In Remembrance

 Remembering David Miller Leffel 
1816-1862

Memorial pavers for David Miller Leffel and his wife, Susan

October 19, 1862

David Miller Leffel, our 2nd great-grandfather, was one of forty Union sympathizing citizens of North Texas who were charged with disloyalty and treason against the Confederacy by a “Citizens Court” in Gainesville, Cooke County in October 1862 and then hanged in the Great Hanging at Gainesville.  

"Bringing in Union Men"
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper 1864

"Hanging of Union Men"

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper 1864

Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago a memorial monument for the men who died in the hangings was placed in Gainesville, Texas at the Georgia Davis Bass Memorial Park .  The Dedication of the Great Hanging Monuments took place on October 18, 2014, one-hundred and fifty-two years after the Hangings.  

Great Hanging Monument

In the close-up view of the monument with the names of the men who were hanged, you will find David's name in the bottom group that were hanged on Sunday, October 19, 1862.  While we still do not know exactly where David was buried after he was hanged, there is now a memorial with his name on it.

To read about David Miller Leffel click here.

To read about the Great Hanging memorial click here.

To read about the Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862 click here.

To read about David's wife, Susan Leffel click here.  

Ancestry's Ancestral Regions

 Ancestry's Ancestral Regions 

Recently, Ancestry updated their ethnicity estimates.  Ancestry claimed it is their biggest update ever.  Their new name for ethnicity estimates is Ancestral Regions.  Ancestral regions show where ancestors likely lived 1,000 years ago.  The new name for Ancestry's former communities is now Ancestral Journeys.  Ancestral journeys are where ancestors likely lived and moved in the past 300 years.

Ancestral Regions 2024

Below is a comparison between my new 2024 Ancestral Regions and the former 2023 ethnicity estimate.  All of the Sweden & Denmark was taken away.  Since I could never find any connection to either of those Scandinavian countries, I'm glad that percentage is gone.  My Germanic increased 11%.  Since my paternal grandfather was German, I knew I should be about 25%.  I must have more Germans hiding in my ancestors somewhere. 

Ancestral Regions by Parent

 

Comparison of each region inherited from parents

Ancestral Journeys 2024

The only two ancestral journeys shown are for my maternal lines and none are given for my paternal lines.  I have three times more matches on my maternal lines than I do on my paternal lines.  The two maternal ancestral journeys shown are spot on.  Since my two maternal grandparents were born in Texas, that is where a lot of my DNA matches come from. Over the years, I have made many trips to Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee to research and visit family.  

Chromosome Painter 

Ancestry "paints" our chromosomes with the regions our ancestors were associated with.  The  Maternal or Paternal tabs at the top can be clicked to see who passed down which chromosomes.  On the left side, you have the option of clicking on one region and only that region will show on the browser.

Note: Click on above images to make them larger.

Previous Posts about Ethnicity Estimates: 

2013 Ethnicity Estimates 

2022 Estimate Comparison by Company 

2022 Ancestry New Ethnicity Inheritance 

Tintypes

Tintypes of Unknown Persons

The following tintypes were found in an old photo album belonging to my Great-Grandmother, Minnie Pearl Hatfield Wilson.  I think the tintypes and album belonged to Minnie's Aunt Susannah McNeil Ball.  There are no identifying marks on the tintypes themselves.  

Tintype of Unknown Woman
Pink and gold stamped paper matt

Tintypes of unknown woman and man

Tintypes of three unknown children

The tintypes were laying loose inside the small 5x6 album.  The album is 2-1/2 inches thick and has brass clasps to keep it closed.

Spine and front cover.

Inside front cover.

Would love to return them to the family they belong to😊

Related Posts:

Susannah (McNeil) and Levi Ball family 

October is Family History Month

Family History Month

I love October for many reasons: changing colors of leaves, sweater weather, pumpkins, apples, mums, pumpkin spice everything, and family history.

In 2001, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah proposed a resolution to designate October as National Family History Month.  The bill included a long list of reasons for designating the month of October as "Family History Month".   Below is a small portion of the bill:

Whereas the study of family history gives individuals a sense of their heritage and a sense of responsibility in carrying out a legacy that their ancestors began;

Whereas as individuals learn about their ancestors who worked so hard and sacrificed so much, their commitment to honor their ancestors' memory by doing good is increased;

Whereas interest in our personal family history transcends all cultural and religious affiliation; 

The complete bill introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch and passed unanimously in the Senate can be found here.  

While every month of the year is a Family History Month to me😍, I really like having one month especially focused on Family History.

There are many ways to celebrate Family History Month.  Below are a few links to articles to help get started.

FamilySearch has a list of 31 Simple Ways to Celebrate Family History Month, click here to read.

Celebrating Family History Month with Ancestry.com, click here.

Preserve and Share 

Personally, I think one of the most important family history activities anyone can participate in is preservation. This blog was created to preserve memories and promote Family History.  Anyone can create a Family Archive to preserve photos, documents, and artifacts.  Start with your immediate family then progress to extended family. Visit and interview relatives - write down stories.  Remember to share what you find with other family members.

Photos and documents can be digitized and uploaded to family history sites such as Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, and FamilySearch.org.  I try to preserve in as many places as possible.  One never knows when there might be a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, theft, vandalism, etc.  

Photograph artifacts and memorabilia, then write a story about who the item belonged to and any memories about it.   There are several examples on this blog about preserving and sharing memories of "things".  
Shaving Mugs
Desert Rose Dishes 
Hymn Book 

🍂🍁Have fun with Family History Month🍁🍂

Sunbonnet Rock 50 Years Later

 In November of 2022, I posted the following question about an old family photo I had received -

Where is this?  

Martin Family abt 1934
Elmer, Wilbur, Maymie, and LeRoy in front

The location of the photo was a mystery to me. The photo was of my paternal grandparents and their two young sons, Wilbur and LeRoy, sitting on an interesting rock formation.  Judging from the ages of the boys, the photo would have been taken around 1933-1934.  In response to my question, several comments were left and I was able to pin-point the exact location of the photo and also find a postcard of the location. 

Recently several more family photos of the Navajo Twins and Sunbonnet Rock have surfaced.  It seems that when someone in the family was traveling through Bluff, Utah, Sunbonnet Rock was popular spot to stop and take a  photos.  

Below is a vintage black and white photo probably taken in the late 1940s.  The photo was taken before a commemorative plaque was placed on Sunbonnet Rock in the 1950s.  The Navajo Twins are standing in the top center and Sunbonnet Rock is on the bottom right.  The photo was most likely taken by Elmer Martin, but there was no identification or date on the back.  

Navajo Twins and Sunbonnet Rock - circa 1940s

50 Years Later

The next photo is from the 1980's and shows LeRoy Martin and four of his grandsons sitting on Sunbonnet Rock.  LeRoy who was a young 4 year old in the top photo from 1934, is 50 years older in this newer photo.  
The Sons of the Utah Pioneers attached a historic marker to Sunbonnet Rock in the 1950's. The square bronze plaque can be seen in the middle of the rock just below the top rock.  The plaque commemorates the San Juan Mission and the pioneers who settled Bluff.

LeRoy again sitting on Sunbonnet Rock 50 years later.
About 1984

Previous posts:
Where is this? 
Sunbonnet Rock 

Medlin-Cowley-Stewart Relationships

 Trying to figure out the relationships between the Medlin, Cowley, Leaver, and Stewart families (Tennessee) was more than a little confusing.  The diagram below helps while working on these families and their relationships to each other.  Harrison Stewart and Samuel Medlin are direct ancestors in our family.  Both the Medlin and Stewart families were originally from the Putnam County, Tennessee area.  Our branch of the Medlin family moved to the Nashville area in the 1840s.

 Corrections and additions welcomed. 🙂

Putnam County Cemeteries

 In August 2013, my husband and I visited Putnam County, Tennessee.  In addition to researching at the local library, Putnam County Court House, and Putnam County Archives, I was able to visit most of the cemeteries my Putnam County ancestors were buried in.  Betty Stewart Stark, a 4th cousin on my Stewart line, met us and took us around to the cemeteries where our Stewart ancestors were buried in.  In addition, Betty was able to show us exactly where the graves were located in the cemeteries.  

Stewart Cemetery
Cookeville, Putnam, Tennessee 

Preston Stewart
1815-1875

Nancy J Brown Stewart
wife of Preston

Family burials in Stewart Cemetery:

Preston Stewart 1815-1875 

Nancy Jane Brown Stewart 1818-1899
Ceburn Stewart 1823-1879 
Dorinda Jane Brown Stewart 1824-1896 

Benjamin Brown 1787-1849 

Betty Viola Stewart Nabors Stark 1928-2021 

Several of the cemeteries visited were in the Boma community.

Smellage Cemetery
Boma, Putnam, Tennessee

Cathy and Betty Stewart Stark
2013 Smellage Cemetery

Betty and I are standing next to the headstones for Harrison and Sarah (Brown) Stewart.  Harrison and Sarah are my 3rd great-grandparents. The headstones are somewhat smaller that I imaged them.  

Headstones for Sarah and Harrison Stewart
Sarah on left and Harrison on right.

Close-ups of Stewart headstones
Sarah on left and Harrison on right.

Family burials in Smellage Cemetery:

Sarah Brown Stewart 1821-1889

Harrison Stewart 1817-1893  More info 

Martha Stewart Montgomery 1845-1909 

New Home Baptist Cemetery

Boma, Putnam, Tennessee

Harrison Stewart's son, Elder Jacob Mattison Stewart, was buried in the New Home Baptist Cemetery in Boma.

Mary Lee Stewart and Elder JM Stewart

Emeline Brown & W.A. Brown

Family burials in New Home Baptist Cemetery, Boma, Putnam, Tennessee.  

Elder J.M. Stewart 1847-1920  More info 

Mary Elizabeth (Lee) Stewart 1849-1923 

William Alexander Brown 1846-1928 

Emeline Richardson Brown 1840-1921 

Happy Easter

Easter was one of few times during the year that our family would go to church.  Easter also meant that I usually got a new dress to wear to church, sometimes with a new Easter bonnet and gloves.  Mom made most of our clothes and she often made me and my sister  matching dresses.  In the photo below, we are standing in front of my Great-grandma Wilson's home in Cortez, Colorado.

Easter 1959

Favorite Easter Memory 

One of my favorite Easter memories was with Maymie and Elmer.  I was traveling with Maymie and Elmer  from Cortez to Yuma and we had stopped in Holbrook, Arizona to spend the night.  We stayed in an old hotel in the middle of town on main street.  Our room was up a tall set of wooden stairs.  Since the next day was Easter, I was concerned that the Easter Bunny would not find me.  Grandma Maymie assured me that he could find me no matter where I was.  To my delight the Easter Bunny did manage to find where I was staying and left an Easter Basket full of goodies in the hotel room.

 As we were leaving our room and walking down the wooden stairs, Maymie bent down and picked up something that was on a stair tread.  She then explained, "See what the Easter Bunny dropped!  It's his pencil - look at all his tooth marks on it."

Maymie then handed me the Easter Bunny pencil with his tooth marks all over it. I was so excited to have a pencil that had actually belonged to the Easter Bunny🐰.  I loved that pencil even more than the Easter Basket full of Easter goodies! 

Least Favorite Easter Memory

🙁🙁🙁

This happened one Easter when living in Yuma, Arizona.  While reaching for an Easter egg hidden down in some tall grass, I was bitten by a scorpion - a small lighter colored scorpion.  My hand and wrist became swollen and painful, and I was quite sick for a bit.  I remember laying on the sofa and icing my hand and arm for what seemed like days.  After that unfortunate incident, I was a bit more careful of where I placed my hand. 

  

Anle Theatre in Cortez, Colorado

I've always loved going to a movie theater and watching a movie on the big screen while munching on  fresh popped corn 🎥🍿.  

When I was growing up, Cortez only had one theater - the Anle Theatre on Main Street.  A theater has been at the same location at 23 W Main Street in Cortez for as long as I can remember.  

While going through some mementos, I found an interesting bit of history.  It was a movie schedule for December 1963.  It brought back a lot of memories of going to see movies in the old Anle Theatre during the 1950's and 1960's.  The theater changed names by the late 1960's to the Fiesta Theatre.  And, I'm sure the theater has been updated and remodeled over the years.  Wonder if there is still a balcony along the back of the theater?  

Anle Theatre Movie Schedule Dec 1963

On the bottom right-hand corner is a notice for the Arroyo Drive-In.  It was just north of town and only opened on week-ends and warmer months.  Interesting reminder on the top right-hand corner to "Attend the Church Of Your Choice Every Sunday".  

Bobby the Bobcat

Several years ago, I posted a blog story called, Old Man Taylor and the Bobcat.  This previous blog article was about a man my family called "Old Man Taylor" and his pet bobcat.  Taylor camped in a shack along the banks of the Colorado River outside of Yuma, Arizona in the early 1950s. My grandfather and father would stop and visit with Taylor when they would go fishing at the river.  My grandfather took photos of Taylor and his bobcat during his visits to the river.  
It appears there was more for me to find about “Old Man Taylor and his Bobcat”🐯…

The Rest of the Story

At the time I wrote the article, I wondered what Old Man Taylor's full name was and if the bobcat had a name.  Thanks to a recently found 1954 news article in the Yuma Sun Newspaper, I now know both.  The bobcat's name is -- Bobby.  

Bobby the Bobcat

Yuma Sun newspaper, Yuma, Arizona, 20 Jan 1954

Our Family Photos of Bobby the Bobcat 

Taylor holding Cathy, Bobby the Bobcat, Leroy 1954

Bobby looks like he is smiling for the camera
(cropped and colorized)

The 1954 newspaper article, which I found on a new newspaper website, also gives the full name of Old Man Taylor -- Jack Taylor.  

