Today’s task

My main genealogical task today has been to write the Hamilton County (Ohio) Genealogical Society asking them to make copies of some marriage and obituary listings.  I have an ancestor, Captain Thomas Jefferson Haldeman (often referred to in records as “Captain Haldeman”), who seems to have been quite a spirited and memorable individual, as he is mentioned in several narratives of immigrating families who had him as one of their steamboat captains.  They typically talk about him as being by far the most genial, kind steamboat captain they had on their journey to their new home.  However, so far for me he has been rather a ghost in official records prior to late in his life. The late censuses (I have yet to find him in any early ones) generally list him as being from Kentucky, but as to where (or if it’s even correct), I don’t know for sure.  I don’t know who his parents were, I don’t know his exact birthdate, and so on.  I know he likely arrived in Ohio in 1867 (according to a book on the 1800s history of Hamilton County) but before that his colorful life is scattered in bits and pieces instead of being a cohesive narrative.  So my biggest hope for this letter is that the Thomas J. Haldeman listed in the obituary database of the Hamilton County Genealogical Society is “my” T.J. Haldeman.  The time frame fits my death date, but I’ll just have to wait and see.

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