Find Relatives on the BYU-EDU Relative Finder Website

The WikiChicks blog alerted me yesterday to the BYU-EDU Relative Finder tool that works on the FamilySearch Family Tree.  Obviously, you have to be included in the Family Tree and connected to ancestors.

Here is the BYU-EDU Relative Finder home page:

You have to be signed into your FamilySearch account.

Clicking on the "Relatives" link takes you to the page to "Select groups to find relatives."  There are a number of groups to choose from - I chose several of them:

After choosing the groups, you click on the "Show Relatives" button next to the "Check All" button.

The results take some time to appear the first time you use the system.  Here is part of the first page (of 13 pages with 10 items on each page) of my results:

Wow, Thomas Jefferson is listed twice for some reason.  The different columns provide this information:

*  Relative's name
*  Relationship - usually a great-great, or a cousin so many times removed
*  Your path 
*  Relative's path
*  Common Ancestor
*  Group
*  Chart (a link to view the relationship)

I clicked on the first link for Thomas Jefferson, purportedly my 9th cousin three times removed (four screens below, some overlap on the last one):

The chart shows the two paths - my path is on the right, and the "Relative's" path is on the left.

This would be wonderful for sharing with cousins if, and it's a BIG IF, all of the data in the FamilySearch Family Tree was correct.

If you look carefully at the line from the common ancestors, Edward Bulkley and Olive Irby, you will see that there are several spurious relationships on the Jefferson line.  There are also several generations with no name for a father or a mother.  And Edward Bulkeley and Olive Irby are duplicated, but with different lifespan years, in the second generation down the chart.  There is a lot wrong with the Thomas Jefferson line on this chart.

Obviously, the charts, and the calculated relationships, are dependent on the information in the FamilySearch Family Tree.  Someone (not me!) has input a number of relationships, names, lifespans, etc. that are wrong.  Actually, there are over 180 separate profiles for Edward Bulkeley (1540-1621) in the FamilySearch Family Tree.  These need to be merged if they are for the same person, but that is not yet possible in the FamilySearch Family Tree.  Here is the top of the first page of matches:

I randomly selected this match because it was the first match, and I was really excited to find that I might be a cousin to Thomas Jefferson.  I hope that I am, but I won't claim the relationship yet.

Although I have shown a really poor example above, this can be a very useful tool, and a tool to interest relatives who are not yet interested in genealogy research.

However, like all online family trees, the information is only as good as the data input - remember, GIGO (garbage-in, garbage-out).  

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

GSNOCC Seminar with Hank Jones on Saturday, 9 August

The Genealogical Society of North Orange County, California (GSNOCC) is hosting a one-day seminar on Saturday, August 9th, at the Fullerton (CA) Public Library and Conference Center (353 W. Commonwealth Avenue, Fullerton CA 92832), starting at 9 a.m. with Registration.

The nationally known speaker and author, Henry Z. "Hank" Jones, Jr., will have four presentations throughout the day.  You can see more details at the GSNOCC Seminar page -  http://www.gsnocc.org/gsnocc-seminar.html.

The registration form page is at  http://www.gsnocc.org/uploads/2/3/3/6/23367856/seminar_flyer_2014_back2.pdf .

Pre-registration ends on 1 August 2014 ($30 for GSNOCC members, $35 for non-members).  You can register at the door for $40.  A box lunch will be sold for $9 for pre-registered attendees only.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

A Four-Generation Picture -- Post 317 for (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

I am posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they aren't "Wordless" - I am incapable of having a wordless post!

