Today marks the 75th wedding anniversary of James Robert Long (1912-1977) and Thelma Cloretta Smith (1914-2001). James was the 14th and youngest child of James William Long (1866-1945) and Mary Elizabeth Liza Jane Johnson (1870-1946). Thelma Cloretta Smith, sometimes referred to as “Aunt Sis,” was one of nine, and perhaps more, children of George Gershon [...]
I mentioned the use of property records to find an elusive spouse. But while I was doing that, I had a rather disturbing experience. I was at the site for the Department of Records of Jackson County, Missouri [I've praised this site often so it's worth showing the link again.] I was primarily looking at [...]
Continue reading about Property Records May Help Correct the Record
So I was looking for the name of Cousin A’s spouse. She apparently lived her entire life in Kansas City, Missouri, but the excellent Jackson County records site, of which I’ve spoken glowingly in the past, had no evidence of her marriage. Perhaps, I reasoned, this meant she had slipped across the county line to [...]
Continue reading about Research Note: Finding an Elusive Spouse
With our unofficial motto “learn, share, enjoy and appreciate,” we from time to time come upon other personal blogs that are well worth reading. One of these has come to our attention recently: it’s called Your Brother Kings. Well-written, well laid out, easy to navigate, this site gets our strong recommendation.
In October 1929, my great uncle Julius Walter Long, who was known as “Walter,” married a woman named Laura Crosby. She had a 14 year old daughter named Violet. The following year, Walter’s brother, Rafael Matthew Long, who was 13 years younger than Walter, married Violet Crosby. Rafe was 20 years old at the time. [...]
Continue reading about Possible Underground Railroad Families Discovered?
Yes, it’s August again! Unlike the past four years in Northern Virginia, we’re actually looking forward to August in Northern California. We’ve just made it through one of the hottest Julys on record in Northern California, and August promises to be relatively cool. Now that we’re more than halfway through the year, it’s worthwhile to [...]
