Saturday, December 17, 2016

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Pauleen's Christmas Meme

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 
 It's Saturday Night again - 
time for some more Genealogy Fun!!


Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas traditions.

Pauleen (Cassmob) who writes the Family history across the seas blog started a Christmas meme in 2012 - see Deck the Halls - 2012 Christmas GeneaMeme.  So we will use that for SNGF this week (since very few readers did it in past years!):

1)  Copy and paste the meme questions into your blog or word processor, and then answer the questions.  You could use short statements, long paragraphs or provide a link to one of your earlier posts.

2)  Tell us about your meme answers in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this post, or on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.

3)  Be sure to leave a comment on Pauleen's blog post about your entry in this Christmas 2016 Geneameme.  She'll be surprised!

Here's mine (questions in green, answers in red):

THE 2012 CHRISTMAS GENEAMEME (IN 2016)
  1. Do you have any special Xmas traditions in your family?  Just shopping, gifts, Christmas dinner at my grandparents, and then my parents, and then my brothers homes - before my mother died in 2002.  Since then, we either host, or we go to one of our daughters homes and my brother-in-law's home up the California coast (650 miles north), and back.
  2. Is church attendance an important part of your Christmas celebrations and do you go the evening before or on Xmas Day?  Not as a child growing up.  After marriage, we attended Christmas Eve services, ending with lit candles singing "Silent Night" around the outside cross.  I was a wise man for many years in the Christmas pageant at church - not a speaking part!  But not any more - we're usually on the road.
  3. Did/do you or your children/grandchildren believe in Santa?  Of course we did!  Right up until we found the "big" gifts from Santa in my grandparents garage when I was 12.  Our kids did until about age 12, and some of our five grandchildren (ages 2 to 13) still do (I think, I hope)!  Now I am Santa... HO HO HO!!!
  4. Do you go carolling in your neighbourhood?  Not as a child or young adult.  Our church social group did this for a number of years when we were first married.  I hummed a lot to avoid embarrassing myself (my key is J Flat).
  5. What’s your favourite Christmas music?  I love the traditional hymns and some of the more modern tunes.  One of my favorite memories is singing hymns on Christmas Eve with my grandmother.  
  6. What’s your favourite Christmas carol?  Angels We Have Heard On High.  It lifts my spirit.
  7. Do you have a special Xmas movie/book you like to watch/read?  I watch "A Christmas Story" every year it seems...it is not unlike when I was a boy.  I didn't shoot my own eye with a BB gun, but I got the neighbor boy just below the eye. 
  8. Does your family do individual gifts, gifts for littlies only, Secret Santa (aka Kris Kringle)?  I exchange several gifts with my wife, usually one gift from us to our daughters and son-in-law, and several gifts from us to each of the grandchildren.  We've become addicted to Amazon and gift cards so they can get what they want.
  9. Is your main Christmas meal indoors or outdoors, at home or away?  It is always indoors (it is winter in the USA, even in San Diego) and usually at one of my daughters' homes.
  10. What do you eat as your main course for the Christmas meal?  Always roast turkey, usually with stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans or peas.  Then pumpkin pie.
  11. Do you have a special recipe you use for Xmas?  I don't - I just show up and eat.  Ho ho ho!
  12. Does Christmas pudding feature on the Xmas menu? Is it your recipe or one you inherited?  We've never had Christmas pudding.
  13. Do you have any other special Christmas foods? What are they?  Not really.  Maybe sugar cookies? :)
  14. Do you give home-made food/craft for gifts at Christmas?  No.  We used to be in a social group that would re-gift fruitcakes each year.
  15. Do you return to your family for Xmas or vice versa?  We either host one or both daughters' families or we go to one of them on Christmas Day and the other one before or after Christmas (since they live 400 miles apart, and we're 100 miles from the closest one).
  16. Is your Christmas celebrated differently from your childhood ones? If yes, how does it differ?  Yes, we are much more religious than our parents were.  And we travel more than 10 miles to be with our family.
  17. How do you celebrate Xmas with your friends? Lunch? Pre-Xmas outings? Drop-ins? Sometimes we drop-in or host drop-ins, and my wife has lunch with other friends with a small gift exchange. Our local genealogy society has a "Holiday Luncheon" with a bring-one get-one gift exchange.  I never get anything good.  
  18. Do you decorate your house with lights? A little or a lot?  We used to string lights around the front edge of the house, but I don't go up on the roof any more...so no, we don't any longer.
  19. Is your neighbourhood a “Xmas lights” tour venue?  It's a cul-de-sac, but there are some good light shows on the street.  Our city has several organized light tour blocks that attract drive-bys and walkers.
  20. Does your family attend Carols by Candlelight singalongs/concerts? Where?  We used to, but now it's only the Christmas Eve service at church  (when we are in town) where we have lit candles around the outdoor cross and  sing Silent Night after the service.
  21. Have any of your Christmases been spent camping (unlikely for our northern-hemisphere friends)?  No...
  22. Is Christmas spent at your home, with family or at a holiday venue?  Sometimes, sometimes and no.
  23. Do you have snow for Christmas where you live?  San Diego is very temperate, so I've seen snow twice in my life at sea level.  Our mountains have snow every year, and occasionally at Christmas time.
  24. Do you have a Christmas tree every year?  We used to, and do when we are hosting Christmas for the family.  However, we don't have a tree in most years that we travel to be with the daughters and grandkids.  We don't have one this year (Linda wreceived a 12-inch tree for her birthday but we haven't decorated it).
  25. Is your Christmas tree a live tree (potted/harvested) or an imitation?  Growing up, it was always harvested.  During most of our married life, the tree was harvested, although we had a potted tree several years.  We have an imitation tree now but rarely put it up.  I wonder where it is?
  26. Do you have special Xmas tree decorations?  Linda insists that all of the decorations on our tree are angels...and we have hundreds of angels on flat space around the house.  So yes...
  27. Which is more important to your family, Christmas or Thanksgiving?  Christmas.
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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/12/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-pauleens.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Surname Saturday -- WEAVER (England to colonial New England)

