Timing is Everything!

My paternal grandfather, Warren Davis Wood, was a railroad man.  He was an engineer on the Santa Fe Coast Lines Railroad.  I had been trying to research RR information on him for a few years with no luck.  All I knew was that Warren was enumerated in the 1910 census as living in Thayer, Missouri as a married 28 year old with the occupation of a Locomotive Fireman¹ and I also had this picture.

 Warren D. Wood (center)

My breakthrough came when a cousin of mine mentioned that she had a box of memorabilia and asked if I would be interested in it.  She was able to share with me some of the records I had been searching for for so long.  What timing!  As genealogists, we know that sometimes treasures can be found if you wait long enough.

This Locomotive Firemen traveling card is dated Dec. 31, 1904 and references a Lodge and the Frisco System.  It states that he was employed as a fireman for 2 years and three months and was a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen's union for 1 year and 7 months.

I also found that on June 11,1920 he became certified as a Locomotive Engineer on the Santa Fe Coast Lines.

  

But the cards that I treasure most are the Engineer watch certifications from 1935 and 1936.   The pink card is a record of the watch cleaning, explaining that watches must be cleaned within 15 months of exact date last cleaned.  The blue card details testing the watch for accuracy every 15 days noting in seconds if it ran fast or slow.

Yes, Timing is Everything!
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¹ "United States Census, 1910"  Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. W.D. Wood household,Year: 1910; Census Place: Thayer, Oregon, Missouri; Roll: T624_804; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 130; Image: 329

   

You "Auto" See This

It's summertime and a genealogists thoughts turn to... road trips!  So as we make our way to cemeteries, courthouses and libraries, it's fun to think back to how our ancestors traveled.

While going through old family pictures, I am always intrigued by those displaying old cars and buggy's.  Here is the progression in one family.  These are a few that make me smile.

 Grandma Ora Ogle Wood on the right with great aunt Nora.

Great Grandpa Henry Issac Ogle (on the left) taking a few friends for a spin.

By 1925 Henry I. Ogle named his newest car Sadie.

My Grandfather, Warren D. Wood, proudly displaying his car and family.

Spanish American War

The Spanish American War began in 1898 between the United States and Spain. Fighting actually began in 1895 as Cuba struggled for independence from Spanish rule. U.S. military intervention occurred after the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously sank in Havana harbor on Feb 15, 1898. On Dec 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris was signed and the Spanish American War ended.¹

My Spanish American War ancestor is:  My grandfather Warren Davis Wood

Warren D Wood enrolled on 25 Apr 1898 in the 2^nd Arkansas Volunteer infantry Company C.² At that time he was a single man, age 21 and a laborer in Jonesboro, Craighead Co., Arkansas. His father, F.M. Wood was listed as a contact person. Warren was a Private and a Musician.

 

                Do you have any ancestors who were in the Spanish-American War?

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¹ “Spanish-American War”, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, (Wikimedia Foundation Inc.)

² "NARA," database, Fold3 , Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Spanish-American War; NARA M871, roll 0124, State of Arkansas