Tuesday, December 7, 2010
First Look at Google eBooks
Google has announced their eBooks service where persons can buy and/or read electronic books online. The Google eBookstore is at http://books.google.com/ebooks.
There is a search box in the upper right corner - I put "seaver genealogy" in the box:
The results for my search terms looks like this:
The "Any" screen shows books that match my search terms that can be purchased. For books that are still under copyright protection, the prices are shown below the thumbnail image of the book cover.
I was interested in the Free books so I clicked the "Free only" link (just below "Any" in the upper left corner), and saw:
The list of freely available and readable books shows a thumbnail picture of the book cover and a truncated title. If you run your mouse over the thumbnail image you get a more complete description of the book, as seen above for the first book listed.
I clicked on the thumbnail image and saw a fuller description of the book (note that I could have clicked on "Read now" and skipped this step):
The big blue "Read Now" button on the right takes me to this page:
There is a list of pages in the book that match my search terms. The book page image, in this case, is of the only page in the book with my search term "seaver genealogy." If there was more than one search result, I could click on the item in the list on the left to see the pages on the right. The search terms are highlighted in yellow on the page image. The user can advance the pages forward or backward by using the arrows on either side of the page image.
Note that I could have searched for another search term, perhaps "seaver" in this particular book, and might have seen more pages (in this case, there were three matches for "seaver").
There are some icons on the left margin above, for the Table of Contents, Zooming, Information, and Help.
Since my computer screen is in a landscape configuration, I can't see all of the page. The user can scroll up or down to see the other part of the page. Obviously, it is tailored to the Portrait display on some portable eReaders (which I don't have).
The text on these pages cannot be copied and the individual pages cannot be saved. The system saves the eBook in the user's Google "My eBook Library" without any action by the user. If you look at a free book, it's in your "My eBook Library."
My guess is that most of these free eBooks are also available for free in Google Books. However, the eBook reader seems to work faster than Google Books, but you have to advance the pages manually rather than in a continuous scroll on Google Books.
I'm going to do a bit more searching for some of my surnames and also for out-of-copyright genealogy books.
If you find some goodies, please let us know in your own blog post or in a comment on this blog post.
There is a search box in the upper right corner - I put "seaver genealogy" in the box:
The results for my search terms looks like this:
The "Any" screen shows books that match my search terms that can be purchased. For books that are still under copyright protection, the prices are shown below the thumbnail image of the book cover.
I was interested in the Free books so I clicked the "Free only" link (just below "Any" in the upper left corner), and saw:
The list of freely available and readable books shows a thumbnail picture of the book cover and a truncated title. If you run your mouse over the thumbnail image you get a more complete description of the book, as seen above for the first book listed.
I clicked on the thumbnail image and saw a fuller description of the book (note that I could have clicked on "Read now" and skipped this step):
The big blue "Read Now" button on the right takes me to this page:
There is a list of pages in the book that match my search terms. The book page image, in this case, is of the only page in the book with my search term "seaver genealogy." If there was more than one search result, I could click on the item in the list on the left to see the pages on the right. The search terms are highlighted in yellow on the page image. The user can advance the pages forward or backward by using the arrows on either side of the page image.
Note that I could have searched for another search term, perhaps "seaver" in this particular book, and might have seen more pages (in this case, there were three matches for "seaver").
There are some icons on the left margin above, for the Table of Contents, Zooming, Information, and Help.
Since my computer screen is in a landscape configuration, I can't see all of the page. The user can scroll up or down to see the other part of the page. Obviously, it is tailored to the Portrait display on some portable eReaders (which I don't have).
The text on these pages cannot be copied and the individual pages cannot be saved. The system saves the eBook in the user's Google "My eBook Library" without any action by the user. If you look at a free book, it's in your "My eBook Library."
My guess is that most of these free eBooks are also available for free in Google Books. However, the eBook reader seems to work faster than Google Books, but you have to advance the pages manually rather than in a continuous scroll on Google Books.
I'm going to do a bit more searching for some of my surnames and also for out-of-copyright genealogy books.
If you find some goodies, please let us know in your own blog post or in a comment on this blog post.
Labels: Genealogy Books, Google, Online resources, Search Engines
Tombstone Tuesday - Julian Cemetery
It's Tombstone Tuesday and I actually visited a cemetery last Friday and took pictures. Alert readers know that I have exhausted my collection of ancestral tombstones, and am occasionally posting photos of interesting stones.
My wife and I spent the weekend in Julian, a small mountain town in San Diego County famous for its apples, gold mines and drug store, founded in 1869. It is a town with many second homes of Southern California people in the surrounding hills, but is susceptible to fires and earthquakes.
I responded to a query about two years ago from a fellow in Ontario (Canada) requesting information about his Potter ancestry. I found that his grandparents and great-grandparents were early residents of Julian (before 1875), and had a retail store there. In my research, I uncovered census records, city directory records and an obituary that defined many of his family relationships. I gave him the mailing addresses for the historical society and Pioneer Museum so he could inquire about more information. I promised him that the next time I visited Julian that I would walk the cemetery and see if I could find the Potter stones there.
Last Friday, I spent an hour at Pioneer Cemetery in Julian, climbing Boot Hill from Farmer Road (up about 100 steps, whew, remind me not to go mountain climbing!) and wandering around the cemetery. There is a circular road that encompasses Pioneer Circle and the Potter/Bush family plot is within that circle.
Here is the entrance on Farmer Road; Pioneer Circle is at the top of the steps:
The Potter/Bush stones are shown below:
The area is lined with small stones,and the locked fenced area to the left has a stone at the entrance that says "Potter." Some of the Potter stones have a small copper plate with just the name of the deceased person, which were probably placed by the family long after the persons died. Others, including the Potter grandparents and great-grandparents, have standing gravestones with names and dates on them.
The Julian Library had a recently published book by David Lewis, titled Last Known Address, The History of the Julian Cemetery (published by Headstone Publishing, Julian CA, 2008). The book had historical information about the cemetery and biographical sketches about some of the pioneer families, including the Potters. One of the trustees of the cemetery is a Potter descended from the pioneers. My correspondent will be happy to hear about this! I will forward close up pictures of the stones and the area to my correspondent in Ontario.
The names of persons buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Julian are listed at http://www.juliancemetery.org/content/Name%20List.pdf.
I was a good Graveyard Rabbit last weekend!
My wife and I spent the weekend in Julian, a small mountain town in San Diego County famous for its apples, gold mines and drug store, founded in 1869. It is a town with many second homes of Southern California people in the surrounding hills, but is susceptible to fires and earthquakes.
I responded to a query about two years ago from a fellow in Ontario (Canada) requesting information about his Potter ancestry. I found that his grandparents and great-grandparents were early residents of Julian (before 1875), and had a retail store there. In my research, I uncovered census records, city directory records and an obituary that defined many of his family relationships. I gave him the mailing addresses for the historical society and Pioneer Museum so he could inquire about more information. I promised him that the next time I visited Julian that I would walk the cemetery and see if I could find the Potter stones there.
Last Friday, I spent an hour at Pioneer Cemetery in Julian, climbing Boot Hill from Farmer Road (up about 100 steps, whew, remind me not to go mountain climbing!) and wandering around the cemetery. There is a circular road that encompasses Pioneer Circle and the Potter/Bush family plot is within that circle.
Here is the entrance on Farmer Road; Pioneer Circle is at the top of the steps:
The Potter/Bush stones are shown below:
The area is lined with small stones,and the locked fenced area to the left has a stone at the entrance that says "Potter." Some of the Potter stones have a small copper plate with just the name of the deceased person, which were probably placed by the family long after the persons died. Others, including the Potter grandparents and great-grandparents, have standing gravestones with names and dates on them.
The Julian Library had a recently published book by David Lewis, titled Last Known Address, The History of the Julian Cemetery (published by Headstone Publishing, Julian CA, 2008). The book had historical information about the cemetery and biographical sketches about some of the pioneer families, including the Potters. One of the trustees of the cemetery is a Potter descended from the pioneers. My correspondent will be happy to hear about this! I will forward close up pictures of the stones and the area to my correspondent in Ontario.
The names of persons buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Julian are listed at http://www.juliancemetery.org/content/Name%20List.pdf.
I was a good Graveyard Rabbit last weekend!
Labels: Cemetery records, Graveyard Rabbits
Advent Calendar - December 7: Christmas Parties
This post is number 7 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the 18th day of Christmas,
my relatives acted hearty
at a family Christmas party.
1) Did your family throw a holiday party each year?
When I was a kid, we didn't have a separate holiday party that I recall - just celebrations with my grandparents and my cousin Dorothy's family.
After we were married, my parents, my brothers and us would have a Christmas party either on the weekend before Christmas, on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day with the traditional dinner. As the children grew, these became great fun watching the little ones open gifts, show off for grandma and grandpa, and play out in the yard.
Our family would fly (on Christmas Day) or drive (several days before Christmas) to San Francisco to celebrate the holiday with Linda's parents and brother. They would invite their living aunts and uncles to dinner and Paul (Linda's brother) and I would often go pick them up and take them home. Sometimes, we would go down the peninsula to visit the aunts, uncles and cousins. There was always lots of laughs, sharing of memories, interesting gifts and lots of good food at these events.
2) Do you remember attending any holiday parties?
Besides the family parties, there were Christmas parties at church and with colleagues at work. The church couples group adopted a New Year's Eve "progressive dinner" party, with white elephant gift giving, rather than a pre-Christmas party. This was done because everybody had a busy schedule with their kids and family, needed a sober New Year's event to attend, and we could get rid of useless but valuable gifts at the New Year's party. We also attended a pre-Christmas party with our Marriage Encounter board couples with a white elephant gift exchange. If we didn't like the gift we got here, we took it to the New Year's party. Fruitcake, especially!
For many years, my work group got together for an evening pot luck party with much drinking and telling stories about people who didn't attend. These were always at someone's house, and it was a good way to meet the spouses of your colleagues, stand under the mistletoe and be spurned, and to see how they lived. I don't have many specific memories of these, of course, except that Linda had to pour me into bed more than once.
Linda's teaching colleagues also had a pre-Christmas party at someone's house, which was similar to my work colleague party, except it was more interesting because the families were in different income brackets. The group was much more diverse and the people more interesting. There was a designated gift giving at these parties - each teacher drew a name at school to give a gift to.
On the 18th day of Christmas,
my relatives acted hearty
at a family Christmas party.
1) Did your family throw a holiday party each year?
When I was a kid, we didn't have a separate holiday party that I recall - just celebrations with my grandparents and my cousin Dorothy's family.
After we were married, my parents, my brothers and us would have a Christmas party either on the weekend before Christmas, on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day with the traditional dinner. As the children grew, these became great fun watching the little ones open gifts, show off for grandma and grandpa, and play out in the yard.
Our family would fly (on Christmas Day) or drive (several days before Christmas) to San Francisco to celebrate the holiday with Linda's parents and brother. They would invite their living aunts and uncles to dinner and Paul (Linda's brother) and I would often go pick them up and take them home. Sometimes, we would go down the peninsula to visit the aunts, uncles and cousins. There was always lots of laughs, sharing of memories, interesting gifts and lots of good food at these events.
2) Do you remember attending any holiday parties?
Besides the family parties, there were Christmas parties at church and with colleagues at work. The church couples group adopted a New Year's Eve "progressive dinner" party, with white elephant gift giving, rather than a pre-Christmas party. This was done because everybody had a busy schedule with their kids and family, needed a sober New Year's event to attend, and we could get rid of useless but valuable gifts at the New Year's party. We also attended a pre-Christmas party with our Marriage Encounter board couples with a white elephant gift exchange. If we didn't like the gift we got here, we took it to the New Year's party. Fruitcake, especially!
For many years, my work group got together for an evening pot luck party with much drinking and telling stories about people who didn't attend. These were always at someone's house, and it was a good way to meet the spouses of your colleagues, stand under the mistletoe and be spurned, and to see how they lived. I don't have many specific memories of these, of course, except that Linda had to pour me into bed more than once.
Linda's teaching colleagues also had a pre-Christmas party at someone's house, which was similar to my work colleague party, except it was more interesting because the families were in different income brackets. The group was much more diverse and the people more interesting. There was a designated gift giving at these parties - each teacher drew a name at school to give a gift to.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Book Announcement: Atlas of East and Coastal Georgia Watercourses and Military Districts
Reader Paul Graham sent the announcement of his new book last week:
Paul K. Graham., ATLAS OF EAST AND COASTAL GEORGIA WATERCOURSES AND MILITIA DISTRICTS, The Genealogy Company, 2010. 80 pgs, paperback, black-and-white interior, $14.95 plus shipping.
