Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Genea-Wish List

1)  Think of the genealogy related wishes you have - what education, database, or information would make your genealogy research dreams come true?  Be specific - as many wishes as you want to list!

2)  Tell us about some of your genea-wishes in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook.


Here's mine:

1)  I wish (a VERY large wish) that all land deeds from all of the United States were digitized and put online. I'd have no problem browsing through the images, if there were digitized index books A-Z. I enjoy browsing through the images.


2)  I wish that all the Hungarian parish registers were digitized and available online. Again, no indexes needed.


3)  I wish that the records for my German ancestors from Brandenburg and Pommern were readily available.. even on microfilm.


4)  I wish that the records for my Polish ancestors from Barycz (Brzozów County) and Osobnica (Jasło County) were readily available.. even on microfilm.


5)  I wish I could find some kind of clue on my 3rd-great-grandmother, Martha A. Miller, the first wife and mother of the children to James A. J. Costilow.


6)  I wish I could break down the brick-wall for my 5th-great-grandfather, Hiram Howell. He was murdered in Tippah County, Mississippi in 1853. Unfortunately, there was a court house fire and not much exists from that time period that is of use.


7)  I wish I knew the maiden name of Hiram Howell's wife, Rachel.


8)  I wish I could find the baptism record for my 3rd-great-grandfather of Martin Domagalski.


9) I wish I could find the original patent of nobility for each of my noble families.


10)  Finally, I wish all Hungarian land records/deeds of any kind could be digitized and available online. Like above, no index needed as long as they're organized by towns. This is a BIG wish!!

FamilySearch Find Of The Day: Tippah County, Mississippi Deed for G. W. Vance

Back in April, I had made a visit to the Newberry library in Chicago, which is known for it's genealogical resources. To my delight, I found a book entitled "Land Deeds of Tippah County, Mississippi, 1836-1870", by Don Martini. I made a post about this in a previous entry, which you can find here. I was thrilled to be able to browse through this book and find the indexed information I needed for my Howell and Vance lines. My brick-wall ancestor, Hiram Howell, was murdered in Tippah County, Mississippi in 1853. His daughter Temperance Howell was married to George W. Vance, place and date unknown.


I was ecstatic today to see that FamilySearch had added a database called "Mississippi, Tippah County Records, 1836-1923". Instantly, I knew I'd be able to view the actual documents from the indexes I had previously obtained. Oh boy, was I excited! The first entry I located was a deed concerning my ancestor, George W. Vance. He apparently owed Jesse Embry $200. George W. Vance's stallion, the "Duke of Gloucester", was taken as collateral and given to Simon R. Spight to sell upon the date the money was due, if not paid in full. Quite interesting! I wonder what made this stallion worth $200 in 1845! Was this stallion a predecessor and ancestor to some modern race horses? Below you can find an extract of the record:

Deeds, 1844-1846, Volume F
Pages 97-98

Simon R. Spight, in trust from G. W. Vance
This indenture made the 24th day of February in the year of our lord one Thousand Eight hundred and fourty five by and between G. W. Vance of the county of Tippah and State of Mississippi of the first partiam, Simon R. Spight of the county and State aforesaid of the other part whereas the said G. W. Vance is indebted to one Jesse Embry in the sum of Two Hundred Dollars by two notes of hand are of which is for one hundred dollars due the 25th day of December 1845 and one also for one hundred dollars due the 25th day of December 1846 each note dated the 25th day of February 1845 and the same G. W. Vance being willing to give Jesse Embry a certain assurance that his money shall be paid at the expiration of the time specified in each note Therefore this indenture witnessth that the said G. W. Vance as well in consideration of securing the said Jesse Embry in the faithfull payment of the debt as also the sum of one dollar to him the said G. W. Vance in hand paid by the said Simon R. Spight the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged hath granted bargain sold transfered and assigned and set over and by these presents doth grant bargains sell assign transfer and set over to the said S. R. Spight his heirs and assigns _?_ _?_ Stallion known by the name of Duke of Gloucester to have and to hold the said horse unto the said S. R. Spight his heirs and assigns forever in trust however and to the intent and purpose that if the said two notes for the sum of one hundred dollars each are not well and truly paid of and discharged before the expiration of the respective times specificed 25th December 1845 and 25th December 1846 for one hundred dollars each by the said G. W. Vance or some other person for him then in that case the said S. R. Spight shall in the executing the trust hereby taken upon himself Advertise the said Horse for the span of twenty days by written advertisement at four public places in said county one of which shall be at the court house door of the county aforesaid that he will expose to the highest bidder the said Horse on a particular day for ready money and if the money aforesaid be not still paid on the day designated as aforesaid then the said S. R. Spight shall proceed to sell the above described Horse to the highest bidder for ready money and aforesaid sale to make a good and sufficient bill of sale in for said Horse conveying all the right and will that said G. W. Vance or his heirs may have in and to hoe same provided nevertheless that the said money should be paid before the day of sale herein mentioned these this indenture to be wholely void and of no effect either in law or equily in witness whereof the said G. W. Vance sets his hand an seal the date above written.

