Find a Grave Member for 12 Years

Today is my 12th anniversary of joining Find a Grave to add ancestor memorials, link ancestors to parents/siblings/children, post photos, post bite-sized bios, indicate which ancestors were veterans, offer suggested edits to improve memorials others have created, and use the site for cousin bait. All for free!

Above, my member profile page. Initially, I added a photo to personalize the page, then later added a "bio" listing the main ancestor branches I'm researching. Note that the profile offers the option of listing a "home page" - which, for me, is this genealogy blog. This makes it easy (and free) for cousins and surname researchers to contact me.

Another advantage of Find a Grave (owned by Ancestry) is that its memorials are included in search results on a number of major genealogy platforms, extending the reach of my ancestor memorial pages.

For convenience, I've created a number of virtual cemeteries in which I grouped listings of memorials for my paternal ancestors, my maternal ancestors, hubby's paternal ancestors, hubby's maternal ancestors, and related families. I can share the URL of these virtual cemeteries with relatives who are interested in knowing where family members were buried.

Over the years, several cousins and FAN club members (friends, associates, neighbors of my ancestors) have gotten in touch with me via Find a Grave's messaging feature. And I've connected with a couple of distant cousins because I discovered memorials they had made for our mutual ancestors and I sent them a message.

As I conduct research, I really appreciate when I find a memorial for one of my ancestors and see that someone has carefully photographed the grave, transcribed the info, and maybe even added a couple of extra pieces of info. I've also requested grave photos a few times, and had most of these requests fulfilled. I've thanked these volunteers privately, but this is my public thank-you to the many thousands of volunteers who add memorials and photos on Find a Grave.

Let me say that I entirely agree with the criticisms of Find a Grave for not preventing memorial pages from being created immediately after reports of peopling being killed in a terrible crime or disaster. There must be technical fixes to stop this, and by now, after years of criticism and outrage, it should be a top priority.

For myself, even after a dozen years, I continue to use Find a Grave every week, sometimes every day, to search for clues on memorial pages or add details to improve my ancestors' memorial pages for the sake of future generations.

Turning the FAN Club into the FANI or FANIL or KFAN Club

Over the 25 years of my genealogy journey, I've learned to investigate friends, associates, and neighbors (FAN Club) of ancestors to try to understand any relationships, familial and otherwise. More than once, I discovered that a "family friend" or neighbor was actually a relative.

What about rechristening the FAN Club as the FANI Club, to explicitly include in-laws? OR call it FANIL Club (for in-law, maybe FANI is not the best acronym). OR KFAN (for Kinfolk)!

Many of my hubby's Larimer ancestors settled in Indiana in the 1800s. A good number intermarried with men and women from the McKibbin family, the Short family, and the Work family. Investigating the in-law situation helped me untangle the cousin connection and recognize naming and marriage patterns in multiple generations.

As a result, I've come to suspect that these families were related in some way across the pond, well before they left for America. Some of the obits hint at that, and some of the old newspaper coverage of family reunions a century ago make that claim. No proof yet, but intriguing to investigate by scrutinizing in-laws.

Currently I'm looking at a family genealogy book (digitized and available for browsing or download via FamilySearch) called: "A family history of Murrays, McKibbins, Smiths, Planks, Neffs, and related families of Elkhart and LaGrange Counties in Indiana." As shown in the excerpted index, these families intermarried with Larimer folks, including some of my hubby's Larimers. 

The detailed index is a huge help, so I can focus on one Larimer at a time. I've already found a couple of fresh leads to follow and confirm through additional research. 

My takeaways: (1) do look at in-laws in the family tree, because some may actually be cousins or descendants of confirmed cousins; and (2) do check for digitized genealogy books in the Family Search collection.

1950 US Census Project: FAN Club

My friend Paul, president of a local genealogy club, suggested a 1950 US Census project that sounds like fun as well as a great way to learn more about ancestors' FAN club (friends, associates, neighbors). 

After April 1, when the US Census is made public, we can not only search for ancestors, but look at who lived nearby. Whether we find each ancestor using the basic surname search or do homework to browse (as in this example) the proper Enumeration District, we can then click through each page in the ED to spot familiar names, addresses, ages, birthplace details, and much more.

Hello neighbor

This is a more deliberate effort to actively search out FAN club members. I usually look at the page before and after where my ancestor is in the ED, hoping to find other relatives or familiar names. But Paul's idea is to proactively search out FAN club names we already know as well as investigating the entire ED where an ancestor lives, looking for FAN club members we might not know or expect to find there.

Because my parents lived in a large apartment building in the Bronx, New York, I'll be browsing that ED to look at their neighbors. This 1950 US Census will also tell me more about my father's family, because his widowed mother, unmarried brother, and married sister lived in the same apartment building. 

Seeing who else was in each apartment, and reading about their background will help me understand family dynamics at that time. There may even be people who were temporarily visiting on Census Day--if I'm lucky, possibly a cousin or an aunt or someone's mother-in-law. Plus I'll be browsing for names of people on the block or around the corner that I remember my parents mentioning in conversation.

Friend, neighbor, in-law?

I'm lucky to have my mother's 1953ish address book with names, street addresses, and phone numbers of family and neighbors. I don't recognize every name, but some might be distant relatives and some might be in-laws. I'll be watching for them in the Census to clarify potential family connections.

Similarly, the 1950 Census will enable me to learn more about the names in my late father-in-law's diaries. He mentioned people who I suspect were friends and neighbors in Cleveland Heights. I'll search for them, see where they lived, how close their residence was to the Wood residence, and whether there are any fresh clues to relationships (business or personal). 

Paul will be searching for the surnames of kids he remembers from his early childhood. The outcome will be a map of his neighborhood, with relatives and FAN club members marked by location.

Will you be working on a 1950 US Census FAN club project?

How a FAN Club Member Identified an Ancestor for Me

I've been scanning old photos and negatives left by my father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986). 

At left, a 1919 image I blogged about just recently, remarking on the fashions.

This came from a set of negatives that Ed had marked as "Baker family, 1919."

I know the names of these two sisters, who were Ed's first cousins, but not which is which in the photo.

At right, a photo that my hubby and I believe shows Ed with these same two cousins, 50 years later. No caption, but a family story gave us confidence that these were the Baker sisters. Which is which? We had no idea. Until now.

Hearing from a FAN club descendant

This week, I received a message from a gentleman (Pat) who noticed the Baker names on my public family tree.

Pat is not related to the Bakers or to my husband. 

Here's where it gets a little convoluted. Pat is the executor of the estate for a lady who was the executor for the estate of one of the Baker sisters. In other words, he's the descendant of a FAN club member.

Connecting through my public family tree

When Pat's mom died, he inherited her boxes of stuff, including boxes from her  dear friend, Edith, who died a few years earlier. Pat's Mom wanted her friend's photos and letters to survive, so she bequeathed them to her son. (She wisely planned ahead before she joined her ancestors.)

Now Pat is sorting the bequest and looking for descendants who would like to have some of the items he inherited.

Pat noticed Edith and her sister on my Ancestry public family tree and sent me a message. I confirmed how Edith was related to my father-in-law and thus to my husband. 

Then we exchanged photos. He shared a photo of Edith in her later years. We are so grateful he did.

Eureka! Thanks to the FAN club, I now know exactly which of the ladies in both of these photos is Edith and which is her sister. Edith is on the right in the later photo, on the left in the younger photo. And Pat can see how lovely Edith was in her youth.

A good reason to have a public tree...even without photos, it serves as cousin bait and FAN club bait, with ancestor names/dates/locations visible and the option to send a message. 

Genealogy in Greeting Cards: Researching the FAN Club

If you have old family birthday cards, baby congratulations, and the like, you may have genealogical treasure, not genealogical trash! Cards (and envelopes) can provide valuable clues about your FAN club -- friends, associates, and neighbors. Ephemeral items like these don't always survive, so study them and scan or copy them before giving away or, um, tossing away. 

The congratulatory cards shown above were for a baby born in my family six decades ago. A relative found them in her attic and recognized they might have important clues for me, the family historian. I'm thankful she shipped me the box, rather than putting it in the recycle bin! They will be shared with the next generation after I organize them and preserve them in an archival box.

Envelopes - Dates, Names, Addresses

One of the luckiest finds was a stamped and addressed envelope containing the original baby announcement (baby's given and middle name, birth date, and time birth weight). This envelope had been mailed to England but returned because of insufficient postage. I immediately recognized the surname and city, not the street address. Cousins who lived across the pond! 

In the same batch was an envelope written to the baby's parents, postmarked from England. Inside was a congratulatory note from those cousins across the pond. The card was signed with not just the adult names but also several children's names, enabling me to add more names to the family tree.

Name That Well-Wisher

I recognized most but not all of the signatures on these cards. "Uncle Moe" signed, along with the name of his wife, an in-law I knew little about. Once I added her to my tree, I was able to dig deeper into her background.

My working theory is people who signed with first and last names were likely not related directly to the parents or baby. Asking cousins for help, I discovered that one of the cards signed with first/last name was from the family doctor, and another was from the family dentist. These were FAN club associates.

Researching the FAN Club

In my quest to identify and classify people as part of the FAN club, I referred to The Historical Biographer's Guide to Cluster Research (the FAN Principle) by Elizabeth Shown Mills. 

I received a free review copy of this laminated booklet from the Genealogical Publishing Company, but the opinions here are entirely my own.

Packed with lots of useful information for evaluating possible solutions to problems and locating potential resources for FAN research, I highly recommend this booklet. The illustration on page 4, a visual guide to targeted research using the FAN principle, gave me practical ideas for structuring my study of the collection of baby cards.

The illustration is a bull's eye, with the center being the (1) target person (in this case, the new baby). Moving out from the center in concentric rings are: (2) known relatives and in-laws; (3) others who have the same surname; (4) associates and neighbors of the target person; and (5) associates of associates. 

Following this guide, I tentatively assigned all senders of the baby cards to one of the FAN categories and will be following up little by little, applying the Mills process.

St. Paddy's Day FAN Club Census Page

1850 Census for Clinton township, Elkhart county, Indiana - showing Larimer FAN club

For St. Patrick's Day, I looked at some of hubby's ancestors who told U.S. Census enumerators that they were born in Ireland. No counties listed, just country of origin, unfortunately.

My husband's Larimer family, originally from the north of Ireland, intermarried in America with cousins from the Work, Short, and McKibbin families--families that were also originally from Ireland.

These families are part of the Larimer FAN club (meaning Friends, Associates, Neighbors).

FAN Club in Clinton Township, Indiana

The FAN club is very visible in this excerpt from the 1850 U.S. Census for Clinton township, Elkhart county, Indiana. Just on one page are neighbors who are actually related by cousinship and/or marriage.

For example, the second full household from top of page is headed by William McKibbin a farmer born in PA, wife born in PA, all children born in Indiana. He's part of the Larimer cousin collection.

Next household down is headed by Alexander McKibbin, a farmer born in PA whose wife was born in Ireland. Yes, part of the McKibbin cousins.

Next-to-last household is headed by James Larimer, a Larimer cousin who's also a farmer. Born in VA, wife from Ohio.

Bottom household is headed by Edward Murray, a farmer born in Ireland, married to Jane McKibbin, also born in Ireland. Yes, this McKibbin is part of the cousin collection.

On other pages of this Census are several other Larimer FAN club members living (and mostly farming) in Clinton township, Indiana in 1850.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

1950 US Census: "Think Like an Enumerator"

1950 US Census manual

Although the release of the 1950 US Census is more than two years away, I'm getting ready now.

My prep for this Census release includes understanding what the enumerators were instructed to do (and not do).

I'm browsing through the Urban & Rural Enumerator's Reference Manual so I can . . . "Think Like an Enumerator." (You can read the manual here.)

Enumerators were told, for example, that if no one was home at time of their visit and that household was expected to be away for some time, talk with a neighbor and record as much detail as possible. Then add the notation: "Information given by a neighbor."

Now, 72 years later, we should take such information with a grain of salt because it was not first-hand. How many neighbors can recite the proper age or birth year for anyone or everyone in my household? None. Same holds true for 1950, even though neighbors might have been living near each other for many years. But I'm happy that the Census will contain such notations to alert us to be cautious in accepting the information as factual.

Enumerator instructions on p. 10 of 1950 Census manual

Also I will be checking the pages before and after my ancestor's enumeration for members of the FAN club!

Be aware that 1950 Census enumerators were instructed to visit residences in a particular order and to ask neighbors where houses were located, so they wouldn't miss any. Read more on the U.S. National Archives blog here.

P.S.: I'm putting all of my 1950 Census blog posts into one summary page, with header found at top of my blog. The direct link is here. Thank you for reading!

FAN Club: Larimer, Work, Short Families Go to Church

Once again, keeping the FAN club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors) in mind when doing #Genealogy research has reinforced close connections in my husband's family tree. True, some of these connections are more than 200 years old, and that's a real plus--it shows how the Larimer, Work, and Short families were intertwined for many generations.

They lived near each other, worshipped with each other, and some married each other. A few clues (such as obits) suggest these families were related as cousins in Northern Ireland, and naturally decided to settle in America near each other. One group began in Pennsylvania and then moved westward to Ohio. Some relatives and descendants continued west to Elkhart county, Indiana. Along the way, church records in particular (plus census records) helped me document their close connections. (I viewed the new Presbyterian records posted on Ancestry, reading every original page rather than relying on the index/transcription--which allowed me to note "creative" spellings and spot instances of all the surnames I'm researching!)

Isaac M. Larimer (1771?-1823) and his wife, Elizabeth Woods Larimer (1773-1851) were my hubby's 4th great-grandparents. They had 10 children that I can account for. Many were baptized in the Rush Creek Presbyterian congregation in Fairfield county, Ohio, during the early 1800s. At top, the church record showing two Larimer children (James and Moses) baptized in June and July of 1806.

The youngest of Isaac and Elizabeth's children, Cynthia Hanley Larimer, was baptized in this church in 1815. She married Abel Everett Work there in 1836. Abel was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, while his father, Aaron Work, was married in Mifflin, PA, the town where hubby's Larimer ancestors lived before the move to Ohio.

Also in 1815, the year that Cynthia was baptized, a few Larimer and Work family members were admitted to that Rush Creek Congregation. Shown above, Aaron Work (Abel Work's father) was admitted "on certificate." John Larimer was admitted "on certificate" in 1816. And the list goes on. Who moved first, encouraging which family to join later? I'm going to find out, because they appear in groups, this FAN club of extended family members.

A granddaughter of Isaac and Elizabeth, Margaret Larimer, married Thomas Short in Middlebury, Elkhart county, Indiana, in 1842. Not long after Thomas's birth, his parents (James Short and Frances Gilbert Short) were admitted to the Rush Creek Congregation "on certificate" in 1822. (Interestingly, Thomas's later bio mentions that his parents were born in Ireland, but no indication of where.) Lots of Short relatives eventually settled in the Elkhart area, as did some Larimer and Work relatives, all members of the FAN club.

PS - Reader Janet asked how I keep track of FAN club names that may be important to my research. First, I have my Ancestry family tree open in one browser window (can do same for a Family Search tree) while I read any online records. Second, I have an alphabetized list of surnames I printed from my RootsMagic software. Then I can compare a name and date in, say, the handwritten church records with the names/dates in my tree or software. I also have notes in my software regarding suspected cousinship relations. Of course so many times the same name is used in multiple generations, which means I have to check closely to avoid making assumptions about the wrong Samuel Work or John Larimer.