Tell me about back then....

My son is a history major in college and is about to graduate. He is doing his history dissertation on what he was spoon fed as a child born on the Gulf Coast who carries one of the original settlers surname. When he came home for Spring Break he said to me, "Mom I need to borrow some of your books, and I also need to get you to answer some question for my oral history portion." Well, I was so proud I was bouncing. Not because he was using me, but because he was using what I had handed down to him. The promise I made my 94 year old Grandfather before he died had come to fruition. I had not let them be forgotten, my son did hear what I had been saying all those years to him. It mattered enough to him to pass it on and to use it in his paper. This meant he would also pass it on to his children.

As a child, I can not remember a time when I did not hear the story of my family coming to the Coast in 1699 with D'Iberville. (They celebrate the landing each year, this was the 313th year this past weekend) When you have a town named after your surname, and another after your ancestor's forename that alone makes you feel special enough to want to know why.

I was an odd child anyway, but when most were outside playing, I was indoors pestering the adults for stories. I wanted to know about back then. How, who, and why we were here. This delighted many of the older people and they obliged me. These people were born at the turn of the century and some before that. So, I loved to hear about how they had to put great great Uncle Jules on a spring (mattress) in the back of the wagon as not to jar him because he had a busted appendix, and there was only one doctor between, Ocean Springs and Waveland, Mississippi, and he was in Gulfport. Or, how they had to bury their money and silver in old iron pots to keep it safe from Jean Laffite and his band and some of it is still buried there today, forgotten. About how in the 1913 Hurricane, which was my grandfather's 9th birthday, came up while his father and his crew were out hauling oyster shells from Louisiana and their schooner sunk and they all had to swim to St. Joe's lighthouse and wait until it blew out. How my grandfather begged his mother to leave their beachfront home and go inland to his Aunt's and finally they did, wading in waist deep water and high winds with a baby. How the next morning they went to the beach and their home was destroyed, but seeing the memory in his eye, and the catch in his voice as he said, "We stood on that beach all morning and waited to see if  Papa and them had made it. After awhile I saw a speck on the horizon and it was a skiff, I saw a shirt waving and I hollered it's them it's them. It sure was them too. Papa said, I was sure worried bout y'all, and here we were worried bout them." This I can remember word for word today, I heard it so many times.
So, with stories like this who couldn't get into genealogy? I remember my first notebook. I was about 8 years old and we had gone to visit my paternal grandfather's sister who lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She had a huge booklet she had done on our Saucier family. I wanted it! I asked every time we visited about it, so this time I was taking names. A few yeas later she let my father take it home and copy it for me. I still have it today. From that moment on I was writing stuff down, and tape recording anyone who would let me.

My great great grandfather, Luke Ward Conerly was the author of a book written in the early 1900's and is in reprint today. Called the History of Pike County Mississippi. It contains the lineage of several families in central Mississippi as well as a great deal of information regarding soldiers who fought in the Civil War. So I guess, I got the History bug honestly. :)

As an adult I married my 5th cousin, (that is another blog) so, we both had the same family names of Ladner in common. So, when you are married into a family that says, "Oh I knew your great grandfather, that was a good man." you know you hit the jackpot in regards to more family stories. From here I continued to write everything down, then one day came a little thing called the world wide web. The first thing I did was search for my family. Sure enough there were others out there like me looking for their family. I soon found out how to use a gedcom and off I went. Next came the ancestrydotcom site and well, I haven't stopped since.

Just because you see it in print doesn't mean it is true

Okay, one thing I have to say is what gets me so aggravated about genealogy research today is a feature that was offered to people who posted their trees online. They could then use a tool to search out famous relatives. It had a disclaimer saying that it was only as correct as the information posted by others. (Which was probably not read or ignored by most) So, think about this... any Tom, Dick or Harry can go add a tree saying they are related to Merlin the Magician and somewhere in their family tree they have a name that is also in your tree, it will now connect you to having Merlin the Magician as your such and such relative.

Not very accurate right? Well, there are those out there that will take this at factual evidence, and not actually sit down and try to figure out if this is correct or not.

