TUESDAY’S TIP–How to Determine Which War Your Ancestor May Have Participated In

Military records can be one of the best resources we find for our ancestors.  Whether it’s a draft registration, a pension file or a service record, they can tell us a lot about that ancestor.

Here are some of the things you may find in a military record:

• Date of birth
• Names of parents
• Date of marriage, name of spouse & marital status
• Names and ages and/or date of births of children
• Places of residence
• Occupation
• Physical characteristics
• Names of other relations or acquaintances may be found in pension files
• Date & place of death
• Place of burial

That is only a partial list.  But, you can certainly see how important these records can be.

SO HOW CAN WE FIND OUT WHICH OF OUR ANCESTORS MIGHT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN WHICH WAR?

I use Legacy 8 as my software database and this is the method I used.  I’m sure other software programs have similar finding aids.

The first thing I referred to was a list that I located on Ancestry.com last year.  Here is a link to the post: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2014/04/23/what-war-did-my-ancestor-serve-in/

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

My next step was to use the “Search” capabilities of Legacy 8 by beginning here: 



For a detailed, step by step lesson on how to create your search criteria, please see my post here - Legacy 8 - The Search Function - What Can You Find?

In this case I used the following criteria for possible World War I veterans:



NOTE: Of course there were women who served during the wars.  Especially the later wars.  However, for now I wanted to concentrate on the primary possibilities, which are the men.

Now I actually have a list I can use for each of the wars.  I can check the list one by one and look for military records.  Rather than my usual method of remembering to do that as I’m researching a particular person.
 
I can indicate in my To-Do list in Legacy that I have completed this task.  Or, I could make a notation in the ancestor’s “research notes.”  Or you could keep track some other way.  Because some of the lists are multiple pages, I would not personally print them out.  You might choose to.  I did create a PDF version of each list, which you can do directly from the “Print” option at the bottom of the page of names.

Here is a sample of the first page of a list I converted to PDF format:



Here is a compilation of how many names appear on each list that I created.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR = 90
CIVIL WAR = 411
SPANISH AMERICAN WAR = 573
WAR OF 1812 = 118
WORLD WAR I = 421
WORLD WAR II = 554
KOREAN WAR = 243
VIETNAM WAR = 160

That’s a grand total of 2570 men who could possibly have military records.  I will be able to quickly eliminate from each list, those who died at birth, died as infants or before they were military age.  There could be several who overlap and could have served in more than one war.  My database contains 4719 individuals.

Now to determine where to start and how to proceed.  Do you think this is a valuable list?  Is it something you could use?  Please share your results with me if you choose to create such lists.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Legacy 8 - CENSUS LIST - How Will I Use It To Search for My Family?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

REVIEWING A RANDOM PERSON IN MY DATABASE–How much can I learn in an hour?

This is a Saturday Night Fun challenge from Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musing’s blog.  Since it was quite late on Saturday, when I saw this, I decided to take on the challenge and post it today.
 
Here is the mission directly from Randy’s post:

1) We're going to do a little bit of Semi-Random Online Research tonight...
2)  Go to your family tree database of choice (you know, like RootsMagic, Reunion, Ancestry Member Tree), and determine who the very first person on your list of E surnames is.  Or the first person on your list of I surnames.  Or Q surnames.  Or any other name you need to research.  Your choice!
3)  What do you know (or not know) about this person based on your research?  It's OK to do more research if you need to - in fact, it's encouraged!
4)  How are you related to this person, and why is s/he in your family tree?
5)  Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook Status post or Google+ Stream post.
 
Here is my random person:

2)  I chose to go to the first letter of the alphabet in my Legacy database.  The very first person listed is Lou Emma Abbott.  I didn’t even recognize her name, but see that she is married to a Lunsford, which is a name I recognize.

3)  What I know about Lou Emma Abbott.  She was born about 1868, possibly in Mississippi, she was married to William Lunsford.  I have 7 children in the database, born to this couple.  I have William’s estimated birth date and an exact date of death for him.  The only sources I have for this scant amount of information is a 1910 census and William’s Louisiana death index information.

Here is how they appear in my Legacy database:



Pretty sparse information as you can see.
 
Here is the new information I was able to find in under an hour, for this couple.

