1940 Census

This past week I have taken time to search the 1940 census.  It provided me with all kinds of information.  It debunked a story as to how my mother (Frances Nelson) and daddy (Karl A. Bishop) met.  The story made us believe that daddy was riding in a rodeo in Huron, South Dakota and mama was waiting tables. They married in Dallas in Mar 1940.  Not so.  According to the census in 1935 they were in Ft. Pierre, SD. and they did come to Dallas to marry in March  1940 as proven by a copy of their marriage license.  But, they returned to South Dakota in time to be counted on the 1940 census, take 15 April in Britton,SD.  Daddy was driving truck and mama was a waitress.  My oldest sister was also listed as Janet Eileen Bishop age 1.  I know that Janet was not daddy's biological father, however he gave her his name.  Weather there was a formal adoption, I don't know.

I also found information on my Aunt Mildred and Uncle Sam Richards.  They were also living in Britton in 1940.  However, they were living in Dennison, Texas in 1935.  Why? Another mystery to solve.

Grandma Mamie Nelson was living in Britton, but married to Will Hardina.  I have a insurance policy that states Mamie is his wife, but on my trip to South Dakota several years ago I could not find divorce records for Mamie and Mons Nelson, or a marriage certificate for Mamie and William Hardina.  On the 1930 census Hardina was listed as a lodger in the Nelson household.  I need to look at the 1935 state census to see what it shows.

The 1935 State Census Mamie living in Britton and is divorced...Will Hardina was in Kidder, Marshall, South Dakota

Theodore Haney/ Edith Bishop

Last week I went to work on proving the hand written tree that has come down to me through my Grandparents, Karl and Edna Bishop. Karl's sister Blondene and Nellie had been the originator of the tree, with the last entry in 1953. I don't know when they started the work on the tree, however the first entry on the tree is Johnnan Gerard H. Bischoff and his arrival in 1839, Havana, IL.

I started at the bottom of the tree with the information regarding Theodore and Edith. I proved what information I had on them. I discovered Theodore had two other sons, by a previous marriage. I was able to prove their relationship and found them to be about the age of Edith when she married Theodore. Edith and Paul had only one son Paul, who had three children, Donald, James and Judith. I am now working on Donald having completed working on Paul. The hand written tree states that he liked swimming, scouting and Baseball,and was born Feb 1940. I found that he lived in Sacramento, CA. And now, back to the research.

Charleston, SC

I went to the NGS meeting in Charleston and visited with Drew Smith about how I had started a blog, but was having a hard time keeping up with it. So I'll try again. I am still busy transcribing Grandma B. diaries, writing MY story, doing a journal on prison life of an ancestor who left letters behind, volunteering my time with Find-a-Grave and Ramdon Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), plus I've been made Web Master for Smith County Texas. A job I am struggling to full fill. Then there are genealogy meeting, and cemeteries to photography for the society (ETGS) that I belong to. Finally there is Mary Jane, my dear aunt who will be 100 in August. She is in a nursing home, however it is up to me to help her and visit as often as I can.

I have been able to do some research on my own family: Anna Gertrude Wessling via Sister Mary Pauline. She is the Grand niece of my Great grandfather Bishop. I had some information on her and wanted to verify it, so I spent days looking and finding her on censuses, tax roll, voter lists, city directories, but no death date. She had been in California for years and my information confirmed this, but no death date. Finally a member of RAOGK suggested I contact the Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy, her order. After she went to the home for the aged in California, they moved her to Council Bluffs, IA to their hospital, where she died and was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Council Bluff, in the section reserved for Sisters of Mercy. Now it's on to another ancestor.

Still updating FTM

I still trying to source info in my FTM. It would have been nice to have done it in the beginning. I do take a "little" time to research new information. I found additonal sources for some of the Farrier family, births and marriages. I talked with my Aunt Mary Jane the other day and again she reminded me about a law suit between Grandpa Karl Bishop and a Jimmey Lemons. It seems that Jimmey took cattle to the Chicago Market for Grandpa, but never retuned to give him the money. Jimmey had kept it, causing Grandpa to lose the place in North Dakota. Later when Grandpa Bishop and family moved to Huron, SD, he was called back to ND to a trial in regards to the actions of Jimmey Lemons. Where and when I have no idea. The trial had to been after 1919 after GGG-Grandma Julia Reynolds Brooks died, because she died in ND.

Long time-no write

I relize it has been some time since I have added to this blog. I have been working on my genealogy, but not in the spector of researching. I have been cleaning up my paper files, from previous research; scanning photos; and coping newletters that I recently found and containing volumes of family history. The most tedious task of all is adding sources to my previous entries. I now know that I should have entered them at the time, but to much of a novice to relize the importance. I did put references at the end of any notes that I wrote, so it is not totally undocumented. In doing this I found five more ancestors to the Cronk line, but no sources listed from the on-line web-page. I also received a picture of Jacob Cronk, 4th gr.-grand-father.

Donald Lusby/Horace Brooks

I don't know why I choose these two to work on, but they were just staring me in the face. Donald is Cousin Jim's Dad, Mary Jane's husband. I was able to locate his mother, dad, and sister. Plus his enlistment record and a census which put them together as a family.

Horace is Grandma Edna Bishop's uncle. And her diaries she calls him and "outlaw"
Just what she meant by that I don't know. I find him in IL, KN, and MT. Married at one point and single or divorced at other times. But by 1925 he living with a lady and son in Kansas. In 1930 he is in California. Another mystery to solve.

Wonderful reading-Grandam Bishop's Diarys

It has been a long time since I have been on this site. I really have been researching, just not my family. I have been doing work for RAOGK (Random Act of Genealogical Kindness) and for Find-a- Grave. Since my last post, I have finished editing all the pictures that Doug Crabtreee and I took at the Chandler Memorial Cemetery and placed them on Find-a-Grave and made memorials for family members. I still have several that need work. Recently I started reading my Grandma Bishop (Edna)'s diary's. What A wonderful find. In the very near future I hope to transcribe them and maybe publish them. I wish I could get other family members to help. I learned of my Gr.Grandmother's middle name-Esther Maude Sturdevant. The also appears to be an outlaw, Horace Sturdevant. Evidently he was involved with the Perry Gang. (Illinois/Montana?) There were storied about my dad's and Mary Jane's birth. And lots of stories of every day living. I am placing some of the stories in the note section of my FTM. the 1943 book would be a history buffs dream. Grandma wrote daily of WWII as seen through the eyes of this new Texan, the happening in Dallas and how it affect their lives. It seems money was tight, little work, but some how they managed to go to the show (movies) several times a week.