In looking around the web, I found that the wonderful folks in Trego County, Kansas have been expanding their online functionality for those of us with connections to the area. (Either they've expanded them, or I was completely blind when I last visited the site looking at cemetery records. I suppose either is possible!) They now have an obituary page, where local obituaries can be posted. I sent them my transcriptions of Jacob Houck DEATRICH's obituaries and in double-checking my transcriptions found the obituary for his wife in my files. It's from the Collyer Advance:
OBITUARY – MRS. DEATRICH
Martha Jane Deatrich was born November 8, 1845 at St. Thomas, Franklin county, Pennsylvania and died at her home at Collyer November 19, 1924, aged 79 years and 11 days.
She was married to Lieut. J. H. Deatrich August 6, 1861 and removed to Wilson, Kansas, immediately after the close of the Civil War, where they homesteaded and pioneered. To this union nine children were born, seven girls and two boys.
The family moved to Collyer in 1894, where her continuous residence was until the time of her death. J. H. Deatrich died January 17, 1916 and the surviving direct members of the family at this time are Mrs. J. C. Brown, Springfield Mo., Mrs. Fay Hickman, Norfolk, Nebr., Mrs. Myrtle Keesee, Hugo, Okla., Van H. Deatrich, Ft. Smith, Ark and J. S. Deatrich, of Collyer, Kansas, besides twenty grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
The funeral service was held at the Collyer home conducted by the Rev. W. E. Scott, of WaKeeney, and under the direction of the Myerly Undertaking also of WaKeeney and the remains were placed beside those of her husband in the Collyer Cemetery. No greater demonstration of love and esteem for this departed relative and friend could be shown than in the long concourse of people in the funeral procession to the cemetery.
Mrs. Deatrich was a real mother. Her life was consecrated to those dear to her. Her courage never failed and her patience was inexhaustive. She spoke kindly of everybody and pleasantly to everybody and that is the reason everyone loved her.
Her home was a hospitable one, always open and appreciated. Never tiring in her efforts for comforting others. She will be greatly missed in the community in which she has so long lived. She will be mouned by those near and dear but there is the consolation of the resurrection when all will be reunited and peace will be theirs.
The family express their kindly feeling to those who assisted and for all offerings during this, their supreme sacrifice. –Collyer Advance.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The "Eyes" Have It
In reading my grandfather's enlistment papers for WWII, I've finally discovered from whom I got my grey eyes. The paperwork says: "Hair: brown, Eyes: gray." Cool... I'm not such an anomaly after all! (Except that, 14 years after a two-year stay in England, I still spell grey with an 'e.')
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Miss Marple, Eat Your Heart Out!
My great-grandfather, Fred Burgess HICKMAN, was killed in a small town in Colorado, almost 70 years ago. Our knowledge of this was based only upon a letter written by my grandfather to his mother and sister, about a week after the funeral. We've never had any proof.
Using this newfangled method of working directly back from myself (yes, really! I was jumping around amongst the generations and branches like a three-year-old hyped up on birthday cake), I decided it was time to do a bit of sleuthing about my great-grandpa's death.
Rootsweb's Cemetery Project is always a good starting point. My Grandpa's letter indicated that he'd traveled to Colorado for the funeral, so obviously, his father had been buried there. (He was visiting family when he was killed.) Volunteers from all over the place are constantly surveying cemeteries in their areas and posting transcriptions of the inhabitants, sometimes even relaying inscriptions and (rarely) photographs! I checked the city cemetery in the town where the death supposedly occurred, and I found an entry with his name - Fred B. Hickman, with a burial dated one year, almost to the day, before I'd calculated his death date. Hmmm...could Grandpa have gotten the date wrong on the letter? Could the date on the stone be wrong? Anything's possible, right?
That's what the contributor shows for the grave in question. I sent a letter to the county registrar asking for any information we had. The words "County burial" gave me hope that their might be some records on the county level, at least confirming the date and cause of death, and perhaps mentioning any next-of-kin that may have been present. Less than a week later, I received an email back, confirming that her records match the grave information I'd found. She also gave me a number to call for someone that might have the records. I have that on my to-do list for this week, right after calling the dentist to postpone my next appointment, and before the trip to the recycling center. Everyday life and genealogy have to mix somehow.
Using this newfangled method of working directly back from myself (yes, really! I was jumping around amongst the generations and branches like a three-year-old hyped up on birthday cake), I decided it was time to do a bit of sleuthing about my great-grandpa's death.
Rootsweb's Cemetery Project is always a good starting point. My Grandpa's letter indicated that he'd traveled to Colorado for the funeral, so obviously, his father had been buried there. (He was visiting family when he was killed.) Volunteers from all over the place are constantly surveying cemeteries in their areas and posting transcriptions of the inhabitants, sometimes even relaying inscriptions and (rarely) photographs! I checked the city cemetery in the town where the death supposedly occurred, and I found an entry with his name - Fred B. Hickman, with a burial dated one year, almost to the day, before I'd calculated his death date. Hmmm...could Grandpa have gotten the date wrong on the letter? Could the date on the stone be wrong? Anything's possible, right?
HICKMAN, FRED B. N/A 4/2/38 2 215 4 County burial
That's what the contributor shows for the grave in question. I sent a letter to the county registrar asking for any information we had. The words "County burial" gave me hope that their might be some records on the county level, at least confirming the date and cause of death, and perhaps mentioning any next-of-kin that may have been present. Less than a week later, I received an email back, confirming that her records match the grave information I'd found. She also gave me a number to call for someone that might have the records. I have that on my to-do list for this week, right after calling the dentist to postpone my next appointment, and before the trip to the recycling center. Everyday life and genealogy have to mix somehow.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Genealogy Sourcebook
I stopped by the library yesterday and gathered as many of the how-to genealogy books as I could carry. I grabbed one off the stack yesterday, and it's going to be the first genealogy book I buy.
The Genealogy Sourcebook, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (McGraw-Hill, 1998) is everything you could ask for in a beginner's guide. She covers basic definitions, organizational methods (They're great! She has a follow-up book dedicated to this subject.), and gives a lengthy explanation of types of sources available to genealogists. Although a lot of the information is basic, it never feels as though the author talks down to the reader, as often happens in beginning how-to books. She also includes several short case studies, to share her thought process in discovering information on specific ancestors. Lastly, she recommends many books and publications that are invaluable to anyone jumping into genealogy.
If there is one fault with the book, it's the lack of technological advice. Having been a genealogist for so many years, the author decided that entering her gathered information (literally thousands of people) would be too time-consuming. While I agree with her assessment of her own situation, I encourage budding genealogists to research the many software options available. I've used Family Tree Maker in the past, although I'm not currently using anything beyond Ancestry.com. I may in the future, but it's not in the budget at the moment, and, frankly, I'm enjoying the process of writing it all out with my mechanical pencil. Knowing my addiction to my laptop, it will all be computerized soon enough.
So, yesterday evening and today, I designed my own Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheet. I combined several forms I found online, but my main goal was to create a space on the Family Group Sheet for Sources.
My light-bulb moment in reading this morning was the author's suggestion to start with yourself - on your own nuclear family's Group Sheet - and source yourself! Don't just put down what you know, because you know it. Get your birth certificate. Copy down the information verbatim. Write up a source note on your own birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc. Start with the easiest person in your family tree - you. So, although I'm interested in all these past generations, I've taken her advice to heart. I printed out my newly-designed charts and started from scratch today. For the first time since beginning my journey into genealogy, I feel like I'm approaching it in a manner that makes sense.
The Genealogy Sourcebook, by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (McGraw-Hill, 1998) is everything you could ask for in a beginner's guide. She covers basic definitions, organizational methods (They're great! She has a follow-up book dedicated to this subject.), and gives a lengthy explanation of types of sources available to genealogists. Although a lot of the information is basic, it never feels as though the author talks down to the reader, as often happens in beginning how-to books. She also includes several short case studies, to share her thought process in discovering information on specific ancestors. Lastly, she recommends many books and publications that are invaluable to anyone jumping into genealogy.
If there is one fault with the book, it's the lack of technological advice. Having been a genealogist for so many years, the author decided that entering her gathered information (literally thousands of people) would be too time-consuming. While I agree with her assessment of her own situation, I encourage budding genealogists to research the many software options available. I've used Family Tree Maker in the past, although I'm not currently using anything beyond Ancestry.com. I may in the future, but it's not in the budget at the moment, and, frankly, I'm enjoying the process of writing it all out with my mechanical pencil. Knowing my addiction to my laptop, it will all be computerized soon enough.
So, yesterday evening and today, I designed my own Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheet. I combined several forms I found online, but my main goal was to create a space on the Family Group Sheet for Sources.
My light-bulb moment in reading this morning was the author's suggestion to start with yourself - on your own nuclear family's Group Sheet - and source yourself! Don't just put down what you know, because you know it. Get your birth certificate. Copy down the information verbatim. Write up a source note on your own birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc. Start with the easiest person in your family tree - you. So, although I'm interested in all these past generations, I've taken her advice to heart. I printed out my newly-designed charts and started from scratch today. For the first time since beginning my journey into genealogy, I feel like I'm approaching it in a manner that makes sense.
The Draft Mystery cont.
I talked to Daddy today about his grandfather's Draft Card inconsistency. He expressed surprise at the difference. He remembers clearly, after David Roy's death, people remarking that he had been one of the few men they knew who lived a truly Christian life. This raises even more questions about those birth dates...
There are numerous possibilities, and we'll probaby never know exactly what happened. Maybe the Family Bible was obtained later than I thought, and Della entered dates many years after the fact, not recalling correctly. Perhaps, in his youth, Great-Grandpa made a decision based on love and fear (his or his young wife's - I know how I would feel if my husband were called up). After all, as my husband said, you are remembered for the man you became, not the man you were.
Mistake or deliberate, it doesn't really matter, and we'll likely never know for sure, but it's an interesting puzzle to ponder. At the same time, it reminds me that I need to start gathering oral history from both sides of the family. Unfortunately, nearly everyone of my grandparents' generation is gone on my side of the family. It's time to pump (gently, don't worry!) my parents for memories that we can pass down to our kids. And we are lucky enough to still have both of my husband's grandmothers, as well as numerous great-aunts and -uncles.
There are numerous possibilities, and we'll probaby never know exactly what happened. Maybe the Family Bible was obtained later than I thought, and Della entered dates many years after the fact, not recalling correctly. Perhaps, in his youth, Great-Grandpa made a decision based on love and fear (his or his young wife's - I know how I would feel if my husband were called up). After all, as my husband said, you are remembered for the man you became, not the man you were.
Mistake or deliberate, it doesn't really matter, and we'll likely never know for sure, but it's an interesting puzzle to ponder. At the same time, it reminds me that I need to start gathering oral history from both sides of the family. Unfortunately, nearly everyone of my grandparents' generation is gone on my side of the family. It's time to pump (gently, don't worry!) my parents for memories that we can pass down to our kids. And we are lucky enough to still have both of my husband's grandmothers, as well as numerous great-aunts and -uncles.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Draft Fibbing?
David Roy COCHRANE was my great-grandfather (paternal grandmother's father). I had a birthday for him of 28 Sep 1889, per his WWI Draft Card. Several days ago, I ran across a listing online for him, with a birth year of 1892. I brushed that off, going, of course, with his own affidavit, as the draft card has his own signature.
Today, I was digging through Mom's files and found a slim stack of papers my Aunt had sent to her regarding Dad's side of the family. I brought them home and found several photocopied pages from an old family bible. I can only assume that the bible was a wedding gift for Edward Cochrane and Della ADAMS, as their marriage is listed on the main "Holy Matrimony" page. Their firstborn son was David Roy, and Della listed his birth date as 28 Sep 1892. Well, that's strange.
So, I began putting David's siblings into Ancestry.com. I'm searching for 1900 and 1910 Census records for the family and figured, the more names the better. David's next sibling was Oscar Orval Cochrane, b. 3 Dec 1893. What pops up for him but a WWI Draft Card, DOB 3 Dec 1890.
Hmmm....three years' difference for Orval. Three years' difference for David. And both cards claim exemption from the draft on these grounds: "wife and child." Could the brothers have conspired to make themselves three years older for the draft and therefore avoid being put into battle? It's possible, although the National Archives state that Selective Service Draft Registration at that point (5 Jun 1917) was for all men ages 21 - 31. Were men over age 25 less likely to be sent to war? Definitely something worth researching.
Today, I was digging through Mom's files and found a slim stack of papers my Aunt had sent to her regarding Dad's side of the family. I brought them home and found several photocopied pages from an old family bible. I can only assume that the bible was a wedding gift for Edward Cochrane and Della ADAMS, as their marriage is listed on the main "Holy Matrimony" page. Their firstborn son was David Roy, and Della listed his birth date as 28 Sep 1892. Well, that's strange.
So, I began putting David's siblings into Ancestry.com. I'm searching for 1900 and 1910 Census records for the family and figured, the more names the better. David's next sibling was Oscar Orval Cochrane, b. 3 Dec 1893. What pops up for him but a WWI Draft Card, DOB 3 Dec 1890.
Hmmm....three years' difference for Orval. Three years' difference for David. And both cards claim exemption from the draft on these grounds: "wife and child." Could the brothers have conspired to make themselves three years older for the draft and therefore avoid being put into battle? It's possible, although the National Archives state that Selective Service Draft Registration at that point (5 Jun 1917) was for all men ages 21 - 31. Were men over age 25 less likely to be sent to war? Definitely something worth researching.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Obit Lit, Part II
Jacob Houck Deatrich – Obituary from a newspaper in Trego County, Kansas
Part of the copy I have is completely faded. Unreadable sections are noted as: [missing]
ANSWERED THE LAST ROLL CALL
On Monday, January 17th, Jacob H. Deatrich died at his home in Collyer after a long and painful illness caused by cancer of the mouth and throat.
He was born March 18, 1843 at St. Thomas, Franklin county, Penn. On August 7, 1862, he was married to Miss Martha J. Haulman at St. Thomas.
In 1873 they came to Kansas and settled on a homestead in Ellsworth county, near Wilson.
Soon after he entered into the railway service of the Union Pacific in which he continued until about six years ago, relieved on account of age limit and pensioned by the company. He served thirty-seven years and received a medal for efficiency and never missed a pay day.
He also had a splendid war record enlisting at St. Thomas, Penn., for four years and was first lieutenant of twentieth Pennsylvania calvary and was honorably discharged as a commissioned officer, captain of same company.
In 1893 he moved from Ellsworth county to Collyer where he resided until the time of his death. He accumulated quite extensive farm property in Trego county.
Jake Deatrich as he was best known to most of our readers was a man possessed of many fine qualities. He was of a large and liberal nature and was liked by every one. Kindness of heart was the attribute which won him a host of warm friends. He was a kind and loving husband and indulgent father [missing] he lived so long [they?] mourn his loss.
On Friday afternoon, January 21st the funeral was held at Collyer and [missing] of the largest in the history of the town. Great banks of flowers were sent by sympathizing friends and lodges. Rev. Dodge of Sharon Springs preached at the Masonic funeral sermon being assisted in the services by Masonic orders from out of town. The following orders attended the funeral: G. A. R. Post of Ellis; A. F. & A. M. , Ellsworth; Council and Shrine, Salina; Chapter, Knight Templar, Consistory and Wa-Keeney lodge A. F. & A. M.
Besides the widow the members of the family survive: Mrs. Carrie Glass, Collyer, Kan.; Mrs. Anna Brown, Springfield, Mo.; Mrs. Kittie Thomas, Collyer; Jacob Deatrich, jr., [missing]; Mrs. Myrtle Kessee, Hugo [missing] Van H. Deatrich, Hugo, Okla.; Mrs. Faye Hickman, Collyer; Jack Staples, Van Staples, sons of Ella [missing], deceased. Non-resident [missing] who were present at the [missing] were: J. C. Brown, Springfield, Mo.; Harry Kessee, Hugo, Okla.; [missing] Limbert, Will Smith, Wil[missing] Kan.; Will Deatrich and Mrs. [missing], Chapman, Kansas.
The body was followed to the Collyer cemetery by a very large procession of sympathizing friends.
The World with friends extends sincere sympathy to the bereaved family in this hour of sorrow
_______________________________
CARD OF THANKS
To all the friends and neighbors whose sympathy and services were so [missing] tendered during the sickness [missing] our layed one also for the beautiful floral [missing] we desire to extend our heartfelt thanks.
MRS. JACOB DEATRICH AND FAMILY
Part of the copy I have is completely faded. Unreadable sections are noted as: [missing]
ANSWERED THE LAST ROLL CALL
On Monday, January 17th, Jacob H. Deatrich died at his home in Collyer after a long and painful illness caused by cancer of the mouth and throat.
He was born March 18, 1843 at St. Thomas, Franklin county, Penn. On August 7, 1862, he was married to Miss Martha J. Haulman at St. Thomas.
In 1873 they came to Kansas and settled on a homestead in Ellsworth county, near Wilson.
Soon after he entered into the railway service of the Union Pacific in which he continued until about six years ago, relieved on account of age limit and pensioned by the company. He served thirty-seven years and received a medal for efficiency and never missed a pay day.
He also had a splendid war record enlisting at St. Thomas, Penn., for four years and was first lieutenant of twentieth Pennsylvania calvary and was honorably discharged as a commissioned officer, captain of same company.
In 1893 he moved from Ellsworth county to Collyer where he resided until the time of his death. He accumulated quite extensive farm property in Trego county.
Jake Deatrich as he was best known to most of our readers was a man possessed of many fine qualities. He was of a large and liberal nature and was liked by every one. Kindness of heart was the attribute which won him a host of warm friends. He was a kind and loving husband and indulgent father [missing] he lived so long [they?] mourn his loss.
On Friday afternoon, January 21st the funeral was held at Collyer and [missing] of the largest in the history of the town. Great banks of flowers were sent by sympathizing friends and lodges. Rev. Dodge of Sharon Springs preached at the Masonic funeral sermon being assisted in the services by Masonic orders from out of town. The following orders attended the funeral: G. A. R. Post of Ellis; A. F. & A. M. , Ellsworth; Council and Shrine, Salina; Chapter, Knight Templar, Consistory and Wa-Keeney lodge A. F. & A. M.
Besides the widow the members of the family survive: Mrs. Carrie Glass, Collyer, Kan.; Mrs. Anna Brown, Springfield, Mo.; Mrs. Kittie Thomas, Collyer; Jacob Deatrich, jr., [missing]; Mrs. Myrtle Kessee, Hugo [missing] Van H. Deatrich, Hugo, Okla.; Mrs. Faye Hickman, Collyer; Jack Staples, Van Staples, sons of Ella [missing], deceased. Non-resident [missing] who were present at the [missing] were: J. C. Brown, Springfield, Mo.; Harry Kessee, Hugo, Okla.; [missing] Limbert, Will Smith, Wil[missing] Kan.; Will Deatrich and Mrs. [missing], Chapman, Kansas.
The body was followed to the Collyer cemetery by a very large procession of sympathizing friends.
The World with friends extends sincere sympathy to the bereaved family in this hour of sorrow
_______________________________
CARD OF THANKS
To all the friends and neighbors whose sympathy and services were so [missing] tendered during the sickness [missing] our layed one also for the beautiful floral [missing] we desire to extend our heartfelt thanks.
MRS. JACOB DEATRICH AND FAMILY
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