Sunday Search: A Basic List Of Questions

There are many aspects and important factors to remember when researching your family but the most important thing to remember is probably the simplest one… always ask questions. Some are to be directed to certain people while others are After all, this process is about finding answers so it is only natural that we start this process with a list of questions. Surprisingly, many lose sight of this essential aspect to the process and overlook both some of the questions that need to be answered as well as to whom those questions should be addressed.

What I have found in my numerous conversations with genealogists across all experience levels is that there are many basic questions that we assume and never directly ask either ourselves or others. With that in mind, I decided to take a few minutes and create an essential form to reference throughout the research process. These questions are designed so that we can ask ourselves in reference to distant family members as well as something that we can sit down and ask ourselves or others in our family.

• What is your full name?
• Nickname? Why?
• Where and when were you born?
• What is your father’s name? Where and when was he born? Where and when did he pass away?
• What was your father’s personality? What were his interests? What was his occupation?
• What is your mother’s maiden name? Where and when was she born? Where and when did she pass away?
• What was your mother’s personality? What were her interests? What was her occupation?
• Earliest memory of your parents?
• Most prominent memory/memories about your parents?
• What did you talk to your parents about the most when growing up? Older?
• What was your grandmother’s maiden name? Where and when was she born? Where and when did she pass away?
• What is your grandmother’s personality? What were her interests? What was her occupation?
• What is your grandfather’s name? Where and when was he born? Where and when did he pass away?
• What was your grandfather’s personality? What were his interests? What was his occupation?
• Most prominent memory/memories about your grandparents?
• What did you talk to your grandparents about the most when growing up? Older?
• Can you provide details of any additional generations of your family?
• Who are the other family members that played a prominent role in your life?
• Who were you named after?
• Where did you grow up?
• What do you remember most about the town where you grew up?
• What is your religion? What do you remember about your faith during your youth?
• Did you have pets growing up?
• Name/location of high school? College?
• Interests, major, sports, activities while in school?
• What books/movies do you remember?
• What did you want to be when you grew up?
• Who were your heroes? Inspirations? Motivators?
• Did you travel anywhere growing up? Where? When? Memories?
• What family stories/legends do you remember being told? From whom did you hear these stories?
• First job? Second Job?
• Did you serve in the military? Branch? Occupation? Years?
• Where/when did you meeting your husband/wife?
• When/where did you get married?
• Name of your spouse?
• Children?
• What are your interests/hobbies/affiliations as an adult?
• What questions, if any, do you have about your family history?
• Have you ever researched your family history?
• Have you ever discussed your family history with other family members?
• Do you have any photos of the people/events/places previously mentioned?
• Do you have any other family photos that you would like to share?
• Do you have any family documents (birth, marriage, death, naturalization, citations, certificates, etc.)?
• Do you have any items that have been passed down in the family?

While this is by no means a comprehensive list, it should be a good start when really putting together complete profiles of the current and past generations of your family. Obviously, the ideal situation would be that someone would answer these questions for themselves but one can also apply these questions (obviously not all of them) to ancestors across the centuries. You may be surprised at how much information you have, how the pieces fit together, and how motivating some of these basic questions can be to try and find these answers. However, as I have said before, don’t put forth all of this effort without going through the process yourself. Make sure you have your answers and you are represented in your own family history.

Firearms Friday: Safe Hunting

Finding a safe can be a difficult and expensive proposition. While I currently own two safes that provide adequate security for my current needs they are by no means the best option for me. That and I don’t really have any room for the future. The need for a new safe is there but that presents a whole new set of questions…

• How big do I make it?
• What will fit through the door?
• What am I going to store in it besides firearms?
• What level of quality do I want?
• Where am I going to put it?
• How much do I spend?

And that is just a list of the initial questions before delving into the details. Once you start answering the questions above a whole new list of questions begin flooding the decision making process:

• What fire rating do I want?
• How thick do I want the steel?
• What kind of lock?
• If I get a bigger one, am I okay in having delivered in sections?
• Do I want sensors?
• Should I get a prefabricated interior?
• How many doors?
• How much should I spend on extras?

Again, this is just the initial list of questions following some relatively simple answers to the first set of specifications. The further you get into the process the more questions begin popping up and with every new answer there are a few more dollars added to the bottom line. The more you go through this process and really think about your current and future needs the more frustrated you get when looking at the safes ready for sale in stores. While the quality overall is pretty darn good pretty much across the board, you aren’t really going to get everything you want when you go with a mass produced model. Well, that is at least true for me.

The problem is that to really get what you want, there is a very steep price to be paid. At least that is what I thought when I was initially going through this process and I had nearly given up and conceded to an off the shelf model when I came across a company called the Sportsman Steel Safe Company. I can’t remember how I found the website but I am glad that I found it. So, with criteria in hand, I gave them a call and walked through the production, warranty, process, and pricing. In the end, for the same price as something off the floor from the local Cabela’s with half the features I wanted, I was able to custom build exactly what I wanted with a few other upgrades thrown in for far less than a retail ready model (it ends up being only a little less once delivery and install are factored in).

