Saturday, October 12, 2013

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - What is Your Birth Surname Henry Number?

It's Saturday Night - 
time for more Genealogy Fun! 



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


1)  Do you know what a "Henry Number" is?  It is a descendant numbering system from a specific person.  The Wikipedia article for Genealogical Numbering Systems describes it as:


"The Henry System is a descending system created by Reginald Buchanan Henry for a genealogy of the families of the presidents of the United States that he wrote in 1935.[3] It can be organized either by generation or not. The system begins with 1. The oldest child becomes 11, the next child is 12, and so on. The oldest child of 11 is 111, the next 112, and so on. The system allows one to derive an ancestor's relationship based on their number. For example, 621 is the first child of 62, who is the second child of 6, who is the sixth child of his parents.  In the Henry System, when there are more than nine children, X is used for the 10th child, A is used for the 11th child, B is used for the 12th child, and so on. In the Modified Henry System, when there are more than nine children, numbers greater than nine are placed in parentheses."

2)  Go to your first known ancestor with your birth surname and calculate your Henry Number from that person.  Show each generation of your line of ancestors with your birth surname with their Henry numbers.

3)  How did you calculate the Henry numbers?  What do these numbers tell you?

4)  Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post.

Here's mine:

2)  My first known ancestor with my birth surname of Seaver is Robert Seaver (1608-1683).  Here is my Seaver line with their Henry numbers.

1                       Robert Seaver (1608-1683)
11                     Shubael Seaver (1640-1730)*
112                   Joseph Seaver (1672-1754)*
1121                 Robert Seaver (1702-1752)*
11214                Norman Seaver (1734-1787)
112142              Benjamin Seaver (1757-1816)*
1121424            Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825)*
11214243          Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)*
112142431        Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)*
1121424311      Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)*
11214243115    Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)*
112142431151  Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)*

*  Denotes a son who was the eldest son that married and had children.

3)  I created a Descendants Narrative Report (874 pages!) in RootsMagic 6 using Robert Seaver as the starting ancestor, requested 12 generations, picked the Henry Number option, and then traced my line through the report (I was on page 16).

Amazingly, each one of these males were the eldest son that survived and had children.  For instance, Joseph Seaver (1672-1754) had an older brother, Robert Seaver (1670-1672) who did not survive childhood, so Joseph was the eldest surviving son with children.  Norman Seaver (1734-1787) had two older brothers who did not marry or survive childhood, so Norman was the eldest surviving son who had children.  What this means is that if Robert Seaver (1608-1683) had been a King, then I would be the current King, assuming succession through only males.  

In order to have an accurate Henry Number report, a researcher needs to have a complete list of children in each ancestral family, and know their birth order.  I think I have done that in my own Seaver line.  

Their are five persons in my Seaver line that were the first-born child, and two more that were the second-born child.

4)  I did!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-what-is.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - LNU (colonial Massachusetts)

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


I am in the 7th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor  #725, who is Deborah LNU (1662-????) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 7th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

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

1.  Randall J. Seaver (1943-living)

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

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


10.  Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11.  Julia White (1848-1913)

22.  Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23.  Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864)

44.  Jonathan White (1806-1850)
45.  Miranda Wade (1804-1850)

90.  Simon Wade (1767-1857)

91.  Phebe Horton (1772-????)

180.  Simon Wade (1731-1790)
181.  Deborah Tracy (1731-????)

362.  John Tracy (1695-1751)
363.  Mary Hawkins (1710-1767)

724.  John Tracy, born about 1661 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died before July 1701 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 1448. John Tracy and 1449. Mary Prence.  He married about 1682 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
725.  Deborah, born about 1662 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of John Tracy and Deborah are:
i. Susanna Tracy, born October 1683 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 25 February 1766 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; married John Simmons 04 November 1715 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; born 22 February 1670 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died before 06 August 1739 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
ii. Sarah Tracy, born about 1686 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 18 June 1731 in Windham, Windham, Connecticut, United States.
iii. Thomas Tracy, born 1688 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 08 December 1755 in Pembroke, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; married (1) Lusanna Snow 03 June 1723 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; born 07 March 1683 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 07 March 1732 in Pembroke, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; married (2) Lydia Randall 28 May 1733 in Pembroke, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; born 24 October 1690 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
iv. Mary Tracy, born about 1690 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; married Henry Gullifer 27 January 1712 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 09 May 1724 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
v. Deborah Tracy, born about 1692 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died in  ; married Thomas Bourne 05 April 1714 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; born about 1693 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
vi. John Tracy, born about 1695 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 1751 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; married Mary Hawkins 02 January 1728 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
vii. Tryphosa Tracy, born 1699 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; died 10 June 1758 in Pembroke, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States; married Obadiah Ford in Massachusetts, United States; born August 1700 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.


