Genea-Musings

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The July meeting of the San Diego Genealogical Society is Saturday, 10 July. The meeting is at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, 8350 Lake Murray Blvd, corner of Jackson Dr., in the San Carlos area. Park in the south lot, enter the south door. Contact: Sue Aprea, saprea@cox.net.

The program includes:

* 10 a..m. - User group for RootsMagic, and Class 1, "Genealogy Basics," of the Beginning Genealogy series

* 12 noon - Speaker: Gena Philibert Ortega on “Understanding Copyright and Plagiarism”

* 1 p.m. - Ice Cream Social

* 1:30 p.m. - Speaker: Gena Philibert Ortega on “Privacy Concerns: What you Can & Cannot Disclose"

What privacy issues should genealogists be aware of as they publish and share family history
information on the internet and in print? We will look at copyright and what information will need a copyright, why it is important for the family historian and being alert to this as you conduct research and find resources on the Internet. Learn the impact of citing sources, the most important aspect of finding, storing and sharing information.

Gena Philibert Ortega is Genealogy Community Director for FamilyLink. She is newsletter editor for WorldVitalRecords and manages GenealogyWise. She holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and Religion. She presents on genealogy topics in the US and Europe. Gena publishes in GenWeekly, WorldVitalRecords and GenealogyWise newsletters. See
Gena’s Genealogy blog.

A published author, Gena is Vice-President for Southern California Chapter of Association of Professional Genealogists. She is a Regional Director for the California State Genealogical Alliance.

July 10th will also be the ever-popular ‘Ice Cream Social’ meeting where you can order up your own ice cream sundae with all the toppings. They will serve up different flavors of ice cream for $1 a scoop and 25¢ per topping. The big decision will be whether to have 1, 2 (or is that 3?) scoops -- and is that with sprinkles, fudge or caramel? It’s a great way to cool down and kick off the summer.

Gena, genealogy and ice cream? It's a no-brainer, folks! All you San Diego area genealogists - come on down and enjoy Gena's talks and the ice cream to boot. Do I dare go for 3 scoops and all of the toppings?

Labels: Legal issues, San Diego area, SDGS

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The September 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine contains the 2010 list of the 101 Best FREE Genealogy Websites. The site says:

"In a bumpy economy, is there any more welcome word than free? When we took a break from checking our credit-card balances and 401(k) accounts to consider this year’s 101 Best Websites, the theme was as obvious as the lint in our wallets: the best free genealogy sites."

The websites are listed by category:

* The Big Picture: Big, free genealogy sites
* Records Resources: Great sources of free online records
* Uncle Sam's Best Sites: Research resources from the US Government
* East of the Rockies: Sites for finding Eastern ancestors
* Western Research Roundup: Help researching in the Western United States
* O Canada: Great places to find Canadian roots
* African-American Roots: Resources for tracing African-American ancestry
* History Lessons: Where to learn about social history
* A Nation of Immigrants: Sites for researching immigrant ancestors
* Great Britain Expectations: Help for genealogists with UK and Irish roots
* European Ops: Sites for researching in Continental Europe
* High-Tech Tools: Online tools that make genealogy easier
* Share and Share Alike: Places for genealogists to gather and share online

Within each category, the top websites are listed alphabetically. There is no list from 1 to 101 - only a number of websites in each of the 13 categories.

My observations:

The emphasis seems to be on websites that provide databases and information about specific topics, although there are some purely social networking and family tree sites (like www.Geni.com, www.SharedTree.com and www.TribalPages.com that don't have "databases") on the list. I didn't see www.MyHeritage.com on the list, and it offers a super surname search engine plus free family tree features.

There is at least one links site - www.CyndisList.com - but I didn't see any of Joe Beine's sites on the list (which are indispensable to me). Likewise, there are no podcast (Genealogy Gems, Genealogy Guys) or videocast (Roots Television) sites on the list.

I saw only one blog - The Ancestry Insider - on the list (and why in the High-Tech Tools section?), since there was no category for news and opinion. Of course, Family Tree Magazine provided a list of the Top 40 Genealogy Blogs earlier this year.

There are several websites that are not specifically for genealogy research on the list (e.g., Facebook, Diigo, Evernote), but are used extensively by genealogists to pursue their research.

