Been an interesting couple of weeks for me. Some serious searching online has brought me knowledge of family members who are still little more than a clump of facts, but I am getting there. I have a feeling it will require a trip to Dubuque and Cedar Rapids physically on my part to get to the root of some of this. I am not certain my grandfather Dean ever even had a birth certificate. Can't seem to find anything online about birth records of any consistency before about 1910.
Oh, and speaking of that- the US Federal Censuses (censi?) need to be combed over very clearly. I have found multiple misspellings of family names, first names, and conflicts in birth years from one decade to the next.
I don't know when they started to do a census, but it took awhile to get even close to perfecting it.
I did have one interesting thing drop into my lap. I work in a joint Tricare/VA medical clinic. I heard a name being fractured by people trying to pronounce, and in the process of trying to get his name right, may have found a whole other family connection. The Guion side of the family (Diddy's grandmother, Josephine, one of the two women she was named for) is something of a mystery. Well, it was anyway. I now may have a connection to the Guion (originally spelled Guyon) family line going back as far as 900 C.E. (current era.) The gentleman says he has a book he will bring to let me see. I hope to track down a copy of same, for my own sake.
Guion is not a common name, and supposedly all the family line can be traced. Now here's a kicker for me: the possible royal lineage of that family line may be finally provable. Herbert gave Diddy reason to believe that the Hopkins/Guion side of the family had royal French blood. I may be able to exonerate him; Diddy's own child never wanted to believe the story, as the facts within it were unprovable.
This has been an interesting month for me. A lot of the holes in my family's history are filling in slowly. On the scale of the time I have invested in this search, it seems to be swift, but it isn't really. What does really blow my mind personally is the potential number of people I have added to the family line, the number of relatives that could be out there, in just a 12th of a year.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
whoa
Ok, I always thought being named Orange had to be an unusual thing. I have been looking for a person I thought would stand out like a sore thumb, and have found tons of both males and females named Orange.
I think I am going to name a kid Purple, just out of spite.
Seriously, this man was supposedly my great grandfather's brother, which I cannot verify yet. If this is the fellow, it will be hard to tell. I found the same name, with the same wife, but different kids, in two seperate censuses. They also lived in decidedly different places. Ironically, the WIFE is exactly the same- birth place and name. Go figure.
Ah well. This is the frustration and fascination of family research.
I think I am going to name a kid Purple, just out of spite.
Seriously, this man was supposedly my great grandfather's brother, which I cannot verify yet. If this is the fellow, it will be hard to tell. I found the same name, with the same wife, but different kids, in two seperate censuses. They also lived in decidedly different places. Ironically, the WIFE is exactly the same- birth place and name. Go figure.
Ah well. This is the frustration and fascination of family research.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Success in small steps
This has been in an interesting day for me. Since my early 20's I have been researching my family, with several holes in the history that no one living seemed to be able to fill. Today, I put some putty in some of those hole, which means little to anyone else in the family.
Sallie Dupre was my grandfather Marcy's mom and died soon after giving birth to her tenth child. Her life was pretty much a mystery. I found her birth month today from a census done before she passed. Ironically, I also answered another big question today- what happened to my maternal grandmother's father after the divorce? Seems Herbert went back to California, eventually. That is where he is listed as having died. Now, with his social security number, I may be able to track down more about him. I find this research to be frustrating and interesting at the same time. Ultimately, all 95% of us ever end up being to this world is a handful of facts and maybe a few old photos. I wish there was a better way to preserve something of personality, of the who behind the face.
And we all long to feel connected, to something, somewhere. Having been separated from my siblings before my formative years, I have felt out of touch. Not so strangely, there are times when the long dead ancestors seem more real to me than living blood. Such is the curse of military life, and the modern age of moving and traveling so very much. We lose touch. I guess some part of me is attempting to sew up those perceived holes.
I also just found the death announcement of the second wife of Marcy Dupre, Zenobia, or Miss Nobie, as she was referred to by the Dupre kids I managed to know. The number of misspellings in the census and other such records is mind boggling, and a bit scary. Much can be lost or overlooked for a it. I only found Herbert's death announcement because I happened to know his birth date. His middle name, and his mother's maiden name- Guion- were both incorrect. It was luck and diligence that let me put the puzzle together.
I do have a touch of wistfulness about some of this- I wish I could share what I am fining with the grandparents now long gone. Part of my g-mom, Diddy, dearly loved her father Herbert. I think she would love to have some idea of what he did with himself after being asked to leave his young family. She was only ten years old. Closure is good for everyone.
Enough for tonight, though. I am tired and comtemplative.
