My Trails into the Past

It’s not a family secret, but few people know my great-grandmother, Anna M. Gleeson (1860-1912), was naturalized as a single woman and got 160 acres of land from the federal government. She was born on 13 February 1860 in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada, to John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney.[1]  In 1879, the family, including her nine brothers and sisters, moved to Davison County in Dakota Territory, first living in Mitchell, the county seat. On 7 October 1880, she and her brother, Martin, filed their intent to naturalize.[2]  On the same day, she also made a claim on 160 acres of federal land. This land included portions of sections 9 and 10 of township 104 in range 60. Six months later, she petitioned to settle the claim and purchase the land for $1.25 per acre totaling $200. At the time she made her proof, she said she had built a one-story 14 by 16-foot framed house and had broken 16 acres of land.[3]   Her father, John, her brother, Martin, and her brother, Joh...

I have completed two hundred and fifty-seven (257) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. My outside activities were a trip to the History Center, the Lindsay Museum, Belle Cooledge Library where I presented to the Genealogy Association of Sacramento, and Livermore where I had lunch with three genealogy friends in the Bay Area.  Genealogy Genealogy Meetings:    I met with Jacqueline and shared the project I’m doing for my SLIG class. Three genealogy friends, Sheri, Kathryn, Kim, and I met at a restaurant in Livermore. We discussed what we’re working on. It’s always great seeing friends in person. Genealogy Volunteer/Work: At the History Center, I continued my work in PastPerfect checking that all the collections had been entered. Later that week, I took minutes of the board meeting of the Contra Costa County Historical Society. On Friday, I met with LeighAnn and Janet at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum where we consulted on how they should house the archive of their institut...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Night again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to :  1)  Did one (or more) of your ancestors have a "different" occupation?  If so, try to find out more about that occupation in Steve Little's "Sam the Digital Archivist" custom prompt using the free ChatGPT4 artificial intelligence tool.  Click on the "Exploring unique ancestral occupations?" button and tell "Sam" in the "Ask anything" box to define and/or describe the occupation.   Here’s mine: I followed Randy’s instructions to try out Steve Little’s “Sam the digital Archivist” on a collateral relative named Joseph McFall (1836-1908). He married Catherine Rose Davey in 1868 in Clark County, Indiana. In the 1860 and 1870 census records he was listed as a caulker. That is what I asked the bot. “Joseph McFall (1836-1908) lived in Madison, Jefferson Co, Indiana in 1870. The ce...

The ship list for the arrival of the Jerry and Mary (Sheehan) Sullivan family has been elusive. The common name is not helpful. They had nine children. One would think with that many children, the ship list could be found, but all the names of the children are common as well, so searching for them makes it difficult, too. One of the strategies I use when trying to solve a tough problem is to review previous research with a distinct focus. My research question is “When did the Jerry & Mary Sullivan family arrive in the U.S.?” Review Census Records The first census that Jerry and Mary were enumerated in was in 1870 in Franklin Township, Houghton County, Michigan. Four children lived with them: Jeremiah, 12; Daniel, 11; Peter, 10; and Michael, 9 months. All are born in Ireland except Michael. This suggests they came to the U.S. between 1861 and 1869. [1] The 1880 census in Moran Township, Todd County, Minnesota, has three of the above children living with them: Daniel, 20, Peter, 18, ...

I have completed two hundred and fifty-six (256) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. My outside activities were a trip to the History Center, train club, and Santa Rosa to speak at the Sonoma County Genealogical Society.  Genealogy Genealogy Meetings:    On Monday I attended several Zoom meetings: the CDG renewal accountability group and Robbie came to talk about renewing. Our NGS Conference committee meeting was short, which allowed me to attend the Kinseekers Military SIG. After lunch, I attended the NGSQ study group hosted by Cyndi Ingle. Later in the afternoon, I met up with Jacqueline. Thursday, I met with the conference publicity committee and we coordinated our efforts to publicize the upcoming conference in Louisville in May. Amigos met on Wednesday and we got caught up on our news and discussed having a retreat in August or September in Oregon. Genealogy Volunteer/Work: I worked on the NGS blog, putting out publicity posts and scheduling more. At the History ...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has our assignment for tonight: 1) Marie Cooke Beckman on her blog, MarieB's Genealogy Blog--Southeastern USA , asked and answered this question, and it is right up the SNGF alley: Did your grandparents know their grandparents? Thank you for the idea, Marie! Here's mine: My paternal grandparents are William Cyril Hork (1899-1967) and Anna Marie Sullivan (1892-1979).  Cyril never met his paternal grandparents Joseph Heinrich Horoch (1804-1857) and Maria Catharine Trösster (1813-1874), as they lived and died in Germany.  He didn't know his maternal grandparents Vincent Sievert (1823-1892) and Susanna Radunz (1832-1911), though Susanna lived long enough for him to. Susanna lived in Joliet, Illinois, while Cyril lived in Montana. His mother did visit her mother sometime before her mother died. Anna could have known her maternal grandparents John ...