After doing some research, I was able to find a 1967 death record for a Jack Taylor aged 94 who died in Yuma.  

The Jack Taylor in the death record had been living in a rest home when he died, but there was no personal information on the death record - no parents, no family, no known occupation, no known place of birth, etc.  If  our “Old Man Taylor” is the Jack Taylor in the death certificate, he would have been 80 years old when the above photos were taken.  I'm not sure the Taylor in the above photos looks 80 years old??  What do you think??  Just like the death record, the obituary does not contain much information.  

Yuma Sun newspaper, Yuma, AZ, 14 Aug 1967

To see more photos and read the original post, go to:  

Old Man Taylor and his Bobcat  

RootsTech 2024

 RootsTech 2024

You can choose how to attend - In Person or Online.  If you are not able to attend in-person in Salt Lake City, RootsTech is still being offered as a full virtual conference experience.  

I have been attending RootsTech since it's inception.  After 30+ years of working on my family history, I still learn something new and helpful every time I attend RootsTech.  There are over 200 classes taught by industry experts.  The list of presenters teaching classes includes top family history experts from around the world covering topics related to genealogy and DNA.  

The in-person experience is fun😃 and informative🧐.  I love the connections to other attendees and to industry experts.  The large Expo Hall is my favorite place to visit during RootsTech, with all of my favorite genealogy vendors: Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, FamilyTreeDNA, GEDmatch, AmericanAncestors, and many more.   

Keynote speakers are always inspiring.  This year is no exception with Kristin Chenoweth, Lynne M Jackson, Henry Cho, Nancy Borowick, Katie James, and more.

In Person registration is $109 and Online registration is FREE. 
Click Here to Register In-Person 
Click Here to Register Online

RootsTech 2024  

Relatives at RootsTech 2024

A few days ago, I received an email from FamilySearch.  According to the email, FamilySearch had found 66,245 cousins through Relatives at RootsTech 2024.  That's ten times more people than the population of the city I live in😲  I thought my 51 first cousins that I personally know were a lot, but 66,245 cousins might be a bit much.  I'd hate to plan the next reunion for that many cousins!!

Email from FamilySearch

When I clicked on the above "See Cousins" link in the email, I was taken to the FamilySearch webpage that stated 15,476 of my relatives had joined Relatives at RootsTech.  Although a much smaller amount, still way too many cousins to plan a reunion for.😞

After clicking on the "View Relatives" button above, I was taken to the RootsTech Relatives webpage. 

I can view my closest 300 (of 15,476 so far) relatives by Location, Ancestor, or Family Line.  By clicking on By Ancestor, a drop down list of all ancestors with matches can be found.  By clicking on the name of the ancestor, I can see the matches to that ancestor and their relationship to me.😊
  

The tab for searching By Family Line has a drop down menu listing parents and grandparents, and how many matches are related to each of those line.  My German paternal grandfather has has only 134 matches on his lines, whereas my paternal grandmother, with roots going back to Colonial America, has 10,120 matches on her lines.  Last year, I was able to open up a whole branch on my German lines with the help of Relatives at RootsTech.  

Relatives at RootsTech 2024 will only be available until March 31, 2024, then will be turned off until the next RootsTech.  Don't miss out on the cousin connections you could make.

Information about Relatives at RootsTech:

Relatives at RootTech 2024

RootsTech2024 

Valentine Cards

 Valentine Cards

According to Wikipedia, Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day,  is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

Valentine's Day customs—sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"), offering confectionery (mainly chocolates), and presenting flowers—developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century, and have continued to the present day. 

Valentine cards can be made by hand or purchased commercially.  In recent years, e-cards have become  popular.  I much prefer the traditional Valentine cards and have tried to keep the cards given to me from though-out my life.  Chocolates don't last long because they get eaten, although I do have an ornate heart-shaped chocolate box 💝 from 1972.  And flowers wilt, but I do have roses I dried and saved from past years.  

Cards are my one of my favorite parts of Valentine's Day, mainly because they are easy to keep and so fun to look at years later.  Below is a collection of some cards given to me by my husband from our 50+ years of marriage.

Collection of cards given
to me by my husband

Instead of a traditional Valentine card, this year I received a pile of
puzzle pieces in a purple envelope?!?

After putting the pieces of the puzzle together, a message from my husband was found💕 

💟💟💟💟💟💟

Below are some favorite Valentines from past years.

Which is your favorite?

 Card from 1972

Cute Valentine from the 1950's

1934 fold-out Valentine
From family card collection

1910's vintage Valentine Cards
From family card collection