Veterans Day: Remembering Our Veterans

Clay Ford, U.S. Air Force 1956-1960
Specialty Title: Aircraft & Missile Electrical

This Veterans Day, I'm reminded of the many men and women in my own family who answered the call to serve. My father, Clay Ford; my brother, Clay; my stepfather, Lawrence Hall; my uncle, Jimmie Green; and many other relatives proudly served our country. Their dedication and sacrifice are a cherished part of our family's story, and I am grateful for each of them.

Like many families, ours has a history of military service that stretches across generations. Some served during times of war, while others served during times of peace. Each had a different experience, but all became part of a larger story of service to our nation.

As a genealogist, I've come to appreciate how important it is to preserve those stories, not simply the dates and places of military service, but the experiences of the people behind the uniforms.

More Than a Name on a Military Record

For family historians, military records are often more than just documents. They tell the stories of ordinary people who stepped forward during extraordinary times.

Service records, draft registrations, photographs, letters, and discharge papers can provide valuable genealogical clues. They may tell us where an ancestor was stationed, what duties they performed, or how long they served. Pension applications sometimes reveal family relationships, physical descriptions, and personal circumstances that we might never discover elsewhere.

But military records don't always tell the whole story.

They may not reveal the homesickness of a young soldier stationed far from family, the friendships formed during service, or the challenges of returning to civilian life. Those details are often found in personal letters, family photographs, newspaper articles, and, perhaps most importantly, the memories shared by the veterans themselves.

Preserving Their Stories

If you are fortunate enough to have a veteran in your family who is willing to talk about their experiences, take the time to listen.

Ask where they served, what their daily life was like, and what they remember most about those years. Not every veteran wishes to discuss their service, particularly difficult experiences, and that choice deserves our respect. Sometimes the stories they are most comfortable sharing are about friendships, travels, or ordinary moments of military life.

Look through those old photographs tucked away in albums or boxes. Is there a picture of a relative in uniform? Do you know when or where it was taken? Can you identify the people standing beside them?

If you have military documents, consider scanning them and preserving digital copies. Record what you know about each item and where the information came from. Even a simple photograph with a name, date, and location can become a treasured piece of family history.

For those veterans who are no longer with us, their stories may still be waiting to be discovered in military records, newspapers, letters, and the memories of other family members.

A Legacy Worth Remembering

Veterans Day is an opportunity to recognize all who have served in the United States Armed Forces, both in wartime and in peace.

It is also a reminder that the veterans in our family trees were more than soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, or Guardians. They were sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and grandparents. They had families who loved them, dreams for their futures, and lives that extended far beyond their military service.

When we preserve their stories, we give future generations a chance to know them as people, not simply as names on a family tree.

This Veterans Day, I will be thinking of my father, my brother, my uncle, and the many other relatives who served. I am proud of their service and grateful for the part they played in our family's history.

I encourage you to take a moment to remember the veterans in your own family tree. Find a photograph, share a memory, or begin researching a military record you've been meaning to explore. You may discover a story worth passing along.

And if you have a veteran in your life, perhaps the most meaningful thing you can do is simply take the time to say thank you.

To all veterans, past and present, thank you for your service. Your stories deserve to be remembered, and your contributions will not be forgotten.

Cemetery Visits: Preparation Is Key

Take photos of headstones from different angles.

This is the perfect season to head out for a cemetery visit. The cooler weather here in the South is certainly a blessing because this Genealogy Grandma doesn't do heat quite as well anymore! Whether you're paying your respects, snapping photos, or hunting for family history clues, a cemetery can be full of discoveries. Taking a few minutes to prepare before you go can help you gather accurate information and perhaps uncover details about your ancestors you didn't know before.

Before You Go

Create a list of everyone who might be buried in the cemetery, including not only direct ancestors but also siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and married daughters. You can also look for online memorials on sites such as Find a Grave and BillionGraves. These resources can help identify family plots, reveal relatives you may have overlooked, and save time during your visit.

Research the cemetery in advance. Look for maps, burial registers, and plot records. Local funeral homes, and libraries may have some of these records.

Contact the cemetery to ask about visiting hours, records, accessibility, and any special rules. Ask whether there are unmarked graves, relocated burials, or records of stones that have been removed. Small and rural cemeteries may have a caretaker or local volunteer who knows where everyone is.

Pack essentials. Plan your visit during favorable lighting conditions, and always follow cemetery regulations and respect the grounds.

• Camera or phone with a fully charged battery (and a backup power bank)
• Notebook, pencil, and printed checklist if you prefer paper
• Soft-bristle brush and water for gentle cleaning, if permitted. Never use harsh chemicals or stiff brushes, and never use shaving cream or chalk, which can damage stones.
• A mirror or a sheet of white card to redirect light onto worn inscriptions
• Gloves, bug spray, sunscreen, water, sturdy shoes, and a small trowel or probe only if the cemetery allows it
• A tape measure or ruler for scale in photos

While You're There

Photograph headstones from multiple angles and capture wider shots of surrounding graves and family plots. Nearby burials may reveal relationships, migration patterns, or community connections.

Record the exact location of each grave using section markers, lot numbers, or GPS coordinates. Transcribe inscriptions exactly as written, even if the information conflicts with other records.

Pay attention to symbols, military markers, epitaphs, and other details that may suggest religious affiliations, organizations, occupations, or military service.

 

After You Return

Take a few minutes to label and back up your photos while you can still easily connect each image to its location and notes.  

Compare inscriptions with other records such as death certificates, obituaries, church records, and census entries, noting any discrepancies.

Follow up on new leads, and share your findings by uploading photos or corrections to sites like Find a Grave or BillionGraves. The information you preserve may help other researchers as much as it helps your own family history research.

A cemetery visit often begins with a search for one person but can end with a deeper understanding of an entire family. Careful preparation, observation, and documentation can turn a simple visit into a rich source of genealogical evidence.

Aprons: More Than a Piece of Cloth

             Photo by Vitaly Gariev from Pexels

Do you remember your mother or grandmother wearing an apron?

I remember my grandmother wearing one. As a child, I never gave it much thought. It was simply part of her routine and as familiar as her kitchen and the wonderful smells drifting from it. She wore it while baking, cooking, or tending to one of the countless tasks that filled her day. I didn't realize then that something so ordinary would one day become such a treasured memory.

Today, we might wear an apron while baking Christmas cookies or preparing a big family meal. For many of our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, though, an apron was an everyday necessity.

A Constant Companion

An apron certainly protected clothing from flour, grease, and stains, but it was much more than that.

For many women, an apron was as much a part of the day as the chores themselves. It gathered vegetables from the garden, carried clothespins to the clothesline, held countless little necessities in its pockets, wiped hands and tears, and occasionally served as a potholder in a pinch. Whether she was baking bread, gathering eggs, or preparing supper, the apron was rarely far away.

The Memories They Carry

When I think about my grandmother's apron, I realize how often we overlook the ordinary things in our family history.

We save wedding dresses, military uniforms, and treasured heirlooms. But an apron may have witnessed far more of everyday family life than any of those special items.

It was there for holiday dinners and weekday suppers. It saw children gathered around the kitchen table, birthdays celebrated, and family traditions passed from one generation to the next.

Sometimes the memory isn't about the apron at all. It's about the woman who wore it. The sound of her voice. The smell of something good baking in the oven. The comfort of knowing you were always welcome in her kitchen.

Those are the memories that stay with us.

Preserving the Stories

If you have an old family apron tucked away in a drawer or cedar chest, consider preserving its story along with the fabric.

Was it homemade? Did your grandmother have a favorite color or pattern? What do you remember about seeing her wear it?

Take a look through old family photographs, too. You may be surprised at how often an apron appears in the background, quietly doing its job while family life unfolded around it.

We can't always preserve every object our ancestors used, but we can preserve the memories attached to them.

Do you remember your mother or grandmother wearing an apron? Did she have a favorite one? Perhaps you still have it tucked away somewhere. I'd love to hear your memories.

When Our Ancestors Feel a Little Closer

AI image

Something about this time of year turns our thoughts toward those who came before us. The evenings arrive earlier, familiar recipes return to our kitchens, and the approaching holidays bring memories of people whose places at the table are now empty.

We may find ourselves remembering a grandmother’s voice, a father’s familiar expression, or the way someone always made sure everyone had enough to eat. Sometimes, an ordinary moment makes a person we have lost feel very close.

This season is often associated with the idea of a “thin veil” between the living and the dead. Irish Halloween folklore includes beliefs that the souls of the departed could return to the family home. In Mexico’s Día de los Muertos traditions, families welcome and remember deceased loved ones with photographs, favorite foods, and offerings. Christian observances of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day also make this a season for honoring saints and remembering and praying for the departed. These traditions have distinct meanings, but each gives people a time to turn their attention toward those who have died.

Whether we understand that closeness through faith, family tradition, or memory, it offers something for genealogists to consider: How are our ancestors still speaking in our lives?

The Things We Carry Without Knowing

Some family influences are easy to recognize. We know whose wedding ring rests in the jewelry box or whose handwriting fills the recipe cards. Other connections take more work to uncover.

A family’s determination to keep a well-stocked pantry might make more sense after we learn about years of hunger or uncertain employment. An emphasis on education may have begun with someone who had little opportunity to attend school. A language that disappeared between generations may lead us to questions about immigration, belonging, and the pressure to fit in.

We cannot assume we know the reasons behind every family habit. But research gives us a place to begin asking.

Why did they leave? What did they hope to find? What did they want their children to have that they had gone without?

Those questions help us see how experiences from long ago may have reached into our own childhoods—and perhaps into the lives of our children.

Listening Through the Records

Our ancestors still speak to us through the letters, photographs, and other records. As genealogists, we spend a great deal of time looking for names, dates, and places. Those details matter. They help us identify the right people and build an accurate account of their lives.

Yet, there are moments when a record gives us something more.

A signature may reveal handwriting surprisingly similar to our own. A letter preserves a person’s humor, worries, or affection. A closer look at a photograph may reveal a familiar smile or family resemblance we hadn’t noticed before. A newspaper notice may reveal years of service to a community. A census entry can prompt us to investigate what happened when a household lost a parent or took in a relative.

Remembering the Whole Person

Looking closely at our ancestors also means making room for complicated stories.

Some left examples we want to follow. Others made choices we struggle to understand. Many did both. Family history can hold generosity and hurt, courage and fear, accomplishment and regret.

We do not have to excuse someone’s actions to study their life honestly. Understanding a family pattern may help us decide what we want to carry forward and what we hope to change.

That, too, gives genealogy a place in our present lives. What we learn can affect how we treat one another, the questions we ask, and the stories we choose to tell the next generation.

Make Room for One Story

This season, perhaps we can give one ancestor a little more of our attention.

Choose a photograph and find out who is pictured. Ask a relative about a holiday custom. Prepare a family recipe and write down the name of the person who shared it. Return to a familiar document and consider what it reveals about someone’s daily life.

Then preserve what you learn. Record the source, write a paragraph, or add a note explaining why an object matters. Share it with someone who may never have heard the story.

An old photograph becomes more meaningful when someone can say, “Let me tell you about her.”

A Connection Worth Keeping

Whatever your understanding of the idea of a "thin veil," taking time to listen closely to the past can enrich our lives.

Whose story will you make time for this season?

Amanuensis Monday - Marriage Return of Andrew Hatcher & Sarah Ford, 1869, Scott County, Missouri

This weekly blog post was inspired by Amanuensis Monday, created by John Newmark of the Transylvanian Dutch blog. The word amanuensis means "A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."                                                         

                                                         ----------------------

This week, I am transcribing the marriage return for my great-grandaunt, Sarah Ford, and her husband, Andrew Hatcher.

Physical Description
Document Type: Digitized 

Document: Handwritten Marriage Return

Condition and Notes:

• A short marriage return handwritten in dark ink.
• The Justice of the Peace is consistent writing the lower case 't' without a crossbar or carelessly crossing the letter mid-air or to the right. 
• No blotches or stains noted. 
• No tears. 
• No mark throughs or illegible words. 
• Original spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and line breaks have been preserved.

"Marriage waivers for minors: Scott, Marriage Licenses 1866-1874," Book 2, p. 180, marriage return for Andrew Hatcher & Sarah Ford, 24 January 1869; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897G-519Y?view=index : downloaded on 12 June 2026), image 1038 of 1783, FamilySearch Library IGN #007084712; citing Missouri. State Archives.

The transcription is as follows:

  This is to certify that I on the 24th 

day of Janua[r]y 1869 Joined in the

bonds of matrimo[n]y Andrew Hatcher

and Sarah Ford both of Scott County

Missouri         John. N. Benefield      [postage stamp here]

                         Justice of the peace