Genealogy and History Fan

When my husband and I were newly married we rented a small apartment in our hometown, Terre Haute, Indiana. Our landlord told us to be prepared to have twins. He said he had rented to quite a few young couples through the years and that each couple who lived there had twins.

The next year I gave birth to one baby girl. My husband called our landlord to give him our news. He was very surprised and probably disappointed to hear that we only had one baby. But he said that he was still confident that we would have twins in the future.

We soon were able to move to a home. Our now former landlord told us to call him as soon as we had our twins. I told him I didn’t think I would ever have twins, but we would let him know if by chance I did. Lo and behold, 14 months later my husband called him to announce that I had given birth to identical twin boys! At the time they were the largest twins to have been born at Union Hospital in Terre Haute (7lbs 2ozs & 7lbs 10ozs).

Identical twins occur in about 1 in 250 births. We soon found out that our twins were also  mirror image. This results from a late spilt of the fertilized egg. It is a rather rare happening in humans. So my boys are a rare breed in many outstanding ways!

But what mattered most to our former landlord was that we had not broken the tradition! He said we could thank his apartment for our twins. I’m not sure about that, but I am very thankful for my twin boys and my two daughters who thoughtfully came one at a time.

I hope to hear from anyone who had larger twins or ones that are mirror image.

While working on my family history, I have gone through page by page of the Sullivan County, Indiana census records from 1850 through 1910. As I did this I began to notice something unique about those records. There were many, many, twins! Maybe it’s because I have twins (born in Vigo Co., Indiana) that I noticed all these twin births.

Throughout history, about 1 in 80 births results in twins. Although I haven’t counted the Sullivan County twins, I believe that they far exceed these statistics.

Does anyone out there have twins or is a twin or has twin ancestors who was born in Sullivan County? I would love to hear from you.

I have read that the rate of twin births varies greatly among ethnic groups, but I don’t know if this applies to Sullivan County. Could it be the water??

For a bit of twin trivia: Did you know that Cleopatra and Mark Anthony had fraternal twins? A boy named Alexander Helios and his sister Cleopatra Selene were born in the 1^st century B.C.

In the 1860’s Henry and Catherine Wineinger Fallen were living in the hills of Tennessee trying to survive on poor farm land. As their family increased, Catherine felt the need to move to a new area where the soil was good and enough crops could be grown to feed them all. Word came of rich soil and of the homesteading opportunities in the Kansas Territory. Catherine decided that their only chance for a better life was in Kansas. But Henry didn’t want to leave his beloved hills, woods and streams. Henry also said he was afraid they might get killed by Indians or starve to death on the trail. However Catherine was not deterred by her husband‘s negative attitude. So with her mind made up, she began preparations for the covered wagon trip to Kansas. Catherine was sure Henry loved her and their children too much to let them go without him. At the last minute Henry climbed into the back of the wagon with his gun and his dog.

They had many problems and delays during their journey. They were traveling during the Civil War. One day they had to make a sudden stop in a corn field with earshot of an Arkansas battle. (There were 17 battles fought In Arkansas during the Civil War.) The reason they needed to stop was for Catherine to give birth to a baby girl!

Eventually they arrived in Kansas where they obtained 160 acres of good farm land. Henry and Catherine raised crops and 11 children on their Kansas homestead.

Never underestimate the power of a good and determined woman! Hats off to Catherine and all the great women (and men) who have gone before us. Catherine is one of my many Wineinger cousins.

I always learn something when I go to the Family History Center and I’m always glad I went. About eight years ago, a visit I made greatly expanded my vision concerning genealogy and family history research. As I walked in, two of the librarians were discussing a website called Ancestry.com. They told of finding hundreds of ancestors and various records about them. They said the site had billions of family records and that it was easy to use. The easy to use part sounded too good to be true, but they convinced me to hurry home and sign up for a free trial membership. After being on the site for a couple of hours, I thought I had died and gone to genealogy heaven!

My census records that I love so much were there along with many birth, marriage, military records and death records. And yes there were countless pedigree and family group charts. Through the years, the message boards have also provided me with a wealth of information. It has been fun and exciting to meet formerly unknown cousins from posted messages. The weekly newsletter that comes in my e-mail is always a treat for me to read. It is very informative and entertaining. I especially enjoy the editor, Juliana’s, insights and wit.

On most days I spend 2 - 4 hours on Ancestry.com. If I could I would be happy to spend at least 8 hours a day going through their records. They are continually adding all sorts of records, so there is no end to what or who you will find.

