When Someone Makes an Inaccurate Change on FamilySearch...

...the only thing to do is prove the point.  People often make changes to some of my ancestors in FamilySearch.  It's the changes to my near relatives that are most frustrating.  (Yes, I do have a touch of Mytreeitis.)   I'm sure they others good intentions but I have a hard time when their changes aren't backed up with documents.   Below is my father's death certificate and a transcription.  I'm posting it here so I can use it as a source on FamilySearch because it's not yet available online anywhere else.

Transcription:

Ohio Department of Health     Division of Vital Statistics     Certificate of Death
Reg. Dist. No. 78      Primary Reg. Dist. No. 7801 
File No. 03937     Registrar's No. 706
  1.    Decedent-Name   Lee Doyle
  2.    Sex   Male
  3.    Date of Death (Mo., Day, Year)   May 19, 1987
  4.    Race   white
  5a.  Age - Last Birthday   74
  6.    Date of Birth   Feb 27, 1913
  7a.  County of Death  Trumbull
  7b.  City, Village...   Warren
  7c.   Hospital...   Trumbull Memorial Hosp.
  7d.   If Hosp... Indicate DOA (etc.)   Inpatient
  8a.   State of Birth   Pennsylvania
  8b.  Citizen of What Country   U S A
  9.    Origin or Descent   American
10.    Social Security Number   XXX-XX-XXXX
11.    Was Deceased Ever in U.S. Armed Forces?   No
12a.   Married....   Married
12b.   Surviving Spouse   Audrey Meinzen
13a.   Normal Occupation   foreman - ret.
13b.   Kind of Busines s or Industry   Copperweld Steel
14a.   Residence-State   OH
14b.   County   Trumbull
14c.   City, Village...   Mineral Ridge
14d.  Street and Number   1431 Furnace St.
14e.  Inside City Limits   No
15.    Father-Name   Gust Doyle
16.    Mother-Maiden Name   Beulah Gerner
17a.  Informant   Audrey Doyle
17b.  Mailing Address   1431 Furnace St. Mineral Ridge Oh 44440
DEATH WAS CAUSED BY:
Immediate Cause / Approximate Interval Between Onset and Death
18a.  Cardiac Arrest / Sudden
18b.  Malignant Ventricular Tachyarrhythmia / 4 days
18c.  Acute Myocardial Infarction / 5 days
19a.  Other Significant Conditions    Ventricular Aneurysm
19b.  Autopsy   No
19c.  Was Case Referred to Coroner   No
20.    [blank]
To Be Completed by Attending Physician
21a.  Nazir Ahmed, MD [signature]
21b.  Date Signed   May 20, 87
21c.   Hour of Death   8:26 AM
21d.  [Physician]   Dr. Nazir Ahmed
22.    [blank]
23.    Name and Address of Certifier    307 Homewood Ave., SE Warren OH 44483
24a.  Burial, Cremation...   Burial
24b.  Date   May 22, 87
24c.  Name of Cemetery...   Kerr Cem.
24d.  Location   Mineral Ridge  Oh
25.    Name of Emblamer  /  ILIC No.   Robert L. Burkhart  / 6782-A
26.    Funeral Director's Signature   Joseph O. Lane [signature]
27.    Funeral Firm and Address   Lane Funeral Home  1350 Canfield-Niles Rd.   Mineral Ridge Oh  44440
28.    Date Rec'd   5/26/87
29.    Registrar's Signature  R V Gracille  M D [signature)
30.    Date Permit Issued  [blank]
31.    Signature of Person Issuing Permit   [blank]

Information of Genealogical Interest
> Name
> Date and Place of Birth
> Date and Place of Death
> Name of Spouse
> Parents' Names
> Name and Location of Cemetery
> Burial Date

Of Interest for Social History
> Where employed and kind of business
> Last address

Of Interest For Medical Purposes
> Cause of death
> Contributing Conditions

Would use more information than I've suggested for genealogical purposes?  Have you ever used a blog post as a source on FamilySearch?  Have you ever seen one used?

