tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15425306431920607142024-03-13T07:24:52.175-05:00Jennifer's Genealogy BlogJennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-49696366544022116982018-01-27T17:39:00.000-06:002018-01-27T17:41:44.679-06:00Life UpdateWell, it has been 8 months since my last blog post. I was getting good at this blogging thing in 2017 after a couple of years of little to no blogging. So much has happened since May 2017 when I did my last post and now. I feel like a life update is in order.<br />
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To make a long story short, my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2016. He was only 40 years old and I was only 35, so as you can imagine, this was devastating news. Especially when the doctor gave us a prognosis of 3-5 years. Really? I'm going to be a widow at 40? Like wtf? How is this my real life?<br />
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In the meantime, he had surgery to remove the tumor and started doing radiation and chemotherapy treatments right away. In fact, when I started blogging again, we were staying at an apartment in Houston near M.D. Anderson, where he was receiving his treatments. Luckily, he actually did really well during the radiation treatments, which lasted 6 weeks. During this time, i took off work to be with him. In my spare time, I started the genealogy do-over as established by Thomas MacEmtee. I blogged a lot about my do-over efforts in the winter and spring of 2017.<br />
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We returned home from the radiation treatments in late March 2017, and I returned to work in early April. He continued to do well the first month we were home. He was going to occupational therapy to gain back the use of his right hand, which he had mostly gained back since the surgery in January. He continued to take chemotherapy treatments at home for five days once a month in pill form. I continued to blog. <br />
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But in the first two weeks of May, things changed again. His hand started going backwards. He had learned to button his pants again after the surgery, but he suddenly could no longer do it. We had actually taken him out of occupational therapy, thinking he was okay to just continue doing exercises at home. Things were very scary as we scrambled to find a new occupational therapy location, as the previous one we were using had closed the last week of April.<br />
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We also went back to MD Anderson in mid-May for his second MRI since radiation. He had an MRI in April that was questionable, but they said it could just be swelling from the radiation treatment. They told us the same thing in May, but this time they were leaning more towards new tumor growth, especially since his hand had started going backwards. They said we would have to come back in June for another MRI to be certain. In the meantime, we found a new therapy place that we quickly began to like much better than the previous therapy place. This was around the time I stopped blogging.<br />
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We went back in June, and this time the news was finally good. It showed that the chemotherapy was working. The questionable areas on the previous scans were simply swelling. He was starting to gain back some of what he had lost in his hand, though not quite as quickly as he did the first time. But overall, things were finally starting to calm down again and seemed to be going back to normal.<br />
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But in late June or early July, we started to notice that his right leg was getting weaker. He started having a hard time walking. We emailed MD Anderson, and they put him on more steroids. They said it was likely due to continued swelling in the brain from radiation. The steroids would help with the swelling. It became so bad that he had to start using a walker and cane by early August. He also started physical therapy at the end of July. Now he needed more help with daily tasks, such as getting dressed, showering, and fixing his dinner plate. And of course, I was doing all the household chores and all the driving.<br />
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We returned to MD Anderson in August and October, and the MRI results were once again good both times. They even started to wean him off the steroid in October. Work was getting to be too much for me, so I decided to take another 6 weeks of family and medical leave around late September. He continued to work from home during this time. From October to November, things were rough while he was being weaned off the steroid. He also had a low grade fever that he was given an antibiotic shot for in early October, and this caused a month-long round of reactions to the antibiotic.<br />
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But finally by Thanksgiving, things were starting to go well again. He was actually put back on the steroid in mid-November. He even started to make great improvements in physical therapy. We had the next MRI the week after Thanksgiving. Once again, as they had in April and May, they saw questionable areas on the scan. They said once again that it could be changes caused by the radiation. They just weren't sure, and we would have to come back right after New Year's for another MRI. I also decided during this time not to return to work full-time. We agreed that I could just help them during their busy season as needed, which would start in January. It was nice to be off during the holidays and spend time with my husband.<br />
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We went back on January 11 of this year. But the days leading up to the scan were not without their troubles. A few days prior, our hot water heater went out and our cat got sick. I also realized around the end of December that I needed 13 hours of continuing education courses to keep my CPA license. I was frantically trying to finish those courses. By some miracle of God, I finished my courses in time, the hot water heater was fixed, and our cat got better. Even with all the bad omens leading up to the appointment, we finally got good news again. They still want us to come back in February, but I hope after that we can go back to just going every other month or every 3 months.<br />
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So, yes, my life has been totally and completely crazy since May 2017 when I stopped blogging. Just writing that all out tired me out. But it was good to get it out to realize all I have been through. I haven't even talked about all the emotions that go along with this: devastation, depression, disappointment, sadness, fear. Fear that I won't get to grow old with my love. Fear that we will never get a chance to have a child together. Fear that if we do have a child together, that child will not know him for very long. And the fears of financial insecurity. Fear that I will never manage to figure out how to deal with work and caregiving at the same time, and we will forever be financially insecure. That is really scary for anyone, but especially for a CPA. I can't ruin my credit record, or I could lose my whole career. Luckily, we have my parents and his parents helping us out financially. They also help with the caregiving when they are able. Hopefully, I will be able to let go mentally of the house so that we can sell it and move into his mom's rental home. We will be closer to family and it will help out a great deal finanically.<br />
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And there have been rays of hope. On the way home from our last Houston appointment, we saw this rainbow.<br />
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And there was the time I was crying in bed back in August wondering how the hell I was going to cope, when my best friend from childhood sent me a snapshot of a daily devotional that I love. She had no idea I had the same devotional or that I had been thinking just that very morning about picking it back up again after several months of not reading it, and I had not heard from her in four months prior to this. If that's not God saying "I am here,", folks, I don't know what is.<br />
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Also, as we are struggling with the notion of having a child now, I turned to a fertility board on Facebook. Part of my struggle has been that we may have to use IVF or IUI, which are not supported by the Catholic Church. My faith is very important to me, and I have always been a seeker when it comes to faith. I do not blindly follow my faith, but rather always seek out the meaning and reasoning behind beliefs of my faith and those of other faiths. The same day that I joined the fertility group on Facebook, someone else from my local area posted about recommendations for doctors in this area who support the fertility method supported by the Catholic Church. Because of her post, I found a practitioner in this area who I have started meeting with about the method and how to use it. She said that in all the years she has been part of that group, she has never seen anyone from our local area post. I also see that as a sign of God being here for us. I also posted about our situation on the board to see if anyone thought this method might work for us in our unique situation. I received so much support that I was overwhelmed with hope and tears of joy. No one judged me for thinking about IVF or IUI. They were all very supportive.<br />
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And there have been so many other signs that I cannot even remember right off hand. I just know that through all the disappointment, fear, and sadness, there has also been joy, hope, and love. I think about my maternal grandmother, Violet Mae (Currie) Pemberton Drouillard, who lost her husband in 1970 to lung cancer at 41 and with 6 children still living at home. I think about my great-grandmother, Mabel Ellen (Crysler) Pemberton Beedon, Violet's mother-in-law, who lost her husband at 42 in 1950 to the same damn cancer that my husband has. She also had about 6 children still living at home. They both lived through such great tragedy and yet still left wonderful legacies behind. They are my hope and my inspiration. I know that no matter what happens, we will get through this.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us at Hermann Park in Houston in March 2017. He has all of his hair back now.</td></tr>
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-7735193441649759302017-05-24T19:54:00.001-05:002017-05-24T22:44:54.031-05:00Genealogy Do-Over Update: My Paternal GrandparentsI have been participating in Thomas MacEntee's <a href="http://www.geneabloggers.com/tag/genealogy-do-over/" target="_blank">Genealogy Do-Over</a> since early February. I have been lagging behind, not making it much farther than Month 2, even though we are technically on Month 5. But I am okay with that because I have been making great strides with the research and organization I have done thus far.<br />
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I have gotten all of the documents for my myself, my parents, and my siblings all organized into OneNote notebooks with source citations, document transcriptions, and analysis. I've also entered the documents into Evidentia and produced source analysis reports from there that I've copied and pasted into OneNote. The documents were already cited in my RootsMagic program, as part of a previous do-over of my own initiative, so I did not change too much there. I also created timelines, record search checklists, and source logs for my parents. <br />
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After I finished with my parents, I moved on to my paternal grandparents, Benford Maurice TRAHAN and Merlene Golda MERTENA. I thought I had done pretty well researching them as part of my previous do-over, but this time around, I have slowed down considerably (which is why I have not made it to Month 5 yet). I am noticing holes in my previous research. This time around, I am taking more time to research events and places to better understand their lives. Some of the things I've noticed this time around or that I've expanded with further research are the following:<br />
<ol>
<li>I took the time to mine the online catalog at Calcasieu Parish Public Library to find local history resources. My grandparents spent all of their married life in Calcasieu Parish. I found that there were several books at the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Library about various topics of interest, including:</li>
<ol>
<li>the history of the Lake Charles Diocese of the Catholic Church</li>
<li>the history of Citgo Refinery (where my dad and great-uncle worked for many years) </li>
<li>the history of education in Calcasieu Parish</li>
<li>the history of Maplewood (the town where they spent the first few years of their married life together)</li>
<li>several books published on the Trahan family</li>
<li>Yearbooks from Vinton High and Sulphur High, where both of my grandparents attended high school </li>
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<li> I also did research on the naval ships and units that my grandfather served on from 1954-1957. From his military personnel file, I know that he served on the USS Plymouth Rock, USS Washtenaw County, and the Beach Jumper Unit 2 at Norfolk, Virginia. I had no idea that beach jumper units were an intelligence unit of the U.S. Navy. I found out that he was on the first crew to ever be aboard the USS Plymouth Rock. I even reached out to someone who had posted on a USS Plymouth Rock reunion message board to see if her husband knew my grandfather. They were both in the Navigational division, which was a pretty small division of only about 6 men. Sadly, her husband had passed away and she did not know my grandfather.</li>
<li>According to my Grandma, she met my Grandpa at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where they both attended school. She needed help with a word for the French Club float for the Homecoming parade, and someone directed her to my grandpa because he spoke Cajun French. I looked up the website of the McNeese State University Archives and found it to be a valuable resource. I plan to call them to see if they have issues of the <i>Contraband</i> newspaper from 1954-55, when my grandmother was editor. I also ordered a pictorial book on McNeese State University from Amazon.com.</li>
<li>I finally started doing research on my dad's godparents. They were listed as James Edward Guidry and Kathryn Coleman on his baptismal record from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Vinton, Louisiana. My dad did not know much about them, except that James had some kind of Navy connection to my grandpa. I have not quite identified James yet, but I did find from newspapers and city directories that Kathryn Coleman was also on the <i>Contraband</i> newspaper staff with my grandmother and lived a few houses down from her in Maplewood. Kathryn lived a very interesting life, and her obituary can be found on her <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Coleman&GSiman=1&GScty=55981&GRid=157825334&" target="_blank">Find A Grave memorial.</a></li>
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As you can see, I've added a lot more depth to my previous research and opened up new avenues to research. I plan to visit the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Library soon. Before I run off to visit, I have plans to search the yearbooks for Vinton High and Sulphur High online at the library's website. How cool is that? There are even yearbooks for the time that my dad and his brothers attended school in the 1970s at Vinton High.<br />