The description of the book is:
This atlas contains 50 individual county maps encompassing the east and coastal areas of Georgia granted under the headright land system. It is designed to help genealogists locate ancestors using historical records that identify streams and militia districts, such as deeds, tax digests, and census enumerations. Each map shows watercourses, militia districts (boundaries, numbers, and names), and current incorporated areas.
Each county is presented on a single page, giving researchers a quick reference that can easily be copied and used for note taking. Three indexes help researchers find militia districts by number, militia districts by name, and watercourses by county.
Land descriptions in Georgia’s headright area refer to watercourses and adjoining land owners to identify boundaries. Tax, census, and other government records are arranged by militia district. Many tax digests also include references to watercourses. Because of their use in legal documents, watercourses and militia districts are the two most important features for locating land and the places people lived in the headright area of Georgia. This book is meant to provide a map reference to those features.
For more information, visit the author's website at http://www.pkgraham.com/atlas/ or the book's page on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0975531239/).
The atlas was recently reviewed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper (http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/gifts-for-genealogy-buffs-751897.html).
The Introduction to the book, with links to references and a map of the treated area, is posted at http://www.pkgraham.com/atlas-introduction/.
This appears to be a very useful book for researchers with Georgia ancestry. If location-location-location is one of the mantras of location-based genealogy, then this is book is probably indispensable for family history in eastern and coastal Georgia.
Disclosure: I was not offered any remuneration for this announcement.
Paul K. Graham., ATLAS OF EAST AND COASTAL GEORGIA WATERCOURSES AND MILITIA DISTRICTS, The Genealogy Company, 2010. 80 pgs, paperback, black-and-white interior, $14.95 plus shipping.
This atlas contains 50 individual county maps encompassing the east and coastal areas of Georgia granted under the headright land system. It is designed to help genealogists locate ancestors using historical records that identify streams and militia districts, such as deeds, tax digests, and census enumerations. Each map shows watercourses, militia districts (boundaries, numbers, and names), and current incorporated areas.
Each county is presented on a single page, giving researchers a quick reference that can easily be copied and used for note taking. Three indexes help researchers find militia districts by number, militia districts by name, and watercourses by county.
Land descriptions in Georgia’s headright area refer to watercourses and adjoining land owners to identify boundaries. Tax, census, and other government records are arranged by militia district. Many tax digests also include references to watercourses. Because of their use in legal documents, watercourses and militia districts are the two most important features for locating land and the places people lived in the headright area of Georgia. This book is meant to provide a map reference to those features.
For more information, visit the author's website at http://www.pkgraham.com/atlas/ or the book's page on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0975531239/).
The atlas was recently reviewed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper (http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/gifts-for-genealogy-buffs-751897.html).
The Introduction to the book, with links to references and a map of the treated area, is posted at http://www.pkgraham.com/atlas-introduction/.
This appears to be a very useful book for researchers with Georgia ancestry. If location-location-location is one of the mantras of location-based genealogy, then this is book is probably indispensable for family history in eastern and coastal Georgia.
Disclosure: I was not offered any remuneration for this announcement.
Labels: book reviews, Genealogy Books, genealogy education, Localities
Amanuensis Monday - the Probate Records of Daniel Smith (1642-1681) of Watertown, Massachusetts
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."
The subject today is the probate file of Daniel Smith (1642-1681) of Watertown in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Mary Grant (1647-????) on 22 February 1667/8 in Watertown. They had seven children, Daniel Smith (1669-1718); Grace Smith (1671-1714); John Smith (1672-1739); Elizabeth Smith (1673-1747); Sarah Smith (1675-????); Abigail Smith (1678-????); Joseph Smith (1680-1742).
Daniel Smith of Watertown died testate. His will reads (as transcribed by Randy Seaver from Middlesex County Probate Records, volume 5, pages 415-416, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,521,762):
"I Daniel Smith of Watertown in the Count. of Middlesex, being very sick & weak in my body & dayly looking when my change shall be yet through the mercy & goodwill of God I am in understanding & memory sound, & do declare this to be my last will & testament as followeth:
"I returne my spirit unto God yt gave it & my body to the Earth from whence it was taken to be decently buried at the discretion of my executor, hoping at the last day to have a glorious resurrection, both of body & soul through ye mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I give unto my deare & loveing wife my whole estate both housing & lands & moveables for her comfort & maintenance & the bringing up of my children so long as shee shall continue a widdow after my decease, but if she shall see reason to marry again, then my will is she shall enjoy ye thirds of the yearly income of my lands & yt only.
"I give unto my two eldest sons namely Daniel Smith & Jno Smith after my wife's decease or marriage my houseing both dwelling house & barn with all my lands both meadow & upland equally to them as is after expressed, & if either of them dye before they have attaind to the age of one & twenty years yn my will is if my third son named Joseph Smith shall enjoy yt part & proportion of him yt dyed as before; & if all my three sons do live yn my will is yt my son Joseph abovesd shall have an equall proportion with his eldest brethren to be paid him out of my houses & lands but not in house & land. I give unto my eldest son Daniel Smith abovesd my horse & reins & furniture for the horse with all my wearing cloaths both linnen & woollen. My will is yt all my moveable estate after my wife's decease or marriage be equally divided among all my daughters: & as to my [... 3 words...] was to bestow upon any of my daughters my will is yt it shall be performed without any alteration.
"And I do nominate & appoint my deare & loveing wife to be sole Executrix to this my last will & testament & to earnestly desire my good friends John Bisco & William Bond senr to be overseers of this my last will to be helpfull to my wife in her desolate condition in the performance of this my will & in looking after my children. & as a confirmation of this my will I have sett my hand this one & thirtieth of May Six hundred eighty & one.
"As witnesseth,
John Bisco ....................................................... Daniel Smith
Will. Bond"
Sworn by the witnesses on 20 June 1681 as attested by Jonathan Remington, Clerk of the Court.
The inventory of the estate of Daniel Smith of Watertown, who died 7 June 1681, was apprized by John Bisco, Henry Spring and William Bond, on 17 June 1681. The real estate included:
* his dwelling house and barn with five acres of upland (60 pounds),
* two acres of meadow land near the dwelling house on the south side of the highway (16 pounds),
* 5 acres of salt marsh adjoining to Dorchester field (50 pounds),
* four acres of meadow above Mr. samuells farm (8 pounds)
* 3 acres of upland about the Fresh Pond (3 pounds)
* 50 acres of divident land (10 pounds).
The total estate was apprized at about 154 pounds, including livestock, supplies, clothing, household goods, furniture, etc. The inventory was presented by the executrix and accepted by the Court on 21 4th month 1681. (Middlesex County Probate Records, volume 5, page 416-418, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,521,762).
All of Daniel Smith's children were minors when he died, and he was relying on his wife to bring them to maturity. He named his three sons, but not his daughters. I don't know if Mary (Grant) Smith lived out her life as a widow or if she married again. My ancestor is their daughter. Elizabeth Smith, who married John Peirce (1673-1744) of Watertown in 1702.
This Daniel Smith and his future wife, Mary Grant, have several mentions in Roger Thompson's book, Sex in Middlesex; Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699, for their premarital escapades in the barn.
"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is the probate file of Daniel Smith (1642-1681) of Watertown in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Mary Grant (1647-????) on 22 February 1667/8 in Watertown. They had seven children, Daniel Smith (1669-1718); Grace Smith (1671-1714); John Smith (1672-1739); Elizabeth Smith (1673-1747); Sarah Smith (1675-????); Abigail Smith (1678-????); Joseph Smith (1680-1742).
Daniel Smith of Watertown died testate. His will reads (as transcribed by Randy Seaver from Middlesex County Probate Records, volume 5, pages 415-416, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,521,762):
"I Daniel Smith of Watertown in the Count. of Middlesex, being very sick & weak in my body & dayly looking when my change shall be yet through the mercy & goodwill of God I am in understanding & memory sound, & do declare this to be my last will & testament as followeth:
"I returne my spirit unto God yt gave it & my body to the Earth from whence it was taken to be decently buried at the discretion of my executor, hoping at the last day to have a glorious resurrection, both of body & soul through ye mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I give unto my deare & loveing wife my whole estate both housing & lands & moveables for her comfort & maintenance & the bringing up of my children so long as shee shall continue a widdow after my decease, but if she shall see reason to marry again, then my will is she shall enjoy ye thirds of the yearly income of my lands & yt only.
"I give unto my two eldest sons namely Daniel Smith & Jno Smith after my wife's decease or marriage my houseing both dwelling house & barn with all my lands both meadow & upland equally to them as is after expressed, & if either of them dye before they have attaind to the age of one & twenty years yn my will is if my third son named Joseph Smith shall enjoy yt part & proportion of him yt dyed as before; & if all my three sons do live yn my will is yt my son Joseph abovesd shall have an equall proportion with his eldest brethren to be paid him out of my houses & lands but not in house & land. I give unto my eldest son Daniel Smith abovesd my horse & reins & furniture for the horse with all my wearing cloaths both linnen & woollen. My will is yt all my moveable estate after my wife's decease or marriage be equally divided among all my daughters: & as to my [... 3 words...] was to bestow upon any of my daughters my will is yt it shall be performed without any alteration.
"And I do nominate & appoint my deare & loveing wife to be sole Executrix to this my last will & testament & to earnestly desire my good friends John Bisco & William Bond senr to be overseers of this my last will to be helpfull to my wife in her desolate condition in the performance of this my will & in looking after my children. & as a confirmation of this my will I have sett my hand this one & thirtieth of May Six hundred eighty & one.
"As witnesseth,
John Bisco ....................................................... Daniel Smith
Will. Bond"
Sworn by the witnesses on 20 June 1681 as attested by Jonathan Remington, Clerk of the Court.
The inventory of the estate of Daniel Smith of Watertown, who died 7 June 1681, was apprized by John Bisco, Henry Spring and William Bond, on 17 June 1681. The real estate included:
* his dwelling house and barn with five acres of upland (60 pounds),
* two acres of meadow land near the dwelling house on the south side of the highway (16 pounds),
* 5 acres of salt marsh adjoining to Dorchester field (50 pounds),
* four acres of meadow above Mr. samuells farm (8 pounds)
* 3 acres of upland about the Fresh Pond (3 pounds)
* 50 acres of divident land (10 pounds).
The total estate was apprized at about 154 pounds, including livestock, supplies, clothing, household goods, furniture, etc. The inventory was presented by the executrix and accepted by the Court on 21 4th month 1681. (Middlesex County Probate Records, volume 5, page 416-418, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,521,762).
All of Daniel Smith's children were minors when he died, and he was relying on his wife to bring them to maturity. He named his three sons, but not his daughters. I don't know if Mary (Grant) Smith lived out her life as a widow or if she married again. My ancestor is their daughter. Elizabeth Smith, who married John Peirce (1673-1744) of Watertown in 1702.
This Daniel Smith and his future wife, Mary Grant, have several mentions in Roger Thompson's book, Sex in Middlesex; Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699, for their premarital escapades in the barn.
Labels: Amanuensis Monday, Probate Records
The 100th Carnival of Genealogy is Here!
The queen of the Carnival of Genealogy has done the near impossible - assembled 111 submissions into an organized Carnival of Genealogy.
There are four post for all of the submissions, separated into categories:
1) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Special People 1)
2) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Special People 2)
3) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Special Places and Things)
4) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Miscellaneous)
There are several hours of excellent genealogy reading in those lists! Grab a favorite beverage and enjoy them.
For the next Carnival of Genealogy, Jasia has created an online survey (on her Creative Gene blog in the top left corner, active until 13 December). The four choices are
* New Year's Resolutions
* Genealogy Research/Writing Plan for 2011
* Winter, the Season of Light
* Best Genealogy Gift I Got This Year
Please vote in this poll!
Thank you, Jasia, for the hard work that goes into creating the Carnival of Genealogy posts (I know how hard this is!), and thank you, contributors, for the excellent posts!
There are four post for all of the submissions, separated into categories:
1) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Special People 1)
2) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Special People 2)
3) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Special Places and Things)
4) Carnival of Genealogy, 100th Edition, There's One in Every Family (Miscellaneous)
There are several hours of excellent genealogy reading in those lists! Grab a favorite beverage and enjoy them.
For the next Carnival of Genealogy, Jasia has created an online survey (on her Creative Gene blog in the top left corner, active until 13 December). The four choices are
* New Year's Resolutions
* Genealogy Research/Writing Plan for 2011
* Winter, the Season of Light
* Best Genealogy Gift I Got This Year
Please vote in this poll!
Thank you, Jasia, for the hard work that goes into creating the Carnival of Genealogy posts (I know how hard this is!), and thank you, contributors, for the excellent posts!