Here is a photograph from the Seaver/Carringer family photograph collection provided by my mother from 1988 to 2002:

This photograph was probably taken in early May 1975 on the occasion of our daughter's baptism and first birthday.  The persons in the picture, from the left, are:

*  Frederick W. Seaver (seated, 1911-1983), my father
*  Lori Seaver, my daughter (standing in front of me)
*  Randy Seaver, moi (kneeling)
*  Emily (Auble) Carringer (seated, 1899-1977), my grandmother
*  Lyle L. Carringer (seated, 1891-1976), my grandfather
*  Betty (Carringer) Seaver (kneeling, 1919-2002), my mother 

The photograph was probably taken by my wife, Linda.  The setting is our living room in the home we currently live in in Chula Vista, California.  This was also our housewarming party.  We no still have the beautiful (I thought!) red and gold velvet couch that folks are sitting on. but the fabric is now a golden color.  The red shag carpet and bright yellow wall paint are gone too.  We still have the large dark-wood table, though.  The world map wall hanging is hiding somewhere in the spare bedroom now, replaced with a lighthouse painting and some of my mother's copper enamel works.  
I wish that I was looking at the camera more, and that my father had his eyes open.  My grandparents are focused on Lori.  Lori is very busy mouthing a coaster, I think; at least she is looking at the camera.  

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Organizing the Taylor County, Iowa Land Deeds of Ranslow Smith and Devier J. Smith

When I was in Salt Lake City in early February 2014, before attending RootsTech 2014 I had a day in the Family History Library.  One of my To-Do list tasks this year was to find land deeds in Taylor County, Iowa for my 3rd great-grandfather, Ranslow Smith, and his son, my second great-grandmother, Devier J. Smith.

I knew that Ranslow and Devier, with his wife Abbie, had moved from Dodge County, Wisconsin to Taylor County, Iowa in about 1867.  I also knew that Ranslow had moved to Andrew County, Missouri by 1873, and died there.  I also knew that Devier had probably moved to Andrew County also, and subsequently had moved to Cloud County, Kansas, Red Willow County, Nebraska, and Cheyenne County, Kansas, before dying in Red Willow County in 1894.

The challenge is to do a reasonably exhaustive search for all records for these two families.  I didn't know if the Smith ancestors bought and sold land in any of these places, but I knew that Devier Smith had styled himself as a "land speculator" in an interview in a Kansas newspaper.

Using microfilm at the Family History Library, I found that Ranslow had bought and sold several properties, and that Devier (also known as D. J.) bought and sold several properties, in Taylor County, Iowa.

Here was my microfilm review process:

1)  I looked at the Grantor and Grantee Deed Indexes for Taylor County, and wrote down the volume number, the page number, the grantor name, the grantee name, the date of the deed, and the date of the recording of the deed on a sheet of paper.  

2)  Knowing the volume and page number for each deed, I then found the FHL microfilm number from the Family History Library Catalog.

3)  On each microfilm, I found each deed on my list, and reviewed it.

4)  I used my cellular phone to take two different photographs of each of the land deeds on the microfilms.  

5)  When I got home, I transferred the images to my computer in a "Deeds" file folder.  As I transcribe them, I have modified the file name to something like DevierJSmith-1867-LandDeed-fromRanslowSmith-VolL-p205.jpg.

6)  Before I began the transcription task, I created a Microsoft Word table for these deeds, with columns for:

*  Volume/Page, Film Number, and Image Number
*  Date of Deed
*  Grantor Name
*  Grantee Name
*  Township and Range
*  Section and Aliquot Parts
*  Acres and Price

Here are images of my four pages - 28 deeds - that I collected in this effort:

Attentive readers of Genea-Musings will realize that I have transcribed three of these to date in my Amanuensis Monday series.

It is apparent to me that Devier J. Smith bought several land plots in Taylor County.  In Section 23, he subdivided the land on one quarter section into at least 41 lots and sold them off over several years time.  I wonder if he made any money on them?  I guess I'll find out!

This was genealogy fun for me to put together...I feel good when I'm organized and can minimize my duplication of effort when I pick something up six months after the event.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/organizing-taylor-county-iowa-land.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Forrest Gump Principle Strikes Again - The Frederick Sovereign (1786-1875) Drawing

I love it when surprises happen to me - it just reinforces my Forrest Gump Principle of Genealogy Research - "Genealogy research is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to find, but you have to look everywhere your 'genealogy gem' might be hiding."

