Treasure Chest Thursday: The Power of the Written Word

Finding old written words is exciting.  Finding the scan of the original words online is breathtaking.  Here is just one example of the power of words.

JSBuchanan 1883 letter, received 2013 by email

Written by the Rev. Joseph Smith BUCHANAN in 1883 is a summary of his family.  What strikes me as I reread this great document is the way he starts by mentioning  his (and my)grandpa came from Scotland.  He then quickly moves to the names of his brothers and the role the family played in early Lancaster Co, PA, with the Covenenter Church.  He mentions the services being performed in the house and in the barn......

Of particular interest is he then goes to explain how many of his peer aged kin were elders in the church which later evolved in to the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Of course, cousin Joseph was a minister as many, many of his kin have chosen.  He states his grandfather's descendants are like the tribe of Levi with their devotion to God.

Of more genealogical interest on this particular day is his first wife, Jane WADDLE.  She was born in VA around 1813.  She married Joseph in 1841 in Wheeling, WV.  In 1850, they are living in Donegal, Washington, PA, near many, many kin.  She is gone by 1857, when Joseph remarries Ellen CLELAND.

Death Notice of JS Buchanan, found online

I suspect Jane's brother was most likely the Rev. Benjamin WADDLE (1802-1879), who was, yet another, Presbyterian minister and the President of Muskingum College in Ohio.

Why this interest in finding out?  Well, I have more than one connection to the BUCHANAN family as well as the WADDLE family as they keep marrying my kin.  Oh wait, they are my kin, too.  So....

Ahh, genealogy.  More fish to fry as I waddle through the ponds looking for the just the right species.

©2017  AS Eldredge

Sources:

1850 Census, Donegal, Washington, PA

Kohler, Minnie.  A 20th Century History of Hardin Co, OH, Vol 2, page 622.

Buchanan, Rev JS.  Letter in possession of a descendant.  

The Moffitt Book of Obituaries, Vol 5, Warren Co, Ill

Treasure Chest Thursday: Living in a 1913 Wedding

Oh, the horror of it all!  My hard drive crashed and I was devastated.  Over 20 years of genealogy finds were there.  Why, I couldn't think!  What to do?

Joyfully, I had a great backup and was able to recover all the information after the hard drive was replaced.  To thank the wonderful sibling who volunteered to help me during this crisis, I am now going back and looking through the many, many boxes of papers I have gathered over the years.  What this long term exercise is doing is forcing me to reevaluate what I think I know as I look at papers not seen in probably 10 years or so.

In addition to all my boxes of paper I am going through and trying to scan in, I am finding some really cool treasures.  Take, for instance, the wedding book of my spouse's grandparents.  They were married in August 1913.  Opening the pages of the book this morning revealed many exciting treasures for me.  The announcement, the newspaper write-ups, the guests, the gifts, the honeymoon details, and the death of the groom.  While the newspapers don't contain the name of the newspaper or the date, I can use the information I know to locate them.

Aug 27, 1913 Wedding of Hazel and Ralph

These fragile and yellowed pieces of paper link me to the joy of the young couple that have been gone now for 40 years or more.  I never knew them, but I get a sense of them through stories and pictures.  Perhaps, I should take a closer look around my house to see if any of the gifts survived and made their way here?

Ahh genealogy, cherish the beloved hands that took the time to document the times of their lives.  For today, their treasure chest of happiness provides inspiration for me to continue looking in the past to find the future.

©2017  AS Eldredge