Finding Original Forms in Genealogy Research

The goal of genealogy research is to find your family. You find your family in the records that you research. Whether those records are vital records, census records, family records, newspapers, directories, or other sources of information, each available record provides valuable information that not only identify those in your family, but can also help tell the story of their lives. One of the most important sources of information that is available are forms and applications that your ancestor has filled out themselves. This not only provides you with a tangible piece of information that they provided themselves, it also shows how much information they would have known, or were willing to share, about themselves and their family. Below are several different records that I have found that were completed and/or signed by several ancestors I have found over the years.

The first example is the U.S. Penitentiary Form for McNeil Island for Sherman E. Dodge (also known as F.E. Dodge). He signed this form on December 27, 1909, after being received at McNeil Island (sadly, there is no mugshot available for him, as many of the mugshots of the prisoners from this time have been lost). The form is double-sided, and contains information such as: his year and place of birth, his occupation, age, height, weight, and information on his father. Below is a copy of both pages of this form, which he signed.

He states that he was born in Gardiner, Maine in 1875. He worked as a Restaurant Man and Machinist. He was able to read and write. He states that his parents were living, and on the back identifies his father as N.T. Dodge, who resided as Buena Vista, Colorado, along with his mother, brothers & sisters His states that he is a widower. Through previous research, we know this information is incorrect. He was divorced from his wife in 1903. It is likely that he lied about this information as divorce was frowned upon at that time and would have added to his already questionable character as a prisoner.

The next example is the World War One Draft Card for John Edward Dodge from September 12, 1918. He gives his date of birth as January 28, 1882. He worked in Teaming, which meant that he worked with horses. He lists his parents as Nat Dodge and Fannie Dodge and states that they, as well as he, resided at Buena Vista, Colorado. Below is the front of the World War One Draft Card showing this information.

The next example (below) is from the marriage record between Goodwin O'Grady and Clara Belle (Dodge) Morgan from Saskatchewan, Canada from June of 1929. Clara lists her age as 40 (she would have been 45 in 1929). She stated that she was a widow (as her first husband had abandoned her and she did not know at that time that he was still alive). She lists her place of birth as Beuna Vista (Buena Vista, Colorado), with the place of birth being spelled out as it is commonly pronounced. She lists her father as Nathaniel Dodge and her mother as Fanny Stevens. Even though her name is spelled Clara Bell Morgan on the marriage record, she signed her name as Clara Belle Morgan.

The next example is the Social Security Application for Rachel Elizabeth (Dodge) Newitt from April 25, 1972. At the time Rachel applied for a Social Security Number, she was 85 years old. However, the information she provided is 100% accurate. She lists her date of birth as January 6, [18]87, and place of birth as Buena Vista, Colorado. She gives the complete names of her parents: Fannie Harris Stevens & Nathaniel Toothaker Dodge. As a side note, until I had a copy of this SSN Application, the spelling of her father's middle name was up to debate. The SSN Application is below.

The last example is the Application for Benefits for James Robert Dodge that was completed in 1923. This form was part of his VA Claims File, which I received in June of 2022. Out of the examples I have given, this one is the best example of information provided by an ancestor as this form was filled out by him. He lists information on himself, including date and place of birth (although his year of birth should be 1894 instead of 1893), information on his military service, and listing the names of his parents (N.T. Dodge and Fannie H. Dodge). The completed form (three pages) is shown below.

These are just some of the examples where ancestors have either completed forms or provided information for different forms to be completed, and signing that the information provided is true and correct. Finding any form that an ancestor has completed and signed is always a jewel of a find because it shows what information they have provided, or are willing to provide.

Annulment Case of Goodwin O’Grady and Clara Belle Morgan

After several months of waiting, I received a response from the King's Bench in Saskatchewan regarding my request for a copy of the annulment case for Goodwin O'Grady and Clara Belle Morgan. Before I talk about what I received from the Court, I want to mention a brief newspaper article I received from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. This newspaper article (shown below) is from The Wilkie Press dated March 22, 1935.

The Wilkie Press: March 22, 1935 - Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan

This newspaper article states that when Clara married Goodwin O'Grady in 1929, she believed that her first husband, William J. Morgan (identified as J.W. Morgan) was deceased. The newspaper indicates that he was living in Ontario, but does not indicate how she found out that he was still alive. Clara had not heard from her husband since 1922 or 1923, according to the article. This corresponds to the timeframe when his homestead was foreclosed.

And now...my response from the King's Bench. Below is the ruling that I received. I will admit that I am disappointed in this response.

While the Court did verify the date of the annulment as March 19, 1935, my request for a copy of the annulment file was denied for the following reasons:

1. I already had considerable information concerning the parties. Prior to requesting a copy of the annulment case, I had located their marriage record, as well as a single newspaper article stating the reason for the annulment. However, I was also hoping to find out the circumstances (when and how) regarding how Clara found out her first husband, William Morgan, was still alive. This information was not provided by the Court, and was not disclosed in the newspaper articles that I found.

2. I explained that the parties are, and have been deceased fore more than 80 years, and this case is nearly 90 years old. The Court responded by explaining that 'Although the parties may now be deceased, family law files are confidential in nature as they often contain very sensitive and personal information. The passage of time does not alter the private nature of such information.' 

I will admit, I am disappointed, as well as dumbfounded, as to why the Court would make such a decision. While I understand that cases of this nature do contain sensitive information, the fact that all parties are now deceased should not prevent the release of such information when requested for genealogy research. In Canada, there is a 92-year wait for Census records to be released, which is understandable (it is a 72-year wait for U.S. Census records), as there is identifying information recorded in Census records. In addition, I have obtained copies of the 1940 National Registration Cards from Canada by providing proof of death for those individuals concerned. In the U.S., I have been able to obtain unredacted copies of Social Security Number applications by providing the requested proof of death. In addition, the cause and results of this case were published in the Saskatchewan newspapers (I have found two newspaper articles so far), making this matter very far from a private one. I wonder if providing copies of the death certificates (which I have, but did not provide) for Goodwin O'Grady and Clara Belle Morgan would have made a difference in their decision.

I do not believe that any privacy or confidential laws should remain in effect in perpetuity beyond the death of an individual. If such were the case for any historical or genealogical record, then genealogical research of any kind would be fruitless and in vain. If there is information that is recorded for an ancestor that is out there, access to that information, regardless of the source, should be granted for genealogical research. When that ancestor is deceased, if a proof of death is needed, I am happy to provide proof of death, as that should be sufficient proof that privacy/confidential rules are no longer in effect. If my descendants want to find information on me that may have been classified as confidential or private, they should be able to do so without facing the roadblock of privacy or confidentiality laws. This is a needless roadblock to successful genealogy research, as learning about your ancestors provides a better understanding of who you are, where you came from, and how your personal history fits in to the larger picture of history we are all here to learn from.

20th Century Phone Directories - Part 2

The last post looked at some of the 20th Century Phone Directories I found on the Library of Congress website for Colorado Springs, Colorado. This post will look at some of the 20th Century Phone Directories for San Francisco, California.

We will begin by looking at the phone directories for Berenice Newitt. After her retirement from the Army Nurse Corps in 1937, she lived in San Francisco. Below are the phone directories for Berenice Newitt for 1937 and 1938:

She lived at 2200 Francisco and her phone number was WEst-5908. As a side note, immediately below is the phone directory listing for her brother, Clarence Keith Newitt. In 1940, Berenice moved to Glendale, California. However, I did not find her in the phone directories for the Los Angeles area until 1951, which is shown below. This listing for Berenice remained the same through the 1950's. Her address was 820 S Maryland in Glendale, and her phone number was CItrus 3-7663.

In 1959, her phone number was shortened to CI 3-7663. In 1963, her phone number changed to 243-7663. Below are the phone directories for 1950 and 1963:

Berenice moved to 328 North Louise in Glendale. She was listed there in the available phone directories from 1967 through 1975. Below is the phone directory for Berenice from 1967.

As mentioned earlier, her brother Clarence Keith Newitt also lived in San Francisco. Below is the earliest phone directory I found for him in 1927. His address was 440 Masonic and his phone number was West-9254.

During the 1930's, Keith lived on Cotter Street; first on 245 Cotter Street, and then on 43 Cotter Street. Below are the phone directories for Keith from 1931 and 1937. Even though he moved down the street, he kept the same phone number: ELkridge-0201.

In 1945, he moved to 2965 24th Avenue in San Francisco, and his phone number changed to LOmbard-6-7543. He had this phone number until 1965, when it was updated to 566-7543. He would move from San Francisco after 1965, so that was the last phone directory entry I found for him. Below are the phone directories for Keith Newitt from 1945 and 1965.

Finally, we will look at Frances Nemetzky and Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams. Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams is first found in the 1927 phone directory, with the phone number of Franklin-369. This was updated to Franklin-0369. In 1937, the phone number was changed to TUxedo-0369. Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams was list listed in the phone directories in November of 1943. Below are the 1927 and 1937 phone directories for Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams.

As a side note, the Fogalsang candy box that I have has the TUxedo-0369 phone number listed on it, which means that the candy box was made between 1937 and 1943.

The residence at 59 Collins Street is listed under the name of David Nemetzky. The 1931 phone directory lists their phone number as WAlnut-2341. By 1936, their residence phone number changed to WEst-5281. Below are the 1931 and 1936 phone directories:

In 1946, they moved to 1234 39th Avenue. Their phone number changed to MOntrose-7499. The following year, their phone number was updated to MOntrose 4-7499. Frances is last listed in the San Francisco phone directories in 1953, when she moved to Broderick, California to live with her sister. Below are the 1946 and 1953 phone directories for David and Frances Nemetzky.

It is interesting to look through these old phone directories. They not only list their addresses and phone numbers, but also help pinpoint when my family lived at specific addresses and when they would have moved. It is also interesting to see how their phone numbers have evolved over the years, going from the word prefix to the seven digit phone numbers that we know and use.

20th Century Phone Directories - Part 1

I recently found the U.S. Telephone Directory Collection on the Library of Congress website. The web address is: https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-telephone-directory-collection/. This collection contains telephone directories from a number of cities and states covering a good portion of the 20th Century. I found telephone directories for San Francisco; Los Angeles; and Colorado Springs. I will start with the telephone directories from San Francisco.

I will start with the Pru-Nut Creams store on 669 Geary Street. The store opened at 669 Geary Street in March of 1925, having moved from 871 Geary Street. The first telephone directory on the website is November of 1927. The image below is taken from the September 1933 Directory.

The phone number that is listed is FRanklin-0369. To dial the number, one would use the first two letters from the word Franklin, and then the four digits following the word. The phone number for the store changed in 1937. The image below is taken from the November 1937 Directory.

The phone number changed to TUxedo-0369. The candy store remained open through 1943, as the candy store is last found in the November 1943 directory. The candy box I have has the TUxedo-0369 phone number on it, which means that the candy box I have is between 80 and 86 years old.

Staying in San Francisco, we will now look at the telephone directories for David & Frances Nemetzky. They are first found in the August 1931 Telephone Directory. The phone directory for August 1931 is below.

Their phone number is WAlnut-2341. They are next found in the March 1936 Telephone Directory (the are not listed in the available directories for 1933-1935). By this time, their phone number had changed. The 1936 Telephone Directory is below.

Their phone number changed to WEst-5281. They would have the same phone number until 1946, when they moved to a different part of San Francisco. The November 1946 Telephone Directory is shown below.

With moving to a different address, their phone number once again changed, this time to MOntrose-7499. In 1947, an additional number was added. The August 1947 phone directory is shown below.

The phone number was now MOntrose 4-7499, which is the precursor to the seven digit phone number that would be implemented during the 1960's. Although David Nemetzky passed away in 1947, his wife continued to live in San Francisco through 1953, as she is last found in the July 1953 Telephone Directory.

The next post will look at additional telephone directories in California.