Sentimental Sunday - Veterans: a Broader Definition

As family historians and genealogists, I think we all look to those who have served in the military as guides for our research. So often, the records provided through military service are loaded with little genealogical gems that we can mine through to move our research forward. 

But I don't believe that there's a moment that we don't think about the sacrifices, large and small, that those veterans made to fight for what they believed in, to do what they felt was right. As I was creating a post for Facebook and Google+, I realized there was more to the veteran story. I was thinking in terms of chronological history, the wars in which my ancestors fought (that I know of) and I stumbled over something. I'll explain...

I don't have a lot of veterans in my family; it's a family oddity, particularly on my maternal side, that the generations were very long and sat squarely at times when the men were either too young or too old for military service. I do have one ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War (that's proven): Waters Burrows. I know very little about him as a person and don't really know anything about his service or sacrifices other than the fact that he was a Private in a NJ regiment. There are several more of his generation that I haven't proved to my satisfaction, but I believe are veterans just the same: James Sargent and Benjamin Penn.

Then there's the Civil War and my one exception to the military rule: Daniel Beightler.

Photo of Daniel Beightler (1844-1925) courtesy of Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana

Daniel fought as a member of the Ohio 66th Volunteer Infantry, being mustered in December 1861 and out in 1865. He was a prisoner of war for about three months, and was on leave for a month in January 1864, just long enough to marry Lura Leatherman. After the war they settled into life in Ohio and went on to have six children. Remarkably, even though he'd been wounded during the war, Daniel lived to be 81 years old.

My father's uncles, Francis, Patrick and John Cosgrove, all fought during WWI. They were English citizens, living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but they fought bravely to protect their homeland. Francis in particular sacrificed; he was wounded severely, including being exposed to mustard gas, and never fully recovered. Of course, that didn't stop him from marrying and having six children, the youngest of whom was just a year old when he died in 1931. Both Patrick and John lived long lives, though neither one married.

My Dad's youngest uncle and his half brother, both named Vincent Cosgrove, fought during WWII, as did my mother's uncle, Roger Wersel and cousin, Stephen Baer. And as I was thinking about who else I was missing, I suddenly thought about my mother-in-law, Ely Lumilan Lorenzana. 

Ely was born in 1929 on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. In early 1942, just weeks after the occupation of the Philippines by the Japanese, she was sent to stay with her father's parents. Shortly after that Ely's father, Teodorico Lumilan who was a minister, was accused of being a Japanese sympathizer and was executed. In very short order, it was discovered that the accuser had done so falsely, and in turn he and his entire family were executed. That was just the beginning.

While Ely's siblings stayed with her mother's family, Ely found herself conscripted into a guerrilla unit to fight against the Japanese. She's shared the story of how she moved from town to town and lived for extended periods in the jungle. She reluctantly told me that she had seen executions; when asked if she herself had ever had to take up arms, she simply said, 'we did what we had to do to survive.' At the end of the war, having lived and fought on the run for two and a half years, Ely was 16. 

Photo of Ely Lumilan (c. 1944-45, second from right, standing) courtesy of Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana

What I find remarkable is that a little over a year after the war was over, this photo shows a beautiful young woman who seems to not have a care in the world:

Photo of Ely Lumilan (1946) courtesy of Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana

And I'm suddenly thinking of veterans in a very different way. How many of my ancestors had roles in the conflicts fought during their lifetimes? I know there are countless stories of resistance fighters in Europe during both World Wars, just as there were in the Philippines. 

I am so very, very proud of my uncle, Daniel Cosgrove, who served during Vietnam. He carried the responsibility of the family name, Daniel, with him as he fought for his Country in a war that was not a War but that required immense sacrifice on the part of our Nation. And I'm equally proud of his son Daniel Austin,  who continues this tradition as he serves our military today.

The men and women who have worn uniforms in defense of their nations must never be forgotten. Neither should those who sacrificed, in equal measure, to defend their homes and support those wearing the uniforms, for they are veterans in their own right.

We must never forget.

UPDATE (11 Nov 2014) Ely Lorenzana passed away earlier this year. Her sacrifice, and that of too many others to name, will never be forgotten.

An Archivist's Notebook: Who Will Look at Your Genealogical Collection?

I thought I'd share this via my blog; I've been trying to find ways to share the basics of what I know regarding the care and handling of genealogical material and speaking at Genealogy Societies seems to be a great way to accomplish that. This presentation comes out of a two hour workshop I did for the Town & Country Public Library in Elburn that everyone seemed to enjoy. This is only an hour, so if you're in the area and have the time, please join us.

DuPage County Genealogical Society - November General MeetingDate: Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 6:30—8:30pm 

Program: An Archivist's Notebook: Who Will Look at Your Genealogical Collection?

Speaker: Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana is a Consulting Archivist, Genealogist, and writer. She earned a BA in Art History with a Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since 2006, she has worked as a Consulting Archivist in a wide variety of Archives from Shure, Inc. to the Union League Club of Chicago where her interest in genealogy was resurrected as she assisted researchers in their efforts to locate information about their relatives.

Program Description: Genealogists acquire and arrange a vast array of materials, both physical and digital. Who isn't excited to find an original document a grandparent or great-grandparent wrote? Or gathering photos and memorabilia from a favored family line? Your diligent work now will benefit generations to come, but only if the material is properly stored and prepared to pass to the next generation. Learn the best practices for handling and caring for these materials, as well as preparatory steps to ensure the long life of the materials.

Where: Lower Level Meeting Room,Wheaton Public Library, 225 N. Cross St, Wheaton, ILhttp://www.wheatonlibrary.org/LI_Location.html

Thankful Thursday - Happiness is a Dry Collection

I've said pretty much all I can on social media about how much empathy I have for the people who have been affected by Superstorm Sandy. Most of you know I've volunteered with Noah's Wish, which is how I gained the three beautiful kitties who enrich my life daily. I'm a staunch supporter of first responders, CERT members, the American Red Cross, health care workers, etc. I bow to their selfless sacrifices and the sacrifices of the ones who love them. The challenges of Sandy are just beginning. What truly makes this storm unprecedented is that it happened in a northern climate when winter is just around the corner. This not only will delay cleanup efforts, but also the rebuilding that must take place to house those who've lost their homes. It's not quite as simple as setting up trailers that don't require heat; a much more complex set of problems is being handed to a very large group of people. I hope we'll all keep these folks in our minds and hearts until they are resettled.

In the meantime, I've been seeing lots of information flying around about how to salvage and manage wet and damaged photographs and documents. 

Via Twitter: HeavenlyFire999: RT @WSJ An aerial shot of flood damage in Bethany
Beach, Delaware on Tuesday. The latest on #Sandy: http://t.co/DrJoU5fW

Here are a few items that seem to be missing from them all, in no particular order:

1. While it is best to get materials out of water within 48 hours, that's not always possible. This does not mean that the material will be unsalvageable, just that as each day passes, the likelihood diminishes.

2. CRITICAL: do NOT try to dry material directly out of flood water. This seems to be the one most important step missing from almost all the resources available on-line. Flood water is nearly always contaminated in one way or another, whether it is natural or chemical. So, it is recommended that, using protective gloves, materials be removed from flood water into plastic containers filled with clean, distilled water. Filtered water works in a pinch, and obviously, if the only water available is neither distilled nor filtered, plain clean water will work. The goal is to gently move the material from one container into another to remove as much of the contaminants as possible. 

3. If you're in an area that has electricity and have access to a freezer, wet documents (not photographs) can be frozen (in a clean state) and then thawed out in small batches. By freezing the documents, you essentially freeze the decomposition the water may cause; there are disaster recovery companies that specialize in freeze-drying materials from institutions when disaster strikes.

4. Do not put anything that could possibly still be damp in a sealed plastic bag. Even a minute amount of dampness can cause mold to grow in an enclosed environment. It's best to keep wet material submerged until such time as a drying location is available, keeping in mind the 48 hour rule.

I have, in my professional career, had incidents occur which required immediate action. One was a flood of an office in Nashville during a devastating flood there several years ago. Fortunately, only a couple of file drawers of material were affected and the on-site staff were able to recover the material using some of the techniques I mentioned. The other was the loss of a part of the ceiling in an Archives from water due to a broken seal and then subsequently a clogged pipe. Fortunately in that case, a great disaster recovery plan meant that an emergency didn't become a disaster; none of the material was directly affected by the water.

While I hope that no one reading this actually ever needs to use any of this advice, the reality of it is that it happens. I pray you're all safe and comfortable.