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.)