Back to the Grind

As the beginning of the academic year draws near, those of us who serve as faculty return to the "grind." The dreaded annual day-long faculty workshop is today. Tomorrow is an all-morning meeting of faculty and staff. 

Don't get me wrong -- I love seeing my colleagues, but I get tired of listening to general information things year after year. Some speakers are more engaging that others, and we're certain to find a few snooze-worthy persons delivering addresses or extended announcements.

If I could just take my fur boys with me, I'd be entertained.

My three fur boys enjoy a can of Fancy Feast.

I can just see it. Speaker gets up. Mr. B takes one look and runs under my chair getting as near to me as possible because there is no safer place in the room. Barney decides he'd better join Mr. B but not before he arches his back and gives a quick hiss at the speaker. Sherlock gives the speaker a little bit longer but decides the speaker is boring. Not being shy, he hisses loudly and repeatedly. He then looks at me. Decides I'm not afraid, and knows he should not be. He jumps down and begins approaching the speaker, retreating once in awhile because of all the other strange people in the room, but making steady progress. When he draws near to the podium, he knows he is the best detective and wants everyone else to admire him. He gets on the podium and poses in his smug way. After thunderous applause, he returns to my lap.

Yes, my cats would make faculty workshop much more entertaining!

Rest Area Find

On the way back from Florida, I stopped at the South Carolina Welcome Center on I-95 to use the facilities and stretch a bit. As I glanced over the travel brochures, I spotted this one. It's filled with repositories and resources for researching the counties in South Carolina's "Olde English District." When I posted it to Facebook, others wanted a copy. I wish I'd picked up additional copies.

I looked at the website listed on the back of the brochure and discovered, they have this brochure and several others of historic interest posted. Check out the Vacation Guides page.

The seven counties in the region include Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Union, and York. One brochure contains information on the Revolutionary War in the area and includes a very useful timeline. Others include African American historical sites and Civil War sites

St. Augustine

I spent Wednesday in St. Augustine.

A lot of the "historic" attractions sadly are not worth paying the extra money to see them.

For example, the oldest school is ruined by mechanical creatures.

Oldest Wooden School House, St. Augustine

Mechanical figures in the oldest wooden school house

The colonial quarter was also underwhelming.

DeMesa-Sanchez House

Printing press in colonial quarter

One of the things I enjoyed was free--the St. Photios Greek Orthodox shrine. It's not as elaborate as the Greek Orthodox Church's frescoes in Knoxville, but it was interesting and beautiful all the same.

St. Photios

Priestly garment display

I did not try to tour Fort Matanzas this time, but here's a view of it from the watchtower in the colonial quarter.

Castillo de San Marcos

Although I went to the Fountain of Youth on my last trip, I went again this time. I remembered thinking it was a bit of a waste of money, but I remembered they had some new exhibits going in. They really weren't worth the expense, and I was tired at the end of the day. I'd already paid that morning so I at least went and did a quick tour of things. Of course, they treat the water a bit now. It had less of a sulfur taste this time than last.

The Fountain of Youth -- an artesian spring

Filling my cup at the Fountain of Youth

Do I look younger now?

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Tuesday I visited the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. Here are a few photos.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Entrance to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Principal Lighthouse Keeper's Dwelling

First Assistant Keeper's Dwelling

Second Assistant Keeper's Dwelling

Bronze US Lighthouse Service Bell

Cuban Refugee Rafts

Original First Order Fresnel Lens for Ponce Inlet (or Mosquito Inlet) Lighthouse

Fresnel Lens from Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

Oil Storage Building

The Adoptee's Guide to DNA Testing

Weinberg, Tamar. The Adoptee's Guide to DNA Testing: How to Use Genetic Genealogy to Discover Your Long-Lost Family. Cincinnati, Ohio: Family Tree Books, 2018.