Labels: Carnivals, genealogy blogs
Advent Calendar - December 6: Santa Claus
This post is number 6 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the 19th day of Christmas,
I have many happy memories
of visiting and being Santa Claus.
1) Did you ever send a letter to Santa Claus?
I don't think I ever did send a letter.
2) Did you ever visit Santa and "make a list?"
We visited Santa Claus every year down at the Marston's Department Store in downtown San Diego where my grandfather worked for 55 years. I think we "made a list" sometimes, especially as we got older and the wanted gifts became more complex. My recollection of visiting Santa is one of awe - this really big fat person in a red suit with a long white beard who flies around in a sleigh who goes down chimneys to leave gifts for children - I didn't question this for a long time (being a pretty smart kid, I guess).
3) Do you still believe in Santa Claus?
They say that in the first part of your life, you BELIEVE IN Santa Claus. In the second part of your life, you DON'T BELIEVE IN in Santa Claus. In the third part of your life, you ARE Santa Claus, and in the last part of your life, you LOOK LIKE Santa Claus. In my case, I have all four of these attributes ... still.
The magic of Santa Claus in a child's eyes is priceless. Everybody FIGURES OUT that SC is a figment of imagination - why do we fool our children like that? I love giving gifts to my wife, children and grandchildren. I've had a beard for 32 years, been practicing my "ho-ho-ho's" forever, but am working on reducing the belly. I still believe ... irrational, isn't it? I love going to the shopping center, and sitting on a bench near Santa's little hut and watching the little ones go up and talk to Santa. He waved at me on the escalator the other day - he knew! I've thought about being a "store Santa," but doubt if I ever will.
4) When did you find out "the truth" about Santa Claus?
We lived on the second story of a two-story house at 2119 30th Street in San Diego from the time I was 4 until I left home in 1968 at age 24. The house did not have a fireplace, so my brother Stan and I could never figure out how Santa Claus could bring the presents under the tree. Did he come in the window? Did dad leave a key or leave the door unlocked?
My maternal grandparents, Lyle and Emily Carringer (“Gram and Gramps”), built a beautiful home on Point Loma in 1951, and Christmas Eves were spent there for many years – and it had a fireplace! Our stockings were hung there in hopes that Saint Nick would fill them to the brim. Before bedtime, my grandmother would lead us in Christmas carols while we lay in bed – it was a wonderful way to fall asleep, and is one of my most cherished memories of her (my eyes tear up every time I think of this!).
Santa was always good to us, probably because, in retrospect, we were usually good boys – mischievous but not criminal, loud but not abusive, whirlwinds but not destructive. We usually received toys that were all the rage of the day, plus the usual boring clothes, and fruit, candy and small toys in our stockings. The most memorable gifts were the "good" toys, of course. BB guns and Davy Crockett coonskin caps in 1954, Flexible Flyers (sleds on wheels) in 1955, bicycles in 1956.
Of course, Santa Claus isn’t mysterious forever. The Point Loma house had a two car garage that my grandfather had filled with generations of stuff – it was a wonderful place to hide, explore and search. We found the bicycles in the garage before Christmas in 1956, but didn’t tell anybody else. Sure enough, on Christmas morning they appeared by the fireplace and Christmas tree marked “from Santa Claus.” Aha! So, we knew, but being rather smart astronauts we didn’t tell the folks – why kill the golden goose?
On the 19th day of Christmas,
I have many happy memories
of visiting and being Santa Claus.
1) Did you ever send a letter to Santa Claus?
I don't think I ever did send a letter.
2) Did you ever visit Santa and "make a list?"
We visited Santa Claus every year down at the Marston's Department Store in downtown San Diego where my grandfather worked for 55 years. I think we "made a list" sometimes, especially as we got older and the wanted gifts became more complex. My recollection of visiting Santa is one of awe - this really big fat person in a red suit with a long white beard who flies around in a sleigh who goes down chimneys to leave gifts for children - I didn't question this for a long time (being a pretty smart kid, I guess).
3) Do you still believe in Santa Claus?
They say that in the first part of your life, you BELIEVE IN Santa Claus. In the second part of your life, you DON'T BELIEVE IN in Santa Claus. In the third part of your life, you ARE Santa Claus, and in the last part of your life, you LOOK LIKE Santa Claus. In my case, I have all four of these attributes ... still.
The magic of Santa Claus in a child's eyes is priceless. Everybody FIGURES OUT that SC is a figment of imagination - why do we fool our children like that? I love giving gifts to my wife, children and grandchildren. I've had a beard for 32 years, been practicing my "ho-ho-ho's" forever, but am working on reducing the belly. I still believe ... irrational, isn't it? I love going to the shopping center, and sitting on a bench near Santa's little hut and watching the little ones go up and talk to Santa. He waved at me on the escalator the other day - he knew! I've thought about being a "store Santa," but doubt if I ever will.
4) When did you find out "the truth" about Santa Claus?
We lived on the second story of a two-story house at 2119 30th Street in San Diego from the time I was 4 until I left home in 1968 at age 24. The house did not have a fireplace, so my brother Stan and I could never figure out how Santa Claus could bring the presents under the tree. Did he come in the window? Did dad leave a key or leave the door unlocked?
My maternal grandparents, Lyle and Emily Carringer (“Gram and Gramps”), built a beautiful home on Point Loma in 1951, and Christmas Eves were spent there for many years – and it had a fireplace! Our stockings were hung there in hopes that Saint Nick would fill them to the brim. Before bedtime, my grandmother would lead us in Christmas carols while we lay in bed – it was a wonderful way to fall asleep, and is one of my most cherished memories of her (my eyes tear up every time I think of this!).
Santa was always good to us, probably because, in retrospect, we were usually good boys – mischievous but not criminal, loud but not abusive, whirlwinds but not destructive. We usually received toys that were all the rage of the day, plus the usual boring clothes, and fruit, candy and small toys in our stockings. The most memorable gifts were the "good" toys, of course. BB guns and Davy Crockett coonskin caps in 1954, Flexible Flyers (sleds on wheels) in 1955, bicycles in 1956.
Of course, Santa Claus isn’t mysterious forever. The Point Loma house had a two car garage that my grandfather had filled with generations of stuff – it was a wonderful place to hide, explore and search. We found the bicycles in the garage before Christmas in 1956, but didn’t tell anybody else. Sure enough, on Christmas morning they appeared by the fireplace and Christmas tree marked “from Santa Claus.” Aha! So, we knew, but being rather smart astronauts we didn’t tell the folks – why kill the golden goose?
Labels: Family Stories, Holidays, Memories
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Best of the Genea-Blogs - 28 November to 4 December 2010
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:
* Book Review: Genealogical Standards of Evidence by John D. Reid on the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog. John reviews Brenda Dougall Merriman's recent book, and notes "This is the book if you're looking for a short guide to help you in adhering to the American professional genealogy canon as taught (and perhaps applied) in Canada. It will find a place in my personal library."
* A Headstone Before It's Time - Tombstone Tuesday by Apple on the Apple's Tree blog. Apple tackled finding a burial place and a headstone for her still-living mother well - read this and admire the work.
* The Story of Today's Shades Old Photo On Twitter by footnoteMaven on the Shades of the Departed blog. fM is an expert photo analyzer and shares her knowledge and insights about an interesting baby photograph.
* Melungeon Frequently Asked Questions And Factual Resources by History Chasers on the Melungeon Studies blog. I thought that this revised FAQ might be of interest to my readers - it was for me!
* Arsenic: It's not Just for Rats in the 19th Century by Gena Ortega on Gena's Genealogy Blog. Who knew that arsenic had uses other than killing rats or people? Now we all do.
* Treasure Chest Thursday: Thanks to Ancestry.com, Another Cousin, Found! by Dionne Ford on the Finding Josephine blog. Dionne keeps finding cousins to share her heritage with...interesting stories here in a challenging search.
* “Remember the Maine!” Researching Spanish American War Soldiers by Carolyn L. Barkley on the GenealogyAndFamilyHistory.com blog. An excellent summary of the records and finding aids to research Spanish-American War soldiers.
* Review-Tpstry and Interview - Matt Johnson of Tpstry by Thomas MacEntee on the Geneabloggers blog. I wish all new genealogy websites were reviewed and their developers were interviewed like Thomas did for Tpstry. Well done. It looks interesting.
Several other genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts this week, including:
* Follow Friday: Around the Blogosphere - December 3 by Susan Petersen on the Long Lost Relatives.net blog.
* Best Bytes for the Week of December 3, 2010 by Elizabeth O'Neal on the Little Bytes of Life blog.
* Friday Newsletter and Follow News: 3 December 2010 by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.
* Donna's Picks - December 3, 2010 by Donna Pointkouski on the What's Past is Prologue blog.
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Google Reader, 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 740 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems (and the number of genea-blogs seems to be increasing by 30 or 40 every week).
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
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:
* Book Review: Genealogical Standards of Evidence by John D. Reid on the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog. John reviews Brenda Dougall Merriman's recent book, and notes "This is the book if you're looking for a short guide to help you in adhering to the American professional genealogy canon as taught (and perhaps applied) in Canada. It will find a place in my personal library."
* A Headstone Before It's Time - Tombstone Tuesday by Apple on the Apple's Tree blog. Apple tackled finding a burial place and a headstone for her still-living mother well - read this and admire the work.
* The Story of Today's Shades Old Photo On Twitter by footnoteMaven on the Shades of the Departed blog. fM is an expert photo analyzer and shares her knowledge and insights about an interesting baby photograph.
* Melungeon Frequently Asked Questions And Factual Resources by History Chasers on the Melungeon Studies blog. I thought that this revised FAQ might be of interest to my readers - it was for me!
* Arsenic: It's not Just for Rats in the 19th Century by Gena Ortega on Gena's Genealogy Blog. Who knew that arsenic had uses other than killing rats or people? Now we all do.
* Treasure Chest Thursday: Thanks to Ancestry.com, Another Cousin, Found! by Dionne Ford on the Finding Josephine blog. Dionne keeps finding cousins to share her heritage with...interesting stories here in a challenging search.
* “Remember the Maine!” Researching Spanish American War Soldiers by Carolyn L. Barkley on the GenealogyAndFamilyHistory.com blog. An excellent summary of the records and finding aids to research Spanish-American War soldiers.
* Review-Tpstry and Interview - Matt Johnson of Tpstry by Thomas MacEntee on the Geneabloggers blog. I wish all new genealogy websites were reviewed and their developers were interviewed like Thomas did for Tpstry. Well done. It looks interesting.
Several other genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts this week, including:
* Follow Friday: Around the Blogosphere - December 3 by Susan Petersen on the Long Lost Relatives.net blog.
* Best Bytes for the Week of December 3, 2010 by Elizabeth O'Neal on the Little Bytes of Life blog.
* Friday Newsletter and Follow News: 3 December 2010 by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.
* Donna's Picks - December 3, 2010 by Donna Pointkouski on the What's Past is Prologue blog.
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Google Reader, 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 740 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems (and the number of genea-blogs seems to be increasing by 30 or 40 every week).
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
Labels: BestofGeneaBlogs, genealogy blogs
Best of the Genea-blogs will arrive later in the day...
Never fear, the Best of the Genea-blogs will be online later this afternoon.
We spent the weekend in Julian celebrating Linda's birthday in one of our favorite hideaway spots, and will get home just in time for the Charger/Raiders game. Then there's the post-game celebration and highlights, and dinner time... so maybe after 7 p.m. Pacific time. Or not! If not, I'll amend this post.
We spent the weekend in Julian celebrating Linda's birthday in one of our favorite hideaway spots, and will get home just in time for the Charger/Raiders game. Then there's the post-game celebration and highlights, and dinner time... so maybe after 7 p.m. Pacific time. Or not! If not, I'll amend this post.
Labels: BestofGeneaBlogs
Were the Morgan Girls Related to Lyle Carringer?
In (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 131: Lyle and the Morgan Girls, I speculated that the Morgan family may have been related to my grandfather, Lyle Lawrence Carringer. Alternatively, were they just friends of the Devier Smith family?
In my post, I found the Morgan family in the 1910 and 1920 census records, but didn't go any further back to find their ancestral families, nor did I go forward to see if I could find the next generation - after all, there were four young ladies in the picture of marriageable age. There is, of course, the possibility that a descendant of the Morgans reads this post and finds a great picture of their great-grandmother and her sisters, and their mother.
I went back in time fairly quickly. Here's the 1900 US census entry:
I n the 1900 US Census, the Nelson Morgan family resided in Ouray, Ouray County, Colorado (1900 US Census, population schedule, Ouray township, Ouray County, Colorado, ED 83, Page 19B, Dwelling #548, Family #549, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T623, Roll 127). The household included:
* Nelson Morgan - head, white, male, born Apr 1861, age 39, married, for 15 years, born IA, parents born IL/OH, a carpenter, rents a home.
