2015 - Out With The Old & In With The New

Happy New Year!

We were talking with some friends the other day about just how quickly time passes.  Seems like yesterday we were all wondering what the effects of going from 1999 to 2000 would be.  Hard to believe that it is now 2015.  Time sure flies!

This year will bring a (hopefully soon) new grandson for us.  He's due in late January.  What a great thing that will be! 

As many of you have done we've been cleaning - the bringing of the new year some how seems to make us want to make changes.  We've been emptying closets, donating "stuff",  reorganizing and rethinking how we do things.  Makes for lots of changes in our household.  Mostly good things.  

Every year I am always anxious to see what new information for genealogy is going to appear on line.  Will this be the year I discover the ancestry of John McCune?  John Hess?  John Peterman?  (see a pattern here?).  One can only hope that perhaps one of those walls will be coming down.  I can only hope. 

I'm hoping this year to be more informative on the blog, more consistancy with the posts, more information in the posts.  My goal right now is to redefine the way my office is organized,  be more efficient with my time useage,  and more organized with the way I do things.  Somehow we always seem to think that we have everything the way we want it, then something happens and a lightbulb comes on in our heads.  Suddenly everything isn't as efficient as we'd like it to be.  And so it goes.

So what genealogy related projects are you going to work on this year?

 

Overwhelmed? Make Lists!

Step #4 of my five steps to help ease the feeling of overwhelmed was Make Lists!  I'm a list maker.  Always have been and I'm sure I always will be.  Mr. Brown Eyes (my spouse) tells me that I have a ticker tape list running across my forehead the minute my feet hit the floor in the morning.

I'm not sure its quite that bad, but he is correct.  When I hit the shower in the morning I pretty much know what my day is going to be like.  I know what needs to be done, I know what I want to do and most of the time, baring any emergencies or such I pretty much get  'er done. 

As I said before alot of this boils down to priorities.  Its really pretty simple.  What is important to you and how badly do you want to take care of those things?

My first list of the day is what do I need to get done as far as our home goes?  Do I need to toss in laundry?  Take out something for dinner?  Put something in the crockpot?   Do the bird feeders need filling?   Are there any projects that I need to take care of?   I have a pretty standard routine that takes place for cleaning, it's primarily a Monday morning thing.  There's a list - Laundry gets started, dinner goes in the crockpot, dusting is done,  usually the house cleaning is complete on Monday's by noon.  There are several good sites with lists that can help with that.  One that is very popular is the FlyLady site.  She has lots of helpful ideas on getting your house in order & organized.  Another is the Martha Stewart website.  The link I provided links to her "lists", cleaning, organizing and more.  Worth taking a look at if you are challenged in that area. 

Once that is done then we look at genealogy.  I've always got one major project going on in my office.  I've currently got two major lists I'm working on.  One is my "Michigan Research" list and the other is my "Medina County Ohio Research" list.  Both of these are generated by my software.  Another list that I like to generate from my software are "database" search lists.  Not difficult to do, but oh so helpful.  I will be doing a follow up post on generating those lists shortly.   Those lists show me where my "holes" are and what I need to be looking for.  We all have those holes in our research. 

I also keep to do lists for ALL my favorite genie haunts.  Those include Library of Michigan, Allen County (Ft Wayne), Indiana,  Montgomery County Record Center & Archives (Dayton, Ohio), Medina County, Ohio public Library.   Each repository that I have plans to visit has a to do list - some are obit search lists, some are vital record wants, some are major lists with books, microfilms and more on them.  The lists include call numbers, newspaper names and details of what I want and why.  Easily customized for all needs.  I keep those in Evernote.  Always accessible and available for spur of the minute "honey want to run off & research weekends?".   Prepared?  You better believe it!

Lists are just so important.  Both in our genealogy and our personal lives.  I've got my Christmas lists going already. Not what I want, but what do I have for each of my grandsons and kids.  Can't really go into detail here because I do know my kids read this.  I've got a little notebook sorta thingy that has a space for each person I shop for.  I have written down the "gee, I could use that" stuff that I hear during the year, then as I find it it gets taken of that list and gets added to the BOUGHT list.  So far no one has ever found that list.  Comes in handy when you go out shopping and come back as to what goes to what grandson.  I use my iPad for my grocery lists.  Its great, it shows up on all devices so there's never a chance I don't have my list with me. 

I try really hard not to make lots of paper lists but sometimes hard as I try I end up with post its on my desk for genealogy stuff I want to remember,  for reminders, for blog topics that I want to write about (I've got one going right here next to my laptop now). 

