100 of My Veterans

For Veteran's Day I'm posting 100 of the veterans from my family file. Next year maybe another hundred.

I'll start with my brother. 

Brock Paul E.  (Marine Corp)

Alexander, Thomas American Revolution

Allman, Raymond (Navy)

Allman, Fred  (Army) WWI KIA

Allman, Robert D.  (Navy)

Allman, Royal "Bud" (Army)  WWII 

Austin, Nathaniel Sr.  American Revolution

Ballard, Melvin  (Navy) WWII

Banister, Alvin Henry (Army)  WWII 

Banister, William E. "Bill" (Army) WWII 

Beard, Elijah  Civil War/Confederacy

Beard, Franklin Pinkney Sr. WWII 

Beard, Leonard Herchel (Army)  WWII 

Beard, William  American Revolution

Bearden, Richard D. American Revolution

Bedel, James Edward "Jimmie" Vietnam

Benbrook, Adrel A. WWII 

Black, Edgar O. WWII 

Bode, Carl H. (Army) WWII 

Bode, Francis O. (Army) WWII 

Bohall, Daryl Wayne Vietnam

Bohall, Ervin E. (Army Air Corp) WWII

Bohall, George Emil (Army Air Corp)

Bohall, John Dudley Civil War/Union

Brock, Andrew Jackson Civil War/Union

Brock, Benjamin F. Civil War/Union

Brock, Calvin Lee (Navy) WWII

Brock, Ernest Cleveland WWI 

Brock, Isaac   American Revolution

Brock, Lawrence Porter Civil War/Union

Brock, Paul Henry (Army) WWII 

Brock, Rufus Marvin (Navy) WWII

Brock, Thomas Porter (Army) WWII

Brock, Warner Hardin (Navy) WWII

Bush, Bernard (Army) Korea

Bush, Gerald N. (Army)  WWII 

Bush, Jerry Lynn (Army)

Bush, Neal William (Navy)  WWII 

Bush, Russell L. (Army Air Corp) WWII

Carmer, James C. Civil War/Union

Carmer, Samuel C. Civil War/Union KIA

Cockerham, Reuben B. Civil War/Union

Ditmore, Edwin James Civil War/Union

Ditmore, Vincent A. Civil War/Union

Erhardt, Joseph H. (Army)  WWII 

Gerth, Ralph (Army National Guard)

Gerth, Thomas J. (Navy)

Golden, David Civil War/Union

Hackman, Earl Charles (Army) Korea

Henry, Clifton  Civil War/Confederacy

Hicks, John American Revolution

Hite, Julius  American Revolution

Hoke, Caspar  American Revolution

Hovis, Frederick  American Revolution

Hovis, John War of 1812

Hunnicutt, William Orlando WWII KIA

Jaynes, Albert T. WWII 

Jaynes, Arthur R. (Navy) WWII 

Jaynes, Donald Charles (Army) WWII 

Jaynes, Edwin WWII 

Jaynes, Kenneth W. (Army Air Corp) WWII 

Jaynes, Leon Golden (Navy) WWII 

Jaynes, Louis W. (Army) WWII 

Jaynes, Marion F. (Army) WWII 

Jaynes, Millard (Army) WWII 

Jaynes, Noble (Navy) WWII 

Jaynes, Roscoe Nelson (Army) WWII 

Jaynes, Thomas (Navy) Vietnam

Jaynes, William E. (Army) Vietnam

Joyce, Elijah Civil War/Union

Kiser, James Sr. Civil War/Union

Loop, Lewis N. (Army) WWII 

Lucas, James E. WWII 

Manning, John Gordon (Navy) WWII 

Manning, Robert Gordon (Army) WWII

Martin, John Civil War/Union

Mashburn, Grady Dean (Army) WWII

Milstead, James Civil War/Union

Morgan, Andrew Anderson Sr. Civil War/Union

Morgan, Jeremiah American Revolution

Partridge, Isaac Newton  Civil War/Union

Pearson, Joseph G. (Army)  WWII 

Raborn, John J.  Civil War/Union

Sandlin, Fred (Army)

