Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-24-2013
Abstract
The focus of “Portraits on the Wall” is discovering the history behind two family heirlooms. Through online archival and ancestry websites, a tentative history of the portraits was found. Once a more clear background was established, a complete line of descent was created starting with the current generations of the family and traced back to one generation previous to the portraits. While searching for answers about the subjects of the portraits, an abundance of family history was unearthed. Everything from local politicians, to Supreme Court cases against step-mothers, successful business owners, to friends of presidents. While investigating the subjects in the portraits, other family events are explored on the journey through eight generations of family history. The main source of information outside of family knowledge was ancestry.com. Through this website, pictures, censuses, marriage licenses, and birth and death records were found to provide additional resources. “The Ewing Genealogy” and bartondatabase.info are both compilations of family histories that intertwined with the descendants of the portraits, making them both extremely valuable sources. Additionally, other family heirlooms including photographs, books, and newspaper clippings were used.
Recommended Citation
Croll, Ellen, "Portraits on the Wall" (2013). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 194.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/194
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Full text link is to abstract only.