Appealing the VA's Skinny Extract of Dad's Claims File

A few weeks ago, the US Department of Veterans Affairs finally responded to my request for the claim records of Harold David Burk (1909-1978), my late father.  I faxed my official request to the VA on December 11 of last year. After waiting more than eight months, all I got was this pathetically skimpy, skinny extract (above) with nothing about Dad's military service, no spouse name, not even a birth or death date, only his parents' names. Grrrr.

Following the advice of Reclaim the Records, the nonprofit that aims to make public records actually public again, I am appealing. As next of kin, I am legally entitled to Dad's file.

I have to prove that I am, indeed, Dad's child, as part of the appeals process. But my official birth certificate, shown above (with judicious redactions), has NO NAME in the given name section, just under the words "Certificate of Birth."

Why? Because my parents were completely taken by surprise when not one but two babies were born. They weren't prepared with two names and needed a few days to decide. In the hospital, I was temporarily named "Burk A" and my sister's name was "Burk B".

Our names were filed with the Department of Health a couple of weeks later, then written on the back of our original birth certificates.

I have to explain all of that background in my appeal letter to VA officials. The birth cert clearly states that 2 children were born, and I'm the first. This should help.

In all, I included 7 attachments in my pdf file, including a copy of my appeal letter, emailed to the VA Office of General Counsel.

Unfortunately, I can't imagine that the harried VA officials will take much time to read the fine print in my appeal letter and documents. 😕 But I don't give up easily!

Watch for a post months from now on the outcome of my appeal. 

Uncommon Given Names? Um, Census Says...

I tried an experiment: On Ancestry, I searched ONLY the US Federal Census Collection for some of the more uncommon given names in my husband's family tree (at least, I consider those names to be uncommon). And each time, I learned that the Census period from 1790 to 1950 enumerated a lot of people with each of those seemingly uncommon given names.

Above, a screen shot from my search for Capitola, which was the given name of my husband's 1c1r on his maternal side. Including spelling variations, there are more than 19.6 million people named Capitola covered by the US Census.*

Here are some other names I searched and how many I found enumerated in the entire span of the US Census.

D'Alva - 10.4 million

Elfie - 34 million

Elroy - 32.6 million

Elveretta - 35.7 million

Floyda - 15.5 million

Lavatia - 25 million

Leander - 25.2 million

Ulysses - 490,000 (this was a surprise, given the popularity of the other names)

Compare these statistics with one of the most common given names in hubby's family tree: Jane, which appears 91 million times in the US Census over the years!

Have you tried this with some of the seemingly uncommon given names in your tree? 

*Randy Seaver notes, in a reader comment, that I didn't specify an exact match when searching for these given names. He's absolutely correct. The numbers would be far, far lower if I searched only for "Elveretta" without any spelling variations. I included variations (like "Elvereta") for two reasons. First, enumerators didn't always spell names the way those being enumerated would spell them. Second, indexing isn't always accurate. So I cast a wide net with multiple variations, for fun.

Discovering the Short Life of Augusta Sarah Markell

Julius Markell (1882-1966) was one of four Markell brothers, in-laws to my father's Mahler family. Depending on the source, Julius was born in Russia on September 1st of 1882 or in 1883. 

First family

Julius worked as a plasterer when in his 20s, which somehow brought him to the West Coast of the United States, where he married Ella Lebowitz (1884-1965). 

Ella and Julius had a daughter together in 1908, and the family soon moved to Boston and then to Pittsburgh, where Ella filed for divorce in 1915. The legal proceedings dragged on for years. Meanwhile Julius took off to Brooklyn, New York to work in doll manufacturing. His naturalization, dated April 1920 in Brooklyn, indicated his wife Ella and daughter Ruth were living in Pittsburgh.

Second family

By 1921, Julius was apparently divorced and he had moved on to yet another occupation (theater manager) in a new location (Pittsfield, Massachusetts). On May 31, 1921, the City Clerk of Pittsfield performed the wedding ceremony for Julius and his second wife, Tillie Sacks. By 1923, the couple had moved back to Brooklyn, where Julius was again working as a plasterer.

New news: Revisiting my research last week, I did an online search for both the husband and wife's names together. The fifth result from that search was a Find a Grave memorial that was created on May 29, 2025, so only newly visible. I used the info on that memorial to search FamilySearch for the baby girl's original birth and death records, which popped up immediately.

Sad to say, I learned that little Augusta Sarah Markell was born on March 28, 1922 in Pittsfield (as shown on the birth cert at top) and died just one month and seven days later, on May 5, 1922, due to accidental burns of her toes. Heartbreaking. I can't even imagine how the parents felt.

Happily, the couple's second child, William, was born in March of 1923 in Brooklyn, NY--just about a year from the day their first child was born in Pittsfield. I don't know whether anyone ever spoke of Augusta in later years, but she is now on my family trees to be remembered for the future. 

Charles Francis Elton Wood and the Jersey Bread Company

My husband's 1c1r, Charles Francis Elton Wood (1891-1951), had a varied working career. Born in Toledo, Ohio, a son of Marion Elton Wood and Minnie Caroline Miller, Charles worked as a salesman in a local drug store before forming a partnership with another man to run a grocery store. He was in his early 20s at the time. [Thanks to the annual Toledo, Ohio city directories, plus the US Census and other sources, I found out a lot about his working life!]

After he married Lillian Mary Cragg (1892-1973) in 1916, Charles briefly worked with his father, a carpenter. Then for some unknown reason, he reported to the Toledo, Ohio draft board in 1917 that he was a farmer 26 miles away in Deerfield, Michigan. Huh? 

By 1919, Charles and Lillian had a daughter and he was employed as a salesman for the Sherlock Baking Company in Toledo. Ditto in 1920 and he was still a salesman through most of the 1920s, as the family grew to three children. Then in 1929, the city directory showed him as an agent for an unrelated company. 

From 1930 on, Charles was off to work for the Jersey Bread Company, a well-known bakery firm in the Toledo area. In 1940, the Census indicated he had been promoted to foreman, a position he retained for the rest of his career. 

Sadly, Charles died at the age of 60 in 1951. He was accidentally hit by a truck in Salt Lake City while visiting friends, and passed away after a heart attack in the hospital, survived by his wife and three daughters.

The Jersey Baking Company took steps to change with the times, offering a wider variety of breads to appeal to a broader customer base, as the ad at top shows. It plugged along until early 1974, when its factory was sold at auction and the firm ended its long and mostly successful run in the Toledo area.

"Off to work" is the week #35 challenge for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks from Amy Johnson Crow.

Celebrating My 17th Blogiversary

On August 25, 2008, I wrote my first genealogy blog post. Seventeen years later, I've written over 1900 posts about researching family trees, preserving genealogy materials, understanding social and historical context, finding cousins and having them find me, and more.

If I had known then what I know now, I would have called this blog something like "Good, Bad, Ugly Genealogy" because my years of research have turned up such a wide range of ancestor backgrounds in my tree and my husband's tree. 

Good: loving/compassionate relatives and in-laws, indigent journey-takers who helped each other survive in a new country, civic and military leaders, hard-working entrepreneurs, ancestors who sought to give their children and grandchildren better education and more opportunity. Bad: a few bootleggers (considered "bad" at the time), a few thieves, some wild kids, some absent parents. Ugly: too many early deaths from causes now preventable, a few questionable criminal activities, family estrangements for reasons that in retrospect seem repairable, a couple of sad suicides, and more. 

With one key exception (because someone still alive might be hurt by something an ancestor did), all of what I've learned is posted on my public family trees and has been relayed to my relatives and those of my hubby. 

I don't want to hide the truth, nor do I want the truth to be lost to future generations. As family historian, I want to be told the truth and I want my relatives and future generations to trust that I will share the truth with them.

From my heart, many thanks to the dear cousins who have connected with me via my blog. It is such a joy to be in touch with the descendants of ancestors and share photos and stories.

Finally, a big tip of the hat to my wonderful readers. Please know how much I really appreciate you all! 

My genealogy research:

My maternal grandparents (both from Hungary, both died in New York City)

    Hermina "Minnie" Farkas (1886-1964) m. Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965)

My paternal grandparents (Mahler from Riga, Burk from Lithuania, both died in NYC)

    Henrietta "Yetta" Mahler (1881-1954) m. Isaac Burk (1881-1943)

Husband's maternal grandparents (both born and died in Ohio)

    Floyda Mabel Steiner (1878-1948) m. Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970)

Husband's paternal grandparents (Slatter from London/England, Wood from Ohio, both died in Ohio)

    Mary Slatter (1869-1925) m. James Edgar Wood (1871-1939)

Book Review: Your Stripped Bare Guide to Citing and Using History Sources

 

The subtitle of this concise but meaty book is "The Briefcase Edition of Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace." The title is catchy and the cover is a breath of fresh air for a serious book about an important topic.

Source citations are a vital element in the Genealogical Proof Standard, and Mills lays out a careful roadmap for understanding, evaluating, and documenting the sources used in genealogy research.

Table of contents

As the table of contents shows, this handy book crams a lot into just 139 pages. 

In particular, I recommend bookmarking these seven figures that each condense a lot of wisdom into a single page:

Fig 1: Guidelines for Analyzing Evidence (on p. 18, invaluable advice)

Fig 2: Guidelines for Documentation (on p. 36)

Fig 3: Two Functions of a Source Note (p. 39)

Fig 4: Placement of Note Numbers (p. 45) 

Fig 5: Abbreviation tips (p. 55, especially handy)

Fig 6: Stylistic Tips for Source Notes (p. 56)

Fig 7: Bibliographic Notes (p. 57)

The Universal Templates chapter on p. 83 is absolutely invaluable for finding a mix-and-match example of how to cite almost any type of source. Even the glossary (pp. 107-120) is a mini-master class in genealogical sources and citation. Ever wonder what "negative findings" really are? Or the meaning of "correlation" in the genealogy proof standard? The author's excellent glossary explains it all!

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see DNA or genetic genealogy mentioned in this book. So I recommend downloading the syllabus and watching the talk "DNA: Proof, Citation & Privacy" by Elizabeth Shown Mills on Legacy Family Tree Webinars. 

Please note: I received this book for free as a review copy but the opinions and comments here are entirely my own.

Why I Check the Webinar Syllabus First

Webinars take time to watch. Admittedly, I still haven't finished my playlists for the past two RootsTech Conferences. As a Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscriber, I have access to 2400+ talks, and have watched fewer than 100. 

But I have downloaded and examined the syllabus materials for the talks I'm most interested in, from RootsTech and from Legacy Family Tree. This is my first step, because looking at the handout helps me prioritize my viewing, and determine what I want to watch (and what I don't want to watch at all or not soon). The syllabus gives me a good idea of the speaker's main points and usually includes sources or additional reading/viewing related to the main points, if I want to follow up.

With the syllabus in hand, I can follow along as I watch and check relevant websites or sources. I also like to digitally file the handout and look at it again if I want to refresh my memory, rather than rewatching a webinar. If I choose, I can view the RootsTech talks on YouTube, where viewer comments are visible below the video.

On Legacy Family Tree Webinars, there's an option to download the syllabus and download the chat log. Sometimes the chat includes interesting comments or suggestions. The syllabus materials are always helpful and often quite detailed. And I can use the syllabus to decide where in the webinar to focus my attention if I only want to watch a segment, not the entire video.

This method might not work for you, but as a print-oriented Baby Boomer, I like to get the gist of something by checking the paperwork before investing time in viewing.

Asenath and James's Wedding Day in 1832

On August 14, 1832, Asenath Cornwell (1808-1897) married James Larimer (1806-1847) in Fairfield County, Ohio. They were my hubby's 3d great-grand aunt and uncle. Their names and marriage date were later recorded in a book that was bound and housed at the county probate court in Fairfield County. The scans are on FamilySearch. 

Asenath was born in Hallowell, Canada, daughter of a Loyalist who fled the Colonies during the American Revolution but then crossed into Ohio years after the war. James was the son of Ohio Fever pioneers who moved from Pennsylvania to the Ohio territory around the turn of the 19th century.

Very soon after their marriage, Asenath and James moved to Middlebury, Elkhart, Indiana, a newly-formed township with fertile farm land. Researching Middlebury, I found a concise history digitized and available on Family Search, with names of early settlers and more. Here's an excerpt about the period when this area was carved out of Allen County, Indiana. 

If James had not died after a fall from his horse on an icy January evening in 1847, he and Asenath and their children would have worked the farm together for many years. Instead, a few years after James's accident, Asenath made the fateful decision to leave her children in the care of kin and neighbors, and head to California Gold Rush country with her brother, hoping to improve the fortunes of both of their families. I told that story here. 

Thinking back 193 years to that day in 1832, when Janes and Asenath were married with happiness and hope in their hearts.

Great Aunt Ella and the Sweet Spot of Digitized NYC Records

My mom's favorite maternal aunt was Ella Farkas Lenney (1897-1991), whose original given name was Ilka. She and three siblings arrived at Ellis Island in November of 1901, joining their immigrant parents, who had arranged an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. 

Ella was a quick study, literally, going to school to become a teacher. A devoted professional, she worked steadily as an elementary school teacher in the Bronx, New York for her entire forty-year career. Interestingly, when Ella married Joseph Levy (1893-1945), their 1924 marriage cert (above) correctly states that the groom was a civil engineer but shows no occupation for the bride. Joe changed his name to Lenney several years later, making his wife Mrs. Lenney.

I downloaded this original marriage cert, along with other key vital records for Ella and her family, for FREE from the New York City Municipal Archives Historical Vital Records site. How lucky for me, the family historian, that so many of these maternal ancestors settled in the Big Apple.

New York City Marriages, Digitized & Downloadable

As shown directly above, the Archives site has digitized and posted downloadable marriage records for the five boroughs of New York City for the years shown in dark blue. A number of Ella's siblings and in-laws were married in the Big Apple in the years covered by the digitized/downloadable period. Free!

New York City Births, Digitized & Downloadable

Great aunt Ella and the next generation (her two children, plus multiple nieces and nephews) are also in the sweet spot of digitized NYC records for births, as shown above. I was easily able to download those birth certs, again for free.

New York City Deaths, Digitized & Downloadable

Finally, a few of Ella's extended family members are in the sweet spot of digitized NYC records for deaths, which are available for free for deaths as late as 1948. 

When I find a NYC digital record, I download it for my files AND share by uploading it to my family tree and other sites. (Ella's marriage cert is currently on Find a Grave and WikiTree, among other sites.)

Today, I'm remembering Aunt Ella with affection on the 128th anniversary of her birth on August 10, 1897.

Veterans' Files Now Delivered as Skinny Extracts

In December, 2024, Reclaim the Records launched a user-friendly, convenient website for searching the US Veterans Administration BIRLS database and requesting a veteran's file, under the Freedom of Information Act. All for free, thanks to this wonderful nonprofit group that has been fighting to make public records available to the public.

Over a four-month period, I submitted 13 requests for veterans' records and quickly received one "no info found" letter, followed by 11 "yes info found" acknowledgements. Still awaiting word on one request, neither acknowledged nor denied. No further communication from the VA. Until earlier this week.

New "skinny" extract format

Finally I received what I now know is the new, skinny file extract format that the Veterans Administration will be issuing instead of sending full pdf files of each veteran. As shown in the image at top, the extract recaps name, birth/death dates, Social Security number (which I blacked out), and the enlistment/release date of the veterans, along with which military branch. This is for an in-law in my hubby's family tree.

Another page or two included marriage date (but no spouse info), parents' names, and other so-called genealogical information. Nothing about the rank of the vet or the unit or any service details such as where stationed. A really skinny extract, to say the least, compared to what may actually be in the veteran's file. I'm not happy.

What now?

Reclaim the Records explains the background behind this unexpected and frustrating change from furnishing full pdf files to extracting selected info. Read all about it here.

Reading their advice, it seems I will have solid grounds for appealing when my father's skinny extract shows up in the future, because I am clearly next of kin (and I can prove it). I would like to see his full file, not a few measly details pulled from it.

Meanwhile, Reclaim the Records is formulating a robust response and will determine its next steps within weeks. Stay tuned!

PS: I just received two more FOIA responses...these were even more skeletal, bare bones at best. "Information is not a matter of record" is the reason stated for lack of birth certificate details, parents' names, spouse's name, etc. Not happy. 

PPS: Most recent responses have even less detail, if that's possible. Date of entry into service but no release date. Not even the branch of service. The latest response had nothing at all, no information at all--not even name of the service member. Ridiculous.

Future Family History Starts Today with LOCKSS

So many times, I've wished my ancestors took a photo at a special event or wrote the names/relationships of people on the back of photos or saved invitations to weddings or baby showers. These ancestors lived many yesterdays ago. Alas, I can't go back in time to ask questions or view special events.

As family historians, we're always looking back in time...but we also need to look ahead and be good ancestors for the sake of future family history.

Take photos, print some too

In five or ten years, will we remember the names of all those people at the special anniversary dinner? Or who attended Uncle Joe's 90th birthday party? Where the family vacationed in the summer of 2024? Which family hosted that big New Year's Eve party in 2019?

That's why I ask relatives to please pull out their phones and snap a few photos at family events, then send to me. I compile and share key photos with everyone, sometimes within hours or days of the event and sometimes later.

Every month or so, I print a couple of photos (from today and yesterday) and pop a print into the mail to a relative as a surprise. The idea is to have a tangible memory of that get-together or holiday or first day of school. In the future, these will be remembered and appreciated. They will bring back strong emotions of earlier days!

Also our family's yearly wall calendar features photos of the previous year and some older photos to memorialize those who we loved and lost. And end-of-year photo book helps to capture the high and low points of what my hubby and I did in the previous 12 months. In the photo books, I give dates and name names, though the photos are not always fully captioned with surnames.

Remember LOCKSS

Lots of copies keep stuff safe. That's how LOCKSS works. If three relatives have a photo of Uncle Joe's party, there is a better chance that at least one photo will survive till 2050 or beyond--plus, if names are written on the back, future family historians will be especially grateful. My yearly photo books will help future generations see what was going on from 2008 forward.

Future family history depends on our ability to look ahead and plan ahead!

Free Images for Bite-sized Family History Projects

Sometimes when I prepare a bite-sized family history project, I need illustrations beyond ancestor photos and documents. My goal is to catch the eye of readers and enhance the content with appropriate visuals that engage the audience. 

This year, I've been expanding a booklet I wrote about my hubby's military ancestors, and I wanted additional images to avoid page after page of solid text. (Obviously I married my husband for his interesting ancestors, including men on both sides of the US Civil War, just for starters.)

My regular go-to site for free images is Pixabay.com, where I've found dramatic photos and illustrations to add to my projects. Directly above is a free photo I downloaded from Pixabay, showing a canon and a view of Gettysburg, the famous US Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania where a distant Wood ancestor helped wounded Confederate soldiers. Pixabay features more than illustrations and photos: it also offers downloadable video clips, music, and sound effects.

Recently, I've been introduced to Pexels.com, which also provides free photos that can be downloaded. At top of the page, a colorful photo I downloaded after reviewing dozens of images from my search for "US Civil War." Pexels has video content available for download, as well.

Both Pexels and Pixabay allow (even encourage) you to go ahead and use any of the free images in any way you like. You can modify and adapt them if you choose. Attribution is not required. 

Note: Nancy Gilbride Casey likes RawPixel.com, which has color and b/w maps, illustrations, and more. I plan to explore that site in greater detail!

In fact, I've modified downloaded images by changing the colors (to brighten or soften), tilting the images (for a dynamic look), or flipping the images (to better fit into my content). 

Bite-sized family history projects are a practical way to focus on specific aspects of the family tree. I want my relatives to be intrigued enough to start reading, which is where fascinating images come in. Try Pixabay and Pexels if you need an image for your own family history project. Of course photos/images on Wikimedia Commons are free and downloadable, as well, as long as you follow the guidelines for reusing content.

For more about preserving and perpetuating family history, please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

The Celebration Where I Met Cousin Richard

My maternal grandmother (Minnie Farkas Schwartz) was a "charter member" of the Farkas Family Tree, a family tree association in New York City founded in 1933 by the adult children of Hungarian immigrants Moritz Farkas and Leni Kunstler Farkas.

The Farkas Family Tree met 10 times a year, and members began planning the 25th anniversary several years prior to the actual anniversary date. They decided on a weekend in June, 1958 for their getaway to a resort hotel in the Borscht Belt of New York State and then contributed money at every meeting so that the resort deposit was paid well in advance. 

Thanks to prior planning, members who lived out of town arranged to attend this special celebration. This included Minnie's youngest brother Fred Farkas and his wife Charlotte, who lived in Michigan. Their son Richard Farkas, born on August 1, 1935, had joined the US Naval Reserves in 1956 to become an aviator and was stationed in Texas. Still, he was able to come to the celebration with his parents and sister. 

The family tree paid for a photographer to snap a formal group portrait featuring everyone all dolled up, with one black-and-white 8x10 inch print distributed to each family. You can see Richard in the red oval in this group photo, wearing his crisp white uniform. For the entire family, it was a much-anticipated opportunity to be together and celebrate with full hearts over a three-day weekend.

This is the one and only time I would have met Richard. I wish I could say I have any memory of him, but I was a tiny tyke. Possibly I might have noticed he was the one person in uniform, but that's about all, unfortunately. 

Sadly, three months later, Richard's plane crashed during a training exercise in Texas. I'm sorry to say that he died in the accident, barely 23 years old. Today would have been his 90th birthday if he had lived. So I'm remembering cousin Richard on his special day and wishing I could have known him.

Book Review: Genealogy in Reverse by Cheri Hudson Passey

Cheri Hudson Passey has lots of hands-on experience searching for living family members of US Army soldiers who were missing or killed in action, with the goal of ultimately identifying and repatriating any remains identified via DNA testing. 

Through the years, Cheri has developed a slew of useful techniques and special tricks for locating people and getting in touch. Now she's written a handy how-to guide to give other genealogists a head start. Especially if you've never tried to trace a living relative before, or haven't tried recently, this book is for you.

Genealogy in Reverse: Finding the Living is a concise (54 page) book with a listing of resources and a mini-case study as well as step-by-step explanations. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Methodology

Chapter 1: Building a solid foundation

Chapter 2: Looking for clues in records

Chapter 3: Researching online

Chapter 4: Researching on location

Chapter 5: People finders and social media

Chapter 6: Reaching out to family

Chapter 7: A word about DNA

Chapter 8: Working through a soldier repatriation case (steps for finding living family)

Tools and resources for genealogy in reverse

Each chapter explores an aspect of the process, including creative tips for research and communication. In Chapter 2, for example, Cheri recommends checking obituaries carefully for names and clues, and looking at Find a Grave memorials as well. In Chapter 6, she cautions that sometimes living family members are reluctant to respond to your call, email, or letter--and she provides good ideas for productive approaches when reaching out to kin.

Yes, Genealogy in Reverse is a slim volume, but the content is solid, based on the author's own experiences and expertise. I found the illustrations mostly helpful as I learned about the process--although I would have appreciated larger images, especially screen shots in the chapter about people finders and social media. The mini-case study in chapter 8 was good, but would have been even better with more specifics. 

Still, I've bookmarked a number of pages that I'll return to again and again as I continue to look for living cousins and in-laws. 

To complement the book's brief content, I suggest viewing Cheri's RootsTech presentation on this topic, viewable for free here.

Genealogy in Reverse is affordably priced and available on Amazon. Check it out if you want a road map to follow in finding living cousins or relatives!

NOTE: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher, but this did not at all influence my review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Happy 240th Anniversary to Brice and Eleanor

On July 23, 1785, two of my husband's 4th great-grandparents were married. 

The bride, Eleanor Kenny (1762-1841), was the daughter of James and Jane Kenny, born in Pennsylvania. The groom, Brice Smith (1756-1828), was the son of William and Jean Smith, also born in Pennsylvania. 

Brice married Eleanor in the First Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This church, established by Scots-Irish settlers in 1734, continues to welcome worshippers even today.

Eleanor and Brice had eight children together, two sons and six daughters. As their children grew up, got married, and some moved west to Ohio, Eleanor and Brice eventually left Pennsylvania to be closer to children and grandchildren. When the couple passed away, they were buried in Driver Cemetery, Bremen, Ohio. 

My husband descends through this couple's daughter Rachel Smith, who married John Larimer. Rachel and John's first child was Brice S. Larimer, named in honor of his grandfather Brice Smith. Two generations later, Brice Larimer's grandson was named Brice Larimer McClure. Two generations after that, Brice Larimer McClure's grandson was named Brice. Who knows, maybe the Brice name will continue in the generations to come?

Remembering Brice Smith and Eleanor Kenny on the anniversary of their wedding in 1785. 

FamilySearch Full-Text Search: Mary Slatter Wood's Will

Following the theme of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, I decided to plug in some names from my husband's family tree and try the FamilySearch Full-Text Search functionality. I've done only a few searches previously and this was my opportunity to experiment a bit more.

AI transcript, highlighting, and summary helped

At first, I searched for my hubby's maternal ancestors from the mid-1800s, and found lots of mortgage and deed listings in legal ledgers. These men and women borrowed money and obtained mortgages for various Ohio properties they bought and sold over decades. Above, hubby's great-grandparents E.G. Steiner and Elizabeth J. Steiner had land dealings in Hancock County, Ohio. 

The AI transcript and the highlighting (shown above) plus the document summary helped me get the gist of these documents quickly. Some of these ancestors, including E.G., had to be legally pressured to pay off loans, but I wasn't particularly excited by any of the content.

Check pages before and after

Then I entered the name of my husband's grandfather, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939), knowing that as a builder, he would also have properties in the deeds and mortgages books. Yup. But he was also the executor of his first wife's will and appears in the probate records, none of which I had ever seen.

Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925), sadly died of heart problems at the age of 55. Her will, dated four months before her death, leaves everything to her husband. It's a simple and straightforward document with no frills. I was a little surprised to learn that she made no specific bequests to her four sons. Maybe she didn't know she could do that kind of thing, or perhaps she was already feeling so weak that she and her husband James wanted to get the will completed in a hurry. Or maybe her husband insisted on full control because only one of their four children was of legal age when the will was signed.

Because James's name was not necessarily on every page, I clicked several pages forward and backward to examine every part of the complete probate file. Nobody contested the will, of course, and it sped through probate quickly. 

What they jointly owned

I had no idea Mary actually had a share of any property. But, as the probate excerpt at left shows, she had a share of the family's money in bank and stock, worth no more than $40. She also was co-owner of the family's home and the home next door--both of which were constructed by her husband James. 

For probate purposes, he valued the two houses and properties at no more than $25,000. In today's dollars, a century after Mary's death, the combined value is about $460,000, a considerable sum that was inaccessible because it was tied up in real estate.

Mary Wood's death was a turning point for the family. Her son Edgar, away at college at the time of her death, came home for the funeral but never lived under his father James's roof again. James had refused to give Edgar the money saved for education and in fact, wanted his son to forget about college and find work to support the household. Edgar defied his Dad and enrolled in college, paying the way by playing piano at college functions. He was just one college course away from graduation but never was able to pass a French exam, so he left without a diploma.

Thanks to Randy for the nudge to dig into full-text search a little deeper!

Why I Prefer Color Images of Vital Records

 
My great uncle Fred Farkas (1903-1980) was born on this day in 1903, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a New York City neighborhood crowded with immigrants. He was the 10th of 11 children. Don't read the color image above quite yet! Here's the story.

Fred's birth cert from 1903

Fred's birth certificate originally showed his name as Fred Forkus, because that's how the surname seemed to be pronounced by his parents. His father was shown as Morris Forkus, his mother as Leanie Forkus. 

When I was able to view the certificate image on Family Search--only available at a FamSearch library, not from home--the black-and-white scan (directly above) was readable. However, the original handwritten info was less distinct and the later corrections didn't pop as clearly. 

Then I looked up the cert on the New York City Municipal Archives' Historical Vital Records database. You can see the image here and also in the image at top.

Full color really dramatizes the changes made on January 27, 1942, to correct all of the names. (This full color birth cert is also available on MyHeritage, in its wonderful collection titled "New York City Births, 1866-1909.") 

The color version makes all info on the cert much more readable than the b/w version, which I really appreciate. Not all vital records are available in color, but when they are, I make an effort to check them out.

Why correct the birth cert in 1942?

The only two reasons I can think of for Fred wanting to accurately document his birth in 1942 are: (1) to register for Social Security, and (2) to register with the local draft board during World War II. 

Either way, since Fred's parents had already passed away, who else would have taken the time and trouble to contact New York's Commissioner of Health to have this birth cert corrected? Must have been Fred.

I turned to Fred's WWII draft card, which is dated February 12, 1942, as shown here. He may very well have needed to provide actual, accurate proof of his age, which he could do with the corrected birth certificate that reflected his real surname. 

Remembering Great Uncle Fred with affection on the 122d anniversary of his Big Apple birth.

Planning a Shadow Box for Twin Jewelry

My Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) was a twin. Her sister (my Auntie Dorothy H. Schwartz, 1919-2001) was just a few minutes older. Growing up, they were inseparable. Their proud momma (my grandma Minnie) sewed identical outfits for her girls, including the lacy dropped-waist dresses shown in the photo at top.

To continue sharing family history for the sake of future generations, Sis and I visited a superb custom frame store and we worked with their experts to plan an archival shadow box featuring jewelry worn by Mom and Auntie. At top is a mockup of the arrangement, with a swatch of the ecru linen backing. The jewelry will be meticulously and invisibly hand-stitched to the linen, and the photo will be inset for a dimensional look. 

In the center of the arrangement is a 1920s photo of Daisy and Dorothy, dressed for a special occasion. They're wearing matching pearl necklaces with matching bracelets. Yes, real pearls. One necklace and one bracelet will be mounted on either side of the photo.

Below the photo are two gold bracelets, one worn by each twin when they were preteens. My Mom had these appraised and learned they are real gold but not very valuable--although they are full of sentimental value.

Finally, artistically coiled on the left will be an identification bracelet that was engraved to "Daisy" from her sister "Dorothy, London, 1943." Auntie Dorothy, then a WAC serving overseas in WWII, sent this personalized bracelet to her dear twin Daisy back in the Bronx. 

Mom kept the bracelet all her life and now it will have a place of honor in this shadowbox. Sis and I decided to have the "Dorothy, London, 1943" inscription facing out because I will write a story about the bracelet to be included in the archival envelope on the back of the frame.

This is a high-end approach to sharing, an investment of several hundred dollars that I firmly believe is worthwhile for special items from my family's history. The end result is an attractive heirloom that will be properly preserved and treasured for decades to come. The story of these items will be stored in an envelope on the back of the shadow box.

A less costly option, if you choose, is a ready-made shadowbox frame, available in various shapes, sizes, and colors in many retail stores. That would be a great start if you want to experiment with displaying your family's smaller items.

Twice As Nice: Identical and Fraternal Twins

As a twin and the daughter of a twin, I'm really interested in twins! Above, Sis and me when we were tiny tykes with a little bit of hair. We don't know who's who in this photo, but I'm older by a matter of minutes. 👍 

Twin birth rates

Sis and I recently did a deep dive into twin research. We learned that in the United States, twin births account for 30.7 of every 1,000 births (as of 2023, the latest statistics available). That means just over 3 percent of US births are twins, while a whopping 97% of US births are singletons. 

Yet identical twins stand out even more: only about 4 out of every 1,000 births are identical twins. In other words, identicals represent less than half of one percent of all births, worldwide. 

Identical twins are always same sex, because they are the result of one egg that spontaneously splits. In contrast, fraternal twins can be same sex or opposite sex, because they develop from two separate eggs. Here's more about the difference between identical and fraternal twins. 

Key fact: fraternal twins tend to run in families, but identicals don't. By the way, the highest rate of twin births in the world is in southwest Nigeria, where 45 of every 1,000 births are twins--primarily fraternal twins. 

One or two placentas?

Mom and Dad always insisted that Sis and I were fraternal twins, because there were apparently two placentas. These days, the common wisdom that identicals always share one placenta has been disproved: sometimes identical twins each have their own placenta!

DNA testing is the only scientific way to confirm whether twins are identical or fraternal, which is how Sis and I are absolutely certain that we're identical. Sis says she "always knew" we were identical, but until DNA came along, I trusted my Mom's belief that we were fraternal. I have to admit, Sis was correct all along. 👏

Shadow Box Honoring Dad's WWII Service

Dad (Harold D. Burk, 1909-1978) served in the US Army from March, 1942 to October, 1945. Because he could type, he was assigned as a personnel clerk with the 3163d Signal Service Company, which supported combat troops in Europe by maintaining communication lines. When Dad came home after World War II ended, he put away his military stuff, concentrating on family life and starting a small business.

Preserving items from Dad's military days

Recently, I brought his wartime memorabilia, plus a 5x7 black/white photo of Dad in uniform, to a terrific custom frame shop for mounting in a specially-designed shadow box. I was willing to invest a few hundred dollars to professionally preserve items from Dad's military days and make them look important and worth saving, for the sake of future generations.

My Sis and I are incredibly thrilled with the results! The framers suggested the creative arrangement shown at top. The background is cream linen, with the photo inset by carefully cutting through the backing, to add a dimensional look. 

All items were mounted using archival methods and materials, and the museum glass protects the contents from fading. The wooden frame is a deep, rich black.

We had a nameplate engraved with Dad's name and dates, and it was tacked to the frame for a finishing touch.

Sharing the story

On the back will be a clear archival envelope where I can store other WWII photos of Dad and a written story about his military service. 

Inside the envelope, I'm including a detailed description of the items in the shadow box (clockwise from top right):

• US Army rifle marksmanship badge
• European Theater campaign service ribbon
• Pair of dice (used during Dad's time off)
• Dog tag
• Brass insignia and buttons of US Army and Signal Corps
• Dog tag
• Shoulder patch for his Signal Corps unit

Two years ago, when I created a bite-sized photo book about military ancestors in my family tree, I explained the symbolism of that colorful patch.

The framer is currently fashioning a custom shadow box for my Mom's and my Aunt's childhood jewelry. More about this very soon.

Professional framing is not in everybody's budget, and readymade shadow boxes are readily available in stores like Michael's as well as online. My goal is archival preservation, not just display, so I decided to move up to the more costly  professional solution for Dad's and Mom's special items.

Halfway Through 2025's Genealogical Journey of Sharing

Now midway through my 27th year of genealogy fascination and discoveries, I've been spending time on projects to share family history. This focus sets the direction for much of my research, to fill in gaps and confirm details for ancestors in my family tree and hubby's family tree. 

One way I've been sharing in 2025 is by adding and connecting hundreds of ancestor profiles on the free collaborative tree at WikiTree. I appreciate the ability to categorize ancestors (by birthplace or by burial place or many other categories) and to add a sticker to highlight a specific aspect of an ancestor's life.

At top, part of the WikiTree profile I created for Alice Adelaide Slatter, a little girl from my husband's family tree. She unfortunately died young, as you can see from the special sticker. This is one of the very few stickers I can "code" from memory, because I make a special effort to honor the memory of little ones who were sadly lost too soon. 

Of course I'm continuing to add/flesh out ancestor profiles on Find a Grave, Ancestry, and MyHeritage. No deadlines, no specific goals, just adding and connecting as I follow where the genealogical trail leads me. Plus I'm redoing newspaper research using fresh databases to look for additional social and news items about key ancestors.

Having professional shadowboxes made for Dad's and Mom's memorabilia, a very special way to share, has been a highlight of 2025. I'll post more about these in a few days.

For military veterans, I've got a baker's dozen list of ancestors waiting to commemorate on Fold3 memorial pages, after I receive their US Veterans Administration files. I hope when I finally receive the files that they will be informative. Fingers crossed to complete this by the end of 2025.

I'm still drafting bite-sized ancestor bios to post as memories on Family Search. Note that when I include a photo these days, I put on it a caption and attribution ("courtesy of Wood family" for instance) to make the identification and source permanent. Image here shows a small sample of stories and photos I've put on FamilySearch as memories. Each story starts with a brief headline, usually ancestor name and dates.

In addition, I'm testing colors (above) for a surname word cloud for the bite-sized family history booklet I'm writing about a branch of Wood in-laws. Later this booklet will be turned into a photo book, following these ancestors' lives from the start of the 1900s to the late 1960s.

On this genealogy blog, the top five most read posts from Jan-June 2025 were:

• Genealogy bloggers who are also on BlueSky
• New indexes to New York City digitized vital records
• Change, monitor, or hands off the Family Search family tree?
• What will happen to once-treasured silverware and china?
• Learn for free from big genealogy sites' blogs/videos

Independence Day Penny Postal Greeting

 
Before little Wallis W. Wood (1905-1957) was even three years old, his doting aunt was sending him penny postal greeting cards for every occasion. Above, the front of a colorful July 4th postcard sent from Aunt Nellie (Rachel Ellen Wood Kirby) in Chicago to her nephew in Cleveland, Ohio.

Aunt Nellie warned her nephew not to burn his fingers with sparklers celebrating Independence Day. She also asked whether he remembered his Aunt Nellie. After all, he had met her maybe once and he was only a tyke.

Penny postcards were at their height of popularity in America from 1907-1910. The postcard sent to young Wallis is an example of the "divided back" postcard, with room for a greeting and room for an address and stamp.

Aunt Nellie was a faithful correspondent, mailing postcards for birthdays and holidays to Wallis until he was well into his teenaged years. I'm so lucky to have been able to scan them and save the images with our family's digital collection of photos and materials.

Happy Independence Day!

Family Business: Teddy's Dairy Store

My grandfather Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) first opened a small dairy store in the Bronx about 1917. The initial location was in a residential neighborhood, 985 St. John Avenue in the Bronx, near Southern Boulevard. The building no longer stands. 

NOTE: At this time, the Bronx was greener and more "suburban" than it became 60 years later. As the city's subway system expanded, a lot of families moved uptown to the Bronx from Manhattan for more spacious (and affordable) apartments or homes, close to good schools, nice parks, swimming pools, and other amenities. The commute to midtown or downtown Manhattan would take an hour or less.

By the 1930s, Teddy had progressed to a dairy store in a busier section of the Bronx, at 2294 Morris Avenue, close to Eastchester Avenue. His store was convenient for people to stop in on their way home from work or at any time they needed milk, cheese, eggs, and staple items.

In 1937, Teddy had moved his store to 679 Fox Street in the Bronx, not far from Southern Boulevard. He was alone behind the counter at 9:30 on the winter evening of December 16, 1937, when three armed men charged in. The villains hit Teddy with the butt end of a pistol and stole $50, scramming to rob two other stores on the same evening. Grandpa Teddy must have been shook up, to say the least, as well as unhappy about losing that much hard-earned money during the Great Depression.

In 1942, Teddy's store location again changed. This time he set up shop at 640 East 180th Street, an even busier and better neighborhood for retail traffic. As before, the entrance was at street level in one section of an apartment building.

Grandpa Teddy did well with that busier location and in 1955, he sold the store to his assistant, who viewed it as a "gold mine." Well, it was certainly hard work with long hours, if not an actual gold mine. It had taken the combined efforts of his wife, three children, and other relatives to operate Teddy's dairy stores over the years. 

I learned about these store locations from family documents and Bronx city directories. The story about Teddy being robbed came from the New York Times, which published a small item about the three small businesses all hit by armed robbers on one chilly December evening in 1937. 

Thinking of Grandpa's entrepreneurial efforts, as the #52Ancestors prompt for this week is "family business."

News Reports of Kathleen Southwood Barnes Slatter in Vancouver

It's been fun using newspapers.com to to learn about the charitable and social activities of Kathleen Southwood (1886-?) She was the second wife of hubby's paternal great uncle, Henry Arthur Slatter (1866-1942). 

Both Henry and Kathleen were born in England. Kathleen was first married to John Barnes and they were the parents of one son, John "Jackie" Barnes. Henry was first married to Alice Winter, and they were the parents of five children.  Both Kathleen and Henry were widowed by the time of their marriage on December 2, 1918. Henry's children were grown and gone, but Kathleen's son was still young.

My research focused on Kathleen's life in Vancouver, after she and her son Jackie traveled from London, England to Vancouver, Canada in November of 1919. They were joining Henry, who was resuming his position as bandmaster of the 72d Seaforth Highlanders at the end of World War I.

According to newspaper mentions from the early 1920s to the early 1930s, Kathleen was active in three local organizations: The Ladies' Auxiliary to Army and Navy Veterans, Vancouver Lodge No. 1 of the Ladies of the Royal Purple, and the Lions Gate Chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire.

Ladies' Auxiliary to Army and Navy Veterans

Kathleen was secretary to the Vancouver chapter of what was then known as the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Army and Navy Veterans. On Monday, February 14, 1921, her name appeared in the Vancouver Daily World newspaper as the retiring secretary of this Vancouver chapter. "Mrs. Slatter gave a splendid review of the work accomplished during the past year," according to the report, noting disbursements of Canadian $417 for relief work. That was a significant amount, worth US $4900 today.

"Mrs. H. Slatter" remained active in this group until at least 1922, as I followed her name in social items in the newspapers. She was on the refreshment committee that hosted a fundraising whist party to benefit Canadian veterans (Vancouver Daily World, June 1922). 

Ladies of the Royal Purple

A social item in the Vancouver newspaper The Province on January 16, 1926 mentions "Mrs. H. Slatter" as a guest at a bridge tea hosted by Lodge No. 1 of the Ladies of the Royal Purple. According to the Wikipedia page of the Order of Royal Purple, this group was originally formed in 1914 in Vancouver, Canada by wives of men who were members of Elks of Canada. 

In February of 1929, "Mrs. H. Slatter" was listed in the Vancouver Sun as a Royal Purple committee member for a Valentine's bridge and whist party that raised money for charitable purposes, such as providing coal and clothes for poor and ill people. She was also mentioned as a member of the sunshine and visiting committee in April of 1930, stopping in to see people who were ill.

IODE

In addition, British-born Kathleen was active in the Lions Gate chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire in Vancouver. This group, founded in 1900, adopted the motto "One flag, one throne, one empire" and promoted the concept of Great Britain and British institutions. Today, IODE Canada emphasizes social activities and community volunteerism.

A century ago, the Lions Gate chapter of IODE was social and also charitable. Its members raised money for veterans' support, and Kathleen was often a liaison with the local military hospital, according to a news item in The Province newspaper of September 11, 1929. She continued to participate in IODE for at least two more years, judging by her mentions in Vancouver newspapers.

And then?

Kathleen is absent from later news reports, and she wasn't mentioned in Henry Arthur Slatter's obit in 1942. One online family tree shows her with a different maiden name, passing away in 1934. I contacted that tree owner for more info, and we agreed to work together to uncover more clues. 

I'm grateful that Vancouver newspapers were so diligent in covering social activities in detail, so I have a good idea of what Kathleen was doing in Vancouver while her husband was a bandmaster and her son was in school.

Happy early Canada Day!

What Will Happen to Once-Treasured Silverware and China?

Do you have old silverware or china packed away in a cabinet or attic? Browsing recently in a "vintage" store, I noticed a wooden chest loaded with silverware. I counted a full service of silver for twelve, priced at $60. On another shelf, I spotted a graceful gravy boat and large serving platter from a set of fine china. Sigh.

Decisions, decisions

I know many families trying to decide what to do with matched sets of champagne flutes, or good silverware, or fine china, or other items from decades in the past. These days, younger folks often have no room for a service for twelve of anything. Plus, more are choosing to entertain casually rather than throwing a formal dinner party with silver, crystal, and the works.

Important!  Photograph a place setting or one specific piece of your set so it will live on in your family history records, no matter what you decide to do. Write down a description and let future generations know the manufacturer and approximate date of purchase or however these items entered your family's hands. Maybe you'll want to write a paragraph about some memorable times this china or silverware or goblet set was used for a family holiday or special dinner. Add a photo of a family meal with this set in use, if you can.

Possible next steps

As noted in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, I think it's a good idea to consider your options sooner rather than later. My recommendations:

• Talk with your family about whether they would like to have any or all of your treasured china or silverware or goblets (or other items).
• Mention a specific story (or two) of those items being carefully picked out or proudly displayed by an ancestor, to highlight the emotional connection.
• If no one wants the set, offer to have each person take a single teaspoon or just one piece from any of these sets. Better to save a few items than to have the entire set fall out of the family's hands forever. Everyone has room for one item!
• In addition to offering an item to your siblings, children, grandchildren, also consider asking nieces, nephews, cousins to accept one item. This saves more items and it spreads the stories around to more relatives at the same time.

If you have no takers or can only place a few items, you might want to learn more about the value of your china or silverware or goblets. Consider that should these items have some monetary value, the Brooklyn Teacup has excellent advice about various options for selling. 

Another possibility: Depending on the age of your set, a local museum, library, or history society may be interested in using it (or selected pieces) for historical displays. It's worth exploring.

When to start?

It's never too early to start the ball rolling on finding new homes for your crystal or silver or china, if you choose. In my family, a niece with a sentimental streak has raised her hand for Grandma's silverware and china. Another niece now sets her holiday table with her Mom's wedding china mixed with a few pieces from my wedding china and a couple of crystal goblets from her Dad's family. They appreciate the old-fashioned style and the rich heritage that comes with these items.

I wish you the same luck placing your family's special items!