Tallent, John Lott Sr.  American Revolution

Trapp, Donald Lee (Navy) WWII 

Trapp, Ermil Russell (Army) KIA

Trapp, Ernest Roy (Army) WWII 

Trapp, Murrel Ray (Army) WWII 

Trapp, Robert Dale (Army) Vietnam

Trapp, Robert Thomas (Army) Korea

Ward, Raymond Carlos (Army Air Corp)  WWII

White, George  Civil War/Union

Williams, Russell R. (Army Air Corp) WWII

Wilson, Ephraim Civil War/Union

Wilson, Willard Spanish-American War

Wineinger, Solomon Civil War/Union

Woodson, George M. WWII KIA

Wright, Wayne L. "W.W." (Air Force) Vietnam

Wright, Wayne Eugene "Babe" (Army) WWII 

WikiTree Day and Symposium

 

WikiTree Day and Symposium is going on now.

WikiTree Day is SUNDAY!!

There are many things going on and this link will help you connect with all of them:

 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:WikiTree_Day/Welcome

Recovery

 I've gotten behind on my blogging again. I do have reasons, or, if you like, excuses.  I played fast and loose with my mask during my mother's services.  With my immune system it was a given, I suppose that I got a flu. I am happy it was not covid. Still, I was in bed for a week with fever and I'm still trying to recover completely.  It's slow going.  I will keep my mask properly on from now on. Trying not to fall into a deep depression as well. I miss my mom. I still find myself making a note to tell her something in the morning, as I talked to her every day.  And she was the only one that was interested in my family history work.

I have been grabbing documents from Ancestry during my recovery time. Also doing some clean up.  Trying to just have one copy of a document instead of two or three. That's one for my working computer, one in my backup drive and one hard copy. Yeah, I'm old enough to do hard copy. 

I have three (3) Bluesky invites. If anyone wants one, just let me know. I personally really like Mastodon. I'm not terribly good at the social thing but I have posted to Mastodon. I'm from a time we got together to socialize, and I'm pretty boring as well. I follow artists and genealogists at Instagram, so it's got a lot of pretty pictures. Facebook/Threads are tooooo newsy/political. I go there but not so often.

 I am:

Mastodon:  @sheribush@mastodon.social (No invites needed)

Bluesky:  @sheribush.bsky.social (have 3, need one?)

Threads/Instagram: @familytwigs

Facebook: Sheri Brock Bush

The Generations

 

This is a 4-generation photo. I am the little girl on the left. My Mother, Madelyn Jaynes Brock is next, beside her my grandmother, Della Mae Alexander Jaynes and my great-grandmother, Olive Ellen Martin Alexander Robertson. My mom and I always called Olive, Grandma-Mom. I'm not sure why, but that is all I knew her as. I found her terrifying.  She was a bit cold, sharp and believed a child should be seen not heard. So, I was a very quiet child when in her company. 

The photo was taken at my house. I do recognize the background, but this fact is set in stone with this photo. My mother is the only one that does not have that purse on her arm.  That purse was over-worked, heavy, stiff, leather and all the rage that year. We had a leather place in the county, and everyone had one. Grandma-Mom and Grandma have theirs on their arms. My mother had one as well and she would have it on her arm if we were not at home. I had a matching billfold with my name pressed into it. Sorry, I lost it. It was so stiff I couldn't get money in it anyway, so I lost nothing of value. Phew.  By the way, I'm unlisted in case you find it.

Olive married William Hays Alexander in 1902.  In the 1910 census, William and Ollie Alexander and the first 3 of their children are in a rural area of Jennings County, Indiana. William is listed as a farmer like his father was. He was not happy with that and soon moved his family to Seymour. In the 1920 census, William and Ollie Alexander and 6 of their 7 children are on Glen Lawn Road. This is a small area that was just beginning to be built up. Now it is just a small neiborhood of Seymour called Glenlawn. William repaired automobiles, Ollie stayed home. 

In the 1930 Census, Olive L Alexander was 48 and widowed, as William died in 1928. The L should have been an E as her name was Olive Ellen, though she was always called Ollie. She was living on Euclid Avenue in Seymour, Indiana, and working at the Shoe Factory. She still had 4 children at home, Lucille, Opal, William and Norma, but her married son, Merrill, lived right down the street with his wife and daughter. Her son William, called Bill, was 10. This is interesting because living just around the corner on Noble Street. was a 4-year-old Lois Plumber staying with her grandmother, whom he would one day marry.  I wonder if he ever met Lois as a child. She was a wonderful person. 