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Some of the other items added to my to-do list are as follows:<br />
<ul>
<li>Search for birth announcements in the local newspapers for me, my siblings, and my first cousins, as well as my dad and his brothers. This can be done here in Baton Rouge at the LSU Main Library and Hill Memorial Library (LSU's archives), as they have several newspapers from Lake Charles, Sulphur, and Vinton, Louisiana.</li>
<li>Search for my parents and grandparents in the city directories for Calcasieu Parish at the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Library. Some of them are online at Ancestry.com, but they cut off at 1960. I want to find out when my grandparents moved from Maplewood to Vinton, and where my parents lived when they first moved to Vinton from Port Huron, Michigan.</li>
<li>Search for the publication date and page of my grandfather's obituary. I just have a copy that came from the funeral home, but I know it was published in the Vinton News and the American Press in Lake Charles. I can do this here in Baton Rouge as well.</li>
<li>Check to see if I have a copy of my grandfather's SS-5 form. I thought I had one, but I need to check my paper To Be Entered files.</li>
<li>Search Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, city directories to find where my grandparents lived while my grandfather was stationed there in the U.S. Navy. I found that they are located at the public library in Norfolk and at the Library of Virginia.</li>
<li>Search the Lake Charles American Press at Newspapers.com for any articles about my grandparents.</li>
<li>Search for a marriage announcement for my grandparents in the Vinton and Sulphur newspapers. I can do this here in Baton Rouge. </li>
<li>Search for baptismal records for my dad's brothers at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Vinton.</li>
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Anyhow, I just wanted to some up some of the new findings for my paternal grandparents and motivate myself to get started on my to-do list. Off to search those online yearbooks... <br />
<a href="https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Coleman&GSiman=1&GScty=55981&GRid=157825334&" target="_blank"><br /></a>Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-68967251729301341982017-05-24T04:00:00.000-05:002017-05-24T04:00:07.680-05:00Wordless Wednesday: Benford and Merlene c. 1980<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since I am focusing on my paternal grandparents (Benford Maurice Trahan and Merlene Golda Mertena) right now in my Genealogy Do-Over, here are pictures of them around 1980. I found these attached to my grandmother's memorial at <a href="http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Merlene-Trahan&lc=2597&pid=175652956&mid=6569853">Hixson Funeral Home's website</a>. By this time, they had been married about 25 years and had raised four sons to young adulthood. I sure do miss them these days!Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-86849436774090774082017-05-20T22:44:00.002-05:002017-05-20T22:48:42.621-05:00SNGF: The Homes I've Lived InRandy's <a href="http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/05/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-homes-ive.html">Saturday Night Genealogy Fun</a> mission is to blog about the homes we've lived in. I thought that might be a fun little trip down memory lane.<br />
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My first home was a trailer located in Bahnsen Trailer Park at 2000 Center St. in Vinton, Louisiana. I know I have a picture of it somewhere, but it's not scanned. I can remember a pic of me as a toddler sitting on the steps outside on an old rotary dial phone (it might have been one of those play phones that all kids from the 1980s had). Here is a pic of my parents in September 1985 in the living room with the kitchen in the background.<br />
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In May 1987, just after I finished kindergarten, we moved to the house where my parents still live. It is also in Vinton.<br />
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During my senior year of college in 2002, I moved into my first apartment at the Park Villa Apartments after living in the dorms at Centenary College for three years. I shared it with my friend, Emily. We had a 2 bedroom apartment on the second floor. The apartments are located at 1215 Captain Shreve Dr. in Shreveport, Louisiana, and still look the same today. I was so excited to have my first apartment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td></tr>
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After I graduated, I moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to be closer to my family. I moved into a three bedroom apartment in Chateau Lafitte Apartments at 4202 Lake Street with my sister and a college friend of her's from McNeese State University. It was very spacious and was located along the Contraband Bayou. We even had a balcony overlooking the bayou. I paid more rent since I was working full-time, and I got the very spacious master bedroom with its own master bath. I remember our apartment manager being very "hot." <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fma-2Pc-4kk/WSEAW15L3gI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/1-0astzDAIMb9BgVgFLo2F5m9FJ_8IC9gCLcB/s1600/4202_Lake_St..png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fma-2Pc-4kk/WSEAW15L3gI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/1-0astzDAIMb9BgVgFLo2F5m9FJ_8IC9gCLcB/s400/4202_Lake_St..png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td></tr>
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For some reason, we only lived here for 6 months. I think it was because our roommate wanted to move out, and we never could find a good third roommate for the third bedroom. We moved to downtown Lake Charles into a 2-bedroom four-plex located at 731 Kirby Lane. It was in a really cute older neighborhood. The owner was crazy. He lived in the apartment next to our's. We were in the far left apartment on the first floor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We only lasted here 6 months as well. We got tired of living downtown because it was so far away from everything in south Lake Charles. And the owner was kind of crazy. So we moved to a 2-bedroom townhouse at 912 Shady Lane, which was also located on Contraband Bayou. Our townhouse was the one of the far left. My bedroom was where that big window is on the second floor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eHPvQYnek6s/WSEC_cpV_QI/AAAAAAAAA5o/me1FnkeCTzcTod7OK6i1zLHFr-AeG2IvQCLcB/s1600/912_Shady_Lane.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eHPvQYnek6s/WSEC_cpV_QI/AAAAAAAAA5o/me1FnkeCTzcTod7OK6i1zLHFr-AeG2IvQCLcB/s400/912_Shady_Lane.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I only stayed here about another 6 months because I decided to go off to graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin. Lucky I did because this apartment was completely flooded during Hurricane Rita. My sister and a roommate lived in it at the time. In Austin, I moved to The Breakers on the Lake Apartments. They were located at 1500 E. Riverside, just a few miles from campus. I initially had a studio, and then after Hurricane Rita, my boyfriend (now husband) moved in, and we got a 2-bedroom in the same complex.They were nice apartments located on Town Lake with a pool that overlooked the lake. The bad thing was that we had mice in our 2-bedroom apartment.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gZsBQIuKr3A/WSEEj2n3uXI/AAAAAAAAA50/oLFNrEi5mMwcGkuvADKxSmjDMFBlltPEwCLcB/s1600/1500_E._Riverside.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gZsBQIuKr3A/WSEEj2n3uXI/AAAAAAAAA50/oLFNrEi5mMwcGkuvADKxSmjDMFBlltPEwCLcB/s400/1500_E._Riverside.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After graduate school, I got a big girl accounting job in Houston. I was so excited because my apartment was brand new. It was called<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@29.4998264,-95.0558299,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s-vcVP15E5ADY%2FWBPH4cDo83I%2FAAAAAAAAAIE%2FB2CWwNqRRPoidERnvH1fwSCbMLtVVKVtQCLIB!2e4!3e12!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2F-vcVP15E5ADY%2FWBPH4cDo83I%2FAAAAAAAAAIE%2FB2CWwNqRRPoidERnvH1fwSCbMLtVVKVtQCLIB%2Fw392-h261-k-no%2F!7i5453!8i3635!6m1!1e1"> Ravello at Tuscan Lakes</a> and was located at 1750 E. League City Pkwy. in League City (about 20 minutes outside Houston). It was very fancy and had a resort style pool. We even got engaged at this apartment, so I always think very fondly of it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LpSxEsQF43E/WSEJLCATbzI/AAAAAAAAA6U/8n95y0Uh8vkW0YCY7BqieXszyoSDjtbiQCLcB/s1600/1750_E_League_City_Pkwy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LpSxEsQF43E/WSEJLCATbzI/AAAAAAAAA6U/8n95y0Uh8vkW0YCY7BqieXszyoSDjtbiQCLcB/s400/1750_E_League_City_Pkwy.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The only problem with Ravello and Houston was that my fiance (now husband) was going to graduate school 4 hours away in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Again, I only lasted about 6 months because I missed him so much. I ended up moving to Baton Rouge and living with him at the Embassy Apartments at 3928 Gourrier Ave. across from LSU. They were far from my fancy apartment in Houston, but I did not care because I was now reunited with my fiance.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O9sE7_fLe4U/WSEGW1ud63I/AAAAAAAAA6A/dRiTbqf8Uyk3_5RD_t6xZ9C75lZuQBFzACLcB/s1600/3928_Gourrier.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="87" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O9sE7_fLe4U/WSEGW1ud63I/AAAAAAAAA6A/dRiTbqf8Uyk3_5RD_t6xZ9C75lZuQBFzACLcB/s400/3928_Gourrier.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We actually stayed here about 1 1/2 years. Then when he graduated, we moved into the Evergreen Apartments (now called Coursey Place) at 13675 Coursey Blvd in Baton Rouge. We were tired of not having a washer and dryer. These came with washers and dryers. We got a 2-bedroom with a screened in porch that overlooked the pond. This is where I found my cat, Boo.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mQ1fcSZphso/WSEIq3D69zI/AAAAAAAAA6M/nSAIPwOS8UgqcF_ajDrldd2VJq6Wk6mHACLcB/s1600/13675_Coursey_Blvd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mQ1fcSZphso/WSEIq3D69zI/AAAAAAAAA6M/nSAIPwOS8UgqcF_ajDrldd2VJq6Wk6mHACLcB/s400/13675_Coursey_Blvd.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Google Maps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We lived here for two years until I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. The company I worked for was moving their company headquarters and offered me a job there. I moved into the Ashley Park Apartments at Brier Creek. It was just a few miles from my new job, located in the Research Triangle Park. (My apartment was not one of the fancy ones with a garage). It was a very spacious one-bedroom and had a balcony that overlooked a wooded area. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYlNP_4IrIM/WSEKpa8Y0iI/AAAAAAAAA6g/zEHpM4686cww6lJjgBK_N0xTFMDysKj6wCLcB/s1600/10310_Ash_Hollow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYlNP_4IrIM/WSEKpa8Y0iI/AAAAAAAAA6g/zEHpM4686cww6lJjgBK_N0xTFMDysKj6wCLcB/s400/10310_Ash_Hollow.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: google maps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I lived in North Carolina for about 6 months before we decided to finally get married. The problem was that he was still in Baton Rouge. Another 6 months passed, we got married, and I moved back to Louisiana. In Louisiana, we got a 2-bedroom apartment at the Bristol Apartments located at 5960 Siegen Lane. I would put a picture, but Google Maps does not have a good one, since they are located so far back from the street. They have a long palm-tree lined entrance.<br />
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We stayed at the Bristol for 2 years until we finally decided to buy a house. This is a picture of our current house (not far from our old apartment on Coursey Blvd.). We love it here and hope to stay for many more years.<br />
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-66805691044002956682017-05-06T23:31:00.000-05:002017-05-06T23:36:03.147-05:00How Many Trees?About two weeks ago, Randy Seaver over at GeneaMusings posted a <a href="http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/04/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-how-many.html">Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post</a> about counting the number of trees in your database. I wanted to participate, but I got busy doing some other things, so I'm finally catching up on it now.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;">1)
How many different "trees" do you have in your genealogy management
program (i.e., RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, reunion, etc.) or online
tree (e.g. Ancestry Member Tree, MyHeritage tree)? </span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I use RootsMagic 7. I went to the Tools>Count Trees function and found that I only have 2 trees. I didn't think I would have too many, as I am usually hesitant about adding new branches to my tree unless I know where they belong. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hiUiJa5sVLU/WQ6c7p1o0YI/AAAAAAAAA4g/BsrzA6O5Bd4s915rRnU9GOf4nAaVdQEggCLcB/s1600/Count_of_Trees.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hiUiJa5sVLU/WQ6c7p1o0YI/AAAAAAAAA4g/BsrzA6O5Bd4s915rRnU9GOf4nAaVdQEggCLcB/s400/Count_of_Trees.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;">2) How many trees do you have, and how big is your biggest tree? Do you have some smaller "bushes" or "twigs?"</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;"></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Obviously, my largest tree is my tree, which has all of my maternal and paternal ancestors (at least those entered since my do-over began a few years ago), many descendants of my ancestors, some collateral relatives and their ancestors, and some of my husband's ancestors (still working on that one). </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: black;"></span></span><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: black;"></span> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I
believe the tree for Eugene TRAHAN exists because I mistook his mother,
Ursule TRAHAN, as being the daughter of Don Louis TRAHAN and Julienne
MONTET. Don Louis is my 4x great-granduncle. It seems that Eugene's
mother had him out of wedlock 1 Dec 1891 in Lafayette, Lafayette,
Louisiana, according to an abstraction of his baptismal record from St.
John the Evangelist Cathedral in Lafayette. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Don
Louis also had a daughter named Ursule, born 23 Sep 1854 in St.
Martinville, St. Martin, Louisiana. But Don Louis's Ursule married
Eugene TRAHAN, son of Delphin Stainville TRAHAN and Marie Cidalise
TRAHAN, 8 Feb 1875 in Breaux Bridge, St. Martin, Louisiana. I know, this
is too many Trahan's marrying Trahan's and too many people named Eugene
and Ursule. This Eugene and Ursule were first cousins. Eugene's mother and
Ursule's father were siblings. See why I got confused? </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I'm
still not entirely certain that the two Ursule's are not the same, but
until I know for sure, I unlinked that branch of the family for now.
