Archive for the ‘Stocking Family Genealogy’ Category

by Sherry Stocking Kline
18 April 2010

The following excerpt is taken from the NASA.gov website as the astronauts gear up to land Monday morning!

Shuttle Crew Prepares for Monday Landing

Preparations for landing take center stage Sunday as the seven astronauts on space shuttle Discovery wrap up a 10-day stay at the International Space Station that included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies.

Commander Alan G. Poindexter, Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Mission Specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson, Clayton Anderson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki are scheduled to land their spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center at 8:48 a.m. EDT Monday.

And we appreciate your prayers for their safe landing tomorrow!

Other Related Posts:

Follow the Astronauts & Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger on Facebook

What’s Going Up in Space with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

April 5th ABC News Launch Video

Astronaut Cousin Makes History Today!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
17 April 2010

Look, Ma, No Hands! Dorothy Metcalf Lindenburger

The above photograph was posted on the STS 131 NASA Facebook page.  Become a Fan Here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Houston-TX/NASA-Fit-Explorer/79062778725 and you can see all the latest Facebook posts and photographs, some uploaded before launch and some since.

What fun it is to watch and see what’s going on, and think about the work that goes into becoming prepared to make this trip.  Just think about all the advancements and inventions that have come about because of the space exploration.  If I remember right, even the ubiquitous velcro came about because something was needed to keep things from floating off.

I’m not sure I understand the ramifications of the new billion dollar space program at all, but I do understand that Dottie’s team is one of the last that will be going ‘up’ with our own launches.  I’ve not watched enough television to know for sure, but think I heard someone saying on the country radio news station that I listen to that we will be paying another country to take our astronauts into space.  What a change!

Here is the NASA website http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts131/index.html where you can read more about the mission and it’s payload!  Dottie told me via Facebook e-mail that she would be working with the robotic arm that will move the 18,000 pound cargo onto the space station.

Wouldn’t you just love to be a mouse in the corner when they all get back to Earth!

Other Related Posts:

What’s Going Up in Space with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

April 5th ABC News Launch Video

Astronaut Cousin Makes History Today!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
10 April 2010

Here is this week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge from Randy Seaver!

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

1) Tell us: Which ancestor or relative do you readily identify with? Which one do you admire? Which one are you most like, or wish that you were most like? Which one would you really like to sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation with?

2) Write your response in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook note or response to this post, or in a comment on this post.

Oh my, which ancestor or relative do I most identify with?  I think my ancestors, especially the women, were brave and courageous, so in some ways I wish I were more like them.  My great-grandmother Frances Hitchcock Stocking picked up her life, packed up their belongings, and followed the man she loved, Roderick Remine Stocking, here to Kansas, a flat prairie with tall grass and no trees for firewood (read they used buffalo chips to heat their homestead with) or they drove their wagon about 15 miles south into Oklahoma’s Indian Territory (which was illegal, mind you) to pick up firewood.  They also lived within a few miles of the Chisholm Trail, and those who still traveled up and down it, even after the cattle drives ended.

And then there is my other great-grandmother on my mother’s side, Salinda Rose Breneman, who lived out on the prairie in Nebraska, where Indians might (and did) poke their heads in the window wanting food.  And Indians wouldn’t have been their only danger.  They would have lived in fear of prairie fires as well as rattle snakes, and her children, even at a young age, were sent out on horseback, sometimes with their lunch in a pail to herd the cattle, often being out of site of the homestead for the whole day.

Could I do what they did?  I don’t think so.

Who would I most want to sit down with?  My great-great grandmother, Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb!

I would ask her what her first husband’s name was and thereby break down that brick wall!  I would learn first-hand from her what her husband died from (or if they were divorced!) and I would ask her what brought them here to Kansas, and did they miss their home state of Kentucky and their daughter who stayed there?

And maybe I would just ask them how they ‘managed?’  How did they cope with the hardships, water that came from a well and wasn’t the clear liquid that we’re used to today, growing and canning and preserving much of their food, and sewing many of their clothes?

And particularly, where did they find the courage to go on when they had to bury their young children because their lives were cut short from disease and farm accidents?

So many questions that I would ask these courageous women!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
07 April 2010

I had no idea that so much ‘stuff’ went up into space with the astronauts, but I can see what kind of impact it can have on the students of a school!  What a great idea!

You can read the story here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/whatsgoingup131.html and then check out the podcast here.

The news just said that the Discovery was able to dock with the Space Station, though they had some problems with an antenna, and would be having their first space walk soon.

Dottie told me in an e-mail on Facebook that she would not be walking, but would be directing the robotic arm that would be moving 18,000 pounds of equipment.  That’s a pretty big load!  (I’m used to thinking in terms of a wheat truck load,  and this is many times that!)

Here is some of the NASA info on the mission:

Mission: STS-131
Space Shuttle: Discovery
Primary Payload: Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module
Launch Date: April 5, 2010
Launch Time: 6:21 a.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39A
Landing: April 18, 2010
Landing Time: 8:29 a.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Mission Duration: 13 days
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

You can read today’s Space Shuttle news here.

