2016 Genealogy Resolution Continued

So, I didn't really talk about my GENEALOGY resolution for 2016, and I do have one!

My MASON family.

I have neglected this family line for decades because, well, it is difficult!

#1 - It is a common surname. But hey! I have SMITHs, JOHNSONs and WILLIAMs, the top 3 most common surnames in the country, so that is no real deterrent.

#2 - They all named their sons, William and John. No kidding! Generation after generation of William and John Masons. But that is not that uncommon with English ancestors.

This is photo from FindAGrave of a "cemetery" in WV.

#3 -  They lived in West Virginia. Don't get me wrong! I love my West Virginia ancestors and their West Virginia Archives and History is one of my favorite web sites for birth, marriage and death records. But my ancestors seemed to have a cavalier attitude for registering such events. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. And the terrain can be quite challenging.

 The MASONs are well researched back 4 generations, to my 2X great grandfather, William H. Mason (1860-1935), but his father, William B. Mason is where the information is incomplete and contradictory.

So to tackle this problem all the information on the family will be reviewed. ALL OF IT!
I will be looking for:

• Incomplete information. For example, I don't know when or where William B. Mason or his wife died or were married. The most obvious sources have been checked. Less obvious sources and locations need to be investigated.
• Contradictory information, such as two of his daughter's death certificates, list different names for their mother. Is the information on the death certificates wrong or did William have two wives? 
• His wife's name is given as Elizabeth in the 3 censuses they appear in, but Elizabeth starts out as 12 years his junior and ends up being 19 years younger. Same woman, fudging her age, or two different women with the same first name? I have seen that happen, too!
• Collateral lines need to be fleshed out and investigated for possible clues.
• Was William B. Mason in the military? He would have been about 44 years old during the Civil War. West Virginia came into being during the Civil War. Which side might William have served on?
• Did he own land? In the 1850 Census, his occupation is "overseer". The next two censuses list him as a farmer, but with little personal property. Did he own or rent?

I will probably create several spreadsheets to view all the information and identify missing and conflicting information.

Periodically, I will post updates as to how this research is going...

Want a quick laugh? Check out this list of how to "fail at family history":
How-to-Fail-at-Family-History-Research-in-10-Simple-Steps

New book coming to the Medina Library soon: Great Migration Directory

This book promises to list the names of all people known to have come to New England during the Great Migration period, 1620-1640. Each entry provides the name of the head of household, English or European origin (if known), date of migration, principal residences in New England, and the best available sources of information for the subject. This book will be shelved in the Franklin Sylvester Room in the very near future!



Robert Hyde has generously donated 3 scrapbooks on the Medina High School Class of 1950 Reunions. These are already shelved in the Franklin Sylvester Room above the yearbooks.

Genealogy New Year's Resolutions!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

The New Year is a time of looking back as well as forward. Before I share my Genealogy New Year's Resolution for 2016, let's take a look at what my resolution was for 2015.

I resolved to finish my lineage society application for the The Society of Civil War Families of Gallia County. And to forgive myself for not completing it in 2014, when I first made that resolution.

Certificate & pin for the Society of Civil War Families of
Gallia County.

And I did it!!  I completed my application and sent it in, receiving my acceptance in April of 2015.

Yeah me!

 I also completed the application to the Ohio Genealogical Society's Society of Civil War Families of Ohio and that application was also accepted. Whew! Their criteria is a little more stringent than most and I was sweating that one!

I attended the Gallia County's Lineage Society Banquet in October, combining the trip with research. That research gave me the proof I need to apply for First Families of Gallia County and also of Ohio.

So I kept the first part of my resolution. What about the second part, the part about forgiving myself?

Well....

Mostly, I have forgotten the guilt of not keeping the resolution in 2014. It is lost in the flotsam on the ocean of my many, many good intentions that go unfulfilled. The birthday phone calls that I don't make, the condolence cards that don't get sent. The little gift to show someone appreciation for an act of kindness. These other missed opportunities weigh much more heavily on my mind than a self-imposed deadline for a lineage society application.

I will admit that I am still working on learning to forgive myself. As I remind my family and friends when they are being too hard on themselves, would you be so hard on someone else or your children, who had a momentary lapse in kindness?? Probably not.

So one of my resolutions for 2016 is to continue to work on being kinder to myself as well as to others. It is a worthwhile goal and one I hope to never give up in my lifetime.

How about you? Will you resolve to be kinder to yourself as well as others?

Next Week - Genealogy New Year's Resolution for 2016!