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
.

Daniel Bickerstaff's Two Marriages

I felt pleased with myself for finding the marriage record of Daniel Bickerstaff and Mary Lauretta Sanford.  Just as my Aunt Dot had told me, he'd been married.  And then I happened upon a note in my old phone notebook, written in April, 2006, recording my aunt's words about Uncle Dan's marriage. 

My brief note read,

   Uncle Dan's wife – Beulah Fritz
                       divorced



Beulah Fritz?!  What about Mary Lauretta Sanford?!  My memory had not served me well or I would have remembered this note and the name Beulah Fritz would not have surprised me.

I set out to find Beulah at FamilySearch.  When I typed her name, her parents' names, and estimated birth date, based on Uncle Dan's dates, I came up empty-handed.  Then I added his name and found their 1926 marriage record.   

Transcription

[page] 314       Marriage Record
Probate Court, Trumbull Count, Ohio
No. 12523      Marriage License.       Application.
To the Honorable Judge of the Probate Court of said County:
In the matter of,
Daniel Bickerstaff
and
Beulah Fritz
The undersigned respectfully make application for a Marriage License for said parties, and upon oath state:
That said Daniel Bickerstaff
is 28 years of age on the 9 day of April 1925
his residence is Mineral Ridge, O
his place of birth is Steubenville, Ohio
his occupation is Electrician
his father's name is Edward Bickerstaff
his mother's maiden name was Mary Thompson
tha [sic] he was once previously married and divorced
and that he has no wife living.
   
That said Beulah Fritz
is 21 years of age on the 15 day of Oct 1925
her residence is Niles O.  Trumbull County, Ohio.  28 Blaine St
her place of birth is Kittanning Pa.
her occupation is clerk
her father's name is Phillip Fritz
her mother's maiden name was Moss Mechling
that she was not previously married
and is not a widow or divorced woman
that she has no husband living.
   That neither of said parties is an habitual drunkard, epileptic, imbecile or insane, or under the influence of any intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug.
   Said parties are not nearer of kin than second cousins, and there is no legal impediment to their marriage.
   It is expected that (Meth church - Min Ridge)
   Consent [blank]....    Daniel Bickerstaff [signature]
   Consent [blank]....    Beulah Fritz  [signature]
Sworn to before me and signed in my presence, this 15 day of February 1926
                     Margaret Richard   Deputy Clerk.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Marriage Certificate.     No. 12523     The State of Ohio, Trumbull County, ss:
   I Do Hereby Certify, That on the 15 day of February A. D. 1926, I solemnized the Marriage of
Mr. Daniel Bickerstaff with Miss Beulah Fritz
Filed and Recorded   July -- 23 1926      Rev. A. I. Dickenson
                                                             Minister of Gospel
          Joseph Smith    Probate Judge   Mineral Ridge, O.

Observations and Comments

• Finding a second marriage record is one way of discovering a divorce from a previous marriage.  It's possible I can find divorce records but I don't have much hope.
• Daniel's age is accurate on this record.  He was born on April 9, 1897, and would indeed have been 28 on April 9, 1926.
  
• I have not identified children from either of these marriages.  No children were ever mentioned, but then I come from a long line of non-storytellers.  Quick, brief searches have not revealed children.
• It makes sense that my aunt would not have known about Daniel's first marriage to Mary Lauretta Sanford (previous post).  She was born in 1921 and Daniel and Mary were married in 1916. 
  
• Don't trust your memory.  Occasionally review notes from when you first began working on family history as you continue to research now.  You may have made a note then that didn't seem relevant but now that you know more, it may be helpful. 

This record is from the collection Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016, specifically in Ohio, Trumbull County, marriage records, 1913-2010.   View these records using your free FamilySearch account.

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
.

