Growing Your Family Tree, One Leaf at a Time
I have finally gotten my Facebook page up and running. To keep myself working on something different every day I have started a series of posts on 100 Days of Genealogy. Each day I will post a different genealogy task, and what I found in doing that task. I hope some of my readers will respond to some of these posts as well.
Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/novygenealogy/ and join in the conversations!
Have you ever tried to read the cause of death on a death certificate and found it completely incomprehensible due to the poor handwriting of the person who completed the form? I have! Luckily for us all, there is another way to figure out what it says.
In the 1800’s, the importance of creating a uniform system of classifying diseases was recognized, so, in 1893, the International Statistical Institute adopted the first International classification of diseases. It was based on the French Bertillon Classification of Causes of Death, developed by Jacques Bertillon. In 1898 the American Public Health Association recommended that the United States use that system and that it be revised every decade. In the following years Bertillon’s classification became known as the International List of Causes of Death and ultimately as the ICD.
The ICD contains a description of all known diseases and injuries. Each disease given a code number and is listed with its diagnostic characteristics. These codes are listed on death certificates after 1898. I have found them on many death certificates, but not all of them!
Look at the death certificate below, I have put a red box around the ICD code, 46a. The next step is to look up the code and find out what it means. The website, http://www.wolfbane.com/icd/index.html, has an index to each version of the ICD since 1898. The version you look at is based on the date of your document. Since Mary Myers died in 1932, I would use Revision 4 from 1929.
Code 46 reads “Cancer of the digestive organs and peritoneum”. In Mary’s case senility was listed as a contributing factor, as she was 89 years old at the time.
In 1972, my great-grandfather, Charles Myers died of heart failure. It is easy to read on the death certificate, but I looked up the code 412.3 to see if it gave any additional information.
412.3 reads “Chronic ischaemic heart disease with or without cardiovascular disease without mention of hypertension.
I wasn’t familiar with the term ischaemic, so I look it up and found that “Ischaemic heart disease is a disease characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart.” (https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/ischaemic_heart_disease.htm)
If you are interested in learning more about the cause of death of your family members, this is a great resource!
The genealogy library in the Montgomery Museum has a variety of resources available to help researchers. One of these is the Family History files. Some of the files have been created using research donated by researchers, while others may contain information collected during research by museum volunteers and staff. These files are organized by surname. A finding aid has been created that contains a list of all surnames listed within each file.
The materials contained in those files vary. Items that may be found in the files include pedigree charts, family group sheets, family histories, newspaper articles, recollections of family members, photographs and more.
Some of the Family History files contain extensive information, while others may be only a small amount of information. Just a few of the families listed in our Family Files include Akers, Black, Charlton, Craig, Cupp, Elkins, Epperly, Hornbarger, McCoy, Pepper, Poff, Rutrough and Shufflebarger.
Interesting History of a Former Indian Trail in Southwest Virginia
The road familiarly known as “The Old Rock Road” is the oldest in southwest Virginia. It is closely associated with pioneer days, and hence full of historic interest.
Through the passing years and changes, it has had many names; First it was an Indian trail, used by many different tribes.
As white settlers from the East came into Southwest Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, many followed this old trail, and it was known as “The Wilderness Road.” Later, it was the main thoroughfare for carrying on trade with the eastern markets, and was often called “The Baltimore Road.” It had been used by the brave, hardy pioneers nearly a century before it was macadamized. After this, several more names were added: “The Great Road,” “The Turnpike,” “The McAdam Road.” Now, after almost another century is gone, it is “The Old Rock Road.” Many use the name almost reverently, as they would speak of an old friend. What service it has rendered. How much history is connected with it. Yes, it is an old friend, and there is tender sentiment in the hearts of many descendants of the pioneer settlers who remember what “The Old Rock Road” was to their fathers.
Before the road was macadamized, in 1848, it was surveyed by two of Napoleon’s engineers, Crozet, and one other. Experts of today say it is a marvelous piece of engineering.
It is the most direct route from Lynchburg and Roanoke to Bristol, being eight and one-half miles shorter than the Lee Highway. All of the old road is now a part of the highway system, except about sixteen and one-half miles in Pulaski and Montgomery counties, between McAdam and the point where the old road connects with the Lee Highway, about four and one-half miles East of Ingles Ferry on New River.
Let us briefly review some of the history connected with this part of “The Old Rock Road.”
