Regrouping

I've been away....literally and figuratively. I have taken a break from posting for some "me time" in an effort to figure out what I wanted to accomplish with this blog. It was also a time to reflect on how best to manage my precious genealogy time. I'm a mom of two busy girls, a wife, a full-time employee, a chief bottle washer (thank goodness for all that my dear husband is the chief cook), laundress, etc. You get the picture. There are only so many hours in my day to accomplish things and something had to give.

As a result, I've determined that Twitter just isn't for me - I can't figure out all the abbreviations and I wasn't gleaning anything really meaningful that I couldn't get from reading my favorite blog posts. I've continued with Facebook which I primarily use for my personal friends though I do have "friends" that are new (to me) relatives and researchers working on common lines. I don't use it as extensively as other genealogists do and probably won't. I'm ok with that. I've also determined I just can't possibly read any more blogs. I love to read the escapades of another's mysterious ancestor, but time is precious. I do continue to scan the new blogs that Geneabloggers puts out each week in the hope that someone will be researching my lines. I continue to gather my genealogy news in that fashion. And I will continue to read (via Google Reader) those blogs of the few kind folks who follow my random ramblings. I will also remain somewhat active on GenWise. They've had a few missteps, dramas, and some outright plagiarism (that was later corrected and properly attributed to Randy Seaver) that have left a bad taste in my mouth. My time is precious and I don't need to deal with that kind of drama - if I wanted to I'd watch daytime soaps. I was hoping (and still am) that more educational opportunities would come from GenWise rather than "tell me everything you know about XYZ". I realize that everyone starts new and makes mistakes. Heaven knows I've had my share. However, I am going to pick and choose how I participate. I hope my time won't be wasted there.

I recall reading a post (and please forgive me for not remembering where it was) about a fellow geneablogger also frustrated with all the social media opportunities and the lack of time to do them all. After reading that, it truly verbalized the exact feelings I had been going through. Since cloning isn't an option, I have to manage time the best I can.

Since my last post nearly a month ago, I have been very busy checking off some "to-do" items. A few "family history" things that I have done include:
1. Taking a family vacation to my mother-in-law's in coastal North Carolina.
2. Requested my grandfather Lee McNeill's Navy records.
3. Requested and received land record information from Whiteside Co., Illinois on my 3rd great-grandfather, Porter Joseph Harmon, and his father, Walter Harmon. They had land warrants to get the land so now I have to figure out how they acquired the land warrants.
4. Hired a wonderful professional researcher to look into some McNeill records for me at the North Carolina State Archives.
5. Requested and received some Patriot applications from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
6. Requested and received a death certificate for my 2nd great-grandfather, Homer Arthur, from Santa Cruz Co, California.
7. Requested an obituary on Catherine Ellen Struble Myers, my 3rd great-grandmother. The South Dakota Archives were unable to locate an obit but did send a WPA transcription of the cemetery she was buried in.
8. Started researching a new genealogy software. I'm using FTM 2005 and also have trees posted on Ancestry.com for each grandparent. I'd like to have one tree where I can combine all data, have the ability to prepare various reports, and the ability to attach various media files to the individuals. I'm leaning towards RootsMagic 4, but am also curious about the new FTM 2010. Any recommendations?

I hope in some future posts to discuss the findings, or lack thereof, in the 8 items posted above.

This list doesn't include things like school shopping for the soon-to-be kindergartener in our home, assisting with our church's Vacation Bible School program, swimming lessons, and the list goes on. It's no wonder I'm tired.

My Veteran Ancestors

This morning on this long Memorial Day weekend, I got to thinking about all the people in my family tree that have served in the military. I was surprised when I realized how long the list really was.

On my father's side:

• Both my father and his brother served in the Navy during Vietnam. Their father, Lee McNeill (as mentioned in previous posts), also served in the Navy as a pharmacist's mate during the 1930s. My goal for this weekend is to finally draft the letter to the NARA to see if we can finally obtain his military records.
• Lee's great-grandfather, Archibald H. McNeill, served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War serving in Co E, 6th North Carolina Infantry. He escaped from that unit, returned home to Mitchell Co, North Carolina, and enlisted in the Union Army, serving in Co A, 3rd Regiment of NC Mounted Infantry. If I also recall, two of Archibald's brothers, John and Daniel, also served during the Civil War.
• William Woody, another great-grandfather of Lee, also joined Co E, 6th North Carolina Infantry and died of the measles at Ashland, Virginia in May 1862.
• William Woody's great-grandfather, Henry Woody, served in the Revolutionary War from Virginia.
• Henry Grindstaff, Lee's great-grandfather, served in the Mexican War.
• Isaac Grindstaff, an ancestor of Henry, served in the Revolutionary War from North Carolina.
• On my grandma's (Lee's widow) side, her grandfather Conrad Coons Scott served in Co H 35th Missouri Infantry and Co F 12th Missouri Cavalry for the Union during the Civil War. Two of Conrad's brothers also served during this conflict.

On my mother's side:

• Her father, Fred J. Harmon, served in the Army Air Corp station at Wharton Air Base in Wharton, England during World War II. I remember listening to many of his war stories, including the fact that he REFUSED to eat brussel sprouts after being in England, that they had to march through mud in the rain, and that after he was diagnosed with pluresy and put in a military hospital, Dinah Shore came to sing for the patients. He would always sing "Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" when I was a child and I didn't realize until I was an adult he always fondly was thinking of her! Both of Fred's brothers served during WWII: one stateside and the other in the Pacific at Guam.
• Fred's great-grandfather, Thomas Arthur, served in Co D, 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery during the Civil War.
• My great-grandfather, Helmer N. Hiby, served during World War I at Ft. Riley, Kansas. One story that sticks in my memory is that he worked in the medical unit during the flu epidemic and carried all the deceased victims out of the hospital presumably to the morgue. Apparently he refused to go to funerals for the rest of his life.
• I think there were some Harmons that served in the Revolutionary War, but am not sure if they are my direct ancestors. It's a research point I'm currently working on.
• I think there is a Struble or perhaps a Studervant ancestor that served during the American Revolution as well. Again, something I'm still researching.

In my husband's family, his brother is currently serving a second tour of duty in Iraq. His wife has also served there as well. My father-in-law served in the U.S. Navy in the early 1960s and was stationed in Germany for a while where he got to connect with some of his German aunts, uncles, and cousins.

May you take the time this weekend and every day throughout the year to remember the sacrifices our military personnel makes through their time and even the sacrifice of their lives to serve our country and protect our freedoms. I know I will.

My surnames being researched

Before I continue on with Lee's story, I feel compelled to give a brief description of the other surnames that I am researching. Though Lee's family was the impetus to get me started, I have since branched out to pursue my other grandparent's families as well. The list includes the following:



HARMON from Clark Co, South Dakota (1880s to 1960s); Whiteside Co, Illinois (1840s to 1880s); Berkshire Co, Massachusetts (? to 1840s). Lines related to the Harmons include ZIMMER, HEATH, and ARMSTRONG.



ARTHUR from Clark Co. and Moody Co., South Dakota (1870s to 1950s or so); Rice Co, Minnesota (1850s-1920s); Ashtabula Co. and Trumbull Co., Ohio (1840s-1850s); and New London Co, Connecticut (? to 1830s). Lines related to the Arthurs include BROWN (Ashtabula Co, Ohio), MYERS, STRUBLE (from Union Co, Pennsylvania) and COCHRAN (also originating from Union Co, Pennsylvania).



HIBY/HOIBY from Clark Co., South Dakota (1880s to present); Dane Co, Wisconsin (1860s to 1900s), and Norway. Also related is NELSON of Norwegian descent.



HANSON from Clark Co., South Dakota (1880s to 1960s); Winneshiek Co. and Buena Vista Co., Iowa, and Houston Co., Minnesota (1850s to 1880s); and Kongsvinger, Norway prior to 1850. ANDERSON is another related surname.



SCOTT from Johnson Co, Kansas; Furnas Co, Nebraska; Nodaway Co, Missouri, Davis Co, Iowa and Hendricks Co, Indiana; Associated surnames include PITTS, JONES, SHERER/SCHERER, and the mysterious SWIFT. There is great speculation and family lore indicating that a Scott was originally a Swift. It's a puzzle I'm still working on.



GREATHOUSE from Wright and Webster Co, Missouri (1860s-?) Greathouse branches also are in St. Clair county; Kentucky and Virginia (1790s-1830s). Associated surnames include JOHNSON, COX from Randolph Co, North Carolina (they were Quakers), and ALGOOD/ALLGOOD.