The big white binder: how to organize your genealogy research

How do you organize your family tree research?

Organizing the information you find out about your family tree, is a long & exhausting project.  I've taken time over the last couple of months, to try to do just that.  

I have a huge white binder filled with my notes & print outs & pedigree charts.  I've tried to organize according to family, but needless to say, my notes are all over the place.  I have the information according to family surnames, but a few of the documents have been duplicated because the family member is in multiple places in my binder.

It wasn't long before I realized this system was NOT working.  So I started to do what I always do when I can't figure out something with my tree....I researched.

I've found a couple of Youtube videos, but this one is one of my favorites.

Hanging file folders & a file cabinet is a great idea, but before I can get here, I have to find a digital way to carry all of my notes with me.  That's where Google is helpful for me.  I'm a Google addict.  I use Google for everything, including organizing my numerous notes.  Typing these notes out, made me think of them again & see if I have "exhausted my search".

How do you organize your research?

Last name: Wickliffe

Google the name Wickliffe & a thousand different things will pop up.

http://www.familycrestdb.com/irish/wickliffe-surname.html

I found everything from cities & counties named Wickliffe to car rental places & pharmaceutical companies.

The surname has no formal meaning, but it is used as both a first & last name.

I'd always believed that it had some German origin, but the surname actually originated in Northern England.  

https://www.historicalnames.com/wickliffe-coat-of-arms.aspx

According to the surname database, the name may have come from the term "white cliff".

The spelling varies, but I've seen it spelled several ways: Wycliffe, Wickliff, Wycliff or Wicliffe.   

So how did we end up with the last name Wickliffe?

This is a mystery I'm still trying to solve.

I've blogged about it a few times in the past:

• Who was Joe/Joseph Bodine?
• Pond Creek
• Robert Wickliffe's Will

Whether my ancestors were given as wedding gifts or in a will, I'm still unsure, but regardless, we were eventually given the surname from our original slave owners.

 Will the family name continue?

With only a few Wickliffe males left, is our family name being preserved?  

I've never been to a family reunion.  My mother is the only person besides a distant cousin who has ever told me about my family.  

What will happen when they are unable tell their stories?

Wednesday's child: Florine (Flarine) Deloris Wickliffe

I'm still searching for our connection, but today's Wednesday's child is Florine Wickliffe.

The spelling of her first name was the first question I had about Florine.  I can't tell from the record if it's Florine or Flarine.  (Can anyone else tell the difference?)

I know that she was the last daughter born to Henry & Fannie Wickliffe.  They would have one son after her, but she was the last girl.  

She died just 6 months after her birth due to nephritis (inflammation of the kidney) due to gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach & intestines).

According to this record, she was only diagnosed a month before her death.

I had no idea how common kidney failure was & still is today, it is the 8th leading cause of death.

Can anyone help me figure out how Florine & I  are related?

My brickwalls: breaking down the mysteries

Why do people call it brick walls when it really feels more like a mountain?

Recently, I re-watched a Youtube video with one of my favorite people, Crista Cowan of Ancestry.com   

In this video, she discussed the famous brickwall.  Before I started searching my tree, I had never heard the term used the way she does, but the further along I got in the video, the more I asked myself "What do I know versus what do I think?"  She made me question most of my tree or at least question whether I'm on the right road.  

How do you know if you're right?

My Wickliffe family brickwalls are something that I've blogged about before.

1. Yost's mother:  I don't know if I'll ever begin to break this wall down until I figure out if he even knew who his mother was.  I want to look for any record filled out or had filled out for him that stated his mother's name.  I also thought of looking for info on his brother Joseph Wickliffe to see if his mother was on any of his records.  
2. Emmas' father: I have yet to find out who her father was or who Nancy Gatton (her mother) married after Emma married Yost.  (I'm pretty sure that she marries (again possibly) or dies.)
3. Lou Wickliffe's birth parents:  This was the wall I feel that I have knocked down since I started blogging, but I don't think my journey is complete yet.  I know who adopted my two times great grandmother, but I don't know who her real parents were or if she even knew.

