We became members of Cornerstone Genealogical Society this year (2011). And we've been very fortunate to work with volunteer Thelma Yeager. She's sent us some relevant obituaries and also some further information on some of our distant family.
She also complimented the Quilt on its efforts which was an affirmation for us as beginner genealogy researchers. Personally, we like the blend of anecdote, memories, serious research, image, and FUN interaction making the Quilt like an adventure.
Cornerstone also sent us some of their Quarterlies called Cornerstone Clues. These harken back to the days of historical societies putting out "magazines" which very often added up to encyclopedia of local information and historical conversation. The Clues is also fun. A range of topics, dips into the very personal, closer looks at very public of the day, some mystery, and a very thoughtful presentation of information about place. There are also lists of people who are making efforts on specific family research which lend themselves to envisioning potential projects. Many of these are "queries" and can help bloggers and online posters get a better feel for what people are looking for!
We've already found ourselves making reference to the Editor's Message of May 2011 in which Clues marks the achievement of Esther Fisher being admitted to the official D.A.R. registry. The message reminds: "Any woman 18 years or older regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership."
Daughters of the American Revolution "defines a 'patriot' as one who provided service or direct assistance in achieving America's independence" (92, Cornerstone Clues, May 2011).
And don’t forget…the D.A.R. is hardly the only heritage club going! Our local history museum in Fairfield, Connecticut has lists of all kinds of networking opportunities regarding relatives and each one is just as important as the next.
It's amazing how familiar some the names of the neighbors of our ancestors are feeling to us here in the 21st century.
And we are well aware of the quality that the Clues has from having a diversity of contributors! It's really neat to read different styles and voices on the past.
Maybe I'll find some time before the year is over to ask Cornerstone about themselves. That would be an excellent article! I see from their logo, for instance, that they were founded in 1975. I wonder about the circumstances of that year which compelled a certain group of people to pick up the project. Perhaps I've just missed out on the more informative articles about the group as a Historical Society, as surely I've missed out on a LOT of stuff not being a member before now. Still, I've got plenty to read and study in this year's volumes. Maybe I can read them thoroughly on the car trip to Oxford, Connecticut where me and Mama will be on a mission to somehow re-connect with the homeland of the relatives.
--Lara Lynn Lane
One of our tasks on the Quilt chore list was to piece together what happened to Ida Mae (Delaney) Fox's biological family. We could tell from tidbits of family information that something happened. And Sherry Candy Lane told us in an interview that Ida Mae's daughter Grandma Pearl used to say that Ida Mae helped raised her siblings. So Ida Mae was considered Mammy even before she had children with her husband Elias Fox.
Census records show us Ida Mae with an uncle named Isaac Delana and so we carefully traced Isaac through the records and found out his mother was Matilda and Matilda took to raising Ida Mae's sister Ada Jane when Ada Jane was still little. From there we were able to find out about Ida Mae's other siblings too...Thomas, Columbus, Flora, and Sarah!
We even got correspondence from Cornerstone containing the obituaries of some (more?) of her siblings which we put in our online family document collection with Ida Mae and Ada Jane's death certificates...they all went home to rest in the 1900's.
Working with as many clues as possible and doing thorough research on some of the sites that welcome online researchers we're sorting out any confusions in this bit of family tree. But we still don;t know what happened to the children's parents...John and Rebecca (Blaker) Delaney. The story is unfolding as the Quilt does.
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