Olive married Frederick C. Robertson, "Fred", in 1934.  Fred was warm and nice. Introvert marries extrovert.  Warm versus cold, nice versus mean, light versus dark, oh, never mind. I've noticed it happens a lot, though. Anyway, in the early 1960's Fred contracted TB and was put into a sanitorium. While he was gone Olive had a stroke in the night and could not get to the phone for help. She wasn't discovered until the following day. As soon as she was able to speak clearly, she ordered her lawyer to her side and divorced Fred, getting her name Alexander back. She said she was not going to die as a Robertson. She was going to die as an Alexander. So, 12 years later, in 1975, she did. I don't know why she felt that way. 

The first time I saw a message about any of my family in the late 90's on the RootsWeb Mailing lists was a question about why Olive was buried as Olive Alexander when she was married to Fred Robertson. So now you know.

Now, she will probably haunt me. 

Fred and Olive can be found in the 1940 and 1950 census in Seymour, Indiana. Fred died in 1965 in Salem, Indiana.

There are photos on this blog with Olive and William Alexander and Olive and Fred Robertson. Just search for 'Olive'.

I miss the Mailing Lists on RootsWeb. FB is not the same.

My Heart Is Broken

 This year on 9-11, September 11, I lost my Mom. I'm trying to go on, but, you see, I knew her longer than anyone else in my life.  I knew her for over 69 years.  I lost my dad in 2006, so I have some experience with terrible loss.  But this is different. Now my rudder is gone, I have no wind in my sails. I feel dead in the water. I have been so lucky to have her for so long and I know I must go on, life continues. I know she is free of pain now. But still, my grief is so profound, I cannot but get lost in it for a time.

Madelyn Marie Jaynes (Brock, Kiser)

June 26, 1935 - September 11, 2023

It's That Time Already!

 You know I love WikiTree. 

What is WikiTree Day? (Opens in a new tab.)

What I Know For Sure

 

If I thought I would have it easy researching Geoge Washington Joyce, I was so wrong. Besides cleaning up the mess I made, I needed to find the Joyce family. I found that naming children after George Washington was a thing in the Joyce family. There are a million of them in North Carolina and Virginia. Seriously. So many of them moved on to Indiana, spreading their craziness around. What I know for certain is tiny compared to what I don't know. But I at least know something. I think. John Martin isn't that scary now(:

What I know:

-George Washington Joyce was born in North Carolina between the years of 1805 to 1807. This according to his age listed in census records 1850 and 1860.

-His wife is listed as Jane Sharp/Sharpe in the death certs and some marriage records of the kids.

-Have full list of his living children as per 1850 census. 

-He died before 1870 census. 

-This family started in North Carolina, not Virginia. They ended in Craig Township, Switzerland County, Indiana.

-These are my second line of Scots/Irish ancestors.

-The other George Joyce family is in the northern part of Indiana, while my George is in the southern area. (different migration path)

-They migrated to Indiana between 1832 (Agnes birth) and 1836 (George Washington Jr.'s birth, see?? Another one.)

What I don't know:

-Exact BMD (Oldest listed child is Robert born in 1827[sourced]. Marriage of George Joyce and Jane Sharp is at least a year before that. Maybe? Not found yet.) 

-Parents of George. I'm looking into a Samuel that many trees have him listed as father to George, but no documentation, not close to being able to say yea or nay yet.  

This is going to take a while as the water is still muddy but it's getting clearer. One good thing is that I did not feel confident enough to add this family to WikiTree. My Joyce ancestor, Agnes Joyce Hines [Joyce-475] is the only Joyce I've added there. No cleaning required.

I've found that I like searching at FamilySearch more than at Ancestry. Cleaner results, easier to pinpoint what you are looking for. Yeah, Ancestry has more, but for the basics FamilySearch is it. 

I ran into a great Joyce Family Research site. Lots of information. If you are researching the Joyce family, you should check it out. 

Alexander and Thomas Joyce Family Research 

I'd like to thank Foxymom who helped by fixing the FamilySearch tree. 

