July Genealogy Update

I’ve updated the family trees and group sheets on the web site. The actual process of creating them is actually, quite easy. The software takes care of most of it and the configuration files answer all the questions. The difficult part is actually getting the files uploaded to the server. Even on my local network, transferring over 6,000 small files is quite time consuming. I’ve found it best to move the files in chunks of about 300 to 350 files each, otherwise the system begins to bog down since I’m not blessed with the latest and greatest equipment. Moving those same files over the Internet takes even longer.

When I changed hosts a few months ago, I acquired a new domain name in addition to the one I’ve had. Right now, it’s pretty much sitting idle. I think it would be an ideal place to host my genealogy site even though some of the updates may be a long, involved process. But that’s my problem. Over all, I think it’s better to have the site on a hosted server in terms of reliability and maintenance. By putting the site on a remote host on a shared server, there’s dedicated maintenance and less probability of extended down time.

My web server isn’t really a server but an older desktop computer running Linux in a server configuration. It’s been running great but if it crashes, the site is down until I can fix it. That’s already occurred once and I ended up replacing the hardware. Luckily, I was able to find a suitable replacement.

The plan to move the genealogy site is on hold for a while due to technical difficulties. Once I get it figured out, I’ll give it another try.

Obituaries online

The stack of obituaries is now online at My Genealogy Project. I also updated the Site News. A full update of the trees and family group sheets is forthcoming.

Obituaries ready for upload

I finally got through that stack of obituaries on my desk. I also went though each of the files to correct spelling and to add relationship information. For those who were related but not ancestors, I added whatever ancestors they had in common with me. There are three sets of common ancestors for many of the Loomis relations.

I still need to reorder the index pages. I knew that was going to be a potential problem when I redesigned the site but at the time, didn’t see an easy solution. I still don’t but I’m thinking there may be a way of creating dynamic pages using PHP or something. I might have to create a MySQL database, I don’t know. It’s something to investigate.

Once I get the obituaries online, I’ll update the trees. I found that I hadn’t fixed a link in the configuration file I used to create the family group sheets. I’ve fixed it and I’ll check to make sure the link to the group sheet home page when I do the update. I also changed the email address to point to the one I set up for my new domain. The genealogy @ mojoreisen.com will still work.

Father’s Day

Maybe it’s eFather’s Day. Both of my sons sent me Father’s Day wishes via Twitter. I’m not complaining, I’m glad they remembered. Thanks.

Adam later sent the following tweet: “I really appreciate the things you’ve taught about e.g. morality, ethics, good tastes in music, humor, sarcasm. List could go on and on. “

I guess I’ve done a pretty good job as a father. Not bad considering I was pretty much winging it.

That has me thinking about the lessons I’ve learned from my father. From him, l learned about morality, ethics, self-sufficiency, dedication, devotion, inner strength, the value of hard work, and a host of other life lessons to numerous to list. I wish I was more like him. He’s a good man, a great father and grandfather, and a devoted husband. He’s a worthy example to strive to emulate.

Happy Father’s Day!

Laura (Ames) Warren Obituary

Today I received the obituary I had requested for Laura E. (Ames) Warren from the Ventura County (California) Library. I was pleasantly surprised to have gotten a response so quickly.

I noticed that Iola was not listed among the surviving children. Did she die sometime between Harlie’s death in 1960 and Laura’s in 1977?  I also noticed that daughter Irene was shown with the surname of Farmer. I had been researching her under the married name of Stearns and that information seems to fit.

I’ll be adding the obituary to the web site with the others that are in the works.

Related post: Genealogical Activity, 5 Jun 09

Webster-Pettit Connection

As long as I was in the neighborhood, I paid a visit to the Genealogical Room at the Morley Library in Painesville. I would have loved to have been able to stay longer and do some serious research in their beautiful, well-laid out facility. But I had just one objective in mind on Monday morning and that was to get the obituaries I had requested back in April. I easily found the films I needed and printed the obituaries.

Myrtle Pettit’s obituary didn’t provide much new information nor did it confirm her relationship to Flora Osmond Fleming. George Center’s obituary didn’t have the information I needed either but it was very interesting to read. Apparently Mr. Center had led quite a life. He came to America from Scotland as a young man and worked for (or with) Generals Custer, Casement, and Garfield. He was involved in the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad and several other railroads, eventually coming to Painesville, Ohio where he met, and married, my third great-grandmother, Jerusha Nichols.

Of course, it was Jerusha Center’s obituary where I expected to find the confirmation I sought. It lists her three daughters — Mrs. James Fleming (Flora Osmond), Mrs. E. E. Longenberger (Etta Osmond) and Mrs. “Mertyl” Pettit (nee Center). It also mentions her son Bert (Myrtle’s twin) and her brothers Alonzo and Ira Nichols.

As near as I can tell, this is the Webster connection with the Pettits. We have a common ancestor in Jerusha Nichols. Her eldest daughter Flora married James Fleming and their daughter Mabel married Willis Webster. From their union came my grandmother Laura who married Frank Warren. Flora’s half-sister Myrtle married Harry Pettit and their son Frank married Frank Warren’s sister Mabel. It all comes together.

Now, I need to set aside some time to process my stack of obituaries to add to the site. That’s one of many genealogical projects I have pending.

As always, finding new information leads to new questions and new leads to follow. Jerusha’s brother Ira married Sarah Jessie Center and the evidence I’ve found so far leads me to believe she is probably George’s sister. His obit is very sketchy on family details, alluding only to his wife and two children. Sarah’s death certificate shows her parents as Alexander Center and Sarah Brodie. I’ve seen them references as parents for both George and Sarah on some family trees I’ve seen on Ancestry.com but I’m looking for more conclusive information. I always take user-submitted trees and data with a grain of salt. I’ll use it as a lead to find a more qualified source.

Related post: Breaking down another brick wall

Visitng the Family Estate

It was good get up to Footville for a couple of days. It’s a sanctuary, a place where I can get away from suburban life, enjoy some peace and quiet, find solitude and just relax, listening to the crickets and the tree frogs. Even the roar of the drag strip in the distance seems to be in harmony with the surroundings.

This was the first time I’d been up there since the funeral. I really should try to get up there more often, especially in the warmer months. The graduation party for Katie and Cody provided the official reason for the trip although it’s not really necessary to have a reason. The party turned out well. The weather cooperated completely — sunny, not too warm, with a nice gentle breeze. Dad rented a big canopy along with some tables and chairs. There was plenty of food and drink though some were a little disappointed there wasn’t any beer. But beer isn’t necessary to have a good time.

The drive up and back was good. There wasn’t too much construction and the weather held out. It wasn’t until the first rest stop on the way back that I dug out the owner’s manual and figured out how to use the cruise control. The older I get the more I have to RTFM.

I definitely need to get back up there at least once more this summer. It’s home and I can feel the love there.

Genealogical Activity, 5 Jun 09

While searching online for information on my 3rd great-grandfather, John F. Osmond, I found a family tree that included him as well as many of my Webster relations. I saw that he had posted a lot of photos, death certificates, and obituaries which helped me fill in a lot of gaps in my more recent Loomis line. I also located more obituaries online. It looks as though I will be updating the web site in the near future. I’ll probably get all of the obituaries completed before I upload them to the server.

I still haven’t gotten a response from the Morley Library about the obituaries I requested so I sent another request. If I don’t hear anything by next Saturday, I’ll try to see if I can swing by the library while I’m in the area. I also mailed off a request to the Ventura County (California) library for Laura E. (Ames) Warren’s obituary. She was the wife of Harlie Warren. I hope to hear from them soon. I’m getting in touch with the library in Ortonville, Minnesota to request obituaries for Franklin and Alice Warren. All I have on Franklin’s death is the year, 1935. Online death indexes for Minnesota and South Dakota have turned up no clues. I’m hoping to pay a visit to Cousn Katie while I’m visiting the homestead next weekend. Maybe she has some information that will be helpful.

Breaking down another brick wall

Several years ago, my mother told me of another relationship between our family and the Pettits other than the relationship through the marriage of Mabel Warren and Frank Pettit. She had heard that Myrtle May Pettit (wife of Harry H. Pettit and grandmother of Myrtle May Pettit Romig) was related on the Webster side and had a twin. For years I looked for the connection but found nothing.

Some time ago while searching through Ohio Death certificates at search.labs.familysearch.org/, I found the death certificate for Jerusha M. (Nichols) Center, my 3rd great-grandmother. I noticed that Myrtle Pettit was listed as the informant which often indicates a close family relationship. I had a strong suspicion that this was the case, given what my mother had told me previously.

This morning, I looked up Frank Pettit’s death certificate and it showed Myrtle’s maiden name as “Center.” That indicated that perhaps there was a relationship after all. I did some digging around on a few genealogy sites and found Jerusha Center in the 1900 census which showed her as widowed (husband George had died in 1890) with twin children “Bertie and Mertie” who were born in August 1883.

Some more searching confirmed that Bert Center’s date of birth matched Myrtle’s and the information on his death certificate showed that his parents were George Center and Jerusha Nichols and he was born in Painesville.

I’ve requested several obituaries from the Morley Library which should help confirm my findings.

Mom was close on this one. There was a family relationship in that Flora Osmond Fleming and Myrtle May Center Pettit were half-sisters. She was also right about Myrtle being a twin.

Site Makeover Completed

The site makeover is finally complete. I redesigned the layout, added some new content and updated the trees. The site should be easier to navigate and look a bit more polished.

I won’t bore you with all the technical details but I will say that I learned a bit about Web design and Web server configuration. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the result.

Go ahead and take a look at Rick Romig’s Genealogy Project. Let me know about any links that don’t work or pages that don’t look right. Also feel free to comment here or email me with any additions or corrections I need to make.