Documentation is the skeleton upon which all good genealogy should be based.  There are many models to follow but for most of us we document what our genealogy programs dictate.  The base program I work with, RootsMagic has fields for dates, places, sources, notes….  I can sometimes become compulsive making sure I have all the fields completed with at least two documents.  In my opinion RootsMagic it is a document based program, and that is just fine with me.  All too often while doing research on the internet I will find someone’s genealogy which matches mine, how exciting!  Until I begin to dig further and look for the source of their information.  More often than not, the source is another researcher’s gedcom file.  This file has been sourced by yet another gedcom, and so on and so on.  Just because everyone has listed the same date of birth for person X does not make it so.  Too often we are just repeating the same research over and over without ever looking for the source.   Did the information come from a cemetery index (often transcribed incorrectly), an obituary, death certificate, family bible?   How do you know?  Because other family member lists the information as fact is not good enough.   Other researcher’s information can be good starting place, but there must be documents to back up the data.  Does this slow down the pace of research?  Yes, and it may ultimately limit the number of persons in your gedcom or how far back in history you can trace.  However, for the sake of those who come after us it must be done.  In our rush to find ancestors we may run right by the most interesting aspects of their lives.  I prefer the slow, document based approach.  As you look through my data, know every attempt has been made to include multiple sources for the information.  Occasionally, I will site another researcher, this is only done when their data includes primary and secondary sources I can view and obtain if needed.  Many times viewers will ask why I have not included “well known facts” about a family.   The omission of data is because I am still looking for the documentation.  If you have documents please share them with the rest of the genealogy community!  Obtaining documentation can be expensive and time consuming.   If you don’t want to build a website then scan and upload your documents to any of the free sites on the web or send it to the appropriate county coordinator at http://usgenweb.org/.  My intention is not to disregard or belittle anyone’s research but to be upfront with you about my feelings on genealogy and how I approach obtaining information.  I feel the fun of genealogy is in the hunt not the collecting people.   

            Familytomb now has a forum! Forum I am very excited about this new feature for the website.  My hope is immediate family members will have a central location for communication on a variety of happenings and visitors who are looking for further information can post in the family surname board they are researching.  Someone may have information to share or may be researching the same family and want to make contact or say “hello”.  The web is a big place; we might just find some long lost cousins.  The forum is less than a week old and not very active right now.  Just because the place looks empty don’t be afraid to register and post!  It’s okay to start a new thread and if you want a new topic just let me know and I will add this for you.   I really love forums and have learned so much about genealogy, Halloween prop building and webdesign from reading and asking questions in other forums.  Once you get used to the format you may just like it!  The forum is in its basic bare bones look right now, I hope to customize in the future.  I tried a customization today and “broke” the board, however it is back online.  If you ever visit and get a strange error code it is probably because I have “broken” the forum.  My webhost, simplyhosting is very quick to fix my mess and the board will usually be back up after a few hours.  Today they had me back up with in the hour.  Did I say simplyhosting is the best?  No, I am not getting paid for saying this!  I have had other “big name” webhosts in the past and it took over a week to resolve an issue. 

            On the Genealogy front I have sent requests for Ambrose Fitzjerrell’s estate index and for Amos and Sarah Ash’s estate papers.  I eagerly check the mail everyday awaiting a response, nothing yet.  Recently I have spent a fair amount of time looking at other data on the Elijah-Amos Ash link.  I think they are right stating Elijah was the son of Amos, but it seems everyone I contact about this connection does not have any documents to prove this connection.  I hope the information I have sent for will be the documentation many need on this line.  If the data I have looked at is correct the John Ash I found at Bower’s cemetery was the brother of Amos.  My hypothesis is Amos died young, left Sarah to care for the kids, she married Jesse McPherson (her brother-in-law) and John, the brother of Amos moved to Scott Co., IL and took the older boys of Sarah and Amos with him.

            So much for now, I need to get back to other pursuits!

Well it has been awhile since the last entry!  The end of the school year brings a flurry of activity and occupies most of my time and energy.  Now school is out I will have to try and find a balance between cleaning, gardening, Halloween prep and genealogy.  So far cleaning and gardening have won the battle for my time, but as the temperatures increase outside I am sure my cooler indoor pursuits will win out!  The first week in June took me to Illinois for a solo genealogy trip of three days.  Most of the time was spent in the new Lincoln Presidential library and archives.  There was so much information to go through; I would highly recommend research there if you have ancestors in Illinois.  I only spent two days researching but could spend another week!  However, two days of reading over county histories and cemetery records will make you bleary eyed. 

So what is new?

Fitzjerrell

 At the Lincoln complex I found pictures of William and Elizabeth Fitzjerrell in a history of Montgomery County!  We had no family pictures of the Fitzjerrell’s so finding these made the trip worth the effort.  I also found a record of a will for Ambrose Fitzjerrell in New Jersey, I will have to follow up on this and see if a copy of the original is still available.  I went back to Asbury Cemetery south of Raymond to find William and Elizabeth’s tombstone.  Found it and photographed the tombstone and cemetery.  The first time to Asbury in May we did not find the tombstone, but we had just hiked through the thickets and brush of the Cass cemetery and our energy levels and motivation were low!  Although I did not find a lot of new information I can now cross off my list several counties and cemeteries where the family is not.

Ash

Also at the Lincoln archives I found a cemetery listing for a John Ash (1768-1845) in Bowers Cemetery, Scott County.  Scott County is where the Ash family first settled in Illinois and although I don’t have a direct link to John Ash I am sure he is related.  I went to the cemetery and photographed his tombstone and that of his wife Elizabeth.  It was pouring rain the day I made the cemetery trips so the quality and quantity of the photos is a bit lacking.   I also went to Manchester cemetery to get a photo of Elizabeth Ash (Elijah’s first wife) and Eliza Jane Ash (daughter of Elizabeth and Elijah).  Elizabeth’s stone is broken and well worn; Eliza Jane’s is in better shape but not by much.   Manchester cemetery is less than ten miles from Bowers cemetery, which makes me even more certain John is related.     

Behen    

Not much new information found in Illinois, but I did locate and photograph the tombstones of Daniel Bahan and his family in Jacksonville.  Daniel was the brother of Michael and son of Andrew.   Mary the wife of Andrew is supposed to have a marker in this cemetery but I did not find it, however I do have the phone number now for the parish which oversees the cemetery and perhaps they have a location.  By the way I did find the tombstone for Peter Rabbitt in Jacksonville.  Peter is buried not far from Daniel and his family.  After a long day of research in Springfield and then the drive over to Jacksonville it was rather humorous to stumble upon this stone.  Just before I left for Illinois I did receive information from the dioceses in Philadelphia.  They had located baptismal records for Michael, Daniel, Andrew and Catherine!  I have looking for this bit of information for about twelve years now.  These records confirm the 1850 Philadelphia, 1860 Wabash census and the Ed Behen baby book information.  The information is as follows:

All baptized at St. Francis Xavier Church in Philadelphia, PA

Daniel Beahan

Born September 15, 1843

Baptized October 15, 1843

Parents: Andrew and Mary Beahan

Michael Joseph Bane

Born: November 15, 1845

Baptized:  November 30, 1845

Parents:  Andrew and Mary Bane

Andrew Bain

Born:  February 28, 1848

Baptized:  March 7, 1848

Parents:  Andrew and Mary Bain

Catherine Behan

Born:  October 6, 1850

Baptized October 13, 1850

Parents:  Andrew and Mary Behan

All of the baptisms were done by Rev. P. Rafferty and the sponsors for the children varied between John and Catherine McCarron, Martin Bowes and Mary Behan, Bartholomew Thomas and Mary Lyons, these sponsors may very likely be siblings of Andrew and Mary Behen and represent potential new information. 

My notes from the trip are still in disarray and I have not fully updated the web with some of the new information and documentation.  Another trip is planned, this time to Kentucky to document some original research done by the Ash family, my hope is to find the documentation for information I have received on this family.  I do not wish to offend anyone and disregard their research but I do need the documents for proof.  As I have stated in earlier blogs, nothing goes in to the data bank unless I have at least two documents proving a fact.  This at times can be frustrating, time consuming and expensive, but I believe family members and future generations deserve no less than accuracy.

Well I had better get back to painting the bathroom, unloading the dishwasher and figuring out what’s for dinner.  Where does the time go?

Remember, you are not bugging me.  If you need information or think we have a connection e-mail me!  I will be happy to hear from you!

Robyn

robyn@familytomb.net

The trip to Illinois was interesting and productive, however quite a bit different than I had planned.  My goal was to further research on the Ash line but as we were on our way to Illinois Mary Lou presented me with a wealth of information on the Fitzjerrell side of the family from Betty Sue.  From that point on most of our time spent in Litchfield, IL was focused on finding the graves and published biographies on the Fitzjerrell’s.

            Our first stop after breakfast on Saturday was the Roberts cemetery in Honey Bend, IL.  The Roberts cemetery is home to many Ash family members in particular Elijah Ash, the earliest documented Ash relative.  Unfortunately for us the Roberts Cemetery has been designated a savanna area and the tombstones are now over grown with brush, thickets and brambles, not indicative of a natural savanna but that is another discussion.  We braved the overgrowth of flora to find Elijah’s tombstone and the tombstones of several children of Tabitha and J.W. Ash.  We left Robert’s cemetery and proceeded to a more maintained cemetery in Honey Bend, we did not find any Ash’s or Fitzjerrell’s there but have since been informed they are there and we must have not seen the tombstones.

            We next spent some time in the genealogy research room of the Litchfield public library.  There we found some biographies of our Fitzjerrell’s in various county histories; these have provided a wealth of information.  We then found a record of Tabitha E. Fitzjerrell’s tombstone in the Cass cemetery.  After a quick lunch we headed out to the farmlands of Montgomery County to find Tabitha.  The map took us right up to the edge of a field surrounded by woods.  Pat hiked a couple of four wheeler trails looking for the cemetery.  After about an hour he found the cemetery and off we went in to the woods!  The hike was an arduous one and the recent rains only complicated the trek.  We arrived at the cemetery to find an even more overgrown cemetery than the Roberts cemetery earlier that day.  After about an hour of taking pictures and trying to decipher well warn tombstones we headed home. 

            In the week since the trip I have poured over the information and added the pictures and data to the website.  As with most genealogy trips I now have more questions than answers.  I am planning a solo trip to Springfield as soon as school is out, my goal is to research several county histories and cemetery records for the Ash, Fitzjerrell and Behen families.  With school being out I can take my time and let the research plan my trip. 

            The Behen side of the family has also yielded new information this week.  I received Nellie Stanton Spence’s death certificate.  Nellie was Elizabeth (Libbie) Stanton Behen’s sister.  Nellie’s death certificate confirms her birth place as Adrian, MI; same as Libbie and her mother’s maiden name as Raycraft.

            That’s it for now, there has been a lot of new information added and I am sure I made some mistakes entering data, please let me know of any errors in spelling or dates.  I will let you know how my solo genealogy “vacation” trip to Illinois goes.

            It is difficult for a genealogist to depart from family stories and base research on facts which can be documented.  Family legend sometimes can prove incorrect when confronted with documented facts; this can be difficult for family members who “remember” names, dates, places and people they were exposed to as a young child.  However, these memories are often much like the ten foot Christmas tree which was really five or the eight pound trout that actually weight in at three pounds.  The tree and the trout are fact but the details are at times incorrect.  The memories of living family members should not be discounted outright, but treated with the reverence a memory deserves.  Still quality genealogy requires documentation.  Family legend and documented facts can collide, creating a sometimes painful dilemma for the family historian.  Within this website you may find names, dates and places which diverge slightly from your memories, know these facts have been corroborated by at least two sources before they enter the family databases.  The change in your family history is not meant to be an affront to your past but a clarification for our future.  As research on these lines progress new information is also uncovered, sometimes requiring a retraction of earlier information.  Genealogy is a work in progress, little beyond the current generation is absolutely certain.  The search for the truth can be further complicated by poor handwriting of county clerks, indifference by the census takers and our own ancestor’s immigrant speech.

            It has been a long four months getting the website up and running.  I hope everyone enjoys the features and the information on the site.  As you may have noticed in the past few weeks family histories and slideshows have been added.  It is interesting to see the reaction of family to the website and their responses.  As much as I want everybody to be interested in the “data” part of the site it seems everyone just wants to see family photos and read concise summaries of the family histories.  In response to your reactions I have tried to provide you with these elements.

            The main purpose for this blog is to keep family members abreast of current research news and progress.   In the next few weeks I hope to hear back from several Catholic churches with information on the Behen family.  A trip is planned to document and photograph tombstones in Litchfield, IL on the Ash family and as the weather warms and the ground dries out I also hope to get to a couple of local cemeteries for some photos of the Lambeth graves.

            As you read through these blog entries keep in mind they are an attempt to convey current research on multiple family lines in an informal fashion.  Please overlook the occasional lapses in conventional grammar and spelling.  Please don’t hesitate in contacting me with corrections, stories or information.  You will not be bugging me!

I want your information!

Robyn