Yikes...contacting strangers

One of the things I struggle with the most, is contacting people I don't know to tell them we're related.  I am not a very social person, choosing to be a homebody rather than a social butterfly.  So working up the courage to call people that are possibly related is so hard for me.  Sometimes, I have to just decide to call someone and not spend to much time thinking about it or what I am going to say.  I "sike" myself out if I think about what I should say.

Today, I heard from the Josephine County volunteer again, and she had a lead on John Freeman in Grants Pass, Or.  Working up the nerve to call a stranger and say "Hello, I think you might have been friends with my 2 Great Grand Uncle and his wife" is so hard.  BUT...I did it!! First time I called they picked up and hung up all in one second...I think they thought I was a telemarketer.  I didn't give up though and called right back.  I got the lady of the house and she said that John wasn't home.  I asked to leave a message and when I told her why I was calling, she said that I had the wrong guy.  Her John was never married to a Minnie.  Sadly, it was another dead end.  But I will not despair. :)

I also took the time to write to the Grandson of Isaiah Timbrel.  I can write an email anytime of day but have me call or handwrite a letter and my little girl nerves come out full swing. lol.  Crazy....yes, I know! Well, I got the letter written and will put it in the mail tomorrow.  Best I can tell, he will be about 82 years old.  I am excited and hopeful.  I hope to share the photo of Mary Jane Timbrel, his Great Grandmother with him.  And maybe learn from him about his family.  One thing I love about this work, is the opportunity to meet new family members. I find it interesting that Claude (Isaiah's son, the father of the man I am contacting) ended up in Oregon.  I wonder if my Grandpa Lloyd knew that he had family living there when he was there.  My Grandparents lived in Oregon for a few years in the 70's I believe.  Did he ever call on them?? Did they get together and visit?? I'm thinking I need to ask one of my aunts or my uncle who was with them when they lived there.....

A Helping Hand

One thing I quickly learned about genealogist, is that they are inherently generous people.  I have had a lot of help from my "cousins", and other genealogist not related.  I kept thinking well if there was only something I could do to help others. 

A friend told me about two wonderful sites where I could help others: raogk.org and findagrave.com.  I loved helping people through both sites but found it especially rewarding through raogk.org.  There I was able to help with more than just headstone photos.  I quickly learned of all the wonderful resources here in Elko.  The museum, Northeastern Nevada Museum , has a huge obit collection and the newspapers back to 1869.  And it's free for me to go find what I am looking for there.  The courthouse is also very helpful.  the ladies there are always willing to give me a hand, especially in the recorders office.  Sadly, raogk.org is not up and running for the time being.  Last year the co-founder passed away and the servers went down all around the same time.  The other co-founder is still grieving but plans on bringing the site back up later this year, possibly. 

The other site I volunteer for is findagrave.com.  I have been able to help connect lots of people with their families through this site also.  Some people think it's morbid that I spend so much time "haunting" cemeteries and that I drag my kids with me.  But I have found that cemeteries are actually very peaceful places to be.  There is a lot to learn from a headstone.  They contain important genealogical data.  Plus, it's nice to see the resting place of my ancestors.  While some may not agree with my wandering around cemeteries and taking photo's of the headstones, I think it's a great way to let people know that they haven't been forgotten.  The gratitude I get from people I have helped always out weighs the negatives I get.  Mindy Adamson-Wahl, here you can see some of the things I have done. 

Just a day...

So two things happened today worth a mention.  One, I received the information I had requested from the Santa Cruz Genealogical Society.  They were very, very helpful. Even doing some searching on ancestry.com, in case I didn't have a subscription.  Only problem is that it didn't tell me who Alexander I. Timbrel's parents were.  They did tell me more about his daughter and a possible other daughter.  Unfortunately,  they do not match up with the kids I have for Isaiah and Florence.  So while, this still could be my guy, chances are pretty low.  I will have to think about whether or not I want to pay for his death certificate, which would (hopefully) have his parents listed.

Also, I heard from the Josephine County, Oregon volunteer today.  And she was able to get me the obit's I was wanting for Amos, Permelia, and her 2nd husband Charles Vanarnam.  The closest thing to a clue was in Permelia aka Myrtle's obit., "surviving are friends John and Minnie Freeman." I tried to see if they were still living but no luck there.  I emailed my lady back and am anxiously waiting to hear from her.  Maybe they are still alive and listed in the phone book.  But really, I am not holding out much hope.  Myrtle passed away in 1981 so its probable that they have passed too.  I was really hoping for a maiden name for Myrtle which could have confirmed or denied my theory that Myrtle and Amelia Fuson (Amos' marriage in Denver) are one and the same.  It fits but I need the proof. 

While I am waiting for obits for Florence Timbrel and Guy Gwynne Jr.'s obit, which I sent away for today.  I went back to Amos M. Timbrel's first wife Amy Mitchell Timbrel and their son together John Cecil Timbrel and started working on them.  One thing I noticed is that Cecil, as he went by that later in life, started adding two "l's" to the end of Timbrel.  So instead of "Timbrel" it reads "Timbrell".  It's curious because it just depends on the person whether there was two or one "l's".  For instance, all records for my 2x Great Grandfather Jake show just the one "l".  And that is how it has been spelled for all his descendant's.  I have not seen a real line in the family as to when or who spells it that way.  It just seems to be certain people spell it different.  I had heard a story by another family member that they heard that sometime back when, the family got into a fight and one part went on to spell it "Timbrel" and the other "Timbrell".  I have no proof for that though.  I love those family stories though, they make it all interesting. 

Mabel & Guy Gwynne

So this is why we verify everything.  I really thought this might be my couple because this Mabel's middle name was also Josephine and her husband's name was Guy.  But alas, I received word from the volunteer in Josephine County tonight and she couldn't get all the obits except Guy's but it was enough to tell me that this is NOT my couple.  That explains why the birth date's doesn't match up. :) Back to the drawing board, so they say. 

I also, did find that Josephine County has a very nice historical society that does research...for a fee of course.  Since the volunteer is unable to go look for the others I will pay the fees and have the historical society look for anything they may have on Amos M., Myrtle and Charles (Myrtle's 2nd husband). :)

I have started looking into Mabel's brother Claude Timbrel also (remember they are Isaiah's children, the ultimate goal is finding out what happened to Isaiah).  Claude was a great cattleman in the Grand Junction, Mesa, Colorado area in the early parts of the 1900's.  I have a wonderful photo of him from his younger years.  I think I might have a lead on his grandson though so I will wait till I have time to send him a letter and hear from him before I post it.  I hope that the address I have for him is still current.  I will try to get it written tonight and put in the mail in the morning. 

I am getting ready to leave for Salt Lake City with the Young Women from my church.  I have to get my kids to my brother's because we are leaving at 4:30 a.m. and I will need to get to bed early tonight. :) Wish me luck!

ancestry.com

I am going to stand on my soapbox for a few minutes.

First, let me say, I LOVE ancestry.com.  I really, really do.  It is very hard (not impossible) to do your family history without it.  But...

Yes, there is always a but...

But, their commercials drive me crazy.  They make it seem so easy. Just log on and follow the leafs...right?!?! While that would be great. It doesn't really work that way.  Yes, the leaves are helpful.  But they are not always accurate.  And their search engine that generates the leaves doesn't always get everything.  So can you get on and follow your tree all the way back to Adam and Eve just by following their leaves...no.  I think it is very misleading.  That may drive me crazy, but I don't really feel it's that big of an issue.  People soon (hopefully) figure out that they will actually have to do some research, eventually. :)

What makes me really irritated though is how people will get on and just start adding ancestry.com family trees to their lines without checking that it's all right.  So all it takes is one person to put up the wrong information and then before you know it three other people have added the same bad information to their tree.  So what might have started out as an innocent mistake, has now become fact. :( This makes me sad, sometimes.  Because all it takes is just a little bit more effort or sometimes just turning the page on a document to see that the answer was there all along.

Mary Jane (Totten) Timbrel Lundy

Here is a little gem of a picture that I came across a few months ago.  Wish I knew who had contributed so I could note them as the one that has the photo.  I wonder also what other things they might know. :) Mary Jane Totten is my 3rd Great Grandmother.  She married Jacob Timbrel 1 Jul 1850 in Mercer Co., Ohio. Mary is Jacob's 2nd wife and the mother of my 2xGreat Grandfather Jake.  Pictured with her in the photo is her daughter Rosetta Timbrel VanCleave and Rosetta's three children (Florence, Mabel, Mellie in white) and her sister in law (Mattie VanCleave-Stalnaker/middle back row).

Loving a good mystery

There is nothing I love more than a good mystery.  And that is what I seem to be in the middle of with Mabel and her husband Guy.

I am a bit disappointed that I still haven't heard from the volunteer for Josephine County.  I am hoping that I will hear from her soon.  But I am taking actions in case I don't.  I contacted the public library in Grant's Pass and will follow up tomorrow.  I am still unsure if they do obit look ups but most libraries do.  I will see if there is a museum also they may have a nice archives. :)

So this is what I find and will be looking into, Mabel was not the only one that changed her birth date, her husband Guy did also.  Of course this could be the completely wrong couple, in which case I need to disprove or prove who they are.  So while I can't order their death certificates because the 50 year time limit isn't up yet...I will have to find those obit's.  :) If that doesn't work for whatever reason, I will think about ordering their Social Security application and see what they wrote there.  I will use this as a last resort though as that one document is quite expensive, $27.00 apiece. Yikes, but in some cases it is well worth it.  I wonder if these are my guys why the changes in age?

I also found that Amos' wife Myrtle remarried after he died and much to my surprise her real name is Permelia Myrtle...which I find interesting because it's really close to Amelia.  Maybe what I thought was a third wife is really just his second wife.  I have sent off a request for Amelia Fuson & Amos Timbrel's marriage record in Denver, Colorado.  I am way excited because Colorado has requirements to order birth and death records, but marriage records are so simple.  All I had to do was fill out one form and send them $1.25.  Wow!! That was easy and cheap.  Love it when that happens.

Talk about efficient

Last night, I wrote on how I had applied to the Oregon State Archives for Amos Timbrel's death certificiate.  First thing this morning, I wake up to an email from them with an attachment.  It's Amos' certificate.  :D Talk about efficient!!! Put in a request yesterday afternoon and this morning I am holding a copy of the certificate.  Love it!! Definitely, my guy!  The informant was his wife Myrtle R. Timbrel.  So far I have found three wives for Amos: Amy F. Mitchell, Amelia Fuson, and Myrtle R. Every day is an opportunity to learn.

Also heard from the Fairmount Cemetery.  All they had on Florence was the date she was buried.  I am loving how fast my request are being returned. :)  While I was hoping for more information I at least can narrow it down to a month. :)  I will see if I can find a volunteer in Denver, to look for an obit for her.

Was she 101 or 88??

Today, I managed to do a lot of work and not get many results.  Days like this happen when you are researching your family.  You can look and look for days and not find anything and then the next day hit paydirt. (A little mining reference there from the girl who grew up in mining communities lol).  Today was a look all day and just end up with more questions kinda day.

I spent most of the day looking into two brothers of my Grandpa Jake Timbrel.  Amos Monroe Timbrel and Isaiah "Ike" Timbrel.  Amos is an interesting person.  From what I know of Amos, who also went by Monroe, is that he lived in Mahaska County, Iowa (where most of the Timbrel's in this generation come from) until sometime around 1918.  He then travels to Denver, Co and was working for the American Express Company, according to his wife back home.  She stops hearing from him in the summer of 1918.  In Feb of 1920 she petitions state officials in Colorado to help her find her missing husband.  I am still looking to see if she ever hears  from them.  But I do notice that in May 1918 there is an Amos M. Timbrel that marries in Denver....interesting no?  Well so the next thing I find is a death record for an Amos M. Timbrel in Grants Pass, Josephine, OR in Oct 1948.  Luckily for me, I can request that document from the Oregon State Archives, which I have done.  And asked a volunteer for that county in Oregon to see if there is an obit. Hopefully, that will tell me if I am on the right track.  One thing I note is that I do not find a death record for the "new wife" in Oregon.  So what happened to this new wife?  Why did Amos leave behind a wife, child and very nice farm back in Iowa?  Like I said more questions to answer.