Yesterday, during the 24-hour GeneaSleepOver Hangout On Air, Pat started a discussion about WikiTree.  I went to WikiTree, logged in, and showed my WikiTree graphic using the ScreenShare.  When Pat asked me what I had, I talked about how I loved WikiTree's pedigree chart with links to person profiles, and the list of spouses, children, and siblings.  Randomly, I clicked on Mary Jane Sovereen (1840-1874, my second great-grandmother), and then clicked on her Family Tree, and saw:

Hmmm, there's a picture for Mary Jane's grandfather, Frederick Sovereign (1786-1875), my 4th great-grandfather.  I know I didn't put it there.  someone else must have added it.  That someone else may be a cousin I don't know about.  I clicked on Frederick's name to see his profile:

Scrolling down a little bit, I can see the entire image:

How can I see who contributed the image?  I could click on the "Changes" button at the top of the person profile page, but I clicked on the "Details" link under the image to see:

A person named Randall Colgan added the image on 27 February 2013.  I wonder if he is my cousin?

It is evident to me that the image is not a photograph, but a drawing of an older man (but not an elderly man, he looks healthy, is clean shaven, has long white and well-kept hair, and is dressed well, as if for a portrait).  Perhaps someone can tell an approximate date from the clothing.  He even signed the image "Yours truly, Frederick Sovereen!"

I wondered where the image came from, since Randall Colgan obtained it from some resource.  I looked for the image in Google Images, and quickly found a link to a page from a book on the Historic Map Works site:

Further down the page is the specific page image:

There he is in the upper left-hand corner of the page.  I could download the page image for $19.95 or I could order a print of the page for a price.

This page provides a link to a source:

H.R. Page & Co., Illustrated Historical Atlas of Norfolk County, Ontario (Toronto : H.R. Page & Co., 1877).

There is also a reprint.  The WorldCat.org page tells me that the nearest copy of the Reprint is in Los Angeles, only 122 miles away!  The closest library with the original book is, apparently, in Montreal, Canada!  I imagine that the original book is also in a Norfolk County, Ontario library that is not in WorldCat.

I also wondered if this is for "my" Frederick Sovereign (1786-1875), or for another man of the same name in Norfolk County, Ontario.  The book was published in 1877, so the man was living before that date. 

This was a wonderful surprise, right in the middle of a Hangout On Air - videoed live and saved for posterity on YouTube (see GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (d).  See, collaboration works!

Now I need to write Randall Colgan and determine if he obtained the image from the original book, and therefore the image is probably out of copyright protection (but the laws are different in Canada!).  Perhaps he will share the image with me if it is out of copyright. 

Thank you, Randall, for finding the image and posting it to WikiTree!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/forrest-gump-principle-strikes-again.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Participating in the FamilySearch Worldwide Indexing Event - and DearMYRTLE's GeneaSleepOver

The FamilySearch Indexers did it today - they had over 66,000 individuals who indexed at least one batch, and many did more than one batch.  The last I heard, over 3 million records were indexed, and over 500,000 were arbitrated.

For my part, I did three batches of Obituaries - one batch from Pennsylvania, and two from Texas so far.  These were small batches, only five records in each, and only one batch had more than one name in each record.  I will probably do more as time goes on.

Did you watch some or all of the DearMYRTLE's GeneaSleepOver Hangouts On Air on Google+, and archived at YouTube?  This was a 24-hour event, starting at 5 p.m. PDT on Sunday night, and Pat Richley-Erickson and Russ Worthington went through the night into Monday, and are still going strong, with a varying panel, until 5 p.m. on Monday.

There was a discussion in the 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT time (in the third video (c) of the series) comparing media attachment and source citations in RootsMagic (Pat and me), Family Tree Maker (Russ Worthington), Legacy Family Tree (Tessa Keough) and Ancestral Quest (Claire Brisson-Banks).

Here are links to the archived videos on YouTube:

1)  GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (a):




2)  GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (b):




3)  GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (c):




4)  GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (d):



During this 24-hour period, Pat and the panel tried to do some indexing every hour, demonstrating how to do it and discussing the data entry process.

You can read all the comments from these four Hangouts On Air on DearMYRTLE's Google+ Community - https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104382659430904043232.