What other FREE genealogy website wasn't listed that you think should have been listed, and why? Which website was listed that you think should not have been included on the list?

Labels: genealogy resources, Online resources

I'm posting family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they won't be wordless Wednesday posts like others do - I simply am incapable of having a wordless post.

I managed to scan about 100 family photographs in the Scanfest in January, and have converted the scanned TIF files to smaller JPGs, cropped and rotated as best I can. Many of these were "new" to my digital photograph collection.

Here is a photograph from the Carringer family collection handed down by my mother in the 1988 to 2002 time period:

Labels: Carringer Research, My genealogy research, photographs, Wordless Wednesday

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Recent posts on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog (a voice of the Chula Vista Genelaogical Society!) included:

* June 2010 Issue of CVGS Newsletter is Online posted 8 June

* CVGS Research Group meeting summary posted 10 June

* New or Updated Genealogy Databases - June 2010 posted 16 June

* "Infectious Diseases of the Civil War" Presentation by Barbara Hemmingsen posted 30 June

* Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - July 2010 posted 3 July

* New Chula Vista Library Hours posted 5 July

If you live in the San Diego area and want a friendly and active genealogical society to belong to - please consider coming to our meetings. The Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - July 2010 post lists days, time and places for all of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society meetings.

Labels: CVGS, genealogy societies

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Ancestry.com has so many databases (now 29,856 as of today) that it is difficult to find some of the most useful ones in their collection.

For instance, there are 959 databases in the Tax, Court, Land and Wills collection. I wondered how many databases there were for probates and wills for Massachusetts. In the Ancestry Card Catalog for all databases, I put:

* "probate" in the Title field, and there were 31 matches (not all Massachusetts, of course)
* "probate" and "massachusetts" in the Title field, and there were 10 matches
* "will" in the Title field, and there were 23 matches
* "wills" in the Title field, and there were 178 matches (which did not appear to include the 23 "will" matches!)
* "wills" and "massachusetts" in the Title field, and there were zero matches
* "probate" in the Title field, and "massachusetts" in the Keyword field, and there were 11 matches (the 10 in the first search, plus Suffolk County Wills which is the one I was looking for!)
* "will" in the Title field and "massachusetts" in the Keyword field, and there were 3 matches (none of which was specifically for a set of Massachusetts wills)
* "wills" in the Title field and "massachusetts" in the Keyword field and there were 10 matches (including Suffolk County Wills)

The screen below shows the results for "probate" in the Title field and "massachusetts" in the Keyword field - 11 matches:



There are probate indexes for Bristol County, Essex County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Suffolk County and Worcester County, all in Massachusetts, in the list above. Unfortunately, the Probate Register for Suffolk County, 1639-1799, does not have many entries - there are only 105 pages available (I wonder if there are many more volumes? I would have thought that there would be over 100,000 entries in a probate register for those years).

The Suffolk County [MA] Wills book was not included in the list above.

The search for "wills" in the Title field and "massachusetts" in the Keyword field resulted in this screen (21 matches):




The list includes books for specific families, in addition to seemingly unrelated English will books. The Suffolk County Wills book was #19 on the list. It has 435 records, which usually indicates the number of pages. Here is the database search page:




A user could put a name in the search fields, or click on one of the links in the Browse box on the right. The links include the Title Page, the actual transcribed text, and the Index. I recommend using the Index to see if your persons are in the book, and consider name spelling variations for these early records. If the user puts a surname in the search field, then snippet views of the matches in the book are shown.

Here is the title page image:

Labels: Ancestry.com, Genealogy Books, Online resources, Probate Records

I ran out of photographs of my ancestors gravestones several months ago, so I'm occasionally posting photos gleaned from "other sources" - many of them are humorous or really different.

Here is one that is really creative and different:

Labels: Cemetery records, strange or funny, Tombstone Tuesday

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I've written a bit about what a mess my family tree database was, and even devoted a section of my 2010 Goals and Dreams to it, saying:

* Continue converting existing sources in my database to actual sources (with author, title, publisher, date, page, comments, etc.).
* Eliminate duplicate persons and facts, and add specific page numbers to existing source citations.
* Add sources to unsourced information in my database.

