Heartland Genealogy

For the past several days I've been working on the narrative report for my ancestor, Richmond Fisk Hammond. What should have been a relatively simple clean-up of sentences and sources has become more complicated. Two blocks of text are proving particularly difficult. One of the blocks is about Richmond's filing of land papers in Ford County, Kansas while the other block concerns his military record. After reviewing the paragraph about the land holdings, I have concluded that I don't have adequate documentation to support what I have recorded as a fact. I have reference to a deed but I do not have the actual copy of the deed. The footnote not only references the purchase of the land but also the filing of homestead papers. Thus, I at least need a copy of the deed and probably the actual homestead land file. So today's mail contains requests for both. The text about his military service is a different story. I have a copy of his pension file and his military ...

Do you track your DNA statistics? At times, I've tried keeping track of these statistics but got frustrated when the way the information was reported would change. Thus, it became difficult to compare current data with previous data. After seeing Randy Seaver's post, Randy's Autosomal DNA Test and Analysis Summary - 29 Dec 2020 , I decided to compile my own DNA statistics. ANCESTRY DNA Me Brother 1 Brother 2 Parent Total Matches 110,981 125,144 115,182 74,618 Immediate Family 3 3 3 3 1st Cousins (As defined by Ancestry) 1 1 1 4 2nd Cousins (as defined by Ancestry) 4 8 3 9 3rd cousins 33 40 9 36 4th cousin sharing 64 cM or more 11 13 7 13 Close Matches - at least 20 cM 3701 4641 3914 2709 Distant Matches 6-20 cM 107,280 120,503 111,268 71.909 Distant Relative group (6-8 cM) 67072 74374 68405 44670 When it comes to 'common ancestors,' I couldn't find the number reported by Ancestry. Since I don't want to have to try and count them, I'm...

Declaration for Pension Act of May 1, 1920 State of California, County of Los Angeles, ss: On this 2[0] day of May A.D. 1921 personally appeared before me, a notary public, within and for the county and state aforesaid, Richmond F. Hammond who, being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is 80 year of age, and a resident of Soldiers Home county of Los Angeles, State of California; and that he is the identical person who was Enrolled at Galesburg Ills, under the hame of Richmond F Hammond on the 26th day of May, 1861, as a Private in Company E of Ills Infty Volz in the service of the United States, in the Civil War, and was honorably discharged at [Clinton} Mo on the 21st day of August, 1861. That he also served reEnlisted March 1st 1826 1st Illinois Cavly Vols was discharged July 14 1862 at St Louis Mo Re Enlisted in Co D 14 Ills Cavlary Sept 29 1862 Discharged June 16 1865 at Springfield Ills. That his personal description at enlistment was as follows: Hei...

Department of the Interior Bureau of Pensions Richomond F Hammond Bellflower Cal 118839 Act May Stamped APR 12 1915 / JUN 16 1915 No. 1. Date nd place of birth? Answer. Licking Co Ohio The name of organizations in which you served? Answer. E Co 17 Ills Infy - IL Company 14 Ills Cav no. 2. What was your post office at enlistment? Answer. Galesburg Illinois No. 3. State your wife's full name and her maiden name. Answer. Mary A Hammond (Reynolds) No. 4. When, where and by whom were you married? Answer. Oct 29 1906 at Kinglsey Kas by Probate Judge No. 5. Is there any official or church record of your marriage? No If so, where? Answer. At probate judges offise Kinsly Kas No. 6. Were you previously married? If so, state the name of your former wife, the date of the marriage and the date and place of her death or divorce. If there was more than one previous marriage, let your answer include all former wives. Answer. Yes. First wife Sarah E Rals...

Have you heard of My Heritage's Colorize Photos tool? Announced earlier this year, this tool takes a black and white photo and creates a color photo from it. I'd heard of the tool but had never used it until today. When I got a request for some family pictures from a cousin, my husband suggested that I use this tool on the pictures. Thus, I tried it out - and am hooked. Using My Heritage's tool was super simple. I just uploaded the picture, waited a few seconds and then was able to download the colorized image. For detailed instructions see My Heritage Turns Old Black and White Photos into Stunning Color Images .

In 1806, Rachel Currey married Samuel Colver in Champaign County Ohio. Rachel and Samuel had five children: Abigail, Sarah, Samuel, Rachel and Hiram. Sarah married Lyman Konkrite in 1827. By 1860 the Konkrites had migrated to Texas where Sarah died in 1874. Rachel married Robert Wilson in 1833 and moved to Illinois. Samuel married Huldah Callender in Logan County Ohio in 1843. Prior to his marriage, Samuel was in Texas where he served as a Texas Ranger under Colonel Edward Burleson. Hiram married Mariah Ward in 1841 in Madison County, Ohio. In 1849, Samuel and Hiram had moved with their families to St. Joseph, Missouri where they were preparing to move to Oregon. In a letter dated in November (year not specified), Hiram writes his parents about their stay in St. Joseph and the desire to move west. Samuel added a note at the end of this letter. According to their respective land claims, Samuel and Hiram arrived in Oregon in 1850. The two families settled in Jackson County Oregon. I...

State of Kansas County of Ford In the matter of Richmond F Hammond, late member of Co D 14" Reg't Ill Cav Vols On this 8 day of March A.D. 1898 personally appeared before me RIchmond F Hammond aged 57 years, a resident of Dodge City in the county of Ford and State of Kansas well known to me to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who, being duly sworn, declares in relation to aforesaid case as follows: My Chronick diarehea was contracted while I was a Prisoner of War at Andersonville, Geo in summer and fall of 1864 and continued on me while I was at Charleston South Carolina and at Florence South Carolina wheas I came near loosing my life with it and it has continued on me ever sense and I farther state that the Doctor that attended me when I got home from Rebel prisons is dead so is the next one and that is the reason why I cannot get the evidence of them. I did not serve in the Naval or military service of the United States prior to May 23, 1861 nor ...

Dec [2]4 1919 Mrs. E.O. Briles St. Joseph Hospital Linwood & Prospect Kans City MO Dear Pauline: rec'd your card and so glad to know you are getting along allright "Mary Ida" is all right now has 2 teeth now so that she can bite good and hard Fannie made $26 at the pie supper. No we didn't go Frank saw Walter Monday went down to your folks after [c?] He was just fine Wishing you Merry Xmas. Love Myra I received the above post card with some of my grandmother's things. I don't remember ever discussing this with her - and wished I had. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to my question, 'Why was she in the hospital in Kansas City when they lived in Woodson county?' All I have is speculation. When I first realized that grandma was hospitalized in 1919, I wondered if she was suffering depression after the death of her almost 9 month old son, Kenneth, in June of that year. However, my perspective has widened to wonder if ...

1.  Mary Foster 1 – 3 was born on 28 Aug 1842 in West Lebanon, Warren, Indiana, United States. 4 – 13 She was the child of Zebulon Foster and Caroline Ostrander. 12      Mary Foster was listed in the household of Zebulon Foster on the 1850 census in Warren County, Indiana. According to the census, Mary was 8 years old and born in Indiana.. 14 – 15 Mary Foster was listed in the household of Zebulon Foster on the 1860 census in Warren County, Indiana. According to the census, Mary was 17 years old.. 16      She married Washington Marion Crawford on 4 Mar 1860 in West Lebanon, Warren, Indiana, United States. 8 , 12 , 17 – 25      On 3 Aug 1861.  Mary Crawford's husband, Washington Marion Crawford, enlisted as a Sergeant in Company H of the 2nd Regiment of the New York Cavlary, also known as "Harris Light Horse". 26      On on 18 Dec 1862, Ida Kate Crawford was born in in Warren, Indiana, United States. 12       On 22 Sep 1863, Mary Crawford's husband, Washington ...

It's approaching that time of year when on reflects on the past year and looks forward to the next. Like most people, I'm ready for this pandemic to be over. However, I do like to look back on my genealogy to see how much progress I've made. In order to do that, I have to collect data for future comparison. Thus, I'm going to collect data on my Ancestry DNA Thrulines. I am MC, my siblings are DC and TC and my parent is RC. Great-Grandparents Ancestor MC DC TC RC Judson Crawford 8 8 8 Josie Hammond 8 8 8 Hiram Currey 3 3 3 Winnie Hutchinson 3 3 3 Edward Briles 8 8 8 8 Frances Ricketts 8 8 8 8 Charles Mentzer 9 9 9 9 Nettie Wells 9 9 9 9 2nd Great Grandparents Ancestor MC DC TC RC Washington Crawford 11 12 11 Mary Foster 11 12 11 Richmond Hammond 10 10 10 Sarah Ralston 9 9 9 Hiram Currey 8 7 8 Angelina Burke 8 7 8 Albert Hutchinson 25 22 22 Julia Harding 25 22 22 Noah Briles 10 10 10 10 Sarah Thompson 10 10 10 10 James Ricketts 9 9 9 9 Rachel Christy...

Washington Marion Crawford is my 2nd great-grandfather on my dad's side of my tree. He moved his family to Dodge City, Kansas about 1884. * Members of the 4th generation are only shown if a death date has been documented 1. Washington Marion Crawford b: 21 Apr 1838, Warren, Indiana, United States d: 23 Aug 1889, Fort Dodge, Ford, Kansas, United States + Mary Foster b: 28 Aug 1842, West Lebanon, Warren, Indiana, United States m: 4 Mar 1860, West Lebanon, Warren, Indiana, United States d: 21 Jan 1929, Dodge City, Ford, Kansas, United States . . . . 11. Ida Kate Crawford         b: 18 Dec 1862, Warren, Indiana, United States         d: 7 Mar 1934, Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, United States . . . . + Alva Oris Sherman         b: Oct 1859, Illinois, United States         m: 14 Nov 1886, Dodge City, Ford, Kansas, United States         d: 8 Jan 1935, Tacoma, Pierce, Washington, United States . . . . . . . . 111. Jessie Sherman                 b: abt 1891                 d: abt 189...

Do you start listening to Christmas music around the end of October or do you wait until closer to Christmas to enjoy the seasonal music? This week, Randy Seaver challenged us to name our favorite Christmas song in his weekly, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post. I'm not going to follow the rules. Instead of just talking about one favorite, I'm going to discuss several songs. My all time favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night. I think one of the reasons this is my favorite is that I loved to play it on the piano. Many different artists have excellent renditions of this song. However, my favorite rendition was one that I was privileged to witness on Christmas Eve five years ago at The Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. My husband and I were ushering that evening. Thus, it wasn't until towards the end of the song, that I could just stand there and soak in the beauty of the song. It wasn't until later that evening that I learned the story of the singer, C...