My New and Improved Family Tree!

I am so excited that I could POP!  I have been looking for a way to display my family tree that would allow me to see more generations than the traditional sheet found on ancestry websites and in genealogy computer programs.  (OK - if I am being honest, I wanted it to look a lot cuter than those other ones too!)  I wanted to make it easier to see where my holes are and where I need to focus my attention.  I finally found one on Pinterest that I really liked and thought I could recreate. And.....after playing around with it all day, I did it!!!  I made one for each of my parents as well as both of my in-law's families. Here they are: (drum roll, please!)

(Please excuse the quality of the images you see below.   I had to take a screen shot of the .pdf file on my phone because the blog wanted a photo and not a .pdf file. The originals are much easier to read, but you can get the idea.)

 There isn't anything else to post today -

I just had to share these because I was so excited to get them finished!!!!

Mystery Monday - George Lake Barrett

My son is named after his 2nd great grandfather, George Lake Barrett.  When I began doing genealogy, the Barrett line stopped with George.  That was extremely disappointing since it is the surname my son will carry on.  I started looking at censuses and they showed a lot of possibilities, but no good leads.  I felt like Lake had to be a maiden name and hoped that it might help me out - it didn't seem like the kind of name someone would have pulled out of the hat randomly but I knew nothing for sure.  Then I located, through a complete fluke, his death certificate!  I don't remember what I did to get it to come up - I have tried since then and it appears to be hidden well.  Thank goodness I remembered to save it!

I finally knew his parents and immediately went to find them in other trees to see if I could get any new information.  That is when the mystery began.  George was not listed as one of John and Frances Lake Barrett's kids on ANY of the other family trees I found.  Why?  Why weren't they acknowledging him as a son?  Then I started looking at their evidence and discovered quickly what had happened.  George Lake Barrett was born in 1876, so he was, obviously, not listed in the 1870 census that was taken for the family.

None of them had the 1880 Census listed.  The 1890 Census is no more (ho, hum), so there is no way to see him with the family in that one!  By 1900, he was married, which meant he was no longer listed with the family.

And there you have it - no wonder the rest of the family knows nothing about him!  Where is the 1880 Census?????  I cannot locate it anywhere.  I have even tried looking through some censuses page by page, but am not 100% what all I have looked through.  I now understand why people keep track of every document they go through, although I have yet to figure out the best way to do it.

So - the mystery continues.  Where do I look?  What do I do?  If you have any ideas, I would love any suggestions you might have.

Our Line of Barretts:

Lake Hawthorne Barrett

Ronald Hawthorne BARRETT (father) - Jenna Aldridge Barrett

Ronald Alan BARRETT (grandfather) - Nancy Susan Beskid

Walter John BARRETT (great grandfather) - Rodgers Elizabeth Dantzler

George Lake BARRETT (2nd great grandfather) - Jeannette Van Zandt/Van Hecke

John BARRETT (3rd great grandfather) - Frances Lake

Walter BARRETT (4th great grandfather) - Hariett Boardman

Sunday's Obituary: William Green Austin

This is the obituary for my husband's great-great grandfather, William Green Austin:

The State Newspaper (Columbia, South Carolina)

25 Jan 1910

Page 5, Column 2

William Green Austin

Special to The State.

Greenwood, Jan. 24 -- The burial of Capt. William Green Austin was held here yesterday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the old Methodist cemetery on East Cambridge street. His pastor, Rev. J. W. Kilgo, conducted the burial exercises.  Members of Camp D. Wyatt Aiken, U. C. V., and Robert A. Waller chapter, U. D. C., took part in the last rites.  The death of Capt. Austin occurred Saturday morning at 2 o'clock.  His wife was away at the bedside of a daughter, who was quite ill in Chester.  Captain Austin for seven or eight years has been judicial magistrate at Greenwood.  He moved to Greenwood from Chester County 15 years ago.  He was a man of strictest integrity and high character and commanded the respect of all who knew him.  He was 65 years old.  He served with distinction in the War Between the States as a member of Company K, in the Fifth South Carolina regiment. He is survived by his wife, who was a Mrs. Carter before their marriage, and three children:  Mrs. A. P. Aldrich, Greenwood; James D. Austin, Abbeville, and Wade H. Austin.

That is it.  This is all I know about him.  I do not know who his parents are, but hope that some of the clues in this obituary, including Chester County, will give me some good leads.  If you know anything about his family, I would LOVE to hear from you!!!

Our Line of Austins:

Lake Hawthorne Barrett

Ronald Hawthorne Barrett (father) - Jenna Elizabeth Aldridge

Ronald Alan Barrett - Nancy Susan Beskid (grandmother)

Charles Joseph Beskid - Nancy Hawthorne AUSTIN (great grandmother)

James Hawthorne AUSTIN (2nd great grandfather) - Eliza Livingston Mabry

William Green AUSTIN (3rd great grandfather) - Nancy Elizabeth Hawthorne