Beyond Fiction

OK, maybe I should rephrase that but I just wanted to grab folks’ attention!

Lately, I’ve taken to just throwing surnames into the Historical Newspaper Collection at Ancestry and seeing what might come up. You know, I’ll put “Spangler” in the surname box and then choose a state I’m interested in and “Obituaries” in the keywords box. I’ve gotten quite a few interesting results and usually save all the Spangler obituaries I find.

Yesterday, I had typed in this search and was looking in Indiana for an obit for Charles Morris Spangler but never came up with one. I did come up with what I thought was an interesting story. It’s short and sweet but I think there may be a few of you who would enjoy it. Here is the transcription:

Sick Wife Saves Man Four Dollars

Baltimore, Md (AP) — A passenger pulled a knife on cab driver Henry Spangler. He told Spangler he had a sick wife and needed $5.

Spangler, 52, said he had a sick wife too. The bandit said he would settle for $1 then. He took it and fled.

Indiana Evening Gazette, Wednesday, December 2, 1959, Page 14, Column 4

I hope I don’t get into any trouble with the AP on this! Enjoy the story and then “Have A Great Day!”

If you haven’t already discovered the Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 database on Family Search, you owe it to yourself to visit. If you have Texas connections it is very beneficial!

One thing that happens with a database such as this is that it will add new questions and new mysteries to your research! Today, while searching the records, I found a new mystery to solve. I have located the death certificate for Beulah (Wisdom) Gibbs but it is not what I expected. I found it by searching using Forbes as the mother’s name and Harrison, Texas, United States as the location. The mystery is that it says her name was Beulah E. Blackshear. Her father is the one who is listed as giving the information so I would trust that he should know! Her death certificate says she is a widow so that means whoever the husband Blackshear is will have to be found.

The interesting thing is that on the tombstone it says Beulah Wisdom Gibbs!

So, who is the mystery Blackshear? How can I go about finding this information? What else will lie behind the mystery?

Don’t you just love genealogy?

Hi everyone! I wanted to post something a little unusual today. I know it may not be the place to do so but I wanted to solicit advice from anyone who would be willing to give it!

My wife and I are busy planning a trip to see my son in August. He is in Cherry Point, North Carolina and we are going to spend a week with him starting August 18! My two daughters are also going to accompany us. Not being blessed with lots of money (who is?) I am trying to be as frugal as I can. Flying is definitely out because for 4 people that would be way too expensive. We have opted with driving the 1260 miles to Cherry Point! Of course, that is not going to be done in one day. My wife originally had a route planned through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina! I believe she did it through MapQuest. I searched for a route through Google Maps and came up with a more favorable route that goes through Arkansas, Tennessee and into North Carolina.

The new route makes the best halfway point to be Nashville, Tennessee. I like the idea of arriving in Nashville and spending a night there! If we leave early that morning we could arrive in Nashville around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That would give us plenty of time to explore before bedding down that night! Of course, being as I do very little traveling, I have no idea what to expect in Nashville. As with any city, I am sure that there are some parts that are safer than others and some parts you just don’t want to end up in. So, I have to reach out to those who would be willing to help.

I am looking for advice on the following:

• A good hotel, at a decent price, in a decent part of town!
• Ideas for things to do! (I thought of the Grand Old Opry but that is too high and would take up the majority of our time there!) Perhaps we could just walk along the streets and see the sites! I also noticed that there is a county fair going on at that time but really have no idea what to expect from it!
• Ideas for places to visit and take some photos to document our trip. This does not have to be in Nashville only. Perhaps there is something along our route that would be worth stopping for. (Hey, maybe I DO want to see the world’s largest ball of twine!)

I respect the intelligence of my fellow bloggers and I have to confess that I haven’t paid enough attention to locations of everyone so I figure this would be the best way to ask.

Anyone interested in helping a fellow blogger keep the peace in the family?

Wow! That is so amazing! 50 edtions so far!

I love the Carnival of Genealogy and I do what I can to support it. I just wanted to let everyone know that the 50th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted. It’s being hosted this time around by Bill West of West in New England. Please go visit and read all the articles. It’s a wonderful topic this time around. It’s all about our pets!

