Tombstone Tuesday: Evelyn Marie PEMBERTON

EVELYN MARIE PEMBERTON
FEB. 29, 1936
FEB. 28, 1948

My great-aunt
Elk Township Cemetery
Peck, Sanilac, Michigan

According to Evelyn's death record at the St. Clair County Courthouse in Port Huron, Michigan, she died from continuous epileptic seizures and edema of the lungs at age 11. My great-grandmother actually had two daughters who died from this same cause. I will feature her other daughter's grave in a future Tombstone Tuesday post. What is interesting about Evelyn is that she was born on Leap Day, and if she had lived just one more day, she would have died on Leap Day. Now that would have been weird.

Newest Addition to the Family Tree: Baby Denni

Photo courtesy of Denni's Aunt Paige

Denni ViAnn
b. 30 Aug 2010 at 1:08 am
6 lb. 12 oz.
19 1/4 in.

My aunt called me on the way to work this morning to let me know that Baby Denni had finally arrived. Baby Denni is the daughter of my first cousin and is my first cousin once removed. She is the first of 4 babies being born into the Pemberton/Drouillard family in the next 7 months, so I'm sure you will be seeing many posts like this during that time. The next baby on the list is my sister's baby, who is due in September.

Baby Denni was named for her PawPaw Dennis (maternal grandfather), who passed away suddenly in June 2009 of a heart attack at the age of 52, and her maternal grandmother, Gloria ViAnn. If she is anything like her PawPaw, she will be the family jokester, though I think her older brother is vying for that title, as he won Most Witty in his pre-kindergarten class last year.

Denni is supposed to be wearing the stylish outfit I bought her when she leaves the hospital, so I'll have to be sure someone back in Louisiana takes pics for me on that day. If anyone does, I'll post them here, so you all can be wowed by my sense of style. I have to say that her Aunt Paige's dress, shown in the pic above, is not too shabby. I guess I have a little competition!

Surname Saturday: CURRIE

1. Jennifer Nicole TRAHAN (me)

3. Pamela Sue PEMBERTON (my mom)

7. Violet Mae CURRIE (my maternal grandmother) was born 24 Oct 1930 in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan. She died 15 Dec 2008 in Vinton, Calcasieu, Louisiana, from lung cancer and was cremated. She was the daughter of 14. Archie CURRIE and 15. Jennie Grace Christina PLAINE. She married 6. John Peter PEMBERTON 9 Sep 1949 at First Methodist Church in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan. He was born 18 Nov 1928 in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan. He died 12 Oct 1970 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, from lung cancer. He was buried 15 Oct 1970 in Caswell Cemetery in Kimball Township, St. Clair, Michigan. He was the son of 12. John Vital "Jack" PEMBERTON and 13. Mabel Ellen CRYSLER. Violet then married Clifford Robert DROUILLARD 22 May 1972 in Rockford, Winnebago, Illinois (a destination wedding of sorts). He was born 10 Jan 1932 in Riverside, Essex, Ontario, Canada. He died 7 Sep 2009 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada, from lung cancer and was cremated. He was the son of Clifford Cleophas DROUILLARD and Eva Anna GENDRON.

14. Archie CURRIE was born 02 Nov 1889 in Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan. He died 15 Mar 1963 in Port Huron, Saint Clair, Michigan, from heart disease. He was buried 19 Mar 1963 in Omard Cemetery in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan. He was the son of 28. Alexander CURRIE and 29. Mary RAYMOND. He married 15. Jennie Grace Christina PLAINE 27 Aug 1924 in Euphemia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada. She was born 09 May 1903 in Euphemia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada. She died 24 Dec 1937 in Marlette, Sanilac, Michigan, from a heart attack incurred after an appendectomy. She was buried 4 Jan 1938 in Omard Cemetery in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan. She was the daughter of 30. Robert PLAINE and 31. Florence Minnie HILLMAN.

