No Smoking Gun...Yet

On the heels of my recent success in finding obituaries related to a person who might be my 2x Great-Grandfather Rufus Littlejohn, I thought I'd see if my luck continued by seeking out the obituary of the potential candidate himself.

I learned two things:

1.  The good people at the Beaver County Genealogy and History Center respond very quickly to queries (based on my sample size of 3 requests in 1 message).


2.  Luck was not on my side.

Obits Open Doors: Searching for Alma Littlejohn

Work continues to keep me busy, but every moment I have a chance, I try to do a little more genealogical digging. Today, I got lucky!

In researching my paternal roots, I've come across an interesting, and somewhat elusive, character, my 2x great-grandfather Rufus Littlejohn. Born about 1866 in South Carolina, he lived a colorful life in Steubenville, Ohio - with the newspaper articles to prove it - before passing away in 1933. Or, at least that's when his wife's obituary says he passed away.

Flora Virginia Littlejohn's obituary, published in the 1 June 1964 Weirton Daily Times. This is one of the few times Rufus is referred to as John R. Litllejohn (colorful life, remember?).

Tantalizing Tidbits for July Jr and Sr

As part of my ongoing research into my maternal Cooper family line, I did a Google search not long ago to see what I could find on African Americans in Washington and Hancock Counties in Georgia.

Guess what came up?

A book called African Americans of Washington County, Georgia: From Colonial Times Through Reconstruction.

Pulled from records at the Probate Office, the Genealogy Research Center at the Old Jail Library, the Georgia Archives, and more, it was compiled by Adam Adolphus, Sr, who was at the time researching his African American roots in the county. I came across it on the Lowcountry Africana website, which pulls together resources and research tips for people doing black genealogical research in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. Not only can you read the book's Introduction on their website, you can access the Table of Contents as well as the Index. And I found the name July in the book multiple times, including twice as July Cooper. (Note to Self: Spend more time exploring this site!) You can't read the whole book online, though, so I needed to find another way to access it.

Tax Time for the Julys!

Header (First Columns) Georgia Property Tax Digest Book (1878-82). Accessed on Ancestry.com.

 
I'm not ashamed to say that the idea of looking at tax records makes me want to lay down. Maybe I'm afraid of numbers. Maybe I'm lazy. I dunno. I just know that even though I've known full well for several months that the name of my maternal great-great-grandfather July Cooper, Jr - and perhaps even his father, July Sr - shows up in tax lists on Ancestry.com, I could not bring myself to start looking at them.

Until one day I did.

Finding July Cooper

I probably shouldn't say this too loudly (shhh!), but I've had a little extra brainspace over the past couple of weeks. And you know what I do when that happens!

Ever since I visited my mother's family's land in Georgia, I've been really interested in digging deeper into the stories of the Coopers who lived there and came before. So a good part of my evenings and weekends has been spent reviewing the records I already have, along with the family trees our Cooper family historians have previously put together and the memoir my cousin wrote, and then plotting how to find out more. That's resulted in a number of city directory listings and some useful World War II Draft Registration Cards, among other things.

I am ashamed, however, to say that it also resulted in a new census record, and one I definitely should have found before. You see, in 1880, my great-great-grandfather, July Cooper, Jr, was living in the 114th Militia District of Hancock County, GA. Living with him was his wife, Scoatney, written here as Sconey. You can see them highlighted in purple, below.

I've Been Profiled on GeneaBloggers!

Before the thought of starting my own genealogy blog crossed my mind, I'd stopped by Geneabloggers.com many times, looking for new blogs to explore and more examples of personal family history research processes. I wanted to know how other people were doing their research, what tools, tips, and techniques they were using to unlock answers to their pasts, and how they were sharing the info they'd uncovered.

That's why it's super cool that my own blog is now listed on the website, and even cooler that I've been profiled in their "May I Introduce to You..." series. Many thanks to Wendy Mathias for the great comments and for reaching out and lifting up my voice!

Please stop by Geneabloggers.com to read my profile and to discover other family history bloggers doing interesting research and writing!

Mystery Monday: What's the What With David Whaley?

I’ve been researching my paternal Whaley family for a few months now. I know that a number of Whaleys – children of Kit Whaley and his wives Julia and Grace – moved to Steubenville, Ohio in the early-mid 1900s, and that, before this, they lived in Baker Co., Georgia.

So I was pretty surprised when, as I was researching these Whaley siblings, I came across a 1918 Death Certificate for a 14-year-old “David Whaley alias Wilson” in Pittsburgh, PA. Huh?