Sunday’s Obituary – Harry Stamps

I do not know Harry Stamps.  He is not one of my ancestors.  I came across his obituary this week because it has gone viral on the web.  Even CNN has run stories on their website about his obituary.  It has been nominated as one of the best obituaries ever.

When I read the obituary, my first thought was, “I hope my obituary is this great!”  Along with great details, the obituary is a celebration.  It is funny and touching at the same time.  You really get a feel for the man and the life he led.

The obituary is currently on the Sun Herald website.  It was written by Harry’s daughter, Amanda Lewis.  You can reach it here – Harry Stamps Obituary. 

Treasure Chest Thursday – Radvany Family in Whiting, Indiana

My first set of records I have given sweet genealogy love to from my Ancestry.com shoebox all pertain to the Radvany family.  They confirm the makeup of the family and where they resided from 1937-1943.  This information has been previously documented through other sources such as the federal census, obituaries and death records.

The family appears in the 1937, 1939, 1941, and 1943 Polk City Directories for Whiting, Indiana.

Polk's City Directory 1937 Whiting, Indiana
Polk’s City Directory 1937 Whiting, Indiana

The 1937 and 1939 directory list both Mary and her oldest son, William.  The 1941 directory lists Mary, William, and the second oldest daughter, Violet.  The oldest daughter Julia was already married and living with her husband.  The last directory in 1943 adds Walter to the family listing.  Walter was my husband’s grandfather.

Polk's City Directory 1943 Whiting, Indiana
Polk’s City Directory 1943 Whiting, Indiana

 

We also find evidence of the family in the 1940 federal census.  The family is headed by the widowed Mary.  (Louis Radvany died suddenly after being hit by a car in a neighboring town in 1930.  I have written about his passing here.)  The household lists the remaining children at home: William, 23; Violet, 17; Walter, 15; Gloria, 13; Angeline, 11.  William, the oldest son was the only person in the home to receive any income.  Sadly, the family was living through some very tough times.

1940 Federal Census, Whiting, Indiana
1940 Federal Census, Whiting, Indiana

 

All of the above records place the family at 2416 Schrage Avenue, Whiting, Indiana.  Below is a google map of the area today.  You will notice that the Radvany’s lived within a mile of Lake Michigan and immediately across the street from the Standard Oil plant (today it is a Chevron plant). All of the men in this family worked for Standard Oil.

2416 Schrage Avenue, Whiting, Indiana
2416 Schrage Avenue, Whiting, Indiana

 

Treasure Chest Thursday – Ancestry.com Shoebox

I am embarrassed to admit this but I have over 100 items sitting in my shoebox on Ancestry.com.  I wish I had some great story as to why they are sitting there.  The reality is I have put the records in the shoebox because I am too busy pinball researching in the late hours of the night. (Dear Myrtle wrote a great post about Pinball Genealogy in January.  Read about it here and here.)  I am shocked at how many great records are waiting for analysis and a citation.

In an effort to stop any further lazy behavior and practice better researching skills, I have decided to clean out my shoebox.  If it is empty, I will be less likely to toss records into my box of shame.

I am hoping to post on Thursdays fairly regularly with the items I am recovering from that genealogy purgatory.  Hope you enjoy!

Another Big Step

This last year I have taken conscious steps to increase my participation in my local genealogy society, The Marin County Genealogical Society.  Along with attending our monthly meetings, I have become the Treasurer.  I volunteered for the position when another member announced she was moving away.  I really enjoy the position and have already put my name in for our yearly board member elections.

Late last fall, I met with one of the other board members to discuss possible topics for the monthly program our society presents.  One of the ideas was genealogy blogs and how they can help your research.  I decided to jump in feet first and offer to give the presentation.  I am almost finished putting together my presentation.  I am excited and nervous all at the same time.  I know it will be a fun night!

If you live in the Bay Area come to our meeting March 27th at 7pm in San Rafael, California to see my presentation of Genealogy Blogs: How They Can Help Your Research.

Follow Friday – Leaves For Trees

One of the genealogy blogs I love to read is Leaves for Trees written by Heather Kuhn Roelker.  One of the reasons I enjoy the blog so much is the graphics and photos that are included in the posts.  Check out this Surname Saturday post about James Madison Thomas.  The post includes fun graphics that highlight the children of James Thomas, a map, a snippet from a book, and a marriage record.  Having more than just letters on a page makes for a fun read.

