tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46487692978425276902024-03-13T20:32:48.542-07:00More Than NamesEverything is subjective and you don't really know what the facts are and what the fiction is and how the two combine. - Gwyneth Paltrow (on WDYTYA)Emily Hendrickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04135613244831842713noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-53550243923554244472011-11-06T12:16:00.000-08:002011-11-06T12:17:52.414-08:00Combining BlogsHey everyone! I'm combining both of my blogs into one to make it easier on me...<div><br /></div><div>If you want to follow me in my combined new home, go to my main blog: <a href="http://www.helpimarriedasocialist.com">Help, I Married A Socialist.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>EHJ</div>Emily Hendrickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04135613244831842713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-90514286796647501732011-09-01T17:44:00.000-07:002011-09-04T17:47:51.975-07:00The Search For Johnston CopelinNow that I'm married, happy and settled down, I'm back on the Flora hunt, tracking through her kids...<br />
<br />
I'm currently on the hunt for her daughter, who is "off the grid" except for her husband.<br />
<br />
This is what I know about Johnston Copelin:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul><li>His parents are named Eudolphus and Ida (Johnston) Copelin. They were quite wealthy and did a ton of international traveling.</li>
<li>He had a brother named Phillip.</li>
<li>He went to Yale and was a journalist.</li>
<li>He died under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in Lorain, Ohio. His death certificate is next to illegible, so I'm not completely sure of the circumstances.</li>
</ul><div>That's about it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I don't know if they had kids.</div><div>I don't know anything about her.</div><div>I'm so confused.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I missed genealogy.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-18705887653401412292011-08-24T16:36:00.000-07:002011-08-24T16:36:43.375-07:00Writing JourneyYes, I'm still doing genealogy! I've just been very quiet about it thanks to big life changes.<br />
<br />
I've also written a book and published it on Kindle. :)<br />
<br />
For more information and to read my main blog, go <a href="http://emilyhendricksjensen.blogspot.com/">here</a>!<br />
<br />
<br />
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-88529134837183293162011-08-17T19:01:00.000-07:002011-08-17T19:01:02.862-07:00Butch CassidyMy first blog from my new home is all about something that is hitting the Wyoming (where I now live) papers big - someone in Washington is claiming that Butch Cassidy survived Bolivia.<br />
<br />
They're basing this on an old book, called Bandit Invincible, by William T. Phillips, is an autobiography, not a biography and that Phillips was actually the famous criminal living in disguise.<br />
<br />
The reasoning is that a) Phillips knew "too much" not to be the famous outlaw and b) William T. Phillips didn't exist until 1908, according to records.<br />
<br />
I think it's crap.<br />
<br />
He knew alot because he was a friend of the outlaw. That's a "documented" fact.<br />
<br />
He didn't exist in records? Alot of other people didn't exist in records. As a genealogist, I know that's not the most documented time period. Also, what if he had a different name at birth? He knew Butch Cassidy, maybe he "worked" with him and then after he retired from the game he changed his name and settled down. It makes perfect sense to me.<br />
<br />
I see a story that has been blown up, nothing more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-6623449355722416742011-07-05T18:22:00.001-07:002011-07-05T18:22:47.313-07:00Excuse My Absence<ul><li>I'm having surgery. (Minor!)</li>
<li>I'm getting married.</li>
<li>I'm moving.</li>
<li>I'm going crazy.</li>
</ul><div>I'll be returning in two weeks. :)</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-40248852248317968582011-06-01T21:44:00.001-07:002011-06-01T21:44:41.035-07:00FGS 2011I'm going to FGS 2011 in September! :) <br /> <br />I'm so excited! I intend to register when I have a chance next week and do hotel reservations and all that. <br /><br />Yay!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-22942316865515977632011-05-28T22:19:00.001-07:002011-05-28T22:19:23.425-07:00Date to RememberMay 29 is the anniversary of my biological maternal grandfather's death. I hesitated to write this post because I don't want to sound bitter. I'm not. I'm over it.<br /><br />He wasn't a nice man.<br /><br />My family remembers the better parts of his - his dog and his rose garden and all the damn Barbies he gave me.<br /><br />They tend to forget the abuse, the knives, the police records with his name on it. The multiple wives, the army of young girlfriends (while he was married to the wives).<br /><br />There was one wife in particular that stayed and put her life on the line for me once when I was 8. It's a bond she and I shared until Alzheimer's made her forget it; now I'm just another woman who sends her cards in the nursing home. I won't tell her exactly how I know her, ever. Dredging up though memories would hurt her more than enlighten her.<br /><br />I found out about his death while I was at school. My mom came and told me. I was sad - for her, mostly. At his funeral, I sat like a rock. I wanted to stay and make sure dirt went over his casket, but a relative sort of led me away. Ive seen his headstone once - when we buried his brother, a WWII decorated veteran who kicked ass and took names.<br /><br />I never called him Grandpa. It just didn't fit. <br /><br />I'm sure he loved me. The best that kind of man can love anyone. He was an alcoholic and a gambler, which doesn't make him a bad person. He was just really messed up. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-14313750953584359982011-05-24T10:09:00.001-07:002011-05-24T10:09:29.459-07:00I Promise I'm Alive! I haven't posted much lately because of my health. Currently I have bronchitis, walking pneumonia (almost gone!), an ovarian issue and I'm in severe pain that they believe is my gallbladder.<br /><br /> However, I have been doing some research. I went to my second cousin's high school graduation, where I ran into several of my grandmother's friends and lots of relatives. One of them took me over to this big wall of pictures and started pointing out my relatives.<br /><br /> When he got to one picture, he said "There's Juanita." Staring at her was eerie - I look like her in many ways. <br /><br />For those who don't know, Juanita is my "Flora" on my mom's side. She is my great aunt. There's very little information about her, she had a marrying problem, and I cant find a death date for that woman, not even through the SSDI.<br /><br />I have a feeling that this woman was another serious secretkeeper. <br /><br /><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-72428329558980512932011-05-09T17:27:00.000-07:002011-05-10T17:35:31.837-07:00Name ChangesEveryone called her Jaunita, but I recently found out that sometimes my great-aunt was listed as "Dorothy." She was married at least twice, once to a professional football player. She was a sweet woman from what I've been told.<div><br /></div><div> I have the opposite problem with her than I have with Flora - I can't figure out Juanita/Dorothy's death details. She was listed as dead in her brother (my grandfather)'s obituary in 2003, but no one can tell me when she died and I can't find a record. No one can tell me anything. </div><div><br /></div><div> The thing about my family that I don't understand is the secrets. We have plenty of them, I'm discovering. Babies born out of wedlock in the 1920s, babies that starved to death, women who treat their children terribly, bigamy, divorces, flat out murder in one case... And then the people who just disappear, like Juanita. </div><div><br /></div><div> I've been spending my time in the hospital trying to find details of this woman's passing, but considering I can't even figure out what last name she died under, it's a bit difficult. I love challenges, but I wish my family was just a little bit easier. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-17191244653826641252011-04-25T21:53:00.000-07:002011-04-25T22:05:37.797-07:00I Should Be Sleeping<div>In the past week the following things have happened:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>I had a routine hospitalization (standard, I'm used to it). I got out for Easter.</li><li>A tornado hit the Saint Louis airport, stranding my fiance with me until Thursday (not complaining!)</li><li>While being forced to sit on my butt, I've discovered the shows Addicted to Food and Relapse. </li><li>I've seen movies - lots of them. Today we did a double header of The Conspirator and the new Madea movie. I loved them both. </li><li>I spent three hours trying to make heads or tails of Flora, and figured out something interesting... </li></ul></div><div> I should be asleep right now. It's almost midnight. But I just found something about Flora and I have to type it out.