M is for ... MYSTERY!

So this story starts out as a disappointment, then a happy accident, and ends in a mystery.

Here's the deal:

My maternal 2nd great grandfather, Eugene Stiker, had a son named Frank.  He also had a brother named Frank (not someone I've done any research for, so ... out of sight, out of mind, right?)  In an effort to discover more information about Eugene, I requested the marriage record for Frank Stiker, the son.

[this is where the sad music starts playing]

Unfortunately, when I received the marriage record, it wasn't my Frank Stiker.  This Frank Stiker was born 20 or so years earlier, and his wife's name wasn't even close.  I set the record aside, thinking I might never find any new information about Eugene.

A few days later, I was working on something else in RootsMagic and happened to look on the left side of my screen and noticed there were TWO Frank Stikers.  Wait.  Really?  Hmm ... maybe ... just maybe ...

[happy music can start playing now]

Out comes the questionable marriage record once again.  Turns out the record is for Frank Stiker THE BROTHER!  Now maybe I can find some new information about their father!

So I start transcribing the record, which has tons of background information about Frank and the new wife, Ida Pfisterer.  This was the third marriage for both of them.  He was 55, she was 47.  Mental note: need to look for other marriages.  His first marriage ended in divorce 32 years prior and the second ended in death 2 years prior.  New mental note: look up divorce and death records too.  This is officially the first evidence I have of any divorces in my tree.  This is turning out to be a pretty significant find.

[cue the twilight-zone-y music]

Then I notice something a little weird.  HER first marriage ended in death 5 years prior and the second ended in divorce 4 years prior.

So Ida's apparently not real big on the whole grieving thing.  She was remarried AND divorced within a year of her first husband's death.  I dunno, I thought it was a little creepy. 

So now I'm intrigued ... what happened to her first husband?  What was the reason for the divorce from the second husband?  Is she a black widow and husband #2 narrowly escaped death?  Was she a fugitive?  How long were she and Frank married?  Was he onto her little scheme?  Did he get out in time?  I must find Frank's death records!  

Ida Pfisterer is probably as far removed from a blood relative as I have in my tree so far ... but I need to know more about her!  Is it wrong that I'm excited to have a potential murderer in my tree, even if it is just peripheral?

(Okay, I know it's pretty far-fetched, and I'm pretty sure I'll discover that she's just as boring as the rest of my ancestors ... but at least now everyone knows why I never get anything done)

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

Do we share any ancestors?

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

L is for ... LOCAL PROGRAMS!

L is for ... LOCAL PROGRAMS!

Don't get me wrong.  I'm very excited about going to the Federation of Genealogical Society's 2012 conference in Birmingham next week.  But there's something to be said about conferences and workshops put together by your local society.

This past Saturday, my local society (Delta Genealogical Society) teamed up with another local society (Signal Mountain Genealogical Society) for the Chattanooga Area Genealogy Workshop.  We are two relatively small societies, so when our expected attendance almost doubled in the last 4 days before the workshop, we were pleasantly surprised!  We had about 120 people show up.

It went from 9 a.m. until about 3 p.m.  Lunch was provided.  Sessions ran about 1-1/2 hours and there were two sessions running simultaneously (one was aimed at beginners and the other was more for intermediate/advanced researchers).

There was a session on "Beginning Your Family History from Scratch" presented by Jim Douthat, Vice President of Programs at the Chattanooga Area Historical Society (CAHA), and just this past March was the first recipient of the James W. Livingood Historian of the Year award from CAHA.  Also on tap for beginners was "Treasures Hidden in Census Records," also presented by Jim Douthat.

I attended "The Times in Which They Lived" by Linda Moss Mines.  She is the Hamilton County (Tennessee) Historian, as well as a History instructor at Girls' Preparatory School here in Chattanooga.  (There were a few other things on her resume, but I forgot what they were).  What a fantastic speaker!  Although we probably had about 75 people in the room, I felt like we were sitting in someone's living room.  She really held my attention.  Quite honestly, I could have listened to her for the rest of the afternoon.