Heather Kuhn Roelker has written a couple of posts on her blog about how she creates the graphics and timelines in Excel.  Check them out at SmartArt and Excel Timelines.  I used the directions for the SmartArt graphics in my Sunday’s Obituary – Lydia Ummel Lawbaugh.  Here is my first attempt at making a timeline in excel:

Timeline in Excel

I can’t thank Heather enough.  By sharing her tricks with Excel, my blog will be a better looking place to visit.

Sunday’s Obituary – Lydia Ummel Lawbaugh

Lydia Ummel is one of my maternal great-great-great-grandmothers.

Lawbaugh to Lydia Ummel

This obituary is one of the best I have ever seen.  Not only does it tell me where she lived, it gives a death date, cause of death, madien name, birthplace, number of siblings, migration information, marriage information, and what church she attended.  I wish all obituraries held so many clues!!

 

Geneseo Republic
Geneseo, Henry, Illinois
March 18, 1898
Page 4, Column 1

Mrs. Lydia Lawbaugh, widow of the late Wm Lawbaugh, died at her home, corner of Second and Stewart streets, at noon Tuesday, March 15th, 1898, of heart trouble from whjch [sic] she had been suffering for  over 20 years.  The maiden name of the deceased was Lydia Ummel.  She was born in Juinata county, Pa., Aug. 21st, 1823, being one of a family of five children all but one of whom, as sister who resides at Spokane, Wash., are now dead.  Deceased moved to West Salem, O., in 1832, and Nov. 22d, 1849, was married there to her late husband whose death occurred Feb. 17th, 1896.  She leaves two children, Mrs. Miles, of this city, who has cared for her since Mr. Lawbaugh’s death, and William J., of southern Kansas.  Deceased moved to Henry county in 1854, and in 1862 settled in this city, which has since been her home.  She united with the Evangelical Association church fifty-seven years ago, and in her daily life was an exemplay [sic] christian.  She leaves many warm friends, especially in her church circle, who sincerely mourn her death.  Funeral service was conducted at her late home Thursday at 2 p.m. and her body was laid beside that of her husband.

Tech Tuesday – Genealogy Graffiti

I was brain storming this weekend about future blog posts.  I quickly realized that I have written enough posts that I don’t remember what topics I have already covered.  There are also enough posts that it is slow to browse through to check what is there.  I need a way to search more quickly.

I remembered there are things called categories and tags in WordPress.  After doing some internet research to find out what they even are, I sat down with my husband to discuss my plan.  I have mentioned before that he is the social media guru for the family business.  He explained to me in non-techy english what works best.  Categories are like the chapter headings and tags are the index in the back of the book.

I did some browsing to see how other genealogy blogs use categories and tags.  I took the stuff I liked and formed a plan of attack.  My categories are mostly based on the type of records you use such as census records, church records, vital records, etc.  I have also added in a category for surnames and another for places.  My tags are the specific surnames and the states mentioned in each blog post.

So I went genealogy tagging this morning and made some genealogy graffiti on my blog.  Hopefully this will allow me and my readers easier access to the information they are looking for.  There is now a drop down menu to access the categories.  I have also created a word cloud to select tags.  Enjoy!

The Ebb and Flow of Family Groups

The Mattson line of my husband’s family is a close group.  My husband’s great-grandmother Agnes Mattson was one of five children.  Agnes was joined by her brothers Edwin, Albert, and Carl.  The oldest brother, Leonard, died as a child.  Agnes’ mother, Wendla Botmaster Mattson Long, was the family matriarch.  When things did not work out, she stepped up to the plate and raised some of her grandchildren.  Agnes’ child, Shirley, grew up with some of her cousins as siblings.  I have seen many photos of the grandkids (Grandma Shirley and her cousins) all together in San Francisco.  This tight bond remained throughout their lives.

Earlier this month, we attended the memorial for Dorothy Mattson.  Dorothy was the wife of Albert Mattson.  Al is more commonly known in our family as Buz or Buzzie.  He is one of Grandma Shirley’s first cousins.  The service for Dorothy was beautiful and was followed by a reception.  The reception was really nice and it was great to see family that we have not seen in a while.