If you have never been on their site or haven’t been on recently, I urge you to give it a try. Hopefully you will love it and benefit from it as much as I do. I will always be an Ancestry.com subscriber. Check it out for your self and see what you’ve been missing.

 This article is for those people who want to do more than just search the internet for their genealogy.  Read on for some valuable information:

Genealogy Basics to Uncover an Accurate Family History

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lydia_Quinn]Lydia Quinn

The search for family roots can take you on an exciting journey of interesting discoveries. But as with any journey, a few precautions could ultimately determine if it’s a success or a failure.

Inevitably, your search for family information will lead you to search documents at the courthouse, cemetery, or some other place with tombs of old records. Make sure you’re searching in the right place though, finding out which government most likely had jurisdiction when your family lived in the area. Keep in mind boundaries may have changed between then and now. Sometimes older records may have been transferred to state archives, local historical societies, or some other repository.

Do a little extra homework before you travel very far to look up records. It wouldn’t be too great if you traveled all the way across the country to look up family records that were destroyed in a courthouse fire a hundred years ago.

Keep in mind too that old records are likely to have at least a minor error or two. In some cases there may be so many errors you won’t be able to sort the wheat from the chaff. Books containing transcriptions (cemetery, census, etc.) could be missing vital information, be full of transcription errors (or subtle errors you may not recognize until you’ve chased a wild bunny trail), or they may have made assumptions leading to incorrect information.

Speaking of errors, always transcribe any document exactly as you found it written. If there are misspellings, copy them exactly. Making assumptions about “proper” spelling may actually lead you to finding the wrong information, or nothing at all. Any assumptions at all are likely to trip you up further down the line, so you would be wise to avoid making them.

Invest in a good quality magnifying glass while you’re at it. This will save the strain on your eyes when you’re searching a poorly lit archive and reading handwritten records from ages past.

To keep organized and avoid feeling overwhelmed, it is a good idea to limit your searches to a single surname, individual or family when you’re just starting out. It may also help you to avoid missing important details due to sensory overload. Write down everything you find and begin to transfer it to a family pedigree or tree chart.

Don’t forget family members. They can be a genealogist’s best friend, and may be the only source for stories and anecdotes which bring family history to life. Clues to family history could also be located on the backs of old photographs, postcards, letters and of course the good old family Bible.

Lydia Quinn writes for   Productivus Directory, a free SEO friendly directory of high quality, handpicked websites. Productivus Directory features a completely unique category structure dedicated to helping users make their time online more productive. Visit us at: http://www.productivus.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lydia_Quinn http://EzineArticles.com/?Genealogy-Basics-to-Uncover-an-Accurate-Family-History&id=660952

My comments:  Through the years I have searched records in numerous courthouses.  With my family I have walked through cemeteries looking for family names.  While the internet is great, there is still nothing like the feeling you get when you see the actual record or can touch the gravestones of your ancestors!

Robert and Mary Rains Drummond came to northern Indiana in 1838 to purchase U.S. government land. They received 80 acres of tall trees and rich soil. They built a home and settled into the community. There was a school and a church but it was still a wild and sometimes dangerous part of the country.

During those early years Mary, and her younger children were at home one evening at dusk. Robert and the older boys were at a neighboring farm across long fields. While looking out a window Mary spied a band of Indians with raised tomahawks creeping up around the house. She threw the door open and began shouting many men’s names. The Indians, supposing there was a large group of men to rush home, ran through the woods and did not return.

The determination and resourcefulness of our pioneer grandmothers (and grandfathers) was amazing. I wonder if I could have done even half as well. I honor all those hard working, brave, and dedicated souls who gave us so much. Robert and Mary are my husband’s great-great-grandparents.

Census records are some of my favorite genealogy “tools”. Through the years, I have spent countless hours going through those wonderful records viewing each person that was listed.

I remember the first time I was introduced to census records. I was seventeen and had decided to “try my hand” at family history research. I went to our local public library which was the Emmeline Fairbanks Memorial Library in Terre Haute, Indiana. They had a great genealogy section. One of the librarians showed me how to load and work the microfilm reader. The first film I looked at was the 1850 Jackson County , Indiana census. The librarian had explained how important the 1850 U.S. census records are. They were the first year of census records that listed the names of each member of the household. The previous census records only gave the head of the house and the number of males and females in the household, according to an age range.

What a blessing those 1850 census records (and all census records) are to us. It is still a big thrill for me to look through those records and anticipate who and what I will find. View a census record and see who you can find!