52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Week #4–Who Would I Like to Talk to?

Isn’t that a question we often ask ourselves?  If only we could talk to _______fill in the blank.  Maybe we could get answers to our family mysteries or just a better background on who, what, when and where.

Since the theme for this week doesn’t say we have to pick just one person, I am going to name a few of my beloved ancestors and why I’d like to (need to) speak to them.  If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you will recognize these names. I apologize for bringing them up again.  However, we all know that it only takes one person/reader to say “hey, I know the answer to that question!”  It’s what we all hope for.

William "Val" Gould - my great grandfather, son of John C. Gould

FIRST AND DEFINITELY AT THE TOP OF MY LIST – My paternal great grandfather, William V. Gould (born Vivaldo William Gould) (1859-1924).  I know, from many sources, who is father & mother were.  HOWEVER, I am completely stuck as to who his paternal grandparents were.  Who were the parents of John C. Gould?   What could William tell me about his own father?  Did he know who his paternal grandparents were?  Did he ever meet them?  What stories did his father tell about the family?  And lastly, why doesn’t there seem to be a single photo of his parents in family pictures?  They were alive until 1911 and probably 1919.  And, the next question would be – is the John Gould on the death certificate I’ve located, the correct person?  Is this William’s father?

I’ve written about this nearly two decade brick wall mystery and you can read it here MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? John C. Gould 1833-1919?

THE NEXT ANCESTOR I NEED TO TALK TO – My maternal great grandfather, Robert Edward Lee Bowden, 1863-1906.  Who were his parents?  Did he have siblings?  I know absolutely nothing about his family.  

Interestingly, it was his daughter, Florence Bowden (my grandmother) who was the family historian/genealogist before me.  She kept meticulous records of family births, marriages and many deaths.  She drew a family tree by hand.  However, back in the 1970’s she wrote me a letter and in that letter is a response to a question I’d asked about her family.  Who were her father’s parents?  She could only say that she thought Robert Bowden’s mother was named Susan and that she died when my grandmother was 4 yrs. old, which would have been about 1892.  Since Robert and his wife divorced when my grandmother was about 11 yrs. old and he died when she was just 18 yrs. old, there may not have been a time when she could ask questions. Robert was a railroad brakeman and I expect he was often gone from the home.
  

 I’ve never found a picture of him and surely there must have been one taken at some point.

 
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I’ve also written a blog post about this brick wall and you can read it here MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Robert L. Bowden 1863-1906

Catherine Dorsey - my 2nd great grandmother with her children Annie & Horace Jr.

NEXT ON MY LIST -  My paternal 2nd great grandmother, Catherine C. Dorsey about 1842 – 1898.  She, by all records I’ve obtained, was born in Dublin, Ireland about 1842.  Her death cert lists her parents as Jno and Mary.  She lies in an unmarked grave at Mt. Elliott Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.  

She was the wife of Horace Henry Thorp (1836-1907) and the mother of 10 children.  I have a picture of her.  I also have most of the information on 9 of her 10 children.  When did she arrive in the U.S.?  Was she really born in Dublin?  What were the full names of her parents and did she have any siblings?  How did she meet Horace?  
As you might guess, I’ve also written about her before and you can read it and see her picture here - MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Catherine Dorsey about 1842-1898

My Dad - Harry Norman Gould

AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST – My own Dad, Harry Norman Gould 1912-1991.  He absolutely loved to tell family stories and talk about when he was growing up.  He was an only child, and the grandchild of William & Mae Gould (although they had 6 children, he was the only grandchild).  I did listen to his stories growing up and when I became an adult.  I did ask him questions and we sat down and I had him label family photos for me.  But, you know how it goes.  Until we begin doing actual family research we don’t know what questions we should have asked.  

I didn’t begin my genealogy journey until 12 years after he died.  Now I have a hundred questions that I would be willing to bet he could answer for me.  And, we would have such a good time, laughing and talking about his beloved Mema and Bepa (what he called William & Mae Gould), his grandparents.  If only…….if only. 

There are dozens more ancestors that I’d love to sit down with, but for now, I’d settle for all or one of the four I’ve mentioned here.

Who would you like to talk to?  And why?
  
If you find that you are related to anyone mentioned in this post or have information for me, please get in touch.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Week #2–Challenge is the theme–what are my challenges?

Research challenges.  We all have them.  Whether it’s the missing 1890 census, burnt courthouses, records being held that are not available to the public or any number of other reasons.

My biggest challenges have come from my brick walls.  After 16+ years of research (on a weekly and daily basis) you’d think “what else is there to find?”  Let me tell you.

I haven’t been able to take my own maiden name, Gould, past my 2nd great grandfather.  I also haven’t been able to find my maternal great grandfather’s family.  Both of those families remain a mystery to me as of this day.  I’m hoping with DNA I will break down those brick walls and open some floodgates to my ancestors in those lines.

What I’d like to do today is share with you here, my blog posts about John C. Gould, my paternal 2nd great grandfather (1833- ?) and Robert L. Bowden, my maternal great grandfather (1863-1906).

Wm. V. Gould (John Gould's son), my great grandfather

GOULD Rd. sign in Macomb Co., Michigan

2nd page of the article about how they discovered Robert Bowden's body in a hotel

The posts are titled MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO’S YOUR DADDY? By sharing the links with you here, I’m hoping someone, anyone, can help me solve these brick walls.  I’ve carefully outlined what I’ve done to find the families of these two men.  It’s pretty extensive.  I encourage you to read it carefully and perhaps you can tell me what I’ve missed.  I’ve covered a lot of bases….and databases….and libraries.

Here’s the link to the post for John C. Gould Mystery Monday - Who's Your Daddy? John C. Gould

Now on to my great grandfather, Robert Lee Bowden also known as Robert Edward Lee Bowden.  Born 8 Feb 1863 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier, Virginia – died 8 Oct 1906 in McKees Rocks, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.  I’ve just re read this post and the comments associated with it.  We all know that a second, third or fourth or tenth look at anything we have on our ancestors can reveal information we missed.  I see a comment by Miriam Robbins about a possible maiden name for Robert’s mother.  I never followed that lead and will do so today.
 
That being said, here is the link to my post about Robert.

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Robert L. Bowden 1863-1906  IMORTANT NOTE:  There is a Robert Lee Bowden about the same age, living in the same area, born to Elias & Sarah Bowden.  I have followed him forward in time and HE IS NOT MY ROBERT.

I respect the opinion of other researchers and I welcome your input.  Maybe this will be the year one or both of these walls are knocked down.  I sure hope so.

ONE MORE THING – I have met with 2 professional genetic genealogist in the past two years and they weren’t able to solve these cases during our time together.  They did give me excellent tips on doing DNA research.  We are all thinking these men could be the result of unrecorded adoptions and their birth names were not the names they went by throughout their lives.  Anything is possible.

Thanks for listening.  I hope 2019 is the year we all break through our brick walls.

For a list of all my WHO’S YOUR DADDY posts, click HERE.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Brick Walls Post #2 - Robert L. Bowden 1863-1906

BOWDEN is my maternal grandmother’s maiden name.  I have not yet been able to locate the parents or any siblings of her father Robert Lee Bowden.  This mystery has been going on for well over ten years.  Here is what I have and what I’ve done so far.  I welcome your input.

A BRIEF BIO OF ROBERT LEE BOWDEN

Born 8 Feb 1863 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier, West Virginia.  Married Florence HUNTER on 10 Mar 1887 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  Two children born to this couple: Florence Lee Nora Bowden (my grandmother) born 31 Jan 1888 in Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky and Edna “Denny” Mabel Bowden born 1 Jan 1890 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  This couple divorced on 17 Jul 1899.  The divorce was filed in Kenton County, Kentucky.  Robert worked for the railroad in every record I have about him.  He possibly remarried to a lady named Bertie Kearney in 1900.  Robert died on 8 Oct 1906 in McKees Rocks, Allegheny, Pennsylvania at age 43.

Robert’s signature from his 1887 marriage record

Here is what I know about Robert’s life so far:

(Click on any image to enlarge it)




I know that Robert and Florence divorced in 1899.  I have that record and a record of her trying to get him to pay child support.