On our drive home, my husband and I had an interesting conversation about the distance generations create.  The younger generations of the family are not as close as the older ones had been.  The younger generations did not grow up in the same household as the older generations had done.  Grandma Long passed away in 1974.  Her grandchildren, who grew up together, really were the ones who got the entire family together on a regular basis after Grandma Long’s death.  Sadly, that generation is now slowly becoming smaller and smaller in numbers.  While the family still talks, it is just not the same as it used to be.

Families shift for many reasons.  I believe that from the research I have done, the biggest reasons for families changing is death and migration.  I have several families in my line that either kept moving west or had children leave the area to move west.  I also have a couple of families where there was obviously a patriarch or matriarch who led at least a couple of generations.

The most fascinating part of this process it that it happens over and over again.  Different generations start their own tight family groups.  It has left me wondering what the next tight-knit family group is going to be.  As I thought about it, I realized that we are already part of it.  My husband and I are a portion of a strong set of siblings and we have just started populating the next generation.

I am also a part of the close family group on my Mom’s side.  My Grandma is the head of the family.  She has five children, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  We all love getting together to hang out.  Most of the family get-togethers are missing my immediate family because we do not live in Southern California.  It is not uncommon for my mom’s brothers and sister hangout together at Grandma’s house.  This past Christmas was especially awesome because every single member of the family and their spouses/significant others were all present.

What is the most recent strong family group in your family?  Are you the newest matriarch/patriarch?

Going With The Flow

I have been a little absent from my genealogy blog as of late.  Twenty four days is the longest I have gone without a blog post since the inception of my writing endeavor. Surprisingly, I am okay with this.

This year I am working on not stressing so much.  I am a control freak so having kids was one of the best things to happen to me.  It took me a long time to come to terms with the idea that once you have a kid (or two), you can’t get as much done in a day.  I have found that I am still stressing over things I cannot control so I am making a concerted effort to change that.  “Go with the flow” has become my mantra.

I think that most will agree that December is one of the craziest months of the year.  Added to the “normal” December crazy, I was involved in a car accident.  I am so grateful that my children were not injured.  It was not until last week that I felt completely like myself again.  Added to my recent stress levels is having to be in court.  Not to worry, I have done nothing criminal.  The last two weeks were worth it because we ended with a moral victory.  I sure wish that I could have had The Legal Genealogist with me in court to translate all of the legal jargon.

The good news is that I have managed to somewhat stay relaxed during all of this.  More good news is I have received a couple of pieces of information regarding my husband’s maternal line.  Now that I am in my regular schedule and my refrigerator has food in it again, I am back on the blogging wagon.  It feels good to be back.

Disney’s Version of DAR

I know that I am a genealogy geek.  I am perfectly fine with it.  Sometimes I am not so sure that my husband wants to be seen with me when I am fully geeked out.  My family went to Disneyland right before Christmas to celebrate my daughter’s and my father’s birthday.  It was a wonderful two days of everything Disney.  Of course, there was a total genealogy geek moment during our trip!

The morning of our second day we made our way from It’s a Small World to Toon Town.  Toon Town is where Mickey Mouse’s house is located so it was high on our must see list.  To get there you walk underneath a bridge for the train that rides around the park perimeter.  As I was walking underneath the bridge, I cried out in delight when I saw a sign with pictures of Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck and the letters “DAR.”  I immediately was thrilled thinking that Disney would have something related to genealogy in the park.

There was at least one laugh from my husband as I took my camera out to get a photo of the sign.  After taking the picture, I realized that the sign actually read “Daughters of the Animated Reel.”  Oops.  I think it would have been fun to see how Minnie and Daisy made their way back to the Revolutionary War.

Disneyland DAR

 

I could not help myself and googled – Mickey Mouse Family Tree.  There is actually a blog with a family tree printed for Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.  It does not go back to the 1700’s but it does have extended family members for both characters as seen in cartoons and movies.  You can check it out at Duckburg.over-blog.com

Here is a picture of us at Disneyland.  My very wonderful husband agreed to take his fleece off to take this picture.  The rest of the day he covered up his matching shirt but that is okay since I got my photo.

Family Pic Disneyland