Resource: Kentucky Civil War Governors

The Kentucky Historical Society has a new database that should be on your radar when researching your Kentucky Civil War era ancestors - and be sure to read to the end - they will need your help with the next phase of identification! Civil War Governors of Kentucky, Digital Documentary Edition (Early Access.) Why would Kentucky genealogists be interested in a database seemingly about Civil War Governors? Because this database is another way to explore your FAN (friends, associates & neighbors) connections on a state level. Yes, the documents are connected to Kentucky Governors of the time, but in a broad sense. Since no man is an island - think of Governors as conduits of action - actions that involved people, and produced documents to record those actions. The Civil War was a traumatic event for our ancestors, regardless of whether they went to war or not. Just think about the daily disruptions that took place: theft, requisitioning, violence, economic changes/challenges, jurisdiction/authority questions/changes, abuse of power, etc. Let's just say, there were many challenges that arose during this time to warrant civilian appeal to the Governor himself.

In Kentucky, we had a split government - resulting in a Governor for each side - with a total of five Governors during the War. Each man produced thousands of documents pertaining to the petitions of Kentucky's citizens. Much like court records and/or newspaper articles, the information found within these documents help to flesh out the bones. They provide a supplemental view into our ancestors' lives - during a volatile period that shaped the future for many generations.

So let's get down to brass tacks - what can you find if you search for an ancestor? First, I would keep it simple at this point. Look for unique surnames first, followed by individuals. You can also search the documents by location or subject. All prove to be very helpful when taking a closer look at your ancestor's sphere of influence. An important note about where the documents came from: So far, documents were scanned from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA), Kentucky Department of Military Affairs, Kentucky Historical Society, Maker's Mark Distillery, and the Mary Todd Lincoln House.

Just what did I find when searching for my family? Not a lot, to be honest. But I haven't abandoned the site, and hope to study further into the documents on a regional/county level. You will see from my result why sticking to this project will be important for the future.

As a disclaimer, I only searched for my unique surnames, not individuals. I didn't get any hits with most of them, and then I typed in "Allender." I found one document hit that provided me with multiple connections. But you'll have to pay close attention to the spelling variations that demonstrate the importance of literally "exploring" the documents.

My "Allender" hit turned out to be a petition for sentence remission regarding the conviction of a local man, Lewis Cummins. Apparently, the local court had convicted Lewis of stabbing a fellow Pendleton County citizen. He did not kill the man, but was sentenced to 6 months in jail and a $50 fine for the injurious assault.

The original judgement is attached at the top, with the petition included below, asking Governor "JF Robinson" for "executive clemency" in this matter. Their appeal and reasons for writing are included below:

"The immediate neighbours and acquaintences of Lewis Cummins, would respectfully represent: That they have known and are well acquainted with said Cummins, and know him to be a peaceable, well disposed, law abiding man, aged about 23 yrs, with a small family, a wife and one infant child, and in very humble and limited circumstances of life, as to means or property. — just commenced the work, upon and the owner of thirty odd acres of poor comparatively poor land in this County, upon which he has settled in the woods, having only about eight acres cleared, inclosed and under fence; this with his own and unaided labour, and known habits of industry, his whole dependence for a support and living for himself and helpless little family, in this season of busy toil, for all depending upon the soil for a living and the products thereof, as barriers against want & starvation — as to themselves and those immediately dependent upon them.

The accusation against him is for stabbing in a sudden heat and passion, a certain Tyre Geilaspy, of superior muscular and corporal powers, and your petitioners would be glad to add of equal amiableness of traits of character — the promient witness in the prosecution, with, fortunately no serious or dangerous wound upon his person, inflicted, if inflicted in heat of passion; and while it is human to err, and especially so, in passion with a first aggression — your petitioners are convinced, fully and undoubtingly so, there under all the circumstances, the infliction of a fine and imprisonment in this case, loudly calls, in humanity and justice, for the interposition of executive clemency, on behalf of Cummins, we therefore invoke, under an abiding sense that punishment in mercy alone attains its ends, your excellency most earnestly to remit, especially the punishment of imprisonment, as ruinous to Cummins & family and also remission of the fine, as inflicted without reference to means of the accused to pay it a punihsment beyond decent —"

What follows this appeal is a list of 112 men signing on behalf of the convicted - original signatures of the individuals, NOT a list generated by one person! #genealogyhappydance The "Allender" gentleman that snagged the hit happened to be at the very top of the signature list: Thomas Allender. Off the top of my head, I was not familiar with Thomas, but kept reading down the list. To my surprise, I found several other men I recognized, including 2 of my Grandfathers!

Most would say this was a slightly interesting document, at best, for my genealogical research. However, there were some clues that gave me a little insight into the relationships of these men. First of all, after many years of researching this community, I knew that many of these men were related to Lewis Cummins, either by blood or marriage. That does shed a different light on the petition. Several of the names currently transcribed were done so by someone who was probably not familiar with the local surnames, and could not read the fading ink well enough to get clear spellings. For example, "G. B Rible" is more than likely Joe B. Pribble. I can recognize the spelling of the surname as "Prible" when reviewing the original signature.

Stone of "James J Alender"

The above slight surname spelling change did not apply to just one surname. In subsequent years, the Pribble family settled on the two 'b' format. Similarly, with the first Allender hit, Thomas uses two 'l's in his name. So too did the rest of my family in all the rest of the family documentation. However, farther down the list is "James Alender" (transcribed as "James Alenoer".) James happens to be my 4th Great Grandfather: James Jackson Allender. He and his wife (Mary Stout) are buried next to each other in the old Fisher cemetery on Route #10. Since James died within 3 years of signing this document, and 15 years before his wife, we always found it odd that his stone had the carving "Alender." His wife's stone, as well as those of his adult children included both 'l's in their spelling: "Allender." I had always assumed that the stone carver made a spelling error. But this document proves that James used one 'l' when spelling his name. You can't really argue with "from the horse's mouth", so to speak!

