My mom and my Aunt Norma "her sister" had thought at the time that John Shablack and Norma Shablack came from the area around Wheeling, WV. So, I had started sending off for marriage certificates. The first place I had tried was the Wheeling area which is in Ohio county, WV. The results were disappointing. The clerks office had no record of a John Shablack and a Norma getting married in Ohio county, WV.
However that did not deter me and I did not stop there. I knew in my heart that they had to have been married close to Wheeling even if it was in a different county. The problem I had was pinpointing out which county they were married in, not to mention the fact that the area of Wheeling is in a Tri-State area. On the left of Wheeling, WV is the state of Ohio, in the middle is West Virginia itself, and on the right is Pennsylvania. So I drew up a little circle around Wheeling and started searching the counties that immediately surrounded it. There was, Washington County, PA, Brooke County, WV, Marshall County, WV, Belmont County, OH, and Jefferson County, OH. All counties but one turned up negative results for the marriage license. The winning county was Jefferson in the state of Ohio.
For weeks I checked the mail every day hoping to get a response. Finally, after about a month they started coming in. Every time I had opened one of the envelopes sent to me from each county it was like opening up a present. I was so excited each time, the sad part was that four of the times I was disappointed in what I had received. However, when I had opened the last envelope it was like I had one the grand prize. I remember calling my mom and Aunt Norma and telling them about finding their grandparents marriage license.
The document was filled with new information and I now knew the date and place of which my great grandparents were married. John and Norma were married in Stuebenville, Jefferson County, Ohio on April 3rd, 1926 just 7 months and 10 days before my Grandmother Wanda Virginia Shablack was born.
What was even more exciting than knowing the date and place were knowing the names which were on the marriage license. It had listed the groom "my G-Grandfather" as John Shablack Jr being 21 on the 4th day of August 1925 and born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also, his occupation at the time was listed as a plumber. The best information is that his parents names were listed as John Shablack Sr and Mary Kishlowski. This was really exciting news, I knew this information would help me further my research and hunt for my Polish roots.
The bride "my G-Grandmother" was listed as Norma Fullerton. The document states that on August 1st 1925 she was 18 years of age. She was born in Fleming, Ohio to William Fullerton and Myrtle Johnson. My great grandparents residence at the time of marriage says they lived in Yorkville, Ohio in 1926.
Looking for my great grandparents marriage license had taken me months, several postage stamps, envelopes and a few dollars, but it was well worth it. I now had even more information to go off from to help me in my search.
I now knew the approximate dates of births of my great grandparents which could help me to search for their birth certificates. I also knew my great grandmother Normas maiden name, so now I could research deeper into her side of the family. Not to mention, I had the names of both sets of Great-Great-Grandparents. That in itself was a win win for me.
Below I will post a few more photos, I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble!
On the left is my Great Grandfather John Valentine Shablack and on the Right is my Great Grandmother Norma Fullerton-Shablack.
John Valentine Shablack
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