Just a reminder

Just a reminder to myself....I have spent the past week checking on what census reading were missing for my Smyth family. I have been working on this family for a good 10 or more years. When I went to check on census readings done for various members of the family, many were missing!

I always have to remind myself to go back and look over old work that I have done. I will invariably either find a new clue that I missed before or see something that I had missed and need to check out.

With 2010 quickly approaching, I am hoping that the 1940 census will be out soon. I need to at least be caught up with the 1930 readings! So this past week, I have chosen various family lines and reviewed the census listings that I have, then gone to find what is missing. I have found most of the missing. Where it hasn't been found, I make a note of it in the Notes section, so that at least I know that I have searched before.

I began working on a story that I came across last year about a young 9 year old girl whose father brutally raped her in the woods, and when she was finally convinced that her father could no longer harm her, she reported that he had killed her mother earlier that year (1889). The father was convicted and sentenced to 34 years in the penitentiary. When I had requested records from the penitentiary, it came back that they had no record of him. I have not been able to learn what happened to either the daughter or the father. I began going through what papers I had gathered on the story last year, and looked for areas that I might have missed. I came up with a few leads, so will be following up on those this week.

Again, Note to Self: always go back and review your research!

Influencing Others

Last week I was visiting an old friend in Colorado and I began talking about my genealogy obsession, uh, I mean adventures and she began asking questions. Before we knew it, we were on ancestry.com and I was showing her how easily one could begin looking at the old census records. She got hooked! She talked to her parents, and her father got enthused and her parents came up with some old records, notes, pictures, etc. and she is off and running!

That is the first time that I have gotten anyone interested in actually doing genealogy and it was a quite satisfying feeling! It was so nice to be able to share the enthusiasm and excitement of learning even the most minuscule detail of an ancestor's life. I just wish that we lived closer to each other! I have always told my husband that I need a genealogy friend!

I was not able to help her with choosing a program, however, because she is using a Mac and I use RootsMagic which doesn't appear to be compatible with Mac computers. So I don't know what she will end up using.

Researching

Well, today was a good example of all the hours needed for researching one tiny single thing of one's family, and how one little bit of information leads to more searching. 

 I started the afternoon trying to find out more about Crystal, Pembina County, ND, which is where my great-great-grandfather settled when he left Sweden in 1888 (leaving his wife and children behind for evermore). I did many Google searches looking for some history or any information and found little. I checked all of the genealogy message boards related to the state, etc. Posted a query on one of them requesting some history of the area. Checked eBay for anything related to the area. Nothing. 

 Finally, in desperation, I began going through each of his children and looking to see if there was missing information on any of them. Began searching the Social Security Death Index and came up with 5 dates of deaths to take to the library for obituary searches. That was very worthwhile. However, I still couldn't find anything on Charles and Ida Seeber's last child, Earl. I did know that his wife had remarried after his death. She would be about 89 now. She isn't listed in the SS Death Index so I am guessing that she may still be alive. I did a Google search with her name and came up with an article from the LA Times written in 1998 after her second husband died. It listed the married name of Earl's only child. 

 Thus began another search, trying to find an address for her with the information given in the article. I Tried many different searches, and finally, I may have found who I was looking for! In fact, I am positive that it is her. Now, is the address current? I have written a letter to the name and address and here's hoping! 

 Meanwhile, 4 hours online have passed by. Do I feel like it was wasted time? Heck, no! These were possibly huge finds for me! And if I get a response back, and it's her, the whole family will rejoice! After Earl died, the family didn't have much contact (they lived in CA and we are in IL), so we are all anxious to learn how they are, etc. More to follow! Never give up!

Follow-up: 3/11/2024-there was never a response to my letter.

60 Years Celebrated

My parents, Dick and Pat, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in April. I am remiss in not remarking on it until now, but it is certainly of a historical, genealogical nature! 

 They married in Peoria in 1949 and moved to Chicago where Dad was working. They remained there until shortly after I was born in December of 1949 and then returned to Peoria, where they both were born and raised. Dad was hired on at Caterpillar Tractor and they settled into married life. They went on to have 3 more children, Mike, Bill, and Sandy. In 1973, Dad was transferred to Marinette WI, where they stayed for 3 years. It was quite a change for them, living up north. They learned to ski while living up there and had many enjoyable ski trips over the years. Bill and Sandy went to high school while in WI, and Bill went on to college in Milwaukee. 

