Saturday, January 10, 2015

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Ancestor Score for 2015

Hey ahnentafelists (new genea-word!) - It's Saturday Night!!!




Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and I hope more of you do than participated in the last several SNGF challenges), is to:

1)  Determine how complete your genealogy research is.  For background, read Crista Cowan's post Family History All Done? What’s Your Number? and Kris Stewart's What Is Your Genealogy "Score?"  For comparison purposes, keep the list to 10 or 11 generations with you as the first person.  

2)  Create a table similar to Crista's second table, and fill it in however you can (you could create an Ahnentafel (Ancestor Name) list and count the number in each generation, or use some other method).  Tell us how you calculated the numbers.

3)  Show us your table, and calculate your "Ancestral Score" - what is your percentage of known names to possible names (1,023 for 10 generations).

4)  For extra credit (or more SNGF), do more generations and add them to your chart.

5)  Post your table, and your "Ancestor Score," on your own blog, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post or Google+ Stream post.


Here's mine:

1)  I did this by creating an Ahnentafel Report in RootsMagic 6 (Reports > Lists > Ahnentafel Report) for 15 generations, then saved it as a PDF, opened it, and counted, by hand, the persons on the list in each generation.  The numbers included duplicate persons (due to marrying cousins) and persons I had either a first or last name for.

2)  My chart (if you want a blank chart in Microsoft Word format, please email me!).




3)  My "Ancestor Score" for 10 generations is:

*  Number of known ancestral names = 522
*  Number of possible ancestral names = 1,023
*  10 generation Ancestral Name Number = 522/1,023 = 51.0%

4)  Extra credit:  For 15 generations, I have 2,123 known Ancestral Names, out of 32,767 possible, for an Ancestor Score of 6.5% for 15 generations.

It really helps, in my case, to have a New England ancestry for about 50% of my 4th great-grandparents.  All of those New England ancestors have English ancestors and those are the lines back to the 15th generation.


Note:  I counted only persons in my ahnentafel list that had at least a given name.  I didn't count persons with an unknown first name.  I disconnected my Smith/Bell line because I know Devier Smith was adopted.  

The URL for this post is:  
http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-your.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver



Surname Saturday -- RICE (England to colonial Massachusetts)

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


I am in the 8th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #1077 who is Frances RICE (!671-1721?) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through three generations in this RICE family line 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)

32. Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825)
33. Abigail Gates (1797-1869)


66.  Nathan Gates (1767-1830)
67.  Abigail Knowlton (1774-1855)

134.  Jeremiah Knowlton (1745-1785)
135.  Abigail Pierce (1750-1776)

268.  Jeremiah Knowlton (1713-1752)
269.  Sarah Allen (1717-1796)


538.  Thomas Allen (1690-1777)
539.  Sarah Grande (1691-????)

1076.  Benjamin Allen, born 30 January 1662 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; died 12 August 1721 in Weston, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 2152. John Allen and 2153. Sarah.  He married before 1690 in probably Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.
1077.  Frances Rice, born 03 February 1671 in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died after 28 August 1721 in Lincoln, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  

Children of Benjamin Allen and Frances Rice are:
*  Thomas Allen (1690-1777), married 1711 Sarah Grande (1691-????).
*  Grace Allen (1696-1730), married 1714 Benjamin Harrington (1685-1768).
*  Jonas Allen (1699-1789), married 1725 Elizabeth Brazier (1695-1787).
*  Zebadiah Allen (1702-1777), married 1725 Mary Hoar (1710-1777).
*  Frances Allen (1704-1753), married (1) 1724 John Gregory (1701-1736); (2) 1753 William Chubb (1706-????).
*  Benjamin Allen (1709-1768), married 1731 Eunice Gale (1711-1793).

2154.  Thomas Rice, born before 26 January 1626 in Stanstead, Suffolk, England; died 16 November 1681 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He married about 1651 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.
2155.  Mary King, born before 12 February 1630 in Shaston, Dorset, England; died 22 March 1715 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 4310. Thomas King and 4311. Anne.