Here are a few records from the divorce, filed in Kenton County Circuit Court, Kentucky and granted on 17 Jul 1899.


My grandmother, Florence, who is Robert’s older daughter, left me a lot of genealogical information on our family.  She had his death date listed as Oct 1906.  Since I have found her information to rarely be incorrect, and this was her own father, I looked for death records based on that date.

Here is the page from her journal with him listed as the second person.  I have redacted this list for anyone who may still be living.
 

My brother, John and I believe we have found a record of a second marriage for Robert L. Bowden, shortly after the divorce from Florence was final.

MARRIAGE RECORD - R. L. BOWDEN TO B. C. KEARNEY ON 31 MAR 1900 IN HUNTINGTON, CABELL, WEST VIRGINIA

We do find Robert living with a woman named Bertie and her son, who’s last name is Kearney in the 1900 census.  He is a railroad brakeman, which is consistent with what we know about Robert’s occupation.  The record states they have been married only 4 months, which is consistent with the marriage record and Robert is said to have been born in February, which is also what we have on record.  The only thing different is the year of his birth being listed as 1865 instead of 1863.  But, we all know those years vary from record to record, especially in the census.  The other variant is the state of birth being Kentucky, when my grandmother stated it was West Virginia.  I have checked both the Kentucky and West Virginia birth records and not found anything....yet.

Here is that 1900 census record.

 




























My big AH HA! moment came when the Pennsylvania death records 1906-1944 were released last year on Ancestry.  One night I just decided to check these records for Robert.  Why?  I don’t really know, as I had no record of him ever being in Pennsylvania.   
NOTE:  You never know where you will find the record you need.

There it was!!!!  A death record for Robert L. Bowden on 8 Oct 1906 in McKees Rocks, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.  A railroad man who died suddenly of heart disease.  Of course no parents names are listed.



Thanks to the assistance of a researcher on the Allegheny County, PA Facebook group, I also found out there was a newspaper article about his death.  Can you believe it?

And, I saw that the death certificate was signed by a Coroner, so I sent for the Coroner’s record, which gave me no new information.  All the Coroner did was look over the body to rule out signs of foul play.  See my post about my analysis of the Coroner’s report here http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/06/coroners-case-file-robert-l-bowden.html

WHAT I STILL NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MY GREAT GRANDFATHER ROBERT LEE BOWDEN

• A birth record to verify when and where he was born (although due to the Civil War, this may not be available)
• Who his parents were?
• Who his siblings, if any, were?
• Any court records I may have missed regarding the guardianship of his daughters
• Information from the cemetery that could contain details I don’t have.  I have left two messages and will try calling again.

Please note:  There is a Robert L. Bowden of about the correct age in the 1870 census.  He is the son of Elias & Sarah Bowden and living in Hardy Township, Isle of Wight, Virginia.  I have followed this lead and this IS NOT my Robert.

Do you see anything I have missed?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Post #1 - John C. Gould

FACEBOOK - How it can be very useful in your research 

If you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me!

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORONER’S CASE FILE – ROBERT L. BOWDEN – AN ANALYSIS

Robert L. Bowden is my great grandfather on my mother’s side.  I wrote about locating his death certificate (after having looked for over 10 years) on Saturday, June 14, 2014 in this post EVALUATING A RECORD – IN HONOR OF FATHER’S DAY (click on the link to read the post).

At the end of that post I wrote about what I would do next.  One of the things on my list was to find out if there was a Coroner’s Report for his death.  

The following items led me to conclude that there may have been an autopsy or investigation into his death:

• The death certificate was signed by the Coroner.
• His death was “sudden.”
• The burial date & date of death were 17 days apart.

I sent an email and received a reply back from the Allegheny County Coroner Case Files office that they did have a file and I could submit my request.  I downloaded the form and did just that.

Here is the request I submitted. I enclosed a check for $12, and kept a copy of the request and my check in my Evernote Notebook for the Bowden surname. 

The request was mailed on 16 Jun 2014 and I received his Coroner Case File on 28 Jun 2014.  That’s a great turnaround time!

Here is a copy of the six page report.  I have indicated the items on each page that I took notice of.  

Page 1 & 2    (Click on any image to enlarge it)
  

Page 3 & 4
  

Page 5 & 6
  

WHAT DID I LEARN FROM THIS REPORT?

• Further confirmation for the date of death of Robert L. Bowden.
• Page 1 estimates his age at about 48 yrs., page 3 estimates about 40 yrs. Based on various documents we have his age was about 43-45 yrs. in 1906.
• The time he was actually found on the floor of the hotel & the name of the hotel.
• Who found him on the floor of the hotel.
• Others who were present shortly after his death.
• The names of the officer and doctor who declared him dead.
• The name of a friend who had known him for 16 years.
• That his friend stated he had a wife and two daughters.  We know he and our great grandmother were divorced in 1899 and that they had two daughters.  Had he remarried since then?
• That his friend did not know the location of his wife & daughters or the cause of his death.
• His occupation as a Railroader which matches other records we have on him.
• That he wasn’t known by the clerk at the hotel.
• That the jury’s verdict agreed with the Coroner & the Doctor that this man died from heart disease.

WHAT QUESTIONS DO I STILL HAVE?

• Had Robert L. Bowden been sick prior to his death?
• Had he been to any doctors or hospitals?
• On page 4  (and I didn’t underline this) the clerk said that Mr. Bowden’s friend “took” him to his room about noon.  Does that mean the friend accompanied him?  Or was Mr. Bowden in such a condition to have to be “taken” to the room?
• Since there is no statement of an autopsy being performed on the body, how did they come to the conclusion that he died of heart disease?
• Did one of the witnesses, his friend perhaps, know of a history of heart disease?
• Could he have died of foul play?  Did he fall & hit his head? Was there some other method or cause of death? 
• Is this the way all Coroner’s Case Files looked back in 1906? 

This was the first time I have ever sent for a coroner’s report on any of my ancestors.  I find it interesting and informative.  However, I obviously still have questions.  Will I ever learn the answers to those questions?  I don’t know.

I do know that I have learned more about the circumstances of my great grandfather’s death and I’m extremely happy to have this information.  

I don’t consider this case closed just yet.  I will still be trying to answer some of the outstanding questions about his life.  

I’d love to hear if you have ever reviewed a Coroner’s Case for any of your ancestor’s?  And, if so, what year it was and how was the report presented?  Did it contain more information than this report?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
SURPRISE - A BIRTH RECORD WHERE IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE
VITAL RECORDS - HOW TO REQUEST THEM & KEEP TRACK OF THOSE REQUESTS 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl 

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

EVALUATING A RECORD FOUND – IN HONOR OF FATHER’S DAY

 

Today is a very happy day.  I have located (to the best of my belief as a genealogist) the death record for my Great Grandfather, Robert L. Bowden.  He may not have been a model father, but I still want to know about his life. 

I have been trying to locate this record for over 10 years.  My grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne was Robert L. Bowden’s daughter.  She was also a genealogist who left me a lot of records about her family.  One of those records was a date of death for her father, Robert, on 9 Oct 1906.  No place of death was given.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT MY GREAT GRANDFATHER

Robert L. Bowden was born 8 Feb 1863 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier, West Virginia.  We do not know who his parents were……yet.

He married Florence Hunter on 10 Mar 1887 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  They had two daughters – Florence L. Bowden (my grandmother) and Edna “Denny” Mabel Bowden.  He and Florence divorced on 17 Jul 1899.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Marriage Record for Robert L. Bowden and Florence Hunter - 1887

First page of divorce record for Robert Bowden & Florence Hunter - 1899

The next record I have for Robert Bowden is a 1900 census that matches close enough for me to believe it is him.



I have never located a record beyond this 1900 census, that I believe to be my Robert L. Bowden.  

Since my grandmother, Florence Bowden, has seldom been wrong on her names & dates about family, I trusted that she would know at least the year of her father’s death.  

Today, I decided to try once more, searching for a death record for Robert L. Bowden.  I conducted search after search on the Family Search site. I varied the name, I used an asterisk after Bow* so I would get more hits.  I searched under Bou* Bor*, you name it, I searched.  Having found nothing on that site I decided, with little hope, to search Ancestry.  I have a tree on Ancestry and I’ve searched a LOT and looked for any hints for Robert L. Bowden.  Never to find anything substantial.  

We all know that new records are added all the time.  Today I searched on Ancestry for Robert L. Bowden with a death year of 1906, no location in my search.

Here is what I got!!!!

Pennsylvania Death Certificates on Ancestry.com

That first record looks promising to me.  To even find a Robert L. Bowden who died in 1906, let alone the exact month my grandmother had said, and only one day different than her record.  I clicked on it with great anticipation. 

• Would this be him?
• Would it list his parents’ names?
• Had I finally found his death record?

I clicked on the record and here is what came up.



What is correct on the index?

• His name
• His gender and race
• The month & year of his death

What is off a little bit?

• His age & year of birth (I have his year of birth as 1863-65) which would make him 41-43 years old.

Now let’s take a look at the actual death certificate.



Evaluating what you see on a record with what you know.

1.  His name is a match
2.  I notice he died at a hotel, the Victoria Hotel.  As a railroad employee I know the men traveled all the time.
3.  I see the same information listed on the index page.  He is a white, male.  He died on 8 Oct 1906.  My grandmother gave his date of death as 9 Oct 1906.
4.  He is listed as married.  The last record I have that I believe to be him is a 1900 census showing him married to a woman named Bertie.
5.  His occupation is R R Man.  That’s pretty big, as he is known to have worked for the railroad in every record I have for him.
6.  He died suddenly of heart disease.  This isn’t anything I had known before.  However, the record is signed by a Coroner on 23 Oct 1906.  He is listed as having been buried until 25 Oct 1906.  This tells me that there was probably an autopsy performed.

MY CONCLUSION

I believe I have found my great grandfather, Robert’s, death record.  I am going to try to find more evidence to substantiate this conclusion. 

As genealogists we have to gather our evidence and put things together.  What we know with what we don’t know.  What we have with what we don’t have.  

Every piece of the puzzle won’t always be a match.

WHAT I WILL DO NEXT

Since I suspect there was an autopsy, I will try to find that report.  I looked online and found a website for Allegheny County Coroner Case Files.  They allow you to send an email request and they will do a look up for free.  If they find a file, they let you know and you can then submit a request for the record.  I have already sent the email this afternoon and received an auto reply back stating they have my request.  

The death certificate lists his place of burial as Highwood Cemetery.  I have placed a memorial on FindAGrave - Robert L. Bowden Memorial for him.  

I will contact the cemetery, if they have an office that is still operating, and try to find out more information from their records.  Who ordered the burial?  Is there a headstone?

I still need to know who Robert Bowden’s parents were.  

This has been a wonderful day.  Finding a record after looking for 10 years is very rewarding.  Be able to answer those questions about our ancestors is why we do what we do.  I especially want those answers if it is a direct line, like this is. 

Keep looking.  NEVER GIVE UP!  Those walls will fall……one day.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND - Part 1  
HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND - Part 2

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

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

TODAY OUR SEARCH TAKES US TO KENTUCKY & WEST VIRGINIA

Today I was looking….again, for some information on my great grandfather, Robert Lee Bowden.  He is one of the many brick walls in our family tree. 

He is the father of my maternal grandmother.  She is my source for a lot of family information.  She’s the one who kept the journal from which I take various recipes from the early 1900’s for, not only food, but how to curl hair and how to make shampoo.  I’ve posted some of these treasured, handwritten items and you can view them here:

http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/10/family-recipe-friday-my-grandmother_4.html  HOW TO MAKE COMPLEXION CREAM

http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/11/family-recipe-friday.html   HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE FUDGE

http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/11/family-recipe-friday-how-to-make-shampoo.html  HOW TO MAKE SHAMPOO

http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/11/family-recipe-friday-how-to-keep-hair.html  HOW TO KEEP YOUR HAIR CURLED

Here are things I know about Robert Lee BOWDEN.  He was reported to have been born 8 Feb 1863 in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier, West Virginia.  He married my great grandmother, Florence HUNTER on 10 Mar 1887 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  I have their marriage record. They had two daughters: my grandmother, Florence Lenora born 31 Jan 1888 and Edna Mabel born 1 Jan 1890.  He worked for a railroad company, possibly as a brakeman.  He and my great grandmother divorced in 1899.  I have those records.  He may have married again in 1900 to Bertie KEARNEY.  According to my grandmother (his daughter), he died on 9 Oct 1906.

Between myself and my brother, John, we have not been able to locate any record of his death or burial.  We have been looking for about 7 years.  As experienced genealogists we have explored many sources to try and locate a record.

TIP:  One thing we do all the time is revisit records we have previously viewed.  You never know when a new record will be added, so keep going back.

Today I decided to look for a birth record for Robert Lee Bowden.  I’ve done this many times, but I never give up.  As I was looking through West Virginia birth records in familysearch.org I suddenly came across a record for FLORENCE L. BOWDEN.  That is my grandmother, daughter of Robert L. Bowden.  BUT, she was born in Kentucky.  

Why would there be a birth record in West Virginia?

Up to this point, I didn’t have a birth record for her.  What I did have was an Affidavit of Birth that was filed in 1940.  She must have needed proof of her birth and wasn’t able to provide it.  So, she filed the affidavit with the help of her Aunt, who states that she can verify the facts of the birth. 

This affidavit was filed in KENTUCKY. 

             

As you can see the affidavit gives her date of birth, her parents names, their places of birth, ages at her birth etc.  A LOT of great genealogical information. 

However, no where on this form do I see an actual place of birth for my grandmother, Florence L. Bowden.











Click on any image to enlarge it.

 I had always heard that my grandmother was born in Covington, Kenton, Kentucky.

I clicked on the record I saw in the index on Family Search and this is what I saw:

West Virginia Births, 1853-1930
Name: Florence L. BowdenTitles and Terms:    
Event Type: Birth
Event Date: 01 Jan 1888
Event Place: Ashland, Kentucky, United States
Gender: Female
Race:    
Father's Name: R. L. Bowden
Father's Titles and Terms:    
Father's Birthplace:    
Father's Age:    
Mother's Name: Florence Bowden
Mother's Titles and Terms:    
Mother's Birthplace:    
Mother's Age:    
Note:    
Additional Relatives:    
Registration Date:    
Registration Place:    
Reference ID:     v 1 p 169
GS Film number: 559300
Digital Folder Number: 004014156
Image Number:     00185

That is definitely my grandmother.  I believe the transcriber made an error and listed the date of birth as the 1st of January instead of the 31st.  But, otherwise the information for her year of birth and her parent’s names are correct.  The birthplace is Kentucky, but instead of Covington, it’s Ashland. 

Let’s take a look at the actual image. 



Admittedly this record is difficult to read.  Thank goodness for our computers and their ability to zoom in.  She is listed on line 16.  Here is a close up of that line (best as I could zoom in on it).



Based on this record I am changing my grandmother’s place of birth to Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky.

However, I can certainly see why, if she was looking for her birth record in Kentucky, she didn’t find it.   It was listed with West Virginia births.  I wonder why, don’t you?

The parents, according to her birth affidavit, lived in Ashland, Kentucky. 

• Was the doctor from West Virginia? 
• Were there no county offices in Ashland and the nearest courthouse was in West Virginia?

Kentucky and West Virginia are located next to one another.  There is a river that runs along the border of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.  I’ve actually been to the counties in Ohio and West Virginia that border the river.  To get from one state to another you just drive across a bridge.



Back in the late 1800’s you would have had to take a ferry to cross the river.  But, I know that people did this all the time. 

I may never know how it came to be that my grandmother was born in Ashland, Kentucky but her birth record was recorded in West Virginia.  The important thing was that I found that record today.

REMEMBER:  Always go back to records you have searched before and look again.  Never assume you know everything about your ancestors. 

I feel very good about this day of research.  I may not have located what I set out to find, but I found something very important and that’s good enough for me.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl


Copyright © 2014 Diane Gould Hall