Google+ Is Disappearing!

This post should only affect a few of my readers, but is information that I need to let you know...

Google+ is disappearing as of the beginning of April. If you were a part of the Google+ community and followed either of my blogs on there, this will concern you.

If you will see not be seeing my blog posts for https://thishoosiersheritage.blogspot.com or for https://fledglingendeavors.blogspot.com because of Google+'s disappearance, please do one of the following:


For https://thishoosiersheritage.blogspot.com :

1. ) On the right side of the screen, look for the word "Followers" with photos below it. Click on the blue Follow button below the photos. That's it! You should be able to follow the blog now.
2. If you would rather follow by email, look for "Follow by Email" on the right side. Type in your email address and click on "Submit". It will send you an email. In that email, click on the "Confirm" button. That's it! You should now receive a post whenever I add one to This Hoosier's Heritage!

For http://fledglingendeavors.blogspot.com :

1. ) On the left side of the screen, look for the word "Followers" with photos below it. Click on the blue Follow button below the photos. That's it! You should be able to follow the blog now.
2. If you would rather follow by email, look for "Follow by Email" on the left side. Type in your email address and click on "Submit". It will send you an email. In that email, click on the "Confirm" button. That's it! You should now receive a post whenever I add one to Fledgling Endeavors!

I hope you have been enjoying the blogs, and will continue reading either, or both, and in the future. If you have any questions, please put them in the comments below or send me an email at mypassionroad@gmail.com.

Happy Blogversary to me!

Looking at my posts yesterday, I realized that This Hoosier's Heritage began three years ago on March 23, 2019. It seems hard to believe that I have been blogging here for that long!

Happy Blogversary to me! 🎂🎂🎂

What is ironic about catching this genealogy blogging anniversary a few days late is that I missed it because of a genealogy-related vacation! Lol

I had just gotten back from vacation, and was getting caught up back at work. Also, trying to sort out all the wonderful information that I had found in Illinois.

Looking forward, I hope to keep telling the stories of my ancestors. I enjoy learning their stories, but also want to share them with their descendants. I believe it is just as important to know where you came from, as it is to discovering your path in life.

This Hoosier girl is proud of her heritage, and excited to learn even more! Come follow me, to learn more about my ancestors, history and more!

Pearce: All Signs Point to Oswego, Illinois

Lately, I have been working on my Pearce family line...and decided to take a trip home to delve a little deeper.

It is not my hometown, but it was for many, many years for the Pearce family. My 3x-great grandfather, Daniel Pearce, settled here with three of his siblings in 1833. They were the first permanent settlers in the area. 

I have heard rumors that a good portion of this large town is built on land that once belonged to Daniel, or his siblings (Rebecca Wilson, John & Walter Pearce).

But, I am not sure... 

I am not seeing any signs that this is true. LOL

What do you think?

This is a restaurant, along with a golf course,
that sits on Daniel Pearce's land. 

All joking aside, it was wonderful seeing all this Pearce history all around me. I met with my 1st cousins on the Pearce side while in the neighborhood, and I enjoyed telling them about what I had discovered. My seventeen-year-old cousin lives here and even learned a few things from me.

I made a point to stop in at both the Oswego and Yorkville public libraries to see what I could uncover. Let's just say, I spent a small fortune on copies! Lol

I have fallen down the rabbit hole!!

Next stop was to the Kendall County Courthouse, where I was able to retrieve my mother's birth certificate, my grandfather's birth certificate, and my great-grandfather's death certificate. 

If you have been reading my posts recently, you know that I have discovered a 3rd Pearce cousin on a FB group a fews years ago. Cousin Pearce has helped me tremendously, but we hadn't been able to meet up yet.

No photos to show, as I would like to protect her privacy. But we had a very enjoyable visit, comparing notes and just getting to know more about our our families.

As I am attempting to join the DAR eventually through Daniel's father (also a Daniel), Cousin Pearce has said that I can join through her. I would only have to prove to where our families converged, and then her application proved back to Revolutionary War veteran, Daniel Pearce.

I have my birth certificate, my mother's, and my grandfather's, all in my possession, but I still needed to prove my great-grandfather, Orson Seth Pearce, was the son of John Pearce.

Sometimes, you find help in unexpected places! I stopped in the Little White School Museum on their "Research in the Archives" day, hoping I might find a thing or two.

The Little White School Museum 

The staff there were wonderful! They were able to find 1842 and 1870 plat maps, obituaries, newspaper articles and so much more. Also, this museum had been a Methodist church first, before it was used as a schoolhouse. I discovered that it happened to be the church were Daniel, John and Orson Seth would have worshipped during their lifetime!

While they found so much for me, I was still on the trail of something that would prove Orson Seth Pearce was John Pearce's son. Bingo!!!  I discovered a will for Orson Seth's sister, which listed all the children (and a few grandchildren) of John Pearce.

So, with this piece of the puzzle, I can now prove that I am a descendent of the Daniel Pearce, a Revolutionary War veteran, and start my application process with the DAR.

What a wonderful vacation!  Over the course of a week, I was able to visit with 1st cousins, 2nd cousins, and a newly-found 3rd cousin! I visited the Pearce Cemetery, and paid my respects to my grandparents.

I found the missing puzzle piece for my DAR paperwork and got a tremendous amount of research done. I was able to walk on their land, and walk into the same church building that they had once walked, too.

What a remarkable week! How was yours?

Are They My Cousins Too, Or Just Yours?

Where do you go on vacation when you want to visit relatives, do some genealogy work and pay your respects to your ancestors?🤔🤔🤔

With these temperatures, I wish I could tell you Hawaii or Florida! 🌡⛄🌊   Lol

But, this coming week, I am heading up north to Kendall County, Illinois to do just that. 🚗🚗🚗

By now, you are asking what does this have to do with the title of  my blog post, right? Why in the world would I pick that title?  ❓❓❓

The title of this post actually comes from conversations I have had over the years from my relatives in Oswego and Yorkville in Kendall County, Illinois.

I have three different sides of my family tree all represented here in these towns where my mom grew up,...but my dad had never lived.

Let's climb aboard a time machine 🚀, and jump back to where these trees started growing in Kendall County.

First stop ~ My maternal grandfather, Gerald Pearce, was born in 

                     Oswego where his great-grandfather, Daniel Pearce, was

                     one of the first settlers. Gerald had been married with a 

                     daughter, and widowed, before meeting my 

                     grandmother. His one daughter had 12 children.

Gerald and Tillie Pearce

Second stop ~ My maternal grandmother, Mathilda Steffen, and her 

                     younger sister, Alice, moved from Iowa to Kendall 

                     County. Grandma "Tillie" married Grandpa Gerald and     
                     raised my mother and uncle in Yorkville. The 12       

                     children above (their half-neices/nephews), were     
                     approximately their age range and went to school with
                     them.

Third stop ~ My paternal grandmother, Ethel, was born and raised
                    southeastern Indiana along with her eight siblings. One
                    of her sisters, Clara, married and moved to Kendall
                    County. Clara and Tillie became good friends. When my
                    Grandma Ethel and family would visit, my mother got to
                    got to meet my father.

(L-R) Clara, Ethel Gladys and Loren Haessig

I truly hope that I haven't completely confused you yet! It was honestly has made for some interesting conversations with relatives over the years.

I am related to the Goins families in Kendall County, because my Great-aunt Clara moved from southeastern Indiana and raised her family there.

But the rest of my Illinois relatives are related to them in any way.

My Grandma Tillie Steffen married Grandpa Pearce, so I am related to all the Pearces in the area.

My Great-aunt, Alice, had moved from Iowa with big sister, Tillie. She stayed and raised a family in Kendall County, also. I am related to her children here. But, only my immediate family and closest Pearce cousins are related to them, also.

What makes all of this quite interesting is the fact that Yorkville and Oswego are small towns. They know each other as neighbors and classmates.

We, however, are in a unique position to call everyone: FAMILY!!!