A search through Ancestry Member Trees and on Google reveals no known surname for Deborah LNU, the wife of John Tracy.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/surname-saturday-lnu-colonial.html

copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Friday, October 11, 2013

Source Citations for "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994" Record Collection on FamilySearch.org

I found quite a few Seaver marriage records yesterday on FamilySearch.org in the "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994" record collection.

Here is the record for the marriage of Joseph N. Seaver and Frances Dunican in Hamilton County, Ohio on 26 June 1907.


I wanted to craft a useful source citation for events obtained from these marriage records, so I looked at several different source citation models, including:

1)  FamilySearch.org provides a source citation for each record reviewed in the record summary page. The source citation provided is:

"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994," index and images,  FamilySearch   (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZ2B-SS8 : accessed 11 Oct 2013), Joseph N. Seaver and Frances Dunican, 26 Jun 1907; citing Hamilton, Ohio, United States, reference 30; FHL microfilm 355085.

2)  If I craft a source citation using the RootsMagic 6 source template for "Vital Records, State Level, Online Derivatives," I obtain:



Ohio, "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : indexed database and digital image, accessed 11 October 2013), Hamilton County Marriage Records, Volume 199, Page 80, No. 30, Joseph N. Seaver and Frances Dunican, 26 June 1907, digitized from FHL Microfilm US/CAN 355,085.

3)  If I craft a source citation using the Legacy Family Tree Version 7.5 source template for "Marriage records, in governmental records, created at state/provincial level, online images," I obtain:


Ohio, "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994," Marriage license applications and returns, No. 30 (Hamilton County, 1907), Joseph N. Seaver-Frances Dunican; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 11 October 2013). 

The source templates in Legacy Family Tree are pretty limiting, and I struggled to put the information in the right fields.

4)   If I craft a source citation using the Family Tree Maker 2014 source template for "Local and State Records - Registrations, Rolls and Vital Records, State Level Records, Vital Records Certificate," I obtain:


Ohio, "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994," indexed database and digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org), Hamilton County Marriage Records, Volume 199, Page 80, No. 30, Joseph N. Seaver and Frances Dunican, 26 June 1907, accessed 11 October 2013, digitized from FHL Microfilm US/CAN 355,085.

I could also use the source template for "Online Image, Courts and Governance, Image Copy" in Family Tree Maker 2014 to create:

Ohio, "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994," indexed database and digital image, Hamilton County Marriage Records, Volume 199, Page 80, No. 30, Joseph N. Seaver and Frances Dunican, 26 June 1907, digitized from FHL Microfilm US/CAN 355,085; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org).

I really struggle making Family Tree Maker source citations using templates - there always seem to be two or more options for a specific record type.

5)  I looked in Evidence Explained and found several models for local and state vital records in an online database with images, but I really struggled trying to understand the details of the fields.  The second Family Tree Maker 2014 citation is similar to two models (but I may have put too much information into the Citation detail field.

In the Vital Records section of the QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resources, there is a citation model for a "State-Compiled Database at Commercial Site."  The above citation might be:

Ohio, "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 11 October 2013), Hamilton county, entry for Joseph N. Seaver and Frances Dunican (1907).

A similar source citation can be found in the "Basic Format: Images" section of the QuickSheet: Citing Ancestry.com Databases & Images.

6)  Are you as thoroughly confused as I am?  None of those are "perfect."  None are easy or easy to recall from memory.  It seems to me that the RootsMagic 6 and Family Tree Maker 2014 source template citations provides a clear path for a reader to find the specific record easily in either FamilySearch or on the FHL microfilm.

I still prefer making a free-form source citation, based on Evidence Explained and the QuickSheets, in genealogy software just because the citations created by source templates are badly mangled when they are put though the GEDCOM export/import process.  What looks great in one program looks terrible in another program.

