Have I ever mentioned I’m a Genealogy Hoarder? Oh right, I suppose I have. Have I mentioned that my Great-Grandparents were also meticulous record keepers, who never threw out things that might later be important? Oh, I suppose I’ve told you that too.

Here’s one of my “treasures”, it really gave me a glimpse into the early life of my Great Grandfather, William Lawrence Moore. This is a resume he had from the late 1920s.

Treasure Chest Thursday is a GeneaBloggers daily blogging topic.

If you told me 10 years ago that I would come to look at pieces of paper as treasure, I would have thought you were crazy! Sure I was curious about all this family tree stuff then, but not to the extent I am now. Reflecting on the great experience I had a few years ago, I decided I was going to do another Find a Grave photo request. However, I didn’t want to send someone into a Brooklyn cemetery blind. I knew I had the deed somewhere, which will give the plot number. It’s the least I could do, right?

In my quest for the Brooklyn Cemetery Deed, I found the one for Prospect Hill Cemtery in Caldwell, New Jersey.

Right next to the Prospect Hill deed was a big, thick envelope for The Evergreens in Brooklyn. In it was this transferred deed from William H Moore to his daughter Mary J Moore. William H Moore being the first Moore I know of in America.

Along with the original deed. What comes next is the great part apart researching my Dad’s family. My Great-Grandparents were probably the best record keepers in the world.

There is a remembrance card for Robert J Moore, Jr; William L Moore’s brother.

There is numerous correspondence between William L Moore and Chester Schmaeling. They were discussing the care and payment for the cemetery in Brooklyn. Chester being the brother of Gertrude, who married William L Moore‘s brother Robert J Moore, Jr.

There is a newspaper clip for a pilot who went missing during WWII. At first it’s unclear on why this is thrown into the mix.

Then I read that it was actually Marguerite Wambaugh’s (she’s Llewellyn’s cousin) husband. I’m going to have to research this further, because I don’t know if he ever made it home or not!

There is a big packet of papers pertaining to the Brooklyn plots. Including a funeral card for Marion Moore-Schroeder.

When I say that my Great-Grandfather was a very good record keeper, I wasn’t exaggerating at all. He was an accountant for AT&T. This was just what he did.

Always the accountant, William couldn’t help but figure out how exactly his money was being spent.

This is what I love. In this letter William inquires who all is buried in the cemetery plot in Brooklyn.

This is scribbled in pencil on the back of the deed. I’m unsure if this was done before William had a response from the cemetery. Maybe he was trying to figure it out for himself, or maybe he went to the cemetery and transcribed the tombstones. I can’t be sure.

I definitely don’t blame him though, because I wanted to know too! I called the cemetery and they gave us a count of 9 people and 8 plots. One of the people being a baby with no other information. The cemetery office said they couldn’t tell us over the phone anything other than the names of the people. We understood that, but this is the plot I’m going to see if someone can fill my photo request. I’m very curious about this cemetery. One day I will get to Brooklyn to visit it myself, but until then I hope this can give me something.

Treasure Chest Thursday is a daily blogging topic I got from GeneaBloggers. To participate in Treasure Chest Thursday simply create a post with the main focus being a family treasure, an heirloom or even an every-day item important to your family.

The next “treasure” I will show you is our Grandfather clock. This clock has only been in our house for about 6 years now. Technically we’ve owned it since it was made in 1983. The story goes that my Grandmother and Wayne were visiting us. Wayne was huge into the Civil War. Which is only fitting since he strongly resembled Abe Lincoln… Anyway, they were visiting and going around to all the historical sites. Obviously we are in the perfect spot for that. We are about 2 hours south of Washington D.C. and about 5 minutes from Point Lookout and St. Mary’s City.

They visited Sotterley Plantation one day while Grandma and Wayne were visiting. Sotterley is probably one of my favorite places in my area. I’ve only been twice in my whole life, but I love it all the same. During their visit to Sotterley, my Mom spied a grandfather clock. She fell in love with that clock. She turned to Wayne and told him, “One day I’ll have a clock just like that.”

Wayne went back to Indiana, and he made her that clock she said she wanted. The clock sat at Grandma and Wayne’s house in Dillsboro, IN for 20 years. Until one day, Wayne told us that we were taking it back to Maryland with us or he was putting on the lawn and selling it. We did what anyone would do, we packed up the clock and hightailed it back to Maryland.

This clock is in all my memories of Grandma and Wayne. That’s because it was made the same year I was born. I have such vivid memories of this clock. I can see Wayne now, sitting in his chair in the corner. He’d take his timepiece out and check the clock time. Then he’d sign as only a man with the most gravely voice (that was the emphysema) can do. Then he’d walk over and he’d pull the weights and adjust the time.

I’m pretty sure this picture was taken in front of Sotterley on that fateful visit. The baby would be my sister. I wasn’t born yet. This is probably one of my favorite pictures.

I recently was going through my mountain of pictures and came across a few more from that  visit. These are from D.C. How great are these shots? Even though we live close to D.C. we rarely go into the city. We keep trying to plan a trip but it’s just a little too close to home for it to ever get off it’s feet. Forces have been working against us.

Looking at these pictures makes me want to go real bad though. I better get on the treadmill and work up my walking endurance though. I’m sure it’ll be a lot of walking if we were to go. I’d like to learn more about picture taking too. It’d be great to actually get good pictures.

Treasure Chest Thursday is a Daily Blogging Topic that I got from GeneaBloggers. To participate in Treasure Chest Thursday simply create a post with the main focus being a family treasure, an heirloom or even an every-day item important to your family.

Today’s blog can double for a GeneaBlogger topic and a My Favorite Things post! The “treasure” I’ll tell you about is my Great Grandmother Llewellyn’s journal. I’ve tried transcribing to the site a few times but nothing that has stuck. I’ll get that worked out soon.

As you can see the journal is quite old. It’s dated 1923, and I think she used it to cover a three year period.

It’s not exactly in the greatest shape on the outside but it’s definitely in great condition otherwise!

Every month has little birthday reminders at the beginning. Not only family birthdays but also friends. There is even a list of visited places written on one of the pages. What a diverse list it was too! I’m guessing that list would be the places I see in the many pictures I have of her traveling. My Aunt Lori says it’s most likely she was traveling with the church. I definitely concur with that!

In honor of Easter coming up, I turned to Easter. As you can see, she drew a line and added further down the page. Some pages have three sections. This is why I think the journal was used for a three year period. Not to mention the only way it makes sense is if you read it like they are separate years.

After reading Llewellyn’s journal and feeling closer to her, I couldn’t help but start my own. One day I hope my great-grandchildren will be able to get a glimpse of my life from my journal. I hope they treasure it as much as I treasure Llewellyn’s.

Treasure Chest Thursday is a Daily Blogging Topic that I got from GeneaBloggers. To participate in Treasure Chest Thursday simply create a post with the main focus being a family treasure, an heirloom or even an every-day item important to your family.