Do you enjoy doing what I call Cold Genealogy? Helping somebody else with their genealogy, or digging out the story that goes with an old weathered tombstone in the cemetery? Or perhaps learning about somebody mentioned in the paper?
An old yellowed undated newspaper clipping, probably from our Spokane newspaper, reads:
“Theft of Hosiery Brings $10 Fine…… Convicted of stealing seven pairs of men’s hose from Kemp & Herbert’s yesterday, Chester Ridout was fined $10 and costs in police court today.”
Right off the bat, Chester committed his crime yesterday and was sentenced today?? I like that idea of swift justice.
I did some looking on our Washington State Digital Archives website (www.digitalarchives.wa.gov) and found a birth record for a Chester Gerald Ridout, born 18 Nov 1906 in Spokane, son of Chester G. Ridout and Myrtle A. Reynolds. Is this the Sock Snitcher? I would guess (based upon the book wherein I found the clipping) that this Chester would have been about age 25 when he became the Sock Snitcher. Certainly old enough to know better!
If you found this story was about YOUR ancestor, how would you feel? Would you just laugh or be ashamed??
This is precisely and exactly the sorts of stories that our Salt Lake Christmas Tour family comes looking for when they come to the Family History Library in December. And many, many, MANY times we find those stories!! Come join us and find some stories for yourself.
Donna, aka Mother Hen, until next peek.