So, for instance let me pick out one famous person I am related to according to the data received after I do the famous person search. Mine says I am related to Geoffrey Chaucer. So, this is a really famous person. His lineage is well noted. So, once I start tracing the line back from myself, the further I get, I suddenly find, that this person listed as my great grandparent has a different named parent than I have in my actual tree. So, I go with it and continue back till I get to Chaucer himself. So apparently I am supposed to be related to him, yet my line suddenly changed on my way back to him. Red Flag! Now on to the next portion of real research work. See what information I can find on Geoffrey Chaucer and his children. It did not take long to discover that somewhere someone had added the name of Agnes Chaucer to their line and somehow it was matched with my line. So, not after any disappointment I conclude that Chaucer is not my 6th great grandfather after all.

I honestly think I could make up a family tree and put it online and in a few days time others with my same family ties will have quickly copied it and placed it into their tree, and accept it as true and factual information.

I myself am related to Brett Favre, who some of you may know played professional football for many years. You would not believe how many request I get from people who wanted to trace their tree to him. I could not for the life of me understand this need to have a famous person in your tree. Some were so disappointed when I told them they were not related and others ecstatic to be 13th cousins.

I LOVE LOVE the fact that so many people are getting into their family trees now. BUT DEPLORE the fact that they are just copying what others have put out there and believe it as true. I have seen my whole family tree copied, pictures and all by those not related to an entire branch. WHY? Why copy people you are not related to? Just use the information you find as a guideline. Do NOT accept any information as factual unless you see actual proof. (And I don't mean PROOF to be a family tree posted on an ancestry site saying you are related to so and so to be factual, show me the evidence) I mean obits are even wrong sometimes. So be careful what you add to your trees. Because it is just going to make it harder in the years to come for others to find the correct information when so many people are adding the wrong stuff.
If you want anyone to take you seriously as a genealogist, then do actual research.  Source your information. Find records of proof. Back up our claim. Don't post that you are related to 20 different very famous people with out being able to actually go through on your own and show exactly how grandparent by grandparent you are related, with verification by historical documents.

I have heard people say, "Well how can I go back that far? There were no records." Not always the case, many times you will have to go back to the country of origin and get the baptismal records, marriage, or death records. This takes extra time and effort that not many people either have time for or can afford. This is where it is great to have friends in other places that can do the footwork for you. There are so many people out there willing to look things up for you. You can go to a message board and ask for help or post in a genealogy group.

Just do not trust what is there in black and white as being factual unless it is a well documented source. Somewhere, somehow, I am sure you may find a famous relative, and that is awesome. We all have them lurking somewhere in our trees. We just need to make sure they are there the right way, through much documentation that can be backed up!

The 1699 Legacy

 This weekend D'Iberville lands again for the 313th time. It got me thinking what a big deal it is to the people of our Coast and to our heritage. I wonder what our ancestors would have thought of us dressing up and reenacting this each year?

We owe a lot to the men who braved this wild new land. They left Canada and came to a hot swampy land, full of mosquito's, disease, strange animals, hurricanes and Indians.

When D'Iberville came to the Coast in 1699, he brought with him soldiers and some Canadian men. They built a fort and established the first city in the colony of French Louisiana; Biloxi. Later in 1704 the King of France sent a ship of girls to marry the men. They are known forever as the Casket Girls because each woman had a casket given to them to carry their possession's. All but one of the 24 girls married a settler. My casket girl ancestor was Gabrielle Savary who married the Canadian, Jean Baptiste Saucier.   

Jean and Gabrielle had four living sons, and one daughter; Henri, Jean Baptiste, Jacques, Francois, and Anne. Henri Saucier had a large family on the Gulf Coast. Francois Saucier's descendants can be found in Kaskaskia, Illinois. 

Roast Beef Po'Boys

Roast Beef Po'Boys

I remember as a small child our family treat was going to Lil' Rays to get a sloppy roast beef po'boy. I could not imagine life without a po'boy. Most people eat theirs dressed, which means with lettuce and tomatoes. Me, I prefer mine with extra gravy and lots of mayo only. Some like fried shrimp, and some like fried oysters on theirs. My husband prefers his with a hamburger patty. Anyway you eat it, I think it is the bread that matters most. You got to have some good po'boy bread or it's just another sandwich.Before Hurricane Katrina we could get Desporte's bread anytime. They made the best around. Now however, I get mine from New Orleans. One store I am lucky to live near has it sent in from New Orleans. I buy it four loaves at a time.

I have searched everywhere for the best recipe to make po'boys, and after trying many, I finally found one that my family raves over. They say it is like eating in New Orleans!!

