Marriage Certificates

I posted two marriage certificates that my Great Uncle sent to me.

Emery George Abare & Ida LaForce
Alex Derouchie & Katharine Abare

I have sent away a request (along with $10) for a copy of a marriage certificate for Stephen Joseph Rivait and Rosanna "Anna" Raymo. I really really hope they have it. It'd be nice to break down some walls and find out who their parents are.

Diary of Myron A Clark

I just uploaded a text version of Myron A. Clark's Diary. He was a Great Great Great Grand Uncle of mine who died at the Battle of Gettysburg. The diary doesn't seem to be anything special except quick recaps over a period of several months but it was interesting nonetheless to get a glimpse into his life at that period of time. The last page contains a letter that was written that mentioned Myron which I thought was interesting.

Photographs and Tombstones

I just recently got some photographs of my family. It's pretty neat! I finally know what Zenas Wood and Blanche Chase looked like - even though they're very old in the picture.

I also got many pictures of tombstones that I uploaded to findagrave.com. I recognized a couple of names but most of them ring no bells for me.

However, there is a tombstone of Julius and Josephine Rivait near Stephen Rivait's tombstone. Maybe Julius and Josephine really were his parents - all of this being based off censuses I found. I would feel better if I had some concrete evidence.

I'll have to update the information on my homepage soon.

Site Index

I was told that my site can be a little bit hard to navigate with some stuff tucked away that wouldn't be seen otherwise.

SITE INDEX

I doubt it's any less confusing but I believe every single page/item is listed on the one html document now.

Calling Town Clerks

Some people wonder how I got certain information and I can tell you how. Call town clerks! I realize that's easier said than done because I'm not sure how it works in other parts of the states (or world) and maybe I do have it easier. I have only called town clerks in Vermont and all were certainly helpful even if some didn't have any information. It was only Burlington who has told me that they can't (or refuse to?) give information via phone and that I'd have to go in person to get what I need.

What I do wish is that I jotted down information on every town clerk I called and why I called. It's been months and months now since I've called any (I certainly don't do it for fun!) but I find myself wondering who I called to get certain information or who I was planning to call for some bit of information.

I know some people like to think that everything is achievable through the internet but I learned the hard way that it isn’t entirely true. Sometimes you just have to take the old-fashioned route and actually drive somewhere in person to get what you need. The horror.

Pictures of Tombstones

Have you ever heard of Find A Grave? You can do a search for certain people, depending if someone contributed information. There are people who visit cemeteries and upload pictures of tombstones along with any possible information.


I learned where my great great grandmother, Blanch Josephine Chase, was buried so I went and looked to see if anyone submitted any information. No luck. What I did was I looked at most of the submissions in the specific cemetery and found out that most of it was contributed by one woman so I decided to contact her and ask if she was willing to take pictures of my great great grandmother's tombstone.

She replied and said that she was more than willing to look. Two days later, she sent me photos of her tombstone - as well as a tombstone next to it with two names of boys that died at very young ages - and posted it on the site. I thought that was incredibly nice of her. It finally verified that Donald really did exist and did die at a young age. The other name, Earl, caught me offguard because I didn't know about him.

McEvila / Greenwood

A cousin (I'm not sure exactly yet how she is related but she is! A somewhat distant cousin most likely) sent me papers that filled in some gaps when it came to the McEvila / Greenwood part of my family tree.

She sent me information on James McEvila and Charlotte Greenwood and their five children, Jessie, William, Anna, John, and Eugenia. Anna was my Great Grandmother and judging from this piece of paper, I believe the cousin descended from William.

She also sent me a scan of James McEvila's Certificate of Naturalization. His last name was written as McVeilla though. The other one is of James Greenwood's discharge from the service for reason of expiration of service.

Charlotte Greenwood's parents both came from Ireland. The cousin said that McEvila also came from Ireland and she has someone over there trying to find more information on both of them.