Tombstone Tuesday Remembering My Great Great Great Grandmother Carpenter Chrisman Anderson Cocagne

In Minnesota several of my ancestors are buried. Life is done for them, they have loved and lived their lives caring for those around them. Their stories are hard to find and I am in constant search to find out about them. Today for Tombstone Tuesday I am featuring my Great Great Great Grandma Harriet Carpenter Chrisman Anderson Cocagne.

Harriet was born December 13 1814 in Rome New York to Harmon and Phoebe Christman Carpenter and died December 5th 1908 in Wabasha Minnesota. She was married a total of three times.

First husband David Chrisman ( may of been a first cousin) married when Harriet was 19 years old. Harriet had two children by him, David Chauncey and Monica. David Chrisman dies in 1836.

In 1837 Harriet marries Levi Anderson, they have 6 children together. The first being Betsey my great great grandmother. Other children are Abram, Phoebe, William , George and then Fairfax. In 1858 Levi supposidly dies, we have not found his obit or grave. There was a Levi Anderson who died 1860 found frozen to death, alcohol being the cause. We do not know if this is the same Levi Anderson of New York.

Third husband Charles marries Harriet in 1872 and dies in 1900. Harriet dies in 1908 and is buried in the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery in Zumbro, Minnesota. Harriet lived to almost be 94 years old , she out lived 3 husbands and 5 children.

I am sure there is a lot to learn about Harriet and I have just started my search for her. I am pleased I was able to find her grave in 1999 and was able to leave her a flower at that time.

Harriet did not live to know that two of her grandsons would be murdered. In 1927 her first son David's son George is murdered in a neighbor dispute and in 1929 daughter Betsey's son George is murdered while doing his job as a guard at the docks in Duluth, Minnesota. This crime was never solved.

These pictures are Harriet and her third husbands tombstones. I was able to take these pictures in 1999.
The picture above is of Harriet, daughter Betsey Day ( my great great grandmother ) and Phoebe Harrison ( I believe that this Monica's daughter)

Family Events February 21st ot 27th

Today I am remembering some of my family that has passed on.

First is my mama. Tomorrow February 23 would of been her birthday. She was born in 1922. Sure do miss her. She left us February 28, 1998. She was the best. Loving and caring to her family and friends.

Second is my grandfather William Day. He was my mama's father and passed away February 21, 1964. Sadly his funeral was on her birthday. He was a sweet gentle man who loved his family and the Lord. I surely loved and miss him every day

Wordless Wednesday Mama In Her Prom Dress

Almost Wordless Wednesday ... Mama in her prom dress. Written on back... Prom dress Frosty Pink , moire taffeta top, net over skirt 18 feet around bottom. This was probably taken very late 1930's to 1940 in Olgivie Minnesota.

My Family Roots Run Deep .... Visiting My Ancestors One Cemetery to the Next part 2

Part one of my search for ancestors cemetery to cemetery was visiting Adam and Rachel ( Millsap ) Zion.
Next stop Sterling , Logan Colorado . Total Travel Estimate: 5 hours 28 minutes / 321.87 miles timed by http://www.mapquest.com/ http://www.mapquest.com/maps? This is where my great aunt Mary Etta Zion Exley died. She is a sister of my grandpa Perry and one of my dad's aunts.
As of now I am at a DEAD END. I have not been able to find her grave in Logan Colorado. Searched for her husband Orville Exley who died in 1938 in Sargent, Nebraska. As of now I have not been able to find his grave. I was hoping that she would be buried next to him. So for the moment I am at a dead end and need to make a U turn on the road to find the next cemetery. Will be spending more time on this search and put out emails to cousins to see if I can find more information on them.
Until then we will continue are search for another family member and another cemetery.