A few names above James' entry, we find "B W Cox" followed by "N B MCall." BW happens to be my 3rd Great Grandfather: Barton Warren Cox. The signature below his is, more than likely, Barton's stepbrother: Napoleon Bonaparte McCall (yes, I also see the spelling change of MCall and McCall.)

Barton Warren Cox

What I find to be interesting about these signatures is their proximity. I have no idea how these signatures were collected originally. I can see various types of ink used throughout, suggesting name collection on an individual or batch level. Was someone going door-to-door to collect the signatures? Possibly, but knowing the terrain of this area, that sounds very inconvenient. I'm going to guess that the signatures were collected at various meetings. Perhaps, Church, fraternal, or other local meetings. If the person had went door-to-door, there should have been names between Barton and Napoleon's. They lived in the same part of the county, but not next door to each other. Unless one was visiting the other at the time of the gathering, it can be surmised that they were at the same meeting when the petition was signed. The close proximity of the signatures on the petition reminds me very much of the early tax records. When the taxes were recorded chronologically, the men with the same surname, paying on the same day, can be assumed to be relatives of some sort. Sometimes, father and son.

In this case, Napoleon was the son of Barbary (Barbara Sharp) and Ross McCall. After his father, Ross, died, his mother Barbary married Samuel Cox, the father of Barton. Why is this significant? Barbary was Samuel's third wife - and the widow of his very good friend, Ross McCall. The marriage came after Samuel divorced his second wife on the heels of a very salacious divorce proceeding. His second wife had accused him of both physical and mental abuse, along with poor treatment by his adult children in the area. Barton was never named specifically, but it painted a picture of hostile stepmother/stepchild relationships. When Samuel married Barbary, she had several McCall children that came along with her, and she gave birth to one or two Cox children.

Back to the petition: By seeing these two step-siblings signing so close together, it tells me that they possibly had a friendly relationship. Perhaps it was even affectionate. Of course, I'm stretching this a bit, but with the past accusations of a wife being treated poorly by the stepchildren, it was nice to see that perhaps the accusations were exaggerated, or did not convey to the children of the third wife. It is nothing more than a curiosity, not really important to my research, but interesting from a familial perspective. Just a window into that chapter of Grandpa Barton's life.

As for the local criminal: The outside of the petition says the sentence and fine were remitted as a result of the efforts of his family, friends, and neighbors. It's nice to know, that even during war, they were still watching out for each other, and that the system worked for Mr. Cummins. Or, one could argue that the system worked when his punishment was given, and the Governor acted as a "do-over" for the young father. Either way, this one document proved to shed light on a community, and a few members of my family. Which is why you should pay attention to the Kentucky CWG site as it develops. They will be needing help from locals or researchers who can add more information about individuals, or suggest corrections to the transcriptions when observed. There is a "Suggest a Correction" button at the end of each page. Also, in the future, they hope to connect the individuals in the documents to form a web of connections. This would be an area where you can help further. Keep this on your radar as you research your Kentucky Civil War era ancestors!  

Broken Wings: Finding George Remus

A few weeks ago, while attending a festival in my Mother's hometown, Falmouth, we stopped in to Riverside cemetery to "visit" with my grandparents. As we paid our respects, I realized it was just daylight enough to go scoundrel hunting. About a year ago, I was watching Ken Burns' series Prohibition. As the story unfolded, he covered a chapter of history I had only vaguely heard stories about: prohibition and the Cincinnati area. I knew the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area had been a hotbed of illegal activity that began with the prohibition era, but I had never heard of its king: George Remus. In a stunning footnote to history, it turns out George was buried in the same cemetery as my grandparents, despite his life and death in the Cincinnati/Covington areas. Burns also noted that locals remembered his stone because it contained angels, whose wings were ripped off shortly after he was buried there. This was something I had to see for myself.

In very short order, we found him. It wasn't hard at all since the cemetery isn't that large. Plus, I can count on one hand the number of stones that contain any type of statue. Based on the date of his death, I knew he had to be in the older portion of the cemetery, and with the "angels" clue, we found him within a few minutes of driving around. And sure enough, the wings were missing.

The stone itself marks a joint plot containing George, his third wife, Blanche Watson, and two individuals from Blanche's family: Belle and J. Taylor Watson. Based on the life dates of Belle and J. Taylor, I'm guessing this may be Blanche's parents (Belle: 1854-1938 & J. Taylor: 1846-1889)

So, looking at the stone as a joint product, I tried to link up a timeline of its construction. Based on the style of the stones, it was not something from the 1880s when J. Taylor died, nor did it appear to be contemporary to the 1950s when George died. However, taking the death date of Belle into consideration, I'm guessing the stone was nearer to her death date of 1938, when George and Blanche were already a married couple.

I also noticed that the individual burial locations based on gender had been switched. In most cases, the husband is planted first, on the left, and the wife on the right. Here we have George and Blanche correct, but Belle and J. Taylor are switched to place Belle and Blanche next to each other. This is not completely unheard of, but solidifies a close bond between the women. Ironically, in the newer part of the cemetery, my grandparents pulled the same switcheroo so my grandmother and her sister could be buried next to one another without displacing their spouses. Of course, even this switch is odd because if J. Taylor was the first to be interred in 1889, Blanche and George did not even know each other at the time. Perhaps the arrangement was made sentimentally at an earlier date? Conjecture on my part - but all things must be considered when analyzing burial placement. Of course, it goes without saying: wouldn't we also love to know who ripped the wings off? If it was done prior to Blanche's death in 1974, as the reports say, why didn't she have them repaired? Unless she knew that was a useless waste of money.