Children of Thomas Rice and Mary King are:
*  Grace Rice (1653-1654).
*  Thomas Rice (1654-????), married (1) Mary (????-1677); (2) 1681 Anna Rice (1661-1731).
*  Mary Rice (1656-1733), married (1) 1678 Josiah White (1643-1714); (2) 1718 Thomas Sawyer (1649-1736).
*  Peter Rice (1658-1753), married 1688 Rebecca How (1668-1749).
*  Nathaniel Rice (1660-1726), married (1) 1691 Sarah Stone; (2) 1704 Patience Brown (1672-1722).
*  Sarah Rice (1662-1742), married 1678 William Adams (1647-1728).
*  Ephraim Rice (1665-1732), married (1) 1689 Hannah Livermore (????-1724); (2) 1725 Mary Noyes (1662-1744).
*  Gershom Rice (1667-1768), married 1696 Elizabeth Balcom (1672-????).
*  James Rice (1670-1730), married 1694 Sarah Stone (1675-1730).
*  Frances Rice (1671-1721), married 1690 Benjamin Allen (1662-1721).
*  Jonas Rice (1673-1753), married 1702 Mary Stone (1677-1764).
*  Grace Rice (1675-1768), married 1702 Nathaniel Moore (1677-1761).
*  Elisha Rice (1679-1761), married 1708 Elizabeth Wheeler (1669-1744).

4308.  Edmund Rice, born about 1594 in probably Boemer, Buckinghamshire, England; died 03 May 1663 in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 8616. Thomas Rice and 8617. unknown.  He married 15 October 1618 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England.
4309.  Thomasine Frost, born before 11 August 1600 in Stanstead, Suffolk, England; died 13 June 1653 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 8618. Edward Frost and 8619. Thomasine Belgrave.

Children of Edmund Rice and Thomasine Frost are:
*  Mary Rice (1619-????).
*  Henry Rice (1621-1711), married 1644 Elizabeth Moore (1626-1705).
*  Edward Rice (1622-1712), married 1647 Agnes Bent (1631-1713).
*  Thomas Rice (1626-1681), married 1651 Mary King (1630-1715).
*  Matthew Rice (1629-1717), married 1654 Martha Lamson (1634-1717).
*  Lydia Rice (1629-1675), married 1645 Hugh Drury (1616-1689).
*  Daniel Rice (1632-1632).
*  Samuel Rice (1634-1685), married (1) 1655 Elizabeth King (1635-1667); (2) 1669 Mary Dix (1639-1675); (3) 1676 Sarah White (1643-1711).
*  Joseph Rice 1638-1711), married (1) 1658 Mercy King (1638-1669); (2) 1670 Mary Beers (1643-1677); (3) 1678 Elizabeth Prescott (1637-1727).
*  Benjamin Rice (1640-1713), married (1) 1661 Mary Brown (1643-1691); (2) 1691 Mary Chamberlain (1650-1716.

Information about these Rice families was obtained from:

*  Mary Lovering Holman, "English Notes on Edmund Rice, " The American Genealogist, Volume 10, 1933, page 133 

*  Donald Lines Jacobus, "Pre-American Ancestries, IX. Edmund Rice of Sudbury, Mass.," The American Genealogist, volume 11, 1934, page 14.

*  Andrew Henshaw Ward, The Genealogical History of The Rice Family:  Descendants of Deacon Edmund Rice (Boston, Mass. : J.B. Richardson, 1858)

*  Edmund Rice (1638) Association (compiler), A Genealogical Register of Edmund Rice Descendants, (Rutland, Vt. : C.E. Tuttle, 1970).

*  Vital record books of several Massachusetts towns.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2015), Randall J. Seaver


Friday, January 9, 2015

New or Updated Ancestry.com Databases - 20 December 2014 to 9 January 2015

The following databases were added or updated on Ancestry.com during the period from 20 December 2014 to 9 January 2015 (Note: not all new or updated databases are indexed or have images).

*  New Mexico, Department of Corrections Records, 1905-1958; indexed database with images updated 9 January 2015

*  U.S., Published Quaker Family Histories, 1845-1920; NEW indexed database with images added 8 January 2015

*  Idaho, County Birth and Death Records, 1907-1920; NEW indexed database with images added 6 January 2015 

*  South Africa, Birth and Baptism Records, 1700s-1900s; NEW indexed new database (no images) added 5 January 2015

*  California, Naturalization Records, 1940-1991; NEW indexed database with images added 5 January 2015

*  Arizona, Naturalization Records, 1912-1972; NEW indexed database with images added 5 January 2015


*  South Africa, Voter Indexes, 1719-1996; NEW indexed database (no images) added 5 January 2015

The recently added or updated page on Ancestry.com is http://www.ancestry.com/cs/reccol/default.

The complete Ancestry.com Card Catalog is at  http://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx.  There are 32,537 databases available as of 9 January, an increase of 8 over two weeks ago. 

The URL for this post is:  

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

Farm-Spotting: The Simon Gates Home Farm in Gardner, Massachusetts

Since I wrote Amanuensis Monday - Post 247: Letter of Administration for Estate of Simon Gates (1739-1803) on 5 January, and then plotted the boundaries of Simon Gates Home Farm in Plotting the Metes and Bounds of Simon Gates Home Farm in Gardner, Mass. on 7 January 2015, I've been working on trying to locate the actual location of the farm in Gardner, Massachusetts.

What I knew was that the Simon Gates home farm in 1803 was located in the "northeastwardly" part of Gardner, with neighbors of Daniel How, John and Lucas Dunn, Edward Jackson, and Josiah Kendall.  Here is the home farm plotted using the Deed Platter from GenealogyTools.net I found online:



The breakthrough came when I downloaded the Gardner, Massachusetts history book from Google Books.  Pages 30-31 described the family of Simon Gates:


The book provided this information about the Simon Gates home farm:

"Gates, Simon, moved from Westminster to Gardner without changing his residence; the town line crossing his farm, he had a right to belong to the town he chose, and being a just man, he decided to come to Gardner, because he thought it his duty to go where he could do the most good.  He had a good farm on what is called Beech Hill, where his grandson Horace Gates now lives, and was one of the principal men building up the town."

So there is my clue.  Several years ago, I found an 1870 map of Gardner online (I don't recall where...bad genealogist!), so I looked in the "northeastwardly" part of Gardner and easily found the name "H. Gates" on the map.  This area is just west of Westminster, and just east of the railroad that is on the 1870 map and the current Google map.  I circled the name "H. Gates":


Now I think that this is the place - how can I find the location on a current map?  I opened Google Maps, and entered Gardner, Mass. and zoomed in a bit on the eastern part of Gardner with the approximate dimensions of the 1870 map image above:


You can see the railroad to the west of the current Correctional Facility, you can see the stream to the northeast of the Correctional Facility along May Street, and you can notice that the boundary between Gardner and Westminster is straight rather than jagged.

Zooming in a bit more, I saw the roads near the Correctional Facility looked somewhat like the boundaries on the platted map.  I guessed at where to put the red circle to represent the approximate location of the "H. Gates" (and therefore Simon Gates 1803) farm:


Zooming in even more, I guessed at where the home farm boundaries are [If I were a great genealogist I would have used the rod measurements, converted them to the Google Map scale, and plotted them accurately] and drew them on the map below:


These may be slightly off length-wise and angle wise, but I think they are approximately correct.

It appears that the 1860 home farm house was on the grounds of the North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner.  Here's a satellite view of this area:


If I've sited the red circle correctly, it looks like the home farm was in the area just outside the  eastern institution fence.  I guess I won't try to visit the site the next time I'm in Gardner!!

For reference purposes, the location is just north of the intersection of Chapel Street and North Gardner Road.

This was fun...

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/farm-spotting-simon-gates-home-farm-in.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 54: #61, Sarah (Fletcher) Kemp (1802- before 1861)

Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I am extending this theme in 2015 to 104 Ancestors in 104 Weeks. Here is my ancestor biography for week #54:

[NOTE:  This profile was edited to reflect the life of Abraham Kemp's first wife, Sarah (Fletcher) Kemp.]

Sarah Fletcher (1802-ca 1850)  is #61 on my Ahnentafel list, my third great-grandmother. She married in 1818  to #60 Abraham James Kemp (1795-1881).


I am descended through:

*  their son, 
#30 James Abraham Kemp (1831-1902), who married #31, Mary Jane Sovereen (1841-1874), in 1861.
*  their daughter #15 Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952), who married #14 Charles Auble (1849-1916) in 1898.
*  their daughter, #7 Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977) married, #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)in 1918. 
* their daughter, #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002), who married Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) in 1942.
*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

 =====================================================

1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):


*  Name:                        Sarah Fletcher[3]    
*  Alternate Name:         Sarah Kemp[1]

*  Sex:                             Female   
  
2)  INDIVIDUAL FACTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Birth:                         7 July 1802, probably Quebec, Canada[1]
*  Census:                      1 June 1851 (age 48), Ameliasburg, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada[2]
*  Death:                        before 1850 (before age 48), probably Hastings, Ontario, Canada   
   
