Saddleback Valley Trails
South Orange County California Genealogical Society
Vol. 14 No. 5
Editor: Mary Jo McQueen
May
2007
P.O. Box 4513, Mission
Viejo, CA. 92690
Monthly meetings are held on the
third Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the Mission Viejo
Family History Center Institute Building, 27978 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo,
between Medical Center Drive and Hillcrest Drive. Membership is open to anyone
interested in genealogy. Individual membership fees are $20 per calendar year,
$25 for joint membership. SOCCGS is not affiliated with the LDS Family History
Center.
GENERAL MEETING – May 19, 2007
ÒGENEALOGY ON EBAYÓ
Presented
By
MICHAEL KRATZER
Discover Genealogical
Treasures in attics, at yard sales, swap meets, and on the Internet. According
to Michael Ktratzer, family history and genealogical research can be much more
than a collection of names and dates on family group sheets. After all those birth notices, marriage
records, death certificates and obituaries are compiled, then what? Join Michael as he tells how he has
discovered what he considers hidden treasures, waiting to be found, in the most
unexpected places. He will explain how new and used books, photos, family
business advertisements, ancestral heirlooms and memorabilia can enhance and
enrich your enjoyment of your Family History Library and Archives.
Michael has been adding to
his personal family history for over fifteen years. He is a graduate of Orange
Coast College and holds a certificate from the University of California at
Irvine. Michael volunteers his
time assisting genealogy researchers at the Huntington Beach Family History
Center.
2007 CALENDAR
June
16 – Alan Jones, ÒBakers Dozen, 13 websites we should all know and use.Ó
July 21 – Ivan C. Johnson,
ÒBritish Naming Patterns.Ó
August 18 – Penny Feike,
ÒCourt Records.Ó
September 15 – Joan Rambo,
ÒLand & Tax Records.Ó
October 20 – John Colletta,
Family History Seminar
November 17 - Nancy Carlberg
December 15 – Holiday Party
SAFARI NEWS
On May 23 we will research at the Los Angeles Public Library.
Please call Bill Bluett, (949) 492-9408, if you would like to be included. If
more than seven sign up we will need two cars. This is a long day with dinner
on the way home. Please bring $$ for your driver and be prepared to buy your
dinner. You may bring lunch or eat at one of the places available in or near
the library.
Immigrant Servants Database
"More than 75 percent of the colonists who settled south of
New England financed their voyages to the New World as indentured servants,
convict servants, and redemptioners. This project aims to identify all
immigrants described by these terms in American and European sources from 1607
through 1820." To date, there are approximately 10,000 immigrant servants
listed in the database.Ó That number continues to grow. This database is free.
PRESIDENTÕS MESSAGE
~Bill Bluett
In March, on our Genealogy Safari, we traveled to the Southern California Genealogical
Society in Burbank. My van was filled to capacity with 7 members from our
Society. The SCGS facility has a great collection of books plus microfilm,
microfiche and CDÕs. Also, they have many research publications, which may be
purchased.
That day, I began my search on the bookshelves in the
State of Iowa section where I noticed a book entitled HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
My wife, Helen, was raised on a farm in this county. So, I pulled out the book
and began to browse through it. This book, and many others are the result of
the fact that counties in many states were mandated to produce historical
information in the late 1800Õs. Each book usually contains Township sections
within the county where there is information about the early settlers,
homesteads, churches, schools, incidents, and some biographical sketches of key
individuals.
I may have looked at this book before, but, this time,
there was something that caught my eye, a paragraph written about O. B. BOLTON,
one of the early settlers who had come to Iowa in 1853. By February of 1856, he
and his family had settled in Iowa County, Iowa Township, in section 26. This
was the first farm in the township. For some reason, his name seemed familiar.
Then, I remembered; Helen and I have the documents that give the history of
ownership of the family farm in Iowa. We took possession of this information
when her father died in 1999. These recorded documents are referred to as an abstract.
An abstract of title lists all the owners of a piece
of land, a house, or a building before it came into possession of the present
owner. The abstract also records all deeds, wills, mortgages, and other
documents that affect ownership of the property. An abstract describes a chain
of transfers from owner to owner and any agreements by former owners that are
binding on later owners.
I donÕt know how many states have an abstract paper trail like Iowa
does. It would be worth investigating. Our abstract has over 80 pages dating
from 1853 to the present. So, when I arrived home the evening of our safari, I
pulled out the documents to see if the first owner of our farm happened to be
O. B. Bolton. And, in fact, it was! This prompted me to look through the papers in more detail.
The BoltonÕs owned the farm from 1853 until 1896 when, a family by the name of
Sherlock acquired it. They were the owners until 1942 when my wifeÕs parents,
Seth and Helen Eimen, purchased it. In a period of more than 150 years, there
have only been 3 owners. The HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY book went on to say that
when Mr. Bolton settled on the land, no neighbors were within 5 miles. He
located the acreage in 1853 and paid $800 in gold, which I thought was
interesting. And, it stated that he and his son operated a large farm of over
200 acres. The home farm is, in fact, 220 acres and it is located in section
26, as the book said. Also, there is an adjacent 160 acres, which brings the
farm total to 380. Today, the family rents out 2 residences that are on the
property and continue to farm approximately 330 acres of corn, soybeans and
hay.
I guess the point of my story is to encourage you not to overlook
historical publications that relate to an area in which your ancestors lived.
You may not specifically find your surname in the book, but you might find some
information that connects to your family. You might also find the history of
the county, township, or town interesting. Reading a county history book can
give you a picture of what life was like in the 1800Õs. You may be able to find
books of county histories on the HERITAGE QUEST website on the SOCCGS library
computers. Some can be found in our CD collection or on the bookshelves.
ALWAYS check out the resources that are available right here in our own
genealogy section of the Mission Viejo Library. You could get lucky.
MARCH MEETING
Lee PoundÕs presentation gave us a new insight into Internet
Research. We were reminded that it is still important to use microfilm. We
should go further than the first few sites that come up, when we do a Google
search. Lee also imparted that a search on ÒGoogle BooksÓ might prove to be
valuable. The morningÕs treats were in the capable hands of Shelly Morgan and
Joyce Van Schaack. Home Town Buffet also provided some of the goodies. Janet
Parsons is looking for someone to interpret Danish documents. Her email address is janetione@aol.com.
MEMBERSHIP
We extend a special welcome to Patricia Christiansen who has reinstated her membership. Guests
at the April meeting were: Meg Harkins, Katharine Obenour and Judith Bryant. We hope they will see the advantages of
membership in our awesome Genealogical Society. Correction: Billie May
Bowron, South Dakota,
email address rundog8@rad.midco.net.
ABOUT
FELONS AND FOOD
~Ann
Browning
My
mother, Dosia May Lister, was born in 1904 in Hillsdale County, Michigan. As a
child, I remember hearing that her Lister Ancestor was Dr. Joseph Lister, the
English doctor who pioneered antiseptic surgery, and for whom Listerine is
named. In later years, when MotherÕs sister, Beulah, became interested in
genealogy, she discovered our first known Lister ancestor was anything but
famous, perhaps ÒinfamousÓ would be a better description.
Our
John Lister came to the colonies in 1770, not by choice, but by command of King
George III of Great Britain. We have a copy of his London trial at the Old
Bailey, and a copy of the ÒBill of Indightment.
ÓJohn Lister was about fifteen and
living in Black-Bay Alley, a rooming house in London. He and ÒIsaac Pemberton,
a labourer – on the tenth day of January – about the hour of two in
the Night – with force and arms did burglariously break and enter the
dwelling house of one, Sir Thomas Wilson (Knight) –stole two Damask
Napkins of the value of three shillings, sixteen Silver Tablespoons of the
value of sixteen shillings and two Silver Candlesticks of the value of two
pounds each – Jury says guilty. To be hanged by the Neck until he be
dead.Ó (Obviously, he wasnÕt!)
In
about 1925, Mother and Aunt Beulah opened the Green Lantern Tearoom in
Hillsdale. They probably served this banana cake because it was one of motherÕs
favorite recipes (mine too). When our children were growing up, they called it
ÒGrandmaÕs Bug CakeÓÉ.. YouÕll see why!
GeraldineÕs
Banana Cake
1 cup sugar Cream
together sugar and butter. Add egg.
½ cup
butter or margarine Beat
together until light.
1 egg
1 ½
cups flour Sift
together flour, soda, salt & cinnamon.
1 ½
tsp. soda
½tsp.
salt Add
flour mixture alternately with
½ tsp.
cinnamon mashed
bananas.
1 cup mashed
ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla Stir
in vanilla.
Bake in
greased loaf pan at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Do not over bake.
When cool,
sift powdered over top. Doubles easily. Freezes well.
SURNAME LIST
http://www.rootsweb.com/~casoccgs/surnames.htm
Herb
Abrams will update your information on the SOCCGS Surname Website Listing as
needed. Please check your information, and if corrections and/or additions are
necessary notify Herb (hvabrams@cox.net or (949) 581-6292). New members are especially encouraged to add
their Surnames to this list. Send an email to
Herb listing your surnames, locations and years you are researching.
Another Revolution In Genealogy
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660205784,00.html
Here is an excerpt from an interesting article at the above
website. It is too lengthy to print here. ÒUsing the Internet, from their
homes or laptops, people around the world are about to have access to more
documents than they ever dreamed possible. Before the end of the year, the
church's free genealogy Web site, familysearch.org, will have a new look.
That's how users will know when the revolution Dobson speaks of has begun.Ó
ÒIf it
werenÕt for the last minute, nothing would get done!Ó
Severed Foot Leads To Family's Unusual
History
~Dave Bakke
(Reprinted with permission: State Journal
Register, Springfield, Illinois)
Henry Wenneborg made lemonade bloom where
he was planted - or however that saying goes. Henry was a colorful bit of
Springfield history that is not known by many people outside of his family.
Let's change that.
He was 16 years old in about 1893 when he
happened to be late getting somewhere across Springfield. The reason he was
late and getting later was because a train was blocking his way. The train had
stopped, so Henry, who was walking, crawled beneath it to get to the other
side. Unfortunately for him, the train lurched into motion while he was under
it. His foot was severed. But things got worse.
"Gangrene set in," says his
grandson. "They kept taking off parts of his leg until they amputated it
almost up to his hip. He almost lost his life." But he survived. Henry
became a blacksmith with a shop on West Elliott Avenue. Artificial limbs were
among the things he crafted.
"I make legs with felt feet, rubber
feet, common wooden feet or my improved feet and automatic inside knee
control," proclaimed an old advertisement Henry wrote. "I sell
everything in the construction of artificial legs or arms," it says,
"including the most famous Comfort Stump Sox."
Henry's advertisement includes
testimonials from satisfied customers. William Cox of Springfield is quoted as
saying, "I am wearing a Wenneborg leg and can truthfully say, if you want
good and willing, ever ready service, day or night, and a first-class leg, say
'Wenneborg.'"
There is also this one from William
Napierski of Springfield: "I was visited by all the leading artificial leg
agents and saw their legs." "Then I decided to get a Wenneborg leg
and can say I made no mistake. Any one interested in an artificial leg is
welcome to call and I will show them advantages in the Wenneborg leg that no
other leg maker can produce."
After Henry died, many of his creations
went to his son, Dick. Dick died in 1989. Five years later, the family held an
estate sale in which a lot of Henry's handiwork - including a barrel of legs -
was sold. Also for sale at the auction were a wooden artificial limb machine, a
plaster cast for legs and a variety of unique antiques such as 25 Thomas Edison
records.
What was already an unusual story took an
even more unusual turn years later.
Greg Wenneborg is a teacher in Tucson,
Ariz. His father, Oliver, is Henry's nephew. A few weeks ago, Greg and his wife
gave birth to a new son. Before choosing a name for the baby, Greg called his
aunt in Springfield, who is the family historian, to get a little more family
history on Henry.
Little Oliver Henry Wenneborg will have a
colorful history to live up to.
About a year and a half ago, Greg was
surfing eBay, the
popular online auction site, looking to buy a unique gift for his father. He
punched "Wenneborg" into eBay's search engine.
"I don't know what I was
thinking," Greg says. "I was looking for something 'Wenneborg.' And
there were a pair of longbows. Both were about 60 inches long."
The seller identified them as being carved
by Henry Wenneborg. Further investigation by Greg found that the seller was
also offering for auction other items from Henry.
"He had all these patent applications
from Henry Wenneborg," says Greg. "There were these little inventions
that he made. He had a patent for a certain type of leg.
"I e-mailed the seller and asked how
he knew about it. He said he had gone to an estate sale that had a bunch of
Wenneborg memorabilia. I want to guess that it was the sale here, but he was
out of Oregon."
Rick remembers selling the bows at his
father's estate sale in 1994, so the Oregon man was probably here.
Eleven years after that sale, Greg brought
Henry's longbows back into the family. He bought the bows for his father. They
hang on the wall of Oliver's cabin in Pinetop, Ariz.
http://www.rootsweb.com/%7Eusgenweb/special/ppcs/ppcs.html
Click on the state and then on the county
to see old penny postcards from that area.....pretty neat.
Every book is a quotation;
and every house is a quotation
Out of all forests, and
mines, and stone quarries,
And every man is a quotation
from all his ancestors.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ohio, a Bittersweet Journey
~Patricia Ann
(Dean) Christiansen
For
over a year, my husband and I planned a trip to visit a cousin of mine (whom I
had never met), in Mansfield, Ohio.
Last April 18, about two weeks before our departure date, my husband,
Elmer Leon Christiansen, on his 77th birthday, fell and was
hospitalized. He appeared to be going well, and would soon be going into rehab.
The doctor ruled out the possibility of ElmerÕs making the trip. Since our son,
Carl, agreed to look after his father, I would make the trip to Ohio
alone.
My
parents, John William Roy Dean and Rebecca Irene (Shultz) Dean, were married on
3 September 1929 in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, and moved to Cincinnati,
Hamilton County, Ohio, where my sisters Barbara and Nancy and I were born. In 1939 we relocated to Columbus. Our
parents separated in 1943 and Mother, my sisters and I moved to Phoenix,
Arizona.
Eventually,
our father also moved to Phoenix, however, our parents were divorced in
1945. Living away from my father
for so many years caused a great lack of information regarding his side of the
family. Hence on this trip to Ohio, it was my desire to learn more about my
father.
My
cousin Anne Marie (Nelson) McCracken was the daughter of one of my fatherÕs
sisters, Frances (Dean) Nelson.
Through Annie I met a gentleman, a former Ohio State University student,
who had rented a room for $7 per week in our house in Columbus. In a
conversation with him, I learned that my father had a degree in petroleum
engineering.
Until
this trip, I did not know that my father had two brothers, Clyde Beeman, and
John William Roy, and a sister, Dorothy Marie. His parents were Frank Dean and
Mary Lucinda Highley.
Dorothy
married Robert B. Turnipseed whose ancestors supplied a place of refuge on the
Underground Railroad in northern Ohio.
On my
journey to Ohio, I-------
Visited
the high school where my parents met, courted and married in Washington, Court
House. The old high school still stands and continues to be used as a school.
Visited the Victorian style home, in Columbus, where I lived
from 1939 through 1943. A single mother and her family currently occupy the
house, built circa 1909.
Met
and talked with a woman and her brother who were residents of a home across the
street. They wanted to know why I was taking pictures of the houses.
After the woman left, her brother tried to sell me two
chairs from his sisterÕs front porch.
Watched
on the news, that night, a fast-breaking newscast of the murder of the man I
had talked with that morning. He
had been shot in the street a few feet from the home he shared with his sister.
(Yes, the one who offered the chairs for sale!)
Visited cemeteries and filmed headstones in a half dozen Ohio
counties.
Spent an entire afternoon with
formerly unknown relatives and copied photographs, exchanged pedigree charts
and family group sheets.
Talked personally with individuals who had known my parents,
most specifically my father.
Obtained the names of the three wives of my grandfather, Frank
Albert Dean.
What
makes this trip bittersweet to me? My husband died on June 4, 2006, from
complications of leukemia; and my cousin Annie was diagnosed this year [2007]
with cancer.
Living relatives can contribute so much to the family historian; as can
those friends and associates who knew our deceased family members. No
opportunity should be taken lightly, nor any piece of information thought
insignificant.
Grasp the
moment time is fleeting.
THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
This column will appear each month to note
happenings in the lives of SOCCGS members. Please notify the president or
Trails editor if you have an item of interest, or know of someone who needs a
special card or phone call.
Trying Times
Pat Weeks is recovering from double bypass surgery.
We will be missing her for six to eight weeks. Cards have been sent to Emily
Allison and Bernice
Brenner, neither of who
has been well.
Memorable Moments
Leon and Bunny Smith are presently on the East Coast. Their major destination is
Jamestown for the 400th Anniversary Celebration. Ruby White will be on a tour of England, Scotland
and Wales. At the tourÕs conclusion she is going to Harefordshire searching for
her Lewis family. Congratulations to Marcia Roy who is graduating May 30 from California
State University, Long Beach with a degree in Social Work. In May and June.
ORANGE COUNTY FAIR GENEALOGY BOOTH
The award winning and popular genealogy booth will be
back again this year at the Orange County Fair July 13th to August 5th.
Fairgoers who are interested in learning more about their ÒrootsÓ receive
information about genealogy meetings, resources and libraries in the area, and
get assistance from knowledgeable researchers.
Volunteers from the major genealogy groups in Southern
California are being asked to assist in staffing the booth. A general knowledge
of genealogy is all that is needed, since staff is there essentially to hand
out resource materials and answer general questions, not to act as a genealogy
tutor or assist people in their research. The reward is being able to see
others getting excited about something we all already acknowledge as a passion!
Many of last yearsÕ volunteers mentioned how much fun they had staffing the
booth, meeting people and sharing their knowledge.
Volunteers work a four or four and one-half hour shift
and have the rest of the day to enjoy the fair. Free parking and fair entry
are provided for each day a volunteer works. A free shuttle is provided between
the volunteer parking lot and the fairgrounds. The fair is open 10 am to
midnight on Saturday and Sunday, and noon to midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday. The theme of the fair this year is ÒCowabunga! The Year of
the Herefords, Surfers and Sand.Ó
The genealogy booth theme is ÒCowabunga! Catch the Wave of Family
History.Ó
Each participating genealogy society will have the
opportunity for free advertising by displaying a banner at the booth and/or
providing handout materials about their groupÕs meetings and activities.
Sign up sheets will be available at SOCCGS May 19
meeting.
Questions? Or to volunteer now, please contact Norma
Keating:
normakeating@earthlink.net
or 714-319-5994
Indexers Needed To Help Digitize
Granite Mountain Vault Records
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is in the process of digitizing 5 billion genealogical records stored in
the Granite Mountain Vaults near Salt Lake City. These records will be
connected to www.familysearch.org, the Church's website and one of the
preeminent genealogy sites on the Web. Tens of thousands of volunteers are at
work helping to index the collection and more are needed. To volunteer for the
project, visit the following website:
http://www.familysearchindexing.org/.