I promise I will try to get around to reading all the posts this weekend but right now I am busy with work and other duties at home! I have been waiting on this edition for a while and I am sure  I will love it! I’m sure you will also!

Have a great day everyone!

Thanks to a volunteer at Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, I now have a copy of the obituary for Martin Isaic Spangler’s youngest child, Lonnie Lawrence Spangler. Here is a transcript of the obituary:

Lonnie Lawrence Spangler, 48, died Tuesday in Loma Linda. A native of Sherry, Tex., he had lived in Redlands for many years and was a resident of Highland.
Survivors include the widow, Wilma, of Highland; two daughters, Mrs. Barbara Jo Henderson of San Bernardino and Mrs. Shirley Jean Coleman of West Monroe, La.; two brothers, John Carl Spangler of Portland, Ore., and Charles M. Spangler of Wichita, Kan.; three sisters, Mrs. Dora Jones of San Diego, Mrs. Cecil Townsley of Austin, Tex., and Mrs. Ella Ferguson of Harlingen, Tex.; and 10 grandchildren.
Services are pending at F. Arthur Cortner Chapel, Redlands.

I’ve learned a lot from this obituary. I’ve learned Lonnie’s wife’s first name, The married names of two of his daughters, and the fact that he had 10 grandchildren. That in itself is a lot more research to do.

I’ve also learned that John was in Oregon, Charles was in Kansas, Dora was now a Jones and living in San Diego, Cecil is now a Townsley and living in Austin, and Ella has gone back to Ferguson and is still in Harlingen. I’ve also learned that, apparently, Henry, Eva and James are all not listed which means that they must have died before April 1962. Of course, there is also the possiblity of not knowing where they were or whatever but my first guess is probably right.

My next step is to try to figure out the maiden name of Wilma, figure out who Barbara and Shirley married and figure out the birth dates of their children. I also hope to use the information gathered to find out more about Dora and Cecil. Maybe now I can find Ella in Harlingen. I had been looking for an Ella Robinson!

That’s it for today. I have to get ready for work and I’ll holler back tomorrow!

I just wanted to post about a find I made today just by chance!

Yesterday I was doing some more searching for descendants of Martin Isaic Spangler and was looking for a volunteer for Harris County, Texas on RAOGK. I just happened to notice that there was a volunteer for Harrison County and the name stuck out. It was someone I had corresponded with earlier in my research on my maternal side. His act of kindness was to look up old marriage licenses.

Well, just for the heck of it, I asked him if he would see if he had a record for George Charles Forbes and someone named Lee. I gave him the timeframe of 1914 through 1922.  I didn’t expect anything at all. I just thought I would try it.

Last night he wrote and said there was a listing for a George Charles Foster and Anna Lee Bayliss but that he wanted to see if it was actually Foster or not. Today, he wrote and sent me this:

Well, as you can see it is definitely Forbes! This is so cool. You see, I have heard from several of my aunts and uncles that my grandfather was married once before his marriage to my grandmother. They said that his first wife died in childbirth, as well as the child. All they could give me was the name “Lee”. I had searched for something to prove this but never could find it. Now, simply by chance, I have a marriage record that I believe is definitely the one I am looking for!

Isn’t it great when you are able to find things just by chance? I can’t wait to share this with the rest of the family.

Wow, I can’t believe that I am still writing about this! It seems that since I posted about this that I’ve just been able to find more and more about the descendants of Martin. Not enough to make contact with anyone yet but I do feel I am getting closer. I just felt it was time to update my finds on this line.

In my last post I detailed about finding some info on his granddaughter Stella and I have posted most of what I found on her and her husband. I reconsidered on posting the articles about the murder-suicide and another article about her son and brother. I just didn’t think it would be appropriate and it wouldn’t win any points if I did ever find any of her descendants. Today, I want to let you all know what I have been able to find on some of Martin’s children, thanks to my research trip to Clarksville, Texas on Friday. Knowing the full names of some of Martin’s children and knowing the birth dates has helped me to get a little closer to seeing this line come to fruition. Here is what I have on the children of Martin Isaic Spangler:

• Nancy Ellen Spangler - this is the actual name of Ella Spangler, the mother of Stella Mae Ferguson. Knowing her full name hasn’t helped yet, but I am hoping to find more on her soon. I do have her birth date now so that may help and I know that she remarried after her husband’s death to someone named Robinson.
• Henry Spangler - Henry is still somewhat of a mystery. I couldn’t find any birth info on him on my research trip so I am still uncertain of him. I did find a marriage for an H. J. Spangler on my trip so I obtained it and I am hoping that it will be him.
• Dora Lee Spangler - Having her complete name, birth date and the name of her husband hasn’t helped much. I still can’t find her in the 1930 census and I can’t find anything about her husband because he used what I suspect is a nickname on the wedding license. I still hold out hope though.
• Eva Spangler - Eva is just like Henry. She is a total mystery. No birth record, no death record, no records of any kind.
• John Carl Spangler - This is one of the ones that I have had some success on thanks to my trip on Friday. Knowing the complete name and birth date helped me to look him up in the SSDI and from there to find him in the death records of Oregon. I even managed to find an article about him arriving in California on the USS Cossatot. I’ve got a request in to RAOGK and hopefully an obituary will give me some more clues.
• Cecil Lolo Spangler - She is still a mystery but at least I have a name for her now. Before I only had Unknown Spangler because I couldn’t make out the writing in the 1910 Census. I believe I had an SSDI hit on her but I am not totally sure yet.
• James J. Spangler - James is the trifecta for Eva and Henry. A total mystery!
• Charles Morris Spangler - Knowing his complete name has led me to find his SSDI record and hopefully I can obtain an obituary through RAOGK to fill in some of the blanks. I do know that he died in Clark County, Indiana now!
• Lonnie Lawrence Spangler - Lonnie is the youngest of Martin’s children and lets me know that Martin was still around in 1913. The SSDI lets me know that Lonnie died in San Bernardino County, California and will hopefully help me to find more about him through an obituary. One nice thing about studying Lonnie has been that I have been able to find his mother’s maiden name through the California Death Records on Ancestry. Now I can call her Laura Luallen instead of Laura (?).

So, there you have it. I’ve gone from having a list of first and last names with no middle names and guesstimates of birth dates to having quite a few full names, birth dates, death dates and some info on the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Martin Isaic Spangler. Quite successful so far and I believe I will be able to find more soon.

Hmm, maybe I should post an article about another elusive ancestor? It seems to help get the old juices flowing and get the info to coming in!

Have a great week everyone!

It’s getting close to the deadline for the Carnival Of Genealogy and I wanted to try to make sure that I got a little story in about my favorite pet of all, Rocky! Please bear with me as I write this as I am a little inebriated at the moment! (Good times at the baby shower tonight!)

Rocky was given to us by my Aunt Ellen & Uncle Bert (I believe) and was a great little dog. I think the only real problem we ever had with him was that he was afraid of storms. If I recall right, he had been left outside during a tornado when he was a puppy and was terrified of any thunderstorm. He would scratch at the front door until his little paws would give out and once or twice he actually made it all the way through the door!

My two older brothers were Rocky’s primary “masters” but when they grew up and moved out Rocky became my good friend. He would go with me everywhere I went. He was afraid of nothing (other than thunderstorms) and would do anything to protect me. I remember one time that he took on 3 German shepherds while I took off running. He came home all beat up but he still watched out for me!

Rocky was also a very strange dog! He had a strange way with cats. Don’t ask me how he did it because I never figured it out but I remember so vividly coming outside and seeing Rocky sitting in the front yard just like always except for his rear end. It would be moving crazily and you couldn’t help but wonder what was up! Strangely, every time there would be a cat underneath him! It’s like he would fight with a cat and then sit on it! I don’t know if he was trying to smother it or if he was just showing the cat how dominant he was! Either way it was a strange site!

We also loved to torment poor Rocky. We would call him to us by saying, “Come here, Rocky, come here!” and he would come up to you and we would keep saying it as if we didn’t notice him. After a few moments of this he would just start howling as loud as he could. We were so mean, weren’t we?

I also remember another time when my dad was upset with Rocky because he had tore through a door scratching it during a storm and he put him in the truck and drove to the Devil’s Bowl Speedway and dumped him out in the country. It was probably about 20 miles or so from home. I was so heartbroken. I cried a lot. A few weeks later we were surprised to see little Rocky pulling himself up the street. He was in pretty bad shape but he had fought his way home and was back with us again. My dad could never bring himself to do that ever again.

Sadly, one night during a storm, my sister and I locked Rocky in one of the cars in our back yard so that he wouldn’t tear up the door. However, we forgot to crack the windows like we normally would. We got up the next morning and went to school and it wasn’t until that afternoon that we remembered him.

It was way too late!

Our friend and my companion was gone! My dad once again drove out to Devil’s Bowl Speedway to drop Rocky off, but this time it was for good! I cried and cried and cried and I believe I even saw my daddy cry that night! How sad it was.

I’ll never forget ol’ Rocky and I’ve never had a pet that I was as close to since.

Picture #1 - Rocky and my brother Charles.

Picture #2 - Rocky and my brother Robert.

I wish I had a picture of myself and Rocky but unfortunately I can’t find one!

OK, I’m not trying to be negative but I had an incredibly eye-opening experience today. On my research trip today I was excited to finally go searching for birth and death records of folks who were born in the late 1800s and died in the very early 1900s. How wonderful it would be to get some of the information off of those records!

The woman at the County Clerk’s office was very nice and helpful and the indexes were so good. The problem was that in order to get a death certificate that was almost 100 years old I had to fill out a form detailing my relationship and then pay $21.00 for a death certificate and $23.00 for a birth certificate. I asked why I couldn’t just get a regular, uncertified copy and was told that all they have now is the certified copies. Well, that was very surprising to me! I am being charged $20 something for copies of certificates that I’ve been getting online for free or for just $50 a year at Footnote! What’s up with that?

<START RANT>

For those who complain about having to pay for access to services such as Footnote, why not think about this. If I had paid the price at the court house for the death certificates I have obtained from Family Search for free (55), then the total price would be $1, 155! That is ridiculous! What’s worse, some of the death certificates I have gotten from Family Search are not even on the index at the court house! The same goes for the birth indexes at the court house and what I have gotten on Footnote!

And that is not including the cost of gas if I had to drive all over Texas looking for them!

I think I will take a very different approach when it comes to paying for access to certain records! I know now that things could be a lot worse! I am also convinced that some folks need to step back and think about things before complaining about paying for services online!

<END OF RANT>

Today has been a very good genealogy day. I had a lot of luck on my trip to the Red River Valley Court House in Clarksville. I was able to come away with several marriage records, I was able to get a few birth dates and correct some names and had a very surprising discovery that woke me up to just how valuable online research is! I’ll write a separate post about that discovery later.

First the good stuff! I was able to obtain marriage records for the following marriages:

• Helen Marie Spangler & Ira R. Robinson
• Irene Spangler & Marvin Bennett
• Robbie Spangler & Frank Jaynes
• Sybil Spangler & Ezra Tucker
• Eunice Spangler & George Winkle
• Verena Spangler & Elmer Shoulders
• Dora L. Spangler & Dewey Neal
• Ella Spangler & O. D. Ferguson
• Eli Gideon Spangler & Mary E. Hamilton
• H. J. Spangler & Alma Matherson

I was also able to find the birth dates and complete names for the following people:

• Nancy Ellen Spangler
• Dora Lee Spangler
• John Carl Spangler
• Cecil Lolo Spangler
• Charles Morris Spangler
• Lonnie Lawrence Spangler
• Raden William Ferguson
• Bonnie Ruth Ferguson
• Stella Mae Ferguson

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find anything on Martin Isaic Spangler. It’s like he just fell off the face of the earth sometime between 1910 and 1920! At least I know a little more about his descendants now!

I was also able to get new pictures of some tombstones and was surprised to find a couple that I didn’t expect to find.

I hung around until 12:00 when the Clarksville Public Library opened and was only there for an hour but was able to gain a tremendous amount of information from just 8 copied pages! Two were obituaries and the other six were pages from the Cemetery Records of Red River County. They had information about the deaths, some had obituaries, and some had birth and marriage information. For just $2.00 I was able to gain enough info to keep me busy for a while!

I think I spent $12.00 total for my copies of marriage records and copies from the library. I spent about $7.00 on lunch and probably about $10.00 on gas. For about $29.00 I was able to get so much information.

I’d called that successful, wouldn’t you?

The bad part is coming in my next post!