Day 2 at the Iowa Genealogical Library

Yesterday I shared about my first visit to the Iowa Genealogical Society Library and today I will share my thought about my second trip.

 

I decided I needed to have a plan for this day .  This Day I wanted to take pictures of the family history of the Cone family book that turned out so blurry using the flip pal.  Secondly, I was going to look at microfilm to try to find my grandfather's birth certificate.  I might mention he has been difficult to find for a couple of reasons.  He was born in 1907 and was from a single parent.  So for the first three years he was listed as Jarrett Charles Willis and after his mother married he took the last name Pope. 

 

So again I packed the camera, Samsung Tablet, flip pal and pad and pencil.  I still had snacks in my car although from my first visit I saw they had a small area with a pop machine I could eat at.

But better still I had seen a flyer that they were offering a short class on "Funeral Home Records" during the lunch hour.  So for a small fee I paid to attend that class.  I arrived with my peanut butter crackers and bottle of pop.  It was very interesting as I had not seen records such as these  before.  If I remember correctly they have Funeral Home Records at the Albia Library so will add that on my list of documents to look through..

 

After, the class and after I had taken pictures of the Cone family book I chose a county my grandfather may have been  born in and looked at the birth as well as delayed birth certificates.  I still had my list of surnames and wrote down the information if I found any names with one of these surnames..  It took hours as the micro film was a large reel.  I did not find my grandfather but got some other names.  Again, when setting up my film I had trouble with the first machine I tried and when asked for help it was given in a kind and caring manner.

 

So after, hours I decided to stop for the day.  My fingers were tired of writing and needed a break.

 

Both days my visits were meet with wonderful and caring people and there was so much more information to look through that I had time for since I am only going to spend one more day (this time)  The next day my visit will be to the Iowa Historical Library but be  sure I will return.................... 

The Iowa Gnealogical Society Library 101

Recently I spent the week with my Aunt near Des Moines, Iowa and thought I would take the opportunity to do some research at the Iowa Genealogical Society Library as well as the Iowa Historical Library.  Since I was going to be there for several days on  the first day I wanted to spend time getting to know the library.  I did have a couple of articles I found on PERSI  and a book that I wanted to look at plus I am always looking for my grandfather's birth certificate and family of one of my great -great grandmothers. I had been near the libraries during a recent visit to town so knew the building and parking situation.  So here we gooooooooooooooooooooooooo.........................................

From visits to other libraries I knew I needed to bring quarters, pencil, paper plus  I brought my camera and flip pal and tablet..  I also knew there was not a lot of eating places near so I brought some water and snacks that I could eat for lunch.  I had looked at the online information so was aware of the hours of operation.

When I entered the library I was greeted by several friendly ladies who welcomed me to the library.  I was a member of the Iowa Genealogical Society so knew I did not have to pay a 10$ research fee.  I signed the register as instructed.  I explained I had never been there before and could someone give me a tour.  A very nice lady gave me a wonderful tour.  I think had I not gotten the tour I would not have been aware of all that was there.  The Iowa Genealogical society Has:  file cabinets with Family Newsletters;  File cabinets with an assortment of family information filed by family; files with certificates for those living in Iowa pre statehood and for 100 years; shelves with magazines, map files, books ranging from passenger lists, lists of military pensioners; then books on states, book submitted on specific families; and lastly microfilm - vital records donated when they digitalized the county records, census' among many more.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I asked whether they had the magazines that had the PERSI articles and they did not.  No problem I figured the Historical library had those.

Now, to formulate a plan of action. I looked through the card catalog for the book I wanted to look at.
So, I next decided to do a surname search.  My ancestry program on my tablet helped with that.  I made a list of all the surnames who might have settled in Iowa.  I had names from my father's family who settled in southwestern Iowa and my mother's family in south central.  So lots of counties covered.  I next went to the family newsletters to see if there were any for my family.  Stuck out!! then took a couple of books about Germans who settled in America. and looked through them.  No real information in the first few volumes.  (I made sure I wrote the name and volume of the book as well as information on the title page and the Dewey decimal number on the spine)  I was careful to place the books on the Book cart to be shelved by the librarian or volunteers.

