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

Wordless Wednesday: Fianlly, A Face for the Name

I've been fascinated with the gent in this picture for quite some time. Austin McClain Brendel (1878-1935) was the first cousin of my grandmother.

Why the fascination? I first heard the name when I was looking at the old cemetery records at Southside Cemetery in Allegheny Co, PA back in the late 1980s. Who was this man buried in our family plot? A cousin of my dad's told me it was some cousin who didn't have any place to be buried when he died. So the search began.

It took some years for the life of Austin to be told in bits and pieces. You can read more of Austin at http://genitalesga.blogspot.com/search/label/brendel.

Now, a picture of Austin has made its way to me just this week. When was it taken? Perhaps in the early 1900s? Do I see a family resemblance? I think not, so perhaps he took on the looks of his father's family?

Ah, genealogy. What great cousins I have who take the time to keep me in the loop with their new finds.

Thanks, Frank. I just went speechless with your kind genealogy gift.

Tis the Season for Tombstone Searching

Graveyards just aren't creepy. In my world, tombstone searching is fun. I relish the thought of finding new family information to add to my vast collection of "blood tales." Sometimes, just seeing who is buried in the family plot can lead to new discoveries and new found cousins. For example. seeing who was buried with my grandparents in Southside Cemetery in Pittsburgh led me to discover more about my grandmother's family. You can read more about this genealogy tidit on AustinM. Brendel in an earlier post.

I spend a lot of time researching the good people of early Allegheny Co, PA. This site has a great contributed cemetery database and is always free to use. And before you ask-- yes, I have contributed to this database. Check it out if you have a need to dig in Pittsburgh.

Right now, for the next couple of days, you can also search the tombstone and cemetery collection at ancestry at no charge. Here are just a couple of their wonderfully creepy databases that I enjoy.

Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots
Cross Creek, Pennsylvania Cemetery History
Dutchess County, New York cemeteries
Gravestone inscriptions of Trinity Cemetery, New York City, New York

To begin searching on ancestry, go to this link: http://landing.ancestry.com/halloween/?sssdmh=dm13.222621&o_iid=41074&o_lid=41074&cj=1&o_xid=0000930738&o_lid=0000930738

Creepy tombstones? Nope, they are just hauntingly familiar.