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 #1503, who is Mary WEAVER (1662-1693) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through one generation of this WEAVER 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)


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

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

46.  Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872)
47.  Amy Champlin (1798-1865)

92.  Joseph Oatley (1756-1815)
93.  Mary Hazard (1765-1857)

186.  Stephen Hazard (1730-1804)
187.  Elizabeth Carpenter (1741-????)

374.  Daniel Carpenter (1712-1784)
375.  Renewed Smith (1717-1766)

750.  Ephraim Smith (1675-1733)
751.  Margaret Pearce (1689-????)

1502.  Daniel Pearce, born about 1658 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island, United States; died after 1744 in Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States.  He was the son of 3004. John Pearce and 3005. Mary.  He married about 1683 in probably Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island, United States.
1503.  Mary Weaver, born about 1662 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island, United States; died about 1693 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island, United States.

Children of Daniel Pearce and Mary Weaver are:
*  Daniel Pearce (1687-1758), married 1708 Patience Hill (1687-????).
*  Margaret Pearce (1689-????), married 1710 Ephraim Smith (1675-1733).
*  Mary Pearce (1690-????), married 1715 John Morse (1685-????).
*  John Pearce (1691-1744), married 1718 Martha Sweet (1697-????).

Since I had Mary's surname, I looked for Weavers who resided in Portsmouth and Newport in the 1660-1700 time frame.  I found Clement and Mary (Freeborn) Weaver married in about 1645 and resided in Portsmouth, and had a daughter Mary.  WikiTree.com has a decent amount of information about this line - see Weaver-203 and his wife Freeborn-5.  However, no spouse is provided for Mary Weaver, wife of Daniel Pearce, and the birth dates are different by 9 years.

I note that there are several references to the Clement Weaver line in New Englanders in the 1600s by Martin Hollick, and will pursue those when I get to a good genealogy library.

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/12/surname-saturday-weaver-england-to.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.


Friday, December 16, 2016

This Week's We're Related Relationships, 16 December 2016

I received 12 new cousin relationships on the We're Related mobile app this week, which is based on Ancestry Member Trees.  The new relationships, and my initial evaluation of them, are:

1)  Eli Manning - Sports, 8th cousin, common ancestor is Josiah Wood (1687-1730).



The Josiah Wood in my line is 1687-1753, married to Ruth Walker (1692-1752).  Peyton's line is through daughter Anne Wood (1715-1769), who I don't see in the Josiah Wood and Ruth Walker family.  My judgment is that this relationship is Wrong.

2)  Sharon Atkins - Facebook friend, 7th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Thomas Allen (1690-1777).

The app appears to have the common ancestor Thomas Allen (1690-1777) the father of Thomas Allen 1683-1741) in Sharon's line.  My guess is that this is a case of the app extending Sharon's line erroneously.  My judgment is that this relationship is Wrong.

3)  June Butka -- Facebook friend, 7th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Hannah Wheeler (1649-1697).

The app has Hannah Wheeler (1649-1697) as the mother to Mary Lawrence Fletcher (1686-1768), and her as the mother of Benjamin Fletcher (1715-1772) in June's line.  I have a Wheeler as the husband of Mary Fletcher rather than a Fletcher.  My judgment is that this relationship is Doubtful.

4)  Bethel Williams -- Nearby (CVGS member), 9th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Sarah Reed (1638-1681).  

Bethel and I compared notes, and we think this relationship is Likely.

5)  Lucille Ball -- Entertainer, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Sarah Kirtland (1646-????).



The app says that Sarah Kirtland was the mother of Sarah Lee (1674-1729) in Lucy's line.  My line shows her as the mother of Sarah Davis (1676-1754).  It may be two different Sarah Kirtlands (mine married Davis, Lucy's married Lee?) that the app has conflated.  My judgment is that this relationship is Wrong.

6)  George Clinton - Politician, 5th cousin 8x removed, common ancestor is Alice Watson (1535-1585).



The app has added three generations to my immigrant ancestor Ralph Smith (1612-1685).  My judgment is that this relationship is Doubtful.

7)  Carrie Smith -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Mary Jones (1672-1760).

My line to Mary Jones is through Jacob Fitz Randolph, and Carrie's is through Prudence Fitz Randolph.  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

8)  Kim McCullars -- Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Mary Wight (1638-1693).

Kim's line to Mary Wight is through daughter Anne Ellis (1655-????).  I show Mary Wight married Thomas Ellis in 1657, and don't show Anne as a daughter.  My judgment is that this relationship is Doubtful.

9)  Cecily Kelly -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Deborah Church (1676-1772).

My line to Deborah Church goes through Lydia Gray (1707-????),. while Cecily's goes through Simeon Gray (1709-1742).  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

10)  Ernest Hemingway -- Author, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Jonathan Gilbert (1648-1698).



The app shows my line to Jonathan Gilbert through the parents of my brick wall ancestor William Knapp (1775-1856), adding 5 generations to my tree.  My judgment is that this relationship is Wrong without even looking at Hemingway's line.

11)  Robin Williams -- Actor, 8th cousin, common ancestor is Ruth Collins (1685-1715).



My research shows that Ruth Collins had only one child, my Ruth Graves (1711-????) and died before 1715 when Thomas Graves married (2) Ruth Taylor.  I don't show a Sarah Graves (1715-1773) for Thomas and Ruth (Taylor) Graves, which is Robin's line.  My judgment is that this relationship is Doubtful.

12)  Janis Joplin -- Musician, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Michael Meyer (1672-1733).



The app shows my line going through my brick wall ancestor Catherine Ruth (1770-1813) and back three more generations to Michael Meyer (those three generations are not in my tree).  My judgment is that this relationship is Doubtful.

My count is up to 90 famous or Facebook cousins provided by the app.  This week, my judgment is that only  three of the 12 cousin relationships are Probable or Likely.  

I will say it again:  My biggest problem with this We're Related app is that it thinks it knows my ancestral lines better than I do, and adds one to five generations to some of my end-of-line ancestors.  They may be right -- I don't know -- and can't really find out because they provide no source material to back up their assertions.  If there was authoritative information for my end-of-line ancestors, I would add it.  None of the "Doubtful" or "Wrong" relationships have been convincing to me yet.

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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.


New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday. 16 December 2016

I received this information from Findmypast today:

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New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday

Over 285,000 new records are available to search this Findmypast Friday including;

British Army discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880

Containing over 10,000 records, British Army discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880, will allow you to find out if your ancestor served in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. This collection of discharge records will allow you to uncover their service number, rank, and the reason for their discharge.

The 60th Regiment of Foot saw action in the Seven Years War, Napoleonic Wars, and Peninsular War. They have served in India, Burma, Afghanistan, China, and South Africa. The men found in these records most likely fought in The Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), in Canada during the Fenian raids (1866-1867), and The Zulu War (1879).

Middlesex War Memorials

Middlesex War Memorials contains over 21,000 transcripts of memorials from over 40 parishes across the English county of Middlesex. The collection lists the names of soldiers who died while on active service between 1845 and 1998 and covers 13 conflicts.

Each record will provide you with a transcript of the individual entry from the war memorial, as well as a full transcript of all the names that appeared alongside your ancestor. Each transcript will reveal the conflict they served in, where and when they were killed, a brief description and any additional notes. Transcripts also include links from the West Middlesex Family History Society providing greater detail about the memorial such as the memorial’s location and explanations of abbreviations.

Queensland Passports Index 1915-1925

The Queensland Passports Index 1915-1925 is an index of passport registers containing over 13,000 names. The original registers were compiled by the Collector of Customs, Brisbane, and are currently held by the National Archives of Australia. Each record includes a transcript that will reveal the year the record was taken, your ancestor’s address, the date they applied for or renewed a passport and where their intended destination.

Depending on the period covered, the registers themselves may include additional information such as passport numbers, warrant numbers, remarks and additional dates associated with the issuing of passports, and occupations. Remarks may include details about soldiers returning home from the Great War.

New South Wales 1841 Census

Explore the only surviving records from the 1841 census of New South Wales. Containing just under 11,000 names, this collection includes both fully searchable transcripts and scanned images of the original household returns, affidavit forms, and abstracts of returns that will allow you to discover where your ancestors were living in 1841.

Images of the original forms may occasionally provide you with additional information or insight such as your ancestor’s religion, occupation, or civil condition. The amount of information included will vary depending on the type of document.

Britain, Histories & Reference Guides

Over 13,000 records have been added to our collection of British Histories and Reference Guides. The collection consists of 65 volumes on genealogy, heraldry, palaeography, geography, and more. The details gleaned from these titles will provide you with the contextual information you need to create full profiles of your ancestors and the lives they led. They will add quality to your family history and your overall understanding of British genealogy.

The subject matter varies greatly in this large collection of publications. A full list of all titles included can be found at the bottom of the search page.


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Disclosure:  I am a Findmypast Ambassador and receive a complimentary subscription from Findmypast.


Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.