3)  SHARED FACTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
   
*  Spouse 1:                    Abraham Kemp (1795-1881)   
*  Marriage 1:                 16 April 1818 (age 15), probably Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada[3]
*  Child 1:                       Waity Catherine Kemp (1820-1899)   
*  Child 2:                       Mary Ann Kemp (1823-1903)   
*  Child 3:                       Stephen J. Kemp (1826-1880)   
*  Child 4:                       William H. Kemp (1829-1886)   
*  Child 5:                       James Abraham Kemp (1831-1902)   
*  Child 6:                       John L. Kemp (1834-1920)   
*  Child 7:                       Peter Evans Kemp (1837-1921)   
*  Child 8:                       Andrew Hait Kemp (1840-1915)   
*  Child 9:                       Sarah Jane Kemp (1843-1891)   
*  Child 10:                     Charles W. Kemp (1845-    )   
*  Child 11:                     Wesley Kemp (1847-1891)   
  
4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):   

 The names of the parents of Sarah Fletcher are not known.  

A Kemp family Bible was in the possession of a descendant of Abram Kemp (1795- after 1881) of Norfolk County, Ontario.[1, 3]A transcript of the Bible was typed at some unknown time and a copy of the transcript was donated to the Orange County (CA) Genealogical Society and placed in the Huntington Beach (CA) Public Library in Orange County, California, where I found it in the stacks in the early 1990s. The second page includes these notes:

Abraham Kemp was married to Sarah Fletcher on 16th April 1818.

"BIRTHS

Ab'm Kemp 4 Nov 1795 (4 Dec 1795)
Sarah Kemp 7 July 1802 (about 1807)
Waty C. Kemp 23 Sept 1821 (23 Dec 1820)
Mary Ann Kemp 20 July 1824 (20 Feb 1823)
Stephen G. Kemp 7 Feb 1826
W.H. Kemp 4 March 1829
Ab'm J. Kemp 22 May 1831
John L. Kemp 28 Apr 1834 (about 1835)
Peter E. Kemp 28 Feb 1837
Andrew Kemp 6 Nov 1840 (6 Nov 1839)
Sarah J. Kemp 2 June 1843 (about 1841)
Chas. W. Kemp 14 Sept 184-
Wesley Kemp 16 Nov 1847 (16 Feb 1849)

In the 1851 Canada Census for Canada West (Ontario), the Abram Kemp family resided in Ameliasburg, Prince Edward County, Ontario.[2]  The household included:

*  Abram Kemp - a farmer, born in U.S., W. Methodist, age 55, male.
*  Sephrona Kemp - spinster, born in France, Catholic, age 44, female
*  Abram Kemp Jr. - labourer, born in Canada, W. Methodist, age 21, male.
*  John Kemp -  labourer, born in Canada, W. Methodist, age 17, male.
*  Peter E. Kemp -  labourer, born in Canada, W. Methodist, age 14, male.
*  Wesley Kemp -  born in Canada, W. Methodist, age 4, male.

Peter Evans Kemp's marriage record in 1875 indicates his parents are Ab'm and Sarah Kemp.  Wesley Kemp's marriage record in 1874 indicates his parents were Abram and Sarah Kemp, and Andrew Hait Kemp's second marriage in 1905 indicates his parents were Abraham and Sarah Kemp.  

Sarah (Fletcher) Kemp probably died before 1850.  Abraham was married to his second wife, Sephrona  (Goddard) Sheltraw (1808-1896) before 1851, probably in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

In the 1861 Canada census in Huntingdon township, Hastings County, Ontario the Abraham Kemp family included:

*  Abraham Kemp - born C.W. (Canada West), Wesleyan religion, age 65, male, married, member of family
*  Ann Kemp - born C.W. (Canada West), Wesleyan religion, age 55, female, married, member of family
*  Wesley Kemp - born C.W. (Canada West), Wesleyan religion, age 13, male, not married, member of family.

This implies a second (or third) wife for Abraham Kemp.  

There is no apparent death or burial record for Sarah (Fletcher) Kemp.
 
5)  SOURCES

1. Unknown, John Evans Kemp Family Bible transcript (Transcript at Huntington Beach CA Public Library), Sarah Kemp birth entry.

2. Census of 1851, Prince Edward County, Ontario, A, District 32, Prince Edward County, Subdistrict 304, Ameliasburgh township, Page 42 (penned), Lines 14 to 19, Abram Kemp household; digital image, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1851/index-e.html : accessed 10 March 2013); Library and Archives Canada Microfilm C-11750.

