Hatfield Brothers Reunion 1915

Hatfield Brothers Reunion

Boone, Iowa, October 1915

L to R: Hiram V Hatfield, Albert W Hatfield, Martin Monroe Hatfield, Henry S Hatfield

The above photocopy of the Hatfield brothers was taken in October 1915 in Boone, Iowa.  The brothers had gathered together for a reunion.  They were the four remaining brothers (out of seven) of parents John Martin Hatfield and Martha Jay.

The following news article reported on the reunion.

Boone News Republican, Saturday, 16 Oct 1915, Boone, Iowa

Reunion of the Hatfield Family

H.V. Hatfield, Wamego, Kans., M.M. Hatfield, Smith Center, Kans., and H.S. Hatfield, Lehigh, Iowa, are visiting at the home of their brother, A.W. Hatfield, 11 West Ninth Street.

The brothers are greatly enjoying the reunion, some of them not having seen each other for thirty-four years. 

They are all surprised and pleased in the wonderful growth and improvements in Boone since last visiting here.

Grandpa Baldwin’s Birthday

Happy Birthday Grandpa Baldwin 

Jess William Baldwin was born March 28, 1898, in Eliasville, Young County, Texas.  His parents were Allen and Mary (Stewart) Baldwin.  When Jess was about 15 years old, his parents moved up into Oklahoma - near Mountain Park, Kiowa County, Oklahoma.  It was in Oklahoma that he met a young lady named Mabel Leffel.  Mabel had also been born in Young County, Texas.  Her parents had moved to Oklahoma in 1904. 

Mabel and Jess Baldwin

Jess and Mabel married on Christmas Day 1917.  They were the parents of fourteen children and grandparents of 46 (50 including step-grandchildren) and great-grandparents of about 89.  In 1934, the Jess and Mabel Baldwin family moved from Oklahoma and eventually ended up living in Colorado, where a lot of the family still resides.

Grandpa was a stockman and spent most of his life buying and selling livestock.  He was especially good with horses and always knew a good horse when he saw one. He worked at the Cortez Sale Barn and later ran a Sale Barn in Montrose, Colorado.

Grandpa died 50 years ago on March 8, 1972.  He has been missed everyday of those 50 years by his family.

Since starting this blog in 2008, I have added many posts about Grandpa Jess.  Below are links to most of them.  The first post listed, My Favorite Cowboy, has been one of this blog's most viewed and popular posts.

My Favorite Cowboy

Jess Baldwin at the Cortez Sale Barn
Jess & Mabel married Christmas Day 1917
Jess and Mabel Baldwin  Obits
Jess and Mabel Baldwin Family 1928 
Jess Baldwin and Dyslexia
Hats Off to the Cowboy
Baldwin Family Tree
Allen Baldwin Family

My Favorite Cowboy Colorized

Baldwin Family Christmas 

Jess and Mabel Baldwin 1966 

In Living Color

Baldwin Family 1947 

Cause of Death for Ancestors

Where to Find a Cause of Death 

For years I searched for death dates for my ancestors.  Death dates were found in family records, bible records, headstones, obituaries, death records, etc.  The death dates were not always combined with a cause of death.  And, if cause of death was mentioned, I did not always pay attention and record the cause.  I have since repented of my negligent ways and always try to find a cause of death, as well as the date of death.

Mortality Schedules

Mortality Schedules were included in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 US Federal Censuses.  The mortality schedules asked questions regarding those who died in the twelve (12) months prior to the census enumeration.  During the 1850 to 1880 time period, the mortality schedules are among the best sources for cause of death if your ancestor happened to die in the year leading up to the census. 

My 4th great-grandmother, Sarah McNeil, died in March prior to the census being taken on June 1st, 1860.  She is shown in the Parke County, Indiana 1860 Mortality Schedule on page 41, line 24.  Information given: Name: Sarah McNeal; Age: 60; Female; Born: Virginia; Died: Mar 1860; Cause of death: Consumption; Sick 14 days. 

1860 Mortality Schedule, Parke County, Indiana, line 24
Sarah McNeil, 4th Great-Grandmother
Died of Consumption

Death Records

Of course, the best place to find a cause of death is a death record/certificate.  Most states did not start recording deaths until the early 1900's, although some local health departments in larger cities began recording deaths in the mid-1800's. Most of our ancestors lived on the frontiers of Oklahoma and Texas in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Death certificates were not widely available in Oklahoma and Texas until the 1920's and sometimes even into the mid 1930's - especially in Oklahoma. Thankfully by 1938 there was a death certificate for my grandmother's (Mabel Leffel Baldwin) cousin, Florida Tucker Stanford Leffel.  Her death certificate solved a big mystery, read about it here.

Death Certificate for Florida Melissa (Tucker Sanford) Leffel
Florida died of acute coronary occlusion 

County Records

Sometimes death information can be found in county records.  James Baldwin died in 1905 before death certificates were issued, but Robertson County, Texas kept a County Record of Deaths.  James Baldwin of Seale, Texas, 59 years old, died of pneumonia on 11 Feb 1905 in Seale, Texas.

 

James M Baldwin died of pneumonia on 11 Feb 1905
Robertson County, Texas Record of Deaths, Vol 1, pg 8

County Coroner records will also give cause of death.  A mysterious disappearance of Thomas Box Jr was solved with Arizona County Coroner records from 1884.  His remains were found in the Arizona desert and a coroners inquest was held on 26 Oct 1884.  Read here.

Other sources for finding a cause of death prior to death certificates being issued are obituaries, newspaper articles, military records, pension records, funeral home records, biographies, local history books, and family records/stories.

Obituaries

Sometimes an early obituary might mention a cause of death (but often times not).  The example below of the 1891 obituary for my 3rd great-grandfather, James Wilson (1814-1891), mentioned his cause of death as "tumor of the stomach".   

James Wilson Obituary
The Democrat. (McKinney, Tex.), Thursday, April 9, 1891 

Next is a 1903 obituary for Elizabeth Weiss Martin and her daughter, May Martin.  Both, mother and daughter, died of measles on the same day, March 8, 1903.

Mrs. John Martin and daughter, May, died of Measles.
11 March 1903, Rock Island Argus and Daily Union, pg 8

Newspaper Articles

In addition to obituaries, newspapers will sometimes mention a cause of death in a newspaper article.  Several examples are found in the Republican Banner newspaper (Nashville, TN).  In 1845, there was a news report of a tree limb falling on and killing our 4th great-grandfather Britton Medlin. 

Britton Medlin died when a tree limb fell on him.
Republican Banner, Nashville, TN; Monday, April 14, 1845

 In another 1854 article titled, "Health of Lebanon", our 3rd great-grandmother, Mrs Sam'l Medlin (Rebecca Morgan), was mentioned in a list of those who died of cholera.  

Mrs. Samuel Medlin died of cholera
Republican Banner, Nashville, TN, 8 Jul 1854

If death is caused by murder, there will almost always be a newspaper article.  Click here to read several newspaper articles about members of our extended family who were murdered.  Below is a news article about the death of Thomas Box.  Read more about his murder, click here. 

 

Arizona Stockman Murdered
Dodge City Globe, Dodge, Kansas
18 Nov 1884

Military and Pension Records

Other records that might show a cause of death are Military and Pension records.  I have found pension records a great source for death information.  In 1914, 2nd great-grandfather Henry Stewart left Oklahoma and traveled to a Military Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas where he died. His death record with cause of death was found in his pension file.  If he had stayed home in Oklahoma, he would not have a death record during that time period.

Henry R Stewart death record
Civil War Pension File

Books

Books, such as local history books, biographies, and family history books, will occasionally give a cause of death. David Miller Leffel's cause of death is recorded in the book, Tainted Breeze The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862, by Richard B McCaslin.  David Leffel was one of 40 Union sympathizing men who were hanged by Confederates in 1862 at Gainesville, Texas.  David Miller Leffel is also listed on the Memorial Monument of the men who were hanged.

Monument to those who were hanged in
the Great Hanging at Gainesville October 1862

Montague, Texas county histories tell of the death of James Jackson Box in 1866.  James Jackson Box was shot, killed, and scalped by Kiowa Indians, his baby daughter was also killed, and rest of his family kidnapped on 10 Aug 1866.  To read about the Massacre of the Box Family, click here.

Cause of Death Pedigree Chart

Below is a pedigree chart of my direct ancestors.  I created the pedigree chart back four generations without names and only the cause of death (if known) and age at death for each ancestor.    