Which source citation model do you prefer? Does this really matter?  I'm not trying to be a source citation Nazi here (I haven't seen one yet!), but I am frustrated by the different formats produced by the available software programs, all claiming to be based on Evidence Explained models.

Why not just use the source citation provided by FamilySearch and be happy with it, since with one click you can easily find the database description, the record summary and digital image.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/source-citations-for-ohio-county.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver




Finding Mocavo.com Record Collections for Free Searching

Mocavo.com made a major announcement yesterday concerning their record collections and free access to them.  You can read it at Mocavo Introduces Free Forever - Join Us in the Revolution, by Cliff Shaw.  Read the whole announcement for all of the details.  The key statement in this announcement is:

"When Mocavo brings content online, it becomes free forever. Let me be clear – I didn’t just say free for now, I said free forever. We’re making a radical departure from the status quo of how content is controlled in the genealogy industry."




A user with a free account can search one specific database at a time for a person.

They do have a paid product, renamed Mocavo Gold, for a price of $60 per year for a limited time.  With a Mocavo gold account, a user can search across the full record spectrum available on Mocavo.  

Mocavo also has a Family Tree system that can be searched.  Users can upload a GEDCOM file to put their tree on Mocavo, but a user needs to have a free or paid account in order to upload a GEDCOM.  

I was curious as to what types of databases are available on Mocavo for FREE.  On the Home screen above, there is a menu link for "Research" and a dropdown menu for "Records, Books and Datasets" and "Public Trees."  I clicked on the "Records, Books and Datasets" link and saw a list of record categories and sub-categories (four screens below, some text skipped):






A user can click on any of the categories or sub-categories and see a list of collections.  Here is the list for Burials, which has 292 collections:


The Categories list on the left side of the screen above shows the number of collections in each category:

*  BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death, Burial, etc.): 4,076
*  Directories: 15,157
*  Documents and Records: 4,420
*  Histories: 52,853
*  Military: 1,988
*  Newspapers: 7,374
*  Yearbooks: 22,579

There are too many categories and collections to itemize each one in a blog post.  

My impression is that Mocavo has a large number of relatively small record collections that may not be available on other online free or commercial websites.  Mocavo also searches for genealogy information on free websites (e.g., Rootsweb sites, USGenWeb sites, genealogy blogs, message boards, Find A Grave, Social Security Death Index, etc.).

It appears that Mocavo.com does not have some popular and essential record collections like U.S. federal census, state census collections, vital record collections, passenger lists, military service records, etc. 

In future posts, I will explore the process of searching for records in the Mocavo collections for FREE, and also as a Mocavo Gold user.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/finding-mocavocom-record-collections.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Disclosure:  Mocavo provided me with a complimentary Mocavo Plus membership two years ago and I appreciate their generosity.  This has not affected my objectivity in reporting on Mocavo's capabilities and resources.

Follow-Up Friday - This Week's Interesting and Helpful Reader Comments

Here are some of the helpful and interesting reader comments left on genea-Musings's post this past week:

1)  On Using the "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994" Collection on FamilySearch (posted 10 October 2013):

a)  Nancy said:  "It's interesting that marriages were recorded for Ohio counties in 1789 because Ohio wasn't a state until 1803. Until then that it was part of the Northwest Territory. I suppose marriages in that wild country happened and had to be recorded somewhere."

My comment:  The Northwest Territory was probably the administrative entity before statehood, and there may have been several "counties" that kept records.  Or they collected records after statehood.

b)   T suggested:  "You might find something here, too. http://madisonoh.ancestralsites.com/marriages/b.php"

My comment:  Thanks for the suggestion.

c)  bgwiehle helped:  "1. This database has been available since at least Apr 2011 [as "Ohio, County Marriages, 1790-1950"]. It is frequently updated with additional index entries and images.
2. Because of the way FamilySearch has set up the records, each person indexed will have their own page. Depending on the entry and the indexer, there may be pages generated for six persons - bride, groom, and each of the parents.
3. Generally there is only 1 image per record for this database, but one should always check the previous and subsequent images, just in case. Also, some of the early records are organized in alphabetical Bride's and Groom's lists, so there are duplicate entries for each of those marriages.
4. There are still gaps in the coverage. Follow the "Browse through 2,648,655 images" link (on the database search page) to access the waypoints, which have descriptive titles (eg. Crawford County, Marriage records 1850-1854 vol 4). See http://www.genealogybranches.com/ohio.html for alternative databases and websites.

My comment:  Thanks for the information.  


a)  Michigan Girl noted:  " I've read a few of those blogs. Being relatively new as a blogger myself, I'm still trying to learn my way around. Your articles are very helpful.  With your permission I will add my blog site here:  michiganfamilytrails.com. I cover lots of resources and how to's. I only named the site the way I did because of my Michigan roots. "

My comment:  Permission granted ... and I already had your blog in my Feedly reader.

b  Harold Henderson commented:  "I find that many of my better posts grow directly out of 'real life,' as yours did here!"

My comment:  Reality checks are good, aren't they?  Conferences and cruises are great vehicles for sharing your knowledge and experiences, and getting to know (and be known by) readers or potential readers.


a)  John D. Tew noted:  "Welcome back! It sounds like it was a wonderful trip even if you had some internet withdrawal. :-)  This is a very helpful post and I must admit I have not paid as much attention to the newsletters as I should. Thanks for the reminder and the links."

b)  Alona Tester added:  "Welcome back on land Randy. I'm a fan of these up-to-the-minute news blogs as well. One that I do also follow that you didn't mention was Chris Paton's British GENES (britishgenes.blogspot.com/‎). While he does cover UK related news, he also covers world genie news."

My comment:  Ah, you caught me being North American centric again!   


a)  Mary said:  "My birth name is Mary Ellen Vaux. I ran across your post by accident. I noticed that you had a comment regarding being unable to trace the Vaux family further than this point. My father's family ended up in the Lohrville, Iowa area. His father's name was John Vaux and my grandmother was Mary Ellen (Clark) Vaux. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me with more info or if I can answer any questions for you."

My comment:  See, readers, posting ancestral family information - cousin bait - even a census record, can help you find cousins who might have more information.  

5)  Fan mail found in my Blogger Spam folder (While I was on the cruise and away from the Internet for 16 days, the number of spam comments exploded.  These are some of the better ones.):

a)  "I'm at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the excellent work!"

My comment:   Dude, update your iPhone 3gs and you can read the blog even faster!

b)  "Ӏ ѵisited several blοgs but thee audio quаlity for audiο songs current at this web sit iis in fact wonԁеrful. my web-site"

My comment:   Um, I don't have any audio on this site - what were you listening to? 

c)  "I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I'm looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from"

My comment:   The blog layout and colors are from a basic Blogger template. 

d)  "Good day! Woulԁ yοu mind if I shaгe your blog with my zуnga grouр? Thегe's a lot of peοple that I think wοuld really enjoy your content"

My comment:   Please do share with your zynga group.  What the heck is zynga?  Be sure to friend me on Facebook too.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Using the "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994" Collection on FamilySearch

I have fallen behind on my "mining" of online record collections available on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.  I try to keep up with recently added or updated collections that will add significant content to my One Name Study surnames of Seaver, Carringer, Auble, Buck, Dill, and Vaux.

I checked the FamilySearch Record Collections list today, and noted that the "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994" collection was added or updated (I can't tell which!) on 1 October 2013.  The collection description notes that this collection is currently only 79% complete.

I decided to search the collection for Seaver folks, and add content to my database based on the information found.

1)  Here are the results of my exact search for "Seaver" in this database:


There are 193 matches for "Seaver" in this collection.

2)  Here is the record summary for one of them that is down the list a bit:


The record summary provides a lot of indexed information for this particular record.  Not all records in this collection have as much information.  In the "Sources" box on the right side of the screen, I can attach this record summary (not the record image) to a person in the FamilySearch Family Tree, save it to My Source Box in the Family Tree, view the record, or save the image to my computer.  I can also search all of the FamilySearch collections for this person.

