2013: In Case You Missed It

If you ever found a child whose cause of death was listed as “teething” you may want to read my top post of 2013. I researched the topic because I was intrigued by the idea that people as recent as 100-150 years ago believed that teething could kill. I never guessed that my blog post would score nearly 3000 hits, ten times more than anything else I posted this year.

Without further ado, here are my top dozen posts for 2013. Happy New Year!

Rethinking “Teething” Deaths

More MI Census Images At Seeking Michigan

Childbirth Deaths or “Accidents of Pregnancy”

If You Aren't Searching For Family On eBay You Should Be!

On Rounds With A Census Taker: 1910

Your Genealogical Legacy

Why Early Michigan Birth Records Are Unreliable

Kalamazoo Research Guide (as well as other Michigan counties)

The Rise of Divorce in Michigan

Finding Landless Ancestors With Maps

What's Coming to Seeking Michigan?

Were Your Ancestors Boring?

Medical History Revelation

For a while I've understood the benefits of genealogical research in providing family medical information (is there a family history of cancer, for instance), but recently it cleared up a puzzle. One of my relations has always had bad leg veins and has had surgery several times in an attempt to improve the condition. The doctor said he found it difficult to understand how bad the vein problem was with a history on only one side of the family. The reason, naturally, was that there was a history on both sides. I found the missing link.

Diagram of varicose veins, from the Civil War pension application file of Edward Flynn, in the author's collection.

I don't know why I didn't put it together sooner. I suppose it is like those times when the right hand isn't paying attention to what the left is doing. Anyway, as I was searching through my gg-grandfather's Civil War Pension Application file while writing my blog post about Old Newspaper Spin, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Hey, this sounds just like my relative!

As I had already scanned many of the documents into the computer, I perused them and sent the ones I thought relevant, thinking it was simply an interesting tidbit. To my surprise and delight, both my relative and the doctor were very excited to see them. The records explained a lot and, in fact, the veins that my gg-grandfather's doctors described were the first ones to cause problems for my relative.

While my findings don't materially change anything for my relative I was gratified to learn that they were helpful. It just goes to show that you never know what might be useful even several generations removed.

Local History Makeover at KPL

If you haven't visited the Local History room at the Kalamazoo Public Library in a while you are in for a surprise. Starting at least as early as July things were being shifted around in preparation for removing the wall separating what used to be Local History from the microfilm reading area. In addition to simply opening up the space, items have been reorganized to facilitate research.

To see some “after” photos you can click here or better yet plan a visit over the holidays and tell me what you think since it will likely be a year before I have a chance to see it for myself.

The library will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The KPL will close early (5 pm) on New Year's Eve.

WMU Archives' Digitized Collections

New items have been added to the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections website. Of particular interest are WMU yearbooks through 1975.

The digitized collections accessible here are: 

The U.S. Civil War Collection of letters and diaries of nine men, some of whom served in the military and a few who did not. I blogged about this about a year ago. To see a list of the men's names and their units (where applicable) see Searchable Civil War Letters. 

The Caroline Bartlett Crane's Everyman's House Collection includes books, photos and more. Crane designed the home with efficiency for the common woman in mind.

The Ward Morgan Collection consists of photos from 1939-1980 showing a variety of aspects of life in Kalamazoo from industry to women working in the kitchen to a nursing home.

The African American History Book, Michigan Manual of Freedman's Progress, was published in 1915 and includes a variety of topics. The book was written to catalog areas of progress made by African Americans since the end of the Civil War and in conjunction with the Lincoln Jubilee to be held in Chicago in that year and includes a list of Michigan delegates and exhibitors at the Lincoln Jubilee. Of genealogical value are the brief biographies of professional men, a list of property owners throughout the state and a list of men who served during the Civil War. A description is also given of many different organizations or clubs of which African Americans were founders or members. The book also has a brief history of African Americans in Michigan and statistical information obtained from the census as well as information on occupations and mortality. If you have any African American kin in Michigan during the time described it is definitely worth perusing. You can view it online or download it as a PDF.

