Watching the Family Tree Bloom

Have you noticed the pollen counts lately?  Where I live, the trees and early spring flowers are blooming their little heads off and sending those of us with (and without) pollen allergies running for our boxes of kleenex. 

I so marvel at the wonder of spring as the trees awaken from their deep winter slumber and everything comes to life once more. Branches you thought were dead spring to life with new leaves,  just like my genealogy trees.

A cousin just popped up as a result of reading some of my earlier posts.  How fun is that?  It's always interesting to be able to share the information as you know it to be with other family members who are just beginning their search for their roots.  Of course, it is even more fun for me to be able to solve some mysteries of the past and verify what I think I know.

A good source to research is that of old obituaries.  They can be hard to locate, but sometimes, they can really send you into screaming fits of joy.

Take, for example, the obit of Austin McClain BRENDEL.  His May 1935 obit confirms the name of his wife and their two children.  The surprise of the obit came in two parts:  "...Mr. Brendel leaves.....and a daughter, Mrs Floyd TAYLOR of Akron, OH......."  and "He was buried in the Southside Cemetery beside his mother."

Really? Another daughter?  Does that mean an earlier marriage?

The obit led us on a goose chase for Mrs. Floyd TAYLOR.  We found evidence of her and, then we lost her.  The name was just too common and she appeared to have left the area.  That was several years ago. 

We've just found her daughter alive and well.  Or rather, she found us with the able assistance of her son.  This is so cool.  Emails are flying and more tidbits of information are coming in.  Now we have more leads to follow to try and nail down some of the past that we think we know.  Will we have moments of "aha" waiting for us?

We knew where Austin was buried as I have been to the site and my father's cousins had told me.  This had also been confirmed by the cemetery.  What we didn't know was that his mother, Henrietta Renton McCLAIN BRENDEL, was also buried there.  Surprise.  There are no headstones for either of them.

The newly found cousin was able to supply the name of the first wife, so now it's off to see what supporting documentation will show up on her family.  A local history book has identified the family names, so the search is on.  A local hysterical society :) in the area has confirmed they have information on her family and I am patiently waiting for them to identify what the information is. 

I have also been able to find when his first wife filed for divorce by finding it in a 1910 Pittsburgh newspaper.  Now I wait for my "sweet tea" buddy to make his monthly trek to the Allegheny County courthouse to find the hard evidence for me.

Old obituaries are really great.  They can provide the names of those grieving for the deceased.  Those names, in turn, can sometimes be traced to a living descendant.  If you are lucky enough to locate an old obituary, you can then start the hunt for a living, breathing kinsman who may be able to fill in some gaps.  Even the smallest tidbit can lead you to finding a pot of gold. 

You can also compare the names with some of the early censuses to see if you are following the correct family.  Censuses can be difficult as they are not always accurate.  The early ones were done by folks in the neighborhood who sometimes were known to make educated guesses.  Just remember, a census is secondary evidence when trying to find your roots.  If possible, go by the death, marriage, land, wills, probate, church, draft registration, SSDI or other records.  Look for patterns and a preponderance of evidence to support your theories.

If you've got roots in the Pittsburgh area, my merry little band of 47 volunteers is still busy digging them up out of old newspapers.  The list blooms each day and we strive to send a new upload to the web about once a month or so.  To date, we have almost 70,000 death entries, over 16,000 (so 32,000 names) marriage entries, and 1103 divorces.  The dates of the newspapers range from 1806-1997. 

You can check out the dates here:  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njm1/Daily-Update-Submitted-Newspapers.html

And the names here: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm

We also have been hard at work on a military service personnel index for WWI.  This information is also coming from the old Pittsburgh newspapers.  We currently have almost 70,000 entires uploaded on this index and I have more waiting to go.  Check it out here:  http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm

Ahh, genealogy.  Sometimes, it's not the pollen that has you running for the kleenex, it's the new branches on the family tree.

©2011 AS Eldredge

Treasures Await Your Online Pleasure in South Carolina

Many public libraries across South Carolina have given us all a great big gift in the form of an online index to obituaries. While not complete, it can make a huge difference as you search for your genealogy treasure in South Carolina.

I spent a few minutes in the Florence Library site and found the index was decent for recent years, but way too scant for the early years in the 1900s. Both Greenville and York County searches were also not to my satisfaction due to either the time contstraints of the obituaries listed or due to having to know more details. Richland and Newberry Counties have some obits as well, but I didn't search those as my family is not known to have deep roots there.

I'll keep checking off and on to see how much progress is being made on the index Please note that if you find your treasure, you will have to contact the library to have a copy made.

But, as we know in genealogy, you have to keep on the hunt for those treasures. Sometimes, they show up years later. When they do, the feeling, well, the feeling is like finding the proverbial pot of gold under the rainbow.

Here are the sites I checked for an index:

South Carolina United Methodist Advocate
York County History
South Carolina Death Index 1915-1958 - appears to require Windows only
Florence Library
Greenville County Library

1921 Obituary Gushes on First Wife, Ignores Second

Reading older obituaries in the quest for more family information can be fun. Sometimes, you really wonder who wrote the obituary and what were their motives for what was said, or in some cases, not said.

Such is the case for a 1921 obituary I just received. The newly deceased, William Henry Swift RITCHIE, appears to have been murdered in his official position of Assistant Marshall in Kentucky.

The obituary I saw is not from West Point, Kentucky, where he was living, but rather, it was from the place of his birth in Washington County, Pennsylvania. I found the obituary odd, and maybe you will as well.

...March 31, 1921 McDonald PA Outlook
Canonsburg, March 21--Friends here were advised today of the
tragic death near West Point, Ky., a few days ago of W. H. S. RITCHIE,
formerly a prominent merchant of Canonsburg and well known to all persons
who resided in this community until he left here in 1883. According to word
received here Mr. RITCHIE, who was serving as deputy marshal of West Point,
was murdered while serving papers at a house outside that town.

Mr. RITCHIE was born in Canonsburg June 9, 1850. At the age of
ten years he entered his father's store. With the exception of the time he
attended school he worked in the store, and when he was 20 years of age the
principal management of the business was assumed by him. He became sole
proprietor in 1875. The building in Central avenue was built in 1877-78.

Mr. RITCHIE was twice married. His first wife was Sadie MILLER,
daughter of the late Thomas MILLER of Chartiers township and later of
Canonsburg and sister of the Rev. Dr. David REED of Oakmont, John C. MILLER,
of Chartiers township, and the late J. Martin MILLER, of Plum Run, and
Andrew S. MILLER, of Bellevue. Mr. RITCHIE's second wife survives, with a
son and daughter, who reside in West Point, Ky. He was also a cousin of
Miss Margaret LIINDSAY of McDonald.

Did you note the first wife and her family history? Did you note the scant mention of a living widow?

So, off I went on the net this morning to see if I could determine why the second wife was barely mentioned. With that said, let me share some of what I uncovered.

William Henry Swift RITCHIE's first wife, Sarah Jane Miller, was a native of Washington County, PA (oh, and a cousin of mine). She was born 1852 and died at age 40 in 1892. She bore William three children: Madeline (b. 1876. d. 1958), William C (b. 1879), and Theodore M (b. 1873).

After Sarah's untimely death, William remarried in 1894 to Leo (b. 1869 in Alabama). William and Leo had six children. I believe five of them survived to adulthood.

Mystery solved. The second wife had no ties to the local community of his and his first wife's birth, therefore, it appears not to have been important. His first wife's family were early pioneers in the area and, therefore, of much more local interest.

Now to the other mystery surrounding W. H. S. Ritchie that I have not uncovered yet. His father was Craig Ritchie. What I don't know is if they tie into my other Ritchie family in Allegheny County who migrated from Ireland by 1850. This Ritchie family is the James Ritchie family who also married a cousin of Sarah Jane Miller in 1861.