* Susie Morgan - wife, white, female, born Mar 1866, age 34, married, for 15 years, 6 children born, 5 living, born KS, parents born IL/KY
* Maud Morgan - daughter, white, female, born Jan 1886, age 14, single, born KS, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Clyde Morgan - son, white, male, born Dec 1887, age 12, single, born KS, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Park Morgan - son, white, male, born May 1891, age 9, single, born CO, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Nellie Morgan - daughter, white, female, born Feb 1893, age 7, single, born CO, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Martha Morgan - daughter, white, female, born Mar 1896, age 4, single, born CO, parents born IA/KS.
This census provides the name of the husband and two sons of Susie Morgan. Thar enables us to look further in earlier census and other records.
If the 1890 US Census was available, we might be able to identify the child from this family that was probably born in 1889 and was deceased by the 1900 census.
In the 1880 US Census, the probable family of Nelson Morgan was found:
In the 1880 US Census, the William Morgan family resided in Sibley township, Cloud County, Kansas (1880 US Census, population schedule, Sibley township, Cloud County, Kansas, ED 36, Page 171A, Dwelling #211, Family #214, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T9, Roll 376). The household included:
* William Morgan - white, male, age 51, married, farming, born IL, parents born OH/OH
* Nancy Morgan - white, female, age 42, wife, married, keeping house, born OH/parents born NY/OH
* Mary Morgan - white, female, age 23, daughter, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Lucy Morgan - white, female, age 21, daughter, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Nelson Morgan - white, male, age 19, son, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Lizzie Morgan - white, female, age 16, daughter, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Minnie Morgan - white, female, age 11, daughter, single, at school, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Katie Morgan - white, female, age 7, daughter, single, at school, born IA, parents born IL/OH
I did not know Susie's maiden name, so since Nelson Morgan was in Cloud County, Kansas in 1880, I figured that Susie and her family might also be there. So I searched for a FirstName = "Sus*" and BirthYear = "1866 plus/minus 2 years" and BirthPlace = "Illinois, USA" - marking all of them as exact, and then selecting ResidedIn = "Cloud County, Kansas, USA."
With the search above, there was only one match. I found this family that I am fairly certain is Susie's birth family:
In the 1880 US Census, the Noah H. Eaves family resided in Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas (1880 US Census, population schedule, Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas, ED 40, Page 216B, Dwelling #261, Family #261, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T9, Roll 376). The household included:
* Noah H. Eaves - white, male, age 59, married, a carpenter, born IL, parents born ME/PA
* Jane Eaves - white, female, age 50, wife, married, keeping house, born KY, parents born KY/KY
* Herbert Eaves - white, male, age 21, son, single, grocery, born IL, parents born IL/KY
* Susan Eaves - white, female, age 14, daughter, single, grocery, born IL, parents born IL/KY
* William T. Eaves - white, male, age 8, son, single, grocery, born IL, parents born IL/KY
* William Morgan - white, male, age 52, boarder, married, laborer, born IL, parents born IL/IL.
Well, lookee there. Is the boarder William Morgan in the Eaves household the William Morgan who is the father of Nelson Morgan? The age and parents birthplaces are inconsistent, but this cannot be a coincidence, right? I'm almost positive that it is, and that cinches a connection between Susan Eaves and Nelson Morgan, the son of William Morgan, the boarder.
I haven't gone back further to try to identify where in Iowa and Illinois these Morgan and Eaves families were from, but I don't recall that Devier Smith. Abigail (Vaux) Smith, David Jackson Carringer, or Rebecca (Spangler) Carringer having a sibling named Nancy (born in Ohio) or Jane (born in Kentucky).
I think it is most likely that Susie (Eaves) Morgan was a schoolmate of either Della (Smith) Carringer or more likely, her sister Matie (Smith) (Chenery) (Cramer) Morrill, in Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas. My Devier Smith family resided in Concordia until 1885 when they moved to McCook, Nebraska. I have Della's scrapbook and an autograph book, and will have to look for a picture or signature of Susie Eaves.
There may be a family tree online that will provide more information to researchers about these families.
I'll work on the Morgan family after 1920 in another post.
In my post, I found the Morgan family in the 1910 and 1920 census records, but didn't go any further back to find their ancestral families, nor did I go forward to see if I could find the next generation - after all, there were four young ladies in the picture of marriageable age. There is, of course, the possibility that a descendant of the Morgans reads this post and finds a great picture of their great-grandmother and her sisters, and their mother.
I went back in time fairly quickly. Here's the 1900 US census entry:
I n the 1900 US Census, the Nelson Morgan family resided in Ouray, Ouray County, Colorado (1900 US Census, population schedule, Ouray township, Ouray County, Colorado, ED 83, Page 19B, Dwelling #548, Family #549, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T623, Roll 127). The household included:
* Nelson Morgan - head, white, male, born Apr 1861, age 39, married, for 15 years, born IA, parents born IL/OH, a carpenter, rents a home.
* Susie Morgan - wife, white, female, born Mar 1866, age 34, married, for 15 years, 6 children born, 5 living, born KS, parents born IL/KY
* Maud Morgan - daughter, white, female, born Jan 1886, age 14, single, born KS, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Clyde Morgan - son, white, male, born Dec 1887, age 12, single, born KS, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Park Morgan - son, white, male, born May 1891, age 9, single, born CO, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Nellie Morgan - daughter, white, female, born Feb 1893, age 7, single, born CO, parents born IA/KS, at school
* Martha Morgan - daughter, white, female, born Mar 1896, age 4, single, born CO, parents born IA/KS.
This census provides the name of the husband and two sons of Susie Morgan. Thar enables us to look further in earlier census and other records.
If the 1890 US Census was available, we might be able to identify the child from this family that was probably born in 1889 and was deceased by the 1900 census.
In the 1880 US Census, the probable family of Nelson Morgan was found:
In the 1880 US Census, the William Morgan family resided in Sibley township, Cloud County, Kansas (1880 US Census, population schedule, Sibley township, Cloud County, Kansas, ED 36, Page 171A, Dwelling #211, Family #214, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T9, Roll 376). The household included:
* William Morgan - white, male, age 51, married, farming, born IL, parents born OH/OH
* Nancy Morgan - white, female, age 42, wife, married, keeping house, born OH/parents born NY/OH
* Mary Morgan - white, female, age 23, daughter, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Lucy Morgan - white, female, age 21, daughter, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Nelson Morgan - white, male, age 19, son, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Lizzie Morgan - white, female, age 16, daughter, single, at home, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Minnie Morgan - white, female, age 11, daughter, single, at school, born IA, parents born IL/OH
* Katie Morgan - white, female, age 7, daughter, single, at school, born IA, parents born IL/OH
I did not know Susie's maiden name, so since Nelson Morgan was in Cloud County, Kansas in 1880, I figured that Susie and her family might also be there. So I searched for a FirstName = "Sus*" and BirthYear = "1866 plus/minus 2 years" and BirthPlace = "Illinois, USA" - marking all of them as exact, and then selecting ResidedIn = "Cloud County, Kansas, USA."
With the search above, there was only one match. I found this family that I am fairly certain is Susie's birth family:
In the 1880 US Census, the Noah H. Eaves family resided in Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas (1880 US Census, population schedule, Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas, ED 40, Page 216B, Dwelling #261, Family #261, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T9, Roll 376). The household included:
* Noah H. Eaves - white, male, age 59, married, a carpenter, born IL, parents born ME/PA
* Jane Eaves - white, female, age 50, wife, married, keeping house, born KY, parents born KY/KY
* Herbert Eaves - white, male, age 21, son, single, grocery, born IL, parents born IL/KY
* Susan Eaves - white, female, age 14, daughter, single, grocery, born IL, parents born IL/KY
* William T. Eaves - white, male, age 8, son, single, grocery, born IL, parents born IL/KY
* William Morgan - white, male, age 52, boarder, married, laborer, born IL, parents born IL/IL.
Well, lookee there. Is the boarder William Morgan in the Eaves household the William Morgan who is the father of Nelson Morgan? The age and parents birthplaces are inconsistent, but this cannot be a coincidence, right? I'm almost positive that it is, and that cinches a connection between Susan Eaves and Nelson Morgan, the son of William Morgan, the boarder.
I haven't gone back further to try to identify where in Iowa and Illinois these Morgan and Eaves families were from, but I don't recall that Devier Smith. Abigail (Vaux) Smith, David Jackson Carringer, or Rebecca (Spangler) Carringer having a sibling named Nancy (born in Ohio) or Jane (born in Kentucky).
I think it is most likely that Susie (Eaves) Morgan was a schoolmate of either Della (Smith) Carringer or more likely, her sister Matie (Smith) (Chenery) (Cramer) Morrill, in Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas. My Devier Smith family resided in Concordia until 1885 when they moved to McCook, Nebraska. I have Della's scrapbook and an autograph book, and will have to look for a picture or signature of Susie Eaves.
There may be a family tree online that will provide more information to researchers about these families.
I'll work on the Morgan family after 1920 in another post.
Labels: Census Records, Online resources
Advent Calendar - December 5: Outdoor Lights
This post is number 5 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the 20th day of Christmas,
My neighbors gave me a treat,
they lighted up the whole darn street!
1) Did people in your neighborhood decorate with lights?
When I was a kid (1950s and 60s), there were few lights outside the homes, if any, in San Diego. We had no lights outside the house, mainly because we lived on the second floor and with the lighted Christmas tree in the cubby-hole, it was visible to passers-by on the street.
Starting in about 1970 (when we married), I noticed that some neighbors would string lights around their roof eaves or on a bush or tree in the yard. We put strings of lights on our roof eaves all across the front of the house and garage and in the entry-way starting in about 1975 until about 1995. We haven't done it since, mainly due to safety reasons (I'm not confident on the roof any more!).
With our daughters away from home, we were often not home at Christmas time.
In recent years, several of our neighbors on our cul-de-sac have the mesh-lights on their eaves, and several have blow-up displays or lighted figures in their front yard.
2) Did some people really go "all out" when decorating?
Oh yes. And they still do, even more. One of the Christmas traditions for our little family in the 1975 to 1985 period was to drive around "Candy Cane Lane" and "Christmas Tree Circle" in Chula Vista to see the outdoor displays - lights, scenes, music, etc. One of our family traditions for awhile was to go to a pizza place with family friends, then drive by the lighted streets, and then have a gift exchange at our house with the friends. Unfortunately, they moved away, and we haven't done it since.
"Candy Cane Lane" is gone, but "Christmas Tree Circle" still exists in Chula Vista. There are many more of these neighborhood displays now all over the San Diego area. I saw a map in a local magazine yesterday of the biggest and best displays. Someone could drive around to about 20 sites using the map.
Originally published on 4 December 2007.
On the 20th day of Christmas,
My neighbors gave me a treat,
they lighted up the whole darn street!
1) Did people in your neighborhood decorate with lights?
When I was a kid (1950s and 60s), there were few lights outside the homes, if any, in San Diego. We had no lights outside the house, mainly because we lived on the second floor and with the lighted Christmas tree in the cubby-hole, it was visible to passers-by on the street.
Starting in about 1970 (when we married), I noticed that some neighbors would string lights around their roof eaves or on a bush or tree in the yard. We put strings of lights on our roof eaves all across the front of the house and garage and in the entry-way starting in about 1975 until about 1995. We haven't done it since, mainly due to safety reasons (I'm not confident on the roof any more!).
With our daughters away from home, we were often not home at Christmas time.
In recent years, several of our neighbors on our cul-de-sac have the mesh-lights on their eaves, and several have blow-up displays or lighted figures in their front yard.
2) Did some people really go "all out" when decorating?
Oh yes. And they still do, even more. One of the Christmas traditions for our little family in the 1975 to 1985 period was to drive around "Candy Cane Lane" and "Christmas Tree Circle" in Chula Vista to see the outdoor displays - lights, scenes, music, etc. One of our family traditions for awhile was to go to a pizza place with family friends, then drive by the lighted streets, and then have a gift exchange at our house with the friends. Unfortunately, they moved away, and we haven't done it since.
"Candy Cane Lane" is gone, but "Christmas Tree Circle" still exists in Chula Vista. There are many more of these neighborhood displays now all over the San Diego area. I saw a map in a local magazine yesterday of the biggest and best displays. Someone could drive around to about 20 sites using the map.
Originally published on 4 December 2007.
Labels: Family Stories, Holidays, Memories
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - What are your d'Aboville Numbers?
Hello Genea-Musings-philes and SNGF-philes - it's Saturday Night, time for lots more Genealogy Fun!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is another genealogy software challenge - are you up to it?
1) Do you know what a d'Aboville numbering system is? A clear description of it is in the Encyclopedia of Genealogy here, and on Wikipedia here. Pretty neat numbering system, isn't it?
2) What are your own d'Aboville numbers for your four lines of your grandparents (starting with the first known person in the paternal line)? Your genealogy software program may be able to help you with this [Family tree Maker 2011, RootsMagic 4 and Legacy Family Tree 7 can, but Family Tree Maker 16 and earlier cannot].
3) Tell us your own d'Aboville numbers for your four grandparent paternal lines in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a status line, note or comment on Facebook.
4) for extra credit, tell us how you figured out your d'Aboville numbers - which program, and the process.
Here's mine:
From Robert Seaver (1608-1683): 1.1.2.1.4.2.4.3.2.1.5.1
From John Richman (1788-1867): 1.5.1.7.5.1
From Martin Carringer (1758-1835): 1.6.2.2.1.1
From Andreas Able (????-1751): 1.4.2.2.2.3.1.1.1
How I did it in Legacy Family Tree 7:
* Opened Legacy, and clicked on the Help button and searched for "d'aboville number." Read the information.
* Chose my ancestor for the calculation from the index (or by stepping back on my paternal line)
* Clicked on the "Reports" and chose the "Descendant" tab.
* Clicked the generations to an umber that will include me. Selected d'Aboville in the Numbering system choices.
* Clicked "Preview" and saw the report (Robert Seaver's report was 203 pages). Scroll down to your name and copy off your number.
Easy, eh? Now all I have to do is remember it so I can say I'm number 1.1.2.1.4.2.4.3.2.1.5.1 in the Robert Seaver descendants.
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is another genealogy software challenge - are you up to it?
1) Do you know what a d'Aboville numbering system is? A clear description of it is in the Encyclopedia of Genealogy here, and on Wikipedia here. Pretty neat numbering system, isn't it?
2) What are your own d'Aboville numbers for your four lines of your grandparents (starting with the first known person in the paternal line)? Your genealogy software program may be able to help you with this [Family tree Maker 2011, RootsMagic 4 and Legacy Family Tree 7 can, but Family Tree Maker 16 and earlier cannot].
3) Tell us your own d'Aboville numbers for your four grandparent paternal lines in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a status line, note or comment on Facebook.
4) for extra credit, tell us how you figured out your d'Aboville numbers - which program, and the process.
Here's mine:
From Robert Seaver (1608-1683): 1.1.2.1.4.2.4.3.2.1.5.1
From John Richman (1788-1867): 1.5.1.7.5.1
From Martin Carringer (1758-1835): 1.6.2.2.1.1
From Andreas Able (????-1751): 1.4.2.2.2.3.1.1.1
How I did it in Legacy Family Tree 7:
* Opened Legacy, and clicked on the Help button and searched for "d'aboville number." Read the information.
* Chose my ancestor for the calculation from the index (or by stepping back on my paternal line)
* Clicked on the "Reports" and chose the "Descendant" tab.
* Clicked the generations to an umber that will include me. Selected d'Aboville in the Numbering system choices.
* Clicked "Preview" and saw the report (Robert Seaver's report was 203 pages). Scroll down to your name and copy off your number.
Easy, eh? Now all I have to do is remember it so I can say I'm number 1.1.2.1.4.2.4.3.2.1.5.1 in the Robert Seaver descendants.
Labels: genealogy software, SNGF
Surname Saturday - HAMANT (England > Massachusetts)
It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 137, who is Patience Hamant (1735-????), one of my 5th-great-grandmothers. [Note: The 5th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts]
My ancestral line back through four generations of HAMANT families is:
1. Randall J. Seaver
2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)
4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)
8. Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Hattie Louise Hildreth (1857-1920)
16. Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)
17. Lucretia Townsend Smith (1827-1884)
34. Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840)
35. Elizabeth Horton Dill (1784-1869)
68. Aaron Smith (1765-1841)
69. Mercy Plimpton (1772-1850)
136. Moses Smith, born 02 Apr 1732 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. He was the son of 272. Henry Smith and 273. Ruth Barber. He married 23 Sep 1762 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA.
137. Patience Hamant, born 06 Apr 1735 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA.
Children of Moses Smith and Patience Hamant are: Aaron Smith (1765-1841); Luther Smith (1766-????); Calvin Smith (1768-????); Timothy Smith (1773-????).
272. Timothy Hamant, born 25 Mar 1699 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died 06 Jun 1774 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. He married 19 Oct 1727 in Boston, Suffolk County, MA.
273. Hepzibah Clark, born 02 Feb 1698/99 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died Aug 1791 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. She was the daughter of 546. Joseph Clark and 547. Mary Wight.
Children of Timothy Hamant and Hepzibah Clark are: Mehitable Hamant (1728-1814); Elias Hamant (1730-1730); Timothy Hamant (1731-1731); Seth Hamant (1733-1771); Patience Hamant (1735-????); Timothy Hamant (1736-????); Basmath Hamant (1738-????); Dinah Hamant (1739-1813); Francis Hamant (1741-1808).
544. Timothy Hamant, born 01 Nov 1667 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died 1718 in Arrowsick, Norfolk County, MA. He married 19 Jan 1695/96 in Boston, Suffolk County, MA.
545. Melatiah Clark, born 04 Aug 1674 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died 23 Nov 1747 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. She was the daughter of 1090. Ephraim Clark and 1091. Mary Bullen.
Children of Timothy Hamant and Melatiah Clark are: Timothy Hamant (1699-1774); Samuel Hamant (1701-1755); Melatiah Hamant (1704-1751); Mehitable Hamant (1706-1727); Abiel Hamant (1708-????).
1088. Francis Hamant, born about 1625 in ENGLAND; died 27 Jul 1692 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. He married about 1651.
1089. Sarah, died 29 Sep 1708 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA.
Children of Francis Hamant and Sarah are: John Hamant (1651-1708); Mary Hamant (1653-1738); Sarah Hamant (1655-????); Elizabeth Hamant (1659-1733); Hannah Hamant (1660-????); Samuel Hamant (1663-????); Timothy Hamant (1667-1718); Abigail Hamant (1669-1741).
My references for this family are all older resources, including:
1. Frederick Stam Hammond, History and Genealogies of the Hammond Families in America, published Oneida, NY, Ryan & Burkhart, Printers, 1902, pages 420 and following.
2. William S. Tilden (editor), History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886, published Boston, Mass., Geo. H. Ellis, 1887.
3. Town vital record books of Medfield, Walpole, and other "tan books" published in the`1900 to 1930 time frame.
I actually have two lines from Francis Hamant. Melatiah Hamant, daughter of Timothy and Melatiah (Clark) Hamant, married Michael Metcalf (1706-????) in 1728 in Medway MA. This line is in my mother's ancestry, while my ancestry from Patience Hamant is in my father's ancestry, so this makes my mother and my father 7th cousins.
My ancestral line back through four generations of HAMANT families is:
1. Randall J. Seaver
2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)
4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)
8. Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Hattie Louise Hildreth (1857-1920)
16. Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)
17. Lucretia Townsend Smith (1827-1884)
34. Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840)
35. Elizabeth Horton Dill (1784-1869)
68. Aaron Smith (1765-1841)
69. Mercy Plimpton (1772-1850)
136. Moses Smith, born 02 Apr 1732 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. He was the son of 272. Henry Smith and 273. Ruth Barber. He married 23 Sep 1762 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA.
137. Patience Hamant, born 06 Apr 1735 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA.
Children of Moses Smith and Patience Hamant are: Aaron Smith (1765-1841); Luther Smith (1766-????); Calvin Smith (1768-????); Timothy Smith (1773-????).
272. Timothy Hamant, born 25 Mar 1699 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died 06 Jun 1774 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. He married 19 Oct 1727 in Boston, Suffolk County, MA.
273. Hepzibah Clark, born 02 Feb 1698/99 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died Aug 1791 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. She was the daughter of 546. Joseph Clark and 547. Mary Wight.
Children of Timothy Hamant and Hepzibah Clark are: Mehitable Hamant (1728-1814); Elias Hamant (1730-1730); Timothy Hamant (1731-1731); Seth Hamant (1733-1771); Patience Hamant (1735-????); Timothy Hamant (1736-????); Basmath Hamant (1738-????); Dinah Hamant (1739-1813); Francis Hamant (1741-1808).
544. Timothy Hamant, born 01 Nov 1667 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died 1718 in Arrowsick, Norfolk County, MA. He married 19 Jan 1695/96 in Boston, Suffolk County, MA.
545. Melatiah Clark, born 04 Aug 1674 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA; died 23 Nov 1747 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. She was the daughter of 1090. Ephraim Clark and 1091. Mary Bullen.
Children of Timothy Hamant and Melatiah Clark are: Timothy Hamant (1699-1774); Samuel Hamant (1701-1755); Melatiah Hamant (1704-1751); Mehitable Hamant (1706-1727); Abiel Hamant (1708-????).
1088. Francis Hamant, born about 1625 in ENGLAND; died 27 Jul 1692 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA. He married about 1651.
1089. Sarah, died 29 Sep 1708 in Medfield, Norfolk County, MA.
Children of Francis Hamant and Sarah are: John Hamant (1651-1708); Mary Hamant (1653-1738); Sarah Hamant (1655-????); Elizabeth Hamant (1659-1733); Hannah Hamant (1660-????); Samuel Hamant (1663-????); Timothy Hamant (1667-1718); Abigail Hamant (1669-1741).
My references for this family are all older resources, including:
1. Frederick Stam Hammond, History and Genealogies of the Hammond Families in America, published Oneida, NY, Ryan & Burkhart, Printers, 1902, pages 420 and following.
2. William S. Tilden (editor), History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886, published Boston, Mass., Geo. H. Ellis, 1887.
3. Town vital record books of Medfield, Walpole, and other "tan books" published in the`1900 to 1930 time frame.
I actually have two lines from Francis Hamant. Melatiah Hamant, daughter of Timothy and Melatiah (Clark) Hamant, married Michael Metcalf (1706-????) in 1728 in Medway MA. This line is in my mother's ancestry, while my ancestry from Patience Hamant is in my father's ancestry, so this makes my mother and my father 7th cousins.
Labels: My genealogy research, Surname Saturday
Advent Calendar - December 4: Christmas Cards
This post is number 4 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the 21st day of Christmas,
my true friends sent to me
Christmas Cards from their family.
1) Did your family send them?
My parents sent Christmas cards to family and friends all of their lives. My mother made them for many years (I know I have several in my boxes of stuff...somewhere) - usually a fairly simple madonna or angel theme with a "Merry Christmas" and "from the Seaver family" or something similar. I remember a single color (red or green) stencil on card stock folded into a card, with writing on the inside.
2) Did your family display the ones they received?
In my childhood home, I don't remember having a mantle or shelf space that had displayed cards. I'm sure that my mother displayed them somewhere - perhaps on a bulletin board in the entry way. I'll have to ask my brothers. I wish I could remember more about this time of my life.
We received cards from my father's mother and siblings in New England which often had family letters in them. These were prized because this family never made long distance phone calls and rarely wrote letters, so this was our only contact each year with the family 2,500 miles away.
3) Do you still send Christmas cards?
Oh yes! That's what the post-Thanksgiving hecticity (is that a word?) is all about. "We have to get this done so we can do this and this next ..." Angel Linda is a taskmaster. This solemn process includes:
* finding the boxes of cards bought during the year at thrift shops or 99 cent stores. Or going out and buying more. We only get angel cards, naturally.
* Randy prints off the Christmas card address list and Linda updates it. The list is then printed on peel-off labels.
* Linda affixes the labels on envelopes, puts the return address labels (hopefully, Christmas motif) on the envelopes, and puts stamps on the envelopes.
* Randy writes the two-page Christmas letter (more on this in a later post), Linda edits it, and Randy creates 120 copies of it (this takes about four days to finish).
* Linda writes messages on the cards, since Randy thinks that the Christmas letter covers everything that could be said. Linda's handwriting is much better, too! Randy and Linda stuff the letters in the envelopes and seal the envelopes.
* We typically send these out in early December - soon!
This process takes about ten days from start to finish, but it's now a tradition and we have a proven process for it. I also send the Christmas letter to email correspondents, but I don't want to post it online because it has some personal details not appropriate for the world to see. If you want one, please send me an email address (if I don't already have one - at rjseaver@cox.net).
Originally published on 4 December 2007.
On the 21st day of Christmas,
my true friends sent to me
Christmas Cards from their family.
1) Did your family send them?
My parents sent Christmas cards to family and friends all of their lives. My mother made them for many years (I know I have several in my boxes of stuff...somewhere) - usually a fairly simple madonna or angel theme with a "Merry Christmas" and "from the Seaver family" or something similar. I remember a single color (red or green) stencil on card stock folded into a card, with writing on the inside.
