Gravestones Tend to "Move" —Jot Down Detailed Directions Ancestry Quick tip 7/9/2001

Cemeteries can differ from location to location, depending on the geographical area, the population of the surrounding communities, ethnic and religious affiliations, and the pur-pose of the cemetery. For example, a church cemetery will be very different from a mili-tary cemetery in purpose, types of records maintained, physical layout, and the types of markers or monuments. Before visiting a cemetery for genealogical research, try to determine what type of cemetery it is. You can sometimes accomplish this by searching for a website on the Inter-net for the cemetery itself, or the munici-pality or organization responsible for main-taining the facility. You may find informa-tion about cemeteries in an area by visiting the USGenWeb Project sites for states and counties or for different countries at the WorldGenWeb Project site. If you are trying to learn about military cemeteries in the U.S., visit the Veterans Administration website. For U.S. veterans buried overseas, visit the American Battle Monuments Commission. The Common-wealth War Graves Commission site pro-vides information about military cemeter-ies, interments, and memorials for more than 1.7 million men and women from the UK, Canada, Australia, and other members of the Commonwealth. Before visiting a cemetery, it is advisable to make contact with the administrator or sex-

(Continued on page 6)

When visiting cemeteries, make a point of jotting down the permanent structures around them. It's so easy to get lost looking for relatives, particularly with the somewhat confusing numbering systems some cemeteries have. My husband and I found out the hard way after returning to our home city ten years later, that things can change drastically even in cemeteries—particularly when they start to run out of room.

ROOTDIGGERROOTDIGGER 2 n d Q u a r t e r : A p r i l — J u n e 2 0 0 6

Making The Cemetery Rounds by George G. Morgan

Spec ia l po in ts o f i n te res t :

• Learn the best way to prepare for your Ceme-tery visit

• Learn Steps in Research-ing Obituaries

• Watch where you dig!!

• Check out our Website Queries

I ns i de t h i s i ssue :

Clues in Obituaries 2

Website Query 4

Privy Digging Tip 4

Website Query 4&5

Misspellings & Ini-tials

7

Rootsweb Notifica-tion

7

The Recording of a Cemetery

8

The Rootdigger is a publication of the Marion County Genealogical Society, a division of the non-profit Historic Marion County/ Ocala Preservation Society. Annual membership fee is $15.00.

Headstones from the Old Burying Ground at Historic Deerfield,

Massachusetts.

2 nd quar te r 2006

Page 1

P a g e 2

Clues in Obituaries: Research Steps by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG

Since each of us has a unique brain, we don't understand or process information in the same way. One person needs detailed, written instructions, another needs visual exam-ples, and yet another reads through a record and a research plan immediately evolves. Most of us know the importance of checking obituaries, death notices, or funeral stories for re-search clues. What if you are a fledgling genealogist and don't immediately relate to this step? Our Target Obituary Compiling a research plan is today's topic. Interpreting and research planning from a familiar family obituary hardly seemed fair. Ancestry.com provided me with exactly what was needed. I have no connection to this family, but I wish I did. This sample record is from The Decatur Daily Republican [Illinois] August 5, 1885.

Death of John Carder During the past ten weeks the well-known farmer, John Carder, has been confined to his home, three miles west of Decatur by illness . . . This morning at 7:30 o'clock he died, leaving a widow, one daughter, and two step-children. The deceased was a brother of the late J. C. Carder, and a half brother of J. R. and J. W. Race . . . His age was 53 years . . . The funeral . . . Rev. Gay, of Harristown officiating.

Our Aim Imagine that you found this in great-grandma's scrapbook. Who are these people and how are they related? What research steps evolve from this notice? Before you read further, jot down some of the research steps that immediately come to mind. Even if you knew the connection, many of the research steps would still apply. Interpreting This Notice Who are the wife and children? The research steps below are based on my first read-ing. Some steps can be done online, others need to be done in person, and a few could mean hiring someone to assist in the search.

• Look at a map to determine where Decatur is in Illinois and in what county. • Check for the Carder surname in online databases for others working on this family.

Do some of the research steps before contacting this person so you can communi-cate more effectively.

• Check the 1880 census at Ancestry.com or at a library holding the microfilm ver-sion. Based on the "well-known" comment he is likely to have been a long-time resi-dent. Earlier censuses will also need to be checked.

• Check censuses for the brother and half-brothers to obtain the full names and more details on them.

• Check for publications or a website that list Illinois newspaper holdings. Is there another newspaper in Decatur at that time? Possibly a notice in that one may give the names of the wife and children. It might be beneficial to read Decatur newspa-pers for local news tidbits that may mention the family or his illness during the ten weeks he was confined to his home.

• Check for records of both his marriages. Try to find the current wife's first marriage. (This would be especially important if you were connected via that marriage.) I know that some Illinois marriage records have great family detail.

(Continued on page 3)

Check censuses for the

brother and half-brothers to

obtain the full names and

more details on them

R O O T D I G G E R

Be sure to pack all of your re-search material before you set

out to ‘root’ out your ancestors.

Some of the more unusual gravestones to be seen in the Belvidere Cemetery. The tree trunks are somewhat unique for Illinois and represent the brevity of life. The number of broken branches can indicate deceased family members buried at that site as well.

Clues in Obituaries: Research Steps (Continued)

(Continued from page 2)

• Check for cemetery information in publications or online. Decatur was not the smallest of towns so the possible cemetery may have to be narrowed down. Check for John and all the other people listed in the notice.

• Figure out the church served by Reverend Gay and check for marriage, burial, chris-tening records for the names. A county history or a newspaper might be a good start--or are there city directories for Decatur in that time period?

• Based on John's death age, he would have been of an age for Civil War service. Start with the possibility of Union Service. Request the complete service and pension re-cords from the National Archives. Census records will help determine if he lived in the South or North at that time.

• Check for a Macon County probate record for John, his late brother, and for any Races and Carders.

• Check for these names in a Macon County history and check for published Carder family histories.

• Once given names of his siblings are determined, check for them in all these re-cords.

• Is there a historical society or genealogical society in Decatur that has family or ver-tical files, or cemetery indexes listing any of these people? Later read the back is-sues of their publications for other possible details.

• Is there an online discussion list for the Carder or Race surnames? Post a query and search for queries from other researchers.

The Research Next I did some quick online searches for the Carder name in Decatur city and Macon County. Here is what I found:

• The 1880 census did not show a John Carder in Decatur or the county. I did some creative searching and found John and Nancy Carden with daughters Fannie, Carrie E., and Josie E.

• 1870 produced a Melvina Carder with five children, but not a John. Doing a search for just the surname Carder in Macon County with a keyword of Decatur produced a James C. Carder. (J.C. Carder?). Need to rule all of these in or out.

• At Ancestry.com, other newspaper possibilities for John Carder popped up. One was in 1888 and talked about Mrs. John Carder (no given name for her). In 1893 another newspaper mentioned a Miss Josephine Carder. (Josie E.?)

• The Decatur Daily Republican of 30 October 1878 told of a wedding at the country residence of Mrs. John Carder, a sister of the bride. The story listed people who at-tended the wedding. More folks to research.

• OneWorldTree gave me info on a Nancy Park who married a Charles Knapp, and on 15 December 1879, in Macon County, married John Carder. She had a daughter named Josie by John.

• Online searching for James C. Carder in Macon County yielded several details, in-cluding that he was born in Ohio.

• The USGenWeb for Macon County includes an index for an 1880 History of Macon County, Illinois.

• Carder, John, Decatur, Sec. 8, Farmer & Stock Raiser, Frank. Co. OH,

(Continued on page 5)

P a g e 3

Is there an online discussion

list for the Carder or Race

surnames? Post a query and

search for queries from

other researchers.

Have you brushed up on your French before tracing your roots to Paris?

Clasped hands design from the Red Oak Cemetery. The banner above the hands says

"farewell".

2 n d q u a r t e r 2 0 0 6

P a g e 4

Privy Digging Tip By Homer Thiel, Tucson Arizona

I'd like to comment on SallyAnn Glynn's note on House History. She is excited about discovering her home's history, and wrote ". . . our privy digger has already located a possible site and plans to dig it later this year. What kind of luck have others had with subter-ranean house history?" Some "privy diggers," are essentially bottle hunters, who will go into her backyard and dig up an archaeological site. The artifacts such as broken dishes, bottles, animal bones, plant remains, and so on, provide information that does not survive in the written records of the time period. These include mundane things like what sorts of foods past residents of her home ate. What kinds of dishes they used. What kinds of health problems they had. If exca-vated by a trained archaeologist, privies have the potential to provide a large amount of data on the everyday lives of the everyday people that genealogists are interested in. Unfortunately, some privy diggers don't care about these sorts of things. They are only after the unbroken bottles. Everything else is discarded. No documentation is recorded, no maps drawn, or photographs taken. Nothing is preserved for future study. No report will be prepared describing what was found and how this relates to the people who once lived in Glynn's house. How would genealogists feel if people tore out pages from the record book when-ever they found an entry they were interested in? Similarly, an unqualified privy digger could destroy an important part of the heritage of Ms. Glynn's home, one that has the potential to provide information that doesn't exist anywhere else. A better alternative is to contact a local archaeological society for advice or merely leave the privy alone for some future archaeolo-gist to study. A resource on Indiana archaeology can be found at: www.in.gov/dnr/historic/archeomonth.html.

Source: Ancestry Daily News (http://www.ancestry.com/dailynews) 21 February 2006 (Copyright 1998-2006, MyFamily.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries.)

Sub jec t : Webs i te Query F ro m M a r l i nd a P a ssm o re

I am looking for information about Cader Clark born 1805 Camden County Ga to Jacob Clark and Sarah Stephens. Married Lucretia Williams Jan. 6 1831 Camden County. Relocated to Columbia County FL 1832. ( children. Again relocated to Marion and then Levy County FL. Was also married to Zaney Ivey 1854 Florida. Marlinda Passmore email: cocopo@bellsouth.net 711 W. Avery St. City: Pensacola, FL 32501

What kind of luck have

others had with

subterranean house

history?"

R O O T D I G G E R

The willow tree represents life, knowledge, the fall of

man through sin, human frui-tion or frailty. Note that the branches on the right have been broken off and there is a lamb under the tree. The lamb represents innocence, indicating that this is the

grave of a youngster or teen-ager.

Bridge the gap from past to pre-sent as you research your roots.

Sub jec t : Webs i te Query F ro m Kim b er ly Ra yb o r n

I am looking for pictures and family stories about Mary Ann Griner Leitner (born January 5, 1846) -daughter of Martin and Sarah Griner-and her husband John Leitner (born July 7, 1837)- son of Jacob and Charlotte Leitner- and of their children John Leonidas Leit-ner, Sr., Lawton Daniel Leitner, Florence Charlotte Leitner, Clarence Gustavus Leitner, Mary Adella Leitner, Imogene Ann Leitner, Keitte Albert Leitner, Edgar Nicodemus Leitner, Hope Lee Leitner, and Flavius Jewette Leitner. I will gladly pay for any pictures and copies of documents. Thanks so much- Kimberly Rayborn P.O. Box 969 Foxworth, MS 39483 601-736-6842

Clues in Obituaries: Research Steps (Concluded)

(Continued from page 3)

1863 • Park, Nancy J., Decatur, Sec 8, Wife of John Carder, Morgan Co, 1867

• John was born in Franklin County, Ohio, came to Macon County in 1863 and Nancy was born in Morgan Co. Illinois, came to Macon County in 1863. Using a search engine I typed Carder Macon County and was linked to a site for Sangamon County, Illinois with a biography of John Park, whose daughter Nancy married Charles Knapp and, after his death, John Carder. They had one child, Josie E. This Park en-try has wonderful geographic references such as County Antrim, Ireland and a maiden name of Mayben for Park's wife. So many clues! What happened to the first spouse of John? Did she die, was there a divorce?

