Free Ancestor Memorial Pages on Fold3

I'm in the process of setting up or beefing up memorial pages on Fold3.com (owned by Ancestry) for ancestors who were military veterans. Memorial pages can be created for non-veterans--even for special events or organizations--but because Fold3 is heavily focused on military records, I'm prioritizing memorials for ancestors who had military service.

At top is a photo showing thumbnails of the 12 memorial pages I've created for vets in my family tree and my husband's family tree. Some were from the US, some from England, some from Canada. Some served in the US Civil War, some in World War I, some in World War II. But now all are searchable and findable on Fold3!

You don't have to be a Fold3 subscriber--just register for a free account. This will allow you to set up memorials, add bite-sized bios, and upload photos. 

But remember, you won't be able to conduct extensive research unless you subscribe, with the exception of using more than 200 free Fold3 databases.

Fold3 may have already given you a head start by creating a memorial page with your ancestor's name and, possibly, some details about his or her service. I discovered a few of my ancestors already had a memorial page with bare-bones about military service. Then I added a bite-sized bio, photos, etc. 

To start, register for a free account and then go to the "training center" page where you can learn more about memorials. From Stories Behind the Stars, here's a brief video that shows, step by step, how to create a new memorial. 

Just another way to keep our ancestors alive by sharing info on multiple sites.

This is my post for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge, following this week's theme of service.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Indexes and transcriptions don't tell the complete story of what's contained in a document. 

The actual document scan often includes interesting details that put a different light on an ancestor's life--hidden in plain sight, available only by looking at the image!

Draft registration reveals unusual occupation

In researching Charles Train Caldwell (1877-1929), my husband's 2c2r, I took a look at the scan of his WWI draft registration card. I can't remember ever seeing one typed before, which caught my eye.

What also caught my eye was the occupation: "prisoner."

Plus this man's signature, which looks as though he can barely write. All of these small clues helped me get a better sense of his life--and motivated me to dig deeper for more information.

Charles had married in 1901 and was the father of two sons. By 1910, he and his wife had divorced. When and why he wound up in prison by the time he was registered for military service in 1918, I don't yet know.

Civil war registration reveals physical condition

Charles's father was Sanford Caldwell (1843-1922). His US Civil War militia registration is on the last line of the above excerpt from an Indiana ledger book.

He's 19 years old, a farmer by occupation, and in the remarks column is a notation about his health: "diseased lungs, ex."

In other words, Sanford was exempt from service because of some sort of problem with his lungs. 

This detail was hidden in plain sight, visible only if I looked at the document rather than simply accepting the basic facts from the transcription.

Sanford's lung problem didn't prevent him from farming, marrying, having children, and living until the age of 79, by the way.

Always look at the original document if the image is available! 

Mother-Daughter Autograph Books

On this Sentimental Sunday, I'm looking at autograph books from family history.

Nearly 90 years ago, my mother (Daisy Ruth Schwartz, 1919-1981) graduated from junior high school (which was then grades 7, 8, and 9). 

She was 13 years old and moving up to high school for grades 10, 11, and 12.

Mom kept her graduation autograph book in great shape! 

As shown above, she wrote her name, the school number (J.H.S. 60 in the Bronx, New York), the principal's name (Anna V. McCarthy), her graduating teacher (Miss Hammond), and the date of graduation (January 31, 1933). 

A January graduation was the norm then. Mom graduated from high school three years later, in January of 1936.

At right, a page from Mom's autograph book, with a cute rhyme that was still in use decades later. "There are all kinds of ships, wooden ships, and steel ships, but the best ship is friendship." Signed, "your sister grad-u-8, Anna Kratzer." I've been able to find many of these classmates in Mom's high school yearbook, as well.

Although I attended school decades after Mom, my autograph book from grade 6 graduation also included signatures and inscriptions from classmates, some sentimental and some funny. I attended PS 103 in the northern Bronx, NY.

At left, one of my best friends included an affectionate notation based on 2+2=4. This same "equation" appears at least three times in my autograph book!

Another inscription used more than once in my autograph book is..."For dirty people only." Turn the page, and the inscription continues: "Use soap! Happy graduation from ...." (no LOL or emoticons of course). 

Best of all, these handwritten messages from the 20th century are well preserved in an archival box and will live on through the 21st century. If future generations can still read basic cursive handwriting, they'll be able to decipher the messages!

This is my post for the September 2022 School Days "Genealogy Blog Party."

Back Up Your Cousin Connections Too

The first of every month is backup day--to be sure my genealogy documents, notes, digitized photos, and everything are kept safe in more than one place. LOCKSS: Lots of copies keep stuff safe.

In addition to automated backups to the cloud every day, I have multiple hard drives with backups, just in case. What about backing up my cousin contacts? For that I created a simple cousin connections document.

As shown in the sample at top, my connections format has three columns: (1) name/relationship, maiden name and/or nickname, (2) all contact info, including social media; and (3) notes, such as clarifying who the person is and when I last was in touch. 

This week, after I spoke with one of my cousins, I jotted a note that we had a conversation, and wrote down the update month/day/year.

For my hubby's cousin connection form, I added the email of a cousin I'm now corresponding with about mutual ancestors. Also noted the update month/day/year.

Both forms are now freshly printed and tucked into my address book as well as in a surname file or two. These forms will refresh my memory and will be useful to the next generation after I join my ancestors in the far future.

And both forms are digitally backed up to my hard drives and in the cloud!

-- Tips from my popular genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, available in ebook and soft cover from Amazon US, Amazon UK and Amazon Canada.   Also available in soft cover from the AmericanAncestors.org bookstore and the Newberry Library bookstore!

Thank you to Tamie Dehler, who reported on my book with a glowing review in the July 30th issue of the Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, IN. 

Did Your Ancestor Buy a Tombstone from Sears?

 

Wednesday night, I learned that the venerable Sears, Roebuck catalog actually marketed tombstones a century or more in the past!

This fascinating factoid came out during a book club meeting hosted by the Virtual Genealogical Association. 

We were discussing Stories in Stone by Douglas Keister, a terrific book about gravestone architecture, symbolism, and acronyms.

Then the Sears catalog was mentioned. I can envision ancestors in small, rural towns ordering a wide range of merchandise by mail. But I had no idea tombstones were also for sale in the catalog. 

Especially in tiny communities where few skilled craftspeople were available to create stones, this must have been a good alternative.

Doing a quick online search, I discovered an entire Sears catalog devoted to products  called Memorial Art in Granite and Marble, better known to consumers as tombstones. 

The 1906 catalog, available for free to view or download from Internet Archive, includes more than 200 pages of illustrations and explanations. The catalog page at top shows a stone priced at $57.40 (and upward), which today would be more than $1,800. 

Prices varied, depending on size, type of stone, and whether ordered with or without engraving. Want a bench or a fence? Also available in this specialized catalog.

I don't know for sure whether any ancestors purchased tombstones from Sears, but it's an intriguing possibility I hadn't considered before. Did you think any of your ancestors bought a stone from Sears?