2) Did your family display the ones they received?
In my childhood home, I don't remember having a mantle or shelf space that had displayed cards. I'm sure that my mother displayed them somewhere - perhaps on a bulletin board in the entry way. I'll have to ask my brothers. I wish I could remember more about this time of my life.
We received cards from my father's mother and siblings in New England which often had family letters in them. These were prized because this family never made long distance phone calls and rarely wrote letters, so this was our only contact each year with the family 2,500 miles away.
3) Do you still send Christmas cards?
Oh yes! That's what the post-Thanksgiving hecticity (is that a word?) is all about. "We have to get this done so we can do this and this next ..." Angel Linda is a taskmaster. This solemn process includes:
* finding the boxes of cards bought during the year at thrift shops or 99 cent stores. Or going out and buying more. We only get angel cards, naturally.
* Randy prints off the Christmas card address list and Linda updates it. The list is then printed on peel-off labels.
* Linda affixes the labels on envelopes, puts the return address labels (hopefully, Christmas motif) on the envelopes, and puts stamps on the envelopes.
* Randy writes the two-page Christmas letter (more on this in a later post), Linda edits it, and Randy creates 120 copies of it (this takes about four days to finish).
* Linda writes messages on the cards, since Randy thinks that the Christmas letter covers everything that could be said. Linda's handwriting is much better, too! Randy and Linda stuff the letters in the envelopes and seal the envelopes.
* We typically send these out in early December - soon!
This process takes about ten days from start to finish, but it's now a tradition and we have a proven process for it. I also send the Christmas letter to email correspondents, but I don't want to post it online because it has some personal details not appropriate for the world to see. If you want one, please send me an email address (if I don't already have one - at rjseaver@cox.net).
Originally published on 4 December 2007.
Labels: Family Stories, Holidays, Memories
Friday, December 3, 2010
American Ancestors Magazine Table of Contents - Fall 2010 Issue
The Fall 2010 issue (Volume 11, Number 4) of American Ancestors magazine, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, has these items in the Table of Contents:
FEATURES
page 17 -- Climbing Your Family Tree on AmericanAncestors.org: A New National Resource for NEHGS Members; by Ryan J. Woods
page 23 -- The Francophone Exodus in the United States, 1840 to 1930; by Felix Lafrance
page 27 -- Tracing the Origins of Joseph Hebert; by Elizabeth Hebert
page 29 -- Bringing a Photograph to Life: The Story of Joseph L. Miner; by Megan Myrback
page 32 -- The Genealogy Services at Library and Archives Canada, with an Emphasis on French-Canadian Resources; by Nicole Watier and Sylvie Tremblay
page 34 -- Undiscovered Mayflower Lineages; by Caleb H. Johnson
page 38 -- When a Sioux Chief Met Our Grandmother: An Intersection of Two Worlds; by Cindy Haas Griffeth and Bill Haas
page 41 -- Chance Bradstreet (1762-1810), Servant of Abraham Dodge of Ipswich, Massachusetts; by Christopher Challender Child
COLUMNS
page 44 -- Genetics and Genealogy: The Gray Family of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Clues to the Origin of Jabez Warren of Lebanon, Connecticut and Brimfield, Massachusetts; by George Edward Gray
page 47 -- Manuscripts at NEHGS: Recently Acquired Genealogical Charts: Depictions of the Cooper, Folger, and fox fa milies; by Timothy G.X. Salls, Jr. and Thomas R. Wilcox, Jr.
page 49 -- Diaries at NEHGS: A Selection from the Diary of Robert Allen Hayden; by Robert Shaw
page 51 -- Tales from the Courthouse: Freeing Joan Jackson: The Precarious Status of a New London house; by Diane Rapaport
page 53 -- Focus on New York: Serendipity in New York Genealogy: My Personal Experiences; by John L. Scherer
NEHGS members can view or download this issue by clicking here.
FEATURES
page 17 -- Climbing Your Family Tree on AmericanAncestors.org: A New National Resource for NEHGS Members; by Ryan J. Woods
page 23 -- The Francophone Exodus in the United States, 1840 to 1930; by Felix Lafrance
page 27 -- Tracing the Origins of Joseph Hebert; by Elizabeth Hebert
page 29 -- Bringing a Photograph to Life: The Story of Joseph L. Miner; by Megan Myrback
page 32 -- The Genealogy Services at Library and Archives Canada, with an Emphasis on French-Canadian Resources; by Nicole Watier and Sylvie Tremblay
page 34 -- Undiscovered Mayflower Lineages; by Caleb H. Johnson
page 38 -- When a Sioux Chief Met Our Grandmother: An Intersection of Two Worlds; by Cindy Haas Griffeth and Bill Haas
page 41 -- Chance Bradstreet (1762-1810), Servant of Abraham Dodge of Ipswich, Massachusetts; by Christopher Challender Child
COLUMNS
page 44 -- Genetics and Genealogy: The Gray Family of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Clues to the Origin of Jabez Warren of Lebanon, Connecticut and Brimfield, Massachusetts; by George Edward Gray
page 47 -- Manuscripts at NEHGS: Recently Acquired Genealogical Charts: Depictions of the Cooper, Folger, and fox fa milies; by Timothy G.X. Salls, Jr. and Thomas R. Wilcox, Jr.
page 49 -- Diaries at NEHGS: A Selection from the Diary of Robert Allen Hayden; by Robert Shaw
page 51 -- Tales from the Courthouse: Freeing Joan Jackson: The Precarious Status of a New London house; by Diane Rapaport
page 53 -- Focus on New York: Serendipity in New York Genealogy: My Personal Experiences; by John L. Scherer
NEHGS members can view or download this issue by clicking here.
Labels: AmericanAncestors.org, genealogy education, NEHGS, periodical indexes
Advent Calendar - December 3: Christmas Tree Ornaments
This post is number 3 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the twenty-second day of Christmas,
My super-wifey says to me
It's time to decorate the beautiful Tree!
Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments? Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries? Did your family make ornaments?
I really don't remember many heirloom or cherished ornaments from my childhood. Almost all of the ornaments were small or medium sized round glass balls of varied colors. We usually applied a lot of tinsel to the tree branches.
As school children, we brought home paper chains for the tree. Sometimes we had a popcorn string, but never cranberries. I don't think we made ornaments - we were boys! We did have some of Dorothy's home-made ornaments on our trees.
When we had children, my mother made Christmas ornaments for each of her grandchildren. Each was unique and incorporated angels into the design. They were kiln-fired enamels on flat copper plate. Each had the child's name and the year on it. These were given featured places on our family Christmas trees as my kids grew up. After my mother died, and as my daughters started their families, we gave them to our daughters as a Christmas gift. Each has chosen to display them year round in a case on the wall rather than put them on their Christmas trees.
Originally published on 1 December 2007.
On the twenty-second day of Christmas,
My super-wifey says to me
It's time to decorate the beautiful Tree!
Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments? Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries? Did your family make ornaments?
I really don't remember many heirloom or cherished ornaments from my childhood. Almost all of the ornaments were small or medium sized round glass balls of varied colors. We usually applied a lot of tinsel to the tree branches.
As school children, we brought home paper chains for the tree. Sometimes we had a popcorn string, but never cranberries. I don't think we made ornaments - we were boys! We did have some of Dorothy's home-made ornaments on our trees.
When we had children, my mother made Christmas ornaments for each of her grandchildren. Each was unique and incorporated angels into the design. They were kiln-fired enamels on flat copper plate. Each had the child's name and the year on it. These were given featured places on our family Christmas trees as my kids grew up. After my mother died, and as my daughters started their families, we gave them to our daughters as a Christmas gift. Each has chosen to display them year round in a case on the wall rather than put them on their Christmas trees.
Originally published on 1 December 2007.
Labels: Family Stories, Holidays, Memories
Thursday, December 2, 2010
New or Updated Collections at FamilySearch Beta
As of today, there are 499 Historical Record Collections on the FamilySearch Beta site. Those added or updated since my last list on 11 November include:
* Brazil, Catholic Church Records (browse 1,496,553 images only, updated 16 Nov 2010)
* England, Lancashire – Cheshire – Yorkshire Parish Registers, 1603-1992, (browse 157,240 images only, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* Germany, Hessen, Darmstadt City Records (browse 55,528 images only, updated 18 Nov 2010)
* Guatemala Civil Registration, 1877-1934 (22,448 records, updated 15 Nov 2010)
* Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records, 1729-1956 (browse 34,135 images only, updated 13 Nov 2010)
* Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983 (browse 62,763 images only, updated 25 Nov 2010)
* Minnesota Territorial Census, 1857 (browse 3,983 images only, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* Netherlands, Zuid-Holland Province, Civil Registration, 1811-1942 (browse 1,342,833 images, updated 18 Nov 2010)
* Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900 (browse 1,361,289 images only, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* South Africa, Orange Free State, Estate Files, 1951-1973 (15,879 records, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* United States Census, 1920 (now 30,396,415 records, updated 13 Nov 2010)
* United States, Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904 (browse 853,464 images, updated 19 Nov 2010)
* United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (browse images only, updated 13 Nov 2010)
* Virginia, Fluvanna County Colbert Funeral Home Records, 1929-1976 (1,866 records, updated 13 November 2010)
That's 14 collections added or updated, but only 5 of them are newly added (there were 494 collections on 11 November). It would be really useful to many researchers if FamilySearch denoted brand new collections added. The "* Recently added or updated" indicator seems to cover only the past two weeks (there are six currently with a *, and it's not clear if they are new or updated).
Researchers interested in any of these record collections should click on the "Learn More" link on each collection page to determine the extent, the source and the use of the records in the collection.
All FamilySearch Beta record collections can be accessed at https://beta.familysearch.org/s/collection/list.
Please note that this list is the actual record collections currently available for searching on the FamilySearch Beta site, not the records that are on the FamilySearch Update list released today for New Projects, Completed Projects, and Current Indexing Projects. The projects on the semi-weekly FamilySearch Update list will eventually be added to the FamilySearch Beta site.
* Brazil, Catholic Church Records (browse 1,496,553 images only, updated 16 Nov 2010)
* England, Lancashire – Cheshire – Yorkshire Parish Registers, 1603-1992, (browse 157,240 images only, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* Germany, Hessen, Darmstadt City Records (browse 55,528 images only, updated 18 Nov 2010)
* Guatemala Civil Registration, 1877-1934 (22,448 records, updated 15 Nov 2010)
* Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records, 1729-1956 (browse 34,135 images only, updated 13 Nov 2010)
* Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1792-1983 (browse 62,763 images only, updated 25 Nov 2010)
* Minnesota Territorial Census, 1857 (browse 3,983 images only, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* Netherlands, Zuid-Holland Province, Civil Registration, 1811-1942 (browse 1,342,833 images, updated 18 Nov 2010)
* Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900 (browse 1,361,289 images only, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* South Africa, Orange Free State, Estate Files, 1951-1973 (15,879 records, updated 22 Nov 2010)
* United States Census, 1920 (now 30,396,415 records, updated 13 Nov 2010)
* United States, Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904 (browse 853,464 images, updated 19 Nov 2010)
* United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (browse images only, updated 13 Nov 2010)
* Virginia, Fluvanna County Colbert Funeral Home Records, 1929-1976 (1,866 records, updated 13 November 2010)
That's 14 collections added or updated, but only 5 of them are newly added (there were 494 collections on 11 November). It would be really useful to many researchers if FamilySearch denoted brand new collections added. The "* Recently added or updated" indicator seems to cover only the past two weeks (there are six currently with a *, and it's not clear if they are new or updated).
Researchers interested in any of these record collections should click on the "Learn More" link on each collection page to determine the extent, the source and the use of the records in the collection.
All FamilySearch Beta record collections can be accessed at https://beta.familysearch.org/s/collection/list.
Please note that this list is the actual record collections currently available for searching on the FamilySearch Beta site, not the records that are on the FamilySearch Update list released today for New Projects, Completed Projects, and Current Indexing Projects. The projects on the semi-weekly FamilySearch Update list will eventually be added to the FamilySearch Beta site.
Labels: FamilySearch, LDS Resources, Online resources
Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension File: General Affidavit #1
For Treasure Chest Thursday, I am presenting and transcribing papers from the Civil War Pension File of my Second Great-Grandfather, Isaac Seaver (1823-1901). I presented Isaac's Declaration for Invalid Pension and Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension File: Widow's First Declaration in past weeks.
Alvina M. (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver filed an affidavit at the same time as she filed the Widow's Declaration after Isaac Seaver's death.
