I've been hunting down Aunt Ruth. It seems so odd to me to have photos of a woman who I've never met and try to figure out how she fits in to my family tree. She is in nearly all of the photos that I had dubbed "Turnbow" and yet I could not figure out who she was!
I had asked Grandpa Starks who the people in the photos were and he called her "Aunt Ruth". I knew she was a sister of his mother, Wilmer Turnbow Starks, but I could not find her in my PAF file or on Family Search. What a quandry I was in... Everyone who would know her is gone. I can only pray to be led to the right place. Grandpa and Grandma and now my dad have passed away.
So, I did what I love to do when I have a genealogy question. I go back to the source material. In this case, I went to the census. I knew that my Great-Great-Grandmother, Nancy Elizabeth Munholland had married Levi Turnbow, divorced him, then married George Lavarnway. In 1910 census I saw that Nancy and her children from Levi Turnbow lived with her new husband, as well as had two child of their own, Myrtle and Ruby. I was sure that Nancy must have had more children with George Lavarnway, so I went to the 1920 census. Sure enough, there is Myrtle, Ruby, RUTH, and Virgie. Oh how wonderful the census is! I am so grateful to be able to go to Heritage Quest (through the online library access) and see every census for myself.
I will have to go to the physical library to access Ancestry and get the 1930 census.
Once I get enough information, I will update my own PAF as well as add the sisters to Family Search. I do not want Aunt Ruth or Aunt Ruby or Aunt Virgie (I'm pretty sure this is Virginia) to be forgotten.
So, I did what I love to do when I have a genealogy question. I go back to the source material. In this case, I went to the census. I knew that my Great-Great-Grandmother, Nancy Elizabeth Munholland had married Levi Turnbow, divorced him, then married George Lavarnway. In 1910 census I saw that Nancy and her children from Levi Turnbow lived with her new husband, as well as had two child of their own, Myrtle and Ruby. I was sure that Nancy must have had more children with George Lavarnway, so I went to the 1920 census. Sure enough, there is Myrtle, Ruby, RUTH, and Virgie. Oh how wonderful the census is! I am so grateful to be able to go to Heritage Quest (through the online library access) and see every census for myself.
I will have to go to the physical library to access Ancestry and get the 1930 census.
Once I get enough information, I will update my own PAF as well as add the sisters to Family Search. I do not want Aunt Ruth or Aunt Ruby or Aunt Virgie (I'm pretty sure this is Virginia) to be forgotten.
The caption on the back of this photo says: Aunt Myrtle & Aunt Ruth & Grandma in pen,
and in pencil: Eti a Marry Xmas an a Happy New Years to Mr. and Mrs. Harmon an son from aunts & Grandmaw & cousin & sister & mother & nefue
So, this photo has: Myrtle Mae Lavarnway (Martin), Nancy Elizabeth Munholland (Turnbow, Lavarnway), Ruth Lavarnway -- and probably one of the boys in the photo is Nath Martin, Myrtle's son.
