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My first idea for writing this post was to delve into the "George Foreman-style" naming pattern I have in my own family. That is, George Byers Ogilvie named his first son from his first marriage (my 3x great-grandfather), George Ogilvie, which gets a little confusing, especially when the descent continues with George William Ogilvie, and then William George Ogilvie. It is even more disorienting when you add in George McAuslan Ogilvie, who was the first son of George B. Ogilvie's second marriage, making him George's half-brother.[1] I'm sure you can appreciate why I decided to go in a different direction, instead! So let's circle back around to George Byers Ogilvie's first wife, Barbara Elizabeth Ogilvie, and their first daughter, Barbara Elizabeth Ogilvie (believe me, this IS the easier choice!). Actually, his wife was Barbara Elizabeth (Mattatall) Campbell Ogilvie. Their daughter was later known as Barbara Elizabeth (Ogilvie) Lang Buchanan.[2] Thankfully, we can now distinguish between them on paper. However, you can see how, prior to the daughter's marriage, the two women could have been known by the same name for several years. I'm sure the family found ways to keep their names straight while they were living - at least one record indicates that the daughter went by "Elizabeth," instead of Barbara.[3]
closer to Victorian, rather than antebellum styles. We can also estimate that she was around forty years old when this photo was taken - much too young to be the elder Barbara, who was born in 1802.[5] However, you would not even need to know any of the historical context, if you only look a little further on FamilySearch, and take a peek at this photo of German Buchanan's family:[6]  Barbara Elizabeth, the DAUGHTER, with her husband, German Buchanan, and two children Once you have viewed this image, it is easy to see that the first photo was snipped straight from it. German Buchanan was the second husband of Barbara Elizabeth Ogilvie, the daughter of George Byers and Barbara Elizabeth (Mattatall) Campbell Ogilvie. The snipped image, labeled only as "Barbara Elizabeth Ogilvie," was easily confused as a photo of her mother, who may never have had a photo taken prior to her death in 1867 - about ten years prior to this photograph.[7] This situation is a good reminder to try to keep records and photographs as whole as possible when sharing, and to correctly label the subject and source - every time! By the way, can you guess the name of the little boy in the photo? That's right - meet German Buchanan, Jr![8] He also went on to name his son German Buchanan.... on and on it goes... Best of luck to those of you who are also trying to keep your same-named family members straight. With attention to detail and perseverance, it can be done! 1. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 20 June 2018), memorial page for George McAuslan Ogilvie (5 Dec 1859 - 12 Sept 1882) Find A Grave Memorial no. 23520961, citing Knights of Pythias Cemetery, Elko County, Nevada; photo credit Marcena Thompson.
2. Find A Grave, database and images ((https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 20 June 2018), memorial page for Barbara Elizabeth Ogilvie Buchanan (19 May 1829 - 31 Mar 1885) Find A Grave Memorial no. 37988047, citing Johnson Cemetery, Kane County, Utah. 3. Individuals in this Company, Jacob F. Secrist/Noah T. Guymon Company (1855); online database, Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel (https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/companies/263/jacob-f-secrist-noah-t-guymon-company-1855 : accessed 2 November 2017); citing "2nd Company of 50 reports,” 31 May 1855; report, CR 1234 5, box 1, folder 37, Emigrating companies reports 1850-1862, Reports 1853-1855, Brigham Young office files, 1832-1878, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 4. Photo of Barbara Elizabeth (Ogilvie) Lang Buchanan, circa 1877, digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/100125 : accessed 20 June 2018); shared by shirleyberdeanleavitt1. 5. Spanish Fork Cemetery Records Office (Spanish Fork, Utah), Marty Warren to Ginger Ogilvie, email with digital image, 29 June 2017, providing administrative record for Barbara E. Ogilvie, unsurveyed plot; and Spanish Fork Cemetery (Spanish Fork, Utah), “Cemetery records, 1866-1898,” p. 23, Barbra E. Ogilvie entry; Family History Library (FHL) microfilm 008195204; FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 November 2017). 6. Photo of German Buchanan Family, circa 1877 digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/1375563 : accessed 20 June 2018); shared by TravisElder. 7. Spanish Fork Cemetery (Spanish Fork, Utah), “Cemetery records, 1866-1898,” p. 23, Barbra E. Ogilvie entry. 8. Find A Grave, database and images ((https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 20 June 2018), memorial page for German Buchanan (9 Dec 1870 - 22 Jun 1938) Find A Grave Memorial no. 77698, citing Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Utah County, Utah.
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Happy Father's Day, everyone! Here's a picture of me and my dad - he is pretty much the best dad ever... a loving adventurer who is always learning and sharing his findings. From the very beginning, he has opened my eyes to the beauty of this world, and taught me to slow down and drink it all in. My siblings and I have been so very fortunate to have him as our father. (BTW, that dirt road in the background is where he helped me learn how to ride a bike.)  My dad has also modeled how to think like a scientist for me - how to observe, collect data, test theories, evaluate evidence, and not jump to conclusions. He has been so supportive of my journey toward becoming a genealogist, including a willingness to participate in DNA testing.
I have come across all kinds of fathers during my research. There have been strong patriarchs who fathered scores of children, and managed to keep a close family with a shared identity and purpose. There have been beloved fathers who died young, leaving their wives and children vulnerable to scoundrel step-fathers. There have been men who have fathered children, but never (or very late) stepped up to share the responsibilities of parenting them. There have also been the fine men who may or may not have had biological children of their own, but became step-fathers for children who desperately needed them. (That's just the tip of the iceberg... let us also not forget the single mothers who have acted as both mother AND father for their children, fostering /adoption, and more recently, sperm donors, and same-sex parents who became parents through IVF/surrogacy - fatherhood gets complicated, fast!) All of this has shaped my perspective on what it means to be a father. While genealogy often focuses on biological fathers, we must also leave room for the men who acted in a fatherly role during their lives, and recognize that fathering a child is not the same thing as raising one. I keep all of this in mind when I conduct research using YDNA - identifying shared Y chromosomes between fathers and sons along the paternal line. I am a big fan of YDNA testing. It can be used in tandem with autosomal DNA research, and it also picks up right where autosomal DNA testing starts to get shaky - around 6-8 generations back. Men who participate in YDNA testing need to be aware that there is a possibility of finding out about a "Non-Parental Event" at some point on their paternal line, which may come as a surprise. Ideally with YDNA testing, we are searching for a situation where the resulting DNA matches come back with the same surname, as well as a matching paper trail. If your YDNA results come back with matches with surnames other than yours, then it is likely that a non-parental event has occurred, either "upstream" or "downstream" from your shared paternal ancestor. It is pretty exciting to receive YDNA results which confirm the stories your family has shared for generations - to look on the list of shared matches and see the same surname over and over, and even more exciting to make contact with a match and discover they have a shared paper trail. BINGO! This is what most of us are seeking. However, keep in mind that you are just as likely to open your list of matches and see many different surnames, or reach out to matches and find out that they have very different paper trails. While this might be disappointing at first, it does create an opportunity to open your mind to a new story for your family, one which hasn't yet been told, but might result in the addition of a new "father" in your line. If you are willing to be open to this possibility, I highly recommend that men in your family consider participating in YDNA testing - adding the results to your "genealogical toolbox" can make a big difference in your research. So here's to my amazing father! And to all our fathers, biological and beyond. Anyone who steps up to make life better for our children has a gold star in my book! A "brick wall" on my husband's side has confounded me for many years. While I had a date for the marriage of Nancy E. Kincheloe and John H. Howard occurring somewhere in Kentucky, I could not substantiate it with original documents. The marriage date was the earliest evidence of John's existence, so I was desperate to find out if there were additional clues to help me learn more about him on those records.
The documents I found there have become some of my favorite records! You have to love a hand-written permission note from 1842, written by the father of the bride, complete with witnesses and evidence for where the note was written - I learned so much from this first document, as well as the following two:  Note of permission from Phil. Kincheloe [1]  Marriage Bond for John H Howard and Robert Stith [2}  Marriage license & certificate for John H. Howard and Nancy E. Kincheloe [3] According to these records, the permission note was written and signed by Philip L. Kincheloe, Nancy's father, in Big Spring, Kentucky, on 2 August 1842. Consent was required because Nancy was sixteen years old.[4] The note was brought to Brandenburg, Kentucky, the next day, August 3rd, by John H. Howard and Robert Stith (possibly Nancy's maternal uncle), where the marriage bond was paid and the license to marry was obtained. Then the marriage was performed by Peter Duncan, MG (Minister of the Gospel) on Thursday, August 4th. I have since learned that Peter Duncan was the Methodist preacher assigned to the Big Spring Circuit (Hardinsburg District), in 1841 and 1842.[5] This leads me to believe that the marriage occurred in Big Spring, where the Kincheloe and Stith (Nancy's maternal side) families were living, rather than in Brandenburg, Kentucky, the Meade County seat.  "John H Howard & Nancy E Kincheloe were married the 4th day of August 1842" This same family member was also able to provide additional evidence for John and Nancy's marriage from the Kincheloe Family Bible.[6] What a thrill to see this in writing! I was so fortunate to have connected with this relative through Ancestry. The information from these documents greatly expanded my understanding of this family prior to their exit from Kentucky. I am holding out hope that one day I will have additional luck with finding more information about my brick wall groom, John H. Howard. 1. "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-Y6SY-67?cc=1804888&wc=QD3Q-WWF%3A148194401 : 17 May 2018), 004705557 > image 87 of 246; Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky.
2. "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-Y6SB-9Y?cc=1804888&wc=QD3Q-WWF%3A148194401 : 17 May 2018), 004705557 > image 85 of 246; Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky. 3. "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-Y6SX-7Y?cc=1804888&wc=QD3Q-WWX%3A148193201 : 17 May 2018), 004705554 > image 442 of 546; Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky. 4. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 June 2018), memorial page for Nancy Edwards Kincheloe Howard (2 Dec 1825-25 Mar 1897) Find A Grave Memorial no. 22997250, citing Kincheloe Cemetery, Wright County, Missouri; photo credit bill (ID 46889067). 5. "Appointments of Preachers of Methodist Church from 1786 to 1845," Methodist Episcopal Church, pages 52 and 54, digitized online, Asbury Seminary, (http://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=kentuckymethodistbooks : accessed 13 June 2018). 6. Philip L. & Caroline L. Stith Kincheloe Family Bible, loose page, "Marriages," digital image 14, courtesy of Bill Perry, 12 October 2016. There is a story from my family history which has haunted me since I first read it a few years ago. While saddened at the idea, I have long been acquainted with the concept of an adult making the choice to leave their parents behind in their pursuit of new life on the American frontier. Until I read this story, I had not yet considered that a pioneer parent would leave a child behind (I know! So naive!):[1]  Excerpted from "Short Biography of Philomelia Smith Lake 1794-1873," Written by Electa Skeen Johnson, granddaughter, in 1963 As a parent myself, I just can't imagine the horror of having to choose between waiting for my daughter and wrecking my carefully-planned departure, and leaving with the rest of my family, knowing that I would never see her again. I also can't imagine the despair of being left behind. They had such limited ways to communicate at this time - their problem could not be solved with a text, phone call, or email. If they were ever able to find each other again, and actually exchanged letters, it could still take weeks for communication to be received, especially for families living so far away from each other. The poor young girl who was left behind, Esther Smith, was the fifth daughter of my fourth-great-grandmother, Philomela (Smith) Smith Lake and her first husband, Ira Smith.[2] After Ira died, Philomela married James Lake, Jr. and continued to have several more children, including my ancestor, Sabra Almeda Lake.[3] This week's challenge inspired me to learn more about the rest of Esther's story. Fortunately, it appears that her fate also mattered to other descendants of Philomela Smith, because I was able to learn a fair amount about her on FamilySearch.
Esther did indeed remain in Canada for the remainder of her years. She married a farmer, Mathew Rosevear, and raised six children.[4] She died in Hamilton, Ontario, on 22 November 1898, at the age of 76.[5] And just for fun, let me mention that one of Esther's daughters, Mary Ellen Rosevear Richard, died ninety years ago, in June of 1928, in Pinckney, Michigan - less than an hour's drive from my home.[6] I love finding distant relatives in my adopted state! I was so relieved to learn that Esther went on to lead a long life with family connections of her own. Knowing that Philomela also lived approximately four more decades after this incident, I am left wondering if they were eventually able to exchange letters over that time, between Utah (and later Idaho), and Ontario? I very much hope so. 1. "Short Biography of Philomelia Smith Lake 1794-1873," Electa Skeen Johnson, 1963; database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/15529244 : accessed 5 June 2018).
2. History of the James Lake, Jr. Family, Janet Franson Jeffrey, Roylance Publishing, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1990, pages 19-20; digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah, digital copy online, ProQuest: ExLibrisRosetta (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE114153 : accessed 7 June 2018). 3. "Sabra Dixon Called after Long Illness," Deseret Evening News (Utah), Saturday, 18 July 1908, page 24; online database with images, Utah Digital Newspapers (https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu : accessed 7 June 2018). 4. Canada West Census, 1861, Northumberland County, Personal Census, Enumeration District 2, Hamilton Township, Page 59 (stamped), lines 42-49, for Mathew Rosevear (incorrectly indexed as "Roseveer") household; digital image, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 June 2018). 5. "Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1946," database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 June 2018), record for Esther Rosevear, Schedule C, page 271, no. 13, 22 November 1895, Hamilton Township, Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada. 6. "Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950," database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 June 2018) > Certificates, 1921-1942 > 203: Tecumseh - Livingston, 1921-1935 > record for Mary E Richard (incorrectly recorded as "Richards"), 1 June 1928, Pinckney, Putnam Township, Livingston County, Michigan. My earliest memories are steeped in the world of the military. My dad was in the Army. I loved to watch him shine his shoes and ready his uniform, while I explored the various pins and badges that went on his hat and shirt. I grew up shopping on base, at the PX (Post Exchange), and most of my early playmates had fathers in the military. I watched with pride as the MP's would salute my father when we drove on and off base. All of my three siblings were born in Army hospitals. Like most people my age, both of my grandfathers also served in the Army during World War II. Military service was commonplace in my life. Even my dad's two brothers were in the Air Force and the Navy, so not only did I learn the states and their capitals - I also learned the names of their military bases while keeping track of where my cousins were living. This is all to say that the military played a large role in my life, and I owe the upward mobility of my family to the military participation of my family members.
That said, as a genealogist (as well as a pacifist), I feel very conflicted about wars. I love the fact that we are able to access rich information from military service records, draft cards, and bounty land records. However, in addition to the devastating loss of life on all sides, the loss of records due to war - whether it is a Georgia courthouse burning down during the Civil War, a church in Scotland's records being destroyed during a battle for religious control, or an entire Jewish community having its records wiped out during the Holocaust - is heartbreaking to consider. Although my paternal grandpa served honorably, and was proud of his service, he was recorded saying that he was not "military minded," and that his initial interest in serving in the Army was motivated more by the promise of having more clothing to wear, than a desire to fight. He also knew about the dangers of war, having grown up hearing stories from his mother about his uncle Frank, who served in World War I.
 Richfield Reaper, Saturday, 29 June 1918 [3] I have listened to audio recordings of my great-grandma talking about the last time she saw Frank.[4] He had told her that if he were drafted, he knew he would never come back. She saw him off at the train station in Richfield, Utah on Thursday, the 27th of June, on his way to Camp Lewis in Washington State.[5] Decades after the fact, her voice broke with the emotion of recalling his last words to her: "I'll never see you again." It was true, he never would. Private Frank Jorgenson was killed in action in France on 12 October 1918, just two short months after departing from U.S. soil, and one month before the war ended.[6] Ida never fully recovered from his loss.  Franklin County Citizen, 21 November 1918[7]  Salt Lake Herald, 21 November 1918[8] I can only imagine how Ida felt when her son, my grandfather, was called up and sent to Fort Lewis during World War II. She must have been terrified to lose her son in the same way that she lost her brother. Ida ended up sending four of her sons to fight in that war - fortunately all of them returned home safely. During WWII, a cosmic turn of events brought my grandfather to Argonne, France - the same place where Frank died. The photos below are from his visit to Frank's grave in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in 1944 or 1945. My grandpa was three years old when Frank died. As you can see from the photo, it must have been very meaningful to visit the grave of his uncle - the man for whom his mother had grieved most of his life, and whose body never returned home. I'm sure it held even more meaning since he had been in the midst of surviving the fighting in France since his arrival at Normandy in June 1944.