The transcription of this document is (handwritten information in italics and underlined):
GENERAL AFFIDAVIT
State of Massachusetts, County of Worcester, SS:
In the matter of Widow's original pension claim No. 738,086 Alvina M. Seaver,
widow of Isaac Seaver, 3d - Co. H 4th Regt Mass Vol H A
ON THIS 20 day of April, A.D. 1901, personally
appeared before me -- a Special Commissioner -- in and for the afore-
said county, duly authorized to administer oaths -- Alvina M. Seaver --
aged 51 years, a resident of Leominster, in the County
of Worcester, and State of Massachusetts
whose Post-office address is #7 Cedar Street - Leominster, Mass.
_______________, aged _____ years, a resident of ___________
________________, in the County of ______________________
and State of _________________, whose Post office address is ___________
__________________________________________
well known to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who, being duly sworn, declared in relation to aforesaid
case as follows: that I had been married once and the
soldier twice prior to our marriage with each other
My first husband, Joseph P. Lewis, died Jan. 5, 1882.
The first wife of the soldier, Juliett (Glazier) Seaver
died Sept. 25, 1847, and his second wife, Lucretia
T. (Smith) Seaver died Mar. 24, 1884.
That my property consists of one small dwelling house
and the lot upon which it stands, located in Leom-
ister, Mass., cash value $1700.00. this is my home, no
part of it is rented. I do not have any boarders and no
income derived from my property. There is no in-
cumbrance upon it. The annual expenses which
I pay out for said property is $35.75 for taxes,
$11.00 for water rates, $3.60 for insurance, and $50.00
for repairs.
I also have $700.00 in Fitchburg Savings Bank, $700.00
in Worcester North Savings Institution, both located in
Fitchburg, Mass., $909.32 in Clinton, Mass. Savings Bank,
$500.00 in Worcester Co. Institution for Savings, $500.00 in
Peoples Savings Bank, $500.00 in Worcester Mechanics Sav-
______________________________________
______________________________________
I further declare that I haveno interest in said case and I am
not concerned in its prosecution.
_____________________ Alvina M. Seaver
[Pension Office seal dated May 3, 1901]
The death dates of the former spouses are useful information, as is Alvina's "wealth" in the banks. I summarized the probate records of Isaac Seaver in Amanuensis Monday - Probate Records of Isaac Seaver (1823-1901). The real estate was sold before 21 June 1901 and the heirs received their portions on 21 June 1901. Alvina received a total of $1,500 from her husband's estate. She may have had her own bank accounts that were not impacted by the death of her husband. However, she now needed a place to live.
Was Alvina too rich for the Pension Office's taste? Stay tuned for future installments of Isaac Seaver's pension file.
Alvina M. (Bradley) (Lewis) Seaver filed an affidavit at the same time as she filed the Widow's Declaration after Isaac Seaver's death.
The transcription of this document is (handwritten information in italics and underlined):
GENERAL AFFIDAVIT
State of Massachusetts, County of Worcester, SS:
In the matter of Widow's original pension claim No. 738,086 Alvina M. Seaver,
widow of Isaac Seaver, 3d - Co. H 4th Regt Mass Vol H A
ON THIS 20 day of April, A.D. 1901, personally
appeared before me -- a Special Commissioner -- in and for the afore-
said county, duly authorized to administer oaths -- Alvina M. Seaver --
aged 51 years, a resident of Leominster, in the County
of Worcester, and State of Massachusetts
whose Post-office address is #7 Cedar Street - Leominster, Mass.
well known to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who, being duly sworn, declared in relation to aforesaid
case as follows: that I had been married once and the
soldier twice prior to our marriage with each other
My first husband, Joseph P. Lewis, died Jan. 5, 1882.
The first wife of the soldier, Juliett (Glazier) Seaver
died Sept. 25, 1847, and his second wife, Lucretia
T. (Smith) Seaver died Mar. 24, 1884.
That my property consists of one small dwelling house
and the lot upon which it stands, located in Leom-
ister, Mass., cash value $1700.00. this is my home, no
part of it is rented. I do not have any boarders and no
income derived from my property. There is no in-
cumbrance upon it. The annual expenses which
I pay out for said property is $35.75 for taxes,
$11.00 for water rates, $3.60 for insurance, and $50.00
for repairs.
I also have $700.00 in Fitchburg Savings Bank, $700.00
in Worcester North Savings Institution, both located in
Fitchburg, Mass., $909.32 in Clinton, Mass. Savings Bank,
$500.00 in Worcester Co. Institution for Savings, $500.00 in
Peoples Savings Bank, $500.00 in Worcester Mechanics Sav-
______________________________________
______________________________________
I further declare that I have
_____________________ Alvina M. Seaver
[Pension Office seal dated May 3, 1901]
The death dates of the former spouses are useful information, as is Alvina's "wealth" in the banks. I summarized the probate records of Isaac Seaver in Amanuensis Monday - Probate Records of Isaac Seaver (1823-1901). The real estate was sold before 21 June 1901 and the heirs received their portions on 21 June 1901. Alvina received a total of $1,500 from her husband's estate. She may have had her own bank accounts that were not impacted by the death of her husband. However, she now needed a place to live.
Was Alvina too rich for the Pension Office's taste? Stay tuned for future installments of Isaac Seaver's pension file.
Labels: Military records, My genealogy research, Seaver Research, Treasure Chest Thursday
Advent Calendar - December 2: Christmas Food
This post is number 2 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the 23rd Day of Christmas,
My Angel Linda gives to me
Turkey, mashed potatoes, and peas.
1) Did your family have any traditional dishes for the holidays?
Our Christmas dinner (sometimes on Christmas Eve, sometimes on Christmas Day) in San Diego was always turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and mince pie. I doubt that I had anything else when I was a child and young adult, at least at my parents or grandparents homes.
After I was married and we visited San Francisco, Linda's parents had one more item - creamed onions (but I didn't like them).
When my family has Christmas dinner now (us, our kids and grandkids), we have - guess what - turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. It rarely changes!
2) Was there one dish that you thought was unusual?
For me, it was the creamed onions in San Francisco.
3) Not on Thomas's question list, but ... I just have to share it, because it was associated so closely with the dinner.
The absolute highlight of the Christmas dinner was the family competition that followed the meal, but before the dessert. The game was "toss the pea into the glass." In the beginning, it was just my dad and the three boys. There were always leftover peas, so one of us would commandeer the pea bowl and pass peas to the other contestants. Then we would spread out around the table and set up our water glass at equal distances from each other.
The game was to see who could toss the most peas in the water glass opposite them. Of course, the misses weren't contained on top of the table. And the misses were greeted by howls of laughter and derision. Those who put their pea in the glass, shouted out the number of peas they had made so far.
My mother, my wife and the other adult females would withdraw and not watch, but often commented about "boys being boys." My mother really didn't like this game, and I think she intentionally made fewer peas each year.
To try to assuage her anger and keep family peace, the game has devolved to throwing wadded up paper napkins into the glass or cup. My competitive daughters, and now my sons-in-law (and I'm sure it won't be long before the grandchildren) all participate in the Betty Seaver Memorial Pea Toss - but using napkins in deference to her wishes.
This post was originally published on 3 December 2007.
On the 23rd Day of Christmas,
My Angel Linda gives to me
Turkey, mashed potatoes, and peas.
1) Did your family have any traditional dishes for the holidays?
Our Christmas dinner (sometimes on Christmas Eve, sometimes on Christmas Day) in San Diego was always turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and mince pie. I doubt that I had anything else when I was a child and young adult, at least at my parents or grandparents homes.
After I was married and we visited San Francisco, Linda's parents had one more item - creamed onions (but I didn't like them).
When my family has Christmas dinner now (us, our kids and grandkids), we have - guess what - turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. It rarely changes!
2) Was there one dish that you thought was unusual?
For me, it was the creamed onions in San Francisco.
3) Not on Thomas's question list, but ... I just have to share it, because it was associated so closely with the dinner.
The absolute highlight of the Christmas dinner was the family competition that followed the meal, but before the dessert. The game was "toss the pea into the glass." In the beginning, it was just my dad and the three boys. There were always leftover peas, so one of us would commandeer the pea bowl and pass peas to the other contestants. Then we would spread out around the table and set up our water glass at equal distances from each other.
The game was to see who could toss the most peas in the water glass opposite them. Of course, the misses weren't contained on top of the table. And the misses were greeted by howls of laughter and derision. Those who put their pea in the glass, shouted out the number of peas they had made so far.
My mother, my wife and the other adult females would withdraw and not watch, but often commented about "boys being boys." My mother really didn't like this game, and I think she intentionally made fewer peas each year.
To try to assuage her anger and keep family peace, the game has devolved to throwing wadded up paper napkins into the glass or cup. My competitive daughters, and now my sons-in-law (and I'm sure it won't be long before the grandchildren) all participate in the Betty Seaver Memorial Pea Toss - but using napkins in deference to her wishes.
This post was originally published on 3 December 2007.
Labels: Family Stories, Holidays, Memories
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Advent Calendar - December 1: The Christmas Tree
This post is number 1 in a series of 24 for the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.
On the 24th Day of Christmas,
I'm supposed to talk about the Christmas Tree.
Did you have a real tree, or was it artificial? How big was the tree? Who decorated the tree?
When I was a kid ... we always had a real tree, but a dead one. My folks would get it from a tree lot somewhere. The tree was usually 6 to 7 feet tall, and was almost always a Douglas Fir. I think we had several flocked trees over the years.
The tree was set up in the "cubby-hole" at 2119 30th Street in San Diego - the upstairs flat. It was visible from the street. I think my dad attached the tree stand, and strung the lights - they were multi-colored bulb lights on a continuous string - if one went out, they all went out. My mom would put most of the ornaments on the tree, especially the "nice" ones that were up at the top where little boys couldn't touch them. Then she had a gauzy white covering to put over the tree stand.
The "cubby-hole" was out of the traffic areas of the living room, but it was highly visible to anybody in the living room. If one of we boys were caught shaking, feeling up or opening the wrapped gift boxes, there were threats made about taking them back to the store.
There were other Christmas trees in my life as a kid. My grandparents always set up a tall Douglas Fir in their living room - in the corner by the window looking out toward the Bay. We went there for Christmas Eve because they had a fireplace (made sense - Santa could visit us much better - although he never neglected us at 2119).
The other Christmas Tree was at cousin Dorothy's house in Kensington. Dorothy was my dad's first cousin - her mother Emily (Richmond) Taylor was my father's mother's sister. Dorothy was an artist, and always had a non-traditional tree. Not an evergreen - usually a manzanita bush without leaves, or some other hand-cut bush or tree. She decorated this tree with hand-made ornaments of her own design. My mother always loved the originality, to we boys (including my dad), this wasn't really a Christmas Tree.
A side note: I'm going to concentrate in these posts on my childhood, rather than on my married family times, or the current post-children years. My goal in writing these is to be able to provide a nice collection of memories so that my children and grandchildren can read them if they are interested.
Note: This post was originally written on 30 November 2007. It has been edited slightly.
On the 24th Day of Christmas,
I'm supposed to talk about the Christmas Tree.
Did you have a real tree, or was it artificial? How big was the tree? Who decorated the tree?
When I was a kid ... we always had a real tree, but a dead one. My folks would get it from a tree lot somewhere. The tree was usually 6 to 7 feet tall, and was almost always a Douglas Fir. I think we had several flocked trees over the years.
The tree was set up in the "cubby-hole" at 2119 30th Street in San Diego - the upstairs flat. It was visible from the street. I think my dad attached the tree stand, and strung the lights - they were multi-colored bulb lights on a continuous string - if one went out, they all went out. My mom would put most of the ornaments on the tree, especially the "nice" ones that were up at the top where little boys couldn't touch them. Then she had a gauzy white covering to put over the tree stand.
The "cubby-hole" was out of the traffic areas of the living room, but it was highly visible to anybody in the living room. If one of we boys were caught shaking, feeling up or opening the wrapped gift boxes, there were threats made about taking them back to the store.
There were other Christmas trees in my life as a kid. My grandparents always set up a tall Douglas Fir in their living room - in the corner by the window looking out toward the Bay. We went there for Christmas Eve because they had a fireplace (made sense - Santa could visit us much better - although he never neglected us at 2119).
The other Christmas Tree was at cousin Dorothy's house in Kensington. Dorothy was my dad's first cousin - her mother Emily (Richmond) Taylor was my father's mother's sister. Dorothy was an artist, and always had a non-traditional tree. Not an evergreen - usually a manzanita bush without leaves, or some other hand-cut bush or tree. She decorated this tree with hand-made ornaments of her own design. My mother always loved the originality, to we boys (including my dad), this wasn't really a Christmas Tree.
