Southern League player help (my G-G GrandDad )

[Joshwesley]

All,
I found this site by mistake 10 years ago and you all helped me find a T209 Continea cigs card of my Great/Great Grand father (Seabron “Red” Booles), which I am eternally grateful for.

I’m throwing a Hail Mary here after racking my brain for the entire summer.
Hoping that there’s an expert on here that can help me connect the dots

I need an official document that links Seabron to his Father “William A. Booles”


I need to locate a death or birth certificate for Grandpa Seab.
Figured death certificate would be much easier

Has not been easy at all

He died in Monroe Louisiana (March 16, 1955)

Louisiana is a tough state…. I’ve checked “vital records” etc etc

I do know the state has his name spelled incorrectly as

“Sebrun J. Boales “

My great aunt put together a lineage book of my mother’s side of the family in 1982 (pre-Internet) . It’s 142 pages…… and has revolutionary war and civil war pay roll vouchers, birth/death certificates and all kinds of meat stuff.

She made three attempts in 1982 to secure a death certificate from the department of health but all attempts failed.

Here’s Seab in his Cleveland Naps Sweater…. He made it to the bigs and pitched with Cy Young and played with Lajoie


Any experts on here that can shed some light or point me in the right direction ?
Thank you !




IMG_7088.jpg

[jingram058]

I imagine you've seen this:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...-jessie-booles

If you know someone with an ancestry.com account, that would be a good starting point.

[Joshwesley]

Yes Sir…. I’ve seen that and it’s in the family book. Thank you !

It’s odd that when I fill that exact info out on vital records and the La. Secretary of States office, it says “not available”

🤦*♂️🤦*♂️🤦*♂️🤦*♂️🤦*♂️

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Call the Ouachita Parish courthouse and ask how to best go about obtaining his death certificate. It should be available for a very small fee (usually around $15 or so). They'll direct you to where you need to go. Explain that there may be a possible misspelling and give each way it may be spelled. It will be better to speak with a person because of this issue.

[brunswickreeves]

Call or stop in at your US Senator’s local state office (typically in the state’s capital) and see if they can open a constituent case. Senator’s staff members at the state office level are tasked with researching issues on behalf of the Senator’s constituents and acting as a representative of the Senator. Cases are typically open for 30 days and then at the conclusion of the staff member’s findings they write up a official letter of the cases’ outcome and the Senator’s State Office Manager reviews it before the Senator reviews and signs the letter (at least that’s how it works in my state). People tend to be much more responsive and with a greater sense of urgency when a staff member of a US Senator calls them seeking information or records on behalf of constituents. Best of luck.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

Call or stop in at your US Senator’s local state office (typically in the state’s capital) and see if they can open a constituent case. Senator’s staff members at the state office level are tasked with researching issues on behalf of the Senator’s constituents and acting as a representative of the Senator. Cases are typically open for 30 days and then at the conclusion of the staff member’s findings they write up a official letter of the cases’ outcome and the Senator’s State Office Manager reviews it before the Senator reviews and signs the letter (at least that’s how it works in my state). People tend to be much more responsive and with a greater sense of urgency when a staff member of a US Senator calls them seeking information or records on behalf of constituents. Best of luck.

I suppose this is an option, but it's not really necessary in most cases--especially given that this man died 70 years ago. Just a request for a death certificate via the correct office should suffice. Sometimes, it's easier to call if trying to obtain online poses a challenge.

[Joshwesley]

Gentlemen,
Thank you so lunch for your replies….
I’m finding that Louisiana is a closed record state…… just means this is going to be tougher than usual.

I have been advised to go to “vital records” by several and when I do, the problems that I run into is:

When trying to apply for a death certificate: it won’t let me go back any further than 1900 (on the birthdate”

Same issue when I go the birth certificate route

I’ve been pointed towards ancestry.com ….. I have never messed around with that but apparently if it exists, it’ll be in that data base ??

Worth a shot, I guess

[Joshwesley]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Call the Ouachita Parish courthouse and ask how to best go about obtaining his death certificate. It should be available for a very small fee (usually around $15 or so). They'll direct you to where you need to go. Explain that there may be a possible misspelling and give each way it may be spelled. It will be better to speak with a person because of this issue.

I’ve googled the courthouse and will call them first thing in the AM.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Thanks a lot

Josh

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

This should work for you. If you run into any problems due to LA being a closed records state, you are obviously as close to next of kin as possible for someone who passed away 70 years ago. Direct family are usually granted access to otherwise closed death records, but strictness on regulations varies from county to county, state to state. In some cases, they will only release information to immediate next of kin. What is to be done when everyone fitting that bill is also deceased? It's quite a headache at times. Hope you'll reach a person who cares enough to be helpful.

I'm sure you won't have to prove your direct lineage, but at least you will be able to!

If you end up reaching some ignorant government employee who can't be bothered to do their job (this happens more often than it should), don't give up! First off, if the person who picks up does not speak English with a passable degree of eloquence, hang up and call again until you hear the voice of someone who does. This is even more important if English appears to be their first language! If the same person picks up the second time, try back in a day or two. Actually, do this any time you're calling anyone, anywhere. This will save you more time than you realize. If they sound ignorant, chances are nearly 100% that they are ignorant about your inquiry and likely not too motivated to help you on your journey.

Your next step will be to call the main branch of the Monroe Public Library. Your chances of speaking with a kind and helpful soul increase exponentially when dealing with librarians (some of the greatest people ever!). They usually have contact info for local genealogists if you find that they don't try to help you themselves! The local genealogists will know exactly what to do!

Another idea would be to call up Shiloh Cemetery. Cemeteries sometimes retain records. I've secured death certificates this way, in addition to other interesting biographical information. Again, your mileage may vary. You just never know who you are going to reach and how helpful they might be or how regulated their policies are.

I remember going to one funeral home in a small town where I was inquiring about a player who had passed over 40 years prior. I was met by a lady who was extremely skeptical of me and refused to divulge anything. I had yet to mention who I was searching for. Once I said the name, she rolled her eyes in a playful way, and said, "Ohhhh! You mean old Harry?! Why on earth would you be searching for him?!" I explained the baseball connection. She knew him as a girl and was unaware that he was known outside the community. In a heartbeat, I had whatever I wanted, and she even volunteered the contact info for his still-living son in-law.

Another time, I called up a church where a player was buried. This player had been dead over 50 years. The church secretary I reached had somehow been in that position for more than 50 years and remembered the player and his wife very well. "They were such a sweet old couple! They used to sit three people down from the end in the second pew on the left!".

[Joshwesley]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

This should work for you. If you run into any problems due to LA being a closed records state, you are obviously as close to next of kin as possible for someone who passed away 70 years ago. Direct family are usually granted access to otherwise closed death records, but strictness on regulations varies from county to county, state to state. In some cases, they will only release information to immediate next of kin. What is to be done when everyone fitting that bill is also deceased? It's quite a headache at times. Hope you'll reach a person who cares enough to be helpful.

I'm sure you won't have to prove your direct lineage, but at least you will be able to!

If you end up reaching some ignorant government employee who can't be bothered to to their job (this happens more often than it should), don't give up! First off, if the person who picks up does not speak English with a passable degree of eloquence, hang up and call again until you hear the voice of someone who does. Actually, do this any time you're calling anyone, anywhere. This will save you more time than you realize.

Your next step will be to call the main branch of the Monroe Public Library. Your chances of speaking with a kind and helpful soul increase exponentially when dealing with librarians (some of the greatest people ever!). They usually have contact info for local genealogists if you find that they don't try to help you themselves! The local genealogists will know exactly what to do!

Another idea would be to call up Shiloh Cemetery. Cemeteries sometimes retain records. I've secured death certificates this way, in addition to other interesting biographical information. Again, your mileage may vary. You just never know who you are going to reach and how helpful they might be or how regulated their policies are.

I remember going to one funeral home in a small town where I was inquiring about a player who had passed over 40 years prior. I was met by a lady who was extremely skeptical of me and refused to divulge anything. I had yet to mention who I was searching for. Once I said the name, she rolled her eyes in a playful way, and said, "Ohhhh! You mean old Harry?! Why on earth would you be searching for him?!" I explained the baseball connection. She knew him as a girl and was unaware that he was known outside the community. In a heartbeat, I had whatever I wanted, and she even volunteered the contact info for his still-living son in-law.

Another time, I called up a church where a player was buried. This player have been dead over 50 years. The church secretary I reached had somehow been in that position for more than 50 years and remembered the player and his wife very well. "The were such a sweet couple! The used to sit three people down from the end in the second pew on the left!".

This is why I posted on this site….. so glad I did!!

VERY good information. I will resume the quest tomorrow. And will keep you posted in this thread. All of a sudden, I “now” feel like this is going to happen.

Great stories and information. Thank you so much for sharing

Thanks!

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

One of my favorites was when I emailed the library in an extremely small town. The reply was priceless. "I'm actually sitting right next to his granddaughter. She works here!" I ended up befriending this player's entire family, including his last living son. This player died even before your GGGF, so you just never know.

[Joshwesley]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

One of my favorites was when I emailed the library in an extremely small town. The reply was priceless. "I'm actually sitting right next to his granddaughter. She works here!" I ended up befriending this player's entire family, including his last living son. This player died even before your GGGF, so you just never know.

That’s a truly great story ! ❤️

Keep you posted !