If the monument itself is a product of 1938, this speaks volumes as to George's last years. These years are something that has begun to intrigue me a bit. Of all the things written about George, his bootlegging, prison time, and murder of his second wife (without prison time for the murder), very little has been written of his years after prohibition. The last 20 years or so are relegated to postscripts - most concur that he attempted to rebuild his fortune, through business and liquor sales, etc., but they all conclude that he failed in his attempt and lived out the rest of his years in obscurity, dying at his home in Covington. But, how obscurely did he live, and to what extent did he really fail?

According to other reports, he had a nice real estate office in Cincinnati, and even owned stock in the Reds baseball team. From what I remember of Burns' production, it was the liquor part that failed on the second go round. I'm assuming the rest of his business was lucrative, at least to provide comfortable means. Let's just assume that the stone itself, in all its elaborate design serves as proof that George did have a decent size fortune. After all, the rest of Blanche's family plot does not match this opulence. The surrounding Watson stones are modest to say the least - very small indeed. Which brings me to the conclusion that the statue was a product of George's money, not Blanche's.

If you ever get the time, you should read up on George. It is a fascinating story. As a young German immigrant (age 5), he was later known as the King of the Bootleggers, and also got away with murder after shooting his second wife, Imogene, in cold blood up at Eden Park. Seriously, a rather twisted guy. Legend has it that Fitzgerald based his Great Gatsby character on Remus after meeting him at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville (legend light on documentation) - but you get the idea about this guy's lavish and brazen lifestyle.

I also found it worth note that his change in professional venue from Chicago to Cincinnati, during the height of prohibition, was not just based on the overly crowded and protected territory under Capone, but on the German friendly population of Cincinnati that was already adept at producing a crap ton of liquor. Those family ties folks - remain strong in crime as well as genealogy.

As a postscript to my own family history - George's link to Falmouth has intrigued me even more. When I heard about the prolific nature of liquor production in Northern Kentucky, during and after prohibition, I suspected my great-grandfather's German immigrant family had a part in this profession. They were always listed as farmers in the census, but the family tradition of wine production is cemented with family artifacts related to said endeavor. One court record even relates the story of accused slander during a wine sale gone wrong - in Covington.

The family's wine production is a subject I hope to research more, but it's hard to research a profession purposefully veiled in secrecy. One clue that keeps me hot on the trail is a picture from 1935 - just after prohibition. My great aunt and uncle (brother and sister) sitting on the hoods of their matching brand new cars. By legal profession, he was a farmer, and she was a domestic servant in Cincinnati. During the depression, this was a highly unusual purchase for their legal circumstances. 1935 was during the time when Remus was trying to rebuild his liquor empire - with the Falmouth/German connection, did they know the Watson family and work for Remus? I highly doubt it - but Remus was known for a complex network of "connections" to supply his inventory - and he was well known for paying them quite handsomely. I guess I have some more research to do!

Eternal Membership Level

This weekend, our family went cemetery traipsing in Pendleton County and stumbled upon a new stone we had not seen before. I cannot tell you how old the stone is, nor even if the person memorialized is dead or not. I know it is fairly new because I had not seen it last year when visiting my grandparents' graves, plus, it is constructed in a current style: Solid black, polished granite with fine etchings. Despite the stone containing a name, there is no date range to determine time frame of this person's existence. After a little research, I have determined that this person was from the Falmouth area, but was living in Biloxi Mississippi as recently as 2004. A few possibilities: This person is still alive and will be buried here someday, the person is buried in MS and simply wanted a memorial stone in his hometown and family plot, or, this person has died recently and the dates are still waiting to be etched.

It is, however, the flip side of this stone that caught my attention. Every organization he was affiliated with is represented in the applique or etching of the official logo. I'm serious...EVERY ORGANIZATION. His church affiliation is the first and largest organization represented, followed by military insignias, educational logo, and finally LINEAGE societies seals. Some of the Lineage societies represented are: SAR, Kentucky First Families, Sons of Union Veterans, First Flight Families. He also chose to include membership affiliations such as the Kentucky Genealogical Society, and the Kentucky Historical Society, among others. As much as I enjoy my affiliations and memberships, I would personally prefer family information to be on a tombstone. Then again, this does tell me about the individual possibly buried there. I learned that he was very passionate about his membership in lineage societies and valued history. I also had a clue as to further research directions, such as church membership and education connection. My question is: what is your impression of this...good information or over the top allegiance?

52 Ancestors #4: Roy Watts

Happy Birthday to ancestor #4! When February 2nd rolls around, everyone wishes Roy a Happy Birthday, even though he passed in 2006. Roy Edmund Watts was my Grandfather, affectionately knows as "Pappa". He was born in 1915 in far western Tennessee or Kentucky. His parents were: James Thomas Watts (1891-1953) and Florence Warren (1898-1923). The ambiguity behind his birthplace is due to his many years in an orphanage as a youth. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1923, and since his father was slightly handicapped, the children were placed in an orphanage in Louisville. I wrote a little more about this problem with an earlier post: Hunting Wabbits...AKA Warrens. Anyway....Roy was married to Freida Laverne Beyersdoerfer and passed away in 2006 in Paris, KY. His obituary reads:

Roy Edmund Watts, 91, of Paris, formerly of Falmouth, died Tuesday at Bourbon Community Hospital, Paris. He was a dairy farmer, a former Pendleton County magistrate and a member of First Christian Church, Paris. He worked at Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. during World War II, was a former member of the Cincinnati Milk Sales Board and donated land that became part of Kincaid Lake State Park in Pendleton County. His wife, Freida Beyersdorefer Watts, died in 1997.

Since I already know much about him, I will relate one of his stories below:
"I was run over once by a wagon. I was about 5 or 6; in the mountains of Eastern [Western] Tennessee where we lived near my father's family. Well, it was our turn to go to town for groceries. Everything was grown right there on the farm and canned, so we didn't go for much, just large quantities of a few things to last for awhile; such as coffee, flour, and sugar - bought in big sacks.

It was just me and my dad in the big wagon with the two mules hooked up to the front. Diner was on the right side - she was a mare mule and meaner than a snake. I didn't like her. She looked like part zebra. On the left was Fox. He was a bear mule and black as midnight. But he was a good old fella, and my favorite.

On the way home, I was standing just behind the horses, behind the wagon gate. It was about as tall as my chest. Well, we hit a big rock or something and I flew out of that wagon and landed under it as it moved and the wheel ran right over my chest. My dad thought I was gone because he saw it happen and thought for sure I was dead. Well, all it did was break my ribs. To get me home, he stopped at a neighbor's house and borrowed a feather bed mattress and laid it in the back of the wagon, to let me lie on it all the way home."

We all miss him, but I have lots of stories and great memories of this wonderful man....here is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us together....both napping, after he had come in from the dairy and fell asleep playing with his brand new grand-daughter. Note the strong family resemblance (bald heads). I confess to always being one of his favorites - it must have been a result of this early bonding moment. :-)

Musical Graves & A Mystery Solved

In autumn 2011, I posted about the practice of grave robbing in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. This late 19th century practice has been well documented, but the actual number of bodies stolen has not been. As part of the post, I related a family story that was written down and added to the E.E. Barton Papers in the 1940s: "My Mother never did think that her grandfather [Samuel Cox] rested in his grave, for just in a night or two at 12 o'clock, a man left that grave with something wrapped in white lying across his horse in front of him. The man was a truthful man, and is a brother-in-law of my father, Newton Humble was the man. [Speaking of the witness]. We always thought that it was old Dr. Thomas, and that he probably took the body to Cincinnati and the medical college to find out what was the cause of his death." Pearl Allender 

For decades, my family has known where this small family plot was located. My Great-Grandmother, Nellie Cox Beyersdoerfer, would always point it out to us, and when I was early into my genealogy journey, my Mother and I visited a few times. We knew this was the resting place of Samuel Cox (d.1857) and his first wife, Mary Dean Cox (d.1836), on their farm, Cox's Run. The stones were in terrible shape - hardly legible with lichens filling in the carvings. They were so bad that photographs did not help, and so I took notes about each stone. The plot only contained a few graves. Two upright, carved stones, and a couple of rocks sticking out of the ground with no markings/carvings. Per Kentucky law, the landowner had been faithful about keeping them from harm by placing his bales of hay around the plot each year. There was a small fence, but things were deteriorating, and they did sit dangerously close to the road.

Samuel and Mary Cox Graves, taken in 1996

In a surprise move out of left field, Jim Cox, another distant cousin and descendant of Samuel Cox, recently decided that they were in harms way. He took action and paid to have the graves re-located to a larger cemetery that already contained many of this couple's descendants. According to reports from John Peoples of Peoples Funeral Home in Falmouth, they disinterred each grave, but only found remains in two of them: the two adult graves with carved stones. With no remains being found in the rock marked graves, everyone assumes these were infants and already decomposed to dust. Both sets found were re-interred into the same grave next to Sam & Mary's Grandson, Jeremiah Cox in Lenoxburg Cemetery. If my memory serves me correctly, Jeremiah is on the outer edge of the cemetery, not too far from other Grandchildren of Sam & Mary - a very fitting spot for them - and quite romantic as this was the original couple who produced so many Cox descendants. I'm certain they would have approved.

So....with two sets of remains being found (one set was more complete than the other), this might suggest that our old family story related through many generations was just that - a story. Which, actually makes me feel better. I was hoping Grandpa Cox was resting peacefully in his grave, and not scattered to the wind without his family's knowledge or permission. This also exonerates poor Doc Thomas as Pearl accused so many years ago. Will this make me leave this story out of our family history? NO WAY!! I still love this story, and it serves as a valuable example of the oral grapevine that flourished in our family - even if the tale was wrong.

Plus....how do we know there wasn't some community truth to the story? In other words, maybe there wasn't a grave robbing going on....but maybe some other nefarious activity? Was someone sitting in a graveyard getting drunk and needed to be carted home? Was the person on the horse drunk and merely took a small detour late at night through the graveyard? Or, was Newton Humble drunk as a skunk that night, and telling a whopper only seen in his imagination? With any of these scenarios, it makes for a colorful addition to the family narrative! Besides, the conclusion they all made about the sight in the middle of the night proves the prolific nature of the grave robbing rumors in the area.

As for a small post script, their new stone has not been made just yet. That is a work in progress. Another cousin, Eric Peelman, has been hot on the trail of this story and is helping with the effort to replace the stone. They had hoped to re-incorporate the old stones into a new monument, but that might prove to be too cost prohibitive. However, Eric sent me these wonderful photos of the stones after they had been cleaned off - how beautiful they were under the years of lichen build-up!! We rarely get to see them in this state, so I was delighted with the end results. I can't wait to see what they have in store as a monument. Once that is up, I will travel to that cemetery for more photos!

