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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Nervous About Using Facebook? We Can Help!



For years I would stand up at the monthly Florida Genealogical Society’s monthly meetings and encourage people to ‘Like Us’ on Facebook.  Some folks would laugh or nod and others would look at me with disbelief.  Why would I encourage them to go to Facebook for genealogy?

Facebook can be fun and entertaining. It can help you connect with old friends and family you haven’t seen or talked to in decades. It can bring out both the best and worst in people. And with the recent news reports we understand the dilemma you may feel.

The Florida Genealogical Society has come up with a happy medium.  You can now view all the hints, tips and articles we post to our Facebook page from our website without joining Facebook!

Just go to our website: https://fgstampa.org and scroll to the bottom of the page. 



You can use the scroll bar on the right to view the articles and if there is one you would like to read just click on the article or link and it will open in a new window!



So visit our website and start exploring all the articles we post on Facebook without logging into Facebook!

Enjoy!



Saturday, August 15, 2015

Stop, Look and Listen - Schultz v Penna Railroad Co

Researching the last name of Schultz can have its challenges but sometimes you are lucky enough to have a litigious ancestor.

Bernard Schultz - 1834 - 1875

Bernard Schultz lived in Philadelphia with his wife Catharine (1832-1889) and three children: William Henry, Catharine (aka Dollie) and Washington. Initial evidence shows that Bernard was a jeweler and may have been in business with his brother Frederick. 



I knew when Bernard died from cemetery records and over time I acquired his death certificate. Later I found newspaper articles which said Bernard was driving a carriage and was struck by a train. The horse and passenger survived, Bernard did not.  Later I found a legal notice that said Catharine Schultz had lost a suit against the Pennsylvania Railroad.

I admit that I lost interest in Bernard at this point - his son William Henry and wife Nellie Nielson Schultz Evans were more interesting to research so Bernard's accident went on the back burner.

Until yesterday...

Something or someone told me to go to Google Books and search on Schultz Stop Look Listen Pennsylvania.  Why these words?  I remembered that in the article saying Catharine lost her suit it mentioned that Bernard had failed to "Stop, Look and Listen".  After a few minutes of playing with the sequence and words I found it!



Reading the case notes was quite interesting. I was surprised that the term Stop, Look and Listen was actually used in legal cases in the 1870's. It was also interesting that the judge seemed to think that the railroad needed more governance in the way the trains ran through 'populous' areas.


I was surprised to find that there were literally hundreds of cases where people sued various railroads for loss of life and livestock to be found. Going forward I am going to take a closer look at Bernard's life prior to his death and his wife Catharine who had the courage to stand up to the railroad in 1878.

Good Going Catharine!!!

Take Care,

Pattie

Transcript


Weekly Notes of Cases.Vol. VI.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 1878. [No. 6.]
Supreme Court.
Jan. '77, 124.                     Jan. 25, 1878.

Schultz v. Penna. Railroad Co.
Railroads—Negligence— Contributory negligence
—Duty of traveller in crossing railroad tracks
— Town and country.

The rule that a traveler about to cross a railroad track must "stop, look, and listen," as laid down in Penna. Railroad Co. v. Benle (23 Sm. 509), is not varied by the fact

That such crossing is upon a street within the limits of a city.

 Railroad Co. v. Ackerman, 24 Sm. 268, distinguished.

 Error to the Common Pleas No. 4, of Philadelphia County.

Case, by the widow and minor children of Bernard Schultz against the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for negligently causing the death of the said Bernard Schultz. 

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the lessee of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company, whose road crossed Tenth Street, in the City of Camden, N. J., at grade.

The evidence showed that the decedent, on April 20, 1875, between five and six o'clock in the afternoon, was driving in a light, covered wagon with a companion, at a rate variously

estimated at from six to twelve miles an hour, along Tenth street, and, as he approached the crossing, slackened speed, but did not entirely stop. Owing to the nature of the ground

and the neighboring buildings, the track cannot be seen for more than a few yards by persons approaching it in the direction taken by the decedent. Plaintiffs' witnesses testified

that no sign of warning was placed over the highway at this crossing, nor did the engineer blow a steam whistle before reaching the crossing, as required by the law of New Jersey

(Nixon's Digest, tit. "Railroads"), and there was evidence that the train was travelling at the rate of about twenty-five miles an hour. On the trial, before Elcock, J., the defendant's counsel moved for a non-suit on the ground that the decedent had not stopped to look and listen before attempting to cross the track ; the motion was granted, and the plaintiffs took this writ of error,assigning for error the entry of judgment of nonsuit.


Wm. H. Browne, for plaintiffs in error.


If the action of the decedent were caused by the defendant's negligence, such action cannot be considered as contributing to the injury. He had a right to assume that the defendant would obey the law.

Shearman on Negligence, 37.
Johnson v. R. R. Co., 20 Sm. 366.

The rule that a person about to cross a railroad must stop, look, and listen, cannot apply to this case. The cases of Railroad Co. v. Weber (26 Sm. 168) and Railroad Co. v. Beale (23 Sm.509) have probably gone further in imputing negligence to road travelers than the Courts of any other State. In both these cases the accidents happened on a road in the open country
comparatively unfrequented and far from any town. The position we take is, that in the country the necessity of rapid railroad travel precludes all diminution of speed, and, as the number of travelers on the roads is so small, there can be but slight inconvenience incurred by their being obliged to stop.
 
The case is totally reversed in populous towns and cities, and the law enjoins a degree of care and watchfulness on the part of the employees of railroad companies which is never required beyond their limits. In the country the railroad is supreme; in the town its interests are subordinate to those of the general public. Hence the usual ordinances fixing the rate of speed of trains, the use of bells and other signals, and the employment of flagmen. In the country the traveler must "stop, look, and listen," because the engineer is not there expected to be looking out for him ; in the city the throng of pedestrians and occupants of vehicles have rights paramount to the railroad company, and where the latter disregards laws and ordinances and recklessly runs its trains through a populous city without the warning signals which the traveler has a right to expect and require, he cannot be held to the observance of the same rules as if he were on an unfrequented country road.

The question of negligence in such a case is for the jury, and it ought not to be ruled simply as matter of law, as was done in this case by withdrawing the question from the jury.

Penna. Railroad Co. v. Ackerman, 24 Sm. 268.
Phila. & Reading R. R. Co. v. Long, 25 Sm. 257.
Railroad Co. v. James, 1 Weekly Notes, 68.
Shearman and Redfield on Negligence, 491.
Chapman Middle, contra.

 This case is completely governed by the well known rule that the traveler must stop, look, and listen, before crossing a railroad track.

Penna. Railroad Co. v. Beale, supra.

Penna. Railroad Co. v. Weber, supra.

Central R. R. Co. of N. J. v. Feller et at., 4

Weekly Notes, 160.

February 11, 1878. The Court. This case falls within the principles ruled in Railroad Co. v. Beale (23 P. F. Smith, 509), Railroad Co. Weber (26 P. F. Smith, 168), and Central R. R.

Co. of New Jersey v. Feller (4 Weekly Notes, 160.) It is not exceptional within the principles stated in P. R. R. Co. v. Ackerman (24 P. F. Smith, 268.)

 

 

Had the deceased and his friend stopped before reaching the track, the danger would have been discovered. But they drove on without halting, and the accident resulted from this imprudence.

This was negligence, and the improper speed of the defendants' train, when entering the city of Camden, inexcusable as it was, had its counterpart in the inexcusable speed with which the

deceased entered upon the track of the railroad company. The company was saved by his concurring negligence. Nevertheless the frequent recurrence of such accidents resulting in the loss

of life loudly demands legislation at least in Pennsylvania to protect the lives of persons both in the train and on the roadway.

 

Judgment affirmed.

Per Curiam. Gordon, J., dissents. Sharswood,

J., absent.



Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sunday Obituary - Shirley Maish Schultz



Schultz, Shirley Age 82, of Coon Rapids, MN, died on Thursday, February 13, 2014 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.


Shirley Ann Maish was born on November 6, 1931 to William and Charlott Horton Maish. She grew up in Blackduck, Minnesota where she met her childhood sweetheart Charles N. Schultz Jr. They were married on August 24, 1950 and moved to Illinois where they raised four children; Charles III, Barbara, William and Carl.




Shirley loved baking chocolate chip cookies, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and bowling. Her love of bowling and competitive nature led to a 1971 Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) Team Championship. None of these hobbies, however, compared to how much she loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.



Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Earl, Alvern, William, Bud, Clifford and Otto and one sister, Violet.


She is survived by her husband, Charles; four children, Charles (Pattie) of Tampa, FL, Barb (Bill) Hendricks of Hines, MN, William (Timona) of East Bethel and Carl (Iris) of Coon Rapids; a sister, Janet (Bill) Vetrone of Merrillion, WI; three brothers, Merle (Darlene) Maish of Coon Rapids, MN, Ken (Carol) Maish of Avery, WI and Donnie (Charlene) Maish of International Falls, MN, eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, plus two great-grandchildren expected soon and numerous nieces and nephews.




A Celebration of Shirley's life will be held at KOZLAK- RADULOVICH BLAINE CHAPEL (107th Ave. NE & Hwy. 65) Wednesday from 4-7 PM concluding with a time of remembrance at 7 PM. www.kozlakradulovich.com "A Celebration of Life" 763-783-1100


Shirley and Chuck





Saturday, July 21, 2012

Sunday's Obituary - Wilhart "Hardie" Johnson

Wilhart A. "Hardie" Johnson, 90, of Toivola, died on Thursday, August 29, 2002, at the Baraga County Memorial Hospital Skilled Care Unit.

He was born December 24, 1911, in Toivola, a son of the late Elias and Anna (Hallsten) Johnson. He attended the Perala School on the Agate Beach Road.

Hardie worked in farming and logging and for 35 years worked as a welder, retiring in 1973.

On August 25, 1934, he married the former Hilda S. Mikkola. Hardie was a member for over 40 years of the Operating Engineers Local 324, and was a former board member of the Farmers Union. He was an avid reader and loved to visit and tell stories and jokes.

Surviving are his wife, Hilda, of 68 years; three sons, J. Martin (Sandra) Johnson of Toivola, Louis (Diana) Johnson of Toivola, Charles "Sully" (Jean Ann) Johnson of Toivola; one daughter, Charlene Johnson of Little Chute, Wis.; 11 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Hardie was also preceded in death by four brothers, Yalmer, Walter, Aale and Ralph; eight sisters, Elizabeth, Laura, Hilija, Mamie, Hattie, Tynne and two sisters who died in infancy; and a grandchild, Christel Johnson.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4, 2002, at the Toivola Apostolic Lutheran Church with Pastor Ken Storm to officiate. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Mountain View Mortuary in South Range, and one hour prior to services on Wednesday at the church. Burial will be in the Toivola Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Antila Funeral Service, Inc.

The Daily Mining Gazette - Houghton Michigan - 9/7/02

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

OneNote - SkyDrive, Mobile and More

Three weeks ago I wrote about how I discovered OneNote. I can say that I use it daily either at work or for personal use and keep finding more ways to incorporate it in my daily life.

Now if I could just access these great OneNote notes from anywhere.....

SmartPhones

I was excited when I read that there was an iPhone app for OneNote. While it is very cool to be able to access all my OneNote notebooks I thought of another use. Cemeteries!



The iPhone OneNote app allows you to create pages in a notebook and take a photo. You can then add notes, such as plot numbers, observations about other families that may be buried in the area, etc.

Another thing I like to do is walk around the town or neighborhood my ancestors lived in, again OneNote on my iPhone would allow me to take photos of the houses or stores and make my notes.

SkyDrive

Since using my iPhone to do a lot of entry or editing is not desirable I shared my OneNote notebooks on Windows Live SkyDrive. If you do not have a Hotmail account, SkyDrive is how Microsoft allows users to create and share documents.


Now I can update my records from any computer I sign onto. I can also designate who I might want to share them with and whether they can edit them. This allows me to work with another person to document a cemetery or plan a family gathering.

More OneNote Ideas

I have been toyed with creating templates in OneNote. I found that OneNote does not have as much flexibility as Word, but I have created a few for various cemeteries and families.

Another cool tool is the ability to do voice recordings in a OneNote notebook. At work we record meetings but I have another project in mind.

I have an idea for a UTube video so as an excercise I am going to create a OneNote notebook with picutres of my grandfather's house as it looked when I was a child. I am then going to add pictures to show how my cousin has tranformed it into a home for his family.

OneNote and Me

OneNote has unexpectedly become a part of my genealogy life. Whether I am cruising FindaGrave or leaving messages on Rootsweb I find myself making notes.  Yesterday I requested a Memorial on FindAGrave be transferred to me. Today I received an Email from the gentleman saying he would transfer it after he had a chance to photograph it!  Since I have been known to write to the same person or institution more than once I made an entry in my Maish-Horton/Cemeteries Notebook.



My next blog posting will cover finding all those electronic documents that are filed on my computer, but I forgot that I had! Another OneNote Project.....