For anyone with ancestors who attended Western Michigan University, the WMU Yearbooks Collection has been digitized. Yearbooks from 1906-1975 are available to view online or download. I found a photo of my gg-grandfather's niece in the 1907 yearbook. Most of the yearbooks are large files (up to 50 MB) and they can take some time to load on your screen. I have found it easier to download a particular yearbook and scan it offline than to wait for a particular paid to load.

Old Newspaper Spin

Just as newspapers today tend to take sides in politics, they did in the past as well. This can sometimes make it difficult to know how much one can believe when our ancestors turn up in the local press. I was recently reminded of this. I'm currently reading an engaging book about James A. Garfield (Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard) and the events leading up to and following his assassination in 1881. The book recalled to mind an article that appeared in the Kalamazoo Telegraph describing how one of my ancestors decided to go against his prior political leanings to support Garfield. “As [Edward Flynn] expresses it, he has not left the democratic party, but the party itself has left the union sentiments to which he, as an old soldier, feels deeply devoted. He has felt very loth to leave old political ties and associations but he feels too deeply the convictions to which he devoted his life all through the [Civil] war.” [1] As a result of his public declaration, “Mr. Flynn meets with all kinds of petty meannesses [sic] from his late political friends on his change of affiliation.” [1]

Because the Telegraph lauded Flynn for his switch, the Kalamazoo Gazette simply couldn't resist responding. The Gazette cited two unnamed members of Flynn's company. “They both agreed that Flynn, while in the army was a republican, and the most complete shirk and slink in the company, and spent three quarters of his time on the sick list.” [2]

Not to be outdone, the Telegraph published a rebuttal. “Jealousy has excited the publishers of the Gazette to pitch into Edward Flynn for coming over to the Garfield side. We are reliably informed by a soldier who served with Flynn in the same company that he served his three years faithfully and then re-enlisted, participated with his company in all the battles under McClellan and was present at the battles of Blackburn's Ford, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hills, last battle of Bull Run, etc.” [3] Edward Flynn, the Telegraph said was “one of the 19 soldiers of Co. I of the old Second who served through the war and came out alive.” [1]

So, what should I believe? If I only had the articles from a single newspaper it would greatly color how I viewed my gg-grandfather. Fortunately, I have both. I also have Edward's Civil War pension application file. While I know that these files are, by definition, a vehicle for complaining about physical ailments, I must say that even after examining the files for about a dozen of my kin, Edward strikes me as a bit of a complainer. In his favor, I should state that near the end of his service (1 June 1865), Edward had been promoted to the rank of Corporal. [4] While I'm not a military expert, it seems to me that Edward wouldn't have been promoted if he had shirked his duty for much of the war as alleged by the Gazette sources. While that is circumstantial evidence, Oliver Caruthers, a Corporal in Edward's unit stated “Flynn was in my squad most of the time. I remember that sometimes it was pretty hard for him to march and he complained of being stiff and sore but he kept up with the company. He was a good soldier.” [5] In regard to Edward receiving assistance in getting around Caruthers recalled “I do know that [Flynn] never would accept or ask any favors so long as [he] could help [himself].” [5]

So, what do I believe? Despite the mud-slinging I think I can accept some of the basics, primarily because I have the pension file for backup. I don't think Edward was a slink or a shirk because his record simply doesn't support that conclusion. Among other things, he enlisted ten days after the attack on Fort Sumter, re-enlisted after his three year term expired and served until his discharge at the end of July 1865. [4] However, the claim of being frequently on the sick list has more merit. Edward was in the hospital at least once for rheumatism. [5] Some of his comrades may also have believed him to be a shirk and a slink because he was at least twice on detached service, once in the ambulance corps for about seven months and another time as a provost guard for just over nine months. [4] The bottom line is that you should always take stories (whether family lore or from newspapers) with a grain of salt, analyze what you find and try to corroborate what you can before you draw any conclusions. Newspapers can be a great resource in the absence of other information, but I'm sure we've all seen enough mistakes in obituaries to know that we shouldn't believe everything we read.

