This post of Friday Finds of the week combines two weeks worth of research. Research has kind of been all over the place which tends to happen. I put feelers out sometimes and the information comes in sometimes all at the same time. Also, with Root Tech comings up soon, I've been making connections with supposed relations through the Family Search Connect page. Are we related? Click the image below to find out!
One of my closest connections is related through my Strawhun/Bunch line. I had not done a whole lot of research on the Bunch line, so I decided to tackle that connection. I have come across quite a bit of information for my 3rd great grandfather, Paul Bunch. I plan on writing a separate post all about him at a later date, but I will share a couple of things I did come across.
Paul Bunch was married a couple of times. I only had two marriages listed in my tree, but thanks to Newspapers.com, I was able to find another marriage.
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| Paul Bunch weds Mrs. Thompson Rolla Herald Rolla, Missouri 25 Nov 1886 |
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| Paul Bunch divorces Argentie Bunch Rolla Herald Rolla, Missouri 13 Aug 1891 |
This next article is about Paul Bunch's youngest son and is such a tragedy. Hugh Bunch was engaged to his school sweetheart, but her parents were against the union. Hugh could not stand the thought of them not being together so he murdered her and then committed suicide. I'm only sharing a part of the article, but if you wish to read the whole thing, click on the image.
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| Hugh murders fiancee Rolla Herald Rolla, Missouri 21 Jun 1894 |
Update about Scottie Rickards
About two weeks ago, I had a surprise call from a distant cousin: Sara Poston. She is the daughter of W.F. Rickards, Mark's grandfather's brother. We have been in contact for a few years now sharing family info back and forth. Well, she decided to call us on Facetime so we could "meet" face to face. We had such a wonderful chat. During that call, she revealed some information about Scottie that she had learned from our other cousin. If you remember, I have been curious about his life and his health for years. Well apparently, Scottie had epilepsy.
This is a huge discovery! He had appeared to have had a normal life growing up, but then only attended college for one year, moved in with his sister when their father died, and was in a nursing home by the time he was 59. In letters written between Ruth, his sister, and her friend, DeWitt, they had mentioned he had been sick for a while. Sick with what? Well, now we know.
This is something family more than likely wouldn't have talked about. There were stigmas surrounding Epilepsy during this time. How he came to have it is still a mystery. As I said, he appeared to have a normal childhood growing up. I would say I don't think he would have graduated High School if he would have had Epilepsy as a young boy. But the fact he only attended College for one year, leads me to believe something happened around that time. There might have been an injury of some sort or he may have gotten an infection that led to it. By the time of the World War II draft, he listed on his Draft Registration Card that he was unemployed. He was living with his father. Nothing would have been written on the card itself, but when he went for the Health Screening, it would have been made known that he had epilepsy and he wouldn't have been able to serve. Granted a lot of information I have shared here is only speculation. The only thing we know for sure is he had Epilepsy. I still have to send off for his Death Certificate, so we will see what that comes back saying.
Obituary for Edward Schmidt
If you haven't noticed yet, I'm going crazy with finding Newspaper Articles on Newspapers.com. I've been dying to get a subscription for their site for a while. So glad I did. I am finding so many items. LIke this next one. While it doesn't provide any elaborate or ground-breaking information, I found the obituary of Edward August Schmidt, the husband of my grandma's cousin, Anna Marie.
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| Edward Schmidt Obituary St. Louis Post Dispatch St. Louis, Missouri 30 Jul 1988 |
Jewell Lawless Birth Certificate
Not only do I love doing research on my own family, but I also love finding things for my friends' families. I recently completed some research for my best friend and sister, Sarah about her dad's Hribar line. They loved what I was able to track down. Recently, I came across a document that wasn't part of that research because it was about his Mom, which I didn't research. I came across her Birth Certificate! I wasn't sure if they had a copy or if they had ever seen it, so I downloaded it and shared it with them.
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| Jewell Lawless Birth Certificate 16 Mar 1915 Reynolds, Greene, Arkansas Source: Ancestry.com |
That's all I have for now. But more will be coming I'm sure with Roots Tech just around the corner. Have you signed up for it yet? Head on over to RootsTech.org and join us! It's all virtual this year and is free. I already ordered my swag, which included these awesome Roots Tech Earbuds, that I will be using during the live streams.
What exciting finds did you
discover this week?
Share in the comments below!
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