I have sent data to Alvin Jones several times with no reyly, is this the proper person? Or do we have a new leader? Doc

Hello List- seeking the address of Union Parrish Library, I have a ancestor that was named J .M Risenhoover that may have died in Monroe, His parents names were Bernard and Laura( Laurie) Risenhoover nee Holand.. I dont know if Monroe is in Union Parrish or Ouchita Parrish.. I am hoping someone may have a history book that lists families and can be checked for names and dates. I am wondering if J.M Risenhoover may have gotten married in either Ouchita or Union?? I am researching the Risenhoover family Tree. Thanks. Melodee Slaney melnsam123@aol.com

Hi Everyone, I am researching the family of John Thomas Powell, Sr. (b. 1862 in Ga) and his third wife, Nina Shaw. John Thomas was my grandfather. He married Nina Shaw in Union Parish. Currently working on the Shaw connection, I would like information on the pedigree of Joseph Shaw, father of Nina Shaw b. Apr. 25 1872 in Union Parish, Louisiana. I would appreciate any information that anyone has to share on this family. Thanks, Mary Powell Ward Salida, Colorado

Hello List- seeking information on a J.M Risenhoover, son of Bernard Mike Risenhoover. there seems to be a listing of a JM Risenhoover of Monroe, la. I dont know if Union Parrish I would like to believe that this J.M Risenhoover is still living, but not sure, I am seeking his vitals, any spouse or children. Can anyone help?? Thanks in advance. Melodee Slaney melnsam123@aol.com

Hi Debi: Could you look up a marriage record for me for Felix Shackelford/Shackleford and Susan B. Johnson? They would have been married between 1860 - 1870 in Union Parish, LA. They are my gg-grandparents. Any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Leslie Liddiard lliddiard@nc.rr.com Goldsboro, NC

Greggory I have the book called Union Parish, Louisiana Marriage Records 1839-1900 by John C. Head. However, many years were destroyed and are missing from the book. I will always do look ups for anyone. Anyone looking for Union Parish marriages should also look over in Union County, Arkansas. I have found several of mine over there. I also have the four volumes of cemetery books. debi burgess "Greggory E. Davies" wrote: > > Is there a source available that lists the marriage records for Union Parish? > > If not, does anyone have access to these records for a look up? > > Thanks, > > Gregg Davies > Winnfield, LA > > ==== LAUNION Mailing List ==== > List manager > launion-admin@rootsweb.com > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Is there a source available that lists the marriage records for Union Parish? If not, does anyone have access to these records for a look up? Thanks, Gregg Davies Winnfield, LA

Doug, you might try contacting a Chamber of Commerce in some town in Union Parish. I don't know about Louisiana, but in Texas a lot of towns will have maps and have the county on the back. Chamber of Com. usually has brochures on their town for free on display, if you don't see a map ask them, as sometimes they are for sale. Usually around $2.00. Nancy

Does anyone know if a map of Union Parish is available? I just spent a week in Union Parish and stayed lost most of the time. There is such a lack of sign directions. There are good road names and numbers but no info in how to get to them. Doc

Hi everybody. Thanks for all of the help you all have given me in my search for the grave of James Henry Smith. Well I found it and wouldn't you know it wasn't where everybody said it would be. His grave is located in Cane Creek Cemetery on Caney Creek Rd. between El Dorado and Strong in Union county Arkansas just off Hwy 82. He wasn't under that rock in Bethel Cemetery I had looked at for so many years thinking that was his headstone. This cemetery is so hard to find, I never would have found it if I hadn't went to the library in El Dorado to cool of after a morning of traipsing through cemeteries. There are a lot of graves there. It's hard to get to but it was worth it. Thanks again Midge

Thomas Brantley (b. ca 1809, Bladen Co., NC-d. Sept 23, 1856 Union County, LA), married Caroline Elizabeth Tisdale (b. ca 1810, Sumter Co., SC-d. Sept. 28, 1847, Union Parish, LA). After the death of Caroline, Thomas married Holland Lee (b. ca. 1830-d. June 18, 1864, Union Parish, LA.) Is anyone researching this family? I need a little help. I'm trying to determine if Thomas Brantley owned my GG Grandfather 'Jim' before selling him to his sister in law, Jane (Tisdale) Calvert, wife of William Calvert, or if the Tisdale's owned him. All responses welcomed on this one. Thanks! Dena Calbert-Jordan N. California

There is a cemetery out from Downsville, in either Lincoln or Union parish where many Futrells are buried . the cemetery is called Good Hope Cemetery. Many of my older Futrells are buried there, with no markers. Winburn & Rachel Futrell being two of them. Also some relatives on the Davis side of the family. If you think this may be the one, write me and I will give you the Highway # Gloria

Thanks to all on the Union Co. list for suggestions on my death certificate. Had lots of help. Ruth

>Julia Healey, do you mean that your ancestor was buried somewhere on the >property where the family lived? No, my great-grandfather was buried in one of the cemeteries in Union Parish, although I can't remember which one right off hand. I've seen his grave, complete with headstone which was erected some years later. The family already had space in the cemetery with older members being buried there. It sounds like they had the funeral at home, put the coffin in their wagon, went to the cemetery and buried him themselves. It's kind of hard to imagine being able to do that in today's world with all the fees, regulations, etc. associated with burials. Julia

I just received the death certificate for Louisa Jane Gee Honeycut, Tim, and there was a lot more incorrect information on it than her name. It did say she was buried in Farmerville which tends to confirm my belief. The grave is unmarked but there is enough space beside and between her husband and son for her grave to be there. The document said she was born in 1849 but it was really 1839 and that her father was from West Virginia. West Virginia didn't exist in 1839 or 1849. The information on those certificates is based on what the person reporting says and they don't always know much. My copy was accompanied by a sweet note from the staffer saying she hoped it was the one I was looking for. Bruce Odom

Midge, Bethel is one of the cemeteries surveyed on the Union Parish Archives at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/union/cemeteries/bethel.txt Of course, unmarked graves would not be included in the survey. Karen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Midge Willis" <midge112@bellsouth.net> To: <LAUNION-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 5:39 PM Subject: [LAUNION] Bethel Church/cemetery in Lily, La > Does anyone know who is in charge of the little church in Lily, La. Union Parish, called Bethel? I think they still have regular services there and I am hoping they might have records of who has been buried there over the years. > > Thanks > > > ==== LAUNION Mailing List ==== > Visit the Union Parish Archives at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/la/union.htm > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

A lot of weird things happen back then, especially during the great depression. People couldn't afford funeral services so they did the best they could. People could not afford a cemetery plot so they would sneak into cemeteries after dark and bury their dead in unoccupied plots. This presented a real dilemma when they went to bury someone and found the plot occupied. In many western states it's still legal to bury someone in your yard with a permit. Can you imagine what that would do to real-estate values? -----Original Message----- From: nwilliford@aol.com [mailto:nwilliford@aol.com] Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 2:36 PM To: LAUNION-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [LAUNION] Re: LAUNION-D Digest V03 #31 Julia Healey, do you mean that your ancestor was buried somewhere on the property where the family lived? I have wondered about this too. I had an aunt that lost a baby while on a trip and she couldn't remember where baby was buried. I have kin that died at home in late 20's - 30's. I know they cleaned them and laid them out, but can't find where they were buried, or anything on them. As late as 1949, I was told that a neighbor had buried their baby in back yard. Maybe it was legal to do that then, I just don't know. Does anyone else know about things like this happening? It might explain why we can't find records.

Julia Healey, do you mean that your ancestor was buried somewhere on the property where the family lived? I have wondered about this too. I had an aunt that lost a baby while on a trip and she couldn't remember where baby was buried. I have kin that died at home in late 20's - 30's. I know they cleaned them and laid them out, but can't find where they were buried, or anything on them. As late as 1949, I was told that a neighbor had buried their baby in back yard. Maybe it was legal to do that then, I just don't know. Does anyone else know about things like this happening? It might explain why we can't find records.

