Heartland Genealogy

Have you ever found a genealogy source that pointed you toward another source—and discovered that the second source told you much more of the story? In my previous post, When an AI Search Leads to a New Genealogy Source , I discussed how a Google Gemini search led me to references to my great-great-grandmother, Sarah J. Briles , in congressional records. The link I initially found, however, led to a transcription and image on Wikisource rather than to the original government publications. That made me wonder: Could I find the original records? The answer was yes. I turned to GovInfo , the U.S. Government Publishing Office's site for official publications. Not only does the site contain digitized copies of the Congressional Record and other government documents, but those collections are searchable. A search for "Sarah Briles" helped me piece together a much more complete timeline of Sarah's efforts to have her Civil War widow's pension restored. The Appea...

Through a Civil War Pension File When we think about Civil War pension files, we often focus on the veteran. Yet many of these records tell an equally compelling story about the widow who spent years—sometimes decades—proving her husband's service and sacrifice. The pension file of Sarah Jane (Thompson) Briles is one of those stories. While Noah W. Briles' military service fills part of the file, Sarah's determination, resilience, and perseverance become its central theme. Through dozens of affidavits, certified records, and personal statements, we can follow her life from a young bride in Iowa to an elderly widow fighting for the pension she believed her husband had earned. A New Beginning Sarah Jane Thompson was born on 7 August 1843 in Warren County, Indiana. Years later, when she needed proof of her age, she turned to one of the most treasured genealogical records a family can possess—her father's Bible. The entry recording her birth became part of her pension appli...

Have you used family Bibles in your genealogy research? I'm fortunate that my grandmothers and cousins helped me gain a  to several family Bibles over the years. However, I didn't even know a THOMPSON family Bible existed until I transcribed my great-great-grandfather's Civil War pension file. Among the documents was a statement dated 2 October 1916 that reads: Sarah Jane Briles exhibited tome what she claims to be her father's family Bible. That said book bears date on the initial page as follows: "American Bible Society, 1849. That on the page of said book under title of "Family Records" I copied these words: "Sarah Jane Thompson was burned August the 7 in the year of our Lord 1843" While the pension file preserves Sarah's birth entry from the Bible, it contains no information about the rest of the family's Bible record. That raises an intriguing question: What became of the William Thompson family Bible that was in Sarah Jane Briles...

  From Indiana to the Kansas Prairie One of the things I enjoy most about genealogy is watching an ancestor's story unfold through the records they left behind. Sometimes those records tell of exciting events, but more often they reveal the quiet determination of ordinary people who built homes, raised families, and persevered through life's challenges. That certainly describes Sarah Jane Thompson , my second great-grandmother. Born in Indiana in 1843, Sarah's life took her from the forests of southern Indiana to the developing farms of Iowa and finally to the open prairies of Coffey County, Kansas. Along the way she experienced westward migration, the aftermath of the Civil War, widowhood, life as a Kansas farm woman, and the changing role of women who often found themselves managing land and finances in addition to caring for their families. Growing Up on the Frontier Sarah Jane Thompson was born on 7 August 1843 in Warrick County, Indiana , the oldest known child of Wil...

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to: 1)  Determine where your ancestral families were on 18 May 1919 - 100 years ago. 2)  List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist? My Grandparents Leon Crawford was living with his parents at 504 Ave G in Dodge City Winnie Letha Currey was likely living with her sister, Myrtle. Winnie traveled from Kansas City to Dodge City in 1918 to help Myrtle with the birth of her first child, Dorothy. Winnie and Leon were married on Christmas Eve in 1919 at Myrtle's house. Edward O. Briles and his wife Pauline (Mentzer) Briles were likely living in Woodson County in 1919. Edward's World War I draft card indicated they were living in Everett Township, Woodson County in June of 1917. By 1920, they had moved to Allen County.

  Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music): 1)  Using your ancestral lines, how far back in time can you go with two degrees of separation?  That means "you knew an ancestor, who knew another ancestor."  When was that second ancestor born? My first thought was that I knew my great-grandmother, Josie Crawford. Christmas 1953: Marcia, Winnie, Josie

I've been trying to learn more about my ancestor, John Thompson (1797-1857) in hopes of identifying his parents. He married Sarah Iglehart in 1820 in Ohio County, Kentucky. Thus, I wanted to learn more about any Thompsons in Ohio County, Kentucky around the time of this marriage. Fortunately, the Ohio County, Kentucky Tax Books, 1799-1875 are available for viewing on Family Search. Even though these images aren't indexed, it was fairly easy to find the images for the 'T' portion of the alphabet. (Note: I also recorded information for the Igleharts while viewing this resource.) I found a John Thompson listed in 1820. This John Thompson was over 21 and owned a horse.

Have you ever looked at your genealogy and wondered, 'How did I get that?' That happened to me recently as I was researching the descendants of William Taylor Thompson of Wapello County, Iowa. William had a daughter, Julia. I had found a Wapello County, Iowa marriage record for Julia S Thompson to Edward Bates in 1868. Thus, I was following shaky leaf hints for Julia Thompson Bates. In the process, I found the Find a Grave memorial for Julia A. Thompson Bates - who died in 1922. But wait, I have Julia Thompson dying before 1887. So, where did I get the death information? And, is it correct? If so, does this mean I've mixed up two different Julia Thompsons?

Have you ever been tempted to pull someone else's family history research into your tree? I know I have. Back in the days of PAF, another RICKETTS researcher shared a gedcom with me. Knowing he was a serious worker and that the file was full of information that could help me on my RICKETTS line, I imported his gedcom file into my file. So, when someone would ask me about a RICKETTS, I would have to confess that I had copied the info into my file and really didn't know much about that particular individual. Over time, I was able to figure out how to selectively weed that RICKETTS data so that I only had families I had researched. From this first hand experience, I know how erroneous information can creep into a tree. I do use other trees - for hints and to check my research. I am currently researching my THOMPSON line. My ancestor, William Taylor Thompson, was born and married in Indiana. After his marriage, he moved to Wapello County, Iowa where he died. Hoping to see what ...

As mentioned in a previous post, my John Thompson ancestor and another John Thompson of a similar age are both living in Warrick County, Indiana at the same time. I'm hoping that land records for Warrick County, Indiana will help me separate these two families. Buried in my paper files were some notes I took from the deed index books for Warrick County. Since there are additional notes in the margins of these notes, I'm assuming I looked at the deeds while on a research trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake.

Last week, I stumbled upon a hint that the father of my ancestor, John B Thompson , was David Thompson of Barren County, KY. Following that hint, I found the will of a David Thompson in Barren county, KY. Among his children was a John B. Thompson.

I descend from John Thompson -- the John Thompson who married Sarah Iglehart in Ohio County, Kentucky, lived in Warrick County, Indiana, Wapello County, Iowa and Adams County, Iowa. The 1830 and 1840 census records for Warrick County, Indiana include two men named John B Thompson. 1840 Census 1830 Census

I am researching John Thompson who married Sarah Iglehart in 1820 in Ohio county, Kentucky. According to cemetery records, John was born in Kentucky. According to a history of Adams County, Iowa, John resided in Warrick county, Indiana before migrating to Wapella County, Iowa and then to Adams County, Iowa. John and Sarah's children include William Taylor Thompson (1820-1898) md Mary Ann Evans Jacob Thompson (1822-1905) md Rhoda Evans Benjamin Franklin Thompson (1824-1875) md Catherine Black Levi Thompson (1826-1828) Martha Jane Thompson (1828-1848) md Alexander Van Winkle Andrew J Thompson (1832-?) Mary Elizabeth Thompson (1834-1917) md Henry Evans John Lowe Thompson (1836-1917) md Martha Ingersoll Francis Marion Thompson (1838-1921) md Martha Schooling Sarah Ellen Thompson (1841-1844) James Allen Thompson (1841-1868) md Margaret Scott