Indiana Digital Memory Project

While I was doing some <gasp> family research last night and I stumbled on this page: Wabash Walley Visions & Voices Digital Memory Project.  It is fantastic, and if you are a Hoosier (or just researching some) this should be a site to check out for images and documents to add to you family histories.

From the website:

A Digital Memory Project is dedicated to the documentation and the preservation of the region's history and heritage in print, pictures, and sound. 

As a collaborative effort involving the libraries, museums, cultural organizations and community groups, the project provides free access to its digital collection via the internet and promotes remembrance and lifelong learning for all Hoosiers. 

Wabash Visions & Voices focuses on the Wabash Valley region in west central Indiana and east central Illinois. The digital collection contains artifacts, administrative and personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, texts, yearbooks, maps, oral histories, and other audio/video files. Genealogical resources are not included.

The list of partners for the project is extensive, and they are actively seeking more.  If you know of an archive, society, college, museum, or another institution that may want to participate in the Digital Memory Project make sure they see this website.

I went there to research about the flood of 1913 that hit the Wabash Valley.  I did find some wonderful images there showing the devastation of the flooding and the impact it had on my ancestors.  Then I started to poke around.

Imagine how happy I was when I found their documentation page.  This is an excellent resource if you have ever thought about putting together a digital archive of your own.  Check it out for resources, forms, and tutorials to get you started.

FGS, Indiana, and my trip so far

Well, we made it!  Sorry that I have not posted since last week, but I had family needs arise that caused me not to be able to write like I wanted to.  Not a problem, let’s play catch up now shall we?

After much discussion we left last Friday night. Why drive it all in one day (Virginia to Indiana) if you don’t have to.  Left home on Friday evening and drove to the half-way point, Charleston, West Virginia.  That made a much nicer drive as we arrived into my hometown just after lunch time on Saturday.   The next 4 days where a whirl wind of family visits, library hops, and history opportunities for me and my kids. 

Sunday I actually drug the whole family around Martin County visiting 5 different cemeteries. It should have been 7, but I was nice and didn’t make them backtrack to the 2 we accidently skipped.  The boys thought this was fascinating.  We found ancestors that were Revolutionary war Soldiers, War of 1812 Soldiers, and Civil War Soldiers.  I showed the boy the “howling cat” tomb, which, incidentally, is a lot smaller than I remember it!  Seeing these markers for myself was a moving experience.  Yes, I had seen them in other people’s pictures and on find-a-grave, but there is nothing, NOTHING, like seeing these stones for yourself.

Monday was Daviess County day.  The morning was spent driving though Oak Grove Cemetery looking for my father’s ancestors.  We didn’t make it to the second cemetery, St. John’s, as we spent 4 hours at the first one.  Amazingly the caretaker was there mowing.  He rode over after he saw us wandering around (we knew where some of the markers are) and asked if he could help.  After talking to us for a few minutes he went and retrieved the “dead books” from his home.  One was the index, by last name, of every stone in the cemetery which appears to be updated every 10 years.  The other was the burial registry of all internments after 1955.  He wouldn’t let me take images of these pages (I asked…3 times) but I did get to see my grandparents’ entries and several aunts, uncles, and cousins entries. 

GRC Memorial
Vincennes, IN

After the hot and humid walk through the graveyard my dad, my boys, and I went to the local library.  This is where I made a couple great finds.  First off, lots of local indexes, records, and resources for multiple counties that I needed.  Most amazing of all was a typed up family history of the Brothers family, which was done by a local resident.  It looks amazing because, you know, it contains citations and footnotes!  I have not made it through the 150 page document, yet, but it looks like it gives me good sources and leads for 4 generations I didn’t know about!  This helps with my mother’s line, and made the family dinner with her cousins that night very interesting.

Tuesday was Knox County day, and the only thing I wanted to get on my whole trip, the Eliza Jane Manuscript.  For those of you have read my blog on and off you may recognize this name.  Eliza Jane was the baby sister of my great-grandfather.  She was the family historian that my grandmother received all her information through. In the genealogy library in Vincennes, Indiana there is a typed copy of her research journals that a cousin of mine created.  I skimmed it while I photocopied it and I can’t wait to devour it later.  Lots and lots of good things!

We took the boys over to the George Rogers Clark Memorial also.  They loved it, and I have to say it always takes my breath away.  If you get to go make sure you watch the video and have the ranger on duty take you inside the monument.  The murals inside are breath taking.  Plus, how else can you learn about the amazing capture of Fort Sackville during the Revolutionary War?

Wednesday was the drive from Southern Indiana to Fort Wayne.  My parents, the boys, and I registered quickly that afternoon and explored a bit.  They were all tired from the trip so I sent them back to the hotel while I stuck around the conference center.  I enjoyed meeting up with some fellow IDG people and being talked into writing a lot more.  I know, more, can you believe it? 

We all went over to the opening night social and had a good time talking.  I meet quite a few people, heard some interesting things, received good advice, and laughed so much!  The down side was that my kids did not get to bed (because I made them go) until after 10pm.  This was not a good thing as they were up at 7am.

Thursday, today, my first full day at the conference, and there is a lot of stuff!  We missed the keynote but it was more important for me to get my kids up and fed than it was to rush them here.  All 5 of us wandered around the exhibit hall and quickly checked out of the vendors.  I received my honorable mention certificate in Category II from the ISFHWE and had my picture taken. (WHOOT!)  Next we wandered over to Family Tree Magazine where I met Diana Haddad and Allison Dolan in person.  It is always great to meet people in the flesh after you have talked to them over email and phone in the past. 

My parents decided to take the DNA track today.  Dad said it was so he could understand what I was doing better.  Mom went with him even though she already knew all this.  She is a doctor after all.  The boys attended 2 lectures with me.  They were well behaved, I was thrilled.

First up was Tom Jones’s “Planning and Executing Efficient and Effective Research: A Case Study.” Even with the technical difficulties around the projector, it was a great presentation.  I enjoyed just sitting and listening to him present the family history, the evidence, and taking us step-by-step through the process.  It reminds me a lot of his new book.  Which, I absolutely love.  I had planned to have him sign a copy of my Mastering the Genealogical Proof, but I forgot it in the hotel room.  Good thing I have 2 more days.

After lunch I took the boys to the BCG Certification seminar.  This is something I really want to do.  I can’t explain it, almost like I want to prove I can do it.  Also, in my gut I feel like this can give the “new kid” some credibility.  I may be completely off base here, but I did learn a lot that will help me make that decision later. 

The boys did fine until about 4pm when they completely crashed and burned.  8 hours in a conference is pretty good for any small person you have to admit.  We were killing time in the exhibit hall waiting for my parents and the final straw was the brother on brother brawl at The Irish Ancestral Research Association.  You have to admit, that is kind of funny considering their ancestry.  However I had one in tears and the other fit to be tied after I grounded them from TV and video games for the night.  Luckily the grandparents showed up just then and whisked them away. 

So here I sit, in the media hub, getting ready to go wander around the booths again and waiting for the door prize drawings.  Feeling like I should go grab a drink too, after all someone has to come back and get me in a few hours.

Paul Combs golden glove boxer

I came across these old newspaper clippings in a box of papers that belonged to my grandmother.  She cut them out of the local paper from Washington, Indiana, the Herald Tribune.  They were running a column called "Looking Back: 50 Years Ago."  It highlighted community happenings and people from 50 years before.  She had clipped the columns that contained information on my grandfather, Paul Combs.  I have talked about him in the past here.


Saturday March 8, 1986
Looking Back
50 years ago
March 8, 1936

The Strong Montgomery Vikings pulled the first big surprise of the Washington Sectional in the first semi-final game here Saturday afternoon by defeating their arch rival, the Odon Bulldogs, 28-14.  In the other game, the Washington Hatchets defeated the Plainville Midgets, 23-19.

Edward H. Scales, ex-clerk of the Pike Circuit Court and ex-democratic county chairman of Pike County, was confirmed by the senate yesterday for Postmaster at Petersburg.

Paul Combs, Washington's only boxer of any worth, Friday night came close to achieving his ambition -- that of winning the Chicago Gold Gloves tournament in the bantamweight class.  Combs fought his way through all the preliminary rounds and went undefeated, earning a bid in the final.  But Johnny Brown of Chicago out-punched Combs in the three-round fight and was ruled the winner.  Combs was quite popular in Chicago, and after the decision was announced, the judges were booed thinking that Combs should have been declared the winner.



Friday April 4, 1986
Looking Back
50 years ago
April 4, 1936

The Rainbow Rangers of Washington have accepted employment with Don Weston, formerly with Gene Autrey.  They are heard daily from Station WLAP in Lexington, Kentucky.  In the feature they will be known as Don Weston and his Westerners.

Paul Combs, local bantamweight boxer, punched his way into the finals of the State Amateur Athletic Union boxing tournament in the South Bend last night when he won a decision over Paul Lanby of Elkhart.  Combs will have the best wishes of all the people this community as he has proved himself one of the best, if not the best boxer ever seen in this section of the state.

On the national scene, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was put to death by electrocution today for his conviction of the kidnap-murder of aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby.



Wednesday April 30, 1986
,Looking Back
50 years ago
April 30, 1936

A joint Mother's Day program will held next Monday evening, May 11th, at 7:30 o'clock in the court house, sponsored by the American Legion, and the be participated in by the War Mothers, Legion Auxiliary, mothers of service men, and the American Legion.  Dr. H.C. Wadsworth of Washington will be the principle speaker of the evening, and a playlet will be given by the Legion Auxiliary.

Quite a number of local sport fans are anxiously waiting for the night when the Bedford Recreation Boxing team will meet the local team at the Recreation center.  Bob Downey, Recreation supervisor, announced today that a feature bout is in the making between Paul Combs, State A.A.U. champion a boy from Bedford, whom we are told was the champion of the Pacific fleet when he was in the navy.  A match of the kind would certainly draw a large crowd.

<rest of article missing>

The Elusive Sarah, Who Was She and How Did She Become a Freeman

Last night I had few minutes of free time and decided to randomly work on a line that was a dead-end.  Once again, you never know when the stars will align for you and the genealogy Gods will smile down.  This was one of those nights.

A few weeks ago I made some progress on a maternal line in my father’s family.  It had been giving me some trouble for a while.  I had traced the family line back to my 4^th great-grandmother Sarah.  The line is: me, my father, Paul Combs, Sylvia Freeman, John Freeman, Willis Freeman, and Sarah Unknown.  Having unknown’s really bother me, even though I know that they will happen and are inevitable given women changing their names with marriage. 

Looking at the information and census records I had for her I noticed (how did I miss this before) that there were three children under the age of 18 living with her and her family in the 1850 Census.  All with the last name of Quakenbush.  Now this name is not uncommon in the area of Indiana they were living, Martin County.  Could it be a clue to her past?  Were these cousins, nieces, nephews, or maybe a previous marriage?  I found in an index to Indiana Marriages an entry for the marriage of John Freeman and Sarah Quakenbush.  Right time frame, right places, right ages… good possibility there!  However, if these were her kids he was the second marriage and this was not her maiden name.  There was still the possibility that they were relatives working on their farm, but not for certain.

From the 1850 Census I know her youngest Freeman child was eight, and I had deduced that they had married in at least 1842. I was close with a marriage of 21 June 1839.***  Taking her estimated birth date, and the estimated date of birth for the oldest child, I went back into the marriage indexes.  The eldest Quakenbush child was 18 which meant an estimated birth year of 1832.  If these were her children, there could have been more.  However, her age listed in the census was 42 so I could guess she was born around 1808 +/- 5 years.  If she got married after she turned 18, then I am looking for a marriage between the years of about 1826 (+/- 5 years) up to 1832.  It took a while, but I found a record for a John Quakenbush marrying a Sally Foote 22 May 1822 in the county she was living in at the time, Lawrence County, Indiana.  I was still not confident, but it was a lead I could follow and see what panned out.

I then turned to the Ancesty.com public trees for hints as to where I should look next.  Really, as a place to get leads and possibilities, it is not such a bad place to look.  I was very surprised to see that with this new information on the possible two marriages there were hits for the first time.  Consistently I was getting information on her (with correct husbands and even children from the census) as well as the names of her parents.  Fantastic!

All the trees I found consistently had her parents listed as John Foote and Mary Smith.  They also listed an alternate name for her, Sally.  Some even had her as Sarah Sally Foote.  Now, being the skeptic that I can be, I took this with a grain of salt. It could just be a perpetuated mistake that has taken off over time.  In any case I decided to see if the Google-fu was with me last night and hunt for link bewteen the prospective parents and her.   

I did a simple search for “John Foote Indiana” and held my breath.  It is not a rare name, but I had to start looking somewhere.  Low and behold I got a hit.  That hit  was a descrption of a book about the Foote family and simply stated: “Others receiving mention in the book are: Thomas Foote of Adams County, Ohio; John Foote of Montgomery County, Indiana; Simeon Foote, of Lenox County, Penn., and Richard Foote of Virginia.”  Holy moly, that could be my John.  Even better, Google has this as a free eBook.  Score!

On page 296 of The Foote Family: or the Descendants of Nathaniel Foote, one of the First Settlers of Wetherfield, Conn., With Genealogical Notes of Pasco Foote, Who Settled in Salem Mass., and John Foote and Others of the Name, Who Settled More Recently in New York by Nathaniel Goodwin there is an entry about my potential ancestor.  It states:



Did you read to the bottom? Make sure you read child number 7, as that is my 4^th great-grandmother! Now, just so you know, we are NOT related to Nathaniel Foote (that I know of). My ancestor just happens to be in the book because the author made a compiled genealogy of all the Foote’s he could find at that time living in the United States.  I need to read more in the book to see if I can find out how this information was given to him.

Reading the description of this man left me scratching my head.  What a life.  What an adventure! At this point I still wasn’t sure I could trust information written in a book from 1849.  I was going to do some more research… specifically because I thought press gangs were only used in the British Navy.

I just love a good mystery, don’t you?  Yes, that means another post will be coming...


***I realized as I went back over this that I originaly used the oldest child from the marriage, not the youngest.  Jeesh... that would make a lot more sense huh?  The oldest child has an estimated birth year of 1840.  That makes the 1839 marriage year a lot more likely.


Main Image: shiny red type via photo pin cc
Census Record:  Year: 1850; Census Place: Columbia, Martin, Indiana; Roll: M432_160; Page: 70A; Image: 273.
Book Record: Goodwin, Nathaniel.  The Foote Family: or the Descendants of Nathaniel Foote, one of the First Settlers of Wetherfield, Conn., With Genealogical Notes of Pasco Foote, Who Settled in Salem Mass., and John Foote and Others of the Name, Who Settled More Recently in New York.  Hartford, Connecticut: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849.

WDYTYA Reba and the Brassfields

I saw this clip the other day while reading up on tonight's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and got very excited.  You see, I have Brassfields in my family who are also from this area of North Carolina.  It will be interesting to see if there are any names, or places, in common!

My nearest ancestor with the Brassfield name is my 4th great grandmother, Abigail Reavis Brassfield.  She was born 13 August, 1806 in Surry County North Carolina and died 16 May, 1859 in Monroe County, Indiana.  Her father, Jesse Brassfield (1778-1826) and her grandfather John Brassfield (1732-1778) were born in Wake County, North Carolina.  Where, it is revealed in the clip above, Reba's Brassfield line is from. 

Here is a lineage for my Brassfield line.  Please note: I have not personally verified the sources, and I am waiting for correspondence from the author on his research.  Fingers crossed for another cousin connection.


*Image from wikimedia: Allison DeMarcus interviews Reba McEntire at the Academy of Country Music 2010.  Allison DeMarcus interviews Reba McEntire