• The Family History Library Catalog lists many items for Macon County and also family histories related to the name Carder.

The Next Steps Because our minds work differently, some of you probably came up with other first steps. You'll just have to add to the research plan as you check the above sources and the many more possibilities. Not all families will have so many quick links, but these steps relate to research planning on other families. "Almost" Final Words You may have read the exciting announcement about the new Ancestry Weekly Journal and the 24-7 Family History Circle forum online. As the transition nears, this is my last column in Ancestry Daily News. You can read my col-umns from the last 2 1/2 years in the Ancestry.com Library. BUT, you don't get rid of me or the wonderful help we have all received from others in this electronic newsletter--watch for us in these new formats.

Source: Ancestry Daily News (http://www.ancestry.com/dailynews) 16 March 2006 (Copyright 1998-2006, MyFamily.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries.)

P a g e 5

Because our minds work

differently, some of you

probably came up with other

first steps.

A revolutionary war era grave-stone from Belpre, Ohio. from one of the original settlers into this part of Ohio, probably set-tling here shortly after the revo-

lutionary war ended.

Modern gravestones are usually flush with the ground for easy maintenance. Photo complements of Judy Wright.

2 n d q u a r t e r 2 0 0 6

P a g e 6

Making The Cemetery Rounds by George G. Morgan (Conclusion)

Rural cemeteries and

especially family cemeteries

may be more difficult to

locate

R O O T D I G G E R

Do you have the right key to unlock your family history?

The flying winged cherub from a 1789 gravestone symbolizes the flight of the soul from mortal man.

Sub jec t : Webs i te Query F ro m J o hn E ng la nd

Seeking information on Nicholas John Theios and Kalliopi Theios (great-grandparents) from the Dunnellon Florida area around the 1900's. Seeking a copy of their "Declaration of Intention" papers as well as any other information. Had a daughter Helen and a son, John. John England 10522 Lake City Way NE #CB Seattle WA 98125 john15usa@hotmail.com"

(Continued from page 1)

ton. He or she can tell you what is and what is not available in the way of records about each burial and where to locate the graves of your ancestors and family members. You can also make an appointment to visit the administrative office to meet, to obtain copies of re-cords, and to learn about other resources in the community. These might include stonecut-ters, funeral homes and mortuaries, crematoria, and government offices that handle the issu-ance of death certificates, burial permits, and who may handle deeds for the cemetery lots and/or plots. Rural cemeteries and especially family cemeteries may be more difficult to locate, as may be the administrators or sextons. Local funeral homes will usually be able to supply their contact name and information for a rural cemetery to you. The government agency that is-sues burial permits also may be able to help. However, don't overlook the resources of the local public library reference personnel and the local genealogical and historical societies. All of these people may have contact with the cemetery owners or administration personnel in the area. Make yourself familiar in advance of your visit with local histories. These can sometimes provide insights into the various national, ethnic, or religious groups in the vicinity, as well as any burial customs that may be different from those you have previously encountered. You might also study something about cemetery iconography so that you better understand the meanings of symbols and characters inscribed on markers. If you plan to visit a military cemetery, learn something about the branches of the military and the time period of battles and burials encompassed by the graves. If you understand the basic military organizational structure and the ranks of the servicemen and women, you may gain a better understanding of the cemetery occupants' lives and experiences.

Source: Ancestry Weekly Journal (http://www.ancestry.com) April 17, 2006 Learn about Ancestry.com member-ships. Copyright ©2006, MyFamily.com, Inc.

RootsWeb Not i f i ca t i on

BOOK NOTES: Levy County, Florida The following recently published publications with genealogical and historical information about Levy County, Florida and surrounding areas including Marion, Gilchrist and Alachua counties are available. "Marks and Brands of Levy County, Florida," Book A, 1865-1907; 116 pages, softbound, $20 postpaid, includes a discussion of the "open range" and its demise in the state, examples and explanation of the various marks and sketches of the actual marks along with their re-corded descriptions. An all-name index is included. "Masonic Lodges of Levy County Florida and other Nearby Lodges." 20 pages softbound, $3.50 postpaid. Oldest available lists of members of 17 lodges are given. "Withlacoochee Notes." 206 pages; softbound with 87 photographs, $15 postpaid. A history of the area along this important central Florida river from the Gulf, through Levy and Citrus counties and into west Marion County; includes several important early pioneers. Books are available from Dix Stephens, librarian, Levy County Genealogy and History Soci-ety, P.O. Box 2125, Trenton, FL 32693-2180. For more information contact: dix1034@yahoo.com. Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 29 March 2006, Vol. 9, No. 13.

Misspellings and Initials

Having trouble finding your ancestors in a database? Databases are rather picky creatures; one key letter read wrong by the database creator can throw a huge monkey wrench into your search. Often-confused letters in transcriptions and indexes include: L and S T and F J, G, and Y I and J K and R O and Q P and R U and W In addition, vowels are also frequently misinterpreted. Switching similar-looking letters or vowels in the surnames you are researching can bring surprisingly good results. Another way to overcome misspelled surnames would be to try some advanced searches using only given names, and to include other criteria to narrow it down. The success of this method would naturally depend on the size and nature of the database, but it often works. Given names can present their own difficulties. How often have you seen records listing only initials? Probably quite often. These are possibilities that should not be over-looked when including a given name in your search.

P a g e 7

overcome misspelled

surnames by trying some

advanced searches using

only given names

Photo compliments of Judy Wright

Time to throw a party...you just found a lost branch on your family tree!!!!!

2 n d q u a r t e r 2 0 0 6

THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERY By Thelma Green Reagan

Today we walked where others walked On a lonely, windswept hill; Today we talked where others cried For Loved Ones whose lives are stilled. Today our hearts were touched By graves of tiny babies; Snatched from the arms of loving kin, In the heartbreak of the ages. Today we saw where the grandparents lay In the last sleep of their time; Lying under the trees and clouds - Their beds kissed by the sun and wind. Today we wondered about an unmarked spot; Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?

2 n d Q u a r t e r : A p r i l —J u n e 2 0 0 6

We’re on the web:

Mariongenealogy.tripod.com

Marion County Genealogical Society

How long will this gravestone still be readable? Are you doing your part to

record old gravestones????

Place mailing address label here

President: Judy Wright Vice President: David Gay Secretary: Joan Lee Treasurer: Richard Heckman Past President: Bettie DeBary Rootdigger Editor: Joel Swanson Field Trips: Jim Neate Database: Peggy Jones Research: Joan Lee Webmaster: Judy Wright Phone: 352-624-3604 Email: mariongenealogy@gmail.com

Mission Statement The Marion County Genealogical Society is dedicated to creating and pro-moting an interest in genealogy, focusing on research in Marion County,

Florida and in supporting members in their research.

The Rootdigger MCGS P. O. Box 1206 Ocala, FL 34478-1206

Was it a babe, child, young or old? No indication could be found. Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay. We had been here once before On a day we'd all like to forget, But will remember forever more. Today we recorded for kith and kin The graves of ancestors past; To be preserved for generations hence, A record we hope will last. Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend, For stones sometimes crumble to dust And generations of folks yet to come Will be grateful for your trust.

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