So, the safe is on order and now we have to wait a while for the production. In the meantime, I will make do with what I have and figure out how the current safes will continue their service once the new one arrives. I will definitely be writing about the whole process and the finished product in the future but so far so good.

Sunday Search: The Samuel Ardis Mystery

One of the first things I noticed when I initially began compiling my family tree was how many ancestors grew up not knowing either their mother or their father. One of the other examples that I have previously written about was that of Jacob Worth who remains interred with his fellow Union soldiers at the bottom of Mobile Bay having fallen victim to a Confederate torpedo while aboard the USS Tecumseh. This is a tragic tale but one which has the documents and facts by which we can determine exactly what happened. That isn’t always the case which is what I faced when looking at the life and death of my great great grandfather Samuel Warner Ardis.

The day following his early demise, on Monday, September 1, 1902, The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a story under the sensationalize headline “DEATH USED PHILADELPHIA AS A TARGET” with one of the many bulleted subheads stating “Element of Mystery in Case of Samuel W. Ardis Dispelled by Investigation”. Having been printed only a day following his death, the coroner’s inquest was still pending but the details suggested that heart disease played a factor. However, some of the details remained a bit fuzzy.   

To that point the investigation suggested that Samuel Ardis, who was employed as a clerk with the Reading Railway Company, was taken in by a stranger on his way home after falling ill shortly after his departure from work. Early the following morning, Sunday, the police were notified that Samuel Ardis had died suddenly at the house at some point during the night. When questioned later, my great great grandmother stated, according to the report that she was in “total ignorance of her husband’s movements since Saturday”.

While the autopsy later revealed, and was recorded on his death certificate, that the cause of death was pneumonia, we will never have a complete picture as to what transpired that night. The only facts that we know are that he died just over a month after his 3 month old son, Thomas J. Ardis, passed away and left his wife to care for their only remaining child, my great grandmother, Sarah Mabel Ardis, who turned three only four days after he baby brother died. In the span of just over a month, my great grandmother lost her father and her brother with her birthday falling in between. I can’t imagine what must have been going through her, or my great great grandmother’s, mind as all of this is happening.

We know a little but the mystery, and questions, still remain… Did he knock on a door or was he found and brought inside? Did he know the people / person who took him in? If so, how did they know one another? Did he know that he was sick? Did anyone notice at the office or was he seemingly ‘fine’? Why weren’t there any signs that this could happen? All these questions I want to have answers to but know that will probably never happen.

Paint Chips And Poor Customer Service

I readily admit that I am frequently not the easiest person to deal with. This is especially true when it comes to customer service calls. I do my best and have even made a more concerted effort as of late to be as nice and understanding as possible when I have to participate in these calls but sometimes it is really hard to keep my cool. I have been dealing with such a situation for the past two weeks as our insurance company which has had a tremendous track record personally has completely mucked up just about everything that I have called about and/or requested over the past month.

Thankfully, I have been able to keep my temper under control throughout this whole process but my patience is running thinner than [insert your cliche or original thought here]. And it hasn’t really been a matter of incompetence… as time goes on it seems to be more and more about laziness. I have made numerous efforts to communicate through email as well as by phone and I have even coordinated a time to speak with someone. When it came time for them to call at the time they promised, my phone failed to ring and no attempt at following up or explaining what had happened was ever made.

It has been a rather frustrating time especially knowing what exceptional experiences I have had with this insurance company in the past. Up until a few weeks ago I have had nothing but good things to say about this company but lately I have had to measure my words a bit given the last few people with whom I have had the displeasure of communicating (or lack thereof). And just think, this is without me getting angry, abrasive, or even difficult. I have done everything I can, within reason, to accommodate the company but have, as of today, nothing to show for it.

I would consider changing my insurance company but I have yet to see any rates anywhere near what we are paying. And I have given just about every agent and company a chance whenever they have popped up. It used to be great service and great rates and now it seems as though I am left with just the latter of the two. What’s even worse is that the most recent conversations with the insurance company they have tried to hard sell me all of their other offering before allowing me to resume my day. They may want to get better at their current job, complete their existing task, before even thinking about trying to sell me anything. And yes, I remained calm.

Questions Follow Answers

Over the last few weeks I have been able to provide a lot of answers regarding a few things that were still up in the air at the lodge. It was nice to be able to check a few things off the list and get back to what needed to be done to finish up the year. However, that transition, as many of you know, leads to more questions than answers. It is a dilemma that all lodges face as the second half of the year unfolds and one that we do our best to navigate in the final months of the year.

You can usually count on participation being rather high as the calendar turns to a new year which drives attendance and involvement across the board. This inevitably begins to waiver at the weather warms and comes to a near standstill as we call off from labor for the summer. Just like returning to work after a long vacation, it is difficult to get back into the routine and, in this situation, hard to get the brothers back to participating at the lodge.

In addition to attendance of the brethren, we also wonder about the current candidates and the possibility of new petitions. We haven’t seen as many this year but the hope remains that we will be seeing some fresh forms this fall. Thankfully, we have a decent process in place for our new candidates and brethren but I can’t help but think about the ongoing need for petitions that will surely occupy my mind for the remainder of the year. Hopefully, any new petition and subsequent brother will be as dedicated and involved as those who have recently been raised.

The final months are also a time of transition as we will have new officers in the chairs for the coming year (this is true even in Grand Lodge for the coming year). While we are well aware of the brother who will be stepping up, there are always questions that we have regarding style of leadership (I actually have no concerns with the incoming Worshipful Master), schedule of programs for the year, and the officers that will be supporting him. Some of us will be staying on but there is never a guarantee and a lot can change over the next several months… we have all certainly seen that happen a time or two.

I am both concerned and excited by these questions and eager to see how the remaining seasons unfold at the lodge. We are always striving to improve the lodge (with regard to both membership and the building itself) and I am looking forward to seeing many of our projects and endeavors come to fruition. There are great things in store both this year and in the coming years and I am going to do my best to both support those initiatives and stay the heck out of the way. It just goes to show that change can be a very good thing.

Well, That Was Useless!

The learning curve is steep when you have your first child and there are many instances when you are scrambling to find the answers to questions that seemingly pop out of nowhere. Sometimes you reach out to family and friends who have kids to see what advice they have and chose from one of the many options that have inevitably been offered. Other time you reach out to the professionals and either call the doctor or, as we did a number of times early on, ask the doula. Each time we listen to the advice from those people who have “been there, done that.”

Thanks to social media, we can get a plethora of opinions and answers to our questions in a very short amount of time. At least that is what I have seen on my wife’s Facebook feed as I have usually just picked up the phone or asked someone in person when I run into them. While my approach may take longer and seem outdated by many, it is how I prefer getting the answers and advice that we need. It also eliminates the “other opinions”.

I have had countless conversations and have heard the many humorous anecdotes from family and friends who used social media (mostly Twitter and Facebook; these aren’t LinkedIn conversations) when they first became parents. While they received the helpful hints, tips, advice, and answers that they were looking for they also got the opinions of those who don’t have kids but “read somewhere that this is the best thing to do” or passed along the half of the conversation that they heard 5 years ago when their friend was considering having a child. Basically, useless information… I actually heard of someone saying that you should hold your newborn upside down and lightly shake them if they get hiccups. Wow, just wow. Either they don't have kids or they're in jail. 

While I have an opinion on just about everything (I know, you’re shocked) there are certain things that I will not offer second hand advice on. This includes parenting. And I still hold fast to that as we are only 6 weeks in so I can’t really speak from experience on anything. If specifically asked, either by phone or in person, I will gladly share my experience but I can’t give advice especially when there are general posts made on social media. Maybe after we have done this more than once I might offer my opinion but I doubt it.

I’m Still A Green Dot Bastard

Green Dots in 1992

As has been made evident in the past week or so, I am actively working on my family tree. I have been working off and on for about a couple years now and I am glad every day that I started on this project. With that in mind, there are some days/weeks/months that I want to pull my hair out and I have had to take breaks here and there on the research side but, overall, it has been satisfying to see the colors being filled in on many of the leaves.

When it comes to genealogy, everyone has gaps and mysteries in their family tree and mine is no different. They are the most frustrating and rewarding aspects of this kind of personal research. You can spend days trying to answer one question and not find a darn thing. However, when you find that missing piece of the puzzle buried deep in the pages of a book or in the far corner of a database it is an amazing experience.

Sometimes you just have to collect all the records, all the facts, lay them out in front of you and figure out how everything works together. This was the case when I had to put my mind to work and figure out where the third generation came from in my family. Who was Jacob Teaford’s (III) mother?

My earliest memories of learning about my family history go back to the Teaford family reunion in 1987. This is not your usual family reunion as this encompasses all branches of the tree. Anyone who can trace back to the original ancestor that came to the colonies on 27 October 1764 is welcome. Each of the six branches was assigned a colored dot on their name tag which also contained the numbered lineage below their name… I was a green dot with a question mark making us all green dot bastards.

With greater access to records in the digital age (most notably through ancestry.com) I have been pulling bits and pieces together to add to the hard copies of other, more obscure documents, which sit in a binder on my shelf. Combined with the work of previous generations and the smaller items I have been able to find I finally came up with a plausible scenario… I think I figured out the mystery. Based on the evidence, most notably minor sections in court documents, it seems likely that Jacob number three was born out of wedlock and cared for by his father and grandparents. So, we’re still bastards but at least I am comfortable in eliminating the question mark.

Of course, this was only the first of many questions that are throughout my tree and, sometimes, I wish I was still working on the first. There are many gaps in the digitization of records and I am nearing the end of the line when it comes to the information that is available online. I guess it’s time to put some miles on the car and get some dust on my hands. Who’s up for a road trip?

What mysteries are in your family tree? What questions have you been able to answer? What tips do you have when it comes to finding the facts?