It’s that time of year again when friends and families come together to celebrate the holidays. Some travel back home for gatherings, or in our digital age, those who are miles apart can visit in real time during a group video call. Still, there are those, like me, who send greetings to loved ones the “old fashioned” way—with cards and letters via the postal service. For those with whom I do not communicate as often as I would like, I find this a perfect time to let people know I am thinking about them. Continue reading
Fowler
The Will of John C. Fowler
Locating documents to verify life events is an important part of family research. Even when one is lucky enough to find a birth or death certificate, finding other supporting sources is beneficial. Records for my ancestor John C. Fowler can be found in the Monongalia County courthouse in West Virginia. These documents, especially those concerning his death, have provided significant information about John and his family. Continue reading
Misc. Tax Rolls–Fayette County PA
This year for tax month—extended to May 17—I have extracted some property tax records for Georges Township, Fayette County, PA. The focus is on the Conn family beginning in 1815 with George Conn, listed in February’s blog, and his sons over a 25 year period. Tax records can provide clues about residency, land ownership, death of a land owner, as well as indicate the potential age of men who become adults and were then taxed for an occupation. Continue reading
The Deeds of George Conn
Recently I have been going through papers I had set aside some time ago for “review at a later date”. These include documents I have accumulated on various genealogy trips to courthouse, libraries, as well as online research. As I read over some of these I have found a few forgotten gems that are buried in these papers. In this stack were several deeds from 1817 for George Conn in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Continue reading
Vital Records: WV Register of Births
Birth records provide an abundance of information for a family researcher. Besides verifying when and where an individual was born, these records contain details about the parents. In addition to the parent’s names, the father’s occupation, the parent’s residence and sometimes their ages are examples of data that might be included. Birth records though are not readily available and with valid reason. Continue reading
In Memoriam: Marjorie Fowler Ludwick
Today, September 17, marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of my grandmother, Marjorie Fowler Ludwick. When I was young my grandma came to live with us. I would visit her in her sitting room. Sometimes I just sat there as she read to keep her company. As I got older and more interested in genealogy I did my best to get her to tell stories about her family. Some I remember, while others are faint images. Continue reading
Census Through the Years: Charles Walter Fowler
When I first began researching my ancestors, the 1900 census was one of the first enumerations I examined. For that census I easily located my great grandfather, Charles Walter Fowler, in Fayette County, PA, where he spent much of his life and was employed as a carpenter. He was counted in Smithfield, a small town where other Fowler relatives also lived. Charles was listed with Eliza, his wife of 23 years and 6 of his 7 daughters. His oldest daughter Molly had married the previous year; his youngest was my grandmother Marjorie who told me some stories about Charles. Continue reading
Misc. Tax Rolls—Greene County, PA
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1789. So for tax month, I am including some extractions of county tax rolls from around this time period. On the surface tax lists might appear to be non-essential information that only provides what a person owned for a particular year, in a particular place. However, these documents, if they have survived, can supplement other genealogical research. In addition to verifying a relative’s residency or if he owned property, these records can offer a time frame of when a person moved into an area or left it, either by relocation to another county or that other certainty—death. Continue reading
Jessie Jobes and the Army Nurses Corps of WWI
One hundred years ago this month Jessie Fowler Miner Jobes, my grand aunt, was among the patriotic women who entered the Army Nurses Corps (ANC) during World War I. Jessie, born February 12, 1883 to Charles and Lydia Fowler, grew up in Fayette County, PA and married Clifford Minor in 1903. As reported in the 1910 census, Jessie had no occupation, and at some point in those 7 years of marriage she had a daughter. My grandmother, Marjorie Ludwick who was a sister to Jessie, related the following story: Marjorie, their sister Addie, and their mother “went to visit Jessie and to see the new baby who was about a week old. They stayed about 2 hours and before they left they looked in on the baby again, but in that short span she had died. Clifford didn’t live long after that; he had some health issues that caused him to be bedfast.” Perhaps taking care of her ill husband prepared –even inspired—Jessie to become a nurse. Continue reading
Census Through the Years: Jacob Zollars
In an earlier post I noted that the federal census began in 1790 and has been conducted every ten years. For each census year any person living in a household on a designated date was to be enumerated. The date varied each census, usually in the month of June or April. Each census posed slightly different questions when collecting information, and this variety offers insights on family members through the years. Continue reading
Relatively Speaking Blog 