Ten Tiny Tidbits to Record for Baby

What a wonderful weekend! My sister and her husband welcomed their third baby girl into the family. Eden Rose was born at 3:20 am on the 24th of April, 2016. So adorable!

Andrea and new baby, Eden Rose.

I sat down last night to record the events of the labor and delivery in my journal. What did I include? Here are ten tiny tidbits I suggest we all record for the new babies in the family.

1. Full name and the reason the name was chosen.
2. Time of birth, date of birth, and stats of baby.
3. What hospital was baby born and where is it?
4. How did Mommy know it was "time to go to the hospital?"
5. Who went to the hospital with Mommy and who was present at the birth?
6. Who took care of the other children when Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital?
7. How long was labor and delivery? Were there any problems or difficulties?
8. What was the first thing Daddy said when he saw the new baby?
9. What was the first thought Mommy had when she saw the new baby?
10. Does baby look more like Mommy or Daddy?

Dave and his three little girls.

You may have more tiny tidbits to include; the more the merrier! In our little baby's story, I included that her Auntie Mandie stayed the first night with her in the hospital. Because Mommy had a bad reaction to some medications, she was moved to a bigger hospital some distance away. Daddy was exhausted and had spent the daytime hours with Mommy. Now, in the evening, the two older children needed some attention. Daddy went to be with them and Auntie Mandie went to stay all night at the hospital with Eden. She reveled in the glory of having a little one to cuddle!

Eden Rose on her special night with Aunt
Mandie.

Finally, Andrea was released from the hospital and reunited with her new baby and family. It was a long few days, but the reunion was all the more sweeter. Oh, and I got to hold and cuddle the new little one too!

Me and baby Eden.

Finished Family Line Questioned...Part II

Back in October 2015, you may have read along as I lamented the false sense of security I had about a "finished" family line. Several genealogists had recorded that my ancestor, Henry Bowser the husband of Catherine Long, was the son of George Bowser and Elizabeth Moyer.

A cousin connection and a new document brought up some questions of Henry and his true parentage. Now, Henry Bowser Sr. and Mary Bowman were a possible candidate for his parents. Read more about that here.

I went to work collecting every record I could on Henry, George, Elizabeth, Henry Sr., and Mary. Without giving away too many details (because I plan to use this in my certification portfolio), Mary's obituary gave her true relationship to young Henry. He was her nephew.

By default, I might have assumed that George and Elizabeth had to be his parents. After all, there were only two couples in question. Right? Nope. When further researching this problem case, I found another possible parent. Daniel Bowser of the Montgomery county area turns out to be another father possibility.

I had to put this research question aside for awhile, but today I picked it up again by chance. I was "cleaning up" some digital documents and found something I had saved. It was Henry and Catherine's marriage record. Actually, it was a duplicate marriage record. Why had I saved two, I wondered? I noticed that they were two different types of marriage record. This one was a small handwritten list. The source citation of each document indicated that these two records were recorded in two different volumes of marriage records held at the Montgomery county courthouse.

I had overlooked this little paper because I found the more detailed marriage record. Though I had not deleted this extra record, I had subconsciously pushed it aside. When I looked closely, right there in black and white, it said "Henry Bowser of Danl."

This is a great find! I am heading over to the probate and guardianship records for the county now.

It just goes to show that "finished" family lines are not always finished. New records are being found each day and make all the difference. The research others had done was not bad research. With what they were able to access in the 1980s, they made the most logical parent choice for Henry. Now, it is our responsibility to check that work and make sure nothing new has come to light.

Happy hunting my fellow genealogists!

Want to learn more about overlooked techniques for finding hidden treasures in your family history? Head on over to my webinar presentations at Family Tree Webinars. If you have a subscription, you can watch any of the webinars for free. If not, you can see a free preview and make a one-time purchase to view the entire webinar. I think you'll especially like:
"Enriching Your Family History by Finding Pictures and Stories"

April Fools' Day and Other Shenanigans

Wow! I can't believe it is April already. I had hoped to pull a few practical jokes on the kids, but time got away from me. It's early though, so you never know!

I don't remember any great April Fools' jokes as a child, but I'm sure we tried to pull them. Last year, my sister and her husband played a variety of silly jokes on their five children. She cut out a bunch of brown "E's" and placed them in a brownie tin, put egg dying tablets in all the faucets, added googly eyes to several items, and blocked off the microwave.

Even though my family was not into April Fools' jokes growing up, we all loved a good scare. The Bowser family tradition is scaring the wits out of unsuspecting people! I think it is hereditary, because we all love it!

The first story I remember hearing was about my Grandpa Bowser. One day while my dad and his little friend were in the barn, Grandpa snuck around to the side and made lots of growling noises and scratching sounds. He scared the dickens out of the boys. My dad remembers that he had never heard his father laugh so hard, before or since. This has become a favorite story and was even reincarnated decades later.

A few years ago, my two sisters were out in the barn. They had mentioned being afraid to go out there for fear the coyotes would "get them." Dad couldn't resist. He secretly followed them out and began to make the requisite growling and scratching noises. He could hear them frantically talking about what they should do, which only made him laugh harder. To this day, he can barely get through the story without crying from laughing so hard!

Another sister decided to scare my mother one time. She waited until Mom had loaded up the old station wagon with the trash bags to take down the lane. We lived down a long lane and Mom would haul the bags of trash to the end for the garbage man. Chrissie, about eight years old at the time, crawled in the back seat without Mom noticing. Once at the end of the lane, she popped up and said, "Hi Mom!" I'm surprised Chrissie lived to tell that story!

I think the funniest prank or scare I ever pulled was on my son Derek. I know I shouldn't have done it, but like I said, I inherited my desire to scare people, so I can't help it. When Derek was about six, my youngest daughter was born. He was watching me change her diaper one day and asked where her penis was. Oh readers...I mean, you just can't let an opportunity like that pass by. Quickly, I gasped and said, "Oh no!! Where is it?" Derek screamed and said, "DID IT FALL OFF!?" The look of panic was priceless, I am laughing out loud just thinking about it! Oh my goodness. That was by far the funniest scare I have ever given one of my kids. (Don't worry, I quickly let him off the hook and we had a very serious anatomy lesson!)

Why not share some funny stories from your family and personal history today? Don't forget to write them down! I am sure they will become some of your family's favorites. Happy April Fools' Day!