<div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color:transparent;text-align:initial;font-family:georgia,serif">Need to </span><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/genealogy_genealogytipoftheday.com" target="_blank" style="background-color:transparent;text-align:initial;font-family:georgia,serif">unsubscribe</a><span style="background-color:transparent;text-align:initial;font-family:georgia,serif">?</span></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;text-align:initial;background-color:transparent"><br></span></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">23 August 2026</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">** </font><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;background-color:transparent">Buried Along the Quincy Road By the People</span></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">** Notebook Class</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">** Genealogy Lessons from Ira Sargent</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">---------------------</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Buried Along the Quincy Road By the People</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">---------------------</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><blockquote style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%;border-width:2px;border-color:rgb(0,115,170)"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Harm Habben died at the age of eighteen in Bentley, Hancock County, Illinois. After battling pneumonia for eight days, Harm died in the early afternoon of 17 March 1880. The German native likely didn\u2019t die in the village of Bentley proper, although that is the location given on the death certificate and that\u2019s close to to where he likely did die.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Harm likely died at home and while I don\u2019t know exactly where the family lived in 1880, I suspect it was a few miles from Basco, Illinois\u2013probably loosely between Basco and Bentley. That\u2019s where various members of Harm\u2019s family lived.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Of course I will record Bentley as the place of death as that\u2019s what the death certificate says and I\u2019ll site the death certificate as the source of that location.<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"></font><img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-size-large gmail-wp-image-5768" src="https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/harm-habben-1024x664.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="486" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle; display: block; text-align: initial; clear: both; transition-property: background, padding, margin, border, transform, box-shadow, opacity, color, fill, font, border-radius, max-height, max-width, filter, -webkit-transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-filter; transition-duration: 0.5s;"></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">There\u2019s no date of burial on this death certificate and the place of burial is somewhat vague as well:</font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%;border-width:2px;border-color:rgb(0,115,170)"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Near Quincy road in Harmony Town</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">The reference to \u201cHarmony Town\u201d is actually to Harmony Township. The Quincy Road is still referred to that by a few locals (who seem to get older as time moves on) and was the former road that was used to travel from Carthage, Illinois, to Quincy, Illinois. The death certificate makes it sound as if Harm is buried in a small farm plot or merely along side the road. He was buried in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery\u2013which is somewhat between Bentley and Basco, Illinois, and south of Carthage, Illinois. The cemetery and the church are located in Harmony Township. The death certificate is not wrong about the location\u2013just not as precise as one would like.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">In my database when I refer to where Harm is buried\u2013I do not cite his death certificate since it doesn\u2019t technically say he\u2019s buried in the Immanuel Cemetery. I can\u2019t cite it for a date of burial either\u2013since one is not listed. I cite my actual visit to the cemetery and the picture I have of his tombstone for documentation of his place of burial.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">It may seem technical, but one should not suggest that a document includes information that it does not. The burial location listed for Harm is discussed in my notes for him as that location is consistent with his known place of burial.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">And the undertaker?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" style="" size="4">That\u2019s not the People Funeral Home. The reference indicated that locals in the area saw to the funeral arrangements. Harm had immediate and extended family in the area and there were quite a few fellow Ostfriesen immigrants who were near neighbors. They were likely the ones to saw to the preparation of the body and burial.</font></p></blockquote></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">-------------------------------------</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Notebook for Genealogy--a Four Week Class</font></div><div style="text-align:initial;color:rgb(23,37,42);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">-------------------------------------</font></div><div style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/12/notebook-for-genealogy-four-week-class/" target="_blank">View this page as an email.</a></div><div><p style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><i><font size="6">Due to requests, we've added a set of classes on Tuesday mornings--see below.</font></i></span></p><p style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:xx-large;font-weight:700;white-space:pre-wrap">Notebook for Genealogy\u2013A Four Session Pick Your Own Problem Course</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">With Michael John Neill</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Our focus is on being practical, exhibiting sound genealogy methodology, and demonstrating responsible use of Notebook (Google\u2019s suite of AI tools) in genealogy research. This course is for those who would like guidance and suggestions in how to use Notebook and have a place to get feedback and additional direction.</span></p><p style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><b>What is Notebook?</b></span></p><span id="m_-7781436834289607073m_2377364042854920861m_-2990715261132999274m_-6077320325811101306m_-7666443035751280623gmail-docs-internal-guid-59c02fff-7fff-a2d6-1515-b9cc5062f357" style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><font size="4"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">NotebookLM</span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (often simply </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Notebook</span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">) is Google\u2019s suite of AI-driven tools to analyze data from files and information you provide it. . </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Notebook uses </span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">sources of your choosing, not what it found online</span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">. You upload your own materials\u2014including PDF files, text files, Google Docs, slides, or web links\u2014and the AI creates a private workspace built exclusively around that data. You can upload any genealogy information to it tht you wish , but it is recommended that only deceased people be included and that you not upload DNA information on living people. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Capabilities</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Answers with Citations:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> When you ask questions or search your uploaded files, every response includes citations to your uploaded documents, allowing you to double-check sources. </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Synthesis & Content Creation:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> Notebook automatically generates concise summaries, outlines main themes, and identifies connections or conflicts across dozens of sources at once. You do need to validate its summaries and conclusions.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Audio-visual Outputs:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> Beyond text answers, Notebook can create study guides, briefing documents, timeline charts, slide decks, podcast interviews, and videos based on your content. Even if you never share the created materials, just viewing them and interacting with them may give you some insight into your genealogical problem.</span></p></li></ul></font></span><p style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Course Prerequisites & Required Materials</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> You should have digital records for one ancestor or a father-mother-children family, including every extant record available.</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Format:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> PDF or JPG for images; PDF, Word, or raw text for transcriptions.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Preparation:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> Be familiar with the specific ancestral research problem you plan to work on to get the most from Notebook LM and AI concepts. Gather all materials between registration and the start of class.</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Course Format & Zoom Sessions</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Pre-Recorded Lectures:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> Students will view two hours of presentations before group sessions begin.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Live Zoom Sessions:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> Held on Sunday nights (and recorded for later viewing). Sessions combine live demonstrations by Michael working through a set of family records alongside group discussions where students share prompts, results, challenges, and questions.</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Class Focus & Weekly Assignments</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Weekly Assignments:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> One assignment per week focused on Notebook's media outputs using your own research problem.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Scope:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The course focuses on mastering the tools and capabilities of Notebook rather than providing individual research advice, making it accessible to participants working on problems from any region.</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Community Discussion & Communication</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Private Google Group:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> Used for asynchronous discussion, peer interaction, Q&A, and prompt sharing outside of live sessions.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Email Requirement:</span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> A Gmail account is strongly recommended. Accounts with AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail frequently experience delivery issues with group emails.</span></p></li></ul><div style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><font color="#000000" face="georgia, serif" size="4">Take the class live on Sunday Night or Tuesday Mornings!</font></div><div><h2 style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline"><em>Tuesday Sessions--10 AM Eastern Time--stilll available</em></span></strong></h2><p style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><strong>Important Dates</strong></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><li style="margin-left:15px"><strong>1 September:</strong> Pre-recorded lectures become available for download, and the private Google Group opens.</li><li style="margin-left:15px"><strong>Live Zoom Discussions (Tuesdays at 10:00 AM Eastern US time):</strong> 15 September, 22 September, 29 September, and 13 October. Time: 10 am US Central Daylight Time.</li></ul><div><p style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><strong>Registration & Tuition</strong>-</p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><li style="margin-left:15px"><strong>Fee:</strong> $70\u2013<a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T8YR5W34FDC4L" target="_blank">register now to save your spot</a> . </li><li style="margin-left:15px"><strong>Availability:</strong> Registration is limited.</li><li style="margin-left:15px"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T8YR5W34FDC4L" target="_blank">Register for Sunday Night Sessions</a></li></ul><div><font color="#17252a" face="georgia, serif" size="4">------------------------------</font></div><div><font color="#17252a" face="georgia, serif" size="4">Genealogy Lessons from Ira Sargent</font></div><div><font color="#17252a" face="georgia, serif" size="4">-----------------------------</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">If ever there was an ancestor who was full of genealogical lessons, it\u2019s Ira Sargent.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Born in the early 1840s, probably near Darlington, Ontario, Canada, he was actually named William Ira Sargent. For quite some time early in my research I was unaware that Ira was his middle name and that his first name was William.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">By the mid-1840s, Ira, his parents, and his sisters are living in Winnebago County, Illinois.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">In the late 1840s Ira\u2019s father either died or took off. A number of print genealogies repeat the same place and time frame for his death. One cannot conclude that the date and place of death is correct merely because it was repeated numerous times. Ira\u2019s daughter Emmar suggested in her own Civil War widow\u2019s pension application that her father may have simply run off.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">By 1850, Ira\u2019s mother has married again and Ira and his siblings are enumerated in the 1850 census while living in Winnebago County, Illinois. They are enumerated with their step-father\u2019s list name. By 1860 Ira\u2019s mother has died and they are living with their step-father in Christian County, Missouri. They are again enumerated with their step-father\u2019s last name.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">In the mid-1850s the family spent a few years in Union County, Iowa. Ira\u2019s oldest sister married while the family lived there and she did not join them in Christian County, Missouri. When the Civil War heated up, Ira\u2019s step-father (a native of Canada himself) took his two children (Ira\u2019s half-siblings) and returned to Canada where he died.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira and his two younger sisters headed back to Union County, Iowa, where their married sister still lived. Eventually Ira and his younger sisters met their future spouses and married in or near Union County. Ira married Ellen Butler in 1870\u2013a few months after the federal census in which he can\u2019t be located was taken.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">He married under the name of William I. Sargent.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">By 1880, Ira and Ellen have made their way to Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, where they are enumerated in the census with their two small daughters.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">By the mid-to-late 1880s, Ellen is out of the picture. Ira\u2019s children are living with foster parents in southwestern Hancock County, Illinois. Ira married again in 1888 and has another daughter with his second wife. The first wife is rarely mentioned.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira works as a day laborer or farm hand until the early 1900s. From approximately 1906 until his death in 1916 he is institutionalized in various Illinois state hospitals. His relationship with his second wife and some of his children is apparently strained and he doesn\u2019t pass on any family stories.</font></p><ul style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:auto 1.5em 1em;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%;color:rgb(23,37,42)"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira is mentioned in the 1895 family genealogy as an unnamed son in his family\u2019s portion of the text. Hard to find when you do not know the names of his parents.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira\u2019s death certificate has no named parents.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira\u2019s two marriage records provide no parental information.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira\u2019s death notice in the local newspaper simply indicated that a county resident of the state hospital had died.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira had no tombstone. His body was donated to medical science by the hospital after his death.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira is enumerated with his step-father\u2019s name in several records. Before the step-father\u2019s name (Asa Landon) was known finding Ira was difficult.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Neither of Ira\u2019s parents left a probate or estate record.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ira is living in a different county in every census enumeration between 1850 and 1910. He cannot be located in 1870.</font></li></ul><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I\u2019ve written about Ira before. While it was frustrating to not find him in certain records, his early life was in a constant state of flux and by around the age of ten both his parents were dead and he was living with his step-father. From what is known about his mother and father\u2019s families it is apparent that none of them lived close enough to take Ira and or his siblings into their own home.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" style="" size="4">Your ancestor did not always intentionally leave behind few details of his life. Sometimes that is just the way their life played out.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-family:"Open Sans";font-size:16px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><br></p></div><div style="color:rgb(23,37,42)"><br></div><div><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Current offerings:</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/12/notebook-for-genealogy-four-week-class/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Notebook AI\u2013four week class</span></a></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/16/using-ai-for-metes-and-bounds-deed-analysis/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Metes and Bounds AI\u2013one hour webinar</span></a></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Upcoming Trips:</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Midwest Genealogy Center\u2013Independence, Missouri</span></a>--October 2026</p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025-library-of-virginia-research-trip-richmond-virginia/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Library of Virginia</span></a>--March 2027--make deposit and pay balance later</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ready-to-Go Webinars\u2013download immediate:</span></p><ul style="color:rgb(23,37,42);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-childrens-stories-from-genealogy-information/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Creating Children\u2019s Stories from Genealogy Events</span></a></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-families-from-pre-1850-census-records/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Creating Families from pre-1850 Census Records</span></a></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/deedmapper-intro-and-more-deedmapper-webinars/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">DeedMapper webinars</span></a></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/rooting-around-for-farmers-and-tenants-and-laborers/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Farming Ancestor webinars\u2013landowner and non-landowner versions</span></a></p></li></ul><div><font color="#000000" face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br>
</span></p><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">----------------------------------------<br></font></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><b><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Need to unsubscribe? Do so at:</font></b></div><div><b><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/genealogy_genealogytipoftheday.com" target="_blank"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/genealogy_genealogytipoftheday.com<br></font></a></b></div></div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"></font></div></div></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br>
</span></p><div><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">------------------------------------<br>Michael John Neill<br>Genealogy Tip of the Day</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><a href="http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com/" target="_blank" style="background-color:transparent"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com</font></a>-<br></div></div></div></div>