Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Wordle

In response to Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun request:
http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/04/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-do-wordle.html
I was creating the handout for the Tennessee Genealogical Society's "Let's Discuss It" meeting which is scheduled for next Saturday.  This is the first page of information and topic links.

Not Genealogy, Not Middle Age, Just Life

2012, here we come........

She's engaged. November 23rd!

Date chosen - check

Wedding Venue - check

Rehearsal venue - check

Dress - check (she's so thrifty too)

Rehearsal dinner location - check

Colors/material - check

Hundreds of other things on the list - still to come, but doable. Postcards, invitations.....

Cakes/cupcakes/candles/menu/(chairs/tables/silverware - all included - check)

Graduation with masters - coming in May

Student teaching - underway

Mom still applying for jobs - underway

Ears have stopped working - what's hearing????? Sheesh..... Oh well.

Daughter - wanting to teach inner city kids, learning a bunch - some good and some different.

Son - farmer, goats, chickens, planting in the spring.

Son - ASL, scouting, raising kids (not the goat kind), software.

Life happens and it's so good to see all the children happy. Hooray 2012.

Wonderful resources in unexpected places

I attended the final services at Friendship Methodist Church in Lyon County Kentucky yesterday. The land for the church was supposedly given by my great great grandfather, Noah H Cummins, in the 1850's. Attending that service were two other people descended from two other sons of Noah Cummins. One of them brought a bible which looks to have been owned by another son of Noah Cummins. Listed in the bible were the birth and death dates of several children, of Noah, who were born and died before the 1850 census records. I already had these names and dates, but they had come from a wonderful person working in the Princeton library who had found them "written on an envelope", so I had been looking for proof of the data for years. I promptly accosted this poor bible carrying newly found relative after the service to ask if we could please take pictures. He kindly agreed. I enjoyed meeting my new relatives yesterday and am overjoyed at the genealogical find. It's sad that the Friendship Methodist Church building is now up for sale, along with the lands surrounding it, which includes the graves of so many of my Cummins (and other) relatives (including my parents). A couple of my first cousins, along with my daughter, were at the service yesterday. Here's to you Noah!

Keep searching and make sure info is correct

The marriage records of a woman listed her as a Smith. A later census record showed she had 9 children with 6 still living. The children with the current husband did not seem to add up to the 9 children. The span in years for her pre-marriage to current marriage was across the 1890 void of census records, and we know the birth records are spotty for that period in the local court houses. I found a later census record with this woman living with an adult daughter after my "Smith" became a widow and living with them was a "brother-in-law" of the head of household son-in-law. The brother-in-law's last name was different from what I would have expected. I started looking for another marriage for that original "Smith" woman. I found one but couldn't prove it was her either. I finally found a death certificate for her and then went to look on find-a-grave and some kind hearted soul had posted a photo of this woman's tombstone. Boldly printed on that tombstone was the maiden name that I had thought I'd found, but been unable to prove, along with the final married name. Thank goodness for all the genealogy community doing the wonderful work that you do.

Keep reading those probate records

Keep reading through those probate records. Usually the reports from guardians just say how much money was received, from whom and the name of their ward. This guardian report listed in the probate records book actually gave a relationship for which I had been uncertain. It lists the ward, Wm W Jones as the GRANDSON of Peleg Rogers. I've been trying to find hard evidence of the relationship of my Elizabeth Jones (married to Willard C Town) to Wiley and Olive Rogers Jones and trying to connect Wiley Jones to other Jones' in the county and Olive to other Ro(d)gers in the county. Little pieces like this give me a few other clues. You never know where you might find something - read everything.

Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977 Collection on familysearch.org

Lyon County Appraisals, Inventories, Sales, 1854-1870, Vol. 1

Page 645 (Image 376 of 379)

State of Kentucky County of Lyon

W J Rogers guardian of Wm W Jones a minor states that on this day he received a note against W H Harris dated the 15th day of January 1867 and due one day after date thereof for the sum of $23.18 for money due the said Wm W Jones from the estate of Peleg Rogers deceased the Grand Father of the said ward. No other estate due the said ward has been received by this affiant since his last report. That there will be a small amount coming to ward from the estate of Polly Rogers deceased, which when obtained will be duly reported. W J Rogers.

Sworn to and subscribed by W J Rogers before me this 19th day of June 1868

J W Clark Clerk