Since all Trahan's in North America descend from Guillaume TRAHAN, I
hope that one day I will be able to link them back up to my tree.</span></span></span></span>Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-38104205972537142212017-05-03T07:00:00.000-05:002017-05-03T07:00:06.205-05:00Wordless Wednesday: Benford and Merlene Trahan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NGj2Gg_QOXo/WQf0zgBEVpI/AAAAAAAAA4E/eQmGPwPaei0hxaAvrPXY9NVsYdSlwAXqQCLcB/s1600/Merlene%252C%2BBenford%252C%2BBeatrice%252C%2BMike%252C%2BDale%2Bc.%2B1958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NGj2Gg_QOXo/WQf0zgBEVpI/AAAAAAAAA4E/eQmGPwPaei0hxaAvrPXY9NVsYdSlwAXqQCLcB/s400/Merlene%252C%2BBenford%252C%2BBeatrice%252C%2BMike%252C%2BDale%2Bc.%2B1958.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have been focusing on my paternal grandparents, Benford and Merlene (Mertena) Trahan, in my Genealogy Do-Over. When I was adding my source documents to their section in my Trahan OneNote Notebook, I added a link to my grandmother's online obituary at Hixson Funeral Home's website. I realized that there were 34 photos attached to her online memorial. I did not notice this before. I downloaded all of them to my computer.<br />
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This is one of my favorites. It is Benford and Merlene with their two oldest children, my dad, Michael David Trahan (on the left), and Dale Christopher Trahan (on the right). In the very back is Benford's mother, Beatrice (Boneaux) Trahan. This was taken around 1957 based on the assumed ages of my dad and uncle in the photo. I'm not sure where it was taken, but it kind of looks like the old railroad house where Beatrice lived in 1957. I imagine this may have been right after they returned from Norfolk, Virginia, where my grandfather was stationed in the U.S. Navy from 1955-1957. Thanks to the Do-Over, I was able to find this wonderful photo that I had overlooked the first time I came across her obituary online.Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-1064504975898168452017-04-30T22:01:00.000-05:002017-04-30T22:13:12.068-05:00Pemberton One Name StudyI have recently decided to start a one-name study on the Pemberton surname. As many of you know, this is my mother's maiden name. I have always felt a closeness to this side of the family (moreso than others), and have always been curious where the name originated, how many different branches there are in the U.S., etc.<br />
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Of course, I'm not really sure that I have time for this one-name study, but I'm going to at least attempt it and see how it goes. I'm trying to focus on my Genealogy Do-Over, but I think I might dedicate certain days of the week to the Do-Over and certain days to the one-name study.<br />
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I had been reading Randy Seaver's posts over at <i>GeneaMusings</i> about his <a href="http://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/Seaver%20Research">Seaver one-name study</a>. That's what gave me the idea to do a Pemberton one-name study. I wasn't quite sure how to get started, so I found a webinar on Legacy Family Tree's website about one-name studies. It's called "<a href="https://familytreewebinars.com/download.php?webinar_id=202">Are You a GOON? What is a One-Name Study and Why Do One</a>?" by Kirsty Gray. It focused on the seven principles as established by the <a href="http://one-name.org/">Guild of One-Name Studies</a>. The first principle is Data Collection, which is where I decided to start my study.<br />
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Kirsty mentioned keeping data organized using programs such as Excel, Word, etc. I decided to start with using Excel. She also said that some one-name studies choose to focus on a geographic area, while some focus on every single occurrence of the surname worldwide. I have decided to start my focus on Pembertons in Michigan, since this is where my family is from, though I plan to branch out later, starting with the neighboring states and eventually going worldwide.<br />
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My first data collection exercise was to search the "Michigan Death Index, 1971-1996" database at <i>Ancestry.com</i> for all those with a Pemberton surname. I came up with 121 results. I also did a search on P*mb*rt*n and found two additional names (including my great-grandmother). I put all of the info into a spreadsheet.<br />
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My second data collection exercise was to search the "Recent Obituaries" database at <i>GenealogyBank.com</i> for all Pemberton surnames in Michigan newspapers. I came up with 79 results, though some were duplicates. There were a total of 41 individuals listed there from 2000-2017. I added a second tab to my spreadsheet for this search and also saved copies of each obituary to a folder on my hard drive.<br />
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The death index did not give me any info at all on relationships, but the obituaries were a wealth of information. For the second principle, Data Analysis, I decided to start with the obituaries and focus in on the areas in Michigan where my Pemberton's lived. I began with Bay County, as it was the first alphabetically where I vaguely remembered one of my branches living.<br />
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The first obituary in Bay County was for a William J. Pemberton. His obituary was published 21 Mar 2007 in the <i>Bay City Times</i>. He died 19 Mar 2007 in Saginaw and was a resident of Bay City. He was born 8 Nov 1937 in Bay City to Albert W. and Fidelis C. (Toohey) Pemberton. I immediately recognized the name Fidelis, as it is an unusual name. I searched my RootsMagic database and found that I did have William already in my database, with source citations for the 1940 census and some city directories for Bay City. I only had an estimated birth date of 1938 and only the state of birth as Michigan. I also did not have Fidelis's maiden name, nor the name of William's younger sister, who was born after 1940. William is my third cousin twice removed. His father, Albert, was the son of William Henry Pemberton and Elizabeth Agnes "Abbie" Lattrell. William Henry was the son of Samuel Pemberton and Ellen McCoy. Samuel was the younger brother of my 3x-great-grandfather, John C. Pemberton.<br />
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The second obituary in Bay County was for Estelle (Pemberton) Hebert. She was more of a challenge because it was really more of a death notice than an obituary. It gave her age as 87 and was published 16 Oct 2007 in the <i>Bay City Times</i>. The only other piece of info was that she died 14 Oct 2007 and was a resident of Fairgrove and a former resident of Wisner Township, both in neighboring Tuscola County.<br />
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I decided to search for Estelle Hebert who died in 2007 and resided in Michigan on Ancestry.com. I found an entry in the "U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index" for an Estell Bell Hebert who died 14 Oct 2007. She was born 2 Apr 1920 in Pickford, Chippewa, Michigan, and was the daughter of Wm. H. Pemberton and Abbie Latterl. Bingo! This was the previous William J. Pemberton's aunt and my 2nd cousin 3x removed. I already had Estelle in my database, but I had her married name listed as Herbert rather than Hebert, which may have been why I had trouble finding her in the past. Her married name was spelled Herbert in her younger sister Ellen's obituary. She was the only one of William and Abbie's children for whom I did not have a death date. I also did a search at the <i>Bay City Times</i> website, and found an actual obituary there (not just the death notice), so I added her children and grandchildren to my RootsMagic database.<br />
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The last obituary I found for Bay County was actually more of an article about a house fire in neighboring Iosco County. Kayla I. Pemberton, age 23, and her fiance and their two young daughters were killed in the fire in 2014. It was very sad, and I cannot imagine what her family must be going through. At first, I could not place Kayla in my family tree, so I added her as a stand-alone person to my RootsMagic database. I then found her obituary online at the Iosco County News Herald's website, which listed her father's name. After adding him to my database, I realized that I had a man with the same name in my database. This man's mother, Sharon Gail (Kaercher) Pemberton Nowiski, died in 1994 and lived in the same town as Kayla. After doing a little more sleuthing in some public records indexes and marriage indexes published online, I feel comfortable that these two men are one and the same. This would make Kayla my 3rd cousin. Her grandfather, James Edward Pemberton, was the son of Lovell Henry Pemberton and Vera Delores Barnes. Lovell was the younger brother of my great-grandfather, John Vital Pemberton. I will definitely go to bed tonight thinking about the tragic loss of Kayla and her fiance and young children. It all too well reminds me of another house fire in the Pemberton family back in 1952, when the home of<a href="http://jennifergenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/01/weekly-genealogy-blogging-prompt-4.html"> Leo C. and Madeline M. (Pemberton) Carnahan</a> caught fire and two children died. Madeline was the sister of Lovell Henry and John Vital Pemberton.<br />
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And that's as far as I got today with the one-name study. I need to figure out how many hours a week I will work on this, as I do want to keep my focus on the Genealogy Do-Over. When I do get back to it, I will start with the obituaries from Flint, as I know some of my Pemberton cousins moved to Flint. Stay tuned!Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-28693526236918682452017-04-23T14:14:00.003-05:002017-04-23T14:15:33.956-05:00Clean Office!I posted several weeks ago about the need to clean up my office as one of the warm-up exercises for the 2017 Genealogy Do-Over. I am excited to announce that my aunt came to visit this weekend and single-handedly cleaned the office for me! I can now research peacefully without stress about all the boxes sitting to the side. I still need to go through the boxes, as they contain various documents and photos from my paternal grandparents. But at least for now they are stacked neatly in the office closet and I can review the contents when I am ready. The closet is also a safer place for the old photos, as there is less light in the closet. Here are some pics of my new clean office (sorry, did not take any before photos, but just imagine two rows of boxes stacked all along the wall with the window).<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8UD0oBHN6sM/WPz8zMZaGWI/AAAAAAAAA3k/80H6Kvq7nGsENjZTojzEl0yP_uh1AJddACLcB/s1600/2017-04-23%2B11.46.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8UD0oBHN6sM/WPz8zMZaGWI/AAAAAAAAA3k/80H6Kvq7nGsENjZTojzEl0yP_uh1AJddACLcB/s320/2017-04-23%2B11.46.25.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The clean desk and the wall with the window are my favorite parts! Let's hope I can keep it this way...<br />
<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-70668357481278934622017-04-12T21:59:00.004-05:002017-04-12T22:02:09.692-05:00Genealogy Do-Over: Month 2 Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WbsJzuYZIDo/WNVXcoAyCsI/AAAAAAAAA28/bQa9xYfq7YUoXZJ5EVrzb4WRaNaotoEXgCPcB/s1600/red-do-over-button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WbsJzuYZIDo/WNVXcoAyCsI/AAAAAAAAA28/bQa9xYfq7YUoXZJ5EVrzb4WRaNaotoEXgCPcB/s320/red-do-over-button.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, considering it's technically Month 4 of the 2017 Genealogy Do-Over, and I am still working on Month 2 goals, I guess it is safe to say that the one thing I have learned from this is SLOOOOOOWWWWW DOOOOOWWWWNNN....and smell the roses. That's one of Thomas's main points of the do-over. He stresses that we often get ahead of ourselves. I am definitely guilty. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Looking back at <a href="http://jennifergenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/03/genealogy-do-over-month-one-goals.html">Month One</a>, I still have some warm-up exercises that I need to implement. For instance, my desk is still messy. No fear. My auntie will be here in a little over a week to help me get my office organized. I also have not been researching with a glass of water. Oops. I guess that one is not extremely important to the research process itself, but I think I work better with it. And I have not been good at the timer thing. I think once the desk gets cleaned off, I can work with a timer better. But that is really not an excuse. I need to be timing myself to prevent getting too tired and frustrated doing my research.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On another note, I have been doing well with organizing my research into OneNote surname notebooks. I started with myself and then moved on to my parents and grandparents. Right now I am working on the OneNote folder for my paternal grandparents. I no longer just hop onto Ancestry.com and start searching for records and then entering the source citation into RootsMagic. I am actually transcribing my sources and copying images of them into OneNote and doing an analysis of each source document in Evidentia. This is definitely progress. I have even referred to ESM's <i>Evidence Explained</i> once or twice to make sure a citation was correct.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was debating whether to do a research plan and log for those events that I have already researched and cited in RootsMagic, particularly for the ones that are pretty straightforward. I did a few at first, but then decided that it would be better to just analyze the source document in Evidentia, and then print a proof report for each event. For instance, my paternal grandfather's birth date is consistent among all sources (delayed birth record, death record, marriage record, military record, etc). They are already cited in my RootsMagic program. I will just put all of the records giving his date of birth into Evidentia and then run a proof report on his date of birth. I just don't think it makes sense to go backwards and create a research plan or research log for research already completed. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't continue to look for new documents that would prove his date of birth. For those, I will include them on a research log (and possibly research plan if there are multiple documents that I am still looking for). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Actually, this kind of leads into Month 2 goals of setting base practices and guidelines. Below is what I came up with:</span><br />
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<br />
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Start with myself.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Fill out research log and
to-do list (or enter source documents into Evidentia and print proof report if research has already been completed and is well documented in RootsMagic). </span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Use research log to determine
who/what to research next.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Use research plan worksheet
to develop research plan (if necessary).</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Use to-do list to determine
what records to search for.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Check To-Be-Entered folders
(paper and electronic) for records already obtained.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Record search attempts in
research log, even if negative.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Use Evidentia to record and
analyze findings for each source document.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Save copy of source image to
appropriate folder on computer.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Record clippings, scanned
images, and transcripts in surname notebook in OneNote. Follow guidelines
of <a href="http://myfamilyhistoryfiles.com/onenote-a-to-z/">Chronological Surnames notebook</a> (by Erin
Williamson Klein).</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Print record and place it in
paper file folder for couple or parents (if not married).</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Use OneNote to record
clippings and scanned images of BSO's. Have an Inbox section in each
surname notebook. This will be the holding/to be entered area of the
notebook.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Add research goals gleaned
from BSO to research log.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Add research conclusions
gleaned from Evidentia into RootsMagic.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thomas recommended coming up with 5 base practices and guidelines because more than that may get overwhelming. Obviously, I ignored his recommendation. I am an accountant and like to get very detailed. Some of these steps are only if necessary steps anyway and may not be used every time. A couple of them are steps that will only be used for Bright Shiny Objects (BSO). Actually, Step #1 is a step that I will only use in this do-over. Obviously, I will not start with myself every single time I start to research. Actually, I could probably sum some of these up a bit and make the list a little shorter. I might do that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The other goal for Month 2 is to establish research goals. As I have been adding info to my OneNote notebooks, I have added a few items to my to-do list. For instance, I realized that I have no idea where my grandparents lived when my grandfather was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, from 1954-1957 with the U.S. Navy. One of my goals is now to find out where they lived by consulting the city directories for Norfolk and Portsmouth from 1954-1957. I found that the city directories are located at the local library in Norfolk as well as at the Library of Virginia. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, I still need to fine tune my research goals. That is probably something I need to slow down and document. I did add the Norfolk city directories to my to-do list, but I don't think I added anything to my research log. I think I might backtrack a little and work on establishing my research goals before moving on to Month 3. Stay tuned for my next blog topic about research goals...</span><br />
