WWII - "Old Man's Draft"

I have found a lot of WWII draft registration cards for my relatives. The strange thing about this, however, is that all of them were too old to serve in 1942. Then I learned about the "Old Man's Draft". In 1942 the selective service instituted a "Fourth Registration" to the draft. The men this was targeting were not for service in the military, but for those who could help out on the Home Front. 


These Registration cards have truly been invaluable to my research. The main reason - the records are first hand sources. Each record is coming straight from the man that filled the card out, not a census taker that can't get the spelling of a last name right. Granted, due to their age, sometimes the card might be victim to bad memory.

Another thing that is really neat about these records is they serve as a snapshot of the person. There is a section for the draft board to list the description including their height, weight, hair color, eye color, and any abnormalities.

Below are three records of my ancestors:

John Bernard Marchel - Maternal Great-great Grandfather

Edward Morrison Kline, Sr. - Maternal Great-great Grandfather

George Leo Rak - Paternal Great-great Grandfather

Wordless Wednesday

Naches cousins 01, a photo by StephanieRubel on Flickr.

Photo restoration

I have been slowly learning and working with Photoshop for a few years now, though its mostly been for personal enjoyment as a photographer in Second Life.  But now that I have decided to take Genealogy research to the professional level, I find myself also wanting to use my experiences with digital imaging to retouch and restore some of the photographs I have been scanning over the past few months. I hope to offer scanning and retouching old photos as a service in the future, but I'm still "practicing" -- learning how to use the techniques I already know for a different purpose.

About a month and a half ago I came across a photo that I absolutely loved of my mother and her siblings, but it had been stained and bent, and had faded a fair amount.

Original scanned photo

I finally got around to editing the photo the other day and I was very pleased (okay, to be honest, I was giddy with excitement) at how it turned out. I still need more practice, especially with other types damage and color casts - but for now, I am very happy with where I am.

After cleaning it up...

New discovery and incorrect gravestone

The interesting thing about writing this blog is while I write, I am able to find holes in my research. On my last post about Jacob Carroll I found a fairly significant discrepancy with his date of death. My data had said  he died in 1935 but his gravestone said 1936. So I made a note to follow up on this. My source for 1935 was a short biography that was possibly his obituary. I found it in my grandma's belongings with the old pictures that had been my great-grandmothers. It had been re-typed and laminated and no source information  given. It was something that was likely made by a family member for remembrance, not genealogy and I began to doubt the information when I saw the gravestone.

However, the Missouri Digital Heritage website has a large collection of digitized documents. There aren't a lot of my family, but as if a stroke of luck, Jake Carroll's Death Certificate is there. It clearly states 1935 as the year he died, so this family document was right, and the date etched in the headstone was incorrect.

Jacob A. Carroll (1876 - 1936)

Photo by Find a Grave user Randy Adams

Jake Carroll was born October 31st, 1876 in Ozark County, Missouri to John Carroll and Sarah Elizabeth Gifford.  His younger brother, Joseph F. Carroll was born January 21st, 1879. Little is known of Jake's younger life, but sometime around 1879 his father, John, passed away. Sarah, now a widow with two young sons, re-married James Perry Kimberling on November 2nd 1879.

For a time the family moved to Oklahoma, but by 1890 they had returned to Ozark County. James Perry and Sarah Kimberling had 6 six children, though only 3 made it to adulthood: Jessie A, Lillie E, and Mattie Angeline. As Jake and Joe were very young when Sarah and James were married, they grew up  close with their half-siblings, and when Sarah and James died in 1898, Joe and his wife, Belle, took the Kimberling siblings in and reared them. 

 On October, 25 1899 Jake Carroll and Flora Ann Loman were married in Gassville, Arkansas. Flora was the daughter of John Washington Loman and Elizabeth Ann Coffman. They settled in Gassville for many years where they had 7 children: Eula, Leota Marie, Edgar, Louvina, Fleeta (died in infancy) Eura, and my great-grandmother, Una Lee. Later, four of the sisters, Eula, Louvina, Eura, and Una Lee would move with their husbands and families to Oregon. 

The family later moved back to Ozark County, settling in the area of Howards Ridge. This is where Una Lee and Ralph Waldo Stevens  would marry in 1933. Jake passed away shortly after on July 15, 1936 at the home of Ralph and Una Lee Stevens and was laid to rest in Fay Cemetery. In his obituary it is said that "On the evening of July 7, he asked to be taken on the porch and then he began singing 'In the Sweet Bye and Bye.'"

From left to right: Everett and Mattie (Kimberling) Pleasant, Joe and Belle (Pleasant) Carroll, Jim and Lillie (Kimberling) Pleasant, and Jake and Flora (Loman) Carroll.

Going Professional

About the time I started this blog, I was also considering becoming a Professional Genealogist. Not only am I absolutely obsessed with my own family's history,  but I also love helping people find the information they need. That is why I went to Library School, and that is why I have finally decided to move forward with this idea, and offer professional services as well.

So, let me help you collect the leaves to your family tree!

I now offer Professional Genealogy Services. I will research your family's history and provide you with charts, reports, and copies of any documents I find with my sources recorded. I can also prepare a GEDCOM file for your own use.

Do you have ancestors in the Stayton, Oregon area? I am able to find obituaries from the Stayton Mail and send a digital and transcribed copy.

Have you done some research and want help compiling the information, entering the data, or writing a book? I can help with that as well.

For more information including a quote, contact me at steph.rubel@gmail.com or 503-559-8106