1. “Out For Garfield,” Kalamazoo [Mich.] Daily Telegraph, 31 August 1880, page 1, column 2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 January 2013), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
2. Kalamazoo [Mich.] Gazette, 4 September 1880, digital images, Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 26 March 2011), Kalamazoo Gazette Collection.
3. Kalamazoo [Mich.] Daily Telegraph, 14 September 1880, page 1, column 6, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 January 2013), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
4. Compiled Service Record, Edward Flynn, Cpl, Co. I, 2^nd Michigan Inf.; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5. Deposition of Oliver Caruthers (Deposition C), Edward A. Flynn (Cpl., Co. I, 2^nd MI. Inf., Civil War), application no. 83,138, certificate no. 63,675, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications. . ., 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Learning A Life

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging lately because I've been writing the story of my grandmother's life. I find it's always a learning experience to immerse yourself in someone else's life. Every sentence spawn's new questions. Fortunately for me, my grandmother is still alive (the last one of my grandparents) so I can actually satisfy my curiosity. 

About a year ago I sent my grandma some questions and called to talk about them. While that filled in some gaps, I know that sometimes it's hard to remember things out of context. For this reason, my strategy this time was to start writing her story before asking more questions. I hope to have enough detail to place my grandma back in time to evoke additional memories.

As with any ancestor, I can piece together the major events in my grandmother's life from basic records (census records, city directories, vital records). These create the scaffold for the story. Every nugget of information can expand the picture. The 1940 census, for example, informed me that my grandma's father was unemployed for about four years in the late 1930s. This likely explains why three of his sons had dropped out of high school and were working. For those of us who knew someone who lived through the Great Depression, no explanation is necessary, but for younger generations it's a great time to introduce a brief history lesson. Speaking of history, no discussion of this time should fail to mention the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This seminal event had huge implications for the country as a whole, just as they did for a young woman with four brothers and eventually a husband ripe for the draft.

To flesh out my story more I needed additional details. By looking at maps I could say that my grandmother walked a mile to get to the high school. It would have been awfully cold walking during the winter wearing skirts, because women, as a rule, didn't wear pants then. From my grandma's high school yearbook (purchased on eBay, see Milking eBay For Family Artifacts) I know she was in the choir and earned a typing certificate. The scanned images of my grandfather's WWII scrapbook and my notes from earlier interviews with my grandmother have also come in handy. I also took advantage of my father's recent visit to pick his brain and discovered some variations of the stories my grandma told me. These tidbits may seem insignificant, but when combined with the scaffold and elements from history it becomes easier to craft a more compelling narrative.

Now that I have a rough draft, it's the perfect time to share it with my grandmother. I think I have enough detail to help her remember more. I also have questions that occurred to me during writing. Most of my questions are simple, though some are rather vague (what kinds of food did your mother fix to eat?). However, when I can, I try to ask specific questions that are more likely to yield a response. Did your mom have a vegetable garden? Did she bake bread? Did you string popcorn or make paper chains to decorate the Christmas tree? Even if the answer is no, a specific question may still prompt my grandma to recall something I hadn't thought to ask. I guess I'll soon see if I've been successful.

Kalamazoo Research Guide

The busy folks at Seeking Michigan have added research guides for six more counties to their website, including Kalamazoo.  These guides provide a basic inventory of the records held by the Archives of Michigan in Lansing or in some cases records held at other locations such as the WMU Archives in Kalamazoo.  The record types include: Court Records, Land, Military, Naturalization, Occupational, Poor House Records, Prison, Probate, Tax Records, Voter Records and more, depending on the county.

The seventeen county research guides now available are for Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland, Ottawa, Shiawassee, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.  You can find the guides here.  Read them on the site or download them as PDFs.

A word of warning, however, if you see a record type that you are particularly interested in you may want to call ahead to verify that what you are looking for is likely to be there.  While looking at the guide for Kalamazoo county I noticed the guide indicates the Chancery indexes go through 1920.  While looking through the microfilmed index at the WMU Archive (where these and many Kalamazoo area records are held) I found that the index went through at least May 1941.  The guide also states that the chancery records only go through 1932.  I found them to go into 1934. 

Despite the minor differences I found for one record type, the research guides are a great resource for any Michigan researcher.  One of the best things about them is that they may lead you to a record type you might not have thought to consult or never even realized existed.