The frame was made out of wood which seemed to have a twist and turn design similar to the way a curving tree would grow. The Family Record document was placed under glass. Two pieces of wood held the document in place but did not completely cover the back of the document (perhaps to allow for the document to be removed easily to enter further information).
All of the information in the document was written in fancy cursive lettering similar to today's calligraphy. The information was taken off the document by Jason Patton with assistance from Jeanne Patton on July 5, 1999 (Stephanie Patton was also in attendance). On that date, it looked like all of the information had been written in at one time by one person. However, this may have not been the case (the unusual order of the entries makes one unsure of whether or not this was the case).
The Family Record parchment was made in Illinois. It looks like the document was obtained by a family member and then someone from the family (rather than anyone from the state of Illinois) entered the information on the parchment.
| FAMILY RECORD Birth and Marriage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Of Parents | ||
| Frank F. Lawton Born Dec. 19th, 1860 Media E. Fluker Born Aug. 11th, 1865 | ||
| Births Lulu Esther Lawton Born October 8th, 1886 John Wilton Jolls Born June 9th, 1862 Merle De Witt Jolls Born November 23rd, 1894 | Births Cora E. Eddy Born March 10th, 1869 Leslie L. Jolls Born September 1st, 1888 Olin Burr Jolls Born April 14th, 1890 | |
| Frank F. Lawton of Smith Falls and Media E. Fluker of Forestville Married August 26th, 1885 J.W. Jolls & Media E. Lawton Married February 18th, 1894 J.W. Jolls & Cora E. Eddy Married September 21st, 1887 | ||
| Deaths Cora Eddy Jolls Died Feb. 23rd, 1892 | Deaths Frank F. Lawton Died Nov. 30th, 1887 | |
|
Sacred to the Memory of the Departed Angels bore away our loved one, Over to the other shore, There may we meet to part no more. | ||
While John's middle name was written as 'Wilten' above, Jeanne thought that 'Wilten' should be spelled 'Wilton' as that was the way her father spelled his middle name. However, on this document, John's middle name was clearly spelled 'Wilten'. It is difficult to say which one is correct but 'Wilton' was left above as that was the way we thought it should be. John's page shows Wilton as the middle name (this was gleaned from a Jolls family genealogy document obtained by Jason in the early 1990's through Robert Jolls) but it is difficult to say whether Charles was the source for the spelling or whether a birth certificate was the source.
It was difficult to tell whether De Witt should be 'DeWitt' with no space or 'De Witt' with a space. Jason thought it should have a space while most everyone else thought no space.
The last time the document may have been updated could have been 1894. The final marriage and Merle's birth both took place in 1894 and there were no further entries with dates after 1894. Again according to John's page, it would seem Hilda's birth and Earl's birth would have taken place after 1894.