Mystery Monday-Estate Papers of Margaret A. Mitchell

© 2010, copyright Michelle Goodrum  Recently I blogged about the Homestead Certificate of my great great grandfather's that I discovered in the Archival Closet. Also among those Mitchell papers were the Final Settlement papers for the estate of his wife, my gg grandmother, Margaret A. Mitchell. This was another of those woohoo moments!

Years ago, I was given a copy of a page from the Mitchell/McDonald Family Bible (whose provenance is completely unknown to me). It said Margaret died 26 March 1911 in Tum Tum, Stevens County, Washington. I have never been able to locate a death certificate for Margaret, even though according to the information I had, she died after death certificates began to be required in the State of Washington (that was in 1907). The Final Settlement papers sort of corroborate the information I already had (they say Margaret died on or about March 1st, 1911 near Tum Tum).

With this new discovery, I decided to take another look and I've noticed something rather interesting. I'd love to know what you think. The Washington Digital Archives has a death record for a Margaret Mitchell who died 19 March 1914 in Spokane.

A couple of points:

• I find it a little odd that Margaret's estate wasn't settled for over 3 years after she died (that's if you use the March 1911 DOD)
• The March 1914 DOD of the woman who died in Spokane fits into the timeline of the estate of "my" Margaret Mitchell
• I was told (this is family lore, if you will) that "my" Margaret's maiden name was McConnell.
• My Margaret Mitchell's first husband was a McDonald.
• The Margaret who died in Spokane apparently was the daughter of a Michael Ryan.
• A copy of a Washington State Death Certificate currently costs $31.50.

I've definitely got some conflicting information. What would you recommend doing next? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Finally, if you happened here because you're researching Mitchells and you know anything about that Bible, please email me at turningofgenerations at cox dot net. I'd love to hear from you!

(Coincidentally, Carol over at Reflections From The Fence wrote a post on finding a marriage record that she had been searching for forever at about the same time these papers appeared. Her story reminded me that tenacity pays off. I found myself rejuvenated after reading her post).

Treasure Chest Thursday - Homestead Certificate

While sorting through the Archival Closet, I came across a very old envelope simply labelled Mitchell. Upon opening it, I realized this was an item I had never been through before! Most of the papers had to do with my great great grandfather, John Hamilton Mitchell, Sr.'s homestead in Tumtum, Washington.

Years ago, I had written off to the National Archives for his homestead application packet, so most of the information in this envelope was already familiar. However, there was a very heavy weight, large piece of paper in this envelope that had an official raised seal. Upon opening it, I was surprised to see it was the original certificate issued to John in 1906! It's in great shape and now in a home that will insure it's longevity.

© 2010, copyright Michelle Goodrum

NGS 2010 - Day 4

Saturday was the last day of the conference and I made a last minute decision to listen to Daniel Lynch's presentation, "Google Your Family Tree."  It was divided into 2 talks and I listened to both.  I already have his book but listening to him speak was a real treat and I learned a lot about Google during those 2 hours.

Before the talk started, I ran across lady who lives in the teeny, tiny town of Tum Tum, Washington, where my grandmother grew up.  Her extended family was pretty much the entire town way back when. This very nice lady knows everyone and numerous descendants of my ancestors still live there.  It was really fun to have the opportunity to talk with her!  What a small world.

I'll have a wrap up posting on my experiences at the conference and some follow-up postings in the coming days.

© 2010, copyright Michelle Goodrum