Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

  JUNE 30, 2021 Did my 2nd great grandmother, Margaret (Miller) Hinman, die in 1936 or 1938? There appear to be sources that support the possibility of both! Furthermore, did she typically spell her name as Margaret or Margret? While spelling variations are quite common throughout history, nailing down a subject’s preferred spelling or pronunciation of their own name further rounds them out as a person. Week 26: Conflict Margaret Miller, circa 1870. Mrs. Margaret Hinman was born Margaret Miller on 11 Nov 1853 in Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, New York, to immigrant parents Charles and Agnes Miller of Ireland. In her teen years, the family moved south to Boone County, Iowa, where she met her husband, Frank Rymer Hinman. She married at the age of 21 and quickly began raising a brood of five. In the mid 1890s, the family temporarily homesteaded in Smith County, Kansas, but eventually returned to Boone, upon realizing their settlement in Kansas was not bearing fruit. She and Frank remain...

  MAY 30, 2021 I’ve always felt drawn to the city of Santa Monica, California, because it was where I was born and also where my dad has worked my entire life. Little did I know that our extended family also had historical ties to the city! Kira D. Foltz, photograph of Santa Monica beach, California, 19 Jan 2014. Week 21: At the Cemetery As it turned out, my 1st cousin 3 times removed on my dad’s side of the family, Clarence E. Webb, had actually been the Chief of Police for the city of Santa Monica! Who would have thunk? I grew up believing our immediate family had been our only connection to the city, but in reality, it was in our roots. Black and white photograph of Santa Monica chief of police Clarence E. Webb, in scrapbook in possession of Sandra Vallo. Clarence is technically connected to me twice over, because he ended up marrying his 1st cousin on his mother’s Miller side of the family. It wasn’t long after discovering the Webb and Miller’s backstory, that I also learned th...