuesday evening, at 9:30 o’clock.  Fifteen of the twenty three members of the class were present as follows: D.B. Bartholomew, Dr. N.E. Bitzer, Wm. Dorwart, B. Frank Kready, Joseph R. Mercer, Harry W. McGinnis, J. Roland Kinzer, Walter A. Miller, Washington W. Nixdorf, Walter J. Leonard, Alden J. Pontz, Frank T. Thurlow, Fred J. Rieker, James F. Erisman and Edward L. Page, of Philadelphia.  Proprietor Weingarten furnished an excellent menu, which was greatly appreciated by the banqueters.  Several hours were spent in the reminiscences of school-life, singing and anecdotes.  The Class of ’91 has the unusual record of having held a reunion every year since their graduation.

Class of ’93.

The Class of 1893 will hold its Annual Reunion during the week following commencement week.

Class of ’94.

The Class of ’94 will hold its Third Annual Reunion on Tuesday evening, June 28.

Class of ’96.

On Thursday evening, June 23, the Class of’96 held its annual banquet at Hotel Maennerchor.  Caterer Sands spread a magnificent feast before them, and at the close toasts were responded to.  Horace C. Kinzer acted as toastmaster, and C. Reah Weber as historian.  A telegram of congratulation and regret at his absence was sent to their class-mate, Sigmund I. Albert, at West Point, and all there indulged in reminiscing old times.  The cimmittee in charge of the affair consisted of North W. Shetter, C. Reah Weber, J. Howard Bursk and Harold D. Pyott.

Class of ’97.

The Class of’97 held its banquet on Wednesday evening, June 22.  Andrew E. Biggs acted as toastmaster, and each one present responded to a toast.

 

 

My Genealogy Bumper Stickers ~ Saturday Night Fun

I took the Bait! I’m up for it!   Randy Seaver challenged us to “Make up a/some Bumper Sticker(s) that describes your genealogy addicti.., er, passion in 12 words or less and post them to a blog. . . ” OK, this is fun, I’ll do it!

My Favorite Records aren’t Musical ~ They are Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths!

The branches in my Family Tree are planted. But in which cemetery?

Want to compare DNA? Maybe I’m your cousin!

My Family Tree has Roots in Germany. Where are Yours?

Volunteering can help find your Family Tree! Call your Historical Society Today!

Help Somebody With Their Family History. They Might Be Your Cousin!

Cemeteries are Full of My Ancestors!

 

Now Why Didn’t I Think of Doing This??

Found in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, 2 February 1914:

NEPHEW BY PARCEL POST

TWO YEAR OLD YOUNSTER SHIPPED BY MAIL FOR 18 CENTS

Wellington, Kas., Feb. 3 – Mrs. M.H. Staley, of this city, received her two year old nephew by parcel post to-day from his grandmother in Stratford, Oklahoma, where he had been left for a visit three weeks ago. The boy wore a tag about his neck, showing it had cost 18 cents to send him through the mails. He was transported 25 miles by rural route before reaching the railroad. He rode with the mail clerks, shared his lunch with them and arrived here in good condition.

 

I bet there are postal regulations in place against this today!

 

Easter Traditions

Our family, like many other families throughout the country, celebrated Easter with several traditions.

The last Easter the entire Sherman Family shared

Growing up in the 1950′s it was imperative that we each had new “Easter Outfits.”  These Church clothes were worn only on Sunday and only for Church through spring and into summer.  When school started the dress would become a school dress for the start of the school year and we would get a new “Church only dress.”  That was the important tradition and it involved Church.

One Easter in the early 1980's (Farrah Fawcett hairdo, anyone??)

The second tradition was THE Easter egg hunt.  The hunt was preceded by the Egg Coloring.  The three children would color the eggs in the most bizarre color combinations we could imagine and each one of us had “our special egg.”  

Now I know every family had Easter Egg Hunts, but our family put a sadistic twist on it!  After hunting the eggs our parents hid for us, we would hide eggs for them!  The egg hunt for the three kids was so complicated that my father actually drew a map so he wouldn’t forget where they were hidden!  This after one of us found an egg during the summer in a planter, under the mulch!

Finding the egg in the lighting fixture

We retaliated by planning their egg’s hiding places for days before the event.  Places we would hide the eggs?  How about in the flour canister in the middle of the flour?   or in the tennis shoe hanging on the clothes line?  or in my mother’s purse?  The best one was the year we removed the the clock workings from the stove, stuffed the egg in and replaced the clock.  We nixed the idea of hiding an egg in the cat’s potty box ~ we felt that was crossing the line ~ like there was a line!

We grew, married, and had children of our own and continued the tradition of THE Egg hunt.

Looking for the elusive last egg . . .

 

 

The year we rented a cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains with my brother’s family is one memory that stands out in my mind.  My sister in law and I had the task of hiding the eggs.  We decided to hid one of the eggs in the toilet tank in the water.  Never in our wildest dreams did it occur to us that the egg we hid in the toilet tank would end up in the bowl with the first flush!  The child that flushed that toilet, and I can’t remember which child it was, was thrilled to think the Easter Bunny had left an egg in the toilet for them!  

. . . and the grandchildren continue the traditon

Our children grew, married and children of their own. We continued the tradition of the egg coloring and egg hunt, but without the bizarre hiding places. We colored eggs with the grandchildren and hid their eggs in semi-obvious places.