Related Posts: 

David Miller Leffel

James Wilson

Died of Cholera 

Henry Stewart Civil War Pension

Britton Medlin

Died of Measles

Mystery Solved

Murder in the Family

Remains Found in Arizona Mountains 

Box Family Massacre 1866 

Find A Grave Memorial links can be found here

Grandma McNeil

 Sarah Margaret Cole McNeil

1826-1905

Sarah Margaret Cole McNeil
1902

Sarah Margaret Cole, the daughter of Nathan Cole and Anna Margaret Goble, was born 21 February 1826, in Sullivan County, Indiana.  Her birth, along with births of her husband and children, was recorded on a sheet of paper that was tucked in an old family bible.

While Sarah's obituary states she was born in Sullivan County, Indiana, I have never found any records indicating that the family actually lived in Sullivan.  All records for Sarah's parents are found in Parke County, Indiana.  Sarah was living in Parke County, Indiana when she met William S McNeil.  She was 21 years old when she and William married on 17 October 1847 in Parke County, Indiana by Justice of the Peace Scott Noel.  .  

William S McNeil and Sarah M Cole Marriage Record
Parke County, Indiana

The young couple continued to live in Parke County until  about 1854 when they moved to Taylor County, Iowa.  In the 1856 Iowa State Census, William and Sarah are enumerated in Ross Township, Taylor, Iowa.  William and Sarah have two children, S.A. (Susannah Amanda) and T.C. (Thomas C.).  An older daughter, Eliza Jane, had previously passed away.

1856 Iowa State Census, Ross Township, Taylor County 
Wm S McNeil Family

Sarah's youngest brother, Timothy Cole, is living in the household with them.  Next door to the McNeil family was Sarah's sister, Abigail Cole Stine, and her family. 

William and Sarah moved again a few years later.  By 1860, they were living in Nodaway County, Missouri.  The census shows that two more children were added to the family: Rocksa (Roxie Ellen)  and Nancy (Nancy Abigail). The family is still in Nodaway County, Missouri for 1870 Federal Census.  The post office given in the census is Maryville.  Two sons more sons had been born into the family: Nathan H. and James H.

In 1878, the family moved to Smith County, Kansas.  William homestead land in Harvey Township, Smith County, Kansas.  William and Sarah remained in Kansas the remainder of their lives.

William died on 5 February 1894 and was buried in the Cedar Cemetery.  Sarah has not been found in the 1900 census, but was most likely living with her son, Nate.  In 1902, the McNeils  had a family reunion.  The following newspaper notice for the reunion was published in the Smith County Pioneer newspaper.

1902 McNeil Reunion

As mentioned in the above newspaper article, the family had their picture taken by Photographer Stone.  Below is a colorized version of the family group photo.

McNeil Family Reunion 1902

(Back row: Martin M. Hatfield, Nancy McNeil Hatfield, Thomas C. McNeil, Mary "Stella" Reed Hoyt, George Hoyt, Addie Ball, Noah Ball, Alma Peterson Hatfield, Amos Reed, Charles E. Hatfield. Middle row: Minnie Newbrey McNeil, James "Harmon" McNeil, Verna McNeil, Susie Hoyt McNeil, Nathan H McNeil, Grandma McNeil (Sarah Cole McNeil), Levi Ball, Susan McNeil Ball, Albert Reed, Roxie Ellen McNeil Reed. Children: Clinton Hatfield, Lenard McNeil, Juanita Higby, Nellie McNeil Miller, Lester McNeil, Blanche Hatfield, Blanche McNeil Miller, Alfred Hatfield.)

The family photo taken at the reunion is remarkable for several reasons: (1) Only known picture of Sarah Margaret Cole McNeil was taken at this reunion and (2) All of Sarah's living children were at the reunion and in the photo.

Another picture was taken at the reunion.  This photo was of Grandma McNeil (Sarah Margaret Cole McNeil) and her children.  Back row (L-R) Harmon McNeil, Nathan McNeil, and Thomas McNeil.  Sarah and daughters are sitting in the front row (L-R): Nancy McNeil Hatfield, Grandma Sarah Cole McNeil, Susannah McNeil Ball, and Roxie Ellen McNeil Reed.  

Grandma McNeil and her children 1902

Below is a close-up of Grandma McNeil.  It is the only known photo of Sarah M Cole McNeil.

Sarah M Cole McNeil 
1902

Sarah was known as "Grandma McNeil" to the community.  In 1899, Grandma McNeil is on the sick list by the Smith County Pioneer Newspaper.  And in 1904, Grandma McNeil is reported to have been stricken with apoplexy (incapacity resulting from a stroke).

Smith County Pioneer Newspaper
9 Feb 1899

Smith County Pioneer Newspaper
8 Dec 1904

Sarah died two months later on 5 February 1905.  She was almost 79 years old.  Sarah was buried in the Cedar Cemetery next to her husband, William.

Grandma McNeil Obituary
Smith County Pioneer, 2 Feb 1905

McNeil Headstone
Cedar Cemetery

Remember the Alamo

This day, one hundred eighty-six years ago, was an eventful day in our family's history. The Battle of the Alamo took place on March 6, 1836.

Our Sadler and Lindley ancestors made the move from Illinois to Texas in 1833.  They, along with many other colonists living in Texas, were accustomed to the freedoms they had enjoyed previous to moving into Texas and were not happy with Mexico's increasing dictatorial attempts.  

Texas in Revolution
23 Oct 1835, Richmond Enquirer, pg 4

By the latter part of 1835, the Texians were engaging in battles and revolting against the Mexican government.  Our family's Jonathan Lindley was part of this movement of revolt. 

Jonathan Lindley joined Capt. Carey's Company in the regular Texas Army in the fall of 1835.  Jonathan then participated in the Battle of the Bexar on December 14, 1835, in which the Texians captured the city of  San Antonio de Bexar and fortified the Alamo into a fort.  Afterwards, Jonathan and many others returned home for Christmas hoping that the Revolution was over.  At some point in time after the first of the year, Jonathan returned to help defend the Alamo.

Alamo Battle - Texas State Archives

On February 23, 1836, a Mexican army commanded by General Santa Anna began a siege of the Alamo.  The siege lasted for 13 days.  At dawn on March 6, 1836, Santa Anna's Mexican assault troops stormed the Alamo and overpowered the Texians.   All the defenders of the Alamo, about 189 men, were killed in the battle, which lasted about 90 minutes.  After the battle, Santa Anna had the bodies of the dead stacked and burned.  

Battle of the Alamo

During the siege, on March 2, 1836, a congress of Texians convened at Washington-on-the-Brazos and declared Texan Independence from Mexico.  News of the Alamo's fall, prompted many to join Sam Houston's army and fight for Texan Independence.  On April 21, 1836, the Texan Army attacked Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto.  The battle, which lasted only 18 minutes, was a victory for the Texans.  The battle cry for the Texans was "Remember the Alamo!"

The Alamo

Alamo

Related Posts:

Jonathan Lindley - Defender of the Alamo 

John Sadler

Samuel Washington Lindley

RootsTech 2022

 From FamilySearch.org:

Join us at RootsTech

The World’s Largest Family History Conference

100% Virtual, 100% Free

3–5 March 2022

Sign up for RootsTech so you can enjoy:

• Inspiring keynote speakers
• Unlimited access to over 1,500 sessions
• Expo Hall with companies from around the world
• Playlists, chat, and much more

From me:

If you are interested in taking your genealogy to the next level be sure to register for the RootsTech Family History Conference by FamilySearch.org -- it's FREE.  And it's virtual, so you can attend in the comfort of your own home!!  

I have been attending RootsTech from it's inception in 2011.  In past years, I would need to pay a registration fee, travel to Salt Lake City, and stay in a hotel -- a lot of time and cost involved.  But, it was always worth it!  Over the years of attending RootsTech I learned so much to help me in my family history.  

Sign up for RootsTech 2022.  Learn from your favorite family history experts, listen to inspiring keynote speakers, attend the virtual Expo Hall, and participate in Relatives at RootsTech to see how you may be related to other RootsTech attendees.  Over a 100,000 participants have signed up for Relatives at RootsTech.  Maybe you will find out that we are related😊

Relatives at RootsTech 2022

Register for RootsTech 2022  

A Guide to Navigating the RootsTech 2022 Website

DNA Communities

 According to AncestryDNA, a DNA community is a "group of people who share DNA because their relatives recently lived in the same place at the same time."  Whereas ethnicity regions (shown in previous post) go back 500 years or more, DNA communities are more recent - 50-300 years.  MyHeritageDNA also offers something similar called "Additional Genetic Groups".  Both AncestryDNA Communities and MyHeritageDNA Genetic Groups align with my known ancestral locations.

