Mountain View Police Captain Promoted to Police Chief
Finding Your Family History
By Robert Cox MVHA Vice President
Birth , marriage , and death records often provide some of the best primary information about our ancestors . In the USA , these documents are associated with the state where the event occurred .
Most states did not start recording births and deaths in a consistent way until around 1900 . Marriage records appeared earlier , because of the legal and financial obligations associated with marriage . Early marriage records include the name of the prospective husband and wife and often the name of the bondsman and bond price . The bondsman was usually the father or brother of the prospective bride . If the groom did not or could not marry the bride , the groom forfeited the bond price . Marriage records from later times can also include the names of the parents of the bride and groom , their places of residence , and sometimes ages , birth places , and number of times each was married .
Death records are important because they include information about people who died after 1900 but were often born many years before then . The key information in the death record is provided by an informant , and that information is only good as the informant ’ s knowledge of the deceased . For example , sometimes the deceased ’ s birthplace is more accurately recorded in a contemporary census record . Contemporary information , like the place , time , and cause of death , is generally accurate . Death records often include parents of the deceased and occasionally their birthplaces . If you are looking for an ancestor ’ s parent ’ s name , but they do not appear on his or her death certificate , check the death certificates for his or her siblings . They may have had a more knowledgeable informant . Note that some common causes of death had different names in early times . For example , tuberculosis was called “ consumption .”
Mtn . View Family History Fun Fact !
Former Mayor and current Vice Mayor Pat Showalter is a tenth generation American on her Showalter line . Her seventh great-grandfather , the Reverend Jacob Matthias Schowalder , was a Swiss Mennonite born in 1696 . He and his wife Maria Saunders and their eleven children immigrated to Philadelphia in 1750 in the ship “ Brotherhood ”, by way of Rotterdam and Cowes ,
Pat Showalter
England . Jacob purchased a 67- acre tract of land in Whitehall Township , Northampton County , Pennsylvania on which to raise his family . Jacob and Maria were the ancestors of many other notable American Showalters , including American gospel music writer Anthony Johnson Showalter , composer of the beloved hymn “ Leaning on the Everlasting Arms ”, New York Mets baseball manager William Nathaniel “ Buck ” Showalter , and five-time U . S . chess champion Jackson Showalter .
Anthony Johnson Showalter
Jackson Showalter
Buck Showalter
History Happening Now
Mountain View Police Captain Promoted to Police Chief
By Pamela Baird MVHA President
With over 24 years of service in Mountain View , Mike Canfield has been appointed as the new Chief of Police . Kimbra McCarthy , city manager , noted “ Mike is deeply rooted in the Mountain View community , having been raised here , graduating from Mountain View High School and serving with the MVPD since January 1999 .” Canfield was 22 years old when he joined the force .
Chief Mike Canfield
As the twelfth police chief in the city ’ s history , Canfield stated “ I am honored to serve as the next police chief of Mountain View . I am deeply aware of how special Mountain View is and the vital role our police department plays in protecting and serving our community .“
Canfield rose through the ranks with operational , supervisory and command experience in patrol , investigations and support services . He was promoted to Police Lieutenant in March 2014 , and then to Police Captain in December 2020 .
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