Weinberg's useful guide intended to assist adoptees in their quest to identify birth families is beneficial to anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of genetic genealogy. She explains the types of tests offered, the testing companies offering each, and a bit about the differences in the results. She then offers information on how to reach out to matches, how to make use of GEDmatch's tools, and using other third party tools. She closes with several case studies designed to inspire those seeking their families. Appendices include frequently asked questions and worksheets which could be adapted to Excel spreadsheets to help keep track of genetic genealogy research. The book contains an index. Any book on genetic genealogy will likely be out-of-date on at least one or two points by the time it is printed. Her frequently asked questions poses a question about the safety of testing results. It is clear the section was written before the announcement concerning the Golden State Killer's discovery through using genetic genealogy databases. Several more arrests were made using the databases after this. I suspect the next edition will include a "caution" statement although it won't discourage the use of the databases for most individuals. I wish she had covered more third party tools, although I'm certain the editors were trying to keep the book a manageable size. The illustrations help the reader visualize the information presented. This book belongs in most libraries and private genealogy collections along with Blaine Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne's Practical Genetic Genealogy and Blaine Bettinger's The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy. Leading genetic genealogists found problems with early iterations of the book. We are not sure if those were corrected in the edition I read and reviewed or if I just failed to catch the things because I don't work with it at the same level they do. This review is based on an electronic advance copy received through NetGalley with the expectation an honest review would be written.

Weekend at Thrackley

Melville, Alan. Weekend at Thrackley. Scottsdale, Arizona: Poisoned Pen Press, 2018.

Edwin Carson invites several persons to spend the weekend at his country house in Surrey. Captain Jim Henderson is among those invited. He does not know why he is on the guest list but decides to go for the adventure and food if nothing else. Adventure they get. Jim discovers a microphone hidden in the chimney in his room and in his friend's room as well. The rest of the novel concerns stolen jewels and even includes murder. The question is not so much whodunit as "will the victims escape the country house." I imagine the puzzle was quite good in its day, but it is unlikely to resound with modern readers as much. I received an electronic galley from the publisher (Poisoned Pen Press) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vacation in Daytona Beach - Monday Post

I doubt you will get any genealogy-related posts this week. I'm on vacation, and I'm trying to make myself stay away from genealogical research so I can truly relax before the academic year begins.

Here are a few photos from last night and this morning.

The view from the patio outside my hotel room Sunday late afternoon.

Sherlock and Barney began their exploration before Mr. B, who was more skittish.

Aunt Catfish's on the River was recommended by a couple of folks from church who'd loved it.

Live entertainment outdoors while you wait to be seated.

At the end of the pier -- a giant catfish!

Salad bar was great. I wish I'd gotten more of the black-eyed pea salad.

The catfish comes with one side, a hush puppy, and a cinnamon roll that melts in your mouth.

Monday morning. Sun coming up on the beach.

Better Late Than Never

I intended to create a post last night or this morning for today, but I didn't get it done. Today's agenda involved packing. I'm looking forward to a "real vacation." I expect to do very little research because the purpose of the vacation is to relax. Yes, Ancestry and FamilySearch sometimes call my name even when I'm trying to avoid them, but I do hope to make lists of those things I think about doing and make myself wait to do them. I really need to unwind before the academic year begins.

Now, you and I know that I'm not going to succeed in refraining from genealogy for an entire week, so I've tried to come up with ways to indulge without doing research.

I remembered a second great grand-uncle resided early near where I will vacation. There is a museum in the town he helped found. It is open only two days a week, and only one of those days is while I will be there. I guess I know what I'll be doing that day.

Although I have no ancestors there, I love the historic town of St. Augustine. I plan to make a day trip up there one day.

I really don't know which books will tempt me. I have several audiobooks downloaded for the drive, but I mainly downloaded mysteries. I don't know think any involve genealogy. I only packed a couple of print books--one of those is Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves, a mystery; the other is a literary work on gardens. It's pretty short. I may have packed a third book, but I don't remember what it was. I downloaded a couple of e-books from the library, The Blackhouse by Peter May and Harmless as Doves by P. L. Gaus. The Amish mysteries by Gaus are almost like genealogy for me because they are set in an Amish community where my ancestors once lived. My Kindle app has lots of options on it, including some genealogy mysteries. I only have one advance review copy at the moment on my BlueFire app. It is The Murder of My Aunt by Richard Hull. I suppose that qualifies since it is family-related.

Of course, I did pack a two NGSQ and one TAG issue. I knew better than to try to pack more. I'll be lucky to make it through those.

I hope my cats are ready to curl up and read with me. They may prefer looking out the window at the ocean.

A Strange Courthouse Visit

Yesterday I visited a courthouse in another county. I'll avoid mentioning the exact location because it could easily be one of many, and it is probably best to protect the officials from angry genealogists. I was seeking early probate records, and in reality, the main purpose was to check information published in a narrative family tree and obtain a citation for the information beyond "according to a record in the ___ county courthouse." It really should have been an easy lookup. I knew the name and date from the record as well as the information it allegedly contained. What should have been easy turned out to be a nightmare.

According to online information, the county clerk's office held the needed record. I began there. They told me they didn't have it, sending me to another office. That office stated their records began in the 1970s and that probate matters used to be handled by the county judge so they were probably in his office. I went to the county judge's office. They didn't house any records; however, they were the most helpful office. They took me back down to the county clerk's office where they took me to the records room. I noticed no file cabinets, so I inquired about loose records. The employee did not even know what a loose record was. "Everything we have is in this room." (Of course, the deeds and mineral rights books were in a separate room, but that's okay.) I began examining the room. I knew the courthouse suffered a fire in 1930, but the fact someone supposedly examined the record in order to write about it made me keep seeking it.

A thorough examination of the room revealed no estate records at all except for a few guardianships and administrations from the 20th century. I found a handful of 19th century records, but they were few and far between. The records remaining were an odd mix. I did create myself a guide to earliest available records so I will know what they have if I need to research in the county again. FamilySearch contained more records than the county did.

Several comments made while I was getting the "run around" made me realize few, if any, genealogists visit that courthouse. One person mentioned hearing a recent county clerk threw away some old records once. Another person in the office then commented, "That sounds like something ___ ____ would do."

I ended up calling several other researchers to ask them if they had researched in that county and if they had seen estate records. Based on the responses I received from these researchers and the state archives employees, I am confident I made a thorough effort and did not miss records on site with the possible exception of a few which were available through FamilySearch. It is possible these were discarded after they were filmed. Certainly none of the offices admitted to owning these volumes which included early will books. It would be nice to know where they might be hiding if they still exist in hard copy.

I doubt I will forget my visit to that courthouse anytime soon. I hope more genealogists will visit it so they begin to understand what we do and so they understand the importance of maintaining old records. The fire in that county was devastating. I hope record neglect does not worsen it.

Writing Reports to Yourself

How many of us regular write research reports to ourselves? Elizabeth Shown Mills' reports, normally available on her web site which is offline at the moment, are legendary! Other genealogists such as Elissa Scalise Powell champion "writing as you go."

Writing the research as I go made me a better genealogist. I immediately spot the facts that need better evidence or which are missing. I can include these "problems" in my "Suggestions for further research" section until I can seek the needed document or address the problem some other way. If I send for a document, I can make a note of that and follow up in the future, if needed.

It is easy to create your own research report template in a word processing program. You'll find examples of research report formats at the Board for Certification of Genealogists web site. Templates are also available for purchase from Brent Chadwick that include macros for commonly used citations.

Last night I looked at an Ancestry DNA autosomal match who had a tree with names for himself and his father but no dates and no other persons. As I looked at the "shared matches," it was apparent he was matching on my paternal father's line. As I began doing "quick and dirty" work on his tree to see if I could identify the match, I found his ancestors living next to persons with the surname I suspected was the match. Both my match's surname's lines and the surname of interest seemed to follow the same migration trail. I also noted another name in close proximity which could explain something I've seen in my DNA matches--where the match appears to be on my maternal grandmother's line, but that it matches my Dad also, even though GEDmatch says my parents are not related. The matches are probably cousins to Dad but Dad is matching them on his paternal father's line rather than on the name from my maternal grandmother's line.

I immediately knew I needed to document all that quick and dirty research and work my way back to the point where we may connect. There are some hints which may lead me to connect a dot or two to reach the ancestor we are fairly certain is ours from Y-DNA matching. Today I began writing that report. I didn't have a lot of time to do so because I had a couple of appointments that took up part of my day. However, the report is now twelve pages long and documents a couple of generations pretty well. I made one note for further research, but I was able to document most births, marriages, divorces, and deaths. I included censuses for the older generations. Much of the research I performed today was on living individuals and as such cannot be shared. I may work a little more this evening, but I'm happy with what I achieved for the day.

I'm conscious of my goals and research questions as I'm writing it. The report format helps me stay focused on my goal instead of following tangents. As I write each individual's paragraph(s), I ask myself what documents are missing or which things need better evidence.

The missing document I sought today was a birth certificate. I have plenty of other evidence of the birth date with no conflicting evidence, but the birth certificate would be a better source.

GRIP 2018

Today is the last day of the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh session for which I enrolled. I took the Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy course. I really enjoyed the course with Catherine Desmarais, CG, Kelvin Meyer, Michael Ramage JD, CG, Judy Russell JD, CG, CGL, CeCe Moore, and Amber Goodpaster Tauscher. I gained a better understanding of the work of forensic genealogists and how I might prepare for supplementing my income with forensic cases in retirement should I choose to pursue this line of work.

My advice for persons attending GRIP in the future is to stay in the Fairfield Inn or Homewood Suites nearby rather than the dorms. The beds were not comfortable, and we had to bring a lot of extra things (extra towels and wash cloths, mattress pad, extra quilt, wireless router which was advised but not needed, lamp, hair dryer, etc.) I did not enjoy the foods. They tended to put at least one ingredient in things which ruined dishes for me. For example, they ruined a perfectly good pork loin with mustard. They ruined other dishes by adding mushrooms (fungus).

If you are used to the breaks at IGHR (Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research), these do not compare favorably. The same foods were out every day at break. Because I had a temporary crown, I was unable to eat any of them because they were all hard. Break food consisted of animal crackers, pretzels, M & Ms, and trail mix.

However, the course itself was excellent, and that's why I attended. We'll receive our certificates before lunch, load the cars, and leave for home. I'm looking forward to seeing my cats!

Comptometers

Comptometer, photo by Daderot [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons

As I indexed some World War II Registration cards for FamilySearch, I came across someone employed by the N. B. Davidson Comptometer Company in Indianapolis. I decided to Google "comptometer" to see what one was. I discovered an image similar to the one above and knew I'd seen these before and just assumed they were an early form of an adding machine. It pretty much was. Dorr E. Felt patented it in 1887, and it became the "first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator."¹

At one time Comptometer Correspondence Instruction Courses existed.² [The history of comptometer education, as recorded by Felt himself, appears in the same issue.]³

The publication Comptometer News appears to be a rich source of genealogical information (and photographs) if one's ancestor worked with the devices. Many issues from volumes one through ten (1926-1938) are available online at Internet Archive. The Felt & Tarrant Company produced the publication which appears to report news from comptometer schools across the nation, as well as a few international locations.

---

1 "Comptometer," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comptometer : accessed 19 July 2018).^↩
2 C. Vebeck, "Instruction Service Department," Comptometer News 3, no. 1 (January 1929), page 5; PDF, Jaap's Mechanical Calculators Page (https://www.jaapsch.net/mechcalc/pdf/compnews3-1.pdf : accessed 19 July 2018).^↩
3 Dorr E. Felt, "The First Comptometer School," Comptometer News 3, no. 1 (January 1929), page 7; PDF, Jaap's Mechanical Calculators Page (https://www.jaapsch.net/mechcalc/pdf/compnews3-1.pdf : accessed 19 July 2018).^↩
4 FOOTNOTE^↩
5 FOOTNOTE^↩

A Few Thoughts on Albion's Seed

Fischer, David Hackett. Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

This is not a formal review of the classic work Albion's Seed. It's more a few comments and reflections from reading it.

Why did I wait so long to read the entire book? I lived in Cincinnati when the book was published. The public library there was wonderful. They had a copy, but like most books of a genealogical nature, it didn't circulate. I used it several times in the library, but I would only read a small bit each time. I see they own additional copies which circulate now. If they owned them at the time, they were always checked out or in the closed stacks, and I just didn't ask for them. I really should have purchased my own copy. I suspect it was because I didn't want to spend the time it would take to get through a 972 page book packed with information. Fortunately a study group organized by Miriam Robbins was just the thing to make me take the plunge. We'll be concluding our discussion this Saturday evening.

With which culture do I most identify? That's a tough question. There are certain elements of each with which I identify, but I think the Cavalier Culture wins overall. I descend from all four cultures. Surprisingly, although I live in the "Backcountry South", I identify more with the Puritans, Cavaliers, and Quakers. I see some of the Backcountry spirit in some ancestors, but I do not strongly identify with it. I was also surprised at not understanding about half the expressions used in the section. I understood far more Cavalier and Quaker expressions. I even recognized more Puritan expressions than Backcountry ones. Isn't that strange? I'll be happy to sample foods from all four cultures, but there are good things and disgusting ones in each!

My reading list just grew immensely. Fischer's footnotes always included works that captivated my attention. I want to read many of those now.

I don't really enjoy reading about politics that much, but Fischer's conclusion included quite a bit about the ancestors of the United States presidents, the regional cultures from which they came, and how that influenced the president. I found it quite interesting. I know politics played a role in our ancestor's lives. The treatment of politics in a cultural setting is much more appealing than reading about elections and politicians without the context.

One more thing . . . if you haven't read this book, don't delay! Order a new or used copy or check one out from your library and begin reading it! You will not regret the decision. You may choose to read it quickly, but you'll probably want to take your time to digest what you are reading. Obviously if you own your own copy, you will be able to take more time than if you rely on the library's copy.

Indiana Village for Epileptics and Andrew Lantz

As I researched a very distant line of the Lantz family, I came across Andrew who died in 1943 at the Indiana Village for Epileptics.¹ I found it interesting such a place existed. Rounding up people with a neurological disorder to live in the same place with other sufferers seemed a little strange. Apparently it was created in 1905 by Indiana's legislature and was considered "progressive" at the time.² Dr. Walter C. Van Nuys served as the village's superintendent until his retirement in 1952.³ It was not Dr. Van Nuys, but Dr. J. H. McNeill, who signed my relative's certificate.⁴

Indiana Village for Epileptics, Colony No. 2, New Castle, Indiana, 1919; uploaded by Historic Bremen to Sauer-Schurr Family Album, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/historicbremen/27917654397 : accessed 17 July 2018), CC BY-NC 2.0 license) 

An Indiana marriage law, passed 15 April 1905, the same year the legislature created the village, specified "no license to marry shall be issued where either party is an imbecile, epileptic, of unsound mind, nor to any person who is or has been within five years an inmate of any county asylum or home for indigent persons, unless it satisfactorily appears that the cause of such condition has been removed and that such male applicant is able to support a family and likely to so continue, nor shall any license issue when either of the contracting parties is affected with a transmissible disease, or at the time of making application is under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug."⁵ Andrew married Nannie King and fathered two sons and three daughters before the law was enacted.⁶ The children were Mary, Pearl, Elmer, Dora, and Henry.⁷ Andrew's institutionalization broke up the family before 1920.⁸  How lonely Nancy must have felt, forced to provide for her children without her husband's assistance! She survived him, dying 16 September 1956.⁹ Both are buried at Mast Cemetery near Kokomo, Indiana.¹⁰

Because treatments differed from those when the community was established, the Indiana Village for Epileptics expanded its mission to treat other neurological disabilities, becoming first the New Castle State Hospital and eventually the New Castle State Developmental Center.¹¹ It closed 15 August 1998, and its buildings were demolished in 2002.¹²

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1 "Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/60716/45232_355688-01219?pid=2827854 : accessed 17 July 2018), Andrew Lantz (1867-1930), 1930, Howard County, reg. no. 15212.^↩
2 Rebecca L. Loufburrow, The Indiana Village for Epileptics, 1907-1952: The Van Nuys Years (M.A. thesis, Indiana University, 2008), page 1; PDF, ScholarWorks (https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/1868 : accessed 17 July 2018)..^↩
3 Ibid.^↩
4 "Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011," Andrew Lantz (1867-1930).^↩
5 "State Laws Regulating Marriage of the Unfit," Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology 4, no. 3 (September 1913), page 424; digital image, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1133362 : accessed 17 July 2018).^↩
6 Andrew Lantz, obituary, Gospel Herald 36, no. 12 (17 June 1943), pages 246-247; online, Mennobits (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mennobit>, accessed 11 Jan 2003). While the obituary states they married in Spring 1896, Edward A. Mast performed the marriage 22 December 1895 in Howard County. See: "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MR-59CM : accessed 17 July 2018), Andrew Lantz Or Lautz and Nancy King, 22 Dec 1895; citing Howard, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 7,032,686.
7 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Howard County, Indiana, population schedule, Liberty Township, SD 9, ED 146, page 135B (stamped), dwelling/family 150, Andrew Lantz family; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/60716/45232_355688-01219?pid=2827854 : accessed 17 July 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 355.^↩
8 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Henry County, Indiana, population schedule, Prairie, Indiana Village for Epileptics, SD 6, ED 77, page 37B, line 76, Andrew Lantz; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6061/4300613_00079?pid=83305327 : accessed 17 July 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 438. He was also enumerated with Nancy, but it says he is "working out." Since he was working on the farm in the village, we can assume this was where he was working out. See: 1820 Census, Howard County, Indiana, pop. sch., Liberty Twp., SD 9, ED 153, p. 247A (stamped), dwelling/family 82, Andrew Lantz household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6061/4300613_01061?pid=83350089 :  accessed 17 July 2018); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 438. He resided in the village during the 1930 and 1940 censuses, with the 1935 residence marked as same place. See: 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Henry County, Indiana, population schedule, Henry Township, Epileptic Village, SD 9, ED 33-25, page 167B (stamped), line 95, Andrew Lantz; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6224/4584688_00340 : accessed 17 July 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T626, roll 593. Also: 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Henry County, Indiana, population schedule, Henry Twp., SD 10, ED 33-40, page 408A, line 16, Andrew Lantz; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-01052-00853?pid=55481658 : accessed 17 July 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T627, roll 1052.^↩
9 Nancy Barbara Lantz, death record, 16 September 1956; Indiana History and Genealogy Database, Marion Public Library, Marion, Indiana (http://gen.marion.lib.in.us/Default.asp : accessed 17 July 2018); citing book 14, page 151, reel 9.^↩
10 Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30731178 : accessed 17 July 2018), Andrew Lantz (1867-1943), memorial no. 30731178, Mast Hensler Cemetery, Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana; (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30731179 : accessed 17 July 2018), Nancy B. Lantz, memorial no. 30731179, Mast Hensler Cemetery, Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana. Although Find A Grave calls this "Mast Hensler Cemetery," most death certificates, including Andrew's, include only "Mast Cemetery" for burials. See "Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011," Andrew Lantz (1867-1930). ^↩
11 "Other Indiana Hospitals for the Mentally Ill and Developmentally Disabled," Indiana Archives and Records Administration (https://www.in.gov/iara/2671.htm : accessed 17 July 2018), New Castle State Developmental Center (1907-present; formerly New Castle State Hospital and the Indiana Village for Epileptics.^↩
12 "New Castle State Developmental Center," Asylum Projects (http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php/New_Castle_State_Developmental_Center : accessed 17 July 2018).^↩

