Help with my Troubles



Eva May Shurtleff Jordan

Sometimes I become so overwhelmed with unanswered family lines, I steer from participating in my research at all. My dad's family is the type of family that rarely spoke about the past, and many of the "elders" in the family felt that children should be seen and not heard. Although I loved my grandparents, uncles and aunts, this practice means that family stories have unfortunately become harder to uncover with their passing.

My grandmother, on my dad's side, only saw me less than ten times during my life. However, one time I can remember her ridiculing the idea of anyone wanting to research the past. With some of the stories I've uncovered, I understand somewhat why she felt this way.

One of the areas I am most befuddled with is my father's side of the family. So far what I have found is that my dad's grandmother, Eva Jordan, was alive for sixteen years of his life, but he never knew about her. According to my cousin, my great-grandmother Jordan could not get along with her strong willed husband, William Jordan, so she lived with her sister on a Mohawk reservation, while William lived with my dad's family. Eva Shurtleff Jordan is where my line on my dad's side ends.




Eva's Obituary

Also on my father's side of the family, his mother's line is somewhat quizzical. According to census records, Minerva, or Minnie as the family refers to her, was born in Iowa, supposedly on a Potowatomi Indian Reservation. One census suggests that Minnie's mother, Catherina or Katherine, remarried Henry Gimble whom Minnie was raised with in Rochester, New York. Needless to say, they do not show up on census in a regular manner making it hard to track them.

Throughout my childhood I loved the idea of being Native American. This is the sole reason why I started researching family history. Unfortunately, it is sometimes frustrating too!

Recently, on Ancestry.com I received an email from a relative of my maternal grandmother's late husband. Clint, my grandmother's second husband, is the reason I became interested in family research- it's all his fault! His cousin in Philadelphia was emailing me to say what a great job I have been doing with my research. Appreciating his comments, I responded him thanking him and also expressing my frustration. Little did I know, he had just received certification in family research from a local university. Isn't it amazing how certain people come into your life at just the right time. Hopefully, together we can crack the family mysteries of the two Native American lines on my dad's side of the family.