Jacqueline’s Jaunts

This is an excerpt from a paper I have been working on for the past year and a half about my grandfather's World War II service. He served with L Company 406th Infantry Regiment 102nd Infantry Division. Growing up, I didn’t realize my grandfather served in World War II. My Uncle Jimmie Griffin started doing our family genealogy between 1970 and 1980. In the early 1990’s he passed his research onto me. At that time, I had no idea what I was doing but he had put together family group sheets for most of the family and gathered quite a bit of information. During this time of my life I was interested is discovering if I had any Civil War veterans in my family tree. I was able to confirm that my 3xgreat grandfather on my maternal side did serve in the Civil War. When I shared this information with my Uncle Jimmie, he then informed me about my grandfather’s World War II Service.  Uncle Jimmie stated he didn’t know much about Grandpa’s time in World War II because Grandpa said it was confi...

Family Had a zoom call with Ashlee and Behr. He is crawling now and so quick and into everything. He is too adorable. They will be moving back to California next month and can't wait. We are so excited!! She gave me their new address and I looked it up on Google maps while we were talking. I can't wait to see them.  Skylar called to let us know she and Jake are moving to Texas. She will finish her Vet Tech schooling out there. She wants to practice Equine vet medicine and feels she has a better chance of finding a job in Texas due to the amount of ranches there. The prison that Jake works at is closing and he wants to go into Law Enforcement. They both have researched this decision a lot and feel Texas is the place for them.  Lisa Call This week we decided to get into the program Zotero. We both ordered the book and downloaded the free software. We will read the first 3 chapters on the book and discuss when we meet next Monday.  Zotero for Genealogy: Harnessing the Power ...

I've been thinking of writing a recap of what I accomplish weekly. My friend Lisa does this and I enjoy reading and seeing her photos from the previous week. This will mainly be for me to document what research I accomplish, meetings or webinars I attend, trips (hence Jacqueline's Jaunts) or any other thing I want to document about my life. I'll see where this leads me.  Nature We've been on our houseboat since May 10th. One of the cool things about spending extended time on the boat in a cove is the wildlife. Hearing the geese get into their squabbles, watching the wild donkeys hang out on the shore in the front of our boat. We are very quiet when they come around and they stay for awhile. I think my favorite is watching the eagles catch thermals and rise higher and higher in the sky. It's like they are just floating. They're my favorite bird and I could watch them for hours. There are a few pairs on the lake and we are lucky enough to share this lake with them...

I finally did something I’ve wanted to do for years, visit my Uncle Eddie Griffin’s burial site in San Jose, CA but life just seemed to get in the way. Two months ago, we dropped our motorhome off at Leale’s RV Service Center in south San Jose. Two weeks ago, we went back to tour Leale’s facility and check on the work that is being done. A few days before we left, I mapped the directions to the cemetery, and surprisingly, the service center was only two miles down the road. I think my Uncle was calling me.  I took numerous photos of his burial site for my records. On the hill behind Eddie’s spot is a Pacific Bell tower. There is a memorial plaque commemorating when my Uncle Top (Columbus Utah Griffin) was killed while working on a Pacific Bell building in downtown San Jose, CA, but that’s a story for another time. I made sure the tower was included in a few of my photos. My mother, Wanda Lue (Griffin) Threet, had no idea the tower was there when she picked out the spot for Eddie. W...

In the 1990’s my Uncle Jimmie Griffin was ready to pass on the family genealogy research he was working on. I inherited the binder he had, and it was full of family group sheets. This was during the time when the internet had just begun. I started collecting documents; birth, death, funeral, funeral programs, graduation information and any other documents I could get from family members. I kept anything that marked a family event. I put these items in that binder or file folders I created, then forgot about them.  At some point I purchased the genealogy software Family Tree Maker. I started inputting the vital records information I had gathered and scanning items into Family Tree Maker. I still kept the paper versions if I had one. As of writing this post I still have A TON of documents I need to scan and update to Family Tree Maker. It’s a never-ending project.  Since I retired in August 2019, I have been working on my genealogy research and writing skills b...

There are times I miss my grandparents terribly. They were so much fun. Neither of them had favorites and I always loved visiting them as a child and even as an adult.  As a kid I remember my cousins, siblings and I were always with our Grandparents. We were very close to our Grandparents and have many, many, fond memories we talk about even today. I remember even as a child calling my grandparents to talk to them. My cousins and I knew their phone number by heart. My mom would say, “If you don’t want momma or daddy to know, don’t say anything around Jacqueline.” Mom claimed I would tell Grandma and Grandpa everything even when I became and adult. The earliest memories I have of my grandparents is when they lived at 1606 White Oaks in San Jose, California. They lived here when my cousins and I were all in grade school. The backyard was dirt and there was a huge oak tree on the left-hand side. Grandma and Grandpa let us dig in the dirt and we would always make these cities with road...

My 3 rd Great Grandmother The following information is from her civil war pension application under Moses M. CRADDUCK Private, Company D 1 st Arkansas Cavalry Volunteers. She  filed for Moses' pension after he died.  He enlisted Nov. 19, 1862. He was honorably discharged August 23, 1865 and died December 17, 1886. She filed on July 24, 1890 and was living in Lancaster, Crawford County, Arkansas (AR). This helps clarify residency since the 1890 census records are not available due to a fire.   On November 16, 1917 she made the following statement in regards to Mary Ann Elizabeth (McCaslin) CRADDUCK (first wife) filing for Moses M. CRADDUCK civil war pension. Statement was taken near Frisco, Pontotoc Co., OK. Below is her statement from the pension file record from Mary Ann Elizabeth (McCaslin) CRADDUCK’s filing.    “We lived a few years at Rudy Station, Crawford Co. [County], Ark [Arkansas]. Then one winter in Springfield, Greene Co.[County] Mo. Then a few mo...