Trying To Clean Up A Mess I Made

 I am currently dealing with a mess of my own making. Many years ago, when I was too eager to fill empty boxes, I took another person's word as stone without doing the work. I am not adding so many people now, as I am filling in the blanks and dealing with the mistakes I have made. This one is a doozy, but I was unsure, even all that time ago, so I did not go any further than George Washington Joyce/Joice.  That part is good. The rest is a mess which I am cleaning up. 

The daughter of George W. Joyce is my second great-grandmother Agnes Joyce Hines. The Hines family is set in stone, resourced fully.  It's a great story too. But George W. Joyce is a different story. I was sent a marriage verifying that George Washington Joyce married a Jane Iden in Virginia by a family member years ago. I listed Jane Iden because I had that and the 1850 census which lists "Jane" as his wife. That is not enough, trust me.  In the 1860 census George is with his son Elijah, no Jane here.  I thought she must have died or gotten a divorce. Indiana was a Mid-West little Reno in those days, divorce was easy and fast, so it was a very real possibility.  I decided to come back to it later. Then life happened and it was many years before I got back to working seriously due to health. During my sick time I received an obit for Jane Iden listing three husbands, George W. Joice as husband number one.  Quite frankly I was not up to making those kinds of decisions but did. I took it and added it to the tree, even though it didn't seem quite right.  So here I am. Luckily, I am a firm believer that most mistakes can be fixed.  We will see. 

1850 Craig Township, Switzerland County, Indiana

Geo. Washington Joyce 44 (North Carolina), Jane 43 (North Carolina), Agnes 16 (North Carolina), Robert 15 (North Carolina), George W. 13 (Indiana), Peter 11 (Indiana), Hester 9, (Indiana) Effa 9 (Indiana), Elijah 6 (Indiana), Martha 4 (Indiana), Thomas J 4mos (Indiana).  

Side NOTE: Hester and Effa are twins.

Agnes, the daughter of George W. Joyce, married George Washington Hines. My ancestors.

1860 Craig Township, Switzerland County, Indiana-listed as a farmer. George Sr. is dwelling 232, and George Jr. is dwelling 238.

232-George W. Joice 55 (North Carolina), Elijah 16 (Indiana).

238-George W. Joice 23 (Indiana), Mary 20, (Indiana) Ephraim 4 (Indiana).

Oddly at dwelling 231 is a Richard Sharp 28 (North Carolina), Julia A. 42 (Indiana), Susan 13, William A. 5 (Indiana). 

Julia A. was Julia Ann Hines Sharp, sister to George W. Hines. Richard was born in North Carolina, son of Alexander Sharp and Malinda Cardwell. Susan Hines, another sister of George Hines, married Noah Sharp, again son of Alexander and Malinda.

1860 Vevay, Craig Township, Indiana

Robert Joice 27 (North Carolina), Nancy 18 (Indiana), Jane 50 (North Carolina).

Opppps. Found her. She was "in town" with her son and very young wife, probably helping out. 

1870 Vevay, Craig Township, Indiana-listed as a farmer

Joyce, Robert 40 (North Carolina), Nancy J 26, (Indiana) Josephine 10, (Indiana) Henry 6 (Indiana), James 4 (Indiana), Harrison 10 mos. (Indiana), Joyce, Hester 26 (Indiana), Marion 8 (Indiana), Jane 64 (North Carolina).

George Sr. died before 1870.

Robert Joyce marriage record to Catharine Higgins he lists his parents as Geo. W. Joyce and Jane Sharp.

Peter Joyce death cert lists his parents as George W. Joyce and Jane Sharp.

[sigh] I should have done this years ago. Let's see, everything lists her as Jane Sharp/Sharpe.  Switzerland County, Indiana was home to the Joyce and Sharp family from North Carolina. 

I know. Stupid and sloppy mistake. 

For the record, there is a George Washington Joyce/Joice in North Carolina that married a Jane Iden in Virginia. They did move to Indiana.  Still no excuse. Will update later on.

A Nice Potpourri This Week

 I finished getting all of Uncle Dons things in "the box" scanned and in google photos.  His hunting and new driver licenses, letters, birth, obit and other things are now in the file.  A couple of photos as well. The only thing I did not put in the album is the calendar that was on the wall when he died. My grandmother had written on it, and it just felt so personal to me that I could not share it. She spoke to me about her pain during that time and I just could not share that part.  His death in 1938 stayed raw and painful for her all of her life. I have shared this with you here. (https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y3qn7foH1hrYVtpe7) 

I've had several things going on this week. The first thing I did was to go through all of my paper files and replace the beat-up ones with fresh new folders. First time I've done this in 40 years. It took much longer than it should have since I would get stuck inside the folders, lost in the forgotten gems I had found. Now I have a new list of things to add to the program. I also have a clear idea of how I need to proceed, so there is a lot of scanning in my future. My goal is to get them into binders.  I want all of it reduced to a flash drive and binders. Guess I'll see how that goes. The unpleasant and surprising part is that there was a lot of dust involved. Aaaaachoo! Anyway, I have been studying how to this for some time. I did try to do it before and failed. I like this post by Paul Chiddicks on his blog The Chiddicks Family Tree on how he does it. There is also Genealogy Pants post on the same topic.  I love Carly Morgan's Family Tree Notebooks. I bought one page to try as I'm a PC and she's Apple. I could not get it to work. Broke my heart. She also has YouTubes and you should just watch them, well, just because they are great! If anyone reads this and has some wisdom to impart, I'd love to hear from you.

 Usually, I am at the sewing machine but lately I've been into something else. I saw a pattern for an afghan and suddenly wanted a wildflower afghan. Not very far into it yet but I don't have to buy anything. I have so much yarn from other projects that this is a 'freebie'. My favorite kind. (The pattern is called African Flower, a very simple pattern.)

John Martin Is A Pain

 There are days that are going so well that I feel the need to ruin it completely. You know, turn it into a dumpster fire. I just had one. I felt like today is the day! Today I will find out just who my John Martin is. I can do this. I already know what the free sites have, but today I have Ancestry! Success is moments away. Right?

My 3rd great-grandfather was John Martin. My Grandmother knew very little about him. All she could tell me was that his name was John and he fought in the Civil War. Her grandfather, Samuel Sanders Martin, never talked about his father. Grandma even thought maybe he died on a boat or something in the war. Now, I started this family thing in the very late 70's and yeah, I know, I'm old, but I have been beating my head against this wall for a long time.

So, John Martin married Mary Ann Allman (Polly) in Jackson County, Indiana on October 3, 1852. I have the marriage documentation for that. In the 1860 census, I found John and Mary Ann Martin in Sparksville, Washington County, Indiana. John 25, Polly Ann 20, Rebecca Elizabeth 3. My great-grandfather, Sam, was born on Valentines day of that year so they weren't counting infants. John would have been born about 1835 according to his age at that census. So I should look at naming patterns, right? I did try that. Then I remembered something very important. Mary Ann, Polly if you will, was the daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Allman. Yes, the first time I realized that I cried. It still brings tears to my eyes.

By the 1870 census the family is found in Brownstown, Indiana, with Reuben Cockerham. Reuben 27, Mary Ann 33, R.E. Martin 12, and SS Martin 10. Mary Ann Martin married Reuben B. Cockerham January 19, 1869, in Jackson County, Indiana. Rueben had fought in the war as well, leaving as a Corporal. His family was easy to find. 

Now the question is, did John die in the war? Divorce was a thing in Indiana during those years. So that would be a possibility as well. 

After going over military records for the past 40 or so years. [sigh], I did come to a conclusion in studying them. I go over it each time I try to find him, and I still believe I found the right one. Private John Martin, Indiana, enlisted December 1, 1863. He was in the 10th Cavalry Regiment, Company C. This unit became the 125th as the 10th was handed to an African American unit (you should read about them!). He mustered out on August 31, 1865, at Vicksburg, Mississippi. There is the Sultana, which is fascinating but a very long story so I will leave it off. Many of the Company died when the Sultana blew up in April of that year. John was not on the list and his papers say he survived the war, mustering out in August. 

Something new I found this time around was something I thought would help. I found the death cert for Rebecca Elizabeth Martin Beck. Here's the new part. 

John R. Martin. I have a middle initial. This will help, right? 

I have a census with a John R. in 1850 in Washington County, Indiana. He's 15 which puts his birth at 1835. Perfect. Birthplace is KY. 1860 says Indiana but that is often the case. His parents would be Lemuel (42) and Polly Martin (38). Best part is that in 10 years, 1860, he is 25 and a perfect match. Not set in stone yet, but STRONG.