Unfortunately, I was asked to help with some behind-the-scenes duties that conflicted with the presentation by Rufus Williamson, President of the Delta Genealogical Society.  His topic was "DNA - Using Genealogy's Newest Tool."


Our main speaker was George K. Schweitzer, who has his own Wikipedia page.  If you ever have the chance to hear him speak, take it.  Do not hesitate.  Dr. Schweitzer has been researching for over 50 years and has so much information in his head, he rarely had to look at his notes (and even then it was probably just to make sure he was staying on time).  His topic was "Searching for Our Ancestors Across the Ocean," which was perfect timing for me now that I'm getting ready to start doing some overseas research.  Dr. Schweitzer always presents his topics in character (see lederhosen at left).  His presentation was not only incredibly informative, but also entertaining.  

I had the honor of meeting Dr. Schweitzer prior to his presentation.  He is probably one of the sweetest, cleverest, most personable, and smartest people I have ever met!   I was even able to get him to sign the book that I bought!

Overall, the program was very well done, and I'm glad I went.  The best part?  Only $20 to get in.  Yep, local programs rock!



Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

Do we share any ancestors?

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

J is for ... JEWEL!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

J is for ... JEWEL!


We find jewels in the most unexpected places, especially when we aren't even looking for them.

My 2nd great grandparents, Zenophile and Eliza Lanctot, were proprietors of the first hotel in Armour, South Dakota from around 1900 until about 1913.  It was called Armour House.  When Zenophile died in 1913, Eliza ran the hotel by herself for the next three years, until she sold it.

This couple has always intrigued me, mainly because Zenophile is one of my "gateway" ancestors (immigrated to the U.S.), and because in those days it wasn't very common for a woman to be calling the shots from a business standpoint.

I've known this information for quite a while, but I've never been able to find a photo of Armour House.  Apparently, it's because I was looking in all the wrong places.

Thanks to the suggestion of my geneabuddy Laura, and some brainstorming on my part, I discovered the Douglas County Historical Society in Armour, South Dakota.  I honestly didn't even know there WAS an historical society.  I mean, the town only has a population of about 700 people.

So I wrote a letter to them and dropped it in the mail last Thursday.  This evening, I received an email from the President of the Society, a wonderful woman by the name of Sharon Wiese, letting me know that they have three photos of the interior of the hotel, and that at least one of those photos purports to show my 2nd great grandfather, Zenophile!  They will be happy to send them to me.  (OMGOMGOMG!)

Her husband even went above and beyond, heading over to the cemetery to take a photograph of the couple's grave marker for me!  Hindsight being what it is, I'm pretty sure my reply email sounded like a 14-year-old girl who was just given free tickets to a Justin Bieber concert, but whatever.

Mr. and Mrs. Wiese are JEWELS.  Not only did they respond to my request faster than lightning, they went above and beyond the call of duty, AND they are sending me the photos at no charge.  They simply asked that I make a donation to the society.  Well, of course I will!

I have been truly fortunate to have crossed paths with these two wonderful people.  I am definitely putting the museum (yes, they even have a museum!) on my list of places to visit when I finally make the trip to South Dakota.

Do we share any ancestors?

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

H is for ... HEROES!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!


H is for ... HEROES!


My family tree is chock full of men who served in the military or law enforcement (or both).  Here are the ones I have confirmed, in reverse chronological order.


First, is my dad, Jon Lanctot.  He served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam.  My grandmother told me a story about when I was just a couple of months old.  I was very sick with something called pyloric stenosis and needed surgery immediately.  My doctor was Dr. Todd, who had been the family's doctor for a very long time.  My dad had orders to be deployed overseas a few days later.  He called my dad's commanding officer and asked him to delay the orders.  The CO refused.  Dr. Todd mentioned that he thought my dad was looking like he might be getting pretty sick too, and might need to be hospitalized for several weeks, possibly even months.  The orders were delayed.