Daniel F. Bickerstaff's 1916 Marriage Record

Daniel F. Bickerstaff is one of my maternal grandmother's younger brothers.  He and Aunt Cory lived down the street from us during my childhood years.  I thought they were husband and wife.  I was surprised to learn that they were not spouses, but siblings who began sharing a house after their parents died.  It wasn't until I began working on family history, when I asked my aunt what she knew about Uncle Dan, that I learned that he had been married.  And divorced.  My aunt told me the marriage didn't last long.  I was pleased to find his marriage record to Mary Lauretta Sanford at FamilySearch.

This is an image of their marriage record.  A transcription is below.

Page 104
Marriage Record.
Probate Court, Trumbull County, Ohio
In the matter of
Daniel F. Bickerstaff
and                                          No. 4983 Marriage License.  Application.
Mary Lauretta Sanford
The undersigned respectfully make..... application for a Marriage License for said parties, and upon oath state___:
That said Daniel F. Bickerstaff is 21
years of age, on the 9th day of April 1916,
his residence is Niles, Ohio
his place of birth is Steubenville, Ohio
his occupation is Tinner at Trumbull Steel Co.
his father's name is Edward Jesse Bickerstaff
his mother's maiden name was Mary Thompson
that he was not previously married ..., and
that he has no wife living.
That said Mary Lauretta Sanford is 21
years of age, on the 22nd day of January, 1916,
her residence is Niles Trumbull County, O.,
his place of birth is Niles, Ohio
her occupation is Forelady at Wilson Mfg. Co.
her father's name is Dominick Sanford
her mother's maiden name was Rose Elliet
that she was not previously married, ... that she has no husband living.
That neither of said parties is an habitual drunkard, epileptic, imbecile or insane, or under the influence of any intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug.
Said parties are not nearer of kin than second cousins, and there is no legal impediment to their marriage.
It is expected that Squire Ormsby is to solemnize the marriage of said parties.
Daniel F. Bickerstaff [signature]
Mary L. Sanford [signature]
Sworn to before me and signed in my presence, this 28th day of October 1916
Nellie B. Elder, Deputy Clerk.
----------------
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE.    No. 4983    The State of Ohio, Trumbull County
I do hereby certify, That on the 28 day of October A. D. 1916, I solemnized the Marriage of Mr. Daniel F. Bickerstaff with Miss Mary Lauretta Sanford
W. O. Ormsby    Justice of the Peace, Warren O.
File and Recorded, Feb. 16, 1917    E. O. Dilley Probate Judge.

This record can be viewed here at FamilySearch, with a free account.  It is included in the record collection, "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016."

Observations and Comments

• Dan and Mary were married in October, 1916, but didn't file the marriage record until February, 1917.
  
• It's interesting to note the several additions to the record:  "Lauretta" was inserted both times her name was written at the beginning of the document and "Edward" was inserted before the rest of Daniel's father's name.  On many documents Edward Jesse Bickerstaff signed his name "E. J. Bickerstaff."  I have no doubt these were inserted at the time the record was created.
  
• About Daniel's birth date.  On the record above he claims to have been 21 in 1916.  Jefferson County birth records give his date of birth as April 9, 1897.  With that date of birth, his age on October 28, 1916, would have been 19 years 6 months 19 days.  Why the change?  Would his parents not have given consent?  Or had he presented himself as older when he first met Mary?  Or...?
  
• The marriage did not last long.  In the 1920 U.S. Census, Daniel was listed as living at home with his parents.  And in the interim, Dan served in the Army during World War I, again having falsified his birth date.
• "Squire Ormsby" signed himself as W. O. Ormsby and was Justice of the Peace in Trumbull County, Ohio.  Squire seems an unusual term of respect, even in 1916, and in the United States.
  
• Do present-day marriage records include any statement similar to this?  "That neither of said parties is an habitual drunkard, epileptic, imbecile or insane, or under the influence of any intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug."

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
.

