Follow Friday - St John Nepomucene School

While working on my granddaughters family tree I ran across the St John Nepomucene School's Fifth Grade Family Tree Project. What a great project to get kids interested in their family history!

Each year the fifth grade students gather information on their ancestors. Students compile stories about different ancestors using various sources and present those stories to the class. The information gathered is added to a database that can be used by others in future years. We can trace most families from this area back to the 1700s and many even further back. Using this information, students are then able to identify all the other students to whom they are related. The information is also added to our ever-expanding database.

I love that they research stories for a presentation and I hope those are also being preserved for future generations.

Their tree at Rootsweb does not provide sources but it certainly has giving me a great start, especially since all I had was the state of Wisconsin.

What Does it Mean?

I have been working today to try and discover more about my 5th great-grandfather, John Furbush Turner (c.1735-1803). I've found a couple of trees that list him as the son of Andrew Turner and Sarah Read. Those trees list Redegil or Redicle Turner as John's sister. I found the following at Virginia Eastern Shore Public Library, Miles Files 10.0. I have bolded the part that I don't understand.

Thomas Savage III

Thomas was born circa 1688 at Northampton Co, VA. He was the son of Thomas Savage (II) and Bridget Robinson. Thomas was named in his father's will on 10 November 1721 at Northampton Co, VA. He was shown as a son Thomas in the will of Thomas Savage Sr., wife Bridget..1 Thomas witnessed a will on 15 December 1729 at Northampton Co, VA. It was on this date that Luke Johnson, John Smith, Jonathan [J] Savage & Thomas [I] Savage witnessed the will of Nathaniel Savage, wife Sarah, daughter Ansley..2 He made a will on 25 October 1747 at Northampton Co, VA. To my dau. Mary Johnson n. girl Tamar. To dau. Rhody Kellum n. girl Hannah and horse called "Biard". To dau. Agnes Joyne n. girl Sabro and horse "Batchelor". To my grandson Thomas White the colt that came of my son Thomas' mare. Also to my grandson Thomas White, Thomas Savage's oldest saddle. To Redicle Turner 500#t and all she has of mine upon the provisor that Andrew Turner will bear the Parish harmless of the child she now goes with, or else to return back. My son Thomas resid. legatee and extr. Witt: Nathaniel Rogers, Isaac Smith..3 Thomas died before 10 November 1747 at Northampton Co, VA. It was on this date that his will was probated..3

Does this mean that Redicle was pregnant with Thomas Savage's child at the time he wrote his will? Why would "the Parish" need to be held harmless? Does "or else to return back" mean that the legacy needs to be returned to the estate if Andrew Turner were to sue?

What do you think?

Grandpa's Ferrets

Last year I transcribed a letter written by my Aunt Tamerson to my grandfather in 1905. Grandpa was traveling "out west" and he saved a few of the letters he received from home. I wasn't at all surprised that he had a hunting dog but I was surprised to learn that he had ferrets. Having cute little pets just seemed out of character from what I'd been told of him. So I asked Mom about it and her response was that she didn't know that but she wasn't surprised. What more was there to say? I filed that little snippet away.

A couple of weeks ago while looking for information on a different branch of the family I found this little article that gave me a place of residence for Cleveland Horner in 1927.

The News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan, Thursday, December 22, 1927

Today's Live Michigan News

FARMER HUNTS WITH FERRET, IS FINED BY COURT

BUCHANAN, Dec. 22 - John Batten, a prominent farmer residing near Galien, paid a fine of $10 and costs before Justice Al W. Charles __ Buchanan for hunting with a ferret.

Batten, with a gun and ferrett, was scouting in the woods for game yesterday when he was met by Cleveland Horner, a deputy game warden. Horner placed Batten under arrest and took him before Justice Charles. Batten pleaded guilty.

Ferrets were used for hunting?! I always thought they were just pets. So I asked Mom if she thought Grandpa had used his ferrets for hunting. This time, clearly exasperated, she responded "Why else would he have ferrets!?" She'd never heard of having a ferret merely as a pet.

You know how annoying it is when a five year old continually asks why? Since I guess I don't always know when to ask why, I'll just have to pretend I'm five and ask why relentlessly - until she either runs out of answers or shoots me.

Now I'm wondering how many other perfectly reasonable, totally wrong assumptions I've made based on the difference between how things are now and how they were then.