Little Genealogy Joys

I received my DAR membership certificate in the mail today and will have it framed soon - I was so excited to get it. It's beautiful.

Earlier this week, I finished making memorial pages at Findagrave for the 100+ photos I took of headstones a couple weeks ago. It was a big job - I had to complete it in little bites - and it felt good to finish it. Now I'm ready to head back over to the cemetery and take more pictures. I'll be taking a few photo requests with me when I go.

A relative of Carrie P. Mill, whose headstone was in the last batch of photos, found the page I made for Carrie and emailed to thank me for the picture. She gave me a more detailed biography to add to it. This is the first time I've had this happen and it made me feel happy that already, the work I put into the pages is starting to bear a little fruit.

This work is so rewarding. I'm grateful to be doing it!

The Mormons in My Family

My parents and uncle joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1973; I consider them my "pioneers." In 1975, my dad and uncle's maternal grandmother Adina Keithler joined; she was followed by my dad and uncle's parents in 1976. For a few years I labored under the delusion that we were the first Church members ever in our family.

This was proven wrong in 1980, by the publication of Steinhilber. From it, we learned that Adina's grandmother, Lena Steinhilber, joined the Church in 1878. Since the author of the book, a distant cousin, wrote rather unfriendly things about the Church, we weren't sure how much of it we could believe. Just a few years ago, I found that Lena's sister, Anna Maria Roller, was also baptized in Germany during her lifetime, which sealed the deal for me.

Last November, I found another family Church member - Almon Bathrick. He and his family were natives of New York state and eventually made their way to Nauvoo, Illinois, the last place we Mormons were kicked out of. On the early records of the Church, he is found as a missionary, called to serve in Illinois. This was particularly exciting to my uncle, who spent two years as a missionary in the Chicago, Illinois mission - again, mistakenly thinking he was the first member of our family ever to do so.

And just now, I found the autobiography of another early family member who belonged to the Church, Franklin Alonzo Robison, a descendant of my Proctor family. Franklin's parents were also natives of New York and eventually came west to Utah; he was the husband of several wives (one named Isabella Eleanor Pratt, daughter of Parley P. Pratt, a prominent figure in LDS history) and the father of 29 children. Wow.

I guess this Mormon stuff must run in my family.

DAR Workshop

I went to a "join DAR" workshop today at the local genealogical society, and I'm glad I decided to go. I thought about skipping it, since I'm almost a member already, but I went anyway. It was a four-hour workshop, and the first two hours were instructional. I learned about some new websites and perks of belonging to DAR and offered my favorite two cents about Findagrave.com and Interment.net (good for finding headstones, which can be used for proof of death information).

I met a lady named Joy, who might be related to Bri, and another lady named Becky who will start working at the FHC on Wednesday nights. I mentioned to two of the "head honcho-ettes" that we could meet at the FHC sometime as a group, on a Saturday maybe, and we could take a very short tour and hook up our family history information and see how many of us are related. It's nice to be hooked up with keys and access to the place.

I'm very happy I did this. I may not have enjoyed it and understood the value of being a member when I was younger, but I've discovered that it's basically a genealogy and service group - and I can totally get behind that. The women are nice, they seem to have good hearts and good reasons for being there, and the genealogical hints and helps being thrown around the room were very informative - I enjoyed the feeling of helpfulness and generosity. One lady gave a presentation about Salt Lake City and all the genealogical wonders to be found there, and it was fun to feel the excitement in the air. EVERYONE wants to go to Salt Lake.

I also found out that I'll receive my D.A.R. number on April 17, and I'll have an induction ceremony in September. I'm very excited and I imagine Grandma Dot and Grandma Keen would be too. Genealogy Geek Girl has finally found more of her own kind.


Countdown Clocks at WishAFriend.com

DAR Update

The check I gave DAR Lady with my application, cleared about two weeks ago. I've been told there will be a lineage workshop next month at our local genealogical society. I invited Mom, Aunt Nancy, Candace and Mandi to come, since they're kind of local. Sounds interesante.

Today is D-Day

The "D" standing for "DAR," of course.

In precisely 57 minutes, I have an appointment with my local DAR chapter's registrar. Right now the priority is a shower, something suitable to wear, and making a decision about what to order at Starbucks when I meet her there. I'm thinking definitely hot chocolate (even though it's death in a cup) and possibly a piece of buttermilk coffee cake (ditto).

Cute Bri had it in his head that the meeting today would be interview-ish. How they would interview someone about joining DAR, I don't know. "Are you sure you have a patriot ancestor? Are you sure? ARE YOU SURE?" I told him, it says right on their website that any woman who is 18 or older and can prove her lineage to a patriot ancestor can join DAR, so even if it's Trailer Trash Trixie with eight missing teeth, an off-center pony tail, Daisy Dukes and 75 illegitimate kids... she's still in like Flynn.

Although... the fact that this is a genealogical society might put someone like TTT off. This is more or less a geeky endeavor - an OLD LADY endeavor, even. So not only will I fit right in, being a geeky old lady of almost 38, but I imagine people like Trixie would run screaming the other way from the idea of demurely sipping tea (in my case, hot chocolate) while wearing white gloves.

Which is pretty much what I'll be doing from now till the age of 90, now that I'm joining DAR.

Have a fantastic Saturday, and think of me as I'm signing my young life away this morning. I hope we can still be friends after this.

DAR Geek Happiness

I just read that my friend Emma Sometimes is also joining DAR! And she lives in my town, so we'll be in the same chapter! I sense some serious geek-bonding coming up soon.

DAR Paperwork Update

DAR lady emailed me to say she received my paperwork and it looks to be in order. We will meet sometime next week so I can sign my life way to DAR.

DAR... I am your servant....

DAR: Will the Cousins Be Joining??

After Bri brought home the copies Tuesday night, I got everything ready and put it in the mail yesterday morning. Today I received an email from cousin Mandi, excitedly thanking me for sending the paperwork. We live in the same town but I still didn't expect next-day service! Pretty sweet! The registrar lives in Camas so we'll see if I hear from her tomorrow.

DAR: Grandma Keen's Application

I received Grandma Keen's DAR application in the mail on 12/29 and sent it with Bri to work today, so he can make copies of it - it's on 8 1/2 x 14" paper and my little copier at home only does regular-size paper. It was exciting to receive it. I called my chapter registrar and she's all excited too. So far Aunt Nancy and Becky have expressed an interest in getting copies of Grandma's application for their use.

After the copies are ready (of Grandma's stuff and all my birth, marriage and death certificates), I'll mail them to the chapter registrar and she'll fill out my application for me. Sometime after 1/15 (payday), I'll meet with her, sign my application and pay the fee. She'll get more signatures and mail everything to DC, and sometime after that I'll be a member. I'm excited to see what it will bring!

DAR, Here I Come

Alice's application for membership in National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution arrived yesterday! That was so fast! It only took two or three weeks. I called my local chapter registrar this morning and she's all excited to fill out my application for me. I have to make copies of all my paperwork and send it to her, then when my application is finished, we'll meet and I'll sign my application and pay the fee. My family members who are thinking of joining it with me, can also use Alice's paperwork.

I notice there's also a Huguenot Society affiliated with DAR. The Dragoos were Huguenots, so I could probably join that too, if I wanted to take the time to prove my relationship to Pierre Dragaud. (Jennie Lee Dragoo is my great grandfather Howard Mitchell Keithler's mother.) It definitely wouldn't be as simple as proving my relationship to my great grandmother. A Mayflower Descendant group is also available to join, but I haven't decided if I'm one of those or not yet. I should probably not go nuts on joining groups I won't have time for or want to pay yearly dues for. But it's still fun.

Hitting Paydirt

On Tuesday night at the FHC, I noticed, when I used Google, that other genealogists before me had searched for names of their ancestors using quotation marks, like this:

"Ruby Valentine Fox."

I remembered reading that when you enclose your search terms in quotation marks, Google looks for exactly that phrase or name, instead of finding websites where the names appear but are not linked together. I never used it because I thought it was no big deal, until last night.

Just for fun, I entered Ruby's name in Google surrounded by quotation marks, and found a major source for her Arndt ancestors: The Story of the Arndts. And oh, what a treasure trove of Arndt family members it has turned out to be. I'm obsessed now. So far I've added almost 100 new family members and haven't even made it to Ruby's page yet.

This book also verifies ancestors' information I inherited from Gran, describes the service of the Revolutionary War patriots in the family (along with other military endeavors), and is chock-full of great sources itself, such as church and tax records. The book may provide a way to add the Arndt men's names (only a few are listed) to the DAR Patriot Index, which is something I remember DAR liked doing - finding new patriots.

I also found a copy of Gran's obituary by doing the same thing with his name.

From this experience, I've learned to never pooh-pooh a good genealogical search tip, no matter how small or goofy it may seem.

More DAR Stuff

I received a form from my local DAR lady last week, a form for getting a copy of Grandma Keen's DAR membership application. With it, I'll be able to send in my paperwork and become a member of DAR. I filled it out and sent it a few days ago.

Last night I found more DAR patriots in the Patriot Index, which is fun and exciting. (No, really. It is.) I'm up to "McDaniel" now in the book.

Also, my grandmother Abigail may finally have a maiden name: Dougall. Ever since I've known of her, she's been Mrs. Abigail Kettle Bathrick - her first husband Mansir Kettle died in 1773, and her second husband, Tillabee Bathrick, is my grandfather. I found her maiden name on New England Families, a website I LOVE for its rich notes, sources, and interesting information. Apparently I had an LDS uncle (Almon Bathrick) from back in the Joseph Smith days, who performed temple work on behalf of his ancestors in the first Nauvoo temple, including Tillabee and Abigail, in 1844. Now THAT is nifty. I'm waiting to hear back from New England Families guy.

I also looked up the females without last names, the Q and the R surnames last night in PAF Insight and found a few more things.

DAR: Will Mom Be Joining???

I talked to my mom, and now she wants to join too. I sent the paperwork to her. She said she thought her mom may have been DAR, and possibly her dad's mother, Ruth Ackley Dysart.

UPDATE: Neither one of them were.