Waggonways in Northumberland, England

Waggonways was a new word I discovered a few months ago, of interest to me because it relates to my coal mining ancestors.  This post is the result of a tangent from usual research to follow a BSO (a bright, shiny object). 

For all the research I've done to find my coal mining ancestors and the environment of the mines where they worked, it never once occurred to me to wonder how coal was transported from the colliery to the next stop on its journey. 

Learning about waggonways has been fascinating.  At first I thought the word referred only to the pathway the coal carts followed to take coal to a river but the phrase is more inclusive and refers to the path or track, the cart, the horse, and the equipment needed to move coal from the colliery to the river.  The first waggonways were paths the horses trod pulling carts full of coal.  Eventually two parallel rails were laid on the pathways and cart wheels were made with rims to fit the rails.  The waggonways were a precursor to our modern railway system.  From what I can tell, waggonways were primarily used in the northeastern counties of England, especially in Northumberland where many of my coal mining ancestors lived.

There seem to have been several benefits to waggonways.

• The path for the carts was smoother and its direction was controlled by the rails.
• The path allowed the horses to continue pulling their carts no matter the weather.  No more horses mired in the mud after spring rains.
  
• Because the paths were smooth, horses could pull heavier loads which meant more coal could be transported at one time.  A horse could pull 10.5 tons (21,000 pounds!) for 24 miles.  It's hard to  imagine that a wooden cart could hold that much weight, let alone that a horse could pull it!

Waggonway in Summer
(from Seaton Delaval to Whitby Bay)
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Christine Westerback
geograph.org.uk/p/706555
Used under Creative Commons License.

 
Some of the old waggonways have been restored (but without the rails) and used as bicycling or walking paths.

A few years ago the Willington Waggonway, an intact waggonway from the late 18th century that was buried, was discovered at a shipyard in Tyneside, Northumberland.  It has been restored and is in the process of preservation.  This article at ChronicleLive gives details and shows great photos of the track as well as images of the carts. 

I look at the photos of the waggonways paths now and think how charming they look.  I have to remind myself of the work--the hard physical labor!--they represent, summer and winter, spring and fall:  the miners who dug the coal, the men and boys who were associated in any way with coal mines, as well as the ponies in the mines below ground and the horses who pulled carts along these paths.  What a lot of work!

If you'd like to learn more about or see photos of Waggonways, click on these links.

• Wylam Waggonway explores the history of Heddon and the Wylam Colliery Waggonway and includes maps, diagrams, illustrations, and a timeline which extends beyond the colliery's use of the waggonway.  (The font is very tiny and light grey = a bit of a challenge for old eyes.)
• Waggonways provides a brief description of waggonways and links to other photos. 
• Plessey Wooden Waggonway includes a brief history of the Plessey Waggonway, a drawing of a horse and cart, and diagrams of a cart (called a chaldron) that was still in use in 1965.  The brief history gives details I haven't read elsewhere.
• Amusing Planet's post, The Wooden Wagonways of Britain, gives lots of interesting detail about waggonways and some excellent photos of wagons and the restoration work of the Willington Waggonway.
• Northumberland Wagonways gives information about the transition from waggonways to railways. 
• The History Blog has a good article about waggonways and the restoration of the Willington Waggonway.

 Below are recent views of two other waggonways.  My 3x-great-grandfather, William Doyle, a coal miner, died in Plessey after having been run over by a cart wheel.  I have no further details and don't know whether or not his death was work-related.  Perhaps the cart wheel was on a coal cart below-ground or perhaps a wagon like one in the photos at the top of this post.

Plessey Old Waggonway
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Tim Fish
geograph.org.uk/p/261166
Used under Creative Commons License

Wylam Waggonway at Street Houses
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Andrew Curtis
geograph.org.uk/p/5100870
Used under Creative Commons License.

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Naomi Faye Meinzen - 1898 Birth Record Finally Corrects a Birthdate

Naomi Meinzen is my grandfather, W. R. Robert Meinzen's youngest sister and the youngest daughter and last-born child of Henry and Elizabeth (Armitage) Meinzen.

