Archive for January, 2010

by Sherry Stocking Kline
by January 30, 2010

The following is from Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musings! It is our Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge!  Don’t forget to cue up the “Mission Impossible Music”

Hi SNGF fans – it’s Saturday Night, time for some major Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Open your genealogy software or family tree program of choice and make yourself the highlighted person.

2) Find out how to create a Calendar to show birthdays and/or anniversaries of yourself and all of your ancestors (or all relatives, or all persons – your choice!). The “Help” button is your friend here!!! It can be done in all of the current software programs.

3) Create your calendar. Pretty it up if you want. Save it. Can you show us a page from your calendar – say January 2010?

4) Which of your ancestors (or relatives, or descendants – your choice!), if any, were born on 30 January?

Have fun with this. How can you use this information during the coming year?

I have to confess it took me longer than 30 minutes, and that just for one program!  I chose Legacy, though I do have Family Tree Maker 16, and also the free Roots Magic software.  I’ve read great things about Legacy, and so wanted to try it out, and a cousin swears by RootsMagic, so downloaded the free software.

But I digress…

I just did one photo and one calendar page, and I’ve scanned the photo page and will post it here:

Stocking Legacy Calendar Page for January

Legacy Calendar for January

When I first began entering my family into my family tree programs, I did it in a way that I wish I hadn’t.

I created a separate file for each surname.  I know that I can combine them all into one comprehensive family tree and I plan to but I’ve not done it – yet.

Five or six years ago, I bought Broderbund’s Calendar Creator and because I already have the birthdays of all family members (from all my trees!) and friends and neighbors that I would send cards to and it’s very simple to create a new one each year by  just adding new photos I may stick to using it.

However, if there is a way to have Broderbund’s Calendar Creator tell me that today is Susie and Joe’s 25th anniversary, or next month it’s Kris’s 50th birthday without me manually entering it, I’m not aware of it, (which doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!) and that was a nice feature when I printed out the calendar from the Legacy software.

And from the short time that I played with it, it looks like the calendar creator in Legacy is pretty similar to the one in Broderbund, and if I had spent a little more time, my Legacy calendar would have looked much nicer!

Related post: Stocking Family Genealogy

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 27th, 2010

My almost Wordless Wednesday!

Here is a favorite photo of mine, my great-grandfather, Constantine “Tom” Breneman and his horse and buggy.  Tom was a Civil War veteran and then later farmed in Sumner County, Kansas, near Mayfield and Milan.  My mother, his grandaughter remembers that  he “had high stepping horses”.

Constantine “Tom” was married to Salinda E. (Rose) Breneman, but they divorced later in life. Constantine and Salinda had five children, Ira, Albert, Harvey, Otto, Carrie, and May and you can see their photographs here.

Other Breneman Posts:

Tombstone Tuesday – Salinda E. (Rose) Breneman

Tombstone Tuesday – Albert Breneman – Too Young to Die

Music Monday – “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – this post includes a saying that Carrie Breneman Jones used to tell her children about cold weather.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 27th, 2010

Oh dear!   According to a Tweet by @FamilyTreeMag (they must be bent on spoiling my Wednesday with this news!)  and a link to KitchenProject.com, it seems that German Chocolate Cake isn’t even German.

According to KitchenProject.com the cake derived its name from the German’s Chocolate Bar, developed by Englishman, Sam German. According to the website German’s chocolate bar is similar to milk chocolate, but a little sweeter.

Well, Mmm, I can certainly attest to the little sweeter.  I was never much of a coconut fan, but on the German Chocolate Cake, even coconut tastes wonderful. (It’s always worth a second helping.)

Check out the KitchenProject.com website for the German Chocolate Cake’s history and here’s a link to their original German Chocolate Cake recipe.

And if you weren’t hungry for the cake before you read the recipe and see all the wonderful pictures, you will be then!   MmMmm.

Now, it’s off to the store for some German Chocolate…

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 26, 2010

A couple of days ago I was honored to open up my e-mail and read that blogging buddy Joan of Roots N’ Leaves had given me the ‘Bandit’ Blogger’s Best Friend Award!

Blogger's Best Friend Award

Oh, my, thank you, Joan!  You have been such a source of encouragement to me, and a great blogging friend!  Blessings to you!

Joan says that the developer of the  ‘Bandit’ “A Blogger’s Best Friend Award” says it shall be given to your most loyal blog readers.

So, I am to pick out and pass on this award to two fellow bloggers who are fellow bloggers who take the time to comment on my posts, and bloggers who have creative, funny, and entertaining blogs.

So many of you have kindly stopped by with kind words of encouragement and congratulations, so this is not easy, and I will be leaving too many people out, but here goes!

