Why Genealogy Conferences?

Why Genealogy Conferences? My top FOUR reasons, in no particular order, are...

1.  Education - One obvious reason for genealogists to attend conferences, and my primary  reason, is to learn. As genealogists, we never stop learning and expanding our knowledge base. Conferences are a great opportunity to learn about the availability of new records, new technology, new ideas...all these and more are found in abundance at genealogy conferences. The FGS conference in Ft. Wayne has scheduled over 150 different lecture topics within almost 25 different tracks of study, taught by some of the most knowledgeable genealogists in the world. With so many excellent classes and speakers, attendees may have to figure out a way to be in two places at once!

2.  Books - One of my favorite aspects of genealogy conferences are the books. Books, books, books everywhere! Books about genealogy, history, technology, blogging...every kind of subject a  genealogist could wish for. And not only books, but magazines, computer programs, and numerous other products are available for browsing, shopping, or just day-dreaming before, after, and between lectures. Then there are the representatives from libraries and genealogical and historical societies from across the country, happy to provide information about their organizations. It is nice to have so many vendors and exhibits in one location and to have knowledgeable representatives on hand to answer questions about their products and/or services.

3.  People - What I am most looking forward to is the opportunity to see friends and to meet new people, particularly people I have already met on social media. There are so many wonderful and interesting people that I know from Twitter and from the numerous genealogy blogs that I read, and I am really looking forward to putting faces, and voices, with all the names. The FGS conference has scheduled several special events that will be excellent opportunities to socialize with other genealogists.

4. Research - In addition to the learning opportunities at the conference, there is also the opportunity to conduct research at archives, libraries, and genealogy centers that are not available to us on a day-to-day basis. The FGS conference location is right across the street from the famous Allen County Public Library, which also houses the Genealogy Center. The ACPL is hosting one of the special events for FGS, and the Genealogy center is offering extended hours for conference attendees. This is sure to be one of the highlights of the conference.

If you have not yet registered for the conference, it is not too late, and I hope to see you there!

https://www.fgsconference.org/registration/

Happy Easter from the Ozarks

The recipient of this Easter greeting, Miss Mae Barnett, was born in Sisson Township, Howell County, Missouri in 1889. In 1900, her father James was a farmer and the family included the mother, Sally; two siblings, Arthur and Ethyl; and one servant, Clenna Henry.

By 1910, Mae's father James no longer owned his own farm but was instead listed on the census as a  farm laborer and employee. Mae was 18 years old, living at home, as was her 15 year old sister, and had no listed occupation.

In  1920,Mae's brother, James Arthur, had married a young woman from Siloam Springs, Howell County, named Bertha E. Priddy, and had a farm of his own not far from where his parents lived. Mae was still living at home with her parents, now just the three of them.

Mae was 39 years old in the 1930 census.  She was living with her aging parents and had no occupation. Her father was now a 60 year old tenant farmer.

Mae received numerous postcards from friends all over the Ozarks and even one from Fargo, Oklahoma. She was courted for few years by a young man named Joe Russell (or Bussell), who once sent her a Valentine postcard, but apparently she never married him or anyone else.  The postcards written to her give few hints about what her life was like living on a farm with only her parents. What the postcards do reveal is that Mae was well-liked and had many friends. Not a bad  way to be remembered, is it?

Happy New Year from the Ozarks!

Happy New Year from Mr. and Mrs. Locke and baby to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Love in Springfield, Missouri, 1918.

Midtown Homes Tour 2012

The Roulet/McKinney House, built in 1895 as a one-story Queen Anne and converted to Foursquare style in 1924. This was the first home, and my favorite, on the tour. It was purchased by new owners in 2007 and extensively renovated.

The beautiful doorway,  with my daughter-in-law visible in the door, along with another wonderful old house across the street!

                                        Lovely woodwork throughout the house.

The Klingner/Conn  house, a Craftsman Bungalow home built in 1907. The Klingner family have had a mortuary business in Springfield since the late 1800's.

                      A beautiful original mural in the dining room, by Oliver Corbett.

The Mayes/Thornton house began life as a typical Victorian farmhouse in 1886. It was "modernized" into an Ozarks giraffe house around 1930.

              A lovely claw-food bathtub in an otherwise thoroughly modern bathroom.

Another example of a Foursquare home, this one is the Coover/Hinch house built in 1907.

What a lovely old fireplace and desk on the right. I'm certain I would never stop writing if I had a room like this in which to work!

                        I love the rich color the owners have painted the porch floor.

The final home on the tour was the one owned by Rose O'Neill, of Kewpie doll fame, built in 1900.  It is now owned by Drury University.

                                                 A beautifully detailed dormer.

All of the information about the homes was obtained in the ticket book/guide. A couple of the  houses had costumed greeters, which was a nice touch and I'm thinking it might be fun to wear a costume myself during the tour next year. The tours were all self-guided, which is fine by me, and there were members of the Midtown Neighborhood Association on hand to answer questions. The only thing I found lacking was historical information about the original owners and their context within the city of Springfield. Otherwise, we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to tour these homes and the weather was perfect for walking through the historic neighborhood, albeit a little windy! Next year the tour will have a different set of homes opened to the public, and though I shouldn't already be looking forward to next December, I can't wait to do this again. All for the love of history!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Ozarks

Leola McCune  was 14 years old when she received this Thanksgiving greeting from Blanche Myers. Leola was born in Kansas in 1901, but had moved to Missouri sometime between 1910 and 1920. Though the card is postmarked at Mountain Grove Missouri (Wright County), census records show that she lived in nearby Texas County. Leola married in 1942 and had no children. She died in 1996 in Mountain Grove.

Ancestry has an extensive public family tree that includes numerous picture of Leola. I've sent a message to the tree administrator offering to return the postcard to the family.

Wishing a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving to everyone!

Authors of the Ozarks: A Review of Fiddler's Ghost

Mitch Jayne, Fiddler’s Ghost (Wildstone Media, 2007.)

     Steve Clark is a Navy veteran and college student but lacks direction.  Unable to decide what to do with his 175 accumulated college credits, he is encouraged to take a break from learning and try teaching instead. Knowing good advice when he hears it, he packs up his belongings and his pregnant wife Lacey and moves to Medley Springs Township in Burke County, Missouri.  Though he is an outsider to the Ozarks, it is love at first sight for Steve and the old run down schoolhouse where he is to teach.

            Members of the school board help the Clarks find a place to live, but follow up their recommendation with the cryptic warning that the house in question is  not “natural” (27) and that they fear the pregnant Lacey might see something in the house that would “mark the baby” (28).  Undaunted, the Clarks rent the old house, complete with the massive bed on the upstairs floor. 

            It isn’t long before Steve and Lacey meet the unnatural aspect of their new home in the form of a ghost they call “Hiram Walker”.  Hiram doesn’t exactly haunt the house; he haunts the large bed that came with the house.  Hiram is actually Benjamin Springfield, a Confederate soldier from Tennessee who died in the Civil War.  His wife Elizabeth lived to old age and passed away in their bed, which her ancestors later brought with them to Missouri.

            At first Hiram looks quite ghostly, just a wisp of a person, but as he becomes stronger and more tangible the neighbors begin to wonder at his presence and Steve has to pass him off as an adopted uncle.  This scheme is only partially successful and eventually Steve is forced to publicly prove to the community, particularly the virulently fundamentalist preacher, Pastor Tucker, that Hiram is real and not some evil manifestation.

            Music is what moves this story along and gives Hiram his strength.  Hiram was a farmer by necessity but a musician by choice in his former life.  He shares his passion for music with Lacey, who has a music degree from the University of Missouri.  It was a little unexpected that it was not love for his wife, but his devotion to his music, that had kept him tied to the earth for almost a century after his death.  Music gives Hiram substance and keeps him tied to the mortal world, influencing lives and the evolution of music.

            Fiddler’s Ghost is peppered with the Elizabethan language that so entranced the book’s author, Mitch Jayne, when he came to the Ozarks many years ago to teach in his own one-room schoolhouse in Dent County, Missouri.  Like Steve Clark, Jayne was an Ozarks outsider who fell in love with the Ozarks land and people.   While not a typical ghost story with the usual chills and thrills, the book is quite readable and illustrates Jayne’s love for the Ozarks.  The book is somewhat wordy and moves a little slow for my taste, but the old Ozarks language is lovely to read, and I am grateful that Jayne chose to share it with his audience.

            Jayne wrote several books set in the Ozarks and in 2008 he won the Missouri Governor’s Humanities Book Award for Fiddler’s Ghost.  He passed away in Columbia, Missouri in 2010.