Posts Tagged ‘genealogy’

by Sherry Stocking Kline
13 April 2010

I snapped this Tombstone for a couple of reasons. One, I hoped he was family, and Two, it just caught my eye.  It stood there, and though it said  “Gone, but not forgotten,” it seemed, well, lonely.

And like some tombstones that you see, it just made me wonder, who was he?  Why is he buried there all by himself?  What did he  do for a living? What did he die of?

All those questions ran through my mind, but I guess first and foremost, was the question, is he part of my family?

Julian Jones - Caney Fork Baptist Cemetery

On the Stone:

Julian Jones
1863 – 1932
Gone But Not Forgotten

Today I don’t have those answers, and even though he is buried near my Smith family stones, I don’t have the answer to the  “is he family” question.

But it’s a puzzle that I plan to solve!

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
06 April 2010

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday is my Mom’s Great-Aunt Bettie Crabb.

Bettie Crabb's Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

On The Stone:

Bettie Crabb
Oct 15, 1866
Oct 31, 1932

What you can’t see in the photograph here is that Bettie is buried next to her father, J. R. U. Crabb who died 11 years before she did.  (Bettie never married.)

For a few years, J. R. U. and Bettie’s mother, Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb lived on a farm in Sumner County, Kansas, just east of Milan, Kansas.

Bettie’s mother Elizabeth, died and is buried there, far away in the Milan Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas.  You can see her tombstone here.

Sometime after Elizabeth died, J. R. U. and Bettie returned to Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, to be near Bettie’s sister, Sally Crabb Mayfield, wife of George. Sally and George are buried in the Glasgow Cemetery, Glasgow, Kentucky, also.

The photograph below shows Bettie and J. R. U.’s  place in the cemetery next to each other:

L - R: Bettie Crabb and father J. R. U. Crabb Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

Our new-found cousins, Dennis and Nancy (Bertram) Bush who so kindly showed us around Barren County, told us that just a couple of years earlier, some man picked this spot, and this tree, to hang himself…  Gave me shivers then.  (Still does.)

Related Posts (also included in the Text):

J. R. U. Crabb’s Tombstone

Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb Tombstone

Milan Cemetery Listings, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas

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
03 April 2010

This week has been a busy week, so I’m late posting again!  Maybe next week will be more on time, but spring is here, and my green thumb is itching like crazy, so we’ll see!

Kenneth Jones Baby Photo - Taken in Wichita, Kansas

This is a neat photo of one of Mom’s favorite cousins, Kenneth Jones.  The first time I remember meeting Kenneth, it was at their home on Morris Thomas Road in Duluth, MN when my folks took us all for a visit.

Kenneth was a ‘rock hound,’ something he and my mom had in common, and we enjoyed looking for agates along Lake Superior and another lake.  We also had great fun swatting mosquitoes while picking wild strawberries, riding the neighbors little pony, and picnicking.

We’ve lost connections with Kenneth’s children, and I hope that somehow, someway, we can re-connect, and that if they find this website, they’ll take a minute to say “Hello! “

Related Posts:

Kenneth Jones – in front of his high school in Kingman, Kansas.

Kenneth’s Mother – May Breneman Jones Willey in front of the Jones’ home on Morris Thomas Road in Duluth.

Kenneth’s Grandfather – Constantine “Tom” Breneman and his horse and buggy.

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!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 19th, 2010

My mom and I have been going through old, really old photographs recently, and we’ve found some wonderful gems, such as these two lovely young ladies.

One is my cousin, (and until I put her into my computerized family tree) I won’t try to tell you how closely related. The only downside with this photograph is that I’m not sure which one is cousin Myrtle Rose, and which one is her McBride cousin.

The back of the photograph says “Myrtle Rose and cousin McBride” then “Doss Rose’s daughter.” Through my research and visiting with Mom, we know that Doss is the nickname of Abraham Dorsey Rose.

So, if one of you who visits this site are a descendant of Doss, Alfreda Jane, or Myrtle Rose, please share with me which beautiful young lady is which!

Myrtle Rose and cousin "McBride"

Abraham Dorsey Rose is my great-grandmother, Salinda Rose Breneman’s brother, and they are the children of Eden/Edan  and Elsie/Elcy Rose.

According to the 1900 Census, Myrtle was six years old at that time, was born in Nebraska, and the family was living in the Omaha, Nebraska area.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 16th, 2010

Today’s Tombstone Tuesday is my great-uncle and great-aunt, Otto C. and Nancy V. Breneman’s tombstone.

Otto C. and Nancy V. Breneman

Otto and Nancy are buried in the Milan Cemetery, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas, about 15 miles west of Wellington on highway 160. For a complete listing of burials and maps of the Milan Cemetery, click here to go to the Milan Cemetery website maintained by the Sumner County Historical and Genealogical Society.

On the stone:

BRENEMAN

Nancy V.
1886 – 1975

Otto C.
1880 – 1930

When I sat down to write this I realized that I did not have Nancy Breneman’s parents’ name written down.  Goodness!  I will certainly need to ‘fix’ this soon!

And how is it that Nancy V. died after I was married and I don’t believe that I ever met her?  That’s another good question to ask my mom and perhaps her grandson by e-mail.

I believe that Nancy V. must have spent her remaining years in the state that her daughter Berniece Breneman Thomas, resided, and near Berniece’s family.

Otto, or Ott as he was known by friends and family, was the son of Constantine “Tom” Breneman and Salinda Breneman. Ott and his father Constantine were blacksmiths in Mayfield, Kansas, and Nancy taught piano lessons to the area’s children.  I have copies of photographs of this blacksmith shop, and I look forward to sharing those photographs in future posts.

Other Related Family Posts:

Constantine Breneman and His Buggy Horse Photograph of Ott’s father, Constantine driving a buggy with his beautiful buggy horse.

Constantine Breneman’s Buggy Horse – Photograph of Constantine’s Buggy Horse

My Poem to My Ancestors

Salinda E. (Rose) Breneman – Photograph of Ott’s mother,  Salinda, and her tombstone. Ott’s parent’s, Salinda and Constantine, divorced in later life.

Too Young to Die – Photo of  Ott Breneman and his siblings, and a photograph of Albert’s tombstone. Albert was killed in a Motorcycle Accident.

Photograph of May Breneman Jones Willey – Sister of Ott Breneman.

Photograph of Kenneth Jones – Nephew of Ott and Nancy Breneman.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 12th, 2010

Here is my almost Wordless Wednesday, a photograph of my Great-Aunt May Breneman Jones Willey in front of her son’s family’s home in Minnesota.

1959 - May Breneman Jones Willey - age 79

May’s parents were Constantine “Tom” and Salinda (Rose) Breneman. May’s first husband was Evan Jones, son of Willis W. and Martha Ellen (Smith) Jones. Willis W. and Martha Ellen originally came from Kentucky, and moved to the Midwest, living in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

Evan and May’s son’s name was Kenneth Jones. Kenneth and his wife Lois had five children: Lawrence, Lynn, Patty, Charlie, and Kenny, and I hope one of the children, or even their children find this post, and will leave a message.

I have many happy memories of visiting Aunt May and their family in Minnesota, and we would love to re-connect with them.