COUSINS ~ What treasures can you find when you visit your cousins?

 

I can never say enough about how wonderful cousins are.  Why?

·       They are often your very first friends outside the family circle.

·       If you are an only child, they may be as close as a sister or brother.

·       Later on you can talk about family stories and share memories and photos with each other.

·       If you meet these cousins later in life via your research or DNA or whatever method, they might provide very valuable information about your ancestors.

·       As bloggers, we often call our blogs “cousin bait.”

Here’s my cousin story for this week.

My cousin Paula lives about 3 hours up the coast from me, here in California.  She and I reconnected in 2003, well into our adulthood.  We had last seen one another in 1966.  Since then we have become very good friends and fellow family researchers.  It’s been an interesting journey, with discoveries on both her side and mine.

Our grandmothers were sisters, which makes me and Paula 2^nd cousins.

It had been a couple of years since I’d been to Paula’s home and I knew we were overdue for a visit.  When I spoke to her, she told me that her sister, Shirley, was coming into town for a couple of weeks.  Most of our family still lives in Michigan, including Shirley.

I knew right away that I should make the drive up there, as I had never been able to spend much time with Shirley. 

We cousins enjoyed one another for 3 days. 

A surprise during the visit was that Paula and Shirley’s grand nephew was in town from Michigan.  We were able to have dinner with him.  I’d not met him before.  What a nice young man.  In the scheme of family relationships, he is my 2^nd cousin, twice removed.

During my stay, Paula brought out an envelope of photos that she had gotten during her last trip to Michigan, from her other sister.

As we looked through these mostly black and white photos, we all found treasures.  For me it was pictures of my own grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould and my grandfather Harry W. Gould sharing moments with Marie’s sister’s family. Additionally, it was seeing a picture of my granduncle Bill Lindsay’s wife Matilda Vera Ena KIDD for the first time.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Matilda Vera Ena Kidd Lindsay

Left to right - Marie Lindsay Gould (my paternal grandmother), Shirley Hockster, Edith Curry Jessop, Elizabeth "Betty" Hockster, Paula Hockster, Mary Ortell Hockster and Bessie Lindsay Hockster (Marie's sister)
Shirley, Betty & Paula are my 2nd cousins and Mary is their mother

Back row - William "Bill" Lindsay, Bessie Lindsay, Everett Hockster, Joyce Lindsay, Robert McConnell, Harry W. Gould - Middle row - Marie Lindsay Gould, Matilda Kidd Lindsay, Ellen Hockster McConnell, May (in her lap is Betty Hockster) - Front row - Patricia McConnell, Shirley Hockster and Ralph Hockster

I’d call those things great finds.  Thanks Paula!

Any photo find is always a bonus.  I’m going to put this out there right now.  If you are LINDSAY descendant, belonging to our particular line, and you have photos, we’d love to see them.  We are willing to share any of our own photos with all the cousins out there.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY ~ Towns or roads in Michigan using the name GOULD

GOULD Rd. sign in Bruce Township, Macomb Co., Michigan

Ever curious about my maiden name, I thought I would find out how many places in Michigan have Gould in their name.

I’ve always known about Gould Rd. in Macomb County, Michigan.  I’ve been on the road during a genealogy road trip and I photographed the street sign.  I’ve even contacted the County of Macomb and tried to find out who the road was named after.  So far, no luck with that.

Since my Gould family lived in Armada, Macomb, Michigan it’s a curiosity as to whether this road could have been named for them.  The burial location of immediate family related to these Goulds is at Rose Hill Cemetery (a place I’ve also been), and is 1.6 miles from Gould Rd.

(All screenshots shown here are courtesy of Google Maps)

Gould Rd. near Rose Hill Cemetery where many of my ancestors are buried

This past week I discovered there is a GOULD City in Upper Michigan.  I never knew that.  It looks very rural.  I would love to visit.  I’ve never been to Upper Michigan and it’s high on my list of places to go.

Here’s the location of Gould City and also an aerial view.
There’s even a road in Gould City named S. Gould City Road.



And to my surprise, when I conducted a Google search of Detroit, Michigan, looking for the Gould name, I located a Gould Street.  It’s down along the Detroit River, not too far from Ambassador Bridge.  And, it’s only 12.9 miles, a 20 minute drive from where my grandparents, Harry & Marie Gould lived, at 14520 Asbury Park.