 Mom and Dad came back to Peoria in 1976. Dad retired from Caterpillar in 1986 and they had 23 blissful years of retirement. They spent most winters in either Florida or Alabama, and all spring, summer, and falls in Indiana at the lake. Sadly, during this time, Mom and Dad lost their 2 sons. Bill died in 1990 in San Francisco, and Mike died in 2005 in Peoria. Mom and Dad were blessed with 6 grandchildren: Emily, Maggie, Alex, Mandy, Lee, and Rich. So far, they also have 5 great-grandchildren: Lexie, Chris, Connor, Libby, and Lucy. All in all, 60 years produced much of what life is composed of great joy and sadness, and many, many blessings.

Matilda Hertel Segh

Matilda Hertel was born in 1853 in Herrestad parish, Ostergot lands, Sweden. She married August Jonasson Segh in 1871 and they settled in Vadstena (Wadstena). After 2 years of marriage, August and Matilda (now 30 years old) became parents of twin sons. Karl Oscar Fromhold Segh (my great-great-grandfather) and Gustaf Adolf Segh were born on November 6, 1873, in s:t Per parish in Ostergotland, Sweden. Around July 1874, when the twin boys were 9 months old, Matilda became pregnant again, and on April 18, 1875, another son, Johan August Segh, was born. Around January 1876, Matilda was pregnant again. Her twin sons would have just turned 2 years old, and Johna was about 9 months old at that time. On September 9, 1876, a fourth son, Axel Edward Segh was born. Now Matilda had 4 sons, all under the age of 3 years old! Nine months later, Marilda was pregnant again with twins. On March 14, 1878, a daughter, Matilda Sofie Segh was born, It was reported that she was a twin, however, her twin must not have survived. Now she had 4-year-old twins, an almost 3-year-old, a 1 1/2 year old, and a new baby. 

 Sadly, baby Matilda died on August 1st at age 4 1/2 months old. Around October of that year, Matilda was pregnant with twins again. In January of 1879, Matilda and August's son, Axel, died at 2 1/2 years old. She delivered another daughter, Elin Mia Segh, on July 11, 1879, and again, it was reported that she was a twin, but the other twin did not survive. Tragedy struck the family when baby Elin died in September at almost 2 months old. It is incredible to think that within 6 years, Matilda had 5 pregnancies, 8 children, and 5 of the 8 children had died. By this time, Karl and Gustaf were almost 6 years old and Johan was 4 1/2 years old. 

 August Segh died in 1901. It appears that Matilda lived with her son, Johan until she died. Her son Gustaf died in 1908, and his twin Karl, died in 1933. Matilda died in 1934, having survived 7 of her 8 children. Johan remained in Vadstena until he died in 1952. He was a single man. I am struck by all of the hardships and tragedies that Matilda must have gone through. She lost at least 5 children very early, and 2 more later. Her oldest son, Karl, left for America in 1892 and she never saw him again. Interestingly, Karl Oscar appears to be the only one of Matilda's children who had children. Matilda had 6 grandchildren that she was never able to meet. Such a sad story!

Journey to the Past

This week my 82-year-old Dad and I took a day trip to Olney, IL in Richland County. Dad's grandparents had lived in Olney (as did his parents for a brief time, before coming to Peoria Illinois). Some of his father's siblings had remained in Olney for years, although no one is left there now. We went to Ebenezer Cemetery and found the grave sites of his grandparents and their children who had died young. Then we found the actual home where Moses and Lydia Adamson had lived until their deaths. I was surprised that the house was still standing, but it appeared to be in good shape. 

 It is rather unusual for anyone to be alive today who can say that their grandfather or great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, but Dad and I can. Moses and Lydia spaced their children out over 23 years, with my grandfather being second to the youngest, thus a generation was skipped. 

 Moses Thompson Adamson was born March 29, 1838, in Edwards County Illinois, the second of seven children born to Aaron W. and Martha Thompson Adamson. His father, Aaron, died around 1850 when Moses was 12. His mother, Martha, remarried Joseph Hedrick in 1851 and the family settled in Richland County, Illinois. In September of 1861, Moses joined the 38th IL Infantry, Co.I. In December 1862, Moses was taken prisoner at Stones River and was taken to Libby Prison in Richmond Virginia. His time in prison appeared to affect the rest of his life. He married Lydia Ann Bullard in Richland County, Illinois in April of 1863. In September 1863, he was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga. He was honorably discharged in October of 1864 and returned to Olney, Illinois, where he and Lydia remained until their deaths. 

 By the time Moses was discharged from the service, he and Lydia had a 2-month-old son. They went on to have 12 children, then took in another child in their older years (around 1900). Six of their twelve children died before reaching adulthood. Moses died in 1917, at age 79; Lydia died in 1935 at the age of 90. Both are buried at Ebenezer Cemetery in Olney Illinois