Now, I spent a good portion of my day on Isaiah.  To me there is just something about this man that keeps me coming back.  Maybe it's because I can't figure out what happens to him.  Or the fact that the closest thing to a lead I have is a California Death for an Alexander I. Timbrel that was born about the same time.  Well last week, I sent off for an obit (hopefully there is one) for this mysterious Alexander who bears a resemblance to my Isaiah.  Hopefully, I will get that next week.  But in the meantime I thought I would follow his wife and children to see what pops up.  Sometimes that leads to what your looking for.  Florence (Isaiah's wife) I find is living with their daughter Mabel and her husband Guy R. Gwynne/Gwynn and their two boys in 1920,  Arizona.  Which is where Guy's parents are living.  Florence dies in 1925 in Denver, Colorado.  I have contacted the Fairmount Cemetery to see if there is any more information on Florence.  I had planned on working on all of their children but I never make it past Mabel Josephine Timbrel Gwynn.  Most of the census records I have found for Mabel list her birthday as being abt 1882.  Except the Oregon Death Index, which has a Mabel J Gwynn b. 1895 d. 1983 Josephine, Oregon.  Yep, in the same place her Uncle Amos is living when he passes.  So I email the same volunteer back and ask for Mabel's obit also.  I am crossing my fingers.  The funny thing is the big age gap in the years of birth.  It's normal to see some difference of age but 13 years....that's a stretch for even me.  The only reason I suspect that this might be my Mabel is the fact that it lists spouse's name as being Guy.  I wonder was she trying to make herself younger in her old age or older in her younger years.  I am leaning more towards the first.  So was she a 101 or 88?? Unfortunately, for me Oregon has a state law that prohibits anyone from having access to death certificates for the first 50 years.  In 2033, I will be able to see it. ;) In the meantime, I am really hoping the volunteer comes through with those obituaries.  Mabel's husband worked for a company that sent him out of the country quite a few times.  In 1918, he applies for a U.S. Passport.  Back then, he only had to list on his passport application his family that he was taking with him.  It shows all his information, his sons names, places & dates of birth, but only Mabel's name.  And also when he reapplies in 1924, it just lists her name on the application.  However, on two passenger lists I find for Mabel it gives the 1882 birthdate.  I really can not wait to see if this "younger" Mabel is my Mabel.  I am going to have to mull over Mabel and my questions for her for a couple days.  I think tomorrow I will see what I can dig up on her brother Claude and sister Dott.  :)

Vicki Wahl Zabriskie

About a week and a half ago, Theron's aunt passed away.  While I was never able to meet her in person, I did have one occasion to talk to her on the phone.  To me she seemed like a very wonderful, full hearted person.  I pray that her family knows that she has been in our thoughts the last couple of weeks.  And that she will always be remembered by my family.

http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/vicki-w-zabriskie/article_296f7b90-1020-5f48-b1ff-3f6dd35c9c1a.html?mode=story

My Pedigree Charts for my Parents

I thought I would add a couple pedigree charts here so that you can refer back to them, when wondering exactly who these people are that I keep writing about. I made one for each of my parents in order to get more information on here. :) Just go to the side and look under the label's tab and click on the label "Pedigree Charts".  Please contact me if you would like more information on these charts or anything on them.

To view these charts bigger: right click, view image.  It will open a new tab and then you can zoom in on the screen and read them bigger. 

What I have been doing and where I am going

Well, so if you haven't visited my other blog and want to see what I have been working on the last few months, head on over there and you can see a snippet of my work.  See ---> for the link.

But while working on my Adamson side, I keep getting pulled back into some Timbrel stuff that I just can't seem to get out of my brain.  I was thinking about my Grandpa Jake and for some reason, last week, I was looking over some of the work I had done on him and a few of his sibling.  I hadn't completed my work on them when I put them to the side last December.  (You will find I do this often, work on one family for awhile then get sidetracked with another) But there I was sitting looking at my family tree on ancetry.com, contemplating what was missing.  Which not surprisingly is a lot. :)  Next thing I know it's almost midnight and I have to get my kiddo up and ready for school the next day or that day.  I found two very interesting stories that I need to do more research to know all the details.  I will pick up where I left off tomorrow and then the real storytelling will start.  Not just me reminiscing about what I worked on last week.   

I am looking forward to sharing my time travels with you and the things I learn while there.  I will go back to my Grandpa Jake Timbrel (2x great) and his siblings and maybe work a little on my Grandpa Levi Coen (also 2x great).  Hope to see you around.

Welcome!!

Hi all,

Some of you know me from my other blog I do with my cousin Laura, ouradamsonancetry.blogspot.com.  I love helping her with that blog.  But it's dedicated to..well our Adamson family. :D I do a lot of work on other areas of my family, and have wanted to share where that is leading.  I hope that I keep some of my Adamson family interested in this blog even though it won't be completely about their family.  And gain new people from the other side of my family.  I spend a lot of time on my Timbrel side also.  And work on Theron's (my husband hehe) side of the family too.  That would be the Wahl-Thornton families.  I have two trees on ancestry.com that pertain to my family.  Adamson-Timbrel Family Tree and Wahl-Thornton Family Tree.  If you have any interest in looking at my work there, shoot me an email and I will invite you to peek at it. ;)

If you ever see something that is wrong...which hopefully isn't often lol...email me.  If you have anything to contribute...email me.  If you would like to know more about anything I am working on or have worked on...email me.  If you would like to see more pictures than what I post...email me.  LOL, ok just email me. I love hearing from my family, no matter how close or distant you may be.

Love,
Your Crazy Family Historian