GenBlog: January 2011

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Weekly Finds - My Diigo Bookmarks (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

SNGF – Ancestor Roulette or Perhaps Fate

In the spirit of getting back to blogging, I thought I’d participate in Randy’s latest Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge (I can’t even remember the last time I did one…sorry Randy). The challenge was:

How old is one of your grandfathers now, or how old would he be if he had lived? Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."
Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel"). Who is that person?
Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."
Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook note or comment, or as a comment on this blog post.
If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then spin the wheel again - pick a grandmother, or yourself, a parent, a favorite aunt or cousin, or even your children!

I initially chose my maternal grandfather, Harold Miller, who would be 92. This gave me the number 23, my second great-grandmother. Just for fun, I tried my paternal grandfather, John Cahill, who would be 88. This gave me the number 22, which, yep, is the husband of my #23. Since my numbers are a couple, I’ll take a look at both of them together. Isn’t it strange how that worked out…roulette, or fate?

James Manly GARRISON and Sarah Jane “Jennie” MULLIGAN

James Manly GARRISON, son of James or John GARRISON [1] and Susan —?—, [2] was born on 26 December 1861 in Picton, Ontario, Canada. [3] James died on 23 May 1909 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois at the age of 47. [4] He was buried at Oakridge Cemetery in Hillside, Cook, Illinois on 26 May 1909. [5]

James married Sarah Jane “Jennie” MULLIGAN on 23 January 1893. [6] Sarah, daughter of James MULLIGAN and Sarah Norton WEBSTER, was born on 16 April 1870 in Flint, Genesee, Michigan. [7] Sarah died on 26 April 1947 in Chicago. [8] She was buried at Elm Lawn Cemetery in Elmhurst, DuPage, Illinois on 29 April 1947. [9]

Sources

1. Weeks Jacob W.J. W. Weeks & Co., Detroit City Directory, 1874: 264; digital images, Footnote (www.footnote.com). Weeks Jacob W.J. W. Weeks & Co., Detroit City Directory, 1887: 614; digital images, Footnote www.footnote.com.

2. 1871 census of Canada, district 59, sub-district F Division 2, Sophiasburgh, Prince Edward, Ontario, p. 10, dwelling 29, family 32, Susan Garrison; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed October 27, 2009).

3. Sarah Jane (Webster) (Coffinger) Mulligan, Family Bible Records, 1801-1936, Holy Bible (unknown: unknown, ca. 1850), privately held by Julie Marie Cahill Tarr, Normal, Illinois, 2001; This Bible belonged to Sarah Jane Webster; it was given to her by her father Calvin Price Webster in 1853. It is believed that the chain of custody is as follows: Sarah Jane (Mulligan) Garrison, Emma (Garrison) McMahon, Joan Garrison (McMahon) Cahill, Joseph Cahill, Julie (Cahill) Tarr (current owner). The bible is in critical condition; very frail and falling apart.

4. Cook County, Illinois, death certificate no. 13981 (1909), James M Garrison, Cook County Coroner.

5. Ibid. Also, Oakridge Cemetery (Hillside, Cook, Illinois), Office Records, to Julie Tarr, personal office visit, citing administrative record for James M Garrison, SG 373-9. According to the office records, there is no gravestone.

6. State of Illinois, marriage license no. 195934 (1893), James M Garrison and Sarah J Mulligan; Cook County Clerk.

7. Sarah Jane (Webster) (Coffinger) Mulligan, Family Bible Records, 1801-1936.

8. State of Illinois, death certificate, no. 13632 (1947), Sarah Jane Garrison, Department of Public Health.

9. Ibid. Also, Elm Lawn Cemetery (Elmhurst, Illinois), Office Records, Sarah Jane Garrison, Section 10, Lot 340. Personally viewed the file for the family burial plot.

TV Shows Broaden Historical Horizons

There are all sorts of TV shows out there today, but there are more and more shows popping up that are rich in historical background and reference and are a must-see for history buffs.

As those who knew me from my younger years can attest, I was never a history buff. In fact, I barely got through history and social studies classes. But now that I am involved in genealogy, the historical context is becoming very important to my research and I find myself quite intrigued with history.

And since I am a continuous learner, I find the following TV shows to be intriguing and of importance to learn more about history (people, places, things), further my knowledge, and find ways to apply it to my genealogy.

American Pickers – This show is about two guys, Mike and Frank, who are “pickers” and travel the country in search of “rusty gold.” They find all sorts of neat items, and many times they share bits of information about an item and/or the manufacturer, including the history. I think the odd, antique items are the most interesting. It’s amazing what they find!

Pawn Stars – A family-owned and operated pawn shop in Las Vegas is chronicled in this show. Like American Pickers, there are all sorts of neat items that find their way to the pawn shop. Often times, experts (such as a museum curator, arms and armor expert, auction dealer, or handwriting expert) are called in to examine an item for background information and authenticity. And again, like American Pickers, it can be a great learning experience for historical finds.

Top Shot – Although this reality show is looking for the best marksman, it still provides historical value. In the first season (Season 2 starts soon), the marksmen were challenged with a variety of weapons, including flint-lock pistols and a bow and arrow. When the marksmen are learning about how to use the weapon, the trained expert also puts it in historical context, including when it was used and who typically used it and for what purpose. For those of us with military ancestors, it’s a way to see the weapons our ancestors may have used during wartime. Plus, the explosion images taken with a high-speed camera are pretty cool!

Decoded – This new show, hosted by Brad Meltzer, explores a wide range of historical occurrences, providing all sorts of historical information and possible alternatives to the known truths. So far, the show has explored the alleged death of John Wilkes Booth,the apparent missing cornerstone of the White House, among other things.

Ghost Hunters and Ghost Lab – No, I have not lost my mind, and yes, these are both shows that deal with alleged paranormal activity. But the neat thing about both shows is that many times they explore historical places, especially in the New England area and you can learn all sorts of things about the time, place, and people…and maybe even see a ghost or two ;)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Weekly Finds - My Diigo Bookmarks (weekly)

Illinois State Genealogical Society
Obituary Finder

via ALPL

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

A Sad Day

Nova
March 1997 – January 6, 2011

nova5 It saddens me that this is my first post of the year. Earlier today, we had to put our cat, Nova, to sleep. We found out yesterday that his whole chest cavity had filled with liquid, making it difficult for him to breathe with what little lung capacity was left. Additionally, they found a baseball-size mass in his abdominal area that they suspect was cancer.

This was a hard decision. Nova has faced adversity several times in the past, including a recurring lymph node problem (since he was a kitten) and kidney issues (over the last few years). He was definitely a fighter and a trooper, but I don’t think he would have won this battle, even if we pulled out all the stops.

Nova lived a long life, almost 14 years. He was a great companion, a beautiful animal, and he will be missed.