I Didn't See That Coming ... Szilala, Šilalė, and Chelele

One of my key research projects is to discover where my Lithuanian ancestors came from. OK, yes, they're from Lithuania. But I'd like to narrow it down to a town or village. I'd love to find relatives in Lithuania.

My last name, Dawson, is an Anglicized version of the Lithuanian name Dausinas. The root name is Dausin; the suffix as indicates it is a man's name. Dausinaite is the version an unmarried woman would use, Dausinene would be used by a woman who married a Dausinas.

After years of research I found that my first cousin twice removed, Anton John Dawson (b. 1892) stated on his WWI draft registration that he was born in Szilala, Kuna, Russia.  Of course this was not easy to learn. The version posted on ancestry.com was nearly impossible to read.
 

 I requested a copy from the National Archives and received the following:

Ah, much better. Unfortunately I was unable to find this town on a map of Lithuania so I posted a query on the Lithuanian Genealogy Yahoo Group.  It took no time for this august group to tell me that Szilala is Šilalė, Lithuania.  Š is pronounced Sz.

I spent another year researching distant relatives and found that my Great Great Aunt Ana or Ona Dausinaite's husband Frank Rasckauskas/Raczkowski said he was from Chelele, Russia in his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen. I assessed they were married in Lithuania because I can't find a marriage certificate for them in any of the Chicago Roman Catholic Churches.

These are the only documents I have that provide a Lithuanian hometown.

When I was in Lithuania in 2012, I had dinner with Dalija, a woman I met via her on-line family tree.  We have a common ancestral surname (not Dawson). When I showed her the two documents, she said, " Szilala, Šilalė, and Chelele are the same place." There is no doubt, I didn't see that coming!

It may seem obvious as you read this, but these two documents were among hundreds of documents I had studied. Doh!  I couldn't see that Chelele was a phonetic spelling of Šilalė.  You could have knocked me over with a feather. 

Since then, Dalija and her friend Vaclava found Anton's father's marriage registration and were able to confirm this location.  I still haven't found relatives but I will continue my search.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

What Did the W Stand For?

My great grandmother, Luanna W. Henderson, was born in 1875 in Strange Creek, Nicholas County, West Virginia.  "Lewie" married my great grandfather, Homer Newton Houghton, at the age of 18 and lived her life on a picturesque if remote farm caring for her 12 children. Despite a trail of indicators that her middle initial was W, I've never learned what it stood for.  

Below are six sources that use "W" as a middle initial.  The only other initial used is H - presumably for her maiden name Henderson (e.g. on her tombstone: Lewie H. Houghton).
 
1.) 1880 Census - Luanna W. age 4, this census is very difficult to read (ancestry.com).  Appears to use "W." as a middle initial.  Also appears to have another letter at the end of Luanna.
2. ) West Virginia reindex of the Marriage Register (typed) uses W. as a middle initial. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx)  1893
3.) Daughter Vada Houghton's Tombstone: Vada Daughter of HN and LW Houghton. 1919
4.) Son Murrill Houghton's Tombstone: Murrill son of HN and LW Houghton.  1934
5.) Husband Homer Houghton's WWI Draft Registration: "Lewie W." 1918 (below)
6.) Obituary: Luanna W. Houghton, 1938

  




Family name?  Could the W stand for a family name? My best guess to date is that it's Wilson. Luanna's maternal grandmother was Alcinda Wilson, born in 1823. Also, Luanna has a brother and uncle that use the name Walker as a given name. There are lots of Walker's in the area but  I have not found this family name anywhere in the family tree which only goes back to the 1700s.

I will continue my search.
Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn 

My Boss; My Cousin - Brent

I'm not really well connected to my extended family.  My parent, as mentioned in an earlier blog, were only children.   I have no aunts, no uncles, no first cousins.We were geographically separated from our grandparents and cousins. Most of my siblings left home after college and moved away.  I joined the US Air Force in 1982.

A few years after I retired from the Air Force, I worked for a defense contractor where I was assigned to a project in Charlottesville, Virginia. Brent was the project lead.  Brent had also recently retired from the Air Force.  One Friday we discussed our weekend plans; were were both headed to family reunions in West Virginia. The reunions were in adjoining but different counties.  I thought it would be interesting if I could find someone from Brent's family who married someone from my family.  With a little research, I determined that we were actually 5th cousins! Our common ancestors are our 4th great-grandparents: Robert Henderson (1772 - 1837 from Augusta, Virginia) and Hanna McClung (1780 - 1849 from Bath, Virginia). 

To this day, this is my favorite genealogically discovery.  When Brent and I met, I was immediately drawn to him and his family. We worked in a very tense environment and we knew we could trust each other. No one will convince me that it wasn't because we are family.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

Cemeteries from the Sky - Culpeper National Cemetery

Last Sunday's flying mission was to take overhead photos of local cemeteries to post on findagrave.com -- one of my favorite sites.  I want to provide photos from a new vantage point and leave a historic record.

First target: Culpeper National Cemetery.  It's a beautiful cemetery in the heart of Virginia. There are many Civil War soldiers and veterans from other wars buried there.

I've scoured the cemetery for relatives.  There's one Houghton (John S.) who might be related.  My mother's Houghton family lived in Culpeper county before the Civil War.  Several of Elijah Houghton's sons, including my 4th g-grandfather Job Houghton, moved to what is now Lewis County, West Virginia between 1820 and 1830. Others remained in Culpeper County.

Here's the pic I posted on findagrave.com. Culpeper National Cemetery is here.

The day was slightly overcast which makes for a better image. It was also a wee bit turbulent, which does not improve the image (definitely not!).  Believe it or not, it's easy to take photos while flying. My straight-tail Cessna 172 is designed to fly straight and level even if I let go of the yoke to take a photo.  It's a big sky out there and if I drift off course a bit, no problem. The photo below is from an earlier flight over Pennsylvania.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn