Thanks to the GHFC my family tree is growing. Genealogy has quickly become a huge time suck. As soon as I tuck my almost 3 year old in bed, I start googling, and searching for dead relatives. I've checked out so many books from the library on genealogy, subscribed to some podcasts, joined ancestry and generally annoyed Mr. larmos with tales of my findings.
I'm actually really proud of the progress I've made since this group started. My uncle didn't have our Gasaway line back very far, and I found three more generations, including one RWS. I also found the census documents for previous generations, which was a challenge, considering the indexing was dodgy. "Gapaway" "Gabeaway"...The Stogdell family had a similar problem. Stogdell, Stockdale, Stockton, ...have all been the listing for my family.
A puzzle I have is that my Fuhrwerk family did not come over from Prussia together. I find a record for her in 1882, and last night, in my most recent find--this, from Ancestry
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
about Albert Fuherwek
Name: Albert Fuherwek
Year: 1887
Age: 31
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1856
Place: Illinois
Source Publication Code: 7894.3
Primary Immigrant: Fuherwek, Albert
Source Bibliography: SANGAMON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. Naturalizations, Declarations of Intent, Sangamon County, Illinois. Springfield, Ill.: the society, 1986. 71p.
Page: 20
Finally some sort of immigration record for Albert. I wonder, what this is. I seem to recall my grandmother talking about Albert (her grandfather) having traveled back to "Germany" (they were from Prussia) at some point. Maybe this is from that trip? I will get to look that up when I visit my parents in central Illinois. Mrs. Fuhrwerk's sister lived in IL, perhaps she came over first and then Albert came over, but there were children born between 1882 and 1887, so I suspect it is a return visit. In the census it did not say that he had been naturalized. Just when you think you've found an answer to a question you are literally confronted with several more questions that get progressively harder to answer.
My biggest brick wall is Mr. Elwell Garrison. He was born in March 1770, and we're (my uncle, the sr. family historian, and I) unsure who his parents were. (I think we're going to have to do DNA testing, I have hunches that due to his name we are somehow linked to the Elwell family from NJ). Anyway, Elwell married Elizabeth Rainey/Raney in 1795 and they had lots of children. The story goes that Elizabeth was mentally unstable, and difficult to live with. Apparently they separated and were granted a divorce in Indiana in 1835 (this had to be done by the state legislature!) In 1840 they were living in the same county in Indiana listed about 80 pages apart in the census. She living with a son (I assume) and he living with a 20-something year old woman and 2 small girls. Perhaps this was a second wife or a widowed daughter. Something to explore.
Then, there is Mary Jane Hardin/Harding and her first husband, Alfred Hogan. They were married in 1840 on Dec 22. By the 1850 census, Mary Jane was living alone with her two young children, she was listed as a pauper. A cousin I found through an online message board helped fill in some of the blanks, which actually confused things even more. It turns out that Alfred was the grandson of one of the founders of the county in which he lived--a well-known and powerful family, yet they did not take care of Mary Jane and her family. What could have happened? Was it a match the family disapproved of? Ultimately Mary Jane remarried and moved from KY to IL with her new husband. Her first two children moved further--one to Missouri, and the daughter (my ancestor) went with her husband from IL to OR on the Oregon Trail and decided they didn't like it and came back again via ship around South America.
My ultimate goal is to put some flesh on the bones of these people's story, I have a long way to go. I have to mention the podcast I've been enjoying--the genealogy guys. they do a really informative hour-long podcast when they aren't traveling to conferences and speaking. I've learned a lot from them, and they're great listening to when cleaning.
How is your research progressing? What have been your best sources for documents that add more depth to your ancestors' stories?
And volunteer
Here's our schedule
June 10 larmos
June 17 brook
June 24 Chun Yang
July 1 slksfca
July 8 open
Sorry this is late. We have a family emergency that I need to deal with. Mr. Larmos's dad is not well