Sad Fate

There have been several posts lately about leaving instructions as to what we want done with our genealogical treasures when we're gone.

While scanning some auctions today I was saddened to read this:

I believe these where the children of Mr and Mrs Arthur Short of Providence RI. Mrs Short was a genealogist turning the 1930/40's

as these where found on the bottom of a box of genealogy records from her estate.

Wedding Belle

My wedding attire was very traditional - for my family at least. For both of my weddings I wore a very practical dress that I could also wear to work. My mother wore a pink, wool suit for her wedding. I do not have the details but I'm fairly certain that Grandma Pearl wore a nice traveling dress and certainly neither Anna nor Sarah Ann wore a fancy white dress. Grandma Berry's wedding attire was a skirt and blouse and rather plain but she eventually owned some lovely gowns. I can't imagine that any others of my paternal ancestors wore anything that wasn't perfectly practical.

Although there is certainly nothing wrong with a small wedding and simply wearing your best clothes, I always felt that I had somehow missed out. When my sister announced her engagement I was thrilled for her. I was doubly thrilled when she asked me to be her matron of honor and to go shopping with her for a bridal gown. Several gowns were tried before one with a lovely Chapel train. When I first saw her in that gown I teared up. She was certainly a beautiful bride and family tradition has now been changed.






This was written for the 14th edition of Smile for the Camera.

SNGF - 1909

Randy's Saturday night fun at GeneaMusings this week asks us to identify which of our ancestors were living a hundred years ago.

Tonight's Genealogy Fun is to:

1) Which of your ancestors were alive in 1909?

2) Tell us where your ancestral families were living in 1909. What country, state, county, city/town, etc. Who was in the family at the time? Use the 1910 census as "close enough."

3) Have you found each of these families in the 1910 census?

My great-grandfather, Isaac Ashley Carlisle (age 67), great-grandmother, Sarah Ann "Anna" (Camfield) Carlisle (age 56) and grandfather, Daniel Michael Carlisle (age 24) were living at 803 Main St, Buchanan, Michigan. My great-great grandmother, Sarah Ann (Wisner) Camfield (age 91) also lived with the family.

My great-grandfather, Joseph Harrison Camfield (age 62) was estranged from his family and living in South Bend, St. Joseph, IN.

My great-grandmother, Sarah Arazina "Rose" (Graham) Camfield (age 57) was living in South Bend, St Joseph, IN, possibly at 525 Scott St, where she was living at the time of the 1910 census. Living with her were two of her daughters, my grandmother, Pearl Vivian Camfield (age 23) and Ruby Blanche Camfield (age 21).

My great-great grandmother, Jane (Rawlings) Berry (age 79) was living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 1911 she was enumerated at 410 Cumberland with her daughter and son-in-law, Arthur John M. and Caroline (Berry) Wilson. On the census her age was given incorrectly as 84.

My great-grandmother, Charlotte Theresa Kate (Hollington) Berry (age 34), a widow, was living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. On 1 Sep 1909 she married Harvey Harry Sanders (age 31). With her were her two sons, Thomas David Berry (age 11) and my grandfather, Kimberly Powell Berry (age 9).

My great-grandfather, James Kelly (age 53), great-grandmother, Isabella (White) Kelly (age 44) and grandmother, Mary Leith Kelly (age 9) were in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 1911 they were living at 17 4th Ave, in the Capitol District.

So in 1909 all four of my grandparents, seven great-grandparents and two great-great-grandmothers were living.

Carnival of Genealogy, 73rd Edition

Welcome to the 73rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. I'm thrilled to be hosting this edition, The Good Earth. I'm brewing up some Oswego tea, fresh from my garden, so help yourself to a mug while you read about how our families connect to the land.

The first edition of the CoG appeared at Creative Gene three years ago today! Please be sure to stop by and and thank Jasia for all of the hard work that she has put into starting and keeping the Carnival going.

To celebrate the start of the the CoG's third fourth year we'll begin with Jasia, who presents The Good Earth, Poland posted at Creative Gene. She says, "I have so many ties to the good earth it's a wonder I don't have dirt-under-the-fingernails as a permanent condition. Stop by and see why I had such a hard time determining that ALL of my Polish ancestors were farmers!"

Sharon Klein presents Dad's Garden posted at Genealogy, saying, "It wasn't the prettiest garden but who cares as long as the vegetables/fruits are good."

