Don't Trust Family Lore as Absolute Fact

Teresa's Question:

I need help finding the parents of this couple.

Christopher Sheets b. About 1818 in OH - d. About 1851 Adams Co., IN
He married Margaret Perkins b. About 1823 in OH d. ???? Adams Co., IN
They were married Mar 30 1843 in Root Township, Adams Co., IN

Margaret remarried after Christopher's death. She married William McKendry b. May 16 1817 - d. Aug 3 1858.

I have all their descendants but have hit an innumerable amount of brick walls trying to find where they came from and who their parents, siblings, etc. Were.

The oral family history states that this particular Sheets family came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, then in Ohio, and then in Indiana.

Olive Tree Answer:
Dear Teresa, Oral family history can be correct, or it can be quite inaccurate. Sometimes it is a mixture of two family lines with their stories merged into one. So use it for clues but don't count on it being 100% correct until you can verify it.

Your first goal should be to gather all the information available from Indiana. When did Christopher die? Where is he buried?

Check Adams County wills & estates for both Christopher and Margaret. If he died when his children were still young, look for records in Orphans Court, or the Indiana equivalent of Orphans Court. Look for guardianship records. In many states, children came under the jurisdiction of Orphans Court even if their mother was still living.

Look at the real estate transfers for property owned by Christopher.

And of course, check local newspapers for obituaries. And check as well for "social notes" near their wedding date. You can search newspapers in GenealogyBank.com and in NewspaperArchive.com

The 1850 census for Christopher has a David Sheets listed: he is younger than Christopher and may be a brother. Follow him; he may have lived longer, and had an obituary which gave parents names or (at least) a hometown in Ohio. Look to the neighbors: are there any other Ohioans nearby? Any Perkins'? I use the census records on Ancestry.com but Footnote,com also has many online.

The Adams County USGenweb has a directory of cemeteries online, and an Adams County death index in the works.

Finding an Ancestor in 1910 Census using City Directories

A query:

RE: My great grandparents, Morris (Moritz) M. and Bertha (nee Unterberger) Schultz

1900 US Census: Listed as Morris/Bertha Schutz from Galicia (Austria). He was born in July, 1864 and immigrated in 1886, living in Manhattan. (Bertha was born in about June, 1872)

1920 US Census: Listed as Morris/Bertha Shultz (ancestry.com lists them as Shiltz [Shultz]) from Austria, Morris, age 53 (approx. 1867), immigrated 1888, living in Bronx.

1930 US Census: Listed as Morris/Bertha Schultz from Austria, Morris, age 63 (approx. 1867), immigrated 1887, living in Bronx.

A copy of Cedar Grove Cemetery Assoc. (Mt. Hebron section) purchase contract lists Morris as "Morris M. Schultz, aka Moritz M. Schutz", (died May 21, 1940, age 73). (Bertha died on January 27, 1947, age 74--this means she was born in about 1872-73).

QUESTIONS:

1. 1910 US Census: I can't find Morris/Bertha although I have looked using *wildcard

2. Birth Information: I am looking for info. on where Morris was born, but so many possibilities came up and I don't know how to
tell, which, if any are correct. A few are listed with their resources below:

In Poland: JRI Vital Records Database (Births) I found---

a. Moritz Schutz born on Jan. 19, 1865 in Miserau (Mizerow, Poland) but I don't know if this was part of Galicia, Austria at
the time. (birth registration in Pless), and the date is too early and the month is incorrect, based on most of the info. found in the above
census information.

b. Moritz Schutz born on July 22, 1857 in Deutsch Weichsel (birth registration in Pless), but I don't know if this was part of Galicia
either and the birth date seems too far off base.

c. Moritz Max Jolles (on a couple of soundex lists, the name Jolles appears when Schultz is plugged in), born April, 1865 [Lviv PSA AGAD
births 1863-76, 1900,01]

On immigrant passenger lists I found--

a. Moritz Schutz from "Krakau, Ostereich" (Krakow, Austria) on a Hamburg passenger list on ancestry.com. The ship was the
Wieland which departed on May 1, 1887, Hamburg to NY. He was 22 yrs. old. But when I looked at the original list his name appeared to be crossed
off.

(In Poland: JRI, Krakow Deaths 1810-54, 69-89, I found the death of a Michael Schutz in 1870. One of Morris's sons was named
Michael, could it be he was named after this man found on this list of deaths???)

b. Moritz Schutz on the Eider, leaving Bremen, Germany on Mar. 15, 1887 to NY. But this man was only 18 years old (1869) and
he was from "Bohemia" according to the original manifest.

I'm not sure what my next step should be in my search.

Olive Tree Answer: The 1910 census is difficult to search; I estimate that at least twenty per cent of my searches in that census, no matter which index used, are futile and NYC is particularly difficult. I have however had success finding entries by using street addresses. You can obtain street addresses of the individuals by finding birth or death records, or city directories, or newspaper articles (police reports, real estate transactions, bankruptcies, etc. all reported in local newspapers.)

You can send for Morris' death certificate ( he died in the Bronx, the certificate is # 5061 ). As he died before Bertha, you may be fortunate and find that Bertha has supplied the information for that certificate.

The census indicates that Morris was naturalized around 1895: a copy of his naturalization records may supply you with the information you seek. Earlier records consist of little more than a name, and a signature or two where the prospective citizen swears allegiance to the USA, but occasionally you do hit the jackpot.

The Jewish Daily Forward (and many other resources) are available at the NY Public Library; an obituary may be found for both Morris and bertha.

Please do not go hunting for Maybe Morrises until you have obtained all the information which is available to you; that method will most certainly take a great deal of time, and what appears to be a good lead might send you off in the wrong direction.

FInding out what abbreviations in City Directories mean

Cathie said

In the 1921 Austin City Directory I found a name that matches my Brick Wall relative. But after the name there is a small c in brackets. Considering the time of the Directory, I am wondering if this small (c) stands for coloured? In looking at the entire page several names have the (c) after them, but not all names have it. Any help would be appreciated.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Cathie, You didn't provide an exact location so can I assume you mean Austin Texas?

Without seeing the directory myself I cannot tell you what the (c) stands for. But you can find out by going back to wherever you saw this directory and reading the preface or introduction. Every published work such as a directory will tell you somewhere at the beginning what the notations stand for. For example early farmer's directories might have a (t) for tenant, (f) = Freeholder, NR = non resident and so on.

Whenever you use a directory it is important to refer to the page showing abbreviations used in the alphabetical section of the directory, following the name in each entry.

Some abbreviations are used frequently, such as h for home or r for residence. You may also see r for residents who are related to the homeowner and b for boarders who are not related.

It's always a good idea to read the start of any book you are consulting to find out what the entries mean. If you found this directory online,just go to the first image of the book and start from there.

Also, if my assumption is correct that this is Austin Texas, you can consult the 1920and 1930 census to see what ethnicity is give for your ancestor.

Looking for missing uncle in Oklahoma

Jerry asked:

For the past 44 years I've tried in vain to locate information on my uncle, Frank FOREMAN, born 26 Feb 1901 Panama City, LeFlore Co, Oklahoma. The only time I find him is in the 1910 federal census living with his family in Stigler City, Haskell Co, Oklahoma.

By 1920, he's apparently out on his own since he isn't living with the family in Stigler City. By 1930 his father (my grandfather), Jay Wm. Forman and his brother, Hayden Forman (my father) left Oklahoma (Dust Bowl Refugees) and moved to San Francisco, CA.

I contacted the Merchant Marines but they were unable to help without more data input. I contacted the F.O.I.A. at U.S. Dept of Justice and discovered Frank Foreman had applied for a Social Security Number as an employee with the Pennsylvania Railroad (#722-16-0348) on Oct 27, 1942. His social security card was issued Aug 11, 1943. At the time he was residing at 5965 Superior Ave, Chicago, IL (today the street is W. Superior Ave 60644-1047). Apparently, no rail service or earnings were ever credited to this account and yet his application shows he worked as a laborer until March 17, 1947.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Jerry, You've certainly done a lot of research on Frank! Have you checked the Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988? How about the Social Security Death Index? City Directories? These are all found on
Ancestry.com. Rootsweb also has an interactive search of the SSDI

I did find Frank in the 1930 census so you can add this to your family tree notes. He and his wife L. Rose are found in Pomona, Los Angeles, California. Frank is 30, L. Rose is 27. Both Frank's parents were born in Oklahoma, machinist in garage, and he married at age 21. Perhaps you can flesh out Frank by finding his marriage to L. Rose and looking at witnesses and his residence at that time.