The Family Curator: This is the Face of Genealogy

Private Samuel N. Chamblin, United States Army. Serving to protect the rights of the people and freedom of the press, no matter how outrageous or ignorant. I am proud to see his face in my family genealogy.

L.A. Weekly, take note.

Free Research Weekend to Honor Those Who Served

World Vital Records has announced free access to their U.S. Military Service Collection May 27, 2010 through June 1, 2010 in honor of Memorial Day. This is a terrific offer and one I plan to take advantage of this weekend. "Honoring Those Who Served" is also the weekly theme posted on the Blogger's Almanac for the week beginning May 30.

Military databases at World Vital Records include records from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War. To access the collection, go directly to www.worldvitalrecords.com > Search > Military Records, or use this link. Those records with free Memorial Day Weekend access are noted.

I am presently researching my "three Sams," same name, different wars. It's a bit tough keeping track of who's who, and I welcome the opportunity to move forward in unscrambling their past. Thanks, World Vital Records.

Mercy Chamlin / Chamberlain / Chamberlin on my Fearless Female Short List

Mercy Winsor Chamblin is on my researcg short list. My grandmother’s notes show that Mercy was her grandmother, or my 2^nd great-grandmother. If my grandmother is correct, Mercy is the daughter of Henry Winsor and Fanny Childs and was born in Vermont about August 1850.

The family moved to Muscotah, Kansas sometime after Henry’s discharge from the Union Army. Mercy married Samuel Chamblin and they had three children, Minnie (my great-grandmother), Maud, and Samuel Nelson.

I have found Mercy and Samuel living in Atchison County, Kansas in 1870, 1880, and 1885, and I know that their daughter Minnie was living in Kansas City, Missouri when her first child was born in 1890. Mercy and Sam do not appear in further censuses, but they may be the couple who are found in Kansas City, Missouri death records for 1889 (Samuel) and 1893 (Mercy)

Mercy may be the Mercy Chamberlain [sic] whose death record I found in Kansas City, Missouri showing her death 16 June 1893 in Kansas City. I had been unable to find any other mention of her death, until a casual comment to John O’Brien, moderator of the RootsWeb MOJACKSO listserv resulted in a flurry of email and wonderful results. Mr. O’Brien’s Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness have resulted in multiple printed death notices for both Mercy Chamblin/Chamberlain and Samuel Chamberlin/Chamberlain.

Addresses from the death notices led me to the Missouri Digital Archives at the Kansas City Library and the 1896-1907 Kansas City Sanborn Fire Maps. I may not have a photo of the Chamblin home, but at least I know where Mercy was living at the time of her death at age 43 from breast cancer. One day, I hope to find her full story and perhaps a photograph.

Thank you Lisa Alzo, for the thoughtful Fearless Females blogging ideas for Women’s History Month.

Samuel Chamblin, By Many Other Names, Still Sam Chamblin

Sam Chamblin, but which one?It’s not surprising that Samuel Chamblin shouild appear in the 19th century U.S. census under many guises, but I didn’t expect him to appear under an alias during his lifetime as well.

Moving back through time, census records for my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Chamblin, husband of Mercy Winsor, seemed to begin with the 1885 U.S. population schedule where he appeared, age 35, with his wife and three children (ages 14, 10, 8) living in Grasshopper Township, Kansas. He did not appear in any earlier census – at least not under the name Samuel Chamblin.

In 1880, he is listed as Samuel Clin, age 32. The indexer dutifully recorded what appears to be a hasty census-taker’s abbreviation. At least he fully recorded the name below, that of wife, Mercy Chamblin. The family of five (three children of the correct names and ages 9, 8, and 4) were again living in Grasshopper Township, Kansas.

Ten years prior, in 1870, Samuel would have been 20 or 22, depending on which age date was more accurate, however, Samuel Chamblin or Samuel Clin, does not appear in the census in the state of Kansas, Illinois, or Missouri. The children would not have been born in 1870, and a search for Mercy Chamblin finds only Charles Chamblin, age 29, living with Mary Chamblin, age 20, with 8-year old Edward Galen and 24-year-old William Chamblin. Is this the missing Samuel Chamblin?

Another census search reveals a young Charles Chamblin, age 5, living with his parents, Samuel and Carolin Chamblin, in 1850 and with Samuel and Caroline Chambler in 1860 in Illinois. Among the many brothers and sisters is an older brother William Chamblin (age 16) and sister (age 13).  A little math shows that this Mary Chamblin could not be the same Mary Chamblin living in Kansas in 1870, as the Illinois Mary would then be 33 years old. William, however, could be represented as 24; perhaps he was working when the census-taker called and Mary did not know his exact age.

Could “Charles” actually be “Samuel” and “Mary” actually be “Mercy”? Perhaps the best supporting evidence is the fact that the household is found living directly next-door to the Henry M. Winsor family, parents and siblings of my ancestor, Mercy Winsor Chamblin. But why is Mercy’s husband here called “Charles” and in later census reports named as “Samuel”?

One possibility is apparent in the 1880 and 1885 census reports where Samuel/Charles and Mercy/Mary name their son as “Norman Chamblin.” Family photographs and letters bear witness to the name of this son as “Samuel N. Chamblin” not Norman, although the initial may indicate that this was his middle name. Perhaps family naming traditions held that the youngest son was named after his father but used a middle name while the father was living.

Death records from the Missouri State Archives show that Samuel Chamberlain (yet another name variant) died in Kansas City, Missouri on 18 September 1889. This naming theory might be proven if records were discovered showing that Sam [Junior] began using the name Samuel rather than Norman about this time.

In addition, the eldest Samuel Chamblin, born about 1813 in Virginia, appears in the Illinois census with his wife and family in 1850 and in 1860 and on the IRS Tax Assessment lists for 1864 and 1865. He and his wife, Caroline, are not found in the 1870 census. More research in newspaper obituaries and state death records may result in finding his death record. Could Samuel/Charles name use indicate a year of death for his own father?

Another, less innocent reason why Charles may have started using the name Samuel might have to do with his military service record. In 1864 a Charles Chamblin, living in Leavenworth, Kansas enlisted as a Private in the Union Army. He deserted his regiment one year and seven months later. Could Charles have been avoiding the Army?

Further research may reveal the true identity of Samuel/Charles Chamblin, but for now, I am building a growing list of aliases to use in the search:

• Surnames: Clin, Chamblin, Chamberlain, Chambler
• Given Names: Charles/Samuel, Norman/Samuel, Mary/Mercy