Week 16 There are some negatives to family history... Discovering something "negative" about an ancestor, not finding what you were expecting, and even film negatives. This week, explore one of those negatives. Maybe it will turn into a positive!
Negatives are a thing of the past ever since everything went digital. No more having to wait to see if that photo turned out right. No more having to wait for a professional photo studio to make copies of your photos. No more waiting in general for your photos. I grew up with negatives so I'm very familiar with them. I even took a photography class my senior year in high school where I learned how to develop negatives and how to print my own photos. There are generations rising up that have no clue what negatives are.
negatives (noun): a photographic image made on film or specially prepared glass that shows the light and shade or color values reversed from the original, and from which positive prints can be made. Oxford Dictionary
While going through my parents' basement, I have come across boxes of photos that include negatives. If you come across negatives in your ancestors' collections, DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY. Take some time and review the negatives. I've talked about viewing the negatives in a previous post.
Why should you keep the negatives? Believe it or not, there are a few things you can learn from the negatives. Even if you have examined the negatives & have seen you already have copies of these photos, do not get rid of them. At least not just yet. Do you have photos that you have no clue who is in them or where they were taken? Then read on.
Different types of negatives you might find
When I was going through the negatives, I noticed photos I knew were in my collection as I have already gone through my parents' photos and attempted to organize them. But there were a few stray photos I had no idea where to put them. Who are these people? When were these taken? Where was this taken?
Depending on the year the photos were taken, the negatives will either be individuals or in strips. If they are in strips, that is helpful with piecing together other photos. Because if a photo is next to another photo on the strip, then you know it was taken on the same roll of film, more than likely on the same day, for the same event. That came in handy when I found a picture of a turkey sitting in a kitchen on the same film strip as my grandparents. So I knew that photo was taken the same day. For individual negatives, that will be more tricky if they are spread out in a box. I got lucky because I found the original envelopes that the photos were put in after being developed. The photos were no longer in the envelope, but the negatives were. I was then able to piece together what photos went together. One was a gathering in my grandma's backyard. I was able to take all those photos and put them together in a group.
Of course, the obvious next reason to keep the negatives is there may be photos on them that you don't have or have never seen. There were a couple photos I already had copies of, but on some negatives were photos I did not have in my collection. I was able to take a picture of the negative using the method I discussed in the blog post I shared above.
If you are having trouble figuring out the year or type of negative you have, check out this website I found that shows the different kinds of negatives that were available, the cameras that used those negatives, and the years they were manufactured.
Now What? After you have scanned the negatives, checked the negatives, and learned everything you can about them, what should you do? I am a big supporter of keeping the old negatives just in case. It's like having an extra backup. But if you keep them, you need to make sure they are kept safe.
The best way to keep them safe is to store them in archival-quality materials. You can order them from many online retailers. Place them in archive quality sleeves and then in archive boxes. Melissa Barker, The Archive Lady, talks more in-depth about this on the link below.
What kind of negatives do you have in your collection? Have you checked them out yet? Have you made any discoveries going through them? Share them in the comments below. I'd love to hear about them.
I can't tell you how many times my last name has been misspelled in my life. Both married and maiden! Most of the time people don't even ask "How Do You Spell That?" but just assume they know. I've made it a habit of spelling my maiden name every time someone asks for it to hopefully eliminate any confusion. Yeah, that still doesn't always work. As we do genealogy research, we will constantly come across surnames that were spelled in many different ways. Either because it was misheard, or the family was illiterate and couldn't spell to begin with. When I first started, I stuck with the belief if it wasn't spelled it was supposed to be, they weren't family. Yeah, that didn't get me far in my research. I've since learned that I have to be flexible with the spelling and prove the family connection by other means. So these are some of the most commonly misspelled surnames in my family.
Fuchs
My maiden name is Fuchs. It is of German origin and is usually pronounced like "fyooks"; although I grew up pronouncing it a different way: "fyoosh". I have no idea why we did that or how it got started, but it must have at least come from my Great-grandfather, Michael Fuchs because my grandpa, George Fuchs and all his siblings all pronounce it that way. Anytime I had a new teacher at school, I had to correct how they pronounced it. So much fun! But that isn't even half the problem.
1940 US Fed Census Fuchs Family Ancestry.com
Do you see how it is spelled? It is too closely related to another word that is considered a cuss word. Oh yeah, this was grand growing up with a whole bunch of adolescent kids. One time a classmate got a hold of one of my papers and changed the 'h' to a 'k' (which is not hard to do) and then turned it in. So when it was time for the papers to be handed out, another student was reading out the names and said that word. Oh boy... I had to explain to the teacher I did not do that. And even showed them that the pencil mark on the page was different than my writing. That's just one example. Let me tell you, I have friends from high school that STILL don't know how to spell my maiden name. It usually ends up with extra letters or sometimes they drop the 's' on the end. I always felt like I was cursed. Once I started researching German records, I was curious to see how the spelling had changed if any. And it really didn't. Once I got into the records, I saw the surname "Fuchs" everywhere! And spelled like we spell it! But that still doesn't help me today when I meet someone new and I tell them my maiden name.
Rickards
I thought when I would get married my troubles would be over. Boy was I fooled. I think I have more trouble with this surname than my maiden name. Everyone always immediately thinks it's supposed to be Richards. I usually tell people it's Richards except with a 'k'. I have to admit even I had trouble when I first met my husband. Unlike with Fuchs, Rickards has been misspelled for YEARS. I've lost track of how many variations I have come across in my research. These are just some examples: Rickard, Ricard, Records, Rickert, Ricketts, and of course, Richards. It is unclear how the original was spelled, but research has suggested the original was Rickard. The family came from England, but I haven't traced the family back there myself.
1850 US Fed Census Records Family Ancestry.com
1920 US Fed Census Richards Family Ancestry.com
Ilg (ILG)
Now this surname threw me for a loop when mom first told me about it. I was like, um, what did you say? Haha! The 'i' in the surname makes a short i sound, like igloo. This is my grandma's maiden name. I had never heard of this name before and for sure never met anyone with this surname. This family line has been my most researched.
1930 US Fed Census Ilk Family Ancestry.com
The family came from Germany in the mid to late 1800s. I've traced the family pretty far back in Germany and like Fuchs, Ilg was always spelled the same. But pronouncing it I believe is a little different. I think the 'g' makes more of a 'k' sound which makes sense why I've seen the surname spelled with a 'k'. I've seen it spelled Ilck and even Ilk, which is why I couldn't find the family easily in the 1930 census. It's also been spelled Illg, Illig, Ilges, Llg, Elk, and more. when I go looking for them in the City Directories, I have to check under all these spellings.
While I've run into other surnames that have been misspelled before, these are the top ones I've dealt with. It's best to include variations of spellings you've come across for the surnames in your tree for anyone who reviews your research or for your own personal notes.
So, what surnames have you come across in your research that has been constantly misspelled?
Everyone is all abuzz over the release of the 1950 US Federal Census. Many of us were up late waiting for the midnight release. I joined Amy Johnson Crow for a release party on YouTube. We were visiting with friends and preparing for the moment the Census was released on the National Archives website. When it finally hit, we all scattered and went searching. Almost like an Easter Egg hunt. You can watch the video below.
Mom, Dad, and Their Parents
That first night, I only planned on looking up my parents since I had to get up early the next morning for a doctor's appointment. Mom's family, I was able to find them right away thanks to the Enumeration District. I knew where they were living when the census came through so that helped a great deal.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Gravois - 95-279 National Archives Wheeler Family
Mom has given me the information that she was told. She was only a month old when the census came through. Later that year they moved to another location, but that was after the census came through. I wrote about them in previous posts here:
Now, Dad's family was more tricky. They were moving around a lot during this time, so there were a couple of places they could have been, and I only had addresses for two of them. While Dad was still alive, he had told me about the places they lived. He had an impeccable memory. The first two places were in Kirkwood that my grandpa built. I had addresses for them and looked them up right away. Nope, they weren't there. Next came the places I DIDN'T have addresses for. Only some details. Dad told me after Kirkwood they lived temporarily in Arnold. First at a Gas Station that my Papa was trying to acquire and then at Bridge Inn that doubled as a cafe and Inn. Dad said Papa ran the business while Grandma was the cook for the cafe. Dad said they lived either above the cafe or in one of the buildings on the property. But he couldn't remember where the Bridge Inn was exactly located. I had planned on taking him for a drive around the area to see if that would spark some memory, but he had passed away before I could do that. Unfortunately, the deal fell through at Bridge Inn for some reason, dad couldn't remember why, although he was just a kid. Now at this point they were homeless. They ended up moving to their clubhouse on the Meramec River near Eureka. That was yet another location they would have been living when the Census came through. And this was also another location I had no address for. So this was going to be tricky.
Like I said, I tried Kirkwood first but they weren't there. So the next part was searching in Arnold which was in Jefferson County. I had no address or location of where to look, so I was going to have to rely on the preliminary index that was created from the National Archives. Oh, and am I glad they had that. I did a search in Jefferson County for my Papa's name and it came up. I couldn't believe it! Based on the information given, my Papa was a Cafe Operator and Grandma was a cook. Just like my dad told me. So this must have been for the Bridge Inn. I have now been pouring over maps to try to find the exact location of where the Bridge Inn was located. I know I will be working with my Aunt on this, who was also alive at this time and on the census. So you know I will be writing more about this later.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Rock Township - 50-34 National Archives Fuchs Family
Great-Grandparents
I had three sets of Great-Grandparents and one Great-Grandma to look up in this census. Not to mention my husband's family, which we will discuss later.