There has been uncertainty about her birth year.  Was it 1898 or 1899?  This birth record answers that question and clarifies the uncertainty.

When I was a child the Steubenville aunts--Aunt Mina, Aunt Lula, and Aunt Naomi (and sometimes Aunt Belle)--came to visit my grandparents at least once every summer.  They travelled together with Uncle Charlie, Aunt Lula's husband, driving all of them, and sometimes Zerelda, too, another of their neices, until Uncle Charlie's death in 1960.  I can hardly think of one of these sisters without thinking of all three of them.

Now that FamilySearch has published the Jefferson County birth records, I'm looking forward to finding the birth records for all 15 siblings (though one or two may have been stillbirths and not recorded).  I'm so grateful to have these online because of many of my ancestral families are from Jefferson County.

The record below comes from FamilySearch's collection of Jefferson County Births, this record from Volume 3, page 104, image 193.  With a free FamilySearch account you can view the record here and the whole collection here.

Below is a transcription.

[Page] 104
Record of Births, Probate Court, Jefferson County, Ohio, 18[blank]
Date   May 13
Number   828
Name in Full   Meinzen, Nomi Faye
Date of Birth Year/Month/Day  1898 May 22
Place of Birth State/County/City  Ohio, Jefferson, Cross Creek
Sex  Female
Color  White
Name of Father  Henry Meizen [sic]
Name of Mother  Lizzie Armithe [sic]
Residence of Parents  Cross Creek  [indicated by ditto marks]
By Whom Reported  Father

Observations and Comments

• Misspelled names include Nomi, Meizen, and Armithe.  In the case of Naomi, perhaps the spelling reflects the pronunciation.
  
• From this record I learned that Elizabeth (Armitage) Meinzen, Naomi's mother, had the nickname Lizzie. 
• This record clarifies Naomi's birth date.  Another transcription recorded it as 1899 and family records were unclear.
• This also clarifies the location of her birth--Cross Creek Township--though the specific location in a township would be harder to determine.  Census records are vague.  Cross Creek Township borders the southwest side of the city of Steubenville.
  

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Photographs without Stories

"‘I always think they’re rather sad things, photographs, when someone dies.  One is left with the pictures, but none of the stories.’"                     Susanna Kearsley
                           in Every Secret Thing

If your family is like mine, you have more photos than you have stories to go with them.  Don't you wish for more?  Names for faces, locations, any details to add context to the photos?

I have few stories about the photos in my mother's album.  She was such a private person that a "story" might be a sentence long--if she told any story at all.  I always wish for more. 

In the case of this photograph, my mother was good friends with another nursing student in the photo whose daughter contacted me and shared this photo and a few others, along with the story her mom told her.   (Thank you, Dorla!)

But there are so many other photos and no one to tell the stories. . . .

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Reunion Time for the Bartley Family

The descendants of Dixon and Rebecca (Smith) Bartley held semi-regular annual family reunions in the 1930s and '40s.  They announced them in various newspapers either before the event or after it happened.  With nine children of their own, its easy to imagine multitudes of grand-, great-grand-, and great-great-grandchildren gathering to enjoy each others' company.

from The Pittsburgh Press, Wednesday, September 3, 1930.  The date of the reunion was Saturday, August 30, 1930.

      Bartley Reunion Held
A reunion of the Bartley family
was held at Riverview Park last Sat-
urday. More than 70 attended.
Guests were present from Buffalo,
Philadelphia, Butler, Freeport, Ta-
rentum, Saxonburg, Mars, Sharps-
burg, Crafton, Ben Avon and War-
ren, O.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, August 21, 1934.  The date of the reunion was Wednesday, August 22, 1934.