This has been a fun exercise.  I learned things I didn’t know before, and that’s always a good thing.
 
Now to find out, if possible, who these streets and roads and cities are named after.  Are they related to me?  I know here in my small town of Ramona, CA., we have many roads named after people who once settled here and had an impact on our town.
 
Have you ever looked for places named after your family?  I’d love to hear about it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY - Armada, Macomb, Michigan

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY - Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

DID MY GRANDPARENTS “ALMOST” WIN A HOME IN A DETROIT SUBURB IN 1956?

I located this interesting article, about my grandfather, Harry W. Gould, published in the Detroit Free Press, Saturday, May 12, 1956.



The home in question was located at 29060 Lone Elm Lane in Southfield, Michigan.  Here is an aerial view from Google Earth.  This street is located just north of Twelve Mile Rd., a few blocks east of Evergreen Rd.

This home was located about 8.5 miles from where my grandparents home was located on Asbury Park in Detroit.  I remember their home very well. 



The dispute over who won the home, based on their guess of how many nails were used in building the home, took place in 1956.  I would have been six years old and my family was still living in Detroit at the time.  We were at my grandparent’s house a lot.  I have to think there was talk about this around the dinner table, or after dinner in the living room.  Don’t you wish you could go back in time and record every conversation?  The things your grandparents and parents talked about?  I know I wish I could.

Here is another newspaper article mentioning that the dispute will be heard in court.



I kept searching to see if I could find out what the court ruling was in the case, and sure enough I found an article published in the Detroit Free Press on December 18, 1957, page 3. 




According to this article, my grandfather, Harry W. Gould, didn’t get the house.  However, he did get a settlement amounting to $7,500 to be paid in monthly installments of not less than $75.
 
This settlement occurred in December 1957.  My grandparents moved to Pompano Beach, Florida within a year or two of that date.  My parents, my brother and I had moved to Pompano Beach sometime in 1957.  We lived a block away from my grandparents.  Sadly, my grandpa, Harry W. Gould, died in February of 1960.  By 1965 my Dad, my brother and I had all moved to San Diego.  My grandmother sold her home in Pompano Beach and moved in with us in about 1967. 

I calculated the payments of that $7,500, if paid at $75 per month, would have gone on for a little over 8 years.  Assuming that they were continued once my grandfather, Harry, had passed away.
 
This was certainly an interesting find and something I’d never heard a thing about.  I even talked to my brother this morning and asked him if he remembered anything about it.  He did not.
 
What newspaper articles have you discovered about your family?  I’d love to hear about them.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST – More from newspapers

NEW YORK NEWSPAPER LINKS ONLINE

FRIDAY FINDS - Anna M. Bezner hit & killed by street car in Detroit in 1906

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

BIRTH RECORDS WITH INCORRECT NAMES–WHAT WOULD YOU THINK?

As genealogists we all know that not every record we find will match “exactly” what we have or know about a particular person.  

We gather as much evidence as we can and compile a record of someone’s life. 
I’ve been searching for about 8-9 years now for the birth record of my paternal grandmother, Marie Lindsay, born 1888 and her sister, Ellen Lindsay, born 1887, both in Detroit, Michigan.  

I’ve found their two siblings, Bessie Lindsay, born 1892 and William Lindsay, born 1894 in Detroit, Michigan.

Since family search has the Michigan Births, 1867-1902, you would think the births would be there.  That’s where I located the birth records for their siblings, Bessie & William.

How many ways can you conduct a search?

• All information filled in
• Last name only
• Last name with first initial
• Last name with full first name
• Last name with parents first names
• Last name with only one parent’s first name
• Last name with year of birth or range of years and state or country of birth
• First name only with parent’s first names
• First name only with year of birth and parent’s names

Well, you get the idea.  There are so many ways for us to search.  I had tried all of those listed and several more.

So, what was it today that allowed me to find, what I believe, are the records for my grandmother, Marie and her sister Ellen?

