Cowboys and Cowgirl

We finally took a break from the remodeling. We took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's for the day on Sunday. Mom and Dad had just gotten back their horse Bunny, so the kids were anxious to ride her.

Our oldest has decided he wants to be a cowboy. So his back to school clothes consisted mostly of western wear. I was very pleased. I'm just glad he hasn't gotten into the idea of wearing his pants below his ass and showing off more then any child should be allowed to. He is turning out to be a very loving and considerate young many. He makes me proud! He is even showing interest in farming, computers, and history, just like his mama. I think I may have to look into getting him into 4H.

Then there is the middle boy, who braved the big beast again. The last time he was on a horse was their other horse Fally. She is a little more skiddish. When he was on her James was holding the lead rope, something spooked her and she took off. Our little boy couldn't hold on and fell, but at least he was smart and quick enough to roll away from her, and wasn't hurt. But Sunday he was fine with getting on Bunny. When we asked him is he also wanted to ride Fally his answer was a very clear "NO!"
Then there is our baby girl who being afraid of hieghts at her age wasn't so sure about the big beast Grandpa was putting her on. But the dog was more her size. Giddy-up-Doggy! I'm afraid we may have a future Rodeo Queen on our hands.

Automotive Prejudice

I know I drive a piece of crap Kia Sportage. I was rearended a couple years ago in that dreaded Aragon Coridor on 95 in Spokane. After that my husband bought the paint and began to pull out the dings and dents and got the car pretty straight. The only problem is it still isn't painted and the door handles are still off. You know what they say about a mechanics own vehicles.

Well yesterday I finally got my second set of wheels. We went and bought a little Chevy Blazer for $800 from someone my husband knows who just wanted that car off his property. On our way back home we stopped at Post Falls, ID Wal Mart to have both of the vehicles serviced. That was a mistake.

We get there and a nice young man comes out. I explain that we are together with both vehicles, so he starts taking information on the Kia. We tell him all that we want and my husband signs for the service. Then he starts writing up the Chevy Blazer. Then a manager, ass hole, walks over and starts chewing the young guy a new one for even accepting the Kia for service. He tells him that he is not suppose to accept such vehicles because they are a liability. To say the least that didn't set well with my husband. He told them that we have had that car services here at least three or four times in about the last year in exactly that condition. So the manager gives in, but makes the young guy go back and rewrite the order, but this time noting all of the damage on the car. What an ass hole. When the kids comes back to have James sign again on the Kia James told him, "don't worry about it he's just being an ass, because we have had that car serviced here many times." Then I added "go get me a real manager. They know me and they'll service this vehicle." That time we were inside the office and this woman manager heard him she told us she'd look it up to see if they had services the vehicle before. I just ignored her because she said it with such attitude, and the young man also said no it was fine the other guy was going to let it go through.

I choose to take the kids and start my shopping. While I was shopping James was also looking at tires for the new vehicle. Then he comes and find me. I asked him if he got tires and all taken care off, he said no they wouldn't put tires on my car either. "What!!" The woman manager in automotive told him, "we can't put tires on that because the rims on it are not what is recommened on the door jam." Did the bitch not know she was talking to a man who knows cars inside and out and could give her a few lessons? The rims on it were perfectly fine for the vehicle! So that bitch lost a $500 sale when James took the car down the street to Les Schwab. Who had his tires changed in about 15 minutes, for the same price as Wal Mart would have been.

I encourage everyone not to go to Wal Mart Automotive again. If they won't service a vehicle because it's primered and not painted that's just wrong!!! They will never again get my business. Les Schwab will always get my business for tires and service.

My First Ginnie Pig!

I finally got a file on the first family I get to reserach that isn't related to me! Read about it on my genealogy blog. So you may not here from me for a few days while I'm burried in a pile of papers and lost surfing on the internet through the endless waves of information.

Addresses and Deliveries

Okay I've got to voice it now. I've had it up to my eyeballs with Kootenai County's address issues and residence as well. They keep changing addresses and names of streets. I feel sorry for anyone needing an ambulance in certain areas of Coeur d'Alene. I know it's a pain for the residence as well. But I've got to tell you many of you are not making the situation any easier.

It's amazing to me how many people order things online with their new address. Then when their package arrives and the driver can't find them I have to look them up and give them a call. I've gotten responses like, "We are in the same house we have always been in." or "The old numbers are such and such on the home. They changed the numbers on our street, but we haven't moved." I feel like saying "Yea, so, what does that mean the next new driver is suppose to be psychic and just know where the last driver, he is filling in for vacation, delivered the last package to you?" Or one night I asked if the numbers were visible on the home, the response was "Yea, but a bush is probably covering them a bit." So I gave the driver a description and guess what it came back again the next night. I didn't bother calling the guy again. He knew we had a package and that we needed to see the numbers on his home. If he couldn't go out and remove enough of the bush so the numbers could be seen then he could come to us to pick it up.

Or I love this one "Well my numbers are on my mailbox, I don't know what your guys problem is." I feel like saying, "Oh yea I forgot we aren't the POST OFFICE! We need to deliver to the right home, and since your mailbox is across the street with a few others we are suppose to get out and knock on every door to find you???? Yea right!!!!!!" you aren't the only stop of the day. Some drivers may only have 150 stops while others may have 600-700 stops in a day between their pickup and deliveries. If you want good service then please make their lives a little easier.

Then my favorites are the people who live at the top of a mountain. In bad weather when the little dirt road they live on is muddy and icy they get mad because our driver won't go up their little dirt road. Well put yourself in his shoes. When you are a driver in this big huge truck and all you see is a little dirt path that has ice and potholes trust me you don't go down it because if you can't see a place to turn around you don't even want to take a chance at getting stuck.

I just want to scream some nights when I get chewed a new one by someone who orders a next day air item that they just had to have that day, but they weren't home to sign for it or they don't have the numbers marking their home. Gee what did you think would happen?

So if you are expecting a package here are a few things that can be done to make all of our lives easier.

1. Clearly, in plain view FORM THE ROAD, mark your home with the correct numbers. If they can't see it from the road they may not deliver your package. Mailboxes are not sufficient, especially if they don't clearly show which home to go to.
2. If you live at the back of a home or down the alley make sure there is a sign out at the street that clearly points to where you are.
3. Request that the shipper place your phone number on the outside of the package in case anything does go wrong we can reach you. If it isn't then we are opening your package to find the number on the invoice inside. Some of you don't even want to know the things I have seen.
4. Oh yea and no PO BOXs. We must deliver to the home. We can not deliver to PO Boxes. Again we are not the post office.
5. If you are not going to be home to sign for a signature required package then have it sent to your place of work, or grandma's house. If your shipper will not allow that then call the 800 number to have it rerouted after the first delivery attempt. If you live in an apartment we wont just release your package you must be there to sign for it, so the same applies for you.
6. If you want to pick up a package PLEASE CALL the 800 number so we can have it pulled and ready for you. DON'T just SHOW UP!!!! Talk about driving me crazy. If you call ahead then I can send a message to the driver to bring it to me when he comes in so I don't have to go digging through their truck, especially in the heat or the extreme cold. I know the 800 number isn't that fun to deal with, but trust me your experience will be much better if you take the time to do that and then let me call you when the package arrives on my counter.
7. If you are having it delivered to your place of work then make sure the shipper includes the business name and the suite number (if applies)on the label or you still won't get your package the first day.
8. Talk to your neighbors about getting the correct address on their homes as well. There is nothing as frustrating to a driver to go down the street and see 2805, 7508, 2806, 7509, 7610........ So what is he really on the 2000 block or the 7000 block???!!!!!!
9. If you live on a dirt road and a place that is hard to find even if you think your driver knows where you are, don't assume you will always have that driver. Our drivers do take vacations, they need it. So make sure we have in our system directions on how to get to your home so the second attempt will be successful.
10. If you are shipping: include names, address (which are common) phone number of receiver (this is important if something goes wrong so we can still get them their package), and properly package it with at least 2" of cushioning around the item if you want it to get there with out breaking. That one also amazes me when I get something like a light fixture or a mirror and they put packaging around the item, but placed the item directly on the bottom of the box, with no packaging on the bottom. Yea that'll work. When the box gets set on a cement floor you'll find out how not protected it is, especially it it's heavy.

Also think about this if the UPS Driver has trouble finding you what do you think will happen if you need an ambulance. They don't drive the streets daily like we do. You get mad about not getting your package, but it should make you think, what if your child was chocking. If we can't find you what make you think the ambulance can?

Now I know we aren't perfect there are drivers who will bring packages back and discuss them with other driver who have had their route in the past and then realized they did see your home and didn't realize it, so we get it back out to you. Other times yes things do get loaded onto the wrong truck, our sorters are human. Again your home may be marked but if your neighbors have our driver confused with their numbers then he may have given up before he got to you. These things happen, but you can help us to get your package to you safely and quickly if you take the time to follow these steps.
Thanks for your help and consideration from your local delivery person.

Big Al's Mud Bog at Stateline

We've had our weekends so tied up with the remodel that we decided to take a brake yesterday and go do something. James had heard about the Mud Bogs at Big Al's on KIX96. So that's where we decided to go.

We got there a bit early, but not too early. I pulled out my camera to check it and realized the batteries were dead. Then I pulled out the second set of batteries, put them in, and you guessed it they were dead too. Someone had unplugged my battery charger! Oh well.

So we know its probably about 3:45 and the show starts at 4:00. We go in to pay, and they are no where near being ready. The one girl looks at her watch and says "Well it's not even four yet, so....." Talking to the girl that asked what to do about getting our tickets she then says "We need you to....." As if we aren't even there. Instead of politely telling us it's not four yet, their not quit ready, can we please wait, she was put out by us. Then the two older women who runs the show got the items they needed and came back to us and took our money and gave us our wrist bands, and were much nicer about it then their younger protege's. Understandable so they asked us to please go out and around because they couldn't allow the kids through the bar, so we did.

We get back there and first impressions are everything. Something apparently these people haven't yet figured out. You would think they could at least get a weed eater and chop down the weed that were up around your feet if you set on the bleachers. Well then we realized that the bleachers weren't even set in the right place to see the show. Basically this was a bring your own chair type of show. But some of the staff was nice enough to bring several picnic tables down and line them up so we could sit on the tables to see the show. So now things were looking a little better.

As we are waiting for the show to get on the road I went to get us drinks and snacks. This would be my next surprise of the night. I go to the stand to find that it is being ran by four very unorganized teenagers. I have nothing against teenagers running the stand, but when left alone with out an adult to help them the operation doesn't run very smoothly. The quiet young boy seemed to know the most, but he didn't have very much control over the three lost looking girls. Then I find out that they don't have any cold sodas yet, but they do give us glasses of ice to go with our drinks. Wouldn't you think that if you were planning an event like this that happens more then once you would be prepared enough to have sodas on ice and the kids running the stand would be trained enough to know what they are doing? Just my opinion I guess.

So again we were still waiting for the show to get on the road. James looks at me and says "Gee I think we should have waited 'til 6:00 to show up." Because I was almost that time and still no mud bogging. Not to mention the kids are getting bored and driving us crazy.

The show was finally getting close and we were hungry, so I go back to the stand. I order two hot dogs for the boys and two hamburgers for me and James. Of course that again takes forever, but at least this time they had sodas that were cold! So my kids help me carry the food back and we start to eat. About two bites into my hamburger I was completely groused out by the fact that my hamburger was raw in the center. James quit eating his too, but didn't want anything more. I was still hungry so I marched back over to that stand and asked the young kid if I could please have a hot dog instead and showed him the hamburger. He was groused out too, and gladly gave me a hot dog.

Finally the show starts! It was a good show. Lots of broken down trucks, lots and lots of mud, and plenty of good natured personality with all the contestants. They even had the Powder Puff run with two women running probably their boyfriend or husband's truck, because the trucks had previously been ran by the guys. Well the one girl went through their in an orange Chevy Blazer, Amanda I believe. Even though she had a really good truck that won many of the races it really wasn't much of a win this time because the other girl broke down in the middle of the bog. Her guy gets out and starts looking at the truck. They then realize it is broke and call to be towed out. While he is hooking it up he says "she broke my truck!" It must have really broke good, because he didn't race anymore.

Then there was a break that was only suppose to be a half hour while a few guys fixed minor problems with their trucks. I think that turned into more of an hour. But they did have a few fun things with the crowd while waiting. One was they threw several water bottles in the mud pit and had those who wanted to have some fun in the mud get out there and dig for them. That was quit a sight. But the real entertainment came when they were all trying to clean the mud off their clothes. We happened to be standing by the water hose. We had one old man who I would say was a little drunk near us making lots of comments, sometimes funny. But it was the people all muddy that were funny to watch. Especially the kids. One father is pushing his now head to tow muddy daughter toward the water. She is already shivering, and then they turn the hose on her. She is still shivering, but she takes it. Then there was a young bog who just walks up, lifts his hands in the air and lets the guy with the hose just hose him down. Then one of the guys who was muddy, he knew the guy with the hose, ran up and hugged him. Now the hose guy had to wash off and he wasn't even in the mud pit. It was all good fun.

Later more races happened and we stayed to see some, but at about 8:00 we had to leave. Jamie was extremely cranky, which was evident when we get just a little ways down the street and she is already conked out.

Now Christopher is talking about wanting to do this with his dad. They are now discussing how the Dodge would do in something like that. Great! Actually that would be fun for James and Christopher to do something like that.

A piece of advice if you are going to Big Al's Mud bogs. It is a lot of fun once the show finally gets going and the announcer has a great sense of humor too. But bring you own comfortable folding chair. My butt and my feet are still sore from sitting on the tables or standing. Also bring your own food, the lines are too long, not in length but in wait time, and the hamburgers aren't cooked very well. Otherwise the show is great and you'll have a great time.

Recovered

Dang, one day of peace and quiet was all I got. Though I can't say it was fun. Justin did get sick once, which they warned me would happen, and he was groggy most of the day. Although, he did perk up that evening when he woke up from one of his many naps to find that Dad was making home made ice cream!

At least I did have the excuse that Justin needed to rest so I could send all the neighborhood kids away for the day. But they are back again this morning. I enjoy the girls next door, and they help keep my kids occupied, but once in a while I need to not have five or six kids in my house and some peace and quiet.

But it is nice to see Justin up and running around as his usual onary self.

Mom this stinks!

My poor son had surgery this morning. Our middle boy had his adnoids removed. The two of us got to start our morning at 6:00 AM. I ended up going with out breakfast and my coffee. So in a way I get to feel as miserable as him.

Justin came through with flying colors. The nurses loved him, and kept commenting on how tall he was for a four year old. He was mostly quite, but cooperative. Which I'm sure made the nurses jobs easier.

I was lucky that something like this wasn't happening to our oldest. He would have made a big deal of everything and drove me crazy. Right now Justin is just chilling out with Bob the Builder on (his favorite show).

Well I need to get back to babying him.

New Blog!

I know I promised to do another post today about searching for your ancestor as a continuation of yesterday's post. But I may not have time. I am in the middle of creating a new blog just for my genealogy. This blog will go back to the funny things that happen in my life. My new blog, Untangled Family Roots, will be based on my genealogy and my future business by the same name.

By the way no one has gotten in touch with me about researching their family. I am still looking for genealogy geni pigs. If you are curious about an ancestor or a branch of your family, please let me know. I would be glad to do research at no charge for a while to gain the experience I need to turn this into a business.

Individual Research Worksheet

These are my notes from my research of John Anderson McCombs. On the first page you can see how I entered information that I knew and then highlighted what was missing or incomplete. I also made more notes on this page as I discovered details in my search of the census records. Such as John's place of birth. The information that was given to me a long time ago appears to be incorrect. It appears that he was really born in TN not MO. I also noted that there were two more children born to John and Luticia that we don't have names for, possibly they died as infants. Also I noted that one child, Walter, was never in the census records which would lead me to believe he also died young, which would correspond with Luticia's account of only 9 living children by 1900. In this section I entered in my questions and began to set my goals. I added more questions as I went along.


There are more pages. I have done research that can be 20 or even 30 pages worth of research, but other individuals only needed a half dozen. Your research can go only as long as you want it too, and sometimes, some questions just can't be answered. But never stop looking. You never know when someone will turn up who has a peice of history for you. 

Finding Your Ancestors, Part III The Research

There is a great deal of research that you can do online. Online is where I always start my research. But first you need to prepare you forms, so you know where to search and what you are looking for.

Let's start by deciding what ancestor you want to research. Choose only one. If you are looking for too many people at a time you get off task and your research won't be as complete as it could be. That's not to say you can't keep notes of others in your ancestry that you come by. Keep a note book near by to jot down where you found another ancestor living near the ancestor you are focused on, this way you'll have notes when you move on to the other ancestor so you will remember where to go back and look for the other person. To choose an ancestor I would say start with your parents if they are passed away or you were separated from them, but if they are still alive they can fill in their own blanks, in that case move to your grandparents. For most people their grandparents are the best starting point.

In my previous post I spoke of John Anderson McCombs and posted his picture. He is my current project so I will use him as an example. I am going to show actual scans of all my notes. Starting with my Research Worksheet. In the Research Worksheet section A you want to write down what you do know about the individual. Then highlight all missing or incomplete information. For example is you only know that your ancestor was born in Missouri, but not exactly where then that information is incomplete.

In Section B simply write down questions you want answered or other pieces of information that you need to verify. Last in section C you want to set you first research goal, then write down each source you look through to answer that question and in results write down everything you find to support your research. Be sure to write detailed notes as to where you found something, exactly, so that you can go back to it later if you need to. Print out any documents you find to support your research.

I was going to post the notes in this blog, but they are too big. I will have to upload them another way so my notes will follow this post separately.

Online I typically research three different databases, Ancestry, Rootsweb, and USGenWeb, but I don't limit myself to just that. I also find when I hit a brick wall just Google the name you are looking for and you might just come up with a new avenue. I also visit GenForum to look at their message board from time to time to see if anyone else is look for the same ancestor. Cindy's List is also another good one for finding a variety of information. I also look on DeadFred to see if their are any new pictures for that family.

tomorrow I will show you how I transcribed the information I found onto other forms in order to see the big picture. This will tell me where I have filled in the gaps, created new gaps and where I still have research to finish.

Sharing Your Genealogy

For many of us we wouldn't know as much as we do about our families if someone hadn't shared stories, relationships and photos with us.

I've been talking about putting your information into a database that can create a GEDCOM file of your family tree. GEDCOM's are the universal file format for sharing genealogy. One way you can use your GEDCOM's are to upload the files to the internet. There are two websites that I know of. One is Ancestry.com. Of course this is for a fee, but well worth it when you can connect your family tree with others that match yours. The other is Rootsweb, which is free. I have my research on both. This has allowed other cousins to find me, and I have made contact with others as well. If it were not for these two website I would not have the information that others have so graciously shared, but even better I would not have the photos of my ancestors.

Today I got to experience another one of those treasured moments when a cousin sends you another photo of a great grandparent. A second cousin twice removed to me contact me today. He had seen my family tree on Ancestry.com. He said he had pictures of some of the ancestors I had listed and offered to send me some. Of course I wasted no time emailing back to him. I shared photos I had of my family up to the point where they connected to his. I also sent him genealogy reports, another added benefit of genealogy software, of all the information that has been given to me and that I have found on our mutual families. A short time later I received a photo of my ggg grandfather John Anderson McCombs and his wife, my ggg grandmother, Lutitia Nichols. The photos I had only went as far back as one of their granddaughters. I was so excited! I couldn't wait for my mother to show up who just happened to be on her way over to rescue me from the kids. Now I need to get a copy of it to my Aunts.
The picture above is of John and Lutitia McCombs.

Family Tree Software

I have been using Family Tree Maker for about a year. I like the program. It has helped me to organize my information and notes on the family. But yesterday I discovered a new software, Family Tree Legends. They both cost the same at just under $30, but they each have wonderful features. I will end up using both of mine for different features. The nice thing is I can transfer the files back and forth between the two easily.

• The data base both are pretty standard. You can enter in all the information about your ancestor, their spouse, children and all their information from the first screen Family Tree Maker gives one added bonus, by showing the name of each spouse's parents on a button above their name. With Family Tree Legends you have to click on the parents button to see their names. Also with Family Legends you need to click on the child in order to enter notes for them, but in Family Tree Maker you can simply click on the notes button while in the family view to enter in notes for a child.
• Notes are a great place to enter little details or stories you find out about the person as well as notes to yourself of future research. In FTM you would put all of this in one place with one standard type face and no spell check. This is where FTL makes a big difference for me. You can enter in stories in your notes , but here you can bold, Italics, or underline important pieces of information you want to stand out. You also have a spell check, and if your like me this is a must! To further organize your notes you can put your future research notes in a To-Do List not in the middle of your stories!
• To-Do List This is a wonderful feature, only available in Family Tree Legends. At this point I had been doing this with paper and pen. With this list you can prioritize each item to do, categorize it as research, write letter, etc., enter expected expenses, due date, and place of research.
• address Book again only available in FTL. Here you can keep tracking of contact information for family members still living.
• Medical History both programs are about the same here, but FTL allows you to enter in your DNA fingerprint if you have had that done.
• Pictures both programs have a place for pictures in the scrapbook, but FTL allows you to create slide shows, scan photos directly into FTL and edit pictures, as well as create multiple scrapbooks for each family group.
• Reports both do about the same for reports. Both will allow you to export the reports to Word, but only FTM will allow export to Adobe Acrobat.
• Charts here is where things really get interesting. In FTL you can create beautiful family trees with frames around the names, pictures in the background, many color and font options, you just have more options to create beautiful family trees.
• Books in FTM you can create a rather limited book for web publication, but not print. In FTL the difference again is significant. You can create beautiful books for print with many more options.
• Web Search with FTM you can search Ancestry's many records for a fee, with FTL you can search their limited record for free directly from the software. With FTM you simply click on the person you want to look for and hit the "search web" icon and it will bring up all the matches. With FTL you go into another page and enter the information you are looking for and it will search their records.
• Blank Forms I have expressed the benefits of forms in keeping your research organized. Well guess what? FTL has many of the forms included with this software so not only do you have a data base to organize you information, but you also have the forms you need to do the research!
• Upgrade Family Tree Legends also has a wonderful upgrade. I didn't get it because I don't have a hand held device yet. But you can purchase an upgrade to allow you to down load your family tree information onto your hand held device to take with you to the next family reunion or to go do your research.

Here are two wonderful software programs for organizing your family tree and neither are very expensive. Get a family tree software before you get too far into your research, or you'll find yourself overwhelmed. When you can find pieces of information quickly at your finger tips it will make your search for you ancestor go do much faster.

Dentists Say AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I know this is suppose to be a blog about genealogy now, but you know too many other good things happen in the life of a mother of three who just happens to enjoy genealogy too.

Yesterday I had my first REAL experience with the dentist. I never minded going to the dentist because I never understood what the REAL torture was. I had been good with my teeth and never had cavities, so I didn't worry too much when I went for a period of years with out dental insurance and no regular dental visits. Well during that period of several years I managed to have three babies. Pregnancies unfortunately weaken the teeth.

So yesterday I got my first cavity filled. They spent an hour on one of my top back molars, or at least it seamed like an hour. They give you this nice rubber piece to bite down on and keep your mouth open. Talk about making your jaw sore when the numbness wears off.

Anyway they get done. I go up front to pay my bill and get the wonderful surprise that I have a credit, so that made the visit more pleasant. Then I go home to my husband, who has had lots of dental work and knows what I am going through, who is having a hay day over my numb face and slurred speech.

Since I didn't have to pay anything for the visit I stopped and got Papa Murphy's on the way home so at least I wouldn't have to make a dinner I didn't feel like eating at the moment. Then I go directly to work. I hadn't looked in the mirror to notice what my numb swollen face really looked like.

When I got to work one of the drivers was in early and had a good day, so he came by my office to chat and lightly punched me in the shoulder, and asked me how my day was going. Actually he's one of those guys who has a good day even on a bad day. So I turned to him and pointed to my swollen jaw and said "go ahead take your best shot I can't feel a thing!" He and the other clerk just start laughing. He responds "oh my god you've been to the dentist, I didn't even notice 'til you looked at me!"

A little while later when I was washing my hands I looked into the mirror and noticed that only one side of my mouth moved with a smile, the other side hung there like a limp noodle, plus that side of my face was swollen. That's when I really realized how funny I looked to everyone, not to mention how funny I sounded. I bet people I had to call last night and talk to about their packages were thinking they had a drunk lady working for them.

I still like my dentist but now I will be prepared for the torture on the next three cavities.

Fixed Blog

I think it had more to do with the background I was trying to use. Which is a shame because that brown, script style background fit the theme of my bog better than this. But why not green for a girl born on St Patrick's day, with red hair?! So it looks like I'm up and running again.

Whacky Blog

I don't know what is going on with my blog. Every time I get on here things rearange themselves. I could sure use some help if someone knows what is going on with this thing! Bare with me.

Harmon Co., OK Genealogy

Genealogy is like a puzzle, and just like a puzzle you sometimes have to build around the outside to figure out the center. This family is one of those examples. I searched for more than a year for Flora Mae Manning. It was like she didn't exist prior to her marriage to Ernest Gahmo Connor. Then my mother-in-law found Flora's death certificate with Grandma's important papers. This gave us only one clue, her father's name was Tom. Who ever, probably Ernest, was giving information at the time of her death knew very little about her family. It wasn't much but at least it was something.

So I started searching for Tom Manning living in Oklahoma around 1920-1930. Do you know how many hits I got on that? Too many to waste my time. There had to be a better way to find him. Then it hit me one day Tom is short for Thomas. What if the family called him Tom, but he reported his real name on the census. Sure enough I found a Thomas Manning living in Harmon Co., OK! This was before a learned the importance of neighbors. If I had only searched the 10 pages before and 10 pages after the Conner family who lived in Dryden, Harmon Co., OK in 1930 I would have found Flora's family long before. Then I went back to the 1920 census and sure enough I found Flora, and then I understood why I never found her before. Her name was spelled as Lora!

So when you find a family that you know fits your ancestors check the families living around them, you just might find families of spouse for those children in future years. Especially the females, they are the hardest to trace because they marry and change their names.

Below is Flora's family. Thanks to the help of Jeanette Coaly of Harmon Co., OK I now have three generations of Manning's. But we are still looking for Ira Manning's family. As well as any details on his murder. Jeanette is also looking for information on other families of the Harmon Co., OK area. She runs the museum in Hollis, OK.

Descendants of Ira Manning


Generation No. 1

1. IRA1 MANNING1 was born in Alabama2, and died Abt. 1888 in AL or AR3. He married TAMSEY MANERVIA SESSIONS3 Abt. 1874 in Alabama, daughter of WILLIS SESSIONS and MARY PUGH. She was born Abt. 1857 in Taladega, Alabama3, and died Abt. 1929 in Hanna, McIntosh, OK3.

Notes for IRA MANNING:
Ira was robbed and murdered and then thrown overboard on river around AL or AR.
_________________________________________________________________________________
According to Manning/Sessions family history, ca 1887/1888 Ira/Will and Tamsey were travelling by riverboat while enroute from AL to AR. Ira/Will carried all the family's money on him even though Tamsey had warned him it could be dangerous to do so. At some point during the trip, he was murdered, robbed and his body thrown overboard into the river. (Arkansas River, Mississippi River?) Sometime after reaching AR Tamsey remarried to Charles Layfette Shropshire and had three more children.
I'd like to make contact with anyone researching, or with info on this family.

Some time after reaching Arkansas and the youngest child, Julia Ann was born June 6, 1888

cited by Wesley Parker
GenForum

More About IRA MANNING:
Cause of Death (Facts Pg): Murder

More About IRA MANNING and TAMSEY SESSIONS:
Marriage: Abt. 1874, Alabama

Children of IRA MANNING and TAMSEY SESSIONS are:
2. i. THOMAS MARION ALONZA2 MANNING, b. 07 Nov 1874, Alabama; d. 1941, OK.
ii. JOHN WILLIS DANIEL MANNING, b. 25 Mar 1876, Arkansas.
iii. WILLIAM HENRY MANNING, b. 11 Apr 1878, Arkansas.
iv. JULIA ANN MANNING, b. 06 Jun 1881, Arkansas.


Generation No. 2

2. THOMAS MARION ALONZA2 MANNING (IRA1)4,5,6,7,8,9 was born 07 Nov 1874 in Alabama10,11,12,13,14,15, and died 1941 in OK. He married (1) MATTIE SMITH16 1900 in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory16,17. She was born Feb 1883 in Indian Territory18,19, and died Bet. 1910 - 1920. He married (2) MARTHA EVELINE SORRELS20 1918 in Hanna, McIntosh, OK, USA20. She was born 1898 in Arkansas21.

More About THOMAS MARION ALONZA MANNING:
Residence: 1930, Dryden, Harmon, Oklahoma22

Notes for MATTIE SMITH:
Mattie died of dropsy. She was holding her baby and the baby had to be pried out of her hands. What we don't know is if that baby was Flora (the youngest known by census) or if ther was another child that was born and died between 1910-1920. The family had always though there was another child younger then Flora. I have found that Flora had three half brother born before 1930, children born to her father and step mother.

More About MATTIE SMITH:
Cause of Death (Facts Pg): Dropsy

More About THOMAS MANNING and MATTIE SMITH:
Marriage: 1900, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory23,24

More About THOMAS MANNING and MARTHA SORRELS:
Marriage: 1918, Hanna, McIntosh, OK, USA25

Children of THOMAS MANNING and MATTIE SMITH are:
3. i. FLORA MAE3 MANNING, b. Abt. 1910, OK, USA; d. 15 Mar 1940, Amarillo, Potter Co., TX, USA.
ii. CARL MANNING, b. 1904, OK.
4. iii. IRA MANNING, b. 06 Mar 1906, OKLAHOMA; d. 21 Nov 1995, FRESNO, California.
5. iv. HENRY LEE MANNING, b. 06 Jul 1908, Hanna, McIntosh, OK, USA; d. 26 Dec 1982, Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA.


Children of THOMAS MANNING and MARTHA SORRELS are:
v. WILSON3 MANNING26,27, b. 31 Jul 1919, Hanna, McIntosh, OK, USA27; d. Jul 1988, Elgin, Comanche, OK, USA27.
vi. M LONZA MANNING27, b. 1924, Oklahoma.
vii. L KENITH MANNING, b. 1930, Oklahoma.
viii. MILDRED MANNING27, b. 09 Dec 192427; d. 26 Dec 2002, Elgin, Comanche, OK, USA27.


Generation No. 3

3. FLORA MAE3 MANNING (THOMAS MARION ALONZA2, IRA1) was born Abt. 1910 in OK, USA28, and died 15 Mar 1940 in Amarillo, Potter Co., TX, USA29. She married ERNEST GAHMO CONNOR30,31, son of WILLIAM CONNER and LAURA BARNETT. He was born 17 Jan 1898 in Williamson, TX, USA32,33, and died 23 Dec 1976 in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States of America33.

Notes for FLORA MAE MANNING:
Flora died shortly after the birth of her fifth child. The fifth child was still born. It was a girl, but never named. Flora was burried in Liano Cemetary, Amarillo, TX.

June 2006
Estelle, Kathy, Renee and LaTosha went on a trip to Amarillo, TX to find and visit the graves of Flora and her last baby. They finally found them after a great deal of help. Grandma was disturbed by the fact that the only thing marking her mother's, Flora, grave was a small brick size marker with only her name on it. Grandma then purchases grave markers for both Flora and the baby, who we found out today was named Geneva. So now thier names and dates will always be known.


Notes for ERNEST GAHMO CONNOR:
Ernest is Cherokee Indian

After Flora died Ernest put the children in an orphanage for a short time in TX until he got back on his feet. He remarried and got the children back. The marriage didn't work, so he took the chidren and they moved to Arizona. However, Ernest changed the children's birth dates for fear of his ex-wife turning him into the orphanage as an unfit father to care for his children alone. No one ever came looking for the children. I have found all of the children's correct birth dates except Estelle. She has always celebrated her birth day on the date her dad gave her after moving to Arizona. We are also still unsure of where Estelle was born. Possibly Hollis, OK.

But during the time the children were in the orphanage is a missing link for us. We have not been able to locate the birth place or birth cirtificate for Estelle the oldest child. She may have been born in Oklahoma instead of Texas like the rest of the children.

More About ERNEST GAHMO CONNOR:
Social Security Number: 464-07-097833
SSN issued: Texas33

Children of FLORA MANNING and ERNEST CONNOR are:
i. ESTELLE4 CONNOR, b. 25 May 1929, Hollis?, OK, USA; m. (1) SAM CLIFTON RIDDLE33,34; b. 19 Feb 1919, OK, USA35,36; d. 20 Apr 2002, Modesto, Stanislaus, CA, USA37; m. (2) JACK CASEY.

More About SAM CLIFTON RIDDLE:
Residence: 1930, Ponca City, Kay, Oklahoma38
Social Security Number: 440-18-205339
SSN issued: Oklahoma39

ii. UNKNOWN ESTELLE'S TWIN CONNOR, b. 25 May 1929, OK, USA; d. May 1929, OK, USA.
iii. MATTIE JOSEPHINE CONNOR, b. 29 Aug 1931, Wheeler, TX, USA.
iv. LOTTI "LAURA" BELLE CONNOR, b. 28 Jan 1935, Wheeler, TX, USA; d. 07 Nov 1965, San Bernardino, CA40; m. CHARLES DECKER; b. 06 Aug 1929; d. 07 Nov 1965, San Bernardino, CA40.

Notes for CHARLES DECKER:
Laura, her husband and son David were all killed in a car accident.

Laura's real name was Lotti. One of Flora's, Laura's mother, cousins was named Lotti and Flora didn't like her too much so she started calling Lotti, Laura. Aunt Mattie says that the cousin Lotti was involved with Ernest before Flora knew him, and that is why she didn't like her too much. It was someone else's idea to name the child Lotti.

v. BILLIE JOE CONNOR, b. 11 Sep 1937, Amarillo, Potter Co., TX, USA.
vi. GENEVA CONNOR41, b. 11 Mar 1940, Amarillo, Potter Co., TX, USA; d. 11 Mar 1940, Amarillo, Potter Co., TX, USA.


4. IRA3 MANNING (THOMAS MARION ALONZA2, IRA1)42,43 was born 06 Mar 1906 in OKLAHOMA44,45, and died 21 Nov 1995 in FRESNO, California46. He married MINNIE L MANNING47. She was born 1908 in Oklahoma.

More About IRA MANNING:
Residence: 1920, Hanna, McIntosh, Oklahoma48

Child of IRA MANNING and MINNIE MANNING is:
i. THOMAS L4 MANNING49,50, b. 09 Feb 1928, OKLAHOMA51,52; d. 14 Jan 1972, FRESNO, California53.

More About THOMAS L MANNING:
Military: 15 Jan 1946, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma54
Residence: Grady, Oklahoma54


5. HENRY LEE3 MANNING (THOMAS MARION ALONZA2, IRA1)55,56 was born 06 Jul 1908 in Hanna, McIntosh, OK, USA56, and died 26 Dec 1982 in Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA56. He married OMA ALZADIE YOUNG56 Nov 1928 in Hollis, Harmon, OK, USA56. She was born 10 Feb 1909 in Gould, Harmon, OK, USA56, and died 17 Jul 1993 in Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA56.

More About HENRY MANNING and OMA YOUNG:
Marriage: Nov 1928, Hollis, Harmon, OK, USA56

Children of HENRY MANNING and OMA YOUNG are:
i. ROSA LEE4 MANNING56,56, b. 12 Sep 1931, Hollis, Harmon, OK, USA56,56; d. 22 Nov 1993, Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA56,56; m. HAROLD JAMES WELCH56.
ii. DIANA MANNING56, b. OK.
iii. JULIA MANNING56, b. OK.


Source are available, but because of space I have deletted them from this post.