Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day to my mom Carrie Chapple Taylor and grandmother, Estella Smith Chapple and . . .
. . . to my paternal grandmother Louise Newsom Hubbard, great-grandmother Olivia Moten Newsom, great-grandmother Birdie Elizabeth Green and 2x great-grandmother Lula Routt Green.
This Memorial Day I honor my maternal and paternal ancestors (veterans and non-veterans) virtually with the launch of the – Claiming Kin Virtual Cemetery– at FindAGrave.com! [1]
I actually established this “on-going” virtual cemetery New Year’s Day of this year, but did not want to release it online until –
1) I had 20 or more ancestors listed
2) I had a chance to verify each ancestors’ connection to me and my family
The purpose of this new virtual cemetery is to link the interments of all my maternal and paternal ancestors together despite the geographical location of their graves. Those of you who have been following me for a while know FindAGrave.com is one of my favorite online resources to use with my family research. I started creating virtual cemeteries last year with the launch of my “on-going” Chapple Family Virtual Cemetery and when I see the number of visits that post has received via my blog’s Google Analytics dashboard widget and Feedjit live traffic feed, I hope that this post about this new virtual cemetery will do just as well too!
According to the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, on May 5, 1865, Decoration Day was established for our nation to decorate the graves of veterans with flowers. The first observance of this federal holiday took place at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. But by the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 across the United States. By 1971, the US Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday and it was at that time that it would be observed on the last Monday in May.
With so many Americans honoring the deaths of love ones who were not veterans on Memorial Day, in December 2000 Congress passed and the president signed in to law — “The National Moment of Remembrance Act” — so that veterans are particularly not forgotten on this national day! [2]
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.”
To my family and friends, have a wonderful Memorial Day and if time allows, visit a local cemetery today! If you cannot make it to an actual cemetery, then I invite you to take a virtual stroll through the Claiming Kin Virtual Cemetery by clicking the link or the graphic above; feel free to leave virtual flowers if you like!
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Source Citation:
1. Taylor-Harris, L. (2013, May 25). Claiming Kin Virtual Cemetery. Find A Grave – Millions of Cemetery Records and Online Memorials. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr
2. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. (2012, November 30). Memorial Day History. Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp
It’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with genealogy extraordinaire – Randy Seaver — and tonight’s mission, should I decide to accept it is:
Determine which of your ancestors has appeared in the most census records – any census!”
After reviewing my Ancestry family tree online, it seems that my paternal great-great-grandmother, Mary Magdalene (Allen) Moten (1869-1951), has appeared (consistently) the most in U.S. census records than any of my ancestors. Her entries are:
1870 U.S. Census: Brenham, Washington County, TX she was living with her parents Samuel and Lucinda (Flowers) Allen and her siblings – Joseph, Jennie, Ben, and Peggy; Mary Allen was 1 yrs old, born in North Carolina.
1880 U.S. Census: Justice Precinct No. 4, lying south of the Old Brenham and Evergreen roads, Washington County, TX with her parents Samuel and Lucinda (Flowers) Allen and her siblings – Joseph, Zina, Benajmin, Louis, Davey and Jonas: Mary Allen was age 11.
1890 U.S. Census: These records were either lost, or destroyed by fire in the National Archives in 1921.
Click to View
1900 U.S. Census: Burton, Washington County, TX, wife of Eli Moten and children – Isaac, Olivia, Rose, Emma, Joe, Cornelius, Lucinda, and Amanda: Mary (Allen) Moten is 31 years old.
Click to View
1910 U.S. Census: Burton, Washington County, TX, wife of Eli Moten and children – Cornelius, Joe, Lucinda, Amanda (Mandy), Willie, Mariah, Eli, Jr., Jennie, Phillip, and grandson Ben Williams; Mary (Allen) Moten was 41 years old.
Click to View
1920 U.S. Census: Brenham, Washington County, TX wife of Eli Moten and children – Maria, Eli, Lela, Phillip, Ruby and grandchildren – Maggie and Lillian; Mary (Allen) Moten was 51 years old.
Click to View
1930 U.S. Census: Brenham, Washington County, TX wife of Eli Moten and children – Phillip, Meeky, Ruby and son-in-law, Ben McBride, and granddaughter Lillian Solomon; Mary (Allen) Moten was 61 years old.
1940 U.S. Census: The indexing for Texas is not complete at this time, but I feel fairly certain that I would find her listed when they’re ready. And since she passed away 19 December 1951, it’s a good possibility I may find her listed in the 1950 U.S. census records if I’m around when those are release to the public too!
If you have a — Mary Magdalene Allen Moten — in your family tree from the Washington County, Texas area, let me hear from you because – I’m Claiming Kin!
Claiming Kin Genealogy 