A side note: I'm going to concentrate in these posts on my childhood, rather than on my married family times, or the current post-children years. My goal in writing these is to be able to provide a nice collection of memories so that my children and grandchildren can read them if they are interested.
Note: This post was originally written on 30 November 2007. It has been edited slightly.
Labels: Family Stories, Memories
Making Family Tree Builder Reports - Post 1: Ancestor Report
The official press release from MyHeritage about Family Tree Builder 5.0 was distributed to genealogy bloggers today - you can read it at Geneabloggers here. The MyHeritage Blog has more images here. I posted MyHeritage Announces new (free) Family Tree Builder5.0 Software on Monday after receiving a press release (I thought) that had no warning not to post it on it. My apologies to the MyHeritage team for jumping the gun on this.
I am always curious to see what kind of charts and reports that a genealogy software program offers. I posted about the new genealogy charts offered by MyHeritage two weeks ago, and they are included in Family Tree Builder 5.0 also, in Checking out the new MyHeritage Charts.
What about reports? Here are some screens for the MyHeritage Reports, and in this first post, specifically the Ancestor Report. This is the report that I create the most often. With the program open to my database, I navigated to Norman Seaver, then clicked on the Reports button on the menu row and saw this drop down menu:
The menu options are Book Report, Family Group Sheet, Relationships, Ancestors, Descendants, Timeline, Descendant Summary, Addresses, and Export Custom Report (new). I clicked on Ancestors to get a report for the Ancestors of Norman Seaver.
A report was created, but I wanted more information in the report. So I clicked the "Options" button at the top left of the screen, and saw an Options menu:
There are three tabs in the Options menu:
* General (Include patrilineage, include notes at end of report, Only include facts in report language, Show ID numbers of people, Show all generations, Limit number of generations to:). I chose 5 generations for the report.
* Fonts (Report elements, Font properties, and Preview)
* Sources (Include sources, Use short sources). I chose to not use short sources, and to use sources as footnotes (the other options were as endnotes or Do not include sources).
The top of the first page of the report looked like this:
For each ancestral person, only the ancestral person's vital Facts are shown, plus "other events (like christening and burial, and) the person's parents are identified. No children are shown, or other spouses.
The bottom of the first page looks like this:
At the bottom of each page are the sources corresponding to the sourced Facts.
Even though I requested that the Notes for each person be printed, they do not reside in the report with the person. They are printed in the report after the list of the ancestral persons.
I found Norman Seaver's Notes printed on page 12 of 32 (after his parents, but before his parent's ancestors):
I noted that in the entire report, the females were denoted by Givenname Marriedname [Maidenname] rather than the American and English convention of Givenname (Maidenname) Lastname.
I wondered if they had used the right Ancestor Numbers (some call them Ahnentafel Numbers, or Sosa-Stradonitz numbers) in earlier generations, so I added two more generations, and the software does not use the Sosa-Stradonitz numbering system! For instance, Robert Seaver (1608-1683) is the second great-grandfather of Norman Seaver and is number 16 in the report and on a pedigree chart, and since I don't know his parents names, the number3 32 and 33 in an Ancestor Numbered report should be blank. However, the report assigns #32 to Isaac Wilson, the father of #18 Nathaniel Wilson. This problem (well, I have a problem with it!) has existed all through the Family Tree Builder software reports since they started using the My Complete Genealogy Reporter system.
So, to summarize, the Ancestors Report in Family Tree Builder 5.0 has these "flaws" in my opinion:
* The Notes for the ancestral persons in the report should be included with the Facts for each ancestral person rather than in a separate section.
* There should be an option to include information about the children of each ancestral couple, and also information about other spouses of each ancestral person.
* The numbering system in the report should conform to classic pedigree chart and Ancestor Numbering Systems (e.g., Sosa-Stradonitz).
These issues may not bother some researchers. However, for me, the program does not follow standard genealogy conventions with the numbering system and ancestral report information sequence, and the report, as generated, is pretty useless to me. No other genealogy software I've seen produces an Ancestors report like this.
We'll look at some of the other reports in later posts.
I am always curious to see what kind of charts and reports that a genealogy software program offers. I posted about the new genealogy charts offered by MyHeritage two weeks ago, and they are included in Family Tree Builder 5.0 also, in Checking out the new MyHeritage Charts.
What about reports? Here are some screens for the MyHeritage Reports, and in this first post, specifically the Ancestor Report. This is the report that I create the most often. With the program open to my database, I navigated to Norman Seaver, then clicked on the Reports button on the menu row and saw this drop down menu:
The menu options are Book Report, Family Group Sheet, Relationships, Ancestors, Descendants, Timeline, Descendant Summary, Addresses, and Export Custom Report (new). I clicked on Ancestors to get a report for the Ancestors of Norman Seaver.
A report was created, but I wanted more information in the report. So I clicked the "Options" button at the top left of the screen, and saw an Options menu:
There are three tabs in the Options menu:
* General (Include patrilineage, include notes at end of report, Only include facts in report language, Show ID numbers of people, Show all generations, Limit number of generations to:). I chose 5 generations for the report.
* Fonts (Report elements, Font properties, and Preview)
* Sources (Include sources, Use short sources). I chose to not use short sources, and to use sources as footnotes (the other options were as endnotes or Do not include sources).
The top of the first page of the report looked like this:
For each ancestral person, only the ancestral person's vital Facts are shown, plus "other events (like christening and burial, and) the person's parents are identified. No children are shown, or other spouses.
The bottom of the first page looks like this:
At the bottom of each page are the sources corresponding to the sourced Facts.
Even though I requested that the Notes for each person be printed, they do not reside in the report with the person. They are printed in the report after the list of the ancestral persons.
I found Norman Seaver's Notes printed on page 12 of 32 (after his parents, but before his parent's ancestors):
I noted that in the entire report, the females were denoted by Givenname Marriedname [Maidenname] rather than the American and English convention of Givenname (Maidenname) Lastname.
I wondered if they had used the right Ancestor Numbers (some call them Ahnentafel Numbers, or Sosa-Stradonitz numbers) in earlier generations, so I added two more generations, and the software does not use the Sosa-Stradonitz numbering system! For instance, Robert Seaver (1608-1683) is the second great-grandfather of Norman Seaver and is number 16 in the report and on a pedigree chart, and since I don't know his parents names, the number3 32 and 33 in an Ancestor Numbered report should be blank. However, the report assigns #32 to Isaac Wilson, the father of #18 Nathaniel Wilson. This problem (well, I have a problem with it!) has existed all through the Family Tree Builder software reports since they started using the My Complete Genealogy Reporter system.
So, to summarize, the Ancestors Report in Family Tree Builder 5.0 has these "flaws" in my opinion:
* The Notes for the ancestral persons in the report should be included with the Facts for each ancestral person rather than in a separate section.
* There should be an option to include information about the children of each ancestral couple, and also information about other spouses of each ancestral person.
* The numbering system in the report should conform to classic pedigree chart and Ancestor Numbering Systems (e.g., Sosa-Stradonitz).
These issues may not bother some researchers. However, for me, the program does not follow standard genealogy conventions with the numbering system and ancestral report information sequence, and the report, as generated, is pretty useless to me. No other genealogy software I've seen produces an Ancestors report like this.
We'll look at some of the other reports in later posts.
Labels: genealogy software, MyHeritage.com
(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 131: Lyle and the Morgan Girls
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.
Here is a photograph from the Carringer family collection handed down by my mother in the 1988 to 2002 time period:
I can identify only one person in this photograph positively right now - my grandfather, Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) in his US Marines uniform. Based on that, I can date the photograph as 1917-8 and the setting is in front of one of the buildings on the Carringer home at 2105 30th Street in San Diego.
The back of the photo has six more names - Matie, Martha and Susie Morgan, and girls Maud, Nellie and Marian (possibly with the Morgan surname). Matie is, I think, the lady in the white nurses uniform to Lyle's left. If this is her, this is the only picture I have of Matie (Mary Ann) (Smith) (Chenery) Cramer (who married a Morrill after this photo was taken); Matie is the sister of Lyle's mother, Della (Smith) Carringer, and therefore Lyle's Aunt.
I added the names to the front of this picture many years ago. I need to find the picture in the box, rescan it and save it without the names on it.
The Morgans are a different challenge - who are they, and how are they related (if at all) to Lyle? Or are they friends of the family, perhaps of Matie, and are on a husband hunting trip for the young ladies?
In the 1920 census, there is a household in Orange, Orange county, California that I think is three of these females (1920 US Census, population schedule, Orange township, Orange County, California, ED 72, Page 6B, Dwelling #165, Family #187, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T625, Roll 123):
* Susie E. Morgan - head, owns home, with a mortgage, female, white, age 53, widow, born Kansas, parents born Illinois/Kentucky, a grader, works in Orange county packing house
* Nellie J. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 25, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, a spinster, works at telephone company
* Marian T. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 18, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation.
There are enough clues there to go back to the 1910 and earlier census records and fill out the family. The family in 1910 was found in Salt Lake City, Utah (1910 US Census, population schedule, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, ED 109, Page 6A, Dwelling #117, Family #123), accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T624, Roll 1606):
* Nelson Morgan - head, male, white, age 49, first marriage, married 25 years, born Iowa, parents born Illinois/Iowa, a carpenter, works on house, rents home.
* Susie E. Morgan - wife, female, white, age 44, first marriage, married 25 years, 7 children born, 6 living, born Kansas, parents born Illinois/Kentucky, no occupation
* Maud L. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 24, single, born Kansas, parents born Iowa/Kansas, a teacher, works in school
* Nellie J. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 17, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation
* Martha N. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 14, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation
* Marian B. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 8, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation.
There's the five females from the picture above - the approximate ages in the 1917 picture are: Susie (age 51), Maud (age 31), Nellie (age 24), Martha (age 21), Marian (age 15).
I will try to determine if these Morgan persons are related to Lyle in a later post, and, if they are, perhaps try to find the next generation of descendants.
Here is a photograph from the Carringer family collection handed down by my mother in the 1988 to 2002 time period:
I can identify only one person in this photograph positively right now - my grandfather, Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) in his US Marines uniform. Based on that, I can date the photograph as 1917-8 and the setting is in front of one of the buildings on the Carringer home at 2105 30th Street in San Diego.
The back of the photo has six more names - Matie, Martha and Susie Morgan, and girls Maud, Nellie and Marian (possibly with the Morgan surname). Matie is, I think, the lady in the white nurses uniform to Lyle's left. If this is her, this is the only picture I have of Matie (Mary Ann) (Smith) (Chenery) Cramer (who married a Morrill after this photo was taken); Matie is the sister of Lyle's mother, Della (Smith) Carringer, and therefore Lyle's Aunt.
I added the names to the front of this picture many years ago. I need to find the picture in the box, rescan it and save it without the names on it.
The Morgans are a different challenge - who are they, and how are they related (if at all) to Lyle? Or are they friends of the family, perhaps of Matie, and are on a husband hunting trip for the young ladies?
In the 1920 census, there is a household in Orange, Orange county, California that I think is three of these females (1920 US Census, population schedule, Orange township, Orange County, California, ED 72, Page 6B, Dwelling #165, Family #187, accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T625, Roll 123):
* Susie E. Morgan - head, owns home, with a mortgage, female, white, age 53, widow, born Kansas, parents born Illinois/Kentucky, a grader, works in Orange county packing house
* Nellie J. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 25, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, a spinster, works at telephone company
* Marian T. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 18, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation.
There are enough clues there to go back to the 1910 and earlier census records and fill out the family. The family in 1910 was found in Salt Lake City, Utah (1910 US Census, population schedule, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, ED 109, Page 6A, Dwelling #117, Family #123), accessed on http://www.ancestry.com/, citing National Archives Microfilm Series T624, Roll 1606):
* Nelson Morgan - head, male, white, age 49, first marriage, married 25 years, born Iowa, parents born Illinois/Iowa, a carpenter, works on house, rents home.
* Susie E. Morgan - wife, female, white, age 44, first marriage, married 25 years, 7 children born, 6 living, born Kansas, parents born Illinois/Kentucky, no occupation
* Maud L. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 24, single, born Kansas, parents born Iowa/Kansas, a teacher, works in school
* Nellie J. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 17, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation
* Martha N. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 14, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation
* Marian B. Morgan - daughter, female, white, age 8, single, born Colorado, parents born Iowa/Kansas, no occupation.
There's the five females from the picture above - the approximate ages in the 1917 picture are: Susie (age 51), Maud (age 31), Nellie (age 24), Martha (age 21), Marian (age 15).
I will try to determine if these Morgan persons are related to Lyle in a later post, and, if they are, perhaps try to find the next generation of descendants.
Labels: My genealogy research, photographs, Wordless Wednesday