NGS2012 Reflections: Part 2 "Review"

I am going to use the word "Review" a bit loosely here as I've only been to a handful of genealogy conferences, and NGS2012 was only my second NGS conference. However, once everyone returns home, there are always moments or features/events that stick out in your mind - both good and bad. Here are some of my observations about this year's NGS:

1. Syllabus on a Stick! Yes please! Love this current trend/move in a future direction! CDs are nice, but flash drives are just more practical these days, especially with so many people traveling the conference circuit with their tablets. Most smaller devices, either tablets or netbooks don't come with CD-ROM drives, so this move to the flash drive concept is very attendee friendly! As you can see from my photo above, I did actually opt for buying the print syllabus as an additional perk, but there was really only one reason I did this - ok, maybe two - First, it was my first conference as a speaker, and I wanted something to pass down in tangible form to remember the event by - and Second, Cincinnati is within driving distance of my home, so I DID NOT have to get it home on a plane! This is probably the only time I will ever opt for the print version. As for syllabus access prior to the start of the conference, I did hear some complaints from my tech-savy friends who were wanting to download the syllabus and open it up to take notes while sitting in the session. Since everything came as pdf, this was not possible - but I think they found some work-arounds. Personally, this was not a problem for me as I am a stream of consciousness note taker. I open a new note on the tablet (in Evernote), title it to match the session I'm in and jot down what I want to remember. Sadly, I am not organized enough to later match my notes to the syllabus page, but someday....

2. 1940 Census - I finally got one of those darned t-shirts!! Ever since RootsTech, the Family Search folks have been walking around, wearing these cute advertisements for the census release - just taunting us and not offering the ability to actually get one! They had even said they might offer us the opportunity to purchase one from their web site, but they never got around to that option....Grrrrr! So, finally, the t-shirts were free for the taking at NGS2012 - one catch though, you had to sit and index TWO batches of the census! Two was a great idea in theory, but after watching the backlog of people trying to use one of the computer terminals, ONE batch per t-shirt would have been a much better arrangement! Oh - one other amazing memory - I got to meet the 1940 Census lady from NARA - Connie Potter - she is one of my genealogy heroes, and she was just as sweet in person!

3. Overall session offerings - Very nicely done! I liked the local track that was implemented (otherwise I would not have spoken this year) which catered to those who might research in the area further. The hardcore certification and citation sessions were here plus a very nice technology track to balance everything out.

4. Exhibit Hall - The space itself was a bit dated with the enormous concrete arena from the 1970s, but the offerings seemed pretty well balanced. I did notice a strong representation from the local groups which was awesome! I also noticed some major vendor players who were missing this year. The freebie swag was greatly lacking, but with this economy, I'm not at all surprised. The demo areas seemed to have an abundance of space, but the acoustics were terrible, and almost everyone was drowned out by the microphone on that side of the hall. I did like the upper deck view from the second floor which allowed you to stand at a window and gaze upon the exhibit hall floor. Pretty neat and a great reminder to those hopping between sessions, that the floor of fun was just waiting below!

5. Yep, There's an App for That! - Ever since RootsTech's introduction of the conference app, folks have been a bit giddy over the convenience something like that provided! For the NGS2012, they opted to use a company that was already in existence instead of creating one from scratch. They chose "Guidebook", which is free to download via smartphones and tablets. Once you have this app downloaded, you just search for the applicable conference that is coming up and save it to your list. While no one considered the RootsTech app to be perfect, we suddenly appreciated it more after using Guidebook. The NGS2012 app was decent and easy to use, but it was not inclusive. For the "my schedule" portion, I was only allowed to add things that were from the official schedule. Sadly, the official schedule did not include any extra events, such as evening events or pre-conference events. I was disappointed in the lack of this feature. Especially since the extra events were listed in the conference literature as NGS organized events. The luncheons were also paid options, but they were included in the app schedules. Even if they didn't want to include these evening events, the option to manually add events in my schedule would have made up for the oversight. The conference experience is fluid. You may know which sessions you want to attend before you get there, but break-out sessions or special, small group events pop up, and the ability to change with the event flow is a must for conference apps. Also, I was not getting any notifications from this app about upcoming events on my schedule. I eventually just switched to using my calendar on the iPhone to keep up with what was coming up.

6. Ribbons/Pins - Confession time - I am a blingy girly girl. I like colorful and shiny things, and I confess to liking the whole ribbon ensemble that goes with conference attendance. Not only is it fun to add more ribbons as you connect with your memberships and groups, but if you watch closely, you can make new friends within the groups you belong to! Plus, I confess to being just plain curious. I watch for the most recurrent ribbons to get a mental snapshot of some of the most popular member groups. There is even a ribbon for "librarians" and this made for a great connection on the professional level that I used more than once during the conference! As a side note, the pins are quite fun to watch as well! I usually buy the official pin for each conference that I attend, but alas, I have not been brave enough to wear any, nor have I really figured out how to wear them. I see all sorts of applications for this fashion perk, but, not yet ready to go out on that limb. Tip: Waiting in line for something? Use someone's ribbon as a conversation starter!

7. Complimentary wi-fi, provided by Family Search! This was such an amazing gift to conference goers! I remember the pain of the Charleston Conference when signals were blocked and even some cell phone services were blocked to the point of having to step outside to make a phone call! This 2012 change was wonderful and served to promote the whole idea of the social experience. Folks were able to tweet and blog to their hearts content without a stutter! I had heard the capacity was a bit small, but the connection issues were not that problematic, and most people were getting online in their turn. Bravo Family Search!

