Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of 20 to 26 June 2026

  The following genealogy record collections were added to the Ancestry.com Card Catalog page by "Date Updated" during the period from 20 to 26 June 2026: 

The ADDED and Updated collections include:

• Ireland, 1926 Census of the Irish Free State; 2,972,451 indexed records with record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This collection contains the 1926 Census of the Irish Free State taken on the 18th of April 1926. The collection is available for free on Ancestry.
• U.S., Navy Muster Rolls, 1949-1971; 107,718,553 indexed records with record images, Updated 6/25/2026. These records include detailed muster rolls listing personnel assigned to ships, stations, and activities for the U.S. Navy, 1949-1971.
• Norway, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 272,892 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Norway. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 12,727,869 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Australia and New Zealand. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Mexico, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 99,668 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Mexico. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present.
• Germany, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current; 4,687,580 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Germany. The records are dated between the 1600s and the present. 
• Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current; 24,707,156 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® for burials at sea and other select burial locations. 
• UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current; 29,315,787 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The records are dated between the 1300s and the present. 
• Brazil, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 320,450 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Brazil. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Sweden, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 1,174,817 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Sweden. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present.
• Italy, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current; 497,497 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Italy. The records are dated between the 1800s and the present. 
• Canada, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current; 12,706,670 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from Canada. The records are dated between the 1600s and the present. 
• U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current; 186,791,984 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/25/2026. This database contains an index to cemetery and burial details posted on Find a Grave® from the United States. The records are dated between the 1600s and the present. 
• Oise, France, Census, 1806-1921; 6,816,646 indexed records with record images,   ADDED 6/24/2026. This collection contains census records from Oise, France, between the years of 1806 and 1921. Most records are in French, but some are in Latin.
• Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Confederate States of America Quartermaster Department, 1861-1864; 8,070 indexed records with record images, ADDED 6/24/2026. 
• Nièvre, France, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1622-1922; 3,345,056 indexed records with record images, ADDED  6/24/2026. This collection contains civil registries of births, marriages, and deaths between 1622 and 1922 in Nièvre, France. Most records are in French, but some records may be in German or Latin.
• Haute Savoie, France, Census, 1861-1911; 1,702,298 indexed records with record images, ADDED 6/24/2026. This collection contains census records from Haute-Savoie, France, between the years of 1861 and 1911. 
• England and Wales, Tithe Maps and Apportionments, 1775-1936; 14,668,539 indexed records with record images, ADDED 6/24/2026. This collection contains tithe apportionment records and tithe maps for England and Wales between 1775 and 1936. 
• U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current; 218,551,880 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/23/2026. This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain.
• UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current; 8,700,035 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/23/2026. This collection is an index of information taken from online obituaries published in the United Kingdom and Ireland between 2004 and the present.
• U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current; 153,357,997 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/23/2026. This collection is an index of information taken from online obituaries published by cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States between 1847 and the present.
• Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current; 12,314,132 indexed records without record images, Updated 6/23/2026. This database is a compilation of obituaries published in Canadian newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain.
• New Zealand, New Zealand Gazette, 1859-1922; 2,288,024 indexed records with record images, ADDED 6/22/2026. This collection contains editions of The New Zealand Gazette published between 1876 and 1886.
• U.S., Descendants of Signers of the Declaration of Independence, 1706-1900; 16,571 indexed records without record images, ADDED  6/22/2026. This collection is an index of a family tree created by Ancestry’s professional genealogists from the book series Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

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The complete Ancestry.com Card Catalog is at https://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx.

By my count, there are 7 NEW record collections ADDED this past week, per the list above. There are now 33,949 collections available as of 26 June, an INCREASE of 7 from last week. 

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Disclosure: I pay for an All-Access subscription from Ancestry.com. In past years, Ancestry.com provided a complimentary All Access subscription, an autosomal DNA test, material considerations for travel expenses to meetings, and hosted events and meals that I attended in Salt Lake City.

The URL for this post is:  

 Copyright (c) 2026, 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 Facebook, X, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Please note that all Comments are moderated so they may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Describe Jonathan Oatley’s Work As a Minister and Stonecutter in 1840-1870"

 I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with information about the work of my 3rd great-grandfather Jonathan Oatley (1791-1872) of East Killingly, Connecticut -- he was a Baptist minister and a stonecutter.   The ABC Biography for Jonathan Oatley is in ABC Biography of #46 Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872) of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

1)  My Prompt for Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 was:  "Jonathan Oatley was both a Baptist minister and a "stonecutter" with a quarry near Killingly Old Pond in Connecticut in the 1840 to 1870 time frame. Please describe how Jonathan worked in the quarry, what products did he and his sons produce and estimate the costs, who were his customers, and how did his stonecutting work influence his preaching."