In short,  you need to find a way to make lists that work for you.  If its paper, if its electronic that works too.  The main thing is that using lists helps keep you focused.  Keeps you on track.  I'm a visual person.  Seeing it in front of me, whether on paper or on the iPad or in Evernote keeps me on track.  With my list I can see my goals and where I stand.  If I have a list of 12 things to do and my goal is done by noon, there's still four to go and its 11:15- I better get off the phone and finish that list.  Yep, keeps me on track. 

Are you a list maker?  If not, maybe you should try it!  Sure helps me! 

Monday Musings

WOWSERS!  Last week just flew by!  I've got two more days on my series on how to not feel overwhelmed - both in genealogy and in your daily life.  We still have "Make Lists" & "Say NO" to cover. 

Last week was a good one, I got tons of stuff typed and edited and ready to be added to my data base.  I'm working on a number of projects, which is really nothing new.  Its just good to finally see it linked and added to the data base.

The youngest grandson decided to just stand up in the middle of his parents kitchen floor this past Saturday and start walking!  I had just crossed over the border back into the states when the video popped up on my phone.  So excited to watch that!  Soon he'll be up and running with the other grandsons!  They grow up so fast! 

On the way home from our temp location in Burlington, Canada we stopped in a small place to eat. Nothing big, nothing fancy, but the place just stayed busy all the time we were there.  Looking around I stumbled on a chalkboard drawing with some holly on it.  In the middle of all the holly and stuff were the following words - 12 FRIDAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!  

WHAT!?!?!?!?

Needless to say I was about blown off my chair.  It can't be.  Not that soon!  Alas I'm afraid tis true. 

   Oh well,  where has the year gone!   I'm back to my typing blogs!   Don't forget to watch for the last two blogs in the  Overwhelmed series!

 Happy Researching!
   Karen

The Elwood & Edna McCune Phillips Family

My Great Grandparents, Elwood & Edna McCune Phillips

ca 1923

Elwood Phillips was the son of William Harrison Phillips & his wife, Sarah Jane Early.  Elwood was the second of 8 sons and the fourth of 10 children born to his parents.  He was born 30 NOV 1887 in Warren County, Ohio.  He married Edna Martha McCune on 23 DEC 1908 in Miamisburg, Ohio.  She was the daughter of John McCune (can we say BRICKWALL here?) and his wife, Rebecca Tanreuther.  

Elwood and Edna were the parents of 8 children, the oldest being my grandfather, Raymond.  Their children were:

Raymond W., Mabel C., Alberta M., Goldie M., Helen L., Mary E., Hazel P.,  and Elwood V. Phillips.  All children lived to maturity with the exception of Mabel who died tragically at he age of 18.

Elwood died 15 FEB 1963 and Edna died 16 DEC 1970. They are buried in Springboro Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio.  Their daughter, Mabel is buried between them.  

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Portrait of Grandpa

Raymond W. Phillips

  Raymond "Ray" was born 30 AUG 1909 in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio to Elwood Phillips(1887-1963) and his wife, Edna Martha McCune (1888-1970).  Raymond married on 11 NOV 1933 to Pauline Kreitzer (1912-1988).   They were the parents of five children - Phyllis E., Richard W., Carolyn L., Herman G., and Gary R. Phillips. 

**Photo from the personal collection of Karen Ansley Krugman.

Tombstone Tuesday - The Miller's

 Gertrude Miller was born Gertrude McCune, daughter of John McCune & Rebecca Tanreuther.  She was born Feb 1880 and died 12 JUN 1961 in Darke County, Ohio.  She was married first to Charles Ireland on 16 SEP 1897 in Montgomery County, Ohio.  He died 8 NOV 1907 in Dayton, Ohio.  She then remarried to G.W. Miller.   Gertrude was my second great aunt.

**Headstone photo by Mark & Karen Krugman
***Newspaper clippings from the Garst Library surname files

Travel Tuesday - Darke County, Ohio

Yesterday morning, we left Kentucky and headed back north to research in Ohio. This week we are heading up a group of researching in Darke & Montgomery County, Ohio. All are members of the on line Darke County mail list. All together I think there are 10 of us.

So today we will be researching at the Garst library & Museum. I'm really looking forward to this week, researching with all these friends I've not met before!

Some of the surnames I'll be researching there will be:
McCune, Boomershine, Moore, Arnett, Teaford, Baker, Mendenhall, Sherry, Warner, Foreman, Crumrine, Krousbein, Landis, Harper and many more!

Tomorrow, I'll fill you in on how it went and share with you the surnames and research plans for the Brethren Research Center on Wednesday the 6th.

Happy Researching!
Karen

Lost In Time - Can You Help Identify These Photo's?

All photo's taken in Montgomery County - Germantown, Miamisburg, or perhaps, Warren County, Springboro, Ohio.  Time frame estimate would be 1920-1940.  Surnames possibly included: Phillips, Kreitzer, Early, Boomershine, Emert, McCune....  If anyone looks familiar in the photo's I'd love to hear from you.  Drop a comment on the blog or email me at karen at miprofgeie dot com and I'll get back to you asap.

Happy Researching!
Karen

Wishful Wednesday -

Thought I would take a few minutes and make my genealogy wish list - just in case any of the genealogy fairies are listening and have a mind to grant some wishes - here's my wish list...

• What happened to Joseph Ansley? I know he married Marietta Waddell and had two sons, I know she remarried, I know what happened to both boys. What happened to Joseph & when? Where?
• What's up with J.G. Waddell and his using J.G. Gamble name both on a census and for his service in the civil war? Who are his parents?
• Who are the parents of Jonathon G. McCune? Does he descend from the Darke County, Ohio McCune's or is he straight out of Ireland? Is the John McCune buried in the Infirmary Cemetery in Montgomery County, Ohio really MY John McCune?
• What about Rebecca Tanreuther McCune? Why did "friends" take her away after her death? Why wasn't her husband taking care of that? Where did her "friends" take her & bury here?
• Does my George Gates belong to the Gates family that founded Gatesburg in Centre County, Pennsylvania and if so how?

Happy Researching!

Karen

Treasure Chest Thursday

Above, William & Sarah Early Phillips and five of their 10 children, including my great grandfather, Elwood in center back row.
Above Elwood & Edna McCune Phillips, reportedly on their wedding day, 23 Dec 1908.

Above, individual portrait of my great grandmother, Edna McCune Phillips.

Above, individual portrait of my great grandfather, Elwood Phillips.

My treasures today are photo's. When my grandfather left Ohio in 1956, he left behind many family members, many of whom I never got to meet. That all changed in 2005/2006 when a note left in cemetery attracted the attention of one of those family members.

The eventual meeting between myself and the family my grandfather left behind was a wonderful thing, and I'll remember it for as long as I live. The treasures they shared with me continue to delight to this day.

They shared some photo's of my great grandparents, as well as my great great grandparents with me. Photo's I had never seen. And probably never would have had I not met them. The photo's you see on my blog today are photo's shared by these wonderful people who opened their hearts & their doors to me. They shared hundreds of photo's as well as allowing me to view & scan my great grandmother's bible. What a treat it was to renew that family tie!

Notes in a cemetery? A very good thing!

Happy Researching!

Karen

Tombstone Tuesday

Infirmary Cemetery

Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio

Final resting place of my 3rd greatgrandfather, Jonathon G. McCune

1853-1925

Brick Wall Thursday... McCune Family

John McCune – At times I think John was somehow linked to the McCune family who lived & are buried in Darke County, Ohio – but with a name like John/Jonathon it’s a tough one. His death certificate & marriage record were no help. His children were put in the Montgomery County, Ohio children’s home (I have copies of the papers) after his wife, Rebecca Tanreuther McCune dies May 30, 1894. I have no clue where Rebecca is buried, her death record says she was taken away by friends. Why weren’t John & her family the ones who took her away? Where was she taken?

Is the John McCann/McCune in the infirmary cemetery really MY John McCune? Most of all, who are John’s parents? Here’s my text file on John, Rebecca & their children. Tracking down the children (or at least the ones I could find) has been a challenge.

Its not like this is ancient stuff, John’s daughter, Edna is my great grandmother. She was indentured out and I have a quilt she made celebrating the birth of her oldest son, My grandfather. What tore this family apart? SO MANY SECRETS! At this point, just finding John’s parents & siblings would be awesome for me!


Descendants of Jonathon G. McCune


First Generation

1. Jonathon G. McCune was born in Mar 1853 in Ohio, died on 20 Dec 1925 in
Jefferson Township, Montgomery County, Ohio at age 72, and was buried on
22 Dec 1925 in Montgomery County Infirmary Cemetery, Jefferson Township,
Montgomery County, Ohio.

Birth Notes:
John's death certificate shows a birth date of 20 DEC 1855 in Ohio.

Burial Notes:
McCune, John, aged 70, died Dec.20,1925, of "Arterio Sclorosis", b. in OH, had
been admitted on 04-25-1925, was a widower,
County Infirmary Cemetery, Section 3, Row 4, Grave #1925-20
McCann, John, d. 20 Dec 1925, age 79

The only thing on the headstone is 1925 - 20. The other information was
obtained from the Infirmary death ledgers at the Archives.


Found a burial for a John McEwoen, on pg. 22 of Darke Co Cemetery Records.
Basic info shows John 1855-1920. He is listed with several others with the
same last name. No Rebecca.

* He appeared on the census on 1 Jun 1880 in Farmersville, Jackson
Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.
1880 Census shows John MCCUNE (W M 26 Married Ohio Ohio Ohio),
Blacksmith,
Rebecca (W F 21 Married Ohio Bavaria Maryland), Housekeeping, and
James, Son (W M 6/12 Ohio Ohio Ohio).
They lived on Walnut Street.

* He appeared on the census on 1 Jun 1900 in Dayton, Dayton Township,
Montgomery County, Ohio.
1900 Census shows John MCCUNE, Patient (W M MAR 1853 46 Married Ohio
Ohio Ohio), in the Apple Street Deaconess Hospital. (note: Rebecca his wife had died in 1894, so is this my John remarried or is this another John?)

* He appeared on the census on 1 Jun 1910 in Jackson Township, Montgomery
County, Ohio.
1910 Census shows Jonathon MCCUNE, Boarder (M W 56 Widowed Ohio
Massachusets Ohio), Farm Laborer, Working Out.
He is enumerated with Hiram KREITZER, Head (M W 55 M1 36 Ohio Ohio
Ohio), Farmer, General Farm,

* Death Certifict: #71705, 22 Dec 1925, Jefferson Township, Montgomery
County, Ohio.
John's death certificate does not tell us alot about his life. It
shows nothing about his parents or their birthplaces, those lines are
marked "unknown".

Jonathon married Rebecca Tanreuther, daughter of Frederich Tanreuther and
Margaret Montabaugh, on 5 Mar 1879 in Montgomery County, Ohio. Rebecca
was born on 31 Oct 1858 in Farmersville, Jackson Township, Montgomery
County, Ohio and died on 30 May 1894 in Montgomery County, Ohio at age 35. Her final resting place has yet to be discovered. It is believed she was buried on someone's farm, so she may never be found.

Marriage Notes:
Marriage record found in Book N, page 378, Montgomery County, Ohio.

* She appeared on the census on 1 Jun 1880 in Farmersville, Jackson
Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. 1880 Census shows Rebecca McCune,
Wife (W F 21 Married Ohio Bavaria Maryland), Housekeeping.

CHILDREN OF JOHN & REBECCA MCCUNE

+ 2 M i. James McCune was born on 11 Nov 1879 in Farmersville, Jackson
Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.

James married Minnie L. Smith (d. 3 Dec 1964) on 23 Sep 1905 in Hancock
County, Indiana.

+ 3 F ii. Gertrude McCune was born in Feb 1880 in Ohio, died on 12 Jun
1961 in Darke County, Ohio at age 81, and was buried in
Ansonia Cemetery, Darke County, Ohio*.

Gertrude married Charles R. Ireland (d. 8 Nov 1907).

Gertrude next married George W. Miller (d. 11 May 1947) about 1912 in
Ohio.

+ 4 M iii. Otto J. McCune was born on 18 Jun 1884 in Dayton, Dayton
Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.

+ 5 F iv. Edna Martha McCune was born on 8 Apr 1888 in Greenville,
Greenville Township, Darke County, Ohio, died on 16 Dec 1970
in Grand View Hospital, Miamisburg, Miami Township,
Montgomery County, Ohio at age 82, and was buried on 18 Dec
1970 in Springboro Cemetery, Clearcreek Township, Warren
County, Ohio*.

Edna married Elwood William Phillips (d. 15 Feb 1963) on 23 Dec 1908 in
Miamisburg, Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. Elwood & Edna are my great grandparents!

+ 6 M v. Jonathon F. McCune was born on 16 Oct 1889.

If this surname is in your file and you find connections to this family I would LOVE to hear from you! Thanks for looking in...

Note:Images posted here today are of the Montgomery County, Ohio infirmary Cemetery. The headstone image is that of 1925-20, supposedly that of John McCune.

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