Years before Governor Spottswood and his Knights of the Horseshoe had their first view of the great Shenandoah Valley, exploring parties had crossed the mountains into New River Valley. Coloney Woods, accompanied by John A. Buchanan and others, in 1654, named this beautiful mountain stream Woods River, when or how its name was changed, is a matter of dispute. Major Hotchkiss, of Staunton, is authority of saying that a man named New kept a ferry at or near where Ingles Ferry, now is operated, and that the river was named for him.
The first white man, John Salling, who ever crossed New River, was carried captive by Indians over this trail to a point on the James River in 1730.
The Drapers Meadow Massacre, in 1755, the capture of Mary Draper Ingles, by a band of Shawnee Indians who carried her into Ohio, her escape and miraculous return, on foot, through a wilderness, are familiar history. In this same year a settlement was made where the old trail crossed the New River, and was known as the Ingles Ferry Settlement. Here William Ingles built a fort and a cabin, and with his wife, Mary Draper Ingles, restored to him, established a permanent home. The site of the old fort and cabin may be seen from the “Old Rock Road,” on the east side of the ferry.
We can scarcely conceive of the amount of travel there was over this road in pioneer days, before there were any railroads. Thousands of cattle and hogs were driven this way to Eastern markets. Records show the receipts at Ingles Ferry, amounted to one thousand dollars per month. Traffic became so heavy, that Thomas Ingles, who owned the ferry, built a covered bridge across the river, which was completed in 1842. The state bought this bridge from Mr. Ingles five years later, and soon after began the work of macadamizing the road.
All merchandise for Southwest Virginia and Kentucky was brought up the James River by canal boat, to Buchanan, where it was loaded in wagons and hauled over the “Old Rock Road” which started at that point and ended at Seven Mile Ford, where it was overtaken by railroad, and macadamizing stopped.
On the Pulaski side of Ingles Ferry was a tavern, which was very popular with travelers. George Washington, George Rogers Clark, Andrew Jackson and many other note men entertained there. It was unusual to have as many as 36 horse wagons stop for the night. A part of the old building still stands, which can be seen today by the tourist who passes over this route.
The bridge was burned during the Civil War and has never been re-built. The abutments still stand, as a reminder of its glorious past. The road also passes through the picturesque old village of Newbern the county seat of Pulaski county, from its beginning until 1893 when the old courthouse, with many valuable records, was burned. Newbern was a thriving town, and the shopping center for miles around, in pioneer days.
Virginia is justly proud of her historic wealth. The tourist does not have to travel far within her borders until he may stand at some shrine that thrills his soul with varied emotions, as he is carried back from the days that are, to the days that were.
Now that the time has come, when sense, sentiment, saving, satisfaction and safety argue in its favor, we trust to the wisdom of our commissioners to again put this part of the “Old Rock Road” on the map, as one of Virginia’s highways.
Montgomery News, Volume 4, Number 1, January 5, 1928, page 1 and 4
Did you know that over the years Montgomery County, Virginia has been home to over 25 different newspapers?
The Montgomery Museum has issues from six of these newspapers: The Montgomery News Messenger (Also known as the Montgomery Messenger and the News Messenger), Blacksburg News, Blacksburg Messenger, Blacksburg Sentinel, Blacksburg Sun and the Radford News Journal. Some are single issues, while others are complete months or years of a publication.
Browsing through the July 1969 issues of the News Messenger was fascinating. Here are just a few interesting tidbits:
The newspapers also have columns written for local communities giving information about people living in those areas. These columns may mention who is in the hospital, who has visitors, who is traveling, as well as many other details of their lives. The July 1969 newspaper issues feature columns from at least 25 different areas including Christiansburg, Newport, Alleghany-Otey, Mt. Tabor, Luster’s Gate, Long-Shop McCoy, Riner, Merrimac, Ellett, Ironto, Centerville, Lafayette, Vicker, Price’s Fork and more.
Virginia Tech also houses many historic Montgomery County newspapers. Others are found at the Library of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society and the College of William and Mary. You can find a listing of Montgomery County newspapers from those locations at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/VNP/results.asp?rl=Montgomery&rt=County.
Some of the newspapers at the Montgomery Museum are housed in the museum library, others are housed offsite or in closed storage. If you would like to use the newspapers at the museum, you should call ahead and make an appointment to ensure that the issues you are interested in are available for your use.