Norwegian Research
Digitalarkivet (Digital Archives): National Archives of Norway
- If you're tracing your
Norwegian heritage, this website is a good place to start. It has migration,
court, church, census, and military records; emigrant lists; maps; real estate
books; and registers of conveyances and mortgages. It also has maps, online
exhibitions, forums, an article on tracing your ancestry in Norway, and a
directory of links to additional resources.
http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/index-eng.htm
Start Writing Your Family History!
http://genwriters.com/write.html
ÒYour genealogy source for ideas and
resources to bring your family history to life.Ó
When you tell the story of your past, you
inspire others to succeed.
When you tell the story of your future, you
inspire yourself to succeed.
~ Lee Pound
ANCESTRY AT THE SOCCGS LIBRARY
Check out some of
the new additions to Ancestry.com. They include:
The Reconstructed
1790 Census of Georgia
The Census Tables
for the French Colony of Louisiana from 1699 through 1732
The Canary
Islands Migration to Louisiana, 1778-1783
A List of the
Early Settlers of Georgia
Alabama Notes,
Vol. IV
Index to Alabama
Wills, 1808-1870
Genealogies of
Connecticut Families from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register:
Vol. I, II & III
Scotland Census
in its entirety, all seven available census years spanning 1841 to 1901.
2007
GENEALOGICAL EVENT CALENDAR
May 12 –
San Diego Genealogical SocietyÕs All-Day Seminar &
Luncheon featuring Dick Eastman. A registration form can be found
on the SDGS Web Site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~casdgs.
Reservations must be received by May 7th.
May 28 – Memorial
Day Observance, 11 a.m. at El Toro Memorial Park, 24751 Trabuco Road, Lake
Forest.
June 8, 9 & 10 - Southern
California Genealogical SocietyÕs 38th Annual Genealogy
Jamboree and Resource Expo. For more information and/or
registration visit the website at www.scgsgenealogy.com
June 23-24, 2007 - San Diego Scottish Highland Games and
Gathering of the Clans, at
Brengle Terrace Park,
1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista. For more information: www.sdhighlandgames.org.
June 23 & 24 - Southern California Irish Fair and Music Festival at Irvine Meadows.
http://www.irishfair.org/
July 13 – August 5 – Orange County Fair (Genealogy
Booth)
October 21 - SOCCGS Family History Seminar, featuring John
Colletta
NEWSLETTER FEATURE ARTICLES
THANK
YOU to those who have
already shared items for the newsletter. They will be printed as space allows. We have had several articles submitted,
however, many more of you surely have ancestor stories to
share. How about that Ògreat findÓ which would be of special interest to us
all? We would also like to print special
recipes, which may be from the Òolden daysÓ, or a current favorite. Queries will be included in order to assist
members in their search for genealogy information.
The
deadline for articles is Wednesday following the monthly meeting. Items may not
always appear in the immediate newsletter. DonÕt want to write a whole article?
Simply submit the basic facts and background information and we will put it
together. Items may be sent via email or Word attachment. All submissions are
subject to editorial approval and may be edited. Send to: mcqueenmaryjo@aol.com
NEWLETTER MAILING
Please inform the membership chairman of any changes in your
contact information. (Verl Nash – verlsue@cox.net) Since the newsletters are sent by bulk
mail, they are not forwarded. They are returned Òpostage due.Ó If your mail is
held while you are out of town they are also returned to us. Let us know and we
can hold, or send them first class.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
South Orange
County California Genealogical Society Membership/Renewal Application
( ) New ( ) Renewal
(
) Individual, $20/yr. (
) Jt. Members, same address, $25/yr.
Renewal Membership
Number(s) _________________________ _____________________
Name(s)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Address
_______________________________________________________________________________
City
_____________________________ State_____Zip ____________Phone
______________________
Email
address:__________________________________________________________________________
Make check payable to:
SOCCGS (South Orange County CA Genealogical Society
Mail, with application, to:
SOCCGS, P.O. Box 4513, Mission Viejo, CA 92690-4513
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