Once in awhile, between preparations for the next two or three classes and presentations, I've found time to work on the genealogy database. The problems I've been working on include:

* When I combined my six separate family tree databases into one database (over 38,000 persons), quite a few duplicate persons were created because they were in more than one database. I'm still trying to weed out the duplicates, and have been making good progress.

* For over twenty years, I used a widow's married name when she married again - such as "Alvina (Bradley) Lewis (because the source invariably used the married name in the record). Of course, she should have been listed as Alvina Bradley with a first marriage to Joseph Lewis. I'm still working on these items, and have been making good progress.

* I have many English baptisms and burials in my database (due to having so many early American colonial ancestors), but they don't show up in the birth and death fields. I've been going through and adding dates like "Before 4 June 1613" for the baptisms and christenings that I have - that way they show up in the person index. I add these as I find them, but have many more to find and add. I'm also adding a Source to these entries when I have information about the Sources.

* When I changed from Personal Ancestral File to Family Tree Maker in 1998, a number of "artifacts" came with the information. Specifically, a "Master Source: PAF" appeared in the FTM "Notes" section, which I've tried to eliminate. Also, double dates (for example, for "24 January 1664/65") came across as, "24 January 1663/64 - 24 January 1664/65." Needless to say, this was a real pain in the database...I'm weeding these out too.

* When I had my database in PAF, I added vital records source information to the place name field, so many place fields have entries like "Westminster, Worcester, MA (VR 235)." That meant, of course, that the record was found on page 235 of the Westminster MA Vital Record book. I've been adding the Master Source and volume/page numbers for the citations, and deleting the "shorthand source" citation in the place field.

* This was easiest done by creating a "shorthand Master Source," e.g., "Westminster MA Vital Records" and at some point adding the author, title, publisher, date, online access, repository, etc. to the Master Source. I have lots of "shorthand Master Sources" still and need to work on getting the Master Source Information into the appropriate Master Source fields. I also have some duplicate Master Sources that need combining.

* Over the years, I have put many source citations in the "Notes" section when I've abstracted or transcribed information from books, census, military, probate, land and other records. I'm trying to add Facts to my database for many of these, but have left the abstracts and transcriptions in the "Notes." The challenge is to get the Source citations in Notes copied into the Fact source citation.

Unfortunately, I started doing these tasks randomly about two years ago, and have actually gotten quite a bit done, but I still find whole sections of the database with the sources in the place name, and I'm still finding the duplicate names and widow's names that need to be fixed.

Several months ago, I decided to be more disciplined in my approach, and started doing one alphabetical letter at a time in the index. I started with Z, and have worked my way up through G. I'm trying to do all of the tasks above when I go through one of the letters, but I miss some of the entries. I'll have to do another run through the index when I'm done.

Lastly, I need to do a Data Error search to find the "leftover" Name problems, the "leftover" "double date problems, the "child's birth after father or mother's death," and the "child's birth to a mother older than age 50" problems. Those will take some research to determine why my database has the problems and determine, if possible, the correct information.

I have been doing all of these corrections in Family Tree Maker 16 for several reasons: I am very familiar with it; the name, date and place data entry is efficient, navigation is easy, I can add source citations and Master Sources easily; the index lists name, spouse, birth date and death date for each person; and it runs fast. The index information is really the big reason I chose to do this in FTM 16.

When I get the database in some semblance of good order, then I will import it into my other software programs (Family Tree Maker 2010, RootsMagic 4 and Legacy Family Tree 7) and do a Place Name resolution so that my cities/towns, county/province, state and country citations are consistent.

Of course, there are still many ancestral families with sparse, or no, notes. Information for many of these families were "taken" from published books or online family trees and I need to find original and derivative source information for the facts and stories of their lives. That is a never ending battle, it seems. And I'm still doing research, and adding data whenever I find useful information about my ancestral families.

Then there's the issue of attaching photographs, document images and the like to persons in the tree. I really don't think my computer storage is big enough for the scans of the 40 linear feet of paper I have in the Genealogy Cave! I will save this task for after I have the database in decent order! Maybe FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com and Footnote.com will have all of those documents online by then!

So - will I ever finish my family tree? Are you kidding me?

"As I pondered my ancestral chart,
Twenty two years after a fateful start,
Finally, it clearly dawned on me,
I will never finish my family tree."

