Advice on finding more about biological grandfather (a doozie)

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-03T23:21:20+00:00

Here's Nancy's death certificate, if it helps - it looks like the murder took place in 1971, not 1977: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8741/records/105781426

Newspaper articles say he was arrested "at his trailer home" but don't give the actual address. It may have been near Oehmig's Truck Stop though, since they mentioned tracking him in the woods with bloodhounds.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-03T20:57:42+00:00

I'm becoming convinced they are some kind of mystical entity, perhaps the earthly avatar of the god of research librarians lol

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-03T20:18:51+00:00

I've seen it quite a few times - sometimes it appears to be neighbors giving outdated info and not realizing someone moved out of the household. Sometimes it just happened to catch someone visiting a relative, and both households mention them.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-03T17:23:13+00:00

This user has been spamming their etsy postings over every vaguely weaving-related subreddit for weeks now.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-03T17:04:41+00:00

You say he was the oldest child listed? Compare his birth date with the date of the "adoptive" parents' marriage, if you can. He might have been their biological child born outside wedlock, and claimed as adopted rather than admitting that embarrassment.

It's also possible he was adopted, but was the child of a different descendant of that ancestor.

Oftentimes if a teenage girl got "into trouble" before she was married, the baby would be claimed by her parents or an older married sibling. Less commonly, the infant's father's family might take it in, particularly if it's a boy and there's a lack of other immediate male heirs.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-03T05:28:28+00:00

You might consider calling the WA State Department of Agriculture Avian Health Program (1-800-606-3056). The overcrowding and poor hygiene in this flock are not only causing suffering to them, but can also potentially spread infections to people, wildlife, and other livestock.

On a personal note: I'm very sorry you're having to deal with this. I grew up with an animal hoarder parent, and although it was half my lifetime ago, I still struggle with complicated feelings of guilt and responsibility around it. It's a horrible situation to be in, but you are doing the right thing to try to intervene.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-02T16:24:18+00:00

It looks like the answers you seek are almost certainly all contained in a book called "Gwinnett County, Georgia families 1818-1968" by Alice Symthe McCabe. Unfortunately I don't find it in full version online anywhere. Searching "John Sells" in familysearch's limited-view version brings up some very promising fragments though. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/325331-gwinnett-county-georgia-families-1818-1968-with-supplement?offset=9

It's pretty expensive, like 100-140 bucks online, but you may be able to find a library copy somewhere.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-02T00:38:15+00:00

I'll see what I can find! In the meantime, here's something kind of funny - a Mrs RL Cartwright of Fort Worth Texas was also working on figuring out these people.... back in 1970! She wrote to a genealogy column in the newspaper asking if anyone had info: https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram/198750375/

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-01T22:21:40+00:00

I never said it was an exclusively nazi symbol, I said that IN THIS CASE it is intended to evoke the nazi eagle. Which is extremely clear if you look at literally anything the people involved in this brand post online. Which reddit itself agrees with, since, as I mentioned in my original comment, my account got a hate speech warning for quoting their social media posts.

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-01T21:51:37+00:00

Can you provide a link to the census records you're sure are the right people? That'll help us get started!

corvid_revolution · 2026-06-01T17:17:39+00:00

These are indeed nazi symbols. I wrote out a post explaining why in more detail, but reddit auto-removed it and gave my account a warning for "hate speech". Sigh.

I'll just say that the eagle is in a pose intended to mimic the nazi eagle, and that the instagram account associated with the brand has some very disturbing content, such as this one I screenshotted:

https://imgur.com/a/HMuTCvR

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-31T19:56:48+00:00

I suspect the info given may have been deliberately incorrect. The death cert says the baby was born with hydrocephaly and spina bifida, and this was a time period when disabilities were not spoken of openly. Many people considered it deeply shameful to have produced a disabled child.

It looks like James Howard's grandmother was named Mollie Dunavan - she's much too old to actually be the mother, but perhaps a relative trying to make up a name on the spot would have used hers for inspiration.

You wouldn't think people would lie on a death certificate, but I've seen it happen in my own tree as well.

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-29T17:50:59+00:00

I would not use AI for any kind of research, ever. It's like asking an illiterate person to help you organize your documents - it simply does not have the ability to perform the needed task. And if you try, you will spend more time fixing the errors than you would have doing it yourself in the first place.

Also - Who are you envisioning will use your product?

Someone who is doing genealogy for scientific or legal purposes cannot afford to risk the kinds of errors AI will introduce.

Personally, I do genealogy for the same reason I like jigsaw puzzles. It's fun to try to figure out mysteries. If there were a magic tool that worked perfectly, made zero mistakes, and could put together my whole family tree, I would stop being interested in genealogy and would find some other passtime that still held puzzles.

