Sentimental Sunday

It has been awhile since I posted as life has gotten in the way.  I have been slowly working on my genealogy projects however.  I will write about those in the days to come.  For my sentimental Sunday I am going to write about my Uncle Ed.  He passed away last month.  I considered Ed to be the storyteller of the family.  He could tell you all sorts of family stories and I was lucky enough to get some of them on tape while he was still here.  How much truth is in them is still left to tell, but that is with any family story, as any genealogist can tell you.  I do know how proud he was of his children and family.  He talked about them often.  He also had a big love for his dogs!!  We shared lots of those type of stories.  I remember visiting Uncle Ed when he was married to Ozella in Springfield, MO.  They had horses and lots of other animals.  I especially remember they had 2 crows and they were in the house!  He let us help pull water out from a well and we took lots of pictures that are engrained in my memory.  He moved closer to our family and we seen more of him.  We helped him with his house repairs when he first moved in and I spent some time with his horses.  He then got to the point where he just couldn't do anymore.  What he did do was paint and write.  He was extremely talented.  In his later years however, he did become more lonely and he drank a lot.  I would spend time with him when he wasn't drinking and that's the Uncle I want to remember.  When I go back to transcribe his interview, I will share more stories, but for now I will leave it at this and just say, Uncle Ed, we sure do miss you!

Monday Madness and tombstone tuesday

Well I have been very busy so I have been posting in bulk, but posting still.  I'm still in the process of getting everything around to send off for the medical records for Earl Black.  I got all the certificates now, just got to get it all together. 
Tombstone Tuesday...

This tombstone is of an ancestor on one side and he is the furthest back I have so far on that line.  His name is Elisha Martin and he is the father to Margaret Martin Garner.  Her tombstone picture is the first one I put on my blog.  It's in Clear Creek cemetery in Gallatin, Missouri.  There is so much I would love to know about this family.  When did his wife die and where is she buried?  What happened to Margarets husband after she died?  Who is Elisha's parents and family and how did they come to live in Gallatin?  All of these start with just one tombstone.  Maybe someday I will be posting the answers. :-)

Sentimental Sunday

Almost everyone has items that hold sentimetal value.  Today my boyfriend, Adam, realized that some of his video game systems and games have been stolen out of his basement.  It has taken him years to collect all of it and it wasn't as much for money as it was just something he enjoyed.  It is heartbreaking to lose things like that.  In the same sense, this happens with our memories.  It is heartbreaking to realize that your mother or grandfather cannot tell you the stories anymore for one reason or another.  Get them while you can.
I was lucky enough to get to sit and chat with grandma for a few minutes tonight, but I need to go over and just talk with her and grandpa some more.  Note to self: Make an appointment to let them tell their stories!!

Storytelllin Saturday

I went to visit my grandmother, Bernita, tonight and she told me a story about her Grandma Wilson.  Grandma Wilson lived in a house on 3rd street in Maryville, Missouri and grandma remembers her sitting out on the front porch with her corn cob pipe!  The house she was living in had low ceilings.  they are getting ready to demolish the house so the family was able to get some things from it.  It's a short story, but the corn cob pipe always stands out in my head!! :-)

Treasure Trove Thursday and follow Friday

This week has been so hectic for me that I have resorted to blogging in bulk!!  At least I'm blogging though.  This worked out well for Thursday and Friday because I am going to write about the same topic for both.  I am teaching a new class this morning on Basic Military Records and I just was thinking about how lucky I am to have such a "treasure trove" of information at my finger tips.  I am referring to the Midwest Genealogy Center.  Yes I work here, but I started working here because I was here so much that I applied and got a page position.  I worked my way up from there and I absolutely love it.  I NEVER would have thought I would be teaching classes on anything, working so closely with people doing detective work and just overall enjoying my job!  I have learned so much about people and history by researching and it is so wonderful!  If you are researching your genealogy and have never been to MGC, I highly recommend taking a trip.  It is the largest free standing public genealogy library in the nation!  www.mymcpl.org/genealogy

Monday Madness and tombstone Tuesday on Wednesday lol

Well the last two days has been very busy for me so I'm catching up today. 
Monday Madness: I got the letter back from the hospital on how to get the medical records.  I am making the copies of the certificates and getting a court affidavit, so that's on hold until I get all that finished.

Tombstone tuesday:  This past week was an awesome week of discovery in my genealogy and tombstones are no different.  This is a tombstone of my ancestor Asahel Wright and his wife Temperance Jones.  They are on the same stone.  I requested that the pictures be taken and the next day- there they were!! I about cried!  I would love to see this piece of my history in person but for now this is the best I can do.  How wonderful for it to still be standing when it was there during the Civil War era. 

Sentimental Sunday- Just remember....

I went to a retirement party today for a coworker and friend of mine named Maria.  I am sure going to miss her.  She was born in Dublin Ireland and helps people with Irish research among other types of genealogy.  She is going to be greatly missed as a coworker.  Made me think quite a bit though about all the coworkers of mine that have been retiring and just people in general I have had to say goodbye to because of one reason or another.  Made me think that I had better write down memories now because one day I'm gonna wake up and 20 or 40 years have passed and more recent memories have taken precidence in my mind.  I encourage everyone to write memories and stories in a journal while you can.  Think about the future generations.  Would you want to read something that your grandparents or even further back wrote?  Would you want to know their thoughts and what they did?  I sure would.  So read a book on writing and get some ideas and go for it!