What Cheer

As I was indexing for FamilySearch, I came across a couple, both of whom were born in the town of What Cheer, Iowa. I borrowed a little curiosity from cats and decided to learn something about the town with the odd name.

The United States Geological Survey's database states the town's name came from an English or Welsh greeting. The town's name was adopted in 1879. It is located in Keokuk County.

A Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1893 is available.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from What Cheer, Keokuk County, Iowa. Sanborn Map Company, Jun, 1893. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn02871_002/.

The Gypsy Gene

I grew up in a Mississippi home with slightly older parents and brothers who were fourteen and sixteen years older. With brothers graduating high school at ages two and four, I spent most of my childhood and youth pretty much as only child would.

My parents loved to travel. I remember making long trips to visit Aunt Daisy in Iowa. On trips like that one, we usually stayed in motel rooms along the way.

The vacations we really enjoyed were spent camping. We started out in a tent when I was about five. We went to a family camp in the Kiamichi Mountains of Oklahoma. Mom and Dad found a spot on a hill near the bathhouse. It rained quite a bit that week. Our next camping trip was made in a pop-up camper. We stayed in that camper a year or two. It really only had room to sleep with maybe a tiny storage space. We cooked meals outside on a camp stove. We graduated from that to a Starcraft which had a table where we could be comfortable when it rained as well as an indoor stove and sink. We made trips to Bull Shoals Lake and Eureka Springs in Arkansas, to Guntersville Lake in Alabama, to the newly opened Walt Disney World in Florida, to the Smokies, to Virginia, and many other places I've long since forgotten. We took it to Sardis Lake just for the weekend many times. It took only two and a half hours to make that trip. 

Eventually the Starcraft was replaced with a Coachman travel trailer. I was probably in the last couple of years of middle school then. They replaced the Coachman with an Allegro motor home sometime when I was still in high school. It was a very large rig and more than they really needed so they downsized after I was in college. I think the first smaller motor home was a Midas. They finished their camping in a Minnie Winnie which they purchased on the road in Florence, South Carolina. I think there was one other motor home in between those. Dad who was two years older than mom retired at 62; she retired at 65. When she retired, they spent a lot of time camping. They often made long trips, being gone for several months at a time. They made a trip to New England and a trip out west. They made many other trips as well. They had campground memberships which made it very affordable. They only paid $1 to $5 a night, depending on the agreements between campgrounds. Their favorite camping spot was in the Smokies at their "home" campground, Mill Creek Resort in Pigeon Forge. 

I lived in Cincinnati part of the time and often drove down on weekends when they camped there.When I moved to East Tennessee, they rarely stayed at my house, preferring to stay in the RV in Pigeon Forge. As they grew older, Dad's comfort level driving diminished, so they did most of their travelling during my breaks so I could drive.

The Minnie Winnie parked at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Florida

Mom and Dad at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Florida

Mom called her love of camping and traveling "the gypsy gene." I remember telling her about all the places Levi Lantz lived. He was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. He moved to Wayne County, Ohio, where he married Barbara Yoder. They moved to Knox County, Ohio for a brief time before returning to Holmes County, Ohio, which adjoined Wayne, to care for some of her aging relatives. They moved near Oak Grove, McLean County, Illinois, where my grandfather Abraham met his wife Laura. Levi, however, moved on to Howard County, Indiana, where his wife died. He then moved to St. Joseph County, Michigan, back to Oak Grove in McLean County, Illinois, to Johnson County, Missouri, and eventually to McPherson County, Kansas where he died in 1887. After I'd recited all his moves, Mom declared, "That's where I got my gypsy gene."

A Woman Named Anarchy?

I spent several hours Tuesday researching at the Calvin M. McClung Collection in Knoxville. I followed my plan to use published abstracts for Bedford County, Tennessee to help me trace my Mosely and related lines forward and to find things missing from my ancestral line research.

As I checked the index of a volume, I came across an unusual name. Turning to the page, I found the entry summarized thusly:

Marriage Volume A, page 438
Couple: Clifton Neill and Anarchy Moseley
Security: B. M. Tillman
Marriage Date: 29 July 1866¹

As I read the entry, I wondered who would name a child Anarchy. This record appears in the section for colored marriages so I assume Anarchy recently enjoyed her first taste of freedom from slavery. Another section in Volume A records marriages of free persons of color. Of course, by 1866, former slaves were free. I located the marriage record's image at Ancestry to verify the abstract's information.²

The mulatto couple resided in Bedford County's fourth district in 1870 with ten-year-old Jim. Clifton was enumerated as Cliff Neil and Anarchy was enumerated as Anica. Both were age forty-five.³ It is unknown if Jim was the natural son of both Cliff and Anica or if only one "parent" belonged to him. Many African-Americans married in the years following the Civil War, and Bedford County's marriage register is filled with multiple entries on each day, with many of the grooms serving as securities for another groom marrying on the same day.⁴

I was unable to locate the family in 1880. Is the woman's name Anarchy as the marriage record suggests or Anica as the 1870 census suggests? Without further evidence I may never know. Perhaps I'll run across a record with additional evidence for the name. I certainly hope it turns out to be Anica.

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1 Helen C. Marsh and Timothy R. Marsh, Official Marriages of Bedford County, Tennessee (Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1996), volume 1, page 66.^↩
2 "Tennessee, Marriage Records, 1780-2002," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2018), Clifton Neill to Anarchy Moseley, 29 July 1866, Bedford County; citing marriages available at Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.^↩
3 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, population schedule, 4th District, Shelbyville post office, page 177B (stamped), page 22 (written), dwelling and family 140, lines 27-29, Cliff Neil household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 1514.^↩
4 Marsh and Marsh, Official Marriages of Bedford County, Tennessee, pages 51-77/^↩

Why I Dislike "Smart Matches"

My Heritage trees offer users "Smart Matches" when matching persons are found. It is designed to help improve or fill in gaps in your tree. A recent match for me yielded some additional information about my ancestor Martha Horn (d. abt. 1761). (I am not citing the specific tree it matched because I do not wish to call out the person who placed the information online.)

The tree owner provided a middle name for Martha in her tree. Martha was born before middle names were common. The person also provided the middle name of "Asbury" for Martha's husband. Since Francis Asbury was not born until after my ancestor William, this seems rather unlikely unless William's maternal grandfather, or possibly a great-grandparent, bore the surname "Asbury." However, men born during William's time only possessed a single given name. I definitely do not want to add either middle name to my tree without good documentation.

The next reason I do not like to add smart matches relates to place name information provided. The individual provided a birth date for Martha of 1719. (I lack a birth date, but it seems a likely date since the youngest known child was born about 1740. I need better documentation before I add a qualifier such as "abt" or "est" to the date.) However, the birthplace given is Bertie County, North Carolina, United States. The last time I checked my American history books, North Carolina was a colony at the time, the Revolution had not been fought, and the United States had not been birthed in 1719. Bertie County (or Precinct) was divided from Chowan in 1722, so even the birth location is incorrect. The tree owner also places "USA" at the end of the death date, which occurred before the birth of the United States.

The tree owner provides parents for Martha. I do not wish to add those until I establish the fact through my own research.

I want to be fully in control of the data entered on my tree, and "Smart Matches" do not provide that opportunity. The default is that all new or improved information is added. While I like the idea of connecting with others researching an individual through some sort of confirmation, I do not want to be forced to accept their data in order to do so. Until accepting data becomes optional, I simply peruse the smart matches for clues, avoiding acceptance of questionable data. Of course, my tree at My Heritage is simply skeletal for DNA matching purposes in the first place. I like being able to see matching trees Ancestry without being forced to accept their data. I always ignore the trees, but I can still see those ignored hints if I click on hints. With MyHeritage, I want to be able to consult the tree but the only options on the review page are to confirm the match or reject it. At least by not confirming or rejecting the matches, I can still view the matching trees by looking at the pending smart matches.

Blood on the Tracks

Edwards, Martin. Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries. Scottsdale, Arizona: Poisoned Pen Press, 2018.

An uneven, but mostly enjoyable collection of short stories compiled by Martin Edwards.

"The Man with the Watches" by Arthur Conan Doyle - A mysterious death on a train is solved when a letter from abroad arrives.

"The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel" by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace - The death of a signalman casts suspicion upon a railway worker. Before investigators arrive on the scene, they find another corpse in almost the same location. Science solves the mystery.

"How He Cut His Stick" by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin - A thief gets off a train traveling at full speed. Dora Myrl figures out how.

"The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" by Baroness Orczy - A look back at an unsolved murder about a woman poisoned on a train.

"The Affair of the Corridor Express" by Victor L. Whitechurch - The son of a wealthy Londoner is kidnapped on a train while in the care of a school official, disappearing before the destination is reached.

"The Case of Oscar Brodski" by R. Austin Freeman - Forensic evidence helps solve the crime.

"The Eighth Lamp" by Roy Vickers - More suspense than mystery. A signalman sees a circle line train running after hours. Still enjoyable, even if the mystery element is not strong.

"The Knight's Cross Signal Problem" by Ernest Bramah - A signalman performed his duties but an oncoming train sees a "go ahead" resulting in a crash. A blind detective figures out what happened.

"The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" by Dorothy L. Sayers - A corpse with a mutilated face appears on a beach with no clues to the victim's identity left. While riding a train, the detective overhears Lord Peter Wimsey's theory, leading to the victim's identification.

"The Railway Carriage" by F. Tennyson Jesse - Solange Fontaine boards a train headed for London in Merchester. The occupants of her third class car speak of the execution of a young man that morning. The train crashes. With the next car aflame, a young man appears urging them to get out, but then he disappears.

"Mystery of the Slip-Coach" by Sapper - A bookmaker's corpse lies in a railway coach with egg splattered upon the door. A bullet killed him. One passenger's luggage contains a firearm, but the bullet doesn't match.

"The Level Crossing" by Freeman Wills Crofts - After a stock deal, a man is found dead at a railway crossing.

"The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage" by Ronald Knox - A Sherlock Holmes mystery written by someone other than Doyle.

"Murder on the 7.16" by Michael Innes - ***SPOILER***"Not a real murder" on "not a real train."***END OF SPOILER*** Different!

"The Coulman Handicap" by Michael Gilbert - A woman under surveillance gives her tail the slip in a case involving precious jewels.

This review is based on an advanced electronic copy received from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an unbiased review.

Murder at the Mansion

Connolly, Sheila. Murder at the Mansion. (Victorian Village Mystery; 1) New York: Minotaur Books, 2018.

This promising start to a new "Victorian Village" series by Sheila Connolly features Kate who returns to Asheboro after the hotel for which she works sells to new ownership who release Kate and her boss from their positions with nice severance packages. Kate's mission to see how the town can make a turnaround may be impossible, but the key lies in an old mansion now owned by the town. Its previous owner Henry Barton left a generous trust fund to maintain the property. Kate's nemesis, a councilwoman, was murdered. Kate finds herself assisting in the investigation as she examines some important letters she becomes certain the woman found. I loved the mystery but guessed the murderer's identity fairly early. A lot of questions remain unanswered for the readers, indicating the author intends to reveal more solutions to those questions in future installments. While genealogical research was done, the author included few details. Hopefully more will unfold as the series progresses. The series shows promise and should provide mystery-loving genealogists with a few hours pleasure as each book is published.  I received an advance electronic copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.