8. Wrap Up - Favorite Memories of NGS2012: Sharing the Barton Papers with my fellow researchers - and the wonderful Pendleton County Historical Society ladies that helped out with my lecture! (I hope to post about this lecture topic as it is a vital resource for Northern Kentucky researchers!) Meeting up with more bloggers - I seriously love this group of people, and am already excited about the next time we get to meet up! Getting to meet the 1940 census queen, Connie Potter (see #2). Having so many local groups as booth neighbors especially the fun Kentucky folks (KHS, KGS, KDLA, AAGGKY)! Meat and potatoes of sessions this year - lots to sink my teeth into, and still absorbing my notes! Having the whole family working the Pastology booth with Chris and I this year - and the moment my Dad was unceremoniously introduced to the "Cloud" - I had to explain it to him after someone asked him about our relation to said "Cloud" - priceless! Having some old friends make the trip and help out with the booth (and wander around buying cupcakes)- Thanks Peggy! Getting a glimpse into where some of the major vendor players are heading in our field! Sharing some of my hometown with the national community!
Toodles from the Queen City!

1940 Census - News From the Trenches

As we approach the noon hour on this historic morning of the official 1940 Census release by the National Archives, I wanted to document my experiences so far.....and share the one image I was able to download.

The morning began with anticipation tweets, a half hour press conference, and then tweets of frustration as very few people were able to download anything. It was clear the servers were just not up to the momentous task, and we all continue to wait for bigger servers, or at least for the rush to slow down for improved search results.

Having your enumeration numbers ready was a clear headstart since all portions of the NARA site were painfully slow. I had thought of another enumeration district I could look up while waiting, but even the maps and descriptions would not load for me.

By using the enumeration district you can search much quicker, and as you can see from the image below, they have the option of searching by either 1930 or 1940 ED. This can be very helpful if you have not done your homework ahead of time. Ancestry.com has opened up their 1940 related documents until April 10th, which includes the 1930 Census. Since their servers are running much faster, just pop over there to get your 1930 ED while you wait!

Once I put in the search for my 1940 ED, I was taken to a results page that listed Map images, Description Images and Census Schedules. The Census Schedule is the NEW Census image which is the one we have been waiting for!

But alas, clicking on that link this morning is where people have been shut out almost completely. It times out, shows a broken link or an error. Hovering your mouse over the spinning wheel that appears to be loading something will give you a menu of "Quick View, View Full Screen or Download". As many have reported, going to full screen and then choosing "Download" seems to yield the best results. I opted for "Quick View" then "Full Screen" while in the Quick View, and then chose "Download" the one page only. After many tries at various combinations, I finally had my first real image at about 11:30AM. The winner for today was the first page of the ED 96-6 from Pendleton County Kentucky!

The surnames on this page are: Kidwell, Brooks, Record, Pribble, Shoemaker, Woodyard, Gilham, VanLandingham, Jett, McClanahan, Parr, Norris, Flaugher, Moore and Miller. Unfortunately, there are 18 pages for the 96-6 ED alone, so I will be taking a break from the action before I try for more pages. I had tried right away after this success, but was encountering the same problems as earlier - and a girl can only take so much spinning!

Some other news regarding access as of noon April 2nd:

Ancestry.com has won the access race so far. They received the images at 12:01AM and have been loading images for browsing since then. As of noon today, they had 11 states/territories available for browsing - and I must say, the images loaded very fast. I didn't even need an ED as there were drop-downs to let me choose state, county, community which then took me to an ED area for browsing. Very fast, and as they add more states, I will be using them for browsing unless the NARA system improves considerably. I think Ancestry is the dark horse today as most people will be flooding NARA and not bothering with Ancestry access - which means their less traffic will make for smoother sailing.

FamilySearch only has one state up for browsing as of noon: Delaware. Nice page for searching and progress, plus the images loaded very fast.....but with only one state by noon, Ancestry is winning!

MyHeritage has a lovely 1940 Census page exploring the culture and times, and announces that they will have content from the 1940 Census that no one else will: "See new unpublished records first - We'll be uploading data for US States that aren't yet available anywhere else, so you'll be the first to explore them!" However, as of noon, they have not posted any images from the 1940 Census.

Well that's it for now....I'm taking a break. Hopefully others will too and as the intensity slows down, so will the traffic, and things might get a chance to stabilize. This not a failure folks but a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone - from the server side to the user side! Can't wait for 2022 when the 1950 Census comes out! We will all have a good laugh about our 2012 access struggles :-)

Spreading the 1940 Census Hype!

I have been sorely remiss about fulfilling my 1940 Blog Ambassador duties, but I have an excuse.....I've been very busy filling that responsibility over at the History Burgoo blog site for KHS. As some of that activity tapers down to a slower pace, and as we all wait for April 2nd, I find myself mulling over some questions and tips that might be helpful as we get towards C-Day (Census Day).

1. Audience: I have been so focused on my genealogy friends and acquaintances, that I had been forgetting about my general friends and family. We all work or live in a world where you know the genealogically receptive people in your sphere, and usually censure your conversations accordingly - while I love to tell non-genealogists stories, I know their eyes will glaze over immediately if I slip into source citation or pedigree recitations. But recently, while attending a family funeral, I was checking myself, and letting the census info fly! It was kind of liberating, but we need to remember that the closer April 2nd gets here, the more we can hype this to our general friends and family! I am now making it a point to use this as a conversation starter regardless of the audience. Hopefully we'll snag some younger folks permanently into the world of genealogy/family history!

2. Questions: As excited as I am about this event, there are many questions that remain:

I'm not concerned about finding my family in the NARA images. I know which family units were rural and therefore easily findable. I also know which family units were young nomads in big cities, so I'm content with waiting on the index for them.

Some of us are concerned about image viewing on the 2nd - will it be able to support all of us? Word from Archives.com is that the system was designed to hold 25,000 viewers at one time. Ok, I guess this will test the volume of genealogy users - take note industry - this could be VERY interesting!

