Leaves & Branches

So, were you lured by the many advertisements during the holiday season to purchase a DNA testing kit?  I saw commercials, advertisements, and social media posts from Ancestry, 23andMe, and My Heritage.  Did you take the plunge and purchase a kit or, better still, receive one as a gift?  I had DNA testing done a few years ago through Ancestry DNA.   I have had an Ancestry.com subscription for years and   I find it helpful to link my DNA results to my family tree and view the shared ancestry I have with other Ancestry.com members who have done the same.   DNA testing can lead me to people who have family pictures, documents, and stories that I have never seen or heard.   It can provide the final   blow that shatters a brick wall I have been chipping away at for years.    Let’s face it, though – what many people are really interested in is their ethnic composition.  Here is my Ethnicity Estimate: If you are only interes...

Over the past couple of days I have been doing a lot of newspaper research.  I love reading old newspaper articles.  The minute detail of every aspect of small town life can be entertaining.  Can you imagine supper at your parents’ house making the local news?   How would you like the neighbors talking about the reason for your recent hospitalization over a game of cards?  Few details of small town life were off limits in the local newspapers. I will focus this post on the tidbits I found on my maternal grandmother Mary Jane Dudley Donaldson’s family.  Her uncle L.J. Dudley was an attorney and his travels throughout Highland and Clinton Counties were well documented in the local papers.  The News Herald of Hillsboro had a tantalizing tidbit about one of L.J.’s trips in its May 6, 1897 edition:  “There must be something attractive in Wilmington for L.J. Dudley, as he has been there twice in one week.” I’m intrigued, as I am sure were ...

Wow, it has been a long time since I published a blog article.  Although my genealogical research continues, I just haven't had the patience and focus needed to compose an article.  Today, however, I had an experience that I just have to share.  I recorded my mom's oral history. Recently, my cousin Sue's son, Josh, posted a teaser for a video biography he is working on for his mother's family.  He interviewed his mom and her sisters and brothers about their family.  I was so impressed that I thought it was time I recorded my mom's history, which I have thought about doing for several years. Several years ago, I gave my mom a book with a list of questions about her life with space for her to write her responses.  My mom is a wonderful writer, but she never even started it.  My maternal grandmother and dad both started writing their life stories and although these writings are certainly treasures, they only scratch the surface of their life experienc...

My grand-uncle Thomas Napoleon Dudley was born December 12, 1890 in a one-room cabin in Clark Township, Clinton County, Ohio.   He was the fifth of six sons born to Jesse and Mary Shaper Dudley.  My grandmother, Mary Dudley Donaldson, was the youngest of the Dudley children and the only girl. The earliest clear photo of Tom shows a sweet-faced teenager with a determined expression.  After working as a laborer for a few years in his hometown of Lynchburg, Ohio, on October 1, 1913 he enlisted in the United States Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio.  The country boy wanted to see the world.  His enlistment papers state that Tom was 5’ 9 ¾” and weighed 145 pounds with hazel eyes, auburn hair, a ruddy complexion, and scars on his left knee and his left index finger.  He had a star tattoo on his left forearm, a common tattoo among sailors symbolizing their hope to find their way home safely.  He reported to the Naval Training Station at Norfolk, Virgini...

80 years ago today, June 19, 1932, my dad, Russell Lee Davis, was born to Quincy and Esther Davis in Williamsburg, Ohio.  As I was leaving work today, I pondered what I could write about him in honor of his birthday.  One thought led to another and I decided upon his love (or hatred, I'm not sure which) of politics. My dad was not an educated man.  He wasn't exactly a devoted student and didn't graduate from high school.  However, he read the newspaper from cover to cover, watched the evening news and news programs, and read news magazines.  He understood the news of the day and the news makers. When describing prominent citizens in old county histories, the subject's political affiliation was typically noted.  Being fiercely pro-union, my dad would have likely identified himself as a Democrat, though he wasn't really a big fan of either party.  Sometimes he voted, sometimes he didn't, though he would never hesitate to try to influence his family m...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been in a research rut and needed some inspiration.  I was hoping the 1940 census would do it.  I found my parents and other family members, but as exciting as it was (for me at least) to show my mom her name on the census, there were no groundbreaking discoveries. However, last week I attended the National Genealogical Society conference in my hometown of Cincinnati.  Well, now I am inspired!  I have so many new ideas and research techniques, I don't know where to start. My plan in attending the conference was to learn about new resources, since I felt I was out of ideas.  Although I learned about  resources that were new to me, it was much more exciting to learn about research techniques from top genealogists.  If you ever have the opportunity to hear Elizabeth Shown Mills or Thomas W. Jones speak, I highly recommend them.  All of the sessions were excellent, but these two speakers opened my mind to ...

For those of you who, like me, are researching ancestors in Brown County, Ohio and have Facebook accounts, there is now a Facebook group devoted to Brown County genealogy.  The link is https://www.facebook.com/groups/369871666379886/ .

Well, I still haven't found that spark that will again make my family history research an obsession again.  I keep trying to find that one record that will open the door to new avenues of research.  It will come - it always does - but right now I'm still in a rut. This morning I was searching for some good cooking blogs to follow.  In the process, I came across a couple of blogs about "orphan photos" - old pictures the bloggers have found or purchased and for which they have no information.  This inspired me to post some of my orphan photographs. I found these photos in a chest containing photos and documents that belonged to my maternal grandmother, Mary Jane Dudley Donaldson (1898 - 1976).  I believe that many of the items in the chest were passed down to her from her mother, Mary Elizabeth Shaper Dudley (1861 - 1947).  I believe that most, if not all, of the photos are family and friends of the Dudley and Shaper families of Clinton and Highland Cou...

I have been a bad, bad blogger and researcher recently. I go through these periods when I feel like I am hitting brick wall after brick wall and temporarily suspend my research. Then I find one small clue or piece of information, the floodgates open, and I'm back in the swing! I know I'll get back in the swing in less than three months when the 1940 census is released. I can't wait to find my mom's name in a census for the first time and be able to show it to her. I plan to help in the effort to index the 1940 census. I have started indexing other genealogical records on FamilySearch.org to become comfortable with indexing before the 1940 census is available. Access to the 1940 census will be free. If you are interested in helping index the 1940 census, please click this link for more information: https://www.familysearch.org/1940census?CID=adwords&gclid=CK7LxajUy60CFTOCtgodbWSNiA

A few years ago I was walking from my bus stop to work.   As I approached a street where the traffic travelled one way to the north , the “Don’t Walk” signal began flashing.   I heard sirens approaching as I stopped at the corner.   As I stood there, I saw a car speeding on the intersecting street with a police car in pursuit.   The car turned south onto the street I was preparing to cross.   It was a “What If?” moment.   What if my bus had been just a couple of seconds earlier or I had walked a little faster or I hadn’t stopped to let someone exit the bus before me?   I would have arrived at the corner before the “Don’t Walk” signal started flashing and likely been in the middle of that street at exactly the time that car made the wrong-way turn to elude the police.   Our lives are filled with these What If moments.   However, we are also the result of What If moments in our ancestors’ lives.   It is awesome to contemplate how event...

I'm getting lazy.  I will be taking the easy way out this week and instead of writing my own post, I will let the September 7, 1905 News Democrat do the writing for me.  To provide a little background (well, maybe I'm not so lazy after all), Santford Ogden was born March 19, 1836 in Clark Township, Brown County, Ohio, the son of Alfred and Hannah Harriet Leonard Ogden.  Sarah Steward was born February 17, 1838 to Francis and Catherine Price Steward.  Santford and Sarah were married in Brown County and had at least ten childen, including my great-grandmother, Rosa Ogden Davis.  The article that follows describes their golden wedding anniversary celebration. The golden wedding of Sanford Ogden and wife of this place was celebrated on Saturday August 26, 1905, with a large dinner and family reunion, their nine living children all being present for the first time in ten years. About the noon hour the ladies began to bring out the baskets and boxes and the...

A few years ago I was looking through a collection of family photographs and mementos.   I was struck by the number of photos of my grand-uncle, Charles Henry Dudley and his family.   Uncle Charlie was the eldest son of Jesse and Mary Shaper Dudley and brother of my grandmother Mary Dudley Donaldson.   He was born October 18, 1878 in Clark Township, Clinton County, Ohio.    Below is the earliest photo I have of Charlie.      Charlie grew up in Clark Township with his brothers Lew, Frank, Ab, Tom, and Clarence.   By the time my grandma was born in 1898, Charlie was already a young man.   Just a little over a year later, Charlie married the pretty Anna Dora Meyer and they made their home in Clark Township near his aunt Marietta Dudley Himes and her family.   Charlie worked as a day laborer. Charles & Anna Dudley   On August 14, 1900, Anna gave birth to the couple’s first child, Walte...

This blog has, unintentionally, become the means for me to fill in gaps in my research.   When writing a post, my usual process goes something like this: (1) I choose a subject for my post, (2) I review the information I have on that subject, (3) I realize I don’t have as much information on the subject as I thought, (4) I do additional research on the subject, and (5) I compose the post.     This week’s post certainly fits this pattern.   James Rusk is my fourth great grandfather (James Rusk – Jane Rusk – James Donaldson – David Donaldson – Eddie Earl Donaldson – my mom – me).   I thought I had sufficient information on him, since I had his Revolutionary War pension file and he had a famous grandson about whom much was written.   But, as usual, once I looked a little closer at my research I realized I didn’t have as much information as I thought.      I even made a mostly unproductive trip to the Main Branch of the Public Library ...

Last week I shared my memories of the days surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.   This week, I have asked family members to help me out by sharing their memories of other modern historical events.    The family members who were kind enough join me in sharing memories are my mom, my cousins Mary and Sue, and my niece Alyssa.   In my early years of researching my family history, I tried to better understand my ancestors’ lives by considering the historical events during their lives.   However, I found that it wasn’t really meaningful to me because I had no idea how these events directly affected my ancestors or their feelings about these events.   Hopefully, this blog will survive the current generations of my family be meaningful to future generations of our family. Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day), August 15, 1945 My mom shared the following memories of V-J Day: When Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, I...