Swedish Nobility Calendar

It came! It came!! I am so excited! I wasn't expecting it to come in till the spring but I went to the post office the other day thinking I was picking up a late Christmas present, when the worker was intrigued by the unusual label.  At first, I was confused but it quickly dawned on me that it was my copy of the Swedish Nobility Calendar for 2013.  :D

Last spring, I got an email from a lady researching Theron's direct line.  She was not a relative but was a worker for House of Nobility in Sweden.  I did some research to make sure it wasn't a scam but it is a reputable establishment.  They compile a record of all the descendants of Swedish Nobility...which Theron's direct line is through.  Sadly, we are not in the book because it goes by the male line.  And this is his Mother's family.  But his parents and Marge's siblings are in it.  I can't wait to share with his Mom.

Here is the line that takes us to the Nobility:

Theron Wahl- Marjorie (Thornton) Wahl - James Elliot Thornton - Raymond Ernest Thornton - Ernest Adlerstam - Hugo Adlerstam

The name changes from Adlerstam to Thornton when Ernest dies while Raymond is very young and is then "adopted" by his Mother's second husband Joseph O. Thornton.

Theron takes great pride in the fact that he descend from Swedish Nobility! :D

The Christmas Presents

Well, now that Christmas is over I can share with you the Christmas presents I made for my brothers and sister's.  I loved them and I think that they all loved them too.  It took me a long time to get them done, mostly because I was still collecting the photo collections.  If I get any more collections I will update their binders. 

The binders are comprised of a cover sheet, a letter from me, a photo pedigree chart, then a bigger pedigree chart and then the picture indexes. I really had fun working on these binders. :D

deadfred.com

Since, I am in the mood for talking about photo's lately, I thought I would share a cool little website called deadfred.com.  It's a website where people...including you...can upload photo's for other's searching for their ancestors.  And where you can go to look to see if anyone may have found a photo of your ancestor's.  Why? and How? you ask.  Well, have you ever been into a second hand store or an antique shop?? Do you see the photo's in the old frames hanging around.  There are just enough of us crazy people that buy those photo's to try to find family member's of the people in them, so they can go somewhere they will be loved and cherished. And yes, I am one of those crazy people. ;)  And it's easy and free.  Sign up as a member and then upload the photo and what you know about it.  You just never know who might come looking.

A few years ago I was given the most beautiful gift in the world. It was shortly after I had found my Great Grandfather Ralph Henry Adamson's family.  Ralph has been one of those ancestors I can't stay away from for very long.  Anyways, finding his family was a very big deal to my Dad and his brother's.  They didn't know anything about Ralph or his family.  Like I was saying shortly after I found his family, I get an email from this very nice lady asking how I was related to Minerva Mulford Adamson.  I emailed back and let her know that Minerva was my 3rd Great Grandmother.  She was so excited to find a direct descendant of Minerva's.  She emailed back saying she had a photo of Minerva and she would send me a digital copy and then would put the original in the mail, if I would just provide my mailing address.  WELL, of course I emailed it right away and sat impatiently...I mean patiently waiting for her return email with the digital copy.  When it came in I couldn't believe my eyes.

Wow!...even now I look at her and want to cry.  I never in a million years thought I would see a picture of her.  Then when the original came in the mail I just went crazy.  I mean here she was in my hands.  So how did this lovely lady end of with a picture of my ancestor.  She told me that about 15 years before, she worked for one of her local schools and had asked her colleagues if anyone had any old frames she could buy, as she was collecting frames.  The wife of her principal brought her some frames, but in one of the frames was this picture.  She said she tried to return the photo but they didn't know who she was and said they didn't want it.  The amazing woman then held onto the photo in an envelope, in a box, in her basement for all those years.  Her husband and her were retiring and getting ready to move, when she found this box of photo's.  So she got online to try to find family members for the photo's she had received while collecting old frames.  AMAZING!!! This is still one of my most favorite stories to tell. ;)  I emailed her back and asked if she was still in touch with the people she got the frame from and luckily enough she was.  She called them to see if they were interested in talking to me.  Turns out I am related to the principal through Minerva.  We are both direct descendants of her one of her son's (me) and one of her daughter's (him).  And we have been friends ever since.  I tried to return the original photo to him as it was rightfully his but he said that she was in a loving home and he now had a digital copy and that was just fine by him.

After this experience, I promised my self that if I ever came across any photo's that had names on them, I would try to find family to send them home.  Two summers ago, I took a trip to see my sister who lives in Washington state.  While doing the tourist thing, we stopped at an old antique shop in Bellingham, and I found quite a few photo's.  I brought them home and was able to find family for a couple of them.  I still have three photo's that I haven't been able to find a home for but hopefully someday, someone will come looking for them.

In the meantime, I might just post them on deadfred.  :D

So the next time you are in a shop and see photo's, look to see if they are labeled in any way.  And then pay it forward.  Someday, when you least expect it someone might give you the surprise of a lifetime. 

Mrs. Clara Anderson

A. Mark Conklin

Thomas Howard Gaffney

Pictures...pictures...pictures whoo hoo!!

As a lot of you know I am crazy about family pictures.  I travel all over to collect pictures of my family. Colorado, Utah and Montana are a few of the places I have gone to visit family and collect photo.  I love getting to visit with my family and gather all this beautiful history.  A few years ago while I was at a conference in Utah I stayed with my aunt, and she loved to go through her photo's with me. But as she has so many and we were running out of time, she voluntarily offered to let me bring her photo's home and scan them as I had time.  Wow! I was so excited and a little nervous. I have two small children and who knows what could happen with them around. ;)  But my kids are/were wonderful and no harm came to her precious pictures.  In fact, I was able to not only scan the photo's but was able to organize and put them all in protective boxes for her. :D I am always so happy to be able to do that when family lets me bring home their pictures.  I did that with Grandma Bev's pictures that I have blogged about before. 

I try to set a time frame while working on the photo, as not to have them for years.  So I don't take the time to actually get to know each photo.  I usually see a photo and go "oh this is wonderful I will have to remember to come back to it".  Which for some reason or another, I get sidetracked and forget about it.  I do this often, probably not the best thing for a genealogist to admit.  Well maybe some genealogist can relate to being sidetracked. ;) 

So I have these huge photo collections from different relatives, containing some of the most wonderful photo's.  I know a lot of people that have the problem of a hoarding relative, someone who has all the family photo's but won't share....yeah, we all have one...or two...or three.  BUT, I am not one of them.  I am so excited for the pictures that I have collected and wanted to do a little something for my sibling's for Christmas.  I won't go into details because they haven't gotten their gifts yet. ;)  Well, while working on these presents for my family, I ran across a photo that made me take another look...and then another.  And then I connected it with two other photo's.  I was trying to finish up my gifts yesterday to put in the mail this morning but these photo's kept bouncing around my head and distracting me.  Once I had finally finished late last night, I decided I needed to know about these people in these three photo's. 

So I gathered what I knew about them, sat with my magnifying glass and started piecing together family members.  When I had gone as far as my eye's would let me, I emailed them to a few family members hoping for some help.  While I waited for replies I decided to do some research on ancestry.com to try to figure out a couple more.  Perseverance pays off.  I got the names of a couple more people.  I heard from a couple family members and they did their best to help but they haven't researched the family and couldn't remember, but that is alright. Then I had a cousin call me this afternoon, leave a message and we chatted about the pictures this evening.  She is going to try to help with some.  I am going to follow a couple of the younger girls in the photo's and see where that leads me. 

These photo's are of my Grandma Marie Timbrel's mothers family.  Marie's maiden name was Stover.  Her mother was Mollie (Batten) Stover Smith Reynolds.  Mollie married Lurton Stover on 27 Jul 1897, they had four children Helen, Marie, Oscar and Charlene.  When Charlene was just days old, Lurton passed away.  Mollie remarried three more times, one of whom I have been unable to find.  There are stories that after Lurton passed away and Marie remarried he didn't like the kids, and she was forced to put them into a children's home.  She divorced him and got her kids back.  I have not been able to  find any records to any of that.  But I do know that on 14 Feb 1910 she remarried Thomas Smith and he helped her raise the kids. She was know as Grandma Smith to most of the family. I worked a little bit last night on the Batten side of the family.  I will go back to it...what?! I will...in time.  After, I finish recovering from my surgeries and Christmas I want to continue my work on the Duel side of the family.  But after that I will come to this side.  I swear I must have ADD...oh look something shiny, a new ancestor. lol. :D

Nelson Batten, Marie Stover, Mollie Stover, Dorsey Conaway, Charlie Batten, Jane Batten, Gertie Batten, Helen front: Charlene Stover, Juanita Conaway, Pauline Batten

Dorsey Conaway, Juanita Conaway,  Helen Stover, Marie Stover, Mollie Stover, Charlene Stover, Nelson Batten, Charlie Batten, Pauline Batten, Gertie Batten

back: unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, Dorsey Conaway, Jane Batten, Nelson Batten, Gertie Batten, unknown, Charlie Batten middle: Marie Stover, Helen Stover, unknown, unknown, unknown front: Charlene Stover, Pauline Batten, Juanita Conaway, unknown, unknown

Are they not so very beautiful?!?!  I can't believe I have had these for so long and forgot all about them.  I love these photo's.  I think I need to take a photoshop class at the college though because I don't know how to get the pen off the photo's.  I know there is a way of doing it, it's just beyond my capabilities right now. ;)  If anyone can identify the unknown's please let me know.  Or if (gasp) I made a mistake. lol.  I know it happens, just don't tell my husband I admitted that. :D

WHS

Well nothing like waiting for weeks on end to be disappointed.  I called the Wisconsin Historical Society a few weeks ago in regards to finding some records of my 3rd Great Grandfather while he was he prison, in the 1850's.  I talked to a man in the archives division who was ever so helpful.  He told me exactly what I was looking for and that they would be happy to look up the records I would need.  He gave me an email address to write to.  I wrote that very day and then have sat very patiently waiting to hear something from them.      

I finally did last week.  I got an email back from a reference archivist, telling me that he would not be able to do the lookups I requested.  But that I could do an interlibrary loan of the films.  I don't mind heading to the library and doing the request, waiting for the films to come in and then spending time pouring over all the old records.  In fact, sitting and going through all the records actually brings me joy.  What I am disappointed in is the fact that I called and was told that they would be able to find what I was looking for and I waited three weeks to hear anything, and then was told that they would not help me.  I could have been waiting for the films to come to my local library.

While I am disappointed with the service I received, I will order the films.  And then happily spend the hours needed to find the records I am looking for.  So in the end, it will all work out.   Now to get my tush down to the library with the information needed and get my films ordered. :)

Other than the service I got from the archives division, I have been very happy with my membership in the Wisconsin Historical Society.  I received my first issue of "Wisconsin magazine of history" and the weekly newsletter through email.  Some very interesting stories.  I just hope that my further dealings with the archive's are a better experience.

over a 1,000 pageviews

Whoo HOO!!! Thank you to all the people that have come by my blog and taken a look at what I have been doing lately.  I have finally made it over a thousand pageviews. I know that it seems like a little thing but to me it's a big deal.  I am so excited that I have people that care what I have to say.

Thank you all.  Hope I can keep helping and growing in my blog.!

Thanksgiving and Weddings...the Best of times!!

Thanksgiving was well to say the least interesting.  We stayed home this year, as my husband had to work.  He worked Thanksgiving Day, so we had plans to celebrate on Friday instead.  Thanksgiving Day the kids and I just hung out at home and had a good day together.  We made a Thankful Tree, watched some T.V. and just had a good day spending time together.  Theron & Madisen had both been complaining of a sore throat and had been coughing all week.  Friday morning we got up nice and early to get the turkey in the roaster and wouldn't you know it all four of us were sicker than dogs.  Well so needless to say it was an exhausting but pretty good day.  Every year we make new memories, and this year will be no different. :D So while I spent the day feeling like I had been run over and listening to my family take turns having coughing fits, it will be a memorable one.

Our Thankful Tree

We spent the rest of the weekend resting...literally.  I don't think we did anything but lay around.  I think it was good for the kids to unwind and just spend time with us.

We put up our tree on Tuesday.  And then...

My wonderful nephew and his beautiful girlfriend decided to take the plunge.  It was a civil ceremony at the local courthouse.  And it was beautiful.  Seeing two people who love each other join their lives together, was just wonderful! I am so glad that I was a part of their precious moment.  Congratulations Wyatt & Brooke!  I love you both and wish you both all the happiness this life can give!!

Wyatt & Brooke m. 28 Nov 2012

I know I repeat myself often but some things are so important that they require repetition. Sometimes, we get lost in learning about our ancestors and researching their families and all they went through.  And that's wonderful! I love every minute I spend chasing down my family.  But we must always remember that we need to make memories with the ones that are here with us still.  Love them, cherish them, participate in them and then record them for our descendants. :D Happy living this holiday season!!

William S. Duel

Here are the newspaper articles that I received last week. 

Democratic State Register 2 Apr 1850

Wisconsin Free Democrat 7 May 1851

The Mauston Star Dec 1859

Black Sheep Sunday - William Shaw Duell

OK, so I have been collaborating with Marlene, who I have mentioned in regards with the Duel Family photo, on our research of the Duel family.  And while I have been preoccupied with Dexter S. Duel and his family, Marlene just mentioned one day that she is still working on William Shaw Duel (our BLACK SHEEP) and if I came across anything... So the other night, I got to thinking that the work on William was going to be time consuming, so I should start getting the ball rolling on his work, while I still work on Dexter or Deck as we now know is what he preferred.

Skeletons....yes, we all have them! But what to do with them...do we quickly stuff them back in the proverbial closet?? do we hold them up as badges of honor?? OR do we tell their stories and count them as part of our history and how we ended up where we are today??

Why yes, everything they did had a role in where we are today.  Even the ones from long ago.  William Shaw Duell is my 3rd Great Grandfather.  He is the father of George Robinson Duel (this is where the second l gets dropped), father of Bertie (Duel) Pattee, mother of Wavel (Pattee) Adamson, mother of Robert B. Adamson, father of yours truly.  Yes, there it is all laid out in black and white, William is my direct line, my Grandfather.  Had I ever heard this name before my research?? No. Had any of my immediate family, including my Father?? No.  And I think with good reason.  I have talked before about how it used to be that people just didn't talk about their families...ok, well maybe not all people, but definitely mine.  Here is why we never heard of him before my research.

William Shaw Duel was born about 1805 in New York, USA.  The son of Abraham & Mary Duell.  On 26 Feb 1824, at the age of 19, he married Mary Almira Sisson in Rome, Oneida, New York, USA.  They had 4 sons: George R., William Warren, Alonzo F., Stephen and one daughter Mary Jane.

Imagine my shock when I go to the census records to find this family and run into the 1850 U.S. Federal Census listing William Duel as being in the Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin.  This was the first time I had run into a criminal on my family tree.  And I thought surely this can't be my Grandfather.  So, I took a closer look at the record and in the box next to his name it says "attempt to commit rape on daughter".  Good Gracious! This really can't be my family! Right???

WELL! There it was! Of course, I went looking for a way out of this family story.  And it took days for me to bring the story up to my Dad, to ask if he had ever heard of it.  Which, he hadn't...and was even a little disappointed I think to find this out.  But we have had time to process this sad event in our history.  I started looking at this family about 4 years ago.  Two things about back then: one, I didn't really know what I was doing or where to turn with this information.  How do you go about verifying something like this.  I mean, I could have gotten it wrong...right? And two, I really didn't have the stomach to research something that I felt was very heinous. To wrong a child is one of the worst crimes in my opinion.  So, I put it away and didn't think much about it.  I worked a little bit every now and then on George and Amy Duel.  But it was never any real intense research.

Until, a few months ago when I was contacted by a gentleman researching veterans buried in the Sheridan Masonic Cemetery in Sheridan, OR.  We talked for a bit about George and James Pattee, who is also buried in that cemetery.  And I got to thinking about George and Amy and how I really needed to just buck up and get started.  At the time though, I was working on my Timbrel line and all my picture projects.  Then I heard from Marlene one night who had a thought about George and Amy and wanted my take on it.  And I got the hint...finally.  It was time to get to work.  And now you know how I ended up here.  

I am glad though.  I may not enjoy researching something so sad and hurtful but I am learning a lot.  It also has brought my Dad and I a little closer as we talk about it all and how it has affected us.  And it has...every decision our ancestors have made have shaped us into who we are.  Because it has shaped our parents and their parents.  Just like how the decisions we make today will affect our descendants.  My children have a different life because of my choice to join my church and live where we live.  It even has to do with the little decisions we make everyday...do I go to work or stay home? do we spend all our time watching tv or playing with our kids.  Every decision has ripples in the water.

So back to the research...I have looked at the newspaper databases that I have access to with no luck in finding an explanation in print.  But, I am lucky enough to belong to some great Yahoo! groups and Facebook groups.  I am a "member" of the Wisconsin Genealogy Network on Facebook, and took a chance that maybe someone there would have a better idea of where to start.  Sure enough, those people are great help.  One lady in particular was able to help with some newspaper articles that she had found, and gladly sent them on to me.  I already had a copy of William and Almira's divorce papers from Marlene.  I knew that they divorced in 1859, nine years after he was in jail.  Which Marlene and I both thought was strange that she would wait so long to file for divorce.  Armed with the divorce papers and now the three new newspaper articles, I have joined the Wisconsin Historical Society, to ask for help in finding any court records or anything pertaining to the Wisconsin State Prison.  I am anxiously waiting to hear from their research department.  In the meantime, I will keep working on George and his family.

Here is what we now know:

In April 1850, William was sentenced to 7 years in the state prison.  September 1850 he escapes from the county jail.  May 1850, he is captured and returned to the Dodge County Jail.  The next we hear about him is when Almira petitions for a divorce on the grounds of desertion, which she is granted, on 28 Dec 1859.  What we are trying to figure out is what happens to William after that....

My new adventure....Geneabloggers

Starting this blog in the first place, was a somewhat hard decision for me to make. Because one, who would want to read about my adventures in trying to track down our ancestors.  And two, that means putting yourself out there.  Oh yes, everytime I put my hand to keys, I am putting myself out there for criticism AND praise...which I like a whole lot more.  But for better or worse, I love it! I mentioned the other day about how much I love my blog.  And it gets better everytime I post.  I hear from family members that they love reading about my research and our family.  Sure they probably get bored when I switch to a different line, maybe even frustrated when I haven't finished the line I was on. ;) But  I have only ever gotten good feedback....keep it coming ladies and gentlemen. lol

I had a friend a couple of weeks ago that suggested that I submit my blog to the Geneabloggers website.  A website that collects and helps all blogs family history related.  I was a little worried as I would have other genealogists looking at my work...always comes back to that for me.  You know instead of just the family members that I could hoodwink into thinking I knew what I was doing.. ;) But again I decided to just put myself out there.  I submitted my blog and the next morning I started getting emails and comments.  All positive...hehe!

So for my friends out there that have genealogy blogs, I say just go for it.  Let other genealogists take a peek at your work.  It's so nice to hear from others in the field.  And everyone else check out the Geneabloggers website and find some cool blogs to watch.

Seely Riedel

This afternoon I got a call from my Dad, who wanted to let me know that our very wonderful cousin, Seely Riedel had passed away recently.  I had only met Seely once, two summers ago.  I had taken a trip to northern Washington with my parents.  On our way home from there we stopped in Portland, OR to see if we could drop in on some family.  That is where my Grandma Wavel's family has lived since around 1902 or so.  After a few quick phone calls, we were able to get a hold of Seely.  He was so happy to have us in his home.  And even happier to talk to us about our family.  He let me bring out my voice recorder so I would be able to go back over everything he had to say.  What a wonderful man he was.  He will be greatly missed.

I think that he must have been happy about my working on the family because he was so willing to talk.  And also because when I asked if I could take pictures of some of his pictures that were hanging on the wall, he walked away and came back with some pictures...for me to keep.  I was so stunned by his generosity, that I almost starting crying right there.  

Seely and Harriet Riedel 1946

Seely Riedel and Bob Adamson June 2011

Seely thank you for inviting us into your home and being such a wonderful person.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family....

    Rest in Peace
Seely Riedel 5 Feb 1923 - 31 Oct 2012

Unknown Solider

THANK YOU! To all the my veteran family and friends that served in our armed forces.  The sacrifices that you have given or are giving are precious.  Thank you for all you do! No words could express how thankful I am for all my freedoms and the freedoms of my family and country.

I would like to honor this unknown soldier from my family.  I am not completely sure if this family member is from the Adamson or Pattee side.   But they were found in with my Grandma & Grandpa Adamson's (Kenneth & Wavel [Pattee] Adamson) photo's.  If anyone knows anything about this solider please email me.

UPDATE: Duel Family photo

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my blog.  Because of my blog I have connected with family members I have never met and reconnected with others.  I have found it is a wonderful way for my family to know where I am working on and what I know.  It's nice having so much connection with everyone as I am working.  :-)

That being said...I was contacted by two cousins in regards to the picture of the Duel family that I posted the other day.  One was Rick Hall who gave me the second copy of the photo.  And the other was Marlene Messler another Duel family researcher, whom I have been in contact with for a couple of years.  They both were able to tell me in which order everyone was in the picture and they had the same data.  So....
Back row, left to right: George Alvin, Manford, Margaret, Bertie
Front row, left to right: Heenan, Deck (Dexter), George and Amy

I am so grateful for them both and all their hardwork and the fact that they so freely share their information with me.