What I've Learned This Week

I spent most of my time this week actually working, but the time I did spend on genealogy was well-spent. Here are some of the things I found that I didn't know before:

Thomas Conner- couldn't write, was unemployee, remarried to someone named Ester, lived with his daughter in his later years. These new clues from census records only have given me a lot more to look into. I would like to find where they were in Cass, Wapello Co., IA in 1880. (how can I find the "address" from the census??) I would like to find where his wife Janet's grave is. I would like to find out how long they were in IL for and why (besides to have 2 children). I also found an article about Wapello Co and there was a gold rush there in 1881. Is that why they went there (note that it was later found to be fraud). I would like to know more about Esther. I would like to find where his grave is.

William Conner- (Thomas' son) I google earthed to where his homestead was (it doesn't get really close, though). I found the ship list that he came to the US from Scotland on. I didn't find a Plat map for him, but I made one for his "square" based on research at BLM. He was neighbors with King, Rasmussen, Cripe and for a short while, Stoyer. I'd like to find when he stopped homesteading and moved back to IA. I want to get his naturalization records. I also know he had some children while living in Zero. In researching his siblings this week, his sister who married another Connor (relation???) lived in Zero before them. I'd like to figure more of this "story".

I plan to continue researching the other children of Thomas this week. I will also look further into notes of Thomas' father, William, coming to the US and dying in 1885 in Happy Hallow, IA.

I created an actual notebook page for each and am writing down what I learn and from where about each. Then off to the side, I have my questions. It's visual for me and lets me study it away from the computer and helps me create a to-do list.

And I plan to do more maps, because, really, they are just so cool to look at.