New family names - GAMBLIN & BONDS

I have finally cleaned up my converted (Family Tree Maker 2012) database.  Existing sources have all been redone and linked as well as all photographs have been linked.  Earlier this week I shared the database on Ancestry.com.  I do all database updates on FTM then sync those to Ancestry, so far it has worked like a charm.  It can be found here Varners.

I've also been able to resume researching this week.  I've found many new census records and a marriage record on Ancestry.com.  Finally getting to do some much needed work on expanding on my sources.  

The really good news this week is that I have found my maternal 2nd ggrandparents.  I have found my maternal grandmothers (Martha Breshears COBB) maternal grandparents (Madison BONDS and Elizabeth Hamblin BONDS).  This is my great grandmother (Mary Ann Bonds BRESHEARS) parents.  They were both born in Kentucky in the early 1830's and had relocated to Missouri sometime between 1850 - 1860.

In addition to the 2nd ggrandparents I was able to find my 3rdggrandparents.  I was able to find Madison BONDS parents.  William and Mary Ann (?) GAMBLIN.  William was born in North Carolina in 1794 and Mary Ann was born in Maryland in 1797.  They have relocated to Missouri by 1850.

Researching John Varner and Stuffel (Varner) Werner of Juanita / Schuylkill Counties in PA

I have spent the last week splitting my time between cleaning up my FTM file and trying to find more information on my 2nd and 3rd great grandfathers.

First I uploaded my family tree to Ancestry and synced it with my FTM database.  Then I began updating the tree on Ancestry.  The synchronization worked great for about two days.  Something happened and the trees would no longer sync, so I disconnected the tree on Ancestry and I'm updating only my Family Tree Maker file for now.  Once I get it finished I will delete my tree on Ancestry and upload a new one.  I'm now working on cleaning up my source citations.  I did not get a clean transfer of sources via gedcom from a Legacy 7 file to an FTM 2012 file.  This is slow going.  Not only do I need to retype most of the sources but all of the media needs to be reattached as well.

On the research front I decided to concentrate on my 2nd great grandfather John Varner (1787 - 1852) in Schuylkill and Juanita County PA and on my 3rd great grandfather Stuffel Christophel (Varner) Werner (1750 - 1853) in Juanita County PA.  I've checked Ancestry and Family Search and found no census or vital records.  The only thing I've been able to come up with is an oft quoted story found in the book "Biographical Encyclopedia of Juniata Valley PA, 1897".  I would really like to prove and build on the information shown in this book.  I'll spend a little more time on these two before I move on

Starting VARNER line research again

I have taken a six month hiatus from family history research.  It's been an exceptionally busy time for me.  Since the first of the year I've done the following:

• Worked on the Familysearch indexing project of the 1940 census.
• Built a new house
• Sold my house
• Relocated back to my home town
• Switched part time jobs

We just moved into our new home on August 7, 2012.  Still many boxes to unpack but we are beginning to settle in.  It's good to be back "home".

It is my intention to resume work on the family history again.  I have decided to concentrate on the VARNER line.  I've changed my database from Legacy to Family Tree Maker 2012.  I did not get a smooth transfer of my source documentation (limited as they are) and media.  It is my intention to take one branch at a time and clean up the sources I have and look for new ones as I'm working with each individual.

New family line found. Maternal gggrandfather was a GREEN.

Well the holidays and all the birthdays are over for awhile.  The last month and a half have been incredibly busy.  Little progress has been made on the family history.

I have spent some time trying to prove my information on my maternal gggrandfather.  His name is William Carroll Green "Breshears".  The following was written in the History of Benton County, Missouri (vol 1).

"In addition to their own children, Henry and Atsey raised William Carroll Green Breshears as their own. He was 13 years old when he was orphaned on the trip to Missouri and joined the Henry Breshears family."  This occurred in 1838.

I have been trying to find William's birth parents with no success whatsoever.  I can find no adoption records for him nor can I find him in any of the earlier census records.  Family stories indicate that William was born in either Tennessee or Virginia. He died during the civil war and I have been unable to find a death certificate  I am now trying to find information on his military service.  Next step will be any information available on the wagon trains that would have taken this route.

At any rate it appears that my "Breshears" line doesn't go back very far.

With the start of the new year I hope to be able to concentrate more on my family history research and updating this blog.

Varner cousins of California and Nevada contacted

November was an exceptionally busy month for me.  A nephews wedding, Thanksgiving, grand kids birthdays, grandsons visit and so on.  Even though I'm now retired there still doesn't seem to be enough time to do everything on my To-Do list.

It was a very rewarding month for my family history research.  Thanks to Doug Wallace I now have much more information on my two uncles, William Earl (Billy) and James Gilbert (Buddy) Varner,  families in California and Nevada.  The tree is growing larger.  I have been in contact with my cousin Howard.  It is good to finally "meet" the family there.

Now that I know the names and places to look for gathering the source documentation is not such a challenge. For the most part I've been able to find what I'm looking for on Ancestry, find-a-grave, the SSDI and California death records.

I am planning a visit to Teays Chapel and Clinton Memory Gardens cemetery tomorrow (Monday, Dec. 5, 2011.  I have 8 photo requests on Find A Grave that I need to take care of.  Hopefully the weather will clear off so that I can get some decent pictures.

Cousins MARTIN and HOSTETLER added to the family tree

Last week was a very good week.  Got lots done.

I spent one day visiting Teays Chapel and Clinton Memory Gardens cemeteries.  Took a total of 14 volunteer pictures for Find A Grave.

Then I spent a couple of days doing some file cleanup of my Legacy database.  It wasn't in as bad of shape as I feared.  Still need to do lots of source work (converting old basic style sources to the new sourcewriter templates) but that is not a pressing task.  Will work on as time permits.

With the help of my two sisters, Ancestry.com and Family Search.com I was able to add some cousins to the family tree.  These cousins are from my Grandmother Varner's  SMITH side of the family.  Those added were the Claude / Barbra MARTIN, of central Missouri, and Roland / Fay HOSTETLER, of  San Bernardino, California, families.

I was very pleased with the progress last week especially in light of the household visitors.  Our son's four year old twins spent two days with us and our daughters two sons spent a day and a couple of nights.  It was a very enjoyable time with the grand kids.

This week I was able to finish the work I had started on Find A Grave.  All of the memorials for Teays Chapel Cemetery now include the plot locations.

It's also been a very good week on the family history front.  I was contacted by Doug Wallace who had come across my memorials on Find A Grave.  He had a considerable amount of information on the Varner line that lived in Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV.  These are cousins that I had lost track of many years ago.  I was saddened to learn that neither Billy (William Earl) nor Buddy (James Gilbert) Varner are still with us and their parents are gone as well.

I've begun a review of my family history database.  It really is in pretty bad shape.  I need to do a general review of the family tree to re-familiarize myself with the data.  Then begin a general clean up and source standardization project.  As I'm going through the process I will also try to develop a research plan.  I started the database several years ago, but the last few years I've had little time to spend on it.  Now that I'm retired I hope to devote more effort to it.