Journey to the Past

With the recent addition of new daily blogging themes at Geneabloggers, I decided to make my own Wednesday theme, Workshop Wednesday.  I thought I would share information about workshops I have attended.  The challenge is to provide information without giving away the presenter's hard work.  So, I thought I would share how I am using the information provided in my own research.

I recently attended a Beyond the Basics workshop at Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  One of the workshops was Land Records and Tax Lists, presented by Margery Graham, C.G.  I have very little experience with land records.  I have looked at land records at Bureau of Land Management website and found a deed index for Ontario County, New York, 1789-1845 online.  My gggg grandfather's, Alexander Glover, land transfers can be found at this website.

A basic introduction to land records was presented and it took me back to my Michigan History classes when we learned townships and the 36 sections of land.  Land record terms and examples were given and discussed. 

The most important part of the workshop, for me, was the handout on "Using Land and Deed Records to Solve Your Pedigree Problems", by Myra Vanderpool Gormley.  One of my unproven relationships is that of Huldah Rowley's parentage.  Everywhere I look on the internet it states that Hopkins Rowley is her father.  But, not one of the records is sourced.  A cousin, Carol, is working on this, also.  Carol, is trying to find proof that will satisfy the D.A.R.  So, I am hoping (and praying) that if I look into land records I may be able to find a clue that will help us.

In 1792, Hopkins Rowley owned land in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont.  He was still living in Shoreham, Vermont at the time of his death, 1 September 1831.  Family History Library has the microfilm for Land Records 1789-1880 for Shoreham, Vermont, after emailing Carol she told me she has already ordered the Index.

The Gormley article states, "This research requires time, patience and hard work; but the rewards are great."  I don't mind hard work, but patience isn't my strong suit.  Myra Vanderpool Gormley also says, "Land records are probably the most valuable genealogical sources available."  What do you think? 

Once a month I try to blog about local, Battle Creek, history.  In July, one of my local posts was a Tombstone Tuesday about German Prisoners of War buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan.  I have been surprised at the response to that post.  A number of people have emailed me about this post and how it helped them with their research.  One, was a relative of one of the prisoners.

So, I decided to do a little more research.  I checked the Battle Creek Enquirer and News for the week after the accident.  I found three articles and a picture reporting the accident and death of the prisoners of war.





The article above reports of the accident.  Prisoners housed at Fort Custer were on a work detail at a sugar beet farm in Blissfield, Michigan.  On their way back to a branch camp, in Blissfield, the  truck they were riding in was struck by a Michigan Central passenger train.  16 prisoners of war and one military guard, Pfc. Edward B. Loughrin, were killed.



The bodies were returned to Fort Custer and funeral arrangements were made.  This article explains the funeral service.  A military funeral was held with American honor guards.  The caskets were draped with the German Republic flags.  Three separate services were held: one Catholic, one Protestant, and one prayer service.  This article states that at a later date the bodies may be removed to Germany.  This never happened.  A German memorial with the gravestones of the P.O.W's are currently at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan.


One other article was found explaining how German flags had to be rushed to Fort Custer from the army quartermaster in Philadelphia to drape the caskets.  It further tells of the prisoners who were injured and survived:  Hugo Adick, Wilhelm Behrendt, Augustin Bader, Bruno Baudach, Heinz Becker, Fritz Bieger, Gerhard Hensel, and Ernst Janzen.  The body of the military guard, Pfc. Edward B Loughrin was taken to Cadillac, Michigan for burial.

If you click on the articles you can zoom in on the article for better reading.  Please feel free to email me at brae957 at gmail dot com if you would like me to send you the articles.

Today is my 35th high school class reunion and I thought it would be fun to look at prices from 1975!  My senior memory book had a page titled 'Prices Today'.  It said "You'll get a kick out of this page in the years ahead.  Go ahead, list the prices you paid for some of the more common items listed below."  I bet the writers never imagined it would be posted on a blog in 2010!!

