Sunday School Class Photo – Bloomingport Friends, Randolph County, Indiana [Genealogy]

Sunday School Class Photo – Bloomingport Friends, Randolph County, Indiana [Genealogy] – I’m about 90% sure I’ve titled this photo accurately. The names of most of the children were labeled for me. The photo does not specifically state that it’s a Sunday School class, neither does it specifically state it’s from Bloomingport Friends Meeting. These… Continue reading Sunday School Class Photo – Bloomingport Friends, Randolph County, Indiana [Genealogy]

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Ozro Bales Sells Hogs – Free Online Newspaper Search [Genealogy]

Ozro Bales Sells Hogs – Free Online Newspaper Search [Genealogy] – Once upon a time in 1919, my great-great-grandfather Ozro Bales sold some hogs. I only know this because of a spectacular free online tool that lets you search old newspapers from 1789 – 1963. Amazingly, I actually have this photo of Ozro Bales with… Continue reading Ozro Bales Sells Hogs – Free Online Newspaper Search [Genealogy]

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Where in the World is Cherry Grove? [Genealogy]

Where in the World is Cherry Grove? [Genealogy] – There are some places that exist as a distinct entity only in the minds of longtime local residents. Near my home, there’s an area called Horseshoe Bend. It’s a place where the creek bends, and the road bends with it. I suspect it was referred to… Continue reading Where in the World is Cherry Grove? [Genealogy]

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Bales, Huber, Oberender, and Mercer of Bloomingport, Indiana [Genealogy Photo]

Bales, Huber, Oberender, and Mercer of Bloomingport, Indiana [Genealogy Photo] – When the Bales, Huber, Oberender, and Mercer neighbors got together, they posed for photographs. Today we take photos incessantly, often multiple times a day. Most of us have a camera in our fingertips at all times on our phones. It likely would have been… Continue reading Bales, Huber, Oberender, and Mercer of Bloomingport, Indiana [Genealogy Photo]

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The Search for the Secret Lovechild of My Great-Grandfather [Genealogy Mystery]

The Search for the Secret Lovechild of My Great-Grandpa [Genealogy Mystery] – My great-grandpa, Ralph Edgar Bales, had a secret lovechild, but we only know his first name. I have no clue how we would go about finding a person among the roughly 300 million people in the United States using only a first name.… Continue reading The Search for the Secret Lovechild of My Great-Grandfather [Genealogy Mystery]

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This Family Reunion Looks Sharp! [Genealogy Photo]

This Family Reunion Looks Sharp! – Yes! The pun is intended. Josiah and Lydia (Neal) Sharp are the progenitors of this large brood of children and grandchildren. I might be personally biased, but I think they really do look sharp. Josiah Steward Sharp was born in New Jersey in 1836. He came to Randolph County,… Continue reading This Family Reunion Looks Sharp! [Genealogy Photo]

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Gender-Confused, Transgender, or Just Messing Around? [Genealogy Photo]

Gender-Confused, Transgender, or Just Messing Around? – Today’s Way Back Wednesday genealogy photo provides undeniable evidence that one of my ancestors participated in at least one incidence of crossdressing. So what was going on with that? Pictured from left to right are Hilda Oberender, Clara (Clark) Bales, and Blanche (Bales) Sickels. Clara was my great-grandmother.… Continue reading Gender-Confused, Transgender, or Just Messing Around? [Genealogy Photo]

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Early 1900’s Threshing Ring – Randolph County, Indiana [Genealogy Photos]

Early 1900’s Threshing Ring – Randolph County, Indiana [Genealogy Photos] – We’ve all heard the phrase “pitching in,” but how many realize the saying comes from the common early American practice of the neighborhood threshing ring? The threshing ring was every bit as much a social event as it was a functional necessity in that… Continue reading Early 1900’s Threshing Ring – Randolph County, Indiana [Genealogy Photos]

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Ozro Bales Kidnapping Bertha Root [Genealogy Photo]

Way Back Wednesday: Ozro Bales Kidnapping Bertha Root – What on earth is going on in this photo? My great-great-grandmother Estella (Sharp) Bales is the one holding the gun aimed at her husband Ozro Bales. The handwriting scrawled on the back of the photograph says, “Carl took the picture.” Carl is presumably Carl Root who… Continue reading Ozro Bales Kidnapping Bertha Root [Genealogy Photo]

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Could My Ancestor Have Been One of the Mysterious Melungeons?

Way Back Wednesday: Could My Ancestor Have Been One of the Mysterious Melungeons? – Until two weeks ago the Melungeons were so mysterious to me I didn’t even know they existed. I had encountered Mulattos in census records. I had come across Mestizos in history textbooks. However, Melungeon was a completely foreign word to me… Continue reading Could My Ancestor Have Been One of the Mysterious Melungeons?

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