Wednesday, March 16, 2011

In love with FInd-A-Grave

While looking up the known gravesite of Margaret McRae Shuey McClelland in Stone Cemetery near Diamond, Newton County, Missouri, I checked the search engine for other McRae's gravestones and was thrilled to find the missing stone for her mother Catherine Gibson McRae!

We had a family letter that said she was buried next to her daughter Martha McRae in Carthage, Missouri.

Close, but not really...one of those little mistakes that crop up in oral tradition.  But I should have guessed earlier - Catherine was living with Margaret and not Martha in her last census.

I also discovered the grave of Andrew Goas's wife Hannah Lewis Goas way over in Longs Run Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio.  The only reason I found her was the good luck that they could still read her unusual last name on the stone.  They thought her first name was "Fannah", but if you know what you're looking for you can see it's an H.  It's so neat to actually get to see her gravestone.

So, it's official.

I'm totally in love with Find-A-Grave!!

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Wilda May Taylor Hamm

I have finally tracked down Wilda May Taylor, the daughter of William V. Taylor.

What astonishes me is that my guess based on nothing but census browsing was absolutely correct.

I wouldn't have even known she existed except that a cousin of hers died without heirs and without a will so a document was produced that listed all of her potential heirs - in this case her first cousins.  Wilda was listed in the document as the deceased daughter of William V.  I'd known from his 1930 census record he'd been divorced, but knew nothing of and offspring.

Here are her census records that I gathered while in guess-mode:
State Kansas
County Wyandotte
Delaware Township
Edwardsville City of 3rd Class Beginning Line 1
s.d. 2, e.d. 152, Sheet No. 16A/34A
4th February 1920 by Calvin L. David
line 30, 349/351 REEVES Albert Head OM MW 49 M /yes/yes Iowa Iowa IowaRock Road Patrolman
Sarah wife FW 58 m /yes/yes Indiana Ohio Indiana
Willis son MW 17 S yes/yes/yes Kansas Iowa Indiana Truck Driver/Rock Road
line 33, 350/352 TAYLOR Edna Lodger FW 37 M /yes/yes Kansas Kansas IowaServant/Housekeeper
Wilda Lodger FW 6 S yes/ Missouri Missouri Kansas

1930 Dickinson Co KS
State Kansas
County Dickinson
Herington city, Second Ward
Lyons township
e.d. 21-18, s.d. 3, Sheet No. 9A/153A
Apr. 30, 1930 by Mrs. Mildred Persinger
11 South 9 St.
line 41, 199/218 BERRY Edna Head H o $2000 R No FW 48 Wd no/yes KansasKansas Iowa
Johnnie Step-son MW 22 S no/yes Ohio Missouri Ohio Attendant/FillingStation
TAYLOR Wilda daughter FW 16 S yes/yes Missouri Missouri Kansas
At the time of her death she was divorced from her husband so his name was not given.  The informant was her mother Edna May Berry - who said her maiden name was Berry, which was also her name from her second marriage.  So that may not be correct.

Oh!  I forgot to mention how I found her - I went to the Missouri Death Records online and looked at each of the death records for anyone named Wilda.  Such a long shot!  Glad I didn't have to do the whole 100, also glad I didn't start at the end of the alphabet!

And such a genealogy junkie thing to do...nice when it works out.