December 31, 2014

December 29, 2014

History for all the People - NC State Archives Blog

Did you know the NC State Archives writes a really nifty little blog entitled History for all the People

They discuss ongoing projects at the archives, upcoming events, how to do things, find things, and all sorts of other interesting news. 

I subscribe to it, so it lands in my email box each time a new post is available. 

I've found it enormously helpful in learning how to find things at the archives, available resources (things off the beaten path), and loads of other cool things.

Check it out!


December 22, 2014

Family Tree Maker - Bah Humbug

I think I seriously goofed yesterday when I was cleaning up some files on my laptop. It's not a crisis level goof, recovery can happen even if it will cost $$. I hope.

I was cleaning up some OLD FTM back up files when I may have mistakenly deleted my FTM executable file. Egads. I'm surprised that FTM let me delete the entire executable so easily. So maybe that's not the issue. 

I also downloaded a FTM patch which appeared to be required about the same time. Maybe it was buggy or a virus and made my FTM.EXE disappear. Scrooge.

Or maybe I was just distracted preparing for 30+ people to give us a Christmas visit when I deleted the wrong FTM file. 

Whatever the cause, I'm very sad to see that I cannot open any of my FTM files. I'm off work for a good stretch during the holiday and was really looking forward to working on my genealogy.

There's really no point to this post except to vent.  

I'm pretty sure my gg grand-parents didn't have this problem. 




December 11, 2014

Digital Pics: Every Picture Should Tell a Story

There's a great article from the Library of Congress on how to add descriptions to digital pictures. I seriously need to do this - very few of my digital pictures have any information beyond the filename. Things like "John Stancil Gravestone" excluding important stuff like WHERE the grave is located, etc. 

In my opinion, every picture should tell a story. There's no reason why that story can't be enhanced by metadata, right?

Take a look!



December 7, 2014

Eric Ray Stancil, 1926 - 1999

Eric Ray STANCIL was born on 14 Feb 1926 in Johnston County, North Carolina, as the third child of Jesse Bernard STANCIL and Ada Lou JOHNSON. 

He had five siblings: Jesse Roland, Macon McNair, Cecil Braxton, Edith Cavelle, and Carl Donald (my father). 

On May 11, 1944, he voluntarily enlisted in the US Navy as an Apprentice Seaman. Initially, he was assigned to Camp Perry in Magruder, Virginia and the USS Shamrock Bay. 


  • July 15, 1944: Transferred to Norfolk, VA. USS Shamrock Bay. Authorized to wear the European African Middle Eastern ARMA Ribbon.
  • Dec. 16, 1944:  Crossed the 180th Meridian at Lat 11 degrees, 20 East, qualified as a Shellrack. 
  • Dec. 21, 1944:  Crossed the equator at Long 153, 20 East, qualified as a Shellrack. Authorized to wear the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon.
  • Dec. 31, 1944 - Jan 27, 1945: Participated in the invasion and occupation of Luzon (WW II Battle of Luzon in The Philippines) between Dec. 31, 1944 and Jan. 27, 1945.
  • Jan 4 - 18, 1945:  Lingayen Gulf Landing 
  • Jan. 8, 1945: Participated in action against the Japanese at Luzon.
  • Feb. 16, 1945 - March 5, 1945:  Participated in the invasion and occupation of Iwo Jima. Authorized to wear the star on Asia-Pacific Bar.
  • March 13 - June 27, 1945: Participated in Okinawa Operation.
  • June 30, 1945: Authorized to wear the Philippine Liberation Bar for action against the enemy on Jan 8, 1945. 
  • August 26, 1945: Authorized to wear the bronze star in the Philippine Liberation Bar for participation in Battle of Luzon. Also authorized to wear a bronze star in Asiatic-Pacific Bar for participating in the Lingayen Gulf Landing and for participation in Okinawa Operation.
  • Oct. 26, 1945: Transferred to ComAirPac for further assignment.
  • Feb 7, 1946 - March 13, 1945: Granted 30 days leave plus 4 days travel time for serving 18 months outside the continental US.
  • March 13, 1946: Reported to Norfolk, Va.
  • April 11, 1946: Transferred to Charleston, SC
  • May 13, 1946:  Transferred to naval station at Green Cove Springs, Florida.
  • May 17, 1946:  Honorably discharged from the Navy.


Summary of Battles 
Dec - Jan 1945:  Battle of Luzon
Jan 1945: Lingayen Gulf Landing
Feb - March 1945:  Iwo Jima
March - June 1945:  Okinawa

Summary of Medals
American Area Camp Medal
Eur-African-Mid East Camp Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Camp Medal, 3 stars
Philippine Liberation Ribbon, 1 star
Point System, World War II Victory Medal



When he was 33, he married his 2nd wife, Nannie Mae LEWIS, daughter of Jesse Edward LEWIS and Lillian Mae JONES, on 28 Feb 1959 in Wake County, North Carolina.

After his service in the military, Eric was employed by Coopers BBQ Stand, Pine State Creamery, Raleigh Times, Oil Company in Wake County, North Carolina, USA. 

He was counted in the census in 1930  and 1940 census in Wake County, North Carolina.

Eric was my uncle, my father's older brother. I remember him as a very happy and affectionate fellow. He was my very favorite uncle.

Eric died on 12 Jun 1998 in Wake County, North Carolina at age 72. He is buried at Mountlawn Cemetery in Raleigh, NC.