I still have many blank entries in my pedigree chart from the 6th generation and on back from me. There is much research work to be done, and I look forward to the challenge of doing it. Or challenging my grandchildren to do it!

But I'm trying to make the family tree database better. It will never be perfect. But it could be worthy of publication at some future time. And saved for posterity in many online family tree databases!

How about you - is your family tree finished? Are you working on it? Are your sources and citations up to snuff? Do you have original source, or authoritative derivative source, information for each of your facts in the tree?

Labels: Family Trees, genealogy software, My genealogy research

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started his own Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:

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

My subject today is an affidavit included in the Revolutionary War Pension File for Peter Putman (1760-1835), who served in the Revolutionary War in the state of New Jersey (obtained from http://www.footnote.com/).

"State of New York County of Steuben: On this second day of February 1825 personally appeared in open Court being a court of record for said County Peter Putman aged sixty five years resident in the town of Barrington in the said County who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath made the following declaration in order to obtain the provision made by the acts of Congress of the 18th March 1818 and then 1st May 1820. That he the said Peter Putman enlisted for the term of two years during the revolutionary war on or about the 5th day of March 1778 in the State of New Jersey in the company commanded by Captain Holmes in the 2d Regiment commanded by Colonel Dayton in the line of the State of New Jersey on the continental establishment: that he continued to serve in the said corps until about the 1st October 1780 when he was discharged from the said service at Princeton in the State of New Jersey from the hospital that he was in the battle of Monmouth and also in another battle which was fought in the State of New Jersey, which battle used to go by the name of the Pompton battle: that he received a written discharge from said service signed as the declarant believes by the said Colonel Dayton and which discharge was delivered to him by the Surgeon and which discharge he has long since lost and cannot now produce: that he has no other evidence now in his power of his said services except the affidavits of Moor Wilson & John Jolly, that the said Moor Wilson is very old and infirm and is now confined to his bed in consequence of a fall; and that the said John Jolly now resides fifty four miles from Bath in the said County of Steuben, is old and very weak and infirm and cannot as this declarant believes endure so long a journey - That the family of this declarant consists of himself and his wife Sarah aged 64 years, neither of whom are able to work much being afflicted with rheumatism. That he made a declaration in writing of his said services before Thomas McBurney Esq. first Judge of the County of Steuben on the 3d February 1920: that he hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension except the present: that his name is not on the roll of any State except that of New York, and that the following are the reasons for not making earlier application for a pension: that he did not wish to be dependent on his country while he was able to maintain himself and wife: that owing to sickness and misfortunes he has become unable to work and is quite reduced in his circumstances - and in pursuance of the act of 1st May 1820 I do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the eighteenth day of March 1818 and that I have not since that time by gift sale or in any manner disposed of my property or any part thereof with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provisions of an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war" passed on the 18th day of March 1818 and that I have not nor had any other person in trust for me any property or securities contracts or debts due to me nor have I any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed and by me subscribed. That I am a farmer by occupation but owing to my advanced age and rheumatic complaints I am not able to do much labor.
........................................................Peter Putman
"Sworn to and declared on the 2d day of February 1825 before me: John Metcalfe, Clerk of Steuben County."

"Property in former Schedule
Real estate I have none
Personal estate
one cow which will be 8 years old next spring $10
two calves which will be one year old next spring $8
four sheep common blood $4
Ten pigs four or five months old very small $2
One old feather bed - been in use thirty years small Slight $4
Two old and worn blankets & one coverlet also old & worn $1.50
Two old linen sheets $0.50
An old indifferent ash bedstead $0.35
An old 3 pail kettle & one other old small kettle both cracked & hooped $1.50
An old table broken & split cost one dollar when purchased $0.25
An old chest been in wear thirty years $0.25
An old small trunk been in use as long $0.13
Three pewter plates $0.38
4 small earthen plates $0.12
2 old knives & 3 forks $0.12
6 old iron spoons $0.18
3 old earthen tea cups & saucers $0.06
One old axe & one old hoe $0.75
One old worn out mowing scythe $0.25

"Schedule of property
Real estate I have none
One two year old steer $8
One yearling heifer $6
Three shotes $3
One chest $1
One small trunk $1
One dinner kettle $1
One tea kettle $1
One pan $0.75
Six earthen plates $0.37
Three chairs $1
One table $1
Three tea cups & saucers $0.12
One large wheel $1
Two earthen crocks $0.25
One bucket $0.25
One churn $0.50
Two Barrels $1
Several knives & forks say 5 $0.25
Two basons $0.50
Two bowls $0.12
One old waggon $15
[Total owned"] $43.62

"And that since the exhibition of the former schedule the following changes have taken place in my property -
The Cow mentioned therein died last spring
The two calves have been killed for provisions for my family
The four sheep have been sold for grain for the use of my family
The four pigs have been killed for provisions for the use of my family

"That I am indebted to Abraham P. Vosburgh Esq. of Penri Yaw for a plough which I have since parted with to pay Doctors bill $14
To Daniel Shannon for carding & fulling $12.80
To William Babcock for pork for provisions for my family $10
To Mrs. Ellsworth for do for do $5
[Total owed] $41.80"

The affidavit itself is fairly standard - it appears that it was dictated by the declarant to the amanuensis, and the signature of Peter Putman is in the clerk's hand, not Peter Putman's.

There are two lists of the property - the first one is a list prepared several years earlier, and the second is the one created at the time of the present affidavit.

The list of the personal "stuff" belonging to Peter Putman is fascinating and sad - they had so little, and yet lived for years using their stuff. It reads as if they finally decided to apply for the pension because they were destitute, having killed their calves and pigs, and sold their sheep, to eat.

Labels: Amanuensis Monday, Military records, My genealogy research

The weekly PARADE Magazine, which comes in the San Diego Union-Tribune and many other Sunday newspapers, had a spread about Ancestry.com. Included was a 15% off a membership to http://www.ancestry.com/.

The Ancestry.com "membership" deal is on this page on Ancestry.com. An annual U.S. Deluxe membership would be $132.00, and an annual World Deluxe membership would be $254.40. Similar reductions are available for a three-month or one-month subscription. However, full membership prices are in effect after the end of whatever term a subscriber chooses.

There is a restriction for this deal -- to persons that have not had an Ancestry.com subscription in the last 90 days. That lets me out.

The deal expires 10 July 2010 at Midnight (presumably, that is midnight after 9 July?).

There seem to be few, if any, other Ancestry.com subscription deals available at this time for new subscribers or for renewing subscribers.

This is pretty smart marketing by Ancestry.com. I wonder why they did it in early July instead of during or right after the Who Do You Think You Are? TV series? Perhaps the summer is a historical low period for new subscriptions.

The Parade article has a link to the article How to Build Your Family Tree, with a three-step research process, which includes this quote:

"...You can search for historical records at family history sites like Ancestry.com (in fact, your family tree at Ancestry.com will search the records for you automatically). Start with a parent or grandparent and you may discover marriage details, military records, passenger lists, census records and more. And forget about paperwork: online historic records can be viewed directly from your computer and saved in your family tree for easy access."

I almost fell off my pedestal laughing ... but would have been buried under my paper mountain, little of which was obtained, or can be obtained, from online record sources.

Disclosure: I am not an employee, contractor or affiliate of Ancestry.com, and have received no remuneration for this article. I am a fully paid US Deluxe subscriber to Ancestry.com.

Labels: Ancestry.com, Commercial genealogy, Online resources

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 the genealogy carnivals, or other 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:

* Evidence Management Diagram Revisited by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. The latest in Mr. AI's series...the diagram is being refined. Good comments too.

* Family Finder Testing Series: Sharing your genealogy research by Emily Aulicino on the DNA -Genealem's Genetic Genealogy blog. Emily continues her series about autosomal DNA tests with practical advice about sharing your genealogy so that cousins can find you.

* Bloggers at the Colorado Family History Expo by Amy on the Family History Expos blog. Amy summarizes the blog posts from the Loveland CO Expo last weekend.

* Five Golden Rules for Growing "Healthy" Family Trees by Kimberly Powell on Kimberly's Genealogy Blog. Excellent advice about our family trees - you need to click on the
attention to the basics link to see them.

* What Genealogy Taught Me about Being a Canadian by Lynn Palermo on The Armchair Genealogist blog. Lynn celebrates Canada Day, and explains why.

* How To Reconstruct a Family pt. 1 -- Playing Detective! and pt. 2 -- Play Detective! by Patti Browning on the Consanguinity blog. Patti lets us look over her keyboard while she sniffs out some Browning ancestors. This is excellent "show us what you found" stuff.

* "You Want to Move Where?" - Traveling Back in Time by Terri Kallio on The Ties That Bind blog. Another in Terri's series - she's trying to understand how her ancestral families lived. A good one!

* Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Doubt Social Networking Benefits Your Genealogy? by Cheryl Palmer on the Heritage Happens blog. Cheryl did a happy dance when she found cousins through Facebook.

* The GeneaTweets: 02/07/2010 by Robert on the MyHeritage Blog. Robert found some interesting and funny Twitter updates this past week about genealogy and family history.

* Family Tree Friday: Why do immigration records start in 1820? by John on the NARAtions blog. An interesting summary answering the question, and more.

* The Grand Genealogy Journey 2010 (Virtual Edition) Starts Anew, GeneaBlogie Grand Genealogy Journey – Day 1: Sacramento and Grand Genealogy Journey: Aboard the California Zephyr by Craig Manson on the Geneablogie blog. Craig starts his virtual genealogical dream journey after some technical difficulties - I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.

* So, I get this phone call Monday ..... by Russ Worthington on A Worthington Weblog. Russ was almost too busy for his great adventure, but he's really glad he took the time. More to come!

* Review: Archives.com Genealogy Database by Joan Miller on the Luxegen Genealogy and Family History blog. Joan reviews Archives.com using some of her ancestral names - very helpful discussion too.

Other "Best of ..." posts can be found at:

* Weekly Genealogy Picks by John Newmark on the TransylvanianDutch blog.

* Follow Friday - 2 July 2010 by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog.

I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, 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 640 genealogy bloggers using Bloglines, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

Labels: BestofGeneaBlogs, genealogy blogs

I am posting my list of ancestral Revolutionary War soldiers in order to honor them for their service:

Labels: Holidays, My genealogy research, Revolutionary War

Eleven score and fourteen years ago our forefathers brought forth a new country...it's our BIRTHDAY!!

Labels: Holidays

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Attention, Genea-Musings readers: it's Saturday Night! Are you ready for some Genealogy Fun?

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Find one of your ancestral homes on Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/). Put the street address in the search box and find the home. Select Map and/or Satellite view.

2) Find out if this location is shown in Street View (click on the Push Pin, does it show Street View?). If so, click on Street View and manipulate the image to get a good view of your ancestral home.

3) Show us the pictures!! (I use screen shots, but if you want to edit the image, go ahead!) Put them in a blog post of your own, or put the picture(s) on Facebook. If you can't do images, then tell us about what you've done in a blog post, a comment to this post, or on Facebook.

4) Did you learn anything from this mission about your ancestral home? Is it still there? Has it been improved or modified?

Here's mine:

The last time I checked Google Maps did not have a Street View for my ancestral homes at 2115 30th Street, 2119 30th Street, 22114 Fern Street, 2116 Fern Street and 2130 Fern Street, all in San Diego. I was thrilled to find Street Views now!

1) Here is the Map view of the block bounded by 30th Street to the west, Fern Street to the east, Ivy Street on the north, and Hawthorn Street on the south:




This basic Google Map now shows the approximate land plot size for each lot. The push pin above is on 2130 Fern Street.

2) Here is the Satellite view of the block (with maximum zoom in):



4) This is the Street View of 2114-2116 Fern Street, the smaller two-story building with the near-white roof:

Labels: Genealogy Fun, Google, Maps, SNGF

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It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I'm up to number 73, who is Elizabeth Keyes (1759-1793), one of my 4th-great-grandparents.

My ancestral line back through six generations of KEYES is:

1. Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick W. Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty V. Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick W. Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)

8. Frank W. Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Harriet Hildreth (1857-1920)

18. Edward Hildreth (1831-1899)
19. Sophia Newton (1834-1923)

36. Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857)
37. Hannah Sawtell (1789-1857)

72. Zachariah Hildreth, born 13 January 1754 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA, and died 17 March 1828 in Townsend, Middlesex County, MA. He was the son of Zachariah Hildreth and Elizabeth Prescott. He married 01 September 1777 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA.
73. Elizabeth Keyes, born 08 April 1759 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA; died 06 August 1793 in Townsend, Middlesex County, MA.

Children of Zachariah Hildreth and Elizabeth Keyes are: Aaron Hildreth (1778-????); Elizabeth Fletcher Hildreth (1780-1792); Hannah Hildreth (1782-1848); Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857); Lucy Hildreth (1785-1865); Patty Hildreth (1787-????); Fanny Hildreth (1789-1865); Nabby Hildreth (1791-1791); James Hildreth (1793-1797).

146. Jonathan Keyes, born 21 January 1721/22 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA; died 20 June 1781 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA. He married 20 January 1745/46 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA.
147. Elizabeth Fletcher, born 09 March 1719/20 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA; died 23 July 1761 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA. She was the daughter of 294. Samuel Fletcher and 295. Hannah.

Children of Jonathan Keyes and Elizabeth Fletcher are: Joseph Keyes (1746-1823; Joanna Kewyes (1749-1753); Aaron Keyes (1751-1753); Stephen Keyes (1754-1758); Joanna Keyes (1757-????); Elizabeth Keyes (1759-1793); Hannah Keyes (1761-1833).

292. Joseph Keyes, born 01 May 1698 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA; died 11 July 1744 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA. He married 28 February 1719/20 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA.
293. Elizabeth Fletcher, born 10 June 1698 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA; died 03 September 1775 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA. She was the daughter of 586. Joshua Fletcher and 587. Sarah Woolley.

Children of Joseph Keyes and Elizabeth Fletcher are: Elizabeth Keyes (1720-????); Jonathan Keyes (1722-1781); Sarah Keyes (1723-????); Lydia Keyes (1724-????); David Keyes (1726-????).

584. Joseph Keyes, born 24 May 1667 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA; died 09 June 1757 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA. He married 28 May 1690 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA.
585. Joanna Cleaveland, born 05 March 1669/70 in Woburn, Middlesex County, MA; died 18 March 1758 in Westford, Middlesex County, MA. She was the daughter of 1170. Moses Cleaveland and 1171. Ann Winn.

Children of Joseph Keyes and Joanna Cleaveland are: Lydia Keyes (1693-????); Joanna Keyes (1695-1787); Joseph Keyes (1698-1744); Miriam Keyes (1700-????).

1168. Solomon Keyes, born About 1631 in ENGLAND; died 28 March 1702 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA. He married 02 October 1653 in Newbury, Essex County, MA.
1169. Frances Grant, born before 12 June 1634 in Cottingham, Yorkshire, ENGLAND; died 1708 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, MA. She was the daughter of 2338. Thomas Grant and 2339. Jane Haburne.

Children of Solomon Keyes and Frances Grant are: Hannah Keyes (1654-????); Sarah Keyes (1656-????); Mary Keyes (1658-????); Jane Keyes (1660-1681); Judith Keyes (1662-????); Solomon Keyes (1665-????); Joseph Keyes (1667-1757); Ruth Keyes (1669-1671); Moses Keyes (1671-1746); John Keyes (1674-????).

2336. Robert Keyes, born about 1605 in ENGLAND; died 16 July 1647 in Newbury, Essex County, MA. He married before 1631 in ENGLAND.
2337. Sarah, born about 1611 in ENGLAND; died 07 July 1681 in Newbury, Essex County, MA.

Children of Robert Keyes and Sarah are: Solomon Keyes (1631-1702); Sarah Keyes (1633-????); Peter Keyes (1635-????); Rebecca Keyes (1638-????); Phebe Keyes (1639-1701); Mary Keyes (1642-????); Elias Keyes (1643-????); Mary Keyes (1645-1668).

Are there any KEYES cousins reading this post? If you want to share information about this family line, please contact me at rjseaver@cox.net.

Labels: Hildreth-Newton Research, My genealogy research, Surname Saturday

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After being frustrated with the poor results on Ancestry.com finding the Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 entries for my soldiers (over 15 of them), I turned to http://www.footnote.com/ to see if the same database was available there. It is!

And the Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 are available for FREE on Footnote.com through 7 July, as part of their Revolutionary War Collection:


I could have clicked on the link in the ad shown above, but resisted that temptation. That special link may not be there after this free access period.