I first checked my Ancestry tree to see if there were any usable hints. 
NOTE:  I look for the vital and census records first and rarely refer to the Ancestry Member Trees as they are generally unreliable and poorly or not sourced. 
 
Here’s what I found on Ancestry:

• 1910 census – she and William with 7 children living in Louisiana
• 1920 census – she and William with 2 children still at home, in Louisiana
• 1930 census – she and William living in Louisiana
• Texas Death Certificates (this is an especially good find)

Next I went to familysearch.org and here is what I located:

• Death records for her husband, William and her children, Huntington, Milton, Paul & Florry (married name Chesnutt)

I looked for a marriage record for Lou Emma & William on both Ancestry & familysearch, but was not able to locate one.

Next, I checked FindAGrave.  Based on the death certificate I located for Lou Emma, she is buried at Forest Park-Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Harris, Texas.  I did not find a memorial for her at the cemetery, but I did find one for her daughter, Florry May Lunsford Chesnutt, memorial #127921340, and for Florry’s husband, Bert Chesnutt.

Here is how the entry for Lou Emma Abbott Lunsford now looks in my Legacy database:



There is certainly more work for me to do.  BUT, look at how much information I was able to fill in for Lou Emma Abbott.  This truly was just a random pick from my database and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I found more information.
 
4)  Lou Emma Abbott Lunsford is the wife of my 1st cousin 4 times removed.  That is probably why I never bothered to pursue more information about her.  I will work on the more distant collateral lines, only if I think that doing so will help me with something I’m looking for.
 
CONCLUSION:  This was a worthwhile expenditure of my time.  Why?  Because it reinforced how important it is to go back to people in our database and review what we have or don’t have.  In this case I was able to locate 3 census records, 6 death records and 1 burial location.  I’m sure I could locate other records, but I will stop here.

Thank you to Randy Seaver for suggesting this exercise.  If you decide to review someone in your tree, please share it with me in the comment section of this post.  I’d love to hear about it.
 
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
EVALUATING RECORDS ON AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON - WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Gladys Lillian Gould

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO STATE RECORDS

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WHY DIDN’T I SEE THAT? WHEN THE OBVIOUS ESCAPES US

I just had to share this with all of you.  I’m sure I’m not the only researcher this has happened to.  At least I hope I'm not.

I had occasion today to take a look at the entries in my Legacy database for my paternal great grandmother, Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles.  

Here is what I know about my great grandmother. These are screen shots from my Legacy program.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)



I knew that I had an immigration record that I believed to be her (you can see it listed as the third item under events, above), however, I wasn’t sure if it was or not.  There didn’t seem to be any others traveling with her.  When I found this record for her I had not yet learned the names of her parents.  But, I sure don’t see any other Fitzcharles' on this page.  I did check on the pages before her entry.  This is the last page for that particular day, so there are no entries for 28 Apr 1886 after this page.

Here is the image for Bessie Lindsay.  Please note – the annotations in red and the name of the ship were added by me, yesterday, during my re-evaluation of these records.



The 1900 census states that she immigrated in 1886, so that would seem to back up this record.

She married my great grandfather, William Wallace Lindsay, on 21 May 1886 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  So, just a month after arriving in the U.S.

As I was checking on my great grandfather’s information today, I looked at his immigration information.  HOLY COW!!!  He’s on the same ship, on the same date.  How in the heck did I miss that?  Or, did I?

• Have I just forgotten that I had located these records? 
• When did I save those digital copies to my computer?  Looks like it was in November and December 2012, nearly a month apart.
• Was I distracted at the time and I went off in another direction on the tree? I can’t answer that question.

Here is the image for William Lindsay.  Annotations on this record were also added yesterday.



The 1900 census has a clue as to when these ancestors immigrated to the U.S.  Unfortunately, that census record on Ancestry is pretty difficult to read.  Not impossible, but difficult.  Here is that record as it appears on the Ancestry.com site.



Here is the same record with some enhancement and annotations.



In looking at the immigration status on this record it says that William Lindsay has been in the United States either 20 or 23 years.  Can you read the year of immigration?  I can only make out 188__.  What is that last number?  If he’d been here 20 years it should be a zero.  Did he come over here, then go back & get Bessie and return?  That last number almost looks like a 5.  Her entry says she arrived in 1886 and has been here 14 years.  You have to look really closely to see the one before that four.  It could easily be read as 4 years, but matching it with 1886, it must be 14.  

The 1910 census has William as a boarder in someone else’s home and his immigration year is given as 1880.  Bessie is in a completely different residence, working as a housekeeper and it gives her immigration year as 1887.  Since they divorced in 1912, this may explain why they were living in two different residences in 1910.  

NOTE:  Wouldn’t I love to be able to ask my grandmother about all of this?  She died when I was 20 years old.  These are her parents.   I remember her and my Dad always talking about old times and the family.  She even lived with us the last couple of years of her life.  But, alas, I was too busy working and playing to pay any attention.  Please, talk to your living family members now.  Don't wait! 

In the Obituary and Death Notice I have for William Lindsay it states that he came to the United States in 1885.  So, I’m thinking that’s what the last number is on the census record.  

CONCLUSION - I believe, based on the evidence, that those two immigration records are, in fact, my great grandparents.

I have learned yet another valuable lesson.  It’s one that I have learned from other experiences in my research through the years. ALWAYS take another look at all your records.  

Perhaps a timeline would have pointed this out to me?  I don’t think I use timelines enough in my research.  It’s not like I have to create one myself.  Legacy creates it for me based on what I have entered for each person.

Please share any similar experiences you’ve had along these same lines.  Things you should have seen, but didn’t etc. 

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

EVALUATING YOUR RECORDS ON AN INDIVIDUAL - WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

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

EVALUATING YOUR RECORDS ON AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON - WHAT YOU WILL LEARN – Gladys Lillian Gould

I have recently been researching my Grand Aunt, Gladys Lillian Gould.  Today I want to take stock of what I have collected for her and what I still need to look for.

Gladys was born, lived and died in Detroit, Michigan.  I have no record of her living any place else.

Gladys was my grandfather’s sister.  One of three girls in a family of six siblings.  She had three older brothers, Ford, Harry (my grandfather) & Roy.  And two younger sisters,  Adele and Helen.

(Click on any image to enlarge it) 

Gladys was the daughter of William Val Gould and Mae Thorp.  She was born 11 Jul 1890 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. 



There is no image associated with her birth record, above.  (Even though there is a little camera icon next to the record indicating that there should be an image)

I will order the image using the Family Search Photo Duplication Request process which I wrote about here on my blog recently. Photo Duplication Requests on Family Search

The first record I have for Gladys is the 1900 census.  She is a little girl, living with her parents and siblings.  From that point I have tracked Gladys in the following records:

• 1909 Detroit City Directory, working as a stenographer at an optical company, living with her parents at 828 14th Ave.
• 1910 census – Living with her parents at 828 14th Ave. and working as a stenographer at an optical company.
• 1920 census – taken in January 1920, she is living with her parents at 818 Hudson Ave. and working as a secretary.
• 1920 – On July 3rd she married Charles E. Smith, born 30 Oct 1887 in Wigan, England according to his WW I Draft Card.  Died 2 Oct 1966 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
• 1930 census – She and her husband Charles are living with her widowed mother and her brother, Ford, at 5639 Linwood Ave.
• 1945 – She is the informant on her sister, Helen’s, death certificate.  Her address is listed as 3739 14th St.
• 1966 – October 2 she is the informant on her husband, Charles’ death certificate.  Her address is listed as 10607 Outer Drive, Detroit, Michigan.
• 1966 – October 8 – Gladys dies of metastic carcinoma, just 6 days after her husband.
• 1966 – October 11 – She is laid to rest at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit.

I have all of these events from Gladys’ life entered in Legacy.  This allows me to keep track of what I have and don’t have for a particular person.  And, it allows Legacy to create a timeline for that individual.

Are there any other records that I could collect for Gladys?  Let’s think this through.

  

1.  She was probably listed in other Detroit City Directories and I know many of those are available online.

2.  She may have been listed in probate records, if they exist, for either her mother, her father, her sister Helen, her brother Ford or her brother Harry, who pre deceased her.   Or even, for that matter, her husband, although she died a few days after he did.

3.  Was there an announcement in the Detroit papers for her marriage to Charles Smith?

4.  Was she a member of any organizations that may have a record of her?

5.  Was there a death notice or obituary published for her husband, Charles?

6.  Was her death notice or an obituary published in the Detroit papers?

Can you think of any other records?  Am I missing anything?  

WAIT!!!  I am missing something.  The 1940 census.  Hang on, while I go and look for it.

I found it.  And look at that, a new family member.  An Aunt named Lena E. Barsh is living in the household with Charles & Gladys.  I’ve never seen that name before.  I know very little about Charles E. Smith’s family.  This may be a clue I can follow up on.  Assuming that the relationship is to the head of household, which makes Lena E. Barsh the Aunt of Charles Smith.
 

1940 CENSUS - CHARLES & GLADYS SMITH & LENA BARSH, DETROIT, MICHIGAN

CROPPED VIEW OF THE 1940 CENSUS SHOWING CHARLES, GLADYS AND AUNT LENA

I have learned by going back and evaluating my records, I can, in nearly every case, find something I've missed.

I’m going to begin looking for any Detroit city directories with Gladys or Charles listed in them.  When did Charles come to the United States?  Is there an immigration record?  The questions are popping into my head as I write this. 

ONE LAST NOTE:  We should always remember that these are people, not just documents and statistics.  I know you all know that.  As I looked at this couple it made me a little sad.  First of all, I never got to meet my grand aunt Gladys or her husband. We moved away from Detroit when I was 7 yrs. old.  Maybe I met them as a little girl, but I don’t remember.  Charles & Gladys died within 6 days of one another.  He suffered a stroke and lived 26 days.  Since Gladys died of Metastatic Carcinoma of the Ascending colon (cancer of the colon), we can assume she was already sick at the time of Charles’ death.  How very bereaved she must have been in those last days.  Her surviving brother, Roy and sister, Adele along with other family members such as my grandmother and my Dad had to deal with the loss of two family members in 6 short days.  

R.I.P. to both of them.  Here is a link to Gladys & Charles’ memorials on FindAGrave.

Gladys L. Smith Memorial
Charles E. Smith Memorial

Reviewing your events and time lines is an excellent method for evaluating the information you have collected for any of your ancestors.

Please share what you have found when reviewing your records. 
Were there surprises?  Things you missed?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
ANALYZING EVIDENCE - What you can learn - John & Bertha Doller 

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Things are not always what they seem or what they say 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FAMILY SEARCH–GOING BACK & GETTING THOSE OTHER PAGES

Today I want to talk about the images on Family Search.  The two sites that are always open on my computer are Family Search and Ancestry.  

I use Family Search and Ancestry simultaneously for locating records and images.  I’ve found this to be very successful over the years.  

WHAT IS THE ONE THING WE ARE TOLD ALL THE TIME?

Check the pages before and after the image you are looking at!

Am I always consistent in doing this?  I’m sorry to say I’m not.  Should I be? YES!

I’m most certainly better at this now than I was a few years ago.  I just want to remind you that going back to those images you found when you first began, and looking for that second or third page, may provide you with more information on your ancestor.

Yesterday I was reviewing information on my grandfather’s family and decided to look for birth records I don’t have and review the ones I do have.  In doing so, I did what I’m supposed to be doing and looked for that second page.  AND, also checked several pages before and after.  There they were.  The second pages for the birth records of my grand uncle Ford and my grandfather, Harry.  

PAGE 1 OF RECORD FOR FORD GOULD

PAGE 2 OF RECORD FOR FORD GOULD

  

PAGE 1 OF HARRY GOULD RECORD

PAGE 2 OF HARRY GOULD RECORD

  


What we had with only the first page:

• record number
• date of birth
• name of the child
• Sex of child
• place of birth. 

What we have now with the second page:

• names of the parents
• residence of each parent
• birthplace of each parent
• occupation of the father
• date of the record

That is a LOT of additional information.  

I am currently taking the time to go back to all of my records (as time allows) and make sure I have ALL the pages of that document.  Who knows what new information I might turn up?

This was a good reminder for me and I thought I’d pass it along to you.  Let me know if you turn up any new clues or information as you go back for those additional pages.

Other posts that you might enjoy that relate to records.

HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND–HENRY HART FAMILY - PART 1

HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND–HENRY HART FAMILY–PART 2

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ANALYZING EVIDENCE - JOHN DOLLER & BERTHA KELLER–WHO WERE THEY?

Bertha & John Doller - 1935, Buffalo, New York

Today I want to write about my husband’s side of the family.  I know quite a bit about the Hall side (his paternal side).  However, on his maternal side, there is less information.  Maybe it’s because the Hall side can be traced back to 1668 in Massachusetts. And, this particular line on his mother’s side only goes back to the late 1800’s when they immigrated from Germany.  I don’t know.  But, I do know that I’d like to learn more about this part of the family.   

My husband’s mother, Dorothy Beatrice Fink and her siblings were all born in Erie County, New York.  Three of them in Buffalo and one in Ebenezer.  

Going back one more generation are Dorothy Fink’s parents Henry August Fink & Freada Emma Meta Doller, both born in Buffalo, Erie, New York.

Let’s concentrate on Freada’s parents.  They are John Doller & Bertha A. Keller.  They are my husband’s great grandparents on his mother’s side.

Bertha Keller Doller with her nieces & nephews and her daughter, Freada (standing far right)

Here is the family view for John & Bertha, from my Legacy database. 


You can clearly see that I have information on them, but nothing on their parents and two children that are unknown.  

What type of sources do I have for this couple?

Here is what I have for Bertha Keller Doller and I can tell you that I have the same sources for John Doller.



1.  How do I rate these sources?  Not very well.
2.  Am I confident in the information?  Sort of.
3.  Do I need more?  Absolutely!

Census records can certainly be wonderful sources for information.  If you get information that matches up (or closely matches) from census to census, then you have a fair idea that the information is correct or close to correct.  HOWEVER, the data on the census is only as good as the person who gave it to the enumerator and only as good as what the enumerator wrote.  Since we don’t know who in the household (or even if someone in the household) gave the information to the enumerator, we have to be cautious.  I consider census data to be a lead for me to gather real evidence of events, such as births, marriages, divorces, deaths etc.

Let’s look at the other source for this couple – “Info taken from hand written document written by Delphine Fink Long.”  While I know it may not be standard practice for citing a Master Source, it’s a method I use when I have something like a handwritten document that gives me names & dates.  At least that way I am noting/sourcing where my information came from, until I can get verifying data.  By the way, Delphine Fink Long is the granddaughter of John & Bertha.

And lastly for the marriage of John Doller & Bertha Keller, I have noted that it is a “guess based on the age of first child and date of immigration to the U.S.”  Again, it’s not a “real” source, but tells me where the information came from and gives me a starting point.  And, now that I am re reading that statement.  I don't really know if Irven Doller, Sr., was a first child or not, since so many of the children died. 

DO I HAVE A LOT MORE RESEARCH WORK TO DO ON THIS COUPLE.  YES!!

Here is a list of the documents I need for this couple.

• Birth records from Germany, possibly from a church parish or government record.
• Immigration records.  How about a passenger record?  I haven’t found one yet, but I’m still looking.  The 1900 census gives an immigration date of 1890 and lists John Doller as “na” meaning naturalized.  Naturalization papers can give parents names, exact places of birth and many other vital facts.  FYI – I have never obtained a naturalization record for any of my ancestors.  Do I want to?  Yes.
• Marriage record.   This couple probably married in Germany, since their son, Irven Doller, Sr. was born there in 1885.  I don’t know where and when the other children were born, except for Freada, who was born in Buffalo, New York.
• Death certificates.  New York is not known for having very many online records and has pretty much been a black hole for me on many ancestors.  However, I have just recently read about thousands more New York records coming online.  I am anxious for that.  The only other way I can obtain records is by getting microfilm from the FHL (Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah) and having it sent to our local FHC (Family History Center), or checking with our local center to see if they might already have the films on file.

Here are the burial records I obtained from the cemetery and pictures of John & Bertha’s headstone.  

Headstone for John & Bertha Doller - courtesy of Sandra Hudson

Burial cards for John & Bertha Doller - courtesy of Buffalo Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie, New York

What have I learned today from reviewing this couple?

I always like to ask myself that question.  Here is what I’ve learned today in just a very quick review of this couple, my husband’s great grandparents.

• That I need to go back to sites I have searched before, such as Ancestry.com or Family Search and see if new records have come online.
• That I should go to the FHL catalog and find out which microfilms contain the naturalization and/or death records I need.  Once I know the numbers, I can call or visit our local family history center.
• That in reviewing the 1900 census I had missed the notation that Bertha was the mother of 6 children, and only 2 were living when the census was taken.  If you look at the family view of this couple, I only have 5 children for them. 
• Look again for passenger records for this couple.  I’ll use Ancestry.com and Steve Morse’s site.  His site is a combination of several sites for passenger records.
• Look into obtaining naturalization records for John Doller.  Was Bertha also naturalized?  For this I’ll need to go to the National Archives & Records Administration site (NARA).  I’ll also check with the FHL catalog to see what they have.

I’m sure there are more things to do, and things I’ve missed. I will continue to review once I publish this post.

TIP:  Going over your information for either a couple or just one person, can certainly shed new light on where you are in your research.  It can give you new ideas and take you in directions you may have missed when you last visited.  Making a list of what you need to do is also a useful tool.

ATTENTION ANY DOLLER, KELLER OR FINK DESCENDANTS –  If you read this post and would like to share/exchange with me, I am greatly interested.  

Happy hunting and wish me luck,

Michigan girl,

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND–HENRY HART FAMILY–PART 2

MY GOAL:  CAN I PROVE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MY 2ND GREAT GRANDFATHER, HENRY HART & A REPORTED FIRST WIFE?  

 

HE IS REPORTED TO HAVE MARRIED & HAD 4 CHILDREN WITH THIS WIFE, PRIOR TO MARRYING MY 2ND GREAT GRANDMOTHER.
 
I WILL SHARE WITH YOU, IN THIS POST AND UPCOMING POSTS, HOW I FOLLOW THE LEADS AND WHAT I FIND.
 
THIS IS AN ONGOING SERIES.  PLEASE REFER TO PREVIOUS POSTS, IF NECESSARY. 
Here is a link to the first post: HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND - HENRY HART FAMILY - PART 1

I HAVE RESTATED MY GOAL ABOVE AND WILL RE-STATE THAT GOAL AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH POST FOR THIS SERIES. 
 
According to the information from cousin Judy, Hiram Harper Hart was born on 11 Sep 1818. No place of birth is listed nor is there a death date or place.
 

There is some handwritten information on the sheet from cousin Judy (see above photo of same) that seems to contain specific information related to Hiram. I can read most of it, but what does it mean? 
 
Here is what I think it says, I am trying to interpret the printing to the best of my ability.
 
“1850 census list Hiram 32, Clorasis-younger, Curtiss
1859 – son Seth, d-Nancy, s-Elijah, d-Clarassia, son-Arthur
Believe there were 6 children (must be 3rd wifes 6 children)”
 
The first place I will look will be on the census reports. 
 
NOTE:  Before 1850, only the heads of household were listed on the U.S. population census reports.  This means that we can look at the census records from 1790-1840 and try to ascertain from the ages of those enumerated, who they might be.  However, since this family was living in Canada prior to about 1838, as far as I can tell, this makes finding them a little more challenging.  Here is the chronology report with the information I currently have on Henry HART & his first wife, Sarah SUMNER:
 


Your looking at this for the first time and so am I.  What does that “verified” word at the top mean?  I haven’t verified any of this information yet.  I am using Legacy version 8, which just came out last week.  Is this an anomaly in the report?  For now we will ignore that word.
 
What I have found online on Ancestry.com as far as early census records, is NOTHING.  

There is a family tree on Ancestry that states that Henry was living in Cambria, Niagara Co., New York in 1840.  Would Hiram have been living with him then?  How about the other children?  I cannot locate that census record.
 
Let’s move on then.  Our focus is Hiram Harper HART.  It is very easy to get sidetracked when we are researching.  I can tell you that I am a HUGE offender.  FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!  Those are words I repeat to myself often.
 
I’m going to go to familysearch.org and put in Hiram Harper Hart, with a wife named Clara (instead of Clarissa, I will enter Clara or even Clar* as it gives me a broader search).  Parents names Henry & Sally Sarah.  
 
NOTE:  I tend to put in minimal amounts of information to broaden the net of my search.  If you enter too much you will restrain the search and I’d rather scroll through some data and pick what is relevant, than have too little.
 
Here is what I entered for my search:
 
 

Notice I have not entered a last name or even a complete name for Clarissa, his wife.  Nor have I entered a last name for his father or mother, only first names.
 
Here are some of the results of this search:

As you can see we have plenty of results.  And what excites me is that the names are a match to what is on that family list from cousin Judy (see above).
 
Now to examine each and every one of these records.  Since several of them have images (as indicated by the camera next to the record source) we will be able to actually look at the record, rather than just an index/transcription of the record.  However, any record is better than no record.
 

NOTE: It is extremely easy to get sidetracked when doing any research.  I am a perfect example of that.  I had to stop writing the draft of this post due to other priorities (you know…regular life things, especially during the holidays).  

 

Before being able to examine the records I have posted above about Hiram Harper Hart, I found one of those “oh so tempting” shaky leaves on my Ancestry tree for Clarissa Curtis, Hiram’s wife.  I took the bait and clicked on the hints and have now gone down the road with Hiram’s wife, Clarissa.  This isn’t a bad thing to do because, after all, it’s still the same family and you don’t know what records you will find.
 
Here is what happened.
 
I followed one lead, which led to another and don’t you know I have FINALLY located her death certificate!  That’s a big find!!!  Up until now I had not located her death date or record.  WHY?  Because I would have been searching under the surname Hart.  
 
She must have remarried to someone named PARKS.  She was living with her son Arthur in the 1900 census listed as Clarise Parks, widowed mother of the head of household, her son, Arthur Hart.  Does this help me with Hiram.  YES.  Because if Clarissa remarried and I can locate the marriage record, then I may be able to determine if Hiram died or they divorced.  At least I will have a time frame.
 
The steps I followed to locate her death record were as follows:

• Click on her name in the 1900 census and this is what comes up.

Notice it states she is widowed.  Also over on the right hand side you will “other records that may be relevant to Clarrisa Parks.”  There is a listing for a Michigan death record.
 
I clicked on the link for the Michigan death record and found this:
 


You can see that it gives the name of her father, Asa Curtis.  Based on the information from cousin Judy, I believe her maiden name to be Curtis.  And from a couple of Ancestry trees I have found her father listed as Asa Curtis.  Along with that is a year of birth 1829, which is in keeping with other records for her.
 
Notice over on the right hand side of this record there is listed an 1891 Canadian census.  

Let’s see what that contains.
 


I reviewed this record and some of the other records listed on the right side of the page above. In evaluating those records I have concluded that there may be two Clarissa Parks. 
I won’t go into detail here as this post is already too long.  

However, let me share the marriage record I did find for Clarissa Curtis Hart to Edward Parks.
 


The entry for Clarissa Curtis Hart & Edward Parks is the second one from the bottom and here is a close up.  (Remember you can click on any of these image to make them larger)
 


As you can see this marriage record not only lists Clarissa’s last name as Hart at the time of the marriage, but it also gives her maiden name as Curtis.  Her place of birth is New York, which matches other records.  As far as her age, it’s within a year or two of other records. 
 
TIP: Always pay attention to the ages & year of birth, but be sure you don’t disregard a record because those figures don’t match exactly.  People didn’t always know their exact dates of birth, like we do now.  And, remember, those ladies and even the men, weren’t always truthful about their ages.
 
Now I am convinced that the Clarissa Parks listed in the Michigan Death record is our Clarissa.  I know that there are online images of Michigan Death Certificates from 1897-1920 at a site called seekingmichigan.org.  I have used this site MANY times.  I went to that site and that's where I located Clarissa's death certificate.
 
Here is Clarissa’s death certificate:


You can see that her year & place of birth match other records we have for her.  That her father’s name is given as Asa Curtis and that the informant is her son, Elijah.  I am further convinced that this is the correct Clarissa Curtis, wife of Hiram Harper Hart.
 
I am going to close this post for now as it’s already too long.  This is a good research day as I have discovered that Hiram Harper Hart’s wife, Clarissa, married a second time and I’ve found her death certificate.
 
Next time, we will continue our search and see what we find.
 
REMEMBER:  When we have a plan for what we “think” we want to do, sometimes we need to be ready to go in another direction, at least temporarily.  
 
We are still trying to find proof of the marriage of Henry Hart to his “said to be” first wife, Sally Sumner.  It just may take us a while to get there. But, aren't we having fun in the meantime.  I know I am :)
 
I will continue with this search and share it with you. Stay tuned.
 
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
 

Copyright © 2013   Diane Gould Hall