<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-75654448520136410282017-03-26T15:29:00.001-05:002017-03-26T15:31:25.940-05:00Genealogy Do-Over: Month One Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WbsJzuYZIDo/WNVXcoAyCsI/AAAAAAAAA28/bQa9xYfq7YUoXZJ5EVrzb4WRaNaotoEXgCPcB/s1600/red-do-over-button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WbsJzuYZIDo/WNVXcoAyCsI/AAAAAAAAA28/bQa9xYfq7YUoXZJ5EVrzb4WRaNaotoEXgCPcB/s320/red-do-over-button.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The goals of the first month of the Genealogy Do-Over sound pretty simple: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1) Set previous research aside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) Prepare to research.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, some of the work I have done already is actually solid research that has been cited. Remember, I have already done about 3 do-overs or go-overs since 2007. So to set all of it aside does not make sense to me, but I did set aside previous research when I started my last go-over back in 2013. Back then, I labeled four bankers' boxes with the surnames of my four grandparents. I then filed all of my documents by surname and put the surname folders in the applicable bankers box. I still have those bankers boxes sitting in my office. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I was doing my go-over in 2013, I gradually pulled documents, such as birth and death certificates, out of those boxes as I went through each person in my tree, beginning with myself. I reviewed the documents, cited them in my RootsMagic file, and then filed them in folders by couple. My couple file folders are in my filing cabinet in alphabetical order by surname and are color coded. The blue folders are for my paternal grandfather's lines, green folders are for my paternal grandmother's lines, red folders are for my maternal grandfather's lines, and purple folders are for my maternal grandmother's lines. I made sure the documents were digitized as well. My digital folders are organized similar to my paper files, using <a href="http://foldermarker.com/en/">Folder Marker</a> to color code my digital file folders.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I guess setting aside research was not that hard for me since I have already done it. But I did not bother to go back and set aside research that I had completed during my last go-over I started in 2013. What I have decided to do is to go back over my research I did during that time and look for holes. As I stated in my previous post, I felt like I was rushing through things just to get everything documented. This time around, I am taking my time. I agree with Thomas that getting ahead of ourselves is a common problem in genealogy research. The adrenaline rush of the hunt makes it really easy to get ahead and miss key details.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second goal is a little more difficult for me. I think preparing to research is where I could have used improvement in my last go-over. I didn't do anything back in 2013 to prepare for research. I just jumped right in. Thomas suggests coming up with some warm-up exercises for research. Here is what I came up with:</span><br />
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<ol style="direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="1">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Clean off desk in office. </span></span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Have a glass of water or
beverage available.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Set timer for research (1-2
hours).</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Open surname notebook in
OneNote, which contains Research Plan/Log and To-Do List.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Open Evidentia.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Open RootsMagic.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Have <span style="font-style: italic;">Evidence
Explained</span>
available.</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since I am currently in Houston and have been here away from my desk for 6 weeks, I'm not going to get to work on #1 until I get home later this week. But I have already talked to my aunt, who is going to come to my house in a few weeks and help me get started on organizing my office. I also have plans to call the electrician to get the light fixed in my office, hopefully by the end of this week. For some reason, it won't come on ever since we put in a new A/C unit. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Water seems to help me stay focused and do better work. At work, I typically have a glass of water at my desk. So why not have one when I do my genealogy research? Makes perfect sense to me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Setting a timer is important. Sometimes I spend too much time on genealogy research and then get overwhelmed and frustrated. I think one or two hours at a time will keep me more productive. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>I have decided to use OneNote to organize my research digitally. I still have my digital file folders, but I am taking things a step further to document things in OneNote. I found a great webpage called <a href="http://myfamilyhistoryfiles.com/onenote-a-to-z/">OneNote A to Z</a> by Erin Williamson Klein. She has some great templates for organizing your genealogy research in OneNote. Every time I start my research, I will have my surname notebook opened in OneNote. Each OneNote surname notebook has a page with a research plan and a research log and a section for the to-do list. I will consult these areas of the notebook to decide how to focus my research.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will also make sure to have <a href="https://evidentiasoftware.com/">Evidentia</a> open. I really like using Evidentia to examine source documents and analyze the evidence. Sometimes I forget that I have Evidentia, so I think making sure it is open every time I start to research will help me remember to use it. I was just blowing and going through my last go-over and did not use this resource when I should have. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last but not least, I will also have <a href="http://www.rootsmagic.com/">Rootsmagic</a> open and a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Evidence-Explained-History-Artifacts-Cyberspace/dp/0806320176/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=91JC4WH63RN0B696JS23"><i>Evidence Explained</i></a> handy. I probably need to invest in some of the EE <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Quicksheet-Citing-Ancestry-com-Databases-Images/dp/0806318678/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0806318678&pd_rd_r=Z7XBAVJE6S7KQ352PGWG&pd_rd_w=yUEn5&pd_rd_wg=D7cfO&psc=1&refRID=Z7XBAVJE6S7KQ352PGWG">Quicksheets</a> that have been published over the last few years. I think I will buy a digital copy of the latest version of the book as well. That book is pretty hefty to transport around to libraries. I still have the first edition in hardback.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope that blogging about this well help keep me accountable. Putting it in writing helps to solidify it and gives me something to look back on to stay on track.I also find the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogydoover/">Genealogy Do-Over Group at Facebook</a> to be beneficial. It's a great place to ask questions and collaborate with others who are doing the Do-Over as well. There are also some great resources there, such as OneNote templates, timeline spreadsheets, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stay tuned for Month 2 goals! </span><br />
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-86531018163251512102017-03-25T22:57:00.004-05:002017-03-25T22:57:48.560-05:00SNGF: The Day Your Grandfather Was BornThe S<a href="http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/03/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-day-your.html" target="_blank">aturday Night Genealogy Fun</a> mission tonight is to blog about the day your grandfather was born. Randy's challenge is as follows:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #990000;">1) </span></span></span><strong style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #990000;">What day of the week was your Grandfather born (either one)? Tell us how you found out.</span></strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: blue;">My paternal grandfather was Benford Maurice Trahan. He born on March 1, 1935. According to <a href="http://www.onthisday.com/date/1935/march/1">OnThisDay.com</a>, he was born on a Friday.</span></span></span><strong style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></strong><br style="line-height: 20.16px;" /><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><strong style="line-height: 22px;"><br />2) What has happened in recorded history on your Grandfather's birth date (day <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">month</span>)? Tell us how you found out, and list five events.</strong></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1790, the first United States Census was authorized. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1867, Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"> **In 1935, the Territory of the Saar Basin was formally returned to Germany. It had been held by France and England due to a League of Nations mandate in the Treaty of Versailles. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: blue;">**In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><strong style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: blue;">I found all of this out from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1">Wikipedia</a>. </span> </strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><strong style="line-height: 22px;"></strong><strong style="line-height: 22px;"></strong><br style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><strong>3) What famous people have been born on your Grandfather's birth date? Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.</strong></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1810, Frederic Chopin, Polish pianist and composer</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1914, Ralph Ellison, American novelist and literary critic</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1922, Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli general and politician, Nobel Prize laureate</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1927, Harry Belafonte, American singer-songwriter and actor</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1947, Alan Thicke, Canadian-American actor and composer</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1954, Ron Howard, American actor, director, and producer</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1974, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor (Zack in Saved by the Bell)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">**In 1987, Kesha, American singer-songwriter and actress</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: blue;">**In 1994, Justin Bieber, Canadian singer-songwriter</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><strong><span style="color: blue;">I found all of this out from the same Wikipedia page as above.</span></strong></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">It's been fun getting back into the groove of genealogy blogging! Can't wait until next Saturday!</span> </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><strong> </strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 20.16px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;"><strong> </strong></span></span></span></span>Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-27962191034233203312017-03-24T13:24:00.002-05:002017-03-24T14:58:25.501-05:00Genealogy Do-Over: Taking the Plunge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbsJzuYZIDo/WNVXcoAyCsI/AAAAAAAAA24/C9WxMkF_240RiS_1D2R1r4jR03BhcWoRgCLcB/s1600/red-do-over-button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbsJzuYZIDo/WNVXcoAyCsI/AAAAAAAAA24/C9WxMkF_240RiS_1D2R1r4jR03BhcWoRgCLcB/s320/red-do-over-button.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, I've decided to take the plunge and participate in Thomas MacEntee's <a href="http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-returns-2017/" target="_blank">Genealogy Do-Over.</a> What is the Genealogy Do-Over? For me, it's a commitment to look at my family tree with a fresh set of eyes and re-evaluate the way I have been doing research for the past 20 or so years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As I've posted previously on this blog, I started my research back in 1993 or 1994 with my paternal grandmother. Although everyone I met at the genealogical library told me I should cite my sources, I did not listen. Typical teenager. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I was in my early twenties, I decided to finally start citing those sources. I did my own Do-Over back in 2007 or so. I started a brand new family tree file in Legacy Family Tree. I had been using FTM and started to do source citations in there, but then decided I would rather use Legacy. When I switched, I decided just to start over, since most facts were not sourced in FTM. So that was actually my first do-over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then in 2010, I went on a cruise with RootsMagic and decided I liked their source templates better than Legacy's. RootsMagic had the ability to create source templates. In Legacy, I could only override each citation. There was not way to change an existing template or create a new template. At that point, I transferred all my data from Legacy to RootsMagic, instead of starting over again, since it was all sourced. However, the problem was that the coding between the two programs did not create pretty source citations upon transfer. I took that opportunity to go-over (rather than do-over) my previous research and correct the source citations. That took quite awhile. And in the meantime, several new record sets came available online at FamilySearch, so I also added new source citations as I fixed my old ones in RootsMagic. I finally finished the go-over in 2013. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once I finished that project, I decided to once again do another go-over. I decided to start with myself and review the research I had already done. For example, I made sure I had entered source citations for all the documents I had on myself (birth certificate, baptismal certificate, etc). Then I moved onto my parents, grandparents, etc. after I finished with myself and did the same thing. Also in this go-over, I decided to fully research the siblings and other collateral relatives of my ancestors. Previously, I had mostly researched my direct ancestors. My third goal in this go-over was to get more organized with both digital and paper files. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even with this third do-over/go-over, I realized that I still did not like something about the way I was researching. It seemed too rushed and did not feel like I was really keeping a good log of my research. I was doing great with source citations, expanding my research to include non-direct and collateral relatives, and organizing my digital and paper files. But I still felt there was room for improvement. I had made it to my second set of 2x-great-grandparents on my paternal grandmother's side when Thomas came out with the Genealogy Do-Over project. I decided that I might need to start over again. Well...maybe not completely start over, but definitely go-over my research methods again. However, it would be another year or two before I would actually buy the <a href="http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-workbook-now-available/" target="_blank"><i>Genealogy Do-Over Workbook</i></a> and think seriously about doing another go-over or do-over. I was trying to get to a good stopping point in my current go-over, and my 2x-great-grandparents had 7 children, so that took awhile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I purchased the workbook last August a</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2016 National Conference in Springfield, Illinois. That being said, I still did not start getting serious about it until last month. I have been off work for the past 6 weeks due to my husband's medical condition, so I figured I would have plenty of time to get the do-over started. I figured it was now or never.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In my next post, I will blog about what I have been doing so far in my Genealogy Do-Over, particularly as it relates to Thomas' <a href="http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-month-1-january-2017/" target="_blank">Month One Goals.</a> Stay tuned!</span> </span><br />