3)  I clicked on the "View Image" link and saw the Marriage Record:


In 1918, when Bertram Hill Seaver married Bessie Cahill in Hamilton County, Ohio, the record includes a Marriage License application and the Marriage License Return that lists the actual marriage date.  This particular record provided information on:

*  Full names of the bride and groom (I didn't have the bride in my database, and didn't know Bertram's middle name)
*  Birth dates of the bride and groom (I knew Bertram's, but not Bessie's)
*  Residence of the bride and groom (I didn't know these)
*  Birthplace of the bride and groom (I didn't know these)
*  Occupation of the bride and groom (I didn't know these)
*  Parents names of the bridge and groom (I needed the bride's parents names)
*  Signatures of the bride and groom
*  Marriage date and county

That is a lot of very useful information, and I did not have some of it in my database for this particular couple.  This can be considered an original source record.  Although the birth date, birthplace, and parents names are secondary information, they are still clues that can be followed up on to seek out primary information.  The residence, occupation and marriage date and county are primary information.

4)  I was curious - how many entries are there for 1789, the first year that records are available?  The answer is 22 entries (some are duplicates):


By 1800, there are 270 entries for that year.  In 1850, there are 61,178 entries.  In 1900, there are 80,039 entries.  In 1950, there are 208,589 entries.  There are currently 4,536,489 entries in this collection.

4)  I need to get to work here!!

Do you have Ohio ancestors or relatives that may be in this record collection?  Have you found all of their marriage records during this 205 year time period?  If not, go for it!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/using-ohio-county-marriages-1789-1994.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Treasure Chest Thursday - 1810 U.S. Census Record for Simon Wade of Foster, Rhode Island

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the 1810 United States Census record for Simon Wade (one of my 4th great-grandfathers) in Foster, Providence County, Rhode Island.




The household of Simon Wade:


The Simon Wade household entry shows:

*  1 male under age 10 years (probably son Fenner born in 1807)
*  1 male aged 10 to 16 years (probably son Arnold born in 1810)
*  1 male aged 16 to 26 years (probably son James born in 1791)
*  1 male aged 26 to 45 years (probably Simon Wade born in 1767)
*  1 male aged over 45 years (perhaps Simon's father Simon (born in 1731) or a brother or uncle of Simon or Phebe)

*  1 female under age 10 years (probably daughter Miranda born in 1806)
*  1 female aged 10 to 16 years (probably daughter Catherine born in 1793 or daughter Sarah born in 1798)
*  1 female aged 26 to 45 years (probably wife Phebe born in 1772)
*  1 female aged 45 years or over (perhaps Simon's mother or a sister or aunt of Simon's or Phebe's).

The source citation for this record is:

1810 United States Federal Census, Providence County, Rhode Island, Population Schedule, Foster town, Page 34 (stamped), Simon Wade household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M292, Roll 58.

While this census record doesn't provide exact ages for the household members, I think that I can estimate who might be in each age and gender group based on all of the information gathered for this family.

I did not include Phebe's parents, Nathaniel and Sarah (Pray) Horton, as candidates for the Over Age 45 group because Nathaniel Horton has his own entry (male over age 45) on this census page 8 lines below the Simon Wade entry which includes a female over aged 45 (probably Sarah).

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/treasure-chest-thursday-1810-us-census.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Related Content Pane on Ancestry.com Image Viewer

One of the blog posts I found interesting yesterday was The Ancestry Insider's post on Ancestry.com Adds Related Content Pane to Image Viewer.  I didn't have time yesterday to try it out, but I did today.

I've been searching for descendants of my Richman/Richmond great-grandparents, so I used this feature to see if I could find additional records for Ethel Judson, born in 1890 in Connecticut, who married James Henry Richmond (1886-1913) in 1911, and they had a daughter, Anna Richmond, in 1912 in Connecticut.

I searched for Ethel Judson as a young lady in the 1910 U.S. Census and found her residing with her parents in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut:


As you can see, over on the right side of the page are "Suggested Records" for Ethel R. Judson, including:

*  Ethel R. Spaulding in the 1920 U.S. Census
*  Ethel R. *dson on the 1900 U.S. Census
*  Ethel Judson on the 1920 U.S. Census
*  Ethel Judson on the 1910 U.S. Census
*  Ethel Richmond on the 1930 U.S. Census

I clicked on the "View original image" link and saw the image in the Interactive Viewer:


Up above the image, on the right side of the screen to the left of the "Tools" link, is the NEW "Related Content" link.  When I clicked that, a panel containing links to "Related Contents" opened:


The "Related Content" contained four of the five potential related records similar to the "Suggested Records" on the screen above:

*  Ethel R. Spaulding in the 1920 U.S. Census
*  Ethel R. *dson on the 1900 U.S. Census
*  Ethel Judson on the 1920 U.S. Census
*  Ethel Judson on the 1910 U.S. Census