I could have gone on for days about the stuff I don't know, but these three are at the top of my list.  

Going back generations in my family has been a ton of work.  A daily process when I can, but I think that I am slowly creeping up on the info I'm looking for.  

I think that its time that I made my first road trip to find out what info is available in Kentucky.  I may not be lucky enough to find a birth/death certificate, but maybe I might find some other record that I didn't have before.

Am I on the right track?

Ancestry vs Family search: Do you get what you pay for?

I can't imagine how far I would be in my tree if it weren't for Ancestry.com

I started working on my family tree through Ancestry.com in March of 2006.  I couldn't wait to find a new record with my grandparents name on it or a new person my mother had never heard of that was our ancestor.  It was fun!  I went from record to record, discovering new secrets about my family & had no idea how big of a "project" it would turn into.

One day, a person I'd never met before answered a query I'd posted on Ancestry.  The email helped me find the maiden name of one of my ancestors & introduced me to Familysearch.org.

I couldn't believe I'd never heard of this site.  I was amazed to find that finding records on Familysearch was easier than Ancestry.  I started using Familysearch to locate certain records & then I would go back to Ancestry to save the record to my tree.  It was a long & exhausting process, but eventually, I developed a tree on Familysearch.  That was not as easy as the tree I created on Ancestry.  

Familysearch has a tough time recognizing step-parents in your tree.  Needless to say that's a problem for me, since a large majority of my family has married multiple times.  

So which one is better?

To me, Ancestry is worth it.  I love the new information they provide, almost daily. 

I've learned so much through the YouTube video they produces monthly.  Crista Cowan, the barefoot genealogist is a genius to me.  She definitely has the coolest job on the face of this earth.   I don't feel like a beginner, but if I were, she would be the perfect person to walk me through how to create the most accurate tree.  Had I watched some of her videos in '06, I wouldn't have the genealogical mess that I have now.  

There are certain areas of Ancestry that are free to view, but for $20 a month, I get more than just access to my tree & family I've connected with.  I also get access to help.  Which is what I need.  I can't tell you the number of times I've found help in their learning center or answered a question on their help page.  

However, Familysearch has a better look.  I love how my tree looks in their fan view.  It's so colorful & spread out.  It would make a great picture to put on the wall, but that's about it.  Adding new information to your tree is a chore sometimes.  I've given up more than once.  I'm trying to learn more about how to use the site, but it's not a priority.  I would rather use a site that is easy to navigate through, than a site that I have to learn to use.  It's just that simple.

Which site do you use to do your research?

Wednesday's child: Alverdia Wickliffe

An abscess on her lung, due to tuberculosis, caused by malarial fever.

That's what caused the death of my first cousin, three times removed-Alverdia Wickliffe.

She was the youngest daughter out of 5 children born to my two times great aunt & uncle, Mary & Jacob Wickliffe. 

The first thing I notice about my cousin's death record, is the fact that she died at just 18 years old.  

I've posted about her father Jacob's horrific death, just 3 years before her own in 1916.   

The only other record that I have been able to find for her, is the 1910 census.  She was 11 at the time.  The record stated that the family had 7 children, but only 5 were living.  This record also spells her name Alverta, 

At first, I wondered how she caught malarial fever & then I was amazed to find out how many were affected by the disease.  According to Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900-1950  By James C. Klotter, Kentucky had the 3rd highest rate in the US by 1900.  

Anyone know anything else about Alverdia????????

How I'm making my blog work WITH my genealogy search

Who has time to search their tree & blog?

This is the question I keep asking myself.  If I blog, I'm not searching.  If I'm searching, I'm not blogging, & I love blogging!!!!!

So what's the alternative???

I'm still trying to figure this one out.

When I first started this blog, I thought it would be a great way for me to organize my searches.  I would stop being all over the place with my family tree climbing & get focused.  I was so wrong. 

Now I have even more information to try to track down & even more questions than ever. 

So what do I do now???????

I've done some organizing & I've recently started trying to set a schedule for my blogging & my searches.  

Any advice??????????

Connecting with family

Hello Wickliffe family!

I've been so busy with work that I have had little time to blog.  (Unacceptable, I know.)  

 

 

 

 

 

That has got to change.  This blog has allowed my to connect with family I don't even know yet & my work has just started.  

I still have so many questions & haven't even scratched the surface of the mysteries of our family.  

 

Help is always something that I look for, but unfortunately there aren't that many living relatives that I know.  

I would LOVE for that to change.  If you have pictures, family mysteries or just a cool story you would like me to share, let's communicate.  Even if you don't think others would be interested, I definitely am.  

I want to enhance the features & the traffic to my blog.  Help me PLEASE.

 

Harrison & Probie

My great grandparents love story is one I'd love to see in a movie.

They met at his first wife's funeral & would spend the next 55 years happily married.  

Wednesday's child: Carl Crowe

Carl was Aunt Pal's
(Audrey Palestine Wickliffe Timberlake) only child.

Ishmail (my grandfather/his maternal uncle's middle name) Crowe was his birth name, but we knew him as Carl.
I've also seen the name I. Carl Grossin on records .  (I'm not sure where the Grossin surname came from, because his father was Hiawath Crowe, not Grossin.)

My aunt Pal married Hiawath two months after she turned 18 & Carl was born a year later.  He would be my aunt's only biological child.

I think that Carl married at least 3 times, but only one of those marriages produced children.  I only remember meeting his daughters (he had 2) once as a child, but I knew his grand daughters.  My mother told me that aunt Pal practically raised his daughters & his grand daughters.  His youngest grand daughter & I were close in my early teen years.  She was already out of high school my first year & I was in awe of everything that she did.  She was the big sister I never had.

I don't know a lot about his life, but I know he must have entered the military at some point.

Anyone know anymore info on him?

Monday Mystery: Wickliffe family reunion

This weekend, I had the opportunity to attend my family reunion (my dad's side).

 It got me to thinking.....why have I never attended a Wickliffe family reunion?

I don't remember my mother ever telling me that we have ever had one.  Have we?

Am I the only one interested in getting together?  

Family gatherings are not a normal way of life for us, but why not?  The main reason I started this blog was to get to know my family.  Why not get to know the family that we still have left?  I've never met most of my Wickliffe side, why not now or soon?

I think that if I worked on it (& had some help), I could make it happen.  Why not?  

My only issue is that I don't know where to start.  How do you organize a reunion for family you barely even know or don't know at all?  

ANY SUGGESTIONS????????

Wednesday's child: Earnest Moppins

My great uncle Bethel called Earnest/Ernest his cousin.  I'm still not sure how, but I've recently starting searching for other Moppins that came from Muhlenberg.

Here's what I think I know about Earnest:

1. Earnest is a Gatton.  His grandmother was Kitty Gatton. His mother was Nancy Gatton.  (not my three times great grandmother's mother, but another Nancy/Nanny Gatton.

2. I think that (Alexander) Roy Moppins was his father.  Nanny & he were married in 1910 & appear together in that same year's census record.  

3. I think he may have been the 2 of 4 children born to Nancy/Nannie Moppins.

What I find interesting about this census record, (1920-Central City, KY) my three times great grandparents (James & Lou) lived just 6 houses from them.

10 years later, Earnest is still living with his parents in Central City.

Unfortunately, this is the last record that I am able to find with (Alexander) Roy Moppins.

I can only find a death index & US directories for Earnest after 1930.  
I don't think that he moved out of Kentucky, because his death index states he died in Jefferson, Kentucky.

Does anyone know how the Wickliffe family is related to the Moppins?  
I assume that the Gatton family is our connection, but I'm just not sure.

Who was Joe/Joseph Bodine?