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Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-87155765908004183602016-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:002016-10-06T07:00:30.939-05:00Those Places Thursday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i0jFA5YWo8A/V-hTDnqr1XI/AAAAAAAAA1U/cksvWzyruaw3HfJEK2ymcJ9og4X_Q50zQCLcB/s1600/2016-09-20%2B17.05.48.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i0jFA5YWo8A/V-hTDnqr1XI/AAAAAAAAA1U/cksvWzyruaw3HfJEK2ymcJ9og4X_Q50zQCLcB/s320/2016-09-20%2B17.05.48.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home of my grandparents, Benford and Merlene (Mertena) Trahan, located at 1306 Fancher St. in Vinton, Louisiana, May 1968</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I was so excited when my dad texted this picture to me last week. My uncle found it on Facebook. Why was I excited? Because it is the only known picture of the home my dad and his brothers grew up in from c. 1960 to 1973. The home was moved from the property sometime in the 1970s or 80s.<br />
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It was actually the home of my great-grandparents, Bienvenue and Beatrice (Boneaux) Trahan, before my grandparents lived in it. During World War II, Bienvenue and Beatrice moved to Vinton, Louisiana, from Scott, Louisiana, when Bienvenue got a job with the railroad. The railroad provided this home for the family to live in. The home I am referring to is the house on the right with the screened in porch. According to my dad, the smaller structure on the left was used as a garage by my great-grandparents when they lived there.<br />
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On 16 Jan 1960, Bienvenue and Beatrice purchased a piece of land at 1218 Nelson St. in Vinton from Clodet and Lizzie (Trahan) Landry. (Lizzie was most likely a distant cousin of Bienvenue's, but there was no known close relationship). Sometime soon after, they built a new house there (see below).<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1474844324240!6m8!1m7!1sdDYz4O0fnfZwD8XBuvmPmA!2m2!1d30.19167086084635!2d-93.57459160683193!3f289.2435974377527!4f-9.66541852525441!5f0.7820865974627469" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe>
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At the time that Bienvenue and Beatrice purchased the new property on Nelson St., their only child, Benford Maurice Trahan, was a young man of 24 years who had just been discharged from the U.S. Navy two years earlier. He was married and had 3 young boys, including my 4 year-old dad. He was working as a rubber inspector at the Firestone plant in nearby Sulphur, Louisiana. Benford and his bride, the former Merlene Mertena, lived in a rental home located at 27 Eucalyptus St. in Sulphur with their three boys in 1960. (I would put a photo up from Google Maps, but I don't believe the current house there today was the same one that was there in 1960). Merlene's parents lived nearby in Sulphur.<br />
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I'm not quite sure why Benford and Merlene moved to Vinton, except that I recall my grandmother telling me that Beatrice wanted them back there. Benford was her only child, after all. And my dad and his brothers were her only grandchildren. So off Benford and Merlene moved to Vinton into the old railroad house that my great-grandparents had purchased from the railroad. I heard many times as a teenager and young adult how much my grandmother hated that old railroad house. Apparently, Beatrice had moved the kitchen from the old railroad house over to the new house to be used in the mother-in-law quarters behind the new house. Merlene couldn't believe that she was expected to live in a house without a kitchen.<br />
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In fact, after hearing so many horrible stories about the old railroad house, I was quite surprised when I saw the picture last week. Doesn't look so bad to me with a nice big-screened porch. How I wish my grandmother were still alive so I could ask questions about the old railroad house. I have a feeling that she resented her mother-in-law for persuading my grandfather to move them there and away from her parents.<br />
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A fourth boy came along in the fall of 1960 (my uncle who found the picture), and about 1961 Benford transferred into the Safety Dept at Firestone. Once all the boys were in school, Merlene found a job as a travel counselor in 1966 with the Louisiana
State Tourist Bureau located in Vinton, just a few blocks from their
home located in what is now the Vinton Public Library.<br />
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According to my grandmother, she inherited money from her grandmother, Blanche (Welden) Mertena, when she died in 1970. (Note to self: Need to research probate records for Blanche). On 6 Jan 1973, she used this money to purchase a piece of land at 1702 Horridge St. in Vinton. My dad was a junior in high school. Not too long after, Benford and Merlene built a new house there with all the modern amenities of 1973 (and it had a kitchen). <br />
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Eventually, Benford became the Personnel Manager of Firestone before he retired in the early 1990s.<br />
Merlene retired from the tourist bureau around that time as well. They lived in the "new" house until Benford died in 2009 and Merlene went to a nursing home around three years ago (sadly, she passed away last summer at the age of 80).<br />
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Below is a picture of their "new" house on Google Maps (that is actually my dad's truck at the end of the driveway). The white siding on the left side of the house is where the garage was. After Benford died, Merlene remodeled the house so that her wheelchair could fit better in the kitchen. They expanded the kitchen/dining area by closing in the garage and then extended the driveway around the left side of the house all the way to the backyard.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1474849300286!6m8!1m7!1s6C-QB-He-Y0Xr5i5LNQYhg!2m2!1d30.1832241!2d-93.5814433!3f266!4f0!5f0.7820865974627469" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe>
My grandmother was always so proud of "her" house. She said if my grandfather had had his way, they would have never left the old railroad house. She always remarked how she wanted to visit it one more time after she went to the nursing home. I think she would be happy to know that there is a young couple living in it now and taking care of it. I'm sure she doesn't give a hoot what happened to the old railroad house.<br />
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-88113877554524160622016-10-05T22:48:00.001-05:002016-10-05T22:48:46.307-05:00Pemberton DNA ResearchSo I was finally bitten by the DNA bug last year when all the Black Friday sales were going on. <i>Ancestry.com</i> had their autosomal DNA test for $69, and I just couldn't resist. I got my test results not too long after Christmas. Since then, I have tested my mom and dad (as well as my husband and his parents). I have been slowly sifting through the results since then.<br />
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One of my first discoveries was that a Pemberton cousin, D.C. (initials only to protect privacy of living relatives), had already tested. D.C.'s mother was the sister of my great-grandfather, John Vital Pemberton.<br />
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Another discovery soon after that occurred when I uploaded my results to FamilyTreeDNA. There I found a cousin match in the 2nd-4th cousin range named S.L. Interestingly, his great-grandmother is Samantha Pemberton, b. 1861 in Marmora Township, Hastings, Ontario, Canada. Samantha's father was William Pemberton, b. 1811 in Albany, New York. William Pemberton's father is Adam Pemberton (b. 1775) and Adam's father is Jeremiah Pemberton (b. 1742). I found all of this very interesting because my Pemberton's were also from the same region of Ontario and I had always suspected them to be descended from the Jeremiah Pemberton family from Albany. The Jeremiah Pemberton family from Albany were Loyalists during the American Revolution who later settled in Ontario. <br />
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My furthest back Pemberton ancestor that I have been able to document is my 4x-great-grandfather, Jeremiah Pemberton, b. abt 1812 in New York. Jeremiah married my 4x-great-garndmother, Susanna Jermyn, in 1836 in Toronto, not terribly far from Hastings County, Ontario, where S.L.'s Pemberton ancestors were living. Jeremiah and Susanna had several children in Ontario before settling in Michigan around 1856.<br />
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After getting in touch with S.L.'s kit administrator, P.L., who is a 5th cousin match, I decided to see if D.C.'s kit administrator at Ancestry would give me his raw data results to upload to GedMatch, since P.L. and S.L. had their results uploaded there as well. D.C.'s kit administrator was his wife, whom I had been in contact with several years earlier regarding our family tree, and she agreed to give me the results to upload.<br />
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Lo and behold, D.C. was a match to P.L. and S.L., so I then knew that our shared match had to be either on the Pemberton side or the Lesperance side. The most recent common ancestors of myself and D.C. are my 2x-great-grandparents, Lovell Hugh Pemberton and Alvina Mary Lesperance. The Lesperance line is French Canadian, and interestingly enough, S.L. and P.L. do have a French Canadian line on their paternal side, so I could not totally rule that out.<br />
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In the meantime, I finally had my mom's DNA tested at Ancestry.com. She had a 3rd-4th cousin match with someone called bigdaddyhunter81. He had no tree attached to his results, and their shared matches were D.C. and a person called A.W., also without a tree. I then looked at my mom's shared matches with A.W., and found one called N.T. N.T. did have a tree attached, so I decided to go out on a limb and see if I could find a common ancestor.<br />
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Again, I hit gold on the Pemberton DNA research. N.T.'s great-grandmother was Hannah Elizabeth Pemberton, daughter of Samuel Pemberton and Emeline Meyers. Hannah was born abt 1864-1866 in Ontario and married James Pharoah 15 Nov 1888 in Dundas County, Ontario. Her father, Samuel Pemberton, was born abt 1818-1821 in Albany, New York. Some online trees have Samuel as the son of the same Adam Pemberton (b. 1775) as William's father in S.L. and P.L.'s tree. Samuel and William are potentially brothers, but I'm not too sure because the source documentation for Samuel's ancestry seems to be lacking.<br />
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In any event, I feel like I am at least getting a step closer to figuring out the origins of my Jeremiah Pemberton. Could he also be a brother of William and Samuel? He is in the right age range. William was born abt 1811, Jeremiah was born abt 1812, and Samuel was born abt 1818-21 If so, perhaps my Jeremiah is named after their grandfather, Jeremiah Pemberton (b. 1742). Interestingly enough, my Jeremiah had a daughter named Lydia, which is the name of Adam's (b. 1775) wife, the potential mother of the three boys. Could his daughter be named after his mother? My Jeremiah also had sons named Samuel and William. Could they be named after his brothers? Samuel had a son named Jeremiah as well.<br />
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Unfortunately, S.L. and P.L. are in Canada and do not have results at Ancestry.com. I have tried reaching out to N.T. to see if he has results at GedMatch or FamilyTreeDNA. I have also tried reaching out to bigdaddyhunter81 and the administrator of A.W.'s kit to see what they know about their ancestry. I also found a second descendant of Samuel Pemberton and Emeline Meyers who my mom matches at Ancestry.com.<br />
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Stay tuned as I delve more into my Pemberton DNA matches....Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-24195200412904062992016-09-06T21:57:00.001-05:002016-09-06T21:58:08.850-05:00Marteeny GravesI did have some great success at the Williamson County Historical Society in Marion, Illinois, last week. I last posted that I was going there to see what I could find out about the siblings of my 2x-great-grandfather, John Henry Marteeny (1884-1956). I had found photos of their graves online at <i>Find A Grave</i>, which stated they were buried at the Masonic-Lithuanian Cemetery in Shakerag, Williamson, Illinois. My goal was to see if I could find any more info on their deaths and to fulfill a long-time family wish to visit their graves.<br />
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I was greeted by very friendly people at the Williamson County Historical Society Museum in Marion. They immediately led me to their research library and to a copy of the book<i> Masonic and Lithuanian Cemeteries, Shakerag, IL</i> by Helen Sutt Lind. I browsed through the book and found out that my 4x step-great-grandfather, John Brown, owned the last-standing grocery store in Shakerag before all the settlers moved one mile away to Lake Creek in the mid-1890s. The best little nugget of info in Helen's book was that the three Marteeny siblings died of diptheria and croup. It even said that the oldest son, Nesbeth Marteeny, had been very close with his father and the father had been terribly heartbroken when he died. The family story was that they died from an epidemic, but no one knew the exact cause. The source is cited as <i>Obits and Tidbits, 1850-1884, Franklin County, Illinois</i> by Carla Pulliam. Guess that is another book I will have to go after.<br />
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They were even able to call Helen and she was kind enough to bring me a copy of the book to purchase. She drew me a map to the cemetery, which is at the end of 9th St. in Johnston City. I am glad that the inscriptions were placed on <i>Find A Grave</i> because the stones were not in that great of a condition. Below are some pics I took while there. I also placed flowers on some of the graves.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-umBK6GvqCQA/V898ILHWpCI/AAAAAAAAAz8/ws9uLOk1_-Y-mYpIW7k-6FliP3X8YK00QCLcB/s1600/Marteeny%2BGrave%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-umBK6GvqCQA/V898ILHWpCI/AAAAAAAAAz8/ws9uLOk1_-Y-mYpIW7k-6FliP3X8YK00QCLcB/s320/Marteeny%2BGrave%2B1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Nesbeth F.</div>
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Son of J.H. and C.C. Merteney</div>
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Born Aug. 8, 1877</div>
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Died Jan. 4, 1883</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eh08Y2F4px8/V89-zGU402I/AAAAAAAAA0M/0hHbqSwreacgKXlb-a9vQY5qIozxz5x-gCLcB/s1600/Marteeny%2BGrave%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eh08Y2F4px8/V89-zGU402I/AAAAAAAAA0M/0hHbqSwreacgKXlb-a9vQY5qIozxz5x-gCLcB/s320/Marteeny%2BGrave%2B2.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Daisy C.</div>
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Dau. of J.H. and C.C. Merteney</div>
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Born Oct. 2, 1879</div>
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Died Feb. 17, 1882</div>
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Marvie J.</div>
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Son of J.H. and C.C. Merteney</div>
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Born Feb. 6, 1882</div>
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Died Dec. 31, 1882</div>
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I still have a lot of research to do on my Marteeny ancestors, including finding the grave of my 3x-great-grandfather, John Henry Marteeny (c. 1854-1884). But I am very happy knowing that we have laid to rest a long-time family wish to visit the graves of the three siblings who left this earth too soon.</div>
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-57303431762156431172016-08-30T21:42:00.000-05:002016-09-06T21:58:27.130-05:00In The Land Of My AncestorsSome of you may have been wondering where I have been the last year or so. Well, I've been a lot of places, including going through a company sale and then starting a new job last fall. I have not been very good at blogging during that trying time. Probably my lowest point since I started this blog 7 years ago. I think I did at least a couple of posts in 2014, but only one n 2015, and none in 2016 so far.<br />
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I am finally back to "normal." I have stability at the new job. Love the people I work with. I now actually have time to take a vacation. And where have I chosen to go? Well, to the land of my ancestors, of course....Williamson County, Illinois. I am on my way to the <a href="https://www.fgsconference.org/" target="_blank">2016 FGS Conference</a> in Springfield, which is about 2-3 hours northwest of Williamson County. The first official day of the conference is Thursday, so I thought I would spend today and tomorrow exploring Williamson County, the home of my Marteeny/Mertena, Orth, Baiar, and Millhouse ancestors.<br />
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I am here with my parents, and we are going to the <a href="http://www.wcihs.org/" target="_blank">Williamson County Historical Society Museum</a> in the morning. I am hoping to talk to the people there about the location of the Lithuanian-Masonic Cemetery in Shakerag. This is where my 2x great-grandfather's, John Henry Marteeny (1884-1956), siblings are buried. He had one sister and two brothers who died in childhood within 11 months of each other in 1882-1883. His father also died in 1884, supposedly the day after John Henry was born, but I have not found his father's burial location yet. John Henry always told my grandmother (his favorite and beloved grandchild) that he wanted to visit the graves of his siblings, but he did not know where they were buried. When he was about 2 years old, his mother remarried, and shortly after they moved to Oklahoma. As far as I know, they never returned to Illinois and he died not knowing their burial location.<br />
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I had no idea where they were buried either until 6-8 months ago when I was looking for all Marteeny's buried in Illinois. I was playing with different spelling combinations, and I happened upon them under the name Merteney. From what I can tell from census and marriage records, John Henry's mother, Carolina Cristina Orth, was from Williamson County. Her stepfather, John Brown, is also buried in the Lithuanian-Masonic Cemetery, and has Masonic symbolism on his tombstone. I believe he was likely a Mason, and this is why several family members are buried in the cemetery.<br />
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I wish I had more time here to do research here before the conference, but I am happy just being able to fulfill this long-time family wish to visit the graves of the long-lost siblings. I hope to be able to return one day. I found out from the waiter at the restaurant we visited tonight and the visitors guide at the hotel that Williamson County is mostly known for it's outdoor activities and nature, particularly the Shawnee National Forest. I look forward to coming here again for the 3 R's: rest, relaxation, and research.<br />
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Stay tuned for more blogging about the conference and more details about the cemetery visit...Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-77727356149431022012015-01-22T21:25:00.002-06:002015-01-22T21:25:25.885-06:00Yes, I Am AliveI was hoping not to do another post reassuring readers I am alive, but another year has gotten away from me. I miss the days when I used to blog all the time. My blogoversary is coming up in a few days (Jan. 26). This blog will be six years old, but it seems that I have not written much in the past two years. Maybe I should just start setting aside one day per week to blog. Maybe Thursday will be my new blogging day. <br />
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I see that many of my fellow geneabloggers are following Thomas MacEntee's <a href="http://www.geneabloggers.com/tag/genealogy-do-over/" target="_blank">Genealogy Do-Over</a>. I don't intend to participate myself, but I do enjoy watching what others are doing. I just can't commit to that big of a project right now, though I did a do-over myself a few years ago. I got so tired of all my crap information in my database that I had copied from online trees that I decided to start over again. So far, I have gotten all the facts for my great-grandparents sourced. Now I am working on my great-great-grandparents.<br />
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One thing I have learned is that it really pays off to take time with research and get to know my ancestors. I often find myself rushing through research and quickly moving on to the next line without really analyzing the research I have done and finding the holes that I still need to fill. I feel like I have been researching my Proffitt great-great-grandparents forever, but I also feel like I know them, and that is priceless. This time I even went so far as to hire a professional researcher in Oklahoma to gather some records for me, and I have been very pleased with the results. She can do it a lot more efficiently than I could. Now when I do go to Oklahoma, I can spend my time experiencing the places my ancestors lived rather than having to do research the whole time. Of course, I will do some research, but hiring a professional frees up my time to do other things as well.<br />
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My next major project is to clean and organize my genealogy office. We bought a nice 4 bedroom house back in March of last year, and I now have my own genealogy office that I don't have to share with my guests when they come to stay. The only problem is that I need to put this office in order so I can use it. I have several boxes that I got from my grandmother's house with items belonging to my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. I need to go through them and probably get archival boxes to store the items. I also need to organize a lot of my paper files. I started doing this before the move, but it is still a work in progress. I go back and forth between wanting to go paperless but yet wanting to have something tangible to refer back to.<br />
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Well, that sums up what I've been up to these past few months. I really am going to try to make time to blog on Thursdays. Stay tuned!Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-37062647430563180992014-09-06T23:39:00.005-05:002014-11-21T23:13:58.116-06:00William Harmon Proffitt Timeline<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O4f_lsxmB18/VAvKgocYcWI/AAAAAAAAAt4/eRlf9EyY4FQ/s1600/Wm.%2BH%2BProffitt%2BPortrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O4f_lsxmB18/VAvKgocYcWI/AAAAAAAAAt4/eRlf9EyY4FQ/s1600/Wm.%2BH%2BProffitt%2BPortrait.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rev. William Harmon Proffitt</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It has been my goal for the last year or so to more fully research all 8 sets of my 2x great-grandparents and get all of the research input into my RootsMagic database. I got majorly sidetracked in November of last year when I took a new position as Controller of 14 dental practices and a real estate company. So now that I am finally getting settled in at work, I'm back to my genealogy research.<br />
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Interestingly, my paternal grandfather's parents were both only children, so their parents were very easy to research. My paternal grandmother's father was also an only child, so her paternal grandparents were easy to research as well. Her mother, however, had 6 siblings, so her maternal grandparents have been a little more time consuming to research. in addition to researching my 2x great-grandparents, William Harmon Proffitt and Emmer Link Baker, it is taking me awhile to research all of their descendants. I am having trouble finding the marriage records of some of William and Emmer's children, so I've decided that a blog post about everything I know in chronological order is necessary to track William and Emmer through the years. They are especially hard to track because he was a United Brethren/Methodist pastor that moved around from church to church over the years.<br />
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Here is everything that I know about William and Emmer in chronological order:<br />
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1) William Harmon Proffitt was born 12 Jul 1871 in Chestnut Hill, Jefferson, Tennessee, to John Proffitt and Catherine Elizabeth Dickey.<br />
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2) Emmer Link Baker was born 20 Sep 1875 in North Carolina to James Gilbert Baker and Susan Riller Woods.<br />
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3) William and Emmer married 17 Dec 1896 in Jefferson County, Tennessee.<br />
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4) Nathaniel Foster Proffitt was born to William and Emmer on 29 Jan 1898 in Dandridge, Jefferson, Tennessee.<br />
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5) William and Emmer moved to Oklahoma around 1899-1900. William was either a United Brethren or Methodist pastor at the time of the move. I believe he was most likely a United Brethren pastor.<br />
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6) William and Emmer filed a homestead claim in 1899-1900 near Buffalo, Harper, Oklahoma, but later sold it when he gave his time to the ministry of the church.<br />
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7) On 1 Jun 1900, William and Emmer were enumerated at Wakita Township in Grant County, Oklahoma, with their son, Nathaniel F. Proffitt, age 2. William's occupation was given as preacher. Wakita is about 100 miles east of Buffalo, where the homestead was filed.<br />
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8) A second son, James Gilbert Proffitt, was born 30 Jul 1900 in Gibbon, Grant, Oklahoma.<br />
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9) A daughter, Golda Emmer Proffitt, was born 9 Jan 1902 in Gibbon.<br />
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10) A third son, John William Proffitt, was born 11 Dec 1903 in Gibbon.<br />
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11) William was appointed as pastor of Eden Chapel of The Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Perkins, Payne, Oklahoma, from 1904-1906. Perkins is about 120 miles southeast of Gibbon. My source for all of William's appointments in the United Brethren church is <i>80 Years In Oklahoma and Texas: A History of The Oklahoma-Texas Conference of The Evangelical United Brethren Church </i>by Paul L. Davis and Marvin M. Polson et al. <br />
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12) A second daughter, Kathrine Elizabeth Proffitt, was born 28 Jan 1906. Her exact birthplace is listed in family histories as Mahen, but I have not yet located a town in Oklahoma called Mahen.<br />
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13) William was appointed as pastor of the United Brethren in Christ Church at Crescent, Logan, Oklahoma, in 1906. Crescent is about 40 miles west of Perkins.<br />
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14) A third daughter, my great-grandmother, Hassie Cora Proffitt, was born 26 Feb 1908 at Crescent.<br />
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15) William was appointed as pastor of Campbell Creek Church of the United Brethren in Christ at Logan, Kingfisher, Oklahoma, from 1909-1911.<br />
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16) William and Emmer were enumerated at Harrison Township in Kingfisher County on 15 Apr 1910. William was listed as a minister. In the household were Foster N., age 12; James G., age 9; Golda E., age 8; John W., age 6; Kathrine E., age 4; and Hassie C., age 2.<br />
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17) From 1911-1912, William was appointed pastor at the United Brethren in Christ Church at Okarche in Kingfisher County.<br />
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18) Their youngest child, Bessie Frances Proffitt, was born to William and Emmer on 17 Mar 1912 in Okarche.<br />
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19) From 1912-1913, William was appointed pastor at the United Brethren church in Vinita, Craig, Oklahoma. Vinita is 192 miles northeast of Okarche.<br />
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20) From 1913-1914, William was appointed pastor at the United Brethren church in Aline, Alfalfa, Oklahoma. Aline is about 220 miles west of Vinita.<br />
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21) In 1914, William was appointed as pastor of the United Brethren church in Mutual, Woodward, Oklahoma. Mutual is about 65 miles southwest of Aline.<br />
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22) In 1917, William was appointed as pastor of First Methodist Church in Gage, Ellis, Oklahoma. He remained there until 1922. My source for this is a family history written by his daughter, Golda, This is corroborated by WWI draft registration records of his sons, Nathaniel and James, and census records.<br />
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23) On 1 Jan 1920, William and Emmer were enumerated on Walnut Street in Gage. His occupation is listed as M.E. Church Pastor. In the household were Foster N., age 21, railroad laborer; James G., age 18, country school teacher; Goldie, age 17; John W., age 16; Cathrine, age 13; Hassie, age 11; and Bessie, age 7.<br />
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24) On 29 Apr 1922, William officiated at the marriage of his son, James Gilbert Proffitt, to Miriam Hamilton Dunlavy in Arnett, Ellis, Oklahoma. <br />
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25) In May 1922, daughter Hassie graduated from the 8th grade at Buffalo, Harper, Oklahoma. Buffalo is about 40 miles northeast of Gage.<br />
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26) On 2 Feb 1924, William officiated at the marriage of his daughter, Golda Emmer Proffitt, to Lester R. Curtis in Buffalo, Harper, Oklahoma.<br />
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27) William's oldest son, Nathaniel Foster Proffitt, married Rose Mae Dunning on 15 Mar 1924 in Alva, Woods, Oklahoma. William did not officiate. The marriage was officiated by a judge. <br />
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28) In May 1925, daughter Hassie graduated from Ingersoll High School in Ingersoll, Alfalfa, Oklahoma.<br />
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29) William's son, John William Proffitt, married Gertrude Carey on 11 Nov 1926. The marriage record has not yet been located. The source for this date is a handwritten family history by John's sister, Hassie. <b><span style="color: red;">UPDATE: I have located John and Gertrude in an online Tulsa County marriage index. This makes sense because Gertrude's family lived in neighboring Washington County.</span></b><br />
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30) In May 1929, daughter Bessie graduated from Mulhall High School in Mulhall, Logan, Oklahoma. Mulhall is about 110 miles southeast of Ingersoll.<br />
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31) On 2 Jun 1929, William officiated at the wedding of his daughter, Kathrine Elizabeth Proffitt, to Clarence Hobart Marshall in Mulhall.<br />
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32) On 1 Apr 1930, William and Emmer were enumerated at Mannford, Creek, Oklahoma. His occupation was Methodist pastor. The only child in the household was daughter, Bessie, age 18. Mannford is about 63 miles east of Mulhall.<br />
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33) William's daughter, Hassie, married Merlen Paris Mertena on 14 Feb 1931 in Mulhall. A newspaper marriage announcement listed her parents' residence as Hollister, Tillman, Oklahoma. Hollister is about 224 miles southwest of Mannford.<br />
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34) Daughter Hassie had a son, William John Mertena, born 20 Aug 1931 at Frederick, Tillman, Oklahoma. According to my grandmother, Hassie's daughter, she had William in Frederick while she was staying at the home of her parents.<br />
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35) While serving the Methodist church at Quinlan, Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1934, William retired from the ministry due to ill health. The source for this is his obituary published in the West Oklahoma Annual Conference Journal for 1944.<br />
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36) On 1 Apr 1940, William and Emmer were enumerated at Mounds, Creek, Oklahoma. His occupational status was listed as Other. The census record stated that he owned the home he lived in and that he and Emmer had lived in the same house in 1935.<br />
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37) According to William's death certificate and Emmer's obituary, they moved to Waynoka, Woods, Oklahoma, around 1942-1943. Their oldest daughter, Golda, lived in Waynoka.<br />
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38) Daughter, Bessie Frances Proffitt, married Lealand Jack Kruse on 23 May 1942. No marriage record has yet been found. The source is a handwritten family history by Hassie, as well as Bessie and Jack's obituaries. Bessie was living with her sister, Golda, in Waynoka in the 1940 census. However, neither Bessie nor Jack are listed in the general index for Woods County marriages.<span style="color: red;"><b>UPDATE: A professional researcher in Oklahoma located the marriage announcement of Bessie and Jack. It stated that they married in Garber, Garfield, Oklahoma. I do not know why they married several counties away from where they both lived in 1942.</b></span><br />
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39) William died at the age of 72 in Alva, Woods, Oklahoma, on 3 Jul 1944 from gall bladder complications. He was buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery on 6 Jul 1944. I believe the I.O.O.F. Cemetery is now called Memorial Hill Cemetery. According to his death certificate, he lived at 316 Waynoka St. in Waynoka at the time of his death.<br />
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40) Emmer died at the age of 73 on 5 Jul 1949 in Waynoka from a heart attack. She was buried 7 Jul 1949 at the I.O.O.F Cemetery in Waynoka.<br />
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Wow, that is a lot of information that I need to process. However, I think it has helped me to see the family's movements over the years. With so many places, it gets complicated at times to view it in RootsMagic. This timeline, along with other sources, will help me to narrow down possible locations for missing marriage records for William and Emmer's children.<br />
