Free WikiTree Symposium Talks Still Available

If you missed some of the informative WikiTree Symposium talks earlier this month, the handouts for presenters named above are going to remain available, so download handouts here. I especially liked Thomas MacEntee's tech talks, and his handouts are very good.

For an indepth look at ways of safeguarding your genealogy collection, please consider picking up a copy of my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. Thank you!

Still Seeking Ancestors Missing from the 1950 US Census

Did you locate all the US ancestors you were hoping to find in the 1950 Census?

Immediately after the release of records last year, many of us rushed to find people who were enumerated on April 1, 1950. Still, I have yet to find a couple of dozen ancestors, so I'm going to redo my Census searches again on multiple sites, focusing on this one point in time.

At top, I'll use the Ancestry hints to see what that site has already found for ancestors in my family trees. To be thorough, I won't just rely on hints--I'll also specifically search the database "1950 United States Federal Census" with creative surname spelling.

On MyHeritage, I'll search for missing ancestors in the database titled "1950 United States Federal Census." Why? Because MyHeritage and Ancestry indexed this Census differently, I have a better chance of finding "missing" ancestors if I try both sites. 

Of course, Family Search is always free to search, with the 1950 US Census available here. 

I've also been using other sources, including phone directories, newspaper mentions, and vital records, to locate these ancestors and their families in the mid-20th century. But I would like to have the Census records so I can compare with previous Census answers about age, citizenship, occupation, and so on.

With a focused search, I expect to cut the number of ancestors "missing" from this Census to only a handful! 

What Happened on the Eve of Mary Slatter's Wedding

Mary Slatter (1869-1925), my husband's only immigrant grandparent, was born in Whitechapel, London, England, on this day 154 years ago. She had a traumatic childhood, in and out of workhouses with some of her siblings while their mother was in asylums and father was out of the picture.

After their mother died in a notorious asylum after years of confinement due to "melancholia," Mary's older sister Adelaide and then Mary sailed from England to join their father across the pond, all making a fresh start in Ohio.

Most likely through her sister Adelaide, Mary met Toledo-born carpenter James Edgar Wood (1871-1939).

Mary and James were married on September 21, 1898 at the newly opened St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio. When I did an online search to learn what was going on in the city at that time, I was shocked to see this article in a California newspaper. 

The night before Mary's marriage, a giant grain elevator in East Toledo exploded in flames, with at least 16 dead and many more injured. The explosion was loud enough to be heard all over the city, according to this news report. 

The event was so horrific, with tremendous loss of life and property, that similar news reports appeared in other papers around the country for weeks afterward.

I'm sure the entire city of Toledo was still reeling from the aftermath of this deadly fire when James and Mary were married the next day at the church, which had opened its doors the previous year. See postcard view, below. 

Both bride and groom had family in the area, so I imagine relatives were in attendance at the ceremony. 

The couple soon moved to Cleveland, where James built dozens of homes in the early 1900s. They had four sons together, including my husband's father, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986). 

Sadly, Mary died of chronic heart disease in 1925, at the age of 55, much mourned by her family. Today I'm remembering this beloved ancestor of my husband on her birthday, November 10th.

The WWII Veteran Who Enlisted at Age 45

Looking at my hubby's family tree, I noticed something unusual about one World War II enlistment: my husband's 2c1r, Fred A. Rinehart (1897-1986), enlisted in October of 1942 and wasn't discharged until mid-1946 (see image at right).

This is the first time that I've researched anyone in the 20th century who joined the US Army at age 45, and served until he was nearly 49 years old.

Digging deeper, I located Fred's obit in the Sacramento Bee in January, 1986. Mystery solved.

Fred was a US Army Chaplain during World War II. He didn't become a minister until after he was married. (His brother Hugh S. Rinehart also became a minister, by the way.)

From painter to minister

Fred's WWI draft registration card shows him working for a body company in Cleveland, Ohio, supporting his parents. In the 1920 US Census, his occupation was "painter." He was supporting both his wife Lucille and his mother-in-law, Dora. His occupation changed after that Census.

In the 1930 US Census, his occupation was "pastor, village church" in Moorefield, Ohio. Also in the household were his wife and his 10-year-old daughter. In the 1938 city directory for Cincinnati, Ohio, Fred was listed as pastor of two Methodist Episcopal churches. 

In the 1940 US Census, he and his wife and 20-year-old daughter were living in Cincinnati, and his occupation was "minister." Fred's 1942 WWII draft card showed him living in Ohio, working for the Methodist Conference in Cincinnati. 

In the 1950 US Census, Fred and his wife and his daughter plus two granddaughters were living in California, where his occupation was "minister." City directories for various places in California show Fred as a clergyman from the 1950s through the 1970s. By 1981, his occupation in the city directory was listed as "retired."

Reverend Rinehart, Army chaplain

Fred's name appears in a detailed history of the 80th General Hospital unit in the Philippines. He served as a chaplain there from March to May of 1945, when the hospital was involved in evacuation activities and dealing with an overload of patients. I'm still hoping to learn more about his service before and after his time in the Philippines. 

In January 1986, Fred was laid to rest in Fairmont Memorial Park, Fairfield, Solano County, California. His obit mentions not only his decades of ministry but also his membership as a Mason and in the Order of the Eastern Star. He was survived by his wife, daughter, two granddaughters, and five great-grandchildren. In all, he served 48 years as a minister, including nearly 4 years as an Army chaplain.

It's my honor to write about Fred's dedication to service in peace and in war, keeping his memory alive for the future as Veterans Day approaches.

This week's #52Ancestors genealogy prompt, by Amy Johnson Crow, is war and peace.

Downsizing a Figure Skating Program from 2008

Fifteen years ago, I attended a fundraiser figure-skating program in Danbury, Connecticut. Yesterday, in a downsizing mood, I happened across the full-color program. Dozens of local skaters performed alongside well-known ice-skating stars like Ashley Wagner and Jeremy Abbott. Good memories, lots of money raised for a good cause. 

The program is still in mint condition...I even saved the ticket stub!

I decided to try to donate these items to a repository that collects materials related to the city of Danbury. It's important to not only identify potential institutions but also to ask permission to donate.

With a quick search. I discovered that the Danbury Museum is actively collecting materials such as these. I submitted an inquiry along with photos of the program/ticket. 

Within a day, I received an email from the collections manager, who wrote: "I’m very pleased to say yes to adding this to our collection. I don’t think we have anything from this event and very little of this era in general, so this is a definite yes."

I will be signing a certificate of gift conveying ownership of the program and ticket stub to the museum, and will be delivering everything in person.

The museum will gain fresh materials for its collection, and I will feel good that these items have a safe new home, not in the rubbish or recycle bin.

Do you have items nobody in your family wants, so you want to find them a new home? Learn how to proceed by viewing my free talk "Keep Your Family's History Safe for the Future!" during the WikiTree Symposium this week, starting on Friday, Nov. 3, at 5 pm Eastern. For more about the speakers and free presentations, see the full listing here. I'm looking forward to a weekend of genealogy education and fun!