Monday Madness ~ Wading Through the Census Looking for Hiram Lockwood

Wandering through the census reports on www.ancestry.com can be maddening but also very interesting.
Tonight I am searching and printing the census reports on my great great great grandfather Hiram Lockwood. He would be on my mother's side of the family.
I have that he was born about 1804 and that he married Emma Moiser.
They had four children... Ferdinand , Theodore ( John my great great grandfather) Isabelle and Frederic.
The later census reports tell me that he was born in New York and that both of his parents are from Connecuit.
Others believe his parents are John and Anna ( Polly ) Sturgis. I have not found this information as of yet so unproven to me.
I have found the 1820 census of Hillsdale, Columbia, New York a John Lockwood. Listed is 3 males under 10 ,3 males 10 to 16, 1 male 16 to 18, and 1 male 26 to 45.
Females are listed 2 females under 10, 1 females 10 to 16,1 female 16 to 26
and 1 female 26 to 45.That adds up to 11 children.
1840 census has Hiram Lockwood listed Hillsdale, Columbia , New York with 2 males under 5 and 1 male 30 to 40 and 1 male 50 to 60. Females are 1 between 20 and 30.
In the 1840 census 4 names away is a Polly Lockwood listed. Is this the Polly some believe is his mother? Listed under her name is 1 male 10 to 15, a male 15 to 20, and a male 30 to 40. Females listed are 1 at 15 to 20, 1 at 20 to 30, 1 listed 30 to 40 and 1 50 to 60 this would be Polly. This would make her husband having passed away between 1820 and 1840 census?
One interesting point is there is a male in Hiram 's house between 50 to 60 who is this?
So far the 1830 census has no John or Polly. I find 2 females with last name of Lockwood so need to do more searching for these family members. One is a Mary Lockwood and the other is Nancy Lockwood. Maybe Mary is Polly . She is listed between 40 and 50 years old and 8 people in her home.
Tonight is the beginning of my search for Hiram. It is a start and has been an interesting search. Time will tell what else I can find out about him and his parents.

Getting Organized with Family History in 52 weeks Week 5

This is a little late but I have some kind of cold that will not go away. I call it the Texas Crud. All it is doing here is raining. Day after day of rain. At least it is not snow but I am sick of it and wondering why I left sunny southern California for this.
Oh well enough of my grumblings.
Week 5 of getting organized is to find a genealogy management program. I have had family tree for years and recently got an updated copy of it. Not sure if I like it still trying to get use to it and put in the records I lost from computer crashes. I had saved on a disk but of course old fashioned disk. Now it is good for a small Frisbee.
Next week we will start putting our information into our family program. I still need to finish organizing my family books with new dividers to separate my families and generations. What I have done sure looks nice.
So for now keep up with your family reasearch books and getting them organized. If you do not have a genealogy program check them out on the Internet or go to Office Depot or Office Max.
Have a great week ... Grace

Sentimental Sunday Grandpa Bill and Grandma Grace Day

This picture is of grandpa and grandma Day with us girls left to right is me (Grace) , my cousin Bonnie next to me and the little one is my cousin Cheryl, next to them is my sister Mary. It was taken January 12th 1959 for their 48TH wedding anniversary. No smile on my face, I must of been going through a serious phase.

Today I am sharing a story of my grandparents on my mother's side. William H and Grace ( Esler) Day.

I grew up with them being only 2 blocks from where we lived . Every Sunday I would walk to their house and from there walk to church with them.

Sundays were spent at their house after church. Noon time dinner was usually a roast beef and was fantastic. The adults would sit in the dining room, my sister Mary and cousins Bonnie and Cheryl and myself sitting in the kitchen at the smaller table.

The dining room table always had a white table cloth and white cloth napkins. The best china was used and the coffee cups were decorative china cups. I have several now and remember watching them sip their coffee from these dainty cups

This picture was probably taken for another celebration of my grandparents anniversary. Front row is my Aunt Daisy, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Grace. Back row from left to right is my father, my mother, Aunt Lil and Uncle Don.

Sundays were always church and then family time at the dinner table. After dinner my father and my grandfather would go into to the living room to watch a baseball game. My grandfather loved the New York Yankees. My father would be for what ever team my grandfather was not for so they could have a little fun teasing each other.

While the men watched TV the other adults would sit at the dining room table and drink coffee and visit.

My grandparents were always so loving, and I miss them terribly even now. This picture is how they looked at that time. They always dressed up to go to church. This picture was taken for their for their 50Th anniversary.

Sentimental Sunday is a time to share some of those stories of our family. As I post about my family members, I print out my postings and put in my family book so that years from now family members will not only have the stories but maybe some of my thoughts.

My Family Roots Run Deep .... Visiting My Ancestors One Cemetery to the Next part 1 Adam and Rachel Millsap Zion Colorado

Where are they buried? Where is the is the final resting place of my ancestors. My ancestors are buried across the United States. I want to visit them, to lay a flower on their grave and hopefully to let them know I am thinking of them and wondering about them. Who were they? What was their life like? Their loves and their dislikes. What was happening around them? How can I get to know them better. I hope by being able to visit their last resting place I will learn more about them and their time living and loving those around them.

Well if I was to plan a trip to see who could I find where would I start? First stop Craig, Colorado and the gravestones of my great grandparents Jonathan Adam and Rachel ( Millsap) Zion. This trip would take us 20 1/2 hours and 1236 miles from where I am today in Richmond, Texas.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Richmond&1s=TX&1y=US&1l=29.5819&1g=-95.760597&1v=CITY&2c=Craig&2s=CO&2y=US&2l=40.515301&2g=-107.545799&2v=CITY
Jonathan was born in Decatur, Iowa to John Henderson and Mary (Cassell) Zion in 1861.
Rachel was born to Flavious and Anna ( Woodmansee) Millsap April 19, 1862 in Mount Ayr, Ringgold county, Iowa. The years they were born the president of the United States was Abraham Lincoln and the United States was involved in a Civil War.

Adam and Rachel met and married in Iowa February 11th, 1886. <>





It was in Iowa where their five children were born. Perry the oldest is my grandfather on my dad's side. Perry was born 1886, Norton 1889, Mary Etta 1893, Anna Gertrude 1894 and Bessie 1898.

In 1902 they moved to Bemidji, Minnesota and two months later went to Wilton to homestead some land. For some reason they never finished this transaction and in 1906 to 1907 they moved to Burwell, Nebraska. It was in 1909 that they rented property in Custer, Colorado ( Sargent) near the line close to Taylor. There they worked and were active in Church. In the fall of 1915 a group of relatives went to Moffat county , Colorado to investigate the range homestead. They then moved in 1916 to Moffat county where he did homestead some land.
The picture below is of my great grandfather Adam , great grandmother Rachel. Their youngest daughter Bessie is seated between them. Back row left to right is my grandpa Perry, then Mary Etta, Norton and last is Gertrude.


My great grandfather was black smith by trade. He worked for twenty years doing this until the hard work finally wore his health down and he retired to the farm.
April 7, 1927 Adam passed away in Craig Colorado.
The last years of Rachel's life she lived in the state of Washington near her daughters Alta and Gertrude.
I am lucky to have a letter she wrote to my mother, father ( her grandson) and my grandma Day on November 23, 1943. She writes of not being able to be at my parents wedding and hoping they will come and visit in Washington where she will have a gift for them. Will not be expensive as she is not a rich woman. She talks about having five children, 30 grandchildren and 16 great grand children. It is so nice to have her handwriting and thoughts in pencil.
After her death on Mother's day 1945, she was returned to Craig to be buried next to Adam.

I was not born till 1948 so she never met me but I am pleased to have her letter, pictures of her and grandpa Adam and stories family members have passed down about them
Next stop Sterling , Logan Colorado . Total Travel Estimate: 5 hours 28 minutes / 321.87 miles timed by http://www.mapquest.com/ http://www.mapquest.com/maps? This is where my great aunt Mary Etta Zion Exley is buried. She is a sister of my grandpa Perry and one of my dad's aunts. http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Richmond&1s=TX&1y=US&1l=29.5819&1g=-95.760597&1v=CITY&2c=Craig&2s=CO&2y=US&2l=40.515301&2g=-107.545799&2v=CITY#b/maps/m:map:3:35.046124:-101.58203::::::1:1:::::::::/l:::Richmond:TX::US:29.5819:-95.760597:city::1:::/l:::Craig:CO::US:40.515301:-107.545799:city::1:::/l:::Sterling:CO::US:40.625599:-103.207199:city:Logan+County:1:::/io:1:::::f:en_US:M:/bl:/e

7 Steps to Study Ancestral Places

This morning I read this article on line and wanted to not only print for future use and reading, but wanted to share with you. These are great ideas to help us go further in our family research. Just this week I have furthered my research by using some of these ideas.

7 Steps to Study Ancestral Places
2/3/2010
By Rick Crume
Focusing not just on who your ancestors were, but also where they went, can give you a research advantage: You'll learn what records they might have generated and where those records are today.
In this article:
Using source guides
Consulting town and county networks
Searching the Web
Consulting maps
Identifying local histories
Locating local records
Networking with others
Sometimes genealogists give geography short shrift—we get so focused on finding names to add to our family trees, we forget ancestral places may hold clues, too. Focusing not just on who your ancestors were, but also where they went, can give you a research advantage: You'll learn what records they might have generated and where those records are today. You'll find Web sites with links to indexes, cemetery lists, maps and more. You might even get a look at the places your relatives lived and worked. So get ahead by using these seven steps to home in on your ancestors' hometowns.

Check place-based source guides.The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists (Family Tree Books) tells you when each US county began keeping various records and which offices have jurisdiction over them now. You also can turn to FamilySearch's Research Guidance for advice on researching in a particular place and time period. Pick a place (such as a state) and the type of record and time period you're researching. FamilySearch also has a series of excellent printable research outlines, which give you an overview of key records for each place.
Consult town and county networks.You can't beat the USGenWeb Project for information on county-level genealogy resources. Volunteers maintain county sites, so they vary in content but often include maps, details on the county's founding and formation, and contact information for courthouses, archives and libraries. The American History and Genealogy Project is similar to the USGenWeb Project, though newer and less comprehensive. Most counties have official Web sites with instructions for requesting copies of records. Find them by running a Web search for the county and state name, such as knox county illinois.
Scour the Web.Indexes, transcriptions and even digitized records from all over the United States and abroad are online. Start with the US index at Cyndi's List and Linkpendium. A search engine such as Google will turn up many more sites focusing on your ancestral hometowns. Try searching on a place and the word genealogy—for example,"blue earth county" minnesota genealogy—or on a place and a type of record, as in "ontario county" "new york" deeds. Use quotation marks to find exact phrases, and you don't have to capitalize proper names.
Pinpoint places on maps.It's important to know the county where your ancestors lived because many key genealogical sources, such as court, land and probate records, are usually kept there. You can use the RootsWeb County Finder [resources.rootsweb.com/USA] to identify the county a town or city is in. The US Board on Geographic Names has an even larger database, including places that no longer exist. County boundaries changed frequently as settlers moved in, so your ancestor's county might've changed even if he didn't move an inch. Records would be in whichever county had jurisdiction over his home at the time they were created. See US County Formation Maps 1643-Present and Historical County Lines.
Study area history.Town and county histories can tell you when the area was first settled and where the pioneers came from, which churches were close to your ancestor's home, and what your relatives' lives were like. You can simultaneously search the text of all 20,000 volumes in HeritageQuest Online, available through many subscribing libraries (ask if your library offers remote access).The BYU Family History Archive, another online collection of family and local histories, has more than 5,000 titles with more on the way, thanks to a partnership with the FHL and Indiana's Allen County Public Library. Look for actual paper-and-glue histories, too, at the local library and historical society, through Amazon.com and on eBay.
Check local records.Many of our ancestors owned property, left wills and got involved in court cases. Sometimes land, probate, court and other local records are the only evidence of our forebears' existence. Fortunately, more of those records are appearing online in the form of indexes, transcriptions and even digital images. But most local records aren't online yet, so turn to the Family History Library's worldwide microfilms, which you can through a branch Family History Center (FHC). To find records in the catalog, choose Place Search and enter the name of a town, county, state or country in the first box. Optionally, enter a larger geographic area in the second box; for instance, you might type chicago or cook in the first box and illinois in the second one. Then click on the correct place name in the list of matches. The next screen lists all the topics for the place you searched on—such as Biography, Cemeteries, Census, Church Records, Land and Property, and Vital Records.
Find other researchers.If you live far away from the places your ancestors called home, you might not know where cemeteries are located or whether gravestones have been transcribed. Perhaps you need help finding a place that's not on modern maps. Online mailing lists and message boards, such as Ancestry Community, GenForum and RootsWeb mailing lists, are ideal places to pose such questions. (Don't forget to search the archives to see if your question's been answered.) Genealogical and historical societies are also great sources for information on local family history resources. Many have message boards, newsletters with queries and regular meetings where you can get help in person.