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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Famous Families in the Civil War

So sorry for the delay in posts....
We had a wedding in our family in late May of this year....it was in Jamaica, and, yes, its was just beautiful.  I have a very pretty new daughter-in-law.
Summer came upon us, and I slowed down with the heated weather, which included my writing.

But, now I am back.  And I have been collecting so many new topics to write about.  I can't wait to share them with all of you.  So, let's do this!


Many a U.S. history enthusiast has joined in the commemoration of the War Between the States....better known as the Civil War.  It made me think of all those researchers who have scrambled to find our if any of their ancestors were military participants of this war.

I began to look at records of those better known families in our American history.  Wouldn't it be interesting to find family members of those well known Americans who had enlisted into the military service, either Union or Confederate?  I did find some and I'll share them with you.

Remember Paul Revere?  That awesome guy who rode his horse, using the signal "one if by land, two if by sea", had a grandson.  Col. Paul Revere, named after his grandfather, was an officer serving in the Union troops during the Civil War.  Unfortunately, the colonel died at the Battle of Gettysburg.  I had heard about this while viewing a program on The History Channel.  The website FindAGrave does have quite a nice tribute to Colonel Revere, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=5845791&page=gr , which includes photos of his grave.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935), served with the Union Army .  He hailed from Boston, Massachusetts, son of  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., a noted person himself.  Mr. Holmes later became Justice Holmes.....he was a Justice of the Supreme Court in the early part of the 1900s.  There are many photos of him, and much written about him.  Wikipedia has a wonderful biography of the Honorable O. W. Holmes at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes,_Jr. 

George Armstrong Custer, better known for his demise at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, also served in the Civil War.  He was admitted into West Point where he graduated in 1858....being the last in his class.  When the Civil War began, he was called to duty in the Union Army.  After the war, he was a Calvary commander in the Indian Wars on the Great Plains.  Much can be found on the Internet, including http://www.georgearmstrongcuster.com/

Did Frank and Jesse James serve in the Civil War?  Well, there are some very interesting documents that have been digitized.  And, these tell of the James brothers as Confederate guerrilla fighters.  Frank James did serve in the Confederate Army, was captured, and was forced to swear allegiance to the Union.  Jesse James, born in 1847, was too young to join the military, but that did not stop him from joining the bushwhackers with his brother. I found the site  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/james-frank/   has so much information about the James brothers and their activities before and after the Civil War.

So what famous families do you think had Civil War veterans?  Try looking them up some day.  Think of politicians, entertainers, literary and other famous persons who may have been living during the mid 1800s.  I bet you will find some folks who wore the uniform of the Union or the Confederacy.  Have fun on your search.


Monday, April 20, 2015

Community Mausoleums : The Architecture of Cecil E. Bryan

Have you ever noticed the mausoleums that have been erected in older cemeteries?  Their styles are difference, yet similar.  Monumental buildings that store and keep the remains of those who have passed appeared in the late 1800s in some of the most visited cemeteries in our nation.
Cecil E. Bryan, http://beechermausoleum.org/cecil-e-bryan/
A prominent mausoleum designer, Cecil E. Bryan became very well known for his designs of mausoleums suitable to just about any cemetery in the country.  He was born in 1878, and worked for architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and later for Ralph Modjeske, an architect that used reinforced concrete in many of his designs. He began designing and building mausoleums in 1912, using what he had learned from these great men, and used reinforced concrete with other new materials.
Frank Crane compiled a brochure of Cecil E. Bryan's mausoleum designs in 1917.  He aspired to build better, more perfect mausoleums to honor those who have passed, and yet give the visitors of these solemn places a spiritual experience. 

Community Mausoleums, by Frank Crane, brochure of the work of Cecil E. Bryan, 1917

Mr. Bryan was well known for his respectful, stately designs of these buildings.  His buildings can be found across the nation, in some of the most beautiful cemeteries ever seen.  And, he built them to last long after the descendants of those entombed have passed.  Keeping to the goals of providing a dry, well- built building, Mr. Bryan went a bit farther with incorporating  Greek and Roman  architecture to create an impressive edifice.

The following are some of the mausoleums designed by Cecil Bryan.  Perhaps you may have seen some of these :

The Rockford Cemetery Mausoleum, Rockford, Illinois
 

The Beecher Cemetery Mausoleum, Beecher, Illinois
 
The Elmhurst Cemetery Mausoleum, Elmhurst, Illinois
Mr. Bryan designed and built other mausoleums in Lincoln, Hillsboro and Moline, Illinois.  In addition, he traveled to other Midwestern locations to tout his designs.  Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota and many other states have cemeteries where Mr. Bryan's mausoleums have been added to enhance their landscapes.  He is credited to have built over 80 mausoleums, and many have been registered as historic landmarks. 

The idea of building a mausoleum for storing the remains of lost lives is an idea that is not so new.  It has been a tradition in many civilizations of the world.  Hadrian's tomb in Rome, Italy, the Taj Mahal in India, Westminster Abbey in London, England and Joseph Francis' tomb in the House of Hapsburg in Vienna, Austria are just a few of the structures built to entomb the remains of those who have reigned in the past. 

The following photo of the mausoleum in Oak Brook, Illinois (formerly Hinsdale), built in 1913 at  the Bronswood Cemetery, shows Mr. Bryan's love of Roman architecture.  Fortunately, I have been able to enter this building which is kept locked to keep it from being vandalized.

The Bronswood Mausoleum, Bronswood Cemetery then located in Hinsdale, IL, 1913

 

Recent photo of the mausoleum at Bronswood Cemetery, 2009
Interior receiving room in the Bronswood Mausoleum

Interior stained glass, Bronswood mausoleum, Oak Brook, Illinois, 2009
 
 
 
Some families are lucky enough to purchase their own private entombment room, like the Norling and Chapek families, below:
 

The Norling private family entombment room
The Chapek family private room

The interior walls of Mr. Bryan's mausoleums are usually adorned with prayers and solemn quotes, such as the one below from the interior of the Bronswood  Cemetery mausoleum:

Interior wall of Bronswood Cemetery mausoleum
Each private family burial room has a beautiful stained glass window

 
Absolutely gorgeous designs used in the windows all over the interior of the Bronswood Cemetery mausoleum
To learn more about Cecil E. Bryan and his career in mausoleum design, consult http://beechermausoleum.org/cecil-e-bryan/
 
2009 exterior and interior photos of Bronswood Cemetery mausoleum take by S. R. Reif
 
Exterior photos of other mausoleums from the noted brochure, and can be found on www.archive.org



Friday, March 20, 2015

Emigration Museums in Europe : Norway, Sweden, Germany, Ireland and Belgium

A few years ago, The Chicago Tribune published an article penned by Rick Steves, noted travel guide and travel show host.  Rick  featured several emigration centers in Europe.  He briefly describes what can be found at emigration museums, and supplies the url address for each.  Here is a synopsis of his thoughts :

Norwegian Emigration Center : The port city of Stravanger is the location of this museum.  This center features stories of Norwegian emigrants and their lives, their reasons for leaving their country, and what life was like in the New World.  According to Steves, the first emigration boats departed in 1825.  The staff at the center can help you to answer genealogy questions.  You don't need to visit the center to ask for staff help, however, Steves suggests that there is a "romantic appeal" to placing yourself in the place where your Norwegian ancestors may have left years ago. 
The url for the center : emigrationcenter.com

The House of Emigrants in Vaxjo, Sweden :  Many Swedes looked for safety and shelter in North America in the 19th and 20th centuries.  Economy problems all over Europe made the decision to leave for America a little easier.  Steves reports that over one million Swedes voyaged to the "promised land".  There are many displays and exhibits depicting the life of the Swedish family as they worked to establish themselves in their new homeland.  One may not know that many Swedes were aboard the Titanic on the ill-fated trip across the Atlantic. 
The url for this center : utvandrarnashus.se

The Hamburg BallinStadt Emigration Museum : So many Germany citizens left their homeland to escape the tyranny of the various governments that ruled them.  The BallinStadt Museum exhibits the emigration experience from the mid 1800s to World War II.  Steves describes the dormitory buildings where sick travelers stayed until they were healthy enough to continue on their journey.
The url for this center : ballinstadt.net

The Ulster American Folk Park and The Cobh Heritage Centre : These are both wonderful choices in Ireland.  The Ulster Park commemorates the Scots-Irish who left their homeland to settle in the southern states in America.  The Cobh Heritage Centre exhibits the potato famine, emigration and the Australia-bound prison ships.  Steves notes that there's a statue of the first immigrant to arrive in Ellis Island.  The Centre has a genealogy search assistance, available for a fee.
The urls for these centers :  nmni.com   and  cobhheritage.com

The Red Star Line Museum :  Antwerp was the major port in Belgium.  Their Red Star Line Museum opened in 2013.  Millions of emigrants boarded here on their trip to the New York, including a large number of Jews escaping persecution in Europe.  Steves wrote that this museum holds the history of the shipping line, and exhibits artifacts from passengers.
The url for this center : redstarline.org

The article referenced : Chicago Tribune, Travel, Section  5, Sunday, March 10, 2013

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Bankruptcy in the Family : Uncle Willie's Dilemma in 1932

The University of Illinois has digitized some Illinois publications from the nineteenth and  twentieth centuries, and they can be found at http://idnc.library.illinois.edu/.  There are 45 newspapers currently included in this collection.  I have seen this collection grow over the last few years.  Take advantage of it to research your Illinois, or border state, relatives.  You never know what you might find.....

Here's my find : My grandmother's brother, Salvatore, aka Willie, went bankrupt during the depression in 1932.  It was publicized in the Farm, Field and Fireside Collection : The Chicago Packer.  Willie and his brother, Tony, had a produce business/ produce distribution business in Mount Vernon, Illinois.  Prior to this venture, both learned their skills while working in the Italian dominated produce markets in St. Louis, Missouri.

In the 1930 Census, Uncle Willie and his family are listed, with quite accurate data (as I had documentation from their vital records from the St. Louis, Missouri area).
Year: 1930; Census Place: Mount Vernon, Jefferson, Illinois; Roll: 521; Page: 22A; Enumeration District:0023; Image: 1013.0; FHL microfilm: 2340256
The Chicago Packer, was a weekly agricultural newspaper that catered to produce handlers, poultry farmers and commercial growers. It was published in Chicago, and had other editions for major markets, such as New York, Cincinnati and Los Angeles.  Founded in 1899, this newspaper contained advertisements and articles that announced information of interest to those in the food markets.  In addition, it contained articles about specific businesses and personal matters of those in the food business. Uncle Willie owned and operated the Broadway Fruit and Produce Company in Mount Vernon, Illinois.  The business was getting some unfavorable mentions in this newspaper, beginning in early 1932.

1932 February 22, The Chicago Packer
Evidently, the produce company had come upon hard times, and caused some upset with its creditors.
Attorneys were  to represent those holding interest in the business, with a trustee appointed to represent Uncle Willie's business., which had fallen into bankruptcy.


1932 June 11, The Chicago Packer
So, according to this article, Uncle Willie paid cash for his purchases from St Louis businesses until November of 1931.  Thereafter, he bought on credit, and had not paid off those bills.  Creditors were accustomed to being paid weekly on Thursdays, as is the agreed habit of those in the business.  It was reported that Uncle Willie paid cash only to the Mount Vernon Distributing Company during this time period.  Of course he did.  His brother, my Uncle Tony, owned and operated the Mount Vernon Distributing Company.  Why would he take advantage of his brother?  Family comes first, right?  And not reporting income from the sales of his credit purchases only fueled the flames of anger.  The creditors wanted to be paid.....Now.

1932 June 18, The Chicago Packer
Uncle Willie submitted a very unpopular answer to the charges files by the Fruit and Produce creditors.  The judge, evidently, wanted to give him another chance.  He was allowed to review and rephrase his answer.  But, he had only one week to do it.
1932 July 2, The Chicago Packer
On July 1, 1932, Uncle Willie was to testify in the court.  Evidently, the examination, and cross examination did not reveal very hopeful news.  The association of the Fruit and Produce merchants was organized to protect the interests of all of its members.  And, apparently, their muscle was driving the court to hold Uncle Willie to the flame.

1932 October 2, The Chicago Packer

The court lowers the Boom on Uncle Willie.  Since his bankruptcy filing in early February of 1932, he repeatedly failed to submit a full report of cash and assets to the Hon. Walter J. Grant.  In addition to his fruit and produce creditors, he also owed his landlord.  Oh, Uncle Willie.  This is not going well, is it?
1932 October 2, The Chicago Packer, continued...
and the story goes on....Uncle Willie purchased fruit and produce for his establishment from others not named in the initial petition of the Fruit and Produce association, and to those merchants he owed not a penny.  The association could not have been happy to hear that.  The court pointed out that the weights of the product purchased by him in the late months of 1931 from the association merchants was not shown on the petition papers.  But that was irrelevant, according to the court.

1932 October 2, The Chicago Packer, concluded article.


Uncle Willie hauled one heck of a lot of produce during those few months, according to this article, taking him seven trips from St. Louis to Mount Vernon.  After all the numbers wrangling, he is ordered to pay the associated creditors $883.05.  If he fails to do so, he will be charged with contempt.  The article states that Uncle Willie had a partner, Charles Mercurio, who was his brother-in-law.  I thought that Charles was just a salesman for the company, not a partner.

So that's the story of Uncle Willie's bankruptcy during the depressed times of the 1930s.  It is not the end of the story....since this was held in the Eastern District Court of Illinois in East St. Louis, there would be records of testimony in this case held in the archives.   I'll let you know when I am able to review those records.  There could be much more that was not reported in The Chicago Packer.

Meanwhile, if you think that your ancestors may be mentioned in some of the occupational periodicals in Illinois, check out the University of Illinois database mentioned at the beginning of the story.  You might uncover a story that adds a little spice to your family history tales.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Last Will and Testament of Gottfried Hechtner : Does Eliza Get Snubbed?

Last year I was researching a line in my husband's family tree, The Hechtner Family.  With today's technology, I was able to make a digital copy of the last will of Gottfried Hechtner.  He is the 3rd great grandfather of my husband.

Gottfried was born about the year 1800 in Prussia.  He came to America in the springtime of 1854, with his wife, Mary, and 6 children.  He made his home in Bureau County, Illinois.

Elizabeth Hechtner, fifth child of Gottfried and Mary, married Gottlieb Hessler in Bureau County on May 31, 1860.  Mr. Hessler was a boot and shoe cobbler by trade.  Elizabeth (Eliza on many documents) and Gottlieb became my husband's 2nd great grandparents.  They lived comfortable enough to be listed on several Illinois County Tax Enumeration Lists (1870 and 1880).

Eliza had siblings : Frederick, Mary, Henrietta, Sophia and John.  Their mother, Mary (Kittendorf) Hechtner, passed away in 1862.  Gottfried moved into the home of his son, John Hechtner, in 1861, and lived there until his death.

At the age of 72, Gottfried filed his Last Will and Testament in Bureau County, Illinois. It was dated and filed on May 20. 1872.  He died in June of 1873.

Here is a digital copy of the hand-written will :



State of Illinois, County of Bureau, Illinois State Archives, accessed 2012 5 May.
As I reviewed the document, there appears to be somewhat of a mystery.  Every child, except Eliza Hessler, was to receive one hundred dollars.  Eliza was to receive five dollars.  Why?

Son, John Hechtner, was also to receive whatever worldly goods and belongings were left, due to his kindness in furnishing his father a home in his later years.  

So let's look at what the lives of Eliza and her siblings were like about 1870.  Eliza and her husband, Gottlieb Hessler were living in Sterling, Whiteside County, in Illinois.  As stated before, this couple had an income where they were listed on tax lists, instituted to help pay for the Civil War, which was very costly to the nation.  They had 2 daughters in 1870, Eliza and Emma.

Frederick, oldest of the Hechtner siblings, was living in Muscatine County, Iowa in 1870. He and his wife, Sophia, had 5 children.  He was a farmer and two farm hands were living with the family. According to the US Census data, his land was worth $800 and personal property total estimate was $2000.  He was a Civil War veteran.

Mary, oldest daughter of Godfried, was living in Bureau County, Illinois, with her husband, August Schultz, and their two chilcren, John and Henrietta.  August was a farmer, and his personal property estimate was about $450.  Not doing as well as her brother, Frederick, Mary was still closeby her father's residence.

John, second son of Godfried, was living in Bureau County, Illinois, with his wife, Elizabeth, and their 4 children :  Mary, Emily, John and Eliza.  John was a farmer, and his land was valued at $9,600, with a personal property estimate of $2500.  He seems to be doing quite well for a man of his age. His farm was located 5 miles Northwest of Princeton, IL.

Daughter, Henrietta, was living with her husband, Francis Frank in Bureau County, IL with their three children, according to the 1865 Illinois State Census.  No value of land or personal property was listed on this census.  Francis was a boot and shoe cobbler who worked alongside his brother-in-law, Gottlieb Hessler in Whiteside County, IL in 1860.  His real estate was estimated at $1500 and personal property valued at $500. Gottleib's personal property was worth only $25 in 1860.
Something happens to dissolve the marriage of Henrietta and Francis, as she remarries in 1872 in Rock Island County, Illinois, to Frederick Worth. In 1873, they were living in Iowa for the birth of their son. The Iowa census does make note that Frederick had been out of work for 4 months, due to a physical ailment.  

Sophia, youngest daughter, was married to Frederick Deadrick in 1861 in Bureau County, Illinois.  By 1870, they were living in Iowa. Frederick became a farmer in Poweshiek County, Iowa, with a land value of $2000, and personal property value of $500. They had four children at that time.  

So, with these financial comparisons between the Hechtner siblings, I guess that Eliza and her husband, Gottlieb Hessler were doing a bit better than the others.  Although her brother, John, cared for his father in the latter years of his life, he did have a greater value of property than the rest of the siblings. Eliza and Gottlieb had moved to Otoe, Nebraska before the turn of the century.  Their daughter, Eliza Hessler had married Henry Reif in 1885, son of Georg and Fredricka Reif of Stephenson County, Illinois.  Henry became a baker, and by 1890 they were living in Nebraska.  Eliza and Gottlieb Hessler probably moved that same year with their daughter, son in law and new granddaughter, Hazel Reif.  They lived out the last years of their lives there in Nebraska, Eliza passing away in 1908 and Gottlieb passing away in 1907.  

My guesses as to why Eliza inherited 5 dollars in contrast to the 100 dollars to each of her siblings :

Godfried Hechtner maybe felt that Eliza was well taken care of with Gottlieb's Shoe and Boot business, OR

God forbid....there was a falling out between Eliza/Gottleib and her father for some reason.  Remember that the first husband of Henrietta Hecktner, Francis Frank, was in business with Gottlieb in Sterling, Illinois, in the cobbler trade.  And then there was another marriage for Henrietta, without a reasonable explanation of what happened to Mr. Frank.  Henrietta had those children to take care of.  There could have been something that put a wedge between father and daughter that left hard feelings.  Who knows?  

My next step : browse newspapers, business papers, other records to see what may have occurred in the Frank family that caused a split.  Let's hope there is not a dark side to this story.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

The History of the U.S. Lifesaving Service : an African American History Story

The January 2000 Vol IX Number 1 issue of the Carolina Trees and Branches publication  had an article that sent me researching into a subject of which I had no knowledge.....until now.  I kept this copy since I  picked it up on the White Elephant table at a conference sometime....somewhere.  It stayed in my "to look at later" file, until I decided to clean my home office.  You see, there was upwards of 19 inches of snow outside my door, and this prompted me to do a little housecleaning.

Browsing the articles, published by the Family Research Society of Northeastern North Carolina, I came upon an article, The United States Lifesaving Service, (with Emphasis on the Pea Island Lifesaving Station). I had never read about the terrible problem with shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina.  Evidently, in the eighteenth century, there was no organized way of dealing with this type of tragedy.  Many ships grounded and were washed ashore, and those persons, Bankers, as they were called, tried their best to save maritime refugees.

The article mentions a newspaper notice in 1812, which was written about the schooner, Independence, which sailed from New Jersey to St. Domingo, having a cargo of sugar and coffee.  It met with a fierce storm and lost nearly all of its cargo, and only one man of the eight person crew had survived.  At that time, wreck commissioners were allowed to handle maritime disasters.  They gathered their own groups to rescue ships, and whatever cargo they could.  The ship owners were responsible to the wreck rescuers to reimburse them for their trouble.
U.S. Lifesaving Service Emblem, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Island_Life-Saving_Station

The North Carolina General Assembly had put this type of rescue service in place, but it depended solely on the integrity of those wreck commissioners to do the right thing.  The U.S. Congress appropriated funds to sponsor a new lifesaving station idea.  In 1852, funding paid for surf boats to be stationed along the coast, at Wilmington, Ocracoke, and Bodie Island. It worked a little better than the wreck commissioner idea, but was not perfect.  Later, in 1871, the government decided that a better idea was needed, as the shipwrecks became more numerous with the increase of shipping imports and exports.  The Revenue Marine Bureau was founded, which provided the construction of seven lifesaving stations along the coast.  These were built in 1873 and 1874.  Great idea.  But the stations were not sufficiently staffed.  And, these were all located on the northern shores of the Carolinas, leaving little patrol for the southern shores.

In 1877, the wreck of the ship, Huron,  which had a loss of 103 lives, and the ship, Metropolis, where 85 persons lost their lives,  prompted the government to revise its plans for ship safety and rescue.  The U. S. Lifesaving Service (USLSS) came unto its own, overseen by the Treasury Department.

Pea Island station, built in 1878, was staffed with an all white crew.  Their first mistake was to completely miss a grounded ship.  Four men were killed.  Two of the high ranking officers had to resign from the station.  The first black station keeper, Richard Etheridge, was assigned and placed at Pea Island in 1880.  Mr. Etheridge hired an all black crew for Pea Island., probably because no white man would have taken orders from a black man at that point in history.   The station was burned to the ground in May of that year.  It was thought that the damage was due to arson, although no one was ever charged.  Captain Etheridge commanded his crew to rebuild the station.  He was hard on his crew, making them drill ever more than what was expected.  He wanted his crew to be the best.
Richard Etheridge and his crew, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Island_Life-Saving_Station

The Pea Island group performed their duties very well for many years, assisting in the rescue of ships and schooners through storms and hurricanes.  Captain Etheridge ran a very professional unit at this station for over 20 years.  He passed away at the station in 1900, at the age of 58.  Another black man was assigned in his place, and the station continued to run until it deactivated in 1947.
Pea Island crew, 1942, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Island_Life-Saving_Station

Twenty-nine more lifesaving stations were built along the Carolina coast. In 1915, the U.S. Lifesaving Service was merged with the Revenue Cutter Service, and was called the United States Coast Guard.  The Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the USCG in 1939.  And now you know the rest of the story....the Coast Guard today not only performs rescues, but it also oversees customs violations, and national maritime regulations.

Memorial Plaque, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Island_Life-Saving_Station

Grave site of Capt. Etheridge and his family at Pea Island, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Island_Life-Saving_Station

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Obituaries

In the latest issue of Family Tree Magazine, the featured "workbook" article focused on Obituaries, written by Shannon Combs-Bennett. She did such a good job on this article that I decided to highlight some of her tips and tricks here in my blog.

Be aware that there are several types of remembrances that could be found in print.  Shannon mentions:
 
Obituary : an editorial  article written about a deceased person

Death Notice : a short announcement on the death of a person

Card of Thanks : a family announcement to thank those who offered support during grief

Shannon goes on to give a history of obituaries.  She notes that they date as far back as the 1600s. Alternative resources of information about a death include those mentioned above, and in addition, death certificates, cemetery records, funeral home records, church newsletters and club or society articles about the deceased.

Resources used to find obituaries are revealed as online indexes (which can be found through search engines such as Google), digitized and microfilmed newspapers, cemetery websites, etc.

A list of items that may be found in obituaries :

Names of the deceased
Age
birth and death dates and locations
names of spouses and children, other family members
funeral, church and cemetery arrangements

A worksheet to use when extracting information from any of the above resources is published with the article.  This can be very useful to help organize your information.

There is much more included in this article. In my opinion, Shannon has written a very good and helpful article full of ideas to help anyone in their quest to uncover information about a deceased family member.

Check out Family Tree Magazine familytreemagazine.com  A subscription to this magazine, both in print and online issues, will prove to be a very good value.