Ohio Civil War Geneaolgy Journal, my article published!

Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal

I am very happy to report that I have had an article published in the 

Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal, 

2011, Volume XV, Issue 1! 

I'll tell you a little about the Ohio Genealogical Society & then I'll tell you how my article came about.

I joined the Ohio Genealogical Society some time ago. It is the largest society of its kind in all the states and very helpful to researchers. The website has useful links that I have visited many times. http://www.ogs.org/ They hold annual conventions that are helpful to the beginner or advanced genealogist (I am somewhere in between). The sessions, of course, focus on Ohio research but are also good for general research. The Society also publishes four journals: Ohio Genealogy News, OGS Quarterly, Ohio Records & Pioneer Families & Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal.

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Last winter I was visiting the website and noticed the Annual Writing Competition. I read over the details and decided to enter the contest for the OCWGJ that  "features anything relating to Ohioans who served the Civil War including post-war related activities such as reconstruction and the GAR." Prizes included membership, subscriptions & publications. I was primarily interested in publication.  This is a topic I have been learning about, on and off, for some time. I decided to get my notes together and enter the contest. 

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First I took my copies of the journal off my bookshelf and looked over past issues to get a clearer idea of the type of articles they publish. I put together what I hoped was a coherent & accurate account of four ancestors, William Mark, my 2nd Great Grandfather, and three of his brothers, John Mark, Thomas Jefferson Mark & Marion Mark, all soldiers of the Civil War. I had been fortunate enough to uncover service records for all four men. I wrote & rewrote, read & reread my information. Then off it went by email to Ohio, home state of my father, Delbert K. Brown, and his mother, Ivy (Mark) Brown.

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I moved on with my research, putting the idea of being published aside. I registered for the Annual Convention, my very first genealogy convention. Winners of the Writing Contest would be announced at the conference. I decided to make it into a research trip. I made of list of unanswered questions about my Ohio roots and decided the places I was most likely to uncover the answers to those questions. Our family was centered in Medina, Wayne & Stark Counties. I divided my questions into three lists, one for each county of residence. On the internet I discovered the holdings, locations and hours for each counties' library, Department of Health and Court House. I talked to my cousin, Aileen, who lives in Pataskala, Ohio and arranged to visit her after the conference. I also contacted Edd Massie, a distant cousin who shares a link to the Gruissy family. We have been in touch by email for ages but had never met. He lives near Aileen and we arranged to meet.

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By April the snow had melted in NY and I was ready to go to Ohio. I loved driving over the rolling hills in north east Ohio. Each library was a wealth of information. The ladies at the Stark County Library, Genealogy Section were very helpful and took on my questions as their own. Many of the ancestors I was researching had been gone long before I was born but I felt a connection to them as I discovered their names in faded documents, on rolls of microfilm and chiseled in their tombstones. 

In Toledo I had no trouble finding the hotel for the conference and settling in. I had my list of sessions , my favorite pen and a notebook just waiting to be filled. As I settled into my first session I realized I was surrounded by people like me, people who loved to find just one more piece of their past; who exalted in yellowed bits of paper with faded handwriting; who secretly dreamed of finding the treasured family Bible with a complete listing of family births, marriages & deaths. I had never met so many genealogists before and they were all friendly & ready to share or point the way to answers for my questions. Despite all my fun at the Convention there was one disappointment. When they announced the winners of the Writing Contest, my name was not read. I swallowed my discouragement and enjoyed the rest of the trip, spending time with Aileen and her family and meeting Edd and his wife at long last.

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Back at home I entered my new found scraps of information into my records and looked for new questions to answer. Each time I find an answer to a question, it inspires new questions. Months later, I received an email from the editor of the Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal. He wanted to publish my article! I was thrilled. I felt like I had won after all! Emails went back and forth between us. I asked if he was interested in photos to go with the article. My Uncle Leo kindly brought the Civil War rifle along to our annual Independence Day BBQ where the family admired it & my daughter, Alyssa, took photos. (I can't forget to thank Jeff, whose hands photograph well holding the rifle.) My cousin, Tom, kindly dug out the photo of Thomas Jefferson Mark and shared it with me. The kind people at the OCWGJ added their research to the article. They investigated the burials of John and Thomas Mark. They also added information about the rifle. At first it was thought the article would be published in November but because of space limitations, it was held till February 2011.

At long last, here is the article for you to read. Click on an image to see a larger version. You may also contact the Ohio Genealogical Society for a copy of the full journal or to subscribe. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing & sharing it with you. 

 Descendants of William Mark

..... 1 William Mark b: 26 May 1844, d: 21 November 1904
.... + Emma Abeline Flory b: 24 October 1852, d: 23 July 1877
........... 2 Cora Bell Mark b: 30 July 1872, d: 10 June 1905
........... + Edward Newell b: April 1873, d: Unknown
........... 2 Marian Francis Mark b: 14 November 1874, d: 06 April 1947 Pa
..... + Elidia Rebecca Ritter b: 30 July 1854, d: 28 August 1912
........... 2 William M. Mark b: 12 February 1877, d: Aft. 1920
........... + Alice Leota Heacock b: 03 October 1880, d: Unknown
........... 2 George Washington Mark b: 01 April 1878, d: 16 October 1938
........... + Elizabeth Shifferly b: 10 October 1881, d: 03 September 1949
........... 2 Thomas Kenneth Mark b: 19 July 1879, d: 12 February 1975
........... + Nancy Regina Victoria Gruissy b: 31 January 1879, d: 24 May 1959
........... 2 Margaret Maude Mark b: 06 January 1881, d: 10 January 1964
........... + Ralph Clayton Kauffman b: 08 November 1877, d: 12 November 1968
........... + Samuel Martin Jolliff b: 08 December 1871, d: 28 January 1927
........... 2 Emma Jane Mark b: 27 April 1882, d: 09 December 1961
........... + Alfred C. Pfeifer b: 23 February 1880, d: 08 April 1968
........... + Elmer Howard Wilson b: 10 October 1879, d: 12 July 1959
........... 2 William Hercules Mark b: 30 April 1884, d: 12 August 1929
........... 2 Mary Jeanette Mark b: 28 February 1886, d: 06 May 1940
........... + John Rickert Shaw b: 13 January 1886, d: Abt. 1984
........... 2 Amos Martin Mark b: 21 June 1888, d: 16 June 1969
........... + Lillian Myrtle Hoverstock b: 25 April 1896, d: 10 October 1975
........... 2 Eslie Guy Mark b: 02 December 1890, d: 10 May 1972
........... + Golda Mae Warner b: 22 September 1902, d: 25 March 1982
........... 2 Charles Forest Mark b: 02 May 1892, d: 30 April 1967
........... + Bertha Flickinger b: 02 March 1904, d: 01 July 2000
........... 2 Elva Gale Mark b: 28 June 1894, d: 12 January 1959
........... + Myron A. Boreman b: Abt. 1893, d: Unknown
........... 2 James Everett Mark b: 28 October 1896, d: 28 October 1968
........... + Effie Margaret Carter b: 15 February 1904, d: 05 April 1966