I next went through the published family genealogies.  I found quite a  number for my surnames some even at a couple of publications.  I decided to pull the book out about the "Cone Family"  After pursuing a few pages I found a few names which matched my family.  Referring again to the ancestry app on my tablet I found that birthdates, death dates, spouses matched mine.  I then used my flip pal to copy the Title page, as well as the families that were probably  mine.  I noted the Dewey decimal number for this book also.  I made a lot of notations also.  I should add I asked permission to copy items and was told there was a $3 fee for members. (I was glad to pay as it helped cover the Library costs)

I had made note that they did have scanners for $.25 as well as a computer. The computer meant I could get by just my Samsung tablet.

Time really flies when you are learning new things. So too soon it was time to return.

When I returned to my Aunt's house I looked over my notes.  Shared some of the names and she let me know what names she was familiar with.  I got bummed out that the flip pal copies did not come out to well.  I need to do some reading and practice some more at home.  I blurred a lot of the pages and some of the ancestral charts did not merge well as their was lots of white space.

Tomorrow,  I return ....

"Mastering Genealogical Proof" by Thomas W. Jones Chapter 5 homework part one

Chapter Five homework from the book "Mastering Genealogical Proof" by Thomas W. Jones

The book is available from the National Genealogical Society

It is submitted as a panelist for the group study moderated by Dear Mytle.  The discussion can be watched on her Youtube channel and discussion can be read in her Google+ Community.

The questions can be seen on pg 67.

 

1.            a.            The Bible page  is probably a derivative work.  All the handwriting is the same,  the years span from 1871-1893,  although written in chronological order were probably written at one sitting. perhaps even copied from another source.

                b.            The Bible page was copied by the author of the book and was obtained from the daughter of Ida Leach.  The handwriting is similar to Ida and she could have been present for all the dates on the Bible Page.

                c.             If Ida wrote the record of Earl's birth it would have been primary information as she is his mother.

                d.            If the question I wanted to answer Was when Earl was born then I would have direct evidence of his birth.  The Bible notation regarding Earl is in relation to the date of his birth only on February 4th, 1876,

                e.            If I was using the Bible page entries to determine when Ida and Charles McClain were divorced the answer of between Feb 4, 1876 and March  29, 1878.  This would be between the birth of Earl in Feb 1876 and Ida's second marriage to Calvin Leach in 1878.  of course,  one could also use the 8-9 month period prior to Earl's birth since Charles only needed to be there for conception.  I do not know the divorce laws of the 1870s so do not know if Ida would have had to have Earl prior to her divorce form earl's father.

                f.             It was common to record births, marriages and deaths in the family Bible so one can concur that they were written to record these events for future family members.

                g.            Although Earl was born in 1876 the recording was probably made after 1893 since the handwriting is all the same and that is the last date recorded.

                h.            The page the event are recorded on has ink blots, crossed out words and words squeezed into the edge of the page therefore the writer was probably not very careful when written although the final dates were correct.

                i.              Since the writer of the page was the mother of the children recorded, the wife in the marriages and the widow of Calvin whose death is recorded the dates are probably pretty accurate.

                j.             The record could be changed, tampered with and a bias in the documentation.

                k.            The recorder could have changed or fudged birth dates of the children to better occur within the marriages.

                l.              The information obtained from this record would be a starting point but would require further data/sources to reach a Genealogical Proof.

