Same blog, new look!

I'm very excited to re-launch Talking Box Genealogy!  TBG now has a new look and a new home at http://talkingboxgenealogy.com/.  Please update your bookmarks to reflect my new address.  RSS feeds can be updated by using http://talkingboxgenealogy.com/feed/.  No more posts will be added to this blog so please direct all future interactions to http://talkingboxgenealogy.com/.  Thanks for stopping by!

Life Got in the Way

And don't you just hate it when that happens?  I know I do.  I've been noticeably absent from posting on my blog because of it.  But I definitely haven't been idle.  My big project was changing employers.  I usually stay away from talking about work because, after all, this is a genealogy blog.  But I'm so excited about this new position I just couldn't help but mention that I've moved over to a different association where I'm part of the professional development team...education for public works employees.  I've always loved learning new things myself so helping others continue learning is definitely up my alley.

And I haven't been idle on the genealogy front either.  Here's what I'm currently working on:

• I've tried to ramp up working on my sources and citations.  Have I mentioned how much I hate citations?  I know they're not the big deal I'm making them out to be but I'll admit it, I stress out over whether I'm doing them right.  I really need to get a copy of Evidence Explained and read it but it's not in my budget right now unfortunately.  So for now I'll continue to try and figure out my citations using Family Tree Maker and the ProGenealogist Genealogy Citation Guides online.
• Speaking of working on my sources, I've been ordering vital records and finds from the North Dakota State University archives as my pocketbook will allow.  I've got a surprising amount of documents to save/scan, sort and attach to my tree in Family Tree Maker.
• I dug in and worked hard on my organization one weekend.  I'm utilizing the system set out in Eliminating Genealogy Clutter by Sherene Henrie Whiting with one or two tweaks.  I think this is a great system but I don't have a lot of room for binders.  On the other hand, I have plenty of file cabinet space for hanging folders.  I'm not even close to being done but I think I've got a very good start.

Working hard on my genealogy organization and filing!

• The spousal unit and I traveled to Iowa and sat down for a day of genealogy and family time with the Iowa family branch.  We had fun, shared some genealogy and made some VERY interesting discoveries!  Let's just say when my puzzle pieces matched with their puzzle pieces we made a couple of full (or almost full) pictures.  It was very exciting.
• I mentioned earlier that I was the recipient of a RAOGK (Random Act of Genealogical Kindness) when a non-relative happened upon some family ephemera and was kind enough to be willing to return it to our family.  You can read about that RAOGK here.  I was surprised to receive another email from this kind stranger letting me know he'd been contacted by the flea market seller again and had come into possession of one last piece of the family ephemera.  I feel very fortunate that he was willing to be the messenger to pass that last piece to me last weekend and a photo of my first cousin (once removed) has returned home.

A six-year-old Harold Wilkinson returned to the family fold

• The spousal unit and I also dropped in on the North Dakota family branch and got to spend a little time talking with them...which, for me, inevitably leads to genea-talk.  The few hours we had with them turned out to be a few hours too little when we started talking about my father, who passed away a little over a year ago.  It's fun to hear stories and thoughts from other family members about the people you love.  I haven't talked much about my North Dakota family because I was working on my DAR paperwork (which is on the maternal side and not the paternal side, where the North Dakota connection comes in) but North Dakota has become a very special place for me in the last couple of years thanks to the kindness of family and friends there, so I'm sure you'll be hearing about that side of the family in the future.

WHEW!  In between all of that I'm still attending as many genealogy education events as I can.  I've participated in some great webinars recently and I'm hoping to use some of what I've learned very soon.  I've been using the heck out of the Ancestry subscription the spousal unit gifted me and even broke down and put a public tree out there in hopes of getting some nibbles on my tree.

So here's to getting back on the blog-wagon...I can't wait to post some of my recent discoveries!

My Brick Wall: Sarah Ann (Craig) McKee

A brick wall.  Every genealogist has one at one time or another.  My genealogy is no different.  With Constitution Day being this week (September 17 to be exact) my thoughts have been centering on my brick wall.  You see, the Daughters of the American Revolution work very hard to celebrate Constitution Week (for obvious reasons) and, as I mentioned previously, I've been working very hard on gathering up genealogical proof for my application to join the DAR.  Thus, in a roundabout way, we arrive at my brick wall.  So a few basic facts:

Name: Sarah Ann (Craig) McKee (my third great-grandmother)

DOB: 20 February 1830

Place: Tippecanoe, Marshall, Indiana
Parents: William Craig and Katie Helms (nothing further known about parents)

Married: Ephraim Adams McKee

Date: 7 December 1848

Place: Danville, Vermilion, Illinois

Death: 13 May 1906

Place: Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri
Children: 6 (5 boys and 1 girl): John William (#1), John William (#2), Sarah Ann, John William (#3), George Washington and Robert Marion.