Then this: John R. Martin married Caddie M. Hungate on February 25, 1869, in Washington County, Indiana, the same year Mary Ann remarried. Again, not in stone but STRONG.

I actually found something this time. It was very emotional. I did have to lie down. I'm still recovering today, but I think I will survive this time. I'll add sources when I'm sure and, of course, stronger.

(I wanted Comic Sans but Blogger doesn't have it. Am I going to have to leave this platform??)

WikiTree Wednesday - A New Thread

I think this is WikiTree Wednesday now. Maybe I need to stick with this one. I have added John S. Dye to my Hovis Family. Sarah Ann Hovis is the daughter of Henry and Sarah Hoke Hovis.  Sarah Ann is my third great Grandaunt. She married John S. Dye in 1865 in Indiana. Here they are at WikiTree:

• John S. Dye [Dye-3749]
• Sarah Ann Hovis [Hovis-417]
• Armina V. Dye [Dye-4278]
• James Albert Dye [Dye-4279]
• Henry Elmore Dye [Dye-4280]
• Louis Clarborn Dye [Dye-4281]
• William D. Dye [Dye-4282]

I'm still looking for children. I am certain that I have missed a couple. But the interesting thing about John is that on Ancestry I found his death cert. It lists his parents as James Dye and Sarah Fankbener.  (Crazy name, right? First for me! I have to say it sounds like something I would say when speaking angrily to another in front of children. Sigh. Okay, back to the story.) The only James Dye I have found in the right place and with a son named John S., born in 1839 is a James and Maria Dye, in Salem Ohio. A tree on Ancestry has Maria listed as Maria Guyton.  According to the tree they were married in 1833. Also, according to the tree, Maria died in 1875 and James married a Sarah Maring in 1877. Maring is a lonnnnng way from Fankbener.  No sources to check.  The informant on the death cert was Albert Dye, I have to assume it's James Albert Dye, his son. I have found 1850 and 1860 census records of this family. They are in Salem, Ohio. My John was born in Ohio. I don't know how he came to Indiana, but his family is listed in the 1870 census in Ohio, but John is gone by then.  My John married Sarah Hovis in 1865 in Indiana. He would have been around 25 at the time.  

So now I need to find the true parents. I'm hoping for a Fankbener quite frankly. I want that in my tree.

On another note, on Friday they cut down a tree right outside my window. Perfect tree, sat there for at least 40 years, maybe more. When I opened the blind this morning there were limbs and leaves everywhere. I slept through the night, so if there was a wind, I missed it. Nothing on the patio was bothered. Maybe a little wind came up and the other trees in their grief just let it go. I know I have mourned the loss myself. (I still have all my limbs, though.)

Uncle Don

 

This is my uncle, Donald Eugene Jaynes.  This is the last photo of him that was taken. It sat in my grandmother's living room until she died.  I have it now. He was only 16, a new driver, and a popular guy in his set. He was a good boy and a good son. He got tired one day and just never got better. They took him to the hospital, but the news was bad. He had leukemia. There was nothing that could be done at that time. My grandfather was told that if he stayed in the hospital, they would use Don as a guinea pig. A lab rat. They couldn't help Don, but they might learn something that would help someone else one day. It was 1938 so what could one expect. My grandfather and the doctor decided Don would go home but they would not tell my grandmother that he was dying. After all, she wouldn't be able to function. Instead, they gave her a list of things to make him feel better.  She worked hard to make him better. Then he died. She was devastated. She felt she hadn't done enough. Or worse, did something wrong. Life in that household was never the same after that.  My mother turned 3 just 9 days after he died.  She remembered that time, even though she was so young.  She remembered that they had gone someplace, and Don was laying with the covers to his neck. Everyone was talking quietly so she thought he was asleep. But he never came home. It was years before she could understand. Life had changed; it was never the same again. 

Donald Eugene Jaynes

September 17, 1921 - June 17, 1938

I have put his Funeral Register in a Google Photos Album and I am sharing it. Just click on his name above. I've gone over it and know of, or the families of all these people. It was 85 years ago. I am sure they are all gone now.  If you have or know of a family in Jackson County, Indiana, you might just recognize a name. 

 A lesson was reinforced here. If two men put their heads together and make decisions, nothing good will come of it. My grandmother never got to say her goodbyes. Also, ink and pens were messy and expensive, so most of the time it was pencil.

At WikiTree Jaynes-76

Alexander Family and My Headache

 I have a minor mystery. I've been working on my Alexander line lately and have come to several problems I should be able to find answers for.  I'll start with the question I have always had. Female children are so hard to find. I've found if there is a long gap in children during childbearing years, most likely the child died or was a female. 

So, I have a Thomas Augustus Alexander (the Augustus is from other researchers) who was born in 1752, some say Ireland, but I believe somewhere here in the US. He married around 1790 in Tennessee to a Mary Barr, again no records. He did have at least 3 children; George, Grandville C. and William.  Something happened to Mary and there is another marriage.

The second marriage happened about 1800, maybe in North Carolina. Again, I have no records. But Sally (King) is buried with Thomas in Jackson County, Indiana.  She died in 1829 and he in 1849. The only children that I, and many other researchers, have found are: Margaret (KY 1801), James Milton (TN? 1802), John Henry (KY 1803), and Thomas King (KY 1814). She and Thomas were married over 20 years, and she was around 15 to 17 when they married.  There is a lot of gap time. Now on to my real quandary.

I am descended from John Henry (Alexander-24431). In the 1850 Brownstown, Indiana Census he is listed with his wife Mary Frances (Carter) and his children; John H. (my ancestor), and Isaac. That was all. I knew the girls survived because I have their husbands and children. I found Louisa 3, and Mahala 5, in a household in Brownstown with Nancy Hutchinson 43 (KY), Rebecca Hutchinson 14 (IN), and Elizabeth King 45 (KY). My first thought when I found them was, 'Oh, they are visiting with the aunts'. I just felt like I knew that. Seriously. I have not found Nancy or Elizabeth connected to Thomas, or even an Alexander. But they could fit. The girl's father, John Henry is 40 and their mother, Frances is 42 in 1850. They are certainly contemporaries.  

I took a 6-month sub to Ancestry hoping to break through a few of my brick walls. I've been banging my head against this one for just over 3 weeks. So far all I have is a headache. 

In my heart of hearts, I KNOW these women are 'the aunts'.  A knowing cannot be a source. 

WikiTree

Thomas Alexander (Alexander-6724)

Sally King (King-14460)

John Henry (Alexander-24431)

Mary Frances (Carter) (Carter-46827) 

Mahala Alexander (Alexander-24545)

Louisa Jane Alexander (Alexander-24569)

Isaac N. Alexander (Alexander-24570)

The Sad, Embarrassing Truth

 

I think I have finally admitted that one piece of software is not going to cover it all. I have sinned. . . . . (tears and guilt, etc.)  I downloaded the free version of RootsMagic9 just to try and see if I could make sense of it. A couple of videos later I am frustrated not because I couldn't figure it out, but because I couldn't use much of the "new" features that I thought interesting. I had pre-bought 8 before it came out so, I got a discount. Yes, I bought it. Not sorry.

I had created a Fact Type called WikiTree in Legacy and it transferred perfectly to RM9.  But to create one in RM9 is so simple as well.  I can also see who I have gotten entered on the WikiTree site simply by adding it to the People List under Customize. I can see who has a number and who does not, so I know who I need to add to WikiTree.   

I had just started using hashtags in Legacy and loved it. I don't think they transferred. I had added so few that I was unable to find any, but the "Groups" seem to do what I wanted to do with my "tags". I had wanted to be able to make a list of my war veterans by conflict.  Check. Easy peasy. Okay, I still have a lot to do. I can think of so many more "groups" I can do. It's truly a wonderful research tool.

Adding sources are so different from version 7.  I'm not crazy about it, but Legacy is just as different. So, I will have to pull up the big girl panties and do it until it becomes a smooth process.

I have more videos to watch on RM9. I have had trouble finding good videos on 'how to' in Legacy. It's been a little harder.

Daily Working Now!

 I am hanging in there with LegacyFamilyTree. There's a lot I don't like in it, and a lot that I do. One thing I find is that sources are harder in Legacy than in RM. I had given all my family Reference Numbers in RM, which is linked to my paper files. In Legacy they show on the main Family page. I love that!  So easy to find. Anyway, I am still at it. There is a really big learning curve here. Still so much to learn, but I am determined to continue. I started, back in the day of dinosaurs, on Family Tree Maker, back when it was by Broderbund. Yea, I'm that old! Then I got RootsMagic3. I stuck with that until now. It really takes a long time for a program to become easy.  But Legacy does have a lot more to it than RM. 

At WikiTree I've been getting my families up to snuff! I've been working on my Alexander line this month. In particular my Johns. LOL John H. Alexander (Alexander-2574) and his father John Henry Alexander (Alexander-24431). I've been primarily working on their children, and their families. One family I've lost myself in is the Wilsons. Louisa Alexander Wilson in particular. I've found so many articles about them. They lived in Brownstown, Indiana, a small town in southern Indiana. It had a wonderful newspaper back in the day. The Jackson County Banner. When I was young, I loved when mom picked one up while grocery shopping. It issued 2 times a week and was either mailed or you could get a copy at the store. It was local news. Really local and really news, about the inhabitants of the county. I would read every word. But papers were worth reading back in the day. Not worth the money now. Anyway, the Wilson family had a meat market and grocery store. I must find the way to add at least some of them to WikiTree. They really flesh out these people. I am loving it!

Summer Work

  I've found I cannot work with RootsMagic anymore. I really hate RootsMagic8, so I did not buy version 9. I love Rootsmagic7 but. when I added several people and they simply are gone, I decided after wasting a week trying to find out why, and fix it, that I need to move on. It is moving in a different direction than I am. I just wanted to get as much of the research done as I could, and have it organized as much as possible.  I'm getting old, and I had bought Legacy9 some time ago. If I have to learn a new one, then so be it. 

I have to say that once the decision was made to learn Legacy, I have enjoyed the process. I still have much to learn about the program, but I can say I am no longer lost when I go in to work. Right now, I am cleaning up and adding all of my photos. Next is getting all of my sources, which I am ashamed to say have piled up, in the program. By then I think I will be fairly competent in Legacy. I want to have this done by the end of summer. It is a big job. If I had to make such a big jump though, I wanted to get everything cleaned up. I have learned that the programs charting abilities are awesome!

Working as well to add WikiTree numbers to each ancestor. I clean up their profiles on the site as I check them. By clean up I mean that I organize the sources onsite, add to their bio if I can, and make sure that all the sources for that person is onsite. 

52Ancestors: Week 2 - Favorite Photo

 My favorite photo is this one of my Dad as a child. A photo I did not know existed until late in life. I love this photo!

Rufus Lee Brock Jr.

1932 - 2006

52 Ancestors, Week 1: I'd Like To Meet . . . . . . . . . .

 I have talked over the years about how I wanted to meet one ancestor, in particular, more than the others.  I've written about him before.  I would still love to have a talk with him.  He died just 7 days after I was born. We just missed each other.  Anyway, I wrote about him here, The Eyes of Old Tom, and he came up many times in the blog over the many years I have written. 

I think I need to write about another one I would like to meet. This one is very easy since I always have questions I'd like to have answered from each ancestor.  

I've always felt a special connection with Elizabeth Ellen (Bohall) Hovis. Not that I know that much about her. Her husband I know a lot about. She was never mentioned in the many articles that were written about him. He traveled and would be gone for weeks, she was home with the kids. In the census, he was listed as a farmer, but was he?  I know he was a traveling preacher, and quite a star in a small area of the state. Well, someone was home raising the kids and keeping the farm going. I know it wasn't Henry.  He was there when the census taker came around, but now for much else. I could be just letting my imagination run away with me, but there is these articles in the local paper.

In the May 20, 1897 issue of the  Jackson County Banner there is a small entry: "Elizabeth Hovis vs Henry Hovis, divorce denied, each party to pay their own costs." This is interesting. But in the same paper 2 months later, dated July 22, 1897, there was this.  "Mrs. Henry Hovis died Saturday night. Funeral services were held Sunday at the Bagwell Graveyard." 

I have so many questions. Times were so different for women then, how did she make it?  How did she feel about his constant traveling? How did the farm continue with him gone? How did she feel about being alone? 

Elizabeth was born June 17, 1844  to George David Bohall and Catherine E. Draper.  She was the mother of 4 children, Seth, Mary, Margaret and Martha.  She died  July 17, 1897 in Jackson County, Indiana.

#52Ancestors