               

 

 2.            In the 1850 Missouri Census is the following info:

                Don Figele           bricklayer           pob Germany    dob  1811-1812 (age 38)

                Barb Figele                                          pob Germany    dob   1825-1826 (age 24)

                Ad Figele                                             pob Germany    dob   1844-1845 (age 5)

                Fritz Figele                                          pob Germany    dob  1845-1856 (age 4) 

                Joh  Figele                                           pob Missouri      dob   1847-1848 (age 2)

                Marie Figele                                       pob Missouri      dob   1849-1850 (age 6/12)

                Corn Figele         Bricklayer            pob Germany    dob   1826-1827 (age 23)

 

                In the 1860 Illinois Census is the following info:

                Antoine Higley  Stone Mason     pob Hanover      dob 1809-1810 (age 50)

                Barbra Higley                                     pob Hanover      dob 1826-1827 (age 33)

                Adolf Higley                                        pob Hanover      dob 1845-1856 (age 14)

                Fredk Higley                                       pob Hanover      dob  1847-1848 (age 13)

                Mary Higley                                        pob Hanover      dob  1849-1850 (age 11)

                Sophia Higley                                     pob Hanover      dob 1850-1851  (age 9)

                Jacob Higley                                       pob Illinois          dob 1853-1854 (age 6)

                Louisa   Higley                                    pob Illinois          dob 1856-1857 (age 3

 

The census' seem to contain the following information:

                a.            The 2 families are probably the same. 

                                1.            The first names seem to match with one census containing the German and the other the Americanized version of the same name in the 2nd census.

                                2.            The ages are fairly consistent for those in both census.

                                3.            The birthplace of Germany in the first census probably refers to general German countries and the 2nd a more specific location.

                                4.            The occupation of bricklayer is consistent with a Stone Mason in the 2nd census.

                b.            Corn was probably a brother to Don.  Don was too young to have fathered Corn and since they were living in the same household they would probably be related.  Also the occupations were the same. 

                c.             The family was in Germany and arrived in America in 1847 or 48 but giving them enough time to travel from their arrival port to Missouri prior to the birth of Joh (? John) and relocated to Illinois prior to 1853-1854 when Jacob was born.

                d.             John probably has died by 1860 since he is not in the Census.

                e.            The birth place for Mary and Sophia is wrong in the 2nd census.  They were probably born in Missouri.

                f.             In the 2nd census Corn had probably left to form his own family.  He may have remained in the same area in Missouri or may be located in the Illinois census near Antoine.  Corn may also have died between the 1850 and 1860 census.

                g.            Using only these census' to gain information on this family would not be termed "exhaustive search" and would require more information to meet the Genealogical Proof Statement.

mastering genealogical proof homework chapter 1

Taking the Challenge

Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Sunday, 16 June, is Father's Day.  Let's celebrate by writing a blog post about our Father, or another significant male ancestor (e.g., a grandfather).

2)  What are three things about your father (or significant male ancestor) that you vividly remember about him?

3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.
**********************************************************************************
Above is the challenge from Randy Seaver of the Genea-Musings blog

Many have seen my earlier post with my Father's obituary on it, My father passed away Friday on Flag day.  So this is my first Father's Day without one.

The three memories of my father I am sharing surround Baseball/Softball:

1.  He loved watching baseball /softball on TV.  He was an equal opportunity observer.  He did not care what level  - college, pro,  girls, boys - it did not matter.  Since he wasn't able to talk due to a brain event for the last 24 years of his life one had to sort out the exact question to ask him.  After years of trying to figure out why he did not have a special team and seemed to want to watch any and  all, the question occurred to me "  Dad" I asked, "Are you watching the Umpires?"  He nodded yes.  He liked the game but he was really just checking out the umpires to see if they were making the right calls.
 
2.  One of the things my Dad did prior to his illness was umpire.  When we cleaned out his house after he got ill we found his umpire protector, mask and his ball/strike/out counter.  (this was before the padding became part of the uniform)  I found out that he began umpiring while in high school and did it off and on throughout his life.

3.  We were a baseball/softball playing group.  I found team pictures with my brother and behind him is my dad as his coach. My father and brother often participated in adult softball leagues.  Even I had played softball growing up.  This might be why I had my boys play baseball and my daughter softball during their elementary days.  Bekah,  You can blame your Grandpa for the softball rather than dance choice I made for you.

Baseball probably will always be in my life.  I will watch the umpires,  watch the College World Series in his honor (living in Omaha he frequently went), watch the pro teams my kids are following and grin that they are caring on the family tradition that started with my father's father and mother.

Dad, I hope we are doing you proud!!  Enjoy running the bases in heaven.

Lost the Air Force of the Air Force Brat.

While I will write soon of my father  I want to let you know he passed away on Friday, June 14, 2013.  How like him to die on Flag Day.  Below is the obituary with the service information:

"To: Council Bluffs and Omaha Papers

From: Teahen Funeral Home, Cedar Rapids, IA

RE: Beezley Obituary

To be published: Sunday, June 16, 2013

 

Marvin Homer Beezley, 80 of Cedar Rapids, IA died Friday, June 14, 2013 at West Ridge Care Center following a long illness. Services: 1 p.m., Saturday, at New Covenant Bible Church, Cedar Rapids, by Chaplain Jeremy Hudson.  Burial: 1 p.m., Monday, June 24, 2013, at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Council Bluffs with military honors.  Friends may visit with the family Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., at Teahen Funeral Home, Cedar Rapids and after 12 p.m. on Saturday at the church.

 

Marvin is survived his daughter Lori (William) Meyer of Cedar Rapids; five grandchildren Rebekah Meyer of Roseville, MN, John (Megan) Meyer of Manchester, NH, Jeremy Meyer of Cedar Rapids, and Amy (Eddie) Sinkevich, Jacob Beezley, and Adam (Jenee) Mann all of Omaha, NE; one brother Richard (Marcia) Beezley of Burnsville, MN; two nephews and a niece Kristopher (Jeannette) Beezley of Florida, and Patrick Beezley, and Stephanie (Tom) Baker both of Minnesota; a special friend Jean Borders of Cedar Rapids, and the large body of caregivers at West Ridge Care Center.

 

He was preceded in death by his wife Norma Jean, his brother Gerald Beezley in 2008 and son Michael in 2011. 

 

Marvin was born on November 22, 1932 in Council Bluffs the son of Homer and Edna (Timm) Beezley.  He married Norma Jean Pope on September 18, 1954 at Grace Methodist Church in Des Moines. Norma Jean died in 1972.  Marvin retired in 1977 from the Air Force as a Lt Colonel, as a navigator on B-52’s.  He faithfully served in Vietnam and during his time in service was able to travel the world and be stationed in many states.

  

The family would like to give special recognition to all the caregivers at West Ridge Care Center who over the years became like family to Marvin.

 

Instead of flowers the family requests that donations be made in his name to the Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675, or online at:  got@woundedwarriorproject.org

 

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.teahenfuneralhome.com"

 

For all my genealogy friends I tried to get as much genealogical data in as I could.

My Start

     As you can tell from the title I began my life as "An Air Force Brat".  My father was a career Air Force officer.  He was a Navigator on a B-52 among other duties.  I was born in Harlingen, Texas and before I was in Kindergarten I had lived in Rapid City, South Dakota; Wichita Falls, Texas and Bossier City, Louisiana.  We lived in Bossier City through my fifth grade year and while my Dad was stationed in Vietnam.
     During my 5th grade year my Father returned from Vietnam and we moved to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.  We remained there until my Freshman year in High School when we moved to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska.  My Dad retired while still in Omaha, Nebraska but after I had graduated from High School and was married.
     I think because we lived in so many places my parents made sure we did two things.  One was return to Iowa to visit family.  Both my mother and father were from different cities in Iowa and so we would make the rounds.  I was lucky enough to know both grandmothers, my paternal grandfather and all four of my great grandmothers.  The other thing that we did was visited museums and while in school I studied the history of Louisiana and Hawaii.  I think this emphasis on family and love of history lead to my interest in Genealogy.
      I am starting this log to share some of my adventures into Genealogy and whatever else comes to mind.  I can not promise an entry very day but this is where I will "show my homework" as I will be on the panel for Dear Myrtle's study group on the book Mastering Genealogical Proof  by Tom Jones.