(AI NotebookLM infographic -- Jonathan Oatley's Work from 1840-1870)

2)  Here is the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 response:

Rev. Jonathan Oatley: Minister and Stonecutter

Based on historical records and the context of 19th-century Connecticut granite quarrying, here's a detailed picture of Jonathan Oatley's dual vocation:

Working the Quarry (1840s-1870s)

The Physical Labor

In the 19th century, quarrying required removing surface soil and underbrush by wheelbarrow, finding suitable seams, and drilling holes by hand. Black powder was used to open seams with minimal damage, whereas dynamite would shatter the stone into useless fragments.

Jonathan and his sons would have worked the "Oatley Ledges" near Killingly Old Pond using these labor-intensive methods:

1. Extracting the stone: Hand-drilling holes for black powder charges, carefully blasting to preserve large, usable blocks

2. Splitting and shaping: Using wedges, feathers (metal shims), chisels, and hammers to split granite along its natural grain

3. Rough cutting: Shaping blocks into the desired dimensions for their various products

4. Fine finishing: Hand-carving details, smoothing surfaces, and cutting precise edges for finished products

The work was physically demanding, dangerous, and required both strength and skill. Census records show Jonathan listed as a "stone cutter" (1850) and "mason" (1860), while his son Joseph was also a "stone cutter" (1870). This was year-round work when weather permitted, though winter would have slowed production considerably.

Products and Prices

What the Oatleys Made

According to family records, the Oatleys were known for producing:

1. Church steps and architectural elements: The document specifically mentions they "made long granite steps for the church in 'Kentuck'" which were later moved to the Union Baptist Church in East Killingly—testament to their quality and durability.

2. Gravestones and monuments: Connecticut stonecutters in the mid-1800s produced gravestones and monuments as basic finished dimension stones that made up the majority of granite shed production. This would have been a steady business for a minister who knew every family in the community and surrounding area.

3. Building stone: Foundation stones, lintels, sills, and other architectural elements for local construction

4. Functional stonework: Possibly millstones, mounting blocks, hitching posts, and other utilitarian items

Estimated Costs (1840s-1860s)

Precise pricing from the 1840s-1860s is difficult to establish, but we can make educated estimates based on later records and accounting for inflation:

Gravestones and Monuments: In the mid-to-late 1800s, a simple upright granite headstone would have cost approximately $5-$25 depending on size and carving detail. More elaborate monuments might range from $25-$100. By the latter part of the 1800s, granite usage greatly increased on larger simple headstones and obelisks with less detailed carving.

Church steps and architectural work: Custom-cut long granite steps for a church building would have been a premium product, likely costing $50-$200 for a complete set, representing weeks of skilled labor.

Building stone: Rough-cut building blocks might sell for $0.50-$2.00 per cubic foot, depending on quality and finish.

For context, the 1850 census shows Jonathan's real property valued at $1,000, indicating a modest but stable income from his combined ministerial and stonecutting work.

Customers

Jonathan's customer base would have included:

1. Local church congregations: Both for construction projects and memorial stones for deceased members—Jonathan's pastoral role gave him natural connections to this market

2. Families in East Killingly and surrounding towns: For gravestones, monuments, and family memorials. As a respected minister who had performed baptisms, weddings, and funerals, Jonathan would have been a trusted choice for memorial work.

3. Local builders and contractors: For foundation stones, steps, lintels, and other architectural elements

4. Municipal projects: Possibly bridge abutments, public building foundations, and infrastructure work

5. Fellow church members: Both from his Baptist congregation and the wider Christian community in Windham County

The fact that the Oatleys' work—particularly the church steps—survived removal and reinstallation suggests they built a reputation for quality craftsmanship that would have attracted customers through word-of-mouth in the close-knit rural Connecticut community.

How Stonecutting Influenced His Preaching

The combination of minister and stonecutter was not uncommon in 19th-century rural America, where Baptist preachers in the 19th century often needed to support themselves through trades, as church discipline and traditional expectations for ministerial support were changing during this era. This dual vocation would have profoundly shaped Jonathan's ministry:

1. Biblical Metaphors Made Concrete

Jonathan's daily work with stone would have enriched his sermons with vivid imagery:

• Christ as the "cornerstone" wasn't abstract theology—he cut cornerstones

• Building one's house upon the rock had literal meaning to a man who knew which stone would hold and which would crack

• The "stone the builders rejected" had workshop reality

• Peter ("the rock") and the church built upon solid foundation gained tangible significance

2. Understanding Through Manual Labor

Working alongside his sons in the quarry gave Jonathan:

• Empathy for his congregation: Most were farmers, artisans, and laborers. He shared their physical exhaustion, their callused hands, their understanding of honest work

• Credibility: He wasn't a gentleman minister removed from common life—he knew what it meant to earn bread by the sweat of his brow

• Practical wisdom: Stonecutting taught patience (you can't rush granite), persistence (hard stone yields only to sustained effort), and precision (one misplaced blow can ruin weeks of work)

3. The Theology of Craftsmanship

Creating something permanent from raw stone paralleled spiritual formation:

• Rough stone = unregenerate soul

• Careful shaping = sanctification through discipline

• The finished monument = the transformed Christian life

• Just as hidden flaws in stone only appear under the chisel, spiritual weaknesses emerge under trial

4. Memorial Ministry

Creating gravestones for church families gave Jonathan a unique pastoral role. He would have:

• Consoled families in their grief while discussing memorial designs

• Selected scripture verses to carve into monuments

• Literally shaped the physical memory of the deceased

• Created lasting tributes that preached sermons long after he was gone—including his own gravestone, which still stands in Bartlett Cemetery

5. Economic Reality and Spiritual Independence

His trade freed him from complete dependence on church salary, which was crucial given:

• The 1847 church exclusion episode—his stonecutting income provided stability during crisis

• Questions over whether preachers should be paid for preaching divided Baptist churches in the 19th century

• His ability to support a family of fourteen children required income beyond typical ministerial compensation

6. Teaching by Example

His sons followed him into both quarrying and church life, learning:

• Dignity of manual labor

• Integration of faith and work

• Skill passed from father to son

• That a minister's hands could be both calloused and consecrated

7. The Permanence of Faith

Working with granite—a material meant to last centuries—would have reinforced themes of:

• Eternal truth versus temporary fashion

• Foundations that endure

• Faith that outlasts the storms

• Legacy that transcends one lifetime

The church steps that survived the demolition of one building to serve another became a perfect metaphor for Jonathan's ministry: solid, enduring, useful, and still serving God's people long after the original context had changed.

Conclusion

Jonathan Oatley's life as both minister and stonecutter wasn't a divided existence but an integrated vocation. His work in the quarry didn't distract from his preaching—it deepened it. Every stone he cut, every monument he carved, every step he shaped was part of his ministry. When he stood in the pulpit on Sunday after working the ledges all week, his sermons carried the authenticity of a man who knew both the Word and the world, both Scripture and stone, both faith and the feel of granite under the chisel.

His death certificate listing his occupation as "Clergyman" rather than stonecutter suggests how the community remembered him—but the granite steps still serving the Union Baptist Church in East Killingly tell the fuller story of a man whose ministry was carved in both word and stone.

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3)  The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this post is below. 

4)  As genealogists, we can usually find the 17th to 19th century town records, and the later census and vital records, for Massachusetts families, and we may find occupation, immigration, land and probate records. In addition, there are books and websites about the daily lives of people in those times.  The AI tools have been pre-trained on historical events, social history, geography, literature and other disciplines so they can provide information for questions like this one, and by 2025 they have the ability to search the Internet.  

5)  After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Oatley family in Connecticut and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and witness accounts.

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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page.  Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  

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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Findmypast Friday: Explore Over 1.4 Million New Additions

 I received this information from Findmypast today:

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There are exciting new transport records and pamphlets to discover this week.

Whether your ancestors stoked coal aboard a steam train or sat on a local government board, this week's varied additions may reveal a new detail about their story. As well as new transport records, we've added Portsmouth electoral records, government pamphlets and five brand new newspaper titles.

England, Great Central Railway Company

This new collection comprises 7,256 railway records from across the country, spanning 1857 to 1915.

England, Peak Forest Canal Company

This week's second new set contains 8,779 canal records, shedding light on the day-to-day running of the Peak Forest Canal Company between 1794 and 1835.

Britain, Local Government Board Pamphlets

There are also 1,461 pamphlets for you to explore this week, offering a fascinating insight into the workings of local governments in the years 1916 to 1918.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Electoral Registers

This week's biggest addition consists of over 1.4 million electoral register records for Portsmouth, Hampshire. These new records span the 19th and 20th centuries.

New pages from Dundee to Derry

Five brand new publications joined our archive this week. With a total of 302,734 new pages for you to explore, we also made updates 28 existing titles.

New titles:

• City of London Illustrated, 1918
• Fermanagh News and Ennniskillen Press, 1901-1910, 1912-1920
• Freethinker’s Magazine, 1850-1851
• High Peak Chronicle, 1906, 1908, 1910-1919
• Yorkshire Advertiser and General Intelligencer, 1859-1869

Updated titles:

• Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser, 1894
• Alcester Chronicle, 1913-1915, 1917-1919
• Alloa Circular, 1890
• Argyllshire Advertiser, 1986, 1988-1990, 1994
• Ayrshire Post, 1926, 1936, 1973, 1976-1978, 1982-1985
• Ayrshire Weekly News and Galloway Press, 1890
• Birmingham Daily Post, 2001-2002
• Bridge of Allan Gazette, 1951, 1953-1971
• Bridge of Allan Reporter, 1888
• Brighton Herald, 1853, 1878, 1887, 1895
• Callander Advertiser, 1892-1911, 1935, 1951-1971
• Cornish Times, 1861-1862, 1864-1865, 1868-1871, 1873-1876, 1878-1879, 1881-1887, 1890-1896, 1898-1910, 1912-1918
• Cricket and Football Field, 1884-1885, 1890-1891, 1894-1907, 1909, 1912-1915
• Dundee Evening Telegraph, 1995, 1997, 2003
• East Kilbride News, 1996-1999
• Forfar Dispatch, 1994
• Galloway Advertiser and Wigtownshire Free Press, 1883-1884, 1887-1888, 1890-1892
• Hamilton World, 1998-1999
• Kilmarnock Standard, 1995-1999
• Lancashire Evening Post, 1986, 1990
• Leicester Sporting News, 1899-1907
• Leinster Express, 1858-1870
• Londonderry Standard, 1873-1876, 1878-1879, 1881-1882, 1885
• Rutherglen Reformer, 1997-1999
• Stirling Observer, 1836-1843, 1868-1874, 1878-1880, 1893-1901, 1903-1913, 1919-1938, 1946-1960, 1969-1970, 1975-1976, 1984-1985
• Sunday Mail (Glasgow), 1989-1990, 1992
• Tamworth Herald, 2000, 2004-2005
• Wishaw Press, 1995-1999

A Family History of... Gallipoli

In this bonus episode, host Jen Baldwin explores how online naval records can help family historians to move past the headlines and connect with Royal Navy ancestors in new and exciting ways.  Watch on YouTube -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ5NP3es354

More on this topic:             english records

Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 19 to 25 June 2026

The following Record Collections were ADDED or Updated in the MyHeritage Collections Catalog during the week of  19 to 25 June 2026:

• Greece, Attica, Athens University Student Registers (Schools), ADDED June 25 2026, 141,294 records
• Italy Newspapers from OldNews.com (Newspapers), Updated June 25 2026, 7,378,906 pages in 80 newspaper titles
• New York City Marriages, 1829-1938 (Marriage & Divorce), ADDED June 25 2026, 14,888,361 records
• United Kingdom, British Army Casualty Lists, 1939-1947 (Draft, Enlistment & Service), ADDED June 21 2026, 1,113,764 records
• England & Wales, Quarterly Returns of Prisoners, 1824-1876 (Court Records), ADDED June 21 2026, 1,356,210 records
• Spain Newspapers from OldNews.com (Newspapers), Updated June 19 2026, 21,891,152 pages in 3259 newspaper titles
• Netherlands Newspapers from OldNews.com (Newspapers), Updated June 19 2026, 5,133,531 pages in 1418 newspaper titles
• Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska) (Newspapers), Updated June 18 2026, 1,114,484,374 records
• Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont) (Newspapers), Updated June 18 2026, 1,279,969,569 records
• Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi) (Newspapers), Updated June 18 2026, 860,160,183 records
• Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com (California, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) (Newspapers), Updated June 18 2026, 253,715,412 records

The number of collections at the top of the list shows 1,692 collections (an increase of 3) with  39,875,377,231 records (an increase of over 100 million records from last week - but it was 40,399,469,537 four weeks ago!).

Five weeks ago, the "Last Updated" list showed 7,550 collections.  What happened to over 5,800 collections that are not on any collection list?  See the list for three weeks ago in 

Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 8 to 14 May 2026.

Something is very wrong with the "Last Updated" collection list!!!  Or did MyHeritage remove or combine over 5,800 record collections?

The Family Tree collections are not on the "Last Updated" list at all.  I collected the latest numbers for the Family Tree collections from the "Number of Records" list which does have the Family Tree collections (and a total of 1,692 collections).

• MyHeritage Family Trees (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 6,969,442,978  entries 
• FamilySearch Family Tree (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 1,209,089,520   entries    
• Search Connect™ - Searches by MyHeritage Members (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 508,243,366 entries
• MyHeritage photos & docs (Images), Updated Jun 25 2026, 472,102,127 entries 
• Geni World Family Tree (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 375,152,446  entries.
• Filae Family Trees (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 335,484,714 entries
• MyHeritage Family Sites (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 72,759,854 entries
• MyHeritage members (Family Trees), Updated Jun 25 2026, 53,125,519 entries  

 The number of entries in the family tree collections were last updated this week.  

