Civil War on Sunday - June 1861 Missouri activity

Civil War on Sunday - June 1861 Missouri activity

The following comes from the "Ozarks Civil War Sesquicentennial Weekly"
[If you'd like to receive a copy by email, send a note to: Len Eagleburger leneagleburger at sbcglobal.net]

Subject: Civil War encampment observes 150th anniversary or troops' arrival in Springfield

At the 150th Anniversary Encampment, visitors will find an authentic Civil War camp of infantry and artillery, and can observe camp life and watch soldiers drill as their officers attempt to turn raw recruits into soldiers, the release said. Information on the 150th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek August 12-14.

“On June 11, 1861, U. S. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon declared war on the state of Missouri. He immediately launched a campaign to drive the pro-secessionist Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson and his Missouri State Guard from the vital Missouri River Valley. At the same time he dispatched troops under Gen. Thomas William Sweeney toward Springfield to cut off the escape of the Missouri State Guard into Arkansas,” the release explained. “On June 24, 1861, Col. Franz Sigel’s German-speaking, St. Louis-enlisted Union troops arrived in Springfield after a hot, wearying march from the railhead at Rolla. Many of his troops had marched through their shoes and wore uniforms that had been reduced to rags by the exertions of the march. This federal force was the first army to occupy Springfield during the Civil War. It would not be the last. Springfield would change hands many times during the war. Sigel’s troops went into camp around Springfield and began rounding up Southern sympathizers. The arrival of these troops encouraged Unionists, discouraged secessionists, and brought home to everyone the reality that war had come to Springfield.”

Established in 1950, the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation is one of the oldest private sector support groups associated with the National Park Service. It is a non-profit corporation with IRS 501(c) (3) status.

Since the foundation’s initial purchase of 37 acres on Bloody Hill, site of the heaviest fighting in the battle, the foundation has worked to preserve and protect the park, the release said. “The goal of the foundation is to enhance awareness and appreciation of this national treasure — a haven for historians and those who enjoy the outdoors.”


Families are Forever!  ;-)

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week 26 - Songs

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week 26 Songs

Thanks to GeneaBloggers and Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog for these prompts.

This post also responds to Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun at Genea-Musings.


Week 26 - Songs 
What was the #1 song during the week of your birth? Enter your birth date at This Day in Music (http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1) and find out. If you were born before 1946, you can enter the year of your marriage, the birth dates of your children or some other significant event.
Or on your birthday when you were 15?

Billboard's #1 Song on 1 Jul 1954, my 15th birthday: Little Things Mean a Lot by Kitty Kallen

Billboard's #1 Song on 7 Aug 1959, our wedding day: A Big Hunk O'Love by Elvis Presley


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Follow Friday - 24 Jun 2011

Follow Friday - 24 Jun 2011

Since I missed last week, I'm including two suggestions, this week.

We've all heard this, but still hard to believe - great set of answers by Lew Drew on the Family History with the LineageKeeper blog:

All of my Ancestors Have Been Found!


Kathy Reed on the Family Matters blog shares some interesting and useful information on DNA results - along with some neat graphics:

Anticipataing DNA Results


Thanks to Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings for bringing these posts to my attention!  ;-)


Families are Forever!  ;-)

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week 25 - Neighbors

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History

Week 25 - Neighbors

Thanks to GeneaBloggers and Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog for these prompts.


Week 25. Neighbors. Who were your childhood neighbors? Have you kept in touch with any of them? Do you feel the concept of “neighbors” has changed since then?

In first and second grade, my 'outside world' revolved around my one-room school, a mile north of our farm house, and, our rural Star Methodist Church, four miles west of the school house; west central Iowa.

Here is a poor photo of our school group in front of our farm house. I don't know the occasion, but these young people were the population of our school, and all lived in the four square miles the school served. I think I (I'm in the ball cap, just left of center) was in first grade here...

This is probably a vacation bible school picture, Nancy and I (center, back row; Nancy in front of me, just to the right) were probably in second grade here... we've now been married almost 52 years, so, yes, we have kept in touch!  ;-) Just saw my cousin Dennis (next boy to the right, in the back row - not the tall one!), last weekend, for the first time in maybe ten years...

[Note: I have similar photos of my grandkids, in Austin, TX, with T-Ball group and vacation bible school, taken in the last month... guess 'neighbors' haven't changed that much!  ;-)]


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Leverne "Pete" Smith

(1915-1977)

An Iowa Farmer

A Community Activist

A good guy!  ;-)

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Learn more about 'finding' the Old Sheriff

On 5 June 2011, under the title "The Face of Genealogy" I posted a photo of my great-grandfather, James P. Preston. He has intrigued some of you as much as he did me. The story of  his father, "the old sheriff' William Preston, is an important part of this saga. Cousin "GeneJ" in her blog "they came before" has begun a series of post entitled: "Sheriff William Preston's identity crisis" - these posts are an extensive lesson on research methods as well as a story of our family. I encourage you to get on her feed, however you choose to do that, and follow along. It is, and will be, an excellent journey.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Follow Friday - 10 Jun 2011

Follow Friday - 10 Jun 2011

Once again, this recommendation is as much a reminder to myself as it is for your benefit, my readers. But, does it really matter? If we each benefit, so much the better.

Marian's Roots & Rambling is again the source: "Are You Reading the Right Journals?"

Marian reminds us of the value of using PERSI as a source of reference materials. She also provides an excellent example from her own research to guide our use of the valuable service. Thanks, again, Marian, for reminding us about one of the important procedures of which we shouldn't need to be reminded!  ;-)


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday - Bill and Karen 1940

Wordless (nearly) Wednesday

Bill and Karen 1940

Don't think I've shared this one before. It is 1940, in front of Grandpa and Grandma Kinnick's house on Main Street, in Coon Rapids, Iowa. Their house is the the left of the photo. Background shows their neighbors' houses down the street. I'm on the left, my first cousin, Karen Kinnick, is on the right. Classic photo... not much more to say.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Tombstone Tuesday - Emmert & Margaret (HERRON) NELSEN

Tombstone Tuesday

Emmert & Margaret (HERRON) NELSEN

Margaret Elizabeth HERRON was born 9 Jul 1914, died 29 Nov 1991. Margaret was the daughter of Wilson and Lucile (KINNICK) HERRON. [Lucile is a sister of my grandfather, Paul KINNICK].

On 21 Oct 1933 she married Emmert Martinus NELSEN.

He was born 25 Jun 1914, died 22 Sep 1987.

Margaret Elizabeth Nelsen - Audubon services held - CR Ent, 5 Dec 1991, p. 14
Funeral services were conducted by Pastor Carl Hansen on Monday, December 2, 1991, at 2:00 p.m. at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Audubon for Margaret Elizabeth Nelsen. Casketbearers were Randy Nelsen, Todd Nelsen, Michael Nelsen, Darrell Nelsen II, Don Nelsen, Joel Rattenborg, Jay Myers, Nick Nelsen, Chad Nelsen, and Joshua Nelsen. Honorary casketbearers were Scott Dermody, David Dermody, and James Nelsen. Interment was in the Orange Township Cemetery, Guthrie County, near Coon Rapids.
Margaret Elizabeth Herron Nelsen, the oldest daughter of Wilson C. and Helen Lucile Kinnick Herron, was born July 9, 1914 in Guthrie County, Iowa near White Rock and died of respiratory failure on November 29, 1991 at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa at the age of 77 years, 4 months, and 20 days. She was baptized and confirmed at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Audubon. She attended rural school in Guthrie County and high school in Coon Rapids, Iowa.
On October 21, 1933 Margaret married Emmert M. Nelsen at Coon Rapids and to this union eight children were born. Margaret and Emmert were engaged in farming until 1960 during which time Margaret was employed at the Dinner Bell Cafe in Audubon from 1957 to March of 1959. They moved into Audubon in 1960 and Margaret worked at the Audubon Community School District until 1963 at which time they moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. They returned to Audubon in 1965 and Margaret was again employed at the Dinner Bell Cafe and also was a head cook at the T-Bone Club and also worked at the Summit House. She retired in 1983. She was a member of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Audubon.
Preceding her in death was her husband, Emmert on September 22, 1987; her parents; three grandsons and one great grandson. Survivors include her children and their spouses: Arnold and Karen Nelsen of North Sioux City, SD; Darrell and Sue Nelsen of Audubon; Thomas and Betsy Nelsen of Hamlin, IA; Marie and Ben Myers of Treynor, IA; Vitta and Bob Rattenborg of Audubon, IA; Donald and Dorothy Nelsen of Avoca, IA; Phylliss Shambauh of Urbandale, IA; and Franklin Nelsen of Avoca, IA; twenty-four grandchildren; twenty-eight great grandchildren; her brothers and their spouses: Wilbur and Pauline Herron of Bayard, IA; Donald and Jennie Herron of Coon Rapids, IA; Duane and Mildred Herron of Bayard, IA; Wilson C. Herron, Jr. of Des Moines, IA; her sisters and their spouses: Pauline Roller of Glidden, IA; Naomi and Bob Kepple of Bayard, IA; Genevieve and Gene Hilgenberg; Geneva and Gene Crouch, all of Bayard, IA; Shirley Sievers of Coon Rapids, IA; her sisters-in-law and their spouses: Ramona and Wyman Jensen of Altoona, IA; Gretchen and Mike DeCarlo of Des Moines, IA; Joan and Roy Mortensen of Audubon, IA; Sharon Nelsen of Des Moines, IA; her brother-law-, Dale Nelsen of California; her aunt and her husband, Lillian and Delbert Ford of Coon Rapids; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Families are Forever! ;-)

The Face of Genealogy

The Face of Genealogy

 [This post is in response to the recent GeneaBloggers discussion of the same name]

This is my great-grandfather, James P. Preston, of whom my 'mentor' in family history and genealogy study, Aunt LVene, said: "We don't know much about grandpa Preston."

Of course, she 'meant' - "we don't want to talk about grandpa Preston" - because grandma Preston had 'poisoned' their minds about him. This made me immediately 'much more interested' in him, of course, as I have written many times, before - including finally getting this photo from a cousin, after extensive research, travel, writing, etc. It really got me going. He is 'my face of genealogy," I believe.

P.S. She did know a lot about him; just wasn't willing to share it!  ;-)


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Follow Friday - 3 Jun 2011

Follow Friday

3 Jun 2011

I hope most of you have already seen this one, but it is important enough, and well enough written, I want to give it one more boost:

Susan Petersen writing recently at Long Lost Relatives.net:

Are You Making Full Use of Find A Grave?

Susan reminds us of all the uses we can make of Find A Grave entries... but, even more important, she reminds us we should each take the time to add to the enormous and enormously important set of data collected there. As is often the case with volunteer work... we don't each have to do a lot... but if we each do what we can... it adds up in the most wonderful way. I try to do my part, but I know I fall short. I just try to keep remembering, and do better the next time. I hope you do, as well.

Families are Forever!  ;-)