We all communicate with people we meet on a daily basis. Whether it's face to face, over the phone, or even through text messages. Why is it so hard to believe we can’t with our dead relatives? This was a question posed to me after a presentation I gave on including cemeteries in your research.
I know this is a Throw Back Thursday and that’s why this topic goes so well with posts from 2012. I’m sure some of you when you started reading this post had the same expression the ladies did from this post Spirit, Ghost, and Ancestors.
A post that came out about a month ago on how to cite information you are given by a Medium. How many of you have ever encountered this? Have you ever had a client tell you “a Medium told me my three times grandfather wasn’t an only child”. I was surprised to see how many respond to that post with a yes and how they would cite it. In case you wondering most would cite it as an interview. How would you respond? Finally, would you include the information in your final report as a researcher?
On the trip from Delaware to New York, there were many cemeteries along the way that caught my attention and this one is one of them. Some might say a neck breaker because you passed it before you knew it. Consequently, causing you to spin your head around to have a peek. Union Cemetery is located in Orange County, New York upon a hill in Wawayanda, slightly overgrown in some areas it’s hard to see. This tombstone caught my attention not only because of it being broken but also the touching design around the name. I shared some of the other tombstones and families in the past posts;Phebe Sproat QuickandCanfield Family of Orange County, New York.
Arabell Brown Tombstone
ARABELL
Eldest Daughter of
DORASTUS & LOUESA M.
BROWN
DIED
Sept. 21, 172
aged 15 years & 15 days
Census Records
[1]1860 United States Federal Census
1860 United States Federal Census in the town of Wawayanda the County of Orange in the state of New York shows Dorastus Brown head of household, male, white, born in New York. Real estate value 3100, personal estate value 2000. Occupation farmer, age 39. Louisa M in household, female, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 32. William L. in household, male, white, born in New York. Attending school, unable to read and write, no occupation, age 8. Millard F. in household, male, white, born in New York. Attending school, unable to read and write, no occupation, age 6. Arabell in household, female, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 2. Edwin in household, male, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 8 months. Mary A Devis in household, female, white, born in New Jersey. Occupation domestic, age 22.
[2]1870 United States Federal Census
1870 United States Federal Census in the town of Wawayanda the County of Orange in the state of New York shows Dorastus Brown head of household, male, white, born in New York. Real estate value 4500, personal estate value 1500. Occupation farmer, age 49. Louisa in household, female, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 41. William S. in household, male, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 18. Millard F. in household, female, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 16. Arabell in household, female, white, born in New York, age 12. Edwin F.P. in household, male, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 10. Sarah S. in household, female, white, born in New York, age 8. Mary H. in household, female, white, born in New York. No occupation, age 5. James E. in household, male, white, born in New York, age 2.
Review
**Note between the 1860 and 1870 Census it shows Mary A. Devis, the domestic is no longer living with the family. It also shows that the Brown family increased with the addition of two girls and one boy.
Due to the short life span of Arabell, the information I’m sharing is quite small in comparison to many others that I’ve blogged about. But with that being said I strongly believe she was well-loved and missed by many.
[1]1860 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed July 2017) Provo,UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Operations, Inc., 2009. Wawayanda, Orange, New York; Roll: M653_835; Page: 337; Family History Library Film: 803835.
[2]1870 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed July 2017) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Wawayanda, Orange, New York; Roll: M593_1070; Page: 693A; Image: 262077; Family History Library Film: 552569.
You might recognize some of the faces in this photograph of mom and her boys. This family appears to be part of the “Johnson Clan”, one that I shared earlier. What's nice about this photo is I now have the given names of the men, but mom well sometimes we are just known as mom.
While researching on an individual buried with Military Honors I came across this article on Genealogy Bank. I always find it interesting and honorable how we lay our military members to rest. This article in particular even goes into detail about boutonnieres the pallbearers were wearing. He was a Brigadier General at the time of his retirement, he was a civilian at the time of his passing.
Published on the 8th of June in 1905 in the Baltimore American out of Baltimore, MD
BURIED WITH MILITARY HONORS
GENERAL BOYNTON NOW RESTS AT ARLINGTON CEMETERY
A Funeral Befitting the Rank of a Brigadier General – The Services Held at New York Ave. Presbyterian Church – Representatives Present From Gridiron Club – Remains Taken to Cemetery on a Gun Caisson – Salute of Eleven Guns From Fort Myer.
Washington, June 7 – Gen. Henry Van Ness Boynton was buried today in Arlington National Cemetery with distinctive military and civic honors. Although a civilian at the time of his death, he was accorded a funeral befitting an office of the rank he at one time held in the United States Army, that of brigadier general. The funeral services, which took place at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, were conducted by Rev. Dr. Wallace Radcliffe and were participated in by a numerous representations of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, the Loyal Legion, and the Gridiron Club, in all of which organizations General Boynton had for many years past been a leading spirit.
The funeral services were unpretentious, being in strict accord with the wishes of the deceased. The church ceremony consisted principally of an eulogy by Dr. Radcliffe and the singing of two hymns by the Gridiron Club Quartet. Dr. Radcliffe’s eulogy was an eloquent review of the career of a lifelong friend. The floral tributes were many and of varied design, the casket being literally buried in masterpieces of the florist’s art.
Among the tributes was large floral wreath sent by the city of Chattanooga, where General Boynton was well-known, and a delegation of whose citizens attended the funeral, President Roosevelt, in expressing sympathy to Gen. Andrew S. Burt, Chairman of the committee representing the Army of the Cumberland in the funeral arrangements, took occasion to pay a high tribute to the character and public services of General Boynton, saying that he regarded him as the highest type of a soldier and a citizen, and one of the best examples of patriotic American manhood.
At the conclusion of the church services, two troops of cavalry escorted the remains, which rested on a gun caisson, with artillery sergeants as body bearers, to their resting place in the historic Arlington. As the funeral cortege passed Fort Myer a brigadier general’s salute of 11 guns was fired and the last military honors were rendered by a volley over the distinguished soldier and citizen’s grave.
General Boynton, up to within a few weeks of his death, had been president of the Board of Education of the District of Columbia, and as a tribute to his memory the public schools were closed for the day. The flag on all District buildings were placed at half staff.
The pallbearers, eight in number, selected by the General before his death form the Gridiron Blub, introduced an innovation. Each member of the club wore a boutonniere of lavender sweet peas, tied with black and white ribbons, the colors of the Blub. At the Arlington Cemetery, after Dr. Radcliffe, the officiating clergyman, had pronounced the benediction over the open grave, the eight Gridiron pallbearers advanced and unpinning the flowers from their coats, dropped them in upon the casket as a last tribute to the memory of their fellow member.
It’s time to have some fun with genealogy and my business. YouTube seemed like the next logical choice. I have so many ideas running through my head I don’t know where to start. I guess the best place is to find out more about the process and start my channel. So, the obvious is the name of my channel, well this was no-brainier for me “ARodesky Genealogy”. I’m getting a familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach. Oh yeah, the same feeling I had when I started blogging five years ago.
What to put on my channel, well that’s a tough one. Spending time sitting at a desk or showing PowerPoint slides isn’t really me. I do enough of that with presentations, don’t get me wrong I love giving presentations. There are some great channels on genealogy and family history.
I’m going to show the fun, interesting, exciting, walking on the edge of crazy. Not throwing a pie in someone’s face crazy. Maybe some street interviews with strangers and finding out what they know about their family history. With all of that I will make sure to add some interesting research tips and who knows maybe even reveal some surprising research finds. I can almost guarantee I will end up in a cemetery or two.
So, with all this being said I guess the best thing to do is jump right in with a selfie stick in hand. What better way to start it off than with the upcomingFGS Conference. The excitement of those attending is equivalent to comic book geeks attending Comic-Con. No, we don’t show up in custom, well not all of us, but we carry our conference bags full of goodies. Meeting like-minded people, talking with some old friends and making new ones. So, what the heck, why not. Look for some live streaming on my way there and throughout the conference. If all goes well I’ll make my first YouTube Channel post on the 7th of September. Traveling by train this time, haven’t done that since Germany, can’t wait.
Hearing or reading a story about one of your ancestors does it change your point of view about them? You would hope that we’ve learned from history and our ancestor's past. I’m sharing part two ofAshamed of Your Family HistorywithDescendant of a Slave Continues.I’m not jumping on a soapbox here and giving a lecture on what is right or wrong with our history or current way of life. I just want to continue sharing some through the back posts from years ago.
This is probably one of the sweetest photos of a dog posing for a picture. This photograph is one that was purchased from eBay and unfortunately I don’t have any information at this time. The lady sitting next to the dog does appear in some other photos that were purchased in the same lot.
While walking around theUnion Cemetery in Orange County, New YorkI had to watch where I was stepping. You heard about another family in the previous post, “Canfield Family of Orange County, New York".The tombstone of Phebe Sproat caught me off guard, it was being swallowed by the ground. I only pulled a few census records to share a little peek into the life of Phebe. The information I do have, collected from the tombstone, Sproat appears to be her maiden name. She married Peter Quick and died in 1862 at the age of 72, which puts her birth around 1790.
Tombstone
OUR DEAR MOTHER
PHEBE SPROAT
WIFE OF
PETER QUICK
DIED
March 27, 1862
AGED
72 yrs. 6 m’s. 10 d
Census Records
[1]1850 United States Federal Census
1850 United States Federal Census in Chemung in Chemung County in the state of New York shows Alfred Qucik head of household, male, white, place of birth New York. Owned real estate valued at 2500, occupation farmer, age 43. Amanda in the household, female, white, place of birth New York. No occupation, age 32. David in the household, male, white, place of birth New York. No occupation, attended school, age 9. Nelson in the household, male, white, place of birth New York. No occupation, age 4. Louisa in the household, female, white, place of birth New York. No occupation, age 1. Pheoebe in the household, female, white, place of birth New York. No occupation, age 63.
[2]1860 United States Federal Census
1860 United States Federal Census in Wawayanda in Orange County in the state of New York shows Alfred P Quick head of household, male, white, place of birth New York. Owned real estate valued at 4500, personal estate valued at 1500, occupation farmer, age 53. Amanda is listed in the household, female, white, place of birth in New York. No occupation, age 42. Alfred N is listed in the household, male, white, no occupation, age 13. David is listed in the household, male, white, place of birth in New York. No occupation, age 19. Louisa is listed in the household, female, white, place of birth in New York. No occupation, age 10. Phebe is listed in the household, female, white, place of birth New York. No occupation, age 72. Adeline is listed in the household, female, white, place of birth in New York. No occupation, age 32.
Review
*On the 1850 census, you notice that there isn’t a child named Alfred N Quick. However in looking at Alfred’s age of 13 on the 1860 census, there is a Nelson Quick on 1850 at the age of 4, so I believe they are one and the same. Another difference between the two is the addition of Adeline Quick.
[1] 1850 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed July 2017) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Census Place: Chemung, Chemung, New York; Roll: M432_486; Page: 166B; Image: 335
[2] 1860 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed July 2017) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Census Place: Wawayanda, Orange, New York; Roll: M653-835; Page: 324; Family History Library Film:803835.
When it comes to packing for a genealogy conference it can be just a stressful as packing for a week-long vacation. Let’s face it some of us look at this as a vacation. I will admit I’m one of those, okay maybe a working vacation. Now that all your reservations for the conference are made including travel plans and hotel room. What next? Well those of you who know me know I have a list. Now that I think about it I believe I posted something similar a few years ago,“NGS Countdown Preparation".Some things on that prep list have changed.
I found it useful to prepare a spreadsheet like the one above. That way when deciding on what presentations I want to attend I have my own schedule. I know the name of the program what time it begins and ends. I have the name of the presenter and room location. Yes, in case you were wondering I do color code each day. This might seem like too much for some but it works for me. FGS had a conference app for your phone a few years back that I found useful. Unfortunately, I don’t see anything being posted about it on their site.
Moving on, now I have my schedule of presentations completed time for a packing list. How many times have we gone on a trip only realize forty minutes from home we forgot something. That’s not a big deal if it’s something small like toothpaste or socks. Things like that you can always run to a store and pick up. A specific charging cable, tablet, or scanner well that’s another story. I don’t know about you but that might be a serious bank account withdrawal. To avoid forgetting an electronic device or cable. I label all my cords and match them up with the device.
For my printed-out packing list, I have a couple rows and columns, yes, another spreadsheet. Insert wide-eyed laughing emoji with tears. The reasons I find it useful for multiple columns you might ask. Well as you can see below once I’ve placed that item on the table for packing I check the box. I have another box for it being placed in the suitcase. The last two checkboxes are crucial when leaving the genealogy conference, hotel room pack up. I hate it when I get home and realize that I left something back in that hotel room. With a spreadsheet like this, I have no excuses and no one to blame but myself if something turns up missing.
Even if you aren’t attending this year’s FGS Conference, maybe you are attending another conference. Maybe you’re packing for a family research trip. I’m curious how do you prepare for your trips, what are must-haves. Or are you one who feels comfortable just “winging it” so to speak?