Nellie Fuchs
Robert & Louise Strawhun
James Benjamin & Pearl Wheeler
Joseph & Margaret Ilg
I had addresses listed from all of them, but only one set was questionable. Nellie along with Robert & Louise lived at the same address in Kirkwood for years before and after the 1950 Census so that was an easy find. Joseph & Margaret were living at their location with their daughter (My grandma) before she married my grandpa, and according to records were still living at this address after 1950. But while I had the address, the street couldn't be located on the Census map, so it was a little tricky tracking down that information. But there were right where they were supposed to be. The only set I have not found is James Benjamin & Pearl. I had a couple of addresses for them based on sources I had, but they were not living at those addresses; other people were living there. I did a search for them, but St. Louis is a huge area, so that didn't narrow anything down. I know at some point, James Benjamin was put into a nursing home, but don't know when. So they are going to have to wait until the index is more complete.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Kirkwood - 95-75 National Archives Fuchs Family
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Kirkwood - 95-84 National Archives Strawhun Family
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, St. Louis - 95-315A National Archives Ilg Family
Other Family Members
Not only did I have Great-Grandparents, I had some 2nd Great-Grandparents to find on my Maternal Grandmother's line. Oma Mae Caldwell and her ex-husband, Edward Buer. Oma lived in her mother's old house, so she was easy to find. But Edward and his new wife, Alice were a little more difficult to track down. Their address was just outside of town limits, so it was hit or miss for the Enumeration District. But they were located.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, St. Louis - 96-791 National Archives Caldwell Family
1950 US Fed Census Illinois, Will County - 99-112 National Archives Buer Family
One family I still have not found in the census is my 2nd Great Aunt, Ruth Kelley and her husband James Howard. I knew this was going to be my most difficult couple. James Howard Kelley worked as an architect, at least that's what I was told, and he traveled around a lot. He lived in Missouri, Illinois, Washington and even Alaska. Mom told me she remembered him sending her a little Eskimo doll from their when she was little. It was also rumored that he helped design the Seattle Space Needle. Since they moved a lot, it is unknown where they were living in 1950 when the census came through. So they will have to wait until the indexes are complete then hopefully I will be able to track them down.
Mark's Family
Not only did I look up my own family, but I also looked up my hubby's family. I'm the one who has done the research on his family so why wouldn't I? I found both his parents and grandparents easily at the addresses I had for them. This is the first year for both of our parents to be on the census. It was neat to see what Mark's grandfather did for a living.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, St. Louis - 96-1494 National Archives Rickards Family
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Kirkwood - 95-362 National Archives Swope Family
Moving back another generation, one set of Great-Grandparents had lived in the same location and were easy to locate, but the other two were a little tricky. Rev. Hudson Taylor & Sadie McGrew lived in Breckenridge, Missouri, but I had no address for them. Breckenridge was a small town with only two Enumeration Districts and, luckily, they were on the first district. Found them fairly quickly. Rev. McGrew was retired at this point and they were enjoying time with each other and visiting family. Thanks to the census I learned they lived on Maple. Sadly, Rev. McGrew passed away later that year.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Breckenridge - 13-1 National Archives McGrew Family
The only other Great-Grandparent that was living at this time was Mary Alice Swope. She lived on a farm in rural Clinton County, Missouri. She was a little difficult to track down. Their family lived on the farm for many generations & later, her children lived nearby as well. Mary Swope's husband passed away in 1935, but she still lived on their farm in 1940 with two of her daughters, Ethel & Irene. They were right next to one of her sons, James, and his family. Now for the 1950 census, they were not next to each other. It probably has to do with the enumerators and which farms they visited in the order they did. Enumeration District lines appeared to be the same as in 1940 so that had nothing to do with it. Whatever the case, thanks to maps, I was able to locate where they should be on the 1950 Census. I explained this in more depth in another blog post: Maps of Clinton County - How Galen & Pearl Met. This time on the census, Irene was the head of the household and her mother, Mary, and sister, Ethel, lived with her. But their brother, James, was not listed in this Enumeration District. Is it possible they moved? Unsure at this time. It will require a bit more research. I do know we will be making another trip up to Clinton County maybe this summer. The good news is I found them on the census.
1950 US Fed Census Missouri, Lafayette - 25-13 National Archives Swope Family
Spreading wide now in Mark's family tree, two ancestors I was excited to find were Ruth & Scottie Rickards. Ruth moved to Iowa from Illinois sometime in the 1920s and after their father died, Scottie moved in with her. Scottie has been a curious ancestor for a while. I wrote about him in a blog post for the 52 Ancestors Challenge: Week 4 - Curious. As you read in the post, there was a lot unknown about him. I've been putting together some information about him as I learn it. The most recent I wrote about in two Friday Finds posts. Westminster College and Update on Scottie Rickards. So I was looking forward to seeing the 1950 Census to try to get an idea of when his condition started. I found their address in a 1950 City Directory, so finding them wasn't hard. But I got my answer by looking at the census. Scottie was listed as Unable to Work. So whatever happened, it happened before he moved and sometime after college. Interesting. Another piece of the puzzle is found.
1950 US Fed Census Iowa, Des Moines - 102-29 National Archives Rickards Family
The last ancestor I wanted to find on Mark's side is a living 1st cousin, once removed. I've been in contact with her and her family for a few years now. I got their address directly from her, so I knew it was correct. But finding the Enumeration District was tough. I had to go through a couple of different maps to find it. Read about it here: What If I Can't Find a Street?But I did find the Enumeration District and I did find the ancestor.
1950 US Fed Census Texas, Houston/South Side - 101-5 National Archives Rickards Family
These are not all the people I looked up in the 1950 census, but the main ones. I did look up ancestors for friends and just for personal fun. Having the Enumeration Districts beforehand really did help locate our ancestors in the 1950 Census. There were only a few times I had to use the preliminary index on the National Archives site. And I am grateful for it as I wouldn't have found my Dad without it. Now that I have found the census pages, it's time to analyze them more closely for clues and information.
I will also be helping index the census as time goes on. You can help index now on the National Archives site and you can help on Ancestry & Family Search but only on the states they currently have available. I put in for a notification when Missouri is ready to be indexed.
March was a rough month for me, so I took a break from writing for the 52 Ancestors challenge. But I'm starting back up now with this week's prompt "Check It Out!" It seemed perfect for the announcement I had to make. You see, I've been laid up with a pinched nerve in my back for a month now. So in order to keep myself from going crazy, I worked on editing a biography I wrote about my 2nd Great Grandma, Pauline Ilg.
Cover of my Biography
Shutterfly was running a special on their site last week. So I went to work on editing the book on their site. I've gotten books from their before and have loved the quality. I know I could have went with an actual book publishing site, but I decided on Shutterfly. And they did not disappoint.
I wrote this biography in a series of five blog posts back in 2020. I shared them leading up to the anniversary of the death of Pauline. Below are all five blog posts that I turned into five chapters for the bioraphy.
I am so proud of this book. It looks amazing. The quality is just beautiful. As you can see, I ordered two copies to have on hand. When Shutterfly runs another special, I will order more copies for family members.
I do hope to write more biographies of other family members and turn them into books. Who will I write about next? You will just have to wait and Check It Out later!
We are just days away from the release of the 1950 Census. I am working on finishing up some notes preparing for the moment it releases at Midnight on April 1st. I've been working on this since last year; looking up addresses, ED maps, and writing notes. I wrote a blog post about my process last year called How To Find Addresses Before Hand.Have you found all the addresses you need? How do you keep track of them? Thomas MacEntee of Genealogy Bargains released the Excel Sheet that he is using to keep track of his 1950 Census Research. You can download it here from his website.
I created my own Spreadsheet (In Open Office) a while back. I've tried using other spreadsheets that people have created in the past, but they don't always work for me. So I usually make one from scratch, changing it as I go to accommodate the things I want it to include. This spreadsheet has been edited a few times as I went on. But I think I've got everything I need. Although after the census is released, I may add a column or two.
Screenshot of 1950 Census Spreadsheet
This is just a small snippet of what is on my spreadsheet but listed below are all the columns I have included. The main person listed will be the ancestor that should be the Head of the House (HOH). I created a separate column for who else should be living in that household. It's divided up into two sections. The first section is preliminary research of addresses, sources, notes, EDs, links to maps, etc. The second section is for after the Census is released. Information in this section includes the repository where I got the Census, Image number, Link to image, etc.
First Section
HOH Last Name
HOH First Name
HOH Middle Name
Street Address
City/Township
County
State
Enumeration District
Other family included (who else should be listed at this address)
Sources Consulted for address
Links to ED Maps on NARA site
Notes
Second Section
Repository
Image #
Sheet #
Line #
Link
Other Family included
Sample Entry
This is my 2nd Great Grandparents, Robert & Louise Strawhun. They passed away in the late 70s and family doesn't live at this address anymore, so there are no privacy concerns. The word "Map" is highlighted because it is a clickable link. It will take you directly to the map on the NARA website. I have downloaded the map as well, but I wanted the link documented as well. This should be everything I need to find the 1950 Census. The second section will be filled out after I find the Census.
I know that there will be a lot of information included in the Census, but I'm not including that in this log. The point of this log is to find the census. Another spreadsheet can be used to transcribe the information on the census itself.
What are you doing to prepare? Are you using Thomas MacEntee's spreadsheet? Did you make your own? How many people are you hoping to find?