Pat Richley-Erickson and Russ Worthington did yeoman duty doing this over a 24-hour period.  Thank you Pat and Russ for your dedication, knowledge and effort to help the genealogy community.  I hope they sleep well tonight!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/participating-in-familysearch-worldwide.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Review: Genealogy at a Glance: Court Records

The Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore has published another in its series of "Genealogy at a Glance" laminated research guides - this time for Court Records by Wendy Bebout Mitchell.  

This "Genealogy at a Glance" booklet has four laminated pages on one 11" x 17" paper (folded). It is designed to give the user the basic elements of genealogy research in the allotted space. They provide an overview of the facts a researcher needs to know in order to begin and proceed successfully with research in the subject.

The description of the Court Records booklet includes:

Court records are invaluable in genealogical research, but they are decentralized and difficult to locate. Probate records, as one example, are located in over 3,000 separate county courthouses. They are among the most important records for genealogical research because they identify names, dates, residences, and family relationships, yet there is considerable difficulty in finding them and exploiting their contents. The American court system is complicated, and the challenge for genealogists is to understand the court system in order to locate the relevant records.

You could make a lifetime’s study of the American court system, but if your goal is family history research, this Genealogy at a Glance outline will provide an indispensable shortcut, guiding you through the major types of court records that are crucial in your research—probate records, for example, naturalization records, land records, marriage and divorce records, tax records—in short almost every type of record that helps to identify family relationships. The main thing you will learn is that county courthouses generally contain the records of most interest to genealogists, and therefore this guide offers invaluable tips for finding and accessing records at the county courthouse level.

Like all Genealogy at a Glance outlines, this one also offers guidance on the principal supplementary record sources, provides a list of the best online resources, and identifies the major repositories, all the while dealing with a complex subject in the simplest way possible.

The booklet has these subjects:

*  Contents

*  Quick Facts 

*  Overview

*  Getting Started

*  Major Types of Court Records

*  Building a Knwledgeable Base

*  Sources

**  Intact County Court Registers

**  Published versus Original Digitized or Microfilm

**  Lost, Destroyed, or Misplaced Court Records

**  Online Records

** Indexes

*  Major Repositories

This booklet is designed primarily for the person who is not an expert, or has little experience, on finding Court Records of their ancestors.  It provides guidance and excellent ideas to understand the basics of conducting court record research, with details of the different types of records that might be accessed - probate, civil, criminal, equity and other legal cases.

For someone like me that teaches and talks about genealogy a bit, it is invaluable because I can pull it out and provide some guidance to my student or colleague interested in the subject.

The beauty of these "Genealogy at a Glance" booklets is that they are very light and portable in a briefcase or laptop case. They are fixtures in my research case.

This four-page laminated booklet costs $8.95,  plus postage and handling. You can order it through the Genealogical Store, or use the link for the Court Records booklet and click on the "Add to Cart" link.  I recommend buying these at seminars and conferences where they are offered in order to avoid the shipping costs.

I have reviewed several similar works in recent years:

*  Genealogy at a Glance: Old Southwest Genealogy Research

*  Genealogy at a Glance: Cherokee Genealogy Research
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance:  Civil War Genealogy Research
*  Review:  Genealogy at a Glance: Polish Genealogy Research
*  Review: Genealogy At a Glance: Finding Female Ancestors
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance: "How-To" Series (French-Canadian, Scottish and Irish),
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance: German Genealogy Research
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance: English Genealogy Research 
*  Review - Genealogy at a Glance: French Genealogy Research,
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance: Immigration Research
*  Review: Genealogy at a Glance - American Cemetery Research,
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance - U.S. Federal Census Records,
*  Book Review: Genealogy at a Glance - Pennsylvania Genealogy Research.

*  Book Review:  Genealogy at a Glance - Family History Library Research

The URL for this post is:   http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/review-genealogy-at-glance-court-records.html

Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2014.

Disclosure: Genealogical.com contacted me recently and asked me to provide a review of this booklet. They mailed me a review copy for my personal use as remuneration for this review.

Amanuensis Monday - Post 227: 1867 Deed of Land in Taylor County, Iowa from William Lewis Estate to R. Smith

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme years ago called "Amanuensis Monday."  John offers this definition for "amanuensis:" 

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is an 1867 deed in the Taylor County, Iowa deed books for the estate of William Lewis selling land in Taylor County to R. Smith.

