My latest example surfaced this week in The Indian Pioneer History Collection Papers at the University of Oklahoma and at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Research Center. The collection came together as part of a Works Progress Administration project to interview Oklahoma’s earliest surviving pioneers and catalog early documentation. I was hoping to find an interview with Oklahoma pioneer Joseph Leonard. What I found may have been better.

The first item to show up on a search for “Leonard” is simply entitled “Account Book.” What it is, is a ledger of items sold at John Osbourne’s trading post in Anadarko, Oklahoma, near old Joe’s ranch. And among the names in the book is none other than “Joe Leonard.” I now know where he was and exactly what he was doing on five very specific days in 1872-3. And I know exactly what was on his shopping list.

On Sunday, April 21st, 1872, Joe charged $4.00 to his account for calico, telling me that his Indian wife Na-nia “Minnie” Leonard was probably fixin’ to make some clothes or a quilt. He charged $2.00 to his account for tobacco, now I know he smoked. He spent 35 cents on soda, 50 cents on figs and onions. I wonder where the figs originated?

On Saturday, April 27th, Joe charged $1.75 to his account for a coffee mill. I always found it fascinating that coffee was a staple all the way back to the 1700s and that it found its way to even the remotest western outposts. Of course, it would be best if you “ground your own.”

On Wednesday, May 1st, Joe Leonard paid off the balance of $8.60, proving that he was a man of his word. And he started a new tab. This time, he needed some soap, more soda, and some beads and ribbon, no doubt for the clothing Minnie was working on. Additionally, Joe bought a book, which confirms that he could read. Too bad the merchant didn’t tell us the title. And last, but not least, were some raisens and a pair of slippers. You can never get too comfortable on the frontier, after all.

On Sunday, June 16th (the trading post apparently open seven days a week), Joe charged more raisens, calico, and ribbon to his account. Now I’m beginning to wonder if Minnie might’ve been working as a seamstress. He picked up some candy, so he must’ve had a sweet tooth of sorts, and some lamp oil.

And finally, on Saturday, July 6th, Joe stopped by the trading post for more raisens and some cartridges. Makes me wonder if he might’ve fired off a few shots celebrating Independence Day.

So there you have it… just one example of an obscure document (the ledger) that unexpectedly turns into a gold mine of social history.

Cheers!
Rick

The basic problem with old documents, especially those stored in low-humidity environments like an attic, is that the paper itself dries out and becomes brittle. Just opening a document or newspaper article can destroy it. Photos, in particular, should never be unfolded or uncurled without some TLC. And by TLC, I mean archival gloves at the very least, and the use of a do-it-yourself humidification chamber if you have any hope at all of salvaging something usable.

You can buy humidification chambers at archival supply stores, but who’s got one of those in the neighborhood? And besides, you’ll pay through the nose, i.e. several hundred dollars, for the privilege.

You can build your own humidification from basic plastic storage containers, light grids, and a few Tupperware containers. The chamber needs to be large enough to hold the documents in question, but those stackable containers we all hide our Christmas ornaments in should be about right (aprox. 2x2x3 feet with a lid).

Next, you’ll need a “shelf” on which to place the dehydrated pictures or documents. I prefer to use the plastic lighting grids you typically find covering fluorescent light fixtures set into the ceiling. These are available at most hardware or Home Depot/Lowes stores and can be cut to size roughly 18×28 inches. You might also use metal screen or “chicken wire” as long as it lies flat. The shelf should be a couple of inches narrower on each side than the chamber itself.

Next, set the “shelf” on four or five Tupperware containers in the bottom of the chamber. Any support will work, as long as its waterproof, because the last step is to pour 1-2 inches of water in the bottom of the chamber. NOTE: Find a suitable location where the humidification chamber might sit for a day or two before you pour any water. That’s how long the documents/chamber will have to sit without being bumped or jostled.

Finally, after pouring the water, making sure not to get any on the shelf itself, place your pictures or documents on the shelf just as you found them and carefully snap the lid on the chamber.

Monitor the progress every twelve hours or so until the documents once again become flexible, but never wet enough to feel wet. Rolled documents like maps will generally start to unroll on their own, but you want the paper flexible enough to flatten without breaking.

Once the papers are flexible enough to flatten, its best if you place them between two sheets of plotter paper and lay some books or a sheet of plexiglass on top to complete the flattening. Give it another 12-24 hours and voila! You’ve got something worth saving!

Now, if none of this makes any sense, you can watch a YouTube video of the whole process right here:

I know, I could’ve started with the video and saved all that reading, but what fun is that?

Happy salvaging!

First, from Genea-Musings and our friend Randy Seaver, a subject near and dear to my heart — The Online Family Trees Conundrum. There are a whole bunch of budding genealogists coming online in the wake of Ancestry.com’s successful Who Do You Think You Are TV series. That, and Ancestry’s commercials touting how easy it is to find your family history in somebody else’s files — makes me nervous.

Take a moment and think about what happens if you post or copy family information that is either a) wrong or b) unsourced. If thousands of people are doing the same thing, the wrong information soon becomes the the most common, albeit wrong belief. It can take years to sort it all out and none of it is the fault of the online services. It all comes back to you and me. Please take a look at Randy’s post.

Next, a post that’s actually two topics, from Dick Eastman over at Eastman’s Online Genealogy — We Have Met the Enemy and He is PowerPoint. First off, some full disclosure — I spent a whole bunch of years working for the world’s richest man and I’ve suffered through more PowerPoint presentations than any man/woman should ever be exposed to. I may have brain damage as a result, so take that into consideration when I say, “PowerPoint is the root of ALL evil.”

Dick doesn’t take it quite that far, but he does suggest an interesting alternative to mind-numbing slides. More importantly, it’s the content of his sample presentation that’s most important. It’s called “Oh My Goodness, Where’s My Data” and it embodies some of the best advice I’ve ever seen on data backup, storage, and preservation.

And finally, a belated homily to mothers everywhere — from Diane Haddad over at Genealogy Insider… “Mom Always Said…“. Be sure to play the YouTube video at the bottom… all the things a mom would say in a 24 hour period, set to the William Tell Overture.

So how ’bout you? Got any favorite genealogy blogs?

We spent three or four days in Marion and Delaware counties looking for Shropshire sheep but to my disappointment I found none, but I saw one of the finest herds of Red Polls perhaps in Ohio, at least the finest I ever saw. Professor Curtis had passed them on and he knows. They were owned by Mr. Hill of Delaware. (Ed. Note – Prof. Curtis was Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, who worked with Daniel to find the finest sheep in the United States and Canada and bring them to Iowa.)

On the way to Mr. Hill’s farm, he showed me farms that had recently changed hands at prices from $30 to $40 (per acre) and I thought the buildings were well nigh worth the money. That section has had its day. They can’t raise grass as forty years ago and now they are moving west. I only wish our Iowa boys could realize the need of caring for our farm and not impoverish them.

Next we found ourselves in Lorraine (sic) adjoining Lake Erie. There we saw the great steel plant that turns out thousands of tons of railroad every year. It would be useless to attempt to describe how those mountains of ore are in a few hours made into railroad rails sixty feet in length and straight as an arrow. For one to see with what ease this transformation takes place is immensely wonderful.

There in Lorraine we saw that which makes one tremble, there we saw men crowding around the office of employment begging for employment, yes begging, and to see them harshly turned away makes me feel that men are justified in stealing. Then again when I saw laborers used in my own school district in Pennsylvania as they were I shall ever despise their millions when gotten by oppression of labor. (Ed. Note – Daniel was referring to the railroad employment office and the way railroad laborers were treated in the mid to late 1800s.)

Next: Pennsylvania and environs at the turn of the century.

Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong, as demonstrated by the following letter mailed from Leonard, Iowa (the post office named in Uncle Dan’s honor) to the editor of the Adams County (Iowa) Free Press:

Leonard, Iowa
March 3rd, 1901
Mr. Editor: This will be my report of our late visit in Pennsylvania and Ohio. (Home to five of his eight siblings.)

Our first notable observation was to find it snowing in Marion County, Ohio, (home of brother James Herron Leonard) with good sleighing, and hauling logs to the sawmills was the principal occupation of all we saw at work. Timber seems at this season of the year to be the only product moving. We saw the watereim (?) logs hauled to the hoop factory, as well as the monster oaks fifty feet in length used in ship building. Our Iowa boys have no conception of their greatness. I was surprised to see how scarce timber is becoming.

It was noticeable to miss the herds of cattle as all were in barns if they had any. No straw or hay stacks; corn all cut up and in neat shocks, scarcely a corn crib to be seen, maybe they put it under the bed(?) as as they do in Pennsylvania.

Our first meal in Ohio was eaten in Bell Fountain in company with Mr. Devore’s(?) relations and consisted of buckwheat cakes, dairy butter, sugar maple ‘lasses, and the regular stuffed sausages. Ge whiz wasn’t they good. It was the first square meal we had had in forty years.

…to be continued…

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