AncestryDNA Communities

MyHeritageDNA Additional Genetic Groups 

Since most of my ancestors have been in this country for 200-300 years, these Communities/Genetic Groups represent places my ancestors lived once they were in America.  In 2017, I compiled a list of my known immigrant ancestors and where they were from.  My ancestors who came over in the 1600s came mainly from England and settled in New England.  By the early 1700s, they were also immigrating from Ireland. A lot of those ancestors settled in Pennsylvania.  Then all of those early New England ancestors started moving south and west during the later part of the 1700s.  During the 1700s, a second wave of immigrant ancestors started arriving in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  This last group then moved into Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi.  

The following pedigree is of the birth places for four generations of my ancestors.  Most of my ancestors in the fourth generation back (excluding my German lines) were born in the southern states during the first half of the 1800s.  One generation farther back (not shown on the pedigree), most of the ancestors were from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. 

4 Generations of Birth Locations of Ancestors

Related Posts:

2013 Ethnicity Estimates

2022 Ethnicity Estimates 

Our 'First Families' in America 

DNA Ethnicity Estimates 2022

 Back in 2012 I started testing my DNA at AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and 23&MeDNA.  In a 2013 post, I compared the ethnicity estimates given by the three companies.  Click here to view the 2013 post.  Since those initial results, my ethnicity results have changed a little but not much.  Below are my current estimates given by the four major DNA companies that I now work with.

AncestryDNA Ethnicity Estimate

Last Updated September 2021

Family Tree DNA myOrigins 

23&Me Ancestry Composition

MyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate

As seen in the ethnicity estimates from the four DNA companies, I am basically 100% European.  Each DNA company breaks the ethnicity percentages down a little differently.  AncestryDNA combines England and Northwestern Europe, but has separate percentages for Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  FamilyTreeDNA combines England, Wales, and Scotland into one percentage.  23&MeDNA combines England (including Scotland) and Ireland.  Then MyHeritageDNA separates England but then combines Ireland, Scotland, and Wales into one percentage.  A majority of my DNA is from the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  

I know who some my English, Scottish, Irish, and German ancestors are, and have a pretty good guess which of my ancestors came from Wales. Although I know where a few of my other immigrant families came from, most of my ancestors are still stuck in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia in the early 1700's, Northwest Territory in the late 1700's, or east Tennessee in the early 1800's.😞😞  HELP WANTED -- Get me across the pond!

My paternal grandfather was German - 100% German. Or, so I have always believed and the research supports. My grandfather's father was born in Germany and his mother was born in America to German immigrants.  The genealogical records for both of my Grandfather's lines can be traced through parish records in Germany back to the 1600's. So basically my DNA should show German Ethnicity at about 25% (+/- a few %).  My German ethnicity shows up at both FamilyTreeDNA (35%) and 23&MeDNA (53.9%), but not at AncestryDNA or MyHeritageDNA.  Why the discrepancies??  My Dad should show 50% German at Ancestry but he only shows 34%.  It's puzzling to me just why my ethnicity does not show any German!?!?

Another one of my more puzzling ethnicities is Scandinavian - mainly Sweden. I show anywhere from 18% at AncestryDNA down to 5.40% at MyHeritageDNA.  I have no clue which of my ancestors may have come from Sweden/Scandinavia.  Hopefully someday I will find this mysterious Scandinavian ancestor(s).😉

***UPDATE: AncestryDNA New Ethnicity Inheritance April 2022***

Related Posts:

2013 Ethnicity Estimates

Our 'First Families' in America 

AncestryDNA New Ethnicity Inheritance April 2022

Merry Christmas 2021

Merry Christmas to all family, friends, and readers of this blog.  I have been blessed this Christmas season to spend time with family and friends.  But, there are other family members who have passed on that I wish could be a part of my holiday celebrations.  On this Christmas Day, here is a list of all my ancestors I would like to invite to my Christmas Dinner.  

Christmas Dinner Wish List

1.  My first choice would be my two sets of grandparents: Elmer and Maymie (Wilson) Martin, and Jess and Mabel (Leffel) Baldwin.  Not only would I love to see them again, but  there are so many more questions I would like to ask them about their early years, all the extended relatives that they knew during their lifetimes, and all of the family secrets😉.

2. My second choice would be my 3rd great-grandmother, Jane Baldwin.  I know nothing about her early life or her parents or even her maiden name.  All that I do know about her is that she was born about 1808 in Ohio.  She lived with her husband and first five children in Illinois before moving to Texas in about 1838.  In all, Jane had thirteen known children with the last two (twins) being born in 1849.  Her husband, William died in 1849.  Jane was left alone to raise her large family on the Texas frontier.  

3.  My third choice would be Susan West Leffel (1817-1869), my second great-grandmother. For some reason I have always felt a strong connection to Susan and would love to visit with her.  After much study and research into to the lives of Susan and her family, I still have so many questions I would like to talk to her about.  

4.  Basically, I would like to invite all of my ancestral relatives:  John Sadler, who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto;  Jonathan Lindley, who died at the Alamo;  Jesse Stewart, who was an early Baptist preacher in Tennessee;  Thomas Box, who was an early Mormon convert;  Alice Lake, who was hanged as a witch in early Massachusetts;  Anthony Chamness, who was an Indentured Servant when he arrived in America in 1724;  James Cole of Plymouth Colony, who owned the first pub in America;  Nathan Cole, who fought in the American Revolution; Sally Carr Brown, who learned to read in 1868 when she was 76 years old;  Matthias and Catherine Martin, who immigrated from Germany; David Miller Leffel, who was hanged by Confederates for being a Unionist; and the list could go on and on!  What an interesting dinner conversation we could have!😊

Christmas Dinner 1896
loc.gov

What ancestors would you invite to your Christmas Dinner?

Related Posts: 

Our Family's Own Official Santa Claus

Baldwin Family Christmas

Married on Christmas Day

Meet for Lunch

50th Wedding Anniversary

50^th Wedding Anniversary

Martin and Alma Barnes

1977 Wedding Anniversary article, unknown newspaper

Miss Lillie Alma Wilson married Martin V Barnes on June 10, 1927 at Cortez, Colorado.  The marriage was performed by Judge J. M. Brumley.  Their attendants were the bride's sister and brother-in-law, Maymie and Elmer Martin.  Below is the marriage record.

Colorado State Marriage Record

Next is an original photo taken the day of their marriage on June 10, 1927.

This next photo of Alma and Maymie may have been taken the day of the marriage.  Alma and Maymie are sitting on the front bumper of the same car that is in the wedding photo.  The landscape is the same.  And, Alma appears to be wearing the same dress as in the marriage photo.

Not sure when this next photo of Martin and Alma would have been taken.  It's a great picture of both Martin and Alma.  When I think of Alma, I always remember her hats, which it seemed she always loved to wear.   There is a darling hat sitting on the hood of the car just behind where Alma is sitting in the above photo.

Related Posts:

Maymie Pearl Wilson

Wilson Family Photos

Great News from FamilySearch

 

For many years I ordered microfilm from FamilySearch to view at my local Family History Center.  Now most of those records can be found online at FamilySearch.org.  Whether it's 2:00 pm or 2:00 am, I can now search through those digitized records in my own home. What a blessing this milestone is for all genealogists!  

The following is from FamilySearch:

Effort makes billions of historical genealogy records freely available online

It is a milestone 83 years in the making. Today FamilySearch International announced the completion of a massive project to digitize its collection of millions of rolls of microfilm containing billions of family history records from around the world. The archive containing information on more than 11.5 billion individuals is now freely available to the public on FamilySearch.org.

"We hope that all those who contributed to this milestone in the last 80 years feel a sense of humble accomplishment today," said Steve Rockwood, the CEO of FamilySearch International. “And we hope the millions of individuals who will discover, gather, and connect generation upon generation of their family members for years to come because of these efforts will have a deep sense of gratitude for the many unheralded contributors who made those discoveries possible."

“It's a game-changer for everybody in the world. So, instead of having to come to the library, people can start accessing these records from home,” said Becky Adamson, a research specialist at the FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Over 200 countries and principalities and more than 100 languages are represented in the digitized documents. Completion of the project makes it much easier for individuals to make more personal and family discoveries.

To explore FamilySearch’s free collections of indexed records and images, go to FamilySearch.org and search both “Records” and “Images”. The Images feature enables users to peruse digitized images from the microfilm collection and more. A free FamilySearch account will be required to access the service.

Grandma Johnson's 74th Birthday

 Okay, so this isn't a direct ancestor, but it was a great find!  I only wish I could find a newspaper article with this much information on a direct relative.  But, Annie Johnson is part of my family tree😊.  

Not only does this news article give information about Grandma Johnson (nee Annie McKinney), but also about her husband's Civil War days.  Annie Johnson's husband was John Alfonzo Johnson, referred to as "J A" Johnson.  He was the first cousin of my Great-Grandma Caldona Jane Box Leffel and that makes him my first cousin 3X removed.

The Hamblin Herald, Hamblin, Texas, 23 Nov 1923