Another year, another wonderful assortment of WAGS member stories. This year brought us folk history, connections to the past, new beginnings, clues in an obituary, pioneer travels, an unusual family link, and the Family Search site that keeps on giving.
Our first presenter was WAGS Historian, Marisa Reyes, and her story about a vintage box with a small secret inside. Her 1830s handmade, shell-covered box contained not only a small mirror, but a handwritten note from her many-times great-grandmother writing about their English ancestry along with an additional note from Marisa’s grandmother relating even more family history. What a treasure!
Next up was my PowerPoint presentation about the first of my Weis ancestors to arrive in America and his namesake, Leo. I told the story of my 2nd great-granduncle, Leopold Weis, and his journey from Steinbach, Germany to Waterloo, Illinois. Upon hearing that my nephew had named his son, Leo, I decided to write a letter telling them about the first Leo in our family tree. During my research, I found out about the dangers of riverboat travel, and how survival can have many twists and turns.
Donna Aguirre, our Treasurer, told the story of Captain John Higley, Esq. whose mother apprenticed him to a glovemaker as a young boy. When he was about to be flogged, he jumped aboard a ship bound for America and became indentured to John Drake of Windsor, Connecticut. He made a name for himself, married well, fought in King Philip’s War, and is honored as one of the founders of early Connecticut and supporter of Yale University.
Our fourth presenter and Program Chair, Christine Cohen, spoke about “The Obituary of Francis Clyma, 1792-1874.” Record searches for Francis resulted in naturalization papers, immigration information, English birth and baptism records, marriage information, and the names of his twelve children. He was a captain in the militia, involved in the mining industry, and led a long and illustrious life. Christine stressed how important it is to use the information in an obituary to seek out and fill in the details of our ancestors’ lives.
Long-time member and frequent presenter, Bonnie Morris, spoke about her “Grandpap Crow” and his connection to the history of Linn County, Iowa and the Crow River. Born in 1816 in Indiana, he traveled around the area before settling down in Iowa. He was married three times and is buried across the top of all three graves. He stated that he loved them all!
Rick Frohling, our Newsletter editor and Webmaster, spoke about his family and their unique relationship with the U.S. census. As it turns out, there has been a census taker in his family for each of the following years: 1910, 1950, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020! That’s 110 years of census enumerators in one family tree. I don’t know if that’s usual or entirely unique. Either way, it is quite impressive.
Our last presenter was Tracy Winkler who highly recommended using the full-text option at Family Search when researching our ancestors. She spoke about her success in finding the will of her second great-grandfather, Phylo Bemis, who died in 1839, which led to other important documents, heirs, and new avenues of research. We should all give her suggestion a try. The full-text option sounds like a real winner.
Thank you to everyone who presented at our annual Show & Tell gathering. Please consider telling us about your successes and even your missteps at next December’s meeting. We learn something new every year.