WWI Papers Destroyed in Fire? The Christmas Gift

Merry Christmas to Me!
I have this newspaper photo of Great - Uncle George who served in WWI. He was the celebrated "colored man"from Rice County, Ks - George F. Strader "Our First Colored Hero of the World War."  I also found him listed in a picture with his troop Co D of the Pioneer Infantry 805 book .

I have information of his troop; and I have, in my arsenal of goodies, Great - Uncle George's WWI helmet that his mother turned into a chandelier. Yes, read about it at WWI Chandelier Helmet.   Who turns a WWI helmet into a chandelier?  Oh...I know! My Great-Grandmother.  The chandelier - helmet is a hit in my Sharing Your Ancestors presentation. But what more can I find about Great-Uncle George?

There's so much I don't know.  How was G-Uncle George injured in service?  When did he get promoted to Sargent.  By the end of his service years he was a Sargent as listed in the troop book, and in the Enrollment Book (V: 27, Reno Republic, Rice counties).

But, The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

Late Christmas Day, 2018,  I received an email from a man named Greg Stredder. Greg had obviously done his research and googled George Strader (not Stredder) and found me. So let's do this sequentially. 

1) Lesson one:  Expose Your Ancestors

I have blog posts and articles posted across the internet so other researchers can find me. I have written about G-Uncle George and his mother on this blog.

Back to Greg who found me and sent me an email.  Greg's message was short. " Thought this would be of interest to you." Greg had come across an article in the Lyons Republican paper, dated 14 Jan 1919, from Lyons, Rice County,  Kansas (the county seat) while researching his own "Stredder" family, I was delighted.  The editor titled the article A Letter From France and misspelled my great grandparents surnam as James Stredder, but the letter was clearly signed by George F. [Franklin] Strader. 

2) Lesson two: Prove kinship. Is this my George?

Stredder or Strader was proved by this write up:  "Corporal "George was the first colored boy from this county..." Yep, it's my Great-Uncle George. There were only two colored boys from Lyons Kansas, Uncle George and my grandfather (who did not serve due to a physical injury). Others from Sterling, who were also in Rice County "down the 2 lane highway a-piece," and from neighboring counties (Reno, Ellsworth, Stafford and Barton counties), worked at the Lyons salt mines or only lived in Lyons, KS temporarily for work. My "colored" Strader family arrived in Lyons Kansas in spring of 1897. My great-grandfather, James, a teamster in Kentucky was drafted to work in the salt mines. So, no question it was my Great-Uncle George. Oh, and by the way, Great-Grandma had told us about the letter, but we never found it in her belongings in 1968 when she passed away. Either way, in our family, and in Lyons, Uncle George was quite celebrated.  Plus the printed letter was signed by George F. Strader and addressed to his parents James Strader.

3) Lesson three: Collaborative Research

Be kind, when you find something this magnificent, this marvelous, in the paper about someone else's ancestor, be like Greg!  Share it.  I had experienced a bitter-sweet Christmas. Greg changed my negative narrative to a day of gratitude.  Thank you Greg! 

A Letter From France

The printed Lyons Republican letter of  14 Jan 1919 fills in quite a bit of detail about Uncle George's military service and his troop. The details take us to the place in time, the activities, and daily routines of Uncle George's WWI experience. It is a great replacement for his burned WWI personnel record that was not salvaged from the 1973 St Louis National Personal Record Center. (NPRC). 

10 New Details

1) Uncle George wrote the letter 10 Dec 1918, over a month before it was printed in the Lyons Republican. At the time he was a Corporal. By the time he came home he was a Sargent.  When was he promoted?

2) I need to review this newspaper one more time for the misspelling of the family surname of Strader.  Did it appear as Stredder in other articles?  

3) George was in Chatel France, surrounded by the Argonne Forest. 

4) George could read and write.  His mother was a school teacher during the Reconstruction era.  She was only fourteen when she started teaching, but we didn't know how well George wrote.  I did know all five of his sister were well educated.  One attended Emporia, Kansas State Normal School for teachers.  But it's good to know that George, the second child could also read and write. 

5) The family letters were reaching George while he was serving in France. 

6) George somehow got lost in the Argonne Forest alone. More information on this may be in the Morning Reports. 

7) George was in a quartet. He seemed quite proud of this.  Note:, my father was also a good singer. 

8) George saw up to 45,000 German prisoners at one time.  Was he at a POW camp?
9) George was involved in raids that included gas bombs.Yes, g-uncle George was injured in the war, but unlike the story G-Grandma like to tell, it was not from front line action!

10) The letter gave information about other local black soldiers.

• Daniel Baugh was from Barton County, KS.  He worked for the railroad when he came home from the war and lived in Geneseo, KS.  
• Arthur Stewart was from Sterling Kansas, and was a farm worker before and after the war. 
• And as stated, Booker was from Great Bend. I knew him.  

G-Uncle George came home, but soon after he went to St. John, Stafford County, and lived with his oldest sister. Like my grandfather, g-uncle George was a car mechanic. 

Again, special thanks to Greg Stredder! 

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy@gmail.com
Accurate, accessible answers.

4 Must Polish Research Collections

Archival Jurisdictions

At a3Genealogy we encourage our clients to research their family lines. So right now, as I'm writing this post, an Australian-based client is currently researching in Warsaw and forwarding to us his findings and documents. We work with our clients -"teamwork" - to get answers on their ancestral brickwalls. In this case, it is the client who is the document retriever, and a3Genealogy researchers will analyze documents, follow the Genealogical Proof Standards (GPS), and work toward proving kinship to meet the objective of "Who are the parents of Stephanus...? (Truncated for client privacy). 

Sources for Polish Research

Rudzinski Folder online:The Head Office of the State Archives 

Our Polish ancestral projects are broad in scope.  The last project was for an Israel-based American who wanted EU status, through his Polish ancestor.  That was a fun project!  We must note that many of our Polish ancestral projects require us to start right in America, so our top Polish resources include Poland research, online research, and American research.  Here are four of our favorites:

1. Central Archives of Historical Records Warsaw

Central Archives of Historical Records Warsaw

If you haven't visited the Central Archives of Historical Records Warsaw or one of the other national Poland archives, well, you are missing a treat. The Central Archives of Historical Records Warsaw or Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie, AGAD, holds a wealth of genealogical information (AGAD).  Visit the AGAD  link to read about it in Polish, or have your page translated (right click mouse and choose translate). 

2.  PIASA Archives

Although our current Polish ancestral research project does not include a Polish American component, we must sneak in an underutilized American collection. We love the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America PIASA Archives.  Yes, this collection can be a bit academic, but so worth the time.  Here's information based on their website: The archival manuscripts are included in seventy-five collections.

"The archival collections include manuscripts, 

correspondence, diaries, maps and sound recordings."

3. The Head Office of the State Archives and Databases

A quick look at The Head Office of the State Archives Sezam and Zosia Databases is a great place to begin your research.  We often use this as a finding aid, and send the "Nerd Team" to the site to ferret out information. Yes, we affectionately call a few of our researchers the "Nerd Team."  They consider it a a badge of honor. Here is information on the various databases and Poland Holdings of the Polish State Archives.   

3.  Poland Archives and Libraries at Family History Library

If your research lands you on needed State Archival collections, the a3Genealogy team relies on the Family History Library for their microfilmed/digitized Polish State Archives collection.  Since not all of the State Archives records were microfilm, you may need to make a written request for document retrieval.  Here's more information on the Poland State Archives records. 

Teaming with Document Retriever

The a3Genealogy researchers follow basic protocols, dare we say Standard Operating Procedures, to work with the document retrievers around the world. Our clients taking on this role also follow the basic procedures. We know when researchers are in a "genealogical research zone", there are two things often forgotten:  1) Giving distinguishing file names to each document; 2) Citing sources. Now that can be a problem, when we need to go back to the repository or archive for further research! So for anyone retrieving documents, here are things to consider as you pull those precious nuggets of ancestral leads: 

Shared Documents

Where will shared documents be stored?  At a3Genealogy we use Box.com, Dropbox, and Google Drive, based on the retriever's experience.  Our retrievers may send us documents in any legible form (scanned, phone cameras, by snail mail, email, messaging, etc).  We ask for full pages to include margins. Then we file the documents in the appropriate folders. 

Files Folders and Identification System

The biggest issue is that a project may have multiple "Stephanus" in each generation (cousins, direct line, uncles, etc).  So your files and folders must clearly determine which "Stephanus". Researchers want an at a glance filing system!  That's a major time saver. 

Citing Sources

So this is where we have broad guideline for clients, but professional document retrievers for hire should know to follow GPS standards for citations. Ok, our overseas retrievers often use a different citation format, but it usually meets our needs. Just remember to cite! For clients we have them jot down everything they can about the collection: name, folder number from archives, collection name, etc.  This can be given to the a3Genealogy team via handwritten notes, phone pics, etc. and we sort it out for proper citation. 

Just a few Polish  repository and research tips and tricks.  

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

Accurate, accessible answers