Week 41: Most (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 version)

The theme for Week 41 is "Most." Like last week, this theme can go countless directions! Most number of marriages, most children, "most likely to succeed." Let your imagination run wild! Click here to find out about all of the 2024 prompts.

As genealogists, I think we have those relatives who are the MOST involved to research. I could put MOST in front of a lot of relatives, MOST difficult, MOST confusing, MOST frustrating, MOST hidden, etc… I think you get the idea.

Anyway, I have been proofing a Descendant Book that I am creating on my 3rd great grandparents, Thomas Goodwin and his wife Jane Burns. I have done my first pass through of research, where I start with my 3rd great grandparents and research all their children, then starting with the oldest child, research their children, starting with their oldest child I repeat the process all the way done the line before moving to the next child and working up and down the lines until I think I have found everyone I can find.

I then generated a first draft of the book, using Family Book Creator from my software package of Family Tree Maker. What I am looking for, besides spelling errors, are huge gaps in my research. Missing vital information such as birth and if appropriate death information. I look for marriage information if they were married and divorce information if they remarried and I am missing that information. I also make sure that someone didn’t have any offspring by locating their obituaries if available.  I like to record their Find a Grave record too, thus if they died or probably died (based on birth date) I look for the record.

I am only down to the 3rd generation of a 7-generation book. I was looking at one of my relatives, Lester Mulvaney who was born in 1901 and died in 1982. I had three children for him and one died as an infant and then he had two other daughters. One daughter, Mia Mae Mulvaney died in 1967 and based on her obituary, I knew she had four children, three daughters and one son. Her husband was a Luther Dickerson who I had no information on. Thus my big red flag to do more research.

Based on Mia Mae’s obituary, she died in Marshall, Missouri. Thus, using Ancestry, I decided to look for a Luther Dickerson in Missouri, (fingers were crossed that it wasn’t a too common of a name). The following is what I found and I recorded it in my software program as private research notes:

• Found a Luther Dickerson born 9 Jul 1913 Missouri, died: 29 Jun 1995 Yuba California
• He married Alva Goodwin on 11 May 1932 in Cole Camp, Benton, Missouri, USA (both were under 21 years of age). Dora Sizemore mother of Luther Dickerson 
• 1933, April 26 Prescott, Yavapai County; Arizona - Zona Lee Dickerson birth
• Newspaper article: 17-year-old Mother shoots self, lives | Prescott, Aug 11 (1934) Mrs. Alva Goodwin Dickerson, 17 wife of Luther Dickerson, 22 and mother of three-year-old Zona Lee Dickerson, was in Mercy Hospital tonight, the victim, officers said, of a self-inflected bullet wound. The shooting occurred on the ranch of James E Goodwin, her father, 40 miles from Prescott in the Williamson valley. The young wife shot herself in the left side above her heart with a small rifle, investigators said. At the hospital physicians declared there was no immediate danger. Officers said she gave no motive for her act. The Dickersons were married in Missouri when the girl was only 13 years old.
• 1935, Jun 27 Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona - Fannie Corrine Dickerson birth
• 1939, Jul 11 Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona - Luther J Dickerson birth
• 1940 US Census: Prescott, Yavapai, Arizona - Luther 26, Alva 23, Zona Lee 6, Fanny Corene 4, Luther James 9/12.
• 1955, Oct 12 Saline, Missouri: Luther James Dickerson death (FG 77432239)
• 1955 Oct 13: Youth Fatally Wounds Self at his farm home. Luther Dickerson, Died at Hospital here early today. Luther James Dickerson, 16, fatally shot himself in the head with a rifle Tue night at his home west of Blue Lick and died at 12:10 o’clock, Wednesday morning at Fitzgibbon hospital. Surviving are his mother, Mrs Jackson Maynard, Kentucky; his father Luther Dickerson of home; two sisters, Mrs. Wayne J Clay, Mullins, West Virginia; Mrs. Kenneth Ussery, Marshall; his stepmother, Mrs. Luther Dickerson, and two half-sisters, Cheryl Ann and Michele Marie Dickerson of the home. (Newspaper Article)
• 1966, Aug 2 Carson City, Nevada: Marriage of Alex C Crawford and Alva M Goodwin
• 1975, Jun 13, Alva M Crawford, 58 died in Barstow, San Bernardio, California. Survivors are her husband: Alex C; three daughters' Zona Lee Clay; Connie Wilson and Corine Usery, all of California. (FG 33190138)
• 1982, Mar 12 marriage Watler R White and Fannie C Hack - Clark County, Nevada
• FG 112688691 Fannie C White b: 6 Jun 1935 d: 7 May 2008

Thus, looking at the Newspaper article  (in Bold) from Oct 13, 1955, I see that Luther Dickerson has a different wife than his first wife of Alva Goodwin (no relation to my Goodwin clan). I see that the son, Luther James Dickerson had two half-sisters, Chery Ann and Michele Marie. Could these be the children of my Mia Mae?

Some wide searches on Ancestry, lead me to a name of Michele Marie Davis who died in 2018. My search consisted of entering Michele Marie Dickerson, with an approximate birth date of 1950 in Missouri, I listed her parents and her sister Cheryl Ann. 

I decide to do a google search on Michele Marie Davis and I found an obituary for a Michele Marie Davis, which list her parents as Luther and Mia Mae Dickerson. BINGO, struck gold.

In the obituary it states she is survived by four children and a brother Gary and a sister Cindy. She was preceded in death by a sister, Cheryl Johnson. It doesn’t list any of her half-siblings, but now I have four children names for Mia Mae. 

Now this may seem very straight forward, however, this took me three days before I found the obituary for Michele Marie. I went down a few wrong rabbit holes. With names like Davis and Johnson, I wasn’t sure it was my people until I found Michele’s obituary. 

Cheryl Anne died in 1990 and I found her in the Ancestry, California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 with her mother’s maiden name of Mulvaney and father’s surname of Dickerson listed. This was my only confirmation that this Cheryl Anne was my person. From here, I found her marriage record, which not only listed her date of birth but her husband’s name, date of birth and their marriage name. he died in 1998. HINT: To get the husband's information, I clicked on his name which made him the Primary person of the record and gave his age and birth date.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 10: Worship (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Religion played an important role in the lives of many of our ancestors. Write about how a person's faith impacted their life, how an ancestor was involved with their church, or a discovery you've made in church records. Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

I have taken a different spin on this. I have decided to select my 2nd great grandfather Myron O’Brion who took his own life over a difference of religious view between himself and his family. He was not a member of any church. My warning is that this subject matter is very sensitive, however I feel it is important to share, because depression is known to run in families and it’s all a part of life. A very sad part, indeed. 

Myron was born in 1835 in New York State, the son of John O’Brion and his wife Jane Margaret Kress. After Spending much of his childhood days in Dodge County, Wisconsin, he grew up and married Mary Goodwin, daughter of Thomas Goodwin and Jane Burns. She was also living in the same vicinity. After marriage, they moved to a new home in Fountain Prairie. The farm was located one and one-half miles northwest of Fall River. After living there twelve years, he moved to a farm in the Lost Lake area of Dodge County, Wisconsin. He lived there until his death on November 19, 1883. Mary also lived on the farm until her death on March 18, 1910. She was born January 1, 1839 in Ireland. Their children were: Mary Jane O’Brion, John, Henreitta Cora (my line), Jessica, Caroline, Alice, and Thomas.    

Randolph Radical, Columbia Co, Wisconsin - 27 Nov 1883    

SUICIDE. - On Tuesday p.m. last Justice Calkins, of this place, was called to hold a coroner's inquest upon the body of Myron O'Brien, found dead by the road side some four miles from his residence, in the town of Westford. The justice, accompanied by Dr. Bliss, went to O'Brien's house and a jury was convened the same evening, which rendered a verdict that the deceased came to his death from poison administered by his own hand. The facts as developed at the inquest are as follows: Mr. O'Brien left his home on Monday, on foot, stating that he was going to Columbus, and that his family would not see him again alive. His son accompanied him a mile or so, vainly trying to persuade him to return home. He arrived at Columbus and had his will drawn up by a lawyer, signed and duly attested. On Tuesday morning after procuring a bottle of whisky and a vial of strychnine, he started for home on foot. When found, the whisky bottle in his overcoat pocket was nearly empty and the strychnine bottle duly labeled was found in his bootleg, with about a teaspoonful of the powder taken out. The presumption is that on his way he had drank enough of the whisky to nerve himself up or craze him then added the strychnine and taken a last and fatal drink.   

Mr O'Brien was a farmer, some 60 years of age, supposed to be well to do and not a man of sufficiently in temperate habits to impel the commission of the act. he had been in a depressed mental condition for some days, induced, it is said by some temporary pecuniary trouble and a difference of religious views between himself and the family, they being Catholics, while he, we believe, was not a member of any church. His suicide is doubtless attributable to the combination of these causes.

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The distance between Lost Lake and Columbus is 12 miles. Even though the article states he was some 60 years of age, I have him as only 48. In the 1850 census, he is a 14-year-old boy and thus his birth year is pretty much accurate. His children at the time of his death ranged in age from 24 to 4 years old. His eldest son John was 23, most likely the son mentioned in the article. 

Myron’s mother, Jane Margaret Kress died the following summer on Aug 19, 1884. I feel sorry for her having to live through such as sadness. Myron’s wife, Mary Goodwin lived 27 more years and died on Mar 18, 1910 on the farm. 

Later that year (1910), the farm was sold at public auction.