At some point Frank's 40th Division must have been combined into the 77th Division, which had already been fighting in France since April.[9] Frank's final assignment was in Company A of the 308th Infantry Regiment of the 77th. This regiment was part of what became famously known as the "Lost Battalion," which was hit very hard as part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in October 1918. A comprehensive history of the 77th and a list of its casualties, including Frank, can be found here. What is amazing is that he lived past the very worst of the fighting (2-8 October), only to be killed in action just days later, on October 12th. As sad as it has been to research my great-great uncle Frank, I am grateful for records relating to his military service. While I knew a fair amount about the history of his early years, the only information I have been able to find about him as an adult thus far is from these records. I know how much his loss affected his family, but I have appreciated being able to learn more about him through his military service. May he, and all of our fallen soldiers, live on in our hearts and minds. *Written with appreciation to Idajean Aldous for her Memorial Day post about Frank on our Ogilvie family Facebook page (29 May 2017), which inspired me to learn more about his service. 1. "U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939," database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 June 2018), entry for Erick F Jorgenson, departure date 9 August 1918, no. 73(173); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), "Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985," Record Group 92, Roll 516.
2. "U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 June 2018), card for Eric Frank Jorgenson, no. 25 (penned), Local Draft Board I, Richfield, Sevier County, Utah; citing NARA, "World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," Record Group M1509, Roll 1984054 . 3. "Call to the Colors Reaches Many Boys" Richfield Reaper (Utah), Saturday, 29 June 1918, page 1; online database with images, Utah Digital Newspapers (https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu : accessed 2 June 2018). 4. "Memories of Kendal M. Ogilvie's Early Years," Ida Jorgensen Ogilvie, audio recording, discussion of Frank Jorgenson approximately at minutes 13 and 20 of 48 minutes, recorded by B. Eileen Ogilvie Ipson, date unknown; digital copy in personal collection of the author, 2 June 2018; and "Childhood Memories of Ida Jorgensen Ogilvie," Ida Jorgensen Ogilvie, audio recording, recorded by B. Eileen Ogilvie Ipson, date unknown; author does not hold digital recording, but it has been incorporated into the film "Ida," created by Edward Ormsbee, discussion of Frank Jorgenson at approximately minute 49 of 53 minutes, viewed on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WkQW0lFd_s : accessed 5 June 2018). 5. "Call to the Colors..." Richfield Reaper (Utah), Saturday, 29 June 1918, page 1. 6. Erick F Jorgenson, page 5, Idaho World War I Dead, AEF (Armed Expeditionary Forces), Series: "Compiled Data on Casualties of the American Expeditionary Forces by State or United States Possession, 1917-1919," Record Group 407: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1905-1981, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland; imaged online, National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/34389584 : accessed 4 June 2018). 7. "News Items Given Here in Brief," Franklin County Citizen (Idaho), 21 November 1918, page 4, column 3; online database with images, "Digital Archives of the Franklin County Citizen," Community History Archive, Advantage Preservation (http://franklincounty.advantage-preservation.com : accessed 3 June 2018). 8. "Mountain States have 29 Names in Casualty List" Salt Lake Herald (Utah), Saturday, 21 November 1918, page 6; online database with images, Utah Digital Newspapers (https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu : accessed 2 June 2018). 9. History of the Seventy Seventh Division: Designed and Written in the Field - France, The 77th Division Association, 1919, New York City, New York, Death of Private Eric F Jorgenson, page 119; digital copy online, ProQuest: ExLibrisRosetta (https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE928497& : accessed 2 June 2018). |
AuthorI'm Ginger Ogilvie, and I am absolutely, hopelessly hooked on genealogy! Archives
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