Then, how about the index? I am already signed up and have been indexing regular records as well the 1940 simulation batches to be prepared. But we are still not clear on how the batches will be released for the real 1940 census. On what date will the first batches be ready? Which batches will be ready first? At RootsTech, FamilySearch hinted that larger population states, such as New York would be released first.....but since so many things have changed since then, we're not sure if that is true anymore. If it is, what is the state release schedule going to be like? Also, I've had patrons ask if they can index their county - which would be great since FamilySearch was wanting "community experts" to be involved for the best accuracy possible - but we have not heard if county level batches will be available - somehow I doubt it.

Alternate indexing entities: So we know that Ancestry and MyHeritage are joining in the hype by advertising that they too will have an index. However, they have not revealed how or when this will happen. We know they will not have advance access to the images - they will get them the same time FamilySearch and the rest of the gang gets them to start our volunteer indexing projects. So who will index for Ancestry and MyHeritage? Since they have not called for volunteers and did not join up with the group that will be coordinating the massive nation-wide indexing project, I'm very curious as to how they will get this done, and who will be doing their indexing. FamilySearch advertised that they want community experts to volunteer so the interpretation of writing/surnames can be the most accurate. Yet, Ancestry and MyHeritage are not asking for any such thing. MyHeritage has even advertised that they will guarantee a 98% accuracy rate. Hmmmm, exactly how will that be achieved? As a company whose headquarters is across the ocean - I hope they will not be using non-US folks to do the indexing. The same goes for Ancestry - I hope these two companies are not planning on outsourcing their indexing just to get it done faster. I really think both companies should put out some disclosure on this aspect of their indexing model. Either way, I know who will be indexing through the community project - good ole local Americans who look at these records or hear these surnames everyday - which is why - the only index I'm going to trust once finished is the collaborative edition that we have all worked on together! (the1940census.com)

3. Homework: And so, I am still sorely behind on gathering my addresses for the people I want to find. I am not concerned about the rural farmers who lived in the same area for decades - they will be right where I left them in the 1930 census. But, since it is important to take a family inventory of who would have been alive in 1940, and narrow down our location to have the enumeration district numbers ready for April 2nd.....here are just a few of the people I will be looking for, and the challenges associated with each.

Uncle Myron and Aunt Anna Beyersdoerfer (brother and sister) - due to the questions raised by this photo in 1935, I will be VERY interested in their incomes listed and residences in 1935 versus 1940. Anna may be hard to find since she was listed in a few different residences in Cincinnati at the time - but I will find her eventually. For more info about why I am curious, see one of my earliest blog posts: Looking at Anna.

The Pace siblings: Nomadic group of brothers and sisters who did travel quite a bit in the Ohio and Kentucky areas due to work circumstances. Also, sisters all married, so need to find all the surnames, etc. This group alone will take some digging to have all of my info ready for searching each one.

The Pace childrens' Mama: Fannie Pace Cottle. I know roughly where she was living, but some of the supplemental answers on the Census will give me significant information about a woman I never had the pleasure of meeting.

My Paternal Grandparents: Charles and Bessie Daniels. Still living in the heart of downtown Cincinnati for 1940, but I need to ask my Dad where he thinks they were living at the time, because this side of the family, despite having moved around a lot over the years, still had this uncanny ability to point out every little spot they ever resided to proudly pass on that info to the next generation.

Speaking of Dad: He was born in 1939, so I think he would have looked just like this when the Census was taken :-)

Maternal Grandparents: Roy and Freida Watts: The boys in the middle here were not yet born, but the parents were fairly young newlyweds in 1940, possibly still living in Covington, since they hadn't fulfilled Pappa's dream of farm ownership until after the War. They might prove to be a bit elusive. 

Maternal Great Grandparents: John & Nellie Beyersdoerfer. On their Pendleton County farm in 1940 with probably only a couple of their kids still in the house.....but since "Ma" was known for feeding homeless ("hobos") men from the back porch during the depression, I will be interested to see what kind of income level a small family farm would have been bringing in at the time.

Anyway, these are the groups I'll be starting with - get busy everyone - it's almost here!

C

Here's a bit of fun from the Stooges as they take the 1940 Census :-) The first few minutes are priceless....."Are you married or happy?"

The Empty Grave

After last year's post about genealogy encounters of the Creepy kind, my creepy meter has been getting a work out all year. My above title does not refer to the Resurrection, but to those monsters of the cemetery: The Resurrectionists (cue evil cackle and lightning/thunder.) My interest in this macabre group came about after two incidents. Late last year I became acquainted with the cemetery/burial issues concerning the Eastern State Hospital in Lexington KY. During a period of time spanning from 1824 to the 1950s, patients dying while residing in the "lunatic asylum" were believed to have been buried on the premises, especially when family members could not afford the cost of hometown burial. Unfortunately, finding the "missing" remains has been a huge challenge. The records are "missing" from the state, and apparently, so are the bodies. Some bodies have been discovered on the premises, but the number is very low compared to the amount that should be there. One of the documents I viewed in regard to this issue was a letter from a health nurse in the 1980s. She suggested that perhaps many of the bodies are missing because they were never buried, but instead, transported north to the Cincinnati Medical College for post-mortem use: ie: dissection.

I don't think many people took this suggestion very seriously, but I suspect it is a distinct possibility. Eastern State Hospital sits right next to the railroad line, and reports have surfaced that the Cincinnati to Indianapolis to Michigan network for cadavers was a true network that involved pickle/paint vats and the train system. For those of you not familiar with Cincinnati's grave robbing history, I suggest three things: 1. Read up on the grave-robbing scandal involving the Harrison family. 2. Check into some of the publications written by Dr. Linden Forest Edwards at Ohio State University. He wrote a series of articles for the Ohio State Medical Journal back in the 1950s that were later re-published in the form of small booklets by the Wayne County Indiana Public Library. These articles/booklets explored the medical practice of employing grave robbers to fill the need of fresh cadavers for medical dissection. (I will provide a small reading list at the end of the post) 3. Watch the video posted at the end from the History Detectives. They are researching a grave alarm which in turn leads them to go over some of the numbers associated with the grave robbing "industry" of the time. With each medical college in the area advertising a cadaver for each student, the number of fresh cadavers needed each year was pretty staggering.

