52 Ancestors Challenge Week 21

     For several years fellow blogger Amy Johnson Crow has been running a genealogy challenge that has seen increased popularity in the last couple years. Over on WikiTree, they have decided to pick up this challenge and issue a weekly open-ended prompt on the message boards. Each prompt is designed for members to discuss and respond with an ancestor or story that fits with that week’s prompt. In addition to answering over on WikiTree's G2G forum, I'll also be answering here in a more complete form.
     This week’s theme is a perfect fit for the recent research I’ve been doing on my second great uncle, Lyman Thurl Spradlin.

The only son of James David Spradlin and Georgia Etta Ross, Lyman departed Oran, Missouri on May 10, 1918 for training in Waco, Texas. After several weeks of training, Lyman departed from Hoboken, New Jersey on August 03, 1918 headed for the French battlefields. Injured by shrapnel on September 27, he died six days later on October 03, 1918.


His initial burial was in France and the American Red Cross sent a sympathy card to the family with a photo of his grave enclosed. After the end of the war, many of the fallen soldiers were returned home and Lyman was included in this. Departing Antwerp, Belgium June 19 and arriving in Hoboken, New Jersey on July 02, Lyman was finally welcomed home in Oran, Missouri on Saturday, August 06, 1921.


His funeral was the next day at his family home attended by the Oran National Guard, his family, and the community. Burial followed in Friends Hill Cemetery in Oran, Missouri.

Since researching him, I’ve often felt as if he was just caught up in the war, not really meaning to go or thinking they’d need him as he was married and supported his family. His death saddens me and researching the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Lost Battalion, occurring just days after his death, has been a stark reminder of the terrors of war.

- Patricia

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52 Ancestors Challenge Week 20

     For several years fellow blogger Amy Johnson Crow has been running a genealogy challenge that has seen increased popularity in the last couple years. Over on WikiTree, they have decided to pick up this challenge and issue a weekly open-ended prompt on the message boards. Each prompt is designed for members to discuss and respond with an ancestor or story that fits with that week’s prompt. In addition to answering over on WikiTree's G2G forum, I'll also be answering here in a more complete form.
     The topic of “Nature” for this week’s challenge is keeping with the springtime theme from last week. I nearly had a tie for this week’s spotlight but wanted to bring back a showcase on my father. When the challenge began, I was certain I would end up repeating more ancestors and I only have one repeat nearly halfway through.

Both my father and my maternal grandmother were big influences on my love of gardening. My grandmother was known for her beautifully manicured flower beds, tea areas, and lawn. Nearly all her free time was spent on these beautiful flower beds and tea areas.

My father, on the other hand, was more of a straightforward gardener. I can recall rows of corn, carrots, green beans, peppers, and tomatoes. We also had peach and plum trees scattered around the yard and were blessed to have an old Texas pecan tree, as well. Dad would go all out on his roses, though. That was his one ornamental plant he really enjoyed and would wait all year getting ready for a new addition the following year.

Now that I’ve established a little family of my own, we’ve taken out a community garden plot and have made a point to continue this tradition. I definitely take more after my father in gardening styles with lots of veggies planted and plenty of help from little hands. We have a few flowers on the back porch, but most of our effort goes into productive gardening that will help supplement our veggie intake.

- Patricia
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52 Ancestors Challenge Week 19

     For several years fellow blogger Amy Johnson Crow has been running a genealogy challenge that has seen increased popularity in the last couple years. Over on WikiTree, they have decided to pick up this challenge and issue a weekly open-ended prompt on the message boards. Each prompt is designed for members to discuss and respond with an ancestor or story that fits with that week’s prompt. In addition to answering over on WikiTree's G2G forum, I'll also be answering here in a more complete form.
     For week 19 we have an aptly named springtime theme of "Nurture".

I've been in the garden full-time this past week and it has been nice to see the rewards already showing from that. This week's prompt is a perfect reflection of this time of year and the prime candidate popped into mind.


Here, you can see Charles Wajdak on the right posing in front of his home for best lawn award. In addition to this gem of American life, I've found numerous articles about him visiting ailing family, raising his children, and various exploits from his fishing days along the Texas coast.

Over the last week, I had a trial to Newspapers.com and took advantage of it by searching out unique family names. Charles Wajdak was an easy target for his unique last name, and I was happy to find so many articles about him and his family.

I’m not big on subscription services, especially when most of the information they have can be found for free with a bit of legwork. However, the free trial periods to websites are a great way to take advantage of their convenience without getting committed to a high-priced service that is generally not worth the investment.

What are some of the things you've discovered in old newspapers about your family?

- Patricia
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