Take Care,
Pattie

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Sunday's Obituary - Dora Lyons Schwemm


Mrs. Dora Ella Schwemm, 65 a resident at 213 West Main Street, Barrington for many years died Monday at the home of her son, Kenneth Schwemm in Fox River Grove following an extended illness. She suffered from a diabetic condition.

Dora Ellen Lyons was born May 4, 1883, at Pilot Knob, WI. On July 26, 1905 she was married to August Schwemm of Barrington in Chicago where the couple lived for five years prior to settling in Barrington. Mr. Schwemm died Oct. 6, 1943.

Mrs. Schwemm was a member of the Barrington Methodist Church and its women's organizations.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 this Thursday afternoon at the Barrington Methodist Church with Dr. Bertram G. Swaney officiating.

Until the funeral time the body rests at the funeral home at 149 West Main Street. Miss Olive Dobson will be the soloist and the following will serve as pallbearers: Arthur Waggoner, Henry Kincaid, Warren Schumacher, Henry ReDeadt, James Fraye, and Herbert Landwer. Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery.


Barrington Courier - April 1949

Dora and August were married July 26, 1905

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

OneNote, FindAGrave and Debby

Living in Florida is wonderful even when it rains and rains and rains. 

Tropical Storm Debby decided to stall over the Gulf of Mexico last weekend and provided Florida with a little rain. Ok, a lot of rain. My pond rose over 18 inches in 24 hours - that is a lot of rain.

So with it raining outside I decided to revisit some cemetery pages I had scanned during my last visit to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. Over the years I have done a lot of research on some distant cousins of my husband's great great grandparents from Juneau County Wisconsin. The cemetery books for the county were at the library so I scanned every page that held a possible relative. The rain gave me a great reason to sit on the couch and figure out if all those Howlands and Delaps were related to the Horton line I was researching.

Find A Grave

I started my search with FindAGrave.com to see who may or may not be listed. I was quite happy to find that a volunteer named Kari had created memorials for many of 'my people'. I started checking them off and sending messages with additonal information for the memorials. Soon Kari and I were emailing each other and she transferred the memorials to me.

For the rest of the weekend I was happily highlighting and checking off folks from my cemetery pages. I also found that unfortunately I missed a few people. I should have scanned the whole book!

Newspaper Archive

My next stop was NewspaperArchive.com to see if I could find some obituaries or news articles to help me verify some relationships. During my research on FindAGrave I found some of the DeLap's spelled the name DeLapp.

As I was browsing and finding interesting newspaper articles I started to become frustrated. I had paper and tabs open all over and nothing was organized!

A Little Background

I work in the software / IT industry. Back in the early 1980's I was the 'youngster' at work. Now in 2012 I am almost old enough to be the grandmother of the developers at work. While I do feel 'out of it' at times there is a HUGE upside. They keep me up to date Social Media and Productivity Tools.

This has meant that I embraced and used Twitter, QR codes, Blogs and Facebook in my daily life and my genealogy research before a lot of my peers.  Currently I am learning to embrace OneNote. My understanding is that it is used in college to take notes and organize papers and projects. At work we use it to track our customer projects notes and meetings.

Mmmmm maybe I could use OneNote to organize all this information on the DeLaps and Howlands!

OneNote

OneNote is part of the Microsoft Home and Student Suite that also includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This is one of the most affordable bundles Microsoft offers and usually goes on sale in August (just in time for school).

After reading the introduction page and studying the examples in OneNote it became clear how I could organize my past and current research on the DeLap family.

As you can see below I create a NoteBook named DeLap and then across the top I have tabs representing each type of research I need to organize.







Within the Cemetery Records tab I have created a page named for each member of the DeLap family on that page for easy reference.


Everything was coming together, except I had found newspaper articles that I needed to do some research on. How was I going to handle them?



Clipping Tool

I found another really cool feature in OneNote. While you are browsing the Internet all you have to do is press the Windows Key and S on your computer and a clipping tool appears that allows you to frame the part of the page you want to add to OneNote.

As you can see below it also provides the URL and a timestamp. All the clippings go to an "UnFiled" note page that you can then move to the appropriate Notebook.





Conclusion

While I still have a lot to learn about OneNote I am very happy that Tropical Storm Debby gave me the time and patience to work with OneNote.

If you want to know more about OneNote here is a link to some videos on YouTube.

A similar app to OneNote that is free is Evernote. I really do not know the pros and cons of each, but if you do not have OneNote you might want to check out Evernote.

Take Care,
Pattie



My pond - Morning of June 25