Cool tools
Posted by David | Filed under genealogy
- Dict.cc, an online English-German dictionary with numerous examples of uses for some words.
- Transcript, a program that allows you to view an image and transcribe it all in one window. Best yet, you never lose focus when making adjustments to the image. Just keep typing.
Is This a Clue?
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska, genealogy
For a reason probably packed away in a box that I’m scrambling to find, I saved the name and details of a town called Markenreuth in Bavaria for my 4th great-grandfather, Adam FUCHS. I’m wondering if that town was mentioned in an obituary that I found but never processed, or if I set it aside at the time because there are no available FHL films for Markenreuth.
I received a handful of death certificates today and one refers to Adam’s daughter as “Margaret MORGAN.” There was no one in the family with a name remotely like MORGAN that I recall. If anything, the FUCHS name was often written as FOX.
It’s a stretch, but did the informant, John REINMILLER, state that his mother, Anna Margaretha FUCHS, was from Markenreuth and the person filling out the death certificate mishear his response as MORGAN?
EDIT: The town name may actually be Markersreuth.
Hope You Don’t Need a Mo. Divorce Case File
Posted by David | Filed under Missouri
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Law shuts files in old divorce cases.
Summary: New divorce cases will have certain information blacked out to protect against identity theft, while cases already on file are now closed to the public.
The Human Family Tree
Posted by David | Filed under DNA
Next Sunday evening (check local cable or dish listings), National Geographic will air The Human Family Tree.
Trip to Nebraska: Odds and Ends
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska
The libraries in Seward, David City, Stanton and West Point were all very nice — the Seward Memorial Library was outstanding — but each only having one microfilm reader was a disappointment. This was my fault, though, as from now on I’ll be asking in advance about equipment if I have someone along to help. The State Archives in Lincoln would have been an option, but they are apparently closed for remodeling this summer.
As I’ve written before, the next time a trip like this happens there will be more genealogy and less distractions. It was funny to see a little shack billed as one of the smallest police stations, a gas station that looked like an old gas pump, a giant chicken in front of a restaurant, and a “hi” tree, but that kind of stuff wasted hours of time. On the other hand, those with me would have been bored had I found every obit and looked at every book I intended to from the outset.
It’s not easy finding postcards. One clerk even laughed when asked if they sold postcards.
Trip to Nebraska: Day 5
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska
No genealogy. This day was all about checking some things out and getting home.
We woke up early, got breakfast, checked out and went to the Omaha Zoo. In some respects, it was nicer than the St. Louis Zoo, which is pretty good (and free). I particularly enjoyed the Scott Aquarium and Lied Jungle, an indoor rain forest.
We then went to a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Missouri River, the Laurentzen Gardens to see two locomotives and finally started heading south.
The last attraction was the Jesse James Home in St. Joseph, Mo. Interesting and kind of creepy.
Trip to Nebraska: Day 4
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska, cemetery, genealogy
We began the day by doing a little backtracking to Ashland to see the Strategic Air and Space Museum. We liked the museum, but one or two of my other brothers would have really enjoyed this stop. Afterwards, we then drove through a “safari.” Not much to write about here.
Getting back on the highway, we headed north to Norfolk. The purpose of this excursion was to visit the Johnny Carson display at a local museum and get photos for my parents and grandma. Unfortunately, photos are not permitted pending some paperwork being signed by Carson’s estate. I did enjoy the breweriana room, though.
On the way back from Norfolk, we stopped at Stanton because one of my 3rd great-grandfather’s half-brothers settled there. We saw the cemetery on the way into town and hoped there was a map due to its size and the afternoon heat. To say the woman at the library was helpful would be an understatement. She not only had an index of Stanton Cemetery burials, but a map to help locate the plots. She also knew a distant cousin that I used to email about the BENNE family before he passed away a few years back. Then she mentioned that his grandson worked right down the street and suggested we stop by.
Before stopping at this “new” cousin’s office, we made another stop down the street. When told of where we were from, why we were in town, etc., someone at this business also suggested we go meet the cousin. So I did. Walking into his office it was hard to miss where I was; one wall was covered with copies of old family photos and I recognized some of the individuals from other photos I had seen several years ago. We chatted for a few minutes, then went to the cemetery. It was hot, but what bothered me most was the sun causing shadows and bright reflections. I think I may have to invest in a large screen of some sort because I really dislike shadows on the photos.
The next stop on the way back to Omaha was West Point, where another of the BENNE half-brothers settled. The library had all sorts of information, specifically indexed photocopies of church books. This was a nice surprise and since it was indexed making copies went pretty quickly. A few obits were found, but details were scarce regarding the cemetery, which turned out to be just a few blocks away. The cemetery was too large to walk that late in the day, so only a few photos were taken here. The schedule didn’t allow for a return, so this will have to be dealt with on another trip.
Back to Omaha we went, stopping at a few more of the roadside attractions, getting supper and going to bed.
Trip to Nebraska: Day 3
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska, cemetery, genealogy
The plan was to hit some of the same spots on the way north to another cemetery (St. Mary’s) and library (Hruska Memorial), so it was first back to Seward from Lincoln for more obits. It was slow and tedious again this day. There were a surprising numbers of newspapers to choose from considering it’s a rural area, but the obits were few and far between in the early years.
Next, it was back to Seward Cemetery for a few more photos. Then back to Staplehurst. I didn’t realize it at the time, but being one who tends to nitpick we should have re-shot the Staplehurst Cemetery photos. Oh, well.
Lunch at the cousin’s bar and grill was next on the agenda. She and her mother were there this time. We ate, talked about the family, exchanged emails and then we had to get going. On the way north out of town we drove by the two farms that Conrad REINMILLER purchased in the 1880s. The location of these farms was learned the day before at the courthouse. It didn’t appear that any of the buildings were from that time period and no one was home, so we drove on despite their dog wanting to play catch. Sorry, no time.
As we headed north to Ulysses and David City (my new favorite place for the name alone), we found a cemetery that I had neglected to put on my list. That was about the only good thing the GPS did for us with the way it was set. Further up the road, though, we nearly got stuck in the mud because the route was primarily on sandy roads, which other than the mud hole issue drove better than roads that primarily consisted of gravel.
We arrived at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery outside of Ulysses at about the hottest point of the day. (The weather was generally very nice during the trip, but it got warmer and warmer as the week progressed.) Photos were taken and we moved on. (Actually, I now recall that it was after this cemetery that we almost got stuck in the mud, just to be accurate.)
After some more sand/gravel roads, we finally found some asphalt on the way to David City. This library also had just one microfilm reader and although I was able to find several obits, the schedule dictated moving on. Luckily, while in the library we avoided some heavy rain that moved through the area.
Now it was east to Omaha with a pit stop in Wahoo, a town I suppose is most famous in recent history for being mentioned by David Letterman for many years as the home office and source of his Top 10 Lists. There wasn’t much to see, so we kept driving.
Shifting bases from Lincoln to Omaha was going to save at least 45 minutes going to what remained on the agenda: libraries and cemeteries northwest of Omaha and various sites in and around Omaha. We didn’t arrive at the hotel in Omaha until after 8 o’clock, so we ordered pizza and called it a night.
Trip to Nebraska: Day 2
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska, cemetery, genealogy
I really didn’t want any hotel issues during the trip, so ignoring my initial plan to stay close to my research targets I booked rooms in Lincoln and Omaha. Though there were some minor issues with these hotels, both rooms were exactly what I wanted: clean, quiet and comfortable. The downside was that my research wasn’t in either Lincoln or Omaha, though the latter was convenient for some other planned stops. For my next trip, I will definitely sacrifice quality for proximity. Too much time was spent driving around and with what I had hoped to accomplish, this hurt the schedule.
After breakfast we drove from Lincoln to Seward and went to the courthouse. I had my best luck here, finding deeds and a will. The one disappointment was not finding a will, probate file or obituary for Heinrich REINMÜLLER. Very little is known about this man after he came to America and he now officially becomes one of my “problem” ancestors. He’s not a brick wall because I know when he married, died, where’s he’s buried and should soon have his baptism record, but I have nothing on his immigration or what exactly he did in America.
The courthouse was interesting. Deeds were kept in a walk-in vault which had a door that was apparently designed by someone not 6′3″. Luckily, I only hit my head once. The vault was “cozy” with three people and the older records were kept below in a room that had no doors, just an old metal spiral staircase to and from the vault. Actually, it may not have been a vault. That shot to the head may have affected my impression at the time, but I seem to recall a thick metal door. The probate division kept their records in a similar room/vault, and they had a spiral staircase going up to the attic of the courthouse.
(Seward apparently makes a big deal out of the Fourth of July. So much so that their city logo incorporates fireworks. I think a trip in the next couple of years will have to be made to check this out.)
After the courthouse we went down the street to the library for obituaries. Because the library had just one microfilm reader, a theme throughout the trip, this killed my plan to have two readers going at the same time. It also did not help that obituaries were not very common in the local papers in the years I was searching at first, 1887-1901. There were lots of swings and misses here and I eventually decided to call it quits because I wanted to get to the Staplehurst Cemetery before it got too dark.
Before Staplehurst, though, we stopped at Seward Cemetery. The workers were very, very helpful and the cemetery has printed and indexed materials to show where each burial took place. (Both of my fellow traveling companions would later comment about other cemeteries not having such materials, but I’ve found that such aids are not usually kept on site.)
I had to do a little weed clearing at Staplehurst Cemetery and the photos did not turn out as well as I had hoped due to the angle of the sun and the glossy finish on the stones. The location of Conrad, Margaret (FUCHS) and Heinrich REINMILLER’s plot, though, was nice. Located in a back corner of the small cemetery on a hill and under a tree, the plot overlooked the town and what I believe was some farmland once owned by a descendant.
After the cemetery, we went back up the gravel/sand road into Staplehurst for lunch, but it was actually an early supper by this point. (When I go to libraries, courthouses, etc., I often get so caught up that I skip or delay meals. If you’re with me, it’s up to you to speak up or go hungry. I block it out.) There’s only one place in town and its owned by a REINMILLER descendant. Without going into a lot of detail, I learned of this coincidence from three different people earlier in the day. So needless to say, we had to stop in. The food was great — really good burgers — but the cousin had just left before we arrived.
We drove around to see some of the farms just outside of Staplehurst and then went back to Lincoln. I think that after a little shopping it was already 8:30 or so and it was decided to call it a night and relax at the hotel rather than going to see another movie.
Trip to Nebraska: Day 1
Posted by David | Filed under Nebraska, cemetery, genealogy
Most of the first day was spent driving to Nebraska, with stops at one cemetery and assorted Roadside America attractions. We did not arrive in Seward and Staplehurst until later than expected because of two time killers. First, too much time was devoted to the roadside “attractions.” This won’t happen again, though some stops did provide slight, momentary entertainment. Second, I borrowed my brother’s GPS device and apparently there are two settings: fastest route and shortest route. For some %!#$^& reason the device was set to map the shortest route the whole trip. Along with the size of Nebraska, this explains the massive amount of drive time throughout the week. (This setting was still on when we got back and went to a drive-in in Illinois and had the pleasure of driving the surface streets in one of the worst cities in America, bypassing the nearby highways. It wasn’t until after that episode that he noted the other setting.)
When we did get to Seward, to scope out the courthouse and library, and Staplehurst, to verify the location of another cemetery, the towns were pretty much what I expected: small and smaller. No problem, though. I liked both places. In hindsight, I should have taken advantage of the library’s evening hours by getting supper and getting to work on obituaries. (I’ll explain this later.) But sensing that the rest of the late afternoon and evening would be better spent relaxing, we drove to Lincoln (another mistake explained later), checked into the hotel, got supper and caught a movie (The Hangover; very funny).