So that works pretty well, but it's interesting to me that the links provided are not identical to the "Suggested Records" on the first screen!  Clicking on each item on the "Suggested Records" and "Related Contents" links above reveal a non-identical list of other records for this person, and not all of them are for this person.  While she is listed as Ethel R. Spaulding (married) in the 1920 U.S. Census, she is listed as Ethel Richmond (divorced) in the 1930 U.S. Census with daughter Anna.  I have been unable to find the Spaulding that apparently she had married by 1920.  I lose track of the daughter Anna Richmond (age 18 in 1930 Census) and hypothesize that she either died or married before the 1940 U.S. Census was taken.

Try out the "Related Content" link on the Interactive Viewer at your pleasure - you may find a record for one of your ancestors that you had not found previously.

The URL For this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/the-related-content-pane-on-ancestrycom.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

SDGS Meeting on Saturday, 12 October Features CeCe Moore

The October monthly meeting of the San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) will be on Saturday, 12 October 2013 at St. Andrews Lutheran Church at 8350 Lake Murray Blvd, just south of Jackson Drive.  The meeting will start at 10 a.m.

CeCe Moore is the featured speaker for both sessions on "Introduction to DNA Testing for Genealogy."


CeCe is a nationally recognized expert on the use of DNA in genealogy and frequently speaks on the subject of genetic genealogy throughout the United States.

She is an independent professional genetic genealogist currently working as the genetic genealogy consultant on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Genealogy Roadshow.

CeCe has close working relationships with major genetic genealogy testing companies and loves to help others discover more about their family heritage through DNA testing.  Her area of expertise lies in assisting others in understanding Autosomal DNA testing products such as 23andMe's Relative Finder, FamilyTreeDNA's Family Finder, and Ancestry.com's AncestryDNA.  She participated in the beta testing for all three products and is considered an innovator n the use of autosomal DNA for genealogy, frequently consulted by DNA testing companies, genealogists,m adoptees, and the press.

Her volunteer work includes:

*  Lead Ancestry Ambassador for 23andMe
*  Moderator for the ISOGG DNA Newbie List
*  Advisory Board for the Mixed Roots Foundation
*  Co-Director of the Global Adoptee Genealogy Project
*  Southern California Regional coordinator for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy
*  Volunteer Administrator for the Jefferson/Hemings, Proctor, Travis and the Adopted DNA Projects at FamilyTreeDNA
*  Administrator for the ISOGG Wikipedia.

Cece is quoted on DNA in many important publication, newspapers, journals and blogs.  Her blog (http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/) made Newsweek's Recommended Reading List for DNA.

SDGS members can access, save and print out CeCe's 6-page syllabus on the Members page of the SDGS website (http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/).  There should be printed copies at the meeting.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/sdgs-meeting-on-saturday-12-october.html



(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 277: All Smiles...

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

Here is a photograph from our wedding albums:




This photograph was taken on 21 March 1970 in Chula Vista (CA) Presbyterian Church at about 3 p.m. in an empty church sanctuary.  Linda and I are kneeling at a prayer altar, and are smiling.  Linda's veil is in front of her face.

Why are we smiling seemingly without a care in the world?  Because we're already married when the picture is taken.  No stress now...just the reception, the honeymoon, and the rest of our lives together lie ahead.

A funny story:  During the marriage ceremony, the minister asked Linda "Do you take Randy as your lawful wedded wife?"  She started laughing, as did the minister.  Apparently, I hadn't heard the question correctly, and I gave her an elbow to settle down and answer.  She still kids me about this "you still don't hear what is said..."  The minister quickly corrected himself and asked both of us the right questions.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/not-so-wordless-wednesday-post-277-all.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Welcome to Genea-Musings, Legacy Family Tree 2013 Cruisers

Apparently, very few of the 170 or so genealogists and Legacy Family Tree software users have heard of Genea-Musings or of genealogy blogging in general.  This didn't really surprise me...I see it at genealogy society meetings and seminars too.  Many genealogists that use the Internet and use genealogy software do not read genealogy blogs.

In conversations at the dinner table and in the conference center, several attendees asked me "How do I get started reading genealogy blogs, and which ones do you recommend?"

