Tag: Oregon
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Learning about the U.S. Census
I learn best by doing–and that is certainly true when it comes to genealogical research. This blog post examines a recent learning experience born from encountering a surprise and the ensuing quest to understand a past practice. Once upon a time I was attempting to unravel the headstone mystery of William Hirst. As described in…
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William Hirst: Headstone Mystery #2
In the previous post, I described my research findings for one of the two headstones that Jim Proehl recently discovered near a Bandon cemetery. This post examines the other headstone with the engraving: William Hirst, Died Oct. 27, 1862, Aged 34 years. Why did the two headstones suddenly appear together? Are they from the same…
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Here a Mary, There a Mary: Headstone Mystery #1
A couple of weeks ago Jim Proehl at the Bandon Historical Society emailed a mystery to me. He wrote, “I walk through the Averill/GAR/Catholic cemetery in Bandon almost every day and was surprised yesterday to discover two new/old headstones that popped up along the road. One of the stones made me think of you.” The…
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Preventing Cemetery Erasure
I recently watched Sad Hill Unearthed, a documentary film about the restoration of an abandoned cemetery film set in northern Spain. No humans are buried at the site: it was created solely for the closing sequence of Sergio Leone’s 1966 film, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The documentary shows how fans of the…
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Grave Stories, Part 6
As I conclude this series, I’ve learned that between 1870 and 1938, at least eleven Thrush relatives are buried in the Hultin-Thrush Cemetery. Having already discussed seven interments, this final part focuses on four others: Two previously identified (in Part 3) and two discovered while writing the series. Previous posts in this series: Part 1,…
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Grave Stories, Part 5
Besides the burials of John Thrush, his wife Elizabeth, and two of their daughters, at least seven other individuals are reportedly buried in the Hultin-Thrush Cemetery. This fifth part of the series focuses on three of them; the last part of the series (Part 6) will focus on the remaining individuals interred at the family…
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Grave Stories, Part 4
In this fourth part of a multi-part series, I provide specific information about individuals buried in the Hultin-Thrush Cemetery (described in Grave Stories, Parts 1 and Part 3). Thrush Family in Randolph Please note that I am conducting systematic genealogical research, going back one generation at a time. I have learned enough at present to…
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Grave Stories, Part 3
In this third part of a multi-part series, I discuss the information posted online for the Hultin-Thrush Cemetery. (Aerial view of cemetery posted in Grave Stories, Part 1.) As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, John Thrush, Jr. is my great-great-great-grandfather who died in the 1890 landslide at Randolph. I didn’t know the exact…
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A Randolph-Centered Childhood
Almost every weekend during my childhood, my parents would pack me, my younger sister, and a pair of dachshunds into the back seat of the family car. After a thirty-minute drive we arrived in Randolph to visit both my dad’s parents and my mom’s parents. Sometimes we spent the entire weekend at one of their…
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Remembering Randolph
I’ve dabbled with genealogy for several years and just couldn’t figure out how to write a family history that I wanted to share with others. This year I was inspired to begin writing family history narratives after watching Beth Stahr’s webinar explaining how she infuses social history into ancestor profiles. Then I found Lorelle VanFossen’s…