Brick wall bashing in Iowa .....

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:05 pm

If any of your brick walls just happen to have been in Iowa in 1925, I heartily recommend for you to look them up in the Iowa State Census on Ancestry. Just had the shock of my life-- thought there was some astral shenanigans going on at the Ancestry site! Prompted by a note from Heymarky on another thread, I decided to have a look in the Iowa state censuses for anyone I knew who had lived there at one time. So, I searched for Jos* Sherman, all years, born in Indiana, although I know he died in 1904. He is my great grandmother's brother Josiah, a dentist. One of the results was from 1925... (spooky music, please...) What

Someone named Ida DeLand pops up with parents listed as Josiah and his first wife. Hmmm. It could it be his daughter Ida? Didn't think that was her married name. So I clicked on the image and there she is, aged 62, living with a second husband I don't know anything about. HOW DO THEY KNOW WHO HER PARENTS WERE? They are both long dead...

Beginning to get spooked, so I finally thought... maybe there's a second page

There is! And believe it or not, one of the census questions was the full name of father and full maiden name of mother!!! Don't you wish all censuses asked such a brilliant question? You can say all you want about Iowa (and in Minnesota they say a lot...) but that has to be just about the best census ever for genealogists.

Think if the marriage and death records on SP were indexed and searchable by father and mother's names! You could get all of someone's children, legitimate and illegitimate in one search!
Still slightly spooked

Sarah

heymarky · Post by **heymarky** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 1:07 am

SarahND wrote:so I finally thought... maybe there's a second page

Three pages, actually.

The third page has lots of information about occupation and military service.

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 1:38 am

Hi Sarah

I bet that you are really happy. $\:D/$ Too bad all the censuses were like that. It would make our search so much easier.

Regards

Post by **SarahND** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 1:52 am

Hi Sheila,
I just wish my Scottish gg grandmother had stayed around until 1925! Granted, she would have been over a 100 years old... but she did die in Iowa (in 1901) and her mother remains a complete mystery

Ah well, I have a feeling her mother was also a mystery to her and that she'll never be found

Meanwhile, I'm trying to find anyone who might possibly be in Iowa at that time!
All the best,
Sarah

P.S. Heymarky, you sure there aren't FOUR pages, and the last page tells all the details on their grandparents?

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:40 am

Hi Sarah

I hope that you find her.

Ancestors can be so inconsiderate. You know what I mean, like the ones in Scotland who get born, or marry, or die, in 1854, instead of waiting for another year.

Good Luck with Searching

Post by **SarahND** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:49 am

Hi Sheila,

sheilajim wrote:Ancestors can be so inconsiderate. You know what I mean, like the ones in Scotland who get born, or marry, or die, in 1854, instead of waiting for another year.

Yes, like the father of the abovementioned woman, who had the nerve to die in 1840, thereby frustrating all attempts to find out his birthplace

Ah well, if I ever find out, it will make that moment of

all the sweeter!

Good luck to you also!
Sarah

StewL · Post by **StewL** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:32 am

Sarah

Have you got the stutters???

Iowa

Isn't that where Radar O'Reilly came from

Post by **SarahND** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:42 am

StewL wrote:Isn't that where Radar O'Reilly came from

From the very town where my grandfather was born

Sarah

heymarky · Post by **heymarky** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 7:07 am

Sarah,

Sorry, I didn't pay close enough attention to M*A*S*H... what county did your gg grandmother die in?

You probably already know this but:

If you have a name and date of death you might be able to order a death certificate, which will probably have the parents names on it. (although 1901 is a little early)

If you're lucky enough to be looking in Scott county, have a peek at http://www.qcmemory.org/. If you're not that lucky, try rummaging around in http://iagenweb.org/.

Good Luck!

Post by **SarahND** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:57 pm

heymarky wrote:Sorry, I didn't pay close enough attention to M*A*S*H...

I had to google it to understand Stewie's reference

heymarky wrote:what county did your gg grandmother die in?

Polk (Des Moines). I have ordered the death certificate just in case (they don't make it easy on you, however, had to get my request notarized, etc!) but as far as I know, nobody in the family, possibly including the woman herself, knew anything of her mother beyond her first name. Her granddaughter, my great aunt, worked on the genealogy of the family and none of her notes has a surname for the mother, who supposedly died at the birth or shortly thereafter. But, who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky!

Good luck with your own Iowans!
Sarah