I can't really explain why I love researching and organizing family history so much.
Maybe it's because I like to fill in blanks on charts.
(I actually really do achieve satisfaction from that) Or maybe it goes deeper.
There's just something about feeling connected to roots; knowing what's in the proverbial family tree. Like where my ancestors came from and learning bits & pieces about their lives. I think it's valuable to share this with my kids, and believe it gives them a connection, a sense of who they came from, and an appreciation for how different life is now, than it was (& will be in the future for their children).
I started trying to research the Coe side of the family years ago - to reach the point at which they arrived in America. I've made a
little tiny bit of progress, but am certainly no expert, so I'm not there yet.
Anyhow, you can imagine my excitement when Dave's brother, Doug, pulled out two huge notebooks for me to look through when we were in Minnesota for Christmas! He learned of an annual "Coe Cousins" Reunion Picnic that's held every summer in Iowa. He went, and borrowed these notebooks to share!
Here's a sampling of the fun stuff I found:
Dave's Grandfather Wilber Coe
Wilber as a teen; and with his wife, Blanche Porter Coe (& Dave's Uncle Ted)
I had found some info on Wilber's family in an Iowa census previously,
but this document filled in some holes in my research -- love it!!
(woohoo, i get to fill in some more blanks :-)
And what could be more fun
than faces to put with all those names & dates :-)
Wilber's parents & siblings
--Samuel Alexander Coe & Emma Crackel Coe--
with 9 of their 10 children (one died in infancy)
posing for a family photo in 1896 just before they moved from Illinois to Iowa
Samuel Coe Family again in 1920
50th Wedding Anniversary
(so awesome...every single kid at the anniversary party!)
Love this!
And finally,
meet
Philip Houston Coe
He was a gambler, gunfighter,
and proprietor of the "Bull's Head Saloon" in Abilene, Kansas,
who had a little
s h o w d o w n
with 'Wild Bill' Hickok
in October of 1871
and lost.
Depending on who you ask, Phil Coe was described as:
"a kind and generous-hearted man well thought of by all who knew him"
OR
"a red-mouthed, bawling thug--plug ugly--a very dangerous beast"
who ran a "low down gambling den."
Either way, Phil is known as Wild Bill's last victim.
And, when Wild Bill was murdered 5 years later,
the rumor was that it had been plotted by friends of Phil Coe.
I'm gonna need to do a little research and find out how we're related to this character!
Good Stuff, huh?
Doug . . . I owe you! Thanks for sharing :-)