Our whole family is very proud of Dottie, and we appreciate your interest and your prayers for her safety!

Other Related Posts:

Follow the Astronauts on Facebook

April 5th ABC News Launch Video

Astronaut Cousin Makes History Today!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
06 April 2010

Thanks to so many who have sent e-mails and left comments.  I hadn’t thought to keep updating this site on Dottie, but I thank you for those suggestions, and I will do that!

It is amazing to think that as I tuck into bed with night-time prayers, sit here at the computer, do everyday stuff, that Dottie and her fellow astronauts are far above the earth circling us and working.  Hard to imagine!

Here is a link to a nice article from ABC News about Dottie, “Discovery Teacher Breaks the Mold” and a short lift-off video that they call “the picture perfect” lift off!  For those of us who remember when  the lift off ended quickly with an explosion, “picture perfect” are great words!

You can see the latest news about the STS-131 mission here at the NASA.gov website, as well as an awesome lift-off photograph taken by NASA personnel.

And you can see more great STS-131 Mission Photographs here!

Here you can see a great photograph of the space station, and read about what the mission will be doing, how many space walks it will do, etc.  Dottie told me what her job will be, and you can read about that in my first post here.

God Bless, Dottie!

Other Related Posts:

Follow the STS-131 Astronauts on Facebook

What’s Going Up in Space with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

Astronaut Cousin Makes History Today!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
05 April 2010

Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and fellow educator astronauts, Richard Arnold and Joseph Acaba - NASA photo

Usually when our ancestors, or even ourselves become a bigger part of history we’re just not aware of it at the time.   It’s when the history books write the story and we read it later that we know, even if they did not, that they helped shape the events of that time.

But today, my cousin’s daughter, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, went up in space and for all time she became one of those whose names go down in history books, one of those brave and courageous ones who went into outer space and helped shape history.

Dorothy is one of three educator astronauts, and she will see our world, our earth, in a perspective we can only try to imagine!  Just think of what she can share with her students, and those she will speak to in the future.

Dorothy told me that her job will be on the flight deck as the flight engineer for ascent and entry, and she will be flying the Shuttle’s robotic arm, helping move 18,000 pounds of science and engineering equipment.

Dottie said that during the spacewalks, she will be inside as the crew member leading them through the spacewalk.

The launch this morning (Praise the Lord!) was picture perfect, and for the next 13 days, Dottie will be doing what she’s trained for the past several years to do, and those of us here, friends and family will pray for her safety and watch their mission on www.NASA.gov and our local television channels!

Other Related Links:

Denver Channel News – Dottie’s parent’s interview from Ft. Collins, CO
Video:  http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/22747395/index.html

Article:  http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22746823/detail.html

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Metcalf-Lindenburger

Runner’s World Article: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-243-410–13448-0,00.html#

Wellington Daily News: http://www.wellingtondailynews.com/features/x1336921704/Astronaut-has-Sumner-County-ties

Other Related Posts:

Follow the STS-131 Astronauts on Facebook

What’s Going Up in Space with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

April 5th ABC News Launch Video

by Sherry Stocking Kline
26 March 2010

Recently I posted about finding my father’s name listed in a family history book on Ancestry.com.

Dad’s name in the “Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America” by Orville Corson obviously meant that at least some of those Corsons were related to us.  I was excited to say the least!

Here was a book that I didn’t know existed because I’ve rarely Googled  generations where I think I already have all the information.   So now I know that you can never learn too much about your family, and by not Googling the living generations I may be missing out on some resources.

Corson Family Association

After finding the name of the book on Ancestry I Googled the book’s title to find places to purchase it, and found two exciting things.

The 1939 book is still available on-line at Higginson books at: http://www.higginsonbooks.com.

And, there is a Corson Family Association, and a Corson Family Association Website maintained by Michael Corson.

The Corson Family Association website represents several different and apparently unrelated Corson family branches.  There are several Corson Family History Books, as well as the more comprehensive  “Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America” by Orville Corson.

When I found out about the book I hoped that there would be more than just  “who begat whom” included because I want to know as much about these people, my ancestors, as possible.

I want to know:

Who are they?
What were their occupations?
Where did they live?
Where did they attend church?
Where are they buried?
What schools did they attend?

And photographs!  Does anyone have photographs?

When Michael Corson told me that the association is working on updating the book, I was excited, because that means we can update our Corson information also!  So, I’m sending off my dues to the Corson Family Association, and looking forward to learning more about this little known and practically unresearched (by me) branch of the family!

And bless Michael’s heart, he helped fill in some of my blank spots in my tree as well, and the in the scanned copies of “Three Hundred Years….” that he sent were not only the “who begat whom” but a little more info AND the resources that were used to put together this information.  (Jackpot!)

So,  if you are researching the Corson family name,  the Corson Family Association Website is excellent place to start!

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 18, 2010

Oh, be still my heart!  This might not be quite good enough to do a Happy Dance, but almost!  I was doing research on Ancestry.com on my father.  I hadn’t done that because I knew who my father was, where he was born, where he died, that he had heart disease, and where he is buried.