3. Unknown, John Evans Kemp Family Bible transcript, Abraham Kemp and Sarah Fletcher marriage entry.

=====================================

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-54-61.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


Thursday, January 8, 2015

Dear Randy: Why Are You Using the FamilySearch Family Tree?

I posted Why Aren't Researchers Using the FamilySearch Family Tree? on 6 January 2015, and have received many comments that are helpful and intriguing.

I received a question via email asking "Why are you using the FamilySearch Family Tree?"

My answer is pretty simple - I think that being collaborative with my genealogical research is beneficial, because it helps me and other researchers define relationships and events, as long as the conclusions in the tree (names, dates, places, relationships, events, etc.) are source-based.  My view is that this is the best online collaborative family tree available, with the most person profiles, and will be the "gold standard" in the future.  Wikis work, but it takes time to get the critical mass of active and dedicated users.

The FamilySearch Family Tree has just about every feature that I want in a collaborative family tree, including:

*  Names
*  Alternate Names
*  Vital Events
*  Alternate Events
*  Other Events
*  Fact Notes
*  Life Sketch
*  Stories/Memories
*  Family Structures
*  Document Images
*  Photograph Images
*  Sources
*  Discussions
*  Family Tree Views
*  Chart Printing
*  Research Help
*  Record Hints
*  Change Notices
*  Matching/Merging Duplicate Profiles
*  Add, Edit or Delete Profiles

The main reason that I like the FamilySearch Family Tree over other "collaborative trees" (e.g., Geni, WikiTree, WeRelate, OneGreatFamily, etc.) is that I can synchronize information in my own RootsMagic database with information in the Family Tree - either from RootsMagic to the Family Tree, or vice versa.  Other software programs do this also, notably Legacy Family Tree and Ancestral Quest.  This synchronization makes dealing with the Family Tree profiles relatively easy, but it is somewhat time consuming.  Sometimes, the information in the Family Tree is better than the information I have in my database, as long as it is source-based and conclusive.

There are several significant problems with information in the FamilySearch Family Tree, including:

1)  Profiles for some historical persons (usually famous Mormon pioneers and their ancestors, famous historical persons with many descendants - such as Mayflower passengers, etc.) cannot be merged at this time.    These are called IOUS - "Individuals Of Unusual Size" (meaning that there are many profiles for one person).  FamilySearch promises that this issue will eventually be corrected - we will have to see if that's the case.  I hope it will be!  My guess is that FamilySearch personnel will have to do this in an arbitration mode.

2)  Some historical persons have several (or many!) profiles with spouses and children, and are terribly messed up.  These profiles can be merged and untangled, but it requires patience to do this task along with a good understanding of the process to do the task.  Collaboration, in the form of providing sources and participating in civil discussions, will be needed to sort these out.  Arbitration may be needed with some of these historical persons also.

3)  Some historical persons are conflated with another historical person.  Again, it takes patience and knowledge to sort these out.  Collaboration, in the form of providing sources and participating in civil discussions, is needed to sort these out.

4)  Many profiles do not have supporting sources for the names, relationships, events, etc. of historical persons in the Family Tree.  Sources and Notes for these need to be added to the person profiles.  

5)  Some information is just plain wrong, with no dates and places, or a date range, for vital events.  A dedicated and rational researcher with source citations and cogent arguments in hand can replace the wrong information in a person profile and improve the information in the profile.  There may be some contributors who will vehemently disagree.  

6)  There is the potential for significant disagreement for profiles of historical persons, and there may be "Edit Wars" for some profiles.  I haven't seen any in my own lines, but I've heard that there are some in the Family Tree.  Again, some sort of arbitration feature may be necessary to decide these disputes.

Because of these known problems, and there probably are many more (and I'm sure my readers will help me expand the list!!), I have limited my efforts to adding persons from my RootsMagic tree who are not in the Family Tree, and to add Events, Notes, Sources, etc. the Family Tree for my ancestral families.  Even though I have a fairly well documented ancestry, my ancestral families really are just a few twigs on the Family Tree.  

The benefits that I see from the FamilySearch Family Tree includes:

1)  Cousins!  There are many researchers who have added information about families descended from my ancestors.  In most cases, I've entered a spouse, and perhaps children and their spouses, for siblings of my ancestors.  Others have done the same thing for their own lines.  By reviewing these lines, and perhaps adding them to my database, I may be able to find more information about my ancestors, and to identify how I am related to cousins who appear on my DNA matches on Ancestry, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, and GEDMatch.

2)  Being part of an effort to identify as many historical persons as possible, and to be able to add as much documented information as possible to the Family Tree.  

3)  Collaboration encourages other researchers to collaborate.  Discussions encourage other researchers to discuss.  I want to be a good example without being overbearing.  

At this point in time, I have added and edited all of the information about my ancestors back into the fourth grand-parents.  I'm still working on the siblings of my ancestors, and the earlier generations,  as time permits. I usually find IOUS in the 9th and 10th generations back in New England.  For now, I stop there, as long as I connect to one of the IOUS that seem to be correct (at least according to my research!).   If I work at it, I spend 3 to 6 hours a week in the FamilySearch Family Tree.  

Here are fan charts showing my childrens' ancestors in the tree:

1)  My father's ancestry:



2)  My mother's ancestry:


3)  My wife's ancestry:


What other problems do you find in the FamilySearch Family Tree?  Do you think they will be fixed?

What other benefits do you experience or perceive in using the FamilySearch Family Tree?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/dear-randy-why-are-you-using.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


Do Attached FindMyPast Record Hints Create Source Citations?

I was happy when FindMyPast offered a Family Tree feature, and then when they announced that Record Hints would be provided for persons in my FindMyPast tree (see FindMyPast Introduces Hints in Family Trees - UPDATED (posted 17 December 2014) and First Look at FindMyPast Hints in My Tree (posted 5 January 2015).

These were major steps in the development of FindMyPast as a modern worldwide provider of record collections and attachment of records to isolated family trees - coming close to the levels already achieved by Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, and FamilySearch.org.

Now I want to see if FindMyPast creates a Source citation for a record from a collection and attaches the source to the Person and Event in the family tree.

1)  Here is a screen shot of a portion of my family tree on FindMyPast:



My 8th great-grandmother, Hannah Wilson (1647-1721), has four record Hints indicated on the screen above.  I clicked on the Hint number (in the orange circle on Hannah's profile) to see the four Hints:


2)  I clicked on the "Review" button for the first Hint, Hannah's 1647 birth record in Roxbury, Massachusetts (two screens), and then on the small "Source Information" icon in the top right of Hannah's name box (obscured in the screen below).  A "Source Information" popup appears:



3)  The "Source Information" for this record is:

"Page
Record set: Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850; Record collection: Births & baptisms; Category: Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers); Collections from: United States & Canada;


That is source information, but not really a source citation.  It references a record collection, not a specific book, periodical or original source, and doesn't provide useful information like the specific town, specific page number, or subjects name and record type.  The link leads me to the record transcription (two screens below):



The second screen above provides a helpful but general description of the record collection.

The transcription of the record above does not provide the date of the event, but it does provide the record type, person's name, event year, town name, page number, etc., but not the actual date of birth, parents names, etc.  In order to obtain those, I have to click on the blue "View Image" button to see the page from the Roxbury, Massachusetts Vital Record book:


On the record page, I learn that Hanna Wilson was the daughter of Nathaniel, and was baptized (not born) in May 1647 (the listing helpfully tells me that the church record says the date was 2 : 3m, or 2 May 1647).

4)  Now I'm wondering if the inadequate source information is attached to the Birth of Hannah Wilson in my FindMyPast family tree.  Here is Hannah's profile in my tree, on the "Fact & events" tab:


There are two Sources listed.  However, both of them were created by me before I uploaded my GEDCOM file to FindMyPast.  So a source citation for the FindMyPast record is not added by FindMyPast to the Person or to the Event.

5)  The Media item was added to the "Media" tab in Hannah Wilson's profile:



The media item shows a shortened source information of:

"Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 Transcription - US-BMD-MASS_VITAL-1468453"

That is a link to the record transcription, from which the user can see the record image.

6)  So the answer to my question is:  "No, an attached FindMyPast record does not create a source citation for either the person or the event."  It does not provide a new event either.  FindMyPast does provide limited source information.   In this case, the user had to review the record image in order to obtain birth/baptism date information and a parent's name.

I expected, and desire, better.  My preference would be that the record image be sourced to the website, record collection, record book, page and record person,such as:

"Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850," FindMyPast (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 8 January 2015), digital image, "Roxbury, Massachusetts Vital Records to the Year 1850," Births, page 386, Hanna Wilson baptism record, 1647; citing New England Historic Genealogical Society vital record book collection.

That is pretty close to Evidence Explained source citation standards, describes where I found the record, and provides sufficient detail that another researcher can find the record (perhaps with the link to the record transcription added?) and can evaluate the value of this source.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/01/do-attached-findmypast-record-hints.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver