Genealogy # 68: Detective Work

I have never pursued an oral history project except to try and pry information from my father about his mother but he was very tight lipped. His father died in WWII when my dad was 5 years old so he remembers nothing about his father. His mother was left to raise he and his sister alone. From what I can gather she had great difficulty dealing with the lose of her husband, being a a single mom in the 1940's and 1950's, and being the sole financial provider for the family. Apparently my father didn't think he had much to say about her that would be very nice so he decided it was better to not say anything at all. She died when he was 17 in a car accident. As far as doing one now there's really no one to really interview. All my relatives on my dad's side are deceased. My mom's father is deceased and her mother can not be easily understood nor can she write. We don't have an oral history however we do have all the letters that my mothers parents exchanged while he was serving in WWII. My mother and my Aunt have preserved these letters for future generations to read and enjoy. Even better than an oral history - a primary source! My mom is also an active genealogist so she is documenting more than most people do for the sake of family history. Thanks mom! If I knew then what I know now I'd have forced my father to talk and recorded it or transcribed what he said. I did make a cold call once out of the blue. I called a lady who was the witness at my father's parents marriage. She was living in California and she was probably in her 80's when I called. I explained I found her name on the marriage license and I was wondering if she could tell me anything about my grandmother or grandfather. She said that the four of them had traveled to Indiana for the weekend to see a Notre Dame football game and while there they decided to get married. So they went to the justice of the peace and were married. That's about all I got really but it was good information.

Using the Find-A-Grave site I searched West Virginia cemeteries. For the oldest grave listing I found two from the same date, 10/10/1774.
One for Croley (Crowley), Samuel b. 1750 d. October 10, 1774. He was the first american killed in the Revolutionary War. He died in the first battle of the Revolution. The monument which carries the Crowley name is located at the Battleground at the place where the Great Kanawha River flows into the Ohio. That is called Point Pleasant and is now a park, site of a battle on 10 Oct 1774 between a coalition of 800 Shawnee, Mingo & Delaware against Virginia forces under Colonel Andrew Lewis. About 51 Virginians were killed that day. Point Pleasant Cemetery, Point Pleasant, Mason County, West Virginia, USA

The other for Lewis, Charles b. March 11, 1736 d. October 10, 1774
Colonial Militia Officer. Born at Lewis Fort, near present day Staunton, Virginia, he was a prominent Virginia planter and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1773 to 1774. A Colonel in the Virginia Militia, he led the forces of the Augusta County Regiment at Point Pleasant, Virginia (which is now West Virginia) during Lord Dunmore's War. On the morning of October 10, 1774 he led the attack of 150 officers and men, in the Battle of Point Pleasant, and engagement that pitted his Virginians against the famous Indian Chief Cornstalk and the Confederacy Indian Nations. Colonel Lewis was mortally wounded and died a short time later. He was buried with his fellow slain officers in the magazine on October 10, 1774. A large monument in memory of Colonel Lewis stands in the Tu Eudie Wie State Park in Point Pleasant. He is remember today for leading the fight in what many consider to be the first battle of the American Revolution. His brother, Andrew Lewis, would go on to become a General in the Continental Army. Battle Monument State Park, Point Pleasant, Mason County, West Virginia, USA

IMHO, this type of website is practically pointless. Unless you are related to a famous person you will probably never find one of your ancestors on this type of website.