First Post

Hello. The interest and love of genealogy for me, is deeply rooted. When I was young, my Uncle Keith would come to visit us for the Christmas holidays. We lived in Sandy Utah. Keith would take me with him to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. While at the library I would help him find our ancestors.

I really don't know how much help a ten or eleven year old girl would be, but it was fun. I remember searching in the quite, cloistered half light of the microfilm reader looking for two particular names that Keith had given me. Searching.....searching. Bingo! I found it! I was so proud of myself. Keith, was happy too and wrote the source in his note book and made a copy of the document we had found. Then, the search was then on again. Many a happy Christmas time was spent in the library.

Since that time the desire to discover my ancestors has never left me. I find that I can do genealogy for hours. It really sucks me in. The difference is that now I can do a lot of it from my home computer, which I love, in addition to all the old methods; which I have to admit I am rusty at, If I every really learned them at all.

This is the documentation of my adventure. If you by chance stumble across my blog before I have it going in full swing Then let me share with you a little bit of what I know.

I am currently researching Copeland's and Lyle's. Although mostly Copeland. They lived in Kansas and Missouri in the 1850's. Oliver Willard Copeland married Matilda Lee Jackson on December 13, 1889 in Stockton, Cedar, Missouri. They had 2 boys: George Joshua and John Orville.

Oliver Willard remarried Clara Victoria Burchett Putnum in 1942. This most likely means that Matilda died. However I can not find her death date. I know that Matilda and Oliver are living in Cedar Co. Missouri in 1930 from the census record. She must have died in between 1930-1942.

As a side note a really good online resource if you are looking for vital records in Missouri is Missouri digital heritage. You can even look up births prior to 1910. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/birthdeath/

Matilda's husband Oliver Willard is buried in Parsons Kansas at Oakwood Cemetary. At least one of her children is as well. Since I am not able to find her death date online, and searches at the Family History Center have not turned up anything. I am going to write the Missouri State Archives for hopefully her death certificate. If by chance she died in Kansas, then I will write them as well.

If my newly acquired readership has any suggestions, I would be happy to take them.

Thanks for reading!