iPentimento

Yesterday was Earth Day, but that’s no reason to slack off on your efforts to save the planet now that it’s over. My daughter-in-law told me about iRecyclePhones and their goal to lessen the impact on our landfills while at the same time reforesting areas of our planet that need it.

Here is all you have to do (ideally, after you delete your personal information from the phone!): You supply the box and put the phone(s) you would like to recycle into it. Then, download and print the prepaid shipping label. iRecyclePhones.com, in union with American Forest, will plant one tree for each cell phone that’s donated. Easy, simple, and something good you can do for the planet. Now, go spread the word about this worthwhile effort!

In an effort to get the word out about this endeavor, I am posting this on both iPentimento and my other blog Pentimento. I usually post about genealogy here at iPentimento, so think of this as a Public Service Announcement. ;-)

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Filed under: Environment

In 1994, as I was just getting started with my own family genealogy, one of my cousins in Missouri told me that she was in the DAR through an ancestor named James Harrison, and that I would be able to join that prestigious society through my relation to the same man.

As it turned out, that wasn’t true, and I ended up having the unpleasant task of telling my cousin Allene that her James Harrison’s patriot service in the Revolutionary War was now in question unless someone could provide more substantial proof of his service.

Young novice that I was, I was not going to give up on finding a patriot within my family lines, and so my research eventually brought me to look at another branch of my grandmother Minnie’s family, the Smiths. Now, isn’t that a dandy family surname to research? I already had some of that family information, and as more and more records for documentation were available online, I found that my Great-great-great Grandmother’s maiden name might have been Poindexter.

Up till then, the only Poindexter I had ever heard of was John Poindexter who is now mostly connected with the Iran-Contra affair. My connection to the family goes back in another direction, but I have to admit, any Poindexter in the USA is probably a cousin to me. Even ol’ John. In the 1970’s, when my elderly cousins were gathering their documentation in order to join the newly chartered Ozark Springs Chapter of the DAR, they had typed up and had printed some copies of a small family history of each branch they were related to, they were speaking in first person accounts of the people they had known and grown up with. Even though I had to go back and document each person, I found that for the most part they were right about names, dates and locations. There was only one surname that turned out to be incorrect, but that will be told in a later story about the “Osgatharps”.

In 1995 I purchased a book entitled The Poindexter Family History Book, 4th Edition, that was written by Dorothy Brown and Nealon Agee. Page 319 reads: VI. Miriam (or Mirian) Poindexter was born 4 March 1813 and died 24 July 1862. she married Rev. Charles Wesley Smith who was born 15 Feb. 1810. They were married on the 23rd of August 1829. From that point on, the research had already been done for me by Dorothy and I was to find that my ancestor was George Poingdestre, who arrived in the Colony of Virginia in 1657 from the Isle of Jersey (Channel Islands), off the coast of Normandy. George is my 8th Great Grandfather.

The above picture is from the Poindexter Descendant’s Association website and is the best photo I have yet to see of the home built by George Poindexter circa 1685 in Virginia. For more in-depth information on the Poindexter Family Association (including the family reunion slated for June 12-15, 2008 near Williamsburg, VA) please visit the link to the site included here.

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Filed under: Genealogy, History

I am very fortunate to be the caretaker of several high school yearbooks that belonged to my parents and grandparents. My family must have been genealogists at heart to have managed to save these old books for posterity. My collection isn’t all that large, but what I have is two Broadway High School yearbooks that belonged to my grandpa Elvin B. Moline who graduated from Broadway in Seattle in 1912. That’s him at the top of the page from the yearbook.

Click to join Yearbooks

For those of you who weren’t lucky enough to inherit yearbooks, there is still hope! I belong to a group on Yahoo that is just for those looking for old yearbooks. I have posted my yearbook holdings and volunteered to do lookups for anyone who asks. If you think this is something you would be interested in pursuing, all you have to do is click on the link I am inserting.

Some other links you might try:

Bill Cribbs’ Genealogy World (Yearbooks listed)

Current Yearbooks on Ebay

Dead Fred’s Genealogy Photo Archive

Old Yearbooks

There are 699 members in just this Yahoo group. Who knows what published information they might have, or what serendipity will lead you to a long lost cousin?

Note: My other yearbooks include: 1968 Tumwater, WA High School (my graduating year); Rochester High School, Rochester, WA years 1938 to 1941.

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Filed under: Family, Genealogy

When you think you have examined all of the genealogical resources, you might want to consider one more: Masonic Records

If, during your treks to the cemetery to find where your ancestors were buried, you might have run across a gravestone with a Masonic insignia on it. Although there are many associated with the organization, it is likely most people are familiar with the one above.

You may be able to contact a Lodge that your family member might have joined to see if they have any records for them. Remember one thing: These organizations get hundreds of requests for family information. They are not in the genealogical research business. Keeping that in mind, here is what the records could tell you.

1. The member’s name. You may only find the initials of the man because in past history it was fashionable to use those rather than the full name. Not good news to a genealogist.

2. The Lodge name. This may be Biblical, philosophical or historical in nature.

3. Lodge number. The Lodges were numbered in order of which they were chartered, the older Lodges having smaller numbers.

4. Location. The city or town in which the Lodge is located. Keep in mind that there have been times when Lodges “moved” when a town ceased to exist. Also, it wasn’t uncommon for a Lodge to “merge” with another when the membership of one declined. The Masonic Lodge has had times of peaks and valleys in its membership. During, and just after wars their memberships have increased. But, during the depression of the 1930’s membership fell off dramatically.

5. Initiated, Passed, Raised. This refers to the three degrees or phases of membership in the Lodge. A date will be given after these terms to denote the day the man received the Masonic degrees. Some may show the date the man’s petition was voted on by the Lodge, in which case it may show the term “Elected”.

6. Affiliated. If a man has been a member of a Lodge in another location, he may move his membership. Affiliated date means the day he was accepted into the new Lodge. (Also see Dimitted).

7. Reinstated. If the member has been dropped from the rosters (this could happen for a myriad of reasons) this is the date that he renewed his membership.

8. Dimitted. This is the date when the member withdrew his membership in the Lodge. In earlier times, the man dimitted to move his membership. He might have been given a letter of demit to take with him to his new location. This would allow him to affiliate, or join, a different Lodge in another town. What it tells a genealogist is when he moved and where he might have settled again.

9. Died. When a Lodge member dies, the date is noted of the record. If he had demitted or removed his membership in any way, the Lodge would not have kept any further record of him.

10. Suspended. U.M.C. Un-Masonic Conduct. This is the date the man was dropped from membership because he violated a “minor” Masonic law or code of conduct. This could have been for using profane language, or gambling. He probably would have been allowed to renew his membership.

11. Suspended. NPD (non-payment of dues). The date the man was dropped from membership because he failed to pay his dues. This was not uncommon during The Great Depression of the 1930’s, and I have found in my own family Masonic records that Lodge members who were elderly were oftentimes unable to pay also. [When it is a well-respected and long time member, the Lodge may elect to pay the dues for this member.]

12. Expelled. This is the date the man was dropped from the membership because he had violated a “major” Masonic law or code of conduct. Contrary to the Suspended UMC, this member would not be allowed to renew his membership. The expulsion sometimes involved a Masonic Trial because the accused had been charged with a criminal act.

13. Official Record. It may not be on all records, but this information would have listed his elected or appointed offices in the Lodge.

14. From, Lodge Number. The Lodge in which he had previously been a member.

Reminders

Please remember the following when you are making an inquiry about a member’s records.

• Enclose a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope).

• Do not send family group sheets. They have no bearing on the end result and are a waste of your time and money.

• Do not give a long detailed life history of yourself or your ancestor. Just write clearing and keep to the point.

• A man may petition for membership when he is 21, but it was more likely the average age might be nearer 35. If your ancestor moved about often, determine his location when he was 35 years of age or so. This location will be the one most likely to contain his Masonic membership.

• Sending money along with your request will not “speed up” the process. If you care to make a contribution, do so after receiving a response.

*Note* The Grand Masonic Lodge of California lost all of its records in the Great San Francisco fire of 1906. *Note* The Grand Masonic Lodge of Arkansas lost all of its records during a fire in 1918.

Reference: Researching Masonic Records by John S. Yates - 1997

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Filed under: Genealogy

On April 18, 1889, a tiny bit of a girl was born to Mary Elizabeth and Harvey Lawson Smith at McCammon Cave Farm in Howell County, Missouri. She was so tiny and fragile that she spent the first few months of her life being cared for by her mother, neighbors and friends. Her mother had no other way to keep her warm but to put her in the oven of the wood stove.

Most likely, she was only taken out when she needed to be fed or her clothing changed, at least in the first weeks. The little girl was named Lillian Mirtha Maude May Smith. Why so many names? Because she was named in honor of all the ladies who came to take care of her so my Great Grandmother could attend to her other household duties and the older children, Jasper, James, William and Della, as well as her husband Harvey.

Miriam, Elizabeth and Mary Elizabeth circa 1917

(see where I get my good looks?)

This story was told to me by “Mirtha’s” daughter Allene Moore Chapin, as well as a written copy of the story. As the mother of four other children that were living at the time of Mirtha’s birth, Mary Elizabeth was no doubt considered a “veteran”. It is likely that many of the women in rural America gave birth with the help of mid-wives which was the case here. I can’t be sure of it, but Mary Elizabeth’s own mother Elizabeth Jane Smith Hunter might have been in attendance for this birth and knew what to do. Elizabeth was known to have helped deliver many babies in her time, as I was told by the women who knew her.

Back row L-R: Jasper, Eli, William, James and Della;

Front: Mirtha, Minnie (my grandmother) and Mary Elizabeth Pentecost Smith

Lillian Mirtha Maude May Smith Moore

As you can see, Mirtha thrived and grew up to be a strong and robust young woman. She went on to marry Richard D. Moore and have three children of her own: Allene, Richard, and Bette.

To see more about this family please visit my Family Tree on Ancestry; or visit my FTM page here.

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Filed under: Genealogy, Photos