John J. Gallagher

Next is my maternal grandfather, John Gallagher.  He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, I think in the mid- to late 1940s.  I'm not exactly sure what he did, but I'm positive that he did it very well.


He was also a police officer in Ridgefield, New Jersey for many years, and then worked as a food stamp fraud investigator for the Adjutant General's office at the Department of Agriculture.

Ed Lanctot

Next is my paternal grandfather, Ed Lanctot.  He served in the 147th Field Artillery Battalion of the South Dakota Army National Guard during WWII.  I posted about him previously here.

James Lanctot & Co.

Next, my paternal grand uncle, James Lanctot, served in the same unit as his brother Ed (above) during WWII.  Yep, that's him ... 2nd from the left. 


My paternal granduncle, Vernon G. "Bud" Slowey served with James and Ed Lanctot in the 147th of the South Dakota National Guard.


My maternal granduncle, Harold Crowe Jr., was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He enlisted at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in Indiana on October 31, 1942.

Charles W. Crowe

Another maternal granduncle, Charles William Crowe, joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 at the age of 17. He retired in 1971 as a Commander. He was an aircraft carrier pilot on the USS Midway.

In 1917, my maternal great grandfather, Harold John Crowe, enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard and served during WWI. 


My maternal great granduncle, Eugene L. "Tex" Stiker, enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard in 1922.


To all of these men ... and all the ones for whom I haven't confirmed military or law enforcement service ... Hats off to you!  Heroes all!






Do we share any ancestors?
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

G is for ... GENEABUDDY!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

G is for ... GENEABUDDY!


That's right.  My geneabuddy is as much a part of my family history as any of my ancestors.  I don't know about anyone else, but I can't spell "family history" without L-A-U-R-A.  Several of my previous blog posts go on and on (and on and on and on, I'm sure) about how awesome my Geneabuddy is.  I know for a fact that my research would not have progressed as much as it has (or been as fun to do) without my Geneabuddy, Laura.  Her blog can be found here.


We call it our "Success Team."  We meet by telephone every Saturday morning and go over how we did on our goals for the previous week, and set our goals for the following week.  There have been times when one of us has had to play the reality card for the other, which resulted in an adjustment to the list of goals for the week.  There have even been times when one or the other of us is just burned out (or, in my case, lazy) about the whole thing, and the other just has to play the butt-kicking card.  It's all about keeping it real.


One of the best things about having a Geneabuddy is that you have someone with whom you can share your frustrations and your victories (without the constant eye-rolling and feigned interest that usually follows any mention of genealogy around friends and family members)!


It's good to have someone in your life who can help keep you focused, keep you grounded, and - most of all - keep it fun!


If you'd like to know more, my prior posts about Success Team can be found here.

Do we share any ancestors?

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

F is for ... FARMERS!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

F is for ... FARMERS!


Seriously.  Who doesn't have farmers in their family tree?  Of course, when you think about it, they really didn't have a need for a "customer service representative" or even a "paralegal" back in the day.  Unless you lived in the city, you were most likely a farmer.


Out of 3 sets of great-grandparents and 6 sets of great-great-grandparents, two-thirds of them were farmers.  (I am missing an entire branch of my tree because my maternal grandfather was adopted and I haven't found his biological family yet - but his adopted family were definitely not farmers).


That's right, 6 out of 9 direct ancestors were farmers.  A few had grain farms, but most are just listed as general farms.  They were all in South Dakota.  One of them was a farmer in Quebec, Canada before he wandered south and ... wait for it ... had a farm.


My great-grandfather, Thomas Patrick Slowey, was a farmer until sometime between 1940 and 1945, when he went to work in some sort of alcohol plant.  He was in his mid to late 40s at the time, so he older than the maximum age to be drafted for the war.  I'm guessing that he was working to assist the war effort.  If anyone knows anything about these types of plants, I would be very interested in learning more about them.


