New Year, New Finds

Happy New Year!

I have been thinking and working on my genealogy, but I'm stuck in Arizona while all the records I want to look at are either back where my ancestors lived (I'm thinking specifically Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, North Carolina right now) or on microfilm up in Salt Lake.  My life does not allow me to spend hours at the genealogy library so even ordering the films is not realistic right now. 

But I've been working on my Kerley line - specifically the parents of Sarah Mariah Williams who married Solen E. Kerley. 

So, let's look at her parents.  John Williams.  Mary E.

I knew from census records that John was born in Kentucky and Mary E. was born in Virginia, and that Sarah Mariah was born in Illinois in 1845, but by 1850 they moved to Randolph County, Arkansas.  But Illinois is a big state.  Hmm.

For years I was just stuck there.  I followed Sarah Mariah's brother, John Albert Williams all the way to 1930. I could follow his descendants.

Then, I thought of the marriage records database at IRAD.  I was not sure which of the many John Williams listed was mine, but I had a time frame - before Sarah Mariah was born, and within a respectable date for Mary E. to be of age.  I finally found one that made sense.  John Williams and Mary Lancaster in St Clair County.

I admit I do not know the geography of Illinois very well. If I did, I would have grabbed that marriage record right away.  Only through continual research did I realize that St Clair is in southern Illinois.  I know the migration pattern of people through southern Illinois to St Louis, Missouri and on to other parts of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.  It made sense.

Last night I was lamenting to myself that I did not have deed records for Randolph Arkansas at my fingertips so that I could see when the Williams family moved there, if they owned property, and so forth.  I did a few searches and found that familysearch.org has probate records for Randolph Arkansas digitized, though not searchable by name.  I took a chance and went digging.

And I struck gold!

In 1865, John Williams passed away. His estate went through probate in October 1865 and Mary E. Williams was named the administratrix.  She had to secure bonds and the people securing her bonds were her neighbors, H.L. Kerley and S.E. Kerley.  H.L. Kerley is Henry L. Kerley, my 4 great grandfather. S.E. Kerley is his son, Solen E. Kerley my 3 great grandfather. He went on to marry Sarah Mariah Williams in 1871.

It was awesome to see that not only did my ancestors exist (which, of course I know they did) but that these two families had an obvious care and concern for one another.  That is just really exciting.  Now, to get to my chores this morning so I can devote more time to looking through more pages in the probate records.  I'm hoping to see a little glimpse into more of my Randolph County, Arkansas ancestors.

Dece

Wonderful quote and promised blessing...

"As you participate in temple and family history work, you are certain to have the Spirit to comfort you in your challenges and guide you in the important decisions you are making."

—Julie B. Beck, "This Is Your Work", Liahona and Ensign, February 2012
I'm sharing this quote as I think about the past year and the challenges I have faced. I have not worked on genealogy with the diligence I have given it in other times. But yesterday as I was helping a friend with some of her family history, I was reminded of how many blessings have come my way through researching my ancestry and the love I have for these people - most I have never met. I have been called to do this work. I may be the only one in my generation who hears that call. I may be the only one in many generations who hears the call and does the research. I have my own family lines, my husband's family lines, as well as my eldest daughter's family lines (my ex-husband) to research. Inspiration through the Spirit has led me to research one name or another.  It is a very exciting and rewarding experience.

I have felt the Lord's hand guide me in genealogy research, as well as in my day-to-day life. The sweetest feeling is to hear Him say, "It will be okay." Even when I do not know HOW it will turn out to be "okay", it always does. When there are mistakes made in my research or people have taken my research and assigned it incorrectly, I get frustrated, but I trust that God knows what child belongs to each family, and the effort is rewarded. He will set things right.

There will come a day when all of the books will be opened. The records will be available to track my ancestors across the Atlantic and to connect them to their ancestors in their homelands. I have faith that when it is necessary, the Lord will bless US with the knowledge we need.

Until that time, I will keep searching and researching for my ancestors. Please, don't forget the maternal lines. Mothers are important, too!  :-)

Dece Gherardini

1940 Census Search Helps

Hello friends and family,

Perhaps you have already found these tools to help you find your kindred in the 1940 Census that was released this week, but I've been going page by page late into the night, still trying to find my Dad and his parents. I'll find them, I'm sure of it. But here are some ideas to help you.

Here is a great site to help you find the Enumeration District in 1940 -
Unified 1940 Census ED Finder
http://stevemorse.org/census/unified.html

There are also descriptions of the Enumeration Districts through that site. If you are like me and need a little help picturing the areas described, open up your town or location in Google Maps and find the landmarks listed in the description. For instance:
ED 7-93:
SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT 1 OUTSIDE GILBERT TOWN BOUNDED BY (N) BASE LINE RD, BASE LINE RD EXTENDED; (E) COUNTY LINE; (S) CHANDLER-HIGLEY RD EXTENDED, CHANDLER-HIGLEY RD; (W) GILBERT-COOLIDGE RD, GILBERT TOWN LIMITS, GILBERT-BASE LINE RD; ALSO HIGLEY (PART)

I opened up a map of Mesa and went to where Baseline is the northern boundary, the county line (I assume this is Pinal county) is the eastern line, and so forth. Having a map open helps to determine what ED your address would be part of.

I had gone through all of the ED's for Mesa itself and found none of my relations. I puzzled over this as I knew my family was here. But I think of Mesa as it is now, or 20 years ago, not 72 years ago! The city limits were considerably different then. 30 years ago my house was in open desert. And it hit me... Grandma and Grandpa Starks met when they were picking cotton... in GILBERT. So, I needed to think south of Mesa proper and in the more rural, cotton pickin' area.

And I found my Great-Grandparents, Elzie and Wilmer Starks. I found Aunt Sue Sullivan Mathews. Now, to figure out where my Dad and the others are hiding... I'm going to find them. I really appreciate having the ED Finder, though. It's been a huge help. And I like Ancestry.com's versions of the census better than the first ones I was using. Much easier to navigate through their viewer.

Good luck!
Dece

1940 Census is Released!

It has been a very eventful day for the genealogy enthusiasts. The 1940 Census records have been released after a 72 year waiting period and everyone is ready to dig right in and find their parents and grandparents, just like I am. I'm waiting for the Arizona images to be uploaded to Ancestry or 1940census.archives.gov so that I can wade through them. Some of the other states are already up and searchable by enumeration district or city/state. California is one that many are interested in as it was a destination state due to the poverty and depressed state of the economy and the Dust Bowl. My grandma and grandpa eventually moved here to Arizona for that very reason -- opportunity. I am just not sure where my Dad and his parents were living in 1940. Were they in Mesa? Was Grandpa working at Parker Dam as part of the CCC? And my other grandparents... They were not married yet, but both were in Arizona. Grandpa will be easier to find than Grandma, but I'll get there, eventually.

I did go and upload a batch to index this morning - they were WWI Draft Cards, not the census. I wish I could read Italian better because there were some Italian records waiting to be indexed and I just couldn't commit to it. It's hard enough to read the English records sometimes!

I have been actively working on my Carver genealogy as well as my husband's genealogy lines of Jarosz and Krolikowski. I love the puzzle of researching genealogy so having some untouched lines is fun for me. I did discover that one of the ancestors was in prison or jail in 1910, but I don't have a clue why or for how long. So many questions...

I will keep working on the census and trying to find my people. It will be a long process going name by name!

- Dece

Solen E. Kerley

I've been thinking about my 3 great-grandfather, Solen E. Kerley.

He was born in December 1851, in Tennessee (likely Wayne County, TN); the son of Henry L. Kerley and Sarah Staggs.
He was on the 1860 Census of Randolph County, Arkansas with his parents and siblings, 1870 with his parents and siblings; and he married Sarah Mariah Williams 28 Sep 1871 in Randolph County, Arkansas.
He and Sarah Mariah had 3 children;
Robert Louis Kerley (1872-1944)
William Albert Kerley (1874-1948)
Emily Ina Kerley (1877-1922)

Solen and family are on the 1880 Census of Randolph County, Arkansas.
Sarah Mariah died around 1878 and Solen married Susan Larkins (Brentlinger) 6 May 1888 in Randolph County, Arkansas.
Solen and Susan had 6 children:
May Janie Kerley (1889)
Harvey Lehman Kerley (1890-1956)
Grover Cleveland Kerley (1892)
Sherman Kerley (1894-1978)
Henry Bryan Kerley (1896-1963)
Rufus Harmon Kerley (1899-1966)
He is on the 1900 Census with his family in Randolph County, Arkansas.

Susan died in 1908 and Solen married again (age 56). He married Rebecca G Owens in Clay County, Arkansas on 26 Oct 1908. He is on the 1910 Census in Brown, Clay County, Arkansas with his third wife, Rebecca.
I am not sure if DeWitt Kerley is the son of Solen and Susan (per the 1910 Census).

Here is where it gets cloudy as far as Solen and his marriages.
26 Mar 1911, he married N.A. Kelly in Clay County, Arkansas (age 59)
7 Aug 1915, he married Rebecca Jane Meeks in Randolph, Arkansas. (age 63)
1920 Census he was in Siloam, Randolph, Arkansas with Rebecca Jane and DeeWitt.
29 Apr 1925 he married Lulla Lutisia Ballsworth in Randolph County, Arkansas. (age 73)
1 Mar 1926 he divorced Lutisia Ballsworth in Clay County, Arkansas
24 Mar 1926 he married Mary Jane Switzer in Randolph County, Arkansas (age 74)
4 Oct 1926 he divorced Mary Jane Switzer in Clay County Arkansas.
9 Oct 1926 he married Sarrah Mounts in Clay County, Arkansas (age 74)
4 Oct 1927 he divorced Sarah Mounts in Clay County, Arkansas
4 Oct 1928 he married Dora Payne in Clay County, Arkansas (age 76)

On 6 Feb 1930, he died in Randolph County, Arkansas (age 78).

All I can think is that Solen must have either been really good looking and/or a smooth talker to have married so many women, especially as he was in his 50's, 60's, and 70's and still marrying! I only know he divorced because of a divorce index - there is nothing to tell me the cause of divorce. I have no photos or stories of Solen, but I imagine he would have a few good tales to tell.

I would love to hear from descendants of Solen E. Kerley. If you are his descendant or know of any photographs, stories, or tales of Solen, please email me: decegherardini@hotmail.com

Now, to figure out how Dee Witt Kerley fits in... :-)

Dece

Genealogie

I am learning French.

The genealogie way! LOL

It is funny that my daughter just began taking French in high school, as I just began "taking" French in genealogy. I'm working on my dear husband's family lines and, as I often do, I like to look at the oftentimes neglected maternal lines.

I think the push came because it was time to renew my membership to ancestry.com and they came at me with a much lower cost for their super-duper-world wide records access plan and it was only about $25 more than the regular plan for a year, so I decided to do it. I figured, well, I will see what I can do with my family lines as well as Tony's lines. Yeah, there's not a lot on ancestry for either one of us across the pond.

However, it made me start looking at what information I do have and looking for information. And I discovered that, in fact, there is the Archives Departementales online that has loads of information. However, it is not indexed. You must go page by page and dig... Yes, you have to *gasp* do good old genealogy research just like the old days. The good thing is, you can do it at home in your pajamas with music playing in the background! LOL There is a 1906 Census, Marriages, Births, and Deaths, in 10 year chunks. Luckily, it is alphabetized, so you're not having to go by year. http://www.archivesdepartementales.cg59.fr

Another wonderful site for the area I'm working in - Dunkerque - is:
http://www.gennpdc.net/ It is: Les forums de genealogistes du Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Especially helpful for me has been this page:
http://www.gennpdc.net/releves/tab_mari.php?args=Dunkerque

It is refreshing to see people helping people.

I love doing genealogy. I love the research, the looking, the finding, the connecting. Now, if I can just find pictures of some of these people to "flesh out" the names and dates and places. :-) That would be the icing on the cake!

I wish you happy searching and finding in your genealogy pursuits,
Dece

Kerley's...

I'm working on the Kerley line once more because I feel drawn to them right now. That is just how it is with genealogy -- being pulled one direction or another.

I'm so frustrated though. I started this journey with so little information and I've had to comb through piles of census records, spend hours and hours digging and shuffling through microfilm and microfiche, straining my eyes as I try to decipher if something is an E or an I or an L or a T. I am very grateful for those who have gone before me and indexed records, who have kept track of their sources, and who are willing to share their transcriptions of courthouse records, especially for places that are across the country from where I live. It's a long way from Maricopa County Arizona to Wayne County, Tennessee! (or Randolph County, Arkansas, or Ripley County, Missouri, etc)

Here is my frustration. My line is not thoroughly researched and because I live 1500+ miles away from the Kerley's starting point, I cannot simply go to the courthouse and sift through records myself. Ancestry.com, while a wonderful tool, does not have all of the in-depth records that I need. And if they had the records, they would not be indexed correctly for me. So many other names come up for Kerley or its misspellings: Kirley, Kirby, Curly, Curby, so on and so forth.

Some of the Kerley's who are distantly in my line would like to connect us to the Henry Kerley and Sallie Garrett line. I just cannot get my information to match up neatly to what I've found online about that line and so I will not do it. I think that William Garrett Kerley (b. 1835), the son of James Willis Kerley (and brother to my ancestor, Henry L. Kerley b. 1827) and Elizabeth Ann Roric, knew his parents' names and his ancestry better than I do and if he says his grandfathers both were in the Revolutionary War, then doggone it, I believe it! If he says his father's parents were Daniel and Ann Kerley of Albemarle, Virginia, then that is exactly who they were and where they were from. He would know better than I would, 100 years after his interview was given.
This is what I am pretty sure of:
James Willis Kerley and his wife and children were in Wayne County, Tennessee as of 1835, but not before 1830. James was born in North Carolina, his wife was born in Virginia. They are listed on the 1840 Census of Wayne County, Tennessee as James Kinley/Kirley/Kirby, depending on who is transcribing the census. The ages all match for their children. The only age that is off is James - as he is listed as being 50-60 years of age, but in the 1850 census he lists his age as 51. Either he was mis-marked in the 1840 census or the 1850 census. For me, it does not matter.
It puts to rest the notion that somehow my line is the same line that ended up in Macon County, Tennessee. I felt sure that my James and his family did not go to Macon County, so I looked at a map. Wayne County is in the lower, middle section of Tennessee, on the path that many of my other Northeast Arkansas/Southeast Missouri ancestors took from Tennessee. Why would they go all the way up and east to Macon county which borders Kentucky? It did not make any sense. One cannot automatically assume that a Daniel Kerley or a James Kerley who is of a similar age as my James IS my James. How could be be enumerated in the 1850 census twice, in totally different counties, with different children, etc. It's because they are not the same person.

I probably sound really grumpy about this. I guess I am, a little! LOL Even though these Kerley ancestors are generations removed from me, they are still mine. I think about them, about their lives, about how these great-great-grandparents met, what songs they sang, how they lived, what they believed, and I have no tangible link to them. I only have 2 photographs of my great-grandmother Lillie Kerley. I have only 1 letter that she wrote. Each census record, each tax record, each mention of MY line of Kerley's makes them more real to me, reminds me that they were living, breathing people who loved each other, who had children, who made sacrifices, who were ALIVE. Connecting my line to another line just for the sake of having a neat little pedigree chart is not acceptable to me. I will keep working on the Kerley family tree until there is nothing left to find... and believe me, there is always something left to find. I hope that there will be a clear connection to an established line, but even if there is not, I am not worried about it. I know that Lillie and her parents, her grandparents, great-grandparents, and back to James Willis Kerley and Elizabeth Ann Roric, and even the elusive Daniel and Ann Kerley of Albemarle, Virginia will be remembered.

And if any of them are reading this blog post from Heaven, I sure would appreciate a little nudge in the right direction to find the documentation for Daughters of the American Revolution... LOL

Dece