Overwhelmed? Let's Talk Organization!

Organization is a major issue for a lot of people.  I'm not exception.  I'm working very hard at organizing some things in my life,  but I can tell you right now,  it's not easy.  

Organization covers alot of ground.  It applies to lots of different aspects of our lives.  Things that we need to organize in order not to feel overwhelmed can include all sorts of things - for example -

• Kitchen
• Closets
• Daily Chores
• Computer Files
• Garage
• Collections (in my case my cookbook collection)
• Offices

And the list could go on and on.  But the problem is, we only have so many hours in a day.  So we pick and choose what we choose to work on.  And we stick to those choices and see it thru.

Last year I went thru all my closets (except Mr. Brown Eye's).  One closet a week.  All items taken out, gone thru.  Some stuff donated, some stuff moved to another location, some stuff just tossed in trash.  Deciding what I needed, what I didn't was a major chore.  But I did it.  It's not just about our household organization but our genealogy space organization. So I also did my office closet and desk.

Whether you have a room you call an office or whether you have a corner desk in the living room for your genealogy, organization is a major issue.  There is nothing worse, at least to me, to go to a major repository to research, make a MAJOR find, go to type it in your computer data base only to discover its ALREADY THERE!!!!!!!!!    And I know that you've done that.  We all have.  Because we haven't taken the time to stop digging long enough to dig ourselves out of the mess & clutter we call our "office" or "genealogy desk".    If we stopped researching, just for a week or two, and took the time to get rid of the piles of papers, the clutter, the mass of disorganization, what a difference it would make in your productivity.  Yes, I know its hard!  

Just think if your desk wasn't covered in piles of paper you could have a list of exactly what you want to search for.  Then when you have 15 minutes to sit down and research, you'll know exactly what you want to look and where!  It would make such a difference in how you see things.  With a decluttered desk you won't feel so overwhelmed. 

There is a Facebook page for genealogy organization, "The Organized Genealogist".  It is a closed group, meaning you will have to ask to be included.  Keep in mind that reading all the posts can be very overwhelming.  But there is alot there, with the focus being on organizing your genealogy.  No genealogy surnames or such allowed.  Great group. 

So what will you take time to organize this week?  Have you recently reorganized your genealogy space?  Do you wish you had done it sooner?

Overwhelmed? Let's Talk Priorities!

In Monday's post on feeling overwhelmed, my number #1 to help decrease that way of feeling overwhelmed was to prioritize.  Often when you are overwhelmed just figuring out where to start is difficult.  So I'm going to offer some suggestions - elaborate on just how to do the things I suggested. 

The first thing I suggested was to PRIORITIZE your life.   For me it wasn't that hard,  I already knew what my priorities were.  I just needed to see them again.  Remind MYSELF of what they were.  We get so caught up in just being alive that we sometimes let things get out of hand. 

So I sat down and made a list of just what matters to me.  Your list may change as things change in your life.  The list of a retiree will probably be different than that of a new mom or a mom with small children. 

I won't put my whole list up here but an example of my list would be:

1. My family - includes husband, children & grandchildren
2. Our home
3. Genealogy
4. Gardening
5. Reading

As I said this is not my exact list but it gives you an idea of what I mean by prioritizing.   My family WILL ALWAYS come above all else.  Granted there are boundaries on that,  but we won't go into that here.  Last month when our daughter was injured in a car accident everything else went by the wayside while we stepped in to take care of her, the children and home that they share.  They were our priority.

Second on the list was OUR home.  No, OUR home is not all my responsibility, but I take great pride in taking care of our home.  I am a homebody, I love being here at home, surrounded by the photo's and things that make this house our home.  And I like it kept a certain way.  That's important to me.  So I make a window of time each day available for its upkeep.  I'm primarily an early bird so I'm up getting Mr Brown Eyes off to work.  While I'm up and he's headed out,  I plan dinner, toss in laundry, straighten up, make the bed and I'm done with housework and usually in my office by 8:30.  In the summer it might be later because I enjoy weeding and doing gardening when its cooler outside.

Third, fourth and fifth - the genealogy, gardening and reading really are flexible to me.  Alot depends on other factors.  If its going to be a beautiful day outside I might take my laptop and work on the patio, with breaks from typing to pull some weeds.  The only two items on that list that are locked in stone are #1 & #2.

It ALL boils down to PRIORITIES.  It really is that simple.  So what are your priorities?  Have you made your list?  What makes your list? 

Wedding Wednesday - Bloss - Hess Marriage Bond (1811)

*Know all men by these presents, that we John Hess and Adam Blose are held firmly bound unto His Excellency George Wm. Smith Esquire Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and his successors, for the use of the Commonwealth, in the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars, to which payment well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Sealed and dated this 22nd day of June 1811 in the 35 year of the commonwealth.
The condition of the above obligation is such, that whereas a marriage is shortly intended to be solemnized between the above bound
John Hess and Mary Blose daughter of Adam Blose of Rockingham county, if therefore, there shall be lawful cause to obstruct the said marriage, then the above obligation to be void; otherwise, to remain in full force and virtue. Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Thomas Lewis.
John X Hess (his mark), 
Adam Blose

John Hess & his wife, Anna Maria "Mary" Bloss were married 27 JUN 1811 in Rockingham County, Virginia.  John Hess born 7 JUN 1787 in Virginia and his wife, Anna Maria "Mary" Bloss (25 SEP 1787-16 JUN 1870 Butler County, Ohio) were the parents of 8 children -
Joseph H. Hess (1813-1891)
Elizabeth "Betsy" Hess (Unk)
Polly Hess (Unk)
John Franklin Hess (1818-1888)
Lee Anna Hess (1819-1899)
Sarah Ann Hess (1821-1907)
Parmelia F. Hess (1829-1916)
William H. Hess (1831 - ?)

Parmelia Hess, my ancestor marries Robert Phillips (1827-1909).  But that's another post for another day. 

*Rockingham County, Virginia Marriage Bonds

Monday Musings

It's been a crazy few weeks here hence the lack of blogs.  Thanks for your patience.  I've redone my email accounts, opened some new, got rid of some old, but the contact information here stayed the same.  Thankfully I've got a very techy son who saves my backside when I get in over my head on computer stuff. 

We've added another branch to our family tree.  Jacob Michael Luotonen weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces when he joined us on Saturday morning, September 28th, 2013.  He's adorable, looks just like his awesome mom!  Needless to say grandma can't stop smiling at the thought.  Holding him brings back so many memories of the three older grandsons when they were that size and of course our two kids when they were just infants.  Congrats to our daughter, Amanda and her husband, David on a job well done!

The scanning and re-organization project is ongoing. I think I finally have every loose paper from my summer research trips scanned to my flash/thumb drives.  Now the fun begins as I start to transcribe and clean up those images to link in my data base.

Speaking of databases, I've joined the Heredis for Mac beta test that is going on.  So far things look great, but my "test" file still has some issues I'm not thrilled with.  Heredis is a European Genealogy software that has recently come on to the US genealogy software scene.  It has great potential and I'm enjoying the experience thus far.

Mom has arrived from Florida for a few months. Its always great having her here to enjoy the holidays with us.  The grandsons think she's awesome and since she's the shortest one in the family at only 5'1 the oldest grandson thinks she's great - he's finally taller than one of the adults!

It's Monday, time to get busy!  How about you?  What have you been working on?

Happy Researching!
Karen

Tombstone Tuesday

Permelia Frances Phillips was my third great grandmother, married to Robert Phillips - they were the parents of 6 children, four of which lived to adulthood.  Children were Margaret, Sarah, Emma, William, Charles and Euphremia. 


*Headstone Photo by Mark & Karen Krugman
**Obituary - Franklin Chronicle, 9 MAY 1916, Pg. 6
***Death Certificate - "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8NQ-99M : accessed 05 JAN 2010), Permelia Frances Phillips, 1916.

Military Monday - Valentine Bloss (Rev. War VA)

Amanuensis Monday - Bloss Miltenberger Letter (1849)

      I bought this letter off Ebay a few years ago. I've decided to put alot of the old wills ect that I have up on my blog in hopes that it will help other researchers. This letter is from Wm. R.Bloss who was living in Preble County, Ohio to his cousin Miss E.M. Miltenberger who was living in Warren County, Ohio. The letter is in excellant condition with no rips or stains and is gently folded. You can still see the marks where it was sealed with a wax seal.
     If you click on the image of the letter it will open a larger image in a new window. Use your browsers back button to return to GFOM. I've offered MY translation of the letter below the letter image. I've typed it exactly as I see it, no corrections to grammar, spelling or punctuation. If you are a Bloss or Miltenberger descendant I'd love to hear from you!

                                                                   Preble County  August 14, 1849
Dear Cousin
     I take my pen in heart to drop you a few lines to let you know that we are numberd among the living and part of us enjoy a tolerable degree of health at present part of us not so well we have all had measles that lasted some five or eight weeks but we have all got over them. some of have bin sick since we have bin over the measels  I have bin sick for some time But am getting about again
  Franklin has bin quite sick ever since last wednesday nite but is some beter to day he has bin siting up most of the time so I think we will all get along again I think if the Lord be wiling, he is the only true physician.
    The health is jeneraly tolerable good in the neighbohood to what it has bin the cholery has abated to a conderable degree  Buisness is reviving again in our town we are going to have a two days meeting at Antioch commencing next Saturday a week  I want to see some of you over here then  I have bin looking for you over all summer you wrote that you was a going to come over and stay with us part of the summer  I kept looking But all in vain     Cousin Matida I want to see you over here soon if you cant come I want you to write me a word or two and let me know you all are  I haven't heard from you since you wrote that leter to Clarissa and tell me if you are married or not no more at present hoping whe thiss comes to hand that it may find you enjoying good health
   Give our best respects to all the friends write as soon as this comes to hand if you arnt coming rite away  I remain your most afectionate cousin until death
   /s/  Wm R. Bloss                       E.M. Miltenberger

Travel Thursday - Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio

Yes, we're back on the road again!  We've decided to take a bit of a break and head out for some relaxation & research time!  We're in Dayton - the land of my mom's ancestors - Phillips, Boomershine, Kreitzer, Early, Bloss, Hess and many more.  

We are going to spend today at the Montgomery County Records & Archives Center in Downtown Dayton. Luckily for me its right across the street from our hotel!  Short of being locked in the facility for the night, does it get any better than that?  We've accumulated enough points that the two nights stay at the Crowne Plaza Dayton is free!  That means more $$ for research copies!

I'm hoping to access death records pre1910, marriage records and wills for all my ancestors that lived in Montgomery County, Ohio.  I already have many of the wills but I've added many "leaves" on the tree since my last visit to the center, I've got quite a few things to locate.

Friday we will probably be around the corner at the library doing newspaper research.  I'll update you on my research adventure on Friday's blog.  Wish me luck!

Happy Researching!
Karen

Treasure Chest Thursday - Bloss Miltenberger letter of 1849

I love surfing around on the internet, using my google search engine I find the neatest things.  One day it came to my attention that the letter shown below was up for grabs on ebay.  Went & took a look.  Checked against my data base, figured out who everyone was and decided to place a bid.  Obviously with the letter being on my blog, I won the bid and now this letter, from William R. Bloss, in Preble County, Ohio to his cousin, E. M. Miltenberger over in Warren County, Ohio is in my treasure chest. 

The letter, postmarked & addressed on the back of the letter itself, then neatly folded into an "envelope" type form still bears the remains of the wax used to seal the letter closed.  It is dated Preble Co., August 14, 1849.   E. M is Emaline Matilda Miltenberger (1826-1891), who marries that November to Joshua Button.  William R. Bloss, who was born in 1822 is yet to be researched, although I do know of his siblings & parents.  They are both first cousins six times removed to me.

I did not scan the entire back of the letter only the part that I felt was important. Also the front has two (2) signatures at the bottom of the page which I was unable to capture on my scanner.  Remember that if you wish to enlarge the image, clicking will open it in a new, larger window.  Use your browsers back button to return to Genealogy Frame of Mind.

Happy Researching!
  Karen

Monday Madness - John Hess

Every genealogist has them, and I am no exception. That never ending brick wall. To someone frustrated by trying to research said brick wall, it appears to be longer than the great wall of China. Insurmountable for sure. And this one is no different!

One of my biggest brick walls is my 4th great grandfather, John Hess. Here's what I know about John. John was born 7 JUN 1787 in Virginia. Some have said that John was born in Page County, Virginia, other say Rockingham County. Although I can prove he at times lived in those places, I can not prove either was his birthplace. Some say his father was a Revolutionary War soldier, some say prisoner of war. So far all are just unproven heresay.

John married on 27 JUN 1811 in Rockingham County, Virginia, Miss Anna Maria Bloos, daughter of John Adam Bloss and his wife Mary. They were the parents of Joseph, Elizabeth, Polly, John F., Leanna, Sarah, Permelia (my ancestor) and William H. All matured to adulthood.

John died 21 MAR 1871 in Blue Ball, Butler County, Ohio where he and Mary had moved ca1850. John's death record indicates that he died of cancer, the specific type not identified. It also states that his parents are Casper Hess & Mary Sheets.

I've done my census homework on John - starting in 1820 when his family is in Rockingham County, Virginia, and following him thru 1870 which was the final census he appeared on. I have land deeds where he had land in Page County, Virginia & Rockingham County, Virginia, which he sold off prior to his move to Ohio. One parcel of land was even sold AFTER the move.

John's will was recorded in Butler County, Ohio on 20 MAR 1871 and names his children & his wife, but doesn't name any siblings. Here is the will as it was transcribed by me. No spelling or grammer changes have been made. It is given here as it is on the document I transcribed it from.

Will of John Hess

In the name of God the Benevolent father of all, I, John Hess, of the County of Butler and State of Ohio do make and publish this my last will and testament.

Item 1st. I give and bequeath to my beloved wife, Mary Hess, in lieu of her dower, the use and sole control of all the estate of which I may be seized, during her natural life, She to have all the rents and emoluments arising there from.

Item 2nd At the death of my said wife, Mary Hess, the residue of my property there remaining after selling apart two hundred dollars extra to my daughter, Leanna Hess, I give and bequeath in equal shares to my children, William Hess, Joseph Hess, John F. Hess, Sarah Bell, Parmelia F. Phillips, Leanna Hess and to the children of my deceased daughters, Betsy Hult and Polly Eppert, the said children of Betsey and Polly, it is hereby understood inherit the shares of the said Betsey and Polly, the same as if they were living at my decease.

Item 3rd I hereby constitute and appoint my son, William Hess, Executor of this my will and testament; and should my personal effects be insufficient to pay my debts (after sale of the same), in that event, should my said Executor, deem it best, I hereby enpower him to sell my real estate, either at public or private sale, as to him would seem most advantageous, and after paying all my debts, the residue then remaining, it is my wish that he place at interest, taking care to have it well secured, so that my said wife, Mary Hess, shall draw the interest of the same during her natural life, and at her death be divided as aforesaid. In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 10th day of July A.D. 1869.

/s/ John X Hess (His mark)
Signed and acknowledged by the said John Hess, in our presence, and signed by us in his presence.
/s/ P. P. La Fourrette, /s/ W.B. Hedding

My searches thus far have not led me to any Casper Hess that I feel fits the bill for the father of John Hess. So for now the search for the parents of John Hess, well lets just say it was easier for the great wall to come down than for this be resolved!

Happy Researching!

Karen

Tombstone Tuesday

John Hess (1787-1871) and wife, Anna Maria "Mary" Bloss Hess (1787-1870)

Middletown Cemetery, Butler County, Ohio.

Headstone of John Hess & Mary Bloss Hess his wife, as I found it in 2004.

Headstone as it stands today after the kindness of a stranger. Repaired and good as new!

Generational - Phillips Family

The photograph above is of the William Harrison Phillips family. Front row, William H. Phillips, his wife, Sarah Jane Early Phillips, daughters, Mariba Phillips, Elva Phillips. Back row, sons, Charles Phillips, Elwood Phillips (in the hat - my great grandfather), and Earl Phillips.

A bit about the line. This Phillips line has its known beginnings in the area of Rockingham County, Virginia. I say known beginnings because we have not yet discovered the father of James Phillips, the progenitor of this line as we know it.

James Phillips has been difficult to track to say the least, and there is much more work to be done on him. For now what we know is that he was born ca 1780 in Virginia. Not positive on the exact place. I believe he may have been married more than once, but his first wife if he had one is unknown to me. The wife our line descends from is Nancy Alford, daughter of Thomas Alford & Elizabeth Melling. Nancy was born 11 AUG 1801 and is deceased before 1870. James Phillips is deceased it seems bef 1860. No death date or headstone has been found for either James or Nancy.

James & Nancy Alford Phillips are the parents of six children that I am aware of as of this writing. The children were: Robert, Margaret, Mary, Eliza, William and Franklin. Of these six Robert is my ancestor. He & his wife are my 3rd great grandparents.

Robert Phillips (1827-1909) married Parmelia Hess (1829-1916)in April of 1851 in Rockingham County, Virginia. Parmelia is the daughter of John Hess & his wife, Mary Bloss. Robert & Parmelia lie in Springboro Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio as do many of their descendants.

Robert & Parmelia Phillips migrated in 1855 from Virginia to Ohio on the wagon train that was chronicled in a diary kept by another member of the family. We have copies of that journal in our files. The family of Robert & Parmelia included six children to wit: Margaret (1852-1935), Sarah (1854-1854), Emma (1855-1937), William H.(1858-1929), Charles E.(1862-1940), and Euphemia (1865-1879).

Of these six children, William H. is my ancestor. He is pictured in the top photo on this page with his wife, Sarah Jane Early, daughter of David Early & his wife, Elizabeth Gebhart. William & Sarah Jane married 25 MAR 1879, Montgomery County, Ohio. They too are buried in Springboro Cemetery.