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-11393456998265545472014-05-04T01:11:00.001-05:002014-05-04T10:34:04.690-05:00SNGF: How Many Cousins Do You Know You Have?Randy at Genea-Musings has challenged us to another Saturday night of genealogy fun. Tonight's mission is:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">1)
Take both sets of your grandparents and figure out how many first
cousins you have, and how many first cousins removed (a child or
grandchild of a first cousin) you have.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">2)
Extra Credit: Take all four sets of your great-grandparents and
figure out how many second cousins you have, and how many second cousins
removed you have.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">HINT: Make a Descendants Chart with your genealogy software program!</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">3) Tell us the grandparents and great-grandparents names, but don't give the name of living cousins unless you want to. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">4) Are there any of those lines that you don't know all of the cousins names? Do you care? </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;">5)
Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog
post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post of your own. Be sure to drop a
comment to this post to link to your work. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">My paternal grandparents are Benford Maurice Trahan and Merlene Golda Mertena. They had four sons. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My dad is the oldest. He has three children: myself, my sister, and my brother. My sister has 2 children, a daughter and a son. My brother and I do not have any children yet.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle D has 2 children, a son and a daughter. His son has one son. His daughter does not have any children yet.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle B does not have any children.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle T has two children, a son and a daughter. Neither of them has any children yet. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">All in all, I have four first cousins and one first cousin once removed on my paternal side.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">My maternal grandparents were John Peter Pemberton and Violet Mae Currie. They had eight children.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle John (1950-2011) had one son. He has two children, a son and a daughter.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Aunt D has three children, two daughters and one son. Her oldest daughter has one stepdaughter. Her son has two sons. Her youngest daughter has three sons.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle G has three children, a son and two daughters. His son has one daughter. His daughters do not have any children yet.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle S has four sons. His oldest son has two sons and a daughter. None of his other sons have children yet.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle B does not have any biological children. He has two stepchildren, one of whom is actually married to my Uncle S's oldest son (we like to keep it in the family). His stepson does not have any children yet.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Uncle M does not have any biological children either. He has three stepchildren, one stepson and two stepdaughters. They have numerous children, but I am not sure how many.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">My Aunt G has three daughters. Her oldest daughter has four children, one son and three daughters. Her middle daughter has three children, two daughters and one son.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">All in all, on my maternal side, there are 14 biological first cousins and 5 first step-cousins. There are 18 first cousins once removed and one first step-cousin once removed.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Now just to confuse matters on my maternal side, after my grandfather died, my grandmother married my bonus grandpa (or what some people would call a step grandpa), Clifford Robert Drouillard. He had four children from a previous marriage, three daughters and one son.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">His oldest daughter has two sons, but I am not sure how many children each of them have.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">His second oldest daughter has three children, two daughters and a son. Her oldest daughter has three sons, her son has a daughter, and her youngest daughter has a son.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">His son has two children, a daughter and a son. His daughter has two sons. I am not sure if his son has any children.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">His youngest daughter has two children, a son and a daughter. Her son has a daughter. Her daughter has two children, a son and a daughter.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">So that now makes 9 additional first step-cousins and 10 known first step-cousins once removed.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">It does bother me that I don't have all the names of some of my first step-cousins once removed. All I need to do is ask questions!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">My paternal grandfather's parents were Bienvenue Trahan and Beatrice Marie Boneaux. They only had one child, my grandfather, Benford. So I do not have any first cousins or first cousins once removed on this side.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">My paternal grandmother's parents were Merlen Paris Mertena and Hassie Cora Proffitt. They had four children, two boys and two girls.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Their oldest son, William John Mertena (1931-2001), had four daughters and one son. His oldest daughter has one daughter. His second daughter has a son and a daughter. His third daughter has one daughter. His fourth daughter has two sons and one daughter. His son does not have any children.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The second child, was my grandmother, Merlene, who had four sons mentioned above.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The third child, Joseph Henry Mertena (1941-1998), had one daughter. She has two daughters.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The fourth child, Jill, does not have any children.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">This results in six first cousins once removed and nine second cousins on my paternal side.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">My maternal grandfather's parents were John Vital Pemberton and Mabel Ellen Crysler. They had 10 children, four sons and six daughters.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Their oldest son was my maternal grandather, John Peter Pemberton, mentioned above, who had eight children.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The second child is Eva Mae Pemberton (1930-2012). She had three children, two sons and a daughter. Her youngest son has two children, a son and a daughter. I do not know if they have any children. I don't think her daughter had any children. Her oldest son died in a motorbike accident at age 14.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The third child is Uncle B. He does not have any children.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The fourth child is Theodore Lewis Pemberton (1932-1935). He died at age 3 from whooping cough.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The fifth child is Franklin Mearl Pemberton (1931-2008). He had two children, a son and a daughter. His daughter has three children, two daughters and a son. I don't think his son has any biological children. He may have some stepchildren, but I do not know how many.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The sixth child is Evelyn Marie Pemberton (1936-1948). She died at the age of 11 from complications due to epilepsy.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The seventh child is Aunt N. She has seven children, four daughters and three sons. I don't know how many children they all have.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The eighth child is Aunt B #1. She has seven children, five daughters and two sons. Her oldest daughter, R.P. #1, has three children, two sons, D.P. and J.P., and one daughter, E.P. D.P. has one son, J.P. has two daughters and a son, and E.P. has two sons. Aunt B's second daughter, R.P. #2, has four children, one son, R.P. and three daughters, L.P., B.P. #1, B.P. #2. R.P. has two sons, L.P. has three sons and one daughter, and one of the B.P.'s has a daughter and two sons. The other B.P. does not have any children. Aunt B's oldest son, W.P., has one son, who has one son. Aunt B's third daughter, R.P. #3, has one son and one daughter. Her daughter has a daughter and a son. Her son does not have any children. Aunt B's fourth daughter, B.J.P., does not have any children. Aunt B's fifth daughter, D.P., has one daughter. Aunt B's youngest son, D.P., has two sons. Keep in mind I'm not sure if all this is 100% accurate. I interviewed Aunt B and one of her daughters back in 2007 when I was visiting, but there may have been more kids born since then.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The ninth child is Aunt B #2. She does not have any children.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The tenth child is Mary Margaret Pemberton, who died at the age of 23 from epilepsy. She was never married.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Then after John Vital Pemberton died in 1950, my great-grandmother, Mabel Ellen Crysler, married a second time to Daniel Robert Beedon. They had one son together, who has two children. I'm not sure how many children they both have. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">All in all, that is 19 first cousins once removed, two half-first cousins once removed, 18 known second cousins (and lots of unknown), and 18 known second cousins once removed (and lots of unknown). </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">My maternal grandmother's parents were Archie Currie and Jennie Grace Christina Plaine.</span> They only had one child, my grandmother, Violet Mae Currie, so there are no first cousins on this side.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Well, that was a fun exercise. Now I know who I need to interview (or re-interview). </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-34281666568940515572014-01-19T21:08:00.001-06:002014-01-19T21:08:38.656-06:0052 Ancestors: #3 Maurice BONEAUXAmy Johnson Crow at <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/" target="_blank">No Story Too Small</a> has challenged the genea-blogging community to blog about one ancestor per week in a series called <i>52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks</i>. This week I will blog about my 2x great-grandfather, Maurice BONEAUX. He was the maternal grandfather and namesake of my paternal grandfather, Benford Maurice TRAHAN. He died just six months before Benford was born. Maurice has always intrigued me because of the family stories told about him and the fact that his paternal line was not Cajun French. Three out of the four 2x great-grandparents on my paternal grnadfather's side are Cajun French. Maurice is the only one who isn't.<br />
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The family story is that his father came over directly from France as a stowaway on a ship. I have not determined whether the stowaway part is true, but records do support the fact that his father was born in France. Maurice's son-in-law, my great-grandfather, Bienvenue TRAHAN, was very fond of Maurice. According to Bienvenue, Maurice never ceased to amaze him as he went from one business opportunity to another during the Great Depression, always making money. He told stories about Maurice selling gambling machines to various businesses. Bienvenue would be the lookout that stayed in the car to protect the money as Maurice went from business to business collecting his share of the gambling machine profits. He also told stories about Maurice selling cars. He would drive around until he saw a bunch of kids hanging out on the porch and then ask them if they wanted to see his car. Then he would tell the kids that they needed to help him get their dad to buy the car. <br />
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Here are the facts I know about Maurice:<br />
<ul>
<li>According to a transcription of baptismal records from St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette, Louisiana, Maurice was born 13 Aug 1883 to Dominique BONEAUX and Marie Alida MOUTON. He was the third and youngest child born to Dominique and Alida.</li>
<li>On 10 Sep 1908, 25-year-old Maurice married 17-year-old Marie Alice SONNIER, daughter of Numa SONNIER and Marie Edmonia DOMINGUE, at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Carencro, Lafayette, Louisiana. </li>
<li>Marie Florine BONEAUX was born 11 months later to Maurice and Marie Alice on 7 Aug 1909 and baptized 2 Sep 1909 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Scott, Lafayette, Louisiana. </li>
<li>Sadly, Marie Florine died three weeks later and was buried on 19 Sep 1909. She was buried in the same church cemetery where she was baptized. </li>
<li>Maurice and Marie Alice are found living in Police Jury Ward 1 of Lafayette Parish in the 1910 census. Funnily enough, the family stories about Maurice always trying new business opportunities is supported by his occupation on the census. He is listed as a barber, farmer, and salesman. They lived next door to Maurice's parents and his older brother, Joseph. </li>
<li>My great-grandmother, Beatrice Marie BONEAUX, was born to Maurice and Marie Alice on 26 Aug 1910. She was baptized on 1 Oct 1910 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.</li>
<li>In Sep 1918, Maurice registered for the WWI draft. He was living in Scott and listed his occupation as a self-employed farmer.</li>
<li>In 1920, Maurice, Marie Alice, and Beatrice are found in Police Jury Ward 1 of Lafayette Parish. Maurice's occupation was a self-employed farmer. There was a 15-year-old black male named Joe Green who was also living in the household. His occupation was given as servant for a private family. I presume he must have worked for the family, possibly helping out on the farm. </li>
<li>In 1930, Maurice, Marie Alice, Beatrice, and now Bienvenue TRAHAN were found in Police Jury Ward 1. Beatrice and Bienvenue had married just a year earlier on 14 Sep 1929. Maurice had no occupation listed. Bienvenue was listed as an unemployed laborer of odd jobs. </li>
<li>Maurice died at the age of 51 on 5 Sep 1934 in Scott, Lafayette, Louisiana, from tuberculosis. He was buried the following day in the Sts. Peter and Paul church cemetery. Sadly, he never got to meet his only grandchild who would be named for him 6 months later.</li>
<li>Maurice's wife, Marie Alice, continued to live on the family land for several more years. The land is still owned by my dad and his brothers today. It's about 40 acres of land just outside Scott. Maurice and Marie Alice's house is still standing (albeit in not so great condition). </li>
</ul>
Maurice sounds like such an interesting person from the records and family stories. I would like to find some newspapers from the time period to see if he was ever mentioned. I imagine he would have made some good headlines. Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-44056820450107388622014-01-12T17:30:00.001-06:002014-01-12T17:43:58.120-06:0052 Ancestors: #2 Virginia PREJEANAmy Johnson Crow at <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/" target="_blank">No Story Too Small</a> has challenged the genea-blogging community to blog about one ancestor per week in a series called <i>52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks</i>.This week I will blog about my great-great-grandmother, Virginia PREJEAN. She was my paternal grandfather's paternal grandmother.<br />
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For the first ten years or so of my research, I did not know what happened to Virginia after she and my great-great-grandfather, <a href="http://jennifergenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/52-ancestors-1-oscar-trahan.html" target="_blank">Oscar TRAHAN</a>, divorced. I found her on the 1920 census living with her parents and she seemed to disappear after that. I had gotten all of my information on her from my paternal grandmother, and I had no death date/place. She said that after the divorce, my great-grandfather was raised in several different homes, including those of his grandparents, so I guess I just assumed that Virginia abandoned the family.<br />
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One day while looking through the SSDI for all Virginia's born on her birth date, I found one named Virginia SCHENKEL. Her last benefit address was in the same part of Louisiana as my Virginia. I asked for some help on a local message board for Acadia Parish, and someone transcribed her obit for me. Sure enough, my great-grandfather, Bienvenue TRAHAN, was listed as a surviving son. To my surprise, there were other children listed as well. I even found a former neighbor of her's on the message board who told me some stories about her. She said that she never wore a bra and lived in a little old shack in Crowley. She said that they called her T-Mom and she only spoke Cajun French.<br />
<br />
These are the facts that I know about Virginia:<br />
<ul>
<li>According to transcriptions of baptismal records, she was baptized at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Carencro, Lafayette, Louisiana, and she was born 12 Jul 1889 to Lucien (aka Paul Lucius) PREJEAN and Alicia BERNARD. She was the third of twelve known children. I need to order a copy of the actual baptismal record from the Diocesan Archives. </li>