One of my first blog post introduced the Robert Wickliffe's will. 
It was this post that I first mentioned my three times great grandfather,  Joe/Joseph Bodine.

Since then, I have made little to no progress in figuring out who he was.  

The only document I can find him in does not give me much information at all.

Why is it so difficult to find records for him?

It's always been a mystery to me that our family name was Wickliffe, even though my ancestor was a Bodine.  

I've been told by a family member, that Joe was a wedding gift to Jane & Jacob Bodine from her father-Robert Wickliffe.  (Which is why we have the last name Wickliffe & not Bodine.)

However, I've also found documentation that says a slave child named Joe was left to Jane in her father's will.  (see first link above)

I'm not sure where to go from here.
?????????????????????

He must have either left Kentucky, or there is no further documentation on-line about his life.  

Did he marry someone eventually? 

Is there a death certificate for him?  I only ask because I'm almost positive he was a slave & I know that slave deaths were not always documented.   

I often wonder if contacting someone from the Robert Wickliffe family would help.

ANY ADVICE?????????

Wednesday's child: My Uncle Dennis

I love my uncle to pieces, so I'm excited that he may one day look at this post.  

THIS IS MY FAVORITE!

Surname Sundays: The Render Family

I'm not sure if I'm on the right track when I search for this family or not.  I've only found 1 person in my family who even married a Render.

I think that this is a classic case of what genealogist call searching for someone else's family.  I found one link in our trees & ran with it.  

However, I do think that there is a link.

This is the last census (1910) that William appears in.  

I see 3 of William & Daisy's children are born, they did have another daughter Gracie before his death in 1914.

(I also see multiple family members in the same area for the first time on a census.)

The census 10 years before is a little tougher to read, but I was able to find my three times great grandparents living next door to the Render family-Nelson, Martha & their 9 children. 

I'm a little curious about the fact that the other families living near them are a Carbin family & another Wickliffe family. 
(There is a Carbin family living on the other side of my three times great grandparents & a Wickliffe family living next door to the Render family.)  

So who are the other Renders in my tree?  

This is where I start to get a little confused. I've found several Render families in the area, but I'm not sure if the families I find after this period or before are the same Renders in these 2 census records.  

I guess this could have been a Monday mystery too.  

Can anyone help?????

Wednesday's child: my uncle Charles

Surname Sundays: Collins

There are a lot of branches to my tree, but the beginning of the other side of my grandparents starts with the Collins family.

Because of this linage, we have my two times great grandmother Probie, whom I think was named after her father's sister. 

(same name different spelling.) 

I've posted about this before.Check it out here.

Now this may not be the finished line, but I've started to make a little headway with the Collins line recently.  As you can see, I still don't know who Lily Collins was married to/who William Collins' father was.

Uncle Bethel

My great uncle Bethel was my grandfather's baby brother & his younger twin.

Surname Sundays: The Harrisons

How do you have a blog about the Wickliffe family without talking about the other families that were involved?

This is the question I ask myself every week when I try to think of post for this blog, I find that a lot of went on, specifically with the Wickliffe family, involved other families that I may have never blogged about.  

Which is why I want to start a new tag this week: Surname Sundays!

Surname Sundays features another family line that intertwined with mine.  

This week, I want to start from the beginning:        

The Harrison family.  

 This is a copy of the 1930 census from Muhlenberg county, Kentucky where my grandparents grew up.

Just 5 houses separated them, but so did 13 years!  

I know it is a little difficult to see, but the Harrisons, like the Wickliffes, owned the farm they lived in (worth about $800-roughly $11, 000 today).  

My great grandparents had two children at the time of this census.  One you are able to see, my grandmother, who was only 2 & one who you can't see because he appears on the next page of the census,my great uncle James Henry Harrison, who was only 3 months old.  

10  years later, in the 1940 census, 2 new families separated my grandparents but they still lived in the same area and only 1 other black family lived in the area.

 Now the census record states they are only 10 years apart.

I wonder why their farmers depreciated in value so much over the years?????

The work I've been able to accomplish on this side of my tree is minimal at best.

Can anyone help?

The murder of Elliott Ray Wickliffe

He was the only son of my great uncle Bethel & only 30 when he was brutally gunned done.

When I first started looking for info on my great cousin, I started looking for who he married & who his children were/are.  I had no idea that I would stumble upon such an unbelievably tragic story.

From the multiple newspaper article I found, Elliott was the third person allegedly murdered by Rick Stevens.  

newspaper.com (The Chronicle)

I never found any information regarding the final charges in the case, but Rick was ultimately accused of kidnapping & robbing 2 group of people, including 2 brother, Andrew Jackson Austin & Harry Austin.  

These murders were proceeded by the home invasion & murder of Elliott Ray.

Elliott, home with his girlfriend Renee, was shot.  His girlfriend was bound, but would eventually escape & go for help.  

Rick took off in Elliott's car, but wanted by the police for the double murders of the brothers, he was finally apprehended in a schoolyard, after he abandoned the stolen car & pretended to be a jogger. 

What happened in the case?  

As far as I can tell, Rick was convicted. (I am not sure of the kidnapping, robbery & car theft charges he was also accused of.).  He spent the next 35+ in jail, but was released in July 2012.

2 other men, Martin Derouen & Roy Davis Jr were also persons of interest in the case.

(I'm unsure if they were charged or convicted.) 

Rick Stevens was the lead singer (at one point in his career) for a group called Tower of Power & since his release, he has gone back to performing. 

I have so many questions, but I have to research & find out the rest of this story.  

Please post a comment below.

Those places Thursday's: Central City & Indianapolis

I couldn't decided on which spot to focus on this Thursday, so I decided to share a movie I created about my grandfather so that I can cheat & post about two places this week.

Comment & let me know what you think.

It's my mom!

The moment I saw this picture, I knew what my Wednesday's child post would be about today.

That is absolutely my mother on the right.  She always has the brightest smile, even as a child.  She looks about 4 or  5 in the photo, but that is the smile my son wears in almost all of his photos.

I recognized my aunt Debbie quickly too. (That is her on the left.) My mother has told me often that I favor her & now I see it.

My mother has told me many times, that prior to her mother's death, she made them dresses that looked alike or that were similar.  (Which makes me want to ask my aunt or my mother if she made these too.) They look adorable!

A million thanks to my Great cousin Wanda for the photos!

Jacob Wickliffe: Died a tragic death

Since I started researching my tree, I have found some pretty strange causes of death, but the death of Jacob Wickliffe was one that stood out from the rest.

I know very little about my two times great uncle. 

He was possibly the 4th child born to my great, great grandparents. However, that's about all that I do know for sure.  

I'm only able to find him in 1 census record for sure, the other records I've found him in, may or may not be him.

The only other records I've been able to find for him are a marriage & death record.

Indiana, Select Marriages, 1780-1992 about Jake Wickliffe

Name: Jake Wickliffe Gender: Male Spouse: Mary Higgs Child: Baxter Wickliffe

 If you are like I use to be, you can't see or understand what is handwritten here, so let me try to decipher as much as I can.
On a rainy spring day on March 25, 1913, Jacob fell in a pool of water & strangled to death in some weeds.  The cause of death was contributed by epilepsy, but the record does not state that actually did have a seizure.
I just assume that he had a seizure and unfortunately just happen to fall in a pool of water and weeds.
Since backyard swimming pools were not a common feature back then, I also have to assume it was a small pond or barrel used to collect water.

There are several things about this record that bother me though.  Hopefully a real genealogist will read this post & solve the mysteries, but until then, I'm on my own.

1. This record states that his mother is unknown & his father's name was Josh Wickliffe (Who was Josh Wickliffe?)  Which makes since in a way, because his mother would have been dead for over 7 years, so it makes since the informant did not know any of her information.  Especially since the informant was not his wife.
2. Why doesn't the record list his wife as the informant?  I have no clue when his wife, Mary died. ( I have yet to find death info on her.)  However, the record does indicate he was married not widowed.
3. The informant listed is Pink Ross.  To my knowledge, this is not a relative so why is he listed?    I did a little research on Pink & ran into a few brick walls, but did find a Pink/Pickney Ross who lived in the same area at the same time as Jacob,  (As uncommon as I thought this name was though, it was actually pretty popular name back then.) & died in the same area just 6 years later.  
4. Pink did have a grandson named William Wickliffe living with him in 1900,  (According to the census record.) but who's son is he?

This record is full of questions.

Any help?

Over 1250 views!!!!!!!

Wow!  It's hard to believe, but my blog has been viewed 1290 times! 

It's hard to believe that only 5 short months ago, I decided to stop just collecting all this data & started sharing it.  My thought process was that I would get my mother to read it & maybe my husband, but that would be about it.  WRONG!  I've actually gotten some distant family members & even some strangers to look at my blog as well.

I'm still trying to get people to follow my blog & I'm still struggling with what to post about, but I'm proud of what I've done so far.  

Take a look at my top 5 post!

1.  Blogging my history - This has been the most popular post so far.  (Which is why I posted a similar post today. LOL!)

2. Aunt Pal - I know why this post was so popular, she was an extraordinary person.  She will definitely appear in later post.

3. My grandpa as a child - This post is definitely one of my favorites.  (I wish more people would have commented about what they knew about my grandpa's childhood.)

4. Alfred & Bessie's boys - This post wasn't as popular as I thought it would be.  I've often wondered if any of my uncles even saw the post.

5. Happy's mother's day mom - This is my favorite post!  My mom is always my inspiration & this post was a pleasure for me to write.  My only regret is that I didn't get her to comment on it.

Which was your favorite post?

Leave a comment below & follow my blog for future #1 post.

Blogs that help me

When I first started to blog, I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing.

I've just recently started to research how to blog about my genealogy. 

Tons of sites have caught my attention but here are a few I frequent almost daily.

If you are a beginner or you've been blogging for awhile, you will love Michael John Neill's

Genealogy tip of the day.  I learn something new from this site all the time.  

I recently started to follow a blogger who has been blogging for 8 long years!  Lisa Alzo calls herself the Accidental Genealogist, but her blog is no accident.  I've learned so much about formatting my blog from her.

A recent post of her's discusses some of her personal highlights over the years.  Check it out.

Even though I've only been to Kentucky once, I feel I know it well because of Brenda Joyce Jerome.  She has a blog centered around Western Kentucky Genealogy.

This is a life saver for me because most of my mother's family hails from this part of Kentucky.  Thanks Brenda!

One of the coolest ideas I've seen since I started blogging, was Amy Johnson Crow's blog:

No story to small.  She has a challenge called "52 ancestors challenge."  You have to check this out.  Each week she has a ton of great post sent in by members participating & the post are amazing.   

My all time favorite has to be Jana's genealogy & family history blog.  Not just because she has featured me in her blog,  (Thanks again Jana!)  but because of all of the interesting blogs she features each Friday.  She calls it her: Fab finds of the week.

I wish I could mention every blog, but this is definitely a start.

What happened to R.D.?

Uncle R.D was my Great Grandmother Odie's brother.

As far as I know, he was the 6th son ( 7th child overall) born to my great, great grandparents in 1903.

According to 2 census records, he lived with his parents in 1910 & 1920, but from there, I have no idea what happened to him.

Recently, thanks to Findagrave.com, I was able to find his death information, but I have no idea where he was from 1920-1985.

Did he get married & have children?

Did he join the military?

Did he stay in another state from  1920-1985?

My great, great grandmother's side of the family is truly a mystery to me.  Simply because it's tough to find anything about them once they no longer lived with my great great grandparents.

Can anyone help?

5 sites everyone searching their family tree should be using

Working on your family tree can be a long & exhausting process, but technology can help.

It's amazing how many tools there are to help you search, however, not every tool is free & some can be quite expensive.  Here are a few tools that have been lifesavers for me.

1. My favorite site is ancestry.com  I have been a member since I starting tracing my tree in 2007.  I can't say enough about the number of features ancestry has to offer even a brand new genealogist.  My favorite is the monthly youtube videos Crista Cowan, the Barefoot genealogist produces monthly describing what's new with ancestry.  Even if you don't want to pay the monthly fee (which is only a little over $20 of month) you can still utilize ancestry's tree maker & several of their records, including some of the 1940 census records free.
2. familysearch.org is free!  I had no idea about this site when I first started searching, but now I use it as often as I do ancestry.  In fact, I've came across records quicker with familysearch than with ancestry with certain family members. (My two times great grandparents marriage record.) 
3. The Indianapolis recorder-being an Indy native, I am familiar with this publication, but others outside of Indiana may not be.  When I first started searching through these records, it was an endless process, but I quickly learned how to narrow my search & came up on a wealth of African American history.  (It amazed me how much info they documented back then.  There use to be a section called Teen Talk that was strictly for the high school dating scene.)  
4. Chronicling America has newspapers on a wider scale (just in case none of your ancestors came from Indiana).  The unfortunate thing about this site is that it is very difficult to search through because the info is not as widely indexed as the other 3 sites. Which means you may have to get really good at looking at very tiny print to find the info you are looking for.  Also, the records are very limited &  most of the newspapers are from before 1922.
5. Find a grave is my new favorite site.  It is definitely more reliable in regards to info.  Most of the sites I frequent, the info is provided by the users & that is findagrave, but it's different because it is a picture of the actual grave site/headstone.  How much more reliable can your information get?

Happy birthday (maybe) Great Uncle Andy

Andrew Wickliffe (1882 - 1974) was my great grand uncle.  

A short tree review

Emma Gatton (1867 - 1936)

mother of Andrew Wickliffe

Harrison Wickliffe (1892 - 1969)

son of Emma Gatton

Alfred I Wickliffe (1918 - 1976)

son of Harrison Wickliffe

MY MOM

daughter of Alfred I Wickliffe

ME!

  daughter of Linda Sue Brown 

Uncle Andy lived a long life, in fact, he out lived all 3 of his wives.

I started organizing his records & came across today as the date he gave to the US draft administrator as his birth date when he register for the World War I draft in 1918.  Several records, including the Social Security index conflict with this month & day.

Uncle Andy could not read or write, but held a number of jobs-coal miner, attendant, shingle maker, truck driver, laborer at a tobacco company & a porter at a bakery.

Take a look at the info I collected so far about my great grand uncle.

I'm back!

After a very long move & ending my school year (Yeah for all of my fellow teachers who get the summer off!), I'm finally back to blogging.  

Tons of new photos, articles & links to come.

I am so excited to share all that I am learning & will be learning soon (Indiana's Genealogy conference is coming up in a couple of weeks; can't wait to blog about it.)

Who were Grandma Lou's real parents

One of the first people I learned about as a child was my great, great grandmother Lou.

Grandma Lou lived until she was 101!  

My mother has told me many times about going down to Kentucky every year for the Kentucky Derby & visiting with her Mother's grandmother Lou.

The question I have about my great, great Grandmother is who were her real parents?

I think that Grandma Lou was born Louisa Williams.  

(I found this on her marriage record.)

The first census I was able able to find her on, is the 1880 census.  She is listed as the adopted daughter of Henry & Mollie Dodd.  I don't see any other census record with her maiden name.  

I've read in numerous places that it was common practice for black families to "give away" their children to work.  Is that what happened to her?  

Was adoption common in black families in Kentucky in the 1880's?  If so, where would I begin to find records, if they are even available?  I know most adoption records are sealed, but would she have known who her real parents were?