All posts by cattaplin

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About cattaplin

Researcher, writer, speaker

What I Don’t Know, Part 2: Undocumented Family Histories

Illinois Research, , , , , ,

I needed an Illinois family to research, quickly. I had less than a month to put together a program all about Illinois research. I knew VERY LITTLE about Illinois research. (I am still baffled that I pulled off the program.) Most of my research experience is in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Missouri and New Hampshire, with a smattering of stops in other states. I pulled up my database and searched for any individuals who had “IL” or “Illinois” in any of their fields. I found four. 4! Yikes.

It turns out one of those four is a surname I’ve done quite a bit of research on: Dimick. However, this line of the Dimicks is a collateral line that I have spent no time researching until now. The only information I had was from an undocumented (no sources given) compiled genealogy from Dr. Alan Dimick. He has compiled an impressive amount of research on all of the known Dimicks in this country since the 1600s. However, there are very few sources (a few names of contributors now and then) so I can’t be sure how accurate it is. I actually find this situation to be a lot of fun. A compiled genealogy is full of clues and breadcrumbs to be followed. I personally love working with them.

A quick look at the entry for Jeduthan Dimick's family.
A quick look at the entry for Jeduthan Dimick’s family.

The entry in my database was for a daughter of Jeduthan Dimick, Sarah. Jeduthan is the cousin of my ancestor who moved to Ohio from New Hampshire. His daughter Sarah Dimick, according to this compiled genealogy, married a man named Sanders Scroggins. Sanders Scroggins. I’m sorry, but that name is so rare and odd that I had to take it on. There was also a compiled genealogy on the Scroggins family (the surname was more prevalent than I thought it would be) available online.

With these two compiled genealogies as a starting point, I was on my way. I spent the next couple of weeks learning as much as possible about the geographic area and the individuals as possible using the Internet. As any good researcher will do, I scoured the Internet from the comfort of my home office in my slippers, hot coffee in hand, and learned as much as possible before stepping foot outside and spending one dollar on gas or one minute driving to a repository.

What I Don’t Know, Part 1: Researching in a new area

Research - General, ,

2014-03-18 08.53.38 am

I know it has been quite some time since my last post. I don’t know if you noticed. It’s been almost 2 months! Well, I took a little break from the blog because some other projects landed on my desk. One of which is the topic of this next series of posts. I was compelled to volunteer for something, that had to be done within a month. I told myself, in order to get my portfolio done, I need to lay off the volunteering. But I did it anyway and I learned a few things along the way and I am able to use it as a sharing/teaching opportunity.

Maybe you are like me, one of those people who finds herself volunteering for things when she didn’t mean to. I have been taking part in a study group that focuses on mid-western research. The first year there were lectures on the various record types to be found in the area. The second year (this year) we’ve been hearing case studies from study group members, one per month on one of the states. It turned out that no one had volunteered to present a case for Illinois. The coordinator was threatening to either cancel or give everyone a homework assignment instead. I watched myself as I raised my hand and volunteered to present on Illinois. I don’t really have any research in Illinois! I had just a few collateral ancestors who I knew at least passed through Illinois but I had not done any research to speak of in the state up until last month.

The next series of posts will demonstrate all of the research points I didn’t know but figured out in about 2 weeks from the comfort of home. This series will show just how much can be done from home using Internet sources and Google searches. It will also demonstrate that not EVERYTHING is on the Internet. There are many records I need to order and more I still need to find. Having very little knowledge of Illinois research when I began the project, I was able to put together an hour-long presentation that shared a good rough biographical sketch of two families that intersected in Southern Illinois, the Scroggins and Dimicks of Hardin and Gallatin Counties.

Love and Marriage and Death – And Suicide

Marriage, , ,

Sadly, some couples find their lives too difficult to continue living, for a variety of reasons. This phenomenon of the suicide pact is not new. The couple below were engaged to be married yet decided to commit suicide by strychnine ingestion:

Salem Star-Journal, Salem, Ohio, 30 October 1903, p1.
Salem Daily News, Salem, Ohio, 2 Jun 1891, p1.

Suicide pacts are not just for the young. The following older couple decided to commit suicide together because of financial difficulties and ailing health.

Sandusky Star-Journal, 30 October 1903, p1.
Sandusky Star-Journal, Sandusky, Ohio, 30 October 1903, p1.

Probably the most tragic are the murder-suicide incidents. This young man felt that he would never be enough to marry the girl he loved and was so distraught that he felt that the only solution was to kill her and then himself.

The Marion Star, Marion, Ohio, 9 May 1894, p1.
The Marion Star, Marion, Ohio, 9 May 1894, p1.

Sometimes love is so strong and so mind-bending that logical and clear thought seems to escape some. Of course we can’t know for sure what was going on for these couples but their love tied them together even to death.

 

Love and Marriage and Death – Dying together

Genealogy Program, Marriage, , ,

I don’t know about you, but it seems like there are a lot of couples who die very closely together. It could be coincidence, it could be they were both equally unhealthy at the end, it could be just my romantic notion that sometimes people are just so in love that they can’t live without each other. Who knows, but here is another example:

Charles Urban died just two weeks before his wife of 30 years:

Urban_Rosa-obit
Mrs. Charles Urban obituary, Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin, Ohio, 3 Aug 1933, p5 c7.

Love and Marriage and Death – S. C. Dimick

Marriage, , , , , ,
The Marietta (Ohio) Daily Leader, 3 May 1901, p.3.
The Marietta (Ohio) Daily Leader, 3 May 1901, p.3.

