Skip to main content

William Weekley Drowned in the San Diego Bay (& My 1st Experience as a FamilySearch Indexer)

Becoming a FamilySearch Indexer has been on my "to do" list for quite some time. In the past, there never seemed to be a large enough block of time in one sitting (that I wanted to set aside) to get started. Even though I knew that train of thought was a little selfish, it didn't spur me into action. Then I read Amy Coffin's FamilySearch, Football and Milestones post.

Her talk of football (I watch it all weekend, too) and indexing her 11,000th name made me wonder how many names I could have indexed by now if I had started back when the thought first entered my brain. Add that to the scenario of me being off from my real job and having a block of time to work with, and you got a new indexer!

Another thing Amy mentioned in her post was, as a genealogist, being attached to records. Wondering what the stories were behind those names. I chuckled when I read that because I know exactly what she means. Even though I am not related to 99.9% of the stories I bring you on this Southern Graves blog, I am still protective of and moved by them. I guess that would make me attached to each and every tombstone I come across, visit, and record. Yes, I think that is a fair characterization.

For my first official batch of records to index (after the initial one for beginners), I chose to work on death certificates from Washington, DC. This group also includes burial permits of individuals laid to rest in DC, though they died elsewhere. Can you guess what happened when I was working on those documents? One came across my screen that made me pause and want to know more.

His name was William Herbert Weekley. He was 24 years of age and single. His cause of death was drowning. What happened to him, you ask? Well, he was affiliated with the United States Navy and was attempting a parachute jump. Something must have went wrong, because he drowned in the San Diego Bay in March 1928.

I enjoy providing information about William Herbert Weekley and individuals like him. He was not married and did not likely have any children. You see, I am just like him in that regard. I am not married, and I have no children. Will there ever be anyone interested in learning more about their great great great grand aunt Stephanie? I hope so! And likewise, I hope someone will come along one day and want to know more about Mr. Weekley. In that vain, I helped put the information out there, free for the masses.

Yes, I think I will continue with this indexing thing. I don't know if I'll ever reach 11,000 names like Amy and other wonderful volunteers like her, but I'm going to give it a shot.

Comments

If you watch football as much as I do (which you seem to indicate) you'll get to 11,000 at some point.

Thanks for sharing your experience with indexing. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who gets attached to the stories in the records.
Anonymous said…
My husband Wayne will be 80 in about a week. He began indexing over 2 years ago, and loves it! He will hit 300,000 before his 80th birthday. He puts on football games, old movies, etc. on a small TV right next to his computer, and spends 4 to 5 hours a day! And he uses his 2 index fingers! I also index but do other phases of genealogy and don't get those indexing numbers!
Dianne said…
I was glued to my chair as I indexed name after name of men who died in a providence in Canada in the same place on the same date. I had to know more. I did a little research and discovered that they were all victims of a mining disaster where over 100 men died. I love connecting indexing with actual history. I thought I was the only strange person who did that. Thanks for sharing your experience.
S. Lincecum said…
Oh, you are definitely not alone. :-)

Paralee, all I can say is WOW!
Indexing is so much more than just entering letters and numbers. I get SO involved in the lives of those my fingers touch...even to wishing happy birthday to those long gone but who just happened to have beem born on June 26th! And feeling sorry for the father who had seven children .. all girls. AND having to look on Wikipedia to understand Jamaica in the early 1900s. I am SO enriched by being a part of this wonderful, interesting and important job.
Kevin said…
Wow wow wow!!

I was googling "Herbert Weekly Navy Parachute" and came across your article. I am William Herbert Weekley's only grand-nephew. His brother Murry Anderson Weekley is/was my grandfather on my mother's side. To finish the story of his death, he apparently landed OK in shallow water, gathered up his parachute, lines, etc. and started walking to shore. On his way he fell in a hole and the weight of the equipment drug him down and he drowned. There was no quick-release system yet on parachute harnesses.

I was talking last night with my 84 year old mom (his niece) and asked about him. She repeated the above story almost verbatim with no prodding from me. She was only about 5 months old when he died and never knew him.

I am in possession of a box of his personal effects, trinkets etc, from his time in the Navy and I treasure it. I also have a photo of William H. and his brother Murry as very young boys (4-5) years old dressed in knickers and, ironically, sailor-style shirts.

I looked him up on familysearch.org and am now a direct recipient of the fruits of your labor. Many, many thanks!

Warmest regards,
Kevin Mahoney
kmconstr=peaknet.net (replace =)
S. Lincecum said…
I say "wow, wow, wow," too! Thank-you so much for letting me know the complete story, as well as how you found this post. That excites me a great deal, and helps me to remind me that this blog does provide valuable information. :-)

Popular posts from this blog

Rocks, Rocks, and More Rocks

Why do people put rocks on grave stones? Some time ago, I learned that the rocks signified a visitor. That is true enough, but I decided to learn a little more about the custom and share my findings with you. Putting rocks on tombstones is most often described as a Jewish custom. There are many "Ask a Rabbi" columns out there, but I did not find one that knew for sure where the custom originated. They all agreed, however, that a rock symbolized a visitor and when put on a tombstone said, "I remember you." I also read that some people pick up a rock wherever they are when they think of a person that has passed. Then, the next time they visit the grave, they place the rock to say, "I wish you were here." Rabbi Shraga Simmons offers a deeper meaning: "We are taught that it is an act of ultimate kindness and respect to bury someone and place a marker at the site. After a person is buried, of course, we can no longer participate in burying them. H

Southern Cross of Honor

I'm late to this discussion, but it's one I'd like to join. :-) Terry Thornton at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Hill Country started with Grave Marker Symbols: The Southern Cross of Honor and UCV (link no longer available). Judith Shubert at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Covered Bridges continued with Hood County Texas: C.S.A. Veterans & Southern Cross of Honor Symbol . [UPDATE, 1 June 2009: Judith has moved this post to the blog, Cemeteries with Texas Ties . The link has been corrected to reflect this move. You may also link to her article via her nice comment on this post.] Wikipedia states: The Southern Cross of Honor was a military decoration meant to honor the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for their valor in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. It was formally approved by the Congress of the Confederate States on October 13, 1862, and was originally intended to be on par with the Union Arm

Thursday Link Love: EyeWitness To History

Yesterday, a link was added to the Genealogy Research Resources Group at Diigo. The link was to the website titled EyeWitness to History.com: History through the eyes of those who lived it . It's a great site, and I encourage all to visit it. Here are several items I found while snooping around. - Inside a Nazi Death Camp, 1944 : "Hitler established the first concentration camp soon after he came to power in 1933. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: concentration camps for slave labor in nearby factories and death camps for the systematic extermination of "undesirables" including Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally retarded and others." - Crash of the Hindenburg, 1937 : "Radio reporter Herbert Morrison, sent to cover the airship's arrival, watched in horror. His eye witness description of the disaster was the first coast-to-coast radio broadcast and has become a classic piece of audio history." [You ca





SouthernGraves.blogspot.com

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."

Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!' Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live...'" (Ezekiel 37:1-5, NKJV)