Mary Beaulieu presents The Good Earth? posted at AncestorTracking, saying, "When folks talk about the sacrifices of their ancestors, my grandfather is one of the people I think of. The land gave him an opportunity for a new life and, eventually, claimed him."

Linda Hughes Hiser presents Carnival of Genealogy--The Good Earth: Family Ties to the Land—Sampson Smith Frum posted at Flipside, saying, "Having a very frugal nature, my gggg grandfather, Sampson Smith Frum, was the largest land holder at his death in Monongalia County, West Virginia."

Amy Coffin presents We Tree: Fight On, Wonder Boys: COG 73 posted at We Tree. Amy certainly piques our curiosity with, "During a 2008 trip to Arkansas, I found my ancestor's former farmland transformed into an entirely different type of fertile ground. What could it be?"

Sheri Bush presents Dad's Calling - The Good Earth posted at TwigTalk.

Kathryn Lake presents Grandpa George's Garden posted at LOOKING4ANCESTORS. "Kathryn Lake of LOOKING4ANCESTORS shares the story of her grandfather and the unique way he trimmed his tree at Grandpa George's Garden."

Stephanie Lincecum presents Planters, Farmers, Sharecroppers -- I Descend from Them All posted at Lincecum Lineage, saying, "I have all types of Earth tenders in my family tree. Planters, Farmers, Sharecroppers... And I'm grateful to them all for helping shape my attitude today."

Karen Packard Rhodes presents Carnival of Genealogy 73: The Good Earth Belongs to Someone Else posted at Karen About Genealogy. Karen points out, "Not everyone's family has ties to the land; some of us sprang from city or suburban folk, some of whom never even owned a house!"

John Newmark presents Family Roots in The Good Earth posted at TransylvanianDutch, saying, "While growing up suburban, I have two grandparents born on a farm, in Texas and Transylvania."

Bill West presents West in New England: CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY 73: THE LAND AND MY FAMILY posted at West in New England, saying, "My family's connection to the land goes back a long way in New England and influenced our family history."

Denise Olson presents Moultrie Creek Network » The Farm posted at Moultrie Creek.

Janet Iles presents Janet the researcher: Good Earth Family Ties to the Land - 73rd Carnival of Genealogy posted at Janet the researcher, saying, "My paternal great grandfather, George Iles was a gardener but he spent some of his life as "a farmer"."

Earline Hines Bradt presents Good Earth - Vege-Land posted at Ancestral Notes, saying, "My dad bought a "hobby farm" gone wild and tamed it."

Debra Osborne Spindle presents The Good Earth: Family Ties to the Land posted at All My Ancestors.

Randy Seaver presents The Good Earth? Sometimes not good enough. posted at Genea-Musings.

Donna Pointkouski presents Devoted to the Land: My Farming Ancestors posted at What's Past is Prologue, saying, "I had to go back several generations, but I found some hard-working farmers and millers in Poland and Bavaria."

Becky Wiseman presents Tillers of the Soil posted at kinexxions, saying, "The Kansas State Agricultural Census provides a glimpse into the farm life of one family that tills the soil and reaps the rewards of their labors."

footnoteMaven presents In The Land Of Good Earth posted at footnoteMaven. She says, "The French called the area where I was born La Bonne Terre, "the good earth," in reference to its mineral wealth. The men of my family worked this land of good earth as lead miners."

And to finish up this edition I present Time on the Farm posted here at Apple's Tree. My time on the farm was brief but very memorable.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this edition! I really enjoyed reading them and learning more about some of your family history.


And now it's time for a Call for Submissions! Back by popular demand, the topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Swimsuit Edition! Why should Sports Illustrated have all the fun? This is your chance to show off the bathing beauties in your family. Pull out the old photos of Grandma Moses in her seaside bloomers, Auntie Mae in her pin-up girl suit from the 1940s or 50s, cousin Paula in her psychedelic bikini from the 1970s, or even yourself in your Speedo! Let's have some fun here! Memorial Weekend is behind us and that means the start of the summer sun, sand, and lakeside season so let's get in the mood with summer fun photos. What? You don't have any swimsuit photos you dare to share? No problem! Tell us your best family beach stories instead! The deadline for submissions is June 15th. This edition of the COG will be hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I love the COG poster, thanks fM!