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See previous Genea-Musings posts about MyHeritage record collections and features in https://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/MyHeritage.com.

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

Disclosure: I receive a complimentary PremiumPlus subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/06/added-and-updated-myheritage-record_01221144311.html

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 X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.

Ask Ai: "Describe Miranda Wade’s Life at Age 14 in Foster, Rhode Island in 1818"

 I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with information about a teenage girl's life in  Prince Edward County, Canada West in 1845.  My 3rd great-grandmother, Miranda Wade (1804-1850) was age 14 in 1818.  The ABC Biography for Miranda Wade is in ABC Biography of #45 Miranda (Wade) White (1804-1850) of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

My Prompt for Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 was:  "Please describe the life of 14-year-old Miranda Wade in Foster, Providence County, Rhode Island in 1818, based on the attached biography. Consider family, work, education, community activities, entertainment, fun?"

(AI NotebookLM infographic -- Miranda Wade's Life at Age 14 in 1818)

Here is the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 response:

Miranda Wade at Age 14: A Day in the Life

Foster, Rhode Island, 1818

Her Family and Household

In 1818, Miranda was one of six children still living under her parents' roof on the Wade family farm in Foster. She was surrounded by her mother Phebe, her father Simon, younger brothers Fenner (11) and little Lawton (just 4), and her sister Olive (16), who was close to her in age and probably her most constant companion. Her older brother James (age 27) had married and had his own home, her older sisters Catharine and Sarah probably died young, and her older brother Arnold (age 18) was still at home.

By 1820, Foster had grown to a population of approximately 2,900 people — a tightly knit rural world where nearly everyone knew everyone else, and where the Wades would have been a well-established family. Foster was a largely homogenous town, white and native-born, with several sects of Baptists whose small white churches dotted the pastoral landscape. The Wade family almost certainly belonged to one of these Baptist congregations, making their faith not just a spiritual matter but a cornerstone of their entire social world.

The farmhouse itself would have been a busy, noisy place — one or two main rooms heated by a large fireplace, with sleeping quarters above, and outbuildings close by for livestock, tools, and storage. There was no privacy as we know it today. Miranda would have shared a sleeping space with her sisters, rising before dawn and rarely sitting idle until after dark.

Chores and Daily Work

At 14, Miranda would have been considered nearly a woman, fully capable of handling most of the household's domestic labor alongside her mother and Olive. Her days would have begun early and ended late, shaped entirely by the seasons.

In the kitchen, Miranda's mornings likely started at the hearth, stoking the fire and helping prepare the family's breakfast. The dairy house — where milk was processed into butter and cheese — was very much the domain of the housewife and her daughters. Milk had to be strained into shallow pans to allow the cream to rise, then skimmed off and churned into butter or made into cheese. Miranda would have helped with this almost every morning.

In the kitchen, children helped out by churning butter, pounding sugar, sifting flour, and stoning raisins. Bread was baked regularly in the brick bake oven, preserves and pickles were put up in summer, and meat was salted and smoked for winter. Every meal required real labor from start to finish.

In the garden, Miranda would have tended the kitchen plot through spring and summer — planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting vegetables and herbs. Knowing which plants were for eating, which were medicinal, and which had other uses was a valuable lesson passed from mother to daughter.

With the animals, she would have fed and watered the chickens, collected eggs, and helped with the milking. Girls tended the family livestock including chickens, ducks, and geese — feeding them, collecting eggs, and sometimes killing and plucking them for the pot.

At the spinning wheel and loom, Miranda would have spent many hours, particularly in the cooler months. To sew, the women needed thread, so they would first shear the sheep to get their wool. Spinning, weaving, and sewing were not optional accomplishments — they were economic necessities. Every shirt on her brothers' backs, every blanket on the beds, likely passed through the hands of the Wade women.

As a caregiver, Miranda would have borne significant responsibility for little Lawton, only four years old. One of the most important chores for children in large families of the 19th century was watching their younger siblings, since many mothers had children over a 20-year span. With her mother managing a full household, Miranda would have been Lawton's near-constant shadow.

A large family of the era might burn forty-four cords of wood in a single year to keep their fireplaces and bake oven going. Keeping that wood supply stocked, dry, and ready was a year-round family effort that Miranda would have contributed to alongside her brothers.

Education

Miranda's formal schooling would have been modest by any modern standard. Foster lacked the strong waterways needed to power industry, so it remained a farming community — and rural farming communities in Rhode Island had limited school resources. Children typically attended a local district school for only a few months each year, generally in winter when farm work slowed and children could be spared.