Sallie Dupre was my grandfather Marcy's mom and died soon after giving birth to her tenth child. Her life was pretty much a mystery. I found her birth month today from a census done before she passed. Ironically, I also answered another big question today- what happened to my maternal grandmother's father after the divorce? Seems Herbert went back to California, eventually. That is where he is listed as having died. Now, with his social security number, I may be able to track down more about him. I find this research to be frustrating and interesting at the same time. Ultimately, all 95% of us ever end up being to this world is a handful of facts and maybe a few old photos. I wish there was a better way to preserve something of personality, of the who behind the face.
And we all long to feel connected, to something, somewhere. Having been separated from my siblings before my formative years, I have felt out of touch. Not so strangely, there are times when the long dead ancestors seem more real to me than living blood. Such is the curse of military life, and the modern age of moving and traveling so very much. We lose touch. I guess some part of me is attempting to sew up those perceived holes.
I also just found the death announcement of the second wife of Marcy Dupre, Zenobia, or Miss Nobie, as she was referred to by the Dupre kids I managed to know. The number of misspellings in the census and other such records is mind boggling, and a bit scary. Much can be lost or overlooked for a it. I only found Herbert's death announcement because I happened to know his birth date. His middle name, and his mother's maiden name- Guion- were both incorrect. It was luck and diligence that let me put the puzzle together.
I do have a touch of wistfulness about some of this- I wish I could share what I am fining with the grandparents now long gone. Part of my g-mom, Diddy, dearly loved her father Herbert. I think she would love to have some idea of what he did with himself after being asked to leave his young family. She was only ten years old. Closure is good for everyone.
Enough for tonight, though. I am tired and comtemplative.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Oh the Insanity!
Not quite a month into this and I am finding myself feeling bogged down! Of course, every time I opened the books to do research in the past I felt the same way. I ended up finding exhilaration after the fact, when I had time to slow down and look at what I had accomplished.
Nephew Aaron started up a Gallery on his server, to which I have been adding quite literally hundreds of family photos. It is a private site for now, but if the family eventually feels comfortable with the idea, we could, I suppose, go live for the world. It might be a way to find other arms of the family. I've begun to realise how many we already have actually!
Let's see...from memory, family names and lines.....Dupre and Douglas, obviously. Moore, Hopkins, Larner, Hawley, Hill, Guion, Naasson, Mueller, Shepard, Lundgren, Le Tourneaux, Du Maresq,Machen, Lowe,McClain, Kertcher,Johnson,Starkey,Monistorie.....I suspect that's only scraping the surface.
I read an article about a year ago that almost made me sad, and yet gave me a lot of insight. Essentially, the further back one goes the greater number of potential relatives, and that number can easily spread into the thousands, if not millions. By this premise, millions of people could be related to, say, Genghis Khan, or Elizabeth the First. More accurately, there is solid evidence in this that we are in fact much more closely related to each other than a lot of people would like to believe.
Nephew Aaron started up a Gallery on his server, to which I have been adding quite literally hundreds of family photos. It is a private site for now, but if the family eventually feels comfortable with the idea, we could, I suppose, go live for the world. It might be a way to find other arms of the family. I've begun to realise how many we already have actually!
Let's see...from memory, family names and lines.....Dupre and Douglas, obviously. Moore, Hopkins, Larner, Hawley, Hill, Guion, Naasson, Mueller, Shepard, Lundgren, Le Tourneaux, Du Maresq,Machen, Lowe,McClain, Kertcher,Johnson,Starkey,Monistorie.....I suspect that's only scraping the surface.
I read an article about a year ago that almost made me sad, and yet gave me a lot of insight. Essentially, the further back one goes the greater number of potential relatives, and that number can easily spread into the thousands, if not millions. By this premise, millions of people could be related to, say, Genghis Khan, or Elizabeth the First. More accurately, there is solid evidence in this that we are in fact much more closely related to each other than a lot of people would like to believe.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
John Henry Hopkins, Bishop
This is a lesson in how one goes about tracing one's unknown family history: often, completely by accident. Was watching Antiques Roadshow- a repeat at that- and a name caught my ear. After hearing the story my jaw hit the floor. The woman speaking was a direct-ish relative! Her g-g grandmother was older sister to MY g-g- grandfather, Fredrick Hopkins. I still haven't found her-the Roadshow has a big thing about privacy- but titled this page as I have to maybe get someone else's attention. The Fredrick Hopkins clan eventually ended up out in San Fransisco, and the woman who brought in the painting lives in Oregon. I have to wonder if the whole Hopkins clan moved west.
There were seven (yes seven) more children born to the Bishop and his wife, the last of whom is Fredrick. The painting only shows the first six kids, the youngest of whom was born in 1826. Fredrick was born in 1839. Must've been some cold Vermont winters, no. ;)
Anyway, not to infringe on anybody's rights, but I am going to put up the photos from PBS here too- partly because I have none of the Bishop or his wife, and partly, again, to maybe attract attention.
