Someone Peed In My Gene Pool! – Page 4 – A day in the life of the family historian…

July 26, 2025

Introducing Viola Mildred Beyl

Featuring: Viola Mildred Beyl (1914–2000)

Pull up a chair and settle in—this page begins with Viola Mildred Beyl, though you may know her simply as Mildred. Born in 1914 to a bakery family in Indiana, she grew up with flour in the air, laughter in the kitchen, and a head full of curls.

She went on to become a Buchanan, a mother, a homemaker, and the heart of every room she entered. Her life stretched across nearly a century of change—but no matter where she lived (and oh, did she move!), Mildred left a trail of kindness, food, and unforgettable stories.

This space is part of an ongoing tribute to the Beyl family line, starting with Mildred and branching outward to include the many names and generations connected to hers.

✍️ Share Your Memories

Did you know Mildred? Have a favorite story, recipe, or quirky family trait that reminds you of her? Add your voice in the comments section below. Even a single word—like “gardening” or “card shark”—helps keep the past alive.

🌿 Want more than just the highlights?
Visit the Family Page for Viola Mildred Beyl to see the timeline, photos, and deeper roots of her story.

📜 What’s Inside

Family records & photos
Census and city directory entries
Connections to the Buchanan line
Grave marker & Find A Grave memorial
Personal stories and reader memories

Whether you’re part of the Beyl family or just wandering through the branches, you’re welcome here. Mildred’s story is the starting point—but this tree has deep roots and plenty of shade.

With care,
Kris

July 26, 2025

Introducing John Edward Beyl

John Edward Beyl

1887–1966
📍 Columbus & Indianapolis, Indiana

Before becoming a bakery foreman, a World War I registrant, and the backbone of a growing Indiana household, John Edward Beyl was just a kid on Jackson Street with a pencil-thin frame and a future full of hard-earned chapters.

He lived through two World Wars, a Great Depression, and more address changes than a census clerk would care to count. Along the way, he raised a family of five, built a life out of labor, and left behind just enough paper trail to frustrate future researchers (present company included).

This page is the place to share memories, ask questions, or throw your theories into the ring—especially if you’ve got thoughts about the Margaret-vs-Mary E. mystery, or can help track down the elusive “liquor factory” job in 1910.

📝 Ready for a deeper dive?
Read John Edward Beyl’s whole life story here →

💬 Want to leave a note or connect with others?
Drop a comment below. We’re all just stories waiting to be remembered—and you might have a piece of his.

—

Originally published July 26, 2025
Page maintained by Kris
Narrative assistant: Bones (resident rascal & record-chaser)

July 26, 2025

Introducing Mary Elizabeth Beyl (1879–1916)

She was born the daughter of a French immigrant and a woman who changed names like seasons. Raised in a modest house on Jackson Street in Columbus, Indiana, Mary Elizabeth Beyl lived a life that rarely made headlines but quietly shaped the generations that followed her.

The records call her Mary, while her grave calls her Mollie. Her death certificate names one woman as her mother, while the census suggests another. And somewhere in the shuffle, a baby girl named Helen appeared in the household before Mary had her own children.

She married a wagon driver. She bore a daughter late in her twenties. She died too young, with illness written on her death certificate and love written on her stone.

Hers is not the story of a scandal or a rebellion—but of a woman who left behind just enough questions to keep a genealogist curious.

🕯️ Want to meet Mollie properly? Her full story—names, mysteries, and all—is waiting on her family page.

🔗 Read Her Full Story »

💬 Did you know Mary? Hear stories about her, or her daughters, or the Blake family? We’d love to hear what you remember. Leave a note in the comments—every memory helps bring her closer.

July 25, 2025

Introducing Grover Thomas Beyl

🧵 Meet Grover Thomas Beyl: The Meandering Butcher of Marion County

Today would have been Grover Thomas Beyl’s birthday—born July 25th, 1891 (or possibly 1892; the records squabble about it). He was a butcher by trade, a husband and father by heart, and a man whose journey through Columbus and Indianapolis left a trail of addresses, trades, and—eventually—tragedy.

Grover’s life wasn’t grand in the traditional sense. He didn’t leave behind books, buildings, or fame. What he did leave behind were butcher knives dulled by honest work, sidewalks warmed by decades of footsteps, and a family stitched into the fabric of Indiana history.

From carpentry to meat cutting, city directories to censuses, Grover’s story is one of movement—up Jackson Street, down Bates and Cruft, over to Kelly and Tabor. A map of his life reads like a humble heartbeat across Marion County. And his final chapter? A car crash on a late August day in 1938, ending his life but not his story.

This month, we’ve revisited Grover’s life in detail—from census records to draft cards, addresses now lost to parking lots, and one very poignant obituary. You can view the full timeline, explore his mapped journey, and dig into his story in the complete profile post here ➤.

🕯️ Did You Know Grover?

If you’re a descendant, distant cousin, neighbor, or just someone with an old family story tucked away—we want to hear from you.

Did your grandparents ever mention Grover? Do you have a family photo or recipe that might relate to this branch of the tree?

Drop a comment below or send a message. Sometimes the smallest detail—a tool brand, a street name, a whispered memory—can help us bring someone back to life more vividly than any document ever could.

Grover’s story is still unfolding—and you might just hold the next piece.

~Kris
🕵️‍♂️ Someone Peed in My Gene Pool

July 24, 2025

Introduction to Versa Eleanor Buchanan (1910–1998)

Resilient. Graceful. Unforgettable.
Posted by Kris | July 24, 2025 | Introduction Series

Versa Eleanor Buchanan was born on a sunlit July morning in 1910 in St. Francisville, Illinois. The daughter of a preacher and a woman with Missouri roots, she grew up surrounded by sermons, lullabies, and the quiet strength of a close-knit family. But Versa wasn’t content to simply be a part of the story—she became a woman who wrote her own chapters.

She married young, during the uncertainty of the Great Depression, and spent her early years working as a saleslady in Indianapolis, living under the roof of her mother-in-law and helping support the household. When that first marriage unraveled, Versa didn’t crumble—she evolved. She raised a daughter, earned her own income, and went on to forge a career as a photographer, capturing the light in others even as she shaped her own second act.

Versa worked behind the camera for over twenty years. She retired in 1977, long after she’d traded in the roles of wife and salesgirl for that of artist and independent woman. In her later years, she remarried, built a quieter life with Robert E. Laird, and lived out her days in Indianapolis—the same city where her daughter had been born and where, decades later, Versa herself would pass.

She now rests at Crown Hill Cemetery. No grand monuments, no fame. But her story? Her story matters.

Versa Eleanor Buchanan may not have left behind many photographs of herself, but she left behind something just as lasting—proof that a life can be quiet and still powerful. That a woman can live through heartbreak, reinvention, and generational change, and still leave the world a little more luminous than she found it.

💬 Do you remember Versa? Did she photograph you, know your family, or leave behind a story in your corner of the world? Please share your memories or reflections below—we’d love to help keep her story alive, one comment at a time.

With warmth,
~Kris

July 21, 2025

Introducing Yolande Annie Biver

Yo Was Her Name, Yellow Roses Her Joy

A Glimpse into the Life of Yolande Annie Biver

If you grew up in the 35th Street house, you knew it by the sound of 10 kids playing and the quiet strength of a woman named Yolande Annie Biver — or just “Yo” to those who loved her.

Born in Phoebus, Virginia, on August 26, 1933, Yolande was the daughter of French immigrants who built their American dreams on grit and grace. She grew up with sisters, laughter, and a little mischief, eventually joining the Future Homemakers of America and graduating from Hampton High.

At just 18 years old, she married Louis Miller in Indianapolis. Together, they raised ten children in a tiny three-bedroom house — a space bursting with bunk beds, old school lockers, sibling scuffles, and fierce love. Even after Louis left the home but continued to support the family financially, Yo never once abandoned her values. As a devout Catholic, she remained faithful to her vows — and to her role as a mother, grandmother, and quiet matriarch.

She was strict, but she loved purely and deeply. She favored yellow roses, and if you were lucky enough to get a glimpse of her rare smile, you’d remember it for a lifetime.

When she passed away on February 28, 2009, she left behind ten children, 25 grandchildren, and 45 great-grandchildren. Her impact echoes not just in names and dates — but in values passed down, stories still told, and the sacred memory of her gentle fire.

🕊 Visit Yolande’s Full Family Page

Want to see more photos, records, and details from Yolande’s life?
👉 Click here to visit her Family Page

🌼 Living Memory: A Daughter-in-Law Remembers Yolande

What the records don’t say—the glances, the inside jokes, the fierce devotion—it all lives here, carried in the hearts of those who knew her best. The following reflections come from Yolande’s daughter-in-law, though in truth, that distinction likely wouldn’t have mattered much to Yo. If you were family, you were family. Period.

She was…

Strong. Helpful. Loving.
Not the loud kind of love—but the kind you felt. The kind that looked at you, really looked, and said everything that words didn’t need to. She was quiet, serious even—but behind that calm exterior was a wicked sense of humor and a secret weapon: those pinching fingers.
Yes, you read that right. She had a habit of pinching your nipples and thinking it was adorable. It hurt, but you’d both laugh. There was no escaping her particular brand of affection.

She was introverted, but when kids were near, her whole being lit up. Her heart smiled in the company of family. Her door was never locked. You didn’t call ahead. You just walked in. That smile of hers? Always ready.

She loved yellow roses and the song of birds in the morning. Spring was her season. Not loud or showy—just quietly blooming, resilient, full of life.

Though she dressed in comfort, her spirit was tailored in strength. She cooked. She sewed. She crafted. And if you so much as showed a flicker of interest? She was already teaching you how. Canning, cooking, stitching—these were sacred arts in her hands.

She was a disciplinarian, a caretaker, a commander of order, raising ten children largely on her own after her husband Louis moved away. Still, they never divorced. Her faith in him never faltered. She told the kids for years that he’d come back. She believed it. When he died, she called in tears. That was her sorrow—the deep kind, the kind that doesn’t need to be spoken.

But children were her joy.
They were always the sun she turned her face toward.

She had no time for fear, but she carried worry like any mother would—for her children, their futures, their safety. Her love was mostly shown through actions. She stitched it into quilts, cooked it into stews, packed it into school lunches, and tucked it beneath blankets.

And oh—she laughed.
Even when a mischievous daughter-in-law stuck a bright orange “fresh produce” sticker to her backside in the Kroger aisle, and she walked the whole store with it… she laughed. She called home, half-scolding, half-giggling, pretending to be angry—but her mirth betrayed her.

She didn’t talk about music after Louis left. The house was full enough already—with stories, with movement, with life. But she shared memories of her sister often. They were close. And she dreamed of buying her childhood home again someday, maybe to live in it part-time. A dream not forgotten, only paused.

She was close with Doris, the next-door neighbor. And yes, one day her daughter-in-law brought her flowers that “looked just like the ones Doris grows.”
“…They are,” she confessed.
Yolande wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be mad.
She chose laughter.

She was deeply respected in her family and community—not for being loud or flashy, but for being steadfast. For holding it all together. For making home wherever she stood.

🧵 Bonus Memory: The Craftswoman of the Kitchen Table

Yolande loved to teach.
If you sat next to her long enough, she’d place a spoon or a needle in your hand and say, “Here, let me show you.”

She taught canning, cooking, and crafts to any grandchild or guest who showed the slightest interest. Her lessons weren’t loud, but they stuck. And they still linger in family recipes, hand-stitched ornaments, and preserved peaches that taste like sunlight in a jar.

💬 Share Your Memories

If you called her Ma or felt the warmth of her table, we invite you to share your own memories in the comments below. What did Yolande mean to you? What did she teach you? What still makes you laugh?

This page is not just a tribute—it’s an invitation. Let’s keep the yellow rose blooming. 💛

April 18, 2017

Oliver Family History

Oliver Surname

The Oliver Family is going to be an interesting bunch. I mentioned the Buchanan Estate scam when I posted the Buchanan Family History page. Well, the Oliver family ties into this as well. In two ways…one, there are some Buchanan’s that married into the Oliver family. And two, there was one Oliver person that I know of that claimed it was from the Oliver side that we were related to former President James Buchanan.

In fact, he stole the precious book that was written by one of my greats on the Buchanan side which claims to have explained the relationship. This book only had limited copies published so it seemed to have been lost forever…until I found it! Now I have it. More on that later.

As always, I did a quick search on Ancestry.com to find the origin of the surname Oliver. Oliver naturally originated on the other side of the pond. It seems to be English, Scottish, Welsh, or German.

With over 5 million documents on Ancestry.com related to the Oliver line, researching these folks should be a breeze!

Interestingly, the Oliver family is almost an exact match to the name distribution of the Buchanan family across the United States.

While it looks like most of them immigrated to the eastern regions of the United States, many immigrated to Texas, Washington, and California as well.

I will be looking forward to finding out where exactly the Oliver line immigrated from and if there was any connection to the Buchanan’s or perhaps that was just happenstance. I do know that my Oliver line and Buchanan line were good friends growing up…before marrying each other.

I still wonder how our ancestors decided where to immigrate to. How did they decide where to go? And was there culture shock? How different was their new home from where they immigrated from.

My DNA shows that I am 28% Irish which includes Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I think it’s safe to say I inherited a bit of Oliver blood here as well.

According to Ancestry.com, the great majority of Oliver’s came from England and Ireland with some coming from Great Britain, Scotland, and a select few from Germany and Spain. This pretty much matches what my DNA results show.

I would love to travel over to the other side of the pond to find the places that my ancestors came from. I thoroughly enjoy learning about our past and seeing the way our ancestors lived. I would love to visit the houses they grew up in overseas and walk the same streets that they did.

It seems the Oliver families immigrated to the United States mostly between 1851 and 1891, just like the Buchanan’s. Perhaps the Oliver’s were a little later in the game though.

I wonder why there was such a drastic decline in the 1870s? Maybe things were getting better over where they came from and then took a significant chance for the worse? Maybe I’ll have to look for those answers.

There are just so many questions!

The biggest spikes seem to be around 1870 and again in 1885ish…just like the Buchanan’s. I still wonder if something was going on over there in those years that prompted a decision to get out. I’ll have to look into that further. Maybe I could at least get a general idea of why they may have left.

Big surprise…most Oliver’s seem to have been farmers. This is pretty consistent with what I’ve seen in my research so far.

I’ve found that most wives, prior to the 1900’s, were housekeepers or housewives. So it’s not surprising to see the 6% in this chart.

I think Farmers and Laborers are pretty typical jobs for the 1800s and early 1900s. I’ve seen many of each in all lines that I’ve researched so far.

I’ve seen Carpenters in several of them as well. No real interesting jobs so far but I’ll be on the lookout for something exciting.

I wonder what other interesting occupations I’ll find in my research.

Oliver Members I’ve Researched So Far

Charles Samuel Oliver
- Lester Otis Oliver

Finally, it looks like the Oliver family life expectancy has been pretty close to that of the general public.

It seems as though many lived to see their 70s.

I do find it interesting that life expectancy spiked in the late 50s by over 20 years! It’s commonly known the technological advances began in the 50s, perhaps this is the reason for the spike.

I think researchers are still trying to pin down the reasons for such differences. So I will continue focusing on my own ancestors and let the scientists tackle that question.

Not a lot of information just yet on this line as I’ve only researched one person so far. But, as always, I will come back and update this page as I find more information. So much to do, so little time!

It would be nice to know more about these ancestors. Where did they come from before Indiana? Why did they immigrate to the United States? Are there any notable or famous ancestors in this line?

Have you found Oliver in your family tree yet? If so, I’d love to hear from you!

Even if you haven’t, have you found reliable places to research the history of your family name? I’d love to know where to go to find out facts about surnames that are accurate and can provide some of the history behind the name. Do share and let us know how you do it. Just drop a line in the comments below.

That’s all for now, I’ll check back regularly and update this page as I find additional information.

Happy searching!

~Kris

April 8, 2017

Buchanan Family History

Buchanan Surname

The Buchanan Family sparked my interest in researching our family history. When I was a little girl, I heard that former President James Buchanan was my 5x great-uncle. So, naturally, I set out to see if that was true…and how he was related exactly. More on that later. And now here we are today.

I did a quick search on Ancestry.com to find the origin of the surname Buchanan. Buchanan originated in Scotland. Interestingly, my great aunt visited Scotland once, and when she returned, she reported that she felt at home there, like she belonged there.

Fortunately, Ancestry seems to have over 3 million records for the Buchanan surname, which is fantastic! Researching this line of genealogy should be pretty straightforward, right?

The Buchanan families seem to have immigrated all over the United States.

While it appears that most of them immigrated to the eastern regions of the United States, many also immigrated to Texas and California.

I don’t yet know where her parents were born, so I’m not sure how far back in the Applegate line they immigrated. Based on the time frame, I would venture to guess that it would’ve been her grandparents or great-grandparents who immigrated.

I wonder how our ancestors decided where to immigrate to. How did they decide where to go?

My DNA shows that I am 28% Irish, including Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I think it’s safe to say I inherited a bit of Buchanan blood here.

According to Ancestry.com, most Buchanans came from Scotland and Ireland, with a select few from England, Great Britain, and Germany.

I would be interested in traveling to Scotland to see if I feel the same connection that my great aunt did when she went there.

That would be so cool to feel a deep-rooted connection in my ancestors’ area.

The Buchanan family probably immigrated to the United States between 1851 and 1891.

Again, I’d very much like to know why they immigrated. What prompted their decisions to leave? Where did they intend to go? What did they intend to do?

There are just so many questions!

The biggest spikes seem to be around 1870 and again around 1885. I wonder if something was going on in Scotland and Ireland in those years that prompted a decision to leave. I’ll have to look into that further. Maybe I could at least get a general idea of why they may have left.

Most Buchanans seem to have been farmers, which is pretty consistent with my research so far.

I’ve found that most wives prior to the 1900s were housekeepers or housewives, so it’s not surprising that 6% are included in this chart.

Farmers and Laborers were pretty typical jobs in the 1800s and early 1900s. I’ve seen many of each in all the lines I’ve researched.

I will be looking for any Buchanans with interesting jobs besides farming. I know there was a Methodist Pastor in this line, so that’s different from the norm.

I wonder what other interesting occupations I’ll find in my research.

Buchanan Members Researched So Far

Victor
William
Victor Thomas
William
Maurice Grant

Finally, the Buchanan family’s life expectancy has been pretty close to that of the general public.

It seems as though many lived to see their 70s.

I do find it interesting that life expectancy spiked in the late 1950s by over 20 years! It’s commonly known that technological advances began in the 1950s; perhaps this is the reason for the spike.

Researchers are still trying to determine the reasons for such differences. So, I will continue focusing on my own ancestors and let the scientists tackle that question.

There is not much information on this line just yet, as I’ve only researched one person so far. But, as always, I will come back and update this page as I find more information. There is so much to do, so little time!

It would be nice to know more about these ancestors. Where did they come from before Indiana? Why did they immigrate to the United States? Are there any notable or famous ancestors in this line?

Have you found Buchanan in your family tree yet? If so, I’d love to hear from you!

Even if you haven’t, have you found reliable places to research the history of your family name? I’d love to know where to go to find out accurate facts about surnames that can provide some of the history behind the name. Do share and let us know how you do it. Just drop a line in the comments below.

That’s all for now, I’ll check back regularly and update this page as I find additional information.

Happy searching!

~Kris

April 2, 2017

Weekly Recap – March 27-April 2, 2017

Where I Started

When I started this website, I had already worked on my family tree on Ancestry.com for several years. The problem was that I started as a beginner and did a few things I wish I hadn’t done. For example, I attached many personal family trees to my own, thinking it furthered my research.

I guess you could say it was a shortcut. But it led to many inaccurate facts being attached to my family tree, which has put up roadblocks (or brick walls) I’m now trying to work through.

When I started this website, I also started a new family tree on Ancestry.com. I left the old one in place but started a new one to start from scratch. I didn’t want to lose all of my work, but the old family tree got to the point where it was overwhelming to work on because I had too many hints and inaccuracies. So, I started fresh, with a clean slate.

March 6-12

The person I started the tree with was Viola Mildred Beyl. I started with her because I have little information on the Beyl family. The Beyl family is very special to me, so I was anxious to learn more about them. Naturally, I researched the next generation after Viola, starting with her father. I researched the following people in order:

The problem I ran into was that I hit a brick wall fairly quickly, after only three generations back. I paused at that point to write the Unsolved Mysteries page and spent many hours reviewing the different records I had for Jacob William Beyl Sr. and anything that looked like his parents. But that didn’t get me through the brick wall.

March 13-19

Since I couldn’t bust through that wall, I also researched siblings and spouses. So next, I researched in order:

Unfortunately, those folks didn’t reveal any additional facts to help me break through the brick wall. But they did reveal additional people to research. As people marry and have children, this brings additional people to the family tree that must be researched and documented.

March 20-26

One thing I’d like to prevent this time is winding up with 7,500+ hints collecting dust. That overwhelms me and makes me feel like I’ll never get done. It adds unnecessary stress to my work because I can’t catch up.

Logically, I know this project will not be finished in my lifetime. The stress doesn’t come from the pressure to finish it. What I do want to do, though, is get through all of the documented history to start researching and finding the deep, hidden stories of my ancestors’ lives—the kinds of stories that aren’t easily findable on Federal documents.

At the same time, there are several lines of people for me to research, so when I spend too much time on one line, I feel like I should be working on another.

And the hints are starting to add up again. I already have over 300 hints to work through with this little bit of work that I’ve done. So I started working through spouses and siblings this week and adding the initial person from a few other lines I’d like to research. I researched the following people this week in order:

Plan Going Forward

I need to make a plan to research my lineage systematically. I often struggle with deciding who to study at any given time, but now that I’ve started with a clean slate, I think I need to make a plan and stick to it. So, I plan to build my new tree from the ground up.

In other words, I will start with myself and build it back, one generation at a time. I’ve added myself, my sibling, my parents, etc., to my new tree and have added the basic details for each of us. I will continue to fill those in as I go.

In the meantime, I will start with one generation and research all the people within that generation. For example, I began with Viola Mildred Beyl. Once I’ve researched her, I will also research her spouse, children, and siblings. Next, I will move on to another person within the same generation. Again, once I finish that person, I will research their spouse, children, and siblings, including the spouse and children of each of the siblings.

I will continue from person to person until I have completed that entire generation. Only then will I move back to the next generation. This way, I will be able to balance out the work and ensure that I am researching each line and nobody gets left behind. That being said, since I started with Viola Mildred Beyl, I will spend this next week focused on Viola’s spouse, children, siblings, and the spouse and children of each of her siblings.

Extra Credit

This week, I did a few additional things to advance my genealogical experience a little bit further. While these tasks certainly aren’t necessary for every family historian, they are beneficial to me, and I would recommend them to anybody pursuing their ancestry.

Ancestry Academy Courses
Find A Grave Memorials
Grave Hunting
Grave Tagging

Ancestry Academy Courses

Getting Started on Ancestry: Starting Your Family Tree
Waiting for DNA Results? Start Your Tree Now!
When You Find a Brick Wall, Develop Foundational Thinking
State Censuses
The 1880 Defective and Delinquent Schedule
How to Customize Your Ancestry Homepage
How to Use Filters on Last Names in Ancestry Search
What is a Census Record?
Meet the Ancestry App: Your Family Story Anytime, Anywhere
Seek and Ye Shall Find: Become an Ancestry Search Expert

Find A Grave Memorials

I try to conclude each person’s story with their burial. I do this because the burial represents their resting place. Previously, it was quite difficult for family historians to find the graves and headstones of their ancestors…unless, of course, they had a lot of time and money to go grave hunting in various places.

I do not have that luxury. So, the Find A Grave website has been invaluable in helping me find where my ancestors are resting and obtain photos of their headstones. In most cases, I’ve been lucky enough to have somebody already taken and posted a photo of my ancestor’s headstone on the website.

In some cases, no such luck. When I find a memorial for one of my ancestors on the website, I double-check the accuracy of the information against the research I’ve done so far on that ancestor. If anything needs to be corrected, I submit the corrections so that the monument is accurate for other family historians and family members.

When I don’t find a memorial, I will make every attempt to get a photo and create one for them. Unfortunately, if I don’t know where the ancestor is buried, I can’t create a memorial. So, I do have a few family members who still need memorials, and I am working to find the appropriate information to create them.

Grave Hunting

Grave hunting may sound a little creepy. I go hunting in nearby cemeteries for specific graves. There are people, just like me, who are searching for the graves of their family members for various reasons. If they are unable to find them, they may submit a photo request asking for someone in the local area to take a picture and post it online for them.

Since I rely on this to find my own family members, I feel it is important for me to give back. So when I find photo requests for graves near where I live, I’ll take a trip to the local cemetery and try to obtain a photo for them.

This week, I requested a photo for Grover Thomas Beyl, as he was the only ancestor I worked on recently who didn’t have a photo and doesn’t rest close enough that I can get it myself.

I know there are mixed feelings about people photographing headstones of people who aren’t their own family. Unfortunately, some folks get offended by this, or when it causes unintended grief or heartache for someone.

From my experience, I can say that when I go out to a cemetery for this purpose, I pay the utmost respect to each grave I visit. When there is trash around the area, I pick it up. When overgrowth grows on the headstone, I pull it and clean it up. When the flowers and memorabilia have fallen over, I pick them up and set them right. This is my way of respecting our ancestors before us…whether they are my own ancestors, or not.

Grave Tagging

I found another website this week that is trying to provide services similar to Find A Grave. Billion Graves sends volunteers to local cemeteries to take photos of each cemetery’s headstone.

As you take the pictures, Billion Graves attaches a GPS tag to that headstone. This allows people to find the graves of their family members online and know exactly where they are on the map. This week, I tagged 562 graves in a local cemetery.

They also have people transcribing the headstones so that they are searchable within the database. This allows family historians like me to find the resting places of their family members and obtain the dates of their birth and death. This week, I transcribed 105 headstones.

Wow, so I did a lot of extra credit work this week!

I feel good because I can give back in these ways to help others do the same things I do for their families. It was a busy week, but I am pretty happy with what I accomplished.

With that…it’s time to start next week!

Take care,

~Kris

April 2, 2017

Weekly Recap – March 27-April 2, 2017

What’s New This Week?

My hints have increased a bit this week, but I was able to work through enough that they didn’t increase significantly.

One major obstacle with the hints is that you wind up finding a wife and several children for each person you research. Finding multiple people adds several more hints to work through.

As I find these additional people, I add them to my list of people to research. Naturally, as I research those people, I will work through their hints and clear them from this list. But, of course, working through those people will also add additional people to my list.

I’m reasonably sure I’ll never get my hints down to zero. I’ll never be able to get through all of them unless I hit so many roadblocks that I run out of people to research. I don’t see that happening…at least not any time soon.

March 27 – April 2

This week, I focused a lot on researching people I had already researched earlier in the month. One of the Ancestry Academy courses I watched last week suggested that you always do a Global Search on each person. You never know what you’ll find.

This week, I focused a lot on doing a Global Search on each of the people I had already posted about. Their posts have been updated with the additional information I found in the Global Search.

I researched the following new people this week:

I haven’t yet hit a brick wall with the Applegate line. I was at one, but when I researched George Washington Applegate, I was able to get that wall down rather quickly. I knew her married name since I had already done Elsie Mae (his daughter). I found a death certificate for George Washington Applegate that gave her married name as the informant, which provided a whole lot more details on him and broke down that brick wall.

I have not published posts for all of these folks yet, but as I do, I will return to this page and update the links to them.

Plan Going Forward

In my previous Progress post, I laid out a plan for continuing my research. I need an organized plan to accomplish all of this systematically.

I planned to start with one generation and research everyone within that generation. For example, I began with Viola Mildred Beyl. Once I’ve researched her, I will also research her spouse, children, and siblings.

Next, I planned to move on to another person within the same generation. Again, once I finish that person, I will research their spouse, children, and siblings, including the spouse and children of each of the siblings.

I planned to continue from person to person until I had completed that entire generation. Only then will I move back to the next generation. This way, I will be able to balance out the work and ensure that I am researching each line and nobody gets left behind.

That being said, I started with Viola and had already done her siblings and parents, as well as her father’s siblings and parents. So, I was already a few generations back on her line. I also focused last week on Global Search. So, I have several other family members from Viola’s generation that still need to be researched. I will be focusing on them for now. That includes their spouses, siblings, and children.

Extra Credit

I did a few additional things this week to advance my genealogical experience a little bit further. While these tasks certainly aren’t necessary for every family historian, they are beneficial to me and, therefore, I would recommend them to anybody pursuing their own ancestry.

Ancestry Academy Courses

I did not take Ancestry Academy courses this week as I focused more on research and graves.

Find A Grave Memorials

I do not have that luxury. So, the Find A Grave website has been an invaluable asset in finding out where my ancestors are resting and obtaining photos of their headstones.

In most cases, I’ve been lucky enough that somebody has already taken and posted a photo of my ancestor’s headstone on the website. In some cases, no such luck. When I find a memorial for one of my ancestors on the website, I double-check the accuracy of the information in the memorial against the research I’ve done so far on that ancestor. If anything needs to be corrected, I submit the corrections so that the monument is accurate for other family historians and family members.

I submitted corrections for several ancestors I researched this week and linked them to the appropriate family members where possible.

I requested photos of two graves this week, and those requests were filled promptly. So I now have the graves for those folks and have updated their posts accordingly. I also took a small road trip to visit Viola Mildred and Charles Beckett Buchanan. I photographed their grave and created memorials for them on Find A Grave.

Grave Hunting

Grave hunting may sound a little creepy. What I mean by this is that I go hunting in nearby cemeteries for specific graves. There are people, just like me, who are searching for the graves of their family members for various reasons. If they are unable to find them, they may submit a photo request asking for someone in the local area to take a picture and post it online for them.

This week, I requested a photo for Elsie Mae Tudor. She was the only ancestor I worked on recently who didn’t have a picture and didn’t rest close enough for me to get it myself. I have not published her post yet, but when I do, it will have her grave included, as the request was filled promptly.

Grave Tagging

Billion Graves sends volunteers to local cemeteries to take photos of the headstones. As you take the photos, Billion Graves attaches a GPS tag to each headstone. This allows people to find the graves of their family members online and know exactly where they are on the map.

This week I tagged 430 graves in two local cemeteries.

They also have people transcribing the headstones so that they are searchable within the database. This allows family historians like myself to find the resting places of their family members as well as obtain the dates of their birth and death.

This week I transcribed 605 headstones.

Wow, so I did a lot of extra credit work this week! I feel good in that I can give back in these ways to help others do the same things I do for their families. At the same time, Billion Graves has now rewarded me with a free month of BG+. This gives me several super helpful features that will help me keep track of my ancestors on that site.

It was a busy week, but I didn’t get as much done as I wanted to. That’s alright. I’ve spread out my plans for this week a bit throughout the next three weeks so that I have more reasonable expectations of myself.

With that…it’s time to start next week!

Take care,

~Kris