At such a school, Miranda would have learned to read, to write a plain hand, and to do basic sums. The Bible was often the primary reading text, and memorization of scripture and catechism formed a significant part of what passed for curriculum. Girls were rarely encouraged toward academic ambition — their education was understood to be preparation for running a household, not a career or profession.

Her true education, however, was thoroughly practical and impressively broad. By 14, Miranda would have known how to preserve food, compound simple herbal remedies for illness, manage a dairy, cut and sew clothing, and oversee younger children. The production of textiles was one of the central skills passed from mother to daughter, and Miranda would have been well along in mastering spinning, weaving, and needlework. These were not small accomplishments — they were the skills on which a family's comfort and even survival depended.

Community Life

Religion played a large part in the family life of rural Rhode Island. Sunday was largely spent in church and was a day of rest. For the Wade family, the local Baptist meetinghouse would have been the center of community life — the place where neighbors gathered not only to worship but to exchange news, observe milestones of birth, marriage, and death, and feel the reassurance of belonging to something larger than their individual farms.

Foster's first church was a Calvinist Baptist congregation, followed shortly by Six Principle Baptist and Free Will Baptist congregations — so Miranda's world offered more than one flavor of Baptist worship. Whichever congregation the Wades belonged to, Sunday services would have been long by modern standards, and attendance was not optional.

Beyond Sunday worship, community life in Foster revolved around cooperative labor. Work parties of the period included barn raisings, harvestings, and huskings in addition to quilting parties. These gatherings were the social highlights of the rural calendar, and Miranda would have looked forward to them eagerly.

At a husking bee, men gathered in the barn to husk the harvest while women prepared a fall feast. There were contests among the men, and a young man who found a red ear of corn could claim a kiss from a girl. At 14, Miranda would have been old enough to participate fully in these lively autumn gatherings, helping cook and serving alongside her mother while stealing glances across the barn.

At quilting bees, women exchanged news, shared recipes, offered home remedies, swapped fabric scraps, discussed personal issues, and taught their daughters new techniques. For Miranda, these gatherings were a kind of informal school in the skills and wisdom of womanhood — a space where she absorbed knowledge from older women while building friendships with girls her own age.

Entertainment and Fun

Life was not all work, even in rural Foster in 1818. In rural communities, socializing was tied to the rhythms of domestic and agricultural life — work culminated in a feast, and sometimes an impromptu dance, with others joining in. Husking parties saw neighbors gathering to husk corn for the winter, with songs sung and games played until the work was done.

In winter, frozen ponds and streams invited ice skating — a simple, joyful pleasure that cost nothing and required only a pair of iron-bladed skates strapped to one's boots. Sledding down Foster's many hills on wooden sleds would have been another winter delight for Miranda and her siblings.

In summer, berry picking in the woods — blueberries, raspberries, wild strawberries — offered a rare excuse to wander freely from the farmstead, filling a basket while enjoying the outdoors with friends or sisters. According to Old Sturbridge Village historians, most rural New England children had far fewer toys than a modern child, and most would have been homemade. But Miranda, at 14, was past the age of toys. Her pleasures were more social — conversation, singing, and the company of her peers.

Music was woven into everyday life. Hymns were sung at church, and folk songs and ballads were sung at home around the fire in the evenings. If a neighbor or family member played the fiddle, dancing might break out at community gatherings, a joy that even the most devout Baptist communities generally permitted.

Needlework — embroidery, knitting, and sampler-making — occupied winter evenings by firelight and was considered both useful and creative. A girl's sampler, stitched with letters, numbers, and small decorative motifs, was one of the few personal artistic expressions available to her. Miranda may well have bent her head over such a piece of work on many a long winter evening, her needle moving by the light of a tallow candle.

On the Horizon

As 1818 drew to a close, Miranda Wade was a girl poised on the edge of womanhood, deeply embedded in the rhythms of her family and her community. She could not have known that within two years her mother would be gone, leaving her to carry far more of the household's weight. She could not have known that within five years she would be married, beginning her own family in nearby Glocester. What she did know was the texture of her world — the smell of woodsmoke and fresh bread, the sound of the river and the Sunday hymns, the warmth of her sister Olive beside her, and the endless turning of the seasons on the Rhode Island hills.

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3)  The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this post is below. 

4)  As genealogists, we can usually find the 17th to 19th century town records, and the later census and civil records, for New England families, and we may find occupation, military, land and probate records. In addition, there are books and websites about the daily lives of people in those times.  The AI tools have been pre-trained on historical events, social history, geography, literature and other disciplines so they can provide information for questions like this one, and by 2025 they have the ability to search the Internet.  

5)  After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Wade family in Rhode Island and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and witness accounts.

