My Trails into the Past

This is my second year 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 have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Amos Gorrell, Jr. (1837-1928) was a farmer. He owned 25 acres of land in 1870 in LaMine Township, Cooper County, Missouri. [1] Eleven of the acres was improved for farming, while fourteen was still wooded. Amos stated the property was worth $350. Today, that amount would be worth $6,708.96. [2] His farm implements were worth $25. The above information on the farm is from the Agricultural Schedule of the 1870 U.S. Federal Census. Below are two images of the schedule as the census covers across two pages. The census lists the livestock and crops that he raised the previous year. Amos’ livestock included two horses, two milch (milk) cows, five other cattle, and twenty-five swine, all valued at $20...

This is my second year 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 have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. I love maps. I have had a love affair with maps since that wonderful day in 5th grade when Mrs. Griffin, our teacher, gave each of us a folded travel map from a local gas station. We first learned how to unfold and refold the map properly. Then we completed exercises about the symbols in the key, and how to use the map to get from one place to another. From ebay:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Vintage-California-Gas-Station-Official-Road-Maps-1964-1971/183791501448?hash=item2acad3c088:g:vYEAAOSwEflcxgBP I totally understood the map! It was the first time that I totally “got” what a teacher was teaching, and I “got” it before many of the other pupils. If I had known sooner that I could have majored...

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme. Genealogy Blog Writing : I was busy with other activities I didn’t get a post done this week. Webinars/Study Groups Attended:   I attended one webinar, entitled “Meaningful Tables and Graphs for Correlation in Family History” by Ruth W. Craig, CG. I attended the Thursday evening study group and we discussed a bit about the APG-PMC that three of us had attended. I attended the Sacramento German Genealogy Society meeting with Mike. Shirley Riemer was the host of a “game show” where we reviewed some concepts of German genealogy. Client Work : I had some court record retrievals to get in Solano County and additional ones in Contra Costa County. Own Work: I spent the day with my husband’s aunt and cousin on Monday. We interfiled m...

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme. Genealogy Blog Writing : I was busy with other activities and only got one post in this week. 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks :  For the “cousins” theme, I showed two photos from our archives of Nilsen cousins and Hork cousins. Webinars/Study Groups Attended:   "Civil Law Concepts and Genealogy"—Claire Bettag, Legacy Family Tree Webinars Conference Attended : I attended the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah held at the RL Hotel from September 22-24, with a pre-conference activities on the 21st. I was a mentor to two first-time attendees, Robyn Buehler and Marybethe Kelly. I also spent time with other first-timers, especially Franchesca Werden. Robyn, Lisa, ...

This is my second year 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 have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Happiness is when all the cousins are together in a photo. My husband’s mother’s cousins are all in this one and it is nicely labeled. They are from the Nilsen Family. I also have a photo of my cousins taken in our home on the occasion of my sister’s baptism in 1965. My youngest sister wasn’t born yet, so one cousin is missing. Copyright © 2019 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme. Genealogy Blog Writing : 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks  For the “mistake” theme, I revisited Daniel K Coor, who was enumerated in 1880 as a female named Anna. “When Did the Thomas Davey Family Come to America?” a post about a possible ship list record that may be the family of Thomas Davey. Webinars/Study Groups Attended:   Advanced DNA Techniques: Using Phasing to Test DNA Segments—Blaine Bettinger, Legacy Family Tree Webinars Own Work: I did not get much work done this week, though I worked on the curriculum for my adult school course. I met with the education coordinator and viewed my classroom, learned how to record roll, operate the projector, and use the copier. I have eighteen students and am looking forwa...

According to the 1886 obituary for Thomas Davey of Jeffersonville, Indiana, the family “came to this country, landing at New York in 1852, and made their home successively at Philadelphia, Reading, Altoona, and prairies of Illinois.” [1]   On the other hand, he reported on his declaration of intent to naturalize in 1853 that he arrived at the port of New York in June 1850. [2] This date is closer to the date he made his intention as oppose to the obituary some three decades later. The family was enumerated in the 1851 English census in Deptford, London. [3]  Why would he say 1850 if he was living in England in 1851? One needed to live in the U.S. for a minimum of two years before applying for the intent to become a citizen. Either he had come earlier and went back to get his family, or he lied to start the naturalization process sooner.  Their youngest child, Frederick, was born in the United States, 10 Oct 1953 in Reading, Pennsylvania. [4] This supports the a...