         Plan Family Reunion
          At Riverview Park
                  --------
The annual reunion of the Bartley
Family will be held at Riverview
Park tomorrow. A sports and race
program under the direction of Mr.
and Mrs. C. S. Maeder will begin at
3 p.m. Refreshments will be served
at 5:30 p.m. under the direction of
Mrs. Horace Love, Mrs. Elliot Noble
and Miss Edith Cumming.
Officers of the organization are
Harry M. Bartley, president; Mrs.
J. S. Baughman, vice pesident, and
John McLain, secretary and treas-
urer.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Monday, August 15, 1938.  The reunion was scheduled for Saturday, August 20, 1938.

        Reunion Is Planned
The annual Bartley family re-
union will be held next Saturday
at the Dickson Bartley homestead,
near Bruin, Pa., Butler County.  A
picnic dinner will be served to
members of the family, their neigh-
bors and friends.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, August 15, 1939.  The reunion was scheduled for Saturday, August 19, 1939.

    Bartley Family Reunion
The annual Bartley family re-
union will be held Saturday at the
Dixon Bartley farm near Bruin,
Butler County.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, August 12, 1941.  The reunion was scheduled for Saturday, August 16, 1941.

            Bartley Reunion
The annual reunion of the Bartley
family will be held Saturday at the
Dixon Bartley Homestead near But-
ler, Pa.


Dixon Bartley is my great-great-grandfather.  His daughter Elvira (Bartley) Gerner is my great-grandmother, and her daughter, Beulah Mae (Gerner) Doyle is my grandmother.  I have some information about Elvira's siblings but nearly nothing about their children or grandchildren.  I don't  recognize any of the names mentioned in these announcements. 

My father would probably have enjoyed attending these reunions, especially the ones from 1938 to 1940, but because his mother died soon after his birth, he seems not to have had much association with her side of the family.  Even if these had been published in a Youngstown or Niles newspaper, I wonder if he would have recognized that he was a descendant of Dixon and Rebecca Bartley.

The only family names garnered from these notices are:
Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Maeder
Mrs. Horace Love
Mrs. Elliot Noble
Miss Edith Cumming
Harry M. Bartley
Mrs. J. S. Baughman
John McLain
Perhaps future research will reveal the relationships between these people and Dixon and Rebecca Bartley.

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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Mrs. Emma (Gerner) Vensel's 1922 Obituary

Emma (Gerner) Vensel is my great-grandfather Fredrick K. Gerner's older sister and daughter of Christian Gerner.  Though the obituary does not give any birth information other than location, her death certificate records her birth date as October 16, 1846.  

This obituary was published in the Butler County Record, 14 Dec 1922, page 8.

                  Mrs. Emma Vensel
     Mrs. Emma Vensel, aged 76, widow
of the later Alfred Vensel, died at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. D. S. Mc-
Guire, Fairview avenue, Butler, De-
cember 7.  Her father was the late
Christian Gerner.  She was born in
Germany but came to America when a
small child.  Most of her life has been
spent in Petrolia and Chicora where
she was well known.  For the past six
years she had resided here with her
daughter.  Children survive as follows:
Mrs. E. R. Parker and Mrs. D. S. Mc-
Guire, Butler; Mrs. E. L. Guthrie, Sa-
pulpa, Okla.; John V. Vensel, Nash-
port, Ohio; also three brothers, Fred
Gerner, Bruin; Charles Gerner, But-
ler; Christian Gerner, Calif.; also eight
grandchildren and one great grand-
child.  Funeral services were held De-
cember 10 at the home of her daugh-
ter where she died and interment was
in White Oak cemetery near Chicora.


Genealogical information garnered from this obituary includes:

• Death Date:  December 7, 1922
• Death Location:  Fairview Avenue, Butler
• Father's name:  Christian Gerner
• Husband's name:  Alfred Vensel
• Birth place:  Germany
• Approximate birth year can be calculated:  1846
• Children's names and where they live:
  - Mrs. E. R. Parker, Butler
  - Mrs. D. S. McGuire, Butler
  - Mrs. E. L Guthrie, Salpulpa, Oklahoma
  - John V. Vensel, Nashport, Ohio
  
• Siblings' names:
  - Fred Gerner, Bruin
  - Charles Gerner, Butler
  - Christian Gerner, California
  
• Burial location:  White Oak Cemetery, Chicora, PA

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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The Unsolved Puzzle of Lizzie Gerner

I thought there was one Lizzie Gerner; now I see there are two Lizzie Gerners, and possibly a third also.  What a puzzle to solve!  My original goal was to find a marriage record and death information for Lizzie Gerner, born about 1851, sister to my g-grandfather Fred Gerner.  Having more than one person with the same name in the same county complicates the search.

My first acquaintance with Lizzie Gerner was when I saw her name as a witness on the July 24, 1872, marriage record of my great-grandparents, Fred Gerner and Elvira Bartley.  The marriage took place in Sugar Creek, Venango County, Pennsylvania, and was performed by Abner Hales.  It looks like Lizzie signed the document because the handwriting is different from the other witness's handwriting, but perhaps not.  (Click the image to enlarge it in a new tab.)

This was the first record I saw with Lizzie's name and I guessed that Lizzie might be a relative of Fred Gerner but had no idea the relationship.  I wondered if she could be Fred's sister, or the wife of one of his brothers, Christian, John, or Charles.

I next encountered with a few years later when I saw her name in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, enumerated with Christian Gerner (variously recorded as Christian Gardner (1860), Christopher Gardner (1870), and Christian Garner (1880)).  For a further explanation of how I determined these were the same man whose name was Christian Gerner, read this post and this post.  (The census records are viewable with a free FamilySearch account.)

No relationships were recorded in the 1860 and 1870 U.S. Censuses but in the 1880 census I learned that Lizzie is the daughter of Christian.  It's interesting that she is recorded with three different names, as is one of her brothers.  I've learned that's not uncommon during that time period.

• In 1860, Isabell, age 9, is listed with Christian and Elizabeth Gardner, 3rd child of 6 listed.
• In 1870, Elisabeth, age 19, is listed with Christopher and Elisabeth Gardner.  The oldest of the children is no longer listed.
• In 1880, Lizzie, age 29, is listed as the daughter of Christian and Elisabeth Garner.
  

If the Lizzie of the marriage record is the same as the Lizzie listed in these census records, Lizzie would have been ~21 at the time of Fred and Elvira's marriage in 1872, and Fred and Lizzie were siblings.

Searches for a marriage record for Lizzie/Elisabeth/Isabell Gerner at FamilySearch, Ancestry, and MyHeritage have yielded no results. 

In my next, and, to date, last encounter with Lizzie Gerner she may have been recorded as Elizabeth Gerner.  In fact, there are two females recorded as Elizabeth Gerner and it seems unlikely that either is the Lizzie Gerner who is Fred's sister who was born about 1851.

This first of the two women named Elizabeth Gerner died in 1890 and was the wife of H. J. Gerner.  She is buried in Saxonburg Memorial Church Cemetery.

I do not know who H. J. Gerner is but I know that Saxonburg is a small town in Butler County, Pennsylvania.  Fred and Elvira lived there for a time.  Neither do I know who this Elizabeth Gerner is.  Is she related to my ancestors and, if so, in what way?

The other Elizabeth Gerner is, without a doubt, Fred's mother, Christian's wife and, therefore, my great-great-grandmother.  The birth year on this memorial coincides with the estimated birth year based on census records for g-g-grandmother.  She died on September 30, 1883, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery near Petrolia in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

But I have yet to find the Lizzie Gerner who is Fred's sister.  I will contact both cemeteries to request more detailed information, if it's available.

Notes and Comments
There are few things I truly know about Lizzie Gerner (and they may not be true). 

• Based on census records (if they can be trusted) she went by three different names at various times of her life:  Isabell, Elisabeth, and Lizzie. 
• In 1872 she called herself Lizzie (if the woman who witnessed Fred and Elvira's marriage is Fred's sister).
• She was still alive in 1880, was about 29 years old, and was still living with her parents.
  

It's a pitiful bit of information.   The search will continue.

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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How Not to Chase a Genealogical Bright Shiny Object

bright shiny object   n.  (plural  bright shiny objects)  : 
   (figuratively)  Something that attracts a great deal of attention
   because of its superficial characteristics.  [from Wiktionary]

We all know the ancestor or individual is not the bright shiny object.  It's the lure of a possible document for an individual which interrupts our focus, draws our attention, and prevents us staying focused on our goal. 

These are Recommended Steps to Avoid Chasing
Bright Shiny Objects in Genealogy Research

First:  Firmly tell yourself exactly who you're searching for, where you're going to search, and what you hope to find.  Fasten this search into your mind.  To help yourself, write down those things.  Make a list if you need to so you can check it and check off as you go.  If you finish that list, you can create a new one.

Second:  Begin with a purposeful intention.  Be purposeful and intent throughout your search, with one person and name in mind.  Don't aimlessly search at FamilySearch, Ancestry, or at whatever other websites you use.

Third:  When search results appear, do not, under any circumstances click on other possible people of interest.  I know it's easy to get side-tracked when you see two possible siblings or a possible parent or other person not part of your immediate goal, but just let them go for the moment.   It's also easy to get side-tracked when many ancestors lived in one geographic area and their names appear in the records next to your person of interest.  Ignore them (other than making a note to return to that record set later.)

In fact, here's a tip when you're tempted:  if you see a possible person of interest, open your genealogy program, go to the possible person of interest, and leave a note with the date and the url.  Immediately—immediately!—return to your original search.  (Truly, you must do this quickly, with no second thoughts.)

Finally:  When, that is to say, after, you've reached your goal, whether it's to search specific records, or one website, or until you've found what you're looking for—after—then, when you have a lazy Sunday afternoon or a few minutes before you go to bed—return to those possible people of interest and see what you find.

Disclaimer:  I thought this plan was bullet-proof and it helped, but it didn't completely work for me.  One must have laser-focused attention and strong-as-steel determination for these steps to work.  I hope you do!  If you have other suggestion how to avoid the lure of a bright shiny object, please share.

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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August Celebrations Among Family and Ancestors

It is surprising to have a month in which only one ancestor has a birthday or anniversary, but that's the case in August.  (At least until I find more ancestors' birthdays.)

I personally knew only a few of the collateral relatives so all the others are names and dates with possibly an anecdotal story or other bit of information about them.

Living Relatives
August   6   Carly S.
August 10   Michael and Nancy
August 23   Eva D.

Ancestors
August 24, 1852   Elizabeth Armitage Meinzen

Collateral Relatives
August   5, 1909   Flora Victoria Bickerstaff
August   7, 1901   Aline S. Gerner
August   7, 1935   Janet Faye Martin
August 10, 1833   Martha Doyle  (baptism date)
August 23, 1904   William N. McClelland
August 23, 1836   Thomas Laws
August 15, 1798   Sabra Bickerstaff
August 17, 1882   James R. Thompson
August 19, 1904   Infant Meinzen
August 19, 1905   Marie Hashman
August 20, 1906   Louise Snair
August 20, 1946   Jeree Lee Foulk
August 21, 1910   Anna Bell Hendricks
August 23, 1906   Catherine or Katherine or Kathryn S. Kitch
August 27, 1879   Ella Dray
August 27, 1888   Jessie Thompson
August 28, 1880   Marie Isabella Meinzen
August 28, 1938   Janet Lu Patton
August 29, 1886   William R. Henderson
August 29, 1896   Alice May Bickerstaff
August 29, 1997   Dolly and Fred

To all I wish the happiest of days.

-–Nancy.

Copyright © 2021 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 
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