Sarah Ann (Craig) McKee
Photographer: Unknown
Year taken: Unknown

Now that we have the basic facts that have been proven through census and vital records, let's talk about the "myths and rumors" that haven't been proven yet:

• Sarah Ann (Craig) McKee was married two other times, probably after marrying my 3rd great-grandfather, Ephraim Adams McKee.  Her other two husbands were William Coslet and Samuel Coslet (order of marriage unknown); a listing for a marriage between Samuel Coslet and Sarah A. Coslet has been located in the Illinois State Archives Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 (marriage date of 7 August 1878, five years after the death of Ephraim Adams McKee).
• According to my maternal grandfather, Sarah Ann was of Native American ancestry.  Though we're not certain of the tribe, Grandpa Edward always referenced "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too".  A little bit of research revealed that "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" was a campaign slogan for William Henry Harrison and his running mate John Tyler in the 1840 presidential election (information courtesy of "The Meaning of Tippecanoe and Tyler Too").  In short it references Harrison's victory over the Shawnee tribe chief Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.
• Sarah Ann supposedly had enough Native American blood in her that she was granted some land in Mount Washington, Jackson, Missouri.  Research on the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records website under Jackson County, Missouri has proved fruitless for her name or Ephraim's name, the last name of Coslet or the last name of Craig but did bring up some other McKees.  Research on the area known as Mount Washington has turned up that it was the area that is now Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, Missouri, where several of my family members are buried, including Sarah Ann (Craig) McKee (in a currently unmarked grave) and her daughter Sarah Ann (McKee) McCabe (also currently in an unmarked grave).
• Further research has led me to believe that Sarah Ann could have been a member of either the Shawnee tribe or Potawattomie tribe due to dates and locations of Sarah Ann during her migration trail and the history of the removal of the Pottawatomie Indians from Indiana in 1838 via the Trail of Death (though the timeline is not the same, the migration trail is).  Again this could be completely off, as all I have are stories and not much in the way of solid evidence.

Let's look at a brief timeline of Sarah Ann's life.

• 20 February 1830: Sarah Ann is born in Tippecanoe, Marshall, Indiana
• 7 December 1848: Saran Ann marries Ephraim Adams McKee in Danville, Vermilion, Illinois
• 1860: Sarah Ann is listed in the federal census with husband, Ephraim in Clinton County, Illinois
• 1870: Sarah Ann is listed in the federal census with husband, Ephraim in Vance Township, Vermilion, Illinois
• 16 January 1873: Sarah Ann's husband, Ephraim Adams McKee dies
• 7 August 1878: Sarah Ann possibly marries Samuel Coslet in Douglas County, Illinois
• 1880: a possible listing in the 1880 federal census of a Samuel and Sarah Coslet located in Bowdre Township, Douglas, Illinois
• 1900: a possible listing in the 1900 federal census of a Sarah A. McKee, listed with one son named Edward, located in Allen, Noble, Indiana (I consider this a good possibility because the age is very close and the number of children living is exactly the same, it's questionable because I don't know of any son Edward but since she was married after Ephraim it could be a step-child)
• 13 May 1906: Sarah Ann dies in Kansas City, Missouri

My current project with Sarah Ann is checking all the federal census records.  I've been unable to locate her on the 1890 census at all.  I'm not sure where she disappeared at in the 1890 census but searches for McKee, Coslet and Craig return nothing at all through HeritageQuest.  I plan to verify that search with Ancestry the next time I go to the library.  I haven't had the chance to check the 1840 or 1850 censuses at all yet.

 

My goal with this post is primarily to put the information out on the WWW in hopes that someone might have some information about Sarah and/or her husband, Ephraim and their daughter Sarah and/or her husband, Chester.  Secondly, it's my hope that someone, somewhere might be able to give me suggestions on where to look next to either prove or disprove these myths.

Wow brick walls can be frustrating!