My Trails into the Past

My 2x-granduncle, Reginold Lancaster, married Eda Pearl Ralston on 30 July 1920 in Los Angeles when he was thirty-two years old. She was thirty-five. [1] This was her second marriage, having been divorced from Eugene De Lartigue. Eda Pearl Ralston was born in December 1880 in Wyoming to Ellis Ralston and Flora Sackett. In 1880, her parents were living in Cheyenne, Laramie County, so it is possible that this was where she was born. Her father was a railroad engineer. [2] By 1900, her mother was a widow living in Los Angeles County, California, with three children: Eda, aged 19, Ruby F., aged 17, and Earl E., aged 15. [3] Actress Sometime before 1902, Eda began working as an actress while living with her mother and brother at 3680 South Grand Avenue. [4] In the earliest news found in October 1901, she was a whistling, song and dance soubrette at the Unique Theater on South Spring Street in Los Angeles. [5] Variety was a weekly newspaper that covered actors and actresses. Eda R...

Which lines of my ancestors had the most descendants? I would first guess that it would be the Roman Catholic side since they tended to have large families. But, it turns out that my mother’s southern side had just as many children, who had many children, etc. I have many distant cousin DNA matches from descendants of the Loveless and Lancaster families. Lancaster Robert Lancaster (1784-1840) had seven children. He had at least twenty-three grandchildren. He had at least forty-four great-grandchildren. He had at least thirty-six 2x-great-grandchildren. However, as I was counting from a list of descendants, I don’t think I have researched forward on all the lines. There are likely many more in the fifth generation (and thus more in each of their further generations). He had at least sixty-four 3x-great-grandchildren. He had at least thirty-seven 4x-great-grandchildren. He had at least twenty-four 5x-great-grandchildren. I am in this eighth generation. I have only researc...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing has our assignment for this week: Here is your assignment, should you decide to accept it (you ARE reading this, so I assume that you really want to play along - cue the Mission Impossible music!): 1)  Think about the answers to these questions about your thankfulness for genealogy: a.  Which ancestor are you most thankful for, and why?   b.  Which author (book, periodical, website, etc.) are you most thankful for, and why?   c.  Which historical record set (paper or website) are you most thankful for, and why? 2)  Tell us about it in a blog post of your own; in a comment to this blog post; or in a Facebook post.  Please leave a link in Comments to your own blog post or Facebook post. Here are my answers: a.  The ancestors I am most thankful for are my maternal grandmother, Pansy (Lan...

I am working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow . I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past . I’m looking forward to writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. We often learn about the cause of someone’s death from a death certificate. The doctor fills out this portion, often using cursive handwriting and using medical terms that are hard to discern. I’m always happy to find a death certificate that has been typed! Following the causes of death throughout our ancestral line can be helpful in tracing our health history. My parents: Father : Myocardial Infarction (10 min) and Coronary Artery Disease (30 mos). Actually he had that for 30 years. What the death certificate doesn’t say is he was found dead in his home and may have been dead a couple of days. He was found on Saturday and last seen on Wednesday evening. He was 77. Mother : Cardiac Arrhythmia (min) due...

I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2016), where we write 26 blog posts featuring each letter of the alphabet. R.D., my grandmother’s brother, was born Rayburn Dinion Lancaster on 3 July 1920 in Erath County, Texas to George Warren Lancaster and Lela Ann Loveless. [1] He attended Tarleton Agricultural College where he was editor of Grassburr and president of the Press club. World War II started before he finished and he was exempt from taking finals. [2] He joined the Army Air Corps on 14 January 1942 and trained in Chickasa, Oklahoma. [3] By November 1943, R.D. was a Captain and had completed 50 combat missions in a P-40 Warhawk in the European theater. [4] After World War II, R.D. remained in the Air Force and served as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. As a major, he commanded the 35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Itazuka Air Base. [5] He also participated in the Vietnam war. By the time he retired in 1972, he was a colonel. R.D...

I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2016), where we write 26 blog posts featuring each letter of the alphabet. P is for Martha Jane “Mattie” Polly Martha Jane Polly, called “Mattie,” was born to Nathan H.O. Polly and Lydia Margaret [--?--]  in Texas. She was my third great grandmother. She was born in August, though the year is not certain. Early census records give ages that make 1854/55 being likely, [1] but her later census records indicate a later date around 1856/57. [2] Her death certificate gave her birth as 26 August 1856. Her family was living in Montague County in Texas in 1860, but since her father was a minister, they might have been living elsewhere.  She was the third daughter of seven children, with only one boy. At the age around sixteen or seventeen, Martha married George W. Lancaster in Kaufman County, Texas on 25 October 1871. [3]   1871 Marriage between George W Lancaster & Martha J Polly They would ...

I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2016), where we write 26 blog posts featuring each letter of the alphabet. L is for Lela Ann Loveless Lela Nell, Lela Ann, & Pansy Louise Lela Ann Loveless was my maternal great grandmother. My mother, Lela Nell, was named after her two grandmothers, Lela Ann Loveless and Nell Hutson. I have written previously about Lela Ann Loveless Lancaster on my other blog, “Mam-ma’s Southern Family” here and here , where you can see a photo of Lela as a young girl. Lela Ann married George Warren Lancaster on 15 December 1912 in Erath County, Texas. [1] Her older brother, William “Hutts” Loveless married Warren’s sister, Josephine Lancaster on 14 December 1915. [2] That made their children all double-cousins! Four children were born to Warren and Lela Ann. My grandmother, Pansy, was the oldest. Seven years later, Rayburn Dinion “R.D.” was born. A son, Carl, Jr., was born in 1924 but he lived only six day...

Here is our assignment: 1) Using your ancestral lines, how far back in time can you go with two degrees of separation? That means "you knew an ancestor, who knew another ancestor." When was that second ancestor born? 2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, in a status line on Facebook or a stream post on Google+. I tried this with both my father's line and my mother's: 1. My Hork-Sullivan-Gleeson line : My paternal great grandaunt,  Loretto M. Sullivan Patterson (1885-1972) held me (born in 1954 in Concord, California). She definitely knew her grandmother, Margaret Tierney Gleeson (1835 in Canada, d. 1920 in Portland, Oregon) because she lived with her grandparents after her mother died in 1912. Me with Aunt Loretta - 1954 Loretta with her Aunt and Grandmother - 1913 or so 2. My Hork-Johnston-Lancaster-Polly line : My grandmother, Pansy Louise Lancaster Johnston (1913-2013) knew her great-grandfather, Geor...

Today is November 11, a day we honor veterans who served in the Armed Forces. I do not have many direct ancestors who were veterans, but I still want to honor those who were. This list includes those ancestors of my husband (in blue) and mine (in red). World War II Tom J. Johnston Jr. Tom J. Johnston Jr ., U.S. Navy. He served just a short time and was discharged due to a medical disability. He had been stationed in Idaho. George J Gorrell George Joseph Gorrell , U.S. Army. He was a staff sergeant with the 913th Air Engineering Squadron. He served in England and Germany. World War I William Cyril Hork William Cyril Hork , U.S. Navy. He served in submarine service and was last stationed in Long Beach aboard the submarine tender, USS Alert . Civil War Amos Gorrell Jr. Amos Gorrell , Jr., Union Army. Co A, 18th Ohio. George Wilson Lancaster , Confederate. He ...