1.  Carol of Reflections From the Fence

2.  Sandra Tjaliaferro of I Never Knew My Father

Thank you Carol for being a great blogging buddy and always so wonderfully encouraging, and Thank you Sandra,  for being both a great and encouraging blogging buddy and a good Twitter Friend! And once again, Thanks to Joan of Roots N’ Leaves.  Blessings to all.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 26, 2010

This tombstone is located in a Smith Family Cemetery in or near the Temple Hill area in Barren County, Kentucky.  (there are several Smith Family cemeteries in Barren County.) It is a small family cemetery, but I would guess there might be as many as 20 or 30 burials there.

The cemetery was located behind a farmhouse, and the whole area was overgrown with tall grass.  One clue to note is that someone (probably on Memorial Day given the plastic flowers are only slightly faded) had placed flowers on their grave. So most likely they have living children or grandchildren in the area.

Lute & Sabina Smith - Barren County, KY - Smith Cemetery

Smith
Lute H.
1857 – 1936

Sabina
1860 – 1940

While I suspect Lute and Sabina Smith may be family, I haven’t verified it yet, and I hope that can be part of this year’s adventures.  I think Sabina is a very pretty name, one that I’d never heard before, and if it truly is unusual, that should make sorting her out of the other Smith’s easier. The name Lute doesn’t seem that common, either.

My next steps when I start working on this couple will be to check on the census for them, get a copy of their obituaries, will(s), and perhaps even give the local funeral homes a call as that has worked well in the past.  Those are my first steps.

If it looks like there is a family connection, I will also contact the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, as they have several family histories there, along with miscellaneous family information, and see if perhaps they have a family history for the family there that I can use as a springboard to use to locate the documents that would verify relationships.

We were at this cemetery  5  July 2005, looking for our own family burials, but we did not find any names in the cemetery that we knew to be our kin.  We had my mother with us and were trying to locate her grandfather’s homestead.

We did not find my mother’s grandfather’s homestead, but were able to locate her great-great grandfather’s homestead about three miles on past this farmstead.  Unfortunately, my ancestor’s Smith cemetery had already been returned to farm ground.

Related Posts:

The tombstone of  J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison is just down the road a few miles in the Caney Fork Baptist Church cemetery. They may (or may not) be related to each other.

Warner LaRue Jones Tombstone. Warner was born in Kentucky to Willis and Martha Ellen Smith Jones.

George W. Smith & wife Lucy’s Tombstone

The Day the Serendipity Genealogy Angels Smiled

Sherry Stocking Kline
January 23, 2010

Even though I’m late finishing this up, I’d like to add my ‘two bits’ and thank Randy Seaver once again for a fun Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge!

It’s Saturday Night – time for more Genealogy Fun!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

* Tell us about your “other” hobbies or interests outside of genealogy and family history research, writing, speaking, etc.

* Write a blog post of your own, respond with a comment to this post, or add a comment on the Facebook version of this post.

Most of the time, I don’t have anything more exciting to do on a Saturday night (unless family is coming!) than look forward to doing the SNGF challenge that Randy Seaver posts for us at Genea-Musings.

But this past Saturday Night was special, it was my mom’s 98th birthday, and we gathered together as a family at her home to let her know how special we we think she is.

Hmmm, so what do I enjoy doing besides family history?  A lot of what I enjoy doing is related to family history, so I’ll just make a random list of stuff I think is fun.  And some of it falls within the family history spectrum, no doubt!

1. My Family – Spending time with my family, especially the tiny little apples of my eye, my granddaughters. This includes going to the parks, swinging on the swings, playing Uno, dominoes, Wa-hoo, and now Wii.

2.  Reading. I love to read, and my children still complain that I can ignore them easily if I’m reading.  But I get involved in a book, can visualize the setting, and I’m off to a new adventure, living vicariously.   I’ve also been a fairly fast reader since I was a kid and the librarian used to let me check out 14 books at a time (since we lived in the country, and because I was a voracious reader).  Librarians just love kids like that…

Jan Karon’s “Mitford Series” books are my all-time favorites.  I like to read Max Lucado’s inspirational books, Nora Roberts romance/mystery novels, Louis L’Amour western novels, and various and sundry other “who-dun-it’s”. (I like them best if I can’t figure out ‘who-dun-it’ before I get to the end, too.)

3.  Music. I love music.  A variety of music, though rap not much at all, especially if it needs to be ‘bleeped’ on tv, and blues and classical not quite as much.

Gaither’s Gospel music is an all-time favorite, and brings peace to my heart and soul. Fifties and sixties rock brings back wonderful memories of sock hops and teen-age crushes. John Denver is one of my favorite artists and my husband took me to his concerts twice. “Take Me Home Country Roads” speaks to my country heart.

4. Fishing. I like to fish, though I seldom do.  We practice the ‘catch and release’ so generally the fish is free to go back to his pursuits within minutes of being caught.  And sometimes the little ones choose to be caught again…

5. Gardening. I like to dig in the dirt, plant, and watch flowers and vegetables grow.

I have a cherry tree, blackberry bushes, and am considering planting strawberries. I’d never have to pick them, because I never have to pick the cherries, the birds usually beat us to those, and my granddaughters pick the blackberries, coming in with purple lips!

6. Crafts & Sewing.   I used to be a very ‘crafty’ lady.  I was constantly doing cross-stitch, sewing something, or making something.  I’ve kind of gotten away from that, spending that time working on the computer or writing.  But I made one man’s suit and several shirts for my husband (polyester suit back in the day, but nice looking) quilt pillows, beaded Indian looking earrings, and before my children came along, a lot of my work clothes!

7.  Photography. I love to take photos.  Mostly of family, and a lot of the granddaughters, but I just like taking photos.  Because I take so many, and do try to make each one good, out of hundreds I’ve had several real gems that captured the love between father and daughter, the magic of a child’s smile, and the memories contained within those photographs are priceless.

Those are some of the things I like to do.  Someone else might add a few more things to my list, but these are what comes to mind ‘off the top of my head…’

Sherry Stocking Kline
January 20, 2010

This is going to be an almost wordless Wednesday.  My mom was going through old photos this week, and found this gem of my dad, Harold F. Stocking, Sr. (mostly known by his childhood nickname of “Jiggs” all his life)  and his favorite registered Ayrshire cow, “Dimples”.  This was, I believe, before I came along, as I don’t remember her at all.

My folks were wheat and dairy farmers in south central Kansas (a.k.a. tornado alley) and they raised and milked registered Ayrshire cattle.

Harold F. "Jiggs" Stocking, Sr. & Dimples

Mom said that Dimples was his favorite, and that he was very proud of her, but she developed some health issues and was sold.

If my dad were still alive, today, January 20th,  would be his 99th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

More Stocking family memories & genealogy here…

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 19, 2009

The following stone is the final resting place of my great-grandmother’s sister and her husband.

J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison

The Stone Reads:

HARRISON

J. Tom.
May 13, 1844
July 10, 1911

Nancy A.
November 9, 1846
October 13, 1927

Caney Fork Baptist Church - Temple Hill, Barren County, Kentucky

This Stone is located in the cemetery of the  Caney Fork Baptist Church, Temple Hill, Barren County, Kentucky.

Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison was the sister of my great-grandmother, my great-aunt.  And until I began doing genealogy and doing research,I didn’t even know she existed.

Somehow, that feels strange to me, that I have fairly close extended family all over the United States that I don’t even know.  That the person I hand money to in the store, even here in town, might be a cousin that I don’t know exists.

My husband and I experienced a situation very much like that in 2006, and probably I should blog about that soon.  It was one of those serendipitous moments that we’ve had at least three times, meeting people that we were related to, and never knew about.  But I digress.

Nancy A (Smith) Harrison was the daughter of Charles and Virginia (Hawley) Smith, and the sister of my great-grandmother, Martha Ellen Smith Jones.  Now I know where my great-aunt was buried, but to this day, so far, I haven’t a clue where Martha Ellen was buried.

My great-grandmother is not buried next to her husband, and I don’t believe she was alive when he lived in the area he is buried in. Nancy Harrison’s other sibling, children of Charles and Virginia Hawley Smith (the ones that I know about) are: Calvin, George W., Sarah A., Mary E., Martha Ellen, Jones (my great-grandmother), William,  and I believe there was one more child, but I don’t have that child’s name.

Nancy’s brother, George, married Miss Julia Harrison, but I’ve not yet tried to learn if Julia and J. Tom are siblings.  That would be a great addition to my Genealogical Goals for 2010! And a goal that should be fairly straightforward.

For more information about the Smith family, see the following posts:

George W. Smith Tombstone

The Day the Genealogy Serendipity Angels Smiled…

And if you are reading this, and you’re my kin, please leave a note so we can say “hello, nice to meet you!”

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 17, 2010

Here’s my Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – one day (almost two) late!

Hey there, it’s Saturday Night, time for more Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver at Geneamusings!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible music!), is:

1) Remember when you were 12 years old? On a summer day out of school? What memory do you have of fun activities?

2) Tell us about that memory (just one – you can do more later if you want to) in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a comment on Facebook.

I was twelve years old. And it was my second trip to Camp Wentz.   My mom and dad thought it would be good for me to go, and they were right.

At Camp Wentz, the day began with giggly, groggy girls dragging out of their bunk beds, and hurrying to the bathroom cabin. In my case, I struggled each morning to tame my past-the-waist-length sun-streaked-blonde hair into scruffy braids, then walked the 100 yards or to to eat breakfast in the dining hall and watch for the cute blond kid I had a crush on. (oh, be still my twelve-year-old heart)

I learned how to Braid plastic keychains…

Then there were crafts in the dining hall where I learned how to braid plastic key chains and lanyards as gifts for my parents.  I was much better at braiding those than my hair.  (I brought home a keychain for mom, and a watch ‘chain’ for my dad’s pocket watch, which he promptly put on his watch, and then unfortunately it broke within the first week I was home)

Then there were devotional studies, and my absolute morning favorite, the one hour swim time before lunch.

Then lunch (more keeping my eyes peeled for the cute blond kid) and afterwards back to the cabins to rest and write letters to our parents back home.

My mom still has and still laughs about one of my first letters back home with the quote:

“Hi Mom and Dad,     I miss you,  but not very much…”

Then it was time for late afternoon swim. I loved going swimming, and turning into a prune didn’t worry me, and that was before we knew that sunburns had long-term consequences, so I spent all the time I could on outdoor activities and swimming.

So much so that when I went home I shocked my mother who said that I “was brown as an Indian”  and she spent the whole next week trying to scrub the tan off of my neck, convinced part of it had to be dirt. (I swear a couple of times it felt like she was using a pot scrubber on me…)

Located on the side of a hill, Camp Wentz with it’s limestone cabins, many trees, and lakeside location was very picturesque.

Every night as we sat on the side of a hill for our devotionals the lights of the city across the lake twinkled in the distance.  Sitting on the side of the hill, listening to lessons about God’s love for us, watching the sun set (and yes, fighting the mosquitoes and watching for the blond kid) we sang Bible school songs and hymns.

“We are Climbing Jacob’s ladder….”

And every night, after devotionals were over, as we climbed back up the hill we sang “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder…. Every rung goes higher, higher…  our flashlights bobbing in the dark like little fireflies as we wove our way back to our cabins where bedtime prayers and ghost stories blended together in the time before sleep came.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 14th, 2009

Yes, I’d be glad to…?

When someone asks for my help I tend to say “yes, I’d be glad to…” though frankly in the last couple of years I’ve had to learn how to say “I’d love to, but I just can’t.”  With only 24 hours in a day, no matter how I try to stretch it there needs to be time to sleep in there somewhere.

Possibly the most important ‘job’ I volunteer to do as Vice President of the Sumner County (Kansas) Historical and Genealogical Society is to find speakers that are interesting, informative, and that reflect county, state, national, and sometimes international history. And an important part of that is to try to find speakers that will attract new people into our group so that it will grow.

The Lord provides…

Finding fascinating people who will ‘speak for their dinner,’ even at a steak house, isn’t always easy but when our members ask me how I do it I usually answer “The Lord provides…”  Once, during a casual conversation standing in line at Wal-mart I met a talented woman who just happened to be a Native American speaker. Several months later she brought us a very interesting informative program.

In November 2009, Tuskegee Airman Major George Boyd shared his fascinating story with us, and this week I will connect with our speaker, Jim Baumgardner, author of the historical children’s fiction “Sarah” books, interview him, write a press release, and send it out to eight newspapers, two cable television stations, one radio station, and so many people by e-mail that my internet provider threatens to shut me down for spamming.

This summer, on June 19^th in Wellington, Kansas, our county will host the Kansas Council of Genealogical Society meeting, (you’re invited!) and we’re working to prepare and promote that already.

Video-Tape the Gen Society meetings….

About a year ago, I started video-taping the SCHGS programs with my camcorder and our city’s cable station re-plays most of our programs on the local channel in the months following.  My goal is to have a library of DVD’s that members can check out and re-watch, and that we can share with elderly members who can no longer attend meetings.  (this is something that I think other societies might be interested in trying to do!)

Transcribed Cemetery Information…

In 2003, my husband and I walked a (small?) cemetery of several hundred people, transcribed the stone information, entered it into a database, and shared the information locally with the SCHGS Center as well as published it in “Mayfield: Then & Now” a small-town history book that I co-authored with Elaine Clark. I plan to re-walk the cemetery this year to make new additions, and take photographs of some or all of the stones while there. And I try (but fail miserably) to share all the tombstone photographs that I take with www.deadFred.com.

Because my name is in the paper often, and because I like to help others research and preserve their family history I get phone calls out of the blue asking for help.

I get to meet fascinating people…

How many hours do I volunteer each month?  It varies, but more than I have time for and less than I’d like to. But when we get photographs and memorabilia back where it belongs, locate tombstone(s), farmsteads, historic bridges, or the reporter finds info about the old one-room schoolhouse that he needs to polish up an article, it’s all worthwhile.

The most rewarding part for me is that I get to meet, interview, and get acquainted with some very interesting people and hear some fascinating and little-known family and historical stories. I get a sense of satisfaction knowing that I’ve helped preserve (and possibly share) another small piece of history.

As someone I interviewed a few years back about photograph preservation told me:

“The best you can do is to preserve it so the next generation can preserve it again…”