The Wild Hair That I Call "DAR"

Prior to writing this post, I completed an online application on DAR's website.

The DAR lady called me today about my online application. She will mail me the form to request Grandma Keen's DAR information (fee $10). I will need to gather birth, marriage, and death certificates for hubby and me, my parents, and my grandparents.

(Later) I looked in my family files and found everything I need. This is me dancing the happy dance that I won't have to bug anyone for birth certificates or pay for new copies. Everything is all gathered in a folder, ready for filling out my paperwork.

(Later still) I emailed all my female relatives on Mom's side of the family and let them know I have some of the copies of what they'd need to join DAR, just in case they're interested.

(Later again) I heard from Aunt Nancy, who wants to join and get her daughter Mandi signed up, and from cousin Candace. Her mom might already be a member, so she's going to check that out. I scanned the copies of Grandma & Grandpa Keen and Grandma & Grandpa Dysart's birth, death, and marriage certificates, and sent them to Nancy and Candace. It would be fun to have so many of our family become members.

Elvis and DAR

So I'm chatting via email with bloggy sister Corrie, and she tells me about this nifty function Ancestry.com (formerly known as The Devil) provides. You upload your family tree, you click on a family member's name, and then click on "famous people" and it'll show all the people you MIGHT be related to through that person. So far, Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Princess Grace, Helen Keller, James Dean, Marlon Brando, a Mayflower passenger, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and numerous U.S. Presidents and First Ladies have popped up as possible relatives.

Of course, the accuracy of these links is iffy - the information is only as correct as the genealogists who contributed to OneWorldTree have made it. So, you know, we can take most of it with a grain of salt (I've already seen one blaring mistake, where the child was born before the mother). But it's still fun, and has spurred me on to check these connections out. I'd love to have a Mayflower ancestor, and Elvis being my cousin is actually looking pretty possible.

As most of these family ties involve colonial families, I spent some quality time this evening messing around with my "older" names - the names I've had forever but haven't done much with. Shock of all shocks, I have grandparents, aunts and uncles with only a BIRTH DATE. Neglectful me! I tried remedying that situation a little tonight. My aunt Daphne Proctor now has a husband and children.

Daphne got me started on my long-forgotten quest to become a member of NSDAR (National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution). My great grandmother, Alice Muriel Johnson Keen, a.k.a. "Alice Brown Eyes" at my house, was a member. Grandma Dot, her daughter, was most anxious for me to become a member. I was 24 at the time and not all that excited to join up with a bunch of blue-hairs who, I figured, would take one look at my youthful visage and say to each other, "New blood - GET HER!" Plus - this creeped me out - they all had to sign their names "Mrs. William Edgar Jones" (or whatever their husbands' names were) and at formal functions, they actually wore sequinned evening gowns and WHITE GLOVES. The horror!

Now that I'm considerably older, I figure, who cares? It would still be cool to be a member. All I'd have to do is order a copy of Alice's paperwork and prove my relationship to her, and I'm in like Flynn. (Who is Flynn?) I messed around on the DAR website for a while and filled out an online form to get on their call list.

Which prompted me to look up my patriot ancestors in the DAR Patriot Index. You only need one to join, but genealogically overachieving me - I think it would be fun to prove my relationship to ALL of them. Maybe by the time I'm 85, it'll be possible. Here's the list so far:

ARNDT: Abraham (1751-1825); Jacob (1725-1805); Jacob (1758-1831); John (1748-1814)
BATHRICK: Tillabee (1751-1831)
BURRUS: Thomas (1724-1788)
DANIEL: John (1751-1802)
DIMMICK: Timothy (1745-1807) - my possible Mayflower connection
DRAGOO: William (1747-1824)
DYER: Charles (1753-1845)
DYSART: James (1727-1781); James (1744-1818); John (1749-1842)
FOX: Abraham (1748-1777); Elijah (1758-1838); Joel (1754-1837)
GORTON: William (1750-1826)
JOLLIFFE: John (1751-1777)
LOCKE: James (1728-1808)
MCDANIEL: George (1722-1821); John (1751-1839)
MILLS: Nathaniel (1750-1815)
MORRISON: John (1729-1799)
PATTON: Robert (1747-1813)
PETTIGREW: George (1746-1818); James (1713-1784)
PHILLIPS: Caleb (1761-1829); Spencer (1755-1840), Thomas Jr. (1747-1829)
PROCTOR: James (1720-1790); Moses (1747-1805); Nathaniel Sr. (1723-1806); Nathaniel Jr. (1762-1855); Oliver (1745-1815); Peter (1735-1822)
REED: Jacob Sr. (1730-1820); Jacob Jr. (1762-1846)
RUCKER: Ambrose (1735-1807); Reuben (1755-1782)
SAYE: Richard (1740-1779)
SHOEMAKER: Jacob (1744-1810)
STRAIGHT: Jacob (1741-1796)

The great thing about finding them in the Index is all the missing information I scored in the process - a birth or death date here, a new marriage there. I probably have more, but I was only looking for grandfathers and uncles. Can you have an uncle or aunt as a patriot ancestor, or does it have to be a grandparent?

At any rate, the FHC was very fun this time - a most fruitful evening.