Leaves & Branches

In honor of the members of my family who have died while serving in the United States military: William Wardlaw, born 1771, died August 4, 1812, either of disease or at the Battle of Brownstown, Michigan.  William was my fourth great grand uncle in my paternal grandmother's family. Samuel Kincaid, my fourth great grandfather in my paternal grandmother's family, died May 5, 1813 at the siege of Ft. Meigs, Ohio. Campbell Dudley, born 1837, died July 29, 1864 while serving with the 48th Ohio Infantry when he drowned in the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  He was my great grand uncle in my maternal grandmother's family. The following information is excerpted from The United States Department of Veterans Affairs website, which can be found at http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp : Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decora...

My mom never knew her Donaldson aunts and uncles. Her dad, Eddie Earl Donaldson, the son of David Scott Donaldson and Mary Cordelia Lamb, moved from Oklahoma to the Cincinnati, Ohio area as a teenager in around 1915. My mom, who was seven when her dad died, never had the opportunity to know or visit her dad's brothers and sisters. So, it is always exciting to meet (at least online) our distant Donaldson cousins. Charles Lamoine Donaldson It seems that there is at least one person in every Donaldson aunt's or uncle's family who is interested in the family history. To date, I have made contact with descendants of Arthur Ray Donaldson (1888 - 1951), Harry Alva Donaldson (1891 - 1961), Lelah Donaldson Hensley Bowen (1893 - 1957), Violet Pearl Donaldson Hensley, and William Everett Donaldson (1903 - 1975). Thus far, I haven't made contact with descendants of Charles Lamoine Donaldson (1886 - 1948), James Donaldson (about 1899 - unknown), or Katie Donaldson Willie (1906 -...

Although it really doesn’t matter to me that I haven’t found any famous ancestors, I confess that it was kind of excited to learn that George Washington mentioned one of my ancestors in his diary. Of course, he didn’t write about him in a flattering context, but he mentioned him just the same. Matthew Hills is one of my fifth great-grandfathers on the Donaldson side of the family. Admittedly, I haven’t done a great deal of research on Matthew. He was the father of Rebecca Hillis, who married Ebenezer Donaldson. From the little research I have done to date, Matthew was born around 1742, possibly in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It appears that Matthew lived most, if not all, of his life in Washington County. In September 1784, George Washington journeyed from his Virigina estate, Mount Vernon, to Washington County to dissolve an ill-advised partnership, consider the potential for water transportation between the Ohio River and the Potomac River, and visit some of his un...

During my recent trip to the Family History library in Salt Lake City, I had the opportunity to look for my ancestors in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 census agricultural schedules.  The agricultural schedules were among the non-population schedules taken in conjunction with the population schedules.  Before reviewing the agricultural schedules, I was well aware that most of my ancestors were farmers.  However, being a city person, I had no idea exactly what these farmers actually raised.  Very small farms weren't included in the agricultural schedules, which may be why I was unable to find some of my ancestors, such as the Dudley family.  On my maternal side, I was able to locate my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary E. Shaper, in Hamer Township, Highland County, Ohio on the 1850 schedule.  She owned 75 acres, 20 of which were improved.  She had two horses, two cows, eight sheep, and eight pigs and grew crorn. I had more success on my paternal si...

I have been pouring all of my genealogical efforts into preparing for my upcoming trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and I am getting sick of it!  I am going to force myself to have a totally genealogy-free week before my trip to refresh myself.  I had a nice break on Sunday, though, when I spent a little while researching another family. It started when I heard my mom and sister discussing "Frieda's cookies."  Frieda and Joe Greenstein were my babysitters and Frieda made the most delicious butter cookies known to humankind.  Rectangular shaped with a fork mark across the top, crisp, sweet, and buttery, these cookies are the stuff of legend.  We have tried a number of butter cookie recipes, but have never found the right one. Frieda was much more than a wonderful baker.  She and Joe were wonderful people.  I never remember them raising their voices to me.  I remember one time that I did something I shouldn't have and hid und...

My blog posts have been few and far between recently because I have been preparing for my trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in a few weeks.  However, each week as I travel on the bridge over the Little Miami River in Milford, Ohio, I get to view my favorite genealogical scene and feel like waxing poetic about it. As I look north as we cross the bridge I see the river surrounded by thick shrubbery and trees.  If I can block out the cell tower, utility poles, cars, and modern buildings, I can envision how the area might have looked 200 years ago.    I especially like this view in the winter when steam or smoke is rising from distant houses. I can almost smell the 19th century wood smoke coming from the homes of my ancestors, the Price family, and their neighbors.  My fourth great-grandfather, Jeremiah Price, lived on the Milford side of the river and his brother, Nimrod, lived on the Camp Dennison side of the river.  T...

Last week my mom, sister, niece, and I went on a two day trip we called the Graveyard Getaway or Cemetery Crawl or Dead Drive, depending on whom you ask. Our trip began at the Waldschmidt Cemetery in Camp Dennison, Ohio, the final resting place of my fifth great-grandparents Daniel and Catherine Selllers Price and fourth great-grandparents Jeremiah and Elizabeth Wiggins Price.  Germany, as the settlement was originally called, was founded by German immigrant Christian Waldschmidt.  The Price (or Preisch) family were among the second wave of settlers in Germany.  Camp Dennison was built during the Civil War on the land of Nimrod Price, Daniel and Catherine's other son. Our next stop was Troutwine Cemetery in Lynchburg, Ohio.  My great-grandparents, Jesse and Mary Shaper Dudley, great-uncles Lewis and Thomas Dudley, and uncles Everett and Mitchell Donaldson are buried there.  Jesse's sister, Jane Dudley Setty, is also buried nearby.  My second great-grand...