<li>At the age of 18, she married Oscar TRAHAN on 18 Jan 1908 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Scott, Lafayette, Louisiana. I need to order a copy of the civil marriage record.</li>
<li>She gave birth to my great-grandfather 9 months later on 26 Oct 1908.</li>
<li>In 1910, she and Oscar and Bienvenue are found on the census in Police Jury Ward 2 of St. Landry Parish. They lived just two doors down from her parents. She was listed as a field hand.</li>
<li>According to Oscar's WWI draft registration in 1917, he was supporting a wife and child and lived in Vatican, Lafayette, Louisiana.</li>
<li>In 1920, Virginia is found alone with her parents in Police Jury Ward 2 of St. Landry Parish. The family story is that Oscar and Virginia divorced, so I assume they must have divorced between 1917 and 1920. I need to find a copy of their divorce record, if there really was a divorce.</li>
<li>According to an online index for marriages in Acadia Parish, Virginia Prejean Trahan married Louis SCHENKEL on 04 Nov 1932. I need to order a copy of the actual record. I have not found Louis or Virginia in the 1930 census. </li>
<li>In 1940, Louis and Virginia are found living in Gray Addition in Crowley, Acadia, Louisiana. Louis was a construction worker. They had three children in the household: daughter, Dorley Schenkel, age 16; son, Claude Schenkel, age 13; and son, Louis Schenkel, age 7. Interestingly, Louis (Sr) was 10 years younger than Virginia.</li>
<li>Louis SCHENKEL (Sr.) died in Feb 1973, according to the SSDI. I need to order a copy of his obit.</li>
<li>Virginia died 3 Mar 1977 at the age of 87 from a heart attack at her home in Crowley. She was buried in Old Crowley Cemetery. </li>
</ul>
The missing piece of the puzzle for me is the period between 1920 and 1932. What was Virginia up to in those years? She obviously was having children. I found out from the former neighbor that her son Claude's name was actually Claude DOMINGUE. According to the SSDI and a WWII draft card, he was born 11 May 1926 in Scott, Lafayette, Louisiana, and died 17 Aug 1994. I'm not sure who Claude's father, Mr. Domingue, was. I doubt Virginia was ever married to him because she still had the last name Trahan when she married Louis SCHENKEL.<br />
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I also found out that her youngest son, Louis SCHENKEL, had a skin disease and died in Mar 1993. According to the SSDI, he was born 06 Nov 1932, just two days after her marriage to his father.<br />
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I found out the daughter's married name and contact info, though I have not tried to contact her recently. My grandmother contacted her once, but she was not feeling well, and I was short on time during a break from college, so I did not get to meet her. I know I should look into contacting her again if she is still living.<br />
<br />
And that, folks, is all I know about Virginia. Some other things on my to-do list are to order her succession papers from the Acadia Parish Clerk of Court, search Acadia Parish land records for her and Louis SCHENKEL, and search St. Landry/Lafayette Parish land records for her and Oscar TRAHAN. <br />
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<br />Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-28195705865601614622014-01-05T18:54:00.000-06:002014-01-05T18:59:22.751-06:0052 Ancestors: #1 Oscar TrahanAmy Johnson Crow at <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/" target="_blank">No Story Too Small</a> has challenged the genea-blogging community to blog about one ancestor per week in a series called <i>52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks</i>. I am not sure if I will really be able to keep up with this each week due to starting a new job, buying a house, joining a gym, etc. But, hey, I will try to do so every Sunday. Since I am currently working very hard on getting sources documented and more complete research done for my 16 great-great-grandparents, I decided I will start off by blogging about my 2x great-grandfather, Oscar Trahan. He is my father's father's father's father, or my paternal grandfather's paternal grandfather. Sadly, I have no pictures of Oscar. He was in and out of the family's life and the family was very poor. Here is what I know about Oscar:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>According to his baptismal record from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Rayne, Acadia, Louisiana, he was born either 7 Sep 1889 or 17 Oct 1889 to Theoville TRAHAN and Anna WISE. I say either one of two dates because it looks like 7 Sep 1889 was originally written, and then Sep was crossed out and Oct written above it. The 1 in front of the 7 looks like it was added after the fact because it was in a darker ink. His godparents were Theodore ROBER and Dorrna BERTRAND. I'm not sure of their relation to the family just yet.</li>
<li>At the age of 18, he married my 2x great-grandmother, Virginia PREJEAN, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Scott, Lafayette, Louisiana, on 18 Jan 1908. </li>
<li>Exactly 9 months later, Virginia gave birth to their honeymoon baby, my great-grandfather, Bienvenue TRAHAN on 26 Oct 1908. </li>
<li>Oscar and Virginia are found in the 1910 census in the 2nd Police Jury Ward in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. Little Bienvenue was in the household as well. Oscar was listed as a farmer. They lived next door to Oscar's parents and 2 doors down from Virginia's parents. </li>
<li>Oscar's WWI draft registration, dated 5 Jun 1917 states that he was born 7 Sep 1889 in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. He was living in Vatican, Louisiana, and working as a farmer. He listed his dependents as a wife and child.</li>
<li>Just three years later in 1920, Virginia is found living with her parents in the 2nd Police Jury Ward in St. Landry Parish. There is no mention of Oscar or Bienvenue in the household. I have not been able to find them in the 1920 census. The family story is that Oscar abandoned her. Supposedly he was working down in Iberia Parish and was taking the train back home to St. Landry Parish when one day, he got drunk playing cards with guys on the train and missed his stop. He rode all the way to Dallas before he got off. When he finally made it back home, Virginia told him to go away, and he did. </li>
<li>Oscar moved to Texas and on New Year's Eve in 1921, he married Bertha DUHON in Goose Creek (now Baytown), Harris, Texas. Bertha was another transplanted Louisianian from Acadia Parish living in Texas and was 14 years younger than Oscar.</li>
<li>In 1930, Oscar and Bertha are found in Justice Precinct 3 of Harris County. Oscar was working in an oil refinery. They did not have any children. </li>
<li>By 1934, Oscar and Bertha had made their way back to Louisiana. They were living at 320 Railroad Ave. in Lake Charles, according to the city directory. No occupation was listed for Oscar. </li>
<li>Oscar and Bertha are found in Lake Charles at 723 Railroad Ave. in 1936 and 1212 Gieffers St. in 1937. Again, no occupation was listed.</li>
<li>In 1939, Oscar and Bertha purchased a piece of property for $200 from Charles E. and Gertie (Faulk) Williams. The property was located at 1102 N. Blake St. in Lake Charles. According to city directories, WWII draft registration cards, and census records, this is where they remained until their deaths. Oscar never had an occupation listed in any of the remaining city directories, and his WWII draft registration stated that he was under the care of a doctor.</li>
<li>In 1952, Oscar and Bertha sold part of their property to Ernestine Myers for $400.</li>
<li>Bertha died from acute pulmonary adema at the age of 54 on 28 Apr 1957 at the charity hospital in Lafayette. She was buried in Prien Lake Memorial Park in Lake Charles on 29 Apr 1957. Survivors in her obit were listed as her husband, Oscar, and three sisters. No children were mentioned.</li>
<li> Oscar died from cerebral thrombosis at the age of 72 on 5 Aug 1962 at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. He was buried 6 Aug 1962 at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Scott, Lafayette, Louisiana. </li>
<li>Sadly, no succession papers were filed for Oscar when he died. His property on N. Blake St. was later sold at auction due to unpaid property taxes after his death. </li>
</ul>
While it seems I may know a lot about Oscar, the sad truth is that I don't really know a whole lot. What happened to him and Virginia? Is the train story true? Where was he in 1920? Did he and Virginia ever get divorced? How did he pay for a house when he had no job? Did he have some sort of retirement from working in the oil refineries in Baytown? Did he lose all contact with the family when he moved to Texas? If so, when did he reunite with his son, my great-grandfather? What prompted him to move to Lake Charles? Why were no succession papers filed? Did no one care about Oscar's property? <br />
<br />
My to-do list for Oscar involves obtaining a copy of the civil marriage record for Oscar and Virginia (I have the church record), searching for a divorce record for them in St. Landry Parish, and searching for Oscar and Virginia in the land records of Lafayette and St. Landry Parishes prior to 1920. I should probably look for him in the land records of Harris County, Texas, as well. Maybe I need to dig around a little more in city/county directories for Harris County and Lake Charles. <br />
<br />
Well, that was a fun challenge. Now I have a clearer picture of my research so far on Oscar and where I need to look next. Happy Hunting!Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-32949698501181204232014-01-05T16:07:00.002-06:002014-01-05T16:07:39.285-06:00Happy New Year!Wow, time has flown! I did not post anything from mid-October through the end of the year. My life got kind of crazy around mid-October. In October, I resigned from my Accounting Manager position with my previous employer and accepted a new position as Controller for several dental practices and a real estate business, so that has kept me pretty busy. I absolutely love my new job and never thought I would finally land somewhere where I could see myself long-term. Now that I'm finally settling down in my career, we've also started looking into buying a house. So there has been little time for genealogy research and blogging.<br />
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I would like to give some New Year's resolutions for my genealogy research and blogging, but let's be honest. With a new job and buying a house, I won't hit any of them. I will be too busy. I forgot to mention that I also joined a gym. So, no, I don't have time to blog much or do much research these days.<br />
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So what little have I been doing in the way of genealogy research?<br />
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I've been trucking along on my goals to get all of the sources documented and have more complete research done for all of my 16 great-great-grandparents and their descendants. As I am researching them, I've been trying to reorganize my paper filing system for them. I need to catch up on the paper files. I am currently on my Proffitt great-great-grandparents. These are my paternal grandmother's maternal grandparents. They are actually my first set of great-great-grandparents on the ahnentafel chart that had more than one child together. Weird, I know. So it has taken me a bit longer to research their descendants.<br />
<br />
Other than that, I have not been doing much. Although I will not be doing resolutions right now, I would like to accept the challenge by <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/" target="_blank">Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small to blog about an ancestor each week.</a> Her challenge is called "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks." My first post will be today, Sunday, January 5. I will try to write a post each Sunday. Not sure how realistic that is, but we'll see.Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-81732484750877944322013-10-09T22:43:00.000-05:002014-01-19T20:01:53.545-06:00Most Popular Date: November 20Nancy over at <a href="http://nancysfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-most-common-date-9.html?showComment=1381373386945#c93463199077948264" target="_blank"><i>My Ancestors and Me</i></a> posted today about a popular date in her database, which just so happened to be today's date, October 9. She had 5 relatives who were either born, married, or died on this date. She asked her readers if they had a popular date as well. I had no idea, so I decided to do a little research.<br />
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First, I ran the Birthday and Anniversary List in RootsMagic. I saved it as a text file and then opened it in Excel. To separate the day/month from the year, I did some text-to-column work. Then I did a Pivot Table to see how many names showed up for each date. Of course, this did not have the death information included, so I created a custom report for the death dates of individuals in RootsMagic and then opened that in Excel as well. Creating the report was a little tricky because I had to figure out a way to tell the program to only include people with a full death date (i.e. not just a year). In the Search for Information box, I chose Death value is greater than or equal to 01 Jan. This seemed to do the trick.<br />
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My database has 4,149 people in it. The most popular date was....November 20! There were 19 birth, marriage, and death events that occurred on November 20. The second most popular date was March 5, with 14 birth and marriage events.<br />
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George HARGRAVE and Anastasie Aspasie TRAHAN were married 20 Nov 1829.<br />
Edmond TRAHAN was born 20 Nov 1832.<br />
Ursin Theomile PREJEAN and Adenysa LEGER were married 20 Nov 1854.<br />
Wesley FINKLE died 20 Nov 1887. <br />
Jules DOMINGUE and Adolphine BEGNAUD were married 20 Nov 1890.<br />
Charles H. CHATTERSON was born 20 Nov 1891.<br />
Lloyd Jay BASNEY was born 20 Nov 1892.<br />
William J. CHATTERSON and Euphemia T. SPABEN were married 20 Nov 1900.<br />
Felix TRAHAN was born 20 Nov 1901.<br />
Jesse WARD and Rosanna Alphonsine PLONKEY were married 20 Nov 1909.<br />
Leon A. CHATTERSON and Alma Albertine PLONKEY were married 20 Nov 1909.<br />
Lillia TRAHAN was born 20 Nov 1912.<br />
Eunice E. PEMBERTON was born 20 Nov 1919.<br />
R.H.G. (living) was born 20 Nov 1945.<br />
Cheryl Lee BERGERON was born 20 Nov 1947.<br />
Chester Franklin FINK and Patricia U. KELLEY were married 20 Nov 1965.<br />
G.A.P. and B.J.A. (living) were married 20 Nov 1971.<br />
G.E.H. (living) was born 20 Nov 1978.<br />
A.J.P. (living) was born 20 Nov 2007.<br />
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I will post more on each of these people, at least the non-living ones, at a later date. It will probably be several posts over a period of time. Thanks again, Nancy, for the idea!Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542530643192060714.post-56209421278159265492013-10-02T23:18:00.001-05:002013-10-02T23:22:23.883-05:00Semi-Random Birthday ResearchI decided to do some quick random research today by looking for everyone in my database who was born on today's date, October 2, and list all the facts I have so far about them. I found two people. The first was Ruth CARNAHAN. The other was a living person, so I will not post anything about him here.<br />
<br />
So, what do I know about Ruth?<br />
<br />
1) She was the sister of my great-grandfather's brother-in-law. Ruth's older brother, Leo Clayton CARNAHAN, married Madeline Marion PEMBERTON, the younger sister of my great-grandfather, John Vital PEMBERTON. Ruth and Leo were the children of Joseph Lee CARNAHAN and Anna L. SCHEFFLER. <br />
<br />
2) Ruth E. CARNAHAN was listed in the 1930 census in the home of her parents, Lee and Anna L. CARNAHAN, at 1518 Miller St. in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan. Ruth's age was given as 1y 5m in 1930. This would put her birth date roughly around Oct 1928. She was the youngest child of Lee and Anna. Her birthplace was given as Michigan. Her father was a truck driver for an oil refinery. <br />
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3) Her brother Leo's obituary from 1984 lists her as Ruth GARDNER. Her
residence was given as Port Huron.<br />
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2) I found a Ruth Y. GARDNER in the SSDI who was born 2 Oct 1928 and died 2 Sep 2010. Her last residence was given as Port Huron. <br />
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As I wrote this, I decided to see if I could find an obituary for the Ruth in the SSDI to see if she was in fact the same Ruth as the sister of Leo CARNAHAN. Sure enough, I was able to verify this at <i>Legacy.com</i>. Her obituary was published in the <i>Times Herald</i> in Port Huron from 3 Sep 2010 to 5 Sep 2010. If you would like to see Ruth's obituary, along with a picture, click <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetimesherald/obituary.aspx?n=ruth-carnahan-gardner&pid=145050050#fbLoggedOut" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If you want further info about Ruth or her siblings, my cousin Steve CARNAHAN, son of Leo and Madeleine, has more info in his <a href="http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/11443370/person/-448277104" target="_blank">online family tree</a> at Ancestry.com. Happy Hunting!Jennifer Sepulvadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167830746219581066noreply@blogger.com1