Ohio Research Trip October 2011, Part 3

This research trip was different than many of the others I've taken. I think it was more about me, and not so much about those that came before me.

As I mentioned in the part 1 and part 2 posts about my trip to Ohio in October, I did not do a lot of real research. I spent a good portion of the week between the two seminars I attended just reminiscing about my life when I lived in Columbus.

One day I just drove around Columbus looking at the changes to the places that were very familiar to me as a child and adult. I checked out the new park that was created at the former site of a major downtown shopping mall, City Center. I even got lost in the downtown area that is referred to as the "arena district". This was all new to me as it was not created until after I moved from Columbus 13 years ago. I finally did see a sign for a familiar street which eventually took me up through the Ohio State University area. Having grown up in this area I was assaulted with so many changes that at times I felt like I was in a foreign land. As I headed north I decided to drive past one of the elementary schools I attended. The Holy Name building still sits across the street from Holy Name Church on East Patterson Avenue, but it is no longer "Holy Name". It now houses Centro Parroquial Santa Cruz, which appears to be a Latino Catholic Center. There's a sign in front that also states it's the location for the Santa Cruz Church. I do not know when it closed it's doors as Holy Name Elementary. I then drove past one of the homes we lived in when I attended Holy Name. On the Franklin County Auditor's website the picture of this house does it justice. In reality it really looked run down. Of course this area is pretty much Ohio State housing so it was no surprise to see a couple young men throwing a Frisbee out front. Again traveling further North I drove by the home I owned before I moved to New York. It still looked good, but the  homes on the short street on which I lived have started to look somewhat rundown. A short drive from this home was where another major shopping mall, Northland Mall, used to reside. It's good to see that the Northland Community has not taken the loss of this Mall sitting down, and have done a good job of reusing the land, and have even brought new development into the area.

An area not familiar to me is Camp Chase, which was a military staging, training, and prison camp in the Civil War. What remains now is the cemetery which contains 2260 graves of Confederate soldiers. I wanted to visit this site, which even after living in Columbus for 49 years I had never visited. I knew it was on Sullivant Avenue in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood. I should have done my homework before taking on this adventure, because I never did make it there. I thought I knew about where it was located and determined that somehow I was just missing it. It turns out I just hadn't went out Sullivant Avenue far enough. Next visit!

I did manage to visit the Ohio Historical Society's Archives/Library for one morning. I found one obituary for which I was looking, but came away without finding the newspaper edition that contains the advertisement in which I am featured as a cute 2 1/2 year old. It was an ad for a shoe store. I needed special shoes until I was five years old, and this store was the place which sold such shoes. I guess they thought I was a good "model" as my Mom was asked for her permission to have me featured in the ad. I also browsed through various Columbus city directories, finally determining our moves as a family in the 1950s-1960s. I was also hoping to determine by entries in these directories just when my Grandma Rose and her second husband married. Still working on that as the marriage record was another one of the things I did not find in the microfilm for Franklin County marriages.

I also stopped one afternoon at the Mount Vernon Public Library, where I obtained 15-20 obituaries.

I did not obtain a lot of physical material on this research trip, but the emotional journey was so rewarding!

Ohio Research Trip October 2011, part 2

This is the second post about my recent Ohio research trip. The first can be read here.

I left for Ohio on Friday, September 30th. I had signed up for the Ohio Genealogical Society's Fall Seminar, featuring Dick Eastman, which was being held in Bellville, Ohio on October 1st.

Dick gave four talks:

• The Organized Genealogist
• Conservation: Keeping Up With Technology
• Wikis for Genealogists
• Maine Outhouses I Have Known and Loved

All talks were informative. I learned new things, and each of the first three gave me new ideas to aid in my family research. The talk on the Maine outhouses was just plain fun!

I do have to admit I was disappointed in the venue for this Seminar. It had been moved from the OGS Library to a church just down the road. This "church" was in what looked like an old gymnasium. It reminded me of an airplane hangar! And it was quite chilly, though I think the heat was turned up a little later in the day. Also, there were no handouts for the talks. Lunch was not provided. From an esteemed organization such as OGS, I was expecting more.

Skipping ahead to the following weekend, I headed to Dayton, Ohio on Friday, October 7th. I had registered for the Montgomery County Chapter of OGS' 2011 Seminar being held in Dayton on October 8th. The featured speaker for this event was Paula Stuart-Warren.

Paula also gave four talks:

•  The U. S. National Archives: The nation's Attic
• What Next? Developing Research Plans
• Lord Preserve Us! Church Records for Family History Research
• The Art of Genealogical Research Trips

Again, all talks were informative and I learned a lot about areas I feel that I am weak when it comes to my family history research.

The venue for this seminar was almost perfect. The seating arrangement of round tables, each with about 8 chairs, was much more conducive to talking with other attendees than the rows of chairs at the OGS Fall Seminar. The temperature was such that I did hot shiver, nor sweat. A very nice lunch was provided. And a folder filled with handouts of the talks and other Montgomery County Chapter of OGS' information was provided. A bonus were raffle drawings throughout the seminar. Though I did not win, it was a nice touch.


Not to disparage Dick Eastman as his talks were full of information and delivered well, but Paula's subject matters spoke more to my current interests.

In my next post I'll write more about what I did in-between these two seminars.

Ohio Research Trip October 2011

I have to say that this past research trip to Ohio was probably the best one I have taken since I started my family history research. It wasn't because I found anything that would break down a brick wall, but more about the time I spent with family and friends.

I met my cousin, Andy Rose, at my Dad's 88-year-old cousin's home. We spent 4 hours catching up and a few things were learned about my Dad and his family. One was just a simple comment about the wife of my Uncle Andy. It gave me the answer to the question as to who my family visited a few times when I was quite young. I remember visiting a family, whom I knew was somehow related, several times. I remember that they lived next to the Olentangy River. Several times over the years I had wondered who this family was, and thought I would most likely never know the answer. But as we were talking with my Dad's cousin, Virginia, she mentioned my Uncle Andy's wife, Levia, and that she lived "up by the river". I've mentioned before that I am the only one alive now that has recollections of my early childhood within my own family. I would have never thought to have asked Virginia about this memory, and am so glad that it came up during our conversation.

During this research trip I also visited with several more relatives and an old friend. Such a good feeling visiting these loved ones.

There is much more to write about this trip, but will do so in future posts.