Ancestor Spotlight: Charles C. Crowe 1867-1891

I'm not sure how "regular" this particular theme will be for me. I guess it depends on how much my ancestors cooperate with my research.

For now, I will try to spotlight at least one ancestor per month, (hopefully) alternating branches of my family. I think they get a little touchy when I spend too much time on the "other" side, which is why I think I have such a hard time finding information. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The way this is supposed to work is that when I add an ancestor to my website, I will spotlight them here with a link to their page.  Again, it's supposed to work like that.  We'll see.

Charles C. Crowe is my maternal 2nd great grandfather.   His page can be found here.

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Charles C. Crowe 1867-1945 

Charles C. Crowe was born on 9 Aug 1867 in Indiana. He is the son of John and Susan (Gray) Crow. The family moved to Scott Township in Jackson, Linn County, Kansas between 1869 and 1870, and Charles remained there until 1891, when he married Ida May Gray in Bates County, Missouri, at the age of 24.  It is believed that the couple marred in Missouri because the laws in Kansas did not allow first cousins to marry.  Ida's father and Charles' mother were siblings.

In 1900, he worked as a sewing machine agent Troy Township in Cannelton, Perry County, Indiana. In 1910, he was working as a machinist in his own shop in Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana. By 1930, Charles was working as a laborer in a garage and living at 125 W. 3rd Street in Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana.

Charles and Ida had 7 children between 1893 and 1908: Mabel L., Olive L., Owen Charles, Harold John, Albert L., Mary Ellen ("Helen"), and James Maurice ("Bill").

Rumor has it (from a grandaunt and a granduncle, Charles' grandchildren -- of course, I still need to confirm that with documentation, if any exists) that Charles and Ida's oldest daughter Mabel had "run off" and gotten married, and when Ida passed away, Charles decided he needed a housekeeper.  He retrieved Mabel, had the marriage annulled, and brought her back.  She lived with him until he died, and never married again.

Charles was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, and was a guest at the I.O.O.F. home from December 1942 until he died.  He died on 1 Dec 1945 at the age of 78 in Gosport, Owen County, Indiana. He was buried on 4 Dec 1945 in Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana, at Bellefontaine Cemetery, section A row 15 grave 9.

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I will continue to add information as I find it.  Of course, I welcome any additions, corrections, etc.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Let's Get Ready to Rumble ... er ... Index!

This week, the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project is holding a contest that is open to EVERYONE!  You can read the fine print here.

The contest will require you to download the FamilySearch Indexing software and complete a practice batch that will simulate what indexing the 1940 U.S. Census will be like.  That’s all you have to do!  One entrant will be chosen at random to win a $100 Visa gift card and two entrants will be chosen to win $50 Visa gift cards.

Think the indexing will be hard?  Nah.  The indexing program walks you through by highlighting each column, and providing any special instructions as you progress:

Can't quite make out a name?  That's okay.  Lists are provided so you can look them up!

Worried that you might make a mistake?  Don't be.  Checks and balances are at work behind the scenes.  First, each record is indexed by at least 2 indexers.  Then, once the indexed records are submitted, they are compared by computer.  Any records with discrepancies are submitted for arbitration.  Arbitrators are actual living, breathing people who have a lot of experience with indexing.  They review the original image side-by-side with both indexing submissions and make a determination on which one is correct.

Still unsure?  There are lots of resources to help!

• Check out the answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
• Take a look at these training videos.
• There is also a series of webinars offered, designed to explain the entire process to you.

Don't think you have enough time?  Nonsense.  Indexing can be done for a few minutes or a few hours each day.  You make your own schedule ... or no schedule at all!  This is especially true now that you can index while on-the-go!  FamilySearch has released its new mobile app for indexing for both iPad/iPhone and Android.  Just found out it will be another 30 minutes before the doctor can see you?  No problem.  Whip out your phone and start indexing!


So now that I've basically crushed every excuse you had, what are you waiting for?  Go to the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project and sign up today!  You could be a winner!