Samuel Cook Dimick moved to Wood County, Ohio from Lyme, New Hampshire in the 1870s. He married his wife, Mary Marshall in Lyme in 1860 and they spent the next 41 years building a life together. Their family only brought them 2 children, both sons, one who sadly died at age 19. Mary died at the end of April 1901. According to Samuel’s obituary he died just one week later: “He said that he had planned everything for his wife’s comfort and pleasure and now that she was gone he had no desire to live longer.”

Love and Marriage – Getting a Good Wife

Genealogy Program, Marriage, , , ,
The Bismarck (North Dakota) Tri-Weekly Tribune, 2 April 1878
The Bismarck (North Dakota) Tri-Weekly Tribune, 2 April 1878
“Marriage is not about age; it’s about finding the right person.” Sophia Bush
(Read more at BrainyQuote.)
There’s nothing that says “love” like going to look for a good wife. There must have been a shortage of “good women” in North Dakota in 1878. Well, it wasn’t a state yet, but part of the Dakota Territory in 1878. Statehood for North Dakota occurred in 1889. The population was sparse (and continues to be) for the area. And I imagine there really was a lack of “good women.”
1880 Census, Dakota Territory
1880 Census, Dakota Territory
In the 1880 Dakota Territory census, Phillip W. Lewis is listed with his wife, Mary, and their son, John (age 1). And where are Phillip and Mary from? Virginia. I think Phillip found his good woman.

Love and Marriage and Death – An Introduction

Marriage, , ,

brideandgroomThey are the reason we are here. A man and a woman came together and made babies and from that day forward genealogists everywhere have been having a hey day putting the long forgotten family puzzles back together. Of course we all know that they didn’t have to be married for the baby to be made. However, some of my favorite obituaries concern couples who were married for a long time. I have also enjoyed finding newspaper clippings concerning marriages, finding love, courting, and the like. It makes the names and dates and the imaginings we all get about our ancestors a little more real, a little more fun, a little more like us.

This next series of posts will involve things having to with love, marriage, couples and unfortunately, the inevitable: death.

Reviving, Refreshing, Reviewing … And we’re back!

Research Trips, , , ,
This was NOT me in Salt Lake City.
This was NOT me in Salt Lake City.

I recently spent almost 2 weeks in Salt Lake City for research and to attend the APG PMC and SLIG. (Thanks Grandpa for being “mom” for me!) It was beautifully snowy the first week (along with slippery sidewalks and cold temps) and sunny but smoggy the second week. Basically I’m not a fan of winter in SLC when you are trying to get around outside. But it will not deter me from attending again next year! I’m pretty tough. I had such a great time just being surrounded by the topic that I love, with people who love the same boring (but not to us!) topic. I got to know the best people more closely. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard in my life. One night, I literally had a face-ache from laughing so much. (You know who you are.)

I am absolutely a huge fan of SLIG. It was my first time attending and I had an outstanding time. I think a large part of that was because of the friends I made and people I connected with beyond Facebook! I took the Advanced Practicum which is a different type of course. Everyday you get a new problem to work on, a case study that has been worked on and nearly completed by genealogists in the field, who then turn the problem over to the class with varying degrees of information to get us started. We then had 24 hours to work on the problem. We met everyday at 4pm to discuss our findings and get the next problem. I won’t go into the details of how it all worked, but the class was very interesting. I enjoyed seeing how others would go about solving the same problem, the different thought processes, and the sometimes different, sometimes same results.

After SLIG I needed about a week to readjust to life. I had gotten out of all of my routines and I was exhausted! Living out of a suitcase gets old after a while, even though I love to travel. I did very much enjoy coming down from my hotel room to a nice continental breakfast and giant pots of coffee everyday. I didn’t have to worry about that part of my day everyday. It’s back to making my own coffee and bed again. And back to the blog. I have a fun plan for February’s theme so I’ll “see” you here soon!

New Goals for 2014

Genealogical Goals, , ,

HappyNewYearAs we look ahead to the new year, we tend to plan for new adventures, things we’d like to improve, goals we’d like to reach and a year better than the last. While we can’t plan for what we can’t control, we can make goals for what we can.

This is my 2014 “wish list” for myself, genealogically speaking:

  1. Get my BCG portfolio turned in (My deadline is December 15, 2014!)
  2. Write at least 3 major articles (These are aside from those that may appear in my home society’s quarterly.)
  3. Gain 1 new client per month
  4. Speak/teach at least 12 times this year

Ok, that list feels short to me. But look at number 1! I’m going to keep the list short because that first one is a doozy! I really should just make that one item the only goal I expect from myself this year, but I am an overachiever so of course I put more items on my list.

Good luck to you and I hope you take some time to make a few goals for yourself this year.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

 

Year End Recap – Unplanned Goals

Genealogical Goals,
My Gold-Star Certificate
My Gold-Star Certificate

We can plan and plan, but life always has a plan of its own. Sometimes things come up that take you off course of your own goals, and sometimes that is for the better. When you look back at the things you accomplish, you may notice that sometimes things happen that you hadn’t planned on, opportunities “knocked” and you opened the door.

Here are some things that I accomplished this year that I hadn’t planned on:

Continuing Education Program – I had the opportunity to develop and teach a 4-week beginning genealogy class through my local community college.

FGS committee – I was asked to participate on a committee with FGS. It was a lot of fun and great to meet and work with some genealogists that I really admire and respect.

Gold Star – I had the surprise and pleasure of earning a gold star from Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Advanced Methods course at IGHR.

Legacy Quick Guides – I had the opportunity to write five legacy quick guides, which was an amazing experience. They are:

Sometimes the goals you don’t plan turn out to be some of the best accomplishments you didn’t plan for. Take a look back over your year and see what you’ve done you didn’t plan on. You might be pleasantly surprised.