Amos Gorrell was born on 12 February 1837 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania to Amos Gorrell and Leah Wollam. He married Catherine Elizabeth (Shotts) Sayre, widow of Lemuel Sayre, on 6 February 1866 in Ross County, Ohio. They moved the next month to Missouri. Amos kept a diary he purchased yearly that fit in a pocket. His daily entries were short and somewhat cryptic. This year's diary was found in the effects of William Amos Netherton, grandson of Amos, through his daughter Linnie Sarah (Gorrell) Netherton. Karen Netherton and Carolyn (Netherton) Clark transcribed it in 1982. They had not yet moved to Cooper County and were living in Saline County. The nearest town was Arrow Rock. Examples from the 1868 diary are below. Misspellings are Amos'. Wednesday, Jan. 1s t. Weather clear and pleasent New years day (of ears). Mr. Collins and wife comes down to our house. We have an Egg Nog and dinner here. We are engaged Salting away our meat, rendering lard, making Sausage, etc. Mrs. Colli...

I have completed two hundred and fifty-five (255) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. My outside activities were trips to the History Center three times, train club, and phenology. Genealogy Genealogy Writing/Research: I researched and wrote a blog post about the life of Victoria S. Hutson. A follow-up was entering all the data into RootsMagic on her, her husband, and their four children. I still need to enter her husband’s probate information. I am also researching and writing about Frankenmuth, Michigan, for a genealogy journal.  Blog Posts Published: Filling Out the Life of Victoria S. Hutson Williams For the theme of “surprise,” I researched and wrote about Victoria S. Hutson, sister of my 2x-great-grandfather. I was surprised I hadn’t done any prior research on her. SNGF: What Were Your Ancestors Doing 100 Years Ago? I gave the residences and occupations of my grandparents, great-grandparents, and 2x-great-grandparents who were still alive in 1925. Genealogy Meetings:...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Night again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to: 1)  Every one of your ancestors was doing "something" in their life in early 1925?  Do you know, or do you have to guess? Here's mine: My parents were born yet, so I’ll focus on my grandparents first and then great-grandparents. Paternal Side My paternal grandparents, William Cyril Hork and Anna Marie Sullivan , lived at 414 Linnie Canal in Venice, California. He was listed in the 1925 city directory as a laborer.[1]  They had two children, Lorene, who would have been nearly two, and Virginia, a newborn in January. Anna would have her hands full with the two children. Checking Google Maps shows a modern house.[2]  Zillow claims it was built in 2001, so it is certainly not the same place they lived in.[3]  The voter registration the following year shows the same address. Cyril was listed as a salesman ...

I have completed two hundred and fifty-four (254) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. My outside activities were trips to court and county recorder’s offices four times, the bank, train club, and the Layout Design/Operations event in Sacramento. Genealogy This week I attended the SLIG course, Advanced Techniques: Material Culture Research, coordinated by Gena Philibert-Ortega. I was the hiveminder and was so happy my internet worked all week. On Friday, we gave presentations I talked about the opera glasses that my aunt passed down from me from her great-aunt. Genealogy Writing/Research: The only research I did this week was to research the opera glasses there were made by Lemaire of Paris. I found a hint to a manuscript that was given away to customers, but I couldn’t locate it anywhere online.  Blog Posts Published: Steps to Confront a Challenge For the theme of challenge, I wrote about how to approach a challenging problem. SNGF: Five Fun or Different Facts I wrote about a f...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Night again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Our assignment tonight from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:  1)  We all find "fun" or "different" information about ourselves, and our relatives and ancestors in our genealogy and family history pursuits.  What are five "fun" or "different" facts in your life or your ancestor’s lives? [Thank you to Jacquie Schattner for suggesting this topic last year.] Here's mine: I shall list five facts about five of my ancestors: My mother, Lela Nell Johnston, was a Girl Scout in a troop in Walnut Creek. I have her Girl Scout manual. She was also mentioned a few times in the Walnut Creek newspaper. My father, William Joseph Hork, was a Boy Scout. He was mentioned in the Napa newspaper. I have a photo of him in his uniform. My maternal grandmother, Pansy Louise Lancaster, played softball when a young adult, and bowled and played tennis as a senior. S...

We all have challenges in conducting genealogy research. Some of us may call them brick walls, those places in the family tree where we are stuck and cannot take our genealogy back another generation.  These challenges may be caused by several reasons: record loss due to a natural disaster or war access to the records not being allowed our lack of knowledge about what records are available not understanding the records we have already found To work through these challenges, I follow the following steps: Review prior research . This includes reviewing each document I have previously found and ensuring I have squeezed out every bit of information from them. While I’m doing this, questions will come to mind. Record those questions. Resist the urge to go right to researching. Create a timeline . As I review the documents I have, I create a timeline that includes the date of the event, the location, who else was present, and the source of the information. A timeline will show gaps in th...