G. W. Vance (Seal)

List
CHarles G. Yancey
Richard Shelton
James H. Embry

FamilySearch Find Of The Day: Death Certificate Of Eszter Tóth Gombash

Today I'm highlight the death certificate of my great-great-grandmother, Eszter Tóth Gombash. She was born in the village of Tiszadob, in Szabolcs county, Hungary. Her parents were Károly Tóth and Mária Tóth. Yes, that was also Mária's last name, they were actually 4th cousins. She was married to my 2nd-great-grandfather, Sándor Gombás, in both Tiszadob and Büdszentmihály (the village Sándor was from), in 1895. They had a few children in Hungary and eventually immigrated to America, settling in Butler County, Pennsylvania, until Sándor's death in 1931.

Here is an extract of the record:

Reg. Dist. No.: 475
Primary Reg. Dist. No.: 4719
State File No.: 23475
Registrar's No.: 3
1a. Place of Death, County: Guernsey
1b. Place of Death, City or Village: Richland Twp.
1c. Place of Death, Length of Stay: 2 yrs
2a. Usual Residence, State: Pa
2b. Usual Residence, County: Butler
2c. Usual Residence, City or Village: Emleton P.A.
3. Name of Deceased: Esther Gombash
4. Date of Death: 4-4-50 (04 Apr 1950)
5. Sex: Female
6. Color or Race: White
7. Married, Never Married, Widowed, Divorced: Widow
8. Date of Birth: Sept 22, 1874
9. Age: 76
10a. Usual Occupation: Housewife
10b. Kind of Business or Industry: Own Home
11. Birthplace: Austria Hungary
12. Citizen of What Country: USA
13. Father's Name: Charles Toth
14. Mother's Name: Mary Toth
17. Informant's Signature: Mrs. Michael Mayors (Julia Gombash)
18. Cause of Death, I. Disease or Condition Directly Leading to Death: (a) Aortic valvulitis, several years
18. Cause of Death, I. Disease or Condition Directly Leading to Death: Due To (b) Syphilis probably
20. Autopsy? No
22. I hereby certify that I attended the deceased from 3/7, 1950, to 4/2, 1950, and that death occured at 4:30pm, from the causes and on the date stated above.
23a. Signature: William W. Bryant MD
23b. Address: Senecaville, Ohio
23c. 4/14/50
24a. Burial, Cremation, Removal: Burial
24b. Date: April 7, 50
24c. Name of Cemetery or Crematory: Old Anadale
24d. Location: Anadale, PA
Name of Embalmer: Charles R. Corwin, (Lic. No.) 3164A
Date Rec'd By Local Reg.: Apr 19, 1950
Registrar's Signature: James Stevens
25. Funeral Director's Signature: Wayne D. Womer, Clintonville, PA, (Lic. No.) 3926

FamilySearch Find Of The Day

Today I'm focusing on the FamilySearch database "Czech Republic, Northern Bohemia, Litoměřice Archive Church Books, 1552-1905". My great-grandfather's mother, Anna (Weishaupt) Stuempges, came from this area of Bohemia. I was delighted a few years ago, when I saw that FamilySearch had added these digital records online, because these records weren't previously available on microfilm. You either had to hire a researcher, pay the archive for the records or actually go there yourself.. all very pricey!

Anna Weishaupt was born 06 May 1867 in Graber (also called Kraber, Kravare; today it's called Kravaře), as the daughter of Joseph Weishaupt and Maria Anna Kasper. To date, I've been able to trace back to Anna's 2nd-great-grandparents on her paternal Weishaupt line.

They were Anton Weishaupt and Anna Maria Sandrich. Here is an extract of the marriage record:

Date of marriage: 14 May 1753, Kraber
Groom: Anton, the son of Christoph Weishaupt, from Schönau
Bride: Anna Maria, the daughter of Wentzel Sandrich, from Kraber
Witnesses: Wentzel Kraus, the "bürgermeister" (mayor) and Joseph May, the "schulmeister" (schoolmaster); both of Kraber

FamilySearch Find Of The Day

I thought it might be a neat theme for any random day of the week, to post a miscellaneous record that I periodically find on FamilySearch. With all the new databases they've been adding, I'm bound to find lots of new information on my family.

This post highlights the updated database "United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942". They recently updated the database on Friday, so I thought I'd give it a try and see what I could find. Seeing that they had an index that covers West Virginia, I immediately thought of my great-grandfather, Alex Gombash. I entered his name and his record was the first result to appear. A bit too easy, considering Gombash is always spelled wrong and butchered by whomever is actually writing the records.

Extract:

Serial Number: 462

Name: Alex Gombash

Place of Residence: Caretta, McDowell, W.Va.

Mailing address: Same

Age in Years: 45

Date of Birth: 11 Nov 1896

Place of Birth: Deegan, Pa.

Name and Address of Person Who Will Always Know Your Address: Anna Gombash, Caretta, W.Va.

Employer's Name and Address: Carter Coal Co., Coalwood, W.Va.

Place of Employment or Business: Caretta, McDowell, W.Va.

Signature-Alex Gombash

Race: White

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 145lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Gray

Complexion: Light

Signature of Registrar: Clyde Oney

Registrar for Local Board:  3, Beckley, W.Va.

Date of Registration: 27 of April 1942

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - You Might be a Genealogist if ...

This is a fun blog post this week! It is based on Katie O's post You Might Be a Genealogist If ... on the You Are Where You Came from blog.

Here are the directions:

1)  Make up your own "You Might be a Genealogist if..." sayings.  One or more.  Lots.  The more the merrier.  You can use Katie's tax theme, or any other theme - you're completely free to make up anything you want!
2)  Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, in a Twitter feed, or in a Facebook status line or comment.

Here are mine:

1) You might be a genealogist if... the majority of your friends (if not all of them) are also fellow genealogists.
2) You might be a genealogist if... you dreams consist of researching in microfilmed records.
3) You might be a genealogist if... you're at the grocery store and think how many microfilms you could be ordering instead.
4) You might be a genealogist if... you hear a familiar surname and instantly think of genealogy.
5) You might be a genealogist if... the first section you go to in a library, is the genealogy section.
6) You might be a genealogist if... you travel half-way across the country, just to stand on the land your ancestor once owned.
7) You might be a genealogist if... you find yourself at the courthouse while on a family vacation.
8) You might be a genealogist if... your family's eyes glaze over when you try talking to them about the family tree.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - the 1940 US Census

This is going to be a fun post. I saw on a website, that the 1940 census will be open to the public as of yesterday, one year from now. Immediately, I began thinking of who I should find first.

I've already been able to find my maternal grandparents. My grandfather, Thomas Thurman Rodgers, was born in Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi on 15 Jun 1928 to Fred Lamar Rodgers and Ellen Inez Martin. Here is an excerpt of him with his family in the 1930 census:

Rodgers, Fred L., Head, 30, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi, Farmer
Rodgers, Ellen I., Wife, 27, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi, Farm laborer
Rodgers, M. J., Son, 11, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi
Rodgers, Virginia A., Daughter, 6, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi
Rodgers, Wilburn H., Son, 4 8/12, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi
Rodgers, Thomas T., Son, 16/12, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi


My maternal grandmother was Elaine Florella Stuempges. She was born 31 Dec 1926 in Polar, Langlade County, Wisconsin, to Walter John Stuempges and Sylvia Maria Martin. Here is an excerpt of her with her family in the 1930 census:

Stuempges, Walter, Head, 30, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Bohemia, Mechanic in Garage
Stuempges, Sylvia, Wife, 20, Wisconsin, Germany, Wisconsin
Stuempges, Elaine, Daughter, 3, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin
Stuempges, Eunice, Daughter, 1, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin

As for my paternal grandparents, they were born after the 1930 census. My grandfather was John Edward Gombash. He was born 02 Oct 1935 in Caretta, McDowell County, West Virginia and was the son of Alex Gombash (previously Sándor Gombás) and Catherine Grządziel. Along with my great-grandparents and my grandfather, there will be 6 other children listed.. siblings to my grandfather. They're all living, so I won't state names and dates out of respect for their privacy.

My paternal grandmother was Mary Louise Adas. She was born 02 Mar 1940 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois to Edward Robert Adas, Sr. and his wife Martha Violet Czarny. Now knowing she was born in 1940, I'm REALLY hoping she's listed in the census. I'm not sure of the months of which the census was take that year, so I'll have to do some research on that topic. She had one younger brother who was born in 1941.

I'm going to be really curious about my paternal great-great-grandmother, as well. She was Eszter (Tóth) Gombás. Her husband, my great-great-grandfather, had died in May of 1931. She will have been a widow for 9 years now. I'm not sure of the exact location of where she will be, but I believe she may be in Lore City, Richland Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. That's where her daughter Julia (Gombash) Mayors was hopefully living at the time. I do know that Eszter died in April of 1950 in Lore City. Maybe she'll even appear in the 1950 census, too! Boy am I impatient! :)