<<Minor variations in spelling made a difference in the staff's responses> One other variation to mention--problems caused by old handwriting: I requested a death certficate for Bethena Black (She was single). I paid $12.00 and received back a "Failure to Find" response. Later, I subsribed to Ancestry.com on-line which has the Alabama Death Index. Looking at the surname BLACK for the county where Bethena died, I did not find Bethena. However, I did see someone in the index named Mip B. Black. Thinking Mip was an odd name, I asked my mother who is 90 and knew all the Blacks in the county, "Did we have a relative named or nicknamed Mip?" She said no. Months later, I finally realized that the title Miss in the old handwriting had been mis-transcribed and possibly mis-filed as Mip, and Mip B. Black was actually Miss B. Black, the initial B. standing for Bethena. I was then able to send them the Volume, Page, and Certificate number, so they found it. It is hard to think of all possibilities for error, but using the index can be helpful if the name is! transcribed and filed correctly. I use this same process of thinking of all possible spelling variations and transcription errors when I check census or other indexes or when I type names into a search engine to run searches on the internet of archives or message boards. I also use different spellings when I post a query because someone might search for the name using one, but not the other spelling. My g-grandfather's first name was spelled Ivy, Ivey, Ivie, and even Iva in various records, so I use at least two or three of the spellings in any query I write about him, so it can be found when someone searching for him uses a different spelling. In the library's census index Ivey's name was listed as Joey and Jofy, not even close to Ivey. His common last name MORRIS has been listed as MARRIS, MORIS, MORRICE, and others. I won't even mention some of the problems in spelling caused by pronunciation, accents, and ways of speaking that were very different from some of ours today.

Regarding Louisiana death certificates of deceased Union Parish residents: Before concluding that a certain certificate doesn't exist for a person based upon a lookup by the staff at the archives, I suggest that you either search for it in person or else send them a variety of spelling variations for which to check. My cousin Robbie Landry and I recently went to the archives and I spent quite a bit of time searching for many certificates. Unexpectedly, I found several that I concluded long ago did not exist, based upon negative responses from the archives' staff. Here are a few of the strange circumstances I found during this trip... each item represents at least one death certificate that I found in person, whereas the archives staff had previously responded by mail that no such certificate existed: ### Minor variations in spelling made a difference in the staff's responses, such as "Goynes" for "Goyne", "Aulds" for "Auld", "Boatwright" for "Boatright", "Hamm" for "Ham", etc. ### Certificates were sometimes filed under the married name of a woman rather than her given name. For example, the certificate for Sarah Elizabeth Nolan, wife of Samuel Rate Nolan, was filed under "Mrs. S. M. Nolan". ### I found one occasion in which I had requested a certificate for "Lavincy Jane Auld" by mail, and the archvies claimed one didn't exist. However, I found it filed under "Mrs. L. J. Auld". Moreover, I found the certificate for Louisa Jane Honeycutt under the name 'Mrs. J. L. Honeycutt' (initials reversed). ### I found certificates frequently filed under nicknames rather than the full given name, such as 'Betsy' or 'Lizzie' rather than 'Elizabeth', 'Sally' for 'Sarah', 'Janie' rather than 'Jane', etc. In several instances, I didn't know the person was known by this particular nickname (even though they are common ones). ### I found the certificate for "Margaret Rebecca Boatright" filed under the name 'Margret Rebecca Boatwright'. ### Two of the most surprising were these... in 1991 I requested by mail the certificate for: Samantha E. Scarborough Ham and George Alexander Albritton The archives responded that no certificates existed. I found certificate for both of them filed under the names: "Asamantha E. Ham." "G. Alex Albritton" I'm certainly not blaming the staff at the archives in any way - they can only check for what we put on the request forms. I think the moral is to be sure and include on the mail request forms all possible ways in which the name of the deceased could be listed. However, I'm not sure I would have ever expected 'Asamantha' as a possible variation of "Samantha". Tim Hudson -----Original Message----- From: Julia T. Healey To: LAUNION-L@rootsweb.com Sent: 7/14/03 12:31 AM Subject: [LAUNION] Re: obit We had the same problem with my great-grandfather, John J. Futrell, who died of cancer in 1933. My father wrote to the state archives and inquired about parish records and was repeatedly told that there was no death certificate. He finally asked an older relative who was a teenager at the time, and he told the following story. John J. Futrell had some type of cancer and had spent several months in a hospital in Shreveport. When the doctors there decided that nothing more could be done, he was sent to one of his daughters' home near Downsville where he died a short time later. Since this was during the Depression and money was scarce, no doctor was called to verify the death and he was buried out of the home, meaning no funeral home was involved. It sounds terrible, but I guess they did what they had to. There's also no record of a death certificate for his wife, Mathilda Sanford Futrell, who had died in 1932 so I assume that she also died at home. This is possibly why you can't find a death certificate for your relative. Looking in the newspaper is a good idea. I wonder if the local library will do a search for a fee. If so, I would be interested. Does anyone know if that service is available? Julia Healey ==== LAUNION Mailing List ==== Visit the Union Parish Archives at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/la/union.htm ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237