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!

Well That's Weird

I love it when I come across something unusual or strange while doing my family history work. A week or so ago, I had just that experience.

While researching my ancestors Samuel West and Mary Ann Prugh of Madison County, Ohio, I found I needed a source for their marriage date.

Fortunately, FamilySearch has Ohio County Marriages online, indexed, and digital images attached. I quickly found them. Here is a screenshot of that marriage record.

Notice anything weird about that date? It is 29 Feb 1839. Twenty-nine February? That meant they were married on a leap year...how cool! That is when I realized the problem. The year 1839 wasn't a leap year!

I wonder if they were actually married on the 28th? Or maybe it was March 1st?

Here's my theory. I noticed that the rest of the marriage book is not exactly in chronological order. It is close, but there are a few marriages recorded out of sequence. Next, I see that this marriage was not recorded until April, so several weeks had passed. Perhaps the justice of peace had just written down the 29th of February by mistake in his notes or he was trying to recall the date from memory. After all, I am always getting the dates wrong when writing a check! (As a genealogist, I probably shouldn't admit to always getting dates wrong...but you know what I mean!)

Another possible theory is the clerk that was recording the marriages transcribed the date wrong when writing it into this marriage book.

Whatever the reason for the inaccurate date, I think it is fair to say they were likely married in February and it couldn't have been on the 29th.

Several months ago, while working on Ancestry, I had another weird experience while looking at a census. I couldn't quite make out the name, so I had to zoom in on the image. When I did, the strangest thing happened! A picture of an old man with a little girl sitting on his lap just popped up right there on the page. I shrunk the image down and poof, they disappeared. I again zoomed in and there the picture was again. I knew no one would ever believe me, so I took a screenshot of the image.

See! I told you! Isn't that the strangest thing!?

Like I said, I just love running across these weird little things. Have you found an unusual or strange record lately or in the past? What has been your craziest find?

Want to read other spooky and strange genealogy readings? Try this!
Haunting Illnesses of the Past

7 Family History Things To Do on a Rainy Day

It seems like it has been raining non stop for days and it is raining again today. It's cold, wet, and gloomy outside.

I have a million things to do, but can't do any of them due to the bad weather. Then, I thought of my favorite genealogy and family history things to do when I have some down time.

Here are seven family history things I do on a rainy days.

1. Upload all my pictures from my phone to the computer and then to the Cloud. Sometimes, I go a step further and organize them by year.
2. Write in my personal journal about all the latest happenings in the family. I have kept a personal journal since I was 8 years old. I believe I am on journal number 17. I have NOT been as good at my journal writing since the kids have gotten older. I am lucky to write once a month. Since time passes so quickly and I don't write daily like I used to, I have started using a new format for journal writing. I use an outline format. It may not be as detailed or "interesting" but it will work for key events and at least jog my memory someday.

3. Clean up my pedigree chart by checking that no sources are missing.
4. Catch up on reading my favorite blogs, magazines, or newsletters.
5. Write letters or emails to all those on my "old ladies" list. Now before I have everyone jumping all over me, let me explain! Years ago, I had several older ladies that allowed me to interview them for our family history. I realized that many were widows and enjoyed getting a phone call or letter from time to time. I decided to create a list I loving referred to as the "old lady list." Over time, I added other people to the list, even older couples or widowed men. I try to write them as often as I can. I let them know I am thinking of them, how the family history research is going, and update them on my latest happenings.
6. Dust the shelves. I have a lot of shelves in my office. They get pretty dusty. :)
7. Clean the desk and file away notes. I love to make notes. They are everywhere. On occasion, it is necessary to go through the notes and either file in drawer 13 (the trash can) or file in the appropriate hanging folder. When the note is important to the family tree, I not only file it, but I add the information to my family history database with a source citation.

Guess what? While I sat here writing this post, it stopped raining! Figures. Maybe I will do a few of my rainy day items anyway. What family history things do you do on a rainy day?

It Happened in the Most Unusual Place

             Look closely at the picture above.  Some time ago, I was researching for a friend of mine in the area.   I was able to find this picture of her great-great grandparents.  It was found in the "Funderburg book" at the Piqua Library (Piqua, Miami, Ohio).[1]  I was very familiar with the book because I am a descendant of the Funderburg family too and my family pages were in the same chapter!

            But, the story becomes even more interesting!  One day, my mother and I were visiting downtown Piqua and went into several of the little antique shops along Main Street.  They all had wonderful collections of old photographs.  As I viewed these old photos I would wonder what their story was.  I thought, ‘How on earth did you end up in a shop being sold and not passed down through generations of family?’  But not everyone is as interested in family history as I am!

            I spotted an old album filled with pictures.  I scanned through each of the pictures and low and behold, I found this:

a picture card of the original of the photo I found in the Funderburg book!  I was near tears.  I just couldn't believe my luck!!  What were the chances? 

            Yes, I bought the little photo and presented it to my friend so that she could have this photo of her great-great grandparents...for $5, I might add!

            After purchasing the card, I asked the owner of the shop how likely it was to find a picture that you recognized.  To my surprise, he said it was not at all unusual.  His explanation was this:  When a photographer of the past finished his "photo session", he would file these original prints away in his case. At the time of the photographers death, the family took ownership of possibly thousands of pictures. Now sometimes, a child would hold on to them and pass them down to yet another generation. Over time, the pictures became collectible and the descendants decide to try to sell them or donate them to a society or library.  The individual might bring these cases of photos to a flea market or antique shop and sell them on consignment.  You all know how it works in many of our little towns across the country...people don't move away.  So your ancestors and the photographer were probably living in the same vicinity.  Perhaps the photographers descendants have not moved far away either and so the pictures end up somewhere local.  Checking flea markets and shops in your ancestors locale may lead you to an awesome find.

              The only problem with this?  What if you don't know what your relative looked like!?  Well, that IS a problem.  Few cards have names, however, if you have seen photos of your loved ones in books or at Great Aunt Susie's house, perhaps you may recognize them.

            I have been fortunate enough to find photos of loved ones in a variety of ways.  Other successful methods have been to contact the local historical museum(s) in the area of the targeted ancestor.  I was able to find three pictures of family members at the Bureau County Historical Society in Princeton, Illinois.  They have a photography collection that is indexed.  By writing to the society with surnames you are interested in, they will search the collection and send you a description of photos they have with that surname.  You can then order a reprint.

            Another suggestion:  follow the genealogy trail to present day relatives.  Here’s a hint…follow the oldest daughter...she usually gets the good stuff!

            I wondered who would have pictures of my great-great grandfather that I had seen in a book.  I wanted to get a better copy and see if there were others.  The author of the book made mention of who owned the photographs at the time of publication (as all good authors will!).  I used this name and tried to locate the individual on the internet.  She had died, but in her obituary two living children were listed.  I found her daughter and contacted her.  She did not have any photos, but her brother did.  Her mother had been living with him at the time of her death and everything was at his home in Kansas!  She put me in contact with him.  He didn't have the picture I was looking for, but he had something better, a picture of my great grandfather as a young man.  No one in my family had ever seen it!  We were delighted!

My Great grandfather as a young man.  George H. Bowser ca. 1890's

             What pictures will you be on the lookout for? Spring is right around the corner (I hope!), so here's to visiting old shops and using creative methods of tracking down photos of your ancestors!

Do you have family records written in another language? Here's how to get them translated! http://mykithnkin.blogspot.com/2014/02/translating-letters-from-hungary.html

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[1] Funderburg, Alvin K., “Descendants of Jacob and Eve (Boone) Funderburg”, published 1978, page 202