Military Records are a Godsend... Part 1

So, in my previous post Introducing... William Steplight Polite, I stated that I was requesting his military records to get some insight into his military life. Well... they found them. They found his military records. I just have to send off the form and payment for them to make a copy.

Hopefully, this record will help me with some holes I have in my research. Stay tuned for part 2.

Introducing...William (STEPLIGHT) POLITE

So... normally a male ancestor doesn't have  a "maiden" name or an additional last name, but this ancestor is a little different.

William STEPLIGHT POLITE is my maternal grandfather. He was born 27 Mar 1925 in Mckeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. According to family members, he was born to Thomas STEPLIGHT and Elouise "Honey" DRAYTON, but I have yet to confirm that information.

At some point in his life, possibly before he joined the United States Navy, he changed his last name from STEPLIGHT to POLITE. No one can tell me why exactly, so that's what I'm trying to figure out now.

I've already requested his military records to gain some insight into his military life. I am in the process of ordering additional vital records and checking the 1930 census to see if I can find him or his relatives.

Wish me luck!!!

National Institute for Genealogical Studies Announces Acquisition of GenealogyWise | GeneaBloggers

National Institute for Genealogical Studies Announces Acquisition of GenealogyWise | GeneaBloggers:

"GenealogyWise is the social network for genealogists. This is the place to network with other researchers, and make discoveries about your family history.You can join or create surname, locality, or topic groups. The Group feature allows you to collaborate, share, and ask questions of other members."

So I've heard of GenealogyWise before and I kind of pushed it to the back burner, but now that the National Institute for Genealogical Studies has acquired the site, I might just have to give it a try.

I'll post about my experiences with it after I've tried for a week or two.

Genealogy- Back to the Beginning

I initially started my genealogy research when I was 12 years old. I was assigned a project in history class where I had to interview one of my elder relatives and see how their life was growing up compared to ours. I chose my grandfather Lymus SIMMONS, Jr.

I continued researching on and off for about 10 years and gathered quite a bit of research. Due to a very tragic accident and some unforeseen circumstances, I lost all of my research. It was very devastating to have to start all over, bur it was also a blessing. Most  of the information I had collected was not properly documented and by the time I learned how to properly cite sources, I had forgotten where I had found the information.

Now that I have no choice but to start over, I know how to properly document my sources and preserve my research for future generations.