Latest Trek

             

 After months of crazy weather and other distractions, I finally drove up to visit my cousin, Michele.

The plan was to make a couple of stops along the way to get a couple of family history research things done.

I had stumbled onto a Findagrave memorial that I hadn't seen before and a cemetery I had never heard of:  The Old Liberty Cemetery, also called Liberty Soldiers Cemetery, maybe.  The graves identified are  of some of my Odell ancestors, particularly Joseph Odell.  Joseph is the furthest back ancestor I've found in that branch.

I wasn't sure what the weather would be.  I wasn't sure if I would want to walk around in a wet cemetery so the cemetery stop was iffy.

The other quest for this trip was to see the actual death record for Joseph Wormuth.  I have a transcription of it but, as many of you know, the name of his mother, Harriet Barecolt, is problematic.  That surname can't be found -- anywhere.  I'm guessing that, since the majority of people, of that era, could neither read nor write, and their names were written by people who could, the name was written as it was heard.  

I could be wrong but, no, I do not believe it's a Native American name.  I believe it's most likely a German name like Burkholtz or Baraclough or Berkholdt or something very similar; there are way too many possibilities to spend time trying to figure that out.  

However, I had hoped that, because what I have is a transcription, if I could see the original, which would, undoubtedly, be hand-written, I might have a different idea of what the actual surname was.

There it is, clear as day.  There's nothing to figure out.  It's still not a surname that can be researched.  It had to be something else.  But, now we know that's how it was written in the actual record.  BTW, Joseph is recorded to have been born in PA.

I decided to stop at the Liberty cemetery on the way home, if I felt like it.  I did.  The old section of the cemetery had not been mowed in a while and the grass was still wet.  Headstones were over-turned everywhere.  It's a mess.  You can't really fault anybody; cemeteries are a lot of work and don't have very good budgets.  I didn't find the graves.  I was actually a little worried about ticks, etc. so I left and came home.  

I did discover a blog about the cemetery and sent an email.  The blog posts are old so I don't know yet if the group is still functioning.  I hope so.

I'm hoping to drive up again in a couple of weeks.  This is the season to do get in-person research done.  I will get in touch with whoever takes care of the cemetery in Liberty and see if they have a map so I don't have to spend too much time trying to find the graves.

I have heard from the Town Clerk in Callicoon, about the Wormuth cemetery.  I will be calling her on Monday to hear what she has to tell me.  Elyssa Olsen will show me where the cemetery is and we'll work out a time when she can do that.  I'll keep you all posted through these blogs.

In the meantime, it's also the season, for me, to have a bunch of medical checkups that are scheduled and coming up.

That's it for now.  Check my other blogs as well.  Leave a comment.  Thank you.

                          

This and That

 I've discovered continuing problems with my database.  I haven't contacted the software company to see what they suggest.  I think I first need to replace my computer and I'm waiting for my tax refunds to do that.  My database software is outdated; I haven't kept up with the newest editions but the problem (I suspect) is the age of the computer.  Memory problems begin at some point in the age of any computer.  It's definitely time for a new machine.

News of the one-name and one-place studies can be found in those blogs: Wormuth One Name Study, Beismer One Name Study and Rockland One-Place Study.   I have been working on the one-name studies most recently.  

In addition to the one-name studies, at WikiTree, I've been adopting orphaned profiles that are surnames in my family tree.  Orphaned profiles are profiles that were created by someone who is no longer there.  There are a lot of them.  Where the one-name studies include profiles of people with those surnames, wherever they may be, the profiles I'm adopting of other surnames are only in New York State where my families lived.  So far I've been adopting Odell, O'Dell, Flower and Flowers profiles, but, as I encounter them, I will be adopting profiles with any surname of my direct line ancestors.  Sometimes I do a search on just a familial surname and adopt any, in NYS, that are orphaned.  Since I have definitive origins for only one of my family lines, and I'm at brick walls on most of my family branches, it makes sense to adopt profiles with surnames that might lead to getting back another generation.

Because of my age and the increasing toll it's having my physical body, I've been preparing for the inevitable.  I highly recommend that everyone begin thinking about that beginning in your mid-30s, when it doesn't feel morbid; don't leave it to your family to deal with after you're gone.

It may feel distasteful but it's a gift to your family, if you take care of things like a will, burial arrangements, etc.

I will address this more later but, in this blog post, I want to say that I would be happy, if any of you reading this, would be interested in continuing this family history research.  I will be making arrangements to send various pieces of my documents, database, etc. to various historical and genealogical organizations.

I was just thinking, in the past couple of days, about all the blood relatives in my family tree and that pieces of them are in me; in my DNA.  Family history research reveals, if you will, the good, the bad and the ugly of families.  Family historians learn all kinds of things about individuals in their family tree.  I have identified, I think, some of the origins of some of my physical characteristics; at least, I'm guessing where they've come from.  Of course, that's only those from relatives and ancestors I've met or have photos of.  Going further back there's little chance of knowing.  Most of what we think of as ourselves is learned behavior; it can be unlearned and altered at will. Height, hair texture and color, color of our irises, etc. are inherited or hybridized from past generations.  Just that process is amazing.  I'll leave you with that.

Leave a note to tell me you've been here.  Thank you.

                              

Updates

 The Wormuth Name Study now has 235 profiles included, up a few from the last count.

The Beismer Name Study now has 238 profiles included, not much of an increase.

Nothing new on the Rockland One-Place Study.  

Most of the details about the studies will appear in the blogs, listed in the right-hand menu here.

I don't have a new computer and printer yet.  I waste too much time every day.

Upcoming plans for research are still on hold until it gets, consistently in the upper 50s or lower 60s and there are some spaces between rain.  I'm too old to want to run around the coutryside, outside, in the rain.

But, here are some things that I need to do over the next few months.

* find out what happened to the headstones in the Wormuth cemetery in Callicoon.

 * find out about burial in the Vandermark Family Cenetery in Debruce.  That's where I want to be, finally.

* find out about ground sonar/xray: how much it costs, if towns have their own equipment, etc.  I would like the Vandermark and Tyler Cemeteries to be done as part of a cleanup project.

* Visit the Old section of the Liberty, NY cemetery to find Joseph Odell's and Stephen Wormuth's burial places.  Good idea to call ahead to see if anyone there knows if there is a marker.

* Visit the town to see the actual death record for Joseph Wormuth where, so far, the only record of Harriet Barecolt, his mother, is found.  I have a transcription of the record, but I want to see the original and have been told that I can.

* Visit Craigie Clare in Rockland, Sullivan County, NY.

There are so many more things to do.  These are things that need doing away from here, where I live.

Please keep me in mind for copies of older family photos.

Please ask questions about the family histories.  If I don't know the answer, I'll try to find out.

Please leave a comment when you visit any of the blogs, if only to say you've read the latest blog.

Thanks.