So I hadn’t done census research on him. Big mistake!  I did the census research, and learned that in the 1930 census, shortly before he and mom married, he was living with another family as their farm worker.  That wasn’t surprising news.

But the next thing that popped up on Ancestry was a “Corson” family book that stated that it listed my father, his siblings, and his parents, etc.

That’s where the Happy Dance comes in.

The book is titled “Three hundred years with the Corson families in America” by Orville Corson, Middletown, OH., 1939 (2v). V2: 161, 205

Now, all I need to do is beg, borrow, or maybe even purchase this book at Higginson Book Company, and I’ll have a springboard to research my Great-Grandmother Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis, mother of my Grandma Maud McGinnis Stocking, and their ancestors. (I’ve already called my favorite local librarian!)

And if I’m really lucky, there may just be a few glimpses into their personal lives, occupations, and military service  in this book, giving me numerous clues to where to research and flesh out who they were.  Woo Hoo!

Yeah, maybe this is enough for a “Happy Dance”!

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 15, 2010

Best Picture – Deciding which photograph I liked best in 2009 was extremely difficult!

Was it the  photograph of new-found cousin Nancy and my husband looking over the Glasgow, KY cemetery?  Or was it the  photo of my brother Gary with his street rod?   In the end, I chose the photograph of my Great-grandma Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis holding little baby me on her 100th birthday.

Not everyone has a great-grandmother who lives to be 100, so this is a special photograph, and I’m glad my parents captured the moment on film.

Best Screen Play – I’m not sure that any of my stories would make a great screen play –  unless it would be the part of the Christmas Gifts story that involves myself and my two oldest nephews playing Cowboys and Indians in the pasture on our stick horses!   Even my patient collie dog Lassie wasn’t safe if we had a lasso!

I’d have to cast John Wayne as my dad.   First, I always thought there was a resemblance, and second, my dad had that same kind of confidence that the Duke projected on film.

My mom, well, she might be a cross of Maureen O’Hara and the Beav’s mom, June Cleaver, though she never wore dresses, pearls, and heels everyday,  those were church clothes.

Because she worked in the field she was more likely to be in jeans, flannel shirts, and maybe even overalls.

And the casting for  my nephews and I, well, lets just say “The Little Rascals” would be the best cast for us…

Best Documentary – My blog post about the Burchfiel Cemetery, the church and the church history connected with it holds a special place in my heart.

Best Biography – This post about my brother, Gary “Sox” Stocking is probably my favorite biography.  It doesn’t tell when he was born, nor whom he was born to, but it does capture just a bit of the essence of who he was, what kind of man he was, and you get an idea of why other street rodder friends came from three states in their street rods to honor him one last time.

Best Comedy – The funniest thing that I blogged about in 2009 was when we crazy high school kids used to drag main singing the top hit at the time “Hey There Little Red Riding Hood” at the top of our lungs!

It was fun then, and it gives me a chuckle now to remember it…

Sherry Stocking Kline
January 8, 2009

I grew up around tractors. Lots of them. Big ones. Little ones.  ‘Tricycle’ front end ones like my dad used to cultivate the cattle feed and squatty little red and green tractors with big wide fenders perfect for children to ride along with their parents.

I don’t remember my first tractor ride…

I don’t remember my first tractor ride. I was much too young for that to ‘stick’ in my memory.

I do remember countless hours riding on the fender, hanging on, then getting off when mom or dad stopped (yes, they had his and hers tractors) and running in the furrow behind the plow, my bare feet pounding the sun-warmed damp earth.

I watched out for fishing worms (and picked them up if there was any chance we might go fishing soon).  Little baby bunny rabbits ran to get away from the tractors (and me).

Back then,  the long, muley-eared jackrabbits were a common sight in Sumner County, Kansas.   Now, jackrabbits are pretty rare.  I’ve not seen one in a good, long, time, but I have it on good authority that they are still around.

Nowadays children would be taken to a baby sitter…

Nowadays children would be taken to a baby sitter while mom and dad worked, but mom was a ‘work at home’ (or in the field) mom, and I went along. Mom and Dad’s day began at 5:00 a.m. when Mom and our collie dog Lassie brought the dairy cattle in to be milked.

After they milked, dad took the truck with silage in it out to the pasture and the feed bunks to feed the cattle while mom came in and got ready to feed the people in our home, which in the time period I’ve got in mind included Dad, myself, and my brother, Gary.

After breakfast, if it was spring, summer, or fall, Dad and most often Mom would head to the field on a tractor.   Not the fancy ones like they have now with air conditioning and GPS, just plain red, then later yellow, and much later the green John Deere’s made their way onto our farm.

I always felt sorry for city kids…

Those were good days, and good memories.  I know some city kids would feel sorry for me, no swimming pool around the corner, and no park to go swinging in.

But I always felt sorry for city kids (like my own kids later on) who didn’t get to ride on tractors and combines each summer, who had to play in a postage-stamp-sized back yard instead of a quarter section with pasture and creeks full of pollywogs and crawdad, and who never got to watch baby chicks scurry around after the mama hen, and baby calves grow from awkward to adult.