The Story Continues!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200405A07.html
GUEST: This man is the painter of the picture, and he was John Henry Hopkins, the first Episcopal bishop of Vermont... his wife, Melusina, and his family. This is the sister of his wife, who never married and took care of all the children. John Henry is my great-great-great-grandfather, and this is my great-great-grandmother. The story of the painting used to be on the back of the painting, and it is now here, and it has been transcribed by someone in the family in 1907. We also have a couple of photographs of the bishop and his wife.
APPRAISER: It is a painting, watercolor, that was done in the first quarter of the 19th century. Now, you've suggested that it was painted by the Episcopal bishop himself.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And I would suggest that given the quality of the picture, that that's maybe some family history, but maybe not necessarily the case.
GUEST: Well, it is said that he also painted these pictures, and he was a painter.
APPRAISER: Now, there's a lot going on in this picture. The reason I love it-- and it gives me goose bumps to see it-- is the fact that it has so much information about a 19th-century interior-- 1825 vintage, and we see the kinds of things that people bring in on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. You see this wonderful thumb-back Windsor that the spinster aunt is sitting in. You see an Empire mahogany roundabout table or game table here, which the baby is sitting on. This is a ship scene, and then also a landscape, but framed just the way they would be in the 19th century with a gilt frame and a black ebonized liner around. She is sitting at the spinet piano, which again is done in the Empire style. On the floor there is ingrain carpeting. This is before photographs, so the only way we can tell what an early 19th-century American interior looks like is from these watercolors, and they're quite rare and very, very sought after. It's just charming. Also the palette is... is incredibly done. Look at the shadow in the back of his head. I mean, the person who painted this was a... although we call it folk art and a primitive painter, they knew what they were doing. They painted many, many, many pictures. Now, I am sure that if we had more time we'd be able to research this picture and figure out who the artist was, because it's just such a knockout. It's just really tremendous. We've got these other portraits. They're cabinet photographs of the sitters. So we see them in the 1820s. Then we see them again in the 1860s. And this written history about the picture itself, I think the year 1907 is key. That is a time in our history... They call it, sometimes, the Colonial Revival. It's when we as Americans collectively start thinking about our history, and someone took the time to write down. They realized that there was information that they had that they wanted to preserve. I would encourage you to try to get this conserved, because it is on a paper that... that will be fugitive and will disappear over time. Given the fact that I'm not sure who it's by yet, I would estimate it at $25,000 to $35,000.
GUEST: Oh, my goodness. Oh, dear, I thought it was probably worth between $500 and $1,000.
APPRAISER: Well, you know, I'd give you 500 just for that little kitty alone. He's so sweet. I mean, the detail in this picture is the knockout I mean, it just is a total turn-on for folk-art enthusiasts, and I think that that figure could certainly increase when we're able to attribute it. It's just wonderful. It's one of my most favorite things I've seen on the show.
GUEST: Well, I'm very happy about that.
There were seven (yes seven) more children born to the Bishop and his wife, the last of whom is Fredrick. The painting only shows the first six kids, the youngest of whom was born in 1826. Fredrick was born in 1839. Must've been some cold Vermont winters, no. ;)
Anyway, not to infringe on anybody's rights, but I am going to put up the photos from PBS here too- partly because I have none of the Bishop or his wife, and partly, again, to maybe attract attention.
The Story Continues!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200405A07.html
GUEST: This man is the painter of the picture, and he was John Henry Hopkins, the first Episcopal bishop of Vermont... his wife, Melusina, and his family. This is the sister of his wife, who never married and took care of all the children. John Henry is my great-great-great-grandfather, and this is my great-great-grandmother. The story of the painting used to be on the back of the painting, and it is now here, and it has been transcribed by someone in the family in 1907. We also have a couple of photographs of the bishop and his wife.
APPRAISER: It is a painting, watercolor, that was done in the first quarter of the 19th century. Now, you've suggested that it was painted by the Episcopal bishop himself.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And I would suggest that given the quality of the picture, that that's maybe some family history, but maybe not necessarily the case.
GUEST: Well, it is said that he also painted these pictures, and he was a painter.
APPRAISER: Now, there's a lot going on in this picture. The reason I love it-- and it gives me goose bumps to see it-- is the fact that it has so much information about a 19th-century interior-- 1825 vintage, and we see the kinds of things that people bring in on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. You see this wonderful thumb-back Windsor that the spinster aunt is sitting in. You see an Empire mahogany roundabout table or game table here, which the baby is sitting on. This is a ship scene, and then also a landscape, but framed just the way they would be in the 19th century with a gilt frame and a black ebonized liner around. She is sitting at the spinet piano, which again is done in the Empire style. On the floor there is ingrain carpeting. This is before photographs, so the only way we can tell what an early 19th-century American interior looks like is from these watercolors, and they're quite rare and very, very sought after. It's just charming. Also the palette is... is incredibly done. Look at the shadow in the back of his head. I mean, the person who painted this was a... although we call it folk art and a primitive painter, they knew what they were doing. They painted many, many, many pictures. Now, I am sure that if we had more time we'd be able to research this picture and figure out who the artist was, because it's just such a knockout. It's just really tremendous. We've got these other portraits. They're cabinet photographs of the sitters. So we see them in the 1820s. Then we see them again in the 1860s. And this written history about the picture itself, I think the year 1907 is key. That is a time in our history... They call it, sometimes, the Colonial Revival. It's when we as Americans collectively start thinking about our history, and someone took the time to write down. They realized that there was information that they had that they wanted to preserve. I would encourage you to try to get this conserved, because it is on a paper that... that will be fugitive and will disappear over time. Given the fact that I'm not sure who it's by yet, I would estimate it at $25,000 to $35,000.
GUEST: Oh, my goodness. Oh, dear, I thought it was probably worth between $500 and $1,000.
APPRAISER: Well, you know, I'd give you 500 just for that little kitty alone. He's so sweet. I mean, the detail in this picture is the knockout I mean, it just is a total turn-on for folk-art enthusiasts, and I think that that figure could certainly increase when we're able to attribute it. It's just wonderful. It's one of my most favorite things I've seen on the show.
GUEST: Well, I'm very happy about that.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Beginnings
I took on a task I didn't understand the depth of when I was still too young to feel daunted. I became something of a family historian. I was given astounding amounts of pictures from both sets of grands, sadly after the had passed, so I couldn't ask questions about the photos. I have managed to do much research on my own and with the aid of some relatives, and feel I know the last 2-4 generations of both sides of the family fairly well. There are gaps, but they are growing smaller.
In the last week, I invested a lot of money in a photo scanner, and have already uploaded many many pictures that were starting to fade to unusable. I am so giddy about this, it is silly, but now generations down the line might get to see where they came from with a little greater ease.
I am going to put pictures up a few at a time, writing something about the pictures if I can. I hope to hear from family members about what they might know that they can add to the storyline. After all a family is more than one person, and going far enough back, it becomes thosands, then tens of thousands.
This fellow is one of the main reasons I became so determined to find this stuff out.
His name is Herbert Guion Hopkins, and he is my maternal great grandfather. He is father to my grandmother Marie Josephine Hopkins Dupre, and, for some reason, for me, a kindred spirit. He left the family when my grandmother was about 10, something I don't think she ever really forgave him for, and what I know of him, I have had to learn thru a little of his own writing, hearsay, and diligent research. I found his whole family actually. A computer program I bought gave me an entire arm of the family quite suddenly. Then, after finding out names and dates, I had quite a shock one evening: a painting on Antiques Roadshow, done by Herbert's grandfather of his family. I will find the link and put it here sometime.
I would end this opener with proof that blood is thicker than water, sometimes. Herbert was born in 1871. He had a near duplicate of himself born in 1979.
My nephew Aaron is the spitting image of his own great-great-grandfather.
In the last week, I invested a lot of money in a photo scanner, and have already uploaded many many pictures that were starting to fade to unusable. I am so giddy about this, it is silly, but now generations down the line might get to see where they came from with a little greater ease.
I am going to put pictures up a few at a time, writing something about the pictures if I can. I hope to hear from family members about what they might know that they can add to the storyline. After all a family is more than one person, and going far enough back, it becomes thosands, then tens of thousands.
This fellow is one of the main reasons I became so determined to find this stuff out.
His name is Herbert Guion Hopkins, and he is my maternal great grandfather. He is father to my grandmother Marie Josephine Hopkins Dupre, and, for some reason, for me, a kindred spirit. He left the family when my grandmother was about 10, something I don't think she ever really forgave him for, and what I know of him, I have had to learn thru a little of his own writing, hearsay, and diligent research. I found his whole family actually. A computer program I bought gave me an entire arm of the family quite suddenly. Then, after finding out names and dates, I had quite a shock one evening: a painting on Antiques Roadshow, done by Herbert's grandfather of his family. I will find the link and put it here sometime.
I would end this opener with proof that blood is thicker than water, sometimes. Herbert was born in 1871. He had a near duplicate of himself born in 1979.
My nephew Aaron is the spitting image of his own great-great-grandfather.
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