I explained that a genealogy blog is simply a website that has genealogical content on resources, software, databases, methodology, research successes and problems, etc.  Every geneablog is different, with an emphasis on whatever the author wishes to post; none are comprehensive in terms of writing about "everything" occurring in the genealogy world.  A reader really has to read a number of geneablogs each day, week or month in order to "keep up with" genealogy events and news.

There are several ways to read a number of genealogy blogs on a regular basis:

*  You can put the blog URL (e.g., www.geneamusings.com is the URL of this blog) in the bookmarks or favorites of your Internet browser, and then go through that list on a regular basis, reading all of the posts one by one and blog by blog.

*  You can "subscribe" to most genealogy blogs so that you receive an email every time (or every day) a geneablog of interest posts something.  On the Genea-Musings blog, the "Follow by Email" field is at the top right of the home page.  You enter your email address and receive an email every morning with the previous day's articles.

*  You can "subscribe"  to use an RSS Reader.  I use Feedly, which works well for me because I access over 1400 blogs (not all are genealogy).  The beauty of Feedly, and other readers, is that they only provide new content - if a blogger doesn't post for several days or weeks, you don't see them on the list.  On the other hand, the list of blogs you have subscribed to acts as a Bookmark list so you can quickly find the blog by name rather than have to remember the blog URL.

So which genealogy blogs do I recommend that a "new" blog reader access on a regular basis (I recommend daily, but some persons just don't have the time, they say!).  Here is a short list that should provide a broad overview of what is available:

*  Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter (http://blog.eogn.com/) - genealogy news releases and technology news.

*  The Legal Genealogist (http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/) - legal issues related to genealogy, plus DNA, probate records, land records, court records, etc. commentary.

*   The Ancestry Insider (http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/) - issues about Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

*  Genealogy's Star (http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/) - genealogy opinion, issues, research.

*  4Your Family Story (http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog.html) - daily genealogy, social media and technology news

*  Hack Genealogy (http://hackgenealogy.com/category/blog/) - daily genealogy, social media and technology news

*  GeneaWebinars (http://blog.geneawebinars.com/) - genealogy webinar and Google+ Hangouts on air schedule.

*  Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com/) - genealogy and family history, plus professional issues.

*  The Olive Tree Genealogy (http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/) - personal genealogy and genealogy opinion.

*  Mocavo Genealogy Blog (http://blog.mocavo.com/) - genealogy news and opinion.

*  Ancestoring (http://ancestoring.blogspot.com/) - genealogy research and opinion.

*  FamilySearch Blog (https://familysearch.org/blog/en/) - FamilySearch.org information and news.

*  Your Genetic Genealogist (http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/) - DNA news and analysis.

*  Anglo-Celtic Connections (http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/) - Canadian genealogy news and opinion.

*  DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog (http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/) - genealogy education and news.

*  Genea-Musings (www.geneamusings.com) - genealogy research, news and opinion.

Many of these genealogy blogs have a blog roll that list many other genealogy blogs.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/welcome-to-genea-musings-legacy-family.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Legacy Family Tree 2013 Cruise - Post 1: Highlights

Genea-Musings is back in action after 16 days of rest, relaxation, genealogy classes, cultural tours, and lots of food on the 16-day Legacy Family Tree 2013 Cruise on the Celebrity Millennium.  It was fun, but a bit long.

The highlights for me:

1)  The genealogy talks by Megan Smolenyak, Karen Clifford, Barbara Renick and Steve Salisbury on a variety of topics.  We had the classes the first morning in the Cosmos Lounge on the 11th deck of the ship, but the glare from the sun, and reflection off the dance floor made the visuals difficult to see in the spacious lounge.  So the rest of the classes were held in the Conference Center on the 3rd deck which seated about 180 people in a long room.  That was convenient, but many attendees could not see the bottom half of the screen.  There was a 130 page syllabus provided in digital format before the cruise.

Here is a photo of Megan presenting in the Cosmos lounge:


2)  The Legacy Family Tree presentations by Geoff Rasmussen, Dave Berdan, and Ken McGinnis.  We learned all about Legacy Family Tree Version 8, and each attendee will receive a free copy of LFT 8 (or a subscription to the Webinar site for one year).  Thank you, Legacy!

This photo is of Ken McGinnis, his wife Diane, and Geoff Rasmussen in the background talking to an attendee.


3)  I had one presentation on "Discovering Jane's Roots in California, Australia and England" and had excellent feedback from the attendees afterwards and at meals.  I asked how many attendees read my blog, and the show of hands was less than 10.

4)  Meeting and talking with the other conference attendees at meals, on the tours, in the conference center, and on the decks.  I knew several of the other conferees from past conferences - Jay Holladay of SCGS, Donna Peterson (Hanging From the Family Tree blog), Megan (but not her husband), Barbara (but not her husband), and the Legacy guys (Geoff, Dave and Ken) and their wives.  Several Genea-Musings readers were on the cruise also and now I can't recall all of their names.  It was a pleasure to share time with all of them and Karen and Steve.  On this cruise, the Legacy attendees were encouraged to change tables every night at dinner so as to meet as many other cruisers as possible.  We had about 30 tables assigned to Legacy cruisers (from 2 to 10 seats each), but only 15 nights to eat dinner, so we managed to meet quite a few people, but not everyone.

5)  The tours we took ranged from excellent (The Tarcoles River tour in Costa Rica was the best for us) to fair (Guatemala and Colombia).  We were limited to tours with only mild or moderate activity because of Linda's physical limitations - she took her walker on all of the tours, which included bus transportation.  We also took relatively short tours - 3 to 5 hours rather than up to 9 hour tours in order to avoid afternoon heat and meals away from the ship.  We were able to book tours beforehand on the Cemebrity website or on the ship at a tour office.  We took a sightseeing tour in Puerto Vallarta (downtown streets, beach, church, shopping, restaurant with a view); Guatemala (bus ride from Puerto Quetzal to Antigua, shopping, bus tour to see town highlights, bus trip back to the ship); Costa Rica (bus trip to Crocodile tour on the Tarcoles River, shopping, snacks, back on the bus); Panama (Panama Canal transit one day, and a tour from Colon (bus to Gamboa Wildlife Refuge, a tram up the mountain, climb a 100 foot tower, tram back down, shopping, visit reptile exhibit, butterfly exhibit, orchid garden and a resort hotel);  Colombia (bus trip around Cartagena, stops at central square near castle, museum with music program, and shopping area in old city, bus trip back to the ship).

This is our tour guide on the beach feeding chicken parts to a big crocodile:


6)   The food.  Buffet breakfasts on Deck 10, with full American breakfasts, lots of fresh fruit (but bananas turned bad after about 8 days), omelets, pancakes/waffles, cereal, carved meats, etc.  Buffet lunches with many choices, Mexican, pizza, fish and chips, carved meats, hamburgers/hot dogs, fruits and vegetables, yummy desserts, ice cream.  Sitdown dinners on Decks 4/5 with waiters and cloth napkins, several fixed options, and several more special dishes each night with starters, salads, entrees and desserts.  There were also sitdown breakfasts and lunches off a menu on Deck 5, and buffet dinners on Deck 10.  There were also several specialty restaurants with a different menu each day, and a specialty crepes and desserts bistro.  Linda ordered special meals with the maitre d' the night before to try to avoid her allergy problems with mixed success - she had reactions on 6 of 15 nights.  I rarely walked away feeling hungry!  It was a struggle to keep the daily calories down to 3000, let alone the 1700 calories I am supposed to eat daily to control my weight.  Temptation wins...I haven't weighed myself yet here at home.

7)  The ship.  Entertainment in several lounges and a nightly show in the Celebrity Theater.  A casino (which we didn't frequent).  Activities onboard included lectures, games, films, a daily news summary, a library (I read 4 books on sea days and in the evenings), the indoor and outdoor pools with activities on Deck 10, a walking track, a basketball court and a virtually unused shuffleboard lane on Deck 11.

8)  Our "stateroom" was a small "ocean view" cabin (meaning a large round window with a shade), a small bathroom with a shower, a king-size bed, a small desk and table and couch, and a closet, plus a TV set.  Wifi was available throughout the ship or at a computer lounge, but access to relatively slow Internet cost 75 cents a minute ($45 an hour) retail, with "deals" down to about 35 cents an hour.  Highway robbery...I turned off my iPhone to avoid roaming charges and used it only to play games occasionally.

I'm sure I've forgotten quite a few highlights, and maybe I'll remember more and share it later.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver