Those who served: Thomas B. MACE

This weekend we honor those who fought for our country and paid the ultimate price.

I have many ancestors who served in the Revoutionary War-- on BOTH sides-- as well as a couple of great-great-great uncles who fought for the Union in the American Civil War. My great-uncle was in the Pacific during World War II.

Out of all of these relatives, the only one I know of who was killed in war was my uncle three times removed, Thomas B. MACE (abt 1842-1862). He was the eldest surviving child of John and Sophronia (BLY) MACE, and the brother of my 2nd great-grandmother Elizabeth (MACE) BEAN WINSLOW.

Thomas apparently left home very early, joining up with the Navy in 1857, when he was just 14 years old. His naval enlistment record, found courtesy of Fold3, gives his enlistment date (28 July 1857), his age (14 1/2), his birthplace (Plaistow, New Hampshire), eye color (hazel), hair color (brown), complexion (light), and height (4'8"). Going by the heights of all of the others on the page, men really were shorter back then, averaging about 5'6". Thomas was the youngest recruit on the page, as well as the shortest.

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Can't find relatives in the 1940 U.S. Census? Try a FamilySearch search!

This is how I was able to finally find my mother and her parents in it.

No, really. It was that simple.

Tonight I was doing a search for another record on FamilySearch.org (my favorite go-to site, and it's FREE), and noticed that results for the 1940 census were coming up. Really? I thought, I didn't think it was supposed to be indexed by name yet. I hadn't even bothered trying to search by name because I had assumed it wouldn't work.

Just for giggles, I typed in my maternal grandfather's name, and then entered "1940" in the "residence" field, and boom: there were my maternal grandparents and my not-quite-3-year-old mom. My grandfather Henry was only 27, and my grandmother Dorothy was only 21. Just kids themselves, really, though I'm sure people back in the early 20th century grew up faster than they do today.

So if you have relatives you can't find in the 1940 census, do a search for them on FamilySearch.org.

James W. WINSLOW enumerated twice-- twice

Census records are wonderful for finding out information about our ancestors; the more recent the census, the more information it gives.

The problem is that census records are not infallible; they often contain errors and sometimes even deliberate falsehoods.

Another issue you may run into is finding someone who was enumerated in the same census more than once.

For example, my great-great grandfather James W. WINSLOW appears to have been enumerated twice in two different censuses.

James was born in 1838, one of ten surviving children born to William and Mary (SEVERANCE) WINSLOW. He was first married to Mary SMITH, with whom he had daughters. Mary died in 1876.

The 1880 Census

James Winslow was first enumerated for this census in Fremont, Rockingham County, New Hampshire on 9 June 1880. Here he is listed as aged 39, his occupation "teamster", widowed, with three daughters: Nellie E., 16, Laura A., 14, and Sarah A., 12.

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WDYTYA: Rob Lowe's and my Hessian soldier ancestors

I don't write about every episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, but last night's was neat for me. This one starred Rob Lowe, and his featured ancestor has a lot in common with one of mine.

Rob (God, he's gorgeous!) was in search of a relative named John Christopher East whose name his great-grandmother had submitted to the Daughters Of The American Revolution as a patriot.

Lowe, who is very patriotic and who was eager for proof that one of his forefathers fought for America's freedom, was disappointed to find that no connection to a patriot named John Christopher East could be proven.

The story takes a very interesting turn when

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Question of the week: your "favorite" ancestor?

Which ONE ancestor of yours would you most like to meet/talk to, and why?

It isn't easy to pick just one, but for me I would have to say Reverend Stephen Bachiler (1561-1656), my 10th and 11th great-grandfather.

He was an Oxford-educated vicar of the Church of England and a prominent "great migrant." But he got into trouble for his outspoken Puritan leanings, and eventually immigrated to New England; he remained a controversial character even there, with his un-Puritan advocacy of separation of church and state. He became one of the founders of Hampton, New Hampshire, and lived to his mid-nineties. I'm descended from him through two of his daughters, Ann and Theodate.

I would like to meet him because he was so interesting, with a seemingly endles supply of energy-- a mover-and-shaker. Even in old age, he never ceased to pursue adventure, possessing more vigor at 80 than I do at 37. He also lived in fascinating times, during the period of civil war in England.

Will write more about Reverend Bachiler in a future entry...