After all, they hadn’t been broken into the bizarre traditions of a semi-dysfunctional household!

 

Oh Susannah! Was this you??

Lancaster County Historical Society is the repository for the old County records, and entering them into the Society’s database is a long, time consuming process.  One person works eight hours a day on this task.  It will take years to finish it.  

A couple of Saturdays ago, when I was volunteering at the Historical Society, I was surfin’ through the database on Lancaster County records and came across an entry for “Susanna Leader” that had been added since I had last surfed through them.  It caught me entirely off guard! I had to find out what was in the Quarter Session documents, so I requested a copy of them from the Archives.

I knew Susannah had lead a tumultuous life, but this came as a complete shock!  In the 1823 November Quarter Sessions the “Grand Inquest for the County of Lancaster” found that Henry Heckroth, “late of the county aforesaid” (did he skip out??) . . . the ninth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty . . . did commit fornication with a certain Susan Leader of Marietta and there did beget a Male Bastard child. . . .

Now, bear in mind that Susannah and Samuel Leader lived in Marietta ( the court findings have “Susanna Leader of the Borough of Marietta”) and her son, Frederick was born in 1821, seven years after her last child.   Also, in 1831, on the “Poor Children’s List,” Susannah, alone, was listed as the parent for Frederick.

The strange part of all of this is the fact that Samuel did not die until 1839, and Susannah’s Bible and her purchase of another home all center around his death date.  Were they separated for awhile?  Did they divorce?  So far, I can’t find anything to indicate so.  Did he die intestate with a little money?  No record of that either.

Timeline:

• 18?? Samuel and Susannah marry
• 1813 Samuel purchases a home in Marietta
• 1813 Maria born, first child
• 1814 Jacob born, second child
• 1819 Samuel in Debtor’s Prison, everything sold
• 1820 April 9th – Fornication w/Henry Heckroth
• 1820 Census shows 1 male 0-10 and 1 male 45 and older (Jacob & Samuel)
• 2 females 0-10, (Maria and ??) 1 female 26-45 (Susannah)
• 1821 Frederick born – month unknown
• 1824 Samuel’s home sold for debts (another home??)
• 1831 Susannah listed as parent on Poor Children’s List; Frederick owes for 3 sheets of paper
• Tax lists between 1829 and 1837 show Samuel owned no property
• 1839 Samuel dies
• 1840 Susannah purchases home in Elizabethtown
• 1844 Susannah marries George Kehler of Elizabethtown

This is going to take some more digging.  I’m going to start going through old newspapers on microfilm and find out what happened to dear old Henry.  Was he Frederick’s father?  Court records indicate such. . . .   we’ll see

I have a persistent nature. . .

 

Basic Research Records

When you start to research a family or person, what do you consider the “most important” records?  Where do you go first?  Which do you put the most faith in?

If you’re like most you start on the internet and probably Ancestry.com, don’t you?  Census records?  Yes, of course you should go there ~ if you know where the person was and if he wasn’t named a common name like”William Sherman” or “Peter Wolf” as my ancestors are!

 The records I start with (whenever available) are, in no particular order:

• Census Records – Depending on the year, again, you find an age range, number of children, wife’s age, occupation, and place of birth.  That’s a lot of information, all pieces to the puzzle.
• Church Records (Births) – Parents names, birth date, baptism date, sponsors, religion and in some cases (Moravian records for instance) mother’s maiden name!  
• Church Records (Marriages) – Both Parties names, ages, places of residence, in some cases occupations, parents names
• Church Records (Deaths) – Date of death, date of burial, place of burial, in some cases age at death, birth date.
• Tax Records – owner or renter?  What years did they live there?  Occupation, all of the above in some records
• Deeds – Did they own property? When? Where? Did they sell it or lose it? How much was it worth?  Was it land or was there a structure on it?
• Wills – How large was their estate?  Who did they leave it to? When did they die? When was the will proved? Did they have to sell property to settle the estate?  Where was the property?
• Cemetery records – Date of Burial, lot number, persons buried around them (could be family) Age, Date of Death, Place of death in some instances
• Obituaries – Depending on the newspaper, these can be goldmines!  They can list wife (and her maiden name) children’s names and their spouses, sister, brothers, parents, place of residence, occupation, organizations they belonged to and where they are buried.  
• Newspapers – check articles around the date of their death or marriage or other important date.  They could have died in an accident and there may be an article about the accident.  If they were married over 50 years there may be an article on their Golden Wedding Anniversary and there may be a big write-up on their wedding.  Ancestry has newspapers, Genealogy Bank has newspapers and many, many other sites have digitalized newspapers.  They are an excellent source of information!
• Family Bibles – If they are available, copy every record in them!  They are vital!  They were written by those who knew!  They may be misspelled, but that doesn’t matter.  They were written by your great grandfather, or great great grandmother, or even an aunt.  They are first person accounts!
• Books! – County histories, Family histories, Church histories, Historical journals and anything else you can possibly think about.
• Your local Historical Society – This is probably one of the most important resources you have!  There is usually somebody there that knows the county history by heart and can direct you to the right book or area.  They can suggest where to start and find out where you have looked so they won’t duplicate your efforts.  

These are just the tip of the iceburg.  I’ve found clues in prison records (yes!) divorce records, immigration records, guardian records, city directories and school histories, among other things.  Don’t overlook something you think doesn’t possibly apply to your family ~ you never know!  

Family legends tend to gloss over our ancestors imperfections. . . .