Posts Tagged ‘family history’

by Sherry Stocking Kline
06 April 2010

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday is my Mom’s Great-Aunt Bettie Crabb.

Bettie Crabb's Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

On The Stone:

Bettie Crabb
Oct 15, 1866
Oct 31, 1932

What you can’t see in the photograph here is that Bettie is buried next to her father, J. R. U. Crabb who died 11 years before she did.  (Bettie never married.)

For a few years, J. R. U. and Bettie’s mother, Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb lived on a farm in Sumner County, Kansas, just east of Milan, Kansas.

Bettie’s mother Elizabeth, died and is buried there, far away in the Milan Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas.  You can see her tombstone here.

Sometime after Elizabeth died, J. R. U. and Bettie returned to Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, to be near Bettie’s sister, Sally Crabb Mayfield, wife of George. Sally and George are buried in the Glasgow Cemetery, Glasgow, Kentucky, also.

The photograph below shows Bettie and J. R. U.’s  place in the cemetery next to each other:

L - R: Bettie Crabb and father J. R. U. Crabb Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

Our new-found cousins, Dennis and Nancy (Bertram) Bush who so kindly showed us around Barren County, told us that just a couple of years earlier, some man picked this spot, and this tree, to hang himself…  Gave me shivers then.  (Still does.)

Related Posts (also included in the Text):

J. R. U. Crabb’s Tombstone

Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb Tombstone

Milan Cemetery Listings, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas

by Sherry Stocking Kline
26 March 2010

Recently I posted about finding my father’s name listed in a family history book on Ancestry.com.

Dad’s name in the “Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America” by Orville Corson obviously meant that at least some of those Corsons were related to us.  I was excited to say the least!

Here was a book that I didn’t know existed because I’ve rarely Googled  generations where I think I already have all the information.   So now I know that you can never learn too much about your family, and by not Googling the living generations I may be missing out on some resources.

Corson Family Association

After finding the name of the book on Ancestry I Googled the book’s title to find places to purchase it, and found two exciting things.

The 1939 book is still available on-line at Higginson books at: http://www.higginsonbooks.com.

And, there is a Corson Family Association, and a Corson Family Association Website maintained by Michael Corson.

The Corson Family Association website represents several different and apparently unrelated Corson family branches.  There are several Corson Family History Books, as well as the more comprehensive  “Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America” by Orville Corson.

When I found out about the book I hoped that there would be more than just  “who begat whom” included because I want to know as much about these people, my ancestors, as possible.

I want to know:

Who are they?
What were their occupations?
Where did they live?
Where did they attend church?
Where are they buried?
What schools did they attend?

And photographs!  Does anyone have photographs?

When Michael Corson told me that the association is working on updating the book, I was excited, because that means we can update our Corson information also!  So, I’m sending off my dues to the Corson Family Association, and looking forward to learning more about this little known and practically unresearched (by me) branch of the family!

And bless Michael’s heart, he helped fill in some of my blank spots in my tree as well, and the in the scanned copies of “Three Hundred Years….” that he sent were not only the “who begat whom” but a little more info AND the resources that were used to put together this information.  (Jackpot!)

So,  if you are researching the Corson family name,  the Corson Family Association Website is excellent place to start!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 16th, 2010

Today’s Tombstone Tuesday is my great-uncle and great-aunt, Otto C. and Nancy V. Breneman’s tombstone.

Otto C. and Nancy V. Breneman

Otto and Nancy are buried in the Milan Cemetery, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas, about 15 miles west of Wellington on highway 160. For a complete listing of burials and maps of the Milan Cemetery, click here to go to the Milan Cemetery website maintained by the Sumner County Historical and Genealogical Society.

On the stone:

BRENEMAN

Nancy V.
1886 – 1975

Otto C.
1880 – 1930

When I sat down to write this I realized that I did not have Nancy Breneman’s parents’ name written down.  Goodness!  I will certainly need to ‘fix’ this soon!

And how is it that Nancy V. died after I was married and I don’t believe that I ever met her?  That’s another good question to ask my mom and perhaps her grandson by e-mail.

I believe that Nancy V. must have spent her remaining years in the state that her daughter Berniece Breneman Thomas, resided, and near Berniece’s family.

Otto, or Ott as he was known by friends and family, was the son of Constantine “Tom” Breneman and Salinda Breneman. Ott and his father Constantine were blacksmiths in Mayfield, Kansas, and Nancy taught piano lessons to the area’s children.  I have copies of photographs of this blacksmith shop, and I look forward to sharing those photographs in future posts.

Other Related Family Posts:

Constantine Breneman and His Buggy Horse Photograph of Ott’s father, Constantine driving a buggy with his beautiful buggy horse.

