A Migration Path in a Passenger Manifest?

January 23, 2018

Passenger Manifest – Jane Foulk

One of the long sought-after pieces of information in genealogy research is the migration trail. How did my family get here?

I found a novel source for my in-laws in a ship passenger manifest. My father-in-law was a career Navy doctor and stationed in Japan in the mid-1950s. I found a passenger manifest documenting the journey of the rest of the family to join him. A fabulous find in and of itself; however, it offered the added bonus of listing the birth locations of each of the children. And there in lies a migration path. As a military family, they moved fairly frequently from base to base at the same time the family was growing. Plot the birth locations and dates on a map, and voila! you have a migration trail.

Incidentally, my husband, Robert, was born in Japan. His was the last child’s birth to be plotted in this migration trail.

Happy researching!

0 Comments/in Migration Genealogy, My Family History Stories /by bethfoulk

Patterns in Family Naming Conventions

June 29, 2014

Bob Tubby Dick & Bill Watson

My Dad was one of four boys in the family, which offered my grandparents plenty of opportunities to name them after male members of the family. So, I wondered who was named after whom. Here’s what I came up with.

Robert William (left in picture)- I don’t know where “Robert” came from but “William” is the boys’ father.
Francis Henry (right in picture) – “Francis” is the boys’ paternal grandfather. And “Henry” is the boys’ maternal grandfather. The funny thing is he didn’t go by either name. He was 12 pounds at birth and was stuck with the moniker “Tubby” for his entire life.
Richard Charles (my Dad) (bottom w/bow tie in picture) – I have no clue where either name came from. There are no “Richard”s or “Charles”s in the family. My guess is they named him after a family friend or a favorite priest. I do know that Dad said his parents considered naming him “James,” but decided it sounded like a chauffeur’s name, and they didn’t want him to become a chauffeur!
William Edward (top in picture) – Again, “William” is for the boys’ father. “Edward” was a popular name on his mother’s side, but there were none in the living generations. Not sure about this origin.

It’s an interesting mental exercise to think about where the names came from. But more importantly, it can be a terrific clue in genealogy research. If you see names repeat over generations you can have a little more assurance that you have the right children associated with the right parents. There is a terrific and extensive article on naming patterns on Genealogy.com. I would encourage you to check it out. You can find it here.

But before I leave this brief homage to naming patterns I have to tell you about my husband’s Uncle Morris. “Morris” is a huge name in the Foulk Family. You see it repeated over and over all the way back to the Revolutionary War Era. Apparently Dr. Morris Foulk, my husband’s uncle, was either very proud of the name or himself or both.

Here are the names of his children:

Jeffery Morris Foulk
Kenneth Morris Foulk
Richard Morris Foulk

I’m not kidding. He gave all three sons his name for their middle name.

Do you have any fun or interesting naming patterns in your family tree? I’d love to hear about them.

In the meantime, look to the given names for clues – and great stories.

Happy researching!

2 Comments/in Genealogy Research Strategies, My Family History Stories /by bethfoulk

Not the Same Ol’ Grandparent Pictures

June 27, 2014

I didn’t know my paternal grandparents. Unfortunately they passed years before I was born. So the only visual images I have of them are the pictures in family albums. And like most family albums there are the lovely wedding pictures, staged family pictures, and conventional, ready-to-be-framed anniversary pictures. All of which paint a very respectable, church-going image of my grandparents. But then I found these pictures, which open a window to what must have been a whole other side of my grandparents that maybe their children didn’t even know about.

My paternal grandfather. Wichita, Kansas

This is my grandfather, William Francis (Bill) Watson. He was b. 1889, d. 1957 both in Wichita, Kansas.

I think the picture is very striking. It looks like it could have come out of a film noir movie or the Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie.

It was probably taken in the late 1910s or early 1920s as he sat outside a factory or warehouse in downtown Wichita. The photo adds personality and life to his story. At one point in his life he was a young man eager to make his way in the world.

William and Cathryn Ernstmann Watson m 1915

Bill & Cathryn Watson on an early 20th Century motorcycle. c. 1920s, Wichita, KS

This picture is of my grandparents, William Frances (Bill) & Cathryn Ernstmann Watson. They were married in 1915 in Wichita, so this was probably taken in the late 1910s or early 1920s. I believe it is outside of their home.

That’s a motorcycle they are on! I just don’t think of ” my grandparents” on motorcycles! And look at the cap and goggles he’s wearing. They look like a very cosmopolitan “fun” couple. Not unlike the picture above they seem to be ready to take the world by storm.

These are just two samples of the unconventional pictures I’ve found of my family members. I would encourage you to look beyond the formal portraits in the albums to see what treasures may be in store. They may very well add an interesting dimension to the lives of your ancestors.

Happy researching!

9 Comments/in Images, My Family History Stories /by bethfoulk

Archive for category: My Family History Stories

A Migration Path in a Passenger Manifest?

Patterns in Family Naming Conventions

Not the Same Ol’ Grandparent Pictures