NOTE:  My grandmother, Marie, lived with us when I was in my late teens.  We had always lived close to her, so I spent a lot of time talking to her.  I know that she always told me she was given the name Mary at birth and later changed it to Marie because that wasn’t as common as the name Mary.

Today I decided to conduct a search on familysearch.org and really try to find this birth record.

I used just the first name “Mary” and the year 1888, plus Michigan as the place of birth.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)



I certainly thought I was going to get so many hits that I’d never find anything.  But here is what came up in the search, right on the first page:



This was exciting as that is her EXACT date of birth and her parent’s names are William & Bessie.  

But wait!!!  That last name is OLENDOSEY, not LINDSAY.  Yes, I know.

I looked at all 316 hits on this search.  The ONLY other Mary born on 8 October 1888 had parents named William & Alice who were born in Canada & Michigan.  So we know that’s not my grandmother, Marie.  

Let’s click on the image of the birth record and look at the actual entry in the birth record.

Page 1                                                                        Page 2
       

Page 1 – Birthdate of Oct. 8, 1888, female.  I see the name Mary and then I see Olendosey, which is exactly how the indexer transcribed it.  I compare another capital “L” on this page in an entry for Lillie Ficher and then for Hazel Lamb.  Certainly not the same.  Now let’s look at the next page of the record.

Page 2 –  Parent’s names are William Olendosey and Bessie Olendosey, both living in Detroit and both born in Scotland.  He is a Laborer.  The first names of the parents are correct and the birthplace and residence are a match.  My great grandfather did work as a Laborer and later as a Machinist.

CONCLUSION:  I have a social security application (SS-5) that gives my grandmother’s birthdate as Oct. 8, 1888 (signed by her), as well as her death certificate, California Death Index and the Social Security Death Index.  Plus, I know that’s the day we celebrated her birthday.  My great grandparents immigrated from Scotland to the United States between 1882 and 1886.  They married in Detroit, Michigan on 21 May 1886.  Having recently (just this past May) traveled to Scotland, I do know that the Scottish brogue of some people we spoke to was so thick that, even though they were speaking English, we were unable to understand what they were saying.  Is this what happened with this record?  Did they give their names when they filed the report and the person taking down the names, just misinterpreted them?  I honestly don’t know.  

However, other than the last name this record is a perfect match.  And coincidentally the last name on the record ends with “sey” which is another common ending to Lindsay.  I believe this is my grandmother’s birth record.  

Tell me what you would think?

A quick look at her sister, Ellen Lindsay’s birth record.

Page 1                                                                           Page 2
    

For this record I don’t have as many pieces of evidence as for my grandmother.  Her sister, Ellen Lindsay Pickard, died in 1927.  I don’t have the death certificate.  There is no Social Security Death Index record for her and no SS-5.  I do have a record from Michigan, but not image.  On this birth record, her father & mother’s names are correct as is their place of birth.  And, it lists his occupation as Laborer, which matches the birth record for her sister, Mary/Marie the following year.  I also know that Nellie and Ellen are names commonly used for each other, like Bessie and Elizabeth.

Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952Name: Ellen PickardEvent Type:Death
Event Date: 31 Mar 1927
Event Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Gender: Female
Age: 39
Marital Status: Married
Birth Date: 01 Apr 1887
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan
Birth Year (Estimated): 1888
Father's Name: Wm Lindsay
Mother's Name:    
GS Film number: 001972982
Digital Folder Number: 005362579
Image Number: 02341

I’m still going to be looking for other evidence of the birth of Mary/Marie & Ellen.  But, given the years of their birth, there probably won’t be other birth records available.  Maybe a baptismal record?  In the meantime, I will put these records with the other records I have that provide evidence of their birth.  This is just another piece of the puzzle.

What do you think?  What conclusion would you come to?  Have you found records like this?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - BIRTH RECORDS - WHAT INFORMATION DO THEY REVEAL? 

VITAL RECORDS - HOW TO REQUEST THEM & KEEP TRACK OF THOSE REQUESTS 

SURPRISE! A BIRTH RECORD WHERE IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE 



Happy hunting,
 

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY–MY GRANDPARENTS, HARRY & MARIE

HARRY WHIPPLE GOULD married MARIE WALLACE LINDSAY on 6 Jun 1912

  
   

Oh how I miss them.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION