TSGS Cruiser Blog

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Navigating Along the River - Research Tips

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It seems... that if we try to take shortcuts,

we often find obstacles or pitfalls in our path. At least that is what I generally end up with in my journey to discover my ancestors. We call these "brick walls" that become serious roadblocks in our genealogical research!

What happens is that we just tend to get in a rush to move back in time - we found the person we looked for many years and immediately wonder who are the parents. Off we go in hot pursuit of the next generation. OK, but wait, that is exactly what I do everytime. I know I should take time to attempt to lay down a solid foundation and learn everything I can about the person I just found instead of trying to quickly find the next generation, as if I thought the trail would get cold.

I have mentioned Lee Anne Flatt before. She was the one I have looked for since I first began my family history as a kid over 50 years ago. I did not know what her maiden name was until about 10 years ago - my grandmother was raised by her after both of her parents had died before Grandma was 2 years old and she said she could not remember much from when she was a little girl. However, her son Anderson Fowler Flatt died in 1951 in Wayne County, Michigan and the informant on his death certificate listed his mother's maiden name as Richardson! There are at least two good documents to get maiden names: marriage records and death certificates. I know she married David Flatt after 1860 and before 1866, but still have not found a marriage record. I could not find when or where Lee Anne had died. I did not want to take the time to trace down all of her kids to see if I could learn her maiden name... I was trying to take a shortcut by just looking wildly for information on Lee Anne. Finally, her maiden name came to me via a "new" cousin asking if I was related to her Anderson F. Flatt whose parents were David Flatt & Annie Lee Richardson!

Just recently, I decided to do my research like I should by laying that foundation before chasing after the shortcut (actually a wild goose chase!). I took one of Lee Anne/Annie's sons (Roe Tilden Flatt) and traced him from Christian County, Kentucky to Sumner County, Tennessee. His burial was posted on Find-A-Grave and right next to him was his mother, Annie Lee wife of David Flatt.

Just last week, I was checking out facts on another child Polly Flatt - who married William L. Crabtree in 1891 Christian Co., KY... my Grandma did tell me that part of the time as an orphan she lived with the Crabtree, as well as, Phipps & Flatt families. On Ancestry.com, the first of 821, 212 [possible] matching records was a digitalized photo of her official death certificate. She died on 16 Feb 1930 and her mother's maiden name was Richardson! To my surprise, my grandmother (Mrs. Viola West) was the informant!


Above is a copy of Polly Crabtree's death certificate (click on photo to enlarge the image): her father was David Flatt & mother's maiden name was Richardson with the informant being Mrs. Viola West [nee Phipps] of Hopkinsville, KY. Polly was buried in Dogwood Cemetery.

The Research Tip is to lay down a solid foundation before beating your head against a brick wall.


- Compiled by JGWest

Friday, July 15, 2011

From the FIRST MATE's
PHOTO ALBUM... Ruth Martin

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Ruth A. Martin
pictured with her husband, Benoni Stinson (founder of the General Baptist Denomination).

[Click on photo to enlarge image.]



Ruth is the daughter of John Martin & Drucilla Williams. She was the grand daughter of John Martin, Sr. who came to America in 1755 from Ireland. This Martin family is my family. Another son of John Martin, Sr. was Thomas Martin born in 1759 and died in 1815 in Christian County, Kentucky who is in my direct line of ancestors. Thomas was Ruth's uncle. See more about Benoni Stinson from an earlier blog of the TSGS Cruiser Blog "Elder Benoni Stinson"


- Compiled by JGWest

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Tombstone Thursday - Dunk

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Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana


Charles Dunk

Section 13, Lot 29, Grave 6

Emigrated to
Evansville in 1819




- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest


[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

"For My Sister, Tina"

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Tina, this is the recently completed "Bicycle Pathway" around Pigeon Creek. This "six-bladed fan" is a beautiful creation that is south of the Lloyd Expressway and on the east bank of Pigeon Creek. You can see it from the expressway quite easily (it is large) and it took me about 6 months to figure out how to get to it! Access is a road off of Ohio Street... with a nice parking area. I took several photos of most of the individual parts to try to capture this unique monument to Evansville's history.


[Click on photos to enlarge the images.]




















































The fan-like blades remind me of airplane blades. Not sure if the artist had that in mind, but Evansville was a major shipyard during World War II, where Dad helped to build the P-47 Thunderbolts. Nearby, Evansville manufactured LST boats at what is now known as the Mead Johnson Terminal on the west side of Pigeon Creek.








- Photos taken by JGWest

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

"Help Me Wish Donna, Happy Birthday!"

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Happy 60th. Birthday!!!


John Stuteville feeds Donna the Hippopotamus a watermelon treat on Friday afternoon at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. Donna, who turns 60 on Aug. 7, is the oldest living Nile Hippopotamus in captivity and will be celebrating her birthday July 8 with a party & cake for her visitors with a special frozen treat for herself.


Photo taken by ERIN McCRACKEN / Courier & Press

Below outside photo of Donna when she was 58 years old!

[Photo Courtesy of Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden]
According to the Courier & Press article [July 9, 2011 in the Local Section, Page 4A "Mesker Zoo to celebrate hippo's happy birthday" by Samm Quinn] ~ Donna is the oldest Nile hippo in captivity, followed by her sister Julie (who will be 50 this year) at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee. The article mentions that the the oldest known recorded Nile hippo died at the age of 61. Donna came to Evansville's zoo in 1956. go to Mesker Zoo and wish Donna a very Happy Birthday!!!

- Compiled by JGWest



Monday, July 11, 2011

"WALKING DEAD - Social Security Important Note to Genealogists"

"Some agencies that report death to SS only submit month and year
so SS uses the first or fifteenth which could cause problems for
genealogists."
- Don Counts

Evansville Courier & Press 07/10/2011, Page A01

WALKING DEAD■
Death report harm is not exaggerated

By Thomas Hargrove Scripps Howard News Service WASHINGTON

The Social Security Administration each month reports incorrectly that nearly 1,200 living Americans have died.These clerical errors, found in a federal database ominously titled the “Death Master File,” might be darkly humorous evoking Mark Twain’s famous quip that death reports can be greatly exaggerated were not the consequences so severe.“It has just been one thing right after another since I found out that I was dead,” said an unsmiling Judy C. Rivers, 58, of Jasper, Ala. “Right now, I am still looking for a job . I hate to give out my Social Security number because I know exactly what is going to happen.” Dozens of times, Rivers has been told that her Social Security number is inactive because she’s deceased. Police detained her for several hours last year under suspicion of identity fraud when she tried to use her debit card at a local Walmart. She’s been denied college aid and home-refinance loans, been refused job interviews because of irregularities in her file and been rejected 14 times for credit cards.“All of them said basically the same thing: ‘The Social Security number cannot be confirmed’ or ‘Social Security number deactivated due to death,’” Rivers said.

The Social Security Administration has denied that it was the source of the error in Rivers’ records.

- Submitted by TSGS President Donald R. Counts

Sunday, July 10, 2011

"USAF Virtual Tour" at the National Museum

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AMAZING SITE.

PROBABLY WILL TAKE A MONTH TO GO THROUGH IT.

ANOTHER KEEPER. This might be one of the most advanced sites I have ever been in.
If this is a sign of the future, Wow! Click on the MAP in the upper right hand corner to bring down a visual menu of the different sites within the museum, then click on a dot within that site to view the exhibits from that camera angle and then follow (click on) the arrows.
You can enlarge or shrink the picture to see the next arrow.

It doesn't get much cooler than this!
Click on: http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/full/tour-pkg.html
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force - Virtual Tour


Welcome to the National Museum of the United States Air Force! We're pleased you're with us today and hope you enjoy your tour of the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum.
During your tour, you'll be immersed in aviation history … from the Army's first Wright Flyers and World War I dog fights … through World War II and the dropping of two atomic bombs … to the invention of jet-powered flight and the development of rockets powerful enough to travel to the moon.


These stories share a common thread – the dedication of the men and women of the United States Air Force, without whom these marvels of technology would not have been possible. This museum stands as a monument to their achievements and the many sacrifices they made to protect our proud nation.


This podcast tour will allow you to move freely about the museum – you can take the tour in any order and at your own pace. Look for the podcast tour symbol and numbers as you move through the galleries. Just select the number on your MP3 player and press play to hear details and interesting sidelights about museum exhibits.


We hope you enjoy your tour spanning more than 100 years of aviation history!


The entrance to the National Museum of the United States Air Force is on Springfield Street at historic Wright Field (Gate 28B), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, six miles northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The museum's address is: 1100 Spaatz StreetWright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433


- Submitted by TSGS President, Donald R. Counts

NOTE: As a U.S. Air Force Veteran, I am very impressed with the National Museum of our nation's air power from the earliest years to present. This site is much more than air craft, it includes the military history, uniforms, weapons, flags & much more! The "amazing" part is this web site for the "virtual tour"... if you want to go visit it, you need to take this tour first!!! - JGWest