The transcription of this deed record is:

[page 60]

Lewis Estate to R. Smith

01  Know all men by these presents that whereas on the

02  5th day of Feb 1867 Leonard Lewis filed in the offices

03  of the Clerk of the District Court of Taylor County Iowa

04  his petition praying the partition of the following described

05  real estate, to wit.  The North East quarter of Section No

06  Twenty three the north half of the south west quarter

07  of Section No twenty two and the west half of the South

08  east quarter of Section No Twenty one all in Township

09  No. Sixty Eight north in Range No Thirty three west

10  containing Three three Hundred and twenty acres more

11  or less and Situated in the County of Taylor and

12  State of Iowa.  And whereas at the March term of

13  1867 of said Court a decree was made that partition

14  thereof be made and J C Ray S P Bristo and Thomas

15  Brock were appointed referees to make partition of

16  Said land and whereas at the September term of

17  1867 said referees made report to said Court that

18  partition thereof could not be made without mate-

19  rial prejudice and an order was of Said term made

20  for the sale thereof and whereas the said referees

21  did on the 24th of December 1867 by virtue of

22  and in accordance with the Decree of said Court did

23  sell the west half of the north East quarter of Section

24  No Twenty three in Township No Sixty Eight north of

25  Range No Thirty three west.  T[o] R. Smith for the 

26  sum of Two Hundred and Twenty dollars he being

27  the highest and best bidder therefor and whereas

28  said referees were refered to sell said premises 

29  and take one half cash in hand and one half 

30  to be paid in one year from day of Sale to be secured

31  by Mortgage upon the premises sold and to make

32  and deliver to the purchaser thereof a good and suffi-

33  cient deed of conveyance for Said Land.  Now

34  therefore in consideration of the foregoing premises

35  and of the sum of Two Hundred and Twenty dollars 

36  aforesaid J C Ray S P Bristo and Thomas Brock

37  referees so aforesaid do hereby sell and convey unto

38  the said R Smith his heirs and assigns forever

39  all of the right title and interest of the heirs of

40  Wm Lewis in and to land last above described

41  to have and to hold the same  to him his heirs

42  and assigns forever.

[page 61]

43  witness our hands this 24th day of Dec 1867

44  { Revenue Stamp }          J C Ray      }

45                                       S P Bristow }   Referees

46                                        T H Brock  } 

47  State of Iowa

48  County of Taylor  }  SS  On this 24th day of Dec 1867

49  before me the undersigned Notary Public in and for

50  the County and State aforesaid personally appeared

51  J C Ray S P Bristow and Thomas Brock Referees as aforesaid to me pers-

52  onally Known to be the identical persons whose

53  names are affixed to the foregoing conveyance as

54  grantors and Severally acknowledged the execution

55  of the same to be his voluntary act and deed

56  Witness my hand and Seal done in Bedford

57  Iowa day and year last aforesaid.

58  { Notarial Seal}                            S T McCann

59                                                    Notary Public

60  I certify that the foregoing is a true and and correct

61  copy of the original Deed as filed for Record on

62  the 26th day of Dec A D 1867 

63                                                Daniel Underwood

64                                                        Recorder

65  Examined and approved in open Court this

66  24th day of March A D 1868

67                                                James G Day

68                                                Judge 3d District

69                                                               Iowa

70  This above deed was not approved till after

71  the Record was made the approval being recorded

72  March 26th A D 1868              D Underwood

73                                                       Recorder

The source citation for this deed is:

Taylor County, Iowa, "Taylor County, Iowa, deed records, 1855-1953; index, 1855-1902", "Deed Records (Land) v. J (1867-1869) v. K-L (1867-1870)," Volume J, pages 60-61 (stamped), Deed of William Lewis Estate to Ranslow Smith, 1867; accessed 4 February 2014 on FHL US/CAN microfilm 1,535,632.

I think that this is the earliest deed in the records for Ranslow Smith buying land in Taylor County, Iowa.  Obviously, I need a scorecard to keep track of all of these deeds - I have about 30 of them all from this one county.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/amanuensis-monday-post-227-1867-deed-of.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 13 to 19 July 2014

Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for daily blog prompts or meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:

*  Photo Duplication Requests on FamilySearch -- Plus a Little Bit About Legacy and Evernote and Follow Up to Photo Duplication Requests to FamilySearch by Diane Gould Hall on the Michigan Family Trails blog.  Diane highlights this free feature of FamilySearch, plus how she deals with the requests and results.  And she got them in four days!

*  Copyright and Microfilm by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog.  Judy answers a reader's question about who owns the copyright of images on microfilm.

*  Reflections From MAAGI 2014 by Angela Walton-Raji on the My Ancestor's Name blog.  Angela recounts the highlights of the recent weeklong Midwest African-American Genealogy Institute in St. Louis.

*  Who Owns the Stories of Our Ancestors? by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  It's a great question.  Read the comments too.

*  Moonwalking With Our Ancestors by Tammy Hepps on the Treelines blog.  Tammy delves into how we remember things.

*  Creating an Ancestor Timeline on Pinterest by Thomas MacEntee on the Geneabloggers  blog.  Thomas offers his process to use Pinterest to create a timeline for an ancestor or family.

*  It Was "Take Your Daughter to the Library" Week by Cari Taplin on the Genealogy Pants blog.  Cari's daughter was a big help at the Family History Library, and learned a lot too.

*  Family Fun Days - Have You Had Yours? by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog.  I wish I was in Lorine's family.

*  Consider the Possibilities by Nancy Messier on the My Ancestors and Me blog.  Nancy has a disappearing ancestor and ponders what research to do next.

These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week:

*  NN Genealogy Things You Need to Know This Morning, Sunday, 13 July 2014, Monday, 14 July 2014; Tuesday, 15 July 2014; Wednesday, 16 July 2014; Thursday, 17 July 2014; Friday, 18 July 2014, and Saturday, 19 July 2014 by Caroline M. Pointer on the 4YourFamilyStory.com blofg.

*  Monday "Muse"-ings for 14 July 2014 by Eowyn Langhoff on the WikiChicks blog.

*  Blog Posts and News Stories for Genealogists, July 18, 2014 by Michael J. Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.

*  Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for July 18, 2014 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.

*  Friday Finds -- 07/18/14 by Julie Cahill Tarr on Julie's Genealogy & History Hub blog.

*  This Week's Creme de la Creme by Gail Dever on the Genealogy a la Carte blog.

Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another RSS feed, or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 1530 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/best-of-genea-blogs-13-to-19-july-2014.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Where Were They 100 Years Ago?

It's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun! 

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1)  Determine where your ancestral families were on 19 July 1914 - 100 years ago.

2)  List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?

3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.

Here's mine:

*  My grandparents Frederick W. Seaver (born 1876) and Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver  (born 1882) resided at 290 Central Street in Leominster, Massachusetts with their children:  Marion (born 1901), Evelyn (born 1903), Ruth (born 1907), Frederick W (born 1911, my father), and Edward R. (born 1913).  I have recent pictures of this residence, which still stands in Leominster.

*  My great-grandparents Frank W. Seaver (born 1852) and Hattie (Hildreth) (born 1857) Seaver resided at 149 Lancaster Street in Leominster, Massachusetts with my great-great-grandmother Sophia (Newton) Hildreth (born 1834).  I have a 1910 picture of this house, plus recent photographs, which still stands in Leominster.

*  My great-grandfather Thomas Richmond (born 1848)  resided in Putnam, Connecticut, perhaps at 6 Church Street.  I don't have a picture of that residence.

*  My great-grandparents Henry Austin Carringer (born 1853) and Della (Smith) Carringer (born 1862) resided at 2105 30th Street in San Diego, California with their son, my grandfather Lyle L. Carringer (born 1891).  Della's mother, Abbie A. (Vaux) Smith (born 1844), lived with them.  I have many pictures of this residence, which now stands at 2115 30th Street..

*  My great-grandparents Charles Auble (born 1849) and Georgianna (Kemp) Auble (born 1868) resided at 767 14th Street in San Diego, California with their daughter, my grandmother Emily Kemp Auble (born 1899).  I have one picture of this residence, which was demolished many years ago.

So I have 14 direct ancestors living at this time, 100 years ago.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-where-were.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - LNU (New Jersey > New York)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  

I am in the 7th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #1021 who is Hester LNU (1720-1798) [Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 7th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through only one generation in this LNU family line is:

1.  Randall J. Seaver (1943-living)

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

6.  Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)
7.  Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977)

14.  Charles Auble (1849-1916)
15.  Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952)

30.  James Abraham Kemp (1831-1902)
31.  Mary Jane Sovereen (1841-1874)

62.  Alexander Sovereign (1814-1907)
63.  Elizabeth Putman (1820-1895)

126.  John Putman (1785-1863)
127.  Sarah Martin (1792-1860)

254.  Mulford Martin (1763-????)
255.  Betsey Rolfe (1766-????)

510.  Ephraim Rolfe (1743-1818)
511.  Sarah Campbell (1746-1838)

1020.  Jonathan Rolph, born before 30 August 1714 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died 08 July 1791 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.  He was the son of 2040. Moses Rolfe and 2041. Mary Hale.  He married about 1737 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.
1021 Hester LNU, born about 1720; died 29 September 1798 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.

Children of Jonathan Rolph and Hester are:

i. Esther Rolph, born about 1738 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died about 1740 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.
ii. Isabell Rolph, born about 1740 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died 1740 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.
iii. Ephraim Rolfe, born 1743 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died 27 May 1818 in Ithaca, Tompkins, New York, United States; married Sarah Campbell about 1762 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.
iv. Martha Rolph, born about 1746 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.
v. Elizabeth Rolph, born about 1752 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.
vi. Jonathan Rolfe, born 1754 in probably Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died 13 February 1830 in Steuben, New York, United States; married (1) Patience Coon 13 May 1776 in Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; born about 1756 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died about 1789 in Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; married (2) Elsie Coon 11 January 1790 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; born 1769 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died 29 May 1848 in Steuben, New York, United States.
vii. Moses Rolfe, born 1756 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States; died 05 October 1832 in Alabama, Genesee, New York, United States; married Jane about 1776 in New Jersey, United States; born Abt. 1759 in New Jersey, United States; died 04 January 1837 in Alabama, Genesee, New York, United States.

There may be other children in this family. 

Hester may not be them other of all of the children above - some online trees list a 1728 birth in France, and a 1746 marriage to Jonathan Rolph, for her.

I have no clue what the maiden surname of Hester (or Esther) LNU is.  Apaprently, no one else does either - at least on Ancestry Member Trees, FamilySearch Family Tree, Geni World Tree, or MyHeritage trees.  

The information for this Rolfe family was obtained from:

Frederick G. Rolfe, The Early Rolfe Settlers of New England, Volume I, (Baltimore, Md. : Gateway Press, Inc., 1995), accessed on FamilySearch Books (https://books.familysearch.org/).

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/surname-saturday-lnu-new-jersey-new-york.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Seavers in the News - Post 6: Almost Finding James T. Seaver's Parents

While searching for interesting tidbits in Mocavo.com databases about Seaver persons, I ran across an article concerning James T. Seaver, Acting Master of the U.S. Steamer Philippi in the Civil War.  There were two reports - the first is the letter to the Secretary of War by Rear Admiral D.G. Farragut, which is transcribed in Seavers in the News - James T. Seaver, Master of a Civil War Vessel - Post 1, and the second was the report of James T. Seaver about this incident, shown in Post 2.  I found an article in a book about the court-martial of James and wrote about it in Seavers in the News -- James T. Seaver, Master of a Civil War Vessel - Post 3.  

The court-martial ended the Naval career of James T. Seaver.  Then I wondered if he had a family, and who his parents were.  The answers first came in the U.S. Census - see Seavers in the News - Post 4: Finding James T. Seaver in the U.S. Census.  There were more answers in Vital Records - see Seavers in the News - Post 5: Finding James T. Seaver in Massachusetts Vital Records.  Finally, I wondered who his parents were.  I had a clue in the previous post from James T. Seaver's marriage and death records.  Can I find birth, marriage and death records, and census records, and parent's names for his parents?

1)  My first search for James H. Seaver (or James N. Seaver?) and/or wife Rachel (or Racheal) B. Seaver was in the 1850 U.S. Census.  I found who I think is Rachael B. Seaver in the 1850 U.S. Census living in Gloucester, Massachusetts:

Rachael B. Seaver is residing with the Samuel Sayward family.  She is age 43, born in Massachusetts.  She may be boarding with this family, or may be related to either Samuel Sayward or his wife Caroline C. Sayward, age 41.  

Note that there is no spouse listed for Rachael B.  Seaver. Had he died by 1850?  Was he a mariner not in the United States at this time?  Were they separated or divorced?  A search for many possible names using first name, middle initials, and Seaver surname variants showed no candidates that I did not already have in my database with a family in another location.

2)  At least I knew that Rachael B. Seaver was alive in 1850, so there may be a death record in Massachusetts vital records for her.  There were "Suggested Hints" on Ancestry.com for these records.  I easily found what I think is the correct record:

The extracted information from this record for Rachel B. Seaver in Boston vital records is:

*  Rachel B. Seaver, died 8 July 1857, age 50 years, 4 months.  She was a widow, and died of cancer.  Her parents were Adna and Rachel Bates.

The age at death implies a birth in March 1807.  I searched Ancestry.com for a birth record, but did not find one.  A search on AmericanAncestors.org resulted in a baptism in the Cohasset Vital Records book for Rachel Briggs Bates on 14 June 1807, daughter of Adna Bates Jr.

4)  I looked in the two "External Databases" on AmericanAncestors.org for matches with both Rachel and James Seaver, and found a genealogy gem in the 19th Century U.S. Newspapers collection - an obituary:

Note that it says that she was the widow of James N. Seaver, so N. is probably the correct middle initial for her husband.

I did not find any article in these two newspaper databases for James N. Seaver in Boston or Massachusetts. 

5)  I struggled to find a birth, marriage or death record for the father of James T. Seaver - James N. Seaver.  I estimated that the father James N. Seaver was born in the 1790 to 1810 time period (based on James T. Seaver's birth in 1832, and Rachel's birth in about 1807), perhaps in Boston, Massachusetts.  I found none.

6)  I looked in my database for James Seaver/Sever candidates, and found one - a James Seaver, born about 1804, probably in Boston, to Nathaniel and Hannah (Loker) Seaver.  I had no spouse for this James Seaver, and no death date.  The William Blake Trask article in NEHGR Volume 26, and the Jesse Montgomery Seaver typescript, names him as their oldest son, and notes that he died unmarried.  The book says this about the father, Nathaniel Seaver (1753-1827):

"...resided in Boston and was in shipping business for many years; merchant; joined First Church at Roxbury, 9/19/1799, owner of pew No. 74, lower floor, Fifth Meeting House."

I found three baptism records for children of Nathaniel and Hannah (Loker) Seaver in the Boston Church Records book, available on AmericanAncestors.org, but James was not included. 

One of the sons of Nathaniel and Hannah (Loker) Seaver was Horace Seaver (1810-1889), who was the longtime editor of The Investigator newspaper in Boston (the Rachel Seaver obituary noted above was in The Investigator).  If James N. Seaver was the son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Loker) Seaver, and the brother of Horace Seaver, then the obituary is for Horace's sister-in-law.  That's pretty thin evidence, isn't it?

7)  There are many resources that I have not investigated yet, but most of them are inaccessible to me, being either in manuscript form in Boston or another repository, or on Family History Library microfilm.  

In summary, I have not conclusively identified parents of James N. Seaver, husband of Rachael B. (Bates) Seaver and father of James Thomas Seaver, the former acting Master of the U.S.S. Philippi. I do have this one lead...

I think that I will keep James N. Seaver, the husband of Rachel Bates and father of James T. Seaver, separate from James Seaver, the son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Loker) Seaver, for the time being.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/seavers-in-news-post-6-almost-finding.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver