Photo Friday: Columbia Hospital for Women

My maternal grandfather, Louis Allen Shepherd, was born at Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington, DC on December 29, 1922. 

 

Here's a photo of the hospital, located at 2425 L Street NW, taken sometime between 1909 and 1932:

Courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection.

The building still stands and, having been renovated to house condos, is now known as the Columbia Residences:

From Wikipedia, uploaded by AgnosticPreachersKid, used per Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 3.0.

According to Wikipedia, Al Gore, Duke Ellington and Katherine Heigl were also born here. Interesting!

Digging Into My Southern Roots

I’ve mentioned in a few previous posts that I’m currently taking a year away from work to chase a couple of my passions, namely travel and family history research. And you've probably seen sprinkled here and there recently a mention of the fact that I was moving to New Orleans. Well, I’m super excited that as of last week, I am officially in The Big Easy and will be making this my home for the next few months. And just as I was doing when I was back home in Philly, I’m taking advantage of geography in my quest for genealogical information.

Heretofore on this genealogical blogging journey, I’ve been focusing on my mom’s paternal lineage, particularly her father’s mother’s story. I’ll still be sharing stories related to Katherine Jane Sheppard/Shepherd’s life – there are lots to tell! But, while I’m down here, my plan is to dig into my southern roots and start telling some of those stories as well.

My maternal grandmother, Elnora Mae Cooper

 

The Genetic Genealogy Hunt Has Started!

Exciting News: My maternal uncle (one of my mom's brothers) has ordered a DNA kit! This means we are about to start walking down the genetic genealogy path to see who his father's father - my maternal great-grandfather - is!

My maternal grandfather, Louis Allen Shepherd, with his mother Katherine Sheppard/Shepherd.

 

If you've been reading this blog, you know that we don't have any documents that say who my grandfather Louis Allen Shepherd's dad was. And his children don't remember him ever discussing it, or giving any indication that he even knew. So as I've been doing my genealogical research, it's been a question we come back to with each new document we find. 

Finding Family in the Cemetery

Two of the other things my mom and I came across while researching in Salem on Friday - with help from the volunteers at the Salem County Historical Society - were the final resting places of two members of the Kilson family: Carl Kilson and his mother Bertha (Allen or Ellis) Kilson.

They are buried in Evergreen Cemetery, right outside of the City of Salem.  

The KKK in Salem County, New Jersey

This past Friday, my mom and I took a trip down to Salem, New Jersey, the old stomping ground of my great-grandmother Katherine Jane Shepherd, her parents Rose and Samuel, and her probable cousins, the Kilsons. There was plenty of interesting information, but definitely the most compelling thing for me was a folder of newspaper clippings related to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Salem County.

Genea To Do List: January 2016 Update

Happy New Year All!

It's been a few weeks since I've posted, but, like you, I've been spending time with family during this holiday season, and writing has definitely been on the back burner. Happily, I got to spend time with folks on both sides of my family, though if you saw one of my more recent posts, you know it wasn't for the happiest of reasons on my paternal side. Still, it's been a while since I've seen those folks and I enjoyed their company. I'll need to plan another trip out so we can be a little sillier, and also so I can do some interviewing about family history!

Back in September, I posted a list of To Do items for my genealogical research. I'm using this public forum to stay accountable, so it's time to give you an update on where things stand.