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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page.  Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/06/ask-ai-describe-miranda-wades-life-at.html

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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Treasure Chest Thursday -- 1715 Death Record of Joseph Gleason of Wayland, Massachusetts Bay Colony

 It's Treasure Chest Tuesday - a chance 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 1715 death record of Joseph Gleason in the Sudbury, Massachusetts town  record book:

The Joseph Gleason death record is the 9th record down the right-hand page: 

The transcription of this record is:

"Sargent Joseph Gleason dyed Nov 20'th 1715"

The source citation for this record is:

Wayland, Massachusetts Town Records, Joseph Gleason death entry, 20 November 1715; imaged, "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2495/records/4771173), "Wayland > Births, Marriages, and Deaths," page 303, image 164 of 1060.

This is a Derivative Source record for the death of Joseph Gleason, since it appears to be a transcription of an earlier town record.  It is Primary Information and Direct Evidence of the death date and place. The original source records are probably Wayland town records for the time period that are either lost or unavailable to digitize, but were transcribed at a later time.

Joseph Gleason (1640-1715) is the son of Thomas and Susannah (Page) Gleason, who married Martha Russell in 1667.  They are my 8th great-grandparents, through their daughter Susannah Gleason (1675-1756) who married Samuel Willis (1675-1758) in 1703 in Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/06/treasure-chest-thursday-1715-death.html

Copyright (c) 2026, 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 X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 18 to 24 June 2026

 Welcome to Genealogy Education Bytes, posted on Wednesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight some of the most important genealogy and family history education items that came across my desktop since the last issue.

1) Upcoming Conferences and Institutes:

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for and/or view seminars, conferences and institutes.

*  FEEFHS Annual Conference ($$, In-person, in Salt Lake City) -- 5 to 7 August 2026.

*  Pennsylvania's Genealogy Event "PaGE" 2026 Conference ($$, Virtual) -- 6 to 8 August 2026.

2 ) Upcoming Webinars and Online Classes (times are US Pacific):

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for and/or view seminars, webinars and classes.

* FamilySearch MonthlyWebinars (Free)

* RootsTech 2019-2026 On-Demand Sessions (Free)

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinar -- Wednesday, 24 June, 11 a.m.: WWII internment of Japanese immigrant "enemy aliens" in the San Francisco Bay Area by Grant Din.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinar -- Wednesday, 1 July, 12 a.m.:  Ireland's 1926 Census: A Guide to the New Release by Claire Bradley.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinar -- Wednesday, 1 July, 8:30 a.m.: Create Maps Using PowerPoint and Google Slides by Kimball Carter.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinar -- Wednesday, 1 July, 9:45 a.m.:  Spreadsheets for Genealogists: Mastering Charts, Filters, and Pivot Tables by Natalie Webb.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinar -- Wednesday, 1 July, 11 a.m.: Automating Oral History: Best Tools for Transcribing Audio by Rhonda Lauritzen.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinar -- Wednesday, 1 July, 12:30 p.m.:  10 Essential Digital Skills for Family Historians by Andrew Redfern.

3) Recent Podcasts:

* Ancestors and Algorithms:  Ep. 43: Crossing the U.S. Border - Hispanic Roots and AI

*  Ancestral Findings:  Trace Your Family with This One Record

*  Ancestral Findings:  Book Giveaway: Tracing Your Ancestors Using What They Left Behind

* Family Tree Talk:  Grandfathers are ancestors too! (Save the clues before it’s too late)

* Research Like a Pro:  RLP 415: Testing AI's Ability to Map Historical Land Records

4) Recent YouTube Videos:

*  American Ancestors:  Beyond "Of Plymouth Plantation": William Bradford's Neglected Writings

*  Ancestry:  A California Story of Struggle & Ambition | This Land | CNN Originals x Ancestry

*  Ancestry: Black History Marathon: Stories Through Generations | Finding Your Roots | Ancestry

*  Ancestry: Every Family Has A Secret: Stories of Fatherhood | Ancestry

*  Ancestry:  An Alaskan Story of Braving the Wilderness | This Land | CNN Originals x Ancestry

*  Ancestry Aimee: My Ancestor Was an Enslaver: Now What?