28. Alexander CURRIE was born about Nov/Dec 1838 in Ontario, Canada. He died 28 Dec 1909 in Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan. He was buried 30 Dec 1909 in Valley Center, Sanilac, Michigan. He was the son of 56. James CURRIE and 57. Margaret McGILL. He married 29. Mary RAYMOND about 1870-1872, probably in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada. She was born about 1852 in Tillsonburg, Oxford, Ontario, Canada. She died 7 Dec 1920 in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan. She was buried 9 Dec 1920 in Omard Cemetery in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan. She was the daughter of 58. John RAYMOND and 59. Unknown.

56. James CURRIE was born about 1815-1817 in Scotland. He died after 1881, probably in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada. He married 57. Margaret McGILL 22 Feb 1838 in Vaughan, York, Ontario, Canada. She was born about 1815-1817 in Argylshire, Scotland. She died 21 Nov 1880 in South Dorchester, Elgin, Ontario, Canada.

My Report on FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part II

OK, I am finally back to continue my report on the FGS Conference in Knoxville. I fell ill on Monday, and it is great to be feeling well again. I thought it was just conference hangover at first, but I believe that I had a 24-hour bug. I left off my last posting with Day One at the conference.

On Day Two, I woke up late once again and missed the 8:00 sessions. I went to breakfast at the Crowne Plaza restaurant and then headed over for the 9:30 sessions. My session was about pension agents, examining surgeons, and pension bureau employees in the nineteenth century and was given by Dr. Kenneth W. Heger of the National Archives. This was also one of my favorite sessions, and fellow geneablogger Tina from Gen Wish List, was there. I learned that I should check the records containing appeals for my great-great-great-grandfather, John Pemberton. He had a very large pension file, and while it looks like most of his appeal info is in his regular pension file, Dr. Heger said that there is a possibility some of the information is in the appeals files, which are not indexed. If you haven't ordered a pension file for your ancestor, I highly recommend it. John Pemberton's was my biggest goldmine yet.

For the 11:00 session, I attended Victor Dunn's session titled "The Research Process." I did not see any other geneabloggers in attendance, but I did sit next to a gentleman from East Tennessee. He asked what surnames I was researching in the area, and when I told him that one was Proffitt, he said that there used to be a Proffitt Department Store in East Tennessee and that there are still lots of Proffitts in the area today. I really liked this session because it was a nice refresher course on the research process as outlined in the BCG Manual. It had a slight focus on tips for client research, which is helpful to potential professionals like myself. I also found out that the presenter was an accountant too, which is always a plus in my book.

Afterward, I attended lunch with Tina, Linda, and Tonia before heading back to attend George Morgan's session on locating Anglican parish records in England. I had heard George give a talk on vital records in England on the RootsMagic Cruise, so I knew that this would also be an informative and entertaining session. We learned the history of the Anglican Church, what information is contained in parish records, and where the parish records are located today. This will help me a lot with my Plaine and Hillman ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side. They immigrated from England to Canada in the 1850s and 1860s.

After hearing Elizabeth Shown Mills the first day, I had to go to her session about The Genealogical Proof Standard on the second day. Just about all geneabloggers were in attendance and sitting on geneabloggers row for this session. Once again, Ms. Mills reminded us that we need to check all records, no matter where they are located and whether or not they are indexed. She presented a wonderful case study on proving the parentage of her client's ancestor.

Between sessions, I ran downstairs to put my door prize tickets in the exhibitors' boxes before the big drawings at 6:00 PM. I was planning to attend the session on land records by Christine Rose, but I had left my belongings with the geneabloggers who were waiting for the session on timelines to begin. I did not have enough time to grab my things and then run back downstairs to Rose's session, so I decided to stay for the timelines session. I learned of a few websites to use when constructing timelines in genealogy.

After this, I headed back downstairs to put in a few more door prize tickets at the last minute. I had procrastinated filling out my door prize tickets b/c I didn't have any address labels. There were some awesome prizes given away, such as an iPad, 5-day genealogy cruise to Bermuda, seven-night stay in Salt Lake City, free conference registration to the Illinois State Genealogical Society conference and the NGS conference, etc. Of course, I didn't win anything. Oh, well. It was fun anyway.