The Cincinnati area was rife with the problem. Bodies were being stolen all the time during this period (1860s-1880s)....many from poorer cemeteries. Dr. Edwards wrote about the stories that were being told, and people were so aware of this problem that they employed night watchmen to guard over fresh graves - if they could afford this service.....otherwise, sometimes carried out by family members. Ironically, in the largest Cincinnati Cemetery, Spring Grove Cemetery, the Medical College erected a headstone in memory of all the bodies used for scientific purposes. I think that alone speaks volumes about the number of bodies we might be talking about.

So what about the central Kentucky area? Were these areas susceptible to the crime of stealing bodies? Without any real proof, my gut says, not as much as the Cincinnati/Louisville area. We had Transy's Medical School here, but I would imagine the need for them was not as large. Louisville was noted to have a bit of a problem there, but like Cincinnati, they were on a river. I would say, unless we used the railroad heavily, I would guess the easiest victims were had more along the river. After all, the grave robbers may have sold the fresh bodies to the medical colleges, but they were essentially on their own. If arrested, it was clear the men acted "on their own", with the doctors nor colleges feeling any heat with the arrest. Public sentiment grew pretty hostile against this practice, but things did not change until laws were passed that allowed legal acquiring of cadavers, including the donation of bodies.

This regional issue brings me to my second encounter with grave robbing. It came when I stumbled upon a note in the E.E. Barton papers of Pendleton County KY. One of my distant cousins related a tale that had been passed down in the family about the burial of my fourth great grandfather, Samuel Cox: "My Mother never did think that her grandfather rested in his grave, for just in a night or two at 12 o'clock, a man left that grave with something wrapped in white lying across his horse in front of him. The man was a truthful man, and is a brother-in-law of my father, Newton Humble was the man. (Speaking of the witness). We always thought that it was old Dr. Thomas, and that he probably took the body to Cincinnati and the medical college to find out what was the cause of his death."

What really struck me about this report was the proximity of Samuel's grave.....it is a small family plot on the side of the road, out in the rural areas of northern Pendleton County, which is a pretty hilly place. If I was going to snatch some bodies, I wouldn't want to have to trek up those hills an back down again carrying a body, just for $10. But then, it wasn't too much farther to Foster in Bracken County which was right on the river. What better way to transport bodies? So, it has all just made my head spin a little to wonder....how many of our ancestors are not in the cemeteries we visit? I don't really mind them being used for science.....but it kinda makes me mad in a way....our ancestors were so against it, for religious/principle reasons.....what gave these colleges the right to steal what belonged to our families? And once they were done, I'm assuming the bones were burned, etc. Which means we no longer have true knowledge of a final resting place. I think the headstone placed in Spring Grove is a nice gesture, but I would like to know where they deposited the post-dissection pieces or ashes. I think that would be the proper place for a memorial - and a place we could point to as a final resting place. Anyway, just some points to ponder - especially on Halloween :-)

Watch Cemetery Alarm on PBS. See more from History Detectives.

For additional reading:
Body Snatching in Ohio During the Nineteenth Century by Dr. Linden F. Edwards
Cincinnati's Old Cunny by Dr. Linden F. Edwards
Dissection and Body Snatching in the Nineteenth Century by Heather Fox, The Filson, Volume 9, Number 2, Summer 2009
The Poor, the Black, and the Marginalized as the Source of Cadavers in United States Anatomical Education by Edward C. Halperin, Clinical Anatomy, Vol 20, 2007.

Sepia Saturday - Sleeping Beauty

I know I'm a day late this week for Sepia Saturday, but when I saw the theme earlier in the week, I knew right away which photo I was going to pull out of the collection. She is labeled in our tin-type album as Mary Allender. With that name attached, I'm pretty sure I know where she fits into the family tree - and would like to assure everyone, that she is NOT a memento mori. About 20 years ago, a distant cousin of ours, Ron Woods, renovated the "Mary Allender Log Home" in Pendleton County Kentucky. I have put the title of the home in quotations to point out its connection to the little sleeping girl.

Ron named this house after his grandmother Mary Allender Carnes who was born and raised right there in the house on Hickory Grove Rd. She was born in 1882, the granddaughter of the original builder, James Jackson Allender. However, for those of us who are cousins from a different line, the "Mary Allender" name also fits our ancestry. James Jackson Allender was married to Mary Stout Allender - both making their home and establishing our ancestry in this beautiful dwelling. This original couple built the log home in 1856, although, poor James only got to enjoy it for about 11 years before he died of smallpox.

James Jackson Allender

The little sleeping Mary is one photo among many others in what I call "The Allender Album". According to a notation in the front, this album belonged to Mary Stout Allender. It is filled with photos of her children and grandchildren. Judging by the age of the photo, and when little Mary was born, chances are pretty good that this is Mary Allender Carnes who grew up with her father Benjamin Allender in the log home. After just a glance at the Allender lines from James and Mary, I'm not seeing any Allender girls named Mary within this time frame: except for Mary Allender Carnes.

As a side note, I've not visited the homestead for quite some time, and have not visited with cousin Ron since he opened the finished log home back in the early 90s. If you are still around cuz, shoot me an e-mail. I have a duplicate tin-type of this photo and if you too think this is your grandmother, we'd love for you to have the original duplicate. I also hear you have a stash of photos - we need to get together for a photo scan fest of our own! I'll be at the Wool Fest in a couple of weekends in case you run across this post!