As part of the1940census.com ambassador program, this blog post enters me into a drawing for an Amazon Kindle Fire. 

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Happy Alien Abduction Day!

image courtesy of happyworker.com

Oh yes, those pesky aliens.  How many of our ancestors have they abducted, taken away for years -- decades, even -- and brought back to Earth to plop down in some random place where we will never find them?


In honor of today's celebration, I am including a list of ancestors about whom I would like to know the following: (a) where they were abducted, (b) where they were taken, and (c) where they were dropped when they were brought back.  I'm not even interested in what you did with them while you had them!


1.  Louis Bourke/Burke - sightings include Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, and Canada.
2.  Patrick E. Slowey - sighted in Ireland, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.
3.  Gustav Justin Stiker - seen in France, disappeared for 50 years, then resurfaced in Indiana.
4.  Anthony Heerdink - spotted in Germany, disappeared for 30 years, resurfaced as a member of the military in 1863, then never heard from again. **I think this qualifies as a double-abduction.


Those are just the most important ones at this point.  I don't want to seem greedy.  However, if the aliens could also return the maiden names of all of my LNUs, I would be most grateful.


Hopefully, there is an alien out there who will stumble across my blog, take pity on me, and encourage the aliens-that-be to at least drop some clues.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

National Quilting Day - Gramma's Quilts

No, I don't quilt.  I do not have the patience nor the attention to detail it requires.  My maternal grandmother, on the other hand, is a quilting maniac!  Over the years, she made a quilt for each of her children (6), and each of her grandchildren (9) ... and at least one great grandchild (my daughter).


We were allowed to choose the pattern and color for our quilts.  I chose a double wedding ring pattern.  I didn't have to choose a color because Gramma made the quilt pieces old clothes that my sister and I had worn when we were little.  How's that for heirloom-y?


I received my quilt when I was 16, in 1985.  My daughter got hers when she was significantly younger (but then again, the quilt is also significantly smaller), in 1990.  She was less than a year old.


Here is my daughter's:

Gramma always signed and dated her work.

Here's mine:

Gramma said she would never make another double-wedding
ring quilt again after she finished this one.  Pays to be the
oldest grandchild, I guess!

The pieces are older than the quilt itself, and the poor quilt is really suffering.

Because of some health issues over the past several years, Gramma isn't able to quilt anymore.  At some point, perhaps I'll get the nerve to repair the quilt myself -- maybe with some of my daughter's old clothes -- but what I really need to do first and foremost is figure out how to store the darn thing so it doesn't get any worse!  I know there are some quilters out there ... any ideas?

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Yankton High School - Yankton, South Dakota

My paternal grandparents graduated from Yankton High School.  My grandfather in 1938 and my grandmother in 1939.  I had a hard time finding any photos from that far back, so I began looking on eBay.  Who knew so many people had picture post cards from Yankton, South Dakota?


Yankton High School was the first high school in Dakota Territory back around 1875.


I'm not positive when these photos were taken, since none of them have dates, so I've done my best to put them in chronological order.

This is obviously the earliest photo, since the addition hasn't been built yet.

These two are probably from around the same time, just different angles

This is what the school looks like today (since roughly 1996).

What a difference a century makes, right?


Incidentally, although he did not attend until a little over a decade later (he wasn't born until 1940), Tom Brokaw also graduated from Yankton High School and went on to receive a Bachelor's Degree from the University of South Dakota.  (Woo hoo! I found someone famous from Yankton!)


Wow ... this is my 200th post! 

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

The Fun Lovin' 40s

When I thought of the 1940s, I never thought of wild-and-crazy times.  I always imagined people who were always properly dressed, properly coiffed, and properly behaved.  Everything very proper.  Basically, sticks in the mud.


While that may have been the case for some people, I realized that folks in the 1940s must have also liked to have a good time.  Just look at some of the fun stuff those crazy kids invented in the 1940s:


Silly Putty - Even though it wasn't officially introduced as a toy until 1950 (after no practical use could be found for it), James Wright originally discovered it during an attempt to create synthetic rubber during WWII.


Frisbee - the actual invention date and its inventor are disputed, but Walter Morrison, the WWII veteran who managed to patent his design in the late 1940s took the credit, and the toy became a hit in the 1950s and continues to be popular today.


Slinky - discovered accidentally by mechanical engineer Richard James in 1945, and took America by storm!


These inventors are part of the 132 million people who make up the Greatest Generation, and are enumerated on the 1940 census.  Volunteers are needed to index these records!  The names, dates, places, and other information entered will become part of the online search, opening up that record’s information in ways that weren’t possible before.  Help make history by volunteering today at the1940census.com!



**These good-time toys should not be confused with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the psychedelic properties of which were also discovered in 1943 by Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman. He lived in Switzerland, and is not listed in the 1940 U.S. census.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - N Surnames

I have come into the possession of a copy of a Church Registry for St. Columba Parish, South Dakota that includes the baptism, marriage, first communion, confirmation, and death records for the Yankton townships of Walshtown, Mayfield, Idylwilde, Jamesville (Sigel) from 1881 through 1927.  The entire list of surnames posted to date can be found here.  If any of these names belong to you, let me know and I will gladly forward a copy of it to you.

Last Name First Name Page Comments Naescher Caroline 53 (m. Schaefers) Naescher Johanna Aloysis Elizabeth 9 Naescher Mary Catherine 2 Neff Agnes 1 Neff Thomas 5 Nero Emil Clarence 43 Nero Francis 36 Nero Joseph 37 Nero Mary 41 Nero Thomas 46 Nipp Agnes Marie 47 Nipp Aloys 53 (m. Huber) Nipp David 60 (m. Erstgaard) Nipp Mrs. David (nee Erstgaard) 47 Nipp Emil Edward 30 Nipp Helen Mary 21 Nipp Johanna Catherine 34 Noonan Cecilia 46 Noonan Clement Michael 48 Noonan Dennis M. 57 (m. Murray) Noonan Elisabeth 60 (m. Murphy) Noonan Henry 35 Noonan Katherine Margaret 14 Noonan Margaret 53 (m. Campion) Noonan Mary Helen 16 Noonan Mary J. 54 (m. Gill) Noonan Martin 22 Noonan M.M. 57 (m. Murphy) Noonan Mary Catherine 43 Noonan Rose Ellen 41 Noonan Thomas M. 56 (m. Smith) Noonan Veronica Cecilia 42 Noonan William Jr. 27 Noonan William 51 (m. Murphy) Nooney John 61 (m. Slowey) Nooney John 2 Nooney Mathias 10 Nooney Mary 57 (m. Murphy) Nooney Thomas 6 Nooney William 49 Nordman Klara Elisabeth 20

Do we share any ancestors? 

 Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday's Obituary - Bertha Christina Rothmeyer Huber

Mrs. Chas. Huber Passes Today

From my grandmother's scrapbook;
likely Yankton Press & Dakotan,
date unknown

Mrs. Bertha Huber of Yankton Route 2, died early today at Sacred Heart hospital, at the age of 81.  She had been in the hospital for five weeks.


A daughter, Verna, Mrs. Claire Fitzgerald of Yankton, and two sons, Richard and Wilfred Huber of rural Yankton, survive Mrs. Huber along with two sisters, Mrs. Rose Kurzreiter of Eugene, Ore., and Mrs. Lucy Thomas of Kansas City, Kas.  There are nine grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.


She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles M. Huber, two sons and one daughter.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - How Many Surnames?

I decided to take a stab at Randy's SNGF challenge this week. Here are the instructions:

1) Go into your Genealogy Management Program (GMP; either software on your computer, or an online family tree) and figure out how to Count how many surnames you have in your family tree database.

2) Tell us which GMP you're using and how you did this task.

3) Tell us how many surnames are in your database and, if possible, which Surname has the most entries. If this excites you, tell us which surnames are in the top 5! Or 10!

4) Write about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, in a status or comment on Facebook, or in Google Plus Stream post.

I use RootsMagic 5. I ran a quick and easy "Surname Statistics" list from the "Reports" tab and chose to sort the list according to surname frequency.

The list shows a total of 71 surnames, but technically "LNU" doesn't qualify, so I'm going to say 70. I don't have nearly as many people in my database as Randy does (only 305 so far), so my list was only 2 pages long.

My top 5* surnames and corresponding date ranges are:

5. Schneider (1819-1969) 10 individuals (8 male, 2 female)
4. Crowe (1867-1987) 20 individuals (13 male, 7 female)
3. Huber (1837-1982) 30 individuals (14 male, 16 female)
2. Lanctot (1824-present) 31 individuals (18 male, 13 female)
1. Slowey (1815-2004) 40 individuals (19 male, 21 female)

Randy asked about a count on given names. I tried to make one using the custom report maker in RM5, but was unsuccessful. I was able to make a list of all the individuals in my database, sorted by given name, but unable to get a count of each given name. I think this might be difficult since middle names are included in the "given name" field. If anyone has any other ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'm able to count the 17 Marys and 10 Patricks (both ranked #1 on the list - Anna and John were a close 2nd) in my database, but I don't have 41,000+ individuals, either.

*Technically, my LNU category was the 5th largest with 11 (1 male, 10 females).

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Happy Genealogy Day - Who Else Am I Looking for in 1940?

Happy Genealogy Day!

In honor of today, I have finally finished putting together the rest of my list of folks to find on the 1940 census:

Crowe (Post), Mary Ellen (F); Bert R. Post, Indianapolis, IN, ED 96-35, 96-36, 96-37

Crowe (Bartlow) Olive L (F), Henry Bartlow, Mt. Vernon, IN, ED 65-6

Huber (Smith), Bertha (F), Gerard Smith, Sioux City, IA, ED 97-37A-B, 97-31, 97-46, 97-47

Huber, Cecelia A. (F), Yankton, SD, ED 68-18, 68-22A-B

Huber (Cunningham), Josephine M. (F), William Cunningham, Yankton, SD, ED 68-18, 68-22A-B

Lanctot, Elmer (M), Cook Co., IL, ED 16-411, 16-412

Lanctot (Luchsinger), Josephine (F); Fred Luchsinger, Ramsey Co., MN, ED 90-15, 90-16, 90-18

Lanctot, Josephine (F), Yankton, SD, ED 68-18, 68-22A-B

Lanctot (Barnes), Marie (F); Leo Herbert Barnes, Armour, SD, ED 22-1

Slowey (Cunningham), Kate (F); Patrick Cunningham, Yankton, SD, ED 68-18, 68-22A-B

This brings my total to a whopping 37 people!  It will be a lot easier to find your own folks if we get lots of volunteers to index the census images when they are released on April 2!  Celebrate Genealogy Day by going to the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project and signing up to help index today!

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - O and P Surnames

I have come into the possession of a copy of a Church Registry for St. Columba Parish, South Dakota that includes the baptism, marriage, first communion, confirmation, and death records for the Yankton townships of Walshtown, Mayfield, Idylwilde, Jamesville (Sigel) from 1881 through 1927.  The entire list of surnames posted to date can be found here.  If any of these names belong to you, let me know and I will gladly forward a copy of it to you.

Last Name	First Name	Page	Comments
O'Connor	Eunice Lorena Cokeley	28
O'Connor	Leo	28
Olson	H.A.	53	(m. Peterson)
O'Neil	Delores Margaret	37
O'Neill	Emma	51	(m. Bailey)
O'Neil	Frederick Charles	29
O'Neil	George Francis	25
O'Neil	Leon Vincent	14
O'Neil	Margaret Gertrud	54	(m. Stone)
O'Neil	Robert Remon	22
O'Neill	Robert	55	(m. Magorien)
Ott	Ann Mary	13
Ott	Catherine	9
Paul	Mary	52	(m. Healy)
Peterson	Carrie	56	(m. Connelly)
Peterson	Petra	53	(m. Olson)

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com