Finally, I attended the War of 1812 reception, where we learned about the digitization project of the War of 1812 pension files. There was also a prize there: 7-night stay in SLC plus airfare, meal cards, and copy cards for the FHL. After the drawing was over, I headed back to the hotel after the longest conference day yet.

As it is getting late, I will wrap this up again. Stay tuned for more reports on FGS 2010 in Knoxville!

Wordless Wednesday: Cousins #9

L to R (front): Kennadi, Bryonna, Blake, Kennzie
L to R (back): Uncle Brian, Makayla (baby), and Amber


Christmas 2008
Front Porch of Clifford and Violet (Currie) Pemberton Drouillard
Vinton, Louisiana

Isn't this a great looking bunch? I do have hope for the next Pemberton generation.

Tombstone Tuesday: Theodore Lewis "Teddy" PEMBERTON

Photograph by Tami (Pemberton) Lindsay

THEODORE LOUIS PEMBERTON
OCT. 30, 1932 - NOV. 15, 1935

My great-uncle
St. Mary's Cemetery
St. Clair, St. Clair, Michigan

According to his death record at the St. Clair County Courthouse, Teddy died of starvation, bronchial pneumonia, and whooping cough at age 3. My great-aunt, Barb, told me that he died in my great-grandmother's arms. She was not yet born at the time, but this is the story that she had heard from her mother, my great-grandmother.

My Report on FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part I

First of all, I just wanted to say that I had the most awesome time at the 2010 FGS conference in Knoxville. If anyone is wondering whether or not to go to a national conference, I would highly recommend it. Don't just say, "Well, I'll go one day." Just do it now. You won't regret it. I've been making excuses for 2 years now, and I'm so glad I made the decision to just go.

I first heard about the conference when I was on the RootsMagic Cruise in February (which I still need to blog about). I looked it up and found out that Knoxville was only a 5 1/2 hour drive from Raleigh, so I decided at that time that I would go. Of course, I'm an accountant, and January through April is a very busy time for me, so I soon forgot about it not long after I got back from the cruise. In June, I realized that I had not yet registered. By this time, I was already starting to make excuses as to why I couldn't go. My main excuse was that I was about to make a huge move from Louisiana to North Carolina and couldn't afford it, nor could I afford the time away from work in the middle of a company relocation. However, I went ahead and registered anyway before the early bird deadline, because I figured I would only lose $50 (admin fee) if I decided not to go. By registering early, I was saving $50, so my accountant mind figured that it all worked out. Up to the week of the conference, I considered backing out b/c of the stressful situation at work. I'm so glad that I didn't.

I left Raleigh at about 12:30 on Wednesday, Aug. 18, and arrived in Knoxville at 6:15 that evening. I was tired, so I just ordered room service and blogged before going to bed. The first day of sessions had ended by the time I arrived. I had decided in advance to skip the first day of sessions, since most of them apply more to officers in societies. I do plan to get involved in a genealogy society here in Raleigh, but since I just got here and haven't yet gotten involved, I figured the sessions did not yet apply.

I woke up Thursday morning, planning to attend the keynote session of the conference, but I didn't quite make it. I went to Pete's Coffee Shop instead for breakfast and then headed over to the convention center to pick up my registration packet before the exhibit hall's grand opening. At the exhibit hall, I met up with the other geneabloggers near the Illinois State Genealogical Society's table. The meeting was organized by the geneablogger king, Thomas MacEntee. We took a picture, which is up at Greta's Genealogy Bog. We visited for about 15-20 minutes, and then we all split up to visit the various booths. I bought two pieces of software: RootsMagic's Family Atlas and MagiKey's Census Tracker. I haven't tried either yet, but I plan to do a review of both of them. In addition, I also visited the booths for the Ohio Genealogical Society, East Tennessee Historical Society, Genealogical Speakers Guild, International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, Worldwide Cruise Headquarters, and the Illinois State Genealogical Society. One thing that piqued my interest is a trip sponsored by the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. They offer a week-long trip to Salt Lake City, which includes classes in the morning and research assistance in the afternoons at the Family History Library.

The first session I attended was "The Manuscript Collection at the Kentucky Historical Society" by Lynne Hollingsworth. This session made me realize that I really have overlooked manuscripts in the past. My Renfro and Welden lines are from Kentucky, so it was helpful to get an overview of places I may find them at the historical society. I've already checked in the society's online catalog and have found a book on the Renfro's that I suspect includes my Renfro line, and a book on the Welden's that I suspect includes my Welden line.

After the first session, I decided that I needed to take my laptop back to the hotel because it was too heavy to carry around. I grabbed a sandwich from Pete's on the way back to the convention center and then went to the second session.

My second session was probably my absolute favorite session: "Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies" by Elizabeth Shown Mills (my genealogy idol). This presentation had two parts. The first part explained how to complete a reasonably exhaustive search for our elusive female ancestors, using Philomene from the novel Cane River as an example. I learned that I really need to use every source available, no matter where it's located, and even if it's not indexed. Sometimes, I have to admit, I have been guilty of only using online and indexed sources (bad Jennifer!). Ms. Mills explained that even though we were using a slave woman as an example, the techniques she taught could be used on any female ancestor, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. The second half of the session discussed how to use sources to reconstruct the life of a female ancestor, using the example of CoinCoin, a slave woman from Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana (where I went to high school, coincidentally).

i had initially planned to go to the session about the Tennessee State Library and Archives, but I was very tired by this point. So instead, I decided to attend the Genealogy Guys live podcast, especially since I didn't get to do so on the RootsMagic cruise. They asked the audience for questions, and I even got to say a few lines on the air. I asked George about resources at the North Carolina State Archives, which is located in my new hometown of Raleigh. I can't wait to listen to the podcast. Several other geneabloggers were in attendance at the podcast. Afterward, Linda, Tonia, and I ate dinner at Latitude 35 in Market Square, where we learned about one of Linda's intriguing ancestors and her journey to find out his story.

I would like to continue the review, but I think I will wrap it up at Day One for now. It is getting late and I have a cat that must have gotten my tweet earlier about her ignoring me. She has been sitting in my lap for this whole posting, and it is getting difficult to reach over her to type. I think it's safe to say that she missed me. Stay tuned for FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part II.

Yes, I am Alive and in Knoxville!

I haven't posted too much since I first arrived in North Carolina about a month ago. I apologize. I'm still working on trying to keep up at work. Relocating a whole company can be very challenging. I love new experiences, but I think I would have to think twice about moving with a company that is relocating headquarters again. Whew! But I do love North Carolina and my job, and I'm glad I am there.

For the next three days, I can forget about the challenges of work and delve into the FGS conference in Knoxville. I arrived this evening around 6:00 pm. It was a nearly 6-hour drive from Raleigh. It was an easy route to remember --- straight across I-40. The conference started this morning, but with the work piling up mentioned above, I decided to skip the first day of seminars and come in this evening. The drive here was beautiful. I drove through the Smoky Mountains, partially in a light rain storm. It was pretty neat to see the smoke coming off the mountains right in front of me. Unfortunately, I came by myself, so I didn't get to take too many pictures. Here is one of the Smokies near the North Carolina/Tennessee border.

Tomorrow, I am planning on ordering a nice breakfast from the hotel room service before attending the keynote speech at 8 AM. I believe there is a trolley, but I think I will walk to the convention center since it is only a block away. I then plan to explore the exhibit hall and meeting up with some geneabloggers before the 11 AM sessions. If I don't change my mind again, or if I can manage to arrive before the sessions get filled up, I believe I will attend the following three sessions tomorrow:

1) The Manuscript Collections at the Kentucky Historical Society - I have heard that there is info on my Renfro ancestors in the historical society's vertical files

2) Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies - I couldn't miss a presentation by Elizabeth Shown Mills. She is also using examples from one of my favorite novels, Cane River.

3) Ya'll Come See Us: A Virtual Visit to the Tennessee State Library and Archives - I'm sure there is much info there on my Proffitt ancestors.

And speaking of my Proffitt ancestors, I just realized today that I was actually in Jefferson County, Tennessee, the land of the Proffitts. I may have to veer off I-40 to Chestnut Hill to look for cemeteries and whatnot on Sunday.

Anyhow, I will try to post another update tomorrow or Friday.