You will need:
2 lbs of  roast
French bread 
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
3 cups broth, reserved from the boiled beef
1 garlic clove sliced in small pieces

You will need a dutch oven. (My momma always said you have to sear your roast before cooking so I do.)  Trim the fat off your roast, discard. Make several small slices in your roast and place sliced garlic cloves deep into the roast. Place a tsp. of oil in your dutch oven. Put in your roast and let sear on each side until slightly brown. Cover with water. You will need to boil your roast for about an hour and a half. It will not be tough I promise! Remove roast and let cool on a plate. Keep your broth for gravy.You will need about 3 cups.
In a small bowl you will mix your flour, pepper, salt, oil, and Kitchen Bouquet. It will look like a brown lump. Make sure you have your broth at a boil and add your flour mixture to the boiling broth. I use a whisk to break it all up and mix it well. My family likes their gravy dark so you can add more Kitchen Bouquet to the gravy if you wish. If your gravy is too thick add water, if too thin, make a little more flour mixture to add to it. 
Your roast should be cool enough to handle, if you have a meat slicer YAY, if not well, join the club, and get busy slicing by hand. You will need to slice as thin as you can. This takes awhile but it is worth it. 
Place the sliced roast in a baking pan and cover completely with the gravy. Then tightly cover with foil. You will then place it in a 350 degree oven and bake for about an hour. It will be very tender. 
Slice your french bread and slather with mayo, and top with roast beef and gravy. Add lettuce and tomato if you wish yours dressed. Press down on your po'boy and then place it on a cookie sheet and toast slightly in the oven remove and EAT, but better get some napkins.... 
 A yummy side dish to eat with your po'boy:
My family has a quirky twist to our po'boy eating. We like to sop up the drippings with our french fries. So, when we are home I fry up some fries, and we cover them with some of the gravy and roast pieces. YUM! It is really good! Also you can use plain potato chips instead of fries. 

Of the Grass.... the Delherbe story

   So we have this surname in my family, DeL'Herbe, which in French means "of the grass". What kind of name is that?  I could not find it anywhere other than in New Orleans. It would take many years of digging to find all the answers. I feel quite like a detective now after what all I have found and accomplished on this family.

  My maternal great grandmother was Edna Cecelia Delherbe born in New Orleans, La in 1888. Her parents were French and German. Her father was Mathurin Delherbe also called Matt Grass. Her mother was Margaret Buhr. This is all I had to go on at first.
   A census search in each year got me Matt Grass in 1880, and Matthew Delherbe in the rest. In the Civil War records I found a Jules Delherbe. Wow, finally a new Delherbe other than the children of Matt! Fortunately I was able to ask my great aunt if she knew this name. She said that was her great uncle.
     I tried tracing Jules Delherbe through the war records. (Thanks to footnote, what is now fold3.) His record shows him as being born in New Jersey. He was captured, and he then traded sides to the Union. During this time he used the name Jules Moulin. I thought this strange.... I did a search for Moulin in the New Orleans census and came up with one main family, and another small one in the 1860 census. Jules was able to escape and returned to his troop and once again used the name Delherbe. He is listed as one of the French who possibly used place names as a surname during the Civil War or as using his mother's name which was common.
     The Moulin name kept nagging at me. So I ordered Jules marriage certificate from Baton Rouge. On it he gave the names of his parents as Charles and Marie Delherbe. This happened to be the names of the Moulin family I found living in New Orleans in 1860. Charles and Marie Moulin living with son, Jules, Mathurin, and Charles. All the same ages as my Jules and Mathurin (Matt) Delherbe. I then notice that in the 1880 census Matt is living a few houses down from Charles and Marie Moulin.
     I then ordered Charles and Marie Moulin's marriage certificate. Marie's maiden name was Delherbe. So mystery solved, my families name was Moulin, changed to DeL'herbe or Delherbe.
After some more digging, I found that apparently Marie was arrested and brought to trial for stealing money by making a claim to be the mother of a one Charles Redcoat after the Civil War. She took his government pension, and was later caught. So perhaps this is why after 1870 even Matt used his mother's maiden name instead of Moulin.
     Marie DeL'Herbe had come to New Jersey from France in 1830, her brother Peter Delherbe and her mother stayed in New Jersey and another brother, Francois Delherbe went on to Georgia, his son Achille apparently went back to France.
     I now have been able to trace the DeL'Herbe name back to France and find the ancestor's that lived there. I have also luckily through my website, as well as other works, have found many lost cousins who we did not know existed with Delherbe family ties. Thanks to the search engines :) my last fifteen years of research and queries made it easy for cousins looking for their family ties to find me!


 
I would like to add that there is a branch of the family living in Chile that may be related.  I have become friends with one such Delherbe who was born in Chile and now resides in Florida. So, if you are a Delherbe from Chile and are reading this. Please feel free to comment and add any information to our family tree that you would like to share. Thanks!

1940 Census

With much anticipation the 1940 census finally made its grand entrance in the world of genealogical research. I was amazed however, at how many people assumed it was going to be accessible right away. I saw many complaining on  several boards regarding this.
After an amazingly short amount of time and much work all 3.8 million records were uploaded to ancestry.com. I was waiting with baited breath for Mississippi and Louisiana. They were one of the last ones to be completed. Of course, my luck! However since being completed I barely had the time to sit and search. Finally yesterday evening I was able to sit and start muddling through.
Although I knew the street  where my grandparents lived, I was not able to find them in the ward suggested, so I decided to just sit and go through all of the pages one by one. Finally there they were!! It was a wonderful moment seeing them married, and living with their two first born children. Although I already knew all the important information listed on the census it was still a thrilling moment to see them there on paper, together.
While going through the pages one by one, I have enjoyed seeing many names of relatives, and friends of the family. Many familiar names today appeared out of the past, the Mayor, Police Chief, etc. all there as infants and small children in 1940. Who knew then that they would be who they are now? I have continued to sit and go through slowly page by page attaching the records to people already in my tree.
One thing I would like to see however, is that once ancestry.com starts indexing these names, I would love for them to take in consideration of asking local volunteers per district to do their own areas. Being familiar with the names and people we would have less mistakes in names added to the index. Just as they sent out a query and interview to their Ancestry Aces, they should consider doing this again for index volunteers. I understand this would take some time but it makes sense in the long run. When you have for instance the name Favre spelled, Favrie, Farve, and Fauvre as I have seen in thus far in our Mississippi census pages, a person familiar with the local Coast spelling would know that it is correct at Favre, same thing with Saucier, being Saussier, and so on.
All in all I have found the images to be of excellent quality! I am  enjoying the search, and look forward to continue finding little gems as I go along. Kudos to the ancestry.com team!!

Digging For Treasure

In the old days families buried their trash on their properties. I am lucky enough to live on the old family property and it is just  short walk up the hill to a place where I can spend hours digging for the past one sliver of glass at a time.

I like to go hunting after a good rain storm. It tends to wash up stuff and send it down the hill a ways. After the latest storm I took a walk on a brisk afternoon just to take a look. I saw various pieces of broken bits of clear glass and found an odd little blue flattened piece sliced in half, needless to say this went into my pocket. Next I found an old snap; pocket. A sliver of an old glass marble, this was exciting because I loved finding marbles. It always leads me to think of which one of the ancestors once rolled that marble between their fingers as a kid. I saw an orange piece buried partially in the dirt, with an oyster shell as my shovel I dug up a whole marble, YAY! Found a green sliver of glass, it would be nice in my jar of glass pieces; pocket. I was getting cold and was about to head back when I spotted a piece of buried metal. I sat and dug and it broke into all kinds of pieces, finally producing a nondescript hunk of something.This went into the heap of stuff on the side for later. Getting ready to leave I ran my hand across the fine clay sand once more and as I did so something popped up. I pulled it out and saw a heart shape. Automatically I realized it was a rabies tag. Thinking it was my own dog's lost tag, I put it in my pocket.
 As I was walking back to the house I took out the heart and realized it was very thin compared to modern rabies tags, could it be very old? Did they have heart shaped rabies tags in the past? I hurried inside to clean it up and see. I was so excited to see as I washed the dirt and grime off, that I could make out engraving. So a little baking soda and vinegar were applied, and now I could make out the date 1953! Awesome!! So some ancestor's dog possibly a hunting dog lost his tag all those years ago and here I find it all these years later. After much cleaning with lemon and salt it is now back to it's copper color, and can be read fully. It will be used in a craft project with a vintage glass bottle for show. Can't wait to get started.
     To me this kind of treasure is better than finding gold!