Constantine Breneman’s Buggy Horse - Photograph of Constantine’s Buggy Horse

My Poem to My Ancestors

Salinda E. (Rose) Breneman - Photograph of Ott’s mother,  Salinda, and her tombstone. Ott’s parent’s, Salinda and Constantine, divorced in later life.

Too Young to Die – Photo of  Ott Breneman and his siblings, and a photograph of Albert’s tombstone. Albert was killed in a Motorcycle Accident.

Photograph of May Breneman Jones Willey - Sister of Ott Breneman.

Photograph of Kenneth Jones – Nephew of Ott and Nancy Breneman.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 12th, 2010

Here is my almost Wordless Wednesday, a photograph of my Great-Aunt May Breneman Jones Willey in front of her son’s family’s home in Minnesota.

1959 - May Breneman Jones Willey - age 79

May’s parents were Constantine “Tom” and Salinda (Rose) Breneman. May’s first husband was Evan Jones, son of Willis W. and Martha Ellen (Smith) Jones. Willis W. and Martha Ellen originally came from Kentucky, and moved to the Midwest, living in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

Evan and May’s son’s name was Kenneth Jones. Kenneth and his wife Lois had five children: Lawrence, Lynn, Patty, Charlie, and Kenny, and I hope one of the children, or even their children find this post, and will leave a message.

I have many happy memories of visiting Aunt May and their family in Minnesota, and we would love to re-connect with them.

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 20, 2010

It’s Saturday night!   Time for some more Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver!  He wants us to tell him about our genealogy “Happy Dances!”

Sounds like Happy Dance Party fun to me!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Happy Dance, Ah-ha Moments or Genea-gasms!

Hey, it’s Saturday Night (again), time for some Genealogy Fun! Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to: 1) Think of any number of genealogy events or moments that make you have a genealogy happy dance, an ah-ha moment, or a genea-gasm. 2) Tell us about them in a blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook.

I didn’t even know there was a Corson book!

Here we go! I just did  a Happy Dance this past week.  When I was doing a few minutes research on my own father, I found he was listed in the  Corson Family Book!

I didn’t even know there was a Corson book!  I love family history books, especially the kind that adds in some tidbits about the people, like what their occupation was, and if they served in the Civil, Revolutionary, War of 1812, Spanish-American War, etc, etc..

I love a ‘peek through the window’ of their lives…

And while I just love filling in the blanks on ancestral charts, I love it even more when I find a newspaper clipping, story, or a family history that gives me a peek ‘though the window’ into their lives.

Corson was the maiden name of my Dad’s grandmother, Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis. And this is a line I’ve just simply not researched much at all, so this may be a fantastic springboard for further research.

Most of my “Happy Dances” haven’t been posted about yet, but that sounds like a fun course of future action!

More Happy Dances…

The Day the Genealogy Serendipity Angels Smiled… is one of those moments when you really believe in Genealogy Angels.  The day I called the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, hoping to learn a bit about our family history, and connected with a real, live, living cousin.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 18, 2010

Oh, be still my heart!  This might not be quite good enough to do a Happy Dance, but almost!  I was doing research on Ancestry.com on my father.  I hadn’t done that because I knew who my father was, where he was born, where he died, that he had heart disease, and where he is buried.

So I hadn’t done census research on him. Big mistake!  I did the census research, and learned that in the 1930 census, shortly before he and mom married, he was living with another family as their farm worker.  That wasn’t surprising news.

But the next thing that popped up on Ancestry was a “Corson” family book that stated that it listed my father, his siblings, and his parents, etc.

That’s where the Happy Dance comes in.

The book is titled “Three hundred years with the Corson families in America” by Orville Corson, Middletown, OH., 1939 (2v). V2: 161, 205

Now, all I need to do is beg, borrow, or maybe even purchase this book at Higginson Book Company, and I’ll have a springboard to research my Great-Grandmother Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis, mother of my Grandma Maud McGinnis Stocking, and their ancestors. (I’ve already called my favorite local librarian!)

And if I’m really lucky, there may just be a few glimpses into their personal lives, occupations, and military service  in this book, giving me numerous clues to where to research and flesh out who they were.  Woo Hoo!

Yeah, maybe this is enough for a “Happy Dance”!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 17, 2010

Kenneth Jones, son of Evan & May Breneman Jones, Kingman (KS) H. S.

Here is a photograph of my mom’s cousin, Kenneth Jones, son of Evan and May Breneman Jones, in front of the high school at Kingman, Kansas.

Kenneth and his wife Lois had five children and lived in Duluth, Minnesota on Morris Thomas Road.

