Genealogy

Mysteries and questions are what got me hooked doing genealogy, many years ago. My sister had found our great-grandfather in the 1900 Warren County, Iowa census, and with the help of a cousin, we found his will, since he died soon after 1900. But what was described in his will did not seem to match the family we had seen in 1900. And of course there is no 1890 census to consult, so real digging and thinking was required. And so it has continued. Every time I've gone back over stuff I've found before, I see it with new eyes, and it both teaches me to see what I didn't see before, and always also raises more questions. The latest: one of my mother's cousins was listed as a widow, living with her family of birth and young child in rural northern Missouri in the 1900 census. So of course once I found the name of her first husband, I searched for their marriage record and his death. And then I found him, apparently alive and well, living with his family, in the same coun...

Ted Cowan of Issaquah and more recently of Buckley, Bonney Lake and Puyallup died Thursday, May 12, 2016 at Puyallup Nursing and Rehab., Puyallup, Washington. He was 89. Ted was born the 7th of August, 1926 to Thomas Cowan and Elsie Schell Cowan in Seattle. He grew up in Montlake, graduated from Garfield High School, and soon after was drafted into the US Army. After training as a medic, he shipped out to the Pacific Theater. As a medic, he followed the Marines into battle to treat his fellow soldiers in many of the largest and most brutal battles in World War II. He married Lola McBee September 3, 1949. They built their own house south of Issaquah, and lived there until Lola’s death. They also built a log cabin near Mount Rainier which became their most beloved retreat. Ted and Lola had two daughters; Valorie, married to Bob Zimmerman; and Kimberly, married to Guy Rick Betts. They loved their ten grandchildren and great-grandchildren and spent as much time with them as possible....

I've loved the search for genealogy and my family's history since my children were young. I wanted to understand my roots, and why some of the difficulties my family endured happened, and how those events changed all those who were touched by them. I found young orphans, babies born before marriage, rape, and tragic death by fire among the more normal events. I've also found some family lines that are rather well-researched, which took away the challenge. For some years other projects took my time. Then, the yDNA tests became affordable, and I bought an Family Tree DNA kit for my dad for Father's Day. Because those "beginner kits" don't tell you much, and have far too many meaningless matches, I kept paying for upgrades, all the way up to 67 markers. This took his high-quality matches down to under 10, but as we followed up on these matches, we realized that this line of Cowans came from Stirling, in Scotland. The recorded part of the family went to t...

First the sad. After finding my gedcom (which I had on WorldConnect all this time....) I downloaded it and explored a bit with Gramps . One of the tools is called Data Verify, and I've been working through this one by one. A common error is "Old age but no death", so I've been googling for these people. So far, I've found the death of Norm Wainman in Ontario: Norman Wainman 1921-2014 Wainman, Norman James … passed away peacefully at Cambridge Memorial Hospital on Monday June 30, 2014 at the age of 93. Beloved husband of the late Margaret (nee Blake). Loving father of Blake Wainman (Sandi). Dear brother of Marion Caskey and brother in law of Helen Wainman. In keeping with Norman’s wishes cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service will be held at First United Church, 15 Wellington St Cambridge on Saturday August 16, 2014 at 11 am. As expressions of sympathy donations made to The Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Arrangements ...

Thanks to cousin Diana Roth, who pointed me to the Lot Histories of the Puslinch Historical Society, at http://www.puslinchhistorical.ca/ RG L29 Juniper Hill Farm In 1848 owned by James Durand, and sold to We McKenzie. In 1849 it was sold to Walter Cowan Sr. In 1851 census, Walter Cowan from Scotland age 35, with wife Margaret, age 30, and son Walter, age 9. [I wonder if they rented the farm from 1832-1849?] In 1886 the deed was transferred to son Walter Scott Cowan. Walter Cowan Sr. had built stone house. Mr. Kennedy was the mason. There was a spring fed creek in rear. Orchard east of barn. Well behind house 187' deep. Walter Cowan Jr. m. Annie McPherson of l.8 RG 1. Margaret 1870-1961 m. Hugh McAninch [Hugh of F1 L21 ] 2. Alex 1881-1963 m. Margaret Naismith 3. Jean 1883-1945 m. John Sawyer of l. 19 FF 4. Wm. 1887 d. infancy 5. Mary 1888 m. James Blake of l. 19 FG 6. James 1885-1948 m. Clara Naismith 7. Thomas 1890-1970 m. Elsie Scheol (sic) [Elsie Schell] 8. W...