Oh ... the three who weren't farmers?  They are all on my maternal grandmother's branch.  They lived in Indiana.  One worked for the railroad; the other two were machinists in a garage.

Do we share any ancestors?

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

E is for ... EXCITEMENT!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

E is for EXCITEMENT!


It's official.  Hotel is booked.  Registration is paid.  Luncheons, workshops, and other outings are booked and paid.  My schedule of classes is (almost) done.  Yep.  I'm going to the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2012 Conference in Birmingham, Alabama!


I've been to a couple of genealogy conferences in the past, and they were great.  But this ... this is like one of the BIG ones.


I am fortunate that I live close enough to Birmingham to be able to drive, so the money I'm saving on airfare I'll be able to spend on goodies at the conference!


I'm a little sad that I don't have any "official" research to do while I'm in Birmingham (I don't have any direct ancestors from Alabama at all - at least none that I've found yet) ... although, I feel pretty sure that I can find a library or archives of some sort to wreak havoc spend some time in.


In preparation for my trip, I even bought one of those little badge holders with all the pockets in it. I can't wait to bling it out! I think I'm going to have to take the seam out of one of the pen holders on the back so my phone will fit in the little pocket back there.

P.S. Thanks, WhollyGenes- only $5 and super fast shipping

I'm going to take print my state "badges" from my 1940 Census indexing and do something super fancy and attach them to my little holder.  I also have a couple of geeky pins I'll attach.  


I've already started packing.  Laptop, check.  Camera, check.  iPad, check.  Contact cards, check.  Flip-Pal, maybe.  Batteries, check.  Oh, I guess I'd better add some sort of clothing to the list.  Jammies too.  Maybe a toothbrush.  Hmm ... tiara?


So if you happen to be at FGS and see me (I'll be the one wandering aimlessly around the conference looking completely lost), stop and say hi!

Do we share any ancestors?
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

D is for ... DRILLER!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!



D is for DRILLER!

Well driller, that is. My great grandfather, Louis Phelisa Lanctot, got his start in 1910 as a well driller in St. Helena, Nebraska.[1]  He traveled to Cedar Co., Nebraska and Yankton Co., South Dakota for work.

In 1912 or 1913, he was hired to drill a well on a farm in Utica Township, Yankton County, South Dakota. The man who hired him was Louis Schneider (otherwise known as my 2nd great grandfather). Louis and Mary Alice Schneider were marred in July 1913.

By 1917, Louis had started his own well drilling company[2] and employed Mary Alice's brother Charles to help with the workload. You know, keeping it in the family. Louis and Mary Alice purchased land in Bucknam, Wyoming (25 miles from Casper) and settled there in 1917.

I don't know much about the well drilling industry back in the early 1900s, but I found this photo of a "new" steam-powered well drill from 1903. I can imagine Louis might have used something like this when he started.

Louis worked as a well-driller for the remainder of his short life.  He died in a truck wreck in Casper, Wyoming in 1922.

_____________________________________

1. 1910 United States Federal Census, Cedar County, Nebraska, (St. Helena/Precinct 2); p. 10B-11A, lines 96-2, T624_840, Img. 467, www.ancestry.com [database online]

2. "World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital image [database online], Ancestry.com, card for Louis Phelisa Lanctot, no. 75, Converse, Wyoming.

Do we share any ancestors?
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

C is for ... CANADA!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!


C is for CANADA!


My 2nd great grandfather, Joseph Zenophile Lanctot, was born in Quebec, Canada.  So was his mother Sophia (Longtin) and his father Pierre.  My 3rd great grandfather, Louis Bourk(e) was also born in Canada.  So was his wife Mary and his father Francis.  As you can tell, I have a little Canadian research that needs to be done.


I haven't been able to do a lot of research in Canadian records yet, as I'm trying to get all the research done in this country before I start venturing outside of it, but I have taken a peek at some of the Canadian census records for those two families - mainly to solve a couple of mysteries that continue to hang around my neck like an albatross.


