Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting – April 23, 2023
On April 23, 2023, the
Madison County Genealogical Society held a meeting at the Edwardsville Public
Library.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $25.00
Patron Annual Membership $35.00
Institutional Membership $25.00
Contact our Corresponding Secretary, Lynn Engelman, at lae21@verizon.net, about a gift membership.
April Meeting
This meeting was a Show and Tell session. Members were
requested to bring a story, photo, or other memento of an ancestor that has an
interesting story or is an intriguing mystery.
Mary Westerhold brought and
talked about a pair of wooden shoes found in her father’s home when cleaning
out after his passing. Farmers used wooden shoes out in the fields of their
farms in the Effingham area.
Robert W. Ridenour brought a portrait of his Great
Uncle Freddy (Frederick Singleton Ridenour). Robert W. obtained the portrait
and a family Bible from the daughter-in-law of the youngest daughter of Robert
Singleton Ridenour .
Uncle Freddy was the oldest son of Robert S. (Robert W.’s Great Grandfather). Robert Singleton Ridenour had
three sons and five daughters. Two of the daughters died before the age of 6.
Robert W.’s grandfather was the youngest son of
Robert S.
According to his death
certificate, Uncle Freddy was born in Jersey County, Illinois, on
21 August 1881. His death certificate lists his date of death as 30
December 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri at the Missouri Baptist Sanatorium, with
the date of burial as 2 January 1915, in Rosedale Cemetery, Rosedale, Illinois.
However, his obituary
(newspaper and date of publication unknown) gives his age as 25, which would
make his birth date in 1889. The obituary also gives his death date as 24
December 1914 and funeral as 26 December 1914. According to my calculation, he
died at over the age of 33 years.
The family Bible lists his
birth date of 21 August 1882. However, it appears that all
the entries up to 1932 were written by the same person. There are a few
later entries written by someone else.
Other than the confusing
dates, there is another mystery. Ridenour. Uncle Freddy shares the same middle
name as his father (Singleton); but no one else in the family has that name.
I have been unable to find
any clue as to where the name Singleton comes from. Any suggestions as to where
I should look?