{"id":101718,"date":"2025-01-28T12:19:14","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=101718"},"modified":"2025-01-28T12:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:27:12","slug":"genealogy-case-study-mistake-i-made-family-info-i-uncovered-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-case-study-mistake-i-made-family-info-i-uncovered-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Case Study: Mistake I Made, Family Info I Uncovered (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega gives more genealogy tips based on research she\u2019s done recently on her own family tree. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In Part 1<\/a> of this series, I showed three newspaper articles I found about someone in my family tree, James Peterson, and described the details those articles provided about his life and my family. A common tendency once you have some clues from a few newspaper articles is to stop there and start pursuing other types of records to learn more, such as military records, death certificates, or cemetery records.<\/p>\n

A common tendency, yes \u2013 but it can be a mistake, as I\u2019ll now explain.<\/p>\n

My Mistake<\/strong><\/p>\n

To find those three newspaper articles about James, I searched on his name and used the filter to narrow the search results by location, focusing on newspapers in Holbrook, Arizona, and Snowflake, Arizona, the areas where he and his family lived. But my mistake was stopping at that search and the three articles I found.<\/p>\n

I thought I had found enough clues to begin searching other records for more information, but discovered I needed more clues. I realized I had abandoned my newspaper search too soon and needed to return to newspapers to find more information.<\/p>\n

And so, I conducted a new search, starting again with his name, but then I narrowed that search to the year 1917, when he died, and the state of Arizona (not any specific city). That\u2019s when I found more newspaper articles.<\/p>\n

In an article under the title \u201cArizona State News\u201d found in the Benson Signal<\/em> is this short mention of James.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Benson Signal (Benson, Arizona), 17 November 1917, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article mentions that perhaps James\u2019 death was the first death of an Arizona soldier in the national army. It also says he died of pneumonia, not tuberculosis as stated in the first three articles I found. It confirmed, as the other articles had, that James died at Camp Funston, a WWI training camp located at Fort Riley in Kansas.<\/p>\n

A similar article was printed on November 4th in the Arizona Daily Orb<\/em> in a column titled \u201cBrief State Notes,\u201d which also states that James is possibly the first death among Arizonans in the national army. This article confirms that James died of pneumonia, but elaborates:<\/p>\n

He claimed no [medical] exemption, although it is known that he was threatened with tuberculosis. The change to an inclement climate [Kansas] proved too severe.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Arizona Daily Orb (Bisbee, Arizona), 4 November 1917, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also uncovered an article from October 26th printed in the Winslow Mail<\/em> that gives us even more information: James\u2019 death was not only tragic, it was heroic. Apparently, he had suffered from tuberculosis for years and could have claimed a medical exemption from military service when he was drafted, but instead:<\/p>\n

Deceased [James] has been afflicted with tuberculosis for a number of years, and at the time of the draft it was thought he would be rejected, but he was passed and as a loyal soldier he got up out of a sick bed to respond to the call.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sadly, as the previous article had suggested, the Kansas climate was too much for him to bear:<\/p>\n

The change in the altitude and climate at Fort Riley made swift the ravages of the disease that took his life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Winslow Mail (Winslow, Arizona), 26 October 1917, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The title of this article refers to the \u201cNavajo Contingent,\u201d but James was not Native American. As I explained in Part 1, he was part of a group from Navajo County, Arizona.<\/p>\n

By going back to the newspapers after my initial search instead of prematurely turning to other types of records, I\u2019ve learned more about the circumstances of James\u2019 death, and of his character and the sacrifice he made for his country. I could now explore other records such as military and medical, but before doing so I\u2019m going to go back into the newspapers some more.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Forget Other Searches<\/strong><\/p>\n

Camp Funston and James\u2019 time there will be included in what I write about his life. Curious if I could find even more information, I searched GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> on \u201cCamp Funston,\u201d limited that search to the year \u201c1917,\u201d and included the keyword \u201cArizona.\u201d That search resulted in 680 hits! (Please note: even though Camp Funston was in Kansas, I added Arizona to my search because I wanted articles that highlighted Arizona men at Camp Funston.)<\/p>\n

I decided to limit my 680 hits to \u201cHolbrook\u201d and \u201cSnowlfake,\u201d and then to sort by the oldest newspaper first. That brought up a manageable 18 results. My reason for doing this was to see if I could learn more about the Navajo County men who went to Camp Funston, hoping to find any articles that might have something to do with James\u2019 time there but did not mention him specifically \u2013 or that mention him with a name variation I did not search. I found more good information.<\/p>\n

According to a newspaper article on 7 September 1917, five Holbrook men left for Camp Funston \u2013 but James was not one of them.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Holbrook News (Holbrook, Arizona), 7 September 1917, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I expected, James is listed with the second contingent of men from Navajo County. He is listed as \u201cJas I. Peterson,\u201d a name variation I did not check.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Snowflake Herald (Snowflake, Arizona), 21 September 1917, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Learning more about our ancestors\u2019 lives means taking into consideration their FAN Club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors). Historical newspapers provide one way to uncover the FAN Club. Sergeant R. P. Schuster was one of the Navajo County men who went to Camp Funston with the first contingent. Most likely James knew Schuster or knew of him. The article above this one mentions \u201cthe county\u2019s entire quota of 99 men,\u201d so there weren\u2019t too many young men living in the area.<\/p>\n

Schuster reports in a letter to his parents that all the Navajo County men are \u201cdoing well.\u201d That\u2019s not to say that James wasn\u2019t ill by then, but it provides us with more information about their time at Camp Funston.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Holbrook News (Holbrook, Arizona), 28 September 1917, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next Task: Records!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found quite a bit of information by conducting multiple newspaper searches. I\u2019m glad I kept searching after my initial search, so that I could get as much information as possible before moving on to other records, which will be my next step. These historical newspapers help me to better understand James Peterson and his short military service \u2013 they provide me with the information I need to tell his story, and also provide details and clues to guide my next searches into other types of records.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Article:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n