*  BYU Library Family History Center:  Tracing Jewish Family Roots: Genealogy, Memory, and Identity - Serafima Velkovich (20 June 2026)

*  Cheri Hudson Passey: GenFriends Genealogy Chat Show: Researching in Cemeteries with Special Guest Amy Johnson Crow

* Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist:  New Jersey: A Sentence of Survival | Stories That Live in Us | Episode 116

*  Data Mining DNA:  11 Genealogy Search Tools Ranked Best to Worst

*  Data Mining DNA:  Get Every Marriage From Your Family Tree Into a Spreadsheet

*  Denyse Allen • Chronicle Makers:  The 5 Questions AI and Genealogy Sites Don't Want You to Ask

*  Ellen Thompson-Jennings - Family History Hound:  Beyond Ancestry: 4 Genealogy Websites You Should Be Using

*  Family Locket:  How to Track Enhanced Shared Matches from Ancestry In Airtable

* Family Tree Support:  FamilySearch June 2026 Update: New Ways to Manage Your Family Trees

* Family Tree Support:  Family Tree Maker Data Errors Report: Find Hidden Mistakes Before They Ruin Your Research!

* Family Tree Support:  4 AI Prompts That Helped Me Break Through Genealogy Brick Walls

* Family Tree Support:  Census Records: The Backbone of American Genealogy | Why Every Family Historian Should Start Here

* Family Tree Support:  Military Records: The Genealogy Goldmine Most Researchers Underuse

* Family Tree Support:  The Best Genealogy Clues Might Already Be in Your Home! | Hidden Family History Treasures

* Family Tree Support:  Stop Asking These 5 Questions About Your Ancestors

*  Family Tree 123:  FamilySearch GEDCOM Upload: What You Need to Know Before You Start

*  FamilySearch: Found Together: The Kingstree 435 Story

*  Finding Family DNA:  I Always Wanted To Know If She Remembered My Birthday

* Findmypast:  The truth is missing from history | A Family History Of... Gallipoli - Part 4

*  Genealogy TV:  Finding WWII Military Records (Genealogy TV Podcast)

* GeneaVlogger:  How to Become an Investigative Genetic Genealogist

*  GeneaVlogger:  Talking Genealogy, DNA Testing, & History | Answering Questions Live

*  IAmThomReed:  How Black Families Discover Their Roots Today | KSL Inside Sources Juneteenth Interview

* Italian Roots and Genealogy:  The Evolution of Ligurian Surnames | A Deep Dive

* Italian Roots and Genealogy:  Uncovering the Italian legacy nobody knew about

*  Jennifer Holik  - Ancestral Souls Wisdom School:  NARA Catalog & WWII Army Morning Reports

*  Jennifer Holik  - Ancestral Souls Wisdom School:  The ‘Helper’ Files. NARA Catalog RG 498.

*  Jennifer Holik  - Ancestral Souls Wisdom School:  WWI and WWII Compensation Files

*  Marcia Philbrick:  Julia on the Prairie Julia Harding Hutchinson

*  ProjectKin:  When a life goes undocumented #substack #shorts

*  PSG Photo Solutions:  From Old Photos to Storefront Storytelling: A Business Photo Legacy

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  Life of James Richman at Age 14 in 1835 in Hilperton, Wiltshire

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  Life of James A Kemp at age 14 in 1845 in Upper Canada

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  Life of the William Knapp Family of Newton, New Jersey in 1825

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  Betty and Fred's Story: The Waiting -- June 1944

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  The Alexander Sovereen Family in 1865 in Norfolk County, Ontario

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  Emily and Lyle's Story: Emily's Birthday Gift, August 1917

*  Randy Seaver, Geneaholic:  Life Memoir of Eunice (Rayment) Seaver of Massachusetts in 1772

*  The Diehl on Genealogy:  The Hidden Genealogy Websites Nobody Is Talking About (2026)

*  The Formidable Genealogist:  Episode 16: Ancestry's New Census Compare Tool | The Formidable Genealogist Studio

*  The Photo Managers:  Turn Messy Photo Boxes Into a Family Heirloom: 5 Steps to Build a Photo Estate

*  Trace Your New England Roots:  King Philip's War | Unsealing Your Ancestor’s Lost Letters

*  Trace Your New England Roots: The Top 5 Wrong Questions Most People Ask About Their Ancestors

*  Trace Your New England Roots:  5 Hours of DNA EXPLANATION (COMPILATION) | Why Most People Misinterpret Their DNA Results!

*  WikiTree:  2026 WikiTree Challenge 5 Kick-off feat ‪@MarianPierreLouis‬

*  WikiTree:  WikiTree #SaturdayRoundup (20 Jun 2026) #FathersWeek #TVDads

*  Write Your Family History With Devon Noel Lee:  This One Change FIXED My Awkward Family History Book - Bridges

5) Did you miss the last post in this series -- Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 11 to 17 June 2026?

Read past Genealogy Education Bytes here.

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NOTE: If I missed an upcoming conference or webinar, or a useful podcast or video, in this time period, please let me know in a comment or an email.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/06/genealogy-education-bytes-week-of-18-to.html

Copyright (c) 2026, 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 your comment on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.

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