Making progress on my Genealogy Do-Over

I have been working on my do-over since 2015.  After 2 years and a few months, I have accomplished two very important goals.  I had an overwhelming amount of digital information that needed to be logged and added to my rootsmagic tree.  I am very please that I have complete not only 1 surname, but 2 surnames (out of four).  I'm still working on the remaining files but I also still have a lot of paper not digitized at all.  So sorting and scanning is still in the future.  But I am very pleased with my progress!  

Tombstone Tuesday: Great-Great-Great Grandparents #9

Soloman and Freelove (Burdick) Vorce were married about 1821.  They had at least four children together, all born in New York.  Soloman was born in 1794 in Buffalo, New York and died around 1877.  Freelove was born February 19, 1796 in New York and died about 1871.  I do not know where they are buried.

Tombstone Tuesday: Great-Great-Grandparents #5

Elisha and Jemima (Howell) Vorce were married June 9, 1857.  They had 10 kids together.  Elisha Alden Vorce was born November 14, 1832 in New York and died Oct 1913 in Michigan.  Jemima Howell was born June 2, 1839 in Pennsylvania and died May 27, 1889 in Michigan.  Both are buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday: Great-Grandparents #3

Thank you to find-a-grave DeLyle for the picture!

Thank you to find-a-grave DeLyle for the picture!

Edwin and Susie Vorce are buried in Pine Hill Cemetery in Cheboygan, Michigan.  Edwin Charles Vorce was born 1867 in Tonawanda, New York and Susie Augusta Stinchfield was born 1878 in Grant, Michigan.  Edwin and Susie were married in 1895 in Burton Township.  They had 4 children together.  Edwin died in 1934 in Harbor Springs. Susie was remarried to Frank Crowl.  Susie died in 1945.

Tombstone Tuesday: Maternal Grandparents

Grace T. and Harold E. Vorce are buried in the Greenwood cemetery in Petoskey, Michigan.  Grace Tillotson was born in 1901 in Bay Shore, Michigan.  Harold was born in 1903 in Cross Village, Michigan.  They were married in 1927, Bay Shore Michigan.  Harold was an electrician and worked for Consumers Powers.  Harold remarried in 1978 to Lucille M Cooke who died in 2000.

Organizing Genealogy Photos: Part 1

some of the photo boxes plus the slide box

Organizing photos is actually pretty personal in that everyone has their own system.  I had been scrapping and scanning my own pictures since I had kids but there was a lot of pre-kids pictures that was just stashed in boxes. Then my mom gave me a ton of photos that she had from her mother and I needed a system.  I did search the internet but not a lot really seemed helpful.  Then I asked my father-in-law for his pictures because I knew they were just in boxes in the top of the closet and I wanted to discover that side of the family.  Now I really had a problem and needed to find a solution fast!

First off I don't have a lot of extra money so I knew I had to do all the scanning and organizing myself. So the first problem I had to tackle was where to put the pictures after I scanned them.  I just could not return them to the plastic bags or boxes or old albums since they would get more damaged that way.  I knew I needed to get archival boxes (and already had gotten 1 box for old slides) but how many?  At this point I decided that I needed to divide into four groups.  My parents are divorced so having their family pictures separate works and my mother-in-law had also died so that seemed to work okay as well.  So I purchased four regular size boxes for each family surname (Groenhof, Naber, Green, Vorce).  But I also had quite a few pictures that were bigger than the standard size picture box.  So I purchased three boxes for pictures up to size 12x9.  (The reason I went with three is because my side just didn't have a ton of large pictures so I could easily store them in one box.)  But I also had some really large pictures of my kids as well as heritage pictures that needed a bigger box. So I purchased one box (19.5 x 13) to hold all those really large pictures that would not be brought out much.

I wrote on the side of each archival box the size so I would know which box fit which picture and added initials of the family (G/N for my side).  Plus I labeled the four small boxes with the family name as well.  So now it was time to start scanning!

Harold Vorce, Boy Scout

abt 1920

Still going through pictures and came across this little gem!  Harold Edwin Vorce wearing his boy scout (I think) uniform.  This might be in Flint.  If I am remembering correctly, the family lived there.  (I will have to check the 1920 census.)  I don't think anyone in my family was part of the scouts but my son was for a while and my mother's husband was even an eagle scout!

The Project Has Begun!

1960's Grace & Harold

My mother-in-law divided up all the old family photos by family group.  So the first set I pulled out was her own parents, Grace & Harold Vorce.  This is one of the photos I scanned.  Grace was born in 1901, Bay Shore Michigan.  Harold was born in 1903, Cross Village Michigan.  They were married in 1927 and had three children.  Duane Edwin was born in 1928, Harold Gale in 1931 and then Leah Grace in 1941.  Grace died at the age of 75 in 1976.  Harold died at the age of 90 in 1994.  (He did remarry in 1978.)  Leah died at the age of 64 in 2006 and Gale died at the age of 78 in 2010.

Leah G Vorce Green

Leah Green died 5 years ago and her ashes had been basically laying around since then.  But I am very happy to say that the ashes have now been buried in a very informal event over Thanksgiving.  I wasn't there personally but my husband, her eldest son, dug the hole and her younger son placed the ashes.  My son, her only grandson filled in the hole.  My daughter, her only granddaughter, held the ashes before hand.  Her husband Nelson was there also.  He arranged for the placement of the beautiful stone that is pictured above.  (And in case you cannot tell, those are oars above Nelson's name.)  I really think Leah would have loved this stone.  Very natural looking and simple.  Before she died, she did drive me through the cemetery down the road from their house to show me some of the spots they were looking at.  I think she liked the more natural setting of this cemetery which is pretty small.  Since she was going to be cremated, they were looking at some of the plots on a the slop of the hill.  It looks like that is were they did purchase a plot.

Rest In Peace, Leah - you are missed every day.

Mayflower Connection

My own genealogy does not have any Mayflower connection but my husband has two of them.

Edward Doty was one of two indentured servants obligated to Stephen Hopkins and as such accompanied Hopkins and his family aboard the Mayflower.   While the Mayflower was anchored off Cape Cod, forty-one of the adult males, including the servants, signed the Mayflower Compact on November 11, 1620. 

1)  Edward Doty (abt 1598-1655) plus Faith Clarke (?-?)
2)  Joseph Doty (1651-abt 1733) plus Deborah Hatch (1662-1711)
3)  Ellis Doty (1681-?) plus Ellinor (?-?)
4)  Edward Doty (1705-?) plus Mary Andrews (1703-?)
5)  Theodorus Doty (1737-abt 1783) plus Jane Densmore (?-?)
6)  Prince Doty (abt 1766-?) plus Almira Beach (?-apt 1806)
7)  Weaver Green (1793-1870) plus Jane Doty (1793-1871)
8)  Ira Green (1823-1872) plus Phebe Flint (1829-1972)
9)  Clark Green (1859-1930) plus Elizabeth Kidder (1859-1934)
10) Philmore Green (1893-1959) plus Edith Nelson (1891-1958)
11) Raymond Green (1919-1971) plus Margaret Livingston (1922-1985)
12) Nelson Green & Leah Vorce
13) Eric

Constance was the second daughter of Stephen Hopkins, by his first wife, Mary. Constance, at the age of fourteen, along with her father and his second wife Elizabeth (Fisher), accompanied by brother Giles, half-sister Damaris as well as two servants by the name of Edward Doty and Edward Lester were passengers on the Mayflower in 1620.

1)  Nicholas Snow (?-?) plus Constance Hopkins (1606-??)
2)  Thomas Paine (?-1706) plus Mary Snow (abt 1630-1704)
3)  Joseph Paine (1667-1712) plus Patience Sparrow (abt 1675-1745)
4)  Jonathan Paine (1710-1762) plus Marcy Doane (abt 1715-?)
5)  Thomas Paine (1756-1847) plus Anna Haskell (1760-1854)
6)  Thomas Paine (1792-1838) plus Anna Marston (1794-1870)
7)  Jospeh Stinchfield (1822-1849) plus Sarah Paine (1820-1889)
8)  Frank Stinchfield (abt 1847-1933) plus Abbie Nuite (1850-1899)
9)  Edwin Vorce (1867-1934) plus Susie Tillotson (1878-1945)
10) Harold Vorce (1903-1994) plus Grace Tillotson (1901-1976)
11) Nelson Green & Leah Vorce
12) Eric

Yep that is correct my husband's ancestor through his fathers line was the indentured servant of the ancestor through his mothers line!

iFamily for Leopard, Updated!

I think I mentioned in a previous post that iFamily didn't seem to have any updates so I thought I would have to switch programs. Fortunately, this is not true any longer! There is an update available to previous owners so now my program has stopped asking me to check for updates. Frankly, I didn't even care what the updates were, I just wanted the message to stop!

After I updated, I started a new file that would include sourcing for everyone in the file. This was a lot easier than I thought it would be for my mother's side of the family. I actually reached the 4th great-grandfather generation (for my children), at least with names. But I did discover that I don't have my father's birth record so I am not able to go farther on that side until I get a hold of him. I also have nothing added for my husband's family for the exact same reason. Something to work on!

A missing wedding picture

Many years ago, I created a wedding (or at least a picture of the couple around that time) genealogy picture album. The idea was that it would start with me and my husband and then go to our parents, our grandparents and out to our great-grandparents. (I don't have any pictures of the next level so I never even put those pages in the book.) As of yesterday, I was missing 3 pictures for the album, 2 from my husbands side and 1 from my own. Well, I was picking some stuff up yesterday and I found some pictures. Of course I have to scan them but I thought I would take a look before I put them on the scan pile. Well, I found a picture of my mother-in-law, who passed away a few years ago along with one of the missing pictures with a note from her! I actually had this picture for a number of years but totally forgot. WOW! I am very excited! The copy is not great but I fixed it up a bit and it is posted above. This is Duncan Livingston & Ida May Cook married in 1901.

My daughter loves this album as much as I do so I showed her the picture and she noticed something interesting. (Figures!) If you look closely at the broach Ida is wearing, it looks like a picture of her husband. I will have to see if my father in law has the original at his house since the orientation of the photo is wrong for the album and I would like to rescan it.

So the only pictures I need are Edwin Charles Vorce & Susie Augusta Stinchfield, married in 1895 AND Ben Stremler & Lucy De Vries married in 1908. Of course it might not be a wedding picture but I would like something for the album!

Matrilineal Line

I haven't done a Genea-Musings Saturday Night Challenge in a while so here it goes! This one is to post your matrilineal line, your family tree traced back through your mother and then to her mother, etc. The second part of the challenge is related to testing of the DNA which I haven't done so I am skipping that!

My Matrilineal Line:
1) Elizabeth Ann
2) Janice Elaine Naber
3) Gertrude Wilma Brandt (1921-2003) married Gordon Naber
4) Jeanette DeVries (1899-1975) married Otto Brandt
5) Gertrude Boes (1866-1936) married Johannes De Vries
6) Hermina Beld ( 1936-1920) married Egbert Boes
7) Jantje Bekker (1805-1893) married Jan Beld

My Husband's Matrilineal LIne:

1) Eric Nelson

2) Leah Grace Vorce (1941-2006) married Nelson Green

3) Grace Vea Tillotson (1901-1976) married Harold Vorce

4) Nellie May Burnett (1864-1951) married Asahel Tillotson

5) Sarah Jane Case (1840-1915) married Charles Burnett

6) Phebe Bagley (1798-1874) married Ira Case

7) Sarah (??-??) married Ichabod Bagley

PS) the picture is my mother-in-law with her only granddaughter, my beautiful daughter, Claire!

16 Great-Great-Great Grandparents (in-law edition)

It didn't seem right to post my own 16 GGG Grandparents and then not include a post for my husband's side of the family. I will admit right now that I don't have as much information for this group. I actually cannot even establish nationality for all of them. But I will add what I have and see what happens!

1) Clark V. GREEN - b: 19 Mar 1859 in Kalamo Township, Eaton, MI; m: 03 Jul 1886; d: 08 Jun 1930 in Marquette, MI. (might be British?)

2) Elizabeth Jennie KIDDER - b: 10 Dec 1859 in Washington, Missouri d: 12 Jan 1934 in Boyne City, Charlevoix, MI (might be British - really no idea)

3) John NELSON - b: abt 1863 in Sweden; m: 02 Mar 1888 in Traverse City, Grand Traverse, MI; d: Unknown (nationality=Swedish!)

4) Bertha ANDERSON - b: abt 1864 in Norway; d: before 1900 (nationality=Norwegian)

5) Hugh LIVINGSTON - b: Unknown in Scotland; m: 14 Dec 1855 in Blythswood, Glasglow, Scotland; d: Unknown (nationality=Scottish)

6) Margaret CAMERON - b: Unknown in Scotland; d: Unknown (nationality=Scottish)

7) William COOK - b: Unknown; m: Unknown; d: Unknown (nationality=unknown)

8) Jane HELBERT - b: Unknown; d: Unknown (nationality=unknown)

9) Elisha Alden VORCE - 14 Nov 1832 in New York; m: 09 Jun 1857; d: Oct 1913 (nationality=British)

10) Jemima HOWELL - 02 Jun 1839 in Pennsylvania; d: 27 May 1889 (nationality=unknown)

11) Frank Henry STINCHFIELD - b: abt 1847 in Dover, Piscataquis, Maine; m: Sep 1869; d: 28 Jul 1933 in Burton Township, Genesee, MI (nationality=unknown)

12) Abbie Augusta NUITE - b: 25 Aug 1850 in Sangerville, Piscatquis, Maine; d: 15 Apr 1899 in Benton Township, MI (nationality=unknown)

13) Oscar TILLOTSON - b: 07 Jun 1844 in Prairieville, Barry, MI; m: 10 Feb 1869; d: 02 Sep 1933 in Hayes Township, Charlevoix, MI (nationality=British)

14) Ardennes GEER - b: 22 Jul 1849 in Granby, Shefford Vale, Quebec, Canada; d: 17 Dec 1921 in Hayes Township, Charlevoix, MI (nationality=Canadian)

15) Charles Frank BURNETT - b: 1837 in Canada; m: 05 Sep 1860; d: 01 May 1876 in Victor, Ontario, New York (nationality=Canadian)

16) Sarah Jane CASE - b: 28 Apr 1840 in Ontario, New York; d: 08 Jun 1915 in Bay Shore, Charlevoix, MI (nationality=unknown)

So my kids are 1/2 Dutch, 2/16 Canadian, 2/16 British, 2/16 Scottish, 1/16 Norwegian, 1/16 Swedish & 1/4 Unknown. I guess I know where some work is needed!