Hi! Thanks for stopping by. Just a bit of background, I've been doing genealogy for over ten years, but I remember my first years as if it were yesterday. It all seemed so daunting, realizing I had a lot to learn. Since the success of the NBC hit series, Who Do You Think You Are, I have seen a dramatic increase in people looking for their family. But, it can be quite the overwhelming task for the beginner. I remember wishing there was someone that I could turn to to help me. I found several people along the way who gave me great knowledge, but sometimes I felt like such a pest. I decided to document my journey and give tips that may help some other wandering genealogy newbie in her search for the next generation. I have people ask me how I find information so fast sometimes. Well, there are tricks to google and ancestry.com that I will gladly share. There is so much information out there to find, but what roads are the best and which ones are less traveled?
Starting out….
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| Walter Rogers Logue |
Ten years ago, I sat in this same quandary. I took on the challenge of finding out information about my in-laws families. I started with my husband's great grandfather, Rogers Logue. He had left Savannah, Georgia in 1922, never to be heard from again. What had happened to him? Where did he die? What went so horribly wrong? How much can I find? Where do I start? These are a few questions that Dempsey Stoney Logue asked about his father until his own death in 1960. There stood my quandry.
The only person who had met Rogers Logue was deceased and had taken any information with him except for the young-boy memories he passed on to his children. His father left when he was only nine. He told his children and wife stories about his father, but they all had that made-for-television script because he only remembered a wonderful, misunderstood father that had left and never returned. I talked to everyone about anything that they could remember being told about Rogers and his family. I wrote them all down. Most of it sounded like hogwash, yet I held out hope that there were several family stories that held bits and pieces of the puzzle. My concern was how could I separate the fact from the fiction and was I asking the right questions to get the answers that I needed.
The only person who had met Rogers Logue was deceased and had taken any information with him except for the young-boy memories he passed on to his children. His father left when he was only nine. He told his children and wife stories about his father, but they all had that made-for-television script because he only remembered a wonderful, misunderstood father that had left and never returned. I talked to everyone about anything that they could remember being told about Rogers and his family. I wrote them all down. Most of it sounded like hogwash, yet I held out hope that there were several family stories that held bits and pieces of the puzzle. My concern was how could I separate the fact from the fiction and was I asking the right questions to get the answers that I needed.
I obtained a copy of Dempsey’s death certificate which listed his mother and father’s name and city of birth. Death certificates can be a great starting point, if the person giving the information knows the correct information. Sometimes you find that there are in-laws, signing the death certificate with a big old “Don’t Know” in the slots where the coveted information should go. If that happens, don’t be discouraged. There are several other avenues to follow which will be covered in another blog.
I was lucky enough to see “Father: Rogers Logue Sparta Georgia” in the desirable information block. I knew more information on his mother Susie Edenfield Fryer Logue, but it was nice to see that her information was correct, giving me confidence in Rogers’ information. Now, I had some where to look. What did I find? A plethora of Logues, but no Rogers was in sight! I tried every combination possible, but nothing. No Roger with an "S" or without an "S". No Logue born in 1881 (a date given to me by my husband’s grandmother, Dempsey’s wife, Vera.) was anywhere close to a Rogers. Everyone said he came from Sparta so where was he?
I use ancestry.com for much of my research, especially the early research because I can do it from the ease of my desk. I decided to look through their family tree section. I interestingly found a Luther Rogers Logue and yes, with an “S” on the end. I went through that tree and saw there were four boys listed which included Luther’s father. But his name wasn’t Rogers. Nope, it was Asa Lorenzo, hardly a name that could be intermingled or confused for the other. However, there was an interesting brother, born in 1881 named Walter Logue. Could this be the illusive Rogers Logue?
I went on a hunt for a Walter Logue. There he was…W. R!!! Logue in the 1910 Coffee County Census. I did such a happy dance when I realized his middle name began with an “R”. Only people who love genealogy can relate to that feeling of “Hot Dog, I got you!” when you find a piece of the family puzzle. I was thrilled. But wait a minute, he was married and had three children. My euphoria crashed. This married man couldn’t be the man who less than three years later would become the proud papa of a new born baby in Green Cove Springs Florida, could he?
In the Savannah, Georgia 1920 census, Rogers was alive and well with Susie and Dempsey, but who was that other son that was the same age as Dempsey? Did Susie have twin boys? With a few phone calls, I found out that the other boy was actually three years older than the census said and was a Fryer, a son by Susie’s previous marriage. This census mistake became my first of many and made me realize very quickly that many census takers didn’t have to have any knowledge except how to form letters on paper. Misspelling, asking and getting information from anyone who would give like the unsocial neighbor, and over excessive ditto marks were used more often than not. Ruthie Logg, incorrect spelling, was found living next door to her parents in Emanuel County, GA 1920 Census and shown as widowed with her and W. R.'s children.
Along with the 1920 census, a cousin had sent me a marriage license of Rogers and Susie that had taken place in Green Cove Springs, FL in May 29, 1912. Rogers with an “S” was Dempsey’s father’s name. But where did he come from or where did he go? I returned to the Walter and contacted the person who had posted this family tree, emailing her as to what had happened to Walter and when did he die. I also hoped she could direct me to someone who may know how our Rogers fit into this family, thinking he must be a cousin to her Walter. She was so friendly and even included her phone number so we could chat. I called her up. She told me that he had always gone by Walter when he was in Coffee County and around his wife, Ruthie Mandie. Yet, when she requested his military records with his birthdate from Mandie's Bible, she received papers for a Rogers Logue of the 37th Engineers that lived in Savannah. Hmmmmm.... I knew he only used Rogers in Savannah with Susie. Still, was it the same man? Surely not! God fearin' folks just didn't do that. Wasn't life then like Little House On The Prarie?
I finally got the courage to ask if he died between 1910 and 1920, the answer that came out of my telephone floored me. "Oh, no. He didn't die" she said. "He got run off and disappeared." Disappeared??!!?? Twice in a lifetime, this man up and disappears. Was he related to Houdini?
I finally got the courage to ask if he died between 1910 and 1920, the answer that came out of my telephone floored me. "Oh, no. He didn't die" she said. "He got run off and disappeared." Disappeared??!!?? Twice in a lifetime, this man up and disappears. Was he related to Houdini?
A story began to unfold that I never expected. Evidently he had married into a down-to-earth, religious family. Rogers felt that it was okay to drink a pint or two on the weekends as long as you showed up for Sunday service. His father-in-law didn't cotton to that way of thinking and gave him an ultimatum: Stop drinking or move on. He chose the road, leaving his wife and three children, heading for work in the sunny state of Florida.
Straight into the arms of wife number 2, Susie Edenfield Fryer, newly widowed with seven children. She opened a boarding house and guess who came a-knockin’! Enter the marriage license in good ole Green Cove Springs and how it found it’s way into the Logue History book. They moved to Savannah sometime between 1912 and 1917 and lived near Susie’s brother, Dempsey Stoney Edenfield, the founder of the largest Baptist Church in Savannah, GA: Calvary Baptist on Bull Street.
Rogers enlisted in the Army at Fort Screven, GA on 15 Feb 1918 and was discharged on 03 April 1919, spending a year fighting with the 37th Engineers in France during WW1. I guess he didn’t learn a lesson about marrying into a very religious family. If 1920 religious folks frown on drinking a pint or two on Friday nights, what will they think about bigamy?
Didn't take long before I figured that one out. According to a family story told by Susie's eldest daughter, Lucille, a young boy knocked on the door to her house and introduced himself as William Logue, asking if a Walter Logue lived there. She told him no, but her step-father, Rogers Logue lived next door. He kindly thanked her and went up to the next porch. Much to his surprise, William found Rogers in Savannah with a new wife and son, and Susie's daughter found out that his first wife was alive and well, living a few counties to the west. She went immediately to Dempsey Edenfield with the news. Susie’s brother didn’t take kindly to Rogers' plight of having two wives. So protecting his name sake nephew, Uncle Dempsey sent Rogers packing with another slightly stronger ultimatum, leave or I'll have you arrested. Exit Houdini style number two.
Which way did he head? Yes, that's right. He headed right back to the sunny state of Florida. This time, he settled in Lake City, Florida, marrying wife number three, Mary Ann Rinear Watson. Until Susie’s death in 1925, Rogers had three wives and four children without ever seeing the inside of a divorce court. Mandie had the last laugh because she outlived them all, living until 1975. Rogers died May 11, 1945 in the VA hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida from a coronary occlusion. Susie Edenfield Fryer Logue died in Savannah on 30 January 1925 from pulmonary tuburculosis, leaving her son to be raised by his eldest sister. Evidently at the age of 13, after the death of his mother, he jumped on a banana boat docked at the harbor of the Savannah River and worked his way to Miami to find his father because he had been told that was where his father was living. He was close because his father was in Mulberry Florida at that time. He never found him, coming back to Savannah and never seeing his father again.
I'm not sure who William told of his trip to Savannah, but some knew while other's didn't. There were whispers, but it was never spoken out loud. Our family was their proverbial skeleton in the closet. Some of the descendents still do not believe it. The only real way to *prove* this bond beyond a reasonable doubt is through DNA testing. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence. They had a copy of Rogers' military record, and when I received the copies, I found they had listed Rogers as his middle name. Walter and Rogers share the same birthday in the same city.
And his first family says they "believe" that perhaps the middle initial "R" could stand for Rogers. When I questioned them about placing Rogers on the military records request form, they came forward with the truth. He was Walter Rogers Logue. Stephanie Linecum's grandfather, a nephew to Rogers, identified the photo as his Uncle Walter.
Our own family finally came forth with the "sinful" information about the son showing up, the ultimatum, and the why of his leaving. I found it strange that people didn't want to tell the sins of the forefathers even when all of them were dead and gone. Maybe they don't want to believe it. I learned a valuable lesson. Probe everyone you can find about any information about the person you are looking for because you never know which bit of information in those stories may be the key or sometimes dynamite that will blow a whole in your brick wall. I am 99% sure that this man, Walter Rogers Logue, married Susie Edenfield Fryer and fathered Dempsey Stoney Logue.
Rogers enlisted in the Army at Fort Screven, GA on 15 Feb 1918 and was discharged on 03 April 1919, spending a year fighting with the 37th Engineers in France during WW1. I guess he didn’t learn a lesson about marrying into a very religious family. If 1920 religious folks frown on drinking a pint or two on Friday nights, what will they think about bigamy?
Didn't take long before I figured that one out. According to a family story told by Susie's eldest daughter, Lucille, a young boy knocked on the door to her house and introduced himself as William Logue, asking if a Walter Logue lived there. She told him no, but her step-father, Rogers Logue lived next door. He kindly thanked her and went up to the next porch. Much to his surprise, William found Rogers in Savannah with a new wife and son, and Susie's daughter found out that his first wife was alive and well, living a few counties to the west. She went immediately to Dempsey Edenfield with the news. Susie’s brother didn’t take kindly to Rogers' plight of having two wives. So protecting his name sake nephew, Uncle Dempsey sent Rogers packing with another slightly stronger ultimatum, leave or I'll have you arrested. Exit Houdini style number two.
Which way did he head? Yes, that's right. He headed right back to the sunny state of Florida. This time, he settled in Lake City, Florida, marrying wife number three, Mary Ann Rinear Watson. Until Susie’s death in 1925, Rogers had three wives and four children without ever seeing the inside of a divorce court. Mandie had the last laugh because she outlived them all, living until 1975. Rogers died May 11, 1945 in the VA hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida from a coronary occlusion. Susie Edenfield Fryer Logue died in Savannah on 30 January 1925 from pulmonary tuburculosis, leaving her son to be raised by his eldest sister. Evidently at the age of 13, after the death of his mother, he jumped on a banana boat docked at the harbor of the Savannah River and worked his way to Miami to find his father because he had been told that was where his father was living. He was close because his father was in Mulberry Florida at that time. He never found him, coming back to Savannah and never seeing his father again.
I'm not sure who William told of his trip to Savannah, but some knew while other's didn't. There were whispers, but it was never spoken out loud. Our family was their proverbial skeleton in the closet. Some of the descendents still do not believe it. The only real way to *prove* this bond beyond a reasonable doubt is through DNA testing. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence. They had a copy of Rogers' military record, and when I received the copies, I found they had listed Rogers as his middle name. Walter and Rogers share the same birthday in the same city.
And his first family says they "believe" that perhaps the middle initial "R" could stand for Rogers. When I questioned them about placing Rogers on the military records request form, they came forward with the truth. He was Walter Rogers Logue. Stephanie Linecum's grandfather, a nephew to Rogers, identified the photo as his Uncle Walter.
Our own family finally came forth with the "sinful" information about the son showing up, the ultimatum, and the why of his leaving. I found it strange that people didn't want to tell the sins of the forefathers even when all of them were dead and gone. Maybe they don't want to believe it. I learned a valuable lesson. Probe everyone you can find about any information about the person you are looking for because you never know which bit of information in those stories may be the key or sometimes dynamite that will blow a whole in your brick wall. I am 99% sure that this man, Walter Rogers Logue, married Susie Edenfield Fryer and fathered Dempsey Stoney Logue.
