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