Kenneth’s mother, May Breneman Jones Willey lived with them for awhile, and then went into a nursing home called Nopemming (sp?).

Kenneth, Lois, and my great-aunt May have all passed away, and sad to say, we have lost touch with their children, and though I’ve tried to locate them, the last name of Jones is making that difficult.

We visited them several times when I was growing up, and I have very fond memories of horse-back riding at the neighbors, picking wild strawberries, and going agate hunting along one of the many lakes with Kenneth and his family.

Kenneth’s father, Evan Jones, is buried in the Osborne Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas, near Mayfield.

Sherry Stocking Kline
first published in Wichita Eagle’s “Active Life” magazine – February 2005

This Valentine’s Day after you stuff, lick, and stamp your Valentine’s cards and drop them in the mail, don’t forget to rummage through your drawers, boxes, and attics for those old Valentines you’ve saved.

If you are a packrat (or lucky enough to have a packrat ancestor) you may find several old Valentine’s with hidden clues to your family’s history.

Old Valentine’s may contain clues…

One of Virginia Downing’s favorite genealogy classes to teach is Valentine and old letter research.

According to Downing, Education Chairman for Wichita Genealogical Society,old Valentine’s may contain clues to births, deaths, marriages, and more.

“You can find addresses of where people lived,” said Downing, “and dates on the envelopes.”

Downing bought a collection of postcards at an antique shop and said she was able to connect the dots between several members of a family even though she did not personally know them.  Downing read the postcards, checked addresses of senders and recipients and paid particular attention to the notes written inside and the way the cards were signed.

Checking addresses may yield surprising results…

Knowing where your ancestor lived at a given time allows you to do further research in area newspapers, libraries, and other town records, so checking those addresses may yield important clues for further research.

According to Ancestry.com, return addresses that don’t match the postmark location may mean the town was too small to have its own post office or your ancestor may have been on vacation or visiting relatives.

Besides learning the location of family residences, Downing said the notes or letters included often contain clues about family relationships, occupations, and daily life.  “A lot of times they may sign the card “‘Aunt Vita’ or ‘your cousin,’” Downing said. “If Aunt Vita mentions in the letter that ‘Uncle John is out feeding the cattle’ you have clues to the family’s occupation as well.”

Downing said some collectors can tell the date of a Valentine without seeing a postmark. “Some people can look and say that was an early 1900 or that was a 1930’s Valentine.” Downing said, adding that if you aren’t one of those people a little research at your library may help you narrow down the dates.

Take one more trip through your keepsake boxes…

According to Ancestry Daily News, even though you may think you have all the family information out of your own cards, one more trip through those keepsake boxes may reveal facts you forgot, photographs you missed, and memories worth preserving for future generations.

The popularity of e-mail may mean your descendants won’t have as many letters to find when they go searching through your old boxes and files according to Ancestry Daily News, so after you check out those old Valentines, be sure and save them for your genealogist descendants to find.

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 10, 2010

I just love this photo of my Uncle Daryl Jones, Sr, my mom’s older brother.

Daryl Jones, Sr. and his Horse Golden River

Here he is, all dressed up to go somewhere and he and his friend, whoever he (or she!)  might have been, stopped to take pictures.  I’m so glad that he had his camera with him that day.

I imagine his grandchildren and great-grandchildren don’t think about their grandfather as a dashing young man riding a beautiful and feisty horse.  My mother says that Golden River was a very spirited and beautiful horse, and that her parents didn’t want her to ride her.

So, of course she did.

Related posts:

Daryl Jones, Sr (friend of Sherman Rerick) Tombstone

Daryl Jones – Photograph with his Parents & some siblings

Daryl Jones – Fishing photo & story

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 5th, 2010

When I found this wonderful Underground Railroad post from Sandra Taliaferro, we had just had our Sumner County Historical and Genealogical Society meeting, presented by children’s historical fiction author Jim Baumgardner. Baumgardner spoke about his latest book, “Sarah’s Escape” (www.SarahBooks.net) where Baumgardner’s orphan heroine Sarah becomes involved with her mother’s work on the Underground Railroad, and I learned bits and pieces of information that I’d never heard before.

A few days later, I read Sandra Taliaferros’ great post at “I Never Knew My Father” and she shared with us the ‘password’ that opened the Underground Railroad to escaping slaves:

KNOCK, KNOCK!?!

WHO GOES THERE?

“A FRIEND OF FRIENDS“

Taliaferro used such thoughtful and inspirational words, based on the people helping people concept of the Underground to encourage all of us, as genealogists and human beings, to help others along the way while we search and research our family trees.

Please, go read her post, you’ll be glad you did!