Pay Attention to Me!

Occasionally, I read that our ancestors call out to us. I am starting to believe this. Recently, I was talking about my great- grandmother, Emma Susan DeHart Borden. Then, while sorting papers (yes, I sort papers a lot). I came across a pile of copies that I was given after the death of my dad's sister, Darlene. These copies of genealogy research had actually originated with yet another deceased sister of my dad.  This was not the ancestral line I had planned to work on in the near future, but there was information calling to be absorbed.

I decided this might be a good time to enter this information into my genealogy database. Immediately, I discovered a problem. George Jackson DeHart, father of Emma Susan, was born in Union, Monroe County, West Virginia. In 1835, this area was Virginia. I have attended many genealogy meetings that have talked about how boundary lines changed and a particular place has changed from one state to another or one county to another. Too bad I didn't listen a little better. Another mistake I found had to do with the county name. The correct county was Monroe County. The town was Union, but I have many family papers that list Union as a county. Thank goodness for my clever software program that alerted me to the fact that there is no Union County in West Virginia and never has been. It is so easy to make mistakes like these. We each need to check each others work carefully.

Today I have continued to input genealogical data on the children of George Jackson DeHart, my 2X great grandfather. He lived in Lake City, Iowa for a good long while and established a stellar reputation. I found a book with a wonderful article written about him that will be the subject of a future Friday Feature. As I entered these names and dates, I realized I needed to contact the Genealogical Society of Calhoun County and go on a little hunt. So much I don't know. So much to discover.

Family Tree for those interested (and who wouldn't be)

George Jackson DeHart - father of
     Emma Susan DeHart Borden - mother of
          Nina Frances Borden Wright - mother of
                Vern William Wright - father of
                        Margaret Ann Wright Tolsdorf - mother of
                               Two children
                                      Five grandchildren