On the Footnote.com home page, I clicked on "Browse Titles" and then on the Browse screen, I clicked on the "Colonies and Revolution to 1815" link, and saw the list of databases, and picked the Revolutionary War Rolls" link and then was able to put "martin carringer" in the Search box:

Labels: Footnote.com, Military records, Online resources, Revolutionary War

For Follow Friday, I'm going to highlight Michael John Neill's weekly email newsletter called Casefile Clues. He is up to week 47 now, and each issue has been five to ten pages of interesting and often useful research tips based on the cases that Michael presents.

In honor of the 4th of July holiday, Michael has made the following offer:

"In recognition of the 4th of July Holiday, Casefile Clues is offering a year of the newsletter and back issues 41-47 for $17.76.

"There is more information on our website at:
http://blog.casefileclues.com/2010/07/july-4th-special-on-casefile-clues-1776.html

"Questions can be sent to me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com."

If you've been wanting a weekly newsletter packed full of practical research tips and case studies, I encourage you to subscribe to Casefile Clues.

Disclosure: I have received no remuneration from Michael John Neill. I am a fully paid subscriber to his newsletter.

Labels: genealogy education, genealogy resources

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The Summer 2010 issue of the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine is available for members to download from the FGS website (http://www.fgs.org/). If you are a member, you should have received an email about this issue.

This issue has 61 pages, and is edited by Sandra Hargreaves Luebking.

The cover photograph is unidentified, taken circa the early twentieth century, and may have been taken in Braidwood, Will County, Illinois (photo courtesy of FGS Director Tim Pinnick):




The Summer 2010 issue's Table of Contents includes:

* page 3 - Final Countdown to FGS 2010 Conference in Knoxville, by Lori Thornton.
* page 7 - Ancestry Offers Free Classes at FGS 2010
* page 9 - Librarians Day at FGS Conference
* page 11 - Recovering Family History Through Memories, by Joseph F. Martin
* page 13 - Two Essential Reference Books Now on Wiki

* page 14 - New Source for United Kingdom Research
* page 16 - An Urban-Friendly Resource [about ProQuest Collections]
* page 21 - Tribute to Birdie Monk Holsclaw, by Karen Mauer Green
* page 23 - Early Black Musicians, by Tim Pinnock [related to cover photo]
* page 24 - Malcolm H. Stern NARA Gift Fund

* page 26 - News in Brief
* page 27 - Society Spotlight, Using a Wiki to Preserve a Society's Knowledge Base, by Michael J. Hall
* page 31 - State Reporting [includes info on KY, MS, NC, OH, OK, RI resources]
* page 33 - Ethnic and International [includes info on American Indian, Australia, Haiti, New Zealand and United Kingdom resources]
* page 34 - Column: Records Preservation & Access, by Linda McCleary

* page 36 - Column: Family Associations, by Christine Rose
* page 38 - Column: Genealogy 2.0: Genealogy and Cloud Computing, by Randy Seaver
* page 41 - Board Bytes
* page 44 - Column: Book Reviews, edited by Paul Milner
* page 57 - Federation of Genealogical Societies Membership - as of 1 June 2010

Here is a screen shot of the first page of my Genealogy 2.0 column, titled Genealogy and Cloud Computing:


I encourage genealogical societies to join the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and individuals can subscribe to the magazine [thank you to George Morgan for correcting my earlier statement]. Benefits include receiving the quarterly FORUM magazine and discounts for conference registration. See the FGS website at http://www.fgs.org/ for details.

Labels: FGS, genealogy education, genealogy societies

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I noted yesterday that the Revolutionary War Rolls on Ancestry.com had been updated, and realized that I had not saved images of these records for my Revolutionary War soldiers. That lead me to do some searches for these records:

From the Military Records collection page (I tend to search now in specific collections and specific databases, rather than do a "global search"), I input "Martin" and "Carringer" in the search fields:




The list of matches came up, and I noted that the Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, was on the list (note that I tend to search according to "summarized by category"):




Clicking on the link for the Revolutionary War Rolls, I saw that there was one match for Martin Carringer:

Labels: Ancestry.com, Military records, My genealogy research, National Archives, Online resources, Revolutionary War

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It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to share another genealogy jewel from my collection of stuff.

This week, it is the Death Certificate of Della (Smith) Carringer (1862-1944) in San Diego, San Diego County, California on 1 January 1944.

Labels: Carringer Research, Treasure Chest Thursday, Vital Records