Hamburger:  $.65
French Fries:  $50
Coke:  $.30
Movie at theater:  $.75
Favorite magazine-Seventeen:  $.75
Jeans:  $10.00
Gasoline:  57.9 per gallon
Record Album:  $6.98 
8 Track Tape:  $5.98
School Dance:  $2.00
Bread:  $.65
Candy Bar:  $.15

I would love to have the movie, gas and candy bar prices back!!

Daisy Ellen Graf, my maternal grandmother, was the third of seven children born to Valentine Graf and Nancy Mast.  She was born 18 October 1892 in Plevna, Howard, Indiana.  Daisy's brothers and sisters were:

1. Henry Jerome (1890-1964) married Effie White
2. Ernest Franklin (1891-1974) married Fay Keck
3. Mary Ann (1874-1981) married William Tritten
4. Margaret 'Maggie' Jane (1899-1986) married Henry Klingelsmith
5. Nina Belle (1901-1990) married Thomas Johnson
6. Martha Beulah (1905-1993) married Carlyle McDonald

Three more children were born and died at birth:  Willie (1896), Pearl Mae (1897) and an infant (1907).


The first census that Daisy is found in is the 1900 United States Federal Census.  She is living at home with her parents in Liberty Township, Howard, Indiana; which is east of Kokomo, Indiana. 


Valentine and his family moved to Brethren in Manistee County, Michigan between 1901 and 1905.  My grandmother told the story of the family travelling by wagon train with other settlers to start the Brethren Church.  According to Walter Romig in his book "Michigan Place Names", Brethren was founded in 1900 by Samuel S. Thorpe as a colony of the German Baptist Brethren Church.

1. Kathryn Louise (1918-)
2. Lola Mae (1920-)
3. Daisy Marie (1921-2004)
4. Otto Robert (1923-1997)
5. Richard Lewis (1925-)
6. Leona Inez (1926-1996)
7. John Leonard (1929-)
8. Audrey Jane (1930-)
9. Ray Edwin (1932-2001)
10. Norman Eugene (1934-1995)
11. Norma Jean (1934-)

Daisy and Otto Fredrick lived their married life in Manistee County.  Their first home was on a farm not too far from Otto's parents.  Next, they lived on the family farm on Coates Highway before moving into Brethren and living next door to their daughter, Kathryn 'Kate' Tritten, on N. Coates Highway (Brethren Highway).  After Otto's death in 1968, Daisy lived with her son, Norman, on High Bridge Road in Brethren.
Otto and Daisy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December of 1967.  A party was held at my Aunt Kate's house.  I remember watching Aunt Leona decorate the cake and someone brought a money tree in as a gift. 


My grandmother wrote me this letter for my Confirmation in 1971.  I think it is a good representation of who she was.  She grew up with very humble beginnings and even after marriage lived that way.  She was a very easy going woman with a wonderful laugh.  She was a great cook, her recipes rarely had amounts listed, just ingredients.  She was a Christian woman and it showed in her writing.  The letter says she didn't think she would be able to make my confirmation, but she did come.  She bought me an engraved hymnal as a gift.



Daisy Ellen Fredrick died 26 October 1978 at Manistee County Medical Care Center in Manistee, Michigan at the age of 86.  She had been in and out of the hospital after suffering numerous strokes.  Daisy is buried in Brethren Cemetery, Brethren, Michigan. 

Somewhere in time the Fredrick name became Fredricks. My mom believed it was because there were so many children, people would say Fredricks and it stuck. I have chosen to use Fredrick, in this post, as I believe that was the given name originally. I know many Fredricks cousins would disagree with me as their last name is spelled with the 's' on it.

This past weekend I spent two days in Fort Wayne, Indiana attending a "Beyond the Basics" two day mini-course, given through the Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library.  Margery Graham, C.G. and Steven W. Myers, M.L.S. presented an excellent workshop on these topics:  Problem Solving:  Breaking through Brick Walls in Your Research; Probate Records;  Land Records and Tax Lists;  Military Records;  Church Records;  and Tracing Your Ancestors Across the Atlantic. 

Once I saw their post at Genealogy Center blog, I didn't hesitate to sign up for it.  It was my first time attending a program at Allen County Public Library and I wasn't disappointed.  I had some experience with a couple of topics and none in others.  Here is my experience:

Brick Walls, of course, who doesn't need help with those! 
Probate Records, just started getting into
Land Records, very limited use
Military Records, have used a little 
Church Records, never used them,YET! 
Tracing your Ancestors, was hoping for new tips and tricks there. 

Steven Myers started day one with a short presentation on the elements of the Genealogical Proof Standard.  I thought this was an excellent reminder and I could have spent more time learning about that.  I thought it set the tone for a professional workshop.

I came home with a binder full of resources for each section, but more importantly I liked the way the presenters encouraged attendees to think differently about your research.  The workshop didn't just give sources to check, it addressed how to look and think about things.  They provided strategies and clues to help with this.  For example, Steve talked about not narrowing your thinking, to use thought processes, if one type of military record is available for one war then it may be available for another.

The one brick wall suggestion I plan to use is to create a timeline.  This helps to identify gaps that you can make goals from.  I plan to make my first timeline of ancestor Daniel Fenn this week.  Hopefully, the tips I learned in the first session will help me to plan my next steps in research.

If you ever get a chance to attend an Allen County Library Genealogy Center program I would recommend it; it was great. 

On a recent vacation to Frankfort, Michigan I visited my great great grandfather's gravesite.  Samuel Stillman Glover, Jr. is buried in Gilmore Township Cemetery, Gilmore Township, Benzie, Michigan.  The cemetery is a few miles south of Frankfort on picturesque M -22.  The entrance to the cemetery is from Grace Road.  The cemetery is very well kept and there were American flags on all the veterans gravesites.  Samuel was a veteran of the civil war.  I had the location of the gravesite but couldn't find any markers when I got there, so the flags helped to narrow down his grave.  I had a picture and knew what his tombstone looked like.  In the background of the picture I could see an iron fence, so that helped with the location also.

When I ordered my great great grandfather's, Samuel Stillman Glover, Jr., civil war pension file, it was the most I had spent on genealogical records ($75).  Was it worth the price?  I would say absolutely, yes!  I am very pleased with the information I have received from his file.  I found information about Samuel himself, but even as important I was able to fill in a few blanks about his wife, Adeline L. Dyer.  Here is what I learned from Samuel's civil war pension file:

Confirmation of Samuel S. Glover's Birth date:  13 May 1836
Place of Samuel S. Glover's Birth:  Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan
Date of Adeline Dyer's Birth:  6 March 1838
Place of Adeline Dyer's Birth:  New York City, New York
Date of Adeline Dyer's Death:  19 December 1917
Place of Adeline Dyer's Death:  King, Waupaca, Wisconsin

Other information gleaned from his pension file included:
Physical Description of Samuel
Civil War Service and Injury Detail
Health Throughout His Life after Service and
Birth dates and Names of Samuel's children.

As a child my mom would always let me choose what kind of cake I would like for my birthday and nine times out of ten I would say banana. Even when I was in high school I remember having banana birthday cakes. I love banana cake, banana cream pie, banana bread, and just about anything made with bananas!

My favorite banana cake is moist and tender. The caramel frosting is sweet and the perfect compliment to the banana cake. Here is the recipe:

Banana Nut Cake
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (crisco)
3 large ripe bananas, crushed
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs, then crushed bananas.  Mix well.  Mix flour, soda, and salt together.  Fold into banana mixture.  Add nuts and vanilla.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cool before frosting.

Caramel Frosting
Melt 1/2 cup butter.
Add 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add 1/4 cup milk and continue to cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil.
Remove from heat.  Cool.
Add 1 3/4 -2 cups sifted confectioners sugar gradually until right consistency to spread.

Enjoy!  and thanks Mom!

The following births were recorded in Hattie Lodema Fenn Glover's family bible.  The name of the person was followed by birth date and then what I have confirmed is the birth place.  My comments with relationship to Hattie Fenn Glover is what is in parentheses.

Frank H. Glover Born August 7, 1863 Adrian MI  (Husband to Hattie)

Mrs. Hattie L. Glover nee Fenn Born June 6th 1864 Lima, Mich  (This is Hattie)

Frank H. Glover, Jr. Born May 6th 1883 Jackson (Son-also known as Harry)

Claude R. Glover Born November 12, 1884 Jackson (Son)

Adeline Elizabeth Glover Born February 17, 1898 Bear Lake (Daughter-also known as Addie)

Merle McKinley Glover Born January 21, 1902 Frankfort (Son)

Francis Henry Glover 3rd Sept 12th Detroit 1915 (Grandson; Father is Frank H. Glover above)

John Glover Tyson Born July 8th Marquette 1923 (Grandson; Mother is Addie Glover)

James Victor Tyson Born April 14th Marquette 1925 (Grandson; Mother is Addie Glover)

Francis Edwin Tyson Born October 6th Battle Creek 1929 (Grandson; Mother is Addie Glover)

Barbara Elaine Glover July 4, 1930 (Granddaughter; Father is Merle Glover)

Marylyn R Glover Oct 12, 1928 (Granddaughter; Father is Merle Glover)

Samuel S. Glover Born May 13th 1836 Ypsilanti (Father-in-law; Frank H. Glover's father)

Adeline L. Glover Born March 6th 1838 New York City (Mother-in-law; Frank H. Glover's mother)

Mrs. Elizabeth A. Fenn Born Oct 18, 1826  (Hattie's Mother)

Mrs. Trigger's Afternoon Kindergarten Class (I am in the third row-second from the right)

It's back to school time. My husband, Kirk, has his first day with students today. I thought I would celebrate by blogging about Kindergarten. I attended Kindergarten at Deckerville Community Schools, Deckerville, Michigan. I was in Mrs. Trigger's afternoon class. I remember her hair was blue! It was probably gray, but I remember thinking it was blue.

I would walk three short blocks to school. My mom would help me cross the main street and then I was off. I hated nap time! We would have to get our rugs out and lay down and nap. I could never fall asleep. I liked working in our workbooks. I remember doing art projects. One we did was taking our cardboard-like milk tops and making flowers with it. I wasn't very good in music, I remember getting my blocks taken away from me. No rhythm I guess! I do remember getting in trouble once. We had a slide in the classroom and the girl in front of me wouldn't go down the slide and I wanted to. So, to encourage her to go down I bit her! Mrs. Trigger pulled me aside and explained that we don't bite!  Sorry, Mary!  Ahhh, the memories.

At the end of the year we had a graduation ceremony.  I see in the program I had a part, but I can't remember what I said.  Do they still have Kindergarten graduation?  Here are some pictures and keepsakes from mine.

Walking to the Ceremony I am in the middle. Receiving the Certificate Kindergarten Certificate Cover Kindergarten Certificate Kindergarten Graduation Program Cover Kindergarten Graduation Program (Not sure why I crossed some names out-how rude!)

I have always had a fascination with lighthouses.  Could it be in the blood?  I didn't know my great grandfather, Frank H. Glover, was a lighthouse keeper until I found this news article in Hattie's Bible.  This article announces the lighthouse keeper appointments.  Frank H. Glover's appointment was to Point Betsie lighthouse in Frankfort, Michigan.  The Friends of Point Betsie lighthouse personnel history shows he was an assistant lighthouse keeper from 1898-1900.

My husband and I have been vacationing in Frankfort, Michigan the last couple of years.  This year we were able to tour Point Betsie.  The tour includes climbing to the light, exploring the living quarters, and seeing other buildings on the grounds.

Point Betsie beach at sunset.