Let’s Make a Resume for My Ancestor

I watched a webinar this week called “Creating Your Ancestor’s Resume.” It was presented at Kinseekers in November by Karen Molohon. This topic intrigued me as another way to get information about my ancestors and family members onto paper (figuratively speaking).

Creating a resume about an ancestor can have two purposes. If this is all you do, then you have written something about their life. A collection of these could be shared with your family. The other purpose is that it can serve as a starting point for further writing, such as adding historical and social context about their work.

I thought I would create a resume for one of the ancestors I am working on. I will use these headings: genealogical summary, parents' names, spouse’s name, children’s names, skills, education, hobbies, and work history, starting with the most recent job down to their first job.

My grandfather, Tom J. Johnston, saved some of the letters of recommendation he had five men write, who knew him well, but I have no idea the purpose of them. However, they give some good information about his early work history. Through research, I have discovered some of his other jobs, though not all of them. The resume will also help me see gaps in his work history.

Tom Johnston at Johnston Bros. Billiards

 Resume

Summary
Tom J. Johnston Jr was born on 7 October 1912 in Gustine, Comanche County, Texas.[1] He died on 11 July 1973 in Pleasant Hill, Contra Costa County, California.[2] He is buried at Oakmont Park Cemetery in Lafayette, Contra Costa County, California.[3]

Parents: Thomas Newton Johnston (1885-1951) and Nell L. Hutson (1888-1919).[4]

Spouse: Pansy Louise Lancaster, married on 14 December 1933 in Comanche County, Texas.[5]

Children: Lela Nell Johnston (1934-1992)[6]

Skills

• Carpentry
• Furniture making
• Fishing
• Taxi driving
• Bartending

Professional History

1950-July 1973	Carpenter	Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, California
Nov 1944-1950	Billiard hall & taxi company owner[7]	Walnut Creek, California
1943	Carpenter	Moffatt Air Field, Mountain View, California
25 Mar 1944-17 Jul 1944	Military service – Navy[8]	US Naval Training Center, Farragut, Idaho.
Oct 1942-1943	carpenter	Sand Point, Idaho[9]
Aug 11, 1941-Dec 16, 1941	Carpenter[10]	War Department, Fort Worth Aircraft Plant No. 4, Fort Worth, Texas
	Carpenter[11]	Fort Worth Quartermaster Depot, Fort Worth, Texas
Aug 11, 1941-Dec 16, 1941	Carpenter[12]	War Department, Fort Worth Aircraft Plant No. 4, Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 1940-Oct 1940	Millwork & Furniture Repair, Carpenter, own business[13]	Stephenville, Texas
1939-Apr 12, 1944	Construction work, carpenter & rigger gangs	J.H. Pomeroy & Co. (San Francisco) in Texas[14]
1940	Carpenter[15]	Stephenville, Texas
	Carpenter[16]	Stephenville, Texas
1930	Ranch hand[17]	Erath County, Texas

Education
Stephenville High School

Hobbies
Furniture making, fishing,

Conclusion
I have definite gaps in his work history. I should send for his work history from Social Security. I need to know when he started at Diablo Valley College. I could try to contact the Contra Costa Community College District to see if they still have those records. The World War II era work is also a bit iffy. I know from newspaper articles that they were in those places, but I don’t know the beginning and ending dates.

Have you thought of creating a resume for one of your ancestors? Give it a try.

#WebinarWednesday
This is a new series where I further investigate a topic after attending a webinar. This way, I am applying what I learned.

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[1] Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Comanche Co, Texas, 1913, Tom Johnston, Jr., medical attendant’s affidavit, dated 17 March 1941. Copy in author’s papers.

[2] State of California, Department of Health Services, Death Certificate, Contra Costa County, no. 73-087531, Tom J Johnston Jr, 1973.

[3] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94080925/tom-j-johnston), Oakmont Memorial Park, Lafayette, Contra Costa Co, California, memorial 94080925, Tom J. Johnston Jr, photo by Lisa Gorrell.

[4] Certificate of Birth, Comanche Co, Texas, 1913, Tom Johnston, Jr. For father’s full name, see 1920 US census, Comanche Co, Texas, ED 70, sht 7a, p. 47 (stamped), dwelling 136, family 138, Thos N. Johnston household. Nell had died the year before.

[5] Hood Co, Texas, Marriages, v. J, p. 161, Tom Johnston Jr to Miss Pansy Louise Lancaster, 1933, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GP3V-9G19 : accessed 10 Dec 2025); IGN 004820662, item 4, image 111 of 195.

[6] Texas State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Birth, Erath County, v. 14, p. 516, 1934, Lela Nell Johnston, affidavit filed 8 Jan 1943 to correct spelling of last name from Johnson, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DYX3-5ZZ : accessed 10 Dec 2025); IGN 004239748, image 238 of 631.

[7] “Announcement,” Contra Costa Gazette (Martinez, Calif), 2 Nov 1944, p. 6, col. 3. Also, “Grimes & Nottingham Billiard Parlor is Sold,” Courier-Journal (Walnut Creek, Calif), 2 Nov 1944, p. 1, col. 2. For the taxi, “Johnston Bros.” Courier-Journal (Walnut Creek, Calif), p. 3, col. 2.

[8] Compiled service record, Tom (n) Johnston, Jr., S2c, service no. 9386900 (discharged 1944); Official Military Personnel Files, U.S. Navy; National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

[9] Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune, 9 October 1942, p. 5, col. 3.

[10] Letter of Recommendation, J.S. Tait, project construction superintendent, The Austin Company, Fort Worth, Texas, dated 11 Aug 1944. Also, “To Go to Fort Worth,” Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune, 31 October 1941, p. 1, col. 2.

[11] Letter of Recommendation, Harry B. Friedman, Building Construction, Fort Worth, Texas, dated 18 Aug 1944.

[12] Letter of Recommendation, J.S. Tait, project construction superintendent, The Austin Company, Fort Worth, Texas, dated 11 Aug 1944. Also, “To Go to Fort Worth,” Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune, 31 October 1941, p. 1, col. 2.

[13] "Announcement," Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune, 2 Feb 1940, p. 6, col. 7, digital image, The Portal to History (http://texashistory.unt.edu/). Also, WW II Draft Registration Card, Stephenville, Texas, Tom Junior Johnston, imaged, “U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44040_10_00057-01239 : accessed 10 Dec 2025); citing Records of the Selective Service System, National Archives.

[14] Letter of Recommendation, John Rideout, Area Superintendent, J. H. Pomeroy & Co, dated 12 Apr 1944.

[15] Stephenville Directory, (Baldwin Con Survey Company, 1940), p. 129, Johnston, Tom Jr (Pansy). Also, 1940 US census, Erath Co, Stephenville ward 2, ED 72-7, p. 4A, household 75, Warren Lancaster household.

[16] Letter of Recommendation, Paul Higginbotham, Higginbotham Bros & Co, Stephenville, Texas, dated 8 Apr 1944.

[17] 1930 US census, Erath Co, Texas, ED 2, Stephenville, sht 3b, family 63, Thomas T Johnston household.

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