Friday, January 7, 2011

Mary, Mary Makes Me Contrary

Ah, Mary, why do you do this to me.  I am your great granddaughter, could you just throw me a little bone here??

My 2011 genealogy goal is finding out who Mary was.  While finding any ancestor can be a challenge, it becomes especially so when they tend to lie.  Yes, I said it, Mary and her family tend to make things up as they go along, like new names for themselves and new parents, etc.  I will try to give Mary the benefit of the doubt as I have only heard her referred to as Mary Evingham.  What will be interesting is to find out if Mary was the name she was born with and if she actually married a man with the surname of Evingham.

I have been searching for details on Mary's life by focusing on records I can find for her daughter, my grandmother.  I am requesting the death certificate for my grandmother in hopes that it will provide some accurate information on Mary.  I have my grandmother's funeral book and memorial card, but there is no mention of her parents.

I will have to be patient waiting for the death certificate.  My grandmother died in Missouri.  After 50 years Missouri birth certificates are transferred to the Missouri State Archives.  Of course, my grandmother just happened to die 50 years ago in 1960.  The Archives are working on the 1960 death certificates now and they will be available online in a few weeks.  However, being able to view and download the death certificates online for FREE is worth the wait.

I am on my way to tracking down Mary.  I just hope the final destination is answers and not more mystery!

6 comments:

  1. Jenna - I am intrigued with your search, especially since Mary was in Nebraska for a while. I will be following your quest for information all along your journey.

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  2. *sigh* These Mary's really irritate me. Glad to know I'm not the only frustrated one! ;) Good luck!

    ~C

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  3. Jenna, what is it that makes these Missouri women so elusive? I've got one too and her name is Mercy! Maybe we should go on a Mercy and Mary tour.

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  4. And now I find out, from Caroline, that Polly is a common nick name for Mary???

    All I know, is that I'm about ready to beg for MERCY!!! :)

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  5. I enjoy following you on twitter and your blog post. You make me smile.
    I’ve awarded you the Ancestor Approved award (which Jo awarded to me) for your blog that I really enjoy reading - thank you. You can read about the award in this post http://branchingoutthroughtheyears.blogspot.com/2011/01/ancestor-approved-award.html . You can also copy the Ancestor Approved graphic.

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  6. Ah, thank you so much!! It's so nice to receive a vote of confidence from another Geneablogger!

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