I sure would like to know that when the time finally does come for me to jump into Canadian research that there are historical and genealogical records and archives still available to me.


Lorine McGinnis at the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog sent out this heartfelt plea to save the National Archival Development Program (NADP) in Canada.  The loss of access to the Canadian Archives doesn't only affect Canadians!  You can help by signing this petition.  It doesn't matter where you live ... Canada, the United States, Uganda, or Bora Bora ... your signature can help!

*updated to correct relationship errors

Do we share any ancestors? 
 Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

B is for ... BACHELOR!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!


B is for BACHELOR!

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while you come across someone (in your collateral lines, obviously) who was a bachelor. Never married. No children. They can't possibly be of any genealogical value, right?

This couldn't be further from the truth.

For example, my great granduncle Eugene L. Stiker (brother to my great grandmother Lucile (Stiker) Crowe, was never married and never fathered or adopted any children. However, I happened to get my hands on an Affidavit of Heirship that the attorney for his estate prepared. Let me tell you, it is chock full of valuable information!

It starts by naming his mother, including maiden name, and father, detailing how many times and to whom they were married, when they died, and how many children they had.  Granted, no exact dates were given, but at least it gives me a sort of timeline to narrow the search field.

Then the next generation (all of Eugene's siblings) was detailed the same way, finally ending up with a complete list of ... wait for it ... all the nieces, nephews, and decedents who inherited from Eugene's estate!

Happy dance, anyone?

  

Do we share any ancestors?

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

A is for ... ADOPTION!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!  I'm really having to play catch-up with this challenge, as I just started and I'm already about 6 weeks behind :)

A is for ADOPTION!

My maternal grandfather was born on 29 September 1924. I'm not certain about the next several days, but what I can gather from the documents that I do have, it sounds like he was abandoned at the hospital. On 8 October 1924, the Department of Public Welfare delivered him to the Foundling Hospital in New York City. The record of commitment gave his name as Joseph Smith. He was baptized in the Roman Catholic faith at the Foundling Hospital.

In an affidavit dated 13 November 1928, Sister Xavier Maria of the Foundling Hospital stated that no parents or relatives have made any inquiry about Joseph, nor had anyone made any provision for his support or maintenance. The affidavit goes on to state that on 15 May 1928, Joseph Smith was placed with the petitioners (Walter W. Gallagher and Ruth L. Gallagher). They were considered "persons of good moral and religious training and habits, and financially able to care for, support and educate properly" young Joseph.

The same day in November 1928, Walter and Ruth Gallagher filed their petition to adopt Joseph Smith. They lived at 132 48th Street, Union City, New Jersey. Walter was the manager of a restaurant and earned $75 per week.

This is the part that breaks my heart: "petitioners have no knowledge or information as to whether the father or mother of said infant, or either of them is alive, or if alive, their or either of their post office addresses, and have no means of ascertaining such facts ..."  If the Foundling Hospital had knowledge of the identity or whereabouts of the biological parents, they would have to say, right?

The Order of Adoption was entered in the Surrogates Court for New York County on 4 December 1928, and Joseph Smith was forever after known as John Joseph Gallagher. An order sealing the records was entered on the same day.

For years I have tried (and my grandfather tried for years before that) to unseal the adoption records in an effort to determine who my grandfather's biological parents are. Unfortunately, given the information above, I'm afraid that even if I was given carte blanche access to all the adoption records in the state of New York, I would never find the names of his parents.

It is my intent to try to find a back door into his lineage by having my uncle (grampa's only remaining male child) take a Y-DNA test and an autosomal DNA test, and have my grandmother take the autosomal DNA test to eliminate her DNA from my uncle's DNA. This (theoretically) should leave my grampa's full DNA profile, right? From there, I should be able to determine if he has any biological relatives out there. Someone please tell me if this sort of "process of elimination" is possible, or am I just dreaming?

Do we share any ancestors? Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com