William & Sarah Jane Early Phillips were the parents of ten children, of which only five are in the photo at the top of this blog. Their children were Elva, David, Mariba, Elwood, Robert, Clarence, John, Clinton, Charles & Earl. Of these ten, Elwood is my great grandfather.

Elwood Phillips married Edna McCune 23 DEC 1908 in Montgomery County, Ohio. Elwood & Edna were the parents of eight children, of which two are still living. Their children were Raymond, Mabel, Alberta, Goldie, Helen, Mary, Hazel and Elwood Jr.



Photo above shows the happy couple (Elwood & Edna)on their wedding day. The shirt Elwood wore for his wedding is still in the possession of one of his descendants. With the exception of Raymond, the remaining children of Elwood & Edna stayed in the Montgomery County, Ohio and all are deceased but two. Many of their desecendants still remain in that area.

Elwood & Edna's son, Raymond W. was my grandfather. He married Pauline Kreitzer in Union County, Indiana on 11 NOV 1933. Ray & Pauline took their five children and moved to Florida ca 1955. Those five children include Phyllis, Richard, Carolyn, Herman & Gary, all of whom are living and enjoying life in South Florida.

If you find a connection in your tree to this PHILLIPS line, I'd love to hear from you. I've got full dates and places as well as documention on this entire line and I'd love to share it with anyone who might find a connection to the line.

Happy researching!
Karen

Now or Never...

Photos - left, broken headstone of John Hess & Mary Bloss Hess. Right, is repaired stone.

No, I'm not writing about Elvis, although I must admit I did enjoy his music. I just borrowed a line from one of his songs.

I've been blogging a bit about my trip prep. We leave bright & early tomorrow (Friday) for some vacation time. We always try to run away after tax season (we own a tax service)just to get away from the phones that have been ringing off the hook & the constant flow of people in & out of the house. Anyway, we're headed out of town for a week or a bit more to do some family history research. The prep for this has been on going for quite a while. But is it ever really done?

The obituary search lists for both Nashville & Elkhart are done. The cemetery hunt lists are done and ready. Our tickets are bought for the Grand Ole Opry - yep, its true the Krugman's are going to do something besides hang out in cemeteries and libraries, we're actually going to play tourist in Nashville for a while! We figured out a few days ago that one of the biggest events in racing is taking place in the path of our research - yeah, its in our path, notice I didn't say it the other way? Indy 500 is in Indianapolis this weekend. SO we shall go far west around the Indy. Anyhow, studmuffin asks after going thru all the lists I was preparing to put in the briefcase, "what about Butler County?" Huh? "you know Butler County, Ohio?" I had forgotten all about the final leg of our trip, a few days in Butler County, Ohio.

For those of you who don't know where Butler County is, it can be found just to the south of Montgomery County (Dayton area) and Preble County, Ohio. It was formed from parts of Hamilton County, which sits just to the south. At one time that entire area of Ohio was Hamilton County, from the Kentucky border north into what is now Shelby County, Ohio.

So I went into Legacy and printed off a report of the people who "used" Butler County,Ohio as one of their facts for B/d/m or Census. To my surprise, I found almost two pages, or about 83 persons who fit that criteria. Printing off the list from Legacy I decided to go thru them one by one and find out what I knew about each.

Out of the 83 or so persons that appeared on my list, about 15 had at some point removed themselves from Butler County. So those I was able to remove them from my list. Next I went on line (seems I spend ALOT of time there!) and located the Butler County public library. I see from their website they have an obituary index for the local paper as well as some cemetery indexes. COOL! So I've added some time at the library to check out those items. WIth that information I should be able to locate the obituaries I want as well as the locations of the burials for headstone photographs!

The line in Butler County is primarily associated with some of the descendants of John Hess & his wife, Mary Bloss. They are buried there in Blue Ball in Middletown Cemetery. Although a few other lines wandered south from Montgomery County into Butler, lines such as some of the Apples, Emerts, Gebharts, and even some Boomershines! This county has always been one of the counties that I didn't pay lots of attention to, I guess I just didn't realize how many persons in my data base had connections to the area.

All that is left to do today for the trip research is finish off my prep work for the drive thru western Indiana - mostly photographing headstones in counties along the way to Kentucky.

I hope to be able to blog as we are on our trip, sharing my finds & discoveries with you, as well as some great adventure. I like to be up & out early so I'll do my best to keep you up to date. So stay tuned!

As for the rest of my trip prep I guess its now or never eh?