</div><div><br /></div><div>On Ancestry.com I found a census, listing Zelpha Mangrum (her daughter) at age 13 in 1910 living with Ive Mangrum and his wife, Blanche (I love that name) in New Orleans. I didn't find it before because of the way they spelled their last name - Mangrich - but it's definitely them. Now I have questions. </div><div><br /></div><div>Why was Zelpha living with her half brother (her dad's son) and his wife so far from home at such a young age? Why did they come back to the Missouri area? Ive was killed in a terrible accident in 1919 in New Madrid (he got beheaded by a cart, I won't go into details, but my strong stomach almost couldn't take the description I found). </div><div><br /></div><div>I hear that Flora wasn't the best mother and threw all of her children out when they were quite young - I just didn't realize it could have been THAT young.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-70687817367660878782011-04-17T20:45:00.000-07:002011-04-17T20:51:53.348-07:00Mystery Solved!Thanks to the fabulous and spectacular blog reader Heather who commented on my last post, the mystery of who JL Rogers is has been solved! THANK YOU, HEATHER. <div><br />He's my 2nd-great uncle, my great-grandfather's brother. I had been assuming that his legal name was John, because that was his father's name (according to his death certificate), but Heather did a search and found a James L Rogers - and all the information (parents birth places, wife's name, birth place, everything) matched perfectly. You couldn't find a better match.</div><div><br /></div><div>So then I went crazy on Ancestry. I use Ancestry as a starting point, especially since I see flaws on there all the time (today I read my grandmother is dead - pretty sure she isn't, I talked to her yesterday and she sounded fine). I put together a tree, and then print it, finding other sources to verify the facts. The only tree I trust on there is my cousin's, because I know the information on that tree is from family records in his possession.</div><div><br /></div><div> Over the next week I'm going to work on JL's mother, who was named after her father - Willis. Her full name was Willis Adeline/Adaline Weed, nicknamed Addie. She was the only child to two older parents (I'm presuming miracle baby/accident or adopted). All I have is her parents names - Willis Weed (Willie Weed?) and Martha Clay. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also found my two 2nd-great aunts married the same man. First one sister did, then she died, then the other sister married him a year later. I find this remarkably creepy for so many reasons. I'm sure it was common, but still, I shudder at the thought.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-82088672857478421472011-04-16T21:39:00.000-07:002011-04-16T21:46:36.467-07:00The Mystery of JR Rogers<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1I6zZQijTjY/TapwnG8ebYI/AAAAAAAAADc/_40Guhp1FT8/s1600/IMG_9778.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1I6zZQijTjY/TapwnG8ebYI/AAAAAAAAADc/_40Guhp1FT8/s320/IMG_9778.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596409304142736770" /></a><br />JR Rogers is buried in the Rogers family plot in Blodgett Cemetery in Blodgett, Mo. Everyone else in the plot I can account for being related to somehow - except him. <div><br /></div><div>I gathered from his death certificate he was born in the same county in Kentucky that several of my relatives (on both sides of my family) came from, so I know he's related in there somewhere. I found him on a census in 1930 in that same KY town, just a few years before he died. He was 54 and his wife, Maggie, was 44. They had two children - Mary, 6, and Clara, 4. Is it just me, or do you think they were possibly grandchildren? I can't find a death record for Maggie anywhere (she could have remarried) and the path for both girls is stone cold.</div><div><br /></div><div>He's my project for tomorrow (Sunday.)</div><div><br /></div><div>If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-40125788461391031672011-04-13T14:55:00.000-07:002011-04-13T15:23:20.738-07:00The Mystery Headstone<div><br /></div><div>So when I went searching for my maternal grandparents' graves over the weekend, I encountered something I've known before - but still have no answer for. It's The Mystery Headstone.<div><br /></div><div>My great grandmother, Stella Mae Belt Rodgers, has a normal headstone.</div><div><br /><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Sf8hHpLMek/TaYexeZQ7qI/AAAAAAAAADE/W_NETtbzDrU/s320/Stella%2527s%2Bfull%2Bgrave.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595193422375874210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div>The "At Rest" part is appropriate, since she was a sick woman for most of her adult life and finally died of a ruptured gallbladder in 1941.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, there's this:</div><div><br /></div></div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r9RhYjoV72s/TaYh6LbBsJI/AAAAAAAAADM/nwvtEE0fOlo/s1600/smbr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r9RhYjoV72s/TaYh6LbBsJI/AAAAAAAAADM/nwvtEE0fOlo/s320/smbr.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595196870436696210" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> That's her. It's down the row from her original headstone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My question is why would it be there? Who did it? It can't be that old. I'm confused.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Does anyone have any answers?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-1418346174290321412011-04-09T17:00:00.000-07:002011-04-10T19:56:52.079-07:00Blogging resumes tomorrow<p> Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that my blog posting resumes tomorrow after a week long absence. I got a new computer, I’ve been on vacation… You get the idea. But tomorrow I’m back with a series of new stories, new pictures, and new discoveries!</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-68698002719151239942011-04-01T17:55:00.000-07:002011-04-01T18:09:57.815-07:00Who Do You Think You Are - Gwyneth PaltrowGwyneth Paltrow is the daughter of Blythe Danner and the late Bruce Paltrow, and she's very public about how much she values family, so I wasn't really surprised to see she did an episode of WDYTYA. And what an episode it was.<div><br /></div><div> It was all about the hidden lives of people, how beneath the angry and distant surface can be someone who has just been through hell and doesn't know how to deal with it. Her great-grandmother, Ida, was what was described as a "negligent" mother. She didn't take care of her kids, pretty much. Her son Buster, Gwyneth's grandfather, wasn't fond of his mother because of this (and really, why would he be?), and Gwyneth wanted to know what made this woman such a "bad" mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's why: the woman went through tragedy and death, plenty of both. Ida was in college when her mother died of cirrhosis of the liver (implied alcoholism, although it may have not been) and her brother died of an "intestinal blockage" just two months after that. A year after the deaths, Ida was "released" from college, probably for spotty attendance. </div><div><br /></div><div> Later on she got married and had several kids. When she was pregnant with her sixth child, her fifth one died by being run over by a wagon. The little girl was three years old. Just three. Ida gave birth just three weeks after that. </div><div><br /></div><div> This made me think about Flora. I have heard family stories about her, let's call it "parenting skills", and how they were lacking. She bounced around from husband to husband, she didn't really have roots I'm finding out. She supposedly kicked Robert (my great-grandfather) out when he was 14 or 15, causing a family rift, but he was the informant on her death certificate, so I'm not sure how true it was. </div><div><br /></div><div>Crazy and heartbroken people are in every family. They have an impact whether we want to believe it our not. Ida was Gwyneth's. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-42653682527668602982011-03-31T18:12:00.000-07:002011-03-31T20:18:51.769-07:00Happy Birthday to Jack<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qpJMD8mebMw/TZU__77oHHI/AAAAAAAAAC0/TRyHvOzm26I/s1600/jackemily.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qpJMD8mebMw/TZU__77oHHI/AAAAAAAAAC0/TRyHvOzm26I/s320/jackemily.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590444880102431858" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">John B. Hendricks, Sr. March 31, 1934 - July 29, 1993)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> I will not make this a downer post. I swear. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The gentleman in this picture is my grandfather (Flora's great-grandson). That picture was taken of us when I was maybe 3. I have other pictures of us when I'm older (not that much older, he passed away when I was almost 7), but they have people in them that probably don't want to be on here so I chose this picture instead. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> He died when I was two months away from being 7, but I remember him pretty well because he made such a big impact. I thought he hung the moon when I was a kid, still do. He was in the Army, he was an air traffic controller, then he opened a used bookstore. I practically grew up in that store, a once hole in the wall place that went from having two employees (the owners) to 9 employees today. Because he opened that store, I have a love of reading and writing, plus I have made so many friends throughout the years there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> My favorite memory of him in there is when I went in when i was maybe 6 years old and tried to buy a bunch of books with my birthday money. I couldn't understand why he was giving them to me for free. I wanted to pay! I remember him taking the money and putting it back in my little purse. Eventually I believe he ended up taking a dollar from me, probably just to shut me up.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Then there were the sacrifices he made. I'm not going to go into them, because they are deeply personal, but he did alot for his family. I didn't know it as a kid, but I sure as hell know it as an adult. The more I know about him, the more I realize he was a brave, sweet, compassionate man that I was very lucky to have in my life for 7 years. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also think he'd get a kick out of the fact I'm a writer marrying into a family of air traffic controllers. :)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-539262203993142142011-03-28T20:52:00.000-07:002011-03-30T21:06:39.746-07:00Switching GearsI'm adding another thread to my research in addition to Flora. I'm going to continue to research her, but since it's getting frustrating I'm also going to start working on another side of my family - my mother's. <div><br /></div><div> At some point last summer I did a TON of research, but I still end up knowing very, very little about them. Here's what I know:</div><div><ul><li>Her father (my grandfather - and I use that term very, very loosely) was born with his name spelled Rodgers and died with it as Rogers. Same with his brothers, but not his sisters. </li><li>One of his sisters was born Juanita and died Dorothy. No idea why. </li><li>That same sister (the only one that lived past childhood) was married to a football player for the Chicago Cubs back in the 1930s. </li><li>Supposedly, we're Indian. That's what I've always been told, but I don't know if it's true or not.</li></ul><div>Right now I'm adding what I know into my database, then I start looking.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-28607807787606980652011-03-23T17:50:00.000-07:002011-03-24T21:40:31.446-07:00Puzzle PiecesIn order to find out more about Flora, I'm researching her children. It's not as simple as one would think - these people loved living off the grid, apparently. Flora's middle child, her only daughter, Zelpha Mangrum Copelin is who is making me absolutely crazy. <div><br /></div><div> She married a man named Johnston Copelin. I know I've written that in a few other posts. I don't know the date, because I can't find a marriage certificate of any kind. I only got his name from Flora's obituary (which I'll be posting shortly) when she was listed as "Mrs. Johnston Copelin." That's a very uncommon name, so I headed over to FamilySearch and found his death certificate. </div><div>He died at the Graystone Hotel in Lorain, Ohio in 1940. I can barely read the cause of death except for the words "unknown" and "probably", so I'm guessing he was found dead in his room.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everything on there fit - except one name. Of course, it was Zelpha's. </div><div><br /></div><div> His parents are listed as Ida Johnston and Eudolphus W. Copelin, born in New York and Indiana, respectively. His birthdate matches a census record I found. It all fit so well. But then there's the wife's name - Louise. I know that has to be Zelpha. Could she have gone by a middle name? Changed it? It couldn't have been a legal change, because she's listed in the SSDI as Zelpha Copelin. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm going to have to break down and order Zelpha's death certificate, aren't I? Any ideas?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-62022685476189132642011-03-21T21:12:00.000-07:002011-03-21T21:34:09.363-07:00Related To Someone I Know?I've been talking about things I found on Mocavo and on my New Madrid trip. One of the things I found in both places was the last name of Flora's daughter, Zelpha. She was born Zelpha Mangrum, but she married a guy named Johnston Copelin.<div><br /></div><div> According to a death certificate of one of her brothers, Zelpha (the informant) lived in LaPorte, Indiana. I didn't think anything of it. Then I did some research on her husband, finding out that his family was based in Indiana and Illinois. And then it hit me why I kept coming back to the name that sounded so familiar - Copelin is the name (spelled a bit differently) of the doctor who literally saved my life multiple times since 1996. (I'm not being dramatic, by the way - the man saved me as a kid, as teenager and as an adult. I owe him everything to the point he's coming to my "family only" wedding in August.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Guess where he's from? That same area of Indiana. I know that the good doc and I don't have a blood relationship here, but I think it's so incredible that we do have a link - besides all the rearrangement he's done of my organs over the past 15 years. This is why I do what I do. I am still amazed in the connection. I don't know exactly how he is related to the Copelin gang I'm working on, but I'm making progress. I'm determined to find the link between him and I, even though it's probably ten degrees of separation. I don't care, I still find it amazing.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-34646852846144282032011-03-18T17:40:00.000-07:002011-03-18T21:59:37.701-07:00The Mystery of IveI spent all day Wednesday down in New Madrid, Mo. Home of the majority of my extended family, county records and, I've learned, a whole lot of family secrets and drama that are slowly unfolding before me.<div><br /></div><div> The first story I bring you is The Mystery of Ive. </div><div> </div><div> Family legend says that Ive, my 2nd-great grandfather, was in some sort of "accident in town" which ultimately caused his death (some say death was instantaneousness, others say he held on for awhile.) I searched and searched, but I could find nothing to back up this story. Not a newspaper clipping or a death certificate - in fact, I still can't find out where and when he died. </div><div><br /></div><div> The only thing that I saw about Ive the entire day I was researching was newspaper clipping from 1914 that said Ive Hendricks was taken to a hospital in Illinois for "an operation." It was very vague and cryptic, so that's all I know. I figured that the "accident in town" happened sometime after that, so I looked and looked for anything else about him and came up completely empty. </div><div><br /></div><div> However, when I was sorting through all of Flora's stepchildren - the multiple marriages, all to men much older than she was, brought her many stepchildren over the years- I found the death certificate for a guy named Carl Lee Ive Mangrum. He died in 1919, in St. Louis (160 miles from New Madrid), from an accident in town. He cracked the base of his skull and fractured his neck. </div><div><br /></div><div> My best guess is that it wasn't Flora's husband Ive that died in an "accident in town", it was her stepson, Carl Lee Ive Mangrum. (Maybe he went by Ive?)I consider this a definite clue and a hint that the elder Ive (Flora's husband) wasn't the one in the "accident in town", but rather he died from surgery complications or just poor health. I have no record or proof though.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-84695098582369249722011-03-16T18:52:00.000-07:002011-03-16T19:12:04.003-07:00Mocavo<div> There's a brand new genealogy search engine up - <a href="http://www.mocavo.com/">Mocavo</a>. For those who don't know what it is yet, it's a search engine that targets "genealogy websites", like Find-a-Grave and genealogy message boards and the like. </div><div><br /></div><div> I've seen mixed reactions about it. Some people LOVE it, some people HATE it. I haven't really seen anyone on the fence yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>My thoughts:</div><div><br /></div><div>I like it because it helped me find an ancestor I've been searching for for the past couple of months - Flora's daughter, Zelpha. I typed in "Zelpha" and "Mangrum", hoping to hit a marriage record - instead I hit her half brother's Find-a-Grave page (a Mangrum - someone I never knew existed) where she was listed as the next of kin - and it had her married name (Copelin) plus current residence location - Indiana. From there I was able to research with her new name and find her death record. After that, I was able to find several other of Zelpha's half siblings, which let me find her father's first wife who was somehow related to her husband's 3rd-4th (depending on the source) husband. It brought out a whole new path for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, it's quite possible the path will lead to finding some inbreeding 4 generations back, but I'm open to it. </div><div><br /></div><div> I know that not all searches show up on the site yet. That's the biggest complaint I've heard. It isn't "expansive enough" yet. The site is approximately a day and a half old. It's still in its infancy and they are still adding websites, blogs, and other sites that we use all the time to help in our research. It's going to take time before it is all inclusive. You can help it by <a href="http://www.mocavo.com/suggest">suggesting a website</a> to add to the search engine. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have added it to my list of websites to check when I get a new name to research. Who knows, I could be pleasantly surprised again!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-63896773455117504042011-03-15T20:05:00.000-07:002011-03-15T20:17:00.391-07:00Oh My...So Thanks to <a href="http://www.mocavo.com">Mocavo</a>, I found Flora's daughter's married name - she was Mrs. Zelpha Copelin. She was the informant on a couple of her siblings' deaths and I have her last known address and I found out where she died.<div><br /></div><div> I then found out that before Joseph F. Mangrum was married to Flora (he was husband #2 or #3, depending on the source), he was married to a woman named Elizabeth (Betty) Hendricks from a little town in KY. The same area that Flora's #3/#4 husband Ive/Joe Hendricks was born in. Most likely scenario is that they're all related. </div><div><br /></div><div> I'm not sure what to think, except that I'm on the path to SOMETHING...</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-89972838190466163622011-03-13T20:52:00.000-07:002011-03-14T21:16:39.334-07:00My Guilty PleasureI have an iPhone. I love it because it works internationally, has wifi, internet / email /Facebook / Twitter capability, etc. When people call me I can see their pictures (synced with Facebook thanks to the amazingly simple FriendSync app), I have wonderful customized ringtones (people from work have one ringtone, my mom's side of the family has one, my dad's side of the family has one, my fiance's relatives all have their own specialized tone - it's my backup caller ID), it's absolutely perfect. And I have a wonderful protective cover on it because I tend to kill electronic devices. <div><br /></div><div> Now that I sound like a walking commercial for iPhone, let me tell you my new guilty pleasure on it - podcasts. Specifically genealogy ones. I never realized how many free podcasts are out there about tracing your family. I love the Genealogy Gems, Family History and the Genealogy Guys. I'm learning, I'm laughing, and I'm hoping someday to make a podcast of my own. Nothing fancy, but I do have a bit of a radio background, so I think I may be able to pull it off. </div><div><br /></div><div>Got any special podcasts I should listen to?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-41531065547942718822011-03-10T19:26:00.000-08:002011-03-10T21:10:55.452-08:00Legacy SoftwareI think I'm in love with Legacy's genealogy software. It's a bit complicated at first, but I've spent a great deal of time over the past few days entering data into the program. Since my trip today was canceled because of a work thing and rescheduled for next Wednesday (I took the day off for it, and if anyone calls me in I will hurt someone, no joke), I spent my evening reviewing the sourcing section of the program.<div><br /></div><div>I love it. I love the citations, the details. I have a journalism background, so I'm a sucker for documentation, sourcing and details. I can enter where I found all this information - death records, my aunt's research notes I received after her death, or newspaper microfilm. It's all perfectly documented now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Did I mention I'm totally in love?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4648769297842527690.post-30236991758977686312011-03-08T17:00:00.000-08:002011-03-08T20:44:44.656-08:00When Records Don't Exist<div>This may be a genealogical filled rant.</div><div><br /></div><div>According to my great-aunt M who works at the funeral home, there's no record of where Flora buried. She went through records, both in the books and on the computer. We know she went to that particular funeral home because, not only is it the one listed on the death certificate, it was the only one in the area at the time (still is.) Unless they ended up cheaping out and doing something "at home" (which I seriously doubt), that funeral home had to have taken care of her burial. </div><div><br /></div><div> I have nothing at all to back up what probably happened - that this particular funeral home DID take care of her. For the most part, all I have is a line on a death certificate, which was informed by a man who, according to family legend, didn't care for Flora - his mother. </div><div><br /></div><div>My next stop is heading down to the funeral home on Thursday to check records myself, then to city hall and a few cemeteries to look around and ask more questions.</div><div><br /></div><div>So what would you do? Solving this woman's mystery is party of why genealogy is so exciting for me, the thrill of the hunt and all that, but sometimes it's so remarkably frustrating. I really do truly think that this woman does not want to be found and she wants her secrets to stay secrets. I will figure this out, I know, but it felt good to rant.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0