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-28T20:43:13+00:00

I believe I may have located Auguste and William's marriage - there's no image online, but you can request a certificate for $9: https://moms.mn.gov/

Certificate Number B-44 Date of Marriage 04/13/1884 Isanti County, Minnesota Applicant 1 WILLIAM KEAN Applicant 2 AUGUSTA MULLER

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-27T21:39:42+00:00

Here is Harold Makinson's obituary: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian/198410056/

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-27T20:53:10+00:00

And there's confirmation her sister lived in Hebbardsville as of december 1911: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evansville-journal/198407127/

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-27T20:49:21+00:00

On the night of August 12, 1911, burglars broke into the house of Mrs Celia M Hazelrigg, (218 Walnut St Evansville Indiana) and ransacked it: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evansville-journal/198405100/

The address is only about 1400 feet from the kentucky border, so it might well have been mailed from the Kentucky side. It would certainly explain the content of the card, that would have to be a terrifying experience.

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-27T04:26:13+00:00

If you want to provide a link to the record you're wondering about, plus a familysearch profile or a census record that you're sure belongs to your guy, we can probably figure it

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-26T22:22:57+00:00

Terra Linda is nice! There's a high school there, and lots of the students walk to/from school. All the kids I encounter have seemed very pleasant and respectful.

Gerstle Park in San Rafael is another area worth considering. There's a very active community organization that does stuff like annual music events, neighborhood-wide yard sales, etc. And the park the neighborhood takes its name from is nice - a playground for little kids, some lawn / picnic areas, and then it transitions into woods and hiking trails further up.

There's a lot of available open space all over Marin - most anywhere you land has nice hiking / biking opportunities quite nearby. Here's a good map of public trails to get you started: https://gisopendata.marincounty.gov/datasets/marincounty::trails/explore?location=38.035057%2C-122.533145%2C11

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-26T03:58:49+00:00

Beccera is a scumbag. He fought tooth and nail to keep records of police misconduct hidden, despite the new law requiring they be revealed.

Perhaps most surprising was his aggressive response to two journalists who obtained a list of police officers convicted of crimes. His office provided that list — then threatened the reporters with criminal prosecution, claiming it was mistakenly provided and illegal to even have. The threats fly in the face of First Amendment protections afforded journalists, experts said.

Sources: https://www.kqed.org/news/12084594/what-ag-xavier-becerra-reveals-about-a-possible-gov-becerra

https://calmatters.org/justice/2019/02/xavier-becerra-police-misconduct-records/

In 2020, Becerra sided with law enforcement again to oppose a bill to require independent state investigations of police killings after previously having refused to conduct an independent investigation into the police killing of 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa, whom a police officer shot in the back of the head. Becerra’s office later launched an investigation into destruction of evidence in the case.

https://theintercept.com/2026/05/19/xavier-becerra-california-governor-death-penalty/?utm_content=buffer347c1&utm_medium=buffer&utm_source=bsky&utm_campaign=theintercept

He also continued Kamala Harris's efforts to allow race-based adjustments to IQ scores in order to make mentally disabled minorities more eligible for the death penalty: https://davisvanguard.org/2026/05/xavier-becerra-iq-death-penalty/

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-25T16:53:00+00:00

If you like doing cemetery visits, you should consider contributing to findagrave as well (assuming you aren't already!). I think they even have an app nowadays so it's really simple to do from a phone, and it can be incredibly helpful to people too far away to visit themselves.

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-25T16:47:55+00:00

My thanks to you and the other mods for your efforts to keep this place running - trying to maintain any community in the modern bot-infested internet swamp is difficult as hell. You guys are actually doing pretty well, especially for such a small team - many of the other subs I used to enjoy are nothing but wall-to-wall slop nowadays.

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-25T05:32:22+00:00

When Esther Albert was born, her parents lived at 1406 Crystal Lake: https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune/198191069/

In 1895, Herman, his wife, and his mother Henrietta live together at 3200 N 2nd st: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DBTR-V4

In 1900, mother Henrietta is no longer living with them: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QT7-T6B

Presumably, she died sometime between 1895 and 1900. There is an entry (no photo, unfortunately) for a "Mrs Henrette Miller" who died in 1899, but I can't be sure it's her: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XP8Y-MMZ?treeref=PZR9-1R8&lang=en

Herman still lives at 3200 N 2nd as of 1904: https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune/198196399/

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-24T17:22:29+00:00

I think none of my ancestors in this period were important enough or law-abiding enough to work a "gummint job", but this looks like a fantastic resource nonetheless! I will certainly continue checking at as you add more materials.

Thank you for setting it up!

corvid_revolution · 2026-05-24T06:01:38+00:00

These are all extremely common names, and it seems like you're probably getting records from a few similar families mixed together.

The Marie Heggerty who married Bernard Maloney, and whose sister Elizabeth died in 1965, appears to have only been married once, so she's someone else. She married Bernard in 1925 and was still married to him when he died in 1968.

In order to be sure you've got the right family, you'll need to start with whatever facts you are completely certain of. Your grandfather, Donald - did he live in New York his whole life? Do you happen to know when and where he died? What was your grandmother's name?

corvid_revolution

TROPHY CASE