Kin and Konnections: A Family History Blog

Soldiers Give Eyewitness Testimony about Christopher Tinkler's Head Injury During the Battle of Gettysburg My ancestor Christopher Tinkler served in the 107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company D in the Union Army during the Civil War. In April 2001, I obtained a copy of his pension file from the National Archives Records Administration in Washington, D.C., File No. WC-488-382. Here is a transcription of affidavits submitted by his fellow soldiers prepared in support of Christopher's pension application: The State of Ohio ) Stark County         ) ss           On this 6 th day of October AD 1874 before me the undersigned authority within and for said County personally came Harrison Failor and William H. Steiner, both of Pike Township Stark County Ohio, both well known to me as credible persons, entitled to full faith and credit, and who being duly sworn say:             That the...

John Henry and Lizzie (Wright) Tinkler in 1930s Los Angeles, from family photo collection. Several months ago, my aunt and I noticed a John Henry Tinkler [my second great-grandfather] listed on the California Death Index at Rootsweb. He was born in Ohio on June 13, 1859 and died in California on March 4, 1942. The mother's maiden name was listed as Kline. This threw us for a loop since Uncle Leslie Tinkler's family tree listed John Henry's mother's maiden name as Phoebe Carey. Anyway, through postings on genealogy message boards, I got a reply listing a marriage date for John H. Tinkler and Susan E. Wright in Bethany, Illinois. I sent away for their marriage register and the birth register for [their son] Clancy Bradford Tinkler, Sr. The marriage register shows they were married in Bethany on April 29, 1888. His mother's maiden name is listed as JULIA A. KLINE and his father's name is listed as CHRISTOPHER TINKLER. He was born in Stark County, Ohio where many Ti...

Researching my family history has changed so much since I started in 2000.  Then, I had a frustratingly slow dial-up connection.  I mostly surfed and posted on message boards.  I spent my lunch breaks in the bowels of the Los Angeles Central Library.  I remember stumbling upon my Burwell ancestors in the DAR lineage books.  I was excited when I found the biography of John H. Bryant, linking my Illinois Bryants to Massachusetts, and eventually, my immigrant ancestor, Abraham Bryant of Reading.  Even more rewarding, was piecing together the clues from city directories to my long-lost uncle and reconnecting the family after over 50 years. Many of those same resources I used back then are now available online.  Increasingly, you can access them for free. Today, I started with a short article on the remarriage of Moses T. Burwell, Jr. to Ada (Smith) Burwell on December 10, 1904, in Kansas City, Missouri.  [The article was published in the Col...

A few years ago, I obtained from the  National Archives and Records Administration  the civil war pension file for my ancestor, Christopher Tinkler (1834-1899)*, the first in this family line to be born in America.  In a family tree prepared by my great uncle Leslie Tinkler, Christopher's wife's name is given as Julia Carey.  Her name in the marriage record was Julia Ellen Carey.  It took some time to uncover her maiden name.  It can be challenging to find details about female ancestors.  Often the details of their lives are hidden in the records of their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers.   Below is a transcription of an affidavit filed by Julia's brother, George Washington Kline, and sister, Lydia Ann (Kline) Nicholson, in support of Julia's widow's pension:   No. 707102   General Affidavit   Case of Julia A. Tinkler, Widow of Christopher Tinkler, Co. D 107 Ohio Infantry   ...